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The Undercover Soundtrack – Consuelo Roland
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on October 1, 2014
'Skinny-dipping in greenish-hued waters'
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative environment – perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold a moment still to explore its depths. This week my guest is award-nominated novelist, poet and essayist Consuelo Roland @ConsueloRoland
Soundtrack by R.E.M., The Beatles, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Youssou N'Dour, Bob Marley
Lady Limbo began with a cancelled flight and a personal tale of sexual liberation imparted to my mother at Charles de Gaulle Airport.
The details of a mysterious organization reside in a little black book belonging to a helpful ground hostess whose name is forever lost in the torrential downpour of a stormy Paris night. It was fun to turn things around and evoke a world where men are paid ridiculous stud fees to be at the beck and call of willful women who can afford to be extravagant. Occasionally a perfectly ordinary, independently minded woman – such as a sexy ground hostess – will use their services.
From a little black book to a husband that vanishes into thin air is not such a literary leap of the imagination. The only tangible clues to the 'disappeared properly' man's identity are the vinyl long playing records (LPs) carted into his current incarnation: Daniel de Luc, husband. A man who favours alternative rock, old circus music (think extravagant carnivalesque LP cover art), and African jazz is perhaps not going to be your average conventional spouse.
A voice for intensity
When Daniel de Luc barges into my novel with all his unpredictable here-now-gone-tomorrow energy he arrives together with cult band R.E.M. Their music is constantly playing in my car. The wickedly intelligent lyrics have the enigmatic aura of a Poe story.
Periodically Daniel withdraws from the world (and Paola, his wife) by listening to R.E.M. with its anti-establishment undertones. It is Daniel's theme music; the friend he turns to when he has to figure things out.
The music of R.E.M. is ideal for Lady Limbo as a kind of activist male anthem. I feel as if I know Daniel as well as any real live man of my acquaintance when I listen to them. My first R.E.M. CD came from a male friend brought up in Europe; the opaque music brings this association with it too, helping me to give a voice to Daniel's intensity and his foreign outlook.
The only R.E.M. song named in Lady Limbo is the mesmerising Nightswimming. There are echoes of the early party scene when Paola watches partygoers engage in open group sex in a night-lit swimming pool. But her immersion in Nightswimming has its own redemptive beauty and truth even while it suggests the foolishness of being human. The song that Chris Martin of ColdPlay once called 'the best song ever written' becomes a bittersweet tribute to relationships and feelings that can never be the way they once were.
It's all in the night's song: we are creatures of the night, skinny-dipping in deep greenish hued waters charged with sexual tension and lustful predilections. In Lady Limbo it is the bright light of day with its criminal banality that comes to terrify Paola Dante, and the night's deep-throated mystery that seduces her.
Music of ambivalence
From music of the night to nights at the circus.
Circus music, with its relentless glee, is the perfect music of ambivalence. It fills a gap between Paola and Daniel with its nostalgic evocation of a carnival atmosphere, and yet its excessive gaiety is strangely disturbing. In Lady Limbo the ghosts of death-defying acts plummet to the sawdust over and over again.
My research uncovers that the atmospheric circus music of yesteryear is for the most part produced by a calliope (steam whistles played by a keyboard) , a very special mechanical instrument. When Daniel hears the frenetic delight he, like The Beatles' John Lennon who employed snippets of calliope music in Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, is transported to a seat from where he can smell the sawdust on the big tent floor.
A circus music thematic appears; it expresses a magical interpretation of life and independence of spirit that is outside the norm, and somehow beyond society's approval or control. Old time rumours about the circus as a haven for runaways, freaks, outcasts, and even baby abductors, add a mysterious resonance to Lady Limbo.
From nights at the circus to African jazz and Jamaican rebellion…
Youssou N'Dour (You to his fans) provides the cross-cultural musical bridge I need between Africa and Europe. N'Dour's cosmopolitan nous absorbs the entire Senegalese musical spectrum, often filtered through the lens of the genre-defying mbalax sound, which takes traditional Wolof music and combines it with Islamic and Cuban influences. Daniel is as intrigued by N'Dour's roots (a maternal line of griottes) as by his professional exploits. From my perspective, N'Dour's tenor voice has an unusual prophetic quality that fills a car as it coasts along dark cliff top roads.
In Lady Limbo the past has been neglected, mishandled and deliberately avoided. Since Paola is as guilty as this of Daniel I have her mull over Daniel's difficult boyhood in the hotel room darkness with Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff playing on the radio in the background.
Caught between reality and fiction Daniel is the flawed paradox at the centre of Lady Limbo's complex mystery. Marley's reggae anthem for justice, just a one-liner in Paola's musings, pre-empts Daniel's act of protection at the end of Lady Limbo. All of this the music reveals, and overlays and underlays. Only the music, capable of endless interpretation and re-interpretation, tells the truth.
Portrait by Dina Photography
Consuelo Roland lives in Cape Town, South Africa. She writes novels, poems, essays, and short stories. Lady Limbo, a psycho-sexual mystery, is her second novel. She is working on book II in the limbo trilogy, due to come out next year. Her debut novel The Good Cemetery Guide, now an ebook, was shortlisted for the Sunday Times Fiction Prize and was also selected via an e-mail poll of readers as one of 30 Centre for the Book's 'must read' South African Books. She is also a member of the League of Extraordinary Authors. Her Amazon page is www.amazon.com/author/consueloroland. Connect with her on Facebook and on her website. Tweet her @ConsueloRoland.
African jazz, authors, Bob Marley, Centre for the Book, Circus music, Consuelo Roland, contemporary fiction, Cuba, Desert Island Discs, drama, entertainment, female character, Lady Limbo, Lawrence Ferlinghetti, League of Extraordinary Authors, literary fiction, literary novels, music, music for writers, music for writing, My Memories of a Future Life, Nail Your Novel, playlist for writers, psycho-sexual thriller, R.E.M., Roz Morris, Sunday Times Fiction Prize 2006, The Beatles, The Undercover Soundtrack, thriller, undercover soundtrack, Undercover Soundtracks, Wolof, Women Writers, writers, writing, writing to music, Youssou N'Dour
The Undercover Soundtrack – Paul Connolly
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on August 27, 2014
'The power of music and friendship'
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative environment – perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold a moment still to explore its depths. This week my guest is a capella singer and debut author Paul Connolly @ACappellaPaul
Soundtrack by The Beatles, Van Morrison, The Beach Boys, Thomas Tallis, John Barry
The Fifth Voice is about the power of music and friendship, and the incredible influence both can have on our lives. The four main characters are struggling in various ways with what life has thrown at them (an illness, a betrayal, a bereavement, a mid-life crisis), but when they sing together none of that matters. Together they embark on a journey of self-discovery and self-healing, as they go in search of the mysterious and elusive Fifth Voice.
My very first memory is hearing Help! by The Beatles playing in an amusement arcade when I was just five. Listening to the song as an adult, I remember what it was like to feel happy and carefree as a child on holiday, being transported by music for the very first time. Coincidentally, John Lennon said he wrote the song at a time when he'd completely lost himself and was harking back to when he was much younger and everything in life was much simpler.
Aside from the obvious connection (four singers), The Beatles inspired The Fifth Voice by providing two of the protagonists, Vince and Danny, with the material for their opening dialogue, arguing about their favourite albums around a pub table. They don't see eye-to-eye when it comes to The Beatles, Vince referring to the Sergeant Pepper album as 'a pile of over-contrived, trippy nonsense'. Danny hits back by informing his friend that 'when Sergeant Pepper was released, Kenneth Tynan in The Times said it was a decisive moment in the history of Western civilization'. And so the tone is set for the emerging friendship between the two.
Oh, and there's dance too
One of my own favourite albums is Astral Weeks by Van Morrison, which features the song Ballerina. It's a haunting evocation of a love unrequited, or perhaps broken in some way. Listening to it, I get a sense of fragility, of a man who is yearning for this perfect vision of a woman to be his. The fact that I was once married to a ballet dancer means that those feelings have the ring of truth, and both the song and my personal experience compelled me to include a character in the book who was once a ballet dancer.
Margaret, the mother of Neil (another of the quartet) is a smart, sensitive, worldly and compassionate lady of a certain age. She has suffered the loss of her eldest son, which both she and Neil are struggling to come to terms with. She has every right to be bitter, but instead she throws all her energies into looking after her husband and remaining son, helping local charities, and running a ballet class for the senior citizens of her village. In her early years she lived a rarefied and exotic life as a dancer in Paris and was, without doubt, held in as much esteem as the ballerina in Van Morrison's achingly beautiful song.
Finding their voices
One of the first songs I learned to sing in four-part harmony was a Beach Boys medley featuring the ballad In My Room. It made a big impression on me, as the harmonies are delicate and easy, and yet powerfully moving. I had to make it the first song the quartet in The Fifth Voice sing together, the one that makes them and their assembled company realise that their voices blend beautifully and that they could have a future as a quartet.
The song doesn't always serve them well, however. When Ken, their eccentric vocal coach and mentor, invites them to explain what the song is about, Vince suggests 'a bloke in a room'. Frustrated by his lack of imagination, Ken replies
Well, that certainly explains things. From the way you sang just now, I'd guess that the room is painted entirely white. Featureless. And I'd say that the bloke in question is probably wearing a straitjacket, that the walls are padded, and that the door is heavily bolted from the outside.
Perfect harmony
The book is about the search for harmony, not just in the musical sense. Ken inspires the quartet to discover a curious vocal technique called The Fifth Voice, which has the promise to deliver a prize much greater than anything they can imagine.
This idea was inspired in part by listening to harmonies on a grand scale, in the form of Spem In Alium, a 40-part Renaissance motet by Thomas Tallis. Composed in the 16th century for eight choirs of five voices each, this majestic piece is mind-blowing in its complexity and beauty, and no wonder it is widely considered to be the greatest piece of English early music.
A piece of orchestral music I return to often is The Beyondness of Things by John Barry. Barry's late signature sound of richly textured strings and reflective, romantic melodies has a wooing effect, and I find myself drifting away whenever I listen to this piece. But it also delivers a genuine sense of beyondness, of there being more to life than the here and now. And that's the essence of what The Fifth Voice is about. Listening to Barry helped set the tone for the metaphysical aspects of the story, as when Ken first tells the quartet about The Fifth Voice:
Listen to a top quartet ringing chords, and the room will fill with harmonic overtones. And at a purely physical level, you could say that those harmonic overtones are themselves an independent voice. A fifth voice, so to speak. But that's only part of the story. Any competent quartet can create a fifth voice, but very few find The Fifth Voice. That's something that goes beyond the physical. Something that comes from inside each of you. Something you have to search for.
Paul Connolly was born and brought up in Liverpool. After studying biology at Manchester University he worked for many years as a technical author in the computer industry, the foundation of his writing career. Paul sings bass with award-winning a cappella group The Royal Harmonics, which provided the inspiration for his debut novel, The Fifth Voice. He lives in Berkshire, visits Lundy Island as often as possible, supports Everton FC, and has a grown-up daughter. He is currently working on the sequel to The Fifth Voice, and you can connect with him at www.paulconnollyauthor.com and on Twitter @ACappellaPaul. The Fifth Voice is available as a paperback and ebook.
a capella, authors, Beach Boys, contemporary fiction, Desert Island Discs, drama, entertainment, Fifth Voice, friendship, John Barry, John Lennon, Kenneth Tynan, male friendship, male friendships, male writers, music, music for writers, music for writing, musicians, My Memories of a Future Life, Nail Your Novel, Paul Connolly, playlist for writers, quartets, Roz Morris, singers, The Beatles, The Fifth Voice, The Royal Harmonics, the Sergeant Pepper album, The Undercover Soundtrack, Thomas Tallis, troubled lives, undercover soundtrack, Van Morrison, voice, writers, writing, writing to music
The Undercover Soundtrack – Carol Cooper
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on May 7, 2014
'Music prepares me to face a blank page'
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative environment – perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold a moment still to explore its depths. This week my guest is media doctor and award-winning writer Carol Cooper @DrCarolCooper
Soundtrack by The Beatles, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Compay Segundo, John Williams and BBC Proms, Miloš Karadaglić , Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan
While music isn't always playing while I write, I sometimes need it to get into the right frame of mind to face a blank page. For me, The Beatles are creative Viagra. Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band isn't my favourite album, but its invigorating opening track makes it the one I find most conducive to spilling out words. Though Taxman from Revolver is pretty damn good. Then there's Back in the USSR from the White Album and Come Together on Abbey Road… OK, so the Fab Four were pretty hot at opening tracks, and they followed up pretty well too.
Some music evokes specific characters in my novel One Night at the Jacaranda. Geoff, Laure, Sanjay and the others are in their mid-to-late-30s so they'd be very familiar with the Red Hot Chili Peppers. Preoccupied with his own cancer, Sanjay enjoys listening to artistes who are dead (like Hillel Slovak from the Chilis).
They found a taxi. Geoff glanced at Laure in the half-light. Her face was hard to read, but her warm fingers were interlinked with his. Unprompted, the driver ranted about immigration, or possibly lenient judges. Geoff lost the thread halfway through, but the gist was that the cabbie thought the country was going to hell in a handcart, and everything the government did was tantamount to throwing away all they'd ever fought for during two world wars.
Anything is possible
I find the Chilis incredibly alive, and love them for their offbeat rhythm and their beautifully bonkers lyrics where anything is possible. My favourite album is By the Way. No wonder I found my novel taking strange new directions. The characters did things I hadn't intended, like jumping into bed with people they shouldn't. Sanjay's cancer didn't progress quite how I'd foreseen either, though maybe as a doctor I should be used to that.
As can happen when visiting Cuba, I felt totally immersed in music, especially son, on a trip to Havana a few years ago. There was live music on almost every corner of Habana Vieja. Many artists have recorded El Cuarto de Tula, but the late Compay Segundo's version is my favourite. The tune is catchy and the lyrics suggestive. It's a song is about a young woman's bedroom being on fire, and it makes a great spur to writing sizzling sex scenes.
Geoff squeezed Laure's hand experimentally. She squeezed back. He closed in for a kiss as the cab went over a speed bump. They kissed at length as the cabbie went on about not trusting any politician as far as he could spit.
No words
Sometimes lyrics get in way of finding the right words, and I might need an instrumental piece. Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez is one of my favourites. Evocative and imaginative, it never fails to put me in the mood for writing. My soundtrack includes a John Williams rendition, but I've recently heard the young Montenegrin guitarist Miloš Karadaglić and I can't wait for his interpretation on his new album Aranjuez. While I'm no expert in classical music, I've never known anyone make a guitar sing as he does. Sheer magic.
For those that don't know, qawwali is the musical version of devotional poetry practised in Sufi Islam. The beat is endless and hypnotic, the lyrics ethereal and repeated. Although the characters in One Night at the Jacaranda aren't particularly religious – and after all this is a novel about dating – they do have a basic creed which I think qawwali eloquently captures. Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan is said to be the king of qawwali. Listening to his album Rapture helps unpeel their spiritual layers of my characters, and imbue them with just the right amount of faith and hope.
As a student, Carol Cooper used to write music reviews, which got her into the best gigs in Cambridge. Carol is now a family doctor in London and a journalist for The Sun newspaper. Her latest book One Night at the Jacaranda is a raunchy romantic novel with a heart-rending medical strand. It comes after a string of non-fiction health titles and an award-winning textbook of medicine, co-authored with colleagues from Imperial College Medical School where she teaches. She is now working on a sequel to her novel, taking some of her favourite characters into new territory. Her blog is Pills and Pillow-Talk and she's on Twitter as @DrCarolCooper.
authors, cancer, Carol Cooper, characters, Compay Segundo, contemporary fiction, Desert Island Discs, drama, El Cuarto de Tula, entertainment, Hillel Slovak, Jacaranda, John Williams, John Williams and BBC Proms, media doctor, medical arts, medical doctors, Miloš Karadaglić, music, music for writers, music for writing, My Memories of a Future Life, Nail Your Novel, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, One Night at the Jacaranda, Pills and Pillow Talk, playlist for writers, qawwali, raunchy romance, Red Hot Chili Peppers, romance, Roz Morris, The Beatles, The Undercover Soundtrack, undercover soundtrack, Viagra, Women Writers, women writing women, writers, writing, writing to music
The Undercover Soundtrack – John Dutton
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on February 19, 2014
'Music to find inspired randomness'
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative environment – perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold a moment still to explore its depths. This week my guest is YA fantasy author John Dutton @JohnBDutton
Soundtrack by Simon and Garfunkel, Blondie, Talking Heads, Arcade Fire, The Beatles
Creating a work of art is usually stochastic; a combination of logical planning and inspired randomness. A novelist needs to wobble across this stochastic tightrope from blank page to finished text.
Original, unexpected ideas come from a variety of sources. Dreams, alcohol and drugs fueled writers such as Ernest Hemingway, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and William S. Boroughs. As for myself (and in the words of the great Meat Loaf) two out of three ain't bad. The odd pint of Guinness has certainly helped my out of writer's rut. And so have the even pints. Of course I would never take drugs as they are illegal, but fortunately dreaming is still allowed. I'm currently writing a trilogy of young adult novels like everyone else, and I even woke up one morning with the title of the second novel, Starley's Rust, in my head.
But there's another way to get those creative juices flowing, and that's music. Either melody or lyrics can be inspirational. When I needed to write the introduction of a major character in book one of the trilogy, I was driving one morning with my iPod set to random. A song came on (I honestly don't remember which one) but it may have been Simon and Garfunkel's Hazy Shade of Winter. Suddenly the idea came to me to write this character introduction.
The Friday I met Aranara was a cold, cold day. My hometown of Lancaster, Wisconsin is in some kind of microclimate and we rarely got snow, even in the middle of winter, so I wasn't expecting the betrayal that lurked in the air that early October in New York City.
When I wrote this atmospheric paragraph it was the middle of summer, so it was directly inspired by the song I was listening to. But my aural surroundings have to be just right for it to help my writing. I often write in a particular café here in Montreal where the music is good (in other words, I enjoy the songs they play) and not too loud. When I go to a café closer to home for various reasons I'm quickly reminded how hard it is to get this balance right by the annoying FM pap that blasts every good idea out of my mind before it can reach the keyboard.
Atmosphere for nowhere
Sometimes an entire album can create an atmosphere in your mind that helps you get inside the head of a character you are writing. This was the case for me when I wrote my (as yet unproduced) screenplay Rd 2 Nowhere. Originally inspired by the title of an amazingly atmospheric 1985 hit by the Talking Heads, this movie features a teenage girl who is uprooted from her Montreal home when her mother dies, finding herself in a medium-sized town where nothing much seems to happen. Of course, things do happen! The main character, Jen, is overtaken by grief-fueled ennui, and takes to hanging out with a bunch of kids at a makeshift skate park where an unfinished highway ends abruptly at a river. Her mental state and attitude towards others was perfectly reflected by the music of Arcade Fire's albums Funeral and The Suburbs. As Jen's mind found ways to escape her dull everyday reality (her everydull realiday?) I was listening to songs like Neighbourhood 1 (Tunnels) from Funeral and The Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains). It's not necessarily easy for a male writer in his 40s to get inside the head of a teenage girl, so I'm forever grateful to the helping hand my muse received from my local heroes.
I'm clearly more influenced by the lyrics of rock and pop songs than by classical or jazz music. It's amazing how a random word in a song can trigger a chain reaction of mental associations.
Start making sense
Sometimes you're writing something and you hear a song that you can actually incorporate into your work. One of my novels is called The New Sense. It's an epistemology-themed epistolary mystery (which might explain its failure to attract readers as effectively as a YA fantasy) and one of the main characters claims to have, yes, a new sense that other humans don't possess. I originally published the novel in the form of a blog, posting it 'live' in serial fashion every day or so. Since it deals with the issue of how we know what we think we know to be true, it was very important for me to make the blog as believable as possible. I must have accomplished this, because the fictional writer of the blog soon began to receive emails from real people who thought that she was also real and her story true.
I decided to continue the fiction-reality mashup by creating fictional emails from made-up people to post alongside the real ones. And that's when I heard the Blondie song (I'm Always Touched By Your) Presence, Dear. It contains a line about a person using an extra sense when playing cards. My character actually funds his lifestyle by using his sense to win at cards in the Montreal casino, so I used this line in a fictional reader email.
And sometimes music can be simply a source of fun that gets the mind working and creative juices flowing. I've been a fan of both the BBC sci-fi show Doctor Who and popular pop-rock combo The Beatles since I was very young. My commercial writing self has recently been hired to write the new Cirque du Soleil website and I've been researching their shows, including one called The Beatles LOVE that is performed permanently in Las Vegas. My sudden re-immersion in the Fab Four's music combined with Doctor Who's 50th anniversary clearly sparked something in a strange corner of my mind, because I came up with the idea to create a Dalek-Beatles mixtape (the Daleks being the Doctor's arch enemies).
For a day or two I had a permanent semi-smile on my face as I re-imagined Beatles classics as performed by evil Daleks. The resulting mix tape insert card is here for your enjoyment. You may then exterminate it from your mind if you like.
After graduating from film school in London, John emigrated to Montreal in 1987, where he still lives with his two young children and their even younger goldfish. He spent over a decade as a music TV director before moving into the advertising industry as an award-winning copywriter and translator. In parallel to his corporate work, John has written novels, short stories, blogs, screenplays and a stage play. He is currently writing a trilogy of young adult novels under the pen name JB Dutton, the first of which, Silent Symmetry, was published in early 2013 and features neither vampires, zombies nor wizards. John speaks four languages and has been married three times in three different countries in three different decades. Find his blog here, get his Facebook page here, and tweet him as @johnbdutton
Arcade Fire, authors, Blondie, Cirque du Soleil, Dalek-Beatles mixtape, Desert Island Discs, Doctor Who, Doctor Who 50th anniversary, entertainment, Ernest Hemingway, fantasy, JB Dutton, John Dutton, major character, male writers, Meat Loaf, Montreal, music, music for writers, music for writing, My Memories of a Future Life, Nail Your Novel, Rd 2 Nowhere, Roz Morris, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, serialised novels, serialising fiction, Silent Symmetry, Simon and Garfunkel, Talking Heads, The Beatles, The Beatles Creating, The Beatles LOVE, The New Sense, The Undercover Soundtrack, undercover soundtrack, William S Boroughs, writers, writing, writing to music, young adult novels
The Undercover Soundtrack – Candace Austin
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on December 18, 2013
'The perfect song to help my characters flourish'
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative environment – perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold a moment still to explore its depths. This week's post is by magical realist suspense novelist Candace Austin @caustinauthor
Soundtrack by Brandi Carlile, Jamie Cullum, Michael Johns and Brooke White, The Beatles, John Lennon
There are two things from which I abstain while writing—music and wine. I write better in silence while sober. Maybe this is why I work through a first draft fairly quickly?
I can reduce the bustling of my busy family to a low murmur with my thoughtful plotting, but music, I cannot. It's captivating to me. Music does, however, play a huge role in the growth of my novels. Once my protagonists and their stories germinate in my brain, I set out in search of a song that will help them flourish. It never fails. I find a perfect song that speaks to their stories and tells me their secrets. It's as if the song was created just for my characters—for me.
Past lives
My debut novel, The Layers, is the story of David Kiplinger, a 19-year-old living in a post-Unveiling age in which most everyone remembers past lives. When TheLayers.b4u website (think Facebook meets Ancestry.com for millennia past and present) reveals that David has lived exponentially more lives than anyone else on earth, he's lifted to a level of fame reserved for the divine. To answer questions and diffuse the onslaught of attention, David agrees to an autobiography, but when he meets his ghostwriter, Holly Stone, he can't help but wonder if she's the woman who has lived alongside him, the one he has loved unconditionally, the one who killed him.
Regardless of David's suspicions about Holly, theirs is a sweet and humorous story of unconditional, eternal love … and irony, there is irony. When I heard Brandi Carlile's The Story, I knew it was their song. Ms. Carlile sings about the layers, the depth of our individual life stories and how immensely satisfying it is to find that one person who knows your story like the back of their hand and appreciates it for all that it is, and all that it's not. It's messy. It's glorious. Life's elation and misery are there in her lyrics. I often listened to it before I began my daily writing. The intensity with which she sings the song inspired me to elevate the emotions as I wrote, and I think The Layers turned out better for it. How this song was not a chart topper, I'll never know.
Whimsical and inspiring
One song does not fit all, however. Much of The Layers is humorous, and I found that I needed to shift into another gear when writing the lighthearted scenes. Jamie Cullum's remake of Ruby and the Romantic's classic Our Day Will Come struck the perfect chord. The tune is whimsical and inspiring, hopeful and innocent, much like David.
David handles his complicated relationship, newfound fame, and status as the most reincarnated of men with a cheerful optimism. He likes to think that living is a gift, not a punishment. Life is Okay by Michael Johns and Brooke White embodies the guarded optimism that defines him.
Rounding out my playlist is In My Life by The Beatles and Imagine by John Lennon. Obviously, there's a theme here—life. Music helps me contemplate life. Just imagine what life would be like if we remembered being someone else, somewhere else? (insert Twilight Zone theme). Would we launch into a new life knowing what to savor? Would the world improve because we understood without a doubt what is important?
Ooh. I will now listen to music with a glass of wine in-hand!
Candace Austin is the author of The Layers and In Her Sleep. Her fast-paced, suspenseful novels use magical realism to explore love, life, and the humorous and heart-wrenching oddities in both. Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Candace resides in Raleigh, North Carolina with her husband of 20 years, two kids (one heading for college, the other kindergarten), a hefty Golden Retriever, and a Maine Coon Cat that comes and goes as he dang well pleases. When not writing, she enjoys NC State football games (particularly the tailgating), and traveling to Maine to spend time with her parents and family. Find her on her website and on Twitter as @caustinauthor
That's the last Undercover Soundtrack for 2013! The series will return on 8 January.
ancestry, authors, Brandi Carlile, Candace Austin, Chicago, Desert Island Discs, drama, entertainment, Facebook, fantasy, ghostwriter, Jamie Cullum, John Lennon, magical realism, Michael Johns and Brooke White, music, music for writers, music for writing, My Memories of a Future Life, Mystery, Nail Your Novel, past lives, playlist for writers, reincarnation, romance, Roz Morris, social media, social networks, speculative fiction, suspense, suspense author, The Beatles, The Layers, The Undercover Soundtrack, Twilight Zone, undercover soundtrack, who were you, Women Writers, writers, writing, writing to music
The Undercover Soundtrack – David Biddle
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on November 27, 2013
'Sex, drugs, metaphysics and rock'n'roll'
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative environment – perhaps to connect with a character, populate a mysterious place, or hold a moment still to explore its depths. This week's post is by novelist and Talking Writing columnist David Biddle @dcbiddle
Soundtrack by Jimi Hendrix, Elvis Presley, The Beatles, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, Jim Croce, Robert Johnson, Jeff Buckley, Global Illage
My novel, Beyond the Will of God, is about many things: murder; rural Missouri in the heart of the summer; odd conspiracy theories; altered states of consciousness; and the realities of telepathy. Most importantly, though, this book is about the power of music and its connection to creativity, and what ultimately lies beyond death.
The story begins as a murder mystery, but very early on the reader is confronted with the realization that there may be a sort of magic to music that we don't understand — rock 'n' roll music in particular. Understanding that magic is the real mystery of the book.
The idea came to me when I was 17 and had just discovered the sorcery of Jimi Hendrix's guitar work. The first time I heard his masterpiece, 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn to Be), I became convinced that Hendrix had discovered a way to channel and tune human thought to a unified vibration. The title for my novel comes from a phrase in this song.
I wouldn't start writing, though, for another 15 years. New Year's Day 1990, I was listening to a radio special on Elvis Presley's early career. Strains of acoustic guitar started up. A voice-over told us That's Alright Mama was Elvis's first hit. As I listened to The King of rock 'n' roll, I saw a bar full of hard-drinking young people in rural Missouri listening to his first hit song, and an Amish boy sneaking in the back. I began to write. That work became the scene that is now in the middle of chapter one, ending with two characters lost in dark farm country hearing strange guitar music on the wind.
Sonic vibrations
I knew the story was a mystery-thriller, but it would also be about the power of sonic vibration of all kinds. The untimely deaths of so many great musicians and personalities in the 20th century would become the center of the plot I was concocting.
Whether we know it or not, our thoughts are connected to all the sound in our lives. One song I kept coming back to that helped me meld the CIA with the hippie search for 'higher consciousness' was The Beatles' Tomorrow Never Knows. Even today, almost 50 years after it was recorded, the use of tape loops, sitar, non-standard rhythm, and Lennon's lyrics can crack open the most stodgy artist's mind.
Over time, as I wrote, I listened endlessly to music by artists who, like Jimi and Elvis, had all died before their time – Jim Morrison, John Lennon, Jerry Garcia, Jim Croce, etc. Blues legend Robert Johnson's story of selling his soul to the devil is where the black magic of rock 'n' roll got its start. He died at the age of 27. In the classic Come On In My Kitchen he is haunting and mystical. Johnson has an important part to play in Beyond the Will of God.
Ideas of immortality
In the spring of 1997, I read about a singer and musician I'd never heard of before named Jeff Buckley. He'd just drowned in a channel of the Mississippi River in Memphis, Tennessee. As I read, it became obvious Buckley was important to my story. His highly regarded album, Grace, was a smorgasbord of new music inspiration. Last Goodbye is my favorite song, but the title track, Grace, speaks directly to the ethos of Beyond the Will of God. It is dark, swooning, and ponders the idea of immortality. The first draft would be completed shortly after discovering Buckley.
But I wouldn't have been able to edit and re-write my first draft it if I hadn't found the rather esoteric album, Sushilove Sessions, by the world beat-improvisational jazz combo Global Illage. There are no easily accessible renditions of Sushilove Sessions online, but check out this recent recording by two of the group's musicians, talented drummer, Jim Hamilton, and guitarist extraordinaire, Tim Motzer. Here they are, recorded in the spring of 2013, improvising the composition As Real As Life.
I listened to Global Illage non-stop every night for 23 days doing the final re-write of Beyond the Will of God. It went from 450 pages down to 350. Sex, drugs, (metaphysics), and rock 'n' roll all wrapped up in a murder mystery.
Along with his novel Beyond the Will of God, David Biddle has published two collections of short stories: Trying to Care (2011) and Implosions of America (2012). He has been writing professionally for over 30 years, publishing articles and essays in the likes of Harvard Business Review, The Philadelphia Inquirer, In Business, Huffington Post, Kotori Magazine, and BioCycle. He writes the 'Talking Indie' column at the online magazine Talking Writing. You can track him down at http://davidbiddle.net. Tweet to him as @dcbiddle
authors, Beyond the Will of God, Biocycle, David Biddle, Desert Island Discs, drama, Elvis, Elvis Presley, entertainment, Global Illage, Harvard Business Review, Huffington Post, In Business, Jeff Buckley, Jerry Garcia, Jim Croce, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix, John Lennon, Kotori Magazine, Last Goodbye, male writers, middle, Missouri, murder mystery, music, music for writers, music for writing, My Memories of a Future Life, Mystery, Nail Your Novel, playlist for writers, psychedelia consciousnesses, Robert Johnson, rock 'n' roll music, rock n roll, Roz Morris, The Beatles, The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Undercover Soundtrack, undercover soundtrack, writers, writing, writing to music
The Undercover Soundtrack – Barry Walsh
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on July 10, 2013
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative process – perhaps to tap into a character, populate a mysterious place, or explore the depths in a pivotal moment. This week's post is by debut author Barry Walsh @BJWalsh
Soundtrack by Neil Young, Handel, Beniamino Gigli, Bob Dylan, the Beatles, the Marvellettes, Rod Stewart, Adele, Flanagan & Allen, Mozart, JS Bach, Hildegard von Bingen, Beethoven, Dexy's Midnight Runners
The Pimlico Kid is about first-love, which can quarry a hollow in one's life that is hard to fill. It's also about kids scrabbling past puberty and slamming into emotional or physical barriers set by adults.
… the most we might have expected to deal with was a first kiss or a dying grandparent, we were undone by love itself, and violence – and that adults betrayed us.
The lyrics of Neil Young's songs were ever-present in my head while writing the book. For years I had piled up notes from which to make The Pimlico Kid a novel but it was the beautiful reference to childhood friendship and secrets being revealed in Philadelphia that turned intention into action.
Happy families
The narrator, Billy, unlike some of his friends stands on the solid ground of happy family life. His easy-going father is a hard man and his volatile brother, John, will become one. However, Billy's father is comfortable revealing his softer side and expresses it in his fine singing. And, when his sons were small, he kidded them he knew Italian and sang his favourite Beniamino Gigli songs, such as Handel's Ombra mai fu, in beautiful gibberish.
This contrasts with Bob Dylan's less mellifluous The times they are a changin' (played loudly enough to shake the house) that defines the rebellious younger brother John, who is yet to discover his softer side:
When he's asked or told to do something, he has this stiff, chinny look that makes it clear he doesn't have to comply, but that he will, only on this occasion.
The exhilaration of first attraction is almost always about a face. And it is nailed by the Beatles's I've Just Seen a Face. When Billy falls for Sarah, he worries that his more mature friends will disapprove because she is still flat chested. However, he's prepared to wait for breasts:
I know that whatever Rooksy says about fabulous flesh, love starts with a face.
A host of songs evoke the summer of 1963 but none more vividly than the Beatles's She Loves You. Billy and his friends stand transfixed outside a pub from which it is blasting out, again and again. This is the song that vanquishes the old pop music order – along with Brylcreem. When an Elvis song starts up, they leave.
Never-ending summer
During one of those never-ending summer days of childhood, the loves of four friends – Billy, his best mate, Rooksy, Sarah and Josie collide and magic is conjured up by declarations of love and secrets revealed. The Marvelettes' When You're Young and in Love kept popping into my head as I tried to pin down the excitement of new love. The lyrics may be simple but if you are young and in love, they couldn't be more true.
At a critical moment Billy's behaves like an idiot in front of Sarah. Burning with shame, he's surprised to find that it doesn't affect how she feels for him. This reflects my experience of how often weak and flawed people, usually men, are lucky enough to find someone who loves them anyway. Neil Young 'gets' it in Hangin' on a Limb, in which a man wobbles at the edge of an emotional precipice and a girl teaches him how to dance.
As their relationship grows, the four friends come to learn that love breeds compassion and diminishes judgement of those it's easy to ridicule, whether it's because of a birthmark or sexual orientation. In the early sixties there were few openly gay teenagers and a great deal of unthinking homophobia. A decade later, Rod Stewart's The killing of Georgie helped to change things a little and it came to mind constantly while I struggled to get this issue onto the page.
Adele's Someone Like You wasn't a creative influence but, on a more exalted level, it provided creative confirmation of the universal theme that I was trying to make personal. During my fourth re-write, the song was playing every day and everywhere and its reference to glory days of summer goes to the heart of The Pimlico Kid, in which …
love can endure but … promises are hard to keep.
Finally, the streets of London are the main stage for The Pimlico Kid. Maybe it's Because I'm a Londoner anchors Billy – and me – to the greatest of cities.
The writing
I write to classical music, which provides welcome harmony to counter the dissonance in my head. I start most days with Mozart's String Quintet No 1 because it lifts my default mood of pessimism about finding the right words. Each day features Bach, lots of Gregorian chant and the liturgical songs of Hildegard von Bingen. I regularly work my way through Beethoven's quartets but stop when I reach No 15, which triggers Wordsworthian 'thoughts that lie too deep for tears'.
When the writing has gone really well, I celebrate with the Kyrie from Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, which isn't at all 'solemn'. And, when there's no one else in the house, I turn to Dexy's Midnight Runners' Come on Eileen and jig around like mad Ben Gunn on the beach.
Barry Walsh grew up in the heart of London during the 60s and thought belatedly that there might be a story in it. The result is The Pimlico Kid, published by Harper, a story of first love. He is now writing his second novel. When not at the keyboard, Barry enjoys cycling (he once rode non-stop to the top of Mont Ventoux), holidays in France, watching Arsenal, listening to Neil Young and gazing at Audrey Hepburn's face. He is a proud trustee of the world's oldest youth club – St Andrew's, Westminster – and believes that London might just be the centre of the universe. He is married with two daughters. Find him on his website and Twitter @bjwalsh
GIVEAWAY Barry is offering a signed print copy of The Pimlico Kid. For a chance to win, leave a comment here or share this post on Twitter, Facebook, G+ or anywhere else (and don't forget to leave a note here saying where you shared it).
1960s, 1960s London, Adele, adolescence, authors, Barry Walsh, Beethoven, Beniamino Gigli, Bob Dylan, Desert Island Discs, Dexy's Midnight Runners, drama, entertainment, first love, Flanagan & Allen, Gregorian chant, Handel, Harper, Hildegard von Bingen, JS Bach, literary novels, London, male writers, Marvellettes, Mozart, music, music for writers, music for writing, My Memories of a Future Life, Nail Your Novel, Neil Young, Pimlico, playlist for writers, puberty, Rod Stewart, romance, Roz Morris, The Beatles, The Pimlico Kid, The Undercover Soundtrack, undercover soundtrack, writers, writing, writing to music, young love
The Undercover Soundtrack – Cally Phillips
Posted by Roz Morris @Roz_Morris in Undercover Soundtrack on February 27, 2013
'Without the music there would have been no creativity'
Once a week I host a writer who uses music as part of their creative process – perhaps to open a secret channel to understand a character, populate a mysterious place, or explore the depths in a pivotal moment. This week's guest is screenwriter, playwright and novelist Cally Phillips @i_ebookreview
Soundtrack by Michael Jackson, Shaggy, The Beatles, Harry Belafonte, The Muppets, Nat King Cole, David Rovics, Sam Cooke, John K and Fred Ebb, Joel Grey, Liza Minnelli, Bing Crosby, The Andrews Sisters
All my life I have made up words to songs. As a student I used to entertain my companions on the way to and from the pub by making up 'different' lyrics to pop songs and musicals. It was just something I did. I heard music as a soundtrack in my head all the time and used the melody to write my own version of songs. I had a love of musical theatre and sort of wished that the world could be like that, people breaking out into song in the oddest places without any provocation. Strangely, I never thought about a career as a lyricist (I didn't know you could). When I 'became' a writer for a job in my late 20s I chose screenwriting because I needed to earn a living. But life takes you on all kinds of unexpected paths and sometimes all the creativity inside you just hits that perfect moment. I'm lucky. For me the moment lasted the best part of 10 years. And changed my life.
In 2003 I started working with an advocacy group for adults labelled with learning disability who wanted to learn drama. I had no experience of 'learning disability' but plenty of experience of practical drama. It was challenging to begin with. Most of the group couldn't read or write, some couldn't or didn't even speak. However, an amazing thing happened. Music unlocked the door.
One member of the group who never spoke beyond 'Yes', 'No' and 'Happy' just came alive when we started to use music. He revealed a talent for singing as well as a keen memory of 50s and 60s music. Consequently I started using music to bind together our flexible scripts. I found that by changing the lyrics of familiar pop songs to suit the story we managed to create dramas that the cast could engage with and which entertained an audience.
In 2004 we did a comedy musical version of Hamlet (called Piglet!) which included 'ghosty' pigs doing a song and dance version of Michael Jackson's Thriller (song starts 04:40) and Shaggy's It Wasn't Me alongside my adaptation of a well-known classic with one word changed! 'Piglet, do you want to know a secret.' This was followed up by devised musical plays around the theme of Fairtrade – Go Bananas which featured Day-oh and Wake up and Smell the Coffee which featured, among other songs You're the cream in my coffee and a play on recycling using the title of a David Rovics song The End of the Age of Oil and built around that song. Performed at the Scottish Parliament, we opened the event with our 'star' singer (the man who didn't speak, remember) singing Amazing Grace accapella. That was a high point of my life. There wasn't a dry eye in the house.
Our most ambitious project was performed in 2008. Aiken Drum's Recycled Musical was our first full musical. For the uninitiated, Aiken Drum is a traditional Scots tale which deals with how people view 'outsiders'. It was a really political piece in many ways. We set it in a sort of fictional Industrial Revolution town called Trade Town. All the songs were adapted from pop songs. For example I adapted the lyrics of Wonderful World (song starts 0:38) –
'Don't know much about industry,
Don't know much about commodities,
Don't know much about stocks and shares…'
and my favourite line
Don't know why you want to work for money, I don't think consumerism's funny.'
And we also butchered Cabaret's classic Money Makes the World go round
'When you haven't any shoes on your feet and your coat's thin as paper and you look thirty pounds underweight
My advice is get a job, get a mortgage, pay with credit, have all the luxuries you need
Cause money makes the world go around…'
We also nicked a concept from Godspell (watch this it's awesome by about 2.20mins) engaging in a competitive sing off with Accentuate the Positive with You cannae shove yer granny aff a bus.
Having moved 200 miles north I no longer work with the group, but I have taken our experiences from that time and published them as a novel, A Week with No Labels, which includes all the 'dramas' I've mentioned and a few more besides. It includes many of the 'created/adapted' lyrics. Described by Julia Jones as 'perhaps the most significant book I've read on my Kindle this year', it is a tribute to my time with this amazing bunch of people who changed the course of my life and changed me irrevocably as well. Without the music there would have been no creativity. Without ABC there would have been no novel.
On the way to writing A Week with No Labels I have learned that music and creativity is for everyone. And that life can be a musical. One shouldn't take it too seriously, one shouldn't strive for perfection because what's most important in life is to live and love and be creative together. The song which was always in my mind while I penned A Week With No Labels and remains there whenever I think about it is You've got a friend. Sung by my friend, Larry. Among other things he taught me that in our real life musicals the voice is less important than the heart. So maybe music is about more than just words.
Cally Phillips has worked as a screenwriter and playwright for 20 years and is now focussed on fiction writing. Committed to a life of creativity, she publishes advocacy work through Guerrilla Midgie Press and other writing through HoAmPresst Publishing. She writes in silence but still makes up songs, sometimes to extant tunes, sometimes recycling other melodies. Only the dogs get to hear these masterpieces. She is currently director of the Edinburgh eBook Festival and reviews for Reading Between the Lines Collective. She is also a member of the Authors Electric Writers Collective. A Week With no Labels is available in ebook format for Kindle and epub and as a paperback.Her website is here. Find her on Facebook and Twitter @i_ebookreview
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What is The Undercover Soundtrack?Sleeve notes here
For the soundtrack of My Memories of a Future Life, you'll need Chopin's Sonata in B Minor, Rachmaninov preludes, lashings of Grieg's piano concerto in A minor and The Clash's Rock the Kasbah (they go together well).
You'll also need Samuel Barber's Dover Beach on piano, although that doesn't actually exist so do the best you can.
And the novel's undercover pieces. You can find them here
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- What's on their soundtracks? Zip down to the footer and you can search by artiste or composer. See who shares your taste in inspirational music
Podcasts about My Memories of a Future Life
Posts about My Memories of a Future Life
- An underwater future – interview at Underground Book Reviews
- I swear I made you up – apology to Vellanoweth – at Authors Electric
- It's not real but it's true – at The Other Side of the Story
- Leading characters to freedom – at For Books' Sake
- Novels tell the deepest truth – at Women Writers
- Shaking off the ghost – writing as me: at Jessica Bell's
- The A303: a storyteller's road – at Women Writers
- The day I broke an ESP experiment – at Authors Electric
- The Making of… interview with Victoria Mixon
- The Undercover Soundtrack – My Memories of a Future Life
- Visions of the future – interview at Potomac Review
- What on earth to put in the blurb? At Jami Gold
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text:
Weidman, Silva greet NYC fans
Middleweight champ Chris Weidman and newfound rival Anderson Silva woke up early to head to New York City for another round of media appearances on their UFC 168 world tour. But it was their fans who woke up even earlier.
Some fans in the Big Apple got up at 5 o'clock in the morning, and even skipped work, to see their heroes at the UFC Gym. Even Anderson Silva opens his video recap interview with, "I'm tired." The city that never sleeps, huh?
On December 28, however, we have a strong feeling that one of these main eventers will be catching some zzz's face-down on the canvas.
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subset: commoncrawl


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The Japanese sales charts are making up for a stagnant stretch with some heavy turnover, according to the latest info from Media Create. The week of May 24-30 was the second straight week in which five new releases managed to crack the top 10.
Nintendo's Wii platformer Super Mario Galaxy 2 topped all comers for the week with sales of 339,901. It was the first time a game from Nintendo topped the charts since the week of April 12-18, when New Super Mario Bros. Wii claimed the honor.
It was a good week all the way around for the Wii and DS maker, as Super Mario Galaxy 2 was followed up by a quartet of games for the dual-screened handheld. Namco Bandai's latest Super Robot Taisen strategy role-playing game took second place, followed by Sega's football management sim Soccer Tsuku DS: World Challenge 2010, Rocket Company's latest Medabot game (which goes under the Medarot name in Japan), and Square Enix's Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2, respectively.
The previous week's best seller, Lost Planet for the PlayStation 3, fell to sixth place, trailed by a pair of Konami games in Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker for the PSP and the latest Winning Eleven for the PS3. Rounding out the list were Nintendo's last remaining evergreen title on the top 10, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and a rare appearance for an Xbox 360 game with Cave's "bullet hell" shoot-'em-up DeathSmiles IIX.
Despite the appearance of Xbox 360 software near the top of the charts, Microsoft's hardware didn't perform quite so well. In fact, the Xbox 360 was the only system to sell fewer units week-over-week, with even the perennial basement dweller PSP Go surging to break the 1,000-units-sold mark for the first time in three weeks. The overall order of hardware sales remained unchanged, with the PSP (25,054 sold) and PS3 (20,897 sold) atop the list. However, the Wii narrowed the gap with Sony's console, taking third place overall with 20,467 systems sold.
Rank / Title / Publisher / Platform / Unit sales
1. Super Mario Galaxy 2 / Nintendo / Wii / 339,901
2. Super Robot Taisen OG Saga: Masou Kishin - The Lord of Elemental / Namco Bandai / DS / 80,764
3. Soccer Tsuku DS: World Challenge 2010 / Sega / DS / 50,206
4. Medarot DS: Kabuto and Kuwagata Versions / Rocket Company / DS / 50,164
5. Dragon Quest Monsters Joker 2 / Square Enix / DS / 33,973
6. Lost Planet 2 / Capcom / PS3 / 33,856
7. Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker / Konami / PSP / 25,465
8. World Soccer Winning Eleven 2010: Aoki Samurai no Chousen / Konami / PS3 / 22,168
9. New Super Mario Bros. Wii / Nintendo / Wii / 16,279
10. DeathSmiles IIX / Cave / X360 / 16,112
Wii - 20,467
DSi LL - 16,267
DSi - 10,324
Xbox 360 - 3,546
DS Lite - 2,961
PSP Go - 1,232


text:
WGE Deadline Almost Here
The Women's Global Event on May 12 is growing to become the biggest Women's field ever! We're building the hype as we continue to encourage ladies to find their local Women's Global Event. So far, we have 121 women registered throughout the 27 events around the US, Norway and Finland!
We are urging women to sign up before April 12 to receive their player package! These player packages will consist of 2 women-friendly weighted discs from Discraft and Innova, along with a WTF towel from "Women Throwing Frisbees" of Austin, TX!
The women who shoot the highest rated rounds and place well in their divisions will receive some great payouts! KEEN Footwear is providing the winner of EVERY division a FREE pair of KEENs! Amateur divisions will get their choice of merchandise from the PDGA store and other great prizes while Professionals placing well in the event will be paid in cash!
We will continue to offer giveaways to encourage women to sign up for the event on our Facebook page, but remember to register before April 12 to guarantee yourself a player package!
View the map of the Women's Global Event locations to find an event near you!
For more Women's Global Event Information visit DiscGolf4Women.com
Written by: Val Jenkins PDGA #17495
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(The following is a reformatted version of a press release issued by CME Group and received via electronic mail. The release was confirmed by the sender.) CME Group - Exchange Disciplinary & Access Denial Actions NEW YORK EXCHANGE NOTICE OF DISCIPLINARY ACTION FILE NO.: NYMEX 12-9093-BC NON-MEMBER: BNP PARIBAS SA LONDON BRANCH EXCHANGE RULES: Rule 432. General Offenses It shall be an offense: W. for a Member to fail to diligently supervise its employees and agents in the conduct of their business relating to the Exchange. Rule 534. Wash Trades Prohibited No person shall place or accept buy and sell orders in the same product and expiration month, and, for a put or call option, the same strike price, where the person knows or reasonably should know that the purpose of the orders is to avoid taking a bona fide market position exposed to market risk (transactions commonly known or referred to as wash sales). Buy and sell orders for different accounts with common beneficial ownership that are entered with the intent to negate market risk or price competition shall also be deemed to violate the prohibition on wash trades. Additionally, no person shall knowingly execute or accommodate the execution of such orders by direct or indirect means. FINDINGS: Pursuant to an offer of settlement that BNP Paribas SA London Branch ("BNP London") presented at a hearing on July 31, 2013, in which BNP London neither admitted nor denied the rule violations upon which the penalty is based, a Panel of the NYMEX Business Conduct Committee ("Panel") found that BNP London is subject to the jurisdiction of the Exchange because it is an affiliate of a NYMEX member and that on April 17, 2012, a trader employed by BNP entered a series of four buy and sell orders in MAY12 Crude within five seconds of one another between accounts with the same beneficial owner, resulting in four trades for a total of 450 lots. The Panel also found that BNP failed to diligently supervise its trader in a manner sufficient to ensure that he was familiar with Exchange rules such as through appropriate compliance training. The Panel found that as a result of the foregoing, BNP Paribas London violated Exchange Rules 432.W. and 534. PENALTY: In accordance with the settlement offer, the Panel ordered BNP Paribas London to pay a fine to the Exchange in the amount of $30,000. EFFECTIVE DATE: August 2, 2013 (bjh) NY #<873920.6606126.96.36.199.12.76>#
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Are you looking for a home in the Hastings, Minnesota area? Our real estate professionals are ready to assist you with all your home buying and selling needs in Hastings and surrounding communities. Hastings is nestled between the Mississippi River, the St. Croix River and the Vermillion River and is only 20 miles from the Twin Cities.At Edina Realty Hastings, we offer a wide variety of services for all of your home buying, selling and ownership needs. Whether you're looking for a single family home near a good school or you have your heart set on lakefront property, our network of experts can help. Our REALTORS® work directly with builders, rural properties, upper-bracket homes, condos and townhomes, are familiar with auctions, and much more.Edina Realty is one of the largest real estate companies in the nation, with real estate offices throughout Minnesota, Wisconsin and North and South Dakota . Edina Realty's family of companies includes Edina Realty, Edina Realty Title, Edina Realty Mortgage and Edina Realty Relocation. Our REALTORS® abide by the highest standards of professional ethics; they're up-front-honest,and they always put their clients' interests first.
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Mountain Beach Executive Villa
from £53 /night help Price for guests, Nights approx:
from £53 /night help Price for guests, Nights approx:
Estimated nightly price based on a weekly stay. Excludes fees (if applicable). Enter your dates to see the total cost.
Villa / 3 bedrooms / sleeps 6
Availability Your dates are available
Villa / 3 bedrooms / sleeps 6
|Key Info
Mountain Beach Executive Villa Offers You First Class Luxury with a real Thai Ambiance and Value for Money
This Executive 3 bed roomed villa is situated in the rural Thai village of Ban Nong Yai 1.5 Km from Khao Kalok beach and 30 min south of Hua Hin and 15 min from Pranburi
From the outside kitchen /dining and patio area you look over the 9 x 4 meter pool to a large rock water fall cascading into the pool, together with the coconut palms and tropical plants all around this creates a beautiful backdrop to the pool.
The patio area is complete with cane lounge setting and Dining table seating 8 and a small kitchen with a 5 burner BBQ with hood for roasting also there is and large beer / food fridge.
Set in the tropical garden is a pool shower, four sun lounges and at one side of the Patio there is a sun protected area under which are tropical plants and 6mt x 1.4mt tiled fish pond with a water fall all this creates a lot of shade for relaxing with an ice cold beer or cocktail.
The western style kitchen has a four burner gas cook top with a stainless steel oven and range hood, teak cupboards and brown granite bench tops dishwasher, microwave, blender, and very large fridge freezer everything you will need is here.
From to the kitchen to the lounge there is a set of bi-folding doors it was built this way so you can use the inside dining table when entertaining and at the same time keeping the living area cool when the air con is running.
All the bed rooms have carpet and en-suites with vanities made from the roots of Thai teak trees with the main en-suite having a bath and large shower two bed rooms have built in wardrobes and the main bed room as a walk in robe.
Every room in the villa has recessed ceilings and lined with teak coloured mouldings together with doors this creates a very Thai ambiance
All rooms have ceiling fans, and split system air conditioning with remotes
In the lounge there is a 110 inch projector TV, DVD player, UBC TV and a 1700 watts Denon 7-1 surround sound system.
In the laundry theirs a 9kg washing machine and iron together with laundry store with extra towels and bed sheets
|Sleeps up to 6, 3 bedrooms
|Nearest beach
|Khao Kalok 1 km
|Will consider
|Long term lets (over 1 month)
|Car not necessary
|Nearest Amenities
|100 m
|Nearest travel links
|Nearest airport: Suvarnabhumi International Airport Bangkok 233 km, Nearest railway: Hua Hin 33 km
|Family friendly
|Great for children of all ages, Suitable for people with restricted mobility
|Some pets are welcome - please contact the owner, Yes, smoking allowed
Features and Facilities
|Internet access, DVD player
|Private outdoor pool (unheated)
|Air conditioning, TV, CD player, Telephone, Safe, Satellite TV, Wi-Fi available
|Kettle, Toaster
|Dishwasher, Cooker, Microwave, Fridge, Freezer, Washing machine
|3 bedrooms, 4 bathrooms of which 1 Family bathrooms and 3 En suites, Solarium or roof terrace
|Double beds (3), Cots (2), Dining seats for 13, Lounge seats for 16
|Linen provided, Towels provided, High chair
|Private outdoor pool (unheated), Balcony or terrace, Private garden, BBQ, Bicycles available
|Secure parking
The Prachuap Khiri Khan Province region
The is in the region of Pranburi and Hua Hin for information on the area go to www.huinafterdark.com here you will find all the information regarding golf / night life/ night markets and the BLACK MOUNTAIN WATERPARK with its 17 meter high tower, 7 Different sliders,Wave Pool, Lazy river, Pool with Artificial Beach and a lot more cost per Adult 750 Baht per day Children 5-12 375 baht per day
Hua Hin
/ Khao Kalok area
Pak Nam Pran barely registers on most foreign tourists" radar, but many better-off Bangkokians have favorite beaches in this area, the nicest of which is the delightfully sophisticated Khao Kalok with its long and sandy beach and restaurants for more information take a look at Khao Kalok on the web.
From the beach Mr Moo hires Jet- skis, canoes, banana boats, ATV,s (quad bikes) motorbikes along with ATV tours of the local area, or take a ride on a elephant.
Going north towards the Evason Hotel there are many shack- like shore-front restaurants together with Mr Sings Beach Bar who always greets you with a big Thai smile. Here you can sit and enjoy an ice cold singer beer or if you prefer a cocktail drink together with a massage, manicure while looking over gulf of Thailand Check him out on the web Mr. Sings Beach Bar Thailand.
During the rainy season you're quite likely to see pink dolphins playing within sight of the shore.
In Pak Nam Pran there is a Thai market held three times a week the fruit, veg and seafood are very good along with being cheap.
South of Pak Nam Pran is dolphin bay were you can hire a local fishing boat to take you over to monkey island its about 10 minutes by boat and well worth the trip
For information on Shopping, Night markets, Golf, National parks est. go to the Hua Hin after dark website here you will find out all most everything Hua Hin has to offer.
28km south of Pak Nam is the Khao Sam Roi Yot National Park a major draw is the famously photogenic
Phraya Nakhon khiri cave (it's a must).
Between Khao kalok and Pak Nam Pran on the beach there is K B A Kite boarding School with courses going from 1 day to 3 days for beginners and if there's no wind you have lots of fun at the new water cable ski park located about 2 Km from Pak Nam Pram.
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28 Jan 2015
"Extremely well maintained and provisioned Villa"
The villa is owned by Ian and Theresa who live next door. It is one of a group of villas almost all of which appeared to be owned by Europeans.The villa itself is very spacious, very clean and has a w… More
18 Oct 2014
First of all host's Ian and Teresa were absolutely amazing and couldn't do enough to make sure our stay there was unforgettable.The Villa exceeded our expectations and catered for all our ne… More
4 Jun 2014
"Great place to stay"
I am very pleased with my holidays at this villa. Ian was very help full with every thing. Very quite and private pool was a welcomed jn the hot weather. I will stay again.… More
19 May 2014
"Great time - too short"
This delightful house lived up to all the previous reviews. It was clean, quiet, very comfortable, relaxing - all in a little Thai community that was friendly. We had a wonderful time, sharing this ho… More
11 Apr 2014
"This Is as good as It gets"
Stayed with my wife, for the last two weeks of January 2014. We have been to various parts of Thailand many times In the past, and decided to look for a private villa as usually we have stayed In hote… More
3 Apr 2014
"Wonderful Holiday"
We have been many times to Thailand, staying mostly in Phuket and Koh Samui, this time we wanted to see and stay somewhere else.We decided on Mountain Beach Executive Villa, it sounded idyllic and as … More
7 Dec 2013
"absoultely stunning"
We had 2 weeks here and must say it was absolutely fabulous. Lovely location and close to the sea. Ian and Theresa were very friendly and helpful...catered for every need. Taxis were booked for us to … More
29 Aug 2013
"A great villa!"
Our stay at this villa was extremely nice. The Villa was clean and spacious. Had all the mod-cons and home comforts. A huge TV. A beautiful, clean pool. Wi-fi and a great BBQ. We spent a lovely week r… More
12 Aug 2013
"fantastic place"
Me and my girlfriends stayed here for 2 weeks.This villia ia amazing the best holiday rental we have had the pleasure of staying over our years of traveling. Ian and teresa are terific people. He had … More
31 May 2013
"Villa with everything you need"
First of all the owners of the villa, Ian & Teresa was so very helpful to us and give us a lot of good info on the area (restaurants, bike rentals etc, The villa is in a small village called Baan Nong Yai with lots of local thai people who are very friendly. There is a small bar about
two hundred metres away and worth a visit. The photos of the villa do not do it justice, because it as got everything you need and more. I will be booking this villa again next year.
This advert is created and maintained by the advertiser; we can only publish adverts in good faith as we don't own, manage or inspect any of the properties. We advise you to familiarise yourself with our terms of use.
You're booking with
Charles C.
- 7 Years listed
95% Response rate
Calendar last updated:21 May 2015
Based in Thailand
- English
- Mobile
- +66 85 264 0262


text: This is definitely a bit of a hole-in-the-wall place, but they have reasonable fast Chinese food for a VERY good price. My vegetarian friends really like this place because they have some kind of meat substitute that is not tofu - not being veg, I don't know what it is, but they like it. The sauces... read more


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Pakistan interrogation center bombed, killing 13
LAHORE, Pakistan A suicide car bomber Monday struck a building where police interrogate high-value suspects in Pakistan's eastern city of Lahore, killing at least 13 people and wounding dozens including women taking children to school, officials said.
The attack broke what had been a relative lull in violence in Pakistan, where militant groups revile the government for its alliance with the U.S. It also showed that insurgents retain the ability to strike the country's heartland, far from the Afghan border regions where al-Qaida and the Taliban have long thrived, despite army offensives aimed at wiping them out.
Pakistanis living near the building had filed complaints urging authorities to move the unmarked interrogation facility out of the residential area so the street wouldn't become a target for an attack, said Mohammad Musharraf, a neighborhood resident.
The Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility in a telephone call to an Associated Press reporter. It and allied groups are believed responsible for a wave of attacks that killed more than 600 people starting in October, including several in major Pakistani cities. More recent attacks have been smaller and confined to remote northwest regions near Afghanistan.
The bomb blast Monday comes amid reports of a Pakistani crackdown on Afghan Taliban and al-Qaida operatives using its soil. Among the militants said to have been arrested is the Afghan Taliban's No. 2 commander, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. In recent days, Pakistani officials say an American member of al-Qaida has been captured in the southern city of Karachi.
The explosion went off outside a Punjab province police building, police official Zulfikar Hameed said. TV footage showed a huge crater in the ground where the blast originated. It appeared the suicide bomber rammed a car packed with as much as 1,300 pounds (600 kilograms) of explosives into the building's perimeter wall, officials said.
"This place was used to interrogate important suspects, but presently there was no such suspect, but more than 40 staff were manning the place," Lahore police chief Pervez Rathore said.
Noorul Huda, a student at a nearby religious school, was in his first class when the blast shook the area, he told TV reporters.
"With the huge bang, blocks and pieces of the roof fell upon us and six of us were wounded," said the young man, who suffered a head injury that was covered by a bloodstained cloth. "It was total chaos outside and people were running and crying for help."
Musharraf, who lives near the building, said his son was injured.
"My whole house was shaken and I thought it was an earthquake," he said. "A window dislodged and fell on my son, fracturing his arm."
Police official Chaudhry Shafiq said 13 people had died. Of the 61 people wounded, several were in critical condition. Major Mushtaq, who heads the interrogation facility, said the dead included nine officials from police and the investigation agency and four civilians, including two women.
Hospital official Jawed Akram said the dead included at least one woman and a young girl, apparently part of a group heading to a school. Several women were among the wounded.


text:
- Browse properties
- Home
- Tennessee
- East
- Gatlinburg
- Other Gatlinburg Properties
- VRBO Listing #172195
VRBO is part of the HomeAway family, the world leader in vacation rentals with over 1 million listings. We offer the largest selection of properties for any travel occasion and every budget. We're committed to helping families and friends find a perfect vacation rental to create unforgettable travel experiences together. Learn More
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~GATLINBURG MAGICAL MOMENTS CABIN' is constantly UPDATED to keep things fresh for all guest. Many NEW items added in 2014. WE furnish our CABIN like our HOME inside and out with HIGH END Décor. This is NOT your basic Rental Log Cabin but our PERSONAL vacation home. ALL Décor and linens are PROFESSIONALLY done and are kept in great condition PLUS offer the GSM Log Cabin Theme that guest expect when staying in a True LOG Cabin.
We provide 2 GREAT Bedrooms, 2 SPACIOUS Baths, 1792 square feet of CLEAN, MODERN, WELL MAINTAINED LOG cabin in a mostly PRIVATE forest setting with an EASY DRIVE UP THE MOUNTAIN and decorated with today's vacationer in mind. We are only 4 minutes to the ARTS & CRAFT District, 7 minutes to DOWNTOWN Gatlinburg Strip that offers many Attractions and Restaurants and 15 minutes to Pigeon Forge attractions as well.
~Make sure you LOOK at our photos.... photos are worth more than a thousand poetic words.
NO HASSEL CHECK IN and OWNERS just a phone call away!!
BOOK 5 nights or MORE and receive your 6th night FREE, OR if you can't stay the 6th night then we WAIVE the cleaning fee.. YOU Choose your Special that fits YOUR needs....(EXCLUDING Holidays and High Season)
You MUST contact owner to RESERVE THE CABIN to receive the offered Special.
ABSOLUTELY NO PETS - NO SMOKING INSIDE CABIN and MAX 6 OCCUPANTS.
Gatlinburg MAGICAL Moments received the EXCELLENCE Award for accommodations and service in 2014 and TOP Vacation Rental in 2013!!
~Our cabin is nestled in the WOODS, on a PRIVATE 1 ACRE lot yet NOT totally isolated, has a STUNNING DUAL VIEW of Mt LeConte & Mt Guyot and across from the National Park. Gatlinburg Magical Moments is CONVENIENT to all local Attractions, Hiking, Arts & Crafts Community, Shopping, and Dining. We are a few minutes from the new Rocky Top Sports Complex and Gatlinburg Community Center that offers (Indoor Pool, Bowling, Tennis, Aerobics, Racquet Ball, Skate Park and Fitness area) We are within ONE mile of 2 ENTRANCES to the Smoky Mountain National Park.
~We are located just beyond the City of Gatlinburg and offer CITY WATER which makes for a more pleasant stay. The CITY keeps our roads CLEAR of ice, snow and other debris which contributes to an EASY 1/2 Mile DRIVE up the mountain. We also offer BEAUTIFUL 100% WOOD floors, ceiling and walls for guest that suffer from allergies. Provide HIGH QUALITY furnishing and UNIQUE Southern décor by local artist and all the conveniences of home.
~Fantastic Hot Tub on COVERED deck with a view of BOTH Mountain Peaks - PLUS Front Covered Porch with Rockers.
~Large - FLAT parking that will host large SUV or Truck with trailer.
~GAME Room with professional BILLIARDS table, Desk & Chair for your business needs and a Cathedral wall of Glass with the same breathtaking DUAL Mountain VIEW.
~Many Family Games – Novels and 60+ MOVIES, Ipod Dock Station and CD Player.
~FREE WiFi – UPGRADED Cable, LUXURY Linens & Custom Bedding & Décor.
~OPEN Style Kitchen, Living and Dining room for socializing - Dining table SEATS 6
~FULLY equipped Kitchen with QUALITY kitchenware and everything you need.
~NEW WASHER & DRYER with detergent pods, Iron & Ironing Board
~QUEEN Leather Sofa Sleeper in living room for your 5th and 6th guest to sleep.
~Large Plasma TV, DVD/VHS and 20 ft stacked stone FIREPLACE.
~KING bedroom (NEW Mattress Dec 2013) located on MAIN floor that neighbors FULL bath.
~QUEEN bedroom located UPSTAIRS with an ONSUITE bath -OVERSIZED shower with seat.
~Both spacious BEDROOMS offer ceiling fans, large closets, WHITE NOISE machine for Peaceful sleeping, TV, DVD, 600 count linens and LUXURIOUS bedding.
~TWO spacious BATHROOMS offer hotel quality large, THICK linens, storage, blow dryers, makeup Mirrors and vanity LAMPS. (1 – tub/shower combo & 1 OVERSIZED shower with seat)
~Private Park Style CHARCOAL GRILL with grilling utensils, PICNIC bench/table
~Are YOU seeking PEACEFULLNESS, PRIVACY, get-a-way from REALITY? Then our CLEAN, WELL MAINTAINED LOG CABIN is the place and the much needed mental medicine that YOU are seeking in the Smoky Mountains....Reserve this CHARMING 2 bedroom 2 bath before your dates are taken by another lucky guest and create your own 'Magical Moments'.
~~~If Gatlinburg Magical Moments is booked for the dates you are interested in, STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN - VRBO # 578047 is NOW ready with BRAND NEW everything- 2/bedroom, 2/bath with game room PLUS community SWIMMING POOL for the kids in Pigeon Forge. RUSTIC ELEGANCE design/décor - Same owners, same cleaning/maintenance team. Click the link further down - View other listings.
Check out our personal page:
www GATLINBURGMAGICALMOMENTS com
THANK YOU for choosing us, we sincerely appreciate it! WE ARE AVAILABLE 24/7 BY CELL phone for any questions or issues that may arise.
Choose from a wide variety of properties
Free to book with no hidden costs
Every listing is guaranteed against fraud
Average five years in the business
Renters must be 21 years of age or older to place a reservation...moreless
Texas Campfire Bunk - Downstairs and neighbors bath...moreless
Tennessee Beary Sweet - Upstairs with on-suite bath...moreless
Only 7 minutes from downtown strip in Gatlinburg and 1.5 miles to shopping, groceries, attractions and more...moreless
Set on a very private lot looking over Mt LeConte and the National Forest. ...moreless
Fantastic Mountain view that over looks the national park and Mount LeConte...moreless
Sits on its own 1 acre mountain lot with no other rentals nearby...moreless
Just turn the switch and it lights automatically and shuts off after 30 mins....moreless
Fully Equipped with EVERYTHING you need. Coffee Pot, Toaster, Elect Can Opener, Blender, Crock Pot, Roaster, Rice Cooker, Food Processor, tons of quality pots, pans, dishes, flatware, and more....moreless
Front and side wrap around porch with hot tub, rocking chairs & patio set...moreless
Nice picnic table near out door grill for your pleasure...moreless
|Weekend Night
|Monthly *
Memorial Day
May 23 - May 27, 2015
3 night min stay
Peak Season
May 28 - Sep 7, 2015
3 night min stay
Mid Season
Sep 8 - Sep 30, 2015
2 night min stay
Peak Season
Oct 1 - Nov 7, 2015
3 night min stay
Mid Season
Nov 8 - Nov 21, 2015
2 night min stay
Nov 22 - Nov 29, 2015
4 night min stay
Low Season
Nov 30 - Dec 19, 2015
2 night min stay
Christmas & New Years
Dec 20 - Jan 4, 2016
4 night min stay
My Standard Rate
2 night min stay
Additional information about rental rates
Book 5 NIGHTS or more and receive a FREE Night of if you can't stay the FREE night, we will waive the Cleaning Fee. You choose your Special. (EXCLUDING HOLIDAYS and High Season) NO Smoking - NO Pets
$200 Damage Deposit is required and only Authorized 1 week prior to arrival - fully refunded/voided if there are no damages or missing items.
Policy available by contacting owner when booking.
Paying through this free service protects your payment up to $10,000 against listing fraud. If you are not paying through HomeAway Payments always call the owner at the number listed on our website and never use instant money transfer services such as Western Union and MoneyGram.
Adding our Vacation Protection services can make sure your getaway goes smoothly, no matter what. We offer Cancellation Protection, Carefree Rental Guarantee, and Damage Protection so you can truly relax.
Car: Necessary
Gatlinburg Magical Moments sits on its very own 1 acre private mountain lot with an amazing view of Mt LeConte yet only 7 minute drive to downtown, shopping, hiking, attractions, dining and more.
Year Purchased: 2012
About the owner: We purchased our Gatlinburg cabin as our second home. I recently retired as a Human Resource & Payroll Manager after 20 years and contribute 100% of my time to managing our charming cabin. It is a pleasure to communicate with our guest either by phone or email, we appreciate each and every one of you. Our policy is based on the belief of our customers' needs and making memories are of the utmost importance. We visit Gatlinburg and stay in our cabin often to make sure everything is up to par for our guest. We welcome the opportunity to have you stay at Gatlinburg Magical Moments Cabin and deliver the best accommodations and service we possibly can. Please take a peek at our private site: WWW.GATLINBURGMAGICALMOMENTS.COM for more photos and info. April 2014 we purchased a second cabin (Stairway to Heaven @ Covered Bridge in Pigeon Forge) with my sister and brother in law as I just LOVE being able to provide GREAT Memories for ALL our guest. VRBO #578047.
Why the Owner Chose Other Gatlinburg Properties:
Amazing view all year long, true log cabin with gleaming wood ceilings, floors, walls, spacious open floor plan that boast of a wall of windows in the game room and offers 1792 sq ft, private 1 acre wooded lot (NOT totally isolated, yet private, plenty of parking for 4 vehicles, no other vacation rentals on our road, and only 7 minutes to downtown Gatlinburg.... Easy drive up the mountain....Provides city water and sewer for a more pleasant stay (no well water or septic) The city keeps our roads clear of ice, snow and other debris which contributes to an easy and safe drive up the mountain. Excellent Location!!
The Unique Benefits at this Cabin:
Our cabin has all the luxury of home and more including wireless internet, cable HD service, plasma TV's, professional quality billiards table, hot tub, iPod station, DVD players in each bedroom and DVD/VCR in living room, games, books, DVD's, stainless appliances and more. We have decorated and furnished the cabin with quality items that we would have in our own home. We truly care about each and every guest and strive for excellence in accommodations and service. Private cabin, peaceful and NO other rentals nearby with an easy drive up the mountain off the main road that leads into the City of Gatlinburg. The cabin is squeaky clean, well maintained and has a beautiful view of the mountains and the National Park, just moments from the Arts & Crafts community, Gatlinburg Community Center with amenities, National Park, shopping, area restaurants, hiking, horseback riding and more. We take pride in our cabin, have high standards and keep it fresh, and updated throughout the year.
Private Wooded lot with level parking and a VIEW, two Covered Porches.
Beautiful Log Cabin in Privatesetting
Enjoy a glass of lemonade and a quiet moment on the covered porch.
Spacious Open Dining, seats 6 and all with a VIEW.
Spacious, Open, Plenty of Seating, Sofa Sleeper and all with a VIEW.
Downstairs KING Suite with Western Décor, Closet, TV, DVD, NEW Mattress.
Upstairs Bear Room, Spacious and On-Suite Bath.
Master bath up stairs with matching bear theme.
Fantastic Game Room for Adults and Children all with a view.
Covered deck with Hot Tub and a view. Drained and Sanitized after EVERY Guest.
Road up to our cabin, easy drive....just far enough up to be away from it all.
Hike, Horseback, Zip Line in the Smoky Mts and see/hear the streams.
Captivating Cabin, Location, View, Level Parking, Covered Decks, Peaceful
Fall Color with Snow on Mountain Peaks - View from Deck, Hot Tub & Game room
Fully Equipped, Spacious and Open Kitchen to Dining and Living with Snack Bar
Spacious, Open, Plenty of Seating, Sofa Sleeper and all with a VIEW.
Kitchen, Dining & Living all OPEN to socialize!
Downstairs Bath that neighbors King Suite, Tub/Shower combo.
Upstairs Queen bedroom, TV, DVD, storage, on-suite bath, luxury bedding
Desk Area upstairs in Game Room Loft for your Business needs.
Who can focus on the checker game with a breathtaking view of Mt Guyot?
Hot Tub waiting for you to enjoy,we drain and sanitized after every guest
Ride the Mtn Roller Coaster in Gatlinburg & 2 more on Wears Valley Road in PF
Shopping Galore in Downtown Gatlinburg and The Island in Pigeon Forge..
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This listing was first published here in 2008.
Date last modified - Friday, May 22, 2015
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Targus (corporation)
The Targus Corporation is a United States-based manufacturer of accessories mostly related to mobile computing, photography, and locks.
The company has 45 offices worldwide and distribution points in 145 countries. It is headquartered in Anaheim, California, USA. They are a private company.
Targus' line of products includes a variety of backpacks, messenger bags, briefcases and attaché cases, all designed to store notebook computers and other manifestations of mobile computing. Targus also sells through computer manufacturers to provide carrying cases for mobile computers.
Targus produces a range of computer peripherals, including, USB/FireWire hubs and cables, Bluetooth accessories, replacement power cords and bricks for notebook computers, locking mechanisms for notebook computers, keyboards and mice, portable hard disk drives, optical drives and memory card readers, cooling enclosures for notebook computers, PDA accessories, and tablet PC cases.
Targus also makes optical disc storage devices (DVD cases, CD folders, and the like).


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Top of the World Men's NC State Wolfpack Black Ezdozit Knit Beanie
Product Information:
Keep warm while staying focused on the action in the Top of the World® NC State Wolfpack Ezdozit Beanie. This knit cap features a bold, raised embroidered NC State team logo on the front and a smaller, eye-catching Wolfpack graphic on the back, so your devotion to the Wolfpack will never be a question. This beanie is made of super-warm fabric that will keep you fired up through cool Raleigh nights.
- Top of the World® NC State Wolfpack knit hat
- 3D embroidered team logo on front
- Smaller, flat embroidered team graphic on back
- One size fits most
- Officially licensed collegiate product
- Fabric: 100% acrylic
- Top of the World
Country of Origin: ImportedWeb ID: 16344306
Customer Reviews:
Rated 5 out of 5�by 1 reviewer.
Rated 5 out of 5�by mt It was just what I was looking for. I had been serching for quit some time. Dealing with this seller was a very easy transaction. I received the product very quickly. February 11, 2014
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Reader's Reviews (16)
posted 6 years ago
I use this for "segregation purposes" mostly. It's a HANDY place to put that "not-so-sociable" visitor, or the one(s) that our "home team" doesn't geehaw with so well.
It STAYS ready !!
Pros: A Handy and Inexpensive "Problem Solver"
Cons: none
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Few pics
Started Jul 1, 2007 | Discussions thread
Veteran Member • Posts: 3,830 • Gear list
I like the first 2. Great use of the green in the composition.
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Few picsNew
|Jul 1, 2007
Re: Few picsNew
|Jul 22, 2007
Nice ShotsNew
|Jul 22, 2007
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