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Doctor Who: The Sensorites (UK - DVD R2)
The Wilson Bros try and makes sense of this misunderstood Hartnell story...
Doctor Who was reaching the end of its first season - the unexpected popularity of the Daleks meant the that show had almost certainly become more popular that most at the BBC had anticipated. The viewers' appetite for futuristic Doctor Who adventures was high and after visiting the Aztec civilisation, it was time for another foray into an alien world...
The TARDIS materialises inside a spaceship from Earth, with the skeleton crew apparently dead. The Doctor (William Hartnell), along with Susan (Carole Ann Ford), Ian (William Russell) and Barbara (Jacqueline Hill) soon discover that the crew are actually alive and being held in some kind of stasis by the Sensorites, the inhabitants of the nearby Sense Sphere. Seeing the TARDIS crew as a threat, the lock to the TARDIS is stolen, and they are as trapped as the crew of the ship they materialised inside.
The Sensorites starts out very strongly, presenting an intriguing mystery - with the crew of the ship seemingly dead and then coming back to life again - then settling into a lot of moody atmosphere, increasing the tension as the much-talked-about Sensorites are about to board the ship once more and finally there is a wonderfully eerie moment where there is no sound before one of the titular characters appears outside the window. Fabulous stuff and it's a tribute to the director and the cast involved in that scene that makes it so wonderful to watch.
The main story really starts to kick in during episode three, as it becomes apparent that things aren't exactly rosy on the Sense Sphere and the First Elder of that world is unaware that his immediate subordinates are plotting against him and that the sudden arrival of The Doctor and the rest of the TARDIS crew would work to his advantage.
Episode four is probably the most enjoyable out of the six, as it has Hartnell on top form and displaying his scientific skills as he races to track down the cure to a disease that has not only been wiping out The Sensorites, but could possibly kill off one of his companions. Adding to this is the main plot of The Sensorites is well underway, with political intrigue and dastardly schemes going on behind the scenes.
Jacqueline Hill is particularly good in this story, especially in the first episode, where she confronts the supposedly violent and deranged John (Stephen Dartnell) - with the viewers having been tipped off that he could do strangers some physical damage, everyone watching is fearful for Susan and Barbara, but Barbara's caring side comes out (probably due to her vocation as a teacher) and far from suddenly turning psycho, John instead collapses into her arms. Hill really makes this scene shine and reminds the audience that when she had some meaty material to work with, she would show just how capable an actress she was. It's just a pity that with Hill being on fire in terms of her performance, she conveniently buggers off mid-way and returns a couple of episodes later with something looking suspiciously like a suntan...
William Russell gives a fairly commanding performance, frequently taking the lead over Hartnell and being the all-round macho good-egg that many fans remember him being. Russell is great when he is given the chance to excel and Ian Chesterton acted as The Doctor's moral compass in early Doctor Who, often jumping in and directly questioning The Doctor's reasoning and/or decision-making, which could quite often be seen as at best cold or at worst callous. The Sensorites sees Ian taking charge and being more of a prime-mover than Hartnell and Russell's dramatic sensibilities really come to the fore during the suspenseful sequence at the end of the first episode, where Russell's performance really sells the scene and makes for a grat cliffhanger. Russell also spends one episode incapacitated, but still manages to turn in a dramatic master-class in sick acting.
William Russell wasn't the only companion to get a better deal than usual in this story; Carole Ann Ford's participation in Doctor Who started out strongly in An Unearthly Child, as the strange, mysterious teenager who hid an otherworldly secret, but after that, the character of Susan just seemed to turn into a whiny damsel in distress. The Sensorites sees Susan taking a more active role in the events unfolding around them, especially the addition of the telepathy between her and the Sensorites, allowing her to be the peacemaker and moderator between the sensitive Sensorites and her irascible Grandfather - it is a real shame that this aspect wasn't explored further and that after this, Susan lost her telepathic abilities and just reverted back to be a whiny screamer.
Sadly, William Hartnell doesn't fare as well as his co-stars in The Sensorites - he seems to fumble with and trip over his lines more than usual in this first season; though there are many who find amusement at seeing Hartnell fluffing, but the stark reality is that the man was starting to become ill. It's not all bad news - as mentioned above, Hartnell is great in episode three, where he displays a range of emotions, both positive and negative, which reminds you just how great an actor Hartnell was when he was on top form - no other actor who followed in his footsteps has ever been able to top the sort of explosive moral outrage that Hartnell was able to muster.
Whilst it might seem as though we are singling out Hartnell for his usual fluffs, but to be honest, most of the cast - both regulars and guests - are guilty of dropping verbal clangers; it's quite likely that The Sensorites contains the highest number of cock-ups in any Doctor Who story, as the only way that the cast could have slipped-up anymore would have been if someone put industrial lubricant on the studio floor. It's almost as though there wasn't enough rehearsal time and the cast weren't entirely au-fait with their lines and performances, but that's just an opinion to try and explain why there is a higher than average amount of balls-ups in this story.
Somewhere amidst the Sensorites is veteran performer and Crackerjack legend Peter Glaze. Though the Sensorites are all pretty similar in appearance, all you have to do is look for the shortest and tubbiest Sensorite (and the one with the wildest body gestures) and you'll have found him.
The design of the Sensorites is a frustrating mix of the intriguing and the embarrassing; the shape of the heads and the execution of them are pretty good, but what seems to let the design down are the silly wispy beards that they all have, along with the mouths that are obscured by aforementioned silly wispy beards, quite possibly to try and cover up the fact that the mouths just seem like open holes in the make-up that move in a half-hearted manner whenever the actors playing them speak - the design could be seen as the perfect example as to why Jon Pertwee preferred monsters, such as the Draconians, who had half-masks, rather than full ones. The silly rounded feet are only seen now and again, but they appear so awkwardly cumbersome that one could easily imagine actors tripping over them during a take and Carole Ann Ford even pokes fun at the awkward gait of their new allies during episode five. The Sensorites could be seen as a sort of parody of university lecturers - they have the white polo-neck jumpers and beards, so all that's missing are tweed jackets with leather patches on the elbows...
The Sensorites all look pretty similiar (a statement that could be seen as racist, if the Sensorites themselves didn't think pretty much the same thing of their own race), and they all dress in the same clothing, with only the senior members of society being distinguishable from the rank-and-file by having black coloured collars or sashes. The Sensorites are a trusting bunch and it is only until a scheming member of the ruling classes decides that he wants things his way and murders his way up the ladder and also tries his hardest to murder the TARDIS crew or at least implicate them in the murder his was responsible for. There are a few things that are difficult to accept in this story, with the most difficult one being the fact that for however long the Sensorite civilisation has been in existence, no Sensorite until now had even thought of swapping over sashes with someone higher up the ladder in an effort to deceive - we have known food from Wimpy that has been easier to swallow.
With The Sensorites being a six-parter, there is some padding, but it's not as tiresome or as obvious as some of the hideous attempts to pad out a four-parter by a couple of episodes. There is a certain similarity to the later Patrick Troughton story, The Seeds of Death, which was also a six-parter, in that the start of the story seems to be only vaguely related to the main body of the story and it's not until an episode or two that the true plot starts to come into play. Speaking of such matters, The Sensorites had two directors credited - Mervyn Pinfield for the first four episodes and Frank Cox for the latter two. There isn't much in the way of differences between the directorial styles, so it doesn't suddenly seem as though you are in a different story.
The Doctor and Ian spend much of episodes five and six lurking about in darkened aqueducts, searching for the cause of mass poisoning on the Sense Sphere; this allows for some very tense and effective moments as our heroes go carefully looking around for the outbreak of death on the planet and when they get to the bottom of the mystery, it seems to forshadow the events seen by the Golgafrinchams in Douglas Adams' Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, as the bizarre sense of derranged "normality" depicted is farcical, yet disturbing in nature.
The Sensorites was released on VHS years ago in a VIDFired, remastered edition that looked pretty damn good. With the release on DVD, it looks even better; whilst some episodes look better than others, the image quality in general is very pleasing indeed, with the best-looking episodes almost looking like it did upon the original broadcast.
No real problems here, with the audio sounding as good as it possibly can, given the age and limitations of the materials available. Dialogue is perfectly audible, but it should be noted that the audio in episode six has a fair amount of sibilance - this is almost certainly down to the condition of the print that was available and nothing to do with any fault of the remastering process. It should be pointed out that the technical glitch during episode six, which has the voice of someone in the gallery present on the soundtrack (the focus of one of the special features) seems to have been corrected.
Looking For Peter: The ever-reliable Toby Hadoke is your host as he undertakes a personal quest to find out more about writer Peter R Newman, the scribe whom brought The Sensorites to the screen, and left very little else to the world. Hadoke soon finds out that this is a man so enigmatic that he even managed to officially die twice, so just what are his chances of unravelling the mystery of this elusive writer?
Starting off with a shot to make any ardent Whovian smile, that of inside Mr Hadoke's living room, with a row of all his Doctor Who DVDs on the shelf, including such titles as Galaxy Four and Mission to the Unknown, this is a blast from the outset. Hadoke's first port of call is the trusty internet, where the infallible(?!?) Wikipedia comes up with very little, so puts in a call to Rob Shearman, and even the might of the Doctor Who Monthly can't really put him on the trail, with Newman dying before the publication started. With official channels unable to even come up with a photo of the writer and two different decades listed for his date of death, this isn't going to be easy!
Turning to professional researcher (and fellow uber Who fan) Richard Bignall, they head to Westminster with the intention of finding Mr Newman's death certificate. Among the many unsubstantiated thing print over the years were that the writer committed suicide, with many fans joking that he was trying to atone for his Sensorites sins. Hadoke is pleasingly level-headed, noting that: "A lot of rumours in Doctor Who turn out to be codswallop". The elusive paperwork is found, and our dynamic duo discover that he died of natural causes. There was a curious pause when Hadoke finds out that the cause of death was due to a massive cerebral haemorrhage, as he says: "So that… hopefully we can scotch the suicide thing with that." You are left wondering if he might have about to use the phrase "knock [the rumour] on the head," as the first instincts of many would be, but skilfully avoided doing so.
Investigating other things from Mr Newman's CV takes Hadoke to Hammer movie authoritarian Marcus Hearn - whose work we know from The Dark Side magazine - and finds that Newman was brought in to inject a bit of credibility into the studio's output, the result being a harrowing war movie entitled " Yesterday's Enemies". Looking at war from both sides of the battle lines, there are certain thematic elements which are common between The Sensorites and Newman's big screen venture, almost as though Newman used the same route as Gene Roddenberry in dressing up social commentary with science fiction trappings to get it on television. Even though the film was nominated for BAFTAs, his further scripts were found to be too grand for Hammer, and Newman found himself no longer the golden boy of Bray Studios. Hearn discloses that the writers' relationship with Hammer was not that great, and that little was known about him even among those at Hammer. The mystery deepens, and every little tantalising tendril is leading Hadoke closer to his quarry, the lone Doctor Who writer whom vanished into thin air…
…and that's where we'll leave it, as there is no way in hell we'd spoil something so engrossing, uplifting and genuinely special as Looking For Peter. We might be looking at the finest example of a documentary to be classed as merely "added-value-material", as if such a title could ever earn the right to be associated with something as fine as this. Hadoke is at his very best, and we offer our sincerest congratulations to everyone involved, and anyone with even the mildest of interests in Doctor Who should make the time to see this. We're keeping quite about the outcome, and don't expect a peep out of us: we've signed non-disclosure agreements with the Weinsteins, so we know how to keep quiet, under pain of lawsuit. Superb investigative filmmaking, and recommended without question.
Vision On: With another salute to those folks behind the scenes, we get a look at Doctor Who from a man right there from the outset, Vision Mixer (and later Jigsaw guy) Clive Doig. Involved in the tests for the opening title of the show, he's a man spilling over with delightful titbits about the processes involved and the things which frequently went wrong. Once filling us all in on the job of a Vision Mixer and the processes involved, he then proceeds onto the good stuff.
If you thought that Bill Hartnell fluffing his lines was bad enough for the actors, it caused tension you could cut with a chainsaw in the gallery! Diog also notes that the husband and wife team operating the Chumblies decided not to let being encased in a cumbersome costume dampen the flammable relationship between them! Any tale about lost Who are especially welcome, and we are treated to the story of how during the shoot of Marco Polo, a camera went off-course and crashed into a hanging piece of set, causing it to spin around whilst generating havoc in the gallery. Doig assures us that it was all but unnoticeable to viewers at home, but with all episodes of it wiped, there is nothing but Doig's word to back up such bold claims.
It's short - clocking it at around six minutes, but it's both informative and amusing, with another perspective on working with Bill Hartnell and his failing faculties, as well as tantalising scraps from the table of the lost stories. Framed around the theme to the beloved drawing show which gave this piece its' name, Vision On is worth six minutes of anybody's time, we'd say.
Secret Voices of the Sense Sphere: To those with fox-like aural capabilities, or possibly anyone whom has seen The Sensorites more times than is good for them (OK, who said twice?) they will have picked up on the mysterious, God-like voice which seems to foretell everything that which is about to happen. Yes, God is indeed a woman! Well, let's not induce hate-mail about that one, and quickly point out that this is a fascinating curiosity detailing just why a curious, feminine voice can be heard calling out numbers at one point during the final episode. We won't tell you the answer to this riddle, but it's purely by accident rather than design, and Vision Mixer Clive Doig is on hand again to untangle false deities from cock-ups. Fun, and totally unexpected.
Photo Gallery: Another brisk stroll down memory lane and much more is in order, but forget those yellowing pages from the Doctor Who Monthly, as you see those fondly-remembered images look better than ever. We get a look at shots which set the imagination aflame in those too young to have seen the older shows, before home video came along and exposed the lesser ones for what they really were, but you can relive those fond memories in this enticing gallery of nostalgia. When seen by the unflinching light of a still camera, with lights and rigging all about, the a lot of the sets look genuinely crummy, living down to the general perception of the show. When you see them as filmed (or kinoscoped) they really do pass muster, which all points towards the camera and lighting crews doing their jobs properly to being them to life. There's lots to enjoy, and guaranteed to raise a smile!
Audio Commentary: There is a real sense of "musical chairs" with this particular commentary track, as its participants come and go almost on a whim, with a number of them to start with. Tobe Hadoke takes a rest from hunting the ghosts of writers past to moderate everyone brought in to watch The Sensorites. Comprising this genial mob are the ever-terrific William Russell, Carole Ann Ford, designer Ray Cusick, "Second Sensorite/Scientist" Joe Greig, Assistant Makeup girl Sonia Malcolm, Director Frank Cox, Martyn Huntley (First Human) and Giles Phibbs (Second Human). Get all that? Right, on we go…
Hadoke diplomatically starts out by calling The Sensorites "…one of the least-remembered stories of the era", which sets things up for a light and refreshing atmosphere, and that William Russell defends it from a technical perspective, that of keeping all the cast together and giving all the characters something to do, which clarifies that it isn't just the fans whom don't have a great deal of affection for it. We have to worry about Russell a little, as he defends Hartnell's frequent "fluffs" a little more robustly than he should. "Everybody says that, but I don't honestly remember any awful moments myself happening. I mean, if he did hesitate or stumble or whatever it was, he would certainly cover it up very professionally… masterly." At this point, someone (possibly Cusick) starts imitating Hartnell's usual tricks to cover up his memory loss.
The man in the Sensorite mask Grieg provides a number of wry chuckles, including re memories of being encased in the hairy makeup. "You always got a mouthful of whiskers when you were talking. Some of us smoked in those days, and we were supplied with cigarette-holders during rehearsals". At this point everyone laughs, particularly Ford. "The thing was, when you breathed out, smoke came out through the eye-holes…" Cue Ms Ford almost collapsing on the floor in hysterics.
The mysterious person of Peter R Newman is brought up, with Hadoke fishing for more possible titbits in his documentary, but Russell quickly puts the kybosh on any such notion, "I don't think we met any of the writers. That was Verity's [Lambert] department." Indeed, the late producer is praised a few times by those gathered, particularly Ford, whom admits being in awe of her. To find warm thoughts for a person in her position by all involved is a rare thing indeed. Puts us in mind of the old joke: what does a producer do when they've finished f**king someone up the arse? They hang up the phone…
With this being her final chance to be heard on an audio commentary, Ford almost jumps at the chance to express how she found herself treated as an adult actress playing a minor: "It was a rod I made for my back, I'm afraid… Bill [Hartnell] used to treat me as if I was a fifteen year-old. He let the character spill out into reality, there. He was always giving me all sorts of grandfatherly words of advice as to how to live my life. Which weren't always welcomed…"
Audio commentaries sometimes have an amazing knack of bursting the bubble of fans, many of whom almost demand that to appear in beloved project should leave an indelible mark upon them. The nature of the industry is that a job is a job: you do it and you move on. Ms Malcolm demonstrates this perfectly, shattering illusions with: "…I gather that there many people are really, really still interested in those very old episodes… I have to confess… that I haven't seen another episode of Doctor Who since I stopped working on them. I have no idea how it is now… did they gradually get younger? I know Patrick Troughton was a bit younger than Bill… maybe they're playing them as fifteen-year-olds now…" Not far off, eh?
The track really comes into its own during the final instalment, as the thesps and director try to get to grips with the story unfolding, including little disputes as to whom was doing what during certain scenes. Huntley and Phibbs take issue when Cox points them out at a key point in the story, with Huntley not sure which character committed a violent assault: "I don't even know who that was…". "No," counters Cox, "It was one of you… [two]". "Was it?" This is naturally followed by a chorus of "yes" from everyone in the recording booth. It's this kind of genial interaction which is so very welcome, rather than griping about the production shortcomings or luvvies droning on about treading the boards.
That you find out Peter Glaze had a crocodile-shaped bog-roll holder in his toilet, as well as William Russell emphatically says that technically-minded director Mervyn Pinfield gave absolutely nothing to the actors to help them tells you that this is the perfect combination of fun and informative, with those listening sure to be swept up in the fun. Required listening, as usual.
Production Subtitles: Remember when the internet allowed the access to almost infinite materials on just about anything, and the world was stunned at the convenience of it all? There are those who still sit among their hallowed reference materials, spitting the very name of "The Internet", making instant scholars of all whom dare to seek knowledge for themselves. Well, yet another superb track once again brings the fruits of extensive research for every fan to acquaint themselves with, and give even the most die-hard fan something they didn't know.
Most acknowledge that the production design of The Sensorites is one of the best aspects of the story, as the enclosed nature of the writing allowed/needed more effort to be spent on the aesthetics. The track positively revels in this, giving all possible minutia regarding Ray Cusick's excellent work. If you think that all spaceships are made from mysterious alloys or advances in plastic? Nope, the galactic cruiser featured here was made from hardboard painted silver, with low-level lighting to make it look dingy. Take that, Ridley Scott!
Running through is a fascinated look at the way the BBC (and its ITV rival) used to organise the schedules for their shows, which reinforces that Doctor Who was intended for a general audience, and wasn't merely a show for kids. It was a proud tradition that Doctor Who be the nexus between the genuine children's programme and the footie - well, until certain people came along and thought it appropriate to bugger this nice little arrangement up, anyway.
Speaking of the processes, there is much information from the production office, including how Sydney Newman's previous Pathfinders serials shared many thematic elements with Doctor Who, including putting the principle characters in danger at the end of episodes to form "cliff-hangers". In both shows, characters were kept in check to ensure that they didn't end up becoming ciphers. They clearly didn't keep this in mind when casting Bonnie Langford a couple of decades later…
Thanks to this clued-up track, you know not only where the story was shot, but what pieces of equipment were brought in so as to commit it to tape in the first place. It really is quite exhaustive, not to mention pointing out all of the recording dates, but every edit in the recording - which cost a fortune, and done only in extreme circumstances - for whatever reason. Ever wondered just who those uncredited people in the background are? You know, the ones in the masks which cover their faces? Ponder no longer, as they are all revealed for your delectation. Good on you, for giving credit where it is certainly due!
We also get detailed biographies of the supporting cast, answering those very annoying questions of: "Where the hell have I seen [insert name] before…?" You also get production memos, changes in hairstyles between shots, use of doubles and just about every thing you always wanted to know about The Sensorites, but could never work up enough enthusiasm about the story to ask.
The track-team pull another ace, with a running commentary which nestles neatly alongside the main feature to provide interesting, relevant and amusing information. The close relationship between the two can only come from years of doing them, as well as boundless enthusiasm and dogged researching, something which many other companies have tried to pull off, but resoundingly failed. You want information and a good time? You know which option to select…
PDF Materials: Now this is pretty special. Not only do we get all six of the Radio Times listings (two of which, including rather natty photos); we also get a period article entitled " The Man Who's Who", being a profile of Bill Hartnell, including some rather nice quotes from the man himself. Best of all is a separate file containing reproductions of Ray Cusick's key props from The Sensorites, including the torches and "Photo Magic-Eye". This is a wonderful inclusion, and a fine example of why it's best to go straight to the designers themselves where possible.
Coming Soon: We all knew it was coming, but prepare to cream in your jeans anyway! The third in the Revisitations series, with re-worked editions of Robots of Death, Tomb of the Cybermen and The Three Doctors. This deeply cool trailer will have fans putting their previous editions on Ebay to fund the new set faster than you can say "unwanted Christmas present".
The Sensorites is a Doctor Who story with a fairly poor reputation; it's not the greatest story in the show's debut season, but it's certainly not as awful as some fans make out. It's a fun romp, with some interesting twists and turns and has quite possibly Carole Ann Ford's best performance and despite most of the cast fluffing their lines, all of the cast throw themselves into the thing with customary gusto.
The extras may be a little on the thin side, but as we are coming to the end of the range in terms of Doctor Who releases, most of the archive material has already been seen. Most of the surviving cast and crew were assembled for the audio commentary and the documentary Looking For Peter is fabulous, so much has been done with what little there was to work with. Recommended.
Review by Wilson Bros
Joe Siegler Member Join Date: February 2004 Location: United States Posts: 30
Anyone know if they made a reference on this DVD to the reference to the Sensorites story in the Tennant episode, "Planet of the Ood"?
Wilson Bros Reviewer Join Date: August 2004 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 1,183
Joe Siegler wrote: Anyone know if they made a reference on this DVD to the reference to the Sensorites story in the Tennant episode, "Planet of the Ood"?
We can't confirm if it is mentioned or not. When we review extras, we tend to do it the way actors learn scripts: memorise the material for only as long as you need it do the job, then forget about it, ready for the next one.
We can't confirm if it is mentioned or not. When we review extras, we tend to do it the way actors learn scripts: memorise the material for only as long as you need it do the job, then forget about it, ready for the next one.
General viewing, but some scenes may be unsuitable for young children
Disc Details
Release Date: 23rd January 2012
Discs: 1
Disc Type: Single side, dual layer
RCE: Yes
Video: PAL
Aspect: 1.33:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: No
Audio: Dolby Digital 2.0 English
Subtitles: English
Extras: Audio Commentary, Looking For Peter, Vision On, Secret Voices of the Sense-Sphere, Production Subtitles, Coming Soon, Radio Times Listings
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Mervyn Pinfield and Frank Cox
Cast: William Hartnell, Carole Anne Ford, William Russell, Jacqueline Hill, Peter Glaze
Genre: Sci-Fi
Length: 150 minutes
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All About Lighting: Shopping Guides, Favorite Fixtures & Best New Stores
If you are a regular reader of Apartment Therapy, then you know lighting is one of our biggest obsessions. From ideas for lighting parties and artwork to test labs for finding the most energy efficient bulbs, we are constantly on the lookout for the best and brightest in home lighting for just about any purpose. As we wrap up 2011, let's take a look at some of our favorite lighting pieces through these shopping guides, popular daily finds and favorite new stores reviewed throughout the year.
TOP ROW: Shopping Guides
• 1 How to Shop for Sustainable Lighting
• 2 On the Cheap: Industrial Lighting Under $50
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MIDDLE ROW: Hot Daily Finds
• 6 Naughty Lamp by Jonathan Adler
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(Images: See linked posts for full image credits)

subset: commoncrawl


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So, I've got a 4 week old baby. He is gaining wonderfully. Urine and stool output are fantastic. I have a bit of an overactive letdown, but it seems to be regulating itself as the weeks go by. He eats every 1-3 hours during the day, and gives me one longer stretch at night.
So here are my two questions:
1. I can only use the football hold. Which is fine at home, but its not so easy to do out in the real world, and I would love to get out of the house more without feeling tied to waiting until he's just eaten and whatnot. Plus, I'd just love to use the cradle hold for a change of pace. I am larger breasted (42DD), and so I would love some tips on how to make the cradle hold work.
2. Nipple shield. I used one with my first son, that went horribly, and I swore I would never do it again. This time I have an extreme determination to make breastfeeding work. Well, when I got engorged after my milk first came in, he refused to eat for 8 hours straight (I was dribbling pumped milk into his mouth via syringe), and the only way I could get him to finally latch and eat was to attempt the nipple shield (which we briefly had tried in the hospital when he had a rough time latching on day 2...but then day 3 he figured it out and he was latching great). So for the last two weeks, we're about 50/50 with and without the nipple shield. I want to be completely off of it, but occasionally I'm still full enough that he has a hard time latching. Due to reflux and my letdown, we only do one side a feeding. With the nipple shield, he eats for around 10 minutes, then he's done. Without it, sometimes he only eats for 6 minutes or so (and I'm not sure if its because he gets tired of working a little harder to stay latched or if he's so much more efficient without it that it takes way less time). And today, I've noticed that he's started great without it, and then gotten really fussy, although still rooting, but would only take the breast again if I put the shield on (seems a little backwards to me). Any suggestions???


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— Even though quarterback Jason Campbell inspired confidence in leading a late drive to tie the score against San Francisco, the Washington Redskins knew things still could unravel for them.
A long second-half slide contributed to sense of uneasiness along the sideline Sunday afternoon as the 49ers took possession of the ball with a little more than a minute left in the fourth quarter at Candlestick Park, and the Redskins hoped the outcome of their final game would be different than many others recently.
But it was a familiar frustrating story for the Redskins, who watched as the 49ers celebrated place-kicker Joe Nedney's game-winning 39-yard field goal as time expired in their 27-24 victory in front of 67,519.
"You kind of get tired of thinking about what you could have done," Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss said. "You just have to let it all boil down to what's happened. If you got it done, you got it done. If you didn't, you've got to kind of move forward. You can't sit back and dwell on what you could have done, because you didn't do it. And that's the situation we've been in and we're ending in."
After Campbell's 2-yard touchdown run, San Francisco quarterback Shaun Hill made timely plays to put his team in position for the game-winning field goal. Hill, a former Maryland standout, and the 49ers began work at their 27-yard line with 1 minute, 2 seconds on the game clock. He completed three passes for gains of 9-, 19- and 24 yards as San Francisco reached Washington's 21-yard line.
With a first down and only 16 seconds to play, Hill spiked the ball to stop the clock and then took a knee. Interim head coach Mike Singletary, who will return to the 49ers next season, used San Francisco's final timeout with three seconds to play. Washington followed with a timeout and then Nedney drilled the kick that capped the Redskins' collapse in the game and season.
"There was no doubt at all," Hill (21 of 30, 245 yards, one touchdown) said of the winning drive. "I don't think any of us had any doubt. We practice that all the time. We feel we are a good offense, and this is what good offenses do."
Washington (8-8) squandered a 10-point halftime lead Sunday and its surprising 6-2 start in the 2008 season, going 2-6 after the midpoint of its schedule. Despite playing its starters in an effort to finish with a winning record instead of using the game as an opportunity to evaluate many rookies, Washington, which officially was eliminated from the hunt for an NFC wild-card berth in Week 16, could not hold off San Francisco (7-9).
Vinny Cerrato, Washington's executive vice president of football operations, last week reaffirmed rookie head coach and play-caller Jim Zorn will lead the team in the 2009 season, saying Zorn has made progress during his first season. An awful second half is not what Zorn envisioned or wanted, but his optimism and confidence has not waned, he said.
"We have a lot to think about for our group," Zorn said. "And my hope, and I believe this, is that our group stays a group and learns to fight again next football season."
It could be helpful for the 2009 Redskins if the defense figured out how to finish better. Although they were ranked fourth overall entering the game, the Redskins defense often struggled in the final quarter late this season. Too often, opponents made plays to extend drives.
The failure of the defense to deliver down the stretch was among the glaring problems in losses to Baltimore and Cincinnati and San Francisco. "Why does it keep happening? That's a good question," defensive end Demetric Evans said. "I wish I could answer it, but I really don't have the answer. We've got teams that just been executing against us, for whatever reason."
Trailing 24-17, Campbell led the Redskins on a 55-yard drive in the final five minutes to tie it. On fourth down and goal from the 2-yard line, Campbell dropped back and quickly surveyed the defense, trying to locate one of three receivers in the pattern. With everyone well covered, Campbell took off for the end zone and got in with 1:15 to go.
"He stayed in there mentally," Zorn said of Campbell. "I was on him to stay in there, and he did. He stayed in there mentally, he threw the ball accurately (and) he read well. Just a great effort on some of the runs he made."
But for Campbell, it was just another wasted opportunity in a once-promising season that fell apart quickly. "It's just tough," said Campbell, who completed 18 of 30 passes for 156 yards and a touchdown. "It's tough when you think about everything, from how we started and what we thought we could do. But I know I'm going to take this and learn from it. I'm just going to keep working to be the best quarterback I can be."
49ERS 27, REDSKINS 24Washington
01707—24San Francisco
70713—27First Quarter SF—S.Hill 2 run (Nedney kick), 9:24. Second Quarter Was—Portis 4 run (Suisham kick), 14:20. Was—FG Suisham 41, 11:26. Was—Randle El 6 pass from J.Campbell (Suisham kick), :26. Third Quarter SF—Foster 1 run (Nedney kick), 11:19. Fourth Quarter SF—J.Hill 9 pass from S.Hill (Nedney kick), 9:53. SF—FG Nedney 33, 5:06. Was—J.Campbell 2 run (Suisham kick), 1:09. SF—FG Nedney 39, :00. A—67,519.
WasSFFirst downs1919Total Net Yards268359Rushes-yards34-12526-121Passing143238Punt Returns2-62-43Kickoff Returns5-1434-84Interceptions Ret.1-310-0Comp-Att-Int18-30-021-30-1Sacked-Yards Lost1-131-7Punts5-45.63-49.7Fumbles-Lost1-13-0Penalties-Yards2-103-15Time of Possession32:0028:00INDIVIDUAL STATISTICSRUSHING—Washington, Portis 29-80, J.Campbell 4-39, Betts 1-6. San Francisco, Gore 11-58, Foster 9-44, J.Hill 1-9, S.Hill 4-8, Robinson 1-2.
PASSING—Washington, J.Campbell 18-30-0-156. San Francisco, S.Hill 21-30-1-245.
RECEIVING—Washington, Moss 6-68, Cooley 6-57, Randle El 3-16, Betts 2-7, Thrash 1-8. San Francisco, J.Hill 4-28, Morgan 3-50, Foster 3-20, Davis 3-18, Johnson 2-43, Robinson 2-43, Bruce 2-8, Bajema 1-29, Gore 1-6.
MISSED FIELD GOAL—San Francisco, Nedney 48 (WR).
On Page D3 Philadelphia crushes Dallas to end the Cowboys' season. Green Bay finishes off Detroit's 0-16 nightmare. San Diego rolls by Denver to earn the last playoff spot.


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College is about a lot more than classes. It's about opening your eyes to a world larger than the one you've come from. West Valley students who get involved in student government or clubs like the Science or Cycling Club make friends with shared interests and skills. Why not go exploring?
Associated Student Organization
Campus Center
Campus Clubs
Career Services
Family Support Services
Health Services
Student Activities
Student Life
Veterans Support Services


text:
I'm trying to sort out the usage of a Scala Rider Q2 headset with my Garmin 2730 and iPhone. The Scala pairs with the 2730, and the iPhone pairs with the 2730 and all works great. I can make and receive calls with no problem and hear the GPS directions. I also have a GXM30 but can't get XM through the Scala even when using the hardwire between it and the GPS.
I also have an electronic hum and think I know that it takes a ground loop isolator, where does that go and where would I get one?
Any ideas appreciated.


text:
Definitions of, and utilities for, specifying what type of data is represented
by a column.
Written by John Goerzen, firstname.lastname@example.com
The description of a column.
Fields are Nothing if the database backend cannot supply the
requested information.
The colSize field works like this:
For character types, the maximum width of the column. For numeric
types, the total number of digits allowed. See the ODBC manual for more.
The colOctetLength field is defined for character and binary types, and
gives the number of bytes the column requires, regardless of encoding.
The type identifier for a given column.
This represents the type of data stored in the column in the underlying
SQL engine. It does not form the entire column type; see SqlColDesc for
These types correspond mainly to those defined by ODBC.


text:
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NEW YORK, Nov 1 (Reuters) - New Jersey Natural Gas o n T hursday shut down part of its pipeline system that serves the state's barrier islands, one of the areas most damaged by Hurricane Sandy's high winds and storm surge.
The company was able to assess damages only in the last 24 hours, after the storm hit land on Monday, and found damaged pipelines flaring natural gas from broken ends.
``Literally digging through rubble, we have found some of our exposed, broken pipes with flare-ups on the ends of them,'' said Micah Rasmussen, a spokesman.
Trees fell on the pipelines, houses came off foundations and took the pipes with them, and water damaged the valves, Rasmussen said.
The shut-off of gas to homes comes just as the winter heating season approaches. The fuel is used to heat more than half of U.S. homes.
``We did everything we could to avoid this,'' Rasmussen said. ``We literally have only gotten into some of these spots in the last 24 hours to see the full scope of the devastation. It's much worse than anyone could have imagined.''
The company could not immediately say how long it would take to make repairs.
The affected areas are the barrier islands south of Johnson Street in Bay Head to Seaside Park, as well as Long Beach Island, an area devastated by the storm.
The last flare-up was reported in Brick Township, New Jersey, the company said, which was ``made safe'' on Thursday morning.
Approximately 28,000 customers are affected.
More than 1,300 leaks have been reported in the past three days, all brought under control.
``We made the determination once we got on the ground that we could not fight this leak by leak,'' Rasmussen said.
The company sources its gas from major pipelines that send gas from producing regions in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico and other gas basins into U.S. Northeast markets.
Some of the pipelines that run into the area are Spectra Energy's Texas Eastern Transmission Pipeline and Algonquin Gas Transmission, NiSource's Columbia Gas Transmission Co, Williams Cos Transco Pipeline and Kinder Morgan's Tennessee Gas Pipeline Co.


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Thanks for joining us today, Sally! I was more a Cherry Ames girl than a Nancy Drew girl, but Cherry certainly solved her share of crimes, too. What about you, readers? -- AP
the blog of Anastasia Pollack, crafts editor and reluctant amateur sleuth
Friday, May 4, 2012
Thanks for joining us today, Sally! I was more a Cherry Ames girl than a Nancy Drew girl, but Cherry certainly solved her share of crimes, too. What about you, readers? -- AP
21 comments:
- Janie Emaus said...
I loved Nancy Drew. Your book sounds like a fun read.
- May 4, 2012 at 10:13 AM
I read an original Nancy Drew a few years back and was really struck by the complexity of the language. The modern rewrites have really simplified things.
I thought the Emma Roberts movie was a lot of fun--spoofing the things that made Nancy unusual, but keeping the good heart of the series too.
I remember as a girl being annoyed that Nancy was so good at everything! The book that really clinched it for me was the one where she dances with the ballet dancer. She does huge leaps and he tells her she could have been a prima ballerina. I remember thinking, okay wait a minute! This is really just one step too far ...
Also loved the secret passages, codes, etc. The old-fashioned mystery aspect of the books was fun.
- May 4, 2012 at 10:22 AM
- Dawn said...
Loved Nancy! I'm still looking for secret rooms and coded messages....
- May 4, 2012 at 10:54 AM
- ANASTASIA POLLACK said...
I received an email that Shirley Nienkark tried in vain to post a comment and wants to be included in the drawing. So I'm posting for her.
- May 4, 2012 at 12:14 PM
Nancy Drew taps into the dark side common in many classic mysteries: secret passages, old houses out in the country, dark nights, codes and clues. Nancy was also a little too "perfect." Did she ever do anything wrong? I gave my protagonist a few flaws to make him human.
Sally Carpenter
- May 4, 2012 at 12:15 PM
- marja said...
When I was young I enjoyed nothing more than reading about Nancy or the Hardy Boys. I think they really were good role models in many way. And there was nothing more exciting than a dark and stormy night with maybe a spooky old house thrown in. I haven't read any of the newer stories, but thank to old Nancy, I always wanted to solve a mystery.
- May 4, 2012 at 1:29 PM
- Cara Marsi said...
I enjoyed your blog. I had to respond because while I didn't enjoy Nancy Drew, I do have a favorite girl sleuth, Judy Bolton, written by Margaret Sutton.
I've read a few Nancy Drew's and Hardy Boys. I enjoyed the Hardy Boys more. Judy Bolton is my favorite girl sleuth because she seemed so real. She wasn't rich, like Nancy, but was an ordinary girl with a loving family and a lot of friends. My collection of Judy books, dating from the Fifties and Sixties, is very precious to me. Judy grew up in the stories and eventually married her childhood friend Peter Dobbs who became an FBI agent. I had such a crush on Peter and wanted to marry someone just like him.
- May 4, 2012 at 3:38 PM
- Augie said...
I enjoyed this post as usual with Sally. I too enjoyed the Nancy/Hardy Boys mysteries. Looking forward to Sandy's next escapade. augie
- May 4, 2012 at 3:58 PM
- GBPool said...
Maybe the reason I enjoyed Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys was because their problems were so unlike ordinary stuff that went on when I was their age. I can see bad things on TV, the news, or talk to the next door neighbors. I want to be entertained. We live in reality, give me some fast-paced fiction with a dead body tossed in any day. I hope your former teen idol brings back some of that fun fiction I like.
- May 4, 2012 at 4:03 PM
I agree, I like entertaining fiction. One reason I wrote the book was that nobody was writing the funny kind of mysteries that I wanted to read! My favorite childhood sleuth was Trixie Beldon, who is younger than Nancy but still manages to get into trouble. My parents gave me the first two books of the series for a present and I started collecting from there. Still fun to go back and read those.
Sally Carpenter
- May 4, 2012 at 5:45 PM
Belonged to a Nancy Drew book club (of 2) w/ my best friend--who then moved away.
Have since learned that authors such as Susan Wittig Albert have leant their skills to keeping the tradition going.
- May 4, 2012 at 7:12 PM
- Cynthia Sherrick said...
I read many of the Nancy Drew stories but I also enjoyed Trixie Beldon. :)
I also knew a Sally Carpenter way back when, I think you may be her.
- May 4, 2012 at 7:49 PM
- Irene said...
My mother has the complete set of Hardy Boys mysteries in her attic. My brother was addicted to them and became a policeman because of the Hardys!
Nancy Drew was the epitome of all that I wanted to be. When I found out one of my college professors had written for both series, I was vastly disappointed. He was creepy. Love the idea of a Beatlemanac!
- May 5, 2012 at 9:12 AM
- Irene said...
That's "Beatlemaniac", sorry!
- May 5, 2012 at 9:13 AM
- petite said...
I enjoyed all the nancy Drew books way back. Checked them out from the local library and treasured each one. I miss them and adored them.
- May 5, 2012 at 11:33 AM
- traveler said...
Nancy Drew and The Hardy Boys were extremely popular when I was young. We used to trade them and devoured each one. When men were men.
- May 5, 2012 at 11:35 AM
I loved Nancy Drew and still have all the books. I enjoy reading YA, especially mysteries.
- May 5, 2012 at 1:17 PM
- Kat Hinkson said...
I have several orginals of Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys. I find them more intriguing than some of the newer books.
I loved your book, Baffled and looking forward to your next book.
- May 6, 2012 at 7:08 PM
Thanks for all of your nice comments. A few years ago I found about 20 hardback Hardy/Nancy books in great condition at the library's used book store. I snatched them up! My high school library had the Tom Swift Jrs and I read those, too.
Sally Carpenter
- May 7, 2012 at 11:39 AM
- Melanie Jackson, author, editor, piano student said...
I loved Nancy! Thanks for reminding me about her adventures, Sally. Ditto Joe and Frank's. Remember when Nancy was "bound and gagged" (a regular expression in those books, as I recall) and tapped out an SOS with her high heels? I also liked Trixie Belden. Not quite as supergirl-ish as Nance.
- May 8, 2012 at 6:43 PM
- Melanie Jackson, author, editor, piano student said...
Remember when Nancy was "bound and gagged" (a regular expression in those books) and tapped out an SOS with her high heels? No wonder girls loved her. I liked Trixie Belden, too. Not quite as supergirl-ish as Nance. Thanks for bringing it back to me, Sally.
- May 8, 2012 at 6:46 PM


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Needle moving action has been spotted in Jpmorgan Asian Investement Trust Plc (JAI.L) as shares are moving today on volatility -2.68% or $-9.01 from the open. The LSE listed company saw a recent bid of $326.99 and 6849 shares have traded hands in the session.
The direction of stock market moves in the short-term are highly unpredictable. Many investors will be tempted to ride the wave whether the trend is buying or selling. Fearful investors may make hasty decisions such as panic buying or selling. Investors may feel compelled to buy stocks after a major run higher. This can be related to the fear or missing out. On the other end, investors may be quick to sell quality stocks when the market is in the midst of a broad sell-off. This behavior often translates into falling into the trap of buying high and selling low.
Now let's take a look at how the fundamentals are stacking up for Jpmorgan Asian Investement Trust Plc (JAI.L). Fundamental analysis takes into consideration market, industry and stock conditions to help determine if the shares are correctly valued.
First we'll look at Return on Assets or ROA, Jpmorgan Asian Investement Trust Plc (JAI.L) has a current ROA of 18.89. This is a profitability ratio that measures net income generated from total company assets during a given period. This ratio reveals how quick a company can turn it's assets into profits. In other words, the ratio provides insight into the profitability of a firm's assets. The ratio is calculated by dividing total net income by the average total assets. A higher ROA compared to peers in the same industry, would suggest that company management is able to effectively generate profits from their assets. Similar to the other ratios, a lower number might raise red flags about management's ability when compared to other companies in a similar sector.
Another key indicator that can help investors determine if a stock might be a quality investment is the Return on Equity or ROE. Jpmorgan Asian Investement Trust Plc (JAI.L) currently has Return on Equity of 19.27. ROE is a ratio that measures profits generated from the investments received from shareholders. In other words, the ratio reveals how effective the firm is at turning shareholder investment into company profits. A company with high ROE typically reflects well on management and how well a company is run at a high level. A firm with a lower ROE might encourage potential investors to dig further to see why profits aren't being generated from shareholder money.
Investors might be trying to figure out how to play the stock market at current levels. The optimist may see much more upward action in the future while the pessimist may be waiting for the impending disaster. Buying into the market at these levels will no doubt come with a bit of caution. Even at these levels, there may still be some good buys. The average individual investor may need to spend a little more time doing the homework, but it may pay off handsomely if the stock market decides to break out higher. As companies start to report quarterly earnings, investors will be watching to see what types of trends emerge. A generally upbeat earnings season may give the bulls more strength to breakout and continue the charge higher into the later stages of the year.
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The central conceit of "The Smurfs 2" is that the wicked wizard Gargamel (Hank Azaria) is desperate to capture the secret essence of Smurfs. But Sony Pictures already has found the magic formula that makes the blue cartoon characters so popular — and it isn't found at the domestic box office.
Hollywood has been a global business for decades, but the film industry's international reach increasingly is being defined by animated and family-friendly movies, which continue to generate foreign revenues much bigger than any Smurf or Minion.
Some live-action films still do much better in foreign markets than in domestic venues. Sony's losses on the dud "After Earth," for example, will be mitigated by the film's overseas sales, which are more than double its domestic take of $60 million. But in recent years foreign moviegoers have flocked to animated works in even more lopsided proportions.
The first "Smurfs" movie, which like the sequel combines animation and live action, sold a solid $142.6 million of tickets domestically, but made a whopping $421.1 million beyond North America. The sequel, which opened Wednesday, is likely to follow an identical pattern.
Competing studios shared the same kind of disproportion: More than half of all tickets sold for Disney's "Monsters University" were purchased outside the United States. The sales were equally tilted for both of Universal's "Despicable Me" films, helping make the most recent film the most profitable release in Universal's history, NBC Universal Chief Executive Officer Steve Burke said Wednesday.
Two years ago, Paramount's "The Adventures of Tintin" did nearly 80% of its total business in foreign theaters ($296.4 million of its total gross of $374 million came from international theaters) and last summer Fox's "Ice Age: Continental Drift" did a staggering 82% of its business in overseas theaters, grossing $715.9 million — the most for any animated film ever — internationally.
Jordan Kerner, the producer of both "Smurfs" films, said Sony's initial estimate for the first movie was that it would roughly equal its domestic gross overseas. "And I said, 'If it doesn't do two and a half or three times its domestic gross overseas, I will shoot myself,'" Kerner said. "The Smurfs are universal."
PHOTOS: Billion-dollar movie club
In a marketplace crowded with animated movies where the DreamWorks Animated release "Turbo" bombed two weeks ago, the $110-million "The Smurfs 2" is not expected to do especially huge numbers domestically. Over its first three days of release, the sequel could sell about $25 million in tickets, well below the first film's debut of $35.6 million. That should put "The Smurfs 2," which attracted largely negative reviews, behind Denzel Washington and Mark Wahlberg's new crime tale "Two Guns," which is expected to take first place at the weekend box office.
"It's a much more crowded marketplace [than when the first film came out] and nothing gets a chance to breathe," Kerner said. "As a producer, that worries me."
The film's true path to profitability is thousands of miles away. Opening in more than 40 foreign markets, "The Smurfs 2" could gross more than $100 million worldwide this weekend. To bolster those returns, Sony executives have traveled the globe trying to drum up as many euros, British pounds and yen as possible.
In June, the studio brought 28 Smurf fans from around the world to Paris to celebrate the birthday of Smurf creator Pierre Culliford, known as Peyo (the Belgian artist died in 1992). On Sunday, the studio hosted 162 "blue carpet" premieres in 50 domestic markets and 60 cities overseas, including special screenings in such far-flung lands as Bulgaria, Estonia, Lithuania, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia and Turkey.
ON LOCATION: Where the cameras roll
"The great thing about the Smurfs is that no matter where you're from, you can sort of call them your own," said Raja Gosnell, who directed both Smurf movies. "The book started as French-language, so that was the world that they came from and there's two generations of Europeans that grew up reading those books. It's much deeper in the culture there and more of a generational love for it than there is in the U.S."
In the United States, animated and family films typically do extremely well with nonwhite audiences, and that tendency is repeated overseas. What's more, international patrons are more willing to pay extra for 3-D admissions than American audiences (Sony is almost hiding the fact that "The Smurfs 2" is available in the stereoscopic format domestically) and don't seem to care that "The Smurfs 2" is not well-reviewed.
Given the Belgian roots of the source material, it is not surprising that the returns for the first film were particularly outsized in Europe (although China was the film's top foreign market, with a gross of $39.4 million). In France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom, "The Smurfs" grossed a combined $119.7 million. Those numbers should be higher with the new film thanks to the sequel's setting in Paris, a late story switch from Las Vegas.
Sony and Kerner aren't counting their chickens before they are hatched, but both are working on a third Smurfs film and have penciled in a July 24, 2015, release date. Said Kerner: "We have a great script."
And it's set in Belgium.
Times staff writer Amy Kaufman contributed to this report.
PHOTOS: Faces to watch 2014 | Movies
ENVELOPE: The latest awards buzz
DOCUMENTARIES: 10 best of 2013, and a new crop in 2014


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more info on justin bieber's 100+ mph speeding ticket, ten 911 calls made!
L.A. City Councilman Dennis Zine was not the only motorist who reported that Justin Bieber was flying down the freeway at breakneck speed ... TMZ has learned, a total of 10 drivers called 911.
We broke the story, Zine -- who was an LAPD motor cop for 18 years -- believes Bieber was traveling faster than 100 mph. Bieber's people dispute Zine's estimate, noting that the singer was cited for ONLY going 80.
But when Bieber was finally stopped by CHP officers, he was several miles from the point Zine spotted him, and Zine told us Friday night his100 mph estimate was "conservative."
And get this ... we're told someone from Bieber's security team was a passenger in his car and allowed Justin to put the pedal to the metal. Mind you, Justin was weaving in and out of traffic, baring squeezing in between moving vehicles.
Justin's list of driving infractions doesn't end with speeding either -- he was pulled over in October for cutting off a CHP officer ... driving his Batmobile-themed Cadillac.
Less than two months later, Bieber was pulled over AGAIN for making an unsafe left turn in the same Batmobile-themed car.
Oh yeah, and there was also that time he love-tapped a Honda in a Ferrari.


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text:
Wisconsin, University of
University of Wisconsin, main campus at Madison; land-grant and state supported; coeducational; chartered 1848, opened 1849. Its history was disturbed by storms over the policies of Glenn Frank and of Alexander Meiklejohn in the 1920s and 30s. In 1955 the extension division merged with Wisconsin State College at Milwaukee to form the Univ. of Wisconsin—Milwaukee (coeducational; authorized by the legislature 1955, opened 1956). The collections of the American Geographical Society, a geological museum, a planetarium, and the Center for Great Lakes Studies are at Milwaukee. Additional campuses of the Univ. of Wisconsin system are at Eau Claire, Green Bay, La Crosse, Oshkosh, Kenosha (Parkside campus), Platteville, River Falls, Stevens Point, Menomonie (Stout campus), Superior, and Whitewater. Most of these universities began in the 19th cent. as normal schools, became four-year teachers colleges (from 1925 to 1927), became liberal arts colleges (by 1951), and gained university status (by 1964). Formerly part of the Wisconsin State Univ. system, they merged with the Univ. of Wisconsin in 1971. The university also operates 13 two-year centers throughout the state.
Well-known divisions of the Univ. of Wisconsin are the colleges of agriculture and engineering, the medical school, and the Institute for Research in the Humanities. Notable among the extensive facilities at Madison are the Space Astronomy Laboratory, the Institute for Accelerator Physics, the La Follette Center for Public Affairs, the Numerical Analysis Laboratory, the Wisconsin Center for Theatre and Film Research, and the state engineering experiment station, which includes a solar research laboratory. The university library contains excellent collections relating to literature, science, and Russian history.
See history by M. Curti and V. Carstenson (1949); study by W. A. Strang (1971).


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The Quietus Albums of The Year 2012
Best list yet (in my opinion).
- Rev_Kramer, Loui_Tacceh, gamecat, ethricdouble, and incandenza_ this'd this
Even the Quietus
managed to order their top 5!silverfoxqpr, PickledOeuf, furio, and AfraidOfOwls this'd this
- juicegermer, rainmaker, JaguarPirate, and film_maker this'd this
i'v ehardly haedr anything new thi syear
might dig into this
except for my own list
The Quietus is always my favourite.
or Second Layer
or Dusted - but they don't do proper lists.
YAY THE PRE NEW!!!!silverfoxqpr and Loui_Tacceh this'd this
copy me some cds please
Record Shop lists are usually the greatest
The Norman one is ace. As is Aquarius Records. And Boomkat is always worth a look.AfraidOfOwls this'd this
Dragged into Sunlight!
That entry alone justified this whole list.
Surprised there's no Menace Ruine though. That's a bit Vatican Shadow x Alexander Tucker x Dragged into Sunlight - like nothing else
I've always assumed that they were a fairly run of the mill black metal band for some reason, but clearly I've been a massive, massive idiot.
Gonna go and check them out now based on that description.
Hmm I'm intrigued by your description of Menace Ruine
Am currently listening to cuts from their new LP as we speak, cheers for the heads up.
hope you enjoy
Salamandra is a good way in; https://soundcloud.com/profoundlorerecords/menace-ruine-salamandra
Disintegrating Grace Slick vocals over the sound of brown acid psych going black
surprised there was no Aluk Todolo. Cave dwelling post-metal trance BM. Elevated primitive.lemonbrickcombo this'd this
- pichaelmarker, Royter-Hatfood, furio, Dinohead86, Icarus-Smicarus, and film_maker this'd this
- incandenza_, automatik, and Christophales this'd this
I don't know half of these albums, it's great!
Still, really happy Swans up there. That is one of my top 5 this year...
- moker, JaguarPirate, and furio this'd this
i've only played it through once but I found it borderline unlistenable
maybe it's just me!
Who's heard of even half of those bands?
The Wire/Quietus try-hard lists are boring because any "OK, I'll check out these couple" reveals just how pretentious they are.iquitelikeradiohead and suedehead this'd this
Maybe some people like that kind of music?
Just a thought...GoatmeatMF this'd this
sorry dude
but your opinion is adrift of the quality of those lists.
p.s. I have heard of them all. Haven't heard them all, but I have read about all those albums somewhere on the web in the last 11 months.Puds, Lililololaure, incandenza_, silverfoxqpr, ethricdouble, and colonelbingobongo this'd this
Because it's totally worth spending a couple of weeks' worth of thinking time, a whole year's worth of listening hours and a good few days of putting together an album of the year piece, just to impress people on the internet with 'try hard' tastes rather than highlighting music we think is actually worth listening to. Mm-hm.
(Some great stuff in the Wire's lists too)incandenza_, colonelbingobongo, and ethricdouble this'd this
- ethricdouble, Christophales, and suedehead this'd this
Nice to see the Neneh Cherry / Thing album in there
A fine record. Shame it wasn't in The Wire's list.DiSisAcid this'd this
every year this is the most interesting list
spotify link (about twenty of them aren't on there, unsurprisingly):
i thought that anaal nathrakh one was embarrassing in places though, dead surprised to see it on a list nvm that high up.
I really do not get the love for that band.
Overproduced d-beat combined with cheesy symphonic bits. Rubbish.
they used to be mint tbf
i assume that will be
Supreme Necrotic Audnance.
it was close
but i went for humanity is cancer. that bouncy thrash riff half way through is one of my favourite things ever.
Codex Necro
doesn't really. After that it starts getting shiny fairly rapidly but the demos and first album are great. Just enough machinery involved to make it sound like there is machinery involved in the annihilation of everything. which there will be, of course.
yeah i can see that but i spent a lot of time listening to strapping young lad growing up
so i might be close to immune from the immersion.
still, just having a wee listen to the new one again and jebus is ."you cant save me, so stop fucking trying" awful; bro slams, major key, emo chorus vocals. bad.
that's how I imagined it would be
kind of like the Dimmu Borgir of whatever kind of metal they started out playing.
Normally a fan of the more wilfully obtuse lists
but I guess given that I've consumed more music on average this year than most, I've found myself yawning at this stuff somewhat.
The same 'out there' picks, the odd album which just plain isn't that good that we're meant to 'reconsider', the more serious half of RA's recommended list, the album that everyone else has at the top to make the rest of the list somehow seem less silly...
There's a lot of my favourite records here, but not much of a sense of fun in any of it. It's all music is SRSBSNZ, and you'll find yourself coma induced if you stick rigidly to this stuff.
So yeah, good stuff, but mix it up a little.
*than most years, not most people. that'd be even smugger that it already sounds.
i've not heard that many of these records but the ones i have heard are mostly great larks
cherry thing, motorpsycho, goat, sun araw, black breath, bo ningen, rolo tomassi. maybe all the other stuff is srs bz idk.
yeah i'm probably being a bit harsh tbh
I guess there's not that many records in there I consider an absolute party (although, yeah, obvs haven't heard a good number of them), but it's a good mix up, and it's certainly not samey.
Nah I think it's pretty fun
especially compared to The Wire list which really disappointed me this year.
I think I'm being a grump because I've not yet moved past being really impressed
to genuinely loving that Swans record. Agreed that this is preferable to The Wire list and tbf, more up my street than most others. Do wish there was a few dumb fun records (Teklife Vol. 1?) & a bit more hip hop on there though.
Year-end lists bring the worst out of all of us!
Here, listen to this and realize all is right in the world:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-w0tzbKtRuAlittlebirds this'd this
I'm the same with the Swans records
There are moments when it pummels me. And others when it leaves me cold.
Listening to the ZZ Top record right now for the first time. That's dumb and very fun. Would've thought Doran might've rated that.
Also the best thing about Quietus end of year lists is the Doran-approved quota of balls out FUN pysch rock that makes it on there
Fantastic list
Props to John, Luke and Rory for putting together something which is as interesting as it is validatory (think I just made that word up, but you get it). Feels like people actually picked the records they really loved rather than hitching themselves to a wagon and telling listeners that everything is ok because they were right all along.
not the coolest video
fair enough
I don't get it
Not sure what the joke is - that an electronic guy is playing on an empty stage to a half empty room? That's how it fucking goes. Joke's on all the people who miss out on great sounding shows all the time.
That he looks geeky and is playing a cheap casio? Sounds like he can do a hell of a lot with very little to me.
I like Heatsick a lot already, but I'm not biased.chris-budget, mug_mug_mug, and incandenza_ this'd this
- SCROTUM this'd this
Heatsick fucking rocks
He absolutely destroyed at Unsound and in London at the weekend
Quite like what I've heard of Heatsick
Pretty lame live show from the looks of it, but if he had his head buried in a laptop they'd have thought it was great...
I like Heatsick a lot
also check out a nonplussed Ed Droste in the comments. yeah, alright Ed, but the most recent Grizzly Bear record would sound 10x better with some freaky Casio up in there.
It is certainly an interesting list.
However, of the featured albums which I have actually heard, I'm not enamoured with most of them (Swans, VCMG, Liars, Laurel Halo, John Talabot). I wouldn't suggest The Quietus is being deliberately obtuse or obscure by leaving out other critically acclamed albums (Grimes, Tame Impala, Grizzly Bear, Beach House, Japandroids, FyLo) because it is a very eclectic website...But less obscure lists (like DiS') aren't jumpig on bandwagons or picking popular albums. Just because The Quietus' list is different doesn't mean it is any more genuine.
It is very good for picking out new things though.
Can I just say it's rather depressing
when you spend hours on the internet daily reading and listening to new music a list comes out where you haven't heard of 75% of the bands on there. I'll take the DIS list at least it makes me feel like i've kept up with music.
- CrispinAlexander this'd this
its a whole new world
I think Aladdin said that
can't fathom this attitude
oh no, a whole list of cool records I haven't heard of.
Yeah I don't really get this outlook at all.
The whole reason I look at these things is to spot gaps I've missed- A ton of cool looking new music collated together in a way that's difficult to do any other way, and which is presented in a manner that already connects them tangentially with other albums you might have heard and liked.fuck_this_band, silverfoxqpr, lemonbrickcombo, and Oissin_ this'd this
where bounce?
I would like to see.
in this thread!!
popular and missed user 'dis-integration'
that's Rory?!
*SQUEAL* RORY YOU'RE MY FAVOURITE QUIETUS WILL YOU SIGN THIS PRINT-OUT OF HYPERSPECIFIC??dis-integration this'd this
it's rejuvinating
to hear people praising strange, obscure records, and then to really *listen* to them yourself, to try and hear what advocates hear in them.
A list that gives VCMG & Gravenhurst the credit they deserve. STILL no fucking Tindersticks though. Grrrrrrrrr.
I've not heard Gravenhurst but I absolutely agree re: VCMG
One of the most criminally ignored albums of the year
This is the only list that has included it as far as I'm aware.
1 million% agree re VCMG
that album has been played heavily this year. Also fantastic to see Vatican Shadow and Silent Servant high up the ranks...2 more albums that have been criminally overlooked in other polls.
That Hirsute Pursuit album cover is amazing.
http://shop.silverdisc.com/dance/hirsute-pursuit-tighten-that-muscle-ring-cd-1068328/incandenza_ this'd this


text:
Skip to comments.U.S. Spends $450,000 to Study Evolution of Venom Proteins in Sea Anemones
Posted on 03/14/2013 7:08:24 PM PDT by Olog-hai
click here to read article
With fronds like that who needs Anemones?
it gives Al Gore a woodie.
something else to tout.
maybe stock options.
Finally there is funding for that. All my life I have been facinated by venom proteins in sea anemones. Just the other day, we were all sitting around contemplating venom proteins in sea anemones. If the sequester had cut into this essential study, it would have been tragic.
For years now, I've lost sleep wondering how venom proteins evolved in sea anemones. Now I can rest easy, knowing that the US government will research an answer. I sure hope they publish the findings soon!
This is basic scientific research, with the potential benefit that some of the proteins studied will eventually be shown to have diagnostic or medical value.
Colonel, you better take a look at this.
What is it, son?
I don't know, sir, but it looks like a giant—
Take a look outta starboard.
Oh, my God! It looks like a huge—
[raises his binoculars] Oh, where?
Wait! that's not a woodpecker. It looks like someone's—
PRIVATES! We have reports of an unidentified flying object! It is a long, smooth shaft, complete with—
2 balls! [looks up from game] What is that? That looks just like an enormous—
Wang! Pay attention!
I was distracted by that enormous flying—
What's that?
[looks up] Well, it looks like a giant—
Yes, sir!
Get on the horn to British Intelligence and let them know about this!
I wish people here would stop and think before bashing scientific research.
"venom proteins" are an extremely important area of the search for new and better pain killers, anti-clotting agents, as well as for completely unexpected medical uses which will only be learned from clinical trial and error.
Nobody here is bashing scientific research. What is being criticized here is government spending, which scientific research ought not need be beholden to. The private sector is not short on funds for this manner of research.
Oddly enough, venom evolution is one of the most productive areas of medical research.
For example, Brazil has an enormous number of vipers, and annually a lot of snake bites. Finally someone noticed that the victims all experienced a significant, but not usually harmful drop in blood pressure. Once they isolated the responsible molecule in the venom, and synthesized it, they developed an entirely new class of high blood pressure medicines.
Other good venoms: Deathstalker scorpion venom against brain cancer; honey bee venom against cancer and some neuro-muscular diseases; tarantula venom for Muscular Dystrophy; Brazilian yellow scorpion venom which causes pancreatitis, which is showing the molecular action of how other diseases cause it; cobra venom for arthritis.
Saw-scaled viper venom against one of the most lethal forms of heart attack; Gila monster venom to treat Type 2 diabetes; vampire bat saliva against stroke; and, right now, sea anemone venom in treating autoimmune disease.
Scientists have only thoroughly evaluated some 1,000 types of venom from the estimated 100,000 known types of venomous animals in the world.
And they close the WH tours for kids, can be added to a plethera of criminal goings on in thier government
Well, I'm actually not opposed to this one. Research grants aren't always a bad thing, and as another poster pointed out, there is a lot of potential upside to this particular area of research. The venom of the cone snail, for example, has shown tremendous potential for a wide range of medicines, including the already in use ziconotide.
I would agree that it would been have been better if private funding had paid for this. Thing is, the private sector isn't always interested in projects like this. Sometimes research doesn't have a commerical payoff, but it is still worth pursuing. The physics work done at, say, the Fermi Labs might not have a commercial payoff, but I sure think it is worth having.
Good post!
What....no more money for cow farts? Oh the huge manatee. /sarc
Forget it. This place never reads articles and everything the government does is evil.
This study makes a heckofalot more sense than most of the gov't funding these days.
Not only is this research relevant, but all of that money trickles down to help high-tech industries stay in business and pays salaries that keep local businesses going. It isn't like it gets sent to line the pockets of obama's friends or used to study why lesbians are fat.
CNS News is off base portraying this as wasteful spending - they should focus on research grants given to find why 75% of lesbians are obese - that's wasteful spending.
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text:
Saturday, October 30, 2010
A Rose by Any Other Name
With all due respect to Shakespeare's Juliet, who had good reason to proclaim to Romeo that "a rose by any other name would smell as sweet," I beg to differ.
What's in a name? A lot actually.
For me at least, a character can't come to life until I've found just the right name for him or her. The naming process is often fun: you start with the vague idea of a character and select a name which seems to fit that character, because of the associations it carries. Sometimes these associations are deeply personal, sometimes not. When I can't think of an appropriate name that belongs to someone I know or have known, I find those name-your-baby books helpful. Or if I'm really desperate, I'll pick up the phone book. Once I've got my name, I can begin the process of fleshing out the character.
In the past, I haven't had to worry much about dreaming up place names, because my first two books are set at real places: Murder at Plimoth Plantation, at the Pilgrim village of the same name, and Murder at Gettysburg at the town in Pennsylvania. My third book was supposed to be called Murder at Mystic Seaport, but then both the Seaport and my publisher decided the name needed to be changed "to protect the innocent" (the Seaport and my publisher) from the aspersions that would be cast on the Seaport if it were connected with a murder, albeit fictional. So I was faced with the daunting prospect of re-naming not only the museum and the village of Mystic, but all the real-life restaurants, bars, and ships I'd mentioned in the book.
I began my quest for a replacement name for Mystic by jotting several possibilities on a legal pad. But none satisfied me. Then, on a long drive from Burlington, Vermont back to Boston, I had a "Eureka" moment. Mystic would become Spouters Point (with no apostrophe, as in Harpers Ferry). Readers of Moby Dick will know that the name comes from the Spouter's Inn in New Bedford, Massachusetts, where Ishmael spends the night on his way to Nantucket, and where he meets the native harpooner, Queequeg.
From then on it was smooth sailing: Mystic Seaport became the Spouters Point Maritime Museum, the whaler Charles W. Morgan became the Susan Kilrain (after a woman who'd won the right to have a character named after her in my next book at a charity benefit auction), and so on until I hit another snag.
Mystic Seaport wasn't the only real place name I'd used in the book. There was the Mashantucket-Pequot-owned gambling casino of Foxwoods. An important part of the book is devoted to Foxwoods and to the history of the tribe itself. Anxious to get permission to use the Foxwoods name, I contacted a lawyer for the tribe, who told me he would need to present my request before the tribal council. I dutifully made my case, and by the time I was done, I'd sent the lawyer copies of every page in the manuscript where Foxwoods and/or the tribe were mentioned.
Weeks passed and still no answer was forthcoming. "It could happen tomorrow, or it could be months down the road," the lawyer told me. Reluctantly, I decided to withdraw my request and change the name. Foxwoods became Clambanks. I wasn't finished, however. When I contacted the "rights" person at my publisher to make sure I had done everything I was supposed to, I was told that I needed to change the name of the tribe as well. Fortunately, I found a glossary of Algonquin words in the back of a book written by a seventeenth-century visitor to New England, and there found a name for my tribe: the Mashantucket Pequots became the Dottagucks.
The moral of the story: unless you're a big-name author with a big-name publisher, you may have to fictionalize names of people, places, and institutions, as I did. Once I got going, the process of re-naming wasn't as difficult as I'd thought, but I still wish I could have avoided it.
But back to the question with which I began: Does a rose by any other name smell as sweet? Yes and no. "No," because I'd seen people's faces light up when I told them I was writing a mystery set at Mystic Seaport. Knowing and loving the Seaport, they were excited about the prospect of reading a book that takes place there. Now, of course, this doesn't happen. Instead, I get puzzled looks. "Where is Spouters Point?" people ask, assuming it's a real place. This is the "yes" part, because it shows that at least I've managed to pique their curiosity with my new name. And their interest in the location of the village I've created gives me a chance to explain that Spouters Point is a fictionalized Mystic Seaport. So, in a sense, I get to have it both ways.
Visit Leslie's website at http://www.lesliewheeler.com.
25 comments:
- Julie Godfrey Miller said...
Interesting post. Sometimes its a struggle, and sometimes inspiration strikes. In looking for an Irish name for my protag, the name Anne Harrington popped into my head. It wasn't until at least a year later that I realized that that was the name of one of my great-grandmothers. Good old sub-conscious at work.
- October 30, 2010 at 10:02 AM
I began my manuscript with a character named Rue. She was a dreary sort, not someone I, or a reader, would want to spend much time with. When I changed her name to Molly, she lightened up considerably. In fact, I never know what she's going to say or do next.
- October 30, 2010 at 10:02 AM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
Julie, Yes, it's wonderful how the old sub-conscious works! I'm sure it played a role in my coming up with the name Spouters Point, as I had been reading Melville, while working on the book. Glad it helped you remember your grand-grandmother's name as a name for your protag. Curious if your protag's anything like your great-grandmother.
- October 30, 2010 at 10:11 AM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
"towriteistowrite," I was interested to hear how your character changed when you changed her name from Rue to Molly--a much lighter, almost bouncy name. Sounds like you're having fun with her. I love it when you don't know what a character is going to do or say next, because I like being surprised when I write.
And the identity"towriteistowrite" came from?
- October 30, 2010 at 10:17 AM
- Hank Phillippi Ryan said...
Hey, Leslie! SO fascinating..and I share your thoughts. It's really an obstacle when a character doesn't have the right name. (Rue/Molly is a perfect example.)
And, strangely, when someone pokes at it. For instance, I have a new character, a newspaper editor, cool and smart, named Alex Oliveri.
I thought it was perfect, until a pal told me she thought "Alex" sounded like a female name.
Huh? SO I disagreed...but now every time I see that name, I wonder.
- October 30, 2010 at 12:16 PM
Leslie, enjoyed your topic of picking names. My first rule was being flexible as the character developed and finding a name that 'fit.' :-)
Interesting subject and helpful too - I've even given TN a new fictional county, LOL.
Jackie Griffey
- October 30, 2010 at 12:22 PM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
Hank, I think Alex Oliveri is a great name, and suits the character as you describe it. What's interesting is how personal our reactions to names are--ie. what you might think is exactly the right name for a character, someone else might not. Had a similar problem to what you describe with the character names in a book I'm just finishing,
which is set in a backwoods part of the Berkshires. One pre-pub reader complained that names like "Earl" and "Wayne" sounded too southern for that area, but they feel right to me, so I've kept them. Sometimes, you just have to stick with your guns!
- October 30, 2010 at 1:31 PM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
Jackie, Interesting that you are able to be flexible with naming and change as the character develops. I'm not sure I could do that, because once I've given a character a name, that's who they are. The only times I've changed character names have been because I realized I had too many names beginning with the same letter, and as a result readers might confuse them.
- October 30, 2010 at 1:38 PM
- Marni said...
I agree that names are important and I spend time choosing just the right ones, whether its in the way they sound or in their meaning. One character in The Blue Virgin who is a pompous sort was given the last name of Belcher...
- October 30, 2010 at 2:35 PM
I never cease to be amazed at the effort employed by fiction authors -- even in something as seemingly simple as a name. Finding Algonquin words in a book by a 1600's visitor to New England is an enterprising source. It is difficult to imagine the "Dottagucks" located anywhere else in contemporary literature!
- October 30, 2010 at 2:52 PM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
Love it that you gave your pompous character the last name of Belcher!
Makes me think of Charles Dickens,who always managed to give his characters wildly appropriate and usually humorous names like Uriah Heep. Don't know where you live, but there actually is a Belchertown in Western Mass, and I've always felt kind of sorry for the residents, as they must be the butt of many jokes. There's also a Blandford, where I swore I'd never live, though we looked at a house there once.
- October 30, 2010 at 3:17 PM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
I consider myself very fortunate to have found the book with Algonquin words,because I was having trouble dreaming up a name for the tribe, and didn't want to use one that sounded too much as if I'd made it up. Dottaguck actually means something,and when I find the book, which I've temporarily misplaced, I'll let you know what it is.
- October 30, 2010 at 3:26 PM
- Karen said...
Picking up on two points--Leslie's and Julie Miller's: When I was writing my first novel, Fair Weather by Noon, I was advised to change the name of one of the two main characters, but to me, that was the only name for her, so she kept it, or I kept it, I suppose, so Julia she is.
There is a scene in the same novel which is highly reminiscent of my family holiday celebrations, but the names and characters were fictional, or so I thought. I learned for the first time, on a recent trip to Sweden, that my great-grandfather was named "August," so my character "Uncle August," had created himself through that good old sub-conscious!
- October 30, 2010 at 3:39 PM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
Since I remember your book,Fair Weather by Noon, you've got me wondering which of the two main characters, your friend suggested a name change for? Cassie or Julia? And who made that suggestion? Hope it wasn't me! Glad to hear you didn't make the change, because the name you'd given the character felt right to you.
Also, interesting to hear that great-grandfather August in the book owed his name to your real-life great-grandfather without your intending it. I remember that Swedish holiday celebration scene in your book, and how much I enjoyed it, it was so vivid!
- October 30, 2010 at 4:34 PM
You forgot Andrew Jackson's Big Block of Cheese with nary a macaroni in sight.
- October 30, 2010 at 4:34 PM
- Sheila Connolly said...
Hi, Leslie (I'm coming in late)--
You certainly had some real challenges with your book. So far nobody's commented on my treatments of Northampton, Amherst, or UMass in my series, although I try not to say anything negative about a recognizable institution (and that includes real restaurants!).
But there is always the interesting question: could you spin any obstructions to your benefit? If someone sued to stop you, does that count as publicity? Or would it be unethical and/or crass to take advantage of that?
- October 31, 2010 at 8:56 AM
Leslie, it amazes me that you could change all that and still have the story work.
Hank, one of my critique partner's complained she thoght my character name was male not female. Of course it I could remember the name if would help, but Alex to me is guy.
If I find my story isn't working, the first thing I look at is the name of my protagonist. Usually, I'm okay but once I did have to change a character's name three times before the story worked.
To make matters worse, I'm a short story writer so I need lots of new names, often. Fortunately I make a list of name from my SPAM mail a few years ago. It comes in so handy. I figured those spammers took the time to make a name that sounded good, so why not use them. I marke the list each time I use a name. Works for me.
I just finished naming my NaNoWriMo characters yesterday.
- October 31, 2010 at 9:32 AM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
Glad you haven't run into trouble by using real places like Northampton, Amherst, or UMass, but then as these are secondary locales in your books, you're not likely to. By secondary locales, I mean they're not places where the main action, especially the murder takes place, which in your Apple Orchard series is a fictionalized town. I mention real places like Cambridge, where my protagonist lives, and New London, and Greenwich, but again they're secondary locales.
As for spinning obstruction to my benefit, I couldn't even try to do that, because my publisher wouldn't publish the book if they thought there were going to be legal problems. Interesting question, though
- October 31, 2010 at 11:12 AM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
I was worried that the story wouldn't work if I had to make all those changes, but surprisingly, I think it does. Even though I had to change the name of the maritime museum and the town where it's located, the history of whaling that's presented there remains the same.
As for the tribe, it did feel a bit weird creating a fictional tribe,but I was still able to use more or less the same history as I had for the Mashantucket Pequots by
changing dates, modifying certain incidents.
Interesting that you had to change your protagonist's name three times to make a story work. I had to do that with one of my books, which began as a sequel to my first series mystery, MURDER AT PLIMOTH PLANTATION, but then, 100 pages into the book, I realized that it wasn't my series protagonist's story, but someone else's. So Miranda became Kathryn. I also had to shift from first person to third, because the first person voice was too much Miranda's.
I write short stories in addition to novels, but confess I don't spend as much time worrying about getting just the right name for my protagonist, because I know I'm not going to be with that person for the long haul of a novel. Like your idea of getting character names from spammers. Will have to try that myself!
- October 31, 2010 at 11:28 AM
- Pauline Alldred said...
I changed the name of a small town because one of the murders happens there and because I wanted to rearrange some of the streets and diners. While I wrote, flashes of real scenes I noted from the car window came to mind and I included them.
The name of the first murder victim can't be negotiated. Zoe is the name of a classmate I haven't seen for years and her main claim to fame was being the smallest kid in the school. I hope she's happy and thriving and never finds out I used her name. I also wanted a Greek name. It means life-giving and seems ironic.
- October 31, 2010 at 12:23 PM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
You point out a real advantage to using a fictional small town, in that it leaves you free to re-arrange things to your liking. Like you, I find it helpful to have a real place in mind, if not in actual sight, as I write. While it's fun to make things up, there are times when my imagination fails me, and I have to look to the real world for inspiration. Or maybe I'm just being lazy!
Interesting that you feel the name of the first murder victim can't be negotiated. What about the name of the second one? Sounds like you have good reasons for using the name, Zoe, and I suspect your classmate won't find out, unless you get back in touch and tell her. This happened to me with my protagonist's last name, Lewis. It was a nickname given me by my old college boyfriend. Recently, when we got back in touch, I told him this. He said the thought had occurred to him, but it seemed too much of a stretch. Wrong!
- October 31, 2010 at 1:38 PM
- Carolyn J. Rose said...
Sometimes I'm conscious of the names I select--Hemlock Lake, for example, because the atmosphere is poisonous to the protagonist and several characters will die. But when I named that protagonist Dan Stone, my subconscious was at work. It was only much later that I realized the last name was symbolic of his family's nature, and his first name that of the man who was cast into the lions' den. Thanks, subconscious.
- October 31, 2010 at 1:44 PM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
Love the name Hemlock Lake! Very sinister. I chose the name, Rattlesnake Hill, for the title (and locale) of a book I'm just putting the finishing touches on for that reason. But what about "playing against type"? By that I mean, giving a place a nice-sounding name, but then having something awful happen in it? I'm trying that with a place name in a book I'm just starting. My fictional NE town is called Winterberry, and for the moment, I'm sticking with it, despite advice from a fellow mystery writer to give the town a creepier name.
Thanks for providing yet another example of the subconscious at work with your Dan Stone name. It's fascinating to me how the subconscious shapes what we put into our books without realizing it until later on.
- October 31, 2010 at 4:10 PM
- Sandra Parshall said...
Leslie, you've been a terrific guest this weekend! Thanks so much for visiting PDD.
- October 31, 2010 at 7:36 PM
- Leslie Wheeler said...
Thank you and the other PDD bloggers for having me as a guest this weekend. Also, thanks to everyone who left a comment. I've had a lot of fun doing this, and feel we've had a great conversation about the naming process!
- October 31, 2010 at 9:21 PM