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I was recently asked what my top health tips are that have made the biggest difference in helping women (especially busy moms) get back on track with a healthy lifestyle. Here are my top ten :
1. Eat foods that naturally hydrate you.
We all know that staying well hydrated helps us stave off cravings, prevents over-eating and supports mental focus and clarity…but many busy moms (and people in general) have a hard time drinking enough water through the day. When we eat foods high in water content (fresh fruits, vegetables, soups) instead of dry snacks like chips or pretzles, we are bolstering our water intake and preventing the dehydration that comes from eating processed foods.
2. Set up like a pro.
Why does it always look so easy on the cooking shows? Because they do 75-90% of the work before they start airing! I encourage my moms to set up a routine early in the day (maybe at naptime or mid-day snack time) to prepare for that night's meal as if they are airing a cooking show. Measure EVERYTHING out and put in little ramekins. Chop all veggies. Cut or season the meat. Have a counter prep tray and refrigerator prep tray.
This way the mess, time and dishes that go along with the preparation part of a meal are taken care of well before dinner time rolls around (a universally stressful time for moms). This transforms dinner prep into something organized, enjoyable and quick– a win-win for moms trying to cook more healthy home-made meals!
3. Take a breath.
Way too often we eat without our brains even acknowledging it. Many people can relate to wolfing down a snack or meal and looking at an empty plate, bag or bowl wondering where it all went. Digestion starts in our brains (where signals are sent for our stomach to release digestive enzymes).
When we circumvent our minds and eat while doing a million other things, we not only compromise our digestion, but we bypass the opportunity to feel satiated. A simple deep breath before you put anything in your mouth is a quick and effective way to slow down and focus on the food you are about to eat.
4. Focus on one type of taste at a time.
We all know that processed and junk foods are easy to binge on and overeat…but there are some good reasons why this is so. As it turns out, the part in our brain that controls satiety also registers tastes.
When we combine too many different kinds of tastes at once, that part of the brain short circuits so to speak and stops monitoring fullness. We were meant to eat foods with clean, simple tastes- like those found in nature. Wonder why some spaghetti sauces (something we associate with a salt and savory taste) actually have a higher sugar content than chocolate sauce? Because the food industry knows that if it combine many tastes at once you'll end up eating more!
5. Keep your goals on green light foods.
Food consumption in modern society has become unnaturally mental– we constantly go about dieting with a focus on restriction and foods that we can't eat. Turning the table on this pattern frees up the panic and obsessing that happens when we tell ourselves "no".
I never encourage women to say no to foods– we always set our goals on what foods or wellness practices we are bringing into our days – once you release the restriction, over time the attraction of these forbidden foods wanes and they no longer haunt you.
6. Emphasis cleansing foods to help with weight loss.
Because many toxins are fat soluble, they get stored in our fat cells. A highly toxic body will have a hard time losing weight, because the fat cells are keeping the toxins from circulating through your system. Supporting our body's natural ability to detoxify will allow your fat cells to be burned more easily.
7. "I don't LIKE vegetables"
Many of us have preconceived ideas of the foods we like and don't like, and we rarely challenge them. If people tell me they "can't eat" foods like dark leafy greens, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, parsnips (powerful superfoods!) ; I challenge them to try these veggies (just once) in these ways:
* Blend dark leafy greens in a fruit smoothie.
* Roast brussel sprouts, cauliflower, parsnips, eggplant with a bit of olive oil and sea salt in the oven.
It is a rare person who doesn't come back raving about what they've been missing!
8. Go slow.
Resist the urge to take on too many changes at once. In our quick fix society we are accustomed to jump head first into extreme diet changes only to burn out quickly and go back to old habits. I coach my clients to work in small, simple, and sustainable changes over time so that the changes become new habits and healthy living, losing weight and having more energy become part of their every day life, not a flash in the pan experience!
9. Indulge in high quality treats.
It is important not to become a diet martyr when you begin to shift the way you nourish yourself. Treating ourselves to foods we love and enjoy is essential to our success. One effective way to do this is to switch from poor quality sweets to high quality ones. It is much harder to overeat high quality dark chocolate– our bodies know when to say enough to a decadent, rich, real food treat – it's the processed, high fructose corn syrup laden, artificially flavored junk treats that keep us overeating and unsatisfied.
10. Trust that a gentle and loving perspective is powerful and effective.
Drop the "all or nothing" and "no pain, no gain" mentality – extremism fails in the long run every time. We have been literally sold (check out the revenue from diet books!) on the idea that we need to suffer our way to weight loss and that our weight gain was a form of personal weakness.
Releasing ourselves from this mindset is essential to having a right relationship with food, our bodies and our health. Eating well feels good, tastes good and is something our bodies were meant to crave. Many people are shocked they can start to trust themselves again to make healthy choices and keep the weight off.
Do you have a healthy eating "secret" that has made a difference in your life?
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Join my weekly newsletter, The Ripple, for simple and straightforward ways to bring healthy living into everyday life and get instant access to my virtual workshop, Break the Sugar Habit.


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The Times of London: Work/Life
From The Times
November 27, 2007
How is your work/life balance? You can't succeed unless it is good, says a top US
life coach, who gives 'laser coaching' advice to Times readers
Ginger Cockerham
Katrine McPherson-Kelly, 35, is a senior scientist and technical brand manager with Procter & Gamble.
She works on over-the-counter medicines, on up to ten projects at a time, each with a team of seven or
eight people. Her first child, Jack, was born a month ago and she plans to return to work after six months'
maternity leave, but is unsure how to combine a demanding work schedule — and her tendency to
overwork — with motherhood. "I want to make sure that in five years' time I've focused on the right
things," she says. Like her husband, a research engineer, she is a keen athlete (she rowed for Scotland
and won gold at the 1999 Commonwealth Games) and likes to exercise daily. She describes herself as
driven and gets great satisfaction from her job but often uses an energy boost of chocolate and Diet Coke
to get through the day. She doesn't drink alcohol or smoke.
Katrine's typical working day:
6.30am Get up. Immediately thinking about work.
8am Arrive at work after 25-mile journey by motorbike to save time. Eat a bar of chocolate. The days are
very varied. Lots of meetings, quite a lot of day trips to Geneva to meet colleagues. Those days are
6.30am to 10pm, and they wipe you out. I also work on global teams and my counterparts are in
Cinncinatti, Singapore and Caracas, so you're juggling a lot of people and time zones as well. Consumer
work takes me around Europe to look at people's lifestyles. At times I'm travelling every week.
11.30am-noon Start a sandwich.
3.30pm Finish sandwich after interruptions by meetings. On some days I miss lunch.
4pm This is the time I want to finish work to fit in with my husband so that we have more time together.
5.30pm-6pm Finish work. When I was pregnant I took the train and my husband regularly sat outside the
station for up to two hours waiting for me. I got better at leaving on time, though I did feel guilty at first.
7pm-8pm Home. No food in the house but Asda is a three-minute walk away and that's our food
cupboard. Have supper, but it's fast food: pizza, pasta, baked potato. If I'm home in time my preference is
to do some exercise, running or cycling. Half the time I don't have an evening. I feel guilty when I'm late
because it impacts on my husband, not just me.
9.30pm Hot bath and read my book for 45 minutes. That's my only switch-off time.
10.30pm Bed. If I'm later than that I pay for it the next day. It's only while I've been pregnant that I've
realized how long an evening you can have and how you miss out when you don't have it. Jack was born
a month early and I had an important deadline coming up so there I was in labour worrying about the
deadline. It took me a week to switch off my brain.
Jack's sleeping for two-and-a-half hours at a time now and I sleep well in between. He's a chilled-out
baby, so I'm lucky. I took him to work last week and someone said I look much better — it's because I feel
Ginger says…
What I picked up from Katrine is a thread of guilt. She says that she's so fortunate because her husband
has the patience of a saint and little Jack is easy-going, but she feels guilty if she doesn't do an excellent
job at work and at home. She knows that when she goes back to work, she doesn't just want simply to
show up, she wants to do a great job, and I can see that if she doesn't make some changes she's
automatically going to have guilt.
So what we talked about is her responding to that probability, rather than waiting for it to happen and then
reacting. To do that it is important that she has a plan in place. She said that people ask what she wants
in her life, and she never knows where to go with that. I said: you're a global award-winning project
manager, how about designing an ideal week for your family that will have all the things in it that you
want, and that will allow you to be guilt-free?
Two days a week she has a lunchtime run marked on her calendar. I asked what she experienced when
she ran at lunch and she said she comes back to work a different person. She's enthusiastic, ready for
anything: for her, exercise is the key to her balance so she will want to make that part of it.
Coach's note: Her goal then is that by January 1 she's going to design an ideal week, including all the
balance pieces that she wants to have in there. She'll have a plan for her food, a plan for her time off, for
her exercise, so that she won't be sucked back in to just reacting to everything. That's the important
distinction. She has all the tools and skills to make this happen for herself, but she had never thought of it
before. This will be her new year's resolution, and she'll share it with me.
— If you would like to be laser coached by Ginger, e-mail email@example.com with your name,
address, phone numbers and a brief explanation of what you do. Participants must agree to the interview
and Ginger's advice being published in The Times, and pay for the 15-minute call to Texas themselves.
Contact our advertising team for advertising and sponsorship in Times Online, The Times and The Sunday Times.
© Copyright 2007 Times Newspapers Ltd.

subset: commoncrawl


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GFI Pedal Steel Guitars have top quality features and design characteristics, a number of which are unique.
D-10 Expo X1 showing detail of the Gold Vein hammer tone finish as well as the Vintage Wood and Maple mica.
We use all maple die board for steel guitar bodies. Die board is normally used as a backing plate on punch presses to stamp out parts of various materials, including steel. All plies are maple and laminated with an epoxy base, which makes it much stronger than solid maple. Unlike ordinary plywood, die board has a natural resonance that is far superior to solid maple and more consistent from piece to piece. The die board body is entirely surrounded by an aluminum frame which is a much more stable environment than the more traditional designs of a wood body with metal end plates.
Frames and most metal body parts are epoxy-coated. This provides a hard protective coating that eliminates the need for polishing. Ultra Frames, pedal boards, key heads and necks are brush finished and coated with a clear epoxy. Gloss Black is also available. Expo Models are available only with the Gray Hammer Tone finish, Expo X1 Models are available only with the Gold Vein Hammer Tone finish with a protective clear coat, and Student Models are available only with the Wrinkle Black finish.
S-10 Ultra with the Gold frame finish (discontinued) and Black mica.
The frames are inlaid and the body tops are covered with a long-lasting scratch-resistant mica type material.
Available mica colors include Red, Black, Blue, Vintage Wood, and Maple. More colors are available at an additional cost.
Our pickups are double coil humbuckers made by George "L" to our specifications. The GFI-II, standard on all models except 12 strings, is comparable to a slightly heavier version of the E-66. They provide a full frequency range with excellent clarity and note separation. The GFI-I is available as an option for all models and is comparable to a slightly lighter version of the E-66. The GFI-III is available as an option for all Professional Models. It's output is approximately the same as the GFI-II, but with a little brighter tone without any loss of bass at the low end. It's outstanding feature is the note separation in chords at bandstand volume levels. 12 Strings are equipped with the E-66. Other pickups are available on request.
Grover keys are standard on Professional Models. 12 String Ultra models are available with the Keyless Tuning System only. Student Models have keys made by Ping.
Undercarriage of a D-10 Ultra.
Undercarriage of a D-10 Expo.
All aluminum parts are extruded and machined. No castings are used. GFI uses only stainless steel screws for assembly. Pull rods and pedal rods are made from stainless steel.
Pro Model changers are all pull, triple raise, double lower with super hard aircraft aluminum bridge sections that support the steel changer shaft between every finger. The changer finger is where the ball end of the string is anchored and is the main point of contact for the string's vibration to resonate into the wood body. Most steel guitar companies as well as GFI use aluminum for this part. Our stainless steel finger is manufactured by a unique process by which powdered metal is formed under extreme pressure and high heat to create a part much harder than its original starting material. The part is precision ground to +/- .001" total tolerance. The end result is a finger with much less internal friction, less internal undesired movement in the changer, and a harder bridge surface which is much more resistant to scratching and indentations by the strings. There are sound benefits as well, including an increase in overall volume and better note separation in chords while adding a brightness without sacrificing overall fullness of tone. Stainless steel fingers are standard on new Ultra, Expo X1, and Expo pedal steels.
Student Model changers are single finger aluminum and limited to the standard Nashville E9th tuning and setup.
Bell cranks have 7 positions with only 1/8" between hole centers to allow for better balance of string pulls.
Lower string profile (1" above the body), combined with an aluminum support rib on doublenecks and models with a pad, provide much greater stability and minimum detuning.
S-10 P Ultra showing detail of the brush finished aluminum with Clear coat finish.
All GFI pedal steel guitars come from the factory equipped with SIT stainless steel strings. Click here for copedent charts on all models (includes string gauges).
Fretboards are silk screened on mylar with a non reflective finish. 24-inch scale is standard.
The pedal board and pedals are unmatched by any other model on the market today. All pedals are mounted on delrin bearings and attached to an extruded pedal board. Pedal to pedal rod connectors attach to delrin shafts on the pedals eliminating metal to metal contact. A small thumbscrew rides in a channel on the shaft to hold the rod in place. Pedal numbers are stamped on the connectors.
Knee levers are rounded for comfort. Adjustable knee lever "Wing" is standard on D-10 Right Knee Right. Knee lever stops are mounted on their own brackets to eliminate crossrod deflection. All pedal and knee lever movement is smooth and accurate. All stops are solid and positive.
Our legs are also an extrusion of 3/16" thick aluminum wall. When assembled, the steel stands at a standard height of 26 1/4" from floor to the bottom of the back rail. Custom heights of 1 or 2 inches taller or lower are available at no extra cost if specified at the time of order. Front legs are fixed in length while back legs can be adjusted plus or minus about 1/2 inch for leveling. This leg assembly provides greater stability at about 2/3 the weight of conventional steel legs.
"Ultra" Models additionally feature one piece key heads, deflection minimizing crossrod brackets with teflon bushings, adjustable changer springs, and an improved knee lever system.
"Expo" Models additonally feature classic wrap-around styling, angled frame rails, and have all the mechanical features of the "Ultra" except there are no deflection minimizing crossrod brackets.
D-10 Expo showing detail of the Gray hammer tone frame finish and Red mica.
The GFI Student Model has been highly underestimated. It has the same tone environment as our Pro Models and more and more of our Pro Model features have found their way into the Student Model as it becomes more cost effective to keep fewer different parts on hand. It is capable of the complete Standard Nashville E9 set up with 3 pedals and 4 knee levers. If that is the tuning and set up you are looking for, who cares what it won't do. The sound and performance is comparable to many Pro Model steels. The GFI Student Model Steel is probably the best pedal steel guitar value available today.
Undercarriage of the Student Model.
Click here to see the Student Model Setup Sheet, included with every new Student Model, that details setting up the steel and getting it tuned.
Click here to see the Owner's Manual Sheet included with every new GFI Pedal Steel Guitar.
Click here for copedent charts on all models (includes string gauges).
All GFI Pedal Steel Guitars have a limited lifetime warranty against defects in materials and workmanship.


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Don't forget with affirmations you need to - say, write, meditate on - the affirmation repeatedly to create the neural pathway. Focus on being positive and unstoppable to bring your dreams to fruition. Breathe harmony into your life and live your dreams. Repeat, repeat, repeat, over and over all day!! Write your affirmation down on post it notes and stick them where you know you will read them. Meditate on your affirmation with your favourite crystal. When we are at one with our selves and the universe, all possibilities reveal themselves to us, there is a clarity of life that was previously missing and we glide effortlessly through our personal tapestries. Breathe your oneness into your being.
"My focus and Intention is crystal clear."
"I am released from all negative thinking, and recharged with a positive spirit."
"My heart is the center of my power, I am all that I can be."
"I trust my inner wisdom and connect with my soul self everyday."
"I open my heart to the Universe and choose Love, Joy and Freedom."
"I embrace my inner strength, and I am glowing with health and wholeness."
"I am at one with my soul and the universe."
"I am an unstoppable, consistently positive, doer of dreams."


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Airlift capacity to New Orleans came into question recently when Microsoft Corp., citing the logistical challenges associated with reduced flights, decided to relocate three conferences it had planned for the Crescent City in 2007. Microsoft spokeswoman Robyn Kratzer says the issue "really was all about the airline infrastructure." Kratzer also points out that a "significant" portion of the people from the relocated meetings come from international destinations, "compounding the logistical ...
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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live in another era? Scientists have yet to create a time machine, but until then, we've got the next best thing: books! From medieval mysteries to WWII dramas, we've put together a list of books published this year that will let you escape to another time.
The life of Laura Bridgman, the first person to communicate using finger spelling, is explored in this compelling novel set in the mid-1800s. Without the ability to hear, see or taste, Bridgman was confined solely to the sense of touch, and both her inner life and her relationships were intensely complex. But despite being a celebrity during her lifetime, Bridgman has largely been forgotten by history. Thankfully, Elkins skillfully revives the memory of this pioneering woman and her singularly fascinating world.
The mind of Tom Robbins is a world in and of itself, and we're invited to journey through it in his memoir, Tibetan Peach Pie. Detailing his childhood during the Great Depression, his time as a soldier in Korea and his experiences during the LSD-fueled counterculture movement, the author of the classic Even Cowgirls Get the Blues guides the reader through his life with a sly, playful voice. You can't help but be taken along for the ride.
In 1527, 600 men set sail from Spain to explore the New World. By the end of the year, only four men remained alive. Among the survivors was a Moroccan slave named Mustafa, renamed Estebanico by his Spanish captors. The four men wandered the wilderness for eight years before finally reaching a Spanish settlement, yet Estebanico's account of their journey was never written down. In Lalami's meticulously researched novel, she imagines what the first black explorer of the New World might have to say about the years spent searching for civilization—and what he found when he finally reached it.
If you're looking for a fat, juicy tome to get lost in, this novel, set in 1794 England, might be it. Bent on marrying off their daughters to wealthy suitors, four oblivious high-society men hire a pianoforte instructor to teach the girls the art of the newest musical craze. Little do they know, the musician has an agenda of his own and is instructing their daughters in quite a bit more than pianoforte . . .
Take a relaxing trip to Walden Pond, literary oasis of Henry Thoreau. In his biography of the famous poet, Sims paints a lovely portrait of the delightfully zany father of nature writing. You might be inspired to leave the cumbersome modern world behind and retreat to your own Walden Pond . . . or at least go for a hike.
Furst's masterfully executed spy novel unfolds as the world is on the cusp of WWII, capturing the tumultuous, dangerous moment before all-out war enveloped Europe. Recruited to secretly fight the agents of fascism, a truly diverse crew carries out clandestine deeds across Nazi-infested Europe in this fast-paced, thrilling novel.
The 17th-century Medici court of Florence is the scene for this tale of a talented wax sculptor, Zummo, attempting to outrun his past. While completing a bizarre commission from the Grand Duke, Zummo finds love with a mysterious young woman. But of course, scandal is not far behind, and dangerous secrets lurk in the shadows of the beautiful city.
Reeling in the aftermath of WWI, Frances Wray and her mother decide to take on a young married couple, Leonard and Lillian Barber, as tenants in their South London apartment. The lonely Frances is delighted when she becomes fast friends with the affable Lillian, and Frances' confession that she is attracted to women feeds the flames of their relationship. But as their infatuation grows, things take a dark and deadly turn.
She's got (arguably) the most famous face on the planet. But who is the woman in da Vinci's Mona Lisa? Experts disagree, but many believe the painting depicts Lisa Gherardini del Giocondo, the Florentine wife of a wealthy merchant. Through public records and informed guesses, Hales is able to reconstruct a probable portrait of her life—a life perhaps just as fascinating as her portrait.
Inspired by a real unsolved murder, Frog Music is set in San Francisco during the muggy, disease-ridden summer of 1876. When her cross-dressing friend is murdered, Blanche delves into the shady underbelly of the city, determined to find the killer.
Fast-forward 60 years, and San Francisco is on the upswing. In the talented Lisa See's latest novel, three women of Asian descent with very different backgrounds form a seemingly unbreakable bond working as dancers at the Forbidden City nightclub. But as their fame grows and the world around them begins to change, their friendship is tested.
King Richard II is nervous—and with good reason. Whisperings of a dangerous book are floating around 14th-century London. Within this book are the accurately predicted deaths of every king of England—including him. Rulers, deceit, prophecies and every English major's best friend, Chaucer, all make an appearance in this satisfying medieval mystery. Holsinger, a renowned medieval scholar, lends his formidable knowledge to the novel, giving it a well-deserved air of authenticity.
Perhaps you would like to revel in these last sweltering days before fall. If that's the case, this evocative memoir will take you back to midcentury Georgia as travel writer Mayes unspools memories of her early life, filled with the chaos and love of a dysfunctional family. Highlighting the beauty and pain of her Southern childhood—not to mention the steamy afternoons—Mayes has written the perfect companion book to a tall glass of iced tea.
Spanning decades, this novel inspects the evolution of love and evil within a group of friends. Paris in the 1920s was about as fabulously decadent as you can get, and within the city's glittering night life, a group of misfits and strange geniuses finds acceptance and encouragement. But as the world takes a truly horrific turn, the stunning characters within this novel must turn with it, leading them to unexpected and devastating choices.
The Golden Age of Amsterdam comes to life in this wonderfully imaginative debut. When country girl Nella marries a much-older merchant and moves to Amsterdam, she's disappointed to find that life in her new household is incredibly dull and austere. Her husband seems to take no interest in her, and his severe sister runs the household with an iron fist. So Nella is surprised when her husband orders an expensive cabinet-sized replica of their home as a gift. She commissions a miniaturist to furnish her little home, but soon the miniaturist's work reveals dark secrets about the odd family she has married into.
If you think it's hard to get a book published these days, try publishing in Cold War Russia. The Zhivago Affair details the travails author Boris Pasternak, had to endure in order to get his now-classic novel, Dr. Zhivago, published. It's a fascinating tale of intrigue, the CIA (yes, really) and how one phenomenal book helped sow seeds of dissension in Soviet Russia.
Set in a North Carolina coastal town as the Revolutionary War draws to a close, Smith's debut follows three generations of a troubled family as they struggle to cope with loss. The memory of the well-loved, deceased Helen haunts the family she left behind, affecting each family member in complex ways. This novel eloquently conveys how intrinsically connected love and grief truly are.
If you like your historical novels with a bit of a biting edge, this novel drips with dark Gothic mystery. When Charlotte's brother goes missing within the elite world of Victorian society, she is determined to find him. But she soon discovers that there is something supernaturally sinister afoot, and that high society might be more than a little connected to the underground.
Need an escape from the late-summer heat? Picking up a book with "Ice" in the title might be a good route. In his gripping nonfiction account of the ill-advised 1879 expedition to the North Pole, Sides follows the shipwrecked crew of the USS Jeannette as they struggle to survive the Arctic tundra. This vivid nonfiction thriller is guaranteed to leave you chilled—in more ways than one.
Do you see any books that make you want to hop in a time machine? Let us know in the comments!
Sunday, August 24 will mark the 200th anniversary of the night British troops set fire to the White House, the only time other than 9/11 when the U.S. capital city sustained a direct attack. First Lady Dolley Madison had fled the building just hours before the redcoats arrived, famously exclaiming "Save that painting!" and ordering that a precious Gilbert Stuart portrait of George Washington be removed from the wall and carted off to safety, along with the red velvet curtains from the White House drawing room.
British journalist Peter Snow gives a stirring account of that fateful night, as well as the days before and after, in When Britain Burned the White House: The 1814 Invasion of Washington. The book was published in the U.K. last year to glowing reviews and was released this week in the U.S. by Thomas Dunne Books.
Snow keeps the action moving and adds immediacy by citing the letters, diaries and other accounts of those who witnessed (or participated in) the attack. As the British advanced, Americans on horseback sounded the alarm to the fearful residents of Washington, D.C. "Fly, fly! The ruffians are at hand. If you cannot get away yourselves, for God's sake send off your wives and daughters, for the ruffians are at hand." Under the command of Admiral George Cockburn and Major General Robert Ross, British invaders set fire not only to the White House, but to the U.S. Capitol building as well. "Never shall I forget my tortured feelings," one resident recalled, "when I beheld that noble edifice wrapt in flames, which . . . filled all the saddened night with a dismal gloom."
If you've always been a bit hazy about what led to the War of 1812 (and why it was still going on two years later), Snow's excellent account of these crucial events in U.S. history will sharpen your understanding—and make you surprised and grateful that the U.S. today counts Britain among its staunchest allies.
Fall always brings a bounty of fabulous books, and this year is no different. Here's our guide to the 30+ books we're looking forward to seeing in bookstores this fall.
Lock In by John Scalzi (Tor).
The Hugo Award-winning author sets his latest in the near future, where a very contagious virus causes 1% of the people it infects to become locked in their bodies.
The Story of Land and Sea by Katy Smith Thompson (S&S).
Set in North Carolina during the American Revolution, this accomplished first novel is a lyrical exploration of one man's loves and losses.
Mr. Tall by Tony Earley (Little, Brown).
The acclaimed author of Jim the Boy returns with a collection of linked short stories.
The Bone Clocks by David Mitchell (Random House). Welcome to a world where lifespans are negotiable—Mitchell's latest is a tour de force of imagination, suspense and literary chops.
Somewhere Safe with Somebody Good by Jan Karon (Viking). Make a long-awaited return to Mitford with Father Tim, Cynthia and the rest of the gang in Karon's first novel in five years. (read more)
The Secret Place by Tana French (Viking). A new crime novel from the talented French is always news. This time, she's delving into the secret-filled world of an all-girl's school, which just might be harboring a murderer.
The Children Act by Ian McEwan (Doubleday). Would it feel like fall without an Ian McEwan novel? Here, the action takes place in family court, where a successful judge faces personal challenges as well as a complicated case that pits faith against medicine.
Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel (Knopf). Yes, we know you think you've been there, done that when it comes to post-apocalyptic fiction, but Mandel brings something fresh to the genre with a story that focuses on what remains after most everything is lost.
The Paying Guests by Sarah Waters. In a novel that early readers say could be her best yet, the British writer turns to 1920s London, where a widow and her daughter take on a young married couple as boarders—needless to say, things don't work out quite as planned.
Wolf in White Van by John Darnielle (FSG). The lead singer of The Mountain Goats makes his fiction debut with a world-bending story featuring a role-playing game and its mysterious creator. (read more)
The Betrayers by David Bezmozgis (Little, Brown). When an Israeli politician finds himself attacked by his own for taking a moderate position on settlements in the West Bank, he retreats to Yalta, the place he vacationed as a child. But in running away, he is instead forced to confront his past.
Rooms by Lauren Oliver (Ecco). The popular YA author makes her adult debut in this story of a family who inherit a mansion when their father dies—along with its ghosts.
A Sudden Light by Garth Stein (S&S). In his first adult book since the runaway bestseller The Art of Racing in the Rain, Stein returns to the Pacific Northwest—but this time, he's telling a story of fathers and sons.
Rebel Yell: The Violence, Passion, and Redemption of Stonewall Jackson by S.C. Gwynne (Scribner). A journalist whose first work of history (Empire of the Summer Moon) was a bestseller and a Pulitzer Prize finalist, Gwynne applies his stellar storytelling skills to the story of Stonewall Jackson, a mediocre professor from the Virginia Military Institute who became one of the Confederacy's most brilliant generals.
The Assassination of Margaret Thatcher and Other Stories by Hilary Mantel (Holt). As the world eagerly awaits the final volume in her Wolf Hall Trilogy, Mantel throws us a bone with this collection of accomplished short fiction. (read more)
The Prince of Los Cocuyos by Richard Blanco (Ecco). The first Latino and openly gay inaugural poet (he read his poem "One Today" at Barack Obama's second inauguration) offers a lyrical, hilarious account of growing up in Miami as the son of Cuban immigrants.
Nora Webster by Colm Toibin (Scribner). In his seventh novel, the acclaimed Irish novelist follows the quiet life of a widowed young mother, who must bring her four sons up alone in her small community of Wexford, Ireland.
A Brief History of Seven Killings by Marlon James (Riverhead). In this literary tour de force that recalls Toni Morrison, James takes on Jamaican history through the attempted assassination of reggae star Bob Marley.
Some Luck by Jane Smiley (Knopf). The Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Thousand Acres is back with an ambitious new project: a trilogy that spans from 1920-today. This first installment introduces the Langdon family, an Iowa farming clan at the center of her story. (read more)
Lila by Marilynne Robinson (FSG). Robinson returns to the quiet Iowa community she created in Gilead with the story of yet another of the town's inhabitants: Lila, the mysterious young woman who comes to town and marries John Ames. (read more)
The Boy Who Drew Monsters by Keith Donohue (Picador). Donohue is known for his ability to craft eerie and magical tales. His latest is no exception: It tells the story of a young boy whose talent for drawing monsters suddenly starts affecting the real world.
The Innovators by Walter Isaacson (Simon & Schuster). Journalist and author Isaacson, who has penned biographies of Steve Jobs, Albert Einstein and Benjamin Franklin, turns now to the "Inventors, Hackers, Geniuses, and Geeks" who brought us the computer and the Internet. His narrative reveals the contributions of little known engineers and programmers, as well as the stars of the show (Bill Gates, Steve Wozniak, Larry Page, etc.).
Above the Waterfall by Ron Rash (Ecco). One of America's most beloved Southern writers returns with another story of modern-day Appalachia, where a young park ranger and a longtime sheriff join forces to solve a crime that threatens their community.
Leaving Time by Jodi Picoult (Ballantine). An elephant sanctuary is at the heart of Picoult's latest, which finds a lonely young woman attempting to track down the mother who left her without a word a decade before.
The Mime Order by Samantha Shannon (Bloomsbury). The sequel to The Bone Season promises more thrills in a near-future London, where clairvoyant Paige Mahoney continues to uncover the secrets of the Rephaim. [EDITOR'S NOTE: This book has been moved to January 2015.]
Prince Lestat by Anne Rice (Knopf). Rice returns to the genre that made her famous with her latest, which brings back everyone's favorite vampire: Lestat. Vampires around the world are being massacred, and Lestat may be their only hope.
Jerry Lee Lewis: His Own Story by Rick Bragg (Harper). It's an author/subject match made in heaven: The chronicler of hardscrabble Southern life recounts the adventures of the hell-raising musician who brought us "Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On" and "Great Balls of Fire."
The Book of Strange New Things by Michel Faber (Hogarth). A missionary leaves his home and family to convert aliens on another planet in Faber's creative, magical new novel. (read more)
Yes Please by Amy Poehler (Dey Street). The first book from the SNL alum and "Parks and Recreation" star promises personal stories and advice on everything from sex to parenting. We hope it's as funny and appealing as Poehler herself.
Let Me Be Frank with You by Richard Ford (Ecco). In case you couldn't guess by the title, Frank Bascombe (The Sportswriter) is back in Ford's latest book, which finds Frank attempting to put his life back together after Hurricane Sandy.
A Map of Betrayal by Ha Jin (Pantheon). The author of Waiting investigates the secrets that can be hidden within even the closest of families in his latest book, which veers between post-WWII China and the modern-day U.S.
Revival by Stephen King (Scribner). The second novel from King this year is an ambitious, decades-spanning story of a young boy and his fateful encounter with a revival preacher. (read more)
Us by David Nicholls (Harper). The best-selling British writer, whose tear-jerker One Day was a dark horse hit back in 2009 and later became a film starring Anne Hathaway, returns this fall with a second novel that follows one man's attempt to rescue his broken marriage.
*Pub dates subject to change.
Hampton Sides' true-life Arctic thriller, In the Kingdom of Ice is our August Top Pick in nonfiction.
Sides, best-selling author of Blood and Thunder and Ghost Soldiers, displays his knack for narrative history yet again as he chronicles the journey of American officer George Washington De Long and his crew of 33 aboard the USS Jeannette. The crew set out from San Francisco in 1879, hoping to prove the popular theory that the polar sea was free of ice past the Bering Strait, but those hopes are soon dashed when the Jeannette becomes trapped in ice—where it stayed for the next 21 months.
Drawing on newly available letters, diaries, journals and other archives as well as his own first-hand experience in the Arctic terrain, Sides delivers an utterly spellbinding tale that's sure to keep you reading into the wee hours.
Watch the trailer from Doubleday below:
What do you think, readers? Are you interested in this heroic and harrowing tale?
As summer begins winding down, it's about time to kick off the new school year.
When Kim Bearden began her teaching career, she never expected so many of her school day's teaching moments to come from her own students.
Bearden delves into her 27 years of experience in the education field and tells the story of her founding of the Ron Clark Academy (an innovative middle school in Atlanta with a world-renowned reputation) in her uplifting new memoir, Crash Course: The Life Lessons My Students Taught Me.
Crash Course is filled with anecdotes about the importance of bringing creativity into the classroom, advice for tackling problems from a place of honesty and embracing and celebrating her students' cultural differences—all relayed in Bearden's down-to-earth voice.
While aimed at fellow teachers, Bearden's memoir is a beautiful read with insights for anyone working with youth or the public at large.
See Bearden and some of her real students discuss Crash Course in the trailer below:
What do you think, readers? Any teachers out there looking for a back to school read?
In today's guest post, BookPage contributor Carla Jean Whitley discusses what it's like to go from critic to critiqued on the eve of the publication of her first book.
I was recently part of a group of readers who were assessing recent reads and recommending a variety of books. A dozen people curled themselves around cups of coffee in the second-story nook of my local bookstore, eager to hear what upcoming books the booksellers would suggest.
Some of those gathered—including me—were equally excited to share the best books we'd read lately. But as the conversation grew more analytical, I was taken aback by a realization: Soon, readers could be assessing my book.
I've grown accustomed to reviewing other people's work. Review writing was my favorite course in grad school, and my first writing paycheck was for a book review. I've reviewed books and music for much of the 10 years since that first piece was published. I try to consider the reader or listener, not the author or musician, when I write a review; even so, I'm keenly aware that there's nothing to be gained in beating up on an artist. Even when I'm editing at my full-time magazine job or grading the work of college students, I'm quick to offer criticism coupled with praise.
Will reviewers be so kind when they read my work?
My first book, Muscle Shoals Sound Studio: How the Swampers Changed American Music, goes on sale today. It's a history of a tiny recording studio in northwest Alabama and how it became a destination for artists such as Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bob Dylan, The Black Keys and the Rolling Stones. Eleven-and-a-half months lapsed between the day I received a signed book contract and the moment I hit send on an email containing my manuscript. I spent those days buried in research, poring over album reviews and old interviews, watching documentaries and searching for mentions of the historic Alabama recording studio. And as I did, I battled the voices in my head, which were quick to assess every stroke of the keyboard.
As I wrote, I often returned to my writing mantra, care of Anne Lamott's Bird by Bird: shitty first drafts. I practice this daily as a magazine editor, but writing a book amplified every insecurity I've got. Rather than obsessing about whether people would like the book, if it would sell well or what I might write in the future, I labored to redirect my attention to the thing I know best: Writing.
After months of questioning myself—but never the story of this remarkable recording studio—I'm ready to hold the finished product in my hands.
order from: BAM | B & N | Indiebound | Amazon
Carla Jean Whitley is a writer, editor and teacher based in Birmingham, Alabama, where she is managing editor of Birmingham magazine. She is a regular BookPage contributor, and is still talking about her favorite book of 2013, Karen Joy Fowler's We Are All Completely Beside Ourselves. Carla Jean volunteers with literacy organizations and teaches journalism at the University of Alabama and Samford University. Connect with her at carlajeanwhitley.com.
Author photo by Cheryl Joy Miner.
The Empathy Exams by Leslie Jamison
Graywolf • $15 • ISBN 9781555976712
Published April 1, 2014
order from: BAM | B & N | Indiebound | Amazon
I dare anyone who doubts the abillity of the personal essay to enlighten to remain in that mindset after reading even two pages of The Empathy Exams. In a dozen wide-ranging essays, Jamison, a Brooklyn-based writer who previously published the novel The Gin Closet, seems to leave no nook or cranny of the human experience unexplored. With fearless honesty, she reveals the ways pain—both physical and mental—affects us and the ways we respond to others around us. Take the title essay, which takes on the subject of empathy using the lens of Jamison's experience as a medical actor, as she displaying symptoms for doctors-in-training who must ask the right questions to unlock a diagnosis. During this process, she reflects on her own response to others in pain, and on the ways she expects those around her to react when she is in need of empathy.
I wonder which parts of my brain are lighting up when the med students as me: "How does that make you feel?" Or which parts of their brains are glowing when I say, "the pain in my abdomen is a ten." My condition isn't real. I know this. They know this. I'm simply going through the motions. They're simply going through the motions. But motions can be more than rote. They don't just express feeling; they can give birth to it.
Empathy isn't just something that happens to us—a meteor shower of synapses firing across the brain—it's also a choice we make: to pay attention, to extend ourselves. It's made of exertion, that dowdier cousin of impulse. Sometimes we care for one another because we know we should, or because it's asked for, but this doesn't make our caring hollow. The act of choosing simply means we've committed ourselves to a set of behaviors greater than the sum of our individual inclinations: I will listen to his sadness, even when I'm deep in my own. To say going through the motions—this isn't reduction so much as acknowledgement of effort—the labor, the motions, the dance—of getting inside another person's state of heart or mind.
What are you reading this week?
Are you set for vacation reading this summer? If not, we're here to help! Follow the flowchart below to your ultimate summer read. Click on the graphic for an interactive version that will lead you more information about each book, or download it here.
What are you reading this summer?
International model Cea Sunrise Person may have an unconventional career, but she had a very unconventional childhood.
In her memoir North of Normal, Person deftly details the "miserable excesses and occasional beauty" of her off the grid upbringing in the Canadian wilderness. Until the age of 13, Person lived with her free-spirited mother, grandparents and two aunts in a tipi. That's right: No running water, no plumbing and no electricity. They formed a totally self-sufficient community, foregoing modern amenities and living off the land.
Their tiny hippie utopia—where little clothing is worn, lots of pot is smoked and sex is rarely private—is soon interrupted by Person's mother, whose string of whirlwind relationships threaten any possible stability.
Watch the trailer, narrated by Person herself, below:
What do you think, readers? Will you pick up a copy of North of Normal?
Our June Nonfiction Top Pick is Joanna Rakoff's new memoir, My Salinger Year. In this absorbing account, Rakoff (A Fortunate Age) describes her time as an assistant for one of the most storied literary agencies in New York City—one that represented such literary legends as F. Scott Fitzgerald, William Faulkner and Judy Blume, along with the agency's star client, J.D. Salinger.
At just 23, Rakoff found herself thrown into an office perpetually frozen in time where the agents still smoked at their desks, and the typewriter and Dictaphone reigned supreme. Aside from her more predictable administrative tasks, Rakoff learned that one of her duties would be answering fan mail for the reclusive Salinger. She soon found a rebellious courage to ditch the form-letter response, and secretly composed her own thoughtful replies to the passionate letters.
Although Salinger will certainly draw most readers in at first, Rakoff offers "a deeply moving but unsentimental coming-into-your-own story" that resonates long after the final page is turned.
Of course, Rakoff explains it better herself: Watch her video from Knopf below.
What do you think, readers? Interested? My Salinger Year hits shelves today! You can also read our lengthy Q&A with Joanna Rakoff for even more details.


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According to the company, the four-member family of 28- and 40/44-pin PIC® microcontrollers are for use in a wide range of applications. The PIC16F88X family maintains compatibility with the PIC16F87XA family for easy migration, while providing a variety of features designed to save users time and money during and after the design cycle. The features include dual internal oscillators with clock switching and fail safe clock mode, more (up to 14) A DC channels, an advanced comparator module featuring two comparators and a Set/Reset Latch to allow emulation of many analog circuits, and low-power enhancements that extend battery life Microchip Technology Inc.
Microchip Technology, Inc.


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Governor Patrick delivering last year's State of the Commonwealth. (Photo: Scott Eisen/Governor's Office) This evening Governor Deval Patrick delivers his fifth State of the Commonwealth Address. In his address, the Governor will call for a renewed investment in education and transportation to create opportunity across …Continue Reading State of the Commonwealth 2013 Preview
Governor Deval Patrick filed legislation that will professionalize, modernize and regionalize the operations and financial management of the Commonwealth's housing authorities. The proposals will change the governance structure of the housing authority system in order to protect the safety net that public housing provides for …Continue Reading Improving the Oversight & Efficiency of Local Housing Authorities
Governor Deval Patrick filed legislation that will close loopholes to Municipal Unemployment Insurance (UI) and create a fair and collaborative system that provides economic relief to cities and towns. The legislation arises from the work and recommendations of the Municipal UI Task Force he convened …Continue Reading Reforming Unemployment Insurance for Municipalities
Governor Patrick filed legislation that will lower business costs and encourage job growth by freezing unemployment insurance rates for employers and reducing or eliminating the contributions they make to fund health care programs for low-income residents. "This common sense legislation is good for businesses and …Continue Reading Making Massachusetts a Better Place for Businesses
Expanding a regulatory reform effort that has already made doing business easier for thousands of businesses, Governor Patrick announced legislation to streamline and improve the licensing process and business climate for thousands of professional licensees throughout Massachusetts. The legislation is part of the Patrick-Murray Administration's …Continue Reading Improving the Business Climate for Licensed Professionals
Governor Patrick has filed legislation to reform the Board of Pharmacy and strengthen state oversight of the compounding pharmacy industry. This legislation, along with related actions the Administration is taking, builds on recommendations released last week by the Commission on Pharmacy Compounding. "There is no …Continue Reading Reforming the Board of Pharmacy and Compounding Industry
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I see my company launched a Facebook page/group for its Breaking News section.
It looks like it started back in August and it seems many invites were sent out recently. It's a step in the right direction.
I see my company launched a Facebook page/group for its Breaking News section.
It looks like it started back in August and it seems many invites were sent out recently. It's a step in the right direction.
Good stuff Yahoo, put a pic of Obama next to a headline about terrorism. I imagine the picture was added automatically because of the related keywords – but shouldn't they really check it before it goes live?
Update: Someone/something from Yahoo visits within 10 minutes.
25 minutes later and it still features on the main Yahoo News world page:
The movement of a turbine into Afghanistan makes for fascinating reading. The Economist concludes:
Electricity is the basis of any long-term economic development, which in turn is essential to winning hearts and minds. Without power there can be no factories to draw young men away from the Taliban; and without refrigeration there is little hope of developing, storing and exporting crops other than opium poppies.
But Anthony posed a question yesterday which I thought was interesting.
Why not buy the opium from the Aghan farmers, and then destroy it? In other words, pay more than the going market rate for the opium and then do what you want with it. It would kill the opium supply to the rest of the world, pacify Afghan farmers by avoiding destroying their crops, and boost the Afghan economy?
I had an interesting conversation a few weeks ago with an officer from a British navy ship that had docked in Cork. The subject of the conversation varied, but it tended towards military/strategic plans of Britain and the US.
What I pointedly asked was why the British had embarked on a massive navy building programme in the last 10 years, specifically the Queen Elizabeth class carriers and the Type 45 destroyer. Besides replacing older generation vessels, to me it seemed to indicate something beyond current trends in conflict (counter-terrorist Littoral ships).
Since navies have to be planned decades in advance, I often look at them to see what the possible future strategic planning of nations are.
The discussion took place just prior to the conflict in Georgia. He indicated with some frankness that the first priority was securing shipping lanes, and the chief symmetrical threat was considered to be Russia, not China. Though China was an up and coming power, its abilities in terms of blue water navy was decades away.
Discussions then ranged around a number of topics, including possible defences against super-cavitation torpedoes, possible defences by carrier groups against supersonic cruise missiles, submarine defence mechanisms (specifically against ultra quiet subs such as the German Type 212).
Then it turned to energy security. Obviously in naval terms there are very few specific regional choke points. The Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the Straits of Hormuz and the Malacca Straits are among the most notable. Since, I argued, so much of Western energy supplies are via Hormuz, and it borders with Iran, it would seem to be a weakness in energy security.
The solution he suggested was an interesting one. Navy survey ships, he said, from both the US and Britain were concentrating their efforts almost entirely on West Africa. Angola, for example, passed Nigeria to become Africa's leading oil producer this year, at over 2.5m barrels of oil a day. Their reserves alone are estimated at over 10 billion barrels. The US imports 7% of its oil from Angola, about three times as much as it imported from Kuwait just prior to the Gulf War in 1991.
Other West African nations are also beginning production and the EIA has a good report here. It also reports on gas availability. Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania are also new producers.
And what is the biggest advantage of this region for the West, and our energy security? All that lies between West Africa and Europe/US is the Atlantic Ocean – no choke points. And their navies to secure the shipping lanes.
Update: I meant to add that earlier this year the US reactivated its Fourth Fleet after being deactivated for 58 years. This should allow the Second Fleet operate on the eastern Atlantic, while the Fourth concentrates on the Carribean and western Atlantic.
RTE reports that builders are offering interest free loans to lure buyers. They must be getting desperate.
A simpler way to lure buyers would be to drop the over-inflated prices. The advantage of these loan offers is that it gets buyers in at the current property price now, rather than at a lower price later.
I think anyone who falls for this latest ploy by builders is crazy.
That is unless the Government try to prop up the property market in the forthcoming budget. Depending on the measures introduced, it may have the effect of stalling property price declines. I feel though that any effort to interfere in the market will only have a short-term effect, and more like prices will continue to fall.
I've been playing with Twitter for the past few days. It's certainly an interesting tool, and one that I have been enjoying.
You can follow me here: http://www.twitter.com/gavinsblog
Well the Irish Examiner, after much pitching by me, was brave enough to implement wordle usage. I reckon it might be the first Irish paper to use it.
I think it is effective. It draws the readers eyes in, and gives a sense of what the speech itself contains. What do people think? Is it something that could be used more in other contexts?
I have assembled some of the tools I will be testing over the coming months. Here they are:
Well, except the MacBook Pro, which has been the best laptop I have ever had, and is now over one year old. Besides it is an EeePC 901 (12Gb solid state, 8GB SD, 1.6Ghz Atom, webcam, mic, Windows XP), a Canon 20D (extra battery pack/grip, 4GB CF), and a Flip Ultra.
The Flip Ultra has been interesting. The testing has shown that the mic is incredibly receptive, and the video quality is higher than I expected. I uploaded test footage to my YouTube account and it did degrade slightly, but it was still perfectly watchable.
I am taking a leaf out of the book of Jeff Jarvis, Michael Rosenblum and Howard Owens. Is this the kit all journalists should have? Maybe, maybe not. The DSLR is clunky, a point and shoot might be better. Better yet might be a new Nikon D90, which is a DSLR and a HD video recorder.
But for now I will make do with what I have, and see how effective they are as tools of the trade. Georgia should provide an interesting test bed if nothing else.
I took a screen grab of the satellite images of Gustav as it nears the Louisiana coast. Man it's huge. If you use Google Earth's measurement tool, it is about 1,000km by 900km in size. The green is the radar signal.
In this picture I measured the circumference of the main part of the storm, it came at over 3,000km.
On this picture you can see the distance between the two red marks, it's almost 1,000km.
And here it is without the labels…
I seem to be getting deluged with people visiting from StumbleUpon… I'm not sure why though?
Welcome to the blog and feel free to browse around. :-)


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Those who were able to attend the USS Mississinewa reunion of 2003 were fortunite enough to meet Dr. Rick von Stein or at least watch his video of Ulithi Atoll and the history that lies in the waters there. A tremendous supporter of the veterans that so courageously gave of themselves to defend our freedom and the world's freedom during World War II, Rick was extremely generous by not only providing a wonderful visual report of his dive on the Mississinewa but also traveled across the United States to attend and support our reunion.
Rick von Stein and his wife, Corbie have set off on an adventure that most could only dream of. Sailing the South Pacific in their sailboat "Emerald", Rick and Corbie have been keeping an electronic journal of their adventures that they share online.
Click here to view the Von Stein's journey.
Back to the AO-59 Home Page


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Contact us for more information or to schedule a tour of the Conference Center. We are conveniently located in central campus and can accommodate groups from 2 to 200. See our complete floor plan or take a virtual tour.
Enjoy all that Cornell and Ithaca have to offer:
While attending an event, take some time to enjoy Cornell's beautiful campus and the surrounding area. Things to see and do on campus include the Cornell Plantations, walking trails, Johnson Museum, Lindseth Climbing Wall and the Robert Trent Jones Golf Course. Bring your family to take advantage of Finger Lakes attractions.


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Teach Preschool
After a week, the leaves on my leaf turkey are starting to dry out and curl. I thought this was kind of a cool way to observe the changing leaves.
Today was a beautiful fall day here! It was windy with a little chill in the air but bright and sunny. And the leaves were falling everywhere. I think because of the leaf exchange I participated in, I am extremely aware of every leaf I see on the ground right now:-) Every time I see […]
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Tax Policy and Administration:
[Applicability of P.L. 99-177 to IRS Collections for the Virgin Islands and Guam]
B-221498.6: Published: Feb 7, 1986. Publicly Released: Mar 11, 1986.
Additional Materials:
- Full Report:
Office of Public Affairs
(202) 512-4800
(202) 512-4800
GAO reviewed the applicability of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act to Internal Revenue Service (IRS) collections for Guam and the Virgin Islands. GAO found that: (1) there is no authority under the act to exempt the accounts from being sequestrated; (2) even though these payments may be made to fulfill a federal government trust responsibility, this is not a sufficient basis to consider the payments exempt from sequestration; (3) the payment of IRS collections is provided for under permanent indefinite appropriations; and (4) since there is no specific basis for exemption, both accounts are subject to reduction.
Dec 16, 2014
Tax Filing Season:2014 Performance Highlights the Need to Better Manage Taxpayer Service and Future RisksGAO-15-163: Published: Dec 16, 2014. Publicly Released: Dec 16, 2014.
Nov 19, 2014
Individual Retirement Accounts:IRS Could Bolster Enforcement on Multimillion Dollar Accounts, but More Direction from Congress Is NeededGAO-15-16: Published: Oct 20, 2014. Publicly Released: Nov 19, 2014.
Sep 22, 2014
Identity Theft:Additional Actions Could Help IRS Combat the Large, Evolving Threat of Refund FraudGAO-14-633: Published: Aug 20, 2014. Publicly Released: Sep 22, 2014.
Sep 18, 2014
Large Partnerships:With Growing Number of Partnerships, IRS Needs to Improve Audit EfficiencyGAO-14-732: Published: Sep 18, 2014. Publicly Released: Sep 18, 2014.
Aug 11, 2014
New Markets Tax Credit:Better Controls and Data Are Needed to Ensure EffectivenessGAO-14-500: Published: Jul 10, 2014. Publicly Released: Aug 11, 2014.
Jul 29, 2014
Tobacco Taxes:Disparities in Rates for Similar Smoking Products Continue to Drive Market Shifts to Lower-Taxed OptionsGAO-14-811T: Published: Jul 29, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 29, 2014.
Jul 22, 2014
Large Partnerships:Growing Population and Complexity Hinder Effective IRS AuditsGAO-14-746T: Published: Jul 22, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 22, 2014.
Jul 18, 2014
Tax Policy:Differences in Definitions and Rules in the Tax CodeGAO-14-652R: Published: Jul 18, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 18, 2014.
Jul 7, 2014
IRS Correspondence Audits:Better Management Could Improve Tax Compliance and Reduce Taxpayer BurdenGAO-14-479: Published: Jun 5, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 7, 2014.
Jul 2, 2014
Management Report:Improvements Are Needed to Enhance the Internal Revenue Service's Internal ControlsGAO-14-433R: Published: Jul 2, 2014. Publicly Released: Jul 2, 2014.
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« Album Cover: Mac Miller – 'Watching Movies With the Sound Off'
Emeli Sandé Performs 'Next to Me' on 'Leno' »
Lil Wayne Still Plans to Release 'Devol' Album of Love Songs
Last year, Lil Wayne mentioned that he had an album of love songs called Devol in the works—and he hasn't forgotten about it.
During an interview with MTV's "RapFix Live" on Wednesday, Weezy revealed his plans to release it. "I do still plan on dropping that. I'm very excited about that album," he told Sway Calloway.
Although there may be skeptics, he doesn't care what anyone has to say. "I know ya'll probably like, 'I don't want to hear no love songs according to [Wayne].' But I'm talented. [Birdman] let me do whatever I want to do, so I'm putting that album out, ya dig."
He previously explained the concept behind the album, which stands for "loved" spelled backwards. "It's my version of love songs. And what I mean by my version of love songs is they're not saying I love you," he told MTV's "Hip Hop POV."
Wayne also confirmed that there will be another Big Tymers album. But instead of Mannie Fresh, Birdman will be joined by Drake and Wayne. A sequel to Baby and Weezy's 2006 album Like Father, Like Son is also in the pipeline.
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Lynsie Lee Depoalo mugshot
Who is Lynsie Lee Depoalo? Was Lynsie Lee Depoalo arrested? When was Lynsie Lee Depoalo arrested? What was Lynsie Lee Depoalo arrested for?
Lynsie Lee Depoalo was booked in Horry County, SC on 10/11/2012 at 17:50.
The following Official Record of Lynsie Lee Depoalo is being redistributed by Mugshots.com and is protected by constitutional, publishing, and other legal rights. This Official Record was collected from a Law Enforcement agency on 10/11/2012.
Mugshots.com ID: 21525278
Name: DEPOALO, LYNSIE LEE
Ethnicity: AMERICAN (US)
Sex: FEMALE
Age: 26
Booking Date: 10/11/2012 at 17:50
Release Date: N/A
Home Address: CONWAY, SC 29526
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Find A Physician
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Glomus Jugulare Tumors
Glomus jugulare tumors are the most common tumors of the middle ear. Usually slow-growing, they arise from glomus bodies located within the ear. These are very vascular tumors with blood supply from the external carotid artery and internal carotid artery. These tumors are much more common in women.
The symptoms of a glomus jugulare tumor include:
- Hearing loss with pulsatile ringing in the ear
- Dizziness
- Ear pain
- Hearing loss
- Cranial nerve abnormalities of the nerves that control swallowing, gagging, shoulder shrugging, and tongue movements
- When the tympanic membrane is examined a red/blue pulsatile mass can often be seen
These tumors are diagnosed by neurophysiological testing (audiometric and vestibular), CT-scan or MRI imaging. In addition, an endocrine work-up is performed for catecholamines. Laboratory tests include blood and urine collection to detect catecholamine secretion.
Treatment involves medical therapy, surgical therapy, and radiation therapy.
- Medical therapy: for tumors that actively secrete catecholamines, medical therapy is useful for palliation or as adjunctive treatment before surgery. Alpha and beta blockers are given before surgery to block possible lethal blood pressure lability and arrhythmias of the heart.
- Surgical treatment: These tumors are very vascular, therefore, pre-operative embolization of the blood supply to the tumor is often performed. The complications of surgery are persistent leakage of cerebrospinal fluid from the ear, and also damage to one of the nerves controlling face movement, sensation or hearing. Even though the surgery may be successful glomus jugulare tumors are somewhat problematic because they have a high recurrence rate and may require multiple operations.
- Radiation therapy: Radiation may relieve symptoms and stop growth in spite of persistent tumor mass.


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United States of America v. Sather et al
Filing 78
ORDER by Judge David L. Russell: striking 76 Notice of Appointment of Fiduciary Debtor and 77 Notice of Express Trust (cjt, Deputy Clerk)
IN THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF OKLAHOMA UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff, v. RONALD H. SATHER, BARBARA SATHER, BANK OF OKLAHOMA, N.A., Defendants. ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) ) Case No. 5:10-CV-340-DLR ORDER The pleadings styled "Notice of Appointment of Fiduciary Debtor" and "Notice of Express Trust" both filed this date by Ronald H. Sather are stricken as nonsensical and irrelevant to the pending case. IT IS SO ORDERED this 29th day of August, 2011.


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Tuesday, April 24, 2012
Choosing Brit Shalom Over Brit Milah
15 comments:
You are such a wonderful woman for heeding your convictions, and protecting your son from circumcision, instead of going along with the crowd.
Just as other religions would have no right to brand, tattoo, or do any other permanently harmful rite to their children, Jewish children should be free from circumcision. Please continue sharing your story, so you can plant the seed that circumcision is something that should be abandoned in other Jewish parents hearts, and minds.
Beautifully written story, thank you.ReplyDelete
I, too am a Jew and my sons, now 27 and 13 are intact. Although I have never practiced my religion, my children identify themselves as Jews. Their heritage comes from their heart and soul, not their genitals.
My mother always regretted my brothers' circumcisions and like you, learned from Dr. Dean Edell. She learned independently from me at about the same time my first son was born. Whenever a family member mentioned my son needing to be circumcised, my mother was there to back me up. It would have been difficult to fight them off on my own, but I would have. In hindsight, not circumcising my sons is one of the best decisions I ever made as a parent and I don't know how I would live with myself if I had done otherwise.
Please read my thoughts on circumcision below on this site.
Karen Goldis Isskenderov
Mostly what I have seen from Rabbi's is that a boy will be made to feel bad if he doesn't get a circumcision. It is already known that a boy born of a Jewish mother is Jewish, and circumcision doesn't affect that a bit. IF this is the reason given for why a Jewish boys need to undergo circumcision.....fitting in, then it seems like it should be the religion and families responsibility to make sure boys who are not circumcised are not treated any differently.ReplyDeleteReplies
- Andrew S. KohlerMay 1, 2012 at 5:55 PM
"IF this is the reason given for why a Jewish boys need to undergo circumcision.....fitting in, then it seems like it should be the religion and families responsibility to make sure boys who are not circumcised are not treated any differently."Delete
THANK YOU!!! Yes!!! Anyone who rejects a person because of what his or her genitals look like has a character deficiency, and it is that person's problem and not the child's. Those who say "he has to fit in" are no better than playground bullies, and only discredit themselves with such callous and immature thinking.
- roger desmoulinsApril 26, 2012 at 11:20 AM
It takes very very great moral courage to be as religious as you are and yet to refuse to circumcise one's own son. Thank you for sharing this very intimate aspect of your life with us all.ReplyDelete
"So in another holocaust, your son will be spared!"
Your friend's ugly sarcasm speaks so loudly to the envy, the dog in the manger posturing, the fear of ridicule and disdain -- base motives all -- that circumcision, routine as well as ritual, tends to attract. There are surely those who think silently that your decision at your son's birth will embarrass him acutely when he starts dating Jewish women seeking to get married.
"My baby brother died from his circumcision in 1939. He ended up with septicemia before there were antibiotics, and he died."
"...of a boy she knew who was institutionalized because of his bris. He also had septicemia and was permanently brain damaged."
Who will count the victims of brit milah? Thank you for speaking up for them.
Tikkun olam. L'chaim!
Natalie, what a wonderful and loving person you are... and you showed all the respect and love that a parent should have for her child... This world is surely a better world with people like you around... Thank you.ReplyDelete
- Mark ReissApril 27, 2012 at 9:15 AM
What a wonderful article. You are one of the leaders in the Brit Shalom movement. It was a conversation I had with you about twelve years ago that was my inspiration to start the Celebrants of Brit Shalom list on line. And yes, your hippie Rabbi was one of my very first celebrants. We now have more than 80 rabbis and lay leaders worldwide who will help families with covenantal ceremonies, without circumcision. Your son is a model for thousands of Jewish boys now growing up, who will follow his lead as intact Jewish males by having Bar Mitzvahs, and ultimately taking their place in the Jewish community.
- AnonymousMay 2, 2012 at 12:06 AM
I'm so glad to read this! I am a Hindu by religion and circumcision is forbidden in it for the exact same reasons you mentioned... Mainly if you are born with it.. It's meant to be there and mutilation. That said I was made to feel guilty right after my son's birth at my hospital when I was told about the" health risks" of not circumcising my son! I was brought to tears!! Thankfully, by the will of God we spoke to my mother in law and she absolutely forbade us to do it saying it was ridiculous to think that circumcision would help keep my son cleaner and healthier!!ReplyDelete
I'm grateful for that eye opening call I made in a weak moment... All for the love of my son!
Your story is amazing and what you have done takes solid guts to do!! Keep up the good work and encouragement in your community
I loved reading your story, Natalie! I remember Ed Wallerstein asking me to call you because you were so upset during your pregnancy, distressed and vomiting. I thought, no woman should ever have to go through this and how many Jewish women pray for a girl so they won't have to endure the emotional pain that gripped you. Then, too, I remember the day of your son's beautiful brit shalom. After welcoming your son, one of the rabbis walked over to his wife, while the other rabbi played his guitar and sang a song at the place in the ceremony when your son would have been circumcised. The first rabbi said something to his wife about how easy the ceremony was without the circumcision. Several of us cried because the ceremony was so beautiful and welcoming and because your son was spared, but you, your husband, daughter, and your precious newborn son did not cry. You were all joyful! I felt honored to have been invited to the first brit shalom I ever attended. I knew it was groundbreaking then and, after reading your story all these years later, it seems all the more groundbreaking now. Congratulations for your courage, for trusting your mother heart, and for protecting your son! With love, MarilynReplyDelete
"So in another holocaust, your son will be spared!"ReplyDelete
My immediate thought: Is that a bad thing?
Please help me understand better the harms of circumcision. I don't buy that babies remember it. And not having antibiotics in the 30's has no relevance today. I don't necessarily disagree with your views about it, but I haven't seen your case about its harms. Thank you.ReplyDelete
Joan, your question into the harms of circumcision is an excellent one. It's often overlooked by those of us who are so familiar with the subject. I've just added a new section "Why Question Circumcision?" on the top bar of the site. Please have a look!ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 27, 2014 at 1:54 PM
Though I understand your concerns, I must ask- what are your thoughts on the fact that according to the Torah your son is not Jewish? As stated in the Midrash, "If they tell you there is wisdom among the nations, believe it. If they tell you there is Torah among the nations, don't believe it." The ideology of liberalism is a beautiful and important thing, but I think that it is a tremendous mistake to replace Torah with how this society has taught you to feel about stuff.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousApril 27, 2014 at 2:15 PM
Quick edit- still Jewish, just Karesh. I am new to Jewish laws because I was raised in a non-observant environment.ReplyDelete
Love this project and very sorry I can't contribute financially but -ReplyDelete
wondering if you know these resources and if they may be of help to you?
i4SkinHealth an iPhone/Pod/Pad app see at: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/i4skinhealth/id408258486?ls=1&mt=8 I actually am hoping to rase funds through FundRazr to upgrade and update this app - there is some Jewish content in it. If you wish to see it and nobody has an iPhone/Pod/Pad pls meal at email@example.com with your email address and I'll send the original files except the Diary which is math-y and doesn't email well),
with 2 support sites, please visit, 'Like' and share widely:
http://www.farreach.org please read Objectives - a plan for many research projects and
also a nursing case study article with a couple who preserved their marriage through foreskin restoration:
http://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-94-007-6407-1_8#sthash.41S2l8YK.dpuf please feel free to send me an email address if you'd like a pdf of the nursing article also.
I would love to hear what you think of the case study if you read it and to hear more of the Brit Shalom project too.
I live in Montreal and have done presentations on 'genital integrity for several study groups at McGill Community for Learning in retirement http://www.mcgill.ca/continuingstudies/programs-and-courses/mcll
One man who sits on a seminary ethics board for rabbinical training commented that shalom means whole as well as peace, so Brit Shalom is doubly appropriate for welcoming a little one as his whole self!!
Best regards, and Shalom,
B. Maurene White ret RN , BTh, BA (Med Anth), B Ed McGill


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September 2014
Popping up at the Capitol Shopping Centre
Museum scientists have been popping up in the Capitol Shopping Centre throughout the summer with their I Spy…Nature pop-up museum. Natural Sciences staff spent 9 days there with a variety of specimens from the Museum's collections. Every day had a different theme from shells, to fossils, plants and minerals to name just a few. The public were able to ask our curators questions and find out about our new exhibition at National Museum Cardiff (I Spy…Nature), which is open until April 2015. We ran a drawing competition alongside the pop-up with some fantastic entries. We have chosen winners in three different age categories and they will be visiting us at the museum to have special tours behind the scenes and to claim their prizes. The winning entries will be posted on-line in the next few weeks. 2437 people visited us on the stand, which is a fantastic figure. Next we will be popping up at Fairwater Library on the 30th October and visiting 10 schools throughout the autumn.
A Window into the Industry Collections
Amongst the new collections we have received in August was a collection of two ship models and six watercolours. The models and paintings are all by Mr Tony Jackson who was apprenticed to Sir William Reardon Smith & Sons in 1951. The two models are of the BP tanker British Sovereign, and a Liberty Ship. The six watercolours show the Orient City, Homer City, Devon City, Fresno City, Graig and Graigfelen. The photograph below shows Tony Jackson in his uniform aged 15. The next two show the ship model of the British Sovereign ship model and a painting of the Graig.
This photograph is one of three we received showing the basilica and copper mines at El Cobre, Cuba, taken in February this year. These mines were important as a source of ore to Welsh smelting works. We recently acquired a share certificate relating to the Royal Copper Mines of Cobre which you can see in my March blog.
We have been donated a history of the Ely Brewery called 'Beer and the Brewery'. This has been compiled by an ex-employee of the brewery who was an apprentice fitter and then fitter there from 1949 - 1962. This month we have also received 35 copies of the Ely Brewery house magazine 'Mild and Bitter'. The image shows a front page from a 1956 edition.
We have purchased two interesting handbills for the collection. One is for the St. George's SS Co. Ltd., and dates to 1910. The other is for a cruise along the Cardigan coast in 1968.
This Sharp 'Font Writer' Personal Word Processor (Model FW-710 UM) was purchased by the donor to be used during her university course. The word processor was manufactured by Sharp Electronics (UK) Ltd. at Wrexham in about 1995.
Mark Etheridge
Curator: Industry & Transport
Follow us on Twitter -
#fflachamgueddfa #popupmuseum
Hello again!
Over the weekend, amidst the armed police and large NATO wall, the second pop-up museum workshop was held. The aim of these workshops is to find content for the pop-up museum being created at the Museums Association Conference in October and as part of the Welsh Museums Festival. The pop-up is being created with staff from the Cardiff Story Museum, Amgueddfa Cymru- National Museum Wales and the Heritage Lottery Fund with content coming from anyone who has a story to tell about Cardiff.
This time around we tried a different approach and held drop in sessions rather than a 2 hour workshop… Sadly it was a bit of a quiet day. Despite that, we did get some great stories. We heard from a busker who hadn't been to Cardiff on a Saturday for 20 years but was back for a wedding, and from a man who remembered coming to Cardiff for work and ended up being a regular at the Vulcan pub.
The problem we found with the drop in session is that people did not have objects and if they did, they were not prepared to leave them. This meant that at the end of the 2 hours, we didn't have a pop-up museum, just a collection of stories. You live and learn!
The next session is going to be on a Thursday evening, 11th September between 6 and 8pm at Cardiff Story Museum so you can come along and do some late night shopping or have a nice dinner afterwards. We'll be holding it as a 2 hour workshop again so we have a great looking museum at the end of it.
We hope you can make it to one of our future sessions.
Contact Arran Rees on email@example.com or 02920 788334 to find out more.
August 2014
Shells, Scorpions and Shopping Centres
I started out writing a long meandering post about galleries, but what I came to say is this: I've really enjoyed the I Spy Nature exhibition at National Museum Cardiff, which runs until April 2015. Each time I've gone down to see it, the place has been full of families, conversations, and children dressed up as bugs and scientists, hopping from display to display.
I Spy... Nature gives you a chance to see the world as seen through the eyes of a bat, a scientist, or a fly. Provided you're under 10, you can even to dress up like one as you explore the creepy-crawly specimens, 3D printed corals, interactive quizzes and activities. The giant, interactive microscope screen mentioned in David's post can be found in a beautiful cabinet of slides. For those of you who prefer 'the real thing', there's also a working laboratory microscope, with a spinning table of fascinating slides to choose from.
The I Spy... team have also been taking the show outside to different places, bringing their amazing collection with them. For example, here's @CardiffCurator with a curious object at the Eisteddfod:
Mae @CardiffCurator wedi denu lot o sylw gyda'i chragen enfawr ar stondyn @AmgueddfaCymru yn yr @eisteddfod heddi! pic.twitter.com/cxsOTVhg7r
— Gareth Bonello (@ghbonello) August 7, 2014
The I Spy... pop-up museum will be, er, popping up, for one last time this summer. Catch them at the Capitol Centre in Cardiff between the 28th and 30th of August. In amongst the handbags, sandwiches and end-of-season sales, you'll find scorpions, creepy-crawlies and a seashell that's bigger then your head. Pop down to see them between 11am and 3pm to see what you can spy!
We are here @Capitol_Cardiff with our pop up #IspyNature exhibition Come and meet our scientists @Museum_Cardiff pic.twitter.com/3YikdnBPfp
— Cardiff Curator (@CardiffCurator) July 24, 2014
What's your Cardiff Story?
#fflachamgueddfa #popupmuseum
The first workshop to create content for the pop-up museum at the Museums Association Conference in October at the Wales Millennium Centre was held today at the Cardiff Story Museum. Staff from the Cardiff Story Museum, Amgueddfa Cymru- National Museum Wales and the Heritage Lottery Fund came together with a group made up of National Museum Wales and Cardiff Story Youth Forum members and volunteers to test the processes that are needed to create a pop-up museum.
Participants agreed that using Cardiff as a theme was a good idea. What is your Cardiff story? Or what does Cardiff mean to you? provides opportunities for people to give their opinion about Cardiff – the capital city of Wales, whether they've visited before or not. It includes those who are Cardiff born and bred and those who've stepped off the train for the first time; delegates at the Museum Association conference and families visiting the Wales Millennium Centre as part of the Welsh Museums Festival.
A conveyer belt of museum processes was set up with everyone taking turns to write text, photograph their object, be photographed themselves and be filmed talking about their Cardiff story.
In one hour, we created a mini museum in its most basic form. 12 objects, 8 stories, 7 voxpops, and 12 photographs all saying something different about Cardiff and what it means or has meant to the participants today or in the past.
Arran Rees, Curator of collections at Cardiff Story kicked off the session by showing his chosen object and sharing his Story.
Everyone joined in and within 30 minutes, a variety of different objects ranging from Welsh cakes to a fossil revealed something about Cardiff. One participant used Welsh cakes to show her fondness of the stall in Cardiff Market and how she identified with Cardiff and Wales by getting to like Welsh cakes even though she hated dried fruit. Another object was a ring that was a symbol of friendship and good times at Cardiff University. Another contributor told of her experience as a performer in the Cardiff Mardigras in 2013. Everyone wanted to read other people's stories and the objects inspired discussion about Cardiff – good and bad, past and present.
The session was incredibly useful. The group confirmed that a broad theme is better, more inclusive and has more potential to inspire diverse responses than something too specific. Simple low tech methods work, and can be used to create interest and discussion – even when technology lets you down.
Now that the method has been tested and some ideas put into practise, we are ready for the next workshop. This will be an open workshop again at the Cardiff Story, 30 August 11am – 1pm. Come along and share what Cardiff means to you.
Contact Arran Rees at the Cardiff Story for more details:
Cardiff firstname.lastname@example.com
02920 788334
"Our Cats" by Harrison Weir [1889]
We recently participated in #MuseumCats Day on Twitter and this involved a quick search through our holdings for some interesting pictures of cats to Tweet and what a gem we have found! Please enjoy this selection of wonderful and [in some cases] bizarre illustrations of cats from the book "Our Cats and all about them" written and illustrated by Harrison Weir in 1889.
My personal favourites are the surreal disembodied heads [see above], "Sylvie" [she of the magnificent moustaches] and the Russian cat who [in my opinion] has a most unsettling human expression.
Weir was a very interesting character; he was born in 1824 on May 5th [d.1906], and is known as "The Father of the Cat Fancy". He organizied the first ever cat show in England, at The Crystal Palace, London in July 1871 where he and his brother served as judges. In 1887 he founded the National Cat Club and was its first President and Show Manager until his resignation in 1890. Our Cats was the first published pedigree cat book.
Weir was employed, for many years, as a draughtsman and engraver for the Illustrated London News as well as many other publications and in his lifetime he both wrote and illustrated other books such as The Poetry of Nature (1867), Every Day in the Country (1883) and Animal Studies, Old and New (1885). In 1845 he exhibited his first painting at the British Institution and during his career he was an occasional exhibitor at the Royal Academy.
He was a keen animal fancier, an experienced breeder of cats, carrier pigeons, and poultry and for thirty years often acted as a judge at the principal pigeon and poultry shows. In 1903 he wrote and illustrated the exhaustive book Our Poultry and All About Them.
More information on Harrison Weir via the following links:
This book was bequeathed to the Library back in May 1916 along with around 500 other books by the Welsh artist, champion of Wales' cultural heritage and one of the founding fathers of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales, Thomas Henry Thomas.
Along with the books, Thomas also bequeathed his entire catalogue of prints, drawings and watercolours to the Museum.
More information on Thomas Henry Thomas here:
The illustration above appeares in the Chapter "Performing cats". Other chapters include, "Cats as tormentors", "Dead cats", "Fishing cats" and "Lovers of cats" [would you believe... Cardinal Richelieu?].
This book is available to view electronically via the following Project Gutenberg link:
Biographical information on Harrison Weir taken from Wikipedia.
All photographs in this post taken by the author.
summer art activities
As I am now working in St Fagans National Museum and National Museum Cardiff, I can share loads more works of art and design! It also means that I've had a lot of help preparing and delivering the art workshops, so thank you to Heloise,Liz, Sally, Ellie, the two Catrin's, Marged, Marsli, Tracey, Angharad and Hywel!
In St Fagans this summer we've been asking visitors to design a new play area for us (we will be building a new play area in the near future as part of the redevelopments) and we have had the most amazing designs and ideas. I think my favourite are the fireman's pole shaped like a worm and a tree house that explodes with sweets every five seconds. Lots of people want tree houses, zip wires and monkey bars!
For the workshop based on the Wales Visitation exhibition we are taking families to look at some of the paintings and objects on display and asking them to create a landscape using image and text. They can use any words they want, but we have also been providing them with quotes from the Allen Ginsberg poem (from which the exhibition gets it's title) as there are such gorgeous and visual parts to the poem, such as:
"Valleys breathe, heaven and earth move together,
daisies push inches of yellow air, vegetables tremble,
grass shimmers green
sheep speckle the mountainside, revolving their jaws with empty eyes,
horses dance in the warm rain"
(Art activities continue throughout August, for more details about the workshops and activities, please visit our 'What's on' pages)
Students from Oman at National Museum Cardiff
Two final year biology and crop protection students from Sultan Qaboos University, Oman have arrived at the National Museum Cardiff for 2 weeks on an internship to learn more about the identification of two groups of insects, flies and bugs and the techniques we use to study them. For Sara Mohamed Ahmed Al Ansari and Salma Saif Salmin Almabsli it is their first time outside of Oman. After the time here they will spend 2 weeks at the Natural History Museum, London to widen their knowledge of taxonomic techniques before returning to the warmth of Oman.
I-Spy Micrarium Touch Screen (VADU part II)
There is an exhibition showing at National Museum Cardiff called: I-Spy…Nature (until April 2015). One of the touch screens (picture 1) focuses on a selection of diverse, interesting and beautiful biological and geological slides from the Museum's Natural History Collections. This blog is about the small aspects of the touch screen that I was involved with; plain and simple.
Resources & Outlines
- One general overview image of 36 slides
- 12 very high resolution images of some of those slides
- 27 inch touch screen
- Complement an actual Micrarium, which would be displayed neatly above the touch screen
- Incorporate a Victoriana style
- Target audience: young folk
The high resolution slide images were always the prize, therefore it seemed obvious to sort out the zoom features first. Using the Javascript version of Zoomify (other javascript frameworks are available) gave us a good foundation to work on. We just needed to tap into their Zoomify Javascript code a little, then add our own layer of Javascript and graphical flourishes to make the design fit in with the exhibition outlines.
All the controls were laid out in plain sight, hopefully to reduce any learning curve when approaching the interactive; and since the touch screen is quite large (27 inches) we had the space.
Five additional features were added to the zoom screen (picture 4):
- Zoom controls
- Navigation controls
- Home button
- Information button
- Change language (English/Welsh)
n.b. where possible I tried to avoid using words to describe button functions, hence why the home button is only an image, but this idea fell down a little when it became clear you couldn't avoid a word or two to help the visitor work out what specimen they were observing.
Into the Arms of a Microscope
Once or twice someone may have caught me saying things like: "Plagioclase Feldspar" or "Olivine". Anyhow, part of the fun with looking at slides is the process of selecting a new slide, I thought so anyway - you were never sure what would be on the other side of the glass.
I wanted to avoid the conventional method of changing between images, which is usually to include a 'next' and 'previous' button; so tried to incorporate some of my vague science memories with a quick reconnaissance mission (picture 5) to see the microscope that was being prepped for the exhibition.
Since there were 36 lower resolution images on the home screen, but twelve high resolution images on the slide selection screen, it gave some space to move a simple microscope stand into view, which provided the excuse to animate the microscope arms and float the slides back and forth. The iris transition between the microscope slide view and the zoom view is loosely based on the idea of looking down a microscope eyepiece.
Intermittent Contact
The interactive was built on HTML and Javascript with animations mainly driven by CSS. Due to the amount of images used in this interactive (up to 120MB), the project was exported from Amgueddfacms CMS into a standalone ZIP file then installed onto the exhibition PC - this improves the interactive response times, since it doesn't have to wait for any image files to download over a network connection.
We've been using Firefox for a while as its platform independent and has neat little add-ons (R-Kiosk and Block Site). In this case, the operating system is Windows 7, with a locked down user account which only has access to Firefox and the touch screen drivers.
Usually we use Google Analytics to record button events, to give us an indication of how much the interactives are being used, but Google Analytics is designed to work with regular domain websites, which is not the case when running locally from simple hard drive files. Therefore the button events are recorded by the web server through AJAX calls.
Video Demo
I've included a short demo video for posterity:
Fifty years of a golden reign: a souvenir of the Queen's Jubilee [1887]
Well now, here's a pretty thing…
A souvenir booklet celebrating the fifty year reign of Queen Victoria. It was published in 1887 by Eyre & Spottiswoode, who were the official printers to Her Majesty at that time.
Our volunteer [Alison] has been working her way through old pamphlet boxes and all manner of forgotten things and very kindly passes to me items that are interesting, unusual or just lovely to see, and this one falls into that last category.
It measures 11 x 13.5 cm, has 16 pages and, our accessions register states that it was donated to us in May 1935 by a Mr Charles Barnwell Esq.
The book also contains a poem written by Lord Tennyson especially for the occasion. Tennyson had been Poet Laureate since 1850 [after William Wordsworth's death] and held the position until his own death in 1892.
Interestingly, Eyre & Spottiswoode [established in 1845], went on to merge with Methuen Publishing in the 1970s.
All photographs in this post taken by the author.
All entries
Conserving Government Propaganda prints from the Great War
Historic Photography Project (Esmee Ffairburn)
Linking Natural Science Collections in Wales
Research in Norway and the Barents Sea
St Fagans National History Museum Making History Project