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Our Secret is Out
Restoration Brings New Purpose To This Historic Master Work
The Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden was conceived in the 1930s as a private garden that was once reserved for the enjoyment of an aristocratic Pasadena couple. It is a superb example of a Japanese hill-and-pond stroll garden, which is rare in the U.S., and one of only two Japanese gardens in California listed in the National Register as a Historic Place.
This secret garden that was hidden from view for decades, surviving a number of threats to its existence throughout its 80 year history, has been re-imagined as a space to be shared. While the garden has recently undergone a transformative restoration, rescuing it from years of decline, much more needs to be done.
Broad public support is now essential. A non-profit 501(c)(3) has been established for management of the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden to encourage and facilitate community giving.
Make a Donation
We invite you to help support the garden by making a donation
Your benevolence will allow this extraordinary garden to remain a living reminder of a time and place in our history that two cultures shared.
Your donation may be made online by pressing the Make a Donation Online button below.Make a Donation Online
If you prefer to mail a check please press the Download Mail-In Form button below.Download Mail-In Form
Become a Member
Become a Member & Enjoy Many Exclusive Garden Privileges
Take a leading role in cultivating the future of this special place of serenity and natural beauty by becoming a Member of the Storrier Stearns Japanese Garden.Become a Member
By joining today, you can ensure this historic jewel doesn't slip away for lack of the critical resources needed for its long term preservation and care.
We offer six annual membership levels to choose from, with the details and pricing for each listed in the tables below. Simply select the level that best suits your needs and click Join Now to get started. This will add your selection to your PayPal cart for purchase via credit card.
All memberships are valid for twelve months from the month of purchase and all contributions are tax-deductible within the limits prescribed by law. Rates and privileges may be subject to change without notice.
270 Arlington Drive
Pasadena, California 91105
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Sign into your account (with the button below) to renew your membership, change your address, registration, donations and more.Manage My Account
Realizing Our Mission
Preserving Our Historic & Culturally Significant Garden
With member support this living historical landmark can blossom into a thriving resource for the community and enable us to continue to provide and expand the cultural and educational programs and activities we offer:
- More Open Days each month
- Classes in art, music and Japanese cooking
- Training in mindfulness, meditation and yoga
- Musical performances
- Special Evenings At the Garden
- Lectures on Japanese culture, art and ancient principles of design
- Tea ceremonies and demonstrations in our exquisite teahouse
- Workshops on Japanese garden design, composting and other sustainable gardening techniques


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Thursday, June 17, 2010
The Body Shop Love fragrance
From The Body Shop website:
Fragrance personality: A sensuous blend of Egyptian jasmine with warm, radiant notes of vanilla and sandalwood.
Family: floriental
* Top notes: pear, neroli, bergamot
* Middle notes: jasmine, heliotrope, lily of the valley
* Base notes: vanilla, sandalwood, musk cream
My impression:
- warm floral notes at first
- sweet vanilla endnote
- not overly strong
- great day to night fragrance
- affordable ($24 for 30 mL, $29.50 for 50mL)
Overall, I thought this was a really wearable fragrance. Its not too strong, so you can still wear it to the office, but it is also complex and feminine enough that you could spray on a little extra after work for a night out.
Have you sampled this fragrance yet? What did you think?
Posted by watercoloursky at 9:28 PM
Labels: fragrance, reviews, The Body Shop
5 comments:
- Jennifer from Toronto - Spiced Beauty said...
Yay this is from TBB!
I loved the scent too :)
- June 17, 2010 at 9:57 PM
- AskMeWhats said...
I have this! I love how light the scent is !
- June 17, 2010 at 11:03 PM
- Ee Von said...
i tested this a while ago, it was pleasant and nice - nothing like their usual edp/edt scents. but it wasn't very captivating to make me want it that much. reading your review just made me want to go there and sniff it again :P
- June 17, 2010 at 11:58 PM
- ... said...
I haven't tried this but keep gandering at it whenever I'm looking through the site...
- June 18, 2010 at 1:00 AM
- izumi said...
your description sounds amazing!
- June 18, 2010 at 10:10 PM
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subset: commoncrawl


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Seriously, you can buy candy that's called this. Talk about yer redundancy! They should just call it Pretty Good (because it's pretty with all the shapes, and tastes good.) H'mmm. That's not so fab either.
Here's some assorted mixy stuff I did this weekend:
was attacked by one of those owie kinks in my shoulder/neck/back, thereafter turning from the waist to look at anything/one
ate a truly exceptional piece of carrot cake
was complimented on my own baking skills by somebody who didn't try the carrot cake
managed to breakthe spacebar on my keyboard so that it only workssome of the time on the first try
got somebody else to plant the last of the new perennials out front
wondered whether the people who were supposed to paint my porch will ever call to book same
accepted a very nice hug from one of several young guys wearing Free Hugs T shirts
wrote up a couple of knitting patterns
cut out some pieces of a sewing pattern
remembered why I don't sew any more, especially with a super sore back and shoulder
(of course)
consumed rather a lot of ice cream.
Bliss. Except for my back, which is still a mess.


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3 Things You Can Do To Maintain Your Morning Routine
There is a reason why successful people have morning rituals.
I'm back in the park this morning. I've decided to visit the children's area and I'm sitting on a swing which isn't too comfortable.
So as I continue implementing my morning ritual there are a few things that have been helping me to maintain and be consistent on a daily basis.
So I'm going to share the three main things that have made a real difference in my commitment.
1 Planning And Preparation
I've started to set things up the night before. This has made a real difference. My phone which I use as an alarm is out of arms reach. My exercise clothes are folded up at the end of the bed. My glass of water is waiting for me too. It's important to experiment with different routines to find one that suits you.
2 Mindset
Your behaviour is influenced by how you think and what you think about things. I'm very interested in productivity. I'm constantly reading and listening to blogs, articles, podcasts and videos on the subject. What I research and learn inspires me to get stuff done. Even implementing the smallest of things can make a massive difference.
3 Know Your Why
I've had health problems that have impacted on my ability to get things done. It's been a wake up call and I've had to start focusing seriously on my self care. It doesn't matter what you want to do - you can't get anything done if you don't have your health.
Each day I want to be the best version of myself. I can only do that if I look after myself. Having this mindset is helping me to be consistent with my morning ritual. There are always going to be obstacle but the key is to persist.
I share a bit more detail in the video.
In the video I mention my weekly webinar that I co-host with Maria Ozkanli. You can check out that episode here.
Our live webinar airs every Tuesday at 4 pm EST. We share tips and strategies for home business owners who want to build a business online. So that you don't miss the next one just subscribe to my newsletter to receive notifications and updates.
Email: email@example.com
Looking for a coach? Check out my Work With Me tab to find out if we are a fit.
Skype: vitality4life
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com


text:
Sponsored By
Brutal Winter, Labor Shortages Make For Mess At New Jersey PortsThe bitter winter has caused major traffic jams around the ports of New Jersey -- with truckers stuck in line for hours to pick up cargo, and the consequences being seen at major retailers.
Report: Mets 'Monitoring' Sluggers Giancarlo Stanton, Carlos GonzalezAccording to Andy Martino of the New York Daily News, the Mets are continuing to "monitor the situation" surrounding Giancarlo Stanton and Carlos Gonzalez.
Residents Relieved Tanker Crash On I-95 Wasn't WorseThe driver of the truck was taken to the hospital with minor injuries. Police said he lost control when another car cut him off.


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Jury deliberations to begin on Wednesday in George Huguely murder trial
(CBS) CHARLOTTESVILLE, N. C. - The defense and prosecution made their closing arguments Saturday in the murder trial of George Huguely V.
After listening to more than three hours of closing arguments, jurors in the former UVA lacrosse player's trial decided to begin deliberations on Wednesday.
Pictures: Yeardley Love murdered, George Huguely charged
The Washington Post reports a prosecutor told jurors that Huguely did not merely leave his off-and-on again girlfriend 22-year-old Yeardley Love bleeding in her pillow, he left her unable to move, disabled from the damage that Huguely had done to her in their final violent argument in May 2010.
Commonwealth's Attorney Warner Champman asked, if the former women's lacrosse player could have moved, why wouldn't she have crawled to get help? If she could have moves, why wouldn't she have stopped Huguely from taking her laptop as he left?
In his final appeal to jurors, defense attorney Francis Lawrence urged them to reject the murder charge and consider a lesser crime. "George bears responsibility in her death. . . . He played a role in that, and he will take responsibility for it in a way you determine," Lawrence said.
However, he asked, "Where's the intent to kill?" -- a key element of first-degree premeditated murder, which can carry a sentence of life in prison. "He didn't kill her. He left her there alive."
Lawrence asked jurors to weigh involuntary manslaughter when he addressed them at the start of the trial. It carries a maximum sentence of 10 years.
Huguely has pleaded not guilty to all charges.


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Billy Yank and Johnny Reb at peace: Union and Confederate veterans
As a Michigander, the men and women of Dixie--of whatever coloration--would call me a Yankee. And, being Southerners, almost all of them would be polite about it. I can live with that--even if it lumps me in with New Englanders, a people who are (for me at least) a reliable source of raised eyebrows.
That said, I don't think of myself as a "northerner," and I suspect most of those who live north of the Mason-Dixon don't. As a Southern friend correctly pointed out, "north is a direction, but South is a place."
I'm a Midwesterner, and rather proud of that, despite having nothing whatsoever to do with my delivery to or placement within the region. The Midwest is indisputably a place, one with her own people. Most of the time, we Midwesterners are a common sense, friendly but sometimes almost stolid folk, inclined to pragmatism and possessing of relatively-long fuses. We have our foibles--anything that smacks of cosmopolitan foolishness is avoided, and we tend to regard the world beyond the Appalachians and Great Plains as a source of annoyance more than anything else. And the rest of the planet? God gave us the Atlantic and Pacific as moats for a reason. Though I will say that sometimes those foibles are bugs with an upside, so to speak.
But at our best, we have a sense of history and rootedness that serves us well.
However, there's one subject where the Midwest is melded into "North" and "North" becomes a place--discussions of the Civil War. Also known as the War Between the States, the War of Northern Aggression, the War for the Union or--my personal favorite: the Late Unpleasantness.
Part of out Midwestern historical sense is a remembrance of the Civil War, and our great rememberer is the late Bruce Catton (in the same sense that the late Shelby Foote is the great rememberer for the South). In truth, the Midwest was "the West" in the War, and our forefathers rallied to Old Glory in huge numbers. In Michigan, 23 percent of the male population wore the blue, and 1 in 6 of those died.
Michiganders fought every major campaign, and were responsible for catching Jeff Davis after the War ended. We remember them in monuments and highways studding our State. As a youngster, once I started reading about the War, I was hooked, and it shows no signs of letting up yet. My family went to Gettysburg when I was ten. I even picked up a Confederate battle flag during my visit. My children will have no such opportunity, however.
Nevertheless, I'll treasure that visit to hallowed ground until I die or grow senile.
The latter of which, at the rate things are going cognition-wise, will probably be sometime next month. Anyway.
That interest will never die because the War is a source of endless fascination for anyone who studies it seriously. The historical figures become people you know and eventually come to regard as acquaintances, mentors and perhaps even, in an odd way, friends. Ones whose honor and decency you feel compelled to defend, and whose full humanity you argue even as you have to acknowledge their sins. Frankly, if you ever want to hear the next best thing to a Talmudic disputation, sit in on a debate over the decision-making or actions of Civil War General X in Battle Y or Campaign Z. The feathers puff up and the arguments fly almost as thick as the bullets at the actual battle.
For this Midwesterner, that includes even--nay, especially--those from below the Mason-Dixon Line.
To be sure, my chief heroes from the American Iliad are Lincoln, Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain (see--I can like New Englanders!) and George Henry Thomas--Unionists all, but only one of them a Midwesterner.
Lincoln has undergone apotheosis, which is unfortunate, because the flawed man is far more interesting--and brilliant--than the flawless bronze effigy. If nothing else, he shows what the Midwesterner (by way of Kentucky) has within him.
Chamberlain was someone only America could have produced: a genteel classics scholar turned warrior who never flinched from the Cause even though it threatened his marriage. And he earned his immortality on July 2, 1863, saving the nation at the far left of the Union line at Gettysburg with a bayonet counterattack.
And then there is the Other Virginian--almost anonymous--George Henry Thomas. Unlike his compatriot, Robert Edward Lee, he chose the Union, and the North recognized his genius, belatedly, grudgingly and incompletely. The nation still fails--utterly and inexcusably--to honor his sacrifices and memory of the Rock of Chickamauga and Sledge of Nashville. In fact, we have done a grave disservice to the sacrifices of the free Southerners who fought for the Union during the war--at least 100,000 fought for the United States, a fact usually remembered not at all.
Three men of the Union--what about that "especially," Yankee?
Bless your heart, 'n' all.
Fair point. Thus, I proffer the following three men in gray:
For starters, there's this man for whom Texas' Fort Hood is named: the incomparably heroic and tragic John Bell Hood. He never lacked courage, being grievously wounded twice while leading his men from the front. His left arm was maimed at Gettysburg and he lost his right leg above the knee at Chickamauga, the two bloodiest battles of the war.
As a brigade and division commander, he has no critics. He led those units almost flawlessly. However, it is a commonplace that Hood was a victim of the Peter Principle, his promotion to command an army being beyond his abilities--and perhaps even murder for the men he led.
But I would argue otherwise, at least as far as the Atlanta campaign is concerned. A look at the record shows he had decisive victories slip from his grasp on multiple occasions. Fighting Sherman, he was more unlucky than anything else, hobbled by bad timing and worse subordinates. Even afterwards, he had the chance to destroy the bulk of a Yankee army at Spring Hill, but for nearly inexplicable reasons, his commanders missed their chance.
However, right after Spring Hill you can make the charge of incompetence stick. Sending his men in a charge at the Battle of Franklin against Federal breastworks across a mile of ground without artillery support was murder, and nothing but. I still cringe when I read about the brave Confederates making that impossible charge...it's heartbreaking. And...they almost pulled it off, breaking through the Federal center only to be repulsed by a hot-headed Union commander who had defied orders to place his soldiers in the right place at the right time.
Say what you will about the courageous Confederates making Pickett's Charge, but the men of the Army of the Tennessee were incomparably more heroic at Franklin. And they paid a much higher price.
The Federals still retreated after Franklin, and Hood followed. Only to be crushed by Thomas two weeks later at Nashville. Hood was then was relieved of his command.
He survived the war, but his courage failed to win him the heart of the woman he doggedly courted, Sally Preston. He eventually married, but his maimed condition probably contributed to him succumbing to yellow fever in 1879 at the young age of 48, six days after his wife Anna. Their ten surviving orphaned children were adopted out to several families, and a Texas association of Hood's veterans helped with financial support of the orphans.
Patrick Ronayne Cleburne was an Irish immigrant and veteran of the British Army who came to America and settled in Arkansas in 1854. Despite this being the high-tide of nativism, he was embraced by the residents. Well, most of them: Cleburne survived an assassination attempt by a member of the anti-immigrant Know-Nothings in 1856 (yes, the sentiments were that ugly). He became a lawyer (no one is perfect) and respected member of the community. Thus, he gladly stood with his Arkansas neighbors when the secession crisis hit. Cleburne was certainly the finest division commander for the Confederacy in the War--stopping William Sherman cold during the Battle of Chattanooga and performing superbly elsewhere. Cleburne should have risen to higher command--except that he advocated emancipating and arming slaves to help with the war effort. Even as the Confederacy died in the spring of 1865, such proposals were controversial--even when made by Jefferson Davis, and even when freedom was entirely conditional upon the slaveholder's written consent. Companies of black Confederate soldiers started forming in late March 1865, but Richmond fell before any saw action.
Before that, a mere low-ranker general making a more radical proposal was an act of career suicide. And it provoked no small blinkered pique on the part of those who hated the proposal: the Army of Tennessee was starved of competent corps commanders during the War, and Cleburne would have fit the bill perfectly. Fortunately for the Union, bigoted fear prevailed.
Thus, brave Cleburne stayed at the division level, and died in the horrific slaughter at aforementioned Battle of Franklin on November 30, 1864, leading his men in futile attacks against Union breastworks, at the even-younger age of 36. He was one of six Confederate generals killed that day, and John McGavock had the grim honor of having five of their bodies (including Cleburne's) laid out on his porch after the battle.
Last, but hardly least, is Marse Robert himself, General Robert E. Lee. Like Lincoln, Lee too has undergone something like deification, due in no small part to the classic and exhaustively-researched biography by Douglas Southall Freeman. But even without a classic biography, Lee would be impossible to gloss over lightly. A bona-fide American hero before the War, most know that Lee was offered--and declined--the command of the United States Army before the War started. Being a slaveholder who seemed to genuinely dislike the institution in the abstract (to me, quite similar views to those held by the late Henry Clay, who freed all of his slaves upon his death), he loved his Virginia too much to fight her.
Despite being one of "Those People Over There," it is impossible for me to read of Lee's tactical exploits without admiration--Chancellorsville especially being the masterwork of a Great Captain.
And at the war's end, he spared the not-quite reunited nation the horror of guerilla warfare, for which we should continue to be grateful:
"Then, General," [Lee] reasoned further, "you and I as Christian men have no right to consider only how this would affect us. We must consider its effect on the country as a whole. Already it is demoralized by the four years of war. If I took your advice, the men would be without rations and under no control of officers. They would be compelled to rob and steal in order to live. They would become mere bands of marauders, and the enemy's cavalry would pursue them and overrun many sections they may never have occasion to visit. We would bring on a state of affairs it would take the country years to recover from. And, as for myself, you young fellows might go bushwhacking, but the only dignified course for me would be to go to General Grant and surrender myself and take the consequences of my acts."
As an aside, it must be noted that Confederate General Joseph Johnston also refused to disperse his army to engage in guerilla warfare--and he had direct orders from Jefferson Davis to do so. Of course, it probably didn't hurt that Johnston and Davis loathed each other, but Johnston deserves considerable credit for his role in ending the war. Others also leap to mind: Mary Boykin Chesnut, John C. Breckenridge, John B. Gordon, Richard Rowland Kirkland (a/k/a "the Angel of Marye's Heights")...the list is near-enough endless.
So, when I see the Confederate battle flag, I see the charge at Franklin, the humanity of men like Cleburne, Hood, Lee and Johnston. I see the willingness of beaten Americans to live with the verdict of the battlefield and to exhort their fellow Southerners to also reconcile. To me, the virtues of the men who marched underneath that banner are what leap to mind first. Such virtues allowed the country to reunite--to heal and become one nation. That it did so, and so quickly, is nothing short of astounding. By 1898, the former Confederacy leapt to the call to arms in the Spanish-American War, with one of its Generals literally leading a charge under the Stars and Stripes in Cuba.
But that's not the only way the banner can be viewed--and is. For that, I will have another post.


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Public Means of Transportation
London has one of the best and largest public transport systems in the world covering the 32 boroughs of the city.
The best way of travelling around the city and sightseeing at the same time is by the famous London red double-decker buses. You cannot pay for your fare in cash on the bus but have to purchase either
- a Visitor's Oyster card,
- Travelcard
- or Contactless Payment card.
For travel on buses and trams around London you will pay a maximum of £4.50 per day (E5.72) without a card. By using one of the above-mentioned forms of payment the fare is £2.40 (E3.00). Should your Oyster card run out of money, you are permitted one more journey before you top up your credit.
You can buy a Visitor's Oyster card before you leave home. It will be posted to you and costs £3.00 (E3.81) plus postage.
- One day bus & tram £ 5.00
- 7 days 20
- 1 month 50
Separate London Bus Tours.
There are also separate London Bus tours available. Trams operate frequently in parts of South London between Wimbledon, Croydon, Beckenham & New Addington.
Travel on the Underground or Tube is by far the quickest way to get around London. There are 12 tube lines and prices vary according to which zone you are travelling. Zones are numbered, with the City of London being Zone 1. Numbers increase the further you travel from the center.
Visitor's Oyster card prices (these are recommended prices for the amount of days of your stay in the city and depending on how much travelling you do in a day).
- 1-2 days travel £20 card
- 3-4 days £30
- One week £50
London Black Taxis charge by meter and there is a minimum £2.40 (E3.00) charge. Tip as much as you wish but usually most people round off the fare to the nearest £. You just flag down the cab on the street. They are obliged to take on any job for journeys up to 12 miles (or 20 miles for cabs at Heathrow Airport, or up to one hour's travel time).
Yellow cabs are free if the sign at the front is lit up.
Minicabs are cheaper but you must book by telephone only.
Hire a bicycle, the first half an hour is free of charge, it is an ideal to get around town and costs only £2.00 for 24 hours (E2.54).
On Foot
The cheapest way to see the city is of course on 'Shank's Pony' or on foot! There are plenty of walking tours to choose from if you want a guide and company.


text:
- Drupal Developer helps you to learn Drupal by Live code examples!
- Learn to develop custom Drupal modules and themes for Drupal 5, Drupal 6, Drupal 7 and Drupal 8
- Post your Drupal questions and get solutions.
- It is always free to join and post!
Import node
Drupal: Create Drupal7 node Programmatically
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The fascinating thing about this CodeLet is, it can import data to multi - value node fields, including multi widget fields & different field types.
Drupal: Import Vebra Property using Vebra API
Submitted by saru1683 on
This CodeLet allows you programatically import property to content type:
1. Install module.
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3. you have to update KEY/PASSWORD for Vebra API and URL of property on Vebra.


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June 17, 2002, Section A, Page 15Buy Reprints
Hubbard Glacier, one of the world's largest, is threatening the economic life of this tiny, predominantly Tlingit fishing village on the southeast Alaskan coast.
Within days, the advancing glacier could block the outlet of Russell Fjord, a 30-mile-long habitat of porpoises, seals and salmon at the end of the Situk River.
The glacier has done this before, most recently in 1986, with an ice dam that turned the fjord into a new lake, Russell Lake, swollen with freshwater runoff. It endangered trapped wildlife for months as the level of salt in the water fell, but after several months the ice dam gave way and the glacier retreated.
The fear being voiced now was also voiced then: that if the ice blockage is severe and protracted, the lake may swell and spill its banks, flooding the Situk River and smaller streams east of Yakutat that are vital to the area's commercial and sport fishing industries.
''That would devastate the town,'' said Mayor Thomas Maloney, a former commercial fisherman.
Yakutat's lodges and bed-and-breakfasts cater to fishermen from around the world, and to tourists who hire local pilots to fly over the area's spectacular glaciers. But Mr. Maloney says he is more concerned about the already financially hard-hit commercial fishing boats that catch salmon in the milewide estuary at the end of the river. ''If we lose the commercial fishermen,'' he said, ''we lose the town.''
Despite occasional retreats, the Hubbard Glacier has been advancing since the 1890's. Its most recent ice dam across the fjord was formed in May 1986, when the water rose a foot a day and in a matter of months produced a 100-square-mile lake.
An effort was undertaken to save the stranded animals, and various plans were proposed to blow open the passage. While volunteers tried to catch seals to carry them to safety, many skittered across the ice dam on their own. But the ice dam was structurally weak. By October, that corner of the glacier had been breached by the rising waters of the fjord, and the remaining seals and porpoises returned to the open waters of Yakutat Bay.
''This is the closest it's come since the 1986 damming,'' said Dennis Trabant, a glaciologist with the United States Geological Survey, who has studied the Hubbard Glacier since its previous closing. Glaciologists who flew over the site late Thursday estimated the gap at 100 feet.
In addition, this time the wall of ice poised to crunch into the far side of the fjord is wider and more likely to last. That has people worried.
''We've suffered over 9/11 like everyone else, with visitor cancellations,'' said Loretta Eades, the general manager of Leonard's Landing Lodge. ''I just hope that this doesn't add to it.''
As it happens, Yakutat is able to receive first-rate advice, and some consolation, from the world's leading experts on glaciers. The International Glaciological Society met here last week, and its scientists are of two minds about the Hubbard's assault. Though they did not wish their hosts ill, they were energized by this example of the forces they study.
''What's truly amazing is that it is happening now, while we're all here,'' said Ted Scambos, a glaciologist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colo. ''It's like Disney World for glaciologists.''
The scientists may also have good long-term news. ''Initially, the fisheries in the rivers that are going to be flooded will be damaged severely,'' Mr. Scambos said. ''But as the years go by, they'll probably come back better than ever, because Russell Lake will be a huge potential spawning area for the salmon.''
It is even possible that the glacier will retreat at the last moment.
The advance of Hubbard Glacier seems to run counter to what many glaciologists see as one likely effect of global climate change: a great loss of ice by most of Alaska's glaciers. But the Hubbard, being a tidewater glacier, operates differently than valley glaciers, which do not empty into bodies of water.
At the glaciology symposium, research was presented by the Geophysical Institute at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, showing that over the last five years, Alaskan glaciers -- even factoring in those like Hubbard that are growing -- have been melting and adding almost twice as much water to the world's oceans as the entire Greenland ice cap.
The melting is most pronounced in the region that includes Yakutat.


text: Request Items This form allows you to give us information about equipment you'd like to find through Project CARAT. Please complete the information below and we will be in touch with you soon! Thank you for your interest! About You Please tell us a bit about yourself so we can contact you about your donation. Name (required) Phone (required) Email (required) County (required) About the Equipment Please describe the assistive technology and/or durable medical equipment item(s) you are in need of.


text:
Panthers score on offense, defense and special teams in key win
DANBURY, Conn. – The Plymouth State University football team scored points on offense, defense and special teams Saturday afternoon at The WAC in a 27-19 victory over Western Connecticut State University in the MASCAC opener for both schools.
Sophomore quarterback Zack Edwards (Brookfield, MA) threw for a touchdown and freshman David Hamilton (Westville, N.J.) rushed for a TD to lead the Panther offense; Junior Blair Zentek (Simsbury, Conn.) spurred the defense with an 86-yard interception return for a touchdown; and the special teams got a pair of field goals from sophomore Jeff Madden (Wolfeboro, N.H.) and a 98-yard blocked extra point return.
Edwards connected with tight end Elijah Johnson (Windsor, CT) from five yards out to put the Panthers up 15-7 with 8:20 remaining in the second quarter. Plymouth went on to score its final 18 points during the second stanza, but it was enough as its 27-13 advantage at intermission was never threatened in the second half.
Plymouth State (3-0, 1-0) has won its first three games to start the season for the first time since the 2007 Panthers started 6-0. Western Conn. dropped to 1-2, 0-1.
The WAC, Danbury, Conn. – Saturday, Sept. 17, 2016
Plymouth State 27, Western Connecticut 19
Plymouth State 3-0 (1-0 MASCAC); Western Connecticut (1-2, 0-1 MASCAC)
* WCSU was picked to finish third in the MASCAC in the preseason poll.
* Western scored a touchdown midway through the second quarter to draw within two points, 15-13. The extra-point try was blocked and returned for two defensive extra-points by Zach Ziemba (Manchester, N.H.).
* Madden capped off a nine-play, 50-yard drive when he split the uprights with a 44-yard field goal with 1:32 remaining before the break to put PSU up, 20-13.
* With 25 seconds remaining, Zentek picked off Western and returned the ball 86 yards for a touchdown. After Maddan's PAT, the Panthers led, 27-13.
* In the second half, Jawad Chisholm (Bridgeport, CT) caught a nine-yard TD pass from Quinn to cap off an 18-play, 87-yard drive that ate up 8:14 of valuable time. Quinn's two-point toss failed and Western trailed by eight, 27-19.
* A pair of turnovers by Quinn in the final quarter, an interception and a bone-crunching fumble at the Panthers' eight yard line with 47 seconds remaining. Brandon Mitchell (Naples, ME) forced and Matt Shea (Windham, NH) recovered the loose ball on that final drive for the Colonials.
* Edwards finished Edwards completed 11 of 19 passes for 124 yards and one touchdown
* Mitch Banuskevich (Milford, N.H.) led all runners with 15 carries for 78 yards. Hamilton added 14 carries for 33 yards and the score for the winners.
* Ziemba recored a game-high 13 tackles, 11 of them primary and had a 24-yard interception return.
* Quinn completed 28 of 35 passes and threw a pair of TDs.
* Calamita and Chisholm led the Western receivers with seven and six catches for 63 and 93 yards, respectively.
* Kevin Maxen (Southbury, CT) had 10 tackles for the Colonials. It is the second straight week that Maxen has registered double-digit take downs, tallying 11 a week ago at Union.
* Plymouth State hosts UMass Dartmouth for its homecoming at 1 pm next Saturday, September 24, at Currier Field. Western travels to Framingham State next Saturday, with kick-off slated for 12 noon.
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The University of Illinois issues a daily "farmdoc" and today's release was a nice dashboard for dairy farmers to determine how much margin protection they could have received if the margin protection program had been around since 2000. The dairy farmer can plug in their elected coverage levels; the amount of protection they want (from $4 to $8); and the amount of annual production. Based on the year they select (from 2000-2013), the dashboard would indicate the amount of net income or expense from the program by each two month segment.
For example, I plugged in a dairy with a production history of 10 million pounds per year that wants $6.50 of coverage and elects to cover 75% of his production. Running the numbers for each year, we ended up with a net income or (expense) of:
2000 $(209,600)
2001 $(209,600)
2002 $(150,928)
2003 $(18,039)
2004 $(209,600)
2005 $(209,600)
2006 $(209,600)
2007 $(209,600)
2008 $(209,600)
2009 $1,434,452
2010 $(209,600)
2011 $(209,600)
2012 $860,073
2013 $171,031
As you can see, if the dairy farmer had started participating in the program in 2000, there would be nine straight years where the farmer would incur a net loss and only in 2002 and 2003 would the farmer collect any program payments. During these nine years, the dairy farmer would be out a total of $1,636,167. However, beginning in 2009, the dairy farmer collects just in one year almost all of this back ($1,434,452) and over the years 2000-2013, the dairy farmer would be $410,189 ahead by participating at these levels in the program. If he waited until 2009 to start, he would actually be ahead by $2,043,356.
This dashboard provides the dairy farmer with a good set up of historical what ifs to help them in their decision. If they expect a repeat of the high feed prices incurred between 2009 and 2013, they may want to participate at the higher levels. If, however, they feel that feed costs will remain at current levels and milk prices will remain strong, they will most likely opt for the $4 protection level since that costs nothing other than the annual $100 fee to participate in the program.
I re-calculated the numbers at the $4 level and the farmer would receive $317,049 in 2009 and $205,906 in 2012. Not a bad return for a cost of $100 per year, however, in all other years, the farmer would get nothing.
This can be a very valuable analysis tool for our dairy farmers. If you operate a dairy, make sure you run your numbers.


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CNN Pushes British-Style Gun Ban
Letter by victim's sister calls on Obama to restrict firearms to shooting ranges
Paul Joseph Watson
Prison Planet.com
December 21, 2012
A letter to President Obama written by the sister of one of the Sandy Hook school shooting victims which called for a British-style gun ban that would restrict firearms to shooting ranges and nullify the second amendment was read out on live air by CNN host Anderson Cooper.
During a segment featuring a friend of the Barden family, whose 7-year-old son Daniel was tragically killed during the shooting, a woman presented a letter to Cooper written by 10-year-old Natalie Barden.
Barden initially planned to give the letter directly to President Obama during his visit to Newtown but was too intimidated to do so. Cooper read the letter out on air, which stated;
"My name is Natalie Barden and I wanted to tell the president that only police officers and the military should get guns. If people want to do it as a sport than they could go to a shooting range and the guns would not be able to leave there."
The Rest…HERE


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March 7, 2018
Infinite Possibilities - AYCG Moviecast #385
Things are happening on this week's Moviecast. Flashpoint directors get confirmed, but what will this movie's role in the DCEU really be? In Netflix news, Jessica Jones season two is about to come out, plus we get a date for Luke Cage's second season. The Oscars also happened, but Get Out and the Shape of the Water stole the show as far as noteworthy winners. Finally, Infinity War has a new release date, and it's coming sooner than expected!
#Oscars2018 #InfinityWar #Flashpoint #JessicaJones2 #LukeCage2


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Now's the Time to Support San Juan
Lisa and I were pleasantly surprised when we touched down in San Juan to see how good the city looked. Yes, there were uprooted and twisted trees, but Old San Juan was as charming as ever. Obviously, a good portion of Puerto Rico is still recovering from the tragic impact of Hurricane Maria but I wouldn't hesitate to spend 3 or 4 nights in San Juan for a quick getaway. Locals are incredibly grateful for any travelers headed their way during these trying times. We stayed at the stylish CasaBlanca Hotel in the heart of Old Town, dined on indigenous fare at Café Puerto Rico, then walked the boutique shop-laden streets down to the glorious green expanse that led to the historic fort of El Morro overlooking the pounding waves of the Atlantic. Afterwards, we strolled past the murals of the colorful neighborhood of La Perla, where they filmed the music video for the hit song, "Despacito." Quenched our thirst with one of the local Ocean Lab Amber Ales at La Taberna Lupulo before we grabbed dinner at the rooftop deck of Punto de Vista. If you're looking for a beach, the upscale Condado Vanderbilt is open and we just heard that the Wyndham Grand Rio Mar near El Yunque Rainforest will reopen March 1st.


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U's ready to cement play-off berth
PUBLISHED: 06:01 12 March 2019
© Copyright Stephen Waller
Colchester United have a chance to cement their place in the top seven, when play-off rivals Forest Green Rovers visit this evening.
The U's replaced Rovers in the top seven, following Saturday's rip-roaring 3-0 home win over Newport County, and the Cotswolds club's own 3-0 defeat at lowly Morecambe.
John McGreal's men can open up a six-point gap over tonight's visitors, if they can replicate Saturday's superb home showing, and that would go some way towards securing an end-of-season crack at the play-offs.
Naturally, no one is getting carried away at the JobsServe Community Stadium, not even man-of-the-moment Courtney Senior, who bagged the U's second against Newport while delivering a man-of-the-match performance.
"We are taking it game by game," insisted flying winger Senior.
"This is a big week, and it's good to beat the teams in and around you.
"But I'm just really enjoying my football, and Saturday was up there as one of my best performances.
"The gaffer gives me a chance, he's really on me, and I play my best football when I'm playing with freedom and enjoying it.
"I had more shots than I have ever had (against Newport). The boys tell me to keep shooting, and I had a few off target, but I've been told be more selfish at times.
"The Newport manager (Mike Flynn) came up to me and said 'excellent,' which was nice, but we mustn't get carried away," added Senior, who has now bagged six goals this season.
Senior's 25-yard strike against Newport was a real cracker, but even that was upstaged by fellow winger Frank Nouble's stunning shot to put the U's 3-0 up.
It was Nouble's eighth goal of the campaign.
Manager McGreal enthused: "Noubs scored a fantastic goal, not too dissimilar to the one against Cheltenham (3-0 win).
"We know he can do that – he tends to score unbelievable goals from wide areas.
"And as a team we do score some brilliant goals," added McGreal, who could stick with the same team tonight.
COLCHESTER: Gilmartin, Jackson, Eastman, Kent, Vincent-Young, Stevenson, Nouble, Mandron, Szmodics, Senior, Norris, Prosser, Dickenson, Eisa, Roberts, Wright, Chilvers, Barnes.
FOREST GREEN ROVERS: Ward, Mills, Godwin-Malife, Gunning, James, Winchester, Grubb, Digby, Williams, Doidge, McCoulsky, Brown, Scoble, Shephard, Collins, Rawson, McGinley & Thomas.
Referee: Alan Young (Cambs)
If you value what this story gives you, please consider supporting the East Anglian Daily Times. Click the link in the orange box above for details.


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Posts Tagged 'Religion'
Gov. Huckabee Decides God No Longer Omnipresent
Poor little god!
Gov. Huckabee says God has been "systematically . . . removed from our schools." (You know, as in: "should we be surprised that our schools become places of carnage?")
I have seen people removed from schools. A police officer – usually large – escorts away a scrawny 7th grader who'd done something along the lines of smoking dope in the bathroom. The kid vanishes, last seen as a pair of small eyes barely elevated enough to peer solemnly out the cruiser's back door window. Removed.
Apparently, something similar happened to Gov. Huckabee's god.
Too bad. Some kind of law enforcer that must've been, stronger than god and all. Some pathetic little god that was, too, that heavies could just toss him into the back seat and whisk him away.
I wonder what god it was. Does it sound like the same one who spoke to Job:
"Where were you when I laid the earth's foundation?
Tell me, if you understand.
Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know!
Who stretched a measuring line across it?
On what were its footings set,
or who laid its cornerstone—
while the morning stars sang together
and all the angelsshouted for joy?"
"Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades?
Can you loosen Orion's belt?
32 Can you bring forth the constellations in their seasons[c]
or lead out the Bearwith its cubs?
33 Do you know the laws of the heavens?
Can you set up God's dominion over the earth?
Has that God ever been small enough to be "systematically removed" from any place in the cosmos?
See, I know students and teachers and administrators and bus drivers and secretaries and custodians and para-professionals who pray their way through every day of their public school careers. They're pretty convinced that "the LORD our God is near us whenever we pray to him . . . " Right there. In school. They don't pray "on street corners" "to be seen by others," (as Matthew describes – and that kind, when commanded by staff people, is illegal, thank God.) They pray, instead, secretly, to a God who is unseen, believing that he hears and responds.
That kind of prayer in school is protected by every court in America.
Wouldn't that kind of God have to be present now, right now, everywhere, no matter what people do? And, as far as that God being "systematically removed," well, LOL.
A letter from Guido
Sometimes you come across a story so holy that your only concern is not messing it up. This is one. Guido is a friend of a friend, Donnie Miller. Donnie writes at One Church Planter's Journey, where this note from Guido was published. If you want a little background, follow Donnie's "Love Wins" tag here.
As I get older I realize that a lot of my views on life seem to change. One of them is the subject of religion. I grew up thinking that religion was all about control of the people and if you didn't fit the mold you were thrown to the other side of the line. Either you're a good person or a bad person. Most of my experiences with churches have been bad ones.
I believed you don't bother me and I won't bother you. They criticize you if you don't follow their rules even if you didn't know the rules. From what I know of Jesus I thought he talked to all people and did not judge them but explained what they should be doing and let them figure out what they needed to change.
My opinion has changed over time but more in the past couple years. A big influence in my thought change has come about because of a couple, who years ago I would have judged as those church people and avoided like the plague. It all started one day when my door staff guy at work called me and said some church ladies were there I thought "Oh NO here we go again". (Several years before some church ladies had been in our parking lot picketing and handing out negative brochures.) He said they were leaving some gifts for the girls. I think he asked them if they had paint bombs in them because he was also leery. After talking to the employees and the staff I found it odd they would bring stuff to dancers and thought what's their angle? So this happened again the ladies came to the door dropped off gifts, smiled then left. I thought that's nice so I had my bartender put together a basket of nice things for the ladies and drop it off. I later thought to myself "wow I'm interacting with church people". Read the rest of this entry »
When atheists come to church (sermon of July 5)
Last week, Jesus, pushing through a crowd, was secretly touched by a woman who' d been bleeding for 12 years; her bleeding stopped. She who'd been untouchable by the rules of the day touched him; she was then well, and he became untouchable. She gets well. He takes on her "uncleanness."
And then he touched a 12 year old girl who had recently died. He was now "unclean" twice-over (touching a dead body made him so a second time), but the girl was alive. She gets life. He takes on her "uncleanness."
And the next thing that happens is that Jesus, the now-famous, compassionate, but scandalously irreligious traveling teacher, goes home to Nazareth. And while he's been amazing everyone, at Nazareth, Jesus is amazed.
What could possibly amaze Jesus? Read the rest of this entry »
Indonesia: Radical Muslims' parties lose support
Bravo, Indonesia!
The world's largest Muslim nation rejects radicals at the polls:
Related articles by Zemanta
- Indonesia's Voters Retreat From Radical Islam (nytimes.com)
- Smart Power in Indonesia (mydd.com)
- Indonesians go to the polls (cbc.ca)
- Indonesia: Prosperous Justice Party Warns Dancers Against Gyrating (huffingtonpost.com)


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May 14, 2018
It was a big, big, exciting, happy weekend for the Watsons.
Cooper Kyle Watson graduated from Baylor University this past Saturday. He has a double major in Mechanical Engineering and Physics with a Math minor. He'll start working on a PhD in Physics this next Fall at Baylor.
We're enormously proud of him. He's worked so very hard and done so very well.
Behind Every Great Student is a Great Teacher
It seems fitting and proper that on the week we celebrated Cooper graduating from college that we also had the chance to say "thank you" to the teachers that inspired him and countless other students to learn and achieve. (I know, Teacher Appreciation Week was last week, but I had to wait for the graduation pics!)
Cooper points to teachers like Ms. Shamaa Lakshmana, who taught him pre-algebra at Kealing Middle School here in Austin ISD. She and others motivated him to achieve his big goal.
I say it a lot, but it deserves repeating: We ask so much of our teachers and we give them so little assistance. We owe them so much more than a little something for Teacher Appreciation Week. We owe them our support they deserve.
What they really need is a Teacher Appreciation Legislative Session. One hundred forty days where we focus on passing legislation geared at supporting our teachers and giving them the resources they need to help student strive and thrive. We could give them a real pay raise, fix the broken health insurance system for both active teachers and retirees, assure that their voices are heard and addresses the dysfunctional school finance system.
To show appreciation for our teachers, we need action that demonstrates it. We need more than talk.
© 2020 Kirk Watson Texas Senator All Rights Reserved
Terms of Service | Privacy Policy
Political advertisement paid for by Kirk Watson Campaign,
P.O. Box 2004, Austin, TX, 78768; Rosie Mendoza,Treasurer.


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Summer Land Camels is owned and operated by The Australian Wild Camel Corporation (TAWCC). TAWCC purchased Summer Land Camel Farm in 2015 and is supported by the Federal and State Governments. Initiated following a seven-year review of global markets and supply chains, TAWCC operates the largest commercial Camel Dairy and Milk processing, Camel breeding and farming operation outside of the Middle East.
The Australian Wild Camel Corporation was established based on global key drivers including:
- A rapidly growing global consumer demand for organic, high quality, safe, nutritious, dairy alternatives
- The Australian environment is geographically, climatically and ecologically ideal for Camels
- Significant global demand with a shortage of supply of Camel Meat, Camel Milk and non-pharmaceutical Nutraceuticals
- Growing demand for non-toxic Skincare products to treat immune and inflammatory conditions
For Investor enquiries contact: firstname.lastname@example.com


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Nick's Little Bill A First In Macys Parade
The Macys Thanksgiving Day Parade will have its first African American balloon this year when Nick Jr.'s popular preschool character Little Bill joins in the festivities. The inquisitive tyke in the rugby shirt will appear larger than life, floating over the streets of New York with the aid of 12,000 cubic feet of helium.
Created by Bill Cosby and based on his series of childrens books, the Peabody award-winning animated Little Bill follows the adventures of a highly imaginative 5-year-old boy as he investigates his world with the help of his loving family and friends. The show features the voices of Gregory Hines, Phylicia Rashad, Ruby Dee, Kathy Najimy and Cosby, himself.
Joining Little Bill in the Thanksgiving Parade, also for the first time, will be the helium-filled likeness of Charlie Brown.


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A Steak in Murder
Sintesi dell'editore
Hemlock Falls is a pretty little town in upstate New York. Sarah Quilliam, with her talent for business, now runs the Palate Restaurant, while her sister, Meg, keeps the patrons happy with her culinary abilities. But when it comes to murder, the Quilliam sisters have to rely on other skills - spotting clues, solving crimes, and catching culprits.
The Quilliams have sold the Inn at Hemlock Falls, only to find that they miss the place - bills and all. Worse yet, the new owner has started turning a tidy profit playing host to big spenders, like the group of Texas longhorn cattlemen who are currently trying to sell the locals on the idea of raising their own herds. It seems like a can't-miss opportunity for all - until one of the cattlemen gets sent to that big trail drive in the sky. As the list of suspects grows, the Quilliams set out to catch the culprit and reclaim their precious inn - without getting stampeded themselves.
About the author: Claudia Bishop is the author of the popular Hemlock Falls mystery series as well as two novels in the Casebooks of Dr. McKenzie mysteries. Under the name Mary Stanton, she is also the author of an eight-volume children's fantasy series, Unicorns of Balinor.


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I got a chance to ask Matt Buchman a few questions about being what I would like to be, Ryan Reynolds. Ok, no, it was being a hybrid writer. No, it doesn't mean that I'm use both gas and electricity, (sadly I'm all about the gas)… no it means being self-published AND traditionally published.
He's been there and done that.
Joe's Post #105 – An interview with M.L. Buchman
What brought you to non-traditional publishing?
I'm a hybrid author. I have 20 indie novels, 7 indie short stories, 7 traditional press novels released, 4 more under contract, and am in negotiation for the next 4. (That should help make some sense of my explanation below.)
Let's ignore the couple novels I sold in the 1990s and jump straight into the gigantic changes of the last 4 years.
I thankfully had some friends who were way out on the leading edge of the indie revolution. I had a half dozen books that hadn't sold, along with 400 odd rejections from traditional publishing. (That's not quite as scary as it sounds, my critically acclaimed Night Stalkers series finally sold to a traditional publisher after thirty-six rejections. That book, The Night is Mine, was named "Top 10 Romance of 2012" by the prestigious Booklist. You never know why a book is rejected, until it is accepted and after that it no longer matters.)
So, as much to move on as to move forward, I put my first book up for sale indie on December 2010. And nothing happened. I followed it up with a few others in 201l and sold a copy here and a copy there. The sales built very slowly, but I was busy on other new projects and didn't mind. In late 2011 I received a check for $47. That was a huge day. It bought us dinner out and part of a lunch a few days later. We still remember those meals very fondly. That also told us that this was a viable approach to reaching new readers.
Also in 2010, I sold a four book series to a traditional press (the other projects I was working on through 2011 in addition to a full-time+ job). My Night Stalkers military romantic suspense series launched in 2012, gathering fans quickly. Now my few indie books were selling in a month what we had previously sold in a year. Then a week. Now a day.
Our indie breakout occurred in late 2012. I wrote a short novel entitled Daniel's Christmas in The Night Stalkers series and it took off. That was what convinced me to not only go forward as a hybrid author, but when taken in conjunction with a second traditional contract and other increasing sales (and being laid off from my job and unable to find another in those recession-heavy days), it convinced me to take the leap and become a full-time writer.
This was a hard and scary gamble, but 18 months later it appears that it will be paying off handsomely. (Most of that payoff is from the indie titles, which are selling because of my traditional fanbase. So, the hybrid method is working for me.)
What amazing things do you know now that you wished you knew earlier?
There is a priority to tasks to be successful in indie. Here's my personal list after 20 years of writing, 4 years of indie publishing, and 18 months as a full-time writer:
- Write new product (that doesn't suck)—Keep writing the next book or short story. Polishing something to death doesn't work. Write it, clean it up, publish it, move on. I call it write and release. (I once spent 7 years making my #1 favorite novel the best it could be. Nine complete drafts constituting over a million words. Result? It is still one of my worst selling titles. Had I written and released and moved on to the next title (or six), I'd have learned and sold a lot more.)
- Get it professionally produced—Copyeditor, cover designer, layout (in paper and print). Do what you can yourself, but this is no longer the early days of e-pub (all the way back in 2009-2011), quality of production counts.
- Work on your brand—Why do you write and what do you write and what is the look of what you write. Those are all part of your brand. You probably won't find this until you've written a half dozen novels, but once you find it, use it and live up to it.
- Write new product (that doesn't suck).
How to I best use social media to help promote the book?
Curiously, I've just come off a large social media research project and I've come to a couple of fairly simple conclusions for my own social media efforts in the near future:
- If you don't enjoy it, don't do it! Your audience can tell.
- If you do enjoy it, find the one or two methods that you do enjoy, and join the party. The days of social media "push" marketing are long gone ("Buy this!" stopped being effective 3-4 years ago.) Now it is "pull" marketing. Joining the party, getting people to like you, enjoy your conversation, and then, maybe, they'll follow you back to your website or wherever.
- If you don't enjoy it…at least make yourself easy to find. Have a clear, simple, static website. If you want to blog, blog about anything (as long as it isn't writing).
- Focus on what works and what doesn't. An e-mail has 20 times the conversion power of a blog post and probably a 1,000 times more than a tweet. (Do your own research on this. Don't know what a conversion rate is, go study that to until you understand it and can own it.) This means, get your newsletter going (for dedicated fans who are likely to purchase), then think about effective blogging, and then your favorite social media in that order.
- It's not about you shouting from your corner, it's about engaging the reader and making them want to come to you. (Still working on how to do that.)
What are 3 things we could do to improve our internet footprint?
- Informative website optimized for a high search engine ranking.
- Create lots of product. It's much easier to find someone with twenty stories than with two.
- Start your newsletter now or at least collecting the names for one. Install Mailchimp and call it, "My Future Someday Newsletter."
- All the rest combined, unless you are going to be an industry pundit, won't make up a tenth of any of those first three.
Why bundle books in a bundle?
I work with two types of bundles.
First, all my own titles. I combined three short novels into a larger book bundle at a discounted price. That provides economy buyers with the enticement to buy three books for the price of two when they might have bought only one. It also allows me to have another price point of entry. Short story $2.99, short novel $4.99, full novel $5-6.99, bundle $8.99, (any of those in print $5.99-24.99). This shows a richness of offerings as well as catering to buyers who arrive with different pricing expectations.
Second, a limited time bundle with a group of other authors. I've done this a couple of times and am working on three more. I invite a small group of authors to join me in a group sale. We announce that sale across each others' audiences and use the discount to hopefully each expand our reading public, and make a bit of money along the way.
Your covers are outstanding. What's your secret?
Thanks, my secret is a lot of hard work. Something like this:
- Design your covers.
- Go to the bookstore and look at the covers of the best selling authors in your genre(s). Spend several hours analyzing common themes across those covers.
- There are reasons behind every choice. Notice when you pick up a book, what is the cover telling you: action sci-fi, faerie fantasy, bloody vampire, sexy vampire, cold-blooded thriller, cozy mystery. Each design is attempting to convey a message.
- Now go home and redesign your covers.
- Ask readers, who know nothing about your writing, what they think this book might be about.
- Go home and redesign your covers.
- Iterate until you think you're going nuts.
- Hire a professional cover designer (not a graphic artist, not a cheapo design school grade, but a cover designer). Throw it out.
- Go home and redesign your covers.
- See, it's simple.
- (btw, I'm presently redesigning several of my covers)
Any other thoughts you'd like to share?
Nothing, nothing, nothing is more important than writing the next book. Ten, or better yet twenty, good solid novels in a single genre under a single name can make a very nice living without ever breaking out or having the bolt of luck slam down on your head.
Write, cleanup, release, repeat. (Proof in point, Light Up the Night is available for pre-order for a Sept. 2nd release.)
You may keep up with M.L. Buchman by signing up for his newsletter at http://www.mlbuchman.com.
Matt's done an amazing job since I met him way, way back in an Oregon Workshop run by Dean Wesley Smith and Kris Kathryn Rusch.
FYI: The guys on his covers are based on me, at least the pictures are.
Next week, I'll be looking at some great advice from KKR.


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From the Daily News:
A veteran city transit worker was electrocuted early Monday on elevated A-line tracks in Queens, sources told the Daily News.
The man died about 4:30 a.m. when he apparently tripped and fell on the electrified third rail at the Beach 90th St. station in Rockaway Beach, the sources said.
It was raining at the time, but it wasn't clear if the weather figured in the worker's death.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Transit worker electrocuted in Rockaway
Posted by Queens Crapper at 11:09 AM
Labels: death, electricity, Rockaway, safety, subway
3 comments:
Worked at this location many times and yes it is dangerous, especially on a rainy day. My question and hopefully they will not cover this up is WHY WAS HE BY HIMSELF? Usually 4 guys were assigned to remove lamps and trips and for 2 location. 2 to each location and from what i heard only 2 were assigned for 2 locations. If they happened to split up to make it in time to give service back to the plug then this is what it cost. I hope I am wrong I knew this man very well and it hurts deep!!!!!!!
- Monday, April 26, 2010
On time performance.Picking up and setting up a GO is with 2 people.Which you need at least 3.We can't get the job done with RTO not allowing us to work.It's all about OTP>
- Monday, April 26, 2010
- Unknown said...
- Wednesday, April 28, 2010


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Isaakios II Angelos (1185-1195) belonged in the family of Angeloi, which descended from Philadelphia of Minor Asia. Isaakios was crowned emperor in 1185 but he proved incompetent, lavish and corrupted. He imposed taxes in the popular classes, favored the aristocracy and was indifferent for the proper organization of his empire. He spent most of his time hunting. Nevertheless, his brave general Alexius Vranas defeated the Normands who devastated Macedonia, on 7th November 1185.
In 1187, during his administration the Third Crusade took place, against Arabs, headed by Saladin, who had conquered Jerusalem on 3rd October 1187. Saladin proved generous and did not harm the christian populations. The Crusade was headed by Frederic Barvarossa of Germany, Philip II of France and Richard Lionheart of England. Richard invaded Cyprus in 1191 and later the crusaders occupied Palestine and massacred the whole population. In March, 1195 Isaac II Angelos conducted an expedition against the Bulgars, in Thrace. But he was arrested and blinded by his brother Alexius III Angelos, who became emperor of the Greek Empire, in April 1195. Isaac and his son Alexius were thrown in jail.
Pope Innocent III, (1198-1216) despite manifold problems in the West, was the first pope since Urban II to be both anxious and able to consider the Crusade a major papal concern. In 1198 he broached the subject of a new expedition through legates and encyclical letters. In 1199 a tax was levied on all clerical incomes--later to become a precedent for systematic papal income taxes--and Fulk of Neuilly, a popular orator, was commissioned to preach. At a tournament held by Thibaut III of Champagne, several prominent French nobles took the cross, and others joined later. Among them was Geoffrey of Villehardouin, who was to write one of the principal accounts of the Crusade. Contact was made with the aging and blind but ambitious Doge Enrico Dandolo of Venice to provide transport. The republic of Venice had acquired considerable trading privileges within the Byzantine Empire, and the growing number of Venetian merchants had long incurred the hostility of the Greeks. The Crusade was supposed to be directed against Egypt. An agreement was made providing for payments to the Venetians for transportation of 30000 men and 4500 horses and an equal division of conquests.
Alexius, son of Isaac, managed to escape during a campaign against the insurgent Emmanuel Camitzes, and sailed to Ancona. From there he rode to Germany, to his sister Irene who was wife of King Philip of Germany. Promising funds, supplies, and troops to conquer Egypt, the maintenance of 500 Western knights in the Holy Land, and submission of the Byzantine church to Rome, Alexius convinced Philip, Crusade leader Boniface of Montferrat, and their Venetian allies to divert the Fourth Crusade to Constantinople in order to reinstate Alexius and his father as coemperors. The crusader army that arrived at Venice in the summer of 1202 was somewhat smaller than had been anticipated, since some of the crusaders were travelling directly from France. Even so, there were not sufficient funds to pay the Venetians. Accordingly, the crusaders accepted the suggestion that in lieu of payment they assist the Venetians in the capture of the Hungarian city of Zara. This was done despite the opposition of many crusaders both to the diversion of the enterprise and to the attack on a Christian city. Innocent was informed of the plan, but his veto was disregarded. Here is how Geoffrey de Villehardouin (1160-1213) describes the departure from Venice in his Memoirs or Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade and The Conquest of Constantinople:
"Then were the ships and transports apportioned by the barons. Ah, God what fine war-horses were put therein. And when the ships were fulfilled with arms and provisions, and knights and sergeants, the shields were ranged round the bulwarks and castles of the ships, and the banners displayed, many and fair. And be it known to you that the vessels carried more than three hundred petraries and mangonels, and all such engines as are needed for the taking of cities, in great plenty. Never did finer fleet sail from any port. And this was in the octave of the Feast of St. Remigius (October) in the year of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ twelve hundred and two. Thus did they sail from the port of Venice, as you have been told. On the Eve of St. Martin (10th November) they came before Zara in Sclavonia, and beheld the city enclosed by high walls and high towers; and vainly would you have sought for a fairer city, or one of greater strength, or richer. And when the pilgrims saw it, they marvelled greatly, and said one to another, " How could such a city be taken by force, save by the help of God himself? " The first ships that came before the city cast anchor, and waited for the others; and in the morning the day was very fine and very clear, and all the galleys came up with the transports, and the other ships which were behind; and they took the port by force, and broke the chain that defended it and was very strong and well-wrought; and they landed in such sort that the port was between them and the town. Then might you have seen many a knight and many a sergeant swarming out of the ships, and taking from the transports many a good war-horse, and many a rich tent and many a pavilion. Thus did the host encamp. And Zara was besieged on St. Martin's Day (11th November 1202)."
Zara surrendered to the mercy of the Doge, on condition only that all lives should be spared. The Venetians took the part of the city towards the port, where were the ships, and the Franks took the other part. A month later came envoys from Germany, sent by King Philip and the heir of Constantinople, Alexius who was brother of Philip's wife, Irene. According to the Chronicle of The Fourth Crusade:
the knights and the Doge of Venice assembled in a palace where the Doge was lodged. And the envoys addressed them and said: " Lords, King Philip sends us to you, as does also the brother of the king's wife, the son of the emperor of Constantinople. "Lords," says the king, " I will send you the brother of my wife; and I commit him into the hands of God-may He keep him from death! - and into your hands. And because you have fared forth for God, and for right, and for justice, therefore you are bound, in so far as you are able, to restore to their own inheritance those who have been unrighteously despoiled. And my wife's brother will make with you the best terms ever offered to any people, and give you the most puissant help for the recovery of the land overseass. And first, if God grant that you restore him to his inheritance, he will place the whole empire of Romania (Eastern Empire) in obedience to Rome, from which it has long been separated. Further, he knows that you have spent of your substance, and that you are poor, and he will give you 200,000 marks of silver, and food for all those of the host, both small and great. And he, of his own person, will go with you into the land of Babylon, or, if you hold that that will be better, send thither 10,000 men, at his own charges. And this service he will perform for one year. And all the days of his life he will maintain, at his own charges, five hundred knights in the land overseass to guard that land. Lords, we have full power," said the envoys, " to conclude this agreement, if you are willing to conclude it on your parts. And be it known to you, that so favourable an agreement has never before been offered to any one; and that he that would refuse it can have but small desire of glory and conquest." The barons and the Doge said they would talk this over; and a parliament was called for the morrow. When all were assembled, the matter was laid before them.
The knights had dispute about the outcome of the campaign. One party did not like to attack to a christian city and wanted to sail immediately to Syria, and the other party insisted to sail to Constantinople to gain all those who had promised the thoughtless young prince. Innocent was aware of a plan to divert the Crusade to Constantinople in order to give the throne to Alexius. Accordingly, Innocent ordered Boniface of Montferrat to publish immediately his original letter excommunicating the Venetians, which he had refused to do, and forbade any attack on Constantinople. But the papal letter arrived after the fleets had left Zara.
On 7th April 1203, the crusaders destroyed the city and sailed to Dyrachion, port of the Greek Empire. The city surrendered and swore submission to the heir of throne. The fleet departed and came to the island of Corfu. The inhabitants did not recognize Alexius as legal heir and kept the gates of the city closed. The crusaders pillaged the area around the city which was well fortified and burnt most of the villages and fields of the island. They departed from the port of Corfu on 24 May 1203 and reached the island Andros, in Aegean Sea. The knights again pillaged the island and destroyed most of the villages. Later the huge fleet entered the passage of Ellispontus or Dardanelles, and reached to a city called Abydos. The Latins stayed there a week, stole corn from the land, and sailed to the monastery of St Stephen, on 23rd June 1203. Geoffrey de Villehardouin describes the scene in his Chronicle.
There had those on board the ships and galleys and transports full sight of Constantinople; and they took port and anchored their vessels. Now you may know that those who had never before seen Constantinople looked upon it very earnestly, for they never thought there could be in all the world so rich a city; and they marked the high walls and strong towers that enclosed it round about, and the rich palaces, and mighty churches of which there were so many that no one would have believed it who had not seen it with his eyes-and the height and the length of that city which above all others was sovereign. And be it known to you, that no man there was of such hardihood but his flesh trembled: and it was no wonder, for never was so great an enterprise undertaken by any people since the creation of the world.
On 24 June 1203, the crusaders landed at Chalcedon. Chalcedon is a place in the asiatic side of Bosporus. There was a palace of the Emperor Alexius. The counts and barons landed and lodged themselves in the palace. Emperor Alexius saw this provocation and sent 500 men to face the Latins. But the fight lasted a while and the Greeks retreated leaving their horses and tents. Alexius III Angelos proved incompetent and less worthy than his predecessor. The corruption of his court was enormous and the moral of the army low. When the leader of the army is coward then the army is ineffective. His admiral Michael Strufnos was so wicked that he sold the gear of his fleet and increased so his personal fortune. The Greek fleet was in miserable condition. The situation of the empire couldn't be worst. The two emperors, Isaac and Alexius III Angelos, managed in some years to destroy the work of the Comnenus' denasty. Two personalities who brightened the dark years of Angelos' dynasty were the brothers Michael and Nicetas Choniates. Nicetas' history is the main source of the events which took place during the 4th crusade.
July 2 1203, the Emperor Alexius sent an envoy, under Nicholas Roux with letters to the counts and to the barons. The envoy was received in a palace of Scutari (Chrysoupolis), where the crusaders were holding a council. Nicholas Roux, a Franc who lived for years in the Greek capital, read the letters: "Lords, the Emperor Alexius would have you know that he is well aware that you are the best people uncrowned, and come from the best land on earth. And he marvels much why, and for what purpose, you have come into his land and kingdom. For you are Christians, and he is a Christian, and well he knows that you are on your way to deliver the Holy Land overseass and the Holy Cross, and the Sepulchre. If you are poor and in want, he will right willmgly give you of his food and substance, provided you depart out of his land. Neither would he otherwise wish to do you any hurt, though he has full power therein, seeing that if you were twenty times as numerous as you are, you would not be able to get away without utter discomfiture if so be that he wished to harm you." The Latins answered that he should deliver the power to his nephew, Isaac's son who was the legal successor of the throne.
On 3rd July, the Doge of Venice and the Marquis of Montferrat entered into one galley, took with them Alexius, the son of the Emperor Isaac and sailed close to the walls of Constantinople to show the young prince to the Greeks. There was no sympathy for the prince and the Latins returned back and decided to attack to Constantinople. First they attacked to the port. Their leaders were: Baldwin of Flanders, his brother Henry, Matthew of Wallincourt, Baldwin of Beauvoir, Peter of Amiens, Count Louis of Blois and Chartres, Matthew of Montmorency, Robert of Ronsoi, Otho of la Roche, Richard of Dampierre, and Marquis of Montferrat. They easily seized the port, because the Greeks under their ruler Alexius, again retreated; The united European forces (Germans, Italians, Belgians and French) who fought bravely, managed to capture the tower of Galatas; where they broke the chain that closed the Golden Horn (Chresus Keras), and came closer to the sea walls of Constantinople. Theodoros Lascaris, who later would become the emperor of the empire of Nicaea, tried without success to drive back the enemy.
So was the tower of Galata and and the port of Constantinople taken. The French advanced to the land walls, while the Venetians reached by sea to the palace of Blachernae. The two allied armies stayed close one to another. The Greeks under Theodoros Lascaris ceased not to attack them, but without achieving a final blow to the besiegers. During a fight, Constantine Lascaris, brother of Theodoros was taken prisoner. A knight whose name was William of Gi was killed. On I7th July I203, everything was ready for the assault. The Marquis Boniface of Montferrat guarded the camp towards the fields, with the division of the Burgundians and the division of the men of Champagne. Count Baldwin of Flanders and his brother Henry, Count Louis of Blois and Chartres and Count Hugh of St. Paul went to the assault. The Italians under the semi blind Doge attacked to the sea walls and after fierce fighting they captured twenty-five towers. They set fire, that spread so quickly destroying houses and churches of a large part of the Polis.
Again the coward Emperor Alexius III came out of the Adrianople Gate with huge forces, but despite the urging of Theodoros Lascaris, he dared not to attack. That night the Emperor Alexius of Constantinople took of his treasure as much as he could carry, and abandoned his city, his people and his family. Emperor Isaac and his wife Margarita of Hungary were liberated, while Alexius' wife, Eufrosine was arrested. Isaakios sent envoys to the Latins to announce the news of his return to the throne. They demanded of the emperor to ratify the treaty made by his son; and on 1st August 1203 Alexius IV was crowned co-emperor. Here is how Geoffrey de Villehardouin describes the entry of the Francs in the city:
Now you must know that many of those in the host went to see Konstantinoupolis, and the rich palaces and great churches, of which there were many, and all the great wealth of the city-for never was there city that possessed so much. Of relics it does not behove me to speak, for at that day there were as many there as in all the rest of the world. Thus did the Greeks and French live in good fellowship in all things, both as regards trafficking and other matters. By common consent of Franks and Greeks it was settled that the new emperor should be crowned on the feast of our Lord St. Peter (1st August 1203). So was it settled, and so it was done. He was crowned full worthily and with honour according to the use for Greek emperors at that time. Afterwards he began to pay the moneys due to the host; and such moneys were divided among the host, and each repaid what had been advanced in Venice for his passage.
Alexios IV confiscated the lands of Eufrosine, emptied the public treasury, imposed taxes and gathered 100000 marcs to give to the Latins. This was only one half of the promised sum. This attitude increased more the hatred of Greeks for Latins. A hatred that would last for centuries, during the middle ages. Among the Crusaders was dispute about the course of the campaign. Should they continue to the Holy Lands or should they stay to take all the money promised by young Alexios? The Venetians insisted to take all the sum that Alexius had promised, and so the young emperor left his capital, escorted by Frankish knights, for the provinces in a desperate attempt to find the promised money. While the Emperor Alexius was away, a conflict arose between the Greeks and the Latins. The Latins again set fire to the city, a fire which destroyed a large part of the capital near the church of St. Sophia.
It lasted two days and two nights, nor could it be put out by the hand of man. And the front of the fire, as it went flaming, was well over half a league broad. What was the damage then done, what the possessions and riches swallowed up, could no man tell-nor what the number of men and women and children who perished-for many were burned. All the Latins, to whatever land they might belong, who were lodged in Constantinople, dared no longer to remain therein; but they took their wives and their children, and such of their possessions as they could save from the fire, and entered into boats and vessels, and passed over the port and came to the camp of the pilgrims. Nor were they few in number, for there were of them some fifteen thousand, small and great; and afterwards it proved to be of advantage to the pilgrims that these should have crossed over to them.
The Emperor Alexius remained for a long time in Thrace and returned to Constantinople in 11 November 1203. Nevertheless he did not manage to gather enough money to satisfy the greed of the Francs. The crusaders had an embassy sent to the emperor, to his palace of Blachernae, lead by Conon de Bethune and Geoffry of Villehardouin.
They dismounted at the gate and entered the palace, and found the Emperor Alexius and the Emperor Isaac seated on two thrones, side by side. And near them was seated the empress, who was the wife of the father, and stepmother of the son, and sister to the King of Hungary-a lady both fair and good. And there were with them a great company of people of note and rank, so that well did the court seem the court of a rich and mighty prince. By desire of the other envoys Conon of Bethune, who was very wise and eloquent of speech, acted as spokesman: "Sire, we have come to thee on the part of the barons of the host and of the Doge of Venice. They would put thee in mind of the great service they have done to thee-a service known to the people and manifest to all men. Thou hast swom, thou and thy father, to fulfil the promised covenants, and they have your charters in hand. But you have not fulfilled those covenants well, as you should have done. Many times have they called upon you to do so, and now again we call upon you, in the presence of all your barons, to fulfil the covenants that are between you and them. Should you do so, it shall be well. If not, be it known to you that from this day forth they will not hold you as lord or friend, but will endeavour to obtain their due by all the means in their Power. And of this they now give you warning, seeing that they would not injure you, nor any one, without first defiance given; for never have they acted treacherously, nor in their land is it customary to do so. You have heard what we have said. It is for you to take counsel thereon according to your pleasure." Much were the Greeks amazed and greatly outraged by this open defiance; and they said that never had any one been so hardy as to dare defy the Emperor of Constantinople in his own hall. Very evil were the looks now cast on the envoys by the Emperor Alexius and by all the Greeks, who aforetime were wont to regard them very favourably. Great was the tumult there within, and the envoys turned about and came to the gate and mounted their horses. When they got outside the gate, there was not one of them but felt glad at heart; nor is that to be marvelled at, for they had escaped from very great peril, and it held to very little that they were not all killed or taken. So they returned to the camp, and told the barons how they had fared.
So there was war between the Greeks and the Francs, on November 1203. The Greeks under the command of Alexius Ducas Murtzuphlus tried to burn the European fleet, using fireships, but without success. The Venetians were masters in the seamanship and seized the fireships, using hooks. Only one merchant ship from Pisa was burnt. In these difficult events the young emperor proved incompetent like his uncle. Three men had the courage to face the barbarians: Alexius Ducas Murtzuphlus, Constantine Lascaris and his brother Theodorus Lascaris. The Greek people were furious with the inefficiency of the young emperor and a revolution broke in 25th January 1204. Alexius IV was thrown in jail and on 5 February 1204, Alexius V Ducas Murtzuphlus was crowned emperor of the Eastern Empire. Alexius IV was strangled in his jail on 8 February 1204 and Isaac died in prison a few days later. So ended the worst dynasty that ruled the Empire and disorganized the state to such extent that after 2 months this state was to meet its destiny and fall to the crusaders. A fall that would prepare the ground for the Turks to come and destroy definitely the Greek medieval state.
The Franks rode to the north and attacked to a city of Euxenus Pontus, named Philea. They pillaged and destroyed the rich city and when they returned back, the emperor assaulted them. But again the crusaders defeated the Greek imperial army and not only the emperor Alexius V was almost taken captive, but the holy icon of the Virgin Mary that was made by Apostle Lucas was stolen by the Latins. This icon was very important for the Orthodoxy and the Greeks grieved for the loss of it.
Well had these prepared all their engines, and mounted their petraries, and mangonels on the ships and on the transports, and got ready all such engines of war as are needful for the taking of a city, and raised ladders from the yards and masts of the vessels, so high that they were a marvel to behold. And when the Greeks saw this, they began, on their side, to strengthen the defences of the city which was enclosed with high walls and high towers. Nor was any tower so high that they did not raise thereon two or three stages of wood to heighten it still more. Never was city so well fortified. Thus did the Greeks and the Franks bestir themselves on the one side and the other during the greater part of Lent. Then those of the host spoke together, and took counsel what they should do. Much was advanced this way and that, but in the end, they devised that if God granted them entry into the city by force, all the booty taken was to be brought together, and fittingly distributed; and further, if the city fell into their power, six men should be taken from among the Franks, and six from among the Venetians, and these twelve should swear, on holy relics, to elect as emperor the man who, as they deemed, would rule with most profit to the land. And whosoever was thus elected emperor, would have one quarter of whatever was captured, whether within the city or without, and moreover would possess the palace of Bucoleon and that of Blachernae; and the remaining three parts would be divided into two, and one of the halves awarded to the Venetians and the other to those of the host. And there should be taken twelve of the wisest and most experienced men among the host of the pilgrims, and twelve among the Venetians, and those twenty-four would divide fiefs and honours, and appoint the service to be done therefor to the emperor. This covenant was made sure and sworn to on the one side and the other by the Franks and the Venetians; with provision that at the end of March, a year thence, any who so desired might depart hence and go their way, but that those who remained in the land would be held to the service of the emperor in such mariner as might be ordained. Thus was the covenant devised and made sure; and such as should not observe it were excommunicated by the clergy.
So the Latins decided to divide the Eastern Empire. The men who had swore before the Holy Cross to go and liberate Jerusalem from musulmans, had prefered to act like common thieves and attack to a christian city with only one purpose. The sack.
The europeans attacked to the sea walls on 8th April 1204. The ships drew near to the city, and a fierce battle began in more than a hundred places. The crusaders were repulsed in that assault, and those who had landed from the galleys were driven back. After the defeat, the Doge of Venice and the other barons were assembled in a church on the other side of the straits and discussed. The Venetians insisted that they should repeat the attacks to the same place, but this time the ships should be bound together in order to reach the high towers. The preparations lasted some days and the final assault was repeated on 13th April 1204. The Greeks defended the towers with success, but suddenly the wind changed and blew from the north. Two ships that were bound together, the Pilgrim and the Paradise, approached so near to a tower, that the ladder of the first vessel joined on to the tower. Immediately a Venetian, and two French knights, whose name was Andrew of Durboise and John Choisy, entered into the tower. This was the beginning of the end. The tower was taken and many other crusaders raised their ladders and conquered many other towers. In vain the emperor Alexius Mourzuphlus tried to encourage his soldiers to counterattack. They fled and Alexius ran to the castle of Bucoleon. He took with him Eufrosine and her daughter Eudokia and left the Byzantine capital through the Golden Gate. The Latins set again fire to the city.
And the city began to take fire, and to burn very direfully; and it burned all that night and all the next day, till vesper-time. And this was the third fire there had been in Constantinople since the Franks arrived in the land; and more houses had been burned in the city than there are houses in any three of the greatest cities in the kingdom of France.When Alexius V left the City, Constantine Lascaris one of the city's leading defenders, was proclaimed emperor in the Cathedral of St. Sophia. He tried with his brother Theodoros Lascaris to drive the Varagkoi (Vikings mercenaries) against the invaders, but again the attempt had no result and the two brothers fled the city. In Nicaea, Theodoros Lascaris would later create a new Byzantine state, the Empire of Nicaea. One of his successors Michael VIII Paleologus in 1261, would liberate the Greek capital. "
The richest city of the world was at the mercy of the Europeans. The barbarians did horrible things that are beyond imagination. They tortured and massacred a large part of the population, destroyed churches, palaces, monasteries and even sculptures made by Phedias and Praxiteles, stole thousands of priceless icons, relics and other things, raped young girls and boys. Not to mention the countless manuscripts of ancient greek philology which were burnt by the ignorant and illiterate Francs. So much was the hatred of the Europeans for the Greek Empire! Nicetas Choniates or Acominatus describes in his chronicle the detestable actions of the barbarians. Nicetas experienced the looting of Constantinople and with the help of a Venetian merchant, he managed to escape with his family, to Nicaea, capital of a new Greek state, where he wrote the 21-volume " History of the Times," a record of the rise and fall of the 12th- and 13th-century Byzantine dynasties, beginning with the Greek emperor John Comnenus (1118-1143) and concluding with the intrusion of the first Latin Eastern emperor, Baldwin I of Flanders (1204-05). Geoffrey de Villehardouin gives his point of view:
The Marquis Boniface of Montferrat rode all along the shore to the palace of Bucoleon, and when he arrived there it surrendered, on condition that the lives of all therein should be spared. At Bucoleon were found the larger number of the great ladies who had fled to the castle, for there were found the sister [Agnes, sister of Philip Augustus, married successively to Alexius II., to Andronicus, and to Theodore Branas] of the King of France, who had been empress, and the sister [Margaret, sister of Emeric, King of Hungary, married to the Emperor Isaac, and afterwards to the Marquis of Montferrat] of the King of Hungary, who had also been empress, and other ladies very many. Of the treasure that was found in that palace I cannot well speak, for there was so much that it was beyond end or counting. At the same time that this palace was surrendered to the Marquis Boniface of Montferrat, did the palace of Blachernae surrender to Henry, the brother of Count Baldwin of Flanders, on condition that no hurt should be done to the bodies of those who were therein. There too was found much treasure, not less than in the palace of Bucoleon. Each garrisoned with his own people the castle that had been surrendered to him, and set a guard over the treasure. And the other people, spread abroad throughout the city, also gained much booty. The booty gained was so great that none could tell you the end of it: gold and silver, and vessels and precious stones, and samite, and cloth of silk, and robes vair and grey, and ermine, and every choicest thing found upon the earth. And well does Geoffry of Villehardouin the Marshal of Champagne, bear witness, that never, since the world was created, had so much booty been won in any city. Every one took quarters where he pleased and of lodgings there was no stint. So the host of the pilgrims and of the Venetians found quarters, and greatly did they rejoice and give thanks because of the victory God had vouchsafed to them-for those who before had been poor were now in wealth and luxury.
For four days the great City was subjected by the rank and file to pillage and massacre. When order had been restored, the crusaders and the Venetians proceeded to implement their agreement; Baldwin of Flanders was crowned emperor in the church of St. Sophia and the Venetian Thomas Morosini was chosen patriarch. But the lands parcelled out among the leaders did not include all the former Byzantine possessions. The imperial government continued in Nicaea, and an offshoot Empire of Trebizond, at the eastern end of the Black Sea, lasted until 1461. There was also established a Byzantine Despotate of Epirus, and the Bulgarians under Skylogiannis or Ioannitzes remained hostile. The rift between the Eastern and Western churches widened, and Greek popular resistance to any schemes of reunion with the empire intensified. The Byzantine Empire, for centuries a bulwark against invasion from the East, was damaged beyond repair. The Greeks never forgave the Europeans for the destruction of their state. A destruction that would bring the final end of the Greek Empire with the invasion of the Turks. An invasion that had as result the slavery of the Greeks for 5 centuries and the irrevocable loss of ancient Greek lands.
Marquis Boniface of Montferrat married the empress who had been the wife of the
Emperor Isaac, and was sister to the King of Hungary. He asked from Baldwin the city of Thesalonica, the
capital of the province of Macedonia, which was granted to him.
Alexius Mourzuphlus who had taken with him the empress, wife of the Emperor Alexius III,
and his daughter Eudokia, reached Messinopolis, a city of Thrace. There, the former emperor
received him and told him that he should be as welcome as if he were his own son, and that
he would give him his daughter to wife, and make of him his son. But when he found the chance
he blinded him. Later Alexius V Mourzuphlus was arrested by the Latins who
murderered him by casting him from the top of a column in Constantinople. This was the end for the man
who tried without success to fight the Frankish invaders. Alexius III Angelos was also arrested
by the crusaders. On 1205, Baldwin and later Boniface were killed by the king of Bulgars,
Ioannitzes. The Empire of Nicaea which faced three enemies: the Latins, the Bylgarians, and the
Seljuq sultanate, proved worthy of the Byzantine traditions of fighting on many fronts at once
and of skillful diplomacy. Theodore Lascaris and his son-in-law John III Vatatzes built up at
Nicaea a microcosm of the Byzantine Empire and church in exile. The Latins were thus never able
to gain a permanent foothold in Anatolia.
Constantine Paparhigopoulos - History of Helenic Nation
Encyclopaedia Britannica


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