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Louisiana Contest Club
"laissez les Contests roulez!"
Welcome to the Louisiana Contest Club (LCC). We are a non-profit
organization formed for the purpose of encouraging Radio Amateurs in
Louisiana and adjoining states to participate in the radio sports known as
The original founders of LCC felt that an organization was needed in Louisiana to educate, promote and encourage contesting. Further, they recognized that Louisiana had never represented by a statewide contest club. We have many recognized and skilled Amateur Radio operators in our area, some who have won many national and world contesting awards. Through the LCC, we will provide a vehicle for its membership to further develop its contesting skills and strategies, while allowing its members to share collective knowledge and experience through mentoring.
Club competition evolves when its members are able to pool their scores within a certain predefined area. The LCC has chosen to mark the center of its area near the City of Marksville, LA at coordinates N31.226894 Latitude and W91.944580 Longitude. This area comprises most of Louisiana and major Amateur Radio operator population centers in Mississippi and Texas. Check out the map posted in the menu and all Amateur Radio operators within the circle, those who are active contesters, those who "play" in a few contests each year, or those who are interested in learning about contesting, are encouraged to join the LCC.
Not all Contest involve club competitions. There are many more contest whereby individuals or small groups of individuals participate. We would like to recognize our club members that win awards. As our web site develops, we will offer a way for members to submit their contest scores, review contest rules and discuss contesting on its email reflector. We want our membership to develop and discuss different strategies, skills and challenges with other members, to make Amateur Radio operators in the South better than ever.
We encourage your membership and participation in the club. Enrollment to our list server is free and we welcome your subscription and comments. Quarterly meetings will be held for members or prospective members at Hamfest in different parts of the State of Louisiana. We hope you will consider meeting and joining us.
Get on the air, make some Q's and have fun!
As Chomps Boo-TAY states, "laissez les Contests roulez!" (Let the Contests roll!)
|Last Updated: 24 September 2017


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Yamanashi Prefecture is known as the Japanese Peach Kingdom for its fresh air, pure water and fertile soil. Large temperature differences in a natural basin make Yamanashi an ideal environment for cultivating peaches. Yamanashi Peaches are very sweet and juicy, and are available from July to August. Don't miss the chance to enjoy the fresh Japanese peaches!
Best period of season:Early to Mid of July
Japan Yamanashi Ohtouryou Peach
"Ohtouryou" is one of the grading index of the peach which growth in Misaka. The peach of having OTORYO grade means it's contain beautiful appearance and sugar content is 12 degrees or more.
Japan Yamanashi Premium Peach
There is a premium peach named very juicy with brix level more than 12
Japan Yamanashi Ittousyo Peach
There is a premium peach named "ITTOSHO" very juicy with brix level more than 12
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In light of the recent situation of novel coronavirus infection, to prevent further spread in the community, pick-up and delivery service will be temporarily suspended for following locations: quarantine centres and "buildings in which confirmed cases of novel coronavirus infection have stayed during the symptomatic phase in the past 14 days". List of concerned "buildings" can be referred to on the Department of Health - Centre for Health Protection's website: https://www.chp.gov.hk/en/features/102465.html
If we have already received orders which are delivering to the above locations, we will contact customers for alternative arrangement as soon as possible.If orders are to be picked up from or delivered to any hospitals and clinics, drivers will call consignees upon arrival and have shipments handed over at the entrance.Thank you and have a nice day
鑑於現時出現新型冠狀病毒感染的情況,為防止疫情在社區蔓延,現敝司決定停止前往檢疫中心,及在「過去14天內曾有確診新型冠狀病毒感染個案在出現病徵期間逗留過的大廈」等地點進行收件及派送。有關大廈名單可參考以下衛生署 衛生防護中心網頁:https://www.chp.gov.hk/tc/features/102465.html如敝司已收取派送往以上地點的貨件,當盡快聯絡客戶處理。如貨件需由任何醫院或診所地址取件或派送,派遞員將以電話聯絡請客人到該址大門進行簽收。感謝各客戶諒解。
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Follow This Company
We are looking for Physicians that support our mission and want to make a difference in people's lives!
PeaceHealth is seeking a General Dermatologist to support our clinics in the Eugene/Springfield area and our clinic in Beautiful Florence, Oregon!
Practice Highlights:
Eugene/Springfield is located at the south end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie and Willamette rivers, about 50 miles east of the Oregon Coast.
PeaceHealth offers competitive compensation and robust benefits:
A few of the benefits of our positions:
If you are interested in this career opportunity, please contact Grace Riggs.
Phone: 541-335-2069
Email: email@example.com
About PeaceHealth
PeaceHealth, based in Vancouver, WA, is a not-for-profit Catholic health system offering care to communities in Washington, Oregon, and Alaska. PeaceHealth has approximately 16,000 caregivers, a multi-specialty medical group practice with more than 800 physicians and providers, a comprehensive laboratory system, and ten medical centers serving both urban and rural communities throughout the Northwest. In 1890, Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace founded what has become PeaceHealth. Today, PeaceHealth is the legacy of its founding Sisters and continues to serve communities when invited to do so with a spirit of collaboration and stewardship – the spirit of health.
To learn more about working at PeaceHealth and the Eugene, OR community, along with our benefits offered, please visit our homepage www.peacehealth.org/careers.
Get a feeling for the Spirit of PeaceHealth through this three-minute video, and visit us on Facebook or LinkedIn!
PeaceHealth is committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified job applicants and employees without regard to the following statuses: protected veteran; qualified individual with a disability; race; ethnicity; religion; gender; pregnancy; gender identity; national origin; age; genetic information; sexual orientation; or any other protected status in accordance with local, state, or federal laws.
The above information is intended to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by this position. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities, and qualifications required of caregivers assigned to this job.
Location: Eugene, OR, Physician & Surgeons South Building (427) Job Category: Physician; Physician - Specialty Shift: Day FTE: 1.0 Work Type: Full Time
Posting Notes: Eugene, OR || Physician; Physician - Specialty || Full Time || SURGERY SVCS
PeaceHealth is a not-for-profit health care system sponsored by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace, with services in Washington, Oregon and Alaska. PeaceHealth's rigorous pursuit of exceptional medicine springs from its mission, values, and commitment to provide healing and compassionate care to patients and families.


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Hi everyone,
Currently I am working on java project which uses methods and classes present inside a DLL. Suppose I have such a method inside the DLL(named MyDLL.dll):
Method inside my DLL codeextern "C" __declspec(dllexport) int myMethod();
corresponding JNA implementationimport com.sun.jna.Library; import com.sun.jna.Native; import com.sun.jna.Platform; /** Simple example of native library declaration and usage. */ public class HelloWorld { public interface CLibrary extends Library { CLibrary INSTANCE = (CLibrary) Native.loadLibrary("MyDLL", CLibrary.class); int myMethod(); } public static void main(String[] args) { String libPath = "path to MyDLL.dll"; System.setProperty("jna.library.path", libPath); int RetVar = CLibrary.INSTANCE.myMethod(); } ////main function ends } ////class ends
So, my doubt is that like the function present inside the DLL, I have also got a class inside the DLL which needs to be exported:
Class inside my DLL codeextern "C" __declspec(dllexport) Class myClass { //////code inside class };
So, now the question is how I am gonna use this native class inside my java code like i did for the native method?
Thanking in advance,
With regards,
Satya Prakash.


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Cameron Lucero Skater Profile
Sponsors: Black Label, Pawnshop Skate
Hometown: , Stance: Goofy, Age: , Status: Am
Last Update: Wednesday, November 23, 2011 Submit an Update
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24/0.2mm(0.75mm sq) Approx 18 or 19 AWG
A general purpose single core unsheathed stranded tinned copper wire for wiring most accessories for model railway layouts, including shorter runs of DCC bus wire, and larger dropper wires.
Available in 11 plain colours and 4 different lengths.
|4.5A @ 1,000V RMS max
|2.3mm nominal
|Wall cover:
|PVC 0.6mm to DEF61-12 Type 2 and BS 4808
|Stranded, 24 x 0.2 mm tinned copper conductor


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Elton John Cancels Shows, Will Undergo Surgery
The "Rocket Man" cancels tour dates after being diagnosed with an appendix abscess
The Rocket Man needs to take a little time off to refuel.
Sir Elton John, 66, has been diagnosed with an appendix abscess that requires surgery, his spokesman confirms to PEOPLE.
The affliction has forced him to postpone all upcoming shows on his European tour, including a concert Friday in London's Hyde Park alongside Elvis Costello and Ray Davies.
"Elton is incredibly disappointed to postpone these tour dates," says his rep. "To know that he made such super-human efforts and continued to perform to thousands through his illness only confirms his dedication to his European fans. He is eager to be back on top form and return to play the remaining shows starting in early September 2013."
According to his rep, the legendary musician called in a team of doctors after feeling ill during his recent European tour. He went through a battery of scans and blood tests before being officially diagnosed with "appendix abscess surrounding retrocaecal appendicitis."
John is currently taking a course of intensive antibiotics and is expected to undergo surgery in the coming weeks, once doctors are sure they have sufficiently reduced toxins within the inflamed appendicitis site, says his rep.
John certainly won't be bored while recuperating at home. He and partner David Furnish, 50, are raising sons Zachary, 2 ½, and Elijah, who will be six months old Thursday.


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Constructing An Icon: Exploring The Laborers Who Built The Empire State Building
Overview of Lesson Plan:
In this lesson, students will learn about many types of workers needed for the construction of the Empire State Building. Through research and discussion, students will understand not only what a colossal feat it was to build the world's tallest structure in record time (only thirteen months), but also the extraordinary commitment of the people who built it.
Suggested Time Allowance: 1 hour
Students will:
- Contemplate the risks involved with building a skyscraper.
- Learn about the many different types of workers needed for such an immense project.
- Research job titles and the responsibilities of those workers.
- Create baseball cards for original workers of the Empire State Building.
- student journals
- pens/pencils
- paper
- classroom board
- resources on the Empire State Building, including history textbooks, encyclopedias, computers with Internet access, etc.
- copies of early photographs of workers on the Empire State Building
- copies of the August 14, 1930 job list of employees present during construction of the Empire State Building
- copies of baseball cards of various formats; for examples of baseball card layouts, try a simple Google Image search for "Baseball Card"
- WARM-UP/DO-NOW: Prior to class, print out and display these photographs of workers on the Empire State Building. Ask students to choose one of the photographs and allow five minutes for them to respond to the following in their journals: "The four photographs in front of you depict laborers working on what was to be the tallest building in the world, the Empire State Building. Create a caption that summarizes what you see in the photograph you have chosen. Then write what you think it must have been like to work under the conditions depicted here. Why would workers risk their lives to work under these conditions?" After students have written responses in their journals, call on several of them to share their thoughts with the class. Record all descriptive words on the board. Prompt students to consider what living and working conditions must have been like during the Great Depression, when the Empire State Building was being constructed.
- Have the class discuss the following, and record their responses on the board: "What types of workers are needed to build a skyscraper?" After a few minutes, hand out the August 14 list of jobs. Read through the job titles, noting ones the class suggested (including those which fit under different titles), as well as those that were not suggested.
- Divide the class into five groups. Each group will be assigned one of the following professions:
- Ironworker
- Mason
- Carpenter
- Electrician
- Plumber
The groups are to research answers to the following:
- In what type of work does your group of laborers specialize? Find a working definition.
- During the construction of the Empire State Building , what specific tasks did your group of laborers perform?
- How many members of your profession were employed during the thirteen-month construction?
- Find statistics to display the amount of work your profession contributed to the building's design (for example, "How many miles of cable were installed?" Or, "How many bricks were laid?")
- Was there a dominant ethnic group in this field?
- If possible, find a photograph displaying a member of your assigned profession working on the Empire State Building, or one that displays the outcome of that profession's work (this will be more challenging for some groups, such as the plumbers).
When research is completed, ask each group to share its findings with the entire class.
- WRAP-UP/HOMEWORK: For homework, have students use the notes they gathered in class to create a baseball-style card for a worker on the Empire State Building. Each card should include a photograph, the worker's name, job title, description of the job, statistics, and any biographical information students wish to add (country of origin, size of family, age, etc.). The workers' names do not have to be the actual names of those who built the building, but should reflect the ethnicities and sounds of those who might have been employed on the Empire State Building. The statistics must come from actual statistics about the building's construction and design (For example: "Charlie Andreasen and his 4-member rivet crew secured 40 rivets/minute, earning $.15/day.")
Further Questions for Discussion:
- What effect do you think the Great Depression had on the speed and the cost of constructing the Empire State Building?
- In what ways did the project managers encourage speedy work with limited breaks?
- Would you want to live or work in a skyscraper? Why or why not?
Students will be evaluated based on participation in the initial exercises, active participation in group research and reporting, and creation of baseball-style cards celebrating workers of the Empire State Building.
architecture, beam, concrete, derrick, hoist, immigrant, mason, mullion, rivet, skyscraper, spandrel
Extension Activities:
- Using your knowledge of the amount and type of labor needed, hours worked, and working conditions, create a Help Wanted announcement that seeks workers to build the Empire State Building.
- Write a one-page paper on methods used in constructing the Empire State Building that allowed the building to rise in record time (for example, utilizing elevators from the demolished Waldorf-Astoria, or installing a railway system, etc.).
Author: Javaid Khan, The Bank Street College of Education, New York City
Architect n. a person skilled in the art of building; a building designer.
Beam n. one of the principal horizontal timbers of a building that supports or helps support a load, such as, for instance, the floor above it, or a roof.
Concrete n. a mixture (often of gravel, pebbles, or broken stone with cement or with tar, etc.) used to create sidewalks, roadways, building foundations, flooring, etc.
Derrick n. a machine used for raising and lowering heavy weights and, while holding them suspended, transporting them a limited distance to a designated location.
Erect v. to put up a building or other structure.
Hoist v. to raise or lift, usually by using some kind of machinery.
Immigrant n. a person who leaves one country to settle permanently in another.
Mason n. a person whose occupation is to build with stone or brick; also, someone who prepares stone to be used for building purposes.
Mullion n. a slender bar (pier) which divides the lights (or panes) of windows, screens, etc. On the Empire State Building , these are the vertical, chrome-nickel steel rails that divide each pair of windows and are capped with floral designs.
Rivet n. a metallic pin with a head, used for uniting two plates or pieces of material.
Skyscraper n. a very tall building.
Spandrel n. the triangular space between the curve of an arch and the inclosing right angle; or the space between the outer moldings of two adjoining arches and a horizontal line above them. On the Empire State Building, the spandrels used were aluminum--a rust-resistant material.
Story n. any of the different floors or levels in a building.
Academic Content Standards:
This lesson plan may be used to address the McREL academic standards listed below. These standards are drawn from "Content Knowledge: A Compendium of Standards and Benchmarks for K-12 Education: 3rd and 4th Editions" and have been provided courtesy of the Mid-Continent Research for Education and Learning in Aurora, Colorado.
Behavioral Studies: Level IV (Grades 9-12)
Standard 1. Understands that group and cultural influences contribute to human development, identity, and behavior
Benchmark 7. Understands that family, gender, ethnicity, nationality, institutional affiliations, socioeconomic status, and other group and cultural influences contribute to the shaping of a person's identity
Standard 2. Understands various meanings of social group, general implications of group membership, and different ways that groups function
Benchmark 1. Understands that while a group may act, hold beliefs, and/or present itself as a cohesive whole, individual members may hold widely varying beliefs, so the behavior of a group may not be predictable from an understanding of each of its members
Benchmark 2. Understands that social organizations may serve business, political, or social purposes beyond those for which they officially exist, including unstated ones such as excluding certain categories of people from activities
Benchmark 3. Understands how the diverse elements that contribute to the development and transmission of culture (e.g., language, literature, the arts, traditions, beliefs, values, behavior patterns) function as an integrated whole
Benchmark 4. Understands that groups have patterns for preserving and transmitting culture even as they adapt to environmental and/or social change
Benchmark 5. Understands that social groups may have patterns of behavior, values, beliefs, and attitudes that can help or hinder cross-cultural understanding


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Bruce Beggs
American Trade Magazines LLC
Editorial Director, American Trade Magazines LLC
Bruce Beggs is editorial director of American Trade Magazines LLC, including American Coin-Op, American Drycleaner and American Laundry News. He was the editor of American Laundry News from November 1999 to May 2011. Beggs has worked as a newspaper reporter/editor and magazine editor since graduating from Kansas State University in 1986 with a bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communications. He and his wife, Sandy, have two children.
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Cincinnati multi-store owner Dave Menz discusses how to respond when a new competitor enters the local market.


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A blueprint for high-volume, high-quality lung cancer screening that is detecting cancer earlier—and helping to save lives
Health Secretary Tommy Thompson was playing to a tough Chicago house. His message was simple: Congress needs to soften the legal blows delivered to managed care under any patients' bill of rights the president would sign. The political homily fell on deaf ears, however.
Thompson's audience was the American Medical Association's House of Delegates, drawn from across the country for the group's 150th annual meeting. The gathering of the AMA clans — representing 167 state and medical specialty societies — kicked off on the eve of the Senate debate on patients' rights.
The conclave of physicians wasn't about to let a cabinet secretary steer them off their steadfast support for the Kennedy-Edwards-McCain Bill — which allows lawsuits of up to $5 million against managed care organizations.
Thompson also had comforting words for the doctors. Assurances of Thompson's commitment to hack away at the tangle of federal regulations physicians face, along with a homespun vow to keep the rules simple enough for this "simple country lawyer," drew loud cheers.
"Physicians ate that up," said Mike Lynch, spokesman for the group. "There was lots of cheering and applause."
The cheering had just begun. For five days in mid-June, delegates trooped into the cavernous International Ballroom at Chicago's tony downtown Hilton to shape the political and professional agenda for the 290,000-member AMA.
The annual summit of delegates was meeting to hammer out a common stand on some 200 proposals that ranged far and wide over the health care field. By the time the gavel came down for the final time, they had agreed to push some familiar themes — with patients' rights a key feature.
"We're in the home stretch," said Thomas Reardon, M.D., AMA's outgoing immediate past president. "Patients and physicians have worked for years to get a bill to protect them from managed care abuses, and this summer we are looking forward to seeing a strong patients' bill of rights become law."
At one point, Reardon's voice was beamed into the meeting as the Senate began its proceedings, hammering once again at the need for "cutting through the HMO smokescreen" on patients' rights.
The AMA rank and file was on the march, and HMOs once again proved a tempting target. Throughout the '90s, one of the most frequent targets of AMA anger has been managed care. And the AMA continued the tradition with relish, sparing no effort in portraying big insurers in the worst light possible.
Taking center-stage midway through the meeting, Chicago otolaryngologist John T. McMahan, M.D., described his lawsuit with "big insurance." McMahan told delegates that years of complaints over downcoding and payment delays were largely ignored until he filed suit against Humana in April of last year.
"Carriers will continue these practices until they're stopped," said McMahan's lawyer, James Marks. The title of the talk: "David vs. Goliath: How One Physician Took on a Large Health Insurer and Won."
Asked what he thought was the biggest challenge in medicine today, AMA member John McGill, M.D., said: "I terminated all of my managed care contracts. Why should I lose money to enrich for-profit corporations?" The remark was widely circulated to the membership.
Aside from the occasional broadside, though, the AMA's House of Delegates actually came to reform managed care, rather than to bury it. During the last century, the house has stayed with a democratic tradition — with delegates raising proposals in eight different committees before taking recommendations to the floor for debate and a public vote.
A series of resolutions hammering away at financial arrangements between doctors and MCOs was up for discussion.
New resolutions broadcast the association's Advocacy Resource Center Campaign to help promote timely payment for services, highlighting state actions to pass legislation that enforces a quick turnaround of invoices. Also, there was more on the HMO agenda:
All the motions gained easy approval. Also, there was more on the AMA agenda than managed care. A smorgasbord of proposed stands on some of the most controversial issues of the day — from drug marketing to medical marijuana and gays in the Boy Scouts — drew the most heated debate. Some proposals didn't make it out of their committee with all their teeth.
An amendment to ban direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceuticals was defeated on First Amendment grounds and replaced by a resolution to push for a disclaimer on the ads that physicians might prefer a drug different from the one being advocated.
The AMA also ducked a call to endorse medical marijuana, instead agreeing to innocuous language endorsing "free and unfettered exchange of information on treatment alternatives." The AMA braved some angry criticism, however, by advocating that the Boy Scouts of America reconsider its ban on homosexuality.
Early on in the meeting, the leaders of the AMA struck a triumphant chord.
"Not only does the AMA possess a new inner strength, it also commands an expanding outer strength that's palpable inside the Washington Beltway and perceptible to physicians, patients, and the American public outside the Beltway," said AMA Chief Executive E. Ratcliffe Anderson Jr., M.D. The AMA, said Anderson, had staunched the flow of red ink that rose to $15 million in 1999. Last year, the organization reported earnings of $2.7 million.
Still, the AMA enjoys its political clout as much, if not more, than cash. And Anderson was quick to trot out the AMA's ranking as one of the most powerful lobbying groups in the capital.
"It hasn't been easy," said Anderson. "But the results have been excellent. As we all know — no pain, no gain."
Still, Anderson wasn't finished with his prescription for pain.
A day after basking in the glow of 547 approving delegates, Anderson threw the meeting into turmoil. His lawyers filed a lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court, claiming the association's board of trustees had blocked him from firing the association's lawyer, Michael Ile, because Ile had protected the board from the heated criticism leveled at the 1997 endorsement deal that was worked out with Sunbeam Corp.
The Sunbeam deal cost five employees their jobs, including P. John Seward, M.D., the AMA's chief executive at the time.
A torrent of criticism was unleashed by the Sunbeam deal, which the AMA walked away from after many questioned the ethics of the arrangement. The association was later forced to pay Sunbeam $10 million to settle a breach-of-contract suit.
For his stance, the indignant Anderson, a retired Air Force general who flew combat missions in Vietnam, says the AMA's board of trustees "unleashed a series of assaults on my office."
Anderson also took direct aim at board member Timothy Flaherty, accusing the trustee of making derogatory remarks about the CEO's $500,000 compensation package.
"Many important issues face physicians and their patients, and our focus and energy are on helping this house address those challenges and advance the core purpose of the AMA," the association fired back. Two weeks later, the board of trustees would fire him. The association characterizes his allegations as frivolous.
The damage was done, however. Even as delegates pushed to close ranks behind another round of public campaigns to shape the nation's health care agenda, another damaging internal squabble was threatening to tear their work apart.
The AMA has been struggling to remain a political powerhouse. Grappling with losses, Anderson's three-year tenure has concentrated on cleaning up the mess. Staff was trimmed by 188 jobs — 14 percent — last year and the downward spiral leveled out.
But not all the numbers have been pointing up.
Last year the AMA lost 3,000 members from its rolls, continuing a slow, steady erosion and costing more than $4 million in lost dues. Overall, membership has slid to 290,000, down from 300,000 10 years ago. And that decline occurred while the ranks of physicians swelled to 800,000. Anderson was painfully aware that the House of Delegates is less and less reflective of mainstream doctors.
"What I see when I look out from this podium is a group that is predominantly white, middle-aged — and older — men," he told the faithful. "If the AMA is to survive throughout the 21st century, the view from here should be of a potpourri of races, colors, ages, and genders — to fully represent the medical profession as it appears today. And the AMA needs to figure out ways to attract that brilliant diversity."
With Anderson and the board squaring off for a long court fight, the biggest threat to much of their agenda was another long, internal wrangle by opposing factions.
A blueprint for high-volume, high-quality lung cancer screening that is detecting cancer earlier—and helping to save lives
ZULRESSO™ (brexanolone) injection CIV
Multiple Sclerosis: New Perspectives on the Patient Journey–2019 Update
Summary of an Actuarial Analysis and Report


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Okay. So my motives weren't entirely altruistic when I signed on to be a "puppy socializer" for Guiding Eyes for the Blind. I had just learned that I wouldn't be able to breed Callie, my Golden Retriever, as I had hoped, and I was feeling bereft. I needed a puppy fix—bad. My three daughters were clamoring for their own dog (Callie, they pointed out, was mine). This program seemed to offer the best of all worlds: an endless supply of puppies without the chaos, mess and expense of adding three more permanent pets to our menagerie. That it was a good deed was a secondary consideration.
The purpose of "puppy socialization" is to help dogs develop the confidence they need to become full-fledged Guiding Eyes companions, I learned at the orientation session offered to new socializers. Our job is to take two or more pups at a time into our home for four or five days at a stretch and simply play with them, love them, keep them clean. Guiding Eyes provides everything else: a travel crate, playpen, food, bowls, leashes and, most important, a number to call for any question that comes up. Pups that have been home-socialized are more apt to pass the first stage of tests designed to weed out those who do not have the potential to ultimately become guide dogs. Those who pass go on to puppyraisers for their first phase of training. Those who do not are released to the public as pets—there is a twoand- a-half-year waiting list for the "release" dogs. In anticipation of our first visit last winter, we stockpiled newspapers and paper towels, puppy-proofed the kitchen, and dug out Callie's old puppy toys. Then, for some reason, I felt that the whole family should share in the experience of picking the puppies up from the breeding facility. It was not the positive bonding experience I had envisioned.
Poor Callie was so agitated by the pathetic whimperings of pups unhappy with their first car trip that she started drooling, creating little puddles on the car seat. Then the girls overreacted when the pups did what pups do, and added their own festive note to the atmosphere with exaggerated retching noises. When we finally arrived home, Callie shot off for the woods, desperate to be away from all of us. The girls vanished too, only to miraculously reappear as soon as the crate and its inhabitants were clean. Once released to the kitchen, the pups relieved themselves yet again in virtually every nook and cranny. They nipped and jumped and peed with astonishing enthusiasm. And we had obviously forgotten how sharp those little teeth could be. The girls were squeamish about cleaning up the messes, the cat was outraged by this intrusion and I was wondering what on earth I had gotten myself into. But after a few hours,we hit our stride—the girls fell in love, the pups calmed down and Callie finally returned, tiny icicles hanging off her muzzle.
Since that first episode,my daughters have become experts in the socialization process.We have learned that dressing puppies up in doll clothes is not only amusing but helps them get used to being handled; that all the puppies preferred Gregorian chanting to Britney Spears and that none of them was particularly interested in Nintendo, although exposure to all kinds of noise is beneficial.
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Occasionally, to see how successful we've been at our job, I watch the Guiding Eyes puppy evaluators perform their tests and find myself silently cheering them on: Don't be afraid, it's just an open umbrella…go check it out…No, no! Don't hide under the tester's feet! Our success rate is quite high, I'm happy to report.
No matter how much I intellectualize it, we always return our charges to the kennel with mixed emotions. We love that we've had a small part in helping these dogs move toward their ultimate goal, but saying good-bye is hard, even after just a few days' visit. As I gave a final snuggle to yet another of my favorites, I asked a veteran volunteer if anyone ever got so attached to one of the pups that they refused to give the puppy back. "That," she informed me with a smile, "is what we call a puppy raiser."
Guiding Eyes for the Blind of Yorktown Heights, N.Y., is a nonprofit organization that provides professionally bred and trained guide dogs for the blind and visually impaired. For more information on the puppy socialization program, call 845.878.3749 or visit guidingeyes.org.


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text: Watch Indianapolis Indians vs. Toledo Mud Hens live in action on Sat, 11 Apr at the Victory Field, Indianapolis, IN. Baseball ticket prices may change as per demand but as of right now you can get them for a minimum price of approximately $11. Book your tickets before the stocks run out.


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Half a century ago, Soviet Premier Nikita Khruschev and U.S. President John F. Kennedy squared off in a battle over the balance of world power that came to be known as the Cuban Missile Crisis. How close did we all come to dying?
Last night, Khruschev's son Dr. Sergei Khruschev and experts on Soviet-American relations met at the University of Virginia to discuss those 13 days in October, 1962. Their conclusion? We came really damn close.
"It's like we played a game of Russian Roulette 13 times and won every game," said Professor Timothy McKeown, who explained that analysis of the event afterwards showed that our avoidance of a devastating nuclear battle was actually the less likely outcome.
People alive then will probably never forget what happened, but it's important for the rest of us to remember a moment in history when history as we know it almost ended.
The Photo Gap
The leaders of the Soviet Union in 1962 realized the weakness of their position relative to the United States and believed the quickest end to the Cold War was to find a balance. A missile base in Cuba presented an opportunity to force American to concede that Russia was its equal.
While the decision was made in May 1962, preparations would take months. As Dr. Krhruschev explained last night, the hope was to build the sites quietly and then announce them to the world after November because, as he told his son "During elections, Americans are unpredictable."
Khruschev's claim that Americans did unexpected things during elections would turn out to be correct and, initially, it worked to his benefit.
Fearing what would happen politically if a U2 spy plane crashed before the mid-term elections and remembering the experience of the Gary Powers crash (pictured above), the Kennedy administration ordered the reconnaissance flights halted right as the missiles were being set up.
The C.I.A. provides ample evidence of the photo gap and the political causes. The person tasked with trying to get the flights resumed was recently-appointed conservative Republican John McCone, who had to deal with distrust from within the Kennedy administration.
But photos like this one, showing a Soviet transport ship carrying what appear to be IL-28 jet bombers and other advanced weapons, amongst other intelligence, allowed McCone to persuade the administration to resume flights, which they eventually did.
The first bird up on October 14th caught definitive images of the missile sites being built in San Cristobal, Cuba. The photos would be analyzed and the weapons identified by October 15th, when they were delivered to President Kennedy, starting the clock on the infamous 13 days.
The photo above in August, before flights were halted, shows no significant activity. The photo below shows a different situation and illustrates how poorly-timed the photo gap was.
The 13 Days
Though they didn't call it that at the time, Kennedy and his advisers formed the Executive Committee of the National Security Council on October 16th, or EXCOMM. Their job was to form a response based on the limited information they had.
These included representatives from the State Department, CIA, Treasury, outside advisors like Dean Acheson, and anyone else whose insight or involvement seemed important to the mission at hand: Protecting American interests and avoiding a nuclear holocaust.
These just-released notes from the John F. Kennedy Library show where the players in EXCOMM aligned themselves. The idea of blockading any vessels trying to get into Cuba seemed like the best approach to test the Soviet's resolve and buy time for a negotiation.
While most were in favor of some form of naval quarantine, RFK's note from October 16th shows there was significant support for a strike including NSA Advisor Dean Acheson and John McCone who, with the addition of the (?) and arrow, is shown to eventually move to the blockade idea.
Thankfully, they did not strike immediately. The Cubans had 98 tactical nuclear weapons and could have theoretically wiped out an invading force. What would have happened next is a grim hypothetical exercise.
The Blockade would take place, leading to many of the closest and most dangerous moments in the war as heavily armed U.S. and Soviet faced off in close proximity. At one point, a single vote by a Soviet submarine commander prevented the launch of a tactical nuclear weapon.
On October 22nd, the President addressed the nation, explaining the grave situation and possible consequences while also presenting his plan for a quarantine.
My fellow citizens: let no one doubt that this is a difficult and dangerous effort on which we have set out. No one can see precisely what course it will take or what costs or casualties will be incurred. Many months of sacrifice and self-discipline lie ahead—months in which our patience and our will will be tested—months in which many threats and denunciations will keep us aware of our dangers. But the greatest danger of all would be to do nothing.
Not everyone was pleased with the idea of two nuclear-armed nations going at it and, with memories still fresh of WWII and WWI there were demonstrations around the world, including in London.
Complicating matters was the lack of a "red phone" link between the two sides. The blockade, while successful, was realistically too late. As Robert Caro describes in Passage to Power, Vice President Lyndon Johnson described it as "Locking the barn when the horse already escaped."
While negotiations slowly continued through October 23rd and October 26th the build up of missile sites continued unabated, with evidence showing an increase in activity. At the same time, the U.S. mobilized for a possible response and invasion.
Crisis Avoided
On October 26th, Khruschev sent an offer to withdraw all of the bombers and missiles in exchange for an agreement by the U.S. not to invade Cuba.
Mr. President, we and you ought not now to pull on the ends of the rope in which you have tied the knot of war, because the more the two of us pull, the tighter that knot will be tied. And a moment may come when that knot will be tied so tight that even he who tied it will not have the strength to untie it, and then it will be necessary to cut that knot, and what that would mean is not for me to explain to you, because you yourself understand perfectly of what terrible forces our countries dispose.
As the administration was considering their response, Khruschev announced in Moscow they also demanded the removal of Jupiter rockets from the U.S. NATO ally in Turkey, but Kennedy smarty ignored it and announced his agreement of the initial terms. Khruschev dropped his demands and accepted.
You can see the opening of the letters from both leaders reflect the gravity of the situation.
Ultimately, the U.S. did withdraw the obsolete weapons (Polaris-missile-equipped subs did a much better job protecting Turkey anyways).
It was one of the crowning achievements of Kennedy's administration and reflected a reluctance on both sides to fire the first shot when no one could predict what would happen next.
If you've got images you think capture this moment, or a memory of the event, please put them in Kinja.
Photo Credit: JFK Library/RFK papers, GWU NSA Archive, AP, Getty Images, Hutton Archives


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Chimerascope is Doug's first full collection of short fiction, containing sixteen of his best stories, including an Aurora Award winner, a Best New Horror selection, and eight Aurora finalists. Sixteen stories of fantasy and science fiction that take you from love in fourteenth-century Japan to humanity's last stand, from virtual reality to the end of reality, from alien drug addictions to a dinner where a man loses everything.
ISBN 978-0-9918007-0-4 (ebook)
"A massively enjoyable trek"
—Quill & Quire *starred review*
Chimerascope [ki-meer-uh-skohp] — a story of many parts...
- A young artist hungers to draw you.
- A dinner conversation takes three lifetimes to finish.
- A geologist faces a planet-sized, eons-old puzzle to save her crew.
- The hero of the Fall of Earth must choose between love and revenge.
- A mysterious dancer leads a businessman to a most exclusive nightclub.
- A man is born each day into a new life—only to die each night.
- A sentient aurora threatens the last of humanity.
- A Norse god's bar in Toronto hosts an unplanned family reunion.
- A woman descends into insanity—or is it the end of the world?
- A house as big as the world.
Full Buying Links
Buy ebook:
Buy trade paperback:
Amazon US | Amazon Canada | Amazon UK | Barnes & Noble
ChiZine | Chapters/Indigo | Powell's | Book Depository (free shipping worldwide)
Buy trade paperback (signed, personalized):
"Doug Smith is, quite simply, the finest short-story writer Canada has ever produced in the science fiction and fantasy genres, and he's also the most prolific. His stories are a treasure trove of riches that will touch your heart while making you think."
—Robert J. Sawyer, Hugo Award-winning author of Hominids and FlashForward
"...Chimerascope is a massively enjoyable trek through the far-fetched, the horrifying, and the flat-out weird, all filtered through Smith's remarkable imagination and prodigious talent. ... Although Smith's tales may centre on the fantastic, what is immediately notable is his steady grasp of character, which lends humanity to even the most absurd situations. The stories in this collection traverse genres and styles -- from outright horror to witty surrealism to martial-arts mythology -- without missing a beat. ... 'The Dancer at the Red Door,' with its mix of oblique horror, urban fantasy, and monsters equipped with pincers extending 'from each side of a slit-like mouth,' recalls Clive Barker at his most disturbingly fanciful. ... The closing story, the post-apocalyptic narrative 'Memories of the Dead Man,' contains echoes of Stephen King. Chimerascope is a sterling set, with nary a weak or disposable entry. Smith's writing, evocative yet understated, gracefully brings to life his imagined realms."
— Quill and Quire, Mar 2010 *Starred Review*
"From a bittersweet tale of love amid the savagery of human galactic conquest ("Scream Angel") to a postapocalyptic story of a righteous gunman known only as the Dead Man ("Memories of the Dead Man"), the 16 stories in this collection showcase the inventive mind and immense storytelling talent of one of Canada's most original writers of speculative fiction. Covering the spectrum from sf ("Enlightenment") to horror ("By Her Hand, She Draws You Down") to fantasy ("The Boys Are Back in Town"), Smith writes with a keen eye for detail and atmosphere, crafting each story with wit and perception. VERDICT: Twice winner of Canada's Aurora Award, Smith writes stories that will appeal to fans of such literary sf writers such as Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe."
— Library Journal, Mar 2010
"Smith is obviously a gifted writer in the genre of science-fiction. … Smith paints his worlds so well that you are transported within a paragraph or two and remain in transit until the short story ends -- a challenging feat to be sure. Smith takes common science-fiction topics, such as love between alien races, and manages to find a new way to have his tales unfold. … Smith tells them with a flair that breathes life into his characters. … [The] familiar traits that drive human needs and wants -- such as ambition, pride, love, hate and fear -- are what piece these stories together and give them a life of their own."
—Broken Pencil, The Magazine of Zine Culture and the Independent Arts, August 2010
"Smith's second collection (after 2008's Impossibilia) delivers an entertaining selection of stories that deftly span multiple genres, often milking surprisingly original tales out of tired tropes. The Zelazny-inspired "The Boys Are Back in Town" nicely toes the line between quirky humor and pathos. "State of Disorder," featuring a classic mad scientist out for revenge, is a neat twist on time travel and quantum physics. "Jigsaw," a young adult tale, is a fun romp involving aliens and continental drift. The best of the bunch, "By Her Hand, She Draws You Down," is a haunting variant on the vampire legend with an understated and brutal ending."
— Publishers Weekly, Jan 2010
"[An] engaging and entertaining volume, pieces of whose content resonate after the book is finished."
—Booklist, Apr 2010
"A creative hybrid of diverse genres of the fantastic … Smith approaches issues as complex as addiction, colonialism, the point between pain and pleasure, militarism, violence, art and mass consumption, vulnerability and love, the construction of reality, and ideas of urban safety. … One of the most impressive things about this collection are Smith's introductions to the short stories. It is incredible to see an author who is so able to analyse himself and explore the dark reaches of the mind that give birth to speculations and eventual narratives. His interest in his own psychological process, in the bizarre mixing of ideas where stories are born is conveyed into the mental processes of his characters, their complex minds and personal quirks that make them likeable. His characters are psychologically deep and illustrate a complexity of the soul… They are not 'easy' characters, and Smith resists simplifying them for his reader. … I couldn't point out what binds the stories together, but they seem bound in their ability to be unquantifiable, able to challenge barriers and evoke powerful questions that send the reader into contemplation about social issues, the human experience, and the nature of questions themselves."
—Derek Newman-Stille, Speculating Canada, October 2012
"Chimerascope confirms for me what Impossibilia affirmed, namely that Douglas Smith is an extraordinary author whom every lover of quality speculative fiction should read. Rating: A+"
— Fantasy Book Critic, Mar 2010
"Smith's voice proves one of the more endearing features of this sampling of his work, which holds true even in his individual story prefaces—an authorial vice that can be distracting, but in Smith's hands remains charming. ... Throughout Smith shows a real gift for truly "cinematic" description...with arrestingly inventive premises in a field where really interesting new ideas are harder and harder to find. ... [Chimerascope] speaks volumes of his range and future potential. ... Smith is definitely an author who deserves to be more widely read."
—Strange Horizons, June 2010
"This collection contains a beautifully diverse selection of short tales that runs the full spectrum of the speculative genres. The tales are well-crafted, easily digestible; several of the stories are incredibly moving and stick with the reader long after. The wide range of stylistic approaches works well together."
— 2011 Sunburst Award jury, June 2011
"A superb collection... Spanning a wide spectrum of classic sci-fi, stories inspired by mythology, and post-apocalyptic fiction, this is a collection you'll want to own and re-read. ... It's a complex mix: one of the many reasons this collection succeeds so powerfully."
—Ideomancer Magazine, Sept 2010
"An absolutely stunning short story collection of sci-fi, fantasy, and horror, one of the best I've ever read."
— Corey Redekop, award-winning author of Shelf Monkey, Sep 2010
"[T]here is not only something here for everyone, but something good for everyone, as Smith consistently displays his comfort and competence, working within multiple genres. ... Smith's characters tend towards regular men and women caught in desperate situations, often fallible, sometimes likable, but always portrayed with, if not sympathy, then enough clarity that the reader may understand why the characters behave as they do. ... Ultimately, genre fans eager to read work by a talented author, who consistently writes top-notch prose, will be well-pleased to see the strange beasts lurking within Douglas Smith's Chimerascope."
— Innsmouth Free Press, Jan 2011
"This collection was impossible to put down. This contains one of the best collections of speculative fiction I have ever read. There is a reason that the majority of these stories have won awards and nominations. Smith is absolutely brilliant as he proves SF is every bit as intelligent and thought-provoking as any literary work out there."
"I found Smith to be an especially talented storyteller. His characters ring true, and he creatively crafts worlds and situations that I found haunted my thoughts long after I had finished reading."
—Fluidity of Time, June 2010
"I enjoyed Smith's characterization the most. These personas fly off the page and into your head and force you to think their thoughts. And that's just about the best that fiction can aspire to. ... The evidence for Smith's talent is in abundance through this entire book. There wasn't one story I didn't like, even the horror genre pieces which I'm normally not into. They're all so different, even the ones set in the same universe, that it's hard to believe they came from the same person. Very highly recommended."
—Terry Grignon, Golbing book reviews, March 2011
"...showcases his talent and his prolificacy. ... I remain in awe of the range of writing he has produced, and how often his stories have merited award nominations or received awards."
—Bureau 42, Feb 2011
"Smith is a master of beginnings … some of the most well-crafted hooks you'll find anywhere: deft introductions to the characters and their not-quite-familiar worlds packed into just a sentence or two that draw the reader in. As for the endings … Smith's tendency is to forego the shocking twist for endings that feel satisfying and right, a trade-off that I'll take any day. … Reading Smith's stories is like taking a series of guided tours through strange places. … Chimerascope delivers that in spades and is well worth the price of admission."
—Canadian Science Fiction Review, 2011
"A collection that I would highly recommend."
—Justine Lekowicz, News Talk Radio 1010, Bookend Reviews, 2012
The Stories
Here are the stories that comprise Chimerascope. Click on the links beside each story to read an opening excerpt from each and to see past reviews of these stories.
- Scream Angel (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award WINNER
- The Red Bird (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award Finalist
- By Her Hand, She Draws You Down (reviews | excerpt) Best New Horror selection, Aurora Award Finalist
- New Year's Eve (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award Finalist
- The Boys Are Back in Town (reviews | excerpt)
- State of Disorder (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award Finalist
- Nothing (reviews | excerpt)
- Symphony (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award Finalist
- Out of the Light (reviews | excerpt)
- Enlightenment (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award Finalist
- Murphy's Law (reviews | excerpt) Included in hardcover edition only
- The Last Ride (reviews | excerpt)
- Jigsaw (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award Finalist
- The Dancer at the Red Door (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award Finalist
- Going Harvey in the Big House (reviews | excerpt) Aurora Award Finalist
- A Taste Sweet and Salty (reviews | excerpt)
- Memories of the Dead Man (reviews | excerpt)
Scream Angel
© Douglas Smith
They stopped beating Trelayne when they saw that he enjoyed it. The thugs that passed as cops in that town on Long Shot backed away from where he lay curled on the dirt floor, as if he was something dead or dangerous. He watched them lock the door of his cold little cell again. Disgust and something like fear showed in their eyes. The taste of their contempt for him mixed with the sharpness of his own blood in his mouth. And the Scream in that blood shot another stab of pleasure through him. He expected their reaction. The Merged Corporate Entity guarded its secrets well, and Scream was its most precious. Long Shot lay far from any Entity project world and well off the jump route linking Earth and the frontier. No one on this backwater planet would know of the drug, let alone have encountered a Screamer or an Angel. That was why he had picked it. Their footsteps receded, and the outer door of the plasteel storage hut that served as the town jail clanged shut. Alone, he rolled onto his side on the floor, relishing the agony the movement brought. He tried to recall how he came to be there, but the Scream in him turned each attempt into an emotional sideshow. Finally he remembered something burning, something... ...falling. It had been one of their better shows… .. .
The Red Bird
© Douglas Smith
Asai first saw the Red Bird the night the soldiers burnt his village. Fleeing in terror through rain and flames and killing, his parents dead in the mud behind him, the boy heard his name called above the screams of the dying. Called from on high. He looked up. Aflame against the black sky, a hawk of burning plumage hovered over the forest entrance. A voice cried in his mind. Asai! To me, to me, Asai! Asai ran toward the trees. A mounted rider, gleaming katana raised, burst from a smoking house to block his path. A ruby light flashed from the hawk, striking the sword and swordsman. Exploding into flames, the soldier fell screaming to the ground. Oblivious, the man's horse bent a leg for the child to mount. Ride, Asai! Fly with me! the hawk called. Once in the saddle, the boy clung with bleeding fingers as the horse thundered through the streets past soldiers and the dead. At the forest edge, Asai dared a last look back. The village priest stood before the burning shrine. A rider bore down on him, spear lowered. Hands crossed on his chest, the priest closed his eyes. The look of peace on his face burnt into Asai's memory. The boy turned away, blinded by tears. They rode on through black woods lit only by the hawk's bloody glow. Trees surrendered to scrub grass then to sand and crashing surf. Just as Asai felt he would fall from the saddle, the horse stopped before the Temple of the Hidden Light… .. .
By Her Hand, She Draws You Down
© Douglas Smith
By her hand, she draws you down. With her mouth, she breathes you in. Hope and dreams and soul devoured. Lost to you, what might have been.
By her hand, she draws you down... Joe swore when he saw Cath doing a kid. He had left her for just a minute, to get a beer from the booth on the pier before it closed for the night. Walking back now, he could see Cath on her stool, sketchpad on a knee, ocean breeze blowing her pale hair. A small girl sat on another stool facing her, a man and a woman, parents he guessed, beside the child. Kid's not more than seven, he thought. Cath promised me no kids. She promised… .. .
New Year's Eve
© Douglas Smith
971219: Friday, December 19, 1997
Bogey pushed his black queen's pawn forward to meet John's then leaned back. "Rick's Café Americaine" throbbed white neon at John through a haze of cigarette smoke. Wobbling overhead, fans swirled the smoke in lazy eddies among crowded tables. "Another closed defense," John muttered. "You're a closed kinda guy," Bogey replied, immaculate in a white jacket and linen shirt, black bow tie and slacks. The beginning strains of "As Time Goes By" wafted from a piano somewhere off-display. He glared over his shoulder, motioning to a plump white-haired waiter in a black tuxedo. "Carl, get me a whiskey, and tell Sam to stop playing that damn song." "Yes, monsieur, and for you, sir?" "Mr. Dunne doesn't drink, Carl," Bogey said. "He hasn't figured that part out yet." Carl waddled away and John reached for his king's knight. "Predictable," Bogey muttered. John scowled at him, but a trilling sound cut off his reply. A telephone appeared, hovering above the table. Bogey lit another cigarette. "Still bothers me when it does that." "And your smoking still bugs me," John said. "Then you shoulda left smell out of the equation, kid. Answer the damn thing, will ya?" .. .
© Douglas Smith
"It's nothing," he says, not for the first time. She watches him straighten his tie in the hall mirror. So he doesn't have to make eye contact, she thinks. "I fear nothing?" she says. "Then I must be fearless. I don't feel fearless." Leaning on the kitchen doorframe, she hugs her faded blue dressing gown around her as if she's holding the universe together. She's staying home. Again. He shakes his head. He does that a lot lately. "I mean there's nothing out there to be afraid of." He picks up his briefcase, ready for another day. But she knows that it's not just another day… .. .
© Douglas Smith
FAST FORWARD: Third Movement, Danse Macabre (Staccato) They had named the planet Aurora, for the beauty that danced above them in its ever dark skies. At least, it had seemed beautiful at the time. Now Gar Franck wasn't so sure. Gar huddled on the floor, shielding his two-year-old son, Anton, from the panicked colonists stampeding past them in the newly-constructed pod link. "Damn you, Franck! When will you make it stop?" a man cried from across the corridor. A woman lay in the man's arms, convulsing as her seizure peaked. She was dying, but to Gar's numbed mind her moans harmonized with the screams of the mob into a musical score for his private nightmare. Anton sat on the floor, a broken comm-unit held before his blank face. The child let it drop to strike the metal surface with a dissonant clang. More people fled by. The child ignored them. With morbid fascination, Gar watched Anton repeat the scene. Pick up the comm-unit, let it drop. Pick it up, drop it. Again. Each clang as it struck the floor was more chilling to Gar than any cry from the dying. This attack had blown the colony power grid. The only light now came through the crysteel roof. Gar looked up. The aurora blazed and writhed in the night sky, a parody of the chaos below. Greens, reds and purples shimmered strobe-like over the corridor, turning each person's frenzied flight into a macabre dance… .. .
The Boys Are Back in Town
© Douglas Smith
The shrill cry of a harpy sounded as I stepped into our tavern. A pair of them sat slumped in a booth, heads on the table, wings flapping feebly. The Sibyl plopped two drafts between them, and one harpy lifted its head briefly to emit a high-pitched "screeee!" At the bar, an elderly tourist couple and two centaurs stood sipping blood-red liquid from tall glasses. A tarot spread lay on the bar in front of the ample frame of Dino, my partner, and when the Sibyl returned, she began turning cards. I slipped onto a stool beside her. Dino was scowling. "Problem?" I asked. He jerked his head at the harpies as he cleaned a glass. "They keep crapping on the carpet. Stinking spawn of Oceanus." "Take them out back. They can wait there." He shook his head. "They don't like being near the gate." I nodded toward the tourist couple. "Any trouble?" He shrugged huge shoulders. "Gave them a shot of ambrosia, and they've been fine, 'cept for complaints about the noisy college kids." He glared at the harpies again. We really didn't mind harpies, nor centaurs, fawns, or even an occasional cyclops. The humans were no trouble, either. Better credit risks, too. The real problem in running our establishment was the mix–as in mixing twentieth-century, good-credit humans with creatures that weren't supposed to exist, let alone be buying you drinks in a quiet little tavern. The Sibyl turned another tarot card, white eyes staring straight ahead. "Old friends coming." "On the ferry?" I asked. No reply. Conversation wasn't her strong suit but she'd answer questions. Eventually. I was glad she was back on the tarot. Lately she'd been into goat entrails, and that had really stained the bar… .. .
State of Disorder
© Douglas Smith
And thus the whirligig of time brings in his revenges. – Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
Tick. In the banquet hall of a sprawling castle of a house, the woman looks up, startled. The dishes of the night's dinner still litter the long table before her. At the evening's outset, the table had been so clean, its settings so precise. She tries to recall each step in its journey from order to chaos but fails. Tick. She jumps again at the sound. A man's wristwatch lies at the table's far end. He has left it, forgotten or unwanted. Or for another reason. The watch is old with a broken strap; the woman young with a broken heart. The watch lies face down, but she knows it is the old-fashioned kind with hands. A date will show in a little window. A date from a time long ago. Two lives ago. It will be today's date. She wonders how she knows that. Tick. Rising, she moves toward the watch... .. .
Out of the Light
© Douglas Smith
The morgue door swung open. Jan Mirocek hesitated at the threshold, clinging to the hallway's bright comfort. Ahead in the dark room, under a lonely cone of light, Detective Garos loomed over a shroud-covered corpse. Jan glared up at the single ceiling bulb. Forty watts max, he thought. He turned to a clerk slouched at a desk in the hall. "Got any more light?" The man just shrugged. "Our guests don't do much reading." Scowling, Jan stepped inside. The door clicked shut behind him, cutting the light even more. He cursed and pulled a small flashlight from a coat pocket, his breathing slowing as the beam brightened his path. I can do this, he thought. Trying not to look into the shadows, he walked to Garos. Morgues didn't bother Jan. He knew death. And corpses. He just wanted more light. Garos eyed the flashlight but the big man didn't comment. "Good to see you in action again, hunter. It's been a while since...last time." His beefy hand swallowed Jan's. Last time. At least, old friend, you have the decency to leave it at that, Jan thought. "I'm retired, Andreas. Why'd you call me?" Ignoring the frown from Garos, he studied the contours of the white shroud. Slim, short, female. Garos shrugged then turned to the corpse. "White female, early thirties. Found about one this morning–just twelve hours ago–on a well-lit, still-busy, Toronto street." Stabbing his beam into dark corners, Jan pulled two extra flashlight batteries from his pocket. He shook them in his hand, calmed by the clicking noise. "So? What do you need me for?" "You tell me." Garos pulled back the sheet… .. .
© Douglas Smith
They're dead now, the Be'nans. Ta'klu was the last to die. Her body hangs in my arms, as heavy as my guilt, as my footsteps echo in these empty alien streets. And soon we'll be gone from this world too. I'm the last human in this bizarre, beautiful city. Fan is still here with me–but she's already dead. The High Places rise above me: two bone-white curves sweeping hundreds of feet into a morning sky from opposite ends of the city, bending inwards like two impossible fingers yearning to touch. Built by generations of Be'nans and now only a body length apart at their lofty tips, the High Places reach for each other. But they don't meet, don't connect. Not yet. I'll go to them soon, to try to keep a promise. If I fail, and if Ta'klu was right, then what happened here will happen on another world. And another. But first I must prepare Ta'klu in the manner of her people. She used to laugh when I called her Ta'klu, a name never meant for a human throat. Little here was meant for humans. We aren't capable of understanding. Beside me, Fan nods in agreement… .. .
Murphy's Law
© Douglas Smith
Dex hadn't planned to save the entire human race. Mostly, he'd been trying not to die, while still keeping his job in the process--two goals that, Dex had learned, were often mutually exclusive. However, since humanity remained unobliterated, from Earth to the outer ring colonies, while Jack Dexter--Dex to his friends--remained broke, he figured that his fellow humans at The House Limit could at least buy him a beer. The Limit was the only spacer bar on Station Beta One, making it the perfect destination for two things: cheap beer and a good yarn. More importantly, Dex knew that the second could serve as payment for the first. .. .
The Last Ride
© Douglas Smith
On the night her life would change forever, Odin's horn wakened Vaya from a peaceful sleep. The mournful wail, echoing with the screams of the dying, called the Valkyries to ride from Valhalla, as it had done through the ages whenever war raged in the world of mortals. Vaya disentangled herself from the arms of her still slumbering sisters where they lay in the communal bed of the Valkyrior. Throwing back the warm cover of furs, she stood up, naked and shivering in the chill of the sleeping hall. The central fire had died to embers hours ago, and the rough stone floor was like ice to her bare feet. Vaya dressed quickly as the other Valkyries rose beside her. Moonbeams stabbing through high windows beneath the hall's vaulted ceiling provided the only illumination, but after so many ages, Vaya did not need light to prepare for a ride. She wrapped her short skirt around her waist and laced up her leather tunic and boots. After strapping on a golden chest plate, she added armored leggings and armlets. Finally, she donned her winged helmet. Then grabbing her spear, she sprinted with her sisters to the stables… .. .
© Douglas Smith
Still in shock, Cassie Morant slumped in the cockpit of the empty hopper, staring at the two viewplates before her. In one, the planet Griphus, a blue, green and brown marble wrapped in belts of cloud, grew smaller. Except for the shape of its land masses, it could have been Earth. But it wasn't. Griphus was an alien world, light-years from Sol System. A world where nineteen of her shipmates were going to die. And one of them was Davey. On the other viewplate, the segmented, tubular hull of the orbiting Earth wormship, the Johannes Kepler, grew larger. Cassie tapped a command, and the ship's vector appeared, confirming her fears. The ship's orbit was still decaying… .. .
The Dancer at the Red Door
© Douglas Smith
The city has a song. Its rhythm, a million broken hearts...
Alexander King first met the Dancer on the day the street people began to glow. He drove to his office in downtown Toronto early that July morning in his newest toy, a vintage Jaguar XKE, dark red with black leather seats–a toy he'd always wanted, and one of which he'd already tired. He pondered this as he parked in his reserved spot beneath the building of blue glass and silvered steel that bore his name. Riding his private elevator to the penthouse executive floor, he felt a strange unease awakening with the day. He met first with his management team to finalize the acquisition of a competitor. They sat in his office, walls hung with original Tissot drawings he'd once loved. Before signing the takeover papers, he noted both the concessions he'd won and the absence of any pleasure in reaching a goal that had consumed much of his considerable energy for seven months. He ordered the sale of the one profitable plant in the acquisition, and the closing of the remaining operations. But it didn't bring him the rush that exercising new power normally did. He felt none of the usual thrill of moving the pieces in the game. His game. With a growing disquiet, he focused on his senior staff sitting around the huge teak table. He'd picked his team early in their careers, molding them into business weapons for his corporate arsenal. It came more as confirmation than surprise that he no longer felt pride in them. And with that thought, in that moment, he accepted what a secret part of him had known for some time–that he was totally, utterly tired of his world, the world he had built and in which he ruled. The only fear King had ever known had been of finding a game he couldn't win. He had never expected to become bored by the game. But it had happened. Well, then he needed a new game. No. He needed the right game… .. .
Going Harvey in the Big House
© Douglas Smith
Big G's first thought each wake time was how much he missed his drawer in his old sector of the House. His new cube was too big. Rubbing his eyes with a beefy hand, he sat up on his sleep shelf, ducking his head needlessly from habit born of years of waking in a drawer. Triggered by his movement, the ceiling tiles glowed to full brightness. Big G looked around his cube. Dull green walls. A floor covered with a gray coarse carpet. His private in-chute and dis-chute in the opposite wall, with a hidden compartment big enough to make his few personal items seem lonely lying inside. He shook his head. All of this luxury still made him uneasy. But what bothered him most was the size of the cube. Six and a half feet long, and five feet wide, with a ceiling so far overhead that he had to stand to touch it. He sighed. Too much space. It wasn't right. Sometimes now, he'd wake in sleep time, reach out, and feel nothing. He'd panic then, flinging out his arms and legs, snapping his neck back, only to thump his head and crack his knuckles on the walls beside him. Falling reflex. That's what Tapper, his partner, called it. From when our ancestors built the House generations ago to shelter us from the poisons of the Outside. The Builders would fall sometimes, Tapper said, and they'd throw out their arms and legs, trying to catch a girder or a beam to save themselves. Tapper used to work in Archives, so he had lots of stories of Outside and the Builders and the House. Big G didn't know about those things. He just knew his new cube made him nervous. But the Inners had made him a Smoother, and the Inners were the direct descendants of the Builders. The House protects the People, and the Inners protect the House. And Smoothers were the arms and legs of that protection. Smoothers needed to be respected and feared, so the Inners gave them cubes. Big cubes. His ID chip pulsed in his head, signalling an incoming call… .. .
A Taste Sweet and Salty
© Douglas Smith
The man known only as Stranger lived and died in a town with no name. Each day he lived. And each night he died. One morning, Stranger might wake on silk sheets in a fine villa in the town. Rising, he would walk out onto a broad stone patio and look down over cobbled streets twisting between the red-clay buildings below. Out on the Medicean, ship sails billowed like clouds on an inverted sky. Ships he owned. He was rich. He was powerful. The next morning, he might wake naked and shivering in a dark forest, his skin painted with dew etched by the tracks of insects that had explored him in the night. He had nothing. He was nothing. Yet another morning, he would find himself before the altar of the town's only church. Or on a ship. Or in the governor's palace. A ditch. A general's tent. A brothel. Sometimes rich, sometimes poor. Sometimes male, sometimes female. Old, young. Strong, weak. Sometimes known to all, and other times as he ever was to himself–a stranger. But always, he awoke in the town that huddled under the gaze of the mountain shaped like a skull. And always, before the day had passed into the next, he had died at the hands of another… .. .
Memories of the Dead Man
© Douglas Smith
You are done for–a living dead man–not when you stop loving but stop hating. Hatred preserves: in it, in its chemistry, resides the mystery of life. – E.M.Cioran, The New Gods
You ask me of the Dead Man. What kind of man was he? Good question. But not the right one. Some call him a murderer, a cold-blooded killer–or worse. Some call him a hero. Jase and I made it through those days only by his hand in our lives, so you'd think I'd know where I stand on that one. But even after thirty years, I'm still not sure. I had dreams once, beyond living another day, but they'd died when I was twenty, died with my husband and daughter in the Plague. For ten years after that, I did what I had to, to feed Jase and me, to survive. That meant taking what we needed and staying in motion, one step ahead and not looking back. Not getting involved. Not trusting. I made an exception with him, with the Dead Man. No–not that name. You call him that. They call him that. I won't. To us, to Jase and me, he was Bishop. He said his other name was John, but we just called him Bishop. Yeah, I made an exception with Bishop. But then he was an exception to a lot of rules, even before the Merged Corporate Entity rebuilt Earth under its own rules. It began in a shantytown, squalid and squatting on the edge of the Alberta Badlands. Began at 4 a.m. on a chill May night, under a moon as bright and cold and pockmarked as the chrome on the old Buick I'd just hot-wired…
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It was surreal going with Will, one of my best friends, to this event and getting to be a part of Ella's US album release. We sang along, danced, sipped champagne and laughed the night away. It was the kind of unforgettable night that doesn't come around too often and when that happens I'm always eager to capture it. I also have to say that Ella looked fantastic and you know I love a jumpsuit! Remember this sketch of Vogue stylist Kelen, whom I toured the US with sketching for Vogue and Clinique?
If you haven't yet I highly recommend checking out Ella Henderson. Ghost and Beautifully Unfinished are my two favorites but the whole Chapter One album is great! I'm so excited she's finally here in the states and looking forward to seeing her career soar.
(Illustrations and photo by: Brooke Hagel)
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PaigeJolly video.Free chat with PaigeJolly
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text: Już w najbliższą niedzielę – PRO8L3M, Sokół, Żabson, Kartky i Young Igi na jednej scenie! 2019-11-08 Sorry, this entry is only available in Polish. Leave a Reply Cancel reply Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *Comment Name * Email * Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email.


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Planeta444 Is A Project By Italy-based Maggie Cieslak, Whose Artworks Are Meant To Encourage, Motivate And Inspire Others, Expressing The Love For Life And Good Vibes. Maggie Loves Experimenting With Her Own Hand Lettering Styles With Her Workflow Consists In Preparing Original Designs With Real Brush Pens Before Turning All Digital - This Makes The Final Look Stand Out And Feel Unique.
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Featuring Zachary Bennett Brooke outstanding artwork into our new collection "Pravaah" - A travel collection. This stylish and sleek wallet can hold your passport , your necessary travel documents ,...
Mash is a portmanteau word of our names: Mansi and Shivani.
Combining and interweaving is kind of a thing here at Mash. Let me explain.
We're an Australian company with roots in South Asia, which we proudly feature in our vegan products.
Our vegan-friendly purses, clutches, cross bodies and envelopes are a stylish combination of faux leather and organic cotton so there's zero harm to animals. We love that.
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Ben "Rise and Shine" Weissenstein started a business before he started school and he wants to help others do the same.
We found Ben 15 years after The Houston Chronicle snapped a photo of him and his lemonade stand. In those 15 years, he has started two successful companies and has been featured on Fox News, Dr. Phil, and Entrepreneur Magazine.
Now he's 20 years old and he owns the highest ranking garage sale business in the world (according to Google). Ben also just added "Author" to his already eclectic entrepreneurial career.
Today, I finally got a hold of Ben to talk with him about why he thinks young people need to read his book.
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A new constitution with restrictive press provisions was approved in late year amid heavy opposition criticism and reports of ballot fraud. CPJ and others criticized articles creating a new government press regulator and establishing new state authority to shut media outlets. The new charter also did nothing to halt the criminal prosecution of journalists, a hallmark of the Hosni Mubarak regime. A reporter covering a rally protesting the new constitution was killed in December when he was struck by a rubber bullet that witnesses said was fired by a Muslim Brotherhood supporter. Several other journalists said they were assaulted while covering similar demonstrations. Other serious violations were reported throughout the year, including a sexual assault and a number of other physical attacks against journalists. Before the election of President Mohamed Morsi in June, the interim-ruling Supreme Council for the Armed Forces carried out a series of Mubarak-era tactics intended to stifle media critical of the military. The tactics included the use of politicized trials and interrogations to intimidate reporters, along with the temporary detention of journalists, two of whom were brutalized in custody. The Shura Council, controlled by the Freedom and Justice Party, took a firm grasp of state media in August, appointing political allies as heads of the institutions. Several journalists working for state newspapers reported that critical articles were being pulled. Although Morsi banned pre-trial detention of journalists, the press remained at legal risk. At least six journalists faced charges of "insulting the president" or "insulting Islam." By late 2012, the prosecutor general was pursuing a series of investigations into independent Egyptian newspapers on accusations of insulting the president or reporting false news.
Newspaper reporter Al-Hosseiny Abou Deif died after being struck by a rubber bullet fired by a person whom witnesses identified as a Muslim Brotherhood supporter. Regionwide, fatalities soared in Syria but dropped in most other nations.
Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territory
Assaults, harassment, and detention of journalists occurred regularly throughout 2012, but attacks reached a peak during a three-day period in May when protesters clashed with uniformed military personnel and plainclothes agents in front of the Defense Ministry in Cairo. The demonstrations initially protested the exclusion of a would-be presidential candidate. One journalist had part of his ear cut off, and several others were hospitalized with serious injuries.
|Beaten or assaulted
|Camera confiscated
In August, the upper house of parliament, known as the Shura Council, appointed new heads of state-run media. Journalists were outraged by the move and saw it as a way for the Muslim Brotherhood's ruling Freedom and Justice Party to exercise control over news coverage. The Shura Council also announced new requirements for the positions, including a rule that candidates must be under 60 years of age.
Egypt has the highest number of Facebook users in the region, according to Facebook statistics. Social media has played an increasingly greater role as a reporting and information-gathering tool for journalists, particularly in the face of censorship for critical writing.


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Home prices in Southwest Florida suffered their biggest monthly setback in nearly three years in June, signaling that not even the sector's robust recovery from the market's collapse is immune to an annual summer lull.
Buyers closed on 883 total residential properties in the territory covered by the Sarasota Association of Realtors last month, a 13 percent drop from May and just 2 percent ahead of sales in the same month a year ago.
Even more striking, that sales slowdown pushed the median price for a single-family home down $20,000 over the month, records show.
The interruption in price appreciation comes amid what is historically the slowest months for the region's housing market, with substantially fewer tourists scouting seasonal homes here. Institutional investors also have begun to taper back their bulk home buying, records indicate.
Many industry observers predicted rapid price rises that became commonplace this year wouldn't be sustained, as prices would eventually reach a more stable growth pattern.
But because deep inventory shortages remain and the pipeline of new retirees moving to Southwest Florida continues to grow, analysts expect the region to bounce back handily from the summer doldrums.
"What we have seen in the last year and a half is roughly 15 percent appreciation," said Robert Goldman, a Realtor with Michael Saunders & Co. in Venice. "Going forward, I would be surprised if we see anything that approximates that."
Data from the Manatee Association of Realtors was not available Monday. The monthly report from Florida Realtors also was delayed until today as a result of technical issues related to a new Multiple List Service provider at several local Realtor associations.
In Sarasota, Realtors last month sold 642 single-family homes, down 13 percent from May and above the 603 recorded in June 2012 by 6 percent, according to data from the association.
The median sales price for those homes fell by 9 percent from a five-year high of $220,000 in May, to $200,000 in June -- ending five consecutive months of appreciation.
Although prices still remain above last June's median of $178,500, the market saw its largest monthly drop in values since January 2011. By comparison, prices fell by a more modest 3.5 percent from May to June last year and prices actually rose during that time in 2009, 2010, and 2011.
Expected vacillation
Analysts contend that Southwest Florida's housing market will likely vacillate throughout the summer months, which tend to be more volatile in regards to sales activity because of the region's heavy dependence on seasonal buyers.
But the pace is generally expected to top the trajectory from 2012, with pent-up demand from retirees and investors lifting demand to post-recession bests.
Coupled with a tight supply, that uptick in sales also has brought about double-digit price appreciation.
In all, median prices are predicted to grow by 13 percent this year and another 6 percent in 2014 -- figures that would outpace the rate of inflation.
Some economists believe the hiccup in June indicates that predictions of another housing bubble were premature. Across the country, lackluster sales in June also slid below expectations -- despite a 15 percent price gain over the year, records show.
"We're still in this sort of sticky adjustment in the market," said Sean Snaith, an economist with the University of Central Florida.
"The type of double-digit price increases we were seeing this year just were not sustainable," Snaith added. "This may sort of deflate the bubble talk a bit, but I don't think we're headed for another downward slide."
Analysts also attributed the relatively slow June to rising mortgage interest rates, which are beginning to make homes less affordable for lower-income families and first-time buyers.
The national average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage rose to 4.07 percent in June, from 3.54 percent in May and 3.68 percent in June 2012. It now stands at its highest mark since October 2011, according to mortgage bundler the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., or Freddie Mac.
Recent purchases from institutional investors, which have caused bid prices of homes across the market to rise, also have slowed in recent months.
Meanwhile, more buyers are now turning to new homes from builders, which are not counted in the monthly MLS statistics.
And unlike federal data, which is adjusted to account for temporary downturns in tourism and agriculture, the local housing figures are not seasonally adjusted. Those seasonal factors likely contributed to the slower June.
"No trend lines are perfectly straight; there are always peaks and valleys," said Jack McCabe, a real estate consultant in Deerfield Beach.
"Just because we had one month down, it doesn't mean we won't be up the next. The hedge funds just didn't make as many purchases at overpriced values in June."
Lack of listings
The region's housing recovery has been amplified this year by a lack of seller listings in Southwest Florida, which has also pushed prices upward.
For instance, while the total housing stock continued to fall in Sarasota County in June, the supply of inventory actually rose to 3.2 months' worth, from 3 months in May, the result of slower sales.
The indicator measures the time it would take to exhaust current inventory if no new listings were added. Equilibrium is typically achieved at about six months' worth.
And even with the sluggish June, sales from members of the Sarasota Association of Realtors midway through 2013 are up nearly 14 percent over 2012.
If current trends continue, 2013 would become the second-busiest sales year in the 90-year history of the group -- surpassed only by 2004.
Pending sales, which are also well above 2012 levels, also suggest a strong autumn. The 1,024 transactions under contract with a SAR member last month are expected to close within 90 days.
"Typically in June we do see a little bit of a drop from the spring time," said Sue Wolverton, senior vice president of Coldwell Banker's Southwest Florida operations. "But it's still very active, and there's a high demand right now."
Across the country, existing home sales dipped in June but remained well above levels from the past two years. Median prices continued a streak of seven straight months of double-digit, year-over-year increases.
Total existing home sales slowed 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.08 million in June.
But U.S. housing transactions soared 15.2 percent above those of June 2012, according to data released Monday by the National Association of Realtors.
Fanned by shrinking foreclosure inventories, the national median existing home price similarly jumped 13.5 percent to $214,200 in June -- capping 16 consecutive months of appreciation, a trend not seen since 2006.
Total housing inventory at the end of June rose modestly to a 5.2-month supply at the current sales pace, up from five months in May.
More significantly, nearly half of all homes sold in June were on the market less than a month.
"Homes are selling quickly because there's very limited supply, and with rising interest rates, people are reacting," NAR spokesman Walter Molony said. "We're seeing the biggest housing turnaround since the boom. The hope is we will have a soft landing."
SEASONAL LULL: Sales and prices drop in June, but analysts aren't worried
Home prices in Southwest Florida suffered their biggest monthly setback in nearly three years in June, signaling that not even the sector's robust recovery from the market's collapse is immune to an annual summer lull.


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