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Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.
When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she's known is about to change.
But she could never have guessed the truth - that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.
Fairies, piksies, brownies, and redcaps. What else could there be in the world of Nevernever? The world of the elite and immortally beautiful fey?
Well, for one, there are talking cats that go by the name of a Cait Sith. Or, Grimalkin, who just happen to enjoy having people in their debts.
There are the ruthless redcaps that like to chew-n-chaw the bodies (living or dead) of any creature. As long as they get some meat and blood, they are happy critters. Happy, bloodthirsty miniature, vile, critters but critters all the same.
And let's not forget the Iron creatures that appear to be scraps of shredded iron. Hah! Meghan Chase only wishes that were the case. They actually turn out to be fire-breathing creations from the minds of us humans that continuously increase the production of technology on a daily basis, thus ridding the world of the old, mystical Fey.
Allow me to start from the beginning, because I am undoubtedly confusing you. Meghan Chase is a 16 year old girl who is half-human as well as half-Fey. I.E: Half fairy. Not only that, she is the illegitimate daughter of the Fairy King, Oberon. She has enemies from many sides that want her dead all because she is his daughter. The Unseelie court (The court of the Baddies, not the Goodies) want her. Well technically speaking, the evil Queen Mab wants her. And, the reason is still for bad ones. So, she is more important than she has any idea of. Quite the Awakening for a young girl who was considered a "country hick" back in her own world.
Well the plot of the story is more original than what most supernatural stories are nowadays: Her little half-brother, Ethan, was kidnapped and replaced with a changeling. So, she uses the help of her BFF, Robin Goodfellow, who also happens to be Puck. Yes, THE Puck from William Shakespeare's A Midnight Summer's Dream. Turns out the old Bard was more right than he ever could have imagine while alive. Well, through a flurry of obstacles, near death experiences and witty moments with her companions, she sets out to recapture and save her beloved Ethan.
And also might fall in love on the way....


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(Click here to download a PDF version of the job announcement.)
The U.S.-Japan Council seeks a candidate who is committed to the goals of the organization and can bring enthusiasm and commitment to membership coordination and regional programming support. This position offers an opportunity to make an impact in a growing non-profit and an opportunity to network with prominent leaders at the forefront of U.S.-Japan relations. Fluency in English is required and Japanese language proficiency is desirable.
The Membership Coordinator reports to the Director of External Relations while also collaborating with all other departments, including Communications, Development, Programs, and Finance.
How to Apply
Candidates should provide a cover letter, resume and 2-3 professional references to email@example.com. All necessary information and documents must be provided. This position is available for immediate hire. Successful candidates will be requested for a phone or in-person interview.
Annual salary will be based on experience and qualification of the candidate. The U.S.-Japan Council does not sponsor visas to work in the United States or fund relocation.
The U.S.-Japan Council is an EEO/AA employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, gender, national origin, sexual orientation, age, disability, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

subset: commoncrawl


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Mademoiselle Blue Cushion CoverMairo
A french inspired pattern in a typically vintage style. The bright colour makes it perfect for simply adding a splash of brightness to any corner of your home.
48 x 48cm
50% Linen, 50% Cotton
Closure type: zipped
Care Instructions:
Soak before washing. Wash separately at 40oC.
Do not tumble dry.
Stretch after washing.
Do not use detergents or rinsing agents containing optical brighteners. Liquid soap is recommended.
Iron on reverse side.
Because of variations in fibres, yarns and dyes, we cannot guarantee the exact colour in different product series. Expected shrinkage after washing or dry-cleaning from 3 to 4%.


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Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first MLive.com user to add photos or videos of Chelsea Area Primary Care
Chelsea Area Primary Care is located at 6276 Jackson Rd Ste B, Ann Arbor, MI. This business specializes in Doctors & Clinics.


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Foursquare Revamp Adds Local Search Engine
Foursquare is expanding its Explore feature to allow users to find highly recommended restaurants, bars, and shopping regardless of whether they have used the service to check in anywhere or not.
Visitors to Foursquare.com will now be met with a "Find great places near you" search bar layered atop a map of your current location. You can type in a query - a specific bar or type of cuisine, for example - or click the Foursquare-generated links for Top Picks, Food, Coffee, Nightlife, Arts, Shopping, or Sights.
Searching for "mac and cheese" in Brooklyn Heights brings up restaurant reviews in which users have mentioned that restaurant's mac and cheese (for better or worse). You can filter by places you have or have not visited, locations your friends have gone to, or places that are running Foursquare specials. A large map on the right highlights where your options are located (click above for larger image).
In a blog post, the company said it launched Foursquare Explore in order to make recommendations to people who had checked in more than 10 times on Foursquare. "Since then, we've been tweaking and improving the formula that supplies those recommendations, analyzing and re-analyzing our nearly 3 billion check-ins and 30 million tips to find the keys to the best recommendations," Foursquare said.
Tellingly, Foursquare mentioned that it recently ran a test that aimed to determine whether it could provide the best local recommendations without check-ins.
"Thanks to those 3 billion check-ins and 30 million tips (and a bit more magic behind the scenes), we've gotten really really good at it," the company said.
Earlier this summer, Foursquare CEO Dennis Crowley said that the company was moving away from check-ins, which are no longer the most popular feature on Foursquare; people are using it as more of a recommendation service.
The search bar, Foursquare said, will take a number of factors into account when providing results - what's popular in the neighborhood, new places, places that are trending at the moment, where experts go, and what's popular on that day of the week.
"If you search for a bar, we don't just tell you about great bars, but rather the best places you should go tonight," Foursquare said.
The results will get "even more powerful" on the mobile apps, which can allow for deeper customization based on your history, where friends have been, and location.
Recently, Foursquare and Open Table teamed up for in-app reservations, while Foursquare's "People Who Know" sidebar was added to Microsoft's Bing search engine.
For more from Chloe, follow her on Twitter @ChloeAlbanesius.


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Home : Quarterly Archives : Volume 21
Tredyffrin Easttown Historical Society
Source: July 1983 Volume 21 Number 3, Pages 97–102
When the Valley Forge Military Academy was Located in Devon
When it first opened, the Valley Forge Military Academy was not located in Wayne, but was in Devon, on the south side of Berkley road, between Dorset and Waterloo roads. It was there for only five months, however, before a disastrous fire totally destroyed the school's main building and caused it to relocate.
The Military Academy wss founded in 1928 by Major Milton G. Baker. Major Baker had been graduated from St. John, in Annapolis, then considered one of the leading military colleges in the country, prior to the first World War. Following graduation, he served for several years in the regular army. After an assignment in the office of the Secretary of War, he resigned to make a special study of military schools, teaching in several of them, including a year at Culver. In 1928 he decided to organize and establish his own military academy.
The Board of Governors for the new Academy included Major General William C. Price, the head of the Pennsylvania National Guard and also president of the Union League; Brigadier General Edward C. Shannon, commander of the 52d Cavalry Brigade; Colonel William H. Oury; Colonel Fred Taylor Pusey; Dr. W. Herbert Burk, rector of the Washington Memorial Chapel at Valley Forge; Judge W. Butler Windle; Walter Ewing Hope; Colonel Arthur Golshan; and J. Howard Mecke jr. On the Board of Trustees, along with Major Baker, were Thomas L. Latta, G. B. Wheeler, and Edgar G. Van Dyke.
The site for the proposed school was the old Devon Inn, which Major Baker acquired in the summer of 1928. Built in 1883 as a summer hotel for fashionable Philadelphia families, it had once before served briefly as a school when, from 1924 to 1926, it was the home of the Devon Manor School for Girls.
In addition to several buildings, the property included fourteen acrea of lawn, beautifully landscaped with shrubbery and magnificent old shade trees.
The main building was an ornate structure of stone and brick, of old English design. About a quarter of a million dollars was spent to renovate it for use as a school.
After remodeling, in the main building were located twelve classrooms, a library of more than 7,000 volumes, the infirmary, a study hall, a large auditorium with a stage and a seating capacity for 500 persons, a dining room that could accommodate 400 at one time, and a well-equipped kitchen and bakery, as well as the offices of the Superintendent and Commandant, four spacious reception rooms, and general offices. The main hall also included about 150 bedrooms. Sixty of the bedrooms had private baths, twenty-five had semi-private baths, and the remainder all had hot and cold running water. The bedrooms were all equipped with Simmons iron beds, box springs, and mattresses.
A separate building housed the recreation hall. In it were ten bowling alleys, a billiard room with facilities for billiards, pool, and shuffle board, rooms for checkers and chess, six reading rooms, and also the cadet's store. The recreation hall was strictly the cadet's own, with members of the faculty visiting it only for the official daily inspection by the officer in charge.
Only a few hundred feet from the main building was the long line of stables for the horses, with the grounds of the Devon Horse Show also available for instruction in horsemanship.
In short, the physical plant was described as "at least the equal" of other military schools throughout the country.
The faculty of thirteen was also reported to be "one of the strongest faculties ever assembled in any preparatory school in the East". Its members included Lieutenant Robert G. Posey, the headmaster and an instructor in languages; Captain Jackson A. Lahn, in mathematics and military science; Lieutenant William Treu, mathematics; Lieutenant Commander S. L. H. Hazard, chemistry, physics and history; Lieutenant Leopold Kretzlin, history and commercial; Captain Robert Maust and Miss Maybelle Asper, commercial; Captain Fred C. Patten, commercial and music; Lieutenant Harold Hayes and Lieutenant Sheldon Madiera, English and foreign languages; and Lieutenant Paul Shaffer, the athletic director. In the lower school were Lieutenants W. I. Ruten and Paul E. Tracy.
Major Baker served as Superintendent, with Capt. Patten also serving as the Executive Officer, and Capt. Maust as Quartermaster, in addition to their teaching duties. The school surgeon was Major Charles S. Miller, while Miss Edna Woelfel was the school nurse. Others on the administrative staff included Miss Asper and Miss Dorothy Rutter as secretaries, Robert C. Adams as engineer, and Frederick D'Sinter as canteen manager.
The purpose of the school, as described in its 39-page catalog, was fourfold - the building of boys "physically, morally, socially and mentally". Fees for the year were $1,000, which covered "tuition in all academic branches, board, room, heat, light, bed linens, blankets, table linen, lectures, concerts, moving pictures and all other entertainments; quarterly medical examinations by the school surgeon and medical attention in ordinary ailment at the Academy". The uniforms cost an additional $250. (The dress uniform, incidentally, was identical to that of the West Point cadet.)
The Academy opened at Devon on September 26, 1928 with an enrollment of 117 cadets, including a band of 20 musicians that had already been organized and practicing for the opening day ceremonies and a football squad of 28 players that had started practice on September 18 thunder head coach Paul Shaffer, a graduate of Phoenixville High School and Temple University.
While most of the students were from eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the enrollment also included students from Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, Virginia, and other states.
Opening day was described by Cadet-Major Rudolph A. Parker, "In limousines, 'flivvers' and afoot," he reported, "all day long the new cadets poured into the building that was to be their home - strapping big fellows, lugging heavy bags'; shy young hopefuls, led by doting mothers or proud fathers, large and small, young and old - every one to become part of a mighty educational system. They received a military welcome - seemingly a bit rough yet producing results as nothing else can. After saying their fond farewells, they are assigned a room, and start the first lap of the school year. At this point the veteran cadets step into the picture with a 'bang'. Bearing themselves with pride, this old guard makes the recruits snap into it'. 'Get those shoulders back'. 'Stick at chest out!' 'Keep your chin up!' 'This is a military school, not a girls1 seminary!' 'Keep awake there!' These are only a few of the general hints that are handed out. ..."
After commenting on the spirit of the Academy "that demands that everyman do his share", Cadet-Major Parker noted that "we, the first to wear the cadet gray, are proud of the fact that we are helping to build a great institution". Although there were only about 125 cadets enrolled for the first year, it was expected that there would be more the following term, and within four months there already were reservations for almost twice the first year's enrollment, with the facilities easily capable of accommodating several hundred over all.
The Academy offered three courses of instruction along with the military department, A classical course, with requirements in English, Latin, history, modern languages, mathematics and science, was provided to prepare students for the general arts course of any college or university. A scientific course stressed mathematics, chemistry, modern languages and physics, and was for students planning to enter engineering or technical school. And for students going directly into the business world, a commercial course, with groundwork in English, history, mathematics and general commercial subjects, was provided.
The standards of the College Entrance Examination Board were adopted as the scholastic aim, although it was recognized that for those not going to college there should be "courses to prepare these boys thoroughly for life".
The academic day consisted of five periods of one hour each, with all cadets required to have a minimum of four classes a day. In addition, they were required to study for two hours five nights of the week. Each boy was also expected to participate in at least one sport each day of the school year.
In October the first issue of the Anvil, a mimeographed student newspaper, was issued. It was edited by Cadet E. S. Jackson, with Cadet W. R. Kavanaugh the assistant editor.
The cadets of the Academy also participated in the Armistice Day parade in Wayne held on November 10th, "the splendidly equipped and excellent marching cadet corps" leading the line of march.
There was also a special Thanksgiving Day program at the school, during which time the "courtesy of the Academy" was extended to the parents of all the students. The festivities began on Wednesday, with a guard mount, band concert, and dress parade, followed in the evening by a presentation by the Valley Forge Military "players". On Thanksgiving Day the program included inspection of quarters, a dress parade, a Thanksgiving Day address by Dr. Burk, a formal guard mount, a football game against Northeast Catholic, formal retreat, dinner, and a "football hop", followed by a midnight buffet supper.
The Academy football team, incidentally, won the game by a 13-0 score to end its first season with a record of five victories and two losses. In addition to beating Northeast Catholic, the cadets had wins over Brown Prep, 26-0, the Church Farm School, 26-6, Tower Hill, 31-0, and Malvern Prep, 18-0, but lost to Temple, 6-0, and to LaSalle, 21-0. The captain of the team was halfback Al Schultz, with fullback "Red" Pierce, quarterback "Harp" Reynolds, "Meat" Winterbottom, an end, and tactile Curtis Rosar among the other outstanding players that year.
Classes were dismissed on December 19th for the Christmas furlough. Honoring a previous commitment, on December 21st the main building of the school was opened for the annual banquet of the Wayne Lodge, No. 581, of the Free and Accepted Masons.
It was less than two weeks after classes were resumed on January 7th, in the early morning hours of Friday, January 18, 1929, that the fire that was to move the Valley Forge Military Academy from Devon broke out.
The odor of smoke from a small blaze in the hallway on the top floor of the four-story building awakened the headmaster, Lt. Posey, who then woke up Captain Lahn, the Commandant, The cadets were quickly aroused by "fire call". With their overcoats over their pajamas, their heavy shoes still unlaced and untied, they attempted to control the blaze with hand fire extinguishers, but the fire spread rapidly down to the third floor, out of control. Major Baker put in a call to the township fire company for assistance, and ordered the building evacuated, A roll call showed that everyone had got out safely.
Firemen from seven fire companies - Paoli, Berwyn, Wayne, Bryn Mawr, Ardmore, Swedeland, and Bridgeport - soon arrived on tke scene, but by that time the building was a huge tower of flames and smoke. Within an hour from the time the fire had first been discovered the entire center section of the old Inn collapsed. Hampered by inadequate water pressure, there was little the firemen could do. By daybreak, only jagged sections of the brick walls and the chimneys remained standing, (The chimneys survived for one year., when they too were toppled by the explosion at the fireworks factory in Devon.)
Immediately after the fire, the students were taken to the Brookline Square Club in Haverford. Within twelve hours, arrangements had been made to move the school temporarily to facilities at the St. Davids Golf Club, on the northeast corner of Eagle and Radnor Street roads, in Wayne. The club moved its offices into the locker room, which it retained, making its main club building, which had formerly been the St. Luke's School, and the former Crawford house available for use by the Academy. Cots and blankets were requisitioned from the Philadelphia Arsenal and placed in the old dormitories, and on the following Monday classes were continued with a minimum of interruption.
The following week, Major Baker reported that the plans for the future of the Academy could not yet be outlined, but that it was "confidently expected that the school will be rebuilt on the old site".
In July, however, it was announced that "after due deliberation" a decision had been made to purchase the 27-acre site of the former St. Luke!s School as a permanent site for the Academy, and that work on a new fire-proof brick barracks of a Colonial design would begin as soon as possible. It was also announced that no wood was to be used in the construction of this new dormitory. At the same time, plans . .were unveiled to renovate and alter the former main building of the old St. Luke's School to house the Academy's library, lecture halls, laboratories, class rooms, dining room, and offices.
At the end of the first year of operation, it was also reported that the Academy had attained "remarkable academic achievement", with its graduates having been accepted at West Point, Annapolis, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, Johns Hopkins, and other colleges. The Academy had also been given recognition by the War Department.
Enrollment for the second year of the school had already reached 179 students by July, with the expectation that the established quota of 250 would be reached by August.
Thus the Academy continued in its Wayne location and never returned to Devon. But it was in Devon that it got its start, and for the first five months of its existence the Valley Forge Military Academy was located on the south side of Berkley Road, between Dorset and Waterloo roads, in the buildings of the old Devon Inn.Top
Catalog of Valley Forge Military Academy for 1928-1929
Crossed Sabres, the Yearbook of the Class of 1929
Interview with Major General Milton H. Medenbach
Files of the Wayne Suburban
Page last updated: 2009-07-29 at 14:31 EST


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Interview with Fluent Speaker of Second Language
This content was COPIED from BrainMass.com - View the original, and get the already-completed solution here!
I need to write an article in the district-wide newsletter about second language fluency. I have determined that an interview with someone who is fluent in a second language would be a great way to deliver information in the article.
Create 10 questions inquiring how this person learned. Questions might include:
How old were you when you learned your second language? ) What was the biggest challenge? What learning strategies did you use? ......
Also help with a two-paragraph summary of how this person's experiences correlate with the major language acquisition theories .
Solution Preview
INTERVIEW QUESTIONS-----(native English speaker acquiring Spanish as L2)
1 At what age did you begin acquiring a second language?
2 In what type of environment did you attempt L2?
3 How did you start? With a base of comprehension, or other language-acquisition abilities?
4 Were you exposed to any media in the target language?
5 What was the time frame involved in achieving fluency?
6 What use or function did the new language have in your life?
7 Describe your pre-fluency communication.
8 Were conditions for practice present after acquiring the basics?
9 Did you attempt to teach the new language to others?
10 How did you know that fluency was achieved?
1 I began, in earnest, to acquire a second language at age 31. High School study of French must be discounted, as full fluency was not achieved.
2 I was immersed in a native-speaking environment rather than a classroom setting.
3 I started by mimicking sounds and phrases heard in the new environment. I had no base in Spanish, but musical ability and theatre training helped the ear to successfully register new sound patterns and visualize new vocabulary. A base in another Romance language (French) also helped in pronunciation and verb recognition.
4 Yes, I listened to news radio and popular music, watched films (often ...
Solution Summary
A basic interview is created with a subject fluent in a second language. In this case, a native speaker of English has acquired Spanish. The questions target the strategies used, media influence, and daily living. Also discussed are the language acquisition theories associated with language learning. Supporting quotes from Noam Chomsky, Victoria Fromkin and Bernard Spolsky are used. 803 words with references.


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Could you use a quicker way of connecting to our licensed library resources from off-campus? This bookmarklet might just be the answer.
Add this link to the bookmarks of your favourite browsers: Get It! Trent. Or drag this button:
Then, whenever you come across an online document that denies you access, or asks you to pay for it, click the bookmark.
This works for e-books, e-journals, databases - anything made available through Trent Library purchases and subscriptions.
See details on the Off-Campus Access: Bookmarklet page.


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Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in
lindajsingleton's LiveJournal:
This was my 21st SCBWI LA Conference & and the organization's 41st
I took my notes on my iPad, which is soooo convenient. Love this device!
Lin Oliver says there are 1,234 attendees; full conference. 46 states. 15 countries.
Keynote was ARTHUR LEVINE who is always witty and sincere. He said, "Children's books are a reflection of everything I value most dearly.".
Also mentioned quote about anticipation being a better tool than surprise.
He spoke of Harry Potter, saying he won't talk about hype but of the good writing. He made an appearance at a week long Harry Potter camp. Now reading the 2nd book to his own 8 year old son. He published it because of his connection to Harry and how it made him cry when Harry stood in front of the Mirror of Erised.
TONY DITERLIZZI opened with, "Always have a logjam of ideas...tons of ideas." He showed photo of Albert Einstein, his favorite say, "If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairytales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairytales." The importance of imagination, that's key to me.
"Dungeons and Dragons introduced me to a lot of fantasy writing" He drew lots of fantasy creatures. SPIDER & FLY was his first NYT bestseller and Caldecott Honor. Asked himself "What would 10 year Tony want that 40 year old Tony can make?" He has a collection of toys from when he was a kid to remind him what it felt like to be a kid. Trying to make books for the kid version of himself.
SARA SHEPARD opened with, "I'm going to be talking about murders, scandals and lying." Author of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS, book and tv series.
She was a ghost writer for Alloy, writing books under other names. Wrote about 6 ghosted books. Then she was told to write her own series and created PRETTY LITTLE LIARS. Was sold as 4 books, then another 4. TV show made it go beyond 8 books. Resurrected book with new plotting; reinventing.
She has rules about how to keep a mystery series (that's what she consider PLL) going.
You always have to know who your murderer is before you start out.
Always incorporate the "red herring."
Leave a bit to chance.
Be willing to change like when she had new book offers.
Outline. Outline. Outline.
Creates material that will never make it in the scenes (background) "I definitely had secrets in my family, and used that."
Got book deal at age 28, and when PLL came out it wasn't that successful at first, and she was humbled. Although it was optioned nothing happened at first but then she heard people cast and script written. She was like "OMG" because some of the lines are straight from the book. "Whole experience has been kind of bizarre...suddenly on TV." Monday she is going to the set based on the town she made up. "It's a wonderful thing to see the characters on the scene, and pushes me to create better story lines." Sara Shepard, author of PRETTY LITTLE LIARS
PATRICIA MACLACHLAN opens with, "I'm so sorry I have no scandals or murders...in my books." She added that she's never written an outline.
She went on to talk about her life as a writer, including stories of her granddaughters and imaginary friends. Humorous, lovely talk! She says, "Even though we look like adults, we're children."
DAN GUTMAN admitted he was a reluctant reader and didn't like classics and wanted to write books for kids like himself. He gave a list of tips, mostly humorous and he seemed very comfortable talking, his humor corny in a cute grown-up-kid way. I liked him.
KAREN CUSHMAN: Pubbed 1st book at age 50. Written 7 books.
Oens by saying "Use me...stop me in the halls...don't think you're bothering me."
Collects blogs with helpful hints.
Karen says to have no rules.
Be open to surprise. At times stray from our outlines, ask ourselves questions that we don't already know the answers. If you were to respond differently, how would that change the story? When writing our characters we undoubtedly write more than we know.
"I've often been surprised by something I've written." Karen Cushman,
She hadn't noticed her birth metaphors in MIDWIVES until others pointed it out.
Karen says: Read and reread your drafts looking for the surprise...what your story is really about...what you really want to say."
I am not satisfied with lousy first drafts...go over and over, looking for the surprise.
"Inspiration often strikes when I am far from my chair and I have to run home to write."
She reads other writers while writing and she learns a lot (like me!)
"I suggest you read 100 books like the one you want to write. Read what you love and ask yourself why you love it." Karen Cushman
CLARE VANDERPOOL won Newbery for Moon Over Manifest Oct/2010 which I got from library and read. Liked it.
She said: Some highlights in a year and a half, like sitting by Sara Shephard yesterday which impressed her daughter. Took Clare 16 years to be published.
Then: started writing at 1994, quit job and raised 4 kids. Had no agent and many rejections.
Now: Kids out of school for summer & kids in house with friends. She sits at the table with headphones on with rain sounds to muffle sounds. Showed video of her daughter singing while she's trying to write. But school will come. Now she has agent and editor and published book soon to come out, plus a nice medal.
RUTA SEPETYS, DIFFERENT SHADES OF GRAY award winning novel.
Amazing talk, like no other I've ever heard.
Ruta Sepetys who was blond and gorgeous and opened with her work for American Idol, helping the finalists to pick songs. Then she spoke of how she had a wake-up moment when a finalist asked her about herself and she said she was from Lithuania. But she didn't know anymore, so she researched and found out when her grandfather fled before he would have been executed by Stalin's people, his family left behind was punished, 12 of them sent to Siberia and only 2 surviving. She interviewed, traveled and asked more questions. She got emotional and determined to learn what it was like to survive a prison in Siberia. Then she paused and said she'd been encouraged to tell the rest of her story.
She heard about a group of college kids researching for a documentary. They wanted a real reenactment and were there for only 24 hours, but they couldn't wear them down over time. She wanted to experience this but was refused. So she offered them money and they agreed. She had to sign papers, and did much to her husband's concern. When she got there, there were lined up and suddenly the first men were beaten. She was terrified and it got worse because they came to her and beat her to, so she fell to the ground and they kicked her, rupturing her disk.
She paused in her talk to wipe off her tears with her wrist then she continued, admitting how she thought she'd be brave but it took only seconds for her to become terrified and a coward, ignoring a man's gesture for help, just wanting to get away, and glad to be put in a box away from the violence. But when she was put back with the others, one guy reached out to her and offered to help, and this gave her courage to help him, too. She didn't say much more, but obviously she got out and used all this for her book which won awards.
Afterwards we listened to Deborah Halverson talk about the market, which has improvement with picture books, which I knew already with my agent's sales.
While Jay crosses the street, chillin' like he's out for a casual stroll, I'm sweating, slinking into night shadows, staying low as a bug. I only need to pass five houses then cross to the opposite side of the street. Sounds easy? Not so much. During those seconds when I'm crossing, I'll be as visible as the red circle on a shooting target. Can I make it without being seen? Not so sure, although I'll never admit it.
Slipping behind a thick tree trunk, I glance over at Garth, who has finally ended his lip-lock and is strutting away from the house with a cocky swagger like a soccer star who scored the winning goal. His hasn't noticed Jay yet, who has stopped walking and stands motionless beneath swaying curtains of willow branches.
I blink, and Jay is gone.
Garth pauses on the sidewalk, digging into his pocket and pulling out a key ring. The keys jangle an emergency warning signal to me—hurry! I have to get into covert position before Garth reaches his car. I peer over to where I last saw Jay. Still no hint of life behind the willow vines. It's like Jay is made of invisibility.
A rumbling noise of an engine. Headlights shine down the road--heading my way. If I stand here the beams will mark me like a splash of paint in a paint ball battle. I press up against a tree, waiting for the car to pass and clasping my hands together around the phone like I'm praying. Don't see me, don't see me. I step off the sidewalk close to a tree, crouching down low. Light flashes. A whirl of movement rushes by. I hold my breath and wait the count of ten then peer at the street.
The car is gone but so is Garth.
Where did he go?
I look up and down the street, puzzled because his car is still parked in the same spot. I hear a scraping sound from plastic garbage can in the opposite driveway, and Garth's head pops up, and I realize he hid from the passing car, too. The cheater afraid of the wrath of a jealous girlfriend.
Then I get serious because I still have to cross the street. I duck behind the bushes. And I can't think of any way to do this without Garth seeing me. I watch him pass one house then another until he's almost to his car. And I'm still not behind the bushes.
"Hey, Garth!" I hear Jay call out all friendly like he's greeting one of his pals.
Garth spins around, so his back is toward me. I have my chance, and I go for it. Darting across the street, focusing on running silent and fast, holding my breath until my lungs burn for air. Only when I dive behind leafy green bushes do I breathe.
"You know me?" I hear Garth say in a shaky voice, but I don't look up. I'm stealthily pushing aside leaves, until I've made a hole in the bushes perfect for filming. How do I power up that phone, anyway?
"The question is—do you know me?" Jay asks in the mocking deep voice of the Grin Reaper. I don't have to look up to know how he must appear to Garth: all dressed in black except for the yellow smiley face on the back of his knit cap, an air of being tall and powerful, rippling with muscles like he could bend a tire iron like it was a tooth pick.
I've finally got the phone on, and search for the camera app. Okay, there it is on the bottom of the screen. I press for video and a red light flashes. Score!
Clutching the phone, I aim through the leafy opening at Garth's back as he faces Jay. Only two dark eyes peer from Jay's knitted mask.
"What the hell?" Garth growls.
"Have fun with your girlfriend?" Jay taunts, stepping closer at an angle that causes Garth to turn, giving me a clear view of his face.
"None of your…Hey, you're that Reaper dude!" Surprise shifts into closed-mouth, narrow-eyed anger. "What do you want?"
"Just a friendly conversation." Jay's voice is smooth; like a fisherman throwing a lure and waiting patiently for his prey to bite.
"Get out of my way."
"I will after we talk."
"I got nothing to say to you."
"Not even about your friend?" The Reaper pauses. "Newt."
"That geek isn't a friend of mine. G-Get out of here before I call the cops."
"That would be my pal Sheriff Hart. Go ahead, call him."
"I will!" Garth's voice rises. "I'll probably get a reward, too."
"Yeah--handcuffs and an uncomfortable ride to jail when I tell him all abut that knife you planted in Newton's locker."
"I did not!" Garth raises his fists but he backs up instead of going after Jay, and it's obvious he's all bluster and no spine.
"You know Newton's locker combination."
Garth frowns. "So what if I do? I wasn't even near his locker."
"Someone saw you," Jay says accusingly.
Garth's mouth falls open then he snaps it shut, glaring at Jay. "You're lying! Even if I was by his locker, that doesn't mean anything. That knife came from Newton's weapon collection."
"And you know all about his collection because he used to be your friend. You hung out together all in elementary school. Why turn on him now?"
"I don't hang with losers."
"Too smart, huh? Makes you look dumb," Jay says almost sympathetically. "I don't blame you for hating on him. Why should he have a great future when your only chance for college is a soccer scholarship but your stats aren't what they used to be. You put the knife in his locker."
I crouch down so low I can taste the dirt I'm stirring up, half-sitting as I hold the camera steady for a clear shot at the action. Garth clasps his hands together, fidgeting as if he isn't sure whether to strike or run. Got to give him credit, though, when he stands his ground. I can't see his face, but his body language is all stubborn and defiant as he snorts, "You can't prove anything."
"Are you forgetting the witness?"
"Lies. There wasn't anything to see."
"Want to bet your future on it?" Jay says quietly.
"Who's the witness? Prove it, or get the hell out of my face."
"I don't have to prove it…yet. But what I can do is have a nice talk with your girlfriend." A pause. "About you and Druscilla."
"You…You saw that?" He glances over at Druscilla's house, face paling to a sickly shade of gray like the concrete he's standing on.
"And I took photos." There's something sexy about Jay's grin, and I find it hard not to stare through the mask to his dark shining eyes.
"Don't show her!" Garth cries. "Please!"
"If you care so much, why cheat on her?"
"She's not the one who scares me—it's her brothers. They're on my team and they'll kill me."
"Like you killed Newton's future?"
"Don't worry about him." Garth spits on the ground, too close to my hiding place. "Newt will do all right, he always does. But I'm toast if Missy Ann's brothers find out about Dru." A leaf tickles my cheek and I brush it away, my gaze tight on Garth whose shoulders hunch in defeat. "What do you want?"
"A confession."
"Not gonna happen." Garth shakes his head. "I'll get kicked off the team and expelled."
"That would really suck for the team."
"Yeah," Garth says quickly like he's drowning and Jay offered him a floatie. "Is it fair to punish the team—the whole school—because of me?"
"You have a point." Jay rubs his chin, thoughtfully. I'm not sure if he's sincere or acting. He's that good, and I'm enjoying watching his show.
"So you'll go away and forget all about this?" Garth gestures to his second girlfriend's house.
Jay nods. "I'm a soccer fan and don't want our team to lose its best goalie."
"So you won't show Missy Ann the photos?" Garth asks hopefully.
"I'll delete them," he says like a solemn promise.
"Thanks, man. I owe you."
"So tell me how you did it," Jay says with a hint of admiration. "I can't figure out how you got into Newton's house and stole his knife without getting caught."
"Easy." Garth lifts his shoulders, swaggering. "I still have a house key from when I fed his family's dog when they went on vacation. Newt's such a geek, his room has all kinds of gaming stuff, dragons, posters and even costumes like he thinks he's a real super hero. I was in and out with the knife quick."
"Why frame him?" Jay asks. "He must have really pissed you off."
I grip the camera steady but it's awkward and my arm cramps. Pain shoots up through my shoulder to my neck. Ouch. Damn. Hurry the hell up, Jay!
"Everything Newt does pisses me off," Garth complains in a relaxed tone like he and the Grin Reaper are pals. "He's always acting so fake and superior, bragging about colleges begging to choose them. He deserved a dose of reality, so I gave it to him."
"But how did you make sure he'd get caught?" Jay sounds so impressed that if I didn't know better I'd believe he a Garth fan. "If I'd found a knife in my locker, I would have ditched it, not wait around for a teacher to find it."
"I disguised my voice and made an anonymous report of Newt carrying a knife."
"Good thinking," Jay approves.
"Yeah. My parents think Newt is the smart one, but I got him good." Garth tilts his head at Jay. "So we're good? You won't tell my girlfriend anything?"
"Not a word. See ya around." Jay waves his gloved hand then whirls away. Garth scampers off like a beaten dog, slamming the door of his car and burning rubber as he leaves. Finally! Groaning in relief, I lower my arm as shut off the camera.
Headlights flash then disappear down the road with Garth. Jay's car immediately pulls up beside my leafy hide-out. The window rolls down. "Get in," he calls out to me.
I don't hesitate, hurrying into the passenger seat and slamming the door.
"Get it all?" He whips off his knit cap, tossing it on the dash, grinning.
"Yeah. Not a bad show." I toss the camera over to him and he catches it. "Really bold move to confront him."
"He almost saw you. When I saw the camera light flashing from the bushes, so I knew I had to keep him facing me."
"Thanks." I rub my arm and pluck a leaf from my hair. "When will you show the video to Garth's girlfriend?"
"Never. I told him I wouldn't."
"You also told him there was a witness." I lean back comfortably in my seat. "Was there?"
Jay flashes a wicked smile. "There will be tomorrow."
I chuckle as I guess where he's going with this. "You-Tube, right? The link will spread like crazy. By lunch tomorrow it'll have thousands of hits. Maybe millions."
He shakes his head. "If I do that it'll punish the victim, too. Newton doesn't deserve that kind of humiliation."
My seat belt digs into me as I twist to stare at him. "So what are you going to do with the video?"
"Send it to one person."
I'm silent for a moment, thinking. Sheriff Hart? Principal Blank? Missy Ann?
When Jay tells me, I smile.
Jay slides down the rope he's hooked to my balcony and offers to catch me if I fall. But I'm already climbing down, reminding him he's not the only one with skills. He nods with what I think is respect.
"This way," he whispers, gesturing for me to follow.
We cross through the backyard, staying close to bushes as we hurry away from the three-story ramshackle farm house my family recently moved into. Brittle leaves crackle on the road, shaken from skeletal autumn-dying trees, and a chilly breath of wind moans along the quiet country road. I love the eerie night in its cozy cloak of darkness. It's no secret black is my favorite color, which some people think that's a sign I'm into devil worship or other ridiculous assumptions, but black is the most interesting color; unable to reflect light, independent and mysterious; coloring the night when the world seems most alive.
And I'm feeling more alive than ever, aware of rough pavement beneath my feet, chilly air tingling my face and woodsy smell from burning fireplaces. We travel silently down a road dimly lit by orbs of street lights and a shine of moon through an overcast October sky. I stay close to Jay, my two steps matching each of his longer single strides.
When we reach a dark-brown sedan, more like something grandparents would drive than a car for a rich high school senior, Jay clicks a button on his key ring.
"Entrez s'il vous plait." With a gentlemanly gesture, he opens the door for me.
As I duck inside the vehicle, his arm brushes my shoulder. Electricity sparks through my body. I glance sharply to read his expression, wondering if he's jolted too, yet see not even a flicker of emotion. He climbs into the seat, clicking a seat belt and we're off.
We drive west, away from the rural area of Nevada Bluff, toward brighter lights of the city. Questions slam my thoughts, about where we're going and what will happen when we get there. Mostly, though, I wonder why Jay invited me tonight. Is it because he knows I can keep a secret and don't scare easily? Or could it be something more personal? How does he really feel about me? But this is a question I can never ask.
Jay turns onto a street with rutted pavement, few working street lights, junk cars for lawn decorations and blocky single-story homes crowded close together.
I look around, curious. "Where are we going?"
"To catch a liar," he says with a light smile but his dark eyes narrow.
"Anyone I know?" I ask.
"Garth Calloway."
I pause, testing the name through my memory, but I'm a newbie at NB High, only moving from California a few months ago. NB High is too conservative and cowboy for my gothtastic taste but it's growing on me.
And so is Jay, I think, giving him a sideways look. No one ever discovered the Grin Reaper's true identity until I ripped off his mask a few weeks ago. I'm up for revenge as long as Jay doesn't play rough like when we first met and he shoved me and stole my backpack. Not exactly a "romantic" first meeting. Yet I smile at the memory now. Jay goes to extremes to right wrongs at school all for justice. It's a coincidence his first name is Justice. Or maybe fate, as my psychic friend Sabine would say.
"..and then hide with the—Thorn! Are you listening?" Jay demands, glancing at me sharply.
"Not so much. I was thinking."
"Good things about me?" he teases.
"You wish." My tone is light but my cheeks burn. "So what did this Garth dude do to deserve a visit from the Grin Reaper?"
Jay grins—a sight his victims never see thought his trademark knitted mask that covers all but his black eyes. But he's not wearing his mask now; half of his attention on driving, the other half on me. "Did you hear about the honor student being expelled for having a knife in his locker?"
"Who hasn't? Stupid move for someone who's supposed to be smart. His future is screwed."
"Screwed by Garth."
"And you know this, how?" I arch my pierced brow.
"I never reveal my sources, but I have lots of friends who tell me things and know for a fact Garth did it. The honors kid—Newton Howell—was framed."
Jay shrugs. "Don't know. Garth is usually cool and a hell of a soccer player."
"As if being good at soccer is a personality endorsement?"
"Clearly you're not a soccer fan."
"I'm not a fan of a jock on a power trip. Garth probably through it was a big laugh putting a knife in Newton's locker, but in a zero tolerance school, possession of a weapon is serious."
"Yeah," Jay agrees, scowling. "I know Garth did it but I don't know why. He used to be really tight with Newton—their parents are close friends. But now Garth only hangs out with his soccer pals."
"And what about Newton?" I ask.
"He hangs with no one."
"Sad," I say softly, knowing what it's like to feel alone.
Jay nods like he understands loneliness, too, although he's never alone at school, strutting around like king of the campus with a group of followers nicknamed the Jay-Clones. But I've seen the other side of Jay; the do-gooder who tries to even the scales of justice because his father, a corrupt judge, is into payoffs and bribes.
The car slows into a left turn onto a street with a sign reading "dead end." Jay parks the car behind a huge motor home then clicks his seat belt.
"Garth's in there." He leans across the street to point at a yellowy house across the street and his brushes against my cheek; soft with a sweet shampoo scent of lemon.
I suck in a Jay-scented breath, my body tingling in a strangely nice way. Being so close to him, I'm aware of his every move, and I long to be reach for his hand, pull him closer, to touch, to be touched….
Stop it, Thorn! I tell myself. Need to focus, not on Jay, but on the house he's pointing to: a rectangular single-story with darkened windows and a yellow porch light shining on a motorcycle. In the driveway, a truck is propped up on blocks; minus tires.
"That truck's not going anywhere soon," I say lightly with a gesture to the wheel-less truck. "If we're going to do damage to that truck, someone already beat us to it."
Jay chuckles. "That's not Garth's truck. This isn't his house either although he's inside. His car is over there." He points down a few houses to a silver compact Nissan parked on the street.
"Sounds like he has a secret," I say slyly.
"Not for long. Take this," Jay says, handing me his smart phone.
I hold the phone longingly; shiny black, hand-sized with a pop-out keyboard. "You want me to call someone?"
"No—use the video app."
"I'm not familiar with the model." Much cooler than admitting I can't afford my own phone.
"Press here." He touches a camera-shaped app. "When it flashes, you're recording."
"Got it," I say.
"You need to be close enough for a clear image so find a hiding place near his car," Jay adds, pointing.
I peer down the street. "I can squeeze behind that big bush."
"That'll work. Then start filming when I give this signal.' He makes a rolling gesture with his hand. "Be careful, and do not let him see you."
"Do I look stupid?" I retort.
"No, thank God," he says with a chuckle. "That's why I asked you to join me tonight."
The only reason? I think with a jolt of disappointment.
"I'll watch the house and you get into position. Garth should be coming out of the house soon. He's with-" Jay stops abruptly, his gaze fixed across the street where the front door is opening.
A skinny kid shaved head kid in a cool leather jacket with a dragon emblem steps out of the house, lingering to kiss a brown-haired girl. I can't see her face since it's pressed against his but I recognize her anyway from my Spanish class. Teacher's Pet, Druscilla Espenza. She giggles so much I've nicknamed her Dru-Silly.
"Nice," I say in a tone that means the opposite, noting Garth's hand has slipped to her butt. "They should get a room."
"Already did. Hers." Jay flicks his hand toward the house. "Like clockwork every Wednesday night. Garth stays till 12:30 then hops on his bike back home so his girlfriend has no clue."
"His girlfriend? But isn't Dru-Silly his girlfriend?"
"Nope. And blood will spill if his real girlfriend Missy Ann catches him cheating." Jay reaches up to turn off an overhead light then opens his door and the car remains dark. Still I can see him reaching for his Reaper knit cap from his pocket and slither it over his face. "He's done earlier than usual tonight. Damn. Think you can get behind that bush without him seeing you?"
"I'll try," I say.
"Hold the camera steady and make sure you get everything Garth says."
"But what will you be doing?"
"Convincing Garth to bare his soul in confession."
"Confession?" I snort. "As if he's going to admit to anything."
"Just watch," Jay says then he leaps from the car. "And keep on filming --no matter what happens."
Linda Joy Singleton
I lie in bed, waiting.
Since finding the cryptic note in my locker, I've thought of nothing else:
To defend an honor,
Come join me,
Meet at midnight
The smiley face is the mark of the Grin Reaper, a vigilante cloaked in a knit cap instead of a cape. Justice Blankenship the Third (Jay) plays the pretty rich boy at school but after classes he fights for the underdog. I'm the only one at Nevada Bluff High who knows Jay is the Grin Reaper although I don't know much else about him. What I do know I like. And I'd like to know more.
Nine minutes till midnight.
Ready for Jay, I'm draped in black; the color of night and secrets. My nerves are strung tighter than the strings on the guitar lying beside me. I've been strumming, tweaking notes of a bluesy song I'm writing, trying not to focus on the glowing numbers from my alarm clock.
Dying flames from my burning incense casts eerie shadows around my room, shifting ordinary furniture into unearthly shapes. I've drawn back the curtains over the sliding glass door to my balcony, so my room is too dark for prying eyes yet offers me a moonlit view through glass. I can't relax, wondering when Jay will arrive and whose honor needs defending. Some poor kid at school, I guess. Last time (the only time actually) I joined Jay for a vigilante night out involved sneaking into a barn and pink spray paint. Not knowing where I'm going tonight is crazy-making. It'd be easier if Jay would just talk to me at school instead of leaving cryptic messages. But oil and water mix better than his group of friends and mine. It's a secret we even know each other, much less like each other. My friendship with Jay is complicated. Is it even a friendship? We're more like co-conspirators. Allies.
A sound on the balcony makes me jump and my elbow smacks my bed's brass headboard. Ignoring my throbbing elbow, I move my guitar aside, crossing my room to peer beyond glass to the balcony. Silvery moonshine defuses the darkness so I can clearly see each potted plant and the two rod iron chairs on my balcony.
But no sign of Jay.
I return to my bed and reached beneath my pillow, pulling out a folded paper. I've read the note so many times it's creased into dark roads tempting me into dangerous directions. I've told no one; hiding my distraction during dinner with nods and smiles for my family. Only K.C., my "like a brother" friend who lives in a room over our garage, noticed, shooting me a suspicious look when I fake-yawned and said I was going to bed early.
As if I could sleep!
My nerves are razor-sharp, and my thoughts spiking back and forth. What will I say when Jay shows up? He's assuming a lot with the note—that I'll jump at his invitation without explanation. Sure, being with Jay is a thrill ride like nothing else, but if I go with him tonight where will it lead?
Three minutes to midnight.
My jacket hangs on a hook beside my tallest dresser, socks and sneakers laid out ready for a quick exit. I bend over, slipping on the socks and sneakers.
Ready, set…waiting….
I stare at the illuminated clock numbers, willing them to speed up while listening outside for rustling leaves, footfalls, a car's motor. Nothing. Maybe he's changed his plans and won't be coming. Am I relieved or disappointed? The smart thing to do would be to burrow under my covers and forget all about Jay. But I'm not the smart kid in the family. That would be my younger studious sister Amy. She'd never accept an invitation from a guy who breaks rules, laws and hearts. She doesn't know what she's missing….
My balcony is on the third floor, facing the backyard. Impossible to climb, you'd think. Not for Jay, who blends into shadows. He won't need a ladder; he'll use a grappling hook and rope like he's freaking Spiderman. He's not my boyfriend so he can't expect much from me, yet I can guess what he wants. What will I tell him?
No would be the sensible answer. As a P.K.—preacher's kid—I'm supposed to set a good example for Mom's congregation, heavy expectations that I usually give a middle finger salute to. Fortunately Mom's cool with who I am, but not so much Dad. He still frowns when I come to breakfast in black leather, chains, army boots and piercings.
Midnight. So where is Jay?
A soft footfall from my balcony and like a magic trick he unfolds from shadows. Medium-tall, slim, muscular, black jeans, black jacket, and piercing black eyes through slits in a black knit hat. He whips off the hat, his blond hair glinting under moonlight, and tucks the hat into his pocket.
I slide open the door, a gust of chilled night air shivering up my skin.
Jay grasps a flashlight in his gloved hand which he shines on me.
"Not in my face." I lift my hand to shield my eyes.
"Sorry." He lowers his arm. "You look good, Thorn."
"Thanks." I keep my expression calm but inside I slap the moon a hi-five.
"What about me?" he asks in a swaggering tone that I'm never sure whether to take seriously or not. "Don't you think I look good?"
"You always do," I say, and it's true. Oh, yeah. So black-leather delicious, he's a walking dessert, served steaming hot. Still his ego could use some knocking down so I add, "But that's what I expect from a preppy rich kid."
"You think that's who I am?" His words have edge, as if I've struck too close to a raw nerve.
"Not really," I admit. "But you assumed a lot with your note."
"Didn't you like my poem?"
"Meter was a little off but not bad."
"Made you curious enough to wait up for me, didn't it?"
"Maybe." I shrug. "So what's this about? Whose honor are we defending?"
"I'll fill you in on the way. Good to see you're wearing warm, dark clothes." He gestures to my black jeans and long-sleeved shirt.
I grab the jacket I've left hanging on a chair, but don't slip it on. Instead I tilt my head, regarding him with reproach. "I'm not going anywhere without an explanation."
"No time. If we don't hurry, we'll be too late."
"Too late for what?"
"Justice. You know what I do on nights like this." He flashes me a smug, irresistible grin. "Ready to go?'
I fold my arms over my chest. "Give me one good reason why I should."
"Because you're up for anything exciting, and you know I'll deliver." His black eyes shine. "Coming with me or not?"
It's so tempting to say "or not," and kill his smug grin.
When I hesitate he arches his brows in challenge. "You afraid?"
"Seriously? I can't believe you said that." I snort. "Afraid of what?" "Breaking laws."
I shrug. "Depends on the laws."
"Misdemeanors only."
"Hmmm…." I grip the edge of the sliding glass door. Stay here, a voice hisses in my head. Close the door and forget all about Jay.
"I'll understand if you refuse," he adds more seriously. "If we're caught, things could get ugly."
"So we won't get caught."
His face lights up with a grin. "I like your attitude."
I like a lot about him, too, not because he's great looking but because he cares so much about justice that he goes after mean kids with vengeance.
"Come with me, Thorn," he says softly, holding out a gloved hand.
I stand between my sandalwood scented room and the dark mysteries of the night, aware of moonlight, his nearness and the thudding of my heart.
"Let's go." I grasp his hand.
Turning away from safety and home, I close the door behind me.
And blend into the night with the Grin Reaper.
It's true what writers say -- good writing is rewriting. Still when a writer receives a challenging editorial letter, there's some anxiety. But there's also an exhileration akin to climbing into a amusement ride seat, strapping yourself in tight, then zooming off for a jolting, dizzy, heart-thrilling ride.I am nearing the end of revisions that have consumed my life for over a month. Revising might seem taunting to some authors, but I was SO excited when I received an amazing 8-page revision letter. The suggestions showed me how to delve deeper into character, theme, plotting and world-building. My steps for revision have been:1. Read the letter. Reread the letter. Repeat this often.2. Jot notes on the letter, write new scenes on the back of the letter, make lists of things to change.3. Wake up from dreams (usually at 4AM) with new passages streaming through my mind, jot them down then include in story.4. Begin at chapter 1. Go back to chapter 1. Again. Cut extra words (like that, very) add visual details, revise dialogue. Repeat.5. Write morning, night, at camping sites, hotel rooms, lobbies and even a bowling alley, until there are 4 new chapters and I've reached the last page. Then go over it all again. Repeat, until the only step left is to send the book off with cross-fingers.
I am so grateful for this professional insight, and hopeful it leads to some good news. Stay tuned!


text:
Last night, a video came out supposively showing "Rhianna's" alleged sex tapes. Rumors of a sex tape have been swirling for months, and I watched the 10 second clip, and it's a light skinned chick, could be her, but it's shot in not vision, so she could be any light skinned chick. The website who has the video, Myspace.com/Kokofreshkilla, only released a small portion and promises more to be released on June 22nd. Wow! They releasing this like a mini series.
11/26/2011 10:58:18 am
i think rihanna doesnt really even have a sexxape but on june 22nd il have to see for myself cause i dont even believe it i think shes just misses chris brown thats why shes doing this
1/4/2014 05:04:41 am
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What Makes Caffe Bonini Different
Bonini specializes in Nespresso Pixie Capsules in Australia.
The secret about our premium coffee capsules is due to an exclusive use of the best quality coffee beans of Arabica and Robusta. Arabica is sweet and fragrant while Robusta is more substantial an decisive.
After extraction and roasting, our specialists pick only the best to use and start working on secret process which is the blending stage. The blending stage follows the ancient recipes handed down from one generation after another of coffee roasters, improved with care by Sommeliers to ensure the best flavor and premium quality for you.
You may also want to check out these links
Nespresso Compatible Capsules
Dolce Gusto Compatible Capsules
Lavazza Compatible Capsules
Caffitaly Compatible Capsules
Caffee Bonini Coffee Beans
Learn More About Tiziano Bonini
Tiziano Bonini is named after its founder who transformed the job of making coffee into an art form. Our products are the first choice for consumers all over Europe thanks to our competitive pricing and our high quality standards. What started from a small Tuscan coffee toasting family business has grown to 120 Pausa Caffe stores across Europe and serving over 500,000 loyal customers who choose our company every day. Caffe Bonini delivers 500 packages per day all over Italy and abroad (over 10 million coffee capsules sold per month). The constant and ever increasing demands of our customers led us to develop an extensive distribution network in order to guarantee a greater availability of each product.
Caffè Bonini comes from a small Tuscan coffee toasting, a family-run business, which made a job like a piece of art. Our products are on the top of consumers' preferences, both for the excellent price/quality ratio both for our high quality standards. This has created a relationship based on trust with our customers, that day by day are going to choose Bonini's coffee as a synonym of relaxing moments as in Italy as abroad.
The secret about our high quality is due to an exclusive use of the best coffee beans, which come from the two best-known mixtures: Arabica and Robusta. The first is sweet and fragrant, while the second is more substantial and decisive.
At the end of extraction and roasting, our specialists select the best quality to use and start the most important process: the blending stage, a real art for Bonini's company.
Our blends are the result of ancient recipes handed down by the roaster, then improved with care by our coffee Sommeliers to ensure the maximum flavor and quality to our customers.
Bonini's intent is, without any doubt, to give its customers moments of pleasure through a coffee that never disappoints.
Tiziano Bonini is now available in Australia.


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Facing fierce criticism over its response to London high-rise inferno, the British government has sent its staff to assist local council authorities in rehabilitation of victims of the deadly blaze that claimed at least 58 lives and rendered hundreds homeless. The move follows widespread criticism of the local Kensington and Chelsea Council's performance as residents of the 24-storey Grenfell Tower, which was engulfed in fire early on Wednesday, condemned the relief efforts and lack of information.
A team of civil servants has been embedded into the Kensington and Chelsea Council office to bolster relief work.
Other measures outlined by Prime Minister Theresa May following a meeting with residents at Downing Street on Saturday, included more staff covering phone lines and ground staff wearing high-visibility clothing so they could be easily found.
She said: "Frankly, the support on the ground for families who needed help or basic information in the initial hours after this appalling disaster was not good enough."
"I have heard the concerns and I have ordered immediate action across the board to help victims' relatives and the survivors," she said.
May herself had come in for a barrage of criticism for failing to visit residents and her response to the disaster.
On Friday, she was heckled on a visit to the North Kensington estate, and protesters marching on Friday and Saturday called for her resignation.
Her First Secretary of State, Damian Green, defended the prime minister, saying she was as "distraught as we all are".
Scotland Yard has said the rescue operation by emergency services on the site will take weeks and the death toll is also expected to rise further, though not all victims may be identified due to the nature of the burns.
Metropolitan Police Stuard Cundy said: "Sadly, our work will be ongoing for many, many weeks. We know that there are still bodies of those who died inside the building and we want to return those people to their families as soon as we possibly can.
"The work to search the building is challenging, but naturally could never be done quickly enough for those currently having to live with the uncertainty of knowing where their loved ones are."
London mayor Sadiq Khan has said that tower blocks in the city built during the 1960s and 1970s could be torn down following the Grenfell Tower fire.
"Nowadays, we would not dream of building towers to the standards of the 1970s, but their inhabitants still have to live with that legacy. It may well be the defining outcome of this tragedy that the worst mistakes of the 1960s and 1970s are systematically torn down," he said.
The cause of the massive blaze is still under investigation, but anger has mounted in the community amid reports that the rain-screen cladding on the exterior of Grenfell Tower may have spread the flames.
UK Chancellor Philip Hammond today indicated that flammable material suspected to have been used was most likely banned in the UK.
"My understanding is that the cladding in question, this flammable cladding which is banned in Europe and the US, is also banned here. That's my understanding," he said.
"Second question is were they correctly complied with? And obviously that will be a subject that the (public) inquiry will look at. It will also be a subject that the separate criminal investigation will be looking at," he said.
On the lack of sprinklers in Grenfell Tower, and other buildings, he said: "My understanding is that the best expert advice is that retrofitting sprinklers may not always be the best technical way of ensuring fire safety in a building."


text: Where are the comics, dude? April 12, 2011 So the Alternative Press Expo is happening again this year and I've decided to do a new comic book story for the event. Instead of just doing a compilation of more strips, I've decided to do a new original story. I'm not quite sure how long it's going to be, but I do have the story in mind. It's also the first time I'll be doing something completely in a digital format (no pen and paper this time around). The story is called Badland Circus and will probably change titles another dozen times before it's done. Look for it in six months!


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Another incredible collection of prints at BibliOdyssey:
"The Swedish East India Company was formed under Royal Charter in 1731 and granted exclusive national trading rights with Asia, mostly through the port of Canton ( near Hong Kong). Round-trip voyages from the company's headquarters in Göteborg took around eighteen months and the major commodities transported back were tea, silk, porcelain and spices.
In all, there were 127 voyages undertaken prior to the company's becoming insolvent in 1813 due to reduced profits during the Napoleonic years. Eight major sailing vessels were either lost or partially destroyed while the company was operating, including the 'Götheborg', which famously sank on return to the harbour in Göteborg in 1745. In the 1990s, marine archaeologists were able to salvage some of the original ship, and after a ten year rebuilding project, a to-scale replica undertook a nineteen month voyage from Sweden to China and back, returning to Göteborg in June 2007…"


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Behind the lens: Favorite shot/
Joining in with Rock the Shot's favorite photo from 2013!
I absolutely adore this photo. The beautiful scenery added with the large smiling family with all sorts of genuine emotion going on. Totally what I aim for in sessions. Every time I look at this photo I smile!
Canon 7d , 17-40 wide angle lens at 23mm. f/5.6 | 1/1600 | 400


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Problem Solving Box- Set up a box in the classroom with problem sheets that college students can fill out indicating the next: I have a problem with… It is a problem because… I have tried to resolve it by…. Each morning pull out one problem sheet and skim it to the category. Bilingual coordinators have been advised to deny that bilingual lessons were attainable beneath 227 and to threaten the mother and father that if they insisted, their kids could be bused to a faculty that might provide it. This was straight from a bilingual coordinator. Since the legislation allowed dad and mom to use for waivers, 12 percent of the ELLs had been allowed to stay in bilingual lessons.
In 1959, the National Defense and Educational Act was passed, promoting international language studying in elementary colleges, excessive colleges, and universities. However, let us all recognize that there are points to be faced in bilingual training and our faculties and our society might want to face these points totally. Designing and Implementing Two-Way Bilingual Programs: A Step-by-Step Guide for Administrators, Teachers, and Parents. Singapore's bilingual policy in training was instituted soon after independence in 1965 and has been in place for nearly fifty years.
In 1996, Chrisine Rossell and Keith Baker revealed one other narrative comparability of bilingual teaching programs and non-bilingual education programs, which again included the Canadian French Immersion applications together with other varieties of Canadian packages. However, May (2008) approaches bilingual education types in a broader sense and presents three frequent programs used within the US and overseas: non-bilingual, weak, and robust.
Advocates are inspired by the endorsement of bilingual schooling by President-elect Obama within the latest marketing campaign, and see the pending reauthorization of the No Child Left Behind Act as a automobile to change federal testing and other insurance policies they view as hostile to dual-language instruction. This can be thought-about as the four degree of effectiveness of bilingual training, beyond faculty surroundings (Baker, 1998).
In addition to federal policies that had been at greatest detached, if not outright hostile, to bilingual training, starting in 1997 voters in Arizona, California, and Massachusetts enacted the country's most restrictive language policies, severely limiting the usage of the home language within the training of language minority college students. Bilingual schooling: From compensatory to high quality schooling (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.


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What version of HSMaster do you have and is it up to date.
Current version of HSMaster is 1.1.201. Here is how you know if you are up to date.
Click on About at the top left it will look like the picture below. If you do not have the current version download the newest copy from the downloads. You will not lose any of your data by upgrading versions of HSMaster.
A new version of HSMaster is out as of 10-01-2017 version 1.1.201
Changes that where made are.
1 Changed the NHPA duesin HSMaster.
If you thing of any changes you think should be made let us know.
You can leave feed back under About US
You can just install the new version over your old one without losing any data or settings.


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BCE award winner now triumphs in Europe
Following its success in the 2007 Business Commitment to the Environment (BCE) Awards, The Co-operative Group has gone on to triumph over fierce European competition to scoop the Management Award at the prestigious European Business Awards for the Environment (EBAE) 2008.
BCE is an accredited feeder scheme for the EBAE, which ensures that only the best of the best are considered by the European judges. Sir Anthony Cleaver, President of the BCE Awards, said: 'The Co-operative Group is a deserving winner at the EBAE. I am thrilled that their BCE win last year has led to further success. The BCE Awards are unique as they are one of the easiest environmental awards to enter, but one of the hardest to win. The entrants are judged by their peers, a representation of UK business, and this ensures that only the brightest ideas and the most innovative projects are awarded. The Co-operative Group is an excellent example of the environmental best practice that UK businesses are fostering.'
The Group received its EBAE award at a prestigious ceremony on 3 June, during the EU's 'Green Week'. The ceremony, held in Brussels, was attended by EU Commissioner Stavros Dimas, one of the main promoters of environmental excellence in Europe. The EBAE are only held every two years, and the Group faced stiff competition from 125 national award-winners from the 27 EU member states. The Group was honoured above its competitors for its strategic vision and outstanding management systems. Additionally, it was highly praised for its commitment to continual sustainable development.
Chris Shearlock, Environment Manager at the Co-operative Group, commented: 'At The Co-operative Group we are dedicated to improving the environment and counteracting climate change. The recognition we have gained, first through winning the Business Commitment to the Environment Award and now being chosen for the Business Awards for the Environment means a great deal to us. Environmental commitment is intrinsic to our identity as a company, and it is wonderful to receive independent recognition from the EU in this way.'
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Custom Auto Air Vent Freshener With Phone Holder
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Free Custom Design
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The best highlight of this Custom Auto Air Vent Freshener with Phone Holder is that they are easy to install and remove. It comes with a Lemon scent air freshener and fits most straight automobile air vents. The phone holder makes it very convenient to the user to manage phone while on the go. These custom vents folds Front down To Securely Hold Your Phone with Anti-Slip Phone Pad. Available in White, Blue, Red and Black colors, you can place your promotional products order now in order to avail our free online proofs and free custom design services.
Request a quote to know price cuts that you can avail for wholesale Custom Auto Air Vent Freshener with Phone Holder.
Available Colors: Black, Blue, Red, White.
Available Scent: Lemon.
Product Size: 1 ½" W x 2 ¼" H x 1 ¾" D.
Imprint Area: 1" W x 1 ¼" H.
Carton Weight: 16 lbs
Packaging: 250 pcs
Additional Information: Easily Installs And Removes, Fold Front Down To Securely Hold Your Phone With Anti-Slip Phone Pad, Fits Most Straight Automobile Air Vents
Delivery time is based on the shipping method selected.


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Getting Started with SQUORE
Built up from years of experience in assisting our customers, the "Kick-Start" Package accelerates new users' success in the implementation of Squore.
The "Kick-Start" Package provides a full technical and methodological support, including:
- Squore product leasing with unlimited user access
- Plugins with the existing tools already in use in your software development process, such as Klocwork, Junit, VectorCast, TFS …
- Premium support: hotline, tutorials, assistance via live video conference with our senior consultants
- On-site training
The following modules have been defined in order to ensure the perfect integration of SQUORE in a documented supporting process which will have been already applied on a "pilot" project. Each module can be independently operated, according to your context.
Connect your users
Discover your dashboards
Exploit the results
from your project samples
Automate your analyzes
via continuous integration
The deliverables associated to the "Kick Start" Package consist in:
- The SQUORE user specific configuration
- The SQUORE training material including examples of analysis results from your own projects.


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Contact Us
Info & hours
Sun - Thurs 2pm-12am
Fri - Sat 2pm-2am
Hot Tin is located in the Penthouse of the Pontchartrain Hotel. Access via the Hot Tin elevator located in the lobby.
Please note, Hot Tin is 21+
event inquiries
Looking to book a private party or event? Fill out the form below, or give us a call at 504.323.1408


text: Cody Carroll Instructor Cody Carroll is a former military sniper. He has completed successful deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan in both conventional and special operations units. He has also taught courses in Europe, Africa, and for students from South America. He is focused on increasing the lethality of US military and police snipers by coupling his experience with practical techniques learned from field competition shooters. Read more at his full instructor profile http://www.thunderbeastarms.com/people/cody-carroll


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:Nourishing Community Herb Gardens Project
When we consider global crises it is easy to feel overwhelmed and become disempowered. Creating community gardens that bring back medicinal herbs alongside wild foods of the local habitat is a tangible way to be a part of the solution. As we grow gardens we grow community.
Our Nourishing Community Herb Gardens Project highlights unique community gardens that include medicinal herbs as a sustainable and educational resource, helping individuals and communities thrive. We support growing herbs as well as food as we know health is a social and racial justice issue, and healthy foods and herbs are a part of reaching underserved communities without access to fresh food.
We feature:
THANKS to Southern Exposure Seed Exchange for letting us share their Seed Saving PDF!
Our Nourishing Children's Garde eGuide is updated for 2018, and is FREE for members!
HWB isn't only for herbalists. Are you a community or children's garden group? We offer technical support for your community or children's gardens to members. Join today as an organization and work with us to get your garden going!
Starting a Children's Community Garden? Educational Resources:


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I think I sat down several times to write a review for this book, but something stopped me. It wasn't anything bad; on the contrary, it was something very impressive. Every time I thought of posting this review another review would be posted by someone else. I don't like to write material on the exact same subject as someone else. I like variety, so I would hold off, but I can't hold off any longer. The book is just too good not to post another rave review.
Every once in a while a book comes along that just jumps out at me. A book that covers the basics, project building, tool making, advanced projects, procedure breakdowns, and the human side of the maker. This book is actually unique because it hits on all of those subjects and at different skill levels. If you want to learn how to make a sawbench, hand planes, unique tools, and workshop appliances, this is the book. If you want to learn how to build furniture using only hand tools, this is the book. Or, if you would like to be exposed to more advanced techniques like veneer, hand cut moldings, string inlay, and scratch stock techniques, this is the book.
Tom does an excellent job of combining skill development with project building. This isn't just a book about how to make the projects that are within its pages. With excellent pictures and added tidbits of information he really teaches you how to build just about anything with hand tools. You may never build some of the projects that are in this book, but the techniques discussed will be used on a daily basis in the shop.
I think what makes this book so good is that Tom really captured something special with the layout of the book. It's unlike many other books that just teach techniques, or specific project building. The closest thing I can think of would be a video series, where a craftsman walks you through each procedure used for each project. Then sprinkle those videos with supplemental content on shop appliances, technique instruction, and tool making. He really does a great job of incorporating everything into each build. He never overcomplicates things and is very clear and concise throughout the book.
I highly recommend this book to everyone. You will not be able to walk away from this book without learning something that will make you a better woodworker. And that is why this book is a success.
"Not a History book, but a book of History." Indeed it is Sir. Well done.
The book can be found HERE.
Tom is also producing many videos that go along with this book. They can be found at his website and blog HERE, or you can always watch the book trailer video and then subscribe to his YouTube channel below. Or do both.
11/17/2013 12:40:04 am
Ive seen reference to this book, but never the video. Very cool. Thanks.
Leave a Reply.


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It seems like no one told Kurt Russell what was going on in the film 'Big Trouble In Little China'. I haven't see this in ages, I forgot how crazy the story was, definitely time to revisit this.
In the meanwhile watch this montage of Kurt having no clue as to what's happening around him.
via The Awesomer


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Online music communities have come a long way in the last year, allowing us to search for music, play it, and even create playlists that we can share with friends and strangers. Here's one I found that makes all these activities as simple as possible.
Barry's Best Computer Tips is updated often; the easiest way to get your regular dose is by subscribing to our news feed. Stay on top of all our updates by subscribing now via RSS or Email.


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The Duchess of Cambridge was given a golden teddy bear to add to the Royal nursery today as the glowing mum-to-be stepped out with her baby bump.
Kate, 31, who is five-and-a-half months pregnant, was handed the soft toy during a trip to a children's charity.
The card read: "To William, Kate and Bump, hope you enjoyed your visit."
Wearing a black Topshop dress and cream coat by designers Goat, the Duchess was clearly blooming during her and Wills' visit to the HQ of Child Bereavement UK in Saunderton, Bucks.
The royal couple also met Great British Bake Off cook Mary Berry, whose son William died in a car crash at 19.
Kate told her: "I'm a big fan of your cookbooks and your cakes." William joshed: "My tummy is also a big fan."
The Duke said he thinks Mary's show encourages families to turn off the TV and do something together.
She then made the room roar with laughter when she replied "as long as you turn it on for the baking".
The prince, who warmly hugged a group of bereaved parents, has been Patron of Child Bereavement UK since 2009.
He has a strong connection with the charity after his mother Princess Diana died in a car crash when he was just 15 in 1997.
One bereaved dad, who did not want to be named, said of William: "He just mentioned the fact he had lost his own mother.
"William said 'You do realise I've been in similar circumstances'."
The dad added: "William made the mistake of saying 'I should give you all a hug' and we took him up on that."
A bereaved mother who only wanted to be known as Roz, said: "William was very sympathetic.
"He said 'I think you are very brave to come into a situation like this'. He said 'I do wish you didn't have to be here under these circumstances'.
"He could feel our grief and sadness."
Roz, who lost her 28-year-old son two-and-half years ago, added: "We all had a kiss and a cuddle. It was wonderful."
The royal couple arrived at the charity's HQ in Saunderton, Buckinghamshire at 3.15pm and were greeted by a 100-strong crowd of locals.
Many had waited for hours to give gifts to the royal couple including flowers and chocolates.
The White family gave Kate a little Easter bunny and some chocolate.
Jocelyn White, 36, said: "She said 'I will make sure I pass that to William," "She said 'I will make sure he gets that and doesn't eat it all himself!'"
Canadian visitor Sue Rankin, 46, handed over a bouquet of roses and said William joked with her: "No-one brings me flowers. All I get is cold hands!"
William was also clearly impressed with the fluffy gift from Emily Tack, two
Her mum Sarah, 34, said: "We've always wanted to meet them but never thought we'd get the chance.
"I said congratulations on your pregnancy and enjoy it because they grow up so fast.
"They smiled and said yes. William asked what the teddy was called and we said we just call it teddy and he said 'We will give it a name'.
"They were so chatty and down-to-earth."


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COASTAL on-site wastewater
Location: Auckland
Client: Private
ACH Consulting were engaged to provide an on-site wastewater treatment system for a new 3 bedroom dwelling to be constructed on a site which presented several challenges. The site was situation 70m from the foreshore with a net site area of 764m2. On-site wastewater treatment systems are a point source for nitrogen discharges into natural waters. In the case of the foreshore area these can lead to red-tide algal blooms. The goals of this design were to provide adequate wastewater treatment for a three bedroom dwelling while minimizing nitrogen impacts to the natural waters, because at the end of the day, what is the point of having a fantastic coastal view if you can't fish or swim in the water.
For this project the lack of space, the need for maximum nitrogen reduction and minimal pathogens led to the decision to provide tertiary treatment and UV sterilisation with the Advantex AX20. The effluent disposal system utilised shallow pressurized dispersal systems (SPDS) which research indicates provides substantial nitrogen removal beyond that provided by the advanced treatment. The SPDS has an additional advantage of using a considerably smaller footprint than a traditional effluent disposal field.
The SPDS system is pressured and time-dosed within the root zone of the ground. The use of the SPDS system in concert with advanced treatment provides nitrogen and pathogen removal and is effective close to tidal tributaries where shallow groundwater exists, where the elevation of the water table is expected to increase as a result of sea level rise and where sites have limited space.
Note: These systems are assessed by Auckland Council on a case by case basis and require a Resource Consent.


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Baltimore, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Mother Seton House
Born in New York to a prominent Protestant family, Elizabeth Ann Bayley married William M. Seton in 1794. Widowed in 1803, she became Catholic in 1805.
Father William Dubourg, S.S., President of Saint Mary's College, invited her to establish a school in Baltimore. Elizabeth Seton arrived in Baltimore on June 16, 1808, moved into this house and opened a Catholic elementary school here the following September. The school is regarded as the beginning of the Catholic school system in the United States.
In 1809, Mother Seton founded the first American community of nuns, then known as the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph. In June of the same year the little group moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland
The Sisters, whose motherhouse continued to be at Emmitsburg, formally united in 1850 with the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent de Paul. Other Sisters of Charity who also trace their origins to Mother Seton founded distinct communities in Cincinnati, Ohio; Convent Station, New
Restoration work on this home (now a museum) was begun in 1937-1939 and completed in June 1963.
Erected by the City of Baltimore, AAA Automobile Club of Maryland and William Donald Schaefer, Mayor.
Marker series. This marker is included in the Maryland, Baltimore City historical markers marker series.
Location. 39° 17.746′ N, 76° 37.37′ W. Marker is in Baltimore, Maryland. Marker can be reached from North Paca Street, on the left when traveling north. Due to a brick wall around the front yard, the marker is not visible from the street. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 600 North Paca Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, Baltimore MD 21201, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. Chapel of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Mary's Seminary (within shouting distance of this marker); St. Mary's Seminary Chapel (within shouting distance of this marker); Orchard Street Church (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); John Eager Howard (about 700 feet away); Monument Place The Oblate Sisters of Providence (approx. 0.2 miles away); Take a Stroll Down the Main Street of the African American Experience (approx. 0.2 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Baltimore.
More about this marker. The marker has a reproduction of a painting of Mother Seton on it.
Also see . . . Mother Seton House Museum. Museum website, with information about tours. (Submitted on March 5, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.)
Additional comments.
1. St. Mary's Seminary Chapel
The Mother Seton House is adjacent to St. Mary's Seminary Chapel, a National Historic Landmark. The Chapel was built between 1806 and 1808 by architect Maximilien Godefroy.
— Submitted March 5, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Categories. • Charity & Public Work • Churches & Religion • Notable Persons •
More. Search the internet for Mother Seton House.
Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on March 5, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. This page has been viewed 1,870 times since then and 16 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on March 5, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. 4. submitted on March 6, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio. 5. submitted on March 5, 2008, by Christopher Busta-Peck of Shaker Heights, Ohio.


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My Nonprofit Reviews
Review for CJ Acres Animal Rescue Farm, Keystone Heights, FL, USA
I was introduced to CJ Acres by a friend when we went to a "farm day" event. What an amazing experience! We learned about all the animals stories and even did a few "chores" that made us all feel useful but not overworked. We got to interact with them, feed them, and truly see their different personalities! Lee was very careful to make sure we (and the animals) knew the boundaries. Overall a fabulous experience that I believe everyone should have the chance to experience!
Since then, I've had the opportunity to go back on a couple occasions (they hold fundraiser events that are tons of fun - like wine with the swines), and it's always the same, fantastic, educational experience.
We appreciate your kind words and support and look forward to seeing ewe at the sanctuary soon!


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craft interests: embroidery, gifts, holidays, memory making, paper crafts, quilting, restyle, sewing
my etsy page:
Member Since: 01/06/2009
Re: Book Giveaway - Backcountry Betty: Roughing It in Style
I've been roughing it for a while, but I'd love to do it in style.
Re: Ouef Couture (Part II): Still Dressin' Eggs...
The importance of play has been coming up a lot in my life recently. I enjoyed your take on it.
Re: Book Giveaway: Eco Craft: Recycle Recraft Restyle
A lot of us have been doing this since we were kids because it is fun. Thanks for the chance to win the book.
Re: Book Giveaway: Chic & Simple Sewing by Christine Haynes
I'd love to win.
Re: Book Giveaway: Betz White's "Sewing Green: 25 Projects Made with Repurposed & Organic Materials"
I think this book will keep me busy for a long, enjoyable time.
Re: Book Giveaway: Jenny Ryan's Sew Darn Cute!
It looks like some of the cute things in Japanese craft books...but we can read the instruction! Please enter me.
Re: Book Giveaway: Crafty Chica's Guide to Artful Sewing!
I'd love to win a copy to read on the porch.
Re: How to Make Necktie Valentines
My boyfriend is so getting one of these.


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Amazing Off-Grid Traveling Home Was Made Out Of An Old Van… Wait Till You See The Inside.
In yet another incredible housing transformation, one Czech man has transformed his old van into a fascinating, cozy little home.
DIpa Vasudeva Das has turned a cargo van into a small cabin on wheels that packs a lot of punch. He calls it the "Earthship." The finishes on the home are incredible, and from the inside, it's truly hard to believe that there's a van on the outside. Take a look at some of the photos of this fascinating hippy hideaway below.
From the outside, it looks like a simple, unassuming cargo van.
And before the creator got his hands on it, that's truly all it was.
However, with a lot of elbow grease, he was able to transform the van into something else entirely.
Here are some photos of the transformation in progress. Clearly, those ugly van seats had to go.
He also had to build up the walls for insulation.
Das surrounded the entirety of the interior in wood.
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