text: Humanities Religion & Spirituality Popes of the 16th Century History of the Roman Catholic Papacy and Church Share Flipboard Email Print Religion & Spirituality Atheism & Agnosticism Belief Systems Logic & Reasoning Ethics & Morality Key Figures Evolution Schools & Systems Misconceptions Christianity Catholicism Islam Judaism Hinduism Buddhism Latter-Day Saints Taoism Alternative Religion Angels & Miracles Sikhism Holistic Healing Paganism / Wicca Astrology View More by Austin Cline Austin Cline, a former regional director for the Council for Secular Humanism, writes and lectures extensively about atheism and agnosticism. Updated March 08, 2017 The Roman Catholic Popes of the sixteenth century reigned during the time of the Protestant Reformation, a critical time in the history of the church. The first number is which pope they were in the line from Saint Peter. Learn about their significant contributions. 215. Alexander VI: August 11, 1492 - August 18, 1503 (11 years)Born: Rodrigo Borgia. Alexander VI's maternal uncle was Callixtus III, who quickly made Rodrigo bishop, cardinal, and vice-chancellor of the church. Despite such nepotism, he served five different popes and proved to be a capable administrator. His private life was something else, however, and he had many mistresses.Among his (at least) four children were Lucrezia Borgia and Cesare Borgia, idol of Machiavelli. Alexander was a staunch supporter of the arts and culture. He was the patron for Michelangelo's Pieta and had the papal apartments refurbished. It was under his auspices that the "papal line of demarcation" divided responsibility for administration of the New World between Spain and Portugal. 216. Pius III: September 22, 1503 - October 18, 1503 (27 days)Born: Francesco Todeschini-Piccolomini. Pius III was the nephew of Pope Pius II and, as such, was warmly welcomed into the Roman Catholic hierarchy. Unlike many in similar positions, however, he seems to have had a strong sense of personal integrity and, as a result, became a good candidate for the papacy - all sides trusted him. Unfortunately, he was in poor health and died days after being coronated. 217. Julius II: November 1, 1503 - February 21, 1513 (9 years)Born: Giuliano della Rovere. Pope Julius II was the nephew of Pope Sixtus IV and, because of this family connection, he moved around among a lot of different positions of power and authority within the Roman Catholic Church - eventually holding some eight bishoprics in total and then later serving as papal legate to France. As pope, he led papal armies against Venice in full armor. He convened the Fifth Lateran Council in 1512. He was a patron of the arts, supporting the work of Michaelangelo and Raphael. 218. Leo X: March 11, 1513 - December 1, 1521 (8 years)Born: Giovanni de' Medici. Pope Leo X will forever be known as the pope of the beginning of Protestant Reformation. It was during his reign that Martin Luther felt forced to react to certain church excesses - in particular, excesses for which Leo himself was responsible. Leo engaged is massive construction campaigns, expensive military campaigns, and huge personal extravagance, all of which led the Church into deep debt. As a result, Leo felt forced to find a great deal of new revenue, and he decided to increase the sale of both ecclesiastical offices and of indulgences, both of which were protested by many different reformers throughout Europe. 219. Adrian VI: January 9, 1522 - September 14, 1523 (1 year, 8 months)Born: Adrian Dedel. Once a Head Inquisitor for the Inquisition, Adrian VI was a reform-minded pope, trying to improve matters within the Church by attacking the various abuses of power one-by-one. He was the only Dutch pope and the last non-Italian until the 20th century. 220. Clement VII: November 18, 1523 - September 25, 1534 (10 years, 10 months, 5 days)Born: Giulio de' Medici. A member of the powerful Medici family, Clement VII possessed great political and diplomatic skills - but he lacked the understanding of the age necessary to cope with the political and religious changes he faced. His relationship with Emperor Charles V was so bad that, in May 1527, Charles invaded Italy and sacked Rome. Imprisoned, Clement was forced into a humiliating compromise which forced him to give up a great deal of secular and religious power. To appease Charles, however, Clement refused to grant King Henry VIII of England a divorce from his wife, Catherine of Aragon, who happened to be Charles' aunt. This, in turn, allowed the English Reformation to develop. Thus, political and religious dissent in both England and Germany developed and spread more readily because of Clement's failed political policies. 221. Paul III: October 12, 1534 - November 10, 1549 (15 years)Born: Alessandro Farnese. Paul III was the first pope of the Counter-Reformation, inaugurating the Council of Trent on December 13, 1547. Paul was generally reform-minded, but he was also a strong supporter of the Jesuits, an organization which worked diligently to enforce orthodoxy within the Catholic Church. As part of the effort to fight Protestantism, he excommunicated Henry VIII of England in 1538 because of the later's divorce from Catherine of Aragon, a key event in the English Reformation. He also encouraged Charles V in his war against the Schmalkaldic League, an alliance of German Protestants who were fighting for their right to separate themselves from the Roman Catholic Church. He established the Index of Forbidden Books as part of the effort to shield Catholics from heretical views. He also formally established the Congregation of the Roman Inquisition, officially known as the Holy Office, which was given wide powers of both censorship and prosecution. He commissioned Michelangelo to paint his famous Last Judgment in the Sistine Chapel and to supervise architectural work on the new St. Peter's Basilica. 222. Julius III: February 8, 1550 - March 23, 1555 (5 years)Born: Gian Maria del Monte. Early on Julius III was persuaded by Emperor Charles V to recall the Council of Trent, which had been suspended in 1548. During its six sessions Protestant theologians attended and conferred with Catholics, but nothing ultimately came of it. He gave himself over to a life of luxury and ease. 223. Marcellus II: April 9, 1555 - May 1, 1555 (22 days)Born: Marcello Cervini. Pope Marcellus II has the unfortunate distinction of having had one of the shortest papal reigns in the entire history of the Roman Catholic Church. He is also one of only two to have retained his original name after election. 224. Paul IV: May 23, 1555 - August 18, 1559 (4 years)Born: Gianni Pietro Caraffa. Responsible for reorganizing the Inquisition in Italy while archbishop of Naples, many were surprised that such a rigid and uncompromising person would be selected to become pope. While in office, Paul IV used his position both to promote Italian nationalism and to further strengthen the powers of the Inquisition. He was ultimately so unpopular that, after he had died, a mob stormed the Inquisition and tore down his statue. 225. Pius IV: December 25, 1559 - December 9, 1565 (5 years)Born: Giovanni Angelo Medici. One of the most important actions taken by Pope Pius IV was to reconvene the Council of Trent on January 18, 1562, which had been suspended ten years earlier. Once the Council had reached its final decisions in 1563, Pius then worked to make sure that its decrees were spread across the Catholic world. 226. St. Pius V: January 1, 1566 - May 1, 1572 (6 years)Born: Michele Ghislieri. A member of the Dominican order, Pius V worked hard to improve the position of the papacy. Internally, he cut expenditures and externally, he increased the power and effectiveness of the Inquisition and expanded the use of the Index of Forbidden Books. He was canonized 150 years later. 227. Gregory XIII: May 14, 1572 - April 10, 1585 (12 years, 10 months)Gregory XIII (1502-1585) served as pope from 1572 through 1585. He played an important role at Council of Trent (1545, 1559-63) and was a vociferous critic of German Protestants. 228. Sixtus V: April 24, 1585 - August 27, 1590 (5 years)Born: Felice Peretti. While still a priest, he was a fiery opponent of the Protestant Reformation and his work was directly supported by powerful figures in the Church, including Cardinal Carafa (later Pope Paul IV), Cardinal Ghislieri (later Pope Pius V), and St. Ignatius of Loyola. As pope, he continued his efforts to defeat Protestantism by sanctioning Philip II of Spain's plans to invade England and restore it to Catholicism, but that endeavor ended in a humiliating defeat for the Spanish Armada. He pacified the Papal States by executing thousands of bandits. He grew the treasury through taxes and selling offices. He rebuilt the Lateran palace and finished construction of the dome of St. Peter's Basilica. He set the maximum number of cardinals at 70, a number which did not change until the pontificate of John XXIII. He also reorganized the Curia, and those changes were not amended until Second Vatican Council. 229. Urban VII: September 15, 1590 - September 27, 1590 (12 days)Born: Giovanni Battista Castagna. Urban VII has the unfortunate distinction of being one of being one of the shortest-lived popes ever - he died just 12 days after his election (apparently of malaria) and before he could even be coronated. 230. Gregory XIV: December 5, 1590 - October 16, 1591 (11 months)Born: Niccolo Sfondrato (Sfondrati). Gregory XIV had a relatively short and unsuccessful pontificate. Weak and invalid even from the start, he would eventually die due to a large gallstone - reportedly 70 grams. 231. Innocent IX: October 29, 1591 - December 30, 1591 (2 months)Born: Gian Antonio Facchinetti. Pope Innocent IX reigned only a very short period and no chance to make a mark. 232. Clement VIII: January 30, 1592 - March 5, 1605 (13 years)Born: Ippolito Aldobrandini. The most important political event during Clement VIII's papacy was his reconciliation with Henry IV of France when Clement recognized the latter as King of France in 1595, braving Spanish displeasure and ending thirty years of religious war in France. He used the Inquisition to condemn and execute controversial philosopher Giordano Bruno. « Fifteenth Century Popes | Seventeenth Century Popes » Continue Reading


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|Lookin' at my shoes
March 2017
London, ON
Many things come to mind when I see this shot. First and foremost, she's really talented. She sees things in ways unique to her, and she has the technical and artistic chops to capture the scene and tell the story. Her portfolio is a delight, and I say that not as a biased dad, but as someone who appreciates this kind of creativity.
This is also a picture of a picture, which not all that coincidentally is this week's theme. Sometimes the context of a photo or a scene becomes the story, as it did here on this important night in the life of a young artist. I often think about where and how a given work is seen or otherwise consumed, and what goes through the minds of those doing the consuming.
For the next week, that's what we'll focus on, as well.
Your turn: Take a picture of a picture, then share it on your blog, website or social media presence. Leave a comment here letting folks know where to find it, then visit other participants to share in the fun. Want to post another pic later in the week or bring a friend along for the ride? We'd love that, too. Thematic's rules, such as they are, are here. Otherwise, happy shooting, and thanks!
Related: Dahlia Levy Photography on Instagram

subset: commoncrawl


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As part of the Office of Governmental Relations, federal relations staff work closely with the United States Congress, the Administration, and federal agencies to promote the education, research, health, and economic development missions of the University of Illinois System.
The U of I System's federal relations team has professional staff members who work to advance U of I System's interests in the nation's capital. Federal Relations staff have a broad portfolio of responsibilities, including:
The federal relations team works with Lewis-Burke Associates,
a government relations firm that advocates for the public policy
interests of higher education and scientific research institutions.
University of Illinois faculty or staff who would benefit from
working with the Lewis-Burke firm should contact Director of
Federal Relations Paul Weinberger at firstname.lastname@example.com or 202-624-7775 to discuss possible collaborations.
Paul Weinberger, a veteran congressional staffer with two decades of experience on Capitol Hill and with federal agencies, joined OGR as director of federal relations in April 2017. Most recently, Weinberger served as vice president of congressional and public affairs for the U.S. Government's Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), overseeing communications and outreach strategies. Before joining MCC, he served as director of congressional relations for the U.S. Peace Corps. Earlier, Weinberger served as legislative director for U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.). An attorney, Weinberger also served as counsel for the House Committee on Government Reform and as a staff member for the Senate Committee on Appropriations. Weinberger is based in Washington, DC in the U of I System's federal office near Capitol Hill.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (202)-624-7775
A native of Illinois, and a proud alumna of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Haas joined the federal relations team in May 2013 from the congressional staff of Rep. Peter Roskam (R-IL), former Chief Deputy Whip and a member of the House Ways and Means Committee. Haas interned for Rep. Roskam during college, then after graduation, served as the front office ambassador, supervised the internship program, managed the Congressman's large constituent mail operation, and ultimately advised Rep. Roskam on a variety of legislative issues important to the U of I, including higher education, agriculture, and immigration.
Haas first joined the U of I federal team as a federal relations specialist, and has since served as an assistant director of federal relations, acting director of federal relations and now in her current post as associate director of federal relations. She spent her first three years working out of OGR's DC office, and has been based out of OGR's office in Chicago since spring 2016.
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Phone: (217)-244-4815
Emily joined the Office of Governmental Relations as the inaugural student fellow in 2017, and now serves as the Federal Relations Specialist. Prior to joining the OGR team last year, she interned on Capitol Hill with the House Committee on Ways and Means Subcommittee on Health and Congressman Rodney Davis. Emily has a bachelors degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in business administration with a minor in political science. She is based in Washington, DC in the U of I System's federal office near Capitol Hill.
Email: email@example.com
Phone: (202)-624-786


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Once you understand the state of the organization or initiative you've heading up, you can more effectively apply certain fundamental principles (several of them listed here) to ease your transition and increase your odds of long-term success. Your business situation should shape how you apply those principles.
Using the author's STARS model, leaders can figure out which state the company is in and, more important, how to tailor their strategies for organizational and personal change accordingly.
The STARS model stands for the five different states of a company:
- Start-Up
- Turnaround
- Accelerated Growth
- Realignment
- Sustaining Success
|Accelerated Growth
|Sustaining Success
Assembling the capabilities (people, financing, and technology) to get a new business or initiative off the ground
|Saving a business or initiative widely acknowledge to be in serious trouble
|Managing a rapidly expanding business
|Reenergizing a previously successful organization that now faces problems
|Coming in on the heels of a highly regarded leader with a stellar record of accomplishment
Building the strategy, structure, and systems from scratch without a clear framework or boundaries
Recruiting and welding together a high-performing team
Making do with limited resources
| Reenergizing demoralized employees and other stakeholders
Making effective decisions under time pressure
Going deep enough with painful cuts and difficult personnel choices
| Putting in place structure and systems to permit scaling
Integrating many new employees
| Convincing employees that change is necessary
Carefully restructuring the top team and refocusing the organization
| Living in the shadow of the former leader and managing the team he or she created
Playing good defense before embarking on too many new initiatives
Finding ways to take the business to the next level
You can do things right from the beginning.
People are energized by the possibilities.
There are no rigid preconceptions.
| Everyone recognizes that change is necessary
Affected constituencies offer significant external support
A little success goes a long way
| The potential for growth helps to motivate people
People will be inclined to stretch themselves and those who work form them
| The organization has significant pockets of strength
People want to continue to see themselves as successful
| A strong team may already be in place
People are motivated to continue their history of success
A foundation for continued success (such as long product pipeline) may be in place


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Written July 2014
Your parents may be gone from this world but you are not alone. I made the choice to bring you in one day, a day that forever changed a lot in many of our lives. The decision to bring you in was one I did not even stop to think about. I did not ask the other members of the household at the time, I just did it.
I was made to think for following months I had made a grave mistake, that I was wrong. I was told I did not include people in the choice. They are right, I didn't include anyone. It was my choice to do it and I did it. It put a major crack in an already struggling marriage. I knew it at the time and I did it anyways.
Was it fair, maybe not, but it was what needed to be done.
You carried potential but the way your life was going your potential was slowly fading away being stolen from you by people who claim to be blood but only have their own agendas a head of theirs.
I parented you when you did not want a parent; I loved you even when you could not love yourself. I scolded you, I yelled at you, and I did all the things children hate a parent for. I have fought with you, but I have also guided you. I have tried to make you open your eyes and see the important side of things. I tried to cram all I could in a year, the things you missed out on in 17 of them.
You hated me for a very long time, but that's okay, your life needed to go on a certain track and you are there. You where robbed of much of your childhood and you can't get that back, but you can give it to your daughter. You can ensure she has the life you did not have.
All you have ever wanted is a family, blood means a lot to you. But someday you will come to learn blood does not make a family. A family are the people who pick you up and push you to be better today then you where yesterday. Families are those who choose to love you, when they don't have too love you.
There are many times will you have felt alone, angered, and what purpose did you have. You hated yourself and tried to be someone you where not. You have your faults, many due to the life handed you. But there are moments when the true you shines and you are not looking at your past, but to your future and your present.
You have done things to hurt people, to push them away, but you have tried to redeem yourself in many ways. Only you can push yourself from this point forward and become the man you are meant to be, not the man you think you should be born of childhood thoughts.
At this point in time, no one knows where life will bring you, what paths will open up before you. While your parents maybe gone of this world, I made the choice to bring you, to care for you, to grow to love you. In the end, I will always be there for you as a mom and a friend. To pick you up, to guide you, to help you, someone who lets you know you're not alone in this world.


text:
While the Japanese tsunami has reignited the concerns over nuclear power, one thing is clear – the rules governing the location of their construction are sure to change. One would argue that the construction of a nuclear power plant in a seismically unstable region was always a cause for concern, but Michael C. Constantinou, PhD, professor of civil, structural and environmental engineering at the University at Buffalo has said that the next generation of nuclear power plants and other energy facilities will be greatly influenced by the lessons learnt from the recent tragedy.
According to Constantinou, it is possible to seismically isolate an entire facility on a concrete platform, however it is much more "technologically complex".
"If a nuclear reactor is built at a site where a 30-foot tsunami wave is possible, if it comes, it is going to have a significant effect, there is no way to control for that," says Constantinou, a structural engineer, and researcher with UB's Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research. "The only way to prevent the situation is to build the plant further inland, to seismically isolate it and, perhaps, to elevate it."
This sort of caution has been implemented with Russia's oil and gas platforms in the North Pacific near the Sakhalin Island. They lie several hundred miles north of the epicenter of the March 11th Japanese earthquake.
"These platforms sit on concrete bases on the ocean floor with legs that are about 80 meters tall, and the structure on top of the platform is another 20 stories high; the entire structure weighs some 30,000 tons," he explains.
"Conditions there are extreme," he added. "It is a multi-hazard environment, where one hazard can worsen the effects of another. The platforms are designed to withstand, without failure or significant effect, major earthquakes, ice forces on platform legs where giant slabs of ice two meters thick can form, temperatures as low as -40, blasts and very large waves, on the order of 10 meters above the ocean's surface, which only may occur once every 10,000 years, and waves in combination with ice slabs," he says. "They are very difficult structures to design."
Constantinou says that steel ductile bearings can cope with very low temperatures and which have a large displacement capacity as well as a capacity to carry such large loads. He says they are the only ones suitable for the extreme conditions encountered in the North Pacific.
"It wouldn't be possible to use elastomeric — rubber — bearings, which are very frequently used in Japanese buildings," Constantinou explains. "At those very low temperatures, the rubber bearings become brittle and can shatter like glass. Also, these loads and displacement demands are too large for elastomeric bearings."
Here's a better idea – just don't build potentially hazardous power plants and facilities in seismically unstable regions! You wouldn't build one in San Francisco…
via Phys Org
Photo credits Joe Zlomek


text: Bird confronts friendship, family, and human limitations in this poignant tale. Thirteen-year-old Bird has run away from her Ohio home to search for her vanished stepfather. Hiding in a shed in Acorn, Alabama, Bird dances by moonlight and tries not to be too lonely. She can't help but get involved with the people she meets: Ethan, a boy whose life was saved by a heart transplant; Jay, whose brother died suddenly; and old Mrs. Pritchard, who used to bake peach cobbler before she lost her husband. Bird covetously observes the happy families of Acorn, but doesn't see that everyone has grief and tragedies to bear. Told through the alternating voices of Bird, Jay, and Ethan, this moving journey follows four lonely people as they touch each other's lives. A lovely and sad glimpse of individuals caring for one another in an imperfect world. (Fiction. 10-13)


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The means by which antidepressants perform their function of making new brain cells is now understood. This it is believed will now help drug researchers develop more efficient ways to fight depression with developed medications.
It had been show by way of previous studies being carried out that the tricyclics a type of antidepressant along with the serotonin reuptake inhibitors do in fact generate new brain cells, but it was unknown up to now how this was achieved.
Key Protein
The new findings used Pfizer's Zoloft and other antidepressants as their study matter. Researchers at Kings College London's Institute of Psychiatry determined that this was done through a process involving glucocorticoid receptor (GR) which it is known is one of the key proteins used in the response to stress.
It was found that it is only with GR that new brain cells can be built.
Study Leader's Words
Christoph Anacker, who is a doctorate student at the IoP and led the study, said,""Having identified the glucocorticoid receptor as a key player in making new brain cells, we will now be able to use this novel stem cell system to model psychiatric illnesses in the laboratory, test new compounds and develop much more effective, targeted antidepressant drugs."
Global Benefit
That is the result, but what will be the real knock on benefit. Given that depression is so common, and believed to be suffered by more than 120 million individuals worldwide, it is no surprise to note how it is one of the world's leading causes of disability. The reality is that only a quarter of these sufferers have any access to a means of treatment.
It has been shown in recent studies that there is a reduction in the process of 'neurogenesis' in depressed patients – This 'neurogenesis' is the process of developing new brain cells. This lack of being able to build new cells it is believed by researchers is why low mood and impaired memory occur in depressed persons.
Stem Cells
His team used stem cells in their work (human hippocampal) what are known as the source of new cells in the brain to show the effects play out of antidepressants, but this time on brain cells in the lab Petri dish.
The cells were treated with Zoloft which is similar in effect to Eli Lilly's Prozac and other drugs like Paxil, these are all the SSRI class of drugs. The findings from the experiments however hold true for a different class of drugs also (serotonin and norepinephrine reuptake inhibitors (SNRIs) drugs like Pfizer's Effexor and Eli Lilly's Cymbalta.
Clinically Relevant Model
In a statement regarding the findings of the study Anacker said, "For the first time in a clinically relevant model, we were able to show that antidepressants produce more stem cells, and also accelerate their development into adult brain cells."
The findings showed that the glucocorticoid receptor is positively essential; it needs to be in place for the growth to occur. This protein is then activated by the antidepressants converting immature stem cells into the needed adult brain cells.
It is evident that it will not come overnight that new antidepressants will emerge as a result of the findings, but according to those involved with the study, it will take up to five years from now for new drugs to get to the point of patient testing. The scientists conclude that whilst they do now have some tools to probe the glucocorticoid receptor, there is not yet a drug that can do it effectively. It does however give the drug companies a target to reach.


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- 4 beds
- 3.5 baths
- $566,990 price
- 1151460 mls id
- Half Baths: 1
- Square Feet: 3,640 sqft
- Neighborhood: Windsong Ranch
Listing Description
A dramatic two-story family room opens to the kitchen.. Gorgeous hand-scraped hardwood floors can be found mostly throughout the first floor enhancing the overall beauty of the home. The chef of the family will be excited to try out new recipes with the KitchenAid stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, walk-in pantry, and center island. The tray ceiling in the first floor owner's suite gives the room that special ambiance to encourage relaxation. A second bedroom can also be found on the first floor making it great for overnight guests. Kids of all ages will enjoy the second floor game and media rooms. Enjoy your surroundings all year long on the rear outdoor living area that includes a fireplace.
- New Construction Yes
Subdivision: Windsong Ranch
- Price Range $462.9K - $594.9K
- Sqft Range 2,687 - 4,302
- Subdivision StatusActive
- Subdivision StyleMasterPlanned
Subdivision Description
Windsong Ranch is an exceptional, highly amenitized community that encourages an active, healthy lifestyle for growing families and active adults. Community events are held in the Esplanade and a covered outdoor area with an oversized fireplace brings the neighbors together. And the miles of interconnected hike and bike trails, as well as other activities is perfect for exercising or having family time. There is plenty for everyone to stay busy and is close to anything you may need.
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text:
By Dustin Rowles | TV | September 29, 2009 |
By Dustin Rowles | TV | September 29, 2009 |
The best that I can say for "NCIS: Los Angeles," is that, if every decent television show on television were suddenly yanked from the schedule, and this was the best show remaining on television, I'd probably watch it occasionally. It's like the chubby guy at last call -- somebody will fuck him, but only at her place. It's not worth a walk of shame the next morning.
Indeed, like the show it is spun off of, and the star of this one, Chris O'Donnell, "NCIS: Los Angeles" is bland and inoffensive, but it's pretty, with all the personality of a marmoset, and the flavor of a menthol ultra light -- slightly minty, but no buzz. In short, "NCIS: Los Angeles" is butterscotch candy. If you're bored, and it's sitting in a candy dish in front of you, you might take one. But it's not anything you'd seek out.
Given the show's conceit -- that it revolves around special agents who investigate crimes involving the Navy and Marines -- the setup in Los Angeles is both mystifying and pointless; Los Angeles is the entertainment capitol of the world, yet so few entertainment figures have ties to the armed services. Why, then, is set it in Los Angeles? Camp Pendleton is the closest Marine base to LA, and it's a two-hour drive? I guess "NCIS: Laguan Niguel" didn't have much of a ring to it.
Chris O'Donnell plays Callen; he's, like, enigmatic and stuff. When the show picks up, Callen is just returning from medical leave after getting shot up. He doesn't have a permanent address; he can't seem to stay in one job; and, apparently, he doesn't remember all of his own past (for instance, he doesn't know what his own first name is). He's so undercover that he doesn't even know himself. Callen's partner is Sam Hanna (LL Cool J), who is all gleaming white teeth and no personality -- LL is something of the straight man here, which is a waste of the little charisma he has. In the first episode, the two are called in to investigate the murder of a Naval Intelligence Officer, which is connected to the kidnapping of a young girl. It plays out as routinely as you'd expect from a CBS procedural that's not "The Unit."
All the cliched, nondescript procedural characters are here, too -- there's a geeky Anthony Rapp looking tech geek; a blandly attractive female forensics officer; the rookie with something to prove; and the staff shrink who wants an excuse to carry a gun. Also, Linda Hunt -- that creepy old lady you may be familiar with from every hour-long drama to air over the last 20 years. She's a great actress, although she gives me the heebies.
The only real connection between this show and its predecessor, besides a backdoor arc in last season's "NCIS," that I haven't seen, is Rocky Carroll, who serves as the director of both units, though he only shows up via satellite here in "NCIS: LA." It's similar in tone, too: A fairly likable, but forgettable police procedural, great for watching on your kitchen television while you're making dinner. But then again, if you have a TV in your kitchen, you might want to question your television watching habits.


text:
Address Information
Carbonate geology; fluid inclusions; geological studies related to exploration and utilization of unconventional resources - coalbed gas, shale gas, low-BTU gas, CO2 sequestration
Newell, K.D., 2010, Fall may be imminent for Kansas Cherokee basin coalbed gas output: Oil and Gas Journal, v. 105, no. 5 (Feb. 8th), p. 33-40.
Newell, K.D., and Carr, T.R., 2009, Coalbed natural gas production and gas content of Pennsylvanian coal units in eastern Kansas, in, Unconventional Energy Resources; Making the Unconventional Conventional, T. Carr, T. D'Angostino, W. Ambrose, J. Pashin, N.C. and Rosen, eds.: Proceedings of the 29th Annual GCSSEPM Foundation Bob F. Perkins Research Conference, December 6-8, 2009, Houston, TX, p. 353-387.
Bhattacharya, S., Newell, K.D., Watney, W.L., and Sigel, J., 2009, Field tests prove microscale NRU to upgrade low-BTU gas: Oil and Gas Journal, v. 107, no. 40 (Oct. 26th), p. 44-53.
Newell, K.D., Bhattacharya, S., and Sears, M.S., 2009, Low-BTU gas in the US Midcontinent; a challenge for geologists and engineers: Oil and Gas Journal, v. 107, no. 36 (Sept. 14th), p. 35-44.
Newell, K.D., 2008, Trends in composition of Morrowan gases in southwestern Kansas, in, Morrow and Springer in the southern Midcontinent, 2005 Symposium, R.D. Andrews, ed.: Oklahoma Geological Survey, Circular 111, p. 49-61.
Bhattacharya, S., Newell, K.D., Watney, W.L., and Sigel, J., 2008, Low-cost plant upgrades marginal gas fields: E&P, v. 81, no. 8, p. 102-103.
Newell, K.D., 2007, Wellsite, laboratory, and mathematical techniques for determining sorbed gas content of coals and gas shales utilizing well cuttings: Natural Resources Research, v. 16, p. 55-66. (http://www.springerlink.com/content/x678k40w108x76v6/)
Newell, K.D., 2007, Geochemical trends in gas quality in Kansas (abs.): American Association of Petroleum Geologists, 2007 Annual Convention & Exhibition, Long Beach, CA, Abstracts Volume, p. 101. [Available as Kansas Geological Survey Open-File Report 2007-8]
Newell, K.D., Doveton, J.H., Merriam, D.F., Sherwood Lollar, B., Waggoner, W.W., and Magnuson, L.M., 2007, H2-rich and hydrocarbon gas recovered in a deep Precambrian well in northeastern Kansas: Natural Resources Research, v. 16, p. 277-292.
Carr, T.R., and Newell, K.D., 2006, Geologic controls on coalbed natural gas production in eastern Kansas coals: Symposium on coalbed methane and gas shales in the southern Midcontinent; Oklahoma Geological Survey Seminar on Unconventional Gas, Proceedings, March 2006, p. 1-18.
Newell, K.D., Carr, T.R., and Brown, W.M., 2005, Eastern Kansas CBNG shows promise: American Oil and Gas Reporter, v. 48, no. 8 (August), p. 135-138.
Newell, K.D., Goldstein, R.H., and Burdick, C. J., 2003, Diagenesis and late-stage porosity development in thrusted Pennsylvanian Strawn Formation, Val Verde Basin, Texas, in, Permo-Carboniferous Platforms and Reefs, W.M. Ahr, P.M. Harris, W.A. Morgan, and I.D. Somerville, eds.: AAPG Memoir 83/SEPM Special Publication 78, p. 333-350.
Kansas Geological Survey
Updated October 2010
Comments to firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Tedious, ungrammatical, unoriginal and tasteless crap from someone old enough to know better.
Thursday, January 07, 2010
Spare me a moment, please, Mrs Bennet, and you better bring half a pound of your finest butter with you.
10 comments:
- I, Like The View said...
so, it wasn't you with your dick stuck in the pipe then?
- Friday, January 08, 2010 7:52:00 am
- KAZ said...
Ass and Anallube.
Lovely girls weren't they?
- Friday, January 08, 2010 8:26:00 am
- Dave said...
So the long arm of the law has finally caught up with you.
- Friday, January 08, 2010 8:48:00 am
- Vicus Scurra said...
ILTV. Not this time. You taught me to be circumspect.
Kaz. Delightful. I think that Kate Winslet really managed to pull it off in the screen adaptation.
Dave. Be careful, they were asking about you. I told them that I had never heard of you.
- Friday, January 08, 2010 9:50:00 am
- Christopher said...
Do they still have that Pipeman of the Year competition?
- Friday, January 08, 2010 1:05:00 pm
- Vicus Scurra said...
I don't know, Christopher, but I could not bring myself to publicise anything as perverted as smoking.
- Friday, January 08, 2010 1:13:00 pm
- MJ said...
Isn't this the sort of thing that usually happens with the Dyson crevice attachment?
- Friday, January 08, 2010 7:58:00 pm
- Millennium Housewife said...
Very Funny VS, I named my daughter after Anallube, very pretty we thought.
- Friday, January 08, 2010 10:00:00 pm
Oh, I am so incredibly glad I popped over and caught this post!!! Over here, though, the firemen and women are so hot that they surely would keep the arousal...well, going strong.
I now realize that the Chinese finger cuffs of childhood were training wheels for adulthood. Their lesson being: Don't assume you can get out what you put in.
- Saturday, January 09, 2010 3:20:00 am
- Carmenzta said...
Obviously the man was under the effects of one of those pills continuously advertised on TV since the, um, erection was lasting more than it should have. Big problem, and not only for the Fire department.
- Thursday, January 14, 2010 2:55:00 pm


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2014 New Years Resolutions
  Jason wrote this on Jan 03 2014 / 0 comments
This is how I spent New Years in Hamburg Germany. Was quite the experience, and will not soon forget.
Spectacular show albeit a little frightening with the craziness. Where im from you definitely cant buy fireworks like the shit they sell at the local k-mart equivalent.
The choice of no new years resolutions
Watched a video by a google guy, Matt Cutts. Found him years ago while doing SEO work at my previous employer. I tend to check up on him once in a while, see what he has to say and what not. Anywho he did a TED talk, and he talked majorly about 30 day tryouts for new things. It has sparked a interest in me. So maybe ill have monthly resolutions. But I really am looking for a noncommittal no pressure yet productive year.
I saw this crap plastered onto my Goodreads account, and that little beautiful square just enticed me to put a number there…Verdammt!
Last years goal was 30, and I ended up reading 45. However at around 27 I was getting very anxious and nervous and the prospect of finishing was giving me jitters. Then I finished it like 3 months ahead of schedule so I'm not sure what the hell my deal was. I think ill keep it simple and put 25 this year. Easy number, and gives me time to maybe do some other stuff I've been hoping to get into.
Heres a list of things that I'll give myself permission to do, but not beat myself over not doing.
1. Exercise
2. Drink tea on a very regular basis
3. Get a rock climbing membership—guess that could go hand in hand with exercise
4. Write weekly here about whatever the hell strikes, anything


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Today's my last full day of "Daddy Daycare". I love the kids and all, but I really look forward to Elizabeth coming home and getting back to normal.
Today started out with a breakfast of cold cereal. The kids chowed down on raisin bran and I had Grape Nuts. Speaking of Grape Nuts, why isn't this cereal more popular? I know they're hard but let 'em sit in milk for a bit and they're delicious. Who doesn't like the taste of malted barley?! After breakfast I put on Little Einsteins and caught this video of the kids helping "Rocket" take off:
I then escaped the house with the kids to run a few quick errands. We stopped at Safeway for eggs to make Dutch Babies for breakfast tomorrow and washed the car on the way home. Rachel is totally freaked out about the car wash, but today I told her I would hold her hand and daddy wouldn't let anything happen to her. She actually held it together the whole time and afterwords exclaimed, "Wheeee! That was fun!". I asked her if she wanted to go again and she yelled, "NO!" I have to hand it to Jeremiah - he was encouraging her the whole time.
After getting home I dried off the car while the kids remained inside watching Jonah and the Whale. Then I let the kids out for snack time. We ate raisin muffins, but each kid had to have them prepared a different way: JP wanted his split in half but no butter and not toasted; Rachel wanted toasted and buttered; Elijah wanted buttered, not toasted. I guess I shouldn't complain because it's much faster when they don't all want them toasted and should be encouraged that they're not all just following Jeremiah's lead.
After snack time the kids went out for more bike riding, which was stopped short when JP decided to have a pee accident. He was so excited about going out and riding his bike that he lied to me when I had asked him if he had to pee before we went out. While I was taking care of that, and the bathroom was occupied, Rachel decided to relieve herself on our shoe cubby. Ugh!
By the time everything was cleaned up and the laundry was running it was time to start preparing for lunch. The kids and I each had a Chobani greek yogurt. If you haven't had this stuff you should try it. It isn't nearly as sweet as Yoplait (good in my book) and is remarkably thick and creamy given that most flavors have zero grams of fats. Liz and I were turned on to it when Costco was handing out free samples. Now our Costco doesn't carry it anymore but it is priced competitively with other brands at the local market.
After lunch the kids straightened up the loft while I vacuumed their rooms. Then they went down for their naps and once I was sure that Rachel was asleep I vacuumed the rest of the rooms. Unfortunately JP never did get to sleep, but he is used to staying in his room quietly until his clock says 4:00. Since JP didn't sleep I woke the others up from their naps early because I now was planning to put them all to bed early.
Now that the kids were up, we went back outside for more bike riding. I took JP's training wheels off again for more practice without them but he's still not quite getting the feeling. So I decided to give in to his pleas to put them back on, but did so with them slightly higher off the ground. My hope is that the extra side to side play will help him get the feel of it. It seemed to be working. Today he also discovered riding out of the saddle:
We didn't go back inside until dinner time. Dinner tonight was tater tots and dinosaur chicken with ketchup. The kids loved it so much that each one ordered seconds. Jeremiah ate a total of 5 nuggets and 10 tots, Rachel had four nuggets and ten tots, and Elijah had five nuggets and a half a tot. I guess he didn't like the tots.
Then it was cleanup time, bath time (got to have the kids clean for mom tomorrow!), story time, song time, and good night!
I've had a lot of fun the last three days, but I sure am looking forward to Elizabeth coming home!


text:
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text:
LC-I Repeat Takehome Essay
201728MarSubmitted by Dr. Sebastian M. Herrmann on Tue, 03/28/2017 - 10:35
The repeat task for the LC-I takehome exam will be available as of 12 April (via email) and will be due on the 26th. If you have failed the overall module and have a failing grade for the takehome essay, please get in touch with your seminar instructor to review your previous attempt and to receive a copy of the repeat task.
- Sebastian M. Herrmann's blog
- Login to post comments


text:
I run the "find fonts" utility and save the results as a worklist . . . so far so good.
However, when I attempt to load said worklist on another occasion, the application locks up and I generally close it down.
One time, when I was going to be out of the office, I let it load unimpeded and upon my return it was okay.
My question: Is there a maximum number of fonts or a recommended number of fonts which the worklist can reasonably accomodate (i.e., doesn't take forever to load?


text:
Today's post is both my Project 52 post for this week as well as my latest obsession. Chai. It almost sounds like "sigh" which is precisely what I do when the spices hit the heat of the tea. My body actually sighs. This week's theme for Project 52 is Seasons and chai has become my ritual for the winter season.
Besides, any recipe that starts with popping open a can of condensed milk has my interest peaked from the get go. Technically this recipe is for a chai mix that keeps in the fridge for up to 6 months (not that yours will last as long if you actually like chai). But what's chai? Spiced, milky, sweet indian tea. Usually the spices are simmered for a while in a combination of milk/water then strained and the tea briefly brewed in the spiced liquid. Black peppercorns, cardomom, cloves, ginger and cinnamon all are common chai spices. If you like holiday spice you're likely to love chai.
Now a while back I was catching up with reading Amy Karol's blog and saw her post a chai mix. At the time I was not a tea drinker but I bookmarked the recipe. In fact, I'm pretty sure I've 'fessed up on here somewhere that my preference for tea has always involved the powdered instant iced tea which horrifies the sweet tea soul of my southern bred husband. I just was never into hot beverages and if I wanted caffeine then I was either going to drink cola or the vile powdered iced tea. Period. End of Story. Or so I thought.
Fast forward to this year when I'm shaking things up including now drinking tea - real tea for some ADD coping benefits. I won't go into the long winded explanation but it's all about the l-theanine and dopamine if you want to google and how it helps my slightly off kilter brain. Hello, my name is Marielle and I'm a black tea drinker. First, I drank it cold and unsweetened like some bitterly brewed medicine that I had to endure several times a day. Quickly I realized that was no way to do things so I splashed a bit of lemonade into my sipping tea and Arnold Palmered my way through the day feeling quite devious if I say so myself. I also revisited Alton Brown's wisdom on tea because I figured there had to be a more common sense approach to tea. Right away I learned how to brew a smooth cup. After downing my first ever cup of smooth, hot tea and actually enjoying it, I remembered the chai concentrate recipe. I hit the pantry for the ingredients and mixed it up. I tried it, let he kids try it and then had to fend them off the dregs of my cup only with the promise that I would fix them their own. Definitely a success.
The original recipe calls for cardamom which I don't keep around the house so I increased the cinnamon. I also remembered my mom mentioning that in Dominican Republic allspice is referred to as the peppercorn of the Caribbean so in went the allspice. I'm sure you could try ginger or even *gasp* stick to the recipe and use cardamom.
Chai Concentrate
adapted from The Oregonian
1 (14oz) can of sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg - definitely try to use fresh
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
First the labor intensive part. Opening up the condensed milk can and not licking it all up. Please don't. That's no example for the kids and really you need the milk for the chai. Priorities people, priorities.
You'll notice my fancy condensed milk utensil. Yes a butter knife. Growing up my mother always grabbed one before the can opener since it's just much sturdier than a spatula and a bit easier to get into the can. This time it also works as a great stirring stick that is again much faster than a spatula. Dump in the sugar and spices then give it a good stir.
Tada! That's it. Well almost it. Let the mix rest 24 hours and allow the spices to bloom, flavoring the condensed milk as well. Trust me, you need to wait.
Just tuck it in the fridge and wait until the next day.
Through the magic of blog time here's the mix all ready to go. Now there's a slight layer of bubbles/scum looking stuff at the top. Do not fret, it's just the air bubbles from stirring that worked themselves to the surface. Just give the mix another stir.
Next you'll brew your tea. Oh that tag? Yes, Luzianne. I'm trying to finish what I have in the pantry before trying other brands but if handled well this one's pretty smooth. Oh the mason jar? Well since my buddy the keurig produces my hot water and I hate washing dishes I skip the tea pot and brew directly into a quart mason jar. I drink the first cup as hot chai and then the subsequent cups I drink iced. I just chuck a lid on the jar and stick it in the fridge. Fancy teapots are cute, but a relaxed me is even cuter.
While your tea is brewing, dump a regular heaping tablespoon (or two if you dare) of chai concentrate into your teacup.
Now this is where the rubber meets the road. In one corner, our piping hot tea. In the other corner the chai mix. Who will reign supreme?
Pour the hot tea over the chai mix . . .
. . . stir. Then watch the magic happen.
Sigh. Milky, sweet, spicey goodness and a hot cup to warm your hands.


text:
HAHAHAHAHA check out my son's crazy excited smile. This photo cracks me up all the time whenever I view it in my handphone's picture gallery. Hahaha, love this silly boy of mine. <3
|My younger sister and I!
|Dinner with my aunt's family // Celebrating her birthday (and that's her son btw. Lol.)
|HAHAHAHA Guess I was laughing at something really funny. And my cousin on the right looks disgusted by my sudden outburst. Hahahaha :D
|Ice-skating with his Papa! (These photos were taken really far away from the ice-rink, hence the poor grainy effect. I'll upload more photos of their ice-skating experience soon...)
|Shayne was about to fall down when I snapped this photo. Lol.
|Celebrating another birthday with my beloved good friends!! <3
Reading up about Montessori education as Papa and I are planning to set up a Montessori Kindergarten pretty soon. We have so much planning to do (marketing plans, operational plans, financial plans etc etc) and I can't wait for everything to be finalized. We actually got into some heated arguments with each other over this, and our plans were almost crushed due to some issues with the authorities. But we'll never take "No" for answer, and so we kept pushing on and surprisingly, we received a positive response and were given the green light! :D We're excited for our new business venture, and at the same time, we still have to ensure that we spend enough time in our current business and not neglect it. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything goes according to plan and turns out well! I just hope that the authorities don't change their minds and say "No" again... I'll be devastated if that happens.
|23/4/2014: Last trimester! #maternityootd #happymummy
Baby boy <3 I'm so in love with his cute chubby cheeks, pouty lips and small little chin! And he kept covering his face with his small little hand throughout the entire 3d scan, he's a shy little one. Haha. Mummy, Daddy and your brother Shayne, love you so so much!! We can't wait to meet you! :)


text: "I loved our first Christmas in Australia - it's completely different to being here and it only seems to last a day, if that. I've warned Shane that ours lasts a good 10 days - most of which is spent lying on the sofa eating Quality Streets." - Liz Hurley comes to terms with the 'finer points' of relationship differences with Shane Warne. (Plus she's lying: look at her - there's no way she scoffs boxes of chocolates.)


text:
The Naked Truth
Appeared in "The Crisis" magazine, Winter 2008
Black folk love sex. They crave it so much, they can't get enough. They need it in their music, need it in their music videos. Need it so much that when they're not watching it on BET or popping their fingers to it on Hot 97, they need to read about it. They need to read about it rough, rugged and raw. Black women like to be called b***** and h*** in the books they read. Apparently, they like to be pimped, though not by actual pimps. They like to be pimped by drug dealers and rap stars and athletes. Men who like to pimp them, who get off on paying Black women to spread their legs. Wide. Black women like to be pimped for clothes, for cars, and - if they really give it up good - for cribs. Black men like to pimp Black women for those things. And, after the sex, Black folk got to confess, got to tell all. Black people like to put their business out there for everyone to read. And, honey, everyone is.
This is Black life as expressed by contemporary commercial Black fiction. These falsehoods, presented as truths, packaged as urban tales, titillate and, seemingly, satisfy so much, they sell like socks - everyone needs to buy more than one. According to publicist Linda A. Duggins, who works with Karrine Steffans at Hachette Book Group USA, Steffans' The Vixen Diaries, her follow-up to the wild best-seller Confessions of a Video Vixen, debuted at #6 on The New York Times bestseller list, #4 on the Publishers Weekly list, and #7 on the Wall Street Journal list of bestselling books. Duggins also says The New York Times business section reported that, of the top ten books preordered in August 2007, The Vixen Diaries was #3.
In response to numbers like these, mainstream publishers slap scantily-clad Black women placed in provocative poses on the covers of trade paperbacks, even when the work is literary fiction, not street lit, or Urban Fiction, as it is often called. Mainstream bookstores cram these books on the shelves and help dictate the cover choices mainstream publishers make. The numbers seem to confirm a Great American Myth, one this country has always sold, and sold well: Black people are hypersexual, are pathological; they feel but don't think. Even more disturbing is this Myth: Black people are dangerous in their hypersexual, pathological irrationality. Perhaps most disturbing of all, we, Black folk, especially young Black folk, are actually starting to believe these stereotypes about ourselves. We're literally buying into the mythology.
I work with young people in my Fort Greene, Brooklyn community, and when I ask the young women, as young as 12 and 13, sometimes as young as 11, why they read urban Fiction, they tell me, "Ms. Ulen, these books keep it real."
"Really?" I ask. "Keep it real what?"
The answer: Really cheap, really disturbing, and, increasingly, really dangerous, according to a growing and disgruntled group of writers, readers, and professionals in Black Books. Many would like to curb the proliferation of hyper-sexualized urban fiction, but no one calls for an end to erotica. On the contrary, the call is for an end to what author Christopher Chambers likens to slave-trading.
Chambers, a former history major, former practicing lawyer, and now Maryland-based author of the Angela Bivens mystery series, says he "can't help but cringe" when he thinks back to "white intellectuals in the 19th century writing about Blacks as hypersexual and subhuman." For Chambers, not much has changed in 400 years, as, to him, "people want to buy and sell us."
Chambers doesn't call for a puritanical end to sex in Black literature. "Whenever I'm writing sex, it has to have a context, developing a character, advancing plot. If not, I don't use it. I think what we have now is sex for sex's sake. It's a formula: Black people need to include sex for something to sell."
Chambers identifies Street Lit authors who assembly-line produce hypersexual content to maximize profit as "his siblings," but adds, "I can fight with my siblings. I mean hair-pulling fighting, but then they're still my siblings." In dialogue with them, when the issue of sales and the desire to make fast money as a Street Lit writer emerges, Chambers tells them that profit-motive has helped fuel a 400 year history of Black people presented as carnal beasts. "Why can't you just make a buck?" he rhetorically asks. "Because these stereotypes still exist."
Just as Ol' Massa encouraged slave men and women (or boys and girls) to mate so they could create slave babies and reproduce his wealth, some mainstream publishers have, according to Chambers, encouraged Black writers to "sex up" their work: "When I was submitting a novel to a division of Random House, people that I had worked with before said I needed to pare down the suspense and intellectual elements of the novel and play up the raw sex for sex's sake. They wanted me to build a bigger Black audience, and I was told the way to do that was to write more salacious sex scenes and cut down other plot elements."
This impulse suggests that Black readers "care more about being titillated than to read about work that reflects their full lives," says literary author Bridgett M. Davis, "and I don't agree." For Davis, conflict with her publisher took place over the cover, not content. Her debut novel, Shifting Through Neutral, explores a father-daughter relationship during Detroit's Motown Era. Thoughtful and engaging, her novel was nominated for a Hurston/Wright Award. The hardcover edition of Shifting offers a counter-narrative to the mainstream story of absent Black fathers. Davis roots her fictional father in his daughter's life, and the back cover of a Black man holding a girl in pigtails expresses this major theme in an evocative way. The front cover, of a car, a Black man's back, and a Black woman's face, signals that the book is adult fiction that would appeal to women, but involves cars and men. These powerful images were changed with the release of the paperback.
"The official statement was that they wanted to reach a broader, or different, audience," Davis says. "The idea was that it was an effort to give the book as much of a life as possible, so young Black women would be more likely to pick it up, and that audience could be tapped. I understand the impulse, and I think the logic is completely misguided."
The paperback edition of Shifting is darker, with a Black woman holding her neck in a subtle expression of sexual longing with a gaze that suggests she's contemplating her own beauty. While the hardcover focused on a woman's face, the paperback reveals a bit of cleavage. Davis, a professor of English who teaches creative writing and journalism at New York's Baruch College, and was honored with a New York Association of Black Journalists Award for Excellence in Education, says, "I don't have a picture of the paperback cover anywhere in my office. When I went up for a promotion, I did not submit that paperback. I submitted the hardcover. I'm not proud of it."
Davis adds that she wasn't surprised when paperback sales didn't surge. "I've been to enough meetings of Black women's book clubs, and I've been told to my face, 'if this wasn't assigned, I wouldn't have picked this book up.'" Davis believes that her book proves a "bodice-ripper" cover won't increase sales of literary fiction, then adds, "but that won't stop publishers from making that desperate choice."
Brooklyn-based author Martha Southgate's paperback cover is even more salacious than Davis'. Third Girl From the Left, also a Hurston Wright nominee, was named Best Novel of the Year by the Black Caucus of the American Library Association and was short-listed for the PEN/Beyond Margins Award. The novel, Southgate's third book, explores three generations of Black women, from a family matriarch and avid movie-goer; to her daughter, who becomes a bit extra in films starring the likes of Pam Grier; to the granddaughter, who becomes a student filmmaker. The hardcover expresses the consistent beam of movie projection lighting all three women's lives with a theatre marquis design. The hardcover illuminates all three women's lives with a design suggesting the bright lights of a theater marquee. The effect is literary yet fun. The paperback, however, pictures a woman in a bathing suit, crouched in a provocative pose, all light brown skin and bouncy, blond-y hair, though Southgate's characters are all brown-skinned with either mid-century pressed curls, '70s afros, or '90s-style naturals.
When asked about the paperback cover, Southgate responds, "Well... I think that the paperback falls a little into the category of not quite being sure how to market this particular book. The paperback cover of Third Girl and the paperback cover of Bridgett Davis' Shifting Through Neutral are quite similar, though the books could not be more different. Folks in the biz just aren't sure how to reach the audience for these books through the jackets. I love my publisher, but that was a little frustrating."
Penguin Putnam Editor Stacey Barney, one of the few African Americans in mainstream publishing, would agree with Southgate. "There's no nefarious person behind a curtain saying, 'Let's get Black people,'" she asserts. Publishers, Barney says, "have to answer to the higher calling of how you make money. The cover is a selling point. Ultimately, we don't have enough Black people at these companies really making decisions." While Barney doesn't believe white publishing houses make jacket design decisions purposely "to degrade Black people," she does acknowledge, "a double standard when some white editors publish African American literature. They wouldn't let their white authors go out like that." The sexual content in much street lit is so poorly written that the genre can never be compared to Harlequin romances or the work of Jackie Collins. Barney says she is increasingly concerned, in thinking about the legacy of African American literature, with what she calls, "the clash of the idea of leaving behind a responsible cultural footprint and sales."
Tina McElroy Ansa has thought deeply about these issues as well. Like Chambers, Davis, and Southgate, this best-selling author of Ugly Ways, an NAACP Image Award nominee, employs sex in meaningful ways in her work without undermining the legacy of African American literature with every click on her laptop. She recently launched DownSouth Press, a publishing company that has published her fifth novel, Taking After Mudear. "I'm concerned," Ansa says, "as a publisher, and I'm also concerned because I'm a writer still. I'm concerned about what's driving the industry now. I'm very concerned about how we're seen culturally. What they're saying is to broaden our audience we need to sex it up. I'm not naïve enough not to see sex sells. But as a publisher, as a Black person, to say that we need to sex up our literature to reach a wider audience is a very dangerous thing to do." From our time in Africa through the Middle Passage to slavery and now, Ansa says, "our stories are who we are. Our stories are us."
Ansa founded DownSouth Press partly to counteract the reality that increasing numbers of established writers of literary fiction can't get a book contract. She laments the subsequent loss of ideas and craft and reverential regard for our shared history as a people. Who we are, she believes, is being shaped by bean-counters looking at the bottom line and new writers pressured to please them with the cheap use of cuss words and sex scenes. With DownSouth Press and her Sea Island Writers Retreats, Ansa is actively working to nurture a new generation of literary African American writers.
Ansa's first novel, the best-selling Baby of the Family, was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. Her fourth novel, You Know Better, explicitly addresses what she calls the "hoochie mamma" phenomenon and received a Best Fiction Award from the American Library Association. With The Hand I Fan With, her third novel and winner of a Georgia Authors Series Award, Ansa fully entered the world of erotic fiction.
Ansa wrote her own erotic tale, she says, as "a tribute to Hurston, and my mother, who taught me the difference between trash and literature, between just sexual content and erotica." Ansa took four years to craft The Hand I Fan With, the longest she's taken to write any novel, she says, because she "wanted it to be literature. It was an erotic adventure for me to do this and do right by my characters."
Southgate, a Coretta Scott King Genesis Award winner for her debut novel, Another Way To Dance, also committed to craft when writing her explicit, beautifully written sex scenes in Third Girl From the Left: "I came to the sex scenes very gradually. In 'Show Business,' the short story that the novel grew out of, there is no sex of any kind at all. It is very much a mother-daughter story. But when I started writing and thinking about Angela as a fuller character and imagining her life in the film industry of the 1970s, sex naturally came up. It was a very big part of Hollywood culture at that time and Black people partook as liberally as whites. But I never intended or wanted it to be pornographic or salacious. Sex comes out of character, out of life choices, and as I worked on the novel I realized that I had an opportunity to investigate Black women's sexuality in a textured, nuanced way."
Southgate adds, "Long after I completed Third Girl, I found a remark attributed to James Baldwin - that there is a void at the heart of Black novels, that violence resides where the sex should be - and I thought that was very true. Because our sexuality has so often been linked with commerce and abuse, there has been, I think, a tendency not to explore it seriously in our fiction."
Penguin Putnam Editor Stacey Barney would likely agree. She believes Zane, for example, has done "a great thing for Black women." Rather than Black female sexuality relegated to rape or abuse, "Suddenly," Barney thinks, "with Zane, sexuality was something for Black women to have fun with."
Zane is an author, publisher, and employee of Atria Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, where the author runs Strebor Books, and also where my editor, Malaika Adero, is a senior editor. Adero says there are more than 3 million copies of Zane's work in print. "I do think African American women in particular have suffered from being a bit saddled by sexual stereotypes," Adero says. She attributes some of the silencing of Black female desire to our religious culture and our history, where the good girl-bad girl dichotomy rendered Black women either the desexualized Mammy or the hyper-sexualized whore. Historically, Adero believes, African American women were never given permission to be just naturally sexual, "without ridicule, criticism, or judgment." Adero, through her Up South International Book Festival, an annual New York event that showcases literary authors, wants to try to expand the audience for great work.
She says that, "to some degree people who call themselves literary writers sound a little whiny because they aren't, all the time, looking at the reasons why other writers get more media attention and the attention of readers." But for Nick Chiles, a journalist who has co-authored with his wife, Denene Millner, a total of six non-fiction books and novels that, as their website states, "celebrate Black love," the proliferation of salacious street lit impacts writers in ways they don't even realize.
Chiles, who wrote "Their Eyes Were Reading Smut," a New York Times JANUARY 4, 2006 op-ed piece and definitive statement condemning the urban fiction phenomenon, asserts that, "On the artist the effect is dispiriting and overwhelming. This is an issue that plagues thinking African Americans no matter where you live. This phenomenon is like a weed that takes over the whole garden." Chiles says, "every writer I talk to, from Pearl Cleage to Bernice McFadden, says that, even though they're still getting published, they're getting published differently."
Without fanfare, with no marketing for publicity, Black writers of quality fiction and non-fiction see the millions made by the most popular street lit writers and wonder if they will ever be able to support themselves through their art, the way that many urban fiction writers support themselves through what Michigan-based non-fiction author Andrea Collier calls "Ho for Dough" books.
Because of street lit, even benign images of African Americans can marginalize a book. Chiles says his wife's Scholastic young adult book, Hotlanta, was ignored by booksellers at the Southern Booksellers Convention near the couple's Atlanta-area home. The cover, which Chiles describes as "like the cover of the Gossip Girls book but their skin is brown," signaled to those independent southern booksellers that the book was street fiction, something they did not want in the children's sections of their stores. "If it's a book with Black people on the cover," Nick says, "a realistic picture that's not too artsy, and has brown people on the cover, you have a whole section of booksellers that won't pick it up." While Chiles wonders how those booksellers could think that Scholastic would publish street lit, he realizes such an improbability is actually possible in the minds of some simply because of current trends. "The idea that you have to question Black people on the cover of your book is the poison" that comes from street lit, Chiles asserts.
Hyper-sexualized Black characters in urban fiction poison us all, even those of us who don't read the stuff, stuff too vulgar to be quoted in this magazine. Salacious street lit creeps into Black people's bone marrow, alters Black people's souls, diminishes our beautiful shining power as a people. The antidote exists. We simply must use our consumer dollars to support the rich, textured experiences of African Americans as rendered by authors who craft their work, honor our literary tradition, remember, clearly, with each word they write, the many ancestors who died so we could tell our stories, who died so we could put pen to paper at all.
Eisa Nefertari Ulen is the author of Crystelle Mourning and a member of the English Department faculty at New York's Hunter College. She lives with her filmmaker husband in Brooklyn.


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- As Seen On
"Perfection in Southeast Asia"
My husband and I were thrilled with the wonderful journey to Vietnam and Laos put together for us by Exotic Voyages. Their attention to detail was superior and each leg of the trip went off without a hitch. Guides were helpful and considerate, and details like visas were handled with ease. The hotels they selected were based upon my preferences and were consistently excellent–each one quite different from the others but all very enjoyable to experience. Should I be returning to Southeast Asia again, I would definitely use their services!
Visited January 2017
This review was originally posted on Trip Advisor
RooberNew York, US


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Wednesday, November 30, 2011
3 comments:
- Loredana, December 1, 2011 at 11:02 AM
I remember this story very well and feeling so sad about the couple losing all their children at once. Then angry at the driver for being SO F*CKING SELFISH!!!! I'm so happy they now have a new baby girl to love but like you said I know the emptiness in their heart could never be filled. Now new memories will be made and this little sister will know all about the sisters she missed out on but i'm sure the 3 sisters are looking down on their new sibling and guiding her way.
- Pat, December 1, 2011 at 10:03 PM
This is wonderful news - I hadn't heard. I am happy to hear that they are still together; so often a tragedy like this causes marriages to end in divorce. I only wish happiness upon this couple. Thanks for sharing this good news.
- Laurel, August 17, 2013 at 1:47 AM
I knew nothing of the Hance family and their story until I read their book. I was very moved and felt tremendous sympathy for them. It's a parents worst fears. I pray for Gods peace beyond understanding for them.


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iHealthBeat asked a variety of stakeholders to weigh in on health IT progress in 2013. Several experts reflected on the increased use of mobility (apps, sensors, wearable tech devices) and the significance of FDA guidance on mobile apps. At the same time an access to and utilization of EHR (Electronic Health Record) data disappoint: the case with 23andMe was mentioned. I applaud FDA for stopping the company of offering personal genome services, which to me always looked unproven and misleading: just think about how much damage has been done to people getting prognoses on potential diseases.
Also, there was mentioned a need in widespread use of personal Blue Button two-page sheets providing data on immunization, hospitalizations, medication, etc. — some kind of a fast accessible by any medical provider health web identifier (like SSN) for each person — which is very feasible in the nearest future. In any case, policies on ethics and use of medical data are becoming as important as never before: to develop health apps and analysis tools for medical, genomics, proteomics, and other omics data developers and researchers need first to have data, and as many as possible.


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Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by Tynga's Reviews
This week has been crazy, in a good way. First off, I got to go to Marissa Meyer's Cress Launch Party! It was amazing, and eventually I'll be doing a write-up of it. The rest of the week, though, hasn't been quite as fun or book-filled as I wanted it to be. I started a big project that's been consuming a lot of my time, and I've been sickish (I think it's from shrimp at the Cress Party!)
I bought both of these and got them signed, along with Cinder and my Scarlet ARC. I'll have pictures!
Amelia Anne is Dead and Gone by Kat Rosenfield
Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev
Thank you to the gals at Tea for Three Books for these amazing books!
Read This Week
Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Finished off this amazing novel, as well as started on Cress!
To Read Next Week
Days of Blood and Starlight by Laini Taylor
Cress by Marissa Meyer
How was your week? Leave links in the comments below!


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This year the Edlug Christmas meal will be at La Sal Tapas Restaurant on 3rd December 2015 from 7:00pm.
The restaurant will give a set price of £17.50 per person for three tapas and dessert. There are options for vegetarians.There is a copy of the menu online at www.lasal.co.uk/set-dinner-menu
As usual drinks will cost extra.


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TaylorMade 16-piece golf gift set
Created by TaylorMade for Mercedes-Benz, this 16-piece golf gift set is supplied in high-quality gift packaging with a magnetic closure.
- Three Tour Preferred X golf balls
- Golf towel, 23.6" x 15.75"
- Ten tees
- Divot repair tool
- Ball marker
- Star logo on divot tool, golf towel and golf balls
- Mercedes-Benz wordmark on tees
- Size: 11.6" W x 8.26" H x 2" D (gift package)


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Prague – The Fairytale City
(For more photos from Prague, check out the slideshow at the bottom of this post)
Prague looks different from any city I've visited so far. Walking around, I felt like I had stepped into the village from Disney's Beauty and the Beast. The gingerbread-house style architecture and cobblestone streets make it feel like you're in a fairytale.
It's a colourful city. Buildings are varying shades of orange, peach, pink and blue, and the roofs are coppery red. I definitely went overboard on the number of landscape photos I took.
I had heard Prague was famous for its food so I splurged a whopping 200 koruna (about $10 Canadian) on a traditional Czech meal of beef goulash and dumplings. I guess they're big on meat and starch here because Czechs often pair large chunks of pork and beef with potatoes or bread for dinner. Totally okay with me, I could have eaten a second helping of goulash. It was packed with flavour, like eating beef stew made in a slow-cooker.
I was really excited to visit the Royal Palace. I actually decided to stay in a hostel that was right beside it because I have an obsession with all things princess-y. But the Prague Castle was a bit of a let-down for me. It doesn't really look like a castle. It's more of a giant semi-circle of buildings at the top of a hill with an enormous cathedral in the centre.
And I goofed the day I decided to tour it. I cheaped out and didn't pay extra for an audio guide. There are signs to read that tell you a bit about each building, but I found I didn't learn as much as I normally do. I wanted to know more about which buildings were original and which ones were actually part of the palace. If I did it again I'd definitely want a guide.
Everyone says Prague is a great city for backpackers because it's so cheap, but you have to be careful. In touristy areas food and drinks are still really overpriced. But if you venture outside the main streets, the prices are mind-blowing. I bought two 0.5L beers from a grocery store for 8 koruna each. Twenty koruna is equal to $1 Canadian, so that means those beers cost me about 80 cents. Beer is actually cheaper than water here. Amazing.
On a completely uncultural, unhistorical note, I went on an epic pub crawl in Prague with an Aussie and a group of Vancouver-ites staying at my hostel. First pub crawl I've done since the epic beer-hangover in Bruges. Happy to say I didn't lose my bus pass or room key this time. Can't say I didn't have a hangover though.
Prague Favourites:
OLD TOWN HALL: Famous for its fancy astronomical clock from the 1400s. At the top of the hour, tourists gather to watch the twelve apostles circle through two little blue doors before a rooster pops out. Watch the show, but climb to the top of the tower afterward for a great view of the Old Town Square.
PETRIN HILL: The big green space to the left of the palace. I spent a lovely Sunday morning wandering through here. Stunning view of the city.
NEXT STOP: Vienna, Austria


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Arizona Misdemeanor Assault Charges & Penalties
A regular assault in Arizona involves knowingly and recklessly causing physical harm to another person or touching another individual with the intent to injure, provoke, or insult. If the assault happens between two people who live together, it is known as domestic violence and the guilty party (parties) will be charged accordingly.
What are the Classifications of Assault in Arizona?
There are three misdemeanor classes for regular assault:
- Class 1: The most serious charge where physical injury is caused. This can lead to six months in prison along with a 3 year probation period.
- Class 2: This includes the threat of injury and if convicted, you could spend up to four months in prison along with a 2 year probation period.
- Class 3: This includes touching with the intent to injure or provoke and could lead to a 30-day spell in prison along with 12 months probation.
Why Did I Get Charged with Assault?
If you conduct one or more of the following forms of assault, you can face the maximum sentence allotted by Arizona law. This is why it is imperative that you speak with an experienced trial attorney prior to fighting the charges on your own.
- Causing physical injury to someone else – whether recklessly, intentionally, or knowing it some form or fashion that injury would result from a specific action.
- Putting someone else in imminent danger with reasonable apprehension.
- Injuring, insulting, or provoking someone else by knowingly touching him or her.


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We are a culture of busy worshipers. It doesn't really matter what we're doing, we think that we need to be frantic and rushing around to be productive. This is especially tempting when we are in Square 3 of the Change Cycle; it ain't called The Hero's Saga for nothin', people! If you don't know about the Change Cycle, go here for an explantion.
After you have dreamed up a course of action in Square 2, Square 3 is where you try it out. I say try, because you will probably try and fail… at least a couple of times. It's daunting to try something and have it not work out, but it also puts you in touch with the best part of yourself–your Inner Amazon. She is a badass, but she's also kind and funny. I've talked before about listening to your Inner Guide, the still quiet voice inside you that always has your best interest at heart. Your Inner Amazon is your Inner Guide's big, sassy sister. I picture her as a combination of Beyoncé and Alicia Keys— strong and vibrant, with the battle cry, "You can DO this!"
Your Inner Amazon is a great sidekick in Square 3, because it can be unsettling to keep trying and failing. The movement of Square 3 is circular: you grieve the loss of your old expectations in Square 1, you dream up a new plan in Square 2, you try it out in Square 3, and it bombs. Then it's back to Square 1.
Here's how this showed up in my life recently. My middle child, who found the perfect apartment in May, lost the perfect apartment 6 months later. So, she's been on the hunt for a new place (Square 1). She spent a couple of weeks with me on the phone and the Internet looking at new places that suited her (Square 2). Then she found one that was ideal, after traipsing around Chicago for days, and we both jumped through all the hoops to secure her spot and sign a lease (Square 3). Success! So everything is peachy, right? Wrong. Yesterday, she found out that the other three roommates dropped out! She was sure that she was now responsible for the lease herself (Square 3 failure, back to Square 1), so she called me for help.
Were we freaked out? Not really. Because we both know this is how the Change Cycle works. Worrying is just wasted effort in Square 3. I told her I could help. I did some research, contacted the landlord, and he let her out of the lease. Now she goes back into Square 2 again to dream up a new place to live. We stayed connected, because we know that change is a part of life and control is an illusion. Old Terri would have thrown up my hands and spent a lot of time worrying about where my baby will sleep! What if I can't get out of the lease? What will I do? But my Inner Amazon said, "Come on, T, you got this! Contact the landlord, explain yourself, and have faith."
It's much easier to have faith when you have your Pride to call. Just like in Square 1, you need a friend (or Pride member) to remind you that, "All is well. All will be well. All manner of things will be well." This is my mantra in Square 3. I say it to myself. I say it to my kids. And I have my Pride say it back to me. This mantra has worked with my clients, as they negotiated the Square 3 of divorce, cancer, and their last kid leaving for college. If you're in Square 3 right now, take 3 deep breaths (coincidence? I think not!) No matter how bad things seem, you can call on your own Inner Amazon, and your supportive Pride, to remind you that You Can Do This!
Until next time, be kind to yourselves ☺
PS If you are in the depths of Square 3, without a Pride, I can help! Send me an e-mail an firstname.lastname@example.com to sign up for a free consultation. Go here for more information about Girl Power for Good coaching.


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The leading
Current Cap Count for Non-Immigrant Worker Visas For Fiscal Year 2007
What is a Cap?
What is a Cap?
Established by the Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT), the H-1B nonimmigrant visa category allows U.S. employers to augment the existing labor force with highly skilled temporary workers. H-1B workers are admitted to the United States for an initial period of three years, which may be extended for an additional three years. The H-1B visa program is utilized by some U.S. businesses and other organizations to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise in a specialized field. Typical H-1B occupations include architects, engineers, computer programmers, accountants, doctors and college professors. The current annual cap on the H-1B category is 65,000.
H-1B Advance Degree Exemption
The H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004, which took effect on May 5, 2005, changed the H-1B filing procedures for FY 2005 and for future fiscal years. The Act also makes available 20,000 new H-1B visas for foreign workers with a masters or higher level degree from a U.S. academic institution.
1 Refers to the estimated numbers of beneficiary applications needed to reach the cap, with an allowance for denials and revocations. Each target is subject to revision later in the cap cycle as more petitions are processed.
H-1B1An H-1B1 is a national of Chile or Singapore coming to the Unites States to work temporarily in a specialty occupation. The law defines specialty occupation as a job that requires a bachelors degree or higher. The beneficiary must have a bachelors degree relating to the job offer. Through January 2006, 179 H-1B1s counted against FY06 cap. The combined statutory limit is 6,800 per year.
The H-2B visa category allows U.S. employers in industries with peak load, seasonal or intermittent needs to augment their existing labor force with temporary workers. The H-2B visa category also allows U.S. employers to augment their existing labor force when necessary due to a one-time occurrence which necessitates a temporary increase in workers. Typically, H-2B workers fill labor needs in occupational areas such as construction, health care, landscaping, lumber, manufacturing, food service/processing, and resort/hospitality services.
On May 25, 2005, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) began accepting additional petitions for H-2B workers as required by the Save Our Small and Seasonal Businesses Act of 2005 (SOS Act). The SOS Act allowed USCIS to accept filings beginning May 25, 2005 for two types of H-2B workers seeking work start dates as early as immediately:
For FY 2005 and 2006: All returning workers, meaning workers who counted against the H-2B annual numerical limit of 66,000 during any one of the three fiscal years preceding the fiscal year of the requested start date. This means:
If a petition was approved only for extension of stay in H-2B status, or only for change or addition of employers or terms of employment, the worker was not counted against the numerical limit at that time and, therefore, that particular approval cannot in itself result in the worker being considered a returning worker in a new petition. Any worker not certified as a returning worker will be subject to the numerical limitation for the relevant fiscal year.
What is the H-2B numerical limit set by Congress?
The numerical limit refers to the number of visas issued by Department of State (DOS) to first-time workers and to the number of persons changing to H-2B status determined by USCIS. For FY 2006, the total annual numerical limit or cap is 66,000. Approximately 99 percent of the cap is made up of visas.
Why does USCIS authorize more H-2B workers than the statutory limit?
Employers often decide after submitting a H-2B petition that the workers are no longer needed. However, USCIS still processes these petitions (notification from employers that workers are no longer needed is rare) and sends the approved petitions to DOS for consular processing. If the employers no longer request these workers, DOS will not issue visa for these workers. As a result, workers authorized to work by USCIS will exceed the number of visas issued---the basis of the statutory limit. Another factor is that DOS denies some visas even though USCIS has approved petitions for these workers.
1 Refers to the estimated numbers of beneficiary applications needed to reach a cap, with an allowance for withdrawals, denials and revocations.
An H-3 is an alien temporarily participating in a special education training program in the education of children with physical, mental, or emotional disabilities. As of December 14th, a total of 5 H-3s had been approved in FY 2006. The regulatory limit is 50 per fiscal year.
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In a recent piece of research, I was not surprised to see Facebook and Twitter taking up the lion's share of attention.
Using their online research tool, HighBeam (www.highbeam.com) looked into the total media attention received from the eight major social media tools / platforms in September 2012.
Although Twitter dominated with 55.84 percent of the media attention and Facebook had 40.30 percent, Google Plus received less than 1 percent of media attention. In fact it only had a meagre 0.08%, although they are keen to mention that their "Google+" search had to be performed as "Google Plus" (so results may not have contained all mentions).
However, this is yet another indication that the Google Social Network is really not getting the attention (and therefore the eyeballs) it needs, if is to compete with the big boys.


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A 15-year-old girl sent WhatsApp messages to her friends to say goodbye, then jumped to her death in Mong Kok.
Responding to a citizen's report, police arrived at the scene on Tung Choi Street at around 1 p.m. Wednesday and saw the girl's lifeless body slumped on a building canopy, Ming Pao Daily reported.
The girl, surnamed Wong, was a student of HKICC Lee Shau Kee School of Creativity, police said, adding that there appeared to be no foul play.
Initial investigation showed that Wong was very unhappy with her life, and the WhatsApp messages she sent to her friends spoke of her desire to die.
It was also revealed that about five hours before she jumped off the building, she posted selfies on her Facebook and Instagram accounts showing her standing on the edge of dangerously high places.
She had posted similar pictures on social media in the past, police said.
Friends who saw the photos left messages on her accounts asking her not to be impulsive and telling her that a teacher had called the police to help her.
They said Wong had hinted several times that there was nothing worth living for, although she had been fond of music and participated in almost every musical event in school.
Her school declined to comment on the incident, but said in a statement it has scheduled counseling sessions for all students and teachers. The sessions will be conducted by professionals, it said.
Paul Yip Siu-fai, director of the Center for Suicide Research and Prevention, said the girl should have received more attention from professionals as she had apparently suggested several times, through her social media posts, that she had suicidal tendencies.
EJ Insight supports efforts to help people deal with depression and related issues. Here is the 24-hour multilingual suicide prevention hotline of The Samaritans: +852 2896 0000 (or email [email protected]).
- Contact us at [email protected]