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All About Cassie Swann
We are all manipulated by the media into thinking that in order to be gorgeous, intelligent, lovable and sexually attractive, you have to be a dress size 0. I'd like to say that if you didn't know it already, the underlying message in the Cassandra Swann books is that this is nonsense. Cassie worries constantly about her weight. Cassie is clever, lovable and beautiful, but she can't see it. Having lost her parents at an early age, and thus an orphan, she was already suffering from a sense of alienation, and being forced to grow up with her three tiny cousins – Rose, and twins Hyacinth and Primula – who are tiny in the sense that if you added all their hip and bust measurements together, they'd still add up to less than the span of Cassie's 24″ waist. The twins were inspired by some family get-together I attended along with my three sisters-in-law, each one more slim and slender than I will ever be. Did I mind? Yes …!
Publishers Williams & Whiting have just completed the reissue of my Cassie Swann crime novels, introducing Cassandra Swann, a bridge professional, which is to say she makes a living from various aspects of bridge playing. For instance, she teaches bridge inside the local prison, she goes on cruises and runs courses aboard, she sometimes gets paid to act as a partner to ambitious men (it's always men) hoping to win high stakes at the bridge tables.
The first book in the series, Take-Out Double, starts with a bang, when three people, gathered to play bridge under the guidance of Cassie, are found dead around the bridge table. Who? What? Why?
Each book in the Cassie series, not only tells a story, but also concentrates lightly on different social issues in England at the time they were written, such as education, the treatment of the elderly, racial attitudes and so on. But perhaps the underlying theme in the books is the class war, or the interplay between Cassie herself, and a man called Charlie Quartermain. Charlie Quartermain is based on a good friend of mine who, far from being insulted by the portrait I've drawn of him, was delighted. At one point he even went round calling himself Charlie. And he was every bit as kind, generous and decent as Quartermain himself is. Charlie is overweight, his shirts strain across his huge belly which he is constantly scratching, he has awful teeth, and drinks far too much. But like my friend, Charlie Q is the kindest man you could wish to find with a heart the size of a pyramid. Unlike my friend, he is also a talented stone mason, in demand all across Europe for his abilities to restore the fabric of ancient churches and cathedrals.
Poor Charlie is madly in love with Cassie, but the feeling is far from reciprocated. She thinks she wants one of those public school chinless wonders with a Harris Tweed jacket and a strangulated English accent, and at the core of the series is the question of whether Cassie will ever come to her senses realize that a real gentleman is a man possessed of a big heart, fundamental decency and kindness.
And the last few sentences of the book are guaranteed to bring a lump to the throat!
My writing group leader in France recently gave us the subject The Best Book. What the hell does this mean? The best book for what? Reading in bed? For a long plane journey? The best book for scanning at the breakfast table, propped up against the marmalade jar and the teapot? The best book for reading to a grandchild, or to a husband suffering not from man-flu but from man-mosquito-bites? The best book for propping up a table with a wonky leg? Or for standing on to reach an object on a high shelf? Or for determinedly courting a woman even if she's a nun?*
And in any case, how can you possibly choose a Best Book? Tastes change. Moods change. People change. My last week's best book choice may not be next week's. When I was growing up in a large uncomfortable house in the shingled seaside town of Deal, my brother Barnaby and I would spend hours discussing which ten books we would take with us to a desert island. We could manage to reduce our wide-ranging choices to about eighteen, but only by assuming we could get all of Dickens into a single volume. Ditto Jane Austen. Ditto Rider Haggard. Thomas Hardy. "I have to have Nicholas Nickleby and Our Mutual Friend … and Great Expectations," I would cry. "Plus David Copperfield," he would riposte. "Plus Oliver Twist."
"I want Mansfield Park as well as Pride and Prejudice," I'd say. "Well, I gotta have Tess of the d'Urbevilles,," he'd say. "The Once And Future King," we would fling at each other across the dinner-table. "1984. Wuthering Heights. Jude the Obscure. The Shrimp and the Anemone …Oh, so many books," we would sigh. "How do you decide?"
Our mother considered that fresh air was the most beneficial of health aids – or did she just want to get rid of us all for an hour or two? – so my brother and I were often locked out of the house, which was fine by us. We simply walked the mile and a half into town, breathing deeply of the fine sea air, and headed straight for our local library. It's all been revamped now, with fancy curving stacks, spaces for Senior Citizens to sit and play cards, open-plan Reference and Children's sections, plus computers, art displays, greetings cards and newspapers. Given the library cuts which seem endemic all over the rest of the UK, we consider ourselves deeply fortunate.
But back in the day, as the phrase-du-jour has it, the town library was housed in an adapted suburban villa, staffed by dour women in hand-knitted lacy jumpers which flaunted their underwear to the unwilling gaze of book-borrowers. As well as the normal collection of books, there was a big room for childrens' books – though no toys or games or playthings in bright yellow, purple or pink plastic – and two reading rooms. Reading Room One was full of newspapers and smelly old men, some of whom rustled the pages as they pretended to read, some of whom slept, unshaven faces flat on the table in front of them, some of whom from time to time reached surreptitiously into the pockets of their tattered Army great-coats and brought out hip-flasks from which they took stealthy nips.
However, it was Reading Room Two that drew in my brother and me. We would clatter up the linoleumed stairs, turn the handle, push open the door – and there we were! Our own private Aladdin's Cave. Our treasure trove. Our new found land. The room was about ten foot square, shelved all round and crammed with books. There was a gas-fire, always lit in winter, and a table in the middle where we could sit and read all day long, if we wanted to. No-one else ever came in to disturb us though I sometimes wonder now if the grim ladies at the check-out desk didn't sometimes creep upstairs to see if we were behaving ourselves. Which we always were. Or appeared to be.
We did learn to bring a furtive sandwich with us, from which we'd occasionally take cautious bites, despite the sign informing us that no eating or drinking was allowed. We were always very very careful not to get finger-marks on anything, having been taught from our earliest years that Books Are Our Friends, and must be treated accordingly. So no turning down the top corner of a page. No placing the book face down with its pages splayed. No careless replacing of a volume so its covers were damaged, though that would have been difficult, given the hard-carapaced treatment that library books were given back then.
You may think we were insufferable swots who should have been drowned at birth, but we weren't. Just two out of the five children of a poor Oxford academic with not very much money. Just two little bookworms.
I recently bought a book called The Novel Cure which purports to offer the reader an A-Z of Literary Remedies. For instance, if you have a horror of old age, read Old Filth, by Jane Gardam, or if you are over a hundred, read any one of ten novels, including not only the brilliant 100 year old man who climbed out of a window and disappeared, but also Winnie-the-Pooh. Why? Second childhood? Or just to cheer you up?
But if we could only choose one book, the best book, to take to this mythical island. One each. Which would it be? What horror, what torture to have to pick just one. Back then, I would unhesitatingly have plumped for Vanity Fair, a novel which seems to me to have everything you need in a book. Today? Would it be the same choice? Almost certainly, since I've not yet found that enormous concertina-stretch of all Dickens' novels in one volume.
*NB In the case of doggedly pursuing a nun, apparently The Novel Cure's remedy is to read: Michael Ondatje's The English Patient
Deaths In Venice
I'm just back from five days in Venice. What a city! What an experience! However many times I visit the place, I never fail to be enraptured by the way the very stones are drenched in history, art and literature. No wonder so many books and plays are set there. From Shakespeare to Thomas Mann and Henry James to The Glassblower of Murano and Miss Garnet's Angel, it is a city of artistic inspiration. And who can forget the haunting movies like Don't Look Now, or Death In Venice, to name but two?
But under the opulent façade has always lurked debauchery and decay. This is probably true of most iconic cities, but surely more so in a place so defined and characterized by water. For a crime writer, the labyrinthine system of calles and alleys, the sotoportegos – alleyways which run beneath a building – the confusingly similar streets bordering confusingly similar canals, the dozens of little bridges which take you somewhere you hadn't quite expected to go. And everywhere so evocatively beautiful …
Late November is a good time to go, when the frenetic tourist season has abated somewhat. One morning we took a vaporetto out to the island of Burano. It lay on the horizon like a string of coloured beads, which as we grew closer, sorted themselves out into individual houses all painted in the brightest of shades, from rose-pink to crimson to brilliant green and startling blues to every possible shade under the sun. We went across the Laguna for research purposes – my next book, Quick on the Draw – has some central scenes set there, but as soon as we disembarked, I could see that some major rewriting would be needed. The streets are wider, the canal banks closer to each other, the houses more spaced out. So how will Alex Quick be able to foul the kidnappers? Or oversee the payment of a ransom? Or be shoved into a damp basement when of course there are no basements?
On the other hand, there are some very useful more or less uninhabited islets between Burano and Venice … dodgy doings could occur there if not on Burano itself.
As we zoomed back across the Lagoon, disturbing huge gatherings of loons and cormorants, Venice glowed in front of us, the setting sun making it seem as though it was caught in a burning fiery furnace. Sadly, we could see the black silhouettes of towers and campaniles listing vaguely to one side, as the sea continues to encroach on the city.
I wonder, as I settle to my rewrites, whether I might need to go back pretty soon … for research purposes, of course.
Are there now too many crime fiction festivals? Various critics believe there are. Sometimes it seems as though every village, hamlet and isolated farmhouse is holding one – but is this a bad thing? Crime novels are the most-issued books from libraries, the most popular purchase from bookshops and on-line. Crime readers are a devoted band with a harmless addiction. Can this be bad?
As for crime writers, well, what can I say? A more gifted, friendly, witty and congenial bunch it would be hard to find. I had ample renewed proof of this – as if I needed it – at the recent gathering in Reykjavik, at Iceland Noir, a nearly-three day event crammed with panels, talks and outings. Not only were the usual suspects in attendance, there was a heart-warming number of up-and-comings, both Icelandic and English-speaking. I've talked recently (at Heffers bookshop in Cambridge) on the writers of the Golden Age, usually taken to mean the crime fiction authors producing between the two wars. But it seems to me that we have now entered a third Golden Age, given the quality and variety of crime fiction currently being delivered.
I say 'third', because some twenty or so years ago, there was a second renaissance in the crime fiction world, a flowering of talent in a surge headed by Mesdames Rendell and James, with a host of other talented writers crowding on their heels.
Iceland itself, although perhaps coming a little late to the Scandi crime fiction table, can now front up with any of the leading lights of Norway, Sweden or Denmark, especially as publishers and translators are wising up to the local potential. The countryside itself is an inspiration to any would-be crime writer: mountains, glaciers, geysers, lava-fields just waiting for corpses to be disposed of in their manifold cracks and gullies. And snow. So much snow. Not just the odd shower, but thick, heavy, enfolding, all-embracing, claustrophobic snow. If you've seen the brilliant Iceland-based series Trapped, you'll know what I mean. Agatha Christie made do with country houses cut off by snow, but in Iceland, whole communities can be isolated by avalanche, pack-ice or snow-blocked tunnels.
Given the weather, no wonder that Iceland has one of the highest rates of book reading inhabitants in the world. Not only do they read books, they also buy them, not just for themselves but to give away as gifts. This has meant that even despite the crash of 2008, the publishing industry managed not only to hang on in there, but actually to flourish. Reading is a long-established tradition in Iceland: one of my favourite paintings in the National Gallery in Reykjavik shows a family several hundred years ago, holed up in their cabin. The woman and older children are engaged in pursuits such as weaving, sewing, mending and so on, by the light of lamps, while the man of the family reads aloud to them from a real book. Given those pre-public lending library days, it always astonishes – and delights – me that a peasant family could have afforded such a book, or would have wanted to spend their surely meagre resources on purchasing it.
Iceland Noir is one of those not-to-be-missed crime fiction festivals. And returning to my question at the beginning of this blog, I would argue strongly that there can't be too many of them. Especially since most of them are excellent. If the organizers can get the funding, the rest will follow, especially the readers who make up the bulk of the audiences. Which reminds me: another not-to-be-missed event is the third annual Deal Noir event, taking place on March 25th, 2017 and organized by publisher Mike Linane and myself. Small but perfectly formed, showcasing new talent and old, it promises to be as successful as the last two. Don't miss it.
Motives For Murder
I was pretty thrilled to be at the Dorchester Hotel last Thursday evening for a Detection Club Dinner, at which Martin Edwards, the newly-elected President, presented a volume of short crime stories – Motives For Murder – to our distinguished member, Peter Lovesey, on the occasion of his 80th birthday.
The Detection Club, founded in 1930, has a long and eccentric history. But that's not surprising, given its founders and its members. On certain occasions, when new members are to be inducted, all lights are suddenly extinguished, sepulchral voices echo in the darkness, an illuminated skull known as Eric is carried in on a cushion, and a general shuffling and giggling from the massed member following on behind. In the olden days, Dorothy L Sayers, herself a former President, was exuberantly prone to brandishing a pistol and firing indiscriminately at the ceiling or the walls. As far as I am aware, no member was ever actually winged, but it was eventually deemed necessary by the management to curtail these activities.
Motives For Murder is another in a longish line of collaborative efforts from the members of the Club. Write a short story was the brief, preferably with references to Peter Lovesey's life and works in some shape or form – oh, and please get it done PDQ, since the time between conception and publication was short indeed. I am truly delighted to have been invited to contribute to this project, and to find my own offering – A Village Affair – included.
Truth exists: only lies are invented Georges Braque
I recently read in the on-line version of the Daily Mail of yet another woman cheated out of her life savings by a con-man. The victims of these confidence tricksters always seem to be strong, educated, independent people, who held down responsible jobs. So what is it that induces them to hand over thousands and thousands of pounds to a smooth-talking virtual stranger? However emotionally needy they are, however desperate for love, what makes them believe his lies? Call me a cold-hearted cynic, but at the first mention of short-term business difficulties, inheritances delayed by bureaucracy, temporary financial embarrassment or exciting commercial opportunities, I would be off like a shot. Or, rather he would. At the toe of my boot.
"I'm a liar," John le Carré states boldly in his newly-published memoir, The Pigeon Tunnel – though I don't for a single moment suggest that he is – well, a liar. He says that the true stories it contains are told from memory, then adds that the reader is entitled to ask what is truth and what is memory? He then goes on to assure us that he has not consciously misrepresented any of the events he describes, though he may have disguised them. And where his memory is shaky, he has told us.
Le Carré was trained into falsehood by virtue of his career, first at university where he worked undercover for British security, spying on lefty student groups, later acting as a spook for MI5, before, later still, becoming a novelist. I'm not quite sure how his insistence that he hasn't falsified anything fits with the statement above … all writers of fiction are necessarily liars, earning their usually meagre crust by misrepresentations. Because at its crudest, writing fiction means telling lies.
As a crime writer, I'm particularly involved in untruths. So many plots hinge on characters lying through their teeth in an effort to divert attention from themselves, or in order to deliberately mislead the detective questioning them in the course of investigating the case. I think it all boils down to a single truth: ever since that primal sin in Eden, one way or another, we are all guilty – readers, writers, fictional characters. If not of murder, then of distortion in one form or another. Haven't we all at some time in our lives made ourselves out to be richer (or poorer) than we really are, more (or less) successful, in better (or worse) health? I know I have.
Sometimes the consequences of a lie can be devastating. You need look no further than Harper Lee's masterpiece: To Kill A Mockingbird, set in the Deep South, where the lie given out by the feckless white girl, Mayella Ewell, daughter of the town drunk, that she was raped by Tom Robinson, an innocent black man, causes uproar and division in the town of Maycomb, and leads directly to his completely undeserved death.
And again, in Ian McEwan's Atonement, a deliberate lie shatters several lives. Jealous of her older sister's love affair with Robbie Turner, son of the housekeeper at the family's country estate, Briony insists that she saw Robbie raping her cousin, as well as her sister Cecilia, and the innocent Robbie is sent to jail, his life ruined. As is Cecilia's. At the end of her life, Briony tries to make amends for her lie – but can anyone make amends for causing such destruction?
Then there is the evil Iago, who sets out to destroy the happiness of Othello, whom he hates, with not just subtle or not-so-subtle hints but also with outrageous lies about Othello's innocent, loving and faithful wife Desdemona.
But does a lone falsehood mark the perpetrator out as a liar? And does a 'white lie' constitute a real lie? A friend of mine recently donned a trouser suit – the trousers knee-length – topped with a kind of Judaic black brimmed hat which had belonged to her husband's grandfather. "Do I look all right?" she asked, as we walked towards her car, and I didn't have the guts to tell her she looked eccentric beyond words. I lied and was punished by excessive feelings of guilt.
More down-to-earth than Iago and his Machiavellian plans are several other iconic liars. Many of them we learn about in childhood. Pinocchio, for instance, the wooden puppet made by Geppetto the wood-carver, who from the very first moment he was completed, was rude, mischievous and unlikeable. Above all, he told lies, despite the fact that the more he lied, the longer his nose grew.
I remember my grandmother telling me the story of The Boy Who Cried Wolf. The Boy was a shepherd who repeatedly yelled that his flock was being attacked by wolves. When the villagers came running to help, the lad just laughed at them. So of course, when a wolf did actually appear and the boy screamed for help, the villagers assumed that it was another false alarm and the boy couldn't prevent the sheep being carried off by the wolf. "And what do you think is the moral of this story?" Granny asked, but we didn't know, not really, since we'd never been in charge of a flock of sheep, and were never likely to be. "Liars are their own worst enemies," snapped Granny. "Keep on lying, and even if you do eventually tell the truth, no one will believe you."
As Hilaire Belloc's Matilda found out. Matilda told such dreadful lies, it made you gasp and stretch your eyes. Out of sheer mischief, one day she called the fire brigade and said her aunt's house was on fire, bringing firemen from all over London racing to dowse the non-existent flames and forcing the aunt to pay them to leave. Naturally, a few weeks later, there really was a fire, but when the frantic Matilda screamed for help, nobody believed her and she was burned to a crisp. "Serve her right!" was Granny's compassionate verdict.
Oh, there are so many liars around, both fictional and real! And so many lies are lies of omission, in real life as in fiction, as people seek to hide something from others: an indiscretion in the past, an adulterous affair, an illegitimate child, even a prison sentence or, worse still, a murder. But even these are usually relatively harmless. It's the Lie Political which is the most damaging … you only have to remember the thousands of lives lost over the years because world leaders have lied.
My husband and I came over to Copenhagen on the lst of September, to celebrate his birthday with his family. For a number of reasons, good and not-so-good, we are still here! Not-so-good because John has to undergo some medical tests, always a bit scary. Good, because in the past, we spent one of the happiest years of our joint lives here, in this wonderful city.
Yesterday we strolled past the colourful building right in the centre where we lived in a large flat overlooking the boat-lined canal called Nyhavn. It's the place the tourists go to in order to soak up a bit of Danish atmosphere and beer.
The great children's writer, Hans Christian Andersen, lived in several flats up and down Nyhavn, but he actually ended his days in the apartment directly below ours. One of the rooms is a shrine to him, with photographs of him at work, and memorabilia in the shape of books, papers and furniture. When we were there, I wrote every day at a window enjoying the same view as he did.
He was a kind of prototype for The Man Who Came To Dinner, for he would invite himself to stay overnight with his acquaintances and then somehow not leave, sometimes for weeks or even months. He once went to have dinner with Charles Dickens and, as Dickens later wrote: Hans Andersen stayed here for three weeks and to us it seemed like ages.
On the other hand, Edmund Gosse, the English poet, author and memoirist, described meeting him as follows: There appeared in the doorway a very tall elderly gentleman, dressed in a complete suit of brown, and in a curly wig of the same shade of snuff-colour. I was almost painfully struck, at the first moment, by the grotesque ugliness of his face and hands, and by his enormously long and swinging arms, but this impression passed away as soon as he began to speak. His eyes, although they were small, had great sweetness and vivacity of expression, while gentleness and ingenuousness breathed from everything he said. He had been prepared to expect a young English visitor, and he immediately took my hand in his two big ones, patting and pressing it. Though my hands have no delicacy to boast of, yet in those of Hans Andersen, they seemed like pebbles in a running brook …
The face of HA was that of a peasant, and a long lifetime of sensibility and culture had not removed from it the stamp of the soil. But it was astonishing how quickly this first impression subsided, while a sense of his great inward distinction took its place. He had but to speak, almost but to smile, and the man of genius stood revealed.
Is it too arrogant of me to picture what might have happened if he had still been alive while I was living above him? I can so easily imagine him popping up for cups of tea with me ("As fellow writers, my dear Mrs Moody, we must stick together, for only a colleague can truly understand the angst of a writer's life …") which would inevitably have developed into long long sessions about his piles or his sinuses or the fact that nobody loved him. For he was – let's face it – a champion whinger.
Or perhaps he would have wanted to read to me – in Danish – as he frequently did to other ladies, frowning if I fidgetted, or failed to catch the more subtle nuances of his prose. I would have sympathized. One of the duties of the Spouse of a Writer is to be ready at the click of a Shift key not only to listen to the latest pages of work without falling asleep, but also to chuckle loudly at the jokes, nod appreciatively at the Good Bits and make intelligent comments.
Much more likely, believing as he did, that he was the world's greatest author, H C Andersen would have considered me beneath his notice and been one of those neighbours who turn their head away when they bump into you, pretending they haven't seen you despite the fact that you're crammed together into a tiny lift, separated by no more than the width of a sheet of A4 paper.
And who could really have blamed him?
After all, I'm just a jobbing hack, while he is undoubtedly the world's most gifted writer of iconic fairy tales. Stories like the Little Mermaid, the Ugly Duckling, the Emperor's New Clothes, the Nightingale, are part of everyone's spiritual legacy because they probe into the deepest part of our psyches, they describe experiences that we are all familiar with, for love and the loss of love, pain and joy, suffering and death, are universal, shared by the whole of mankind.
I visualize his long nose quivering, faintly red at the tip and undoubtedly damp, tears trickling down his long cheeks, his curiously large and pliable mouth as he lists his latest symptoms, or brings out a pair of scissors and deftly cuts a sheet of paper into rows of dancing bears or soldiers, a minor art-form at which he was particularly adept.
Last week, I was sitting with friends in the little town of Verteillac, in the Dordogne, enjoying a plateful of fish and chips. Fish and chips, you may be thinking scornfully. In France? Well, yes. They make the most delicious examples of that classic English dish that I've ever tasted. They call it poisson et pommes frites on the menu, but basically it's battered cod and chips. And the mushy peas are to die for.
Anyway, there we were, discussing, as one so often does, what we could remember of our school days. I said that I spent eight years on Latin and Latin Set Books, and all I could remember was Mensa, Mensa, Mensam, a few tags and aphorisms, and, of course, the opening sentence of Caesar's Gallic Wars. "Omnia Gallia in tres partes divisa est," I said. All of Gaul is divided into three parts. A particularly suitable quote since we were sitting in part of what was once known as Gaul.
Now it's not often that the distant past rises out of the depths of time and impinges on the present. Oh sure: there are castles galore and burial mounds and ancient artefacts in museums. Nor do I really believe in ghosts. But doppelgängers? Absolutely I do. Because there, last Friday, blow me if he didn't pass right by us and sit down at the next table. Yes, Caesar himself! Straight off the back of any Roman coin you care to mention. He wasn't wearing a toga or a laurel wreath but I recognized him at once. That classic, combed-forward, Roman Emperor hair-style. Those prominent cheek-bones. That penetrating eagle-gaze. The lean and hungry look of a professional soldier. And most telling of all: the nose! It was a stunning feature of his face, patrician and dignified, fully fitting the noblest Roman of them all. I couldn't help staring. I felt I had a personal connection to him since on his second arrival in Britain, in 54BC, he landed in Deal, where I often live, his boats surging unopposed up the shallow shingle beach to take over Britain.
I'm not always keen on the idea of seeing my fictional creations realised on screen, although it's been mooted several times. They never look as I imagine them. There was an exciting moment when Motown Movie Productions drew up a contract for one of my Penny Wanawake novels, which would star Harry Belafonte as Dr Benjamin Wanawake, with his daughter Shari Belafonte playing my protagonist, the beautiful black girl, his daughter Penny. I was okay with Shari, but rather iffy about Harry. Still, a film of my novel, wrapped up and ready to go, was always going to be better than a battered copy mouldering in a second hand book store, so I was pretty excited. We were all set to go, I'd picked out a dress to wear to the premiere, bought the shoes, and then … the Screenwriters and Artists Guild went on strike, the project was put on hold and by the time the dispute had been sorted, the original funding had been allocated elsewhere.
Back to doppelgängers … once I was walking down the King's Road in Chelsea and there, on the other side of the road, was my protagonist, Penny Wanawake herself, sashaying along, all six-foot plus of her, the beads of her corn-row braids clicking together. What to do? I couldn't really accost her and ask if she was Penny, adding that if so, I was her onlie begetter. But before I could decide on a course of action, she had turned into Peter Jones and by the time I'd fought my way through the traffic, she'd completely disappeared.
But if any film producer wants to remake Julius Caesar on screen and is looking for someone to play the name part, he could do a lot worse than show up in Verteillac on a Friday night, and look for Julius Caesar's doppelgänger chowing down on poisson et pommes frites.
Black Is the Colour …
I've just reviewed a crime novel called Black Water Lilies by Michel Bussi, (promotingcrime.blogspot.co.uk). The book is set in Giverny, the small village near Paris where Monet lived for many years, creating a glorious garden and – among other works – his water-lily series of paintings. A body is found. There are rum
ours of many more paintings stashed away in house in the village, including a painting where the colours are so muted they appear to be black. The story is seen from the viewpoint of three women of the village (an old one, a mid-life one and an eleven-year-old), and it's a corker. Unusual, compelling, and steeped in Monet, I really couldn't stop reading until I reached the end. And the extraordinary 'reveal'.
Having reluctantly come to the end, I was reminded of other books featuring black flowers. I reckon most crime and/or history buffs will have read The Black Tulip, by Alexandre Dumas, a tale of tulipomania in Holland, of obsession, envy and hatred, of the flowering of romantic love in the unlikeliest of places, interwoven with real events of the day, including the brutal murders of two Dutch statesman in 1672 . I've read this many times and still enjoy it.
Another black flower gives its name to the famous, and still unsolved murder of Elizabeth Short, in 1947. She was nicknamed The Black Dahlia by a Los Angeles newspaper, though I've never discovered why. Before she was killed, she'd been forced to eat faeces. Pieces of flesh had been shaved off her body and along with pubic hair had been pushed into her vagina and rectum. Her uterus was removed. She was given a 'Glasgow Smile', ie her mouth was slashed from both corners to her ears. Horrible, I think you'd agree. So why have dozens of people confessed over the years to being the killer? Weird.
And then of course there's my own book, Penny Black, which deals with the race to find a truly black orchid. I'd spent a couple of years in France, working at the prestigious family-run orchid growers of Vacherot & Lecoufle in Boissy-St-Leger. I felt I knew a thing or two about orchids. At the time of writing my book, a truly black orchid had not yet been found. Images I've looked at are pretty close – but the black is really a very dark purple. Will they ever achieve their goal?
A Tale Of More Than Two Megabytes
I have never had my arm removed or my hand chopped off, but I know exactly the sense of loss I would experience. Pretty much as I've felt for the past couple of weeks in rural France. Sounds exaggerated? Sounds overly dramatic? Sounds as though I have neither sympathy nor empathy for those poor people who genuinely have lost an arm or a hand?
Of course I have. But it's only when your internet access is cut off for days, even weeks at a time, that you fully realize the extent to which we writers are dependent on it. If I want to check the name of a film or the words of a song, I only have to press a key or two and the information is in front of me. If I want to verify the first name of Catalan architect Gaudí (it's Antoni) or the years of the American Civil War, I can do so without moving from my chair.
Not to have that facility is peculiarly disorientating. I don't spend hours on Facebook 'chatting' to people. Nor do I play silly games with virtual coloured sweets. I use the internet for most of the necessities of a writers' life: fact-checking, information, maintaining friendships, for learning new stuff and rediscovering old. And here in France, I use it for reading the newspaper. Not to have these resources available at my fingertips is, not to put too fine a point on it, like losing a limb.
There is many a fictional character who has, in fact, done that. Captain Hook, for instance. Hand bitten off by a crocodile. Titus Andronicus, yet one more bloody episode in a play so crowded with them that the nerves become desensitized. Moby Dick, leg eaten by a whale. Frodo, from Lord of the Rings, finger bitten off by Gollum. Darth Vader, arm removed by the Sith Lord.
But they weren't attempting to write books in rural France. I have to admit that – to his astonishment – I kissed the guy who fixed my internet contact. For roughly the same price, I now have unlimited access, instead of the two measly megabytes a month that I was allowed before. I feel like Dr Manette, in A Tale of Two Cities … Restored To Life.
Not having access should have freed up a lot of time for reading and writing. It freed up the time, all right, but it was harder to get back to the discipline of producing work or reading for review. I'm there now – I think – and have a deadline. Nothing better at stiffening the sinews and summoning up the creative juices as a deadline.
I recently lunched with three writer friends, all achieving women in their fields. The talk was thought-provoking, amusing and non-stop. At one point it turned to the actual place of work. We all know about George Bernard Shaw and his revolving shed, or JK Rowling and her coffee bar. One of us, an academic and the recent biographer of Georgette Heyer, has a study lined with books, an expensive coffee-maker and no interruptions. Another, a writer of Regency romances, lives in a house so small that in order to write, she has to retreat to the bath, where she sits on a bean-bag with a board across the edges. She said she had a friend who used to lock herself into her car and work in the back seat.
The third writer, another romantic novelist, told us that until recently, when her youngest child finally started going to school, she used to write in her childrens' playpen. Originally she'd popped them in there and had sat at a table to write, but the mayhem and disturbance caused by the imprisoned offspring was so volcanic that in the end she reversed places, let the kids do their worst in the living room and moved her table, chair and computer into the pen. "Worked a treat," she said, many successful novels later. "We had to repair the furniture, of course. And buy a new TV. And replace the dinner service. But all in all, it was worth it."
All three of them turned to me. "And you, Susan: where do you write?"
Well, I told them, for several years, I wrote on a hospital table. This fitted neatly over my double bed and could easily be pushed back or pulled forward. Perfect. I didn't have to get up. There was plenty of room for my computer, my reference books, my notes, plus thermoses of hot tea and rolls of biscuits. Not to mention side pockets for newspapers and magazines. I loved the feeling of being trapped there, of not being allowed to get out of bed until I'd done my daily quota of 2,000 words (that was then. It's a lot less than that now!).
And then, I said, a long-held dream came true: I bought a house in France. My Number One son wanted to know if I was pre-Alzheimic but his brother pointed out that there was nothing pre- about my condition, I'd always been like that.
"But at your age … " persisted Number One.
"We don't talk about that," I said. "On pain of being disinherited."
He began to mutter about the beams in the house, on which anyone over four feet high was liable to split their heads open or have their eye gouged out on the walnut dowels which protruded from every point where two beams intersected – an ancient method of stabilizing the roofs and to me an attractive feature rather than a physical danger.
That wasn't the point. The main attraction of my Dream was the dépendence in the garden, a converted pigsty of old stone and red pantiles, completely separate from the main house, with electricity, a tiled floor, three tiny windows letting in light and spiders, and a glazed door which opened onto the green of the garden. A sign now swings above this door, which says Chez Suzanne, carved in Gothic lettering. An ancient waist-high beam at one end acts as a bookshelf, though there are also subsidiary bookcases. I can plug in my laptop, my printer, a lamp. I can make tea and chomp down Rich Tea biscuits (I know this is France, but they don't do biscuits like the Brits do and there are times when a madeleine or a green or pink macaroon simply won't do).
This is my retreat, my private domain, where I can sit and read, or think or, when the mood strikes, actually work. No phone, no radio, no TV. I'm free to get on with doing what I like doing best, which is to write. It's what I've wanted all my professional life.
Funny thing is, the more released from disturbance and interruption I am, the less inclined I am to put finger to key. How perverse is this? I've sought for years to get away from demanding children, querulous spouses, butchers, bakers and Jehovah's Witnesses. And now that I have achieved this Nirvana, I find it ten times more difficult to write. I have the perfect conditions for producing deathless prose, scintillating dialogue, plots the envy of the entire crime-and-suspense fraternity, yet the words have to be gouged out of me like someone excavating Pompeii with a teaspoon.
Reluctantly I'm coming to the conclusion that I ought to buy a bean-bag and sit in the bath, or work from the back of the car. Or better still, buy a hospital table.
I am thrilled to have my Penelope Wanawake crime series restored to life by the ambitious new publisher Williams & Whiting. The Penny books were my very first entrants into the world of crime writing, more than thirty years ago, and sent me off into a career in detective fiction which over the years has introduced me to any number of like-minded people, made me dozens of new friends, given me responsibility, seen me taking part in conventions and conferences in a dozen different countries.
It all came about when the Sunday Times set up a competition to find a fresh fictional female detective, since at the time, most people could only come up with Miss Jane Marple. The paper was looking for someone completely different. I can do that, I thought. Unfortunately, I thought for too long.
Would I have won? Of course I would! But like so many things in my life, I let it slide and in the end, didn't send anything in. The competition came and went. I have no idea who the winner was.
But the notion stayed with me . I tentatively wrote one chapter featuring a tall black feisty heroine called Penny. I gave her a Raffles-type gentleman-thief sidekick and lover, called Barnaby Midas. By making Barnaby a white South African, I was blowing a deliberate raspberry at the apartheid laws of that country. Although I'd never been to South Africa, I was at home here: I'd spent nearly ten years living in Tennessee where many of the same rules applied: black and white were kept strictly apart: segregated swimming pools, segregated housing, restaurants, legal rights. It was in the tumultuous Sixties, a time of marches and protests, of brave individuals standing up for their rights against the entrenched prejudice of the day. Crosses were on peoples' lawns – including mine. The Klan came into town. Three civil rights workers were shot dead. Four little girls were killed when the Klan bombed a church in Birmingham, Alabama.
I wanted a black heroine who refused to be intimidated by anyone or anything. So that first chapter was followed by a second, then a third. At the time, the only crime writer I knew was the award-winning James McClure, creator of the matchless Kramer and Zondi series, which said more about South Africa during the apartheid years than all the polemics and political agitation did. I told him about it, he asked to see it, read it and remarked: "You know it's good, don't you?"
And kindly, he organized for me to send it to George Hardinge at Macmillan. The rest is history. Or at least, my history.
Penny was the first black heroine in the literature. On the outside, Penny bears no resemblance to her creator. On the inside … well, that's for the reader to judge. She was intended to be the feminist answer to James Bond, Travis McGee and the other freewheeling heroes of the literature, at liberty to go down whichever mean streets she chose, cracking wise all over the place, free to sleep with whomsoever she wished. Until AIDS struck, and it no longer seemed appropriate. As my publisher at the time said, we needed to eliminate any possible 'sleaze factor'.
Despite that, the Penny books received accolades that made me gasp with pleasure.
Williams & Whiting have done me proud. The new and improved Penny books have been given striking new covers, guaranteed to make the potential reader reach out and pick them up, and I've written an introduction for each book. I hope they'll beguile my former readers into rereading them, and entice new readers into trying them.


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Hearing the news that legislators passed a bill to eliminate due process protections for our public school teachers was disheartening for me as a former legislator.
In the 1977 session, I researched hundreds of instances in which superintendents and/or school boards arbitrarily and without cause terminated experienced and dedicated teachers in Kansas public schools. Usually, the real reason for this action was never publicly revealed because the teacher had given a school board member's or superintendent's child an honest grade, or the board needed to save money by replacing experienced teachers, or some stooge had complained about the teacher's appearance, political stance or other personal quality. In many cases, no advance notice was given and the teacher wasn't represented at a hearing or even be afforded the opportunity to be heard.
I authored a bill as chairman of the House Education Committee and asked the entire committee to sponsor it. Working closely with representatives on both sides of the aisle, we were able to shepherd the bill through the House and Senate. Folks present at the packed hearings were stunned at the tragic, humiliating, ridiculous stories personally given by teachers to the unfair, undemocratic and scandalous ways they had been treated.
It's so sad that this job protection and due process promised by our 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is now apparently about to be eliminated by those duped by the School Board Association, superintendents and principals. Teachers and parents in Kansas will again have to stand up for protection from this coalition, and fight back to retain this constitutional due process protection.
No school board member or superintendent should be empowered with this type of arbitrary, dictatorial and unchecked authority.
Let Gov. Sam Brownback know of your support for basic due process protection for our teachers.
ROGER ROBERTSON, Lenexa

subset: commoncrawl


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Hi, I'm making a Java web calendar. I'm currently researching the web for what's already been done, so that I can get a better understanding how to build a good calendar.
I've found a few open source web calendars on source forge, but nothing really worth mentioning until i came across this one:
Calendar servlet
Problem is I can't find it's source anywhere
So if anyone know where I can get the source for it, I'd appreciate if you could share.
If you also know of other open source Java web calendars, please share as well.


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This is a popular one, perpetuated by fitness and fashion magazines.
Only one study ever linked drinking water with skin hydration. That study used expensive mineral water, not plain bottled or tap water, and the study didn't have a control group.
No study has ever shown regular water has any impact on your skin and no controlled study has ever shown that any type of drinking water has an effect on your skin.
From a physiologic perspective, drinking water could only have a negligible impact on your skin's hydration. In fact, patients who have too much water in their tissues (edema) do not have healthy skin. For example, patients with venus insufficiency who have swollen, fluid filled legs have skin that is often dry, itchy, and scaly.
The amount of water in your skin after a 5 minute shower is magnitudes higher than you could achieve by trying to hydrate it from the inside out. The key is to apply a cream or ointment when your skin is still wet to seal in the moisture.
Then drink as little or as much water as you like.


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Batman's movie Tumbler and Bat-Pod are in San Antonio today to promote next month's "The Dark Knight Rises," and not even villainous heat will stop fans that want peeks and photos.
The onsite organizers behind the so-called Tumbler Tour noted the vehicles are indeed the originals filmed in the previous Christopher Nolan films "Batman Begins" and "The Dark Knight." No one was allowed inside the Tumbler or on the Bat-Pod but just as well. That black behemoth and bike probably feel like Bat-stoves in outdoor temperatures expected to reach north of 100 degrees.
That heat didn't stop one costumed fan from donning full Batman garb and growl for photos. Nor did it stop the likes of 8-year-old Corbin Sackey with his Batman cape and toy Tumbler or Fernando Araiza and his 2-year-old niece Ylena in her classic Batman T-shirt. See them and more shots above.
The Tumbler Tour is at the Walmart at 1603 Vance Jackson until 3 p.m. today, then hits the Santikos Palladium IMAX at 17703 W IH-10 from 6 to 9 p.m. Be sure to bring your Bat-water.
(All photos by René A. Guzman/EXPRESS-NEWS.)
• Batman's Tumbler and Bat-Pod roll into town Wednesday
Got geek news, insights or other mana? E-mail me. And follow me on Twitter for more tomgeekery.


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Red River Basin Mapping Initiative
The Red River Basin Mapping Initiative was a three-year, $5.0 million effort to collect highly accurate Light Detecting and Ranging Data (LiDAR) over the entire US portion of the Red River Basin and make these data available to the public via the internet through a LiDAR Viewer and LiDAR Download Portal.
International Joint Commission (IJC 2000), the International Flood Mitigation Initiative(IFMI 2000), and the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE 2004) documented the need for initiating efforts to acquire highly accurate elevation data for the Red River of the North Basin following the devastating flood of 1997. These data are are essential to improve disaster preparedness, protect existing infrastructure, plan for flood and drought damage mitigation projects, enhance agricultural production, and strengthen private and public decision-making capacity.
Project Team:


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Product Features
With visions of the famed yellow jersey, riders now have the opportunity to push themselves to the top with the Tour De France Stage One Pro Bike. Named of course after the most famous cycling race of all time, the bike is mobile enough to transition between both course and road racing, while giving each rider the option of going 14 different speeds along the way. Those riders wanting to fly will also notice a classic steel drop bar that allows anyone to safely reach their limit of maximum speed without much resistance. The Stage One Pro Bike has all the tools to fit the needs of all riders.
NOTE: All complete bikes are sold and delivered partially assembled. Final assembly should be done by a qualified Bike technician. Failure to have the bike assembled by a qualified technician may void the warranty and could result in damage and/or injury if not assembled correctly. As an industry standard, some bikes might have minor cosmetic blemishes due to the nature of shipping.


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LONDON (Jun. 18)
The Soviet Union has temporarily suspended the emigration of Russian Jews to Israel, due to the Middle East crisis, it was reported here today from Moscow. The report said that some 40 Jews who already had exit visas were not permitted to leave the country. So far, there has been no official Soviet comment on the matter.
The staff at the Israel Embassy in Moscow, meanwhile began leaving the Soviet capital today, following the break in diplomatic relations between the two countries. Ten Israeli diplomats and their families left this morning by air for Tel Aviv.
(No date has been set for the departure of the members of the Soviet Embassy staff from Israel, but the Soviet ship "Felix Dzerdzinski" arrived from Odessa this weekend to Haifa, to evacuate 70 persons from the Soviet Embassy. The crew of the Soviet ship included five Jews and several women marines.)


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There's a bit more about the Emerald Tablets on this thread, tied in with a warning about the Dracos, and how the human race is being used for them to get into the 5th dimension.
bandi wrote:I sent this Sorting Out the Lennon Multiples to a man that I respect. His reply is here:
"I have no idea what's going on with Lennon's mouth, but seems to me it
could involve metal crowns on his molars; the straight line might be
actually from the back of his tongue when singing a particular word, or
might be a photographic artifact of some kind - or not. But how are we
ever gonna know? The hand moving toward McCartney's mouth might be as
simple as a "makeup touch-up" - maybe his lip was too shiny. "
I was hoping he would be fazed by what is in this topic but he didn't seem to be. I'm a litle bothered that he dismissed it the way he did but what can I do ?
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest


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The Hub Commentary_
I agree that costs need to be managed, however, there comes a point of no return. Justifying the business value and return on investment is the shift IT organizations need to make in order to be competitive with the cloud and SaaS providers.
There needs to be focus on cost cutting where possible, however, there needs to be more focus on the delivery of value and growing the business with technology. It is great to spend on technology when you can illustrate gains in revenue through the use of technology whether it be customer retention and quality of service or a differentiating service in the market.
Are you merely counting pennies or spending to gain?
Companies overspent by more than $207 billion on technology and telecom purchases last year, according to NPI, a consulting firm specializing in the management of IT spending. Many enterprises were dealing with budgets that had been slashed during the Great Recession, even as new projects were expected to drive the innovation necessary for growth. (Read Full Article…)


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May 1, 2009 by Don Of Dons
Filed under .Voice of The Hood, featured, LATEST NEWS
THE FNM DONS GOONIE ,BRAD PIFF , AND PURPLE RAIN CALLED IT A LONG TIME AGO …. FIRST STOP COURT , LAST STOP THE MAURY SHOW – RR via vibe
One of hip-hop's premiere couples is reportedly splitting: Kelis has filed for divorce from Nas, according to Vibe.com. She is seven months' pregnant with the couple's first child.
"I can confirm that she has filed for divorce," a spokesperson for Kelis reportedly told the site on Thursday (April 30). "We request the media to respect her privacy during this very difficult time."
On Thursday afternoon, attorney Laura Wasser (who has also represented Britney Spears) filed a divorce petition on behalf of Kelis, citing irreconciable differences. Vibe.com posted the petition on its site.
The news comes mere weeks after Nas spoke excitedly with MTV News about the baby. When asked earlier this month how Kelis was doing, he said, "She's great, man. She's doing good. [We are deciding between] a few baby names. It's kinda hard. I've been thinking about kinda putting something online: 'Choose his name.' You get a couple stacks for that. We take care of you for that. You win something real. But we're thinking now."
Nas and Kelis first met in 2002 at an MTV Video Music Awards afterparty thrown by Sean "Diddy" Combs. The couple dated for two years and were married in Atlanta in January 2005.
While rumors about the couple splitting have been circulating for some time, and RapRadar.com reported that a split was imminent earlier on Thursday, the news still took many by surprise.
Reps for both artists had not granted MTV News' requests for comment at press time.
Related posts:


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Posted by JMOR on December 19, 2012 at 05:57:51 from (18.104.22.168):
In Reply to: ford 4000 gas posted by Larry NCKS on December 18, 2012 at 17:08:26:
Quoting Removed, click Modern View to seeI think they painted those 'green'. :arrow:
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TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.


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WWOOF Romania Summer & Fall 2015
In this news item, today we're talking about WWOOF Romania because that's where I live and Romania's beautiful landscape is breathtaking and shouldn't be missed in your lifetime…. So are you intrigued? I hope so since now is the time to plan your volunteer vacation with WWOOF Romania. WWOOF is an international (kind of – countries have their own sites generally) organization that matches people and farms.


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Meet Classter
The one-stop management solution for all your educational needs. Start discovering the benefits and various possibilities of Classter!
Classter Features
School Management & Finance
Secure your payments online and monitor your school administration office in real-time. From student profiling to timetable execution and tuition fees, Classter controls your risks, helps you monitor your financial agreements, profit forecasts, revenues, issues invoices and receipts.
Education CRM
Embrace a network of value-creating relationships by enhancing communications and measuring activity results. Classter enables you to convert the knowledge gained by CRM strategies into results, builds solid communities and creates a sustainable competitive advantage.
Single Sign-On Dashboards
Are you a teacher, a student or a parent? Automated account creation is just a click away. Fully integrated with Office 365 and Moodle, Classter offers you a seamless experience to keep track of your daily schedule and get real-time data on your performance.
In-Class Management
Take education one step further with Classter. Use our enhanced In-Class features to automatically create Moodle courses, increase class collaboration and improve communication and engagement with your students.
Transportation Services
Classter helps you improve the quality and reliability of your transportation services. The only thing more important than your student's educational development is their safety. With Classter you can optimize bus operations, track bus real-time and send SMS notifications to save parents time.
Library Management
Streamline your processes and power knowledge performance. Library Management enables information and resources (digital and physical) to gain effective results and makes lending workflows more efficient. Reserve your knowledge now.
Fully integrated with
Fully integrated with
Classter Editions
Classter is a fully customizable solution and each edition
is tailored to suit the needs of any educational institution.
Management of 53 franchise companies across the country has been difficult. Through the implementation of Classter I have all the information I need in real-time starting from the teachers' appointed lessons to the financial overview of the companies.
We now have access to all data in a click. Classter is the most comprehensive and easy-to-use platform and I am glad to use it daily.
As a Classter end-user I have to admit that your system proved to be a life-saver! Mass invoicing used to take me 7 days and now I need only 30 minutes. Thank you!
We are the first private K-12 school that implemented Classter in Greece. We are extremely happy with the overall product progress and the continuous improvements in all aspects. An excellent collaboration with the development and management team of Vertitech, has helped us to implement Classter using our own IT personnel with the minimum possible cost. Classter now really rocks!


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Arbitration Forums, Inc. (AF) is committed to ensuring the needs of our membership are at the center of everything we do. Based on continuous feedback from our membership, AF is pleased to unveil a new look and feel to our Web site. The new look has a lighter, more modern feel and clearly demonstrates the future direction of the AF brand.
As part of this refresh for our Web site, we have introduced a new members only section titled My Arbfile. This new section includes
The login process has also slightly changes with the introduction of the My Arbfile homepage. Members will still be able to login directly from the main homepage, which will then take them to My Arbfile. However, members who have integrated logins will be taken directly to My Arbfile.
To demonstrate this new login process, we have produced a user guide explaining how this new process works and the difference between the two homepages to ensure our members understand how this may impact their process. Please click here to view the guide.
Members will also notice a difference in the navigation of the site. We have combined both menu structures into one location (top menu bar) that will change depending on where you are on the site. Members will still be able to access both menus using two home buttons titled: Home and My Arbfile.
This is the first step of refreshing the entire Web site from look and feel to navigation. Throughout 2009, we will continue to implement improvements that will enable our members to access the information they are interested in with ease and efficiency.
As an organization, we are dedicated to ensuring our products and services meet the needs of our membership and welcome all of your comments and suggestions about this new design. With your continued support, we hope to build on these successes throughout 2009. Please send any comments or suggestions to email@example.com.
Stay tuned throughout 2009 as we continue to implement improvements to our Web site.


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I Am Carsick
Personal Stories, Advice, and Support 3 People
Many Times As A Childifit was really hot i would get car sick had to do with medication i took it was not till i had a new home any one cared to hel figure it out that or i just out grew it
rickibrat2 61-65, M 0 Jan 29, 2012
Blech...I just had Krystal's with onions, chili, cheese...wow. I enjoyed it at the time. It's a lethal combination for the stomach. I don't feel so good right now. I want to curl up and fall asleep. Booo! ... OK...lol...I'm better now. It was just bad gas. Hahahahahaha! But sad for the...
Tekkamaki 31-35 0 Oct 5, 2008


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Do you need a speaker for your organization? The Azalea Chapter offers you a Speakers Bureau. Consider one of our members who can bring a program to you on plant- or garden-related subjects. For local presentations, no fees are expected, but if some distance is involved, an honorarium to cover travel expenses would be greatly appreciated.
Charles Andrews
Charles Andrews is a native azalea lover who wants to know everything he can about this wonderful group of plants. He is a member of the American Rhododendron Society and the Azalea Society of America, currently serving as president of the Azalea Chapter, ARS. He spends much time looking for and photographing these plants in the wild and has hundreds of native azaleas in his Forsyth County, GA garden. He and his wife, Mardi, are working to give their garden year-round interest. Another goal is low maintenance gardening. His articles have appeared in the Journal American Rhododendron Society; The Azalean, magazine of ASA; Azalea Blooms, newsletter of the Azalea Chapter; and on this web site. He is current writing a book on native azaleas.
Telephone: (770) 442 9412
- MSEE Georgia Institute of Technology (electrical engineering)
- U.S. Air Force, 8 years, Air Force Systems Command
- Retired systems analyst, business analyst, project manager
Possible topics:
- Azaleas and Companion Plants
- Extending Your Garden Season
- Native Azaleas
- Georgia's Native Azaleas
- The Magnificent Flame Azalea
- Natural Azalea Hybrids
- William Bartram's Azaleas
Joe Coleman
Joe Coleman is an expert on rhododendrons and azaleas. He is a long-time member of the American Rhododendron Society as well as a founding member of the Azalea Society of America. He has served in many offices of the Azalea Chapter, ARS, including president. He has served as director in both ARS and ASA. He is also active in the Georgia Native Plant Society with a special interest in plant rescue, centered on Georgia's native azaleas. Joe and his wife, Donna, maintain a large garden in Dekalb County, GA. Joe's knowledge is extensive, whether it is about species, cultivated varieties, hybrids, culture, or propagation. His articles have appeared in the Journal American Rhododendron Society; The Azalean, magazine of ASA; Azalea Blooms, newsletter of the Azalea Chapter; and on this web site. With a special interest in propagation, Joe has annually hosted a cutting party. He is an excellent photographer. Joe's latest foray is into tissue culture propagation of azaleas and rhododendrons.
Telephone: (770) 482 1289
- Retired dentist after 40 years of practice
Possible topics:
- Introduction to Evergreen Azaleas
- Hybrid Groups of Evergreen Azaleas
- Cutting Propagation of Evergreen and Deciduous Azaleas
- Propagation by Seed
- Azaleas of Hurricane Creek
- Hybrid Rhododendrons for the South
Hugh Denny
Hugh Denny is a past president of the Azalea Chapter, ARS. When Hugh moved to the Atlanta area, he became fascinated with the wide range of colors found in native azaleas. He began his azalea gardening in the 1960s, and years later an announcement of a meeting of the ARS brought him into our Azalea Chapter where he has been active ever since, serving in many capacities, including web master, plant sale chairman, and president. Hugh's love of native azaleas will be readily apparent.
Telephone: (404) 633 9363
- MSEE Georgia Institute of Technology
- Retired research engineer GA Tech
Possible topics:
- Year Round Blooms for North Georgia Gardens
- Deciduous Azaleas Native to Georgia
Ken Gohring
Ken Gohring's expertise goes far beyond rhododendrons. Ken loves plants, primarily of the native variety. He is active in the American Rhododendron Society (past chapter president, past regional director), the Georgia Native Plant Society, the Georgia Botanical Society, and the Azalea Society of America. Ken has coordinated many plant rescues for the GNPS. He has written extensively on azaleas, rhododendrons, and other native plants. His articles have appeared in the Journal American Rhododendron Society; The Azalean, magazine of ASA, NativeSCAPE, the GNPS newsletter; Azalea Blooms, newsletter of the Azalea Chapter; and on this web site. He is currently the editor of Azalea Blooms. Ken is an expert propagator. Don't let his modesty fool you.
Telephone: (770) 401 8298
- MA Washington University (math)
- Retired Norfolk Southern Corp. (Operations Research)
Possible Topics:
- Native Azaleas
- Native Understory Plants
- Native Plant Rescue
John Kohli
John and his wife Teddy live near Dahlonega, GA and have a magnificent garden on a hilly lot with a flowing rocky stream. Azaleas form the main theme of the garden, containing both evergreen and deciduous varieties. John is an azalea enthusiast - a hybridizer, propagator, horticulturist, collector, and explorer. John has developed a particularly beautiful set of his own hybrid evergreen azaleas. He is a member of both the American Rhododendron Society and the Azalea Society of America. In the early 1970s, a friend introduced John to azaleas. His main interest now is native azaleas.
Telephone: (404) 273 4608
- BS Biology, Wisconsin State University Stevens Point
- U.S. Army medical laboratory specialist
- Semi-retired, owner Kohlmont Inc. Medical Sales
Possible topics:
- Propagation
- Full presentation: Native Azaleas, Evergreen Azaleas, Species, and Exbury Azaleas


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***ENTER TO WIN A NOCO GENIUS CHARGER BELOW*** Sunday marks the first day of fall, which also means the official end of summer. And even if you live in a warmer climate, after a season of heavy usage of your motorcycle, marine, and power sport vehicles, it might be time to give your Starting-Lighting-Ignition (SLI) batteries a nice, long, slow charge, providing them the much needed maintenance they deserve.
Save money and your favorite device
We repair broken Apple® devices, including iPads®, iPhones® and iPods®, most Samsung® devices and many more. Plus, we have screen protectors for cell phones and tablets.
In-store services include (among others):
• Cracked Screen Replacement
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The Battle Ensues In the late 1880s, there was a major...
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Group F
Italy v New Zealand
Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit
Kick-off: Sun June 20, 3pm BST
TV: ITV1 2.30pm, ITV HD 2.30pm
Italy have been the victims of sensations in World Cups past, losing to North Korea in 1966 and to South Korea in 2002, so will tread a mite warily as they face another game that, in theory, they can't lose.
"There are teams that we should beat, we're better," booms Daniele De Rossi. Maybe, but confidence is hardy soaring in the world champions' camp after opening their defence with a 1-1 draw against Paraguay and they will recall that the robust All White triers, who earned a last minute equaliser against Slovakia, have already run the Azzurri close, losing 4-3 in a friendly last June.
Italy have lost goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon with a herniated disc, with Federico Marchetti coming in as deputy, and Mauro Camoranesi may be introduced with Marcello Lippi tipped to sideline Claudio Marchisio. New Zealand likely to be unchanged.
Touchline duel
Ricki Herbert has done a marvellous job squeezing 100 per cent out from his side but in Marcello Lippi is up against one of the game's master technicians who happens to have far more ammunition to work with.
Talking tactics
It won't be tactical rocket science. New Zealand's Plymouth striker Rory Fallon has promised Italy simply an examination in muscular physicality and aerial bombardment, warning: "We're a big, strong team and those diagonal balls and crosses can make it difficult for defenders."
Italy may employ the more effective 4-4-2 formation which Lippi switched to, from 4-2-3-1, during the Paraguay game.
Key clash
Ryan Nelson remains New Zealand's tower of strength but the Blackburn stalwart's experience and expertise will never have been needed more as he seeks to contain the striking talent of Alberto Gilardino and Vincenzo Iaquinta.
What they say
Marcello Lippi: ""What would happen if we lost? I am not thinking about that. I think only about winning."
Ricki Herbert: "Nobody expects us to beat Italy but then nobody expected us to draw against Slovakia. We're in a good space, the players are really positive, I think we'll go out and play well again."
Italy (4-4-2): 12 Marchetti, 19 Zambrotta, 5 Cannavaro, 4 Chiellini, 3 Criscito, 9 Camoranesi, 6 De Rossi, 22 Montolivo, 7 Pepe, 10 Di Natale, 11 Gilardino
New Zealand (4-3-2-1):1 Paston, 4 Reid, 6 Nelsen, 5 Vicelich, 19 Smith, 11 Bertos, 7 Elliott, 3 Lockhead, 10 Killen, 9 Smeltz, 14 Fallon.
Referee: Carlos Buates (Guatemala)
Previous meetings
Played 1
2009 (Atteridgeville, friendly): Italy 4 New Zealand 3
Fact: Italy have not lost a group game in the finals since they were beaten 2-1 by Croatia in 2002.
Prediction: Despite the heroics of the All Whites against Slovakia, expect nothing more than a win for the Azzurri.


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SHOTGUNS, swords and daggers were among weapons worth £40,000 seized from a Leith shop during a swoop by police.
Officers seized a total of 210 weapons after discovering the owner did not hold a licence to sell them. A 78-year-old man was charged with alleged licensing offences while the confiscated goods are now set to be destroyed.
Other weapons, including air guns, replica firearms, maces and morning stars, were removed following a search by police and trading standards officials.
A raid at a Royal Mile business in April saw £100,000 of weapons including samurai swords, broadswords and axes seized in the first part of the police crack down on the city's weapons trade.
Chief Superintendent Mark Williams, the city's divisional commander, said: "Bladed weapons and firearms are a blight on our communities and the items removed from this store have the potential to inflict serious harm on the public.
"All of these weapons should only be sold by vendors with the appropriate licence and anyone found to be trading without the necessary permissions can expect to be visited by police."
The pensioner arrested during Thursday's raid at the premises in the Leith area, which cannot be named for legal reasons, is being reported to the procurator fiscal.
Police chiefs have requested that the weapons be destroyed, although the ultimate decision will be made by the court.
Inspector Alun Williams, from the Divisional Violence Reduction Unit, said: "Officers visited this premises with trading standards colleagues and quickly identified that licencing terms were not being adhered to.
"In the main, if a person makes an application and meets the appropriate person tests and background checks then they're likely to be given a licence.
"For whatever reason, some have not gone down that road."
Leith councillor Gordon Munro said: "There will be few people in Edinburgh who genuinely need to own these kinds of weapons so they need to be properly licensed.
"Businesses should have nothing to fear about coming forward and being properly regulated, but it's not a trade which can go unlicensed."
Councillor Gavin Barrie, convener of the regulatory committee, said: "Anyone who wants to sell knives or similar bladed items must apply for a specific licence and it is vital for the safety of consumers and the community as a whole that this happens. These applications are then carefully considered by the police and the council."


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By Nick Martin, 2006
This is a video documentary done by Pilsen Environmental Rights and Reform Organization in Chicago. It is a grassroots community group of Pilsen residents that formed in 2004 to fight the disproportionate amount of pollution in the Pilsen neighborhood. PERRO believes all people have the right to live in a clean and healthy environment, regardless of their race and class. Its mission is to spread awareness about this concept of environmental justice and make Pilsen a healthier place to live, work, and raise children.


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The Bond: Three Young Men Learn to Forgive and Reconnect with Their Fathers
Riverhead Books, 2008 - Biography & Autobiography - 288 pages
From the New York Times-bestselling authors of THE PACT
Drs. Sampson Davis, George Jenkins, and Rameck Hunt discovered early in their friendship that they shared a disturbing trait: as children, they navigated dangerous inner-city life without a father's guidance. In spite of this, they escaped delinquency and crime to form the Pact, dedicated to putting themselves on the road to success. Now, the Three Doctors make a new promise: to set aside their resentment, and rebuild the relationships with their fathers--men they barely recognize. Told in alternating voices between father and son, The Bond explores the hard lessons of growing up without a father and suggests ways to stem the tide of fatherlessness in communities across the country. Honest, brave, and poignant, The Bond is a book for every child and every family.
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The Bond: Three Young Men Learn to Forgive and Reconnect with Their Fathers
Sampson Davis,George Jenkins,Rameck Hunt
No preview available - 2007


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As you know by now from previous posts, I have my first craft fair – the Whetstone Baptist Church Christmas Fayre – next Saturday. Here are some more makes: etched copper candlestick, beaded candles on individually etched glass plates, a resin encased watch-parts pendant and faux-enamelled jewellery pieces.
It's been a tricky thing to price up all these items. I can easily work out the material costs. I know how much time each has taken to make. It's a little harder to work out the time taken in research, and even more tricky to know exactly how much time and energy has gone into the development, trials and failures that are inevitable in making items. Throw into the mix what you think people are likely to be prepared to pay, what they might be able to afford, and what else might be on sale around you… Suffice to say that the marked prices for all the items on the stand will not reflect my time and skill set.
Trouble is, I've thoroughly enjoyed the making process, designing the packaging, and setting up the stand. But will it pay off? Or the bills? I'll let you know.


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The canto.zip file you have requested: Modifications / Cars / foreign / Lamborghini / Lamborghini Canto - 819.02kb is not available. Perhaps try browsing all files for the game Need for Speed High Stakes and upload any files you want to share or are missing. This is the only information we could locate:
An addon model of a Lamborghini Canto for NFS: High Stakes.
We recommend you return to the download list and browse the links from there. If the problem persists, contact us with the details.


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Envision Sports Media contributing photographer Mark Guthrel provides the following sampling of images captured January 29 as the Washington University Bears took on the Rochester (NY) Yellowjackets in St. Louis, Missouri.
All photos included within this post remain the sole property of Mark Guthrel and Envision Sports Media and may not be used in any manner without explicit permission from all parties involved. Such inquiries can be made by emailing Jason Roberts at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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Over the past couple of years, smoothies have become my jam. I love pretty much everything about them. I love that they're a super quick, on-the-go breakfast, which is perfect for someone like me, who is constantly, always, forever running late. I love that they're healthy but don't taste that way. I love that you can transform a dessert like strawberry cheesecake into a delicious, good-for-you smoothie.
Or how about peach cobbler?
Yeah, you heard me. A peach cobbler smoothie. That's good for you.
And oh, so ridiculously delicious.
And super, duper easy.
I have a few tricks up my sleeve for getting a perfect, smooth, creamy smoothie every time. First, I always start my fruit smoothies with frozen fruit, because it blends up so much smoother, and it doesn't get watered down with ice.
Second, blend your smoothies for at least 3-5 minutes. I know that seems like a crazy long time, but trust me. Not only does blending your smoothies for so long make them really smooth and creamy, it also whips extra air into them, which increases the volume and therefore makes you fuller even though you're drinking less. {Boom. Science.}
Finally, and this is my crazy pants secret ingredient, add in some cottage cheese.
I know, I know. I had the same reaction when I first heard about people adding cottage cheese into their smoothies. It sounds really gross and nasty, and I just pictured drinking a chunky, lumpy smoothie, which skeeved me out to no end. But if you're blending your smoothie for as long as I recommend, the cottage cheese blends completely in and adds a creaminess that makes it taste much thicker and richer than it does without it.
Another thing I love about smoothies is that you literally just chuck everything into your blender {I have a Ninja Mega Kitchen System} and let her rip. I barely even measure anything anymore.
- 1 cup frozen sliced peaches
- 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup cottage cheese
- 1 T sugar-free, fat-free vanilla pudding mix
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste (or vanilla extract)
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1 scoop vanilla protein powder (optional)
- 1. Place all ingredients into a blender and blend for 3-5 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Serve immediately.
1. Simple Green Smoothie by Bright Green Door
2. Chocolate Strawberry Protein Smoothie by Create and Babble
3. Layered Smoothie by Dans Le Lakehouse
4. Orange Carrot Smoothie by Divine Lifestyle
5. Strawberry Lemonade Smoothie by Embracing Homemaking
6. Peach Cobbler Smoothie by Endlessly Inspired
7. Tropical Green Smoothie by Harlem Lovebirds
8. Spinach and Pineapple Green Smoothie Bowl by Lucky Andi
9. Simple Strawberry Smoothie by Only By Grace
10. Orange Carrot Ginger Whole Food Smoothie by Pretty Polished Perfect
11. Tropical Spinach Smoothie by Red Shutters
12. Chamomile, Blueberry, and Peach Smoothie by Vicki O'Dell
13. Pineapple Spinach Smoothie by The Honeycomb Home
14. Dreamy Lavender Smoothie by The Mom of the Year
15. Green Detox Smoothie by This Girl's Life
16. Winter Citrus Smoothie by Two Places At Once
17. Chocolate Pea Protein Smoothie by We Know Stuff
What is your favorite smoothie flavor?
Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links. Among others, we are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."


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SOCIAL MEDIA Yes its February, but part of the reason of this timing is because of the launches that have been pumping out in the last few weeks. So with 11 months left of the year, I figured its a good time to look at the trends shaping the rest of 2011.
Read on
SOCIAL MEDIA Greenpeace Australia came and did a presentation for Social Media Club Sydney, about the social media component for their global campaign to get Nestle to stop buying unsustainable palm oil from Sinar Mas, a global supplier that was destroying the south east Asian rainforests where orangutans were being threatened. I ran a social media analysis using Alterian SM2 to see how the Kit Kat brand in A
Read on
SOCIAL MEDIA The 2010 Australian Election is going to be an interesting one for social media analysis, because for the first time we will see to be able to see whether social sentiment is going to have an impact on how people vote. I started looking at this on Friday 16 July, the day before the election was called, and left the social media monitoring tool looking at the same keywords over the weekend.
Read on
MOBILE As an early adopter of the iPhone, I've noted its enthusiastic uptake in Australia. Looking on the streets and in meetings, it seems to be the dominant phone, at least in Sydney. Recent statistics prove this, showing the iPhone and iPod touch is dominant operating system - 93% of phones or mobile devices accessing the internet in Australia and NZ are iPhone iOS.
Read on
SOCIAL MEDIA There are some social and digital trends which seem to hit like an avalanche, and others that build quietly and don't go away. I wanted to share this list, as a bit of a combination of both types, originally written for The Communications Council of Australia. You can substitute "social" with "digital" because there's not much happening in the digital world without social integration of some sort
Read on
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Whisked away from the home I knew and friends and school and abruptly transplanted into a place unknown to me, I was forced to open my young mind. I was ten years old and left to find friends where there were none. None but a tangle of thorny raspberry bushes, a twig of a sorry creek, and an open mind for the moment. It was there that I found comraderie; a spider, a minnow, a very willing crawdad and the never-ending, babbling conversation of my best friend, that skinny creek.
Today, I still follow the winding of whatever creek is nearby. It is a friendship that never ends. There is always something to do and lately it has been photographing the reflections of the waters, the trees that follow along the bank, the clouds and storms above and whatever richness I can find there. And there is an abundance of richness indeed!
For over 40 years, I have delighted in the life of the creek. From the green mosses and smooth stones to the hike alongside and to all that life holds within it.


text: julia wrote: > > Hi everyone, > > I'm planning on doing an ELISA next week, but I don't remember (and > can't find) the protocol that I used before. If you have any tips on > how to coat a plate and do the assay, I'd really appreciate it! > > Thanks in advance, > -Sarah Lab-books often help. that said, i've coated plates with proteins and membranes suspended in a carbonate buffer ph 9.? (its all way in the past). You might try calling companies that made the plates you intend to use, though. good luck markh


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TWO people have been arrested and drugs recovered after a car was stopped in Sunderland.
The car was stopped at 10.50pm on Friday, March 7, in Portsmouth Road, the vehicle was searched and a quantity of drugs were found and recovered by police.
As a result, a house in Pennywell was also searched and more drugs were found.
The drugs – believed to be cocaine – are thought to have a street value of £7,500.
Two men, aged 47 and 38, have been arrested on suspicion of drug offences and are helping police with their enquiries. They have been released on police bail.
Superintendent Jim Napier, of Sunderland Area Command, said: "The harm drugs cause to those who take them as well as the people around them is well documented and we will continue to work with other agencies to tackle the issue.
"On a daily basis, officers will routinely target those suspected of being involved in drugs and drugs supply to disrupt the supply of illegal drugs."
Anyone with any information about or concerns about illegal drugs in their area should contact Northumbria Police on 101 ext 69191 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.


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Previous Post – Of Love & Charity
Yesterday morning, a small group of us from Little Flowers Community and Hope Mennonite Church gathered at the Pride Winnipeg parade with a simple message: We're Sorry. It was part of the I'm Sorry Campaign created by the Marin Foundation. The campaign is an effort to apologize to the LGBTQ community for the ways Christians have mistreated them. The goal is to offer an unqualified, sincere apology.
We had invited many other communities to join us, but most opted out for lack of time to consider the implications. The most common concern was that such an approach might leave ambiguity or out-right misunderstanding about our Christian stance on sexuality. Aside from the fact that the participants in the event held very diverse beliefs on the topic, we believed that the ambiguity or any other assumptions were of secondary concern to the primary purpose for which we had gathered: to acknowledge our sin and ask for forgiveness. Jesus was frequently judged falsely for hanging out with "undesirables", thus we decided that such a "risk" was acceptable.
The response was humbling. Hundreds of people marching in the parade stopped to thank us, hug us, take pictures and ask questions. However, most moving for me was the people who shouted out, "We forgive you!". We were a small group and did not try to bring too much attention to ourselves (as the day was not about us), but made an intentional effort to let these neighbours know that we know we have done poorly and seek their forgiveness. That message seemed to be well received.
However, we also know that it is not enough. We cannot apologize for our failings, then simply continue as though the slate has been cleared. Repentance requires far more than an apology, it requires a turning, a change of action/direction and even reparation when possible & appropriate. We are under no illusion that participating in this event is an end- it is, in fact, just one small step in the right direction.
The dynamics around this are far beyond the capacity of this blog post, but there are a few things I want to suggest that are critical in this process of repentance. Like the event itself, we must make our own failings a greater priority than seek out the failings of others (real or perceived). This requires a great deal of honesty, humility and commitment. The beauty is this: a demonstrated commitment to acknowledge, repent of and change our brokenness is a far greater witness to a watching world than condemnation (which, in an attempt to be out of righteousness tends to become self-righteousness). And it is living through that process and posture repentance that shapes us to appropriately and humbly support others in their journey to wholeness through and in Christ.
Further, we must be committed to give more time and energy to genuinely ask the difficult questions about what we believe, why we believe it and how that belief is expressed/embodied. All three dynamics are critical. For example, a failure to know why we believe something can lead to destructive and even sinful ways of practicing that belief. So we need to be willing to have the hard conversations. And in doing so, we must do it with a genuinely open heart and open mind. Why? Because too many of God's people throughout history have been so convinced that they were right- that they were believing and living God's truth- that they even condemned the godly (see Galatians).
So as we ask the hard questions, we must be willing to allow for three possible outcomes. First, we discern that what we have always affirmed and practiced is, in fact, right and true. Second, we discern that while what we believe is true, it needs to be shifted in emphasis or clarified. Third, we discern that we have been wrong, repent and seek God's truth. All three examples can be found in Scripture and history. If we believe in the truth of God and the power of His Holy Spirit, then we have nothing to fear to genuinely ask the questions.
Again, this barely brushes the surface, but it is an important start. As our community wrestles through Scripture with prayer, study, conversation, discernment, etc., we have been deeply challenged, humbled and encouraged by the good work it is producing in our hearts and lives. It is a costly and difficult path, but it has been well worth it so far.


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Part of National Museums Liverpool
Also in this section…?
The inscription reveals that this urn was made for the ashes of Caius Perperna Geminus, who died at the age of sixty-eight, by his heirs Caius Perperna Agathopus, Saturnina and Fortunata, a freedman and two freedwomen. This panel and the surrounding harpies, birds and garland of fruit are largely antique.
The urn was discovered in tombs in Siena in the early 18th century, but later belonged to the sculptor Bartolomeo Cavaceppi. He was probably responsible for the restorations – the lid, carved with reclining sphynxes, the base, with cornucopiae and flowers and the ornament on the semicircular back. It was bought by Thomas Hope from Lord Bessborough in 1801.
© Copyright 2018


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This storage accessory comes adequately packaged with no unnecessary frills, but all the attachments you will need for the job. Inside the box we find the NexStar Universal Storage Adapter, the Users Manual, a 5" SATA data cable, as well as a 4-pin Molex-to-SATA power adapter cable. Also inside the box is a 12v/5v power adapter that gives you the ability to turn a wall outlet into a Molex power source. This adapter has an in-line on/off switch to avoid causing short-circuits while hot-swapping. I can think of many uses for this item alone!
Looking at the Vantec NexStar Universal Storage Adapter, it measures about 5 1/2" long by 2 1/4" wide with a thickness of a little more than 1/2". It has seven inputs marked XD, SD, 2.5", SATA, 3.5"/5.25",MS and CF. The output is a 30" long USB cable with two tips, one for data transfer and the second throughput connector for additional power through the USB interface. The unit has two indicator lights, one for power and the other to indicate data transfer activity.


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Series: The Eternal Ones,
Published by Razorbill on 10 August 2010
Genres: Abduction, Adolescence, Contemporary Romance, Dating & Sex, Death & Dying, Emotions & Feelings, Fairy Tales, Folklore, & Legends, Friendship, Historical Romance, Love & Romance, Mystery & Detective, Paranormal, People & Places, Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance, Young Adult
Pages: 432
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
Buy on Amazon|Buy on Audible|Buy on Barnes & Noble|Buy on Book Depository
Place(s) Traveled to: Snope City, Tennessee // New York, New York (2010, 1920s) // Rome, Italy (2010, 1920s)
First Line: Haven was back.
Related Posts: Fragment Friday
Eternal Ones Series Order
Book 1 – The Eternal Ones
Book 2 – All You Desire
Book 3 – No Plans (Talked to publicist and no plans at this time to continue the series)
When I first began to read the books that Penguin dubbed as Breathless Reads I put a call out onto Twitter to see which order I should them, The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller was the one everyone said should come last. After reading the four other books (Across the Universe, Nightshade, The Replacement & Matched) and not falling head over heels in love with them I was worried about The Eternal Ones. There was a part of me that said don't read it but the other part of me that was determined to read them all before a book signing was louder. For which I am glad that it was because in the end I really ended up liking The Eternal Ones.For me it was the best book of the current Breathless Reads. The Eternal Ones isn't like any other book that I've read. I really loved the whole reincarnation aspect of it and learning about Constance and Ethan through Haven's memories. The story was fast paced and believable and the times that I find myself rolling my eyes or shouting at the book where kept to a minimum. I will admit that Haven's flip-slopping attitude towards Iain did get annoying. One moment she was head of heels in love then some stranger would say something against him and she'd be all 'Oh no I can't trust you.' *sighs* There there was the whole Adam thing, which for me, was a bit much and kind of out there. But I was able to move past those parts and allow myself to enjoy the story. Based on my recent reads you know that this means a lot.
The Eternal Ones isn't a book for everyone, this story is more of a straight romance with a wee bit of mystery mixed in. There are no vampires or werewolves or any other paranormal creature and I found that to be very refreshing. The idea of reincarnation as set up in The Eternal Ones is believable and I loved the idea that why you might instantly connect with some people over others is because you knew them in a past life and your souls recognize each other. While reading the The Eternal Ones, I loved hearing the snippets of Haven's past incarnations. Although the main focus was on her previous life, when she was Constance, and I would have liked to see more of those other lives. Yet, at the same time, I feel that this book was pretty well wrapped up at the end. I don't see where a sequel will go. The ends were tied up, there was a HEA and most importantly, there was an EPILOGUE.
To me, an epilogue means done, there is no more. So I am a little disappointed that there will be 2 more books in the series. There is something to be said for leaving the reader wanting more and I fear that the next books will only hurt the overall story by dragging things out.I liked this book. I will recommend it to others. I loved Haven and Iain and Haven's gay friend Beau (he was the snarky sidekick). I thought that Haven's grandmother was evil (as all good rich, old monied, opinionated southern grandma's should be) and her mother could have done with more of a backbone. Though Haven seemed to have more than enough for her and her mother both. While most of me is against the idea of a sequel there is that small part of me that hopes to see all those these characters again. Although I can deal without the reincarnations of convenience – everyone seemed to know everyone else in their past and present lives and it just hurt my head a little that everyone kept bumping into each other like that. Though I am aware that it was needed for the story and there really wasn't another way to do it.
I will also try to reserve my opinion on any potential sequels until I read one myself. But I am not sure that I can walk into it with an open mind. My brain is just all jaded like that. It won't be the first time and it won't be the last. Sometimes I am proven right and I have my "AHA!! I knew it moment!" and just as often I am proven wrong and am pleasantly surprised. Either way be on the look out for my thoughts sometime in August or there abouts as that is when All You Desire is released in stores.


text: Whether it's success in art, business, relationships, athletics or horse shoes, one of the most basic things you need to do is decide what you want. What do you want? Ask yourself that one question over and over again until you get an honest answer. For some people it will be easy. Others are going to struggle because they are either not sure what they want, or they want the moon served to them on a silver platter in about thirty seconds…Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2013 Craig Shillam