text:
Category: On the Street
On the Street: "Smell" Graffiti
I was just cleaning up some image files in my laptop, and I came across this photo. I don't remember exactly where or when I took it, but the "SMELL" graffiti art still makes me smile. This one goes out to all my scent-obsessed friends!
Image: photo by Tinsel Creation
By Jessicain On the Street September 26, 2014 50 WordsLeave a comment
On the Street: Joseph Cornell (and Lauren Bacall) in Midtown
I normally avoid the Rockefeller Center area as one might avoid a plague site or a minefield. However, once in a while I need to stop into Saks, and then I need to find a nearby subway station, so I just put my head down and shove through the crowds.
I'm glad I looked up during my last running of the Rockefeller Plaza gauntlet, however, because I was passing Christie's and my eyes met those of Ms. Lauren Bacall—at least, a photograph of Bacall, in an oversized reproduction of a Joseph Cornell piece that was recently up for auction.
My snapshot caught the reflections of the neon signage across the street, which was a nice little accident.
You can read more about Cornell's Penny Arcade Portrait of Lauren Bacall on the Christie's website. (It's #5 of 8 images in the slideshow.)
UPDATE, AUGUST 12, 2014: I've just learned that Lauren Bacall died today, at the age of 89. She always seemed timeless and ageless to me. I hope that she and her great admirer Joseph Cornell will eventually cross paths at some celestial cocktail party.
Photo by Tinsel Creation.
By Jessicain On the Street August 11, 2014 August 17, 2014 184 WordsLeave a comment
On the Street: Carpe Diem
By Jessicain On the Street June 6, 2014 5 WordsLeave a comment
On the Street: Doc Martens, Redux
I took these two photographs during my commute one morning last week. I could easily take several similar photos during every morning and evening commute, as well as at my office, to make this obvious point: classic Dr. Marten AirWair boots are back (again). I supposed it's been a while since their last revival. I'm not sure what exactly prompted this latest wave, but a whole new generation of girls has suddenly embraced them this spring.
These two young women were waiting for a crosstown bus in their purple and oxblood Docs.
Continue reading "On the Street: Doc Martens, Redux" →
By Jessicain On the Street April 22, 2014 April 25, 2014 242 Words5 Comments
On the Street: Holiday Windows at Bergdorf Goodman, Christmas 2013
I took this photo on Christmas Day, when Mr. TC and I were taking a quick tour of the store windows on Fifth Avenue. Bergdorf Goodman's theme for the 2013 holiday season is "Holidays on Ice," and this window is "Valentine's Day." You're just seeing a detail of it here: the overall scene is complex and magical, and hard to capture on film. But even so, can you spot the pastries and confectionary, and the love letters on the woman's desk, and the carnations spilling off her gown, and her pink fur stole?!
You can read more about these windows and view official photos at the Bergdorf blog.
By Jessicain On the Street December 27, 2013 107 WordsLeave a comment
On the Street: Vince Boutique, Madison Avenue
I may be reading too much into the holiday-season windows of this Vince boutique on Madison Avenue when I say that they immediately remind me of Minimalist artist Dan Flavin's series Monument for V. Tatlin (1969-70).
Flavin's sculptures in this series were made entirely from prefabricated fluorescent lighting tubes.
The series was a (semi-humorous) homage to Vladimir Tatlin's design for an impossibly high and complex tower that would serve as a monument to the Communist International organization (1919-20). Some of Flavin's neon arrangements referred to the shapes of that never-built monument, and others were simply abstract shapes.
Were Vince's visual merchandising experts aware of Flavin's work and its implications about art and history? Were they trying to suggest an abstract menorah? Or did they just want to come up with a window display that was illuminated and modern (and not too expensive to execute)? Your guess is as good as mine. I've never even been inside a Vince shop.
Images: Vince photo by Tinsel Creation; Dan Flavin photos/works courtesy of The Museum of Contemporary Art and Phillips.
By Jessicain On the Street December 3, 2013 December 3, 2013 178 Words4 Comments
On the Street: York Beads and Manhattan History
I don't normally slow down when I pass the various bead and trimming stores in west Midtown, but this sign made me laugh. I can never resist a reference to New York City history.
I'm sure the real story is more complicated, but still — very clever.
(This post goes out to my friend Leslie—New Yorker, historian, and craftsperson extraordinaire.)
Images: photo by Tinsel Creation; detail of postcard (1909) from the Museum of the City of New York archives, reproduced here.
By Jessicain On the Street November 12, 2013 80 WordsLeave a comment


The demand for increased capacity on the railway network has made it imperative to be able to simulate both changes in infrastructure and everyday events and interruptions in order to see how these affect traffic, explains Johnny Rudolf, Business Area Manager and responsible for the development of simulators in the ÅF-Group.
Simulation technology noticeably reduces the total investment needed for infrastructure.
The present system has been developed together with the Swedish National Rail Administration and is used not only by them but also by the Öresund Consortium, responsible for the new bridge under construction across The Sound (Öresund) between Sweden and Denmark.
ÅF-Industriteknik has 15-20 years of experience in working with simulators, operation analysis methods and flow analyses in different sectors. The trend is for simulators in the traffic segment to be used not only to analyse major investments, but also for direct connection to practical operations as a way of providing much better documentation on which operators and those responsible for infrastructure can base their decisions.


Cleveland CDL training schools with program options like OH. Class A tractor trailer, Class B truck and Class C large passenger vehicle. You can also find commercial driver's license endorsements training like school bus, tanker truck, HAZMAT, doubles, triples and other.
There are no all-online Cleveland area CDL classes currently available but there are online trade school programs available. Use the application to pick a program and start training for your truck driving job.
Learn about Cleveland truck driver training schools with night and weekend classes, job placement, & financial aid assistance. Related types of trade schools like diesel mechanic, welding technician and HVAC are also available in some areas.
CDL Job listings in Ohio like Class A and Class B CDL, local route delivery driver, regional & long haul.


I have a sweet treat for you this Friday! Inspired by my recent travels, I have a delicious New Orleans Chocolate Collection giveaway ($30 value) for you from one of my favorite shops in that fine city, Sucré .
The chocolates in this particular box are each inspired by the flavors of the city, including Coffee & Chicory, Praline Pecan, Brown Butter - Meunière, Bananas Foster, and Caramel & Sea Salt.
**You can get extra entries by doing any of the following and leaving a separate comment for each one you did. If you don't leave a separate comment, it's just going to count as one entry so LEAVE A SEPARATE COMMENT. You can leave up to 6 comments (entries) total.
1. Like Always Order Dessert on Facebook. Already a fan? Leave a comment on the page to say hello, then comment here to say you did.
3. Post about this giveaway on your own personal or fan page Facebook wall, tagging my FB page, then comment here to say you did.
5. "Pin" an Always Order Dessert recipe or post of your choice on Pinterest and then comment here to say you did.
The winner will be selected via Random Number Generator. Your entry must be in by 5PM EST on Friday, September 13, 2013. US residents only, please.


text:
U.S.|Should California Get Rid of Single-Family Zoning?
California Today
Should California Get Rid of Single-Family Zoning?
A home being renovated for resale in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2013.CreditCreditJason Redmond/Reuters
By Jill Cowan
(Here's the sign-up, if you don't already get California Today by email.)
When I recently asked Mayor Eric Garcetti of Los Angeles about his stance on S.B. 50, the legislation that would have allowed more apartment construction near transit, he said it wouldn't be a good fit for the city.
S.B. 50, he told me, would threaten the character of existing neighborhoods. And L.A., the state's largest city, already builds more than its fair share of new housing compared with other cities in the county, he said.
This week, though, Emily Badger and Quoctrung Bui, my colleagues at The Upshot, reported that apartments and townhomes — anything other than detached, single-family houses — are banned from 75 percent of L.A.'s residential land.
All of which raises the question: When you're dealing with a housing crisis, should a city even have single-family zoning? As Emily and Quoctrung reported, that's a question cities across the nation are grappling with.
I asked Emily to dive a little deeper into what they learned about California. In L.A., at least, things weren't always this way, she wrote:
In 1960, about 2.5 million people lived in the city of Los Angeles, but 10 million theoretically could. The city had the zoning capacity for that many residents — developers could legally build enough apartments to house them, neighborhoods were planned to accommodate that much growth.
Then L.A. began to reimagine itself in ways that constrain the city today.
L.A. and many California communities began the steady process of "downzoning": converting land that allowed courtyard apartments to just fourplexes, fourplexes to duplexes, large-lot single-family homes to even-larger-lot single-family homes.
"It was death by a thousand cuts," said Greg Morrow, executive director of the Real Estate Development and Design program at Berkeley, who has studied the development history of Los Angeles. "You're just taking a little bit out each time."
[Read the full story and see the maps here.]
Within 20 years, according to Mr. Morrow's research, the city's zoning capacity had been cut to just under 4 million people. And that number has barely kept pace since with actual population growth.
Today, many families are doubling up or paying far more than they can afford for a place to live.
This history — and the current zoning map that The Times has reproduced — portrays a clearer picture of the housing shortage in California. It's not just that the state hasn't built enough housing over the years; California communities have made it illegal to build much of the housing that was once possible.
S.B. 50 would have significantly changed that. But the proposal, from State Senator Scott Wiener, is just one of several from officials across the country who are starting to rethink single-family zoning entirely.
"If you look back at early attempts to downzone," Mr. Morrow said, "they really were almost driven by this naïve belief that if you just downzoned, you could stop population growth."
In L.A., that clearly did not happen.
Here's what else we're following
(We often link to sites that limit access for nonsubscribers. We appreciate your reading Times coverage, but we also encourage you to support local news if you can.)
Asmara Sium and her son Khalab Blagburn attended the hearing on reparations, which exposed bitter cultural and ideological divides.CreditMichael A. McCoy for The New York Times
• Wednesday was Juneteenth. A House panel had a historic discussion about a bill that could pave the way for reparations for African-Americans. It's supported by almost 60 House Democrats, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, as well as several presidential candidates, including Senator Kamala Harris. [The New York Times]
• The Times asked all of the Democratic presidential candidates the same 18 questions. (Except Joseph R. Biden Jr., who declined to participate.) [The New York Times]
• A swarm of 1,000 small earthquakes hit Southern California in recent weeks. But experts say it probably isn't a precursor to the big one — though you should always be prepared. [The Los Angeles Times]
• For the second time in two weeks, federal authorities announced a crackdown on a notorious prison gang. Last time, it was the Aryan Brotherhood. On Wednesday, they said they'd arrested 96 members and associates of Nuestra Familia in Central California. [The Fresno Bee]
• At Facebook's "worst-performing" content moderation site, workers were not only made to watch horrific, violent videos, but also had to endure horrific, filthy working conditions, former employees said. A man died at his desk and was scarcely mentioned again, according to this long read. [The Verge]
• San Francisco became the first city in the nation to ban the sale of e-cigarettes. The move came over objections from Juul, which is based there, as well as corner store owners. [San Francisco Examiner]
Wildfire aftermath
• Pacific Gas & Electric agreed to pay 14 local governments a total of $1 billion — including $270 million to Paradise — in a settlement related to damage caused by devastating wildfires sparked by its equipment. That's still a sliver of the utility's expected $30 billion liability. [The Associated Press]
• The utility also said it would permanently shut down the transmission line that started the Camp Fire. [The San Francisco Chronicle]
• Officials identified Phyllis Salazar, 72, of Paradise, as one of the 85 people killed in the Camp Fire, the state's deadliest blaze. She was the 78th person to be positively identified. Two are still unknown, and five have been tentatively identified. [The Chico Enterprise-Record]
Californians of interest
Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor in an undated photograph. Her long-running study on aging led to insights into the biology of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, bone health and menopause.Creditvia Connor Family
• Dr. Elizabeth Barrett-Connor, who led a 47-year-long health study at U.C. San Diego that shed light on the differences in how men and women age, died this month at her home in La Jolla. From the beginning, Dr. Barrett-Connor insisted on including both male and female research subjects, which was unusual at the time. It has since become essential to disease research. [The New York Times]
• Get your tissues ready: Tom Hanks talks about voicing Woody over more than two decades, about becoming a grandfather during that time and about the last days recording "Toy Story 4." [The New York Times]
And Finally …
Rafa Esparza's father taught him how to make bricks. Less than a decade later, those teachings were put on display at the Whitney Biennial. "I never imagined that these adobe bricks I made in Mexico would make it to the other side of the world," his father told him.CreditNatalia Mantini for The New York Times
"I start with the notion that Latino art is American art," Eduardo Díaz, the director of the Smithsonian Latino Center, told my colleague Concepción de León.
But as Concepción reports in this beautiful visual piece, that's not how Latinx and Chicanx artists' work has always been treated.
Things are changing, and more avenues have opened up for artists like Rafa Esparza, a Los Angeles artist who uses adobe bricks that his father taught him to make in his installations.
California Today goes live at 6:30 a.m. Pacific time weekdays. Tell us what you want to see: CAtoday@nytimes.com. Were you forwarded this email? Sign up for California Today here.
Jill Cowan grew up in Orange County, went to school at U.C. Berkeley and has reported all over the state, including the Bay Area, Bakersfield and Los Angeles — but she always wants to see more. Follow along here or on Twitter, @jillcowan.
California Today is edited by Julie Bloom, who grew up in Los Angeles and graduated from U.C. Berkeley.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
GOP group claims its carbon tax is better for the economy than climate mandates
By Josh Siegel, Energy and Environment Reporter
A Republican-backed group pushing for Congress to pass a carbon tax is out with a new study Friday showing it would achieve the same level of emissions reductions as a regulatory approach while producing better economic outcomes.
The group, the Climate Leadership Council, is seeking to shore up support for its carbon tax and dividend proposal as policymakers have gravitated toward other ideas.
Democrats, including President-elect Joe Biden, are instead embracing regulations and mandates for combating climate change, while Republicans oppose new taxes or regulations and are offering more limited policies. The council, led by former Republican Secretaries of State James Baker III and George Shultz, is seeking to counter that.
"The intent of this study was not to criticize any particular regulation, however, if our objective is to find a global solution to climate change and rapidly decarbonize in a way that promotes the economy and where U.S. families come out ahead, it's clear our solution is the best approach," Greg Bertelsen, CEO of the Climate Leadership Council, told the Washington Examiner.
Carbon taxes have routinely been rejected by voters in states, while more than half of states have been able to enact some form of clean electricity standard or mandate.
"I really worry that the ONLY carbon tax/dividend scenario that is examined is an idealized system and there is no evidence that such a system could exist in the real world," David Victor, a professor at University of California San Diego's School of Global Policy and Strategy, told the Washington Examiner in an email.
Joseph Majkut, director of climate policy at the Niskanen Center, said that "regulations might have more immediate traction" but "a carbon tax offers efficiency and well-understood designs to help households."
Noah Kaufman, an economist at Columbia University Center on Global Energy Policy, said the council's study adds to a "mountain of evidence showing that some form of carbon pricing is going to be part of a cost-effective decarbonization strategy."
But Kaufman told the Washington Examiner that a carbon tax would be more effective if it were implemented alongside a portfolio of other climate policies, including regulations and standards.


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text:
BOOTMEN
BOOTMEN (director/writer: Dein Perry; screenwriter: Steve Worland/Hilary Linstead/based on a story by Mr. Perry; cinematographer: Steve Mason; editor: Jane Moran; music: Cezary Skubiszewski; cast: Adam Garcia (Sean Okden), Sophie Lee (Linda), Sam Worthington (Mitchell Okden), William Zappa (Walter), Richard Carter (Gary Okden), Susie Porter (Sara), Anthony Hayes (Huey); Runtime: 92; MPAA Rating: R; producer: Hilary Linstead; Fox Searchlight Pictures; 2000-Australia)
"Think Billy Elliot, Flashdance and The Full Monty, and then say ugh!"
Think Billy Elliot, Flashdance and The Full Monty, and then say ugh! This is an all too familiar clichéd story of an artistic son bucking his hardnosed macho working-class father to pursue a career as a tap dancer instead of at the steel-mill. Also, most of the other films were mucho better–but even they weren't good. This film is not only bad because it rips off the other films without adding anything fresh, but is handicapped by a weak script, dull acting, a dumb storyline, an incredibly weak conclusion and clunky dialogue. Not even the many dance numbers were any good. If the film won't bore you to death, then you might trip on the bubblegum left on the dance floor by the simpleminded plot. In any case, this film should do nothing for your mental health, pursuit of culture or endear you to all the roughnecks out there ready to call any male who becomes a dancer a sissy.
The film is taken from its director Dein Perry's autobiography, during the time he was a laborer aspiring to be a dancer. This is Perry's film debut; he's the internationally acclaimed dancer and choreographer who made it big with the stage show Tap Dogs. My advise: don't give up the day gig!
The time frame is during an economic crisis in the depressed Australian town of Newcastle and motorcycle riding rebel Sean Okden (Adam Garcia), who works in the same steel-mill with his glum widowed father Gary (Richard Carter), enjoys tap dancing and does not seek the same job security his dad does. It's never made clear, aside from the job security issue, why the bug-eyed dad wants sonny boy to share his 'walking dead' life experience of watching rugby on TV and beer-guzzling and not pursue his dancing dreams. Sean resists dad's bad advice and with the help of his crippled dancing teacher Walter Zappa, another clichéd character in a film overloaded with clichéd characters, he forms a dance troupe to perform at a benefit show and gets an out of town dance gig. Humorless doltish dad gets all bent out of shape when Sean quits his deadend job and heads for the bright lights of Sydney to pursue his lifelong goal of dancing, only to return home after being fired from the show over jealousy. But Sean is more determined than ever to be a dancing success and with his own dance troupe, called the Bootmen–they use an industrial strength theme and wear motorcycle boots and click their heels loudly with their metal taps to the beat of heavy metal music–ugh!
Uninteresting banal side stories develop such as betrayal over Sean's bimbo hairdresser girlfriend Linda (Sophie Lee), who when he fails to call dumps him for his wise guy steel-mill brother Mitchell (Sam Worthington). The brother's way out of the mill is to steal cars to sell their parts to buy a truck, with ill-intentioned criminals pursuing him. There are mindless fist fights, an unwanted pregnancy, some gay bashing, further anxiety caused by word that the steel-mill will close, mucho macho antics and it all leads to a predictable but unbelievable tragedy at the conclusion. Pretty boy Garcia might appeal to teenage girls and his dancing might be passable, but his bland acting should only appeal to clams.
REVIEWED ON 6/27/2005 GRADE: C-
Dennis Schwartz: "Ozus' World Movie Reviews"
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED DENNIS SCHWARTZ


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Demi-bloc and Mono-bloc are names for methods of barrel construction on shotguns and rifles.
The names are helpful as demi means half or two and mono means one. In this case, a Demi-bloc consists of two parts with a Mono-bloc consisting of one.
The "Bloc" (Breech) in both cases is the first section of the barrels that fits the action body that uses the barrel "lump" to lock into place.
A Demi-bloc is often referred to as a "Chopper lump" barrel and from the top and left picture below it should be evident why. Each barrel is formed from a single piece of steel which gives additional strength as the steels grain flows through the entire barrel.
The picture above shows the assembled Demi-bloc. The line down the middle is the fitted braised join which has to be accurately assembled to ensure the barrels converge at the correct angle (the convergence angle ensures both barrels point toward the same point of impact - more on convergence angles in next month's feature).
A Mono-bloc barrel consists of a single machined component that the barrel tubes are braised into. The below shows the Boxall and Edmiston Sidelock Barrel lump in both computer aided design (CAD) and component form.
The main advantage of a Demi-bloc barrel is its strength. When a cartridge detonates a shotgun is held shut by the "Bite" which is the body bolt pushing down on the barrel lumps. The bite on a Demi-bloc pushes down on both halves of the barrels giving extra support.
The bite is incredibly important on any gun which is why shotguns of quality are smoked in; this is the process of adding soot to a component and then fitting it to identify the points that they rub together.
The benefits of a Mono-bloc come from the accuracy of its manufacture as its size is perfectly machinable. Angles can be machined to a tolerance of microns and most importantly the convergence angles are added easily. As Mono-bloc barrels are easier to machine they are also inherently less costly to manufacture.
At Boxall and Edmiston, the use of Mono-bloc barrels is felt appropriate due to the Engineering advantages offered such as Diamond Shaped Ejectors and the all important convergence angle. Diamond shaped ejectors are engineered in such a way that the guide leg is no longer necessary; a component that notoriously brakes on English guns. Furthermore, the larger surface area on the diamond ejectors reduces wear and gives a much more positive ejection.
With modern Engineering barrel production has become far more advanced and both Demi-bloc and Mono-bloc barrels have pros and cons that will be difficult to discern for most shooters.
When we apply this topic to OU's the logic turns on its head. As the barrel lumps and therefore the bite is on the bottom barrel of a Demi-bloc barrel the only thing holding the top barrel into the action is the braise between the two.
The below shows the Boxall and Edmiston over and under barrel lump from its CAD form through the various stages of machining. The strength of the Mono-bloc barrel lump is far greater on an over and under as it's formed from a single piece of steel. It is also far more machineable and the convergence angles and bite points are precision engineered which is why most over and unders are manufactured in this way.


text:
Victor Snell (1874–1931) was a Swiss journalist.

External links

1874 births
1931 deaths
Swiss journalists

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Illinois, Live Session #4
by Woody on June 5, 2007
The HearYa offices are more than just that. They're a recording studio, an entertainment lawyer, a graphic designer, and an amazing view of the downtown Chicago skyline. At least that's what Illinois assumed when they arrived last week for their session. I didn't have the heart to explain that our "offices" are living rooms and laptops in airports and that the lawyer and graphic designer happen to share space with the studio. Nor is it relevant, really. It's just that Shirk's Studio is now adorned with a promo poster signed by the guys saying "HearYa.com – The Greatest Place in America."
I was particularly excited about having Illinois in to record as they have been one of my favorite bands recently. And while I'd like to say I met them when they rolled up in their van, "Illinois" scrawled across the back above the Pennsylvania license plate, and helped them unload and lug their equipment up the 3 flights of stairs, but no, I was delayed by the terrible public transportation system here in Chicago. By the time I got to the studio, the guys were already doing their sound check, which eventually caused the drummer, JP, to be walled in due to spashback on the vocal mics. Oh the joys of recording live. In addition to the drum complications, Shirk showed amazing production skills by juggling a hastily assembled setup involving 4 vocal mics, 2 electric guitars, a fuzz-pedal bass (a la Robert Sledge), a keyboard, an acoustic guitar, and a banjo.
The session soon morphed into a rehearsal for the guys as they worked out the kinks from over a week off. They had finished their tour with The Kooks earlier and had been relaxing before this tour kicked off here in Chicago. While Shirk adjusted levels, Illinois nailed down their vocal harmony and breaks. The majority of tracks they laid down were not included on their EP – "What The Hell Do I Know?" so it was awesome to hear new songs from them. The singer and banjo/keyboard player, Chris, said that they had a backlog of 270 songs, so there will be plenty for these guys to expand on in future releases and at live shows.
Later that night, Shirk and his wife, Lia, and I were invited down to the green room at Schuba's where we hung out with the band before their set. They were definitely laid back and unassuming, even taking in a few matches of ping pong on the XBOX360 and discussing the finer points of Wallace Shawn's acting in The Princess Bride. However, when they took the stage, their presence blew even me away. They opened with "Oh, Asia," and I was sold. For all the time spent in the studio with them, it is amazing how much a crowd and big speakers can change the perception of a band. All the uncertainty of the rehearsal was gone as they band rocked the stage with brash confidence. Chris even seamlessly called out the photographer during his rant in "Bad Day," ordering him to stop taking pictures, who, without much of a fight, gave up.
So when I heard Beer Nuts was sponsoring our Sessions, I was ecstatic. It would help us bring in more great bands and provide exclusive content for you guys. Little did I know when I invited Illinois, just how many nuts I would be exposed to. I can now say I know Illinois better than I had ever anticipated. All in the line of duty, I suppose.
Illinois – Artillery
Illinois – Naked and Camouflaged
Illinois – Oh Asia
Illinois – Alone Again
oz June 5, 2007 at 9:06 pm
Nice work Shirk. I honestly can't stop listening to these. The first go around didn't hit me, but after the third time through I was addicted.
Kevin, I always enjoy your descriptive coverage of the sessions and appreciate you leaving out any descriptions of the band members' testicles.
Steve Shirk June 11, 2007 at 3:43 pm
Thanks Oz. Glad you dig. That was a challenging but fun day. Looking foward to the morning pages in 2 weeks.
HearYa Session 5: The Morning Pages at HearYa: An Indie Music Blog
HearYa Session 6: Cracklin Moth, One of Chicago's Best Unsigned Bands at HearYa: An Indie Music Blog
HearYa's Best EP's of 2007 at HearYa - Indie Music Blog
Best Albums of 2007 with MP3's at HearYa - Indie Music Blog
HearYa Live Session 18: Modern Skirts at HearYa - Indie Music Blog
April Shows We Recommend In Chicago, with mp3's — HearYa - Indie Music Blog
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In Net Station 5.4, you can resolve this error immediately using the File Validator utility.
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text:
package org.keycloak.testsuite.console.page.authentication.flows;

import org.keycloak.testsuite.console.page.authentication.Authentication;
import org.openqa.selenium.WebElement;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.FindBy;
import org.openqa.selenium.support.ui.Select;

/**
 * @author tkyjovsk
 * @author mhajas
 */
public class Flows extends Authentication {

    @Override
    public String getUriFragment() {
        return super.getUriFragment() + "/flows";
    }

    @FindBy(tagName = "select")
    private Select flowSelect;

    @FindBy(xpath = "//button[text() = 'New']")
    private WebElement newButton;

    @FindBy(xpath = "//button[text() = 'Copy']")
    private WebElement copyButton;

    @FindBy(xpath = "//button[text() = 'Delete']")
    private WebElement deleteButton;

    @FindBy(xpath = "//button[text() = 'Add Execution']")
    private WebElement addExecutionButton;

    @FindBy(xpath = "//button[text() = 'Add Flow']")
    private WebElement addFlowButton;

    @FindBy(tagName = "table")
    private FlowsTable flowsTable;

    public enum FlowOption {

        DIRECT_GRANT("Direct grant"),
        REGISTRATION("Registration"),
        BROWSER("Browser"),
        RESET_CREDENTIALS("Reset credentials"),
        CLIENTS("Clients");

        private final String name;

        private FlowOption(String name) {
            this.name = name;
        }

        public String getName() {
            return name;
        }
    }

    public void selectFlowOption(FlowOption option) {
        flowSelect.selectByVisibleText(option.getName());
    }

    public String getFlowSelectValue() {
        return flowSelect.getFirstSelectedOption().getText();
    }

    public FlowsTable table() {
        return flowsTable;
    }

    public void clickNew() {
        newButton.click();
    }

    public void clickCopy() {
        copyButton.click();
    }

    public void clickDelete() {
        deleteButton.click();
    }

    public void clickAddExecution() {
        addExecutionButton.click();
    }

    public void clickAddFlow() {
        addFlowButton.click();
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Your Company's Experienced a Cybersecurity Incident—Now What?
Is Your Business Compliant With Cybersecurity Laws?
Why Isn't My Business Growing?
Targeting Company Growth: Are You Considering Your People?
How Are Technology Trends Impacting Your Company Growth?
Developing A Mobile App: Should Your Business Be On Board?


text:
Dodging paywalls could cost you more than you think
Friday 10 Jul 2020 Rebecca Munro
By Rebecca Munro
If you consume news via the internet, chances are you've encountered those 'pesky' paywalls.
We've all been there, enticed by an online headline only to be prompted to subscribe and hand over our money for the full story.
It's frustrating, and many refuse to do it. It makes sense, budgets are tight and why now do we have to pay for something we've always received for free?
Here in WA it can cost anywhere between $1.75 a week for a WAtoday online subscription, to $1 a day for a full newspaper and online subscription for The West Australian.
There is a clear resistance to paying for news online, but the truth is, the pain to your pocket will be far less than the cost to Australia's democracy if we stop paying for journalism.
Most of us are happy to fork out $9 a month for our Netflix subscription but why are we so hesitant to pay for journalism? Perhaps it comes from entitlement, a misconception that journalists perform a free public service. Many social media users who engage and comment on these locked stories seem to think so, often threatening publications with the dreaded 'unfollow'.
There's been arguments that paywalls create a socioeconomic breakdown of those who can afford to read quality journalism and those who can't.
That's a real concern but what is even more detrimental to a democracy, is unsustainable journalism.
Newsflash (pun intended) journalists need to get paid too, and you might be surprised to learn they don't get paid much, for what they contribute.
Take for example recent Walkley Award winner Annabel Hennessy from The West Australian, who this year brought public attention to the incarceration of Aboriginal woman Jody Gore – convicted of killing her abusive ex-partner.
Ms Hennessy's relentless chasing and investigative journalism resulted in Ms Gore being freed from prison and WA's laws being re-written. She had the power to tell a story that wasn't told in the courtroom.
Being a former journalist myself, I dare say Ms Hennessy likely spent long days and late nights having very difficult conversations and probably copping a fair bit of abuse for trying to find the truth – and that is worth our money.
When I see these outraged social media users complaining their news is trapped behind a paywall, I can't help but think if they get paid for their job.
During the height of the pandemic in WA, we praised our health care workers, our shop assistants and all those risking their health and safety. Journalists were on the frontline too, providing the public with reliable up-to-date information when they needed it the most, and just like our other essential workers, they need to make a living.
If you think about it, this would have been the perfect time for newspapers to act like big business and jump on this in-demand opportunity by locking all content to gain more subscribers.
The majority didn't exploit this and provided the daily COVID-19 online updates for free.
Yes, the media landscape has changed, and newspapers are forced to get sexier to sell more, but they haven't lost the ability to create change, and keep our leaders accountable.
Unlike social media platforms, journalists and news publications are held to account for what they publish, and in return force our leaders, big business and members of the public to be accountable – that's their job.
Journalists have university degrees and are trained to deliver balanced and factual information. In the past, newspapers have done well on advertising revenue but the more appetite for online content means a decline in sales, resulting in cutbacks.
The less journalists there are, the less time they have to dig deep into a story to find the truth on behalf of the Australian public. In other words, how else will we, as former Australian Democrat leader Don Chipp said, "Keep the bastards honest"?
Look at recent wage theft allegations against big companies including Woolworths. When journalists investigate these issues, they shine a public light on them and often force companies into doing the right thing in a bid to save their reputation. If it wasn't for journalists, we'd likely see goliath winning many more battles.
Right now, we can't rely on social media platforms to provide news organisations with enough advertising revenue for them to disable paywalls, despite the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission establishing a mandatory code of conduct.
The code is supposed to encourage social media channels to pass on advertising revenue to the ones who actually create the content. The journalists, who spend hours making the phone calls or waiting outside on long crime scene stakeouts, inside courthouses or at Parliament House. But Facebook still refuses to pay news publications for what they produce.
Google has announced it will come to the table with some compensation, but we'd need all of them to get on board with a lot of money if we ever wanted to see the end of paywalls and a return to newsrooms full of senior reporters who actually have time to investigate.
Supporting real accountable journalism dilutes the overwhelming misinformation and disinformation we face on a daily basis and contributes to a healthy democracy.
As Thomas Jefferson, the man who led the US democracy movement once said: "Were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers, or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter."
The fact is that people were paying for physical newspapers long before the internet rose to prominence, but now seem put off by the fact a digital subscription isn't something you can physically hold in your hand. I'd argue having your news available digitally, on any device at any time is even more bang for your buck – and that's worth paying for.


Planning has always been an on-going process in the Diocese of Ogdensburg but, particularly since 1987 under Bishop Stanislaus J. Brzana, there has been a concerted effort to look to and plan for the future pastoral care of the faithful of the Diocese in light of a declining number of priests (See Planning Video 1987). It was Bishop Paul Loverde who initiated the most recent planning process in 1998 with Jennifer Votraw, SSJ, serving as Director of Planning. At that time there were 92 pastors residing in parishes (as opposed to 46 resident pastors in 2017). A Planning Committee was established under the direction of Sister Jennifer consisting of the Deans of the Diocese, the Vicar for Clergy, and religious and lay representatives. After extensive consultation with pastors and parishioners the Planning Committee submitted a restructuring plan which was approved in 2003 by Bishop Gerald Barbarito. With the implementation of the plan there have been significant changes and adjustments made in terms of parish configurations.
Out of necessity, the Planning Committee has continued to evaluate the diocesan reality recommending to our Bishop changes which have gone well beyond the original recommendations made in 2003. In April of 2014 with the proclamation of Bishop Terry LaValley's Pastoral Letter, "Find Your Home in Christ", the planning process took another huge step forward. One of the priorities highlighted in the Bishop's letter was to "Build Parishes with Living Stones" with a goal of establishing a "Living Stones Planning Committee" with a clear mission and broad representation by September 1, 2014. This goal has been met.
The current committee, building on the good work of the previous planning committee, has continued to move forward presenting to Bishop LaValley a new plan of parish configuration in August of 2016. This plan includes suggestions for the linking or merging of certain parishes with some churches being reduced to the status of oratory. Closure of a parish would be a last resort. This plan is not the final word but simply makes recommendations to Bishop LaValley and is subject to on-going consultation taking into consideration the particular circumstances of the parish (es) involved.
Because of the nature of our Diocese covering such a large area, one of the major challenges in terms of planning is to assure that our communities have a pastoral presence. Although all parishes will have a pastor with access to a Sunday Mass, not all communities will have a pastor in residence or a Mass in their church building. In those situations where a priest is not in residence, it is important to have someone who can attend to pastoral needs through ministry that is not directly reserved to priests. The primary concern is to do what is best for the church, both clergy and laity, and place our priests where they are most needed. In some cases a deacon or a pastoral associate may fill this role of pastoral presence and in some particular situations a parish life coordinator may be assigned. The aim in planning is to utilize the gifts of all the baptized who are the "Living Stones" in the forming of vibrant, viable parishes.


You can find links to various articles describing elite performances at international events.
Blogs have been created for both the Junior and Senior squads where, over the years, athletes have written about their orienteering endeavours.
You can therefore relive the experience of international competitions and training camps through the squad members own words.


text:
void panic_spin(char* filename,int line,const char* func,const char* condition);

#define PANIC(...) panic_spin(__FILE__,__LINE__,__func__,__VA_ARGS__)

#ifdef NDEBUG
	#define ASSERT(CONDITION) ((void)0)
#else
	#define ASSERT(CONDITION) \
		if(CONDITION){}else{ \
		PANIC(#CONDITION);}
#endif
#endif


text:
New York Society of Security Analysts Appoints Karen Sterling, Ph.D., CFA, as Interim Executive Director
New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) announces Board of Directors has appointed Karen Sterling, Ph.D., CFA, as Interim Executive Director
One of my goals [is] ...to keep NYSSA vital and visionary.
New York, NY (PRWEB) May 21, 2014
The New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA) is pleased to announce that its Board of Directors has appointed Karen Sterling, Ph.D., CFA, as its Interim Executive Director effective May 1, 2014. Dr. Sterling's appointment as Interim Executive Director was made in light of the Society's desire to remain a leader in financial markets thinking and education.
Speaking about the NYSSA board's appointment of Dr. Sterling to her new position, Society Chairman, Mark Ukrainskyj, CFA, said "The Board would like to thank Dr. Sterling for making herself available as the Interim Executive Director at this exciting time of transition for the Society. Dr. Sterling brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in the financial services industry and we are confident she will do a wonderful job engaging the NYSSA membership and the financial community at large as the Society continues to build its impressive portfolio of programs and events."
Dr. Sterling is taking on her new role at NYSSA after long experience at the Society, where she has been an active member since 2003. She was elected to the Board of Directors in 2010, and has been a member of the board's Executive Committee since 2011. She has resigned the Vice Chairmanship to take on her new post.
About taking on this new role at NYSSA, Dr. Sterling said, "NYSSA has a brilliant and energetic group of members, many of them distinguished investment and financial services professionals, who engage with each other and the public on topics of interest and who help shape the dialogue in the evolving landscape of finance. I look forward to supporting their valuable contributions to the financial community, through the production of more high quality events that will be open to both members and the general public."
"NYSSA has been an intellectual leader in the financial profession since its founding in 1937," Sterling said, "and one of the goals for my tenure with NYSSA is to help the Society build on this legacy, working with our members and our Board to keep NYSSA vital and visionary."
Dr. Sterling brings broad financial markets experience to her new position at NYSSA. She is currently the Managing Director of healthcare investment banking at Avalon Group, a boutique broker dealer where she offers fundraising and strategic advisory services to companies in the biotechnology, pharmaceutical, medical devices, healthcare services, and healthcare IT sectors. She will continue her affiliation with Avalon while serving the NYSSA membership.
Most recently, she acted as strategic advisor and Interim Chief Financial Officer to a genetic diagnostics company headquartered in Seattle, WA that maintains laboratory facilities in Charleston, SC. Prior to being Managing Director at Avalon, she was Vice President and Senior Analyst at Fridson Investment Advisors, an investment management firm specializing in corporate credit opportunities, and prior to that, quantitative and fundamental analyst at Martin Fridson's FridsonVision.
Until 2009, she also published equity research reports and financial analysis of life science companies through Karen Sterling Bio-Pharma Insight. She has published widely in the peer reviewed financial press, in publications such as the Journal of Fixed Income, Journal of Portfolio Management, and The Investment Professional, and has been a keynote and featured speaker at various financial markets conferences. She was awarded the Chartered Financial Analyst designation in 2006.
Dr. Sterling earned two masters degrees and a PhD in biochemistry and molecular biophysics from Columbia University. She completed her undergraduate work in biochemistry at the Technical University of Hannover, Germany and is a native speaker of German. In 2005, while deployed to Antarctica as a research scuba diver on an NSF-funded project, she became the only financial analyst in history to update her equity research coverage via satellite from a remote field camp on the Antarctic continent.
Daniel Dagen


I'd received one of these! I've been blogging about Vista for a while now! These are just posts in December. I don't think there would have been anything wrong with sending the laptops if the bloggers had to disclose the receipt of a laptop from Microsoft. And only if the blogger does blog about Vista.


text:
Q: Fire rewrite rule on class constraint I'm trying to write a maybeShow function which is show but without a Show class constraint. Here's my attempt:
{-# INLINE [1] maybeShow #-}
maybeShow :: a -> Maybe String
maybeShow _ = Nothing

canShow :: Show a => a -> Maybe String
canShow = Just . show

data CantShow = CantShow

main = do
  print (maybeShow (42 :: Int))
  print (maybeShow CantShow)

{-# RULES
"maybeShow" forall (x :: (Show a => a)). maybeShow x = canShow x
#-}

But in this code, the rewrite rule never seems to fire.
I know this will sometimes return Nothing for showable types. For example, I entirely expect uses of maybeShow in non-inlined functions which are not specialised to a particular type to return Nothing. But as I'm using maybeShow as something to add to the output of error, it doesn't really matter if it doesn't always work.
But I'd like it to sometimes work (for example, when it's been inlined into the calling function) rather than never as seems to be currently the case.
Any ideas on how to get the rewrite rule to fire? This on wiki.haskell.org suggests it can be done, but the advice dates back to GHC 6.6 so I'm not sure it's still valid.

A: The requirements are still unclear to me, but I can't think of other solutions than the following two, e.g., to debug a library of polymorphic functions by tracing trace values of parametric types, but adding a Show constraint would break code downstream.

Use rewrite rules on monomorphic types. I assume that for debugging purposes, you need only a few types. However this may be rather unreliable, and you might need to specialise/inline functions explicitly.

Perhaps you can get by with another type class with a blanket overlappable instance.
class MaybeShow a where
  maybeShow :: a -> Maybe String

instance {-# OVERLAPPABLE #-} MaybeShow a where
  maybeShow _ = Nothing

You then specialize it selectively to the few types you are using to debug.
instance MaybeShow Int where
  maybeShow n = Just (show n)

However you still need to add a MaybeShow constraint to every function that uses it.
Here you can often use PartialTypeSignatures to write more concise toplevel signatures
myFun :: _ => a -> w a
constrainedFun :: (_, RealConstraint a) => a -> b a

This method however has the advantage of having much more predictable behavior.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


The American Veterinary Medical Association has revealed that dogs truly are a man's best friend, still holding on to the top spot for favorite household pets with over 43 million homes owning at least one. However, one of the most common problems that many owners experience with their canine companion is chewing, resulting in many a destroyed shoe or a house full of gnawed furniture.
This frustrating but typical problem can be handled with a little patience, understanding and trialling of different options. Recognizing that the issue goes beyond being merely a source of entertainment and getting to the source of your pet´s discomfort and anxiety will help prevent further destruction, resulting in a happier pooch.
Dogs don't chew merely to be destructive but they do it because they are in need of an outlet due to boredom or stress. Their natural go-to in order to relieve these feelings may well involve chewing on whatever piece of furniture is within close range.
It is common to find that your dog only chews when left unattended, for example once you have gone to work or out to the shops. This could be due to separation anxiety, in which case, there may be other signs such as whining, barking, pacing, restlessness and urination. Hunger could be another issue if your dog is on a calorie restricted diet since their chewing may come as a result of trying to find additional sources of nutrition. If your dog is still a puppy, chewing is quite natural as they are curious to discover the world around them whilst also dealing with the pain of teething.
Once the issue for the chewing has been identified and all aspects considered, it is possible to trial some methods that may help reduce and eventually stop the behavioural problem of chewing.
If the issue is related to teething, it might be worth trying to give your puppy ice cubes or a cold wet cloth to chew on that will help to numb the pain around their mouth.
There are also a variety of toys designed specifically for dogs to chew on. In order to keep these chew toys looking new and interesting, make sure they are enticing and rotate them.
In the event that the chewing simply comes down to the fact that they are bored, ensure that they are getting enough exercise and attention from you. When taking your dog out for a walk, keep them busy by throwing a ball for them to fetch or playing frisbee at the park with them. This will keep them running around whilst also getting plenty of interaction with you.
The benefit of distracting your dog from chomping on the arm of the sofa with the likes of chew toy will not only help protect your home, but will also fight boredom, keep their teeth clean and freshen their breath. Ultimately, keeping your dog happy will result in an overall happier home.


text:
Bilingual children 'show advantage' in noisy classrooms
Researchers have found evidence that youngsters who speak two languages maintain their focus better. A study has found bilingual primary school children learn more effectively than monolinguals within noisy environments like classrooms. Bilingual Article
Anglia Ruskin University's Dr Roberto Filippi carried out research in Cambridge primary schools, focusing on children aged between seven and 10. Michael Thomas, from the CEN, was a co-author on the study. The study found bilingual children were more able to maintain focus on a main task, which in this case was the identification of the subject in a short sentence in the presence of noise.
Pupils who only speak one language did not reach the same level of efficiency, showing that noise negatively affects their ability to sustain attention, especially when comprehending more difficult sentences.
Dr Filippi said: "Previous research has shown that bilingualism has a positive effect on cognitive abilities, but there were no studies investigated whether these advantages extended to learning in noisy environments.
"Primary schools are the key stages for the development of formal learning in the first years of life. However, they are also remarkably noisy. Therefore the ability to filter out auditory interference is particularly important within the context of an educational environment."
Dr Filippi was joined by international researchers from Birkbeck in London and the Northwestern University in Chicago. The study provides further evidence of the importance of learning a second language early in the UK educational system. The research is in line with previous research in adult second language learners, which implicated the cerebellum as the neural structure involved in mediating language interference when the bilingual focuses on a single language.


text:
Q: sql query to show row data in columns Table Structure
Table 1
-------------
code  |  name
-------------
1     |  abc
2     |  xyz

Table 2
-------------------------------
code   |  table1_code  |  data
-------------------------------
1      |    1          |  a
2      |    1          |  b
3      |    1          |  c
4      |    1          |  d
5      |    1          |  e
6      |    2          |  f
7      |    2          |  g

Now Expected Result:
Result
table1_code  | name  |   data_col1    |   data_col2   |  data_col3
------------------------------------------------------------------
1              abc       a                b              c
2              xyz       f                g              -

What i have tried so far
SELECT a.code AS table1_code,
       a.NAME,
       b.data_col
FROM   table1 AS a
       LEFT OUTER JOIN table2 AS b
                    ON a.code = b.table1_code

kindly help me to alter the query to get above output,
i want data upto 3 columns only.

A: To do this you need a way to determine what the first three items in each group should be. The way to do this is to add a row number that restarts for each new group. This would be easy in any database that supports window function, but MySQL doesn't so it gets a bit more complicated as you have to use user defined variables to do the ranking.
In the query below ranking of data is done in the derived table used as source and then a conditional aggregation is performed so that you get one row per group:
SELECT
  code,
  name,
  MAX(CASE WHEN rank = 1 THEN data END) data_col1,
  MAX(CASE WHEN rank = 2 THEN data END) data_col2,
  MAX(CASE WHEN rank = 3 THEN data END) data_col3
FROM (
  SELECT
    a.code,
    a.name,
    b.data,
    (
      CASE a.name
        WHEN @grp THEN @row := @row + 1
        ELSE @row := 1 AND @grp := a.name
      END
    ) + 1 AS rank
  FROM table1 AS a
  LEFT OUTER JOIN table2 AS b ON a.code = b.table1_code
  , (SELECT @row := 0, @grp := '') r
  ORDER BY a.code, a.name asc
) src
GROUP BY code, name;

Sample SQL Fiddle


text:
Genre: Asian-American YA?
Because I apparently didn't learn from last time's mistake, I once again succumbed to the siren song of the Bestseller. This time it was the Summer trilogy by Jenny Han.
The names of the books should have let me know what I was getting into- The Summer I Turned Pretty, It's Not Summer Without You, We'll Always Have Summer. (Followed by I Know What You Did Last Summer?)
The main character is Belly Conklin, a teenaged girl who has spent most summers at a holiday home belonging to her mother's best friend. With her mother, brother, and the sons of her mother's friends. One summer, she turns pretty. I'm not sure how exactly this happens, but it's acknowledged by everyone that Belly is now Hot. Of course, the boys, Conrad and Jeremiah, are both immediately in love with her. Which one will she choose? It takes 3 books to find out.
Apart from the slightly worrisome fact that Belly is involved with two brothers, there were many things I disliked about these books. Firstly, the writing is very simplistic but at the same time, vaguely nostalgic and dramatic. It's hard to put my finger on it, but it was annoying. "I decided to get a strawberry milkshake instead of vanilla. Little did I know it, but everything was about to change, irretrievably and all at once."
All in all, a coming-of-age story set in a culture and environment that's utterly strange to me. Vacation homes? Getting married in college? Being hot? Nope.
A very generous 1/5 from me.
I am incorrigible, I also read To All The Boys I've Loved Before. This is the first novel of another trilogy by Jenny Han. The protagonist of this one, Lara Jean Song, writes secret letters to the boys she falls out of love with- what happens when *gasp* someone sends them out? This is not a terrible beginning, but Lara Jean is all of sixteen, which makes me skeptical that she was ever really in love in the first place. Oh, and one of the boys is her sister's boyfriend. Much like Belly, Lara Jean is childish and self-centred – I don't recall being that immature at sixteen. Sex is a big part of it- somehow Lara Jean is young enough to be shocked by it, yet old enough to do it? Maybe it's a cultural thing that I missed.
Posted in Book Review and tagged 1/5, Bestsellers, chick lit, young adult on January 27, 2018 by aliensarewatching. 2 Comments
Who makes bestsellers best-selling?
Long time no review. So long, in fact, that WordPress updated its UI.
This is my review of Everything I Never Told You by Celeste Ng. As the title of this blogpost suggests, it's a pretty popular recent novel (released 2014). After seeing it name-dropped everywhere, I Googled it and found some excerpts. It seemed like an interesting light read, so here we are.
It is the story of a teenaged girl, Lydia Lee, who goes missing one day in her hometown in Ohio. We're told almost immediately that she is dead, and we follow her family as they come to terms with the loss and the secrets that are revealed. In typical thriller style, the narrative has flashbacks interleaved with the current events (that is, the police investigation and her parents' grief). Her parents have their own backstories- their inter-racial marriage triggered them both to leave their dreams by the wayside and dedicate themselves to average, small-town life. Lydia bore the burden of these failures, apparently, and this shaped her personality and brief life.
My first impression- interesting, light read- was correct. The narrative touches on several themes- interracial relationships, "tiger parents", peer pressure, homosexuality. It is reasonably good at keeping the reader interested, though this could be attributed to the short length and not the narrative (this took me just a couple of hours to read!).
But apart from these positives, I honestly couldn't find the appeal of this book.
Firstly, Ng has turned the Asian Tiger Parent and inter-racial marriage stereotypes on their heads by having an Asian father and a white mother, with the mother being the pushy parent. In reality, the opposite is much more common- Asian mother, white father, and the Asian parent is the task master. Apparently the author herself is in an inter-racial marriage, so it seems odd that she chose to write about a different dynamic- is it because of her own baggage? The LGBT subplot also seemed a bit insensitive, and seemed like it was shoehorned in as a plot twist.
Secondly, every single character in this book is extremely unlikeable. Maybe I'm naive, but I like to believe that when people do wrong things, it's because they either justify it to themselves or because they don't really stop to consider what they're doing. The people in this book are downright awful to each other for no particular reason, and on occasion stop being awful, again for no particular reason.
Overall, 2/5 just for its sheer readability. I read it in two sittings, and it suited my fried attention span perfectly.
Posted in Book Review and tagged 2/5, Bestsellers, fiction, mystery, thriller on December 22, 2017 by aliensarewatching. 1 Comment
Phil Knight, the founder of Nike Inc., opens Shoe Dog with the description of a morning run. With that, he instantly connects with the average runner; a sense of camaraderie sets in, and lasts till the last page of the memoir. He's up at an ungodly hour, laces up, stretches, feels his muscles groan and wake up, and hits the road; basking in the inimitable runners high. On his run, he consolidates his thoughts on what will turn out to be the most important decision of his and scores of runners' lives, down the years. He decides to talk to his father, his only financier, about starting a company for running shoes. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Phil Knight's partner was the legendary track coach, Bill Bowerman, who coached Phil at University of Oregon, as well as several Olympians, including the great Prefontaine. The company was built on the sweat and blood of shoe dogs, people who are passionate and borderline obsessed with shoes. About running shoes.
For years, this company that Phil Knight founded in 1963 was called Blue Ribbon. The story of the change of name to Nike and the design of the logo, the Swoosh, are parts of the memoir that are best left to the reader to enjoy afresh. The company was, essentially, an importer of running shoes from Japan. Onitsuka (ASICS today) was the manufacturer of these shoes. They were, however, conceptualised in America by Bill Bowerman, and later, Johnson, a salesman par excellence, with the help of many a running enthusiast, including stars and rookies in university tracks.
The path to self sufficiency in manufacturing shoes is studded with supply troubles and manic enthusiasm of the coterie that formed the core team of the company. It is safe to say that this team that nurtured Nike through its initial days, was built around the onslaught of liquidity crunches and multiple court cases, all of which were life-threatening to the company. For instance, Onitsuka sued Nike in Japan, and Nike sued back in America for breach of contract and trademark infringement. Daily affair for huge companies today, but it could have broken everything that Phil had built. The bad times at Nike went so far as to be notified to the FBI for fraud. This brush with law enforcement was cringe-worthy for anyone rooting for the company (or just for running shoes).
As a leader, Phil is disparaging in his take on his role, as he recounts his non-response to enthusiastic members of his team even when they demonstrated utmost dedication to the cause of Nike. Some of them maintained a ledger of the likes of customers, and also went so far as to not cash-in their paychecks. Phil is deeply grateful, though, through negotiations, court cases, and the biannual meetings called Buttface (thus christened to establish how non-conforming to the then corporate standards they were). It would have helped the reader to surmise the same had he described their lives more in depth, though.
Of the people that helped to make Nike possible, the role of Phil's wife, who was their first accountant, is greatly underplayed. She is portrayed as a Mary Sue, with no say whatsoever in any matters. Also, due, in part, to this lack of regard for her part in Phil's life, or for that matter, for the role that his family may have played, it would be apt to categorise this book as an account of the company, Nike, rather than as a memoir of its founder.
In the last chapter, Phil writes about why he wrote the memoir. After all, who really wants to know about the birth and growth of a company that sells "sports stuff"? In a candid couple of pages, he writes that his life's purpose that has been somewhat realised through Nike, which he sees not as a profit making enterprise, but as a movement towards excellence. The memoir is thus meant to inspire people to start up, believe in their maniacal desires, pursue a calling, and the like. The everyday and the epic in the book, like the daily and personal struggles of the team members, or the geometric year on year increase in annual revenue, prove, surely, that pursuing one's calling is the the most worthy thing to do.
The book gives us the tale of Nike from 1962 to 2006. Some years, however, have unfortunately been brushed over. Today Nike is worth much more than the $8000 annual turn over in 1963. In a way, it's the story of a do-gooder capitalist, who stands as testament to all that's well with free markets. One of the most saddening parts of the book, though, was the narration of the "so-called sweatshop" controversy, regarding the abysmal condition of Nike factories in China, Bangladesh. It is outrightly disregarded with deep contempt, rather than acknowledging the humanitarian issue that needed addressing. Nevertheless, since, Nike has risen to become the gold standard of factories in the East. A good comeback, that.
As the audience to the book, the slightly more initiated was given far too little to chew on. This is not a quintessential book for runners. Indeed, what would a shoe dog not have given to know more about the shoe designs, or to skim through pictures of the earliest prototypes and products! Neither is the book one for biography buffs. Though the fashionable modernist writing style of writing aided its readability and added to the spark of the book, it felt like it nourished more sound-bites than material.
That said, Shoe Dog is an entertaining page-turner for anyone that is willing to engage in a passionate memoir. It widens our understanding of today's corporate giants. The book is at once the story of the company that tells us that there is no finish line, and a story about winning – with clinical precision and an enduring belief in one's calling. Just like a professor of the jungle.
Posted in Book Review and tagged American, autobiography, Bestsellers, biography, memoir, running on November 10, 2017 by SD. Leave a comment
This is a review of the book, Water for Elephants, by Sara Gruen. It's a story set in the 1930s in America, during the Great Depression. The narrator, our protagonist, is Jacob Jankowski, a ninety or ninety three year old man who wants, more than anything else, to sink his teeth in apples and to be able to walk independently. He tells us about his life, a good life, a big life.
Back in 1931, a couple of days before Jacob was to appear for his veterinary science final exams at Cornell, he gets a telephone call from home – his parents have met with a fatal car accident, and he is called to identify their bodies. His world crumbles under his feet. The house and his father's veterinary practice are taken away by the bank, due to the mortgage that they had drawn for Jacob's tuition fees. Homeless, he returns to Cornell to write his exams, only to undergo a mental breakdown and walk out of the exam hall without writing a word. There was no turning back for him.
Hours of walking leads him to a railway track, where he realises he's penniless, without a degree, homeless and has nothing to lose. From the dark veil of the night comes the train carrying the Benzini Brother's Most Spectacular Show on Earth, a circus. He gets on to it, and thus begins the story.
Water for Elephants is a heartrending tale about how circuses are (were?) run. There's class-ism, murder, systemic brutality, torture, love, fear, madness and passion. But it is also a heartening tale about the success and joys of a team of people dependent on each other for their daily bread and for their boost of ego.
At Benzini Brothers, Jacob is taken in as the resident veterinarian. There, he falls in love with Marlena, the wife of the boss, August, a paranoid schizophrenic. The circus grows during the time Jacob is with them, to acquire a bull (elephant) called Rosie, who August has to train (which he does in the most dastardly fashion). Rosie doesn't understand a word of what August says, and August doesn't try harder than to strike at her with the bullhook. Over time, Benzini Bros run out of food and a good deal of humanity as well, as losses strike. In the meantime, the charming love affair between Jacob and Marlena grows.
One of the quirks of being a part of the circus is that there's a hierarchy of statuses – the workmen come last, after the animals, and the bosses come first, above God. At times of adversity, the workmen who can be disposed of, are disposed off of, by throwing them off of running trains. Jacob discovers that this fate is not limited to workmen alone, though, and is open to be used on anyone who dares anger the bosses. As Jacob and Marlena fall in love, Jacob sets himself to be the best man to be thrown off the train and down a gorge. But Jacob is smart, Marlena sharp and Rosie, the Bull, is hilariously and cunningly terrific.
Rosie is a delight, the star attraction of the book – she steals from people's backyards, steals all the water and lemonade, drinks alcohol like a skunk, and doesn't understand a word of English. As August vents out his misgivings about Jacob and Marlena, the failings of the show, he harms Rosie in vengeance, going so far as to throw a lit cigarette into her mouth. And in the end, Rosie has her own smart ass way of getting back at him, and how!
The only issue I have with the book is that the character of Marlena was under developed and, worse still, she turns out to be a Mary Sue. Tsk. The best part, however, is that some of the scenes that stand out in the book are borrowed from true stories, like those of Rosie's adventures.
I'd give Water for Elephants a 4/5 for being such a thoroughly enjoyable book, an almost perfect page turner meant for a long weekend. You might give it a higher rating if you visited a circus, or rode a horse, or even touched an elephant's tough skin, while reading the book.
PS: The movie that goes by the same name does not hold a candle to the book.
Posted in Book Review and tagged 4/5, American, Animals, Bestsellers, book review, book-to-movie, fiction, romance on August 20, 2017 by SD. Leave a comment
Survival of the fittest and generous amounts of luck (probably) has ensured it is us, here, rather than any other species. Thus, the tone of the book, Sapiens, by Yuval Noah Harari, is set at the very beginning – we're here by chance, so let's appreciate and respect that.
From there on, the run begins, from one thesis and hypothesis to another. Some of them stood out. Such as the one that it was a sort of data processing system that was one of the most seminal reasons for civilisation. "The Sumerians called it writing."
The genre of the book falls somewhere between history, anthropology and sociology. In its study of humans and their ways of life, it devotes substantial attention to cultures – their diffusion across communities, their thorny myths, etc. Harari asserts that every bit of human life as we know it is cocooned in myths, or the "most gigantic lies" ever told, which include human rights, justice, religious beliefs, nationalism, patriotism, etc.
Harari writes about various interesting evolution-determining topics, including culturally prescribed ideas of what is "natural", human tendency to be or not to be xenophobic, social institutions like patriarchy (but he touches too few theories for any sociologist to turn the pages, satisfied), and most importantly, about the three factors that are seemingly universal and have cultivated thick cultural bonds across societies – the monetary order (money, currency exchange, banking, etc), the imperial order (with the expansion of powerful empires, their ideologies and practices and the wiping away of diverse and unique cultures), and the religious order (with universalistic religions that propounded good of mankind, like Christianity, Buddhism, Islam; or ideologies like Communism, Capitalism etc).
Harari asks, poignantly, if we are happy, after all the progress that Homo Sapiens have apparently made since our forager days. The answer is predictable – yes and no. He suggests (with a twinkle in his eye, I think) that if the objective of humanity is to attain happiness, we should indulge in some soma (Brave New World, Aldous Huxley), a mild drug, to feel a constant and harmless high all the time. Ha-ha.
Finally, he speculates on the future of evolution. He writes that Homo Sapiens will be (or did he say may be?) wiped off and survival of the fittest will be (may be?) replaced by intelligent design – cyborgs, bioengineered beings etc. This was, by far, the most dissatisfying chapter, but it was entertaining too, nevertheless.
Despite the superb narrative style and flow of thought in the book, I have a criticism or two to make. Some of the ideas presented felt far fetched, and were obviously not backed by research or evidence. Take, for instance, the idea that humankind has been colonised by agriculture, with a life that's far poorer in quality when compared to the forager, who was apparently more intelligent than his agriculturist progeny. This was a rather sweeping judgment on agriculture and man's potential, I thought. It also tended towards romanticising the life of the forager, whose lifespan was no more than 30years and whose children dropped dead like flies. In Harari's defence, he acknowledges this defect in his argument, but he brushes it under the carpet anyway.
There are also some theories that I found to be slightly off-the-cuff and hence undeserving of place in the book, such as his idea on why most societies are monogamous (you'll have to read the book to know what he's suggesting), and how that has translated to the hierarchy and nepotism in North Korea and Syria (!). Such extrapolation didn't sit very well with me.
But, these little faults made the book a good read, because it held my attention as I volleyed assertion after assertion. It is a thorough page turner and entertainer with its unceasing trail of ideas, witticisms and pop-cultural references.
The book is a must read for anyone who is even slightly interested in anthropology, history or/and sociology; or for anyone who loves well written stuff about things that they would otherwise not bother to read or think about; or just to know a little something about the past so as to understand the present, as well as the probable extinction of the Homo Sapiens in the future.
It was a 4/5 read for me, primarily because it is the most interesting and well written short version of liberal arts subjects that I have come across, and will go back to time and time again. Whatever its faults, it surely is an unputdownable and relevant read that belongs to the ages.
I hear that the book, Guns, Germs and Steel by Jared Diamond, is even better – more objective and slightly, helpfully, more elaborate without compromising readability. Can't wait to hit the bookstore for that one!
Feature image: Cave painting in Cueva de las Manos, Perito Moreno, Argentina. Dates between 13,000-9,000 BP (Before Present).
The Salviati World Map – this mostly empty map was an admission of the European Scholar's that they didn't know it all, thus providing for intellectual space to explore and know.
"What forged the historical bond between modern science and European imperialism? Technology was an important factor in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, but in the early modern era it was of limited importance. The key factor was that the plant-seeking botanist and the colony-seeking naval officer shared a similar mindset. Both scientist and conqueror began by admitting ignorance – they both said, 'I don't know what's out there.'"
Posted in Book Review and tagged 4/5, Anthropology, Bestsellers, book review, History, non fiction, science, Sociology on August 6, 2017 by SD. 2 Comments
He who has a why to live for can bear almost any how. ~ Friedreich Neitzsche
This post is written in an attempt to review the book, Man's Search for Meaning, written by Dr. Viktor E. Frankl based on his experiences during the Holocaust. Frankl formulated a theory in psychiatry after he graduated from medical school, which states that value and meaning in one's life is what keeps one going, so to speak. He devoted much of his life, before the Second World War broke out, to developing this theory. But it was during his time at the Concentration Camps in Auschwitz and Dachau that the theory's validity was reinforced. After the war, his theory found wide acceptance; and he has even been compared with Freud for his contribution to Psychology.
Scholarship, bordering on devotion to one's vocation even in the worst of circumstances, during the most horrific times in recent human memory, is laudable in itself. But it's all the more so for someone like Frankl, who lost everything in the Holocaust. His wife and parents were gassed in the gas chambers of the concentration camps, and all of his life's work was thrown away and destroyed.
Frankl's memoir of his time in the concentration camps is, for the most part, a scientific observation of the inmates. While it is not a gauche field study, since he himself is an inmate, it is an attempt to test his theory. By doing so, additionally, he also stays true to a purpose in his life. In the very first page he dispels any misconstrued notion about this book – "This book does not claim to be an account of facts and events but of personal experiences… It is the inside story of a concentration camp, told by one of its survivors." Still, he restrains himself from sharing too much from a personal perspective. He states, clearly, the purpose of writing this particular book: "it will try to answer this question: How was everyday life in a concentration camp reflected in the mind of the average prisoner?" So, it was to be a venture to further the science of psychiatry.
Frankl discusses the mindset of an inmate in the period following his admission into the camp, the period when he is well entrenched in the camp routine (the most heart wrenching, I thought), and the period following his release and liberation. It's a thin book with many anecdotes, of other inmates, structured around Frankl's own experiences. Despite this human element, in numerous places he seems to struggle to detach himself from the present and the past in order to present a somewhat objective view of what was happening, in scientific terms.
Without doubt, this book can change one's view of life. Frankl provides us brief insights into the life of inmates in concentration camps, who endured the vilest known horrors in recent memory. By doing so, he illustrates to us how the last of human freedoms, which is to choose one's attitude in any given circumstance, can never be taken away.
On the other hand, the book can also confound the reader with its sprinkling of psychiatry-related terms and concepts. Brevity is, unfortunately, not one of the better virtues of the book, as it concludes. The last few pages of the book attempt to provide an insight to how Frankl uses his theory to found a novel therapy called Logotherapy, wherein he guides people to find meaning and value in their lives. Too much Chicken Soup? That's what I thought, too. The last few chapters almost undid the book for me. So, my advice, in case you read the book, is to stop when the war is finished and when he describes the behavior and mental framework of the incredulous inmate who is free.
If you're into self-help books, you've probably read variations of Frankl's ideas already. But this is an original work, and hence worth a read. If you're not into mushy self-help, you could try the book anyway, for its no-nonsense exploration of human nature in times of terrible adversity. 3.5/5.
Posted in Book Review and tagged 3.5/5, autobiography, Bestsellers, book review, medicine, non fiction, psychology, science, self help on July 19, 2017 by SD. Leave a comment
Philosophizing Mortality
This is a review of two books that have changed the lives of the writers and readers in profound ways: Tuesdays With Morrie, by Mitch Albom, and When Breath Becomes Air, by Paul Kalanithi.
I have clubbed the two books together because they fall in the same genre of books; they both are incredibly insightful about life and its workings, in a way that perhaps only those who are literally facing mortality can perceive. The books are also vehicles of strength to the writers. For Morrie Schwartz, the Tuesdays he spent with Albom in writing Tuesdays With Morrie gave him the mental energy to go through ALS. Dr Paul Kalanithi, a successful neurosurgeon, wrote When Breathe Becomes Air so as to take the second road (of the Two roads (that) diverged in a wood..), to be the littérateur that he didn't become; and in doing so, he fulfills a long held wish, even as he struggled through lung cancer.
When Breathe Becomes Air speaks about how life can be defined and redefined by living courageously. Carpe Diem.
When Paul Kalanithi (the handsome young man in the picture above) mailed a friend, upon being diagnosed with terminal cancer, he wrote, "The good news is that I've already outlived two Brontës, Keats and Stephen Crane. The bad news is that I haven't written anything." This kind of charm is hard not to fall for. Rendering a sobering account of death at the doorstep, to be inviting and friendly (and, with due respect, a page turner as well), is something only as skillful a writer, and as clear headed a man, could have done. Yes, I'm a fan of this fine doctor.
For another sample of his writing skill, take the example of how he employed motifs like nature. He uses his childhood in the Arizonian desert to also symbolise a terrifying lull in his life. Terrifying, because it included pleasant company like tarantulas, and a lull, because his family had relocated from the din of Manhattan. This lull was also meant to stand in for the exciting phase of the quiet before the storm, and in this case, a welcome one including academic success.
Kalanithi's deliberate dissection of what it means to be a doctor is written with a sharp scalpel. To him, being a doctor was less about the job, and more about his own calling. He was about to take up a great job at Stanford before he was diagnosed with cancer.
After he reads the scan that confirmed his lung cancer, everything that was, ceased to be. But in a mark of great courage and dedication, after a short sabbatical for treatment, he goes back to being a surgeon to finish his residency, and to doing what he knew he was best at. Envisioning the future continued to confuse and trouble Paul, though. Sure, he could take life on, one day at a time, but when he didn't know how many days were left, what could he do?
When Breath Becomes Air isn't meant to be a self help book, so don't read it if that's what you expect of it. It's an intimate account of a doctor's realisation of what it feels like to face death and to deal with the central issue related to his confrontation with mortality – life. The 'unfairness' of Paul's cancer is not easy to fathom. And the credit for that goes to Paul's ability to transform the narrative from being a sob story to being one that stokes at the readers' emotions – not with the fact that he's dying, but by drawing the readers into his life – by showing them what he loves, his passion, and then by rudely swatting away their wishes for him. However, at an unseemly moment or two, a tiny part of me wondered how it is that he is so perfect. His profession was looking enviable by all accounts, he was a loving husband, a rational and affectionate doctor. There are only virtues. Is death his ultimate and only flaw?
As opposed to Paul's book (carpe diem!), Tuesdays With Morrie asks us to pause life. To introspect. And to live well.
Tuesdays With Morrie exhorts you to make the right choices, in life and relationships. Albom tries to narrate how his life was spiritually transformed in the time he spent with Morrie, and since.
The most lovely part about Morrie's book is Morrie himself. He's a wise professor of Sociology, who has an aura of having understood life, in and out. Often, it seemed like he was speaking to me with a twinkle in his eye. The book flits between the past and present, and is a quick read. It's also written well overall, but lacks flow of thought to suit the ideas that Morrie is trying to convey. Albom tries to be a wallflower interlocutor, but sprinkles the book with his regrets and feelings and fleeting images of his dreams. That was actually underdone in my opinion. I'd have liked to have read more about how Morrie changed his students' lives.
Albom turns the book, which was supposed to be insightful to the uninitiated, into a self help book with too much indigestible fibrous life advice ("Love always wins"?). For all his assertions of spiritual transformation, Albom is highly guarded about what that transformation entailed, leaving me, as a reader, skeptical. Also, I thought the editors could have done a better job with compartmentalising the book by reducing the eccentric random insertion of chapters, which consisted of italicized text and no context. Or was that part of the beauty of the book?
Similar, yet so different
As I read the books and wrote this review, a question has gnawed at my brain – is it right to judge or review books that confront and philosophize mortality? (I did it anyway)
In Tuesdays, there is a the somewhat maudlin insistence that Morrie's experiences and learnings must be taken to be biblical. Lessons from those experiences are pontificated as life lessons for everyone. On the other hand, Paul was more accommodating, in the sense that he didn't seek to change anyone's lives. He simply wanted to be heard – for his own and his family's sake – and in the bargain, he moved us. The biggest, and possibly most irreverent, criticism against Tuesdays is that it felt bland after reading Paul's memoir. (So don't read it in that order). After Paul, one would want a personal memoir. But in Tuesdays, you get general advice about life and relationships, in crisp sentences which are not guaranteed to affect you personally or create a long lasting impression.
In a world of people who readily offer advice on life choices, Morrie's advice came off as sermonizing, and Paul seemed like a friend whose advice you would read between the lines.
As I mentioned in the beginning of the review, the books belong to the same genre. But I'd hazard the opinion that they are appealing to different age groups. Kalanithi's book is likely to have more takers among young and middle aged readers. Tuesdays with Morrie is more a book for the wisest among us who can understand and appreciate the gravity of what is written.
Treat Tuesdays With Morrie like the interview of a beloved teacher who has a great idealistic mantra to share with you. 2/5 if you're not a Chicken Soup reader. I hear that the recordings of Morrie's Tuesday sessions are highly rated.
Read When Breathe Becomes Air if you want to enjoy a well written book by a man who courageously reinvents his life, keeping in mind the fact that he has very little of it left. 4.5/5
PS: As Paul Kalanithi's fan, I went looking for stuff he'd written. Here's an excerpt from an essay he for The Washington Post –
Everyone succumbs to finitude. I suspect I am not the only one who reaches this pluperfect state. Most ambitions are either achieved or abandoned; either way, they belong to the past. The future, instead of the ladder toward the goals of life, flattens out into a perpetual present. Money, status, all the vanities the preacher of Ecclesiastes described, hold so little interest: a chasing after wind, indeed.
Posted in Book Review and tagged 2/5, 4.5/5, Bestsellers, biography, book review, memoir, non fiction on March 22, 2017 by SD. Leave a comment
"The world is your oyster. It's up to you to find the pearls."
Chris Gardner's life is amazing, and boy, he writes about it soulfully in his book, The Pursuit of Happyness. A small part of this book was adapted into the very famous movie which goes by the same name.
There is no need for a plot summary of a book that's made into a movie. But as a person who enjoys reading many folds more than watching a movie, I feel obligated to urge you to read this book if you liked the movie. You will love the book. The movie has a good deal of Hollywood to it – for instance, the day-care for Chris Jr wasn't as bad as they showed it to be in the movies. And the life of Chris Gardner as a child, which was fully skipped in the movie, is much more forceful than I'd expected.
There are pieces of the book that shocked me. But I was soothed by the way Chris handles his sticky situations. As a 13 year old he saw more hardship in life with the dexterity of a winner, than anyone I know has.
The fervor with which he yearns for a better life for his son and for himself (because Moms said he could) is so high pitched that goosebumps weren't altogether unexpected.
I don't usually use a pencil when reading fiction. But this book is an outlier. There were simply too many wise words that needed deep pondering, and which I intend to go back to. For instance, there's this: "No one else can take away your legitimacy or give you your legitimacy if you don't claim it yourself."For anyone that has felt the pangs of self doubt and low self esteem, this should be like a breath of fresh air. And it was for me.
The Pursuit of Happyness is an easy read, but also an engaging one. It has made me happy. In my pursuit of happiness, I'm glad I was able to read this book on the way. 4/5
Posted in Book Review and tagged 4/5, adaptation, Bestsellers, book review, non fiction on December 15, 2015 by SD. Leave a comment
This is my review of Room by Emma Donoghue.
Saw this book on a Bestsellers of 2015 list, and was fascinated by the true crime premise. I lou psychological thrillers, and this seemed right up my alley.
Jack is a lively, precocious five year old. He lives with his mother, dislikes green beans and spends much of his time glued to the TV in his room. The normalcy ends there. Jack has never left his Room- to him it's a proper noun- because his mother has been imprisoned there for seven years by a kidnapper. And he's the product of repeated violent rape.
Disturbing, yes. Somehow this is offset by the casual, matter of fact narration. In Jack's world, 'screaming for help' is a game to be played after lunch every day.
Not to worry, mother and son are rescued about halfway through the book. From there on out, the story is about Jack's impressions of the outside world (talk about culture shock!). His mother spirals into a depression, and they're both the target of some unpleasant paparazzi, but all this takes a back seat because to a five year old, pizza and toys are much more important.
This kind of terrible crime does occur today, and is undoubtedly terrifying for the victims. But in my opinion, telling the story from the point of view of a child distracted from the horror/emotional aspect of it, and didn't have the saving grace of unique insight.
So despite the promising theme it wasn't really what I expected. 2.5/5. I wouldn't really recommend this book.
PS: This is *-ing awesome. Short story dispensers in public places. Beats staring at your phone to kill time.
Posted in Book Review and tagged 2.5/5, Bestsellers, book review on October 27, 2015 by aliensarewatching. Leave a comment


Pay per click marketing is the same as the pay per click advertising which will be allowing the marketers to make the payment only when the ad of theirs is been clicked by a user of the online. The search engines like the google and the Bing will be making the advertising of the pay per click and this available on the basis of the auction. For showing the ad or the advertisement on the SERP that is the search engine results page, the marketers will be creating the ads, and then they will be placing the bid on the search phrases for which to flaunt them. These ads of the pay per click will be them appeared below, and above the organic search results if the non-paid and you are supposed to pay the search engine for each and every time the user will be clicking on the day of yours, and this will be regardless of the total number of clicks or the total time the ad is been shown.
All of the ad spots will be sold in the auction and show the own ad of yours, and you will be bidding the amount which is maximum that you are willing for the payment for just the click of the ad or the advertisement. You will be having the chance of rank 1 in the paid or the sponsored results. This is just the chance, and there is no guarantee given for it. There is also another thing that is called quality score which will have an impact on the ranking of yours, and that will be more than that in one minute. If someone is going to click on the PPC listing of yours, they will be arriving at the website you own and on the page that you have made the selection and charged the pay no more than what you have bid.
PPC is very much important in the case of digital marketing if we are going to consider and this is how. This pay per click or the PPC is the paid search advertising, and this can be generating the traffic right away. It is very much simple, and you can spend enough and get the placement at the top, and the customers who are potential ones will be seeing your business in the first priority. If the folks are going to search for the key phrases on which you have made the bid and on the well-written and of yours, and you will be getting the clicks the moment the ad will be activated.
The keyword will be found top bid is the deal which will be looking fantastic. They will be longer and the highly specific ones that not each and everyone will be taken the time for the pursuing and this in the long tail search. In such cases, the pay per click will be very much helpful and also the useful one because the highly generated traffic can be created for the site and this is for a fraction of the cost of any kind of the advertising which is paid.