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Solving Server Virtualization Problems In The Real World
Join Storage Switzerland and EMC Isilon for this unique seminar that will look at solving the storage obstacles created by server virtualization from the perspective of the storage administrators that have conquered these daunting challenges.
First Storage Switzerland will provide perspective based on interviews with storage managers responsible for varying sized data centers. We will cover what challenges they faced initially and as the virtual environment grew. Then we will discuss the attempted work arounds that these IT professionals attempted to solve the problem. Finally we will cover the solutions that fixed their problems and how you might apply these solutions to your storage and virtual server environment.
We will end with EMC Isilon discussing how their OneFS file-system and scale-out storage hardware is an ideal storage platform for the virtual environment.
Mar 6 2012
49 mins
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George Crump - Storage Switzerland
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Storage and Server Virtualization Resources
The Hybrid Cloud Metadata Problem and How to Fix It
Jan 24 2019
6:00 pm
60 mins
Storage Switzerland, Infinite IO
Most organization's use of public cloud storage resources is the hybrid use case. A hybrid cloud strategy enables organizations to leverage the location and resources that make the most sense for the given workload. A hybrid cloud strategy though requires a free-flow of information between on-premises and cloud storage. The problem is that most of the information exchange is metadata, not actual data and most cloud solutions don't specifically address metadata acceleration.
Key Takeaways:
- A clear understanding of why lack of metadata management breaks hybrid cloud
- Why most cloud solutions don't solve the metadata problem
- How to finally fix the hybrid cloud meta problem and create the ideal hybrid cloud infrastructure
Save your seat
Understanding the 5 Most Common Oversights in a DRaaS Strategy
Jan 16 2019
6:00 pm
60 mins
Storage Switzerland, KeepItSafe, Veeam
Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) is potentially one of the best use cases for cloud resources. DR sites owned by the organization are expensive to set up and maintain as well as challenging to get to when a disaster strikes. DRaaS resolves these issues by creating an on-demand DR site where the cloud delivers IT resources as they are needed. IT planners though, may overlook some aspects of DRaaS solutions, especially when using the large public cloud providers.
In this webinar join Storage Switzerland, Veeam and KeepItSafe where we leverage a panel of backup and recovery veterans to identify common oversights seen in organizations' DRaaS strategies and how to address them.
Save your seat
Consumption Based Data Management Providing Peace of Mind
Dec 17 2018
59 mins
Storage Switzerland, Veeam, HPE
Consumption based IT is a curated set of IT solutions that focus on business outcomes. As the name implies it is purchased on a pay-as-you-go model. The goal of consumption based IT is to simplify establishing IT infrastructure that incorporates both the on-premises data center and the cloud to support a wide variety of workloads including traditional transactional databases, big data analytics, containers and many others.
A key aspect of consumption based IT is how the data created by these workloads will be protected. In fact, the right consumption based IT solution should curate end-to-end backup directly into the solution.
In our live webinar join Storage Switzerland, Veeam, and HPE to learn about consumption based IT, what to look for in a consumption based solution, how data protection can protect the solution and how data protection can be offered as a consumption based solution protecting both legacy and new architectures.
Watch now
Flash Webinar - Talking Storage Consolidation vs. Storage Sprawl with SolarWinds
Dec 14 2018
16 mins
Storage Switzerland and SolarWinds
Join Storage Switzerland and SolarWinds for our Friday Flash webinar. In 15 minutes our panel of experts provide you the information you need so you can better deal with storage sprawl in your data center. Storage Switzerland finds that most organizations have five to six different storage systems and three or four different vendors within their storage infrastructure. These diverse storage architectures can be expensive and time consuming if not correctly managed.
In 15 Minutes learn:
- What is causing storage sprawl
- How to stop storage sprawl
- Is storage consolidation the right objective
- How to manage a diverse storage infrastructure
Watch now
StorageSwiss Live PodCast - Talking GDPR and CCPA with Aparavi
Dec 7 2018
16 mins
Storage Switzerland and Aparavi
Join Storage Switzerland and Aparavi for our live PodCast dealing with data privacy regulations like the European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and California's Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). The regulations potentially force organizations of all sizes to rethink how they protect, retain and remove data.
During the PodCast we cover:
- The aspects of the GDPR and CCPA regulations that should concern IT
- The challenges the regulations create for current data protection retention applications
- How organizations need to change policies and products to address the regulations
- Answers to live audience questions about data privacy, GDPR, and CCPA
All attendees to the live event receive a free copy of Storage Switzerland's latest eBook "GDPR IS FOR EVERYONE - Designing a Data Privacy Infrastructure".
Watch now
What's Your 2019 NVMe Strategy?
Dec 6 2018
47 mins
Storage Switzerland, Western Digital
The flash optimized NVMe protocol has been on the market for over a year and the technology is available in several forms. NVMe, both storage and networking (NVMe over Fabrics) is more expensive than the typical SAS based solution and not all applications or environments can take advantage of the performance NVMe promises. At the same time there are workloads like artificial intelligence, machine learning and high velocity analytics that need all the performance that NVMe can offer and some organizations are buying NVMe solutions just for those workloads.
Most data centers already have too many storage systems to manage, and adding another silo just for extreme performance workloads may make the problem even worse. IT needs a strategy to not only correctly integrate NVMe into the data center but to do so in a way that doesn't further fragment the architecture. In fact, with the right strategy, IT can use the NVMe system as a point of storage consolidation.
In this live webinar join experts from Storage Switzerland and Western Digital for an interactive webinar the will help you develop an NVMe strategy that makes the most sense for your organization.
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Designing Storage Architectures for Data Privacy, Compliance and Governance
Nov 29 2018
59 mins
Storage Switzerland and Hitachi
Managing data is about more than managing capacity growth; organizations today need to adhere to increasingly strict data privacy, compliance and governance regulations. Privacy regulations like GDPR and California's Consumer Privacy Act place new expectations on organizations that require them to not only protect data but also organize it so it can be found and deleted on request. Traditional backup and archive are ill-equipped to help organization adhere to these new regulations.
In this live webinar join Storage Switzerland and Hitachi Vantara for a roundtable discussion on the meaning of these various regulations, the impact of them on traditional storage infrastructures and how to design a storage architecture that can meet today's regulations as well as tomorrows.
Watch now
2019 Storage Strategies Series - What's Your Plan for Object Storage?
Nov 28 2018
60 mins
Storage Switzerland, Caringo, Cloudian, Scality
Join Storage Switzerland, Caringo, Cloudian and Scality, for a live roundtable discussion on Object Storage. Learn what you need to know to develop a strategy for object storage. Our panel of experts will discuss what object storage is, what is better/different about object storage than other types of storage and what are the use cases enterprises should consider.
Our Object Storage Panel will provide specific details on how to get started with object storage, what use cases pay the most immediate return on the investment and where object storage fits in an organization's overall storage strategy. The panel will also discuss what is coming next in object storage. Each expert will also give a brief overview of their company's object storage solution. We will close out the roundtable by taking questions from our live audience.
By attending one webinar, you'll learn everything you need to know about object storage, provide actionable information in developing an object storage strategy and hear from three top vendors about how their products will fit into those plans.
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Ransomware: Strategies for Protecting Your Weakest Link - Endpoints
Nov 15 2018
55 mins
George Crump, Storage Switzerland and W. Curtis Preston, Druva
Ransomware, when it infiltrates an organization, causes most of its damage to user endpoints (laptops, tablets, and smartphones). Endpoints typically make up more than 60% of impacted data. The problem is those endpoints are often the most exposed because they are the least likely to be consistently protected. Those endpoints have an increasing amount of unique data on them that is not adequately backed up. Ransomware is just part of the problem, user error and malicious insiders account for a considerable amount of data loss.
External and internal threats to data combined with the increasing amount of unprotected unique data on endpoints mean that organizations need to reconsider their endpoint data protection strategy. The problem is that in many organizations, endpoint data protection is an ad-hoc process and is not adequately defined by IT. The reason? Most endpoint backup solutions start as consumer solutions and treat the enterprise as an afterthought. IT needs a solution that is designed from the ground up to provide enterprise-class endpoint data protection.
Join George Crump, Lead Analyst at Storage Switzerland, and W. Curtis Preston (a.k.a. Mr. Backup), Chief Technical Architect at Druva for a live webinar to learn the latest strategies for protecting your organization from a Ransomware Attack.
Watch now
Application Explosion - Rediscovering the Lost Art of Protection Service Levels
Nov 15 2018
57 mins
Storage Switzerland, Micro Focus
The number of applications in organization's data centers is growing rapidly. No longer does IT need to worry about a few mission and business critical applications, it needs to worry about dozens. While all these applications are important to the organization, some are more critical than others.
Establishing service levels greatly improves the organization's ability to meet application recovery expectations. Selecting a service level driven backup application enables IT to manage to those service levels instead of managing jobs. The problem is most backup applications provide little help in enabling IT to maintain service level consistency.
By attending this webinar you'll learn how to:
* Implement service levels like RPO and RTO throughout the data center
* Establish NEW service levels for copy management and recovered performance
* Fix the disconnect between service levels and data protection applications
Watch now
The Software Matters in Open Networking
Nov 13 2018
61 mins
Storage Switzerland and Pluribus Networks
Open networking offers the ability to break free of vendor lock-in and achieve white box economics. SDN promises automation, reduced OpEx and increased agility. However, the open networking and SDN landscape can be confusing, and migrating away from legacy infrastructure can seem fraught with peril. Is the journey worth it?
Join Storage Switzerland and Pluribus Networks where we will answer the following questions:
• What are the benefits of open networking and SDN in the data center?
• How can I safely migrate to a disaggregated white box architecture when I have incumbent vendors deployed throughout my network?
• How do I deploy SDN in my data center and do I need a full hardware refresh to do it?
Register before November 9th and receive an exclusive copy of Storage Switzerland's newest eBook "Virtualizing and Automating the Network - A Guide to White Box Switches, Network Operating Systems and Software-Defined Networking."
Watch now
Holistic Disaster Recovery; from Data Center to Endpoint
Nov 8 2018
62 mins
Storage Switzerland, KeepItSafe, Veeam
Most disaster recovery strategies focus exclusively on the data center but most users use laptops and other endpoints to get their work done. And those endpoints often have unique, business critical data on them. Data center servers and storage as well as endpoint need inclusion into the organization's disaster recovery plan.
Today disasters like ransomware and other cyber-threats can impact both data center servers and user endpoint. And, both endpoints and data center servers are susceptible to "minor" disasters like hardware failure and software bugs, which at the time seem major to those impacted. Endpoints, unlike servers also face another type of disaster loss or theft.
Register now for our upcoming webinar where experts from Storage Switzerland, Veeam and KeepItSafe discuss how to create a disaster recovery plan that covers all of the organizations digital assets.
Watch now
The Elephant in the Datacenter - Protect, Manage, & Leverage Unstructured Data
Oct 29 2018
60 mins
Storage Switzerland and Igneous
IT is facing new challenges in managing unstructured data. Organizations want to store more unstructured data and keep it longer for future analysis. However, the protection and retention methods of traditional backup and archive solutions are not keeping pace with new volumes of unstructured data, nor are they able to meet new business expectations. Given the growth in terms of quantity, total capacity, and criticality of unstructured data, IT needs to fundamentally change how it protects, manages, and leverages unstructured data.
Join Storage Switzerland and Igneous for a live webinar, where we will dive into the results of a recent survey on the impact of unstructured data management and its challenges on organizations. During the webinar, we will discuss best practices that organizations like yours can implement to effectively manage the unstructured data elephant.
Key Webinar Takeaways - The True Value of Unstructured Data - The Challenges Unstructured Data Creates - Best Practices for Protection, Management, and Monetization
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Evolving Data Protection from Backup to Copy Data Management
Oct 24 2018
50 mins
Storage Switzerland and Hitachi
Copy Data Management promises to not only improve the data protection process, it promises to provide value to the organization even without a looming disaster. It can reduce storage costs by presenting virtual copies of data to test/dev, analytics and reporting. It also can make sure those copies are refreshed so those use cases are always dealing with the latest copy of data.
Join Storage Switzerland and Hitachi Vantara for our live panel discussion where we will show how copy data management better protects the organization and makes protection more than an insurance policy by adding value to the organization. We'll show how Copy Data Management can reduce the cost of storage throughout the data center while at the same time improving processes like test/dev, analytics and reporting. Finally we'll also explain why copy data management solutions may actually be better at protection since they store data in its native form, enabling it to be recovered more quickly.
The webinar will also include a live demo of Hitachi's Data Instance Director. See Copy Data Management in action!
Watch now
Data Management vs GDPR and Data Privacy-Solve the Right to Be Forgotten Problem
Oct 18 2018
56 mins
Storage Switzerland and Aparavi
The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) makes specific demands on organizations based in and doing business in the European Union (EU). Now several US states are considering similar legislation and California has already passed a GDPR-like law. Clearly this is not solely an EU problem.
From a data management standpoint, GDPR presents IT with two challenges. First it has to ensure the on-going protection of data which given the growth of unstructured data is increasingly a challenge. The size and number of files is an ongoing data management problem but meeting the specific demands on retention of discrete files within the data set is a bigger problem.
An even bigger challenge comes from the right to be forgotten aspect of these regulations where a user can request the removal of all their data from a backup set. Vendors are working on several potential solutions like delete on restore and isolated recovery zones but each of these creates their own challenges.
In this live webinar, join Storage Switzerland and Aparavi as we dive deep into the impact of GDPR and similar regulations to data management and the data protection process. The time is now to get prepared to meet the ever-increasing demands on data retention and data privacy.
Watch now
How to Design a 92TB, 500K IOPS AFA for less than $95,000!
Oct 4 2018
60 mins
Storage Switzerland and StorONE
All-Flash Arrays are the model of inefficiency and as flash media increases in density and performance, the cost of this inefficiency becomes more obvious. Enterprise solid-state drives (SSD) deliver 70,000 IOPS per drive but most AFAs need 24 drives or more to achieve 70,000 IOPS. Those same systems also need high-end processors to move IO through them at those speeds. The cost of these systems is hundreds of thousands of dollars when in reality they should cost less than $100,000.
In this webinar we will discuss why their software bottlenecks current all-flash arrays. We will explain how inefficient storage software requires vendors to use more powerful and more expensive CPUs, as well as a greater quantity of flash drives. We'll also explain why technology advancements like NVMe and increasing flash density will only make the situation worse.
Registrants for the webinar will receive a copy of Storage Switzerland's eBook "Why Does Storage Cost So Much - How to Dramatically Lower the Cost of Storage".
Watch now
Overcoming the Storage Roadblock to Data Center Modernization
Sep 27 2018
61 mins
Storage Switzerland and Datera
Organizations have tried a variety of solutions to regain control of their data storage infrastructure. They've invested in monolithic storage systems, software defined storage (SDS) and hyper-converged systems. While each approach may have brought some value, each failed in its primary task: consolidating storage resources. Each of these consolidation efforts is unable to consistently guarantee performance, scale capacity and drive down storage costs.
As a result, most organizations end up buying workload specific solutions for both legacy and modern applications. Most data centers today have a mixture of multiple all-flash storage systems, hyper-converged environments and high capacity data archives. They also have storage software for each use case. IT ends up dealing with a data management nightmare, which limits organizational efficiency and productivity.
Don't give up! Join Storage Switzerland and Datera to learn how monolithic, software defined and hyper-converged architectures have let IT down and why the problem gets worse as data centers modernize. Attendees will learn how storage solutions need to change in order to eliminate primary storage silos while guaranteeing specific application performance, scaling to meet capacity demands and lower storage TCO.
Watch now
The Future Data Center - Live from Hitachi Next!
Sep 26 2018
62 mins
Storage Switzerland and Hitachi
What comes after Data Center Modernization? The future data center is smart. But what is a smart data center, how do you create a smart data center and why would you want to? We'll answer all of these questions on our live webinar roundtable discussion LIVE from Hitachi NEXT2018. Join us as we talk about solutions that can answer questions like:
•What are the largest cost drivers in my data center?
•How can IT accelerate my time to market?
•How do I optimize costs like power and cooling?
•How can I proactively identify inherent threats and issues?
Watch now
Using the Cloud to Fix Backup's Blind Spot - Endpoint Data Protection
Sep 26 2018
59 mins
Storage Switzerland and Infrascale
Many data centers unwittingly have a blind spot in their backup strategy, endpoints like laptops and other devices are left exposed. Most organizations have no formal endpoint data protection strategy even though studies indicate that over 60% of data on endpoints is unique to that device. In most cases, there is no centralized data protection strategy for endpoints.
IT is counting on users to protect their data, but the reality is that the organization needs a centralized endpoint data protection strategy that fixes backup's blind spot.
Join Storage Switzerland and Infrascale for a live webinar to learn how to create an endpoint data protection strategy that leverages the cloud to fix the backup blind spot. The webinar also includes a live demo of the solution, so you can see how efficiently IT can protect endpoints without disrupting end users.
Watch now
The Next Question: How to Backup Office 365
Sep 20 2018
63 mins
Storage Switzerland, KeepItSafe, Veeam
The first Office 365 question is, do organizations need to protect their data stored there? The answer is yes, Office 365 data needs protection. Almost every industry expert recommends that organizations take Office 365 protection into their own hands and even Microsoft makes it clear that data is the organization's responsibility. The problem is those industry experts and Microsoft don't answer the next question of HOW to backup Office 365 data.
Register now and learn not only why organizations should back it up but also how they should do it.
In response to the need for Office 365 protection, vendors have flooded the market with solutions but protecting Office 365 is more than just a "checkbox". Data in Office 365 has value to the organization, is subject to a variety of compliance regulations, and is the target of cyber-attacks.
In our webinar Storage Switzerland, Veeam and KeepItSafe compare the various methods for protecting Office 365.
Watch now
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Tune into Storage Switzerland's channel to learn from this analyst firm focused on storage, virtualization and the cloud. Storage Switzerland's goal is to provide unbiased evaluations and interview content on sponsoring and non-sponsoring companies through articles, public events and product reviews.
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Title: Solving Server Virtualization Problems In The Real World
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Mar 6 2012 6:00 pm
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George Crump - Storage Switzerland
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NYC Network Group specializes in providing valuable business connections for real estate and tech industry professionals in the most exciting venue available...New York City!
Anthony Kazazis, Director, NYC Network Group Inc
NYC Network Group Inc is an organization that offers 4 Events within the year the NYC Real Estate Expo, the NYC Finance Expo, the NYC Tech Expo & the NYC Black Tie Gala in New York City. Come join us & to meet with other top professionals representing all real estate related industries including law, accounting, banking, marketing, architecture, financial planning, real estate brokers and bankers, to name a few.
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Dr. Jared C. Robins, chief of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility division, Northwestern Medicine
Dr. Jared C. Robins has joined Northwestern Medicine as chief of the Division of Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility and an associate professor in the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Robins is a nationally renowned fertility expert whose research focuses on optimizing the conditions for embryonic development to improve assisted reproduction. Robins received an undergraduate biology degree from Emory University in Atlanta and his medical doctorate from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. In 1998, he completed an obstetrics and gynecology residency at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in Bronx, N.Y., before receiving, in 2001, a fellowship in Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility at the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine in Ohio. Most recently, Robins served on the faculty of the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University in Providence, R.I.
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Charter school push is not for the fainthearted
You have to wonder why he – why they – don't just walk away. They were figuratively beaten up by the Board of Education. They were kept away from the parents they are trying to help, then accused of not trying hard enough to reach them. There were suggestions of racial overtones made by defenders of the status quo.
It's a tough life, being an education reformer in Buffalo. They're either gluttons for punishment, or – more likely – committed to a cause.
"We are concerned about education in the city," said Steve Polowitz, "and have been for years."
Polowitz is part of the pack of reformers who are trying – against all odds – to transform two of Buffalo's 28 failing schools into public charter schools. The folks behind the nonprofit push are taking fire from a Board of Ed that has yet to grasp the enormity of its failing-schools crisis. On the other parapet is a teachers union determined to protect its ever-shrinking turf.
If every verbal blow the reformers have taken were a punch, Polowitz would be a walking bruise.
He is 61, a rail-thin attorney with silvery hair and impeccable school-reform credentials. Eleven years ago, he and four others founded Tapestry Charter School. It is arguably the most successful charter in Buffalo. The public charter school, which since expanded through high school, last year got 1,200 applications for 200 spots.
For those keeping a diversity scorecard, about 70 percent of the kids at Tapestry High are minorities. Four of the six trustees for the two proposed restart charters are minorities. If Polowitz, fellow Tapestry co-founder Amy Friedman and others pushing to transform Waterfront Elementary and East High into charters are racist, they do a heck of a job of hiding it.
I have known Polowitz for years. I have no doubt about his charter-pushing motivation: to bring school choice to parents who cannot afford to send their kids to private schools or to move to the suburbs. Freed of the disconnected administration and innovation-stifling rules that afflict district schools, charters can bring everything from a longer school day to smaller class sizes to inner-city kids.
The charter movement has made for strange bedfellows. Some, like Polowitz and Friedman, are progressives. Others are conservative business types worried about the education of their future workforce.
The spark has grown into a fire. About 8,000 students now attend charter schools in Buffalo, most of them choosing a charter over a traditional public school. District officials have not asked the reformers to state their case to parents at Waterfront and East because they are afraid the parents will like what they hear.
I understand why district officials are bent out of shape about this charter restart push. Polowitz & Co. – after getting nowhere with the School Board – are asking State Ed to use its power to close the two schools and reopen them as charters.
The move outflanks – and disempowers – the School Board and the teachers union, the historic gatekeepers of public education in the city. If State Ed OKs the charter-restart idea next month, it kicks open a new door – here and across the state.
For Polowitz, the possibility is worth the beating. Just as it always has been.
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Ashton Kutcher is TV's highest-paid actor
Ashton Kutcher tops the Forbes magazine list of highest-paid TV actors.
Thanks to CBS's Two and a Half Men, where he has starred since Charlie Sheen's dramatic exit, Kutcher tops the list with estimated earnings of $24 million between June 2012 and June 2013, the magazine reported today.
This is despite the fact that the show's numbers are down significantly in the new season, Forbes says. In the first week, 11.6 million people tuned in to watch, compared to the show's previous peak of 28 million viewers.
Still, nearly 12 million viewers is nothing to sneeze at, and CBS is unlikely to can the show. And Kutcher's pay will grow even more once his episodes go into syndication, which is where the real money is made in TV.
It's some consolation for Kutcher given that his latest movie failed at the box office. He starred as Steve Jobs in a biopic, Jobs, about the Apple founder's life but Forbes said it made only about $16 million way less than he made in one year on a TV sitcom.
Kutcher's co-stars Jon Cryer and Angus Jones also make the list: Cryer is in second place with $21 million and Jones, who may be working his last year on the show, ranks seventh with $11 million.
Link to article: Ashton Kutcher is TV's highest-paid actor
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It's a shame, then, that they attracted only 282 spectators to the Wembley Arena.
I'm not an expert in marketing but it seems to me that a lot more can be done to promote these tournaments and also make visiting the events a better experience.
When you walk through the doors at Wembley Arena, what is there other than the actual snooker? There's a table to receive some coaching but no betting stand as in days gone by or proper merchandise stand as run previously by Dave Johnston-Allen.
In the past, these have been little hubs where communities of snooker fans have gathered.
A sporting event has to offer far more than just the sport.
When people go to darts, the actual matches are only a part of the experience.
I agree with Stephen Hendry that snooker should not follow darts by allowing the audience to get drunk and rowdy but we can learn a lot from the way Barry Hearn's PDC make the audience feel like an important part of the occasion.
Indeed, the crowd at darts often make the occasion.
Snooker is more limited in what it can do because it demands silence while play is going on but Selby, on his Eurosport blog, suggests playing music as the players come in, which is a minor innovation but would at least help to create some sort of atmosphere.
All this has already been grasped by the people who run the Premier League and World Series. I realise flashing lights and pop music at the Crucible would appal many traditionalists but that's one venue where you wouldn't need it because it's usually full from day one.
In terms of getting people along to start with, the tournament organisers should target all snooker clubs within a 10-15 mile radius of the venue.
The people who play there are, after all, already interested in snooker and ticket offers may well bring along several dozen spectators at a time.
The Premier League organisers supply pull-out supplements to local newspapers where their matches are staged. which seems to me to make resolute common sense. The more media coverage the better, particularly in the town where the event is on.
The other problem, of course, is in making the players attractive and well known enough to draw people in.
World Snooker has taken a step towards this with their 'Hotshots' campaign but, as Selby and Allen are both part of the scheme, it doesn't seem to have worked so far.
In fairness, these things take time but a PR campaign will not work if at the same time players are threatened with disciplinary action for making controversial – or often not even remotely controversial – statements.
Snooker actually needs more controversy. It needs rivalries and grudge matches and characters and all the stuff that the media looks for when covering a sport.
The players need more freedom to express themselves. I promise you, if they did the interest would increase but chiding them for even the merest deviation from the norm is preventing the public from getting to know them.
One well known player was even rung up because someone at the World Snooker office in Bristol didn't approve of the colour of his shoes.
Let the players be themselves. That is the best way for their personalities to come across. Moulding them to some corporate model is a sure fire way to make people lose interest and proclaim that they are 'all the same.'
The quality of snooker being produced at Wembley is very high, not least by Selby and Allen.
But a crowd of less than 300 is poor for a quarter-final and it's time for action.
51 comments:
- Geoff Brooking said...
Agree it was a great match but this is a typical indictment of World Snooker.
- 5:46 pm
i disagree. i dont want or need more controversy. dressing a player in a clown suit, having them juggle whilst riding a unicycle into the arena to Eye of the tiger wont make people who are fans of snooker tune in and stay tuned, as theyd get bored of that if they didnt like snooker. tis but my opinion. some agree with, others dont.
- 5:51 pm
- Dave H said...
I wouldn't want to see that either but I haven't seen anyone suggesting it
- 5:56 pm
i didnt say anyone had suggested it.
i was saying i didnt want that kind of thing.
- 5:58 pm
In the 80's and early 90's reasonable crowds came to venues- a part of the reason for going was that tickets were so very cheap. The prices of tickets now have limited the number of matches fans attend. As a former regular crucible season ticket holder I can assure you that the increase in ticket prices (especially at the crucible) has seen attendences fall in less attractive matches. The numbers at many midweek sessions even at the crucible are no longer what they were simply because the fans have to choose to attend fewer matches. Thus in most crucible first week session there are many empty seats (even taking into account the number of sponsors guests free tickets). The absence of the heritage room in recent years has further diluted the experience at the crucible and initiatives at other venues have come and gone. It would be interesting to know what the attendences have been at other masters matches and whether time of day and cost of ticket makes much difference to attendence figures as oppose to merely the 'pulling power' of certain players.
- 6:21 pm
- Dave H said...
That's an interesting point and the heritage Room is another good example of something at the venue other than the mere action that is no more
I have a vague memory - which could very well be wrong - that when Terry Griffiths played Silvinio Francisco at the Masters getting on for 20 years ago it drew a crowd of around 300 and that that was, at the time, the lowest ever attendance at the tournament
- 6:25 pm
- CueSport_TV said...
I think it is down to the way that snooker is marketed, it cannot progress by using the same traditional marketing techniques. The 'Hotshots' thing was mentioned as a 'campaign' I saw about this once, that is not a campaign.
All marketing and PR takes time, however any efforts in this department need to be constant. The biggest companies in the world are in a strong position beause they continue to advertise. World Snooker need to make a continual sustained effort.
I agree that under 300 for a 1/4 final is poor and also agree that going to the snooker should be made into more of an event in itself rather than just about the snooker.
What about not only contacting snooker clubs, but what about special discounts for schools or sports clubs, thes youngsters could be the future of the game (and I don't mean the players!)
- 7:28 pm
an active forum on the WS site ?
- 7:37 pm
- Janie Watkins said...
Personally I think all this marketing and PR speak is a load of B o l l ox !!
I used to work in marketing and it's a world populated by people more obsessed with their own egos and naval fluff than the product they're supposed to promote.
The average London agency has absolutely ZERO knowledge of snooker fans/players around the world, or how to get them into venues.
The BBC also seems to have little conception of what the viewing public actually want to watch and who to commentate. That's quite clear by the huge campaign and volume of emails and protests against the disgraceful removal of Clive Everton as the BBC anchor commentator.
These little campaigns zoning in on a few players is a waste of resources.
Time and effort would be better spent "educating" all professionals in the A-Z of their sport, of what it means to be a professional sportsman, that they (and us) will only ever get out what you put in, on and off the table.
Sadly the PA debacle means we're getting less rather than more local and repeated media coverage.
If WSA or A N Other sends pro active media stories to players' local and regional media, it will be published, usually without even a comma or apostrophe changed.
It's dreadfully sad that so few people saw the Mark-Mark match live this afternoon. It was a truly great match, non stop entertainment from start to finish and both players found time to express their personalities and have a little laugh and joke through the match.
- 7:48 pm
- Matt@PSB said...
Totally agree Dave, particularly when it comes to the marketing and promotion side, indeed it's something that I've been saying a while for myself.
Since I've started attending snooker tournaments live it has been very obvious to me that during the last few years this side of it has gone downhill fairly rapidly.
When I attended the World Championships in the Embassy days for example, you had a nice merchandise stand with some things actually worth buying link signed metal presentations to frame, Embassy mugs and other things player related that I can't think of now. The betting stand was also really well done, you had the brilliant heritage room and the vibe seemed to be better. Oh and the programme was miles better.
In recent years the betting stand has been replaced by an 888.com roulette wheel for pretend money, the heritage room is no more and the merchandise is pathetic, generic and a wasted opportunity. the programmes are poor too, they've used the same standard photos for 2-3 years which gets a bit irritating after a while. In 2006/7 at least the CueZone was actually very good, but last year even that was quite poor.
Also as you say, the Premier League really puts it in the shade. The promotion of the event is really quite extensive and then when it has finished and you are leaving the building, someone was there handing out flyers for the finals weekend, quite a nice touch I felt. Obviously it helps having Sky on board but I'm sure that they could do more with the ranking events on the BBC.
- 7:53 pm
apart from the pictures being out of date by a couple of years or so (which used to happen in programmes ages ago too btw) what would you say was in (or out) of the programmes years ago that made them miles better?
- 8:03 pm
In this day of immediacy people want things now and they want them quick. Remember when there were just 2 ad breaks in an hour long show. Now there are generally 4.
The simple reason is that people have become used to quick entertainment; if it does not provide stimulation, they move on.
Here is my suggestion. Most will hate it, but drastic measures are needed. We need snooker's equivalent of a 20/20 competition.
Let's have it as 6 reds only at the start of each frame, and play it as best of 3 frames per set. First to 2 sets wins (or maybe more sets as the competition progresses). You can call it 6-Three-2 snooker.
Before dismissing it, it can start as a trial, just one new event. This is the kind of thing Sky would easily entertain.
The success of 20-20 cricket has made the authorities in that sport wary of it becoming the dominant form of the game. But guess what - the public love it and it generates money.
Having said that, major test matches still get sold out months in advance, so there is room for different variations of the same game. And guess what - snooker has lots of free dates!
- 8:10 pm
i dont hate the idea and know similar has been done. i dont think it right for ranking events
- 8:17 pm
- Matt@PSB said...
Comparing the Embassy/888.com programmes mainly, on the old ones I felt that the player pages were better, for example the top 16 all got a full page each and they had more information on them such as how they had done at every previous appearance at the Crucible.
The 2008 one had two players on a page and most of the profiles were cut and paste jobs from the website (this may have happened before, I don't know). Also the referees used to have a page, there used to be a clearer space on the profile pages for autographs and in the centre pages you had a blank version of the draw that you could fill in as the tournament went along.
In fairness the 2008 one was a definite improvement on the two before it which were pretty poor I felt. I just miss some little things from the Embassy ones which I felt made them more worthwhile though.
I guess official programmes are never going to be too original, but using the same O'Sullivan pic as for 2006/7 but mirroring it so the Highland Spring logo was reversed and unreadable just irritated me a bit :D
- 8:21 pm
I really don't think that a six reds event would be necessary, as Dave said himself on this blog when he discussed the subject, people still love snooker for what it is now and I don't think the game needs dumbing down.
The problems are more with the management and organisation of the sport rather than the game itself in my opinion.
- 8:22 pm
thanks matt.
i actually like the new ones as much as the old ones and could nit-pick about "both". ta for your observations
- 8:27 pm
- Dave H said...
Here's a thing - I wrote the 1999 Embassy programme. I had to do it all myself and it took ages, a lot of hard work.
This year's Masters programme is excellent - it's well laid out, has interesting content and Ivan and Caven at World Snooker have put a lot of work into it.
Some of the other tournaments have programmes scaled down compared to years ago but that's down to cost.
Never mind all this - how frickin' good is the Higgins-Ding match???
- 10:04 pm
I agree with Janie. Anyone who reads the free Metro paper will find that many times they have no reporting whatsoever of many major tournaments, even some televised ones.
To be honest, even the BBC snooker website is quite poor. There frequently are no comments whatsoever from the losing player of a match, and sometimes even the winning player. Maybe the losers bugger off after the matches and don't give interviews, but it can't happen that frequently. Also, a lot of stuff on the website is video based, but they don't put that into writing anywhere for those of us at work who cannot view them.
It's very lazy. Even the teletext coverage in the past was better in some ways. Thank god for blogs such as this. What are the BBC paying their commentary and studio team? Surely a piece from each of them during the course of a tournament would not be asking too much. Instead we get a single piece from some Ashenden guy and a BBC news article prompted by Ronnie's comments. They even have that same bloody "Where does Ronnie rank amongst the all time greats" 606 link. I'm a fan of his, but they could update the page once in a while.
If anyone watches Formula 1, another sport that perhaps (until the arrival of Lewis Hamilton) doesn't have a huge following, you will see that there is a vastly greater amount of coverage. True, there is more money involved. But ITV's own F1 website is very good indeed. Articles all the time, full reaction from the pundits, Q+As and even some humorous pieces. Ok, so not all of that is the BBC's fault, a lot can be blamed on the general promotion of the sport, but ITV at least put in a lot of effort and do many things themselves.
It's a sad state of affairs when there isn't much coverage of this great sport on the website of the channel that broadcasts it. The only good thing is the online streaming of matches, but that is hardly a difficult thing to set up.
- 10:13 pm
Oh shit, i forgot Higgin's vs Ding was on. Better turn it on.
- 10:15 pm
- Dave H said...
Good name, although Rob seems to have been told to tone down his intros
Ceefax used to send reporters to the Masters and the World Championship
BBC onlinedon't send anyone and when they do it's only to 'take a sideways look at the tournament'
It's up to World Snooker to be chasing these guys and reminding them that they are BBC events and should be receiving better coverage on their website
- 10:20 pm
- SupremeSnooker.com said...
Why was snooker so successful in the 1980s? There are a number of reasons.
A big factor is that everybody, whether a casual fan who watched for half an hour here and there, or an avid viewer who would watch snooker all day, had a favourite player. They also ALL had a player who they really didn't like. The power of such things should not be underestimated.
Most of the leading players of the 80s started their careers in an era where they had to do exhibitions to make a living. Therefore, they would need a repertoire of jokes, or have something distinguishable about them, and this played in their favour when the TV boom began. All of the young players who emerged from the late 80s onwards didn't serve their apprenticeship in exhibitions, so don't feel the need to have any sense of individuality about them. This is not their fault, and I'm sure many are a great laugh away from the table, but it is a fact nonetheless.
Secondly, snooker's presence on television was more prominent in the 1980s. There were four tournaments a year on the BBC, three on ITV (more if you include regional coverage and late-night highlights of the Matchroom League). Yes, there were fewer channels and getting big TV audiences was easier, but snooker's presence on terrestrial TV has effectively halved since the 80s (with little more apart from the Premier League and Eurosport's offerings at unsociable hours available to those willing to pay a subscription).
Thirdly, the venues and settings are often, frankly, dreadful. There is often little to do in and around the venue. There's nowhere to place a bet, have a drink and a chat or receive some coaching. All of these things would add to the experience. Getting the punters in isn't rocket science. Charge a much lower price for afternoon sessions when many people are in work. Put an advert in the local paper every day for a week leading up to the tournament. Get in touch with local clubs and leave a pile of flyers in there. Not rocket science, folks!
Fourthly, the players are actively discouraged from having anything interesting to say to the media, and this forces them to come across as a lot more boring and drab than they actually are.
Finally, there needs to be more innovation and excitement for the TV . The Premier League and World Series have the right idea. Things like introducing players to music and coloured lighting, having the TV presentation studio overlooking the arena, and having a more relaxed dress code for players and referees would all be good innovations. (Yes, I do know that Sky Sports did many of these things when they covered WPBSA tournaments).
World Snooker has to learn to work alongside other commercial entities to ensure snooker has a bright future, but going on past form, I find this very, very unlikely. Time is running out folks. I hate to say this, but very soon, the only feasible option will be for Barry Hearn, Pat Mooney or somebody of that ilk to arrange a full breakaway.
- 10:25 pm
As annoying as he used to be, I think Rob has perhaps toned things down a bit too much. His announcements are almost flat now. Perhaps he's doing it just to show whoever told him off that that his other way was much better. The crowd aren't whipped into as much of a frenzy now. The previous older guy used to be much better. At least his "boys on the baize" used to generate a lot of crowd excitement, even if one felt that perhaps they were in fact laughing at him. I mean today, when announcing Higgins and Ding, two fantastic players, you'd expect huge cheers. Instead there was mostly just enthusiastic applause at best. Perhaps that's just how it came across to me though.
- 10:42 pm
Promotion and Marketing is everything. Matchroom sell out every premier league fixture at about £20 a ticket. All of the World Snooker events cost less yet are full of empty seats.
- 12:20 am
- nipperse said...
IMHO the audience should be allowed to get more involved , if anybody makes a noise the referee comes down on them like a ton of bricks. As long as they are quiet when the player approaches the table I cannot see any problem. Ask yourself the question if a darts crowd were made to behave like a snooker crowd how many people would turn up to watch?
- 1:19 am
I didn't know Rob Walker's underpants could type. Guess all his energy needs to come out somewhere and obviously some of it has ended up in his underwear. So what type of underwear does he actually wear? Boxers? Briefs? I'd vote for thong or that Borat mankini thing.
I'd agree with the promotion and marketing thing. Snooker tickets aren't anywhere near as expensive as in other sports. And it's not as if there are 80,000 seats to fill. It really is embarrassing to watch a match when there looks to be only 15 people there.
By the way, can anyone tell me who that chap who always sits at the front during the world championships is? He's a grey haired gentleman, wears a (navy blue?) suit, has glasses and maybe has a moustache. He's a fairly large man, circumference wise. I've always wondered who he is.
- 1:21 am
Someone from a darts crowd would probably glass anyone who asked them to be quiet.
Darts is such a dangerous game. Has any player got angry and fired darts at their opponent? Anyone remember that Quentin Hann vs Andy Hicks match a while ago? Think it was at the world champs. If they'd have been darts players, I'm sure blood would have been spilled that day. And thank god Alex Higgins didn't take up darts.
- 1:27 am
I miss Clive Everton. Does anyone have the link to any petition to have him reinstated? Please let him back in the box BBC. And not just for a few rounds of the world championships. Permanently. Or I'll kidnap Steven Maguire's chalk and hold it hostage until they reinstate him. Does Clive read this blog? I love you Clive. Was it your nemesis Willie Thorne who forced you out? Or Dennis the Menace? Maybe it was Neal Foulds. Or just some idiot BBC executive who was forced to by the authorities. You're my hero, Clive. You risked your job for so long just so you could speak the truth to the people. Did you really slip and break your hip that time or was that an excuse made by the BBC? Clive Clive Clive Clive I can't stop thinking about the injustice they have done to you. Sorry if I seem to be going over the top, but it's just how I feel.
- 1:58 am
- Matt@PSB said...
Regarding the noise point, I think Stephen Hendry was very correct when he said that it's different for darts players because they're used to playing in pubs etc with noise. Snooker is a totally different situation, you saw how one little noise distracted Mark Allen this afternoon.
- 2:27 am
Just been checking out the eurosport website, and their coverage of snooker news is far superior to that of the BBC. Q&A with Selby! Yaaay!
- 2:53 am
Selby's blog is excellent actually, well worth keeping an eye on.
- 3:38 am
We're singing from the same hymnsheet Dave
- 8:09 am
A ticket for the final on Sunday is around £45. Does anyone know how the price of a ticket is distributed? What I mean is, does it all go to the venue or does some go to World Snooker or sponsors or even the BBC?
- 9:48 am
What puzzles me is: why do the players storm out of the arena after each match as if they had to get to the last bus?
I saw Marc Allen write autographs after his match against Ryan Day and thought: why don't I see this more often?
Or do the players meet with the fans afterwards somewhere else?
I think that kind of contact between the players and the fans could be more effective than an artificial "hotshots campaign".
- 1:12 pm
- Matt@PSB said...
At the Crucible I tend to grab the players autographs at stage door, 80% of them are very happy to do it and interact with the fans.
- 1:34 pm
I also wish they would make their official homepage a bit better. A good representation on the web is very important, cause it can change people from home-watchers to go-ers. Both the snooker people and the BBC are rubbish and it's a shame that the only really reliable website is one made by fans. It should be an informative place with maybe some 'exclusive' interviews with players, but also referees, cue-makers and whatever else.
And the coverage. I can't see the BBC anymore, but Eurosport does this really well. Even during commercial breaks between other sports they point out the snooker matches, and I wonder if the BBC is doing the same. If I look at the tv-guide I can only tell that they show it very very late (unless you red-button it, I imagine). I've always heard that many people watch the snooker on Eurosport, so they must be doing something right.
- 4:47 pm
It certain'y looks like Rob has been "stamped on" by someone.
During hte UK he had the audience whipped up into mass enthusiasm during his pre-tv intros. He involved members of the audience and it was fun.
When he tried to introduce another element of fun by buying, at his own expense, £250 of Christmas hats to give to the audience he was very quickly stamped on by both bbc and wsa.
He ended up with the audience donating for the local hospital and receiving their free Santa hat as they left the building.
The only beneficiary was the local hospital.
Rob is fun, he's an asset that could be utilised - lok what he did for the Sailing coverage during the Olympics - Sailing is now sexy!! Snooker - well, on table it's fabulous - off table hmph!!
A few years ago we used to have the Welsh Open at the CIA in Cardiff which was also used for the World 9-ball, prmoted by Barry Hearn.
If you went to both events you would not believe you were in the same venue.
At the snooker a bloke on the door checking your ticket.
At the pool - a cafe area, a public practice table area, countless cue/accessory stores. meeting areas with the players for autographs, photos chat. It was a fabulous atmosphere, only marred by the presence of Strickland whose behaviour disgusted all who witnessed it.
- 5:12 pm
- jamie said...
Why is Walker toning down it was better before
- 5:53 pm
- jamie said...
Why is Walker toning down it was better before
- 5:53 pm
He did the boys on the baize thing today but without the finger pointing thing. Don't think he could control himself for todays match.
- 8:03 pm
Right. The attendance problem. A few years ago I suggested a possible way of overcoming the situation of playing in front of sparse crowds.
WSA used to use referees to act as security, then they decided to bring in a crew who cost the earth (imbeciles?).
What I suggested was that only the first 5 or 6 rows would be available for seating. If more seats are required, the referee/security guard simply opens up another couple of rows (its only barrier tape thats required).
As with a TV game show, it only plays to a "Full House". They simply move the audience to where the camera needs to be. This involves stopping the show which cannot be done in a snooker match, but to get the crowd to the front to make it 'look' there is a packed auditorium can create an great atmosphere. Then simply keep the cameras focused on those rows when they have a need to show that particular image and not to the rows of empty seats.
Its not rocket science, but for imbeciles? Thats another matter.
- 12:55 pm
so, your "solution" to the problem is to mask it and do nothing to "solve" it. great!
the best seat in the house is about 5 rows back and in line with the blue spot as you are high enough to see the table layout clearly and not too far away and it gives a middle view of all the table which is a great clear view of the business end of the table.
if the rows were closed until the ones in front were full id not bother going.
and how does 5 full rows but 15 empty ones create a good atmosphere just because the cameras can see the empty ones?
- 9:45 am
The atmosphere created of there being a full house, would/could encourage others to come to this sporting event.
You have to walk before you run m8.
Also, do you work or act as director of WSA? [Sarc.]
- 1:30 pm
There wouldnt be an atmosphere created as folk who go would know that goes on and so word wouldnt spread that its a great, full, atmosphere.
i will refrain from being childish (unlike some)
- 7:06 pm
Anonymous said...There wouldnt be an atmosphere created as folk who go would know that goes on and so word wouldnt spread that its a great, full, atmosphere.
i will refrain from being childish (unlike some)
Well, you are obviously THE expert, so if you have no ideas, might as well shut up shop!
The world is full of negative fools, and one made it on here.
- 1:26 pm
another childish comment because someone disagrees with someone elses opinion :sigh:
- 6:14 pm
You have not disagreed. You have simply said it would not work.
You did not give any alternative argument. You just said it would not work.
I do not subscribe to the "It will/It won't" mentality.
If someone asks my opinion, I give it. And also I give them my reasons why.
Some liken it to "Finding some meat on the bone".
Please don't think your bereft 'Throw-away' comments concern me. But moreso, please please don't think I would resort to it.
Well, do you or don't you ?
:sigh: ....
swifty followed by ....
:laughs out loud:
- 11:14 pm
i know when i disagree with someone and i certainly disagreed with you.
i am not forced to give an alternative. if i want to say something wont work i am allowed to. its my opinion. its not wrong - its my opinion. i do not need to give reasons for my opinions. this isnt school, although you clearly didnt attend when you should have!
- 7:39 am
You do, don't you ?
- 7:51 am
- 4:51 pm
Moving on now.
My last post on this subject.
I'll take your "yawn" as a yes.
L8rs ;o)
- 5:21 pm
- 5:35 pm


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The Maurice Greenberg Center for Judaic Studies at the University of Hartford will kick off its Fall 2012 season with two programs celebrating the diversity of Jewish life, music, and culture— a photography exhibition in honor of the 65th anniversary of Israel's creation, and a lecture and concert dedicated to the historical and musical legacy of Moses Mendelssohn and his most famous descendant, his grandson and celebrated composer, Felix Mendelssohn.
The People of the Land photo exhibit captures the diversity of Israeli society in 2012, through the lens of noted local photographer Lena Stein. The show, which is the Greenberg Center's annual Minne Goldenberg Photography Exhibition will remain open through April 2013 to coincide with the 65th anniversary of the State of Israel, established in May 1948.
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The day's program will conclude with the 2012 Fallman Family Fund music lecture and performance dedicated to the legacy of Moses Mendelssohn and his grandson, Felix. Moses Mendelssohn (1729-1786) was the father of the Jewish enlightenment and one of the greatest philosophers of his day. When he arrived in Berlin in 1743 at the age of 14, he was already well-versed in bible, Jewish law, Talmud, and Jewish philosophy. By the time he was 40 (1769), he was extremely well-known as a philosopher and was proposed as a member to the Prussian Academy of Arts and Sciences, but Prussian King Frederick II would not grant a Jew this privilege. Rather than convert to Christianity, Mendelssohn committed himself to demonstrating to the non-Jewish world that it was possible for a Jew to be thoroughly enlightened and "modern" while maintaining his Jewish traditional observance.
While he succeeded in his lifetime, ironically, none of his grandchildren, including his most famous descendant, Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847) remained Jewish. Felix became one of the most popular composers of the Romantic era, creating well-known symphonies, concerts, piano music, and chamber music. The life and work of the Mendelssohn family will be the subject of a talk — "A Musical and Intellectual Journey: From Moses Mendelssohn to Felix Mendelssohn" — Avi Patt, the
Philip D. Feltman Professor of Jewish History at the University of Hartford ,and the musical performance of Felix Mendelssohn's works by pianist Anastasia Seifitdinova, a doctoral candidate at The Hartt School.
Seifitdinova made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2006, and the New York Concert Review wrote of her performance, "For a critic, hearing a new pianist with a truly warm, luscious tone is like breathing in the scent of jasmine blooming — a pleasure to be recalled again and again — and so I'm happy to report that from the first note she touched at her Weill Hall recital, Anastasia Seifetdinova was a genuine pleasure to listen to. Every piece, every measure, every note – no matter how complex the texture, no matter how many strands of melody and accompaniment – was wrapped in a halo of golden tone..."
Born in Kiev, Ukraine, Seifetdinova was the winner of the Rachmaninoff Concerto Competition and was awarded First Prize at the Competition of the Musical Academy in Würzburg, both in 2001. She received First Prize in the 2003 International Piano Competition for Young Pianists in Rome, Italy and was awarded a Special Prize.
Seifetdinova is a member of Performance 20/20, an honors chamber music program that offers its participants full-tuition scholarships and an intense chamber music experience. She is a recipient of many other scholarships in both Germany and the United States.
This program, which is sponsored, in part, by the Arthur and Rose Fallmann Fund, will take place from 7:30 to 9 p.m. in Wilde Auditorium, in the lower level of the Harry Jack Gray Center on the University of Hartford campus.


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And I spend a lot of it hanging out. and reading. and sleeping. (well, not as much sleep as I should have gotten)
BUT- I was also doing some crafting!
I've been really into metalwork jewelry, and thought giving a piece away would be a nice After-New-Year's-because-it's-too-late-too-call-it-New-Year's bloggie present!
Also, as I love making choices, I'm giving you ladies (and gentlemen) TWO choices for the giveaway- if you win,
you can choose which necklace you prefer!
Ain't that grand? :D
16.5 inches long (from one end to the other, measured with the shorter "strand")
21 inches long (measured from end to end)
KEEP IN MIND: Pendant appears larger compared to the necklace (in this picture) than it does in real life!
INCLUDES: Turquoise shell pendant (approx. 2 inch diameter), small circle and drop shaped shells, small and larger faux pearls, translucent small beads, etc.
(sorry about the color difference- this picture was taken in different light!)
Giveaway Rules:
1st entry- Just comment once!
2nd entry- Follow (or already be a follower of) this blog!
3rd entry- Tweet/Blog about this giveaway!
- make sure each entry is separate
- tell me in the comment which necklace you prefer
- winner will be picked through Random.org
- winner will be picked on Friday, January 15 at 5:00 CA time
Good Luck!


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We will be home for the first time on Christmas Eve in (lets see how long have we been married…??)
23 years!!
Why? Because yesterday were with my Parents and one sister and her family..
And because MBWITW's family whom we usually get together with on Christmas Eve is not happening.
So we are home and will be firing up not one, but two fondue pots and cooking, bits of meat, shrimp, fungus, bread balls, and whatever else we may think of today..
Then tomorrow morning will be present opening etc…Was surprised at this as I thought the boyz would want to open tonight, but the eldest was offended and said we should wait until tomorrow and the youngest agreed!!
So thats the plan..Enjoy…


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Wayne's World
Diary of a Mad Housewife
The Decline of Western Civilization 2: The...
Unauthorized and Proud of It: Todd Loren's...
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey
Class of 1984
Rock School
Monster Dog
The Mayor of the Sunset Strip
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
The Attic Expeditions
All Alice Cooper photos
All Alice Cooper films
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The American Society of Interior Design's Interior Design Billings Index (IDBI) jumped 6.5 points to a score of 65.1 in May, a level not registered since May 2014. The current scores are above the IDBI three-month moving average trend of 62.2 and provide a good gauge of how well the industry is currently performing. The ASID business inquiries index, a leading indicator of potential work, registered another strong reading of 65.7 in May, up from 63.6 in April. These strong readings point to healthy growth for design firms and the related industries they serve.
From a regional perspective, design firms across the U.S. showed billing strength in May, with scores well above 50. Firms in the Midwest and Northeast increased to scores of 58.3 and 68.8, jumping 11 points and 18.75 points respectively. Firms in the West also showed increased activity, posting an increase of 6.2 points from a score of 61.3 in April. Firms in the South have shown steady strength over the last 12 months and registered a score of 69.2.
Based on the six-month outlook index, design firms are expecting business to increase. After scoring a low of 59 in April, the panelists registered a score of 68 in May. Firms have a very positive and healthy outlook for the foreseeable future.


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Community and calendar briefs for Nov. 24, 2012
Musical, workshops look at domestic violence
New Zion Missionary Baptist Church will present its 12th annual conference addressing domestic violence and dating violence. The church is located at 728 NW Sixth Ave., Ocala.
The event begins with a musical at 7 p.m. Nov. 29, featuring the Greater Hopewell Male Chorus, Felix McCullough and others.
The workshops, presented by J.R. Thicklin, begin at 7 p.m. Nov. 30, with "How come how long? Domestic violence: It is your business."
A workshop for adults and youths — "The intergeneration impact of domestic violence on our children" — will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Dec. 1.
Group reservations for the series are available at $100. Individual registration costs are $15 for adults and $5 for youth. Registration includes breakfast, printed materials, lunch and certificate.
For more information, call 351-4924.
Marion Theatre set to reopen on Nov. 30
The historic Marion Theatre in downtown Ocala will reopen on Nov. 30 under new management. The city of Ocala, which owns the building, has contracted with Cesar and Carmen Soto, who also operate the Cinema Six on Silver Springs Boulevard and the Belleview Cinema, to manage the historic venue.
To learn more, visit https://www.facebook.com/mariontheatre.
Donations sought for Salvation Army food drive
The Salvation Army will hold a drive from 7 to 11 a.m. Dec. 3 at the Ocala downtown square where people can drop off turkeys and other foods.
The donations will be used by the agency to provide Christmas food hampers and supplement community food cupboards.
For more information, call 266-2700.
Firefighters collecting food, toys for kids in need
Marion County Fire Rescue firefighters are asking the community to partner with their Holiday Helpers Drive by donating warm clothing, unwrapped toys and non-perishable goods for underprivileged children in families local schools have identified as in need.
Firefighters will be collecting the items through Dec. 14 at MCFR headquarters, 2631 SE Third St., Ocala, and Anthony Station 1, Meadowood Farms Station 12, Friendship Station 21, Citra Station 2, Orange Springs Station 13, Rainbow Springs Station 22, East Marion Station 4, Salt Springs Station 15, Marion Oaks Station 24, South Forest Station 6, Shady Station 16, Weirsdale Station 27, Fort McCoy Station 7, Silver Springs Shores Station 17, Rolling Greens Station 28, Orange Lake Station 9, Belleview Station 18, Spruce Creek Station 30, Villages of Marion Station 10, Sparr Station 19, Ray Lloyd Jr. Station 31, North Marion Station 11, Golden Ocala Station 20 and Liberty Station 32.
For more information, call 362-7415 or 362-4581.
HANDBELL CHOIR: The Oakcrest Baptist Handbell Choir performs from 6 to 8 p.m. Saturday on the Ocala downtown square. (629-7058)
VOICE PLAY: 42Five performs at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Orange Blossom Opry at 13939 SE State Road 42, Weirsdale. (821-1201 or www.obopry.com)
SINGLES DANCE: Ocala Singles Club dance, 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Saturday, Ocala Scottish Rite, 3632 NE Seventh St., Ocala. $9, refreshments provided. (622-3171)
MOVIE: "Pocahontas," 2 p.m. Saturday, Marion County Public Library, 2720 E. Silver Springs Blvd., Ocala. (671-8551)
FARM TOURS: Farm tours, 10 a.m. Saturday, Gypsy Gold Farm,12501 SW Eighth Ave Ocala $20. Reservations required. (817-1777)
THE TAYLORS: In concert, 7 p.m. Saturday, College Road Baptist Church, 5010 SW College Road, Ocala. Free (237-5741)
BOOK SALE: Friends book sale, 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Dunnellon Public Library, 20351 Robinson Road, Dunnellon. (438-2520)
FALL FLING: Country music with a bit of rock-n-roll, 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday, Ocala Moose Lodge, 1035 S. U.S. 441, Belleview. Music, dancing, food and more. $12. (245-3581)
WRESTLING: Season's Beatings 1: Dave Schlenker vs. Dory Funk to benefit Marion County Literacy Council, 6:30 p.m. Saturday, Dory Funk Arena, 3598 SW 74th Ave., Ocala. $20. (email@example.com)
CONCERT: DW & Jessie Crutchfield with the SonShine Quartet, 6 p.m. Saturday, Countryside Baptist Church, 11525 W. State Road 40, Ocala. (854-3331)
YARD SALE: Yard sale and spaghetti lunch, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Anthony Community Park, 2150 NE 95 St., Anthony. (629-2777)
CLOCK EXTRAVAGANZA: National Association of Watch and Clock Collectors fall extravaganza, 8 to 11:30 a.m. Sunday, VFW Post 4781, 9401 SW 11th St., Ocala. (527-0669)
GOSPEL CONCERT: Jimmy Strickland, 5 p.m. Sunday, Christ's Church of Marion County, 6768 SW 80th St., Ocala. Free. (861-6182 or www.ccomc.org/)
SINGLES DANCE: Singles Dance Club dressy Thanksgiving dance, 7 to 10 p.m. Sunday, Silver Springs Shores Elks Lodge 2730, 7655 E. State Road 25, Belleview. Social hour 6 p.m. $10. (653-9125)
BREAKFAST: All you can eat breakfast, 9 a.m. to noon Sunday, US Veterans Post 100, 16535 N. Highway 301, Citra. $5. (595-5867)
FOOD ADDICT: Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous, 7 to 8:30 p.m. Sunday, Queen of Peace Church, 6455 SW State Road 200, Ocala. (270-8534 or www.foodaddicts.org)
BAR BINGO: Bingo, 4 to 6 p.m. Sunday, West Marion Moose Lodge, 10411 SW 110th St, Ocala. (854-2200)
PET VACCINES: Florida International Teaching Zoo low-cost pet vaccinations, noon to 1:30 p.m. Sunday, Tractor Supply, 11242 N. Williams St., Dunnellon. $6 rabies, $14 distemper/parvo. 867-7788 or www.facebook.com/#!/PetVaccinations)
To submit information for this list, send an e-mail to email@example.com or visit www.ocala.com, scroll down and click on EVENTS CALENDAR on the right.


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Selig can see Montreal bid to return to majors
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig can envision Montreal making a bid to return to the major leagues.
The Expos joined the National League for the 1969 season and remained in the big leagues through 2004 before moving to Washington and becoming the Nationals.
While the Expos failed to draw 1 million spectators to Olympic Stadium in any of their final seven seasons, a total of 96,350 fans attended a pair of exhibition games there in March between the New York Mets and Toronto Blue Jays.
"I think they would be an excellent candidate in the future. No question about it. That was very impressive," Selig said Tuesday during a question-and-answer session with the Baseball Writers' Association of America.
"They have much work to be done," he said. "There's certainly in my case no hard or angry feeling toward Montreal. We tried to keep a team there. It's a long story now. But I thought that was marvelous."


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Yakuza Restoration revealed for PS4, PS3 & Vita first trailer inside
Yakuza Restoration – or Ishin as it's known in Japan – has just been revealed by Sega at a Sony conference in Japan. Get your first glimpse of it here.
The game is set in Japan's Edo period and launches in Japan on February 22 for PS4, PS3 and PS Vita.
February 22 is also the PS4's Japanese launch date. Get the launch details here.
Via Joystiq & GamesHQMedia.


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Greene to test Cazenovia's field hockey team
When Cazenovia's field hockey team won the past two state titles, it did so with a dominant player and a tremendous supporting cast. Tori Widrick's scoring led the way when coach Lorraine Scheftic's team won the Class C crown in 2010 and Jillian Vogl did the honors in 2011.
If the Lakers are to have any chance of winning a third straight crown, they'll do so with a different approach.
The Lakers have pushed their record win streaks to 84 in league play and 40 overall in going 19-0 heading into Saturday's state quarterfinal showdown with perennial Section IV juggernaut Greene. They've done so with four players reaching double digits in scoring. Rachel McLaughlin lead the way with 14 followed by Jessy Silfer and Emily Willard with 12 apiece and Sarah Willard with 11.
"You can't focus on one person on our team," Scheftic said. "Quite a few can score and play defense. We have more balance."
And there's balance behind the big score scorers. Ashley Kent has eight goals along with Rachel Nourse, Nicole Chiarello has six and defender Maggie Carpenter has five.
Silfer ranks third in Section III for assists with 12 and Sarah Willard and Nourse are tied for 11th with seven.
Goalie Lauren Devine has allowed just six goals for one of the best save percentages in the section.
Those are impressive numbers from a program with an impressive run of seven straight Section III titles to go with the two state crowns.
But the noon showdown on Saturday at Cicero-North Syracuse is against a program with an even longer tradition of winning and that notched overwhelming wins it its last two playoff games. Coach Sue Carlin's 16-0 team whipped Whitney Point 5-1 in the Section IV semifinals then blanked former state champion Marathon 4-0 in the Section IV title game. The Trojans have played up in sectionals in most years, often in Class A, but this fall they're in C like all their other sports and someone's hot streak is bound to come to an end.
Greene's hot streak is, perhaps, more impressive than Cazenovia's. The Trojans have six state titles, the last coming in 2009 in Class A. And Greene has reached the Class A state semifinals every year since 2008 and last took a loss in state tourney quarterfinal play in 2007.
"We like to pass the ball and find the open players" Carlin said as she prepared her team for what may be its toughest game of 2012. "I expect it to be a great game. They're very balanced and they're good passers."
Sophomore goalie Julia Amell has allowed just three goals this fall, so the Lakers will need to be at their best on offense to have a chance. Defensively, Scheftic's team must focus on leading scorers Jhana Driscoll (19 goals, 15 assists), Emily Conroe (9-10) and Emma Anderson (8-9). Like the Lakers, there are a handful of other players who have scored for the Trojans and could factor into the outcome.
"I know they're a very good team," Scheftic said of the Trojans. "You have to play your best at this point. Whoever doesn't have a good game is going to get beat. They're definitely in the tournament every year. Whoever has ball control will win.
"(Greene) is experienced, but so are we."
If Cazenovia advances, there's a good chance it will play a familiar foe. Last year the Lakers edged Section II champion Greenwich in the quarterfinals. The Witches defended their titles last week and face Section IX champion Pine Plains in the other state quarterfinal game in the upper bracket.
The lower bracket finds Section V champion East Rochester facing Section VI champ Barker. The champs from Long Island sections VIII and XI have not been crowned but when they do they'll face each other in the last quarterfinal game.


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Presented with the panoply of restaurants that dot the London landscape, it's difficult for the ardent visiting foodie to know where to turn. Not only are some of the hottest flames in the kitchen in residence - from Gordon Ramsay to Heston Blumenthal - there are hundreds of take-away food factories, innumerable tiny breakfast cafés and a number of niche nummies tucked away in galleries and museums.
Visitors to London for the 2012 Olympics will find the food choices overwhelming - and expensive. That's why, during a recent visit, I put my favourite foodie filing system into place in this gut-wrenchingly gorgeous city. I call it high-low, a way to organize my thoughts, desires and wallet in a way that provides a taste of a great food community, without breaking the bank. Feel free to adopt this system as your own, and to create your own benchmarks for high and low.
Here's how it works. Every high-end spot I eat in must be balanced with a low-impact choice, both in pecuniary and culinary terms. Ergo, for every morsel of sticky-toffee pudding, there must be a dollop of yogurt. Each comfy seat in a restaurant birthed by a television chef must be matched by a lengthy lineup at Pret a Manger. It's a good exercise, because it makes you think about priorities and balance. It also puts food in its place, sometimes a romantic and breathtaking experience, sometimes a sausage buttie. (Do remember, though, that the quick bites can be more meaningful than the extravagant efforts. One of my favourite dinners on this trip was an Indian chicken biryani purchased from a pasty kiosk in Victoria station, and eaten while standing in a lineup for Billy Elliot.)
Know from the start that I am not a patron of three-star Michelin restaurants, such as The Fat Duck, where the tasting menu goes for 180 pounds a person. High end for me tops out at about one third of that. But I still felt pretty glam eating at Jamie Oliver's Fifteen, which celebrates 10 years in business in 2012. I am a huge fan of Oliver, and not just because he's adorable, but because there is more to his talent than meets the eye. Affable and ingenious, Oliver also gives back to the community. He started Fifteen as a training ground for disadvantaged youth.
"All profits allow Fifteen to use the magic of food to give unemployed young people a chance to have a better future," reads the menu at the restaurant, named for the first 15 young cooks enrolled in the chef apprentice program. Located in London's east end, conveniently close to Olympic venues, Fifteen is sure to be popular, so book right this minute at fifteen.net.
Fifteen is rustic Italian, with wide plank wood floors and leather banquettes. Comfort food is the focus; try the pillowy potato gnocchi and hope the menu still includes Organized Mess, a lightly browned meringue concoction with fruit, served in charming disarray on a wooden board. As far as celebrity outings are concerned, Fifteen is comparatively reasonable, with a total food bill of about 80 pounds for two, including the tip, added automatically to your bill.
The Fifteen counterpoint was the Borough Market, where you get lots of rustic fare (pig's heads, everywhere), but at a very manageable price. Open Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays, Borough market, near London Bridge in Southwark, is the city's oldest fruit and vegetable market. It has existed in some form since 1755, with roots tracing back to the 11th century. About 100 vendors ply everything from fresh licorice to award-winning Melton Mowbray meat pies to meringues as big as boulders, plus plenty of fresh produce, fish, and flowers.
Tourists and local working stiffs alike crouch on the curb to eat Spanish chorizo with Piquillo chili peppers and arugula on a buttie (a flat bun) for under four pounds. Or try a duck-confit sandwich and mulled wine combo for eight pounds at Le Marche du Quartier. Make time for a stop at Monmouth Coffee Shop, built on two levels with lots of bright windows for fresh air and good crowd-watching.
The market, with its emphasis on nose-to-tail nosh, inspired a visit to the next high-end choice, St. John, one of two London eateries owned by Michelin-starred chef Fergus Henderson. One of the early proponents of farm-to-fork eating in the U.K., Henderson opened his first restaurant in Smithfield, on St. John Street, in 1994. We visited his second location in Spitalfields, called St. John Bread and Wine, which has both a gastro-pub, and a full-service restaurant on the same site.
Though not as pricey as his signature stop, Bread and Wine still features offal, bone marrow and Crispy Pigs Skin and Dandelion. Well-acquainted with offcuts, I opted instead for Roast Middlewhite with Chard and Mustard, a thick slice of roasted pork, well-marbled and cooked tender-pink. But the highlight of the meal was dessert, a tiny, smooth pot of chocolate, delightfully distant from the farm, which rang in at about 75 pounds for two. Consider the pub at St. John Bread and Wine; it has virtually the same menu at a slightly lower price. Noisier, but more fun.
Another low-end option in London is the eatery you'll find in virtually every museum and art gallery. Many cultural institutions in London are free, leaving visitors more pocket money for the café or gift shop. The not-to-be-missed Tate Modern was abuzz with polka dots and Damien Hirst during my visit. But I was ga-ga over the egg and mayonnaise cress sandwich served on a whole wheat bloomer (just over three pounds) in Café 2, one of several eateries in the behemoth gallery on the Thames, right beside Shakespeare's Globe Theatre. The meal was delightful, but just as good was the view (lacy budding birches in green contrast to the imposing grey river). Do indulge in the lemon curd cream for dessert (five pounds), served with strawberry compote and shortbread.
An affordable, and truly delicious gallery option can be found at the Saatchi, one of the most renowned cultural stops in London. There are lots of expensive cream teas available in London, such as at the storied Fortnum and Mason in Piccadilly, where the Queen recently took tea with the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge. (Clerks in the men's furnishings wear morning coat with tails, so you get the picture.) But the Saatchi has a lovely patio, with a view of a nearby schoolyard where children kick soccer balls and shriek joyfully. Tea with three airy scones, jam and clotted cream is about eight pounds.


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Staff Picks
Don't forget to check out our staff picks for kids!
February 23, 2015
Yes Please
by Poehler, Amy
792.7028 Poehler POE
Amy Poehler is a master sketch comedian (comedienne). Her book is like her skits – it's funny, topical, and bounces around with great energy. She tells of her family, her many comedy experiences before her well known ones in Saturday Night Live, Parks and Recreation, and her friendship of many years with fellow improv alum, writer, actress, and co-Golden Globes host Tina Fey.
Poehler's reaction to a childhood comment that she was funny-looking meant she didn't focus on her looks – she focused on her talent. There's a great lesson in that for people of any gender. (Of course, Poehler is actually very attractive, but focus on hard work and willingness to be a character chameleon serve her well.) No wonder Poehler is involved with the organization Smart Girls at the Party (which, according to http://amysmartgirls.com/about-us/, "is dedicated to helping young people cultivate their authentic selves.")
Readers of screwball authors David Sedaris, Jenny Lawson, and others who enjoy tales of funny family life are likely to enjoy some of Poehler's over-the-top recountings. But remember, her Boston-area upbringing wasn't for sissies. Some of the language is strong, and so is some of the drinking and use of other substances. Poehler's book isn't always flattering, but it has the ring of candor. It's heartening to hear that some of the things that irritate her; sadly, some of what irritated this reader was her repetition that it's hard to write a book, and that she's sleep deprived. One or two mentions of each would have been just fine.
Readers who like a linear, chronological narrative will probably find Yes Please choppy. I hadn't known much about Upright Citizens Brigade, and would have enjoyed reading more about its New York era.
Poehler devotes some space in her book to love, marriage, and divorce, but there is more musing than meanness in the tidbits. Tales of her sons will make other parents smile in recognition. Parts that don't appeal to some readers can be skimmed. Like a buffet – or an evening of improv - there's a lot of choice stuff to nibble on.
Yes Please is also available as a downloadable e-book, a downloadable audiobook, and an audiobook on CD.
--Recommended by Diane Palguta, College Avenue Library
February 16, 2015
American Grown: The Story of the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America
by Obama, Michelle
My love of gardening and my admiration for Michelle Obama drew me to this book. It seems that many nonfiction books are more than instructional these days, and that is a wonderful thing. The beauty of this particular title is that it incorporates history, information, ideas, suggestions and recipes all involving gardening.
During the Obamas' first spring in the White House the first lady began thinking about creating a garden on the White House lawn. This book is her sharing with everyone the process she went through to create a kitchen garden where food can be harvested to use for White House kitchen and for donating to a local shelter. Michelle has been an advocate for healthy eating and exercise, especially for children. In creating this White House garden she invited local school children to help in planting, maintaining and harvesting the produce. This was and continues to be a way for the students to learn where food really comes from and how good it is to eat foods straight from a garden. I know I long all winter for the juicy, delicious tomatoes from my garden that I pick in the summer, and to not have to eat the round red things that are labeled "tomatoes" at the grocery store. Mrs. Obama details how the White House garden had been planted and is harvested along with the trials and tribulations by compiling the information from a three year period with the book divided into the four seasons. The reader is also introduced to the experts who collaborated with the First Lady to make this garden a reality and the maps used in planning the garden.
This book is a fantastic compilation of gardening hints, tips, ideas, recipes and a brief history of the White House gardens. It is full of colorful pictures and illustrations that make it a visual pleasure. I enjoyed reading about the history of white house gardens and got many ideas for my own raised bed garden at my home. The pictures of the recipe creations look delicious and may cause me to eat healthier. And that would be quite a feat.
American Grown is also available as a downloadable audiobook and an audiobook on CD.
--Recommended by Kris Gould, Nora Library
February 9, 2015
The Endless Practice: Becoming Who You Were Born to Be
by Nepo, Mark
At first glance, The Endless Practice may not seem different from any other self-actualization books. That soon changes once it falls open and reading begins. You will not want to put it down! Will you be visibly changed? Not likely. Inwardly changed, however, most definitely! Mark Nepo's prose is sheer poetry and through it he is able to communicate a deep, empathetic understanding of readers' personal life experiences. It's as if Mark Nepo is walking hand in hand with them on their life's journey. As one continues on its' as if the author is taking the reader's hand and holding it to convey compassion or consolation (as if to say, "It's really OK"). He leads one down a path filled with new and rich insights. If you're in need of some encouragement on your life journey then check out this title. Experience firsthand how inspiring and reassuring it can be. As one person described it, it's a "field guide to being human."
--Recommended by Mary Agnes Hylton, Eagle Library
February 2, 2015
The Short and Tragic life Of Robert Peace
by Hobbs, Jeff
B Peace, Robert HOB
The story is in fact a tragic and emotional story of African American male Robert Peace. The story of a young man who survived the streets of Newark, New Jersey, to earn a full scholarship to Yale, only to be murdered in suspected drug deal.
Robert grows up in the projects of Newark, NJ and East Orange. He is raised by his mother Jackie while his father, 'Skeet" sits in jail for murder. Jackie realizes that Robert has potential in academics and she finds a way by working long hours to make sure Robert gets a valued education from one of the local catholic schools.
The story is told by Jeff Hobbs, Robert's roommate at Yale. The story examines race, class, community and privilege, and the two separate worlds of Robert Peace.
— Recommended by Gregory Hill, African-American History Committee
January 26, 2015
Providence Rag
by DeSilva, Bruce
Diggs has killed two women and three children. The catch is that he did it as a teenager and will be getting out of the Supermax prison unless officials can figure out a way to keep him in longer. No one doubts that he will kill again, and sooner rather than later. But keeping him in prison legally? Not a leg to stand on. And when The Providence Dispatch's rookie reporter (also the owner's son) decides to investigate how the prison has kept Diggs as long as it has, things begin to turn ugly. The clock is ticking; Diggs will be released soon. When the Dispatch, already in financial distress, decides to run the story on how prison officers falsely charged Diggs with crimes in prison to prevent his release, they lose thousands more subscribers and attract radical protestors. Which is more important for a newspaper: publishing the truth, or protecting the society it serves? It's a dilemma for sure, but DeSilva unflinchingly examines both sides of the debate, all the while weaving together a terrific modern day thriller.
— Recommended by Cheryl Holtsclaw, West Indianapolis Library