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A daily dose of the serious, ridiculous, and scandalous happenings in the world of soccer
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
A note on North Korea
I gotta say I had no interest in this team going into the tournament. Cast as the footstools of the other 3 teams in the group of death, their presence was a mere confidence boost for Brazil, Ivory Coast, and Portugal. But as today's game approached I couldn't have been more fascinated and excited to watch them play.
Would they march in rank out onto the field? What about the fans. Do they have any WAGs? Were they going to be wearing uniforms? Do they even have any fans at this tournament? If Brazil won, would they doctor the media in North Korea and claim it was a victory? Are they even showing the game there???
A team that practiced behind closed doors and arrived in secrecy, you couldn't get access to them, and journalists barely knew anything about them. When they finally met with the press earlier this week, a South Korean reporter asked manager Kim Jong Hun in Korean what he thought of his team's chances, referring to them as North Korea. Kim barked back, "There's such no country called 'North Korea.' Next question." (they refer to themselves officially as the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...WHAT?)
Yet what I, and everyone else watching received was an education, starting with an orchestral masterpiece of a national anthem resembling a soundtrack for a military parade. Now I know I can be a bit dramatic at times with my thoughts, perhaps so in my piece on national pride, but seeing Jong Tae Se's emotions pouring out uncontrollably during the anthem proved my point flawlessly (not to mention Maicon's tears after scoring). Then came the hits...
We learned that Japan based player Jong Tae Se brought a cellphone to training...none of the other players had ever seen one. Martin Tyler commented on Jong's scoring prowess (he had all the team's goals in their friendlies leading up to the opener), stressing his creative ability. He immediately brought in the big picture and the irony behind this, as all of these players come from a country which essentially forbids personality and creativity.
And of course the kicker that blew my mind. Supposedly, the fans we saw in the stands were not Korean. They were actors from China, hired by the Chinese government and paid to attend the matches and serve as Korean supporters... ... um... ... Well some have observed that the amount of money it would cost for a North Korean to get to South Africa and see games would be almost 100 times more than the average income. Forget the problems involving getting permission and a visa to leave the country in the first place! Of course we'll probably never know whether or not this is true.
We also learned afterwards that Asia's broadcasting union offered free live feeds for North Koreans to watch. And they were in for a treat, with a bullish Korean team taking it to the Brazilians for the first 30 minutes or so, and even scoring on them at the end. Just like that this country made its entrance into the tournament. My fascination and intrigue was utterly satisfied
Posted by footyforthesoul [at] gmail [dot] com at 8:59 AM
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North-south electricity interconnector becomes key issue
The north-south electricity interconnector is in the news in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
In the Republic, energy company EirGrid has yet to seek planning permission with the Republic of Ireland's planning authorities, An Bord Pleanala.
The issue of overground pylons versus underground cabling has become one that may well feature in this year's local and European elections.
Paula Sheridan and her husband Mike live in Drumree, County Meath, about a 45-minute drive from Dublin.
Both keen gardeners, their house is 50 metres from an electricity pylon.
The wires over their property can carry up to 400,000 volts of electricity and they say the proposed north-south interconnector will double that capacity.
Paula describes the nearby pylon as "a monstrous tombstone" hanging over their home.
"What price have we paid for electricity?" she said. "Our house is worthless. We tried to sell it, nobody would buy it. Our health has been destroyed; our children's inheritance is gone. Nobody has considered that in the equation. What price have we paid?"
Paula Sheridan was treated for colo-rectal cancer last year; Mike for prostate cancer three years ago.
And while they accept it cannot be proven that the pylon caused their cancers, Mike believes there is a link.
"Having spent an awful lot of time over the last 30 years out in the garden there, I would make a link between my exposure and the cancer that I had, yeah," he said.
Those opposed to electricity pylons say the metal towers are ugly and ruin the landscape, they lower property prices, but most damning of all, they are a health risk.
But the Irish Minister for Communication, Energy and Natural Resources, Pat Rabbitte, is adamant there is no evidence that overground wires cause cancer.
He said that expert advice from the World Health Organisation suggests there is no reason for health concerns.
"It's a fairly fantastic proposition, to allege that any government or state agency would engage in infrastructural build-out that posed a health risk to people. That really is unconscionable," he said.
The planning appeal process will hear submissions in favour of putting the wires underground - a much more expensive and technically difficult process according to Mr Rabbitte, which is why, he said, more than 95% of cabling is overhead in the developed world.
He also said going underground would put 3% on electricity bills for the next 50 years.
But Colin Andrew, a chartered engineer, a geologist and a member of the North East Pylon Pressure Committee believes the extra cost of putting the cables below the soil, for the two administrations and the two electricity companies, is worth paying.
"There is a better way and all we are requesting is that the governments, north and south, and SOMI in the north and EirGrid in the south, look at the better way, which is acceptable to the communities," he said.
"We believe the total cost to the average bill-payer of undergrounding the north-south interconnector will be less than 70 cents a month or 50p a month in the north."
Overground or underground has yet to be decided on.
But the need for more electricity is not in doubt, especially for Northern Ireland, according to a senior well-informed source.
Mr Rabbitte said he accepts that people have genuine concerns about the visual impact of pylons and how they affect property prices.
However, he added: "There always has been a trade-off between the comforts of modern civilisation and an element of intrusion into the way we live.
"That's unavoidable if you are going to have electricity supply, mod cons and the power to provide jobs and industry in the regions."
For governments, voters and planners the issue of pylons, it seems, is part of the age-old dilemma - what price progress?

subset: commoncrawl


text: I have a(n almost) fully featured implementation of RFC2589 by means of an overlay that allows to intermix static and dynamic objects within any naming context (handled by a backend that supports basic write operations: add, modify, delete). It has minimal impact on slapd: essentially, I had to rework the SLAPD_DYNAMIC() macro to also test the BackendDB flags and not only the BackendInfo ones; plus, some limited work to allow presenting the "dynamicSubtrees" in the root DSE. I also wrote the family of client library functions that perform the refresh exop and a comprehensive test, namely ldap_refresh(), ldap_refresh_s() and ldap_parse_refresh(). It needs some further development in the area of replication (could be minimal, I haven't looked at it yet because we didn't need it); the approach might not be the best: it's been designed for a limited number of dynamic objects but accurate timing, so each object gets an entry in the runqueue that is in charge of deleting it; a different approach could use a single periodic thread that cleans up expired objects. I need some help in cleaning up the exop stuff: I invented the tags for each component of the request and response data (where am I supposed to get them from?); also, there are some aspects of the RFC that I consider flaws (but it might be related to my lack of understanding of the terminology). For example (3.1, close to the end): A non-dynamic entry cannot be added subordinate to a dynamic entry: the server must return an appropriate update or service error if this is attempted. what is appropriate here? I used LDAP_CONSTRAINT_VIOLATION. (4.2): The responseTtl field is the time in seconds which the server chooses to have as the time-to-live field for that entry. It must not be any smaller than that which the client requested, and it may be larger. However, to allow servers to maintain a relatively accurate directory, and to prevent clients from abusing the dynamic extensions, servers are permitted to shorten a client-requested time-to-live value, down to a minimum of 86400 seconds (one day). This sounds contradictory, because on the one hand it says the responseTtl cannot be lower than the requestTtl; on the other hand it says that servers can limit it to 86400 s; is this to be intended that in the case the requestTtl is not acceptable the refresh has to be rejected? I'll submit this feature as a patch shortly (maybe tomorrow); if there is no objection, I'd like to commit it as soon as possible, because I'm piling up a number of enhancements that affect the same files, so I'm getting in trouble in keeping them up to date as HEAD code evolves. I've seen that in Microsoft's implementation <http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/default.asp?url=/library/en-us/ad/ad/refreshing_a_dynamic_object.asp> the refresh can also be obtained by directly modifying the value of the entryTtl attribute. In my implementation, I turn the refresh exop into an internal modification of the entryTtl (which is NO-USER-MODIFICATION), setting to "critical" the manageDIT flag of the internal operation; this allows to control access to the exop by requiring manage access to the entryTtl. I think we could also allow that direct operation, based on a similar approach, i.e. explicitly requiring the manageDIT control and manage privileges on that attribute, but I don't see an urgent need for it. p. Ing. Pierangelo Masarati Responsabile Open Solution OpenLDAP Core Team SysNet s.n.c. Via Dossi, 8 - 27100 Pavia - ITALIA http://www.sys-net.it ------------------------------------------ Office: +39.02.23998309 Mobile: +39.333.4963172 Email: firstname.lastname@example.com ------------------------------------------


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buttonalia says "I'm a New Zealand trained ceramicist with my specialty being sculpture, glazes and glaze techniques. I am now working from my small studio in Kent, England. Each button is hand crafted by me and many of the glazes are my own. Because these buttons have been glazed front and back and fired to a high temperature, they are non porous, durable and will never lose the brilliance of the colours. Do enjoy them, as I have in making them.
Here are some of buttonalias creations
Here are a selection of items made using these fun buttons. Buttons are not just for fastening your cardigan you know!
An Aviator Bomber Hat by melaniegansion
Flower Bookmark by DorsetHillBeads
Fun Wine Bottle Decoration by ArtByAna
And I made some fun cupcake pincushions
Buttonalia made a fun treasury featuring some fun items made using her fab buttons


text: We test out the new 8GB DataTraveler Locker+ G2 USB flash drive from Kingston, which impresses us with its built-in security and performance as well as value for money. And we've got one to give away! To be in with a chance of winning all you have to do is follow us on Twitter: @twingeeksdotbiz and Tweet us with 'Kingston Competition.' The DataTraveler Locker+ G2 is available from all good online retailers for under £10 and you can find out more on the Kingston site.


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In 100 degree temperature at the beautiful Pampered Salon & Spa in Castleberry Hill, attendees sipped on Victory H20 water, signature drinks courtesy of Ciroc, Rock Star Energy Drink, hat fashions by La Hattiere and delicious bites by Bridge Catering.
"Hat-titude is an education and awareness event that gives men and women a platform to rally in the support of the fight against cancer," states Jerika Head, founder and CEO of both the All About Me Mixer and Hat-titude events, "What makes our event unique is that we highlight all forms of cancer because the disease is not just limited to the ones we hear all the time, like breast, cervical, prostate, etc. We expose all forms, for both men and women, and we do it in style!"
And boy, did these ladies and gents show up in style! The hats were bold, courageous and beautiful, just like those who are familiar with the fight against cancer!
Special recognition to Dawn Kamara of Coffee Talk with Soy, Holly Clay (Sheen Magazine), Atlanta Tastemaker Magazine, Talking with Tami/11 Alive and Stephanie Clark (Essence.com).
Click here for the full press release.
Click here for the full press release.


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It has been said many times that Kenyan politicians need to move beyond petty politics and embrace issues.
So when the so called ODM big wigs were invited to the ICT debate, it was expected that they would for once give a blue print of an ICT enabled country.
Most of those politicians will also be on the frontline of telling you how
It was therefore expected that these politicians, who are gunning for Kibaki's job will do better by demonstrating how
That the politicians confirmed to participate but withdrew last minute is indicative that they either do not understand the role of ICT in developing the country or they do not care about addressing issues.
Am told that for the politicians, they are only interested in the ignorant voter and not the professionals, who are accused of shouting from roof tops yet do not turn out to vote.
I have heard stories that because
Such arguments are made by people who are not in touch with reality in
On a different note, somebody commented on radio how we are always quick to criticize the police yet we do not take time to commend them when they do something nice. They stand in traffic whole day at times rained on yet expected to perform like those in
So, if the comment is to tell me how Kenya is a pathetic country, don't comment here, am sure there are other blogs that will entertain that, this is only for those who appreciate the small steps the country is taking towards development and change.
Whilst the failure to participate may demonstrate lack of maturity by the politicians, does it mean we are all at that level.
Is there anything that can be done to change politics?


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Saturday Afternoon Bar-hopping
Our day of debauchery began around 2:30 in the afternoon with a trip to The Cellar Rat for a quick wine-tasting, where we enjoyed one of the best Malbecs ever to cross the lips of humankind. That moment of bliss sent our group of three (Weston, Chambord, and myself) off on a whirlwind tour of bar-hopping, that actually only ended up including three other bars, so I guess it wasn't much of a whirlwind--rather whirlpool--of beer and drunken fun.
Stop number one, was the Bristol Seafood Grill in the Power & Light District. I've only been one other time, for a drink, but this time we were going to have some food with our beverages. It was 3:00 pm and the doors had just opened for the day. We were the first souls inside the restaurant, so our options for seating were pretty much open. Naturally, as any good drunks would, we headed straight for the bar.
We all enjoyed beers from the tap, which weren't anything spectacular, unless you consider Stella, Sam Adams, and Guinness unique and exciting. We paired those with petite appetizers with huge-ass prices. I think our tab was nearly $80 for a few drinks and 4-5 small "starters" to nibble amongst ourselves. Don't get me wrong—the food was exceptional. Just pricey and tiny. I probably wouldn't go back to dine, as I'm not too terribly heavy on the wallet side most of the time…and I prefer to get a little more for my money. Chambord says she always will err with quality over quantity, but damn, sometimes a boy's gotta eat!
Stop number two takes us, of course, to The Flying Saucer. Our favorite downtown spot for beers, now that Tanner's has long-since gone the way of the dodo. Chambord and Weston each had a pull from the tap; I was feeling like a surprise, so I asked the waitress to kindly choose five "amazing beers" of her choice for a sampler. It was just like Christmas! I was so excited!! Betty, that's what we'll call her, didn't disappoint. She brought me a tray with five, ok maybe four, exceptional beers. I wasn't too fond of the pear cider, which had the aftertaste of a wax candle. But the other four beers offered a very nice variety. I especially enjoyed the Left Hand Stout. I mean, come on. Anything with your left hand's gotta be good! I would wholeheartedly recommend asking your waitress to bring you a surprise tray of sampler beers the next time you hit up the Saucer.
We played two games of (real) darts and then headed out for our next bar, with a quick stop-in at CostCo to get our hands around a $1.50 sausage. I felt so durty. But oh well, we were still hungry after our billion-dollar kibbles and bits over at Bristol.
Stop number three took us to Crosstown Station, the bar we hardly visit enough. Again, we find ourselves to be the only people in the bar, except for a few lonely guys setting up for a stage show. We had some beers from the tap—I had PBR, of course---and Chambord ran out to the truck to grab Uno Attack! Can't imagine a better way to enjoy my Pabst, than with a raucous game of Uno Attack. By the time we'd finished a couple games, the bar had started to fill with band-like groupies. The stage had been set and the musicians were tuning their tools. I'm glad the P&L hasn't yet scared off this unique local bar. We need more people to get out there and support the little guys to keep our hometown charm somewhat in tact…
To top-off the evening, I went home and threw up. Have I really become THAT much of a lightweight?! I'm blaming the sausage.


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How to delete Add my Transit from windows pc effectively:
Add my Transit is detected as potentially unwanted program that is used mainly to infects and cause harms to entire parts of the system. Displays annoyed and irritating pop-up ads, advertisements, banners, offers, deals, coupons and such more on the screen that stop you to do any tasks on the system. Further, it is also supported by the third party that is basically used to promote and advertise their products. Installs unknown and harmful program on the system without the concern of the users. It exploits the system very badly by its effects and use huge of the resources from the system that result to slow down its performance. During the web search it mostly redirect your web search to unknown and unsafe websites that result to add more threats to the system. Therefore to get rid of it, you should remove Add my Transit from infected system.
Add my Transit always keeps their eyes open to collects all the personal details of the user to forward it to the remote server to perform illegal tasks through it. Moreover drop infected and corrupted files within the system through its backdoor gate. Thus put the system at a high risk and may even sometime results for the crash down of it. Also displays sponsored links and ads that appears on the browser while surfing and insists you to click on it to earn revenue from it. So for the safety and protection of the system from its effects, it is advised you to remove Add my Transit from your computer.
Expert Recommendation:


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Er, well this is definitely a different take on our national birthday! Courtesy of RuPaul's Drag Race and one of our favorite drag queens, Manila Luzon.
Monday, July 04, 2011
Because it's the Fourth of July
at 5:42 PM
Labels: gay and lesbian, holidays, videos, weird
1 comments:
- theminx said...
Oh, that Manila is a classy broad!
- July 5, 2011 at 8:40 AM
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A body art airbrush tattoo kit is worth a lot of money if you have the
cheap tattoo kit. FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE. PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 13,
Tribal Ink's Temporary Tattoo Kit-In-A-Bag includes:
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Also be clear that a perfect tattoo kit should contain other tattoo
Pictures of Tattoo Kits for sale - R2200
Ink Tattoo Supplies 96 Tattoo Machine Gun Kit By Fancier ER02 Tattoo Kit


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- Esther wearing her great-grandmother Esther's dress, which the original Esther sewed herself
- This very special mustard...
- My guy who's as awesome as the one on the book cover
- Tulsa time... rule follower colliding with free spirit
- Being anticipated
- That Broderick, 2, will be a big brother in a few months
- Bogan's big grin - and that he loves his auntie!
- Bogan's first goal
- Bogan's second goal
- Bogan's third goal!
- Branson's sweatshirt from Gap kids, now worn by Broderick... I remember buying this as Bran toddled around the mall, anticipating a long soccer career for my boy. Passed down through all of my own kiddos and now on to the soccer-loving James cousins.
- My heart runs deep for Julie and Luke (and Mom!)
- This coffee table, seasoned with laughter and conversations and tears and stories (and stories and stories...) from Granny's south Texas den. Now surrounded by even more stories in its home in Tulsa.
- Basden wearing a costume my mom sewed for me as a young girl for a piano performance, of all things. I remember my resourceful mother using fabric we already had - red with little white hearts, and coordinating white with red. Darling! (and resourceful - Mom still had it in her attic!)
- Queen Esther. She came up with this one all on her own. "Because my real name is Esther."
- Hud's 1/2 price soldier costume, found the night before at Cracker Barrel!
- Bran coming up with a "friendly" costume. And John the Trix rabbit...
- The fact that Halloween is OVER (notice that all the kids changed costumes in the few days that passed between the school parade and actual Halloween??!)
Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always. Remember the wonders he has done, his miracles... 1 Chronicles 16:11-12


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I love stumbling upon unique, well-written, relatable YA books (if they must be classed as such) which offer something a little niched. Alice Oseman has written one of these. It captured me instantly and was refreshing, personal and original for nearly the whole thing.
Now I adore narratives such as those in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the Catcher in the Rye etc. so Solitaire greatly appealed. It's in the vein of being a kind of coming-of-age story dealing with the darker side of growing up in an honest and sometimes darkly humorous way – the troubled, despondent and brutally honest protagonist who exposes the 'phoney-ness' of the society around them.
Tori was a strong, complex lead character and had a modern, relevant and darkly humorous narrative voice. But what was great was that she was surrounded by other developed and engaging characters who were very much on a par with her – such as her brother, Charlie, and new friend, Michael Holden. The story with her brother, in particular, was very affecting and I felt much more invested in his life and the other characters lives even without the mystery blog plotline. These three were equally memorable and individualised characters and everything felt very real – anyone at school today knows a Ben Hope, a Becky etc – but that didn't mean they were two-dimensional in any way.
Michael was a refreshing contrast/counter to Tori. He was kind of zany and unusual – defying all the usual genre conventions of the 'male opposite to the female lead'. I was genuinely interested in him because he was so different. As a reader you feel hopeful that he's not just a 'love interest' – you genuinely don't know what role he will come to play in Tori's life. We find out new, surprising things about him as Tori does – some quirky, some frightening, some lovable. This description nailed it for me:
'Very ordinary-looking, not ugly but not hot, miscellaneous boy… I notice that he has one blue eye and one green eye. Heterochromia. He grins violently.'
I love that Oseman describes Michael as 'miscellaneous'. Weirdly it made me warm to him because it simultaneously suggested he was anything but (in the ways that matter). The heterochromia and violent grin really cement him as this ray of difference in a character-scape of conformity present in so many high-school narratives - as Tori narrates: 'the large majority of teenagers who attend Higgs are soulless, conformist idiots… sometimes I still feel that I might be the only person with a consciousness, like a video-game protagonist, and the rest are computer-generated extras who have only a select few actions, such as 'initiate meaningless conversation' and 'hug''. I'm sure many can relate to that feeling and it's brilliantly and succinctly expressed. Tori's negativity never grated on me as it was always felt honest and was often tainted with humour. In Tori, Oseman has created a character that has very obvious faults but you very much care about and are invested in. She also never really puts any labels relating to mental health on things – not definitively anyway – which means that Tori isn't a character you can easily push into a box or categorise, she does feel very much like an individual who is trying to work out who she is and where she fits – not having to conform to a type.
Within the first few pages there are some great, simple sentences which express volumes and invite you in straight away:
'I think you should know that I make up a lot of stuff in my head and then get sad about it.' (2)
'Sometimes I hate people. This is probably very bad for my mental health.' (4)
And this one is particularly endearing and pretty much cemented my desire to read on:
'Personally, thinking or talking too much about 'boy issues' makes me want to shoot myself in the face' (5)
I don't think I've read those lines before anywhere else. I kind of rejoiced. I'm not dismissing those issues, but it's not the only part of growing up – there is so much that's pushed under the rug just to focus on 'boy issues' in books, as if romance must be included at all costs with an insistence that all teenagers are in the throes of some hormonal/sexual craze and if they're not, or not pursuing these experiences, than they're abnormal. There is no one YA/teen experience – there is no normal, and this is what Oseman really succeeds at showing.
There are some moments in this novel that really stand out and showcase just how naturally talented Alice Oseman is as a writer – and how much more there is to come from her. She captures the essence of things so perfectly at these times and creates some memorable pieces of prose that you wouldn't be surprised to find in a novel with the cult status of Perks or Catcher in the Rye.
'I caught a reflection of myself in a Waterstones window and I realised then that most of my face was covered up and who in the name of God would want to talk to me like that and I started to feel all of this hair on my forehead and my cheeks and how it plastered my shoulders and back and I felt it creeping around me like worms, choking me to death. I began to breathe very fast, so I went straight into the nearest hairdresser's and had it all cut to my shoulders and out of my face.'
You can see just in this excerpt how the writing builds this claustrophobia and sense of panic and crisis by drawing out the sentence, the repeated use of 'and' – building and building, increasing to a dramatic climax without you noticing or feeling forced into it – you're empathising all the way through – as if you're Tori, suddenly aware of the oppressiveness of the very hair on your head. It's violent and dark and frightening and just simple but natural and brilliant. There's a rush of relief and victory when she cuts it away.
The core of the plot negotiates the social media/blogging/tumblr generation – the need for self-promotion, self-expression and a sense of self-importance. A need for some part of the external world to revolve around yourself. With the Solitaire blog, Tori has to experience the world revolving around her, but beyond her control – and how frightening that can be - a possible symptom of the cyber-age where information is accessible and it is easy to lose power and control as quickly as you feel you gain it.
*Spoilers ahead*
The tagline of the novel – 'this is not a love story' (made me think of 500 Days of Summer) – is where I felt slightly cheated once I put down the book. It so almost stayed true to this. And if I'm being fair, it wasn't a love story – at least not primarily. The 'love' bit felt incidental at the end – and I think I'd almost have preferred it if Michael and Tori could have had just a strong platonic bond. That was what I came to be invested in, more than any romantic climax in front of the school burning down. Those final events didn't click for me – I found the ending as a whole, and the resolution of the blog plotline, perhaps too melodramatic and unsubtle. I thought the idea, and the negotiation of the blogging age, was really clever and done in a layered and unbiased way which evoked the positives as well as the negatives, but I can't quite pin down where it slipped at the end.
These are my only two qualms over Solitaire and by that point the book already had me convinced that I'd be recommending it to readers of all ages in the future. The overriding strength is Tori's voice coupled with some genuine, diverse and interesting characters and Oseman's own smart, sharp and relevant writing style. I would definitely read it again and recommend it to anyone growing up in this digital age where our lives are online and we relate to people in different ways. if you're looking for a refreshing protagonist – a refreshing cast of characters in general – then Tori and Solitaire are it. I'm really looking forward to reading more from Oseman in the future – I can personally relate to so much of what she writes, she depicts that generation so perfectly (plus I respect her for achieving what I once dreamed of and with something of real relevance and value).
What did you think of Solitaire? Could it become this generation's Perks or Catcher?
'I don't blog to get more followers or whatever. I'm not Evelyn. It's just that it's not socially acceptable to say depressing stuff out loud in the real world because people think that you're attention-seeking. I hate that. So what I'm saying is that it's nice to be able to say whatever I want. Even if it is only on the Internet.'
'I actually think that a lot of people are very beautiful, and maybe even more beautiful when they're not aware of it themselves. In the end, though, being beautiful doesn't do much for you as a person apart from raise your ego and give you an increased sense of vanity.'
'He shakes his head. "You know all the names to books, but you haven't read a single one. It's like it's raining money, but you refuse to catch a single coin."'
'Everyone is okay with hurting people. Or maybe they cannot see that they're hurting people. But I can.' - the plight of the hyper sensitive
'I think about the sea of anonymous students who had been so excited to watch this. It reminds me of the people who watched the beating-up of Ben Hope, jeering, laughing at pain. The crowd that had jumped up and down like children at the fireworks at The Clay, while the injured ran, terrified, burning. I close my fist. The piece of wood dissolves into dust.' - Oseman evokes the mob mentality that you can find online, the danger of the mass consciousness where people lose themselves.
"Thought for the day," says Michael. He lifts one hand and touches the bandage on my arm, fiddling with the frayed edges at my wrist. "Do you think that, if we were happy for our entire lives, we would die feeling like we'd missed out on something?"


text:
The long shadows of the past year are almost erased
Only to be memories.
A bright new set of 365 lies ahead.
A prayer in the making.
Epiphany's star awaits
to lead us to the One who matters.
He lights our lives brighter and more focused
than any bokeh,
more beautiful than any rich color.
Love in human form
from manger to cross to tomb to new life.
Love in action.
Bright morning star.
Jesus says, "I am the root and the descendant of David,
the bright morning star." Revelation 22:16


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The Daily Star
Tuesday September 27 2010
By Michael Glackin
Head for the caves. It appears that an "unprecedented arms race" is under way in the Middle East as oil-rich Gulf states embark on what The Financial Times has called "one of the largest re-armament exercises in peacetime history." Apparently, Gulf states, alarmed by Iran's nuclear ambitions, are stumping up more than $120 billion over the next four years in a move that will also "generate fear in Israel."
The catalyst for the doom laden headlines was the news that the United States is selling $67 billion worth of aircraft and military hardware to Saudi Arabia. In what is the largest US arms sale of its kind, Saudi Arabia has agreed to pay $30 billion up front for fighter jets and helicopters, with the balance following at an undisclosed date. Meanwhile the United Arab Emirates is set to splash out $35 billion on mainly US made military hardware, closely followed by Oman, which is poised to spend $12 billion and Kuwait which is spending $7 billion.
Back in 1975, the late US senator, Edward Kennedy, warned of a "major arms race in the Persian Gulf," and called for a moratorium on US military sales to Iran, Saudi Arabia and Israel. At that time those three nations accounted for more than 75 percent of America's total arms sales of $8 billion. Washington was accused of trying to buy influence with Iran and Saudi Arabia to combat the sharp increase in oil prices as OPEC's Arab members used the "oil weapon" in the aftermath of October War, precipitating the mid-70s energy crisis in the West.
There was also a sharp increase in Middle East arms sales in 1991, in the wake of the first Gulf War and periodic arms build ups ever since.
Why is this arms race any different?
Well in reality it isn't. Most observers have highlighted the threat posed to the region by Iran, but that threat has been present for many years. In reality the latest round of purchases stem from an internal shake out of military capacity as cash-rich Gulf states update their hardware for a new era that includes not only the problem posed by Iran's growing strength, but the increasing threat of domestic terrorist attacks.
Respected defense expert Anthony Cordesman from the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington told me last week that this kind of arms build up is cyclical. "Everyone keeps talking about the 'arms deal of the century' but it never is. Iran is not a new threat; it has been the driving force behind Saudi planning since 1981. The current purchases will have a deterrent impact on Iran but remember that as part of these purchases Saudi Arabia is getting the mobility to deal with complex tactical environments such as the Yemeni border, or a terrorist attack on one of its energy facilities. The Red Sea area and the Indian Ocean are also becoming more unstable. There is no one driving factor in all this."
It is worth pointing out that the deals, which still have to be approved by the US Congress, represent a coup for the administration of President Barack Obama. The Saudi deal alone will protect the jobs of around 80,000 American defense industry workers as Obama heads into crucial mid-term Congressional elections. From seeking to buy influence to keep oil prices low in the 1970s, America now wants recycled petrodollars to support its beleaguered blue collar workers.
That said, it is also impossible to ignore the concerns with Tehran's increasing bellicosity. While no one would ever go overboard in stressing cooperation between the Gulf states, regional arms sales have accelerated in unison since Iran embarked on a series of high-profile missile tests in recent years. A large chunk of the money being spent over the next four years is for missile defense systems.
And apart from guaranteeing American jobs, the deals also underline Washington's determination to support its regional allies against both Iran – after Obama's ill fated "back passage" strategy yielded little – and the continuing threat posed by a myriad fundamentalist terror groups. To this end, Washington is arguably looking to provide the kind of cover to the Middle East or, more accurately, to friendly Gulf states and of course Israel, that it provided to Western Europe during the Cold War – only this time at something akin to a cash profit.
It is also worth pointing out that the military hardware finding its way to Saudi Arabia and its neighbors, though vastly superior to Iran's current arsenal, remains short of the sophistication and power that the US is sending to Israel. Cordesman points out that Washington has not offered Saudi Arabia the systems that enable advanced long-range weapons to be attached to the F-15 fighters it is buying. Israel is also set to buy a number of F-35s, a much more advanced fighter jet.
Such imbalances make a nonsense of talks of "an arms race." But more importantly the current spending spree does nothing to curtail Iran's nuclear ambitions. Right now the real problem facing the Middle East is the increasing likelihood that Israel will do to Iran what it did in 1981 to Iraq's Osirak nuclear reactor – before Tehran's nuclear facilities are active enough for an attack to cause radiation leakage that might cause widespread harm to civilians. Time is fast running out in this race.
Michael Glackin is former managing editor of Beirut newspaper The Daily Star


text:
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text:
She had recently moved back to Hawaii after being away for six years. It had been so long ago when she moved away. I remember how I felt when she and her family moved away during my senior year in high school; I wanted them to turn the plane around and come back home.
"Do you think I'm beautiful?" she asked me.
I was hesitating to reply. How exactly was I supposed to answer this? My cousin is about 5 feet 5 inches tall and can be considered somewhere between overweight and obese. I knew that what I say could really make an impression on her, good or bad. She is only 18 years old and still trying to find her footing in this world.
She said, "There are some girls out there that are drop-dead gorgeous. I just want your opinion. How do I compare to all those really gorgeous girls? Guys tell me I am beautiful - a black guy even gave me his phone number while I was waiting at the bus stop - but I just don't feel like I am good looking. I really don't."
I didn't like what I was hearing. I once read somewhere that people can be the cruelest not to others but to themselves ("Look at me. I'll never be good enough"). I carefully thought about what I would say. Then I said it.
"Remember the time I wanted to use the bathroom at McDonalds but the men's bathroom was closed so I ran to Walmart to use the bathroom? I remember that me and your brother were waiting in line to order and you were using the bathroom. When you came out of the bathroom and was walking towards us, I had been thinking to myself, 'Wow, Jerlyn looks very beautiful and classy."
I was telling the truth. Even now I can picture her as she was walking toward me that day. She had been glowing. If only she could see what I see in her. She has so much potential, so much natural elegance.
"Really? Awe thank you. That's very sweet of you," she said.
The best thing that I could have done for her was show her that I love her.
And I believe I did just that.
Current page views: 49,080
Current followers: 171


text:
By now the light was long on the plain and the herd was only a fume of gold near the horizon. Behind it, dung steamed, and dust sank gently to the shattered ground. She looked far away for a moment, wondering. Something — it was like a forgotten word on the tip of the tongue. She felt the sudden chill of the late afternoon and she wondered what she had been wondering about. "Come, children," she said briskly, "it's high time for supper." And she turned away; they followed.
The trouble was, her son was thinking, you could never trust her. If she said a thing was so, she was probably just trying to get her way with you. If she said a thing wasn't so, it probably was so. But you never could be sure. Not without seeing for yourself. I'm going to go, he told himself; I don't care what she wants. And if it isn't so, why then I'll live on the range and make the great journey and find out what is so. And if what she told was true, why then I'll know ahead of time and the one I will charge is The Man With The Hammer. I'll put Him and His Hammer out of the way forever, and that will make me an even better hero than The One Who Came Back.
So, when his mother glanced at him in concern, not quite daring to ask her question, he gave her his most docile smile, and snuggled his head against her, and she was comforted.
The littlest and youngest of them was doing double skips in his efforts to keep up with her. Now that he wouldn't be interrupting her, and none of the big ones would hear and make fun of him, he shyly whispered his question, so warmly moistly ticklish that she felt as if he were licking her ear.
"What is it, darling?" she asked, bending down.
"What's a train?"


text:
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Dioncounda Traore, the former parliament speaker, was sworn into office in the capital of the west African nation on Thursday, at a ceremony attended by, among others, junta leader Captain Amadou Sanogo who grabbed power in a March 22 coup.
Traore, 70, took charge in a country facing its worst-ever crisis, threatening to unleash "total war'' on the Tuareg rebels, Islamists and outlaws who overran Mali's vast desert north in the power vacuum created by the coup.
"I am aware of being the president of a country at war," said the mathematician turned politician, who is expected to name a prime minister and organise elections within 40 days.


text:
This is an excellent piece of news from NPR:
"Women with low-risk pregnancies should be allowed to spend more time in labor, to reduce the risk of having an unnecessary C-section, the nation's obstetricians say.
"The new guidelines on reducing cesarean deliveries are aimed at first-time mothers, according to the American College of Obstetricians and the Society for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, which released the guidelines Wednesday online and in Obstetrics and Gynecology.
"About one-third of all births in the U.S. are done by C-section, and most of those are in first-time mothers. There's been a 60 percent increase in these deliveries since the 1990s, but childbirth hasn't become markedly safer for babies or mothers.
"That discrepancy has led many to conclude that the operation is being overused. A C-section is major surgery. The procedure can increase complications for the mother and raise the risk during future pregnancies.
"Women giving birth for the first time should be allowed to push for at least three hours, the guidelines say. And if epidural anesthesia is used, they can push even longer. Techniques such as forceps are also recommended to help with vaginal delivery.Read the full story here.
Homebirth midwives have often noted the wide variation in "normal" birth patterns that they've observed through years of experience. This is especially true of first-time mothers, whose bodies haven't ever done the enormous task of labor and delivery. Now there's apparently some observational data to back that up. Let's hope doctors take notice!
This would also be useful information for women who had a c-section with their first and are pregnant again. Doctors are fond of saying that such women will experience labor like it's the first time. Again, let's hope they'll take this advice to heart and give women attempting vaginal delivery an adequate amount of time and patience to try.
If either of these things apply to you, don't hesitate to bring this article to your doctor's attention!


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It would seem I've been truly bitten by the podcasting bug, within a day of Nerdology Episode 2 finally making it's way online, the first episode of Starburst Magazine's Blue Box Podcast was made available.
The show is a bit more casual than some out there that focus on Doctor Who, it's essentially three (soon to be four) chaps having a chat about the classic series and new Who, with plenty of banter and laughs along the way.
The host of the show is JR Southall, who has been a friend for many years. He writes the Watching Doctor Who segment of the eponymous Blue Box section of the magazine, and has edited a book due out soon from Hirst Publishing called You And Who.
His co-host is Lee Rawlings, Lee has worked in radio for four years and has a way of approaching a subject from a quirky angle, which can lead to some fun conversations.
I think my role on the show is rather different from that of the Nerdology podcast, I'm quite happy to let the other two chat, and will chip in when required with my thoughts on the subject, think Karl Pilkington (but nowhere near as funny!).
From episode four onwards, Simon Brett will be the fourth member of the team. He's an artist and a DJ, and a thoroughly decent chap.
We've recorded four episodes so far with more to follow, the first three were recorded in one sitting, and the sound levels on those initial episodes are a little quiet in places, but thanks to some sparkly new equipment the new episodes are sounding just great! I have made no secret in the past that I'm a huge fan of Radio Free Skaro, if you've listened right through from episode one (yes me too!) you'll know that the early episodes suffered from the odd technical glitch, whereas these days it's very slick, if this show gets anywhere near the wonderous glory that is RFS, I think all concerned would be delighted.


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Some of My Recently Published ArticlesAugust 23, 2006 0 comments
Good morning friends! I have been writing my rear off lately, but I'm taking a short break now to share some of my recently published articles with you. Who knows, there may be an article or two you may find helpful. By the way, if you do find one of my articles helpful post your comment and let me know; there's a place to post comments at the end of each article. As I've said many times, I enjoy hearing your feedback. Your feedback makes the time I put into my writing worth it, plus it makes me smile and lifts me up when I'm down. Yeap, writers have down moments too.
Do you have a teething baby? "Relieve Baby's Discomfort and Yours" may just be what you're looking for.
Are you planning a visit to my home state (Southern Illinois)? Well then, I'm sure you'll be looking for things to do, places to visit and even a place to eat. "Make Your Visit to Southeast Illinois Pleasurable" will help you with all those things! By the way, if you do come to my neck of the woods and decide you'd like to meet me, then drop me a quick e-mail and I can arrange to meet you at a restaurant nearby -- I'll even autograph your book for you if you bring it along too.
Planning a romantic getaway with your honey bunch? "Discover Romance is the Smokies" may be the answer.
Are you looking to purchase individual dental insurance? My "Buyers Guide to Individual Dental Insurance" will help you choose a plan that's right for you.
Are you a writer too? "Research Before Submission: How to Avoid the Publishing Scams" will give you some tips on what to look for before choosing a publisher, agent, editor or etc.
Finally, find out how you can get your writing organized by reading "Ways to Keep Your Writing Organized."
See, I told you I've been a busy little bee :) Don't worry, I'll be back to blog again soon, and who knows, maybe I'll have some more articles to share with you. Until then, take care of yourself!
Never give up on your dreams -- work toward them,
Misti Sandefur, freelancer/editor


text:
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Openivo Inception Meeting Summary
Mission Statement: To put the control of television programming and television advertising in the hands of the viewers.
Values: Openness, Honesty, Freedom, Privacy, Security, Respect
Commitments: Open Source, Viewer-focus, Ease-of-use, Inclusiveness.
Vision: An infrastructure for a community of viewers, developers, content providers, and sponsors as equals, working together with mutual respect to fulfill the mission.
Day 3: Viewed and discussed panel discussion "Addressable advertising: Who benefits?"
Keval Desai - Product Management Director, Google TV Ads
Jerry Dow - Chief Marketing Officer, Suddenlink Communications
Carolyn Everson - EVP of Strategy and Operations, US Ad Sales, MTV Networks
Konrad FeldmanCo-Founder and CEO, Quantcast
Seth Haberman - CEO, Visible World (moderator)
Lisa Kowitt - SVP of Advertising, Wachovia
Daniel Scheinman - SVP and General Manager, Cisco Media Solutions, Cisco Systems
Matt Seiler - Global CEO, IPG Group, Universal McCann
Yael Taqqu - Partner, McKinsey
Discussed plan for initial trial system, including choosing and purchasing hardware, recruiting viewer participants for initial testing in one area in Cleveland, etc. This would lead to the easiest and lowest cost for viewer participants.
Day 4
1. Recognition and discussion of the problem that there would be minimal revenue available until there was a large installed base. Solution: Change the plan for roll-out to be as low-cost as possible. Plan for zero revenue until a significant user base is achieved.
Discussion of v.1.0 system: Software only. Includes a simplified installation of MythTV software with network management (power and functional monitoring, email notification for system problems)
Day 5 Final Day
We reviewed data on the adoption of KnoppMyth/LinHES, a simplified appliance version of MythTV.
I tried to get a very rough idea of how many KnoppMyth/LinHES users there were and how long it took to develop this base. A review of the subscription dates of the members of their forum showed the following data:
2004 1817
2005 2465
2006 15712
2007 7428
2008 82
2009 297
2010 234
2011 59
We were encouraged by the size of the group of early adopters, but puzzled by the large drop-off after year 2007. To get some idea, we did a practice installation of LinHES. Download of software took 2.5 hours. The installation procedure was awkward and difficult. Required 4 hours, with incomplete functionality. Our conclusion was that the Openivo 1.0 version did not need network management to provide significant differentiation. MythTV with a simplified installation and configuration procedure would be a significant advance.
3 comments:
- Joe B. said...
Marc - one reason for the substantial drop-off in KnoppMyth, and all Myth installations is the rise of popularity of HD programming. Myth and all open-source DVR implementations are limited in that they cannot record HD programming from satellite or cable networks. They can only record over-the-air signals in HD. This has led to substantial abandonment of the Myth platform and all other open-source platforms.
Until the FCC demands a solution for home recording and time-shifting, Myth will be less and less relevant.
- June 26, 2011 at 3:14 AM
- Marc Allan Feldman said...
Very good points. Availability of the Hauppauge 1212 HD PVR allows HD recordings from Cable and Satellite, as long as the cable box has component outputs. If a critical mass of users develops, the Cable and Satellite networks will be unable to close the "analog hole".
- June 26, 2011 at 8:19 AM
- Mary said...
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- October 18, 2011 at 12:06 AM


text:
The Naval Facilities Engineering Command in Norfolk, Virginia is currently seeking qualified candidates with outstanding research, written and oral communication skills for a career position in the Marine Resources Section.
Duties will include preparation, management, and review of marine resources assessments; marine species density estimates; marine species survey plans and reports; Endangered Species Act (ESA) Section 7 documentation; Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) small take authorization requests; mitigation and monitoring plans; National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation; and environmental studies assessing the environmental impacts of proposed Navy/Marine Corps at-sea training operations.
The person(s) selected will be expected to participate in consultations with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and the US Fish and Wildlife Service(USFWS), coordinate projects with a multi-disciplinary team, and manage contracts for research and compliance documents.
Experience or knowledge of the following is highly desirable: marine mammal, sea turtle, seabird or fisheries biology; research design for marine species monitoring programs; principals of underwater acoustics; statistical principles and methods; ESRI Geographic Information System (GIS) products; environmental legislation and DoD/Navy policy.
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Applicants are encouraged to send a resume (no more than 2 pages long)to Erin Swiader (firstname.lastname@example.com) by Dec. 1.
J. Erin Swiader
Marine Resources Section Head
Naval Facilities Engineering Command Atlantic
domingo, 23 de noviembre de 2008
Empleo: Virginia, EEUU!
Publicado por Marta
Etiquetas: Empleo en América
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text:
HEARTS owner Ann Budge has paid tribute to the Jambos fans after 5000 season tickets were snapped up within a week of going on sale.
The Tynecastle club are preparing for life in the second tier having failed to stave off relegation following a 15 point penalty for going into administration.
But supporters have shown their commitment to the club just weeks after they formally came out of administration by snapping up new season books.
According to the club it's the best response in eight years - since the club were basking in the 2006 Scottish Cup glory.
Budge said: "Sales volumes during the first week have exceeded all expectations. To break through the 5000 mark in such a short space of time is, quite simply, superb.
"This is the beginning of an exciting journey for everyone at the club and it is fantastic to see so many fans joining the revival.
"We asked the supporters, where possible, to use cash or cheque to pay for their tickets and to have so many doing so is very much appreciated. This is, truly, a great help to the club and I can't thank them enough."
The second phase of the season ticket sale will begin on July 14 just four days before the Jambos welcome English giants Manchester City to Edinburgh for a glamour pre-season friendly.
Budge said: of that match: "During negotiations we have done our very best to ensure as many as possible of their first team squad will be present, so both the game and the training session on the previous evening should offer lots of opportunity for old and young alike to see some of the world's most acclaimed players at Tynecastle."


text:
Thursday, July 8, 2010
The Impostor's Daughter by Laurie Sandell Out in Paperback + Giveaway!
To celebrate the release of this book in paperback on July 12, Hachette is sponsoring a giveaway of 5 copies of The Impostor's Daughter on my blog. The giveaway is open to U.S. and Canadian residents only (no P.O. boxes). I will accept entries until 11:59 PM Eastern Time on Thursday, July 29. I will select the winners using Random.org.
For one entry, please tell me the title of one of your favourite graphic novels/memoirs. If you haven't read any yet, let me know why you want to read this one. Please be sure to provide me with a way of getting in touch with you. Entries that do not answer one of these questions or do not provide a blog link or email address will be disqualified.
Other ways to earn entries:
+1 if you comment on my review of The Impostor's Daughter (if you've already done so, that counts too)
+1 if you are a follower or subscriber (please let me know)
Best of luck!
32 comments:
Ooh, throw me in the pot! The only graphic novel I've read so far has been The Complete Persepolis, and I enjoyed it. So many people rave about graphic novels, though, that I feel like I should read more of them, and I'd love to give this one a try. :)ReplyDelete
stephaniedekeyser AT gmail.com and I follow you with my handy Google Reader!
- AnonymousJuly 8, 2010 at 11:21 PM
I love anime graphic novels (if they count).ReplyDelete
I am a follower and I commented on your review! My e-mail can be found on my blogger profile! http://www.blogger.com/profile/04439399868591953472
I love graphic memoirs - my very, very favorite is Blankets by Craig Thompson. I've been wanting to read The Impostor's Daughter for a while - thanks for hosting the giveaway!ReplyDelete
I'm a subscriber and follower. :)
nnjmom at yahoo dot com
I might be involved in a giveaway for this too, so don't count me in.ReplyDelete
+1 I am a followerReplyDelete
+1 I really enjoyed reading the Dreaming Series by Queenie Chan.
cindysloveofbooks AT gmail DOT com
Thanks for hosting this great contest Avis.
I loved The ArrivalReplyDelete
+1 I subscribe
aksimmo at brainerd dot net
This would be my first graphic novel and I would like to win it.ReplyDelete
cenya2 at hotmail dot com
I've been curious about this one for some time, as I hear a lot of mixed reviews. I do love graphic novels, though! Some of my favorites in the nonfiction/memoir genres have been Embroideries and Chicken With Plums, both by Marjane Satrapi.ReplyDelete
I am a subscriber, so I guess that's +1 points!
I think you have my email already, but just in case, it's amandagignac[at]gmail[dot]com. Thanks for the giveaway! :)
Please enter me in your draw because I love graphic novel memoirs. My favourite is Alison Bechdel's Fun Home. I've made a list of others that I like on the Edmonton Public Library BiblioCommons catalogue:ReplyDelete
I subscribe to your blog in google reader. I also blog about my eclectic reading tastes: check me out at http://lindypratch.blogspot.com/
i read my first graphic memoir last year--fun home by alison bechdel--and enjoyed it. alas, i can't be entered in the giveaway for this book because we only have PO boxes here. :(ReplyDelete
i will check this book out from the library, though.
This was my first graphic memoir, too! Not sure about my favorite (that's got to be Persepolis although Fun House is trying to sneak in). I haven't read a true graphic novel yet (fiction) but hope to later this year.ReplyDelete
No need to enter me, babe. I'm dropping in to say thanks for the e-mail. I've got this posted at Win a Book for you.ReplyDelete
(for more graphic novel fun, try ANYthing with Joann Sfar's name on it. Love it all.)
As for graphic novels I like anything Batman, I haven't read many memoirs but I did read Do-Over! By Robin Hemley and enjoyed it. I have not read any graphic memoirs which is one of the reasons I'm so interested to read this one.ReplyDelete
I'm a follower!
And I commented on the review!
I am really loving the Fables and Sandman serieses right now! I follow you w/ GReader.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJuly 17, 2010 at 5:30 PM
The magical Life of Long Tack Sam is a memoir of the author's research of her great-grandfather, a Chinese magician. I'd love to read The Imposter's Daughter.ReplyDelete
I love anime graphic novels (if they count).ReplyDelete
I am a follower
I haven't read any graphic novels but I'm looking forward to reading this one.ReplyDelete
Thanks for this giveaway. It sounds fascinating. I have not as yet read any graphic novels but would wlecome this one greatly. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)comReplyDelete
I've never read a graphic novel, but I've read a lot of very interesting reviews of this book, which is why I want to win this one.ReplyDelete
I'm a follower of your blog
autumn.crochet (at) gmail.com
One of my faves is The Watchmen. Hated the movie but loved the book.ReplyDelete
tclarkusa at gmail dot com
French Milk by Lucy Knisley - wonderful way to write about travels.ReplyDelete
vvb32 at yahoo.com
I've read several graphic novels for teens--two I really liked were The Plain Janes and American Born Chinese.ReplyDelete
Also, I am a follower of your blog.
I came here via your post on LibraryThing. Please enter my name in your contest. I've never read a graphic novel and have no idea if it's something I'd like. Since you became a fan of the genre after reading this book, I decided to give it a try.ReplyDelete
I'd love to enter! I want to read this book because the synopsis sounds interesting!ReplyDelete
aikychien at yahoo dot com
I haven't read any graphic novels yet but i have read several reviews of this one and looked through it in the store. I think the story is intriguing and I liked the graphics in this book. I would love to experience my first graphic novel with The Impostor's Daughter and possibly it will pique my interest in an exciting, new genre!ReplyDelete
~ Amy
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
I'm a follower via GFC and blogger/google reader.
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
I commented on your wonderful review!
Aimala127 AT gmail DOT com
One of my favourite graphic novels is Amy Unbounded: Belondweg Blossoming.ReplyDelete
ikkinlala AT yahoo DOT ca
I love V For Vendetta.ReplyDelete
I follow on gfc.ReplyDelete
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During my 2005 sabbatical summer at Saint George's House, Windsor Castle, we dutifully prayed for Queen Elizabeth II at daily Morning Prayer and Evensong, which we recited together in the Garter stalls of Saint George's Chapel. Of course, England has an Established Church (of which the Queen is the Supreme Governor). So praying for the Queen according to The Book of Common Prayer was, well, as it should be. On the other hand, we don't have an established Church in the United States. So when and how to pray for the our governmental leaders may seem less obvious.
That we should do so, however, should also be obvious. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone, for kings and all who are in high positions, so that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity. This is right and is acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires everyone to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:1-4)
Paul's prescription to Timothy was consistent with the common 1st-century Jewish practice of offering a daily sacrifice for the Emperor in the Jerusalem Temple and reflected the early Christian appreciation of the civilizational benefits associated with social and political community.
At the beginning of the American political experiment, the first Catholic Bishop of the United States understood and articulated both our dependence upon government and our responsibilities toward it. In 1789, Pope Pius VI appointed John Carroll (cousin of Charles Carroll of Carrollton, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence) the first Bishop of the Baltimore. (He would become Baltimore's first Archbishop in 1808). On November 10, 1791, Bishop Carroll composed this famous prayer to be recited in parishes throughout the United States. It is still well worth reciting - especially as this Inauguration Day dawns
We pray, Thee O Almighty and Eternal God! Who through Jesus Christ hast revealed Thy glory to all nations, to preserve the works of Thy mercy, that Thy Church, being spread through the whole world, may continue with unchanging faith in the confession of Thy Name.
We pray Thee, who alone art good and holy, to endow with heavenly knowledge, sincere zeal, and sanctity of life, our chief bishop, Pope N., the Vicar of Our Lord Jesus Christ, in the government of his Church; our own bishop, N., all other bishops, prelates, and pastors of the Church; and especially those who are appointed to exercise amongst us the functions of the holy ministry, and conduct Thy people into the ways of salvation.
We pray Thee O God of might, wisdom, and justice! Through whom authority is rightly administered, laws are enacted, and judgment decreed, assist with Thy Holy Spirit of counsel and fortitude the President of these United States, that his administration may be conducted in righteousness, and be eminently useful to Thy people over whom he presides; by encouraging due respect for virtue and religion; by a faithful execution of the laws in justice and mercy; and by restraining vice and immorality. Let the light of Thy divine wisdom direct the deliberations of Congress, and shine forth in all the proceedings and laws framed for our rule and government, so that they may tend to the preservation of peace, the promotion of national happiness, the increase of industry, sobriety, and useful knowledge; and may perpetuate to us the blessing of equal liberty.
We pray for his Excellency, the governor of this state, for the members of the assembly, for all judges, magistrates, and other officers who are appointed to guard our political welfare, that they may be enabled, by Thy powerful protection, to discharge the duties of their respective stations with honesty and ability.
We recommend likewise, to Thy unbounded mercy, all our brethren and fellow citizens throughout the United States, that they may be blessed in the knowledge and sanctified in the observance of Thy most holy law; that they may be preserved in union, and in that peace which the world cannot give; and after enjoying the blessings of this life, be admitted to those which are eternal.
Finally, we pray to Thee, O Lord of mercy, to remember the souls of Thy servants departed who are gone before us with the sign of faith and repose in the sleep of peace; the souls of our parents, relatives, and friends; of those who, when living, were members of this congregation, and particularly of such as are lately deceased; of all benefactors who, by their donations or legacies to this Church, witnessed their zeal for the decency of divine worship and proved their claim to our grateful and charitable remembrance. To these, O Lord, and to all that rest in Christ, grant, we beseech Thee, a place of refreshment, light, and everlasting peace, through the same Jesus Christ, Our Lord and Savior. Amen.


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text:
I. Summer: Light as air
milkweed butterflies
Danaidae, float
on amber, brown, black
scaled velvet
In spotted light, dancing
lepidopterae uncurl
long tongues
into lavender, fuscia, magenta,
gold ecstasy
II. Autumn: Rising in a cloud
of orange,
gathering offshore,
monarchs rest
on Pumpkin Island
Deep within
one cedar, the interior
shudders, alive
with soft wings fluttering.
Light as air, they lift.
They flit and float,
wings curved upward,
never linear,
in unceasing ecstasy
a two-thousand mile journey
Earth's only endangered
phenomenon: monarchs
looping their way far south
to Michoac`an sanctuaries.
El Rosario: flaming galaxy
III. Winter: Two miles high
in transvolcanic roosts,
wings closed,
they cluster,
millions upon millions.
at rest
Great boughs
of oyamel fir
from sheer numbers, while
outside, trees are felled.
Buffer removed,
winds howl past.
Fierce, unrelenting,
they push and squeeze
through all openings
IV. Were their tiny eye
when wet flakes settled
over tangerine
star-flecked radiance
and millions
- Sue Holloway
~ Excerpt from: Artemis' Arrow
Getting a taste of God's creation as it should be!
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text:
1699) Noah's Ark Being Built On Mount Ararat by GreenPeace
Mount Ararat, Turkey: Greenpeace activists have started construction on a replica of Noah's Ark, 2,500 meters (8,200 feet) above sea level. . Many people believe that Mount Ararat is the place where Noah's Ark landed after the floods. The replica ark is designed to be a symbol of hope and dramatic plea to world leaders to take far-reaching and urgent action to avoid catastrophic global warming.
Recently, the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) confirmed the potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change caused by human activity and detailed the possible consequences if we fail to act immediately. While the picture they paint is a dire one, there are concrete steps we can take now to avoid the more nightmarish scenarios.
Building the message
The 10m x 4m x 4m (32ft x 13ft x 13ft) wooden ship, being constructed by Greenpeace volunteers, will send a strong message to leaders of all nations that we must act now to tackle global warming and the impending climate change crisis.
A caravan of 40 horses have hauled the prefabricated wooden sections up Mount Ararat, where work has now begun on constructing supports as well as the keel and ribs of the boat. Over the next 2 weeks, a team of 20 German and Turkish carpenters will complete the construction of the boat, which will be turned over to the public in an official ceremony on May 31, 2007. A day before the ceremony, activists will climb the 5,137 meter summit of Mount Ararat and call on the leaders of all nations to make climate protection a reality.
Building towards a solution
Greenpeace recently launched the Energy [R]evolution, a blueprint for avoiding dangerous climate change and keeping global warming to under two degrees. The Energy [R]evolution sets out a detailed plan up to 2050 showing how to make reductions in greenhouse gases - which IPCC prescribes can be achieved using current renewable energy technology and energy efficiency measures - without harming economic growth and taking into account population increases.
"At the upcoming G8 summit, many announcements will be made on climate protection, but they must be followed by real action," said Andree Böhling, a Greenpeace energy campaigner, "Otherwise, the G8 summit will pay only lip service to climate change and a historic opportunity will be lost."
Climate change could mean a future with huge coastal flooding, drought, extreme destructive weather events and massive increases in disease and displacement of hundreds of million of people. That's why millions of people around the world are already mobilizing. They're lobbying politicians, changing what they buy and making smart energy choices.
16 May 2007
© Greenpeace / Manuel Citak
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T-bahn is a new independent music label based in Italy, dedicated to release only high quality and club sounds electronic music.
Shaked by Jitzu & sire_g, T-bahn favours a techno sound and its porpouse is to produce and release tunes dancefloor oriented.
However,inside T-bahn records, the artist are invited to experiment within all the varieties of contemporary techno/house music including also deepness, funky & organic elements.
We will be soon in all digital shop for bring you fresh music with our pool of artists and producers.
Stay tuned!!!
- AKA AKA [Ger]
- Amesh [Rus]
- Chatterbox [USA]
- Double Dash [Ita]
- James Venturi [Ita]
- Jitzu [Ita]
- Kandel [Ger]
- Lars von Licht [Ger]
- Luca Doobie [Ita]
- Nvelope [Ger]
- Pablo Rez [Ita]
- P.toile [Ger]
- Rich Jones [UK]
- sire_g [Ita]
- Tarifbereich_B [Ger]


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January 26, 2014
Weekly Loves #4
10 comments:
Basically in love of everything in this post, that NARS blush is stunning and I have been needing to try out the Seventeen Concealer. Great post!ReplyDelete
Some great picks here! Have been using the Idealist Serum for a few years now and it really has worked wonders on reducing the appearance of my pores :)ReplyDelete
i really want the naked 3 palette and a diptyque candle so badReplyDelete
That blusher seems to be calling my name... it looks so similar to sleek's pixie pink blush which i <3 could it be a possible dupe?ReplyDelete
Lovely post!
zara xx
I've just bought the concealer so hopefully it will help me out with my eye bags :)ReplyDelete
Gorgeous photo Emma! Gaiety is gorgeReplyDelete
Stacey Expat Make-Up Addict
NARS Gaiety is such a gorgeous shade. I definitely have my eyes on it.ReplyDelete
Celina | The Celution | Bloglovin'
that blush is stunning :) your photos are beautiful by the way!ReplyDelete
alex // Cats and Vodka
That Seventeen concealer seems to become a bloggers favourite, might have to try it :) I've been loving the Balance Me Moisture Rich face cream and Neom candles lately! xReplyDelete
- Anonymous6 February 2014 at 21:00
I love the look of everything here! I have a NARS blush similar (desire) and your right it just makes me look so much more awake! xxReplyDelete


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An extremely important message to Patriots and to citizens who don't keep up with politics.
Read it at Conservative Examiner.
The 2012 election will decide if we will slide into 1000 years of oppression and tyranny where the collective good always trumps personal freedom, or if we demand a return to the freedoms described and protected by the Constitution.
Monday, May 09, 2011
Slouching Toward Tyranny
Posted by Welshman at 1:49 AM
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I consider myself in a time that I needed to stop and re-evaluate my life choices, what I want to pursue, do and be in my future, either it be in the near future or in more long term sort of thing.
|Apple & Vanille Tea, with chocolate cookies and Apple pout-pourri (made out of Tea)
It as been very hard to me to stay focus and accomplish what I self impose to myself. But I've been working on that and with slowly baby steps I'm moving forward.
|Notes about The Focal Point, Schedule and Sketches of Ideas
In the past days I've been trying a new schedule, looking for new ways to keep myself on track, organized and focused. So far I think it's working... but I also know that's something that is on my hands, after all it will only work If I make it work.
I have plans and dreams that I'm working on to start to make them possible. This is just the beginning, a new one.
On a less serious note, I have been drawing more again. My mother asked me to draw something Halloween related. Which, after a little of pondering of what it could it be, I promptly did. I came up with a witch. It got to be one. After all they are just my type of favourite character in the horror/fantasy scene.
|Check the work in progress in my drawing blog Scribbling Drafts: Halloween WIP


text:
iPhone 5 is a reality with more surprises!
Hi my dear readers,
Today is a big day for Apple with its iPhone 5!
When I read the new functionalities and innovations that are integrated into the iPhone 5, My love becomes bigger for Apple and my dream is to be one of its engineers. A very big dream really!
First of all, I invite you consult this great table that compares specifications between iPhone 4, 4S and 5.
You will notice that iPhone 5 is bigger than the last versions but thiner and lighter; a very nice design.
Thanks to the site I have discovered the LTE new technology that allows us to be easily in and download more quickly.
I have appreciated also the 3D maps application:
However, as I have a big problem with my ears that can't support the existing headphones, Apple has solved for me this big problem with the new EarPods. I love you Apple!
with this new design, and the idea of the two vents, the sound is amplified and consequently " you hear deeper, richer bass tones".
Very awesome inovations. It is just my own opinion: Apple is the best!


text:
Sig Frohlich, who has died aged 97, was a bit-part actor for much of his long career in Hollywood, playing messengers, waiters, callboys, clerks and soldiers, rarely earning even a flicker of recognition from viewers over 50 years.
But he achieved some lasting celebrity as one of the winged monkeys in The Wizard of Oz (1939). This was despite the fact that he was completely disguised in a monkey costume and uttered no words on screen.
In 1935 he was a mutineer in Mutiny on the Bounty, starring Clark Gable, and a gentleman in A Tale of Two Cities. He had his first screen credit in the crime drama Riffraff (1936), with Jean Harlow and Spencer Tracy. The following year he was cast in Speed (with James Stewart) and Born to Dance (with Eleanor Powell); he was also a soldier of the evil Emperor Ming the Merciless in the Flash Gordon series.
If some wondered whether he minded the modesty of his career, Frohlich, whose surname means happy in German, had no doubt. He was MGM's most senior star, and he was delighted to sign autographs for visitors to his nursing home. He died on September 30.
Tuesday, October 11, 2005
Another wonderful obituary...
From the Telegraph:
Posted by Zadok the Roman at 16:12
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text:
Continuous Evolution of Mankind
Maysa daytoy kadagiti artikulo a nabasak ken ni Coconuter. Mayat ti linaonna isu nga i-share-ko met kadagiti mayat ken adda panawenna a mangpalabas kadagiti binatog daytoy a salaysay. Binulod met laeng ni David daytoy nga artikulo iti maysa a Filipino nga agnagan iti Ray Edison Refundo
- - - - - - - - - -
Beyond Intelligence: Evolution Did Not Stop at Homo Sapiens
by Ray Edison Refundo
We humans prize ourselves for our intelligence. Out of all the things that make us different from other animals, intelligence is perhaps the most significant. We learned the laws of nature, developed tools to survive in the most inhospitable environments, and even projected our presence beyond this planet. We may perhaps be the only intelligent species that ever walked the Earth, and when we become extinct, and we will, no other form of life may follow in our achievements, at least not on this planet.
It is the unlikeliest of events. The remnants and debris of a primordial star that went supernova more than 5 billion years ago eventually coalesced into our solar system. In it, all elements heavier than hydrogen and helium, including carbon, oxygen, and nitrogen, elements necessary for life (as we know it) were dispersed throughout the new solar system. Through billions of years, life would eventually evolve into us, human beings. For the first time in the history of the solar system, and after 5 billion years of its existence, someone is now there to bear witness to its beauty and wonder.
Eventually that same species, through science, would begin to understand how the solar system, our galaxy, and the universe came to be. Our intelligence allowed us to see the world more profoundly than any other animals. It does not mean, however, that other animals like chimps, dogs, and dolphins do not posses some form of intelligence. Recent studies in Japan have shown that chimps have a better short term memory than humans. This allows them to see the present environment from the perspective of survival. A good short term memory allows you to see threats, food, and opportunities for mating a lot faster, giving you an edge into reacting with lightning speed to take advantage of the opportunity.
Over the course of several million years we traded our superb short term memory skills for a less instantly reactive long term memory. This increased our social skills as we now depended on each other for survival. We became specialist on different fields, and we collaborated our different talents and skills to become more effective in our endeavors. Business managers know this, which is why "teams" are created in the modern corporate environment to tackle different problems more effectively. This phenomenon is called synergy, where the value of the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
Because we move in packs, planning for the long term has now been the necessity for survival. Our brains re-wired to understand time better than our primate ancestors. We began to notice patterns in the changing seasons, when it is the best time to hunt, store food, or move to another location. We learned to plan for the dynamic and changing environment we live in. Our efforts to understand the movements of the heavenly bodies were inspired by our desire to know how to react to changes in vegetation or animal herd migrations. Our increased social cohesiveness also required the development of language. This allowed for the formation of larger and more complex societies and the further development of culture.
Intelligence gave us more than just an edge for survival, but also the desire to know the reason for our very existence. We express this desire thought art, science, and religion. Perhaps for the first time in the history of the universe someone is there to be aware of its existence. Maybe life, and ultimately intelligence, is an inherent property of matter. Because if there is no one to know that the Universe exists, then does it really exist? This confluence of philosophy and quantum mechanics, wherein the observer is viewed to be just as important as the event makes us question the very nature of "reality".
In fact one can make the assumption that different levels of consciousness causes different perception of the world. To elaborate, imagine a dog, it can learn, follow commands and even solve simple problems. But it is genetically limited in terms of the reach of its understanding of the world it lives in. He has no concept of other cities or other countries where other dogs exist. The only world it knows is the one in the immediate vicinity. How could he even understand that the Earth is a sphere? Or that the Sun is just one of quadrillions of stars in the universe? It's most dominant level of consciousness, its instinct, cannot possibly conceive the scale of the universe, the forces and laws that govern it, or the geometry of space and time.
And yet for our "intelligence" there are still so many things that are maybe just beyond our reach and understanding. What happens after death? Why are we here? Where are we headed? Why does hydrogen have an atomic number of 1? Why is gravity so much weaker than electromagnetism? What was before the big bang? These are questions that are at the forefront of our thoughts, questions that shows our ignorance.
Just as a dog could not imagine that it will die someday, or that there was a period of time that it did not exist, so are we with the questions of ultimate purpose and causality. Many scientists are now worried that intelligence alone may not be enough to truly grasp the universe we live in. Neil Degrasse Tyson, a renowned physicist, once said that other beings with higher levels of consciousness may exist somewhere in the universe, maybe even operate beyond the 4 dimensions we can perceive. These beings would be "god-like" compared to us, just as we are to ants.
Could we even begin to imagine what that higher level of consciousness could be? It may even give its owner complete mastery of time and space. If so, then where did they come from? Is it possible that in the next few million years' humanity will evolve to a point where we will achieve ascension into a higher plane of existence? To become beings not constrained by space and time? Maybe those beings that Dr. Tyson mentioned are in fact our descendants, and since they have mastered time and space then they may be here now, in our present, observing us. No one really knows. These are just "possibilities".
A day may come when all these questions may be answered, and chances are we would no longer be around when humanity finally learns the ultimate truth. As Dr. Tyson said; "I am jealous of that possibility, I want to be around when that happens."
Ladawan: http://www.futurehi.net/


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We've been in Central Florida for YEARS and have had annual passes to either Disney or Universal over the years.
We really like the Universal ones mainly because they're more affordable. The Disney annual passes are insanely expensive, especially if you're a family of 4. Yes, the Florida Resident passes are excellent compared to what our visitors from out-of-state/out-of-country pay, but we just cannot swing $2,500+ for the same passes we paid $1,300 for about 8 years ago.
Anyway, Universal. See this cup?
We've had this cup for about 6-7 years. We pay $1.27 (it used to be $1.06 three years ago) for refills now. They never say anything. They never say "we can't fill these anymore." I love Unuversal for that.
So when they began their Coca Cola Free-Style system, I thought "What?" See, you buy a cup like this for $9.99
and for the rest of the day, you get free refills of your choice in selected areas that have the Coca Cola Freestyle Machines. You can't just go to any food kiosk and ask for a refill. You have to go to set locations in both parks that have these.
All that I can think is, "How in the WORLD are they going to keep a handle on this? How can they stop people from coming back tomorrow, the next day, next year?"
I figured it out today AFTER I purchased one. We got our cup, And went to go fill it. I tried selecting something but got an error like this one:
It sensed a cup was not on the dispenser area. I'm thinking "OK, it senses there's no weight there." We filled it, drank our drink and then went back 9 & 1/2 minutes later to refill it. How do I know it was 9.5 minutes? Because the screen then displayed "Your next refill is available in 33 seconds." There's a 10 minute wait time in between refills.
"How does this know this," I think?
RFID Chip. THIS is how Universal got smart with its refill cups. After 24 hours, this cup is null void, and you can no longer use the cups, unless you reactivate it for $6.99 or so (I'm finding this info on the internet from 2014, so that may have gone up/changed)!
I am so thankful that I still have two of the older refill cups. $1.27 refills is much better to me than a $10.00 cup I can only use in certain areas. Maybe for you, if you're ok waiting in lines to use the machines (I have to wait in kiosk lines anyway to get an employee to give me my refill too) and you can get at least 10 refills in your day (dang, that's a LOT of soda!) then it may be worth it to you, but tomorrow, you have to pay like $7.00 and refill it at least 6 times ($1.27 refills for the other cup) to get your money's worth. I'm not getting that much soda, so my old red cups are going to be our go-to cups when heading to the parks.


text:
Olathe and Overland Park police have circulated photographs of three women suspected in identical "distraction" thefts at two different grocery stores on the same day.
In both incidents, which occurred Sunday, Sept. 22, victims reported being distracted by the women and later discovering their wallets missing from their purses. Later, credit cards belonging to the victims were used in unauthorized transactions.
In Overland Park, a victim visiting a grocery store in the 7400 block of 119th Street reported being approached by two black females who engaged her in a short conversation and then left. Later the victim attempted to pay for groceries but found her wallet was missing.
Credit cards from the wallet were used to run up more than $3,000 in purchases.
In Olathe, a patron at a grocery store in the 13600 block of South Blackbob Road reported being distracted and later finding her wallet missing. A credit card belonging to that victim also was used for unauthorized transactions.
In both cases, authorities identified the suspects as three women in their 20s. Video from the Overland Park incident depicted three women entering the store together. Two of them approached the victim while a third removed the victim's wallet from her purse, according to police.
The three women then left together in the same car.
Anyone with information regarding the incident in Olathe is asked to call913-971-6950. Anyone with information about the Overland Park case can call 913-344-8750.


text:
Japanese Crash is an alternative version of Crash Bandicoot, optimized for Japanese audiences.
Crash Bandicoot - Crash Twinsanity
On every Japanese version of the Crash games, Japanese Crash appears on every cover, but he rarely appears in the games themselves, as Crash's model is not edited in-game. Some of his in-game appearances are on FMV videos included as extras in the first games, some icons and in the title screen of Crash Team Racing[1].
Crash Tag Team RacingThere is a code to unlock the Japanese Crash skin on the PS2 version of Crash Tag Team Racing. On the start screen, hold L1 and R1 and press Square, Circle, Square, Circle. If done correctly the player will hear a chime. The skin can be available for either Adventure Mode or Multiplayer mode. But when players enter the code, they will find the normal Crash which they are trying to race in Adventure Mode will have no pupils.
Although players can only use the regular Japanese Crash skin in the NTSC-U and PAL versions, the models for the other costumes are still in the game files, as seen here in the DEFAULT.rcf:
Crash Boom Bang!
Crash has the looks of Japanese Crash in all versions of this game (due to the fact that Crash Boom Bang! was created in Japan).