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LiveAuctioneers.com signs leading Hollywood memorabilia auctioneer Profiles in History
NEW YORK – LiveAuctioneers.com today announced the signing of Profiles in History, a leader in Hollywood memorabilia auctions. Profiles in History joins a powerhouse stable of memorabilia-focused auctioneers already using LiveAuctioneers.com for their Internet auction-bidding services, including Heritage Auction Galleries, Guernsey's, Aurora Galleries, Regency Superior, Universal Rarities and Fame Bureau.
The first Profiles in History auction utilizing LiveAuctioneers' services will be the July 31–Aug. 1 sale titled Hollywood Auction 32. The 1,000-lot auction features one of the largest known collections of film and television superhero costumes and props, including Ben Affleck's complete Daredevil costume and Charlton Heston's The Ten Commandments tablets. Additionally, the sale features 35 lots of original screen-used visual effects creatures created by the Academy Award-winning effects house Stan Winston Studio, including a screen-used full-scale animatronic male Velociraptor from Jurassic Park III, and a screen-used full-scale male T-Rex head from The Lost World: Jurassic Park II.
"We take great pleasure in welcoming Profiles in History to the LiveAuctioneers client family," said LiveAuctioneers CEO Julian R. Ellison. "With the addition of this prestigious company to our roster, specialist collectors need look no further than LiveAuctioneers as the single premier source for the purchase of investment-grade memorabilia."
To view Profiles in History's entire illustrated catalog online, to leave an absentee bid or to sign up to bid live via the Internet as the auction is taking place, log on to: browse/seller/profiles-in-history.
About LiveAuctioneers.com
About LiveAuctioneers.com
Founded in November 2002, Manhattan-based LiveAuctioneers.com provides real-time Internet bidding capability to 722 auction houses in a dozen countries. LiveAuctioneers.com has opened up once-exclusive sales to the cyber community worldwide through online publication of auction catalogs, and Internet bidding. Similar to telephone bidding, buyers at remote locations can conveniently participate in auctions in real time from their computers as the auction is being conducted. There is no cost to register and no obligation to bid; anyone can watch the action online, in real time. For further information, log on to www.liveauctioneers.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Anyway, we had a good visit with the doctor, meaning that there was minimal vomiting during the appointment and the doctor and I could pretty much hear each other over Raya's crying/screaming. :) Here's a brief rundown:
- Raya weighs 23 lbs 6 oz this week, which is 8 oz less than last week and only 1 oz more than when she was there in January. Not sure why she lost weight but the doctor wasn't concerned. She has a little extra cushion. :)
- We're still battling the worst diaper rash ever (we're talking blisters & bleeding, TMI) so we now have prescription #3 for that.
- Dr. S hadn't heard about the inconclusive allergy testing & didn't know that any of Raya's meds would possibly supress histamine reactions.
- After a little over a year on Neocate, we've decided to try something that's "a little less elemental" than Neocate. Over the weekend, we'll gradually switch her over to Peptamen Jr. and see how she does with it since it's a milk-based formula. Should be interesting & fun, right? Especially given how well Raya's body adjusts to change. ha ha. :)
- Since she lost half a pound and will hopefully be switching formulas, she'll go back for a weight check in a month and then back to Dr. S in 2 months. It feels good to be on a lower-maintenance schedule. We went from seeing the GI doctor every week to every 2 weeks, then once a month, then every 6 weeks and now we get to go 2 whole months. :)
|She was all smiles until we tried to take the bolts away.
|Her torticollis reappears when she's concentrating on something. :)
|She got a little upset when she couldn't get the screwdriver out. :)


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Climate Gamble: Is Anti-Nuclear Activism Endangering our Future?
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Tag Archives: Rocket mail
Atomic mail rockets, and how monocausal predictions are particularly dangerous
The new, shining age of information delivery was briefly at hand on June 8th, 1959. A Regulus cruise missile – designed for delivering a nuclear warhead to a Soviet city or port – landed neatly at the naval base at … Continue reading
Posted in Ecomodernism, History of technology, Nuclear energy & weapons Tagged Forecasting, Future, Innovation, Predictions, Rocket mail, Space Age Leave a comment


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You're needed at the Union Restaurant and Bar Latino in Haverstraw.
The restaurant at 24 New Main St. will be open only from 4:30–8 p.m. Feb. 27 to 29 for its fourth annual "We Care" event.
Volunteers are needed to help out – if you want to be there, contact coordinator Emily Dominguez at 845-947-8532.
The restaurant will serve free meals to the unemployed and families struggling with economic problems. Due to the popularity of this event, folks who come to eat can expect to wait to be seated due to capacity limits. No alcoholic beverages will be served or allowed on the premises. An adult must accompany children under the age of 18 years old.
Lohud Rockland BlogRockland County updates from the staff of lohud.com and The Journal News
'We Care' meal needs volunteers Feb. 27 to 29
17 February 2012, 1:36 pm by Emily Kratzer in Uncategorized - No Comments
You're needed at the Union Restaurant and Bar Latino in Haverstraw.
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text: A.M. Best Co. has upgraded the financial strength rating (FSR) to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and issuer credit ratings (ICR) to "a" from "a-" of AmTrust Group (AmTrust) (New York, NY) and its property/casualty members, which operate through an intercompany quota share reinsurance arrangement with AmTrust International Insurance, Ltd. (AII) (Hamilton, Bermuda). Concurrently, A.M. Best has upgraded the FSR to A (Excellent) from A- (Excellent) and ICR to "a" from "a-" of IGI Insurance Company Ltd. (IGI) (United Kingdom). Additionally, A.M. Best has upgraded the ICR to "bbb" from "bbb-" of the parent holding company, AmTrust Financial Services, Inc. (AFSI) (headquartered in New York, NY) (NASDAQ: AFSI). The outlook for all ratings has been revised to stable from positive. (See below for a detailed list of the companies.) The rating actions reflect AmTrust's solid balance sheet strength, sustained strong operating performance within its niche market segments and the benefits derived from AFSI, including AFSI's commitment to maintain sufficient capital as well as to provide access to additional capital should it be needed to support the group's expanding operations. AmTrust has been successful in executing its business plan, which is focused on growth through acquisition of renewal rights offerings and established books of business at appropriate rates, terms and conditions, further benefitting from its expandable underwriting platform that generates significant expense savings. Partially offsetting these positive factors are the group's continued growth in both premium volume and associated liabilities in recent years, primarily achieved through renewal rights transactions, and the inherent risk associated with integrating new business. Despite these concerns, the outlook recognizes AmTrust's strong sustained operating results within its market segments, its ongoing access to capital and commitment to prudent underwriting through its proven business platform. The rating actions on IGI acknowledge the company's strong risk-adjusted capitalization, solid underwriting and operating performance within its niche market segments and the implicit and explicit support provided by ASFI, including financial flexibility and reinsurance support afforded through an intercompany quota share agreement with AII.


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The Latest
An Agile Approach to Software Architecture[article]
For an organization transitioning to agile development, creating software architecture isn't incompatible with your new processes. Consider the principles in the Agile Manifesto, involve team members who will be using the architecture in its development, and reflect and adapt often, and you will end up with an architecture that meets the needs of your team and your enterprise.
Gene Gotimer
June 28, 2017
A New Leader to Guide AgileConnection Forward[article]
AgileConnection has a new technical editor! Jeffery Payne has years of experience in the agile community, and he's excited to take the helm. The site will still be a home for software professionals to learn and talk about the latest agile development and methodology practices, but Jeff also has plans to start covering DevOps more and to recruit new writers.
Jeffery Payne
June 21, 2017
6 Steps to a Successful DevOps Adoption[article]
Implementing DevOps practices can significantly accelerate software releases while still assuring applications meet quality objectives. But DevOps can't be bought, bolted on, or just declared. If you're considering a move to a DevOps delivery model, here are six approaches for ensuring a successful DevOps adoption within an organization.
Alan Crouch
June 14, 2017
A Changing of the Guard at AgileConnection[article]
The AgileConnection technical editor, Johanna Rothman, is moving on from her post. Here, she reflects on what she's learned over the last six years—about writing, agile, and working with people—and she introduces you to the new person who is taking over for the site.
Johanna Rothman
June 7, 2017
5 Principles for Using Agile Team Metrics Responsibly[article]
With the transparency of agile and the granularity of team-based metrics, it's important to be responsible in how you use your measurements. There are five principles Joel Bancroft-Connors adheres to when dealing with metrics: start collecting early and often, be consistent, stay focused, measure the project and the teams separately, and—most importantly—measure responsibly.
Joel Bancroft-Connors
May 31, 2017


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Member Since: January 18, 2013
Country: United States
With projects unfit for society, Casey's desk was forcibly moved to the parking lot.
Bring it to SXSW. Should work flawlessly as an e-textile jet pack.
So, a cowboy, a Mexican, and a Spartan are stranded on an island…
Sparkfun pinatas
I see myself accidentally proceeding through checkout with $60+ of stuff trying to catch this darn ghost
Your ray gun is no match for my…rainbow forcefield!
Owl your base are belong to us.
Voltage is comparable to the force behind water in a pipe to push it through, and current is comparable to the amount of water actually flowing through the pipe.
Begin by tinning your iron with the delicious taste of red bull.
I swear, my dog unloaded this massive beast on the lawn yesterday.
No public wish lists :(


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Overweight friends eat more when they snack together: study
NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - If you're dining with overweight friends, beware.
A small U.S. study had found that overweight children and teenagers eat more when they have a snack with an overweight friend rather than with a thinner peer.
Researchers from the State University of New York at Buffalo studied a group of 9- to 15-year-olds and found that all youngsters, regardless of their weight, tended to eat more when they snacked with a friend rather than a peer they did not know.
But the biggest calorie intakes were seen when an overweight child snacked with an overweight friend.
The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, highlight the role of friends' influence in how much children eat and, possibly, in their weight control.
Researcher Sarah-Jean Salvy, an assistant professor of pediatrics at the State University of New York, said it was not surprising that children eat more when they are with friends instead of strangers.
She told Reuters Health that the same pattern has been found in adults which can be partly explained by people being more self-conscious around strangers.
But this can also be partly explained as friends act as "permission-givers." "They set the norm for what is appropriate to do, or in this case eat," said Salvy.
For the study, Salvy and her colleagues had 23 overweight and 42 normal-weight children and teens spend 45 minutes with either a friend or an unfamiliar peer. Continued...


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BWW Recap: The Task Force Crumbles Like the 'Berlin' Wall on NBC's THE BLACKLIST
We cold-open on a uniformed guy in New York who's coughing up blood and watching himself have the shakes as he conceals from his wife that he looks like he's dying - instead, they discuss their kid's school production that night. But as he sits in the back of an armored car, coughing up more, he reaches in his jacket for an injector case that's empty, and then stumbling into a Manhattan bank, his eyes now blurring. After calling 911, he stumbles more out from the men's room and collapses. It's not pretty. Medics pull up and want the whole bank quarantined out of fear that he's got a contagious, wildly deadly virus. Because this is what dying of contagious and wildly deadly viruses looks like. We discover from the title card that this is all about Berlin, No. 8 on Raymond Reddington's blacklist. Yes, Berlin is a person. We know that now from seeing the title card - the FBI still doesn't yet. (And given what we've been given to understand, how is Berlin only Number Eight?)
Lizzie confesses to Ressler about Tom's evildoing. She admits, "I should have let you rough him up." Ressler is a good buddy and offers to do it as soon as he can, but warns her that "the only way out of this thing is through it." Which means giving tons of statements about The Person Formerly Known As Tom Keen Also Formerly Known As Her Husband, because she doesn't want anyone calling her married to Whoever It Is That Isn't Really Tom Keen. Let's call him Not-Tom for short, shall we?
She met him in 2010 in Georgetown, where he inserted himself into her life, apparently by evil design. There are clips of flashbacks as she tells bits about him. She thinks his purpose was to spy on Red, and that he was deliberately trying to get her to take him to the Post Office black site earlier in the season to have him questioned so that he could get inside and look around.
She knows of three associates of Not-Tom's - his now-dead brother, the now-dead Jolene, and the imprisoned Gina Zanetakos, his maybe-girlfriend. Only she's told that Gina's not so imprisoned, having just escaped from Danbury. Oh, goody. Gina always brings the tea and cookies.
While Not-Tom is cornering a tail set on him by Red, Red is on his jet, telling Dembe that "it's worse than I thought" as he reviews notes and figures. This is not going to be one of those snappy-conversation episodes. Meanwhile, Not-Tom has decided to have tea and conversation with the tail in order to find out what he knows, which isn't much. Not-Tom says that Red, whom it seems he's followed for years, may have been cautious, but his own employer, Berlin, is more so. Looks like the tea and conversation is going to end abruptly and messily for Not-Tom's guest. Not-Tom's rapidly becoming as busy as Norman Bates or Hannibal Lecter, only more efficient.
Lizzie marches into Cooper's office to resign. Red is there. She doesn't care. Cooper doesn't want her resignation, he wants her on Red's new case, having to do with the armored car guard who died at the bank. Lizzie says she can't work with Red because he killed her father. With great tact, sympathy, and understanding, mainly none, Cooper tells her she's not resigning until this case is over, no matter what.
We discover that Blankenship, the guard, was poisoned by the wildly contagious, virulently deadly, incurable Cullen virus that makes Ebola look friendly and fun. It also convinces me that the writers don't like sparkly vampires any more than I do. Cullen? Blood coming from people's faces? Really, folks, this is a "Twilight" gag. Red believes that this is part of a concerted attack on Red and everyone associated with him, even though he has no connection to the guard, because Red's powers of Perception are deeper than can be imagined by mere FBI agents. He knows this even though he, frustratingly, cannot psychically intuit the identity of the person attacking him. He has this whole list of evildoers and can't figure this? How is this the only thing on the planet not known to Raymond Reddington, International Man of Mystery? But this mysterious unknown person doesn't care how many people he kills "as long as one of them is me," explains Red. Cut to this week's Ryan Eggold mysterious spy Mustang commercial.
Traveling to the bank and meeting with the assembled national security and health department flunkies of doom, Lizzie and Ressler discover that the guard wasn't contagious at all. The guard was infected with a cleverly mutated strain of the Cullen virus that was targeted to him. Nice work, since Cullen is so deadly that no one is even legally allowed to study it. Someone has clearly been messing with Things That Man Was Not Meant To Know. Maybe vampiric things that man was not meant to know.
Red gives Lizzie Not-Tom's super-secret Code Book of Doom. It contains very little about Red, surprisingly for Mr. "I've been tailing him for years." It contains more on the task force, and most on Lizzie herself. Like Chekov's gun, this obviously will become wildly important shortly.
Amazingly, the empty injector case carried by the guard proves to have contained the supposedly non-existent antidote to the wildly contagious and supposedly incurable Cullen virus. (A crucifix, to keep the sparkly vampires away?)
Red takes Lizzie to meet the world's greatest virologist, Dr. Sanders, better known as the incredible John Glover, who's previously enjoyed studying Cullen only slightly illegally. He calls it "spooky stuff - bad news." He believes it's the instrument of the apocalypse, which has not four, but five, horsemen. Then he informs Red that his most recent work on it has been assisted by Space Agent UD 4126. Red is playing along to get information, but Lizzie has no time for Sanders' insanity - the doctor is researching, somehow, from a mental hospital in which he's institutionalized. But hey, that doesn't mean he's not a genius! He's just a really mad scientist! She walks off, threatening to fly back to DC separately from Red's very comfortable plane and accusing Red of never having done one unselfish thing in his life.
The Fierce Bad Agent from the DC office who previously ordered Cooper off of the Diane Fowler investigation returns to further ruin Cooper's digestion. If Lizzie walks from the task force, Red's immunity deal is off. Lizzie's not trusted anyway because of her harboring of the evil Not-Tom, and Cooper's own future is about to be in question. All he wants to know is how Reddington's going to be brought in. Although Ressler and Malik swear to support Lizzie no matter what she does, Lizzie's in doubt.


text:
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I have had this apartment for 6 years now and always enjoy going - almost as much as my Mum and Dad do! Am looking forward to taking my new baby there this year - I know he'll love getting the sand between his toes!
I have used the same agents since the start and they are friends now too - their standards are as high as mine and will ensure that you are welcomed and you understand how everything in the apartment works. I want to make sure you have a great time and so am very happy to answer questions on the apartment or Cabanas and recomend places to eat and transport options.


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I think it is better that private companies do the searching. Relying on government bureaucrats to pick winners and losers in the marketplace is stupid.
For many years, our government essentially subsidized the price of gas. Now we're doing it with the blood of our young men and women, instead of with money collected from middle-aged people. We need to stop that, and redirect our efforts. This probably won't happen until there are strong economic disincentives to buying lumbering V10 trucks, gas guzzling Hummers, and 500hp sports cars.
I sold my SUV and bought a little Honda Fit, partially because of gas prices and partially because I want to contribute as little as I can to the thirst for oil that keeps our military in the Middle East.
One of my absolute favorites. Frank Herbert was more prescient than his hero Paul Atreides.Quote:
I loved that book!


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Until recently, affordable consumer laptops were a compromise: either you got a small laptop (i.e. with a screen of 13in or less) with good battery life, or a big one (15.6in and up) with merely decent battery life at best. There wasn't much choice if you wanted both a large screen and excellent battery life, but Asus looks to be joining Acer's Aspire Timeline 5810T in offering just that. In fact, it betters Acer's stated eight-hour battery life by a considerable margin, claiming up to an incredible 12 hours! That's especially impressive considering the UL50Vg's large 15.6in screen size, so let's see if Asus' latest can live up to the hype.
With the laptop closed, first impressions are certainly positive. At its thickest point it measures 26.4mm - a little over an inch - and like the aforementioned Timeline range, its lid is brushed aluminium. This not only looks great in both the black and silver versions, but also lends a welcome measure of extra durability, though there's just a hint more flex in the lid's centre than we'd ideally like. The angled back edge is also a nice touch.
Opening the UL50Vg up, however, is like a bucket of cold water in the face. Though the bitty hinge is not exactly pretty, the main offender here is that the entire inside is constructed using glossy black plastic, and yes, that includes the palm-rest and touchpad. So it might look good initially, but unless you wipe it down every single time after use, fingerprints, dust and grease marks will soon generously adorn the interior (though the grime won't be as obvious on the silver models in the UL series).
We simply can't emphasise enough what a bad idea glossy working areas are on a laptop. Moreover, it comes as a nasty and unexpectedly cheap looking surprise after seeing the metal lid. Chromed power and touchpad buttons don't help much either, since they're just as partial to fingerprints as the rest of the inside.
At least the isolation-style keyboard is matt black, which contrasts nicely with its surround. However, performance-wise it's a bit of a mixed bag. On the plus side, keys are well-spaced and large enough to be comfortable, with a smooth, pleasant surface, while layout is pretty much spot-on and includes a full number-pad.
However, a minor complaint is that you're obliged to use keyboard shortcuts for everything as there are no dedicated function buttons or touch-controls. Far more serious, though, are the keyboard's feedback issues. The actual keys themselves offer good response and a nice degree of travel, but noticeable flex combines with a distracting rattle (especially towards the left edge of the keyboard) to detract from the experience.
Moving down to the multi-touch touchpad, it's large and responsive. Its heavily textured surface does provide a good feel and differentiates it from its surroundings, but at the same time is literally wearing on your fingertips. The chromed rocker switch below it is also on the stiff side.
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"We live here now, with Papa Cagney #613627 and Mama TC #324523, and a whole bunch of adopted brofurs and sisfurs"
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- Age / Gender:
- 23, Male
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- Salt Lake City, Utah
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- 1/2/11
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User Statshot
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Level 3 Musician
Normal Whistle
Ranked as Civilian
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|as my synthesizer gently weeps
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I will probably no longer post my music to newgrounds so if you'd like to continue to hear my music you can check out my updated soundcloud at soundcloud.com/constellationsbeats
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Latest Favorite Movies
Attack on Pikmin Rated 4.2000 Stars On that day, Pikmin received a grim reminder.. Action "Money Maker!" Rated 4.4300 Stars Short music vid of stellar, trippy proportions! Music Video DBZ - Proctology Academy Rated 4.4800 Stars Vegeta needs a career change. Comedy - Parody Saten & Jezus Rated 4.3700 Stars A story about two pals Saten & Jezus. Comedy - Original
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First steps to nowhere 5 Points First steps Medal Stats.
Bloody Bobo 10 Points 00F - Watch abobo get sawed to death on continue screen Medal Stats.
Call A Plumber 5 Points 02 - Escape the Mario pipe Medal Stats.
Forklift Foul 25 Points 01 - Defeat boss Medal Stats.
Beardy Basher 10 Points 01 - Defeat Beardy Barrel Medal Stats.
Child Chomper 5 Points 01 - Eat kid Medal Stats.
Run Abobo, Run! 5 Points 01 - Execute a dash move (shoulder block or jump kick) Medal Stats.
Button Pressed 5 Points Do you have the guts to start play? Medal Stats.
Doodle Almost-God 10 Points Combine 60 elements to advance civilization and your card collection! Medal Stats.
Doodle Demi-God 10 Points Unlock half the category groups. Medal Stats.
Total Medals Earned: 10 (From 4 different games.)


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Doctor Zhivago
Michael Wood writes:
Doctor Zhivago is full of coincidences, as Nabokov says in another of his swipes ('stock situations, voluptuous lawyers, unbelievable girls, romantic robbers and trite coincidences'), but they are not trite, they are part of the novel's deepest plot, the novelist's attempt to get the chance to do his work, to smuggle a sense of shape into a recalcitrant history. Of course the young Yuri, riding through Moscow in a sleigh, sees 'the same things that had caught Lara's eye not long before', even though he hasn't met her yet. That's how twinned destinies work. And when it turns out that the man (a voluptuous lawyer) who seduced Lara when she was a girl is also the man who nudged Yuri's profligate father into committing suicide by jumping from a train – the same train we see from a distance suddenly stopping in the first pages of the book – we're not surprised, we're satisfied.


text: Separate point. Adding Singler to our starters made them a lot better. Singler, playing with our subs, makes them a lot better. Kind of hard not to notice, Singler has a lot going for him as a basketball player. And this team should be very glad to have him. I hope that trey he hit tonight in the first is just one of many these next several games for him.


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What follows is a perfect example of the reason that the National Women's History Museum needs to be built. Filmmakers Chris Brown and Christine Dennis both celebrated Brown's trailblazing female scientist mother, Gail J. Brown and highlighted NWHM in a short video, A Woman's Place is in the Lab. Click here to see it:
For more information, read the article which follows.
A Woman's Place is in the Lab
By Christine Dennis
As filmmakers, the highest honor is to make a film that inspires and changes the world for the better. Unfortunately, financial concerns often limit us from doing works of personal passion or social value, to say the least. Thankfully a story found us that we had to tell.
We first learned about the creation of the National Women's History Museum while talking with Chris's mom, Dr. Gail J. Brown. She is an honoree and dedicated supporter of the museum. Gail shared stories about the different challenges she overcame while pursuing an education and career in the 1970s. The Women's Liberation movement was at its height and women were fighting for equality.
We were eager to learn more and support the museum in any way we could. We were moved by the headline to "share the story of the women in your life and the positive mark they have made." Immediately, Chris Brown (Cinematographer) knew that the time was now. A short film would be the perfect medium to creatively express the power of how one woman can make a difference. It was a way for him to recognize the accomplishments of this amazing woman in his life and share her story with the world. Gail is not only a great scientist but a beautiful and loving mother.
Whoever said you can't have a family and a career too, has never met Dr. Gail Brown. She pursued her doctorate while working full time and raising two young children. Gail is the type of person who will encourage you to pursue your passions no matter what. She truly believes that you can be anything you want to be. Her son, Chris and daughter, Samantha will attest to her unending love and support.
Since we are located in California and Gail lives in Ohio, we really didn't have a way of filming with her. But the universe works in mysterious ways. Last February we decided to take a spontaneous road trip across the country to visit family and catch one of our favorite bands in concert. Our last stop on the trip was Ohio to visit Chris' mom and sister. We ended up having two days to shoot before we had to turn around and drive back. It was worth every mile.
We learned about her first assignment at the Wright-Patterson Air Force base. Her first supervisor was known to be quite conservative and doubtful of a woman's abilities to work in science. But Gail's hard work and determination soon changed his opinions. One day, she had to miss a team meeting because she was focused on an experiment in the lab. When everyone asked where she was, her supervisor responded, "A woman's place is in the lab." I believe Madam Curie would agree. Gail is now the Principal Physicist and team leader of her Directorate at the base.
Samantha graduated with honors from Northwestern University and is now pursuing her PhD in Chemistry at Ohio State. Following in her mother's footsteps, the sky is the limit.
Gail values taking the time to mentor other young women pursuing careers in science and research. One story involves a young high school student who was working summers with Gail in the lab, just a few years ago. She was a very bright woman with a pilot's license and graduated summa cum laude. However, she was going to go into computer science after a high school counselor advised her that physics was a bad career for women. Gail was shocked to hear that this adversity still existed after so many years. She encouraged her young mentoree to follow her dreams. Gail's bright student went on to pursue physics and became a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University and now works at the National Institute of Technology.
Gail's road to success is an inspiring story. She was the first woman in her research department to receive the "Charles J. Cleary Award" for outstanding scientific research. She also received the "STEM Role Model Award" during Women's History Month. Our foremothers throughout history would be proud of women today, like Dr. Gail J. Brown. We are here today because of the women who have paved the paths before us and we believe its important to remember them.
We wouldn't even have an American flag if Betsey Ross hadn't sewn it together! Please spread the word about the National Women's History Museum. There is much to learn from the amazing stories of past generations. These stories are waiting for the chance to inspire a new generation of role models! For all women and men, a new glimpse at the past can change the lives of all for a peaceful future…


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Featuring Theodore B. Olson, Douglas R. Cox
July 10, 2009
July 10, 2009
On July 10, 2009, former United States Solicitor General Theodore B. Olson delivered the Annual Supreme Court Round Up at The Capital Hilton in Washington, DC.
- Hon. Theodore B. Olson, Gibson, Dunn, & Crutcher and former U.S. Solicitor General
- Introduction: Mr. Douglas R. Cox, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
The Capital Hilton
Washington, DC


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Peter Gammons of ESPN wrote an interesting article recently about UNC's Dustin Ackley being the second best player in the 2009 MLB Draft. He has shown throughout his collegiate career to be one of the most potent bats but the question is whether or not he is the second best player in the country after Strasburg? What do you say? The full article is available here.
CBD in the Media
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Weight + Body Lift Q&A
Weight Shifting & Swelling from Lower Body Lift 9 Month Ago- Will It Balance Out?
I had a lower body lift surgery in March they were to of removed 6.5 pounds of skin.I wearing a size 6-8 before the surgery. Now im in a size 14-16.It... READ MORE
Would a Plastic Surgeon Do a Lower Body Lift if the Patient Hasn't Met the Goal Weight?
I'm 40, had 2 children via c-section. I'm 5'10. At my max weight I was 260lbs. Now 220lbs. 3 dr.'s have told me I'm not big enough for The Band. I've... READ MORE
How Much Should I Weigh Before Body Lift?
Highest Weight: 280lbs Current weight: 163lbs Height: 5'6 So, I want to be around 150lbs BEFORE surgery but I honestly feel like I cannot lose much... READ MORE
Weight/swelling after lower body lift. (Photo)
I am 8 days post op from a lower body lift with replacement of silicone breast implants (400cc to 550cc). I was 179 on surgery day and am still at 177... READ MORE
I weighed 420 lbs. On 9/8/10 and today (12/24/13) I weigh 280. I'm 5'9" How much weight is just my excess skin? Just wondering?
How much of a difference would it make if I did get surgery? Anyone know where a good place near Humboldt County, CA is to get excess skin removed?... READ MORE
Can my weight have shifted since my Lower Body Lift? And why am I not back at my pre surgery weight?
I had a lower body lift on 4/28/14. I gained 10 lbs immediately after my surgery. I feel like my boobs are bigger and that my weight has shifted to my... READ MORE


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CORAL GABLES, Fla. - We Win, You Win! Miami Athletics and the UM Ticket Office are bringing back the popular ticket promotion in anticipation of the Hurricanes' upcoming matchup with Boston College.
Fans can purchase premium tickets priced at $75 apiece for the ACC contest at the BankUnited Center on Tuesday, Feb. 5. Tip-off for the rematch against the Eagles is set for 7 p.m.
Here's the kicker: if the Hurricanes win, every fan who purchased the special deal is guaranteed a ticket, at no additional cost, to Miami's next home game with perennial powerhouse North Carolina on Feb. 9. If the Hurricanes take down the Tar Heels? Another free ticket, this one to the Feb. 19 home matchup with Virginia. The deal continues as long as the Hurricanes keep winning at the BankUnited Center. We Win, You Win!
To purchase specially-priced $75 premium tickets, click HERE. For more information, visit CanesTix.com, call (305) 284-2263 or Tweet @HurricaneSports.


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Hi Everyone,I have Installed wamp server for 64 bit windows 7 on my pc , and installed wamp server addons for apache 2.2.2 and php 5.2.9-2..as I need to work on these versions , but the phpmyadmin installation is by default for apache 2.4.2 and php 5.4 which comes with original wamp installation. phpmyadmin is not working for the addons.
Is there any way we can configure web server information for phpmyadmin to work with the addons instead?


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When we decided sometime ago to study brilliant openings E.C. Sheedy said this:
"…on the Pen Warrior's blog, we'll be highlighting and talking about opening pages that we liked and why they compelled us to download the book and read more. We're calling this effort Opening Pages Impact Critique (OPIC) and we're looking forward to learning from our writing peers, and seeing what they did in their OPs that made us buy the book…
We decided, that while we might spend hours fussing over a book description, promo opportunities, reviews, a cover, equally imperative was that our opening pages provide an exciting and honest entry point to the book. Our openings must impact the reader, be so captivating (there's that word again) he or she is compelled to read on and on and on…"
While dissecting When I Found You by Catherine Ryan Hyde, Vanessa Grant advised us to use evocative words that speak: hoping, waiting, empty, abandoned, bare.
Gail Whitiker praises slow beginnings rather than fast-paced action openings and reminds us to set mood (The Shell Seekers by Pilcher), and intrigue, place and mood (The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton). She said, "A fast train will get you where you're going, but a scenic one arrives with far more memories in tow."
Laura Tobias studies the importance of voice in her dissection of A Long Time Gone by Karen White. "There's no dialogue or action. At first glance, it appears to be a fairly static start. Yet the voice of the narrator is incredibly strong and pulls me in. It allows me time to absorb the setting of the south: the flat fields, the fertile soil, the great Mississippi. The levees and the delta. It gives me rich imagery…" Voice is a vital part of strong openings.
This from E.C. Sheedy on a discussion of the prologue in Jojo Moyes' Me Before You:
Time has passed, books have been written since we last studied strong beginnings, and hopefully, we've all learned what to strive for. As a recent exercise I decided to veer from discussing others' openings and wanted to see what I'd done, with all of the above in mind! To that end I analyzed three of my more current works.
My purpose in sharing my discoveries is to encourage analysis of your own work to see if you've hit the marks we strive for as writers.
From Love in a Pawn Shop https://books2read.com/Love-in-a-Pawn-Shop
April 1 Seattle, WA
Dane Caldwell ignored his better judgment at 3:45 p.m. and walked across the street into Dixon's Pawn Shop. Like millions of others in every city in America, the shop sat in a row of storefronts with overhead apartments. Except for the signs, they were all identical. Each one had a door at the side for the apartment stairwells, and he'd bet each one also had a rear entrance to the apartment from an alley in back.
Cops liked to know where the exits were, but since he was here without backup, he'd take the most direct approach and walk in like any other customer. He was so far out of his jurisdiction he might as well be from Mars.
Good beginnings should raise questions in the readers' minds while feeding background, foreshadowing conflict, introducing character (more than a name…a sense of what makes this person tick), setting and more.
By having my hero ignore his better judgment I've introduced internal conflict in the first six words. Then I show his observant nature with a description of a row of businesses we've all seen. This is a universal experience or knowledge. Not only do we have a place, we have a sense that it's an older area of Seattle, and because he's watching a pawn shop the neighborhood may be seedy. The seediness increases a sense of foreboding. But I don't say it's a seedy area, I allow the reader to discern on their own.
In paragraph two we learn Dane is a cop without backup who is out of his jurisdiction. This explains why he should listen to his better judgment, not ignore it.
And then, we have the title of the book which should be fresh in the mind of our reader: Love in a Pawn Shop. Our hero has no idea what he's stepping into in Dixon's Pawn Shop, but the reader does. The reader is in on the joke! Will a romance reader continue reading? I tell myself they will.
Not-So-Blue Christmas (2015 only 99c!) https://books2read.com/Not-So-Blue-Christmas
December – Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, Canada
7:40 a.m. and dawn was still too far away to imagine. Not that Kirk Fontaine believed in mornings anymore. The idea of a light sky and sunshine felt foreign and old and impossible, especially above the forty-ninth parallel in mid-December.
Out of the gloom came the tip-tip-tap of running paws along the wooden pier. The woman's dog must have slipped away from its owner again. The dog with a stalker mentality. No matter where he was on the Nanaimo waterfront, the scruffy little mutt made straight for him. It wasn't that he didn't like dogs it was just that this one came with a woman Kirk could barely take his eyes off of.
Coincidentally, I've started with the hero again. (Most of my books start with the hero.) In the first paragraph I've shown Kirk is in a dark place emotionally. Using words like sunshine felt foreign and old and impossible. Also he doesn't believe in mornings anymore. I like to think that most people have had periods where they feel this way. Grief or struggles with divorce and family is universal, so I tried to tap into that.
Out of the gloom came the tip-tip-tap of running paws… Something is already coming to save him! A herald of better times is in the sound of the paws. And because the dog has a stalker mentality we know that Kirk can't escape the change that's coming his way. Thank goodness! Readers are already rooting for the hero to move on from the darkness. And then, bam…there she is, a woman he can't take his eyes off of.
Invitation to Christmas (2016) https://books2read.com/Invitation-to-Christmas
Christmas Day, Vancouver Island, Canada
Tom Fontaine wanted his father back at work, plain and simple. He had big plans to expand Fontaine Homes and he needed his father there to do it with him. He grabbed his first coffee of the morning and heard his grandmother call from upstairs. "Did I miss them?" she asked.
"Yes, they just left." His dad and his new girlfriend were on their way to serve up Christmas breakfast at a shelter.
New girlfriend. Shit. His mom had only been dead six months. What was up with finding a new woman already? And in Nanaimo of all places. It was pretty, but still, it was a backwater tourist town perched on the edge of Vancouver Island. In Canada!
This opening differs from the other two. We know exactly what Tom wants and why: wanted his father back at work, plain and simple. He had big plans to expand Fontaine Homes. Tom's thoughts are all about business…and then…his grandmother's voice breaks into his thoughts, reminding him subtly that Christmas is about family.
The next paragraph emphasizes that Christmas is about giving: to serve up Christmas breakfast at a shelter.
In paragraph three we get to the crux of Tom's internal conflict: There's a new woman in his dad's life, one who may usurp his dead mother's place. As with the other openings, I tried to hit a universal. Then, just to make it worse, this new woman is in a faraway backwater town which will make it even harder for Tom to get what he wants: his father back at work at home.
In preparing this post, I analyzed my openings and have discovered why I so often start my stories with the hero. I believe romance readers want to fall in love with our heroes or want to know what makes them tick right away. At least I hope I've got that right!
Bonnie Edwards is planning a big year in 2017 with up to 5 releases (including another Christmas story) If you'd like to be first to learn what's coming out then sign up for her newsletter. http://oi.vresp.com?fid=4ecdcb6889 or Follow her from her Amazon author page here:http://www.amazon.com/Bonnie-Edwards/e/B001IO9UTO]]>
October 2, 1960
Nathan McCann stood in his dark kitchen a good two hours before dawn. He flipped on the overhead light, halfway hoping to see the coffeemaker all set up with water and grounds and waiting to be plugged in and set to percolating. Instead, he saw the filter basket lying empty in the dish drain, looking abandoned and bare. (WHEN I FOUND YOU)
The opening paragraph of Catherine Ryan Hyde's When I Found You hooked me gently. In only three sentences, with no action on stage, the author brought to vivid life a lonely man in a pre-dawn kitchen.
That first paragraph is sprinkled with evocative words that speak to me of loss and loneliness: hoping, waiting, empty, abandoned, bare. My imagination paints a picture of a wife or lover who once set the coffeemaker ready for Nathan's early rising. Nathan's halfway hoping whispers that it's been a long time since he woke to a ready-to-go coffeemaker.
Such a small, powerful symbol of a neglected relationship.
I had read the book blurb before making my purchase, and I knew Nathan would soon find an abandoned baby in the woods, near death. The chapter's title tells me he'll find the child today.
Keeping me poised on that precipice of drama and action, word by word, image by image, the author gently tweaks my curiousity about Nathan and his life by dropping meaningful breadcrumbs of information.
Why he always expevcted otherwise, he wasn't sure. It had been years since Flora set up a coffee for him on these early mornings. Decades since she rose early with him to serve fried eggs and orange juice and toast.
I imagine three decades of slowly growing neglect … and yet in the next paragraph…
Quietly, so as not to wake her, he took a box of oat flake cereal down from the cupboard, then stood in the cold rush of air from the icebox and poured skim milk into a yellow plastic bowl.
You don't have to be so quiet, he thought to himself. Flora was in her bedroom at the far end of the hall with the door closed.
Cold and icebox signal an absence of love, reinforced by the closed door at the far end of the hall. Yet Nathan exercises care not to disturb her sleep. The author has painted a brilliant portrait of a steadfast man in a desssicated marraige. Then, lest the reader think Nathan himself lacks warmth, Catherine Ryan Hyde brings another character into the mix.
Nathan's dog, Sadie, has seen the light from the window, and Nathan hears her excited jumping against the fence of her enclosure. With Sadie's offstage entrance, the mood is transformed with skillful use of words like: awake, ready-to-go, excited, sunrise, jumped, hit.
That short first scene closes with Sadie and Flora starkly contrasted in Nathan's thoughts.
He often wished he could bring her into the house with him – Sadie who gave so readily of her time an attention. But Flora wlould have none of it.
I loved the beginning of this beautiful novel. I wanted more of Nathan's quiet gentleness, his lack of criticism of Flora despite his loneliness, and his love for his dog.
Man and dog were about to head out duck hunting, but I knew they were on a hero's mission, to save an abandoned infant lying in the woods, near death. True to his character in that opening scene, when Nathan and Sadie saved that baby, the man didn't think of himself as a hero. Sadie was the only hero in his mind.
The beginning of this book hooked me solidly, and the rest of the book fulfilled the author's promise, as you can see from the following reviewers quotes. You can see more on the author's website:
Set over a period of forty years, and told from the perspective of two very different men, this is a stunning piece of fiction that explores family ties that go beyond a pure genetic relationship. Fans of Jodi Picoult will enjoy this well-crafted story that is impossible to put down. (The Book Bag, 5 stars)
Gripping tale of a boy raised at a distance…an engaging and touching read. (The Cambridge Review)
When I Found You is probably one of my favourite books of 2009—if not ever. It is well worth reading and I wholly recommend it. (Chick Lit Review, 5 stars)
Catherine Ryan Hyde, author of the international best selling Pay It Forward, has written another great book. If you love great fiction about real human relationships, you'll love this book.]]>
A few weeks ago, Gail Whitiker wrote about slow beginnings, books that don't necessarily open with dramatic action but slowly invite you in by taking their time, establishing a mood and setting a scene. When Gail's blog went live, I happened to be reading A LONG TIME GONE by Karen White. In spite of the fact that this contemporary novel started off more slowly than I'm used to, I was hooked on page one. And much of it had to do with the author's voice.
Here is her beginning:
I was born in the same bed that my mama was born in, and her mama before her, and even further back than anybody alive could still remember. It was as if the black wood of the bedposts were meant to root us Walker women to this place of flat fields and fertile soil carved from the great Mississippi. But like the levees built to control the mighty river, it never held us for long.
We were born screaming into this world, the beginning of a lifelong quest to find what would quiet us. Our legacy was our ability to coax living things from fallow ground, along with a desperate need to see what lay beyond the delta. A need to quell a hurt whose source was as unexplainable as its force.
Whatever it was that drove us away was never stronger than the pull of what brought us back. I returned in the spring, nearly nine years to the day after I'd left.
There's no dialogue or action. At first glance, it appears to be a fairly static start. Yet the voice of the narrator is incredibly strong and pulls me in. It allows me time to absorb the setting of the south: the flat fields, the fertile soil, the great Mississippi. The levees and the delta. It gives me rich imagery as I think of someone coaxing living things from fallow ground. I'm enticed by numerous power words too: mighty, control, screaming, desperate, force, pull. I learn in those first few paragraphs that this is a story about generations of women. Loud women who come screaming into the world with a desperate need to quell an unknown hurt. And one of them has come back after being away for nine years.
White's book unspooled in such a compelling way (there was romance, there was mystery, it was both contemporary and historical) that I found myself thinking about her plot, her characters, and about the intensity of her voice long after I finished. In fact, I was driven to pick up THE TIME BETWEEN, also by Karen White, simply to see if there were any similarities in voice. Here's the first paragraph of that novel:
The first time I died was the summer I turned seventeen. I remember the air being so hot you could smell the pluff mud baking in the sun, the scent sulfur-sweet and strong enough to curl your toes, the tall stems of sweet grass listless, their tips bowed in submission. Blood sat like melted copper in my open mouth as I rose above my broken body, splayed like a rag doll beside the dirt road. Let me go, I thought as I hovered, weightless. But I felt the pull of a gossamer thread of conscience and retribution that tethered me to this earth. Before I heard the screams of the sirens and my mother's wailing, I knew I wouldn't stay dead for long.
There's that unmistakeable Southern setting (hot air and pluff mud and sweet grass), the link of family (her mother), strong imagery (blood sat like melted copper in my open mouth; splayed like a rag doll) and more power words, some of them nearly identical to the words used in her previous novel (strong, pull, screams, wailing, died, blood, broken, retribution).
I've only just started THE TIME BETWEEN so I can't tell you how the story unfolds. But based on this opening, and on A LONG TIME GONE, I'm expecting a very good read.
I wanted to take a slightly different approach to beginnings in this blog. We have, over the past months, discussed openings that plunge us into the heart of the action or hint at mysterious events to come. We've highlighted those that start with clever dialogue or intriguing characters, and we've pointed out how the author, with a few well-constructed sentences, manages to grab us and throw us into the thick of things straight off.
But that's not how all great books start out. Some take their time. Establish a mood. Set a scene. They place the reader in a particular locale or state of mind before embarking on the story proper. And as a reader who's always been fond of the slow beginning, I wanted to highlight a few well-loved books that open that way.
"The taxi, an old Rover smelling of old cigarette smoke, trundled along the empty, country road at an unhurried pace. It was early afternoon at the very end of February, a magic winter day of bitter cold, frost, and pale, cloudless skies. The sun shone, sending long shadows, but there was little warmth in it, and the ploughed fields lay hard as iron. From the chimneys of scattered farmhouses and small stone cottages, smoke rose, straight as columns, up into the still air, and flocks of sheep, heavy with wood and incipient pregnancy, gathered around feeding troughs stuffed with fresh hay.
Sitting in the back of the taxi, gazing through the dusty window, Penelope Keeling decided that she had never seen the familiar countryside look so beautiful."
Many of you will recognize that as the opening to THE SHELL SEEKERS; the book that put Rosamund Pilcher on the NYT best seller list. It's not fast paced or intriguing. It doesn't ask questions or raise issues. It simply establishes a mood by centering us in a place we've never been.
Then we have the opening to THE FORGOTTEN GARDEN, by Kate Morton.
"It was dark where she was crouched but the little girl did as she'd been told. The lady had said to wait, it wasn't safe yet, they had to be as quiet as larder mice. It was a game just like hide and seek.
From behind the wooden barrels the little girl listened. Made a picture in her mind the way Papa had taught her. Men, near and far, sailors she supposed, shouted to one another. Rough, loud voices, full of the sea and its salt. In the distance, bloated ships horns, tin whistles, splashing oars and, far above, grey gulls cawing, wings flattened to absorb the ripening sunlight."
Although there is more intrigue in this opening, we still feel a strong sense of place and mood established by the author's skillful use of description and it continues in that vein for several pages.
Lastly, who can forget this atmospheric opening…and please note I've taken leave to start two paragraphs in since you would recognize the opening line at once:
"Nature had come into her own again and, little by little, in her stealthy, insidious way had encroached upon the drive with long, tenacious fingers. The woods, always a menace even in the past, had triumphed in the end. They crowded, dark and uncontrolled, to the borders of the drive. The beeches with white naked limbs leant close to one another, their branches intermingled in a strange embrace, making a vault above me like the archway of a church.
Sound familiar? Perhaps if I'd started out with "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again…" you would recognize it as the opening of REBECCA by Daphne Du Maurier.
The slow beginning is, perhaps, an anachronistic form of writing or a style more suited to literary novels or the classics. Maybe in this fast paced age where we're all in a hurry and time is at a premium, it may even seem a bit boring. But as a reader, I don't need to be thrown onto the roller coaster every time. Sometimes I like being eased into a story by the author's skillful use of narrative and description.
A fast train will get you where you're going, but a scenic one arrives with far more memories in tow.]]>
Open a historical romance and from the first sentence the writer aims to transport you to another era. A time of grace and elegance in which candles sputter, fans flick, silver gleams, and aristocratic noses are held high. The ballroom awaits, as does the promise of romance and a satisfying happily ever after. In the historical romance, the first sentence, like the gown you'll wear to the ball, must be perfectly designed for the period and the romantic possibilities. It must catch the eye of every duke in the room.
Here is one of the most famous lines in historical romantic fiction:
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen. Published in 1813.
And thus Miss Austen ever so skillfully sets the story stage not only for Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy and their conflicted love but for the thousands of love stories that followed her classic tale. As a reader, reading Miss Austen's opening, I was drawn into her world by the language, so proper and appropriate, so reflective of the time in which it was written. Beautiful, really.
What's happened since 1813 with historical romance opening sentences?
I was curious, so I selected a random few to see how quickly the author's use of language and era clues drew me in to their stories.The sentences do speak for themselves, as the writer intended, but it's interesting to ask the question do they speak to you? (I've italicized the words or phrases that worked for me.)
"Although it contrived to appear very much as usual, the gaming room of White's wore a faint air of disapprobation." The Parfait Knight, Stella Riley
"Robert Blaisdell, the ninth Duke of Clermont, was not hiding." The Duchess War, Courtenay Milan
"'Remind me why I'm here,'Nathaniel Buford, Earl of Roderick, said as he checked his gold pocket watch." The Earl's Inconvenient Wife, Ruth Ann Nordin
"Amelia Banbrook peered into the dimly lit corridor, thankful that for once, Lord Weatherby's servants were being frugal with the candles." The Earl Who Loved Me, Bethany M Sefchick
"Amidst the openly curious stares of the servants, the tall, dark-haired man entered the Langford Mansion." The Seduction of Sophie Seacrest, Mary Campisi
"Dominick Manton had never expected to spend his twentieth birthday peering covertly through the open terrace doors into the Earl of Blakeboroughs's ballroom." If the Viscount Falls, Sabrina Jeffries
"The Honorable Charteris Ashby sauntered along Oakham High Street feeling both noble and disgruntled." Regency Valentines. If Fancy be the Food of Love, Jo Beverley
"At the end of the hunting season, before the winter set in, the Earl of Clarendon hosted a soiree at his London home for the families of Quality that had come to town." The Devil Takes a Bride, Julia London
"This year's most sought-after invitation must surely be that of the Bridgerton masquerade ball, to be held Monday next." An Offer from a Gentleman, Julia Quinn
Just one sentence! And these writers have packed me in a time capsule and carried me off. They've made it clear where I'm going and that I'll be mixing it up with some fascinating lords and ladies.
There will be a sexy Duke in there somewhere, I'm sure of it.]]>
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Sometimes books come to you from others. Books you may not have thought to buy, or maybe haven't even crossed your radar. The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion is one of those books for me.
This book was a gift to me in more ways than one. I am a romance author and as such I wallow in genre books. I love them. Full on romance novels cheer me, take me away from the everyday, and can even make me forget the top horrifying news story of the day. That means a lot. (I get wound up over news over which I have no control. As a writer I am not alone in this.)
So when I opened The Rosie Project for a quick glance to see if I'd want to read the book before any others, I was thrilled to find myself chuckling out loud by the second paragraph.
The Rosie Project is a love story. But it is not genre in the same sense as romance novels or romantic suspense or historical romances are genre.
The difference for me is in the writing and in the voice of the protagonist.
In 159 words, I was caught by Simsion's hero, a man so different from any other hero I've read that I couldn't set this book aside for another time. I had to read it right away.
I may have found a solution to the Wife Problem. As with so many scientific breakthroughs, the answer was obvious in retrospect. But had it not been for a series of unscheduled events, it is unlikely I would have discovered it.
From the first sentence, the author has guaranteed that he may have found a solution to his problem. As a reader and writer of romance I want a guarantee of a happy ending. Was Simsion cognizant of the promise to his reader when he wrote his first line? Hard to say. (There's a part of me that's jealous as hell if he was. It took me much longer than my debut novel to figure out the promise to readers on the first page, let alone the first line!)
The protagonist also admits in the first paragraph that he basically stumbled through a series of unscheduled events to find that happy ending. What is that if not a good story?
The sequence was initiated by Gene insisting I give a lecture on Asperger's syndrome that he had previously agreed to deliver himself. The timing was extremely annoying. The preparation could be time-shared with lunch consumption, but on the designated evening I had scheduled ninety-four minutes to clean my bathroom. I was faced with a choice of three options, none of them satisfactory.
And this is where I burst into laughter and knew I would have to read this book before anything else in my to-be-read pile. Not only did the author answer a question I didn't know I'd asked (why the protagonist sounds the way he does) but he goes on to give an example to prove this assertion. Our hero is on the Asperger's scale.
Also, the reader has also been slyly advised of the world in which our characters live.
Cleaning the bathroom after the lecture, resulting in loss of sleep with a consequent reduction in mental and physical performance.
Rescheduling the cleaning until the following Tuesday, resulting in an eight-day period of compromised bathroom hygiene and consequent risk of disease.
Refusing to deliver the lecture, resulting in damage to my friendship with Gene.
Numbers 1 and 2 on his list of options emphasize how the hero's mind works. Number 3 is the most distressing of the possible outcomes. If it wasn't the most distressing, the author wouldn't have put it at the end of the list where the reader will remember it.
Clearly, while our hero has difficulties in social situations, he cares deeply for his friend and would not want to damage their relationship. Number 3 also reminds us of the Wife Project because our hero wants relationships with other people in general. He wants emotional connection.
Our hero, in spite of his apparent difficulties, wants love. Therefore he is sympathetic and we already care what happens and how it happens to him. We are rooting for our socially awkward, earnest, brilliant hero to find what he most desires: a wife.
We are clearly in for a funny, engaging read that may have a happy ending.
I'm in! Are you?
I like an opening that throws me into the action and won't let me stop reading. Angelfall ( Penryn & The End of Days #1) by Susan Ee did that and so much more. All in about two hundred words.
Ironically, since the attacks, the sunsets have been glorious. Outside our condo window, the sky flames like a bruised mango in vivid orange, red and purple. The clouds ignite with sunset colors, and I'm almost scared those of us caught below will catch on fire too.
With the dying warmth on my face, I try not to think about anything other than keeping my hands from trembling as I methodically zip up my backpack.
I pull on my favorite boots. They used to be my favorites because I once got a compliment from Misty Johnson about the look of the leather strips laddering down the sides. She is – was – a cheerleader and known for her fashion taste, so I figured these boots were my token fashion statement even though they're made by a hiking boot company for serious wear. Now they're my favorites because the strips make for a perfect knife holder.
I also slip sharpened steak knives into Paige's wheelchair pocket. I hesitate before putting one into Mom's shopping cart in the living room, but I do it anyway. I slip it in between a stack of Bibles and a pile of empty soda bottles. I shift some clothes over it when she's not looking hoping she'll never have to know it's there.
How did this opening impact me? It gave me a strong sense of a kick-ass heroine who has just survived an attack of some kind. She's looking out a condo window, so I know I'm not reading historical fiction; it's present day or maybe the near future. And while she's noticing the colors out the window – the sky flames like a bruised mango in vivid orange, red and purple – she's also worried. I'm almost scared those of us caught below will catch on fire too.
In case there's any doubt, the fourth sentence seals the deal: With the dying warmth on my face, I try not to think about anything other than keeping my hands from trembling as I methodically zip up my backpack.
I'm immediately caught up in her fear, the beauty of the sunset juxtaposed with a violent attack, and the sense that she's going somewhere. Methodically. Clearly she has a plan. The setting is hinted at, the tone of the story is compelling, questions are raised: Who is this person? What's going on? Is she still in danger?
Paragraphs three and four confirm that and more: I pull on my favorite boots . . . my favorites because the strips make for a perfect knife holder. I also slip sharpened steak knives into Paige's wheelchair pocket. I hesitate before putting one into Mom's shopping cart in the living room, but I do it anyway. I slip it in between a stack of Bibles . . .
She – her name is Penryn – is a sister and a daughter. More importantly, she's a protector. Not only is her goal to physically protect her family – the knives tell us that – but her desire to shield her mother from discomfort and fear illustrates her desire to protect them emotionally too.
She's brave, she's take charge and she's protective. She has a sister in a wheelchair; she's hiding knives between stacks of bibles. What is going on? What will happen next? Of course I read on. I couldn't stop.
And I wasn't the only one. A few years back, Angelfall was one of seven finalists for the Cybils Award for the Year's Best Fantasy & Science Fiction for young adults. That's out of 1289 nominated books. Not only did Susan Ee craft a compelling opening, she also wrote a page-turner of a book where street gangs rule the day and fear and superstition rule the night. And Penryn herself makes a deal with an enemy angel.
The deal for the reader? It's an excellent story. And there are sequels . . .
Happy New Year! Before I start into my review, I wanted to mention a special event that took place in the lives of the Pen Warriors this month. As some of you may know, we came together as a group in 2001 and we've been meeting on a quarterly basis ever since. What you may not know is that this weekend we celebrated our 50th Red Door writing retreat!
50! I'm not sure even we thought we'd reach such a milestone when we started out 14 years ago, but we have and while a lot has changed in our lives, what hasn't is our commitment to getting together four times a year to talk about all things writerly. And, hopefully, to become better storytellers in the bargain. Way to go Pen Warriors!
So, this week, I wanted to talk about THE NIGHT CIRCUS, a 2011 debut novel by Erin Morgenstern (Doubleday Canada). It's an unusual story told in an unusual way but it appealed to my love of all things magical and hooked me with an intriguing beginning. Please note, I have quoted snippets from the opening pages rather than a continuous string, the first two being from the section entitled Anticipation, and the third from Part I, Primordium: Unexpected Post:
"The circus arrives without warning. No announcements precede it, no paper notices on downtown posts and billboards, no mentions or advertisements in local newspapers. It is simply there, when yesterday it was not."
Even in these opening lines, there is a suggestion of magic. A tantalizing promise cleverly woven into the writing about a circus that springs up overnight and that no one seems to know is coming…
"It is impressive and unusual news, the sudden appearance of a mysterious circus. People marvel at the staggering height of the tallest tents. They stare at the clock that sits just inside the gates that no one can properly describe. And the black sign painted in white letters that hangs upon the gates, the one that reads:
Opens at Nightfall, Closes at Dawn.
Opens at nightfall? What kind of circus operates only at night? What goes on in those black and white tents and what secrets are concealed behind the wrought iron gates that magically swing open at dusk? At this point, I don't know, but I'm definitely going to keep reading to find out.
And then, a few pages later, we start into the story:
The man billed as Prospero the Enchanter receives a fair amount of correspondence via the theater office, but this is the first envelope addressed to him that contains a suicide note, and it is also the first to arrive carefully pinned to the coat of a five-year-old girl.
There are several concepts in this opening that drew me in. The character's name, the arrival of a suicide note and the fact it was delivered on—and not by—a five-year old girl. Innocence caught up in a world of smoke and mirrors. Or is it…?
THE NIGHT CIRCUS doesn't open with pulse pounding action or sparkling dialogue. Rather, it is a thoughtful and evocative narrative that draws the reader in. It asks questions and in reading on, you soon discover that Le Cirque des Rêves, or circus of dreams, is a mystical place where bizarre things happen and anything is possible. More importantly, it is a story about the power of magic and the complexity of love—or sometimes the reverse.
I look forward to seeing THE NIGHT CIRCUS on the big screen and while I wonder if the production crew will be able to replicate the ethereal quality of the writing, I expect it to be a visual treat.
I told the boys to stay quiet while I went to fetch my gun. (Twice Shy)
When I read those first words of Twice Shy by Dick Francis, my immediate thought was, "Now there's a powerful opening hook!" Then I put the thought aside and kept on reading, because first and foremost I love a good story. Time enough to analyze how Francis hooked me and try (hope) to bring that power to my own writing after I'd read the story.
So began my study of beginnings. The opening hooks I loved most were the ones that not only promised, but also delivered an amazing read. Many of them were written by Dick Francis.
E. C. Sheedy introduced me to the idea of searching for the power words in writing that impresses me. Gun is definitely a powerful word, associated with violence and death. Paired with boys, which implies youth, it becomes even more dangerous and powerful. The command to stay quiet implies a threat, increasing the dangerous stakes.
In seventeen words, Dick Francis completely hooked me. When the next paragraph reveales that the first person narrator is a Physics teacher in a boys school, using the gun as a prop for a lesson on ballistics, I'm even more intrigued. I know the gun is going to be important – after all, this is a mystery. The narrator will be the detective character, and I'll be staying up late to read this book.
Dick Francis didn't disappoint me.
I intensely disliked my father's fifth wife, but not to the point of murder. (Hot Money )
Hot Money begins with the above statement by jockey Ian Pembroke, whose mother was his father's second wife. I love the way the author blends powerful words like intensely, disliked and murder with details that skillfully reveal the murdered wife was preceded by four others, one of whom will be Ian's mother. I anticipate family discord, and I expect Ian to be the innocent prime suspect.
Hot Money delivers on the promise of its opening sentence with a delightfully complex family arranged in factions around three ex-wives, an intriguing mystery, and the delight of discovering Ian's complex relationship with the father who, when his own life is threatened, turns for help to his estranged son – the one person everyone else suspects of the murder.
Here are a few more great openings from Dick Francis novels:
Dying slowly of bone cancer, the old man, shrivelled now, sat as ever in his great armchair, tears of lonely pain sliding down crepuscular cheeks. (Wild Horses)
I had told the drivers never on any account to pick up a hitchhiker but of course one day they did, and by the time they reached my house he was dead. (Driving Force)
I don't think my stepfather much minded dying. That he almost took me with him wasn't really his fault. (To the Hilt)
And then there's Straight, which I believe is Dick Francis' most brilliantly crafted novel:
I inherited my brother's life. Inherited his desk, his business, his gadgets, his enemies, his horses and his mistress. I inherited my brother's life, and it nearly killed me. ( Straight)
The violence implied by killed is preceded by a tantalizing blend of what seem to be small details (his desk, his gadgets) and the threat implied in inheriting his enemies and his mistress.
What elevates this book beyond the status of a truly great mystery is the way every one of those inherited items became meaningful: not only in solving a murder, but also in painting the evocative portrait of the uncompromisingly Straight man whose death preceded the story's beginning.
Dick Francis was a master who continues to fascinate me. Every time I re-read one of his novels I hope to soak up some of the magic of his storytelling.
Dick Francis died on February 24, 2010, survived by two sons and a legacy of best-selling mysteries. The fascinating story of his life and its real-life mystery is revealed in family friend Graham Lord's biography Dick Francis: A Racing Life, which I discovered (and bought) while writing this blog.]]>
First up. HAPPY HOLIDAYS EVERYONE! I hope all the readers of the Pen Warriors' books and blog have a safe, healthy, and very festive season. To help that along, here's some Yule advice: Drink what you enjoy, eat what you like, and hug who you love.
But before we drown ourselves in eggnog, it's time to talk book openings again—and learn from some uber-talented writers. I was supposed to have this blog up a week ago–don't know what it is about me and schedules…
Anyway, I'm drawn to talk about ME BEFORE YOU, by Jojo Moyes—a book I read a few months back. I loved everything about ME BEFORE YOU and consider it one of the best books I've read in the last twelve months. If you haven't read it and want to drown yourself in a beautiful and inspiring love story, read this book.
Because it's been quite a while since I read the book, I went back to reread its beginning, see what magic Jojo Moyes used to get me involved in the story. The book began with a prologue; I've used only 213 words of it below. I'd estimate the whole prologue to be about 1300 words.
When he emerges from the bathroom she is awake, propped up against the pillows and flicking through the travel brochures that were beside his bed. She is wearing one of his T-shirts, and her long hair is tousled in a way that prompts reflexive thoughts of the previous night. He stands there, enjoying the brief flashback, rubbing the water from his hair with a towel.She looks up from a brochure and pouts.
She is probably slightly too old to pout, but they've been going out a short enough time for it to still be cute.
"Do we really have to do something that involves trekking up mountains, or hanging over ravines? It's our first proper holiday together, and there is literally not one single trip in these that doesn't involve either throwing yourself off something or"—she pretends to shudder—"wearing fleece."
She throws the brochures down on the bed, stretches her caramel-colored arms above her head. Her voice is husky, testament to their missed hours of sleep. "How about a luxury spa in Bali? We could lie around on the sand…spend hours being pampered…long, relaxing nights…"
"I can't do those sorts of holidays. I need to be doing something."
"Like throwing yourself out of airplanes."
"Don't knock it till you've tried it."
Prologues can be tricky beasts, too often used as unnecessary front-runners for stories that would be best set off running in Chapter One—sans any early wordiness. But in this case the prologue perfectly met the needs of the story, because it served to cover the time gap between the inciting event and the story's beginning several months later. This scene—in my humble opinion —had to be a prologue.
It's a pretty quiet scene, really, not an opener that immediately blasts the reader into a reading frenzy. It's more of a velvet rope, giving slight tugs and silky intimations of what's to come.
For me, that velvet rope did the trick.
But why? And how?
I knew immediately I was meeting the hero of the story, and he intrigued me. The opening told me a lot about him. He's confident and controlled (stands there, enjoying the brief sexual flashback), casual (rubbing the water from his hair), wealthy (the planned holiday), adventurous (throwing himself out of airplanes), and very physical (needs to be doing something). I didn't particularly like the woman he's just spent the night with, the woman he'd been "going out" with for a "short" time, and believed this to be the author's intention. This man's heart is most assuredly not taken—which means I've a heroine yet to meet.
So… the question is, if a book's opening is intended to suck you in, ignite your curiosity, and raise questions that must be answered, what elements in this one made it work?
The first two hundred words of the velvet rope linked me to a character I liked and cared about, and by the end of the 1300 word prologue, when his world changed beyond anything he could imagine, I hit reading overdrive and could not stop.
Thank you, Jojo Moyes.
EC Sheedy]]>


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Daniel Craig Talks "Inspirational" Presidential Election
Making a stylish arrival to the land Down Under, Daniel Craig touched down at Sydney International Airport in Australia on Wednesday (November 14).
The James Bond hunk looked as handsome as ever in a black leather jacket and sunglasses, as he walked to a waiting car.
In related news, Daniel recently sat down with Global Grind, where he opened up about his feelings on the recent Presidential race.
"[The election] was great," Craig said. "It was very inspiring, watching the democratic process work - and it did."
The English heartthrob also added that "It's complicated, getting your head around the collegital electo-whatever it's called, the votes in each state. But it's incredibly inspiring."
To hear more of what Daniel had to say check out the video below!
Enjoy the pictures of Daniel Craig at Sydney International Airport (November 14).
Photo Credit: SplashNewsOnline.com, AKM-GSI


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Your Account
Manage the huMONGOus amount of data collected through your web application with MongoDB. This authoritative introduction—written by a core contributor to the project—shows you the many advantages of using document-oriented databases, and demonstrates how this reliable, high-performance system allows for almost infinite horizontal scalability.
This updated second edition provides guidance for database developers, advanced configuration for system administrators, and an overview of the concepts and use cases for other people on your project. Ideal for NoSQL newcomers and experienced MongoDB users alike, this guide provides numerous real-world schema design examples.
Kristina is a software engineer who worked on the MongoDB core for five years. She led MongoDB's replica set development as well as writing the PHP and Perl drivers. She has given talks on MongoDB at meetups and conferences around the world and maintains a blog on technical topics at http://www.kchodorow.com. She currently works at Google.
View Kristina Chodorow's full profile page.
The animal on the cover of MongoDB: The DefinitiveGuide is a mongoose lemur, a member of a highly diverse group ofprimates endemic to Madagascar. Ancestral lemurs are believed to haveinadvertently traveled to Madagascar from Africa (a trip of at least 350miles) by raft some 65 million years ago. Freed from competition with otherAfrican species (such as monkeys and squirrels), lemurs adapted to fill awide variety of ecological niches, branching into the almost 100 speciesknown today. These animals' otherworldly calls, nocturnal activity, andglowing eyes earned them their name, which comes from thelemures (specters) of Roman myth. Malagasy culture alsoassociates lemurs with the supernatural, variously considering them thesouls of ancestors, the source of taboo, or spirits bent on revenge. Somevillages identify a particular species of lemur as the ancestor of theirgroup. Mongoose lemurs (Eulemur mongoz) are medium-sizedlemurs, about 12 to 18 inches long and 3 to 4 pounds. The bushy tail adds anadditional 16 to 25 inches. Females and young lemurs have white beards,while males have red beards and cheeks. Mongoose lemurs eat fruit andflowers and they act as pollinators for some plants; they are particularlyfond of the nectar of the kapok tree. They may also eat leaves and insects. Mongoose lemurs inhabit the dry forests of northwestern Madagascar.One of the two species of lemur found outside of Madagascar, they also livein the Comoros Islands (where they are believed to have been introduced byhumans). They have the unusual quality of being cathemeral (alternatelywakeful during the day and at night), changing their activity patterns tosuit the wet and dry seasons. Mongoose lemurs are threatened by habitat lossand they are classified as a vulnerable species. The cover image is from Lydekker's Royal NaturalHistory. The cover font is Adobe ITC Garamond. The text font isAdobe Minion Pro; the heading font is Adobe Myriad Condensed; and the code font is Dalton Maag's Ubuntu Mono
(based on 9 reviews)
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(5 of 5 customers found this review helpful)
Author should update this book
By jar2711
from San Jose, CA
About Me Developer
Comments about oreilly MongoDB: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition:
Comprehensive but out of date. It is is good for version 2.x of MongoDB.
Bottom Line No, I would not recommend this to a friend
Was this review helpful? Yes / No
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Good General Book
By Jay Zee
from Florida
Liked the general coverage of topics. Seems like some more background before starting examples would have been helpful. Would have liked more coverage of the Java driver.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
I would buy this product again
By Tomas
from Czech Republic
I have only started read the book.Good that it tries to be neutral, that MongoDB is not the adversary to SQL DB.I will use first third of the book - because of using in developing applications. Administration of the Mongo I am less interested.
Excellent book for all MongoDb users!
By colinsulin
from San Diego
About Me Designer, Developer
A great book that I use often. I have the first edition and I needed to upgrade after we upgraded our level of MongoDb. This book really helped me understand a lot of the finer points of MongoDb. I would recommend this book for all levels of MongoDb users.
All you need to know about MongoDB
By Lionel
from Paris, France
A must have to learn and deploy MongoDB. Good from the begining to the deployment and security settings.
By Leam
from Radford, Va
About Me Sys Admin, Systemsengineer
Kristina explains complex topics clearly. The book is fun to read without being frivolous and provides a lot of information in about 400 pages. Each chapter dives into a topic but doesn't lose you in a morass of details. You get what you need, the examples are clear, and chapters are short enough to digest. My only frustration is that the editing job was not rigorous. Phrase mismatches, scripts unnamed, and words broken between lines with no hyphenation.If you're interested in MongoDB and are ready to go from "Zero to Hero", look no further. This book and some hands-on experience will make you a valuable player in the NoSQL realm.
Very good book
By Markus Jais
from Germany
About Me Developer, Software architect
Disclaimer: I got a free copy of this book as part of the O'Reilly Blogger Review program. The opinion here is not influenced by that.It is only my own and honest opinion of this product.MongoDB is one of the stars in the NoSQL market (surpassed in popularity maybe only by Cassandra) and several books are now available.One of the most popular ones has been MongoDB: The Definitive Guide of which a 2nd edition is now available .The 2nd edition is about twice as big as the first edition and has over 400 pages.The book covers everything from the basics to replication, sharding, server administration and schema design.I liked the examples chosen. They are not too complicated and as a reader I could concentrate on the MongoDB stuff and didn't have to invest a lot of time to understand the business logic of the examples (some books come up with way to complicated examples and then have a hard time explaining what's really important to the reader).The text is easy to read and never gets boring. I like the fact that the PDF ebook has syntax highlighting in the code examples, that makes the examples easier to read.I would have liked to see a short comparison with some other NoSQL databases like Riak or Cassandra but one can find this information online via a Google search easily.The book is not intended as a guide to all the different drivers for different languages. But when you understand the content of the book, it shouldn't be too hard to use it from any programming language that has a decent driver for MongoDB like Scala, Java, Python or Ruby.Summary:If you are a developer or system administrator working with MongoDB and want a comprehensive, easy to read book, I highly recommend "MongoDB: The Definitive Guide, 2nd Edition".
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
Exactly what I needed
By Just Visiting
from London, UK
I'm looking into MongoDB for a cloud startup: it's my first serious use of a document-centric store. I guess I'm somewhere between ambitious novice and early intermediate on O'Reilly's scale. If you're in a similar place then this title deserves to be on your bookshelf. The first half is an thorough introduction to designing a MongoDB collection: easy to read with right-size examples. Indexing, aggregation and document embedding are clearly explained with tips about optimizations and design trade-offs. For deeper discussion of specific use cases Rick Copeland's "MongoDB Applied Design Patterns" might be a good companion text. The second half is mainly about deployment decisions (replication, sharding, administration) and looks ideal, but I haven't dug so deeply into that yet.
it's everything at once
By Jaroslav Kubíček
from Hradec Králové, Czech republic
Althought I studied Mongo DBA and Dev courses I learn many new and helpfull things. Book is not tedious list of functions, but it's full list of great tips.
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text: Well, here are the pictures. I have had the car a month and finally decided to post it. One thing, I cannot take good pictures. I realized there are too many shadows. Oh well, anyway, very pleased with the car. I initially bought a new '03 EVO VIII. Deal did not work out. So after a week with the car, I returned it. Glad it did not work out either. After living with it, I did not like the car much. Short gearing, rough ride, I mean real rough ride, noisy, off / on boost.


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FREE Tai Chi with Hector Ruiz
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This ancient Chinese form of stress management calms the mind and relaxes the body with slow, gentle movements. Open to all levels.
This class is open to the community! Bring your family and friends!
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text:
New species of Rhynchelmis (Clitellata, Lumbriculidae), with observations on the Nearctic species
- Cite this article as:
- Fend, S.V. & Brinkhurst, R.O. Hydrobiologia (2000) 428: 1. doi:10.1023/A:1003919312142
The Nearctic species of Rhynchelmis (Lumbriculidae) are distinguished from the Palearctic group Rhynchelmis s. str. by longitudinal muscle bands that do not curl inwards. Six new species from western North America support the existence of two major groupings within the Nearctic fauna. Species in Group 1 are distinguished from other Rhynchelmis by large penial bulbs and multiple spermathecal diverticula. Within Group 1, Rhynchelmis yakimorumn. sp.,Rhynchelmis monsserratusn. sp.,Rhynchelmis gustafsonin. sp. and Rhynchelmis utahensisn. sp. differ from the related Rhynchelmis (=Sutroa) rostrata in having short penes and spermathecae with 2 short, lobed diverticula. R. monsserratus is distinguished by a single, median spermatheca, R. gustafsoni has closely appressed, median spermathecae and atria, and R. utahensis differs in structural details of spermathecae and male pores. Rhynchelmis gilensisn. sp. has a single, median spermatheca with unbranched diverticula and distinctive nephridia. Redescription of material from the type localities of both Sutroa alpestris and R. rostrata supports their combination. Group 2, corresponding in part to Rhynchelmoides, is distinguished from Group 1 mostly by characters that are inconsistent or appear plesiomorphic. Within Group 2, Rhynchelmis saxosan. sp. closely resembles Rhynchelmis alaskana, except for the absence of lateral blood vessels in posterior segments and distribution of prostates. Rhynchelmis elrodi and Rhynchelmis glandula consistently differ in presence of ventral glands and have different distributions, so their supposed synonymy is rejected.


text:
Sheriff's deputies say Ismael Ortiz of Brocton abused the girl between October 31 and November 20 in a house in the Town of Portland.
Ortiz is charged with first-degree sexual assault and is jailed on $30,000 bail.
The investigation started with Child Protective Services. The DA's office and the county child advocacy program were also involved in the investigation.