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Sunday, August 14, 2005
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So SMQ is late to this; given his brief hit on the "offensive revolution" examined by Sports Illustrated last week, along with his recent introduction to a sort of college football blogging community, he thought it would be useful to expand on his ideas of the "revoultion" (it's really an evolution) in contrast to those recently expounded in the "Gang of Six" theory from Heisman Pundit.
As previously stated, SMQ believes the unprecedented mid-major success of Utah, Louisville and Boise State is the result of a good scheme met with talent that is significantly greater than most of its opponents. The execution of these schemes, and the play-calling, more than just the design - because all coaches design good plays on the chalkboard - combined with the talent put these offenses way over the top against weak schedules.
Heisman Pundit's other members, Southern Cal and California (Florida, the sixth, is a member only because of Urban Meyer's arrival from Utah, and therefore its previous performance can't be considered here), has similar results for similar reasons - only they relied more on exceptional talent. What coach wouldn't say, "Let's try to get Reggie Bush matched on a linebacker?" Some things do not require genius.
Some do, however, and making Boise State, Utah and Louisville such big winners is a major feat. Hawkins, Petrino and Meyer deserve a lot credit. So do Carroll and Tedford what they've done at USC and Cal.
But why these six? These were not the six best teams in the nation; Auburn and Oklahoma are conspicuously absent, as well as Texas. They weren't merely the best offenses, either, since Texas Tech and Bowling Green could make their claim there, too. And what is it that makes Heisman Pundit think these six will continue relative dominance in their respective domains of the game, rather than be replaced by other teams or make adjustments to incoporate a new style of play that accomodates available talent, as has always happened in the past? Most importantly, why aren't these "revolutionary" schemes catching on with everybody?
Mainly because they aren't all that revolutionary; where Heisman Pundit sees five teams that reached an unheard of level of scoreboard lopsidedness last year and figures this must be due to a new type of scheme employed by these programs, SMQ saw talented teams running varied offenses that don't do much anyone has never seen before, but do it very, very well against weaker opponents.
Notice it says "weaker" and not "weak," because USC and Cal certainly played respectable schedules in the PAC Ten, Utah, Louisville and Boise each waxed bowl-bound BCS conference teams (Texas A&M, North Carolina and Oregon State, respectively), and Louisville should have beaten an obviously more-talented Miami team in Miami. But...
- USC is the most talented team anywhere. Combine the blue chips with good coaching (motivation, teaching execution, timely play-calling), and everybody is weaker than the Trojans. Its offense was well-conceived and well-executed, but the only thing revolutionary about it was the unusually high aggregate ability level of the young gentlemen which it employed.
- Cal had very good talent, plus outstanding coaching that almost made up for the difference in talent against USC. But Jeff Tedford's success is seen in play-calling and execution, not scheme - SMQ saw this team in person, and it was awesome, but it was because of accurate passing and consistent blocking, not any kind of schematic hocus pocus. He also saw Houston in person, and was far more impressed by the design of the Cougars' passing game, which was dizzying and always resulted in an open man, though one not as able as others at larger schools to separate from defenders by his own athleticism. Houston finished 3-8.
- SMQ also saw Meyer's Utah offense up close at the end of 2003, and it produced essentially a field goal (the Utes'touchdowns in this game came from a short field created by a turnover and a fumble recovery returned all the way). Totally not impressive. But it was playing a good defense, which is more than can be said for anyone it was up against in 2004. Meyer's spread is more innovative than what USC, Cal or Louisville does, but his teams have had less to work with too, i.e., no golden arm (SMQ was not at all sold on Alex Smith as a top prospect), couldn't line up and run right at tougher defenses, etc., but we've seen the same stuff before in Northwestern, Clemson and West Virginia - major conference teams without the talent edge Utah had in the Mountain West last year, and whose limited success was fleeting.
- Boise State's schedule, face it, was lame. Idaho? SMU? The Broncos are innovative, talented and mega-deep by WAC standards, but needed double overtime to beat San Jose State and a missed field goal on the last play to avoid a loss to BYU, and had to come form behind to beat Tulsa by a field goal. Not so hot on defense.
Oh yeah, defense. Cal and USC played it pretty well (well, except for Cal in the bowl game, obviously), but their "Gang" brethren from the smaller conferences were sporadic about it. Heisman Pundit, staying true to his name, doesn't seem to care a whit. Here's what he thinks separates a team from the rest of college football (SMQ's thoughts interspersed):1. You must have exhibited offensive dominance, reflected in blowout wins becoming routine occurrences.In 2004, yeah. Surely he didn't just pick the teams with the highest average margin of victory this last year and lump them together by a couple common threads disguised as a some kind of trend. Let's move on.
That was certainly the case for USC, Boise State, Louisville, Utah and Cal last year.2. You must never have been shut down by an opposing team's defense--unless it too was a member of the Gang.They wouldn't, really, since defense practice against other teams' offenses, the one they're going to see on Saturday, not their own; if a team is better at stopping an offense similar to its own, its because offensive coaches can give the defensive coaches some insight as to how certain aspects of the system work and what gives their own offense problems. But other members of "the Gang" didn't shut each other down, really, unless you consider the 23 and 17 points scored by USC and Cal, respectively, against each other "shut down," which SMQ would not because of these two teams' defenses.
After all, a member of the Gang would have some familiarity with sophisticated offenses, as they would see it every day in practice.
Anyway, all defensive coaches are good enough at figuring out tendencies and schemes; the difference (assuming talent levels are equal, or close) is how well players are coached to execute and, as importantly, play-calling. Defenses are confused by the crafty use of a scheme, not merely the scheme itself.3. You must have a very efficient passerGood teams have good quarterbacks, especially good passing teams. Jason White was a two-time Heisman finalist. Jason Campbell was a first round pick. The logic here is that the system creates the passer, rather than vice versa, which certainly isn't the case with Leinart or Aaron Rogers (not that they didn't benefit from good coaching and plenty of surrounding talent), although you could make an argument about the others, especially bust-in-waiting Alex Smith. There were eight other quarterbacks in the top 13, not all of whom are future NFL studs - solid passers are everywhere.
Every quarterback in the Gang of Five finished in the top 13 of the passing efficiency rankings, with Jared Zabransky being the lowest rated at 147.0. Lefors of Louisville and Smith of Utah were 1-2.4. You must be able to run the ball with success when the other team knows you will be running.
This is an example of how output (yards rushing) does not necessarily relate to input (the emphasis a team places on running). The great Houston offenses of the late 1980s had a back named Chuck Weatherspoon who was a 1,000 yard rusher while averaging almost 10 yards per carry. The reason he had yards was that every time Houston ran the ball, it was a complete shock to the defense. If the defense knew Houston was running Weatherspoon, he would get nothing. The casual observer would think "Oh, Houston has a running game." Nope. That's why stats can fool you. Houston couldn't run when it needed to. Texas Tech is the same way, which is why you see shotgun empty backfield formations inside the opponent's five. A Gang of Five offense can line up and get four yards when it needs to.5. You must be able to pass the ball with success when the other team knows you will be passing.Point Four is more solid than Point Five, because SMQ cannot think of a dominant passing team that has won big without the ability to run as well. But there are excellent teams in the recent past with only pedestrian passing games.
You can look no further than the Wishbone teams of the 1980s. Their receivers would average 25 yards per catch with regularity. But the reason for that was that every time they passed the ball, it was a surprise. A Gang of Five offense will produce an open receiver in almost any situation.
These previous two points can basically be boiled down to this: a team can not be one dimensional.
No team can win without being opporunistic on all fronts - rushing, passing, defense and special teams - but the mid-nineties Nebraska teams were as at least as dominant as USC is today (49-2, three national titles over a four-year span, without getting into the lopsided scores), and of course they were pretty one-dimensional with the ball. Heisman Pundit's likely response is that he's only referring to teams from the past five years, but it's hard to see how those Tommie Frazier/Lawrence Phillips teams could have been stopped by today's defenses any more than those of a decade ago. Also remember that, far as they've fallen, Nebraska is still fewer than five years removed from a national championship game appearance with an option-based attack.
More recently, Virginia Tech (1999), Ohio State (2002) and Auburn and Texas (hey, the 'Horns were 11-1) last year have succeeded mainly on the run, and survived with opportunistic passing in key moments (think Craig Krenzel against Purdue and in the Fiesta Bowl, both moments when the opponent knew he'd be throwing). What's wrong with hitting big plays by "shocking" your opponent with a well-timed play-action pass? It's a testament to do something well enough that opponents have to load up to stop it to the extent it sacrifices other responsibilities. That's good play-calling. If you have loads more talent than your opponent - the case for the vast majority of games played by "the Gang" last year - and are confusing it with good play-calling (not just a good scheme, because SMQ is telling you, defenses know how each play is designed), you're going to be able to run and throw. But all coaches are smart enough to know their team needs balance, and to design - or steal designs for - good rushing and passing plays. The difference is which coaches call the right play at the right time, teach their players to execute it properly and, above all, have the talent to outgun the opponent.6. You must throw to your tight ends and running backs with regularity and from your base formation.As Heisman Pundit's critics have noted already, SEC teams certainly do throw to their tight ends with regularity, as much as any conference except the PAC Ten. Why HP'd single out the SEC, SMQ doesn't know.
That means that you don't completely betray your intentions by bringing in packages for certain situations, much the way that Oklahoma would bring in Kejuan Jones as a third-down back, for example. About 95% of the time, his presence meant a pass. This was a very important point in the Orange Bowl and worthy of a brief digression:
The guy on defense whose primariy responsibility is to cover the tight end is the strong safety. The defender whose primary responsibility is to cover running backs out of the backfield is the outside linebacker, usually the weakside backer. That's Football 101. When I looked at the matchups before the Orange Bowl, I realized that Oklahoma doesn't throw to its tight end very much and doesn't throw to Adrian Peterson out of the backfield (AD had all of four catches in '04, I believe). Logically, I posited that that flaw in Oklahoma's scheme would have the effect of freeing up USC's strong safety and outside linebackers to cheat up and play the run, thus effectively neutralizing Adrian Peterson. That meant that all USC had to do from there was get a pass rush with its front four and force White to make plays. As it turns out, USC's strong safety (Darnell Bing) made a season-high 10 tackles, while the weakside backer (Matt Grootegoed) not only had 7 tackles, but also was able to float around in coverage against receivers and grab an interception. To wit, it would not have been possible for these two players to have been this successful in this game had they been burdened with the usual responsibilities of their positions.
The fact that most SEC offenses--save Auburn--do not throw to their tight ends or backs creatively or with regularity out of their base formations lends us to believe that teams like Georgia would be at a distinct disadvantage against a team like Boise State. The point is granted by many that Boise may be able to move the ball at least somewhat on Georgia. What many then point out is that Boise will not be able to stop Georgia, since Boise is not known for its defense. But, we believe that the disadvantage to UGA from seeing the system thrown at them by Boise's offense will be greater than the disadvantage thrown at the Boise defense by UGA's rather vanilla offense. In other words, Boise's defense won't be seeing anything it hasn't seen, while Georgia will be seeing things for the first time. This should enable Boise to control the tempo of the game, especially early on. The only remaining question is this: Is UGA's talent advantage so overwhelming that Boise can't overcome it with its scheme? Given Boise's performances against teams like Oregon State and Louisville--teams with pretty good talent--and Georgia's trouble with teams like Ga. Southern and Marshall--teams with less talent than Boise--I would answer that question in the negative. Throw in an erratic D.J. Shockley in his first start and Georgia may be playing things even more conservative than usual, which of course will play right into Boise's hands.
Anyway, Meyer's offense at Utah didn't use a tight end at all in the passing game, and his top backs last year combined for only 14 catches. Louisville doesn't use its tight end a whole lot, either (it did in the John L. Smith days, which were as prolific), but Petrino does throw to his backs.
Not that doing so would set these offenses apart, because many teams throw to tight ends and running backs often from base sets - I'm thinking especially Virginia, Purdue, N.C. State and, more than any of these or any of "the Gang," Oregon (79 catches, ten touchdowns between its starting tight end and tailback in 2004) - without boasting an unstoppable juggernaut of an attack. Notice something else about all those teams? They're all major conference teams with merely average major conference talent, and throwing to backs and tight ends hasn't gotten any of them above a merely average record.7. You must have offensive formations and plays that regularly confuse the other team's defenseWell, yeah - every coach tries to confuse defense with certain sets. But again, the confusion comes from effective, unpredictable play-calling, not just formations or design. The scheme sets the foundation for success, but any defensive coordinator worth his salt will have all that down on paper and in his players' hands by Tuesday.
This is understood by just watching the games. Again, going back to the Orange Bowl, all one has to do is see Oklahoma in a run defense while USC is in an empty backfield with five wide to see that the Sooners, despite a ton of talent, were overmatched by the Trojans' scheme. Watching Utah all year was amazing, as their stuff routinely gave defenses fits. Miami's great secondary looked silly against Louisville.8. You must have a modicum of talent.Well, duh (except for the part about Boise beating UGA - SMQ doesn't buy it, though he wouldn't be shocked).
This seems to be the area that confuses people the most about the Gang of Six. While scheme is a great equalizer for teams that lack talent--look at the BYU team of 1990 that beat Miami--to be truly outstanding you at least need good talent in the skill positions to go with that scheme. USC is a good example of a team that has superior talent and scheme, a combination which we hold to be the main reason for their current dominance. Teams like California have good talent all around, while Louisville is closing fast to that level. Boise and Utah offset talent gaps--compared to the others of the group--with the best schemes out of the Gang of Five. And now Florida is set to join USC as a team with both outstanding talent and scheme, which is why we believe the Gators will be the next great power in college football and the primary challengers to USC.
So, a great scheme is not a complete substitute for lack of talent. You must have some talent to succeed. And of course there are always going to be cases where too much talent overwhelms a decent scheme. But solid talent with a great scheme should almost always beat out great talent with a lousy scheme. And that's why we pick Boise to beat Georgia.9. You must use the entire field.This is great, if you have enough speed to threaten people deep. But Texas Tech uses the whole field. Kentucky used to, too. So does Hawaii. But these teams aren't talented enough to run by anybody decent. Are coaches at these schools just too dumb to send a tight end on a streak? They've never in all their years come across a fullback wheel? The scheme is limited by the talent running it.
So many 'conventional' teams are content to play ball control and field position, running safe off-tackle plays and the occasional simple dump off to the running back. The Gang of Five forces linebackers to cover running backs and for corners to match up with tight ends. They spread the field and go short, or bunch things up and go long. They send tight ends on streaks and fullbacks on wheel routes, utilizing motion and exotic formations to free their talent into space. Above all, you would never label them 'conventional.'
It's disheartening that Heisman Pundit is so dismissive of "conservative" offenses, since this approach is very effective for less talented teams. A team like Northwestern or Maryland, which may have below average talent, can shorten games, play sound, disciplined defense, and only need one or two big plays at the right time to win against more talented teams, and come out with a surprising season; teams with good-but-not-great talent - Tennessee in '98, VA Tech in '99, Ohio State in '02, Auburn last year - can take this approach to a championship level. Teams that throw the ball everywhere, on the other hand, tend to give up points because passing lengthens the game and therefore gives opponents more shots, and needs half a dozen big plays to keep up.10. It is sophisticated, not complicatedSMQ, having not seen the playbooks from a West Coast or "Gang" offense, can't comment on the veracity of this assessment, nor Heisman Pundit's credentials for making it. His best guess, though, is that this difference is overstated. All passing games require a lot of reads; some running games, like the option, do, too. Again, not that this necessarily affects execution in the end as much as talent, practice, hands-on coaching and play-calling.
The Gang of Five does not run the traditional West Coast Offense, which is a very complicated system that has rarely worked in college (see Paul Hackett, Bill Callahan and soon to be Charlie Weis). The WCO as we know it comes primarily from Bill Walsh and the 49ers (though some would argue with that, and I wouldn't necessarily object). The styles exhibited by the Gang of Five--all different from each other in a few ways, but all related by philosophy--come from the lineage of Don Coryell and Norm Chow--the two wide-open offense gurus of the early 1980s. Whereas in the WCO, the quarterback and the receiver must both make reads and adjustments from a playbook the size of a phone book--a dicey proposition for most 19-year-old college players--most of the adjustments in the Gang of Five offenses are made by either the quarterback alone or the receiver alone from a few basic formations. In other words, the implementation is simple. Hence, the execution bears more fruit.
ANYWAY, it does seem that what Heisman Pundit has really done is pick the teams with the biggest margins of victory in a single season and suss out a few common threads, most of which are common to many or all winning teams. But to suggest this style of play is ultimately more successful, or that these particular programs are going to have significantly more success using them, over the long run seems to ignore the game's recent history. Teams are always rising and falling using different systems; "dominant" Boise State was only 8-4 just two years ago, and before that played in something called the Big West. Louisville and Cal were both 8-5 in 2003, the same year Utah lived and died with ball control and defense. Here's guessing HP can draw up a new list next January of equally dominating offenses who excelled for the same reasons as the current "Gang" - exceptional talent (relative to opponents), execution and play-calling - and it won't be the same six.
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One way to prevent this thing from happening is to save on wedding cards, but much more well done. It takes more than that. It should be preserved and will surely involve a lot tacky. Even some of the wedding card online are causal as well add some embellishments to make wedding an extravagant affair. Indian wedding cards over wedding invitations with boats, or example, wouldn't.

subset: commoncrawl


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Red Hots Burlesque will feature both Kiss Me Kate and Kellita, leader of the Hot Pink Feathers! Also on the card will be The Scarlet Ladders, comedienne Mary Van Note, and Dottie Lux herself.
The show starts at 7:30 p.m. at El Rio, 3158 Mission Street (map). Get there early to get a good seat! The cover is $5.00 to $10.00, and please be 21 years of age or older.
Red Hots Burlesque
Come with your sense of humor, get ready to enter the pink bubble. Red Hots Burlesque brings you the "city's best" bump and grind at the "happiest hour" in the bay!
SF's Only Weekly Burlesque show brings you 2 of our favorites who have been missing from our stage for months, a new favorite and a debut on the RHB stage!
March 25th El Rio
3158 Mission St
San Francisco
7:30pm slinding scale $5-10, 21 and Up
reservations encouraged!
Please welcome back Kiss Me Kate. Both legs are strong and her doc says she's okay to shake and shimmy. Come witness just that! Kellita, the queen of carnival, comes back to our stage after months of touring, teaching and producing. Our show has so much more including surprise guests and a raffle where the proceeds go to the place of your choosing (fingers crossed for Tsunami Relief)
Come hoot and holler for our performers this week:
The Scarlet Ladders
Kiss Me Kate
Dottie Lux
Mary Van Note
and many more!
After Red Hots Burlesque, you can run/bike/drive/ride over to Amnesia for Baxtalo Drom - Revolutionary Road! Produced by Sister Kate, this show melds together music, bellydance, and burlesque. This month's featured burlesque performer will be Dottie Lux of Red Hots Burlesque!
The doors will open at 9:00 p.m., and the show will start sometime after that. If you get in before 10:00, cover will only be $5.00! After that, it'll be $10.00. Amnesia is located at 853 Valencia Street (map), and you'll have to be 21 years of age or older to get in to see the show.
Baxtalo Drom's Revolutionary Road!
Friday, March 25th, madness is in the air, and the rumblings of a vagabond uprising are on the wind. Come on down to our cozy little gypsy hideout and join the revolution! The tricksters start the fight this very night!
Mistress of Ceremonies!
DOTTIE LUX -- Baxtalo Drom welcomes back our own Bump and grind femtasitc girlie guru; master of the ass horn, and captain of clowns!
Rattling the Tin Roof!
THE UNDERSCORE ORKESTRA -- will put the p in your pistol and the zing in your zinger. Guaranteed to boost your bravado, perk your package, and tempt your temptress with their Balkan Klezmer Gypsy Jazz Swing and Belly Dance sounds!
HOLLY BREWER! Punk Rock Mary Poppins and front women for the politically minded band HUMANWINE; Holly's banshee cry is a rallyl to the people to live sustainably, Do It Yourself and "Get off the Grid";
Since 1308
Bring on the Dancing Girls!!
...Deliciously Poisonous, Delightfully Forbidden...
We are so excited to bring Jill Parker, the mamma of the modern tribal fusion bellydance (and our mentor) back to Amnesia with her lovely Sweethearts for a celebration of women's art through ages.
Rattling the Floorboards Loose!
OSHAN ANAND -- musical collage magician with an emphasis on post-genre orchestrations and electronica influenced by dub and world music.
website: www.oshananand.com
Sounds by oshan anand on SoundCloud
As always, we'll be having intimate performances all night long; so come early and stay late! Dress tight and get loose. And try your luck at The Lucky Road Show; where fortunes are told and made!
Amnesia, SF
Valencia between 19th and 20th
21 and up
$5 before 10 pm, $10 after


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Same garden, from the other side. Yummy chard, lettuce, beet greens & spinach are already making a regular appearance on the menu. The tomatoes are fairly happy, and I have high hopes for the peppers. Not in the picture are the beans, cukes and carrots. There is also broccoli, cabbage, onions and kale. Outside the main garden fence in the far upper left, is the squash pit - a 16 x 16 square with pumpkins, delicatas, potimarron (a French winter squash) and Inchelium Red garlic.
The greenhouse is empty but for the 5 watermelon starts. Hopefully the extra heat will be just the trick to grow this treat to full juicy ripeness! Next spring I plan to make full use of the greenhouse for starting more veggies. After comparing my in-ground seed starts with the ones the neighbor started in his sometimes-heated greenhouse, I realized that the extra head start can make a huge difference in terms of hardiness to heat and/or cold. Seems to be worth the trouble of running the bitty propane heater on chilly nights. The research continues!


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It is so wonderful to have everyone together for this holiday. Yes, again, I am very thankful.
The Jordan contingent arrived at 3 o'clock yesterday afternoon, then Cara (Andrew's lovely girlfriend) landed about 5:00, so by 6:00 we were gathered together in the kitchen, getting caught up.
Mr. C served up steaming bowls of onion soup with cheese toasts, all made by his own hand. After dinner came the dog walk, out into the cold, clear night. Beneath all of this fur is our sweet Emily.
This morning, Mr. C is still abed with a bad sore throat and Cait has a tummy upset. Nonetheless there is much bustling about in the kitchen. The turkey will go into the oven in an hour, Alex and Andrew are putting together the dressing using Mike's cornbread, Em is still asleep, Cara is reading her Kindle, Peter is "supervising" in the kitchen, Zeke and Huck are Hoovering the kitchen floor for any dropped goodies. The sun is out, the meadow is sparkling in its white mantle. It's time for me to stir around and get the carrots and brussel sprouts ready. The big Viking oven is getting quite a workout.
Happy Thanksgiving to you all.


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It was only yesterday that I heard news about another tragic story happened in University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB). A Junior Computer Science student named Given Grace was found dead in a canal with bruises all over her body, a mark of a very hard pressure, a tape covered her mouth, her hands were tied, and there was also a bullet shot in her head. I can't imagine how she looked like after the said incident. I can't help but grieve with what she experienced.
Honestly, I don't know Given Grace personally. I never actually met her. But, I have seen a lot of blog posts already on news and opinions about what happened. I am not blogging about this just to take advantage of the tragedy to write about something that some would probably like to read about. I wrote this as a tribute to her. I have read that Given Grace is a sister in Christ, a daughter of a pastor.
I pray for Given's loved ones, families, and friends that they may be comforted and strengthened in this trying time. My heart goes out to her family and friends.I admire the hope and faith that is seen in his father. He said, it's okay to grieve, but with HOPE. There was hope in him that someday, when the Lord Jesus returns again, her daughter will rise with Him.
To Given's family, count me in to pray for you.
But to everyone, physical death and suffering is not the greatest tragedy of all. Eternal death is.But with God's unconditional LOVE, He gave His One and Only SON to redeem us from the fire of Hell.
For the wages of SIN is DEATH; but the GIFT of GOD is ETERNAL LIFE in CHRIST JESUS, our Lord.- Romans 6:23


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SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. — If President Clinton carries out his threat to hit Iraq with air strikes, this military facility in southern Illinois will coordinate the punch.
The Air Force's Air Mobility Command, situated at this base 20 miles southeast of St. Louis, plans and directs transport and fuel-tanker operations around the globe. In essence, it builds the air bridges that allow the United States to project power abroad.


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|This ambrotype of two Confederate soldiers is
representative of the types of pictures volunteer
soldiers had made. The volunteer at left is wearing
an unusual Phrygian style cap over his tricornered hat.
(Photo courtesy Grensboro Hisotical Museum)
[Originally run in Lake Charles American Press, May 11, 1992]
Volume features photographs of individual Southern soldiers
By MIKE JONES
"Still More Confederate Faces" by D. A. Serrano; Metropolitan Co., 16-66 Bell Blvd.; Bayside, N.Y. 11360; 223 pages; 465 photographs.
Photography was still new when the War Between the States started in 1861 and volunteer soldiers from across the nation proudly posed for portraits to leave as keepsakes for families. Today, while thousands of these early photographs still exist, Confederate images arc much rarer than Union ones, both because there were fewer photographers in the South and also because there were twice as many Yankee soldiers.
Following in the tradition of three previous "Confederate Faces," albums by different authors, D.A. Serrano has compiled 465 portrait photographs of individual Southern soldiers.
These previous volumes arc all are out of print and have become much sought after collector's items.
In the introduction of the book is a brief history of photography in that period. The three main types of photographs made then were ambrotypes, which are images fixed directly on a glass plate; tintypes, images or japanned iron plates and paper prints in small "cartes de visite" (calling card) size or larger albumen size, both of which were made from a glass plate negative. The ambrotypes offered the finest detail and clarity, which often exceeds anything modern photography can offer. Some were elaborately hand colored. The author said the goal of the volume to simply to preserve for the historical record the images of individual Southern soldiers. However, the pictures are also excellent first-hand sources for a view of the wide variety of uniforms and weapons used by Confederate soldiers, although some of the guns and knives may be photographer's props. Soldiers from all of the Confederatc states, including Louisiana, Texas, Arkansas and Mississippi are included in the album.
The pictures come from historical repositories from around the nation and from many private collections, some published for the first time. Most are also identified by name and regiment.
Anyone interested in the War for Southern Independence should find this pictorial-history a delight.


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Subsidizing solar power based on the amount of electricity generated is easier to control by the government. One-time incentives don't give regulators much margin to ensure the quality of power plants.
Meng Xiangan, vice chairman of the China Renewable Energy Society in Beijing
Government policy is in clear support of these projects (Feed in Tariffs for large projects) while the country grapples with severe energy shortages following its shunning of nuclear power. However, this is likely to be short-lived and decline after 2014 once the current pipeline of approved projects is completed, largely because of a shortage of land in the country.
Frank Xie, IHS senior analyst for PV and solar research - commenting on Japanese market
I like the quote from Xiangan - it's clear and to the point. It would be great if the US woke up and shifted subsidies away from a front loaded (AKA: one-time) Investment Tax Credit structure. Distributing the front loaded ITC over a 10 year depreciation period for all photoelectric development (residential, commercial and utility) would accomplish this.
I like the quote from Xie as well. On one hand I don't think he goes far enough but I suppose the available land argument allows him to make his point without ruffling any feathers. In my opinion the greater reason for curtailing subsidies on mega-projects has to do with the fact that these projects never become competitive. It's better to focus deployment on residential and commercial customers who can self-consume electricity. This policy strategy has the additional benefit of encouraging the development of an energy management market which spills over into improving system efficiency.
You want a policy that gives the developer of a photoelectric system more responsibility and control over profits. The policy should evolve in stages.
1st stage. Throw money at the problem. Offer a generous FiT to get the ball rolling. Supply chains get built and/or reinforced during this stage. The market has limited information on the present and future costs of deployment. This stage of development needs to generate the info required to make people comfortable with the technology and its economics.
2nd stage. Start reducing subsidies and experimenting with self-consumption bonus policies. You'll expect system costs to fall to keep the photoelectric system profitable. Regulators can look at markets like Italy, Germany and Australia to get an idea for how fast they can reduce subsidies. Market participants can do the same. During this stage of development you can expect the installers and the industry associations to cry bloody murder when subsidies are reduced. It's all a show for the cameras.
3rd stage. You start hitting parity with retail. Keep reducing subsidies and fine tune the self-consumption policies. Restrict subsidies on utility type systems. During this state you kill off unsustainable developers.
4th stage. Transfer to value of electricity tariffs (VETs). If you've done things right you should have a large potential customer base capable of economically installing photoelectric systems and you should have plenty of information available to the market detailing the expected system costs, system performance, self-consumption rates and so on.


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Nate said he was helping us move. lol He was so nice to come last week and help hang a shelf and move some boxes before he had to leave out for the weekend.
10-5-11 My first day of work I would call this day...my initiation day! I went in at 12 to meet with the boss and then did massage on my coworkers from 1:30-8. They were supposed to be telling me if there was anything I should do differently as far as the routine things we are supposed to do during each massage. I was happy to meet some of my other coworkers & give them much needed massages. I was just exhausted at the end of the day! When I left Valdosta, I was doing 18-25 massages per week. They were just in the form of 2-3 in the morning and 2-3 in the afternoon with lots of time in between. At the spa, I work Mon 8am-2pm, off Tuesday, Wed-Fri 2pm-8pm, Sat 8am-2pm, and off Sunday. I love the freedom I have before and after work. It's just going to take my body some time to adjust to working 6 hour shifts. :) I do love being booked and not having to worry about scheduling clients. It's crazy how people here don't have any qualms about spending money to take care of themselves. Also, on my 3rd day of work, I was sent to a celebrity's home to do a massage. How cool!!! Then the next day, I got to work on another one in the spa. I'm not star struck...I just think it's so cool that I'm getting to do something I'd never have gotten the chance to do in Valdosta.
So after moving and a new super busy work schedule...my body has been aching! Nothing like taking multiple epsom salt baths. No, I didn't use it for the first suggested use on the bag!
10-7-11 The epic Valdosta vs Lowndes game...I knew I would miss the first part of it on tv because of work so I DVR'd it. The Cats winning in the last minute of the game...priceless!!! So glad they broke the 7 year streak!
A great video I found on fb/youtube after the game! I loved seeing the police car come escorting the team. It was a flash of memories of my Dad. I loved watching the rest and reminiscing about high school. The traditions of VHS will live on forever. I instantly was drawn back to my days there!
10-8-11 My first TN party and this guy was in the yard when we pulled up! Perfect!!!
I'm so thankful for Raeanna!! It was cool meeting all her MD friends. Icing on top of the cake was that UGA beat TN!!!
Great day! Loved seeing Malcom Mitchell #26 playing for UGA and being able to brag to the TN folks that he went to my high school!
One of the meals I made during the week. It looked so pretty I had to take a picture. No, not so healthy, but homemade non the less.
10-11-11 Jeffery had a meeting in Goodletsville, TN this week which is about 35 minutes north of Nashville. Allison & I spent the afternoon shopping and met Jeffrey after his meeting for dinner. Center Point Bbq was what he wanted to eat.
I had the best time hanging out with my childhood pal, Allison. Thanks for helping me find some great deals on some black clothes for work. Next time, I'll make sure we take a picture at the beginning of the day instead of the end.
One of our great waitresses. This hole in the wall restaurant in Hendersonville has good food and great service! Jeffrey snapped her pic and told her it would be on the internet. Her response, "cool."
Sweet & Sassy bbq sauce fits me perfectly, don't ya think?
When J said he wanted bbq & that he'd been to this place for lunch, I asked him if they had mac n cheese. This wasn't quite what I was looking for. It was like neon orange!!! I asked the owner what the deal was. He said they use a top quality cheddar cheese that's been made in a powder. Now, I grew up on box Kraft mac n cheese, but this was a bit much. He said if you add too much of the powder, it turns this color. It did taste good, but the color was stopping me from enjoying it at all. J & A made lots of jokes in the car on the way to Sweet CeCe's for dessert. The best one was..."Orange you glad your mac n cheese doesn't look like this?
One of my clients in Valdosta got me this frame. It has a perfect spot in my bathroom. I had to post it because it's so true and it makes me smile every time I see it. It especially makes me giggle about #3 since I love mac & cheese!
10-12-11 my first paycheck...


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Seems its time to review the Level System of Hair Color, the universal system: Colorists,Cosmetologists, Hair Color manufacturers, Stylists, use to calculate the hair color formula you should use. All of you new to Killerstrands trinity of web sites… please learn this method of categorizing hair color numerically in relation to depth of color and lifting capabilities. All hair color manufacturers use the LEVEL SYSTEM as a way of standardizing hair color charts and numbering color bottles and/or tubes. I have written about the subject many times throughout this Blog. I encourage you to read every post on the subject if you are new to Killerstrands and interested in Hair color education. The posts are not long and I try very hard to teach as simple as possible. You must speak in "levels" when asking questions, making comments, or helping out within the group. It simply doesn't work if the comment is " I have medium brown hair"…. that could be one of 6 colors, so learning the Levels is the beginning of learning the System known as the Level System which is the basis for all good hair color formulating. The LEVEL SYSTEM ranks hair color from Level 1 – being Black – and level 12 being the lightest blond possible ( just before 'white').
This chart is a rather old chart about the level System, so it shows the ranking has been around for a while. Once you get the 1 through 12 levels down, it is then time to move onto the Tones. . . as you see in the above chart - - years ago - - they called tonal categories "Shades".
This chart is a bit out-of-date. . .today in your color lines you will not find different tones in level 1 through 4 . . . why? Those colors {once you go below a level 5} are normally so dark you simply cannot 'see' any tones. Mainly what people want to do if they have hair that dark? ? ? Is to: cover their gray. Which takes a neutral . . or what I like to call a double Neutral ( 66/0, 77/0, 33/0, etc…) which just about every line carries now-a-days. If you have resistant gray, or a large percentage of gray ( over 25-35% Gray) I would highly suggest using the double Neutrals as your base . . . then mixing in a tonal choice with it for the best and most effective way to cover gray.
One of the problems you will face when coloring your hair is that most swatch charts display color selections on 'white' hair swatches. So right off the bat the color you are looking at is deceiving, it falsely leads colorists to believe that the color shown is the color they will achieve.
I want you to understand that those swatch charts don't take into consideration the pigment contributed from the natural hair (DURP) that will remain during the lifting cycle.
The percentage of "lift" in any color is directly related to its ammonia content and the VOLUME of the Developer used.
The percentage of deposit is directly related to the dye content in the tube of color, which is also known as pigment weight. The more dye molecules in the tube, the more depositing capabilities the color has.
Here is an older chart that displays the DURP ( dominant – underlying – remaining -- pigment ) contribution left in the hair at various levels during the lifting process.
Primary, Secondary and tertiary colors can be found at any level of natural hair color ( see above). DURP is the color that is left in the hair AFTER the lifting process takes place. Knowing the colors that will appear at a given level of color makes sure you will choose the proper base color formulation to either neutralize of enhance the desired color. There are just so many factors that go into knowing this, and remember all you have to learn is your OWN HAIR, so that is a fairly easy task. As professional Hair Colorists, we must know every single hair color/texture and type - - out there . . . which is why it is hard to find a good Colorist. It is not an easy job, it takes a lot of education, a lot of training and a LOT of experience to understand a wide variety of hair types so that you are excellent with every hair type that sits their butt in your chair.
The percentage of lift in all hair color is related to the ammonia content. (if not ammonia then a chemical that is a substitute for ammonia yet, does the exact same thing). I have discovered after doing well over 10,000 heads of hair, that when it really comes down to what people want with their hair color ( people that can have anything in the world…)……they really just want the proper color hair in the healthiest manner. I looked into "Organic Hair Color Systems" many years ago – and after using it for 2 months, I ended up with brassy blondes and just the wrong tones on all my Level 7 to level 12 heads of hair. I just could not live with – nor could my clients. I had never had a problem with that NOR a problem with unhealthy hair 'AFTER' coloring. So I just did a complete 180 and went back to the hair color ( Wella, Renbow ) I had used from Day 1 and everyone was happy again. So for those of you with questions about that, I tried – and discovered what people want is properly colored hair that is Healthy when finished.
Lets try to understand what Hydrogen Peroxide does to hair color. As it is important in the process. . . The action of depositing hair color molecules into the cortex of the hair shaft - - - is partly triggered by oxidation - - - which is achieved by the addition of Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) - - TO, the color. The color molecule in permanent hair color is just too large to penetrate the cuticle of the hair shaft - - - without first altering its structure with Hydrogen Peroxide. Without that peroxide the color will only stain the outside of the hair - - its really a great concept to understand if you want to understand the hair coloring process.
After the peroxide ( developer) is added to the color, it begins to oxidize or lose an oxygen molecule.This creates HEAT - - in and on the hair shaft, which expands the cuticle layer so that the color or dye molecules can penetrate.
Once the developer is completely oxidized, it turns into 'water' ad its chemical action stops The color molecules return to their original size and become part of the structure of the cortex of the hair. Then the cuticle closes - - trapping the color molecules 'INSIDE' ! The Color process is complete.
The reason for the importance I stress in knowing the Level System ?? Saying, "I have dark brown hair and want to put light brown slices in my hair….does NOT FLY! !! . . .because there are about 4-5 levels that could be misconstrued for what "Light Brown" hair is & 4-5 for what dark brown hair color is. A requirement for being a group member is knowing and understanding the Level System - - so just give it a go.
The Level System . . . is truly a GODSEND when it comes to hair color. Talking about it, calculating the next formula , , , just a multitude of problems are solved by having this 'system" put in place and having a guide that is universal.
So everyone PLEASE take 10 minutes, study the chart and swatches . . . what you always need to know is:
- what Level/{Tone} your VIRGIN hair is??? (your hair with ZERO color) Then,
- what Level/{Tone} your hair color is now?? .Then many times the reason this System is referred to is……. you are trying to calculate your NEXT hair color formula . So the 3rd question would be:
- What Level/Tone do you DESIRE your hair color to be?
I'm going to pick the one rule that most need to try to understand as it makes the biggest difference in trying to change your hair color……..IF YOU HAVE OLD HAIRCOLOR ON YOUR HAIR PRESENTLY, it completely changes the Rules of the Level System. If you have "virgin" hair ( no color at all) you have the most flexibility - - the widest range of what you can do. Lying about it doesn't help either. . .( believe it or not a lot of people do!). What they make is a product called VANISH, http://killerstrands.myshopify.com/products/vanish-color-remover]
In our store which actually reverses the way the hair color went into your hair. It does not use Bleach . . . it does not use peroxide – it is the most gentle hair color remover on Planet Earth. Yes, it takes a lot of time to execute properly - but if you think about what it does . . . it is nothing short of a miracle. So please don't doubt it…………it will be the beginning of a new head of hair for you.
Here is a common example of what many of you write in …. asking our help with…you should get a better idea of hair color and "lifting" from this example.
The person's DESIRED hair color is a LEVEL 7
The person's VIRGIN hair color is a LEVEL 4
Subtract the VIRGIN Level from the DESIRED Level
Add the difference to the DESIRED color level. This will give you the proper Hair Color LEVEL to use, to achieve the DESIRED results.. { remember this is on UNCOLORED HAIR, so the results and entire operation works easily – it all changes once you color that hair once}
DESIRED LEVEL OF COLOR………………………….………. Level 7
NATURAL LEVEL OF COLOR (subtract)……………………….Level 4
DIFFERENCE ……………………………………………. -- 3 Levels
DESIRED Level of Color……………………………………… Level 7
DIFFERENCE (add) ………………………………………… + 3 Levels
Level To Use ………………………………………….. – Level 10 Blond
Using a Level 10 color with a BLUE base would be perfect. . . and if there is a lot of strong DURP, I want to begin educating you on using the straight pigments we carry in the store. They are by Paul Mitchell and work exceptionally when the DURP is strong.There is a BLUE pigment that would work perfectly in this picture..
Hope this Post has educated many of you in the basics of the Level System, if it isn't quite clear, my best suggestion is to keep reading the many posts over and over….I didn't learn this until I was in my late 30's so it is possible for people of all ages to understand – repetition is the best method to make it clear.


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"To be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake is to be continually thrown out of the nest." Pema Chödrön (Thanks, Georgette, for the amazing quote.)
I must be fully alive, fully human, and completely awake all right, because in the last two weeks, I was tossed out of the nest, again. I thought I was used to crashing and burning, eating dirt, and having to triage my wounds. But you never get used to it.
On a blistering June 20th, I drove down to Baltimore to ready myself for a follow up PET/CT (a combination of two scans) with Dr. Georgiades at Johns Hopkins Hospital. After the test, Dr. G. gently informed me that there were four new "hot spots" that now need to be treated. "Hot" usually equals cancer. "We need to make a plan," he said, seeing me deflate before his eyes. "Yes, a plan," I echoed. I did not see this nest-tossing-splat-on-the-ground coming.
Let's recap: Before the days of leukemia, you may remember that my fight was limited to a head and neck cancer that appeared in a gland in my breast in 2000 (the treatment for which gave me leukemia nine years later), called Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma of the Breast (ACCB). Ten metastatic tumors were found in my lungs in October 2006 and after one left lung surgery and four radiofrequency ablations (RFA), they were all either removed or killed. I was back in the nest for awhile.
Fast forward to today: We had been watching one left lung lesion that grew a little since 2008, so I scheduled another RFA for the day after my tests, just in case something sketchy appeared. With this new "hot spot" news, Dr. G. ablated one of the spots the next day, and I drove home the day after without so much as a band-aid. It was the easiest surgery ever. But because two of the remaining three are in dangerous locations, he felt RFA was too unsafe, and he wanted me to consult with my surgeon. I negotiated hard, but he stuck to his guns and used the 'ol "it's for your own safety" argument.
Crushed, I sent my reports and images to my surgeon, Dr. Elmann, and pretty much spun out of control last week waiting for an appointment to make a new plan. Assuming this may require two surgeries, one on the left lung and one on the right, I braced myself for another medical leave from work and months of pain and crankiness.
Today, yes Sunday, I finally met with my Dr. Elmann, and he threw me a curve ball. Last summer, because my immune system had been destroyed and I couldn't fight off infections, I developed a whopping lung infection called MAI (also MAC). Dr. Elmann removed a large mass in September (not the easiest surgery ever), but I couldn't have the super extreme oral medications that some people get because I was too weak, underweight, and my GI track was shot. Dr. Elmann now thinks these "hot spots" are a return of the MAI infection. Cancer and MAI both show up as "hot" on a PET/CT scan and they look the same. They may not be cancer at all!
Finally, a plan: Biopsy at least two of the hot spots in the left lung to see what we're dealing with. If the biopsy comes back as MAI, I will begin the super extreme drug regimen (with lots of possible creepy side effects) for 10-12 months with repeat CTs to make sure the spots are going away.
If the biopsy comes back as cancer, I'll have another laparoscopic surgery on the left lung to remove the spots that are in bad locations, and return to Dr. G. for an ablation on the last tricky spot in the right lung. Dr. Elmann actually thinks RFA may be the safer option (I know Dr. G. can do it!), even though it's tricky, because surgery on this lesion would mean removing an entire lobe of my right lung with a gut-me-like-a-fish procedure that I can't even bring myself to describe. That's not going to happen. Trust me on this. Although Dr. Elmann made me wait a week for an appointment, he's the first surgeon who ever recommended surgery as a last resort.
I doubt that Pema Chödrön had infection v. cancer in mind when she wrote about being "fully alive, fully human, and completely awake." Now able to move beyond my imagined injuries resulting from this latest tossing from the nest, I have once again returned from the Dark Side. The rest of 2012 may suck a little, but at least there's a good chance that these dramas will soon end and I can climb back into the nest for awhile.


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Almost every female college student wakes up with the same thoughts in her head. What am I going to wear today? How am I going to do my make-up? But those are often the easier questions. The hardest part for me, as well as I'm sure many girls, is figuring out what to do with my hair in an effort to make it look different from every other day. Here are 10 easy ways to do your hair that are quick and cheap yet still go great with your personal style as well as all the latest trends.
#1- Straight: Everyone loves the classic straight hair look but not every one realizes that you don't need the expensive products to accomplish it nor do you need to damage your hair. You can buy a hair straightener for as cheap as $15 and budget-friendly hair products at any drugstore including Walgreens and CVS. Some of these products include Treseme's Thermal Creations Heat Tamer Spray and Garnier Sleek and Shine Smoothing Milk. Straight hair is perfect to go with your clean, sophisticated look.
Tips to remember- don't flat iron wet hair, always condition, and don't forget to use a heat protectant.


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Sony adds Slacker Personal Radio to BRAVIA Internet Video Link
We told you back in July that more people are enjoying listening to their music collections at their TVs. Looks like Sony is taking this to the next level, as they have integrated Slacker content with their BRAVIA Internet Video Link TVs. Slacker offers CD-quality music across many different genres, allowing users to personalize their listening experience.
Labels: gaming and digital media


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"You should just accept who you are, flaws and all, because if you try to be someone you aren't, then eventually some turkey is going to shit all over your well-crafted facade, so you might as well save yourself the effort and enjoy your zombie books."
Jenny Lawson grew up out in the country in west Texas with a practical mother… and a father who would wake up his daughters at 2am to see a 'magical' squirrel that is actually a dead squirrel he is using as a puppet after he took out it's insides while the blood is still dripping down his arm. Also, in case that sounds grosser than it should, he's a taxidermist. So really, its not that gross… he does that sort of thing all day anyway. Hell, he gets paid for it! At least, that's the kind of logic that you should live by if you read this book, which you should, because it's pretty damn funny.
Lawson's book is a collection of stories about her quirky life, mostly embarrassing and amusing moments that she brought upon herself (but sometimes not, when her father is involved) through her imagination, sense of humor and slight OCD. Everything from accidentally getting her arm stuck while learning to artificiality inseminate a cow in high school, to long illogical fights with her husband about leaving towels on the floor which end up being arguments about the zombie apocalypse.
I read this book by not reading it, some people call it cheating but I call it paying more than you would pay for a paperback to listen to a book being read to you thank you very much, which in short is called the Audiobook. Lawson even recognizes this fact in the beginning of her book and thanks the reader (listener), which I appreciate because yea, audiobooks can be a lot of money and it's nice to be thanked sometimes.
My actual point here is that some books really succeed as audiobooks (see previous review of World War Z) and this is definitely one of them. Hearing Lawson talk about thinking there are Chupacabras in her walls or making her stuffed french pirate alligator talk to a stewardess on a plane, cannot be more funny than when it is said in her voice. I have witnessed the Chupacabra fever that grips Texans and actually attended the armadillo races that her father loves. So that probably gives me a little more familiarity with her humorous anecdotes. But really, anyone would find this book funny because Chupacabras and talking stuffed alligators are funny. That my friends, is just a fact.


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The reason lightning doesn't strike twice in the same place is that the same place isn't there the second time. -- Willie Tyler
Standing in the middle of a field during a lightning storm is totally wrong. Standing there with a metal tripod, your feet wet and an electronic gear in hand is just plain stupid. So I decided to relocate to the covered court nearby since I preferred a safer spot to shoot lighting; I'm not that lucky but I still didn't want to get hit by lightning.
I thought shooting lightning was long exposures and narrow aperture but it was the opposite. I did this shot wide open (f3.5 was as far as my lens would go) and used bulb mode. So, I pressed the shutter and waited for the magic. As soon as the lightning spread, I closed the shutter. It took me more than thirty raw shots to get this one shot. It's not perfect but then again for me it's awesome. Nature's fury captured by my tiny DX sensor.
Sadly, I got just one shot. Perhaps it is true that lightning doesn't strike the same place twice.


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Tags: diplomat, affair, novelist,


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Over the past month, several 2007 debut authors have made some additional sales via their agents. Courtesy of the Swivet, here they are:
Jennifer Lee Carrell's follow-up to INTERRED WITH THEIR BONES has been sold to Dutton. Also, Amazon.com has declared her debut to be a top book of 2007. Her book has sold to 25 countries.
Christopher Barzak, the author of ONE FOR SORROW, has sold THE LOVE WE SHARE WITHOUT KNOWING to Bantam Dell.
Patrick Rothfuss, whose THE NAME OF THE WIND came out before this blog started, has made six-figure foreign rights sales to publishers in Spain and and Japan. That's two separate six-figure deals, and his novel has already sold in thirteen other territories!
Sarah Rees Brennan, whose novel, DEMON'S LEXICON has not even been published yet, is making foreign rights sales as well. So far her foreign rights have been sold to publishers in China, Germany, France, Russia, and Japan. Never mind that her original sale was a "major deal". This young lady is one to watch.
In other news on author's blogs, David Anthony Durham's ACACIA was selected by Publishers Weekly as one of the best books of the year in the speculative fiction category.
Similarly, Melissa Marr's WICKED, LOVELY is the number 2 choice of Amazon's Best Books of the Year in the Teen category. She also has her new cover on her blog. I'm no fan of tatoos, but I have to admit that the cover is, well, wicked. I am going to have to pick up WICKED, LOVELY soon, but I've been saying that for months!
Speaking of Amazon's lists, in the Science Fiction and Fantasy category, we have Brian Francis Slattery's SPACEMAN BLUES: A LOVE SONG coming in at number 5 and Patrick Rothfuss's THE NAME OF THE WIND at number 7. In the Debut Fiction list, Austin Grossman's SOON I WILL BE INVINCIBLE came in at number 9.
Back to the blogs. Jim Melvin's second book in THE DEATH WIZARD CHRONICLES came out on October 1 and is titled MOON GODDESS. Unless I'm mistaken, I believe his third book is out soon, since his books were being released every month. He also has done a radio interview, which is now online.
A whole squad of Juno authors have started a shared blog called, Fiction Beyond the Ordinary. Lisa Shearin has been blogging on her fourth Raine Beneres novel, THE TROUBLE WITH DEMONS, and it is fascinating to watch. She's up against a deadline and you can read day by day as she struggles with plot threads, writer's block and characters doing unexpected things.
I've received a spurt of review copies in the last week, some of them as "surprises". (Honestly, I wonder what my mail carrier must think, since I suddenly now receive all this media mail.) One of them was for the sequel to REIFFEN'S CHOICE by S. C. Butler, which just came out in paperback last month, but released as a hardcover in September of 2006. The second book is called QUEEN FERRIS, and it came out in hardcover on October 30.
La Gringa of The Swivet also had Tor send me David Keck's two books, one another debut from last year called IN THE EYE OF HEAVEN. The second book is an advanced uncorrected proof, due out in Febuary and is called IN A TIME OF TREASON.
Finally, La Gringa (I know her secret identity!) also had Random House (WaterBook Press) send me AURALIA'S COLORS by Jeff Overstreet, which I am reading now.
Along with all these are review copies that I expected, which includes Lisa Nevin's INTO THIS MIND and Suzanne Selfor's TO CATCH A MERMAID. Plus, I'm expecting a friend's manuscript in the mail. And I'll have time to do my Christmas shopping . . . when?
But I've got to admit . . . I'm loving this. And this sort of post is my favorite to write. It took an hour and a half to research and write, but who's keeping track?
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Long Overdue Author Catch-Up
Over the past month, several 2007 debut authors have made some additional sales via their agents. Courtesy of the Swivet, here they are:
Posted by Tia Nevitt at 7:51 PM
Labels: Author Catch-Up
6 comments:
- Susan Helene Gottfried said...
Tia, I'm working on my review of Auralia now (for Front Street Reviews, of course!) and ... would you call this speculative or fantasy? Or doesn't it matter?
- November 10, 2007 at 9:52 PM
- Tia said...
I'd probably call it both, because I think of fantasy as being under the speculative fiction umbrella, which would include SF, supernatural horror, superheroes, etc.
- November 10, 2007 at 10:19 PM
- Raven said...
You could always give your friends and family debut novels for Christmas!
- November 11, 2007 at 4:30 AM
- CaroleMcDonnell said...
Woman, how do you do it?! -C
- November 11, 2007 at 6:14 AM
- Tia said...
Raven, there's nothing like spreading the love, huh?
And Carole, I read lots of blogs! Authors usually post their good news.
- November 11, 2007 at 6:24 AM
- La Gringa said...
Glad you find me so helpful. And thanks for keeping my secret identity secret, although it may be the worst kept secret in the world. Ha ha ha!
- November 14, 2007 at 10:34 PM


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Citizens'Caucus To Meet Saturday
Hundreds of opponents to the Vietnam War will meet this coming Saturday in a Third District Citizens Caucus to choose a Democrat strong enough in the September primary to oust Philip J. Philbin (D-Mass.) from the Congressional seat he has held for 26 years. Philbin, whose District stretches from Fitchburg to Newton, is the second-ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee and many people consider the 71-year-old Congressman a hawk on Vietnam and an all-around conservative. Any resident of the Third District, including college students under 21, will be eligible to vote at the open caucus, which will be held at Concord Carlisle Regional High School.
The caucus will assign electoral votes to each city and town in the Third District, based on the latest population figures. Residents from each locality will meet in Concord and the candidate who gets the majority of each locality's votes will take all the city's or town's electoral votes. For example, I come from Waban, a village of Newton, which happens to be the most populous city in the District. If I'm the only delegate who shows up from Newton, all of Newton's electoral votes will go to the candidate of my choice.
The leading contenders for the caucus's nomination are Father Robert F. Drinan, dean of the Boston College Law School; Harrison Chandler Stevens, who ran as an Independent against Philbin in 1968 and enjoyed the support of many college volunteers; and John F. Kerry, who favors immediate withdrawal, and was the first Vietnam veteran to run for Congress with a dovish platform on the War.
Drinan, for the moment, is considered the favorite. He is well known in academic circles and at the age of 49 has mustered an impressive list of credentials. He is distinguished especially as the first priest to run for Congress since 1822.
Stevens, who would have to change his registration from Independent to Democrat in order to oppose Philbin in the September primary, is shied away from not only because he is not a Democrat, but also because he refused to endorse any Presidential candidate when he ran in 1968. Although Stevens had built up an impressive political machine, he has been assistant to the governor of Puerto Rico for the past year and returned to the District only two weeks ago.
Kerry has the most explicit stand against the Vietnam War and although his youth is a plus, the fact that he is a political unknown does not help him. Now 26, he was honorably discharged from the Navy last month but has been laying the groundwork for the race ever since November. Occasionally, Kerry makes obvious his recent return to civilian life and the Third Congressional District. When he came into the CRIMSON building last Friday, I introduced myself, saying I was from Waban.
"Waban, where's that?" he asked.
"It's in the District."
"W-O-B-O-N? Wobon? That's not in my District," he said.
"There's no such thing as Wobon. You must be thinking of Woburn. Anyway, I'm in Waban, a village of Newton, and certainly you've heard of Newton, haven't you?"
"So Waban's in Newton? Well, you learn something new every day," he said.
At Yale, Kerry was chairman of the Political Union and later, as Commencement speaker, urged the United States to withdraw from Vietnam and to scale down foreign military operations. And this was way back in 1966.
When he approached his draft board for permission to study for a year in Paris, the draft board refused and Kerry decided to enlist in the Navy. The Navy assigned him to the USS Gridley which between December 1966 and July 1968 saw four months of action off the Vietnam coast. In August through November, 1968, Kerry was trained to be the skipper of a patrol boat for Vietnamese rivers. For the next five months, until April of 1969, Kerry was the commanding Lieutenant of a patrol boat in the Mekong Delta. He was wounded slightly on three different occasions and received a Silver Star for bravery. His patrol boat took part in Operation Sealords, mostly scouting out Viet Cong villages and transporting South Vietnamese marines to various destinations up and down narrow rivers covered with heavy foliage on either side. One time Kerry was ordered to destroy a Viet Cong village but disobeyed orders and suggested that the Navy Command simply send in a Psychological Warfare team to be friend the villagers with food, hospital supplies, and better educational facilities.
Pulling Out
Immediate withdrawal from Vietnam, Kerry said, would take about seven months due to complex logistics problems. During that interval he would allow only "self-defense return of fire." "Logistic suport is now what Nixon is talking about leaving there and I don't want to see that. I don't think we should leave support troops there and I don't think we should give Vietnam any more than the foreign aid given any other one country." He does not feel there would be a massive slaughter of American, sympathizers once the United States pulled out.
In America, "everybody who's against the war is suddenly considered anti-American," Kerry said. "But I don't think they can turn to me and say I don't know what's going on or I'm a draft dodger." Referring to the House Armed Services Committee, chaired by L. Mendel Rivers (D-S.C.), Kerry said, "I want to go down to Washington and confront Medel Rivers, who never fought in a war.
Read more in NewsLaw Committee Postpones Decisions on Punishments


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PS3 Saints Row: The Third Owners Will Get Full Digital Copy Of Saints Row 2 For Free
At long last, THQ has released the additional content for Saints Row: The Third that was previously promised exclusively for PS3 owners. For all players that purchase Saints Row: The Third on PlayStation 3 and redeem their online pass codes within the next 90 days, they will receive a digital copy of Saints Row 2 (a $19.99 value)… absolutely free! If you read our Saints Row: The Third review you already know how much we enjoyed that game and if you haven't played Saints Row 2 it's an excellent precursor to see just how far the Saints have come.
Go back to a simpler time, when the Saints were vying for control of Stilwater, before they were global icons, a household name, and a criminal empire. Before Professor Genki and the Syndicate, there were the Westside Rollers and the Brotherhood. Enjoy classic Saints Row activities like Septic Avenger, where you spray new homes with sewage in order to devalue property. And of course, enjoy a number of DLC packs brought to you by Volitions' favorite Saints Row 2 producer, Tera Patrick.
Saints Row 2 will be available starting early next week for free, for all players who redeem their online pass in each new copy of Saints Row: The Third. The offer expires on midnight on February 13, 2012, so be sure to redeem your online pass before then, and for those of you who have already done so, keep an eye out early next week for the content. This offer applies to the United States, Canada, and Mexico only.
This isn't a bad deal, especially for those folks that didn't get a chance to play Saints Row 2, which was really good by the way. It's like 2 games for the price of one.


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VALLEYWIDE -- When you factor in the cost of tickets, parking, food and drinks, the cost of taking your family to a spring training game can quickly climb. But there are some ways to save a few bucks.
Joe Connor, author of "A Fan's Guide to the Ultimate Spring Training Experience," has been to all 10 of the ballparks in the Cactus League. His best advice for families looking to save a buck is to head to Maryvale.
The spring training home of the Brewers has some of the cheapest tickets in the league at $23 on the high end and $8 for lawn seats.
Connor also says that stadium can be easier for families because it doesn't draw the crowds that other stadiums do.
Lawn seats are cheapest in Peoria -- just $7.
Two of the 10 ballparks -- Surprise Stadium and Camelback Ranch in Glendale -- also have free parking.
Regardless of where you go, Connor says your money is wasted if you don't get there in time to get to your seat on time. The best players often only play the first few innings, and if you get stuck in line outside, you could miss that.
Connor advises fans to buy their tickets at home, print them out yourself and then skip the lines at the ballpark.
Connor's book is updated yearly and is available for download her at www.modernerabaseball.com.


text:
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Scouting report: Natural Knee Bender
Name: The Moose
Height: 2 ft 6 inches
Weight: 29 pounds
Head: 19 3/4
Position: Left Tackle
40 yard dash time: Depends on what type of lawn tractor is chasing him
Positives: Being short, Huba has a low center of gravity. He is explosive like a choo choo. He is also explosive when food is shown to him. Loves being outside, so practice should not be an issue. He is a natural knee bender.
Negatives: limited football knowledge and lack of potty training make him a project. Easily distracted by Elmo dolls, trains, and lolly pops, so his focused has been questioned. Still naps, which might make him miss afternoon practices and 1 p.m. games. Wants to be paid his signing bonus in lolly pops. His large head makes finding a helmet for him a challenge.
Draft position: third rounder
Posted by Joe Wolf's Vertical Jump at 7:30 PM
Labels: Bills, Eagles, NFL, NFL Combine, NFL Draft
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text:
More and more Indian students are taking an interest in Education abroad especially in technology and management sectors. Large numbers of Indian students are interested in going UK, Australia, and the US for their undergraduate and postgraduate studies. Studying in Europe, America generally opens new horizons for students of India. Large numbers of these students get jobs in developed countries that yield them a high salary and perks. Some of them come back home after their studies and find their way in India. Few of them starts their own business.
While new generation Indian students are willing to and rushing for education abroad, many times they fail to decide the suitable destination. They need an education abroad consultant who can handle their needs and solve problems. Sometimes you need a consultation whether you take a full course or you require specific training to enhance skills.
Education abroad consultant should have contacts in various universities and technical institutes in different countries such as the US, UK, Australia, Germany, France etc. They should be capable of handling Visa problems. It is better if they can organize admission process in Indian campus. Study abroad becomes easy with this facility.
Some of the Study abroad consultants also arrange for education loans through various banks and financial institutions. They are really helpful for the students willing to study in the US, Europe or Australia.
Jaipur has been developing at very fast pace. The city has large numbers of connections in foreign countries. Hence, many of the Jaipur students are interested in study abroad. A study abroad consultant in Jaipur may be helpful for them.
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