text:
How do you respond to a no-win situation?
As any Star Trek nerd will tell you, The Kobayashi Maru was a simulation used by Starfleet to train its future leaders how to deal with a no-win situation. The scenario begins when the Starship Enterprise receives a distress signal from a civilian ship called the Kobayashi Maru, which is stranded in Klingon territory. The Starfleet cadet leading the crew must decide whether to attempt a rescue of the helpless ship and risk infuriating the Klingons or abandon, and thereby doom, the Kobayashi Maru. Unfortunately for the cadets, Spock has programmed the simulation so that no matter which decision the captain-in-training makes, it results in the crew of the Kobayashi Maru perishing.
When Captain Kirk went through the simulation as a cadet, however, he reprogramed the simulator in order to save the stranded ship while still protecting the lives of his own crew. Spock reprimands Kirk for cheating, but Kirk retorts that he simply "found a solution that redefined the problem." Spock disagrees, insisting that the point was for future Starfleet leaders to face certain failure and thereby test their true character.
Facing Failure
For me, this story highlights the fact that the specter of failure is terrifying for leader. Most of us, like Captain Kirk, try desperately to find ways to eliminate the necessity of failure in our organizations.
But the truth is that no-win scenarios are inevitable for any leader. The question is not how to avoid failure, but how to respond with ingenuity even when failure seems certain.
De-stigmatizing failure can be an important first step toward achieving more courageous, more creative leadership.
Failure Lab, a group of West Michigan professionals, seeks to "eliminate the fear of failure and encourage intelligent risk taking" by inviting people from the area to talk about their experience of failure. I would encourage you to visit the website at: http://www.failure-lab.com/
What do you think?
How have you responded to a no-win scenario?
When was the last time you admitted to a failure?
What have you learned from your failures?
How might a greater openness to failure improve your organization?
"Lose Dice" courtesy of Stuart Miles at FreeDigitalPhotos.net


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Ok fellas and ladies who are slightly obsessed with bags of all shapes and sizes. This one's going to be tough to get through without leaving the internet and your bank balance being the same as it was beforehand. Sorry, but I just had to share the best designer handbags to have this season according to moi. It is my birthday after all today, so why not give the gift of a little retail therapy?! Happy reading 🙂
The Saint Laurent Sac Du Jour- £1,350
The Sac Du Jour is a real investment if you ask me. It's one of those bags that will go with everything- if you're wearing plain or having a pattern clash kinda day. This bag is so chic, perfect for travel due to its mini size and will see you through a season with no trouble at all.
The Dior Diorama- £2,940
I'm sure you've seen Jennifer Lawrence's face splattered across every Dior campaign recently from the TV to posters around town. This cross-body bag naturally caught my eye and the style has been fashionable since 2015 on the Dior catwalk- it's no wonder why it keeps coming back.
The Louis Vuitton Petite Malle- £2,940
Literally translated to "small trunk", this playful bag is so much fun! Perfect for those who want a true statement bag as they find the most instagrammable location for some snaps with this beauty. Vuitton is still on my wishlist far, far away into the future.
The Burberry Rucksack- £695
Let's try something a bit more affordable next for the everyday woman. This Burberry Rucksack is such a stunner with its simplicity and grace. Ditch the old backpack from your uni days and give yourself a reason to sport a cute lil' rucksack made for the modern day boss.
The DvF Secret Agent- £227
DvF is one of the first designers I ever fell in love with as a teen. I distinctly remember scanning eBay and Polyvore during late nights to try and find the perfect bag. This one hits the jackpot, as it's two in one! Simply undo the zip and you have a perfect clutch! What a stunner.
What do you think about my top picks from the best designer handbags to have this season? I know which ones I'm lusting after, so many amazing bags and just not enough wardrobe space…
Saharasplash x
Thanks for reading! If you're in a browsing mood, then why not check out my latest post on getting ready for any occasion with Prestige Hampers?
This is a sponsored post, all thoughts and views my own

subset: commoncrawl


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Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
It's February, and winter isn't over yet. For several more weeks, many kids won't get a lot of outdoor time. And that means moms have to get creative in order to keep the little ones entertained. Well, CafeMom wants to help out. To celebrate the February 10 release of The Lego Batman Movie, we're giving away a movie prize pack that will provide some indoor fun for the entire family.
Lego Batman (Will Arnett) is back, and this time he's the star of his own big-screen adventure. In this new Lego film, Batman -- aka Bruce Wayne -- is used to being a loner. But as the Joker (Zach Galifianakis) threatens to take over Gotham, the broody hero is faced with the realization that he may not be able to save the city alone. And the caped crusader will have to learn that asking for help isn't such a bad thing.
One lucky reader will win a Lego Batman Movie: The Batmobile Lego kit. (After all, who doesn't love playing with legos?) And the winner will also get a $100 Visa gift card to take the family out to see this film in theaters.
To enter the giveaway, share with us:
What is one creative game or activity that you play with your kids indoors?
Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
The "Giveaway: 'The LEGO® Batman Movie' Prize Pack & $100 Visa Gift Card" starts on February 3, 2017 at 1:00 p.m. (ET) and ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET) on February 11, 2017 (the "Sweepstakes Period").
Enter by replying to this post with an appropriate comment during the Sweepstakes Period. Limit one entry per day during the Sweepstakes Period. One (1) winner will be selected in a random drawing of all eligible entries on or around February 12, 2017, to receive the 'Giveaway: ''The LEGO® Batman Movie' Prize Pack & $100 Visa Gift Card*.'
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Op-Ed: The lessons of the Michael Le Vell case
Posted Sep 11, 2013 by
Alexander Baron
The rape trial of the soap actor Michael Le Vell is the latest in a long line of child sexual abuse prosecutions that should never have happened.
Michael Le Vell (Michael Robert Turner) as Kevin Webster.
Beacon Radio
In October 2011, the soap actor Michael Le Vell
was arrested
on suspicion of raping a young girl. Less than two months later, the
case was dropped
, and that should have been the end of the matter. In spite of the typically snide innuendo of the CPS that there was "
insufficient evidence
", it should have been clear to all involved that this was a case that should never have been brought.
Like all sex cases and especially child sex cases, this one was shrouded in anonymity, although the very dearth of particularity in its reporting provides the evidence the
Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act
1992 seeks to withhold. In total, Michael Le Vell faced twelve charges for offences that were said to have taken place over a period of some nine years.
The ITV documentary
The Other Side Of Jimmy Savile
that was screened last year triggered a massive police investigation into allegations of the sexual abuse of underage girls by celebrities; not only did the Le Vell case predate this, it is in no way comparable.
In her closing speech,
Eleanor Laws QC said
the alleged victim in the Le Vell case had no reason to lie. This is a powerful argument; in some cases people can be honestly mistaken, a witness who misidentifies an assailant for example, but in this case there was no room for honest misidentification, which implies either the girl was lying, or Mr Le Vell was. There was and remains a third option though, the girl could have been telling the truth as she remembered it, even though no rape ever happened. How can this be?
Ask any time serving criminal solicitor or experienced detective about allegations of sexual impropriety that have no basis in fact, and you will be told of the fantasist or delusional person - not necessarily and only a female - who claims to have been raped or otherwise assaulted, but there is absolutely no evidence to support it, and bundles that indicate nothing happened.
It is likely though that the child witness in the Michael Le Vell case was not making it up or fantasising as he claimed in the witness box, but confabulating. What is most disturbing about this case is that neither the Crown with its vast army of overpaid lawyers nor the defence appears to have considered this very real possibility.
Old Hag Syndrome
is a recognised and now fairly long established and understood phenomenon. Some medications can also affect a person's perception and cause strange dreams, as of course can some recreational drugs, as countless millions of Westerners discovered in the 1960s, some, like the tragic
Syd Barrett
, to their cost. And let's not mention common or garden alcohol.
When the girl's mother testified that she believed her daughter, she was quite likely telling the truth, because these kind of false memories are so extremely convincing they can even fool professionals.
A classic depiction of Old Hag Syndrome. It may also manifest, in this modern age, as alien abductions, or as terrifyingly real hallucinations of rape.
Hexendrücken or The Witch Riding your Back
It has to be said that in a way, Mr Le Vell was lucky; from the limited information revealed it is clear that he did himself no favours in the way he testified. He came across as bellicose, even arrogant, a bit like the knuckle dragging mechanic he has played in the soap opera
Coronation Street
since 1983. A street where life and art are mirror images. Only three months ago another of its (transient) characters stood trial for and
was acquitted of
sexual offences. And that after being wrongly acquitted of rape in the soap itself before being murdered by his own mother!
The prosecution tried also to make much out of Michael Le Vell's "
dark secrets
". This is the sort of expression that can hang a man, but most of us will say something that 5 years, 5 months or 5 days from now can be twisted out of context by a mendacious lawyer or police officer into meaning something totally sinister. It is worth digressing a bit here.
On November 30, 1989, boxing promoter Frank Warren was gunned down in East London. When former undefeated World Light Welterweight Champion Terry Marsh stood trial for attempted murder, he declined to take the stand. The reason is not hard to seek; there had been bad blood and harsh words between the two for some time; if Marsh had said something like "I'll shoot the bastard one day", what would an experienced QC have made of that? Even worse, what would a jury have made of it?
At his trial, Michael Le Vell went into the witness box and did the only thing he could: deny, deny, deny. A blank denial may sound bland when faced with a plethora of minutely detailed allegations, but what else can an innocent man do?
Fortunately, the jury appears not simply to have given him the benefit of the doubt, but to have believed him. If he had stood trial in the US, it might have been a different story, because it is customary much of the time for an accused not to take the stand, however weak or however strong the evidence against him may appear.
The problem of assessing the evidence in a case like this is far from easy; it may sound incredible, even unbelievable, but sometimes the unbelievable can be true, as in the case of the
Cleveland captives
and many others. Fortunately the jury was able to distinguish between evidence and allegations; at the very least it seems unlikely that the scale of abuse alleged against a child would have resulted in no physical damage. What physical evidence there was appeared to indicate not simply that the "victim" had not been raped but that she had
never experienced
consensual sex. This is compelling evidence that the non-victim was not lying but was in fact sincere but wrong. Think about it, if she had really wanted to frame Mr Le Vell for rape, wouldn't losing her virginity have been an obvious step to take? How difficult is that for any young woman in modern Britain? Normally all it takes is to approach the right individual and ask him a two word question.
There is another aspect of this and similar cases that needs to be considered, it is not necessary for witnesses to testify from behind a screen; the only purpose of that is to coerce the jury into thinking what a terrible person is the accused, so terrible that his victim is terrified of him, therefore he
be guilty.
So what lessons if any have been learned from this case? On the plus side, the police made a thorough investigation, as they did in the
Hollie Greig case
, which is still being peddled by the faithful as a massive conspiracy involving and covered up for and by the high and mighty in Scotland. In that case, so many wild allegations were made against so many people on no evidence that it couldn't run, but the same could be said after a fashion in the
McMartin pre-school case
At the very least, before a case of this nature is allowed to proceed, there should be an examination of the accuser by competent professionals. It remains to be seen if anyone in the
au fait
with the work of
Elizabeth Loftus
, or with the mischief caused by therapists with their gibberish about repressed memories, phased disclosure and other psychobabble lifted from garbage like
The Courage To Heal
and similar worthless tracts.
Don't be surprised if we see further cases like this in future, probably where the accused has a close relationship with the alleged victim and/or her mother, and unlike Mr Le Vell is not a minor celebrity. Such a combination is a tragic miscarriage of justice waiting to happen.


text:
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Hope all is well with everyone. I just finished testing with my primary and I do have vertigo. She said therapy may help relieve the dizziness. I do have pills to take to help some of the dizziness. Just wondering if this is common with people who have autoimmune diseases? Has any one done physical therapy for vertigo? Did you get good results?
Hello @lisabeans, I have a couple of autoimmune diseases but have not had vertigo. I did find some information on the Mayo Clinic website that discusses physical therapy as a treatment that might give you a little information – http://mayocl.in/2pe84T2
Thank you John. My husband's aunt also has this vertigo but has been unsuccessful with therapy. I am hoping my therapy works!
I hope the physical therapy works for you. I know treatments can be different for each of us and may or may not work. If you want to do some in depth reading, I did a search on "vertigo physical therapy" on Google scholar – https://scholar.google.com/ and came up with a lot of information. Here are the search results – http://bit.ly/2nZSx9f. You can also refine by using the links on the left to show by dates and more. You might be able to do a search there with different keywords and find some information more relevant.
Good luck!
I was just diagnosed with vertigo 3 months ago and yes I have an autoimmune disease. My doctor said they will come and go and gave me some meds to help during an episode. I've only had the one so far so not much I can tell you. Hope yours gets better quickly.
@archarch @angels4everyone Yes, you are correct. Cervical spine problems can cause vertigo. I am a Mayo spine surgery patient and before my surgery, I had some episodes of vertigo that were touched off by the position of my head. I looked up at birds flying overhead, and became extremely dizzy and when I leveled my head, it didn't stop. My physical therapist was able to resolve it for me. It was happening because of muscle spasms (from the spine problem) that were pulling my cervical vertebrae out of alignment. It was twisting and tilting C1 & C2 causing vertigo and nausea. When I looked up with my neck in that alignment, it caused vertigo. By realigning everything again, it went away. I worked with my physical therapist a lot before my surgery to try to maintain a normal lordotic curve as best I could and we kept working on the spasms that cropped up. I also have thoracic outlet syndrome which makes one side of my neck tighter than the other which pulls harder on all the cervical vertebrae on one side of my neck. Your skull can be skewed as it sits on top of the spine or it can be jammed into the spine by muscle spasms affecting alignment (like looking upward). I'm working on that in PT and I'm 2 years past my spine surgery and there has been no more vertigo since then. A heat wrap (relaxes muscles) or topical arnica jel (pain relief and relaxes muscles) on your neck can help. I recommend working with a physical therapist. they will need to know if there is any instability before they work on you, so if you have not have imaging, that is a first step. If you haven't seen a spine specialist, I would recommend it. You might be OK with physical therapy which they could write a script for. If you do end up headed for spine surgery, always get several opinions so you can make informed choices. I came to Mayo when 5 spine surgeons missed connecting my symptoms with the diagnosis and I am glad I did. It makes me wish I had started here instead of wasting 2 years looking for help from surgeons who refused to help me. Mayo doctors get things figured out quickly because it's a team approach, and I had an offer for surgical help in 2 days after coming to Mayo. I had a great recovery and I don't have any spine related pain.
Liked by John, Volunteer Mentor, gldnrtrvrlvr, archarch
@jenniferhunter I just read through several of your responses to others regarding cervical vertebrae/spinal stenosis/vertigo/muscle spasms/surgery etc. and it sounded like what I'm living with! My surgeon says my moderate to severe stenosis isn't at surgery level STILL. In the past several months, I've lost my balance multiple times and sometimes it doesn't come back. One night I just went to bed because it was that bad. I've told several doctors. (I'm new and haven't created my profile yet.) None of my doctors have been phased by my vertigo report. Getting doctors to react and act in this area is an issue. My doctors are to do what's going to be healthy to keep me moving so I can resume a very physically active life. Recently, I started taking supplements that brought energy back so that I am not sleeping my days away, Fibro. After two years of no energy, this is thrilling. Two are Young Living supplements and the third is a Methylfolate supplement (I have a genetic mutation where I don't retain B-12 and Folic Acid). I'd tried so many products that people thought would work. I'd already been told that I need to take the one due to B-12/Folic Acid issue; the two descriptions of other 2 hit me as what I needed, tried, and wow!
Reading your post was very informative! There giving me things to think on, possibly act on, such as other surgeon opinions!
Me: have multiple auto-immune, chronic pain from L4-L5 Lumbar replacement w/pins and rods in place, Osteoporosis, osteo-arthritis, Migraines, TMJ and an allergy to mouth guards, bone spurs, tendonitis, muscle spasms, allergies including many food, and more. 😉
Liked by Jennifer Hunter, gldnrtrvrlvr
@lisabeans I didn't know that Vertigo was possibly linked to Auto-immune diseases! I have several and have been having a rough time with Vertigo for the past 4-5 months. In thought it would be more related to my Cervical stenosis and muscle spasms. What testing did they do?
@gldnrtrvrlvr Thank you for your comments. I would encourage you to get another surgical opinion if you have severe stenosis. They might be looking for spinal cord damage that happens when the blood supply to the spinal cord is cut off by pressure, and tissue starts to die to show a white area on the spinal cord imaging. That becomes permanent damage. I didn't have any myelopathy visible on my MRIs, but my Mayo surgeon said it doesn't always show on the MRI. It was when I told surgeon #5 about the vertigo, that he dismissed me. I think that opens up a can of worms that could be more serious issues. I've read my Mayo surgeon's papers where he talks about vertigo with cervical spine issues, but I was really afraid to talk too much about it, so I focused more on the muscle spasms. If no one has talked to you about addressing the stenosis, you might want to consider Mayo Clinic. It's a different world there where every doctor there is focused around solving your issues as best they can and you'll be referred to other departments. I don't think most doctors like to hear about fibro either because they want good surgical outcomes, and if a patient has fibro, they may continue to have pain after spine surgery and blame the surgeon. Fibro becomes a catch all diagnosis when they can't identify the source of pain. I was told that long ago, but after I resolved my food allergies, I wasn't in pain anymore. Pain can also be from the fascia if it doesn't move properly, and myofascial release can help that which will also release the waste products that are stored there in the dehydrated tissues.
Your surgeon might be more focused on lumbar issues. My Mayo neurosurgeon is a spinal deformity expert, and teaches cervical surgeries, also has a spine orthopedic fellowship, and does both fusion and disc replacement. I'll be happy to share his information with you if you wish. I'm an artist who was loosing the ability to do my artwork, and my surgeon gave that back to me. In gratitude, I painted his portrait as a gift to him when I was recovered enough to do it. If I ever need spine surgery again, I'm coming back to him at Mayo. I think highly of him as a kind person outside of his profession.
I would recommend optimizing your vitamin D to help the osteoporosis. I take Vitamin K2 D3 from Orthomolecular on the advice of my functional medicine doctor. I think Mayo would be a good place to go regarding your vitamin B genetic issues in case they have something that could help. Migraines and TMJ can also be caused (or made worse) my muscle spasms from a cervical spine problem. Working with a physical therapist helped me a lot during the years when no surgeon would help me, and she would realign my spine the best she could and block pain with some neurostimulation ( Dolphin Neurostimulators).
You do have to advocate for yourself. Don't just wait because your surgeon thinks you're not bad enough for surgery if you don't agree. I think loosing your balance is a problem. I actually fell over like a tree and could not stop myself even though I had my hand on my porch railing. I called my physical therapist a few times and she had shown me things to do in the office. One one occasion, I had fixed about 90% of a vertigo problem myself before I got to my PT appointment. I've been in physical therapy about 4 years treating the thoracic outlet syndrome and I have learned a lot in doing so, and during that time, I developed stenosis after the disc ruptured and bone spurs grew. I had to push for MRIs when doctors kept wanting to wait a year between them, and I saw the bone spurs double in size in 9 months time. My biology background helps me to understand MRIs. Again, thanks for your comments. I'm glad I could help. Let me know if you have other questions.
Liked by John, Volunteer Mentor, gldnrtrvrlvr
Amen to Mayo being a "DIFFERENT WORLD"! And absolutely you need to advocate for yourself. Read as much as you can without going down a rabbit hole. Medicine is an esoteric language that you need to familiarize yourself. Talk the talk and get your doctors to walk the walk. If there is something to avoid discussing, I would also suggest pulling out any diagnosis of fibromyalgia. The prejudice you because of it. That is not right, but so very true. Stick with the facts of the symptoms, and it sounds like leaving out vertigo, which could be one of those hot buttons that you avoid as well. Good luck to you, and I hope you find what you seeking to alleviate your symptoms. God bless, and hopefully you can make it to Mayo Rochester. Buckle up, because you have NEVER seen medicine performed quite like this. You are put through the gambit of testing by, well simply the best doctors in the world. And lastly, everyone at Mayo is "NICE"! Yes, even the doctors!!!! Unbelievable experience when your health goes sideways. Thank you for all that you do Mayo Clinic!!! Sean L. Roop
Liked by John, Volunteer Mentor, Jennifer Hunter, gldnrtrvrlvr
I am not sure if my vertigo is related to the autoimmune diseases. My doctor gave me a dizzy test in the office to diagnosis. Man did that make me feel sick. I take mecklazine when it is bad. Therapy did help lesson the dizziness. She said it is an autoimmune disease of the inner ear. I am just guessing that it is related but have no scientific evidence.
Thanks @jenniferhunter–great information all around. I'm self-diagnosed at this point, but this describes my experience exactly. Cheers!
Liked by Jennifer Hunter
Vertigo was one of the first things I had to face. It was downhill from there. I was diagnosed at Scripps in San Diego. What a miserable disease. From there I went to what they called Fibermyalgia. Then Rheumatoid Arthritis. I was still working full time and dealing with all of this. Now I am retired and I am treated for Rheumatoid Arthritis. I saw doctors at the University in Texas for over a year. Now relocated to Idaho and in a small town I don't have the resources of a big city. But, the doctor I saw today, shocked me to my senses. He said, we can treat the pain which will never be totally gone. We can start therapy, but Lee, you must realize that your bodies parts are all sick. We can do all we can do to help you. I can never promise you that you will be free of pain. I won't go into the other "thing" that are wrong with me. Some are body breaking down. Many could be from all the meds I have had to take over the years. I have fallen 4 times and broken bones. I have concrete in my back. You could see me walking down the street and not think anything i wrong with me. I carry my head high and I fight this horrible disease which has taken over my body. I hate Rheumatoid Arthritis, but it is not going away. So, I must get over it and live.
Liked by gldnrtrvrlvr
@oregongirl I've been told the same. I'm not going to stop living over it as I still have too many plans! Stupid body throws it's curves like tonight I was going to turn off the gas grill propane tank and attempted to bend my right knee, and down I went with a loud cry. A tendon connecting my knee and femur was at fault. Now there's a small pocket of fluid now on the outside of my my knee. My left knee feels stiff so there's some issue affecting both knees. My Shoulder Orthopedist has decided that there's no more to be done after his follow-up exam on Thursday – I'm now weaker which makes no sense. My cervical injection is having limited success and not enough at that. See the surgeon Monday. I'll see what he has to say. I've asked for a referral from another doctor for a second opinion. I don't live near a Mayo Hospital.😟 Got to get some sleep. Hope this makes sense!


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Tag: gaga
Gaga, Spears and Avril in a Time of Devastation
by Dan Hoy on Dec.14, 2013
This is what the houses look like on the way to my house. Last week I returned home after being displaced for three months due to the September floods in Colorado. Undoing the devastation is both an ongoing and perpetually deferred process.
In the meantime I can confirm that Britney Spears' new album is better than Avril Lavigne's and Lady Gaga's combined.
This is not to say the Gaga album is bad. It's a mixed bag but so is Madonna's Like a Prayer, with three transcendent hits ("Like a Prayer," "Express Yourself," "Cherish") obscuring all the sap and filler. There's nothing here approaching the gradeschool rapture of "Like a Prayer," but when Gaga's just being an emotional psychosexual weirdo instead of indulging in art pop self-reflexivity it's great. That's really where it's at for her. Her performance of "You and I" at the 2011 VMAs (for example) is one of the most confident pop performances I've ever seen. It's not as iconic as Madonna's "Like a Virgin" performance at the first VMAs in 1984 or MJ introducing the moonwalk to this planet at the height of "Billie Jean" during Motown's 1983 TV special, but it's just as legit. This is an image artist at the top of her class. Here Gaga split-personifies a spurned lover with the face of a pubescent Ralph Macchio. Everything about this is real:
Bieber, the Stains and the triumph of the false pretender
by megan milks on Mar.01, 2011
Over at Big Other, the marvelous Tim Jones-Yelvington wrote first a response to the Bieber movie, Never Say Never, that wonderfully captures the uneasy desire the film and its subject invoke; and second, a review of sorts. He pretty much articulates my own responses to the film: euphoria, confetti!, realization.
I don't think the Biebs' performance of nonsexuality is as much the same-old as Tim and other critics have said — in general I think any kneejerk dismissal of repetition and difference in celebrity cycles is unfortunate — Gaga's "just copying" Madonna, Bieber is this moment's Backstreet Boys — it's all the same, no it isn't. Cintra Wilson in her essay collection A Massive Swelling: Celebrity Re-Examined as a Grotesque Crippling Disease discusses boy bands and "the unhealthy love of rock stars by little girls," pointing to the "amorphous nonsexuality" of the Monkees as the crucial difference between then and now, where teen stars are "possessed of a mature, diabolically supercharged megasexuality." "Now" for Wilson's book is 2001; now, ten years later, post-Britney/Backstreet/nSync, teen pop megasexuality is pretty much boring, and Bieber's nonerotic loving fits in well with our cultural moment of Twilight abstinence porn. In his first piece, Tim writes, "And the climax of this infomercial will be when I remember I have no sexual interest in Justin Bieber whatsoever" — and then imagines fucking Justin's biological dad, rewriting the asexual narrative. Likewise, plenty of Bieber fans rewrite the asexual narrative in their own ways, just as Twilight fans have done.
Others are content to express romantic nonsexual desire, which tends to involve marriage — which for these girls generally means ownership. At one point in the film the camera locks in on a particular group of fangirls arguing over who's going to marry Justin first. When one of them, obviously the most powerful in the group at least in this territory, claims it — "No, you're not, I'm going to be Justin's first wife" — the others shut up and sort of smile in uneasy support/defeat. If the film shows quite clearly that Justin's priorities are, unsurprisingly, hardly romantic, it also highlights the ways in which his Beliebers are pretending. The screaming, the crying, the unhealthy love and simulation of desire: all obligatory aspects of the role of the committed and competitive megafan.
another music video with unicorns and rainbows
by megan milks on Feb.28, 2011
Shearon Van Riggins' unofficial video for MEN's "Who Am I To Feel So Free" ft. Antony:
here's the official video:


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The Fabric Marker Brush is a great fabric marker pen to use for writing or designing on any personalized shirt, costume, or gift. With this broad brush tip you can draw both thick and thin lines. This fabric marker is easy to use with no prewashing and no heat treatment required. Comes in 24 colors, including fluorescents, water-resistant when dry. Ink is acid-free, non-toxic, and pigmented.
- Acid free/nontoxic
- Permanent drying ink
- Fabric prewashing is not necessary
- Broad brush-shaped point
- No steaming/ironing needed
- Dry clean or gentle wash
- Conforms to ASTM D4236
- Item# 722
UsesGood for marking, drawing and writing on most fabrics.
24 Colors: black, red, blue, green, yellow, brown, orange, warm grey, golden rod, magenta, khaki, navy, pale green, light cool grey, crimson lake, flesh tone, dark violet, cherry
Click here to see the color chart.
722_6A: black, red, green, blue, yellow, brown
722_6B: orange, pale green, cool grey, flesh tone, crimson lake, fluorescent violet
Customer Reviews
I love these markers and use them all the time on fabrics to highlight or shade elements in my landscape quilts.
These markers are great for quick t shirt art. Just don't allow colors to overlap while wet because some bleeding may occur


text: We offer a full boutique of women's clothing & jewelry, home decor, and original creations by local artists! So stop in, shop around, have a cocktail or wine and relax in our lounge! A nice relaxing girls night out! While you're there, you also have have the option of painting a Cocktail glass! No need to sign up online! Or you can also join our Cocktail Glass Club!


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Nanoparticles made of a gold-palladium alloy can selectively catalyze oxidation of the primary carbon-hydrogen bonds in toluene's methyl group and related compounds, according to a study published by researchers at Cardiff University, in Wales (Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.1198458). The investigation may lead to new commercial catalytic processes that are less expensive and free from the acidic and chlorinated solvents used in some industrial reactions today. The study also provides new leads in the broad search for methods to efficiently transform raw materials such as methane into valuable products.
The recent spike in gold-based catalysis research has uncovered a host of surprising findings showing that the generally inert precious metal can be a highly active catalyst when prepared in nanoparticulate form (C&EN, May 10, 2010, page 42). The Cardiff group, for example, which is led by Graham J. Hutchings, showed nearly two years ago that H2 and O2 can be combined directly to produce hydrogen peroxide on the surface of Au-Pd nanoparticles (C&EN, Feb. 23, 2009, page 8). The new study shows the particles to be versatile catalytically.
By using a colloid immobilization method, the group, which also includes Lokesh Kesavan and coworkers at Cardiff and at Lehigh University, prepared a series of carbon- and TiO2-supported catalysts in the 2- to 5-nm-diameter range with a variety of Au-to-Pd ratios. They evaluated the catalysts' facility to oxidize toluene with oxygen and found some that actively and selectively transformed the reactant's primary C–H bonds under mild and solvent-free conditions. For example, several catalysts with a Au-to-Pd ratio of 1:1.85 produced mainly benzyl benzoate (>90% selectivity) and small amounts of benzyl alcohol, benzaldehyde, and benzoic acid.
"This new example of selective oxidation of toluene by gold-palladium catalysts with molecular oxygen is another addition to the exciting story of catalysis by gold," says Mayfair C. Kung, a catalysis specialist at Northwestern University. She adds that the results suggest the possibility that other supported bimetallic gold catalysts may one day be found capable of challenging catalytic feats, such as selectively activating linear alkanes at a terminal position.


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This is a real Mom Birthday Gift.Why?
Currently it's one of the the most wished for gifts. If mom doesn't have one, she won't know what's she is missing out on! And this one will be just for her. No sharing!
If your mom loves reading and most mothers do, then she'll most definitely be impressed by an electronic reader. "Oh hang on a minute!" you may say – my mom doesn't like computers. Well, here's the good news: whether she's into computers or not, it doesn't matter! You don't need a computer! An e-reader does not feel anything near to a computer. It's in a class of its own.
An electronic reader will be a present that's easy to operate and right just for mom. Unlike most other electronic devices, an e-reader is really user friendly.
It has a sleek design which will fit in well with mom's other show pieces. It's a total stand alone and will easily fit into a handbag.
So take mom new places by letting her relax and letting her go with a new book.
Here's another idea: for a family effort, suggest each person or couple to get her a book for her new reader. This will make the gift so more special - to know there's been some organizing behind everything.
It's so simple to use! Mom will love it!
Return from Mom Birthday Gift For More Birthday Gifts For Mom
Return from Mom Birthday Gift to Birthday Gift Box


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Replied to the thread Bitmap Converter File Open Problem.PostYes, that works. Thanks!
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Art is Greyscale
Doubt. It's something we all face, but rarely discuss. Artists stare it down daily, in a power struggle between beauty and the absence of it. Between light, and the dark, soundless, matterless void. Amidst a sea of creative hurdles, some worthier of caution, we fear doubt the most. But why?
We live in a world of calculated decisions. Every business or career goal is evaluated carefully, the numbers scrutinized, and potential up or downsides are extracted. Our lives, once led by a balance of emotion and rationalism, are ruled by math. We swim through a sea of productivity and self-help books, looking for trivially obvious tips to help us succeed. It's a race to matter, where our loose definition of success is the finish line, and we cross it screaming our declaration to the world, telling anyone who will listen our accomplishments during the past day, year, or lifetime. Life by the numbers is a numb existence.
In a world where emotion is eschewed for mathematical algorithms, artists long to quantify their work. We're no longer content to release beauty into the world; no, every piece must be inherently equal or better than other artistic works, or it holds no value at all. We measure ourselves against other creators, within similar or disparate disciplines, leading ourselves to a natural conclusion each time: our output is no good. It will never find the appropriate audience. We should quit.
That statement is, in part, true. Finding the ideal audience is a herculean task, one that has beaten many great creators, some repeatedly. But to believe your art will never be appreciated is to doom it yourself. Equally, you could burn every piece to ashes and scatter them abroad. Either will ensure your art remains unappreciated, while you, the self-deprecating artist, lurk in the loneliest shadows.
Art is not math. There is no equation to solve, and no clean answer. Whether you paint, mix, draw, perform, sculpt, record, or carve, art is an expression; your expression. It exists as a statement, a purpose-drenched note with bleeding ink that reads, "I was here." Art can be beautiful, or painful; a record of something lost or found; a detailed storyline, or barely within comprehension — it's up to you. Never stop improving what you create, but accept that art is greyscale. Anything you make exists between the extremes of light and dark.
In the end, life is art, and artists are those who believe in something more than numbers alone. We ask ourselves only when someone laughs, cries, stands quietly, or turns away from something we created. They're forever changed, in ways we may never know, but make no mistake, they are.
Measuring your creative output against that of someone else is a fool's errand. It will cost you greatly, without return. You will never have the voice of anyone else, so speak clearly with the one you have.


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More Terrible Folk Cures
7: Flaming Lice
For centuries, people supposedly in the know have treated head lice by dousing the head with gasoline, kerosene, turpentine and other noxious, dangerous chemicals. While it's possible that these folk cures work to banish bugs, they also come with a host of dangers, including severe burns, scars and even death.
Remember, it takes only a tiny spark to ignite certain fuels, so covering any part of your body in gasoline is never a good idea. A simple spark from a cigarette or an electrical appliance can leave you engulfed in flames — making head lice seem like less of a problem. Even if the fuel doesn't ignite, it's still much too harsh to apply to the scalp or skin and can cause painful burning and irritation.
Some may argue that this down-home cure was good enough for past generations, so it's good enough for the more recent ones. Keep in mind, however, that affordable, effective lice treatments can be found over the counter at virtually any drugstore, offering a much safer and more effective solution than those available to previous generations [source: Mikkelson].
6: Colloidal Silver
Colloidal silver is an alternative medicine used to treat an impossibly large range of ailments, from skin rashes to intestinal disorders to HIV. Consisting of silver droplets suspended in some form of liquid, it may be ingested orally as a supplement or applied to the skin. Despite supporters' claims that this product is safe because it's "natural" — so are radon and belladonna — this home remedy is not effective at treating any disease or condition.
In addition to being totally ineffective, colloidal silver comes with some serious side effects because of the way it accumulates in the body — similar to what happens when a person ingests mercury. Eventually, the buildup of silver leads to a condition known as argyria, where the skin turns a nasty shade of blue-gray. Even worse, this blue-gray shade is irreversible, leaving victims with a permanently strange pallor. Just look at Paul Karason, a man the media dubbed "Papa Smurf" thanks to his blue hue, which he developed after drinking 10 ounces (0.3 liters) of colloidal silver a day for several years [source: James].
This discoloration can also spread to the eyes and nails, but worse, too much colloidal silver use can damage major organs like the kidneys and liver [source: NCCIH].
5: Poisoning Remedies
Almost every bit of medical folklore related to poisoning is flat wrong, and many popular home remedies for poisoning are actually more dangerous than the substance originally ingested. For example, forcing someone to vomit after swallowing the wrong thing? Nope, bad plan, as some substances can cause even greater damage on the way back up, especially corrosive substances.
What about swallowing a bit of baking soda to neutralize the toxins? Even worse, as too much baking soda consumed on its own can be fatal. It would take only about 1 tablespoon to seriously alter body chemistry in an infant, and yes, baking powder is equally as ineffective and dangerous in terms of dealing with accidental poisoning.
Other concoctions, including drinking milk, eating butter or slurping raw eggs aren't necessarily harmful, but they do little to help someone with a belly full of poison and are likely to make an unpleasant experience even less enjoyable for the patient. In a case like this, it's time to throw folk remedies to the wind and call the experts at your local poison control center [source: Illinois Poison Center].


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I recently finished Jaron Lanier's book You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto. I have to admit that the book has grown on me a bit since I started reading it. At first, the book really frustrated me, as Lanier is not what you would call an analytical thinker–that is, he doesn't procede from one point to the next, linearly building an argument to prove a thesis. Rather, he tells stories and discusses networks of ideas as he swirls around a general topic he wishes to explore. That kind of thinking can often produce highly creative insights, but it is difficult to then summarize in a short review (which, I'm sure he would say, is precisely the problem with blogging!). I often liken his style of thinking to watching a pointillistic painting in progress: you watch the artist make a point here, a point there, but it's not until the picture is finished that you can step back and understand it as a whole.
Section three of the book covers Lanier's last big complaint about web 2.0 systems and the digital culture that surrounds them: despite their ability to harness the creativity of the hive mind, they can't seem to produce anything truly innovative. Lanier argues that for the last two decades, digital culture denizens have simply rehashed old ideas, applying them to new contexts for sure, but without any substantial improvement.
He offers three chief examples. First, he discusses the open source operating system Linux, describing it as simply a port of a messy, difficult-to-use, 40-year-old operating system to the Intel PC. Despite the immense increase in processing power since the 1970s, Linux uses essentially the same design, and offers pretty much the same features as the early UNIX variants. Linux lovers usually say that there's no need to improve on good design, but Lanier thinks that this lack of improvement is due to the "crowd" not having the same level of creative potential that singular people do.
I have used Linux myself, and have done research into the history and sociology of open-source software, and much of what Lanier says rings true. Linux is most certainly reliable and powerful, but it really is the kind of mess that only a balding man with a long beard and Birkenstocks could love. Much of the innovation in Linux these days is actually funded by commercial corporations that either sell related services, or rely on it to run their core business. Successful open source projects also tend to have strong leaders who set the agenda and overal design for the product.
Lanier's second example is his familiar whipping boy, Wikipedia. There is of course nothing new about the idea of an encyclopedia, and although Wikipedia fundamentally changed the notion of authorship and the scope of entries, Lanier thinks that their contributions have not really improved on the earlier forms, much less created a radically new kind of knowledge source. He summarizes his disappointment with this rather scathing passage:
Let's suppose that back in the 1980s I had said, "In a quarter century, when the digital revolution has made great progress and computer chips are millions of times faster than they are now, humanity will finally win the prize of being able to write a new encyclopedia and a new version of UNIX!" It would have sounded utterly pathetic (121-122).
Later in the book, Lanier asks why the open source community has so far only managed to produce nicely-polished versions of antiques, while commercial industry has continued to produce game-changing innovations like the iPhone and iPad. His conclusion: people are creative, not crowds.
His third example is pop music, and the claim he makes here is perhaps his most provocative and certainly the most suspect. Lanier asserts that pop music has been essentially frozen in time over the last two decades, and that it would be difficult, if not impossible, to place a recent but unfamiliar pop song in its proper decade. Why? Because pop music is in a posture of nostalgia and dominated by inflexible digital models like MIDI. He also implies that homogenizing web 2.0 systems are dulling consumers' appetites for new and creative expressions.
Lanier is most likely overstating his case in this section; one could probably find counter examples that defy his general claims, but his underlying thesis–that people are creative, not crowds–is an intriguing one. It is a restatement of that old adage "too many cooks spoil the broth" and the joke that "a camel is a horse designed by a committee" (which is really unfair to camels). It may be true that the collective knowledge of the crowd is more reliable than the claims of any one person, but when that same logic is applied to creativity, the results tend to be conservative, nostalgic, or just plain messy.
Lanier ends the book with two sections on how he thinks digital technologies could be developed and used in ways that are more honoring of, and beneficial to, human beings. He focuses mostly on modeling and understanding human cognition, a field in which he is currently participating. He offers a different computational metaphor for the human brain, one based on incremental evolution, and explores the possibilities of using virtual reality to communicate in a fluid stream of concrete images.
On the whole, I recommend reading the book if you are interested in the issues surrounding web 2.0 information systems. But don't expect a linear argument–instead, prepare yourself for a journey through ideas with a technologist who has been at the forefront of innovation for at least three decades.
I'll leave you with a video he mentions in the closing chapter of the book. Watch it closely; the octopus being filmed can literality change the color and texture of its skin to match its environment, morphing itself much like what we see in science fiction films. Will we figure out how to introduce this trait into humans with genetic engineering?


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Happy new year everyone!
My first post of 2015. With the way I've been moving about, I haven't had the time to write a post and when I do get the time, my brain is too tired. I am yet to write about Law school clearance, call to bar and my time at Camp (posts to come soon). Yes! I can brag that I stayed at camp throughout minus the one day I was at Abuja to enrol at the Supreme Court. Some ran but I stayed. Some got an exemption because they had to leave for call to bar. I thought I would be one of those people until I saw in my letter that my camp would start after call to bar.
This NYSC business is not funny.
Continue reading


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This second week of school was a great mish-mash. I focused on teaching the art element line with all three grade levels, 4th, 5th and 6th. We got a good start by creating sketchbooks, (5 sheets of paper folded in half and stapled). It is still amazing to me after more than twenty-three years of doing this how the simplest things that are easy for adults (well, most adults) need to be considered and taught slowly to a child. Things like how to fold a piece of paper in half and get the edges to match up. How to use a stapler safely. If you've ever stapled a finger you understand the need. Um…it hurts like the devil ( I speak from experience) and when those little tines bend under your skin…trust me, you don't want that.
Their sketchbooks become a place for students to practice, from a warmup with a five minute drawing exercise each day to a place to write vocabulary words and spell them correctly. We moved from identifying and drawing different types of lines to contour line drawing. I'm a big believer in Betty Edwards' Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain methods so contour line drawing is big thing for me, teaching them to see that the edge where space and an object touch is a contour. How to see that if you draw the object you are also drawing the space around it. At the same time we are still learning classroom routines, like who opens the door if someone knocks, who passes out supplies and artwork? What happens if I'm absent? What happens if I'm tardy? Where do I go to catch my bus? Can I trust this strange lady teacher who is trying to get me to do all this crazy stuff?
We touched on the first of our safety drills for fire, lockdown, tornado and shelter-in place. I made this into a group project, where each student group presented to the class how they should behave during the drill and then we discussed an changes or problems. They love playing the "what if" game. "What if a big meteor comes down through the ceiling and the door is on fire, what would we do?" What if a gorilla got loose in the school what would we do?" So, I stock up on super hero answers, they laugh and then we practice the real stuff. A big responsibility, teaching them how to be safe. Speaking of heroes, hats off to our valiant Assistant Principal Andy Pool who safely corralled a bat on the front walkway in front of our school. I was walking with our 6th graders to the cafeteria when they saw a bat on the ground through the glass front doors of our school. Immediate chants of " A bat! A bat!" Have you ever noticed that if there is ANYTHING kids are not supposed to see, that's the first thing their kid radar zooms in on? I kept them from going out and Mr. Pool took care of the bat. We have an amazing bat sanctuary near Mineral Wells and they very quickly came and took the little guy away. We also had the solar eclipse this week, which we watched safely in our classroom on the NASA website. Amazing universe we live in.
We drew a familiar object, a glue bottle, and discussed how to use hatching to show a light source and shading. They were just great, these kids, little sponges, game to try whatever I asked, for the most part so anxious to please, so critical of their abilities. It is the most delicate of things, maintaining fragile egos while carefully pushing students to improve. I practice a lot of ignoring technique when I hear the dreaded "I can't draw." I sometimes play the I'll draw one line, you draw the next one to get them going. I try to pick the simplest warmups . We drew emoji's (a big hit) except for the poop emoji that I forgot is all the rage now in that Emoji movie. So if you see poop emojis in your child's sketchbook, I apologize.
But the thing the kids like the best this week was gesture drawing. That's where you have one student pose and the other students have one minute to draw them. I have them use marker so that they can't erase (sneaky art teacher). They LOVED this and the drew happily and laughed at their drawings. I quickly found my extroverts in each class that like to strike a pose. Thanks to Mrs. Sneed for letting me borrow the sports equipment. The final day this week was fun too. We drew contour line self portraits. I wanted a baseline drawing for each student so we can compare that to how they draw themselves after I have a chance to teach them over the next 10 weeks. I'm excited to see the results. So we broke out the mirrors. It is always fun to see how they see themselves. Lots of hair fixing went on at first. And teeth checking. Lots of freckle counting too. And I got asked about scars a lot. "Can I draw my scar?" You find out a lot about kids when they draw. A good week, even with the poop emoji.


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For the first time, Chicago poll workers are armed with a stylus and an electronic poll book.
Chicago voters on Tuesday won't be watching poll workers flipping the pages of a massive book to check their signatures. Instead, the poll worker will be armed with a stylus and an electronic poll book.
City elections officials are debuting a new $2 million electronic polling system they hope will make the voting process faster, more efficient and more fraud-proof, according to Langdon Neal, chairman of the Chicago Board of Election Commissioners.
If all goes as planned, the thousands of poll workers who have been trained on the new equipment will simply type the voter's last name into the electronic tablet and all the relevant information will immediately appear on the tablet screen, including whether the voter has already cast a ballot, the address of the correct polling place and the voter's signature for comparison purposes. If everything checks out, the poll worker will print out a signature sticker that the voter will sign before getting a ballot, Neal said.
Neal said his office has trained more than 10,000 election workers, and tested the system—which requires a cellular connection--to ensure the signal is strong enough to get the job at polling places throughout the city.
"Now that being said we know that there are spots in the city on which cellular reception is difficult and we have anticipated those the best we can," Neal said Monday. "We are hoping for a successful debut, but we are introducing new technology so we expect that things won't be perfect. We hope it will not be a hindrance in any way to voters."
Cook County elections officials are also testing similar equipment in about a quarter of the suburban precincts.
The last time elections officials debuted new electronic voting equipment in 2006, the new touch screen voting machines, a system-wide meltdown led to vote-counting delays that lasted several days. Neal said this time that won't happen.
"We will have a redundancy in place so the actual ballot applications will be in the precincts," he said. "So we will have the electronic poll book and the older phone book technology at the polling place just to make sure."
The new technology is intended to keep the voting rolls up to date with more immediacy, so that last-minute registrations are not lost and voters who go to the wrong polling places can be directed easily to the correct location.
©2014 the Chicago Tribune
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I went to an event at the Australian Embassy tonight, the first time I have ever been to an embassy. While the event and embassy were great, I was disappointed by the men's restroom. I think I was expecting to see a koala bear, kangaroo or Kylie Minogue in there or at the very least pictures of these or the Sydney Opera House. Nope. It was just a plain bathroom with sinks, stalls and urinals. In fact, the urinals were made by American Standard! That doesn't seem right.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
G'day Mate
Posted by Sean at 11:16 PM
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Cover Snark (216): Snark a Circle Round
posted at Thursday, February 9th, 2017 at 8:00 AM | Cover Snark, Other Bloggishness
Welcome to Cover Snark, where the people are snarky and the covers quiver in fear. Since I don't write many snarky book reviews here on A Reader of Fictions, Cover Snark is my outlet. If you click on the title of the book, where possible, I've linked to Goodreads. Clicking on the cover itself will show you the cover in a larger size, in most cases. Feel free to love covers I hate and vice versa. Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Please note that you should by no means contact the author if you do not like their cover; they likely have ZERO control. Feel free to express opinions of the covers in the comments, but please do not @ an author on Twitter because of anything you've seen here.
Shiny and New:
1. The Prince's Rogue (Golden Guard #2) – Elise Kova
Thoughts: Never stop using this cover artist.
2. Skeleton Tree – Kim Ventrella
Thoughts: The problem with how gorgeous middle grade covers are as a rule is a perfectly respectable one like this ends up looking subpar.
3. There's Something About Cornwall – Daisy James
Thoughts: I'm guessing the something is that it's massively windy in Cornwall.
4. Caleb and Kit – Beth Vrabel
Thoughts: I'm kind of in love with the title treatment, but I have to say to Kit that if he's ashamed of being your friend he's not a good friend.
5. Myth of the Maker – Bruce R. Cordell
Thoughts: An alternate universe Rivendell ruled by Anubis.
6. The Woman Who Met Her Match – Fiona Gibson
Thoughts: I sincerely hope someone else is driving this vehicle. Also I'm now growling at this cover, which is about a fat heroine and of course this girl is skinny.
7. Ready to Run (I Do, I Don't #1) – Lauren Layne
Thoughts: Okay, so I kind of hate this cover, but I am amused that she actually looks a bit like a Dixie Chick.
8. Littler Women: A Modern Retelling – Laura Schaefer
Thoughts: IMPORTANT: DO LAURIE AND JO END UP TOGETHER IN TINY MIDDLE GRADE ADORABLE FASHION?
9. Weave a Circle Round – Kari Maaren
Thoughts: Instaloving on the font and the sparkle. Upside down house is…there.
10. Royal Bastards – Andrew Shvarts
Thoughts: The placeholder looked basically exactly like this, so, while lovely, I'm a bit underwhelmed by the final reveal.
11. Greedy Pigs (Sin du Jour #5) – Matt Wallace
Thoughts: Why doesn't Boston know where butts are located?
12. Starfish – Akemi Dawn Bowman
Thoughts: Poor Starturtle doesn't get even get billing.
13. The Switch – Justina Robson
Thoughts: Britain's Next Top Modelland.
14. The Red Threads of Fortune (Tensorate #1) – JY Yang
Thoughts: Holy shit. That's the prettiest chicken dragon bird thing (Update: apparently it's a phoenix; forgive me, I'm dumb.) I've ever seen. I mean, okay, I've only seen the one but like damn.
15. The Black Tides of Heaven (Tensorate #2) – JY Yang
Thoughts: This guy's totally grumps because he doesn't have as sweet of a ride. He just has a cloud.
16. Retribution Rails (Vengeance Road) – Erin Bowman
Thoughts: Excellent companion to the first cover. Boss title too.
17. St. David's Day is Cancelled! – Wendy White
Thoughts: This guarantees I'll be spelling "cancelled" the UK way even more than usual.
18. 27 Hours (The Nightside Saga #1) – Tristina Wright
Thoughts: I definitely like the color scheme and the art. The fonts are a bit whelming, and the tagline makes me laugh for some reason. (The reason might be the super deep and dramatic voice I simply MUST read it in.)
19. Satellite – Nick Lake
Thoughts: You're my satellite. You're riding with me tonight. Passenger side, lighting the sky, always the first star that I find, you're my satellite.
20. The Girl in Between – Sarah Carroll
Thoughts: Is she in between illustration and being a real girl?
21. The Breathless – Tara Goedjen
Thoughts: At least we know they won't release the breaths they didn't know they were holding.
22. Nyxia (The Nyxia Triad #1) – Scott Reintgen
Thoughts: Not sure if this is meant to be a black hole or icky space goo or what.
23. Beneath the Shine – Sarah Fine
Thoughts: Brings new meaning to "sunflower."
24. Girl in a Bad Place – Kaitlin Ward
Thoughts: Fuck the woods.
25. This Time Around – Tawna Fenske
Thoughts: This is so close to being fucking adorable, but the execution isn't quite there.
26. Zero Repeat Forever (Zero Repeat Forever #1) – Gabrielle Prendergast
Thoughts: In Soviet Russia, dandelion sniffs you.
27. The Broken Ones (The Malediction Trilogy #0.6) – Danielle L. Jensen
Thoughts: I love the covers in this series. Her dress is so fucking on point, and that necklace is making one hell of a statement..
28. Hook's Tale: Being the Account of an Unjustly Villainized Pirate Written by Himself – John Leonard Pielmeier
Thoughts: Decent but not quite enough to hook me. The fonts really keep this one looking pedestrian.
29. The Stone in the Skull (Lotus Kingdoms #1) – Elizabeth Bear
Thoughts: BADASS BLOODY DRAGON.
30. Nutcracked – Susan Adrian
Thoughts: Taking out the patriarchy one grand jete at a time.
31. A Short History of the Girl Next Door – Jared Reck
Thoughts: Why do all of these people have curtains or something only on the lower part of their windows?
32. Release – Patrick Ness
Thoughts: A test: how long did it take you to notice the faces in profile?
33. Genuine Fraud – E. Lockhart
Thoughts: Another blonde heroine, apparently. Albeit one with shorter hair.
34. The Sky Throne – Chris Ledbetter
Thoughts: Zeus doesn't want to be on this cover, and, god, I can't blame the dude.
35. Wreck – Fleur Ferris
Thoughts: The cover's not quite a wreck, but it's pretty generic.
36. Driven – MB Mulhall
Thoughts: Is anyone else concerned about his disappearing arms?
Cover Battles:
1. Journey to Dragon Island (The Accidental Pirates #2) – Claire Fayers
US vs. UK: It's the battle of pterodactyls versus dragons and I never knew I needed that in my life.
2. Tarnished City (Dark Gifts #2) – Vic James
UK vs. US: This is a major step up from the US cover for book one and a leap up from the UK covers imo.
3. Defy the Stars (Untitled #1) – Claudia Gray
US Take 1 vs. US Take 2: Well, take 2 is less reminiscent of other covers, and it's beautiful, but I still love take 1 the best. *shrugs*
4. Fireblood (Frostblood Saga #2)- Elly Blake
US vs. UK: A burning flower. That's never been done before.
WTF of the Week:
WTF of the Week began as a special category for one cover I saw, but was so popular it became a recurring feature. Here, I highlight covers, both new and old, that I've found, which, upon viewing, made me either snort or say something along the lines of "Dear God, what is that thing?"
1. Soul Bound (The Realm of the Claimed #1) – Linda Foster
Thoughts: BUTT WINGS.
2. The Rats of Midnight – Sean Munger
Thoughts: Enjoy this nightmare fuel.
3. Hammer of Thor – S. Evan Townsend
Thoughts: Weatherman falls for lightning god. Report at 5.
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5 responses to "Cover Snark (216): Snark a Circle Round"
Lenore recently posted…My Awesome Reads of 2016
#14/15 has an offensive comment. Totally get that it's cover snark and it's supposed to poke fun, but the Phoenix is a big part of Chinese culture and is usually depicted as it is on that book cover, so no, it's not a chicken dragon.
4. Charming and timeless. I like it.
7. They look so photoshopped! What's with the blurriness and weird lighting?
10. Same, it doesn't have much of a wow factor. I like the font at least.
16. Love everything about it. It matches so well.
20. This is creeping me out.
21. Or will they….
27. The covers are so amazing!! I really need to finish that series.
30. So Christmasy 😀
WTF2= the definition of nightmare fuel omg.


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French Connection
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The Honorable Mark Dayton, Governor of Minnesota, . H. E. Wegger Chr. Strømmen, Ambassador of Norway to the U.S., The Adjutant General of Minnesota, and Royal Norwegian Honorary Consulate General, Minneapolis cordially invites you to the U.S./Norway Troop Reciprocal Exchange 40th Anniversary Banquet on February 17, 2013. Tickets: $65.00 per person. Please contact the Norwegian Consulate directly at (612) 332-3383, extension 1 to sign up.
This event is sponsored by the Sons of Norway and the Upper Midwest Chapter of the Norwegian American Chamber of Commerce.


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Ahmadinejad: No, this is not fate. And this can come to an end. I have said we can run the world through logic. We are living our own lives. The U.S. government should not interfere in our affairs. They should live their own lives. They should serve the interests of the U.S. people. They should not interfere in our affairs. Then there would be no problems with that.
TIME: Are you ready to open direct negotiations with the U.S.?
Ahmadinejad: We have given them a letter, a lengthy letter. We say the U.S. Administration should change its behavior, and then everything will be solved. It was the U.S. which broke up relations with us. We didn't take that position. And then they should make up for it.
TIME: Does Iran have the right to nuclear weapons?
Ahmadinejad: We are opposed to nuclear weapons. We think it has been developed just to kill human beings. It is not in the service of human beings. For that reason, last year in my address to the U.N. General Assembly, I suggested that a committee should be set up in order to disarm all the countries that possess nuclear weapons.
TIME: But you were attacked with weapons of mass destruction by Iraq. You say the u.s. threatens you, and you are surrounded by countries that have nuclear weapons.
Ahmadinejad: Today nuclear weapons are a blunt instrument. We don't have any problems with Pakistan or India. Actually they are friends of Iran, and throughout history they have been friends. The Zionist regime is not capable of using nuclear weapons. Problems cannot be solved through bombs. Bombs are of little use today. We need logic.
TIME: Why won't you agree to suspend enrichment of uranium as a confidence-building measure?
Ahmadinejad: Whose confidence should be built?
TIME: The world's?
Ahmadinejad: The world? The world? Who is the world? The United States? The U.S. Administration is not the entire world. Europe does not account for one-twentieth of the entire world. When I studied the provisions of the npt [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty], nowhere did I see it written that in order to produce nuclear fuel, we need to win the support or the confidence of the United States and some European countries.
TIME: How far will Iran go in defying Western demands? Will you wait until you are attacked and your nuclear installations are destroyed?
Ahmadinejad: Do you think the u.s. administration would be so irrational?
TIME: You tell me.
Ahmadinejad: I hope that is not the case. I said that we need logic. We do not need attacks.
TIME: Are you worried about an attack?
Ahmadinejad: No.
TIME: You have been quoted as saying Israel should be wiped off the map. Was that merely rhetoric, or do you mean it?
Ahmadinejad: People in the world are free to think the way they wish. We do not insist they should change their views. Our position toward the Palestinian question is clear: we say that a nation has been displaced from its own land. Palestinian people are killed in their own lands, by those who are not original inhabitants, and they have come from far areas of the world and have occupied those homes. Our suggestion is that the 5 million Palestinian refugees come back to their homes, and then the entire people on those lands hold a referendum and choose their own system of government. This is a democratic and popular way. Do you have any other suggestions?
TIME: Do you believe the Jewish people have a right to their own state?
Ahmadinejad: We do not oppose it. In any country in which the people are ready to vote for the Jews to come to power, it is up to them. In our country, the Jews are living and they are represented in our Parliament. But Zionists are different from Jews.
TIME: Have you considered that Iranian Jews are hurt by your comments denying that 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust?
Ahmadinejad: As to the Holocaust, I just raised a few questions. And I didn't receive any answers to my questions. I said that during World War II, around 60 million were killed. All were human beings and had their own dignities. Why only 6 million? And if it had happened, then it is a historical event. Then why do they not allow independent research?
TIME: But massive research has been done.
Ahmadinejad: They put in prison those who try to do research. About historical events everybody should be free to conduct research. Let's assume that it has taken place. Where did it take place? So what is the fault of the Palestinian people? These questions are quite clear. We are waiting for answers.


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This blog post is a part of Blogging Against Disablism Day 2016. For more information and to read other work on the theme of disability descrimination, pride etc, see Diary of a Goldfish
Prejudice grows like mould; the smaller and darker the space, the worse the problem. In an insular group, everyone is an outsider. It's so much harder to treat anyone with bigotry when you're surrounded by a variety of voices, a variety of faces, a variety of hopes and dreams. So one of the key tools in fighting prejudice is to feed people with broad and positive representation in fiction, film and television.
Thinking back to my own childhood, I remember very little about Grange Hill beyond the bullying which I recognised in my own school, and the character played by Francesca Martinez - the first person I saw with Cerebral Palsy. I remember, in extremely white Surrey, programmes like The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and their broad cast of entirely individual people of colour. And I remember the bad, too - the disabled villains, stereotypical black men, and non-existant or entirely passive women of a hundred different programmes and films.
|Grange Hill Theme
In terms of narrative, it's obvious that, in the case of original stories like Grange Hill and The Fresh Prince, there are no barriers to inclusivity. If someone had wanted to write one of the Banks family as disabled, that would have been possible. However, there are also other situations in which people feel they have a genuine excuse for what amounts to disablist laziness.
Historical fiction is created with weight of fact to wrestle with. This is further complicated when the history is ancient as sources become uncertain or contradictory. In some ways this benefits the adapting author as they have numerous narrative options open to them. But those with privilege (or those brainwashed by the powers that be into thinking that things are as they are because that is how things *should* be) are restricted to the same old stories of Straight White Non-Disabled Men fighting their way to the top. These stories, damaging to our cultural health, are immensely boring. And, as Foz Meadows describes in this excellent post, it's missing something about what *really* happened in our history.
|Richard the Third's death
It is true that historical figures are often 'tainted' with a disablist brushstroke by critical contemporaries. But disablist caricatures only really work if we take those disabilities to be negative. If there wasn't an association between hunchbacks and evilness, Richard's disability would be neutral. There would have been no reason for historians to be sceptical about its reality, if it wasn't being used to cast him as a pantomime disabled villain.
We've recently watched a couple of historical TV series which have made choices to show disabled characters.
The Last Kingdom (adapted from the Bernard Cornwall novels) tells the story of a Saxon boy surfing the political and social waves of Britain during one of its biggest upheavals. In it we meet Alfred the Great (played by the great David Dawson). This Alfred, although viciously astute, is not a well man. There is significant historical evidence charting the course of Alfred's health, enough, in fact, to allow G. Craig to attempt a diagnosis. He demonstrates the high possibility that the king had Crohn's Disease or something similar. He also theorises that the early-Christian audience for the original manuscript would feel more kindly towards a king who was struggling with great suffering.
|Alfred the Great
Vikings, now in its fourth season, follows the story of Ragnar Lothbrok. One of his sons, Ivar the Boneless, is disabled. Given the comparatively weak historical evidence (other than his name, the other significant information is that he was carried on his shield by his men – an act of celebration which need not have anything to do with someone's ability to walk) it is interesting that the writers chose this route. Vikings is a brutal programme with graphic violence and sex. One of the theories for Ivar's epithet is that he was especially lithe and it was his graceful fighting which made him so successful. This could easily be used – you can imagine his character now; the same as a million other white male warriors.
|Ivar the Boneless. Not to be confused with Ivor the Engine.
However, they've chosen to portray him with a condition like Osteogenesis Imperfecta. He fits in well with the rest of the cast and as a young adult his condition is not talked about (or not as far as I've got in the series!). We know from numerous examples that great military leaders need not be the strongest physical specimens (Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Nelson etc) so it doesn't preclude the historical narrative. Diversity and flavour are added. And the unlikely disabled character will, if the history is followed, eventually trick his way into a great British city and earn himself a huge following of warriors.
However, the young child Ivar has suffered from more prejudicial writing. His disability is a symbol (perhaps not unfairly – Vikings is a series with a lot of symbolism) but his evilness has no historical backing that I can see and the extreme violence he meets out as a child is completely unexamined. This is damaging and seems rather at odds with some of their other choices.
So what should writers do? I'm certainly not saying that they should overturn historical facts to create a weak link to modern social justice*, but the truth is that the world has always been a diverse place. It has been our own prejudice which has mangled even the most reliable sources to fit in with our present day cultural narratives.
In order to make realistic fiction we have to include a realistic diversity in our depiction. And that's especially true of disability at a time when cultural narratives are being written in big, thick marker. Bad stories. Stories that cast us as villains or helpless victims, stories which question our worth and which exclude us from significant roles. Impairment is an inevitable part of life and always has been (in fact, increasingly so the further back in history one voyages). Whether you're King of the Britons or executing one of them, your disabilities are a key part of who you are and are necessary in any good narrative that describes you.
* An interesting example here would be Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller – a very popular book which I can't stand. It reworks the story of Achilles and Patroclus amidst the Trojan war as found in the Iliad. Miller overwrites the original complex ancient sexuality with a modern soap-opera version of homosexual love. The story of Briseis in the Iliad is replaced with a bizarre escapade of gay men rescuing women from the horrors of rape and slavery during war. You cannot rewrite motives to make them understandable – the skill of a writer should be focused on making the unimaginable lives of ancient peoples understandable.


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A new (and needed) holiday tradition: the Saturday turkey
Surely this cannot just be my secret shame — not that I'm ashamed, exactly.
I love Thanksgiving maybe a little more than the next person, not the least because it often falls on my birthday.
It's a great holiday for traveling to see family and a holiday blessedly unencumbered by gift-giving.
The only problem with traveling for it is (especially if you fly): no leftovers. And what is Thanksgiving without the furtive midnight tugs at the turkey carcass, the stray, sneaky spoon in the cranberry sauce?
This is why God made Saturday-after-Thanksgiving and with it, the Saturday turkey, which I herewith deem A Thing.
So after a lovely 48-hour trip to Baltimore, I found myself at the local HEB digging through the case of 25-percent-off fresh turkeys.
Turkey on its most coveted day is cheap. The Saturday after Turkey Day, an 11-lb. bird will set you back five bucks. Less than you'd spend on a low-quality turkey sandwich, that's how much that is.
Micah, my fresh-faced checkout guy (these days, they're always named Micah or Dalton or Kolt or Eamon) eyed me. "More turkey?" he asked, puzzled.
Yes, Micah. Someday you will understand.
Cooking a turkey can be mastered by an inattentive 11-year-old, so by dinnertime the bird and gravy and even-easier cranberry sauce graced the kitchen counter. On principle, there is no dining room, no platter for the Saturday turkey.
This is the kitchen turkey; the selfish turkey; the finger-torn, gnawed and sandwich-bound bird; the bird so loved for exactly what it isn't; the Thanksgiving equivalent of the one-for-me (after the one-for-you.)
Or, if you like, the God's grace turkey, the one you get not because you deserve it but just because, like a bouquet in March.
Then Monday morning, you can make your turkey sandwich (white bread and Miracle Whip, because you're a heathen).
And eat it at 9 a.m., just for the hell of it.
Bookmark Gray Matters. Less than you'd spend on a low-quality turkey sandwich, that's how much it is.


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Kali Brgant, M.A. & E-RYT
Kali is a trained counselor and a long time yoga and mindfulness practitioner. Kali holds a Master of the Arts degree in Counseling Psychology and has various yoga training certificates from Kripalu, Tantra Vinyasa and Partner Yoga with many hours of teaching. She is an experienced-registered yoga teacher (E-RYT) with Yoga Alliance. Kali has also spent ample time practicing meditation, living at a meditation center and attending silent retreats. Since Kali was young she found herself curious about the inner depths of the human experience. Her training in counseling, yoga, and mindfulness intertwine perfectly to help others with inner exploration. She believes that you are your own greatest teacher and she helps you to quiet the outer world in order to tune into your inner world. Kali has traveled and taught around the globe, from Thailand to New Zealand to Europe. Kali is passionate about her work and also enjoys photography, hiking, biking, camping, laughing with friends, and dancing. Kali's dream of combining integrative counseling and yoga to aid in healing and tuning in to a deeper sense of self has finally come to fruition. Kali lives in Jeffersonville, VT with her partner, Matt, who runs Bootlegger Bikes, their dog Sage and cat Aruna.


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The name's Sampson. Jamal Sampson. The initial reaction to this signing was much like the ones of Hassan Adams and Willie Solomon: Who? Once you get past the disappointment of signing somebody on the fringe of the association the normal next step is to wonder what he can do for us. At the worst it's a move that will replace Maceo Baston, at best he might turn into a Loren Wood or Jelani McCoy. The numbers aren't flattering and he's bounced around (the Raptors are his 7th team) but who knows, with some playing time he might be able to show us a little something something. All the best to Sampson, I mean that, hopefully he puts up a fight in training camp and gives Humphries a run for his money.
If you really want to read between the lines you could say the Sampson signing is insurance for Nathan Jawai. The Raptors are taking every precaution with The Manatee's heart condition. The question that comes to mind is whether we did a proper physical before we drafted him. He missed most of summer league and couldn't get past media day, not being crude here but isn't it too soon to be seeing specialists? This one's got early retirement written all over it. All the best to him too, he seems like good people. I really wanted to see how he reacts when he's put in the game to defend Dwight Howard, I'm taking he's seen nothing like the sort before. NBA initiation, it's the best.
Hollinger's Raptors preview is out and he's predicting a 47-35 record (tied with best ever) which would be good for third in the Atlantic and fifth in the East. To sum it up he's saying that our interior defense is our biggest strength and the lack of depth in the backcourt our biggest weakness. Hollinger's a closet Raptors fan who wants us to trade for a more experienced reserve. Well, we all do but since we refuse to pay the luxury tax and have a plethora of small and unproven contracts, we can't make a move. So we better learn to live with what we've got. In summing up last season he brings up 1 good and 1 bad point. The good: We were better than our record last year and should've piled up more wins but the TJ Ford saga and Bargnani's regression while playing heavy minutes cost us wins. The bad: He once again brings up his stupid, retarded and nonsensical point differential argument and uses it to argue point #1. There are many things wrong with giving any sort of weight to point-differential without considering records against +.500 teams. After all beating a good team by 1 point is much more indicative of a team than blowing out a sorry opponent by 20.
Dave Feschuk is back and his initial offering is weaker than an Arsenalist 3AM post. And that's weak. The subject of the matter is Jason Kapono and how he was two players last season: a good one and a crappy one. Says Kapono about his inconsistent playing time and performance:
"Partly the blame's on me, I've got to perform in the short time that I do get, and then extend my minutes. Hopefully now I have earned somewhat of a chance to kind of work through an oh-for-2 or oh-for-3 start (from the field)."
"Partly". Let me finish of his thought for you: Sam Mitchell didn't know how to use me and I was just trying to get mine in an offense that is based on freestyling. I'm a shooter and you can't yank me after I miss my first two shots – see, I'm not Bargnani or Humphries. And so I didn't play great defense last year, well, who did? Cut me some slack here, this time I don't have Delfino to compete with and I'm damn sure that Adams and Solomon aren't taking any PT away from The Kap. As long as I get some consistent playing time and have some idea of when I come in to the game I'll put up some numbers. Running a play for me would help too, I can't do this on my own. I tried last year and you should give me credit for that instead of talking about my 4 3's all spring. You know?
There's an article about Will Solomon in the Sun. It's about how he left a couple million dollars on the table and went to Europe instead thinking there was more money there. Fast-forward six years and its no longer about the money but the pride of playing in the NBA. I don't know, something tells me if he had gotten Delfino-money in Europe he'd manage to suffocate that pride for a few more years. Again, good luck to Solomon. He's also good people. Plus he seems like a motivated guy who could play hard for a new contract. Always good to have those unless they start jacking up shots to pad stats (see Voshon Lenard).
Finally, Matt Devlin's thinking that Jermaine O'Neal is looking "lean and strong" and by O'Neal's own admission he's never worked out this hard in the summer in quite some time. Andrea Bargnani was working on his back-to-the-basket moves at Tim Grgurich's Big Man's Camp and Sam Mitchell wants him to play "18-feet and in". That sounds good on paper but Bargnani's mid-range jumper had back-rim written all over it last season and he was far more comfortable shooting the 3, a lot like Bruce Bowen. Don't know how that's going to work but I'm all for moving Bargnani closer to the basket.
That's it for this morning. Eid Mubarak!


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Professor-therapist-author challenges orthodoxies
Modern society suffers from a troubling over-reliance on pharmaceuticals in the treatment of depression, anxiety, schizophrenia and other common psychological or psychiatric conditions, says Saint Michael's College Psychology Professor Ronald Miller, who'd like to change that.
Miller, a veteran educator, therapist and author, hopes his new book — Not So Abnormal Psychology: A Pragmatic View of Mental Illness, published in June by the American Psychological Association, will guide students and colleagues toward a return to therapies rooted more in people's moral understandings, development and upbringing than in pharmacology, profits and quick fixes.
He's been asserting his strong opinion on the matter for more than 30 years — ever since the introduction of the antidepressant Prozac by "Big Pharma" and its powerful marketers in the early 1980s, which he says changed everything in his field.
"I think people gradually are beginning to realize that when you start having 4-year-olds on three medications for their behavior because they don't pay attention enough and can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality – things that are normal for children their age – that maybe there's something wrong," he says.
In his training, which was typical for the pre-Prozac era, drugs were only a "last-resort" treatment for people who weren't able to function in the world. But in recent decades, even family doctors under drug-company pressure started advising patients to medicate for "just about any ill of the psychological variety," says Miller, who studied philosophy leading into psychology at Oberlin, St. Andrews in Scotland and then University of Vermont for a doctorate. He's taught both undergraduates and graduate students at Saint Michael's since 1984.
Miller feels too many therapists went along for the ride by widely embracing "Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), which essentially trains and medicates patients to think and behave differently. Insurance companies liked CBT because it was cheaper, required fewer sessions and allegedly could be supported better by measurable science than could traditional therapy.
But Miller feels that "science has limits when applied to psychology because some clinical phenomena we study only can be defined in terms of the moral understandings people have, and that's not science – that's based on people's upbringing, religion, own development of their sense of ideals in life. You can't quantify that very well — and you certainly can't objectively measure it."
Many people are startled to learn that anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of the population today are on these strong psychotropic medications, he says, although as Miller sees it, perhaps one in maybe 1,000 or even 10,000 should be, if only because of powerful negative side-effects. "When researched by people who aren't producing them," he says, "these drugs show side effects that often include loss of sexual drive, altered eating habits, hyper-agitation and increased suicide risk, and they can harmfully alter the chemistry throughout one's entire body once one's brain chemistry is altered."
"They tended to be quick fixes that did change symptoms, but not in a lasting way, so people would get discouraged when they tried to go off of them and go back to medications," he says. "So you have people now medicating for life."
He rejects the too-common trend to immediately treat even mild psychological symptoms – not sleeping well, being down in the dumps, not getting along with the kids – with pharmaceuticals. He believes it's time to acknowledge that sometimes, it's perfectly normal to have struggles and be anxious and suffer as humans, and that facing that fact squarely and successfully, with human or spiritual support as in past eras, but without drugs, is possible and preferable in most cases.
Throughout the book, Miller uses a lot of his personal experiences as teacher and therapist, recounted in a conversational tone and drawing on his earlier works. While chiefly it's written to be a textbook for introductory abnormal psychology classes at colleges, he also hopes it will be of interest to general readers.
Miller says he tried to write a textbook along the lines of his new one about a decade ago, only to discover that resistance in the profession convinced publishers to stay away from it. He takes it as a good sign that the professional climate has shifted enough that now his publisher was enthusiastic to publish it.
He says he realized as the main Saint Michael's professor teaching introductory abnormal psychology for many years that no textbook in wide use today amply treats the history of all the important relevant antecedents to modern controversies, including humanistic perspectives like his. Rather, he says, they just report "reigning orthodoxies," to quote the words of a recent positive review of his new book.
"I think the culture is just beginning to wake up a little to this," says Miller, who is author of two previous books: his first in 1992 was an edited collection of papers on the philosophy of psychology, his specialty area; the second, Facing Human Suffering: Psychology and Psychotherapy as Moral Engagement (2004) calls for clinical case study to be reclaimed as a central form of clinical research in the mental health field.
"The argument of much of my writing is that psychology is much more about the moral environment in which we live than it is about the physical," Miller says.
When counseling students on what to make of his book, Miller references the pragmatism of psychology pioneer William James: "I say to them, I hope this book's going to 'help you in your daily life to live better,' as James might say; but if it doesn't, then you're the final judge – not me, not a doctor, not some expert on TV being interviewed on Oprah — but you! Take all these ideas and then figure out what works for you."