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Published on November 15th, 2012 | by Andrew Reynolds
Gaiman's Restoration of the Cybermen
It was only a week ago that we learned the Cyberman stomped into Steven Moffat's office, made idle threats about messing up his paperclips and demanded they, like the Daleks, receive a reimagining that returned them to their horrifying former glory.
Fearing the tardy impression the scattered paperclips would create, Moffat called upon American God's author and fellow Hugo Award winning scribe Neil Gaiman to write the episode who, naturally, turned him down.
Speaking to French site Reviewer.fr (via Den of Geek) Gaiman revealed that it was only after a follow up email teased him with scary Cybermen that all conflict suddenly evaporated from his schedule:
Steven wrote to me and asked if I wanted to make the Cybermen scary again. I thought back to myself at the age of six or seven, The Moonbase, Tomb of the Cybermen… I saw them when they were first broadcast. The Cybermen were much scarier than the Daleks, because they didn't make any noise.
Speaking of noises being made the internet has been carping on about the tantalising prospect of a CyberGaiman episode; so much so he's already addressing rumours.
Firstly, there was the small matter of a copy of his script turning up in the back of a taxi in Cardiff bearing the title 'The Last Cyberman':
I don't know anything. The title of The Doctor's Wife was Bigger on the Inside until two weeks before it aired. It could be anything.
As details emerged and finally, the Ponds departed and Jenna-Louise Coleman was confirmed as the Doctor's latest companion, Gaiman was kept abreast of any changes, ideas and embryonic story ideas that Moffat had as the second half of Series 7 began to take shape:
Steven sent me his ideas and the beginnings of scripts. Once the auditions started he even sent me videos…Jenna-Louise Coleman is very different from Amy, Rose or Sarah-Jane. The dialogue is completely different. Just as it is with the various Doctors. But some things don't change: the companion will always be intelligent and brave, and the Doctor will always be funny, annoying and strange, and he will always succeed in getting out of inextricable situations."
Regardless of how this episode turns out, it will be memorable. Mark our words…
4 Responses to Gaiman's Restoration of the Cybermen
See, there you go, Gaiman nailed it! The Cybermen were much scarier back then because they were *silent*. They weren't bulky, clanking, steel monsters you heard coming a mile away. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I knew the original versions were the scariest but I never even thought about the creepy silence factor. Bravo, Neil.
A heck of a lot rests on Gaiman, he and Moffat are certainly making all the right noises and the new costumes look great. But will fans get Mondas/Telos and the mythology back? Certainly, Skaro's turned up this year so perhaps anything is possible… I'm keeping everything crossed that they'll pull it off if anyone can.


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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Drakkenfyre said...
I don't understand people who come to a site, see it has absolutely nothing to do with what they are looking for, and still email you.
Apparantly he ordered some container. Then he comes to this site, looks around for a contact address, has to see this site has nothing to do with containers (and ignores all the game stuff) and still submits an order question.
Unless, and I think this is the more likely option, is that it was a spammer trying to get you to check out a site selling something. I have seen this before. A comment like "I didn't get my order", or "I didn't see what you were talking about, could you check site's order" (just examples) and then giving out a link, hoping you will go to the site to see what they are talking about, then order one.
lisapoisso said...
Oh, we get plenty of spam and tricksy links, too. But these "wow"-related e-mails ... They're a constant -- which is why a new flavor, like the containers, is such a thrilling novelty to those of us who have to wade through them!
KidRichard said...
Haha, those containers are actually a pretty good idea. Not so much the "Fill it past the rim!" bit, but the fact that there are no actual "lids" is amazing.

subset: commoncrawl


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Thanks, I'm going to lift 2.5 to 3"'s so I could run 33's but most likely I'll be running a 32" 9 or 10". What really effects the rubbing issue the most is the wheel offset, so I've been consulting with some other people that have built overland Tacomas for the scoop. Oh, I do have the stock wheels from my FJ and might apply them after a powder coat, I just have to see about the 17" rim. If anyone in AZ want's to see a great display of offorad/overland rigs and equipment, go to Amado next weekend as a visitor to the Overland Expo. I'll have my FJ there and would love to meet some TW members. Cris
I can't wait to see you develop this build...


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Do you know how much money you need to retire? How do you save $100,000? Those are the kinds of questions you're likely to hear as a national consortium of financial institutions, nonprofit networks, educators, government leaders, employers and others promote America Saves Week Feb. 21-28.
Saving in the United States peaked at 12 percent of disposable income in the mid 1980s. That number dropped to 1.4 percent in 2005, said Atlanta economist and certified public accountant Emily Sanders, and that was before the real estate crash. Today, it is back up to 3.9 percent.
That is well below countries like France (13.5 percent) and Sweden (14.5), but a vast improvement over where we were even a year or two ago.
"We are saving more for a rainy day," Sanders said. "And, it's not as easy to get financing. If we start saving more, that's a good thing for consumers in the long term, but it hurts [economic] recovery in the short term. If Americans spend less, government picks up the slack to inject more liquidity in the economy."
How quickly the economy bounces back is an uncertain. Individuals, however, can start now mending the fragmented finances in their own homes.
Saving is no longer an option, said Bruce Fleet, author of "The Solomon Secret: 7 Principles of Financial Success from King Solomon, History's Wealthiest Man."
"If you don't save and you have financial stress, it destroys your life, ruins your health, ruins your mood, and can ruin your marriage," Fleet said. "I'm not overreaching; you are less productive as a family member, a worker, a member of your church or synagogue. If it's that destructive that means we were never meant to be in debt."
Fleet provided tips to get you on the path to saving, and to saving more:
– Call everyone you send a check to. "You need to be wise, be proactive, and call every one of your creditors at least once a year," he said. "Call cellphone companies twice a year. They will never call you and say, 'We just figured out a way you can save on your bill.' "
– Pay off debt. "When you pay off debt, you are saving. If you've already dug yourself a financial hole, a credit card is a shovel. Every time you use it, you're digging a little deeper. The only benefit of a credit card is that it allows you to buy things you can't afford."
– Contribute to your 401 (k). "If your company has a match, it's free money."
– Don't deprive yourself. "It's like a diet; if you deprive yourself, you're going to be miserable, you're going to suffer and it's never going to work."
– Spend less. "Get what you want in a wiser fashion."
The answers to those earlier questions: It will take $620,000 for a 65-year-old male and $665,000 for a woman of the same age to have $50,000 a year with no other source of income. To get to that $100,000, begin by automatically depositing a percentage of your pay into a savings account.
"Take the steps to save and do it," Fleet said.
February 18th, 2010
8:22 am
Tip for the day: Never give a map to a seeing eye dog.
February 18th, 2010
2:14 pm
True that. G.P.S. is much better.
February 18th, 2010
8:52 pm
Buy the big box of condoms at Walmart, instead of the 3 fer from Habib at the corner store….B
February 22nd, 2010
9:44 am
Check out the dollar store! Shop at ALDI! Wash stuff out in the sink!


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Howdy! Welcome to Bob Wire's music site. It's all about the music. Read about the music. Listen to the music. Buy the music. Find out where you can go see Bob playing the music.
We hope you'll check back frequently for Bob Wire news, tour dates, album releases, reviews and press, and all the Maximum Honky Tonk content we can shovel in here. Now git!


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Search Results
Keywords: poles
Historical Items Showing 3 of 215 View All
Item 35447
Title: Loading telephone poles, Masardis, ca. 1895
Contributed by: Mark & Emily Turner Memorial Library
Date: circa 1895
Location: Masardis
Media: glass negative
Item 15927
Title: Men Hoisting Telephone Pole After the 1905 Fire
Contributed by: Sanford Historical Committee
Date: 1905
Location: Springvale
Media: Print from Glass Negative
Item 18502
Title: Bangor and Aroostook Railroad train, Aroostook County, c. 1990
Contributed by: Oakfield Historical Society
Date: circa 1990
Media: Photograph
Exhibits Showing 2 of 2 View All
Settling along the Androscoggin and Kennebec
The Proprietors of the Township of Brunswick was a land company formed in 1714 and it set out to settle lands along the Androscoggin and Kennebec Rivers in Maine.
Wired! How Electricity Came to Maine
As early as 1633, entrepreneurs along the Piscataqua River in southern Maine utilized the force of the river to power a sawmill, recognizing the potential of the area's natural power sources, but it was not until the 1890s that technology made widespread electricity a reality -- and even then, consumers had to be urged to use it.


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LAWTON, Okla._Klayton Kitchens fate is now in the hands of a Comanche County jury.
Kitchens has been charged with first degree murder in the shooting death of his friend Chris Moore last May in Lawton over an argument about a stolen gun. Wednesday, Kitchens' defense and state prosecutors finished presenting their evidence, leaving the jury to decide whether Kitchens' is guilty. The jury was also given the option of convicting Kitchens on the lesser charges of second degree murder, or manslaughter.
Klayton Kitchens was brought to tears by the testimony of his father, who told the jury he wished he could have changed it all. The father said he talked to Klayton twice the day of the shooting and offered to lend him the $800 to pay for the gun. And had Klayton accepted it, this would have never happened.
It was a statement that brought both families to tears as well. The backbone of the defense continued to be that Moore was a threat. A private investigator testified that Moore's clothes, specifically a Houston Astros cap he was wearing the day he was killed had gang connections. He said the hat was often worn by members of the "107 Hoovers", a branch of the "Crips" gang.
Kitchens' long-time girlfriend took the stand saying in their three years of dating she had never even met Moore, but only heard of him, showing he was more of an acquaintance than a best friend. She also testified Kitchens did not hang out with gang members.
Both sides ended with rebuttal witness completely conflicting with each other. The state's witness said he was peaceful and didn't even want to join the military because he didn't want to harm anyone, while the defense's witness said Moore beat up multiple gang members when he was jumped for his gang initiation.
In closing arguments the state went over each element of first and second degree murder, and manslaughter and how the jury could apply the evidence to all of those charges. Once again the defense stated kitchens was standing his ground and defending himself.
If Kitchens is found guilty of second degree murder, he would serve at least 10 years in prison, if found guilty of manslaughter, he'd be sentenced to at least four years in prison.


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2398 results for "mark schlabach"
Mark Schlabach
Chats | E-mail | Bowl Projections | Bottom 10 | Bubble Watch
- College football writer for ESPN.com
- Author of seven books on college football
- Formerly at the Washington Post and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The making of Blake SimsMark Schlabach | ESPN.com
It doesn't take very long to figure out that many people had a hand in molding Alabama quarterback Blake Sims, who will lead No. 3 Alabama into Saturday's SEC West showdown against No. 11 Ole Miss.Story | Conversation | October 01, 2014
Blake Sims had many guiding hands in road to becoming Alabama Cri...Mark Schlabach
Despite being told by Lane Kiffin during recruiting that he'd have a better shot of starting at Tennessee, Sims is starring for Lane Kiffin at Alabama.Story | Conversation | September 29, 2014
College Football Playoff race only now getting started as season ...Mark Schlabach
Starting in Week 6, the preliminaries are largely over. It's time to separate the men from the boys, Mark Schlabach writes.Story | Conversation | September 27, 2014
SEC West alone rivals most conferencesMark Schlabach
After inheriting an Ole Miss program that won two games in 2011 and had suffered 14 consecutive losses against SEC opponents, coach Hugh Freeze guided the Rebels to a 7-6 record in his first season in 2012. In February 2013, Ole Miss signe...Blog | September 26, 2014
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Issues Continue For Winston, FSUSeptember 21, 2014
NCAA Restores Penn State's Postseason EligibilitySeptember 08, 2014
Report: FSU Begins Investigation Into WinstonSeptember 04, 2014
Harvey Updyke Agrees To Dunk Tank For CharityAugust 20, 2014
- 03:27
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Paul Finebaum Hr. 1September 09, 2014
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Jameis Winston of Florida State Seminoles to cooperate with Title...Mark Schlabach
Florida State's Jameis Winston will cooperate with the school's Title IX investigation into allegations he raped a fellow student in December 2012.Story | Conversation | September 24, 2014
Florida State Seminoles not the only College Football Playoff con...Mark Schlabach
Florida State wasn't the only playoff contender that had to dig deep to secure victory in Week 4, Mark Schlabach writes.Story | Conversation | September 21, 2014
SEC morning linksGreg Ostendorf
1. The big storyline Wednesday wasn't from the SEC. It was from the ACC. Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, a name SEC fans surely know by now, will sit the first half against Clemson for yet another off-field incident. ESPN's Mark Schlabach s...Blog | September 18, 2014
After latest incident, how many strikes will Jameis Winston of Fl...Mark Schlabach
Florida State officials suspended Winston from playing in the first half of the No. 1 Seminoles' home game against No. 22 Clemson at Doak Campbell Stadium in Tallahassee on Saturday night. How many more strikes will the Heisman Trophy winner get?Story | Conversation | September 17, 2014
USC Trojans, Virginia Tech Hokies learn you can't look too far ah...Mark Schlabach
USC, Virginia Tech learn the hard way that you can't take any game for granted, Mark Schlabach writes.Story | Conversation | September 13, 2014
Georgia Bulldogs Todd Gurley almost didn't play football growing ...Mark Schlabach
Georgia RB Todd Gurley didn't choose football growing up in Tarboro, N.C., it chose him, writes Mark Schlabach.Story | September 11, 2014
Playoff update: SEC looking goodESPN.com staff
After two weeks, how is the SEC looking in the race to make the College Football Playoff? According to Heather Dinich, it's looking pretty good. And looking at Mark Schlabach's weekly Eliminator -- which tracks the teams that are still alive for t...Blog | September 09, 2014
Michigan Wolverines, Ohio State Buckeyes, Michigan State Spartans...Mark Schlabach
The Big Ten might have seen its chances of sending a team to the College Football Playoff end after Week 2 after a dismal Saturday, Mark Schlabach writes.Story | Conversation | September 06, 2014
Georgia coach Mark Richt: Trash-talking letter to a Clemson fan i...Mark Schlabach
Georgia coach Mark Richt hasn't turned into Evil Richt. On Thursday, Deadspin published a letter that Richt allegedly wrote to a Clemson fan after the Bulldogs' 45-21 blowout of the Tigers at Sanford Stadium on Saturday night. According to the ...Blog | September 04, 2014
Florida State University follows through with Title IX investigat...Jared Shanker and Mark Schlabach
Florida State has begun conducting a required investigation into quarterback Jameis Winston in relation to 2012 accusations of rape by a female student despite the state's declining to charge Winston in the matter.Story | Conversation | September 04, 2014
Georgia coach Mark Richt tries to slow hypeMark Schlabach
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Georgia Bulldogs Todd Gurley turns in career performance in win o...Mark Schlabach
Todd Gurley's superstar showing in Georgia's win over Clemson took top billing Week 1, Mark Schlabach writes.Story | Conversation | August 30, 2014


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Mac users: Snow Leopard update and patch
As some of you probably know, Apple has released its latest OS X version, Snow Leopard, on Friday, August 28.
I've upgraded today and BS won't open up now. I downloaded the app again but still nothing.
Posted by
Aug 28, 2009 2:17pm PDTPermalink
I have Snow Leopard but haven't installed yet. Three BS books in progress. Way too many hours invested to risk loosing now. How will we know when the patch is available without checking back here constantly? Thanks
Posted by
Aug 28, 2009 2:33pm PDTPermalink
Please post via email as soon as the patch is available.
I too have upgraded to snow leopard and have downloaded and installed the aforementioned patch…
Booksmart still refuses to open. :(
Posted by
Aug 28, 2009 10:36pm PDTPermalink
Nice try … please let us know when you have a patch that works.
same problem… hope to get an update soon!
Same problem even with patch.
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 4:00am PDTPermalink
If your "patch" worked for a few weeks, what happened to ours? I hope you have an answer very quickly!!!!
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 5:35am PDTPermalink
I had the same issue where I have upgraded to Snow Leopard. Make sure that you've quit out of BookSmart before running the patch. I still had it "open" (or as open as it would get) when I ran the patch and it didn't seem to do anything. After quitting and running the patch it prompted asking which installation you wanted patched (I only had one install available to choose) and it worked fine.
Back up and running in BookSmart without and problems. Thank you for a quick patch release Blurb!
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 6:09am PDTPermalink
I received the same prompt, but there wasn't an installation to choose? What can I do?
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 6:22am PDTPermalink
Same as NancyHalphen for me. I saw the prompt, but it wouldn't let me select an install — the window was simply blank. It wouldn't let me drag and drop the app into the patch prompt from Finder. My BookSmart is installed in the Applications folder as it should be, so that shouldn't be the issue.
Same Problems here, dialog box to choose booksmart version is blank and it doent pop up will after install. Should this be the case? I would think you choose the version before you install
I've downloaded Snow Leopard Patch but still can't open my blurb program!
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 7:24am PDTPermalink
I tried what stephenChris did and now I can open BS software. The problem is now ALL my books have gone!
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 7:30am PDTPermalink
Ok had some problems but repaired permissions with disk utility and now booksmart opens fine.
uptherighttr: Have you looked in Library/ApplicationSupport/Booksmartdata for your books?
Yes I have looked in there. 1 book is missing and if I try opening another book it doesn't load anything apart from an empty template.
Looked into my time machine backup and it was great to see that Library/ApplicationSupport/Booksmartdata is not in there!!!
although my folder is titled BookSmartData_2009Jun12102433, is that the same as anyone elses?
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 7:54am PDTPermalink
The patch isn't working for me as well. When prompted to select the BS version it doesn't give me any options. Yes, my BS is in the applications folder. Glad I backed up my nearly complete 300 page BS project onto an external drive before I loaded Snow Leopard!
This patch still needs work…sigh. I wanted to finish the book this weekend and order the first copy on Tuesday. Help!
When I first ran the patch, it didn't work at all. It didn't ask for which BookSmart version to use either. Then, I repaired permissions, ran the patch again, and finally got a prompt to select the version. Now, my BookSmart works just fine. Unfortunately, I have no way of knowing if the single file that needed to be repaired (private/etc/postfix/main.cf.default) is related to BookSmart or not. Perhaps the programmers could at least verify that this isn't one of Blurb's files.
As a follow-up, the repaired file in my previous post appears to have nothing to do with BookSmart. Therefore, I can't say for sure why BookSmart works for me now, i.e., may not be a permission problem. It might be worth running the patch again to see if it works for all of you the second time around, although I'm sure many of you have already done that.
ok, so i re-tried…and it worked for me. things to note when installing:
- make sure booksmart is not running
during the first failed attempt, i definitely did not have booksmart running, but i don't remember seeing the final popup that i had to click on before running booksmart.
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 10:53am PDTPermalink
I still have the problem of losing books though. Two books have pretty much gone and they were both ready for ordering. Was just waiting for client to give me the go ahead.
they're really going to be upset!
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 11:11am PDTPermalink
I just un-installed BS and then re-installed, then re-installed "patch" and it still doesn't work. This is very frustrating!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by
Aug 29, 2009 11:29am PDTPermalink
Yes, I tried the repair permission idea and that didn't help I've tried numerous times to use the patch, but again the pop up window that asks which copy of BS I want fixed is empty of choices. I've downloaded BS again and again. BS is in my applications folder. Still no joy. Again, glad I had saved my huge BS project on an external drive; but I know that when you import BS projects the fonts many of the fonts get changed and will have to be put right on nearly 100 pages of the book. Been thru that before…
Sorry to hear about the trouble some people are having with their Snow Leopard patch. To anyone who is having problems with the patch, please double check the following:
- make sure that BookSmart isn't running before you start the patch installer. Doublecheck with the activity monitor application (in /Applications/Utilities) if necessary that BookSmart isn't running.
Finally, if you want to verify that the patch indeed ran ok, please browse to your BookSmart installation in Finder, then ctrl-click on the BookSmart icon and select 'show package contents'. Then browse to Contents/Resources/Java/Lib and verify that you see a file named 'booksmart-jdkbridge-1.0-jdk6.jar' . If this is the case, the patch completed succesfully and your BookSmart should run fine.
If you are still having problems, please contact customer service. Our patch only makes a very minor modification to your BookSmart installation, it should not change any of your settings, and I can't think of any ways it could actually cause anyone to lose books or other data. But if you believe this did happen to you, please contact Customer Service and we'll help you get up and running again.
Peter, I do not find "booksmartjdkbridge-1.0-jdk6.jar" in the aforementioned folder so the patch did not install.
I followed all your instructions. What next?
BTW, when I try to install the patch it says the installation was successful and THEN the window pops up asking me to choose the BS to apply the patch. It does not ask for the location of BS BEFORE the install process.
Just tried it all again and once more the window is empty…
The patch doesn't work for me either and I think I followed all the instructions???
Same problem here. The patch doesn't work and I follow exactly the instruction.
I have followed all the instructions many many times and still nothing…
2nd run of the patch made it for me too.
Patch worked like a charm. Thanks!
I reinstalled Snow Leopard. Then I re-downloaded the BS patch. This time when I attempted to install I never got the pop open window asking for me to choose the BS to patch. Still no joy with BS.
Still no luck. I still get the blank BS install window via Automator, even after letting it search for the application for half an hour. I even renamed my drive "Macintosh HD"! Any chance we could just get the updated .jar file and drop it into the app package ourselves, or would that not work?
If you run the installer, even if the install fails, the updated jar will (should?) be sitting in the folder:
/Users/Shared/Library/Application Support/BookSmart
The .jar file is there, and you can copy it directly into the location that Peter suggested to check. The only other thing you would need to do is add an entry in your Info.plist (If you show the package contents of BookSmart application). Open Info.plist with TextEdit, and right below the string <array>, add a line that says:
A few things to make sure of:
1. You don't have BookSmart running.
2. You've only got one BookSmart install, and it's named BookSmart.
3. Your BookSmart install is on your internal hard disk drive.
4. You've got Administrator permissions to the following folders (by default this should be true, but permissions problems tend to quietly fail):
/Users/Shared/Library/Application Support/BookSmart
I would highly recommend calling up customer support prior to trying my instructions yourself.
Best Wishes,
I experienced some of the problems that other users have when trying to install the patch and I would like to just make this observation …
I have tried EVERYTHING that has been suggested and NOTHING has worked!! I guess I'm going to have to backtrack to MAC OS X 10.5 and I'm not looking forward to it, but I have no choice. I give up!! My wife is NOT HAPPY with me for upgrading.
Posted by
Aug 30, 2009 4:05am PDTPermalink
I just looked at the "booksmartjdkbridge-1.0-jdk6.jar" file that I copied into the package contents of Booksmart and it says it's a "document" file not a "JAVA_JAR" file. This doesn't make sense. I don't think that is what it is supposed to be or am I mistaken??
Posted by
Aug 30, 2009 4:13am PDTPermalink
I attempted all of the suggestions and still no luck. Someone please help.
Posted by
Aug 30, 2009 8:05am PDTPermalink
I followed kevin's instructions above, worked perfectly…except you need to change the name of the .jar file from
booksmart-jdkbridge-1.0-jdk6.jar_2009.8.25 to
You also need to add a dash in the info.plist entry. This is the correct entry:<string>$JAVAROOT/lib/booksmart-jdkbridge-1.0-jdk6.jar</string>
Hope this helps
Thanks, buoren and emmaus777! That did the trick.
Still having problems. Patch is not going into the Booksmart folder. I tried fixing permissions. Nothing happened. When the pop-up comes up after the install of the patch, there is no locations shown for Booksmart. It is inside the application folder.
Can I copy the string above and drop it in where it belongs? According to the patch install page, it was successfully installed.
I ran spotlight.. the file.. booksmart-jdkbridge-1.0-jdk6.jar_2009.8.25 was not found.
Go to /Users/Shared/Library/Application Support/BookSmart and see if it's there.
Praise the Lord, you have the fix. I have been trying EVERYTHING and your instructions finally worked. Thank you sooo much!!!
Posted by
Aug 30, 2009 10:48am PDTPermalink
I finally got Booksmart to open in using Snow Leopard…
These are the instructions that worked for me:
Thanks Kevin
If you run the installer, even if the install fails, the updated jar will (should?) be sitting in the folder:
A few things to make sure of:
I would highly recommend calling up customer support prior to trying my instructions yourself.
Best Wishes,
Our apologies for all the trouble some of you have to go through to get BookSmart running again in Snow Leopard. Our patch was tested internally and worked fine, but there are a large number of different software and hardware configurations out there, and we are still investigating why the patch doesn't work on some of them.
In the meantime, I've put together an alternative patch that doesn't come with the automated installer (which apparently was causing the problem for many of you). The installation steps are slightly more involved than the original patch(though simpler than Kevin's instructions above).
We recommend these instructions for anyone for whom our patch instructions in the top of this thread doesn't work.
1 download our alternative patch http://downloads.blurb.com/booksmart/SnowLeopardAltPatch.zip and extract the file on your desktop or any other location you prefer.
2 make sure Booksmart is not running before you start the next steps
3 Open a finder window, browse to your Applications folder, and ctrl-click on BookSmart, then select 'Show Package Contents'.
4 rename the Info.plist file in the Contents folder (in the BookSmart archive) to Info.plist.old
5 copy the Info.plist from the downloaded patch to the Contents folder of the BookSmart application archive (so it basically replaces the old one that you just renamed)
6 navigate to the Contents/Resources/Java/Lib folder in the BookSmart application, and copy the booksmart-jdkbridge-1.0-jdk6.jar from the patch zip archive into this Lib folder.
7 at this point you should be able to start BookSmart again
These steps should work for most, if not everyone of you for whom the original patch doesn't work. We are investigation the issue with the original patch and hope to release a patch that works for everyone as soon as possible.
Thanks for your patience with this,
Peter – That did it for me! Thank you so much!
Peter that worked like a charm! Thanks for the manual install files


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SALISBURY, Md. - It's something you typically don't see, especially on a chilly day...bundled up in coats and gloves, folks in Salisbury took a stroll through downtown. It's for "Envision Salisbury, the semester project for architecture students at the University of Maryland College Park, teaching them to think outside the classroom, and develop plans for a real city."At the end of the semester, students are asked to design a master plan...a couple of buildings that we determine are important," says Luis Quiros, an architecture professor at College Park.This may be a school project, but City Council President Jake Day says it can have a real impact on Salisbury. "It's not just an academic exercise, says Day, that same kind of planning that's linked to the university uses the design process that ultimately creates a product that we can implement.'Together, residents and students developed plans to help the city, from unlocking old secrets, "you know, we have the neatest little zoo, that nobody knows about," says one man, to creating new features. "I want a park in Downtown Salisbury for kids and families to play and exercise," says Ryland Weaver. It's a plan the seven year-old has been working on for about a week. He says it's necessary because "58 percent of kids don't get enough exercise in the US."Scott Deisher, an architecture student at College Park says actually speaking with residents has helped him better understand the needs of the community, "these are people who actually live in a community and want...they legitimately want a change and make a difference.""Downtowns are the souls of communities, says longtime resident Priscilla Timken, "we need our soul to come back to life."
The project will be finished by the end of the semester, and the city hopes to get a master plan document by July, which will be used as a guiding framework for future development in Salisbury.City Council President Jake Day says this could've been about a $200 thousand planning process, had it not been done with students, though he expects ideas developed through it will result in real, paying local jobs.
Day is a graduate of the architecture program at College Park, which is how Salisbury was chosen for this year's project.


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If you are serious about catching fish then pinpoint their exact position with our selection of advanced fishfinders. Using the latest technology they can monitor sea depth and fish between your boat and the sea bed. We stock a great range of affordable fishfinders boasting a variety of different features, such as bright, readable colour displays, and all from top brands including Garmin, Lowrance and more.
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Mailspeed Marine, www.mailspeedmarine.com


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We are about to hit the next milestone with Sean. He has recenty started saying odd words here and there and both me and daddy are super excited. He has been saying "daddy" for quite sometime now actually. When Sean hears daddy come through the door he runs to him shouting "daddy"! Of course this makes Barry the happiest man on earth. As happy as I am that Sean is saying his first word it makes me a tiny little bit jealous. Firstly because he didn't say "mummy" first and secondly because his first word isn't Turkish. I wrote about how Sean hopefully will be a bilingual child here. So it means I lose the first word battle.
Not only that but the other day he repeated daddy and said "yes", "dog" and "duck". We are yet to hear them again but he said it then so that is good enough for us. He is trying bless him. We also have the famous "waw waw" which stands for dog. All in all his English vocabulary is growing and we are very proud.
After many attempts of trying to get him to say "mummy" in Turkish I think he is saying one syllable of it which I am very grateful for. My attempts are continuing on a daily basis. I feel it. It is very close. He will very soon say "mummy". I warn you though, I may cry.


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Halloween Event - James Foster Elementary [1]
James Foster Elementary PTA has arranged a special Halloween Fundraiser Event for the school community and SCV neighbors.
The PTA is hosting at Scooter's Jungle on Thursday, October 31 from 1-3pm.
Admission is $10 per child and $5 per adult. Pre-sales end 10/30/13.
Costume Contests will be held for kids and adults so come dressed to impress and win a cool prize!
James Foster PTA will also sell Juice It Up smoothies and water bottles to benefit the 6th Grade Activities Fund.
For more information or to request tickets, contact James Foster PTA at firstname.lastname@example.com [2].
Please: no face paint or props
Visit: jamesfoster.weebly.com


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Upload Photo
Bottomz Up
The name, the waitresses in short-shorts, the 50 flat-screen TVs: Bottomz Up in Carle Place appears be aiming a bit lower than the intellect. But the restaurant boasts a smart, ambitious menu from well-credentialed chef Adam Goldgell as well as a dinnertime satellite sushi bar from the nearby Shiro of Japan.
7 hot new trends for weddings Do you remember these classic toys? 113 new restaurants on LI 20 places kids eat for free on Long Island Short wedding dresses and accessories 31 great LI burgers to try LI's 10 best New American restaurants 47 recent restaurant closures on LI 100 things every kid should do on LI 20 over 20: Enduring LI eateries 25 fine dining reviews, from Italian to sushi 28 indoor places to play on LI


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Sally Hansen Miracle Gel Review
So I meant to post yesterday but here's my Sally Hansen Miracle Gel #MiracleMani
! The shine lasted as they said it would but my nails grow so quickly that I personally wouldn't leave it on again this long. I love the long wear of the shine! Next time I will put a little more of the gel top coat on the tips but overall its a good investment! #SallyHansen @influenster #contest (I received these products complimentary from influenster for testing purposes)


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My family n I came to stay one night, we came in the room and the bathroom was dirty. Came down for breakfast next morning n the lady was very rude saying we were very lucky she was busy and didn't have time to clean up because breakfast was over. Breakfast area n main lobby was very gross too. Their... More
- Reservation Options:
- TripAdvisor is proud to partner with Expedia, Orbitz, Choice Hotels, Priceline, Hotels.com, Travelocity and Tingo so you can book your Comfort Inn & Suites reservations with confidence. We help millions of travelers each month to find the perfect hotel for both vacation and business trips, always with the best discounts and special offers.
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Number of people the U.S. military is holding in its prisons in Iraq, according to Gen. Douglas Stone. Approximately 860 of the detainees are under the age of 16." The United States has incarcerated "10,000 more detainees compared to this time last year, worsening already serious backlogs in the court system."
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3D Show
3D OMNIMAX Show "Hidden Universe 3D"
Showing from 1 July 2014 to 31 December 2014
When you gaze at the twinkling stars, you may let your imagination run wild about the night sky. But do you know that there are more to this fascinating universe than meets the eye?
Since astronomers used telescopes for observation four centuries ago, the way mankind observes the universe is no longer restrained by the tiny pupil of the human eye. Now astronomers have large ground-based optical and radio telescopes, orbiting space telescopes or even in-situ space probes in their arsenal for comprehensive studies of the universe. Started from the Earth, we have extended our view to the Solar System, the Milky Way and other galaxies, reaching the birth scene of the universe. This is something which astronomers several hundred years ago could have never dreamt of. Mysteries are being unravelled, one astrophotograph at a time. But these stunning images also bring about new questions which would require even crisper images for explanation. The quest for knowledge will never end.
The 3D OMNIMAX Show "Hidden Universe 3D" will let the audience and astronomers walk together, to go to the forefront of cosmic exploration, the Atacama Desert in Chile which is as desolate as the Martian surface. Using currently the world's most powerful optical telescopes and radio telescope array, we can enjoy deep space images in unprecedented clarity and have a peep at the farthest corner of the mysterious universe.
Place: Stanley Ho Space Theatre
Admission Fees:
Front stalls $24, Stalls $32 (Standard)
Front stalls $12, Stalls $16 (Concession)
(Concession is applicable to full-time students, people with disabilities and senior citizens aged 60 or above)
( Children under 3 years old will not be admitted )
Advance booking up to one week is available
URBTIX Internet Ticketing : http://www.urbtix.hk
Telephone credit card booking : 2111 5999
Ticketing enquiries: 3761 6661
Duration: 35 minutes
Show Schedule: Please refer to Space Theatre Show Schedule


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Energy Transfer Partners LP Unitholder Lawsuit against Board of Directors Passes First Legal Hurdles, Announces Goldfarb LLP
DALLAS, Aug. 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A lawsuit against the Energy Transfer Partners (NYSE: ETP) board can proceed, according to a court order from Harris County, Texas. The ETP unitholder's lawsuit alleged that Dallas-billionaire Kelcy Warren was the "puppetmaster" manipulating a one-sided transaction to the detriment of Energy Transfer Partners. Concerned ETP unitholders are encouraged to contact securities lawyer Hamilton Lindley for details about their rights and remedies at 877-583-2855 or email@example.com.
"Among other things, the case alleges that the board caused: (1) ETP to pay an unreasonable premium over the value of Citrus Corp; (2) ETP to divest its profitable propane gas assets at an unfair price to close the transaction; and (3) ignore the conflicts of interests of the interrelationships of the board," said Hamilton Lindley. "The lawsuit seeks to enforce proper internal controls on the board members and force the board to pay back any money to the partnership that was illegally obtained."
Goldfarb LLP lawyers have significant experience representing shareholders in securities lawsuits nationwide. ETP unitholders – or anyone with knowledge about this situation – should contact lawyer Hamilton Lindley at firstname.lastname@example.com or 877-583-2855.
Hamilton Lindley
Goldfarb LLP
2501 N. Harwood, Ste. 1801
Dallas, TX 75201
(877) 583-2855 Toll Free Telephone
(214) 583-2233 Local Phone Number
(214) 583-2234 Fax Number
SOURCE Goldfarb LLP
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Tony is the greatest Cuban poker player of all times. His pastimes are: competing and chatting up the ladies, drinking mojitos and smoking cigars.
collection: Los Amigos de MANOLO
- Brooch measures 80mm x 23mm wide.
- Made using walnut timber and gold paint.
- Varnished and water-proof.
- Made in London


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From dams to pools to bathtubs, things that hold water big and small prompted questions from readers in week No. 3 of The Bees drought Q&A. Our team of drought reporters answers a question a day at www.sacbee.com/water, where you can submit your own question.
Why arent we building more dams to store more water, instead of wasting money on a bullet train? David LaChance, Oroville
First, a little history. There are thousands of dams in California, and most of the good dam sites have already been taken. There are not a lot of places left with a narrow slot canyon downstream of a large watershed. Most of the locations that remain require very large, expensive dams that would not yield a lot of water. This makes the economics iffy.
In the 1990s, the now-defunct CalFed Bay Delta Program undertook a detailed study to search for the best remaining dam sites across the state. It weighed topography, water yield, cost, environmental risks and other factors. Four emerged as the most promising, and are now in various stages of final study:
• Sites Reservoir in Colusa County, an off-stream reservoir filled from a canal diverting Sacramento River water. Water yield: 470,000 to 640,000 acre-feet. Cost: $2 billion to $3 billion.
• Temperance Flat Reservoir, on the San Joaquin River east of Fresno. Water yield: 400,000 acre-feet. Cost: $1 billion to $1.4 billion.
• Raise Shasta Dam on the Sacramento River. Water yield: 265,000 to 634,000 acre-feet. Cost: $900 million to $1.2 billion.
• Raise Los Vaqueros Dam in Contra Costa County. Water yield: 115,000 acre-feet. Cost: $500 million.
Another proposal recently emerged to expand San Luis Reservoir near Los Banos. The dam needs to be strengthened to withstand earthquakes. State and federal officials are considering raising the dam 20 feet at the same time to create capacity for an additional 130,000 acre-feet of water. Cost: $360 million.
Once the studies are done, the next challenge is paying for these projects. That will require an act of Congress, a state bond measure, local tax increases or all of those things.
Matt Weiser
What about pools? I have a friend building a pool. While I dont want pool businesses to go out of business, I also dont think she should be filling a new pool with water this year. C.E., Sacramento
If properly maintained and covered, pools are not as big a drain as you may think. If the pool is replacing a lawn, it may actually save water use.
The average backyard swimming pool holds 18,000 to 20,000 gallons. After its filled, the pool needs water only to replace water lost to evaporation (or too much horseplay). Pools generally are not emptied unless repairs are needed or due to poor water quality (on average, every three years).
By comparison, a lawn that covers the same square footage as the average-sized pool (18 feet by 36 feet) uses more than 24,000 gallons a year in irrigation.
Lap pools are built shallow, usually about 39 to 42 inches deep, and hold much less water than standard pools. That can cut the water capacity down substantially. A 45-by-8-foot lap pool holds about 9,500 gallons.
Used pool water doesnt have to go down the drain; it can be dechlorinated and used to irrigate landscaping.
The major issue with pool water is evaporation. In summer, a pool can lose an inch a week if left uncovered. But pool covers can cut down on evaporation 40 percent to 90 percent, depending on the model. In addition, systems can be used to capture rainwater (when it does rain) to replace pool water lost to evaporation.
Debbie Arrington
What uses more water a 10-minute shower or a full bath? Sam Vargas, Lancaster
The answer depends on the size of the tub, the depth of the water and the efficiency of the showerhead. But usually, the shower will use less.
Most people use about 30 gallons of water for a bath, according to industry estimates. When filled to capacity (just below the overflow), a standard bathtub holds 42 gallons, but some of that water will be displaced when you get into the tub. So, the tub is rarely filled to capacity before taking a bath.
A low-flow showerhead uses about two gallons a minute, or 20 gallons for a 10-minute shower. A standard showerhead uses 2.5 gallons a minute, or 25 gallons for 10 minutes. Either way, the shower saves water as long as you dont go past 10 minutes. The shorter the shower, the greater the savings.
Debbie Arrington


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Total War developers announce their first direct chronological sequel.
Creative Assembly has announced their latest gambit in their epic strategy series, Total War: Attila.
Co-op mode goes back to basics for Call Of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
"The discipline of knowing when to quit is important."
Favourite stories from our friends.


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If you think your kids have more snack attacks than you did as a child, you're right.
Compared with two decades ago, children are taking more snack breaks. This higher number of snack breaks adds up to more calories a day.
Youths of all ages from 2 through the teen years snack more often. With 17 percent of children and adolescents obese, we can blame eating between meals for part of the trend.
Snacks play an important role in the well-being of a child. Younger children should eat three meals and two snacks a day. Healthy snacks, along with nutritious meals, help children grow strong and perform better at school. The task for parents and others who care for kids: offer healthy snacks that children like.
Those food choices should include plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables, even though that might mean extra trips to the food store. The extra time and effort are worth it to help your child develop good eating habits for the long term. Also, make sure your own eating habits are nutritious. Parents who follow good eating habits themselves are more likely to have children who eat healthy.
You'll have more luck if you let your child make choices. For example, instead of asking your child what fruit she wants, give her two choices to pick from. Then she feels like she has some control over her diet.
Most snacks should be fresh fruit and vegetables, which are less costly than prepared snack foods.
Your children probably won't give up a daily soda-and-chips routine without protest. Still, the sooner you start, the easier it will be. It is much harder to change the habits of a teenager than it is to create healthy habits in a toddler. You can still be creative with the snacks you offer your children: try dried fruit, unsweetened apple sauce, frozen fruit, or fruit popsicles.
The third-party content provided in the Health Library of phoebeputney.com is for informational purposes only and is not designed to diagnose or treat a health problem or disease, or replace the professional medical advice you receive from your physician. If you or your child has or suspect you may have a health problem, please consult your primary care physician. If you or your child may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 or other emergency health care provider immediately in the United States or the appropriate health agency of your country. For more information regarding site usage, please visit: Privacy Information, Terms of Use or Disclaimer.
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Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital (the flagship hospital) is one of Georgia's largest comprehensive regional medical centers. From the beginning, Phoebe's mission and vision
has been to bring the finest medical talent and technology to the citizens of Southwest Georgia, and to serve all citizens of the community regardless of ability to pay.


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Coulee Collaboration - 2013
$100,000 award to
March 6, 2013
View the winning proposal»
Bob Franke was a resident of La Crosse, Wisconsin. Bob lived the 91 years of his life in the home in which he was born. He and his wife, Eleanor, left an estate of more than $20 million, which has become the fund base for the Foundation which bears their names.
The Foundation is a non-profit Wisconsin corporation located in La Crosse, whose purpose is to support the La Crosse Community Foundation, Mayo Clinic Health System-Franciscan Healthcare and the Diocese of La Crosse. A portion of the earnings of the Foundation are undesignated and are available for distribution to IRC Section 501(c)(3) organizations throughout the Greater La Crosse area through grant applications which are available on this site, upon request.
Take a few moments to consider the Frankes' history and you will begin to understand the kind of people they were to leave such a legacy for generations to come!
Melvyn L. Hoffman
Executive Director
Our 3rd Annual Care & Share Expo took place on December 7, 2013, at the City Brewery Hospitality Center in La Crosse. This year, the event was open to thirty-one (31) - IRC 501(c)(3) non-profit organizations which benefit the Greater La Crosse Area in Wisconsin. We were able to match over $27,000 this year! Many visitors made gifts to multiple organizations since they found it quite convenient to have so many worthwhile charities all in one place at one time. We also had over thirty attendees at our break-out lunch to hear about the new Franke Foundation sponsored Association of La Crosse Area Non-Profit Organizations (ALÁNO), and to hear well-known businessman and entrepreneur discuss the principles of Servant Leadership.
If you are interested in having a table for displaying your organization's informational material at next year's event, please watch this site starting next October, for our new Application. All organizations will be approved on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Franke Foundation works to encourage non-profit organizations to join forces, communicate, learn about each other, share information and work together to create the greatest organizations possible to provide services for our La Crosse County citizens in need. It is also our mission to educate the public and make them aware of local Non-Profit organizations so they can get help or learn how to help. If you are an IRC 501(c)(3) organization and would like to maintain contact with other La Crosse Area organizations though the year and have an opportunity to win a monetary award, take a look at our ALÁNO site on this page.


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Waterbirth is certainly the calmest, most gentle way to bring a baby into the world. Some call it the "natural epidural" for Mom, and it eases a baby from the watery world within, to a watery world on the outside to meet mom earthside for the first time skin to skin. Babies have an amazing natural swimming reflex when they are born - likely carried over from swimming within for so many months. And no, they do not breath underwater and drown as they have been living in their watery world and "breathing" amniotic fluid for all this time. Their first breath of air comes when their body enters the non-watery (air filled) atmosphere. As long as their body stays within the water until their head emerges, all in waterbirth is wonderful.
Below is footage of the waterbirth of twins! Peacefully, gently, beautifully filmed.
Sunday, February 03, 2008
Waterbirth of Twins
2 comments:
I clicked the link to watch the twin birth video and it says it is "private" and won't let me watch. :(ReplyDelete
Crystal - we recently found that the person who posted this video changed the privacy settings. It is a beautiful video and we are hoping to obtain permission (from the original mother) to be able to share again with our audience. Until that time, it may be best to remove this post. It is unfortunate - sorry you had to run into the recent privacy issue. :(ReplyDelete
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Lady Mary is the kind of role that could stereotype an actress, but Michelle Dockery has the good sense to be making fun of her aristocratic counterpart already. In this Funny or Die spoof, she plays opposite Michael Chiklis in a pretend -- but painfully close to real -- new TNT crime series, Tough ...Read More »
The character of Parker is one of those icons of hard-boiled pulp fiction – a smart alecky bruiser created by legendary novelist Donald Westlake (under his Richard Stark nom de plume), who appeared in over a dozen novels, a handful of cinematic adaptations (most notably portrayed by Lee Marvin in "P...Read More »
There's a long and underwhelming tradition of marijuana-fueled comedies, some overt, others less so. Even as the subgenre ages, however, it's impossible to note the lowered aspirations of filmmakers each time out, as "pot" comedy has become part of a genre where increasingly timid filmmakers merely ...Read More »
This project's got direct-to-BluRay written all over it. The components include a boring cast: Michael Chiklis and Forest Whitaker (reteaming after both serving time on "The Shield"), Ray Liotta and Common, a first-time director (David A. Armstrong), and a title so generic,...Read More »
Clifton Collins Jr. & Wendell Pierce Also JoinFor Michael Chiklis, a leap to the big screen has been been curiously out of the reach. The star of "The Commish" and more recently "The Shield" memorably played The Thing in the "Fantastic Four" films but otherwise, has not made much of an impression in...Read More »


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Which players are climbing and which are tumbling this week?
Serena Williams
The hottest player of the second half of 2012, Serena had tears in her eyes as she did the necessary, beating Petra Kvitova in the Doha quarter-finals to take the world No.1 ranking off Victoria Azarenka. In so doing, she started this week as the oldest woman to hold the world No.1 ranking since the WTA's computers started doing their thing in 1975, returning to the top spot for the fifth time in her career (her sixth time at the top in all), her last stint ending in October 2010.
"I didn't imagine that it meant that much to me," she said afterwards, having signed the camera 'Serena is #1′. "I did not expect to not be able to stop crying. I didn't expect to feel that way at all I just thought I would be happy and, you know, just move on to the next round. But my reaction was completely unexpected from me."
Victoria Azarenka
The Belarusian may have borne the brunt of a lot of stick in Australia, but let's not forget that she is still a double Grand Slam champion. And this weekend she backed that up by finally beating Serena in a tournament final, 7-6 (6), 2-6, 6-3 in Doha. The ghosts of her US Open choke must finally be laid to rest. It's going to be very exciting to see what happens next between the two.
Rafael Nadal
In his second week back on the tour since being ousted by Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon last year, Rafa Nadal got to sink his teeth into a trophy after trouncing David Nalbandian to win the Sao Paulo title on clay. The court was troublesome and the altitude was high, but Nadal survived two three-setters on his way to the final, and deemed it a satisfying week. "This one I appreciate it the most because of all the struggles I went through during the week, with some problems with my knee some days." Rafa is having a week off before the third of his clay-court comeback in Acapulco, Mexico, next week.
Juan Martin Del Potro
It seems funny to think of a 6ft 6in man treading anywhere softly, but that's exactly what the big friendly Argentine is doing, winning his first title of 2013 in Rotterdam. He didn't drop a set before the final, and defeated Julien Benneteau, Roger Federer's conqueror, in straight sets.
Milos Raonic
Is the curly-top Canadian about to really hit the big time? Raonic blazed a trail to the San Jose title, the last ever to be held in the Northern Californian town after 125 years, winning his third straight title there.
In an interview with the New York Times, Canada's Rebecca Marino revealed that she is returning to twitter after a nine-month break from the micro-blogging site because of the damaging influence of cyberbullies. No sooner had the interview been published than Britain's Laura Robson, one of the most-followed tennis players on twitter, deactivated her account. Presumably for the same reason.
Laura Robson.
Speaking of Robson, the British teen revealed that she has been suffering from a chest infection since the London Olympics last year, and has had four bouts of antibiotics, to no avail. She is due to see a specialist in London.
David Goffin.
The baby-faced Belgian suffered a double bagel at the hands of Jarkko Nieminen. Ouch.
Piotr Wozniacki.
The enfant terrible of tennis parents has been rather quiet of late, but let that not suggest he might have turned over a new leaf. Caroline's dad subjected umpire Julie Kjendlie to an embarrassing petty tirade. Grow up, Piotr.
The Brazil Open
They are lucky they still had players standing at the end of the week, let alone their top seed and big star holding the trophy. A court that disintegrated under Rafa's feet, prompting him to nearly turn his ankle, cramming fans in after over-selling tickets, and worrying security breaches, they did not exactly cover themselves in glory. Who's looking forward to Rio 2016 and 2018?


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The department stores set fashion trends from the Civil War to World War I in what became known as Ladies' Mile, which straddled Broadway in the Flatiron district. Later on, the car dealers did their haggling along Automobile Row, from Broadway in the West 50s to slightly north of Columbus Circle. The diamond dealers handle 90 percent of the diamonds that enter this country on West 47th Street. Read more…
Posts tagged with PIANOS
15 Results | All tags »
An Old Grand Piano Might Have Been Yours for $3,211By Sam Roberts
B sharp is good advice when you're looking for a bargain, particularly a grand piano. New York City sold a surplus one last week for $3,210, bench included.
"A very good deal," said Dan Alexander, a California purveyor of musical instruments, who bought the Mason & Hamlin Model BB. Read more…
A Window Concert in Brooklyn HeightsBy Maggie Levine
On my bike, downhill on Henry, no jacket, trees in full bloom. There is no turning back from spring. It can't possibly get any better than this.
I turn onto State Street. In front of a brownstone, the sidewalk is lined with rows of people sitting in white folding chairs. I recognize my friend Erica. The driver waiting for the light to change is leaning out his car window.
Across the street, a small crowd has gathered. Some hard-core bike riders are off their seats, legs straddled, feet planted. A woman is leaning against her boyfriend. Nestled in his arms, she looks blissful. An old man with oddly long and oddly blond hair isn't moving. A Nordic hippie in a polo shirt. Does he live in the Heights? Why have I never seen him before?
Everyone is staring raptly into an open window.
Suddenly, it all clicks. They're looking at the back of a piano. Halting chords register. Something familiar, defiantly not classical. A pop song, but I can't place the era.
A recital?
I spot a sign taped to the glass: "The 4th Window Concert."
The piece comes to a rollicking finish and the crowd applauds. A young boy appears in the window. He bows, so quickly that I barely see him, then disappears.
Read all recent entries and our updated submissions guidelines. Reach us via e-mail firstname.lastname@example.com or follow @NYTMetro on Twitter using the hashtag #MetDiary.
Steinway to Sell Its Famed Showroom BuildingBy James Barron
Steinway Hall, the 88-year-old building down the block and across the street from Carnegie Hall where generations of famous and not-so-famous pianists have tried out pianos, is being sold, the piano company and the buyer said on Tuesday.
Steinway said it was selling the building for $46 million. But the total price of the deal could not be determined because the land, which Steinway sold some years ago, is being acquired by the buyer in a separate transaction. The buyer would not disclose the price.
Steinway said that under the terms of the deal, it could remain there for up to 18 months. It has a high-ceilinged showroom for retail customers on the first floor, practice rooms on the second floor and a legendary room in the basement for its fleet of concert pianos for professional pianists. A sheet-music store that has occupied part of the second floor will close next week. Read more…
As Time Goes By, What's This Piano Worth?By James Barron
Here's looking at you, piano.
No one would mistake you for Ingrid Bergman, though you and she shared a moment. And what a moment it was. It made you one of the most famous pianos in movie history. You must remember that: The flashback scene in Paris, the one that turned"Casablanca" from simply a war story into one of the most enduring cinematic love stories ever told.
Now you are to be auctioned off at Sotheby's by an auctioneer who has sold other famous movie props — the "Rosebud" sled from "Citizen Kane," for example. Sotheby's expects you to sell from $800,000 to $1.2 million in the auction on Friday. That is between 34 to 48 times what Bergman was paid for sharing top billing with Humphrey Bogart. Read more…
For Sale: The Practice Piano That Made Van Cliburn PerfectBy James Barron
Van Cliburn was reminiscing about No. 157754.
"My practice piano," he said.
Not anymore. No. 157754, the 100-year-old Steinway concert grand that he grew up on, is — temporarily — at Christie's in Rockefeller Center, where it is to be sold on Thursday, along with furniture and china he collected over the years.
Christie's expects the piano to go for $40,000 to $60,000, less than half the price of a concert grand these days but far more than Mr. Cliburn's parents paid for it, which would have been $1,600 if it had been new when they bought it.
But the piano was already 11 years old when his mother, Rildia Bee O'Bryan, married his father, Harvey Lavan Cliburn Sr., in 1923. The piano was 22 when Mr. Cliburn was born, in 1934. Steinway & Sons says it was manufactured at its factory in Queens in 1912, but was not released for shipment until Dec. 24, 1915. Read more…
The Day the Music Was Carted AwayBy Adriane Quinlan
A suspect has been nabbed in the case of the great Bronx Piano Kidnapping. It's the parks department, which pleads guilty, with an explanation.
Neighbors of the Williamsbridge Oval park in the northwest Bronx were shocked at the disappearance Sunday evening or Monday morning of a public piano, one of 88 pianos placed temporarily around the city by Sing for Hope, a nonprofit arts group. How cruel the thieves must have been. How heartless.
By Thursday, the piano had been replaced with one from a kindly donor.
But still, the mystery remained: who done it? Read more…
Street Piano Vanishes (and With It, Free Fun in the Bronx)By James Barron
This would make for an unusual police blotter entry: Be on the lookout for a missing piano.
Description: White upright with brown designs painted all over; 88 keys — 52 white, 36 black; two pedals. Weight, 500 pounds or so. Last seen at 6:30 p.m. Sunday at Williamsbridge Oval, near 208th Street and Bainbridge Avenue in the Bronx.
"The piano just went missing," said Elisabeth von Uhl of Friends of the Oval, a Facebook group of neighbors concerned about the park.
It was one of 88 pianos placed around the city for a two-week installation by Sing for Hope, a nonprofit arts group. Emily Walsh, Sing for Hope's director of operations, said that someone had checked the piano at 6:30 p.m. Sunday. It was gone the following morning. Its disappearance was reported on Monday by the Bronx News Network. Read more…
Street Pianos Returning, With ReinforcementsBy James Barron
The street pianos will hit the, well, streets next week with 2,464 more keys than last year, but without the British artist who inspired the project.
The artist, Luke Jerram, said his idea of putting a batch of pianos outdoors and letting anyone play them had spread to more than 20 cities. But he said the arts group that oversaw last year's installation in New York — and is overseeing this year's — had told him, "We don't want you to come."
"I'm just flabbergasted and dismayed," he said.
He was on hand last summer when 60 upright pianos did a two-week residency on street corners and in parks. Anyone could sit down and play anything. The "Moonlight" Sonata by moonlight? "Lullaby of Broadway" on Broadway? Both were possible if you knew the notes.
For this year's encore, 60 uprights will hit the streets for two weeks starting June 18, and they will be joined by 28 grands.
The important number here is 88: 60 plus 28 equals 88, the number of keys in one piano. And 88 (the number of keys in one piano) times 28 (the number of additional pianos this year) equals 2,464 more keys in public places.
Sing for Hope, the nonprofit arts group behind the project in New York, is calling this year's installation "Sing for Hope's Pop-Up Pianos." Last year, the project used the name Mr. Jerram uses, "Play Me, I'm Yours."
"They said it's going to be very different, but all they've done, really, is change the title," Mr. Jerram said. Read more…
'Got Talent!' at the Staten Island FerryBy David Gonzalez
The shirt said Hard Rock, but the music was anything but. Hunched over a piano, his back to the Staten Island waterfront, Michael Mignemi swayed gently as he played Pachelbel's Canon. As the sound filled the breezeway, people heading toward the ferry terminal veered off slowly to him.
Mr. Mignemi makes a living playing his keyboard outside a deli on Victory Boulevard. But this week he played for love alone at the St. George ferry terminal, serenading commuters, coaxing smiles, nods and compliments. He was playing one of some 60 pianos that have set up around the city as part of "Play Me I'm Yours."
Thursday was Mr. Mignemi's second self-styled engagement at the terminal.
For about half an hour, he held court, going through a repertoire that went from "Return to Sorrento" to "The Entertainer." At one point, he broke into "My Heart Will Go On" — the theme from "Titanic" — though if anyone about to board the ferry was nervous, they did not betray it. Read more…


text:
Is the NHS Unfairly Excluding Men?
HPV does not just give rise to cervical cancer. Types 6 and 11 of the virus gives genital warts which affects both genders. Types 16 and 18 can lead to neck and anal cancer, specifically penile cancer in men... In the UK boys can only get the vaccination, called Gardasil, privately... Is it just that girls should get it free while boys have to pay if they want to protect their health?


text:
John Steinbeck
Grapes of Wrath
Chapter 5
The owners of the land came onto the land, or more often a spokesman for the owners came. They came in closed cars, and they felt the dry earth with their fingers, and sometimes they drove big earth augers into the ground for soil tests. The tenants, from their sun-beaten dooryards, watched uneasily when the closed cars drove along the fields. And at last the owner men drove into the dooryards and sat in their cars to talk out of the windows. The tenant men stood beside the cars for awhile, and then squatted on their hams and found sticks with which to mark the dust.
In the open doors the women stood looking out, and behind them the children—corn- headed children, with wide eyes, one bare foot on top of the other bare foot, and the toes working. The women and the children watched their men talking to the owner men. They were silent.
Some of the owner men were kind because they hated what they had to do, and some of them were angry because they hated to be cruel, and some of them were cold because they had long ago found that one could not be an owner unless one were cold. And all of them were caught in something larger than themselves. Some of them hated the mathematics that drove them, and some were afraid, and some worshipped the mathematics because it provided a refuge from thought and from feeling. If a bank or a finance company owned the land, the owner man said, The Bank—or the Company— needs—wants—insists—must have—as though the Bank or the Company were a monster, with thought and feeling, which had ensnared them. These last would take no responsibility for the banks or the companies because they were men and slaves, while the banks were machines and masters all at the same time. Some of the owner men were a little proud to be slaves to such cold and powerful masters. The owner men sat in the cars and explained. "You know the land is poor. You've scrabbled at it long enough, God knows."
The squatting tenant men nodded and wondered and drew figures in the dust, and yes, they knew, God knows. If the dust only wouldn't fly. If the top would only stay on the soil, it might not be so bad.
The owner men went on leading to their point: "You know the land's getting poorer. You know what cotton does to the land; robs it, sucks all the blood out of it."
The squatters nodded—they knew, God knew. If they could only rotate the crops they might pump blood back into the land.
Well, it's too late. And the owner men explained the workings and the thinkings of the monster that was stronger than they were. "A man can hold land if he can just eat and pay taxes; he can do that."
"Yes, he can do that until his crops fail one day and he has to borrow money from the bank."
"But—you see, a bank or a company can't do that, because those creatures don't breathe air, don't cat side-meat. They breathe profits; they eat the interest on money. If they don't get it, they die the way you die without air, without side-meat. It is a sad thing, but it is so. It is just so."
The squatting men raised their eyes to understand. "Can't we just hang on? Maybe the next year will be a good year. God knows how much cotton next year. And with all the wars—God knows what price cotton will bring. Don't they make explosives out of cotton? And uniforms? Get enough wars and cotton'll hit the ceiling. Next year, maybe." They looked up questioningly.
"We can't depend on it. The bank—the monster has to have profits all the time. It can't wait. It'll die. No, taxes go on. When the monster stops growing, it dies. It can't stay one size."
Soft fingers began to tap the sill of the car window, and hard fingers tightened on the restless drawing sticks. In the doorways of the sun-beaten tenant houses, women
sighed and then shifted feet so that the one that had been down was now on top, and the toes working. Dogs came sniffing near the owner cars and wetted on all four tires one after another. And chickens lay in the sunny dust and fluffed their feathers to get the cleansing dust down to the skin. In the little sties the pigs grunted inquiringly over the muddy remnants of the slops.
The squatting men looked down again. "What do you want us to do? We can't take less share of the crop—we're half starved now. The kids are hungry all the time. We got no clothes, torn an' ragged. If all the neighbors weren't the same, we'd he ashamed to go to meeting."
And at last the owner men came to the point. "The tenant system won't work, any more. One man on a tractor can take the place of twelve or fourteen families. Pay him a wage and take all the crop. We have to do it. We don't like to do it. But the monster's sick. Something's happened to the monster."
"But you'II kilI the land with cotton."
"We know. We've got to take the cotton quick before the land dies. Then we'll sell the land. Lots of families in the East would like to own a piece of land."
The tenant men looked up alarmed. "But what'll happen to us? How'll we eat?" "You'll have to get off the land. The plows'll go through the dooryard."
And now the squatting men stood up angrily. "Grampa took up the land, and he had to kill the Indians and drive them away. And Pa was born here, and he killed weeds and snakes. Then a bad year came and he had to borrow a little money. An' we was born here. There in the door—our children born here. And Pa had to borrow money. The bank owned the land then, but we stayed and we got a little bit of what we raised."
"We know that—all that. It's not us, it's the bank. A bank isn't like a man. Or an owner with fifty thousand acres, he isn't like a man either. That's the monster."
"Sure," cried the tenant men, "but it's our land. We measured it and broke it up. We were born on it, and we got killed on it, died on it. Even if it's no good, it's still ours. That's what makes it ours—being born on it, working it, dying on it. That makes ownership, not a paper with numbers on it."
"We're sorry. It's not us. It's the monster. The bank isn't like a man." "Yes, but the bank is only made of men."
"No, you're wrong there—quite wrong there. The bank is something else than men. It happens that every man in a bank hates what the bank does, and yet the bank does it. The bank is something more than men, I tell you. It's the monster. Men made it, but they can't control it."
The tenants cried, "Grampa killed Indians, Pa killed snakes for the land. Maybe we can kill banks—they're worse than Indians and snakes. Maybe we got to fight to keep our land, like Pa and Granpa did."
And now the owner men grew angry. "You'll have to go." "But it's ours," the tenant men cried. "We—" "No. The bank, the monster owns it. You'll have to go." "We'll get our guns, like Granpa when the Indians came. What then?"
"Well—first the sheriff, and then the troops. You'll be stealing if you try to stay, you'll be murderers if you kill to stay. The monster isn't men, but it can make men do what it wants."
"But if we go, where'll we go? How'll we go? We got no money."
"We're sorry," said the owner men. "The bank, the fifty-thousand-acre owner can't be responsible. You're on land that isn't yours. Once over the line maybe you can pick cotton in the fall. Maybe you can go on relief. Why don't you go on west to California?
There's work there, and it never gets cold. Why, you can reach out anywhere and pick an orange. Why, there's always some kind of crop to work in. Why don't you go there?" And the owner men started their cars and rolled away.
The tenant men squatted down on their hams again to mark the dust with a stick, to figure, to wonder. Their sun- burned faces were dark, and their sun-whipped eyes were light. The women moved cautiously out of the doorways toward their men, and the children crept behind the women, cautiously, ready to run. The bigger boys squatted beside their fathers, because that made them men. After a time the women asked, What did he want?
And the men looked up for a second, and the smolder of pain was in their eyes. "We got to get off. A. tractor and a superintendent. Like factories."
Where'll we go? the women asked. "We don't know. We don't know."
And the women went quickly, quietly back into the houses and herded the children ahead of them. They knew that a man so hurt and so perplexed may turn in anger, even on people he loves. They left the men alone to figure and to wonder in the dust.
After a time perhaps the tenant man looked about—at the pump put in ten years ago, with a goose-neck handle and iron flowers on the spout, at the chopping block where a thousand chickens had been killed, at the hand plow lying in the shed, and the patent crib hanging in the rafters over it.
The children crowded about the women in the houses. What we going to do, Ma? Where we going to go?
The women said, We don't know, yet. Go out and play. But don't go near your father. He might whale you if you go near him. And the women went on with the work, but all the time they watched the men squatting in the dust—perplexed and figuring.
The tractors came over the roads and into the fields, great crawlers moving like insects, having the incredible strength of insects. They crawled over the ground, laying the track and rolling on it and picking it up. Diesel tractors, puttering while they stood idle; they thundered when they moved, and then settled down to a droning roar. Snub-nosed monsters raising the dust and sticking their snouts into it, straight down the country, across the country, through fences, through dooryards, in and out of gullies in straight lines. They did not run on the ground, but on their own roadbeds. They ignored hills and gulches, water courses, houses.
The man sitting in the iron seat did not look like a man; gloved, goggled, rubber dust mask over nose and mouth, he was a part of the monster, a robot in the seat. The thunder of the cylinders sounded through the country, became one with the air and the earth, so that earth and air muttered in sympathetic vibration. The driver could not control it—straight across country it went, cutting through a dozen farms and straight back. A twitch at the controls could swerve the cat', but the driver's hands could not twitch because the monster that built the tractor, the monster that sent the tractor out, had somehow got into the driver's hands, into his brain and muscle, had goggled him and muzzled him—goggled his mind, muzzled his speech, goggled his perception, muzzled his protest., He could not see the land as it was, he could not smell the land as it smelled; his feet did not stamp the clods or feel the warmth and power of the earth. He sat in an iron seat and stepped on iron pedals. He could not cheer or beat or curse or encourage the extension of his power, and because of this he could not cheer or whip or curse or encourage himself. He did not know or own or trust or beseech the land. If a seed dropped did not germinate, it was nothing. If the young thrusting plant withered in drought or drowned in a flood of rain, it was no more to the driver than to the tractor.
He loved the land no more than the bank loved the land. He could admire the tractor— its machined surfaces, its surge of power, the roar of its detonating cylinders; but it was not his tractor. Behind the tractor rolled the shining disks, cutting the earth with blades— not plowing but surgery, pushing the cut earth to the right where the second row of disks cut it and pushed it to the left; slicing blades shining, polished by the cut earth. And pulled behind the disks, the harrows combing with iron teeth so that the little clods broke
up and the earth lay smooth. Behind the harrows, the long seeders—twelve curved iron penes erected in the foundry, orgasms set by gears, raping methodically, raping without passion. The driver sat in his iron seat and he was proud of the straight lines he did not will, proud of the tractor he did not own or love, proud of the power he could not control. And when that crop grew, and was harvested, no man had crumbled a hot clod in his fingers and let the earth sift past his fingertips. No man had touched the seed, or lusted for the growth. Men ate what they had not raised, had no connection with the bread. The land bore under iron, and under iron gradually died; for it was not loved or hated, it had no prayers or curses.
At noon the tractor driver stopped sometimes near a tenant house and opened his lunch: sandwiches wrapped in waxed paper, white bread, pickle, cheese, Spam, a piece of pie branded like an engine part. He ate without relish. And tenants not yet moved away came out to see him, looked curiously while the goggles were taken off, and the rubber dust mask, leaving white circles around the eyes and a large white circle around nose and mouth. The exhaust of the tractor puttered on, for fuel is so cheap it is more efficient to leave the engine running than to heat the Diesel nose for a new start. Curious children crowded close, ragged children who ate their fried dough as they watched. They watched hungrily the unwrapping of the sandwiches, and their hunger- sharpened noses smelled the pickle, cheese, and Spam. They didn't speak to the driver. They watched his hand as it carried food to his mouth. They did not watch him chewing; their eyes followed the hand that held the sandwich. After awhile the tenant who could not leave the place came out and squatted in the shade beside the tractor.
"Why, you're Joe Davis's boy'!" "Sure," the driver said. "W ell, what you doing this kind of work for—against your own people?"
"Three dollars a day. I got damn sick of creeping for my dinner—and not getting it. I got a wife and kids. We got to eat. Three dollars a day, and it comes every day."
"That's right," the tenant said. "But for your three dollars a day fifteen or twenty families can't eat at all. Nearly a hundred people have to go out and wander on the roads for your three dollars a day. Is that right?"
And the driver said, "Can't think of that. Got to think of my own kids. Three dollars a day, and it comes every day. Times are changing, mister, don't you know? Can't make a living on the land unless you've got two, five, ten thousand acres and a tractor. Crop land isn't for little guys like us any more. You don't kick up a howl because you can't make Fords, or because you're not the telephone company. Well, crops are like that now. Nothing to do about it. You try to get three dollars a day someplace. That's the only way."
The tenant pondered. "Funny thing how it is. If a man owns a little property, that property is him, it's part of him, and it's like him. If he owns property only so he can walk on it and handle it and be sad when it isn't doing well, and feel fine when the rain falls on it, that property is him, and some way he's bigger because he owns it. Even if he isn't successful he's big with his property. That is so."
And the tenant pondered more. "But let a man get property he doesn't see, or can't take time to get his fingers in, or can't be there to walk on it—why, then the property is the man. He can't do what he wants, he can't think what he wants. The property is the man, stronger than he is. And he is small, not big. Only his possessions are big—and he's the servant of his property. That is so, too."
The driver munched the branded pie and threw the crust away. "Times are changed, don't you know? Thinking about stuff like that don't feed the kids. Get your three dollars a day, feed your kids. You got no call to worry about anybody's kids but your own. You get a reputation for talking like that, and you'll never get three dollars a day. Big shots won't give you three dollars a day if you worry about anything but your three dollars a day."
"Nearly a hundred people on the road for your three dollars. Where will we go?"
"And that reminds me," the driver said, "you better get out soon. I'm going through the dooryard' after dinner."
"You filled in the well this morning."
"I know. Had to keep the line straight. But I'm going through the dooryard after dinner. Got to keep the lines straight. And—well, you know Joe Davis, my old man, so I'll tell you this. I got orders wherever there's a family not moved out—if I have an accident— you know, get too close and cave the house in a little—well, I might get a couple of dollars. .And my youngest kid never had no shoes yet."
"I built it with my hands. Straightened old nails to put the sheathing on. Rafters are wired to the stringers with baling wire. It's mine. I built it. You bump it down—I'll be in the window with a rifle. You even come too close and I'll pot you like a rabbit."
"It's not me. There's nothing I can do. I'II lose my job if I don't do it. And look—suppose you kill me? They'll just hang you, but long before you're hung there'll be another guy on the tractor, and he'll bump the house down. You're not killing the right guy."
"That's so," the tenant said. "Who gave you orders? I'll go after him. He's the one to kill."
"You're wrong. He got his orders from the bank. The bank told him, 'Clear those people out or it's your job.' "
"Well, there's a president of the bank. There's a board of directors. I'll fill up the magazine of the rifle and go into the bank."
The driver said, "Fellow was telling me the bank gets orders from the East. The orders were, 'Make the land show profit or we'll close you up.' "
"But where does it stop? Who can we shoot? I don't aim to starve to death before I kill the man that's starving me."
"I don't know. Maybe there's nobody to shoot. Maybe the thing isn't men at all. Maybe, like you said, the property's doing it. Anyway I told you my orders."
"I got to figure," the tenant said. "We all got to figure. There's some way to stop this. It's not like lightning or earthquakes. We've got a bad thing made by men, and by God that's something we can change." The tenant sat in his doorway, and the driver thundered his engine and started off, tracks falling and curving, harrows combing, and the phalli of the seeder slipping into the ground. Across the dooryard the tractor cut, and the hard, foot-beaten ground was seeded field, and the tractor cut through again; the uncut space was ten feet wide. And back he came. The iron guard bit into the house- corner, crumbled the wall, and wrenched the little house from its foundation so that it fell sideways, crushed like a bug. And the driver was goggled and a rubber mask covered his nose and mouth. The tractor cut a straight line on, and the air and the ground vibrated with its thunder. The tenant man stared after it, his rifle in his hand. His wife was beside him, and the quiet children behind. And all of them stared after the tractor.
John Steinbeck
fragile like a beaker
bored like a blade of grass
the summer is not so far away
in milk stained bowls
the wallowing of stinking sinks
rumbles with tectonic shifts
plates crackling
beneath broken toenails
I want to give thanks
thanks for this job I spend too much time at
for the dreams I've watched in the windows of my eyes fade into the distance
for poetry, like a lover that's slighted me
for William Burroughs
and the ideas that nothing is worth a lick because we'll all be dead
In the boulevards of Hollywood the crown weighs heavy
wealth is the language of love and adoration
multiplying children
scatter over granite sidewalks
unaware of their parents broken marriage
and the ideals of a whole country crumbles
I miss the rivers of my youth
The Hudson and Harlem River
The Mississippi
the peacefulness of water, cool
breezes cutting splinters down the spine
supine memories
undone by adulthood
coming to on the shoulder of some freeway
wearing coffee stained clothes
and water filling green eyes
unsure of the future
and attached to history
fragile like a glass spine
bored like a redwood.
Some shots from the new show, READ ALL OVER, opening Saturday, February 12 2011 5 - 8 PM, 2255 India Street, Los Angeles, CA 90039.
Come check out some great art.
Texas radios
telecaster guitars
the element of chance on a
subway ride home from Brooklyn
with some fat bike messenger type
with tattooed legs and a chain
loosely belted around his waste
you're in new york city kid
from the day you arrive
til the day you die
no salt water pacific sunset
is gonna change that, the N
train on September 11th
nursing a monster hangover
after another
night spent at the Cedar
some freckled girl angrily awakened
in a red morning sun rise
end of summer gaminess
and the responsibility
of early adulthood
commenting on your sore back.
The early sunrises of Santa Monica
come on like a bad cold, gradual
and gentle, nothing like those
blistering summer Sundays
on Avenue A with Doc Holidays and
Niagara pouring 2 for 1s
and little hip chicks
wearing spaghetti tops
and jean shorts,
waiting for the brunch in some
outdoor cafe
heads floating like balloons
and their eyes dark and sunken
like jack-o-lanterns
on a humid indian summer night.
I am alone
i was alone
i will always be alone
even when you are in my arms
even when i can hear you in the other room
even when you're banging pots and pans and making a squash soup
even when you weep and i stare blankly at the cracked paint on the wall
even when you leave and you say you just need time to figure it out.
and oh those new york city nights
when i've walked the 40 blocks home
and I have cold sweat on my back
and the apartment is hot and dank and
miles above the taxi cabs and car horns and pedestrians
smoking and screaming and stumbling with hands knotted together all fumbly and weird
like copper wires in an old home wired by a cataract-ed ex-marine named Carl
and still, drunken and stumbling and slurring words
at the typer there was purpose, she was in the bathroom
and you sat down and just started telling a story
with no purpose but to make something up no matter
how ugly or depressing or pointless it was,
just to create the rhythm of phrases
and butting up against one another
like a fevered fight when everyone is screaming
like a pack of wolves.
She is gone, the memory of her
isn't even real, it just was something
you/I made up and even if she were true
she's back in New York City or more likely moved out to a brownstone
in Brooklyn with her new husband
and they baby they dressed up like a pumpkin
for Halloween.
~ Craig A. Platt, 11.1.2010
A Trip By Train
I left the train
behind, it was snowing
and I was tired, so I didn't
go and meet anyone at
any bar and countdown to
the new year
It's occurred to me
more than once
that seasons are segments
of time meant to cure
or cause
it's only natural
I was in bed when the planes hit
I was in bed when the space shuttle blew to pieces
I was in bed the day we started the invasion
I was in bed while she went into labor
I was in bed while you fell in love again
I was in bed when I was supposed to be at work
and the avenues are like
shallow canyons outside
my window,
not the bottomless
crevice of nightmares
but the shallow pools of youthful
The trains are all iron and
aluminum, silver screeching
bullets loaded with worriers
headed for different destinations
with a platform, a bad cup of
coffee and the USA Today in common
the weather meaning
a slide show in between
A soundtrack would
be nice for these types
of situations… Another
distraction from the eyeless
face that is your memory
crying babies
kicking feet
and a cold window
against my cheek
C. Platt, 9.14.2010
Los Angeles, CA
That book that I was
reading wasn't very
good and I'm sorry that
i snapped at you when
you were only trying
to be helpful by
turning on the
lights and offering me
a beverage
I was alone, for
the first time in a
while, and you came
up from behind
scaring me
half to death.
The nightmares
continue to wash
over me like warm
water in a dirty swimming
pool, you and I
and all the people
we used to know
when we were social
and interesting
and interested in
the ideas in the atmosphere
that we could snatch and stuff
into our intellectual
satchels. This
is not an apology
but an admission
that perhaps life
hasn't turned out
as we'd planned
and come to think of
whose really does,
the book I was reading
when you surprised me
with your voice, which used
to sound like a song bird,
and now like a siren,
was not very good
despite the rave reviews
and the websites dedicated
to its excellence
the author wears sportscoats
i bet, while teaching at an expensive
University with talented students
thinking he's a Jesus-y type
able to teach them
how to turn
and wine into
and then they can buy
their own sports coats
and smile at their
minions. When you surprised
me I guess I was
lost in the filth and
the dirt
and the waste of time
I had been convinced
to partake in
by the cute bookstore girl
that looks like a pixie
you know the one.
So while I am not sorry,
why should i be?
I will say that when you surprised me
i was reading another book
I wish I'd never
but couldn't
I was reading Mira Schor's A Decade of Negative Thinking and watching to make sure my son didn't fall into the lake. I was also intermittently following Twitter and saw Craig Platt's invitation to submit work to him for a show called "Stay at Home."