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Check Out Our Most Recent Insurance Posts
Don't order 'takeout' insurance if you're a Florida homeowner
I don't live in Florida. But if I did - and owned a home by the water - I'd probably be bombarded with "takeout" offers. Only they're not from the local pizza place, Chinese restaurant or fast-food chain. Instead they're from brand-new property-casualty insurance companies that operate only in Florida and have not yet lived through a hurricane. They're telling homeowners that their entry into the insurance market is "good news for you!" But is it? Ever since the disastrous 2005 hurricane season when Florida took a one-two punch from Katrina and Wilma, home insurers have been popping up faster than orange blossoms. A quick check of the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation indicates that at least 25 are currently operating. But six of these "pop-up" insurers have also gone out of business since 2005, according to the Orlando Sun-Sentinel. Welcome to the neighborhood The Florida insurance department is more than happy to have these new insurance companies because they take pressure off the state-sponsored insurer, Citizens Property Insurance. This "insurer of last resort" was designed to provide windstorm coverage for homeowners who were rejected elsewhere. And in 2005 many Floridians became part of that group after Katrina and Wilma… (continue reading......)
Driverless-car technology: "It's kinda scary"
In the old sci-fi TV series The Outer Limits each episode began with an eerie voice heard over a scrambled picture saying, "There is nothing wrong with your television … we are now in control of the transmission … we control all you see and hear." I thought about this when I read a recent New York Times story describing how banks and car dealers were installing engine cut-off switches in cars sold to borrowers with less-than-perfect credit histories. If he or she is overdue in paying back the loan, the lender will send out a signal that prevents the car from starting or disables it while driving. One woman found out the hard way that she was delinquent in her payments when she tried to drive her daughter to a hospital emergency room. There are two million automobiles that now have "starter interruption switches" in them, according to the Times. You're not in control Let's put this aside for now, as well as any thoughts about the danger to drivers -- yourself included -- when a credit loan officer flips a switch that stops the car ahead of you on a freeway. Instead let's focus on the privacy issue.… (continue reading......)
Joan Rivers' death raises the question: outpatient or hospital?
If you undergo a surgical procedure as I did this year, the tragic case of Joan Rivers should raise a lot of questions – some of which relate to health insurance. Amid all the controversy surrounding what happened at the Yorkville Endoscopy Center in New York City, two investigations are already underway: one by the New York State Health Department, the other by New York City police. And the medical director of the center, who reportedly presided over the procedure on her vocal cords, was fired when published reports alluded to the presence of another – unauthorized – doctor, according to ABC News. It could take months or even years for doctors, lawyers and investigators to sort this out, but the question remains: When your doctor tells you to have a routine surgical procedure, should it be done at an outpatient facility, as Rivers did, or at a hospital? Hospital look-alikes Outpatient facilities, or "ambulatory surgical centers" as they are also known, have become increasingly commonplace. There are more than 5,000 nationwide, and they perform 23 million surgeries a year, ranging from routine colonoscopies to more complicated knee and hip replacements. Many resemble actual hospitals with operating room monitoring equipment… (continue reading......)
Teach your children how to stay safe during football season
I know it's football season when I see the guys walking home from practice still wearing shoulder pads under their jerseys. Last year my local high school team won our state division championship. So when they pass me by I say, "Good luck this year." And one will invariably smile and reply, "No worries, man." Tell that to the NFL No worries? Tell that to all the former professional football players and their families who have sued or already settled with the National Football League. The NFL has spent more than a billion dollars trying to rehabilitate retirees with trauma and brain injuries. Tell it to the family of Junior Seau, the great all-pro linebacker who committed suicide while suffering from a sleep disorder. An autopsy found he had the same type of chronic brain damage that left other pros in wheelchairs or in nursing homes with Alzheimer's. When you're a high school athlete whose dream is to play in the NFL, you don't think about life after your playing career. A study by the non-profit advocacy group Safe Kids Worldwide shows that more than half of the 1,000 young athletes surveyed, between 7th and 10th grades, admitted they "played… (continue reading......)
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Teri - from Omaha, NE
The best icing color to use for coloring spritz cookies is Wilton Icing Color. Using a toothpick, add a small amount of color to your cookie dough and either knead the color in, like fondant, or use a stand mixture to incorporate the color. Wilton icing color is super concentrated so remember a small amount goes a long way. And make sure to color your cookies slightly darker than you normally would because after colored cookies bake they look a little lighter.

subset: commoncrawl


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Well it's a definite there bringing new iPhone 5s and the new mini with retina. But through the year they'll probably do the iMac retina. Iwatch (idk how they can make it amazing) itv. The stupid beetle thing. That's all I can think of.
The iWatch, iCar, and probably the iRefrigerator
Please no iPhablet for the love of god no, i hate the size of the gsIII/IV, let alone the note 2, But an iWatch and an iTv would be lovely
I would bet money that even if Jobs were alive now Apple would still be in the same position (declining stocks, perceived stagnant innovation, etc.), except people wouldn't be as fussy because they trusted Jobs. Poor Tim Cook is just in a bad situation.


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Their fermented plant derived progesterone and estrogens are derived from wild yam. Bezwecken's products are soon to be all vegetarian, and have never been tested on animals. Bezwecken's products are primarily gluten free. There is a small trace amount of gluten in Bezwecken's crème topical formulas. Bezwecken's products are generally lactose-tolerant. Lactose is administered with lactase so it is easily digestible even for those patients that are lactose-intolerant. Bezwecken's Practices: Bezwecken is committed to its practitioners. Bezwecken's loyal healthcare professionals are the backbone of their business and they are dedicated to providing you with unparalleled service. What sets Bezwecken apart is in their small size. Bezwecken is a privately owned, small company that focuses on what they do best: providing reliable products for women's healthcare needs. Because of their size, it is easy for Bezwecken to practice accountability in all facets of their business. Bezwecken is intimate with their products, manufacturing and packaging them with exceptional care. Bezwecken takes the time to guarantee that the materials are verified and independently tested to ensure the purity and quality of the finished product. Good Manufacturing Practices: Bezwecken has long practiced the mantra of "accountability". Long before the release of the Food and Drug Administration's published guidelines for current Good Manufacturing Practices, Bezwecken has focused on quality in all aspects of manufacturing and packaging. Quality is an integral part of every step in Bezwecken's manufacturing process. Quality Control operations are employed to ensure that the dietary supplement products conform to standards of purity, potency, quality and composition, and that packaging materials are safe and intended for their purpose. Compliance with Bezwecken's quality systems provide the assurance that every raw material used in a product meets set specifications, as well as the assurance that every product shipped to customers meets safety and quality standards set forth in Bezwecken's good manufacturing practices. Good manufacturing practices govern everything from raw material handling, testing, manufacturing, product labeling, packaging and storing. Unlike some of their competitors, Bezwecken tests every lot number of their dietary supplements for microbial contamination, heavy metals and potency. Bezwecken does not practice skip lot testing. This ensures that every dietary supplement your patient receives will be safe and deliver consistent results. About the founder and formulator, Dr. Shefrin: David K. 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In 1989, Dr. Shefrin completed his Bachelor of Science degree from the University of the State of New York at Albany. In 1991, after many years of successful practice, Dr. Shefrin established Bezwecken, Inc., in order to provide patients with herbal supplements that would provide effective and consistent results. Bezwecken's herbal supplements are unmatched in the industry and have established a loyal following. For this reason, Bezwecken is now celebrating 20+ years of excellence in the industry. Awards and Recognition: Bezwecken was awarded the first "2001 Corporation of the Year" Award by the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians in Tucson, Arizona. Bezwecken is a current partner of "1,000 Friends of NCNM" and a sponsor of NCNM's Residency Program. Dr. Shefrin is a member of the Founder's Club of the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians and served as Vice President of the Board of Directors, for the Arizona Association of Naturopathic Physicians from 1985-1988. In 1996, he was awarded the Presidential Award and presidential citation from the American Association of Naturopathic Physicians. Dr. Shefrin served as the Chairman of the Board for the Arizona based Southwest College of Naturopathic Medicine and Health Sciences. In 2001 was awarded, one of only three, National College of Naturopathic Medicine Presidential Medallion by Dr. Clyde Jensen for heroic leadership and philanthropy in naturopathic medicine, education and entrepreneurism. In 2005, Dr. Shefrin was awarded the 3rd honorary doctorate given in over 50 years from the National College of Natural Medicine (NCNM).


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Herald staff
EVERETT — The state Department of Corrections is being sued for allegedly ignoring court orders that in the early 1990s should have kept a convicted child molester away from a young girl he abused for years in Snohomish County.
The lawsuit was filed Wednesday on behalf of a Florida woman, now 26. It names as defendants the state corrections department and the former wife of Claude Baker.
Baker was convicted in 1990 of molesting young girls in Chelan County. He died in 2011 at 62.
The Florida woman was adopted by Baker and his wife in 1988, when she was a toddler, according to documents filed in Snohomish County Superior Court.
After his conviction, he was ordered to have no contact with children, and placed under community supervision by the state.
Despite the court order that he stay away from children, state officials allowed Claude Baker in October 1992 to return to live with his family in Snohomish County, according to attorneys with the Seattle-based Kosnoff Fasy law firm.
The girl was then 6. Baker repeatedly sexually abused her until July 1995, the lawsuit says.
Baker's then-wife "knew or should have known that Claude was sexually abusing their daughter, but she took no steps to stop or report the abuse," the attorneys alleged.
Meanwhile, the state ignored the court orders and its own information about Claude Baker's sexual attraction to young girls, the lawyers said.
The lawsuit seeks the Florida woman's attorneys fees and unspecified damages to be proven at trial.


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Thursday, January 13, 2011
The Greatest Challenge Agents Will Face: Standardization of Terms
I want to emphasize up front that the views here expressed are completely my own and may not reflect the views of my previous employer.
You know that phrase about how a combative person could start a fight in an empty room? Well, agents could start a negotiation in an empty room.
And because of that, despite what you may hear in some circles, I really, truly don't think agents are going away in the new era of publishing. Agents are way too important to the business, authors need advocates, and whatever frustrations the unpublished may have with the whole getting-an-agent process, I think it's pretty telling that authors don't just ditch their agents the minute they finally get a deal.
Agents are not just gatekeepers, and they are very important for authors who want to maximize their revenue and stay in the publishing game. They serve as an important point of continuity, they are great at getting the most out of an author's potential, and heck, I was an agent in real life and I still have an agent. She's a crucial and indispensable part of my career as a writer.
But even if I feel very strongly that agents will survive into the e-book era, the times are definitely changing, and old systems are facing new challenges.
And what's the biggest challenge agents will face? I wonder if it's standardization of terms.
The unpublished often believe that agents exist because of the publishing funnel, and to be sure, that has helped cement agents' central importance to the publishing business. But what really enables agents to exist is the fact that up until recently, every deal, big or small, was up for negotiation--the size of the advance, the terms of the contract, the rights up for discussion. As long as there were complex facets to a publishing deal and those elements were up for discussion, authors needed an experienced advocate to get the best terms.
But technology and scale are increasingly facilitating one-size-fits-all deal models that are fair for all parties. And that, I think, is potentially a threat to the future of agenting as we know it.
Apple's iTunes and App stores have been revolutionary in many respects, but perhaps the most revolutionary is the one-size-fits-all 70/30 revenue split for all apps and content. Big companies, small companies, in between companies, it's a 70/30 split. That's the deal. That 70/30 split is so powerful it even caused most major publishers to adopt the model across the board for e-books.
Don't like the 70/30 split? Well, too bad. It's not up for negotiation.
And what happens if/when this is applied to the publishing world? You're already seeing this essential model utilized by e-book distributors like Smashwords, who take a standard percentage cut for e-distributing your book. If you sell 5 copies or 500,000, it's the same split. Everyone gets the same deal, and there's no room for negotiation.
And if there's nothing to negotiate, do you really need an agent?
Well, you might actually! There are still subsidiary rights to consider, like film and foreign rights (assuming you're big enough to be offered foreign rights and film deals), and thinking about the various elements that go into making a book, having an agent can provide some of that crucial cachet that can help a book's success.
But I wonder if the old agenting model of taking 15% commission is increasingly only going to be viable for agents representing the biggest of authors: the writers who have enough clout to have publishers fighting to offer them large advances and who, therefore, have the ability to negotiate their own terms, and who are generating sufficient revenue.
But everyone else? In the e-book era, I think you'll increasingly see advances give way to a more standardized split in revenue based on actual copies sold. And when that happens, agents will have their traditional role challenged and will have to find new ways to stay relevant if there are no significant terms to negotiate. And if the trend of polarization between blockbusters and everyone else continues, you could see this squeeze even further.
If there's nothing meaningful to negotiate, an author may well need someone to help them navigate the ins and outs of the publication process. So will some agents then move to some sort of billable hourly rate or a consulting model or some other flexible combination? We shall see.
I really truly don't think agents will go away, but I wonder if agents of the future may have to adapt to an unfamiliar new foe: standardization.
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58 comments:
- Jennifer Jackson said...
More and more agents are becoming diversified in the services they provide their authors so I don't believe they will ever "go out of style."
While it is true standard percentages can take out some guess work, it really helps to have an agent in your corner when considering things not just in contract. If I tell an editor I (without being contrary at every turn) despise the book cover and she is wanting to push to print, she'll tell me tough cookies but if I have an agent on my side who also feels strongly about my book well, it could help change things for me.
I also know a fair amount of agents who are expanding into publicist territory at least in an unofficial capacity.
- January 13, 2011 at 10:18 AM
- Sherri said...
From my limited perspective, I find it hard to believe there will be a standard applicable to every project. Though certain aspects may be standardized in the future, we will need still agents. Unless every publisher signs an ironclad agreement not to negotiate, period, there will always be someone willing to sweeten the deal for coveted projects. Don't you think?
- January 13, 2011 at 10:25 AM
- Nathan Bransford said...
For coveted projects, yes definitely. But for unknown projects, I'm not quite as sure.
- January 13, 2011 at 10:27 AM
- Jen Albin said...
I find this troubling as a first time writer who plans to query in the spring. I know I want to work with an agent, so when I read things about how much e-books are changing the name of the game I wonder what all of us industry newbies will do if we don't secure an agent quickly. If agents become increasingly interested in established clients with a proven publishing history will that edge out those of us looking to get signed? Will we suffer from neglect in favor of older clients if we do? I don't want to negotiate terms myself, so standardization concerns me.
- January 13, 2011 at 10:33 AM
- Connie Pilston Shoemaker said...
I am new author. (have been published in periodicals for years but books I am finding are a different animal) First book done. Beginning that whole to find an agent or not dilema. I think for the novice writer agents will always have a market. It seems the more experienced and widely published authors I talk to think going it alone is an option. Ebooks are forcing everyone in publishing from authors to agents to redifine the publishing fields. For those of us who find the waters a bit muddy or trecherous, it seems agents are almost a non negotiable necessity. I doubt that will change much.
- January 13, 2011 at 10:34 AM
- Jayme Stryker said...
I cannot imagine wanting to navigate the world of publishing on my own, since there are many facets of the process that I don't understand as you mentioned. Even if the contract was not up for negotiation, I feel there is a benefit to working with a professional, someone who has made it their business to know the industry. Experience is invaluable, and I would still prefer to have someone in my corner with the experience I lack.
In regards to agents being gatekeepers, I think I would rather have someone minding the gate. If I can impress an agent enough that he or she will champion my work, awesome. It may prevent my imaginary herd of cattle from escaping and leaving cow pies all over the place. Ideally, a good gatekeeper could prevent heavy shoveling work later.
- January 13, 2011 at 10:36 AM
- Reena Jacobs said...
I don't think agents are going anywhere and the royalty split might not change. However, I do think agents will start taking on different roles as authors look to other avenues for publication. Amanda Hocking is an excellent example. Of course her results are unusual, but her choices set the stage.
Last month she sold over 100k copies in eBooks by going the indie route. She received an offer from a publisher which she declined. HOWEVER!!! she still has an agent (Steven Axelrod).
Why would she need an agent if she's turning down publishers? Her answer is she doesn't have the know how to deal with contracts for foreign rights, audio, translations, etc. So rather than deal with herself, she turns to an agent.
In the end, the deal works out far better for her, I think. She still deals with the 30/70 split by working directly with the distributors (Amazon, B&B, etc). Yet she gets the bigger cut (70% instead of 25%) by continuing to go indie.
Of course she's still responsible for other aspects (editing, cover art, etc). However, it's not going to eat up that 50% gap in profits. Good deal.
In terms of the agent, perhaps it'll work out better for them also. Bypassing the publishers and going directly the distribution channels means more profit for them too. I don't know the rules for foreign, audio, etc. But if agents can negotiate directly with the distributors instead of the publishers, it's a win for agents and authors. Who wouldn't want a cut directly out of the 30/70 model versus 6-10% of the 30/70 model?
- January 13, 2011 at 10:42 AM
- Anony said...
Sure, we can all post our "ohmigosh I love agents and I HAVE TO HAVE them in order to sell my book--it's too hard on my own."
But this is just not the case. Through blogging, twitter, and other social media pretty much everyone has the same opportunities to get to know editors at major publishing houses as agents do.
And, if the fee for publishing a book becomes standardized, and there's nothing like that to negotiate, then why on earth would we need agents?
Foreign rights? Ebooks will render those a thing of the past. Film rights? Yeah, that's still a possibility, but those could potentially be negotiated after the book's been published and had a successful run.
Sure, it's nice to have someone "in your corner" and all that, but it won't last forever. It sucks to have your career determined by someone else--agents quit the business, move on to editorial positions, or whatever... but you and only YOU will always put your own story as the number one priority.
- January 13, 2011 at 10:58 AM
- S. Kyle Davis said...
I agree with you Nathan (and the other commenters) that agents will go away. However, I also wondered about advances.
Do you see advances going away? Or do you see advances standardized? If not, then I think there will always be a place for agents in that part of the negotiating process, even if the rest of the agent's role transitions into editing, prepping, advocating etc., being the bulk of the actual "work."
I personally can't see royalties going away (not that you said that). Too many authors are dependent on that initial income as payoff for the years of work they put into it. Perhaps, if we moved into a more standarized culture, the royalties could be lower overall (as not selling through an advance is a major source of financial loss for the publisher). However, I can't see them going away completely.
- January 13, 2011 at 11:00 AM
- Lexi said...
There's a small but increasing band of authors, turned down by agents, who have successfully self-published.
We are demonstrating that actually, an agent isn't essential. Or a publisher either. And you know, making your own decisions isn't that scary, and it's certainly empowering.
Roll on the revolution :o)
- January 13, 2011 at 11:06 AM
- S. Kyle Davis said...
@Anony: You are forgetting the whole "gatekeeping" aspect of an agent's job. It's an important role, and one I don't see going away. Besides, agents also often provide invaluable editorial service for their clients, and help make a manuscript publish-ready before submitting to an editor. They also know which editors to submit too, which is important. I can read a blog and say hi to someone on twitter, but that's not the same thing as going out with the person, having a drink, and saying, "Oh hey, here's this manuscript I rep."
Sure, there may be more avenues to market, and more avenues to publishers directly, but people are people, and they'll still be looking for ways to fight the slush. Agents are, and I think always will be, a way to do that.
- January 13, 2011 at 11:06 AM
- Jen Albin said...
Anony, as a former small business owner who "did it all" myself - twitter, blogging, production, marketing, design, pr, I think you underestimate the value of having someone in your corner. Writing is a business, and there are many things we are responsible for accomplishing, so, word to the wise, delegate what you can. It really does not benefit your writing to not have an agent. Sure, you can spend all your time on self-promotion, but I'd rather spend it on my craft.
- January 13, 2011 at 11:06 AM
- Mira said...
Fascinating article. Thanks, Nathan. You're dead on target about the standardization of terms, that makes total sense.
My predictions: In a way, I believe agenting will survive, but it won't be called agenting, and it will be optional.
For awhile, agenting will continue simply because authors are used to them, are used to thinking that they need them and because it is scary to go it alone without guidance.
Over time, though, e-publishers will begin to offer the same services. If an author wants certain things, like subsidary rights representation, marketing guidance or editing, they will either offer that up-front or as a part of an additional service.
The smart literary agencies will morph into one of these e-publishing agencies and take their current client load with them.
The smart agents wihtout agencies will redefine themselves as 'career builders'. They will be competing with e-publishers who offer the same service. So, they may become a luxury item hired (not by blockbuster authors per se) but by those who have the money. Hiring an agent, with all of their experience and saavy will be attractive to those who can afford it.
So, that's what I think. Could be wrong, of course, but those are my predictions, for what it's worth.
- January 13, 2011 at 11:14 AM
- Stephen Duncan said...
Sometimes, it's hard to remember the business aspect of this biz, whe you're so focused on the creative.
When I had an agent (single tear), and Nathan might not feel the same having worked in the business, one of the things I was so thankful for was how connected my agent was. Relationships are vital to doing good business, and building them takes time and energy. Sometimes who you know can be a benefit. And, for an author, wouldn't that time and energy to write, anyway?
While a homogenization of terms might cement the 'how' of a business deal, having an agent can help you negotiate the 'who,' 'when,' and if he or she is a participating part of your editing process, the 'what.' For these reasons, I can't ever imagine trying to navigate this biz without an agent.
- January 13, 2011 at 11:19 AM
- Porter Anderson said...
Picking up on Reena's good comment, I think I see the lifespan of publishers shortening faster than that of agents, Nathan. This is because an agent's role is morphing into something that includes vehicle design, not just content. The agent already is doing the work of acquiring editors, often of publicity departments, and is advising and negotiating pathways to distribution, more and more of which lie outside traditional routes.
While offshore and film rights negotiations, of course, may remain closer to current patterns, the the future of smart agenting lies in the transmedia efforts being tracked by Digital Book World's Guy LeCharles Gonzalez ( http://www.digitalbookworld.com ), by Jane Friedman ( http://blog.writersdigest.com/norules/ ) and by rich-media developmental specialists like Dan Blank of We Grow Media ( http://www.wegrowmedia.com ).
In the same way that authors are hustling to embrace and capitalize on the potentials of the e-phenomena, a clever agent can become, him- or herself, an enabling mentor and impresario, guiding authors to recast and envision projects to achieve their transmedial possibilities.
As Jimmy Cramer ( http://www.cnbc.com/id/15838459 ) loves to say, there's always a bull market somewhere. An agent's job is rapidly becoming that of the experienced scout who can get to the top of the hill, see where the new markets are rising, and signal back down to her or his authors the best concepts, techniques, and evocations of storytelling to deploy.
- January 13, 2011 at 11:33 AM
- Cheryl said...
It's definitely changing but I agree with you, agents will always play a role. Even if all the major houses start PODing their books and e-publishing, someone still has to negotiate the other rights. I think that even a self-publisher would love to have an agent shopping their work for licensing.
A big question that I have is what happens now? Are publishers going to try to keep erights in perpetuity? And will they do the same to the pub rights if all houses start PODing? What are the potential problems with signing over these rights in perpetuity?
Agents are rather important, not just in selling a book to a publisher. But there are only so many film options to be negotiated which leaves a large hole where the agent's income used to be. Will they need to branch out into more areas like actively trying to make larger merch deals? Will expanding licensing effectively move up the priority list?
- January 13, 2011 at 11:41 AM
- Munk Davis said...
I "really truly" think you are right. In the future the best "agents" may be the best editors and e-marketers. I would be more than willing to share my (currently non-existent) earnings with a crackerjack editor. Especially one who was vested in "our" product.
- January 13, 2011 at 11:44 AM
- Steve said...
What percentage of published books in the US get international sales and film rights sold? Is it more than 1%?
- January 13, 2011 at 11:48 AM
- JES said...
I don't think I'd want to do without an agent.
As some people have said (not just here), "Whatever an agent does, I can do in the brave new world! I can tweet, blog, and update FB with the best agents around!" Er, yes, and maybe so can I. But I don't want to do all that. The most valuable commodity I've got access to is time: time to write, time to read, time to belong to a family and a circle of friends.
Translation: damn right I want an agent.
Standardized terms? I don't know. To me, this has the feel of other "book publishing is just like music publishing!" analogies. I mean, maybe such terms are becoming a de facto standard, in which case que sera, sera. But I don't get why it makes sense to standardize, even for unknown authors. Publishers tell us the all-digital future won't necessarily mean cheaper books, because of all the, um, analog costs (people, especially). Unless the analog costs suddenly get into lockstep for every book (which I really really cannot see happening), why should the contracts standardize?
- January 13, 2011 at 11:51 AM
This was an enlightening post.
I'm one of those bestselling e-book authors you hear about from time to time...not self-pubbed, I work with publishers...and my sales aren't bad at all. But I go it alone and I'd rather have an agent. The only problem is the agents I've queried don't seem interested. No reply at all. I query with valid information, links to sales ranks, and they don't seem to be interested in 15% of my sales. Maybe they are all looking for blockbusters? Are they too good for a lowly e-book author?
I know, agents are only interested in reading queries about finished works, singularly. I've read all the posts about this rule. They don't care about anything else, past or future; just the most recent work. However, when a published author with over fifty bestselling e-books that are constantly making money each quarter sends a query you'd think someone would be interested in making 15% and helping the poor distressed author figure it all out. Or, at the very least, send a reply.
I hope you're right. Some changes should be happening soon.
You know, Nathan, this might be a good sideline for you. I'm just talking off the top of my head right now. But there are a lot of other authors like me who would be interested in getting representaion in all the new ways you described. I'm contracted for at least ten books a year, at least a year in advance, so that part is easy. Gather a stable of writers like me together as a client list and it might be an interesting concept.
- January 13, 2011 at 12:15 PM
- Yat-Yee said...
WHo knew that something as benign-sounding term as "standardization of terms" can hold so much in its hands. It is not easy to figure out what all these mean objectively. Is it just part of the general doom-and-gloom-prediction-of-publishing,an attitude I know you don't subscribe to. Yet.
So much unknown. Keep us posted, Nathan
- January 13, 2011 at 12:20 PM
- Leila said...
It does sound like, as many people have already said, that agents will still have an important role to play in the future. It's just that the width, depth and breadth of that role will need to be redefined and realigned with the way industry and environmental need evolves.
But isn't this what happens to all/most roles in all organizations over time? A business need or direction changes, so the organization and its people have to change to accommodate the new direction and deliver the new/refined business outcomes. Sometimes it's a shift in job focus, other times it's developing new capabilities, and other times again it's about integrating technology into the mix. Or a combination of all of the above.
Whatever the case, it seems like a natural thing that as the nature of publishing and technology shifts, so should the roles of the people working within it.
Perhaps the trick is not to be scared by it, but, as Nathan seems to be suggesting, redefining one's place within it to remain a viable service provider and valued/key player in the mix.
Maybe agents might adopt a consultancy model, and offer modularized products within an overall suite of services. It would make sense, and caters for people at any stage of the process. The more I think about it, the more it seems that they could actually draw in wider income streams by offering services that were previously part of the 15% in small modular packages.
There is also, of course, the effect of the 'theory is always different to practice' experience. Who knows what the total result of all these changes will be in one, three, five years time? There will always be unexpected 'side effects' or new avenues arising out of a new process that weren't anticipated or were anticipated to go in a different direction. Opportunities for agents could arise out of these unforseen challenges/changes.
Regardless, I wish all agents well. It seems like such a tough industry to be part of, and they are facing challenges on every side of this equation.
- January 13, 2011 at 1:02 PM
- D.G. Hudson said...
In technology, the pat phrase is that as old jobs become outdated, new ones are created. Not necessarily true. But some positions will have to reinvent themselves to work around new paradigms.
I'd prefer an agent to work with, and would prefer that they aren't boxed in by too many restrictions. A lot of jobs are morphing these days, usually to the detriment of the person doing the work.
I can see the Robot Revolution coming. (Perhaps a R2D2-Nathan-vintage agent model? Kind of a clone of the old agent Nathan.)
- January 13, 2011 at 1:30 PM
- Lisa Aldin said...
I agree with what is being said about relationships. An agent has connections to editors that I wouldn't have, no matter how many times I Google. It's the relationship and guidance that also matters.
- January 13, 2011 at 1:35 PM
- Kristin Laughtin said...
Perhaps, but many careers are changing, especially as digital technologies become more prevalent. It's happening like mad in libraries. As for agents, they will still be needed/desired for their connections to editors, as many authors will still want to get signed by big publishers for the potential marketing opportunities and brand recognition, if nothing else. They'll still be desired for editorial suggestions to make books strong and marketable before they are presented to editors at publishing houses. And like Jennifer Jackson said in the first comment, agents may adopt more duties of publicists. (On a literary festival I staff, we contact some authors directly, and for the rest, there seems to be an equal split between having the agent or publicist as the contact person.)
- January 13, 2011 at 2:11 PM
- Dan said...
E-books are eating a chunk of the market, but it's still not clear anything about e-books renders paper books obsolete.
However, let's assume, for the sake of argument, that e-books take enough market share to so it is no longer profitable for bookstores to exist. In that case, publishers as we currently understand them also stop existing.
A big part of their role is to produce the objects, sell them into the stores, deliver them, and take them back if they don't sell. If none of those things matter anymore, all they are is acquisitions, marketing and editorial, and that sparks a huge transformation in their business. In a world without distribution, publishers can no longer justify the share of the cover price they currently command. And in a world where sales contacts with accounts are no longer relevant, smaller operations can compete with big publishers.
What we'll see in publishing is probably what I think we're seeing in music; big studios with extensive sales and distribution operations were replaced with smaller labels fronted by visible producers who have personal "brands" that unknowns want to be affiliated with.
Since many agents are well-connected and their tastes are trusted, and since they are capable of being editors, the agents may cut-out or replace the publishers, rather than vice-versa.
However, I still think e-book sales are likely to plateau, because I don't think the experience of reading a book is improved at all by the devices.
- January 13, 2011 at 2:12 PM
- Reena Jacobs said...
@Jes who said, As some people have said (not just here), "Whatever an agent does, I can do in the brave new world! I can tweet, blog, and update FB with the best agents around!" Er, yes, and maybe so can I. But I don't want to do all that.
Regardless of having an agent or not, the author still takes on quite a bit of responsibility when it comes to marketing and social-networking. Yes, your agent might tweet once or twice something new about your work, but the tough job of marketing lands in the plate of most author.
Publishing companies have really cut back on marketing campaigns and reserve the funds they do have for the big names. So be prepared... you might find yourself taking on a hat other than just writer if you want your works to succeed in the market place. :)
- January 13, 2011 at 2:24 PM
Yep. You are correct. A similar situation occurred with financial industry. Before my time mutual funds charged a flat fee, period and it was high, something like 8% off the git-go. Then it was regulated down and then the discounter mutual funds like Fidelity got into the act driving fees down. Then the brokerage firms and their financial consultants were challenged with the rise of the brokerage discounters like Charles Schwabb, etc. and the demise of the stock broker was loudly predicted. We are still around. Though the industry has adapted. It is what will transpire with literary agents. They won't go away, but they will have to offer 'value added' services to justify their existence and fees. It is the way of the world.
- January 13, 2011 at 2:33 PM
- Cheryl said...
I think *if* publishers were to become obsolete because of the lack of bookstores, it would only be in the sense that they downsized significantly. I'm already envisioning POD machines all over the place, like DVD rental machines right on the sidewalks of gas stations and next to the soda machines at the malls. Books through brightly lit, plexiglas veneered vending machines with a color touchscreen just waiting to be poked by germy fingers. Maybe even a POD machine that will actually print the darn book right then and there (true print on demand). That might be stretching it but who knows what technology will bring. But there will always be a market for print books, even if it shrinks.
- January 13, 2011 at 2:35 PM
- Anne R. Allen said...
The Anonymous stockbroker above gives a great analogy. Thanks. That really makes sense.
Having sold two books without an agent, I know I do NOT want to do that again. I've learned a lot about the business since, but I still want a pro in my corner, just the way I want a financial advisor to guide me through the investment maze.
- January 13, 2011 at 2:47 PM
- Geoff said...
Great post, Nathan. I've been arguing the price/cost comparisons of e-books and hardcovers all day on FB. The question of agents throws another wrench in the gears, especially when considering self-pub.
So many transitions and questions in the e-book era!
- January 13, 2011 at 3:07 PM
- Erick Pettersen said...
I actually wrote a blog on the changing roles of literary agents in the age of e-books several months ago. All in all, I don't see them becoming obsolete, but they will need to adapt.
As a to-be published author, my perception of the role of literary agents has been that they traditionally handled the ins and outs of everything from signing contracts to setting up tours to scheduling interviews.
Now, with social media as the industrial revolution of the 21st century, that adds a whole new monster. I see the author as needing to take on a more direct role in the process and the agent taking on more of the role of a consultant. That doesn't mean the agent won't help in the process of signing contracts, etc. I believe it means the agent and author will find themselves collaborating with each other more, rather than the agent holding the author's hand. At least for newer authors.
Here's that link:
Nathan, I'd love your thoughts if you have a moment.
- January 13, 2011 at 3:11 PM
Yup, it's the haves vs. the have nots model extended to every possible type of business that exists in the U.S., including publishing. If you get really, really successful and make a lot of money for the publishing company, then you're a have and the company will pay you even more to keep you. If you're a midlist author, you're not that valuable as a commodity and you can just suck it up and be thankful for your 30%. The positive side of self-publishing on the Internet is that, if you don't mind not making money for a while and you want to speak out independently in the way that The Huffington Post does for Internet news, you now have a way to do that. The same goes for books - if you have a meaningful book that the big corporation publishers aren't interested in publishing, you can publish and market it yourself.
One caveat is that big distributors will censor your book and refuse to sell it if it might lower their profits, e.g. Amazon withdrew an ebook that explained how to manipulate Amazon sales rankings. Oh, the irony.
- January 13, 2011 at 3:32 PM
- Pen and Ink said...
I have three published ebooks and there are foreign rights. My publisher has been approached by other countries wanting to publish there e books. (But gotta tell you- no one I know is making a aliving off ebooks)
I don't have a agent but in my mind, to compete properly in the area of bound boond, it is a necessary thing. Now that I have product to offer,I am going to start looking. I come from the acting field. Without an agent on the film side, you have no access to any kind of roles.
- January 13, 2011 at 3:33 PM
Stephen Duncan, what do you mean, you had an agent? Hope you don't mind me asking.
- January 13, 2011 at 3:35 PM
Any time you have individuals dealing with large businesses, there is a market for those individuals to have professional representatives--representatives who know the business and can act as the individual's advocate. Call them agents, managers, whatever. Agents might become less necessary if every contract became standard and stayed that way, but inevitably, if the big ebook publishers got that kind of power, they would then almost certainly change their standard contract to try to grab more and more rights. And then, somebody new would come in to offer authors a better deal, and there goes the standard.
Ebook publishing is very new. Right now it's dominated by a few players. Those will not necessarily be the same players who dominate the market in ten or fifteen years. Everyone standardizes terms--until they don't. What's to stop a brash young startup from deciding they'll deviate from the 70-30 split by just 5%, to entice more authors? Or to tweak any of the other "standard" terms to undercut the giants of the moment? Or maybe switch to a work-for-hire/book-packaging model, as is already the trend in some places?
Big companies rise and fall. Industries standardize, monopolies form--and then they fall apart. Eventually, someone ALWAYS challenges the alpha company.
All of the above also assumes that ebooks completely replace paper books, which certainly may happen. But at the moment, ebooks are still a small part of the book market, despite all the hype. If ebooks do not replace print but instead become just another market segment, that would further ensure the relevance of agents.
- January 13, 2011 at 3:41 PM
- Stephen Duncan said...
Anony @ 12:35: I was repped by WME, but now I'm not. My former agent decided to focus on celeb memoir since the fiction market is down. Thus, now I am without representation. It was a good business decision on his part, so no hard feelings.
- January 13, 2011 at 3:46 PM
- Porter Anderson said...
Per my earlier comment from this morning, please check out this incisive new post from one of the horses' mouths, agent Mary Kole in Andrea Brown's shop, just posted on Digital Book World by Guy LeCharles Gonzalez.
Kole says, "I'll argue that agents should start treating their clients' business like a tech start-up."
It's a good read at DigitalBookWorld.com: The Agent's Role in Today's Digital Book World
Thanks again for a good discussion, everyone. Nice work, Mary.
- January 13, 2011 at 3:47 PM
I don't see a set standardized agent commission or author royalty in the sweep of history, recent or past.
At one time, agent commission was close to a biblical tithe, ten percent and open to negotiation. Some agents today are asking for and getting up to thirty percent.
A blockbuster bestselling author and his or her agent can ask for and get an escalating tier of royalties based on milestones, based on economy of scale benchmarks. After any advance payoff, say, ten-thousand copy sales, ten percent of sales revenue accounted against full advance payoff, then eleven percent up to fifty thousand copy sales, twelve percent up to one hundred thousand copy sales, and so on into the millions.
I'm quite sure a similar revenue stream for digital publication will emerge. After costs and built in profit margins are met, there's no reason besides apathy and greed to not share higher profits with authors and their agents.
- January 13, 2011 at 3:49 PM
Stephen Duncan - Celeb memoir? Ugh. Glad you and your agent parted on positive terms with no hard feelings, though. Good luck with your writing!
- January 13, 2011 at 4:40 PM
- Whirlochre said...
We all need water, light, heat — which is why there are reservoir musterers and pumpers, sparky guys and beings of flame rather than fountains from eyeballs, luminous noses and moral disinclinations to incinerate family mebers.
Ditto agents for artistes.
If you're a multitaskin' artiste/thrusterforther of your own talents, then fine.
But I've not got time for that shit.
On the assumption that I've got something to say, I'll take a hard-to-catch fifteen effing per cent? agent any day over having precious writing time morphed into admin.
Technology, models, standards etc will change, but unless we suddenly evolve temporal shifting fins or suckers, 24 hours in a day it remains.
I WRITE, YOU AGENT seems like a good deal from my side of the fence, even if my demands smack of unrequited megalomania.
So, I agree — agents aren't going away, but if they try to stay put, they just might.
- January 13, 2011 at 6:51 PM
I appreciate your post - it's thoughtful, certainly - but I respectfully disagree. You've almost reduced the agent solely to the contract: it's a vibrant moment, but one bookended by so many other factors: submission, revision, managing editor relationships, the publicist, budgets for travel / appearances - which can appear at the last minute - even generating industry interest in a new writer. He has contacts and relationships I don't, and is able to massage a whole network of people that are beyond my keen. And, oh, yes, he does an excellent job of keeping my inflatable ego right sized.
There's also the basic fact that my agent's job is being an agent: he is doing something full-time that I cannot, realistically. It's been interesting seeing what services he's revealed in the publication process, too, a skill that I was completely unaware of.
In my experience, my agent's attention to the contract was a small part of what he's done for me. I can't help but wonder, too, if the 70/30 split you refer to is an element that might become up for negotiation. Not all e-readers are created equal and, clearly, the 9.99 price point isn't a sustainable number, nor as universal as people believe. Lastly, your post rests on the belief that print will become extinct when indicators point to a more complex ecology. Students, for example, are apparently NOT embracing e-texts.
- January 13, 2011 at 7:14 PM
- Nathan Bransford said...
A couple of different ways of looking at the college e-book study. On the one hand you could say, students still prefer print over e-books. On the other hand, students prefer e-books at a rate that exceeds the general public.
- January 13, 2011 at 7:24 PM
- Susan Kaye Quinn said...
@anon and @Nathan
I know a college student who specifically bought her iPad for college (she takes classes online too). She initially struggled with the e-textbooks, but now has fully embraced it.
Thanks for another insightful post, Nathan. I appreciate that you are still weighing in on the publishing world.
- January 13, 2011 at 7:43 PM
- Mira said...
As a student, I'd like to weigh in on the student e-book debate.
I think e-books will rapidly gain favor with students over the next couple of years.
E-books are extremely new for students and there is always resistance to the new - until the current set of students is replaced by a new set who are more used to e-books......and really like the idea of not having to cart around fifty 500lb books to each class and every time they want to study.
I spent an hour in Starbucks yesterday reading my textbook on my Kindle app on my I-phone - which I took out of my pocket, held lightly in my hand until I was done, and popped back into my pocket after I checked my e-mail and other things (including Nathan's blog) on my I-phone.
I have four textbooks on my I-phone which were downloaded within seconds and cheaper than the hardcover.
Guess who told me my textbooks were available on e-book? My professor. She announced it in class and recommended the whole class get the e-book versions.
- January 13, 2011 at 7:44 PM
my first novel is coming out in three weeks and besides the contract and the foreign rights, my agent is my team. she is the one who helps make what i most want to happen, happen. she is the first person i go to for advice about everything from the plot line of my next book to the publicity for this book. i would feel so at sea without her.
as far as i can tell publishing is a jump in at the deep end sort of process. it has been wonderful but also an incredibly steep learning curve and it would be utterly impossible without my agent!
priya parmar
- January 13, 2011 at 9:23 PM
- Terin Tashi Miller said...
Mr. Former Agent Man, or, should I call you, Number 6?
I think you're absolutely right, again.
Here's why: at the turn of the last century, agents were not, as we know, that big a deal. You didn't have an agent, you didn't need an agent. What you did need, and tried to get, was an editor--an employee of a publishing "house"--to read and like your stuff.
With Amazon, the deal is actually closer to 60/40 for my novels, rather than 70/30, published by CreateSpace. Because the retail price of my book covers their cost, and my royalties, since it's a print-on-demand novel. And on Kindle, we're talking now 30/70, in my favor.
I told an acquaintance when I published my first novel what my royalties amounted to percentage-wise. He'd been in the legal division of a publisher I won't name, but it's a big one. He looked at me in awe, and said: "that's better than what you'd get from my old employer."
I pay no agent. My royalties are all mine. I don't split them with anyone. And I'm not looking to get rich. I just would like people to read my books.
Now, I'm also not paid an advance on royalties. I also don't have to pay back an advance on royalties if my books don't earn enough to cover the advance.
My point is, like publishers, I think agents have been largely taken by surprise by the popularity--and ease--of print-on-demand and self-publishing, as well as ebooks, of the current era.
They argue it taints the rarified air. Though more and more publishers are asking their writers to actually do much of their own marketing.
I don't have a publicity machine. I could pay someone for that. I don't have subsidiary rights--I could pay someone to handle that, if it came to it (intellectual property lawyers often charge a one-time fee for such negotiations, by the way). But I don't have to pay anyone I don't want or really need to. The risk of sales or lack thereof is entirely mine, no one else's. Much like in any other art (using painting as a similar example).
So. We went from having an editor acquire a writer's work for a publisher, to an editor being lobbied by an agent to look at a writer's work, to agents only willing to first consider a one or few-line query before even spending time looking at a writer's work, to publishers willing to put out a writer's work to let the readers' decide, to publshers willing to pay unknown writers 70% royalties.
Only one reason to have an agent now--to get your book in front of a major "traditional" publisher, who then cranks up the publicity machine, to generate the sales, to pay the publisher, and the agent, and the writer for...who's risk?
Sure. I'd love another agent. Especially one that could find a publisher that would pay to distribute and market my work much more widely. Heck. I'd even be willing to let them take 15% domestic sales, 20% foreign sales (a model that has existed, by the way, since my first agent took me on in 1979).
I said it before, I'll say it again: you should have stayed in the business. You could have been my agent.
What I mean by that is, the agent of tomorrow better be a heck of a lot more active, a heck of a lot more concerned with making everyone some money, and even be open to and push risky writers, because eventually the publishers will stop paying outrageous advances on unknown quantities only to be burned when their works of devestating literary genious don't generate revenue to cover everyone.
And then the publisher's will go back to saying, "we'll decide" who to publish, or better, "we'll publish anyone as long as it doesn't cost us much and it generates revenue."
- January 13, 2011 at 9:48 PM
- Cheryl said...
I thought this was interesting as it was written in 2008.
E-publishing and the agent: Why U.K. novelist Richard Herley thinks smart literary agents will fare well
- January 13, 2011 at 10:28 PM
- JacquiPirl said...
I have read that agents and even editors that write usually obtain agents.
I wasn't sure I beleived it until now.
Thanks for all the useful info!
And please keep blogging!
- January 14, 2011 at 1:14 AM
- Roberta Walker said...
I truly hope agents don't disappear - not that I have one, yet. The daunting idea of being business-woman as well as writer (though I have a hell of a lot more experience on the business side than the writer side) seems overwhelming. Multi-tasking is hard when you are driven relentlessly by your muse :)
- January 14, 2011 at 6:36 AM
- Matthew Rush said...
Excellent post Nathan. Well written as usual, but also an interesting point.
I will still want an agent no matter what happens to negotiation. Honestly, and I have no idea how wise this is, I don't really care about money. Sure, it's nice, but that's not why I write or want to be published. The main reason I want an agent is because I feel that a good one will make my writing, and my writing career, the best it can possibly be.
- January 14, 2011 at 7:21 AM
- Steven Brandt said...
Actually, I think that in the coming era the biggest authors will just self-publish--get rid of the publisher and the agent and take a bigger share of the profits.
- January 14, 2011 at 8:03 AM
- Harbinger of Truth said...
Literary agents are like unattractive women on military bases, they are in high demand because there are so very FEW of them and they know this and as a result many tend to be a tad arrogant. Are they essential? Yes, but to the unpublished author they appear less the advocate and more the obstacle. It's doubtful that the publishing game will ever evolve to the point where the agent is not needed, but considering that there was once a point when one co uld send a manuscript DIRECTLY to publishers and fwe people HAD agents, agents might want to prepare themselves for a shift in the industry. We live in a nation where fewer people read and eventually those of us who read (and write) will become such a FRIGHTFULLY small minority that we won't be catered to at all.
- January 14, 2011 at 9:40 AM
- Mira said...
Actually, one more quick comment about students and e-books.
The impact of e-books on University Libraries should be a major change.
No more: "There's only one copy and someone checked that out."
The long term impact of Universities potentially having unlimited copies of books and textbooks available to students should be very interesting in terms of the impact on the textbook industry and the politics that stem from that.
- January 14, 2011 at 10:44 AM
- Gregory House said...
Having just writing a very satirical look at agents and publishers and why I went epublishing on my blog. I must admit that your arguement does have some strong points. However as you know they are not valid in all cases and everywhere. In the Antipodes distance is a crippling factor. It appears (at least here)that you can only get published if you are indeed already famous. In fact one very successful Aussie writer even had to setup his own publishing company to get his books out.
- January 14, 2011 at 5:49 PM
- boros1124 said...
The image of European history came to mind for me. You know the stories and poems in Hungarian? There is a very good writer. B Molnárr Mártaaa. If you are interested then you can watch on this basis. http://konyv-konyvek.hu/ha_lemegy_a_nap
- January 18, 2011 at 4:17 AM
- RSMellette said...
Publishing might want to look to film contracts for creative bonuses. It's become common to have bonuses set based on box office (sales) targets reached. I've seen Academy Award nomination/win bonuses.
Breakevens might apply as well, particularly for digital where there isn't a print run. 70/30 split until the publisher recoups costs, then a 50/50.
Ultimately, of course, star authors will have to be willing to walk away from the table to keep negotiations viable.
- January 28, 2011 at 11:30 AM
But how do I get an iPad?
- April 17, 2011 at 2:00 AM


text:
Heartbeat (DISCONTINUED)
- by easemellet
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- Updated: 3 May 2016
- Status: In Progress
What happens when your Mum dies. Your Dad has depression. You have depression One of your younger sisters has anxiety? What do you have left? *Cover made by @[CorkyPorkyღ]
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text:
Best Of :: Bars & Clubs
This is not your cigar-smoker's martini. And don't put an olive near it. The Cashmere Martini — one of the signature cocktails at one of our favorite new CenPho eateries — is luxury in a glass: vanilla vodka, pineapple juice, and a splash of Chambord. The soft pink hue and exotic aroma move this cocktail to the top of our list of smooth, rich, and — okay, we'll say it — feminine elixirs. Move over last year's Cosmopolitan, there's a new "C" in the city.
How is it that we've scraped this town, year after year, searching for drinking digs without ever coming across this little gem? The Ice House Tavern is really kind of a messed-up idea — but in a creepy, fantastic way. Anyone who grew up in Phoenix probably skated at Arcadia Ice Arena at least once in his or her life. Little did we know as fumbling, tumbling idiots on the rink that drunks were watching us the entire time. Yep, there's a bar connected to the rink where boozers can slurp their cocktails and peer through windows to the rink while wobbly skaters slide around on the ice. In 2009, local hipsters latched onto this hole in the wall and celebrated its slightly seedy — definitely cuckoo — novelty.
It's a bit of a haul for most Phoenicians — just over the Pinal County line south of Queen Creek — but a trip to San Tan Flat on a Saturday night is a real treat. Live music from a rollicking country band, a nice wide dance floor, and great food give this place an overall excellent atmosphere, but it's the wood-burning fire pits that really set the stage for a special night. Grab some wood off the pile and toss it on the coals, then buy some marshmallows from behind the bar. Before you know it, you'll be living the saloon's slogan: "All the fun of camping out, without having to sleep on the ground."
We love the Autostrada panini. And we love the smoked salmon bruschetta. And Postino Central's wine list is not only imaginative but always features several of our favorite libations. But what we really love most about this new-ish cafe (located in the old Katz's Deli building on North Central) is that seating on the patio lets us watch three entirely different slices of life, all at once. We can ogle the bar crowd that's hanging out just beyond the patio (where it's pretty easy to strike up a conversation with like-minded wine lovers at the next table), so our desire to watch drunk people hooking up is sated. Beyond that, the dining room is always filled with people having klatch-y catch-up meetings and clandestine conferences (last time we were there, we witnessed a mother-daughter donnybrook having to do with short skirts and withheld tuitions — scandalous!). And Postino's wide, single-pane picture window offers views of the street beyond the dining room. We can even see, from way back on the patio, the comings and goings at the Circle K across the street — which is a lot more interesting than you'd imagine. We're lurkers at heart, and we see a lot more than crusty bread and wine bottles when we hang at Postino Central.
We've always wondered: Where do bars and clubs go when they die (i.e., close)? Whisked away to the nightspot great beyond after falling to a wrecking ball, perhaps, never to return (like Tempe's Long Wong's)? Or maybe reincarnation into a completely new identity is in order, like when the old Mason Jar became gay dive Velocity 2303. In the case of The Sail Inn in Tempe, the legendary hippie hangout was revived, Lazarus-style, in its original location by owner Gina Lombardi. The original version of the Sail closed after it was bought out by real estate developers in late 2005, ultimately becoming the ill-conceived danceteria Trax, which fizzled out after 18 months. Fortunately, Lombardi swept in and resurrected her old stomping grounds earlier this year, upgrading the décor in the process. And though its look may have changed, Lombardi's continuing the old habit of booking a wide variety of musicians — ranging from the jam-rockers of Xtra Ticket and The Noodles to burgeoning indie acts like Black Carl — nearly every night since re-opening. It couldn't have happened at a better time, too, as The Sail Inn is just about the only dedicated music venue in downtown Tempe, an area once renowned for its live bands. Thanks, Gina.
Since debuting in January, Cream Stereo Lounge has endured a significant amount of both love and hate, much like any new nightspot. Its supporters easily gush about its mix of European and Las Vegas-style touches, including swimsuit-clad models engaging in burlesque-like bathtub shows. The haters, on the other side of the coin, have groused about alleged rude service, the club's minuscule size, and overpriced covers. But over the past few months, the grumblings have quieted down and the place is more popular than ever. One factor in its success has been the selection of superstar DJs that have been booked to spin here. The list is quite impressive, including Lee Burridge, Paul Oakenfold, George Acosta, and Paul van Dyk, just to name a few. Like the saying goes, the Cream rises to the top.


text:
Like Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" last year, Ang Lee's "Life of Pi" is a daring fable about a boy learning to survive after the loss of his parents. It's also an adaptation of a beloved book rendered in fantastical detail by an Oscar-winning director experimenting with 3-D imagery in the most fascinating way.
Before we meet the boy, Lee and screenwriter David Magee (adapting Yann Martel's acclaimed novel) introduces us to the man he will become: Pi Patel (played by the Indian actor Irrfan Khan). Pi invites a journalist (Rafe Spall) into his Montreal home to tell him the amazing story of his life. Every aspect of Pi's life, even his unusual name, is the springboard for a fascinating yarn and Khan, as Pi, spins them gracefully and charmingly.
The teen Pi (played by newcomer Suraj Sharma) is a self-taught student of many religions, and the son of a zookeeper (Adil Hussain) in Pondicherry, India. When the Patels leave India for Canada, many of Father's animals accompany the family on their freighter. One night, a raging storm sinks the ship, and the only survivors are Pi and a handful of zoo animals including a ravenous Bengal tiger named Richard Parker. (Yes, there's a story to explain how the tiger got that name.)
The bulk of the movie takes place on the open ocean, on a lifeboat that Pi must share with the tiger. What happens to the other animals is the basis for another story, one that provides the movie a thought-provoking punchline. Pi must build a raft, so he can sleep safely away from Richard Parker. He also learns to fish, not only for his own sustenance but to feed the tiger so that the beast doesn't eat him.
Lee captures both the harrowing realities of Pi's survival tale and the moments of wonder when Pi experiences the ocean's harsh beauty from iridescent sea life to a floating island of algae, all beautifully rendered in 3-D. And he makes the technical challenges of capturing Martel's story seem almost effortless in their artistry. (The ocean scenes were shot in a Taiwan water tank, and both a real tiger and a computer-generated facsimile were used to simulate Richard Parker's noble ferocity)
Lee is a master storyteller, as proved by his long and varied resume that includes the kung-fu spectacle "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and the emotional "Brokeback Mountain." With "Life of Pi," Lee tells a story about the power of storytelling and how those stories don't just illuminate a life, they can sometimes save one.
Twitter: @moviecricket
Facebook: www.facebook.com/seanpmeans
'Life of Pi'
A teen and a tiger survive a shipwreck in this visually wondrous and emotionally riveting adaptation of Yann Martel's beloved novel.
Where • Theaters everywhere.
When • Opens Wednesday, Nov. 21.
Rating • PG for emotional thematic content throughout, and some scary action sequences and peril.
Running time • 125 minutes.


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Cheap holiday apartment in Nerja (2C)
Size50 m²
Floor No.2
- Kitchen
- Balcony/terrace
- Internet/WiFi
- Air conditioning
- Towels
- Parking available
Accommodation summary
|Calle de San Miguel, 29780 Nerja, Spain
|Property type
|Property ID
|Acceptance rate
|< 50%
|Response time
|A few hours
|Calendar updated
Centurion Apartments located in San Miguel de Nerja. It is a new building with 8 modern apartments, all of a room. Apartments in the center of Nerja, just minutes from the beaches that bathe the Paseo Balcon de Europa in Nerja. The whole apartment is arranged over two floors of a building without lift, with terrace. All apartments have fully equipped kitchen, bathroom, living room with TV and bedroom with a double bed or two normal beds. On the top floor is a terrace where you can sunbathe in the summer months.
The Centurion apartments, with modern design are equipped with everything you need for your holidays, whether for short stays of several days or longer stays, weeks, fortnights, months and even full apartments prepared for long term rent for periods of a year. A 100 and 200 meters (radius) of the apartments, find cafes, supermarkets, taxi rank, bus station and free public parking to park your vehicle.
The apartments have fully equipped kitchen with microwave, fridge, ceramic hob and kitchenware. Bathroom with shower. In the apartment were left towels for all the occupants and length of stay, also leave towels and linen replacement. Lounge / diner with TV 21 " (TV channels in Spanish. Whether you need an apartment with satellite TV channels in other languages. We can recommend other apartments). remote control, sofa, dining table and chairs. A bedroom. All beds are supplied fully equipped with sheets and blankets. Iron and ironing board.
Location, location and surroundings: It is located in San Miguel de Nerja 1 minute from the bus station and taxi rank Nerja. To arrive by car, enter the street address Chillar bus stop where you can find parking a few meters. In the vicinity are: Mercadona Supermarket at 50 meters. Cafes, bakeries, confectioners, butchers, shoe stores, sports shops, clothing stores, banks. Throughout the entire street. A 3.5 km by car find the caves of Nerja, on the N-340. Free public parking 100 meters and municipal parking 1 minute drive. Less than 5 minutes walk from the Balcon de Europa. You can visit some beaches Nerja walk, as are 10 and 15 minutes walk: Burriana beach, Carabeo beach, Playa de Calahonda, Hall Beach, Playa la Turret. About 20 minutes by car will find the Centro Comercial Larios, Torre del Mar (Vélez-Málaga. Activities and Leisure: Restaurants, cafes and bars, nightlife, water sports, skiing, tennis, hunting, fishing, horse riding, scenic views, nature walks, hiking, nature park. All in Nerja or Frigiliana. See the list of places to visit in Nerja.
Aspects to consider: The apartment has a communal terrace for sunbathing (on top of the building). Post and for all tenants. There are two washers on the terrace for public use of all amenities at the apartments. And several drying racks for clothes. The apartments have air conditioning currently OPTIONAL AND REQUEST from 5 € / day. (For longer stays inquire). If the layout you want a portable fan can ask for them to move them to the hall and / or room.
House rulesThese apartments are not pets . When booking can indicate your preference when choosing an apartment on the first or second floor , with double bed , two single beds or apartments overlooking the main street. ( Subject to availability ) . Ability to add one or two extra beds on request and prepare the apartment for 3 or 4 people .
Check -in : 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
Check- out: 11:00 a.m.
Possibility of optional air conditioning for 5 € / day . Possibility of optional wifi apartment .
Check-in is from 17.00 8:00 p.m. ( during office hours ) . If you plan to arrive before, let us know by email a few days before and if the apartment is available you can enter before . ( only if you advise us in advance. And only during office hours ) . Check -in from 20:00 11:00 p.m. payment charge of 30 € . Check-in from 11:00 p.m. onwards supplement of 50 € . The apartment is clean and ready for your stay. It includes linen and towels. If you need a change of sheets and towels, or extra cleaning during your stay , you can hire her arrival.
IMPORTANT : Confirm arrival time for a person to meet you at the apartment.
|Monthly rate for up to 2 guests
|Price for > 2 guests
|$ 12 US per guest/night extra
|Check-in after
|Check-in before
|On arrangement
|Check-out before
|Cancellation Policy
Reviews of this property
The stay was very good. The place is perfect for people who love freedom - own cooking and laundry facilities, nice, spacious bathroom The flat is extremely clean and fresh, the roof tarace massive and very sunny, good to relax. The location is very good - the big store opposite, the beach about 15 minutes away, the bus stop just round the corner. The manager - Miguel is very friendly, flexible and co-operative, responds quickly to your needs.
We will definitely come back.
Very simple apartment. Clean and tidy! Suitable only for a short stay.
Values Miguel very good and obliging!
Mycket enkel lägenhet. Rent och snyggt! Lämplig endast för en kortare vistelse.
Värden Miguel mycket bra och tjänstvillig!
The apartment had everything we needed, a double bed, a small kitchen and a t.v. and a nice roof to enjoy the sun. All the windows are opening on a small inner court however, so there is no outside view to speak of. A bonus is the free parking in the neighbourhood, a big supermarket in front of the appartment. It is a nice 10 minute walk to the beach.
A nice apartment in a good location in the center of Nerja. Just in time for 2 people. The only downside was that we had no heat in the apartment.
En fin lägenhet med ett bra läge i centrala Nerja. Lagom för 2 personer. Enda nackdelen var att vi inte hade någon värme i lägenheten.
Nice touch with Miguel. Everything was very clean and functional. A bedside lamp would be nice and a small lamp in the living room. Otherwise everything was perfect. Would gladly come again. Good location. Beautiful well-kept house.
Netter Kontakt mit Miguel. Alles sehr sauber und zweckmäßig. Eine Nachttischlampe wäre schön und eine kleine Lampe im Wohnzimmer. Sonst alles perfekt. Kommen gerne wieder. Gute Lage. Schönes gepflegtes Haus.
A fresh, somewhat spartan furnished apartment. Cooking equipment was also a bit spartan. Neat and clean! The street outside very busy daytime. Evenings, nights and mornings no problem. Good parking facilities in nearby gravel pit.
Close to downtown. Miguel very service minded and friendly.
En fräsch, något spartanskt möblerad lägenhet. Köksutrustningen var likaså lite spartansk. Snyggt och rent! Gatan utanför mycket trafikerad dagtid. Kvällar, nätter och mornar inga problem. Goda parkeringsmöjligheter i närliggande grusgrop.
Nära till centrum. Miguel mycket service minded och vänlig.
We had a lovely holiday on the Sunshine Coast and an important point was the apartment of Miguel, The quality of sleep in the beds was excellent, kitchenette with two ceramic hobs were sufficient for paella, salmon fillet with mashed potatoes and many other dishes. Our cigarette breaks all common areas on the roof - an oasis of calm. Shopping for groceries and other things - 30m distance. One could mention many positive things, but Miguel was love with his very kind and cooperative continues to recommend one reason this apartment.
Wir hatten einen schönen Urlaub an der Sonnenküste und ein wichtiger Punkt war das Appartement von Miguel; Die Schlafqualität in den Betten war ausgezeichnet, die Küchenzeile mit den zwei Ceran-Kochfeldern waren ausreichend für Paella, Lachsfilet mit Kartoffelpüree und viele andere Gerichte. Unsere Zigarettenpausen auf dem gemeinschaftlich genutztem Dach - eine Oase der Ruhe. Lebensmittel und andere Dinge einkaufen - 30m Entfernung. Man könnte noch viele positive Dinge erwähnen, aber Miguel war mit seiner sehr lieben und kooperativen Art ein Grund dieses Apartement weiter zu empfehlen.
We were warmly welcomed and our permanence was very comfortable.
The apartment was nicely decorated, well equipped and the service was excellent.
It was great to be able to walk to the beaches and to be at the same time very close to shops and to free parking.
Highly recommended.
Very nice and functional apartment. Good location, close to the beach and a large supermarket. Very good contact with Miguel, which, if necessary, is to contact us. Apartment, which is worth recommending to stay in Nerja - very clean, fragrant, with the most important items. A fair price for such a comfortable apartment. I highly recommend!
Reviews for this host's other properties
Very clean appartment. The street outside is at bit busy and noisy. Nice terrace and very helpful staff. Close to a free parking.
- Quality assured accommodation
- Every host is verified by telephone
- Secure payment via SSL encryption


text:
|index by Group
|index by Distribution
|index by Vendor
|index by creation date
|index by Name
|Name: ssldump
|Distribution: openSUSE 12.2
|Version: 0.9b3
|Vendor: openSUSE
|Release: 247.1.2
|Build date: Mon Jul 16 00:22:10 2012
|Group: Productivity/Networking/Diagnostic
|Build host: build09
|Size: 87320
|Source RPM: ssldump-0.9b3-247.1.2.src.rpm
|Packager: http://bugs.opensuse.org
|Url: http://www.rtfm.com/ssldump
|Summary: SSLv3/TLS Network Protocol Analyzer
ssldump is an SSLv3/TLS network protocol analyzer. It identifies TCP connections on the chosen network interface and attempts to interpret them as SSLv3/TLS traffic. When it identifies SSLv3/TLS traffic, it decodes the records and outputs them in a textual form to stdout. If provided with the appropriate keying material, it also decrypts the connections and displays the application data traffic. Authors: -------- Eric Rescorla <firstname.lastname@example.com>
* Sun Jan 29 2012 email@example.com - update config.* files - upstream is dead ;( * Sun Nov 27 2011 firstname.lastname@example.com - add libtool as buildrequire to avoid implicit dependency * Thu Jul 26 2007 firstname.lastname@example.com - changed libpcap to libpcap-devel in BuildRequires * Tue Jun 05 2007 email@example.com - add ssldump-cvs-06-19-2006.diff - re-work patch for new ssl version * Wed Jan 25 2006 email@example.com - converted neededforbuild to BuildRequires * Fri Oct 14 2005 firstname.lastname@example.com - include openssl/md5.h in ssldecode.c * Wed Jul 06 2005 email@example.com - #include <string.h> when using related functions * Thu Feb 17 2005 email@example.com - Bugfix Bugzilla ID#50952 - ssldump has no support for AES cipher-suites * Fri Apr 23 2004 email@example.com - use -fno-strict-aliasing to compile - fixed two functions which does not return anything matching their prototypes * Thu Feb 12 2004 firstname.lastname@example.com - adapt to change in libpcap: include moved to pcap_bpf.h
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Generated by rpm2html 1.8.1
Fabrice Bellet, Mon Jul 10 03:07:56 2017


text:
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text:
'The NHL has never been more popular, as evidenced by last season's record $3.4 billion in total revenues. The golden goose (Canada goose?) is just too fat to kill today, so whatever issues need to be bridged between owners and players — a 50/50 split of revenues, five-year individual contract lengths, a 10-year CBA — the skate to the middle should be a short one.'
NHL season still salvageable
December 16, 2012 Submitted by
Via: Rochester D&C


text:
PRINCETON, N.J. -- In what has been a remarkable year for Ivy League champion Yale, it is fitting that the Bulldogs' junior setter Kendall Polan (Cardiff, Calif.) was named the Ivy League Player of the Year for the second consecutive season on Thursday.
Polan was the table-setter for Yale as the Bulldogs went through the Ivy slate undefeated -- just the second 14-0 mark in League history and the eighth team to go undefeated in Ivy play in the 26 years of full regular season play. Yale will enter the NCAA Tournament at the end of the month having won 15 straight matches with its last lost coming on Sept. 15.
Polan played in all 79 sets during the regular season, averaging 7.47 assists per set. Her 183 kills ranked third on the squad to go along with her team-best 590 assists. She also added in 15 service aces. In League play, she recorded 370 of her assists for a 7.71 assist-per-set average, fifth-best in the League, to go along with a .250 hitting percentage and a 4.12 digs per set average, which ranked seventh in the League.
Since the award began in 1987, Polan is the sixth to win League Player of the Year award twice and the fifth to do it in consecutive seasons. She joins Cornell's Elizabeth Bishop (2005-06), Harvard's Kaego Ogebchie (2002, 2004), Yale's Rosie Wustrack (1996-97), Cornell's Jenn Strazza (1991-92) and Penn's Melissa Ingalis (1987-88).
Penn junior libero Dani Shepherd (Los Angeles) won the Ivy League's inaugural Defensive Player of the Year award. Shepherd leads the nation in digs with 617 this season, averaging a national best 6.56 per set. That number will rank third on the NCAA single-season list, bettering her own average of 6.16 last year. In League play this season, she averaged 6.72 digs per set. Twice this season, Shepherd recorded more than 40 digs in a match, one of them coming in League play against archrival Princeton.
Yale freshman setter Kelly Johnson (Palos Verdes, Calif.) was selected as the Ivy League Rookie of the Year. Johnson could hardly be called the Bulldogs' "other setter." While recording 427 assists for an average of 5.41, she also had 225 kills and 53 total blocks, both second-best on the squad.
Her 2.85 kills per set ranked eighth in the League overall. That mark jumped to 3.06 in Ivy matches, which ranked sixth. She also hit .324 in League play, tops among rookies and seventh in the Ivy.
Johnson and Polan combined for more than 1,000 assists this season, equating for a big part of the reason that the Bulldogs are third in the nation as a team in assists per set at 13.9.
Johnson's honor marked the third-consecutive year that a Bulldog has won top rookie honors in the Ancient Eight, joining Polan (2010) and Mollie Rogers (2011).
Polan was one of three unanimous selections to first-team All-Ivy. Columbia senior middle blocker Megan Gaughn (Winter Park, Fla.) and Princeton senior outside hitter Lydia Rudnick (Encinitas, Calif.) also earned first-team votes on all seven possible ballots.
Joining Polan, Gaughn and Rudnick on the first team were Shepherd, Johnson and Rogers (San Diego) from Yale, Princeton freshman middle blocker Kendall Peterkin (San Diego), Columbia senior middle blocker Heather Braunagel (Trumbull, Conn.) and Harvard senior outside hitter Taylor Docter (Los Altos, Calif.).
It is a heavy-hitting lineup on the first team as the League's top four in kills per set are represented. Lydia Rudnick led the way at 4.25 overall and 4.47 in League play. Gaughn, who will graduate the Lions' all-time leader in kills with 1,284, was second in the League, followed by Peterkin and Docter, who is a candidate for Academic All-America. Peterkin was second in the league in points per set behind Rudnick.
Braunagel led the league in blocks per set at 1.20 and was third in hitting percentage, swinging at a .351 clip. Rogers, a sophomore outside hitter, was sixth in the League in digs at 3.96 per set and fifth in points, averaging 3.52 points per set.
The All-Ivy teams are made up of six players, regardless of position, and a libero. Because of ties in the voting, nine players were named to the first team, while seven earned second-team All-Ivy. Yale placed five on the All-Ivy squads, three first team and two second team. Columbia and Princeton both earned three All-Ivy selections, while Penn and Harvard each had two and Cornell had one.
Six of the eight teams were represented on the second
team. Columbia's Caitlin Brenton, Cornell's
Rachel D'Epagnier, Harvard's Caroline
Walters, Emma White of Penn,
Tinana Woolridge from Princeton and the Yale duo
of Maddie Rudnick and Haley
Wessels earned second-team honors.
Kendall Polan, Yale (Jr., S/H - Cardiff, Calif.)
Dani Shepherd, Penn (Jr., L - Los Angeles)
Kelly Johnson, Yale (Fr., S/H - Palos Verdes, Calif.)
Heather Braunagel, Columbia (Sr., MB - Trumbull, Conn.)
Megan Gaughn, Columbia (Sr., OH - Winter Park, Fla.)*
Taylor Docter, Harvard (Sr., OH - Los Altos, Calif.)
Dani Shepherd, Penn (Jr., L - Los Angeles)
Kendall Peterkin, Princeton (Fr., RS/MB - San Diego)
Lydia Rudnick, Princeton (Sr., OH - Encinitas, Calif.)*
Kelly Johnson, Yale (Fr., S/H - Palos Verdes, Calif.)
Kendall Polan, Yale (Jr., S/H - Cardiff, Calif.)*
Mollie Rogers, Yale (So, OH - San Diego)
Caitlin Brenton, Columbia (So., OH - San Jose, Calif.)
Rachel D'Epagnier, Cornell (Jr., MB - Coopersburg, Pa.)
Caroline Walters, Harvard (So., MB - San Mateo, Calif.)
Emma White, Penn (So., OH - Manhattan Beach, Calif.)
Tiana Woolridge, Princeton (So., MB - Sherman Oaks, Calif.)
Maddie Rudnick, Yale (So., L - Encinitas, Calif.)
Haley Wessels, Yale (Sr., MB - Dallas)
Kathryn Conner, Brown (So., DS/L - Newport Beach, Calif.)
Breanna Wong, Cornell (Fr., RS/OH - Highlands Ranch, Colo.)
Lauren Martin, Penn (Sr., RS - Bedford, Texas)
Susan Stuecheli, Penn (Jr., MB - Troy, Mich.)
Ginny Willis, Princeton (So., S - Tampa, Fla.)
* Unanimous Selection
^ Due to ties in the voting, first-team All-Ivy was expanded from seven


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A Fifty Year Retrospective
On October 6, 2013, The Historical Society of Newburgh Bay and
the Highlands will present a special event reflecting on a local
controversy that caught national attention in the early 1960s.
Nicknamed the "Battle of Newburgh," it was a conflict over
Newburgh's new policies for its welfare administration. Newburgh
became an informal case study for an entire country moving away
from locally-administered welfare to a welfare system dependent on
state and national money and mandates.
The events in Newburgh drew so much notice that NBC produced a
special documentary in 1962. This fifty-year retrospective on the
Battle of Newburgh will include a rare showing of the NBC
documentary, followed by a panel discussion with scholars and
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.newburghinretrospect.com
Share this page


text:
PHOTO: Kanye West and Scott Disick bond in matching shirts
Listen to Kanye West on iHeartRadio
(Yahoo!) - Surely Kanye West didn't think he could avoid the paparazzi like this.
West, who's been vocal about his distaste for photographers trailing him in the past, and Kourtney Kardashian's boyfriend, Scott Disick, caused quite a spectacle Wednesday. The duo cruised around West Hollywood, California, in Disick's flashy Rolls-Royce and stopped at the trendy, high-end store Maxfield, where they emerged wearing - get this - matching shirts.
Perhaps the future Mr. Kim Kardashian was making an attempt to cheer up his pal. Disck's mother Bonnie died last month at the age of 63, and the rapper lost his own mom, Donda, at just 58 back in 2008.
Or maybe West, 36, was dishing out some more style tips for his brother-in-law to be? Lord Disick, 30, once known for sporting suits and cardigans, has worn more casual threads since the stylish Kanye's unofficially joined the fam.
Think Jay Z's jealous?
Photo Credit Splash News


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Was $99.95 NOW $49.95
This is the portable laptop desk that makes an instant workspace or tabletop, then folds to just 6" wide for unobtrusive storage in a closet or under a sofa. The desk deploys easily without tools by simply spreading apart its frame and flipping the hinged top from a vertical to a horizontal position. A latch on the frame locks in place to ensure stability. The desk rolls with ease when open or collapsed on swiveling wheels, two of which lock. The desk has a 22 3/4" W x 16" D top of 3/4" thick engineered wood, and a powder-coated steel frame that supports up to 100 lbs. Deployed: 30" H x 22 3/4" W x 17" D. (23 lbs.)
"I use this desk for everything/ my computer/lap top/ breakfast and any thing that's small and quick. I love it."- SD, New York
Lifetime Guarantee
The Foldaway Desk comes with The Hammacher Schlemmer Lifetime Guarantee. If this product ever disappoints you, for any reason, you may return your Hammacher Schlemmer purchase for exchange, credit, or refund.
Should you have any questions, we are available seven days a week (8:00 am – midnight EST). Please call 1-800-321-1484 to speak with a specialist or email us at email@example.com to receive a response within three business hours or less.
Sale item quantities are limited — please order soon.
May we recommend:
(based on 18 reviews)
Ratings Distribution
5 Stars
4 Stars
3 Stars
2 Stars
1 Stars
of respondents would recommend this to a friend.
Best Uses
Reviewed by 18 customers
Displaying reviews 1-10
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(4 of 4 customers found this review helpful)
Perfect for laptop
By Retired library lady
from Hackensack,NJ
I use this for my laptop and I like its clean design and that I can move it round and most of all i didn't need to to spend hours with weird instructions on how to assemble it.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
Was this review helpful? Yes / No
- flag this review
(3 of 3 customers found this review helpful)
wesome oldaway Desk
By Jimmy
from Webster,WI
I use this moveable desk in my art studio to work on two computers, perfect height and space for two laptops, and I have next to my drawing table so I can use my work space very efficiently. Thank you for shipping so quickly and has helped me a great dealJim Springett-wildlife painter
Small and Sleek
By Silverduct
from New York, NY
I use this desk for everything/ my computer/lap top/ breakfast and any thing that's small and quick. The great things about this desk is the size. I love it.
By Queenie145
from Northwest
By far the best portable desk I've ever purchased. I've wasted hundreds of dollars on desks that were flimsy, wobbly, didn't wheel smoothly and were difficult to assemble. This attractive and very well-made desk is better than all previous ones put together, with its large desktop surface, easy rolling wheels (that also lock) and its incredibly sturdy construction, it is a real pleasure to own and use.
(2 of 3 customers found this review helpful)
Very good product, but not for me.
By Laris
from El Paso, Texas.
I like the product very much, but it is high for my laptop, and I needed 2 pillows in my chair to get to the keyboard. I like the design,the way it folds, and rolls. I am so sorry to have to return it, but it does not have a mechanism to lower the writing surface, and I could not use it due to my major cirugy in the spine.
(2 of 2 customers found this review helpful)
Be sure to read the dimensions
By Gayle
from Tucker, GA
I purchased this for my mother who sits in an easy chair doing her jewelry beading, reading or using her laptop. I thought this would be very helpful for her to be able to sit at and do her thing. However, I didn't check the hight and it's way too tall. Here's the kicker – she loved it! She loved the strength of the table and how it folded up for easy storage and wanted to keep it. I roll it back and forth for her whenever she needs it, but it can't stay put since it's so tall, it gets in the way. It's a wonderful piece. I just wish it had been a few inches shorter. Great for a printer table or a laptop while sitting on a high stool.
(1 of 1 customers found this review helpful)
Slim, sexy and functional
By HawaiianGirl
from Elmhurst, IL
See all my reviews
Would have liked if it was 29 inches in height with the wheels, it would then have matched the desk, otherwise it's just lovely. I also can't believe how compact it is when it is folded. Just love it!
Foldway Desk - great for small spaces
By Joyce
from Nashville, TN
husband home from hospital, having to sleep in hospital bed, uses his computer, I can use my computer with my fold away desk and we can spend time together, talk and still be able for both of us to use our computers without being crowded
Perfect for Confined Spaces
By Teemo the Taurian
I needed a sturdy table to use my laptop on in my room, which is very small. I needed to be able to fold it up so that it would fit behind my room door, and this table was just the thing I needed. It comes already assembled except for the wheels. If you're working in a confined space, this is the table for you.
Foldaway Desk
By Dave
from South Padre Island, TX
I bought the Foldaway Desk to be used as either a make-up desk or PC station in our condo. It was the perfect size and color and only the wheels had to be added when it came out of the box. Very sturdy and breaks down to a small size. Love it!
COPYRIGHT © 2017 HAMMACHER SCHLEMMER & COMPANY, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. W107147 E. 57th ST • NEW YORK, NY • 10022 • 1-800-_321-1484


text:
Hot Chocolate Cookies Recipe {with Truvia® Baking Blend} Recipe:
(Makes about 5 dozen)
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup butter
1 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup Truvia® Baking Blend*
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup + 2 Tablespoons hot chocolate mix (just the powder)
1 cup milk chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, cream together shortening, softened butter, brown sugar and Truvia® Baking Blend until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla. In a separate bowl, combine baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour and hot chocolate powder. Add to the butter/sugar mixture and combine. Fold in chocolate chips. Chill dough in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes to avoid cookies from flattening.After your dough has chilled, drop by rounded tablespoons onto an ungreased cookie sheet. Bake for 8 minutes or until set up but the centers are still soft.


text:
Shooting at Washington Navy Yard
A mass shooting at the Navy Yard in Washington, D.C. left thirteen people dead. The gunman, Aaron Alexis, is among the deceased.
Eight people were injured.
According to authorities, all 12 of the victims killed in the shooting at
Monday night, a few of the victims' names were released. The deceased victims range in rage from 46-73. But, not all of the victims have been identified.
Known Victims
- Arthur Daniels, 51
- Mary Francis Knight, 51
- Gerald L. Read, 58
- Martin Bodrog, 54
- Richard Michael Ridgell, 52
- Michael Arnold, 59
- Sylvia Frasier, 53
- Kathy Gaarde, 62
- John Roger Johnson, 73
- Frank Kohler, 50
- Kenneth Bernard Proctor, 46
- Vishnu Pandit, 61
A listener calls in to Washington, D.C.'s WMZQ to talk about a friend, a Metropolitan police officer, who was shot and in surgery on Monday afternoon.