A Touching Special Olympics Story!
The Special Olympics Canada Winter Games are filled with many heartwarming stories of lives that have been enriched through the power of sport.
By Jess Bennett
One of these special moments just occurred in St. Albert, Alberta. A figure skater from Hamilton named Tim was given a special autograph book from his coach, filled with good luck wishes from his friends and other Special Olympics athletes back home. In the front of the book was a clipping from the Hamilton Spectator that featured Tim and his teammates who had qualified to travel to St. Albert, Alberta for the games.
This morning, Tim’s coach arrived at the rink with a Fedex package for him. Tim’s coach and his parents were bewildered about what could possibly be in the package and why Tim would be receiving it. When Tim opened the package, he discovered his special autograph book, along with a new entry at the end of the book.
As it turns out, Tim had left his book on the plane from Toronto to Edmonton, and an Air Canada mechanic later found the book in Montreal. The mechanic went the extra mile to ensure the precious item was returned to its rightful owner.
The 2012 Special Olympics Canada Winter Games would not be possible without the huge contributions of the games organizing committee, countless volunteers, and friends and family who offer their support to the athletes. The story of Tim’s autograph and the kind mechanic at Air Canada illustrates that we can all make an impact on the lives of Special Olympics athletes.


EXAMINATION OF TEACHER'S RESPECTABILITY IN SOCIETY ACCORDING TO TEACHER'S OPINIONS
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Keywords:Teacher, society, respectability
Researches about the prestige of teachers and teachers both in our country and in many countries of the world are increasing day by day and different proposals have been made about raising the status of the teaching profession. This research; to reflect on the respectability of the teachers in the society, to respect the respectability of the teachers and to maintain the personal and social life. Qualitative data collection method in research. The research data were obtained with semi-structured interview form. The obtained data were analyzed by descriptive analysis. The study group of the study consisted of 40 teachers working in Batman province. According to the results of the research, the teachers' reputation in the society is "moderate". It can be said that the teachers see themselves in a position that shapes the future of the society and they see the costumes as an important factor in the respectability of the teachers. While student achievements, positive behavioral changes in students, and exemplary ethical attitudes and behavior exhibitions of teachers are positively affecting teacher dignity, the low wages of teachers, the wrong behavior of some teachers and the negative news in the media negatively affect the reputation.
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Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey, (1818), 251p
Quite a few years ago, I went on a classic novel reading kick. I plowed through the three most popular Austen novels, along with others by Hardy, Hawthorne, and Bronte. In my younger years, I think I just wanted to feel snobby and educated. Now I just want to catch up on all the goodies I’ve missed.
I like Austen. Her novels, particularly Pride and Predjudice, were my favourite of the bunch. Yes, I’m a typical woman. I’m totally okay with that. I have wanted to revisit Austen for quite a while and this reading challenge gave me an excuse.
Catherine Morland is your average turn of the (19th) century country lass from a large family. While spending some time in Bath with some family friends, she meets and falls in love with Henry Tilney. Catherine is invited to Tilney’s family estate, Northanger Abbey. An avid Gothic novel reader, Catherine lets her curiosity get the best of her and starts suspecting the head of the family of wrong-doings in the death of his wife.
I REALLY liked this novel. I found Catherine to be a far more relatable heroine than Elizabeth or Emma. I liked the gothic feel and themes. I don’t really understand how this is considered to be one of Austen’s weaker novels.
2015 Reading Challenge: A book more than 100 years old (this one is almost 200 years old!)


Puberty education curriculum developed by P&G, including presentation slides, teacher's guide, and videos.
Note: Although these are really great educational materials, note that they were developed by cooperation and include introduction to P&G's products.
How to talk to your daughter about her changing body and provide reassurance.
A list of clinically-validated Q&As from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
An informative guide published by the popular period tracking app Clue.
An interesting and comprehensive research reported published by Plan International UK. Read it here if you want to learn more about how menstruation is currently taught, discussed, and experienced in the UK.
by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff
My Little Red Book is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world.
by Valorie Schaefer (American Girl)
You'll find answers to questions about your changing body, from hair care to healthy eating, bad breath to bras, periods to pimples, and everything in between.
This Oscar-winning documentary tells the story of how women lead a quiet revolution in a rural village outside Delhi, India. They fight against the deeply rooted stigma of menstruation as they install a machine and sell their pads throughout their district.
Copyright © 2020 Monara - All Rights Reserved.


Historic Crimes - USA
The Reformation and Counter-Reformation represented the greatest upheaval in Western society since the collapse of the Roman Empire. The consequences of those shattering events are still felt today-from the stark divisions between (and within) Catholic and Protestant countries to the Protestant ideology that governs America, the world's only remaining superpower. Diarmaid MacCulloch conveys the drama, complexity, and continuing relevance of these events with vivid portraits of Luther, Calvin, Zwingli, Loyola, Henry VIII, and a number of popes, conveying why their ideas were so powerful and affected everyday lives.
Secrets of the Dead: Crime Scene Investigations Meet History
Famous Trials -- Socrates, Jesus Christ, and Mandela.
What caused the Salem witch trials of 1692? -- A few young gilrs began to act strangely and doctors determined their behavior due to an evil force. A hysteria spread through the town. By time the frenzy died down 24 people died. 19 were hanged, one was pressed to death, and the others died in prison.
The Salem Witch Trials: A Day-By-Day Chronicle of a Community Under Siege by Marilynne K Roach Based on over 20 years of research, including previously unknown documents, this history unfolds a narrative of the Salem witch trials as the citizens of Salem experienced the outbreak of hysteria.
VHS Ancient Mysteries: Witchcraft In America --The video traces the dark art back to Salem, MA, 300 years ago. It introduces a 19th century New Orleans voodoo queen who presided over bloody rituals and bestial orgies, and the 1928 murder of an alleged witch doctor.
A Century of Lawmaking For A New Nation -- 700 volumes selected by the Law Library of Congress, including the Letters of Delegates to Congress, 1774-89, the American State Papers, 1789-1838, the Revolutionary Diplomatic Correspondence, Joint Resolutions of the Senate 1824-73, and the first 3 volumes of the Congressional Record 1873-75.
Benedict Arnold -- his name has since become synonymous with traitor.
New Orleans from its earliest days, populated by convicts released from French prisons, has an exotic and dangerous image.
The French Quarter: An Informal History of the New Orleans Underworld by Herbert Asbury -- Home to the notorious "Blue Book," which listed the names and addresses of every prostitute living in New Orleans's red-light district, New Orleans underworld consisted of more than bordellos. Known as the early gambling capital of the US, it had one of the most violent records of street crime in the country.
Famous Constitutional Cases -- 1803 - 1991
1807 The Aaron Burr Trial -- Aaron Burr, founding father, Vice President, and slayer of Alexander Hamilton in a duel. The trial judge, was John Marshall, Chief Justice of the US Supreme Court, (the most important justice in history); the force behind the prosecution--Thomas Jefferson.
The Aaron Burr Treason Trial: A Headline Court Case (Headline Court Cases) by Eileen Lucas
The Passions of Andrew Jackson by Andrew Burstein--What transformed a frontier bully into the 7th president of the US? A Southerner obsessed with personal honor who threatened his enemies with duels to death, a man who fled to Spanish Mississippi with the love of his life before she was divorced.
The Persecution of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints -- Joseph Smith and his brother Hyrum were shot to death by an armed mob in Carthage, Illinois. Mobs attacked Latter-day Saint settlements in the region, burning crops, destroying homes, and threatening to exterminate the people.
The prosperous doctor and Madam Lalaurie lived in a home built for entertainment where balls, masks and parties were common. In 1834 a fire broke out the fire department found parts from slaves who had been subjected to torture, and crude medical experiments.
1879 Mysterious Disappearances -- "Unless the police lines are drawn closer around the inhabitants of our large cities, the number of those who mysteriously disappear from one cause or another will become still more alarming than it is at present."
In 1854 Charity Lamb killed her husband, becoming Oregon's first murderess.
Utah's killing fields -- A remote valley's famed 1857 massacre of roughly 120 Arkansas immigrants. Some blamed Indians for the Mountain Meadows Massacre. Others say Mormons led the attack. A clue found in southern Utah could link Mormon leader Brigham Young to the massacre.
American Massacre: The Tragedy at Mountain Meadows, September 11, 1857 by Sally Denton -- In September 1857, a wagon train passing through Utah laden with gold was attacked. Approximately 140 people were slaughtered; only 17 children under the age of 8 were spared. This incident in an open field called Mountain Meadows has ever since been the focus of passionate debate: Is it possible that official Mormon dignitaries were responsible for the massacre?
Murder at the Sultan's Palace -- From 1839-1873, the house was owned by a wealthy plantation owner Jean Baptiste Le Prete, who used the house for entertaining. Le Prete was approached by a young man from Turkey looking for a house to rent for a wealthy Turkish sultan. The house became the scene of gruesome, unsolved massacre.
Biography of Jesse James tears down the myth to reveal not a latter-day Robin Hood, but a greedy, press-savvy bandit.
Outlaws -- When the James Younger gang staged the first daylight bank robbery in American history in 1866, the law was feeble. Over the 16 years that the gang operated, private citizens and the famed Pinkertons opposed them more often than Marshals or lawmen. While the James Younger gang enjoyed a long, successful career, the Daltons proved that stupidity is a good crime-stopper. Their ridiculous yet fascinating story is related by the curator of the Dalton museum. By Butch Cassidy, the Old West and its culture of lawlessness was dying. Butch realized of mug shots and telegraph had caught up to the outlaw culture, so he headed south. Take a nostalgic look back at the legendary outlaws.
November 1879, Mysterious Disappearances "Unless the police lines are drawn closer around the inhabitants of our large cities, the number of those who mysteriously disappear from one cause or another will become still more alarming than it is at present."
Book: The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America by Erik Larson --The incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair, the stories of Daniel Hudson Burnham, (1846-1912),an architect and city planner, responsible for the fair's construction and H.H. Holmes, really Herman Webster Mudgett.
The murder occurred in Watertown, Wisconsin on November 30, 1874. The victim was a man named John Borchardt, 66.
Belle Starr: The Bandit Queen by Burton Rascoe Legendary comrade and consort to train robbers, bootleggers, stagecoach robbers, bushwhackers, bank robbers, horse thieves, cattle thieves, and outlaws, Belle Star (1848–89) was born in Missouri and emigrated with her family to Texas in 1863. Myth made her a dancehall entertainer, faro dealer, expert horsewoman, crack shot, and adopted member of the Cherokee nation. Rascoe separates the facts from folklore and traces the sources of the fictional accounts published after her unsolved murder.
Killers of the 20th Century -- Corruption of the political, corporate, capital or social systems create conditions in which killers can thrive.
Evelyn Nesbit, 17, one of the girls of the red velvet swing was a from Pennsylvania. Her husband, Henry "Harry" Kendall Thaw, the heir to a railroad and ore fortunes, beat her until she revealed her affair with Stanford White, a NY City architect who gave his name to a San Francisco college. At the roof supper club theater of Madison Square Garden, June 25, 1906, Thaw followed White to the opening of Mam´zelle Champagne, and fired 3 shots into his head. Evelyn, who went on to be a sensation in vaudeville as "The Girl on the Swing."
VHS Murder of the Century-Sensation (1995)
Clarence S. Darrow -- A social reformer, and defense attorney for labor unions, he served in the Illinois House of Representatives from 1903-1905. He was nearly 70 in 1924, when he defended Nathan F. Leopold, Jr., and Richard A. Loeb and in 1925, the Scopes. Darrow was the most famous American lawyer of the early 1900's. law.umkc.edu
Book: Big Trouble: A Murder in a Small Western Town Sets Off a Struggle for the Soul of America by J Anthony Lukas -- 1905 assassination of Frank Steunenberg, an ex- governor of Idaho, rumored to be the work of vengeful labor bosses. Pinkerton detective James McParland tracked Wobbly organizer Big Bill Haywood all the way to Colorado to bring him to trial, where he and two other men were defended by a team of lawyers that included Clarence Darrow.
Murder in the Adirondacks -- 1906 Big Moose Lake murder case - They rented a boat together and spent the afternoon on the water. Around 6 p.m. Grace ended up in the bottom of the lake. She had told Gillette she could not swim. This case was the basis for Theodore Dreiser's "An American Tragedy" and the movie "A Place in the Sun." albany.edu
Con Man: A Master Swindler's Own Story (Library of Larceny) -- In his long career as a confidence man, Joseph "Yellow Kid" Weil swindled the public of more than eight million dollars and established the reputation for robbery and trickery. Always beating the police at their own game, "Yellow Kid" used phony oil deals, women, fixed races, and an endless list of other tricks to best an increasingly gullible public. One day he was Dr. Henri Reuel, a noted geologist who traveled around and told his hosts that he was a representative for a big oil company while draining them of the cash they gave him to "invest in fuel." The next day he was director of the Elysium Development Company, promising land to innocent believers while robbing them in recording and abstract fees. Or he was a chemist par excellence, who had discovered how to copy dollar bills; promising to increase your fortune, he would multiply your bill's then take the booty once the police arrived. Originally published in 1948, Con Man now appears in a new edition, part of Broadway's Library of Larceny series, and here is Weil's story as never before, with a smart and witty afterword by none other than Nobel Laureate Saul Bellow, who profiled "Yellow Kid" for The Reporter in 1956. It is undeniable proof that "Yellow Kid" was the con man who was all con men the virtuoso scam artist, bar none.Joseph"Yellow Kid" Weil was born in 1877 to German immigrant grocers in Chicago. He worked a number of odd jobs before executing a startling number of scams, primarily in the Chicago area but also all over the world. He lived to be 101 and was arguably America's greatest con man. About the Author: W. T. Brannon, a native of St. Petersburg, Florida, prolific journalist, writer, and mystery novelist. He passed away in 1981.
Robert Stroud (AZ #594) the "Birdman of Alcatraz," was the most famous inmate on Alcatraz. In 1909, pimping in Alaska, he murdered a bartender who failed to pay a prostitute . In 1911 he was convicted of manslaughter and sent to McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary in Washington State where he assaulted a hospital orderly and stabbed an inmate.
"Humanizing the Prisons" August 1911 -- "The State of Vermont contains a prison where the inmates are treated upon a novel plan. They are trusted and treated like other human beings."
Public Enemy #1 The Legendary Outlaw, John Dillinger -- From his first brush with the law to his death.
The murder of Mary Phagan and Leo Frank - April 27th, 1913, Mary Phagan, 13, was found in the basement of an Atlanta, Georgia with a noose around her neck, she had been bound, beaten and sexually assaulted.
Wild Man of the Wynoochee -- A year and a half after killing 2 boys on Washington's Olympic Peninsula, and then disappearing into the deeply forested southern Grays Harbor County, WA. John Tornow, a former mental patient became a legend among loggers and a nightmare for children.
The Case of Sacco and Vanzetti -- April 15, 1920, Parmenter, a paymaster, and Berardelli, his guard, were killed carrying payroll boxes . The Never-Ending Wrong - Italian emigrants Nicola Sacco a shoemaker & Bartolomeo Vanzetti a fishmonger, were accused in the brutal holdup of the payroll truck. Sacco and Vanzetti were vindicated in 1977 by Massachusetts Gov. Michael S. Dukakis
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle a vaudeville monologist, musical comedy star, was the highest paid silent film comedian, writer, director, and producer. September 5, 1921 during a party at the Saint Francis Hotel in San Francisco, Virginia Rappe, a girl attending the party, ran from a bedroom and died 4 days later. Arbuckle was accused of rape and murder but exonerated after 3 trials. Before the ``bad boy of Hollywood'' was able to make a comeback, he suffered a fatal heart attack at age 46.
Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle: A Bio-Bibliography by Robert Young
Jackson, Michigan -- Miss Alice Mallett who was murdered in Jackson June 9, 1922 was director at the YWCA cafeteria in Bay City from 1915 -1918.
Hall-Mills 1922 -- Eleanor Mills, 34, was wearing a dress, with a blood soaked silk scarf around her neck laying at her lover´s side. Her tongue was cut out and her larynx removed. Reverend Edward W. Hall, 41, had his hat coveriing his face and his arm under Eleanor´s shoulder. His wife Frances Noel Stevens, was heiress of Johnson & Johnson. A witness known as the "Pig Woman" came forward.
Eddie Gein -- Gein lived a repressive and solitary life with a weak brother and domineering mother who taught him sex was sinful.
Prison Progress, March, 1922 -- The time has come to do away with the title of ´warden´ and the designations of ´prison,´ ´penitentiary,´ and the rest, and to start a new and enlightened era with a ´President of State Industries.´
May 1924 --They had a victim in mind; 14-year old boy Johnny Levinson, a neighborhood boy who fit the 'profile' created by Richard Loeb and Nathan Leopold, Jr.-- . Illinois v. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb 1924 law.umkc.edu
What is the trial of the century? -- "Monkey Trial" of 1925, considered if Tennessee could prosecute John Scopes for teaching evolution in a public school.
During the Alcatraz the penitentiary years inmates called "the Rock" home. From mid 1930's - mid 1960's, Alcatraz was America's premier maximum-security prison, the final stop for the most incorrigible inmates. See More on Prisons.
Robert Stroud (AZ #594) the "Birdman of Alcatraz," perhaps the most famous inmate on Alcatraz. In 1909, Stroud brutally murdered a bartender who allegedly failed to pay off a prostitute Stroud was pimping in Alaska. After he shot the bartender to death, he took his wallet. In 1911, he was convicted of manslaughter and sent to serve-out his sentence at McNeil Island Federal Penitentiary in Washington State where he was violent and difficult to manage. He assaulted an orderly, attempted to procure narcotics through intimidation, and stabbed an inmate. He was tranferred to Leavenworth in Kansas and lived there for three decades where he came to love birds. When he was transferred to Alcatraz he studied birds for the next 17 years.
The Mysterious Death of Thelma Todd -- Thelma, aka the "Ice-Cream Blonde' and "Hot Toddy" to her friends, was a popular actress, appearing in over 40 movies between 1926 and 1935. She is most remembered for her comedic roles in Marx Brothers movies. She dated Charles "Lucky" Luciano, a prominent mobster. December 16, 1935 she was found dead in her parked car, slumped over in the front seat of her chocolate-colored 1934 Lincoln Phaeton convertible, in a two-car garage near her married lover's Pacific Palisades cliff-side mansion. Thelma Alice Todd was born on July 29th 1905 in Lawrence, MA.
The unsolved 1936 hit-and-run death of Della Call, 33, wife and mother. Her elderly companion, Mary Edgerly, was injured. The vehicle struck the women from behind, and drove off. Styles Bridges, the most powerful political figure ever to represent New Hampshire, was rumored to have been involved.
Little Marjorie West disappeared on Mother's Day 1938.
Feb. 12, 1944, restaurant owner Joseph W. Mullins' headless body was found in in Panama City. A search failed to find the missing head, murder weapon or killer.
Who killed the legendary Nell Rand and E. R. Bailey? 1947 in Beckley, WV a beautiful married woman in her 20's is found dead with her lover in lover's lane.
June 1, 1948, the blues world lost an influential harmonica player when John Lee "Sonny Boy" Williamson was beaten to death as he left a Chicago's nightclub. He often sung in life, "Now I want to bury my body, 'way down in Jackson, Tennessee."American Justice: Great Brinks Heists
Dr. Sam Sheppard was convicted of his wife's murder in 1954. -- 45 years later his son is still fighting to clear his father's name.
April 4, 1958, Los Angeles, CA -- Cheryl Crane, 14, daughter of actress Lana Turner, fatally stabbed her mother's mobster boyfriend, Johnny Stompanato, 32. Stompanato was the ex-bodyguard of gangster Mickey Cohen. Cheryl grabbed a butcher from the kitchen and ran upstairs in Turner's Beverly Hills rented home. Johnny's family sued Lana for almost a million dollars, for wrongful death. Lana settled for $20,000. Appeals Court Allows Lana Turner´s Daughter to Challenge Trust Provisions.
November 15, 1959, in Holcomb, KS, a wealthy wheat farmer, Herbert Clutter, wife Bonnie , and their teen aged children, Nancy and Kenyon were shot to death in their home.
Caryl Chessman, The Red-Light Bandit -- Chessman 27, was a parolee from Folsom Prison who spent most his adult life in prison. January 1948 he was arrested as the Red-Light Bandit. Caryl Chessman has been expunged from American history. Many people know that an innocent man was murdered in California's gas chamber
One person can prove it. Where are you? Rebel and a Cause: Caryl Chessman and the Politics of the Death Penalty in Postwar California, 1948-1974 by Theodore Hamm -- 1960 execution of Caryl Chessman examining how politics and debates about criminal justice became a volatile mix that ignited postwar California. The Red Light Bandit allegedly stalked lovers' lanes in Los Angeles. He was sentenced to death in 1948. In prison he gained notoriety as a writer, beginning with his autobiographical Cell 2455 Death Row (1954).Chessman presented himself as an innocent man but also as rehabilitated from his prior life of crime. Hamm analyzes how Chessman convinced thousands of Californians to Support him, and why Governor (Pat) Brown, who opposed the death penalty, allowed the execution to go forward.
Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: The Original Trial of Caryl Chessman by Caryl Chessman
Emmett Louis Till -- How two grown men got by with torturing a 14 year old boy to death and then sold the details of their story for pay.
FBI's secret history at UC Berkeley begins with the Cold War, when the bureau's intelligence gathering authority was expanded in response to threats at home and abroad -- civil liberties collided with security.
The contract Ronald Reagan arranged with the studios was known as "The Great Giveaway." It only provided residuals to actors for films after 1960, only. The studios kept everything before 1960, worth billions of dollars. MCA had purchased Paramount Picture's huge film library in 1959. Mafia mouthpiece Sidney Korshak was directly involved in negotiations with Reagan.) In 1962, Reagan was the subject of criminal and civil investigations by the FBI and a federal grand jury. Reagan subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, failed to recall d his role in the 1952 SAG-MCA decision. Federal prosecutors were convinced Reagan perjured himself.
The Real Amityville Horror -- The Tragic Murder of the Ronald De Feo Family -- Ronald DeFeo, Sr., attained the American dream when he purchased the house.
Abbie Hoffman -- "He was a rebel without a cause," his Aunt Dorothy remembered. He bullied younger kids, and was a juvenile delinquent. Eventually he crossed the line to illegal enterprises.
Ice Box Murders -- Houston Texas - Father's Day 1965 - Fred Rogers 81, and his wife, Edwina H. Rogers 72, were murdered, their mutilated, bodies were found in their kitchen refrigerator. (Excerpts from "The Ice Box Murders" ©2000 Hugh E. Gardenier, III and Martha Leonard Hughes
The Death of Mary Pinchot Meyer -- October 12, 1964, Mary Pinchot Meyer, 43, a DC area artist was gunned down in Georgetown. Events before and after her murder have kept Mary's death a concern.
Jim Marrs's book, Crossfire: The Plot That Killed Kennedy, lists Mary Pinchot Meyer's death as one of the mysterious deaths associated with the John F. Kennedy Assassination. A Very Private Woman: The Life and Unsolved Murder of Presidential Mistress Mary Meyer
Chicago's unsolved murder mysteries -- September 18, 1966, Valerie Percy working on her father's campaign for the US Senate was murdered in the Percy mansion. December 1996, Nan Toder, visiting Chicago was cut, strangled and beaten to death in her hotel room. Karyn "Cookie" Kupcinet, beginning a Hollywood career when someone strangled her to death.
The Killing of Robert F. Kennedy -- June 4, 1968, primary election day in California Senator Kennedy was campaigning. April 23, 1969 -- Sirhan Bishara Sirhan was condemned to death for the murder of Senator Kennedy.
Riot-Chicago Conspiracy 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago. Eight radical leaders including Abbie Hoffman, Jerry Rubin and Tom Hayden were accused of "crossing state lines with intent to incite a riot, and conspiracy to violate that law." When it ended, one defendant was severed from the case and the "Chicago 7" trial made its mark as the most chaotic and divisive political trial in American history. Trace the events of this landmark case through incredible footage, contemporary news accounts, and interviews with the men who were there including defendant Tom Hayden and attorney William Kunstler. From Judge Hoffman's order to bind and gag defendant Bobby Seale to the ultimate acquittal of all the defendants on all the charges.
DB Cooper - the lone hijacker got away with $200,000 in cash by hijacking and parachuting from a commercial airplane - never to be seen again. New evidence in the case leads to new theories, 40 years later.
The Symbionese Liberation Army -- Born in 1973 in Berkeley, CA from black convicts and middle class white radicals, thr founding members of the SLA sought to ignite a "people´s rebellion" against the US government and corporate America. The core of the SLA died in a clash with police on May 1974 and September 1975, after FBI captured 3 surviving members, including heiress Patricia Hearst. -- The kidnapped heiress served 21 months in prison. She was commuted by Jimmy Carter and pardoned by President Clinton.Jan. 16, 2002, 4 members of the Symbionese Liberation Army were arrested and charged with murder. A 5th member James Kilgore has been a fugitive for more than 20 years. The case got a boost after the 1999 arrest of Sara Jane Olson, aka Kathleen Soliah, on charges of planting pipe bombs in the 1970's.
Hi-Fi Shop Murders in Ogden Utah -- On April 22, 1974, before the day´s end, 5 people would experience the most inexplicable terror they could have imagined.
Interview with a true crime reporter/writer -- Katherine Beebe Harris
Kari & Associates
Copyright Kari Sable 1994-2006


Magda Carneci is a poet, essayist and translator born in Romania. She took a Ph.D. in art history at EHESS in Paris (1997) and received several international grants in literature and art history (Fulbrigt, Soros, Getty, European Community, a.o). Member of the well-known "generation of the 80s" in Romanian literature, of which she was one of the theoriticians. After the December Revolution of 1989 she became actively involved in the political and cultural Romanian scene of the 1990s. After working as a visiting lecturer at the National Institute of Oriental Languages and Civilizations (INALCO) in Paris, she is at present the director of the Romanian Cultural Institute in Paris. Carneci published several volumes of poetry in Romanian, some of which have been translated into English, French, and Dutch. She also published several books of essays on modern and contemporary art, among which Art of the 1980s in Eastern Europe. Texts on Postmodernisme (in English, Bucharest : Paralela 45, 1999). She was also the co-editor of the book Perspectives roumaines. Du postmodernisme á l'intégration européenne (Romanian Perspectives. From Postcommunism to European Integration. Paris : L'Harmattan, 2004). Her Ph.D. thesis was published under the title Art et pouvoir en Roumanie 1945-1989 (Art and Power in Romania 1945-1989. Paris: L'Harmattan, 2007). As member of the European Cultural Parliament and other international associations, she is often invited to international symposiums and debates about Central Europe and European culture. Recent references: * Robert Murray Davis, The Literature of Post-Communist Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania. A Study, McFarland & Company, Inc. Publishers, 2008, Jefferson, North Carolina, and London, pp.155-156. * Rob Pope: Creativity: History, Theory, Practice, London: Routledge, 2005; pp.231, 269-70. * Fiona Sampson, "For the deaf war they're waging: Contemporary Romanian and Bessarabian Poetry", Poetry Review, vol.93, no.3, Autumn 2003, pp.51-59 : "This generation's undoubted leader is now the art historian Magda Carneci, who works in Paris and whose latest work is strongly influenced by French philosophy." * Robert Murray Davis, "Romanian Writing Redivivus"; World Literature Today, spring 2002, pp.76-83.


Last year, video game industry veteran and author Brett Weiss graced us with The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and its Games, Vol. 1, a celebration of one of the greatest console libraries of all time. Originally intended to be one massive volume, Brett instead wisely made the decision to split his project into two parts, the first covering all the SNES games from A-M with the second volume that was recently released covering the remainder of the library starting with “N” and ending with “Z.”
The format of the second volume remains unchanged, so if you were a fan of the first in this small series, part two is a must buy, especially seeing as this time Weiss is playing with Super Power. Linked together, both volumes of The SNES Omnibus combine to make easily one of the most comprehensive guides for those either intimately familiar with Nintendo’s second home console or who are only getting to know it well after it ceased production.
Every game gets a detailed write-up from Brett that is also accompanied by beautiful, high-res screens, classic cover art and sometimes even vintage print ads that would have appeared in comics and magazines. The “Notable Quotable” section from volume one also makes a return, painting a picture of what people were saying about these vintage games both then and now.
What made The SNES Omnibus stand out from other titles of its kind were the “Insider Insight” pieces, which are small, personal stories written by video game industry alumni as well as current content creators and influencers. The book opens with a foreword from Game Informer’s Ben Reeves who is among the contributors, along with Tigertron’s (Jupiter & Mars) Sam Kennedy, Generation 16 creator and co-host of the Player One Podcast Greg Sewart and lead writer on Operencia: The Stolen Sun, Chris Baker to name a few.
The Super Nintendo has a large library of timeless classics, and these stories help reinforce that status, but they’re mixed in with stories for games like Push-Over, a game in which you play as an ant that you’ve probably never heard of, that means a lot to contributing author Jeffrey Wittenhagen who — no joke intended — discovered it at a flea market.
The first SNES Omnibus featured many classic and beloved games like Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy II & III, Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and the Mega Man X trilogy, but what makes volume two an attractive purchase — even if you don’t own its partner — is one very important letter: S.
Though it wasn’t the case for a few games, like the already mentioned, publishers sold just how more advanced their games were than their NES counterparts by really leaning into the “Super” in Super Nintendo: Super Castlevania IV, Super Metroid, Super Mario Kart, and an entire trilogy of Super Star Wars games, not to mention a game that didn’t start out “Super” but was very important title to the console, Capcom’s Street Fighter II. Two Super peripherals: Super Game Boy, the device that let you play Game Boy carts on a TV and the battery hungry Super Scope 6 light-gun also get extended sections from Zoe K. Howard and Michael Thomasson, respectively.
Neither volume of The SNES Omnibus are what you call page turners, but they’re not really intended to be. Rather, each volume is a lovingly created time capsule that brilliantly describes in detail what many consider to the the greatest era in video game history which was due in large part to the Super Nintendo and its library of games.
There are countless blogs and YouTube channels, many of which are very well produced, that are dedicated to covering the SNES and its games, but none of them quite capture the era like Brett Weiss’s books. Whether you owned the first or not, The SNES Omnibus: The Super Nintendo and its Games, Vol. 2 is a must purchase to display on your shelf or to have in easy reach for curious people who drop in for a visit.
AUTHOR’S NOTE: The author of this piece contributed to both volumes of The SNES Omnibus. This copy used for this review was provided by Schiffer Publishing. Purchases are available here.


What makes a family a family? Is it blood, or is it something more?
Despite everything Ben has going for him, his transition into fatherhood has reignited a lurking question: who is his biological family? Wanting his own daughter to know who her family is, Ben embarks on a quest to find out where he came from. He soon discovers his mom died during childbirth and that he has a brother named Peter. As the brothers catch up on the particulars of their pasts, their friendship grows. Ben slowly undergoes a personal awakening as he learns to accept and value something more; something greater than he thought his journey was about. However, just as their relationship is progressing, Ben must confront the totally unexpected. Absorbing and heartfelt, For Grace captures a spirit rarely felt in cinema—always feeling genuine without being overly sentimental. It is about identity, about closure, and about family.
Preceded by the short film: Orange Lipstick; dir. Gavin Michael Booth; USA; 15 min.


E-books and PDFs are becoming increasingly common, and we are getting more accustomed to them. However, as a fellow bookworm, I can tell you that reading a book on a computer or Kindle isn’t quite the same as actually holding the book in your hands.
But one of the most difficult challenges any reader encounters is keeping a book in its original condition while using it regularly. Damages to the book, such as a broken spine or hinge, or loose pages, are some of the common problems that we, as readers, experience. We need to bind the book or fix the binding to resolve these concerns. It may appear that completing these tasks is difficult. They are, nonetheless, relatively simple to execute. In this post, we’ll look at a variety of bookbinding issues and how to solve them.
How to Bind a Book
Book binding is the binding of papers or pages together to form a book. People have been doing it for centuries. A book that is bound is more sturdy. With a proper binding, the book’s content is protected. Besides, book binding is an excellent method for making sketchbooks, books, and journals.
In general, book binding is a skill best left to the experts. However, it’s not as difficult as we think. You can accomplish it on your own if you follow a detailed set of instructions.
- First, you need to collect some materials. These are awls (bookbinding needles), linen thread, glue, ruler, and pencil.
- Make a line. Though this step is optional, it will make the following one go more smoothly. Use a ruler to confirm uniformity by drawing a line along the center. Put some dots in the lines. Then, using the awl, poke holes in the dots.
- Begin sewing in the middle of your spine’s dot. You’ll begin sewing at the middle dot of your centered spine after threading your needle. Pull the thread through, leaving some length behind.
- To the right of the middle dot, continue sewing on holes. Each hole will be stitched to the right first, then turned around and threaded back to the center.
- Sew to the holes to the left of the central dot, passing through the center. You may continue to the following stage once you’ve finished stitching the left side as well. You’ll stitch back to the center when you’ve finished sewing the left side.
- Finally, to finish your threading, tie a knot. You’re nearly done with the bookbinding procedure!
How to Fix Bookbinding
Sometimes your book gets broken due to continuous usage or some other issue. Basically, there are two common types of broken book problems. One is a loose page issue, and another is a broken hinge. Let’s check the solutions for both below.
For Loose Page Problem
- First, carefully remove the loose pages. And put them aside in the correct order.
- Apply glue inside the spine where the pages have loosened. Always put a thin layer on.
- Spread the glue with a spreader.
- Put the pages so that they are on the same line as the other pages.
- Set your pages on the spine by pressing firmly. Do it quickly; otherwise, the glue might dry.
- Close the book and put on some heavy things. Let the glue set fully.
Fixing Broken Hinge Problems
If the hinge is broken or about to break, remove the hinge. It is easier to repair a hinge after removing it from the book.
- Get a single-stitched tape, an acid-free adhesive, a brush, waxed paper, and two or three large rubber bands.
- Cut a piece of binder tape to the same length as the text block.
- Then put some adhesive evenly on one side of the tape and attach it to the text block. Let the adhesive dry and set completely.
- Place the waxed paper on top of the text block and the spine. It should be placed on top of the binder tape you’ve already attached and beneath the binder tape you haven’t yet connected.
- After that, adhere glue to the two tabs, carefully raise the cover so the border fits all along the tape’s seam, and push the spine against the other tabs.
- Connect the final tab to the cover, then use rubber bands to keep the book tight.
How to Remove Book Binding Glue
Book binding glue keeps the book intact by holding the bookbinding in place. It also adheres to the front and back covers of the book. Sometimes, book binding glue has to be removed for reasons like if the book is loosening or when people have to replace the cover. Since it is a simple task that anyone can do by following some simple steps.
- In the case press, place the book from which you need to remove the adhesive. The book is held in place by the press’s backing boards, which allow you to reach the spine.
- Soak the brown paper. Fold a paper towel’s ends and put it between the tail and the head of the spine.
- Then use a steam iron. The steam from the iron weakens the binding glue, allowing it to be scraped off the spine with ease.
- Now remove the moistened paper towel and remove the glue from the book spine with a dull knife.
- Cheesecloth or old paper liners that have come away from the steaming can be removed from the spine as well. Otherwise, the glue may be removed, and it can be left intact.
- To remove persistent adhesive, repeat the steaming steps several times.
How to Remove Stickers from Books
Removing stickers from books can be a difficult job. Stickers will either leave a residue or tear off the book cover. So the job needs higher carefulness.
There are several ways in which you can remove stickers from books. I have mentioned some of them below.
First, use a hairdryer to loosen the adhesive on the sticker. And peel off the sticker gently.
Adhesive Remover: Use an adhesive remover to clear away the rest of the residue. Goo Gone is a popular adhesive remover and is suitable for most types of removal processes. Drip a cotton swab on the Goo Gone and rub the cotton over the adhesive stains.
Nail Polish Remover: Nail polish remover also works fine to clear the residue. However, I do not personally recommend it. You can use it if you cannot find a regular adhesive remover.
Rubbing Alcohol: Drip a cotton swab into the rubbing alcohol. And rub the cotton on the residue until you can entirely remove the remnants from the book. The alcohol will start to dry, so drip the cotton swab again if it gets dry.
No matter how worn out your book’s binding is, that does not imply the book should be thrown away. Following some simple steps at home can help you to revive your favorite books and enjoy them for years to come.


It’s been nearly two years since the America’s unofficial poet laureate of the working class, Cleveland’s own Harvey Pekar, passed away, but thanks to the estimable folks at Top Shelf Comics, we’ve been given one last glimpse at his creative genius via their publication, in hardcover no less, of what’s apparently his last complete work, Harvey Pekar’s Cleveland, a book that serves as both a semi-mournful look back at a once-great city’s heyday and a final, and comprehensive, autobiographical sketch of its narrator’s life and an analysis of his admittedly complex relationship with the place that he called home for all of his 70 years.
For those of you out there unfamiliar with Pekar’s American Splendor (what, you mean you haven’t seen the movie?), it was a (mostly) self-published anthology series of short stories in comics form written by Pekar, a VA hospital file clerk and blue-collar intellectual, and illustrated by a bevy of the finest sequential artists of its day (most notably underground legend Robert Crumb) that ran for well over a quarter century. Although largely viewed (and categorized) as an autobiographical series, in truth it’s probably more accurate to say it was a “slice-of-life” series, since Harvey was just as likely to include stories about things that happened to people he knew as he was to relate stories about his own life and experiences in its pages, and often brief snippets of overheard conversations formed the basis for some of his most memorable strips. In short, it wasn’t always so much about Harvey Pekar himself as it was about events he witnessed, or that were related to him by others he knew.This presumably final work seamlessly blends the two, as it bobs and weaves downright seamlessly between tales of the city of Cleveland proper and Pekar’s life and times within it. While he’s unarguably the main character, in truth his geographic locale as his “co-star,” as he both recounts straight narrative chronology of the city and gives detailed background on some of his favorite establishments within it. The net effect is a sort of historical odyssey through Cleveland, with detours chosen for specific purposes by our guide, who writes with both the appreciation and disgust of someone who knows his subject well (some might say too well). With painstakingly detailed art by the talented Joseph Remnant (a name I’d previously been unfamiliar with, but that I will definitely look for in the future) that conveys both the actual, physical reality of the city as well as the mood and atmosphere that permeates its environs, and a wide-ranging story that spans decades of the author’s life and even takes care to accurately relate events that happened over a century before his birth, the phrase “labor of love” would definitely apply here — except for the fact that Harvey makes it perfectly clear that he’s had a love/hate relationship with his hometown almost from the word go.
Longtime American Splendor fans will be glad to know that stalwart characters such as Toby Radloff and Mr. Boats are present and accounted for, but for those unfamiliar with Pekar’s previous work and the real people who populate it there’s no reason to be put off from reading this — in fact, even though it’s his final piece of graphic nonfiction, the truth is that serves as an excellent “jumping-on” point for new readers, as it’s such a comprehensive (yet conversational and frankly uncomplicated) work that one needn’t know anything about the city itself, or even who Harvey Pekar is for that matter, to find it a thoroughly engrossing and evocative work.
In fairness, however, it’s incumbent upon me to state that Pekar was never what one would call a “feel-good” author, and if the observations of a major metropolis that’s been on the decline for at least 50 years written by a guy with a definite curmudgeon’s perspective (and speaking of lovable, intellectual curmudgeons, Alan Moore provides the introduction) aren’t your cup of tea, then you’re going to find the tone of this book rather off-putting from the outset. Sugar-coating harsh realities was never Harvey’s “bag,” and while thos of us who are in tune with his wavelength will appreciate the rare form we find him in here, folks who like things a bit sunnier and less nonchalantly harrowing might be well advised to give this book a pass since it’s many things to be sure, but positive and uplifting aren’t among them.
I loved it, of course, and immediately read through the entire thing from start to finish a second time before putting it down. The only downside is that it made me miss Harvey’s distinctive, authentic, and altogether necessary voice more than ever.


Here's the next installment of my program-note writing:
Fauré: Masques et Bergamasques - Suite, Op. 112
Gabriel Fauré could almost be considered the French Schubert. As Schubert was the greatest German composer of songs, so was Fauré the greatest French; indeed, both would be considered immortals had they written nothing else. Both also left us wonderful piano and chamber music. Both posessed prodigious melodic invention, and both were quite daring in their use of harmony. Both also tended to shy away from orchestral writing. Schubert’s purely orchestral output, the symphonies, while masterly, quantitatively represent a tiny fraction of his total life’s work. Fauré, likewise, left little for the orchestra, and he withdrew much of what he did write (including two symphonies and a violin concerto). Nevertheless, his orchestral writing has substance; his symphonic masterpiece is perhaps the suite he drew from incidental music for Maeterlinck’s "Pelléas et Mélisande."
His last orchestral work, the suite "Masques et Bergamasques," has its origin in a theater piece with the same title, assembled for performance at Monte Carlo in April 1919 from various earlier compositions, both vocal and instrumental, some already in print. The published suite contains four pieces, all of them otherwise unpublished at the time. Of these, the Ouverture and Menuet use thematic material from much earlier pieces, while the Gavotte is lifted almost verbatim from the first of the withdrawn symphonies. Only the Pastorale is original, Fauré’s final farewell to the orchestra.
The original program for "Masques et Bergamasques" is as follows:
“The characters Harlequin, Gilles and Colombine, whose task is usually to amuse the aristocratic audience, take their turn at being spectators at a ‘fête galante’ on the island of Cythera. The lords and ladies who as a rule applaud their efforts now unwittingly provide them with entertainment by their coquettish behavior.”
Debussy: Petite Suite
Claude Debussy is generally regarded as one of the great innovators in musical history; his mature works are remarkably independent of traditional norms in form, harmony and coloring. Among musicians, his name has become virtually synonymous with Impressionism – despite the fact that Debussy disliked the term; he felt it was misused (as undoubtedly it was). His music, like the works of the Impressionist painters and poets, expresses Romantic ideals (such as emphasis on mood and atmosphere) through modern-sounding means. Thus, Impressionism can be seen as a blend of Romanticism and modernism.
That the Romanticism came first is evident in the Petite Suite, one of the earliest works of Debussy that is still in general circulation. Originally written as a piano duet, it was first performed in March 1889 by the 26-year old composer with his future publisher, Jacques Durand. It achieved great popularity, which continues unabated to this day, in the 1907 orchestration by Henri Busser, a friend of Debussy and himself a highly regarded composer and conductor (he held a conducting post at the Paris Opera from 1905 to 1939). There is little evidence of the mature Debussy style, but it is nevertheless a work of great charm which shows, through its tunefulness and the individuality of its melodies, what a successful composer of light music he could have become, if he had not been called on a different path. And one can see glimmerings of Debussy’s future preoccupations: in the first of its four movements, "En bateau" (Sailing), we see the beginnings of a fascination with the sonic depiction of water, which was to haunt Debussy all his life – reaching its fullest fruition in the orchestral suite "La Mer."
Ravel: Introduction and Allegro
Despite its origins in the days of antiquity, the harp did not come into its own as an orchestral instrument until the 19th century. In 1810, a French piano builder, Sebasten Erard, patented the modern pedal harp. Unlike earlier harps, it was capable of playing in all the keys, and thus the way was paved for its exploitation within the orchestra – a process begun by another Frenchman, Hector Berlioz, that master of orchestration, with his "Symphonie fantastique" of 1830.
Maurice Ravel had an intuitive understanding of the harp’s potential. Himself a master orchestrator (the usually-heard version of Moussorgsky’s "Pictures at an Exhibition," originally for piano solo, is Ravel’s orchestration), he used the harp effectively in every one of his orchestral scores. But his most famous work featuring the instrument is the Introduction and Allegro, written in 1905 for the harpist Micheline Kahn. Scored originally for harp, flute, clarinet and string quartet, it has been regarded as a miniature harp concerto in one movement, brilliantly written for the harp and requiring a virtuoso technique, complete with a solo cadenza towards the close. It is frequently performed thus, with an expanded string section. However, there is a skillfully achieved balance between the harp and the ensemble, with equal sharing of melodies (often the harp plays an accompanying role) more characteristic of chamber music. Which is it – concerto or chamber work? The truth is, it straddles both worlds. In keeping with this idea, we present a performance in which certain portions are played by solo strings, and others by the full ensemble.
It is interesting to note that, in the first commercial recording of the work (in 1923, for Columbia, featuring the harpist Gwendolyn Mason, and now available on CD), this dichotomy was reinforced by the work being called “Septet” on the label, yet it also featured a conductor – Ravel himself!
Gounod: Symphony No. 1 in D Major
It is the fate of many composers to be remembered for only a handful of pieces. Charles Gounod, though greatly popular and influential in his day, is no exception. Ever torn between the church and the theater (as a young man he studied for the priesthood), he wrote copiously in both sacred and secular vocal styles; yet we have, in the active repertory, only the “Ave Maria” (based on Bach’s first Prelude from the Well-Tempered Clavier) and “O Divine Redeemer” on the one hand, and the operas "Faust" and "Roméo et Juliette" on the other.
Gounod, in common with many French composers of his generation, wrote little purely instrumental music; French public musical life during the 19th century revolved almost exclusively around the opera, and concert music was not a commercially viable proposition. The only instrumental piece of Gounod that is remembered is the “Funeral March of a Marionette” (used by Alfred Hitchcock for many years as the theme for his TV series). Yet he also wrote two symphonies, three string quartets and a delightful Petite Symphonie for double wind quintet. These works show modest but unfailing skill in the handling of unpretentious material in traditional forms.
The First Symphony was written in the last months of 1854, as an antidote to the depression that Gounod had lately suffered over the failure of his latest opera, "La nonne sanglate." After disappointment of the theater it seems to have been a relief for him to write music that had no other aim than his own satisfaction. As with Bizet’s youthful symphony written the next year, influences of Haydn and early Beethoven are abundant; the Andante has a slyly contrived little fugue and, after a slow introduction, the Finale is of Mendelssohnian vivacity. The work was much appreciated by its first hearers in 1855, and Gounod was encouraged by its welcome to write a successor, his Second Symphony in E-Flat, the following year.


MORE THAN NINE LIVES
The true World War II story of Ernest Frederick Linsell, painter decorator, typically quiet, good citizen of Aldeburgh, who died recently, aged 80, after a long illness, is astonishing. The gazette is indebted to John Whatley-Smith, a former President of the British Legion, Aldeburgh branch, for being able to publish it.
Ernest Linsell was born in Aldeburgh and lived as a boy in a flat over Smiths the bakers. An accomplished footballer, he was one of Aldeburgh Town’s stars. He joined the Territorial Army, and in 1942 was with the 4th Battalion Suffolk Regiment in Malaysia. Came the Japanese invasion and the tragic retreat of the British troops, the remnants reaching Singapore to face surrender and capture. As a prisoner of war Linsell was put on a Japanese warship , soon sunk by American bombers. One of the few survivors, he was picked up by another ship, in turn sunk, by an aerial torpedo. Again a rare survivor, he was rescued by a Japanese fishing vessel. Arrived in Japan, he was sent to work in the mines of Hiroshima, target of the first atomic bomb.
Back home at last, in due time to earn the epitaph ‘a very respected figure in Aldeburgh town’, in the best tradition of the British Army he was known to his friends as ‘Darkie’ – because of his white hair.
Thanks to John Whatley-Smith and the Aldeburgh Gazette


prolegomena See prolegomenon
- Plural of prolegomenon An introduction at the start of a book, usually used in plural form.
- Prolegomenon (plural "prolegomena") refers to any critical introduction or essay at the start of a book.
Prolegomena to Any Future Metaphysics is one of the shorter works by the German philosopher Immanuel Kant. It was published in 1783, two years after the first edition of his Critique of Pure Reason.
Prolegomena contains an overview and defense of the Critique‘s main conclusions, sometimes by arguments Kant had not used in the Critique. Kant characterizes his more accessible approach here as an "analytic" one, as opposed to the Critique‘s "synthetic" examination of successive faculties of the mind and their principles.
The book is also intended as a polemic. Kant was disappointed by the poor reception of the Critique of Pure Reason, and here he repeatedly emphasizes the importance of its critical project for the very existence of metaphysics as a science. The final appendix contains a detailed rebuttal to an unfavorable review of the Critique.
In the standard Akademie edition of Kant's works, the Prolegomena takes up part of Volume V.
External linkswikt Prolegomenon
prolegomena in German: Prolegomena zu einer jeden künftigen Metaphysik, die als Wissenschaft wird auftreten können
prolegomena in Spanish: Prolegómenos a toda metafísica futura que pueda presentarse como ciencia
prolegomena in Macedonian: Пролегомена за секоја идна метафизика која ќе може да настапи како наука
prolegomena in Finnish: Prolegomena
prolegomena in Japanese: 学として現れるであろうあらゆる将来の形而上学のためのプロレゴメナ


Trees For Georgetown Fall Fling - September 24th, 2015
Hosted by Tom Anderson and Marc Schappell. Their house was built between 1790 and 1800 and was known as the Bodisco House in 1927. According to documents in the Peabody Room of the Georgetown Public Library, Russian ambassador Alexander de Bodisco married Harriet Williams, who was given away by Henry Clay. "The marriage lifted the girl from obscurity to the highest round of the social ladder and the vast wealth of her husband adorned her with flashing jewels that became known the world over ". The article continues, "The most superb fete ever given in the District, according to some historians, was given in this house in honor of the birthday of the Emperor Nicholas, when 800 guests were invited."
Trees For Georgetown 25th Anniversary Celebration a Success!
Since 1989 Trees for Georgetown has planted over 2,500 trees- just imagine what our shaded blocks would look like without those trees. Truly a local, clearly defined inititiative, Trees for Georgetown is organized by the neighbors, for the neighborhood and benefits something we can all agree on - keeping our trees plentiful and healthy!
The 2014 spring celebration was at the home of Susan and Mike Pillsbury on May 15th, 2014.
- Anniversary Patron - $2,500 - Includes a private reception, 4 tickets, 2 trees planted and tagged with the name of your honorees
- Business Patron - $1,500 - Includes 4 tickets, a tree planted and tagged with the name of your honoree
- Patron - $1,000 - Includes 4 tickets, a tree planted and tagged with the name of your honoree
- Sponsor - $500 - Includes 2 tickets
Each sponsored tree will be tagged with a QR code that allows you to explain online your relationship with the honoree, its species, the date it was planted and a street view on Google maps.


Charles Frederick Ball: From Loughborough to Gallipoli
Charles Frederick Ball (1879-1915), was born and brought up in Loughborough and carved out a distinguished career for himself as a botanist and horticulturist, ending up as Assistant Keeper at the Royal Botanic Gardens in Dublin. Tragically, his life ended prematurely when he enlisted in the Royal Dublin Fusiliers on the outbreak of WW1 and was killed at Gallipoli in 1915.
Brian Willan is a grandson of Fred Ball’s wife Alice (via her second marriage) and draws upon recently discovered family letters and photographs, as well as research in other archives, to tell his fascinating story – and that of Alice too.
Brian lives in Devon and is a former publisher. His book ‘Charles Frederick Ball: From Dublin’s Botanic Gardens to the Killing Fields of Gallipoli’ was recently published by the Liffey Press, Dublin. He has also written in the field of South African history.


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Books by R.K. Rajput, Comprehensive Workshop Practice, Basic Electrical Engineering, Comprehensive Elements of Mechanical Engineering, Elements of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, Strength of Materials ; Machanics of Solids S.I. Units, Engineering Materials, A Textbook of Electrical Machines, Internal Combustion Engines


Death in the Baltic: The WWII Sinking of the Wilhelm Gustloff
Winner of the 2013 Military Writers Society of America Founder's Award
The worst maritime disaster ever occurred during World War II, when more than 9,000 German civilians drowned. It went unreported.
January 1945: The outcome of World War II has been determined. The Third Reich is in free fall as the Russians close in from the east. Berlin plans an eleventh-hour exodus for the German civilians trapped in the Red Army’s way. More than 10,000 women, children, sick, and elderly pack aboard the Wilhelm Gustloff, a former cruise ship. Soon after the ship leaves port and the passengers sigh in relief, three Soviet torpedoes strike it, inflicting catastrophic damage and throwing passengers into the frozen waters of the Baltic.
More than 9,400 perished in the night—six times the number lost on the Titanic. Yet as the Cold War started no one wanted to acknowledge the sinking. Drawing on interviews with survivors, as well as the letters and diaries of those who perished, award-wining author Cathryn Prince reconstructs this forgotten moment in history. She weaves these personal narratives into a broader story, finally giving this WWII tragedy its rightful remembrance.
256 pages (illustrations) * ISBN-13: 978-0230341562 * Hardcover $26


Mental Fight by Ben Okri
Ben Okri is Patron of Mental Fight Club. His epic poem, Mental Fight is an inspirational hymn to overcoming our mind’s capacity for destruction and to create new ways of thinking, feeling, perceiving and relating to one’s fellow human being. As such, it contains much with which people with experience of mental illness and recovery can particularly identify.
The poem pays homage to William Blake, the creator of the phrase ‘Mental Fight’ immortalised in the now famous hymn, Jerusalem (I shall not cease from Mental Fight, nor shall my sword sleep in my hand). Okri wrote Mental Fight to mark the new Millennium in the year 2000. He describes it as an ‘anti-spell’ for the 21st century and it is dedicated to ‘Humanity in the Aquarian Age’
(Click the cover to read section one of Mental Fight, Time To Be Real).
Ben Okri is a prize-winning novelist whose writings explore a fusion of the worlds – the magical and the real, past and present, the European and the African. Novels include The Famished Road (1991 Booker Prize winner), Astonishing the Gods, African Elegy and Infinite Riches. Ben has recently released a new book of poetry entitled Wild.
We explored Mental Fight and other poems – famous and obscure – that inspire us to keep going in June 2013 @ The Dragon Café.


The Feather Men
About this deal
But, again because of that, I was a bit disoriented at first, because the prelude, the initial chapters, were slow and over-detailed for that kind of fiction, almost the opposite of a page-turner. He reaffirmed that he had the signed permission of the soldiers' families, including Kealy's wife, to mention them in the book. I had heard of this book before I saw the film based on it but it was only after seeing the movie reently that I decided to read it. Unfolding over 20 years, the killers are very successful despite the efforts of a private overwatch group known as The Feather Men, a secret group that tried to protect current and former SAS men.
The targets for assassination end up all being British SAS officers who were "seconded" to the Sultan's army during the war. For better or worse, I almost never read a book without finding out what it's about, but I do wish I hadn't read the foreword until I'd gotten into the story. This absorbing book details their 14-year struggle to capture the Clinic, a band of contract killers who murdered four former British soldiers.In June 2010, Alice Clarke, the daughter of SAS soldier Major Mike Kealy whose death is depicted in The Feather Men at the hands of The Clinic, spoke out, saying that her father had died during an endurance exercise in the Brecon Beacons in 1979. The time-line also jumped all over the place, and between sets of characters, without warning and sometimes almost in the middle of a paragraph, so it took time to realise that the scene had changed.
black boards, spine lettered in gilt; dust wrapper, a little worn, edges lightly creased and split; Bloomsbury, London, 1991. The paperback editions, however, presented the book as purely fiction and omitted the index and illustrations. And partly because of that no doubt, I approached it at first with misconception, as a kind of action thriller, a bit like a Jason Bourne story. The sons of the sheikh had been military combatants in various efforts in Oman and as such were killed in military combat by British SAS (Special Air Services) men. At the end of the book, Fiennes holds up his hands and justifies his use of his background knowledge and experience to ‘paint’ the scenes for which there was no primary (first-hand) source.How the hired killers went about their task (making each murder look like an accident), how they were finally apprehended and how this case in 1990 also put an end to the Committee--or so Fiennes ( Hell on Ice ) contends its members have assured him--makes for a highly suspenseful tale. I happened to read that book in Saigon in 1963, some ten years after it was written, in the city where much of the action takes place, and even though the situation had changed since then the book still struck me as totally true to life. The group would be paid one million dollars for each confirmed revenge killing, which included video recording of the target being accused of the death of the appropriate son. Well in Killer Elite even Chairman Mao is quoted, “In given conditions a bad thing can lead to good results. The story is intriguing - hired killers getting revenge for an Arab sheik by performing hits on the British SAS men who killed one or another of the sheik's 4 sons.


Reading books by black authors is not only a great way to support their work, but also a way to broaden your perspective and enrich your life. Black authors have written about many topics, from historical fiction to sci-fi, from memoirs to poetry, from romance to horror. No matter what genre you prefer, you can find a book by a black author that will captivate you and challenge you.
In this blog post, I will share with you some of the benefits of reading books by black authors, and some of the books that I recommend. Let's get started!
Benefits of reading books by black authors:
- You can learn about different cultures, histories, and perspectives that may not be represented in mainstream media or education. Reading books by black authors can help you understand the struggles and achievements of black people around the world, and how they have shaped and influenced society.
- You can discover new voices, styles, and stories that will inspire you and spark your imagination. Reading books by black authors can expose you to different ways of writing, storytelling, and expressing emotions. You can also find new role models, mentors, and friends among the characters and authors.
- You can improve your empathy, critical thinking, and communication skills. Reading books by black authors can help you develop your emotional intelligence and social awareness, as well as your analytical and creative abilities. You can also improve your vocabulary, grammar, and writing skills by reading high-quality literature.
Books by black authors that I recommend:


“Innovating with People” Book launch
May 25th, 2010 in Uncategorized
Studiohead director Cian Plumbe has contributed as author to the new publication Innovation With People, launched at last weeks Innovation for All 2010 conference in Oslo.
The book is a comprehensive guide to inclusive design principles, written for the business sector as well as design practitioners, and includes examples of good practice including Studiohead’s TwoTone Phone, which we did for BT while at the Helen Hamlyn Centre, Royal College of Art.
Cian’s contribution, as co-author, was to provide the designer’s perspective and to describe hands on tools for applying inclusive design and research methods.


Cover by www.booksat.scarlettrugers.com
From the pioneer days of Seattle through the smoke-filled clouds of WWII and into the present, Romance in The Rain takes readers on a journey with four generations of the strong-willed and passionate Caldwell family. This anthology of six novellas is a collaboration of the Seattle-based Rainy Day Writers group.
Splendor in the Moss by Charlotte Russell—By the spring of 1853 Englishman James Caldwell has traveled thousands of miles in a quest to find a place to call home. Newly settled Seattle isn’t that place and he’s ready to move on again when widowed Mattie Jensen marches into his life as somber as a cloudy day. But James can see through the solemn haze to Mattie’s strength and passion. Now he has a reason to stay, if he can just convince Mattie to take a second chance on love—with him. (22,000 words)
Final Approach by Marianne Stillings—With the world at war, Women’s Auxiliary Ferrying Service pilot Lt. Charlene (Charlie) Thompson faces personal battles as well. Pearl Harbor left her a widowed bride, certain love would never come again – but battle-scarred Capt. Joe Caldwell has other ideas for the beautiful lady flyer, if he can just keep her safe from the secret saboteur who’s already taken the life of Charlie’s best friend. (19,000 words)
Love Phantom by Dawn Kravagna—University of Washington, 1983: A great place to get an education and meet single men. Drama major Kara Caldwell prefers to hide behind the characters in her plays, yet feels pressure to live up to the example set by her brave and witty grandmother, a veteran of WWII. Can she learn to overcome her reticence and prejudices to discover which guy truly cares for her–and who is just putting on an act? (19,000 words)
Shelter from the Storm by Clare Tisdale—Seven years and one broken heart later, JD Caldwell returns to Seattle to pick up the pieces of his old life, never imagining he will fall like a ton of bricks for Maya — the mysterious woman who lets him into her house and bed but keeps the door to her heart tightly closed. When their summer fling takes an unexpectedly serious turn and Maya gives him his walking papers, JD has to decide whether their love – and his legacy – is worth fighting for. (21,000 words)
What’s Wrong with Mr. Perfect? by Sherri Shaw—No sooner did Chef Ivy Turin wish to meet the perfect man than Sam Rockney walked into her restaurant. But is the sexy Seattle quarterback for real or is there something wrong with Mr. Perfect? (17,000 words)
Aftershocks by Kristine Cayne—When Seattle is struck by a devastating earthquake, technical rescue firefighter Jamie Caldwell must save his estranged wife and daughter from the wreckage of a collapsed building. He’s defied the odds hundreds of times, but will his luck finally run out for good? (24, 000 words)
The Seattle-based Rainy Day Writers group strikes again, this time with six sizzling paranormal novellas that will transport you from the depths of the ocean up to the heavens and beyond.
The Eye of Lilith (Prequel of Book One of The Speaker of the Word Series by Sherri Shaw--
Marc Blakley has been cursed by a rare artifact rumored to drive a man insane before compelling him to commit suicide.
As a member of the Speakers, Cindi Jones uses her magic to destroy evil artifacts and protect the innocents they infect.
Can she save Marc in time, or will he succumb to the evils of the Eye of Lilith? (13,000 words)
Cover Design by www.SherribyDesign.com


The Art of Translation
The New Republic has compiled a selection of the literary reviews Nabokov contributed to the magazine in the early 1940s. This includes a piece on Nabokov’s rules for perfect translation: The Art of Translation.
I was confronted for instance withthe following opening line of one of Pushkin’s most prodigious poems:
Yah pom-new chewed-no-yay mg-no-vain-yay
I have rendered the syllables by the nearest English sounds I could find; their mimetic disguise makes them look rather ugly; but never mind; the “chew” and the “vain” are associated phonetically with other Russian words meaning beautiful and important things, and the melody of the line with the plump, golden-ripe “chewed-no-yay” right in the middle and the “m’s” and “n’s” balancing each other on both sides, is to the Russian ear most exciting and soothing—a paradoxical combination that any artist will understand.
Now, if you take a dictionary and look up those four words you will obtain the following foolish, flat and familiar statement: “I remember a wonderful moment.” What is to be done with this bird you have shot down only to find that it is not a bird of paradise, but an escaped parrot, still screeching its idiotic message as it flaps on the ground? For no stretch of the imagination can persuade an English reader that “I remember a wonderful moment” is the perfect beginning of a perfect poem. The first thing I discovered was that the expression “a literal translation” is more or less nonsense.
Full text here.


Reviewed by Richard Gillingham
If the commentators are to be believed Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth had an ambiguous theological relationship. After initially being firmly in Barth’s camp particularly in their mutual roles in the Confessing Church. However, in his letter work, especially Letters and Papers it has been asserted that a fissure opened up over Barth’s positivism of revelation. The applicable passage from Bonhoeffer’s prison letters is from the letter dated 30 April 1944 immediately following a discussion of ‘religionless Christianity’:
Barth, who is the only one to have started along this line of thought, did not carry it to completion, but arrived at a positivism of revelation, which in the last analysis is essentially a restoration. For the religionless working man (or any other man) nothing decisive is gained here. The questions to be answered wouldsurely be: What do a church, a community, a sermon, a liturgy, a Christian life mean in a religionless world? How do we speak of God -without religion, i.e. without the temporally conditioned presuppositions of metaphysics, inwardness, and so on? How do we speak(or perhaps we cannot now even “speak” as we used to) in a “secular”way about “God?” In what way are we “religionless-secular” Christians,in what way are we the ek-klisia, those who are called forth,not regarding ourselves from a religious point of view as specially favored, but rather as belonging wholly to the world? In that case Christ is no longer an object of religion, but something quitedifferent, really the Lord of the world. (text copied from online version here).
Throughout this text Pangritz asserts that the criticisms of Barth, which were present as early as his Act and Being, are more specifically related to some of Barth’s more conservative followers (such as Hans Asmussen). Pangritz rather argues that the lines of similarity between Barth and Bonhoeffer are more substantive than is sometimes supposed. In particular, Pangritz in a study of Barth’s theology after Bonhoeffer’s death shows that some of the ambiguity that caused some concern for Bonhoeffer is made more explicit. That is not to say that there are no differences. Most notable according to Pangritz is the Bonhoeffer who wrote Letters and Papers was less opposed to some aspects of liberal theology than Barth, a legacy that he seems to have suppressed in the Confessing Church period.


Croton-Harmon High School
CHHS Theater Lighting System
CHEF funded an LED upgrade to the auditorium theater lighting system, enabling stage crew to produce visually impressive productions more safely and efficiently.
Croton-Harmon High School
Environmental Science Research Scholarship Award
CHHS requested scholarship funding for innovation in environmental science research. The scholarship was available to student teams enrolled in the AP Environmental Science course in the 2014-15 school year. The mission for this scholarship was to demonstrate community support for student-centered STEAM-D research as it pertained to local and global environmental issues. The rationale for this scholarship award was to demonstrate support for innovative research and/or experimentation in which students educate themselves and others about important environmental issues impacting our community. The 2014-15 “Environmental Science Research Scholarship Award” acted as a pilot project to be evaluated and, if needed, modified so that it could become an annual scholarship award.
Pierre Van Cortlandt Middle School
Window Garden Initiative
A grant for this initiative allowed students to construct and operate a hydroponic window garden. As the PVC student writes: “… The initiative breaks the cycle of chronic deficiency of interdisciplinary communication, by bringing the latest hydroponic technologies out of the lab and into the classroom. By immersing students in the concept of reality behind theory, students will not only develop critical thinking skills, but initiative to take action based on that critical thinking.” Students were taking theoretical technologies and trying to apply it to a sustainable application.
Escape Room Field Trip
This grant allowed the 8th Grade to visit the Escape The Room NYC, in addition to the Reading a Building tour at the J.P. Morgan Library. As a pertinent part of the 8th grade curriculum, Escape the Room is a program that allows you to utilize and obtain valuable skills in metacognition, perseverance, resilience to failure, teamwork, human psychology, and natural instinct. Innovation, playing a key role, as students were exposed to the use of logic and work as a team as they never have before.
PVC/Croton Free Library Mobile Research Lab
This grant funded laptops and a mobile laptop cart allowing the library to hold workshops on everything from how to use Excel to Minecraft clubs. The laptops allow access to technology for the entire community to share knowledge and act as a “research bridge” between PVC and the CFL. Having designated computers and an intentional “research bridge” between PVC and the CFL enables students to have greater opportunity to improve their research skills and knowledge.
PVC/Croton Free Library Makerspace
This grant funded Makerspace, a place for students to create things to enhance learning, collaborative process, problem solving, and enjoyment around learning. 3D printers encourage and allow students to engineer new projects and create prototypes. This lab functions as a free place, with open access to the community, to learn and experiment with cutting edge technology. The library partners with the school district by giving presentations to teachers and students on 3D modeling and printing. Students and community members, in turn, volunteer time in the library to continue to share their technological expertise with the community at large.


Mirka Knaster has practiced in the Theravada tradition since her first retreat in India in 1981. An independent scholar and freelance writer and editor, she has written "Living This Life Fully: Stories and Teachings of Munindra" (Shambhala), a book about the meditation master who first taught Dipa Ma, Joseph Goldstein, and many of our western dharma leaders. Munindra was a pivotal figure in the transmission of Dharma to the West and the resulting mindfulness movement. Her previous book is "Discovering the Body's Wisdom," which explores the benefits of Eastern and Western body-mind disciplines.
Mirka has been in the holistic health field since the 1970s as a practitioner, teacher, writer, editor, and speaker. Growing up in a European family in the U.S., living and traveling in diverse areas of the world, and studying the traditions of different peoples, she brings a cross-cultural perspective to her research on the body, healing, and spiritual practice. Mirka has a Ph.D. in Asian and Comparative Studies.
Richard Shankman has been a meditator since 1970, and teaches at Dharma centers and groups internationally. He is guiding teacher of the Metta Dharma Foundation, and cofounder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies and of Mindful Schools. He practices and teaches meditation that integrates compassion, mindfulness, concentration and insight as one path of practice. Richard is the author of The Art and Skill of Buddhist Meditation and The Experience of Samadhi.
Robert Cusick trained at Stanford University in the Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education (CCARE) and is a Stanford certified Compassion Cultivation Training (CCT) instructor. He studied in the Soto Zen Tradition at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, in the Ridhwan School’s Diamond approach with A.H. Almaas (Hameed Ali) and in Spirit Rock’s multi-year Dedicated Practioner’s Program. He ordained in Burma under the world-renowned Burmese Meditation Master, Venerable Pa Auk Sayadaw, and studied there with him for a number of years. His practice is focused on recognizing and cultivating compassion through the application of mindfulness.
Susan Ezequelle has been practicing Insight Meditation since 1997. She is a past IMC Board President and worked closely with founding teacher Gil Fronsdal and other community members to found in 2001 the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood City, CA. She began teaching at IMC in 2003 and in 2008, in response to a deep desire to engage with the world through her Buddhist practice, she began training as a professional chaplain. Currently she serves as chaplain at Stanford Hospital.