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Favorite Films, 2015
Favorite Films 2015, movies of the year No comments
An international film star looking for inspiration, a young girl whose village is ravaged by AIDS, a 40-year-old ox living out his last days in the Korean countryside--these are just a few of the characters I found memorable in movies I saw this year. I'm happy to share with you my favorite films of the past twelve months. As always, the list can include movies from any year. Although my top ten are mostly non-2015 releases, I did watch many reasonably good movies released this year (Sicario, Mad Max, Room, Brooklyn, The Martian, The Big Short, etc., etc.). All worth a view but missing that special subjective something that would land them on my list. Probably my favorite end-of-year watch was Spotlight, which was entertaining throughout with some great performances. My most-anticipated for December was Youth, and so probably, the most disappointing although it had many good points. And I retain high hopes for 45 Years and Anomalisa, both of which haven't made it down to our neck of the woods yet. But here are the films I did watch, and love, in 2015:
Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)
The tragic love story of Elise and Didier, one of the best I've ever seen. Also, great bluegrass music throughout.
A Simple Life (2011)
When a family's faithful servant of sixty years falls ill, a bachelor son decides to take care of her. A poignant drama about relationships and responsibility, and the bonds between all of us.
The intriguing and ultimately, tragic story of Amy Winehouse. An intimate, unapologetic look at a remarkable talent.
Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)
The mind-twisty story of an aging actress who sees herself in a current role. A clever play on art in life starring Juliette Binoche, whom I could probably watch eat cheese.
Seraphine (2008)
The incredible story of the French painter, Séraphine de Senlis, and a film in one of my favorite genres: tortured, misunderstood artist.
Life, Above All (2010)
12-year-old Chanda fights to keep her family intact after the death of her baby sister. Set in modern South Africa, this film is an intense and unforgettable experience.
About Elly (2009)
An award-winning film from Iran that finally got its US release this year. A thriller about a missing kindergarten teacher that I watched from the edge of my seat. Literally.
This provocative drama about man's evolving relationship with technology succeeds in many ways Her didn't. It took a silly turn at the end, but I didn't care.
Old Partner (2008)
A story about an elderly farmer and his wife, and the ox that's been in their family for 40 years. Contemplative and unforgettable.
Spy (2015)
The most I laughed in a theater this year, and that has to count for something. In the right hands, Melissa McCarthy is hysterical; she is here.
As always, I'd love to hear your movie recommendation and comments! What were your favorites?
Favorite Reads, 2015
2015, Favorite Reads 1 comment
I really enjoy the process of looking over the past year's reads, especially when I have the chance to pass on something that perhaps evaded your radar. In 2015, I read a total of seventy books, which is a high number for me; for many months, I was avoiding writing the novel I finally began in November. Or maybe because it was such a good year of reading, I just couldn't stop myself. I have 17 favorite reads to share with you: 10 novels, 6 short story collections and 1 book of essays. Short stories continue to play an important role in my regular reading and interestingly enough, three of the novels on my list straddle that genre line between novel and short story. As always, my list includes books released in any year, because it's all about me here on my blog. Here they are:
The novels:
We the Animals (2011) by Justin Torres
A searing, immediate portrayal of a family, through the eyes of three brothers. In stark, honest prose, it's a coming-of-age story, a psychological inquiry and the best type of reading: a fully immersive experience that leaves your senses reeling. People always say this but truly, it's a book you'll have a hard time putting down.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) by Shirley Jackson
The suspenseful tale of the Blackwood family, as told by one of the remaining survivors, 18-year-old Mary Katherine "Merricat." An unreliable narrator in the best sense, Merricat lives in the family's large, creepy house with her sister, who hasn't left the grounds for six years, and her uncle, whose mind and health are failing. An amazing tale that should be required reading for anyone who fancies writing a novel.
See How Small (2015) by Scott Blackwood
One of the books that straddles the line between short story and novel (in fact, I mistakenly included this book in my mid-year round-up of short stories). The chapters in Blackwood's novels read like independent stories. Inspired by a true crime—the rape and murder of four teenagers—the novel explores the reverberations in a fictional small town. With a cast of damaged characters trying to keep going, and an innovative form that feels like a fresh start.
The Bridge of San Luis Rey (1927) by Thornton Wilder
I can't believe I hadn't read this classic before (or maybe I had?). Another story of people linked by a tragedy; several interrelated people perish when a rope bridge collapses in Peru. A friar who saw the accident makes inquiries about each victim, trying to make sense of the random event. Amazing this was written so long ago; it felt modern in every way. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize, deservedly so. A truly great book.
The Night Guest (2014) by Fiona McFarlane
A novel I chose randomly in a local independent store, primarily because of its striking cover. A hypnotic story about a lonely woman, Ruth, who lives in an isolated beach house and decides to let in danger either knowingly or unknowingly, in the form of a brusque government worker, Frida. This absorbing story reads like a mystery, and it is one, but it's also a heart-wrenching exploration of so much more.
The Unraveling of Mercy Louis (2015) by Keija Parssinen
Another psychological suspense tale, this one is set in a southeast Texas refinery town, where the teen girls are falling victim to a mysterious illness and the town begins to implode. The originality of the story and prose stayed with me long after reading; a modern gothic I reviewed in detail for LitChat here.
A Tale for the Time Being (2013) by Ruth Ozeki
This story goes back and forth between the perspectives of Nao, a suicidal sixteen-year-old in Tokyo, and Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a Hello Kitty lunchbox put to sea by Nao. As she works her way through the lunchbox's contents, Ruth learns about the girl and her life. A story about big ideas—history, quantum physics, and fitting in—and the path we all trod towards home. I loved this inventive novel.
Our Souls at Night (2015) BY Kent Haruf
A short tale about two elderly neighbors falling in love, written as he was dying by my favorite author, Kent Haruf. A beautiful novel, perhaps not perfect but because of who wrote it, heads above most anything else you can pick up this year or any year.
The Snow Child (2012) by Eowyn Ivey
Set in the harsh landscape of Alaska in the 1920s, the story follows the lives of two homesteaders. This childless couple build a snow child and the next day, it's gone but they spot a young girl in the forest. This magical tale follows the relationship between these three and is touching and resonates like a folktale. A truly enchanting read.
Did You Ever Have a Family (2015) by Bill Clegg
Well, this is my third favorite read that is about a tragic event and the aftermath amongst a group of people. Clegg's tale is part short-stories, part novel; each chapter tells about a character and his/her connection to a house fire that killed four people the day before a wedding. Beautiful writing, and the construction and pace of the novel is exquisite. Seeped with regret and the ache of loss, with a tiny spark underneath. Also reviewed for LitChat here.
The short stories:
Praying Drunk (2014) by Kyle Minor
Literally the first book I read in 2015, and a tough act to follow. Minor's lonely characters struggle for footing in a sometimes dark, always visceral world. These interconnected stories are unique in form and build one from the next, like a series of calculated punches.
The News from Spain (2012) by Joan Wickersham
Seven love stories that all relate to the phrase "the news from Spain." The stories vary greatly in theme and execution, and it was entertaining to see how the title would play out in each piece. Wickersham has much to say about human folly and faith, and the role each plays in the game of love.
The Secret Lives of People in Love (2010) by Simon Van Booy
The eighteen very short stories in this collection are like bright, smooth stones in a pond. Each creates a moment (or moments) you can imagine into a full life; each story seems to hold enough potential for a novel. That Van Booy can say and imply so much so concisely is awe-inspiring.
Collected Stories (1998 edition) by Carson McCullers
It's Carson McCullers, readers. If you haven't, you should. I had read several of the pieces included here before, but many were new to me. All were spectacularly McCullers. I wrote about this collection by one of my favorite authors here.
Stay Up With Me (2014) by Tom Barbash
An assortment of lonely folks, living under a perpetually gray sky. Yet like so many situations reeking of tragedy, we can't look away. Barbash's characters flounder a bit in what we might call "first world problems," but empathy and the appeal of his wonderful prose will make you want to persevere and stay up with them anyway.
Someone to Watch Over Me (1999) by Richard Bausch
The first story in this collection, "Not Quite Final," knocked me off my feet. Really, I think it's one of the best stories I've ever read. The rest are outstanding too. Bausch is a writer who evokes the complexities of relationships through the light touch of simple prose; within his masterful sentences, true life pulses. My first reading of this wonderful writer, another one who might go some distance in filling the Haruf-sized hole in my heart.
The Empathy Exams (2014) by Leslie Jamison
A critical examination of our connection with others: How deep are they? Can true understanding exist? Each essay succeeds on its own terms. Sewing together bit of philosophy, memoir, science, history and cultural examination into a study that will make you think deeply and more critically about your interactions and place in the world. And Jamison has the prose chops of a novelist, making this a read that will please fine fiction connoisseurs. A stimulating and important book, especially in these times.
My NaNoWriMo Results: Deadlines, Diversions and Determination
#amwriting, distractions, nanowrimo, writing No comments
Somebody needs to tell the NaNoWriMo organizers that Thanksgiving week is in November. Do they know that? Children are home from school and food must be cooked and/or ordered, eaten, packed up, unpacked and eaten again. There's unavoidable socializing and the naps caused by it, afterwards, the inevitable food coma and/or trudging through the local mall. These last two do not go well together, I can tell you.
The thing is, I started off very strongly. I posted about my first week here, and I was shamelessly proud of myself. After months (years!) of thinking about a certain novel, I was finally out of the gate. The first chapters spilled out almost effortlessly. I couldn't believe how easy it was to get 1500-2000 (or more!) words down each day. It was almost embarrassing, like when you procrastinate something like shaving your legs and then afterwards, can't believe how long you let it go. I had missed the process of writing every day, the single-mindedness of it, the intensity. I cruised right through the second week. I had a hard time reading fiction during this time. By the end of the day, I couldn't focus on anything beyond silly television shows or non-fiction magazine reading so I gave up. The third week was tougher still. I was now into the second part of a planned three parts, new terrain that I had outlined but hadn't deeply contemplated. I kept writing, day after day, but it felt less inspired. And then I had a previously-planned three-day trip with a girlfriend to eat, shop and hit the spa. I was not unhappy to go. After that, Thanksgiving week bore down. I haven't written since November 19th.
What I've learned: there is a definite benefit to immersing yourself in that single-mindedness. Elements of your writing cross-reference themselves nicely, effortlessly. The growing word count is ego-enhancing. But the experience is all-consuming, at least for me, and I'm not sure I could have kept it up. Perhaps without the real life distractions, I would have, or maybe I'm the type of writer who would've needed to come up for air. For certain, it became easier, day after day, NOT to write.
The good news: I wrote over 33,000 words in basically, eighteen days. This week, I've been reading through what I have so far and it's not entirely terrible. So that's good news too. I think the best part of the experience for me this year is the relief of finally beginning the story, for better or worse. And I'm not giving up. I've set a new deadline for mid-January, by which time I hope to have the first draft done, or at least, about 60%. There are the holidays to think about, after all.
NaNoWriMo First Week: Observations
Lots of writers are participating in the National Novel Writing Month this November (NaNoWriMo for short). It's the second time I've done it; the first was in 2013, when I was finishing another novel that had been progressing, off and on, for ten years. This time, I'm working on a novel that's only been bouncing around in my mind for a few years; only recently, I started to work on an outline. An outline that I didn't finish because I just wasn't sure where that last 1/3 would go. But it was a good start, and so I figured that for once, I could just dive right in, using the chapter outline as a guide.
I began on Monday, November 2 because really, I can't get anything done on the weekends. For four days, I plugged right along. That opening scene was one I had contemplated for a long time, so it spilled right out once I sat down. I finished working on Thursday the 5th with 8725 words, averaging over 2000 a day, more than what the NaNoWriMo website recommends for a target total of 50K at the end of the month.
Things I noticed during those first four days:
1) Writing is fun. I really missed being immersed in a world of my own making. It felt like the beginning of something (which it was, of course), but similar to when you open the first page of someone else's book and it really feels like it could go almost anywhere. It's exciting.
2) It was relatively easy to fit in the necessary writing time, even with the interruptions of everyday life. Really, the actual writing of this amount a day would probably only take 3-4 hours but then, of course, you have distractions like research and re-reading earlier chapters. I watched a twenty minute video about the glass-making process one day, for example.
3) The NaNoWriMo framework is great, because it makes you feel that you're reporting to someone—the website where you keep your stats, your writing buddies, etc.
And then Friday happened. I actually had a clear schedule that day. I had factored in a morning run but still figured I'd have no problem getting in at least 1600 or so words. I could probably even get to those errands in the afternoon, I thought. But then I looked at the outline. The next section was a very pivotal one. It would reveal a big discovery but also had to convey something fundamental about the main character. And it was Friday. And I was distracted. And I didn't know how I wanted to go about the section yet; I needed time to think about it. Mostly, I didn't feel like writing.
True hardcore NaNoWriMos may have gone to a less-demanding section, perhaps, or worked on character sketches or some such thing. Mostly, I took the day off. I wrote about 500 uninspired words. Then, I took the weekend off too. I saw a movie, watched my kids' games, drove to LA for a dance show. At first, I felt some pressure, a little guilt. But I had three days to think about that pivotal chapter and now I'm ready to dive back in. I know how to approach it now.
The important thing about NaNoWriMo, I would say, is to increase your numbers, whatever they are. To think about your writing routine and how it can be improved. You have to stay true to your own process too, though. It's quite possible I may still make that goal, if I work some overtime or really get on a roll. Maybe I won't. One thing is for sure, though. I'll have much more of this story committed to page than before November 1st came around. And that feels like a big relief, and an affirmation too.
The Thing About Carson McCullers
carson McCullers, characterization, characters, influences, short stories No comments
So I've been thinking about Carson McCullers, as I do from time to time. I'd be interested to take a poll of writers working in the United States today, and ask if they'd been influenced by the work of this insightful author. I've written about her before in this space, here, about The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, her novel that I'd place in my top five favorite books. But I want to tell you about her stories. Recently, I read this collection and while some stories struck familiar chords, most were entirely new to me. I picked up the book mostly because I'd been wanting to re-read "The Member of the Wedding," which is included in this edition along with "The Ballad of the Sad Café." And there are nineteen of McCullers's shorter stories, each a vivid, encompassing world, each worth your reading time.
Critics talk about the themes of McCullers's work and certainly, you'll find tropes if you read straight through her work. Wounded adolescence, lonely relationships, longing, thwarted dreams, etc. If you read her in school, you heard much about her portrayal of the American South, about McCullers as a agent of the grotesque and southern Gothic. Certainly, all of these things give her writing the distinct flavor that remains long after putting down the pages. But I've been thinking a lot about her writing and it seems to me that what really defines her work (and, actually, any great work of fiction) is her gift with writing characters.
We meet people a variety of ways, don't we? Sometimes we come upon a new person, entirely unexpected, say, at a party. We are thrown together, perhaps at the appetizer table, and our impressions of this new human are precisely that—what we take in with our senses from the moment we gain proximity. Appearance, gestures, the sound of their voice. The things they communicate, with words and otherwise. Then we filter their declarations through our own judgment.
Sometimes we are given a bit of an introduction from someone else. You'll love her, your friend tells you. She's so funny and generous, a real character. And so you have a bit of a head start, as far as impressions go, because now you're prejudiced, one way or the other, by what your friend has said. You come to the meeting armed with some preconceptions, not only because of what your friend has told you, but because of all the interactions of your life up to that point. Prior relationships, situations that were similar, people you may have known in the past who come to mind when you meet this new someone. And the interesting thing about meeting, and knowing people, is that sometimes our preconceptions are right and very often, they turn out to be wrong or incomplete. Most importantly, if we're lucky (and/or skilled at doing so), we'll experience some empathy in each interaction with another person.
A truly great writer will give the reader the space to experience a character on their own terms, much like when you meet someone in person. The reading experience should mimic life in this way. In each of the stories in this collection, the thing that pulls you in and keeps you engaged, the overwhelming strength of each piece, is the feeling that you are reading about real people, people who can frustrate and surprise our expectations, or go ahead and do what we knew they'd do all along.
Usually, the beginning of a McCullers story is very straightforward, such as this opening to "The Jockey":
"The jockey came to the doorway of the dining room, then after a moment stepped to one side and stood motionless, with his back to the wall."
Right away, expertly and simplistically, we are drawn in. Who is the jockey? Why a jockey? Why does he hesitate?
Occasionally, McCullers will open with some description, but almost always it is simple and evocative of something larger, as in this first sentence of "Art and Mr. Mahoney":
"He was a large man, a contractor, and he was the husband of the small, sharp Mrs. Mahoney who was so active in club and cultural affairs."
Doesn't your mind begin to work with that short description? Already we can picture the practical, lumbering husband, the vocal, well-dressed wife. Some sort of conflict is certain to follow.
"The Haunted Boy" starts with a very simple opening:
"Hugh looked for his mother at the corner, but she was not in the yard."
A seemingly innocuous start, and yet the story builds from this simple premise—a boy missing his mother—and we follow this character as he becomes more and more anxious, and the reasons for his fear are slowly revealed. In hindsight, this simple first sentence sets the scene for the entire piece.
And for a final example that many of us can relate to, the start of her story "Who Has Seen the Wind?":
"All afternoon Ken Harris had been sitting before a blank page of the typewriter."
Although we may make assumptions about this pitiable character based on what we know about blocked writers, the story holds many surprises.
And what to say about "The Member of the Wedding," the story that may have some of the most memorable characters of all time? The obsequious youngster John Henry West, the prophetic housekeeper Berenice, and of course, the most unlovable character that I've ever fiercely loved, twelve-year-old Frankie. Anyone wanting to know anything about how to write characters should start with this story. And like all of McCullers's characters, these folks will reward and frustrate you in equal measure. As people do.
I imagine that writers far and wide will continue to be influenced by the work of Carson McCullers. I have returned to her work, time and again, for many years, and always find something new, some inspiration. Which is about all you can ask of a writer, I'd say.
My Love/Hate Relationship with Writing Guides Continues
Into the Woods, John Yorke, writing, writing craft, writing guides No comments
How are you with museums? Avoid them? Love them? I happen to love the idea of museums very much, and I do enjoy going to them and wish I went more often. But I have a definite time limit where they're concerned. Maybe an hour-and-half to two hours, that's it. I go in with all receptors primed but by the end of that time frame, I usually hit a wall, when I can't see/read/hear any more. Just can't take it in. Sensory overload, I guess. I have a similar threshold where socializing is concerned, but that's beside the point.
I was an English major in college, which means that I read and wrote about fiction. As opposed to a creative writing degree, which seems to have its own benefits. I learned to write by reading. From time to time, I do like to pick up a book about writing, in the interests of gathering information. I'd like to think I'll remain open to learning, no matter how curmudgeonly and resolute in my ways I become. This week, I read Into the Woods by John Yorke. I've no idea how this book came to be on my shelf; I'm assuming I read about it someplace. It's a writing guide aimed towards screenwriters and most of the references are film ones, but that was okay with me because a good amount of my personal references are film ones as well. The original subtitle of Yorke's book was A Five-Act Journey into Story, and I can only assume the publisher issued the alternate subtitle How Stories Work and Why We Tell Them after it became clear that a) the book was appealing to writers of things other than scripts and b) there is some division between the 3-act camp and 5-act camp, and no reason to alienate either one from buying the book.
So. I have to share that the cover, as you can see, couldn't be more awful. I mean, I get that we're in textbook mode here, but aside from the look of it, it also has a strangely plastic feel and the black ends up with scratches, marks and smears. It's the book equivalent of those black pants you never wear because they attract every piece of lint and hair in the room. My favorite Amazon review of the book, titled "A five act journey into utter tedium!" agrees with me on this point: "Oh, and the paperback has a horrible plain black cover that is faintly repellent to the touch." Very true.
If you're starting to think that the rambling nature of this review is an early indicator of my engagement style with writing guides, you'd be right. Now, what was I saying? Oh, yes, the actual text. I started out as I do in museums, totally engaged, neurons firing. I had a pen and was underlining things. Here are a few I like:
"What an archetypal story does is introduce you to a central character—the protagonist—and invite you to identify with them; effectively they become your avatar in the drama."
(I like that bit about the avatar.)
"Niceness tends to kill characters. Much more interesting are the rough edges, the darkness."
"Three-dimensional characters have both a want and a need, and they are not necessarily the same thing."
There were more, but you'll have to get the book. Yorke talks about early forms of story, and how the overall structure has generally stayed the same over centuries. There are refreshers on Aristotle and Campbell, which I liked. He differentiates between the three-act structure and the five-act structure (spoiler: they're sort of the same!), and gives examples along the way. I will say that some examples seemed more shoehorned into the structure than others; it started to seem like a diagram you could argue anything into. But I enjoyed the early sections, the more historical and theoretical parts.
The middle section of the book really gets down to details. The chapters had names like Exposition, Subtext, and Character Individuation. If I had been at a museum, this would have been when I started to think about lunch/dinner/nap. There were charts and figures.
By the last section, the charts became more complex and I was fully in skim mode. There were lengthy breakdowns of particular films, and long examples of dialogue. There are all sorts of people in the world, and I'm sure some would really enjoy the specifics given, the many, many pages of Notes at the end. But I was already out that museum door.
Was the book a loss? Definitely not! I took away some new knowledge, some reminders of things I've read before, and several things to think about. I still hope to keep learning new things about writing as I go along, and it's never a bad idea to break up your routine. I'll keep this book on my shelf and perhaps refer back to a few sections. After I finished, I had an overwhelming urge to pick up something written by one of my idols, and I can't help but think that in the end, it will be more inspirational. That's the way I learned to write, after all, and it would seem I can't really be retrained.
White Space
#amediting, editing, Theory of Ommission, writing 1 comment
Remember that Bob Seger classic, Against the Wind? It's all about youth and "living to run and running to live," existing in the moment, not worrying about paying or how much you owe, "breaking all of the rules that would bend." But then Mr. Seger has to grow up, doesn't he? He finds himself "further and further from his home," "searching for shelter" against that wind he used to love so much. And then, this pivotal verse:
Well those drifters days are past me now
I've got so much more to think about
Deadlines and commitments
What to leave in, what to leave out
and it occurs to me that this is just like writing and then, later, editing your work. Right? No worries when you're writing. Just get the thing out, everyone will tell you. Break rules, don't worry about it. Lose yourself in that heady wind of creativity.
Editing is a bit different, isn't it? It's your grown-up self, making some tough decisions. Maybe you have a deadline; maybe you've got commitments to yourself, your outline, your intentions. It's all about deciding what to leave in and especially, what to leave out.
It's been likened to sculpting, to whittling away until you have only the best bits left. Ernest Hemingway famously called this process "The Theory of Omission." He talked about an iceberg and the underwater, supporting parts that often should remain hidden.
In a recent New Yorker, John McPhee put it like this:
Be that as it might not be, Ernest Hemingway's Theory of Omission seems to me to be saying to writers, "Back off. Let the reader do the creating." To cause a reader to see in her mind's eye an entire autumnal landscape, for example, a writer needs to deliver only a few words and images—such as corn shocks, pheasants, and an early frost. The creative writer leaves white space between chapters or segments of chapters. The creative reader silently articulates the unwritten thought that is present in the white space. Let the reader have the experience. Leave judgment in the eye of the beholder. When you are deciding what to leave out, begin with the author. If you see yourself prancing around between subject and reader, get lost. Give elbow room to the creative reader. In other words, to the extent that this is all about you, leave that out.
You can read the rest of the essay here, and it's well worth your while.
It was a timely read for me, as I've been doing the grown-up work of editing lately. It's a puzzle of sorts, deciding how much to show and how much to keep close to the vest. From the other side, as a reader, I'm often annoyed when a writer tells too much, doesn't trust my ability to figure things out, doesn't allow me the pleasure of filling in certain blanks. That elbow room that McPhee talks about, the "white space." And that's, basically, what's on a page anyway, isn't it? Some sort of balance between black and white, and it's our job to make it a balance that feels right.
Editing: Time Travel, Telekinesis and Leaning
#amediting, characters, editing, writing 1 comment
I've been editing something this week. Not a close, line by line edit; I've already done that to this particular thing recently. This was the kind of edit where you try to step back and see it as a whole. Structurally, looking at construction and flow. But you still have to read it, right? For me, the way to do it is to read quickly, with maybe half your attention, not allowing yourself to get sucked into the celebration of a particular word, line or feeling. And at the end, start again at the beginning. Round and round. The effect is not unlike one of those fair rides. (Also, both will make you sick if you do it for too long.)
In this dizzying process, I've noticed a few things about my characters.
1. They have the ability to speed up time. The scene starts and they have, perhaps, opened a bottle of wine. A few sentences later, they're ready for a second glass. There was no talk of gulping or chugging and yet, inexplicably, they've finished. I think this happens because the writing of the scene takes so long it seems like they should be done. Either that, or writing makes you want to drink.
2. They can telekinetically move objects through space. One of my characters took her sweater off when she arrived at a house party, then had the sweater later, then somehow lost it again by the end of the night and the host had to retrieve it. Why she was so obsessed with that stupid sweater is another whole issue.
3. They say "Oh" a lot. And "well," and "all right" (although I still think it should be "alright"). Don't get me wrong—I think real people say these things in conversation all the time (also: "okay," "you know," and "literally,") but that doesn't mean anyone wants to see them in a book.
4. They lean a lot. This is usually when they're talking to someone. They lean on countertops and across tables to make a point. They lean against walls and cars, and sometimes, they lean into another person when they're feeling romantic. I started to wonder about all of this leaning, and whether I had a bunch of fatigued characters on my hands.
To be honest, I felt myself wanting to lean against something by the time I was finished. It's exhausting, trying to get these people in line. And now that I'm done, I feel like you do after that spinning ride at the fair—exhilarated, disoriented, and ready for a corn dog.
Author Don't Preach: Making Characters, Not Messages
characterization, making relatable characters, writing, writing craft 4 comments
As the mother of four teenagers, I can tell you that one thing they really enjoy is when you sit them down for a lecture on an abstract concept. Like responsibility. Or the importance of work ethic, or something like that. Boy, do they love to be taught things! You will find, when you start speaking, that a sort of calm comes over them; their eyes will never leave your face. It's truly a joy to watch the process of comprehension. Oh, and make sure you tell stories from your own life; they love that. Also, throw in platitudes and maxims whenever possible. Watch the lights go on. At the end, they may even thank you for sharing your decades of wisdom. Right?
Recently, I read a couple of books, well-received novels (no, I will not name them) that addressed some timely themes and had well-constructed plots, dramatic turns, wonderful historical and/or cultural information, very competent writing and even some moments of brilliance. And never for one moment did I believe that the characters were actual people. I was aware all along, for example, that this one was intended to show that, and this other one was a symbol for something else, and this last one would be bearer of a lesson for the others. Sometimes other alarms sounded: a manner of speaking that didn't seem to fit, an inconsistency, a flaw or action too exaggerated. Plot points came along when expected; each character marched along, doing what was required, not quite cardboard but certainly lacking spark and hovering just outside the sphere of believability.
Everything was there; each novel was a success in terms of craft, I suppose. Certainly, my opinions of these novels don't jibe with the general public's. But during my reading of each, I started to have very stubborn, adolescent-type feelings. I may have rolled my eyes a few times. I get it, I wanted to say to the authors. I get the point you're trying to make, the statements you're making about modern life, the lessons you're preaching, the feelings you want me to have. And although, as a writer, I could appreciate and respect the craft of these books, they could never be loved by me, the reader. Primarily because of the characters and the way they lacked life.
I don't know what that special something is, why some characters walk right out of books and into your heart and why others remain on the page. I do know that teenagers and readers alike don't always appreciate a lecture, but they will listen to a story about someone they can relate to, every time.
"I am less interested in setting, really, than a lot of writers. For me, the landscape is often interior, the place is the psyche." –Richard Bausch
For a master class on characterization, read anything by Richard Bausch but especially "Not Quite Over," a short story I re-read this week for inspiration. His characters are immediately vivid, achingly real. For real.
Readings: Shirley Jackson on Memory, Fans and Garlic
essays, Readings, Shirley Jackson, short stories, writing, writing life No comments
Earlier this month, Random House released a collection of previously unpublished work by Shirley Jackson. It's called Let Me Tell You: New Stories, Essays, and Other Writings and I eagerly anticipate the arrival of my copy any day now. Also this month, The New Yorker ran a three-part series, to whet your appetite for these new pieces by Jackson, and it's one of the best things I read this month. How could I not be affected, when she talks about her home life with four adolescents?
"My situation is peculiarly poignant. Not, perhaps, as sad as that of an orphan child condemned to sweep chimneys, but sadder than almost anything else. I am a writer who, due to a series of innocent and ignorant faults of judgment, finds herself with a family of four children and a husband, an eighteen-room house and no help, and two Great Danes and four cats, and—if he has survived this long—a hamster. There may also be a goldfish somewhere. Anyway, what this means is that I have at most a few hours a day to spend at the typewriter, and about sixteen—assuming that I indulge myself with a few hours of sleep—to spend wondering what to have for dinner tonight that we didn't have last night, and letting the dogs in and letting the dogs out, and trying to get the living room looking decent without actually cleaning it..."
And--
"Actually, if you're a writer, the only good thing about adolescent children is that they're so easily offended. You can drive one of them out of the room with any kind of simple word or phrase—such as "Why don't you pick up your room?"—and get a little peace to write in. They go storming upstairs and don't come down again until dinner, which usually gives me plenty of time in which to write a short story."
These excerpts are packed with practical writing advice too. The first relays the convoluted process we writers sometimes have; the third deals with symbol in fiction and speaks absolute truths about the short story form. Here are a few quotes:
"A writer is always writing, seeing everything through a thin mist of words, fitting swift little descriptions to everything he sees, always noticing..."
"Far and away the greatest menace to the writer—any writer, beginning or otherwise—is the reader. The reader is, after all, a kind of silent partner in this whole business of writing, and a work of fiction is surely incomplete if it is never read. The reader is, in fact, the writer's only unrelenting, genuine enemy."
"Here is one of the greatest pitfalls for beginning or inexperienced writers: Their stories are, far too often, just simply not very interesting."
"It seems to me that in our present great drive—fiction-wise—toward the spare, clean, direct kind of story, we are somehow leaving behind the most useful tools of the writer, the small devices that separate fiction from reporting, the work of the imagination from the everyday account."
So get a cup of something hot and clear some time for these three wonderful pieces:
Memory and Delusion
On Fans and Fan Mail
Garlic in Fiction
Colorshare, Times Three
Color, Inspirations, Resonant Blue No comments
I love color. It's the first thing I think about whenever we move to a new home (I wrote about that here), and I tend to think about colors in terms of moods, textures and smells, and to have strong feelings about them.
I was very inspired by this article, The Keeper: 39 Paints, in the latest New York magazine. It's all about color and has practical elements--advice about the proper paintbrushes, lighting, coordination, etc.--but the parts I really liked were the shiny streaks of color, with a designer's brief comments about what that shade does for him/her. These people with their thoughtful impressions about hues felt like kindred spirits. And each blurb seemed to have a complete story ensconced within. I was so inspired that I sat right down and wrote a new short piece, titled "Resonant Blue."
On the subject of blue, there's an exhibit running through January 2016 at the Norton Simon Museum in Pasadena: A Revolution of the Palette: The First Synthetic Blues and their Impact on French Artists. At the beginning of the 18th century, "Prussian blue" was accidentally discovered in an alchemist's laboratory, and this new pigment had an irrevocable effect on the artists painting in France and throughout the world. Who's with me for a visit to the Norton Simon?
Lastly, don't miss the blue moon tomorrow, Friday, July 31. Here's a scientific take on this fleeting phenomenon: Blue Moon, but you're free to hold tight to the more imaginative and artistic interpretations.
Wishing you a weekend full of color!
New Look, New Direction (sort of...)
blog, change, writing 2 comments
Change is natural. Change is good. Change is what happens when you're making other plans—is that it? When I was a kid, I used to rearrange my bedroom a lot. I liked the fresh perspective it gave me, a way of being a new you in the same place. So. You may have noticed this blog's new clean and stream-lined look. I started typing away in this space five years ago and I've really enjoyed it, not only as a way to join the dialogue about books and writing, but as a practice field for my skills, a place to work out thought processes and flesh out ideas. I've written book reviews, contemplations about the writing process and the publishing business, film reviews, short fiction, and lots of posts that can only be filed under the subheading: Other. And for the past year, I've been sharing a "Poem for the Weekend" each Friday, a practice which accomplished what I had hoped: it got me reading more poetry. A bonus: the exchanges I had with readers about poems they love. So although I'll be discontinuing the Poem for the Weekend feature, I remain open to hearing about poems you've found and I might still share one myself from time to time.
So what's the new direction, you ask? The thing is, I've got this novel to write. Anyone who's undertaken this foolish task will tell you it doesn't leave much creative juice for anything else. I will still be blogging (no fear!), but maybe my posts will be more brief, less fleshed out. And because I'll be deeply immersed in fiction, I anticipate that the offerings will lean towards topics involving inspiration and creativity and of course, the routine and practice of writing. I may share something I saw that galvanized me; I may point you to something I read regarding the nuts and bolts of the process. And I will always feel obligated to point you to an amazing novel or film. Often, I may just pop up for air and to say hello.
I'll still be writing an occasional book review or musing for the LitChat blog (as long as they'll have me), like this one about which readers YOU should be writing for: Writing in the Round.
Meanwhile, there are more changes afoot! Keep an eye on my author site, maryvenselwhite.com, in the coming months for more new stuff and possibly, some book news. And of course, I'll be hanging around Twitter and Facebook if you'd like to connect there. Thanks, as always, for staying with me.
Poem for the Weekend: Robert Creeley
Poem for the Weekend, Robert Creeley, The Rain No comments
I've been away on vacation and so, did not have a poem prepared for this week. I decided to Google one, maybe something about summer, but noticed that the first thing that popped up when I typed the single word, "poems" was "poems about rain." So although the weather is entirely southern-California perfect here today, I give you a poem about rain. Because apparently, it's the sort of weather that gets people thinking about poetry. If you're wondering what the second Google prompt was, it was "poems about love," another topic that figures into Robert Creeley's rain poem. You can read about the author here.
by Robert Creeley (1926-2005)
All night the sound had
come back again,
and again falls
this quiet, persistent rain.
What am I to myself
that must be remembered,
insisted upon
so often? Is it
that never the ease,
even the hardness,
of rain falling
will have for me
something other than this,
something not so insistent—
am I to be locked in this
final uneasiness.
Love, if you love me,
lie next to me.
Be for me, like rain,
the getting out
of the tiredness, the fatuousness, the semi-
lust of intentional indifference.
Be wet
with a decent happiness.
Poem for the Weekend: Kobayashi Issa
haiku, Kobayashi Issa, Poem for the Weekend No comments
Kobayashi Issa is one of Japan's most prolific poets; he left in his journals over twenty thousand "one-breath poems"—we know them as haiku. You can find a timeline of his life here, and at this site, you can search a database of ten thousand Issa haiku by entering a keyword, such as summer.
A haiku
by Kobayashi Issa (1763-1828)
from the treetop
gliding into midsummer...
bright moon
Mid-Year Short Story Collection Round-Up
Joan Wickersham, Kyle Minor, Praying Drunk, Scott Blackwood, See How Small, Short story collections, Simon Van Booy, Stay Up With Me, The News from Spain, The Secret Lives of People in Love, Tom Barbash No comments
Two years ago, I was working on a new writing project, something undertaken just for fun and which was rapidly turning into a story collection of sorts. And I realized that for some reason, I had stopped reading short stories. So I made a conscious effort to stop that. I pointed out some of my early favorites on that new, improved reading path here.
What a great decision it has been. Now, I can't imagine a reading diet lacking stories and I'm always on the lookout for something I may have missed in those years I was inexplicably remiss, or for something new on the publishing horizon.
Three story collections made my 2014 Favorite Reads list, and as I finished another collection today, it seemed to me that I've read many more good ones so far this year. And so I checked. Of the forty books I've read in the first half of 2015, eight were story collections (that's 20% for you math fanatics). I keep track of my reading on Goodreads (find me here), and I discovered that of the twelve books I've rated five stars this year, five are story collections. So yes, it's been a good year for me and my lucky choices. And here are those five stellar collections:
Praying Drunk by Kyle Minor (2014)
My first read of the year, this started 2015 off with a bang. Minor's lonely characters struggle for footing in a sometimes dark, always visceral world. These interconnected stories are unique in form and build one from the next, like a series of calculated punches.
The News from Spain: Seven Variations on a Love Story by Joan Wickersham (2012)
These seven love stories, however different in theme and execution, all relate in some way to the phrase "the news from Spain." Although it was entertaining to see how this would play out in each piece, this was no parlor trick. These stories are strong and touching, reveling in human folly and faith. "A love story,"one of Wickersham's characters explains, "can never be accurately reported, only imagined. It is all dreams and invention."
See How Small by Scott Blackwood (2015)
Blackwood's stories are told in different ways, through different perspectives, linked by the experience of a horrific event. Inspired by a true crime—the rape and murder of four teenagers—these stories explore the reverberations remaining in Blackwood's fictional town. It reminded me of Russell Banks's The Sweet Hereafter, but its innovative form is something new altogether.
Stay Up With Me by Tom Barbash (2013)
Another collection of lonely folks, living under what is perhaps a perpetually gray sky. Yet like so many situations that reek of tragedy, we can't look away. Barbash's characters flounder a bit in what we might call "first world problems" and yet, empathy and the appeal of his wonderful prose will make you want to persevere and stay up with them anyway.
The Secret Lives of People in Love by Simon Van Booy (2010)
The eighteen very short stories in Van Booy's collection are like bright, smooth stones in a pond. Vivid and immediate, each creates a moment (or moments) you can imagine into a full life; each story seems to hold enough potential for a novel. Touching and masterful writing.
My NaNoWriMo Results: Deadlines, Diversions and De...
My Love/Hate Relationship with Writing Guides Cont...
Author Don't Preach: Making Characters, Not Messag...
Readings: Shirley Jackson on Memory, Fans and Garl...


text:
32. ceremonia wręczenia Europejskich Nagród Filmowych odbyła się 7 grudnia 2019 roku w Berlinie. Nominacje do nagród zostały ogłoszone 9 listopada 2019.

Niekwestionowanym zwycięzcą tej edycji rozdania nagród został brytyjski film kostiumowy Faworyta w reżyserii Greka Yorgosa Lanthimosa. Obraz zdobył łącznie 9 nominacji i 8 statuetek. Po dwie nagrody otrzymał hiszpański Ból i blask Pedra Almodóvara i francuski Portret kobiety w ogniu Céline Sciammy.

Laureaci i nominowani

Nagrody przyznawane przez członków EFA

Najlepszy europejski film roku
  Faworyta, reż. Yorgos Lanthimos
  Ból i blask, reż. Pedro Almodóvar
  Błąd systemu, reż. Nora Fingscheidt
  Nędznicy, reż. Ladj Ly
  Oficer i szpieg, reż. Roman Polański
  Zdrajca, reż. Marco Bellocchio

Najlepszy europejski film komediowy
  Faworyta, reż. Yorgos Lanthimos
  Ditte i Louise, reż. Niclas Bendixen
  Tel Awiw w ogniu, reż. Sameh Zoabi

Najlepszy europejski reżyser
  Yorgos Lanthimos – Faworyta
  Pedro Almodóvar − Ból i blask
  Marco Bellocchio − Zdrajca
  Roman Polański − Oficer i szpieg
  Céline Sciamma – Portret kobiety w ogniu

Najlepszy europejski aktor
  Antonio Banderas – Ból i blask
  Jean Dujardin – Oficer i szpieg
  Pierfrancesco Favino – Zdrajca
  Lewan Gelbachiani – A potem tańczyliśmy
  Alexander Scheer – Gundermann
  Ingvar Eggert Sigurðsson – Biały, biały dzień

Najlepsza europejska aktorka
  Olivia Colman – Faworyta
  Trine Dyrholm – Królowa kier
  Adèle Haenel – Portret kobiety w ogniu
  Noémie Merlant – Portret kobiety w ogniu
  Wiktoria Miroszniczenko − Wysoka dziewczyna
  Helena Zengel – Błąd systemu

Najlepszy europejski scenarzysta
  Céline Sciamma – Portret kobiety w ogniu
  Pedro Almodóvar − Ból i blask
  Ladj Ly, Giordano Gederlini i Alexis Manenti − Nędznicy
  Robert Harris i  Roman Polański – Oficer i szpieg
  Marco Bellocchio, Ludovica Rampoldi, Valia Santella i Francesco Piccolo – Zdrajca

Nagrody techniczne

Najlepszy europejski operator
  Robbie Ryan − Faworyta

Najlepszy europejski kompozytor
  John Gürtler – Błąd systemu

Najlepszy europejski montażysta
  Jorgos Mawropsaridis – Faworyta

Najlepszy europejski scenograf
  Antxon Gómez − Ból i blask

Najlepszy europejski kostiumograf
  Sandy Powell − Faworyta

Najlepszy europejski dźwiękowiec
  Eduardo Esquide, Nacho Royo-Villanova i Laurent Chassaigne − Noc przez dwanaście lat

Najlepszy europejski charakteryzator
  Nadia Stacey − Faworyta

Najlepsze europejskie efekty specjalne
  Martin Ziebell,  Sebastian Kaltmeyer,  Neha Hirve,  Jesper Brodersen i  Torgeir Busch – O nieskończoności

Nagrody dla filmów niefabularnych

Najlepszy europejski film animowany
  Buñuel w labiryncie żółwi, reż. Salvador Simó
  Jaskółki z Kabulu, reż. Zabou Breitman i Eléa Gobé Mévellec
  Marona - psia opowieść, reż. Anca Damian
  Zgubiłam swoje ciało, reż. Jérémy Clapin

Najlepszy europejski film dokumentalny
  Dla Samy, reż. Waad Al-Kateab i Edward Watts  Kraina miodu, reż. Ljubomir Stefanow i Tamara Kotewska
  Selfie, reż. Agostino Ferrente
  Świadkowie Putina, reż. Witalij Manski
  Zniknięcie mojej matki, reż. Beniamino Barrese

 Najlepszy europejski film krótkometrażowy
  Prezent pod choinkę, reż. Bogdan Mureşanu  Niesamowite przygody kamiennej damy, reż. Gabriel Abrantes
  Psy szczekające na ptaki, reż. Leonor Teles
  Rekonstrukcja, reż. Jiří Havlíček i Ondřej Novák
  Sok z arbuza, reż. Irene Moray

 Najlepszy europejski serial telewizyjny
  Babylon Berlin, reż. Achim von Borries, Henk Handloegten i Tom Tykwer Nagrody przyznawane przez krytyków
 Największe europejskie odkrycie roku
  Nędznicy, reż. Ladj Ly  Aniara, reż. Pella Kagerman i Hugo Lilja
  Atlantyk, reż. Mati Diop
  Irina, reż. Nadeżda Kosewa
  Martwy punkt, reż. Tuva Novotny
  Ray i Liz, reż. Richard Billingham

 Nagrody przyznawane przez publiczność
 Nagroda publiczności dla najlepszego europejskiego filmu
  Zimna wojna, reż. Paweł Pawlikowski  Ból i blask, reż. Pedro Almodóvar
  Dogman, reż. Matteo Garrone
  Dziewczyna, reż. Lukas Dhont
  Fantastyczne zwierzęta: Zbrodnie Grindelwalda, reż. David Yates
  Faworyta, reż. Yorgos Lanthimos
  Granica, reż. Ali Abbasi
  Kartoteka 64, reż. Christoffer Boe
  Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, reż. Ol Parker
  Niezatapialni, reż. Gilles Lellouche
  Szczęśliwy Lazzaro, reż. Alice Rohrwacher
  Żywiciel, reż. Nora Twomey

 Nagroda młodej widowni dla najlepszego filmu europejskiego dla nastolatków
  Kickbokserka, reż. Johan Timmers  Mamy talent!, reż. Christian Lo
  Stare chłopaki, reż. Toby MacDonald

 Nagroda studentów szkół wyższych dla najlepszego europejskiego filmu
  Portret kobiety w ogniu'', reż. Céline Sciamma
  A potem tańczyliśmy, reż. Lewan Akin
  Błąd systemu, reż. Nora Fingscheidt
  Bóg istnieje, a jej imię to Petrunia, reż. Teona Strugar Mitewska
  Piranie'', reż. Claudio Giovannesi

Nagrody honorowe i specjalne

Europejska Nagroda Filmowa za osiągnięcia życia
  Werner Herzog

Europejska Nagroda Filmowa za wkład w światowe kino
  Juliette Binoche

Nagroda Eurimages dla najlepszego europejskiego koproducenta
  Ankica Jurić Tilić

Przypisy

Linki zewnętrzne
 Strona oficjalna

2019 w filmie
2019 w Niemczech
Europejskie Nagrody Filmowe

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Did Trump Unwittingly Rent Land to Gaddafi?
Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi may have decided to make the posh suburban town of Bedford his home away from home while at the United Nations General Assembly this week, pitching his Bedouin style tent down the road from Martha Stewart.
Donald Trump may have inadvertently rented property in a ritzy New York suburb to loathed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who has spent weeks trying to find a place to pitch his trademark tent while in town for the United Nations General Assembly meeting.
Doors all over the metropolitan area have been slammed in the face of the Libyan dictator, but Trump says he rented part of a large property he owns in Westchester County to a group of Middle Easterners who may be associated with Gaddafi.
"We have business partners and associates all over the world. The property was leased on a short-term basis to Middle Eastern partners who may or may not have a relationship to Mr. Gaddafi. We are looking into the matter now," Trump Organization spokeswoman Rhonna Graff said in a statement.
An ABC News helicopter filmed a large tent on the 113-acre Seven Springs estate, replete with rugs and patterned wall hangings. The Trump Organization owns the property, which straddles the adjacent towns of Bedford, New Castle and North Castle, and which is slated to be subdivided into multimillion-dollar homes.
Local officials, law enforcement and the Secret Service confirmed that Gaddafi was renting property in Bedford, but did not know if the dictator, who is making his first visit to the United States since he seized power in 1969, was actually planning on staying in the town.
Bedford town attorney Joel Sachs said a stop order was issued on erecting the tent just after 5 p.m., because it is illegal to build a temporary residence without a permit. He called the tent an "illegal structure."
He said, however, that he was not picking on Gaddafi, just enforcing the law.
It has been reported that Gaddafi might stay in Manhattan, near the United Nations at the home of the Libyan ambassador on 48th Street.
Ahmed Gebreel, a spokesman for the Libyan mission said Monday, "It will be up to [Gaddafi] where he wants to stay. Nothing has been decided yet."
Calls to the Libyan mission today for confirmation that the large brown tent seen at Seven Springs belonged to Gaddafi were not answered.
"We deal with what's happening right now. Right now nothing is happening. There's no entourage, nothing. We're working with the Secret Service," Bedford Police Department Sgt. Tom Diebold told ABC News. "Other than calls from the press, we haven't heard anything from neighbors."
Gaddafi has not found a warm welcome. His request to erect his tent in Manhattan's Central Park was turned down. Efforts to set up camp in Englewood, N.J., were also fought by the mayor until the Libyans abandoned efforts to win legal approval for the tent.
The eccentric leader, who Ronald Reagan once branded the "mad dog" of the Middle East, arrived in the United States Tuesday but it was unclear if he was going to stay in Bedford.
"A tent has been pitched," a source said, referring to the famous Bedouin tent Gaddafi usually stays in during foreign visits. On past trips he's pitched it in central Paris and in a park in Rome.
State and federal politicians who learned that Gaddafi had rented property in the area were outraged that the Libyan, who has been linked to acts of state sponsored terror might sleep among their constituents, which include the likes of style queen Martha Stewart.
"It's not confirmed that he is coming to Bedford. We only know he's rented some property. He's not going to have many fans in Bedford or Westchester County, certainly not me. Don't want to see him in my county or my district. There's not going to be any welcome mat for him in Bedford," Republican State Sen. Vincent L. Leibell said.
U.S. Rep John Hall, D-N.Y., said he would contact the State Department and other federal authorities to protest Gaddafi's presence in his district.
"This sponsor of terror is not welcome here," Hall said. "Several residents of this area were horrifically murdered on Pan Am Flight 103. Gaddafi's presence in our community is a slap in the face to the memories of these victims and their families, adding to the recent outrage of the hero's welcome Gaddafi staged for the convicted murderer released by Scotland."
The Libyans have had a tough time finding housing for Gaddafi on short notice, since almost all hotel rooms in the area have been booked already. Gaddafi's quirks have made the search even harder. According to sources the eccentric Libyan leader, who is guarded by a cadre of all-female bodyguards, distrusts elevators and was looking for first floor accommodations. Sources said the Libyans were looking for a New York hotel ballroom where they might pitch the leader's tent.
In August, Englewood residents protested the possibility of Gaddafi pitching a tent on property there owned by the Libyan embassy.
The State Department stepped in over the summer, assuring residents that the colorful dictator would not be making camp in their town.
Many of the Englewood residents were particularly incensed by the release of Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, a Libyan imprisoned in Scotland for the 1988 bombing of Pan AM Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, who was warmly welcomed home by Gaddafi last month.
"Frankly speaking, I'm glad he won't be sleeping in my city limits," said Michael Wildes, mayor of Englewood and an immigration lawyer. "I can't understand why he won't be served an arrest warrant for the 38 citizens of New Jersey that died in the Lockerbie disaster.
"It is my prayer that the State Department will issue a restrictive visa so he won't, under the cover of night, sneak into my town," Wildes said.
When the tent plan got nixed, Gaddafi, Libya's sole leader since 1969, went looking for digs a little closer to the United Nations building on Manhattan's East side – but he didn't have much luck.
Beginning around Labor Day, Libyan agents pretending to be members of the Dutch mission began haggling for a Manhattan townhouse, according to real estate broker Jason Haber of Prudential Douglas Eliman.
But as the perspective renter's demands became increasingly ridiculous and they were unwilling to negotiate, Haber quickly realized with whom he was dealing.
"I'm not a linguist, but it became pretty clear I wasn't dealing with the Dutch. They keep making more demands and asking for things we didn't have. They were always demanding something else and were always abrupt. From their e-mail addresses I realized I was dealing with the Libyans," Haber told ABC News.
"They kept asking, 'What will be the price? What will be the price?' I knew Gaddafi was having trouble finding housing in New York City and I was through with dealing with them. Finally I just said, 'Well, if you send Megrahi back to Scotland, maybe we can work something out.' They hung up and that pretty much ended it," said Haber who has a degree in international studies from Columbia University.
The Libyans won't officially comment on where Gaddafi plans on staying once he arrives in New York Tuesday.
One rumor had him staying at The Pierre overlooking Central Park, but the hotel denied it.
"[Gaddafi] is not and never planned to stay at The Pierre," said hotel spokeswoman Sheila Donnelly Theroux.
When he arrived in New York in 2007 to address the General Assembly and students at Columbia University, Iran's Ahmadinejad, was met with protests.
In 2007, he was considered a pariah who denied the Holocaust, called for the destruction of Israel and pursued an internationally condemned nuclear weapons program.
When he arrives in the city today, the Iranian president will be an even greater outcast, and his reception in New York reflects his current standing worldwide.
Following an allegedly botched and rigged presidential election in June, Ahmadinejad has suppressed protests at home, while renewing his rhetoric about the Holocaust and according to some, continuing efforts to develop nuclear weapons.
The Iranian president, as it turns out, will stay near the U.N. at InterContinental The Barclay, a fact that the hotel is not exactly advertising. The accommodations for the Iranians were first revealed by the protest group United Against Nuclear Iran, and sources have confirmed the account to ABC News.
But the hotel officials refuse to confirm or deny Ahmadinejad will be staying with them. "InterContinental Hotels & Resorts is fully committed to the safety, comfort and well-being of its guests and associates. In the interest of guest privacy, we are not at liberty to reveal or discuss the details of guests or groups staying at any of our properties. This is a hotel and brand policy," said spokeswoman Caroline Counihan.
The UANI has been unable to get the InterContinental to give Ahmadinejad the boot, but several other New York hotels that were planning on allowing Ahmadinejad to hold dinners, abandoned the president after being targeted by the group.
The Helmsley Hotel and catering hall Gotham Hall both cancelled receptions that Ahmadinejad planned on holding in New York.
"As soon as Helmsley corporate management learned of the possibility of either the Iranian mission or President Ahmadinejad holding a function at the New York Helmsley Hotel, they immediately ordered the cancellation of that function," said Helmsley spokesman Howard Rubenstein in a statement.
"Neither the Iranian mission nor President Ahmadinejad is welcome at any Helmsley facility. The Helmsley organization is grateful to United Against Nuclear Iran for bringing this matter to its attention so that appropriate action could be taken," he said.
UANI on Monday wrote a letter to Essex House, another New York hotel, asking that it, too, cancel a reception Ahmadinejad is reportedly planning there.
The Iranian mission would not comment on Ahmadinejad's plans while in New York.
Both Gaddafi and Ahmadinejad can expect a particularly cool reception from Obama as well.
At a recent press conference, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., said Obama had no plans to interact with either of the men.
"With respect to the Iranian leader, I don't think there's much likelihood that there will be an interaction. There's no obvious venue in which that would occur, and certainly we have no meetings or anything of the sort planned," she said.
"And with respect to Gaddafi, Libya holds a seat at present on the United Nations Security Council, and Libya will be present at the Security Council summit."
Did Donald Trump Unwittingly Rent Land to Gaddafi?


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Q: How does one get about converting an excel file to an XML file given a specific schema? Is this something I need to write or something already exists. Google is pulling up a bunch of junk.

A: At the risk of totally missing the point, did you already try File -> Save As, and then choosing type=XML?
When you go to save, click on the HELP button, top right, and select file type.  It will step you through saving XML using an XML Schema file (.xsd), and then talk about how to map the data properly.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


When a sound is produced it is not just the single sine wave discussed in the previous article, but rather a rich plethora of ancillary tones musicians refer to as overtones. Those overtones a musician is interested in are called harmonics. The harmonics are a proportional set of sounds relating to the lowest tone generated by the sound producing agent. This lowest tone is called the fundamental tone of the pitch. This series of proportional tones is known as the harmonic series. Whatever the fundamental frequency of the musical tone, (since this is about music, I'll refer to tone and pitch as a musically generated thing) there are multiples of this fundamental generated.
If a musical fundamental is 100Hz (this was chosen for arithmetic ease), then there will be overtones generated on increasing integer (1, 2, 3,...) multiples. So there will be, as part of the tone, vibrations not only at the fundamental 100Hz, but also at 200Hz, 300 Hz, 400Hz and so on.
One more concept needs to be introduced - the octave. The octave of a note is simply the double of that note. From our above example, the octave of the 100Hz pitch is 200Hz. The octave of the 200Hz pitch is 400Hz. This doubling continues at 800Hz, 1600Hz (1.6kHz), 3.2kHz, 6.4kHz, 12.8kHz, and 25.6kHz. Now this continues, but each successive overtone has less amplitude than the last, and the 25.6kHz is at the upper end threshold of what the human ear is capable of hearing, leaving the continuation of this process with little practical value.
Notice that the first overtone at 200Hz is the octave of the fundamental pitch of 100Hz. As the octaves double in size notice that there are an ever increasing number of overtones between the octaves. The 300Hz overtone is between the 1st and second octave, the 500Hz, 600Hz and 700Hz overtones are between the 2nd and 3rd octaves and so on. (This is actually a geometric progression of 1, 2, 4, 8, 16.....-not essential to this discussion, but none the less interesting!). As stated earlier, some of the overtones are not musical and are not included in the musical harmonic series. The reason for this is really how our ears perceive these overtones as pleasing and therefore musical. This has historical significance in the study of music and how intervals are considered either consonant (at rest) or dissonant (feels as if another harmony should follow - again very subjective). Below is another graph that shows the relationship of the harmonic series and how the various musical intervals used in Western music are derived.
This actually follows the many vibrating patterns found on a musical instrument string. It actually vibrates as a whole unit, and then in two equal portions, and then three and so on. Visually, plucking an open string on a guitar, the string would vibrate on the fundamental pitch of the string plucked and its harmonics. The fundamental and first three harmonics (to save space - the other harmonics from above are also active) as they vibrate on the string are shown in the diagram below.
As a blog we want to promote a dialogue with interested parties, so if you would like to comment on this article, have a suggestion or wish to submit a question, email us here at music@tntmusicbox.com. We will post any appropriate comment directly below the article. We will reply to any questions directly to the email address that came to us with your query. If you wish to receive these posts as we upload them to the website, please indicate in your email this desire and we will add you to the list for this (and only this).


25Oct2012 – National Guard Whistleblower: "Doomsday Preppers Will Be Treated As Terrorists" ???
(Melissa Melton- Infowars)- So begins the Oath of Enlistment for the U.S. military, but in an explosive interview with a National Guard whistleblower shown below, soldiers are now being advised they will be ordered to break that oath should civil unrest erupt across the country.
Referred to only as "Soldier X" under promise of anonymity, an Army National Guardsman spoke via phone with Infowars Nightly News Producer Rob Dew regarding a recent briefing his unit underwent on actions the military would take in the event that an Obama election loss sparked rioting in America's streets.
Citing not only recent widespread threats to riot if Mitt Romney were to become the next U.S. president, but threats to actually assassinate him should he win, Soldier X's superiors dispensed plans of how the National Guard would be responsible for "taking over" and quelling such unrest.
In addition, guns will be confiscated.
"They have a list compiled of all these doomsday preppers that have gone public and they plan to go after them first," Soldier X said. He claimed those in charge are acting under the belief that preppers will be "the worst part" of any potential civil unrest.
Soldier X was also told that any soldiers in the ranks who are known as preppers will be deemed "defects." He explained the label meant these soldiers would be treated as traitors. "If you don't conform, they will get rid of you," he added.
Unit members also warned not to associate with any fellow soldiers who are preppers.
Not only does the military reportedly plan to target preppers should mass chaos break out, but Soldier X also voiced his concerns regarding civilian gun confiscation.
It would not be the first time the National Guard has been used to unconstitutionally disarm law-abiding citizens, robbing them of their Second Amendment right to bear arms. In the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, police and military took to the streets disarming lawful gun owners, including those who were on dry land and had plenty of stored food and water.
Add these manuals to the plethora of Executive Orders Obama has signed during his term which have dismantled our Constitution piece by piece, including the martial law implementing National Defense Resources Preparedness Executive Order which gives the president the power to confiscate citizens' private property in the event of any national emergency, including economic.
Add it all to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in which Obama granted powers to disappear and indefinitely detain American citizens without any due process, and it is easy to see the tyrannical big picture our government has painted.
When asked if he would go along with gun confiscation, Soldier X replied he and his fellow like-minded guardsmen planned to stand down — not answer the phone or show up to post.
"I'm sorry but I don't believe in suicide," he said.
Preppers are becoming regular government targets these days, most recently when a Missisippi prepper group member with a clean record was suddenly taken off his flight halfway to Japan andinformed he was on the no-fly list, an FBI terrorist watchlist, stranding him in Hawaii. Otherpreppers have been denied their Second Amendment rights without legitimate cause.
It is beyond glaringly obvious at this point the U.S. government is gearing up for mass civil unrest. Not only has the DHS sparked controversy by purchasing billions of rounds of ammo, but the department even went so far as to begin classifying further purchases, blacking out bullet figures it is using taxpayer money to buy.
In addition, while FEMA can procure a billion dollars in bulk food supplies, the FBI's Communities Against Terrorism project released a flier instructing military surplus store owners to report any customers who "make bulk purchases of items" including "meals ready to eat".
Should society as we know it collapse following the election, it would seem the ultimate prepper and the ultimate terrorist is, indeed, the U.S. government.


A red hot Dublin based filmmaker and animator who specialises in 2D character animation and motion graphics with a BA in Animation from IADT. Recently won Best Director at Animation Dingle 2018 with his film The Line (2017) which is now online just below! Loves to work with terrible people on terrible projects, if ya have any give him a howaya at dillon.brannick@gmail.com.


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North Hwanghae Province (Hwanghaebuk-to; , lit. "north Yellow Sea province") is a province of North Korea.  The province was formed in 1954 when the former Hwanghae Province was split into North and South Hwanghae.  The provincial capital is Sariwon.  The province is bordered by Pyongyang and South Pyongan to the north, Kangwon to the east, Kaesong Industrial Region and South Korea's Gyeonggi Province to the south, and South Hwanghae southwest.  In 2003, Kaesong Directly Governed City (Kaesong Chikhalsi) became part of North Hwanghae as Kaepung County. Later on in 2019, it was promoted as Special City (Kaesong T'ŭkpyŏlsi). Thus, it was separated from North Hwanghae.

Administrative divisions
North Hwanghae is divided into 2 cities ("si") and 18 counties ("kun").  Three of these counties (Chunghwa, Kangnam, and Sangwon) were added to the province in 2010 after being split from Pyongyang. However, Kangnam was returned to Pyongyang in 2011.

Cities
 Sariwon (capital)  사리원시/
 Songrim  송림시/

Counties

Transportation
North Hwanghae is connected to the rest of the country by way of the Pyongbu Railway Line (known in South Korea as the Kyongui Line), which, in theory, runs from Pyongyang to Pusan; however, in reality, the line is cut short by the Korean Demilitarized Zone. It is also served by several large highways, most notably the Pyongyang-Kaesong Motorway.

Education
There are several higher-level educational institutions in North Hwanghae, all government-run. These include the Kye Ung Sang Sariwon University of Agriculture, the Sariwon University of Geology, and the Sariwon Teachers University.

Culture

Historic landmarks
North Hwanghae has many historical relics as the site of the Koryo-dynasty capital at Kaesong, a depository for many famous historic relics. The province is also home to the tombs of many of the Koryo monarchs, the most famous being the tombs of kings Taejo and Kongmin, though others are spread throughout Kaesong and Kaepung county. Kaesong also houses the Koguryo-era Taehungsan Fortress, built to protect the kingdom's capital at Pyongyang and enclosing the famous Kwanum Temple. Nearby to Sariwin is the famous Jongbangsan Fortress, another Koguryo satellite for the defense of Pyongyang. This fortress encompasses the 9th-century Songbulsa Buddhist temple, one of the oldest and most picturesque in the country.

References

External links
 행정 구역 현황 (Haengjeong Guyeok Hyeonhwang) (in Korean only)
 http://nk.joins.com/map/i223.htm
 https://web.archive.org/web/20110609223701/http://www.kcna.co.jp/item/2006/200605/news05/11.htm

Provinces of North Korea
States and territories established in 1954
1954 establishments in North Korea


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NHS could struggle post-Brexit without EU citizen staff, Department …
A 7-day week NHS may no longer be possible following Brexit because so many healthcare professionals come from EU countries, Department for Health officials have warned.
The NHS employs around 55,000 staff who are EU citizens, amounting to a tenth of the overall workforce. It is currently unknown whether freedom of movement and employment rights will change for EU citizens following the referendum vote, prompting uncertainty over future staffing levels.
Senior civil servants issued the warning to Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt in internal Department of Health reports which have been leaked to the Guardian and Channel 4 News.
One states that Brexit: "may adversing [sic] impact upon the delivery of the 7 Day Services programme, particularly with regards to workforce and finances."
The Institute for Public Policy Research has also recently warned the UK may face a "public health emergency" and see the NHS collapse following Brexit if EU staff leave the UK. The think tank has called on Theresa May to guarantee citizenship for all NHS workers.
The leaked Department of Health reports also warn "a seven-day NHS might spread resources too thinly" and cause "workforce overload" to the extent that "the full service cannot be delivered."
Health news in pictures
Most child antidepressants are ineffective and can lead to suicidal thoughts
The majority of antidepressants are ineffective and may be unsafe, for children and teenager with major depression, experts have warned. In what is the most comprehensive comparison of 14 commonly prescribed antidepressant drugs to date, researchers found that only one brand was more effective at relieving symptoms of depression than a placebo. Another popular drug, venlafaxine, was shown increase the risk users engaging in suicidal thoughts and attempts at suicide
'Universal cancer vaccine' breakthrough claimed by experts
Scientists have taken a "very positive step" towards creating a universal vaccine against cancer that makes the body's immune system attack tumours as if they were a virus, experts have said. Writing in Nature, an international team of researchers described how they had taken pieces of cancer's genetic RNA code, put them into tiny nanoparticles of fat and then injected the mixture into the bloodstreams of three patients in the advanced stages of the disease. The patients' immune systems responded by producing "killer" T-cells designed to attack cancer. The vaccine was also found to be effective in fighting "aggressively growing" tumours in mice, according to researchers, who were led by Professor Ugur Sahin from Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany
Rex Features
Green tea could be used to treat brain issues caused by Down's Syndrome
A compound found in green tea could improve the cognitive abilities of those with Down's syndrome, a team of scientists has discovered. Researchers found epigallocatechin gallate – which is especially present in green tea but can also be found in white and black teas – combined with cognitive stimulation, improved visual memory and led to more adaptive behaviour. Dr Rafael de la Torre, who led the year-long clinical trial along with Dr Mara Dierrssen, said: "The results suggest that individuals who received treatment with the green tea compound, together with the cognitive stimulation protocol, had better scores in their cognitive capacities"
New online test predicts skin cancer risk
Health experts have created a new online tool which can predict a person's risk of developing a common form of skin cancer. The tool uses the results of a 10-question-quiz to estimate the chance of a person aged 40 or over of having non-melanoma skin cancers within three years. Factors including the age, gender, smoking status, skin colour, tanning ability, freckling tendency, and other aspects of medical history are covered by the quiz
Multiple Sclerosis stem cell treatment 'helps patients walk again'
A new treatment for multiple sclerosis (MS) has enabled some patients to walk again by "rebooting" their immune systems. As part of a clinical trial at Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital involving around 20 patients, scientists used stem cells to carry out a bone marrow transplant. The method known as an autologous haematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT) works by using chemotherapy to destroy the area of the immune system which causes MS
Dementia patients left without painkillers and handcuffed to bed
Dementia patients experience a 'shocking' variation in the quality of hospital care they receive across England, a charity has warned. Staff using excessive force and not giving dementia patients the correct pain medication were among the findings outlined in a new report by The Alzheimer's Society, to coincide with the launch of Fix Dementia Care campaign
Cancer risk 'increased' by drinking more than one glass of wine or pint of beer per day
Drinking more than one glass of wine or pint of beer a day increases the risk of developing cancer, according to medical experts. New guidelines for alcohol consumption by the UK published by chief medical officers warn that drinking any level of alcohol has been linked to a range of different cancers. The evidence from the Committee on Carcinogenicity (COC) overturns the oft-held view that a glass of red wine can have significant medical benefits for both men and women
Vaping 'no better' than smoking regular cigarettes
Vaping could be "no better" than smoking regular cigarettes and may be linked to cancer, scientists have found. The study which showed that vapour from e-cigarettes can damage or kill human cells was publsihed as the devices are to be rolled out by UK public health officials as an aid to quit smoking from 2016. An estimated 2.6 million people in the UK currently use e-cigarettes
Rat-bite fever
A teenager was hospitalised and left unable to move after she developed the rare rat-bite fever disease from her pet rodents which lived in her bedroom. The teenager, who has not been named, was taken to hospital after she complained of a pain in her right hip and lower back which later made her immobile, according to the online medical journal BMJ Case Reports. She suffered for two weeks with an intermittent fever, nausea and vomiting and had a pink rash on her hands and feet. The teenager, who had numerous pets including a dog, cat, horse and three pet rats, has since made a full recovery after undergoing a course of antibiotics. Blood tests showed that she was infected with for streptobacillus moniliformis – the most common cause of rat-bite fever. One of her three pet rats lay dead in her room for three weeks before her symptoms showed
Taking antidepressants in pregnancy 'could double the risk of autism in toddlers'
Taking antidepressants during pregnancy could almost double the risk of a child being diagnosed with autism in the first years of life, a major study of nearly 150,000 pregnancies has suggested. Researchers have found a link between women in the later stages of pregnancy who were prescribed one of the most common types of antidepressant drugs, and autism diagnosed in children under seven years of age
Warning over Calpol
Parents have been warned that giving children paracetamol-based medicines such as Calpol and Disprol too often could lead to serious health issues later in life. Leading paediatrician and professor of general paediatrics at University College London, Alastair Sutcliffe, said parents were overusing paracetamol to treat mild fevers. As a result, the risk of developing asthma, as well as kidney, heart and liver damage is heightened
Fat loss from pancreas 'can reverse' effects of type-2 diabetes
Less than half a teaspoon of fat is all that it takes to turn someone into a type-2 diabetic according to a study that could overturn conventional wisdom on a disease affecting nearly 3 million people in Britain. Researchers have found it is not so much the overall body fat that is important in determining the onset of type-2 diabetes but the small amount of fat deposited in the pancreas, the endocrine organ responsible for insulin production
Potatoes reduce risk of stomach cancer
Scientists have found people who eat large amounts of white vegetables were a third less likely to contract stomach cancer. The study, undertaken by Chinese scientists at Zhejiang University, found eating cauliflower, potatoes and onions reduces the chance of contracting stomach cancer but that beer, spirits, salt and preserved foods increased a person's risk of the cancer
Connections between brain cells destroyed in early stages of Alzheimer's disease
Scientists have pinpointed how connections in the brain are destroyed in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, in a study which it is hoped will help in the development of treatments for the debilitating condition. At the early stages of the development of Alzheimer's disease the synapses – which connect the neurons in the brain – are destroyed, according to researchers at the University of New South Wales, Australia. The synapses are vital for brain function, particularly learning and forming memories
Sugar tax
The Government should introduce a sugar tax to prevent an "obesity crisis" from crippling the NHS, a senior Conservative MP and former health minister has said. Dr Dan Poulter believes that the case for increased taxes on unhealthy sugary products was "increasingly compelling"
Cancer breakthrough offers new hope for survivors rendered infertile by chemotherapy
A potentially "phenomenal" scientific breakthrough has offered fresh hope to cancer patients rendered infertile by chemotherapy. For the first time, researchers managed to restore ovaries in mice affected by chemotherapy so that they were able to have offspring. The scientists now plan to begin clinical trials to see if the technique, which involves the use of stem cells, will also work in humans by using umbilical cord material and possibly stem cells taken from human embryos, if regulators agree
Take this NHS test to find out if you have a cancerous mole
An interactive test could help flag up whether you should seek advice from a health professional for one of the most common types of cancer. The test is available on the NHS Choices website and reveals whether you are at risk from the disease and recommends if you should seek help. The mole self-assessment factors in elements such as complexion, the number of times you have been severely sunburnt and whether skin cancer runs in your family. It also quizzes you on the number of moles you have and whether there have been any changes in appearance regarding size, shape and colour
Health apps approved by NHS 'may put users at risk of identity theft'
Experts have warned that some apps do not adequately protect personal information
A watchdog has said that care visits must last longer
The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) said home help visits of less than 30 minutes were not acceptable unless part of a wider package of support
Pendle in Lancashire tops list of five most anxious places to live in the UK
Pendle in Lancashire has been named the most anxious place to live in the UK, while people living in Fermanagh and Omagh in Northern Ireland have been found to be the happiest
Ketamine could be used as anti-depressant
Researchers at the University of Auckland said monitoring the effects of the drug on the brain has revealed neural pathways that could aid the development of fast-acting medications.
Ketamine is a synthetic compound used as an off anaesthetic and analgesic drug, but is commonly used illegally as a hallucinogenic party drug.
Dr Suresh Muthukumaraswamy, a senior researcher at the university and a member of the institution's Centre for Brain Research, used the latest technology in brain imaging to investigate what mechanisms ketamine uses to be active in the human brain
A prosthetic hand that lets people actually feel through
The technology lets paralysed people feel actual sensations when touching objects — including light taps on the mechanical finger — and could be a huge breakthrough for prosthetics, according to its makers. The tool was used to let a 28-year-old man who has been paralysed for more than a decade. While prosthetics have previously been able to be controlled directly from the brain, it is the first time that signals have been successfully sent the other way
The biggest cause of early death in the world is what you eat
Unhealthy eating has been named as the most common cause of premature death around the globe, new data has revealed. A poor diet – which involves eating too few vegetables, fruits, nuts and grains and too much red meat, salt and sugar – was shown to be a bigger killer than smoking and alcohol
Scientists develop blood test that estimates how quickly people age
Scientists believe it could be used to predict a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease as well as the "youthfulness" of donated organs for transplant operations. The test measures the vitality of certain genes which the researchers believe is an accurate indication of a person's "biological age", which may be younger or older than their actual chronological age
Aspirin could help boost therapies that fight cancer
The latest therapies that fight cancer could work better when combined with aspirin, research has suggested. Scientists from the Francis Crick Institute in London say the anti-inflammatory pain killer suppresses a cancer molecule that allows tumours to evade the body's immune defences.
Laboratory tests have shown that skin, breast and bowel cancer cells often generate large amounts of this molecule, called prostaglandin E2 (PGE2).
But Aspirin is one of a family of drugs that sends messages to the brain to block production of PGE2 and this means cancer cells can be attacked by the body's natural defences
Mr Hunt's proposals for seven-day services have provoked bitter divisions among healthcare professionals, with junior doctors arguing the plan is unsafe and undeliverable. Figures cited by the Health Secretary to claim that patients are more likely to die on weekends have also been fiercely disputed.
However, the Department of Health has stood by the figures and service proposals, arguing that the 7-day service will improve quality of care for patients in the long term.
A spokesperson for the Department of Health told The Independent: "Over the past six years eight independent studies have set out the evidence for a "weekend effect"- unacceptable variation in care across the week. This government is the first to tackle this, with a commitment to a safer, seven day NHS for patients and £10 billion to fund the NHS' own plan for the future, alongside thousands of extra doctors and nurses on our wards."
Seven-day NHS
Reuse content
World Health Day: Colostomy charity calling for better toilet facilities to stop 'struggle'
NHS spending on specialist services for rare diseases threatening everyday care budget, watchdog warns
Seven-day NHS plan contains 'serious flaws' and is 'completely uncosted'

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Pumpkin spice isn't just for your lattes anymore. Spas and resorts everywhere are hopping on the pumpkin spice trend and adding the iconic fall scent and flavor to some of their signature beauty treatments. Some places have even created new treatments to feature the beloved fad. If you're looking for a way to treat yo' self this fall (and fulfill all of your autumnal #goals), these are the best places for a pumpkin spice spacation.
Even though the orange gourd is mainly known for pumpkin pie, Pumpkin Spice Lattes, and jack-o-lantern carvings, pumpkins and pumpkin spice actually have a ton of health and beauty benefits. To name a couple, according to The Dermal Institute, pumpkin is full of alpha hydroxy acids, which encourage the growth of new skin cells. Pumpkin is also known for its high vitamin C content, which makes your skin super soft and helps prevent further sun damage.
With a seemingly endless list of benefits, it's no wonder why so many spas are adding pumpkin ingredients to their beauty treatments. Head to a spa — with a PSL in hand, of course — and take advantage of these seasonal treatments so you can glow all the way into winter.
La Quinta's spa has not one, not two, but three pumpkin spice-inspired treatments for you to take full advantage of this season. Fall into full-on pumpkin spice relaxation with their harvest glow facial, oh my gourd pumpkin spiced body polish, and pumpkin spiced spa mani and pedi.
Arizona Biltmore's spa is offering a pumpkin apple spice facial that highlights the incredible aromas of pumpkin spice and apple. If you're feeling extremely fall, they are also offering a couple other seasonal treatments, including a caramel apple pedicure and cranberry sangria scrub.
Voted the Best of Boston 2018, you know you're in good hands when you visit étant. Their clarifying facial utilizes pumpkin enzymes and moss extract to clean your face and leave your skin feeling refreshed and vibrant.
If you love the aroma of pumpkins, Hacienda Beach Club's seasonal spa treatments will be perfect for you. Using a warm and toasty blend of clove, cinnamon, and orange essential oils mixed with pumpkin spice aromatherapy, you can sink into a deep relaxation during the pumpkin spice aromatic massage. Afterwards, follow it up with the pumpkin walnut body scrub that'll have your skin feeling silky smooth.
The Cedar Creek Spa at Big Cedar Lodge is incorporating pumpkin spice in its customized organic and refresher facial treatments. Treat yourself to 45 or 70 minutes of pure relaxation. You can also take advantage of the spa's candlelit grotto pool, relaxation lounge, and open-air showers for the full luxe experience.
Perfect for the beauty lover who's on-the-go in The Big Apple, Skin Spa's PCA pumpkin re-texturizing treatment masque will give your skin that extra boost it needs to push through the rest of fall. Lay back and enjoy a pumpkin-fueled treatment mask that'll help remove dead skin so your face glows from the inside out.
You can take a day off (or two, or five) overlooking the Pacific Ocean at Shutters on the Beach's ONE Spa. This fall, they are offering a full-body pumpkin peel, which uses Vitamin B, beta-carotene, and enzymes to exfoliate and help your skin achieve the ultimate glow. Their fall pumpkin refresher facial utilizes the peel and a cranberry-pomegranate anti-stress mask to leave your skin feeling hydrated.
If you find yourself in Portland, head on over to Zama Massage for the harvest glow, their all-in-one fall treatment special. The package kicks off with a yam and pumpkin enzyme peel, which removes dead skin and decreases the appearance of sun damage. The treatment then goes into a clementine body oil massage and warm honey pedicure.
The pumpkin pandemonium treatment at Carmel Valley Ranch is the ultimate fall-inspired full-body treatment. It starts off with a vitamin C express facial, and then goes into an organic enzymatic pumpkin puree. The service also highlights a full-body exfoliation and body butter application so you can leave feeling silky smooth all over.
If you're looking for a little extra body glow before winter hits, try out Ojai Valley Inn's pumpkin spice body polish. The treatment, which features an amazing combo of nutmeg, clove, vanilla, and orange essential oils, will give you all the warm and fuzzy fall feelings and leave your skin feeling fresh and hydrated.
Chocolate Spa at The Hotel Hershey has a full-fledged fall spa treatment menu featuring some of your favorite fall ingredients, including: pumpkin, orange, cider, and coffee. Take your pick of their pumpkin-inspired treatments, from the pumpkin spice body scrub, to the pumpkin soufflé wrap.
The Purple Orchid's cranberry pomegranate pumpkin body wrap is a luxurious 75-minute treatment that uses a sugar scrub to exfoliate, and a pumpkin and soy cream body wrap plumps softens your skin. It ends with an application of body cream and rich oils to leave your skin moisturized. It's the perfect treatment to prep your body for the colder winter months.