Virginia is shaping up to be a key swing state for President Obama's re-election prospects. Since Jim Webb dropped out, it has also emerged as a critical must-win for the Democrats to retain their Senate majority.
Public Policy Polling has a couple of new polls out focusing on the state. So far, it's all good news for the Dems, and the Independent voters in Virginia are a big part of the story.
"Part of the reason Obama's doing well in Virginia is that he has respectable, if not great, approval numbers there. 48% like the job he's doing to 45% who disapprove. There are two keys to his solid standing. The first is that 87% of Democrats stand with him- that's an indication he's generally holding onto white voters within his party, even ones who might lean a little bit more to the conservative side of the ideological spectrum.
"The Virginia Senate race is about as much of a toss up as it could be: Tim Kaine and George Allen tie at 47% in our first poll since Jim Webb announced his retirement... The conventional wisdom has been that if Obama wins the state the Senate race is likely to come with him, but could there actually be a group of independent voters that go Obama/Allen in the interest of divided government? These early figures hint at the possibility of that and it's something to keep an eye on moving forward."
The most interesting element of the PPP summary is the highlighted question. Regardless of the answer, it is significant that the question of whether independents are consciously making divided government voting decisions is even being asked. As you might expect, the Dividist felt compelled to offer his answer in the comments on that post.
Clearly, it is an open question whether there is anything meaningful to be gleaned from polls 20 months out from an election. Minimally, these polls offer a baseline set of numbers to compare when the campaigns kick off in earnest.


Name of the registration agent company ARKANSAS INFORMATION TECH INC. is DAVID HARRIS. Registration agent DAVID HARRIS housed at 3209 SENECA ROAD ROGERS, AR 72758 and here you can visit. ARKANSAS INFORMATION TECH INC. company was established on 14th April 2010 and it has been assigned a registration number 800176033. Current corporate status is Dissolved. The company's incorporator/organizer is DAVID HARRIS. The company's president is DAVID CHRISTOPHER HARRIS. The company's vice-president is CHRISTINA DENILLE HARRIS.
ARKANSAS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS GROUP INC.
ARKANSAS INFORMATIONAL DISCLOSURE SERVICE, INC.
ARKANSAS INJECTION MOLDING COMPANY, INC.
ARKANSAS INNOVATIVE HOME HEALTH SERVICES, INC.
ARKANSAS INFORMATION SYSTEMS, LTD. CO.
ARKANSAS INFLATABLE WATER PARK L.L.C.
ARKANSAS INDUSTRIAL SERVICES GROUP, INC.


Looking for Bien Air Hand Pieces in Solon? For an appointment at Dental Care of Solon call our office today at 440-248-2035 or make an appointment today.
Dental Care of Solon cares about your comfort. Call us at 440-248-2035 today to schedule an appointment.


text:
using namespace clang;

// ScratchBufSize - The size of each chunk of scratch memory.  Slightly less
//than a page, almost certainly enough for anything. :)
static const unsigned ScratchBufSize = 4060;

ScratchBuffer::ScratchBuffer(SourceManager &SM)
    : SourceMgr(SM), CurBuffer(nullptr) {
  // Set BytesUsed so that the first call to getToken will require an alloc.
  BytesUsed = ScratchBufSize;
}

/// getToken - Splat the specified text into a temporary MemoryBuffer and
/// return a SourceLocation that refers to the token.  This is just like the
/// method below, but returns a location that indicates the physloc of the
/// token.
SourceLocation ScratchBuffer::getToken(const char *Buf, unsigned Len,
                                       const char *&DestPtr) {
  if (BytesUsed+Len+2 > ScratchBufSize)
    AllocScratchBuffer(Len+2);
  else {
    // Clear out the source line cache if it's already been computed.
    // FIXME: Allow this to be incrementally extended.
    auto *ContentCache = const_cast<SrcMgr::ContentCache *>(
        SourceMgr.getSLocEntry(SourceMgr.getFileID(BufferStartLoc))
                 .getFile().getContentCache());
    ContentCache->SourceLineCache = nullptr;
  }

  // Prefix the token with a \n, so that it looks like it is the first thing on
  // its own virtual line in caret diagnostics.
  CurBuffer[BytesUsed++] = '\n';

  // Return a pointer to the character data.
  DestPtr = CurBuffer+BytesUsed;

  // Copy the token data into the buffer.
  memcpy(CurBuffer+BytesUsed, Buf, Len);

  // Remember that we used these bytes.
  BytesUsed += Len+1;

  // Add a NUL terminator to the token.  This keeps the tokens separated, in
  // case they get relexed, and puts them on their own virtual lines in case a
  // diagnostic points to one.
  CurBuffer[BytesUsed-1] = '\0';

  return BufferStartLoc.getLocWithOffset(BytesUsed-Len-1);
}

void ScratchBuffer::AllocScratchBuffer(unsigned RequestLen) {
  // Only pay attention to the requested length if it is larger than our default
  // page size.  If it is, we allocate an entire chunk for it.  This is to
  // support gigantic tokens, which almost certainly won't happen. :)
  if (RequestLen < ScratchBufSize)
    RequestLen = ScratchBufSize;

  // Get scratch buffer. Zero-initialize it so it can be dumped into a PCH file
  // deterministically.
  std::unique_ptr<llvm::WritableMemoryBuffer> OwnBuf =
      llvm::WritableMemoryBuffer::getNewMemBuffer(RequestLen,
                                                  "<scratch space>");
  CurBuffer = OwnBuf->getBufferStart();
  FileID FID = SourceMgr.createFileID(std::move(OwnBuf));
  BufferStartLoc = SourceMgr.getLocForStartOfFile(FID);
  BytesUsed = 0;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Free shipping and returns on every single order. 60 days to call it your own.
Make a statement while you sleep. Our eye masks are light as a feather, luxuriously soft, and just like you, they've always got something to say.
NOTE: Personalized products are final sale. Please allow an additional 7-10 days for personalized items.
Treat yourself or a friend with our cozy comfortable eye masks.
Available in 2 colors: Navy and Silver. This product's colors coordinate with our Convertible Down Travel Blanket so you can buy them or gift them together.
Face: 55% Polyester, 45% Nylon. Reverse: 65% Polyester, 35% Cotton Knit in gray.


text:
require 'spec_helper'

describe RemoteDatabaseCleanerHomeRails do

  describe '.enable!' do
    it 'should return true when enabled' do
      RemoteDatabaseCleanerHomeRails.enable!
      expect(RemoteDatabaseCleanerHomeRails.enabled?).to be_truthy
    end
  end

  describe '.enabled?' do
    it 'should return false when disabled' do
      expect(RemoteDatabaseCleanerHomeRails.enabled?).to be_falsey
    end
  end

  describe '.disable!' do
    it 'should disable' do
      RemoteDatabaseCleanerHomeRails.enable!
      RemoteDatabaseCleanerHomeRails.disable!
      expect(RemoteDatabaseCleanerHomeRails.enabled?).to be_falsey
    end
  end
end


text:
Tag Archive: woody harrelson
Incredible 'Catching Fire' Trailer
UK Release Date: 22nd November 2013
Stars: Francis Lawrence (director), Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Woody Harrelson, Lenny Kravitz, Jena Malone, Sam Claflin, Donald Sutherland, Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Plot: Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark become targets of the Capitol after their victory in the 74th Hunger Games sparks a rebellion in the Districts of Panem.
Arguably the most anticipated film of the rest of the year, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire trailer has just debuted at San Diego Comic Con and it looks fantastic! The original star studded cast has been improved and got even bigger than before for a film that is all but guaranteed to break a few records upon release later this year.
While The Hunger Games went down very well people have argued that the action moved at a pretty slow pace. As a follow up, this is unlikely to be the case again. Since Katniss and the incredibly annoying, never-going-to-be-good-enough-for-Katniss Everdeen, Peeta triumphed in the battle to the death, an uprising has begun around the Districts and the Capitol wish to put an end to any hope that might have stirred by making an example of the two heroes.
I'm sure that a reason will be established as to why all the previous victors don't just kill the leaders of Capitol and really bring things home but despite that, there is a lot to be excited for and it won't just be a rehash of the events of the first film (although a few parts seem familiar). There seems to be more drama, more action in the Districts, more Liam Hemsworth, and a lot more action. A real sense of human revolt can be felt and the trailer does an excellent job of exceeding all expectations.
Tags: 2013, action, blog, catching fire, districts, donald sutherland, Drama, elizabeth banks, entertainment, film, francis lawrence, gaming, hollywood, jena malone, Jennifer Lawrence, josh hutcherson, lenny kravitz, liam hemsworth, movies, news, philip seymour hoffman, revolt, sam claflin, san diego comic con, sequel, stanley tucci, the hunger games, trailer, videogames, woody harrelson
A star studded cast embark on a game of cat and mouse as the FBI and Interpol attempt to catch four magicians who use the disguise of their magic show to conduct bank heists and give the stolen money to their audiences. This band of magicians are known as The Four Horsemen and are each solo artists brought together by a mysterious hooded figure and a series of tarot cards. When together the group pull off these bank heists as a way of being allowed entry to an exclusive group of magicians known as 'The Eye'.
"The closer you think you are, the less you'll actually see"
The film opens every bit as you might expect: introducing the four characters separately, allowing for the audience to quickly get to know them and acknowledge their traits before they are put into the group dynamic. Up first is street magician J. Daniel Atlas (Jesse Eisenberg) whose opening trick is cleverly conducted to work on the audience as well; then comes Merrit McKinney (Woody Harrelson), a mentalist who uses his 'gift' to find out dirty secrets about people and extort them of their money. The only female member of the group is Henley Reeves (Isla Fisher), an escapologist and former assistant to J. Daniel Atlas. These three are joined by the only one of the magicians whose actual tarot card links to the Four Horsemen of mythology: Jack Wilder (Dave Franco) who seems to be more like a con artist than magician. These opening scenes are every bit as exciting as you would hope and introduce our heroes as being likeable characters, so much so that it has you gripped form the very beginning.
Jump one year later. Now we're in Las Vegas watching the Four Horsemen put on a show under the watchful eye of benefactor Arthur Tressler (Michael Caine) and magician defrauder Thaddeus Bradley (Morgan Freeman). Here it is that the magicians pull off the bank heist that gets them noticed by the FBI. However, what the audience will notice is just how long this scene drags out and unfortunately it isn't the only one. As with the case with real life magic shows, the magicians tend to lengthen things out, giving long speeches and explaining what they're going to do before they do something completely different. While this may be all fine and well at real magic shows, when you have less than two hours on a cinema screen some of the waffle has to be cut down.
"These guys, they're tricky"
But then that's why Jesse Eisenberg impresses the most. If it wasn't for Eisenberg's charisma then perhaps Now You See Me would run the risk of being slightly dull, but every time Eisenberg appears on screen he hastens up the pace (if not only for his fast talking) but he inhabits the character; it feels like Eisenberg is the only one who has done his research and knows about magicians… which isn't really surprising considering he was the first name attached to the project.
The other horsemen each have their own moments of glory (although arguably Isla Fisher's comes at the beginning and never really rears it's head again) with Harrelson providing a few sporadic laughs throughout, while Dave Franco provides one of the most exciting sequences of the piece in a fight scene with FBI agent Mark Ruffalo where trick mirrors, slight of hand and playing cards all come into use. It really stands out as one of the best action scenes of the summer which is remarkable considering the strength and special effects of the other blockbusters such as Iron Man 3 or Star Trek Into Darkness.
"Want to know how they did it? Just say the magic word"
While each individual actor gets their moment in the limelight at one point or another, it is a slight downfall that the four central characters seem to have very little chemistry with one another. The conversations at times seem jarred and the jokes not as free flowing as you would expect. Perhaps the worst part of the film is the completely unbelievable relationship between Mark Ruffalo's character and the Interpol agent played by Melanie Laurent. Even the two actors don't seem invested in that storyline.
Throughout the film there are (almost too many) hints towards the fact that there is going to be a twist so part of the fun comes from guessing what that twist is going to be. There is a little foreshadowing throughout but the reveal should still come as a surprise. It's a great idea, but arguably poorly executed which is where it is going to be let down. However, this is just a small problem compared to the plot holes scattered throughout the plot and the pointlessness of Michael Caine's character.
"First rule of magic: always be the smartest guy in the room"
Had it been released at any other time of the year Now You See Me could have very easily run the risk of bombing in the box office. But this is summer and people expect certain things from a summer blockbuster: they want to laugh, be entertained, see great action sequences, wonderful set pieces and big budget effects. And that's what Now You See Me can deliver. It has it's flaws but all in all is a thoroughly enjoyable film that can be filed under 'hit' for director Louis Leterrier.
Tags: 2013, action, aviation, blockbuster, blog, conman, dave franco, entertainment, escapologist, fbi, film, gaming, interpol, iron man 3, isla fisher, jesse eisenberg, las vegas, louis leterrier, magic, magicians, mark ruffalo, melanie laurent, mentalist, michael caine, morgan freeman, movies, news, now you see me, oscars, review, star trek into darkness, summer, the eye, the four horsemen, transportation, videogames, woody harrelson
Her Entire Species Must Be Eradicated – The Hunger Games: Catching Fire Trailer
Stars: Francis Lawrence (director), Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Sam Claflin, Woody Harrelson, Stanley Tucci, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Donald Sutherland, Jena Malone
Plot: Katniss and Peeta are dethroned from their respective victory riches and are put back into the arena for the most climatic and menacing of the Hunger Games, known as the Quarter Quell.
Last year, The Hunger Games was one of the most anticipated releases as the best selling series of books were inevitably adapted for the big screen. It went on to gross just short of $700,000,000 worldwide and, despite positive reviews, I forgot that the sequel was even out this years. It's safe to say I haven't exactly been waiting for it.
I actually found The Hunger Games to be a bit slow paced and a tad boring at times. But Catching Fire looks to take the action to a whole new level and the trailer here is a terrific one. It's going to build the excitement for anyone who saw the first film and fans of the books are going to wet themselves at just how good this will be.
The storyline does feel a little like clutching at straws, just putting the characters back in the arena again. But hey, that's coming from the source material and that sold millions so who am I to tell them to do any different.
Tags: 2013, blog, catching fire, donald sutherland, elizabeth banks, film, francis lawrence, jena malone, Jennifer Lawrence, josh hutcherson, liam hemsworth, movies, news, philip seymour hoffman, sam claflin, stanley tucci, the hunger games, trailer, woody harrelson
What to Watch – December 2012
Filed under: What to Watch — Leave a comment
Here are a collection of trailers for, what I think are, the best movies to be released in the UK this month and will be well worth a watch!
SEVEN PSYCHOPATHS – 5th December
This is something I have been looking forward to since I first saw the trailer. An exciting cast that combines Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and Christopher Walken all brought together by Martin McDonagh in his In Bruges follow up.
THE HOBBIT: AN UNEXPECTED JOURNEY – 13th December
This is obviously the biggest film to be released this month and I've said enough about it already in previous posts so here is just one of the many TV spots for the epic Peter Jackson Lord of the Rings prequel.
SMASHED – 14th December
Mary Elizabeth Winstead and the brilliant Aaron Paul play a married couple whose bond is solely built on their love of alcohol. Their marriage is put to the test when the wife decides to get sober. Smashed has already been adored by critics and could serve as a little treat this December.
LIFE OF PI – 20th December
I was more than a little dubious when I watched the first trailer for Ang Lee's adaptation of the epic novel but with the release of this second trailer I don't see how anyone can doubt this. A clear Oscar contender for sure.
PITCH PERFECT – 21st December
Anna Kendrick stars (and sings on the soundtrack) in this obviously Glee inspired musical that has gone down well with critics and audiences alike in America. I found the trailer a lot funnier than I thought that I would and it does look really really fun.
Tags: 2012, aaron paul, alcohol, america, an unexpected journey, ang lee, anna kendrick, audiences, blog, christopher walken, colin farrel, comedy, critics, december, Drama, fantasy, film, glee, in bruges, life of pi, lord of the rings, martin mcdonagh, mary elizabeth winstead, movies, musical, news, novel, oscar contender, oscars, peter jackson, prequel, sam rockwell, seven psychopaths, smashed, sober, the hobbit, trailer, tv spot, uk, unexpected journey, video, woody harrelson
'Now You See Me' Trailer
Filed under: Trailers — 1 Comment
UK Release Date: 21st June 2013
Stars: Louis Leterrier (director), Jesse Eisenberg, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Morgan Freeman, Woody Harrelson, Dave Franco, Isla Fisher
Plot: FBI agents track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.
It's a heist movie where the bank robbers are magicians and the detective is played by the Hulk, what more could you want? Now You See Me is obviously going to be compared to The Prestige upon its release and already is being compared on the internet which makes sense, The Prestige was also about magicians and is easily one of my favourite films of all time.
You can't deny that Now You See Me has a very 'prestigy' feel to it; what with the teleporting device, the magicians, the woman trapped in a tank of water and the appearance of Michael Caine but there is enough here to justify that it is a very different type of film. It looks, to me, that Now You See Me is a lot lighter than The Prestige, as it would have to be to gain the box office it must be expecting with a summer release date and a cast full of stars.
I'm already looking forward to it. I enjoyed the trailer very much and Now You See Me looks like a fun film, that fun best summed up by Dave Franco's half a second of trailer time in which he manages to fit in the trademark Franco smile. Eisenberg's scene in which he escapes the handcuffs and gets them on to Ruffalo's character is quick but incredible and it's good to see they made the EVER so sensible choice of having Morgan Freeman do the voice over for the trailer. Bring on summer 2013!
Tags: 2012, 2013, bank heists, bank robbers, blog, dave franco, entertainment, fbi, film, franco smile, hulk, illusionists, isla fisher, jesse eisenberg, louis leterrier, magic, magicians, mark ruffalo, michael caine, morgan freeman, movies, news, now you see me, the prestige, trailer, woody harrelson
News of the Week (24/10/12) – The Hobbit, Ghostbusters and Assassins Creed
After a few weeks that have been fairly quiet on the news front in terms of things that have grabbed my interest this week has exploded and there is a lot to catch upon.
First, let's start with a small update on the Assassin's Creed feature film that is being lined up (starring and produced by Michael Fassbender). This will no doubt gain more exposure when it starts filming as Assassin's Creed is one of the most famous and popular video game franchises of the past few years. Assassin's Creed has now seen production company New Regency team up with Ubisoft to get this project off the ground; an official statement has said that the movie is being fast tracked and they want to get it out as soon as possible, to the highest standards reachable. Good news as I would hate this one sit in pre-production for years!
Talking of films that have been in pre-production for years: Ghostbusters 3. Obviously, there have been rumours about Ghostbusters 3 knocking around for years but now Deadline are reporting that the studio are hoping to be able to start filming next year, with or without Bill Murray's permission which has been holding them back so far. So roll on the fantasy casts for the new generation of Ghostbusters: Seth Rogen, Jonah Hill, Matthew Gray Gubler and Emma Stone are being touted as possible leads.
It has been eleven years since the awful events that struck America. 9/11. And there have been a couple of films about the events, World Trade Center and United 93 and now it looks as though we are going to get another one. September Morn is a film that will detail the findings of the 9/11 Comission and Woody Harrelson, Martin Sheen and Ed Asner are all attached to star so far. But will a film about the findings of 9/11 really be wanted in America? Who knows.
So let's round up the rest pretty quickly. The Hobbit is set for a December release this year and it has been released this past week that Stephen Colbert (Saturday Night Live) and the brilliant Jim Beaver (Supernatural) will be seen in cameo roles in the huge feature. A running time has also been quoted by Peter Jackson to be around 2 hours and 40 minutes, that's a grand total of 160 minutes of Middle Earth adventure! Andy Serkis, fresh from directing the second unit on The Hobbit, is set to direct a motion capture film version of George Orwell's Animal Farm. Serkis may also star in the film, nothing is confirmed yet, but he is clearly a great choice to direct after bringing such famous characters as Gollum and Caeser to life! And finally… Hugh Grant is set to return to his famous romantic comedy roles as he teams up with Music and Lyrics director Marc Lawrence again. No female lead has yet been signed on.
Tags: 2012, 9/11, 9/11 comission, america, an unexpected journey, andy serkis, animal farm, assassin's creed, bill murray, blog, caeser, cameo, deadline, december, ed asner, eleven years, emma stone, entertainment, fantasy, feature film, film, gaming, george orwell, ghostbusters, ghostbusters 3, gollum, hugh grant, jim beaver, jonah hill, marc lawrence, martin sheen, matthew gray gubler, Michael Fassbender, middle earth, motion capture, movies, music and lyrics, new regency, news, news of the week, one september, peter jackson, romantic comedy, running time, saturday night live, september morn, seth rogen, stephen colbert, supernatural, the hobbit, ubisoft, united 93, video game, videogames, woody harrelson, world trade center
One Shih Tzu… Seven Psychopaths
UK Release Date: 7th December 2012.
Stars: Martin McDonagh (director), Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Woody Harrelson, Tom Waits, Olga Kurylenko, Abbie Cornish
Plot: A struggling screenwriter inadvertently becomes entangled in the Los Angeles criminal underworld after his oddball friends kidnap a gangster's beloved Shih Tzu.
Seven Psychopaths is a film I have had my eyes on for what seems like an eternity, I had been awaiting a trailer for months and then had to wait even longer for a release date for the United Kingdom to be announced before I uploaded this, but it is definitely worth the wait. This film sees McDonagh and Farrell team up once more after the successful In Bruges.
Farrell is pretty hit and miss but he stars in one of my favourite films (Pride & Glory) and I really like him and here he is alongside a very good cast given a brilliant offbeat story. Sam Rockwell is terrific, Christopher Walken is a proven great, Woody Harrelson never fails to put in a memorable performance and given a storyline that involves kidnapping dogs in order to make money from the rewards and then getting mixed up with gangsters after kidnapping the wrong dog can only lead to plenty of laughs!
And the trailer certainly looks promising. It seems as though Rockwell and Walken are going to get the majority of the comedy lines while Farrell is just along for the ride (despite being the main character). The trailer reminds me a little bit of Sideways in terms of how the comedy looks; it feels different, fresh, new and not too forced which has already made Seven Psychopaths a hit at preview screenings.
The only bad thing is that it is being released in December which is primarily Oscar time when all the big films come out (however in America Seven Psychopaths comes out in October). However, early talk is saying that Seven Psychopaths could be in the frame for a Best Original Screenplay nomination.
Tags: 2012, abbie cornish, america, best original screenplay, blog, christopher walken, colin farrell, comedy, criminal underworld, dogs, Drama, entertainment, film, gaming, gangsters, in bruges, los angeles, martin mcdonagh, movies, news, ocars, offbeat, olga kurylenko, oscars, pride and glory, sam rockwell, seven psychopaths, shih tzu, sideways, tom waits, trailer, uk release date, united kingdom, woody harrelson
The Hunger Games: Reviewed.
***WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS***
The Hunger Games has been impossible to avoid over the past few weeks, maybe even months. Aside from the three big superhero films, The Hunger Games is probably the most anticipated film of the year. It has been adapted from Suzanne Collins' worldwide best selling novel and directed by Gary Ross who is best known for The Tales of Despereaux and Seabiscuit.
The Hunger Games is set in the future; a future where teenagers are forced to compete as 'tributes' in 'the Hunger Games' where it is every man for himself and only the last man standing survives. These games are broadcast on televisions throughout each 'district' of the world. Katniss Everdeen is our hero and she volunteers to compete in the games in place of her sister.
The film relies a lot on the acting ability of Jennifer Lawrence who plays Katniss. Lawrence is an absolutely wonderful actress and she needs to be brilliant in this film to keep the audiences attention. Despite having a supporting cast that includes Josh Hutcherson, Lenny Kravitz, Liam Hemsworth, Elizabeth Banks, Donald Sutherland and Woody Harrelson most of the scenes involve Katniss and require Jennifer Lawrence to hold the audience and she proves that she can do that.
It is a horrible world we are taken into that gives the audience a feel of the bleak future which our heroes inhabit. From the offset, even from the trailers, anyone with half a bran could predict the ending considering there are a couple more books (and probable films) to follow The Hunger Games. But it is the journey we go on that holds the audience, how everything unfolds, this is what we are interested in.
The visual elements of the film are spectacular and it is such a wide world in which events take place that the effects need to be perfect to really suck the viewers into the arena. From the fire in the forest to the spaceship flying above the district, the special effects are really powerful without distracting from other aspects of the film which is great as it the story could have easily been lost in the big wide world of The Hunger Games.
Katniss is a conflicted character in terms of film making. We are introduced to her as this strong, family kind of girl who sacrifices herself for her sister. Yet, as the film goes on, to me, she actually seemed like a weak person, completely opposite to what we were promised at the beginning. Whilst she proves that she is smart and adept with a bow and arrow, she still needs saving a couple of times and gets overruled by feelings inside the arena with a love story that really was not needed.
The poor character development is not unique to Katniss, however, and it is this that lets the film down in my opinion. Other characters are not given enough time to develop really and Josh Hutcherson's character Peeta Mellark, I thought, was really really unlikeable and I was actually hoping that Katniss would kill him at the end of the film, but alas it was not meant to be.
The Hunger Games has proven successful with audiences already, opening to the third biggest weekend in history. It sets the foundation of the franchise and is an entertaining film, but character growth and strength of story hold back Jennifer Lawrence's fantastic job in the lead role.
Tags: 2012, action, blog, donald sutherland, elizabeth banks, film, future world, gary ross, Jennifer Lawrence, josh hutcherson, katniss everdeen, last man standing, lenny kravitz, liam hemsworth, literature, movies, news, sci-fi, seabiscuit, superhero films, suzanne collins, tales of despereaux, the hunger games, woody harrelson
UK Cinema Release: 23rd March 2012
Okay, so I will admit I haven't read the novels which the film is based on and I have no intention to, but the trailer makes The Hunger Games seem like a film I might be interested in.
The plot, what I can tell from the trailer, seems pretty basic. We have our hero, or heroine in this case: Katniss, played by the beautiful and talented Jennifer Lawrence. She is seemingly forced to run from her home and then forced to fight in these famous 'Hunger Games' as a representative of her district. Catch is, only one of the 24 competitors is allowed to survive. We've all seen similar stories before so we can guess the ending already. Katniss survives perhaps? But it is how she does it and what happens to her friends that will keep the audience interested.
The action scenes from the trailer don't look too intriguing and the supporting cast don't really seem to impress me either, albeit this is only a trailer, I imagine and hope that stronger performances are given in the actual film. But it will be interesting to see Jennifer Lawrence headlining a mainstream cinema release. She first came to mainstream attention as Mystique in X-Men First Class last year, despite being nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Winter's Bone.
I look forward to seeing the movie and hopefully being entertained as it seems like a bit of a popcorn flick rather than a 'thinker'.
Tags: 2012, action, fantasy, future, Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence, sci-fi, woody harrelson

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Inspiration – Friendship
It's difficult to write about friendship in general terms without it being just a collection of well-worn phrases.
Handshake with Crown (Photo credit: DivaLea)
Complicating matters is the fact that most alien makeup on Star Trek is meant to be light.
After all, the audience will be better able to sympathize with a character if he or she is at least superficially humanoid. Plus recognizable guest stars (and their agents!) want performances to be memorable. It's not impossible to do that if an actor is all but unrecognizable, but it sure does raise the degree of difficulty.
So instead I'll go with what I know.
Canon friendships
Malcolm and Tripp
Perhaps the best-known friendship in Star Trek: Enterprise is that between Tripp and Malcolm.
Yes, yes, I know about the Tripp/Jonathan friendship. But that is more of a relationship of unequals.
When it comes to Malcolm and Tripp, I feel that they could have been much more of a source of comic relief. Actor Dominic Keating in particular is a real-life cut up, so it could have worked, certainly in the first two seasons of the program. I have revived that, a bit, particularly in Broken Seal, where together they pull a small prank on Hoshi.
Hoshi and Travis
Less cultivated and less explored was the friendship between the two ensigns.
In Broken Seal, the two of them work together in order to prank Tucker back, as Reed has already apologized.
It is easy and, I feel, a bit of a cop-out, to just 'ship them and call it a day.
Friendships seem to be more complex, and perhaps truer. After all, how many of us romance our coworkers – particularly if we are stuck with them, more or less 24/7. And we can't resign, even if we want to?
Other Friendships
There are, of course, other friendships, and other series. In particular, I think the friendships between Data and Geordi, and between Geordi and Wesley (although that one is more of a mentor/protegé setup) are very believable in Star Trek: The Next Generation. Furthermore, the friendships among Bones, Spock and Kirk in the original series have spawned tons of slash.
But sometimes a friendship is … just a friendship.
Fanfiction Friendship
Possibly my best-realized friendship is that between Aidan MacKenzie and Chip Masterson. It is quite the bromance, on both sides of the pond.
Aidan MacKenzie
Aidan is the good-looking guy, the Tactical Ensign with a fine career ahead of him. It is fully-realized, too, as he eventually becomes a captain in Equinox.
In Where No Gerbil Has Gone Before, Aidan is already slated for Tactical. For the project to improve the inertial dampers, he is brought in for one real purpose, to do the presentation. Because otherwise he doesn't know a thing about engineering. He is also an eager participant in the second prank that occurs in that story.
Up in the Air premiere – Ryerson Theatre – September 12, 2009 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Chip, on the other hand, is much more of a jokester. In Together, he dreams of doing standup.
As the self-appointed 'movie guy', he selects the films (Aidan is the projectionist), and many of the choices on screen reflect his taste . But he is not above silliness and, in Where No Gerbil Has Gone Before, it's his initial prank that sets the events in motion.
The two are even pranksters in the Mirror Universe. In Brown, they are tasked with removing a rodent infestation from the ISS Defiant. But things don't go according to plan, as they are both fed up with the Empress.
Personal Friendships
My own friendships creep in, on occasion. Part-Gorn Kevin O'Connor is based on a person of the same name. Andrew and Lucy's daughter is named for a dear friend of mine, as are Jay Hayes's sister (Laura), M'Roan (in a way), Eleanor Daniels, Crystal Sherwood, Hamilton Roget, Mindy Ryan, Stacey Young and Darragh Stratton. Some are closer than others, who would likely be surprised if they were told that they were being included in some small way.
Relationships between people do not have to always mean lust and romance. Friendship is, truly, just as beautiful, and just as sustaining, and should not be dismissed lightly.
Inspiration – TV shows
Inspiration – Names
Inspiration – Films
Inspiration – Marriage
Portrait of a Character – T'Pol
Review – Cobbled Together
Tags: Dominic Keating, Hall of Mirrors, Hoshi Sato, Malcolm, original character, Spock, Star Trek, star trek canon character, Star Trek Enterprise, Star Trek: mirror universe, StarTrek, trek fan fiction


You can get any of the Hoffman BMX Freestyle bikes here at ACEBMX.com. Mat Hoffman is one of the greatest BMX Freestyle Riders the world has ever seen. With his years of experience with bicycles, Mat designed manufactured his line of Hoffman Parts and Hoffman complete bikes. Mat Hoffman BMX frames are of excellent quality and allow you to build your own BMX bikes from scratch. Mat Hofman is nick named the Condor and one of his frames was called the Condor back in the 1980s and early 1990. We woul get riders from all over the world to stop in at our store just to pick up a few Hoffman Frames and bring them back to their country.
Hoffman Immersion, Ladyluck and Seeker are three more cool Hoffman Bikes.
Mat Hoffman has also included this year a few Hoffman 25th Anniversary Bikes. The Hoffman popular Low Drag Bars will also be available again soon.


The Total Real Estate Solutions Real Estate Directory is part of the inetUSA Global Directory available on thousands of websites worldwide and is currently one of the fastest growing directories on the internet!
When you add your listing to the Global Directory, your listing is instantly available on thousands of websites!.
Directory listings for your local area let your visitors find you when they are searching for products or services in their local area. Area Directory listings give you state/province coverage in most cases.
To update your existing directory listings, enter your username and password and click Login Now.
Area Featured Listing Standard Listing FREE!
Area Spotlight Listing only $20 for a full year!
Promote your business nationally with our National Directory Listings. National Directory Listings are displayed for all states or provinces selected in the directory.
National Featured Listing only $60 for a full year!
National Spotlight Listing only $80 for a full year!
Get listed in the Top Category for your industry! Top Category National listings are displayed in ALL areas of the directory category of your choice PLUS the Top Directory Category. For example, if you are adding your directory listing in the "Property Listing" category of General Real Estate, your listing would also be shown in "General Real Estate" Top Category.
Top Category National Featured Listing only $70 for a full year! Great Value!
Top Category National Spotlight Listing only $90 for a full year! Maximum Exposure!
Make changes to your directory anytime using the Directory Listing Manager.
Directory Statistics tell you how many unique visitors have seen your directory listing and how many times your viewers have clicked your listing.


text:
Home Headlines Obama Shows His Cards, Revisiting History And Al Qaeda Threatens Jihad In...
The World We Live In
Obama Shows His Cards, Revisiting History And Al Qaeda Threatens Jihad In America
To: Friends & Supporters
From: Gary L. Bauer
Obama Shows His Cards, Turns His Back
Everybody knows that in poker, you don't reveal your hand. A good foreign policy utilizes the same strategy.
When confronting aggression by a hostile power, one of the first principles of foreign policy is never to take options off the table. We hear it all the time whenever Iran's nuclear program is in the news: "All options are on the table."
Evidently Barack Obama was too busy filling out his NCAA bracket to consult his foreign policy training manual. During a series of local news interviews yesterday, Obama was asked what steps he might take next in the Crimean crisis. Incredibly, Obama showed Putin and every other tyrant his cards.
Obama said, "We are not going to be getting into a military excursion in Ukraine." In a separate interview, Obama said, "…we do not need to trigger an actual war with Russia. The Ukrainians don't want that. Nobody would want that."
Of course we do not want a war, but the decision might not be ours. (Ron and Rand Paul supporters: Please do not waste my time accusing me of supporting war in Ukraine — I don't.)
The proper answer was, "I'm not going to discuss hypotheticals. The United States wants an end to aggression in Eastern Europe, and we are going to work with our allies to come up with ways to make sure it does end."
It has been humorous to watch our media establishment describing Russian President Vladimir Putin as crazy, unbalanced and unpredictable. What the left sees as bizarre behavior is precisely how one might expect a former KGB officer to act. Especially one who called the collapse of the Soviet Union"the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the century."
Let me remind you of Obama's history in Ukraine. In 2005, Barack Obama made his first overseas trip as a United States senator to Ukraine in an effort to convince that country to destroy massive stockpiles of conventional weapons. "Vast stocks of conventional munitions and military supplies have accumulated in Ukraine," Obama said. "We need to eliminate these stockpiles for the safety of the Ukrainian people…"
The thrust of the argument Obama and that Senate delegation made to Ukraine was, "We've got your back." Well, not so much. To many Ukrainians, it must seem like Obama has turned his back on them. Crimea is under Russian control now. The rest of Ukraine is facing military intimidation and a possible invasion.
I mention the phrase "I've got your back," because it is one of the president's favorites. No doubt the White House polled it and found it scored well with the public. He has used it in appeals to various voting blocs and even with respect to Israel's existential threat from Iran's nuclear weapons program. During a 2012 speech to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, Obama said, "I have Israel's back."
Remember, too, that the United States, Britain and Russia signed a treaty in 1994 guaranteeing Ukraine's sovereignty. Putin just shredded that treaty. How safe do you think Israelis feel today with Obama's claim that he has "Israel's back"?
Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon fears Israel is on its own. Ya'alon is in hot water for suggesting that the United States is "broadcasting weakness" across the globe. Ya'alon added, "This is a war of civilizations. If you are perceived to be weak, that certainly does not pay in the world. I hope the U.S. will reassert itself."
My Bracket Pick
Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher worked tirelessly to bring down the Iron Curtain and free Eastern Europe from the Soviet evil empire. It's disturbing to see today just how radically things have changed.
Given the president's obsession with brackets, I took a few seconds to consider what the European nation "finals" might look like today. Since the U.S. team doesn't have an effective ball handler, the results seem obvious. Check out my Facebook page for my "bracket picks."
Revisiting History
George Will wrote an extraordinary column reminding us of the history of Russian genocide in Ukraine. In the 1930s, Joseph Stalin intentionally caused a famine in Ukraine that killed millions of people. In many cases, the survivors resorted to cannibalism.
Stalin's goal was to murder as many Ukrainians as possible and replace them with ethnic Russians. Their descendants are siding with Vladimir Putin today as he claims the right to protect ethnic minorities in bordering countries.
Of course in the 1930s the Soviets denied any responsibility for the famine, and blamed it on a lack of rain. But I know something about this. In 1985 Congress authorized the creation of a Commission on the Ukraine Famine. There were 15 members on the commission, including six members of Congress.
I was appointed by President Ronald Reagan to serve as his representative on this commission. It was a tremendous undertaking. The commission took testimony from scores of eyewitnesses and interviewed more than 200 survivors.
The famine was manmade and the goal was to destroy the Ukrainian people. As the saying goes, history does not repeat itself, but it does rhyme. Ukraine is in the crosshairs again and neither the administration nor Europe knows what to do.
Al Qaeda Threatens Jihad In America
As the country approaches the first anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing, Al Qaeda's "Inspire" magazine has issued a new call for jihad in America. This same magazine reportedly inspired the Tsarnaev brothers.
The latest edition instructs wannabe martyrs to conduct car bombings in major American cities — Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and Washington, D.C., targeting sporting events, election rallies and year-end holidays.
This is just one more reminder that while the headlines may be dominated by vanishing planes and Vladimir Putin, and despite assurances that Al Qaeda has been decimated, radical Islamists remain committed to bringing more death and destruction to our shores.
Fighting For Our Values
As you know, I am deeply concerned by efforts within the Beltway establishment to surrender on values issues. Earlier this week I challenged Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) when he tried to resurrect the notion of a truce on values issues. As he must know, the left is relentlessly attacking life, marriage and religious liberty. Paul's suggestion that we "agree to disagree" is really a slow-motion surrender.
In my latest opinion piece, I give some advice to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker. Walker has been very bold in confronting Big Labor, but it appears, even though he is clearly pro-life, that he has bought into the establishment's advice to run away from values issues. You can read more at The Daily Caller.
If you are interested in receiving Mr. Bauer's daily report by e-mail, please call 703-671-9700, visitSIGN UP FOR GARY BAUER'S "END OF DAY REPORT" or simply send a reply e-mail titled "Subscribe" and include your name and address.
Visit End of Day archives to share reports on Facebook. Follow Gary On Facebook And Twitter.
To be removed from Gary Bauer's End of Day distribution list, please reply to this message with "Remove" in the subject line.
As a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, donations to American Values are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes. You may donate online by visiting our website or by using the following address in your web browser: https://www.ouramericanvalues.org/american-values-contribution or you may mail contributions to the following address:
American Values
EMAIL GARY BAUER
VISIT AMERICAN VALUES
Al Qaeda Threatens America
FGGAM
Gary Bauer
Jihad in America
Previous articleBREAKING NEWS: Police Search South Bend, Indiana Abortion Clinic
Next articleGraduation Day
The Brown Skin Black Man
Good Morning Beautiful People… Dream A Powerful Dream


The service will allow users to download virus definitions through wireless Internet connections and check all files that are downloaded or executed.
South Korea-based SK Telecom will offer an antivirus service for cell phones. The service will allow users to download virus definitions through wireless Internet connections and check all files that are downloaded or executed on the the WIPI (wireless Internet protocol interoperability) platform. WIPI allows users to download games and music to mobile terminals.


This item was available on Vinyl 12" but is now sold out on all formats, sorry. Take a look at what else we have in by LHF, check out some related artists, head over to our new releases or knock yourself out reading our latest music news & album reviews.
Four track split 12" from Blackdown-affiliated kru.


North Texas Giving Day "Double The Impact With SWAGG"
North Texas Giving Day is September 14th, 2017.
Mark your calendars to support SWAGG Programs.
Most children who enter the system have little to no belongings. They report to their new placements with a trash bag, if not empty handed. These children are confused and fearful of their next steps. They are placed with strangers and are unaware of their surroundings, living areas, schools, and do not have anything to call their own.
These children need a strong foundation to stand on. They deserve a reliable support system: someone to meet their basic needs, help them to discover their strengths, and boost their self-esteem. SWAGG provides them with belongings of their own and an opportunity to feel empowered by making their own clothing choices and providing them with a personal SWAGG Bag for their items.
SWAGG allows children the chance to choose 3 to 6 outfits, undergarments, and needed personal hygiene items. We also have additional items, such as school supplies, back packs, shoes, accessories, etc. In addition, they are granted the opportunity to discover and develop their own identity through our comprehensive programs and support.
Statistics clearly capture the sad realization that children without guidance and support will not succeed. SWAGG provides a reliable support system of Serenity, Wisdom, Agility, Grace, and Guidance.
Donate online or join us at Chick-Fil-A of Waxahachie on Sept 14th to drop off your contribution.
*All donations are used to provide clothing, hygiene items, and needed resources to foster and homeless children.


text:
U.S., Canada aboriginal tribes form alliance to stop oil pipelines
By Rod Nickel
WINNIPEG, Manitoba (Reuters) - Aboriginal tribes from Canada and the northern United States signed a treaty on Thursday to jointly fight proposals to build more pipelines to carry crude from Alberta's oil sands, saying further development would damage the environment.
Slideshow ( 10 images )
The move came as Native American tribes on Thursday took their fight to Washington to stop development of the $3.7 billion Dakota Access oil pipeline, which would cross federally managed and private lands in North Dakota, South Dakota, Iowa and Illinois.
Last week the U.S. Justice Department intervened to delay construction of the pipeline in North Dakota.
The Treaty Alliance Against Tar Sands Expansion was signed by 50 aboriginal groups in North America, who also plan to oppose tanker and rail projects in both countries, they said in a statement.
Targets include projects proposed by Kinder Morgan Inc, TransCanada Corp and Enbridge Inc.
While aboriginal groups have long opposed oil sands development, the treaty signals a more coordinated approach to fight proposals.
Among the treaty's signatories is the Standing Rock Sioux tribe who opposes the Dakota pipeline.
"What this treaty means is that from Quebec, we will work with allies in (British Columbia) to make sure that the Kinder Morgan pipeline does not pass," Kanesatake Grand Chief Serge Simon said in the statement.
"And we will also work with our tribal allies in Minnesota as they take on Enbridge's Line 3 expansion, and we know they'll help us do the same against Energy East," he said, referring to TransCanada's plan to carry 1.1 million barrels of crude per day from Alberta to Canada's East Coast.
The statement did not specify what actions the groups would take to stop development.
The Canadian Energy Pipeline Association, whose members include the targeted companies, said in a statement that the industry would listen to aboriginal concerns.
"The fact remains there is a critical need for pipelines in Canada," the association said, noting that they are the safest and most environmentally friendly way to move oil and gas.
Canada is assessing oil pipeline proposals as the country's energy-rich province Alberta reels from a crash in prices, partly due to insufficient means of moving oil to lucrative international markets.
Reporting by Rod Nickel in Winnipeg, Manitoba; Editing by Richard Chang


A 4 bedroom detached family home with a super garden. Recently refitted bathroom. Good size rooms throughout. Great location for good commuter access to M1 J13, A421 and Milton Keynes is 15 minutes away.
Timber glazed door to front, under stairs storage cupboard, engineered wood flooring, double glazed window to side, radiator.
Double glazed window to front wash hand basin, low level WC, ceramic tiled flooring, radiator, tiling to splashbacks.
8' 7" x 12' 8" (2.62m x 3.86m) Wall lights and coving to ceiling, real flame effect fire, double glazed bow window to front, radiator.
13' 4" x 11' 0" max (4.06m x 3.35m) Patio door to rear garden, glazed double doors to lounge.
14' 9" x 10' 0" max (4.50m x 3.05m) A range of base and wall mounted units with work surfaces over, one and a half bowl sink drainer with mixer tap over, integrated washing machine and dishwasher, built in double oven, space for fridge freezer, airing cupboard housing combi boiler, 5 burner gas stainless steel hob and matching hood, ceramic tiled flooring, double glazed door to garden. Double glazed window to front and side, radiator.
Access to loft, built in cupboard.
11' 7" max x 11' 4" (3.53m x 3.45m) Double built in cupboard, double glazed window to front, radiator.
11' 6" x 8' 9" (3.51m x 2.67m) Built in cupboard, double glazed window to front, radiator.
9' 5" x 7' 2" (2.87m x 2.18m) Double built in wardrobe, double glazed window to rear, radiator.
9' 4" x 7' 2" (2.84m x 2.18m) Double glazed window to rear. Radiator. Recently redecorated.
A white suite comprising panelled bath, vanity unit with wash hand basin, low level WC, double glazed window to rear, part tiled walls, radiator.
Window to side, power and light.
Double glazed door, workshop, radiator.
A substantial rear garden, mainly laid to lawn with lots of mature and established shrubs, bushes and plants, flower beds and borders, a patio to the rear of the house with pergola, side access.
Enter Lidlington via the A421 then onto the High Street. Take the 2nd turning on the left into Lombard Street and the property is on the right hand side.
LIDLINGTON - Is a small Central Bedfordshire village surrounded by farmland in the Marston Vale. The village has, a pub, a hairdresser and a general store, plus a nearby lake with sporting facilities. The village lies between the main A421 Bedford to Milton Keynes road and the A507 Ampthill to Woburn Road. Lidlington railway station is on the Marston Vale Line, which gives good access to Bedford and Bletchley mainline stations. There is also good access for walkers along the Greensand Ridge long distance footpath. Nearby facilities and attractions include Milton Keynes Centre 11.9miles away, Flitwick train station with links to London 4.2miles. Nearby golf clubs include Woburn 7.8miles, Aspley and Woburn Sands 5miles and Millbrook golf club 2.9miles. Bedford town centre is 9miles away and Woburn Forest Centre Parcs is just 3.6miles away.


IRVINE — It's hard to win a softball game without scoring any runs.
It's hard to score any runs without getting any hits.
Therein lied the dilemma for the Newport Harbor High softball team. The Sailors came into the prestigious Woodbridge Softball Classic at a bad time to be slumping.
They were "mercied" twice in pool-play games Saturday at Bill Barber Park. Newport Harbor fell to Pomona Catholic, 7-0, before losing to El Modena, 6-0. Both games were called after the sixth inning as Newport Harbor was losing by more than six runs.
But at least in the El Modena game, the Sailors were more competitive. They did not make an error and collected two hits, one each by junior Breanna Lopez and freshman Zoey Myers. Lopez singled with two outs in the seventh and stole second base. But then Hattie Marshall was robbed of an RBI single as her blooper was snagged by the El Modena shortstop, and the game ended.
It was that kind of day for the Sailors (10-5), who finished last in their four-team pool and will likely play a bronze bracket game at the tournament on Monday. The Sailors have been outscored, 39-0, in their last four games.
They are banged up. Myers, who normally plays catcher, played first base Saturday because of shoulder problems. Coach Russell Hartman said senior Sam Sanchez, who can also catch, is dealing with a bruised hand. Junior Hope Noakes, normally the first baseman, filled in admirably behind the plate.
The opener Saturday was against Pomona Catholic, a team that the Sailors had defeated, 3-1, in the Savanna tournament on March 24. This time, Pomona Catholic senior pitcher Amber Padilla fired a no-hitter. Junior Hanna Van Voorhis was the only Sailor to get on base, on a throwing error in the third inning.
"We're a little banged up, but that's not the problem," Newport Harbor Coach Russell Hartman said. "The problem is our hitting. We're not hitting the ball at all. We put absolutely no pressure on them whatsoever."
The Sailors only managed to hit a combined two for 35 in the two games, a .057 average. They have lost five straight since a 10-0 start, though, to be fair, they have played elite programs like Edison, Marina and El Modena in that time span.
"In the beginning, we were so used to winning," said Lopez, a team captain. "I think we just need to change our attitude. We're playing at practice speed right now, and we need to keep up with [our opponents]. We need to play game speed now. This is like the big leagues. We just need to pick it up. I'm sure we're going to get there, and we're going to be winning some games in league."
El Modena pitchers Maddy Neales and Jenna McCune combined for a two-hitter in the second pool-play game. Newport Harbor was down just 3-0 after five innings, but senior shortstop Alyson Kulp had a two-run home run in the sixth for the Vanguards (13-4).
Lopez and Van Voorhis, in left field and at second base respectively, made defensive plays to help keep the Sailors competitive. Sophomore right fielder Mariah Cruz also made a nice catch, snagging a foul ball.
A challenge for Hartman is to keep the Sailors' passion high as the level of competition increases.
"That's something we're working on right now," Hartman said. "I honestly don't think we've been doing a very good job of that, being able to stay up. I think something like that [game against El Modena] helps. To us, it was a good game. That's something that we can build on, and I think we're just looking for something to happen that we can build on."


text:
NORTH AMERICAN MONSOON EXPERIMENT
FIELD OPERATIONS PLAN
2. NAME Scientific Objectives
3. NAME Science Team
3.1 Functions and Responsibilities
3.2 Scientific Coordination
3.3 Coordination during Field Operations
4. Field Operations Center
4.1 Functional Organization and Staff
4.2 Operations Center Venues and Facilities
4.3 Logistics
5. Daily Planning Process: Daily Operations
5.1 Forecast Operations: Tucson, Az; Mexico City, Mexico
5.2 The Daily Operations Meeting
5.3 Daily Operations Summary
6. Ship Operations
6.1 SEMAR: Altair
6.2 CICESE: Francisco de Ulloa
7. Aircraft Operations
7.1 WP-3D
8.0 NAME Data Management
Land Sites
SPOL Radar
SMN Radars
Upper Air soundings
The North American Monsoon Experiment (NAME) attempts, during a rigorous four-month field phase, to provide a better understanding of and offer an improved simulation of:
-warm season convective processes in complex terrain;
-intraseasonal variability of the monsoon;
-response of warm season circulation and precipitation;
to slowly varying boundary conditions;
-monsoon evolution and variability.
NAME is indeed an internationally collaborative effort resulting in the identification of a coordinated process study that has as its goal to improve warm season precipitation forecasts over North America. As such, NAME has been endorsed by:
-WCRP / CLIVAR Variability of the American Monsoons;
-U.S. CLIVAR Scientific Steering Committee; and
-GEWEX Americas Prediction Project (GAPP).
The field phase of the experiment, which will take place during June, July, August and September, 2004 will encompass a rather broad geographic region of nortwestern Mexico and southwestern United States. During this four-month period where enhanced meteorological and oceanographic measurements will be made, there does exist the potential to identify nearly two dozen intensive observations periods (IOPs) of (say) 24-72 hour duration. These IOPs require certain pre-selected observation sites to increase their data collection activities.
2.0 NAME Scientific Objectives
The North American Monsoon experiment (NAME), defined as a multi-year research program, will study the sources and limits of predictability of warm season precipitation over the North American continent which has been divided into three distinct geographic tiers, see Figure 1.
In order to accomplish the stated tasks, the NAME Science Working Group has defined the following scientific objectives:
Improve characterization of warm season convective processes in complex terrain
(Tier 1);
Describe and improve simulation of mechanisms controlling intraseasonal
variability of the monsoon (Tier 2);
Define the response of the warm season circulation and precipitation to slowly
Varying boundary conditions (Tier 3); and
Improve simulation and prediction of the North American Monsoon System
and its variability.
To accomplish the stated scientific objectives, NAME has enhanced the observational capabilities of a rather large number of Mexican and U.S. upper air profiling sites and meteorological radars; has put in the field additional radars and profilers and is making use of the NOAA WP-3D research aircraft and two Mexican oceanographic ships. Figure 2 depicts the NAME enhanced observational network.
3.0 NAME SWG: Science Team
The NAME Science Working Group has the responsibility of ensuring that the NAME scientific objectives are met during the field phase of the experiment. The Science Team, led by the designated NAME Science Director, will be comprised of those SWG members and funded principal investigators participating in the field phase and/or their designated representatives. Those present in Tucson are expected to attend the daily operations meetings and actively participate in the discussions and operational deliberations.
The specific duties and responsibilities of the Science Director are:
*........
The NAME SWG/Science Team will be responsible for the overall guidance of the research activities of the experiment. The Team will identify and prioritize the specific missions during the field phase. The decisions of the Team will be binding to all participating investigators, the Operations Director and his staff.
Schedule of Science Director Rotation
Coordination for all operational field-phase aspects of NAME will be the responsibility of the NAME Operations Director and Deputy Director. The NAME Operations Director and Deputy Director will operate under the guidance of the NAME SWG and the NAME Science Director on duty in Tucson.
4.0 NAME Field Operations Center
The NAME Operations Center will be established in Room 488, Atmospheric Science Department, University of Arizona, Tucson. The NAME Operations Deputy Director will be located in Mazatlan, Mexico during the field phase of the experiment to coordinate and facilitate the activities of the aircraft and ship operations and monitor the activities of the land sites scattered throughout northwestern Mexico, including Baja California. The relevant function of the Operations Center is to define and implement the daily operations required by the experiment in accordance with the guidelines set forth by the NAME Science Working Group.
To accomplish the required tasks, the Operations Center in Tucson will conduct a daily meeting to review the current and extended weather forecasts, monitor all elements of the experiment, facilitate the coordination of the activities of the participants, determine appropriate utilization of the observing systems, support all experiment related data collection and communications, and maintain a near-real time data archive via the field catalog. Figures 3 and 4 depict the time-line activities relevant to operations.
The NAME Operations Director heads the NAME Operations Center and is responsible for the implementation of the operational activities as defined by the SWG. The functional organization is depicted in Figure 3. The functional responsibilities of the NAME Operations Director, and as appropriate the Deputy Director, are to:
*convene and chair the daily operations planning meeting;
*implement the directives of the on duty NAME Science Director;
*coordinate all communications necessary for the accomplishment of the NAME objectives;
*issue the daily operations report;
*maintain the status of the expendable resources
The Operations Deputy Director, in addition, will have the following responsibilities:
*maintain the status of all research systems, platforms (aircraft, ship), and land sites;
*monitor the usage of the operational sounding resources and provide daily status reports;
*provide liaison between the field catalog and the NAME science community.
Daily Planning Process: Daily Operations
The daily operations meeting (Tucson) will begin promptly at 1400 LT (2100 UTC) with an operational decision reached by 1600 LT (23 UTC). The Operations Director will chair the daily meeting.
Within the Extended Observations Period, (EOP), the NAME Science Implementation Plan dictates that approximately two dozen intensive observation periods (IOPs) be called to enhance the density of data required to satisfy the science objectives. Each IOP is expected to last 24 to 48 hours, although a duration of 48 to 72 hours may not be that uncommon if weather conditions persist. The IOPs, when called for implementation, require a heightened level of coordination among the participating sites, including ship and aircraft operations.
The NAME Forecast Operations Centers (NFOCs) have the responsibility for the preparation of the forecast, 24-48 hours, and the presentation of said forecast during the daily operations meeting. One center is located at the NWS site on the campus of the University of Arizona, the other forecast center is located at the Servicio Meteorologico Nacional (SMN) in Mexico City. Both centers will coordinate their daily schedules so that one unified forecast will be presented during the daily operations meeting. The forecast will be presented by the lead forecaster on duty or his/her designee and should last not more than half hour. The presentation should cover a review of the weather the previous 24-hr. period; near (0-36 hr.) and long term (36-72 hr) forecasts with specific emphasis on the NAME domain, especially for Tiers I and II, and extending to Tier III if especially relevant. Forecast updates will be issued only upon request by the on duty NAME Science Director and/or the NAME Operations Director.
5.2 Daily Operations Planning Meeting
On a daily basis, including weekends and holidays, the NAME Operations Center will conduct a meeting to assess meteorological conditions and decide on operations for the next 24 to 48 hours, and beyond if deemed prudent. The meeting is open to all NAME participants present in Tucson.
The agenda for the meeting will include:
1]. Status reports:
Site and platform reports (S-Pol, Profilers, soundings, aircraft, ship);
2]. Prior 24-hour operations summary; Science Director report; Operations Director
report;
3]. Expendables inventories;
4]. Forecast presentation: Near and Long-term forecasts;
5]. Forecast discussion and analysis;
6]. Proposed Operations: Science objectives;
7]. Operational decision (IOP, Soundings, Radar, Ship, Aircraft, Forecast updates(s));
8]. Task assignments; Communications
Immediately upon completion of the meeting, the Operations Director will prepare, on a daily basis, the NAME Operations Report and will submit same on the NAME Field Catalog. He will communicate with the Operations Deputy Director in Mazatlan regarding Aircraft, Ship and Site operations.
7 Aircraft Operations
The NAME project has 80 total hours of NOAA P-3 flight time (research plus ferry). The allocation of research hours by objective were outlined at the Tucson Operational meeting. The NOAA aircraft will be available for operations from July 5 to August 5, 2004. The base of operations is General Rafael Buelna International Airport, located south of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico- approximately 45 minutes drive time from the hotel.
Proposed flight tracks and objectives.
7.1 Aircraft Operational Guidelines
NAME will observe basic aircraft operating rules established over many meteorological field campaigns, including:
All flights must comply with current ICAO regulations.
Crew duty limits and rest periods must be observed.
Airport operating regulations pertain.
Certain flight tracks or patterns may be restricted by ATC.
The NOAA Aircraft Operations Center has well established procedures concerning operations of their facilities to ensure safety. The following operational constraints will be followed during NAME.
A maximum crew duty day of 16 hours will be observed. The crew duty day is defined as when an aircrew departs their hotel to begin mission preflight and ends when the last aircrew member return to his hotel or lodging at the conclusion of flight operations. Nominally, the pre-flight period is approximately 3 hours prior to scheduled take-off and post flight after blocking in takes ~1 hour. The drive time from the Mazatlan hotel to the airport is 45 minutes each way.
A minimum crew rest period of 12 hours from the end of the previous crew day before the start of the new crew duty cycle.
1 mandatory down day following 6 consecutive standby (i.e. alerts) or flight days.
Take off times are set at least 12 hours in advance if the anticipated flight operations are consistent with the diurnal cycle, i.e. daytime or nighttime flights. If the takeoff alert is being shifted from predominatly daytime to nighttime operations, or vice versa, at least 24 hours notification is required.
Following 3 consecutive maximum endurance missions (or 3 consecutive nighttime missions), the AOC project manager may authorize a mandatory down day.
The NAME SWG has made a strong commitment to provide timely and efficient access to all datasets generated during the field phase of the experiment. The NCAR Earth Observing Laboratory [NCAR/EOL] has been assigned the responsibility to coordinate the NAME data management activities. NAME investigators, and others, are encouraged to become familiar with the contents of the NAME Data Management Plan.
8.1 NAME Field Data Catalog
The field catalog is intended for use by the NAME investigators for planning purposes and operations review activities only. It will have simple plot capabilities for review of the operational and preliminary research datasets residing on the system. It can be accessed at http://www.eol.ucar.edu/projects/name


Now you can grow two family favourite apple varieties from one tree - space saving and easy to grow!
Cooking Apple Bramley and Eating Apple Braeburn have both been grafted on to the same tree!
This novelty and compact tree will reward you with pounds of cooking & eating apples for years to come.
As the tree already has a 'V' shape this tree could be trained along a wall or fence.
Supplied as a bare root, grower quality tree, grafted on a single rootstock with 2 apple varieties.
Apple Braeburn & Bramley Duo Tree - Now everyone can grow fruit trees in the minimum of space! These incredible duo fruit trees have been meticulously grafted by highly skilled nurserymen, to create 2 different trees growing on one rootstock! What's more, the rootstocks are dwarfing meaning that your trees will always remain compact! You will get 2 different varieties of fruit from 1 tree so are perfect for anyone who loves the idea of picking their own home-grown fresh fruit, but has limited space. Each of the varieties will produce bumper crops of delicious full sized fruit! Because they are already trained into a V shape, they are perfect for growing up a wall.
Braeburn Apple The UK's most popular eating apple variety by far and will easily grow and flourish superbly in your garden! The crisp and juicy white-fleshed fruits have what is considered by most to be the perfect sweet/tangy flavour balance, literally providing a flavour explosion with every mouthful! The gorgeous fruit will be ready to pick fresh from your tree by mid-October each season and will store well until the end of January if kept chilled but frost free. Crops: October.


text:
Alan Ainslie (born 1947) is a former Australian professional soccer player who played as a midfielder and forward for Berwick Rangers, Western Suburbs, Sydney Olympic and the Australia national soccer team.

International career
Ainslie played for Australia and played four international friendlies with one goal against Israel.

Career statistics

Club

International

References

External links
Alan Ainslie at Aussie Footballers

1947 births
Living people
Australian soccer players
Association football midfielders
Association football forwards
A
A
National Soccer League (Australia) players
Australia international soccer players

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Are you currently alarmed about the way to accomplish complicated college assignments? BuyEssay.net will provide you with the best solutions that help you score better grades.
BuyEssay.net can be described as a business organisation that offers top rated custom made thesis producing aid for all types of your current education difficulties. The company has worked in cooperation with high school students of many universities and colleges worldwide. The theses are of top quality, unplagiarized, delivered without delay, and at affordable prices.
The young team of skilled internet writers at BuyEssay.net really are Masters and Philosophy Doctor's degree recipients that will deliver you actually essay guidance as well as are eager to master all categories of unique and high-quality essay or dissertation. Over here are the comments that will aid anyone to buy writing piece on line with BuyEssay.net.
Academic tasks completion-it presupposes any kind of college copy, along with narration, argumentative written content, cause and effect, review and compare, etc. The experts may easily do any dissertations, descriptions, evaluations about the book bestseller or documentary.
Assignments: we will prepare reports, diverse writing work, research study, and course work, and many others.
As you see that Buyessay.net offers much more than simply freelance writing services, the fine details of the offerings are generally obtained out of the web page.
The price at BuyEssay.net normally can certainly depend on class year, paper category, volume of required pages, writing style, as well as due dates. It's possible to learn most suitable pricing out of the costs checklist as denoted in a tabular looking into three main details on the website. Potential clients can easily get writing pieces on-line and quite easily figure out the value they are having to pay for the order. And so, the process is clear and opened for the clientele that BuyEssay.net is not going to scam the potential buyers and is incredibly legitimate regarding charges.
The cost of their website's service happen to be relatively low as opposed to any other online businesses of the specialized niche. The charges expand due to the client's leaning year is higher like the purchaser making order for the high school lvl really ought to fork out as low as $11.40 together with the minimal urgency with the burning deadline needs to spend $34.90. Customer placing order at Philosophy Doctor level will need to cover $44.89, along with the maximal amount and short timeline of only a few hours.
1. A university level-from $14.80 to $ 36.89.
2. Undergrad level-from $17.15 to $38.92.
3. Bachelor level-$22.87 to $40.98.
The clientele should not be worried about virtually any undetectable service fees, because BuyEssay.net won't request this. You're going to be provided Totally free revisions in the course of fourteen days time right after realization of paper; Absolutely free title page, list of references, content material list, and acknowledgment; and then Cost-free tutorial Twenty-four Hours. The clientele is 100% sure to get a academic paper of a superior quality at lower cost price levels.
The potential clients will benefit from getting periodic wonderful price reduction all year long with BuyEssay.net. For anyone who is a loyal customer of our agency, then you really have numerous price cuts depending upon the total amount of the paper pages you order. You can receive price reduction ranging from a fewPer cent to tenPer cent and even fifteenPer-cent based on demanded volume of written pages. Consequently, should you buy additional written pages, you're going to get great discount rates. What's more, if you decide to bring a new-found client to BuyEssay.net, you are going to take pleasure in amazing price reduction options.
BuyEssay.net is an extremely simple to use and ease-of-use site to help you receive custom writing on the net. This customized articles service provides superior customer service, confidential work and trusted goods and services. Study the BuyEssay.net testimonials and critiques to make the most suitable final decision. Readily available 24hr and 365 days a year on free messages or calls and live chats to make sure it is more rapid and quite a bit easier to receive guidelines to pretty much all queries affiliated with making academic papers. They never leave any e-mail untreated or pending.
Our essayists found on BuyEssay.net are really well trained, savvy and they have special writing skills to offer customers instant, one hundredPer-cent authentic, and professional dissertation help.
To assist you to acquire more encouragement in paying for works online from BuyEssay.net browse the product reviews, past customer testimonials and visit the online site to examine various capabilities.


text:
Home Chevron icon It indicates an expandable section or menu, or sometimes previous / next navigation options. Beauty
Can GlamGlow's popular mud mask really visibly clear pores?
Celia Skvaril
The GlamGlow Super Mud Clearing Treatment claims to visibly clear pores.
Insider Producer Celia Skvaril decided to try it out and look at her pores under a microscope.
She spoke to Dr. Muneeb Shah about his thoughts on the mask and why he thinks it is best for people without sensitive skin.
Following is a transcript of the video.
Celia Skvaril: Today, I am trying the GlamGlow Supermud Clearing Treatment. It's been a cult favorite for years, because once it dries, you see all of these little black dots around your face, which are apparently your unclogged pores. Or are they? It's described as, "A clarifying mask with six exfoliating acids and activated charcoal to instantly and visibly clear pores and improve the complexion of normal, combination, and acne-prone skin."
Every single time I do this, I get scared. And every single time I am... I'm rightfully, rightfully scared, so. Hm. Oh, my God, what is that? You wanna watch a scary movie this year for Halloween? Here you go. It says to smear a thin layer on the face. So, I don't think tingling is the right word, but I also don't think burning is the right word, but it's definitely more burning than it is tingling. It's not bad, but it's not, like, amazing feeling. It's already starting to dry in some areas. There's no specific time limit, like, "Set your timer for 15 minutes" or something like that. It literally just says, "Wait until it's completely dry." June, come here. Look at her. Famous. Famous.
Roommate: OK. [laughs]
Celia: I think we are about as dry as we're gonna get. It's been about 25 minutes. I definitely have a lot of black dots. I have less than I expected on my cheek areas and more than I expected on my chin and my forehead. I feel like I actually have a lot there. Obviously I thought the nose was gonna be a gold mine, which it pretty much is. Oh, that really looks like a pore. These all look sort of like individual pores. It says just to wash it off with warm water, so let's head to the bathroom. My face is a little bit red, but it said that that might happen. To go over the results and see if this mask is actually doing what it says it's doing, I'm going to speak to dermatologist Dr. Shah to go over the microscope footage.
Muneeb Shah: It's been around for a while, right? Like, people have been using it, kinda loving it for a long time. So it's one of those things where I think people either love it or hate it. The reason why is 'cause it has really effective ingredients, but they're really strong and irritating ingredients. So I think a lot of people will get irritated from it, especially if you have sensitive skin. So, it's got this cocktail of exfoliating acids, like glycolic acid, I think it has lactic acid in it. Yeah, lactic acid, salicylic acid, mandelic acid. So, these are all amazing ingredients, but if you have sensitive skin, they're gonna be really strong, especially if you're using all of them together. But some people can tolerate it and they do really, really well with it.
Celia: You see all these little black dots show up all over your face. And I was always under the impression, like, "Oh, those are all my clogged pores coming out." And I feel like that's a really big pull to the product. Are those black dots actually your unclogged pores?
Shah: Probably not. It's probably somehow the material getting clumped up in it. You probably don't have that much stuff in your pores to start off with. And a lot of these things that have an immediate effect like that are just, like, the material clumping. But, you know, it has the clay in it that helps to kind of lift up impurities, or the activated charcoal that helps to lift up impurities. You can kind of see that yellow area there, pretty much, you know, oil, sebum that has built up in your pores over here. And sometimes those become oxidized, and they'll be like blackheads. Let's see the after. So, you can still see those things in the after, right?
Celia: Mm-hmm.
Shah: You see kind of all that sebaceous stuff in there. And you probably saw a lot of that stuff get lifted up. Is that right? Or what you thought, was it being lifted up?
Celia: It was, like, all over my nose, and then a lot on my forehead and my chin.
Shah: Always be skeptical of things that have that sort of effect. But I think that a lot of the ingredients in this are gonna be effective at minimizing the appearance of your pores. And so having that almost immediate appearance of an effect, where you see, like, "Oh, look, my pores look like they got cleared out by this thing," I think that encourages you to use it long term. And this is something that could potentially have a benefit long term. If you use this over probably three, four, five months, you probably would notice that those sebaceous plugs that you have here would minimize. But this is not gonna be after, like, one use type of thing. [laughing]
Roommate: Would you want me to hold her in the frame for you? Oh, God.
Celia: She's trying to eat the mask.


text:
Showing posts with label Tekno Books. Show all posts
Things I've Learned at Sleuth Sayers
I had two or three ideas tumbling around in my head for my column, however, nothing seemed to jell. I decided to peruse every one's column for this past week and "Wah-la." I decided that "transformative use" information from John M. Floyd made good sense.
As I've mentioned before, the first novel I wrote in 1980-81, was a private eye novel. Since I was a voracious reader of that genre, I noticed that no one was writing books or stories with a female P.I. At the time, I didn't know Marcia Muller had published her first Sharon McCone novel, Edwin of the Iron Shoes," in 1977. She's been called the "Mother of the female Private Eye." Marcia modestly smiles and says the second McCone book wasn't published until five years later. Sometime she admits perhaps she's the "Godmother."
To be quite accurate, Maxine O'Callaghan wrote a short story, "A Change of Clients," which debuted, Delilah West, P.I., published in AHMM in 1974. Delilah didn't make it to a book, Death Is Forever until 1980. Sara Paretsky's V.I. Warshawski appeared in Indemnity Only in January, 1982. Immediately following was Sue Grafton's Kinsey Millhone in "A is For Alibi," in April, 1982. So I honestly didn't steal or copy their ideas because I had began writing my book in 1980. It was just that the idea of a female P.I. was definitely in the air. A friend handed me the Grafton book sometime later in '82, saying I know you're writing a female P.I. and think you might enjoy this book. A month or so after that I saw the Muller book and bought and read it.
The other idea I had when starting my book was a transformative use taken directly from Robert B. Parker of having my P.I., Jenny Gordon, work with a tough, smart, beautiful, black woman, C.J. Gunn. I wanted to show the interaction of the two women being close friends. He had Spencer and a black male friend who was tough and often helped. My naming my character came from the idea of Mickey Spillane having his character named Mike Hammer. The Mickey and Mike were alliterative and I felt Jenny Gordon by Jan Grape might be memorable.
I published two short stories inspired by songs from singer/songwriters. The first was "Scarlett Fever," published in Deadly Allies inspired by a Kenny Rogers song. I didn't know him personally but knew all of his songs. The second story was "The Confession" inspired by Thomas Michael Riley, a local Hill Country songwriter and published in Murder Here, Murder There.
The only short story that inspired me was one by Bill Pronzini. I don't remember the title of it, but there was a hit and run accident in it. My story, "The Man In The Red Flannel Suit" was published in Santa Clues, and has a significant hit and run scene.
Fran's definition of cozyesque is fantastic. My friend, Susan Rogers Cooper, writes what she calls, "grisly cozies." They are tougher than cozy but not hard-boiled. A few years ago when I owned the bookstore we called books either soft-boiled, medium-boiled, or hard-boiled.
When I was trying to get my Austin policewoman book sold, Ed Gorman of Tekno Books was packaging books for Five Star. At that time, the editor there was buying cozy mysteries only. Ed asked if I had a book for them to look at. I said, not really. Only thing I have is my policewoman book. He said, "Well, can you cozy it up a little?" I said, "I don't know, but I'll try." That wasn't working too well. As we all know, a bunch of police officers and most bad guys use rough language. I was trying to take out the bad language and checking for how much sex I could gloss over. I was about half-way through when Ed called back. "Our editor has moved up and she's now open to any genre of mystery. Thank goodness, I had a copy that certainly wasn't cozy and sent it to him. They liked it and Austin City Blue found a home.
None of my three novels are the Great American Novel, Eve Fisher, but I didn't try to write one either. I just wrote books that I liked and that I hoped others would like.
As far as researching, Dale Andrews, for the policewoman series, I actually took 10 weeks of classes of Citizen's Police Academy training in 1991. It was a program set up to help neighborhood watch folks learn all about the different aspects of the Austin Police Department. The accepted me because they knew I was a published writer of short stories. We had department heads or second in command come by and talk about SWAT, Fraud and Bunko Squad, Robbery Homicide, Firearms, Fingerprints, Ballistics, Medical Examiners, etc.
One night we all used the laser light, video training program called FATS. You watched a video on a huge screen and you held a laser gun. The scene would play out on the screen and you had to decide whether to "shoot or not shoot." It made you understand how few seconds an officer has to make a decision and to do the right thing. I did okay but I did "shoot" a bad guy in the behind. He was beating up a cop, then suddenly jumped up and ran away. My brain said to shoot and by the time I made the decision he had jumped up and turned to leave. We also did a "ride along" for a full shift with an officer in a squad car. That was fascinating and you soon realized every call could be a potential bad one. Dispatch said, "Check out a suspicious vehicle." At such and such address. We got there and it was a Winnebago vehicle, all dark. The officer didn't know if someone was inside or was gone. He wouldn't let me get out of the car. Turned out it was vacant.
For interesting searches nowadays I sometimes do online on my telephone, is for song lyrics. Not for
writing but for friends and for fun.
This concludes my article, and Leigh, you'll have to check this for commas. I'm sure I have too many. But I think I did okay with quote marks and such.
Labels: Callaghan, comma, cosy, cozyesque, Gorman, Grafton, Muller, P.I., Paretsky, Tekno Books, transformative use, writers
Short Stories or Novels?
Sometimes people ask me why it took so long for me to write a novel? I was writing and selling short stories. Well, the honest answer is, I was writing novels they just weren't selling. I wrote two or three novels that didn't sell. One came really close about three times to being published but the editor left or the publishing house went out of business or the novel buyer at the publishing house who was supposed to recommend my book got sick and died. Yep, that all happened. All with one novel. I think it's called being snake bit.
But in stead of giving up, I kept plodding along and because I was selling short stories, I found a editor who liked my work. That person was Ed Gorman and at that time he and the late Marty Greenberg were selling anthologies right and left and actually both of them liked my short stories, interviews, articles, reviews, etc. I was writing a regular column for Mystery Scene magazine.
In 1998 one of my short stories, "A Front Row Seat," published in the Vengeance is Hers anthology edited by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins was nominated and won the Anthony Award for Best Short Story.
A project came along that Ed and Marty had working. It was to be a coffee table style book about women mystery writers. There were to be interviews, articles and articles, by, about, and written by women mystery authors. They asked me to co-edit with Ellen Nehr and the book was titled Deadly Women. Unfortunately, Ellen got sick and passed away when we were about half-way into the project. Dean James took over in Ellen's slot and we continued the project. We were fortunate enough to be nominated for an Edgar for Best-Non Fiction and at Bouchercon we won a mccavity Award.
About then is when Ed and Marty formed a company, Tekno, and began working out a package deal with Five Star Mysteries. They would find the book for Five Star to buy, and once Five Star editor read and liked the book, Tekno would get the contract and get it signed, get the book copy-edited, get a cover, the blurbs, jacket copy,and whatever else was needed to get the book ready to be published.
Eventually, I had a chance to send my book, Austin City Blue, featuring my Austin policewoman, Zoe Barrow to Mr. Gorman and he recommended to Five Star they buy it. Five Star liked it and as they say, the rest is history. Soon I also had a contract for Five Star to publish a collection of my short stories, Found Dead In Texas. And soon after a contract for the second novel, Dark Blue Death, in my Zoe Barrow series.
In the meantime, I kept writing short stories and getting those published. Yet shortly after my husband passed away, and I began having health problems. I had a really rough four years. I had one novel I had written earlier which had never been published, I dusted it off, did some rewrite and in 2010 Five Star published, What Doesn't Kill You, a non-series or stand alone as some people call them. I certainly didn't do much other writing. My creative muse was trying to reassert itself I guess.
About four years ago, the American Crime Writers League, of which I was President, decided we needed to help get our name out a bit more and also wanted to earn a little money to go into our treasury. We came up with the idea of an anthology of original stories, all written by our ACWL members. I volunteered to co-edit and my co-editor was R. Barri Flowers. Barri was the one who had suggested the anthology. His agent sold the project to Twilight Times and our title was ACWL Presents: Murder Past, Murder Present. It was published in 2009. I wrote a short story for it, titled, "The Crimes of Miss Abigail Armstrong."
In May of this year, ACWLs second anthology, Murder Here, Murder There was published by Twilight Times. Again the anthology was co-edited by R. Barri Flowers and myself. My short story this time was, "The Confession." The story featured my long-time female Private-Eye characters from several short stories, Jenny Gordon and C.J. Gunn. It was a lot of fun to visit with the PIs from G & G Investigations once again.
So most of my writing career has been both short stories and novels. In some ways I like short stories better because you can usually write one in a very short time. I've had ideas and written a story in a day and the longest only took about a week. However, because you do only have a short frame work to write in you have to be more precise, more determined to have characters who seem real and you have to be ready to work and rework until the story is finally finished. It helps to have a great or even a twisted, you never saw that coming ending.
With a novel you have more room to develop your plot and sub-plots as well as develop your characters. There are many more characters and more scenes and it definitely takes much more time to write a novel. It takes me a year or so. But it's so satisfying when you get that book complete and polished and you send it out. There are more chances to make better money (at least that's what I've heard.) More chances for people to believe you are a "real" writer if you have a novel published.
I actually enjoy doing both and since my writing career first began with short stories I love doing them. But I also love that feeling you get when you go into a book store and see your novel on the shelf. Your own...the book your wrote.
I guess it's all how you feel about it. I remember an author telling me years ago, that he didn't write short stories because he only had one idea a year and didn't want to waste that idea. He felt he needed to spend his time on a novel. I can understand but I'd hate to give up either one.
How do you feel? Writers? Bloggers?
Labels: Anthony, award, Ed Gorman, Edgar, Grape, Marty Greenberg, mccavity, mystery, novels, R Barri Flowers, stories, Tekno Books, Twilight Times, writing
Copyedited by Tekno Books
Last month, I got an e-mail from Larry. Larry was writing to give me Tekno Book's copyedit of my story, "The Delivery," which will be published in MWA's 2013 anthology, The Mystery Box. Attached to his e-mail was a file containing five documents:
1) My story, naturally, with their edits, naturally
2) My bio, with their edits
3) The "front matter" consisting of the story copyright and the Table of Contents
4) A nine page pdf document with step-by-step instructions on how authors should use various forms of Word Track Changes to reply to the copy editor's editing
5) The Style Sheet
I poured a morning cup of coffee and hunked down for a long sit.
First, I read the step-by-step instructions all the way through. This should be a no-brainer for most of you, however some men have an inherent reflex to think they already know how to assemble a project or complete a task without messing with instructions. And yes, I have sometimes had a few extra pieces left over at the end of a project and then had to backtrack to find out where they should have gone the first time. Let's just say I'm learning. This time, as it turns out, I really did know how to do this part.
Next, I read the Style Sheet. This was a new one on me, having never seen one of these animals before. The first section was alphabetized for various words cropping up within the entire book. Words which the copyeditor thought needed to be determined in advance as to which way was the preferred spelling and/or usage according to certain references on the correct writing style. Webster's and The Chicago Manual of Style were references I was at least aware of, but I had never heard of Words Into Type. The rest of this document addressed each individual story and listed words within that story which the copyeditor had evidently researched for correct spelling and/or usage. Fascinating. I didn't truly appreciate this Style Sheet until after reading over the three other documents and seeing how it was applied.
Figuring the "front matter" would be an easy one, I tackled it next. Twenty seconds and there was nothing more for me to do here. No changes.
Okay, time to read the bio. Hey, I've been writing these short blurbs for years and nobody's ever said anything about them so what problems could there possibly be? Whoa! Turns out I capitalized some words I shouldn't have, and whereas it's long been decided there is no longer an 's after Hichcock in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine, there is still some discussion as to an 's after Queen in Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine. These Teckno Book people as serious about getting everything right. Good for them, but now I can't help wondering how they even let me in.
Only document left to read is my copyedited story. Best get a second cup of coffee just in case the document is bleeding red ink. Turns out later, I'm gonna have coffee left over in the cup when I'm finished. Not that I'm good, mind you, but most of their copyedits are for words I didn't hyphenate when they evidently should have been. I know, I'm an anachronism and the world has changed during the last unpteen years, yet I sure don't remember so many hyphens being used for those words in the distant past. Rob's been trying to enlighten me, but that's part of my long learning process before it takes. (You'll probably find some words in this article which should have been hyphenated.)
It merely took a cup-and-a-half of coffee (I assume those three hyphens belong there) before my copyediting was finished. I only had to make two edit changes on my own, but learned some new stuff from them guys. Hope it sticks. I still like the English spelling of grey instead of gray.
Bottom line: Those Tekno Book people sure make it easy to work with them on copyedit matter. I may have to try this MWA anthology thing again next year.
Labels: copyedit, R.T. Lawton, Tekno Books