text:
The proposed legislation is a package of four bills being dubbed the Community Safety Act. The laws aim to "end discriminatory police practices and create an 'Inspector General' for the New York Police Department," according to a press release from the New York Faith Leaders and Allies, which organized the event.
"When walking while black or when praying while Muslim can be interpreted as an activity worthy of suspicion," said Councilman Brad Lander of Brooklyn. "We are not honoring the human rights of New Yorkers."
The demonstration was held on International Human Rights Day.
The NYPD's controversial "stop-and-frisk" program and the September killing of Mohamed Bah, an emotionally disturbed Guinean man whom police shot in his Harlem apartment after he allegedly wielded a knife on two officers, were major catalysts behind Monday's demonstrations.
Bah's sister, Oumou Bah, was also on hand to publicly denounce her brother's killing and express support for the Community Safety Act.
Juumane Williams, another Brooklyn council member and the chief architect of the legislation, said the laws are necessary because too many police officers operate "unchecked" and without "independent oversight."
Williams, who frequently wears a "No stop-and-frisk" button on his lapel and is an outspoken critict of the policy, added that the Community Safety Act was not an "anti-NYPD" bill, but rather one that would strengthen the department by improving officers' conduct.
The Community Safety Act is made up of the following legislation:
1. Intro. 799 would ban police from coercing suspects or subjects into submitting to "wrongful searches."
2. Intro. 800 would strictly ban any type of profiling, make police officers more accountable for doing so, and broaden the groups protected against profiling.
3. Intro. 801 would require officers to identify themselves to suspects or subjects.
4. Intro 881 calls for the creation of an independent Inspector General to look into cases of alleged police misconduct.
Stefan Ringel, Williams' media relations director, said the proposed legislation enjoys bi-partisan support and will likely be addressed in committee or by the full council by year's end or early next year.


text:
Freedom to go, freedom to stay/Freedom to give, to take it away/Freedom to speak, freedom to observe/Freedom to cross and to return.
Rated: NC-17
Categories: X1
Characters: Cyclops, Rogue
Genres: Adult
Warnings: None
Series: None
Chapters: 1
Wordcount: 3542 - Hits: 1040
Complete?: Yes - Published: 01/14/2004 - Last Updated: 01/14/2004

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Mentor Graphics' Tom Fitzpatrick gave a lunchtime talk at DVCon several weeks ago summarizing recent efforts to build a standard [set of standards?] around portable stimulus for verification. The room was packed with over 200 people and his talk was sufficiently complete, nobody asked any questions.
After his presentation, however, I did hear some comments. Namely that these types of standards are quite complex and difficult to develop. Hence, setting an actual delivery date of January 2017 for Portable Stimulus Standard Version 1 [PSS V1] is quite aggressive and optimistic.
I was not fully informed about Accellera's Portable Stimulus Working Group [PSWG] prior to Fitzpatrick's talk, so could not judge whether January 2017 is or is not overly optimistic as a delivery date for the standard. Since DVCon, I have studied the slides and attempted to better understand what this is all about: What is a Portable stimulus and what would a set of standards look like?


text:
Dune (40th Anniversary Edition)
Paperback(40th Anniversary Edition)
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Order now and choose Expedited Shipping during checkout.
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Frank Herbert's classic masterpiece—a triumph of the imagination and one of the bestselling science fiction novels of all time.
Set on the desert planet Arrakis, Dune is the story of the boy Paul Atreides—who would become known as Muad'Dib—and of a great family's ambition to bring to fruition humankind's most ancient and unattainable dream.
A stunning blend of adventure and mysticism, environmentalism and politics, Dune won the first Nebula Award, shared the Hugo Award, and formed the basis of what is undoubtedly the grandest epic in science fiction.
Product Details
|Penguin Publishing Group
|Publication date:
|Dune Chronicles Series
|Edition description:
|40th Anniversary Edition
|Sales rank:
|Product dimensions:
|5.84(w) x 8.92(h) x 1.12(d)
|Age Range:
|18 Years
About the Author
In 1952, Herbert began publishing science fiction with "Looking for Something?" in Startling Stories. But his emergence as a writer of major stature did not occur until 1965, with the publication of Dune. Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune followed, completing the saga that the Chicago Tribune would call "one of the monuments of modern science fiction." Herbert is also the author of some twenty other books, including The White Plague, The Dosadi Experiment, and Destination: Void. He died in 1986.
Read an Excerpt
Chapter One
A beginning is the time for taking the most delicate care that the balances are correct. This every sister of the Bene Gesserit knows. To begin your study of the life of Muad'Dib, then, take care that you first place him in his time: born in the 57th year of the Padishah Emperor, Shaddam IV. And take the most special care that you locate Muad'Dib in his place: the planet Arrakis. Do not be deceived by the fact that he was born on Caladan and lived his first fifteen years there. Arrakis, the planet known as Dune, is forever his place.
from "Manual of Muad'Dib"
by the Princess Irulan
In the week before their departure to Arrakis, when all the final scurrying about had reached a nearly unbearable frenzy, an old crone came to visit the mother of the boy, Paul.
It was a warm night at Castle Caladan, and the ancient pile of stone that had served the Atreides family as home for twenty-six generations bore that cooled-sweat feeling it acquired before a change in the weather.
The old woman was let in by the side door down the vaulted passage by Paul's room and she was allowed a moment to peer in at him where he lay in his bed.
By the half-light of a suspensor lamp, dimmed and hanging near the floor, the awakened boy could see a bulky female shape at his door, standing one step ahead of his mother. The old woman was a witch shadowhair like matted spiderwebs, hooded 'round darkness of features, eyes like glittering jewels.
"Is he not small forhis age, Jessica?" the old woman asked. Her voice wheezed and twanged like an untuned baliset.
Paul's mother answered in her soft contralto: "The Atreides are known to start late getting their growth, Your Reverence."
"So I've heard, so I've heard," wheezed the old woman. "Yet he's already fifteen."
"Yes, Your Reverence."
"He's awake and listening to us," said the old woman. "Sly little rascal." She chuckled. "But royalty has need of slyness. And if he's really the Kwisatz Haderach ... well...."
Within the shadows of his bed, Paul held his eyes open to mere slits. Two bird-bright ovalsthe eyes of the old womanseemed to expand and glow as they stared into his.
"Sleep well, you sly little rascal," said the old woman. "Tomorrow you'll need all your faculties to meet my gom jabbar."
And she was gone, pushing his mother out, closing the door with a solid thump.
Paul lay awake wondering: What's a gom jabbar?
In all the upset during this time of change, the old woman was the strangest thing he had seen.
Your Reverence.
And the way she called his mother Jessica like a common serving wench instead of what she wasa Bene Gesserit Lady, a duke's concubine and mother of the ducal heir.
Is a gom jabbar something of Arrakis I must know before we go there? he wondered.
He mouthed her strange words: Gom jabbar ... Kwisatz Haderach.
There had been so many things to learn. Arrakis would be a place so different from Caladan that Paul's mind whirled with the new knowledge. ArrakisDuneDesert Planet.
Thufir Hawat, his father's Master of Assassins, had explained it: their mortal enemies, the Harkonnens, had been on Arrakis eighty years, holding the planet in quasi-fief under a CHOAM Company contract to mine the geriatric spice, melange. Now the Harkonnens were leaving to be replaced by the House of Atreides in fief-completean apparent victory for the Duke Leto. Yet, Hawat had said, this appearance contained the deadliest peril, for the Duke Leto was popular among the Great Houses of the Landsraad.
"A popular man arouses the jealousy of the powerful," Hawat had said.
ArrakisDuneDesert Planet.
Paul fell asleep to dream of an Arrakeen cavern, silent people all around him moving in the dim light of glowglobes. It was solemn there and like a cathedral as he listened to a faint soundthe drip-drip-drip of water. Even while he remained in the dream, Paul knew he would remember it upon awakening. He always remembered the dreams that were predictions.
The dream faded.
Paul awoke to feel himself in the warmth of his bedthinking ... thinking. This world of Castle Caladan, without play or companions his own age, perhaps did not deserve sadness in farewell. Dr. Yueh, his teacher, had hinted that the faufreluches class system was not rigidly guarded on Arrakis. The planet sheltered people who lived at the desert edge without caid or bashar to command them: will-o'-the-sand people called Fremen, marked down on no census of the Imperial Regate.
ArrakisDuneDesert Planet.
Paul sensed his own tensions, decided to practice one of the mind-body lessons his mother had taught him. Three quick breaths triggered the responses: he fell into the floating awareness ... focusing the consciousness ... aortal dilation ... avoiding the unfocused mechanism of consciousness ... to be conscious by choice ... blood enriched and swift-flooding the overload regions ... one does not obtain food-safety-freedom by instinct alone ... animal consciousness does not extend beyond the given moment nor into the idea that its victims may become extinct ... the animal destroys and does not produce ... animal pleasures remain close to sensation levels and avoid the perceptual ... the human requires a background grid through which to see his universe ... focused consciousness by choice, this forms your grid ... bodily integrity follows nerve-blood flow according to the deepest awareness of cell needs ... all things/cells/beings are impermanent ... strive for flow-permanence within....
Over and over and over within Paul's floating awareness the lesson rolled.
When dawn touched Paul's window sill with yellow light, he sensed it through closed eyelids, opened them, hearing then the renewed bustle and hurry in the castle, seeing the familiar patterned beams of his bedroom ceiling.
The hall door opened and his mother peered in, hair like shaded bronze held with black ribbon at the crown, her oval face emotionless and green eyes staring solemnly.
"You're awake," she said. "Did you sleep well?"
He studied the tallness of her, saw the hint of tension in her shoulders as she chose clothing for him from the closet racks. Another might have missed the tension, but she had trained him in the Bene Gesserit Wayin the minutiae of observation. She turned, holding a semiformal jacket for him. It carried the red Atreides hawk crest above the breast pocket.
"Hurry and dress," she said. "Reverend Mother is waiting."
"I dreamed of her once," Paul said. "Who is she?"
"She was my teacher at the Bene Gesserit school. Now, she's the Emperor's Truthsayer. And Paul...." She hesitated. "You must tell her about your dreams."
"I will. Is she the reason we got Arrakis?"
"We did not get Arrakis." Jessica flicked dust from a pair of trousers, hung them with the jacket on the dressing stand beside his bed. "Don't keep Reverend Mother waiting."
Paul sat up, hugged his knees. "What's a gom jabbar?"
Again, the training she had given him exposed her almost invisible hesitation, a nervous betrayal he felt as fear.
Jessica crossed to the window, flung wide the draperies, stared across the river orchards toward Mount Syubi. "You'll learn about ... the gom jabbar soon enough," she said.
He heard the fear in her voice and wondered at it.
Jessica spoke without turning. "Reverend Mother is waiting in my morning room. Please hurry."
The Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam sat in a tapestried chair watching mother and son approach. Windows on each side of her overlooked the curving southern bend of the river and the green farmlands of the Atreides family holding, but the Reverend Mother ignored the view. She was feeling her age this morning, more than a little petulant. She blamed it on space travel and association with that abominable Spacing Guild and its secretive ways. But here was a mission that required personal attention from a Bene Gesserit-with-the-Sight. Even the Padishah Emperor's Truthsayer couldn't evade that responsibility when the duty call came.
Damn that Jessica! the Reverend Mother thought. If only she'd borne us a girl as she was ordered to do!
Jessica stopped three paces from the chair, dropped a small curtsy, a gentle flick of left hand along the line of her skirt. Paul gave the short bow his dancing master had taughtthe one used "when in doubt of another's station."
The nuances of Paul's greeting were not lost on the Reverend Mother. She said: "He's a cautious one, Jessica."
Jessica's hand went to Paul's shoulder, tightened there. For a heartbeat, fear pulsed through her palm. Then she had herself under control. "Thus he has been taught, Your Reverence."
What does she fear? Paul wondered.
The old woman studied Paul in one gestalten flicker: face oval like Jessica's, but strong bones ... hair: the Duke's black-black but with browline of the maternal grandfather who cannot be named, and that thin, disdainful nose; shape of directly staring green eyes: like the old Duke, the paternal grandfather who is dead.
Now, there was a man who appreciated the power of bravuraeven in death, the Reverend Mother thought.
"Teaching is one thing," she said, "the basic ingredient is another. We shall see." The old eyes darted a hard glance at Jessica. "Leave us. I enjoin you to practice the meditation of peace."
Jessica took her hand from Paul's shoulder. "Your Reverence, I"
"Jessica, you know it must be done."
Paul looked up at his mother, puzzled.
Jessica straightened. "Yes ... of course."
Paul looked back at the Reverend Mother. Politeness and his mother's obvious awe of this old woman argued caution. Yet he felt an angry apprehension at the fear he sensed radiating from his mother.
"Paul...." Jessica took a deep breath. "... this test you're about to receive ... it's important to me."
"Test?" He looked up at her.
"Remember that you're a duke's son," Jessica said. She whirled and strode from the room in a dry swishing of skirt. The door closed solidly behind her.
Paul faced the old woman, holding anger in check. "Does one dismiss the Lady Jessica as though she were a serving wench?"
A smile flicked the corners of the wrinkled old mouth. "The Lady Jessica was my serving wench, lad, for fourteen years at school." She nodded. "And a good one, too. Now, you come here!"
The command whipped out at him. Paul found himself obeying before he could think about it. Using the Voice on me, he thought. He stopped at her gesture, standing beside her knees.
"See this?" she asked. From the folds of her gown, she lifted a green metal cube about fifteen centimeters on a side. She turned it and Paul saw that one side was openblack and oddly frightening. No light penetrated that open blackness.
"Put your right hand in the box," she said.
Fear shot through Paul. He started to back away, but the old woman said: "Is this how you obey your mother?"
He looked up into bird-bright eyes.
Slowly, feeling the compulsions and unable to inhibit them, Paul put his hand into the box. He felt first a sense of cold as the blackness closed around his hand, then slick metal against his fingers and a prickling as though his hand were asleep.
A predatory look filled the old woman's features. She lifted her right hand away from the box and poised the hand close to the side of Paul's neck. He saw a glint of metal there and started to turn toward it.
"Stop!" she snapped.
Using the Voice again! He swung his attention back to her face.
"I hold at your neck the gom jabbar," she said. "The gom jabbar, the high-handed enemy. It's a needle with a drop of poison on its tip. Ah-ah! Don't pull away or you'll feel that poison."
Paul tried to swallow in a dry throat. He could not take his attention from the seamed old face, the glistening eyes, the pale gums around silvery metal teeth that flashed as she spoke.
"A duke's son must know about poisons," she said. "It's the way of our times, eh? Musky, to be poisoned in your drink. Aumas, to be poisoned in your food. The quick ones and the slow ones and the ones in between. Here's a new one for you: the gom jabbar. It kills only animals."
Pride overcame Paul's fear. "You dare suggest a duke's son is an animal?" he demanded.
"Let us say I suggest you may be human," she said. "Steady! I warn you not to try jerking away. I am old, but my hand can drive this needle into your neck before you escape me."
"Who are you?" he whispered. "How did you trick my mother into leaving me alone with you? Are you from the Harkonnens?"
"The Harkonnens? Bless us, no! Now, be silent." A dry finger touched his neck and he stilled the involuntary urge to leap away.
"Good," she said. "You pass the first test. Now, here's the way of the rest of it: If you withdraw your hand from the box you die. This is the only rule. Keep your hand in the box and live. Withdraw it and die."
Paul took a deep breath to still his trembling. "If I call out there'll be servants on you in seconds and you'll die."
"Servants will not pass your mother who stands guard outside that door. Depend on it. Your mother survived this test. Now it's your turn. Be honored. We seldom administer this to men-children."
Curiosity reduced Paul's fear to a manageable level. He heard truth in the old woman's voice, no denying it. If his mother stood guard out there ... if this were truly a test.... And whatever it was, he knew himself caught in it, trapped by that hand at his neck: the gom jabbar. He recalled the response from the Litany against Fear as his mother had taught him out of the Bene Gesserit rite.
"I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain."
He felt calmness return, said: "Get on with it, old woman."
"Old woman!" she snapped. "You've courage, and that can't be denied. Well, we shall see, sirra." She bent close, lowered her voice almost to a whisper. "You will feel pain in this hand within the box. Pain. But! Withdraw the hand and I'll touch your neck with my gom jabbarthe death so swift it's like the fall of the headsman's axe. Withdraw your hand and the gom jabbar takes you. Understand?"
"What's in the box?"
He felt increased tingling in his hand, pressed his lips tightly together. How could this be a test? he wondered. The tingling became an itch.
The old woman said: "You've heard of animals chewing off a leg to escape a trap? There's an animal kind of trick. A human would remain in the trap, endure the pain, feigning death that he might kill the trapper and remove a threat to his kind."
The itch became the faintest burning. "Why are you doing this?" he demanded.
"To determine if you're human. Be silent."
Paul clenched his left hand into a fist as the burning sensation increased in the other hand. It mounted slowly: heat upon heat upon heat ... upon heat. He felt the fingernails of his free hand biting the palm. He tried to flex the fingers of the burning hand, but couldn't move them.
"It burns," he whispered.
Pain throbbed up his arm. Sweat stood out on his forehead. Every fiber cried out to withdraw the hand from that burning pit ... but ... the gom jabbar. Without turning his head, he tried to move his eyes to see that terrible needle poised beside his neck. He sensed that he was breathing in gasps, tried to slow his breaths and couldn't.
His world emptied of everything except that hand immersed in agony, the ancient face inches away staring at him.
His lips were so dry he had difficulty separating them.
The burning! The burning!
He thought he could feel skin curling black on that agonized hand, the flesh crisping and dropping away until only charred bones remained.
It stopped!
As though a switch had been turned off, the pain stopped.
Paul felt his right arm trembling, felt sweat bathing his body.
"Enough," the old woman muttered. "Kull wahad! No woman-child ever withstood that much. I must've wanted you to fail." She leaned back, withdrawing the gom jabbar from the side of his neck. "Take your hand from the box, young human, and look at it."
He fought down an aching shiver, stared at the lightless void where his hand seemed to remain of its own volition. Memory of pain inhibited every movement. Reason told him he would withdraw a blackened stump from that box.
"Do it!" she snapped.
He jerked his hand from the box, stared at it astonished. Not a mark. No sign of agony on the flesh. He held up the hand, turned it, flexed the fingers.
"Pain by nerve induction," she said. "Can't go around maiming potential humans. There're those who'd give a pretty for the secret of this box, though." She slipped it into the folds of her gown.
"But the pain" he said.
"Pain," she sniffed. "A human can override any nerve in the body."
Paul felt his left hand aching, uncurled the clenched fingers, looked at four bloody marks where fingernails had bitten his palm. He dropped the hand to his side, looked at the old woman. "You did that to my mother once?"
"Ever sift sand through a screen?" she asked.
The tangential slash of her question shocked his mind into a higher awareness: Sand through a screen. He nodded.
"We Bene Gesserit sift people to find the humans."
He lifted his right hand, willing the memory of the pain. "And that's all there is to itpain?"
"I observed you in pain, lad. Pain's merely the axis of the test. Your mother's told you about our ways of observing. I see the signs of her teaching in you. Our test is crisis and observation."
He heard the confirmation in her voice, said: "It's truth!"
She stared at him. He senses truth! Could he be the one? Could he truly be the one? She extinguished the excitement, reminding herself: "Hope clouds observation."
"You know when people believe what they say," she said.
"I know it."
The harmonics of ability confirmed by repeated test were in his voice. She heard them, said: "Perhaps you are the Kwisatz Haderach. Sit down, little brother, here at my feet."
"I prefer to stand."
"Your mother sat at my feet once."
"I'm not my mother."
"You hate us a little, eh?" She looked toward the door, called out: "Jessica!"
The door flew open and Jessica stood there staring hard-eyed into the room. Hardness melted from her as she saw Paul. She managed a faint smile.
"Jessica, have you ever stopped hating me?" the old woman asked.
"I both love and hate you," Jessica said. "The hatethat's from pains I must never forget. The lovethat's...."
"Just the basic fact," the old woman said, but her voice was gentle. "You may come in now, but remain silent. Close that door and mind it that no one interrupts us."
Jessica stepped into the room, closed the door and stood with her back to it. My son lives, she thought. My son lives and is ... human. I knew he was ... but ... he lives. Now, I can go on living. The door felt hard and real against her back. Everything in the room was immediate and pressing against her senses.
My son lives.
Paul looked at his mother. She told the truth. He wanted to get away alone and think this experience through, but knew he could not leave until he was dismissed. The old woman had gained a power over him. They spoke truth. His mother had undergone this test. There must be terrible purpose in it ... the pain and fear had been terrible. He understood terrible purposes. They drove against all odds. They were their own necessity. Paul felt that he had been infected with terrible purpose. He did not know yet what the terrible purpose was.
"Some day, lad," the old woman said, "you, too, may have to stand outside a door like that. It takes a measure of doing."
Paul looked down at the hand that had known pain, then up to the Reverend Mother. The sound of her voice had contained a difference then from any other voice in his experience. The words were outlined in brilliance. There was an edge to them. He felt that any question he might ask her would bring an answer that could lift him out of his flesh-world into something greater.
"Why do you test for humans?" he asked.
"To set you free."
"Once men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them."
"'Thou shalt not make a machine in the likeness of a man's mind,'" Paul quoted.
"Right out of the Butlerian Jihad and the Orange Catholic Bible," she said. "But what the O.C. Bible should've said is: 'Thou shalt not make a machine to counterfeit a human mind.' Have you studied the Mentat in your service?"
"I've studied with Thufir Hawat."
"The Great Revolt took away a crutch," she said. "It forced human minds to develop. Schools were started to train human talents."
"Bene Gesserit schools?"
She nodded. "We have two chief survivors of those ancient schools: the Bene Gesserit and the Spacing Guild. The Guild, so we think, emphasizes almost pure mathematics. Bene Gesserit performs another function."
"Politics," he said.
"Kull wahad!" the old woman said. She sent a hard glance at Jessica.
"I've not told him, Your Reverence," Jessica said.
The Reverend Mother returned her attention to Paul. "You did that on remarkably few clues," she said. "Politics indeed. The original Bene Gesserit school was directed by those who saw the need of a thread of continuity in human affairs. They saw there could be no such continuity without separating human stock from animal stockfor breeding purposes."
The old woman's words abruptly lost their special sharpness for Paul. He felt an offense against what his mother called his instinct for rightness. It wasn't that Reverend Mother lied to him. She obviously believed what she said. It was something deeper, something tied to his terrible purpose.
He said: "But my mother tells me many Bene Gesserit of the schools don't know their ancestry."
"The genetic lines are always in our records," she said. "Your mother knows that either she's of Bene Gesserit descent or her stock was acceptable in itself."
"Then why couldn't she know who her parents are?"
"Some do.... Many don't. We might, for example, have wanted to breed her to a close relative to set up a dominant in some genetic trait. We have many reasons."
Again, Paul felt the offense against rightness. He said: "You take a lot on yourselves."
The Reverend Mother stared at him, wondering: Did I hear criticism in his voice? "We carry a heavy burden," she said.
Paul felt himself coming more and more out of the shock of the test. He leveled a measuring stare at her, said: "You say maybe I'm the ... Kwisatz Haderach. What's that, a human gore jabbar?"
"Paul," Jessica said. "You mustn't take that tone with"
"I'll handle this, Jessica," the old woman said. "Now, lad, do you know about the Truthsayer drug?"
"You take it to improve your ability to detect falsehood," he said. "My mother's told me."
"Have you ever seen truthtrance?"
He shook his head. "No."
"The drug's dangerous," she said, "but it gives insight. When a Truthsayer's gifted by the drug, she can look many places in her memoryin her body's memory. We look down so many avenues of the past ... but only feminine avenues." Her voice took on a note of sadness. "Yet, there's a place where no Truthsayer can see. We are repelled by it, terrorized. It is said a man will come one day and find in the gift of the drug his inward eye. He will look where we cannotinto both feminine and masculine pasts."
"Your Kwisatz Haderach?"
"Yes, the one who can be many places at once: the Kwisatz Haderach. Many men have tried the drug ... so many, but none has succeeded."
"They tried and failed, all of them?"
"Oh, no." She shook her head. "They tried and died."
The Prodigal Sun
By SEAN WILLIAMS & SHANE DIX
Copyright © 1999 Sean Williams and Shane Dix. All rights reserved.
Table of ContentsDuneBook I. Dune
Book II. Muad'dib
Book III. The Prophet
Appendix I: The Ecology of Dune
Appendix II: The Religion of Dune
Appendix III: Report on Bene Gesserit
Motives and Purposes
Appendix IV: The Almanaken-Ashraf
(Selected Excerpts of the Noble Houses)
Terminology of the Imperium
What People are Saying About This
Powerful, convincing, and most ingenious.
Unique...I know of nothing comparable to it except The Lord of the Rings.
Inventing History for Dune
When Frank Herbert first created the Dune universe almost four decades ago, he placed his story on a canvas that spanned more than 20,000 years. A masterpiece of world building and history, Dune is richly detailed, full of characters and cultures, clearly giving the impression that the author knows much more than he's letting on.
One of the most tantalizing events mentioned in all six of Frank Herbert's Dune novels is the Butlerian Jihad, a titanic conflict of humans against thinking machines, which serves as the genesis for many of the familiar ingredients in Dune. This fascinating part of Dune history is the single event most hotly anticipated by Frank Herbert fans.
After completing three immediate prequels to Dune -- House Atreides, House Harkonnen, and House Corrino -- we reawakened the fervor for Frank Herbert's grand history. Many readers have returned to the original novels, and new fans have picked up the books. Our first prequel trilogy features all familiar characters and events, leading directly into Dune.
For The Butlerian Jihad, we had to travel back 10,000 years before the events in the original story. This posed a difficult, but entertaining, challenge -- to create an original universe, building our own characters and events, yet one that captures the flavor and essence of Dune.
Armed with Frank Herbert's unpublished notes and background material, we had some important clues to the events of the Butlerian Jihad, but none of the extensive details. Building on this material, The Butlerian Jihad answers the most vital questions fans have been asking: the circumstances behind the great betrayal that made mortal enemies of House Atreides and House Harkonnen, the foundations of the Bene Gesserit Sisterhood, as well as the creation of the Order of Mentats, the Suk doctors, the Swordmasters of Ginaz, and the Spacing Guild. We also show the dramatic struggle of the oppressed Zensunni Wanderers who escape their bondage and flee to an uncharted desert world, where they settle among the spice and sandworms and declare themselves "Free men" of Dune. Readers will recognize some familiar names and meet new friends and enemies.
Because The Butlerian Jihad is so far removed from the original classic novel, we felt we had a greater freedom but also a greater responsibility. We are opening a new chapter in this grand history, yet it must be familiar enough to belong beside the other Dune novels. We created a new set of characters that we found remarkable in their own right -- the half-machine tyrant Agamemnon and his brainwashed son Vorian Atreides, the dedicated free human Xavier Harkonnen, the genius scientist Tio Holtzman, and of course the incomparable heroine, Serena Butler. The independent robot Erasmus -- whom Publishers Weekly calls "a Thinking Machine Hannibal Lecter with whimsical Mr. Spock-ish meditations" -- is probably the best villain either of us has ever concocted. The Butlerian Jihad is just the first of a projected trilogy. Frank Herbert has left us a vast landscape to explore, but at least we have a map. We still have a lot more history to create. Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson
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This is an excellent book and I would highly recommend it to anyone. My only problem is why is the digital download version twice the price of the paperback edition? You can go into any bookstore and buy this book for $8 for paperback and used bookstore can get it for $2 - $4, yet the digital download is $16. I buy brand new bestsellers for less than that. Don't know what the publisher is thinking here. I know the price is set by the publisher and not B&N because they all are that way so not blaming B&N. The publisher needs to learn something about the cost savings for digital downloads because there is no reason why the digital version should cost twice as much as the paperback version.
Great book. Works fine with Nook now after the April 2010 Nook update/patch.
Frank Herbert did not simply write a great science fiction novel; he created an entire universe of amazing detail that is filled with characters so well developed that they become real enough to be believed -- no matter how very different they are from our own selves. Herbert laid a fabric of many plot lines, intrigues, and twists that the reader might become intractably enmeshed in the worlds of Dune eagerly and anxiously awaiting the next book in the series (as the Dune universe has been lovingly and skillfully continued by Frank's son Brian and his writing partner, Kevin J. Anderson). When I first read Dune back in 1987 I was so strongly attracted that I finished it in a day and a half, and then immediately began reading the remaining four books of the then extant series inside of four days. A rare thing for me. One should regard Dune as a master classic of scifi on par with any of the great scifi writers: Asimov, Heinlein, etc.
This is a novel which transcends the time in which it was written. Not content to be merely a gripping story about a gifted and cursed boy who becomes a man who changes the destiny of humanity, Dune reveals its true value in its portrayal of a deep understanding of our species's past and present using an original, deep, and organic future. Nearly 50 years on, Arrakis and its surrounding politics and religious fervor are as relevant as ever, and Frank Herbert's expertise in crafting a believable world consistent unto itself assures this relevance will not be lost on readers growing up in a different age. While Dune is one of the best science fiction novels ever written, it would be a disservice to classify it only as such. Indeed, Dune, like other great works of fiction, uses a skillfully constructed setting to tell a story any reader would benefit from. The science fiction trappings serve as exciting window dressing for the main attraction: a profound look into the histories and natures of societies, of self-righteousness, of decadence, of religious fanatacism, and of people who wield such things as weapons. Herbert's classic is a must read for anyone who wants to read one of the best books ever written about power and influence by and via large masses of humanity.
As Duke pointed out, the nook has trouble displaying this ebook correctly. A buddy loaned this to me, very cool feature by the way, and I couldn't wait to start reading it. From the opening lines though I noticed that some of the text was cut off on the right side of the page, as if the page justification wasn't quite right. Changing font/size made no difference, the error was always present. Now is the book unreadable? No, far from it, and the book likes fine using the B&N reader software ... but I wanted to check this out on the nook. The whole point of having an ereader is to make the reading experience more convenient, not endure some shoddy version of a favorite title. Whatever the problem is, and I hope it's something minor, FIX IT. Maybe ditching the legacy file format and getting an actual .epub out to the masses would help fix things, who knows. But please, sort this out.
I read Frank Herbert's Dune as a teenager and I just lived in the pages, and it still remains a favorite of mine. This edition is a larger book size than what I had then. As I reread this later edition today, I relive Dune once again. It is an inspiration to see how others adapt to a planet with a difficult environment. The different cultures are presented well. The science fiction concepts are excellent. And, I experience the smell of spices when reading parts of it. This is science fiction at its finest. The writting style is superb--of another world quality. There is much wisdom in Dune, and as a fan of Asian philosophy, I can write that Dune is depth.
This is not a review of the book itself but rather a review of the digital download. Dune (40th Anniversary Edition) has problems on the nook. About 10% of the last letters at the end of a line are cut off. This happens with all font sizes and both fonts.
I'm going on the record to say that this is my favorite book of all time. It's scope is beyond description. I read it once a year and I guess I've read it about a dozen times. I even love the so-so movies that have been made based on the book. I never get tired of the characters and just the entire universe in general. I'm even listening to the new audio version of the book which is a great production.
- Robert
I read 'Dune' when it first came out in the early 70's and I can truly say that the work changed my life. The door to the world of Science Fiction had already been cracked open for my by the juvenile-oriented works of Robert Heinlein and Isaac Asimov. 'Dune' blew that door right off its hinges. As I look back over 30 years of dedicated Sci-Fi reading, there are other books that stand with Dune as works head and shoulders above the general milieu of the genre, but those are measured by their ability to reach as high as Dune itself. If you read only one science fiction novel in your life, make it Dune.
The book "DUNE", by Frank Herbert is a science fiction novel. Dune was originally published in 1965 with 537 pages, and won the Nebula Award and the Hugo Award in the following year. Dune is a science fiction novel which started a saga and many spin-offs. In this review, I will give a brief summary and an evaluation of the author and book. I believe Frank Herman has created a truly unique book. The writing is very powerful, although the author created words, so some people may find it hard to remember certain concepts of the book. Dune makes reference to Islamic and Arabic words, like Fedaykin and in real life Feday'yin. Dune also has the concepts of Zen paradoxes, religion, ecology. I myself found the book very interesting and powerful. I would definitely recommend it to others, as even today it is still a unique book, and for ten dollars, it is definitely worth it. Dune takes place in the far future where humans have colonized countless planets throughout the universe, with various royal houses all led by the Emperor Shaddam Corrino IV. Technology has become extremely advanced, although computers and artificial intelligence are prohibited, because of an incident prior to the book. Because of lack of A.I, humans called Mentats have highly developed minds to perform the functions of these machines. Besides the royal houses and the emperor, there are three other major groups. The Space Guild who makes space travel possible through the use of Navigators, humans mutated by excessive and huge amounts of mélange, but they are also addicted to the mélange, a powerful spice with special properties. Also, is the shadowy matriarchy known as the Bene Gesserit, whose goal is to keep the Human Race alive while advancing it. They also rely on mélange for their powers, but also become addicted. Lastly, is the CHOAM Corporation, who is the base of the economy, with shares and directorships which determine a royal house's income and financial leverage. In Dune, everyone wants control of the desert world of Arrakis, because it is the only source of the most valuable thing in the universe: the spice Melange. It is the most valuable substance because of its uses to everyone: the Space Guild needs it for Navigators, the Bene Gesserit need it for their powers, and the royal houses and CHOAM want it for its huge financial gain. The story centers around Paul Altreides, heir to the Altreides royal house. The Altreides and the Harkonnens, another royal house, have a long lasting feud. Altreides' military is starting to rival the Emperor's, and so gives him Arrakis, as part of a Harkonnen plot to the Altreides. I found Dune very enjoyable and well worth my money. If you liked Dune, then you should also check out the other books in the series, Dune Messiah, Children of Dune, God Emperor of Dune, Heretics of Dune, and Chapterhouse: Dune. I definitely recommend buying the book or finding it in your local library.
$15.00? Are you kidding me? Buy the paperback for $7.99.
I've had this version of Dune since it first became available, and at that time the ebook was plagued with formatting errors. I just wanted to chime in and let any interested parties know that these problems have long been remedied. There are no longer "cut off" lines of text and the introductory bits of each chapter are properly formatted and aligned. So if you're already a fan, buy this.
I don't know whether the text needed to be re-keyed in by hand, or the OCR software employed on a scanned copy is poor, but in either case the Nook version of Frank Herbert's classic novel is rife with typographical errors. Words are misspelled, spaces have been omitted, sometimes entire words are missing, and many special characters fail to display properly. Considering this is the "40th Anniversary Edition" and costs more than the physical paperback version of the novel (presumably because of the additional effort needed to render into electronic form), I expected more. At the very least a thorough proofreading. I've half a mind to demand a refund.
This is one of those classic sci-fi books that I picked up second hand at a beach shop and it has become one of my favorites! The story is epic that details a planet in turmoil due to its' severe environment and inhabitants. The political intrigue is complex and timeless. This story is wonderful for indepth conversations on religion, politics, and story telling. Dune becomes real and continues throughout the saga in Herbert's sequels. You will so enjoy this tale!
If one were to construct a Mount Rushmore of science fiction novels, you could probably gather a strong consensus around having Frank Herbert's Dune on that monument. In retrospect, the fact that such a novel was first published by Chilton books - whose specialty is books on auto repair - seems unfathomable today. However, the book's 200,000+ words, complex story and use of Arabic words and phrases worked against it. Science fiction at the time was little more than works of pulp, even if your name was Asimov or Heinlein. This reviewer is actually rereading the story after some 30 years. It was read in the early 1980s prior to the release of David Lynch's movie version of the novel. As such, the movie's plot initially confused me with respect to the re-read, as I was picturing the movie story instead of the novel. Once I put aside the movie adaptation, the book flowed more smoothly in rereading it. There is no doubt that the story of the Atreides - Harkonnen feud and the battle over the planet of Arrakis and its precious melange is not novel; it's setting and timeframe are literally out of this world. That notwithstanding, Herbert provides a complex story with plans, schemes and tactics that are concentric like a Russian nesting doll. These characters are fleshed out about as well as one could reasonably expect with a depth and range that are beyond 99% of stories in or out of print. The fact that this book is well known in the sci-fi community beggars against a long review; what I will say is that those for whom this novel is unknown to them, it is to your advantage to add at least the first in the Dune series to your reading list. This is not a light, summer read; it is challenging with many characters and plot lines going on at the same time. If one is willing to stick it out until the end, the reader will be rewarded for the invested time. BOTTOM LINE: Classic science fiction that must be read by fans of the genre.
As a 16 year old who loved to read sci-fi and fantasy in 1980, Dune blew me away! Its the only book I ever read in a single day! From the opening scene of the "gom jabbar" to the final fight between Paul and Feyd I was enthralled. I still read it every couple years and each time I gain new insight into mankind and every aspect that drives humanity. I dont know of many stories whose themes encompass so much of what it means to be human in such a concise and well written manner. Shakespeare himself would be green with envy!
I first read this book in middle school almost 17 years ago & it still grabs hold of you!!
I'm always wary of literature labeled as "classics." This breaks the mold though. I have never read anything more enthralling. I was literally glued to this book, driving around like a madpig just to get home to read it. I couldnt concentrate at work, I wanted to know what happened next. This book is an absolute must read for anyone interested in religion, sci fi, a good book, or politics. I have heard, unfortunately, that the rest of the books in the series dont reach the caliber of this one, but then again, I'm not sure any book could. I recommend reading through the back of book where the glossary and character list is before starting the book, and then referring back to it as you progress.
i had loaned my original copy of this fine book, and had to get a replacement to keep my full set complete. this is my fourth time rereading this set. there's no equal, and im not normally a science fiction reader.
loved it
After many years going back and rereading this has been a pleasure.
Story telling at it's finest. The epic story of humanity among the stars, here the tale begins. Politics, Religion, Space Travel all combine in a story you will never forget.
Read it first in my youth, I'd been thinking of it recently and picked it up again. Just as interesting as before. Looking forward to reading the next one.
Absolutely perfect.
I enjoyed this book 35 years ago, but even more now.


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TELL CITY – An Owensboro, Ky., man performing maintenance work at Waupaca Foundry fell to his death Saturday evening.
Perry County Coroner Charlie Baumeister identified the victim Saturday night as 45-year-old Bobby Felty.
Felty, who was employed by Stewart Industrial of Owensboro and was not a Wauapca employee, was working inside the foundry when he fell about 50 feet and landed on a concrete floor.
Dispatchers received a call at 5:56 p.m. reporting that Felty had been found face down on the floor.
First responders in the foundry responded as did Perry County EMS. Felty was pronounced dead at the scene.
Baumeister said an autopsy was held Sunday at a funeral home in Tell City.
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For the returnees it is the moment to begin a new life and reintegrate into their home societies; for the local population it is an opportunity to welcome them and make them feel at home.
"I'm really happy to have returned home to Burundi after so much time. Now I really feel like rebuilding my life and making a contribution to the development of my country", said Josephine Nzokirantevye, 67 year-old widow and mother of one, who fled the worsening violence in 1997.
The Burundian civil war engulfed the small central African nation between 1993 and 2005, causing the death of more than 300,000 people.
For more than fifteen years, Josephine lived in Mtabila camp.
"We lived in extremely precarious conditions, depending on humanitarian organisations for everything. I have been sick for some time, so I couldn't even go and work in the fields to make a living", Josephine said.
Repatriation. Josephine returned to Burundi last December, as part of the massive refugee repatriation operation agreed upon by the governments of Tanzania and Burundi. The operation lasted from 31 October until 11 December 2012, involving the transfer home of 33,819 people.
The repatriation operation was not voluntary, given that most refugees would have preferred to stay in Tanzania, fearing insecurity and the difficulties of reintegrating back into Burundian society.
Nevertheless, the Tanzanian government had already decided that Mtabila camp, the last remaining camp hosting Burundian refugees, would close on 31 December. The refugees, therefore, had to return home, as there were no longer any reasons, according to the authorities, to provide them with international protection. More than a half million Burundian refugees have returned home from Tanzania since 2002.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) subsequently carried out individual interviews with refugees who feared returning home and identified 2,715 individuals still in need of international protection. For the others, UNHCR began raising awareness among the refugee population in Mtabila, and organising their transfer to Burundi.
Upon arrival in Burundi, the refugees received an integration kit – financial assistance, food for six months, sanitary materials, a temporary medical card etc.
The local authorities are responsible for the return and reception of the refugees to their home communities, where most will be able to reclaim their land. However, approximately 500 of the refugees have been unable to do so. In many cases, this is because they were born outside Burundi and do not know where the land, which once belonged to their parents, is.
Integration difficulties. "The neighbours graciously welcomed me and there are no problems or misunderstandings between us. And if I need some water I know I can ask them. The only worry I have is that the returnees will not be able to find jobs", added Josephine.
For other returnees, coming home has been anything but the realisation of a dream.
"I was born in the Congo because my parents fled from Burundi in 1972. Then with the war in Congo in 1996, we fled to Tanzania, where we lived in Mtabila camp until a few days ago", said Marcien Sindahibura, 34 year-old father of three children, who currently lives in one of the temporary reception centres established for returnees.
"I had never been to Burundi before; I don't know the language and do not have any farm land. I had a job as a fisherman in Tanzania, here I don't have anything. I ask myself what will happen in the future. I don't know any local people and I don't believe they will welcome us warmly. For me it would have been better to return to Congo", Marcien said.
Showing hospitality and a welcoming spirit towards the former refugees is the new challenge facing the population and the Burundian authorities in the coming months.
Danilo Giannese, JRS Great Lakes Africa Communications and Advocacy Officer


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Bag strap in elegant smooth leather with metal branded detailing. Adjustable, to be worn on the geometric Sella Bag or the glamorous Tod's Double T bag, for an elegant play on volume.
- Made in Italy
- Women's Tod's Bag Strap
- Item crafted in leather
- Tod's metal logo and detailing
- Metal branded Tod's snap hook
- Adjustable strap max approx 43.3 ins
- Maintenance and care cards included
- Branded dustbag
You may select four different delivery methods:
Ground - Complimentary
Second Day - Guaranteed delivery on the second business day - 25.00 $
Next Day - Guaranteed delivery on the next business day - 35.00 $
Same Day $45.00. Guaranteed delivery on the same business day.
The Same Day shipping option is available only in selected Zip Codes in the United States. All orders must be placed by 01:00 p.m. (EST).
If we are unable to fulfill the Same Day Shipping option for reasons attributable to us, we will only provide a refund of the Same Day Shipping charge and change you for Next Day shipping.
It usually takes 1 to 2 working days to process any order, plus shipping time.
UPS Signature required.
Please note that sale-priced items or products marked as final sale cannot be returned.
If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, you can return the products you have bought on our website no later than 20 business days after the shipping. Sale-priced Products, or Products marked as "Final Sale" at the time of the order, are final sale and cannot be returned, and ITALIANTOUCH will not issue any credit towards the return of said Products. Returns are quick and easy, thanks to the pre-printed label that you will find inside the parcel. Items can also be returned to one of the TOD'S boutiques located in the US (http://www.tods.com/en_us/boutique/), bringing with you the original purchase receipt enclosed to your Shipment Confirmation email and the return form. The Tod's Boutique will receive your return and ship it to our website processing facility. Return credits are not made at the store but only after the item is received by our warehouse. Please allow 15 business days to receive your return credit to your original form of payment.
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Scavolini: Modern, Modular Kitchens from Italy
- Location: New York, New York
- Website: scavolini.us
Store History
- Founded: 1961
- Founded by: Valter and Elvino Scavolini
- Headquarters: Pesaro, Italy
An Italian company, Scavolini has been making modular kitchens since the 1960s, but it wasn't until recently that they opened their first showroom in New York's SoHo shopping district. Brothers Valter and Elvino Scavolini started the original workshop in 1961 in Pesaro, and the company has since expanded into an international brand that's strengthening its presence in America.
While Scavolini has been sold through other high-end retailers in the US for several years, this is the first US store where you can see the full line. Housed inside an 1872 building, the 10,000 square foot space used to be occupied by the Nancy Hoffman Gallery, and it retains the feeling of an open exhibition space, with white walls, track lighting, and expansive displays.
The kitchens are made of high quality materials (hardwoods, granite, marble, etc), but the forms are simple and designed to be used in customizable combinations. Scavolini works with several well-known designers, including Karim Rashid (who created their Crystal Kitchen) and Raffaello Pravato. Prices fall within the "luxury" category — this is classic modern Italian design that's built to last.
Any first-hand reviews of Scavolini kitchens? Share them in the comments.
Images: Scavolini


text: Matt Ludtke starts the show with Detroit Lions buzz, as they give YouTube phenomena Havard Rugland a chance to make the team, after signing David Akers. Matt gets into Masters coverage, as Tiger Woods hopes to regain his glory, and two teams fight for the college hockey championship subsequent to the Frozen Four. Detroit Tigers news and MSU Football rumblings close the show.


text: In business since 1992, Matthews Fan Company has aimed to create modern fans that combine supreme functionality with compelling contemporary design. The Matthews Fan Company signature is oscillation technology, which circulates heat and air more efficiently than traditional paddle fans. Unusually inventive and handcrafted forms further define the Matthews Fan Company collection of modern fans.


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Tune Up a Cheap Honing Guide
My favorite honing guide is the one you can find at almost any woodworking store. The guides are inexpensive and poorly made, but you can easily tune them up to make them work.
One of the major faults of these guides is that when you tighten a tool between the jaws, the jaws tilt up a bit and create a bump in the middle. This bump is a troublemaker. The iron can rock side to side on it, and this will spoil the best thing about the guide: its consistency from job to job.
Also, the jaws might come misaligned from the factory and one jaw will be higher than the other. The result: again, a bump in the middle.
For years I filed these bumps flat so that the jaws created a perfect bedding surface for the iron. It was a bit of a fussy process, I admit. But I wanted the iron to be well bedded, like on a frog.
That was stupid.
A couple years ago Deneb Puchalski at Lie-Nielsen showed me how he does it. Forget flat. Think hollow. So instead of trying to file the bed flat like a frog, just turn the bump into a slight concavity. Then the plane iron will rest only on the two long edges of the jaw. Fast. Brilliant.
(Deneb also makes some further modifications to his guides for accommodating shoulder plane irons and the like. Ask him for details.)
This morning I shot a one-minute video on how I file the bed hollow and what the results look like. Take a look if you like. (By the way, the music is Lucas Gonze's "Frog in the Well," from the FreeMusicArchive.org.)
— Christopher Schwarz
If you want to learn sharpening, the best way is to have someone show you. The next best way is to have a good book. I recommend Ron Hock's "The Perfect Edge." Ron has been an important voice in the woodworking community for reasonable and effective sharpening for many years. His book is also a good read.


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Sibley guide to bird life and behavior
Alfred A. Knopf, Oct 2, 2001 - Nature - 588 pages
"Once in a great while, a natural history book changes the way people look at the world. In 1838, John ames Audubon's Birds of America was one...In 1934, Roger Tory Peterson produced Field Guide to the Birds...Now comes The Sibley Guide to Birds."
Thus did The New York Times, in 1999, greet David Allen Sibley's monumental book, which has quickly been established nationwide as the peerless, standard bird identification guide.
The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior is the new landmark book from David Allen Sibley. Designed to enhance the birding experience and to enrich the popular study of North American birds, the book combines more than 795 of his full-color illustrations with authoritative text by 48 expert birders and biologists. In this new guide Sibley takes us beyond identification, to show us how birds live and what they do.
Introductory essays outline the principles of avian evolution, life cycle, body structure, flight dynamics, and more. The 80 family-by-family chapters describe the amazing range of behavior dictated by birds' biology and environment. Among the subjects covered and illustrated are:
--molts and plumages
--food and foraging
--vocalizations and displays
--courtship and breeding
--rearing of young
--migration and movements
--scientific groupings
--introduced species
--accidental species
--flight patterns
--nests and eggs
--global distribution
Accessibly written, superbly designed and organized, and brilliantly illustrated, The Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior is an indispensable source of information on the avian life around us.
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LibraryThing ReviewUser Review - justagirlwithabook - LibraryThing
Such a great guide to birds! My father is a teacher of biology and ornithology (and is often referred to as 'the bird man'). As an expert on birds and the birding world, he has a handful of books that are his 'go-to' books for birding information, and Sibley is always a go-to. Read full review
Sibley bird books are classic for bird watchersUser Review - longtimeshopper - Overstock.com
If you know a bird watcher this is a resource book that makes a great gift. This volume is not exactly an identification guide but rather a deeper look at bird behaviors. The illustrations are ... Read full review
Flight Form and Function
Feet Bills and Digestion
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Accidental Species Adult annual survival Altricial areas avian behavior bill bird species bird's birders body breeding season brood Bushtit cavities chicks colonies color Cowbird declines desert displays DNA-DNA hybridization ducks eastern eggs example feathers feed feet female finches fish fledging flight flocks Florida Flycatcher foraging forest frigatebirds genera genus grassland grebes ground groups gulls habitat hatching Hawk hummingbirds hybridization icterids incubation insects kleptoparasitism males mates migration migratory molt monogamous nest sites nonbreeding North America Northern Nuthatch occur Oriole parasites parents passerines Petrel Pipit plant plovers plumage polygynous populations predators prey range Sandpiper scolopacids seabirds shorebirds shrubland similar songbirds songs southern Sparrow species Storm-Petrel subfamily subspecies swallows tail tanagers terns territory Thrasher thrushes tion trees tropical Tropicbirds tundra typically tyrant flycatchers usually vegetation Vireo vocalizations Warbler western wetlands wings winter wood-warblers woodland Woodpecker Worldwide Family Features Wren young


text: Attensity upgrades customer contact solution Published on March 11, 2013. Palo Alto, Calif.—Social text-analytics company Attensity has updated its Respond social customer contact center application with a new iPad-compatible user interface and access to the full Twitter "firehose" data stream. Attensity Respond 6.0 also now offers access to publicly available posts on Facebook, Google+ and YouTube, blogs, reviews, surveys, and private and public forums and communities. The tool also features integration with internal communications such as email, including tracking customers' communications as they move across channels, the company said in a statement. Most Popular In this article: BtoB


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|2012-12-27, 21:49
|Link #3822
Emperor of the Expected
Join Date: Mar 2012
Location: Florida
............I honestly thought Hilda was around the age of a college student. Wow, talk about great growth. Also, when there is a guy face planted into a wall, ground, or anything, you know its Oga even Toujo knows it.
|2012-12-27, 22:38
|Link #3823
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: 幻想郷
Age: 30
I just can't enough of this manga. That delinquent's little brother remined me of little Elvis if he had pompador hair on him and he was so cute and hilarious. That glasses and that look at the end of this chapter still gets me everytime I think about it. Moreover Toujou still works as construction worker and it also seems that there will be newcomer badasses who will challenge Oga and other guys. New arch going to be interesting. Also where do they find fund to rebuild the school so fast by the way? Maybe Himekawa or some demons are behind it just like Behemot did in the past, lol. Ah and last thing we finally learned how old Baby Beel and Hilda is. I expected Hilda a bit more older than Oga since she has those two big melons you know and it's quite cute she got emberrased after Oga bluntly said her age out loud. Finally Oga looked so badass at the last page (as always). They just don't know what devil they are trying to take on, I mean these newcomers.
Last edited by Qpax; 2012-12-28 at 11:56.
|2012-12-28, 00:58
|Link #3825
Know who you are
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Resides within the depths of Ned infested Glasgow
Well I always had the feeling Hilda maybe be younger than she seemed however she would still be slightly older than the rest, did not expect her to be the same age as Oga.
That comes as a surprise but can't say a bad one
Wait till Aoi-chwan hears about this
Still love the way Oga and Furuichi converse, still funny as hell. Best Buds indeed
And some new super stars to come huh, that should be fun at the very least.
We might see some new contractors joining the story now but in the end I still expect Oga to come out on top.
As long as it's a fun ride, I'm not fussed at the outcome.
|2012-12-28, 01:39
|Link #3829
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2008
damn I hoped that there would be Aoi with kouta... or at least Aoi in disguise only for furoichi to notice this ^
and mostly some dudes will come from the rich school to ishiyama... along with himekawas fiance... like if he doesnt want to go there so she will come to him
|2012-12-28, 08:53
|Link #3833
ANEGO Worshiper
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: By the vending machine, drinking tea.
|gag, shounen, slice of life, violence
|Thread Tools


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Are You Ready To Join The Evolution Of Affiliate Marketing?
Last December, while speaking at an affiliate convention in LA, I had the opportunity to share a panel with Dush Ramachandran, the vice president of sales, marketing, and business development for ClickBank. We talked about some of the challenges facing his organization. One of those challenges is the fact that after years of success, many affiliates lose their excitement for ClickBank, often feeling that they need to "graduate" to more challenging platforms.
I did not get started as an affiliate marketer by promoting information products on Clickbank, but I'm pretty sure the vast majority of affiliates got started this way. Clickbank accepts almost anybody, and their system is the simplest and most straight forward there is. When you notice that many of the "guru" affiliates who are teaching everyone how to get rich online often promote Clickbank products, you can see how so many people become Clickbank affiliates.
The more experience and success you get, the more sophisticated your marketing becomes. Your need for more powerful tools, more intelligence data, and more control grows as your business grows.
While sophisticated affiliate networks like MediaTrust, NeverBlue, and Clickbooth all provide advanced tools that can help you run very complex campaigns, their barrier to entry is very high. CPA networks won't accept you unless you are a proven and ethical marketer. They don't have time for newbies. I believe CPA networks are where most experienced affiliates go once they learn the ropes on sites like ClickBank and Commission Junction.
But there is a new alternative for experienced affiliates. I was lucky enough to be invited to see it in person, and I can confidently say it is the next step in the evolution of affiliate marketing. It is the new and highly innovative network known as TrendRevenue.
The People Behind Trend Revenue Are The Reason It Is So Unique And Exciting!
I worked with many TrendRevenue members back in my glorious pharmacy days. We made a LOT of money, money we didn't even think it was possible to make (I talked about it in more detail in this interview). In fact, back in the day, they flew me and my beautiful wife to Maui for a week with all expenses paid just to convince me to drop my current affiliate relationship and work with them. They did a great job persuading me, and I am really glad I made the switch.
I managed to get top rankings in Google not only for hot pharmaceutical products, but also for other industries like mortgages, and life insurance. They all paid decently, but only the pharmacy marketing made a huge amount of money. Now that I think about it, the real reason for this is blatantly obvious.
I made most of my money from return customers. When you look at it, people who purchase pharmaceuticals are very likely to purchase them again and again. It doesn't take a genius to realize that once you hook them with a single sale, you have them as a valuable customer for a very long time.
It also helps that you don't have to create an aggressive sales pitch for pharmaceutical products that people already know they need. As soon as my pages made it to the top of Google, I just sat back and enjoyed the success. Customers wanted the products, and we happily provided them.
The vast majority of affiliate programs only pay for leads (or first sale), they don't pay commissions on repeat sales. The backend, as it is commonly known, is where most merchants make their profits. Why would they share their lifetime customer value? The people at TrendRevenue did it in the past with huge success and are preparing to do it again.
They are aiming at replicating their past successes with this model. They have designed an affiliate program that takes all of the hassle out of being an affiliate, giving you more time to do your job as a marketer. You don't have to setup a website, and you don't have to install a thing. You simply pick a theme and decide which products you want to sell. You only need to focus on the marketing aspect.
The truly great thing about them is the fact that you can only sell products that have an excellent reputation for generating repeat business. You can select between Housewares, Ink & Toner, and Pet Products. Nobody who buys these products only buys them once. As soon as you make a single sale, you've got a customer for life.
TrendRevenue also offers a level of transparency that is yet to be seen in the online affiliate world. With TrendRevenue, you get to see the frontend and backend revenue for any of your affiliate projects. When most people see how much they are making compared to how much TrendRevenue gets, they usually can't believe it. It's actually a problem for TrendRevenue because so many potential affiliates believe it is too good to be true.
I want to take this opportunity to tell you that TrendRevenue is the real deal, and they are pretty serious and determined to make their platform the next big thing in the affiliate space. If you have read my blog for some time, you know I don't give my endorsement easily. I need to really believe in something before I recommend it.
Last weekend, the TrendRevenue team provided me with a first class flight to Santa Monica, California. I got a chance to tour their offices and see their other successful businesses. Here are a few pictures I took on my trip.
Bill Appleyard, their CTO and someone who I have worked with in the past, went to pick me up at the airport 🙂
You can see the CEO of TrendRevenue in the middle of some pretty famous people!
A real state-of-the-art office. I have more pictures in my Facebook account.
They booked me on a suite in the Beverly Hilton. It's five times the size of the studio I have in Manhattan right now!
We met on my hotel suite to brainstorm how they can get the word out about their system. I am really impressed with the TrendRevenue team.
If you are reading this blog, you probably have enough experience and intelligence to qualify for their system. There are no affiliate links on this post. If you decide to join them, apply to their program and when you talk to them, tell them you read about them on this blog. It will give you a better chance at getting accepted. It might even help you to negotiate a really nice deal 😉
Disclaimer: TrendRevenue paid for my trip to their offices, but they did not pay me to write this. There are no affiliate links on this post.


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So it may seem like the blog is dead but I haven't thrown in the towel just yet. I refuse to let my blog die, but I'm not all too fussed about readership anymore either, I want to keep this blog just as a little personal journal, which is what it always has been but I guess the added bonus was that I actually had people following my ramblings. But if there is anyone out there still reading my little old blog, thank you.
I wanted to do a yearly round up of our Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party series since we kicked off two years ago but well, the beginning of last year came and went in a blur and this year has already felt like it's disappearing fast too. We also had a bit of a hiatus on the dinners last year after our first one due to a major accident that happened to someone in our circle but we did end the year with a bang with one awesome home cooked degustation dinner, which you'll read about at the end of the round up. Looking back at those couple of old posts and the photos of all the dishes, I'm really proud of all of us who put our heart and soul into every dinner party. Just seeing how far we've come with what we're capable of cooking and even our presentation of those dishes, the photos really are worth a thousand words if you're not into reading. I'll try not to waffle on too much.
Fancy Schmancy Dinner No. 5 - Menu (March 2013)
Entree - Chicken Sausage Rolls with Homemade Tomato Chutney
(using home grown tomatoes) by Celine.
(using home grown tomatoes) by Celine.
Behind the scenes action in the kitchen, excuse the blurry photos.
Main - Salmon with Lemon Butter served with a warm pumpkin and feta salad
and potato chips by Joy.
and potato chips by Joy.
Dessert line up.
Mango Cake served with Homemade Coconut Sorbet by Tita(Auntie) Jeanne.
This dinner also coincided with Ryan's birthday so he was surpised with a birthday cake and Jessica made some strawberry rekorderlig macarons to go with it. We all rolled home afterwards.
Fast forward about three months to June 2013 and it was Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party No. 6
We weren't sure that this dinner was going ahead as we kept getting people pulling out. Our large group of about 12 people dwindled down to about 6 and then we added on another diner so we ended up with an intimate group of 7 people for dinner. Made it a lot easier for the cooks though.
Menu for the night.
Entree - Pressed Double Roasted Pork Belly with Cauliflower Pureeand Minted Peas by Ryan.
Ryan was on entree this round and wanted to try out a Gordon Ramsey recipe for the pork belly (or was it Heston). I tried helping him but ruined his minted peas as I cooked them in some stock which diluted their taste. There's Jessica deep in concentration plating up.
Main - Barbecued Veal Cutlet with Potato Rosti and Parsley Walnut Pesto.
Main also came with a side salad of purple cabbage, pear and cranberries.
I think I was originally allocated dessert but then we moved the date and dinner fell around the time of my birthday so I was suppose to get the night off and Ryan offered to take on dessert too. Me being me I couldn't help taking over in some parts 'helping'.
Dessert - Chai Souffle served with Vanilla Ice Cream and Honey.
I also received a surprise birthday cake from the girls. I decided that since it was a special occasion I had to pull something out of the collection of wine Ryan and I had accumulated.
Our other family.
Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party No. 7 - October 2013.
Good food should be accompanied by good wine. I wanted to crack open a bottle of sparkling wine Ryan and I picked up on a trip to Tasmania and Tito Rommel added a bottle of sparkling shiraz.
Entree - 'Chicken and Corn Soup' - Chicken Boudin with Sweet Corn Dumplings
in Chicken Broth. By me!
in Chicken Broth. By me!
Some rare photos to show me on the other side of the camera when I'm cooking. I was on entree this round and really wanted to push my creativity and take a regular concept of a dish and change up the elements, almost like deconstructing it and re-presenting it in a different way. I also wanted to try at least one new technique - I made a boudin for the first time which is a French white sausage. I also wanted to make pasta from scratch but wasn't too confident so ended up using wonton skins to give it that Asian chicken and corn soup element. I ended up steaming the dumplings as I didn't like the texture of boiling them.
The chef and her pork. We were actually lucky to pick our choice of protein for our main. One person among us doesn't eat seafood but as the assigned chef wanted to cook with Salmon she also cooked up some pork belly. Happy to have been able to try both.
Crumbed crispy fennel rings and... Crispy chicken skin crumble!! OMG this was mind boggling amazing stuff.
Main 1 - Crispy Skin Pork Belly served with Pumpkin Puree,
Crispy Fennel, Vincotta & Orange Jus by Tita Jeanne
Main 2 - Kitchen Sink Salmon with Roast Vegetables and
Chicken Skin & Pastry Crumble.
Dessert - Raspberry Mango & Macadamia Vacherine by Celine.
Some extreme slicing action going on. It's funny how the very first dessert I made for our very first Fancy Schmancy Dinner has made a come back later down the track. This was a delicious frozen version though with ice cream in the middle.
Fancy Schmancy Dinner No 8. January 2014.
As our group numbers had dwindled, we inducted a new member to our circle, the wonderful Miss Chai.
My man/chef hard at work.
Entree - Salad of roquette, nashi pear, prosciutto, roasted hazelnuts
with foie gras crumble and a lemon olive oil dressing. By Ryan.
All hands on deck to help out our new member.
Main - Bacon wrapped Chicken Breast stuffed with Spinach and Fetta served with a roasted vegetable & haloumi stack and mushroom sauce. By Chai.
The lovely Miss Jessica serving up her pre dessert.
Pre dessert - Rekorderlig Strawberry & Lime Slushy Shot.
Plating up dessert.
Dessert - Strawberry, Lime and Mint Ice Cream Cake with Meringue. By Jessica.
As it was Tito Rommels birthday, there is of course a birthday cake after dessert to celebrate. We seem to have set a bit of a trend here pairing up these fancy dinners with birthdays, what better way to celebrate though. We were also very privileged to taste a very special (and expensive) bottle of Shiraz the girls has bought for their dad. Not long after we had this dinner there one among our group was involved in a major accident so we had to postpone our dinners indefinitely. After many months of recovery and rehab our dear friend and family member was back on their feet so we thought we should celebrate with a bang. The girls had also been keen on a tag team degustation style dinner so we picked a date and allocated chefs to courses and that was our last dinner for 2014.
Fancy Schmancy Dinner Party No 9. The Degustation Edition (November 2014)
Fancy Schmancy table settings and menus to match. We even had matching wines for the night selected by our in house sommelier Tito Rommel.
First Course (Celine): Coconut Crumbed Prawns served with Mango and Chilli-Lime Mayonnaise.
These were so moorish... everyone wanted more!
I tried taking a group photo at the table but didn't realise that the camera was not only crooked but wasn't focusing on everyone at the back. Also with the timer on my camera, the settings were crappy and the only way I could set a longer timer was to do continuous shooting... At least everyone had fun with it :)
Second Course (Chai): Oriental Tasting Plate - Fried Peking Duck Wonton, Hainanese Chicken served with a Green Mango Salad and Crispy Chicken Skin.
Third Course (Tita Jeanne): Bloody Bird - Blood Plum glazed Spatchcock with Kumara Crumble and Cranberry Sauce.
Fourth Course (Me): Steak Frites - Porcini Crusted Beef Fillet, Lettuce Foam, Fondant Potato and Deep Fried Enoki Mushroom with Bernaise Sauce.
Fifth Course (Ryan): Splice Donuts - Mini Donuts with Pine Lime Curd and Vanilla Bean Ice Cream.
I was pretty happy that Ryan made a bucket load of the pine lime curd, it was mega awesome and lasted us for a while.
Sixth Course (Jessica): Summer Verrine - Coconut and Lime Pannacotta, Mango, Coconut Meringue Crumble, and Lime Curd Ice Cream served with a Poppin' Lime Macaron.
The chefs, all very tired looking by the end of the night after we finished cleaning up. It was a fantastic evening sharing our passion for food and cooking (and eating). And we were all pretty amazed by each other's efforts, from the table settings and menus, to all the food and how we managed to pull off an awesome degustation at home. Not bad for a bunch of home cooks huh? Well done team!
Our food mug shots... Photos from Tita Jeanne.
All Fancy Schmancy and DESSERTed Dinner Parties will be on hold this year as Ryan and I are GETTING MARRIED in August. All our time and energy is being spent planning the wedding and also fixing up our future home on top of our full time jobs while trying not to be too anti social either. Keep following me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc for our food adventures. I can't wait to be hosting friends and family in our 'new' home.


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We still have plenty of photos to sort through and upload and a slew of demonstration videos in the pipe too, but we're thinking we might not be able to get through it all tonight (it's been a long day here after all). We'll do our best to keep the coverage rolling until we pass out or crash the hotels wifi again.
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