text:
Esprit exits Australia and New Zealand, shutting all 67 stores
Sue MitchellSenior Reporter
Updated May 3, 2018 — 4.05pm, first published at 11.57am
Fashion retailer Esprit, the go-to store for Australian teenagers in the '80s and '90s, has finally lost its spirit.
US-founded, Hong-Kong listed Esprit Holdings is pulling the plug on its Australian and New Zealand operations and closing 67 stores, concessions and factory outlets after a 64 per cent plunge in sales over the last seven years, from $142 million in 2010 to $50.8 million in 2017.
Esprit's exit from Australia and New Zealand was announced on Thursday by executive director Thomas Tang, who said the local operations had been losing money for years despite efforts to turn around.
Esprit is shutting up shop in Australia after a 64 per cent plunge in sales since 2010.
"Esprit's operations in Australia and New Zealand have been loss-making for some time, despite intensive efforts made by the teams in the past years to turn around its business," Mr Tang said.
However, accounts lodged with ASIC show despite plunging sales the Australian business, Esprit (Retail) Pty Ltd, was still breaking even. It made a pre-tax profit of $784,323 in 2017, $1.09 million in 2016, $145,020 in 2015 and $2.2 million in 2013, but lost $173,909 in 2014.
In August 2017, Esprit (Retail) paid a $9.9 million dividend to its parent after booking a modest net profit of $81,830.
Once known for its relaxed California-style casual clothing, Esprit, which opened its first retail stores in Australia in 1981, has been losing market share to rival global chains including Uniqlo, Zara and H&M, whose combined sales are expected to exceed $1 billion this year.
Exit leases
Esprit also appears to have been a victim of Myer's declining sales and market share. All its 38 remaining concessions are in Myer stores.
A Myer spokesman said the department store chain only found out about Esprit's exit plan on Thursday and would work with the company to clear stock from its stores in an orderly way.
"They're not the cheapest and they're not the highest quality," one source said. "They're in that mid-market fast fashion area and they really don't have the scale [to compete], they're not big enough to ramp up in that segment of the market."
It is understood that Esprit Holdings has no plans to appoint voluntary administrators to the ANZ businesses.
Rather, it is working with KordaMentha to negotiate with landlords and exit leases worth $22.8 million and expects to book one-off costs including provisions for store closures worth between $HK150 million and $HK200 million ($25 million to $34 million).
Lease liabilities have fallen from $125 million in 2010, when Esprit had almost 300 points of sale, including several stores in high-profile locations and concessions in both Myer and David Jones. Esprit's flagship store in Sydney's Pitt St mall was taken over by a Sephora store in 2014.
Fulfil its obligations
Mr Tang said Esprit's withdrawal from Australia and New Zealand would allow the company to strengthen its core business and focus its efforts and resources in other markets in Asia.
Esprit's 67 outlets ANZ outlets – including 16 retail stores, 38 concessions, 13 factory outlets and an online store – will close by the end of calendar 2018.
The company has committed to fulfil its obligations to all 350 retail and head office staff. Esprit employed about 320 people in Australia and 30 in New Zealand.
Esprit's withdrawal from Australia comes six years after the retailer – which was started by North Face founder Doug Tompkins and Susie Tompkins-Buell in San Francisco in 1968 – closed all its stores in North America after losing $US206 million in four years. It also pulled out of Spain, Denmark and Sweden.
Esprit is not the only global brand struggling to survive in Australia. Gap stores, which were operated under licence by OrotonGroup, closed in January, TopShop has closed more than half its Australian stores after its local franchisee went into administration two years ago and Forever 21 is closing or shrinking its flagship stores.
Even H&M is struggling to grow sales amid aggressive industry discounting. H&M's sales in Australia fell 6 per cent (in local currency terms) in the three months ending February and 2 per cent in the November quarter despite a handful of new stores.
Sue Mitchell is a senior companies reporter and writes about retail, consumer products and fast moving consumer goods. Connect with Sue on Twitter. Email Sue at suemitchell@afr.com

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Fraudster scammed his own mother out of nearly £60,000, forcing her to sell her home
Adrian Mackenzie, 46, was found guilty of four counts of fraud
By Ruchira Sharma
Updated October 9, 2020 5:01 pm
Adrian Mackenzie pictured arriving at court. (Photo: SWNS)
A pensioner was forced to sell her home after her son swindled her out of tens of thousands of pounds and left her 'penniless'.
Adrian Mackenzie defrauded Jacqueline Mackenzie out of nearly £60,000 over the course of three years. He blew the money from her bank account and credit cards on maintaining a luxury lifestyle.
The 46-year-old spent her money on shopping sprees, an "executive" car and trips abroad, a court heard.
His mother said it was only when her bank account was completely emptied that she realised what had happened.
Pretended to help his victim
Oxford Crown Court heard that Mackenzie, from Banbury, first started stealing his mother's money when he agreed to get her a new, more affordable, car to use.
Months after the purchase of it he reportedly rang her and told her the vehicle had not in fact been paid for. She then gave him her card details including her PIN code – which was the same for all of her cards. It was this that enabled the multiple counts of fraud.
The court heard he used the money to pay for an executive Mercedes Benz vehicle as well as holidays abroad.
None of the transactions were approved by his alleged victim, jurors were told.
Ms Mackenzie told jurors she didn't have the internet at home or knew how to use online banking, where the transactions were made.
According to The Oxford Mail, she said: "I think once I realised I was penniless because he had taken all my money we [with her daughter] got bank statements back from five years.
"It was only when my bank account was completely emptied that I realised my statements were not coming through. Obviously it had been set up online and I was never shown how to use it or what was going on."
'A nasty unpleasant fraud'
This is industrial abuse of a family relationship and a nasty, unpleasant fraud
Prosecutor Henry James
Ms Mackenzie was reportedly defrauded by a total of £57,256.15.
Her son denied four counts of fraud but was found guilty by a jury at Oxford Crown Court of three counts.
Prosecutor Henry James said he had made numerous card payments from his mother's Barclays, Tesco and M&S bank cards as well as her current account.
These multiple frauds dated from 1 March 2013 until the allegations were reported to police after April 2016.
Mr James said: "This is industrial abuse of a family relationship and a nasty, unpleasant fraud."
Real-life


text:
x1951 - 2000
Found 2 collections related to Leoncavallo, Ruggiero, 1858-1919
Filtering on: x1951 - 2000
Peerce, Jan, 1904-1984
Jan Peerce collection of sound recordings, 1932-1983
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound | *L (Special) 95-03
The collection contains non-commercial recordings of live and recorded performances and interviews of Jan Peerce spanning the years 1938-1983. The collection also features performers such as: singers Zinka Milanov, Roberta Peters, Leonard Warren,... more
The collection contains non-commercial recordings of live and recorded performances and interviews of Jan Peerce spanning the years 1938-1983. The collection also features performers such as: singers Zinka Milanov, Roberta Peters, Leonard Warren, Cesare Siepi, Robert Merrill, Lawrence Tibbett, Virginia Raye and Viola Philo ; conductors Arturo Toscanini, Fausto Cleva, Harry Horlick and David Rubinoff ; and interviewers Ed Sullivan, Johnny Carson and Mike Douglas. Radio and television (audio only) programs included are: The A & P Gypsies, Radio City Music Hall On the Air, Carnegie Hall, The Chevrolet Hour, The Ed Sullivan Show, The Mike Douglas Show, and The Tonight Show. Works featured are selections from operas such as "La boheme," "I pagliacci," "Don Giovanni," "Cavalleria Rusticana," "La traviata," "Lucia di Lammermoor" and "Rigoletto" ; musicals such as "Fiddler on the Roof" ; and songs by Handel and Schubert, among others. less
Sound recordings » Performances » Carnegie Hall performance
Sound recordings » Performances » Hanukkah celebration performance
Sound recordings » Performances » Jan Peerce recital
See all 24 matches in this collection
The Bell Telephone Hour collection of sound recordings [sound recording], 1940-1968
1579 sound discs
Weekly 30-minute NBC radio broadcasts, featuring classical and light classical music, which began on Apr. 29, 1940 and continued until 1958. In September, 1959, the Bell Telephone Hour made its television debut as a monthly musical special. It... more
Weekly 30-minute NBC radio broadcasts, featuring classical and light classical music, which began on Apr. 29, 1940 and continued until 1958. In September, 1959, the Bell Telephone Hour made its television debut as a monthly musical special. It remained a regular television program until April 26, 1968. Library's holdings incomplete. Broadcasts chiefly originated from New York City, sponsored by the Bell Telephone Company (American Telephone and Telegraph). Each 30-minute program generally features a guest singer or instrumentalist, with the Bell Telephone Hour Orchestra, conducted by Donald Voorhees, and the Bell Telephone Hour Chorus. Frequent guest artists include Marian Anderson, Robert Casadesus, Nelson Eddy, Josef Hofmann, Fritz Kreisler, Oscar Levant, James Melton, Grace Moore, Ezio Pinza, Lily Pons, Bidú Sayão, Gladys Swarthout, John Charles Thomas, Helen Traubel, and Eileen Farrell. Chief announcer: Floyd Mack. less
Radio program » Great Artist series » Radio broadcast


text:
using System.Net;
using System.Net.Http;
using System.Threading;
using System.Threading.Tasks;
using System.Web.Http;

namespace ALS.Glance.Api.Security.Results
{
    public class AuthenticationFailureResult : IHttpActionResult
    {
        /// <summary>
        /// Creates a new AuthenticationFailureResult
        /// </summary>
        /// <param name="reasonPhrase"></param>
        /// <param name="request"></param>
        public AuthenticationFailureResult(string reasonPhrase, HttpRequestMessage request)
        {
            _reasonPhrase = reasonPhrase;
            _request = request;
        }

        private readonly string _reasonPhrase;
        private readonly HttpRequestMessage _request;

        public Task<HttpResponseMessage> ExecuteAsync(CancellationToken cancellationToken)
        {
            return Task.FromResult(
                new HttpResponseMessage(HttpStatusCode.Unauthorized)
                {
                    RequestMessage = _request,
                    ReasonPhrase = _reasonPhrase
                });
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Question: has Brewster saved his job with the tourney win? Or was his seat ever hot to begin with?
Yes. And Sioux Falls, of course. Could try their message board too.
For those of you that have purchased all-session passes, but would like to improve your location, I believe you can ask to be placed on a waiting list, FYI. There are some pass-holders that choose not to renew every year. Also, there are a lot of individual game tickets on the secondary market (Craigslist et al.), but they go fast for some sessions.
Yes and no. I mean, the fact that the tournament has been in Sioux Falls for 11 years certainly is more convenient for SD fans. Some Summit fans like to complain about that, and I would say too bad. SF has supported it, and it's $ucce$$ful. Some might complain that the Jacks fans have taken it over, providing an unfair advantage, and I'd also say that argument is BS. The Jacks fans have had the same access to tickets as anyone else, and they have chosen to commit to it. Too bad. The thing that I would argue is that All-session pass holders having first option on renewal, and also the selling of 2-year passes with first option renewal has had a chilling affect on any fan base that wants to try to grow a presence at the tournament. That's not the Jacks fans' fault. They are just supporting their teams and supporting the tournament. I don't know if that ticketing model is used at other conference tourneys or not. Someone on here said that was how the Hockey tourney is. I'm sure that strategy is wildly successful at making money. I just wish the Summit would make an effort to involve out-of state fan bases more, and get them to grow their presence at the tournament. partition off some lower bowl sections for each team, Make it easier to get there with travel packages, or something. To me, the more out-of-state fans you can involve, and get to travel to SF the better. Like a tourism thing. Us Yote fans really have no excuse to not have a large presence there, but it's still a struggle. Mostly because you have to plan ahead and commit to the all-session passes if you want to get half-decent seats. Just my two cents.
I thought the same thing. Looked like something Lee said pissed your coach off. Lee explained it in the post-game interview: he said "we'll see you again soon". Or something to that affect. What he meant was that if both teams win their first round games in the SLT, they would play again. No offense meant by it, but tempers were probably high right after the game. Bad timing, I guess.
I think its sad that the Argus is now reporting on how Twitter is reacting. As if that is some kind of "pulse of the nation" instead of a vocal minority of a subset of people on twitter that chose to respond to a tweet. Not all of those responses were from Augie fans. It would be like polling Bisonville on whether UND going D-1 was a good idea. I'd be curious what a poll of augie alumni or students would say.
It's a lot easier to get P-5 and elite programs for home games in WBB than men's. For the men, I think a big part of it is the guarantee money. For the women, the top teams don't want to tank their RPI, so they wouldn't risk travelling to a place where they risk a "bad loss" against a sub-150 RPI team. The Jacks are a perennial high-RPI team, and as such, are a lot more likely to get great teams to come into Brookings. I don't know what the Sioux/Hawks have been in average RPI over the last few years, but if the average is over 150, I'd say your coach just isn't doing a good job luring in teams to Grand Forks. I wouldn't say he is doing a terrible job scheduling, though, as your current SOS is #87. Because of that tough schedule, your RPI is #174, despite the 2-7 record. Good strategy for RPI, but one would think he could get some better home games for the fans. JMO.
Well, you guys must be doing something right to keep a player like Klabo home. I think there is plenty of opportunity, recruiting-wise in the region to support multiple elite programs. We will probably always go head-to-head for the best Minnesota girls, but the D-1 nets are cast a little further than the D-2 nets were.
I absolutely wasn't trying to troll. Sorry if it came off as such. I don't follow UND WBB that closely yet, since you haven't been in the conference, so I was just wanting to get a more informed read on where you guys think the program is at. I knew you had won the Big Sky a couple of years ago. I also know that WBB is actually followed in North Dakota, as opposed to many other places in the Summit. Likely due to major successes in the past, like all the D-II championships. I don't know why NDSU has been so bad recently, but if all 4 Dakota schools could get competitive at the same time, the Summit could become a regular multiple bid league in this sport. That's my agenda, or ulterior motive, in posting here, not trolling.
What are you guys' opinions of Brewster and Walseth? Brewster has had a few successful years in the Big Sky, but what do you guys think about his coaching/ recruiting/ future at UND? Walseth has not done well at all, and this year looks even worse than most. If they retain her after this year, could it be said that they have basically given up on WBB? The thing that puzzles me about that is the fact that both UND and NDSU have been dominant programs in the past, and I assume there are some fans that still have some high expectations for your women's teams. No offense meant by any of this, I just wonder where you guys think those two coaches are sitting, with regard to the hot seat. Also, The Summit needs more strong teams, and I think your two programs are certainly capable of filling that void.
Denver. I think a number sports in the conference are set up that way. I'd love to have Vermillion host the Tourney. I think you would see quite a bit more attendance overall with proximity to the three largest-attendance VB schools (UND, NDSU, UNO). Hopefully this championship will help increase the fan base in Vermillion as well.
http://thesummitleague.org/sports/wbkb/2018-19/releases/20181003i01unf The Summit preseason poll and preseason teams announced. Klabo is first team all-Summit and UND was picked 6th. Personally, I have no idea where to put the UND team. They are kind-of a wildcard to me because of lack of experience playing them. Just like in volleyball.


200 pos SODIMM connector for LPC3141 OEM Board.
Expansion connector to 3.2 inch QVGA TFT color LCD with touch panel.
3 Expansion connectors with all cpu signals.
USB OTG or Host connectors.
3.5mm Audio connectors (mic in, 2x line out, headphone out).
3 terminal screw connector for battery.
Power supply, either via Li-ion battery, USB or external 9-15V DC.
LPC3141 OEM Board is powered with Li-ion battery or +5V.
100/10Mbps Ethernet interface (DM9000 based).
UDA1380 I2S codec with mic in, line in, line out, and headphone out.
Current monitors on input power voltages.
RS232 alternative interface on UART.
XBee™ RF-module alternative interface on UART (note that XBee module is not included in bundle).
Note: Specifications for the OEM board is available on the LPC3141 OEM board page.


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It's easy to think that Demonic is yet another haunted house, possession movie. And that would be enough to put you off watching it, if it weren't for two things: firstly, it's endorsed by (produced by, among other people) James Wan (Saw, Insidious, The Conjuring) and secondly, it's at Frightfest. So it must be half decent… Right?
A group of teens decide that they want to film some ghosts. After a small amount of research they discover that one of the party knows just the location for such an investigation – a huge abandoned house in a remote location that was host to occult rituals and of course, a multiple murder.
two of the guys are after the same girl, so it's obvious that this is going to cause issues with plenty of peacocking and the odd face off.
But the spare wheel, John, has an essential role to play in the ghost hunt. He knows the history of the location very well because his mother just so happened to be the lone survivor of the occult ritual-linked multiple murder that happened there.
The crew sets up on location and before long ghostly things are happening. This escalates and eventually people get hurt and some die.
The 'joy' of the film is then trying to figure out who the killer is. Ghost? Human? Possessed human?
As the film begins after the events have taken place the viewer is in a similar position to that of the police as they arrive. And as they work through the damaged video footage discovered at the location, survivor John is interviewed. Cut to lots of clips of found footage and Johns memories.
Some might already be thinking of this as a sneaky way to use the over-played found footage style without being an entirely found footage film. And I might just agree with that.
Looking at Demonic on the whole, it's not a terrible film. It's spooky with the odd jump scare, there's a small amount of mystery with the odd twist and there's nothing really wrong with the the cast or the effects.
But what is frustrating about the film, and what lets it down is it's apparent desperation to appeal to the masses and the corners that have been cut to ensure that it reaches them. This starts with the 'James Wan' banner on the poster, but continues with a story that is filled with holes.
Sadly, Demonic that are too stupid to forgive, and it's down to how unrealistic it is.
The first most obvious issue is the fact that the witness/suspect (John) is kept at the crime scene for questioning while the police look through evidence and search for other survivors.
I'm no policeman, but I'm pretty sure that this would never happen in real life. If you're arrested, you're taken to the station rather than the police department (and curiously, the police psychologist in this case) moving the station to you. There's a number of reasons for this, including the fact that if you had just witnessed the slaughter of your friends it'd be pretty horrible for the police to keep you at the scene of of it all to ask you about it. In fact you'd probably be able to sue them pretty hard for that kind of thing.
So in Demonic, why do they do it? The answer is to set up the 'twist' at the end, which wouldn't work so well if they were somewhere else.
Realism is again sacrificed at a crucial point when the group of young investigators first enter the house. Upon finding a ballerina statue in one of the rooms, they discover that the object is enchanted and likes to spin.
That would be enough to get excited/freak out about and document. But John works out that it's pointing at something. But not the wall or door (although it's pointing right at them), it's pointing at the rug. But, John explains, 'not the rug in that room' (obviously) the rug in another room that is in another part of the house but still vaguely in the direction that the ballerina is pointing in.
This part of the story is used to demonstrate John's 'psychic abilities' but is just a bit randomly specific and unnecessarily complicated to be worthwhile.
Why even use a ballerina? Or why not just have her point at the rug in front of her? I would still have given John props for working that one out.
This review is turning into a rant, so it's probably time to regroup. But the issue here it feels like too many films assume that we're not going to pay attention to stuff like this. And with a new possession film coming out every week, there's a real danger of this sloppiness spoiling everything.
I don't want to be down on new horror releases, but please James Wan and co., give us viewers some credit. Give us something truely new and exciting and realise that we do pay attention to the small things, particularly when we've heard it all before.


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text:
Published On: Fri, Aug 12th, 2016
Activism / World | By hinduismnow
UK Sikh group cleans Golden Temple's gold plating: See pics – Hindustan Times
A team from a UK-based Sikh volunteers' group started cleaning the gold plating on Golden Temple that has been affected by pollution, here on Thursday. The 20-member team from Birmingham's Nishkam Sewak Jatha, which was assigned the sewa (service) by the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee last month, will only work on the sanctum sanctorum of Harmandar Sahib and take a week, working from 8am to 6 pm.
Volunteers cleaning the gold plating of Golden Temple in Amritsar on Thursday. (HT Photos)
"The cleaning is done with reetha (soap nut), and the team will remove dust and other particles that have affected the sheen," said SGPC additional secretary Daljit Singh Bedi. This is the same group that performed the sewa in 1999 too. "The SGPC has got the cleaning done from time to time."
Third of early deaths could be prevented by everyone giving up meat, Harvard says | The Telegraph
India home to religious traditions of world, should be proud: Dalai Lama | Times of India


text:
Posted in Random Things Tours
Bitter Flowers by Gunnar Staalesen
Posted on 17th Jan 2022 17th Jan 2022 by thelotusreaders
PI Varg Veum has returned to duty following a stint in rehab, but his new composure and resolution are soon threatened when a challenging assignment arrives on his desk. He is offered a job by his physical therapist Lisbeth, with whom he has built a friendship during treatment. She has a friend who needs a house sitter and she drives Varg out there to look around, only to find a man dead, floating in the elite swimming pool. As Varg leaps in to check for signs of life, Lisbeth goes missing. Most chillingly, Varg Veum is asked to investigate the 'Camilla Case': an eight-year-old cold case involving the disappearance of a little girl, who was never found. As the threads of these apparently unrelated crimes come together, against the backdrop of a series of shocking environmental crimes, Varg Veum faces the most challenging, traumatic investigation of his career.
This is one of those slow burn thrillers and we find Veum at a pivotal moment in his life, just out of rehab and fighting a reliance on Aquavit. Whilst not fully back to his investigative peak, Lisbeth's idea of a simple house sitting would have suited him perfectly, with no pressure. The circumstances he then finds himself in are really not going to help his recovery, it's enough to find himself embroiled in a murder investigation, but even worse, could he actually be a suspect? Instinct takes over though and Varg can't help looking into the victim's life, once he is identified as Tor Aslaksen. He is also very concerned about the disappearance of Lisbeth, as he battled to save the dead man's life. Needless to say he faces some very awkward questions from Inspector Hamre about how he ended up there, alone in a strange house with a dead man. His digging reveals a connection to a case from some years before, that of a missing child. As if that wasn't enough, when he looks into the victim's employer, his company is under suspicion for environmental crimes, namely the alleged improper disposal of toxic waste. There are noisy protestors demonstrating on site and within the conflict there are two brothers, who were childhood friends of Aslaksen and stand on opposing sides of the demonstration. These strands seem so disparate, but the author cleverly threads them back to the murder victim with so much care, taking his time to unwind the truth. Yet, he also keeps a steady tension and occasionally surprises the reader as Varg's curiosity takes him into dangerous and threatening places. is enough to heighten Veum's interest. Nobody's fool and uncompromisingly persistent, Veum is intrigued enough to take a closer look, thereby uncovering a connection to the unsolved disappearance of a seven-year-old girl nearly a decade earlier in the dead of night. Casting his net wider and following the threads back to their fruition, Veum tries to make sense of the past and it's significance on current events, specifically the murder of Tor Aslaksen and all that follows.
I gradually started to bond with Varg, possibly due to the first person narrative; we're with him all the way because we make discoveries at exactly the same time he does. His narrative can be abrupt at times, but always questioning and challenging those around him. As we experience his inner voice, unedited and raw, we can feel his struggles and the way his personal demons affect his life and his investigations. Yes, he has weaknesses, but his intelligence and determination are undimmed. I felt that, despite these struggles, I was safe with him as a narrator. I was firmly on his side throughout and didn't doubt his innocence once. I didn't work out the reasons for the murder, nor the tragic events which followed, but I did feel a constant sense of foreboding even from the first chapter. The author has a good grasp of human nature and how trauma affects people in very different ways. The psychology of addiction was also well observed and I enjoyed seeing Varg's progress as he tries to recover while investigating a complex and emotional case. His developing relationship with Karen and friendship with Siv are handled with care and a gentleness I didn't expect.
The case itself is emotive, allowing the reader to learn about Varg's fragility, as he faces the horror of a child missing for eight years. By taking us back into Varg's past, we can really see progression in his character; how did he get from there to his current stint in rehab? His previous career in child welfare has left him cynical, but he isn't completely jaded yet. Everything he has experienced makes him more humane with an automatic reflex to fight for the underdog. I loved his underlying thirst for social justice too, something that could remain hidden from others, behind that calm and focused exterior. Staalesen provides the reader with a steady drip feed of Varg's discoveries and this pace helps us understand the key characters better, especially where he becomes a nuisance by popping up to question certain people time and again. Even threats and constant police pressure can't stop him from interfering and he is dogged in his determination to discover the truth. This is not a high octane thriller, but it's more thorough and compelling because of that. Varg is not one of those showy, 'on the edge' investigators either, but the gradual opening up of his character allows us to trust him and truly know him. This felt like to me like a real PI might have worked back in the 1980's, investing the time and noting the small details that crack a case. We never get the sense, as with other, flashier, P.I. characters, that he is more important than the case. There's only a hint of fast action and real danger, but it has more impact and authenticity because of that restraint. This is complex, intelligent and authentic storytelling with a hero I enjoyed getting to know.
Tagged: #OrendaBooks, Blog Tour, Book Review, Crime, Random Things Through My Letterbox, Thriller
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annecater says:
Thanks so much for the blog tour support xx


He had begun to read the novel a few days before. He had put it aside because of some urgent business conferences, opened it again on his way back to the estate by train; he permitted himself a slowly growing interest in the plot, in the characterizations. That afternoon, after writing a letter giving his power of attorney and discussing a matter of joint ownership with the manager of his estate, he returned to the book in the tranquility of his study which looked out upon the park with its oaks. Sprawled in his favorite armchair, its back toward the door--even the possibility of an intrusion would have irritated him, had he thought of it--he let his left hand caress repeatedly the green velvet upholstery and set to reading the final chapters. He remembered effortlessly the names and his mental image of the characters; the novel spread its glamour over him almost at once. He tasted the almost perverse pleasure of disengaging himself line by line from the things around him, and at the same time feeling his head rest comfortably on the green velvet of the chair with its high back, sensing that the cigarettes rested within reach of his hand, that beyond the great windows the air of afternoon danced under the oak trees in the park. Word by word, licked up the sordid dilemma of the hero and heroine, letting himself be absorbed to the point where the images settled down and took on color and movement, he was witness to the final encounter in the mountain cabin. The woman arrived first, apprehensive; now the lover came in, his face cut by the backlash of a branch. Admirably, she stanched the blood with her kisses, but he rebuffed her caresses, he had not come to perform again the ceremonies of a secret passion, protected by a world of dry leaves and furtive paths through the forest. The dagger warmed itself against his chest, and underneath liberty pounded, hidden close. A lustful, panting dialogue raced down the pages like a rivulet of snakes, and one felt it had all been decided from eternity. Even to those caresses which writhed about the lover's body, as though wishing to keep him there, to dissuade him from it; they sketched abominably the fame of that other body it was necessary to destroy. Nothing had been forgotten: alibis, unforeseen hazards, possible mistakes. From this hour on, each instant had its use minutely assigned. The cold-blooded, twice-gone-over reexamination of the details was barely broken off so that a hand could caress a cheek. It was beginning to get dark.


This unexpected life is weird, wonderful, wild and ugly, isn't it? I think we, of all people, are the ones who can rightly say, "It's complicated." Hang in there. You are brave, even when you don't feel brave.
The best advice ever given me is what I offer you: Don't ever give up hope.
It might not look great right now. In fact, things might look pretty bleak. You might not imagine how you'll ever be lighthearted again. Your life is so intense, you can't think about anything but big, heavy issues. Things you never used to think about. Things your friends never have to think about. Things you wish you didn't have to think about, but you must. It's not an option. It's your life.
You may wonder how in the world you went from such a blessedly normal existence to this slightly bizarre life, where suddenly you understand medical terms without the benefit of a medical degree. At times, your existence seems surreal. You never thought life could be so different than what you expected.
You may have lost friends. Oh, not all at once. But little by little, the friendships fell by the wayside. Some you can trace back to relocation, some…you just lost. Maybe you saw their compassion turn to impatience, or maybe they couldn't handle your pain. But some friends have faithfully stayed by your side. And new friends have joined you in your journey. These are the true friends.
And pain…pain is now part of your life, whether you like it or not. It's like an unwelcome member of the family, speaking up at inconvenient times. Sometimes your pain is quietly managed in the private places and cover of night. But other times, your pain overwhelms, shouting for recognition in the sunshine of day. Pain is that ever-present thorn in your side that must be addressed. When it is, pain can be reasonable. When shoved aside, pain becomes a monster waiting to pounce, grown beyond proportion.
Why? you ask. Why me?
There are no easy answers to why. But take heart, friend. The best news is this: God is on your side. When you wonder if there is anything good left in this world, the answer is YES. Yes! Look in the mirror. You are God's creation. Your child is God's creation. You are the reason Jesus came to the earth to bridge the gap sin left between God and man. Because of Jesus, we have hope for our future. We have hope for our children. We have hope for our happiness. We have hope for our world. Jesus loves children, and He loves you. Even when we think our children suffer unimaginably, He never leaves them. He is faithful. We have hope through Him that we will never be alone. We will always be loved. Our struggle here on earth will not be in vain but for a purpose. His purpose.
Don't lose hope, friend. You have Jesus.
Teresa, thank you for sharing this post! Hope is a message that parents need every day – and sometimes every hour. Thank you for being vulnerable enough to share your pain with us. As parents, we're in this together and that lightens the load.
Thanks Teresa. This is good.
Oh my Word! Did you read my mind this morning?? This is exactly how I feel day in and day out and yet, I find peace in Jesus and knowing that He is near despite it all. But the pain… oh heavens, the pain. Thank you for this post. It really highlighted something I need to accept; This is my life, even if I don't want it to be.
Wow, that's amazing. How great is our God? You are not alone. He is with you, and there are many of us walking this path, trying to make a good life out of hard circumstances. I'll be praying for you. So glad you connected, Lene.
Making a good life in hard circumstances is nice way to put it. What I wouldn't give for a break or even better, for a permanent cure, but that doesn't seem to be in the cards. I so want to connect with other parents who knows how it feels to parent a child with special needs. As you wrote; Many friends fall away but those who stay are true friends. Yet, only a parent who has a struggling child understands another parent with a struggling child. Anyway, I really needed to read your letter this morning and I'm very grateful to the Lord for leading me here.
That is the glory of the digital world. Years ago, I wouldn't have dreamed of conversing so easily with people so far from my geographical location. What a blessing to easily access other special needs parents from around the world. As for a cure, I too, have hoped my daughter would be cured, but things move slowly and we deal with the symptoms. Some days and weeks are challenges, some are joys. Thank you for sharing my post. I hope others are encouraged as well. I'm praying for you.
Thank you for your prayers. I appreciate all I can get. How old is your daughter? Mine is 10.
Living in Tokyo it's really difficult to connect with other special needs parents and I have days when I just want to give up ;-), obviously I can't… and you say, things move slowly and we deal with symptoms while praying the underlying cause will be revealed so we can deal with that.
Thank you for writing. I look forward to more in the future.
My daughter is 32, and she has tuberous sclerosis. We've been through many, many ups and downs. Lately, lots of downs specific to behavior. We live in close proximity to special needs families (one across the street), but as far as having conversations about our kids, that isn't frequent. It's been hard for our family, but God has been so faithful to give encouragement through His Word. I've learned a lot about God's character. When you feel like giving up (and I get it, believe me), start looking for His character in the Word, especially the Psalms. It changed me.
Thank you. Yes, it's hard to talk about… But it's just so nice to find someone who knows how it feels. I'm so sorry about your daughter. My Bible is open on Isaiah 44 most days. Especially verse 3-5. It brings such peace.


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A look behind William Davis death sentence
After 2 months of the William Davis capital murder trial, the jury decided to sentence Williams with the death penalty after just two hours of deliberating.
Credit: Tyler Morning Telegraph
Author: Ashley French
Published: 8:20 PM CDT October 27, 2021
Updated: 8:20 PM CDT October 27, 2021
TYLER, Texas — After 2 months of the William Davis capital murder trial, the jury decided to sentence Williams with the death penalty after two hours of deliberating.
It's the most severe consequence for committing a capital crime in Texas. Criminal Defense Attorney Bobby Mims has defended dozens of suspects facing the death penalty.
"Its sort of ironic, lethal injection is the method of execution in Texas and course, you know what we've got here. So we've got a person now convicted of injecting patients," said Bobby Mims, criminal Defense Attorney.
Williams is convicted of killing four patients while he was a nurse at Christus Trinity Mother Frances Hospital.
Prosecutors say he injected air into the patients' arteries causing them to have deadly strokes.
Davis now faces death row and an appeal that could take up to 5 years.
"What happens is, there's an automatic appeal to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. That's our highest Criminal Court. That's automatic," said Mims.
An appeal that goes to the state's highest court and potentially, the supreme court.
"There's some very good appellate lawyers with a lot of skills that goes through it, they basically check the papers of not only the judge, the defense lawyer and the prosecutor to make sure that there's not some violation of his rights," Mims added.
Ex-East Texas nurse sentenced to death for murdering patients at Tyler hospital
PHONE CALL: Convicted ex-nurse admitted to prolonging patients' ICU stays for financial benefit
In the News Now | Investigation into Tyre Nichols' death


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Schools that now use LectraLock electrical outlet covers include Austin State Hospital, Denton State Hospital, El Paso State School, San Angelo State School, and Mexia State School.
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Treatment and Redemption
June 18, 2013 • by Mark Clark • Bookmark +
Photo courtesy of iStockPhoto.com.
Police officers deal with addiction constantly. Drug addicts are responsible for a great deal of crime in the beats they patrol, so officers are quite skilled at dealing with addicts on the streets. Unfortunately, law enforcement agencies are not as adept at dealing with addicts in their own ranks.
But that may be changing. There are positive steps being taken to help law enforcement organizations see that an addicted officer as not a throwaway employee but a valuable human resource who can be treated and redeemed. With the help of strategic partnerships and programs aimed at treating addicted officers, treatment centers are opening their doors to first responders, helping them get better and return to work.
The Addicted Officer
Statistics show that 20% to 25% of working police officers are chemically dependent on either alcohol or drugs.
Addiction tends to manifest itself differently in officers than in the rest of society simply by the nature of law enforcement work and societal expectations. Officers most likely won't resort to petty theft or drug dealing to feed their addictions, but that doesn't mean that their addictions aren't destructive and dangerous to their careers, families, and even their lives.
Friends, family, and co-workers are most likely to see an addicted officer gradually slip into dysfunction and despair. If left unchecked, the addiction will do damage to the officer's career. Co-workers of an addicted officer may say that the officer is moody, lazy, or a pain in the ass.
It's usually not long before command takes notice of the addicted officer, and not in a good way. "Supervisors may see an officer who is a poor performer, late for his or her shift, or who just looks bad in the uniform," says Sgt. Andy Callaghan, director of the Peer Support Program of the Philadelphia Fraternal Order of Police Lodge #5.
Callaghan has 24 years of police experience and believes that addiction among law enforcement officers is closely related to post-traumatic stress disorder. "Many officers who have PTSD turn to alcohol or prescription drugs to self-medicate," says Callaghan.
Off duty, addicted officers' lives will most likely be wrecked. They may spend their days off struggling to keep it together with their families and trying to hang onto their health. But when the weekend is over, it's back to work where they try to keep their careers from falling apart. It's a spin cycle that will end in either loss of job, freedom, or life.
Drug of Choice
Up until a few years ago alcoholism was by far the most common chemical dependency problem faced by officers. Today, the most common monkey on the back of officers is the painkiller.
Officers get injured, and with the injury can come prescribed pain medications to bring relief. And that's where the addiction often starts.
Callaghan has seen a marked increase in officers addicted to painkillers and sleeping medications over the past few years. He says that it is common to have support groups made up of half or more officers in the group addicted to prescription drugs.
Not only has the drug of choice changed for officers, so have the ways the profession looks at addicted brother and sisters.
That means the options available to officers who need help with drug addiction are ever increasing. Thanks to strategic partnerships with law enforcement executive organizations, department bosses are being taught to accept the fact that some officers become addicted and need help.
Sean Riley, founder and executive director of SafeCallNow.org, has seen encouraging signs for addicted officers. His organization lives by the golden law of self-disclosure as the first and best step for an officer who needs help. "Getting the problem out front and dealing with it, is the best hope for an officer to get better and return to full duty," says Riley.
SafeCallNow.org has partnered with the FBI National Academy Associates to help educate its members, police executives who have attended the FBI National Academy, on how best to work with addicted officers seeking treatment. Police executives are learning that an officer's self-disclosure of the problem is a good thing. It's better for officers to seek help before getting into situations that jeopardize their careers or lives. In doing so, federal HIPAA and FMLA laws kick in to guarantee their privacy and their jobs after they get treated and are able to return to work.
So what is a chemically dependent officer to do when faced with a crumbling life, career, and health? The first step is to admit the problem and realize that it's not a sign of weakness but a necessary step to getting better. Once they choose to self-disclose, the officers' primary concern is that they are allowed to keep their treatment private and to keep their job when they're better.
Many officers now realize they don't necessarily need to ask their departments for help. A better option may be to seek help through peer support groups, unions, and employee organizations. These groups may be just enough of a buffer between the addicted officers and their departments to get them comfortable with the idea of seeking help.
Preserving their privacy is the number one concern for most officers seeking help for chemical dependency. And that is the primary mission of SafeCallNow.org, a confidential, comprehensive, 24-hour crisis referral service for public safety employees, all emergency services personnel, and their family members nationwide.
Safe Call Now is not connected with a specific treatment facility. It offers a trained counselor and fellow public safety employee for the officer to talk to. They assess the situation and assist the officer in getting help.
Having someone to call can be a lifeline for an officer in crisis. Addicted officers can hit a wall where they don't know what to do and don't want to be found out by their departments. Safe Call Now is completely confidential; no one on the other end of the line will ask for a name or department. According to Safe Call Now's founder and executive director Riley, the officer's identity is not important; identifying the crisis and getting help is the only important thing.
One treatment option for the chemically dependent officer is the First Responders Addiction Treatment (FRAT) Program sponsored by Livengrin Foundation in Bensalem, Pa. The FRAT program is finely tuned for first responders seeking chemical dependency help.
Keith Mason, spokesman for Livengrin, says the FRAT program offers help from counselors who have a personal experience in law enforcement and with addiction. Many of the FRAT counselors such as Andy Callaghan are working police officers who are able to understand the unique circumstances faced by an addicted officer. The program offers inpatient and outpatient treatment as well as peer support groups to fit any level of care needed. It is one of the few programs aimed specifically at first responders.
Safe Call Now and Livengrin are financed by donations and through training conferences. Safe Call Now does not get paid for referrals to treatment centers and finds that treatment is usually paid through the officer's insurance carrier. According to Mason, intervention services through Livengrin's FRAT program are available free of charge. They do not want to turn away any officer because he or she can't afford to get into the program.
Thankfully, officers needing help with chemical dependency, PTSD, or mental health crises now have resources to help them get better. There are fellow officers who have survived addiction and are offering their time and experience to help officers end their dependency. These peer counselors and treatment centers can also help the treated officer return to work and maintain a healthy career, family, and life.
Mark W. Clark is a 27-year veteran police sergeant. He has served as public information officer, training officer, and as supervisor for various detective and patrol squads.
Badge of Life (Suicide Prevention)
(800) 273-TALK/8255
Livengrin Foundation/FRAT
SafeCallNow.org
Read more about Off-Duty Life Alcoholism Medical Leave Officer Suicide Drug Enforcement


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#BookReview: Ashlords (Untitled Duology #1) by Scott Reintgen
10:00 AM Crossroad Reviews No comments
Synopsis: Red Rising meets The Scorpio Races in this epic fantasy following three phoenix horse riders--skilled at alchemy--who must compete at The Races--the modern spectacle that has replaced warfare within their empire.
Every year since the Ashlords were gifted phoenix horses by their gods, they've raced them. First into battle, then on great hunts, and finally for the pure sport of seeing who rode the fastest. Centuries of blood and fire carved their competition into a more modern spectacle: The Races.
Over the course of a multi-day event, elite riders from clashing cultures vie to be crowned champion. But the modern version of the sport requires more than good riding. Competitors must be skilled at creating and controlling phoenix horses made of ash and alchemy, which are summoned back to life each sunrise with uniquely crafted powers to cover impossible distances and challenges before bursting into flames at sunset. But good alchemy only matters if a rider knows how to defend their phoenix horse at night. Murder is outlawed, but breaking bones and poisoning ashes? That's all legal and encouraged.
In this year's Races, eleven riders will compete, but three of them have more to lose than the rest--a champion's daughter, a scholarship entrant, and a revolutionary's son. Who will attain their own dream of glory? Or will they all flame out in defeat?
Goodreads | Amazon
About the Author: Scott Reintgen is the author of the Nyxia Triad series and the middle-grade novel Saving Fable. He is a former teacher in the North Carolina public school system and is always trying to write books for the deserving students who he had the honor of teaching. Currently, he lives in North Carolina, surviving mostly on cookie dough, his son's smiles, and the love of his wife, Katie. You can follow him on Facebook, on Instagram, and on Twitter at @Scott_Thought.
My Review: This one had everything going for it for this reader. It was pegged as the Hunger Games meets Red Queen meets The Scorpio Races and well other than that last one the other two I loved. So I thought I would give this one a go. Sadly this one just didn't work for me. The three POVs were fine but the writing wasn't meshing well with me. You have three POVs all in a different stance. One was in first person, one was in second person, and one was in third. For me that was a very odd choice to for a story. If all three POVs would have been in the same format I think that would have been a lot better. I wanted to love the aspect of the Phoenix and I did very much. But the other parts of the story just didn't work out for me.
Go Into This One Knowing: Multiple POVS in different tenses
Farian wakes me at some ungodly hour.
He comes in like he lives here, drags me out of bed, and gets me into a pair of boots. My corner candle's out, so I can't even see which cloak he throws around my shoulders or which hat he slaps on my head. Farian would say that's for the best. According to him, fashion and I were never properly introduced. He's always threatening to throw away my favorite dresses. It is a point of contention between us.
We stumble through the dark. Someone's asleep on the couch. An uncle, but I couldn't say which one. They all snore the same. Empty bottles spin away from my clumsy steps. Farian keeps a steady hand on my back until we're in the candlelight of the kitchen. He sets a cup of coffee in my hands, lets me take a few sips, and then pushes me out the door.
It should be black at this hour, but the sky's cloud-clear, and the stars recognize a stage when it's there. Dueling nebulas slash over the dark, rolling mesas. I hear Doctor Vass explain, "Each light is a sun. To each sun, planets. To each planet, moons. How endless it all is. . . ."
Farian looks back. "You awake yet?"
"No talking until I can see what color your clothes are."
He laughs. Farian has always laughed easily. Doesn't know his way around a joke, but he always makes you feel like you do. My best friend and confidant lopes ahead, his limp barely noticeable, a satchel full of camera gear tucked under one thick arm. He's always been big. Fourth son in a family of farmers, with three older brothers that have all grown even bigger than he is. But that's because Farian's made his world more than digging irrigation pits. He skips out on his chores to enhance photographs or edit our film series. He's bound for an education if he keeps at it, as long as his parents don't disown him before he can get there.
We're not the only ones awake at this hour. The door to Amaya's bar bangs open, and three ranch hands slide out into the slick shadows, laughing and singing the wrong words to "The March of Ashes." Farian hums the tune long after we've passed them.
Down the road, a pair of postmen trot past on slender mounts. Both tip their brims, looking like any other riders but for the government-issued gloves threaded with gold and the sacks full of letters strung to their saddles. We arrive at the ranch well before sunrise. It's dead and dark, quiet-like. The stars are fading.
"Looks empty," Farian says. "Only Martial is out there."
I squint, but Farian's eyes have always been better than mine. I can't make out much beyond the nearest row of fence posts, but there's nothing surprising about the quiet. It's a holy day. "The Ashlords only bow to the gods," I remind him.
He snorts but says nothing. We've caught hell for skipping Gathering the past few years, but we both know it's the only way to get any respectable riding time. Martial owns the only Dividian-friendly ranch in the district. He won the Races about twenty years ago and used the prize money to build his own ranch and buy his own herd of phoenixes. He promised it would be a training ground to hopeful Dividian riders who couldn't afford their own horses. Like him.
It was a stunning kindness.
Until the money started running out. It always does. Gold is worth less when it's in Dividian pockets. Not to mention they tax Dividian landowners twice as much. A few years back, Martial opened the ranch to some of the lesser Ashlord nobles. Carved out just a few days of the week at first, but it wasn't long until he was booked solid. I don't blame him, either. Ruling-class gold pays too well to turn down.
"What's it going to be today?" Farian asks, glancing back again. "Something new?"
"Something old," I reply with a smile. "Something long forgotten."
We head in different directions. Farian strides out to talk with Martial. He's been working up to asking the old champ to do a biopic, but Farian's about as careful as thunder. Won't make any noise until he's sure lightning's already struck. I leave them to it, heading for the stalls.
Martial might have sold out to the Ashlords, but there's still no ranch like his. As a Dividian, I get to ride his phoenixes free of charge. And he slashes component prices by half. He even lets us pay off all the expenses through a little side work. I'm pretty sure there's no better setup in the Empire, at least not for a Dividian like me.
His barn is a fine thing, too. All stone, with slightly sloping roofs and lamps dangling every few paces. I walk the outer courtyard, hearing horses occasionally stomp in their stalls on my left, seeing columns and arches running on my right. Martial sank most of his winnings into the place. People called it a mistake, but the quality of the facility is the only reason gold keeps moving from Ashlord pockets into his accounts. He has seven city-bred families boarding horses here, and more on the waiting list. I'm just glad he hasn't turned the whole place in that direction. He's still got about eight of his own horses, and they're the closest I'll ever come to calling one my own.
At the end of the yard, a great red door waits. I lift both latches and put my whole body into a shove. The door opens into the dark. I smile as a great smash of scents carry through the opening. I follow them inside. Practiced hands find the lamp thread and I give it a pull. The bulb takes its time, warming the room with light, brightening until I can see the endless containers with all their precious powders. All those possibilities . . .
I remove a half-ripped theater poster from the pocket of my riding jacket. Proper paper is too expensive, but street litter and old playbills are always free. I copy ingredients from the poster to one of Martial's inventory forms. I cringe, though, when I see the price he has listed for unborn ash.
"Seventy legions. Pick my pockets, why don't you, Martial."
After a second, I scribble the component down. I know today's video will make up for the cost eventually. It still stings to use anything that costs that much. I haven't taken on a component with a price that steep since my disaster last year with powdered gold. Burned through a hundred fifty legions in less than two clockturns. But I won't make that mistake again.
After noting each component, I take five racing containers and link them up. Martial's cubes are a cheaper version, about a fourth the size of the Race-regulation ones, but I'm only doing one rebirth anyway.
It takes a few minutes to locate each component, measure out what I've purchased, and strap the cubes to my riding belt. I lock the door behind me and find Martial rolling a cigarette outside. He keeps his thinning hair long and pulled back in a knot. His eyes are bright and blue, so shockingly Dividian that it's like looking across oceans, a few hundred years into our past. I can almost see our ancestors arriving on the shores of the Empire for the first time, eyes bright with desire.
He nods once. "Imelda Beru," he says. "The Alchemist."
"That name was Farian's choice. He says we need a brand if we want it to sell."
Martial taps the end of his cigarette. Dissatisfied, he starts rolling it again.
"Smart kid," he says. "I watched your last video. Some twelve thousand views, no?"
"Enough to pay you back, and buy Farian a new lens."
"What an age," Martial says. "Getting paid for people to click on a box."
"The modern world has its charms," I reply. "Speaking of which, sun's rising."
He glances out, nods once. "Seventh stall. Your ashes are waiting."
I thank him and head that way. He and I both know the sun won't touch the ranch for another twenty minutes, but talking with Martial makes me nervous these days. He's a man of hints. Idle comments intended to stir me up. Too often he talks about the Races with Farian. He thinks I have a chance to be chosen as this year's Qualifier. There's also a chance I'll be devoured by wolves, but I'm not betting on either one. Martial was chosen all those years ago, and a man who's been struck by lightning always thinks it's likely to happen again.
Opening the seventh stall, I find the ashes piled neatly in a metal box. I lift them up, careful with the lid, and start my search for Farian.
The land stretches north and south of the barns, and even though the estate's massive, Farian's been complaining about the shots getting stale. Like me, though, he knows we're lucky to even have this option. I find him at the south end of the property, navigating the low limbs of Martial's lonely shoestring tree. He doesn't like climbing, but by the time I reach him, he's wedged fifteen feet in the air. The mountains glow with coming gold. I frown up at him.
"You're going through all this trouble to film a Stoneside rebirth?"
Farian shoots me a furious look. "You serious? Why would you do Stoneside again?"
I grin at him. "Just snacking on you, Farian."
He flicks me off, laughs, then almost drops his camera. We both gasp, then laugh again when he catches it to his chest. He shakes his head, like I'm the one who almost dropped the thing.
"I hope you have something good for me," he says, glancing back through the branches. "I think this lighting will be flawless. It's the only time we've ever done a camera angle this high, you know? I'm thinking of doing some crosscutting for this one, if you ride well."
"Crosscutting," I say. "Glad to hear that. I was going to suggest . . . crosscutting."
He makes a face. "It's when you--"
When he sees my face, though, he goes quiet. We've played this game too many times. He talks like a textbook and I end up . . . distracted. He gets annoyed; I get mad.
"You film. I ride. It's simple."
"Gods below," he says, eyeing the light again. "Get me to a university already. I'd like to have a proper conversation about montages and backlighting with someone."
I smile up at him. "I thought you talked about all that stuff with Doctor Vass."
"For fifteen minutes." Farian shrugs. "Not his area of expertise."
"Guess you'll have to go to university."
"Guess so," he says, but his voice is full of doubt.
His family doesn't send off to school. Neither does mine. Every uncle and cousin is proof enough of that. Education is reserved for Ashlords and city-born Dividian with deep pockets. Out in the rural villages, we're more likely to inherit trades. Both Farian and I spend most of our time ignoring the trade we've been pegged for since birth. Farian knows as much about farming as a chicken. And I know even less about charming and getting married to a boy. My parents are already hinting that I can't spend my life riding other people's horses. One day they'll shrug and say that all we can do is make the best of the world the Ashlords offer us.
But on holy days--while the Ashlords worship their gods--I forget all of that. I walk out to greet the sunrise and become who I really am.
"Ready, Farian?"
He jams an elbow into his lap, turning the lens slightly. At his signal, I start spreading the ashes out over the ground. They're still warm, so I take quick handfuls and sweep them out in a flat, even circle. I don't flinch away from the heat, not after Farian claimed my cowardice ruined his shot a few months ago. I am as bright and fiery as the creature I will summon.
Once that's done, I unclip the cubes from my belt, flipping the individual lids so Farian has a good angle on each stored component. Sunrise isn't far off. I lift my eyes to Farian, focused on the camera. He's been walking me through the acting cues, but I always need a deep breath before we start, no matter how many videos we've made. He signals, and I begin.
"Good morning." I offer the camera an unnatural smile. "My name is Imelda Beru, also known as the Alchemist. First, I wanted to thank all of you for watching our recent videos. If you missed our Stoneside or Fearless rebirths, you'll find the link to those videos below.
"Today, we're staying with the theme of vintage rebirths. Everyone knows the standard resurrections these days. Those are tired. They're boring. All we have to do is look back at the pages of history to see just how inventive phoenix rebirths used to be. Since you don't have time to wade through codices and scrolls, I've done your homework for you. Here's a rebirth I like to call Trust Fall."
Farian leans out from behind his camera long enough to roll his eyes at my chosen title. I kneel down, hiding my laughter as I take a healthy pinch of locust dust.
"You're going to start with an outer ring of locust," I explain, letting the powder feed between my fingers and highlighting the circle's border with a deep tan color. "Keep the circle unbroken. You want your locust to burn hard and quick. You'll know you did it right if there's the faintest trace of sandstone coloring just as sunrise hits.
"Next: gypsum and limestone." I empty those containers into a central pile on my ashes, mixing them slowly with both fingers. "You'll want to lightly mix them, but don't spread them out too far. Three fingers of height will guarantee your mixture doesn't burn away."
As I hold up the last cube, I throw a wicked grin at the camera.
"Now, unborn ashes are as vintage as it gets. Our ancestors lived in a crueler world. Blood sacrifices every month and gods roaming the land. Unborn ashes aren't the cheapest component in the storeroom, but they're what you need if you want to call on the powers of old. Make another circle." I take a handful of the dead ashes. They're so cold that the hairs on that arm start to rise. "Place them inside the locust powder, but ringed outside the mixture of gypsum and limestone. Make the circle thick and add them just before sunlight hits."
I stand back, wiping my hands clean and gesturing past the camera.
Posted in: 3 Stars, Crown Books for Young Readers, Netgalley, Review, Young Adult


Lisa McHugo is a illustrator and tea-addict, originally from Galway and now based in Dublin, Ireland. She graduated NCAD with a Bachelor of Design in Visual Communications and has since pursued a career in illustration. Lisa's bright and colourful illustrations are inspired by fairy tales, pop culture & most of all, people.


text:
IRISH Orange Order Medal by William Mossop. Circa 1798.
Antique Medals & Badges Historic Medals & Badges
Historically significant Irish silver medal of the Orange Order.
Maker: William Mossop. Dublin. Circa 1798.
Obverse: Image of King William of Orange looking right.
Reverse: Coat of Arms with motto dieu et mon droit - God and my right (the motto of the British monarch).
The Orange Order is a Protestant fraternal order based primarily in Northern Ireland. The Orange Order was founded in County Armagh in 1795, during a period of Protestant-Catholic conflict. It is headed by the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland, which was established in 1798. Its name is attributed to the Dutch-born Protestant King William of Orange, who defeated the army of Catholic King James II in the Williamite-Jacobite War (1688-1691).
Diameter: 1.3 inches (3.3cm)
Weight: 0.55 troy ounces (31 grams)
Extremely fine
ENQUIRE ABOUT IRISH ORANGE ORDER MEDAL BY WILLIAM MOSSOP. CIRCA 1798.
CHARLES II Coronation Silver Medal. London 1661 by Thomas Simon.
MANDEVILLE - MEDIEVAL English Horse Harness Pendant. 13th Century.
RARE GEORGE II Silver PRINCE of ORANGE & DUKE of CUMBERLAND Medal by T Pingo. London 1747
UFFORD - MEDIEVAL English Horse Harness Pendant. 13th/14th Century.
VICTORIAN Silver Worshipful Company of Fishmongers Badge by Reily & Storer. London 1841
Memorial of Charles I. 1649. By John Roettier
VICTORIAN Copper Coach Plate - Smith Cuninghame Family
GEORGE III VICTORIES OF THE PENINSULAR WAR Bronze Box Medal with Roundels.
FITZROGER - MEDIEVAL English Horse Harness Pendant. 12th/13th Century.
VICTORIAN SCOTTISH GOLD HAIR LOCKET BADGE. Circa 1880.


Free Minds UK is a new education and support group for people who are, or were, involved in cults or high demand groups. The impact of cult membership, or the loss of a family member to such a group, can be traumatic and isolating. However it can be hard to find information, support and a safe place to share these difficult experiences. If you have ever been affected or know anyone who has, this unique group has been set up in response to the urgent need for information and support.
Please email freemindsuk@gmail.com for further information.
Are Cults a Hidden Epidemic?: ITN webcast. Alexandra Stein, Lois Kendall and Steve Hassan discuss cults.


A delicous, healthy and easy to make vegetarian dish, packed full of antioxidants and immune-boosting nutrients.
This is an incredibly refreshing Mexican salsa, delicious served with tortilla chips or as an accompaniment to fish or meat. We particularly love it with summer barbecues.
This is one of our favourite recipes for detoxing the liver and healing the gut. The flavours are much more interesting and far more nutritious than any shop bought coleslaw. Cabbage is a rich source of glutamine which is repairing to the gut and helps support healthy digestion. Coupled with the garlic, ginger and coriander, this is a recipe for ensuring you're getting all the benefits out of the food you eat and also removing any toxins which may be lurking in the gut.


There are points in Golden Dawn ritual that utilize Hebrew letter to symbolize journeys along the paths that connect the Sephiroth. These visually stunning banners – each adorned with an individual Hebrew letter in flashing color – are a marvelous alternative to printed versions. Very effective for personal skrying work. Each banner measures approximately 15 x 19. 100% cotton.
Remove dowels. Wash gently in cold water. Hang to dry or dry on completely "no heat" setting of the dryer. (Any heat from the dryer will cause all cottons to shrink.) You may also dry clean.
The picture says it all! Exquisite white satin banner with applique of YHSVH and Martinist Pantacle. Measures approximately 20 inches wide by 32 inches long. Please allow about 5 to 6 weeks for this item to be made for you. See more information below.
Large size banner measures approximately 20 x 20. Available in either the Sephirotic flashing colors of yellow and violet, or the Planetary flashing colors of orange and blue. 100% cotton.
Banners embroidered with unicursal hexagram on white banner and star of Babylon on black banner. See more information below.
Flashing color banner measures approximately 15 x 19.


text:
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	<properties>
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        <version>1.5.3.RELEASE</version>
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	<dependencies>
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		    <artifactId>junit</artifactId>
		    <scope>test</scope>
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		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.apache.commons</groupId>
			<artifactId>commons-lang3</artifactId>
			<version>3.5</version>
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            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
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		<dependency>
			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-test</artifactId>
			<scope>test</scope>
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		<!-- <dependency>
			<groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
			<artifactId>spring-boot-starter-data-jpa</artifactId>
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I have a website magazinesworld.org developed in blogger, please help me, how I can secure this.
We will upload the session videos and few summary blogs post the event.
Please provide the key takeaways (expected) from this conclave. I am interested in knowing the agenda, a quick summary & the takeaways.
Well, at least the hype about Big Data has finally and thankfully died. The world has been obsessed with big data for years, often overshadowing shifts more meaningful to the Global In-house Center: upheavals and opportunities in the talent pool, changes in taxation and immigration, the laptop ban, this year's black: Artificial Intelligence, and the transformation of the offshore delivery center into strategic enabler. Come join me as my colleagues, who are India's brightest GIC stars, unravel the morass at NASSCOM's GICs 3.0: Accelerating Enterprise Transformation, April 20th and 21st, 2017 at the Hyderabad International Convention Centre. This blog is written by Christopher Arnold (Head of Knowledge Services) from Wells Fargo.


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Back to work at bitcoin's embattled Mt.Gox
Published Mon, Mar 3 20145:43 AM EST Updated Fri, Mar 7 20149:59 AM EST
Matt Clinch@mattclinch81
Mt.Gox, the troubled Tokyo-based bitcoin exchange, tried to signal it was on the long road to recovery Monday, stating it would look to restore the business and recover damages to repay creditors.
Rather than filing for bankruptcy on Friday, the company opted for "bankruptcy protection," a Chapter 11-style civil rehabilitation that gives the company time to reorganize its affairs with lawyers treating it as an ongoing concern.
Despite detailing that it had outstanding debts of about 6.5 billion Japanese yen ($63.6 million), 850,000 lost bitcoins and 127,000 empty-handed customers, the exchange said it was looking to continue doing business so it could start repaying its creditors.
(Read More: A user just filed the first lawsuit against Mt.Gox)
"(This) will not be for the sole benefit of the company but for that of the whole bitcoin community," the company said in a statement posted on its website on Monday morning.
A bitcoin trader is surrounded by reporters as he protests against Tokyo-based bitcoin changer Mt.Gox in front of the company's office.
Yoshikazu Tsuno | AFP | Getty Images
"All efforts will now be made to restore the business and recover damages to repay debts to creditors. We hope for the understanding and cooperation of all."
Mt.Gox reiterated on Monday that it believed nearly $500 million worth of bitcoin may have been lost. It blamed the disappearance on a bug in bitcoin's framework called "transaction malleability." This means that while users were receiving incomplete transaction messages when using the exchange, in reality bitcoins may have been illicitly moved by hackers out of their accounts.
And it's not just its missing bitcoins that Mt.Gox is investigating. The company said that it had found large discrepancies between the amount of cash it holds in financial institutions and the amount deposited by its users. This black hole in fiat currency – money that's considered legal tender -- amounts to approximately 2.8 billion Japanese yen ($27 million), the exchange said on Monday.
(Read More: Bitcoin's Mt.Gox disappears, insolvency feared)
The new statement, however, offered little hope for users that had bitcoins held at the exchange with legal experts suggesting that they would be last in line for any repayments that are available. The issues continue to cause anger in the bitcoin community with some customers taking to Reddit to express their dissatisfaction.
"How do funds in the bank go missing?," asked one contributor to the Reddit debate. Another said that users would have to be "pretty desperate" to want to give Mt.Gox any further business. The company set up a call center on Monday to respond to inquiries from customers, but even that has sparked criticism.
(Read more: How to make money from bitcoin)
Bitcoin exchange Mt. Gox files for bankruptcy
Kolin Burges, a U.K.-based former software programmer, traveled to Tokyo to be part of a small protest outside Mt.Gox's office in recent weeks. Writing on his personal blog on Monday he said he tried to phone the new customer helpline four times and was treated to a selection of ambient music before receiving no answer.
The Japanese exchange - which once claimed it handled around 80 percent of all global dollar trades for bitcoin - is an online marketplace where people can buy or sell bitcoins using different currencies. Its customers have been unable to withdraw their bitcoins and convert them into U.S. dollars since the beginning of February.
(Read More: Mt.Gox CEO: 'I'm still in Japan')
Its website was abruptly taken offline last Tuesday as company execs began to find out the full extent of its problems. The exchange deleted all of its tweets from its Twitter account last Monday and CEO Mark Karpeles resigned from the board of the Bitcoin Foundation last Sunday. The company has announced that it had moved offices due to "security problems," and officially filed for bankruptcy protection on Friday afternoon.
But that's not all. It also received a subpoena from a U.S. federal prosecutor last week and Japanese authorities are also investigating its abrupt closure. Reuters reported on Friday that the first lawsuit against Mt.Gox had been filed in a U.S. District Court in Chicago on Thursday.
Meanwhile, there was good news for the industry in the U.K. on Monday. The HM Revenue & Customs has told traders that it is looking to scrap a 20 percent value added tax on the new technology, according to reports. It also said it would not charge a levy on margins either. The price of bitcoin has remained steady throughout last week's revelations, trading close to $550, according to CoinDesk.
—By CNBC.com's Matt Clinch; Follow him on Twitter @mattclinch81


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San Francisco Legal Recruiters
At Ryder Smith we are devoted to finding our clients qualified attorney candidates quickly, our focus is also on making the right placement.
Our diligence, professionalism, and knowledge of the legal market are unmatched, and we are dedicated to making the placement process a seamless one, for clients and candidates alike.
Ryder Smith Legal Search believes in giving back to the community, and a portion of the Company's profits are donated to philanthropic organizations.
If you're an attorney looking for a new opportunity or a law firm or company looking for the right attorney to grow your practice then please get in touch, we can help.
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Lee Kuhn
Lee Kuhn founded Ryder Smith Legal Search after working at a reputable California legal placement agency for many years. There, she headed up the agency's San Francisco office, and placed attorneys in-house and with law firms -- both nationally and internationally. Prior to entering the search business, she practiced employment law at two large international law firms in California. She earned her J.D. from the Duke University School of Law, and graduated cum laude from Dartmouth College.
During her free time, Lee works as a volunteer Court Appointed Special Advocate (SFCASA) for a child in the foster care system and is a director of a local animal rescue organization.
Juris Doctor, 2002
B.A., Psychology, 1998
Email: lee@rydersmithlegal.com
Samantha Johnston
Samantha Johnston earned her MBA in 2003 from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania where she served on the Wharton Graduate Association Executive Council. She earned her B.A. from Hamilton College. Prior to legal recruiting, Samantha led an extensive marketing and consulting career at both start-up companies and leading consumer packaged goods companies including E & J Gallo Winery and Nestlé USA.
In her downtime, Samantha is passionate about sports and is an avid runner and skier. She also enjoys travel and contemporary art.
MBA, 2003
B.A., History, 1995
Email: samantha@rydersmithlegal.com
Christina Woo
Christina Woo earned her MBA in 1999 from Harvard University's Graduate School of Business Administration and graduated with highest honors from the University of California, Berkeley where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Prior to legal recruiting, Christina was a Wall Street analyst at Morgan Stanley, a strategy consultant in Bain & Company's San Francisco and Hong Kong offices, and a recruiter with BCG. Christina enjoys marathon running, cheering for the Tar Heels during basketball season, and attempting to find the perfect bowl of pho.
Email: christina@rydersmithlegal.com
Katie Wharton
Katie assists attorney candidates with searches in the major markets of both Northern and Southern California including the San Francisco Bay Area, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. She is also available for searches in out-of-state markets. Prior to legal recruiting, Katie had a career in investment management with firms in New York City and San Francisco where she worked with both institutional and private clients. She also spent two seasons with the U.S. Forest Service as a helitack wildland firefighter. She received her B.A. from UC Berkeley. In her free time, she enjoys bicycle touring, cross-training, watching Scandal, and visiting her niece and nephews on the east coast.
B.A., Mass Communications
Email: katie@rydersmithlegal.com
Namita Dilawri
Namita began her legal career as a securities attorney while tutoring examinees for the California Bar Exam. Prior to handling permanent placements, Namita worked as a senior recruiter for a national legal staffing company, and has over 9 years of recruiting experience. Namita received her J.D. from Lewis and Clark School of Law, and B.A. from the University of California, San Diego (Honors). She speaks German and in her free-time, she enjoys practicing yoga, painting, traveling, and hospice volunteer work.
Email: namita@rydersmithlegal.com
Amanda Wharton
Amanda specializes in the placement of attorneys at law firms of all sizes in multiple practice areas. She also works on in-house searches, especially in the areas of employment, licensing and corporate law. Prior to joining Ryder Smith Legal Search, Amanda was a director at a national attorney search firm where she focused on attorney recruitment in all practice areas for the California market and a number of other U.S. markets, such as New York. Earlier, Amanda was an executive in the retail industry for over a decade at several top retail companies including Toys"R"Us and Barnes & Noble. Amanda holds an MBA in finance from Fordham University and a B.S. in biology from the University of Arizona where she was a member of the Alpha Epsilon Delta Honor Society.
In her free time, she enjoys giving back. She has served as a member of Monroe College's MBA advisory board. She has also volunteered in Kenya, Africa at Nairobi Hospital in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU).
B.S. in biology, 1996
Email: amanda@rydersmithlegal.com
Mary Hollendoner
Prior to legal recruiting, Mary was an executive at Google holding various positions in Operations and Finance over 10 years. She has also worked as a management consultant in Boston, and in marketing analytics in New York. She earned her Masters in Business Administration from UCLA Anderson, where she graduated as a Dean's Scholar at the top of her class. She completed her undergraduate work in Mathematics at Dartmouth College.
Mary enjoys rock climbing in Yosemite and traveling internationally with her husband and 7-year-old daughter.
UCLA Anderson School of Management
B.A., Mathematics, 1998
Email: mary@rydersmithlegal.com
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