text:
The second collection published by Sarob Press in 2000
Cover art by Iain Maynard
MOTHS, AN OFFICE IN THE GRAYS INN ROAD and AN ENGLISH COUNTRY GARDEN gained Honourable Mentions in Years Best Fantasy & Horror 12 1999 from Ellen Datlow & Terri Windling
"Assured and current." David Howe, Shivers, UK.
"Echoes Of Darkness is a terrific book which I strongly recommend you purchase." Terror Tales newsletter, UK.
"The stories in the book possess that rare, but essential, gift that every reader searches for in a good ghost or horror story: namely, the ability to leave behind a persistent feeling (an echo, as the title says) of uneasiness." Mario Guslandi, All Hallows, Canada.
"The Echoes of Darkness will linger long after you have closed the covers..." Derek M Fox, author, UK.
"With the lingering persistence of shadow, or the stealthy vibration of echo, the stories of this brave, diversely satisfying collection linger long after the book snaps shut. A pleasure to read, the suspicions and threats aroused by its subtle (and not so subtle) frights may find you staring into corners of home and mind long after dark, each carefully sculpted tale a reflective echo of your own night-tide fears and doubts. Without reservation, I recommend lovers of ghost fiction (and dark Literature in general) take this ride into the darkness." William P Simmons, USA.
"Regrettably, editors LH Maynard and MPN Sims have put their own business,
Enigmatic Press, on hiatus. But as co-authors of fiction, they have an
admirable collection out from Sarob Press, Echoes Of Darkness (hardcover
$39.95, 178 pages, ISBN 1-902309-09-X) Maynard and Sims write much the
kind of classic ghost tale and weird fiction they once chose to publish,
stories positioned squarely along the Aickman-James axis. These nine well
crafted shockers traverse the globe for various venues of horror, from
tropical islands to suburban Britain. I was much taken with 'An Office In
The Grays Inn Road' where a husband's death brings ghostly revelations."
Paul Di
Filippo Asimov's Magazine May 2001
Len Maynard and Mick Sims are doing a great job as editors/publishers of the renowned Enigmatic Press, while Robert Morgan's excellent Sarob Press has rapidly become one of the finest imprints in the U.K. small press field. Thus it was perhaps only natural that the second collection of stories by Maynard and Sims should, in the end, be published by Sarob. Their previous volume, Shadows at Midnight, was actually a revised edition of an earlier collection of ghost stories, revised by the authors some twenty years later. Enjoyable as they were, the tales betrayed, here and there, an amateurish, although talented, origin. Echoes of Darkness is a much more mature work, the product of two fine writers perfectly in control of their characters and their plots.
More importantly, the stories in the book possess that rare, but essential, gift that every reader searches for in a good ghost or horror story: namely, the ability to leave behind a persistent feeling (an echo, as the title says) of uneasiness. Nowadays we read too much dark fiction, which, however entertaining, disappears from the mind as soon as the book is closed and the reader gets on with life.
Maynard and Sims's new tales produce shivers which linger for quite a while on the spine. Their style is one of quiet horror lurking behind the common events of ordinary life: business, divorces, political disappointments, family picnics, and so on. A typical example is `Mallory's Farm', where a controversy about the family business gradually turns into the unexpected discovery of a forgotten horror.
In `At the End of the Pier' a young playwright and a disenchanted theatre producer find their fates linked in a well-balanced tale of melancholy and horror. The gloomy atmosphere of a summer resort at the end of the season is vividly described with remarkable skill. `An Office in the Grays Inn Road' is also an excellent story, in which a husband's sudden death leads his shocked widow to discover secrets of which she was totally unaware.
In `Picnic' a family's outing turns into a nightmarish experience triggered by the finding of an innocent-looking, mysterious whistle. `An English Country Garden' is a real gem, one of the authors' best creations. The story has an Aickmanesque charm, and is quite unforgettable. Travellers will learn to refrain from making detours to admire a beautiful garden glimpsed in the distance. In `Mattie', tension builds up throughout the entire narrative. Actual horror, or a pregnant woman's fancies? Wait until the denouement . . .
`Moths' is a reprint of the critically praised long story which appeared last year as an Enigmatic Novella [see review in All Hallows 21]. The readers who still don't know it will be chilled to the bone, while those already familiar with it will be glad to plunge once again into a story which reminds me of those black-and-white horror movies that make you hold your breath for much of the time.
I hope that at least one of the stories in this collection will be reprinted in some `best of anthologies. It's time for Maynard and Sims to be known as authors in the so-called mass market, and not just in the small world of limited editions.
A flawless collection, then? Almost, but not quite. The opening novella, `Ashushma', falls short of my expectations. The story, set in the exotic environment of the Indian Ocean, seems to be a tribute to the genre called pulp fiction. It's really entertaining, but somehow not fully convincing, and the characters are a bit too conventional. Although the inclusion of the novella in this volume has inspired a great cover design by Iain Maynard, I would gladly have exchanged `Ashushma' for a couple more short stories.
Fortunately, however, I won't have to wait too long. In their introduction, Maynard and Sims reveal that a third collection is already complete, and a fourth one is under way. I'm already looking forward to those new stories.
David Howe - SHIVERS 81 September 2000
Echoes of Darkness is a second collection of tales from L H Maynard and M P N Sims, and, unlike their first book Shadows of Midnight (also available from Sarob) this volume concentrates less on the M R James ghostly vein and more on the more physical ghoulies and goblins.
The most enjoyable stories here are the short ones, with Mattie being my favourite. A pregnant woman finds that a strange old lady takes over her house, her life and her husband, and there is little she can do to stop her. Mallory's Farm has a good build-up but the ending is weak, but Coming Home is another gem: told through letters and papers it's the story of a politician who meets his match when he 'escapes' to Dorset with his new girlfriend. I also liked An Office in the Grays Inn Road, one of the few purely ghostly stories here. It's got a nice build up, and a neat ending.
Of the longer pieces, the best is Moths, although the ending doesn't make a lot of sense, and Ashusma has its moments as well. This is a little like Jurassic Park (or at least it seemed to me) and the ending is perhaps too telegraphed and a little rushed.
Maynard and Sims have obviously
developed in style and ability since the earlier collection, and this book
is more assured and current. It blends together mythologies and ghosts and
mostly succeeds as being enjoyable and diverting. Overall another
enjoyable, if a little patchy, collection from Sarob Press, Maynard and
Sims. Worth a look.
The fiction of Maynard and Sims is mostly a quality product and this hardback collection is certainly no exception. These two authors have given perhaps more than anyone else has to the small press world in recent years, working not only as authors but also as editors and publishers. Their Enigmatic Press publishing house has set the standard for other publishers to aim at, and they have provided an invaluable outlet for established and new authors alike. Just in case you're wondering, I'm not buttering them up or after them publishing anything of mine, I'm just giving them the credit and recognition they truly deserve.
Echoes Of Darkness is a splendid collection of stories and shows how the collaborative fiction of the two men is progressing. No longer can they be accused of overdosing on the M.R. James influence -- these stories touch on a variety of styles with greatest expertise, and in an ideal world these authors would surely be earning their living from entertaining us.
The book begins with Ashushma, a tale set on a tropical island. Sacred stones have been moved to another part of the island to make way for the building of a holiday complex, and suddenly sinister events begin to take place. Frightening sounds are heard in the jungle area and a black smoke-like form is seen roaming. The interplay of characters in this story is first class and is a clear sign of the authors' progression.
At The End Of The Pier is a gripping story which concerns a variety theatre which is situated (would you believe!) on a pier, back in the 1960's. The production manager is sent a play by a peculiar young man, who is very insistent that it should be accepted and the cast should perform it. Frightening things begin happening even prior to the young man's arrival, but when the play is rejected... well, it turns in to a corker of a story.
Picnic is a third person story which tells of a family out to enjoy a quiet day in the countryside. While their mother and father are more interested in one another, two little girls excitedly follow the progress of a squirrel into the dense regions of a wood. Eventually they find a whistle upon the ground next to a tree. This story has an ending which I personally loved for its sinister quality, but which will send myriad shivers down the spine of every devoted parent.
An Office In The Grays Inn Road tells of a mourning woman's shocking discovery that her recently deceased husband had been having an affair, and that everyone in the theatre office where he worked had known about it. The best part of the story comes when the woman visits the 'secret' love-nest the couple had at their disposal -- it may turn your hair grey.
Other stories in this book include a reprint of the excellent novella entitled Moths, a tale which has already received an Honourable Mention from Ellen Datlow back in 1998.Echoes Of Darkness is a terrific book which I strongly recommend you purchase.
Derek M. Fox: Author of: Recluse; Demon & Treading on the Past and the forthcoming book Heart of Shadows - Byron & the Supernatural (Blackie Publishers - England)
What scares us?
It's easy to cite the obvious things like fast roads, heights, insects, and many other phobias, but my guess is that what really scares us lurks inside, in the very core of our being. And it lurks between the covers of certain books.
Echoes of Darkness is such a book. It is a worthy follow-up to Shadows at Midnight, published in 1979. That long ago? We've grown since then, matured, but...have we become any less scared?
Stories written when the world was younger, and published across the years, all now subsequently re-written and reissued in this handsome volume from Sarob Press with stark, startling black and white cover art from Iain Maynard that acts hypnotically on the mind.
Mick Sims and Len Maynard are well known as publishers of their string of small press anthologies and chapbooks through Enigmatic Press. Such volumes have offered openings to many upcoming, promising authors. To publish such work one must have a love for it, and they have. By pulling back that other string to their talented bow they let fly with a taut, gripping selection of supernatural tales for us to read on dark, lonely nights.
This is a tour de force, and in a sense, geographically orientated. From a tropical island in the pacific, a dark, hurried walk through the streets of London, we then are treated (?) to the sublime pastoral of an English country garden. After escaping an early grave, we find ourselves at a grim country house with a soupcon of the Orient thrown in, we, as readers unwittingly enmeshed in the worlds of Sims and Maynard, and whosoever else lurks there.
They let us into the secrets of people, their trials, tribulations and yes, phobias, the often misinterpreted aspects of real fear. Something unseen and deadly lurks in the trees on Ashusma island, it seeks retribution. A woman, a former lover of a dead publishing agent, terrifies his wife in a creepy 'Office in the Grays Inn Road'. But certainly not before we've had an insight into the obsessed mind of a hack actor/theatre producer and a would-be scriptwriter who desires to see his play produced on the stage of a sad little theatre 'At The End of the Pier' situated in the grey-lit, end-of-season seaside town of Brighton.
Picnics and farms figure in this trip on the edge, where shadows linger even when the sun doesn't shine. Nothing more unsettling than a child going missing, or a councillor maligned so much for an extra-marital affair he seeks sanctuary in a cottage in Suffolk that isn't all it appears. And of course there's the poor little fellow who hops off the train, an unscheduled stop, to further his interest in a beautiful garden and wishes to God he hadn't. And who is Mattie? Who could suspect that this little old lady stopping by would have a harmful bone in her body? And whatever you do don't go down to Mallory's Farm. See, they have a well in the field, and children went missing years ago - so you don't wanna know what's really down there, do you?
All this and a reprint of Moths - the creepy, shape-changer tale with Oriental flavours far, far different from those you order from the Takeaway.
But, I strongly advise you to buy, and take away this book, with its exercises in mounting fear. Despite a few weaknesses - some tales I felt could have been even darker, and so invoke even more disturbed angst - the strength lies in its protagonists and powerful narrative. You are there. I know I was.
Read these tales to make you think and I promise, the Echoes of Darkness will linger long after you have closed the covers...Or pulled 'em over your he
William P. Simmons. USA.
There is darkness, and then, there is "darkness." The one is nothing more than a natural deepening of night. Skies cloud over, the sun drowns in it's own light. Shadows ripple and pool like memories.
But then, there is darkness. Long nights of soul, old memories, and far wider guilt. Shadows pool, faces stretch from twilight. Much is suggested in this dark, possibly threatened, but rarely revealed. If natural darkness is a confirmation of natural law, fostering in us the illusion that we know (and by knowing, control) all that we witness or believe, then that other darkness, oppressive entity of both internal doubt and external threat, reminds us of what we don't know, or what we fear we might derstand on a level surpassing logical rationalization.
This darkness carries the fears and suspicions, the subversive desires and threats of our entire species. It connects us to our animal cousins, reminds us of primal song beneath starlight, and hovers somewhere between the geography of threat and promise. In our banal, often drab existence of neon sign and forced domesticity, it becomes almost too easy to ignore the
dark, so long as sunlight licks the earth and all is well with our own lives. When the bills are paid, relationships stable, and death is something you only read about in the paper, we know all there is to know, believe we see all there is to be seen. But even then, the darkness we carry within lets slip glimpses and suggestions of events and suspected beings lurking along the cracks of the "good fabric" of rationality. The darkness within reflects a fabulous, formless darkness from without, and we're reminded of how much we don't know, how very easy it remains to be afraid - not of the dark- but what might be waiting in it.
The ghost story helps us peer into darkness of soul and mind that we possess neither the courage nor natural facilities to face in our daylight world. From the moment birth snaps open our eyes, we're taken in cold hand by Death and led through a nursery of ever worsening pain, dread, and confusion. What do we have to cling to when both the darkness within and the threat (or promise) of things waiting in the physical darkness slip through crevices, throw open the blinds, and demand we recognize them in nightmare or shift of perception? What else, but the supernatural tale, daring maps of twilight thought and experience leading us through border lands.
Whereas realistic fiction operates on the assumption that there is a fixed definition of logic, focusing on characters and happenings within a fixed context, supernatural fiction possesses both the courage and foresight to question the very nature of experience. Using drab nuances of everyday setting and occurrence, the supernaturalist employs realistic characters and events of a decidedly unspectacular nature, layering such with increasing suggestions of the paranormal. When the screw is finally turned, the intrusion of the paranormal appears as believable and "natural" as a side walk or store front. Such authors as Algernon Blackwood, M.R.James, and Arthur Machen all emphasized dictates of logic and illusions of normalcy to make their deviations from the norm appear more credible.
Malignant ghost, nature demon, and Fay are no longer separate or distinguishable from normal experience, but emphasized as natural components of both human and natural world. On one hand, the ghost story is an investigation into the incredible, the fantastic or un-ordinary- something distinct and amazing because it is depicted as a dark miracle or deviation of what should be. In the other extreme, ghost fictions strive to depict occult manifestation and characters as just another natural thread of being, no different than sun rise, tree leaf, or the passing from youth into old age. That the human mind and sensory glands cannot always perceive this "other" phenomena is often blamed on our all-too-human lack of emotional, mental, and physical power.
The best supernatural fictions combine elements of both traditions. The supernatural threat is convincing enough to appear natural (and believable), but still resonates with the mystery and fantasy of unknown spheres. Although graveyard spirit or emotional ghost is convincing as component of the natural world, there follows with its presence a threat of unnatural, unwholesome danger. The "good fabric" is split, barriers are broken, and because the reader understands the unexpected is broke loose, he experiences thrill and awe. When the seemingly impossible is made threateningly possible, when innocent appearing characters, settings and events are suddenly transformed into haunting experiences of spiritual and physical threat; the ghost story reaches for both our minds and souls. Threatening beings of external, otherworldly darkness join the internal menaces of our individual fears, guilt, and suspicions, each reflecting and making more ominous the other.
Echoes Of Darkness, by Maynard and Sims, offers us such a deceptive collection of darkness, creating through subtle prose and grande imagination a variety of shadows. There lurks beneath the finely crafted eloquence of their words an energy - a joyfully perceptive rush of power- that combines universal themes with intimate struggles, making the tales both general enough to appeal to the masses while immediate enough to touch the individual reader. Through the sureness of their style and believability of their characters, we're reminded of ourselves. It becomes we who are suffering, reacting to unholy dangers tip-toeing or recklessly charging from demon- infested island complex, haunted well, and past life.
Although the writing is formal in execution, reminding one of the stylistic conciseness of M.R. James, never for a moment is the language outdated or archaic. Maynard and Sims manage to be both stylists and experimental craftsman in their manipulation of language, twisting phrases and descriptions with a freshness that many critics lament in the work of Victorian and Edwardian authors of the macabre. When reading the tales in this collection, you get the impression that the authors didn't set down and plan their fictions so much as they lovingly summoned, honed, and shaped raw essence into art. Layers of meaning and possibility pulsate beneath the words. So rich and drenched in meaning is the collection, that each new reading revealed descriptions, suggestions, and word play missed the first time around. It's easy to miss something of the delicate structure, for so engaging and immediately arresting are the plots, themes, and characters that the first reading is greedily completed for the sheer pleasure (and dread) of discovering how people we're made to care about fare against both physical manifestations of terror and the lingering menace of their own personalities.
In a haunted world where darkness of soul combines with supernatural night, magnifying and feeding upon the other, Maynard and Sims, travellers on the night-side of experience, use the recognizable conflicts and flaws of characters to emphasize and compliment occult threat. Half-breed bastard mutants, vengeful spirits, and cursed whistles share the spot light with abusive relationships, modern estrangement, self doubt, and the day-time terrors of both financial and social anxieties. By interweaving every-day fears with fantastical terrors, the authors create an aesthetic, emotional bridge between normalcy and supernatural. Characters who unknowingly slip between borderlands of soul, mind, or flesh are treated as distinct personalities- not the cardboard symbols so often used by modern authors to simply instigate plot. The collection continually reveals the relationship between internal conflict and supernatural threat. Characters insecurities, pasts, and personalities mirror the malignant forces gathering against them.
Like us, businessmen, politicians, housewives, widowers, and travellers call for something in the darkness, albeit often unknowingly. Evoking true dread and mortal terror, it's suggested again and again in these tales that attempting to be a "good" person, minding one's business, or surrounding yourself with material illusions of safety is poor protection against evil, often tragic possibilities. Managing to be both traditional and innovative in theme and presentation, Echoes of Darkness bravely explores the grounds of ambiguity. Often, traditional tales of ghostly horror depicted unsavory things happening to morally bankrupt, largely unsavory people. Such morally fixed allegories (disguised as ghost fiction) whispered to readers "hey, say your prayers, live a good life, and keep your nose clean." More often than not, only "those who deserved it"- characters that had harmed someone or transgressed some spiritual taboo- had need to fear attacks from beyond. Although Maynard and Sims brilliantly offer their share of nasty, self-centered people whose guilt and crimes make them targets for inventive unpleasantries, more disturbing and satisfying are the instances where moral expectations and constructs are obliterated. It's when more or less wholesome, likeable characters find themselves prey to ghostly and human malice that we fear (and believe) in their fictions most.
Such tales as "Ashushma," "At The End Of The Pier," and "Coming Home," whisper with unpleasant sureness the unfair and un-predictable nature of both natural life and supernatural possibility. The reader is left wondering if we're not all calling out to a deadly, formless darkness. Yes, victims of jealous ghostly lovers and mythic demons tell us, we call out to the dark. We throw into undefined night our fears and hopes and pain. We call to the dark. And Sometimes, the darkness answers.
The fears, insecurities, lusts, ignorance, and possessiveness of characters always answer back in this stunning collection of pain and beauty. In seemingly innocent, perfectly normal landscapes and descriptions hide dark miracles waiting to spill over. Like those dark Echoes from the collections title, characters and settings, atmosphere and themes, vibrate off one another. The author's ability of suggestion and quiet layering makes the experience both unsettling and credible. What struck me most about these stories, aside from the ability of the authors to make the supernatural appear so natural (if disturbing) an extension of a characters experience, was the ever-present use of suggestion that intensified the tension and dramatic flow of every single tale.
Shadows creep. Characters feel breaths against skin, spot glimpses of shape where none should logically be seen. Minute details of seemingly unthreatening coincidences slowly but relentlessly blossom into waking nightmares. Never do we feel cheated by trite or convenient scares. Never do the authors resort to use of artificial revelations or stock shocks. Warnings of supernatural presences and disaster are cleverly, quietly given to us before hand. Yet so subtle are such warnings, and so very engaging remain the characters, that our minds co-conspire with the authors, making us pay such attention to the complexities of human interaction and transformation that when the Echoes of fantasy materialize into physical, undeniable threat, we're surprised and titillated despite the fact that we were given hints in advance.
Maynard and Sims capture the delicious thrill of fireside story telling, investing dark wonder into decidedly contemporary conflicts, people, and settings. Like the teasing, tormenting power of shadows, their malignant shades and mythical dangers are neither wholly real nor imaginary. Indeed, it is to their credit and power that they hover between both extremes, constantly threatening us with their presence, but never wholly revealing them until characters are doomed.
In "An Office In The Grays Inn Road," a wonderfully chilling tale of hatred and attempted redemption beyond the grave, the authors make satisfying a much used theme that would have flopped in less capable hands. In Joanna Philips is reflected the grief, doubt, and lethargy that accompanies the death of a loved one. A recent widow, Joanna is assaulted by an increasingly venomous spirit, as well as by the terrible knowledge of her husband's betrayal. Like many of the other stories, the supernatural danger is sensed at a distance, hinted at by smell and sound and touch. The final confrontation ensues with terrible finality. At the end, we see Joanna still haunted, not by traditional ghost, but by memories. Transformed by the painful emotional scar of her husbands infidelity, Joanna has become something of a ghost herself.
"Mallory's Farm," while not a ghost story proper, further exhibits the writer's diversity, showing how comfortable they are attacking a variety of subjects. Philip, an unassuming young man caught in the throes of a bitter power struggle between his divorced parents, arrives at the decrepit residence of his father and young lover to discover both the people he truly cares about reduced to husks of their former, vibrant selves. Omitting a grande-gothic feel, the action is fluid, sharp, and relentless, moving with an energy that makes the tension near the end nigh unbearable. To give away the secret of Mallory's farm would be a disservice to the craftsman who made it so truly frightening. In a scene of uncompromising tension, pale-pink clawed infant hands from "Bastard's Well" try and find access into the farmhouse. From this scene onward, one is reminded of the delicate timing that made W.W. Jacob's The Monkey's Paw so very horrifying.
From Fay-like dangers of cursed woods and sinister whistles to the secrets growing in English gardens, Echoes Of Darkness lovingly uses it's own fears to further instigate our own. Be the threat after thought from grave or an imposter come to steal your identity, never are we left to doubt the originality or compassion of these authors when working their narrative magic. Not content to simply revise ancient lore or occult traditions, Maynard and Sims prove themselves modern mythmakers in their own right, creating believable, larger than life embodiments of evil no less breath taking than the deities found in cross-cultural sacred texts. Perhaps no where is their singular ability of crafting new night terrors from universal elements of our condition more apparent than in "Moths," a novella deservedly recognized by the horror and fantasy community. Their conceptualization of "The Tashkai," a demon capable of draining the talents from those vulnerable human beings it infatuates with its presence, is as fascinating as it is evocative of people in our own world who do the same, using sheer force of personality to drain from admirers the very thing that makes them individuals.
In this novella, as well as in the story "Mattie," the danger of losing the internal traits that define us is emphasized. Psychic-like vampires of mind and talent, the "Tashkai" are at once exotically captivating and repulsive. Beneath the refined manners, unblemished skin, and appearance of grace lurks corruption, decay, and the absolute hunger of greed - if one has to foresight or ability to peel back surface illusion and stare. The creatures themselves stir within the reader mixed, conflicting emotions of lust and envy, fear and welcome, mirroring the appeal of the supernatural genre itself, and specifically pointing out Maynard and Sims talent of assaulting us with terror at the very same time that they titillate us with it. I wonder if something of the "Tashkai" doesn't lurk in them, cleverly using our own expectations, fears, and desires to give their fictions such immediacy and lustrous power.
With the lingering persistence of shadow, or the stealthy vibration of echo, the stories of this brave, diversely satisfying collection linger long after the book snaps shut. A pleasure to read, the suspicions and threats aroused by its subtle (and not so subtle) frights may find you staring into corners of home and mind long after dark, each carefully sculpted tale a reflective echo of your own night-tide fears and doubts.
Without reservation, I recommend lovers of ghost fiction (and dark Literature in general) take this ride into the darkness.
Jason Gould - INFINITY PLUS Website
As horror writing goes, Maynard and Sims attack from a traditional angle, employing a thoroughly traditional style. I know, having read their column on Mark Chadbourn's website, At the World's End, that this is the type of storytelling they favour. When you read M and S you can be sure each story will have a beginning, a middle and an end; that the prose in which the tale is couched will be smooth, but will never occlude the unfolding of that tale; and that the action will often centre around ghosts, monsters, demons etc. That's not to belittle their work by whittling it down to the formulaic, simply to say that their output is recognisably their own.
The idea of the perfect society unravelling is reminiscent of David Cronenberg's early film Shivers, in which Starline Towers, a tower block built as the perfect place to live, fails in its utopian mission when its inhabitants revert to their more primal instincts. In Ashushma, the self-titled opening story in Echoes of Darkness, the undoing is supernatural, not human, though it still put me mind of the 1970's Cronenberg classic.
Ashushma, an island owned by the Stronghold Corporation, lies adrift in the Indian Ocean, a kind of time-share settlement to which a number of couples are invited prior to purchasing. Gradually, over the course of 40 or so pages, the island reveals its true nature, much at the expense of those who have travelled there.
Themed around man's spoiling footprint falling cataclysmically through paradise, Ashushma is very well narrated, edgy, and scenically cinematic. The tension in the first half piles up by the gutful, with sections ending on notes such as:
"As Grace stood from the bed and theatrically removed her robe, she was unaware of the three pairs of yellow eyes that reflected from the window before merging back into the shadows of the trees."
"Jack waited until the three men had caught up with them before he brushed a piece of broken fern aside with his sandal. On the grass, amidst a smear of glistening wet blood, was part of a human foot, clearly torn raggedly from the rest of the body."
I did, however, feel a little let down by a couple of points. Firstly, I would have liked the tale to have had a slightly grittier edge; to have witnessed an ounce more rawness in each character, rather than the polite Englishness with which they behaved, even at times of extreme stress. Secondly, the story would have benefited from closer editing. It's tightly written, but flawed by the odd grammatical or stylistic inconsistency, which if weeded out would have elevated the tale that little bit higher. A typical example is the opening paragraph halfway down page 16, which contains the words light and lighting four times inside three sentences, and is consequently clumsy to read.
Those reservations aside, though, Ashushma is a tense and scary novella.
The other stories, like the wonderfully titled "An Office in the Gray's Inn Road", and "Mallory's Farm", are from a similar stable, and equally entertaining. Moths, the novella with which the book concludes, and for which the authors received an Honourable Mention from Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling in 1998, rounds the proceedings off nicely.
This collection - and Maynard and Sim's work holistically - owes a lot to that flavour of horror writing which grew out of the Pan Books of Horror (though a lot less vicious), mingled with elements of M R James, Henry James, and perhaps even that British 1970's scary-as-hell TV programme, Armchair Thriller.
Buy it. Read it.
Garrett Peck - THE HELLNOTES BOOK REVIEW
Maynard and Sims are known as the publishers behind Enigmatic Press. Their recent announcement of the press' closure due to loss of grant money was greeted with regret. But there is some good news from the duo—namely this new collection of supernatural fiction, featuring seven stories and two novellas.
The book opens up with the previously unpublished novella "Ashushma." The Stronghold Corporation, hoping to sell time-shares at their newly constructed resort, flies five couples to a Hawaiian island. Unfortunately a configuration of rocks was moved during construction. Moving them has freed the Kumari, a race of carnivorous monsters once worshiped as gods by the native population. Soon guests and employees alike are under deadly siege. The helicopter pilot is the first to go, so the potential victims are trapped. This is the best rampaging creature story I've read since Tim Lebbon's White. It's not quite as satisfying, but it's darn close.
"At the End of the Pier" details the haunting of a small theater company director by a playwright who committed suicide after his script was rejected for production. The widow of a theatrical agent endures ghostly proof of her late husband's adultery in "An Office in the Gray's Inn Road." An evil tin whistle lures victims in "Picnic." A Member of Parliament loses his re-election due to an adulterous sex scandal in "Coming Home," but finds new life with a dead woman while on sabbatical. Past incestuous sins come to horrifying life when a specialty publisher moves to "Mallory's Farm." Old ladies discover the perfect fertilizer in "An English Country Garden." Another old lady named "Mattie" usurps a pregnant woman's life.
Book-ending the short stories is the other novella, "Moths." It introduces a very different kind of psychic vampire from Japanese lore, called a Tashkai, which steals people's talents. The creature's victims are drawn to the beauty of the Tashkai like moths to a flame.
Maynard and Sims write with the sort of proper grammar and respect for language more prevalent in British than American authors. There's no indulgence in fancy stylistic tricks. Their characterizations have as much depth as a decent novel. They're particularly good at detailing their character's professional lives. Either they've worked some of these jobs themselves or have researched them as thoroughly as Arthur Haley. The solid foundation of setting and character results in believable and absorbing tales. Although a few of them end more abruptly then I would have preferred, their no-nonsense approach of classic storytelling craft with a modern flair satisfied me in eight out of nine cases. (The one dud is "An English Country Garden," which is a bit static for my taste.)
For more reviews follow the hyperlink below.
Copyright © 2015 L.H. Maynard & M.P.N. Sims


text: On Mon, 15 Oct 2012 21:14:39 -0400 John Aldrich <jmaldrich at yahoo.com> wrote: > Would you do it if you couldn't afford to pay for internet? Would you > help someone do it? If so, how would you suggest going about it? I volunteer with some pretty low-income folks. Like "hundreds of dollars a month in income in Northern California". "Couldn't afford to pay" is usually a matter of prioritization. And payment is also a matter of social capital: What's stopping this person from meeting their neighbor and asking if they're willing to subsidize their Internet use by sharing the password with them? That's a separate issue from the technical challenge of cracking the WiFi password, which I'm totally interested in the answer to, but... Dan

subset: commoncrawl


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According to Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express News, he is hearing San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan could possibly opt out of his current deal that would pay him $10.4 million for the 2014-2015 NBA season, and instead sign a lengthier contract with the Spurs, that helps them both open cap room this coming offseason, and that could extend Duncan's playing career.
Duncan decision coming, and here's an option I'm hearing: Opts out and signs a 2-year deal that both lowers payroll and rewards him.
— Buck Harvey (@Buck_SA) June 23, 2014
Duncan, 38, just finished an NBA Finals run for his 5th championship, where he averaged 15.4 points and 10.0 rebounds in 33 minutes per game, during the Finals. Per Basketball-Reference, both in the regular season and playoffs, Dunan totaled 10.6 win shares this past season. One win share can sometimes be viewed as a million dollars. So by this metric, Duncan is currently worth close to $9-11 million dollars.
If Duncan were to opt out as the report from Harvey indicates, he could look at taking less this season (maybe $7-9 million per year), which would help the team with more cap flexibility, as two of the Spurs' main factors in their title run – Boris Diaw and Patty Mills – are about to become unrestricted free agents on July 1.
By Basketball-Reference's win share metrics, both Diaw and Mills could be worth close to $6-8 million dollars for the production they produced the previous season. Aron Baynes could also become a restricted free agent if the Spurs extend his $1.1 million dollar offer, and Matt Bonner too will become an unrestricted free agent.
Duncan has until Tuesday (06/24/2014) to notify the Spurs of his decision to either opt into his contract, or opt out. After Game 5 of the NBA Finals, Duncan had a comment about 2014 Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, who is just 22 years old.
"I'm honored to be on this team right now because he's going to be great for years to come," said Duncan that Sunday night, "and I'm going to hold on as long as I can."
Physically, Duncan can still produce at a high level in the postseason, as Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich is arguably the best at managing minutes during the regular season. With a player like Leonard on the rise and likely to have more responsibility on offense next season, Duncan might be seeing he's got more than just one year left, possibly two.
(Financial statistics via BasketballInsiders.com)


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How to use wide-area file services to boost access to files across WANs
Web extra: Beyond wide-area file services
Agencies struggling to provide a geographically dispersed workforce with quick and secure access to files might want to consider deploying wide-area file services (WAFS) appliances to help them consolidate remote office files at a single, centrally managed location.
By using caching and protocol-optimization techniques, WAFS speed file access across wide-area network links while helping organizations maintain security and control over applications.
Files that use bandwidth-hungry protocols, such as Common Internet File System (CIFS) for Microsoft Windows-based servers and Network File System (NFS) for Unix- and Linux-based servers, are geared to operate efficiently on local-area networks rather than WANs.
When you open a file on a LAN-based server, your client machine on that network exchanges hundreds of messages with the server. When you use the LAN, you hardly notice the time it takes to open the file because of the available bandwidth.
But open that same file from a remote or branch office that has a decent connection to the central data center and you'll likely have time to refill your coffee cup. If connectivity speeds are low, that file-opening operation will give you time to grab a sandwich, too. Network connectivity speeds affect office productivity.
To solve that issue, many agencies have installed servers at remote and branch offices, creating a distributed group of mini-LANs. Although that approach solves the file-access issue, it increases costs and the potential for security risks. Agency budgets must absorb the cost of the additional servers to support the remote locations. In many cases, technical employees must also be added to the payroll to manage the remote configurations.
Click here to enlarge "WAFS at work" chart (.pdf).
Maintaining security controls and accurate and timely backups of critical data is challenging in a distributed environment. Managers are often left wondering if nontechnical employees at remote offices will remember to back up the server each evening.
The drive to WAFS
There are two trends driving agencies toward WAFS and its related technologies. "Branch-office server-centralization projects and the move to Web browser-based applications continue to drive this market," said Joe Skorupa, a research director at Gartner.
WAFS improve remote file-access speeds while eliminating the need for equipment and technical employees at remote locations. Centralizing equipment also allows information technology managers to more easily implement policies that will ensure compliance. In addition, deploying other strategies, such as data backups, also becomes easier in a centralized environment.
Centralization, consolidation, control and lower costs aren't the only reasons to look at WAFS technology. In a recent report, IDC analysts said, "As WAN-optimization appliances are deployed across borders (continents, extranets, remote offices, etc.), these dedicated appliances are also becoming critical to detecting and preventing denial-of-service attacks, worms, intrusions, and other traffic and access irregularities."
Using WAFS appliances for WAN optimization is worth considering, Skorupa said. Packeteer and Riverbed Technology, two leaders in the WAN-optimization area, offer WAFS support. However, the market for WAN optimization, which includes WAFS and other related technologies, is still emerging. It is likely that additional mergers and acquisitions will occur as the market matures.
In the meantime, it is a good idea to execute one or more WAFS-related proof-of-concept projects or conduct a small test with a limited number of remote offices.
How WAFS work
WAFS solutions come in pairs of appliances — one for the central data center and the other for the remote or branch office — and they are often used with virtual private networks. A centralized data-center WAFS appliance might serve one or more remote locations depending on its size and configuration.
Click here to enlarge "WAFS solutions" chart (.pdf).
Once in place, the central and remote WAFS appliances work together to speed WAN performance by using technologies such as compression, caching or acceleration. Some providers use all three methods and other proprietary tools.
The remote appliance decompresses and caches the traffic and, given a large enough cache, can make file access downright peppy at the remote office. On the return trip to the agency's centralized data center, the remote appliance also compresses the outbound traffic.
Here are some necessary steps to properly deploy WAFS appliances.
Step 1: Determine your topology
One of the first things to consider is what type of topology you want to have. Providers of WAFS appliances might support an inline or non-inline topology, although several providers support both. In an inline topology, you route traffic through the WAFS appliances directly. That type of configuration allows you to speed all the traffic between the two locations.
Conversely, in a non-inline topology, the appliances sit on either end of the network, but all traffic does not flow between them. Instead, the appliance at the remote office is configured to act as a proxy for remote network shares, which give computer users on the same network a centralized place to share files. Staffers at the remote office map drives to shares on their local WAFS appliance.
Then, as remote office staffers access files, the local and remote appliances work together to ensure that the user works with the most recent version of a file. In this scenario, the most frequently used files are stored on the local cache and the two appliances work to keep files in sync while using techniques such as compression or acceleration to sustain LAN-like performance.
Step 2: Examine protocol support
Aside from considering topologies, examine what protocols the WAFS appliance supports. Some appliances are limited to CIFS while others support CIFS, NFS, and other file or message-related protocols, such as FTP and the Messaging Application Programming Interface. Your users may be running Windows-based desktop PCs, but if they share file across Windows, Unix and Linux servers, you'll want CIFS and NFS protocol support.
As the WAN-optimization market matures, the lines between WAFS and wide-area data services (WDS) will begin to blur. WDS devices typically support protocols such as TCP/IP, HTTP and those supported by WAFS appliances.
WAFS providers are beginning to add support for nonfile-related protocols to their appliances. If your remote employees work with central files and access applications such as an agency Web portal, you'll want WAFS and WDS protocols. Support varies among providers so check to make sure the protocols you need are included.
Step 3: Compare performance
Compare the performance of the WAFS appliances you are examining. All will use some combination of compression, caching, and acceleration, and each will usually state that they are the fastest or can deliver the best performance.
During your proof-of-concept or test project, execute the same tasks, such as opening large files. Record the performance statistics for all of your test appliances, your general impressions about the performances and any glitches you encountered along the way.
Step 4: Check security, reporting functions
Compare the security-related functions of each appliance. Can it be centrally secured? Can you comply with your agency's security policy by using the appliance? What type of security alerting does it support? Can it send alerts to a centralized monitoring framework or an administrator's e-mail account or pager?
If the budget permits, consider appliances that include proactive security measures, such as traffic analysis and intrusion prevention.
Good reporting is also essential. The appliance you select should include summary reports that are meaningful to agency managers. Detailed statistical reports on bandwidth usage and throughput are also critical. However, reporting on trends that affect cache usage is probably the most important. By monitoring cache usage you can accurately forecast when a given set of appliances may need to be upgraded or replaced.
Appliances deal with cache usage in different ways. Some feature cache storage but no other storage capability. Others include storage, but the amount varies widely among vendors — from 80G to 512G. A key portion of your WAFS evaluation will include accurately determining the amount of cache and disk storage needed at your remote locations.
WAFS and WDS appliances can enable agencies to cut costs through centralization and consolidation. Centrally controlled data-access methods and simplified backup strategies can further increase efficiency. For those reasons, agencies should evaluate WAFS and WDS devices.
Biggs, a regular Federal Computer Week contributor, is a senior engineer and freelance writer.
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In the latest issue: Looking back on three decades of big stories in federal IT.
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The government's departing top acquisition official said she leaves behind a solid foundation on which to build more effective and efficient federal IT.
The National Background Investigations Bureau announced the appointment of its first director as the agency prepares to take over processing government background checks.
Sen. James Lankford (R-Okla.) said agencies are missing out on younger workers because of the government's rigidity, particularly its protracted hiring process.
Since 1987, FCW has covered it all -- the major contracts, the disruptive technologies, the picayune scandals and the many, many people who make federal IT function. Here's a look back at six of the most significant stories.
A short-term funding bill is expected by Sept. 30 to keep the federal government operating through early December, but after that the options get more complicated.
The DOD is opening a new Defense Innovation Unit Experimental office in Austin, Texas, while Congress debates legislation that could defund DIUx.
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New Health Center Location and Increase in Office Space Set to Better Address the Needs ?of the Surrounding Community and Enhance the Overall Patient Experience.
Mishawaka, Ind. – Effective January 20, 2014, Saint Joseph Health Center (SJHC), the community health center located in downtown Plymouth, will relocate to a new, larger space within the Marshall County Community Resource Center (CRC). SJHC will share the facility with numerous human service agencies, including WIC, Real Services, the Center Township Trustee, and the SJRMC Health Insurance Services Department.
Relocating to the CRC was the dream and plans of Dr. Rev. Ronald Lietchy and the late Dr. Ken Guild, 2001 Community Spirit Award recipient – both of whom recognized the prudence of relocation. The new location will now live in the heart of Marshall County addressing the needs of an impoverished and uninsured population that most utilizes the clinic's outreach services – as outlined in the Community Needs Assessment completed by SJRMC every three years.
"The existing center found patients and healthcare providers in very tight quarters, which often affected patient flow. The design of the new health center is fully optimized to serve our patients best and enhance their experience," said Loretta Schmidt, MSN, CPHQ, president of Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center in Plymouth.
The new address of the center will be:
Saint Joseph Health Center
510 West Adams Street, Suite 150
Plymouth, IN 46563
The new location is readily accessible by local transportation services, still within walking distance for many patients, and offers handicap parking and wheelchair ramps. By fall 2014, more parking will become available to fully accommodate clients, visitors, and staff.
"We look forward to a comfortable, soothing, welcoming atmosphere that encourages patients' healing and privacy, and the satisfaction of both our patients and associates," said Schmidt.
Further information on the health center can be found at:
About Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center
Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center (SJRMC) is a not-for-profit, multi-hospital healthcare system located in North Central Indiana, offering a full range of services. SJRMC includes: a 254-bed acute care hospital at our Mishawaka Campus; a 58-bed acute care hospital at our Plymouth Campus; a 40-bed Rehabilitation Institute; Outpatient services of the Elm Road Medical Campus; and the Saint Joseph Physician Network that includes 20 practices with over 40 physicians. All inpatient rooms at all SJRMC facilities are private.
A Catholic Ministry Organization of Trinity Health, SJRMC offers faith-based care in a diverse, team-oriented environment. SJRMC is continually engaged in improving technology, driving excellence in patient safety and outcomes. In April 2008, the system completed its conversion to Electronic Medical Health Records (EMHR), and now uses Computerized Provider Order Entry (CPOE). SJRMC launched Bar Code Medication Administration in June 2011. In July 2011, SJRMC was named one of the "Most Wired" hospitals in the United States for its progress towards greater health information technology. SJRMC's Nursing Staff is currently on the Journey to Magnet Status. For more information, visit www.sjmed.com.
Saint Joseph Health System | 5215 Holy Cross Parkway, Mishawaka, IN 46545 | 574.335.5000


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As far as the music phones go, features such as grr equaliscrs, sound enhancements, etc become imp< in separating men from boys. In the price category ( 6,000 to Rs 11,999, competition is really tough and ve phones are able to make an impression. l1le title for I
phone in this price category goes to Nokia 5530. A par XpressMusic series, the phone offers great musical ex] with a music player that supports a wide range of form: radio with RDS and a long lasting battery for that contin entertainment. A close second to the Nokia 5530 Xpress another Jokia device called the Nokia XS-01, which too with impressive music features and sound quality.
Rs 6,000 to Rs 11,999 Nokia X5-01
Sony Ericsson Xylo Nokia 5530
Samsung Monte 5620


text:
Test 3 -- Ch 7-9
Strong electrolytes
Produce ions and conduct electricity.
Dissociate in water to produce (+)(-) ions.
Weak electrolytes
Dissociate slighty
Forms solution of a few ions and mostly undissociated molecules
Medium sized particles that don't settle in water and can be separated by a semipermeable membrane.
Large particles that settle out and have to be mixed to stay suspended can be separated by a filter.
Osmotic Pressure
produced by solute particles, pressure that prevents the flow of additional h2o into more concentrated areas.


text:
With tires, bumpers and about every possible part of a car left on the ground, it looked like a horrific accident had taken place.
This was no accident, though. The destruction was encouraged.
A capacity crowd of about 9,000 people gathered Sunday afternoon in the Island Grove Arena for the final major event of the Greeley Stampede — the demolition derby.
Presented by Grease Monkey, the derby featured five categories — full weld, light weld, compact, trucks and RVs — and 31 cars, all of which were dealt an extraordinary amount of damage.
Jeff Boyer participated in four of the categories — all but trucks — and ended up winning full weld, placing second in light weld and RV and finishing seventh in compact. All told, he walked away with $2,350 and a lot of bruises.
"I can already tell I'm going to be sore tomorrow," said Boyer, a resident of LaSalle. "I banged up my knee in the first event, and it just got worse as it wore on."
The RV division was a new addition to this year's stampede, and judging by the crowd's reaction, it should become a mainstay.
The final competition of the afternoon, four drivers ran the course in modified mobile homes, most of which ended up on the arena ground at the end. Boyer lost the entire back end of his vehicle when winner William Berg t-boned the side of Boyer's vehicle, which left his decorations of a Denver Broncos tailgate sprawled out on the dirt.
That wasn't Berg's biggest hit of the day, though.
About 45 seconds into the RV competition, Berg had Casey Gonzalez's mobile home in his sights. He stepped on the gas, connected flush on the side on Gonzalez's vehicle and knocked it on its driver side.
After the judges check to make sure Gonzalez was all right, they lifted the RV back on its side, and Gonzalez continued the competition.
The display of unadulterated destruction left many in the crowd in awe.
"That was unbelievable," Ryan Tripp said. "What a way to go out. I'm going to remember this for a long time."
One of the more notable entries in Sunday's competition was Steve Reams, a candidate for Weld County Sheriff. His yellow No. 4 car was one of the 12 participants in the compact category, and the other drivers took advantage of their opportunity to go after the public official.
Reams tried to lay low once the green flag waved to signal the start of the run, but he couldn't hide for long. His car was left stalled in the middle of the arena in less than a minute, and he finished in last place.
The crowd seemed appreciative of his effort nonetheless.
"It's great to see someone running for office out here trying to show he's just like us," Cindy Martinez said. "It might even help him sway a few voters."
Even though the drivers were out there with the sole intention of causing havoc and destroying the others' cars, sportsmanship was still present.
Once the light weld group was whittled to two drivers from its starting nine, Boyer waved over at the other finalist, Landon Winslow, and the two pulled their cars next to each other.
Boyer reached out of his window, pounded Winslow's fist and handed him a bottle of water, an act that has been planned out before the event.
"It was something that started as a little tradition a few years ago," Boyer said. "And we told each other that if we were the final two, we were going to do it."
The friendliness didn't last long, though.
Boyer's transmission failed in his car, and he was left a sitting duck as Winslow smashed his passenger side. Boyer tried to return the favor, but his car offered little more than a love tap. Winslow countered with another blow, and this one proved to be critical as Boyer's car was finished. Even in defeat, Boyer was awarded the Mad Dog award for the event for being the most aggressive driver.
Despite all of the damage done to his cars and his body, Boyer said he still had a great experience.
"The crowd was spectacular; that place was filled," he said. "We couldn't really hear them over the engines down there, but we knew they were there. And that's great because that's who this event is for."


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Top Definition
1. When a man whom continuously talks goes down on a women while still talking.
aka. PBJ
aka. PBJ
Ex. Kristen said that Chatty Bill gave her a sloppy blabjob last night on Paul's desk
viết bởi Mr. Blabs 13 Tháng ba, 2008
Trending Now
Can you define these popular missing words?


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Important delivery notice
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Lilies and tree lilies are easy to grow, exotic flowers and will delight you with their fragrance and colours. Our range features a wide selection - orientals, tiger lilies, tree lilies, 'carpet' varieties for ground cover and even lilies that are resistant to the dreaded lily beetle!
added to your basket.
Lily 'Black Jewel'
Lilium, Asiatic Lily
Rare and mysterious, black flowers always generate interest and fascination amongst collectors, as well as amateur growers. Lily 'Black Jewel' is one of the darkest lilies currently available, and is a luxurious and expensive favourite of florists. The large, purple-black flowers create a dramatic focal point in the garden, either planted on their own or among other brightly coloured flowers in beds, borders and contemporary containers. Lily flowers are also superb for cutting; lasting for up to two weeks in your home. Bulb size 14/16. Height: 75cm (30"). Spread: 20cm (8").
Useful links:More info
Lily 'Love Story'
Lilium, Oriental LilyCustomer Rating
Let yourself be seduced by the alluring hot pink blooms of Lily 'Love Story'. The astonishing rich colour and graceful recurving petals make a beguiling spectacle in summer. With an intense fragrance this oriental lily makes an extraordinary cut flower too. Multiplying year by year, Lily 'Love Story' is certainly not to be missed! Height: 100cm (39"). Spread: 30cm (12"). More info
Tree Lily® 'Cezanne'
Lilium, Oriental LilyCustomer Rating
Exotic, fully double, blooms tower up to 6ft in their first year, and more in subsequent years. The tropical pink flowers of Tree Lily® 'Cezanne' are completely pollen free, yielding just as much colour and fragrance as the single flowered varieties, without the fear of staining your clothes and skin. Perfect for creating exquisite screens throughout the garden. The tall stems are superb for cutting too! Height: 250cm (98"). Spread: 60cm (24").
Useful links:More info
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text:
Media release distributed by AAP Medianet.
Capacity to Pay Child Support Under Spotlight
The even-handedness of Child Support Agency (CSA) investigations into whether parents are paying and receiving the right amount, must target both the paying and receiving parents in a fair and evenhanded manner, according to the most recent report released by the Acting Commonwealth Ombudsman Mr Ron Brent.
The report looks into the CSA's power to go beyond a parent's taxable income to assess child support obligations. The CSA does this through its 'Capacity to pay' (CTP) investigations which typically target parents who are self-employed or run a business through a corporate structure. A CSA capacity to pay investigation may look into such things as property holdings, tax minimisation arrangements, income which is not taxable or lump sum payments received.
'We examined 34 cases where child support had been reassessed and in almost every case the amount that had to be paid increased. The CSA has prioritised cases that increase child support liabilities, whereas their advertising suggested targeting both payer and payee parents that is, that they would investigate both those parents suspected of understating their incomes in order to pay less and those understating their incomes to receive more,' said Mr Brent.
In practice, the majority of investigations targeted only those suspected of paying too little. He suggested that the CSA change its case selection procedures, to be more even-handed in its approach to the two parties.
'It is also important that investigations are carried out with sensitivity and without implying that all investigated parents are trying to avoid child support obligations,' Mr Brent said.
While the Ombudsman recognised the need for the CSA to look more broadly at a person's total financial situation, the majority of cases examined were in fact people with legitimate taxation arrangements. On the other hand it is important that the CSA deals appropriately with cases of deliberate fraud or evasion when it finds them.
The report also calls attention to the intrusive nature of Capacity to pay investigations and that they have the potential to damage the relationship between parents, for example, when financial information about a new partner is requested unnecessarily.
Other recommendations were directed at ensuring:
*adequate information is provided to parents about the investigation process itself, what information is required or what factors are taken into account
*the accuracy of the CSA's decisions, and that they are based on complete information
*training and support for the CSA's investigation officers is of a high standard
*quality assurance, data collection, record keeping and procedural matters are appropriately rigorous.
The CSA responded positively to the report's 14 recommendations when it considered them in draft form, and indeed have already moved to address many of the issues raised. Mr Brent praised CSA's responsiveness and commitment to fair and accountable administration.
The Ombudsman's report is entitled Child Support Agency, Department of Human Services; Investigation of a Parent's 'Capacity to pay', August 201011|2010, is available from http://www.ombudsman.gov.au/reports/investigation/2010
Media contact:
Shaun Rohrlach, Director of Public Affairs
0408 861 803
SOURCE: Ombudsman


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>STAR VEHICLE: DAKOTA The plot is hopelessly clichéd, young-people-triumph-over-adversity kind of stuff, but Lou Diamond Phillips, as a drifter who settles on a Texas ranch, flaunts his oddly appealing, Steve McQueen-like surliness. He also has a pleasing romance with comely young DeeDee Norton, and Jordan Burton, 12, who lost a leg to cancer, is affecting as a handicapped boy Phillips befriends. (Miramax)
Mark Harmon is a swimming pool custodian-gigolo—a combination frequently encountered in real life—in this dopey 1986 made-for-TV (and slightly sexed up for video) movie. Kirstie Alley is the struggling artist who cleans up Harmon's act. (Academy)
Tom Berenger plays a priest who gets involved with some shady doings—not to mention Daphne Zuniga—in a film calculated to warm the hearts of Berenger admirers and raise the ire of devout Catholics. (CBS/Fox)
STARSKY AND SUCH: MIDNIGHT COP Amidst this film's very standard murder story is a peculiar, amusing romance between Morgan Fairchild, as a glamorous hooker, and German actor Armin Muller-Stahl, as a bedraggled homicide detective who is divorced, disillusioned and way past his prime. (Vidmark)
LIGHTS OUT: HELL HUNTERS In answer to the question, "How low can formerly respectable actors sink?," Stewart Granger, onetime James Bond-star George Lazenby and Maud Adams are featured in this ridiculous, boring story about another one of those mad, leftover Nazi scientists discovered in South America. (Cinevision)
Picks and Pans Review: New on Video
updated 05/15/1989 AT 01:00 AM EDT
•originally published 05/15/1989 AT 01:00 AM EDT


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Hemingway's Ketchum
The writer's legacy in the town that he helped transform
Photography Mark Oliver
Illustration Gina Scanlon
(page 1 of 2)
On the morning of Ernest Hemingway's death, long shadows tugged at a typewriter perched at the window where clear Idaho skies hovered over the Wood River Valley. Throughout his writing life, Hemingway had always visited Ketchum in the fall, when the impending winter carried a sharpness, and fallen aspen and cottonwood leaves perfumed the air with the bouquet of changing seasons. After much of a lifetime in Italy, Paris, Cuba, Spain and Africa, Ketchum had become home. Hemingway and his wife, Mary, left behind Caribbean fecundity for the arid West, a place where he had friends–actors, socialites and cowboys–from many years and many visits. This was his first summer.
Hemingway boasted never missing a sunrise, and the morning of July 2, 1961, was a glorious one. Sunlight spilled into the bedroom where he slept alone. Down the hall, in her separate room, Mary slept.
Sun Valley Magazine encourages its readers to post thoughtful and respectful comments on all of our online stories. Your comments may be edited for length and language.
I wouldn't say the wilderness has been tamed or packaged - in fact -it's surrounded by endless mountains and wilderness.
Thanks David Frey. I'm spending a week in southern Idaho in a few days and planned on visiting Ketchum because of the Hemingway connection. Your story provides me the perfect setting of the town - while all things must change, it doesn't mean that they're for the better or even if they are, that we have to like them.
David Kolhoff


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Great Decor in a Flash Without a Lot of Cash
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Save Your Buttons
By: Kathleen George for Styrofoam Brand Foam
We are adding the craft to your Craft Projects.
The project was added to your Craft Projects.
Click here to view your Craft Projects.
Old buttons don't have to be thrown away. You can now save them and create a unique wreath. We have provided complete instructions on how to make a decorative wreath.
- STYROFOAM Brand Foam:
- Wreath, 12" x 1"
- Faux finishes: green patina gold metallic
- Several packages of gold craft buttons, assortment
- Ribbon: Gold wire-edged, 1" x 1/3 yd.
- Paintbrushes: 1" stiff; disposable sponge
- Disposable palette
- Thick, white craft glue
- Water basin
- Soft, clean rag
- Scissors
- Paper towels
- Low-temp glue gun and glue sticks
- Follow manufacturer's instructions to paint foam wreath gold; let dry. Apply second coat. Before second coat dries completely, apply light coat of patina finish. Let dry.
- Glue buttons to wreath, covering surface. Glue a smaller second layer over first for added visual interest, if desired. Let dry.
- Apply light coat of gold finish over buttons. While finish is still wet, gently wipe buttons with soft rag to expose button texture and remove excess finish. Let dry.
- Apply light coat of patina finish. If desired, gently wipe wet finish with soft rag to expose more gold tones.
- Tie ribbon around top of wreath. Knot ends to create hanging loop.
®™ Trademark of The Dow Chemical Company ("Dow") or an affiliated company of Dow. For more project ideas, please see styrofoamstyle.com.
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mulberrygalprinces s
Mar 21, 2016
This is a great idea. I have tons of buttons. A couple hints on where to find cheap buttons. I stopped at two thrift shops. One had a coffee can full of buttons for $2. There were over 300 inside. The second place had an old ratty lap blanket covered with buttons. Beautiful buttons. I took off 92 buttons from it for $1.50. Look around before you spend a lot of money.
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BIA Hell's Highway Review
Hell's Highway will have a hard time going up against Treyarch's Call of Duty: World at War this Christmas, but, like Sergeant Baker himself, it's going to put up a damn good fight.
There's something peculiarly puzzling about gore in video games. Like chocolates in a box of Roses it can come in so many types. Gore can be completely stylised and over the top, like in upcoming black and white Wii game Mad World, for example. Or gore might be gritty and shocking, like in Grand Theft Auto IV.
Gore works in video games because of the context it appears in. The gritty and realistic gore in GTA 4 works because the tone of the game is realistic and gritty. The stylised and over the top gore in Mad Word works because the game is a complete parody of violence itself. In both cases because of the context of the games that the gore appears in, it's fine, it fits, and it's frikin' cool.
In World War II squad-based tactical first-person shooter Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway, the best BiA, and Gearbox Software, game to date, the gore doesn't fit. Limbs tear off, faces explode and guts spill out onto the lovely virtual Dutch grass more often than in a two-part Quentin Tarantino movie. That's fine. WWII was, without a doubt, an incredibly gory experience for every soldier involved.
The problem, however, lies with the Action Camera. Whenever you score a head shot, or blow some Germans up with a grenade for example, the camera will zoom in and the action will slow down, showing you in glorious detail exploding faces and flying limbs. You can turn the Action Camera off in the options settings, thus eradicating these Action Camera Moments, as they're called, from the entire experience. But the damage has been done, and the game clearly makes no apology for their inclusion. In the Xbox 360 version (the version tested), you even get a couple of Achievements for them.
The only reason we have a problem with the Action Camera is because of the context of the rest of the game. Hell's Highway is based on an actual WWII Allied offensive, called Operation Market Garden, which aimed to carve a route up through occupied Holland and into Berlin, thus ending the war before Christmas 1944. The game focuses on the experiences of a squad of soldiers from the US 101st Airborne division, and, again, of BiA stalwart Sergeant Matt Baker. The series has always had a Band of Brothers feel to it, and in this, the third BiA game, the camaraderie theme has been ramped up even further. As you make your way through the meaty 10 chapter campaign, the story, told through cut scenes, details Baker's descent towards insanity as the war, and the responsibility of leading his men, takes its toll.
It's well voice acted, the dialogue is authentic, the sound effects superb and the soundtrack Hollywood quality. It's a well thought out, intelligent, sombre and honest interactive entertainment treatment on the life of a WWII solider, as well as a somewhat emotional portrayal of comradeship in the face of unspeakable horror. But it's because the game has reached these mature heights that the Action Camera jars so much. It ends up feeling like a feature that's been forced upon the game by some marketing team desperate to appeal to the Soldier of Fortune brigade.
For many this won't be a concern. For many the historical accuracy, the story, and the two Recon points scattered throughout each map (which unlock mini history lessons that detail the specifics of the operation) will play second fiddle to the kick ass WWII action. Here, Hell's Highway doesn't disappoint. In fact the combat reinforces the historical accuracy Gearbox has shot for perfectly.
It's all about the four Fs - find, fix, flank and finish. This strategy, actually employed during WWII, is one you'll need to master if you're going to finish the campaign, even on the casual setting. Say, for example, you're faced head-on with a German assault squad that's buried deep within solid cover. You could spend all day wasting ammunition playing Whac-A-Mole (that is, stay out of cover and wait for enemy heads to pop out - a strategy that works well up to about half the way through the game, after which you'll be torn to pieces). But the game wants you to think about your environment and the squads at your disposal to progress. There's no run and gun here - try it and you'll last a few seconds.


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Is Sex and the City's Michael Patrick King Annoying Anybody Else?
I'm getting a bit annoyed with Michael Patrick King, the director behind Sex and the City 2. For someone who's so perturbed about anyone saying the flick has a specific gay-interest bent (which it does), he sure is hung up on straight guys who watch his movies. Got a complex much?
King says the notion that SATC is a gay story is an "antique question." Which it is; but it doesn't make the premise a false one. "I always said that the reason that Sex and the City actually became present in people's minds is it was a voice that needed to be heard, and at that time it was the single girl as leper, the outsider, anyone who wasn't married after 30 when society told them they should be married."
And then there's this: "I don't really think that gay men are drawn to this any more than anyone who likes a good story."
Oh please, you silly fag. You know exactly why gay men are drawn to this story more than straight male audiences. It's not even about the shoes or the wardrobe; it's that we identify with these four women, from their sex drives to their emotional rollercoasters, because we trudge through the same things, only in less glamorous surroundings. Generally speaking, straight men don't talk about their emotions and feelings and fears the way Carrie, Miranda, Samantha, and Charlotte — and gay men — do.
So it was a bit disturbing, then, to see King wondering aloud whether straight guys are going to finally "admit" to watching SATC. Jesus, buddy, how bad do you want to be the popular kid?
It seems a lot of straight men need a word coach or a lawyer when it comes to discussing Sex and the City.
First comes the disclaimer: "My wife makes me watch it with her." I always imagine these guys tied to a chair, like Malcolm McDowell in A Clockwork Orange, head in a vice, forced in the direction of HBO on Demand. I picture their loving wife or girlfriend sitting next to them, sipping a Cosmo, tears of joy glistening in the corners of her eyes as she leans over and says, "That wasn't so bad was it?"
There is also the "I was so drunk last night, I don't remember a thing" straight man approach. This usually involves some sort of denial that leads to a confession: "I was flipping around on the remote, and at first I didn't know what it was—then I realized what I was watching—and I thought, 'Hey, let me see what the fuss is all about.'" At this point, I lean in expectantly, hoping to hear his positive reaction to the show or the movie—but nothing comes. He'll confess to watching to see what the fuss is all about, but that's as far into the fuss about the fuss as he's going to go.
And when King does see evidence that, hey, maybe straight guys like his stuff? He shits on it.
Recently, I heard that Jonah Hill—young, cool, straight, brilliant, funny Jonah Hill—told a reporter that he is excited to see Sex and the City 2. As much as I am thrilled with that information, a good part of my more realistic self thinks: He's just going to see it to get laid. (And if that is the case, I am happy to help a brother out.)
Michael Patrick King has more successes and bank account zeroes than I'll ever have, but there's something just really obnoxious about this guy pretending he isn't making candy fare for the gays. A community to which he belongs. I understand he needs to market the movie to mass audiences, so maybe he doesn't entirely believe his own remarks, but I'm beginning to truly doubt it.
That doesn't mean I'm not going to go see your little Abu Dhabi brochure movie.
"Oh please, you silly fag."
LOL that made my morning. Regardless that he looks like an extra on Lord of the Rings, I agree he should own up and accept that the film is for and enjoyed by gays and what is wrong with that? Its like he has to get some sort of "straight cred" to validate the movie.
Boycott the film.
This article is nothing but fodder to be used to show the world that no one hates a homosexual more than homosexuals hate themselves.
You should be ashamed of yourself for disparaging a man with the balls to be an out gay man in a society that wishes him harm.
Instead, you pile on more insults.
Way to go. Be proud.
I find it very irritating that Michael Patrick King keeps saying how this movie/series is so ground breaking because it's about single women, or it's a woman's point of view, or it's a universal woman's story, etc etc when he's still a dude. Yes, this is a story about women, but wouldn't it have more resonance if it was, oh I don't know, directed and or written by a woman? That is, if it truly does represent and express these 'womanly' sentiments that MPK so vehemently insists that it does.
No. 4 · Bill
This article is nothing but fodder to be used to show the world that no one hates a homosexual more than homosexuals hate themselves.
You should be ashamed of yourself for disparaging a man with the balls to be an out gay man in a society that wishes him harm.
Instead, you pile on more insults.
1. The guy came out late, sounds like he still may have issues.
2. He bases a movie with a large gay audience in a location where being gay is illegal.
3. He is pretending that the movie is only speaking to women. If he doesn't want gay guys to go see his film, fine, but he is being very old Hollywood about this (Oh, I won't use the word gay, but they'll all go see it anyway, I don't need to cater to them.) He should ask Sean Hayes about how well that act is going over lately.
Is that why he doesn't put an actual queer storyline in SATC, he doesn't actually want it to be gay? Figures, the show stopped being edgy and poignant after the first season anyway.
OMG the picture is so funny.
"That doesn't mean I'm not going to go see your little Abu Dhabi brochure movie."
Well, I won't be.
And it's no effort on my part, never really was into this kind of schlock…
But, more importantly, ABU DHABI????
They wouldn't even allow it to be filmed there!
The film was made in Morocco!
Why choose to expose (however fictitiously) such a backward, nouveau riche, HOMOPHOBIC, misogynistic, religious monarchy???
Oh, I know why, because this film is about decadence, and we Americans, put all those nasty identifiers to the side if there are lots of $$$ in the pic…
Gilded Abu Dhabi, we love it!!
Even though it really ought to disgust Americans who identify with American values, not Hollywood corporate schlock values…
Sham, wow!
SATC has been in our lives long enough. It's time to move on.
Who gives a shyte about these four old hags! And besides, if they actually were in Abu Dabba Doo filming this, they'd be beheaded.
Is it just me, or does he look a bit like Isaac from "Children of the Corn"?
Maybe it's a generational or a regional thing, but not even the gay guys I hang with (ages about 23 to 29) ever really got into the show, so i cant imagine us going 2 the movie.
Str8 guys might of watched the show but uness theyre dragged to to the movie by the wife or gf, I dont think theyll be going either….
I loved the TV show but the 1st movie was OK, not great. @Random Rashes, 4 old hags? little bit of ageism? oh when your over 40 you should just die?
Thanks, Queerty, for calling BS on King. I totally agree with you on this one. It's very annoying to hear that the reason we liked SATC was because it had nothing to do with gayness.
Hello! You had two gay guys as semi-regulars, shoes, clothes, sex talk, strong women, glam settings, and the life we all want to live all wrapped into a one hour show, and you think this holds no attraction for gay men? Go back to the closet pronto!
The early reviews from critics are coming in & theyre not very pretty, via: thedailybeast[dot]com
my female neighbor is about 37 & she's planning on going 2 see the film, but her bf has already "weasled out" she says….
Makes so much sense it is a straight film….wouldn't gays get "excuted" in the Saudi countries the girls visit?…..
Didn't a guy name Darren Star create the show and write it when it was cool and good?
Check the google for early reviews of the movie. So far, not good–but that has no bearing on how many people will go see the film…. I just wish they didnt reduce so many LG characters to stereotypes in that show…And the lack of people of color runs close 2 "Friends" but they had Ross date a Black Woman PhD.
New ghay mantras before exposure to these kind of movies:
–"I am not an object to be ridiculed or taken lightly"
–"No I am not going to Abu Dhabi 2 carry ur dang luggage SJP!"
They are 4 Old Hags. And they're over 50 acting like they're still 23. It's like seeing 40 year olds wearing Hollister t-shirts. Who cares! It's not ageism, it's reality.
@Random Ashes, the only one of the women who is 50 or over 50 is Kim Catrall and I loved Samantha on the show. The other women are in their 40's. Why is it ok for Sean Connery to bed a 25 year old woman but you never see an actress over 50 in bed with a guy in his 20's, that's called a double standard. This is a youth obsessed society and I'm guilty of it myself sometimes. God help Matthew Rush when he's 45.
What was the point? The biggest star of SATC was NYC itself: So when Michael decided to take the ladies out of the city for so long, put them in an exotic foreign desert to explore in 5 inch heels on the backs of camels, and expected that it would add Pizzazz, the results are bound to be a mess.
i heard on the radio that the clothes are over the top & mostly rediculous given the setting in a country that requires women to dress modestly & have few rights. Oops, bad idea Mike P King…
So WHAT?
Michael Patrick King, your a fine looking fella,
I think you look best when your clad out in leather!
Your curly locks are like brown silvery threads,
gently Weaved around at the top of your head!
Have I mentioned how clever and imaginative you are,
your the best writer/director in L.A. by far!
Your spell bounding stories, are like superglue,
ignore all those critics, cos they're talking Pooh!
I hope with these words, I have got your attention,
cos I think I can offer you, a new dimension!
I have an idea, for a new film, up north,
if your impressed, it could lead to a forth!
I'm not looking for stardom, or even a credit,
now don't get excited cos you've not even read it!
I could sketch you some boards, to get out the plot,
C'mon my wee laddie, I need funds for ma yacht!
Well then, If you want my idea's give me a tweet,
even if you don't, I'll still think that your sweet!
So good bye, farewell, God bless and take care,
now, don't get too excited and fall down the stair!
NO OFFENCE INTENDED – kuriouscat.
@CountMeOut: all you haters should lighten the fuck up. michael patrick king is a very talented writer and director, an out proud gay guy and a friend to gays and straights alike. and adorable. how fucking mean to say some of this stuff about a person none of you know! SATC is just a show and a couple of movies that many, many people like and a lot of people find the need to disparage. well you cant please everyone. but he must be doing something right. and i say anything that gets women over forty on a tv or movie screen and shows them as dimensional characters is important (and it does bitches! the scene in SATC2 where miranda and charlotte bond over secretly thinking theyre bad mothers is funny and heartbreaking and you aint gonn see that shit in movies).


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This Spending Freeze stuff is genious!
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Out of control spending is great!
Submitted by Scumby on Sat, 03/07/2009 - 15:27.
It worked well for any number of governments from ancient Rome to Zimbabwe, didn't it?
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"Bread and Circuses":
Submitted by Wulfgar on Sun, 03/08/2009 - 21:06.
It kept the Poverty-Stricken Mobs from killing and eating the Rich Pig-Fuckers.
Just sayin'...
~No, my young padawan; this one is mine.~
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Obama is cutting spending in one area
Submitted by Dan_in_Cincinnati on Mon, 03/09/2009 - 00:14.
The US government now spends 10 billion dollars a month in Iraq. This busts the budget and hurts our ballance of trade.
{;-) Dan in Miami
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We are like vintage items & today Retro is so cool…
So we are filling very cool to introduce to you the new Trinket Box that Kust added to our Collection:
An old Phone Trinket box made out from Silver, Putter & 24K Gold Plated.
Th trinket box was painted with Enamel & Inlayed with Swarovski Crystals to perfection.
We loved it – we do hope that you like it as Much as we do.


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An assessment of the Feese trial
February 19, 2012
By Rob McKenzie It is my contention that the jury failed in their verdict against Brett Feese. What makes this an issue for me goes beyond the fact that Brett is a friend of mine....
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PREHABILITATION Pre-Surgery GOALS
After an ACL injury it is very important to start exercising as soon as possible. This is helps retain your muscle strength around the ACL, range of motion and control swelling. These functions are vital to prepare an injured athlete for ACL surgery. These exercises can begin immediately after an ACL injury.
Retain Muscle Size and Strength
Quad Sets with Straight Leg Lifts
(3 sets of 10 reps, 1-2 times per day)
Sit down on the floor or table. Pull your toes back towards the knee (stretching the calf). Push the back of the knee down so it touches the floor. Tighten the quad (thigh muscle) and make it as hard as possible. Then lift your heal off the floor keeping the leg straight. Hold it off the ground approximately 6 inches. Hold it for 10 seconds then return it to the floor.


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KOCO's Carla Wade reports live with new information in the Teddy Mitchell case. A judge ruled Tuesday that he would be released on some pretty tight conditions.
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