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18 October 2010
RMIT launches new Pharmacy degree in 2011
The new degree will qualify students to practise as pharmacists, as well as offering access to careers within biomedical research and the wider pharmaceuticals sector. Image © iStockphoto.
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RMIT University's School of Medical Sciences is launching a Bachelor of Pharmacy degree - the first new Pharmacy degree in Melbourne in 129 years.
From 2011, students will be provided with a traditional education leading to registration as pharmacists, as well as access to an array of career opportunities within biomedical research and the wider pharmaceuticals sector.
The program provides cutting-edge training in areas of increasing demand such as pharmacovigilance and clinical trials, offering graduates a wider range of pharmacy-related skills and outcomes in research and the pharmaceutical industry.
Graduates will also have access to research opportunities through RMIT's Health Innovations Research Institute.
Newly appointed Discipline Head of Pharmacy at RMIT, Professor Peter Little, is excited by the prospect of educating a new generation of pharmacists.
"Our students will be provided with a traditional education leading to registration as pharmacists, as well as access to an array of career opportunities within biomedical research and the wider pharmaceuticals sector."
The program will be based at RMIT's Bundoora campus, with an intake of about 40 students.
"We have consciously kept our intake to only a small number of students to allow the development of an innovative and intimate program that focuses on patient interaction," Professor Little said.
"RMIT looks forward to contributing to the health of Victorians through the activities of its students and staff, and subsequently through the provision of pharmacists for the many roles that we envisage for these specialist health professionals."
With newly-developed and modern teaching modules that prepare pharmacists using an integrated study platform, the degree features clinical placement opportunities in both hospital and community pharmacies, as well as the pharmaceutical industry.
The Australian Pharmacy Council (APC) has granted RMIT preliminary approval for the program as a qualification intended to lead to becoming a pharmacist in Australia and New Zealand.
Recognition of the degree as an appropriate qualification is subject to the granting of provisional accreditation. RMIT becomes eligible to apply for provisional accreditation after about 12 months of teaching.


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Ill Effects: How Soda Pop Consumption Affects Your Body
We've talked quite extensively in the past about our love for the Soda Stream units that allow us to create our own fizzy beverages at home. Why do we love it so much? This explains a bit about about why we try to shy away from commercial soda products.
The folks over at Term Life Insurance are trying to make their customers aware of their food choices (since it obviously effects how much money they spend each year). There's all sorts of complications that can arise and although they don't focus on many specific ingredients and how they're harmful, the general complications are still there.
In my own life, I've cut out all soda recently and have seen a significant improvement in the speed of weight loss. Has your family switched off drinking soda? Have you seen an improvement? We're curious in the advantages you've seen in your own life, without the harassment of others who doesn't yet share your viewpoint.
• See the full size graphic at Term Life Insurance
Related: Real Cream Soda: Learn How To Make Soda Syrup At Home
(Image: Term Life Insurance)
63 Comments
I occasionally have a coke. I prefer it over a beer or glass of wine! I used to drink a lot of it when I was in college and in my early 20s. I feel a lot less bloated for sure, but not really any other health benefits which makes me think I didn't really drink all that much. When I want something else to drink besides water I like to have watered down juice or flavored seltzer (peach, vanilla, and blueberry and my favorite)... but how do they make the seltzers so flavorful with no sugar?
Doesn't Soda Stream soda still affect your bones, though?
When I was younger my mother would never keep soda in the house, so I could only get it at friend's or family's houses, it became a 'special treat'. Now that I'm an adult I don't keep it in the house unless we're having a cookout or company or something. Wierd huh?
Despite my rich diet (I refuse to "diet") and taste testing of my delicious and prolific baking experiments, coupled with the fact that I do not work out, I've managed to stay a size 8 and be a normal sized girl. Some people say it's my genes, but I attribute it to the fact that I rarely drink anything but water or unsweetened tea.
Every once in a while I will crave a coke, mostly when I'm eating popcorn or chips, but I could not imagine drinking one everyday. So many of the "dieting" ladies at my office guzzle diet coke and crystal light, I have to wonder how that helps/hurts.
The sole reason I stopped drinking so much soda (I still have a diet coke when I want but nothing like before) was my teeth. Since I was a child I had my dentists telling me to stop soda and after root canal number 3 as an adult I finally listened. I know what a nightmare the acid is cokes are to your teeth but that's really the limit of reasons why I don't drink as much. The other health stuff here I just kind of wave off as "whatever."
amenity, I don't see why Soda Stream would affect your bones. All the machine does is add carbon dioxide to regular old tap water. You can flavor the water if you want, but you don't have to, and health effects would depend on what you used to flavor it. I've used Soda Stream's flavorings, which I didn't like much, and homemade juices, which I did. Osteoporosis/lower bone-density links to soda seem to focus on phosphoric acid and caffeine, not carbonation.
The only problem I have with this info graphic is that it repeatedly connects drinking soda with obesity. I worry about my family who drinks soda everyday but is not overweight. I know that soda impacts your health even if you are not overweight and I wish that was stressed more. If I were to share this with them they would say " but I'm not overweight" as an excuse to continue to drink soda.
Amyeliz, carbonated water is slightly acidic, so even without flavor it can still effect your TEETH, which might be the bones Amenity was wondering about. Drinking through a straw and rinsing your mouth with plain water after having soda water mitigate the effects, though. And it's nowhere near as bad for your teeth as your average soda, which has more added acids and sugar.
But that's just the dental effect. Carbonated water should have no effect on the bones inside your body. The only studies that show there *might* be an effect on bones were from phosphoric acid, which is in various sodas, but not carbonated water.
This may sound harsh and overly dramatic, but I'm convinced that diet coke causes cancer. I know a few people who have gotten so sick and they drank a lot of diet coke. A lot. Though their overall health wasn't great either.
I've never had soda in the house and we love our soda stream "penguin." When I was pregnant all I wanted was a coke though - and in my last trimester I allowed myself one a week.
I am working on quitting pop because of how the caffeine makes my stomach feel. I think it messes with the acidity in my stomach and gives me stomach aches.
On the other hand, I've always heard that quitting pop causes weight loss. Is this only when drinking regular pop or diet pop? Does anyone have any input? I just can't see how someone would lose more weight if they quit drinking diet pop.
@alyssasteffes: i have read a study correlating diet coke drinking with average weight, the result was that people who tend to drink more diet soda tend to weigh more than people who don't drink soda at all.
I can't remember where I read it but it was fairly recent, Google it and see what you find.
I loooove soda. My husband and I started keeping diet sodas made with Splenda (Publix brand) around the house instead of regular products like Coke. I was drinking Coke Zero instead of regular to help my waistline but quit drinking that after becoming pregnant because of the caffeine and questionable sweeteners. I just try to limit my intake now and try to drink from a straw when possible (the same as when I drink sports drinks like Gatorade...read they ruin tooth enamel as well).
I definitely lose inches from my waistline when I'm not drinking much soda, and I seem to have less cellulite as well (don't know if there has even been a study relating the two). But I could never completely give it up...too good.
We have and love soda stream. Water + fizzy water + booze is enough for me.
Maybe four times a year I'll have one of the not so sweet soda's like Dry. And enjoy it. But regular soda is way for me to enjoy anymore.
Trish, that's true but most people don't wash lemon juice over their teeth a handful of times per day. People who love to eat lemons and things have worse enamel troubles.
Every sip of soda you take you're just washing a sweet and acidic wash over your teeth. Compound that by how many sodas the average soda drinker has in a day, it builds up. Don't you remember one kid in your elementary school science projects doing the experiment with soaking teeth in coke? They dissolve in a matter of days. Kind of scary.
But yes, you are right. In fact, my dentist told me to stay away from fruit juices and crystal light type things all as much as possible because they all have acids in them that wear teeth.
There are many studies directly correlating soda, specifically diet soda, with weight gain and dramatically larger waist sizes. Artificial sweeteners are NO GOOD. And soda does decrease bone density...
I used to drink way more soda than I should - and then I developed a bladder disease. Now, I drink ice water and sometimes tea and that is it (not even alcohol, at least until my bladder is healed in a couple of years)... And after a year of no soda - I find that I no longer like the taste. I'd much rather drink juice or coffee (sigh - not yet) or something else that is healthy than waste my calories on super processed crap.
the chart would be fair if it showed a comparison with juice and other drinks. Drinks don't have to be carbonated to be bad for you. Snapple has most of the things mentioned too. So does a cup of coffee or OJ. And apple juice that kids drink in schools.
We have soda stream too, and love it.
Crraaaaap. Sodaholic here. Hardcore. And I've known all this stuff forevs. I just can't kick the habit. Coming from a person who's kicked smoking AND drinking alcohol. I'm addicted, and I don't mean that jokingly.
Oh yeah, and all the talk about teeth and bones, but no one has mentioned the effects of ALL carbonated beverages on the esophagus. EVen the infographic ignores it. When I was trying to motivate myself to quit soda, I became more worried about the esophagus stuff than the tooth/bones/weight stuff (and the other things I never considered-- kidney a reproductive stuff, too?).
What I found is that ALL fizzy drinks, including beer and yes, carbonated water, can be very harmful if drunk in excess. If you drink them too much, and are constantly burping and giving yourself indigestion because of it, you're running the risk of developing esophageal cancer. From what I read, anyway.
Mama Gigi, you arent being dramatic. Diet sodas contain aspartame -- an artificial sweetener proven to cause cancer in rodents.
i drink like 4 cans of seltzer water....is this as bad as drinking say...4 diet coke?
To be fair, rodents get tumors spontaneously and frequently. Here's some references.
In short, if it gives a rodent a tumor that doesn't mean it will give a human a tumor.
The comment about caffeine, sugar-spiking and the blockade of adenosine receptors being akin to the actions of heroin is simply absurd. It is one of the most consistent and inaccurate bastardizations of pharmacology I see on a regular basis. Shameless abuse of science to appeal to a higher authority than infographics.
"Don't you remember one kid in your elementary school science projects doing the experiment with soaking teeth in coke? They dissolve in a matter of days. Kind of scary."
Scary and a bit disingenuous. I don't soak my teeth in Coke for days at a time. Even heavy Coke drinkers occasionally run something else through their mouths in the course of a day. Chips, perhaps. ;)
Yes, acid food is bad for your teeth. Soaking a tooth or penny in Coke or any other acidic liquid is not an accurate demonstration.
My husband kinda makes our own soda using fizzy water (he has a CO2 tank and carbonation cap for brewing) and juices. The best is lemon juice, grated ginger and maybe a 1/4 cup sugar shaken up in a 2LT bottle for home made ginger-ale! Or just half a glass of juice and half fizzy water. Way healthier than soda!
It's the acids they add to soda that make them a major threat to your teeth. Commercial sodas should never be consumed on a regular basis.
I'd usually rather have a nice glass of fresh water, anyhow.
Aspartame causes tinnitus. If I eat or drink something containing aspartame, my ears will be ringing within an hour or two. Really unpleasant. I won't touch the junk.
@HouseonClintonAve I think your doctor is probably the best person to ask about this and not the folks who read a fancy blog about cooking. No offense, but there are a lot of varying opinions and assertions here and the truth is probably somewhere in the middle. Instead of looking to the media and insurance companies for advice on our health, it's probably best to talk to people who actually know what they're talking about.
Is there any good reason to ever pick soda over water?
Have you ever put some citric acid in baking soda water? It totally fizzes over with a chemical reaction. Kind doesn't want me to put drinks loaded with the stuff in my kid's bodies!!
A can full of chemicals. Yummy.
A colleague of mine once asked for a diet coke in an Italian restaurant. The waiter put on a really disgusted face and said "We have wine and water. Which do you want?"
Seriously, it's not surprising that you gain wait if you constantly add calories to your normal diet, be it soda, juices or alcoholic drinks.
I must admit it's quite difficult for me to get American obsession about sodas. I do understand kids liking it, but adults? A fizzy, sugar or saccharine loaded stuff? Makes you bloated, burp and constantly thirsty. Ruins your teeth (so you spend extra $$ for whitening procedures at dentist's office). My in-laws did not drink anything except sodas, punches (this is even weirder; I tried it it tastes like crap) all their lives, never water; until they had severe health issues, but completely refuse to relate it to soda ("it's just soda, for god's sake"). So they were forced to quit, but struggle a lot. Instead they drink gallons of sweet tea - which is not much better - lots of sugar and caffeine. They are both obese.
Coming from post-soviet country I never had coke while growing up, first try was at age 22. Never was keen for it and don't have any craving for it what so ever. If I am thirsty I take water.
I've been soda free since June 3, 2009. Stopped cold turkey one day when I realized just how much I drank. Used to be a 6 cans of Coke per day guy, then changed to 3-4 20oz bottles of Coke Zero per day for a few years before deciding enough was enough. I've not had a soda of any sort since that June 3. I feel much better since stopping soda and primarily drinking water. I'll have the occasional tea (usually one glass per week) and never drink coffee. I sleep better, my weight is lower and more consistent, I'm rarely excessively thirsty, and I like telling people that I don't drink soda.
Ha ha LOL....I love that the Soda Stream ad showed up on this post.
I love an occasional soda because it is so yummycrackalicious. However, I was told by a urologist--who treated me for UTIs--that soda is a no-no when it comes to bladder health. Other bladder irritants include citrus juices, coffee, tea, alcohol, and spicy foods.
I don't know. I must have regenerating tooth enamel because I drank so much soda as a kid (not so much anymore) and I eat so many acidic foods I should have no teeth left but I've never had a cavity.
"Aspartame causes tinnitus. If I eat or drink something containing aspartame, my ears will be ringing within an hour or two. Really unpleasant. I won't touch the junk."
Aspartame cured me of a diet soda habit quickly. I used to wince and drink saccarine sodas (aftertaste, blech). I drank my first can of soda with aspartame on an empty stomach between classes in college. During the following class, my hands started to shake and I could see in my mind what I wanted to say but I couldn't make the words come out of my mouth correctly. I wasn't sure if it was really the Aspartame and tried diet sodas on a couple of different occasions. Same thing. If I'm given a diet soda by mistake when I've eaten or am eating, the reaction is milder but in the same vein. I KNOW what I want to say but I can't get the words to come out, along with shaky hands.
No more aspartame for me.
I stopped a large Diet Coke habit in late November or 2010. I had been drinking a 20 oz first thing in the morning, then 2-3 more throughout the day, and another glass with dinner.
One day I just thought, "I'm done with this, I don't want that anymore." I drink a ton of water, a cup of coffee every morning (with real sugar and real half-n-half), and unsweetened iced tea if we're eating out.
No idea if it it was the Diet Coke or increased work stress, but I lost over 25 pounds since then & am still losing (without trying, and in some cases with trying to STOP losing).
But like smoking or drinking, no one can make you quit. You have to want to do it and be ready to do it.
I stopped drinking soda pop when I was 16 as a new year's resolution. I'm now 25 and have been soda-free for almost 10 years (aside from allowing myself a little tonic with my gin). The strange thing is that after not drinking it for so long, even the smell of soda pop seems sickeningly sugary and sticky.
At 57, I thought I could never give up coke but thankfully I did. Then I lost 40 pounds but that was by avoiding other carbs, too.
Soda pop is murderous, whether diet or not.
Nowadays when I see people drinking pop it's weird - I actually have a thought like "what? they actually drink that stuff?"
I guess what I want to say is, we're conditioned to think it's so much a part of life. But once you kick the habit, and regain your health, it suddenly is so clear that it's like drinking antifreeze or something - unimaginable. I highly encourage people to do their best to give it up. If you do so in conjunction with avoiding other carbs (including so-called "good carbs"), even just for a week, there's a good chance it will be WAY easier than you thought it would be. This is because carbs are what cause carb cravings. In my case, going without carbs for EVEN ONE DAY made my evening food cravings to away entirely. I used to be a non-stop eater, especially later in the day. Now I have to remind myself to eat at all.
Coke and Pepsi are poison and should be treated as such. Think of them as treacherous, abusive "friends." Do you really want friends like that?
I've never drank much soda. I wasn't allowed to growing up and never drank much after leaving home since I didn't much care for it and was too cheap/broke to spend money on it. Plus now I don't eat or drink anything with corn syrup in it, since it almost undoubtedly comes from genetically modified corn and I try to avoid all GMOs. Very occasionally I'll have an organic soda in a glass bottle, but that is a very rare treat. Much better on the body and the budget to drink water!
I just don't like the taste of soda anymore. I used to when I was younger, but for some reason my adult stomach can't handle it. I prefer water, with a little lemon or even sparkling water with a teaspoon or two of syrup.
I usually don't drink sugary soda but when I am having pizza, i gotta have Coke zero.
i quit recently and it has been pretty good so far. in the past a number of things have tripped me up, starting with migraines from the caffeine withdrawal. this time i had a plan: drink water and green tea (caffeine) until the sugar cravings passed and frankly, until all that carbon was out of my digestive system. i've been trying to ween off the green tea (bottled) for a few days. did have a migraine this morning and took 1/2 a dose of excedrin. mostly, i have been drinking water since friday. even at the office which is RARE.
i notice i have to take my belt in another notch. kinda awesome. weight loss is only slight so far. but i've been trying to eat better too, and not late at night.
on teeth: my dentist told me that every time you sip a sugary drink, you feed the bacteria that work away at your enamel about 30 mins. worth of energy. so, if you sip every 15 mins. throughout the day, you give the bacteria the energy to drill on your teeth nonstop. he told me to drink it in a sitting and rinse with water afterward, at least.
this i cannot do. i've been sipping mtn. dew through the day for 15 years. but i have finally managed to quit! soon i'll figure out how to ween off the caffeinated tea (home brewed) and get on with it.
(and i was really happy to see an ad for organic agave nectar from domino sugar co. today!)
i'll add that people outside the u.s perhaps fail to understand the intense advertising and marketing we have subjected to all our lives. the logos are ubiquitous and the advertising sets the bar for every other kind of anything. coca cola was the #1 best advertiser of the 20th century. we live a nation where means of communication are perfected and everpresent. our television programming is now 24-hours a day. americans can be reached by any and every means of communication: tv, radio, internet (including blogs), movies, movie theaters and every available surface from automobiles to public benches.
as a people, we are besieged by emotionally messages meant to induce us to buy things. meant to make us believe that we need those things. that is our consumer culture.
if you're going to judge us, at least acknowledge that this machine was set in motion before the vast majority of us were ever born. we are indoctrinated.
and i say this as one who holds a b.a. in advertising.
@lady: it's true, I was amazed how much soda americans were drinking compared with europeans the first time I went to the States. personally I don't like sodas as they're too sweet for my taste (and I cannot stand aspartame) but I occasionally drink a Coca Cola when I've got stomach ache and it works!
Lady 3 - not to mention that sometimes soda is the only alternative available to coffee. As a child (when I loathed soda because we never had it at home so the whole fizzy thing grossed me out) I can remember family parties and even Catholic Order of Forester parties where the only options were soda or coffee. The same sometimes holds true for vending machines. If you want a cold beverage to carry around...soda machines abound but water isn't always an option.
Mama Gigi, I can't help but agree. A woman I work with drank diet soda out of a giant barrel all day long. She didn't like water, and claimed she got enough of it from the melting ice in her diet soda. She developed a benign brain tumor that had to be removed, and has since had to leave her job due to complications from the tumor and major depression.
We bought a Soda Stream a few months ago and it was one of the best purchases we've ever made! We're not big soda drinkers but we bought gallons of mineral water. By the time we ran out the first CO2 canister we'd already more than paid for the Soda Stream with what we saved buying bottled fizzy water. Now on our refilled canister at $15 for 60 litres we're really saving $! We loved it so much we've given 2 as gifts.
I like to put an herbal tea bag or two in my bottle before I pump in the CO2. In just a few minutes I have a wonderful "soda" with no calories or harmful ingredients.
We only had coke in the house for birthday parties when I was little. It was something you bought for your guests on special occasions. I never keep it in the house (out of habit from growing up, I guess). In college, I had to have a 3:00 Coke to make it through the long days, but I gradually weaned myself off of that. Now my co-workers make fun of me for re-filling my stainless steel water bottle five times a day.
I do still crave a Coca-Cola every once in a while (and have it), but almost any other soda tastes sickeningly sweet and syrupy to me. I find myself liking sweet flavors less and less as I get older and being drawn to slightly bitter flavors.
But oh my my, a ginger ale? Like a real ginger ale? Oh, weak in the knees for that stuff. Never keep it in the house, it wouldn't last two hours. Lucky for me they aren't in your average drink machine.
From what I understand about the diet soda-weight relationship (albeit, I read it in the NYT Sunday magazine, not exactly peer reviewed primary literature) is that the fake sugars don't trigger the feeling of satiation, so after drinking one diet soda, you're still unable to resist all kinds of other junk, whereas if you have a half of a real sugar (or HFCS, I suppose) soda, your ability to maintain your willpower might actually increase.
I'm 42 yrs old, and growing up my mom didn't allow soda. We only got it at someone else's home. I never grew a taste for it. It tasted too sweet. I still have only had a soda when travelling out of the country and the water is iffy. I sometimes forget to buy it when having a party or get together because I am so used to not even thinking about it.
alyssasteffes, diet soda tricks your body into thinking you are drinking a "sugary drink", so your body starts producing insulin to deal with all that sugar. When you body doesn't get any sugar (just the artificial sweeteners), your body's now full of useless insulin, so you start to feel hungry and you start eating to use up all that extra insulin. Diet isn't any better than regular soda.
I drink one Dr. Pepper a day. Everytime I try to cut back I feel depressed and get headaches. I know it is only one, but it is my crutch and I hate to give it up (okay, I'll have two if my kid is driving up the wall). I have never had alcohol, I have never smoked, and I've never had tea or coffee. I figure one Dr. Pepper a day is a small vice comparatively.
I became hooked while in university. We never drank soda as a child in Canada because it was really expensive. It is so cheap here in the states, everyone is pushing it on you. While I was pregnant, I stopped drinking soda (It made me sick). I was so proud of myself, but everywhere I went, there was soda. Every restaurant, at my in-laws, etc. Sometimes it is the only thing to drink (especially if you are getting fast food and want fries, the drink is basically free and they don't offer anything else). I feel like I don't really have a choice (maybe I'm just justifying).
I've never had a thing for soda [depite having two soda addics in the house who drink about a litre of coke per day, apiece.]. Save for the occasional half can of Dr Pepper or the tonic water in my G&T. I'd rather brew myself some unsweetened iced tea.
However, that Soda Stream business has piqued my interest.
Not all sodas are created equal. I am SO surprised that no one here drinks Zevia, a stevia soda. Zevia is the only soda I allow in my household. It contains no calories, no chemicals, no articifical sweeteners and no sugar. Oh, and no phosphoric acid either. It's a healthy soda, and thankfully, other than its natural citric acid on my teeth, doesn't apply to any of these concerns. I think I could tackle that last concern with a straw.
I drink a diet coke almost every day and it does not make me crave sugary/bad stuff later. It's weird, I don't have much of a taste for sweet at all, just diet coke. I love it. I don't like regular coke at all. I know it's bad, but I have pretty much eliminated everything else bad and unhealthy from my life/diet (well, besides wine/beer, but that doesn't count) and I am not giving up my diet cokes. Only a can or fountain though, bottles aren't good.
I don't really appreciate the diagram's emphasis on weight either. I only drink water. Ever, because I prefer it. And I'm still overweight. I also do not overeat, only eat fresh whole foods, I cook at home, organic when I can get it, exercise, avoid HFCS and preservatives. I'm still moderately overweight and yep, healthy. A lot of times people assume that your weight is indicative of one's health and that just isn't substantiated by research or observance. A thin person drinking a ton of soda and eats crap food is a lot less healthy than me. The assumption people make by looking at me is irritating.
I hardly ever drink soda. But every 3 months or so I crave a fountain soda. So I have one.
For the past few years I've only had soda maybe once every few months. I haven't noticed any differences other than in my wallet.
I've been drinking various flavors of Zevia for several months now, it's fantastic, no calories, no sugar, no aspartame, no high fructose corn syrup and no sodium benzoate. You can have your soda guilt free. The only issue is finding stores that carry it.
After drinking at least one 20oz bottle of Pepsi or Coke (never diet, ew, ew. It tastes like floor cleaner.) every day since high school, I quit altogether at 23. I did it for my teeth, mostly, and though I can't say I've lost weight (I'm pretty skinny anyway)- I found that I don't really gain weight when back then it seemed like I was getting heavier very slowly. Come to think of it, I am ingesting about 240 calories and 65(!!) grams of sugar less per day than I was back then. I do miss being buoyed by the dose of sugar and caffeine, though, but now when I look at soda, it isn't even a food to me. It might as well be a bottle of gasoline. It's made of processed junk not found in nature and I think my body is better off without it. I do sometimes crave soda intensely, and when I do, I buy a bottle and drink maybe a quarter of it. I throw the rest out before I get a chance to miss it. I know it's a waste of money, and that keeps me from doing it too often.
I believe soda truly is addictive. You are regularly dosing your body with caffeine and sugar/aspertame and whatever other things are in there that your body gets used to having. It isn't easy to go cold turkey, and not just because you crave the taste if it. Your body misses the chemical effect the soda has on you. When I craved soda, I would feel incredibly thirsty and think only a Coke or Pepsi could fix it, and of course it didn't.
It took the reality of having to pay out of pocket for the care of my already pretty bad teeth to quit soda, but two years later, my weight is maintained and I really think I am healthier.
@Lady J, the tea contains the same molecule called caffeine, but it's teine (? "théine" in french) in this case and it is not chemically bound in the same manner as caffeine (if I remember me tea classes well). It is less damaging to health.
In addition, tea provides numerous health benefits.
If you really want to quit all caffeine, you just have to make a first brew of your tea for 30 seconds, and you throw that water, and make a new brew (of the same leaves, indeed). Almost all the caffeine is gone.
My parents were fairly strict with us as children, never any soda in the house, not too many junk foods (until we were teens), I remember not even TRYING chips until I was about 8 or 9. When I finally did drink soda, the carbonation was way too much for my stomach even though I liked the taste. Even today beer and soda is very heavy in my stomach, I don't drink it often, if at all. I definitely credit my parents on my adult healthy eating choices and will choose water over anything else. I bring water with lemon every morning to work but if I'm out I don't put lemon in, you never know if they've washed it before putting it in your glass. :(
Makes me shake my head when people drink soda and complain about their weight. There's is so much scientific knowledge out there, easy to acquire, that can help one take control of their health in whatever way they want.
I had a 1 can daily diet Pepsi habit throughout my entire undergraduate degree. There was a little mom n' pop convenience store on my way home from campus, the cans were 75 cents, I'd have a little chat with the owner....it was all very nice.
I stopped for about a year and a half after I graduated, but I'm leading up to starting graduate school now and I find myself craving it again. Something about reading scientific literature just triggers that need in me.
Wow. I can't believe you can diagnose cancer so easily! What a great medical breakthrough! Someone you know drinks soda?!?! And has cancer?!?! Why, it's the soda, of course!
Should I experience any medical problems, I'll be sure to post them on this site for diagnosis.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Beginning in the US next month, Amazon will give amateur authors 35 per cent royalties from sales of their work made digitally available on the internet giant's website and on its Kindle devices.
There are cons: shit pay, they keep the publication rights, NO SEX AND VIOLENCE, and limited to writing what Amazon has licensed (so far they just have Gossip Girl, Pretty Little Liars, and The Vampire Diaries).
Still, this is a big ass move. As god awful as Fifty Shades was, it dropkicked fanfiction into the professional pop lit spotlight. Amateur writers often explore subcultural and outsider themes that the mainstream would do well to read more about. And it does give writers a few bucks they wouldn't have gotten before.
But the conditions are stifling. The freedoms fanfiction give are removed and quality doesn't go hand-in-hand with censorship.
Will you be penning a slashy masterpiece for kindle worlds soon, imagined dignities be damned? Or do you scoff at profiting off your Harry Potter/Hannibal crossover?


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We are excited to have Michele Lang visit us on her blog tour for REBEL ANGELS, the third book in her historical urban fantasy series; Lady Lazarus (available out now from TOR Book)s. Today she is talking about the challenges of writing historical urban fantasy and gives us some of her tricks for balancing the historical with the fantastical. If you haven't read this series yet, we've got three full sets to giveaway & everyone who enters the giveaway will receive the novella "The Magic of Fabulous" (set in the world of Lady Lazarus). Enter via the widget below.
Writing Historical Urban Fantasy
Michele Lang
Writers of historical urban fantasy face lots of challenges. But hidden inside the challenges, like a pearl, are huge advantages and pleasures (especially for the history junkies out there!)
To start, you must satisfy the demands of urban fantasy when you are writing within the genre's expectations. As a literal-minded writer, I tend to define the parameters based on the plain meaning of the words "urban" "fantasy" – fantasy set in an urban, usually gritty contemporary setting.
As a romance writer, one salient question for me is the potential overlap between Urban Fantasy (UF) and Paranormal Romance (PNR) … and I resolve the question in my mind by asking whether the primary plot is the romantic relationship between the heroine and hero, or the heroine or hero's magical battle against their villain in a vivid urban setting.
If the romantic relationship is paramount, you've got a paranormal romance. If the vivid urban setting and the heroine's journey is front and center, it's an urban fantasy (a hero can be the protagonist in UF just as easily as a heroine. A romantic subplot isn't even a necessary part of the UF recipe).
But things get much more complicated when you add a historical element to the mix. How do you integrate the noir vibe, the pacing, the fantasy, the love interest if there is one, and then add to this teetering stack of expectations a whole layer of historical setting?
By trial and error, I've developed some moves designed to balance the historical and fantastical in my work. Here are five of my secret tricks:
- Throw out your research. Look, I am a self-accepting history freak. I read books about the war of Jenkin's Ear for entertainment — that's just how I'm made. I could happily disappear into a library and never come out, so I have to watch myself. If I am writing a historical piece, I get enough to orient myself in the time, the place, and the essential conflicts of the time, and then I head into the story. Once I'm writing, I don't look at my personal pile of research unless I get stuck. The key: the research is the servant of the story, a tool to keep you moving. If it doesn't serve your story, put it aside. You can always obsess over historical details during revisions J
- Secondary Sources can get you up to speed quickly. Secondary historical sources – scholarly works, essays, biographies – will give you the best overview of a particular historical period. Here's a little trick I use to get oriented as quickly as possible: I start with middle grade or YA histories – they tend to present the facts in a straightforward way.
- Primary Sources will give your time period a human voice. Diaries, newspaper articles, and letters will give you the opinionated, subjective voices of people who lived through the period. It's good to read a number of them, and see where they disagree. Where to find good primary sources? A well-researched history will list primary sources in its Bibliography; costume books and cook books can also give you some insights into the clothes and culinary delights of a place.
- Use all of your senses to enter a place and time. The music, clothing, food and drink of a time period will bring you into history with all your senses, not just your mind. The Internet is a great place to find organizations devoted to exploring and recreating historical periods. Obvious places to start are groups like the Society for Creative Anachronism. http://www.sca.org/
- Travel Guides – your fastest comprehensive way into a different place. But beware the shifting tides of history…no location is static, and some places transform more completely and abruptly than others. For instance, since the 1930s time period of the LADY LAZARUS series, Eastern Europe has transformed again and again in the wake of enormous historical change. Budapest keeps changing, and yet the city retains a unique essence all its own…
Finally, here's a bonus tip for people writing historical fantasy.
In some places, the magic simply leaps into the story. For example, in REBEL ANGELS Magda and Raziel soar above the lower Caucasus on magic carpets. Azerbaijan makes some of the most beautiful carpets in the world, and the carpet factory in Quba is much as I described it in REBEL ANGELS, with the magic woven into the threads…
Michele Lang
Giveaway provided by TOR Books
3 sets of the Lady Lazarus series by Michele Lang
Everyone who enters wins the novella "The Magic of Fabulous" (set in the world of Lady Lazarus)
Available now from TOR Books
LADY LAZARUS Description:
With the romance of Twilight, the suspense of The Dresden Files, and the delicious thrills of True Blood, the enthralling saga of Magdalena Lazarus unfolds. Descended from the legendary witch of Ein Dor, she alone holds the power to summon the angel Raziel and stop Hitler and his supernatural minions from unleashing total war in Europe. The Nazis have fighters more fearsome than soldiers, weapons more terrifying than missiles, and allies that even they are afraid of SS werewolves; the demon Asmodel who possesses a willing Adolf Hitler, and other supernatural creatures all are literally hell-bent on preventing Magda from possessing the Book of Raziel, a magical text with the power to turn the tide against Hitler's vast war machine.
Magda, young and rebellious, grew up in the cosmopolitan city of Budapest, unaware of her family's heritage. When her mother dies, Magda–ready or not–is the Lazarus, who must face the evil that holds Europe in an iron grip. Unready to assume the mantle of her ancient birthright, but knowing that she must fight, she sets out across Europe searching for the Book. Magda is desperate enough to endanger her soul by summoning the avenging angel Raziel. When she sees him in the glory of his celestial presence, her heart is utterly, completely lost…
DARK VICTORY Description:
Magda Lazarus was a reluctant witch until the dire threat of Nazi Germany convinced her to assume the mantle of her family's ancient powers. But though this young, beautiful Jewish woman has fought off Hitler's SS werewolves and the demon who would rule through the Führer, she has been unable to prevent the outbreak of World War II.
As long as Magda can summon spirits, there is still a chance to save people from the dire threat of the Holocaust. Her family's guardian angel, Raziel, stands beside her in the battle against the human and supernatural forces of evil arrayed against her people and all of Europe.
In Michele Lang's Dark Victory, as the Nazis prepare to invade Poland, Magda and her beloved Raziel marshal their own army, a supernatural force that will battle Hitler's minions to the death…or beyond.
REBEL ANGELS Description:
Magda Lazarus has twice come back from the dead to fight the Nazis' devastating conquest of Poland. To prevent the Holocaust her sister has seen in terrible visions, Magda will need the Heaven Sapphire, a gem powerful enough to defeat even the demon Asmodel. With the future of all Europe in the balance, Magda and her husband, the fallen angel Raziel, begin a perilous journey to the Caucasus, the resting place of the fabled stone.
Surrounded by Germans, Russians, and mistrustful Azerbaijani tribesmen, Magda must summon all her magic to withstand the predations of the deadly supernatural foes. But more dangerous yet is the power of the Sapphire itself, which could stop Hitler…or destroy Magda.
Rebel Angels, the climactic book of Michele Lang's Lady Lazarus trilogy, filled with suspense, magic, and action, will have readers at the edge of their seats until the exciting conclusion.
Enter the giveaway via the widget below – US/CA for the series set, but the ebook is available internationally
Interested in being a guest on All Things Urban Fantasy? Fill out our Guest Request Form
About the author
- Review: Haunted (Bishop/Special Crimes Unit #15) by Kay HooperSeptember 18, 2014
- Review: Voices from Beyond (Ghost Finders, #5) by Simon R. GreenSeptember 15, 2014
- Deadly Destinations: Gina Rosati & win AURACLEAugust 8, 2012
27 Responses to Guest Blog & Giveaway: Michele Lang on Historical UF & win the Lady Lazarus series
I really like the outlander series.
I've been enjoying Kristen Callihan's Darkest London series.
I loved Harkness's "A Discovery of Witches."
My favorite historical fiction series is the Dear America series.
I love a wide variety of genres – Kate Daniels (Urban Fantasy), Nalini Singh (PNR), Murder, mystery – This sounds like a great series and I am excited to read it!
Thanks for the giveaway
kerryjcj AT verizon DOT net
Thanks for sharing! I'm also a fan of Kristen Callihan's Darkest London series and Deanna Raybourn's Lady Juliua Grey series.
I love Kelly Armstrong and Nalini Singh.. well I love an book that can take me into the past especially when I know little about it and make me feel like I am there walking beside the characters ..feeling what they feel.
I loved Outlander by Diana Gabaldon
Karen monings highlander series
I tend to like stories with a paranormal twist, but I do like Donna Grants Dark Sword series, Maya Banks Highlander series, and many more. I know I've read a few straight historicals that I enjoyed a lot, but this cold is kicking my brain to the curb
evanlea at gmail dot com
I love all things Philipa Gregory. I really like her Tudor Court series. Regency England is super interesting to me. There's so much intrigue and secrets and spies. I just love it. I also really love historical romance books.
My favourite historical novel is The name of the rose by Umberto Eco.
Even though I haven't read either, I would say Gone with the Wind and North and South. Thanks for the giveaway. [email protected]
Any of Lynsay Sands historical romances.
Thanks for the chance to win!
I love Outlander by Diana Gabaldon.
I love the Sherlock Holmes Books and the Francesca Cahill series. Sherlock Holmes is set in London and Francesca Cahill is set in New York. Both are detectives.
I love the Brother Cadfael series by Ellis Peters, along with most anything set during the Regency period.
Excellent article. Gives me some thing to think about.
I love Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen also enjoy historical romances, thanks for the chance to win
My favorites in UF are Patricia Briggs, Ilona Andrews, Kelly Armstrong and Eileen Wilks.
Jennifer Ashley's Highland Pleasures series
I love so many… how about the Arcane series that has the historicals written by Amanda Quick!
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Sugar cane is used too, and these are the cleanest oils to use.


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Sprint, yes Sprint, just raised the bar when it comes to Android handsets by announcing the HTC EVO. It runs Android 2.1, can connect to Sprints 3G/4G network, can share its WiFi connection with up to 8 device, has a 1Ghz Snapdragon processor, a 4.3-inch 800×480 touchscreen, an 8 megapixel camera with 720p video capabilities (there's also a 1.3mp forward facing camera), 1GB of built-in RAM, FM radio, 3.5mm headphone jack, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR with A2DP support, WiFi, compass, g-sensor, microSD card slot and an HDMI port to share your media on a connected HDTV. Oh yeah, there is a little kick stand built into the back of the phone for perching it on a desk.
Whoa, that is quite the feature set. Unfornuately, price and a launch date have yet to be officially announced, but you can expect the EVO sometime this summer.


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Saturday, 2/8, 2-4pm
(usually 2nd Saturday of every month, 2-4pm)
Sliding scale $10-$20 (more if you can, less if you can't, **nobody turned away** — if you're broke you should still come write with us!)
Workshop facilitated by Gina de Vries
This is a writing workshop for current and former sex workers to share their writing and get honest, non-judgmental feedback. Workshop participants are not obligated to write exclusively about sex work, but writing about work in the sex industry (as well as writing about other topics) will be welcomed. This is a place where people can write and share about their sex work experiences without having to censor themselves or explain every detail. Beginning writers are encouraged to attend along with more seasoned wordsmiths.
Sex Workers' Writing Workshop is all-genders. We define the term "sex worker" broadly, as people who have exchanged erotic labor for money/food/shelter, including but not limited to:
+Street and Survival Sex Workers
+Escorts and Personal Companions
+Sensual Massage and Sensual Body Work Providers
+BDSM workers; pro-dommes, subs, and switches
+Adult Film Actors; Porn Models and Performers; Nude Models; Cam Girls and Boys
+Exotic Dancers; Strippers; and Peep Show Workers
+Phone Sex Operators
+And many other Sex Workers and Adult Entertainers!
(If we're forgetting your area of the industry in this definition, tell us!)
**Email questions, volunteer inquiries, etc, to email@example.com.
**While we can't guarantee a scent-free space, we ask that all attendees please refrain from wearing scented products to ensure that workshop members with chemical sensitivities can attend.
**We ask that our non-sex worker friends, lovers, partners, allies, and clients respect that this space is FOR SEX WORKERS ONLY.
INSTRUCTOR BIO: Gina de Vries is a genderqueer femme, a queer Paisan pervert, and a writer, performer, and activist with a long history doing political organizing in and with queer, trans and gender-variant, intersex, and sex worker communities. She co-edited the queer youth anthology [Becoming] with Diane Anderson-Minshall in 2004, and her publications include The San Francisco Bay Guardian, $pread, Curve, Coming & Crying, Take Me There: Trans & Genderqueer Erotica, and The Revolution Starts at Home. Gina is the founder and co-curator (with Elena Rose and Julia Serano) of "Girl Talk: a trans & cis woman dialogue," a spoken-word show fostering and promoting dialogue about relationships of all kinds between non-trans and trans women. She has performed, taught, and lectured everywhere from chapels to leatherbar backrooms, and university appearances include Harvard University and Yale University. She is the founder and facilitator of Sex Workers' Writing Workshop, a writing class for current & former sex workers at San Francisco's Center for Sex & Culture (where she also serves on the Advisory Board). A graduate of Hampshire College, Gina is currently pursuing her Master of Fine Arts in Fiction Writing at San Francisco State University, where she is working on a book of short stories. Find out more at ginadevries.com, and keep track of her on the daily at queershoulder.tumblr.com
Sex Workers' Writing Workshop
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The Center for Sex & Culture is proud to be a recipient of a San Francisco Arts Commission Creative Space Grant, supporting CSC's physical space in three ways: developing our library (particularly shelving); improving our lighting grid, both for library and for our stage area; and supporting disability access to the building and its restroom facilities.
CSC by Center for Sex and Culture is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at http://www.sexandculture.org/.


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Question & Answers
Which is better FIITJEE or VMC ?
I'm right now in class 10. I would be joining a coaching center next year in Delhi. So which should be the best option according to the faculty?
no doubt. Fiitjee is best
Resonance is best I would suggest mayur vihar 1 branch faculty is top notch.
Choose coaching institute after consulting past students . Resonance is worst.
Resonance is on 2nd rank
I want the centre in south delhi. And also can you tell me how to prepare for FTRE?
When i given d ftre test d chemistry come behind d scope math mostly cover co-ordinate geomtry,quadratic equation and phy with mechanis
I'm an ex resonite so stfu@ menghaniv
VMC punjabi bagh is good. presently i am an ex fiitjian or fiitjian. FIITJEE NOIDA. The point is VMC is more systematic and technologically better with accurate level of paper whereas fiitjee papers are very high level. But yea VMC expects you to do many things on your own but fiitjee teaches even small small topics.
go for naraina punjabi bagh
If you are ready to put your 100%, join VMC. Its just amazing provided you actually put some efforts!
I know VMC punjabi bagh is good but it is very far from my home. Almost 2 hour journey.
Even Anand Vihar is good!
9500 students have qualified for JEE Advance from FIITJEE.
The expected JEE Main topper, who is getting 345 marks, is a student of FIITJEE. Around 950 FIITJEE students have scored 250+ in JEE Mains and around 1800 have scored 200+ from FIITJEE.
I don't think any other coaching institute has better stats in JEE Mains. Correct me if I am wrong.
Your right! But fot your kind information, talk in terms of percentage coz thousands of students go to FIITJEE whereas VMC takes limited students.
Join FIITJEE Their infrastructure and faculty both are good. Also, their AITS, CPPs, daily quizzes and weekly performance enrichment tests combined with their study packages make it very easy for you. I would suggest taking the integrated 2 yr programme.
I'm from FIITJEE pune and I scored 270 in JEE mains this yr
it depends on students ,i just want to say that self study is the best !!!!
currently i am in vmc... no doubt the Test series and JEE mains tests of vmc are easy as compared to fiitjee's aits.. but u dont need such tough paper too. if u are joining vmc you should focus more on self study rather than relying on teacher to teach u every concept
you should have gone for foundation batch in 10th std. it would have given u a sort of experience.( i joined vmc when i was in 10th).
FIITJEE is best no doubt! And YES.. coaching institutes DO play an important role..! GO for FIITJEE if you want the best!
vmc is the best as they encourage u to do more self study which is most important to get into iit


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Summer Days Drifting Away.
© deepstar, Sep 2012
Climbers: deepstar.
Camera used: Canon IXUS 220HS


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California Pacific Medical Center
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Katerina P. Shetler, M.D.Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Mountain View Center
701 E. El Camino Real
Mountain View, CA 94040
(650) 934-7575
Specializing inGastroenterology
Accepting new patients
Offers My Health Online This provider offers Sutter Health's electronic health record with the following online services: Email your doctor's office, Prescription refills, View test results, Proxy access for caregivers, Track immunizations, Secure mobile access, Schedule an appointment*, Pay bills online*. * Services with an asterisk vary by doctor.
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Prosthetic's Anonymous Shit rolls; piss trickles; I fell face first into both. Seriously, I did. They say when you hit rock bottom that it's for the better. It's because you haven't been res…
Don't be shy, follow the link.
The news cycle is hot with racism. The Donald Sterling lifetime ban has created ripples, with people anointing Adam Silver as a champion for Civil Rights and the ban being a "historic" moment for America.
Forgive me for my skepticism, but the ban of Donald Sterling has done very little to address…
I have been waiting all year to post this.
Good Grief
Your honor, something is amiss here!
As you are probably aware, library materials are labeled with barcodes as well as a number to determine their location on the shelf, as per the Dewey Decimal System. The books just to the left of the manga are labeled, as are the DVDs just in view on the lower shelf. Look even further behind these shelves and you'll see that even those books are labeled!
Ladies and gentlemen of the courtroom, I invite you to take a closer look at the volumes that are, allegedly, part of this law library! Something is missing from the spines, isn't there?
Where are the bar codes?!
This is a blatant contradiction! The OP is lying— these volumes cannot, therefore, be a part of this library at all! I propose that they simply brought these materials in for the sake of the joke!!
Only focusing on one aspect and not the whole of the issue, are we, Mr. Wright? Typical.
Your honor, if you bring your attention to the books just left of the manga, you'll notice there's a book (the second to the left) that also does not have a bar code.
If you examine the picture even closer—particularly the DVDs below—you'll see that they bear bar codes, but not on the spines. No, they have them on the back and/or front of the DVDs. Of course, this method of labeling and organizing isn't limited to products of the film industry alone.
Therefore, I'd like to propose that it is entirely possible that the manga books do, in fact, belong to the library!
Wh-WHAAAAT?! You're kidding!!
(Shoot, he's got me there… Better think of something fast! Something about the books that sets them apart from—
…! I've got it!)
While that may be true, you've also overlooked one critical error: the titles of the books! Whether or not your hypothesis regarding the labeling system is correct, these titles aren't alphabetized correctly! What kind of self-respecting librarian would misplace such vital books?
Well, Edgeworth?
While it pains me to have to point out something so obvious, I suppose I'll make an exception for you, Wright.
Clearly, one look at the titles of the books next to the manga is a tell-all of this certain library's less-than-stellar organization skills. None of the books are in alphabetical order, I'm afraid.
They could very well be alphabetized by author and not title, but it's a little difficult to be able to decipher that from this single picture, wouldn't you say?
Furthermore, the manga books themselves are in numerical order, suggesting some kind of system is in place, albeit not a very good one, if the alphabetizing is off.
At the end of the day, it seems like neither of us can draw a clear conclusion from this evidence alone. Your honor, I strongly suggest a recess in which we could investigate the library itself further.
I see the issue here very clearly.
Due to the uncertain nature of this case, we'll have to postpone this decision until more decisive evidence can be obtained. The court will now take a 15-minute recess.
(W-wait, but I'm not—)
I've got some decisive evidence for you, pal!
We investigated further into the photo. Zooming in, you can see a label on the DVD case to the bottom left.
Photo Close-up added to the court record!
As you can see, pal, you can vaguely see the words "Of Toledo Law Library" on the label!
And, considering possibilities of the rest of that label, "University of Toledo" was the first to come to my mind!
A quick search on the University of Toledo's Online Law Library Database revealed that there ARE the comics pictured in it!
Miles Edgeworth Ace Attorney Investigations volumes 1-4 and Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney volumes 1-5!
And there's more!
The section these comics are filed under is the "Law in Popular Culture" Section, which matches up with the stickers on the rest of the books on that shelf: "Lowering the Bar: Lawyer Jokes & Legal Culture", "Prime Time Law", "Lawyers in Your Living Room!" and "Reel Justice: The Courtroom Goes to the Movies"!
Not only is it in the right section, it's also a documented part of the Law Library's database!
How's that for decisive evidence?
In this essay I will cover several films: Alien and Aliens. Each is directed by a different person, but both are equally as compelling and both have extremely strong images. I will not only tackle the complex character of Ellen Ripley, as well as the horses she rides in on i.e. the ships. I have two goals: To distinguish the differences within the ships and the paternal (masculine)/maternal (feminine) role change between movies for Ripley.
In the opening sequence of Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979) we are presented with an enormous, black ship named Nostromo. Within its air tight walls reside the interweaving gas pipes, long hollow corridors, bright and dim neon lights, several control panels, a cafeteria, a central command room, and a sleeping chamber where are soon-to-be dead passengers awake. The Nostromo is monitored, sustained, and controlled by an artificial computer named "Mother" and its crew are essentially the children. At this moment the crew are not the focal point, the ship itself is the concerning issue. For the most part the ship is harmless, like any and all machinery, but by the end of the film, the Nostromo becomes a part of the terror that takes place within its very hallways. The ship, in some way, represents the female body. Mostly due to the AI computer system, as well as the corridors that take the form of a women's womb. The children of Nostromo or its crew, are frantically traversing the ships long, dark corridors, trying to find a way out, a way to escape the monster, just like the way a new born tries to leave its mother's womb. The real monster itself, the Xenomorph, must find its way around the endless tubing that is the ship's hallways and ventilation shafts. Unlike the crew, the Xenomorph is better suited for the dark, claustrophobic corridors, probably because it's akin to such conditions, or because it is has learn to adapt to its new surroundings. Like the Nostromo, the derelict spaceship, in which the Xenomorph hails from, it too is similar in fashion. Although the ship itself is more dark, humid, the corridors are massive, the walls are both organic and natural (as to suggest life), and like the Nostromo, both ships are identical in nature. Both give life and take it away. "The first… scenario, which takes the form of a birthing, occurs in Alien at the beginning when the camera/spectator explores the inner space of the mother-ship." (Creed, p. 18) If the Nostromo gives life to the crew, then the alien ship gives life to the face-huggers. Within the alien ship lay thousands of eggs, all of whom are awaiting to be awaken so that they can attach themselves to a host. Which will eventually culminate in the loss of six crew members aboard the Nostromo. Thus completing the circle of life. If the Nostromo and the derelict ship represent maternity/motherhood, then the battle ship from Aliens (James Cameron, 1986) is a metaphor for the phallus. In the opening shots, the camera pans, tracks, and zooms in and out onto missiles, drop ships, crates of weapons, military vehicles, loaders, barracks, and the hibernation chamber (like that of Alien). The entire environment is did up to look like a badass-one-stop-kill-everything-and-anything-shop. Just like in Alien, we learn a little something about our crew, from their paychecks to their cold feet and so on and so forth. All of the men, including the women are built, lean, and obviously strong. Within minutes of being "birthed", Vasquez (Jenette Goldstein), the butch lesbian, is doing pull-ups. This masculinity is showcased several more times with the confines of the battleship. The crew, after having their bug hunt debriefing, are shown loading up nuclear warheads, piling crates of ammo and weapons into drop ships, eating food and discussing sexual endeavors with off world colonist. The scene not only shows off the moral of the men, but how masculine and macho the marines are. The ship adds to this as well. The ship embodies the crew's tough, masculinity and encourages them to embrace it. The battle ship, unlike the Nostromo, is meant for war, to wipe out any and all possible threats. With the Nostromo and derelict ship both being metaphorically impregnated with eggs and the Xenomorph, the battle ship is essentially the male or phallus that will try to impregnate LV246 with destruction and death, death of aliens and death to the Queen.
Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) goes through many changes with the Alien franchise. In the first Alien film Ripley is masculine in nature. Her backstory, along with the rest of the crew, is unbeknownst to the viewer. Aside from trivial knowledge given to us by the crew i.e. their discrepancy with the pay situation, the horrible food, and the anticipated arrival to earth, the crew is pretty much a closed book. It is not until in Aliens that we get to know more about our heroine. Ripley is basically a back seat driver through the first half of the film, up until Kane (John Hurt) becomes "…violated in an act of phallic penetration." (Creed, p. 19) After Kane encounters his "rapist" and goes into a coma, Dallas (Tom Skerritt) and Lambert (Veronica Cartwirght) proceed to bring Kane back onto the Nostromo, but Ripley is more concerned with sticking to contamination protocol. This act of disobeying a direct order from her captain is a direct representation of the masculine female. Or rather what we perceive the phallic female to be like. This representation of the masculine female is apparent throughout the entirety of the film. After some back and forth between Dallas and Ripley, Ash (Ian Holm) opens the airlock and lets Dallas and Lambert in with Kane. Eventually Ripley confronts Ash with a very macho, cocky attitude, displaying her dominance or attempted dominance of the ship. Ripley pokes and prods at Ash, picking apart his intentions, of whether or not they were beneficial to the crew. Ash, at this point, is un-confrontational. The scene opens up with a long tracking shot from the bright corridor to the dark contaminated room where Ash is working on the face-hugger. "That's amazing. What is it?" says Ripley to Ash. If Ripley were to have, at this point, be represented as a feminine character, we would most likely hear a much different line. The fact that she thinks the thing is amazing, although she comes off very sarcastic, shows that she is being fictitious. This fictitious nature is unbecoming of a female or of a feminine character. This line further proves that Ripley is very much masculine. This fictitious pestering continues as Ash gets backed into the corner like a scared child. "How's Kane… Our Guest… And you let him in." Ripley badgers Ash like if she were a young boy picking on the nerdy kid. She questions his intentions, in which he replies, "What would you have done with Kane?" However, we already know what she would have done. Her intentions were to save the crew from contamination, as well as herself. She was, indirectly or not, protecting herself. This protecting of one's self is a characteristic that is generally associated with men. Not only are we hearing her protest, her condescending attitude towards Ash and his intentions for Kane, but we get a clear understanding of how a masculine female works. She feels little to no empathy for Kane and his condition. Ripley makes sure that Ash knows that he disobeyed her, although she herself did the same with her captain, and that he disregarded the quarantine protocol, which puts them all in danger. A few scenes later, when Dallas is ready to leave the planet so that he can take his crew back home, Ripley questions why he has allowed Ash control over Kane and the specimen. Dallas replies that "…it happens because the company wants it to happen."Dallas accepts his role as captain of the ship, but Ripley does not agree. She believes that Ash is untrustworthy, and by the tone of her voice, one could argue that if she were captain, she wouldn't allow Ash to have control over the face-hugger and Kane. Going back to the scene with Ash and Ripley, Ripley makes it clear to Ash that she was in charge. A smirk even graces her face when she says it, thus displaying her masculinity and hunger for control. It's not until later on in the film when "each of the crew members come face to face with the alien… a monstrous, cannibalistic maternal figure…" (Creed, p. 23) do we get to see a slightly different look at Ripley, but it's only for a short matter of time. Ripley is much like the alien creature itself. "The alien's ever changing shape, its chameleon nature…" (Creed, p. 23) Ripley too changings shape. She starts out as fictitious, becomes compliant and passive, then after the death of Dallas, and her brush with death by way of Ash, she turns into a badass, machismo heroine. The only instance where we get to see Ripley act out her maternal nature is when she goes after her cat, Jones. This act signifies that Ripley is not all masculine as she has been throughout the entire film. But one has to wonder what it is about the cat that makes Ripley go into motherhood mode. "One could argue that she saw the aloof Jones as a kindred spirit, sharing the self-preservation instinct that allowed her to be the lone human survivor." (Naureckas) However, Ripley is still a "ruthless character." (Naureckas)
Most characters tend to not switch roles in sequels. Rambo (Sylvestor Stallone) was still the same badass character that he was in Rambo: First Blood Part II (George P. Cosmatos)like he was in First Blood (James Cameron). But unlike Rambo, Ripley changes characters. She goes from a ruthless, aggressive masculine character, to a passive, feminine character who is more concerned with her maternal feelings then she is with "Ramboing" a bunch of aliens. The film Aliens (James Cameron) opens much like the way Alien opened, with sleep. Ripley has been drifting in space for 57 years, along with her buddy Jones. It's by chance of "blind luck" that she gets rescued by a salvage team. Instead of waking up to a cold floor and shitty food, Ripley snaps out from a nightmare in which a Xenomorph is bursting out of her chest. This becomes a reoccurring dream of hers, but one we only see once. Once again Ripley has to face the monster that killed her entire crew. But she isn't alone, she will have the help from the United States Colonial Marines. Unlike her new crew, who snarl and grunt at their commanding officer, play games with knives and fingers, and continuously make jokes about one another - "Hey Vasquez, ever been mistaken for a man?", Ripley is passive, jumpy, and keeps to herself. Although, this new state of mind only last for a short while (it's not until the end she becomes badass). During this time, Ripley plays more of the maternal role, while her crew engages in masculine, phallic ideologies. "Hey Ripley, don't worry, me and my squad of ultimate badasses will protect you… check it out… we got nukes, we got knives, sharp sticks…) Hudson (Bill Paxton) says to Ripley as they prepare to drop down on LV246. This masculine behavior is opposite of what Ripley feels. Before this scene, when Ripley is trying to help debrief the marines on what the situation entails, she gets choked up and has a hard time talking about the event that took place on board the Nostromo. Of course the marines joke about the situation, but that's to offset Ripley's maternal mindset. Much later on in the film, after the marines clear the drop zone and reassure themselves that the coast is clear of any hostiles, Ripley and the crew encounter their first real problem, a child. This encounter reenergizes Ripley, it's her transcendence of the weak feminine and into motherhood or into the maternal nature. For those that haven't seen the director's cut of Aliens will be unable to understand why Ripley so quickly jumps from a passive, weak character, to a more protective, mother like character. In the director's version, we get the backstory that was kept from us in Alien. Ripley was on her way home, hoping to make it to her daughter's 11th birthday party. Of course with the passing event and the 57 years she spent drifting in space, her daughter has since passed away, unbeknownst to her that her mother was still alive. When Ripley encounters Newt (Carrie Henn) she has a newfound place in life. She has a child that she can protect and save and perhaps have a life with. "[Ripley] has a deep maternal relationship with an orphan girl named Newt. She jeopardizes everyone to save Newt from being implanted with an Alien embryo, though the film wrote off its other characters as they were taken away to the egg chambers. Presumably Ripley's "maternal instinct" must override other considerations." (Naureckas) This child kicks Ripley's maternal engine into over drive. Everything from here on out is about making sure this little girl makes it out alive. The scene that makes Ripley's maternal state most apparent is when she is putting her to bed. "My mommy said there were no monsters, no real ones, but there are." Newt says to Ripley, in which she replies, "Yes there are, dear." However, the look on her face when she says this shows that she'd rather have it not be true, so that way, as a mother, she could keep her child safe from harm. This scene explains to us that Ripley is no longer the ruthless, badass, instead she's just a mother trying to get home to her daughter. But eventually, Ripley, will have to become that badass, ruthless women she once was so long ago. As the rest of her crew slowly becomes overwhelmed with their current situation, Ripley takes over, and transforms into the all-knowing-all-caring mother role. Although, in a quick romantic scene, she learns to use a weapon, including the grenade launcher, but this moment of masculinity is quickly overshadowed by power nap with Newt. The sleep scene registers as a moment of relief for Ripley. Like the nightmare scene, we see Ripley basking in the mother role that she was swiped of in Alien. The way she looks at Newt or how she brushes her hair away from her only like a mother can do, allows the audience to feel empathy towards Ripley and her loss i.e. her daughter. Like I stated previously, Ripley does return to her former self, but this time around she encompasses both the maternal and paternal (masculine) nature. After Ripley saves Newt from her pending doom of becoming a surrogate mother for some Xenomorph, they are thrusted into the Queens lair, where they are faced with a dilemma: Do they kill the Queen or try to escape? "Ripley identifies with the Queen's need to protect her spawn, but that moment quickly leads to Ripley's attempt to napalm the Queen and her eggs. We must destroy the alien, especially when we realize it is close to ourselves." (Naureckas) Although the Queen herself is a mother, she is not the mother of Newt, which whom Ripley must protect. This scene is quite extraordinary in itself. The image of Ripley holding Newt in one arm and a flame thrower in the other sets up the duality of paternal (masculinity) vs. maternal (femininity) within Ripley. She becomes the badass, ruthless mother that protects her child at all cost, even if that means destroying another's children. After the final fight scene, where Ripley takes up arms in a mech-loader, the ultimate image for masculinity in regards to a female body, she defeats the Queen. But she does not defeat her with her femininity. Like in Alien, Ripley resorts back to be all masculine. She is all empowered by her ruthless, cutthroat emotions, and with the help of a phallic machine. But after her disposal of the Queen, Newt's line "Mommy!" brings us back into viewing Ripley not as a masculine female, but as a mother. And like a mother, Ripley tucks in her child, and tells her "Sleep tight." And smiles at her to let her know that nothing bad is going to happen.
It's so rare that we come across a character that changes roles from one film to the next. Ripley goes from ruthless and independent, to weak and passive, to maternal and strong, and back to ruthless while still holding onto her maternal nature. Along with the ever changing character of Ellen Ripley, it takes a good amount of effort to show the contrasting differences with a character by way of environment. The inner workings of the Nostromo, the alien ship, and the battle ship all help to distinguish who we are watching and what to watch for. If I were ever in Ellen Ripley's shoes I would only ever hope to get the chance to say "Get away from her, you bitch!"
Works Cited
Creed, Barbara. "Horror and the Archaic Mother: Alien." The Monstrous-feminine: Film, Feminism, Psychoanalysis. London: Routledge, 1993. 18-25. Print.
Naureckas, Jim. "Aliens: Mother and the Teeming Hoardes." Jump Cut. Jump Cut, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
The Saddest Boy in the World
I did the dialogue editing, foley, and mixing on this new short film, Bananas, starring Jayma Mays of Glee. It has been on the festival circuit over the last year, and won the Audience Award at the 2013 LA Comedy Festival.
trueAkiba is a proud member of YOBI.TV the Online Talent Contest website. Visit our website to get information about YOBI.TV and trueAkiba
If any of you Tumblr friends get a chance, I just uploaded a video to a contest and would like some support. Folllow the link to my profile and from there you can click on my entries and vote for me. You can also have a look around the site and check out some other talented people. I do believe you have to sign up but it's quick and easy. Thanks in advance.
Goodfellas steadicam shot with no music.
I love my city, like no other!


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It can be hard thinking about your own mortality.
But, whether you are a senior citizen, a new parents, or even the owner of a few possessions, having a will is an important part of life.
In Jefferson County, there are resources being offered to help people, who either don't have a will or are wanting to update theirs.
Cumberland School of Law is hosting a series of free "wills clinics", to help seniors 65 and older to do just that.
On Tuesday, students and graduates of Cumberland School of Law, as well as other volunteer attorneys from across Jefferson County, drafted wills for seniors at the Homewood Senior Center.
Leonora Fox, who updated her will on Tuesday says, "(People) need to have a will, because you never know what's going to happen to you, and you have to have a will."
The clinic also offers help drafting 'living wills', powers of attorney, and advanced directives.
If you missed Tuesday's clinic, there are two others coming up. One at the Gardendale Civic Center, on October 23. The other will be October 24 at the Fairfield Civic Center.
Evangelist Franklin Graham prayed on a sidewalk outside the Pentagon Thursday after his invitation to a prayer service inside was withdrawn because of comments that insulted people of other religions. More>>


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Categories > Celebrities > My Chemical Romance > Oh My (Demi) God(s)!
Chapter Two:The Meeting4 Reviews
In Which They All Meet! :)
Chapter Two
Ray's P.O.V
I was being led to a cabin by some rude looking lady, but I was walking without thinking, I was still trying to process it all. What I had thought of my life was all falling to pieces. My day had started out normal up until I got home to find my mom in my room packing, at first I thought there was an emergency or something but she was packing peacefully and for me only. She told me to help her pack so I did. Once we were done she told me everything, and why she was packing I listened to most of what she said up until the middle of her story when she said it what I was waiting to her all my life, I finally knew who my dad was. Though the answer wasn't what I expected.
And I still don't believe it, I just don't want to it just can't be, what if my mom was playing so sick joke and just trying to get me to go to a camp to "help" me.
It seemed we finally arrived at my so called "cabin." Right before we went in the lady informed me one of my roommates was already there, and we'd be getting 3 more people. Great first this place seemed so old looking, when you first catch sight of this place you'd think that it was just a building, but behind it there were many cabins surrounded by trees the place seemed like a forest incognito.
There was a strawberry-blonde kid, which looked around my age so 17, sitting on one of the beds. The cabin was huge I thought we would all be cramped, by the looks of it outside. The Lady, whose name I still didn't know said to get settled in and we'd start instruction tomorrow, and with that walked out. I wonder what she meant by that, what would be doing?
I noticed there were two bunk beds and a single. My mysterious roommate was sitting on the single one so I decide to take the bottom on one of the bottom bunks.
He got up and walked towards me and stopped in front of me and stuck his hand out for me to shake. I shook it and introduced myself, "Ray," I said.
"Bob," he replied.
"Are you as confused as I am or was this one of my parents' sick jokes?" he asked.
"Same, I thought the same but if we were both told the same, then possibly not." I said.
"So, what your parents started going off about Greek gods and them being your parents and stuff?" He asked, he was as confused as me possibly more.
"Practically, yeah so who's your "real" mom or dad?" I asked
"Dad, actually, and The "great" god of war, Ares" he said, I could tell he wasn't thrilled especially because he even raised his hands and did little sarcastic quotation marks.
"Oh…" I said. I really didn't know what to say.
"And you?" he asked. I was about to answer when the door opened, and a short looking kid walked in he seemed to be around 16 but his height said otherwise. I was surprised that bitchy lady wasn't with him.
"Hey, I'm Frank well Frankie," he said, and did a little wave as well.
"Hi," Bob and I said in unison.
"So who of all the gods are you a son of?" Bob asked.
"Aphrodite. I have no cool powers!" Frank pouted.
"Sucks, but its better that way I get stuck being the kid of Ares, so I'll be expected to be able to fight and crap, and I have not once ever fought someone." Bob said.
"And you?" Frankie asked, looking straight at me. And again I was about to say it when the door creaked open revealing a tall shy looking kid, and a raven long haired kid.
"Hi?" whispered the shy one.
"Hello!" we all yelled. Making him smile and loosen up a bit.
"I'm Ray," I said.
"Mikey, and this is Gerard my brother, no matter what those bitch gods say!" he said defensively. And Gerard smiled a bit and waved.
"I'm Frankie" Frank chimed in looking straight at Gerard, with a big goofy smile. Weird.
"Well everyone has introduced themselves so, I'm..." He was interrupted.
"BOB!" Frankie yelled, damn he was a hyper kid.
"Whose offspring are you from?" He asked.
"Well, I'm Apollo's Son, apparently, and Mikey's Artemis'." Gerard said.
"But, wasn't Artemis the only supposal virgin goddess?" I asked.
"Yeah, I don't get that either, but she did have a daughter, when Hera and SOMEBODYS mom tricked her." Bob said, we all looked at Frankie.
"Hey! It's not my fault my mom's a total bitch" Frankie said defensively.
"It's okay Frank." Mikey said.
"So what Mikey's like a secret child?" I asked. Every one shrugged.
"RAY! You never told us whose kid you are!" Frank exclaimed.
"Okay well I am….." And again I was interrupted.
A/N: Hahaha!(Evil Laugh! ^_^) You'll find out who Ray's Dad is soon enough! But For now tell me what you think please, and who do you think his dad is? So yeah…Rate & Review! Pretty Please. –xoxo(;


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Categories > Original > Humor > The Book of Hondo
2nd Dudes 40 Reviews
The Prophetess of Hondo
The Man Whose Name Was Erased By the Spanish Conquistadors begat Shaphat. And Shaphat begat the Son of X-51. And the Son of X-51 begat Elisha the False Prophet. And Elisha the False Prophet begat Abel-meholah. And Abel-meholah begat Œdipus, who was one complex motherfucker. And Œdipus begat Benhadad. And Benhadad begat Cartman's Mom.
And Cartman's Mom begat Naboth. And Naboth begat Enmishpat the Cocksucker. And Enmishpat the Cocksucker begat Belial. And Belial begat the Argob Chicken-Fucker. And Argob the Chicken-Fucker begat Tishbite, who was the father to all who Outer Space Meditate. And Tishbite begat Ahijah. And Ahijah begat the Opposite of George. And the Opposite of George begat Zedekiah, and he knew Gerda, but he didst abstain from knowing her that well, but his brother begat Guy.
And Guy begat Chena'anah. And Chena'anah begat the Man Who Invented the Squeegee. And the Man Who Invented the Squeegee begat Azubah. And Azubah begat uostwis r dewoH. And uostwis r dewoH begat Mi-ca'iah the Lumberjack. And Mi-ca'iah the Lumberjack begat Amon. And Amon begat Zapata. And Zapata begat Little Slippery Dude.
And Little Slippery Dude begat Joash. And Joash begat Ahaziah the Cromulent. And Ahaziah the Cromulent begat Shilhi. And Shilhi begat Ezion-geber the Anti-disestablishmentarian. And Ezion-geber the Anti-disestablishmentarian begat Nebat. And Nebat begat Adria.
One day, Adria came unto a Library, and she didst find a sign there which intrigued her greatly:
And so she didst enter unto the Library and didst listen to the words of Scoot the Ko'An:
'…And so by joining the Gods of Hondo,' quoth Scoot, 'thou canst reduce thy long-distance bills by as much as 40% a month, or ten credits, or 4000 rupees— no matter how thou stacketh it, 'tis a lot of tomatoes.
'Look at me, for I am in the best shape of my life now that I traveleth with the Dudes!'
'Amen!' quoth Brian Fritz, 'Behold! for I have lost ten pounds, or six cubits— and four dress sizes— since I began traveling with the Dudes!'
'Verily I say,' quoth Scoot, 'the Gods of Hondo shall reduce taxes, fight gun control legislation, resist special interest lobbies, abolish the Electoral College, and ban Soccer Moms from voting!'
'Darn tootin'!' quoth Myles the Unbeliever.
'In the event of an accident, the first driver on right shall be the first to give the finger.
'As Trampus wouldst sayeth:' quoth Scoot, ' "Elisha had a vineyard at Ba'alzamon; he let out the vineyard unto keepers; those that live in the mountains, set me as a seal upon thine heart, sweet sister. Wilt thou set thine eyes upon that which is not?
' "For Wisdom hath buildèd her a house, she hath hewn it out of seven pillars; she hath killed her beasts with a five-bladed sword; stolen waters art sweet, and bread eaten in secret is Shai'tanic."
'For the dead liveth in floating refrigerators, and the guests of fools art skeletons hidden in the closet of Hell.
'I had a dream, and I shall conjugate it for thee: Mummified Cats were playing poker in a roomful of worried people, who didst all keep looking at the clock. And I didst have to stop the Green Darkness from consuming all, I fought the Red Machine to protect the Little Black Box. Yea, tho I walk through the No Man's Land of the Factories of Machines That Make Nothing, I shall live dangerously, and kicketh out the jams, for the Force is with me, what's with ye? We must unite together as one, in the spirit of [i]compo rotaryi], with puffy little shoes and nose rings for all!'
And for the triumphant conclusion of his Sermon on the Table, Scoot didst fall off, but the people didst support him, and he didst surf the crowd.
Soon everyone was crowd surfing; with a little more butt support they didst surf Adria right to Scoot.
'Wow!' quoth Adria, ' 'Tis really thee! Scoot the Ko'An! 'Tis just like in the visions, but for that thou shouldst be a little taller!'
'And thou art?'
'I am Adria,' quoth Adria. 'The Gods of Hondo hath led me to this place with a sign that I might meet thee!'
'Not thou too!' quoth Myles the Unbeliever.
'Myles! My brother!' cried Adria. ' 'Tis really thee! When I heard about the farting chickens, I feared the worst for thee. So thou hast also joined the Dudes?'
'No,' quoth Scoot. 'We call him Myles the Unbeliever. He's just along for the ride.'
'Is that one of thy mother's chickens?' asked Myles.
'Aye. This little cuckoo just won a distance-farting contest in Tennessee,' quoth she.
'But how didst thou know to find thy way here?' asked Myles, dreading the answer.
'I was guided by a sign,' quoth she. 'For I was on my way to have this cuckoo filed for protection as an endangered species, when a Mexican-speaking Chihuahua tagged along and didst lead me to this place.'
' 'Tis a sign!' cried an old man.
And the God of Odnoh didst appear in their midst as a frustrated palm tree, and he said unto them: 'It is indeed a sign, for I have led thee here for a purpose.
'Thou hast a hidden gift that is worthy of the Dudes,' spake the God of Magic. 'Thou shalt be the Prophetess of Hondo. Thou shalt help the Dudes find the Thing with the Stuff.'
'Just great,' quoth Myles, 'now I am seeing figments of [/her imagination, too…'
'Derrick and I have done some thinking,' spake the God of Militant Bowel Movements as he appeared before them as Gustav, ze Vodka Svilling Cat, 'and we have decided to commemorate thy battle with the Technomage by declaring the last day of October Odnohween, and it just so happeneth that today is Odnohween. Spooky things shall come to pass tonight, and from now on, every Odnohween Night. Have thee a nice day!'
'Great art the Gods of Hondo,' quoth RJ, 'and we rejoice in thy new holy day!'
And he didst bow before them, prostrate at their feet.
'I liketh the way thou boweth,' spake the God of All Things Found Under Couch Cushions. 'I think we shall promote thee to a Priest of Hondo.'
'Oh, thank ye, mighty God of Odnoh!' quoth RJ, and he didst bow again. 'All praise is due. To both thee and Lord Matt. Many thanks!'
And the Gods of Hondo didst vanish from their midst.
And Adria didst prophesy: 'For there shall come a day when the bell shalt toll for someone else. And there shalt be more ninjas than thou canst stuff into an airport! The forgotten shalt be remembered, and the megaphone of failure shalt be made to work again, for it sayeth: "Get thee hence, foul desktop! I shall away with Windows 95 be!" The grandmother of Republicans hath mighty toads to jump on mounds of scorpions for extra points. Beware the green, green farts, for friends who freezeth together sneezeth together.'.


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A Series of Unfortunate Events (Adult Covers) by Lemony Snicket
I remember reading an article a while back about the reason Bloomsbury released "adult" covers for Harry Potter over in England. It was due to customer demand that adult readers were a bit embarrassed to be seen reading "children's books" around town. Thus, Bloomsbury released non-illustrated versions of the covers that had simple photographs and a more subdued color-palette.
So it got me thinking. What other popular children's series would an adult be a bit embarrassed to be seen reading in public? And I immediately thought of Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events. Not only are they covered in (amazing) illustrations on the outside, but have the extra bonus of being a teeny tiny postcard-sized book, telling those on the subway that yes, you read children's books, and yes, 200 regular-sized pages is where you max out.
With that in mind, I sought to redesign the series for the self-conscious adult. Using the brilliant photography of Rodney Smith, I ditched the orphans on the cover and instead brought the focus of each to that of the illusive Mr. Snicket, observing the events as they happen, later to be retold in his unique prose. His identity in the stories is always in question, as his relationship with the events is shrouded in mystery. Because of this, he remains hidden from view from the reader, even on the cover.
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Placetailor suggests a broader model of community practice.
The fifth public comment period is now open, and the USGBC is accepting responses until Dec. 10.
The fifth public comment period will be open until Dec. 2.
Making the most with the least.
USGBC's Jeremy Sigmon talks about the evolution of green building codes.
LEED goes to an unprecedented fourth round of public comment for changes big and small.
NewSchool of Architecture and Design's Thomas-Mobley talks about how construction management plays a key role in delivering on the promise of sustainability.
A webinar sponsored by organizations instrumental in developing the IgCC provides navigation for standards, codes, and rating systems.
USGBC puts out call for industry advocates to lobby the adoption of this new standard locally.
Chem Link. Chem Link's WallSecure is a polyether-based, solvent-free, nonhazardous construction adhesive.
Copyright ©
2014 Hanley Wood Media, Inc. All rights reserved.


text:
10 Press Releases
Our fabric warehouse in Weybridge holds a huge stock of curtain fabrics and upholstery fabrics, curtain poles and rods, tie-backs, curtain accessories and blinds. For more information visit *.uk.
If you live in a small house or apartment, lots of interior design secrets that you can take to your home appear larger, while making use of every inch of space possible. Use the following steps to get your creativity flowing in your home.By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-03-15 | Interior Design
Elizabeth Lamont, Interior Designer and owner of Room at The Beach in Malibu, CA, has custom designed a sofa pet protector that won't cramp your style and will keep Fido happy.By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-03-13 | Interior Design
When Renee Pedro bought a house with mid-century décor, she decided to embrace the look. Drawing inspiration from the 1963 Philco oven in her kitchen, she began hunting for towels and table linens with a mod '60s vibe to complement the appliance.By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-03-07 | Interior Design
The Western world has, for many years, been deeply fascinated by the Japanese interior. The simple lines and muted colors carry the essentials of Japanese culture - tranquility, harmony and balance with nature.By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-03-02 | Interior Design
We know that in the whole business of interior design and home furnishing for a home it is necessary for a modern times so all interior design of all companies d home furnishing for yourBy: Jimmy Bond | 2013-02-19 | Interior Design
Rutherford's loves fabrics! Chintz, brocade, embroidered silk, and woven fabrics. We love them all. Why? Because we know how important the right fabric can be to your interior design project.By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-02-16 | Interior Design
How can you take these challenges continue to grow your organization, and ensure that it meets the needs of your end users? To get the most out of your computer. A hospital can and should play a role in helping to put people at ease.By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-02-09 | Interior Design
Basement interior requires highly specialized skills. Due to the unique qualities of a basement, the lack of natural ventilation and lighting,By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-01-25 | Interior Design
If you are considering a new look for your room, you may want to choose a decorating theme before buying all new furniture or accessories.By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-01-19 | Interior Design
Of course there were many changes of style and design through this long period of time. The Georgian style gradually became more decorative throughout the period.By: Jimmy Bond | 2013-01-12 | Interior Design


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
AV is almost now not a 'Battleground' at all... to be called that people would have to fight each other. Instead the Alliance and Horde run past each other in a race to down the General 1st.
There is nothing wrong with this ofc, it's just that on a personal level I enjoyed the epic feel of the old AV. It would be nice to maybe see it brought back as a seperate BG from new AV!


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Next, you'll be asked to connect with Twitter. Rest assured, we will never send a tweet from your account
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We will send you an email with an invite soon.
RT @xeyednpainless: Gave some money to these homeless street musicians playing on the corner & then I realized they were The Lumineers.
If I had money for concerts you guys would never hear from me. And probably would be happier too.
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