Four Falconry Fundamentals
Review of Matthew Mullenix´s new book
June, 2020 I Kátia Boroni
(Journalist I MTB: 002.0435/MG)
“Falconry is not a simple sport; it isn´t even a single sport but rather a dozen or more distinct pursuits and a loose, almost endlessly spooling list of related activities that together make something like a life-style.”
Apparently the quarantine imposed on us by COVID-19 gave us a gift, a Matthew Mullenix's new book, called Four Falconry Fundamentals.
One of the great qualities of Mullenix as an author is his ease in synthesizing and simplify concepts and techniques,
making reading easy and accessible. His new book is a guide that should always be read and reread, always keeping in mind what has been proven to work in Falconry.
His target audience in this new work is the apprentice, and Mullenix is an author who is always willing to help everyone who wishes to venture into the Falconry lifestyle. However, this book can help even the most experienced falconers, as an opportunity to exchange experiences through reading.
His book covers what he calls the four fundamentals of falconry: Prey base, husbandry, recall and slip management.
On each chapter he discusses these fundamentals, teaching and reflecting on the importance of each one in the practice
The four fundamentals provide a base for the practice of the sport, as he says: “without but one, the pattern breaks.”
In the first fundamental dedicated to prey, the author discusses how an adequate base of wild prey must be the falconer´s first consideration.
In the second fundamental about husbandry he shows his point of view on weight management, in addition to talking about other key points like the use of appropriate equipment, bird health, feeding, etc.
In the third fundamental he talks about his unconventional and expansive use of the word recall. Positive reinforcement, partnership and entering are some of the key points he discusses in this chapter.
In the last chapter dedicated to the slip management the author discusses how success in the field depends on planning: “knowing which levers are available to gain advantage is more important to success than almost any other consideration.”
Matthew Mullenix is an experienced American falconer. Since 1984 he has been flying specially American kestrels and Harris’s hawks. He has previously written two books, including the successful “American Kestrels in modern Falconry ”, which has already been translated into several languages, including Portuguese (our translation). He has also written several articles and chapters on the sport both for falconers and the general public.
Mullenix has the ability to say the obvious in a very objective and clear way, he not only teaches about the subject, but also makes his reader think. As more experienced the falconer is, the more he will reevaluate his practice of falconry after reading the book. It's easy to get lost in this art if you don't keep on the right track, but luckily it's easy to return to the correct track following the principles proposed by the author.
It is definitely a book that should always be around. It´s excellent not only for falconers (apprentice or experienced), but to everyone who are interested in this art, and thinks about joining in this lifestyle called Falconry.
The book is available in paperback and e-book editions on Amazon. Due to our successful partnership in the translation of the book “American kestrels in modern Falconry”, I translated this new book into Portuguese. It is available for purchase on Amazon.
By Kátia Boroni
Brazilian journalist specializing in falconry, birds of prey and environmental education. Official translator of the book “American Kestrels in modern falconry” and
"Four Falconry Fundamentals by Matthew Mullenix
into portuguese. Editor and translator of the digital magazines Diário de Falcoaria and Corujando por aí.
Title: Four Falconry Fundamentals
Author: Matthew Mullenix
Editor: Mission Media LLC
Edition: June 6, 2020
Pages: 72 (paperback)
Target readers: falconers (apprentice and experienced ones), general public interested in Falconry.
Available on: Amazon
Key words: Falconry, Four Falconry Fundamentals, Hunting, Hawking, birds of prey, falconry books.
#diariodefalcoaria #falconryjournal #hawking #hunting #falconry #falconrybooks


The Girl Who Fell From The Sky- Emma Carey
Where & when
Thu 01 Sep - 6:00 PM to 7:30 PM
Imagine falling 15,000 feet from the sky and surviving, only to be told that you will never walk again.
The Girl Who Fell From The Sky is Emma Carey's amazing true story of hope and transformation. From her early days in the hospital, to learning how to regain the use of her legs, a six-year long court case and now being finally free to make the most of her life, Emma teaches us the importance of courage and resilience.
Join Emma at Waverley Library as she shares her amazing life-altering experience with TV presenter and health coach Liv Phyland.
Doors open at 6pm with free refreshments served. Talk to commence at 6.30pm.
Books will be available for purchase and signing, with thanks to Gertrude & Alice Bookstore Café.


Library: A well stocked school library exists where students and staff has the access to a variety of books. School library has more than 1500 books.
Computer Lab: Computer lab serves as the centre for teaching computers to all classes. A high-tech computer lab with 24 computers (i3-7 generation with window10 OS) where students learns the basics of computers. The whole school has been covered under LAN connectivity.
Laboratories: A composite lab for Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Maths and Geography exists with latest equipments.
Sports: Facilities for outdoor and indoor sports/games exists in the school.
Medical facility: There is a well-equipped air conditioned room in the school. The medical room has the capacity of two beds and all requisite equipment required to cater to the medical needs of students and staff. While at school. It helps in providing first aid, health counselling and sporting students to acquire self-management skills.


Beautiful line-art depictions includes 45 illustrations to color based on the art of The popular Sacred Geometry Oracle Deck and Sacred Geometry Cards for the Visionary Path.
Each piece is accompanied by brief, insightful commentary about the symbols and animals shown.
Intertwines the complex forms of Sacred Geometry with the beauty of Nature, dolphins, dragonflies, trees, and many other forms and symbols.
A fully illustrated inspirational art book.
Includes more than 80 full-color reproductions of intricate watercolor paintings and the stories behind them.
Recounts the evolution of her art and her discovery of the hidden order of Nature that led to her masterful artistic integration of Nature, Spirit, and Sacred Geometry.
ARTCARDS now available
5"x7", individually wrapped color greeting cards with envelope ~ blank inside.
Sacred Geometry Cards
Sacred Geometry Oracle Deck introduces an entirely new way for you to gain access to the wisdom and unlock the power of Sacred Geometry. 128 page guidebook with 64 full-color cards.
Sacred Geometry Cards for the Visionary Path A continuation of and complement to the Sacred Geometry Oracle Deck


BOARD OF TRUSTEES
NAME AND PURPOSE – Newhall Public Library Board of Trustees. The library laws of Iowa will be followed in all questions of law pertaining to the state, and the city code will be followed for all local laws.
MEMBERSHIP – The board shall consist of five members with one member from the rural county community.
• SECTION 1. – The officers of the board shall consist of a President, City Clerk, or Secretary-Treasurer.
• SECTION 2- TERM OF OFFICE – The officers shall serve for a period of no more than six years commencing on July 1 of each year and election for such officers shall be held at the meeting in July each year. Officers may succeed themselves in office
• SECTION 3- PRESIDENT – The president shall preside at all meetings and shall see that all policies and directives of the board are carried out subject to the right to delegate any specific powers or authority as authorized by the Board. He/She shall appoint all committees, execute all documents authorized by the Board and generally perform all duties associated with the office.
• SECTION 4 – SECRETARY – The secretary shall keep a true and accurate record of all meetings of the board and perform such duties as are generally associated with that position.
• SECTION 5 – VACANCIES – The position of any trustee shall be vacant if he/she moves permanently from the city (or county in the case of a nonresident county member). Or if he/she is absent from six (6) consecutive regular meetings of the board, except in the case of sickness or temporary absence from the city. Vacancies in the Board shall be filled by appointment of the Mayor, with approval of the Council or the Board of Supervisors in the case of the non-resident member.
• SECTION 1 – Regular meetings shall be held monthly, date and hour to be determined by the board.
• SECTION 2 – Special meetings may be called at any time at the request of the President or the request of any two Board members for the transaction of business as stated in the call for the meeting.
• SECTION 3 – A quorum shall consist of a majority of the members of the Board.
• SECTION 4 – Each member of the Board is entitled to one vote, with the President voting only in the case of a tie.
• SECTION 5 - The order of business for regular meetings shall include but not be limited to the following items:
(a) minutes of prior meeting
(b) financial reports
(c) payment of bills
(d) directors report
(e) committee report
(f) old business
(h) new business
PERSONNEL - LIBRARY DIRECTOR:
SECTION 1- The Board shall appoint (with approval of the City Council) a qualified library director who
shall be the executive and administrative officer of the library on behalf of the board and under its review and direction. If hiring -a new applicant will be required to have a high school diploma or the equivalent.
An experienced applicant will have priority and salary will be set according to education and experience. Salary increases will occur after a favorable review by the board.
• SECTION 2 – The Library Director is responsible for implementing the policies of the Library Board effectively and efficiently and to assume administration of the policies without direct board involvement. Among these duties and responsibilities shall be: (a) to select all library materials; (b) to maintain contact with community officials; (c) to develop a planning process and annual objectives to fulfill the library’s mission; (d) to inform the board about the finances, public services; physical plant, personnel, collection and other developments, changes and problems of the library; (e) attend all the Board meetings; (f) Perform all responsibilities commensurate with this position; (e) Fulfill all duties required to maintain the libraries accreditation.
• SECTION 3 – Library Director is required to be certified by the State Library of Iowa within two years from hiring; and will attend continuing education classes to accumulate 45 CE credits every 3 years to maintain certification.
• SECTION 4 – PROBATION – A new employee will serve a probationary period of 2 months.
The librarian is assured of continuous employment after 6 months as long as duties are performed.
• SECTION 5 – VACATION – One week at 30 hours per week after 1 year. Two weeks at 30 hours per week after 3 years of employment. Funeral pay coverage at the Mayor’s discretion.
• SECTION 6 – SICK LEAVE – Library Director shall earn 5 working days of sick/personal leave, with no accumulation from year to year.
• SECTION 7 – HOLIDAYS – The Library Director is entitled to the following paid holidays
• New Year’s Day
• Memorial Day
• Independence Day
• Labor Day
• Thanksgiving Day
• Day after Thanksgiving
• Christmas Eve Day
• Christmas Day
STAFF – Holiday pay – After five (5) years of continuous employment the Assistant Librarian will be paid holiday pay if their regularly scheduled workday falls on the approved holidays. They will be paid their regular hourly salary.
This does not apply to substitutes that fill in temporarily for the Director or the Library Assistant.
MOBILE READING PROGRAM – The person responsible will be paid only for the actual time spent in the home presenting the program.
• SECTION 8 – WEATHER – Library can be closed because of inclement weather with approval of the board president or other board members. If the library is forced to close because of bad weather the library director will be paid for the entire day. This does not include wages if the library was never open because no one was able to get to the library because of bad weather.
• SECTION 9 – RESIGNATION – Written notice to board – 3-week notice.
• SECTION 10 - DISMISSAL- Incompetence – director is warned in writing and given 2 weeks to improve. If dismissal is necessary one week’s notice is given.
• SECTION 11– JURY DUTY – Leave without pay.
• SECTION 12 – WAGES – Starting wages will be determined by the library board according to education and experience. Raises will be recommended by the library board and every effort will be made to match the city’s percent increase.
Adopted November 1999 Amended –1/ 2008 Amended - 1/2010
Reviewed and revised - December 2003, 2006. January 28, 2010, December 2013
Revised January 17, 2011, September 9, 2019


|1.||Paper entitled ‘Public Administration and Small Business Entrepreneurship’, in co-authorship with Dr. Arun Kumar published in
Cambridge Business and Economics Journal (CBEJ) in the proceedings of “2014 Cambridge Business & Economics Conference
(CBEC)” held from July 1 to 2, 2014, Organized by Murray Edwards College Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK. ISBN: 9780974
|2.||Paper entitled “Lean Learning and Development: The Transformation in Information Age” in co-authorship with Professor Arun
Kumar published in “Proceedings of 11th International Business and Social Science Research Conference” held from January 8 to
9, 2015, organized at Dubai, UAE. ISBN: 978-1-922069-70-2.


Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva! by Big Freedia and Nicole Balin
SIGNED BY BIG FREEDIA
God Save the Queen Diva! (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster) is the memoir that chronicles the life of a poor choir boy from New Orleans who survived poverty, drugs, and bullying to become a world famous musical performer and reality TV personality. Channeling his pain through the music and culture of Bounce, Big Freedia is a icon for gender bending youth and is credited for bringing the “twerk” mainstream. Published in 2015, Big Freedia’s memoir contains a gallery of childhood photos from Big Freedia’s own collection and a guide to ‘twerking like a pro.’
From the eponymous star of the most popular reality show in Fuse TV’s history, this no-holds-barred memoir tells the story of a gay, self-proclaimed mama’s boy who exploded onto the formerly underground Bounce music scene—a hip-hop subgenre—and found acceptance, healing, self-expression, and stardom!
As the “undisputed ambassador” of the energetic, New Orleans-based Bounce movement, Big Freedia isn’t afraid to twerk, wiggle, and shake her way to self-confidence, and is encouraging her fans to do the same. In her engrossing memoir, Big Freedia tells the inside story of her path to fame, the peaks and valleys of her personal life, and the liberation that Bounce music brings to herself and every one of her fans who is searching for freedom.
Big Freedia immediately pulls us into the relationship between her personal life and her career as an artist; being a “twerking sissy” is not just a job, she says, but a salvation. A place to find solace. To escape from the battles she faced growing up in the worst neighborhood in New Orleans. To deal with losing loved ones to the violence on the streets, drug overdoses, and jail. To survive hurricane Katrina by living on her roof for two days with three adults and a child. To grapple with the difficulties and celebrate the joys of living.
In this eye-opening memoir that bursts with energy, you’ll learn the history of the Bounce movement and meet all of the colorful characters that pepper its music scene. With her own unique voice and unabashed enthusiasm, Big Freedia tells how she arrived at this defining moment in music, and how Bounce ultimately has allowed her to become her own version of diva, one booty-pop at a time.
WHAT THE PRESS SAYS ABOUT GOD SAVE THE QUEEN DIVA!:
“On her show, Freedia comes off as affable and grateful — belying her diva persona — and these traits are only solidified and expanded in the book.”
“Freedia’s story is inspirational, a journey overcoming poverty and discrimination to become an internationally known star. The rise of Big Freedia is the rise of bounce, and God Save the Queen Diva! serves as a worthwhile encapsulation of that tale.”
“Whether detailing the highs or the lows, Freedia’s tales pop as much as the booty that made her famous.”
— OUT MAGAZINE
“In Big Freedia: God Save the Queen Diva (Gallery Books) the rapper goes deeper, with a tale that is as much a capsule history of the bounce-music world as it is his own story.”


The Future of Looking Back
Microsoft Research Cambridge
What will we leave behind in this new digital age? As digital technology takes an ever-increasing role in our lives, one question is how we´ll manage our collections after we´re gone. What takes the place of shoeboxes full of pictures and dog-eared record albums? Get an inside look at Microsoft researcher Richard Banks´s thinking about how we might manage the digital artifacts and content we´re creating now - and how we might pass on or inherit these kinds of items in the future.
The Table of Contents of "The Future of Looking Back":Stuff and sentimentality
A digital life
- Chapter 1: Getting sentimental
- Chapter 2: Attributes of the physical and the digital
- Chapter 3: Where the physical and the digital meet
New sentimental things
- Chapter 4: Our digital lifespan
- Chapter 5: A digital death
- Chapter 6: Things and experiences
- Chapter 7: Recording our lives
- Chapter 8: The things we put online
- Appendix: Afterword
- Appendix: References
About the Author Richard Banks:
|Richard Banks is a principle interaction designer for Microsoft Research in Cambridge, UK. He´s part of a team that spends most of its time looking at family life, trying to understand the complexities of home, in order to figure out how the digital should fit in appropriately.|
Richard joined Microsoft in 2005 after graduating from the Royal College of Art in London. Since then he´s worked as a design manager in Seattle on Microsoft´s Office, Windows, and MSN products before moving home and into Microsoft Research. Richard holds in excess of twenty patents for design work at Microsoft and is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in the UK.
About the Microsoft Research Series
At Microsoft Research, we´re driven to imagine and to invent. Our desire is to create technology that helps people realize their full potential, and to advance the state of the art in computer science. The Microsoft Research series shares the insights of Microsoft researchers as they explore the new and the transformative.


So, I’ve learned the Braille alphabet, and some punctuation (period, comma, quotes). I can even read (veeeeeeeery slowly) some items. I was so proud of myself for learning the alphabet that I started trying to read other items out in the community. Imagine my shock when I go to read the sign by the Men’s room door and there are only two cells. “That’s odd,” I thought, “and one of those is’t even a letter.” I look over to the women’s room sign and it has the same strange non-letter that I didn’t recognize, I had just had my first interaction with a contraction.
At work the next day I grab a booklet from the lobby from the library printed in Braille and I could only get about half of the items on the front page. I honestly felt a little deflated, I had put so much effort into learning the alphabet and punctuation, only to learn that most items are printed in Grade/Type 2. A cursory glance told me that I still had a lot to learn and cover. I now only know about three of the contractions (thanks to figuring out “en”) and I have “ed” and “and.” So, I’m still technically illiterate.
In the near future (once I have evenings free again) I hope to start a “Braille club” at disABILITY LINK. I have some interest from a couple of staff members, and can hopefully get some of you interested to join the Braille journey with me. In the meantime, I will try to sneak in a few whole word and sound contractions to build up my repertoire. Any advice on useful ways of learning the contractions? I’m also looking for a useful course to try in my free time.


An Alphabetical Book About Nokia Pure
“Twenty-six characters” is a celebration of Nokia Pure typeface. It details how the typeface was designed and developed with the user interface in mind, and how it was crafted into a contemporary typeface at the Dalton Maag foundry. In many ways, this book is a how-to manual for creating a custom typeface.
It’s also design inspiration, a specimen sheet, a rough guide to typography. All in all, it’s a visual treat for type lovers, both inspiration and guidance.
This book was designed in-house by the Nokia Design Visual Communications' team.


TAMIKA MALLORY DECLARES A ‘STATE OF EMERGENCY’
Social Justice Activist Makes a Literary Debut: Watch Out For Her Book-By Drive Africa Writer
Social justice activist Tamika Mallory is set to venture into the publishing world with a new book titled ‘The State of Emergency’. A native of New York City and an eloquent and passionate orator on issues related to social justice, Mallory has been active in the civil rights arena for over two decades working on a variety of issues such as economic justice, women’s rights, police reform, and gun violence. ‘The State of Emergency’ will be published through Black Privilege Publishing. The book is being reviewed as an exploration of race in America which seeks to provide a blue print for how the country can move towards a fairer and just society. Mallory interrogates the systemic injustices of the country with a focus on historical inequities which have affected black, indigenous, and immigrant communities. She believes the time for these communities to assert their rightful place in the American experience is now.
Mallory has served with the National Action Network as its Executive Director, where she also was the organization’s youngest ever director. She played a role in the establishment of a gun violence prevention program which supports organizations that work in abating gun violence. In 2017, Mallory was the co-founder and co-chair of the Women’s March on Washington which garnered a global participation of over five million people. Fortune Magazine included her on its 2017 list of the World’s Greatest Leaders while Time Magazine also placed her on its Time 100 Pioneers list. Mallory has served on the board of The Gathering for Justice Organization and also run a consulting company called Mallory Consulting and cofounded a social justice organization called Until Freedom.


What have your go-to coaching resources been? Do you have articles, assessments, or videos that have helped you develop as a coach or work with your clients?
This Library is on constant growth and we would LOVE for you to share these resources with your TCFS coach community!
There are three tools you can use to search the Resource Library
TIP: If you would like to see the resources on a slightly larger screen, you can click “Vier Larger Version” at the bottom right corner and it will pop out the Resource Library screen to a new window!


Today marks the 107th anniversary of the birth of Robert E. Howard, the quintessential American pulp author best-known for creating Conan the Barbarian.
REH, as he known to fans, had an incredibly prolific and all-too-short career lasting from roughly 1929-’36. His powerful, evocative writing has always been an influence on my own writing, almost as much as H.P. Lovecraft. Like Lovecraft, Howard had a talent for painting lush, detailed scenes in only a few evocative words — although literary critics like S.T. Joshi dismissed REH’s prose as “subliterary hackwork that does not even begin to approach genuine literature.”
But, hey, Howard did much more than unleash a barbarian on pop culture. He helped shape modern pop culture by fathering the “sword and sorcery” subgenre of fantasy and contributing to Lovecraft’s horror mythos. Howard came up with a number of other vivid characters, including Solomon Kane, Kull the Conqueror, Sailor Steve Costigan, Cormac Mac Art, Bran Mac Morn, El Borak and James Allison — notable for being disabled. I have previously looked at REH’s life, which tragically ended in suicide, so now I turn to his literary output.
In 1928, Howard sold a story starring the Puritan adventurer Solomon Kane called “Red Shadows” to Weird Tales, a magazine that would become one of his most reliable markets. His other go-to pulp was Fight Stories, for which he created Sailor Steve Costigan, a mariner with hands of stone — and head full of rocks to match — and sold many stories. (Costigan was an exaggerated version of Howard himself.)
By the time he was just 23 years old, Howard was able quick his odd jobs and support himself as a professional writer. In fact, REH would soon become the best-paid man in hometown of Cross Plains, Texas.
In 1930, REH wrote a letter to Weird Tales praising the story “The Rats in the Walls,” by Lovecraft. Editor Farnsworth Wright forwarded the missive to Lovecraft, who wrote back to Howard, establishing a longstanding friendship by correspondence that would influence the writing of each. Howard borrowed supernatural elements for his own stories, and contributed tales to Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos.
When the Great Depression ravaged the pulp market, REH lost Fight Stories and several other markets he depended upon. To make matters worse, Howard lost most of his assets in consecutive bank failures. But REH bounced back in 1932 with his greatest character, Conan.
Conan had a long gestation period, and — unusually for Howard — he did not abandon the character when his first three stories and a synopsis were rejected by Weird Tales. Instead, he reworked the pieces, and eventually sold two. “The Phoenix on the Sword” appeared in December 1932. The other was “The Tower of the Elephant,” which is one of my favorites.
By 1934, Howard was losing interest in Conan and Weird Tales owed him over $1,500 in late payments. (Howard eventually sold a total of 17 Conan stories to WT.) That’s when Howard turned to a new character, Breckenridge Elkins, who starred in humorous “Tall Tale” Westerns for Action Stories. The character was so successful that magazines like Argosy and Cowboy Stories demanded REH do similar characters for them!
By 1936, Howard was writing Westerns almost exclusively, including a novel, A Gent From Bear Creek. However, in June of that year his beloved mother, Hester — to whom REH was completely devoted — lay near death in a coma after decades of battling tuberculosis. On the morning of June 11, a nurse told Howard that his mother would never wake up. REH walked out to his car in the driveway and shot himself in the head with a .380 Colt Automatic. He lingered for eight hours, dying at about 4 p.m. His mother died the next day, and double funeral was held on June 14, 1936.
REH left a suicide note in his typewriter featuring just these haunting words from the poem “The House of Caesar,” by Viola Garvin:
“All fled, all done, so lift me on the pyre;
The feast is over, and the lamps expire.”


I love books.
I don’t know if it’s the prospect of the knowledge that is contained in these books or just a romanticization of the aesthetic of physical books, but one way or another, ever since I was young, I’ve wanted to own as many books as possible. This has continued into my adult life, although admittedly, there were times when this obsession was financially inadvisable. Still, several years into my adult life, I have at least the start of a decent collection.
However, a number of years ago, I picked up a copy of “Outliers” by Malcolm Gladwell from eBay. The book itself is a bit self-helpy, but I do appreciate the exploration of the myth of the self-made man as well as the aspects which actually make some people more successful than others. However, what really bothered me about the book was how much the previous owner underlined passages and made notes in the margins of the book. There are entire paragraphs underlined, circled, and written over with this thick, ugly pen underline.
I’m all for people getting the most out of books, but this right here really bugs me.
In fact, highlights and notes in books have always been a pet peeve of mine for multiple reasons. Part of what I love about books is the way in which the text can speak to different readers in different ways. Adding highlights to a novel forever changes how that particular passage will be perceived by future readers.
But that’s a fiction book, right? Highlighting a novel would be akin to drawing arrows on a work of art to point out the important bits. Surely it’s different with a non-fiction book or a textbook, right?
Well, believe it or not, there’s actually a lot of evidence that highlighting and underlining text while reading actually keeps readers from remembering the material they read. According to an article in Scientific American, highlighting passages in textbooks doesn’t provide any improvement to students’ overall performances.
Students commonly report underlining, highlighting or otherwise marking material. It is simple and quick—but it does little to improve performance. In controlled studies, highlighting has failed to help U.S. Air Force basic trainees, children and remedial students, as well as typical undergraduates. Underlining was ineffective regardless of text length and topic, whether it was aerodynamics, ancient Greek schools or Tanzania. (Scientific American)https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-works-what-doesn-t/
The act of highlighting a passage actually tricks you into thinking you’ll be more likely to remember it. Even when re-reading a text, having highlights inevitably means you’ll end up focusing on individual sentences rather than the meaning of the whole text. Highlighting is a quick and easy way to make it seem like you’re absorbing information, but in actuality, you’re keeping yourself from absorbing any new information and ruining a perfectly good book for anyone else who ever wants to try and read it.
A much more effective method I’ve found when reading texts that you have a harder time understanding is active reading, where you re-read different passages, break them down, and tell what you read back to yourself in your own words. It’s a lot more work, but it helps a lot when you need to go back and study things. If you also have separate notes written, you can then, instead of re-reading the textbook itself, review the things you wrote yourself. This means you’ll have a much stronger emotional connection to the subject while revisiting it.
Bottom line: don’t write in your books. We have other books made for that; they’re called notebooks. That way, you don’t end up scribbling all over a copy of a book that you later sell on eBay to some weird guy who uses it to complain about you on the internet…


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Discover the life of Jesse Owens, the great Olympic athlete and track and field star, with this picture book biography for kids ages 4-7. Learn how Jesse went from helping out in the Alabama cotton fields as a child, then was discovered by his high school track coach after the family moved to Cleveland, Ohio. Jesse Owens went on to set new world records and challenge racism on the world stage in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, and this book shows how like every great person, Jesse began life as a child with a dream.
**This book may contain a sharpie mark on the top or bottom edge and may show mild signs of shelfwear.**
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What books do I recommend, other than my own? Let’s have a look…
My favorite nuclear age submarine novels:
- The Hunt for Red October. The Granddaddy of Them All (Post WWII). I wasn’t even thinking about the Navy when Tom Clancy wrote his landmark novel which launched his epic career and opened the way for modern submarine fiction. But the book gained popularity while I was becoming a naval officer at the U.S. Naval Academy, and it was significant within our geeky culture.
- Deep Sound Channel. This is the first of a six-book series by Joe Buff, who in my opinion is the most scientifically gifted submarine author. He’s a research machine, and he weaved space-age composite materials and uber-deep nuclear blasts into great battle scenes which I consider the technical manual for future super-deep warfare. Unfortunately for fiction fans, he’s moved on to non-fiction and is working on a 200,000+ monster about nuclear deterrence that I’m looking forward to reading.
- Trident Deception. Rick Campbell’s debut is solid throughout, and it involves a cool “risk” or two where the author experiments with “what if” it really happened in combat. He also has good intrigue on land, rounding out an exciting plot with memorable characters on and off the submarine. Most notably, this is the only book in my Top 5 that’s part of an active series. This book may rise in my rankings as it has time to sink into my brain as a fond memory like the others. Check it out!
- Scorpion in the Sea. It’s one of two I read while I was curled up in my rack on an actual submarine. P.T. Deutermann’s submarine novel involved older technology even for its time (twenty-five years ago), but as a character-driven story, it’s a gem worth remembering. The final climax scene is still emblazoned on my memory.
- Phoenix Sub Zero. Although it’s the third in a series, it’s the first book I read by Michael DiMercurio. It’s one of two I read while I was curled up in my rack on an actual submarine. It’s the book I credit with rekindling my interest in submarine fiction after putting down The Hunt for Red October. The author stopped writing the series after nine or ten books, but it’s still a series worth checking out.


Image courtesy of @unexpectedjoyof
For those living in recovery, summertime and the accompanying trips and holidays can be challenging. Substances may be around, and normal routines are out the window.
In this week’s blog we provide a valuable resource to take with you in your back pocket and in your ear buds this Summer… our top five sobriety audiobooks to listen to now.
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober
Narrated by Catherine Gray
10 Hours and 15 Minutes
In this audiobook Catherine Gray uses a three prong approach of sharing her personal struggles with attaining sobriety, advice from expert sources, and factual information to provide the reader (or listener) with the tools they need to decide if alcohol is serving them or not.
‘I discovered that I was about a million times happier sober than I ever had been while drinking. As were the hundreds of sober pals I picked up along the way. I found myself with dozens more hours in the week, heaps more energy, £20K more money over three and a half years, deepened friendships, revived family relationships, better skin, a tighter body, tanned legs for the first time ever, the ability to sleep for eight uninterrupted hours, a bone-deep sense of well-being, a totally turned-around positive outlook and an infinitely more successful career. What’s not to like?!’
Narrated by Ann Dowsett Johnson
8 Hours and 46 Minutes
In the audiobook Drink: The Intimate Relationship Between Women and Alcohol award winning journalist Ann Dowsett Johnson dives into her own personal story of recovery weaving into the fabric in depth research of the alcoholism epidemic threatening society. Her focus of the narrative revolves specifically around women and young girls. Dowsett combines in depth statistical research through the lens of her own story, and how corporations are profiting from marketing to women specifically.
Narrated by Augusten Burroughs
8 Hours 42 Minutes
This memoir by Augusten Burroughs highlights his drinking escapades in a high profile advertising job in Manhattan, and the fallout when the rug was pulled from under him and his employer forced him to go to rehab. When his 30 days were up he returned to his same life, but had to adapt to the high speed of Manhattan and his old life sober.
“Beneath the quick-flowing, funny-sad surface of Burroughs’ prose lurks considerable complexity: wherever he goes, whatever he’s doing, you can feel how badly he wants to drink-as well as the sadness from which that desire comes and the courage it takes to make the sadness so funny, all at the same time. If anything, Dry is even more compelling than Burroughs’ first outing.” ―Lev Grossman, Time
Image courtesy of @meghans_library
Narrated by Elizabeth Vargas
5 Hours and 35 Minutes
When Elizabeth Varagas mustered the courage to admit to reporter George Stephanopoulos on live television that she was an alcoholic, her life has never been the same. She began writing this book Between Breaths about digesting new sobriety and how her panic disorder and mental health played a large role in her substance use disorder. Her bravery to share with the audience her story as it unfolds, is unique and addresses the importance of addressing the mental health aspect in recovery.
Narrated by Sarah Hepola
7 hours and 35 minutes
Blackout is a riveting, witty, and honest look at what happens when people black out from drinking. Sarah Hepola brings her personal experience into the story recalling piecing together her nights, but also goes into the science of what actually happens to the brain when in this state. Through her blackouts and the fallouts from them, she found her way into sobriety and shares with the audience her story and unique personality.
By Chris Herren and Bill Reynolds
Narrated by Peter Berkrot
6 Hours and 34 Minutes
Fall River, Massachusetts junior guard Chris Herren carried the weight of his family’s expectations and a city that placed their hopes on his shoulders. Herren went on from Durfee High School to play for Fresno State and was later drafted into the NBA for the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics. On the outside Chris Herren had it all, but on the inside his addiction was taking over. In his own words, Chris Herren tells how he nearly lost everything and everyone he loved, and how he found a way back to life. Powerful, honest, and dramatic, Basketball Junkie is a remarkable memoir, harrowing in its descent, and heartening in its return.
Audiobooks are great resources to provide a sense of connection and the hope needed to live a life in recovery. At Herren Wellness our guests are introduced to multiple resources, strategies and tools to live healthy, authentic and substance-free lives.
In recovery it is essential to utilize the tools gathered, and audiobooks are a wonderful way to connect and expand knowledge of recovery and garner some new tools.
About Herren Wellness
When you come here, you are immediately connected with a thriving community of people at all stages of their recovery journey. We introduce healthy habits and routines centered around emotional, physical, and spiritual wellness that provide a solid foundation for rediscovering your interests, experiencing joy in sobriety, and building structure and routine.
We provide several alumni support communities, including a weekly recovery support group, monthly alumni meeting, and online alumni community you can access anytime. Your connection to Herren Wellness doesn’t end when your stay ends; we are there for you throughout your recovery journey.
If you, or a loved one, are looking for help, please call us at (844) 443-7736, email us at firstname.lastname@example.org, or fill out a contact form. You are not alone.


Neart tri Bunseasmhacht
Strength through Perseverance
Talty Family Roots Project
Contains some of the findings of a one name genealogy project on the Talty family name which commenced in 2013. The book explores some findings about the name from a variety of source material, and from the findings of a YDNA project. It was put together for the participants of a Talty Gathering in Co Clare Ireland in 2017. The cover contains the accepted emblem of the Talty name. Purchases of this book contributed to the funding of the gathering costs.
Due to further queries, a small number of these books have been reprinted and are currently available to order.
A local history, which focuses on the function and revival of Irish music and culture in the area of Miltown Malbay (Kilfarboy), Co. Clare, Ireland.
Miltown Malbay is the parish of origin of the Talty name. This book recounts some the people living in the area from 1880-1980 and looks at the transition in a rural area of Ireland from British Rule to Free State. It outlines the efforts made to revive Irish Culture and Music. These efforts have resulted in Irish culture being an integral part of Irish society today, and having world wide recognition. For coherance and chronology it is told through the life of Martin Talty, a local musican and cultural activist.
A book of short stories, in which each story tells of events in the lives of Clare born Talty family individuals. We often assume that people left Ireland due to the famine or economic pressures. This books tells the stories of those who left for a variety of reasons and of some who remained. It is hoped that it will help us all to know better the social & economic conditions our ancestors lived in prior to departure. In some cases we see the equally difficult challengs experienced by our ancestors in their newly adopted country. The stories range from the early 1800's to the 1900's.
This book is due to launch in Feb 2020. Pre orders can be placed now.
Onine Courses on the Talty research findings and history will be coming on stream very soon. Watch out for notifications by email or on this site.


Thursday, July 2, 2009
Palm Bay Elementary
Well I've been away for awhile, for a great reason! Here's a sneak peek of my lat erst work. I was commissioned by Pam Bay elementary to create a series of paintings for their library. It was a ton of fun to work with the school and be apart of their AMAZING art program! truly I owe a big thanks to my friend Mr. Cortes for allowing me to be a part of his classroom!


Gaining incredible spotlight, if you’re up-to-date on the reading, Hidden Figures is one of those upcoming movies that speak of an untold story from history about the great and prominent achievements that were found in making an auspicious change in the lifestyle of many. Not to my surprise, Hidden Figures is also an upcoming book that tells a remarkable story of a group of female scientists who were significantly behind the biggest and most influential advances in aeronautics, in the 1940s era.
What this movie tells is the proud story of a solid team of African-American women who aid NASA by providing them with crucial mathematical data in the context of making a startling change for so many black women who enjoyed their long careers within the community. According to a recent article published in The Guardian, it was pointed out in the book that just 2% of black women got a university degree and more than half became teachers. And only a few broke down their “chosen” paths to join NASA to become serious mathematicians.
According to the Hidden Figures website, hundreds of women worked as “human computers” for the NACA, former NASA, from the 1930s through the 1980s. This website encourages The Human-Computer Project that strives and has accomplished great to recover hundreds of names and legacy for all female scientists, data analysts, mathematicians, and engineers who worked at NASA during that time. It is a solid effort to bring to light what has been forgotten, or not given enough importance today.
Hidden Figures highlights the lives of those black women who paved the way, being steadfast and true to the end, during one of the biggest advances in aeronautics, and other influential moments that made the 20th century what it stands for today. Katherine Johnson, is an African-American physicist, space scientist, and mathematician, born in 1918. She’s been a part of many major space programs that also took a giant leap during the moon landing, a fact that remains unknown, until now. She wasn’t alone. There was a proud team of all-female and all-black scientists behind every major space program during that time. That’s what Hidden Figures is built to portray so contemptuously and with such single-hearted commitment.
And that’s why I am looking forward to this movie releasing in 2017. I will, most probably, read the book first, like I always do, but I might hold off a bit more just to read it at the right time when this movie releases so the spirit instilled in their story and their hard work is still alive when I sit with cheese and salted popcorn with a Red Bull can, to watch it passionately in the cinema.
I didn’t choose to write about this movie, specifically, because it speaks of the unforgotten and untold story of black NASA women. I chose this movie because this is the perfect kind of movie that the world must watch right now. It’s empowering and it keeps us reminded of the marvels that have happened in the past that have shaped our present and future. Things are rapidly transforming from one generation to the next, but what stays are such brilliant biographical films about strong, intelligent, and beautiful people in the world. It inspires us to do more, be more, and give back more. Because what’s knowledge when it’s not passed on to others?
Coming from a time when African American women were barred from studying in colleges, they were unable to be literate, forget about being educated. They were kept from being confident enough to tell their own story. And this destitution had been passed on from generation to generation until women like Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, Mary Jackson, and countless more who fought for their rights and place in the world. These were the women who never stopped striving, to find a way to face their own lifestyle choices in a way that it meant to go against whatever bias came their way. How can such a movie that reflects such brilliant principles not be interesting and inspiring for anyone?
Such movies boast of great sense and capability, at work and in a person’s personal life. When applied to making a change, being a woman who’s looked at as something meant to fulfill an already-decided duty, this untold and true story is heartening and conversable for all. That’s why I chose to write about Hidden Figures.


Christmas is a shining growth in the social institutional landscape, a holiday rich in various heritages, colorful, good-humored, and devoted, for most, to a sentiment of universal goodwill. As a Jew with religious beliefs somewhere between pantheism and atheism, the Christianity of this ostensibly Christian holiday is as relevant to me as Halloween’s Celtic connection, which is to say, relevant, but not in the expected way.
Christmas is a cultural snowball rolling down a seemingly endless slope, growing as it goes. Its journey began long before the birth of Christ (which certainly did not occur on the 25th of December, which just happened to be the date of the biggest Roman holiday beforehand, the Saturnalia, chosen to make the early Christian celebration inconspicuous), and has traveled through diverse cultures and religions ever since, accumulating their material along the way.
We all know that Christianity began as a Jewish sect, building on the preceding Old Testament of the Jews. But Judaism as well had built on pre-existing near eastern religions and mythologies, incorporating the story of the flood, for instance, which had existed long before the Habiru (“desert wanderers”) began to promote Yahweh beyond his original status as a local tribal god. And the Romans, in the period preceding and during the early rise of Christianity, were in the market for new religions, accumulating around several “mystery cults” that were popular in the Roman Empire (of which Christianity was one), born in one or another of its provinces (e.g., the Dionysian and Orphean Cults of Greece, the Cult of Isis and Osiris of Egypt, Mithraism of Persia). Some of the materials of these other cults sloshed together and entered into early Christianity (transforming the Hebrew concept of “messiah” –translated into Greek as “Christ”– for instance, which was of a human prophet, into an incarnation of God; and the imagery of death and resurrection).
The Roman Empire itself, once Christianity became the state religion (thanks to Constantine’s perhaps politically motivated conversion), changed Christianity from a religion devoted to the poor and humble, into an instrument of state power. When Rome fell, that instrument was all that was left of the empire in the West, and became the overarching political force of Medieval Europe. In this way, Catholicism (one of the two major branches of pre-Reformation Christianity, the other being Greek Orthodoxy, residing in the surviving half of the Roman -now “Byzantine”- Empire in the East) adapted to and absorbed the indigenous cultural and religious material of Western Europe. Catholicism also became the improbable repository of classical scholarship, protecting it from the ravages of the Middle Ages, to be rediscovered and revived centuries later, only to transform itself into the most powerful of all countervailing forces: Applied Reason (further invigorated by the umbrella of monotheism itself, for monotheism reduces the caprice of multiple gods with multiple wills, and implies that there is a coherent order to Nature to be discerned).
The Christmas tree, for instance, is a blend of several traditions and innovations, none of them related to the religion itself, except for the possibility that Martin Luther introduced this custom into Christianity as part of the differentiation of Protestantism from Catholicism (see http://www.christmas-time.com/ct-ctree.htm). The decorated tree itself began in Rome, during the Saturnalia (the Pagan Roman holiday on December 25 historically antecedent to Christmas). The star on top appears to be derivative of the Roman custom of placing an image of Apollo, the sun god, on top of their decorated trees. The Teutonic tribes of northern Europe also decorated trees, in honor of Odin, and the Druids brought evergreens inside during the winter solstice to celebrate the renewal of life, a custom co-opted by Christianity as a celebration of Christ as “the bringer of new life into the world.”
Santa Claus, originally a 4th century bishop from Asia Minor known for his generosity and fondness of children (hopefully not in the modern sense too often associated with Christian priests!), blended into an anglo-saxon “Father Christmas” who wore garb associated with the gods Thor and Saturn (http://www.christmas-time.com/cp-santa.html). (See http://www.christmas-time.com/ct-trad.htm for similar discussions of other Christmas traditions).
Others have added to the imagery since, such as Charles Dickens, adding a repentant ghost of an avaricious businessman trying to convince his surviving and equally avaricious partner of the value of kindness and generosity, with the aid of three spirits (Christmas Past, Present, and Future); and Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart giving us a somewhat opposite image, of someone who had spent his life sacrificing his own dreams to the welfare of others, and in his own time of tribulation, being shown by an angel how much he had meant to the world by doing so. (See my political versions of these tales: A Political Christmas Carol and “It’s a Wonderful Life,” American Political Edition (Parts I-V).)
Every generation adds to the repertoire of songs and stories, reworking old ones, inventing new ones. An inspired answer by a hardened newspaperman to a little girl’s innocent question; a movie that plays on our desire to believe and the confluence of convenience and (an ironically anachronistic) trust in our governmental institutions; songs that cover the gamut of genres and styles, and throw in a fair amount of humor from time to time; all of these are the stuff of Christmas.
Now thoroughly secularized for many, with a jolly white-bearded magical entity of various pagan roots, assisted by quintessential European magical pagan creatures (elves) and flying reindeer, bringing joy to children everywhere on a snowy winter solstice (ironically, imagined as snowy even in tropical Mazatlan, where I was staying at the time of this writing, among a people very conscious that they are celebrating a desert birth), Christmas has become a shining multicultural gem, evoking feelings of mirth and goodwill in any and all who surrender to its magic. Full of music and rituals, feasts and games, gifts and giddiness, Christmas is the matured Saturnalia, a timeless celebration that belongs to many generations and places, rich with the influence of many cultures.
The compassionate, generous, joyful celebration of life has always been an ideal too beleaguered and too much in need of cultural reinforcements (see Meta-messaging with Frames and Narratives). Christmas, for all the legitimate complaints about its commercialization, remains perhaps the grandest and most powerful national and international celebration of joy and kindness. And so, with that, I wish you all a very Merry Christmas! May the winter solstice be as magical for you as it has been for so many who have celebrated it before, in all their myriad ways.


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Sun, May 19
South Huntington Public Library
South Huntington Library Concert Series
Registration is Closed
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Time & Location
May 19, 2019, 2:30 PM
South Huntington Public Library, 145 Pidgeon Hill Rd, Huntington Station, NY 11746, USA
About the event
Featuring Charis Dimaras, Piano.
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Yancey Commissioners Honor Partnership for Children Efforts
At their September meeting, Yancey County Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution honoring the valuable work of the Blue Ridge Partnership of Children. The Partnership is a multiple county non-profit organization located in Burnsville providing education, training and early child development initiatives in Avery, Mitchell and Yancey Counties. Some of the programs provided by the Partnership include the Dolly Parton Imagination Library, Child Care Resource and Referral, and the Healthy Families initiative.
"The commissioners recognize the important work the Partnership does to positively affect a child's potential to become a healthy, productive member of society as an adult," stated Commissioner Johnny Riddle. The resolution notes that the Blue Ridge Partnership for Children is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of North Carolina Smart Start which was established by the State of North Carolina in 1993 to help prepare young children to enter school.
Commissioners presented the resolution to Executive Director Jennifer Simpson during the Partnership's annual fundraising event on September 24th, expressing appreciation for her hard work, dedication, and leadership throughout the last twenty years. They also recognized the staff of the Blue Ridge Partnership for exemplary public service to the children and families of Yancey County. The resolution proclaimed Monday, October 1st as "Blue Ridge Partnership for Children Day" in Yancey County, and a small celebration was held in the Burnsville office on that day.
If you would like to know more about the programs and initiatives available from the Blue Ridge Partnership for Children, please visit their office located at 392 East Main Street in Burnsville or on the web at www.BlueRidgeChildren.org.
Commissioners present Resolution to Jennifer Simpson, BRPFC Executive Director. L-R: Jennifer Simpson, Commissioner Jill Austin, Commissioner Johnny Riddle, and County Manager Nathan Bennett.


From USA Today Bestselling author Kelly McClymer comes a tale of betrayal, forgiveness, and impossible odds.
Betsy Lawton had not fully accepted that she would always be just a governess’s daughter to the man she loved until he married another. Brokenhearted, Betsy accepted a proposal of marriage from a man she’d never met in far way Maine. The United States of America was a new country, with no titles. There, Betsy decided, she would make her home safe in a lighthouse, far away from the man who had crushed her heart and her dreams when he didn’t have the courage to stand against his family for her.
The Earl of Battingston had reluctantly put aside his own selfish desire to marry the governess’s daughter in order to do his duty to his family and marry the woman that had been chosen for him. But now he needs her help, and he’s willing to travel all the way to America to seek her forgiveness, and her aid in keeping his baby daughter safe. He sees it as a way to make amends when he offers marriage to help her keep her lighthouse. But will she see it as a new betrayal when she finds out the truth?
Read the Digital Edition of The Lighthouse Keeper’s Bride:
EXCERPT from The Lighthouse Keeper’s Bride
Buy The Lighthouse Keeper’s Bride:


Here’s a link to a 1990 essay I wrote about the birth of Highways Performance Space for the University of Kansas Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism. Highways is a performance art space in Santa Monica, Calif., that I founded with artist Tim Miller in 1989. This story is full of idealism and highflown rhetoric about how we were going to change the world. And, in some little ways, we did. I left in 1993, but Highways still thrives at the 18th Street Arts Center. Long may she wave.
Here’s a link to “Everybody Say Hallelujah,” my commentary on the Liz Lerman Dance Exchange community performance initiative of 1998-2002, as published on the Community Arts Network. I spent some time following this multiyear, nationwide initiative and writing about it. This suite of articles should be of use to anyone interested in Lerman’s work or anyone working with community engagement. It’s a virtual how-to.
Here’s a link to the entire contents of “The Citizen Artist: 20 Years of Art in the Public Arena: An Anthology from High Performance Magazine 1978-1998.” It was edited by Steven Durland and myself, and published in May 1998 by Critical Press (New York) for their series “Thinking Publically: The New Era of Public Art.” It’s located in the archive of the Community Arts Network. The paperback book is for sale on Amazon.
I was asked to create this list for something that never happened, but I thought I’d post it here for people who might be interested. Most of the info came from High Performance magazine. Names in parentheses are those of the founders, as far as I know. Pardon mistakes and omissions. Let me hear about additions, corrections. -LFB, 8/2014
Artspaces/performance spaces/alternative spaces — run by artists


Sheriff's deputy Rick Grimes awakens from a coma to find a post-apocalyptic world dominated by flesh-eating zombies. He sets out to find his family and encounters many other survivors along the way.
(S010E02) Episodul precedent
Lansat pe 2019-10-13
The origins of Alpha and Beta are revealed; Alpha attempts to toughen up Lydia as they prepare to walk with the dead; the Whisperers create their herds.
Urmatorul episod (S010E03)
Va fi lansat pe 2019-10-20
The threat of the Whisperers return leads to paranoia sweeping over Alexandria; in the meantime, Carol battles with the need for revenge.


“The Power of Now” by Eckhart Tolle is a transformative book that teaches readers how to achieve inner peace and live in the present moment.
Marcus Aurelius, Roman Emperor from AD 161 to 180, recording his private notes to himself and ideas on Stoic philosophy in Meditations1, wrote about the power of present as well, 2000 years before Eckhart Tolle. Who was inspired by whom?
Here are seven lessons you can learn from this powerful book (or from Marcus Aurelius):
1. BE PRESENT
One of the main teachings of the book is the importance of being present in the moment. According to Marcus Aurelius (and E.T., surely), the past and the future are mere illusions, and the only true reality is the present moment. By focusing on the present, we can free ourselves from the negative thoughts and emotions that come with dwelling on the past or worrying about the future.
2. LET GO OF YOUR EGO
Tolle suggests that our ego is the source of much of our suffering. The ego is our sense of self, and it often leads us to compare ourselves to others and seek validation from external sources. To find inner peace, Tolle suggests letting go of our ego and embracing the present moment without judgment.
Tolle teaches the importance of accepting the present for what it is. This means letting go of our resistance to what is happening and embracing the present moment without judgment or resistance. By accepting this, we can find inner peace and contentment.
4. BE MINDFUL
Tolle encourages readers to practice mindfulness, which involves paying attention to the present moment with a non-judgmental attitude. Mindfulness can help us become more aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations, and can help us find inner peace and clarity.
Tolle suggests that surrendering to the present moment is key to finding inner peace. Surrender means letting go of our attachment to outcomes and trusting that everything will unfold as it should. By surrendering to the present, we can find peace and contentment in the here and now.
Marcus Aurelius’ s vision is to accept what you cannot control. We should focus on what we can control and accept what we cannot. By accepting the things, we cannot change, we can find peace and tranquility in the present moment.
It seems like the same idea, right? So maybe we should fallow them.
6. PRACTICE STILNESS
Tolle emphasizes the importance of stillness and silence in finding inner peace. By practicing stillness, we can quiet the mind and connect with our inner being. This can help us find a sense of peace and tranquility that is often missing in our busy lives.
7. LET GO OF NEGATIVITY
Tolle suggests that negative thoughts and emotions are the source of much of our suffering. By letting go of negativity and focusing on positive thoughts and emotions, we can find inner peace and happiness. This means letting go of anger, resentment, and other negative emotions, and focusing on gratitude, love, and compassion instead.
And some more wisdom from one of AlmaFides favorite writers, Marcus Aurelius:
The Roman Emperor emphasizes the importance of gratitude and suggests that we should appreciate the beauty of the present and be grateful for all the blessings in our lives. The beauty of present could mean the blue sky, the person with whom you share a conversation, the green grass, your kid’s smile.
Everything in life is impermanent, and that we should embrace this impermanence rather than fearing it. By accepting the impermanence of all things, we can find peace and tranquility in the present moment.
Cultivate inner strength.
Aurelius encourages readers to cultivate inner strength, or “virtue,” through mindfulness, self-reflection, and a commitment to living a good life. By cultivating inner strength, we can find peace and contentment in the present moment, no matter what challenges we may face.
1Meditations, the writings of “the philosopher” – as contemporary biographers called Marcus – are a significant source of the modern understanding of ancient Stoic philosophy. These writings have been praised by fellow writers, philosophers, monarchs, and politician’s centuries after his death.
You can read the book “The power of now” by Eckhart Tolle on Google Books.


These are rough, solo recordings of tunes that were taught at our slow sessions.
These are not examples of Toraigh's music, but instead are provided as aids to those who would like to learn how to play these traditional Irish tunes.
Copyright © for all of these recordings is owned by W. Robert Midden, 2019.
You may copy and reproduce these recordings for the purposes of learning the tunes but you may not sell them or post them to other web sites without my written permission.
The production of these recordings has been supported, in part, by the Ohio Arts Council.
More traditional Irish tune recordings for learning to play these tunes.


Following the massive success of THE ART OF HAPPINESS, the Dalai Lama & Howard Cutler now bring their bestselling message to our working lives. Of the many Dalai Lama titles on sale, THE ART OF HAPPINESS – written with western psychiatrist Howard Cutler – is by far the biggest bestseller of them all. A huge international success, it has sold over 2 million copies worldwide, with nearly 300,000 of these in the UK alone. Now, this inspirational new book brings the successful East-meets-West pairing together again to provide a practical application of Tibetan Buddhist spiritual values to the world of work. In this wise and practical book, the Dalai Lama shows us how to place our working lives into the context of our lives as a whole. Rather than striving to find a role which suits us, we should allow our work to arise naturally from who we are – and what is most important to us. From here we reach a pathway that can lead us to true life fulfillment and purpose.
Carrying on some themes from the pair’s first book together, The Art of Happiness, however this one focused more on work (as the title suggests), and how one might find happiness at their employment. There is a bit of repetition with the first, however this one goes more in-depth to your employment.


Hidden Treasures in Cincinnati
Ready to stray from the beaten path? Looking for the true flavor of Cincinnati? Discover the hidden gems that fill the crown of the Queen City. These best kept secrets offer residents and visitors alike some respite from the crowds of Cincy’s most popular venues as well as some fun, unique and even tasty entertainment.
A true gem for book lovers everywhere, the Mercantile Library
is one of the few membership-based libraries in the state. However, all are welcome to enter into this quietly charming, yet vast, library and nose through its selection. See everything from the latest bestsellers to tomes older than the Mercantile Building itself!
Address: 414 Walnut St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 - MAP
Phone: (513) 621-0717
Conveniently located downtown, the Woodstone Creek Winery and Distillery
provides Cincinnati with wonderful access to a wide range of high quality wines, meads and spirits. This artisan winery and boutique distillery offers guests over the age of 21 the opportunity to sample some of these finely crafted wines in its elegant tasting rooms.
Address: 3641 Newton Ave., Cincinnati, Ohio 45207 - MAP
Phone: (513) 569-0300
See the way Cincy Shakes It when you watch one of the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company’s
performances. If you want to see a traditionally performed and thoughtfully crafted theatrical piece, look no further. Contrary to the name, this theater troupe produces all manner of classical plays, from Jane Austen adaptations to works by the Great Bard himself.
Address: 718 Race St., Cincinnati, OH 45202 - MAP
Phone: (513) 381-2273
Find designer items for resale and consignment at The Mustard Seed Boutique
. This small vintage store stocks its shelves and racks with high-quality clothing and accessories from all eras and suiting all fashions. More than your run-of-the-mill thrift store, the Mustard Seed packs its quarters with amazing surprises at even more amazing prices.
Address: 311 Ludlow Ave., Cincinnati, OH 45202 - MAP
Phone: (513) 221-4022
Every guest of the Queen City needs to try some of the distinct, famous Cincinnati chili, different from any other kind in the country. Skyline Chili
—a local franchise in the Tri-State and surrounding areas—is one of the best places to experience genuine Cincy chili, as well as the "official chili" of many local sports teams and venues.
Phone: (513) 874-1188
Take a break at the Essencha Tea House
and escape from your busy life. This tranquil little teahouse serves delightful brews from all over the globe in its charming rooms. The sleek and elegant décor sets a nice background for you (and a group) to experiment and create your own tea drinking rituals.
Address: 3212 Madison Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45209 - MAP
Phone: (513) 533-4832
Browse through two floors filled will top-notch antiques at the Duck Creek Antique Mall
. This unique mall is filled with hundreds of hidden treasures, from classic curios and furniture to retro clothing and accessories. You never know what you will discover as you search through all these retail antique finds.
Address: 3715 Madison Rd., Cincinnati, OH 45209 - MAP
Phone: (513) 321-0900


Lead-author Robert "Bob" Sheridan, retired, is an avid collector and restorer of Jaguar cars. In April 2017, Bob was endorsed by the Jaguar Clubs of North America (JCNA) Jaguar Concours Rules Committee to author a JAGUAR XK120 JCNA CONCOURS JUDGING GUIDE, which was presented at the JCNA Annual General Meeting (AGM), San Antonio, TX, March 2018. Bob lives in La Verne, California and is lead-author of two other XK120 judging guide books, JAGUAR XK120 CONCOURS JUDGING GUIDE and JAGUAR XK120 AUTHENTICITY REFERENCE GUIDE (ALL MODELS).
Co-author Roger Payne, a contributor to several respected XK Jaguar books, such as, Urs Schmid’s The Anatomy of a Cult Object, Volumes 1 and 2 and Philip Porter’s Third Edition book, Original Jaguar XK, The Restorer’s Guide. Roger is a recognized “expert” on Jaguar XK engines, fuel systems, paint/trim colors, tool kits and, in particular, cylinder heads and SU carburetors, and has written several papers for the XK Gazette. Roger lives in Macarthur, ACT, a suburb in Canberra, the Capital city of Australia.
Urs Schmid (in memoriam), Roger Payne, Dick Cavicke, Steve Kennedy, Rob Reilly, John Elmgreen, George Camp, Godfrey Miller, Carl Hanson, Karl Kirkman, Jim Sambold, Hal Kritzman, Michael Mueller, Rufus Coburn, Terry Sturgeon, John Pollock, Mike May and Dwayne Bower.
In addition to official JCNA and Jaguar factory references, documented and undocumented production changes are derived from photos of original unmolested cars, highly competent group observations, expert knowledge and research provided by the expert contributors above and from the following internationally credible resources, over and above the limitations of accessible/available factory evidence/proof:
Urs Schmid: Jaguar XK 120 ‘The Anatomy of a Cult Object”, Volume 1 (Published 2002) and Volume 2 (Published 2011).
Anders Clausager: Jaguar Daimler Heritage Trust Chief Archivist: Jaguar XK 120 in Detail (Published 2006).
Philip Porter: Original Jaguar XK “The Restorer’s Guide” (Revised Third Edition, Published 2012).
The JAGUAR XK120 JCNA CONCOURS JUGING GUIDE, presented at the 60th Annual General Meeting (AGM), San Antonio, Texas, March 21-25, 2018. This 158-page, spiral-bound JAGUAR XK120 JCNA CONCOURS JUGING GUIDE was written for the JCNA by Robert G. Sheridan & Roger Payne.
TO PURCHASE THIS BOOK:
The Jaguar XK120 JCNA Concours Judging Guide can be purchased on the JCNA website by JCNA clubs and current members ONLY.
NOTE 1: Due to the fact that the JCNA XK120 Judging Guide books were not available in time for 2018 AGM delegates to read prior to its presentation, the Jaguar XK120 JCNA Concours Judging Guide was approved for use at 2018 JCNA Concours events on a "trial" basis. It will be re-presented for official approval at the 2019 AGM.
NOTE 2: The Jaguar XK120 JCNA Concours Judging Guide is NOT AVAILABLE to non-JCNA members. HOWEVER, you can buy the Jaguar XK120 Authenticity Reference Guide, authored by Robert G. Sheridan and Roger Payne from our online book store. SEE BELOW.
As one having been honored with an invitation to participate as one of the contributors to the effort, and the review panel that observed the development of the draft over many months, I can testify that this work is the most comprehensive, accurate and detailed guide to originality and authenticity on the XK120 that has ever been created.
Originality items are extensively researched with references and footnotes. Inaccuracies, vague descriptions and generalizations found in previous works by others such as Porter, Viart, Clausager and Schmid were evaluated, discussed and corrected.
The key to the success of the effort was having a single compiler author, a drop box account for the distribution of daily (even hourly) revision drafts, and a round table panel of evaluators, each contributing useful information, comments and corrections within an atmosphere of mutual respect and gentlemanly courtesy.
We don’t claim it to be perfect. As many are aware, the XK120 in particular had many changes throughout its six-year production life, some of which are only marginally observable 65 years later.
But this is a best effort. The hope is that when a concours participant comes to the judge with, “But my car is different and it came that way from the factory.”, the judge will have a better reference source from which to respond, “No, here is the proof according to your chassis number.” or “It was a dealer modification.” or “Here is the best information we have about that item.”
─ Rob Reilly (Replying to a Post on Jag-Lovers.com)
The JAGUAR XK120 AUTHENTICITY REFERENCE GUIDE (ALL MODELS) hard-cover book with wraparound dust jacket, provides the reader with a definitive authenticity reference guide for describing and picturing XK120 parts as they were originally supplied by the Jaguar factory. This 310-page book is based on the author's JCNA XK120 Judges Guide submitted at the JCNA 60th Annual General Meeting (AGM), San Antonio, Texas, March 21-25. The JAGUAR XK120 AUTHENTICITY REFERENCE GUIDE (ALL MODELS) hard-cover book provides additional information not found in the 158-page JAGUAR XK 120 JCNA CONCOURS JUDGING GUIDE spiral-bound book.
1) 310-pages, hard-cover book with full color wraparound dust cover.
2) Includes Alloy and RHD cars, expanded tool pouch & tool kit details and factory literature pack details.
3) Text is formatted using larger Font than the JCNA XK120 JUDGING GUIDE. (easier to read)
4) Larger pictures than the JCNA XK120 JUDGING GUIDE.
5) Contains more information than the JCNA XK120 JUDGING GUIDE.
6) Shows Jaguar Spare Parts Catalog (JSPC) part numbers.
7) Organized in JCNA CONCOURS JUDGING SCORE SHEET SEQUENCE. 8) Appendix I. Service Bulletin 114. Color Combinations.
9) Appendix II. XK120 Production Figures.
10) Appendix III. Common Configuration Errors.
NOTE: IN ADDITION TO BEING SOLD IN NORTH AND SOUTH AMERICA ON THIS WEBSITE, "SECOND EDITION" BOOKS WILL BE AVAILABLE IN THE UK AND EUROPE FROM www.paulskilleterbooks.com.uk AND FROM, AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND AND S.E. ASIA FROM firstname.lastname@example.org
Because there have been prior false starts, it was with some trepidation that the JCNA Judge’s Concours Rules Committee (JCRC) asked Bob Sheridan to consider the challenge of writing and completing an XK120 Judging Guide. His acceptance and rapid full involvement was gratifying, his subsequent extensive research and dogged perseverance was much more than expected.
Anyone who has followed the XK-Lovers Forum, during its 20+ years existence, will be familiar with the weighty forum contributions by Roger Payne of Canberra, Australia. Roger’s comprehensive knowledge of the XK120 is unsurpassed. His participation, as co-author of the XK120 JCNA Judging Guide and Jaguar XK120 Authenticity Reference Guide, has assured a level of accuracy not found elsewhere.
Bob and Roger’s early guide efforts, with its abundant documentation, and its inclusion of both the XK120 Alloy and RHD models, quickly grew to a large-sized publication that was clearly going to be incompatible for “field” use. While the desirability of such a unique authenticity-oriented book was recognized, it was decided that the goal of a smaller, condensed, JCNA Judging Guide could only be reached by restricting its content to the more common steel-bodied, left-hand-drive models. The alloy-bodied and right-hand-drive 120’s, rarely seen at JCNA events, would be addressed in a larger-sized, all-inclusive, “XK120 Authenticity Reference Guide” book.
The XK120 Authenticity Guide (All Models) book contains the same XK120 “judging information” as the Jaguar XK120 JCNA Concours Judging Guide. The Jaguar XK120 Authenticity Guide (All Models) book has larger pictures. larger fonts, Jaguar spare part numbers, information for Alloy cars and RHD cars, and many other details not found in the Jaguar XK120 JCNA Concours Judging Guide. The Jaguar XK120 Authenticity Guide (All Models) book will be of indispensable value to both restorers and owners.
Concurrent with the planned publication of the XK120 Authenticity Reference Guide (All Models) book, the Jaguar XK 120 JCNA Concours Judging Guide was presented to the delegates at the 2018 JCNA Annual General Meeting in San Antonio, Texas. The delegates voted that the Judging Guide be allowed for trial use in 2018. Subject to corrections and updates, the guide will be proposed for official use, by all JCNA clubs and Judges, at the 2019 AGM.
Whether at a mixed-marque show or at a formal JCNA Concours d’Elegance, as no previous XK120 books have done, the XK120 Judging Guide and XK120 Authenticity Reference Guide (All Models) book will present the normally judged Interior, Exterior, Boot and Engine components, of all XK120 models, in a manner which will lead a Judge through a thorough examination and a meaningful evaluation of the validity of what is being observed.
Jaguar Clubs of North America (JCNA), wishes to acknowledge and express its deep appreciation to the authors of the Jaguar XK 120 JCNA Concours Judging Guide, Robert G. Sheridan and Roger Payne, and to all of the XK 120 expert contributors who reviewed each draft and offered their comments, corrections and photos during the eleven months of its preparation.
Dick Cavicke, JCNA Chief Judge


Each Chinese character or graphic means a different thought or idea and everybody in China can understand every single character in spite of what local dialects people use. The development of the Chinese writing language during past centuries has relevant effects nowadays.
In the western world a piece of Chinese literature is really appealing. That is why the Chinese literature is highly respected and considered as one of the most complex and interesting literatures in the world.
Taking into that nothing is perfect, the Chinese language has a large number of characters which for some, it is a disadvantage. In order to read and write a normal standard Chinese mandarin, a person has to know at least more than 1,000 graphics or characters. Nevertheless, that disadvantage has been an effective factor in maintaining and shaping the language. The Chinese language has avoided doing drastic changes as opposed to several romance languages in Europe.
The literature in China has a huge historical background and a rich tradition like the visual arts. The first writings of the millenary Chinese literature derived from the idealistic and spiritual essays of the wise and worldwide recognized Chinese philosophers Confucius (551-479 BC) and Lao-tzu (4th century BC.)
The essays talked about how the society should be prepared for new challenges that could rise in the future. Since the discovery of these essays the Chinese literature has evolved drastically and many writers appeared in the literary scene and began to write about religion, history, philosophy, poetry, novels and dramatic writings.
For example, during the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), there was a brilliant writer of poetry called Li Po. Many historians believe that the poetry was consolidated and became popular in this period. Essentially, the Chinese poetry talks about the strong relationship of human beings with the nature environment.
Even also Drama was another old but significant literary form. This type of literary form combines the local language with audiovisual elements such as Chinese songs and vernacular music. Currently, China has developed this artistic expression and a big variety of themes are performed in the famous Peking Opera.
People in China love buying books as a cultural tradition. There are an incalculable number of Chinese books: adventure, history and science-fiction books are the most popular ones. There is a classic adaptation of the Water Margin (Shui-hu-chuan) and the Romance of the three Kingdoms that people can find in any Chinese library. The love stories are other interesting way to see the world in China because it is a mixture of tragedy, eroticism and happy endings. The most popular Chinese writer now is Lu Xun and the most famous novel is The Dream of the Red Chamber.
In these modern times, the Chinese literature is focused on enlarging the culture to future generations.
The poetry is the most favorite literary genre in China because of its extraordinary elements. In fact, the Chinese poetry is quite popular since the ancient Han dynasty. The Chinese poetry is separated into several subgenres that combine perfectly with the big variety of new and old poems. As an example of the subgenres that belong to the Chinese poetry we can mention the qu (曲) and ci (詞 / 词). The majority of Chinese poems have a perfect rhyme. However, there is type of prose-poem named fu (賦 / 赋). Nowadays the Chinese poetry uses western elements to its structure.
Bai Juyi is considered as the most representative poetry writer in China during the Mid-Tang period; even also the writer is very recognized for elaborating verses in a simple language. Here is a list of the most representative poems of Bai Juyi.
- (宫词) Song of the palace.
- (钱唐湖春行) A visit to Qiantang Lake in spring.
- (读老子) Reading Laozi.
- (暮江吟) Song of sunset on the river.
- (池上) On the lake (1).
- (池上) On the lake (2).


Murder Goes South Presenter
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Archive - 2014 Archive
MYERS, Special Guest
Myers was born and raised in the Belgian Congo (now just the
Congo). Her parents were missionaries to a tribe which, at
that time, were known as headhunters and used human skulls
for drinking cups. Hers was the first white family ever to
peacefully coexist with the tribe, and Tamar grew up fluent
in the local trade language.
Tamar began to submit novels for publication, but it took
twenty-three years for her to get published. Persistence paid
off, however, because Tamar is now the author of two ongoing
mystery series. One is set in Pennsylvania and features Magdalena
Yoder, an Amish-Mennonite sleuth who runs a bed and breakfast
in the mythical town of Hernia. The other is set in the Carolinas
and centers around the adventures of Abigail Timberlake, the
proud owner of a Charlotte (and later Charleston) antique
store, the Den of Antiquity.
now calls Charlotte, North Carolina, home. She lives with
her husband, plus a Basenji dog named Pagan, a Bengal cat
named Nkashama, and an orange tabby rescue cat named Dumpster
Boy. She and her husband are of the Jewish faith, the animals
enjoys gardening (she is a Master Gardner), bonsai, travel,
painting and, of course, reading. She loves Thai and Indian
food, and antique jewelry. She plans to visit Machu Picchu
in the near future.
currently working on her 32nd novel. MS Myers is a member
of Sisters in Crime writers' group.
published in magazines when her children were young and her
husband was teaching ROTC at Truman State University. As the
children grew older, she put her writing on hold and focused
on church ministry and community service.
For many years, Debby wrote for SOUTHERN LADY MAGAZINE, a
beautiful publication filled with everything a true Southern
belle loves . . . elegant tableware, delicate lace and antique
linens, special shopping and dining destinations, yummy recipes
and stories about women who have made a difference. Pick up
a copy and see why SOUTHERN LADY is Debby's favorite magazine!
spends most of her time writing inspirational romantic suspense.
She's currently working on her Military Investigations Series
for STEEPLE HILL Love Inspired Suspense. THE OFFICER'S SECRET
launched the series in May 2011. The second book, THE CAPTAIN'S
MISSION, followed later that year. THE GENERAL'S SECRETARY
was released in January 2013. Ms Guisti is a member of Sisters
in Crime Atlanta Chapter.
work as a freelance writer and photographer has appeared in
the historical magazine "Georgia Backroads" since
2001. Her short stories have appeared in "Tales of the
Rails" edited by Olin Jackson. She has an established
blog, Butterfly Journey, where she reviews Christian Fiction.
"Death in Dahlonega" Deborah's debut cozy mystery
was released October of 2011. "Death in Dahlonega"
won second place in the mystery/suspense category in the American
Christian Fiction Writer's Category Five Writer's Contest.
would love to hear from you. Visit her website at www.deborah-malone.com.
Her second novel "A Murder in Marietta" was released
in October 2012.
V. Mason is a hybrid native of New Orleans and Mobile, AL
two sister cities that are so alike, they polarize
each other like the north and south ends of magnets. Much
Productions she promotes her clients books on Facebook, Google
+, Twitter, Goodreads, and any other appropriate sites that
specifically draw romance readers. She offer other avenues
of promotion like contests, Tweet chats, Google + Hangouts,
and Facebook and Goodread chats, and if her client feels really
adventurous, she will brainstorm some other ideas out of the
Her idea of romance writing-Drag Queens pitted against Azalea
Trail maids with some N'Awlins paranormal and Mobilian southern
gentility thrown in. Pamela currently resides outside of Atlanta.
If you'd like to make contact her email address is email@example.com.
M. Powell is the music pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in
Smyrna, GA. His book Stranger in the Pulpit is a faith based
mystery novel set in Beaumont, Colorado. Chase Newton, an
investigative reporter finds himself caught in an international
conspiracy. In his quest for the truth to discover who Pastor
T.J. Richards really is, he finds the truth he has been searching
for all his life. Bryan other novels include Stranger in the
White House, and Sisters of the Veil, which was released in
considers herself lucky to have taught English in Japan, escaped
a ferocious monkey in Thailand, studied archaeology in Egypt,
and survived teaching high school history in the US. However,
adopting her daughters from China has been her most rewarding
experience. After moving around the Midwest, the South and
Japan, she now lives in Georgia with her husband, daughters,
two frogs, two fish, and Biscuit, a Cairn Terrier.
small town characters with big attitudes, particularly sassy
women with a penchant for trouble. Her third Cherry Tucker
mystery with Henery Press, HIJACK IN ABSTRACT, releases November
5, 2013, following STILL LIFE IN BRUNSWICK STEW, (May 21,
2013) and PORTRAIT OF A DEAD GUY (August 28, 2012). Portrait
is a 2012 Daphne du Maurier finalist, a 2012 The Emily finalist,
and a 2011 Dixie Kane Memorial winner. On December 9, 2013,
a Cherry Tucker prequel novella, QUICK SKETCH, will launch
in the mystery anthology THE HEARTACHE MOTEL.
not writing about Southern fried chicken, she writes about
Asian fried chicken at her blog about life as an ex-expat
at the Expat Returneth.
B. Richardson is the 2014 president of Sisters in Crime-Atlanta.
A veteran writer, with many years in PR and advertising on
both the agency and client sides of the desk, she has served
as an officer of two companies, as well as president of her
own firm. She also taught college composition and business
writing for over a decade.
by fiction since childhood and hooked on mysteries since her
20's, Louise has recently begun to try her hand at mystery
writing, inspired by many of the authors she has met through
Sisters In Crime and Murder Goes South. She is excited to
be among this year's panel moderators.
is a native Atlantan and graduate of Georgia State University.
She, her husband, Larry Korb, and the real Abby divide their
time between Sugar Hill, GA and Alexandria, VA.
a member of both the Chessie Chapter and the Atlanta Chapter
of Sisters in Crime. When not writing shes either raising
money for women political candidates for Womens Action
for New Directions, hiking in various countries or playing
the author of the Tiara Investigations mystery series. Her
novels include Domestic Affairs and Current Affairs.
Whittle's Tai Randolph/Trey Seaver series - featuring intrepid
gunshop owner Tai and her corporate security agent partner
Trey - has garnered starred reviews in Kirkus, Publisher's
Weekly, Booklist, and Library Journal. Published by Poisoned
Pen Press, this Atlanta-based series debuted with The Dangerous
Edge of Things, followed by Darker Than Any Shadow. The third
book - Blood, Ash and Bone- premiered March 2013.
for Georgia Author of the Year in 2012, Whittle's short fiction
has appeared in The Savannah Literary Journal, Alfred Hitchcock's
Mystery Magazine, and Gulf Stream, which selected her story
"Lost Causes and Other Reasons to Live" as the 2004
winner of their Mystery Fiction contest.
writing or reading, she enjoys golf, sushi, mini-pilgrimages,
and spending time with her family (one husband, one daughter,
one neurotic Maltese and three chickens).


We chose books that covered not only the state’s 200-year history, but its 450-mile length. Doing so helped me understand how complicated Illinois really is. The state’s most experimental modernist novelists aren’t from Chicago, they’re from Herrin (Robert Coover) and Champaign (David Foster Wallace). And its best immigrant novel is by an Ethiopian who arrived in Peoria at age two, Dinaw Mengistu. Fiction, poetry and history are the best guidebooks.
Spoon River Anthology, Edgar Lee Masters
Edgar Lee Masters put the Spoon River on the map. Of course, it’s on the cartographic map, flowing for 145 miles between Kewanee and Havana, but no one outside west-central Illinois would know its name if Masters hadn’t applied it to his collection of small-town epitaphs.
A native of Lewistown who made his living as a Chicago lawyer, Masters conceived his work as a series of posthumous remembrances by inhabitants of a graveyard who are all “sleeping, sleeping, sleeping on the hill.” Franklin Jones could have finished his flying machine and become rich and famous “If I could have lived another year.” Margaret Fuller Slack was wooed by a druggist who promised her “leisure for my novel,” then bore eight children, leaving her no time to write, and the conviction that “Sex is the curse of life!” As a young maid, Elsa Wertman was seduced by her employer. The family adopted her baby. He became a prominent politician who was never aware that his real mother was listening to his speeches, wanting to cry, “That’s my son!” The human disease of ambition survives even death. All the sleepers have eternity to regret how they spent their short time among the living, and thanks to Masters’s poetic art, their stories are still read more than a century later.
The Song of the Lark, Willa Cather
In the early 20th Century, Chicago—America’s fastest-growing city—was the place to set a realist novel. Theodore Dreiser did it with Sister Carrie, Upton Sinclair did it with The Jungle, and Willa Cather, the greatest novelist of that age, did it with The Song of the Lark, the story of Thea Kronborg, an aspiring pianist who leaves her small town in Colorado to study music in Chicago. Not even Chicago is big enough for Thea’s talent. In an age-old story, after serving her apprenticeship there, Thea moves on to New York, where she sings at the Metropolitan Opera. Another Chicago connection: the novel’s title was inspired by the painting of the same name by Jules Breton, which hangs in the Art Institute.
A Street in Bronzeville, Gwendolyn Brooks
There may be more widely read Chicago authors than Gwendolyn Brooks, but there has never been one more beloved. “Miss Brooks,” as the poetess was known (although she was married to Henry Blakely for 57 years) succeeded the Olympian Carl Sandburg as Illinois Poet Laureate. Brooks’s first collection, A Street in Bronzeville, offered a more commonplace look at Black Belt life than Wright’s drama. The lead-off poem is titled “kitchenette building”: “‘Dream’ makes a giddy sound, not strong/ Like “rent,” “feeding a wife,” “satisfying a man.” Brooks was an inspiration to the city’s rappers, and even in this early work, Brooks’s verses contain the seeds of hip-hop, as when she writes about “the soft man”: “Disgusting, isn’t it, dealing out the damns/ To every comer? Hits the heart like pain./ And calling women (Marys) chicks and broads/ Men hep, and cats, or corny to the jive.”
Five years later, Brooks became the first African-American to win a Pulitzer Prize, for Annie Allen. A statue of Brooks was recently unveiled in a Kenwood park that bears her name.
The Man with the Golden Arm, Nelson Algren
Wicker Park sure has changed since Nelson Algren lived and wrote there. Just after World War II, when The Man with the Golden Arm takes place, it was a Polish neighborhood of run-down three-flats and even more run down taverns. Frankie Machine returned from the war with a morphine habit – a “monkey on his back,” a term Algren heard among the hustlers and junkies on Division Street, and introduced to the popular vernacular in this novel. Unable to work as a musician due to his addiction, Frankie deals cards in backroom poker games, hence the title. Algren, who began his career during the Depression, was the last of the proletarian novelists, still writing about the urban underclass at a time when Americans were moving to the suburbs.
The Man with the Golden Arm won the first National Book Award, but Algren’s career went into a long decline afterwards, until he finally moved to Paterson, New Jersey, in the 1970s, to research a book on boxer Ruben “Hurricane” Carter. Nonetheless, he is considered the Great Chicago Novelist, namesake of a fountain at Division and Milwaukee, and of the Chicago Tribune’s annual fiction contest.
Bloody Williamson, Paul M. Angle
The Herrin Massacre was the deadliest incident of labor violence in Illinois’s history, with more casualties than the Haymarket Bombing or the Republic Steel Massacre. On June 22, 1922, striking coal miners captured 50 scabs from Chicago at a strip mine, and ordered them to run for their lives toward Herrin. On the road back to town, 18 hapless strikebreakers were shot or stabbed to death. Their killers were acquitted by sympathetic local juries. That was only one chapter in Williamson County’s tumultuous 1920s, which also included a Ku Klux Klan war for control of the county, and shootouts between bootleggers. Angle, director of the Chicago Historical Society from 1945 to 1965, makes the case that Southern Illinois’s culture, with its penchant for feuds and suspicion of outsiders, never strayed far from that of the upcountry Kentuckians and Tennesseeans who settled the region.


Continuous Delivery: Building Android Library projectleena
November 4, 2011
This post talks about how to build an Android Project using ant which depends on an Android Library project.
- Add default.properties in the library project and add android.library=truein the same.
- Run the command in the main Android Project
android update project –path . –library ../path-to-the-library/Note: This always has to be relative path.
- Now running ant release should build the library project too.
Note: The android command mentioned in the second step adds an entry in the default.properties file. If you need to override that in different environments, override that in thelocal.properties. Even there, it has to be relative path, the absolute path will not work.


Through MyKaty Cloud, students have access to a variety of great resources:
Brain Pop Jr.
National Geographic Kids
World Book Kids
Through Sora, students can access eBooks and audiobooks online.
There are several ways to access Sora:
- In MyKaty Cloud, Sora is in the Library tab (or search "Sora").
- OR Install the Sora app.
- OR Go to soraapp.com.
The school setup code is "katytx" (choose "My school is Katy ISD").
- If asked, select "Log in with MyKaty".
- For the username, enter firstname.lastname@example.org (fill in the blank with student ID#).
- Use student password.
Have fun reading and listening!
Beth Stevens, Library Media Specialist
Stacey Box, Library Aide
The mission of the Katy Independent School District library media centers is to educate all students to successfully access and utilize the information of the twenty-first century empowering them to be proficient life-long learners.
To execute this mission, library media specialists, administrators, teachers, parents, and the community must collaborate to:
provide access through resource sharing to current and relevant materials which results in a student-centered library media center that fosters academic achievement,
ensure that all patrons can proficiently locate, access, integrate, evaluate and communicate information and ideas, and
maintain a learning environment that stimulates and enriches an appreciation of literature, intellectual freedom, social responsibility and life-long learning.