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In El Clásico, Richard Fitzpatrick charts the key political and historical flashpoints between the two clubs. With exclusive interviews with key figures, including Luís Figo, Hristo Stoichkov, Joan Laporta and Vicente del Bosque, El Clásico is the definitive guide to football's greatest feud.
and popular clubs in world football, and one of the world's most bitter
sporting rivalries. Going far beyond the boundaries of just sport alone, this
is a rivalry at the heart of Spanish life, taking in politics and culture and
splitting a country in two.
El Clásico gets to the heart of that rivalry, investigating
the intrigue, the larger-than-life characters, the key flashpoints and their
consequences. From civil war bloodshed to 40 years of fascism and links with
General Franco, the clubs' shared history is the stuff of a Robert Harris novel
and includes: murdered presidents from both clubs, player kidnappings, acts of
hooliganism - and that's before you start thinking of the volatile football matches
The book contains numerous interviews with key figures
such as Luís Figo
and Hristo Stoichkov (two of the main hate figures from both clubs), Joan
Laporta (Barcelona's most successful president and, having entered politics,
Catalonian separatism's poster boy) and various ex-players, ex-managers,
agents, referees, hooligans, editors, historians, sociologists, filmmakers,
novelists, photographers, TV presenters and celebrity fans.
The two clubs are packed with international superstar
players - including the world's two best players in Leo Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo - and 10 of the
starting 11 players from Spain's 2010 World Cup final victory play with either Barcelona
or Real Madrid.
This is a story
with resonance around the sporting world, with many instantly recognisable figures
to an international audience such as Jose Mourinho. But it is also a tale of a
country divided by a bitter rivalry.
Experience the cosmos as never before with Brian Cox's Wonders of the Universe, a gorgeously illustrated, full-color companion to his wildly popular miniseries on the Discovery Channel and BBC. Breathtaking images brighten Cox's enthralling exploration of the fascinating science and overwhelming majesty of natural phenomena from ocean currents to black holes. Cox, called "Carl Sagan with a Britpop haircut" by the Los Angeles Times, follows in the footsteps of Stephen Hawking and Brian Greene in this riveting and dynamic tour through the Wonders of the Universe.
"Where did the universe come from? What was there before it? What will the future bring? And finally, why is there something rather than nothing?"
One of the few prominent scientists today to have crossed the chasm between science and popular culture, Krauss describes the staggeringly beautiful experimental observations and mind-bending new theories that demonstrate not only can something arise from nothing, something will always arise from nothing. With a new preface about the significance of the discovery of the Higgs particle, A Universe from Nothing uses Krauss's characteristic wry humor and wonderfully clear explanations to take us back to the beginning of the beginning, presenting the most recent evidence for how our universe evolved—and the implications for how it's going to end.
Provocative, challenging, and delightfully readable, this is a game-changing look at the most basic underpinning of existence and a powerful antidote to outmoded philosophical, religious, and scientific thinking.
Interstellar, from acclaimed filmmaker Christopher Nolan, takes us on a fantastic voyage far beyond our solar system. Yet in The Science of Interstellar, Kip Thorne, the Nobel prize-winning physicist who assisted Nolan on the scientific aspects of Interstellar, shows us that the movie's jaw-dropping events and stunning, never-before-attempted visuals are grounded in real science. Thorne shares his experiences working as the science adviser on the film and then moves on to the science itself. In chapters on wormholes, black holes, interstellar travel, and much more, Thorne's scientific insights—many of them triggered during the actual scripting and shooting of Interstellar—describe the physical laws that govern our universe and the truly astounding phenomena that those laws make possible.
Interstellar and all related characters and elements are trademarks of and © Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (s14).
A landmark volume in science writing by one of the great minds of our time, Stephen Hawking's book explores such profound questions as: How did the universe begin—and what made its start possible? Does time always flow forward? Is the universe unending—or are there boundaries? Are there other dimensions in space? What will happen when it all ends?
Told in language we all can understand, A Brief History of Time plunges into the exotic realms of black holes and quarks, of antimatter and "arrows of time," of the big bang and a bigger God—where the possibilities are wondrous and unexpected. With exciting images and profound imagination, Stephen Hawking brings us closer to the ultimate secrets at the very heart of creation.
There's no better short book that explains just what Einstein did than Einstein's Cosmos. Keying Einstein's crucial discoveries to the simple mental images that inspired them, Michio Kaku finds a revealing new way to discuss his ideas, and delivers an appealing and always accessible introduction to Einstein's work.
A heartfelt and personal journey filled with both humor and drama, How I Killed Pluto and Why It Had It Coming is the book for anyone, young or old, who has ever imagined exploring the universe—and who among us hasn't?
USAF Colonel Mike Mullane was a member of this astronaut class, and Riding Rockets is his story -- told with a candor never before seen in an astronaut's memoir. Mullane strips the heroic veneer from the astronaut corps and paints them as they are -- human. His tales of arrested development among military flyboys working with feminist pioneers and post-doc scientists are sometimes bawdy, often hilarious, and always entertaining.
Mullane vividly portrays every aspect of the astronaut experience -- from telling a female technician which urine-collection condom size is a fit; to walking along a Florida beach in a last, tearful goodbye with a spouse; to a wild, intoxicating, terrifying ride into space; to hearing "Taps" played over a friend's grave. Mullane is brutally honest in his criticism of a NASA leadership whose bungling would precipitate the Challenger disaster.
Riding Rockets is a story of life in all its fateful uncertainty, of the impact of a family tragedy on a nine-year-old boy, of the revelatory effect of a machine called Sputnik, and of the life-steering powers of lust, love, and marriage. It is a story of the human experience that will resonate long after the call of "Wheel stop."
In Cosmos, the late astronomer Carl Sagan cast his gaze over the magnificent mystery of the Universe and made it accessible to millions of people around the world. Now in this stunning sequel, Carl Sagan completes his revolutionary journey through space and time.
Future generations will look back on our epoch as the time when the human race finally broke into a radically new frontier—space. In Pale Blue Dot, Sagan traces the spellbinding history of our launch into the cosmos and assesses the future that looms before us as we move out into our own solar system and on to distant galaxies beyond. The exploration and eventual settlement of other worlds is neither a fantasy nor luxury, insists Sagan, but rather a necessary condition for the survival of the human race.
"Takes readers far beyond Cosmos . . . Sagan sees humanity's future in the stars."—Chicago Tribune
In Wonders of the Solar System – the book of the acclaimed BBC TV series – Professor Brian Cox will take us on a journey of discovery where alien worlds from your imagination become places we can see, feel and visit.
The Wonders of the Solar System – from the giant ice fountains of Enceladus to the liquid methane seas of Titan and from storms twice the size of the Earth to the tortured moon of Io with its giant super-volcanoes – is the Solar System as you have never seen it before.
In this series, Professor Brian Cox will introduce us to the planets and moons beyond our world, finding the biggest, most bizarre, most powerful natural phenomena. Using the latest scientific imagery along with cutting edge CGI and some of the most spectacular and extreme locations on Earth, Brian will show us Wonders never thought possible.
Employing his trademark clear, authoritative, yet down-to-earth approach, Brian will explore how these previously unseen phenomena have dramatically expanded our horizons with new discoveries about the planets, their moons and how
they came to be the way they are.
The theory of relativity reveals the speed of light as the cosmic speed limit, the mind-bending ideas of time dilation and curvature of spacetime, and what may be the most famous equation in history: E = mc2. Indeed, the theory of relativity shapes much of our modern understanding of the universe. It is not "just a theory"—every major prediction of relativity has been tested to exquisite precision, and its practical applications include the Global Positioning System (GPS). Amply illustrated and written in clear, accessible prose, Bennett's book proves anyone can grasp the basics of Einstein's ideas. His intuitive, nonmathematical approach gives a wide audience its first real taste of how relativity works and why it is so important to science and the way we view ourselves as human beings.
One of the world's foremost nuclear physicists (celebrated for his theory of radioactive decay, among other accomplishments), George Gamow possessed the unique ability of making the world of science accessible to the general reader.
He brings that ability to bear in this delightful expedition through the problems, pleasures, and puzzles of modern science. Among the topics scrutinized with the author's celebrated good humor and pedagogical prowess are the macrocosm and the microcosm, theory of numbers, relativity of space and time, entropy, genes, atomic structure, nuclear fission, and the origin of the solar system.
In the pages of this book readers grapple with such crucial matters as whether it is possible to bend space, why a rocket shrinks, the "end of the world problem," excursions into the fourth dimension, and a host of other tantalizing topics for the scientifically curious. Brimming with amusing anecdotes and provocative problems, One Two Three . . . Infinity also includes over 120 delightful pen-and-ink illustrations by the author, adding another dimension of good-natured charm to these wide-ranging explorations.
Whatever your level of scientific expertise, chances are you'll derive a great deal of pleasure, stimulation, and information from this unusual and imaginative book. It belongs in the library of anyone curious about the wonders of the scientific universe. "In One Two Three . . . Infinity, as in his other books, George Gamow succeeds where others fail because of his remarkable ability to combine technical accuracy, choice of material, dignity of expression, and readability." — Saturday Review of Literature
Fifty years ago, a young astronomer named Frank Drake first pointed a radio telescope at nearby stars in the hope of picking up a signal from an alien civilization. Thus began one of the boldest scientific projects in history, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI). After a half-century of scanning the skies, however, astronomers have little to report but an eerie silence—eerie because many scientists are convinced that the universe is teeming with life. Physicist and astrobiologist Paul Davies has been closely involved with SETI for three decades and chairs the SETI Post-Detection Taskgroup, charged with deciding what to do if we're suddenly confronted with evidence of alien intelligence. He believes the search so far has fallen into an anthropocentric trap—assuming that an alien species will look, think, and behave much like us. In this provocative book Davies refocuses the search, challenging existing ideas of what form an alien intelligence might take, how it might try to communicate with us, and how we should respond if it does.
"In this slight volume, Lightman looks toward the universe and captures aspects of it in a series of beautifully written essays, each offering a glimpse at the whole from a different perspective: here time, there symmetry, not least God. It is a meditation by a remarkable humanist-physicist, a book worth reading by anyone entranced by big ideas grounded in the physical world."
—Peter L. Galison, Joseph Pellegrino University Professor, Harvard University
No one makes sense out of science like Isaac Asimov. Are you puzzled by pulsars? Baffled by black holes? Bewildered by the big bang? If so, here are succinct, crystal-clear answers to more than one hundred of the most significant questions about the essential nature of the universe—questions that have fired the imagination since the beginning of history.
Over the course of this fantastic voyage, the origins, the discoveries, and the stunning achievements of astronomy will unfold before your eyes. You will experience close encounters with giant planets, exploding stars, distant galaxies, and more. For anyone who has ever asked the ultimate questions, who has ever looked up at the sky and asked What in heaven is going on?, Isaac Asimov's unique vision, skill, and authority will bring the big picture into focus.
"A fine introduction to modern astronomical theory."—Library Journal
Selected by The Christian Science Monitor as one of "21 smart nonfiction titles we think you'll enjoy this summer"
Selected by The New Scientist as one of 10 books to look out for in 2012
We've long understood black holes to be the points at which the universe as we know it comes to an end. Often billions of times more massive than the Sun, they lurk in the inner sanctum of almost every galaxy of stars in the universe. They're mysterious chasms so destructive and unforgiving that not even light can escape their deadly wrath.
Recent research, however, has led to a cascade of new discoveries that have revealed an entirely different side to black holes. As the astrophysicist Caleb Scharf reveals in Gravity's Engines, these chasms in space-time don't just vacuum up everything that comes near them; they also spit out huge beams and clouds of matter. Black holes blow bubbles.
With clarity and keen intellect, Scharf masterfully explains how these bubbles profoundly rearrange the cosmos around them. Engaging with our deepest questions about the universe, he takes us on an intimate journey through the endlessly colorful place we call our galaxy and reminds us that the Milky Way sits in a special place in the cosmic zoo—a "sweet spot" of properties. Is it coincidental that we find ourselves here at this place and time? Could there be a deeper connection between the nature of black holes and their role in the universe and the phenomenon of life? We are, after all, made of the stuff of stars.
Since its formation nearly five billion years ago, our planet has been the sole living world in a vast and silent universe. But over the past two decades, astronomers have discovered thousands of "exoplanets," including some that could be similar to our own world, and the pace of discovery is accelerating.
In a fascinating account of this unfolding revolution, Lee Billings draws on interviews with the world's top experts in the search for life beyond earth. He reveals how the search for exoplanets is not only a scientific challenge, but also a reflection of our culture's timeless hopes, dreams, and fears.
"Bad Astronomy is just plain good! Philip Plait clears up every misconception on astronomy and space you never knew you suffered from." --Stephen Maran, Author of Astronomy for Dummies and editor of The Astronomy and Astrophysics Encyclopedia
"Thank the cosmos for the bundle of star stuff named Philip Plait, who is the world s leading consumer advocate for quality science in space and on Earth. This important contribution to science will rest firmly on my reference library shelf, ready for easy access the next time an astrologer calls." --Dr. Michael Shermer, Publisher of Skeptic magazine, monthly columnist for Scientific American, and author of The Borderlands of Science
"Philip Plait has given us a readable, erudite, informative, useful, and entertaining book. Bad Astronomy is Good Science. Very good science..." --James "The Amazing" Randi, President, James Randi Educational Foundation, and author of An Encyclopedia of Claims, Frauds, and Hoaxes of the Occult and Supernatural
"Bad Astronomy is a fun read. Plait is wonderfully witty and educational as he debunks the myths, legends, and 'conspiracies that abound in our society. 'The Truth Is Out There' and it's in this book. I loved it!" --Mike Mullane, Space Shuttle astronaut and author of Do Your Ears Pop in Space?
Short-listed for Physics World's Book of the Year
The Sunday Times (UK) Best Science Book of 2014
A Publishers Weekly Top 10 Science Book of Fall 2014
An NBC News Top Science and Tech Book of 2014
A Politics & Prose 2014 Staff Pick
In the sixteenth century, Nicolaus Copernicus dared to go against the establishment by proposing that Earth rotates around the Sun. Having demoted Earth from its unique position in the cosmos to one of mediocrity, Copernicus set in motion a revolution in scientific thought. This perspective has influenced our thinking for centuries. However, recent evidence challenges the Copernican Principle, hinting that we do in fact live in a special place, at a special time, as the product of a chain of unlikely events. But can we be significant if the Sun is still just one of a billion trillion stars in the observable universe? And what if our universe is just one of a multitude of others-a single slice of an infinity of parallel realities?
In The Copernicus Complex, the renowned astrophysicist Caleb Scharf takes us on a scientific adventure, from tiny microbes within the Earth to distant exoplanets, probability theory, and beyond, arguing that there is a solution to this contradiction, a third way of viewing our place in the cosmos, if we weigh the evidence properly. As Scharf explains, we do occupy an unusual time in a 14-billion-year-old universe, in a somewhat unusual type of solar system surrounded by an ocean of unimaginable planetary diversity: hot Jupiters with orbits of less than a day, planet-size rocks spinning around dead stars, and a wealth of alien super-Earths. Yet life here is built from the most common chemistry in the universe, and we are a snapshot taken from billions of years of biological evolution. Bringing us to the cutting edge of scientific discovery, Scharf shows how the answers to fundamental questions of existence will come from embracing the peculiarity of our circumstance without denying the Copernican vision.
With characteristic verve, Scharf uses the latest scientific findings to reconsider where we stand in the balance between cosmic significance and mediocrity, order and chaos. Presenting a compelling and bold view of our true status, The Copernicus Complex proposes a way forward in the ultimate quest: determining life's abundance, not just across this universe but across all realities.
In Wonders of the Solar System – the book of the acclaimed BBC TV series – Professor Brian Cox will take us on a journey of discovery where alien worlds from your imagination become places we can see, feel and visit.
The Wonders of the Solar System – from the giant ice fountains of Enceladus to the liquid methane seas of Titan and from storms twice the size of the Earth to the tortured moon of Io with its giant super-volcanoes – is the Solar System as you have never seen it before.
In this series, Professor Brian Cox will introduce us to the planets and moons beyond our world, finding the biggest, most bizarre, most powerful natural phenomena. Using some of the most spectacular and extreme locations on Earth, Brian will show us Wonders never thought possible.
Employing his trademark clear, authoritative, yet down-to-earth approach, Brian will explore how these previously unseen phenomena have dramatically expanded our horizons with new discoveries about the planets, their moons and how
they came to be the way they are.
The spy planes were driving Nikita Khrushchev mad. Whenever America wanted to peer inside the Soviet Union, it launched a U-2, which flew too high to be shot down. But Sergei Korolev, Russia's chief rocket designer, had a riposte: an artificial satellite that would orbit the earth and cross American skies at will. On October 4, 1957, the launch of Korolev's satellite, Sputnik, stunned the world.
In Red Moon Rising, Matthew Brzezinski takes us inside the Kremlin, the White House, secret military facilities, and the halls of Congress to bring to life the Russians and Americans who feared and distrusted their compatriots as much as their superpower rivals. Drawing on original interviews and new documentary sources from both sides of the Cold War divide, he shows how Khrushchev and Dwight Eisenhower were buffeted by crises of their own creation, leaving the door open to ambitious politicians and scientists to squabble over the heavens and the earth. It is a story rich in the paranoia of the time, with combatants that included two future presidents, survivors of the gulag, corporate chieftains, rehabilitated Nazis, and a general who won the day by refusing to follow orders.
Sputnik set in motion events that led not only to the moon landing but also to cell phones, federally guaranteed student loans, and the wireless Internet. Red Moon Rising recounts the true story of the birth of the space age in dramatic detail, bringing it to life as never before.
What warps when you're traveling at warp speed? What is the difference between a wormhole and a black hole? Are time loops really possible, and can I kill my grandmother before I am born? Anyone who has ever wondered "could this really happen?" will gain useful insights into the Star Trek universe (and, incidentally, the real world of physics) in this charming and accessible guide. Lawrence M. Krauss boldly goes where Star Trek has gone-and beyond. From Newton to Hawking, from Einstein to Feynman, from Kirk to Picard, Krauss leads readers on a voyage to the world of physics as we now know it and as it might one day be.
In what will surely become one of the most provocative books ever written on the possibilities of life elsewhere in the universe, the incomparable Isaac Asimov provides chilling, hopeful, and exciting new insights. Here is astounding speculation about where the next giant step for mankind will take us. . . .
Praise for Extraterrestrial Civilizations
"[Isaac] Asimov holds our attention as he builds a meticulous case. We are not alone. It's just a matter of time until we know for sure."—Miami Herald
"Intriguing"—Publishers Weekly
According to astronomer Philip Plait, the universe is an apocalypse waiting to happen But how much do we really need to fear from things like black holes, gamma-ray bursts, and supernovae? And if we should be scared, is there anything we can do to save ourselves? With humor and wit, Plait details the myriad doomsday events that the cosmos could send our way to destroy our planet and life as we know it. This authoritative yet accessible study is the ultimate astronomy lesson.
Combining fascinating?and often alarming?scenarios that seem plucked from science fiction with the latest research and opinions, Plait illustrates why outer space is not as remote as most people think. Each chapter explores a different phenomenon, explaining it in easy-to-understand terms, and considering how life on earth and the planet itself would be affected should the event come to pass. Rather than sensationalizing the information, Plait analyzes the probability of these catastrophes occurring in our lifetimes and what we can do to stop them. With its entertaining tone and enlightening explanation of unfathomable concepts, Death from the Skies! will appeal to science buffs and beginners alike.
When and how did the universe begin? Why are we here? What is the nature of reality? Is the apparent "grand design" of our universe evidence of a benevolent creator who set things in motion—or does science offer another explanation? In this startling and lavishly illustrated book, Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow present the most recent scientific thinking about these and other abiding mysteries of the universe, in nontechnical language marked by brilliance and simplicity.
According to quantum theory, the cosmos does not have just a single existence or history. The authors explain that we ourselves are the product of quantum fluctuations in the early universe, and show how quantum theory predicts the "multiverse"—the idea that ours is just one of many universes that appeared spontaneously out of nothing, each with different laws of nature. They conclude with a riveting assessment of M-theory, an explanation of the laws governing our universe that is currently the only viable candidate for a "theory of everything": the unified theory that Einstein was looking for, which, if confirmed, would represent the ultimate triumph of human reason.
-How close are we to creating robots that look and act like R2-D2 and C-3PO?
-Can we access a "force" with our minds to move objects and communicate telepathically with each other?
-How might spaceships like the Millennium Falcon make the exhilarating jump into hyperspace?
-What kind of environment could spawn a Wookiee?
-Could a single blast from the Death Star destroy an entire planet?
-Could light sabers possibly be built, and if so, how would they work?
-Do Star Wars aliens look like "real" aliens might?
-What would living on a desert planet like Tatooine be like?
-Why does Darth Vader require an artificial respirator?
Discover the answers to these and many other fascinating questions of physics, astronomy, biology and more, as a noted scientist and Star Wars enthusiast explores The Science of Star Wars.
The Future of the Mind brings a topic that once belonged solely to the province of science fiction into a startling new reality. This scientific tour de force unveils the astonishing research being done in top laboratories around the world—all based on the latest advancements in neuroscience and physics—including recent experiments in telepathy, mind control, avatars, telekinesis, and recording memories and dreams. The Future of the Mind is an extraordinary, mind-boggling exploration of the frontiers of neuroscience. Dr. Kaku looks toward the day when we may achieve the ability to upload the human brain to a computer, neuron for neuron; project thoughts and emotions around the world on a brain-net; take a "smart pill" to enhance cognition; send our consciousness across the universe; and push the very limits of immortality.
The Los Angeles Times headline screamed: ROCKET SCIENTIST KILLED IN PASADENA EXPLOSION. The man known as Jack Parsons, a maverick rocketeer who helped transform a derided sci-fi plotline into actuality, was at first mourned as a scientific prodigy. But reporters soon uncovered a more shocking story: Parsons had been a devotee of the city's occult scene.
Fueled by childhood dreams of space flight, Parsons was a leader of the motley band of enthusiastic young men who founded the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a cornerstone of the American space program. But Parsons's wild imagination also led him into a world of incantations and orgiastic rituals—if he could make rocketry a reality, why not black magic?
George Pendle re-creates the world of John Parsons in this dazzling portrait of prewar superstition, cold war paranoia, and futuristic possibility. Peopled with such formidable real-life figures as Howard Hughes, Aleister Crowley, L. Ron Hubbard, and Robert Heinlein, Strange Angel explores the unruly consequences of genius.
The basis for a new miniseries created by Mark Heyman and produced by Ridley Scott, this biography "vividly tells the story of a mysterious and forgotten man who embodied the contradictions of his time . . . when science fiction crashed into science fact. . . . [It] would make a compelling work of fiction if it weren't so astonishingly true" (Publishers Weekly).
"Celebrates a bold era when voyaging beyond the Earth was deemed crucial to national security and pride."
-The Wall Street Journal
Restoring the drama, majesty, and sheer improbability of an American triumph, this is award-winning historian Craig Nelson's definitive and thrilling story of man's first trip to the moon. At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 rocket launched in the presence of more than a million spectators who had gathered to witness a truly historic event. Through interviews, 23,000 pages of NASA oral histories, and declassified CIA documents on the space race, Rocket Men presents a vivid narrative of the moon mission, taking readers on the journey to one of the last frontiers of the human imagination.
This updated edition of Stephen Hawking: An Unfettered Mind looks at one of the most remarkable figures of our age: the bestselling author of A Brief History of Time, celebrated theoretical physicist, and an inspiration to millions around the world. Ferguson offers fresh insights into the way Hawking thinks and works, his ever-more-imaginative adventures in science at the "flaming ramparts of the world," the discovery of gravity waves, the blockbuster proposal for "Starshot" to explore the cosmos, and his powerful use of his celebrity on behalf of human rights and survival on earth and beyond.
With rare access to Hawking, including childhood photos and in-depth research, Ferguson creates a rich and comprehensive picture of his life: his childhood; the heartbreaking ALS diagnosis when he was a first-year graduate student; his long personal battle for survival in pursuit of a scientific understanding of the universe; and his rise to international fame. She also uses her gift for translating the language of theoretical physics into the language of the rest of us to make Hawking's scientific work accessible.
This is an insightful, absorbing, and definitive account of a brilliant mind and the extraordinary life of a man who always looks towards tomorrow.
Space and time form the very fabric of the cosmos. Yet they remain among the most mysterious of concepts. Is space an entity? Why does time have a direction? Could the universe exist without space and time? Can we travel to the past? Greene has set himself a daunting task: to explain non-intuitive, mathematical concepts like String Theory, the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle, and Inflationary Cosmology with analogies drawn from common experience. From Newton's unchanging realm in which space and time are absolute, to Einstein's fluid conception of spacetime, to quantum mechanics' entangled arena where vastly distant objects can instantaneously coordinate their behavior, Greene takes us all, regardless of our scientific backgrounds, on an irresistible and revelatory journey to the new layers of reality that modern physics has discovered lying just beneath the surface of our everyday world.
Voyager 1 left our solar system in 2012; its sister craft, Voyager 2, did so in 2018. The fantastic journey began in 1977, before the first episode of Cosmos aired. The mission was planned as a grand tour beyond the moon; beyond Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune; and maybe even into interstellar space. The fact that it actually happened makes this humanity's greatest space mission.
In The Interstellar Age, award-winning planetary scientist Jim Bell reveals what drove and continues to drive the members of this extraordinary team, including Ed Stone, Voyager's chief scientist and the one-time head of NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab; Charley Kohlhase, an orbital dynamics engineer who helped to design many of the critical slingshot maneuvers around planets that enabled the Voyagers to travel so far; and the geologist whose Earth-bound experience would prove of little help in interpreting the strange new landscapes revealed in the Voyagers' astoundingly clear images of moons and planets.
Speeding through space at a mind-bending eleven miles a second, Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are now beyond our solar system's planets, the first man-made objects to go interstellar. By the time Voyager passes its first star in about 40,000 years, the gold record on the spacecraft, containing various music and images including Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode," will still be playable.
*An ALA Notable Book of 2015*
Provides an accessible introduction to Einstein's general theory of relativity
Guides readers from Newtonian mechanics to the frontiers of modern research
Emphasizes symmetry and the Einstein-Hilbert action
Covers topics not found in standard textbooks on Einstein gravity
Includes interesting historical asides
Features numerous exercises and detailed appendices
Ideal for students, physicists, and scientifically minded lay readers
Solutions manual (available only to teachers)
In his phenomenal bestseller A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking literally transformed the way we think about physics, the universe, reality itself. In these thirteen essays and one remarkable extended interview, the man widely regarded as the most brilliant theoretical physicist since Einstein returns to reveal an amazing array of possibilities for understanding our universe.
Building on his earlier work, Hawking discusses imaginary time, how black holes can give birth to baby universes, and scientists' efforts to find a complete unified theory that would predict everything in the universe. With his characteristic mastery of language, his sense of humor and commitment to plain speaking, Stephen Hawking invites us to know him better—and to share his passion for the voyage of intellect and imagination that has opened new ways to understanding the very nature of the cosmos.
A triumph of organization as well as daring, the Apollo program reflects the success of a dedicated crew of gifted individuals. This well-rounded survey offers insights into the program's management challenges as well as its engineering feats. Contributors include NASA administrator James E. Webb; Christopher C. Kraft, head of the Mission Control Center; engineer Wernher von Braun; Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Shepard, and other astronauts.
Informative, exciting narratives explore the issues that set the United States on the path to the Moon, offer perspectives on the program's legacy, and examine the particulars of individual missions. Journalist Robert Sherrod chronicles the selection and training of astronauts. James Lovell, commander of the ill-fated Apollo 13, recounts the damaged ship's dramatic return to Earth. Geologist and Apollo 17 astronaut Harrison Schmitt discusses the lunar expeditions' rich harvest of scientific information. These and other captivating firsthand accounts form an ideal introduction to the historic U.S. space program as well as fascinating reading for Apollo enthusiasts of all ages.
It was H. G. Wells who coined the term "time machine"—but the concept of time travel, both forward and backward, has always provoked fascination and yearning. It has mostly been dismissed as an impossibility in the world of physics; yet theories posited by Einstein, and advanced by scientists including Stephen Hawking and Kip Thorne, suggest that the phenomenon could actually occur.
Building on these ideas, J. Richard Gott, a professor who has written on the subject for Scientific American, Time, and other publications, describes how travel to the future is not only possible but has already happened—and contemplates whether travel to the past is also conceivable. This look at the surprising facts behind the science fiction of time travel "deserves the attention of anyone wanting wider intellectual horizons" (Booklist).
"Impressively clear language. Practical tips for chrononauts on their options for travel and the contingencies to prepare for make everything sound bizarrely plausible. Gott clearly enjoys his subject and his excitement and humor are contagious; this book is a delight to read." —Publishers Weekly
The science classic made more accessible
• More concise • Illustrated
Stephen Hawking's worldwide bestseller A Brief History of Time remains a landmark volume in scientific writing. But for years readers have asked for a more accessible formulation of its key concepts—the nature of space and time, the role of God in creation, and the history and future of the universe. A Briefer History of Time is Professor Hawking's response.
Although "briefer," this book is much more than a mere explanation of Hawking's earlier work. A Briefer History of Time both clarifies and expands on the great subjects of the original, and records the latest developments in the field—from string theory to the search for a unified theory of all the forces of physics. Thirty-seven full-color illustrations enhance the text and make A Briefer History of Time an exhilarating and must-have addition in its own right to the great literature of science and ideas.
The ancient dream of breaking gravity's hold and taking to space became a reality only because of the intense cold-war rivalry between the superpowers, with towering geniuses like Wernher von Braun and Sergei Korolyov shelving dreams of space travel and instead developing rockets for ballistic missiles and space spectaculars. Now that Russian archives are open and thousands of formerly top-secret U.S. documents are declassified, an often startling new picture of the space age emerges:
the frantic effort by the Soviet Union to beat the United States to the Moon was doomed from the beginning by gross inefficiency and by infighting so treacherous that Winston Churchill likened it to "dogs fighting under a carpet";
there was more than science behind the United States' suggestion that satellites be launched during the International Geophysical Year, and in one crucial respect, Sputnik was a godsend to Washington;
the hundred-odd German V-2s that provided the vital start to the U.S. missile and space programs legally belonged to the Soviet Union and were spirited to the United States in a derring-do operation worthy of a spy thriller;
despite NASA's claim that it was a civilian agency, it had an intimate relationship with the military at the outset and still does--a distinction the Soviet Union never pretended to make;
constant efforts to portray astronauts and cosmonauts as "Boy Scouts" were often contradicted by reality;
the Apollo missions to the Moon may have been an unexcelled political triumph and feat of exploration, but they also created a headache for the space agency that lingers to this day.
This New Ocean is based on 175 interviews with Russian and American scientists and engineers; on archival documents, including formerly top-secret National Intelligence Estimates and spy satellite pictures; and on nearly three decades of reporting. The impressive result is this fascinating story--the first comprehensive account--of the space age. Here are the strategists and war planners; engineers and scientists; politicians and industrialists; astronauts and cosmonauts; science fiction writers and journalists; and plain, ordinary, unabashed dreamers who wanted to transcend gravity's shackles for the ultimate ride. The story is written from the perspective of a witness who was present at the beginning and who has seen the conclusion of the first space age and the start of the second.
From the Hardcover edition.
Universe provides a tour of the cosmos, covering our solar system, the Milky Way, and galaxies beyond our own. With information on the nature of the universe, the study of cosmology, Earth's motion, modern telescopes, and astrophotography, this groundbreaking encyclopedia is a must-have for both students and astronomy enthusiasts.
Includes a comprehensive star atlas with entries on each of the 88 constellations and notable celestial objects that lie within them, and a monthly sky guide showing the night sky as it appears throughout the year.
But breaking into a highly secure laboratory wasn't easy. Thad Roberts, an intern in a prestigious NASA training program, would have to concoct a meticulous plan to get past security checkpoints, an electronically locked door with cipher security codes, and camera-lined hallways even before he could get his hands on the 600-pound safe. And then how was he supposed to get it out? And what does one do with an item so valuable that it's illegal even to own? With his signature high-velocity style, Mezrich reconstructs the outlandish heist and tells a story of genius, love, and duplicity that reads like a Hollywood thrill ride.
Stephen Hawking has dazzled readers worldwide with a string of bestsellers exploring the mysteries of the universe. Now, for the first time, perhaps the most brilliant cosmologist of our age turns his gaze inward for a revealing look at his own life and intellectual evolution.
My Brief History recounts Stephen Hawking's improbable journey, from his postwar London boyhood to his years of international acclaim and celebrity. Lavishly illustrated with rarely seen photographs, this concise, witty, and candid account introduces readers to a Hawking rarely glimpsed in previous books: the inquisitive schoolboy whose classmates nicknamed him Einstein; the jokester who once placed a bet with a colleague over the existence of a particular black hole; and the young husband and father struggling to gain a foothold in the world of physics and cosmology.
Writing with characteristic humility and humor, Hawking opens up about the challenges that confronted him following his diagnosis of ALS at age twenty-one. Tracing his development as a thinker, he explains how the prospect of an early death urged him onward through numerous intellectual breakthroughs, and talks about the genesis of his masterpiece A Brief History of Time—one of the iconic books of the twentieth century.
Clear-eyed, intimate, and wise, My Brief History opens a window for the rest of us into Hawking's personal cosmos.
Introduction by Burt Rutan
Commentary by Tom Clancy
A never-before-heard firsthand account of a government insider's experience on the cutting edge of UFO exploration
While still on active duty in the U.S. Army during the 1980s, Colonel John B. Alexander, Ph.D., created an interagency group to explore the controversial topic of UFOs. Participants came from the Army, Navy, Air Force, CIA, NSA, DIA, and the aerospace industry. All members held Top Secret clearance. What they discovered was not at all what was expected. UFOs covers the numerous cases they saw, and answers questions like:
• What was really in Hanger 18?
• Did a UFO land at Holloman Air Force Base?
• What happened at Roswell?
• What is Majestic 12?
• What is the Aviary?
• What does the government know about UFOs?
• What has happened with disclosure in other countries?
• Has the U.S. reverse engineered a UFO?
• Why don't presidents get access to UFO info?
UFOs is at once a complete account of Alexander's findings, and a call to action. There are no conspiracy theories here—only hard facts—but they are merely the beginning. Serious research is needed in order to understand and anticipate the workings of UFOs, and John Alexander is leading the charge.
Richard Feynman, winner of the Nobel Prize in physics, thrived on outrageous adventures. Here he recounts in his inimitable voice his experience trading ideas on atomic physics with Einstein and Bohr and ideas on gambling with Nick the Greek; cracking the uncrackable safes guarding the most deeply held nuclear secrets; accompanying a ballet on his bongo drums; painting a naked female toreador. In short, here is Feynman's life in all its eccentric—a combustible mixture of high intelligence, unlimited curiosity, and raging chutzpah.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
For more than thirty years as a beloved professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Lewin honed his singular craft of making physics not only accessible but truly fun, whether putting his head in the path of a wrecking ball, supercharging himself with three hundred thousand volts of electricity, or demonstrating why the sky is blue and why clouds are white. Now, as Carl Sagan did for astronomy and Brian Green did for cosmology, Lewin takes readers on a marvelous journey in For the Love of Physics, opening our eyes as never before to the amazing beauty and power with which physics can reveal the hidden workings of the world all around us. "I introduce people to their own world," writes Lewin, "the world they live in and are familiar with but don't approach like a physicist—yet."
Could it be true that we are shorter standing up than lying down? Why can we snorkel no deeper than about one foot below the surface? Why are the colors of a rainbow always in the same order, and would it be possible to put our hand out and touch one? Whether introducing why the air smells so fresh after a lightning storm, why we briefly lose (and gain) weight when we ride in an elevator, or what the big bang would have sounded like had anyone existed to hear it, Lewin never ceases to surprise and delight with the extraordinary ability of physics to answer even the most elusive questions.
Recounting his own exciting discoveries as a pioneer in the field of X-ray astronomy—arriving at MIT right at the start of an astonishing revolution in astronomy—he also brings to life the power of physics to reach into the vastness of space and unveil exotic uncharted territories, from the marvels of a supernova explosion in the Large Magellanic Cloud to the unseeable depths of black holes.
"For me," Lewin writes, "physics is a way of seeing—the spectacular and the mundane, the immense and the minute—as a beautiful, thrillingly interwoven whole." His wonderfully inventive and vivid ways of introducing us to the revelations of physics impart to us a new appreciation of the remarkable beauty and intricate harmonies of the forces that govern our lives.
Kaku skillfully guides us through the latest innovations in string theory and its latest iteration, M-theory, which posits that our universe may be just one in an endless multiverse, a singular bubble floating in a sea of infinite bubble universes. If M-theory is proven correct, we may perhaps finally find answer to the question, "What happened before the big bang?" This is an exciting and unforgettable introduction into the new cutting-edge theories of physics and cosmology from one of the pre-eminent voices in the field.
From the Trade Paperback edition.
Every now and then a simple yet radical idea shakes the very foundations of knowledge. The startling discovery that the world was not flat challenged and ultimately changed the way people perceived themselves and their relationship with the world. For most humans of the 15th century, the notion of Earth as ball of rock was nonsense. The whole of Western, natural philosophy is undergoing a sea change again, increasingly being forced upon us by the experimental findings of quantum theory, and at the same time, towards doubt and uncertainty in the physical explanations of the universe's genesis and structure. Biocentrism completes this shift in worldview, turning the planet upside down again with the revolutionary view that life creates the universe instead of the other way around.
In this paradigm, life is not an accidental byproduct of the laws of physics. Biocentrism takes the reader on a seemingly improbable but ultimately inescapable journey through a foreign universe—our own—from the viewpoints of an acclaimed biologist and a leading astronomer. Switching perspective from physics to biology unlocks the cages in which Western science has unwittingly managed to confine itself. Biocentrism will shatter the reader's ideas of life—time and space, and even death. At the same time it will release us from the dull worldview of life being merely the activity of an admixture of carbon and a few other elements; it suggests the exhilarating possibility that life is fundamentally immortal.
The 21st century is predicted to be the Century of Biology, a shift from the previous century dominated by physics. It seems fitting, then, to begin the century by turning the universe outside-in and unifying the foundations of science with a simple idea discovered by one of the leading life-scientists of our age. Biocentrism awakens in readers a new sense of possibility, and is full of so many shocking new perspectives that the reader will never see reality the same way again.


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Well Inspection
Well Inspection in Fairfax, VA
Does the property you're looking to purchase rely on well water? You'll want to make sure your well is in good shape before signing that contract. At 4 Season Home Inspections, I offer reliable well inspection services for a wide range of properties in Northern Virginia.
Professional Inspections
At 4 Season Home Inspections, I bring an eye for detail and a true sense of professionalism to every job I undertake. When you hire me for well inspection services, you can rest assured that I'll take the time to do a thorough assessment. Have questions about the state of your well? I'll be happy to answer them clearly and document my findings in a concise, easy-to-understand fashion.
Trust 4 Season Home Inspections to adequately and thoroughly evaluate the state of your well. Call today for more information or to schedule your appointment.
Request an Appointment
Contact Us
Message Sent. Thank you for contacting us. We will be in touch with you shortly.
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I was impressed with 4 seasons home inspection report. The 37 page report provided many details & pictures of items in the home that needed addressed. It was clear and easy to follow. Thankful for the time the inspector took explaining the house. Very helpful! Great value for the information & time spent. Would highly recommend.
Very professional
It was a pleasure working with Bob. He is very friendly, knowledgeable and thorough with his work. I would recommend his service to anyone.
Professional and friendly
Highly satisfied with the service which was thorough and detailed and the report was delivered on time as promised . Will highly recommend for any body who is looking for inspection services.
Wonderful Home Inspector
I found Bob on Yelp after reading reviews and calling around to different company's right before Memorial Day weekend. Bob answered my call and was very courteous. I called Bob on Wednesday and he had an immediate opening that Friday morning which I was right within my 10day window. Bob beat me to the house and I was early, he had already started inspecting the outside. He walked me through the entire process of what was about to take place and explained different things to me while working and allowed for me and my realtor to ask questions. He is very friendly and professional which made the 2hr process flow and easy. He suggested things I could do and gave pointers on how to upkeep other things. He also told me things to mention when getting homeowners insurance that would constitute a discount for me. What I liked most is the inspection report (which I received the same day) and how it was color coded for "Maintenance Issues", "Repair or Replace" and "Safety Item" this made it easy to read and understand. I also did the Radon testing which takes 3days for the results to come back and Bob emailed me them promptly once done. I would 100% recommend Bob and 4 Season Home Inspections!!
High-quality inspection with detail-oriented guidance
Bob is really professional and very patient.He did really great on the inspections and explained a lot of details for us during that. Since our house is pretty new and everything are in good condition, he still gives us a lot of information and tips so we know what we should do if something seems not right. I will recommend Bob to other buyers and my friends.
Peace of Mind
Can't thank Bob Mennitt enough for his guidance and patience during the long distance purchase of my Virginia house. One of the many things his inspection revealed was a water leak hidden in the wall that was slowly soaking the new hardwood floors. His discovery necessitated the floors be replaced by the seller before closing. That one item alone saved me a lot of money and heartache. A word of advice - if you have a lengthy repair list, like I did, it is worth having your inspector return to make sure that the repairs are completed properly.
We had a very good experience with this company. They're highly efficient and thorough and to top it all off very affordable. I highly recommend them.
High Quality Home Inspection
The home inspector was very professional and courteous. He did a detailed and thorough inspection of the house I will be buying. Its very reassuring to me to know the general condition of the house (electric, plumbing, HVAC systems).
Very professional in person inspection was thorough and the report was exceptional. Opened our eyes to concern areas that we were not aware of. The person that does this inspection is on the buyer side they have no connection to the sale. Therefore they are honest and objective. I highly recommend this company.
Top Notch Home Inspector
Bob is punctual, thorough and methodical when it comes to his inspection process. As a Realtor I'm confident in recommending 4 Season Home Inspections to my clients. Janet Ashby Rehanek Long and Foster, REALTOR Warrenton, VA
highly recommend him!
It went extremely well. Bob explained to my buyer in advance what he would be looking for. As he performed the home inspection, he answered her questions attentively and with a great deal of detail. He thoroughly explained the systems of the house. Once he was finished with the entire inspection, he went over the inspection report category by category answering additional questions. Afterwards he made recommendations on several repairs and suggestions for continued home maintenance. My buyer was very satisfied with his inspection and was very happy I had recommended him. I highly recommend him to anybody who is looking for a conscientious, experienced and thorough home inspector!
Great attitude and detailed!
I contacted Bob Mennitt for a home inspection after he was referred from another home inspector who could not do it for us in time. Bob fit the task into his schedule so that our deadline was met. He arrived earlier than scheduled time and started inspecting every detail that is important in a home inspection. He was very patient in explaining things to my wife and me even though we had a lot of questions due to our lack of knowledge about a home since this was our first home to own. What was most impressive was that he greatly enjoys doing the work as evidenced by his meticulousness and passion even though it took longer time than a typical inspection due to the need to answer a lot of questions we had. Even realizing that it took long time, he still greatly enjoyed the work and explained things really really well. We were really impressed by his attitude and the detailed findings from the inspection. It had been a great joy to have him. We would like to have him again if we have future needs in the same area.
Professional and Freindly
I am a real estate professional and recommend Bob Mennitt to my clients. He is punctual, knowledgeable, professional and very good at answering questions and explaining things.
Excellent Service
Bob Mennitt came out to complete our home inspection before we purchased. He thoroughly reviewed all of our appliances, HVAC unit, heat pump, electrical outlets, plumbing, etc. Bob was exceptionally good at his job! He was punctual, respectful, thorough and helpful. Not only did her inspect everything, but showed us how some of the units in our home worked and explained why certain issues were being added to his report. He didn't miss a thing on the inspection and gave us expert advice as to what needed immediate action. Additionally, when we ran into problems with the seller's contractor not fixing repairs properly he offered to come out and re-inspect some of the outlets and the heat pump again at no charge. I would highly recommend his services to anyone needing a home inspection for any reason. Excellent service!!!
- A Rating with the BBB
- Fully Licensed and Insured
- Passed the National Home Inspector Examination
- Virginia License Number 3380000753

subset: commoncrawl


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Romney On MTP
Ann Althouse and Carol Platt Liebau are both congratulating the candidate for a strong performance.
Althouse concludes her review with commentary on Romney's responses to the abortion questions:
He has a huge problem dealing with this issue, but I thought he handled it well, under tough questioning. I don't agree with him on this issue (as he presents himself now), so I'm only talking about his skill as a candidate here. I think it is very strong.
An excellent performance.
The ability to stand in the MSM ring and take the inevitable cheap shots while still using the forum to communicate with voters is a necessary, indeed crucial skill for GOP candidates. Like Rudy last week, Mitt's performance this week underscores why he is one of the two candidates with the potential to beat either Senator Clinton or Senator Obama.


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Friday, 21 February 2014
Sewing for others
I really want to make a dress for my beautiful niece, but I've not made anything before for someone outside the immediate family - I'm getting a bit freaked.
I knew I wanted to make something from HappyHomemade Sew Chic Kids. This book is AWESOME. I've spent a long time umming and ahhing, before choosing which one I'd go for: design E with beautiful pin tucks on the front.
Once I'd chosen, I thought "Cool, let's rock!" I traced out my pattern and bought my fabric. But then I had doubts about my ability to "finish" it nicely enough to give as a gift. I worried about the elastic in the neckline.
I've never had these anxieties sewing for myself or my own children. Why am I so freaked out? She's only 8 years old, so rationally I know she won't judge my sewing. But I do want it to be nice for her, something special just from me. My word - I feel as though I've never sewn before!
My doubts multiplied until I gave up on dress E and decided to opt instead for design J - the V neck dress. It looked easier to achieve. So I drafted the pattern, cut out my fabric, then realised there will be raw edges on show around the neckline hidden only by some lace. After mulling this over, I've decided to abandon the lace and line it instead.
Still haven't put needle to fabric yet; and, to procrastinate further I've decided I'd do a "practice" version in miniature for my young daughter Immy, to iron out any construction worries. Now I just need to crack on.
Did anyone else feel this way the first time they made something as a gift? How do you feel when you sew for others?
12 comments:
I know what you mean, but I'm sure you'll do a brilliant job - and in my experience the gift recipients will be much, much less critical than you will be yourself!ReplyDeleteReplies
I know you are right, If someone gave me something I'd cherish it.Delete
Yes! I made a dress for my niece last summer, for her 2nd birthday, and took such care over it! Now I have promised to make something for my friend, and I am agonising over it! It truly is nerve wracking! I think a practise run is an excellent idea. Even just to get you used to the pattern and instructions! Good luck! XReplyDeleteReplies
I think so too. It is silly, I'm making mistakes and over-thinking steps that ordinarily are now second nature. I've just got to block it out and get on. Easier said than done though!Delete
I haven't done any dressmaking for friends (though I will be in the coming months, including an 18th birthday dress for the sister) but I have done a lot of patchwork for friends over the years. I find sometimes the hardest part is picking a design and colours that you know they will like.ReplyDelete
My main advice would be just to slow right down. That's what i do when tackling new dressmaking techniques and generally it turns out alright. Hope this dress goes well. The fabric is incredibly cuteReplies
Thank you Kaitlyn, Going to heed your advice and go slow. All I've done tonight is mark the gathers on the fabric- then walk away! Go you 18th birthday dress. Can't wait to see that.Delete
Such a sweet dress and that fabric is amazing for it! I'm sure the lucky recipient will be more than delighted to receive your thoughtful gift. I've never sewn clothing for anyone else, but my cousins still talk about how excited they were as kids to receive and wear clothes that my mother had made for them - I think your niece will be really pleased with this.ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you, the fabric is so cute I love it. Almost bought enough to make something for me too!Delete
I think everyone gets a bit intimidated at the thought of sewing for others! I'm sure you'll do a beautiful job and that your niece will love it :)ReplyDelete
Even you? The wedding sewing you did was amazing. Thank you for the support.ReplyDelete
Oh, I totally relate to your angst! I seldom sew for others for just these reasons. Having said that, when I have sewn for a friend or family member, the outcome has been very positive. I sewed my niece's wedding dress, and it was so, so rewarding. The patterns you've shown here are adorable, and I think I want that fabric for myself, LOL. I know it's going to turn out so cute! It's a win-win for both your daughter and your niece.ReplyDelete
Thanks so much for stopping by my blog and saying hello! My husband takes my outfit photos. I do the editing and staging, but he's the guy that snaps!
Wow a wedding dress, going to look for it on your blog now. Well your husband does a great job with the photography. I need to get better at the photo editing- its not a skill I have...yet!ReplyDelete


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Pokhara, the 2nd largest city of Nepal offers a variety of things you can do as per your interest.
Here, are 10 things you would not want to miss out when you make your next plan to travel to this city.
- Fewa Lake:
The basic thing no one misses out is visiting this lake also known as Phewa Lake. Boating is an option available, to take a tour of this lake and visit the 'Barahi Temple' situated at the center of the lake.
2. Begnas Lake:
It is another beautiful creation of nature in the city of lakes where you can witness the reflection of Annapurna and Machhapuchre reflected in the crystal clear surface of this lake. It also facilitates the visitors with the pleasure of boating.
3. Devi's Falls:
Also known as पातले छाङ्गो, it's a waterfall which forms an underground tunnel which is 500 ft long and runs 100 ft below ground level. It is said that a swiss couple Davi went swimming but the woman drowned in a pit because of overflow and so it was named as Devi's fall.
4. Caves:
- Gupteshwor Mahadev cave:
Across the road from Devi's falls, this cave consists of a huge stalagmite worshipped as a Shiva linga. All you gotta do is buy a ticket at the gate and clamber through a damp tunnel behind the shrine, you will be able to see thundering waters of devi's falls.
- Chamero gufa:
Also called Bat cave and Mahendra cave, is located close to the Seti river. It is the large limestone cave whoch is famous for the bats that can be seen hanging by the walls.
5. Sunrise @ Sarangkot:
Anyone who comes to Pokhara doesn't miss a chance to get to this place. To witness the sunrise and its gleaming rays making, the peaks of Annapurna range shine brighter and brighter as it rises higher in the sky.
6. Peace Stupa:
Also known as शान्ती गुम्बा, a Buddhist pagoda style located on a hilltop in Ananda hill is a place where you can find an immense inner peace of mind.
7. Bindhya Basini Temple:
It is located near Bagar, in Pokhara Nepal. It is one of the popular attraction in the city as people come here to worship the hindu deities Bindhya Basini.
8. Pokhara Museum: International Mountain Museum
With an objective of maintaining systematic records of the successful eight thousanders, geographic flora and fauna and human activities in the range, the IMM has been established at the foot step of fishtail peak and gateway to the mountain region.
9. Sports activities:
Pokhara offers many interesting and exciting sports adventures for the tourists both internal and external.
Some of them are:
- Parasailing/ paragliding
- Zipflyer
- Mountain biking
- Ultralight
- Handgliding
- Skydiving
- Paramotor
- Boating
10. Live music:
At the end of the day, being a social animal, you might want to relax with your friends or family, not to disappoint you this city offers a variety of foods and beverages with live music performed by various artists in different restaurants which will surely make you groove and help make new friends along the way.
So, these are the things you can plan to do while visiting pokhara the gateway to the Annapurna circuit, a popular trail in Himalayas.
Let me know, in the comment section down below, which of the above mentioned things you wish to try out and if you already have what was your experience about it and also what topic would you like me to talk about in my next post.
Hope this was helpful, thank you for checking it out, follow to be notified about my posts.
(Reference: some of the pictures were extracted from google for this post)


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Can we help?
Internal Revenue Code, 2017 Ed. contains the complete text of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended through the end of the Second Session of the 114th Congress. The book is designed to be used with Title 26 of the United States Code Annotated® for historical notes and notes of decisions construing the Code. See the U.S. Code Congressional and Administrative News® update pamphlets for amendments to these laws and legislative history.


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There Are Plenty of Ideas on How To Fix The NhL's Entry Draft To Prevent Awarding Losers-Why Not Try Rewarding Winners?
When the NHL held it's lottery last weekend to determine which team would own the coveted first overall pick, millions of hockey fans and pundits had their fingers crossed that any team other than the Edmonton Oilers, who had won the first overall selection four times in the past six seasons, would have their name announced as the winner. Once upon a time the NHL awarded a year's first selection in the entry draft to the team that finished last that season. It eventually changed the process to a lottery system to discourage teams from tanking the season with visions of drafting the next future super star dancing in their heads. The system was still weighted to favour the league's bottom feeders as the teams that finished at the bottom of the standings had a greater chance of landing the cherished first overall pick, which still attracts criticism that the NHL rewards teams that lose.
The lottery system still hasn't exorcised the possibility of teams deliberately losing to land the top pick. Last season the Buffalo Sabres and the Arizona Coyotes traded away just about every marketable player they could in an effort to lose as many games as possible and increase their odds of landing generational phenom Connor McDavid. Neither team got their wish though, and they had to settle for the second and third overall picks respectively (still not too shabby).
And while you could say that last year's lottery proved the system worked, Mr. McDavid fell into the arguably undeserving lap of the perpetually failing and criminally mismanaged Edmonton Oilers (see above). And while the NHL tweaked the rules so that the team that finished dead last had less of a chance at the top pick in 2016, the Oilers were once again in the running for the top prize last weekend and they had a better shot at it this year then they did last spring. The Oilers wound up drawing the fourth pick, but if they had won number one the calls for the NHL to burn the current system to the ground would have been deafening.
Everyone seems to have an opinion on how to improve the NHL's lottery system and to prevent teams like Edmonton from constantly feeding at the loser's trough. And everyone agrees that the current lottery system rewards losing teams (under the current system, the team that finishes last not only has the highest odds of landing the top pick but can also draft no lower than fourth). So what if the NHL changed the system to reward its winning franchises?
Currently, the team that wins the Stanley Cup is rewarded for their victory by drafting last in every round. The team that they defeated in the Stanley Cup final drafts 29th while the two teams that made it to the Conference semi-finals wind up drafting in the bottom four as well. So in essence, the NHL's most successful teams and its eventual champion are actually punished at the draft. Why not reverse that?
What if, when the NHL's two top teams battle for the Stanley Cup at the end of an exhaustive, brutal playoff campaign, they were playing for more then the right to hoist Lord Stanley's chalice, but the right to drape their jersey over the League's next superstar as well?
What if instead of having to host a fire sale of players while the confetti was still falling from their Stanley Cup parades, the Chicago Blackhawks were rewarded with Taylor Hall, Nate Mackinnon and McDavid? What if the Boston Bruins were the ones to agonize over making Ryan Nugent-Hopkins or Gabriel Landeskog the top pick in 2011? What if L.A. was rewarded with the number one selection in 2012 and again in 2014 for their brilliant Cup runs? If the Washington Capitals or Pittsburgh Penguins or St. Louis Blues are the top dog this year, why not reward them for their herculean effort by allowing them to call out Auston Matthews name? The entire landscape of the League would be vastly different.
And why stop there? Award the Stanley Cup runner up the second overall pick. Call it a consolation prize if you like, but coming up a victory or two short of winning it all should also have it's own reward. Could you imagine Jack Eichel in a Lightning jersey or Alexander Barkov wearing Bruins black and gold? And give the Stanley Cup semi-finalists the third and fourth picks based on their regular season point totals. Then assign the remaining picks to teams based on their regular season performance. That would mean that this year the Toronto Maple Leafs would draft fifth overall, followed by the Oilers at sixth, the Vancouver Canucks at seventh and so on.
Would it hurt teams rebuilding? Oliver Ekman-Larsson, Morgan Reilly, Mark Scheifele, Doug Hamilton, Jacob Trouba and 2011 Calder Trophy winner Jeff Skinner are just a handful of impressive names that have been drafted between slots five and ten in recent years. Ottawa Senators super star Erik Karlsson was drafted 15th in 2008, Vladimir Tarasenko and Evengi Kuznetsov, a pair of young talents that had huge breakout seasons this year, were drafted 16th and 26th respectively in 2010, Jamie Benn, who lead the league in scoring in 2015 and finished second in 2016, was a third round pick in 2007 while goalie Braden Holtby, who will likely win the Vezina trophy this June, was picked up by the Washington Capitals in the fourth round in 2008. Franchise defensemen Duncan Keith, P.K. Subban and Shea Weber were all second round picks and the Detroit Red Wings have made the NHL post season 25 consecutive seasons because they became experts at drafting (and patiently developing) excellent players in later rounds (Pavel Datsyuk was drafted a jaw dropping 171st in 1998). There are plenty of elite, even franchise players available after the top four picks.
This would force teams to be smarter in their drafting, investing more time and resources into scouting and development. Would the Edmonton Oilers be in the sad state they are today if they weren't allowed to depend on so many first overall picks, but instead had to approach the draft more carefully (that may be a moot point given how horribly mismanaged they were until last May when they finally fired just about everyone)?
It would also make the trade deadline more exciting. The NHL's deadline has turned into a final opportunity for the teams who think they have a legitimate shot at the Stanley Cup to scavenge useful parts from the basement dwellers to address any outstanding needs headed into the two month war that is the Stanley Cup playoffs. Contending teams don't blink twice at parting with their first round pick (the Rangers haven't had a first round pick since 2012 and won't until 2017 at the earliest), but what if Chicago or New York or Washington think they have an actual shot at the Cup, would they be willing to part with a pick that could end up in the top four or even first overall? And if so, how much more valuable is that pick and how much more could they get for it? How much of a gamble would the selling team be taking? What if you send a decent player to a contending team in return for their first round pick and nothing else, only to see that team upset in the first round and watch said pick's value plummet? It would add a dozen more layers of intrigue to last minute deals.
Until the NHL called out the Toronto Maple Leafs name last week, there was a genuine fear that the Oilers would land their fifth first overall pick in seven seasons (Calgary President Brian Burke even promised to beat someone up if that happened). This would end the trend of rewarding mismanaged franchises and force them to improve themselves more efficiently while rewarding the League's top teams.
And it would change everything.
Shayne Kempton
Photo www.hockeysfuture.com


text: ONASSIGNMENT_03w Stephanie Scorza, 35, of Camden, N.J. talks about trying to stay clean after a drug treatment center appointment at Market and 7th Streets Tuesday, May 23, 2017 in downtown Camden, N.J. Scorza, who has been homeless for six years, suffered from a herniated disc and was prescribed pain pills, got hooked and moved to oxycodone. Camden has a thriving black market for subaxone, a prescription drug that addicts use, similar to methadone, in the hopes of getting clean. Scorza has been homeless for 6 years. (Corey Perrine for The Wall Street Journal)


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Rap collective Odd Future is no stranger to controversy, so it wasn't surprising when singer/DJ Syd the Kid, in an interview for L.A. Weekly, spoke about the sexual orientation of some of very big pop stars — like she was Wendy Williams or something — as though they were foregone conclusions rather than speculation. But let's be real: She just said what we're all thinking anyway. Syd officially came out a few months ago with the release of the video for the song "Cocaine" by Odd Future subgroup the Internet.
Syd the Kyd On Odd Future, Her Sexuality And Why She Hates The Word "Lesbian" [LA Weekly]


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|Bright morning sky in Managua.
After another breakfast of gallo pinto (rice and beans), I found this quiet place to sit in.
A nearby tree was full of these things. Is it a breadfruit tree?
Here are a few pictures from the road:
|Granada, edge of the main square.
|Driving through a market in Granada.
|Guard dog.
|More scenes from Granada + Erwin, our driver.
|On the way out of Granada.
|Graveyard outside Granada.
|Near the ferry terminal in San Jorge. The woman on the pink billboard is the vice president of Nicaragua and wife of the president, Daniel Ortega. He has been president since 2006 and was re-elected yesterday.
And then, we arrived to the beach :)


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I had the pleasure of meeting Aidan at Boston Comic Con in 2013; I had him sign my deluxe pocket edition of The Hobbit, which had been a gift the previous Christmas from my boyfriend. Aidan was such a delight, and was even kind enough to later pose for a photo with me when I ran into him on the convention floor.
The following summer, Sean Astin came to Boston Comic Con. I had seen him before at ELF in 2006, but had not had a chance to meet him or get an autograph. This time, I jumped at the chance. Sean was even more charming than I'd imagined. Not only did I get a photo with him, but he was kind enough to sign my copy of his autobiography, There and Back Again: An Actor's Tale.
Follow me on Instagram for more pictures of my #TolkienCollection!


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Apply These Diabetes Tips To Your Life
People are not letting diabetes control their lives. They are taking steps that sideline the effects of the disease and put themselves in control of their own lives. They should not let lack of information prevent them from managing symptoms more effectively. This article has some great tips which should help you manage your diabetes so you can live a comfortable life. You will ensure your life will be easier to deal with if you stay organized. Don't stumble around looking for items, such as insulin or associated equipment; have a place for it and keep it there. Make your blood glucose test into a daily routine so that you always remember to test your blood and always remember to write down the results.
Diabetes Tips
If you suffer from diabetes, make sure to maintain healthy teeth and gums because diabetes increases your gum disease risk. Brush a few times a day and floss daily. People that suffer from diabetes will do better if they are eating healthy carbohydrates with their diet. Diabetics should not follow extremely low-carb diets; they may not provide the body with the nutrients it needs. Making sure that you consume the right amount of carbohydrates will help you maintain your energy throughout the day. If you want to limit diabetes' effects on your everyday life, then stop smoking. Smoking is especially harmful for a diabetic because it has the ability to raise blood sugar to a dangerous level. If you have issues with quitting, talk to your doctor about options to help you stop. Using an online pharmacy instead of a brick-and-mortar one can help you stretch your dollar when purchasing diabetes medications. They even have it set up so you can receive your medications monthly, this way you never have to worry about running out of the crucial supplies you need.
Insulated Bag for Insulin
When traveling, keep your insulin in an insulated bag. Insulin needs to be set at the right temperature, so an insulated bag will make sure that it doesn't get too cold or hot. If you have diabetes or want to avoid it, you need to have more physical activity in your life. It helps control weight as well as lowering the body's blood sugar. It makes the body more sensitive to insulin levels. The immense benefits of a fit body, including lowered blood sugar, make an active lifestyle the most obvious choice for diabetics.
Regular Contact with your Physician
If you are diabetic, among your highest responsibilities is keeping in regular contact with your physician. Typically, diabetes cannot be cured. It is therefore important to constantly monitor your condition, and the progress of your treatment, to prevent the condition from getting worse. Diabetes is just a minor annoyance, so long as you exercise proper self-care. Minimize your stress. People that are suffering from diabetes can have high blood sugar levels, especially if they are feeling down. Try different ways to relax in order to keep yourself calm, like yoga or meditation. Breathing exercises are a wonderful way to calm yourself down, and there a variety of techniques you can try. These can be done anywhere, making them convenient, as well as easy.
Change of Lifestyle
You should start thinking about ways in which you can improve your lifestyle to reduce the impact of your condition. Remember that the information in this article can only help you if you apply as much of it as you possibly can, but if you start right away, you should see results soon.


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Quick Fire Q & A With The Kogon
Gearing up for the release of the new album from Brooklyn based Sam Kogon? Thought so...the new album Before You Knew Me is just moments away from release on September 18 on cassette and 12" via LLR and Seagreen Records, so Third Outing thought we'd quick fire a few things to our pal chat Kogon...
K: Those earlier tracks like Wake Up Your Kids and Sleeping Beauty were recorded when I was still in my college band The Vanderbuilts. I sort of shelved them thinking that I'd use them one day, and when the band parted ways I was sort of at a cross roads, so I decided to start going under my own name. I already had these two tracks recorded so I released them myself. I was going for an early Elvis Costello meets Nick Lowe sound with Roy Orbison falsetto...I must admit we released them a little too early.
3rd: The début album is out very soon. Where did you record it? What was the inspiration?
K: The record was tracked at Ishlab Studio in Dumbo, a cramped yet adequate space. It was recorded by Andrew Nerviano. The actual time spent in the studio was very short. I think we were in there for 2 days total and tracked 9 songs. It took a year to finish it though, mixing and doing overdubs at Andrew's grandmas house. There wasn't really a concept behind it except make a fun little record, not too short, not too long, and make it feel like a live set.
3rd: Wake up Your kids has a softness in the voice but talks about kids dying. A great man once told me music should be all about contrast. Do you agree?
K: Oh I totally agree for the most part. A happy sounding song with happy lyrics are only good for slasher movies.
3rd: Plans is more uplifting, jangly and poppy. How do all of those different musical sides work together on the album?
K: They don't!
3rd: Great! You've been in the psyche band The Left Banke. Many artists who have been in successful bands often release solo albums. Is it a way to get recognition for your own ideas?
K: I've only been in The Left Banke for a year now and I have to argue that they're really a baroque pop band than a psych band. I'm lucky enough to have the opportunity to sing in one of my favourite groups growing up. I like having the solo project because a solo project can't break up...unless the person whose project it is dies or quits.
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Patagonia Stormfront Roll Top Pack
I've owned the Patagonia Stormfront Zippered backpack for over ten years now and I can confidently say it's the best backpack I've ever used for both fishing and photography. It's bombproof, 100% waterproof, and remarkably comfortable for a pack with such spartan straps.
Patagonia has recently released a bigger brother to the Stormfront called the Stormfront Roll Top Pack 30L, and while it's not zippered it is 100% waterproof, says the company. It's just a touch larger with a revised take on the fabric and updated straps. It's compatible with their Convertible Vest system, weighs 1 lb 12 oz., has exterior lash points, a water resistant outer pocket, and rod tube holder, and costs $149 – significantly less then the zippered version.
Mark Harbaugh from Patagonia gave MidCurrent a run through of the bag at the OR show last year and I'm going to be using one the next week on the beaches of the east cape in Baja Mexico. I'll be certain to follow up and let everyone know what I think about the new version after I put it through the paces.
Redington Partners with GoPro Mountain Games
Tidal Roots Launches Brand, New Products


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When I spoke at the recent Digital Book 2009 conference, I talked about our mobile platforms, and said that iPhone was where the current battle for the hearts and minds of mobile phone readers is being fought, with Blackberry being the next big target.
To that point, we've been working feverishly to make the apps on these two key platforms even better, and today we're announcing two new versions of our app, for both the iPhone and the Blackberry.
Go ahead, download the apps now:
Direct iTunes link for Shortcovers on iPhone: http://bit.ly/ELvFC
Direct link for Blackberry from Shortcovers: http://www.shortcovers.com/blackberry
Oh, you want to know what's new in the apps? Alright, fine, twist my arm….
On the iPhone side:
We've added a TON of new options in our reading experience. You can now turn pages faster with our new horizontal paging mode, change the text colours, and much more. Read all about it on the iPhone reading help page
- We've removed that annoying sign up screen. When you first start Shortcovers, you can go right into the app and start browsing our free content. If you decide to buy any books from us, we'll ask you to register then, and when you do, you'll find that it's a much more seamless signup process.
- We've added new lists, available under 'More' – this includes the current New York Times best sellers, some selections from our editors, and a great selection of free books and articles.
- We've applied a fresh coat of paint to the application – you'll see new loading screens, a new splash screen when you first start the app, and a few other hidden gems.
In short, now you have even more content you can read for free, without signing in, using our great new reading interface, in the newly beautified app! (Phew, that's a lot or one breath)
See, it's awesome – now go and get it: http://bit.ly/ELvFC
We've done similar things on the Blackberry as well – we already took away the sign up screen from our Blackberry app, but now we've also:
- Added a built in purchase screen – now buying on the Blackberry is even easier. No more jumping out to the Blackberry browser – now it's all nicely integrated
- Those same great lists that are on the iPhone are on the Blackberry too, under a new 'Lists' icon
- Just like the iPhone, the Blackberry app got a brand new coat of paint – you'll find new graphics, better fonts, and generally just find it more fun to use
The Blackberry app is ready and waiting – go get it: http://www.shortcovers.com/blackberry
And just to leave you wanting more, we aren't stopping there. We have a new Android release coming soon, and a super secret announcement that we're going to make in the next few weeks that will literally blow your socks off (ok, well, maybe not literally, but it's pretty amazing).


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Kapustniki~Cabbage Pancakes
You can try out more of Olga's culinary traditions from Russia with this Blini Recipe.
We're grateful for CSA member, Olga, and the contribution of her family's culinary traditions.
For the sauce you'll need:
- 1 onion, diced
- 1 carrot (optional), shredded or diced
- 1 jar strained tomatoes or puree a jar of whole, canned tomatoes. You can also use about 3 cups of Jubilee's fresh tomatoes with skins removed and diced.
- Salt, pepper to taste
- 1 bay leaf
- Oil for sautéing
For the pancakes you'll need:
- 2 lbs cabbage
- 4 T semolina flour
- 4 eggs
- 1-2 T flour
- 3-4 green onions (optional)
- Salt, pepper to taste
- Oil for frying
To make the sauce:
- Sauté the onion,
- add the carrot if using and sauté until soft and starts to brown about 5 min.
- Add strained tomatoes and bay leaf and let simmer until it thickens a little bit.
- Add salt and pepper.
To make the pancakes:
- Shred the cabbage and let it macerate with the salt.
- Add semolina flour, mix it together and let it stand so the semolina will absorb some of the cabbage juice.
- Add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.
- Make the patties and fry on both sides until golden brown.
Using a heavy bottom stainless steel pot with a lid:
- Put 1 layer of the cabbage patties in the pot,
- Cover with some of the sauce, repeat until all the patties are used.
- Add some water to the pot, bring to a boil and simmer on low for about 20-30 minutes. The time will vary. Whatever it takes to make the cabbage soft. Just take a piece and test it.


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Within the opening pages of Jordan Belfort's memoir, "The Wolf of Wall Street," I felt a certain familiarity; like him, I was always obsessed with becoming rich.
During high school, I worked three part-time jobs simultaneously, delivering meat for the neighborhood butcher, working as a waiter at a local synagogue and on Sundays, waxing cars.
To fuel my ambition, I'd wander the furniture department at Macy's, coveting the leather couches and Persian rugs I'd one day be able to afford. But my preparation for untold wealth didn't end there.
Knowing I'd need such things for my future mansion, I mailed away for the Franklin Mint's "Art Treasures of the Louvre" mini-ingot collection, a set of engraved silver coins so tiny they came with a magnifying glass. At night under the covers, I imagined my rich friends and I in my wood-paneled library, sipping port (whatever that was) while passing that magnifying glass back and forth, soaking in the opulence that was the miniature "Mona Lisa."
Yes, I wanted very much to be rich, but hard work alone was getting me nowhere; I needed to go to Wall Street. So I headed to college and then to law school, where I attended classes at night while working for Merrill Lynch during the day. Eventually, I landed an interview to become a bond trader, a job that could earn me millions. My meeting was scheduled for Oct. 19, 1987 — the worst day on Wall Street since the crash of '29. By the close of the market, my dreams of wealth were hopelessly dashed. Would I ever make it to Macy's?
Flash forward to Hollywood 2007, where during the previous 20 years I'd traded the fantasy of becoming very rich for the reality of becoming very happy with what I do for a living. My agent sends me "The Wolf of Wall Street" to consider adapting into a screenplay. I read about Jordan and his childhood desire to be rich at all costs.
He'd begun as an ambitious kid from Queens, hawking Italian ices on the beach, eventually dropping out of dental school and failing in a wholesale meat venture before finding his way to Wall Street. As in my own life, the crash of '87 sent him in a new direction, me to Hollywood but him to Long Island, into the "boiler room" world where he began hustling dubious penny stocks.
He began drawing lines for himself in the sand, things he swore he'd never do, then he crossed those lines. He became a serial philanderer, abusing more drugs than a rock band, a man accused of bilking investors out of millions. Eventually, through a combination of Quaaludes and rationalization, he found himself up to his neck in very hot water.
I understood this guy. I could have become this guy. But how could I make an audience understand him? The answer was to let Jordan speak for himself.
It was a conscious choice on my part as a screenwriter to employ voice-over, a storytelling device used to great effect by Martin Scorsese in "Goodfellas" and "Casino." We'd let Jordan speak directly to the audience, "selling them" his story. Throughout the insanity and debaucherous fun, we'd never show you the people on the other ends of those telephones, the anonymous masses taken in by dishonest brokers, the "schmucks" hoping to get rich quick.
If you'd start to question the ethics of this despicable on-screen behavior, there'd be plenty to distract you. Lavish beach houses, designer clothes, girls in bikinis, Ferraris by the dozen. And that is precisely the point.
We live in a society that applauds the accumulation of wealth while rarely questioning the means by which it is acquired. It doesn't matter how you get those diamonds as long as you get them.
The human animal is greedy by nature, and though we may tell ourselves otherwise, any one of us could have become a Jordan Belfort given the right circumstances.
Who knows how many kids are out there, worshiping at the altar of the Kardashians, convinced that bling is the answer to all of life's questions.
Until we stop valuing consumption for consumption's sake, there'll be a lot more wolves prowling Wall Street.


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When I did my due diligence, I realized that the service for iPhones is much more expensive than the $49.99 T-Mobile just started offering for their unlimited Blackberry service. I have been paying $120/month for a long time, so the reduction sounded so great. In the end...my current Curve started acting up and after talking to some nice T-Mobile folks, I have a brand new Bold being overnighting to me tomorrow to replace my old Curve for free! That $4.99 insurance my Dad made me get years ago does come in handy for sure.
So, my BBM list is dwindling day-by-day with the defectors to iPhones...but we will always have email/twitter/facebook/text messages!!! xo
Speaking of technology..what happened to the right hand of my blog? It is now at the bottom. Help!!!!!!!


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Saturday, June 22, 2013
I came across the path of another little store.................
9 comments:
- papel1 said...
Sorry I haven't visited in awhile. I love the swans. What a fine even if one is glued back together. Great to hold soaps and place on a lovely piece of your embroidery.
- June 22, 2013 at 4:16 PM
- Betty Lou said...
What nice finds, they will be perfect in the bathroom or anywhere. Do you remember the small glass swans that were filled with colored water and if my memory is right the colored glass would go up into the neck as the weather was about to change. I may be all wrong about this bit your beautiful swans just made me think of them.
- June 22, 2013 at 8:17 PM
- Laurie said...
How pretty! And so perfect with the embroidered towels. I love hummingbirds, such dainty little creatures!
- June 22, 2013 at 8:42 PM
- Preeti said...
The swan with roses looks very nice! Your embroidery is lovely!!
I like embroidering birds.
- June 22, 2013 at 9:38 PM
- peggy said...
I love the swans and what you did with them. I never mind if something has been repaired, it just adds to its story. Almost as beautiful as your needlework.
- June 23, 2013 at 5:07 AM
- Cindy said...
Very pretty for your bathrooms. And I love your embroidered towel. I love all animals, but birds are probably my favorite subject for stitching. Have a great Sunday:)
- June 23, 2013 at 9:16 AM
The swans are lovely, Kathleen, and truly seem in their element carrying the pretty rose soaps. Love the embroidered dresser linen. The swans are so pretty.
I don't know if I have a favorite animal...maybe little chicks or blue birds...yes, I think blue birds would be my favorite, you know those sweet little ones that are common on vintage linens. They make me happy.
Enjoy a delightful day with your new swans.
Marianne xox
- June 25, 2013 at 7:11 AM
- Sharon said...
I love swans too! Enjoyed this post.
- June 25, 2013 at 4:18 PM
- Marie said...
Oh, what a great find, Kathleen! Love how you are using them too. Swanson embroidered linens is so vintage-style. Love it! Hope you are doing well.
- June 30, 2013 at 9:03 PM