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(ii) The second of the three types of proofs in the Sunna for the probativeness of the Sunna is his order to hold fast to his Sunna and his prohibition to follow or practice only what is found in the Qur'an, in abandonment of the Sunna and in pursuit of lusts and independent opinion.
As the proofs previously adduced show, the Prophet does not command other than what Allah made required, and he does not prohibit other than what Allah forbade.
Al-`Irbad ibn Sariya said:
Allah's Messenger prayed among us that day then turned to face us and admonished us intensely so that the eyes wept and the hearts trembled. A man said: "O Messenger of Allah! This resembles the admonishment of one who bids farewell, therefore what solemn promise do you require of us?" He replied: "I exhort you to beware of Allah -- Almighty and Exalted. I exhort you to hear and obey even if your leader is a black Ethiopian. Lo! Whoever of you lives shall live to see great divisions. You must follow my Sunna and the Sunna of the rightly-guided, upright caliphs after me. Hold on to it firmly, bite upon it with your very teeth! Beware of newfangled matters. Every newfangled matter is an innovation, and every innovation is misguidance."1
The Prophet heard voices coming from the datepalm groves and he enquired about them. They said: `They are pollinating the trees." He said: "If they did not it would be fine." So they did not pollinate them that year, and the dates came out undersized. When they mentioned this to the Prophet he said: "If it is something that pertains to your world then it is up to you, and if it is something that pertains to your Religion then it is up to me."2
Another version states that the Prophet replied: "I am only a human being. If I tell you something that pertains to your Religion then follow it, but if I tell you something that pertains to your mundane matters, then I am only a human being."3
The Prophet said: "O people! Allah -- Almighty and Exalted -- has made pilgrimage obligatory upon you, therefore accomplish the pilgrimage." A man asked: "Every year, O Messenger of Allah?" The Prophet kept silent. The man asked again, and then asked a third time. Whereupon the Prophet said: "If I said yes it would become obligatory and you would not be able to fulfill it." Then he said: "Leave me alone as long as I leave you alone. Those before you perished for no other reason than asking too many questions and then differing with their Prophets. If I order you to do something then do it to the extent that you can, and if I forbid you something, then leave it."4
The Prophet did something by following the easier dispensation (rukhsa), whereupon some people disdained to avail themselves of it. When news of this reached him he praised Allah -- Almighty and Exalted -- and glorified Him then said: "What is the matter with certain people who disdain to avail themselves of something which I practice. By Allah! I am the most knowledgeable of Allah -- Almighty and Exalted -- among them, and the most intense of them in fear of Him."5 Ibn Hajar said:
Ibn al-Tin related from al-Dawudi that the latter said: "Disdaining to take up whatever dispensation the Prophet used is among the greatest sins because one sees himself as more Godwary than Allah's Messenger ." There is no doubt that one who believes this is a heretic. However, those that did it in the hadith gave as their reason, that the Prophet's past and future sins had been forgiven and so his case was different from theirs. Hence - according to their reasoning - those whose sins have not been forgiven are in need of following the stricter and harder way in order to be saved. So the Prophet informed them that even if Allah -- Almighty and Exalted -- had forgiven him, he was still the most Godwary and most intense of all of them in fear of Him. Therefore, whatever he does - whether in the way of dispensation or strictness - he does with the most Godwariness and intense fear of Allah. The immense favor of being forgiven in no way impelled him to leave earnest effort in his deeds. On the contrary, he showed gratitude.6
(iii) The third of the three types of proofs in the Sunna for the probativeness of the Sunna is his command to listen to his hadith, memorize it, and convey it to whoever did not hear it both of his contemporaries and posterity, promising them immense reward for it.
This command of the Prophet to memorize and convey his hadith necessitates the probativeness of the Sunna. Al-Shafi`i (ra) said:
The fact that Allah's Messenger made it desirable for each individual to listen to his sayings, memorize them, and convey them, indicates that he did not command that there be conveyed from him other than what constitutes a proof against him to whom it is conveyed. For nothing is conveyed from him except [the stipulations of] what is lawful so that it be followed, what is illicit so that it be avoided, legal punishment, trade and transactions of goods, as well as faithful advice concerning the Religion and the present life.7
Similar evidence is provided by the Prophet's prohibition from lying about him and that of concealing any knowledge that came from him, which would be tantamount to changing Allah's ruling, failing to inform people of it, and putting into practice other than that which Allah -- Almighty and Exalted -- revealed. If the hadith were not probative as we mentioned, there would have been no difference between lying and otherwise, or between concealment of what the Prophet brought and lying about him. Nor would the latter two offences incur such heavy punishment as Hellfire.8
Abu Dharr (ra) said: "The Prophet ordered us not to be overcome in commanding the good, forbidding the wrong, and teaching people the sunan."9 Al-Bayhaqi narrated it then added:
If following Allah's Messenger in what he made a Sunna is obligatoryand knowing it is an enduring obligation, it is also true that following his Sunna is impossible until we know it, and knowing it is impossible until we accept truthful reports from him. Accepting such reports is therefore a precondition for followership. Hence we were commanded to teach them [the Sunan] and to invite people to them.10
The Prophet said in his Farewell Pilgrimage: "Lo! Let every witness among you tell the one who is absent. Perhaps the one who is conveyed to shall understand better than the one who heard in the first place."11 Al-Bayhaqi said: "If it were not for the definite proof adduced by the Sunna, the Prophet would not have said in his address, after teaching whoever saw him the matter of their Religion: `Let every witness tell the absent one etc.'"12
Similar to the above hadith is the mass-transmitted narration whereby the Prophet said:
May Allah brighten the face [= grant prosperity and felicity] of that of His servants who hears my words, remembers [or preserves] them, guards them, and hands them on. Many a transmitter of knowledge does not himself understand it, and many may transmit knowledge to others who are more versed in it than they. The heart of a Muslim shall never harbor vindictive feelings against three things: sincerity in deeds made for Allah's sake; faithfulness to Muslims; and conformity to the community of believers. For truly their supplication encompasses the rest of the people.13
The Prophet also said: "Whoever lies about me willfully, let him take now his seat in the Fire!"14 We related another version of this mass-narrated hadith.15 A third version states: "Truly if one lies about me it is not like lying about anyone else. Whoever lies about me wilfully, let him take now his seat in the Fire!"16
The Prophet is also reported to say: "When innovations appear in my Community the person of knowledge has to show his knowledge. If he does not do so, then upon be Allah's curse, that of the angels, and that of all people. There shall be accepted from him neither `barter' (sarf) nor `balance' (`adal)."17 Another versions states: "When innovations appear and my Companions are insulted, the person of knowledge has to show his knowledge. If he does not do so, then upon be Allah's curse, that of the angels, and that of all people."18 Al-Walid ibn Muslim, Abu Bakr ibn `Ayyash, and `Abbad ibn al-`Awamm said in explanation of "his knowledge": "It means the Sunna."19
Al-Suyuti said:
From the beginning of Prophethood until the death of the last of the Companions there are 120 years. The century of the Successors starts at the year 100 and extends to the year 170. Then that of the Successors' Successors from then to about 220. At that time innovations appeared en masse, the Mu`tazila let their tongues loose, the philosophers raised their heads, the people of knowledge were put on trial for not saying that the Qur'an was created, and the state of affairs changed radically. This has not changed until now, and witnesses to the truth of his saying : "After that lying will spread."20
1See post entitled "The Meaning of Bid`a" for the documentation of this hadith.
2Narrated from Anas, Thabit, and `A'isha with sound chains by Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (1:201 #22), and Abu Ya`la in his Musnad (6:198, 6:237). Also narrated by Muslim with the wording: "You know best about your mundane matters." Also narrated from the words: "If it is something..." by al-Daraqutni in his Sunan (1:382), Also narrated with sound chains as part of a long hadith that arose in a different circumstance by Ahmad and Ibn Khuzayma in his Sahih (1:214 #410),
3Narrated from Rafi` ibn Khadij by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (4:280) and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (1:202 #23) with a fair chain as stated by Shaykh Shu`ayb al-Arna'ut.
4Narrated from Abu Hurayra by Muslim, al-Nasa'i, and Ahmad. Also narrated from the words "Leave me alone" to the end by Bukhari, al-Tirmidhi (hasan sahih), Ibn Majah, and Ahmad.
5Narrated from `A'isha by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Ahmad.
6Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari (1959 ed. 13:279).
7Al-Shafi`i, al-Risala (p. 402-403).
8See the two hadiths documented in the post entitled [11] Probativeness of Sunna: "Whoever is asked about knowledge and conceals it shall come on the Day of Resurrection wearing a bridle of fire, and whoever says something about the Qur'an without knowledge, shall come on the Day of Resurrection wearing a bridle of fire." "Beware of narrating something about me except what you know for sure, for whoever deliberately lies about me, let him take from now his seat in the Fire; and whoever says something about the Qur'an on the basis of his own opinion, let him take from now his seat in the Fire."
9Narrated by al-Darimi in his Musnad and al-Bayhaqi in al-Madkhal (p. 258), Shu`ab al-Iman (6:18), and al-I`tiqad (p. 232) with a chain of sound narrators except for one unknown narrator as stated by al-Haythami in Majma` al-Zawa'id (5:216).
10Al-Bayhaqi, al-I`tiqad (p. 232).
11Narrated from Abu Bakrah by Ibn Majah in his Sunan and Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm (1:182-184 #192-194) with three chains, two of them sound; also, as part of a longer narration, by Bukhari, Muslim, Ahmad, and al-Darimi. Also narrated from `Ubada ibn al-Samit by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir with a chain of sound narrators as stated by al-Haythami in Majma` al-Zawa'id (1:139). The second sentence is narrated without the first from `Abd Allah ibn `Amr by Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm (1:190 #200) with a very weak chain because of `Abd al-`Aziz ibn `Ubayd Allah.
12Al-Bayhaqi as cited by `Abd al-Khaliq in Hujjiyya al-Sunna (p. 320).
13A mass-transmitted (mutawatir) hadith beginning with the words naddar Allahu imri'an and narrated from the following Companions: 1. Zayd ibn Thabit by al-Tirmidhi (hasan in the printed eds.), Abu Dawud, Ibn Majah, Ahmad, al-Darimi, al-Shafi`i in his Risala (#1102), al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (#4891-4892, #4925, #4994), Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm (1:175 #184), al-Ramahurmuzi in al-Muhaddith al-Fasil (p. 64), Ibn Abi `Asim in al-Sunna (p. 45 #94), al-Khatib in Sharaf Ashab al-Hadith (p. 24) and al-Faqih wa al-Mutafaqqih (2:71), al-Tahawi in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (2:232= 4:282 #1600), and Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (1:270 #67, 2:454 #680), all with sound chains as stated by al-Arna'ut, al-Albani, and al-Zuhayri; 2. Jubayr ibn Mut`im by Ibn Majah, Ahmad, al-Darimi, al-Tabarani in al-Kabir (#1541-1544), Abu Ya`la in his Musnad (1:347 #7413), al-Hakim (1:87=1990 ed. 1:162), al-Quda`i in Musnad al-Shihab (#1421), al-Tahawi in Sharh Mushkil al-Athar (2:232=4:282 #1601), al-Khatib in Sharaf Ashab al-Hadith (p. 18), and Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm (1:184-187 #195-197), all with weak chains because of Muhammad ibn Ishaq who is a concealer in his narrative chains (mudallis), cf. al-Haythami in Majma` al-Zawa'id (1:139); 3. Anas by Ibn Majah, Ahmad, al-Tabarani in al-Awsat, and Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm (1:187-189 #198-199) with weak chains - as stated by al-Haythami (1:138-139) - the collected force of which raise the hadith to the grade of fair as stated by al-Zuhayri and his shaykh al-Albani; 4. Abu Sa`id al-Khudri by al-Bazzar with a chain of trustworthy narrators except for Sa`id ibn Bazigh who may be unknown as stated by al-Haythami in Majma` al-Zawa'id (1:137); 5. Abu al-Darda' by al-Darimi and al-Tabarani in al-Kabir with a very weak chain because of `Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd ("ibn Zubayd al-Yami" in al-Darimi) as stated by al-Haythami (1:137); 6. `Umayr ibn Qatada al-Laythi by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir with a chain containing one narrator whose state is unsure as mentioned by al-Haythami (1:138); 7. al-Nu`man ibn Bashir by al-Tabarani in al-Kabir with a very weak chain because of `Isa al-Khabbat and by al-Hakim (1:88=1990 ed. 1:164) with a sound chain as confirmed by al-Dhahabi and as indicated by al-Haythami (1:138); 8. Jabir and 9. Sa`d ibn Abi Waqqas by al-Tabarani in al-Awsat with weak chains as stated by al-Haythami (1:138-139); 10. Wabisa by al-Bazzar with a chain of sound narrators according to al-Haythami (1:139); 11. Ibn Mas`ud by al-Tirmidhi with two chains (hasan sahih), Ibn Majah, Ahmad, Abu Ya`la in his Musnad (#5126, #5296), al-Shafi`i in his (1:14), al-Baghawi in Sharh al-Sunna (1:233-234), al-Khatib in al-Kifaya (p. 29, p. 173) and Sharaf Ashab al-Hadith (p. 18-19, p. 26), al-Bayhaqi in Ma`rifa al-Sunan (1:15-16, 1:43) and Dala'il al-Nubuwwa (6:540), Abu Nu`aym in Tarikh Asbahan (2:90) and al-Hilya (7:331) where he graded it sahih, al-Hakim in Ma`rifa `Ulum al-Hadith (p. 322), Ibn `Abd al-Barr in Jami` Bayan al-`Ilm (1:178-182 #188-191), Ibn Hibban in his Sahih (1:268 #66, 1271-272 #68-69) with three fair chains according to al-Arna'ut, one of them with the wording "Allah have mercy on someone who hears a hadith from me then conveys it..." Al-Kattani in Nazm al-Mutanathir adds the following Companion-narrators of this hadith: 12. Bashir ibn al-Nu`man; 13. Mu`adh ibn Jabal; 14. Abu Qirfasa; 15. Rabi`a ibn `Uthman al-Taymi; 16. Ibn `Umar; 17. Zayd ibn Khalid al-Juhani; 18. `A'isha; 19. Abu Hurayra; 20. Shayba ibn `Uthman. Al-Tirmidhi's version does not mention the last sentence, while al-Shafi`i's adds "and guard them from delusion." On the variant wordings of this important hadith also see `Abd al-Fattah Abu Ghudda's al-Rasul al-Mu`allim (p. 55-56).
14A mass-narrated (mutawatir) hadith from many Companions in Bukhari and Muslim. One version narrated from Ibn `Abbas by Ahmad with three chains, al-Tirmidhi (hasan), and - with a sound chain - Ibn Abi Shayba in his Musannaf begins with the words: "Avoid relating my words except what you know for sure."
15See above, n. 8.
16Narrated from al-Mughira ibn Shu`ba by al-Bukhari, Muslim, and Ahmad. In Bukhari's version al-Mughira continnues and says: "I heard the Prophet say: `Whoever is wailed over [at burial], shall be punished to the extent of the [people's] wailing over him.'"
17Narrated from Jabir ibn Zayd by al-Rabi`al-Azdi in his Musnad (p. 365).
18Narrated from Jabir by al-Dani in al-Sunan al-Warida fi al-Fitan (3:632) and from Mu`adh ibn Jabal by al-Khallal in al-Sunna (3:495).
20Al-Suyuti in al-Mubarakfuri, Tuhfa al-Ahwadhi (6:482) and `Azim Abadi, `Awn al-Ma`bud (12:267). Cf. Ibn Hajar, Fath al-Bari (1959 ed. 6:7). The hadith al-Suyuti quoted is narrated from Ibn Mas`ud by Bukhari and Muslim in the wording: "The best of people are my century, then those that follow them, then those that follow the latter. After that there will come people who will be eager to commit perjury while bearing witness." [Another sound version states: "After that lying will spread."].
GF Haddad


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Oct. 10 Justin Verlander postgame interview
Q. For a game like this, do you feel more fired up, maybe even more angry to go get them tomorrow?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: No, you try to take it one day at a time. Obviously that was a tough one. But it's not the first time this year we lost like that, but on a bigger stage. We've been resilient all year, and tomorrow is a new day.
Q. Where did you watch the last inning and what was going through your mind as things were transpiring?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: I was in the dugout and I was just hoping to get some outs. Obviously once they get second and third, nobody out, you're hoping they don't score. And then they had a double, and then you're hoping to just take it to extra innings so you have a chance to win.
Q. Obviously a different mindset going into your start tomorrow from usually when you have four days to prepare. How are you, how will the mindset be, what do you think going into tomorrow?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Well, you know, I'm going to try to treat it like another start, kind of like the last start, as much as I can. Obviously it's a big game for us. But like I said, this team's been resilient and we allowed ourself to be in this position. We won the first two games at home. You know it's not easy to play here. So we put ourselves in a position where we just need to win one. Whatever game that is, doesn't matter. So hopefully it's the fifth one.
Q. How would you describe the way that you feel about the responsibility in a decisive Game 5?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: You know, I feel like it's about the same as the responsibility in Game 1. Obviously it's win or go home. But it's the same feeling for Game 1. So obviously I'm not going to change my mentality. I'm not going to try to do anything more than what I've done all year.
Q. Valverde has been so great for you guys, what was your thought as you were watching things unravel in the 9th inning?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: You know, like I said, just hoping to get some outs. Valverde has been great for us, and that's the nature of it. Those things happen. Obviously you don't want it to happen on a night like tonight, but it did. Turn the page and get ready for tomorrow.
Q. Sorry if this is a repeat question. You've talked all year about backs against the wall. Is this the essence of that?
JUSTIN VERLANDER: Yeah, we've in essence been there the last month of the season. We beat the White Sox when we had to beat them.
Tomorrow is another game that we have to win, obviously. I've got faith in our guys and we'll go out there and see what happens.

subset: commoncrawl


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1) It's a good idea to have 3 bras that you rotate - think one on your body, one in your drawer and one in the wash. This will extend the life of your bras.
2) Hand wash if you can - Wash by hand using cold water and a mild detergent, both of which are more gentle on fabric and help to retain elasticity.
3) Machine wash if you must - We know that not everyone has the time to wash their bras by hand. If you do put your bras in the washing machine, use cold water, the gentlest cycle and place the items in a lingerie bag. Always fasten hooks so that they don't get caught on anything else.
4) Lay flat to dry - Heat from dryers will wear them out much more quickly, and can warp the elastic. Instead, lay your bras flat (or hang them) to dry.


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Adding a little color into your makeup mix is never a bad idea. To pull off this loud yet gorgeous look, use this tutorial and these tips from makeup artist Lauren Cosenza.
1. Create a cat eye with black cream liner. After you've applied your foundation, concealer, and blush, create a cat eye using black cream eye liner and an eyeliner brush for precise application. Here, model Grace St. John used Lorac PRO Cream Eyeliner in Black.
2. Layer on some color. Using Vincent Longo Crème Gel liner in Teal, layer on some color to make your winged eye pop.
3. Fill in your brows. To create the perfect frame for your eyes, use a brow powder shade that's lighter than your eyebrows so that when you fill them in, they look as natural as possible. Grace used Anastasia's Brow Powder Duo in Ebony here.
4. Line and fill in your lips with a loud color. Gone are the days where you can't wear two intense colors at once, so don't be afraid to wear a loud lip color with colorful liner. Grace filled in her lips with MAC's Lip Pencil in Cherry first and then topped it with a clear gloss.
Done and done!
What do you think of this bold look? Would you try it? Leave your comments below!
Photo Credit: Elizabeth Griffin
Originally posted on
From: Cosmopolitan US


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Head Start Grantee Specialist – Region VI - Remote
Head Start Grantee Specialist – Region VI - Remote
Home Based in Region VI (AR, LA, NM, OK, TX) - must reside in one of these States
ICF seeks a Grantee Specialist with expertise in Head Start administration, planning and management systems to provide high quality technical assistance that improves the capacity of Head Start and Early Head Start programs to meet or exceed the Head Start Performance Standards and applicable Federal regulations. The Grantee Specialist will provide onsite and virtual consultation to grantees, governing bodies, directors and program managers to correct deficiencies and non-compliances identified through the national monitoring system and provide planning and management technical assistance to support continuous quality improvement.
This position is home-based in one of the Region VI states and will involve extensive travel to programs within the 5 states identified as the Federal Region VI (Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas).
Key Responsibilities:
- Act as a change agent in fiscal, administrative, and management areas, incorporating activities that include governing body and policy group involvement in the development/revision of activities for long-term improvements.
- Work with leaders within an organization to plan and assist in the implementation of changes that resolve deficiencies and non-compliances.
- Plan and implement strategic interventions with grantees that have been designated deficient or have been found to be out of compliance through the OHS federal monitoring process.
- Work with Federal Regional staff in developing strategies for grantee intervention and plan outcomes that address problem areas for all affected grantees.
- Coordinate with other Grantee Specialist and Early Childhood Education staff to identify ways to address administrative and program improvements in a coordinated, comprehensive and holistic manner.
- Review, interpret and utilize a broad array of data to identify trends, and assist each assigned grantee to use the information to establish objectives for change and identify steps and processes needed for implementation.
- Analyze existing grantee structure, functions and capacity and propose a redesign of structure(s), functions and systems that support quality program operations.
- Recommend ways to improve overall grantee operations, including the development of operations manuals, internal procedures such as audit resolution processes, and identification of appropriate management and administrative procedures to strengthen grantee management practices.
Basic Qualifications:
- A minimum of a bachelor's degree in a field related to Program Design and Management, Business Management, Accounting, Public or Non-Profit Administration, or Project Management (with fiscal emphasis) or related field.
- 5+ years of demonstrated experience in providing technical assistance required, specifically on issues pertaining to governance, fiscal management systems and administrative issues within Head Start.
- Knowledge of management and related issues and demonstrated ability to apply such knowledge.
- Experience providing training at State, Regional, or National Meetings and technical assistance to individual organizations.
- Knowledge of the Head Start Performance Standards, as well as other relevant/appropriate Federal requirements and regulations is required.
- Must have valid driver's license and successfully pass a Motor Vehicle Records (MVR) check.
Preferred Skills/Experience:
- Master's Degree in a field related to Program Design and Management, Business Management, Accounting, Public or Non-Profit Administration, or Project Management (with fiscal emphasis) or related field.
- Experience in a position within a Head Start program or early learning program.
- Knowledge and experience performing program design management and fiscal management preferred.
- Substantial fiscal expertise in areas of budgeting, multiple funding sources, HS circulars, cost principles, HS audits, and the fiscal role of the governing body.
Professional Skills:
- Excellent verbal and written communication skills required.
- In-depth knowledge of and experience with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel and PowerPoint).
- Ability to work independently as well as with a team.
- Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to work with a variety of groups including governing bodies, staff, community leaders, and Head Start policy groups (policy councils and committees).
- Ability to complete detailed paperwork in timely manner.
Working at ICF
Working at ICF means applying a passion for meaningful work with intellectual rigor to help solve the leading issues of our day. Smart, compassionate, innovative, committed, ICF employees tackle unprecedented challenges to benefit people, businesses, and governments around the globe. We believe in collaboration, mutual respect, open communication, and opportunity for growth. If you're seeking to make a difference in the world, visit www.icf.com/careers to find your next career. ICF—together for tomorrow.
ICF is an equal opportunity employer that values diversity at all levels. (EOE – Minorities/Females/ Protected Veterans Status/Disability Status/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity)
Reasonable Accommodations are available for disabled veterans and applicants with disabilities in all phases of the application and employment process. To request an accommodation please email email@example.com we will be happy to assist. All information you provide will be kept confidential and will be used only to the extent required to provide needed reasonable accommodations. Read more about non-discrimination: EEO is the law and Pay Transparency Statement.
Oklahoma Remote Office (OK99)


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This storage ottoman coordinates with the sectional. However, it is a great accent piece for any contemporary or transitional room. This round ottoman has a removable lid to allow for extra storage for games, remotes, blankets, etc.—how convenient! Use as an extra seat or impromptu cocktail table. This ottoman is available in many different patterns, colors and textures to create the look your want for your home.
The Midtown Upholstered Storage Ottoman by England at Beyer's Furniture in the Lapeer, Flint, North Oakland, Port Huron, Tuscola, Michigan area. Product availability may vary. Contact us for the most current availability on this product.
Browse other items in the Midtown collection from Beyer's Furniture in the Lapeer, Flint, North Oakland, Port Huron, Tuscola, Michigan area.
This item has been tagged as: Ottomans, Storage Ottoman, Chairs and Ottomans, Ottoman with Chair, Coffee Ottoman, Cocktail Ottoman, Ottoman Coffee Table, Ottoman Cocktail Table, Table Ottoman, Large Ottoman, Glider with ottoman, Rocker with Ottoman, Recliner with Ottoman, Stool, Footstool, Tuffet, Hassock, Pouf
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Larry Merchant had a little word war with Floyd Mayweather after Mayweather's controversial victory over Victor Ortiz last night. But when he turned to the camera, he gave an expression for the ages. For all ages. For many situations.
Play with it in the comments section. I'll make sure Deadspin HQ sends the victor some spoils.


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One of the nations largest and most respected hospital companies, Universal Health Services, Inc. (UHS) has built an impressive record of achievement and performance. Steadily growing from a startup to an esteemed Fortune 500 corporation, UHS today has annual revenue nearing $10 billion. In 2017, UHS was recognized as one of the Worlds Most Admired Companies by Fortune; ranked #276 on the Fortune 500, and listed #275 in Forbes inaugural ranking of Americas Top 500 Public Companies.
Our operating philosophy is as effective today as it was 40 years ago: Build or acquire high quality hospitals in rapidly growing markets, invest in the people and equipment needed to allow each facility to thrive, and become the leading healthcare provider in each community we serve.
Headquartered in King of Prussia, PA, UHS has more than 81,000 employees and through its subsidiaries operates more than 320 acute care hospitals, behavioral health facilities and ambulatory centers in the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the United Kingdom.
Texoma Medical Center, a 414-bed acute care facility has been providing quality health care to the residents of North Texas and Southern Oklahoma since 1965. Our main campus is located in Denison, Texas, approximately one hour north of the Dallas/Fort Worth area and just south of the Texas/Oklahoma border. In addition, we have numerous facilities in locations throughout the Texoma region.
Since 1965, TMC has forged a special relationship with the people of North Texas and Southern Oklahoma. Texoma residents have come to depend on TMC to meet a spectrum of physical, mental and spiritual needs. TMC has responded with unique services to provide the kind of sophisticated, experienced care that was once was available only in major metropolitan areas.
We offer major specialty services including open heart surgery and neurosurgery. Advanced resources such as certified trauma care support TMC's role as a regional specialty center.
Position Summary: The RN has multiple roles and functions including care-giver, decision-maker, client advocate, manager, rehabilitator, comforter, communicator, and teacher. The functions include assessment of the nursing needs of the patient, initiation of the plan of care, implementation of the plan of care and the evaluation of the process, by use of the nursing process. The Standards of Practice set forth by the professional nursing associations provide guidelines for the competent, safe and professional practice. The RN promotes the dignity and quality of the nursing care given to the patient.Job Requirements
Current Texas nursing licenseorcompact license and 1 year of clinical nursing experiencerequired.
AHA BLS required at hire, ACLS within 6 months
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Attention all rockhounds:
The New Mexico State Parks Division (NMSPD) has proposed to disallow rockhounding in Rockhound State Park near Deming, New Mexico. Rockhound State Park is best known for its fantastic thundereggs, some with multicolored agate in addition to well-formed quartz crystals. Also scattered about the park are rocks and minerals of volcanic and hydrothermal origin; including quartz, chalcedony, agate, common opal and banded and brecciated rhyolite. The 1,100 acre park was established in 1966 as the first in the United States that allowed collecting of rocks and minerals for personal use.
Check out the new proposed Management Plan . Comments on the proposal must be received by April 18, 2011.


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This week, the LA Times's Dan Neil takes his Pulie and sticks it up the Chevrolet HHR's tailpipe with such figurative vigor, we're tempted to just hit copy-and-paste, shut the lights, and go get sugarplummed on Applebee's margaritas. Instead of wasting the HHR with a single, jungle-clearing BLU-82, labeled "poseur," he addresses the HHR's cultural failings like a lone Delta Force operative.
There is a Detroit-cloistered quality to the HHR, and not simply because it is such a pointed response to a crosstown rival. The HHR wants to capitalize on a sentiment.
Custom-car building and hot rodding are mechanical folk arts. Their very appeal lies in their perversion of the ordinary like a '32 Ford or a '49 Hudson into something extraordinary, something irreverent and ornery. Hot rodding is a kind of insurgency that cannot be commodified.
I'd keep going, but the salt is melting off my glass.
A Lukewarm Hot Rod [The Los Angeles Times]
Maximum Freepage: Detroit Paper Picks Car, Truck of the Year [internal]


text:
Duration : 3 Nights / 4 Days
Destination Covered : Srinagar, Anantnag, Baramulla
Price (Starting From) : On Request
Tour Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival
After arriving at the Srinagar Airport, meet our tour representative who helps you with an assisted transfer to Houseboat. Complete the check-in formalities and relish the welcome drink. After settling-in, begin the city tour of Srinagar. The list of attractions includes gardens of Srinagar- Mughal Gardens, Chashmi-e Shahi (The Royal Spring), Nishat Bagh (The Garden of pleasure) Shalimar Bagh (Abode of love).
Day 2: Srinagar - Gulmarg
Post breakfast, the day is scheduled for an excursion to Gulmarg, a place that boasts of pristine beauty in abundance. The place looks like heaven nestled amidst high-peaked mountains and covered with a sheet of lush greenery and colorful flowers. A visit to Gulmarg will surely be refreshing and memorable. It has been a holiday resort from the days of the British. The road from Srinagar to Gulmarg is festooned with beautiful white and purple flowers. Enjoy the scenery.
Day 3: Srinagar - Pahalgam
After enjoying breakfast, leave the hotel for a full day excursion of Pahalgam or the Valley of Shepherds. On the way, take at halt to visit the Saffron fields. Pampore is the place in Kashmir that has been growing Saffron from past 2500 years. Kashmiri Saffron is known to be of the best quality. You can click pictures here as memories. Admire the nature's mesmerizing views.
Day 4: Departure from Srinagar
Return home with sweet memories .
Payments Terms
Cancellation & Refund Policy
Packages by City
Packages by Category


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In April Thailand is moving into the warmest time of the year and it
get hot…..very hot! This is when the Thai's love the big air-conditioned
shopping centers just to get out of the heat. Now kids and adults, can
find a really unique relief from the heat at the Flow House Bangkok,
located in the center of the city on Soi 26. Flow House is an import from
the USA.
You can just start off easy with belly boarding, then take it to the next
level of kneeling then up and standing. If you wipe out, no problem,
it's a fun wet ride to the back of the wave hill and then up for another go
at it. Free instruction is included from really nice guys and gals who are
extremely patient!
There is no age limit but if you wanting to not wait in line get their early
in the day or later in the evening because the kids rule midday.
The Flow Bar has you covered from extreme cold H20, soft drinks,
cold beer and even cocktails. Burgers and Thai food are available
with a pretty extensive and tasty menu. Everyone is extremely friendly,
Thai style. Private rooms are available for birthday or private parties.
Flow House Bangkok is located on Soi 26, about 2 miles off Sukhumvit
Road in the A-Square shopping center.
There are some great new restaurants and night spots that have
opened in Bangkok and now that I'm back from an extended stay in the
States I'll be posting them soon!
For additionql information on the flow house visit - Flow House Bangkok
Photos: Dan Herron


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Our Humble Castle
Robot Fighting League
Featherweight National Champion,
Totally Offensive!
Combat Robotics is just a small part of our
Diabolical Plan for World Domination™!
Site Map
- Combat Robotics
2012 Clash of the Bots Videos
2008 Robogames Videos
2007 Robogames Videos
Totally Offensive 2007 Build Report
2007 Carolina Combat Videos
2006 RFL Nationals Videos
Project BrightSaber
Totally Offensive 2006 Build Report
Motorama 2006 Videos
Solidworks models for Robotic Combat
Utterly Offensive Build Report
RFL 2005 National Championships Images
S28 MagMotor Brush Caps
MagMotor Magnet Repair
RFL 2004 National Championships Videos
NPC Charity Open Videos
Rocket City Robot Assault Videos
Battle Beach II Videos
TSN 2003 Videos
Totally Offensive Build Report
Robot Assault 2003 Videos
Robot Club & Grille 04/03
Futaba 9CAP Mixes for Robots
Small Johnson Motor & T-Box
1-hour Antweights
Anorexia Build Report
Sherline Mill Setup
Robocide 01/03
North Carolina Robot Street Fight 12/02
Red Menace - the 2nd Battlebot
Reading PWM with the IFI & a Basic Stamp
Read 8 Ultrasonic sensors at the same time
May 2002 Battlebots Tournament
Birth of a BattleBot
- Miscellaneous Projects
The Casio Exilim EX-F1 Camera
How to remember all your PIN numbers
WebLord : Freeware StarWeb Utility
Sudoku Susser : Freeware Sudoku Solver & Assistant
XTerminator BattleBot Design
Tipping Paper
Cracker Barrel Peg Puzzle
- Obsolete Projects
EViE : EVE Online Skill Training Monitor
Poker Room FreeRoll Rankings
Certified Email (anti-spam idea)
BoxSweeper for Eudora
Trebor's Obnoxious Lunchmeat Detector
ShellShell OSX Shell Macros
PopUpX OSX Popup Windows App
How to Destroy the Internet
- Adventures in Altitude
A New Rope
The Daddy Strikes Back
The Return of the Unready
The Mock-Rock Menace
Good Days at Table Rock
Terrorizing an Uncle
2 Men and a Mountain
Red Head vs. Hard Rock!
- Family Events
Pinewood Derby / Space Center 2003
Xmas in Florida 2002
A Totally Bodging Birthday
Fear and Loathing at Jungle Rapids
Camping and Tripping
First Karate Tournament
The Boys Get Belted
Semi-Beach Karate
Totally Offensive 2005
- 2004 Robot Fighting League Featherweight Champion
- 6.9lb, 22" S7 Tool Steel Blade spinning at >3000rpm
- S150 "Shorty" Magmotor weapon drive
- Whyachi weapon and drive gearboxes
- Custom reinforced battery bricks
- Passive self-righting hoops
MadOverlord.com is the official website of the Woodhead/Ueki family, and should not be confused with EvilOverlord.com. While we agree in principle with the typical Evil Overlord's goal of World Domination, we feel that, frankly, they're much too goal-oriented, and not much fun. They spend way too much time actually doing the boring conquering stuff, and not enough time doing the fun "enjoying the fruits of conquest."
Thus Robert "Trebor the Mad Overlord" 1) Woodhead, Natsumi "Power behind the throne" 2) Ueki, and our two little Mad Overlords in Training, James and Alex, have created this little website so that you can see just how much fun being deranged (but happy!) megalomaniacs can be!
This site is updated fairly infrequently; it's basically a record of weird projects we've done.
Recent additions to the Site
Using my HD camera and the Exilim EX-F1, the boys and I captured some good footage of the combat robot fights from RoboGames 2008. The robot, on the other hand, didn't do so well, literally flaming out of the competition when the battery melted down!
I've been playing with the Casio Exilim EX-F1 camera and getting some interesting high-speed video, with subjects including combat robotics, coke and mentos, and miscellaneous breakitude.
Created a web-based EVE Online Skill Monitor for the iPhone / iPod Touch. It also runs on desktop browsers quite nicely.
Wrote up a short tutorial on how to remember all your Credit Card PIN numbers, no matter how many you might have.
Added some videos from RoboGames 2007.
Added a short build/prep report on Totally Offensive 2007.
Videos of the fights from the 2007 Carolina Combat event.
A recent project is WebLord, a mapping program for StarWeb.
Older News
Videos of the fights from the 2006 RFL Nationals are now online.
A Design and build report for Totally Offensive 2006 is now available.
Project BrightSaber is my attempt to put a lighted LED display inside a Totally Offensive weapon blade.
Videos from Motorama 2006 are now online.
Initial build report for our new 60lb robot, Utterly Offensive is now available.
Totally Offensive went 3-0 and successfully defended its RFL Featherweight Crown at the 2005 Nationals. Images and video can be found here.
I've written a sophisticated Sudoku Susser in the hopes that it will help maintain the sanity of legions of Sudoku-obsessed Britons.
My attempt to reglue the magnets on a S28-150 MagMotor.
Build report on the 2005 edition of Totally Offensive.
Edited fights from the 2004 Nationals.
Edited fights from the NPC Charity Open.
Totally Offensive, James and Alex's robot, is now the 2004 Robot Fighting League National Champion in the 30lb class!
Edited fights from Rocket City Robot Assault.
Build report on the kid's new robot, Totally Offensive.
Edited fights from the Battle Beach II.
Edited fights from the 2003 Triangle Series Nationals.
I've uploaded about 150 fights and interviews from Robot Assault 2003.
Anorexia took second place at the Robot Club & Grille April Tournament!
Created a tutorial on configuring the Futaba 9CAP radio to do in-radio one-stick mixing.
Added a quick primer on getting the 'small johnson' motors to work with the Team Whyachi T-Box.
Red Menace got beaten up a bit but Anorexia did OK at Battle On The Beach.
We had fun at the Pinewood Derby and Kennedy Space Center.
To give the kids something to play with, I whipped up some antweight robots in merely an hour.
I've just posted a build report on my new robot, Anorexia.
Red Menace went 0-2 again, but much fun was had at Robocide.
We went to Universal Studios Florida for Xmas 2002.
Lots of images and video from the North Carolina Robot Street Fight 12/02!
Battlebot fever has struck again!
After much bugging by the kids, Robert finally got around to building and fighting a BattleBot.
James' 9th party was a totally junky affair!
The boys took their Karate advancement tests and got seriously belted!
James and Alex entered their first Karate tournament, and their Kung-Fu WAS good enough!
The most recent installment of our climbing adventures is entitled Red Head vs. Hard Rock.
The devastation that was James's 8th Birthday party (as planned by Dad) is documented here.
Just for fun, here's a sorted list of almost 600,000 english words, composite words and names.
And, tired of not being able to solve that silly Peg Game Puzzle that Cracker Barrel puts on every table, Robert wrote a program to play all the possible games and has finally (2 years later!) gotten around to putting the results on the web.


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Best big screen phones
The best smartphones with screens 4in in size and above
Remember the days when mobile phones were becoming smaller and smaller? These days they're becoming bigger and bigger, mainly thanks to large, touchscreen displays.
Apple's iPhone may have kicked off the trend with its 3.5in capacitive touchscreen but the competition has well and truly surged ahead — many of the latest smartphones now come with displays 4in and over in size including the 4.3in HTC Desire HD, the upcoming 4.2in Sony Ericsson XPERIA Arc and the 4in Samsung Galaxy S, Google Nexus S and Samsung Omnia 7.
We round-up the best smartphones with screens 4in in size and above.
1 / 14
The HTC Desire HD builds on the original Desire by adding a larger screen and updated software (from both Google and HTC). Aside from its questionable battery life, most of the Desire HD's flaws are minor. Put simply, the HTC Desire HD is a multimedia and Web powerhouse; it is one of the best smartphones on the market.
- Review Date:
- Reviewer:
- Manufacturer:
- 3rd Nov., 2010
- Ross Catanzariti
- Rating:
- Price:
- $ 999.00
- Pros:
- Massive 4.3in screen
- Excellent performance
- Great Web browser
- Cons:
- Poor battery life
- Removable plastic compartments are awkward
- Poor volume buttons


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Tuesday, 31 January 2012
Guest Post: Pam Howes - Conversations With My Characters And Other Ramblings
Monday, 30 January 2012
Guest Post: Lee McAulay - Where Will You Be in Ten Year's Time?
I thought about the ten years since I downloaded those links - life events, changes online and in the real world, successes and failures and other experiences. I looked at my meagre achievements as a writer.
And I began to think ten years ahead.
Last year, I wrote twenty short stories, one novella, one-and-a-half novels. I built a new blog up to fifty pages and had an article and a book review published in a niche magazine.
I work a full-time job. Last year I had an allotment garden and a hobby which took me away from home for a couple of weekends and occupied my spare time in the evenings and weekends for months beforehand.
I didn't write nearly as much as I hoped. But I planned my writing around work, around the allotment, around the rest of my life including holidays and family visits and friends and exercise and learning new stuff.
And I wrote.
My output last year wasn't prolific. Far from it.
However, I now have a suite of products up for sale on Amazon and via Smashwords to a number of international markets. I have publication credits in a print magazine. If I produce as much this year, I'll double the size of my suite. I'll also have a little planetary system of stories in the same universe. Two universes, in fact.
In ten years time, if I keep up the same leisurely pace of production and nothing else changes, I'll have
- ten novels
- ten novellas
- two hundred short stories
- ten non-fiction booklets
- an as-yet-unplanned number of variety packs - novels+novellas, novels+shorts, twin novel packs, themed packs, character packs, etc. which add up to at least another hundred products
- a 500-post blog
If I'd started this ten years ago, at this pace, even with all the life issues that cropped up in those years, how would that body of work make me feel?
Rather chuffed, I can tell you.
Never mind the state of publishing, the crisis of the internet, the downfall of western civilisation. Ignore it, and look at that body of work. I want to be able to look back in ten years and see that list with my name against it.
What does your ten-year plan look like?
Sunday, 29 January 2012
Do your settings have a 'life' of their own?- by Hywela Lyn
Saturday, 28 January 2012
DRAGONCATS AND KINDLES by Enid Richemont
|TWICE TIMES DANGER Enid Richemont
Here's my latest ebook, originally published by Walker Books. It's a thriller, involving two girls who are doubles, a crazy mongrel called Dracula, a fashion designer who's in deep trouble - and some very scary people. The book's set in West Cornwall, in the little coves and inlets around St Just.
To celebrate Chinese New Year - the Year of the Dragon - here are the opening lines of DRAGONCAT, my as-yet unpublished junior novel about a kitten born with extra flaps of skin under its front paws which enable it to glide (a bit like a flying squirrel). The story takes place in and around a small Chinese supermarket in North London.
I was given a Kindle for Christmas, and I've been reading GREAT EXPECTATIONS on it, after watching the recent TV film. On meeting Miss Havisham for the first time in the original text, I wanted to scream at the producer: but she's old! Old and decaying - read the book!! Since then I've been pondering on Miss Havisham. I love Dickens's image of her sitting for decades in her yellowing wedding dress, and the cobwebbed wedding cake on the long table, and the insects (shudder!) but a more prosaic and practical me has begun asking things like: did she take it off to go to bed? And how did she manage the loo? She's described as frail, and wedding dresses aren't the most practical of garments, but no one seemed to be on hand to help her physically. Was Pip the only person to walk her round and round that immense table? But look - here I am, deeply concerned about an imaginary person. This is what good writing does (and I haven't yet finished the book).
On the Kindle itself - using it still feels strange. Real books aren't flat, like that - it's so flat it almost feels convex. It's great to read at breakfast. Paperbacks are notorious for springy pages, and if you're reading with a coffee in one hand, the Kindle's good. It's also good for loo reading, but a bit losable for bed reading, but then mine hasn't yet acquired a cover, so it's just a flat, anonymous rectangle. I'll report back when I've acquired some appropriate accessories.
Before I finish, I must mention Vigo. Vigo's the grandchild of an author friend. He's three years old, and has cerebral palsy. He'd love to be able to walk, run and play football, and a specialist operation in America could make some of that possible, but it costs. His family's trying to raise enough money to fund it, and to quote Mr Tesco - every little helps. If you'd like to learn more, go to: http://www.vigoswishtowalk.co.uk
Enid Richemont www. enidrichemont.org.uk Follow me on Twitter @enidrichemont
Friday, 27 January 2012
Is it Time for a New Relationship? - Andrew Crofts
My computer, who I mistakenly believed was my friend, thought it would be funny the other night to hide all my documents, just so that it could watch my face when I came down in the morning and discovered them gone. When it realised that I was not going to see the funny side of this merry jape it took umbrage and flatly refused to tell me where they were. In the end I had no option but to take it to see a man who is better than me at disciplining recalcitrant machinery and he agreed to spend a couple of days persuading it to reveal where it had hidden my life's work and to teach it the error of its ways. I handed it over and returned home alone.
Once my fury at its thoughtless behaviour had abated I found myself missing my friend with an almost physical pain. It is, after all, my closest companion. I probably spend more time with it than I do with my wife, (which is food for thought in itself). As I sat, twiddling my thumbs and thinking of all the work I should be doing, all the messages I should be reading and sending, all the interesting things that I must be missing, my eye fell on the iPad which I was given for Christmas a year ago and on which I do most of my book reading. Because of my long-standing relationship with my desktop, I had never got round to using the iPad for other things, (despite having seen the amazing work that David Hockney has been doing on his). I picked it up and began to play around.
When my computer came back a couple of days later, having finally given in to interrogation and returned the missing documents, it immediately sensed that something had happened while it was away. I think it could tell that I had a new friend now, someone who was more fun because they didn't insist on us always being alone together in one room. My new friend is happy to come out and Google with me on the sofa while I watch television or to sit beside me at meal times and hang out with the children's iPhones while my desktop sulks in the office. I hope it has learned its lesson. No one is indispensable.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Encouraging your characters to publicise their own books - by Rosalie Warren
Well, why not? I'm a writer - what I do is make things up and write them down. OK, I accept that an author in today's world can't get far without doing at least some of her own publicity. But for me, however much I may enjoy it, publicising and marketing my books will always be a sideline - one I think of as not quite worthy of my best creative energies.
But what if I were to combine the two? That's the thought that struck me a few weeks ago, when I was working on the sequel to my first published novel, Charity's Child (Circaidy Gregory Press, 2008). The main character in the sequel is called Marie-Thérèse, or Marie T, and she is already taking up quite a lot space in my mind, vying for attention with family and friends, as my characters always do.
So why not let her loose? Create an account for her on Twitter and encourage her to tweet (possibly lending her a helping hand to build up her followers by retweeting some of her tweets). Give her a Facebook page of her own (I haven't done that yet, it's on my list, Marie, I promise..) And set her up with a blog of her own, so she can start to tell her story.
You can view Marie's blog at Brought Up By Ghosts
Marie has now made several posts to her blog and I must say I'm a bit surprised. Rather than simply introduce herself, she seems to have started telling her story in instalments online. Not quite what I expected, but hey... that's what characters do. You give them space on a page and they run away from you, becoming much more full, rounded, interesting people than you could ever have imagined before you started to write. That's my experience, anyway (I'm not a planner or, at least, I don't write my plan until I've finished at least one draft). So, rather than fret that Marie has gone off at a tangent, I suppose I should sit back and listen to what she has to say.
What I will do next is anyone's guess. Marie possibly knows - I don't. Perhaps she will tell part of her story, then stop and encourage her followers to buy the rest. Marie's story will almost certainly be released as an eBook, so that's not a problem. Charity's Child is due to be re-released as an eBook, too, later this year. Perhaps I can bundle them together, or give one away free with the other. One thing I'm sure of - I'm not going to plan. I'll follow this process as it develops and I'll keep you posted with news of how it goes.
By the way, I'm sure I'm not the first person to give my character a Twitter identity, a blog, etc. Whether I'm the first person crazy enough to start this before the book is fully written, I don't know. Probably not. Most kinds of madness already exist, somewhere out there. But there's no copyright on ideas like this and if anyone wants to try something similar, I'd love to hear how you get on.
A little more about Marie. She's telling the story of her childhood in a rambling old house on the Brittany coast, where she was brought up by a group of five rather unconventional nuns. The sisters are kindly, on the whole, but very odd. Marie does not question this while she's young - she has lived with them since she was dumped on their doorstep as a baby. Only as time goes on and she starts to meet people from the outside world does she begin to realise quite how strange her family is. A newcomer called Claudine arrives and stirs things up, and Marie is introduced to fear.
I hope you'll take a look at Marie T's blog, which you can find at Brought Up By Ghosts. You can follow her on Twitter at @MarieTGhost. The Twitter link is here.
Marie would love some more comments and followers. I'd also like to know what you think of my idea and whether you've thought of or tried anything similar yourself.
(Please note: Charity's Child and its sequel are intended for age 14+)
Tell me what you think!
Best wishes,
My blog
My website
My Facebook author page
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
BLOTT AND HIS WRITER - Susan Price with Adam Price
I'm cheating a bit here, as Blott is written and drawn by my brother, Adam Price, and not by me. But I thought it might give people with old and brand new Christmas pressie e-readers a laugh.
More Blot cartoons can be found, most weeks, at my blog: http://susanpricesblog.blogspot.com/
And at my website: susanpriceauthor.com
There may even be a Blott e-book one day....
Tuesday, 24 January 2012
Escaping to Write - Avril Joy
|My Room in France
|A glimpse into Oriel College
Being free from everything domestic so close to Christmas felt dangerous and delicious. It worked! We wrote whenever we pleased, did whatever we pleased. We had four days of glorious blue sky, intense winter light, immaculate lawns and breath-taking architecture. We explored the city's lanes and cobbled streets, its ancient gates and doorways: glimpses into hidden worlds. Breathed in the gardens on our doorstep: tree ferns flourishing in sheltered corners and cyclamen flowering on the lawns under the beech, all of which made me think of the lush gardens in my novel The Orchid House.
I'm happy to report that The Orchid House has had some great reviews on Amazon and also on Kathleen Jones' Book Blog, Kathleen says - I have to say that this is one of the most erotic novels I've read for a while. Getting good reviews is a real boost for any writer and it certainly helped inspire my new writing in those away days before Christmas.
|Oxford Window
Monday, 23 January 2012
Parents! Here's How To Get The Kids Reading! - Simon Cheshire
|My ebook of
sample chapters
His website is at www.simoncheshire.co.uk and his site for self-publishers is at www.bookdesign.me.uk
Sunday, 22 January 2012
Adding Pictures to an Ebook by Diana Kimpton
Behind the scenes, ebooks have more in common with websites than with printed books. Both the mobi and the epub formats use cut-down versions of HTML - the language used to create all websites.
Although, as publisher, you have some control over the layout, readers can change the font, the text size and the line spacing so the way a book looks on one person's Kindle may differ from how it looks on someone else's. That affects the way pictures display. You can decide where you want them in the flow of text, and you can put a page break just before them to make sure they appear near the top of the screen. But you can't control how much text shows on the same page.
After experimenting a bit, we decided to use pictures in the book in three ways:
1. To have a picture under the heading for each chapter.That left us with the next problem – finding the pictures themselves. Luckily we already own Art Explosion – a massive collection of royalty free art from which we found most of the pictures we needed. There was even a drawing of a Pony Express rider that clearly showed the mochila that was central to one of the stories.
2. To have a galloping horse icon beside all the sub headings.
3. To have a really good horse photograph on the cover.
However, none of the horse photographs were good enough for the cover, we didn't like any of the flying horses and there were no pictures of Przewalski horses. (Not surprising really – the demand for those can't be high.) So we turned to a brilliant website called istockphoto.com. This holds a huge selection of photos and drawings which you can license to use in a book for a very reasonable fee that covers use in up to 499,999 copies. If I sell more than that, I'll have to go back and pay more money but, in that case, I'll have earned so much that the higher fee won't hurt at all.
The search facility on istockphoto.com is awesome and so is the quality of the photographs. A search for photos of palomino horses looking towards the camera produced a large selection from which we picked the one we finally used on the cover. More surprisingly, there was also a good selection of photos of Przewalski horses. (Maybe the demand's higher than I thought.)
We used all the pictures in jpeg format and manipulated them to make sure they were the right size and looked the way we wanted. The cover picture was originally landscape so we cropped it heavily to fit onto the portrait shaped cover. We also took a drawing of one galloping horse and repeated it three times in different shades to create a racing image for the Grand National chapter.
The pictures after the chapter headings are each in their own paragraph and centred. However, to put the galloping horse icons beside the headings, we left the pictures as an in-line image beside the text. But we soon discovered that the Kindle's got a trick up its sleeve: if it thinks the picture is too small, it enlarges it. That spoilt the effect we wanted and made the edges of the picture fuzzy.
The only way we found to combat this was to go into the HTML, find the picture and set the size. For example, where the HTML originally said: ,
we edited to say .
This worked neatly in the subheadings and in the table of contents.
Perfectly Pony is a collection of stories and information for horse and pony lovers everywhere. You can find out about my other books at www.dianakimpton.co.uk
Saturday, 21 January 2012
There's a knack to casting spells over the imagination. I didn't know that then, but I do now. Not everyone can do it. But there are a greater number of people who can than do, and it's not just the hard work, time and effort required that puts people off.
It takes a supreme act of self-confidence to believe that the stories going on inside your head are of interest to anybody else. At three I never questioned that they were, but at nine - when I started my first few secret stories - I was full of questions and self-doubt. Never once did that doubt stop me writing, but in order to be a 'proper writer', as I saw it, I had to sound like someone else. The innocent days of story-telling over the garden wall were over. I spent my childhood, even right up to my early twenties, trying to write like A.A.Milne, Hans Christian Anderson, Emily Bronte, Dylan Thomas, J RR Tolkien, Graham Greene – whoever I admired at the time, in my desperate attempts to sound like a 'proper writer'.
It didn't work of course. I learnt a lot, not least to take the art of writing seriously, and I certainly worked hard. But casting even the most mundane spells, let alone electrifying ones that might capture imaginations and set people on fire? That didn't happen. In my early twenties - under another name - I succeeded in getting a book of short stories published. One kindly reviewer said this author will win prizes one day, but the review I really remember is the one who said my toddler dropped this book down the toilet, and I didn't know whether to bother fishing it out.
Reviewers, hey? I didn't know then what was the problem, but I do now. It was all to do with voice. In an attempt to make my short stories seem literary and important, I'd pitched their tone somewhere between Tolkien and the King James Bible. Every time they'd sounded remotely like me, I'd rewritten them, unable to believe that anyone would want to read them if they were by a novice like me. So my natural voice – the one that came out of me unchecked – was removed, and the strangulated tones of badly-written 'old-man' prose went in instead. And I thought this was being a writer.
I was wrong, of course. As wrong as anything could possibly be, but it wasn't until many years later that I saw this for myself. By then I was the mother of five young children, with very little time to write. I'd had a few successes with articles in magazines like Homes & Gardens, but that was all. Then one day, absorbing some magazine's house style for an article I planned to write, it came to me that I was doing what I'd done since I was child - taking on other people's voices instead of using my own.
This was my breakthrough moment. The moment when my writing career really took off. Given freedom of choice and expression, what did I really want to write? My mind went immediately to a short story I'd written about a hot air balloon flight. I dug around and found it. 'Ben the Balloon Man' it was called. I read it through. It had come directly from heart to page in a burst of inspiration, and it definitely had my voice.
This was my inspiration for writing 'Midnight Blue' - not just the balloon flight, but the willing acceptance of my own voice. And I've never looked back. When people who know me claim to hear my voice in my books, I take that as a compliment.
So, how about you? You may write stories too, but do you cast spells? Completely apart from whether you have talent, there's a dimension to writing which is there to be run free with or disallowed. What makes your stories different? What makes them special? It's your voice. So, have confidence in who you. Don't try to be somebody else. Take what you've got and work with it.
Recently I brought out the 21st anniversary edition of 'Midnight Blue's Smarties Book Prize win. All those years ago I never would have thought I'd even get it published, let alone win a prize. And as for electronic books, or bringing them out myself - it's all a far cry from where I started. But everything began with trusting my own voice.
Friday, 20 January 2012
How long should a book be? Roz Morris
If two writers move house, by far the worst job is transferring the books. When we did we hired two guys who cheerfully manoeuvred unwieldy items while we took the small stuff. Finally it came to our books. Hundreds of boxes of books, 20 years' worth of greedy collecting. It was like one of those biblical epics where slaves build the Great Pyramid, block by block, all day. For the first hour we joked with the cheerful chaps about how boring it was. For the rest of the hours after that, we wore lobotomised stares.
Publishers are well aware that moving books takes time and money. That - and hundreds of other factors including the size of book that looks good in a shop - means there are certain book lengths that aren't profitable. As I found when I wrote Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books and How to Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence.
Why I wrote a writing book
For years I've critiqued novels, helping new writers to polish their books to publishable standard. Invariably, many of the problems are in the structure. A character's arc peaks in the wrong place, or they don't have an arc at all. Back story is clogging the start. The middle is a mass of same-old scenes where characters talk and drink tea.
Whenever I mention this I know what comes next. Panic, and the words: 'how on earth do I do all that?' It's like I'm telling them to start again.
But I happily disembowel my work and look for bold changes that will squeeze more out of my story. I thought the most helpful thing I could do is write a book about how I do it.
I also know a lot of people who start writing and fizzle out, so I added how to plan, research and organise the writing.
Voila, a complete guide to writing a novel. In 40,000 words.
Too wee?
My agent said: 'it's very good but can't you make it 80,000 words'?
Tsk, but that wasn't the point. Everyone has shelves of writing tomes that they mean to read. Like diet books, they sit on the shelf as displacement for the real thing. Nail Your Novel came out at 40k and it didn't need to be any longer. For heaven's sake, these people have books to write.
I self-published. On Kindle, its dinky size doesn't matter. Ebooks can be exactly as long as the material requires. Even better, you can have it beside you as you write (no need to jam the pages open or crack the spine) and follow step by step. Which is exactly how the book is designed to work.
Or not too wee?
Not too wee at all, it seems. Rather like Goldilocks and the third porridge, it seems just right. I've had thrilled emails from readers saying 'this gave me exactly what I needed'. 'I never thought I'd finish a novel and now I have.' Visiting an author friend, I found the print edition on his desk. 'You don't need that,' I said. 'I use it all the time,' he said.
It's even crossing desks in high places. Another friend - a senior editor at a Big Six publisher - saw the print copy on my hallstand and said 'can I take this?' 'Get off,' I said, 'it's too short for you to publish'. 'I don't want to publish it,' she said, because she's like that. 'I lose days every month writing letters to tell promising authors what revising a novel really means. All the writing books are incomplete or full of waffle. I'm going to tell them to buy Stephen King and this.'
And as Kindle has emancipated my writing book, have the Morrises decided to abandon the colossal paper library for an ether one? No. We buy books two ways now, and twice as many. May we never have to move again.
Thanks for the bookship pic Lilivanili and thanks State Library of Victoria for the nuns
Nail Your Novel: Why Writers Abandon Books and How You Can Draft, Fix and Finish With Confidence
Roz Morris is a bestselling ghostwriter and book doctor. She blogs at www.nailyournovel.com and has a double life on Twitter; for writing advice follow her as @dirtywhitecandy, for more normal chit-chat try her on @ByRozMorris. She also has a novel: My Memories of a Future Life
Thursday, 19 January 2012
WHICH ONE FIRST? by Karen King
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
Bird of Passage - Where Did I Get My Ideas From? Catherine Czerkawska
|Cover art by Matt Zanetti
Well, this is an attempt to answer that - but only about one particular project. Because in the case of my new novel, Bird of Passage, now available on Kindle, even I'm not sure where I got my ideas from!
This book has been a very long time in the writing - probably the longest of anything I've ever written, if you count the time from the smallest germ of an idea to the finished book.
In fact, I can remember that first little bit of inspiration. When I was twelve years old, we moved from Leeds to the West of Scotland. At that time, Irish workers were still coming over to Scotland - mostly from Donegal - as 'tattie howkers' - seasonal workers who 'dug the potatoes'. I remember seeing them working in the sandy fields along the shoreline, and I also remember being aware of a certain local hostility to them - this part of Scotland was somewhat sectarian at that time, and there are still nasty little pockets of bigotry even today. Some people (fewer, now, thank goodness) still ask 'where did you go to school?' when they aren't really interested in the where, only in the religious denomination to which that school belonged, and if the answer is St Patrick's or St Margaret's or The Holy Family, they can slot you neatly into your place.
Not long after we moved to Scotland, my parents bought a new house, but it wasn't quite finished, so we spent some months living in a caravan, in the countryside, with most of our furniture in storage. We saw the tattie howkers there too - one beautiful young woman used to walk through the fields by herself in the evening, looking very weepy and homesick, and my mother (of Irish parentage herself) used to go and talk to her. But it wasn't the 'done thing.' Not then.
Later, when I was doing my postgraduate Masters degree in Folk Life Studies (I know - it was an odd course, but quite useful for a writer) I did a bit of research on the history of the tattie howkers, and came across one terrible, tragic tale about a group of young Irishmen who were burned to death in a barn fire. They were supposed to have been smoking among the straw - something which was forbidden because of the risk of fire - but a lifetime later, a local man confessed on his deathbed that he had locked them in. Curiously enough, a few years later, I came across a bog oak pipe at an antique market. It's carved with an Irish harp and shamrocks and was seemingly found tucked into a beam when a barn was being renovated. I bought it, and have it still. It's a spooky little piece because even now, when I hold it, I'm overwhelmed with a feeling that seems a lot like misery.
|Tattie Howkers by Alan Lees
Surprisingly, I didn't include any of these things in Bird of Passage. But they all fed into the background - that barely concious pool of ideas from which our stories spring: the Scottish resentment of these visiting Irish, the suspicion with which they were treated, the harsh conditions in which they had to live - as well as my early upbringing in an Irish Catholic family in Leeds, albeit one with significant Polish elements. All these things were important. They had figured in drafts of stage and radio plays which I hadn't ever finished - perhaps because the 'form' wasn't right. There was even a poem, clearly in my heroine's voice, some of which I incorporated into a chapter of the novel.
Bird of Passage started out with a simple image of a young boy - too young, really - coming to dig the tatties on a Scottish island farm - and a little girl with freckles and fat red plaits, who was watching him work. The hero had a different name then. He was called Darragh and the first draft of the book was called Darragh Martin. But after a while, I realised that although I had named the novel after him, I had somehow shyed away from writing about him. A couple more drafts down the line, I knew my heroine inside out - but I still felt I knew very little about Finn, as he eventually became.
Finding out was hard. Finding out was a challenge, and even now, I don't think I know all there is to know about him. And I'm still not sure where the ideas came from.
It was only some years later, when I started to read about the very real scandal of the Irish industrial schools to which young children had been committed, only to be treated - in so many cases - with extremes of physical cruelty by people who should have been most concerned for their welfare, that I suddenly began to see what it was in Finn's background that had made him into the person he was. There has been a concentration on a certain sort of child abuse in our media - with good reason - but arguably, intense and persistent physical cruelty of this kind has been neglected, or treated as 'normal for the time' and yet some of the stories told in excellent but harrowing books such as The Irish Gulag are utterly horrifying.
The more I focused on Finn, the more I tried to get inside his mind, the sadder I became. Now, when I reread certain chapters from Bird of Passage, I still become emotional. I didn't base Finn's story on any one account of the time, or on any particular individual - rather I read a number of accounts and looked at a great many images and then set them aside, thought about them for a long time, and tried to discover what this fictional character's story might have been, in the context of all that I now knew about the Dickensian horrors of the Industrial School system.
And here's Finn, as an adult, going back to the place he knew as a child:
'He drove on for a couple of hundred yards, parked his car some distance away from the house and got out. His hand was shaking when he tried to put the keys in his coat pocket. His feet sank into mud as he walked towards the building, found a door swinging loose on its hunges, pushed it open and went inside. His heart was in his mouth. What did he expect? Demons, lurking in corners, waiting to snatch at him from the shadows? For sure, the place was disturbing. Terrifying even. The rooms were leprous with damp, paper shredded off the walls like peeling skin, the floors deep in bird droppings, plaster fragments, all of it stinking of mildew. The very air of the place seemed sickly, heavy with decay, but after all, there were no cries, no shouts, not so much as a whisper. Nothing human. And it was human beings who had rendered this place truly terrifying.'
Interestingly, the cover, by a young digital artist called Matt Zanetti, captured exactly what I wanted. There's a powerful sense of isolation, imprisonment, loneliness and a longing for something better in his amazing picture. Below is one of the images Matt used when he was designing the cover.
Catherine Czerkawska


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Welcome to the Virginia Union University (VUU) Museum Galleries. Our galleries house artifacts from Africa and New Guinea, along with the works of African American folk artists such as Mose Tolliver and Thornton Dial. We invite you to visit us and take a journey through the beauty and excitement of our collection.
Virginia Union University is nourished by its African American heritage and energized by a commitment to excellence and diversity. Included in its mission is the goal to develop lifelong learners of a global society. To accomplish this mission, VUU offers a broad range of educational opportunities, including those available through the Virginia Union University Museum Galleries. The Museum Galleries, are not only a keeper of fine artifacts, but serve to educate future leaders on the central importance of the arts. The Museum utilizes exhibits to foster student and community cultural, intellectual, and social growth.
VUU received its first gifts of African and Oceanic art in the late 1980's. Originally housed in a small campus building, the collection moved to its present location, the L. Douglas Wilder Library, in 2004. The Museum occupies five galleries and includes African art, Oceanic (South Pacific/New Guinea) art, and a large collection of African-American folk art. The galleries showcase ceremonial masks, sculptures, jewelry, textiles, and utilitarian objects. The museum serves as a cultural and visual resource for both the regional community and for several of the University's academic courses. VUU President, Dr. Hakim J. Lucas, is dedicated to the growth and excellence of the Museum – often inviting community members and campus visitors to join him on a personal tour of the Museum.


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CGG Taps PC Clustering in Oil HuntBy Kim S. Nash Print
CGG Americas has put in a PC-cluster where it once had supercomputers as it seeks new spots to drill. There's no turning back.
By 2020, experts say, worldwide demand for oil will truly begin to outstrip supply and prices will skyrocket. We're running out. Anxious fuel companies want to suck as much oil from existing wells as they can, and don't want to waste time puncturing new ground that won't produce.
To find good places to drill, ChevronTexaco, ExxonMobil and others need data; it often comes from third-party research firms such as Houston-based CGG Americas. In one common test, scientists with vibrating trucks and air guns spend several days shooting hundreds of thousands of sound waves into land and undersea terrain to find out what's underneath. They record how the waves travel over several square miles—where they meet obstructions, where they dissipate, how they echo.
CGG Americas then feeds the resulting terabytes of data into its proprietary software to create images of the geophysical action. To help guide drillers, the pictures can be manipulated to show layers, cross-sections, cubes or other three-dimensional representations. Time lapses also can be added to make predictions about oil reserves.
Historically, supercomputers—costing millions of dollars each—did that complicated computing work. But since 2000, CGG Americas has used a giant cluster of much less-expensive Dell PCs running the Linux operating system.
A cluster is a group of small computers that, when linked by a network and managed centrally, can act as one very powerful computer. At CGG Americas, nearly 3,000 Dell PC servers—each with two CPUs, for a total of about 6,000 processors—are connected in a cluster that crunches the same amount of seismic data as the company's old supercomputers. But the cluster does it more quickly and cheaply.
Even if a company must buy thousands of processors to attain the raw power of a supercomputer, making the switch often makes financial sense. First, the price per processor is far less in a cluster. For example, an IBM Regatta, which is a supercomputer-class Unix machine with 64 processors that CGG Americas used in the late 1990s, cost the company $1.5 million to $2 million. Two years ago, by comparison, CGG Americas paid Dell $830,000 for an initial cluster of 256 machines, or 512 processors. That's about $31,250 per processor for the supercomputer compared to $1,621 per processor for the cluster. Second, clusters built well are more reliable than supercomputers and therefore can get real work done faster. True, no standard formula exists for calculating how many PC processors it takes to replace a given supercomputer. The most important variable is whether your critical software applications can be reworked to perform across many distributed processors. In a cluster, a computing job is split up, with different pieces allocated to different processors. After each of these sub-job runs, the results are combined to yield finished data output.
With its supercomputer, once CGG Americas launched a particular seismic computing job, it had to be continuous. Any disruptions, such as a processor failing, meant starting over. Jobs therefore took a few months to finish. The cluster, however, has built-in fail-over processors so that if one CPU crashes, others kick in to take over its workload.
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July 4th Fireworks Displays in Pasco and Kennewick
Complete your 4th of July festivities in Kennewick and Pasco with the whole family while watching the largest firework displays in the Tri-Cities.
Visit Columbia Park in Kennewick, WA for the 26th Annual River of Fire Festival. Start the day with festivities starting at 8:00 a.m. with a kids area, food and craft vendors. Then don't forget the fireworks at 10:00 p.m. which will be launched from a barge in the middle of the Columbia River. The cost is $7 per carload to get into Columbia Park.
Pasco will also be hosting their firework display, The Grand Old 4th. This will finish the day up at the Dust Devils stadium with fireworks at around 10:00 p.m., gates open at 8:30 p.m.
Check this out for more information regarding the River of Fire and The Grand Old 4th.
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Amanda in demand
Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper seen here leaving the Chateau Marmont last night. Amanda, she's the girl of the moment. Sometimes that can cost you.
Amanda was booked for the lead role in the upcoming Sucker Punch helmed by Zack Snyder fresh off Watchmen. She was apparently the unanimous first choice but right now she's everyone's first choice, and she is committed to Big Love which shoots at the same time that Sucker Punch is scheduled to begin principle photography. Big Love will not release her or come up with a workable timetable solution so Amanda has, very disappointingly, had to drop out.
Still doesn't mean they'll give it to Lilo. Hell no.
Evan Rachel Wood is said to be the top contender now.
Meanwhile, Amanda has just wrapped Chloe alongside Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson which filmed in Toronto over the last couple months.
Dominic was seen quite often with her around town. They'd go to Hemingway's for drinks with Liam Neeson (before the accident) and walk through the mall hand in hand, seldom recognised. For now.
Amanda Seyfried has a long career ahead. And, if her relationship with Dominic (at least the way it started) is any indication, a dramatic love life to go with it.
Photos from Wenn.com


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Thank You
Less than two more months, year 2012 will be another memory. Before this year ends, lets take time to thank the people who made a difference in our lives. People who stood with us during our toughest battles. People who despite of everything remained loyal, caring and generous. People who made us smile, laugh and feel hopeful that tomorrow will be a better day. People who helped us pick up the pieces after the storm and gave us a reason to renew our faith. People who guided us back on the right path when we lost our way.
I Am Thankful For…
My wife, who is my partner in all things. Who stood patiently, lovingly at my side during my worst. Who didn't give up on me when I have failed. Who forgave me when I caused her heartaches and headaches. Who shared my deepest fears and pains when everyone else seemed to have forgotten. Who offered her love unconditionally and remained my best friend till this very day.
Thank you for all these and more. Thank you for everything and anything you shared with me from the day we met. Thank you for choosing me despite of knowing I can't give you the stars. Stars I promise to gaze and dream with you till the end of time.
Thank you for nurturing our son with so much love. For patiently preparing him for school each morning and teaching him lessons in life that will mold him into a good person we both hope him to be.
My son, who showed me a world I long forgotten. An exciting, fun world full of happiness, fun, adventure and possibilities. A world where I am free to be myself, to laugh, to create, to be silly and still be cool at the same time. A world where I can be a superhero in his eyes and save the day.
Thank you for giving meaning and purpose to my life. Thank you for giving me and your mom a joy beyond compare. Thank you for letting us be a part of your everyday stories. Stories where magic is real and dreams come true with happy endings.
We're Having "Tiktu" On Thanksgiving
Yesterday, my son made this as part of our Thanksgiving celebration. He was trying to spell the words the way he saw them in his 7-year old mind. I will translate them to the best of my knowledge.
He wrote: First me and mom and dad and sister and brother we went to HEB. We went to buy a Tiktu (Turkey). We went to the car and we went home. We got the tiktu (Turkey) out of the car and we put it in the oven. We ate the tiktu (Turkey).
This morning he made a Tiktu cut out and wrote the things he is thankful for.
He wrote, " I am thankful for…I am thankful for helping. I am thankful for cleaning my house. I am thankful for house. I am thankful for my mom and my dad."
Though his writing was simple and has lots of grammatical errors, he showed with pureness and sincerity what being thankful truly means. I smiled with a warm, joyful feeling in my heart knowing he values me and his mom. That he acknowledge the love and bond we shared with him everyday.
My parents, my siblings, my wife's family who continue to generously give their love, support and prayers even if we are already in a foreign country away from their physical presence. Thank you for inspiring me and my wife to soar above hardships and challenges. Thank you for helping us believe that life has something better, brighter, happier to offer at each destination of our journey .
My God, who showed me his love, mercy and faithfulness again and again. Thank you for always being there for me and my family. In the moments when we felt all alone, you became our constant friend, giving us comfort and hope. Thank you for making us realize that there is so much goodness around us. That light can overcome darkness. That joy can replace pain and tears. That peace can prevail during times of chaos.
My blogger friends, who constantly inspire me to follow my passion to write and capture life's moments. Thank you for each visit, "like" and encouraging comment. Thank you for sharing your beautiful world through your posts day after day. Thank you for your patience when I can't catch up. Thank you for simply being there making me feel that I will never be alone in my blogging journey.
This week's Image of Life is everything that "I am thankful for." If we are to look deeper and count all our blessings, we need several blog posts to list most of them.
Wishing everyone a memorable Thanksgiving holiday among family and friends. A Thanksgiving event that is all about celebrating the people who are important in our lives.
Today, discover the inspiring world of these blogger friends.
alwaysbobswife of http://alwaysbobswife.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/weekly-image-of-life-create/
Francine of http://francineinretirement.wordpress.com/2012/11/09/weekly-image-of-life-create/
Deepa of http://perceptionsofareluctanthomemaker.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/weekly-image-of-life-create/
Lisa of http://playamart.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/creative-alternatives-for-home-security/
The Guat of http://thewishfactor.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/weekly-image-of-life-create/
Doris of http://goomfh.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/weekly-image-of-life-create/
CanadianTravelBugs of https://canadiantravelbugs.wordpress.com/2012/11/11/introducing-weekly-photo-themes-x4/
Gemma of http://firstandfabulous.wordpress.com/2012/11/10/weekly-image-of-life-create/
Patricia of http://lifeofaministermom.com/2012/11/14/weekly-image-of-life-create/
For those who wish to join in this week's challenge, here's a link and the widget. Have a great time making wonderful memories.
Images taken using an iPhone 4 camera with Camera + App.
Related articles
- what i am thankful for (ireport.cnn.com)
- The Thankful Thoughts Facebook Contest (amsterdamprinting.com)
- thursday thank you (jkfacee.wordpress.com)
- My First "Real" Thanksgiving in Years (mikesfilmtalk.com)
- Thanksgiving Challenge (anexerciseindiscipline.com)
- Teaching Gratitude to Kids with Thanksgiving Books (pragmaticmom.com)


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The bells have stopped ringing, the kisses have been had, the cartwheelers have cleared the church.
It's time to take a breath, and ponder the wedding of the century (so far). Early days and all …..
For many it seems Kate and Wills wedding was all about the fashion. And, of course, it was a stellar occasion for fashion. Headgear in particular. I do so love a crazy hat, and there were plenty of those. Flowers, feathers, satellite dishes, and swirly things – all were there in full glory. From understated elegance to the fashion forehead Philip Treacy numbers, of which I thought Victoria Beckham's playful space-age air stewardess number was the cutest. And of course Beatrice's discombobulating ensemble courted attention. Chic and elegant below the neck, Gaga-crazy above! Certainly made my head spin! And then there was Kate. Wearing a tiara (sigh of relief), though, in quintessential Kate style, an understated and comparatively modest tiara….
But apart from the all the finery and the spectacle this royal wedding provided a ray of hope and optimism, especially given the recent spate of meteorologically-driven disasters. Of course, royal weddings usually do inject a squeeze of optimism into things, but Kate and Wills had that special ingredient of being a true love match between two people launching into their future together with all the hope, trust and optimism of newly-wed couples the world over.
If anything has given the British monarchy a new lease on life, it surely has to be this.
Because where there is love, there is hope. And we all love a bit of hope. Maybe even more than a fabulous frock, or a hilarious hat.
And now that it's all done, Kate hopes to settle into housewifedom for a bit. Meanwhile, her father mows his lawn in Bucklebury. Ah, yes, it's all back to normal in the world of the British royals…..
Congratulations, Kate and Wills. May you enjoy a long and happy union.
P.S. Note to Hello! Where's Princess Marie-Chantal of Greece in the best hat vote? Surely her gorgeous blue/grey rose number makes the cut !?


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Member since Mar 12, 2012
- Profile: /members/9723-shane.htm
- Comments: 1
Recent Blog Comments By Shane
Using the Text Plugin With RequireJS To Load Remote HTML Templates
Posted on Mar 12, 2012 at 1:24 PM
One question -- in your usage of jQuery to ensure the DOM is ready, there's no $(document).ready() wrapped around your function. Is the DOM's ready state already implied in some other way? I'm scratching my head over that part. Love these RequireJS posts, by the way.... read more »


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In August, former Broncos tight end Nate Jackson questioned in this space whether Vikings punter Chris Kluwe had the right to call Peyton Manning, Drew Brees, Logan Mankins, and Vincent Jackson "douchebags."
Kluwe responded here in defense of punters' honor. Now both are on Slate's Hang Up and Listen podcast. Is it too late for them to write a book together for Father's Day?
You can listen to the full podcast here or subscribe on iTunes.


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Piassa Ethiopian Restaurant
In Ethiopia, entering the piassa means entering into the heart of the country – a place where you can find just about everything you could need. In Decatur's aptly named Piassa, we're certain that's just the case.In Ethiopia, entering the piassa means entering in to the heart of the country. There, you'll find just about everything you could ever want or need – opportunities to dance, play or eat. When Dagim opened Piassa in Decatur he aimed to offer something similar to Ethiopians and non-Ethiopians alike. Although Ethiopia is seven thousand or so miles away, we have a feeling that the Ethiopian community who frequent Piassa feel right at home here. Every square inch is a testament to Dagim's love of his home country. It's a place steeped in tradition and cultural pride – the perfect place to kick back in a booth with a cold glass of talla, or for expats would to reminisce and enjoy their favorite traditional dishes. Non-Ethiopians can nestle in to a home-away-from-home and admire the culture, traditions and complex meals of another country. This is not your mere injera and veggie combo stop – here you can be surrounded by the artwork of Ethiopian kings, traditional coffee ceremonies and talla-drinking-booths. What Piassa is serving up? It's the real deal.
From the moment that you cross through Piassa's beaded entrance you'll feel like you've been transported thousands of miles away from Decatur. From the faux hens roosting on the roof of the talla booth to the woven mosob tabletops, Piassa is all about authenticity. While the goat tibs and kitfo that are coming out of the kitchen are certainly delicious, Piassa is so much more than the food that it serves. There's just nothing like nestling into one of its two VIP booths with friends, gathering round a straw mosob and sipping on their tej honey wine while live Ethiopian bands perform. Piassa is a full, delightful and immersive experience into Ethiopian life, and a place where all are welcome.
Menu Highlights
Combo Tibs, $16.99
Big Fish Alone, $9.99
Fim Tibs, $12.99
Doro Wot, $13.99
Monday - Sunday, 9 a.m. to 1 a.m.


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Next Episode of The Bill is
not planed. TV Show was canceled.
The Bill was a long-running British police drama shown on ITV1.
The setting is the Sun Hill district of the fictional London borough of Canley. Other police stations in the Borough, mentioned but (usually) never seen, are Barton Street, which is the location of Borough Headquarters, Stafford Row and Spicer Street. Canley is approximately contiguous with the real London Borough of Tower Hamlets.
The Bill is somewhat unique among police shows: it takes a serial format and it does not focus on one particular area of police work. Instead, the show's time is equally divided between the work of officers on one shift in the Uniform division, and the work of the CID.
It started as a one-off drama for ITV entitled Woodentop: this pilot show starred Mark Wingett as PC Jim Carver and Trudie Goodwin as WPC June Ackland on Carver's first day on the beat at Sun Hill police station. It was originally devised by Geoff McQueen, and it impressed ITV so much that they decided to make a series out of it.
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