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Lea Michele has been the "strongest" of Glee's cast members since Cory Monteith passed away, according to Matthew Morrison.
The 26-year-old actress lost her longtime boyfriend and co-star to a heroin overdose July 13 and the entire cast has had a difficult time coping since returning to set.
Matthew, who plays Glee Club director Mr. Schuester on the show, says Lea has been a pillar of strength as they film a special episode in Cory's honor.
"We're in the middle of filming it, and it's incredibly hard. We've mourned Cory, but now we're mourning [his character] Finn. So it's kind of like two people in that one person," he told E! News.
"It's incredibly hard and we're staying strong together and I have to say Lea [Michele] has been the most strongest of all of us."
Matthew, 34, admits the tragedy has brought the cast and crew closer together.
Lea, who plays female lead Rachel Berry, was part of the series' original team of actors alongside Cory.
Matthew says the cast, which also includes Dianna Agron, Chris Colfer, Mark Salling, Jane Lynch, Darren Criss and Chord Overstreet, among others, has always been close but now the actors have all become "rocks" for each other.
"I think we all knew we were very close but I think this just kind of solidified it like we are a rock for each other right now," he said. "It's quite a beautiful thing."
Naya recently admitted Cory's death has been her most painful experience to date.
Coming to work in the days since has been a struggle.
"It's the worst thing that's ever happened to me. It is the hardest thing to do. It's been the worst week ever," she confessed.
Glee creator Ryan Murphy recently announced Finn's cause of death would not be included in the tribute episode and instead would be left open to interpretation.
The writer is looking forward to having a warm, new energy on set in the form of Demi Lovato, who will be making a guest appearance next season.
© Cover Media

subset: commoncrawl


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Guys post good offers for these two please!
Are you planning on getting something yourself?
Sennheiser has good deals on their headphones on their website. I am not gonna get anything though because I already have everything I need at the moment.
Maybe If I could get some VSTs on sale, would be nice
But you just gotta look every time. I bought podfarm model packs last year for $70 all of them! And then I returned it back, thinking I would get them later. Well when I came back to buy them again, I was quite disappointed to find out that a single pack cost $90 and what i got for $70, is now close to $200. I did not know they were on sale . Got my Daw for $99 instead of $200 which was a good deal as well.
I'm probably going to pickup a few libraries for Kontakt. Hoping the big names have sales.
Black Week on 8dio!
Happy spending!
8dio are so expensive, and the discount is really nothing.
Can't afford them.
What about Trillian Bass Module. I really would do appreciate some special offers?
Soundiron Thanksgiving Sale – 30-50% off storewide.http://www.soundiron.com/
I am hoping to pick up some DDR2 Ram if I can swoop on a good deal.
MichalskiMusic said
Soundiron Thanksgiving Sale – 30-50% off storewide. http://www.soundiron.com/
Already got my 1st Black Friday deal, courtesy of Soundiron "Olympus Elements" for roughly £50 which is a total steal at that price & IMO well worth the regular price too.
Waves gives away a plug-in every Black Friday… Last year it was "One Louder" this year is renaissance bass… I am not sure if you have to already own Waves products, but it is still pretty cool…
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Global regulator eases liquidity rules for banks
Published on Jan 7, 2013 6:07 AM
BASEL, Switzerland (AFP) - The world's top banking regulatory body on Sunday eased the first global liquidity rules scheduled to start applying to banks in 2015 and aimed at improving their ability to survive financial crises.
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision said at a press conference here that it had widened the definition of the easy-to-sell assets that banks will have to hold to survive periods of stress.
The Basel III standards had been initially proposed in 2010 but banks and financial institutions have since lobbied intensely to make the rules more flexible and result in lower costs for the sector.
The details of the Liquidity Coverage Ratio (LCR), which was drafted to avoid a repeat of the 2008 banking crisis and unanimously endorsed on Sunday by the Basel group's top oversight body, give the banks a reprieve. Its provisions include a much broader definition of the minimum assets every bank needs to hold, making it less costly for them to maintain the required buffer.
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When two brothers and a friend find four million dollars in the cockpit of a downed plane buried in the snow, their plan seems so simple. But from the moment it is set into motion, Hank Mitchell's well-ordered life spins out of ...
When two brothers and a friend find four million dollars in the cockpit of a downed plane buried in the snow, their plan seems so simple. But from the moment it is set into motion, Hank Mitchell's well-ordered life spins out of control, sending him on a downward spiral of deceit, treachery, and blackmail. Soon to be a major motion picture.
On the eighth year, December 31, 1987, Jacob picked me up at my house. He came around three-thirty, a half hour late, with his dog and his friend Lou in his truck. They'd been ice fishing together, their chief activity in the winter, and we had to drop Lou off on the other side of Ashenville before proceeding to the cemetery.
I never liked Lou, and I don't think he ever liked me. He used to call me Mr. Accountant, saying it in a way which seemed to imply that I ought to be embarrassed by my occupation, ashamed of its conventionality and stability. I was peculiarly intimidated by him, though I could never discern exactly why. It certainly wasn't his physical presence. He was a short, balding man, forty-five years old, just beginning to put on weight in the gut. His blond hair was thin, wispy, so that you could see his scalp beneath it, pink and chapped looking. He had crooked teeth, and they gave him a slightly comical quality, a mock toughness, making him look like some two-dimensional disreputable character out of a boy's adventure book—an old boxer, a street thug, an ex-con.
As I came down the walk, he climbed out of the pickup to greet me, so that I'd have to sit in the middle of the seat.
"Howdy, Hank," he said, grinning. Jacob smiled at me from behind the wheel. His dog, a big, overgrown mutt, mostly German shepherd, but with some Labrador thrown in on top, was in the back. It was a male dog, but Jacob had named him Mary Beth, after a girl he'd dated in high school, his first and only girlfriend. He referred to him as a "she," too, as if the dog's name had blinded him to his gender.
I climbed in, Lou pulled himself up behind me, and we backed our way down my driveway to the street.
My house was in a small subdivision called Fort Ottowa, after a frontier outpost whose inhabitants had frozen to death in a blizzard sometime before the start of the Revolution. It was farmland, unrelentingly flat but made over to look like it wasn't. The roads curved around imaginary obstacles, and people constructed little hills in their front yards, like burial mounds, covering them with shrubbery. The houses up and down the street were tiny, each one built right up against the next—starter houses, the realtor had called them—full of newly married couples on their way up in the world, or retirees on their way down, the former planning careers and babies and moves to nicer neighborhoods, the latter wait- ing for their savings to disappear, their health to suddenly worsen, their children to send them away to old-age homes. It was a way station, a rung near the bottom of the ladder.
Sarah and I, of course, belonged to the first group. We had a nest egg, an account gathering interest in the Ashenville Savings Bank. Someday soon we were going to move away, take a step up in the world, the first of many. That was the plan, at least.
Once beyond my neighborhood, we headed west, away from Delphia, and as we did the curving streets, the clustered groupings of two-story houses with circular driveways and swing sets and picnic tables rapidly dissolved away behind us. The roads straightened themselves, becoming narrower in the process. Snow blew across them in places, moving snakelike, in long, thin, dusty lines, piling up along their edges. Houses strayed from one another, separated by whole fields now rather than simple squares of grass. Trees disappeared, the horizon widened, and the view took on a windswept look, a white-gray barrenness. We passed fewer and fewer cars.
It was an uncomfortable ride. Jacob's truck was eleven years old, and there was nothing about it that did not show its age. At one time it had been painted a bright tomato red, my brother's favorite color, but it was faded now to a scab- like burgundy, its sides pockmarked with rust. Its shocks were shot, its heater erratic. The rear window was missing, replaced by a sheet of plastic. The radio was broken, the windshield wipers torn off, and there was a hole the size of a baseball in the floor. A steady stream of cold air blew in through this, shooting straight up my right pant leg.
Jacob and Lou talked about the weather as we drove, how cold it had been lately, when it would snow next, whether or not it had rained on the previous New Year's Eve. I kept silent, listening. Whereas I normally felt merely awkward alone with Jacob, when I was with him and Lou together I felt both awkward and excluded. They had an aggressively private way of interacting; their language was coded, intimate, their humor schoolboyish and obscure. Lou would say "pineapple," with an extra stress on the "pine," or Jacob would moo like a cow, and they'd both immediately tumble into laughter. It was bewildering—I could never escape the feeling that they were constantly making fun of me.
We passed a frozen pond, with skaters on it, children in bright jackets shooting back and forth. Dark, weathered barns dotted the horizon. It never ceased to surprise me: we were ten minutes away from my house and already surrounded by farms.
We drove south of Ashenville, skirting the town, keeping it just out of sight beyond the horizon, taking State High- way 17, ruler straight, until we hit Burnt Road. We turned right there, heading north, then left onto Anders Park Road. We crossed a long, low cement bridge over Anders Creek, plowed snow piled thickly over its railings, making it look fake, like something from a Christmas story, a cookie-dough bridge.
Beyond the creek was Anders Nature Preserve, a thickly wooded square of land that hovered at the right-hand edge of the road for the next two miles. It was a park, run by the county. There was a small pond at its very center, stocked with fish and surrounded by a mown field. People came out from Toledo during the summer to picnic there and play games, to throw Frisbees and fly kites.
The place had originally been the private estate of Bernard C. Anders, an early automobile magnate from Detroit. He'd bought the land in the 1920s and built a large summer house on it, the stone foundations of which were still visible beside the pond. When he died, during the Depression, the estate passed to his wife. She moved into the house year-round and lived there for the next four decades, finally leaving it only to be buried. She and Bernard had produced no children, so she chose to bequeath the land to the county, on the condition that they make it into a nature preserve and name it after her husband. It was an unusual place for a park, out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded on four sides by working farms, but the county, with an eye on state tax credits for parkland, accepted. The house was razed, picnic tables carted in, hiking trails cut, and Anders Nature Preserve was created.
We'd gone about a mile past the bridge, halfway down the southern edge of the park, when a fox sprinted in front of us.
It all happened very quickly. I saw a flash of movement off to the left, coming out of the snow-covered field, had just enough time to focus in on it, see that it was a fox, a large, reddish one, sleek and healthy, a dead chicken hanging from its jaws, and it was in front of us, shooting across the road, its body taut, hugging the ground, as if it thought it might sneak by unseen. Jacob slammed on the brakes, too hard, and the truck went into a skid, its rear end coming out to the left, its front bumper sliding right, digging with a loud, raking sound into the snow at the edge of the road. There was the crystalline popping sound of a headlight shattering; then the truck slammed to a stop. We were thrown forward, and the dog came flying in through the plastic rear window, tearing it, his legs scrambling in panic. He was there in the cab for just a moment—I felt his fur, cold against the back of my neck—then he was gone, back out the hole he had made, over the side of the truck, and into the woods after the fox.
Jacob was the first to speak. "Fuck," he said softly. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."
Lou giggled a little at that and pushed open his door. We climbed out onto the road. The imploded headlight was the only damage, and we stared at it for a bit, forming a semicircle around the front of the truck.
Jacob tried calling the dog. "Mary Beth!" he yelled. He whistled shrilly.
No one seeing us standing there would've ever recognized us as brothers. Jacob took after our father, while I took after our mother, and the difference was dramatic. I'm brown haired, brown eyed, of medium height and build. Jacob was several inches taller than me, blue eyed, with sandy blond hair. He was also a fat, fat man, immensely, even grotesquely overweight, like a caricature of obesity. He had big hands, big feet, big teeth, thick glasses, and pale, doughy skin.
We could hear the dog barking. He was getting farther and farther away.
"Mary Beth!" Jacob yelled.
The trees were fairly thick here, standing close together—maples, oaks, buckeyes, sycamores—but there was relatively little undergrowth. I could see the fox's tracks winding their way in and around the trunks, disappearing into the distance. Mary Beth's paw prints ran parallel to them, a little darker in the snow, wider and rounder, like a trail of hockey pucks beneath the trees. The ground was perfectly flat.
We listened to the dog's barking grow fainter and fainter.
On the other side of the road was a field, smooth with snow. I could see tracks there, too, coming toward us from the far horizon, perfectly straight, as if the fox had been walking along one of the field's furrows, masked from view by the snow. In the distance, a little toward the east, I could make out Dwight Pederson's farm—a stand of trees, a dark red barn, a pair of grain silos, and a two-story house that looked gray against the snowy landscape, though I knew it was actually light blue.
"It had one of Pederson's chickens," I said.
"Stole it." Lou nodded. "Broad daylight."
Jacob whistled for Mary Beth. After a while it seemed like he'd stopped moving away. The barking neither decreased nor increased in volume. We listened to it, tilting our heads toward the woods. I was getting cold—there was a stiff wind cutting across the road from the field—and I was eager to climb back inside the truck.
"Call him again," I said.
Jacob ignored me. "She's treed it," he said to Lou.
Lou's hands were deep in the pockets of his jacket. It was an army surplus jacket, white for camouflage in the snow. "That's how it sounds," he said.
"We'll have to go in and get her now," Jacob said.
Lou nodded, took a wool hat from his pocket, and pulled it down over his pink skull.
"Call him once more," I said, but Jacob ignored me again, so I tried calling the dog myself.
"Mary Beth," I yelled. My voice came out pitifully thin in the cold air.
"He's not coming," Lou said.
Jacob shuffled back to the truck and opened the driver's side door. "You don't have to go, Hank," he said. "You can wait here if you want."
I didn't have a hat with me, and I wasn't wearing boots—I hadn't planned on hiking through the snow—but I knew that both Jacob and Lou expected me to stay behind, expected me to wait like an old man in the truck, and I knew that they'd joke about it while they made their way off through the trees and tease me when they returned.
So, against my will, I said, "No, I'll go."
Jacob was leaning into the truck, fiddling around in the space behind the seat. When he emerged he was holding a hunting rifle. He took a bullet out of a little cardboard box and loaded it into the gun. Then he put the box back behind the seat.
"There's no reason," he said. "You'll just be cold."
"What's the rifle for?" I asked. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Lou grinning.
Jacob shrugged. He cradled the gun in his arms, flipped the collar of his jacket up around his ears. His parka was bright red and, like all his clothes, a size too tight for him.
"It's posted land," I said. "You can't hunt here."
Jacob smiled. "It's compensation: that fox's tail for my broken headlight." He glanced toward Lou. "I'm only taking one bullet, like the great white hunter. That seem fair to you?"
"Perfectly," Lou said, drawing out the first syllable so that it sounded like "purrrr."
He and Jacob both laughed. Jacob stepped awkwardly up onto the snowbank at the side of the road, balanced there for a second, as if he might fall backward, then gathered himself and lumbered down into the trees. Lou followed right behind him, still giggling, leaving me alone on the road.
I hesitated there, wavering between the twin sins of comfort and pride. In the end it was pride and the thought of Lou's snickering that carried the day. With something bordering on revulsion, I watched myself climb up over the bank and set off through the snow, hurrying lest they get too far ahead.
The snow was shin deep in the woods, and there were things hidden beneath its smooth surface—the trunks of fallen trees, stones, broken branches, holes, and stumps—which made the going much harder than I'd anticipated. Lou led the way, spry, scurrying ratlike between the trees, as if he were being chased. I followed directly in his tracks, and Jacob brought up the rear, a good ways behind us, his face turning a brilliant pink, just a shade lighter than his jacket, with the effort of moving his huge body forward through the snow.
The dog's barking didn't seem to get any closer.
We continued on like this for about fifteen minutes. Then the trees suddenly thinned, and the land dropped away before us into a wide, shallow bowl, as if, millions of years before, a giant meteorite had landed there, carving out its impression in the earth. Parallel lines of stunted, sickly looking trees transversed the hollow—they were apple trees, the remains of Bernard Anders's orchard.
Lou and I stopped on the edge of the bowl to wait for Jacob. We didn't talk; we were both out of breath. Jacob shouted something through the trees at us, then laughed, but neither of us understood him. I scanned the orchard for the dog, following his paw prints with my eyes. They disappeared in the distance beneath the trees.
"He's not in there," I said.
Lou listened to the dog's barking. It still seemed very far away. "No," he agreed. "He isn't."
I made a complete circle of the horizon with my eyes, taking in both the orchard and the woods behind us. The only thing moving for as far as I could see was Jacob, working his way aggressively through the snow. He still had another fifty yards to go and was progressing at a pathetically slow rate. His jacket was unzipped, and even at that distance I could hear the tortured sound of his breathing. He was using his rifle like a cane, digging its butt into the snow and pulling himself forward by its barrel. Behind him, he'd cut a wide swath of deep, messy tracks, so that it looked as if he'd been dragged through the woods against his will, struggling and kicking the entire way.
By the time he reached us, he was soaked with sweat, his skin actually steaming. Lou and I stood there watching him try to catch his breath.
"Christ," he said, gasping, "I wish we'd brought something to drink." He took off his glasses and wiped them on his jacket, squinting down at the ground as if he half-expected to find a pitcher of water sitting there in the snow.
Lou waved his hand in the air like a magician, snapped his fingers over the right-hand pocket of his jacket, then reached in and pulled out a can of beer. He popped its top, slurped the foam from the lid, and, smiling, offered it to Jacob.
"Always be prepared," he said.
Jacob gulped twice at it, pausing in between to catch his breath. When he finished, he returned the can to Lou. Lou took a long, slow swallow, his head tilted back, his Adam's apple sliding up and down the wall of his throat like a piston. Then he held the can out toward me. It was a Budweiser; I could smell its sweetish scent.
I shook my head, shivering. I'd started to sweat hiking through the snow, and now, standing still, my damp skin was becoming chilled. The muscles in my legs were trembling and jumping.
"Come on," he said. "Have a sip. It won't hurt you."
"I don't want any, Lou. I'm not thirsty."
"Sure you are," he prodded. "You're sweating, aren't you?"
I was about to decline again, this time more forcefully, when Jacob interrupted us.
"Is that a plane?" he asked.
Both Lou and I glanced into the sky, searching the low clouds for movement, ears keyed for the hum of an engine, before realizing that he was pointing down into the orchard. We followed his finger to the very center of the bowl, and there, nestled among the rows of stunted apple trees, hidden almost completely by its covering of snow, was indeed a tiny single-engine airplane.
Lou and I reached it first, side by side.
The plane was resting perfectly flat on its belly, as if it were a toy and a giant hand had reached down out of the sky to set it there, snug beneath the branches of the trees. There were remarkably few signs of damage. Its propeller was twisted out of shape, its left wing was bent back a bit, tearing a tiny hole in the fuselage, but the land itself was relatively unmarked; there were no upturned trees, no jagged, black gashes in the earth to reveal its path of impact.
Lou and I circled the wreck, neither of us approaching close enough to touch it. The plane was surprisingly small, no bigger really than Jacob's truck, and there was something fragile about it: it seemed far too tiny to support the weight of a man in the air.
Jacob came slowly down into the orchard. The snow had settled more deeply here, and he looked like he was wading or shuffling toward us on his knees. Off in the distance, Mary Beth continued sporadically to bark.
"Jesus," Lou said. "Look at all these birds."
At first I didn't see them—they were so still in the trees—but then suddenly, as soon as I saw one, they all seemed to jump out at me. They were everywhere, filling the entire orchard, hundreds and hundreds of black crows perched motionless on the dark, bare branches of the apple trees.
Lou packed some snow into a ball and tossed it at one of them. Three crows lifted into the air, completed a slow half circle over the plane, and settled with a soft fluttering onto a neighboring tree. One of them cawed, once, and the sound of it echoed off the shallow sides of the bowl.
"It's fucking spooky," Lou said, shivering.
Jacob came up, huffing and puffing. His jacket was still unbuttoned, his shirttails hanging out. He took a few seconds to catch his breath.
"Anybody inside?" he asked.
Neither of us answered him. I hadn't even thought about it, but of course there had to be someone inside—a pilot, dead. I stared uneasily at the plane. Lou threw another snowball at the crows.
"You haven't checked?" Jacob asked.
He handed his rifle to Lou and lumbered up to the plane. There was a door in its side, just behind the damaged wing. He grabbed its handle and gave it a tug. The plane made a loud creaking sound, metal pushing against metal, and the door swung open about five inches, then stopped. Jacob tugged again, putting his weight into it, and got another inch and a half. Then he grabbed the edge of the door with both hands and pulled so hard that the whole plane rocked back and forth, dislodging its shell of snow, revealing the shiny silver metal beneath, but not moving the door at all.
Emboldened by his aggressiveness, I approached the plane more closely. I tried peering in through the windshield but could make nothing out. The glass was spiderwebbed with a tiny, intricate matrix of cracks and frosted over with a thick sheet of ice.
Jacob kept tugging at the door. When he stopped, his breath was coming hard and fast again.
Lou stood a little ways off. He looked like a sentry, with Jacob's rifle cradled in his arms. "It's jammed, I guess," he said. He sounded relieved.
Jacob peered in through the crack he'd made, then pulled his head back.
"Well?" Lou asked.
Jacob shook his head. "Too dark. One of you'll have to go in and check it out." He took off his glasses and wiped at his face with his hand.
"Hank's the smallest," Lou said quickly. "He'll fit the easiest." He winked at Jacob, then grinned toward me.
"I'm smaller than you?"
He patted his little stomach, the beginning of his paunch. "You're thinner. That's what counts."
I looked toward Jacob for help but immediately saw that there'd be none forthcoming. He had a toothy smile on his face, his dimples cutting into his cheeks.
"What do you think, Jacob?" Lou asked.
Jacob started a little laugh but then stopped. "I can't imagine you fitting, Lou," he said seriously. "Not with that gut of yours." They both turned to look at me, straight-faced.
"Why go in at all?" I asked. "What's the point?"
Lou started to grin. A handful of crows flapped heavily into the air, changing trees. It seemed like the whole flock was watching us.
"Why not just get the dog," I said, "then go into town and report this?"
"You scared, Hank?" Lou asked. He shifted the rifle from one arm to the other.
I watched myself cave in, disgusted by the spectacle. I heard a voice in my mind very clearly analyzing the situation, saying I was acting like a teenager, doing something pointless, even foolish, to prove my courage to these two men, neither of whom I respected. The voice went on and on, reasonable, rational, and I listened to it, agreeing with everything it had to say, while I strode angrily around the plane to its open door.
Jacob stepped back to give me room. I stuck my head inside the doorway, let my eyes adjust to the darkness. It seemed even tinier inside than it had outside. The air felt warm, and humid, too, like in a greenhouse. It gave me an eerie feeling. A thin stream of light entered from the tear in the fuselage and shot across the cabin's darkened interior, like a weak flashlight beam, forming a tiny crescent moon against the opposite wall. The rear of the plane was almost completely dark, but it appeared to be empty, a bare metal floor growing narrower and narrower the farther back it went. Just inside the doorway was a large duffel bag lying on its side. If I'd reached in with my hand, I could've grabbed it and dragged it out.
Toward the front, I could see two seats, gray with the light filtering in through the ice-covered windshield. One of them was empty, but there was a man's body slouched in the other, his head resting against the control panel.
I pulled my head out of the doorway.
"I can see him from here."
Jacob and Lou stared at me. "Is he dead?" Jacob asked.
I shrugged. "We haven't had snow since Tuesday, so he's been out here for at least two days."
"You aren't going to check?" Lou asked.
"Let's just get the dog," I said impatiently. I didn't want to go into the plane. It seemed stupid of them to make me.
"I think we ought to check." Lou grinned.
"Come on, Lou. Cut the crap. He can't be alive."
"Two days isn't that long," Jacob said. "I've heard of people surviving stuff longer than that."
"Especially in the cold," Lou agreed. "It's like keeping food in the refrigerator."
I waited for the wink, but it didn't come.
"Just go in and check him out," Jacob said. "What's the big deal?"
I frowned, feeling trapped. I stuck my head back inside the plane for a second, then pulled it out again. "Can you at least scrape the ice off the windshield?" I asked Jacob.
He gave a deep, theatrical sigh, more for Lou's benefit than mine, but nevertheless shuffled off toward the front of the plane.
I started to squeeze my way in through the doorway. I turned sideways and slipped my head and shoulders inside, but when I got to my chest, the opening seemed suddenly to tighten, gripping me like a hand. I tried to pull back, only to find that my jacket and shirt were snagged. They bunched up under my armpits, exposing the skin above my pants to the cold air.
Jacob's bulk darkened the windshield, and I heard him start to scrape at the ice with his glove. I watched, waiting for it to get lighter, but nothing happened. He started to pound—dull, heavy thuds that echoed through the plane's fuselage like a heartbeat.
I exhaled as far as possible and lunged forward. The doorway's grip moved from my sternum to just above my navel. I was about to try again, thinking that one more push would do it, that I could get in, examine the dead pilot, and get out as quickly as possible, when I saw a curious thing. The pilot appeared to be moving. His head, resting against the dashboard, seemed to be shaking ever so slightly back and forth.
"Hey," I whispered. "Hey, buddy. You all right?" My voice echoed off the plane's metal walls.
Jacob continued to pound against the glass. Thump. Thump. Thump.
"Hey," I said, louder, slapping the fuselage with my glove.
I heard Lou move closer in the snow behind me.
"What?" he asked.
Jacob's hand went thump, thump, thump.
The pilot's head was motionless, and suddenly I wasn't so sure. I tried to squeeze forward. Jacob stopped pounding.
"Tell him I can't get it off," he yelled.
"He's stuck," Lou said gleefully. "Look at this."
I felt his hands grab me just above the waist. His fingers dug in, a rough attempt at tickling. I kicked out with my right leg, hitting air, and lost my footing in the snow. The doorway's grip held me up. Lou's and Jacob's laughter came filtering inside, muted and far away.
"You do it," Lou said to Jacob.
I was pushing and pulling now, not even sure which way I wanted to go, just trying to get free, my feet digging into the snow outside, the weight of my body rocking the plane, when there was a sudden flash of movement up front.
I couldn't tell what it was at first. There was the sense of the pilot's head being tossed to the side, then something exploding upward, rising and pounding frantically against the inside of the windshield. Not exactly pounding, I realized slowly, but fluttering. It was a bird, a large black crow, like the ones sitting in the apple trees outside.
It came off the windshield and settled on the rear of the pilot's seat. I watched its head dart back and forth. Carefully, noiselessly, I tried to work my way backward out of the doorway. But then the bird was airborne again; it smacked once into the windshield, bounced off, and flew straight at me. I froze at the sight of it, simply watched it come, and only at the very last moment, just before it hit me, pulled my head down into my shoulders.
It struck me in the exact center of my forehead, hard, with what felt like its beak. I heard myself cry out—a short, sharp, canine sound—pulled back, then forward, somehow broke free from the doorway, and fell into the plane's interior. I landed on the duffel bag and didn't try to get up. The bird returned toward the front, bounced off the windshield, flew back toward the now open doorway, but veered to the right before reaching it, shooting up toward the jagged little hole in the fuselage. It perched there for a second, then wormed its way through like a rat and disappeared.
I heard Lou laugh. "Holy shit," he said. "A fucking bird. You see that, Jake?"
I touched my forehead. It was burning a little, and my glove came away bloody. I slid off the duffel bag, which was hard and angular, as if it were full of books, and sat down on the floor of the plane. A rectangle of light from the open doorway fell across my legs.
Jacob stuck his head inside, his body blocking the light.
"You see that bird?" he asked. I could tell he was smiling, even though I couldn't make out his face.
"It bit me."
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Posted October 9, 2011
keeps you interested the whole time! loved it.
2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted June 11, 2009
I'd look for other books by this author for sure.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted March 30, 2009
After seeing the movie by the same name, this book had alot more twists and turns in the plot. The ending was better in the book than in the movie.
1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted January 14, 2015
How the cover says "A Simple Plan" but the title reference says "Simple Plan"? And isnt there any books on the band? I mean, really...jeez.
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted January 8, 2015
book that keeps your attention till the end. Would of like to see a different ending, but buy it and u won't be sorryWas this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted June 30, 2014
the movie was good but, like most books made into movies, the book was much better and unpredictable. Read his book The Ruins, also great.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted June 4, 2014
Very good book. The characters were great but I have to admit I hoped for a more creative ending - there were a lot of ways you could go with a story like this. The author seemed to take the easy way out. But, the journey the author takes you upon leading up to the end of the book was worth it. The book explores the flaws of three characters and at times makes the reader wonder what they might do. I admit that I put in long reading sessions to find out the end.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted September 23, 2013
Domino effect
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted September 2, 2012
A suburban Macbeth
0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted March 4, 2012
ExcellentWas this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted November 16, 2008
It's amazing what a person will do for money, and the guy ended up with nothing but the shame of what he did.
0 out of 3 people found this review helpful.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted June 24, 2008
How disturbing, how creepy, how is a human capable of such cold blooded acts with no remorse?? Fantastic read, could not put it down.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted February 22, 2008
Wow this is one of the most disturbing page turners I have read in awhile. I experienced all sorts of emotions while reading, sadness, frustration, anger, sympothy, and agony. The beginning and end of the book are the best parts. The middle drags a little but you have to read to the end you will be shocked.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted December 30, 2007
The characters actions were totally unbelievable. The author tried to make it seem like an average, small-town accountant could be capable of the monstrous crimes he committed and I wasn't sold at all. Completely disappointing.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted November 26, 2007
The moral and ethical questions this book presents are on the money, so to speak. However, the main character is introduced as a mild mannered accountant who begins his killing because he 'is forced' to. Minds aren't wired like that, it's either in there lurking about or not. This man wouldn't help his father find a loop hole in his income tax. And his sweet, loving, pregnant wife turns into his accomplice in order to hang onto this money. If I had to describe this novel as a color, it would be grey. The weather, mood, characters, possessions and mind set of people. Totally unbelievable.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted May 21, 2007
I read this book in 2 days -- great book, but the ending left much to be desired...Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted January 31, 2007
This book started out well, but by midstream it lost some of its originality. The ending was somewhat far-fetched. Not great good.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted May 10, 2005
Though the book was written well and it did keep me interested for the most part, I found a bit unrealistic. I could not relate to any of the characters. Every one of them seemed out of their minds, especially the main character. I don't think anyone I know that would do the same things they did. This book was decent, but I would not recommend this book to any of my good friends.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted March 18, 2003
I read this novel, but failed to find it anything but midstream fiction. I would pass on it if I were you.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.
Posted March 17, 2003
I really enjoyed this book. In fact, I recommended it to my sister and she couldn't put this book down. I can't remember reading a more suspenseful book other than John Grisham's 'The Firm'.Was this review helpful? Yes NoThank you for your feedback. Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.


text: Keith Franklin Simmons, formerly of Ashe County, was found guilty today in U.S. District Court in Charlotte on all charges relating to his operation of a ponzi style scheme to defraud investors.According to information provided by Suellen Pierce, public affairs specialist with the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of North Carolina, the trial began Monday and concluded today with the jury verdict. The jury was out for four and a half hours.Sentencing should take place sometime in 2011, Pierce said. Simmons is still in custody of the U.S. Marshalls Service since Dec. 23, 2009.Simmons is currently facing maximum statutory penalties in excess of 60 years in prison and fines in excess of more than $1 million.The government has secured an order of forfeiture of $40+ million along with all property involved in the violations alleged in the bill of indictment, all property which is proceeds of such violations, or all other property of the defendant to the extent of the value of the property involved, all money received during the crimes, a 2008 Lexus, 2004 Ford Explorer, 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee, 2005 Yamaha Rhino ATV, Massey Ferguson tractor, collectible coins and bills (worth $40,000), approximately 35 shares of Mixed Martial Arts Xtreme Fighting Promotions, Inc., approximately 51 shares of XF Corporation, property in Jefferson, West Jefferson, Creston, Walnut Hill, Crumpler and Helton titled in the name of Black Diamond Capital Solutions, LLC and Keith Simmons. Whatever can be recovered and/or turned into cash will be used to assist his victims, a number of whom testified at the trial.The case was handled for the government by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Meyers and Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Odulio, both of the Charlotte Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of NC.Simmons was arrested on Dec. 18, 2009 and indicted on the charges of money laundering and securities fraud violations on Jan. 20, 2010.Simmons was accused of defrauding 240 investors of $35 million from April 2007 to September 2009. He operated a ponzi style scheme to induce investors to invest in Black Diamond Capital Solutions, LLC and other related entities.Court documents claim that Simmons lulled investors into believing that he was placing their money into a foreign currency exchange platform when in reality he pocketed the funds to pay off new investors and to fund his lavish lifestyle. He later admitted to authorities that he never placed investors funds in any foreign platform and stated that he never found a suitable market for their money, court records indicated.He lulled investors, an indictment stated, by making false and fraudulent representations, omitting material facts, and telling deceptive half-truths. Simmons even told investors that they had made interest on their investments and purported this on monthly statements when in fact no interest was gained on the platform and the monthly statements were fictionalized.


text:
|Separate WC's
|Property type
|Minimum Stay
|2 - 4 nights
Rolling River Farm. (com) Private 100 Acre Riverfront Paradise surrounded by water- on a full bend in the legendary Shenandoah River.
New from 2012 Summer Season and onward --600 SQ/FT Rec/Workout room with large screen Plasma TV, Wii Game system, Foosball, Air-hockey and Ping Pong tables.
-Just one hour from Dulles Airport and the Washington Capitol Beltway (believe it or not there are only four traffic lights between the farm and the Capitol Hill).
Starbucks, restaurants and shopping only ten minutes away.
100 holes of Golf are within a four mile radius. Historic Downtown Front Royal with its shops,restaurants and antiques is fifteen minutes from the farm.
Deep water for swimming, tubing, water-skiing, wake-boarding with a private boat ramp (suitable for small boats and jet-skis) and a private dock. All right from your own waterfront. Bring your own boat and jet skis or arrange with the owner (additional cost can be quoted). Kayaks and canoe provided
After a day on/in the river enjoy showering off in the exquisite outdoor shower and sunning yourself dry on the built in bench or experience the fun of showering and then shaving at the outdoor sink with the birds singing above you in the morning light (naturally this feature is closed in the colder months).
Panoramic views of the Blue Ridge Mountains. Walking/riding trails right on the property. Hunting (in season) and fishing available right on the farm (with permission of owner). Horses are welcome, with permission, and there is a paddock and grazing as needed.
The traditional Virginia stucco farmhouse has been thoughtfully renewed, restored and redecorated to preserve and enhance its charms. To quote a recent visitor from Maryland: 'I can't tell you what a blast we had. We felt like we were in a movie. The house could not have been more perfect, it was warm and cozy and allowed us to spend quality family time together. My family loves history and this farm house and property is loaded with just that. We loved the way you have restored it allowing the history to show through yet updating it at the same time.'
All Season enjoyment--The wrap-around porch is the perfect place to watch sunsets or enjoy porch drinks. The brick terrace with its gas fire-pit is great for stargazing and conversation on cool evenings. Winter nights can be enjoyed by the fire sipping hot cocoa or reading a good book. Surrounded by over one hundred acres of rolling fields and woods with a river on three sides you can soak up the quiet and seclusion.
This is a private vacation retreat, very much family oriented, of a Christian family that contains religious art and images that reflect their faith. They invite you to come and explore or just get away from it all.
Front Royal has major several major national parks and attractions;Skyline Drive, Shenandoah River with local outfitters, Skyline Caverns, Shenandoah National Park, Appalachian Trail...
Thank you for opening your home for others to experience and enjoy. We marveled at the care and thoughtfulness of the renovations. The house was comfortably modern yet retained the charm of a bygone era. The setting is impeccable. The rolling hills, the gorgeous sunsets, the river all around, the old barns, the swaying field grass in the breeze, and the sound of the Church bells made for an unforgettable getaway. We did not leave the property the entire weekend...we didn't have to. Everything we needed was right here. Our dogs are pleasantly exhausted...thank you! We will return until mabye one day when we find a Rolling River Farm of our own...if we are not spoiled by the shear beauty of this farm.
Thanks so much it was a true getaway and, at the same time, a true coming home.
Rolling River Farm is a wonderful place for anyone wanting privacy and a wonderful place to just sit back and relax. Frank and Sean were VERY helpful with any questions and issues we had, and we couldn't have asked for better owners to work with. We did some canoeing and kayaking during out stay, and it was extremely helpful to have a boat launch right on the property. The owners also had a canoe and four kayaks for our use. This kept us from having to bring our own boats, and made the trip much more convenient. Having 100 acres to wander around in was a tremendous plus. Thank you Frank and Sean for a wonderful visit!
We were a group of 14 from Wash. DC so we rented both this and the Overlook House (about a 15 min. walk across mowed fields, or a 5 min. drive) for a weekend escape. This place is beautiful, impeccably clean and extremely comfortable, with quality furnishings and a well equipped kitchen. I had rented the Overlook house twice before, and felt a little guilty that we would be depriving our overflow friends "down here" of the fantastic views, but it was all we could do to get them to tear themselves away!
The river bank "beach" area is lovely - I can see spending the whole day down there in summer. It is only about a 20 min. drive to the entrance of Skyline Drive & Shenandoah National park, but you can also easily satisfy your hiking & nature & mountain view desires just by walking around the property.
The game room is certainly an attraction for kids and teens, but our group - 50ish - slapped out a few good games of ping pong and air hockey. And the dogs went absolutely nuts chasing and racing around!
I held my company retreat here and we had a wonderful time. The property is expansive and gorgeous. Though the description does a great job, the property is even more amazing than the description with a huge, secluded stretch of riverside picnic / party area with fire pit and second grill, etc. The owners are very responsive and answered the few small questions that we had very quickly. I hope I have the opportunity to return in the future.
This historic farmhouse is one-of-a-kind. It is beautifully restored with modern and artistic features, but lets you feel the friendly continuity of the farming family owners going back to the Civil War. The unforgettable sunsets, rolling hills and private river clearing will deepen friendships and revitalize your soul.
Our family has looked on-line all over the mountains of Virginia for a place like this. None have been as nice as this place. The combination of pretty farm land, Skyline Drive only minutes away and the river on three sides makes this our favorite by far. You can get more luxury and amenities at a re$ort but none we've found gives you the farm, the mountains and river in one package, not to mention, none will give you a 100 acres all to yourself.
Our family and friends enjoyed a wonderful week here in June of 2014 (2nd visit here). It is honestly better in person than any picture can convey. The house is well appointed and comfortable. Outside is even better. Sitting on the porch and walking the fields is the only way one can get a true sense of all the acreage that one has sole use of at this property. Besides the Farm house itself, the barn with the game room was much appreciated by both the kids and the parents - bring an extra Wii controller and batteries if there is a bad weather day. If the weather is good we recommend a day down at the river playing and fishing on the river's edge, using the canoe that is provided and grilling on the grill that is riverside, too. (Note, we had no idea there was a heat wave down in DC while we were staying here, it is truly cooler here.) Also, I recommend bringing a boat or renting their pontoon boat - the owner's son who goes by the name Sean, though we are all convinced he is actually the actor Orlando Bloom, will kindly help you with the boat rental. As a group we all caught all the fish we wanted - I for one have rarely seen such large sunfish. Another favorite at the farm house was the gas fire pit that the adults enjoyed talking around each evening while the kids chased lighting bugs and played in the hammock. (If you don't have kids with you, please enjoy that hammock, I could not get time in it without a bevy of kids piling on me.) In short, this is a great place that is relaxing and impressive.
Our visit hit all the right notes, with fishing, exploring, reading, hiking and cooking all high on the list. Amazing property that is deftly kept up by the owners who have the "right touch". Only touch of civilization was the hum of the freeway which though not visible was noticeable. One of the wonders of the Shenandoah Valley!
River, golf, national park, Shenandoah, Appalachian, trail, mountains, blue ridge, wineries, winery, hiking, biking, horses, waterfront, water-sports, boating, fishing, hunting
Other Activities: Snowboarding, Hot Air Ballooning, Boating, Wildlife Viewing
Golf: Shenandoah Country Club
Bowling Green Country Club (North and South Courses)
Jackson Chase Country Club
Front Royal Golf Club
All courses listed above are two to five miles away
|Rental Period
|Minimum Price
|Additional Nights
|Weekend Night
|Event Price
Fall 2015
8 Sep 2015 - 24 Nov 2015
2 night minimum stay
for 2 nights
|Notes: Rates are based on 6 guests; add $27 per night, per additional guest
Thanksgiving 2015
25 Nov 2015 - 29 Nov 2015
4 night minimum stay
for 4 nights
|Notes: Rates are based on 6 guests; add $27 per night, per additional guest
Early Winter 2015
30 Nov 2015 - 22 Dec 2015
2 night minimum stay
for 2 nights
|Notes: Rates are based on 6 guests; add $27 per night, per additional guest
Christmas/New Year 2015
23 Dec 2015 - 3 Jan 2016
3 night minimum stay
for 3 nights
|Notes: Rates are based on 6 guests; add $27 per night, per additional guest
Winter 2016
4 Jan 2016 - 21 Mar 2016
2 night minimum stay
for 2 nights
|Notes: Rates are based on 6 guests; add $27 per night, per additional guest
My Standard Rate
3 night minimum stay
for 3 nights
|Notes: Rates are based on 6 guests; add $27 per night, per additional guest
|Pet Fee
|$20.00 + Tax
|Tax Rate
For monthly rates please contact the manager.
Rates are subject to changes until reservation is confirmed.
***Pet Fee $20 per pet/per night
Please Note: The owner of this property accepts payment in the original currency specified (USD), before use of conversion tool. The conversion tool is provided for your convenience only. The owner may accept other currencies if specifically agreed in advance.


text:
Days Inn Las Vegas At Wild Wild West Gambling Hall
No availability found through our partners. Please contact the business directly or check some of our recommended alternatives.
How has this hotel rated in the past?
Travelers also recommend:
Historical Traveler Reviews Days Inn Las Vegas At Wild Wild West Gambling Hall
Not Bad
I stayed in a double-room for two nights. It was not bad at all. The bed-sheets were clean. The bathroom was very clean. The room was actually kind of nice. Of course, it would not be wise to expect the highest quality, but in my experience, it definitely served its purpose.
Dont waste your time!
We stayed at this rancid location and the rooms were terrible, secrity harrassed us and told us we were in a "White Man's town!" The rooms were wheelchair accessible for the person who made the reservations and she spent $100/room for 2 nights with a total of 4 rooms for us to be very unsatisfied, you are better off going to Motel 6 than this dump!
Horrible environment
First of all the room was very unsantitary not clean, stains on the blankets that were rescent. The bathroom had a odor. I seen a used condom on the side of the dresser who gross is that. I would advise you to find another hotel that would fit you needs
The worst, gross, and so nasty
the hotel was "gross"...the bed spreads were dirty the bathroom was filty. thank goodness we only booked one night and did not stay there the night we booked. The hotel is horrible...smokey,dirty, no where to park. We found used comdoms behind the night stand which means they dont clean the rooms at all...if you can afford to stay at another hotel please stay away from there..GROSS>>
Not Bad!
After reading the reviews on this site I was a little scared to stay at the reservations that were booked for me by my travel agency. But the Wild Wild West was not bad. We requested a non-smoking room which was in pretty good shape. We didn't spend very much time in their smoky casino nor did we hang out in our room much at all. So if you are looking for a cheep place to spend the night it is a good value. If you are looking for luxary, then spend some money and go somewhere else.
Smoke everywhere
We stayed at this hotel for 3 nights. The Casino, was very smokey, smoke was every where. The rooms where dirty and thing needed to be fixed. The only good thing about this hotel is there restaurant. The food was good and the prices where even better. I would not advise anyone to ever stay at this hotel.
Worse hotel in Vegas
This hotel is the dirtiest in Vegas. There was hair in our bed and urine stains on the toilet. The price is cheap but you would think you could at least get clean sheets for $30
All you smell in this hotel is smoke. Also the rooms are very dirty. I stayed here for 3 days and we never got room service. Is not worth the price, trust me.
We were forced to stay here our last night in Vegas b/c a convention took over our hotel (Palace Station -- very good).
We got a smoking room. The rate was $70 for a weeknight in January.
Cigarette burns all over the room. Broken sink. There was only one pillow per bed. We requested more -- they came 4 hours later.
A 5-minute phone call cost $20!
The restaurant is a dump. One lady brought her dog. The "gaming hall" is about 40 machines. Scam!! Stay away!!!
One big mistake
we checked out after one night - very dirty rooms & noisy. couldnt use
the shower or bathtub - both dirty and very rusty plumbing fixtures on
both, Carpet & bedding badly stained,and furnitutre had big gouges,
chunks broken off and scratches. We sat up all night waiting to check
out first thing that morning,wouldnt sleep on or in the beds.
TripAdvisor Reviews Days Inn Las Vegas At Wild Wild West Gambling Hall
Travel Blogs from Las Vegas
Dry dry dry heat
... find a spot in the shade because out in the sun was just too much. We laid by the pool for a couple of hours drinking strawberry daiquiris and listening to music. We finally decided we should probably grab some food so we went to the buffet at the hotel next to us in Luxor. The buffet was pretty standard as to what you'd expect. But once again we ate too much and were exhausted so we walked back to our room and crashed for the ...
Viva Las Vegas
... took out of our rv well that was ridiculous! I often used to s****** at people that would have boogie boards, pillows, bin bags (I kid you not) piled up high on those pushcarts, well now that was us. We literally moved house in 20 mins. I wish I had a picture of it because it was very funny. Once in our room we were all excited to hit the Vegas strip, baby!! Kids got settled into their room, ordered some food then got ready to hit the ...


text:
LUMBERTON — A propane cooker stolen last week from a local nonproft that feeds the needy has been replaced by a generous reader.
The cooker, which was My Refuge's only one, was stolen during a break-in on Friday. According to director Rosemarie Glenn, an anonymous donor read about the break-in in Tuesday's crime report in The Robesonian and immediately sent over the $70 to replace it.
Glenn said the cooker was mostly used to make fried chicken — and when Glenn and her coworkers make fried chicken, they really make fried chicken.
"When we cook fried chicken, we cook over 100 pieces," Glenn said.
But when the cooker went missing, Glenn didn't get angry.
"I would just like the person to come in and see me — no judgment, we already forgave him," she said.
My Refuge, located on West Fifth Street, serves free food to about 50 people every day, seven days a week, and cooks up about 25 turkeys every week plus fresh-made sides. The nonprofit also provides free clothing and temporary housing for those in need.
Glenn said she heard about the break-in on Monday afternoon when volunteers arrived, noticed a gash in the fence in front of the building, and saw that the cooker, which had been inside the fence, was gone.
About $100 in damage was done to the fence, according to a police report.
"We thank the Lord that all that was taken was a propane cooker," Glenn said. "Life is precious, what if somebody was there and there was a confrontation?"
With a full kitchen inside, the theft has not been a setback for the organization — and Glenn said it was probably time for an upgrade anyway.
"The Lord wants us to have a new one," she said, laughing joyfully.
Glenn said she'd like to help whoever stole the cooker, whether he or she is in need of money or moral guidance.
"My prayer is for the one who took it," she said. "… I'm not going to be angry with him. There's a reason why he took it. Just be honest about it."


text:
New to Newsroom by the Bay? The best introduction to our summer multimedia program begins here ... with our students' work.
About Us
Before you apply, a few basics.
Our directors and teachers are award-winning educators and journalists. Our team leaders are among the best college journalists in the U.S. and abroad. Guest speakers are professional journalists and authors with insights on new media. See "About Us" at right for more on our team.
Passionate. Purposeful. Playful. You have tons of journalism experience, or maybe none at all. You believe that critical thinking matters and that telling true stories can make the world a better place. You're in U.S. secondary grades 10-12 (ages 15-18). Click "Apply" at right to get going.
Our program blends journalism basics with 21st century digital literacy and multimedia training. We'll help you become a better storyteller, team member and leader; inspire you to launch or improve a journalism program at your school; and offer you a chance to experience one of the most beautiful university campuses in the world.
Great teachers, great content. A room full of toys — iPads and tripods and inflatable sharks (you'll see). Field trips, to places so beautiful they'll take your breath away, but take notes anyway. Team leaders who get you and push you. Team spirit. Journalism movies. Ice cream. Our "Testimonials" tell more.
The world's second-biggest college campus, Stanford has first-class museums, libraries, sports facilities, and sunshine that just won't quit. San Francisco is an hour away and Silicon Valley is next door. We stay in Stanford dorms and enjoy award-winning Stanford Dining. We also fountain hop and catch fireworks over Stanford Stadium! See "Dorms, Dining and Student Needs" at right for more.
Housing and/or dining, materials, equipment rental, transportation and field trip ticket costs all are included in the program fee. Residential students pay $2,195 ($200 discount if paid by Feb. 20). Commuters pay $995, including lunch each day. See our "Payment" page for step-by-step instructions.
Latest News
See our Frequently Asked Questions and Program in the main menu for more information.
Thank you, early birds! Apply now for remaining spaces at NBTB
We received more early signups for Newsroom by the Bay this year than in previous years. So, to students who applied, were accepted and paid by Feb. 20, thank you! We also want to say that it's not too late to apply and reserve your space for our Summer 2015 session. We accept qualified students as […]
Starting your journalism story with Newsroom by the Bay
We're in the midst of application season and meeting lots of new students. But this is also a time when we often hear from students who came to NBTB and are now seeing the benefits of studying journalism with us at Stanford. Edward Perez of Eastside College Preparatory School in East Palo Alto, California, recently wrote […]
Attention returning students: Apply by Feb. 15 to be a counselor at NBTB!
Think you have what it takes to be an amazing counselor-in-training this summer? Then apply here by Feb. 15, and tell us why you want to be part of the Newsroom by the Bay leadership team. This opportunity is for returning students only. Applications are competitive. We'll evaluate and respond to your application no later […]
Save the dates! June 28 to July 5 for Summer 2015
It's official: Newsroom by the Bay's Summer 2015 session will be held from Sunday, June 28 to Sunday, July 5 on the campus of Stanford University. Due to the delay in setting our dates, we're extending our early bird discount and iPad offer to Feb. 20. Apply, get accepted and pay by that date, and […]
Apply and pay by Feb. 20 and be eligible for a free iPad mini 3
Students at Newsroom by the Bay use iPads to report, write, shoot, edit and post multimedia stories to their team websites. They're available for all students to use and they get returned to us at the end of the week. Too bad! But if you apply and pay by Feb. 20, you could go home with an iPad […]
A typical day @newsroomBTB
What does a typical day at NBTB look like? The answer is journalism classes in the morning, student-directed production in the afternoons, and guest speakers that help us put it all together in the evenings. Here's how it usually breaks down … 7:30 a.m to 8:30 a.m. — Breakfast at our Stanford dining hall on campus […]
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Hey gamedev.net!
Im looking for a little bit of insight regarding Open Source and my current Project.
So in short story ive been working on a title in XNA, with the release planned for the Xbox 360 (XBLIG). The title is a sort of mix between Counter-Strike shooting mechanics implemented into Respawn-Objective based matches (ala Halo?).
Im almost complete with the Programming now (90% ish?) and im looking to hire a couple of Freelance artists in the new year to get all the Artsy bits done.
But before I do that I somewhat need to know if theres any major things I need to be aware of regarding Open Source and my Project. You see, the code I use to render Levels at the moment is based of Quake 3 and licensed under the EPL, the original project can be found here.
All ive basically done to it is upgrade it to XNA 4.0 and done a bit of housekeeping.
The rest of the Games code is written by me (Animation, Menus, Physics, Collision, etc), however a lot of it is strongly based on examples found on the XNA Website (which is licensed under the Ms-PL).
So question time:
1) I know I sadly cant mix the two licenses together or release everything under the EPL, but Is it ok for me to release this Project, with each different code block being released under their respective Licenses?
I think the part of the licenses that highlights this is under contributions/additions which in each case:
EPL states:
"Contributions do not include additions to the Program which: (i) are separate modules of software distributed in conjunction with the Program under their own license agreement, and (ii) are not derivative works of the Program."
"A "contribution" is the original software, or any additions or changes to the software."
And since all the code is kept in different Modules/DLL and works independantly from eachother, im guessing it should be just fine to release each bit under their licenses?
2) Now because the title is planned for release on the Xbox, its not really suitable to package source files etc with the actual game. Instead I was going to notify the user on the Start Screen that the Project is Open Source and they can find the code at "insert codeplex link" , im guessing this should be just fine?
3) Is there any other things i should be aware of regarding this entire subject?
Thats all I had to ask really, thanks to anyone who can help offer a bit of insight ^.^
If worst comes to worst and I cant even release the prject, I can always replace the the Quake Rendering code with Sunburn Rendering or a Leadwerks 3DS implementation, but I would really like to release a complete source pack that anyone can use/mod without having to spend a nickel
Anyway, thanks again for anyone who can help out on this!
XNA, Quake & Open Source/EPL
Started by Wagmance, Dec 30 2011 12:46 PM
1 reply to this topic
#1 Members - Reputation: 101
Posted 30 December 2011 - 12:46 PM
#2 Members - Reputation: 101
Posted 01 January 2012 - 12:37 PM
Ok, i think after further reading it looks like everything checks out.
One further question however, does anyone know how its possible that the Quake Rendering code im using is licensed under the EPL, instead of the GPL?
ps: Happy New year!
One further question however, does anyone know how its possible that the Quake Rendering code im using is licensed under the EPL, instead of the GPL?
ps: Happy New year!


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Porc mignon (pork filets) covered in a brie croissant was perhaps the most soul-satisfying meal. Freshly made French fries (don't even bother asking for ketchup, you won't get it) were crisp and a perfect side dish. An after-meal dessert liqueur presented in a large vodka bottle settled the stomach and cleansed the palate with hints of butterscotch.
You won't leave Tropicana with looser pants, but you will most certainly leave happier than when you first arrived.
Spiga has the advantage of being one of the only Italian-focused restaurants on the French side. La Gondola competes from afar on the Dutch side, but time and again we were directed to Spiga. The establishment, which has the look and feel of someone's country home from the porch, sits on a quiet road. Service was attentive, and the ambiance was a nice change from many big cities overly loud restaurants.
A mozzarella appetizer looked more like art than food, and the creamy taste of the cheese complemented its three different sauces (pesto, truffle and balsamic vinaigrette) perfectly.
For an entree, the short rib was tender fall-off-the-bone good, but a cut of meat that can be found at many other establishments.
A tiramisu dessert paired with coffee ice cream was refreshing, but not standout-worthy.


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Melissa Lee is the host of CNBC's "Fast Money" (airing Monday-Thursday, 5 p.m.-6 p.m. ET; Friday, 5 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. ET), which originates from the Nasdaq's MarketSite studio in New York's Times Square. "Fast Money" gives you the information normally reserved for the Wall Street trading floor, enabling you to make decisions that can make you money. She is also the host of "Options Action," (Friday, 5:30 p.m. ET), a weekly half-hour program that explains the advantages of options trading.
In addition, Lee is a member of the ensemble cast of CNBC's "Power Lunch" (M-F, 1PM-3PM ET).
Previously, Lee was co-anchor of CNBC's "Squawk on the Street" and host of "Money in Motion Currency Trading." She also covered investment banking, hedge funds and private equity for the network.
Lee has reported one-hour documentaries for the network, including "Rise of the Machines (2013)," "Code Wars: America's Cyber Threat"(2011), "Coca-Cola: The Real Story Behind the Real Thing" (2009) and "Porn: Business of Pleasure" (2009). In 2008, Lee reported and anchored a one-hour documentary, "Made in China: People's Republic of Profit," from Beijing and Shanghai. She reported extensively for the network on China from the country's growth to its challenges to the opportunities for U.S. businesses.
Lee received a 2010 Gracie Award for Outstanding Host-News and a Gerald Loeb Award nomination in 2009 for a CNBC Special Report: "Is Your Money Safe? The Fall of Lehman Brothers," for which she co-anchored. Lee also has been nominated for two Emmy awards in Business News. In 2007, she was recognized for her report, "The $50M Con," about a college student-turned scammer who ran a fake hedge fund and was ultimately caught by the FBI. And in 2003, she was nominated for her reporting on the proxy voting of mutual funds.
Prior to joining CNBC in 2004, Lee worked for Bloomberg Television and CNN Financial News.
Before her career in television, Lee was a consultant at Mercer Management Consulting. Her cases focused on the banking and credit card sectors.
Lee graduated with honors from Harvard College with a bachelor of arts in government. She also served as Assistant Managing Editor of the Harvard Crimson.
Follow Melissa Lee on Twitter @MelissaLeeCNBC.
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