text:
Sephardic, Ashkenazic, Mizrahi Jews - Jewish Ethnic Diversity
Jewish culture: The true melting pot.
For most Americans, traditional Jewish culture summons up images of Passover seders with steaming bowls of matzah ball soup, black-hatted, pale-skinned Hasidic men, and Yiddish-speaking bubbes (grandmothers) and zeydes (grandfathers).
In reality, these snapshots represent only one Jewish ethnic group of many.
Shared Jewish history, rituals, laws, and values unify an international Jewish community. However, the divergent histories of Jewish communities and their contacts with other cultural influences distinguish Jewish ethnic groups from one another, giving each a unique way of being Jewish. Worldwide, Jews from distinct geographic regions vary greatly in their diet, language, dress, and folk customs. Most pre-modern Diaspora communities are categorized into three major ethnic groups (in Hebrew, sometimes called eidot, "communities"):
· Ashkenazim, the Jews of Germany and Northern France (in Hebrew, Ashkenaz)
· Sephardim, the Jews of Iberia (in Hebrew, Sepharad) and the Spanish diaspora
· Mizrahim, or Oriental Jews
The Jewish ethnic identity most readily recognized by North Americans--the culture of matzah balls, black-hatted Hasidim, and Yiddish--originated in medieval Germany. Although strictly speaking, "Ashkenazim" refers to Jews of Germany, the term has come to refer more broadly to Jews from Central and Eastern Europe. Jews first reached the interior of Europe by following trade routes along waterways during the eighth and ninth centuries.
Eventually, the vast majority of Ashkenazim relocated to the Polish Commonwealth (today's Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine, and Belarus), where princes welcomed their skilled and educated workforce. The small preexistent Polish Jewish community's customs were displaced by the Ashkenazic prayer order, customs, and Yiddish language.
Jewish life and learning thrived in northeastern Europe. The yeshiva culture of Poland, Russia, and Lithuania produced a constant stream of new talmudic scholarship. In 18th century Germany, the Haskalah movement advocated for modernization, introducing the modern denominations and institutions of secular Jewish culture.
Although the first American Jews were Sephardic, today Ashkenazim are the most populous ethnic group in North America. The modern religious denominations developed in Ashkenazic countries, and therefore most North American synagogues use the Ashkenazic liturgy.
Many historical documents recount a large population of Jews in Spain during the early years of the Common Era. Their cultural distinctiveness is characterized in Roman writings as a "corrupting" influence. Later, with the arrival of Christianity, Jewish legal authorities became worried about assimilation and maintaining Jewish identity. Despite these concerns, by the seventh century Sephardim had flourished, beginning a time known as the "Golden Age of Spain."
During this period, Sephardic Jews reached the highest echelons of secular government and the military. Many Jews gained renown in non-Jewish circles as poets, scholars, and physicians. New forms of Hebrew poetry arose, and talmudic and halakhic study took on great sophistication.
Ladino, the Judeo-Spanish language, unified Jews throughout the peninsula in daily life, ritual, and song. Ladino, a blend of medieval Spanish with significant loan words from Hebrew, Arabic, and Portuguese, had both a formal, literary dialect, and numerous daily, spoken dialects which evolved during the immigrations of Sephardic Jews to new lands.
The Sephardic Golden Age ended when Christian princes consolidated their kingdoms and reestablished Christian rule throughout Spain and Portugal. In 1492, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella expelled all Jews from Spain; soon after, a similar law exiled Jews from Portugal. Sephardim immigrated to Amsterdam, North Africa, and the Middle East.
Others established new communities in the Americas or converted publicly to Christianity, sometimes secretly maintaining a Jewish life. These converts (known in Ladino as conversos and in Hebrew as anusim, forced converts) often maintained their Judaism in secret. In the 21st century, there are still people in both Europe and the Americas who are discovering and reclaiming their Jewish ancestry.
Wherever Sephardim traveled, they brought with them their unique ritual customs (minhagim), language, arts, and architecture. Sephardic synagogues often retain the influence of Islam in their architecture by favoring geometric, calligraphic, and floral decorative motifs. Although they may align with the Ashkenazic religious denominations (usually Orthodoxy), the denominational identity of Sephardic synagogues is, in most cases, less strong than their ethnic identity.
At home, Ladino songs convey family traditions at the Shabbat table, although Ladino is rapidly disappearing from daily use. Sephardic Jews often maintain unique holiday customs, such as a seder for Rosh Hashanah that includes a series of special foods eaten as omens for a good new Year and the eating of rice and legumes on Passover.
- 1 |
- 2 |
Did you like this article? MyJewishLearning is a not-for-profit organization.


text:
Gardendale Candlelight Vigil
Friday, January 18, 2013 11:28 PM
Inappropriate photo? Alert us.
Gardendale families affected by last week's shooting incident on Country Meadow Drive involving Terry Greer, former pastor of Gardendale-Mt. Vernon United Methodist Church, gathered together Friday night for a candlelight vigil and prayer walk.
Related articles
- Candlelight vigil brings community together following shooting in Gardendale (slideshow) January 18, 2013, 11:36 PM
- Lawyer says Rev. Terry Greer experienced 'perfect storm of personal and professional problems' before shooting January 27, 2013, 8:57 AM

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Titch2 wrote:I googled ugly witch ,images.
Bugga me....you learn something everyday.
Titch2 wrote:I googled ugly witch ,images.
Rosco1 wrote: I've taken Friday & Saturday off work
xmasbaby67 wrote:Here's some deep fried Dandelions for you Titch.... they look yummy not sure how they would taste though?
Poodle Jewel wrote:What's the Weather Like at Your Place ???
Every time i think of camping the weather looks crappy..cold and windy and cloudy tonight.
Even the dogs are keen.(see photo)
Titch2 wrote:Take them camping,you have no excuse not to with a hard roof.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 9 guests


text:
Jojo Eats Dim Sum Giveaway (CLOSED)
The winners are Lisa H, Aislinn M, Joy A.
In my previous life, I worked in the largest gaming media company in the world, and I came to know James Kye, a good ex-colleague of mine. I was based in Southern California while James worked at the corporate headquarters in San Francisco. Whenever I went up there on business trips, James and I would always go eat dim sum together. Both of us shared the same huge passion for really good food…
Fast forward many years, I am now a mother and James has become a children book author. He started his "Jojo Eats" series with "Jojo Eats Dim Sum"—a delightful, fun, and educational picture book with the aim of introducing children to the joys of enjoying Cantonese dim sum! (Click the above gallery to view the inside pages.) I can't wait for the next installment in Jojo's culinary explorations: Jojo Eats Korean Barbeque, Jojo Eats Sushi, Jojo Eats Indian Veggie, and more!
The book is a perfect fit for Rasa Malaysia and its readers, and the good news is that James is kind enough to offer three (3) copies of "Jojo Eats Dim Sum" as a giveaway.
To enter to win, just leave a comment below.
To maximize your odds of winning, you can leave a comment every day (one comment per day strictly enforced), plus the bonus entries below:
Two Bonus Entries:
- Like Jojo Eats on Facebook. Leave 1 extra comment for this.
- Like Rasa Malaysia on Facebook. Leave 1 extra comment for this.
This giveaway opens to everyone and closes on August 21, 11:59 pm PST. Winners will be randomly selected and announced on August 22, 2011. Good luck!
Sign Up for Email Updates
Enter your email for new updates: recipes, giveaways, and more!
148 comments... read them below or add one
Looks good. I'm always looking for new books for my nieces and nephew
great book for introducing young kids to the awesomeness of dim sum =)
Let the kids know the foods of the world when they are young! :-) Excellent
I love this site and it's fantastic to be able to enter .. i am from New Zealand and live in Australia. One of my brothers is married to a Thai girl and the other to a Filipino girl. Our food is a wide mixture of asian/kiwi/australian and we love to cook !! I have my first grandchild on the way and this book would be a delightful addition to our household.
this looks great, wish there was a jojo eats vegetarian though! not just indian veggie.
I love that this giveaway is worldwide. For a change I can enter! Yay
Oh I would love a copy for my girls.
Hopefully it'll get my kids AND my husband to try chicken feet too!
Never lucky in any contests or giveaways hope this one will change my luck
Yay! Yum cha is awesome and so are books. What a great idea! Love, love, LOVE your site too :) Can't wait to see your book arrive on pre-order
teeheehee… check out the illustrations on the book, they're SO CUTE!
looks like a great book to introduce ang-mohs to other culture's yummy foodies :D :D
What a fantastic giveaway!! My little boys will love this, especially the 7 year old who can happily eat dim sum every single day. I haven't seen this book in Sydney so wow.. I am liking everything about this giveaway. Thanks!
liked both pages under ana amanti
rasa malaysia and jojo eats .
tumblemumbo at gmail dot com
i love to eat dim sum but haven't eaten in a long time here .
tumblemumbo at gmail dot com
Sounds like a fun book!
Everybody loves dim sum! I'm excited that I can also enter.. : ) Hope can win..
I would love a copy for my kids. they love Dim Sum very much especially Dan Tat, of course they love reading book.
This is a very cute way to introduce DIM SUM, one of my favorite foods :)
genius ;) and awesOMe graphics to go along too..
really reflects the multicultural world mixed in with a universal favourite past time; eating :D
Will JoJo eat Middle Eastern food at some point?
I love tHis site
Who wouldn't want a book about eating dim sum?
Super cute. My 9-year-old Chinese brother-in-law would love this.
would love to have this book! i am a brazilian who works at a bilingual (english/portuguese) school founded by a chinese family, so we really appreaciate chinese culture here. plus I used to live in Malaysia and dim sum was my favourite. really miss the dim sum joint in my kl suburb!
What a cute book!
Looks like an adorable book. Thank you for the opportunity!
this book looks very cute!
What a fun book! I would love to win this for my nieces/nephew.
And I follow you on FB.
A head start for baby g to learn about her culture! Thanks!
Love the title! Am hongree already!
Oh, and liked on FB as well!
It looks cute! I want a copy for my little one.
What great pictures! :)
Would love to give a copy for my son. He loves Dim Sum!
It looks like a FUN book. I love dim sum and my kids love them, too. Although, I'm a 51-year old woman, I love reading children's books. By the way, I'm an avid follower of your blog :).
This book looks cute, it'd be great for my nephew and niece.
This looks really cute!
Cute pics. I do wish the pronunciations were correct though!
omigosh this is adorable!
thanks for the book offerings to give to others.
Good Luck to all!
What a cute idea for a children's book. Count me in, I know just the munchkin to give it to!
This would be a great book to add to my shelf
I'm a facebook fan. Here's a second submission
Looks so cute. Is it wrong for an adult to enjoy flicking through kids' books?
Love love this book and lovely illustrated and written….I'm sure going to get one as gift for my little boy classroom teacher =)
this is so cute. would be cool to win. :)
I love taking my kids for dim sum – even though they're only 11 months old and 3 1/2 years!
Would love to have this for my son :)
that's cute! i've been using a little dim sum pocket guide as a picture book for my son.
Wow…would love to have this book, love dim sum.
I would love to get one for my baby niece. It's never too young to love dimsum.
I liked jojo on FB!
I liked rasamalaysia on FB!
I like the sound of this. Nice idea for a children's book.
When It comes to food, I live by the motto "Try anything once." I taught my children that too. You won't know whether it tastes nice or not unless you try it.
So I eat almost anything since my young days until even now.
Hoping to win a copy for my niece :)
cOOkie looks forward to eating dim sum with jojo!! ^^
I would loveeee to win this for my bestfriend who's name is Jojo (well, we call her that!) and she LOVES dim sum!
I liked Jojo Eats on Fb!
I Like Rasa Malaysia on Facebook
would love to get this for my little girl :)
This is too cute! I've never come across children's books like this. It's good to introduce kids to new food types.
That is such a cute book. My daughter would love it.
Nice illustration and descriptions
This looks adorable!
Dim Sum can't live without it!
Wish I had these books growing up! I love books that show Asian American kids enjoying Asian food!
Thank you for the giveaway! Now my husband will have no excuse not to order dim sum by their cantonese names :D
I will definitely keep this book for myself. Even though I'm 24 but I'm still a kid at heart and "dim sum" is definitely one of my favorite eats!
that's really a good news. thank you
I'd love to have a go at making dim sum
Awsome. Always looking to introduce the kids to something Cantonese.
Cute! If you have a favorite dim sum place in OC, please share. I used to live in the SGV, and so far, nothing has compared!
Putting in an entry for the day
My daughter will LOVE to read/look through this book!
I'd love to get a copy of this book for my daughter!
another good morning to u
Wow, kids' books are really progressive these days. I would have never imagined a children's book about sushi, let alone dim sum, existing when I was young. Awesome.
love the concept
Oh good! My kid loves dim sum, so will be fun to read about them. :)
My kids are taking Chinese classes in elementary school, and I'm also introducing them to Chinese culture through dim sum.
Hoping to be a dim star star chef some day
this book is so cute!
'Like' Rasa Malaysia on facebook
I have been looking for a new dim sum cookbook and am excited about this one!
My girls love dim sum. We only get dim sum when we go back to SF…
Professional Dim Sum chef soon I will be
my nieces and nephew loves dim sum
Dim sum! I would love to make good dim sum!
I'd like to have the book
Love the idea of introducing new foods to kids!
My best friend's nickname is JoJo. She would love a copy of this book.
these books sound so great! my boys already have tried and love dim sum. their dad was so proud when they devoured intestine. and being korean, they love korean bbq, etc.
Looks like we could have used it at dim sum today. Thanks to Mrs. Eat-a-duck-I-must for sending me your way!
i love dim sum =)
Seeing as I'm a huge fan of dim sum, I know that I would love to read this book to my daughter.
Another day another try
Back again for another chance.
wish me the best
have like both on fb
wish me the good luck
Book about Dim Sum gives a very good insight to all the delicious dished particular to dim sum.
happy dim sum book
love your web site! truly a comprehensive resource for Asian food!
I'm so down for dim sum that I even laugh at the cheesiest of dim sum jokes!
another day chance
I would love this. Love dimsum!
this book looks so cute. It is a great idea for a giveaway
good morning Jojo and happy dimsum eating!
I really hope JoJo eats chicken feet during his dim sum meal.
Looks great! I'm excited to see this cookbook
Good morning,
another day chance
I like the art!
i heart dim sum!
It would be nice to have this for my niece who starts school this year.
Good morning,
another day chance.
good luck
looks very cool :-) I'd love a copy for my baby son! :-)
What a great idea for a book series. I would love to share this book with my niece, who loves dim sum!
I can hardly wait!
Good morning,
another day chance.
good luck to everybody
This book looks really cool :-)
This book is great! I love to eat (everything)! My favorite dim sum of all time is the Ma Lai Goh (steamed sponge cake)!
This book looks so cute!
I want to give this book to my soon to be foodie nieces!
Just checking in! I want this!
Good morning,
another day chance.
happy joining
loves to eat dim sum
I'm soo gonna have dim sum tomorrow!
would love to see what is inside….
This giveaway doesn't seem to be as popular as the others, but I think the prize is just as cool!
it looks adorable!


text:
|Regions:Dover/Somersworth -Great Bay - Rochester - Southern Maine
|Exeter Greenland Portsmouth New Castle Newington Stratham Rye
Go Mobile: http://mobile.fosters.com
Relyco honored for work at 100 Best Communities ceremony
Thursday, January 17, 2013
DOVER – Relyco, a leading provider of value-added business printing and payment solutions, announced the company was recognized for its community involvement in helping to make Dover "a great place for young people to live, learn, and thrive" at Tuesday night's 100 Best Communities for Young People award ceremony held at the New Hampshire Children's Museum.
"It's a great honor to be recognized for how Relyco continues to help the Dover community. We're extremely proud to have played a role in the city being named as one of the 100 Best Communities for Young People," said CEO Mike Steinberg.


text:
Results 1 to 15 of 25
August 18th, 2008, 12:06 PM #1
A game. So, which do you prefer? Or write your own version...
He felt miserable. All the trials of the past weeks were taking their toll. He could barely keep his head up, he was so weary from all the fighting. Raw wounds chafed under his arms and the bandages needed to be changed. The day was just beginning and he didn't know how he was going to make it through until sunset.
He grimaced. His shoulders slumped and his eyelids mimicked them. His head lolled on his neck. Fresh blood dripped from the tip of his sword and pooled on the pock-marked earth. Filthy bandages oozed green. Sunlight stripped the soil as his hand clutched the pommel, tendons bulging through dry skin. A long day ahead....
August 18th, 2008, 01:07 PM #2
I prefer the first one.
The second doesn't flow as well.
August 18th, 2008, 02:29 PM #3
- Join Date
- Sep 2002
- Location
- Charter Member, Restore Pluto Initiative
- Posts
- 4,498
Sunlight emphasized the wounds, the bandages, the blood overwhelming the bandages as well as the blood dripping from his blade. Sunlight failed to ease the thousand agonies besetting his muscles, bones, nerves. Head bowed, eyes refusing to clear themselves of sweat, shoulders slumping under the strain of weeks of trials with no end in sight, he doubted he'd last even so short a time as the arrival of sunset.
What bothers me about choice #1 is the passive voice. I like everything about choice #2 except the sentence where the subject seems split between what the sunlight is doing and what his hand is doing.
August 18th, 2008, 02:58 PM #4
Exactly, HE! One is telling the other is showing, as the saying goes. But no matter how often we substitute showing words for telling words, so many readers, like you Bengoshi, prefer the more descriptive ones.
For anyone who's reading this thread, post your samples of a similar paragraph. But write them both ways, first passive, then active. The active way is much harder. Trying to find the right motions, actions, twists of the head, blink of the eye, lines on the face etc is so much more difficult than describing it with adjectives and adverbs.
Try it. Give it a shot!!
August 19th, 2008, 01:53 AM #5
That's a problem I see a lot in the "showing treatment". It reduces the author's tool box to the simple-tensed statement. See, how you're using progressive aspect, modal auxiliaries etc. in the first one, but end up with a straightforward list of Subject-simple verb-Object sentences in the second one? Your tool box has been impoverished, and that's why the first one's better.
For anyone who's reading this thread, post your samples of a similar paragraph. But write them both ways, first passive, then active. The active way is much harder. Trying to find the right motions, actions, twists of the head, blink of the eye, lines on the face etc is so much more difficult than describing it with adjectives and adverbs.
Try it. Give it a shot!!
The past week had drained his life-force and he was spent. The sun came up too soon, and bade him, too, to rise. Oh, but how his body protested! There was no pain, not any more. Just a dull ache from toe to head to toe. And a heavyness of limb that seemed impossible to overcome. But he had to overcome it. Last night's blood still caked his sword - never should he have risked a valuable blade like this. And the bandages needed changing lest they became indistinguishable from his unhealthy skin. He blinked; the sun, harsh as ever, did not. A new day, then. A new day...
First a breath, and then another. It should not be an effort this business of breathing, but the hard earth was pressing against his lungs, and he was burying his head into the stinking blanket he was lying on, to block out the early sunlight. With an inward groan that had no air to travel on, he rolled onto his side and took a deep breath. The rush of crisp morning air ached in his lungs and sent his head spinning. He pressed his eyes shut and jolted himself into a sitting position. A mistake: a thousand cuts and bruises announced their presence, a hundred bandages, stiff with a dried mixture of blood and pus, chafed against sore skin. He winced. At least his breathing, though shallow, was steady, now. He found he was shivering - the clothes he had slept in damp with dew. A roof, a wall, a bed. Oh, please, a bed! Slowly he heaved open his eyelids, but instead of magical comfort he saw bare work: his sword, before him, unsheathed and uncleaned. A sudden flash of fantasy: A hundred enemies' blood had ruined his blade. He would not get another. He would never fight again. But already his treacherous hand was searching for his backpack. And found it. Gripped. Pulled. Exhausted itself. And the day was just beginning.
(The first one was actually harder to write. I'm not really satisfied with either.)
Last edited by Dawnstorm; August 19th, 2008 at 01:57 AM.
August 19th, 2008, 08:27 AM #6
It is the problem, Dawn. I agree. It's so much harder to strip the text of all the descriptors, adverbs, adjectives, and still convey the action and the sentiment. Scott Bakker once said to me that he tries never to use the conjugation of 'to be' - was, were etc. "He was tired" - NO. "Fatigue gripped him" - YES. And my editor wants stripped down text, action, terse sentences, few literary elements.
It's much easier to describe and to find the perfect words, the perfect sentences using all the tools language has to offer. But it also slows the pace of a chapter and removes the reader from the active elements often.
Both your examples are elaborations on the same technique. Both are descriptive and both describe inner motivations that require an omniscient narrator. Try the second one again without talking about any of the inner feelings, and try conveying them with actions and simple descriptors. Not so easy.
August 19th, 2008, 09:14 AM #7
The main thing here in my opinion is that the active writing will reach very little of your target audience in the way you want it to. As a writer.. you want them to try to come out with some general idea that you are trying to convey.. however.. active writing leaves more open to personal input and interpretation.. personal.. "fill-in-the-gaps" thinking, and thus the final product imo isn't even really what you meant it to be.
I dont think everyone's interpretation should be the same, but with active writing.. it's a bit too open and leaves a lot of gaps for myself.
Passive writing.. doesn't have to be so "passive" or "opressive". It's not the amount of detail that's important .. but the right kinds of details.
I commented in another thread a while ago about how I believe that many writers today are wasting their time writing paragraphs and paragraphs of setting-description. Along the lines of "the long arching columns twisted and came around the marble walls that were auburn and green at the top, spiraling back towards the ground where glass and marble sparkled and reflected the silvery spherical openings of the patrician patterned roof." (I just made that up as an example.)
Now... after reading that.. MOST people will either go back and have to re-read it 3 times in order to get a decent idea of what the author was saying.. at which point they wont care about the setting. OR most readers will say.. the hell with that.. I can't quite get the picture in my head and just keep reading.
There is a fine line between meaningful detail and obese description. Active writing leaves you with not enough detail, and passive can sometimes hit you on the head with way too much.
August 19th, 2008, 09:53 AM #8
Yes, it's the right blend of both that works the best. Also, the story dictates what style to use from chapter to chapter.
There is something to say though in praise of authors who can so succinctly get their mood and idea across with few words. It's the ability to find the perfect way of impacting the reader. The Road is a good example of this. The bleak writing parallels the bleakness of the story and setting.
It shouldn't be a rule though. And it seems to me that too often editors trend towards one style or another, depending of course on market issues and commercial issues, at the expense of great prose.
But still no one here has written a paragraph entirely in one style or the other! Try it. See how difficult it is to accomplish.
August 19th, 2008, 12:57 PM #9
But I ran out of time. I may yet continue with part 4. and 5., when I have the time. The purpose was to show that it's a continuum, really, and that one man's "telling" is another man's "showing". But I got lazy.
Originally Posted by Bengoshi-San
The basic distinction you make, though, is compatible with what I'm always saying:
Telling, for the reader, is an exercise in imagination. You're giving the readers the information they need to set their imaginations to work. The risk is that you give them too little detail to catch their imagination.
Showing, for the reader, is an exercise in interpretation. You're giving the readers a detail account of what happens (or - in some cases - setting descriptions - Virginia Woolf's "Kew Gardens" would be an example of this) and let them figure out the interpretations. The risk is that you withhold too much information, so they lack the "key" to decipher the scene.
Most fiction is a mix of both anyway.
Originally Posted by Gary Wassner
This isn't, I think, what you were driving with your example, but it's the "passive voice" HE addressed. (Of course, "passive voice" the stylistic concept - to much static predication, grammatically - rather than "passive voice" the grammatic concept - of which your original paragraph contains exactly one instance embedded in a modal verb phrase: "needed to be changed".)
So you've got:
1. Scenic vs. Expository: an information-management issue
2. Active vs. Passive language: a rhetoric issue
The current bias is clear enough with phrases like "Show don't tell", "don't use the passive voice", "info dumps"... Your writing's supposed to better if you're scenic with active language. Or - a variation - writing well is easier for the beginner if they try scenic and active.
But that's nonsense. People are different. They ought to stick to what they're good at first, and depart from there.
I don't have the time, now, to write the different scenes - but if I were to write an objective account of the scene above I'd:
- probably use present tense - as this is - to me - the natural tense of description (see Gibson's Pattern Recognition which relies a lot on images).
- add a sense of camera movement - a zooming in effect that plays with the changing light, too.
- start with the sword, not the person, to give a framing effect.
- use dry, clinical language á la late sixties Ballard.
The alternative road is to use stereotypical images, for the immediate recognition effect. This is, I feel, best when brief, or interspersed with un-expected departures from the stereotye to catch the interest. On the specific level, the "expected element" is background info, while the "unexpected element" is story proper. (Imagine a sword with a Hello Kitty pommel. )
August 19th, 2008, 01:56 PM #10
It's funny that you describe telling as an imaginative exercise. Many editors complain that telling strips the reader of the use of his/her imagination. Too much description leaves too little to the imagination. If you can capture a character by a simple gesture, you save pages of descriptors. And you give the reader more freedom to imagine. Hopefully you set them in the direction you intend, and if you do, then you're doing it well.
August 19th, 2008, 02:26 PM #11
Here's an excerpt from a story I'm currently working on. Although I don't consider it to be an excellent piece of writing, I can say that I think it's balanced in terms of telling and showing.
"About damn time" thought Elvin as he straightened his back and stepped into the train, brushing past the exiting commuters. Looking around for a seat, he found himself disappointed yet again. His thoughts were abruptly put to an end as the train screamed around a bend. He felt a man's hand strike him on the shoulder.
"Sorry, really sorry" said the suited middle-aged man who quickly looked away in embarrassment. The lights flickered as the bumping and grinding of the train came to halt, the doors opened and the announcer shouted inaudibly over the loud speaker.
Stepping off the train with eager hands and bodies at his backside, Elvin climbed up the stairs and eventually out of the station.
August 19th, 2008, 03:01 PM #12
Yes, a good combination.
Here it is without as many descriptors. Bare showing, less telling.
"About damn time" thought Elvin. Stiff backed, he stepped onto the train, brushing past the exiting commuters. His head turned left and right and he frowned. A full car. Wheels screeched, he gripped the pole and held it tight. A heavy hand struck him on the shoulder.
"Sorry, really sorry" said the suited man, his face a blushing map of tiny lines and wrinkles. The lights flickered as the train lurched to a halt, the doors opened and the announcer's muffled shout rang out over the loud speaker.
Stepping off the train, bodies and bags pressing against his backside, Elvin climbed up the stairs and out of the station.
August 20th, 2008, 12:51 AM #13
I was actually talking about things that aren't directly observable, like your opening sentence: "He felt miserable." There must be a million ways to be miserable. Use sentences like that and you leave the particulars to the reader. That's imagination.
In your second version, you do not say "miserable" at all. You evoke the effect through visuals (though what you'd have invoked with me would have been weariness more than misery). That's interpretation.
Your second version, actually, is pure description. The sentences don't pose a sequence, as I see it, more like a snapshot. (The first two sentences start out sequential: 1. Grimace 2. shoulders slump 3. eyelids drop. What follows, the lolling head, the dripping sword, the oozing bandages... all seem to occur simultaneously.
So, if you're applying the "dramatise features" definition of "show, don't tell," you're still telling in the second one. I suppose they'd want a sequence - events, rather than a simultaneity of states.
Let me see:
From the tip of his sword came loose a drop of blood. Without visible interest he watched it drop, hit his boot, splatter. He kept gazing at the tiny tentacled shape until his eyelids dropped. His sword arm dropped, the sword's tip barely penetrating the hard ground. He leant on it for support, but already the morning sun fell across his face. He winced, opened his eyes, squinted. With the speed and agility of a man two, three times his age, he lifted his hand to shield his eyes and scanned the horizon. A sigh. His left foot brushed against his back pack. He nodded to himself, then lowered himself to the ground, slowly, taking care not to upset bandages, stiff with blood and pus and dirt. Finally sitting, he let go of the sword and heaved a sigh. He grabbed his backpack and produced from it a cloth and a flask of oil. He looked at the bloodied sword with a mixture of respect and distaste, as if it were a fallen enemy. Then he snatched it and pulled it close and started to brush off the worst of the blood. He might need it today, in good condition.
Originally, I thought we were going from abstract to concrete, not from static to dynamic. Different topics, I feel. [Edit: This is not the way I had planned either part 3 or 4.]
Last edited by Dawnstorm; August 20th, 2008 at 12:57 AM.
August 21st, 2008, 12:08 PM #14
Invoking through visuals is showing. And it's very hard to do consistently. It's much easier to simply describe the action, but then the reader has a very different reading experience.
I prefer your previous examples to this one. This is so full it in fact leaves little to the imagination and it tends to get tedious.
Try one with all visuals.
August 21st, 2008, 01:48 PM #15
- Join Date
- Oct 2007
- Location
- The Fung Küniverse (Currently: Toronto)
- Posts
- 2,392
- Blog Entries
- 1
Frankly, the problems with the two examples go deeper than Active vs. Passive or Show vs. Tell. If I was editing this and being really sticky about it, I would reject both outright and demand a totally new set.
Let's pull it into smaller pieces so we can see the weaknesses more easily.
He felt miserable. All the trials of the past weeks were taking their toll. He could barely keep his head up. He was so weary from all the fighting. Raw wounds chafed under his arms. The bandages needed to be changed. The day was just beginning. He didn't know how he was going to make it through until sunset.
When we separate the individual thoughts into individual sentences, we can start to notice the deeper problems.
There are subject-specific confusions. For example, the original is "Raw wounds chafed under his arms and the bandages needed to be changed." This sentence shifts from taking about the protagonist to the bandages, as if the bandages imply a synecdochal relationship with the protagonist. They do not, as one is secondary (effect) and the other is primary (cause). Logically, wounds chafing and bandages requiring change are likewise disconnected, so the whole sentence is off-putting. Sensibly, the arms chafe on the bandages and the bandages chafe the wounds. Wounds do not chafe as they are static. The causal relationship here is just wrong.
From a broader perspective, we also have a real problem with flow.
We can see that in terms of the conveyance of information, the example runs pretty much backwards to what a reader would normally require to construct a scene. We aren't aware of the setting at all until the final sentence. (Which again forces two distinct ideas together that aren't well paired. The day beginning and making it through to sunset are related in a poetic sense, but in terms of plot and setting, the pair simply go off into too much vagueness. In the scene immediate, or is it not?) We open with misery, we end with setting.
If we reorganize the paragraph into a more logical flow, we get:
The day was just beginning. All the trials of the past weeks were taking their toll. He didn't know how he was going to make it [through until sunset]. He was so weary from all the fighting. He could barely keep his head up. Raw wounds chafed under his arms. The bandages needed to be changed. He felt miserable.
The reorganized version puts things into an order that is now much easier to follow. We start with a sense of time, and that sense of time now flows into the following descriptions. We know it's morning, which is an achy time of day anyway. And in this case, especially painful given the trials of the past week. We gain insight into the protagonists mindset, then we enhance that view with details of what he is experiencing. We then summarize succinctly, "he felt miserable," to reinforce.
Then we can render it a little more nicely:
The day was just beginning. The trials of the past weeks were taking their toll, and our hero didn't know how he was going to make it through breakfast, let alone until another sunset. And then a new day, when it would begin all over again.
He was so weary from the fighting that he could barely keep his head up. Raw wounds ached under his arms, oozing pus laced with flecks of scab that were unable to adhere to his grimy, chafed skin. The reeking bandages desperately needed to be changed. He felt, in a word, miserable.
The effect of changing the order is imagined simplest as a camera trick. The original starts in tight focus and zooms out (specifics to generalities). The redraft starts with the wide establishing shot and zooms in (generalities to specifics). The latter is by the far the easiest one for readers to understand, as it starts from the point of Show, whereas the former starts from the point of Tell.
All narration is fundamentally an act of invasion, so at some point it necessarily requires the Tell. However, when we try to start with an impressionistic sense, we can never divorce ourselves from the Tell.
The second one... Same thing. Let's make it simpler:
He grimaced. His shoulders slumped. His eyelids slumped. His head lolled on his neck. Fresh blood dripped from the tip of his sword. Blood pooled on the pock-marked earth. Filthy bandages oozed green. Sunlight stripped the soil. His hand clutched the pommel. His tendons bulging through dry skin. A long day ahead....
I start with some simple problems: do eyelids slump? What is the green that is oozing? Do you really want the sunlight to strip (deplete?), or to stripe (mark)? Pommel of what? Dry skin -- I thought it was bandages oozing with green?
Each part of this one makes the other parts more confusing. I can't cohere the scene in my head, because there are simply too many things that don't go together. It's like I've got two puzzles mixed into one box.
So let's make it make sense:
Sunlight striped the soil. His eyelids drooped. His head lolled on his neck. His shoulders slumped. His tendons bulged through dry skin. Filthy bandages oozed green. His hand clutched the pommel of his sword. Fresh blood dripped from the tip of his sword. Blood pooled on the pock-marked earth. He grimaced. A long day ahead....
Now we've got things into a sensible order. Body parts now follow in a sequence (head to neck to shoulders to arms). We put our oozing and flowing images together to reinforce each other. We've rectified the problems that one's eyelids rarely slump or droop while grimacing. We've now made the grimace a result, rather than the precedent. In other words, we've created narrative where before there was only tableau.
So now let's pretty it up:
The rising sun casts stripes along the aggravated soil, the trampled earth resembling the pock-marked skin of our hero. His eyelids droop in the half-light. His head lolls on his neck. His shoulders slump. Knotted tendons bulge through dry skin and filthy bandages that ooze green ichor. His cracked hands clutch the pommel of his battered sword. Fresh blood drips from its tip and pools in the pocked earth. He grimaces. There is a long day ahead....
Again, same theory as before. Starts with the wide shot and zooms in. This makes all the connections much more ordered and logical. Nevermind the Show vs. Tell for now. We simply need a sequence of information that makes sense.


text:
Or find a doctor at another Johns Hopkins Medicine Member Hospital:
Lisa Ann Mullen, MD
Clinical Associate, Johns Hopkins Breast Imaging Section Director of Ultrasound, Johns Hopkins Imaging at Greenspring Station
Appointment Phone
Main Location
The Johns Hopkins HospitalView All Locations
Out-of-State & International Patients +
Out of State Patients
Call 410-464-6641 (8a.m. to 6p.m., EST, Mon-Fri)
International Patients
Call +1-410-502-7683 (7a.m. to 6p.m., EST, Mon-Fri)
- Clinical Associate, Johns Hopkins Breast Imaging Section Director of Ultrasound, Johns Hopkins Imaging at Greenspring Station
Breast Biopsy, Breast Cancer, Breast Imaging, Diagnostic Radiology, Mammography, Ultrasound
BiographyDr. Mullen attended the University of Virginia, graduating in 1987 with a BA in Chemistry and Spanish. She then attended medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, graduating in 1991. After an internship in Internal Medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, she returned to Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center (now New York Presbyterian Hospital) for her residency in Diagnostic Radiology. She served at Co-Chief Resident from 1995 to 1996. Dr. Mullen completed her fellowship in Cross-Sectional Imaging (Ultrasound, CT and MRI) at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1997.
Dr. Mullen then worked in private practice for 5 years, gaining experience in general radiology, and developing interest and expertise in breast imaging, womens imaging, and body imaging. She joined Johns Hopkins Radiology in 2002, and has been based at Johns Hopkins Imaging at Green Spring Station. Dr. Mullen has expertise in screening and diagnostic mammography, breast ultrasound, breast MRI, and breast interventional procedures, as well as general ultrasound and bone densitometry. Dr. Mullen is currently the Director of Ultrasound at Green Spring.
- English
Education +
- Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons (New York NY ) (1991)
- Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center / Diagnostic Radiology (New York NY ) (1996)
- Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine / Body Imaging (Baltimore MD ) (1997)
- Diagnostic Radiology, American Board of Radiology (1996)
Research & Publications +
Academic Affiliations & Courses +
Activities & Honors +
Videos & Media +
Events +
Contact & Locations +
LocationsThe Johns Hopkins Hospital600 N. Wolfe StreetSheikh Zayed TowerBaltimore, MD 21287Appointment Phone: 410-955-4100Location MapJohns Hopkins Outpatient Center601 N. Caroline StreetBaltimore, MD 21287Appointment Phone: 410-955-4100Location MapJohns Hopkins Medicine - Green Spring Station10755 Falls RoadPavilion ILutherville, MD 21093Appointment Phone: 410-955-4100Location Map
- Radiology and Radiological Science - Breast Imaging


text:
The World's Premiere Resource for Submarines and Submarine Modeling
Scott T wrote:Something you menttioned about putting the piston inside the dry space concerns me if using a caulk tube since it is
Quite flexible. As the air pressure rises it might push in the walls of the tube. Are you planning on motorizing the piston or
pumping water in to move the piston? I saw a water soaker the grandkids had that had a piston with double o-rings that might be converted to a ballast tank.
Scott t
Users browsing this forum: No registered users


text:
Nobody said its magic, it just works better on with an nVIDIA card which can be extemely helpful when you don't have a PhenomII 3.6 GHz in your machine.
From Nvidia's own website:
Looks like Nvidia is not being very honest here.CSAA mode: 16x
#of color/z/stencil samples: 4
CSAA can be enabled in one of the two following scenarios:
When the application specifically enables CSAA.
When CSAA is turned on in the control panel by the end user. [...]
It is recommended that applications enable CSAA directly. The process of implementing CSAA is incredibly simple (almost exactly the same as implementing MSAA), and the benefit to your users is enormous; they get much higher image quality at almost zero performance loss, without the fuss and hassle of manipulating the control panel.
Nobody said its magic, it just works better on with an nVIDIA card which can be extemely helpful when you don't have a PhenomII 3.6 GHz in your machine.
- you may have heard that little thing called SSE which can contribute to a ~4x speed-up when used correctly? PhysX is not using it. It's relying on the x87 FPU that dates back to 1980.
- or that little thing that's called "multi-threading" that can scale performance by your number of CPU cores? Nope, PhysX is limited to a single thread.
This goes to show why vendor lock-in to a closed-source product may not be that bright an idea. Now, Nvidia has announced this will all be fixed in some magical "3.0" released - but there's no roadmap or release date to rely on. In short, bollocks.
Bullet is superior to PhysX in pretty much everyting *except* the Nvidia kickbacks for marring yet another game with the PhysX mark. And to think that Ageia used to be at the forefront of technology and innovation before being swallowed up...
Eventually it ended Nvidia patching own drivers, disabling own "improvements", rather than folks at Ubisoft moving single finger.
This is cool when drivers carry tons of unreleated legacy patches. This is very windows way - covering by antivirus instead of patching the originating software. The only way from it is having opensource code, patchable by anyone(or someone thats alive and cares).
The game is only about high-quality pixels *by design* and nothing more. A much more older LockOn is ridiculously much more realistic and using very detailed graphics. HAWX is arcade garbage, now with extra bugs. If this is the answer you were seeking :P
Nvidia recommends game developers to enable CSAA, since, I quote: "the benefit to your users is enormous; they get much higher image quality at almost zero performance loss".
Ubisoft followed Nvidia's recommendation to the letter.
No matter how you spin it, Nvidia is the dishonest party here (to put it mildly). If CSAA really carried "almost zero performance cost" they wouldn't hack their drivers to disable it. Now that they did hack it, they should have said so directly ("our cards take a serious performance hit with CSAA, so we disabled it for this game") and offered an option to control this behavior in their control panel, like *Ati* does with Catalyst AI.
To put it in another way, if I code an application to use feature X, I don't want the drivers to second-guess me and sneakily give me lower-quality feature Y instead. It's not the first time Nvidia removes features from Ubisoft games to make their cards appear better than they actually are (recall DX10.1 Assassin's Creed?)


text:
Val n Rob wrote:......roads are blocked between Baradine and Coonabarabran, and possibly Coonamble Rd!!!!
Val n Rob wrote:Hi Gypsy It started raining here on Sunday or Monday,
GypsyLady wrote:Val n Rob wrote:Hi Gypsy It started raining here on Sunday or Monday,
I left Pilliga on Sunday.....Had a tyre fixed in Baradine a day or two before and stayed overnight at Coonabarabran the night before. Came back from Baradine to Coona after the tyre puncture so that I could continue to travel on the black top.
Went from there to BJ and then Pilliga. Had it not been for the savage sandflies at Pilliga, I would have probably stayed on longer.
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 3 guests


text:
HOME MLB Texas Rangers Gear Texas Rangers T-Shirts Texas Rangers T-Shirts Screen Printed Product ID: 923680
Main Content
Order as many items as you like with our $4.99 flat rate shipping.
This item ships within one business day.
Order as many items as you like with our $4.99 flat rate shipping.
Need it faster?
Yu Darvis has solidified himself as one of the greatest players in the game. As a loyal Rangers fan, you can become solidified as one of their greatest fanatics. Start off by gearing up in the 2012 MLB Hair-itage t-shirt from Nike. This exclusive tee represents the Rangers pitcher and features a large outline of Darvis' face, including his hat, hair and beard with a Rangers wordmark on his hat. Sport this tee to the next Rangers game and represent your favorite player in die-hard fanaticism style.
- 100% Cotton fabric
- Imported
- Officially licensed Rangers tee
- Screen print graphics
- Tagless collar
Rangers Customers also liked:
Special event items are produced by manufacturers only after the outcome of a game or event. These are advanced sale items and will ship immediately after they are received in our warehouse.
Manufacturer direct items are shipped directly from the manufacturer. These items are not available for international or expedited shipping.
Customized items can be personalized with options such as your name, your favorite number, and/or designs. Some options may be limited by league rules.


text:
Wizards accept
Rockets trade C Kelvin Cato to the Wizards for their 19th pick in the 1st round.
Emeka Okafor - Joe Smith - Carmelo Anthony - Manu Ginobili - Jason Williams
Al Jefferson - James Posey - Aaron McKie - Shaun Livingston
I saw this coming it's a shame I couldn't put my act together and make a good offer.
Yes i know but my pick was tied up in another deal.
People's Basketball Sim League presents...
1995-96 Season
C Kevin Willis | PF Brian Grant | SF Jalen Rose | SG Michael Finley | PG Terrell Brandon
Key Reserves: Dikembe Mutombo | Todd Day
Rockets trade C Kelvin Cato to the Wizards for their 19th pick in the 1st round of the 2001 Draft.
Janjanjanjan3, the Wizards owner approved.
PelicansReport.com Sim League
New Orleans Hornets General Manager
There are currently 1 users browsing this thread. (0 members and 1 guests)


text:
Domes & Accessories
Whaletail Reporter Accessory Flaps$41.94Accessory flaps for the Whaletail Reporter Learn More
ChromeDome™ (Power Booster)
List Price: $53.95
Only: $49.95ChromeDome™ - Fits all Lightsphere models including Universal and Collapsible. Reflective surface raises direct light source while adding power. Includes the adapter ring for use with the Lightsphere Collapsible. Learn More
Lightsphere® Dome Kit - SAVE 10%
List Price: $97.15
Only: $89.95The Lightsphere® Dome Kit includes the AmberDome, ChromeDome (with Adapter Ring) and PowerGrid for the Lightsphere® Universal, Lightsphere® Collapsible™ and Lightsphere® II Diffusers. Learn More


text:
Time Freeze
Firming Night Cream
Firming & Lifting
Cream helps to reinforce your skin's firmness and restore its elasticity during the night, while smoothing out fine lines and wrinkles.
Read more
Formulated to:
- Delay skin aging by protecting elastin fibers from breaking down.
- Support skin's own collagen and elastin synthesis for firmer skin.
Bioactive wild Arctic lingonberry extract* is 40 times more potent than the berry itself, which is already bursting with the natural antioxidant Quercetin. Our Skin Messenger Molecules™ works to support collagen and elastin synthesis. Together they deliver visibly more youthful, firmed and lifted skin. Formulated without parabens, formaldehyde donors, mineral oil, synthetic colorants. 50 ml e 1.7 FL.OZ.
* Patent pending
Use and tips
Apply to cleansed skin in the evening.
Use Instant Lift Serum regularly before applying the cream to boost the firming effect.


text:
After all the careful work of turning, the worst possible thing is to have something go wrong during assembly. The Pen Press/Drilling Jig prevents this from happening in two ways. It ensures a straight hole to accept your mechanism without binding, and it pushes everything together with steady, parallel clamping action. The result is a smooth operating pen, every time.
- Includes 3 replaceable sacrificial wood blanks for the exit hole in drilling operations.
- Extruded aluminum base provides space for a shop made drawer.
- Feet are pre-drilled for mounting to an auxiliary base.
- Cast aluminum jaws are notched for vertical drilling and countersunk for horizontal pen pressing.
- Self-centering jaws allow for repeatable drilling of various pen blank sizes.
- Centered countersink in the jaws allows precise pen pressing without bowing and misalignment.
- Clamping wheel provides slow, controlled pressure when pressing your pen or clamping your pen blank.
Tech Spec
|Weight (lbs)
Customer Reviews
34 Review(s)View All
Well designed, mainly.Posted August 24, 2014
I have one relatively small issue with the jig - small because it might improve the performance of a jig that works well enough that I haven't bought another space occupying item to drill and assemble pens.
It seems that it could be fitted with a larger wheel to turn the jaws tight. The smaller wheel doesn't provide a lot of torque to move some of the tight fitting parts together with ease. In some ways, I can see that the smaller wheel forces the user to go slow, which is precisely what you want to do when assembling pens, but really - a little more torque would be nice.
I've never had to use two hands to turn the wheel as some users have reported. Mine has (knock on formica) not had any issues with screws backing out or bearings failing, either.
The wheel issue is so minor that I think that it earns 4.5 stars, so, by rounding up...it earns a 5.
I am a game call maker...Posted December 22, 2011
After reading some of the reviews...Posted December 31, 2010
Customer Reviews
34 Review(s)


text: Mike "Rooftop"Escamilla fulfills his long time dream of riding a mysterious fullpipe in the middle of nowhere. Ride along with him and his GoPro WiFi BacPac system as he captures some unique video and photo - shot 100% by Mike himself. Music Salva "Yellobone (Shlohmo & 2KWTVR Remix) View More


text:
20% OFF OUR ENTIRE SITE U.S. Orders Only
FREE SHIPPING on orders of $75 or more. U.S. Orders Only
2015 OUTLET SALE Join us April 8 - 12. Register now!
Shop All New
Shop Shoulder Bags
Shop Travel Bags
Shop Wallets
Shop Bracelets
Shop Our Favorites
Shop All Sale
Carry this color and show your support for breast cancer research. Learn more about the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer.
This style can be Personalized!
Learn more about Personalization
Yes, I'd like to
Gift Box
this item ($4.95 each).
Dress up your iPhone 5 with this fun case.
Featuring one of our pretty prints, this soft case provides quality protection, and with its unique textured design, it's always easy to find in your handbag or tote.
Fits iPhone 5


text:
Main Content
Ladies, now you can show off some of that unbridled Jax pride by sporting this long sleeve Scoop tee! Featuring distressed graphics outlined with faux stitching that include the team name, logo and a banner with the team's establishment date, this shirt is designed to provide you with the ultimate comfort as you boldly display your Jags spirit for everyone to see.
- 50% Polyester/37% Cotton/13% Rayon
- Lightweight ladies ribbed long sleeve T-shirt
- Made in Dominican Republic from American fabric
- Officially licensed NFL product
- Rib-knit collar, cuffs & waist
- Screen print graphics
- Team logo and colors
Jaguars Customers also liked:
Special event items are produced by manufacturers only after the outcome of a game or event. These are advanced sale items and will ship immediately after they are received in our warehouse.
Manufacturer direct items are shipped directly from the manufacturer. These items are not available for international or expedited shipping.
Customized items can be personalized with options such as your name, your favorite number, and/or designs. Some options may be limited by league rules.


text:
Star Tracks
Sparks is doted on by boyfriend Jason Derulo at a pre-Super Bowl bash in N.Y.C. Plus: Halle Berry, the Full House guys & more!
Credit: Splash News Online
Published: Thursday Jan 30, 2014 | 07:00 PM EST
More from PEOPLE
Latest News!
- Coco Rocha Welcomes Daughter — See Her First Photos!
- The Style Top 5: Amal Clooney Brings Her Glam Street Style to NYC, Iggy Azalea Gets Candid About Her Body and More
- Pregnant Jessica Biel Heads to a Roller Rink for a Birthday Party (PHOTO)
- ALF's Series Finale Aired 25 Years Ago, but He Never Truly Left Us
- Tom Brady Gets Serious Air in Cliff Dive: 'Never Doing That Again' (VIDEO)


text:
Plastic Magazine Covers -- 10-1/4" H x 7-1/8" W
Related Products
What our customers are saying...
Product Description
Plastic Magazine Covers are designed to store, protect and professionally display individual copies of your favorite magazine. Still the most widely used magazine protectors in the country, these durable covers are excellent for waiting rooms, lobbies, libraries, or anywhere magazines are handled regularly or treated roughly. Our Magazine Protective Covers are made of a 7.5 Mil gloss or matte polyester and feature a leatherette blue or black trim with brass corners. Simply slip the front and back covers of the magazine into the pockets; the pockets and spine strip will hold the magazine firmly.
Related Products


text:
Activ' Shield Bar
In response to the demands of the industry for improved working safety, UK Platforms is proud to support the Entrapment Prevention System, Activ' Shield Bar.Read more
In response to the demands of the industry for improved working safety, UK Platforms is proud to support the Entrapment Prevention System, Activ' Shield Bar.Read more
Download the latest hire guide from UK Platforms and read about the latest range of powered access machines and accessories.Click here!
Part of the HSS Hire Group, UK Platforms offer a complete Powered Access service.Find out more
Let us help you choose the lift, boom or mast that's right for you, whether it's electric, diesel or bi-energy.View the range
UK Platforms and HSS Training combine to offer a full range of IPAF approved training courses.Read more
Powered Access Equipment Hire. Work at height with UK Platforms.
Working at height requires specialist equipment and support. UK Platforms is a specialist in Powered Access and can provide working at height solutions up to 43 metres. From scissor lifts and vertical masts to telescopic and articulated booms, we have a wide range of one of the largest fleets of new equipment, which is always safe, fully serviced and reliable.
We're investing in even more Powered Access equipment in even more locations throughout the UK and we're investing in making it even safer too. The new Activ' Shield Bar technology helps to protect operators from the risk of crush injuries from overhead hazards and helps to escape from entrapment.
Whenever and wherever you need to work at height, UK Platforms can get you up there.
From vertical masts to telescopic booms we can help you reach the height you need.
If you're interested in powered access and need further information you've come to the right place. Get in touch with a local representative today.
UKP introduces Activ' Shield Bar, Haulotte's Entrapment Prevention System, reaffirming their commitment to safety.
We have seven types of electric scissor lift hire, with working heights varying from 8 metres to 18 metres.
With 24 articulated and telescopic boom lifts, we can help you find the right Powered Access product to hire.
We have two types of telehandlers for hire with working heights of 14 metres and 17 metres.


text:
Results 61 to 75 of 580
Thread: The Infamous Query Letter
November 6th, 2006, 06:49 AM #61
I'm back and determined to conquer this query letter. Maybe I should just send out video queries on disc, because Gary introduced me to an agent at World Fantasy. The agent asked what RoseThorn is about, and I launched into my "it's actually more like a Shakespearean tragedy than Tolkienesque; more like Othello and Macbeth and Hamlet; more a family tragedy set against the background of a war that no one wins than a quest for the magic Macguffin" spiel. I now have his card and an invitation to send him the first few chapters. Of course there's no guarantee that he'll like it or take it on but . . . (Yeah, I owe Gary big time). So, I'll get around to conquering that query letter after I get this package in the mail.
Kat, your comments, especially about focusing on the emotional elements of the story and not trying to draft cover copy, are pure gold. *genuflects*
November 6th, 2006, 10:54 AM #62
Ranke -- sounds like quite a lot in the story; no wonder you're grappling with how to describe it. I think taking a note from Brian's oral pitch at the convention might be helpful. Are you doing Dante, Shakespeare, Slavic origin myth, etc.? And the child abuse stuff -- that needs to be worked in somehow maybe.
The worlds, sf and fantasy, well mostly those are all very similar whatever flavor they are. It's like when you go looking at a lot of houses or washing machines -- they start to run together in your head. So a query that says the kingdom of X is invaded and the knights vanquish the evil with the super sword of glitter, it just may not be enough of a hook.
But if you give the emotional high points, it can I suppose create a mood for the query letter. A direct advertising pitch is usually ignored, but something that seems evocative in a certain way may not be. I don't know about the certainty of getting an older male editor nowadays. Perhaps there are a lot still in Australia. But we need all the fodder we can get -- can you sling us any excerpts from those query letters, RS?
I'll be honest -- I used to counsel that query letters were no big deal, that agents for instance would agree to look at ms. from 8 out of 10 of the letters they read. But that was a long time ago. I don't know what the situation is now. I know a lot of people have had trouble getting their ms. read. That's because there are so many more of us now trying to get through the doors in sff, a market that is always smaller than general fiction, and since they are importing a lot more sff authors from other countries than they used to in each English-speaking territory, it narrows the opportunities still further. Small presses and e-presses may present new chances.
But I do know that if you think you have gold, there's no sense hiding it under a bushel either.
November 8th, 2006, 02:36 AM #63Ranke LidyekGuest
I think you nailed it there. The main thing is the "big" concept, a "template" shown, and then trying to nail the emotion. But emotion, I think, is likely the key. It is what makes a story personal and powerful.
Granted, who knows how someone will process what you've written? Editors, like all human beings, have tastes. Sure, they also have broader instincts as to what will make their publisher money as well.
It's harder than ever to break through as a result. It takes a combination of timing, persistence, luck and talent.
From what I see here, it's nice to know there are such passionate and intelligent writers out there. People who write for the sake of the story and for art rather than artifice. Too many people would lead one to believe that everything is formulaic and derivative, calculated to sell the maximum number of books across the lowest common denominator. I don't believe that's true. Just as I don't believe the idiots claiming that there is nothing new under the sun. These are the same morons who sat down in caves, laughing at shadow puppets, telling their fellow neanderthals that the wheel was a pointless invention.
Writing is important, I feel. Even what I write, to some degree, illuminates the darker corners of my soul. So, though nothing may come of it in terms of a broad audience, at least I had the pleasure of taking the journey.
I would encourage others to feel the same.
Keep writing and don't apologize for it!
November 8th, 2006, 09:27 AM #64
RE to infamous Query letter
Abby & other interested in Query Letters & book proposals:
I'm fairly new to writing books. When I started my first book I was about 18k on the word count before I knew what POV was. That was 3 yrs ago, since then I learned that and much more from writing books & an online crit group. Sorry to say this group is no longer around.
After several fustrating attempts at Query's & synopsis, I started thinking about hiring someone to write them for me, Then I found this book from Writer's Market Books "Formatting & Submitting Your Manuscript. by Cynthia Laufenberg.
It gives plenty of examples and shows you things to do or to avoid. It really helped me. FYI, It helped me to get my first book sold. I'm a firm beliver in this type of self help books. Some I've wasted money on were nothing more than someone telling me how they got published. This one really has usful info. Even Marshall also has an excellent book called "Getting Your Novel Published" Mr Marshall is famous for his book on writing "The Marshall Plan"
If you're into outlining your story first then this is the book for you. I don't outline, but it still has plenty of useful info.
There are plenty of good books out there written by agents & editors who know what they're talking about. All I can do is tell you my limited knowledge about the mechanics of writing these things.
I hope this helps.
G W Pickle
November 15th, 2006, 10:42 PM #65Ranke LidyekGuest
a thanks
Kat and all,
Thanks for the help with the query. I incorporated as many of the suggestions as I could and sent out a round of queries last night. This morning I already had a request for a partial. A minor victory, to be sure, but one I don't take lightly. My other queries produced only form letters and I know that this one is near the mark. I also know that the first chapter is dead on, and that I can accept being judged on the merits of my writing.
Now it's a matter of finding someone who believes enough and knows someone who they feel they can sell it to. I found the right bale of hay, and hopefully I'll stumble on that needle.
Thanks again and wish me luck.
November 22nd, 2006, 02:53 AM #66
- Join Date
- Mar 2002
- Location
- In the Shire
- Posts
- 4,224
- Blog Entries
- 42
For what it is worth, my latest query letter... (come on BrianC, if I can do it I am sure you can do better)
I would like to submit the following query for my 160,000 word romantic fantasy novel, Oracle, for your consideration.
In an ancient and mystical world, visions of possible futures can only be seen by a Glimpser. A Glimpser is not born, but made, by the pseudo-scientific actions of a religious sect, the Inner Ring. This sect is bent on bringing about the return of the Goddess prophet, the Seer, to lead them into an era of secular power. Oracle is one such Glimpser, an autistic Cassandra.
The maelstrom that exists in Oracles mind is mirrored in its world, for Timeholm is in the grip of an industrial revolution. Steam power is now king; trains criss-cross the land, huge smoking factories tower over once sleepy towns. The governing body, the High Forum, is under attack from within by reform-minded activists. The rigid class system, once the glue that held Timeholm society together, is being challenged by a bill brought forth before the legislature by member Joshua Calvinward that will emancipate the working class.
Oracles arrival at a train station sets in motion a series of events that plunge Captain Pugh Avinguard into the heart of these turbulent times. Pugh has been charged with protecting Joshua Calvinward, but train crashes, riots and the murder of Calvinward at his moment of triumph, all send Timeholm into chaos.
Laced through this is Pughs personal horror, for the person Oracle once was, was his wife, who by a twist of fate is partly restored to him, yet in the wings the Inner Ring are waiting to claim her as their Seer re-born. Pugh is forced to act when she is kidnapped, but the rescue attempt becomes the signal for the Goddess herself to act through Oracle, both to right an old wrong and ensure a future of continued change and growth for the world.
My story Death wont be Cheated, was accepted for publication in the award-winning graphic literary magazine Event Horizon, published by Mam-Tor Publishing. My flash fiction story Aftermath, was published in the Australian anthology FlashSpec. I am the co-author, with Dan Beiger, of the short story anthology, "Seven Threads, by EQ books.
I would be glad to send a part or full manuscript if you wish to read further, and I thank you for your time in considering this query.
November 22nd, 2006, 03:27 AM #67Ranke LidyekGuest
Much better
This is much better. Romantic fantasy is a big seller right now, so I think you've done the right thing by mentioning this. My only reservation is the term, Glimpser, which feels a bit too obvious to me. The plot itself appears rich and interesting from this summary.
I think you're onto something and wish you luck!
Hopefully, those more credible will offer feedback as well.
For me, this appears intriguing enough that I would ask for the first three chapters at least.
Keep writing and get it out there!
November 22nd, 2006, 06:32 AM #68
November 22nd, 2006, 03:58 PM #69
sorry if this has been mentioned but ive only read the first page (yes im lazy)
i read somewhere that you tried to include a synopsis of two books.
imo you shouldnt try to do this unless you are a well known author who is garunteed sucess
just pitch the first book, then if it sells well then introduce the other 7 odd book :P
November 26th, 2006, 06:29 PM #70
Overall, very nice, Holbrook. Couple of edits from me:
Try: "Laced through this is Pughs personal horror, for the person Oracle once had been, was his wife, who by a twist of fate is partly restored to him. Yet, in the wings, the Inner Ring are waiting to claim her as their Seer re-born."
And, author bio:
My story Death wont be Cheated, was accepted for publication in the award-winning graphic literary magazine Event Horizon, published by Mam-Tor Publishing. My flash fiction story Aftermath, was published in the Australian anthology FlashSpec. I am the co-author, with Dan Beiger, of the short story anthology, "Seven Threads, by EQ books.
Editor adds much oomph to author. So you do really need to mention that you are the fiction editor for Event Horizon. If you are worried that this invalidates your short story pub. credit with Event Horizon, put it as: My short story, "Death Won't Be Cheated," was accepted for publication in the award-winning graphic literary magazine Event Horizon, put out by Mam-Tor Publishing, and I subsequently became Event Horizon's fiction editor. Etc.
I am not at all certain that calling "Oracle" romance fiction is the right way to go. I realize you've not had much luck with various avenues and are now trying some of the romance publishers doing fantasy, but to call the novel a romance is a big misnomer, in my view. Not that "Oracle" does not contain a love story -- and a powerful one -- but it is not a romance, in which two people encounter each other and fall for each other. It is likely to confuse the folk you're approaching with that label. Plus, your short credits are not romance ones at all.
I did run into some Luna books on the shelves this week, and they are definitely aggressively branching out, and will likely be a full-flung fantasy operation in another five years or so. So it's certainly not a bad idea to try them. But I think the nature of the Oracle may short-circuit you in pushing the romance angle. It's really the devastating tragedy of what has happened to her -- of what has been lost -- that is the emotional power cell of this story, IMO. But hey, all you've got to do is get them to yes, right? Then the real work begins!
November 27th, 2006, 09:36 AM #71
- Join Date
- Mar 2002
- Location
- In the Shire
- Posts
- 4,224
- Blog Entries
- 42
Thanks for the comments Kat, all duly noted
As to the romantic fantasy bit I put that on a couple of the queries to see what would happen , others just have fantasy. I have a batch of 8 email queries out, though two I have given up on, it being over 2 months and the agents saying they only get back to you if interested.
To be honest I am not expecting to hear from anyone before Christmas now.
December 17th, 2006, 01:19 AM #72Ranke LidyekGuest
Latest attempt at query
Here's my latest query. Eviscerate at will. I need to get something that works. Thanks!
(94,000 words, dark, epic fantasy--Book One of the Darkwood Chronicles)
A girl's soul, trapped.
A boy, who will risk his own to save her.
From a windswept tower above the Nyghtmear, a forgotten power gathers, hungering for children in another land. There, a boy named Walter will plunge into darkness to save a little girl's soul. Terrible secrets lurk in Enheas, the Pale Queen's tower, a place of magic and Making rooted in Walter's own forgotten bloodline, endangering his very being, positioning him as an unwilling pawn in a game of the gods below. Thrust in the midst of a harrowing descent, Walter will do anything to keep his promise to find Lydia, a prisoner of the Pale Queen of the Unborn. In the world of Temeres, nothing is as it seems. Dead gods stir in the Groves of the Deep, preparing for a return to the world of light, while an eleven-year-old boy, a wooden knight, a glass dragon, and an ancient warrior strive to protect what remains of innocence.
Her Dress is Darkness (first stand-alone novel of a three book series) bears a structure rooted in Slavic and Russian myth: a dark, unrelenting tale of how passion makes creatures of men.
December 17th, 2006, 05:50 PM #73HER DRESS IS DARKNESS
(94,000 words, dark, epic fantasy--Book One of the Darkwood Chronicles)
A girl's soul, trapped.
A boy, who will risk his own to save her.
From a windswept tower above the Nyghtmear, a forgotten power gathers, hungering for children in another land. There, a boy named Walter will plunge into darkness to save a little girl's soul.
Terrible secrets lurk in Enheas, the Pale Queen's tower, a place of magic and Making rooted in Walter's own forgotten bloodline, endangering his very being, positioning him as an unwilling pawn in a game of the gods below.
Thrust in the midst of a harrowing descent, Walter will do anything to keep his promise to find Lydia, a prisoner of the Pale Queen of the Unborn.
In the world of Temeres, nothing is as it seems.
Dead gods stir in the Groves of the Deep, preparing for a return to the world of light, while an eleven-year-old boy, a wooden knight, a glass dragon, and an ancient warrior strive to protect what remains of innocence.
Very succinct, but a little lacking in the clarity department still. Gives something of the big picture, I guess, but it comes out kind of blurry. Nothing is mentioned about the abuse that Walter suffers as a child, or his missing father, or the corruption that is occurring in Walter's world from the servants of the stirring gods, or that there is a war between old and new gods. Now, you don't have to necessarily mention any of that, but some of those details might cause ears to perk. Are you attaching a plot synopsis to the query letter -- in which case detail in the query letter can be slighter and more basic -- or no?
Her Dress is Darkness (first stand-alone novel of a three book series)
bears a structure rooted in Slavic and Russian myth: a dark, unrelenting tale of how passion makes creatures of men.
December 17th, 2006, 06:09 PM #74
So here is what we know of Ranke's story, from previous posts:
There is a realm below, where the gods lurk, called Temeres. (Possibly just the old gods.)
In Temeres, overlooking the plain of Nyghtmear, stands the ancient Enheas tower of the Pale Queen of the Unborn.
Walter, possibly an eleven-year-old boy, does not know where his dad is. Or dad is dead? Walter has suffered abuse. (We don't know exactly where Walter lives, but we know that Temeres exists below it.)
Walter promises a young girl named Lydia (age unknown,) that he will "come for her." Don't know why he makes this promise.
The Pale Queen wants children from Walter's land, and steals Lydia. Walter is able somehow to descend into Temeres to try and find Lydia. This may be because the magic in Temeres, the Making, is directly related to Walter's bloodline through his missing? dad.
The gods in the Groves of the Deep in Temeres (possibly the old gods who once warred with and lost to new gods,) stir and send out their memory servants to Walter's world, corrupting? or effecting people there. Walter's mission to save Lydia may also help stop this campaign?
There is a wooden knight, a glass dragon and an ancient warrior who try to help Walter. That's all we know about them.
Most of this I know because I asked -- it isn't in the query letter samples. Some of it sounds very interesting. It has sort of a similar feel to Pullman's YA Golden Compass or Neil Gaiman's fairy tale Stardust, and you may get confusion over that, as your story sounds outside the query letter like it is grittier and more horror/goth-oriented.
I would suggest again that it is easier to write lots and lots of detail -- more than you'll probably need -- and then pare it down, then it is to go immediately short. You may want to do what I recently taught my daughter to do for her book report, which is to put down notes of the events that happen in each set of chapters in the story, and then build a description from those.
And you might want to start the description in the query letter of the story with Walter, rather than with the Pale Queen and tower. For me, Walter is a lot more interesting than the Pale Queen, but it's more that it may help you focus more easily if you "follow" Walter's journey in the beginning.
December 17th, 2006, 06:26 PM #75Ranke LidyekGuest
As usual, you are right. I dodged the abuse angle because it isn't "in" with so many in the publishing industry. I was worried I would not be judged in terms of story. This is very much a story of a boy's abuse, with the internal struggle shown outwardly in mythic approach.
The story is quite powerful and the structure solid. It is both a stand-alone and part of a series as each novel deals with a phase of the boy's life and how the abuse affects him later on. This could be read as one book, though the later books may take understanding of what comes before because the world is increasingly complex. The story works without full comprehension of the subtext, but there is more as well. The overarcing plot is driven by the idea of the primordial impulse of man, the very dark corner of the soul. Love, even, has great power and it can prove even more damaging than hate insofar as it can trap those within it. They often cannot see what is being done. It is a cautionary tale of allowing passions to drive one's actions, rather than looking clearly at what damage one can cause--especially to our young. I do firmly believe that our youths have been devalued in society. And this is what drove my need to write the book.
I see your second post following this and I agree. When you said before that this is very difficult to describe because of the layers, you are right. I've written query after query, but none captured the feel of the novel. It is very atmospheric, disturbing (most common adjective readers have given), and unique (second-most). I don't flinch. What truly happens to Lydia is worse than the nagging fears of the reader suggest. What happens to Walter would test anyone (and break most), but he is stronger than he realizes--and truer. He has a nobility of spirit that I think many children possess, despite the questionable examples and influences in their lives.
While I'm not a big fan of horror, there is an element of that structure laced within the mythic tone (think: the return to the womb...) that lends an intimacy and desperation to the action sequences--a brutality.
The question is how I can lace all this together in a query without making someone nod off.
I'm not sure. Granted, I still believe that most books have this trouble. How do you describe something in one page? So much of a book stems from voice, and more from the overlying thematic elements that add weight to the events.
The story is pre-industrial (in Walter's original world), and in Temeres, there is a "technology", but it is driven from Craft. So, epic might best describe it, though dark definitely is closer. Still vague, though... lol
Thanks again. You've been a great help, even if I'm too dense to figure out how to apply your suggestions!
Take care,


text:
To view the 2012 show schedule, click here.For info contact: 855-411-2275 For more info Click Here.
If you chose the dinner add-on ticket option, the Dinner is located at the Dutch Valley Restaurant next door to the theater at the Carlisle Inn in Sugarcreek. Dinner meal tickets are valid for 1 meal on the day of the musical between the hours of 11am and 8pm (excluding Breakfast). It is recommended to arrive for dinner at least 2 hours before The Confession Musical (for the evening performances).
Guests who would like to include dinner with the musical have these 3 options:
* This is not a dinner theatre
Plated Meal:
Your choice of broasted or baked chicken, grilled ham or turkey, along with dinner rolls and your choice of 2 sides or 1 side and the salad bar. Pie and beverage are also included. Tax and gratuity are included.
Family Style Meal:
Your choice of two meats (chicken, ham, roast beef and turkey), along with dinner rolls, salad bar, mashed potatoes, vegetable and dressing. Pie and beverage are also included. Tax and gratuity are included.
Hot Buffet:
A variety of meats, side dishes, pasta and other specialties, along with dinner rolls and salad bar. Pie and beverage are also included. Tax and gratuity are included.
Children with a $0 ticket value will have to sit on a lap of an adult (they do not receive their own seat), and do need to have a ticket for entrance.
To purchase an Overnight Hotel Room Package (which will include a theatre ticket), please call 855-411-2275.
Discounts are available for groups of 20 persons or more. Please call Richele Pittman at 855-411-2275.


text:
Page not found
The page you requested could not be found.
Click here to return to the home page.
Click here to return to the home page.
The Design Kaleidoscope
100% Design has developed 'Design Kaleidoscope' as the theme for the 20th edition of the show, reflecting the diversity and rich history of the UK's largest and longest running contemporary design event; The Kaleidoscope provides the inspiration across the show's campaign and will inform both the talks programme and hubs at the show.


text:
Sharing the Load
In This Article:
Sometimes absolutely nothing can be done about your job or his job. The best you can do then is to try to reduce your other stresses (e.g., lower your standards for housework, don't take on another puppy), increase your resources (like getting a neighborhood kid to do some yard work), and improve your psychological coping. Usually, though, you can do something about your circumstances, especially if you persist. Let's use the example of him working long hours while you stay home. The first step is to create a positive atmosphere for tackling the issue, approaching it as a "we-problem" with no bad guy. For instance, you could express your respect for how hard he works to provide for his family and your understanding that his career is very important to him. Second, challenge the assumptions that box you in. You could consider going back to work ahead of schedule (perhaps part-time), to ease the economic demand on him. He could do some soul-searching about:
- How this time with children is fleeting and unique, and that it's worth making a special effort to spend with them
- How his children, wife, or marriage would benefit if he were home more; how he would also benefit
- The beliefs that make him feel embarrassed about saying he needs to leave at 6:00 to get home to his kids, or the ways he may be getting caught up in a business warrior culture that prides itself on insane hours
- The extra work he might be doing for personal rewards distinct from what his family actually needs; personal fulfillment is a valid aim, but it's not selfless sacrifice
- How a small reduction in his time at work - say ten percent - would probably have little effect on his career but would double or triple his time with his kids, the epitome of a highly leveraged investment.
Third, make a long-term plan that is consistent with your deepest values, as well as financially realistic. Perhaps your overall quality of life would improve if you moved to a less expensive place or spent less money on discretionary items so you could spend more time with each other. The questions in the section "Your Values for Life and Money" (below) can help to clarify the values that shape these choices.
Unnecessary fears drive many financial decisions, and the antidote is clarity about money and the specific facts of your current expenses and future needs. It's not that hard. Books and websites can guide you through the details; please see the resources below for suggestions. On your own, in an hour or less, you could probably come up with a family budget that is accurate within ten percent. Estimating your needs down the road is more complicated, so it's wise to use a good book or a financial planner, especially if you and your husband disagree about priorities or methods. But with less effort than it took to equip your baby's bedroom, you can come up with a rational plan that makes your jobs serve you and your family, rather than the other way around.
Resources for Financial and Planning
Smart Couples Finish Rich by David Bach
9 Steps to Financial Freedom by Suze Orman
Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin
How to Raise Your Family on Less Than Two Incomes by Denise Topolnicki
learningforlife.fsu.edu/fp101 /
Your Values for Life and Money
Please consider these questions:
- Imagine looking back on your life at age eighty or so: What will you be most glad about, and what will not have mattered much? From that perspective, how will you wish that you had approached money and career?
- Imagine that you have just a few years to live: What would your priorities be? Are there ways to be truer to those priorities if you were to live for fifty more years? How do you want your life to make a difference?
- What's your preferred pace of living? How important is leisure compared to accomplishment, status, or expensive toys?
- How much do you value time with your children, especially while they are young, compared to furthering your career or making money? How willing are you to defer saving for a few years when your children are little? At this time, how rapidly do you want to pay down any debts?
- What's your bottom-line limit on the number of hours each week you want your spouse or yourself to give to work (including commuting and business travel)? At this time, what standard of living are you determined to have, from weekly spending on lunches out to big-ticket items like major vacations or remodeling your home? What standard of living do you want to have in a few years?
More on: Children's General Health
From Mother Nurture: A Mother's Guide to Health in Body, Mind, and Intimate Relationships by Rick Hansen, Jan Hansen, and Ricki Pollycove. Copyright © 2002 by Rick Hanson. Jan Hanson, and Ricki Pollycove. Used by arrangement with Viking Penguin, a member of Penguin Group (USA) Inc.
To order this book visit amazon.


text:
Billions of years after going on a cannibalistic binge, our own Milky Way galaxy has been implicated by the stale crumbs it left behind.
Astronomers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, used Hubble Space Telescope data to spot the crumbs - ancient stars thought to be remnants of a dwarf galaxy engulfed by our hungry Milky Way when it was still young.
The finding, to be published in the upcoming issue of "The Astrophysical Journal," supports the hypothesis that the Milky Way grew by pulling in smaller galaxies and claiming them as its own.
The researchers found the stars while looking at data from the Andromeda galaxy - the next big thing the Milky Way is destined to overtake. In about 4.5 billion years, the two are set to meet up and form an elliptical galaxy (Milkomeda?). In order for astronomers to focus on stars in Andromeda, they had to cancel out the annoying stars that orbited the outer reaches of our own galaxy.
"So when that [Andromeda] study came out, I basically asked them for their contamination," said Alis Deason, the postdoctoral researcher who led the new study.
The outcast stars exist among millions of others that form a loosely packed halo around the Milky Way. Whereas our solar system is roughly 25,000 light years from the galactic center, these castaways lurk at 80,000 light years from the core.
Deason and her team sifted through seven years of archival Hubble data to find the stars that others had thrown away. They hoped to identify remnants of a "galactic shell" - a structure seen around other galaxies that hints at a cannibalistic past.
"Basically, the halo is just a hodgepodge of stars that have come from other galaxies, usually dwarf galaxies," Deason said. "The reason these are interesting to study is they retain the memories of their initial conditions."
Ultimately, the team settled on 13 stars cruising along in the halo. That they existed there, along with thousands of other stars, wasn't the tip-off to their significance. Instead, their trajectories were what gave away their foreign past. Unlike other stars in the halo that move radially around the outer realm of the galaxy, these 13 stars appeared to hover.
"When we looked at these 13 stars, which are three times further away than it's ever been done, we found that the sideways motion was actually quite large," Deason said.
Their tangential motion hints that they were once part of another galaxy acquired by the Milky Way billions of years ago, like aimless minnows left behind after a whale swallows up the rest of the school.
"By looking at their velocities and their spatial positions, we can try to figure out what satellites these stars came from and when they came into the galaxy," Deason said. "It's a link to find out about the accretion history. That's why we study the halo."
These foreign stars will provide useful information about our own galaxy as well. Monitoring their movements, which are affected by the gravitational pull of our galaxy, could give us more accurate measurements about how massive our own galaxy really is.
Because most of the mass of our galaxy consists of dark matter - a mysterious form of matter that can't be seen - the dance of these straggling halo stars might hold the key to the big picture of our galaxy's composition.
Deason and her team stress that more hovering stars need to be pinpointed before our Milky Way's cannibalistic guilt is confirmed, but the existence of these 13 outliers hints at a halo of hidden clues about our galactic neighborhood's early days. Deason is hoping to acquire Hubble data from different fields and distances to ultimately rack up 600 to 700 halo stars for further study.
When the Milky Way and Andromeda cross paths someday, who knows whether own sun will get in line with the new galactic order or chart its own path in the halo, serving as an artifact for future astronomers?
™ & © 2013 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.


text: Reviews Family days out Aquariums East Sussex Aquariums Search by keyword Add a review Choose By Location East Sussex England(11) Bristol(1) Cheshire(1) Cornwall(1) Cumbria(1) Devon(1) Dorset(1) East Riding of Yorkshire(1) East Sussex(1) London(1) Norfolk(1) West Midlands(1) Scotland(3) Argyll and Bute(2) West Lothian(1) Choose By Type Aquariums Theme parks UK Museums and art galleries Historic buildings Safari parks and zoos Aquariums Gardens and parks Other family days out Musicals and theatre Be a Mumsnet reviewer Interested in joining our review panel? Businesses How to get your product reviewed on Mumsnet. Most popular Most recent Star rating Alphabetical Mumsnet Aquarium reviews East Sussex Sea Life centre 3 reviews


text:
Discussing: Challenge Aruthir
Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55341
11 Dec 13 9:50 AM
Original Post
General Audience
As my ficcing-circuit is firing on all cylinders at the moment (blame Nath) I have a thirst to write and yet a dearth of inspiration...
...which hopefully you- the good folks of HASA- will be able to rectify. The challenge is simple enough- give me a character and a theme and I give you a drabble in return- but hopefully you'll enjoy it.
And who knows? Perhaps it'll inspire others to write!
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55342
16 Dec 13 8:19 AM
Reply To: 55341
General Audience
Here you go.
Character: Isengar Took
Theme: Sometimes, you just need a change of scenery
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55343
16 Dec 13 2:26 PM
Reply To: 55342
General Audience
Aruthir's Note: I hope this is satisfactory, Anglachel...
Isengar is only dimly aware as someone sits down next to him- only when they speak do his ears prick up.
"Could I trouble you for a spark?"
He has known the voice all his life- it is the Wizard, eyes all a-twinkle in the sunset
"I fear I have mislaid my tinderbox. Could you…?"
Within moments sparks kindle and Gandalf takes them. Hobbit watches Man with something akin to awe.
The Wizard blows a satisfied smoke-ring.
"I've often heard that a change is as good as a rest for a broken heart. Have you?"
Isengar never regrets his answer...
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55344
17 Dec 13 9:45 PM
Reply To: 55343
General Audience
Very satisfactory, thank you!
Hmm, let's see, how about another prompt.
Character: Otho Baggins
Theme: Love conquers all
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55345
18 Dec 13 1:45 PM
Reply To: 55344
General Audience
Aruthir's Note: Challenge accepted, Anglachel. Hope this satisifes...
As Lobelia rants and raves, Otho says nothing.
He could- oh, there's many things he could say, on many topics, after all…
…but he says nothing.
He just lets her rant and rave- he's found it's best to, over the years.
He lets the flood of rage wash over him, just as he always does… and always has.
Arguing is no use- he found that out the morning after they were married.
No, as Lobelia rants and raves about Cousin Bilbo's latest "outrage"- her words, not his, mind you- Otho says nothing.
After all- love conquers all, does it not?
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55346
18 Dec 13 4:07 PM
Reply To: 55345
General Audience
Hi, Aruthir! Good stuff I've got one for you...
Character: Curufin
Theme: Fathers and Sons
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55347
18 Dec 13 4:13 PM
Reply To: 55345
General Audience
Heh. You caught something about Otho and Lobelia's relationship I had always wondered about.
Thank you!
PS - Since you seem quite adept with Hobbit drabbles, here's another prompt:
Character: Malva Headstrong
Theme: The more, the merrier.
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55348
20 Dec 13 11:18 AM
Reply To: 55346
General Audience
Aruthir's Note: Some dark Elves for you, Maeglin- I hope they suffice...
The two Elves stare at each other in silence, oblivious to the maelstrom around them.
Screams and swords ring out loud and long in deadly chorus, but for these two there is nothing.
Blood is spilled and shields splinter and bones smash as Hell itself is unleashed upon Losgar, but for these two there is nothing.
Nothing but the other…
…Nothing but the Oath.
"We do this?"
Son speaks to Father.
"We do this."
Father nods at Son nods at Father and both Elves grin, their fair faces turned foul by the flickering flames.
Their torches sail through the air…
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55349
20 Dec 13 11:52 AM
Reply To: 55347
General Audience
Aruthir's Note: Hope you liked this, Anglachel- I found it very difficult to cut down to a Drabble!
Gormadoc gapes at the newborn as if he had never seen a baby before.
Malva smiles wearily from her bed- sweat-slicked, aching fit to end the world- and eventually he turns back to her.
"Malva, darling, I am made the happiest Hobbit in history this day."
She summons enough strength to chuckle and shake her head.
"Shush, darling- you'll give him Ideas."
Her husband looks confused, so she continues.
"After all- he will have brothers, no?"
Gormadoc gapes.
"This birth was hard enough, Malva… are you not satisfied?"
She smiles.
"Aye… but is the saying not that more is merrier?"
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55350
20 Dec 13 12:24 PM
Reply To: 55349
General Audience
Thank you again, Aruthir! Don't go giving Brandybucks any ideas.
Do be sure to gather your drabbles together in a story so they don't get lost in the forum lists. Meanwhile, I shall try to think up another prompt. Hmm...
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55351
20 Dec 13 12:37 PM
Reply To: 55350
General Audience
I don't have to give anybody ideas- I've seen the amount of Brandybucks in the family trees who simply have "many children".
Glad you enjoyed.
Re: Challenge Aruthir
Message: 55354
23 Dec 13 12:28 PM
Reply To: 55348
General Audience
Very nice, Aruthir! Definitely a pivotal moment for these two ... thanks!


text:
What is LHCb?
The LHCb experiment is designed to study the decays of B mesons, particles containing b quarks, in order to investigate the asymmetry between matter and antimatter known as CP violation. LHCb physicists measure important CP violation properties and perhaps discover new subatomic mechanisms for the matter-antimatter imbalance, such as those proposed by supersymmetric theories.
LHCb physicists also search for never-before-seen particles and physics phenomena through their influence on rare decays of B mesons, and will use the experiment's unique technology to study the decay products of the yet-to-be-discovered Higgs boson.
B mesons are most likely to emerge from proton-proton collisions at an angle close to the beam direction. The 69-foot-long LHCb detector is constructed in layers and allows for the study of particles emitted in the forward direction. LHCb's key detector elements are a vertex detector to measure the tracks of charged particles close to the interaction region and ring-imaging Cherenkov, or RICH, detectors to identify different particle types.
The LHCb collaboration comprises 750 members from 48 universities and laboratories from 14 countries, including 15 scientists from Syracuse University.
Want to know more about how the Large Hadron Collider beauty experiment relates to antimatter, CP violations, and B mesons? See The Science of LHCb .