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A delightful scallop recipe, enhanced with cheese, wine and spices. The mushrooms also give the recipe another different taste.
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KA TA WANA DA LAWANG YE - Download MP3 music or MP4 video:
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Teacher Focus
Teachers: Help Your Students Fine Tune Their Technique!
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The Business Roundtable , the association of major U.S. companies' chief executives, today named John Engler , head of the National Association of Manufacturers , as its new president.
Structural changes to the U.S. budget, including an overhaul of entitlement programs and the tax code, must be the next president's priority, said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable.
The president of an association of chief executives of major U.S. companies said he doubts Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will follow through on his threat to brand China a currency manipulator on his first day in the White House.
The U.S. government should raise the debt ceiling high enough to cover projected deficits for the next five years, said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable.
Some U.S. chief executive officers may ultimately support a rewrite of the corporate tax system though it would cost their companies money, said John Engler, president of the Business Roundtable, a Washington group that represents CEOs.
Spending cuts must accompany revenue increases in any deal Congress puts together to avoid the co- called fiscal cliff scheduled to unfold at the beginning of the new year, the president of the Business Roundtable said.
"Let 's have the Senate act, go out with a big vote, and then let 's go to work on the House."
- John Engler on Jul 31, 2014


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This morning, I was reading that the Minnesota Timberwolves are still not interested in what the Boston Celtics have to offer for the services of Kevin Love.
My first thought? Bull-hockey.
Look: Minnesota probably still resents the Boston Celtics for snagging Kevin Garnett and instantly giving him the NBA championship he had so desperately wanted all those years that he was toiling on the T-Wolves . . . and the fact that the best player Minnesota got in that deal, Al Jefferson, has since moved on to Charlotte probably doesn't help . . . but it's time to get over it.
Kevin Love is NOT going to re-sign with you, Flip Saunders. And if you would get your head out of your ass, you would realize that Danny Ainge and the Boston Celtics are in the best position to help your in your time of trouble.
With Love's intentions known to all, Minnesota really has no leverage to speak of right now. Sure, Saunders doesn't want to give up Love for nothing – he would love to get equal value in return – but the longer the T-Wolves wait, and the closer Love gets to becoming a free agent, the more Minnesota will have to start considering less-than-desirable options.
Love's going to walk, and his trade value is decreasing every week that passes by. So why not make a trade with the team that isn't afraid to throw in everything and the kitchen sink to get him?
It's no secret that the Boston Celtics don't enjoy being an irrelevant team; sitting atop of the NBA for so long has made failure absolutely intolerable for the Celtics, so you can be damn sure that Ainge and company are not going to be adopting the Philadelphia 76ers' tanking philosophy, ever. The Celtics will give Minnesota any player short of Rajon Rondo in order to convince them to send Love packing – most likely Jared Sullinger, whose numbers stack up very well against Love's.
Player/2nd Season
Win Shares
|Kevin Love
|Jared Sullinger
Am I saying Jared Sullinger is, or will ever be, as good as Kevin Love? Ha ha ha ha! You're hilarious!
But in Sullinger, the T-Wolves have a player in Love's mold who is going to give them comparable numbers. Not equal value, but not lights years away, either.
And while Sullinger is not enough, Sullinger and another player plus a handful of the first-round picks that the Celtics have stockpiled certainly gives Minnesota the tools to do what it SHOULD want to do: build a team good enough to make the playoffs.
Something the Timberwolves have NOT been able to do with Kevin Love, by the way.
Minnesota doesn't have a roster good enough to compete in the Western Conference, with or without Love, so if Flip Saunders and the front office is looking to make a trade that will make the team a playoff contender immediately, they are out of their minds. Only four teams in the NBA allowed more points per game last season than Minnesota, and only one team allowed opponents to shoot a higher percentage. And for all of Love's rebounding mastery, Minnesota only had an offensive rebound percentage of 27.4% – the same as the Boston Celtics. (And Minnesota actually had a slightly LOWER defensive rebound percentage than the Cs!)
In short: Minnesota stinks, and Boston stinks. Minnesota, however, doesn't have the luxury of having a stockpile of first-round draft picks like the Celtics have. So far, the Timberwolves don't appear to care about that little problem – which is idiotic, because once Kevin Love walks next summer, they are going to need as many picks as possible to rebuild that team. Minnesota isn't exactly a top-ten pick of free agents, you know – and that is WITH Love on the roster.
Even if their mascot is pretty cool.
So the Timberwolves can keep dreaming about a world in which the Golden State Warriors are idiotic enough to take one step forward and one step back by trading Klay Thompson . . . or they can come back down to Earth and realize that there is no team more able, or more willing, to help than the Boston Celtics.
No rush, Flip – Trader Danny will keep the light on for you.
Tags: Boston Celtics Kevin Love


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Nutraceutical Sciences Institute
Does anyone have any experience with NSI products, particularly their Vit D3 and fish oil? From Vitacost I can get 365 Vit D3 softgels (5000 IUs) for $16.99 and 240 fish oil softgels (1200mg EPA/DHA and 2126mg total fish oil per two) for $21.99. My wife has been taking Nordical Naturals Ultimate Omega (1100 EPA/DHA and 1280 total fish oil per two), but if NSI is a good product I'd like to try it since it's less than half the cost of the NN.
I've used NSI before, it is a solid product...
iherb has the same priced D3 although they have a better product now.... 360 10,000 IU pills for like 22 or something. Saves about 10 bucks for the same amount of IUs.
Taking 10,000 IU every other day is the same as taking 5,000 IU everyday because it's fat soluble so the effects are cumulative over a 2-3 weeks not days. If that was a concern that is. I'm taking 10k per day regardless for months now.
Also, spreadsheet on fish oil:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?k...GxYM FE&hl=en
That fish oil you have above comes out to about 13 cents per 1g EPA+DHA so it's not the least expensive. You can find some cheaper stuff.
I've used Vitacost for years, use their Auto Ship program, great company, solid pricing.
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The Marginalia of Deltiology…
This is a (mostly virtual) collection of postcards with "x"s and arrows marking hotel rooms, tourist cabins, and other places of note. The scribbles and inscriptions both personalize and mar the missives, creating one-of-a-kind objects with a funny sort of charm. For another collection, visit vwpostcard.com.


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Doubt: The Darker Side of Faith
- Monday, March 05, 2012
I "get" doubt, both as an external observer and as an experienced participant. In both my professional and personal life, I continue to have opportunities to serve as an "apostle to the skeptics," and I've struggled with the darker side of faith for a number of years as well.
Why call doubt the "dark" side of faith (as if one could become some sort of "Christian Sith")? Because when we are in the dark, we can't see clearly. We are in the midst of the unknown. And often we stumble about as we try to move. Doubt is like that. And the way many Christians respond to doubt does not help either.
"Doubting Thomas!" Generally this epithet is considered derogatory in Christian circles, which really is a shame. Yet doubters are in good company. For example, C.S. Lewis also struggled with doubt. The period of time after the death of his wife, Joy Gresham, was intensely painful, as chronicled in A Grief Observed. [1]
I know that some well-meaning Christians will say, "You just need faith." But I caution anyone who has considered saying such. The rational questioner will translate your message: "Forget the evidence. You just need to be a fool."
Without meaning to sound trite, I have found two doubts and two affirmations that have encouraged me when I doubt. I often share some (or all) of these points when students come to me who are struggling with faith issues. So here are two things to doubt and two things to know.
First, doubt that having doubts is wrong. (Translation: It's OK to have doubts.) The process of doubt is how we come to know things. Remember when you didn't believe the stove was really hot until you touched it, or when you spared yourself some heartache when you doubted another person's sincerity? Doubt can be both educational and beneficial.
Sometimes we equate doubt with having difficult questions. Actually, painful questions are part of faith. The Bible itself asks hard questions, often making painful observations. For example, during my sophomore year in college I went through a season of questioning, and thought that reading Ecclesiastes would help (since it is considered part of the "wisdom literature" of the Hebrew Bible). Not a good idea. I ended up in a deeper funk.
To the book's credit, Ecclesiastes 3 inspired an awesome song by the Byrds ("Turn, Turn, Turn"). And yes, the book ends with some great aphorisms ("Remember your Creator in the days of your youth" – Ecclesiastes 12:1, and "Fear God and keep his commandments for this is the whole duty of man" – Ecclesiastes 12:13). But in my defense, Ecclesiastes also has some real downers, like "And I thought the dead who are already dead more fortunate than the living who are still alive" (Ecclesiastes 4:2) or "There is an evil in all that is done under the sun, that the same event happens to all. Also, the hearts of the children of men are full of evil, and madness is in their hearts while they live, and after that they go to the dead" (Ecclesiastes 9:3). All that sounds like life is just suffering and then you die. Bummer.
So here is the deal – if the Bible includes passages that struggle with life's difficulties, why should we be surprised when humans still struggle with these same issues? More to the point, how can someone condemn a person who walks through the same shadowy places as the human authors of scripture?
Instead of condemning those who struggle, I conclude doubt is part of the life of faith.
Second, doubt your doubts as well as your beliefs. Often we doubt because we are trying to be objective. So if you really want to be objective, or "open minded," you must be just as willing to doubt your doubts as to doubt your beliefs. That is one piece of advice I got in college which really helped me navigate my own difficult questions.
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I Am A Wicked Child Lyrics - Radiohead
Review The Song (2)
Mother Mary come to me
for i am a wicked child
i have sinned and i am so confused and i am a wicked child
i am a wicked child
i am the devils son
and i wish i could be good
i walk a crooked mile
yet i wish i could be good
i wish i could be good
if i could have kept on the straight and narrow
if i could have kept on the straight and narrow
and not have broke your heart
not have broke your heart
now i wake up in the night
it's tugging at my arms and legs
like i was a marionette
sponsored linkssend baby jesus
to radiate his light
to radiate his light
Click here to submit the Corrections of I Am A Wicked Child Lyrics
Thanks to cupcake for submitting I Am A Wicked Child Lyrics.
i am a wicked child indeed | Reviewer: david | 9/12/10
riley's earlier review makes some unwarranted suppositions er: religion, homestly, you have no clue what Thom meant with this.
It is however a brilliant piece of americana - rare for radiohead [glass houses on amnesiac also comes to mind].
To me it is one of the only great Christian rock songs, not that Thom is a Christian, from what I have read he practices Buddhist Meditation.
Anyway as far as I can tell he set himself to write a Catholic rock song of if not repentance at least regret and wish.
Like most of what Thom releases it is brilliant. the whole EP - Com-lag I got this song on is almost as good as Hail to the thief.
Solid B-Side | Reviewer: riley | 4/2/07
This song follows a pretty constant theme. It implies the story of a once religious person gone astray. The song's musical style is a sort of blues-y rock n' roll style. I perceived this as a sort of bad-to-the-bone approach. The vocal style seems a bit unapologetic, if the lyrics at all do. At the end of the song, Yorke sings "send baby jesus, to radiate his light." This is not pronounced explicitly; perhaps Yorke is saying "...to radiate his lie." instead. A not-so-subtle slight on Christianity, Radiohead seems to think that overzealous individuals may not have it all right. Perhaps there are more important things in our lives than whether or not we adhere to one religion or another.
The following area is only for review, if you want to submit the lyrics or the corrections of the lyrics, please click the link at the end of I Am A Wicked Child Lyrics.


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michael-danger said: Luke Scott isn't coming back next year for the Rays, I think. But I wouldn't expect Lueke to do much, since they have so many young arms. On top of that, when they're on their game they're a hell of a lot of fun to watch play baseball!
True, they are very enjoyable to watch.


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The Desert Spearby Peter V Brett
Synopses & Reviews
Publisher Comments:
The sun is setting on humanity. The night now belongs to voracious demons that arise as the sun sets, preying upon a dwindling population forced to cower behind ancient and half-forgotten symbols of power. These wards alone can keep the demons at bay, but legends tell of a Deliverer: a general—some would say prophet—who once bound all mankind into a single force that defeated the demons. Those times, if they ever existed, are long past. The demons are back, and the return of the Deliverer is just another myth . . . or is it?
Out of the desert rides Ahmann Jardir, who has forged the warlike desert tribes of Krasia into a demon-killing army. He has proclaimed himself Shar'Dama Ka, the Deliverer, and he carries ancient weapons—a spear and a crown—that give credence to his claim. Sworn to follow the path of the first Deliverer, he has come north to bring the scattered city-states of the green lands together in a war against demonkind—whether they like it or not.
But the northerners claim their own Deliverer. His name was Arlen, but all know him now as the Warded Man: a dark, forbidding figure whose skin is tattooed with wards so powerful they make him a match for any demon. The Warded Man denies that he is the Deliverer, but his actions speak louder than words, for he teaches men and women to face their fears and stand fast against the creatures that have tormented them for centuries.
Once the Shar'Dama Ka and the Warded Man were friends, brothers in arms. Now they are fierce adversaries. Caught between them are Renna, a young woman pushed to the edge of human endurance; Leesha, a proud and beautiful healer whose skill in warding surpasses that of the Warded Man himself; and Rojer, a traveling fiddler whose uncanny music can soothe the demons—or stir them into such frenzy that they attack one another.
Yet as old allegiances are tested and fresh alliances forged, all are blissfully unaware of the appearance of a new breed of demon, more intelligent—and deadly—than any that have come before.
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Peter V. Brett is the internationally bestselling author of The Warded Man and The Desert Spear. Raised on a steady diet of fantasy novels, comic books, and Dungeons & Dragons, Brett has been writing fantasy stories for as long as he can remember. He received a bachelor of arts degree in English literature and art history from the University at Buffalo in 1995, then spent more than a decade in pharmaceutical publishing before returning to his bliss. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
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In 2011 I wrote the first draft of a novel and having set it aside for a while to 'cook' I am now coming to the understanding that it was a recipe which was never going to produce a satisfying meal. This isn't because I have doubts about the basic premise nor had I lost faith in the characters, it is because I didn't give them high enough hurdles to leap over and in the end nothing is changed very much.
It is a time-tested signature of any good story that something or someone is significantly transformed at the end of an adventure, either by the aversion of a disaster or the improvement of a terrible situation. To engage us emotionally a story must present a problem which must be solved by people we care about and the bigger the problem and the greater the challenge to the characters then the more we connect with the action.
Obviously, outside literary fiction, most genres have their own route-maps but generally there are a certain set of things which we need to know to understand what the tale is about. Very much like a spoken joke - we need to know who's involved and what the set-up is to 'get' the joke.
All too often; websites which claim to offer writing tips (as well as many training courses) suggest a formula which goes by the name of the 'Three Act Structure' but this is flawed in my view as it fails to offer a map to the middle or second act which is where the bulk of the action occurs.
Such a simplification of what is, potentially, an immense and very heavily detailed tableaux of events, the three act structure over-simplifies the process into a ridiculous series of signposts which may be of great use to a beginner but which are in fact little more than what 'stabiliser wheels' are to a young cyclist. It is best thought of as nothing more than a vague description of 'beginning-middle-end'.
To put it briefly: the formula is often described like this -
Act 1. We are introduced to the main character or characters and the situation they are in. Then comes the first significant plot point which is a new development which sets up a reason to do something. Often, novels begin at this point and weave a backstory of Act 1 along the way.
Act 2. This is the commencement of the journey to resolution through conflict. Our characters achieve minor success and experience failure until such point as all would appear lost until a second and unexpected event occurs which changes everything. Right at the pit of despair the principal character is faced with their darkest moment when (surprise, surprise) the second significant plot point happens which takes everything up a gear.
Act 3. With everything to loose our main character now has no choice but to face their biggest challenge. Hopefully, they succeed and we witness a transformation of either themselves, others or a situation. At this point many loose threads are woven back in and the story packs up its bags and is over.
From this simplistic outline it is easy to see why many new writers become committed to the formula and also why stories which break away from it are often quite remarkable. The middle section - with its twists and turns - is exactly the landscape which could quite easily contain one or more new beginnings and significantly many more major plot points which drag the characters into many conflicts and conquests. In other words: it's a place where the 'real' story takes place.
I am indebted to my circle of invited readers for their feedback on the first draft (and the many typos and inconsistencies they found there!) - all 147,000 words of it! (I do like to allow room to cut and slice on the editing table). However, having set it aside for a few months has allowed me to focus on the fact that, to my eyes at least, nothing really happens. Sure, some characters do some 'things' but the stakes are not high enough for it to be a roller coaster of an adventure which was my original intention. From memory, there doesn't seem to be an event which is serious enough to make the novel buzz and it's that electricity which would take it from being a 'romp' (as one reader put it) into being an adventure.
Over the coming months I may blog more about this as it has come back to the top of my pile of things to do. Taking a year out to write scripts for my main character has been a remarkably enlightening experience. The radio series which he featured in allowed me to get inside his head a little more and armed with that knowledge I feel more able (and inclined) to give him some terrible things to cope with.
By the way, if you're visually inclined here is a diagram which I found on the interweb which clearly demonstrates that there are far more than any three acts.
For the scriptwriters out there this is a pretty good blog about the basic 'beginning, middle and end' structure.
For any novel writers here is a pretty good technique to get your mental juices going.
Stay tuned. Ask questions. Get involved. It's time for this book to grow wings.
Madeleine was blessed with sensational good listens.
English is full of colourful phrases and mysterious words that we often use everyday without ever thinking of where they came from nor what they actually mean. This is one of the things that makes the language so unique and rich with texture but when you analyse some of these ideas they quickly start to quake under the scrutiny of observation.
In writing, it is always agreed that one should avoid clichés like the proverbial plague and there are good reasons why this is prudent advice. The use of an over familiar phrase indicates that the writer has taken the safe and comfortable path of describing an event or scene in such a way that we are readily able to digest the various aspects very quickly. But by doing it through the use of pathways laid down by others they are missing the opportunity to bring new dimension and value to the idea being conveyed.
Take for example, the phrase: 'He was as dull as dishwater' (or often: 'ditchwater'). Whilst we might understand the idea that a person might be as uninteresting as waste water - opaque, grey and unpleasant, by using this phrase the writer has failed to recognise that by renovating the familiar with a new and personal twist they could have illuminated the concept in the reader with a startling freshness. So, for example, a writer could have said: 'He was as dull as a stormy day' which suddenly has a range of connotations which can be expanded upon. It is this altering and highlighting of the ordinary which makes all art more original and inspiring.
The next example I'd like to examine is a case where an idiom has become so well used that the meaning is actually bizarre when the laws of grammar are applied to it. If someone was describing an attractive woman they might say that she was 'Good looking', or possessed 'Good Looks' however this description seems to defy rational language logic on a variety of levels. This can be demonstrated by changing one of the words. If the phrase had a rule which defined its meaning then it could be applied to a variety of other attributes. So, for example, if that woman had a beautiful voice would we say that she had 'Good listening'? If she wore sweet perfume would we describe her as having 'Good smells'? In actual fact - because they still make sense in a mysterious and antique way - we could, in fact, use those descriptions as they quite clearly reference the original phrase and throw fresh light on an old idea.
Finally, my attention is drawn to ancient words which become startlingly unusual when put under the spotlight. Just recently I was concerned about a splinter of wood which had become lodged in my finger and in conversation I described it as a 'spell'. Aside from the etymology behind this particular word, it occurred to me that at some stage, somebody must have determined a series of measurements which define a 'spell' in terms of its size. At what size does a 'spell' become a 'splinter' or even a 'sliver'? Is there an actual size? As big as a matchstick? (how big is one of those?) As big as a drumstick?. There seems to be a whole division of unspoken scientific understanding at work here and we seem to know instinctively the dimensions involved. But someone, somewhere, at some point must have taken time to put boundaries upon it.
English is pebble dashed with such words, phrases and ideas, many of which have fascinating origins washed ashore on the beach of our daily speech. As a writer, nothing is more powerful than researching, expanding and restoring them with a new and invigorating architecture. Conversely, a writer who is content to make the 'ordinary' tell their tale will remain forever; ordinary.
If you have written (or intend to write) your own text and you have used a spellcheck be sure that it is set to 'British' English (if you are writing for a British audience) and not 'American' English! Unfortunately, the software can not correct the 'right' word used 'wrongly'. Here are some typical examples:
Its or It's
Its is a word – it is how you attribute ownership to a 'thing' (the same as saying 'his' or 'hers'). For example: 'The Organisation in its Environment'. It's can be an abbreviation for 'It is'. The apostrophe is sometimes there to replace the missing letter: 'i'. For example: 'It's cute'.
Your or You're
Your is a word and means something that belongs to you as in: 'This is your chair'. You're is an abbreviation for: 'You are'. The apostrophe replaces the missing letter 'a' as in 'You're great' (you are).
CDs and MOTs or CD's and MOT's
When something is plural an 's' is added: 'CDs' etc. If the CD has an attribute, feature or possession you would add the apostrophe, for example: 'The CD's surface'.
There, Their or They're
These are three distinctly individual words with very different meanings. There refers to a location as in: 'Over there'. Their refers to something which belongs to 'Them' as in: 'This is their home'. They're is an abbreviation for 'They are' as in 'They're having dinner with us tonight'- once again, the apostrophe represents the missing letter 'a'.
Should have
This is commonly written as 'Should of' which is incorrect and doesn't actually mean anything. It is often written that way because of the way that it sounds (as in: 'Should've').
Ring, Rang and Rung
These are three different words, namely: the present, the past simple and the past participle. So, for example: 'I ring him every day' – 'I rang him last week' and 'I have rung him (some undetermined time in the past and it is affecting us/me now)'. In the North of England, it is not uncommon to hear people say: 'I have rang him' which is incorrect.
Right, wrong, right, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, right. (3/8 - see me)
There are many more and from time to time I will update this page. If you have your own favourite 'pet peeve' - comment or get in touch and I'll include it here.
A small part of my mind has been closed off for about twelve weeks now. I have walked the corridors outside its door many times, hesitating to perhaps look in as if checking on a sick child. Each time, however, I have resisted the temptation and gone about my business satisfied that all was well within.
For a while I became concerned that what lay in that room had withered and died - faded away into nothing more than a clouded memory but something drove me on to persist with my absence and let it have time to rest. Instinctively, I knew that the thing which I had confined had been worked harder than it had ever been for some time and needed to recover.
On the sixth of December last year I completed the final chapter of a novel that I had poured myself into, intensively, for a little more than six months. Carving out an average of a thousand words a day, it staggered into bed at just short of one hundred and fifty thousand words. I knew in my heart that those words were, quite possibly, not assembled in the right order and might even be the wrong words for the job. Certainly, there were more than required but for the time being they served the purpose of painting the picture I wanted to release from my imagination.
Since that day in December I have made no attempt to put my fingers to the keyboard to write anything of substance. With the exception of a few journal entries I have observed a complete abstinence which has been due in part to having nothing of any interest to say. So complete was my exploration of the grand designs of my novel idea that I had exhausted every creative avenue and emptied all the resources I had for new ideas. Rather than face the futility and disappointment of flogging a crippled steed I concluded that a sojourn was better than a battle. Far better that I let it lie than try to ride the stumbling creature and fall, taking the humiliation which that brings.
I am convinced that my inactivity these last few months are not a case of writer's block (which, in any case, implies that a writer cannot move forward) so much as a case of a writers 'conclusion' - a situation where a train of thought finally arrives at its intended destination. Having disembarked from the train I find myself now striding the platform's length looking at posters for other exciting places to visit.
But now it is time to unlock that attic room. I have heard the plaintive cries from within and know that the thing is alive and well. Awakening from winter hibernation, it now seeks sustenance and attention which I once more feel capable of offering. Our time apart has been a period of recovery for us both as I have spent my time living a life and observing the very things which I have previously attempted to document. Now that the dark days and icy winds have receded, my internal store of snapshots and character sketches is renewed and together I believe that we can, once more, embark on adventures new as spring begins to surge around me. Sometimes a change is as good as a rest. When the words won't flow - don't force them (they are unforgiving). Do something else instead.
Writing is not about wanting to say something, It's about having something that you must say. However, to say it effectively you have to be focused on exactly what it is that you want to convey and how it you want it to be understood.
In 1946 George Orwell wrote an essay called 'Politics and the English language' which is as pertinent today as it has ever been. Too often we read novels that have been ill-conceived in their construction to the degree that their content is lost in a mire of worn out clichés and over complicated prose. The proliferation of the E-book (and the ease in which new writers are able to market their unpolished works) has done little to halt the tide of incomplete literature and does nothing for the propagation of the craft of writing.
Writing is a craft at its highest level. The works that stand the test of time (and enjoy the most success) have a succinctness and authority about them which is undeniably and indisputably unique. Conversely, the amateur writer feels obligated to garnish every sentence with as many 'tried and tested' phrases and as much 'purple prose' as they can in the pursuit of not only self gratification (in terms of 'creative expression') but also in the naive belief that these elements are the core of literature itself.
Whilst reviewing my own work just recently, I was struck by just how guilty I am of these same crimes which actually highlights another aspect of writing which many self-publishers overlook. There is nothing more constructive and cathartic than editing in the process of creating concise and engaging literature. Surely, all writers would want their readers to hang on every word and if this is the case then they should make every word count. Each syllable should be a stanza within a symphony which unfolds like an organic whole revealing the story as a breathtaking adventure.
In George Orwell's essay (which I strongly urge you to locate and read) he talks about the essential ingredients of good construction which are a solid framework for constructing a piece which is spectacular rather than simply adequate.
Orwell claims that every writer should, in every sentence that they write, ask themselves six questions. These basic pointers give gravitas and sincerity to each single line of typography and ensure that not a single column inch has been wasted in delivering the crux of the events. In the first question, a writer should ask: 'What am I trying to say?'
This might appear obvious but it is an enquiry that many lesser writers overlook as they describe events that have no bearing on the plot in progress nor the characters within it. By leading us up a dead end street the writer has either confused us (which leads to a gradual loss of interest) or distracted us with unnecessary information which is, as a reader, frustrating as we don't know whether to retain the information or disregard it.
Secondly, Orwell suggests that we examine what words will express it. This might seem a minor point to the casual reader (or writer!) but it is in fact the very thing which separates the mundane from the epic. When Shakespeare wrote:
"To be, or not to be: that is the question: Whether 'tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing end them?"
He wanted us to see how it would feel to be an adolescent royal, intent on avenging his father's death. This reference alone is material for a much larger essay and not one that I intend to pursue here but you get the idea.
Next, Orwell urges writers to examine the idiom which might make the idea clearer in the readers mind. In the case of Shakespeare this is clearly the visual impact of 'slings and arrows' as being an actual vision of not only conflict but death itself (which is the intent in this instance). The worst crime that a writer could make at this point is to use a jaded simile which does nothing for the impact of the premise.
This takes us neatly on to point four of Orwell's formula: 'Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?' In most cases of modern popular (genre) fiction I'd have to say: 'no'. There are far too many examples of over used phrases in most E-books for me to even quote such an example as I am sure you already know what they are. Suffice to say (as the saying goes) avoid clichés like the proverbial plague (as they say).
Next (but not any the less important) is the question which begs the answer: 'Could I have put it more shortly?'. There is no harm in being concise. It makes for terrific tension in a novel. The shorter your sentences are the better they scan. The faster you get your ideas over. It's exciting.
Finally, George Orwell asks us: 'Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?. This is a question that is simply demonstrated by the (very often observed) clunky sentence. Whilst writers enjoy the indulgence of wafting eloquently, they miss the, rather obvious, problem (or otherwise) of ugly or run-on sentences which do (by and large) look, if I might say so, cluttered with punctuation - and what have you - to the point of obscurity. Just like the previous sentence.
Finally, I would like to quote Orwell as he translates 'English' into 'bad English' in his translation from the Bible -
"I returned and saw under the sun, that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."
Here it is in modern (Orwellian Pastiche) English:
"Objective considerations of contemporary phenomena compel the conclusion that success or failure in competitive activities exhibits no tendency to be commensurate with innate capacity, but that a considerable element of the unpredictable must invariably be taken into account."
The first is literary, the second is almost 'office speak':
"Let's diarise a window of potential to extrapolate the potentiality of the blue-sky, out of the box concepts we have at our fingertips on a get-go basis."
Some clichés, however, have a lot of weight in them:- 'Keep it simple stupid'.
(Edited and corrected: 28/2/12)
I don't doubt for a minute; the old adage that we all have a book, somewhere deep inside us just waiting to get out but, from what I understand of the way that the publishing game works, there are certain ingredients that you need to bake a successful cake.
The Cathedral of Wonderful Imaginings is usually 'novel' shaped for most writers and whilst many succeed in building a palace we are willing to visit, others create a shrine of obscurity that is devoid of any congregation and I began to wonder why that was. There seems to be something at work here between the pages of the very best (and worst) examples of these and I feel it's something that any aspiring writer should at least be aware of.
It seems to me that 'popularity' does not always equal 'quality'. There are far too many examples of current best sellers that are abysmally written and the same was true of the past. However, there is a common thread that unites the good, the bad and the ugly when they surface as popular and often recurring successes.
If you met a friend who told you that they had been to the cinema to see the latest blockbuster I am certain that your first question would be: "What's it about?" Likewise, if you told your friend that you had just read a new novel, they would ask you the same question. Chances are, they wouldn't ask you: "Was it well written?" A question like that would seem churlish or petty minded in ordinary conversation but it is the first thought of editors, publishers and academics alike.
For most of us, watching a movie does not involve a conscious critique of camera angles, plot development and edit points. We are (generally) looking to be entertained and are responsive to the unfolding of a good story. In the same way, most readers can forgive quirky grammar and the occasional hole in the plot as our suspension of disbelief is open to the spinning of an intriguing tale.
Without mentioning any names, there are plenty of currently best selling books on the market which the intelligencia say should never have appeared in print but for those who are gripped by the story, the construction of academically correct prose is of little interest.
Which leads me to believe that the single most timeless ingredient in any story is the premise - the actual 'thing' that it is about. If you can get that right then your readers will be with you. Unfortunately, the editors, agents and other gatekeepers feel quite differently and any aspiring writer should be well aware of that. The drive to keep every page tight and exciting is very important in such a fiercely commercial arena. If you can do both, the rich shores of literary fame are well within your reach.
One of the perils of embarking on the journey of writing, is the very likely possibility of ending up down a road with no exit route. A cul-de-sac (literally meaning "bottom of bag" in French) is a word which refers to a dead end street, a close, or a no through road and it's a place that every writer fears, no matter how spectacular the houses are along that road.
During May and June of this year I was particularly inspired by my novel - so much so that I was averaging a thousand words a day, clocking in at nearly thirty thousand of the sparkly things by the first week of June. This was a wonderful achievement, in my eyes, and the completion of the first three chapters of the book heralded a great sense of relief. However, there was a theatre booked for the performance of a play I wrote which needed all my attention and so throughout the rest of June I was engaged with rehearsals and preparation for that.
The show went well and I came out of it with not only a feeling of pride that it was well received but also a commission to write a new play for the October Literary Festival in Malton. Without wasting a moment, I began work on that and turned round a first draft in a couple of weeks, organised a cast get together and had a couple of read throughs, which looked promising but this week realised it had been four weeks since I had worked on the novel.
I tried to re-start the impetus which I had going this time last month and found it very hard indeed to get the flow started and on one occasion only managed a paragraph in an hour. For whatever reason, the ideas were simply not 'tumbling' like they were previously. Now, it's not like I don't know the story (the whole thing is mapped out in my mind and I am aware of all the intimate details), it's just that I feel like I am slightly trapped in the cul-De-sac created by the events so far. The magnitude and impact of the 'set-up' is slightly intimidating me at the moment and I feel as though I might not be able to match the dynamic and thrusting pace I had set down last month.
It's not that I am worried by this, far from it, it's just that it's frustrating as I want to get back in the captain's chair and resume steering the ship through new waters. But that cul-de-sac! Perhaps the work on writing scripts is something that I should embrace for the time being until the words are 'bursting' to come out again.
It is for this reason that I haven't posted a blog for a few weeks and right now I am putting some thoughts down - as a kind of laxative, if you will and if your writing takes you down some blind alleys from time to time, my advice would be: get out of the car, take a look at the neighbourhood, survey the landscape, eat a sandwich and have a think - you haven't lost your legs, you've just misplaced your roadmap for a bit.
NEVER give up.
A good writer should have their radar on at all times. Life has a way of hurling incidents that, when viewed with 'novel-goggles' has a perspective which makes them larger than life and absolute gold dust when it comes to the tricky business of inspiration.
There was an incident which happened to me today which I have to admit was unlike anything I have ever experienced before. So, as an example I guess it's not typical. However, I wanted to tell you about it as it is still very vivid in my mind and I think it might inspire a bit of creative exploration in your own imagination.
I was waiting in line at a gas station. It was a clear, sunny day with a slight breeze. Ahead of me was one compact vehicle with a female driver. To my left were two other pumps with two and three vehicles respectively and to my right were another two pumps with about the same amount waiting there. It was a busy morning stop-off for us all by the look of it.
The woman in front worked for a real estate company, judging by the signs and livery on her small car but it was clear that she was unfamiliar with the workings of the gas cap. She struggled with it for at least five minutes before eventually (it seemed) breaking it off completely and it rolled under the white van to my left. She heavily stuck the pump nozzle into the hole and walked around the van to get the cap.
She must have been filling the tank to capacity as it seemed to take at least another ten minutes during which time I looked around at the other occupants waiting their turn. By now I had switched off my engine. Behind the van at my left was an old couple and behind me were two female students. To my right was an old man and his wife and behind him: a business man in a suit. Between the pumps I could see a mother with two small pre-school children in the back, but any more than that I was unable to see.
As I sat there just observing what was going on, I became increasingly aware of a terrible sense of dread overwhelming me. I began to have doubts about all kinds of things but wasn't sure what they were. I had a cascade of fragmented dream sequences slicing their way into my thoughts but they appeared to me as shards of important things forgotten. I began to feel a prickling sensation across my neck and forehead as I grasped at these shattered bytes of what began to feel like an alternative reality in the same way that a hangover delivers you a handful of blurred polaroids and says: "remember this from the night before?" and try as you might, you have no recollection of the scenes before you.
Eventually, the woman appeared to have finished and I was more concerned about being late for work to notice how long she had taken paying for her fuel, but when she returned she seemed concerned that the car wouldn't start. She fumbled endlessly with the keys and eventually got out and gestured to me to help her push it out of the way. As I stepped out of my car, I realised that I was standing in an inch of petrol which had spread from under her car and outwards to the kerb of the pumps and had flowed under my car and beyond, behind me under their car.
A forecourt attendant ran out from the cash desk and helped push her car forwards to let others through but seemed to not notice the several gallons of freshly seeping petrol that her car was oozing. I went to the back of mine and told the students to back up, or in effect I think in my mental state I actually told them to get the hell out of there, which they did pretty quickly. I too, started my engine up (which I instantly regretted) and backed up enough to get around the furthest pump to my left and past the tanker which had arrived with a delivery of fresh petrol. I drove away from the station, convinced that I hadn't paid for something or had just robbed them. Such was the state of mental confusion I was experiencing. I have no idea what the outcome of the incident was, but as I never heard an explosion or heard anything on the news, I have to assume that they got the spill cleared up.
My mind was in a state of mosaic, almost hallucinatory paranoia for about two hours after that and it was only after lunch that I was able to check out on the internet, what might have been wrong with me. I realised that I was experiencing a 'real time' dream which was being fed to me from my memory. From what I could discover, I am pretty sure that I must have been suffering from a mild case of 'Toxic Psychosis' which is a side effect from inhaling petrol fumes, Wikipedia told me. Further, it said that in mild cases, a subject might experience a 'detachment with reality' and in severe cases 'paranoid hallucinations' and even death. I then recalled that the air inlet pipe for my car is just by the nearside tyre, about six or eight inches from the floor. Then, my 'novel-goggles' came on.
Take the above scenario; the characters and add to it a punk robbing the cashier at the same time. He has a stolen car which he can only start by hot wiring and add to that: the tanker fully loaded who clipped the kerb as he parked up, sheering a strut at one end (which now hangs precariously against the concrete and will spark if he moves forward or backward.) With me so far? Ok, this is where it gets exciting. The businessman has just lit a cigarette and the old woman with the old guy (remember him?) is now having am asthma attack, which he is unaware of as he pays. Top it all off with everyone tripping out on the fumes as they sit on this ticking bomb and you have one hell of a great story - who's going to rescue them? Will they rescue them? How are they going to do it? Will they all fry?
I don't have an answer, but I'd love to see what you could make of it. I may well do something with this set up at some point, but for now I just wanted to share with you the endless possibilities of real life as a 'story starter'. Keep your eyes open at all times, just in case that 'big idea' comes right up and says hi.
P.S. if you do want to have a go at writing this story, I'd love it if you'd let me know, so we can all read how it ends up, and I'd be kinda grateful if you kept my name on it somehow as the person it happened to or at least inspired your version. Have fun.
I find it completely fascinating the way that the mind is able to process ideas and thoughts in ways that we least expect . This is most obvious when we analyse our dreams and find that there have been certain aspects of our lives that have been lurking there in the shadows whilst we go about the daily business of whatever it is we have to do. For example, the other night I was awoken from a fairly disturbing dream in which I was on a small boat cruising down a canal but the boat had a semi translucent bottom to it and I was very aware of the fact that I kept seeing the outline of two alligators as they sussed out the possibility of climbing aboard.
Now, I have to point out that I don't have a boat nor have I ever sailed in alligator-infested waters but if you take the dreamscape analogy as a starting point, there are a multitude of possible interpretations to my nocturnal cinema show, (none of which I am particularly interested in right at the moment) but it illustrates a point: deep down, we are constantly thinking about all our thoughts and experiences and re-defining them with analogies, images, similes and bullet point versions of the core premise of any particular issue.
This is a particularly useful skill when it comes to writing and I have found that in the development stage of any story, one of the most powerful tricks is to recount my own tale in my own words from memory. I have found that the planning of any creative writing can not only be a hothouse of ideas it can also be the mausoleum of the essential elements of a story. Too often I have found that by drafting out 'who-did-what' to such a microscopic degree causes me to become entrapped in the web of detail, when what I needed to be focussing on was: 'actually' what the story was about.
This is a method, or even a pre-requisite of great and timeless folk tales: no one ever said that you were supposed to recount the 'actual' descriptions of Red Riding Hood, nor the specific details of exactly which route through the forest she took but I bet you could verbally tell the tale and that's the crux of the matter. By telling a story from memory, you are cutting to the core of the most important details.
I would say, from my personal experience, that the best way to edit a piece of work is to write as much as you possibly can, about every aspect of the entire saga: from descriptions of the interiors to the smell of the antagonists jacket, then put the whole thing aside for a while. Let it cook by itself in your mind, and read it through from time to time then - forget about it for a day or two. Finally, sit down and re-tell the whole thing as best as you can remember it, and you can be sure as hell that the sections you can recall are all 'the best bits' which is a good indicator of all the parts that either need editing out, or (if you're really honest) don't need to be there at all.
We all know it's wrong and yet still we embark on that long climb up a mountain to shave a yak. It's something that most of us do at some point or another (oh yes we do) but how can we recognise the warning signs?
In terms of writing, the tell tale warning flags are there right from the start and sometimes go something like this: We get the 'big idea' and decide that to make a good job of it we must buy a notebook, so a trip to a stationery store is planned. Whilst there, we are captivated by shiny objects and think that maybe a new pen might help us along the way as well. Back at home, we mull over the twists and turns that our new characters will take and we make a few tentative scribbles in our new book with our new pen, but feel that 'something' is missing.
Returning to the computer to really 'get to grips' with the masterplan, we think that maybe some proper software will help as well, so we start downloading lots of applications that promise us 'major success with minimal effort' only to find that they actually provide 'minor achievement with maximum effort,' so another trip to the store is planned.
By now, our head is full of a thousand details and we feel the need to start following advice from a hundred writers, both published and just starting out and decide that a pinboard and index cards is the way, so we return, armed with the necessary items and still - not a single sentence has been crafted but oh! 'those ideas' … they're coming thick and fast.
"I know" you think, "what I need is a proper desk area. Every good writer has a proper space to call their own," but you review your home and realise that most of your time is spent improvising with the location you have available. Looking at the corner of the room you think that what's needed are some shelves, nicely flanked by that new corkboard, so you start re-arranging the furniture and planning a re-fit.
Enthusiastic friends on Facebook and Twitter message us with eager enquiries: "How's the book coming along?"
"Oh, just fine," you lie, as you watch Youtube videos of cats on skateboards in the name of 'research.' Then you come to the conclusion that putting up shelves is not as easy as you thought it was and you simply 'must' get some new tools to complete the job, so once again you trek off, up that mountain, to tool up. Standing in the hardware store at the checkout with a hammer, (some weedkiller and a houseplant) the assistant asks: "Home improvements?"
"No," you hesitate… "writing a novel." At that point you should look closely at the expression on the checkout guy's face.
The truth is that equipment won't help. Too many enthusiastic efforts are held back by obsession on the 'means' rather than the ends. Be true to yourself: work with what you've got. We all have different methods and we're all looking for the ideal but the bottom line is that writing is primarily about just that: writing. Get everything down, no matter how poor it might look at first. A story is like a jigsaw - you need all the pieces to see the big picture, so the quicker you can sketch that out, the sooner you will have a better idea what it's all about. Then, you might realise, you don't actually need a new hammer to write a book.


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The headline in one of my local weekly newspapers (The Sentinel) reads: This is What Happens When the GOP is in Total Control. It's for an opinion piece by the former executive editor of Greater Media Newspapers, Greg Bean. To be clear, I love weekly newspapers, and cheer for their survival. And I'm glad Mr. [...]
A soldier was shot dead at Canada's main war memorial in what officials are calling a terror attack, political parties prepare for a GOP lead senate and the companies benefiting from #Ebolanoia.
Travelers from Ebola stricken countries face new restrictions, North Korea releases American detainee and how Apple has redefined the desktop computer.
Oscar Pistorius is sentenced to five years in prison for the murder of his girlfriend, CDC issues stricter guidelines for treating Ebola patients and ending the gridlock in Washington.
Isolation for those who has contact with Thomas Eric Duncan ends, tracking a virtual outbreak of Ebola and drink up, drought in California is a win for wine makers.
A look at women living with metastatic breast cancer, drug use at work expands and the beginning of the self-driving car.
Wake up with America's first news – The Wall Street Journal This Morning. Host Gordon Deal and news anchor Gina Cervetti go beyond the headlines with the day's first look at news and business news from the U.S. and around the world; bringing a lively blend of intelligent information, humor, and expert analysis to morning radio.
Gordon Deal Before taking the helm at The Wall Street Journal This Morning in November 2005, Gordon was well-known to New York City radio listeners, having worked at both WINS-AM and WCBS-AM where he honed his writing skills and developed his distinctive on-air reporting style. He also served as New York City bureau chief for Metro Networks where his reports aired on WOR-AM and WABC-AM.
Gina Cervetti has an extensive radio news anchoring and reporting background including several years at Boston NPR affiliate WBUR-FM where she anchored the local production of "All Things Considered" and "Here and Now." Gina is an Associated Press Award-winning broadcaster, whose reports have been heard all over New England, including WRKO Boston and WTAG Worcester. She graduated from Boston University.
Mike Gavin oversees the production of the show which includes coordinating segments with WSJ reporters, editors, and outside newsmakers. He also oversees the sound and content of the show including all music and sound elements. Mike had spent a decade in radio programming and production before finding a home at WSJ Radio in 2007. He lives at the Jersey Shore with his wife and son.


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At the same time it was disclosed that a Democrat representative was caught with a male page in a homosexual situation, but he was permitted to serve out his term, and was subsequently re-elected.
Neither was right in what he did, but at least the Republican picked a girl.
Many have rightly condemned MSNBC's serpentine editing of a video to make it appear that certain gun rights activists heckled the father of a 6-year-old victim of the Sandy Hook shooting massacre, but let's not pretend this was a one-off event.
The liberal media long ago forfeited their respected role as watchdog over the government and have voluntary descended to the status of a public relations arm of the Democratic Party and various liberal causes.
It doesn't do it justice to call them cheerleaders, for they are active participants, every bit as much involved in bringing about the events as the...


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Flagler Beach Condo Rental Photos and Description
Condo, 3 Bedrooms, 3 Baths, (Sleeps 6)
Luxury 1900 Sq/Ft 3 Bedroom, 3 ensuite Bathroom condo located on Beverly Beach between the communities of Flagler Beach and Palm Coast.
Keywords: 2nd Floor Condominium
- Suitability:
- Long-term Renters Welcome
- Minimum Age Limit for Renters
- children welcome
- non smoking only
- pets considered
- suitable for elderly or infirm
- wheelchair accessible
Why Lynne Mitchell chose Flagler Beach
We fell in love with Flagler Beach on our first trip there in 2010 and were lucky to find this brand new condo for sale. The miles of uncrowded beach and the super friendly people make this our little bit of paradise.
What makes this condo unique
From our front balcony we watch for the dolfins with a coffee in the morning & a drink in the afternoon. In the evening we go to the back balcony & watch the sunset over the intracoastal waterway. It is a very relaxing place!


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One thing I'm associating (probably incorrectly) with the SSRIs I've been taking is a resurgence in paranoia about my vision. In the past few months I've been to eye-related a&e once and wanted to go at least three times. Vision problems are a thing I worry about a lot - I got fixated on retinal detachment a few years ago and got my eyes tested so many times that eventually the eye hospital people printed me off a WHEN YOU NEED TO COME TO HOSPITAL checklist. It's not a comforting thing to be fixating on again but it's familiar.
I've been playing badminton regularly, which I used to be good at and which now I'm bad at. I've never been at all athletic, though, so it's liberating to have a hobby I'm "allowed" to be bad at. There's socialising afterwards, which I'm also bad at, but I usually pretend to be worn out from being bad at sport, which is hopefully a convincing excuse.
I miss the internet and I miss being more together. This should probs be under a read-more but I'm on the app and the app is useless.
This weekend I read The Leftovers by Tom Perotta because I got excited about the upcoming TV series and wanted to have read the book in advance. Mostly I'm pleased that they've cast Christopher Eccleston as the minister who goes off the rails when he doesn't get maybe-raptured. I think he'll be good at that.
(Some more stuff about the book under the cut, not super exciting.)Read more
purplehairsecretlair said: I believe your source there is Lip Service. Ur welcome
Excellent sourcing! I never watched Lip Service because I am bad at gayness, but it looked like it was probably better than The L Word.
Pretty much yeah
(Source: lesbians-run-the-world)
YES. YOU NEED TO SHIP THE CARDINAL (PETER CAPALDI) AND CAPTAIN TREVILLE. THIS SHOW IS PERFECT FOR YOUNEARLY A FIFTH OF THE FIC IS IN A LANGUAGE I DON'T SPEAK. This is exactly the sort of ship my martyr complex appreciates.
crabsandlobsters said: it only has hot men. and hot women. and peter capaldi
Hot young people are the opposite of what I require! Disappointing, Musketeers fandom.
(Unless Peter Capaldi has an old man friend who I can ship him with and feel simultaneously alienated and superior. That is the thing I most enjoy doing in fandom.)
Ridiculous things this stupid show has had me doing in the very recent past:
- Following the fortunes of a football team in the 2014 World Cup based on the (alleged) preferences of a horse (granted, I'd probably have been keeping an eye on how Uruguay were doing because of Luis Suárez being a Liverpool player, but this particular insanity had me caring how they would do).
- Engaging in pretending, by agreed if unstated consensus, that a horse was locked in rivalry with an actor over how their respective teams would do
- Pretending to believe that a prop horse head was the real horse
- Pretending to believe the prop horse head was the real horse really watching the football in a trailer
- Pretending to believe the horse had an actual Twitter account of his own and was writing all his own entries
Look, if I was six years old and exhibited this behaviour, developmental psychologists would be telling parents and teachers to make sure that kids know the difference between fantasy and reality and how the real world works.
Richard Dawkins (who seems to possess even less of a sense of humour than a plank of wood) would put me on a remedial course of reading to make sure I knew what was and was not plausible in real life.
I'm considerably older than six. Considerably. Yet here I am, gravely pretending to believe in talking and Twittering horses.
Bloody BBC with the bloody Musketeers and their bloody updated take on the characters. Especially bloody Athos and bloody damn Tom Burke and his stupid face and stupid acting skills.
You will never convince me that Roger The Horse (is anyone else getting Captain Pugwash "Roger the Cabin Boy" flashbacks??) wasn't doing his own tweeting.
And will one day rule France with Tom as his queen.
(Source: constancebonasieux)
My tiny flat is in a huge Victorian house and I always feel a bit like I'm living in the first act of a horror movie. I came home to find that someone had helpfully stripped the wallpaper during the day and revealed this faded pattern beneath. It isn't helping.
Under the horrible salmon pink wallpaper close to the floor in the corridors! I took some pictures of the bottom of the stairs:
My tiny flat is in a huge Victorian house and I always feel a bit like I'm living in the first act of a horror movie. I came home to find that someone had helpfully stripped the wallpaper during the day and revealed this faded pattern beneath. It isn't helping.


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No change in Nathan Horton's status, but Rich Peverley will travel with Bruins
|03.20.12 at 12:39 pm ET
WILMINGTON — Bruins coach Claude Julien said after Tuesday's optional practice that forward Rich Peverley will join the team on its upcoming three-game west coast road trip.
Peverley has not played since Feb. 15 due to a knee sprain, but started skating again last Wednesday. He has yet to take physical contact, but is considered day-to-day by the team.
Julien also said that there is no news regarding the status of concussed forward Nathan Horton, and that the winger will not be traveling with the team.
"No, same old same old," Julien said of Horton. "Nothing different. He's still working out but not on the ice yet."
Horton has not played since Jan. 22. He has 17 goals and 15 assists for 32 points in 46 games this season
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Starbucks is unfair and unjust
To think buying a cup of coffee as expensive as the price of gas you would think that they would accompany it with some really nice people behind the bar. well let me tell you they dont , i could write a tell all of all the sneaky evil things starbucks does, and how they nickel and dime you FOR EVERYTHING , but youd still buy the coffee now wouldnt you , but let me tell you about one thing, Bonita Point Starbucks has a bitch of a manager who favors the white people , I'm not going to call her racist , but shes almost there.
ive kept my mouth shut far too long , and this is when you should be afraid to open the door to what i know.


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|23 Apr 2014
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 SP1
Attackers have Their Sights Set on the Cloud
If you want to catch trout, you have to fish where the trout swim. That same logic applies for cyber criminals--they will focus their efforts wherever there is a fair chance of finding targets to prey on. This is underscored by a new report from Alert Logic that reveals a dramatic rise in cloud-based attacks as more businesses and individuals migrate applications and data to the cloud.
Alert Logic deployed honeypots in the cloud to collect information about emerging malware, identify the sources of attacks, and determine common or unique attack vectors. The results of this research combined with data collected from AlertLogic customers around the world were used to create the Spring 2014 Alert Logic Cloud Security Report.
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Joe Nichols recently underwent serious back surgery, but he's back out on the road even if he's in a little pain.
Continue reading…
Talk about making lemonade from lemons! Little Big Town's Karen Fairchild couldn't sing one afternoon, but instead of calling it a day she created one… MORE
Kacey Musgraves' songs are a breath of fresh air to the modern country music scene. Skillful songwriting is evident in every track on her debut… MORE
Chris Young is packing his bags (and passport!) in preparation to head overseas. The singer has announced his A.M. World Tour, which kicks off in… MORE


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Toilet: So, how was your night last night?
Sink: Ah! I'm drained, lets just say she's not my type
Shower: loose plumbing?
Sink: Thought she was stainless steel, turns out she's got the drip
Shower: Gross, I like my girls and boys nice and clean
Toilet: Oh crap, that reminds me, I have to talk to John about the whole blumpkin thing
Sink: What do you think he will say?
Mirror: Don't look at me
Toilet: Beats the shit out of me
Shower: It kinda turned me on actually, I got all hot and steamy
Toilet: Please is that not sitting right with anyone else?
Mirror: Well it kind of did freak me out how he was just starting at me saying "Fuck yeah"


text:
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Donna: You'll never guess what I found on Jerry's Facebook.
April: A friend? Buuurn.
APRIL: Andy recently diagnosed himself with what he calls Shoeshine Head. It's when you shine too many shoes and the fumes create a thunderstorm in your brain. Cures include coffee, cheeseburgers, and napping on the floor.
Parks & Recreation 2.18 - "The Possum"
"November" - Mouse Rat
Your bangs are cute
Your voice is a flute
Let's pretend the sky is for us
Let's spread our wings and fly on a date
I want to go on a date with you
That song is about April


text: Georgia Foster wrote: Change the subject line when the subject changes. I am not interested in tomatoes or potatoes but kosher is one of my subjects. So if you are too sloppy to change the subject, I am not going to catch your valuable contribution to that subject as a skim through messages as I receive several daily. I, of course have been guilty of forgetting to change the subject and leave the line as Sca-cooks digest No. ?? but I beg of you to try not to be sloppy like me. Suey


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Last week, we gave you some tips for Cutting Things Out the Easy Way Using the Magic Wand. This week, we're going to show you the more advanced way.
If your image has a complex background and you are hoping to cut out a particular element of the image, you'll want to use the Lasso tool. With this tool, you'll be tracing around the object you want to cut out manually. A great example of this type of use is cutting out a person completely from an image and pasting their likeness into an entirely different image. This is very doable, but it requires some skill and effort. You're going to need to take your time the first few times you tackle this process, but once you get the hang of it, it should become second nature.
Two lasso tool options
The *freehand* lasso tool can be used to draw around an area with your mouse. It can be difficult to do this with precision using a mouse. It's much easier to do if you're using a pen-and-tablet device (although of course most people do not use those). You may instead want to use the *polygonal* lasso tool. With the polygonal tool, click and click again and keep laying down straight lines, with Pixlr connecting your points along the way. In this way, you'll be able to have finer control over what you're cutting out. Your ultimate goal is to draw a point-by-point area that closes in on itself at the end — you end up where you started and have your area selected.
Make a mistake? You can add to your path by holding down the Shift key. You'll see a small plus sign near your cursor, which means you can add to the selection with a few clicks. At this point, you can even switch to the freehand tool to carefully add to your selection. Place your pointer somewhere inside your selection and draw outside of the selection to choose the areas you want to add, ending your dragging back inside your selection at your starting point. You'll see that your selection has expanded to include the area you drew. This is great for capturing detail that may have been hard to capture with your first pass. You may even want to zoom in to do this kind of detail work.
Similarly, you can remove part of your path by holding down the Alt or Option key. You'll see a minus sign, and you can remove areas in much the same way by drawing inside and outside of the selection area. Again, I recommend using the freehand tool to do this kind of work. And again, draw your path and end up where you started, and you'll see that area has now been removed from the selection area.
Step by step with the polygonal lasso tool
An example to get you started
As a simple demonstration, let's cut out this girl walking through the grass at an outdoor wedding and transport her to a wide open road.
I start by choosing the polygonal lasso tool and then work deliberately from point to point, starting at the base of her shoe. I draw up the left side and back down around to the shoe again.
Once I'm back where I started, I see that the area is selected, at which point I copy it to my clipboard.
Here I've also pasted it into a new document to show you what that looks like.
But my real goal is to add her to this file of a deserted highway, so I open up that image and paste the selection in.
I bumped up the contrast of her layer and used the burn tool to add a little bit of shadow in there after pasting her in. I could do more to clean this up and make it look a little more professional, but it's fine for my purposes. You may want to more clean-up with your projects, but as always it depends on your goals and level of skill with some of the more advanced tools.
A few extra tips
Recently, we added a set of New Stickers that let you put all kinds of silly stuff on faces like hats and glasses and eye patches. This time around, we've replaced the old one-tone Kawaii stickers that used to be in Pixlr Express with a dozen full-color, fully cute, expertly designed Kawaii stickers. You'll find these in Pixlr Express for both the web and your mobile phone, and you don't even need to update your app to start using them.
So start spreading the Kawaii. And keep spreading the cute.
New sticker alert! Today, we added 10 new stickers to Pixlr Express. You'll find them in the Accessories sticker pack. A lot of these stickers are items you might want to use to dress up your friends and/or enemies. You'll find bandages, eyepatches, halos, headphones, horns, and a few other things you can plaster on top of faces, in particular.
We'll be adding more stickers on a regular basis, so stick around this blog for more updates.
When you run a photo through Pixlr Express or Pixlr-o-matic and take full advantage of those tools to create something worthy of being hung on a wall — of being called "art" — that's when we smile the widest. We think your smartphone isn't just a tiny computer with a tiny camera that you carry around with you everywhere; it's a tool for creating beautiful, arresting, substantial, moving works of art.
If you agree with that sentiment in even a small way, you're going to love Android Editors. They are a community of Android photographers who continually challenge themselves and each other to create works of art using only their phones. This week, they launched their #AE_Pixlr Editing Challenge. And you are cordially invited to join in.
This is a two-week picture-fest that culminates in a lot of back slapping and personal recognition. We would love to see what our community of Pixlr Express and Pixlr-o-matic users can add to this flowering of creativity. While the Android Editors usually keep the focus on Android apps, they have opened up this challenge to iPhone users, too. They want to see what our community of photo takers can do. It's a challenge that's less about which operating system you use and all about what you can do with Pixlr apps.
We'll be sharing our favorites as the challenge progresses here on this blog, via our Twitter feed, and to our 2.5M+ Facebook Fans. When it's all said and done, the cream of the crop will be featured on this blog and on the Android Editors site — as well as everywhere else our communities go to get the word out. In short: We're going to celebrate the best of what our community can do.
Joining us is easy. Just share your photos with the hashtag #AE_Pixlr on a few key platforms so we can uncover them and spotlight them. And don't hesitate to get our attention by tweeting to us to point out your own submission to the challenge. We want to see and spotlight your work!
Read all about how this #AE_Pixlr Challenge works on the Android Editors site.
How do you cut things out? That's one of the most-asked questions on our support forum.
Cutting out an image can be very easy or a bit challenging. A lot depends on the background of your photo and how complex the image is. Today, we're going to show you the simple way; later this week, we'll show you the advanced way.
The easy way: the magic wand
The magic wand is magically effective when your background is simple in nature. If the background is one color or monotone or without a lot of complex shading or tones, or if the area you want to cut out has a strong outline that sets it apart from the background (e.g., a logo), you can simply use the magic wand and click on the area you want to copy or the area you want to cut. Once you do that, you'll see the respective area outlined with a flashing dotted line.
Step-by-step: how to use the magic wand
You've got nothing to lose and an undo button with you at all times. So, get going and make it happen:
Two examples to get you started
The easiest images to alter are ones like this illustration of the Instructables robot, which is basically a collection of flat colors with very clear outlines. I started by opening a blank, transparent canvas and pasting the Instructables robot into it as a layer. One click with the magic wand, and I've selected the entire area outside of the robot. The area selected is outlined with flashing pixels.
If I choose to cut the area out with a simple "Cut" command, I have the robot all by itself. I could then copy and paste into another image if that's my goal.
Using the magic wand with shaded backgrounds
Similarly, real-world images like this one that have a relatively simple composition with straightforward shading can be easily cut out. I start with one click of the magic wand:
I clicked the sky area outside the monument a few times more while holding down the shift key and was able to select all of the area *outside* of the monument. Initially, the magic wand only picked up some of that sky, but multiple clicks pretty easily got me to the point where I had selected all of it — and isolated the monument.
I chose to cut the area I had selected — the area outside the monument — out of the image. Viola. I've cut out the monument and isolated it.
A note about transparency
For this second example, I didn't use a transparent background. If your goal is to cut out an area so that you have a transparent background behind it, remember that you will want to paste your image into a transparent canvas as a new layer *before* you start cutting anything out.
Adjusting the magic wand
What the magic wand is doing is looking at the overall photo and choosing pixels that are similar to the one you're clicking on. Adjust the tolerance up to make the magic wand select pixels that are even more like the one you're clicking on. Adjust tolerance down to make your magic wand pickier about choosing the area you want to cut out. Once you begin using the magic wand, you may decide you need to combine additional flashing outline areas to your overall selection. As I did, hold down the shift key as you click to add more areas (pixels) to your selection.
Next time… the advanced way to cut things out
If your image is more complex, the magic wand may not be the tool you want to use. For example, if you want to cut a person out of a photo in a very precise way, you will probably want to use the Lasso tool for more precision in your work. We'll cover that next week right here on our blog.
Since Pixlr Express added the History Brush to mobile apps, I've been experimenting with it in different ways. Pixlr Express for the web has had this capability for a long time, but having it added to the phone versions encouraged me to pick it up again on the web version and try some new things.
What I can't stop making with the History Brush, and which you might enjoy trying out, are what I'm calling "illustrated" portraits. You start with a well-composed photograph of a friend or loved one and, by using various overlays in combination with the history brush, you end up with a portrait that places your subject in the foreground with an illustrative background — almost like a comic book in some ways. You're basically creating a very rich, textured background while leaving your subject in real-world focus.
Give this a shot. You might find that what you end up creating is artwork worthy of being printed on canvas and hung on the wall. Come to think of it, it's probably one of the best gifts you could give someone: an artistic portrait that's handmade and extremely creative.
Step 1: Start with a great photo
You'll want a photo that is well-composed, that really features your subject, preferably one that shows most of their body. A picture of four family members standing in front of the Eiffel Tower simply won't do. This technique works best with solo subjects, but you can find creative ways to include more than one person or even make a portrait of an object.
Step 2: Pick your overlays and effects
Open your image in Pixlr Express and do any normal photo editing you would do like auto-adjust or color correction. Then, think about the overlays you want to use. You may want to try a bunch out (use that undo button!) until you find the two or three that really work with the photo you're using. The point here: You're going to work in a step-by-step fashion, so it's probably best to know which filters you want to use ahead of time and then work in a very deliberate way.
Step 3: Add an effect and brush out your subject
Start by laying down an effect and then use the history brush to brush the effect out of the area of your subject. If you plan on printing this later in a large format or even printing it on canvas (which is my plan), you may want to be more meticulous with the brush. Then again, a little sloppiness with the history brush will increase the "comic book" illustrative look, so be sloppy if that is the effect you want to achieve.
Step 4: Repeat step 3 until you're satisfied
Each time you add an effect, you'll want to use the history brush to restore your subject itself to their real-life look. As you add more texture or color or overlays or whatever you'll start to see that your subject really does start to stand out in a dramatic way the more effects you add. But you can definitely go overboard with this technique. If you want your subject to look like they are a real-life person walking through a Van Gogh painting, you can probably achieve that, but I've found that subtle effects are often better. Try choosing effects that complement the personality of the person you're spotlighting.
Example: Crafty spots
Here's an example of one I created for an Instructables community member who makes very pretty, very crafty things. I made everything in the background look like it's covered in dots:
Some effects used: The "Sunflower" overlay located in the Paper set + plenty of saturation, vibrance, and color tweaks.
Example: Cyborg warrior
You can use the history brush with all kinds of adjustments — not just overlays. For example, you can oversaturate your photo dramatically and then paint your subject back without the saturated color.
Here is one that I made for an Instructables superstar who builds dramatic science-fiction worthy things out of discarded materials like working robot arms. He deserves a lot of effects:
Some effects used: The "Weave" overlay from the Canvas set + focal blur + various light leaks and chemical burns + a space overlay + tons of color saturation.
Example: Poster child
If your subject has other items they are interacting with that you can brush out, well that's even better. See below how I have brushed out the Quickrete and other tools being used by this Instructables artist in residence. This is a great way to put an emphasis on someone doing something they love or interacting with items they love.
When you're nearing completion, you might want to let one effect work through your subject and not brush it out with the history brush — like the "Beam" Retro Poster effect I added here. It can add another layer of interestingness to your portrait.
Some effects used: The "Stoned" overlay in the Grunge set + focal blur + a retro poster overlay that I didn't brush out with the history brush.
Up for the challenge?
If you try out this technique, please let us know how it went! Share your image to our Flickr group or shout to us at @pixlr on Twitter. We'd love to see what kind of artwork you can make using the history brush.
— Eric Suesz, Pixlr community manager
This week, we're rotating some new "Symbol" stickers into Pixlr Express. We regularly rotate seasonal stickers (e.g., the recent July 4th stickers in the U.S.) to keep things fresh, but we also like to keep the library of stickers fresh by rotating in new ones and rotating out some of the lesser-used ones.
These new symbol stickers include some playing card clubs, spades, diamonds and hearts, a dollar sign and music note, some radiation symbols and a "NO" circle that will surely come in handy. This new pack is probably perfect for skateboarding fans — or NO SKATING fans.
Holiday ahoy! If you live in the United States, we've added some borders and effects to Pixlr Express (both the web version and mobile apps) that let you add star overlays and some red-white-and-blue ribbons to your photos. These seasonal Fourth of July effects are perfect for photos you take at an outdoor BBQ or fireworks celebration — or wherever and whenever the patriotic mood strikes you.
If you're located in Canada, you can also say Happy Canadian Birthd-eh to friends and family with some of your own special effects.
If you're not from either of these locales, don't fret. We regularly rotate in new stickers, effects, and borders to mark the seasons. It's only a matter of time before new things will pop up in Pixlr Express no matter where you are.
If you're a regular user of the web version of Pixlr Express, you may have used the history brush before. If you're not, give it a look and see if it's a tool you might want to use. The history brush can sometimes be misunderstood, so I wanted to offer a few pointers for those folks who may have seen it show up but who don't know how it works.
I think of the history brush as an undo brush. You always have an undo button to fully undo the last effect or border or overlay you've added, but what if you wanted to just remove part of an effect and not the whole thing? That's where the history brush comes in. I'll show you what I'm talking about from the web interface, and then I'll show you what it looks like on an iPhone; they're both essentially the same tool.
I have this very colorful photo of a boy looking through a kaleidoscope directly at the camera (look closely and you can see his eye through the kaleidoscope lens). I'm going to turn the entire photo into a sepia-toned image by applying one of the "too old" effects — the one called "Henry" — to the photo.
Then, I decided I wanted to undo part of the effect so the circle that represents the kaleidoscope will be in color — the look of the original photo.
I basically painted away part of the "Henry" effect using the history brush. I got a little sloppy while using it, so I used the eraser option of the history brush to bring back some of the color. I adjusted the size of the brush to get the finer points of erasing just right.
In this way, I was able to partially undo an effect I added. The end result looks great and achieves what I was going for — a photo with a flourish that hints that what the boy is seeing through the kaleidoscope is way different than what we see when we look at him. Let's call him "The Boy with Kaleidoscope Eyes."
There are lots of other uses for this like removing part of a border you've added, a detail from a sticker that you don't like, or some of the stars from an outer space effect.
It works essentially the same way on your phone or tablet. I'll show you.
Here I laid down a star pattern and then removed the stars from the area of the beer can itself with the history brush. Adding adding this mask of a sort makes the beer can stand out while giving a nice appropriate texture to the background.
Those are the essential things to know about the history brush. Try it out the next time you're doing detailed editing on a photo with your phone or tablet. It can help you add just that little extra detail to your photos to make them a little more special.
— Eric Suesz, Pixlr community manager