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Blogging for a Good Book
First House, Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families, by Mary Miley Theobald
Virginia can proudly claim a number of records in United States history — having the first permanent English settlement, the birthplace of eight U.S. Presidents, and the oldest Executive Mansion still occupied by a state governor.
This year marks the bicentennial of Virginia's Executive Mansion and the beautiful book First House, Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families tells the interesting history of the mansion. Written by Mary Miley Theobald, the book is published by the Citizen's Advisory Council for Interpreting and Furnishing the Executive Mansion and the Library of Virginia. It shows how the mansion combines being a historic site and a place for business and receptions, with being a home for the governors and their families.
The story of Virginia's Executive Mansion actually begins in Williamsburg. During the Revolutionary War, both Patrick Henry and Thomas Jefferson lived in the former Royal Governor's Palace. When the British landed in Portsmouth, the legislators decided that Richmond would be a safer location for the Capitol of Virginia. So in May 1780, Jefferson packed up what was left of the Palace's furnishings and moved to Richmond.
For 32 years Virginia's governors made due with a neglected house purchased by the state near the new Capitol Building. Finally in 1811 the monies were acquired to build a new house for the governor. The house was completed two years later. Governor James Barbour of Orange County, his wife Lucy, and their three children were the first family to live in the Executive Mansion.
Author Mary Theobald chronicles the house's story as each governor moves in and adapts and decorates the house to their own needs. The well-used house has endured two fires — the first one during the burning of Richmond in the Civil War and the second one in 1922 when the retiring governor's 5-year-old son's sparkler set a Christmas Tree on fire — and several renovations and an addition. The last major renovation of the house was under Governor James Gilmore III (1998-2002). The renovation returned the historic portion of the house to its 1830s appearance while improving mechanical and technology systems and strengthening the structure.
In addition to the chronological narrative, Theobald has chapters on the gardens, distinguished visitors, the First Families and their pets, Christmas, and the staff who work behind the scenes to make the mansion run smoothly.
The book is beautifully designed and has wonderful photos, prints, and engravings. There are also little sidebars of trivia and information that are fun to read, like the story of the painting given to the mansion by Nancy Langhorne Astor, the first female member of the House of Commons, as well as the stories of the mansion's ghosts.
One of Virginia's recent First Ladies called the Executive Mansion "a happy house" and that happiness certainly comes across in this book. It doesn't matter whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or an Independent, any Virginian will find this book fascinating because the story of the Executive Mansion is also the story of Virginia.
Check the WRL catalog for First House, Two Centuries with Virginia's First Families
Gran Cocina Latina: the Food of Latin America, by Maricel E. Presilla
Gran Cocina Latina (Great Latina Kitchen) is just that — big, rich, and fun to explore. In over 900 pages this new, award-winning cookbook by restaurateur and food historian Maricel Presilla brings together the diverse cooking traditions of Central and South America and the Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean.
Beautifully laid out, with a balance of recipes, background and equipment notes, and photos, cooks and armchair travelers alike will savor this comprehensive collection of recipes from a geographically and culturally "big" region.
Recipes are not arranged by country, but are grouped according to ingredient or type of food. Chapters introduce you to the layers of flavors that make up Latin America cooking. Here you can explore the variety of indigenous ingredients including chilies, squashes, corn, quinoa, beans, and potatoes that dominate the cuisine. You can also learn about the unique types of dishes that come from countries such as Argentina, Peru, Columbia, and Cuba such as empanadas, secos, tamals, ceviche, ollas (soups), moles, and dulce latino (sweets).
So get beyond the familiar Tex Mex tacos, refried beans, and salsa and journey through the complex flavors — but not complex cooking — of Latin America.
Check the WRL catalog for Gran Cocina Latina
An Echo Through the Snow, by Andrea Thalasinos
This week's posts are reviews from the library's Outreach Services Division.
This debut novel by Andrea Thalasinos attracted me for two reasons; it was about dogs and another culture that I didn't know anything about. For me, An Echo Through the Snow was a win-win!
The story alternates between two settings and characters.
In present day Wisconsin, a struggling young woman named Rosalie, rescues a Siberian husky, which profoundly changes the course of her life. As she becomes more involved with dogs and the world of dog sled racing, her future looks brighter despite the odds against her.
Alternately, in 1929, a Siberian Chukchi woman, Jeaantaa, tries to
save her people's Siberian huskies as the Russians force the Chukchi to give up their traditional lifestyle.
The story lines converge at the end, and I found both to be compelling. The book left me wanting to know more about some of the people in Rosalie's world, as well as Jeaantaa's people.
The author has rescued and raised Siberian huskies, and learned how to be a musher training dogs to run a dogsled team, so she knows her subject well. Her research on the little known Chukchi people and the history of the dog breed added to my enjoyment of the story.
Check the WRL catalog for An Echo Through the Snow
King City by Brandon Graham
King City is more than a comic book, it's a love letter to all of geekdom. Every drawing overflows with detail, containing little Easter eggs tucked into the background that make readers search each page before turning to the next one. A city setting is naturally dense, and artist/writer Brandon Graham doesn't let any opportunity pass by to include a sly off-color pun, so everything from signs, graffiti, and character's t-shirts are used as a canvas for amusement. This cacophony can be distracting, but it makes multiple re-reads an enjoyable requirement.
The story follows Joe, a ninja/spy/thief, who has recently returned to California after a few years away. During those years, he trained to become a Catmaster, and the main tool of his trade is a cat named Earthling whom he carries around in a bucket. But this is no ordinary cat; depending on the injection Joe gives it from a collection of syringes he carries around on his belt, the cat can transform into a variety of tools or weapons. Armed with his feline and his knowledge of the Way of the Cat, Joe travels the city.
Lest one think Joe is an anomaly in an otherwise normal population, we are introduced to a host of other misfits. Pete, Joe's best friend, is a wrestling mask-wearing petty thief who falls in love with a water-breathing alien woman and embarks on a quest to free her from her captors. Anna, Joe's ex-girlfriend, paints large and often intricate mustaches on billboard faces. And then there is Anna's current boyfriend, Max, who is a veteran of the recent Xombie wars and is fighting the drug addiction he picked up in order to cope with his memories.
The artwork could be described as ska-punk manga and it is busy and sometimes manic. The plot twists over itself like a Moebius strip with no pretense of plausibility, so readers shouldn't get caught up on the hows or whys of some situations while reading this book. Where Joe gets the syringes he needs to inject Earthling and who pays Anna to paint mustaches on billboards are questions that never get answered. There is sex and violence, but they play a secondary role to humor, taking the edge of seriousness off of both. Originally released as a serial, King City doesn't really lend itself to that format. However, as a book, it is an engrossing experience, though definitely not a quick read. Recommended to readers of comics and humor.
Check the WRL catalog for King City.
Saga, Vol. 1 by Brian K. Vaughan and Fiona Staples
A vicious intergalactic war rages on in this epic fantasy vs. sci-fi standoff. The inhabitants of Landfall, the largest planet in the galaxy, bear vestigial wings and are technologically advanced. They have forever been in conflict with the population of Wreath, Landfall's moon, who have horns like sheep and a mastery of magic. Each side recruits other planets and races to join their side in the battle, constantly expanding the battlefield throughout the universe.
Alana was a Landfall soldier, sent to guard prisoners on the distant planet of Cleave. Marko was a foot solider for Wreath, but surrendered as a conscientious objector and was sent to Cleave. Within twelve hours of meeting each other, Alana and Marko flee together. Their union produces a daughter named Hazel, who serves as occasional narrator to the story, and has both wings and horns.
Treachery such as theirs can't go unpunished, and soon both sides are tracking the new parents, who want nothing more than a peaceful place to raise their child. The fragility of the new life they have created strengthens their resolve to, somehow, survive. Landfall sends Prince Robot IV, a humanoid with a television set for a head, to bring them to justice while the Wreath military hires a freelance bounty hunter named The Will. For reasons yet unknown, the Wreath side wants Hazel brought back alive. Another bounty hunter, a former lover of The Will, is also sent by the Wreath forces to track down Alana and Marco. Prince Robot IV and The Will are soon at odds, with The Will swearing to destroy his blue-blooded nemesis.
The writing and the artwork for this series successfully contrast the tenderness and intimacy between the parents against the violence of the worlds around them. There are a lot of ideas introduced in this first volume, which can be tricky to maintain, but Brian K. Vaughan is an experienced writer and this volume is a promising beginning. Fiona Staples's artwork is simple yet striking, and she manages to make several different, distinct alien worlds, bathing the images in contrasting teals and oranges and greens. Recommended for fantasy and science fiction readers, and anyone who enjoys an against-the-odds romance.
Check the WRL catalog for Saga.
Joe Golem and the Drowning City by Mike Mignola and Christopher Golden
If you've ever picked up a book by Mike Mignola, author of the Hellboy series, you will know what to expect: a Victorian gothic adventure set against crumbling ruins with elements of steampunk and the supernatural. This is the second book Mignola has co-authored with Christopher Golden. The first, Baltimore, or, The Steadfast Tin Soldier and the Vampire, has also been released as a series of graphic novels that are definitely worth checking out. Both Joe Golem and Baltimore are billed as illustrated novels, which mean the images are less integral to the consumption of the story compared to graphic novels, but they enhance the atmosphere of the narrative.
In this alternative history, New York City is hit in 1925 by several cataclysmic earthquakes, flooding half of the city three stories deep. Wealthy residents who survived the tremors moved up to the higher part of town, called Uptown. The lower, waterlogged Downtown section is often referred to as the Drowning City. Those poorer residents who remain Downtown eke out a living as best they can, navigating the broken, fallen buildings and the canals created between them.
By necessity, residents of the Drowning City are self-reliant, and 14-year old Molly McHugh is certainly a product of her environment. A magician called Felix Orlov, who works under the stage name Orlov the Conjuror, employs her. Orlov is retired from the stage, but still accepts clients interested in his talents as a psychic medium. When a séance goes wrong, Orlov is abducted by strange human-like creatures wearing masks, leaving Molly terrified, but determined to free her friend.
Fleeing from one of the monsters, she runs into Joe Golem, an imposing man built like a boxer, with grey eyes and a stony countenance. Joe knows little of his past, but he and his partner, Simon Church, keep watch on the paranormal activity in the city and they do not like what they have been seeing lately. From here the story takes a decidedly Lovecraftian turn, and Molly has to figure out whom she can trust, and who can best help her free Orlov.
This novel is an enjoyable, quick read. Recommended for fantasy and horror readers, both adult and YA.
Check the WRL catalog for Joe Golem and the Drowning City.
American Vampire V.2 by Scott Snyder and Rafael Alburquerque
Sometimes it's good to hit the reset button. Bram Stoker didn't invent the vampire, but he carved the archetype: a creature of power, terror, and ruthlessness hidden under a veneer of charm. Vampires have been popular recently, both in fiction and movies, but the trend has been to smooth over their edges, making them suave, stylish, even glittery, in a way that doesn't sit well with many fans of horror.
Scott Snyder and Rafael Albuquerque decided to go back to basics. In Skinner Sweet they re-created the vampire, one who commands visceral fear, not existential angst, who is bloodthirsty, vicious, and brutal. And then they threw in a twist: their vampire would be uniquely American, born and bred in the Wild West. As such, he would not be like any of the vampires that had come before him. Unlike all the European vampires, Sweet is unaffected by exposure to the sun. As the character himself explains "Sometimes, when the blood hits someone new, from somewhere new, it makes something new. With a whole new bag of tricks."
The first story begins in Nevada, during the construction of the Boulder Dam (now called the Hoover Dam). As the construction expands, so does the vice in nearby Las Vegas. Where there is vice and money, there is blood, and where there's blood, there's vampires. Sweet, living under the name Jim Smoke, is running a brothel called the Frontier. In life, Sweet was a murderer and a thief, with a knack for riling up pretty much anyone he interacts with. As a vampire, he's even worse. When a man turns up drained of every drop of blood after dating one of Sweet's girls, the law begins to take an interest. But do they have any idea who, or what, they are dealing with?
Pearl Jones, a vampire created by Sweet in Volume 1, is still struggling to come to terms with the consequences of her new life. Desperate to live as normally as possible, she shuns her vampire side, feeding on blood without killing. But she is forever tied to Sweet, and the people who want him dead have decided that she just might hold the key to getting rid of him for good. Pearl, along with her husband Henry, is also featured in a shorter second story in this volume. Although each of the stories has a conclusion, the reader is always somehow left feeling like none of the stories actually end. They are just pieces of a larger narrative that slowly builds with each vignette.
Snyder's writing ratchets up the tension, and the angularity of Albuquerque's drawings enhances the sharpness of the vampire's bite. For the first volume, Snyder approached Stephen King with his idea for Skinner Sweet wanting a forward, but King was so enthused with the character he ended up guest writing the origin story himself, based on Snyder's outline. If a stamp of approval from one of the biggest American horror writers wasn't enough, American Vampire won the 2011 Eisner and Harvey Awards for Best New Series. Recommended for fans of horror and westerns.
Check the WRL catalog for American Vampire.
Bayou, Volume 1 by Jeremy Love
If you asked people what they think of when they hear the term "American mythos" many would undoubtedly call to mind Cowboys and Indians and other aspects of the Wild West, unaware of the vibrant and complex stories and traditions of Southern Folklore. Bayou is a beautifully-rendered Alice in Wonderland-style fairytale set in Mississippi during the Depression. It is a uniquely Southern world, filled with mud and Spanish moss, concurrently embracing and fighting against the legacy of slavery.
The story centers on Lee, a young black girl, who is friends with Lily, the white daughter of the woman who owns the farm where Lee and her father live. Lily is snatched and swallowed by a monster from the bayou, named Cotton-Eyed Joe, and Lee's father makes a convenient suspect for the local law officers when she is reported missing by her mother. In an effort to get her friend back, and free her father before he gets lynched, Lee follows the monster into the brackish water, and finds herself in an alternate but parallel world. The inhabitants of this world are human-like, but their physical bodies have been replaced by various characters drawn from Southern myths. She meets Bayou, a swamp dweller who, despite his giant stature, is cowed into submission by the Bossman and his lackeys through their brutal enforcement of the law. Despite his fear, Bayou sees the need and determination of Lee to find her friend Lily and decides to help her, although not without trepidation.
Any story that starts with a lynching and exposes the varied responses of people to such brutality isn't going to pull punches. But what is most chilling about its narrative is that Bayou doesn't make the humans into caricatures. The people in the normal world are just that: normal. They are all believable products of their time and environments, and that is clearly reflected in the social interactions between the characters. Young and old, black and white, rich and poor, everyone seems to know who is in power and the potential consequences of any action that might upset the current balance. In the parallel world, characters are taken to their extreme with Jim Crows, Golliwogs, and Confederate officer hounds, but it's the similarities rather than the differences between the two worlds that are most striking.
Bayou's injections of race, religion, poverty, and the blues contribute to an important and uniquely Southern voice in fantasy and graphic novels. The storyline and imagery can be disturbing and unsettling, but these aspects give meaning and power to the book's message. Both written and drawn by Jeremy Love, the use of color enhances the atmosphere, bathing the images in deep gold, dusky pink, and brownish-green. Recommended to readers of fantasy, graphic novels, and southern fiction.
Check the WRL catalog for Bayou
The Gold Coast, by Nelson DeMille
I had mentioned to a friend that I hadn't read any books by Nelson DeMille and she raved over his 1990 novel, The Gold Coast, saying it wasn't a typical DeMille, but was the best he had written. DeMille has written several detective/espionage thrillers — and The Gold Coast doesn't follow that type of plot. But being the best? I think that may depend on what you're looking for in a novel.
John Sutter and his wife, Susan, are comfortable, and perhaps a bit bored, with their life on Long Island's North Shore, an area "that once held the greatest concentration of wealth and power in America." They live in the guest house of a 55-room mansion owned by Susan's parents. While wealthy, they aren't in the strata of the wealthiest, like their new neighbor, mafia don Frank Bellarosa. But they have respectability, and Frank certainly doesn't.
Frank does have a certain dangerous appeal, and Susan and John find themselves dining with their neighbor and gradually becoming seduced by the power and charisma of the mafia don.
As John becomes more disenchanted with his "normal" life and superficial friends, he also finds himself making reckless decisions which eventually lead him to representing Frank in criminal proceedings.
There were many parts of this novel that I enjoyed.
I liked the main character, John Sutter. John has a sarcastic wit, which surprisingly doesn't get him in trouble as often as it should. He gets away with saying what's on his mind with seemingly no personal regrets.
I enjoyed the exciting courtroom scene toward the end of the book where John has to find where Frank is being arraigned on murder charges. There is a great back-and-forth tension between John and the Attorney General.
My favorite part of the novel is the sense of place. DeMille does a good job describing the mansions on the Gold Coast. And not just the mansions in their former glory, with the recreated libraries and Roman temples, but the reality of the abandoned homes and neglected gardens. DeMille portrays the reactions of the neighbors when these expensive historic homes are sold off for tract housing or bought by foreign investors. It was a fascinating glimpse into an unbelievably wealthy world.
We read this as a recent selection for my book group. Reactions were mixed. Some liked the book for the same reasons I did, others said the plot dragged and they found the characters unlikeable.
DeMille wrote a sequel in 2008, which picks up John, Susan, and Frank's son Anthony a decade later. We have both The Gold Coast and The Gate House in the library collection.
Check the WRL catalog for The Gold Coast
Check the WRL catalog for sequel, The Gate House
Help, Thanks, Wow, by Anne Lamott
Anne Lamott talks about three types of prayers: help, thanks, and wow.
She writes, "Prayer is talking to something or anything with which we seek union." And whether you believe in the Christian God, or Allah, or Buddha, or Earth Mother, or some other Great Being, simple variations of these prayers cover just about every situation.
It's hard to describe the writing in this book. It is almost a stream-of-consciousness style – thoughts and insights as well as practical advice about how we can communicate with a higher power, and why it can make us a better person to do it.
Lamott is not preachy, nor does she write exclusively for one religion over another. She doesn't give steps to follow in order to pray the "right" prayer. Through her examples you realize she is advocating that anything goes as long as the feelings or words come from your heart.
Some thoughts from the author
Praying "Help" means that we ask that Something give us the courage to stop in our tracks right where we are, and turn our fixation away from the Gordian knot of our problems. (p. 40)
"Thanks" can be the recognition that you have been blessed mildly, or with a feeling as intense as despair at the miracle of having been spared. (p. 46)
When we are stunned to the place beyond words, when an aspect of life takes us away from being able to chip away at something until it's down to a manageable size and then to file it nicely away, when all we can say in response is "Wow," that's a prayer. (p. 73)
This is a short book, easily read in one sitting. But I think you'll find that it is better to take it in small sips. There's a lot to absorb in these pages. I'd recommend this for discussion with a book group.
Check the WRL catalog for Help, Thanks, Wow
A Devil in the Details, by K. A. Stewart
I'm a big fan of fantasy stories where a seemingly regular guy or gal finds the strength to fight the big bad – either through magic or training or some sort of superpower.
I have found a new series to follow in K.A. Stewart's Jesse James Dawson novels.
Dawson is a modern day samurai, a black belt in karate. He is a husband, father, and part-time employee for a hip clothing store in the mall. But his most important job, and the one that really doesn't pay very well, is being part of a loose organization of champions that fight demons to take back someone's soul. How does a champion win the soul back? By negotiating a trade — take the champion's soul in exchange for the other person's — then fight the demon to the death. It goes without saying that the stakes are very high if you lose…
In A Devil in the Details, an aging baseball player, Nelson Kidd, makes a deal to give up his soul if he regains the skills he had as a younger ballplayer. It works, Kidd has a breakthrough season and his team makes it to the championship. But after the winning, Kidd starts to have second thoughts about what he will have to give up. Like most people, he wants to get out of his "deal with the devil." He knows a friend of a friend who puts him in touch with Dawson.
In the midst of making the negotiations to win back Kidd's soul… and recovering from injuries received from the previous demon battle… and dealing with the smarmy baseball agent who is trying to discredit him, Dawson learns that some of the other champions, including a close friend, have gone missing. He and all the other champions are put on alert to watch for anything unusual.
So why do it? Why put myself on the line for people I don't know, and like even less? Because it needs to be done. It's not even a choice for me."
The story is fast-paced and grounded in everyday events, not a whole lot of otherworldly happenings. Sure, the demon fighting is pretty paranormal (and his wife is a practicing wiccan), but you won't see fairies, vampires, or werewolves in this story. I found it really appealing that the good guy might be someone you might see around the neighborhood – or at the mall. Just a regular person who needs to buy his mom a birthday present…
And I didn't see the plot twist coming. Love it when an author surprises me! Hoping the rest of the series stays true to this form.
Check the WRL catalog for A Devil in the Details
The Sky is Everywhere, by Jandy Nelson
I saw this YA novel on a list of books being made into movies – and I decided to read it before the movie rocketed it up the "it" list.
The plot synopsis sounds like the saddest story ever. Lennie and her sister Bailey were abandoned by their mother when both were quite young. They live happily with their quirky grandmother and uncle, believing that one day their mom will wander back into their lives.
Lennie is an introvert and band geek who lives in her vibrant sister's shadow. She likens herself to the companion pony that walks beside the sleek racehorse to keep it calm before a race. And suddenly Bailey dies.
Lennie thought she was happy walking behind Bailey, letting Bailey make decisions on what to do, and now Lennie is floating through each day without that anchor.
That's the sad part. And believe me, you'll need to keep some tissues handy. Why put yourself through that? Because you'll quickly come to realize Lennie is more than just Bailey's little sister. She has to work through her grief – and reconnect with friends – and fall in love – and forgive herself for feeling happy again. But that discovery is compelling, I couldn't wait to see what would happen next. Some of it is like watching a train wreck, but it ends in a good place (I promise!).
The coolest thing about this book is the poems and brief memories that Lennie writes on walls, paper cups, homework assignments, books, benches… These memorabilia are described every few chapters, along with where Lennie left them. How cool would it be to find a piece of someone's life like this? It is so much more honest and revealing than "Lennie was here" or other typical graffiti.
The book is certainly worth waiting on a long hold list for — so if you can't pick it up right away, keep it in mind once you hear the movie hype.
FYI – the movie option was purchased by Selena Gomez's production company. The Disney star is set to play the main character, Lennie. I haven't seen anything that gives more details than the movie is "in development."
Check the WRL catalog for The Sky is Everywhere
Rot & Ruin, by Jonathan Maberry
I was looking for something easy to listen to and picked up the YA book Rot & Ruin without really knowing what it was about — except that it was about zombies. I was expecting a pretty typical "run from the monsters" plot and was completely surprised by the sympathy the author evoked for the zombies. Don't get me wrong, there's action, plenty of "uh-oh the monsters might catch me" suspense, but I was surprised at who was the real monster.
The world has been changed by a cataclysm – some sort of medical or environmental disaster that caused some people, including Benny's parents, to turn into zombies. And as people turned to zombies, they infected others until their sheer numbers overran cities large and small…
Groups of survivors gathered in outposts with fences and patrols to keep the zombies out. Most people don't venture into the "great Rot & Ruin" – the zombie- infested expanse separating the outposts from each other.
That's the post-apocalyptic world Benny Imura has grown up in. And he hates zombies with a white hot passion. His older brother, Tom, is a zombie hunter, supposedly one of the best. But Benny doubts it. His earliest memory is of Tom running away when his parents were turned to zombies. Benny hasn't forgiven Tom for not staying to fight.
Benny goes to school and hangs out with friends. But some of Benny's favorite times are when the "real" zombie hunters like Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer tell stories of how they fought zoms in the Rot & Ruin. It sounds so cool when they tell the stories.
In the fall after Benny turns 15 he has to find a job or face having his rations cut. When he runs out of options, he reluctantly approaches his brother about going into the family business. But hunting zombies is not what Benny thought it would be.
There's depth to this story, as well as lots of nail-biting tension and some really heart-wrenching revelations. Rot & Ruin is the first in a series. I can't wait to see what happens next to Benny and his friends!
Check the WRL catalog for Rot & Ruin
Check the WRL catalog for the audiobook of Rot & Ruin
Finding My Elegy, by Ursula K. Le Guin
It is always interesting when you discover that an author you enjoy for one type of writing also writes in other forms. For many fiction writers, this second form seems to be poetry. Wendell Berry and John Updike, though better known for fiction, are fine poets, and I was pleased to discover while browsing the new books here that Ursula K. Le Guin, whose fiction has been a favorite of mine for years, is also an eloquent poet who has been writing poems for over 50 years. This collection brings together some of Le Guin's best poetry from 1960-2010.
Like her prose, Le Guin's poetry is carefully made and reflects a joy in words and ideas. Her poems are precise and crystalline, and there does not seem to be a word used that was not carefully chosen and thoughtfully placed. Le Guin writes equally well about nature ("Wild Oats and Fireweed") and about the world of the mind ("Learning Latin in Old Age").
There are some themes that resurface throughout the collection. Loss—of friends and family, places, and abilities—is a recurrent theme, particularly in some of the later poems, but it is balanced by a palpable joy in living that is apparent in even the darkest moments in Le Guin's verse. The roles of women too are studied here—daughter, wife, lover, mother, Maenad or shepherdess. These are themes that Le Guin has explored in her fiction as well, and it is fascinating to see them here distilled to poetry.
If you only know Ursula K. Le Guin as a fiction writer, you should have a look at these poems as well, and if you are not familiar with her writing at all, the poems here are a fine place to make her acquaintance.
Check the WRL catalog for Finding My Elegy
An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry, ed. Wes Davis
Irish writer Seamus Heaney is one of my favorite modern poets, and I have also found much to enjoy in the work of some of the earlier 20th century Irish poets, Patrick Kavanagh and Louis MacNeice in particular. So as I was browsing the poetry collection here, I was delighted to come across this anthology of modern Irish poets. I have discovered here a wealth of new writers to read.
There are poems here about the Troubles and about the history of the Irish people, but what mostly strikes me as I read through these poems is the love of language that seems to be the hallmark of all of the poets here. Here is an example:
She pushed the hair out of her eyes with
her free hand and put the bucket down.
The zinc-music of the handle on the rim
Tuned the evening
(from Eavan Boland's "The Achill Woman")
I love the phrase "zinc-music."
And another:
I saw magic on a green country road–
That old woman, a bag of sticks her load,
Blackly down to her thin feet a fringed shawl,
A rosary of bone on her horned hand,
(from Michael Harnett's "Thirteen Sonnets")
This is a substantial collection with over 900 pages of poems, from over 50 poets. The poems here are all in English, though some were translated from Gaelic, and each poet's section begins with a short, but thorough introduction to the author and his or her work. If you have any interest in the poetry of Ireland this is a indispensable collection.
Check the WRL catalog for An Anthology of Modern Irish Poetry
To Be Read in 500 Years, by Albert Goldbarth
I was introduced to Albert Goldbarth through his wonderful poem "Library" (thanks Neil!), that describes what various books have done for and to Goldbarth and others in the course of their existence. It starts off with "This book saved my life" and proceeds through "This is a book of prohibitions; this other, a book of rowdy license. They serve equally to focus the prevalent chaos of our lives" and "This book is guarded around the clock by men in navy serge and golden braiding, carrying very capable guns" to "This book is going to save the world."
Goldbarth delights in words, and his poems draw the reader into that delight. He also invests his poems with much humor, though these are by no means light verse. The poems here are frequently long, do not rhyme, and often appear dense on the page. But once you get into them, the way Goldbarth plays with language can leave you breathless. He seemingly effortlessly combines personal stories with bits and pieces of facts about everything from the Bible and literature to physics and the natural sciences. He revels in unusual words and made-up words and in "imperfect knowledge." He can also be pretty blunt about sexuality, as he notes in "The Singing," "I have (as colleague X once said) an offensively salty mouth."
Nonetheless, Goldbarth's poems are worth the effort of close reading. He plays with words the way a good horn player plays with the notes in a jazz tune. You start off thinking you are listening to an old standard, but by the end you see the piece in a new way. Goldbarth's poetry opens up new vistas and very well may be being read "in 500 years."
Check the WRL catalog for To Be Read in 500 Years
Without, by Donald Hall
Two Aprils ago, I wrote about poet Jane Kenyon's last book, Otherwise. Today's post is her husband Donald Hall's moving and powerful collection of poems about Kenyon's illness, death, and the days and months following, as Hall begins life without her.
Hall is a superb poet, and I have always enjoyed his writing, grounded in the New England granite where Hall lives on his family's farm. His poems are earthy, substantial pieces, that move easily from the personal to the universal.
Here is one of my favorites, "Ox Cart Man," and another, "Mt. Kearsarge Shines."
The poems in Without reflect Hall's deep grief over the illness and death of Jane Kenyon: "Remembered happiness is agony; so is remembered agony" ("Midwinter Letter"). At the same time, they move with grace to explore the necessity of living with that grief, and the possibility of doing so.
These are not easy poems, but no one said that reading poetry (or reading anything else for that matter) should be easy. They are, however, important poems to read as we try to make sense of the human condition, and that is what all of our reading does for us.
Check the WRL catalog for Without
Good Poems, American Places, ed. Garrison Keillor
It is poetry month, and this week, Blogging for a Good Book will look at several books of poetry, both anthologies and works of individual poets. We hope that you will take some time this month to read a poem or two. Read them aloud, as poetry is meant to be heard not just read. And if you are ambitious, try to memorize a poem or two: here are some good ones to start with.
Through his Writer's Almanac programs on public radio, Garrison Keillor has done a great deal to refresh poetry's place in American letters (at least for those who listen to NPR). His programs each morning conclude with a poem. In selecting his poems, Keillor goes for pieces that express "a little humanity" and that will not send readers away feeling that they have just encountered "a puzzle with no right answers."
Springing from the Writer's Almanac, Keillor has edited several anthologies of outstanding poems, old and new. In Good Poems, American Places, Keillor has sought out poems with a strong sense of place; poems that take the reader somewhere, be it Lawrence Ferlinghetti's Central Park ("Retired Ballerinas, Central Park West"), Sarah Freligh's Tonawanda ("City of Tonawanda Softball Championship"), May Sarton's "Monticello," or Donald Hall's Mt. Kearsarge ("Mt. Kearsarge Shines"). Additionally, there are poems that explore more intimate, private space—the farm fields plowed by Joyce Sutphen's father ("H") or John Haag's resting place of a '37 Chevy pickup ("Homesteader").
Keillor has a fine ear for verse, and his selections here represent some of the best American poetry around. The collection includes a mix of well-known writers—Billy Collins, Maxine Kumin, Charles Wright—as well as many poets new to me whose work I look forward to exploring.
America is truly present in this book, in the hard work that is done in the factories and farms, in the constant movement from city to rural land, in the bright lights and dark spaces, and in the births and deaths and the in-betweens of the people in these poems. Good Poems, American Places is a superb collection for anyone interested in poetry or America.
Check the WRL catalog for Good Poems, American Places
ABBC 2012: Final Edition
The compilation of 180 sources is done, and the final version of the All the Best Books Compilation (ABBC) is ready for your download! In final tally, we found mentions of over 2700 books published in the United States in 2012.
You can download the ABBC spreadsheet here: Best2012. Librarians, booksellers, and others who work with readers are welcome to download the spreadsheet, re-sort the results by title, votes, or author and use it to identify great books, develop collections, build displays, or otherwise advise readers. If you re-publish any aspect of the ABBC, just make sure to credit Blogging for a Good Book, Williamsburg Regional Library, and chief compiler Neil Hollands.
Over the past weeks, I have annotated the leading books in each of the ABBC's twelve categories, either here at BFGB or at my other blogging home, Book Group Buzz. Browse through past posts at both sites to find out more details about some of 2012′s most honored (the last of these posts, on the leading books in contemporary literary fiction, will appear April 1st, no fooling!) Don't stop there! There are hundreds of fantastic books, many of which were less publicized and thus less frequently reviewed lurking further down in the lists.
Thanks again to Largehearted Boy and the Readers' Advisor Online Blog for compiling links to many of the best-of-the-year lists. That head start makes compiling this resource, what I like to think of as the most thorough best-of-the-year list of all, much easier. Thanks to Williamsburg Regional Library and all of my colleagues here for the time and support needed to get this work done.
That said, here's the quick version, the honor roll of the 95 books most frequently mentioned by 180 different authoritative sources: all of the books that were mentioned by at least ten different sources. Each listing provides, the title, author, the number of mentions the book received, and the category of the ABBC spreadsheet in which the book is listed.
Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn (65 mentions, crime and thrillers)
Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death, and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity, by Katherine Boo (53 mentions, nonfiction)
This Is How You Lose Her, by Junot Diaz (52 mentions, short stories)
Bring up the Bodies, by Hilary Mantel (49 mentions, historical fiction)
Wild: from Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail, by Cheryl Strayed (44 mentions, bios and memoirs)
Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk, by Ben Fountain (42 mentions, general fiction)
The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green (40 mentions, young adult fiction)
Building Stories, by Chris Ware (36 mentions, graphic works)
Beautiful Ruins, by Jess Walter (34 mentions, general fiction)
Passage of Power: the Years of Lyndon Johnson, by Robert A. Caro (32 mentions, bios and memoirs)
Where'd You Go, Bernadette (30 mentions, general fiction)
Code Name Verity, by Elizabeth Wein (28 mentions, young adult fiction)
The Yellow Birds, by Kevin Powers (27 mentions, general fiction)
The Round House, by Louise Erdrich (26 mentions, general fiction)
Telegraph Avenue, by Michael Chabon (26 mentions, general fiction)
The Age of Miracles, by Karen Thompson Walker (25 mentions, speculative fiction)
Dear Life, by Alice Munro (25 mentions, short stories)
Canada, by Richard Ford (24 mentions, general fiction)
NW, by Zadie Smith (24 mentions, general fiction)
The Orphan Master's Son, by Adam Johnson (24 mentions, historical fiction)
Alif the Unseen, by G. Willow Wilson (23 mentions, speculative fiction)
Seraphina, by Rachel Hartman (23 mentions, young adult fiction)
Are You My Mother?, by Alison Bechdel (22 mentions, graphic works)
Sweet Tooth, by Ian McEwan (22 mentions, historical fiction)
Arcadia, by Lauren Groff (21 mentions, general fiction)
Redshirts, by John Scalzi (20 mentions, speculative fiction)
Broken Harbor, by Tana French (19 mentions, crime and thrillers)
Flight Behavior, by Barbara Kingsolver (19 mentions, general fiction)
Tell the Wolves I'm Home, by Carol Rifka Brunt (19 mentions, general fiction)
Mortality, by Christopher Hitchens (18 mentions, bios and memoirs)
Quiet: the Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking, by Susan Cain (18 mentions, nonfiction)
The Diviners, by Libba Bray (17 mentions, young adult fiction)
The Dog Stars, by Peter Heller (17 mentions, speculative fiction)
Every Love Story Is a Ghost Story: a Life of David Foster Wallace, by D. T. Max (17 mentions, bios and memoirs)
A Hologram for the King, by Dave Eggers (17 mentions, general fiction)
Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, by Robin Sloan (17 mentions, speculative fiction)
Every Day, by David Levithan (16 mentions, young adult fiction)
Joseph Anton: a Memoir, by Salman Rushdie (16 mentions, bios and memoirs)
Angelmaker, by Nick Harkaway (15 mentions, speculative fiction)
Battleborn, by Claire Vaye Watkins (15 mentions, short stories)
The End of Your Life Book Club, by Will Schwalbe (15 mentions, bios and memoirs)
Far from the Tree: Parents, Children, and the Search for Identity, by Andrew Solomon (15 mentions, nonfiction)
2312, by Kim Stanley Robinson (14 mentions, speculative fiction)
The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo, by Tom Reiss (14 mentions, bios and memoirs)
House of Stone: a Memoir of Home, Family, and a Lost Middle East, by Anthony Shadid (14 mentions, bios and memoirs)
Iron Curtain: the Crushing of Eastern Europe, 1944-1956, by Anne Applebaum (14 mentions, nonfiction)
The Killing Moon, by N. K. Jemisin (14 mentions, speculative fiction)
Railsea, by China Miéville (14 mentions, speculative fiction)
The Raven Boys, by Maggie Stiefvater (14 mentions, young adult fiction)
The Snow Child, by Eowyn Ivey (14 mentions, historical fiction)
Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, by David Quammen (14 mentions, nonfiction)
Defending Jacob, by William Landay (13 mentions, crime and thrillers)
Gods without Men, by Hari Kunzru (13 mentions, general fiction)
Home, by Toni Morrison (13 mentions, historical fiction)
Live by Night, by Dennis Lehane (13 mentions, crime and thrillers)
May We Be Forgiven, by A. M. Homes (13 mentions, general fiction)
The Orchardist, by Amanda Coplin (13 mentions, historical fiction)
The Rook, by Daniel O'Malley (13 mentions, general fiction)
Throne of the Crescent Moon, by Saladin Ahmed (13 mentions, speculative fiction)
The Twelve, by Justin Cronin (13 mentions, speculative fiction)
Why Be Happy when You Could Be Normal?, by Jeanette Winterson (13 mentions, bios and memoirs)
Bitterblue, by Kristin Cashore (12 mentions, young adult fiction)
The Casual Vacancy, by J. K. Rowling (12 mentions, general fiction)
Grave Mercy, by Robin LaFevers (12 mentions, young adult fiction)
HHhH, by Laurent Binet (12 mentions, historical fiction)
The Middlesteins, by Jami Attenberg (12 mentions, general fiction)
The People who Eat Darkness: the True Story of a Young Woman who Vanished from the Streets of Tokyo–and the Evil that Swallowed Her Up, by Richard Lloyd Parry (12 mentions, nonfiction)
Red Country, by Joe Abercrombie (12 mentions, speculative fiction)
Thomas Jefferson: the Art of Power, by Jon Meacham (12 mentions, bios and memoirs)
The Cove, by Ron Rash (11 mentions, historical fiction)
Drama, by Raine Telgemaier & Gurihiru (11 mentions, graphic works)
The Gods of Gotham, by Lyndsay Faye (11 mentions, crime and thrillers)
How Should a Person Be?, by Sheila Heti (11 mentions, general fiction)
Jerusalem: a Cookbook, by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi (11 mentions, how-to)
The Light between Oceans, by M. L. Stedman (11 mentions, historical fiction)
Shine Shine Shine, by Lydia Netzer (11 mentions, speculative fiction)
Short Nights of the Shadow Catcher: the Epic Life and Immortal Photographs of Edward Curtis, by Timothy Egan (11 mentions, bios and memoirs)
The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, by Rachel Joyce (11 mentions, general fiction)
At Last, by Edward St. Aubyn (10 mentions, general fiction)
Caliban's War, by James S. A. Corey (10 mentions, speculative fiction)
Carry the One, by Carol Anshaw (10 mentions, general fiction)
Dare Me, by Megan Abbott (10 mentions, crime and thrillers)
Half-Blood Blues, by Esi Edugyan (10 mentions, historical fiction)
How to Be a Woman, by Caitlin Moran (10 mentions, bios and memoirs)
The Hydrogen Sonata, by Iain M. Banks (10 mentions, speculative fiction)
A Land More Kind than Home, by Wiley Cash (10 mentions, crime and thrillers)
The Last Policeman, by Ben H. Winters (10 mentions, crime and thrillers)
My Friend Dahmer, by Derf Backderf (10 mentions, graphic works)
Patriarch: the Remarkable Life and Turbulent Times of Joseph P. Kennedy, by David Nasaw (10 mentions, bios and memoirs)
The Revised Fundamentals of Caregiving, by Jonathan Evison (10 mentions, general fiction)
Seating Arrangements, by Maggie Shipstead (10 mentions, general fiction)
Shadow Ops: Control Point, by Myka Cole (10 mentions, speculative fiction)
The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, by Deb Perelman (10 mentions, how-to)
Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar, by Cheryl Strayed (10 mentions, nonfiction)
The Troupe, by Robert Jackson Bennett (10 mentions, speculative fiction)
Zona: a Book about a Film about a Journey to a Room, by Geoff Dyer (10 mentions, nonfiction)
I'll be back next year, with another installment of the ABBC!
The Stone of Heaven: Unearthing the Secret History of Imperial Green Jade, by Adrian Levy & Cathy Scott-Clark
"Bud" closes out Lost in the Stacks Week with this treasure of a post:
One of the rarest, most valuable gemstones in the world is Jadeite. Smooth to the touch with a lovely luster, it's sturdy and capable of being carved into shapes and objects. Green is the best known color but it also comes in shades of lavender, yellow, white and black. Being a favored gemstone in China for 3000 years, a wealth of superstition and folklore has developed around it. The best jadeite, "Imperial Jade" has long been coveted by Chinese royalty. The fascinating history of Imperial Green Jade is nicely recounted in the non-fiction book, The Stone of Heaven by Adrian Levy & Cathy Scott.
Levy and Scott, who are both investigative journalists, combed through ancient texts in archives throughout Asia to uncover many wondrous tales of jade and the people who loved it including:
Emperor Qianlong – This powerful 18th century Chinese emperor engaged in a bloody and financially crippling war with the country of Mien-Tien in order to exact tribute from them, and the tribute he specifically wanted was Imperial Green Jade.
Griffith and Bayfield – At the instigation of the British East India Company, two men, Dr. William Griffith, "a 'hardy and active' scientist with a passion for exotic tea bushes" and Dr. George Bayfield a British Diplomat, endure a harrowing jungle trek in search of the legendary serpentine jadeite mines. These mines were rumored to be located somewhere in the Kachin Hills region of Burma, in the "Valley of Death" beneath the shadow of the "Great Golden Mountain."
Empress Cixi – A young court concubine, Lady Yehenara, through luck, pluck and sheer ruthlessness becomes the dowager empress of China. She was also a rabid collector of Jade:
"Cixi's satin robes were now Imperial yellow and her head-dress bore 'a beautiful phoenix in the centre made of purest jade' … Her shoulders were covered by a 'transparent cape of 3500 pearls the size of canary bird eggs', fringed by 40 jadeite drops and held at the throat by jadeite clasps, that a lady–in-waiting would later describe as 'the most magnificent and costly thing I ever saw.' Cixi wore six Imperial Green Jade Bangles carved into candy twists, triple-hoop jadeite ear-rings and a 108-bead court necklace made from Qianlong's stone of heaven."
These are just a few examples of the many colorful stories to be found in the book, which is compulsively readable. In the last section, the authors furtively slip into Burma (present day Myanmar) to investigate working conditions at the jade mines in the 1990s. What they find is horrific, with brutal working conditions and exploited people. Well researched and written, The Stone of Heaven is a fascinating exploration of a renowned gemstone and its role in history.
Check the WRL catalog for The Stone of Heaven: Unearthing the Secret History of Imperial Green Jade


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Kosher Drink/Spirits
Lemonade Iced Tea |
Adapted from from Southern Living Magazine A combination of two all-time favorite drinks. Ingredients 3 cups water Directions Bring 3 cups water to a boil in a 2-qt. saucepan. Remove from heat, add tea bags, and stir in fresh mint. Cover and steep 10 minutes. Notes Approximately 9 cups Recipe, kosher, parve |

subset: commoncrawl


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Women are smarter, tougher, and more emotionally centered than men
Anyone who rejects that women are smarter than men need only look at the recent statistics for students enrolled in the graduate schools of business, law, medicine, and dentistry. Women now outnumber men in those graduate schools and will soon hold the majority in those lofty careers. Does this make women smarter? I don't see how anyone can deny this. They came from way behind fifty years ago, and are currently leaving men in their dust, proving that all they ever needed was an equal opportunity.
Women endure physical pain in a manner men could never consider. Think childbirth. And single mothers are raising half of the children in America by themselves, while holding down full-time careers. Are women tougher than men? Clearly they are. There are few jobs any longer that require brute strength alone, and even physically challenging careers in firefighting and police work are being handled capably by women.
But women's greatest power is in their enormous emotional strength that they call upon when necessary. They can capably provide the love and emotional care their children need, and support their husbands' needs simultaneously. They aren't afraid of their emotions, and, unlike men, don't hide from them out of fear or ignorance. They know how to deal with their feelings as they arise. Men who think women are weak because they cry more easily than they do are delusional. Women cry to release their pent-up emotions, instead of holding them in and blowing up. Men have yet to learn this simple lesson.
What does all of this mean to men? It means that its way past late for men to respond to the deafening wake-up call and become fully embodied men. That means becoming men who are confident in their manhood and can express, feel, and control their emotions. It means men who don't feel threatened by women, and mistreat them because of their own inadequacies. It means that men are now the ones behind the eight-ball, and sadly, many still haven't figured that out. Men are being left behind in so many arenas that they are becoming angry instead of resourceful, which makes no sense whatsoever.
Men used to wield all of the power in relationships and were responsible for the day-to-day, general well-being of the women they were in relationships with. That was a burden that men didn't handle very well, and that women decided to assume. Women have beaten a path towards success and independence that is faster than any social change I can recall. They accomplished all of this with a minimal amount of fuss and noise.
How could women have achieved this if they weren't smarter, tougher, and more emotionally centered, and what are the lessons men can learn from women? Men who fail to answer the wake-up will be left holding the bag of discontent and loneliness. Women are clever enough to realize that waiting for men to come around is going to take too long. Many now view men in the same way men used to see them, as necessary sexual partners with little else to offer.
Men should feel threatened, at least enough to change their dysfunctional behavior. Fathers who don't spend time with their children damage them because they deny their children the most important aspect of fatherhood, emotional support. Fathers who cheat their children by withholding child-support because they don't like the notion of supporting their ex-wives too, have to be plenty stupid, or in serious denial, to believe that baloney. Men can't choose whether or not to be fathers. If you have a child, you're a father, end of story.
Men are portrayed as jokes on television, and while it's grating for me to watch, it's not entirely out of the realm of reality. Most of the male dysfunctional behavior that causes so much pain to everyone, including men, is related to their inability to respond appropriately to their own feelings. Angry men aren't angry at women; they just take their anger out on women because women are convenient and physically smaller. Imagine a man trying to rage against a male friend. How long would that friend be willing to tolerate that dysfunctional behavior before he said good-bye and good luck?
While women have been working hard together in small groups to find their places in the world, men have been sitting on the sidelines, watching helplessly as they're being left in the dust. Men should be angry, but not with women. Men should be angry at their own emotional laziness, which causes them so much unnecessary pain and suffering. Men who continue on a path of emotional laziness will wake up one day to find that not only are women in charge, but that their services are no longer required.
The solution is for men to begin a dialogue with each other that's entirely directed at their lack of an emotional center. I've worked with men for over twenty years, and I've seen how easy it is for men to engage each other in this dialogue. The results are men who aren't afraid of their feelings, and who know how to use them appropriately to work through their issues. I hope I don't see a time when men are permanently left behind, but all indications are that I might.


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Summary In First Post - Help requested in last post:
See bold underlined section below
Alright, Dyrnwyn inspired me to try my own hand at the Wood Elf Warband. So first of all, thanks a lot to Dyrnwyn who I took most of the concepts from, but I have made some variations based upon the things I wanted to see included or changed.
Are the changes I made still fair and playable without being to overpowered or underpowered?
Also at Tom's Boring Mordheim Forum at link below in plain text (PDF in this post):
Almost all of the changes suggested in the posts below have been incorporated into the list. (As well as those on TBMF)
-Modified Equipment List (Gladewood bows and Double Handed Weapons) (v2)
-Removed Traps special skill for Pathfinder (v2)
-Removed Warhawk (v2)
-Added Distaste for poison and drugs (v2)
-Stag to large target (v2)
-Changed Talismanic Tattoos (v2)
-Modified Familiar Spite and increased cost (v2)
-Removed Enchanted Acorns (v3)
-Removed Spellsinger added 2nd Pathfinder (v3)
-Changed Treekin Spirit Guardian to 18" (v3)
-Wild Hunter now 55 gc - Way Warden now 85 gc (in line with Dwarf noble from "Treasure Hunters") (v3)
-Waywatcher adept skill, you must remain stationary (v3)
-Removed Infiltration skill, added Armour of Ariel (v3)
-Asrai Archery for Pathfinder and Glade Guard Kindred only. (file v3)
-Change name of Pathfinder to Sentinel. (v4)
-Reword Bladesinger and Asrai Archery (v4)
-Treekin no longer REQUIRES spirit-touched Hero, but is severely hampered without one. (v4)
-Added Glaive to hero equipment list (v5)
-Wild Hunter now 50 gc - Glade Guard Initiative 4 - Minor wording changes (v6)
-Treekin now at Movement 2 if not within 18" of a Spirit-Touched, to make it slightly easier to get back in range i.e. 4" run (v7)
-Minor wording changes to emphasize the Wayfarers as younger Wood Elves and not as accomplished as their Warhammer cousins. (v7)


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A collection of news and information related to Emily Alpert published by this site and its partners.
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South Korea to pull workers from Kaesong complex in North Korea
SEOUL -- South Korea said Friday it would pull its remaining workers from an industrial complex run jointly with North Korea after Pyongyang refused an offer to begin talks. Located just north of the demilitarized zone between the two countries, the...Tags: North Korea, Career and Workplace, Seoul (South Korea), Employees, South Korea
Bangladesh building collapse unlikely to spur reform, experts say
NEW DELHI — A clothing factory in an emerging country collapses or catches fire with horrific loss of life. Famous Western brands are found in the wreckage. An investigation reveals substandard practices in the local and global clothing trade....Tags: Work Rules Contract Issues, Collective Contract, Plant Openings, Career and Workplace, Mangos
A history of terrorism out of Chechnya
A massive Russian crackdown on Chechnya's bid for independence in the 1990s and the installation of loyal leaders there pushed the Caucasus Muslim enclave from the headlines years ago. But resentment has festered and at times bled into the global holy war...Tags: Religion and Belief, Unrest, Conflicts and War, Religious Conflicts, Pakistan, Afghanistan
Dozens reported killed in Pakistan after massive Iran quake
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- Dozens of people were reportedly killed in Pakistan after a massive earthquake struck a remote border area of neighboring Iran on Tuesday. Yet in Iran, officials said the disaster was far less devastating than originally feared,...Tags: Religion and Belief, Iran, Pakistan, Islamabad (Pakistan), Human Interest
U.N. passes treaty regulating arms sales
UNITED NATIONS — The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved the world body's first treaty regulating the multibillion-dollar international arms trade Tuesday, a goal sought for over a decade to try to keep illicit weapons out of the hands...Tags: Politics, Amnesty International, Unrest, Conflicts and War, United Nations General Assembly, International Relations
Jailed Iranian lawyer said to drop to 95 pounds on hunger strike
TEHRAN -- Imprisoned human rights attorney Nasrin Sotoudeh has dwindled down to 95 pounds as her hunger strike continues into its 42nd day, her husband said in a phone interview. Sotoudeh, who is known for defending Iranian dissidents, was convicted...Tags: Politics, Lawyers, Career and Workplace, Civil Rights, Tehran (Iran)
Must Reads: A 'Red Era' museum, Obama and mothers of the missing
World NowFrom attacks in Afghanistan to the missing in Mexico, here are five stories you shouldn't miss from the past week in global news.... -
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U.N.: 11,000 refugees pour out of Syria in 24 hours
World NowEleven thousand refugees have poured out of Syria in just 24 hours, a staggering spike as violence surges near the border, the United Nations refugee agency said Friday. The Friday deluge is more than triple the usual numbers of 2,000 to 3,000 people... -
Chinese state media implicate fallen politician in murder scandal
World NowFor the first time, Chinese state media appear to have implicated fallen Communist Party official Bo Xilai in the murder scandal that has gripped the country, reporting that he angrily rebuked the local police chief, Wang Lijun when told that Bo's wife,... -
Shots fired, U.S. embassies stormed in furious protest over film
World NowFurious protests exploded around the world Friday as outraged demonstrators from Bangladesh to Sudan condemned an amateurish movie that mocked the Islamic prophet as a bloodthirsty womanizer and child molester. One person was killed after Lebanese... -
Death toll rises as protests rage over Muhammad-mocking video
World NowThe death toll ticked higher Friday as protests swept the world over a video insulting the Islamic prophet Muhammad, with reports emerging of casualties in Tunisia, Lebanon, Sudan and Yemen as outraged protesters clashed with police around United States...
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Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics
The Division of Atomic, Molecular and Optical Physics (DAMOP) was founded in 1943, and was the first division of the American Physical Society. Its central focus is fundamental research on atoms, simple molecules, electrons and light, and their interactions. It plays an enabling role underlying many areas of science through the development of methods for the control and manipulation of atoms, molecules, charged particles and light, through precision measurements and calculations of their properties, and through the invention of new ways to generate light with specific properties. Students who graduate with a background in AMO physics acquire a broad range of knowledge and skills that enable them to contribute to many areas of science and technology.
Upcoming Meetings
2013 Joint Meeting of the APS Division of Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics and the CAP Division of Atomic, Molecular & Optical Physics, CanadaJune 3-7, 2013
66th Annual Gaseous Electronics Conference
September 30-October 4, 2013
APS March Meeting 2014
March 3-7, 2014
APS April Meeting 2014
April 5-8, 2014
News & Announcements
The Theoretical Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics Community (TAMOC) is a forum for communication among AMO theorists and with the AMO community at large within and beyond the American Physical Society's Division of Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics.More Information


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We're delighted to welcome you to our marketplace! Buying and selling on DaWanda is really easy - we hope you have a lot of fun with it!
How DaWanda works:
Designers & Creatives make their products | They offer them for sale on DaWanda | Buyers purchase these items directly from the creator, via the DaWanda marketplace |
Buying in three steps
Selling in three steps
Buy in 3 steps – it's easy!
DaWanda is an online marketplace, where thousands of different designers offer products for sale in their own shops. Here's how to get your hands on their creations:
1. Find your dream item
Know exactly what you want? Type accurate, descriptive key words for your perfect purchase into the search box at the top of the page to the left, and click on the "Search" button.
Want to do a little window shopping first? There are plenty of possibilities on the DaWanda homepage. Dive into one of DaWanda's 12 categories, browse the latest trends, search by your favourite colour, or explore our gift ideas.
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So you've found a great product and you want to buy it before someone else snaps it up? Then just click on the green "Add to basket" button. You can go straight to the checkout by clicking the link in the band at the bottom of the page, or by clicking the shopping cart button on the top right. If you have already registered at DaWanda, then you only need to provide your address and your desired payment method here, and you're done!
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After you place an order you need to be a little patient, until the seller has confirmed your order. Then you will receive all info on payment and shipping in an email, including, e.g. a link to pay by PayPal, or the seller's bank account info. Please pay for your purchase within 7 days to receive your item!
FAQ on Buying
General FAQ
Selling in three steps - how it works
Do you create handmade products as a hobby, or as your full time profession? You can use this talent to earn money at DaWanda, and to make friends with like-minded individuals! Here's how it works:
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Now it gets going, as buyers can freely explore what's in your shop!
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Yay, you've sold an item! You will receive an automatic email from us containing all relevant information for the transaction. Click the link provided to quickly confirm the purchase and release your payment information to the buyer. The money should reach your account within 7 days, so you can pack up the item well and send it off to the lucky buyer!
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AYER -- Selectmen voted Monday to respond to the Open Meeting Law complaint lodged by one of its members. On a split 3-2 decision, the board said that it did not violate the "Sunshine" law which limits what subject matter can be discussed in closed-door session.
The board also heeded the advice of town counsel and voted unanimously to release its executive-session minutes relating to the second topic of closed-door discussion June 5.
The board based its closed-door meeting on exemption No. 3 of the Open Meeting Law, which allows private deliberations for "litigation strategy." The posted subject matter of the meeting was "Properties Enforcement."
Selectman Frank Maxant and the other four members were at the June 5 meeting. However, according to minutes prepared by Town Administrator Robert Pontbriand and released Monday night, Maxant objected to the subject which has been publicly debated at previous selectmen's meetings.
Selectwoman Pauline Conley read aloud the applicable passage of the Open Meeting Law. "Just being adverse isn't enough," Conley said. She promised to file her minority-view opinion with the Attorney General's Office, stating that the meeting was illegally conducted.
"At some point in the meeting, it should have clicked in our heads," said Conley. "We've talked in open session before. We should have recognized we were not incompliance with Exemption 3."
She said the meeting should have adjourned.
Selectmen focused on alleged town "nuisance bylaw" violations at 14 Williams St., where Maxant resides as a tenant, and 128 Washington St., both owned by Hugh Ernisse, who remains in MCI-Concord following his June 13 arrest on unrelated charges of witness intimidation and violation of a restraining order obtained by a housemate. The third property is at 71 Sandy Pond Road and is owned by Mark Velardi. Neither property owner was at the meeting.
Fay "stated that in his opinion Selectman Maxant has a direct conflict of interest in these matters" and suggested Maxant recuse himself, according to the minutes.
Maxant "disagreed with being in conflict of interest and would remain."
But Maxant also complained that the matter was not appropriately being discussed behind closed doors under the auspices of Open Meeting Law Exemption No. 3.
The record shows that Conley stated at the meeting that "she could see Selectman Maxant's point and concern about the Executive Session."
Maxant said violations of the Open Meeting Law have happened before during his tenure on the board, but said he had never complained about them before.
"Basically, no harm, no foul," he said.
But June 5, Maxant said, "What we were doing was absolutely violating other people's rights under the color of the law where there is no law to do so" under "cover of secrecy."
Hillman also said Maxant should have recused himself.
"The only reason you brought that up is to protect your landlord."
Maxant said he was "offended" by the accusation. "This has nothing to do with personalities," said Maxant.
"I'll pursue this until I'm no longer a selectman," said Hillman. "This isn't going away...."
Every single constituent has complained about that."
"I'm sorry, when the people up there can't sell their houses?" said Hillman.
"Find me one person who can't sell their house," said Maxant. To which Hillman responded that the targeted properties were "taking down the whole damn town."
"Clean up his damn yard and we won't have a problem," said Hillman.
Luca said "I'm not apologizing to anybody for going into executive session," said Luca. "Because I thought we did the right thing. I'm not apologizing to the people involved."
"I one-hundred percent agree," said Hillman. "As do I," said Fay.
Maxant challenged his peers to recall their oath of office and to cite which laws applied in these circumstances, chalking the debate up to aesthetics. "We're not talking about law, we were talking about opinion."
"That is painfully obvious," answered Fay. "You have a different read on the law."
Hillman said he agreed "100 percent" with Luca. "We went into that meeting to talk about litigation, [but] Gabe did not speak to Mr. Ernisse till that day. That was news to all of us."
With the minutes released, Selectman Chairman Jim Fay asked the board to vote on whether a violation occurred on June 5 for their formal response to Maxant's complaint.
"I don't think we violated anything," said Fay.
A straw poll quickly revealed a 3-2 split, with Maxant and Conley maintaining the board did violate the Open Meeting Law while Fay, Selectmen Gary Luca and Christopher Hillman voted no violation occurred.
Luca said "there wasn't any intent to violate the Open Meeting Law."
Luca said he understood that the AG's Office was seeking revisions to the law to take the intent of board members into consideration when deciding if the law was violated. Luca said the meeting was about "gathering the information" but "it was clear that, going toward the end, litigation wasn't going to be necessary." Luca said it became clear "OK, we don't need to litigate."
"At that moment," said Fay.
Luca agreed, adding "it wasn't clear to me until the end that there was no need to litigate."
Vellante presented an "update and overview" of the Ernisse properties. Vellante said the tussle began in 1998 with five letters sent to Ernisse ordering him the clean up the yards, especially "large amounts of junk outside in the yards that we get the complaints about."
The meeting also meandered into a discussion of building-code concerns with 14 Williams St., to which Maxant objected. Maxant stated the talk was "beyond their scope."
Vellante briefed the board about Velardi's property, reporting inappropriate materials were stored in the front yard. Promises to correct the matter have spanned six years, said Vellante, according to the minutes.
A report was to be provided for the June 12 selectmen's meeting, summarizing all actions taken to date, with "prompt action" to be taken by June 19.
There are 10 permitted reasons for closed-door meetings of public bodies under the Open Meeting Law. Exemption No. 3 permits executive session for "litigation strategy." Talks relating to ongoing litigation clear the legal hurdle only if an open meeting may have a "detrimental effect on the litigating position of the public body."
Not allowed are discussions relating to "potential litigation" unless the litigation is "clearly and imminently threatened or otherwise demonstrably likely." The Attorney General's Office guidelines note that a meeting with town counsel does not automatically fall into the permitted executive-session exemption.
Town attorney Mark Reich said, "I recommend that the Board of Selectmen give consideration to releasing these minutes as their release would not compromise the possible litigation" against the landowners. It was the first of four remedies Maxant suggested he wanted the board to take after the closed-door meeting. The board agreed unanimously.
Other remedies suggested by Maxant were disregarded Tuesday night, including apologies to the land owners and an open apology to the public.
Follow Mary Arata at Twitter.com/maryearata.


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Deze pagina is niet vertaald in de taal die je hebt gekozen
We are showing you the Dutch version of our site: would you prefer a different location?
We are showing you the Dutch version of our site: would you prefer a different location?
Oregon Manifest: Top of the Hill
There were two checkpoints en route to the finish of the Oregon Manifest Constructors Challenge presented by Rapha. The purveying idea was that the race would be something to the effect of everyone riding to a party. The racers had to carry their party clothes with them and stop at two pickups along the way. The first for beer, the second was a food stop.
Carey S-H was stationed at the top of the climb and handing a six pack of beer created for the event by the Hub Brewery. She took these photos of the riders stopping to pick up their allotted six pack. Part of the challenge was getting the beer to the party in drinkable condition. This meant making sure that the bottles did not break, and holding off on drinking the still frosty IPA's.
There were many ways that people attempted to get their beers to the finish. Curtis Inglis, the man behind Retrotec. put his in a Freight Baggage front rack mounted bag. One will note that not only does the bag match his kit, but it holds quite a lot of accoutrement as well. Things like his polka-dot boxers and amazing podium shoes.
Joshua Simonds took a different approach, choosing to individually protect each glass bottle of the precious liquid refreshment. Given that the next 5 miles were a straight up gravel descent, probably a good idea on his part. After completing the ride, Joshua promptly got off his Curt Goodrich steed and dressed up as the Jolly Green Giant.
Dan Boxer took a different, albeit French approach, choosing to cart his beer in what looks to be a Gilles Berthoud bag (which proved to be the bane of my existence while working at Harris Cyclery years ago, as they were incredibly hard to find.) The toughness of this guy astounds me because he crashed soon after this photo was taken and still managed to be the first competitor to complete the 77 mile course.
Everyone was required to make this stop and some competitors made it no further. However, good times were had by all. Next year the challenge will be sure to include more of the same combined with tough(er?) cycling and more great people.
Check out the Oregon Manifest website for more upcoming events.
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- We've just added 13 new rides since the weekend to our Rapha #womens100 Find a Ride list. → http://t.co/ux8c1JCuQc
- The team also racing the Ras in Ireland this week. Currently Aaron Buggle is the team's top placed rider in 15th overall.
- Tour Series resumes tonight in Stoke on Trent. RCJ line up is House, Clancy, McCallum, English and Mellor.
- Arboretum → http://t.co/cJXOyDWnK0 #raphasurvey #sanfrancisco #sf #cycling
- There are still a few of these sweet Rapha + Raeburn jackets at the SF @raphacycleclub. http://t.co/C2d98yCRL0
- The hills above. #raphasurvey http://t.co/jlIkXowxyT
- U23 winner in 2012 what's in store for @RichHandley90 in the @anpostras http://t.co/xyZWX3NbtG
- Sunday morning race day, church car park scene. @anpostras #ras2013 http://t.co/2E1UlfAxhe
- Will all these numbers be able to wear the coveted t-shirt in one weeks time? #menoftheras #ras2013 http://t.co/ai1oqnDIyh
- Team about to start the @anpostras probably the Worlds friendliest race.


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LUMBERTON — Two people, including a teenage girl, were killed and four other people injured in a two-car accident on N.C. 72 on Wednesday. Two of those who were injured are in critical condition.
Santana Barton, 18, of Moores Lane, and 43-year-old Tracie Hunt, of Lizzie Belle Drive, died in the accident. They were among five people in a 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier being driven by 18-year-old Christna Chavis, Hunt's daughter, according to Lumberton police Officer Jason Walters.
The wreck happened on N.C. 72, directly behind the Robeson County Department of Social Services building.
According to Walters, the Chevrolet was traveling west just before 5:30 p.m. when it exited the right side of the road. Chavis over-corrected, the car re-entered the road, crossed the center line and was struck on the passenger side by a 1998 Chevrolet S-10 pickup truck being driven by James Oxendine, 61, of McDaniel Road in Lumberton, Walters said.
The truck was traveling an estimated 45 mph when it struck the car, which Walters said was traveling in excess of 60 mph.
Cayla Chavis, who turned 16 years old on Wednesday and Stephanie Hunt, also 16, were thrown from the passenger car, Walters said, and are in critical condition. Neither was wearing a seat belt.
A dog that was in the car was also killed.
Christna Chavis was treated and released at Southeastern Regional Medical Center. A hospital spokesperson said this morning that Oxendine, Hunt and Cayla Chavis were all treated and transferred.
Officers this morning were at the scene investigating the accident.
"There will be some charges," Walters said. "We're still not sure the extent of them. We've been discussing that all morning."


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Updated 09/14/2012 11:52 AM
By: Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly
In the tasty new financial thriller Arbitrage, Richard Gere is Robert Miller, an investment titan who's standing at the precipice, though almost no one knows it.
Gere, playing this silver fox, has never been more likable or alive on screen. And that works for the movie in a fascinating way, since the man he's portraying is a world-class sleazebag. He lies and sleeps around. He commits fraud. He slinks away from a car accident that was his fault. The film makes no apologies for any of this behavior.
Yet the whole time, we're torn between wanting to see justice done and wanting to see him get away with it. That, as Hitchcock knew, is how a true thriller works: It creates moral urgency by making the audience complicit in what it knows is wrong.
Arbitrage has some of the stomach-churning, high-finance vertigo that last year's Margin Call did, as Miller tries to sell off his company by hiding a $400 million hole in its assets. Just as we're settling into the enjoyment of watching Richard Gere act silky-smooth on the surface even as he telegraphs the jangled nerves he's concealing, we learn that he's got other, trashier problems, like a high-maintenance mistress who throws fits if he's 15 minutes late and then that car accident, which he tries to cover up.
The fact that Arbitrage isn't all high-end jargon and numbers-crunching may make it seem less insidery than Margin Call but the theme of dirty money is just as rich. Tim Roth is tensely funny as a cop who keeps showing up like a pesky mutt and Susan Sarandon, Nate Parker and even Graydon Carter make the most of well-etched roles.
This is Nicholas Jarecki's first film as a director but it's already clear that he has the talent to make shrewdly pleasurable Hollywood movies. Here's hoping Arbitrage is the first of many.


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Sad piano music with some ambient sounds for your projects. It was made by me for films, games. Used a piano, ambient sounds, cello and vocal. It is a sad music with the sad atmosphere.
Ambient part was made by IdRM. He is friend of mine from Russia. Feel free to tell me which project have this song. I'm happy to help promote the projects with my music. It's very intresting. I was inspired by the song "Katherine's Theme" by deadmau5. I advise to find it on vimeo and enjoy.


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Auralex Makes Your Room Sound Better!
Auralex Studiofoam Metro uses a skyline-style approach with differing heights of protrusions to spread sonic energy out in the time domain. This means that Studiofoam Metro excels at absorbing a frequencies across the sonic spectrum. Since it takes a little different amounts of time for sound waves to travel through the different thicknesses of the Metro, strike the wall beneath, and travel back through the the room, Studiofoam Metro effectively softens reflections rather than absorb them. Two-inch Studiofoam Metro retains more of the feel of the room than what Wedges or Pyramids, which means Studiofoam Metro sports a more natural-sounding acoustic space.Auralex Studiofoam Metro Features:
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Lowe: Circuit Riders and the Early Methodist Church |
Circuit Riders and the Early Methodist Church, J. Mark Lowe, CG, © 2009, 1 audio CD | ||
| ||
( North Carolina Genealogical Society, Inc. ) |
Ask a question about this product | ||
Circuit Riders and the Early Methodist Church, a lecture by J. Mark Lowe, CG, presented in Raleigh, NC in May 2009. Do you want to learn about the life of a circuit rider and how the records he created can help in your genealogical research? Ride along with the Western Cavaliers as they spread the gospel through the wilderness. Learn about early church records and how to use them in your research. J. Mark Lowe, CG, is a well-known national genealogical lecturer specializing in the records of Tennessee and Kentucky. His talks were recorded at the National Genealogical Society Family History Conference in Raleigh, North Carolina in May 2009 and are being offered exclusively through the North Carolina Genealogical Society. |
Donate Now! Join with the NCGS to support the FGS to raise funds to digitize the War of 1812 pension files and make them accessible online – free and forever!
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Ximena Jimenez, MS, RD, LD
Jimenez owns a consulting business providing weight management and wellness information. She provides lectures for healthcare professionals as well as for the community. She also provides consultation to Head Start preschool programs. Jimenez is a certified ServSafe instructor, teaching food safety to food managers and handlers. She is active with the Miami Dietetic Association, serving as a Media Chairperson and has held many other positions including Legislative Chair. She provides nutrition advice on videoMD.com and is a regular guest at Caracol Radio Station, Univision's Despierta America and AmericaTV, providing nutritional advice for the Hispanic population. Jimenez is a graduate of Florida International University, where she also earned her master's degree.
Areas of Expertise:
• Cardiovascular Nutrition
• Children's Nutrition
• Diabetes
• Latino Nutrition
• Obesity and Weight Management


text: We did not have reservations when we were heading to Cape May so chose the Cliveden Inn from a travel book we had picked up at a rest stop. We arrived later in the evening and were graciously welcomed and given a choice of two rooms. Sue and her staff were pleasant, friendly and helpful. When we found they didn't... More


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Various restaurants offer free bonuses for spending gift dollars with them.
The bonus deals are offered around graduations, Mother's Day, Father's Day and other occasions that involve presents.
- Macaroni Grill offers a $5 bonus card with gift purchases of $25.
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- Outback offers a $10 bonus card with gift card purchases of $50.
Generally, some restrictions are tied to the bonus cards, such as when they are eligible to be redeemed.


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I will be the doctor!
I will be the doctor!
Can i be the musician i can play violin like Brook
"I R Wuntz 2 Catch All Teh Shinigamaiz In Mei Poketballz."
>_> Yea, I still think it would be cool, if we had limitations.
D: He's come back! Crew, kill hiiiim! xD


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Youve Got To Be Joking!
I don't know about you, but I get a lot of joke stuff arriving in my email. I've got one buddy in particular who hardly lets a day go by without sending something.Sometimes they're side-splittingly hilarious, and other times they just don't make the grade -- it's a question of taste I suppose.Anyway, I was cleaning up my folders in Outlook Express recently to make some space on my hard disk (I've got a whopping 20 Gb and I'm already getting low on space -- must be all those MP3's...)Well,abercrombie france, anyway,abercrombie, I knew that my 'Jokes' folder was taking up a lot of memory (it's full of images, video files and so on), so I decided that a major cull was needed.As I went down the list, I had no problem deleting the turkeys, but it broke my heart to delete the jokes that could still make me laugh second time around.And then it hit me. Why not make an ebook full of all the funniest stuff? That way,louboutin pas cher, I can delete them from my hard disk and pack them all neatly into a single, compressed ebook file. And, thus, the idea for "101 Hilarious Jokes To eMail Your Friends" was born.It was never my intention to actually sell this ebook,abercrombie and fitch, (which is why you'll find it free on the BizzyDays website). However, it was never my expectation either, that it would prove to be such a resounding success.Sure, I knew it would be popular with visitors. After all a joke collection is always a popular idea and, if it's free, well hey, all the better.The point though is, I never fully appreciated just how much additional traffic this funny little book could generate. I get at least 100 extra visitors EVERY DAY thanks to a book that I just put together to save disk space.Not bad for two hours of enjoyable 'work'.So what's the moral of the story?Well there are three of them:MORAL# 1: Free ebooks are a terrific way to promote any online business. You can read more about that in a previous article called "Are you using the 4-letter word?" which is available here: /reprint_rights/reprint.htmMORAL# 2: People like jokes,abercrombie france! Humor is always in demand and, yes,doudoune moncler, a lot of people are willing to pay for it.But here's a tip if you plan on selling joke ebooks -- don't make a general "101 Jokes" ebook. It would sell some copies,christian louboutin, but not enough. A far better approach is to target SPECIFIC audiences.Instead of '101 Hilarious Jokes To eMail Your Friends' why not "101 Hilarious Jokes For Expectant Moms", "101 Hilarious Jokes For Lawyers With A Conscience" or "101 Hilarious Jokes For Dairy Farmers".Okay,moncler, I admit, that the second title wouldn't have much of a market :-),louboutin, but imagine the novelty gift idea value of the others.Okay, specialist joke books will take you longer to compile than general joke books, but think of the fun you'll have along the way.Once you've finished compiling an appropriate collection of jokes for the target market, all you've got to do is ensure that you aim your promotion at the right people and,abercrombie, hey presto, you're in the money!MORAL# 3: There is an infinite number of ideas for top-selling ebooks and coming up with those ideas is much easier than you may think. And, once you know how to pluck great ideas out of thin air, your success in ebook publishing is a simple matter of promoting your ebooks to the right target market.Have fun!About The AuthorMichael Hopkins is owner of BizzyDays eBook Publications.Download Brand New Original eBooks for FREE at:Download The eBook Publishing Success Package at:
Though China did not qualify for the World Cup
yesterday as the host
Claiming the US quantitative easing was "unbridled money printing", Xia said China should push for plans to stabilize the world's major currencies at the upcoming G20 summit.


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BOWLING: Matt Fallon earns spot in Smith & Smith finals
KINGSTON, N.Y. — Matt Fallon earned an exemption to the championship finals of the William O. Smith and Anna May Smith bowling Tournament after winning the event's fourth qualifier at Hoe Bowl on the Hill lanes.
Fallon beat Stephen Brown Jr. 214-102 in the finals.
He edged Jason Krein 214-212 in the quarterfinals and rolled past Rob Reynolds 236-133 in the semifinals.
Brown reached the championship match by defeating Joe Fallon 207-172 and Randy Overbaugh 221-172.
Overbaugh, the qualifying leader with a 774 total with handicap, got to the semis via a 240-236 triumph over John Nolterieke. Reynolds beat Lou Scism 224-192 in his quarterfinal.
Reynolds was second in qualifying with a 758. Fallon was second with a 739, followed by Brown (731), Joe Fallon (710), Krein (708), Scism (691) and Nolterieke (685).
The next qualifying event is 1 p.m. Jan. 27 at Hoe Bowl. The tournament finals are April 28.
See inaccurate information in a story? Other feedback and/or ideas for us to consider? Tell us here.
Central New York Region Sports By Bleacher Report
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Athletes of the Week
- Male Athlete of the Week: Justin Farrenkopf, Ellenville High School, track and field (video)
- Female Athlete of the Week: Cora Burler, New Paltz High School, track and field (video)
- Male Athlete of the Week: Jim LaValle, Coleman Catholic High School, baseball (video)
- Male Athlete of the Week: Jeffrey Nunez, Ellenville High School, track and field (video)
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- San Francisco 49ers 45, Green Bay Packers 31
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- Late field goal propels Falcons to NFC title game
- Brady, Patriots beat Texans to return to AFC title game
- Wrestling: Locals eliminated in Eastern States quarterfinals


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A military appeals court halted the murder case against Maj. Nidal Hasan indefinitely on Friday to sort out issues surrounding a judge's threat to shave the beard the Army psychiatrist grew while awaiting trial in the 2009 Fort Hood killings.
The court martial was originally stopped on Wednesday and Hassan was fined $1,000 for remaining bearded, which violates Army regulations. The military judge in the case, U.S. Army Col. Gregory Gross, had previously held that Hassan's beard disrupts the court proceedings and held him in contempt of court five times, the Army said in a news release.
Hasan's court-martial had been scheduled to start Monday at Fort Hood, in Killeen, Texas, where he is accused of killing 13 people and wounding another 32. Gross, had threatened to have him forcibly shaved unless he got rid of the beard on his own.
It was unclear how long the case would be on hold.
Hasan had been expected to enter a plea during a Wednesday hearing, but the proceedings were halted by the appellate court. Hasan has previously expressed interest in pleading guilty, but military regulations bar a judge from accepting a guilty plea in a capital case.
Hasan is accused of opening fire at the post's processing center, where soldiers were preparing to deploy to Afghanistan and Iraq, in November 2009. The stay came the same day he was expected to enter a plea to the charges against him.
The issue surfaced in June, when a bearded Hasan -- who remains in the Army while awaiting trial -- appeared at a June hearing. Gross postponed that hearing, found Hasan in contempt of court at a July hearing, fined him $1,000 and warned him he would be shaved by force unless he got rid of it.
Hasan faces a possible death sentence if convicted. He was paralyzed from the waist down when police officers exchanged fire with him.
His lawyers had been seeking a delay of the case until December, but Gross refused and set Monday as the trial date.
Hasan, a U.S.-born citizen of Palestinian descent, who joined the Army in 1997. He had been scheduled to deploy to Afghanistan before the killings, but had been telling his family since 2001 that he wanted to get out of the military.


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Custody seal adhesive stickers securely seal your sample bottle and cannot be peeled off. The only way to open the sealed bottle is to break the paper label. Includes a writing area for custody signature and date for tamper-evident security. Apply at the point of sample collection, and ship samples to their destination with confidence.