Helena at the start of the summer spent some time at her grandmother's house. When we picked her up, she was more than proud to show off the pile of Tintin books she'd read. She had to tell me all about them.
And at that moment we resolved to work our way through the lot of them (in French). We borrowed a few volumes from my mother-in-law and set off.
Helena was reading them in a somewhat haphazard order, but I decided to start at the beginning: Tintin au Congo.
Every time I settled down to read Tintin, Helena would join me. This meant she would want to tell me what happened, tell me all her favourite parts; even better, she would want to read it aloud to me, and so we'd have to start again from the beginning. We made several such starts on several rainy evenings. Progress was slow. On the up side, Helena's French vocabulary and pronunciation is much better than mine, so it was quite a boon to have her by my side. I managed to finish the book before summer's end by "sneaking" a page or two at a time after Helena's bedtime.
Tintin's never held any particular appeal for me, but there's no denying he's well loved by a great number of people the world over. The plot of Tintin au Congo wanders all over, but there's a great sense of adventure and it's much funnier than I expected it to be, in a gentle kind of way. I fully intend to read them all, eventually, if only to know what it is my daughter's talking about.
But thank you, Tintin, for turning my daughter into something of a reader.
Yesterday Helena and I went to see The Chronicles of Narnia: The Exhibition.
You can't really consider this post a plug, because, well, the exhibit ended yesterday. And on the whole, the exhibit was pretty lame (even the catapult was out of order), and admission prices were outrageously high. Also, this was not about Narnia as an imaginary land, or about the Narnia books (although a small stack of books in various language was on display); make no mistake about it: this exhibition is about the movie.
One space was devoted to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, and a smaller room focused on Prince Caspian. Throughout, a great number of monitors played clips from these films.
If the show ever comes to your town, I can't say I recommend seeing it, unless you're a big fan of the movie, or deeply interested in costume and set design, or are deeply bored and don't know what to do with your money.
On the other hand, as far as Helena's concerned (and, yes, me too), it was worth every penny to be able to step through the carved wardrobe doors and brush past a pile of fur coats to step out into a pine forest where snow blew down around us. The moment was magical (even though it came via Disney).
Other highlights included sitting on a replica of the White Witch's throne (just because); touching the ice wall, which was painfully cold (the accompanying plaque was trying to impart something about climate change); and lifting a (safely encased) sword, just as a taste of what hard work it is, going to battle.
I'm not absolutely certain of my facts, but I rather fancy it's Shakespeare — or, if not, it's some equally brainy lad — who says that it's always just when a chappie is feeling particularly top-hole, and more than usually braced with things in general that Fate sneaks up behind him with a bit of lead piping. There's no doubt the man's right.
— from "Jeeves and the Unbidden Guest," in My Man Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse.
It seems also to be true, as many people have decried before me, that P.G. Wodehouse is the perfect antidote to the blahs, a reading funk, or just a plain old bad day.
I'm straight away downloading more Wodehouse to have on standby.
I wanted to say a little about The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy, but time is tight these last couple weeks, so I keep waiting and waiting for time enough to say what I have to say, and it turns out I really don't know what to say, and if I wait any longer there won't be anything left for me to say, all that something I'm trying to put my finger on will have vanished into thin air, so here I am settling to say just a very little.
It's charming!, delightful!, even outrageous! in its way. Groucho Marx, in a letter to Dundy, wrote, "I had to tell someone (and it might as well be you since you're the author) how much I enjoyed The Dud Avocado. It made me laugh, scream, and guffaw (which, incidentally, is a great name for a law firm)." Written in 1958, The Dud Avocado wreaks of other-era-ness, but in the best possible way. About a 21-year-old American girl living in Paris for a time (funded by her uncle), sowing her wild oats and trying to find herself. Somehow, magically, it's fresh.
The thing that stands out for me, beyond the colourful characters and funny incidents, is the voice. And I don't just mean the tone, its easy, breezy way, the way the language simply carries you off, or the mood. I'm kind of assuming these are quasi-technical terms — voice, tone, mood — and I can't pretend to know how to use them correctly. But I mean: voice! It's so strong, I can hear it in my head, I don't mean like just some random crazy voice in my head, but really hear it, and if I were any good at that sort of thing (like in the way you need a certain vocabulary to be able to describe a really nice glass of wine — see, how lame is that, "really nice"?), I could describe it, its timbre and pitch and fullness and legs, the way it cracks with occasional uncertainty and how it flirts. I mean: you can hear it! this beautiful narration, it's the most natural thing in the world.
It's a voice with a touch of Irma la Douce about it; the stories share little (although, hmm... it's been ages since I saw that movie; I mean, the plots are different, but come to think of it, you could probably spot lots of similarities, situation by situation), but anyway the spirit of Paris is similarly resonant. Also it reminds me of Erica Jong's Fear of Flying, minus the psychoanalysis, and Breakfast at Tiffany's (more the film than the novella), but without quite that level of tragedy. She's a phony, but a real phony.
And she's young! and in Paris! and in love! and oh, how terribly wrong it sometimes goes! And even though you want to slap her from time to time, really, deep down, you hope everything turns out for Sally Jay.
I returned to the table black and blue, two buttons ripped off my blouse and mad as a wet hen. I confronted Larry. "Good-by," I said. "Go to hell and take this whole bunch with you. Do you know what I think? I think they should be driven into the sea with pitchforks, like a horde of great crab things." I gesticulated wildly, and my handbag swung out and hit something or somebody, and landed on the floor, butter-side down of course, and everything spilled out — lipstick, compact, passport, mirror. It was the Ritz all over again, except the gesture had popped the last button of my blouse as well. I stamped on the mirror in sheer temper. Then I sat down. I didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Everyone, I noticed, was very polite about my outburst, which for them was merely the next item of distraction which they expected to have provided; Larry picked up my bag, put all my things back in it, handed it to me and told me to go to the Ladies Room and have the attendant sew the buttons back on my blouse, and that we'd go on as soon as I got out.
And then — oh gosh — I know all this next part by heart — I should, I've been over it so many times. And then I came out of the john and told Larry I'd lost my passport and he said, "No you haven't, here it is, I found it after you left" and he took it out of his jacket and slapped it against the palm of his hand a couple of times and asked me why on earth I carried it around with me. I said because I didn't know where to put it down. Oh Lord, just saying these words even now makes me groan with boredom, when I think how many times they've bounced off dead walls and deaf ears. Anyway, I said I didn't know where to put it down because I was always losing things, even in my hotel room, or they were losing me, rather. It's a gradual thing — I kind of slowly miss them — it's as if they're weaning themselves away from me. I've never known a fountain pen longer than a month and I'm lucky if a lipstick stays with me for three weeks. So, as I said, that was why I carried this passport around with me. Larry said, "O.K., O.K., it's none of my business," took my bag, dropped the passport in, clicked it shut, and handed it back to me. And that, as I was later to say about a hundred thousand million times, was the very last I ever saw of that passport.
I bet you want to know what happened to that passport!
Here's another little excerpt, which gives insight into the title.
This book is a bit hard to find in Canada (I believe it's a matter of rights and permissions — there's not even a Canadian price printed on the cover), but it's worth going out of your way to get your hands on a copy.
Wow, I had more to say than I thought.
Beside the Sea, by Véronique Olmi, is an amazing little novella, simple and powerful. Recently available in English, several reviewers are raving about it (eg, 1, 2, 3).
It's about a mother taking her two boys to the seaside, and from the start, something doesn't feel right. Why, for example, are they travelling by night? And Kevin is worried about missing school. Mother's planning for this ideal vacation is pretty half-baked — she doesn't seem to know where they're going, they're poorly packed (did they leave in a hurry?), she just doesn't have much of a grip. Everything is going wrong and it's thoroughly disheartening.
As the mother tells the story, we learn a little bit about her, but very little: she's afraid of talking to people, she's missing teeth, she goes to the free clinic. There's a social worker, there are meds. Money's tight. At first I thought she must be young, and quite simply overwhelmed by motherhood, but later I didn't think so, though maybe that's simply her weariness aging her beyond her years.
Since I couldn't track down a copy of this book easily, I picked it up in the original French (Bord de mer).
J'ai regardé par la fenêtre, on voyait rien. Moi j'ai l'habitude de donner sur les immeubles d'en face et j'aime ça, voir les gens bouger derrière les rideaux et toutes les petites lumières allumées quand le soir arrive, c'est beau et on est tous ensemble, bien rangés dans nos boîtes, c'est l'ordre des choses, ça me plaît. Là, on voyait rien, même pas des phares de voitures, un réverbère, rien. Qu'est-ce que ça donnerait en plein jour ? Qu'est-ce qu'il y avait derrière ma fenêtre ? La mer ? Non, j'entendais rien et puis un hôtel au bord de la mer ça aurait été trop cher, je me serais méfiée tout de suite. Alors ? Qu'est-ce qu'il y avait en face de moi que je voyais pas ? Le terminus des cars ? Un chantier avec des grues des camions et tout le tintouin, quelque chose qu'on construit ou qu'on démolit ? Je déteste ça, les maisons à moitiées arrachées, je supporte pas de voir la couleur des tapisseries de maisons à moitiées arrachées, y a rien de plus triste à mon goût. Fallait pas que je commence à imaginer, tout était possible derrière cette fenêtre, on pouvait s'attendre à tout, fallait laisser tomber, laisser tomber tout de suite avant de se faire des cauchemars.
It turned out to be slow going for my far-from-fluent self, about 10 pages a day (and I think now this kind of slowdown was just what I needed), but the experience — as much as the book itself — has given me a lot to think about.
I've been thinking about tone, and how it is that we glean what we do from what we read. Choice of words, their social register. Uneducated? Melodramatic? From grammar, how casual the tone, whether a character (or her thoughts) is care-free, sloppy, rigid, organized; from punctuation, how breathless and panicked, or slow and thoughtful. This is hard enough to do when reading in one's mother tongue — we process so much of this information subconsciously, it's hard to point to direct evidence for the conclusions we draw. In a second language, well, it's harder.
I'm pretty proud of myself for getting what I did from this exercise, but my knowledge of French grammar is piss-poor, and it turns out my vocabulary's pretty limited too. And then there's the fact that I filter it all through my knowledge of English-language writing conventions, which don't necessarily apply. On top of this, my entire reading is coloured by my preconceptions of the material.
For all that, I did come away with some very strong impressions — of the characters and story, and favorable of the book as a whole as an intense and provocative read — but I can't say how true they are. (I'm curious to try this book in English someday.) I do look forward to tackling the second Olmi novella in my French volume.
Cheer up, my little avocado!
We looked at the menu. "Hah! Avocados," he said, brightening. "How I love them. Cheer up, my little avocado," he said to me pinching my hand. "You know, these American girls are just like avocados. What do you think, am I right, Max? Who ever even heard of an avocado sixty years ago? Yes, that's what we're growing nowadays." His avocado arrived and he looked at it lovingly. "The Typical American Girl," he said, addressing it. "A hard center with the tender meat all wrapped up in a shiny casing." He began eating it. "How I love them," he murmured greedily. "So green — so eternally green." He winked at me.
"No, it's true. And I will tell you something really extraordinary, mes enfants. Do you know that you can take the stones of these luscious fruits, put them in water — just plain water, mind you — anywhere, any place in the world, and in three months up comes a sturdy little plant full of green leaves? That is their sturdy little souls bursting into bloom," he finished off, well satisfied with his analogy.
"Well, this one isn't going to burst into bloom, " I said morosely, putting my nose in my drink. "What you've got here is a dead one."
"A what? A dud one?"
I took my face out of the glass. "No, dead. Dead. Oh, forget it."
Max raised his glass and smiled at me. "The dud avocado," he said, proposing the toast.
— from The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy.
Il m'a pas répondu. Il était barré quelque part, il sait bien faire ça, Stan, larguer les amarres — c'est pas mon môme pour rien. La maîtresse lui prête des livres et quand il lit c'est pareil : il nous quitte. Des fois je crois qu'il continue à lire ses livres, quand il les a rendus il y pense encore, il lit même sans les mots, il est vraiment très fort pour être ailleurs.
— Bord de mer, Véronique Olmi.
The Unit, by Ninni Holmqvist, is a sharp little dystopian novel with loads to say about some really important matters.
Dorrit Weger has just turned 50 and moves into the Unit. She's given up her house (or it's been taken away), so she can live here in relative luxury, on the taxpayer's dime. She has no children, but she misses her dog. She is here to perform her civic duty.
It's revealed in the early pages (and in most descriptions of the book), that the institution which is her new home is the Second Reserve Bank Unit for biological material. I'll leave you to figure out what that means.
As compliant and accepting of her fate as Dorrit is, the program is not exactly voluntary; it's a government program that was initiated after years of public debates and democratic votes.
Usefulness. The society in The Unit could be taken as a kind of socialism taken to an extreme. Everyone must contribute to the greater good, but the worth of individual contributions must be weighed against each other, and that's where it gets dicey. What would ever make a person dispensable? I don't think my job is important enough for me to make the cut.
Authenticity. Maybe because this is on my mind, reading it fresh on the heels of Remainder. There are cameras everywhere, the awareness of which give every action a meta-action. It's not clear how much of what seems to be is real. It's not clear whether it matters. "I wasn't completely sure that this was actually true, for real, but the main thing was that if felt that way." But then there's the garden, Monet's garden, which is exactly the same as Monet's garden, but it's not.
Motherhood. There's a passage regarding the subject of motherhood that made me cry. (Me! Cry!) About that veil that falls between a pregnant woman and the rest of the world, each side feeling pushed out by the other. And not till you're on the pregnant side do you totally understand it, and understand how little control you have over it. As if there's a genetic necessity for your world to be centred elsewhere.
Love. The big irony is that for many inhabitants, many of them social misfits (what else would you call these artists, these free spirits?) all their lives till now, the Unit provides a sense of belonging, and strange and beautiful friendships are forged. Dorrit had never found love on the outside — not the kind that this society values anyway. Her love for her dog, or for her sister, are deemed less worthy.
Art. It's no accident that the Unit is home to a high proportion of artists, writers. Clearly, they are not useful to society in any meaningful way. Also, they can, and are encouraged to, continue to practice their art on the inside; in this way it is regarded as something of a hobby, to do in your spare time, but it's hinted that the state is also able to profit from it. There are also librarians, gardeners, and intellectuals. "People who read books tend to be dispensable. Extremely."
I was watching her as she talked, her green eyes exuding a sense of calm and harmony. But at the outer corner of one eye a tiny nerve was vibrating, almost imperceptibly; it twitched and quivered beneath the skin. This quivering, together with just the tiniest hint of tension around her mouth, was the only thing that gave away the fact that this harmony was not complete, that there was something inside that was not calm, and I was seized by an almost irresistible urge to put my arms around her, to console and protect. To try to save her. But just as during our nighttime stroll in Monet's garden a week ago, I was afraid I would ruin the atmosphere if I gave in to my emotions and impulses.
Some readers found the prose dull, but I found it easy. The dry, matter-of-fact tone is in keeping with Dorrit's attitude; the whole story is imbued with her ennui, and I found it highly effective.
Around four, I offered to tour Cornelia through my record collection. Part of me didn't want to play her any music, instead I wanted her to see how merely possessing all those albums was its own satisfaction, to know that they were there. The collector's joy. There'd been a time when I knew every recording of every piece, the sign of a specialist who understands very little. But now to gaze upon the sleeves, to not play them. To be in awe. I wanted her to use silence to appreciate that, in comparison, the experience of listening was a lot more personal and complicated: how it depended on the day's mood, the temperature of the air, what clothes you were wearing and how they felt, what you'd eaten for lunch, and then of course the equipment and the tones it produced and at what volume, and every associated emotion and memory brought by the listener. Never mind the music. The experience of music was so different for each individual, it wasn't even worth discussing. As soon as I pressed PLAY, we may as well have existed in separate dimensions.
You Lost Me There is the debut novel by Rosecrans Baldwin, cofounder of The Morning News.
It starts off light — with a light touch, light-hearted. And while it maintains a casual tone, you end up exploring some relatively meaningful emotional and philosophical questions.
The narrator is an Alzheimer's researcher, so he has a scientific idea of how memory works, but this gets put through the wringer as he works through his own memories on an emotional level, particularly as many of those memories are in stark contrast to those of his late wife, killed in a car crash, who left behind some index cards documenting a very different take on events they had shared.
I think about that kind of thing a lot, like how some very vivid memories of mine must figure as insignificant blips in the minds of some of the characters who've passed through my life. Or like how my mother has composite memories, of that one time, that as I understand as a patchwork of what I remember as a number of discrete events.
Not that my opinion much matters on these points, but the title and the cover do nothing for me. What made me take notice was the author's name (I love the Tournament of Books!), and then it was the plot summary that hooked me. But I would not have picked up this book on the basis of its packaging. Nothing about it holds any appeal for me — the colour, the font, the antlers. Halfway through the book I was still wondering what's with the antlers (actually, for the first half, I didn't even identify them as antlers, I was seeing more along the lines of tree-branch hands), and even while antlers do ultimately figure in the story, and even as part of a climactic scene, I don't think they play a vital enough role to be the visual motif to carry the book. But, hey, what do I know, I'm no book jacket designer. The title I simply don't connect with, even after having read the book; it's actually kind of clever, if I think about it, in an appropriately casual way, but I'm not sure I should have to think about it.
But, really, thank you very much, Penguin Canada, for sending me a review copy, because it turned out to be a very charming and thoughtful book, an enjoyable reading experience, and I doubt I would've got around to this book otherwise, and all in all I'm rather glad that I did.
There's something easy about this book — easygoing? Like when you dread going to a dinner party, but then you go and there's someone you never met before who just puts you totally at ease, you really hit it off, someone who is charming and interesting, and spirals a little bit out of control as the party goes deep into the night, but you've kind of bonded by this point and you're totally sympathetic, so you see each other through till morning, and you probably won't ever see each other again and that's OK, and you're really glad you went.
That's what this book felt like. Forgive my rambling, but it's a couple weeks now since I finished reading it, and my memory of it shaky as far as the objective facts of it go. But the feeling of it is still there.
I heartily recommend this book. (Certainly I liked it much better than that other book, by a big-name author, about a scientist, his identity issues and relationship foibles; and it's funnier by far.) You Lost Me There is perfect for a late summer's day while you sit in your garden chair and drink too much wine. Just enjoy it.
I'm having a hard time carving out some time to write in any reflective kind of way. I've been back from away for days, but tired, stressed, and busy.
And I finished reading The Passage (all 800+ pages!). The pacing is good, and the characters are (mostly) believable, and ohmygod postapocalyptic biofreak vampires! so it's a good summer read, or long train ride read, or stormy night read, or snowbound winter cabin read (I'm guessing). I'll definitely be reading whatever books follow this one in the series, and I'll probably even see the movie.
I saw some clip of an interview with author Justin Cronin in which he discusses the book's genesis and the tradition he sees it following, being somewhat epic adventure, like, for example, Jules Verne (or am I confusing this with the China Miéville interview I saw? or was that element common to both?), but it's got me wondering, what kind of book is this really?, it's not exactly literary, but it's a far cry "better" than many a blockbuster à la Dan Brown (but how? by what objective criteria?), and I'd like to think this book will be read and enjoyed 100 years from now, maybe not as the cream of the literary crop, and not as some obscure gem, but as something people, real people, read and enjoyed, and it's pretty good dammit, and I wonder is this, say, Dumas-calibre? I mean: an adventure story! with heroes and villains and moral ambivalence and romance!
The vampires, I'll point out, are wholly original vampires, and I shouldn't even call them that — they're referred to as "virals." They are the result of biogenetic manipulation gone wrong, and have no relation to Vlad the Impaler and myths of that ilk, barring a few superficial similarities (but virals love garlic — you can set traps with it). I think Cronin owes a lot to Anne Rice (will people read Anne Rice 100 years from now?), actually, in terms of the vampire/viral sense of "family" and their manner of connection/communication.
There was only one expedition to a bookstore while we were away (I shouldn't call it that. Really, it was an expedition to get mommy an espresso-based beverage, the site of which caffeine-proffering establishment is on the premises of a bookstore, so I had to take a gander...), and I picked up only something for the kid, In a Dark, Dark Room and Other Scary Stories, by Alvin Schwartz, which was a big hit, in particular the story of "The Green Ribbon." Helena's reading skills are better in French than in English, so it's a coup for me, a huge relief, to find something that both involves and challenges her in a language I can more easily relate to her in.
My sister was lovely enough to bring me The Dud Avocado, by Elaine Dundy, which I've been wanting for ages, but then my daughter was careless enough (but no, it's not her fault, it's an accident of circumstance) to set a sopping wet paper towel beside it on the table on which it was resting, so the back third of it now is pretty severely warped, and this made me sad and angry, but I'm past it, it's still the same book I want to read, with all the same words, all still legible, a beautiful book, it's what's on the inside that counts.


[deleted post]Does your phone support composite and S-video video out?
Can you hotswap the SIM?
I'm laughing out loud at a sucker like you, bwahhhaaaahhhhhaaaahhhaaaa!
everytime i see a person with an iphone i laugh inside. they basically bought an ipod touch that can make a phone call.
if i wanted an ipod, i would have bought an ipod. the iphone offers nothing more than an ipod and is a piece of crap for a phone.
Da, 11 Apr 2009By "those who are no so biased" you mean nerds? I don't know about taxes where you live but he... moreMeh, I use Linux or Solaris on PC's I build myself.
I also use an iPhone as it's the best phone ever made.
Anonymous, 11 Apr 2009why is it that you always make unfounded assertions. Your opinions ARE NOT facts. they are y... moreBy "those who are no so biased" you mean nerds? I don't know about taxes where you live but here in Sweden you get the Dell Ultra Thin for 1200 dollars flat. Your dad might be a security guard at Burger King, i'm not, i work at Volvo Innovation as a CNC coordinator. I agree i know more about V8 engines, wind tunnels and Formula 1, then PC stuff, but how hard could it be. A while ago everything people like you Mactards used to say when defending Apple i used to take in creatively and learn, but then i my cousin won a Macbook Pro on a radio show and it was pure garbage. I got the Apple TV HD media player as a gift from my girlfriend, and it bigger garbage then anything i have ever seen, doesn't play HD 720 or 1080, divx, xvid, bluray, dvr, mkv etc etc, only crap expensive videos you can download from the appstore in mediocre quality, and even them kept freezing up when forwarding, what the he** it's supposed to be a freakin media player and it takes no known video formats unless it has wild night of passion with Steve! I stashed it in a box for awhile tili recently went back with it and the hip grungy kinda guy at Apple store actually sympathized with me. I got my money back, went and got the Tvix 6500 media player.
Mizuchi, 11 Apr 2009You must be dumber then the bush him self everyone clearly see that 5800 is HOT SWAPPABLE ... moreIf you watch the video it proves nothing.
If you think the reviewers here are liars why do you frequent this site?
If you read the instructions written by Nokia written inside the battery cover of the 5800 you will see that the SIM in the 5800 is not hot swappable.
If you think Nokia are liars why do you support their phones?
zorkor, 11 Apr 2009I am not a spammer with 37 email accounts like you. I have a work, play and personal email acc... moreSeeing as you brought up the subject of video out, the iPhone supports component, s-video and composite video out as opposed to the 5800 which only has component.
Yet another reason to avoid cheap Nokia junk.
Now you can go have a whine about that.
zorkor, 11 Apr 2009I am not a spammer with 37 email accounts like you. I have a work, play and personal email acc... moreWeren't you the one who was whining about the number of email accounts you can set up on an iPhone?
Why'd you bring up some nonsense about the 5800 and now you want to cry about it?
Face it I don't want cheap junk like the 5800.
Da, 11 Apr 2009What more can i say, you said it all, thank you, you just proved my point. That was exactly th... morewhy is it that you always make unfounded assertions. Your opinions ARE NOT facts. they are your opinions and as such have no more validity than anyone else's (in fact yours have less). the Dell Adamo, their ultrathin, is actually more expensive than a macbook air and is not really much different inside. i might agree that neither are worth the money, but having used both macs and pc's extensively, it is my opinion that mac's are faster and generally more reliable. Especially when Vista is involved.
so be a good little security guard and go back to guarding the door and leave the assessment of technology to those who are no so biased.
Da, 11 Apr 2009No, it's an unnecessary feature on a phone that lacks most basic necissary specs, that is was ... moreLol my point exactly. i love my phone with resistive screen and not so huge display.
but hey i too felt the need of two sims cause various sims are specialized at particular service here. i used one for cheap text and other for cheap calls. and i was forced to carry two phones :( if i had dual sim phone it would have been better. though if we have to swap the sims, i dont think it serves much purpose.
Dhir, 11 Apr 2009Pls show mercy at ifans :D. how many times they gonna have to hear the same thing again again?... moreNo, it's an unnecessary feature on a phone that lacks most basic necissary specs, that is was Apple is all about in their products. They take away all the necissary stuff and put in the moro* stuff nobody never uses, but hey, it fits in an envelope. Who the he** walks around with an extra sim card, and why? serioulsy? If i have two sim cards, then i have two phones.
Anonymous, 11 Apr 2009Did the Dell have DDR3 RAM? What was it's fsb speed? Was it plastic or unibody aluminium... morewell there are laptop with all those specs and still don't cost 3000$ and talking about alluminium, apple themselves removed it from iphone 2g and rolled out all plastic 3g right? because allumium was susceptible to signals or something.
Anonymous, 11 Apr 2009I've only got 37 accounts set up, it's a bit annoying scrolling through all of them, how many ... moreI am not a spammer with 37 email accounts like you. I have a work, play and personal email account which Nokia handles perfectly.
I also have 3.2 MP camera with VGA video recording with TV out cables, video editing and...oh sorry.. your craphone has none of that. I was talking features which you as isheep never heard before...Sad!
Anonymous, 11 Apr 2009Did the Dell have DDR3 RAM? What was it's fsb speed? Was it plastic or unibody aluminium... moreWho cares about plastic or aliminium, what windows vista version, screen resolution, i think it had was 350x8 fsb and DDR3 SDRAM or something, does it even matter. It still outdid the 3 times more expensive Macbook with margin. You can find loads of these face offs on PC sites. All your answer said was bla bla bla bla, desperate queastion about details that nop one cares about except a nerd. Look att iPhone CPU, it has one of the best but can't even mms, make videos, copy&paste, buletooth etc etc.
Da, 11 Apr 2009What more can i say, you said it all, thank you, you just proved my point. That was exactly th... moreDid the Dell have DDR3 RAM?
What was it's fsb speed?
Was it plastic or unibody aluminium?
Which Windows version was it running?
What was the screen resolution of the Dell?
It seems you are as ignorant about computers are you are about phones.
secouric, 11 Apr 2009DA: This is only Apple's second phone, and it is a fantastic competitor. How can you complain ... moreWhat more can i say, you said it all, thank you, you just proved my point. That was exactly the kind of no substance hypotethical brainwashed answer i expected from an iSheep who probably upgraded for no reason at all. Most of the Apple users are like so brainwashed it's not even funny anymore, it's an epedemic. I saw a face off between the 3000 dollar premium version Mac Book Air and 1000 dollar Dell laptop. The Dell laptop Ultra Thin beat the living daylight out of the Macbook in every aspect, cpu speed, memory, optical drives, wireless speed, programme stability, battery life etc etc, and it cost one third of the Apple Macbook. This is why you guys are brainwashed, cause you can't see obvious stuff even if someone threw it on you face.
mizuchi, 11 Apr 2009they are lol the mem card is right beside the SIM card slot go look up a vid here HOT SWA... moreI watched the video on my iPhone, he pulled the memory card out, then he opened the SIM cover but didn't pull the SIM out.
Could this be because as is written in the Gsmarena review and the instructions printed on the back of the cover by Nokia, you have to take the back off, remove the battery and use the plectrum to push the SIM out using the slot specifically designed for that purpose.


What follows is a brief introduction to the invertebrates included on this website. The short summaries are intended primarily to provide non-specialists with a quick overview of the major invertebrate groups represented in our fossil collections. The summaries are not intended to be comprehensive or encyclopedic, but should provide basic background information if you are unfamiliar with these groups of animals.
The term invertebrate is generally applied to all animals that lack a vertebral column or "backbone" derived during development from a structure known as a notochord. Defined this way, invertebrates include just about all animals, except for the subphylum Vertebrata (which includes things like fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals) within the phylum Chordata. A slightly narrower definition, used by some in organizing invertebrate collections, excludes forms without a backbone but with evidence of a notochord. Although they may not possess a "backbone", many invertebrates have hard, mineralized shells or "skeletons" and have left behind a rich fossil record. Most of our 2D images and 3D models of fossil invertebrates are still being processed for inclusion on this website, and only a few exemplars are included at present, so check back frequently for new additions!
Click on photos for more information and 3D models.


Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour, Inc.
"Building Character and Sportsmanship through Golf!"
On behalf of the members and staff of the Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour we thank you in advance for your most generous consideration of a contribution to promote junior golf in the surrounding area and beyond. The Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour is launching our 18th season and still continuing to expand. Your contribution is used exclusively for the benefit of junior golf. The generosity of your kindness will ensure our commitment to promoting rules clinics and golf instructions through golf academies, as well as competitive through tournament experience. We've accomplished a great deal in seventeen years, but so much more must be done. Working together toward a common goal can make a difference in the lives of young people on and off the golf course.
Last season contributions helped many juniors come close to their dream of learning the rules of golf and how to play the game. The support and generosity of community leaders and businesses like yours insures the sustained success and perpetuation of the Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour. As you know, sponsorships and donations are our only source of support and promotion for the tour. We will operate the 2016 season, as in the past, as a volunteer organization of BRJGT staff and volunteers.
The Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour professionally made sponsor sign is displayed at each event and tournament for individuals whose level of sponsorship is $300 or more. The BRJGT website hosts a sponsor page listing all our enthusiastic sponsors.
We would encourage you to attend any of the events or tournaments to see for yourself the character and sportsmanship that our players put forth.
We appreciation your contemplation of sponsorship for the Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour whether you are a returning sponsor or a new sponsor. Remember the Blue Ridge Junior Golf Tour is a 501(c)(3) organization.


text:
where the least of us is harmed
Where the least of us is harmed, there are we also harmed: This a sentiment I share and it's a sentiment that can encourage my rage when, as is most common, it is not put into practice. Mostly, the little guy and the weak guy are consumed and forgotten by those in a position to help or succor. Blithely, it may be called "reality" or "the law of the jungle" ... but my response is this: We don't live in the jungle, dimwit! We have the capacity to dismiss or overlook or crush under foot, but it is a capacity we choose wittingly or unwittingly to exercise. I am ashamed of my own capacity to do the same and more ashamed when I do it ... but that doesn't mean I can't try to be less careless. I too am capable of a double-standard ... and I hate it.
But every once in a while, a good example of not-acceding, of not-overlooking, and of not sweeping the bodies under the carpet comes to light.
-- In Pennsylvania (as not at the Vatican), Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, a giant among college football coaches and a multi-million-dollar money maker for the university, was fired last night. He was fired not because he is presently charged with any of the pedophile sex crimes swirling around the football team staff, but because what he did not do reflects poorly on the integrity of the university. At least one small boy was allegedly raped by a football coach and the incident was reported but never acted upon. Paterno was alleged to be in the know. He passed the information on to his superior ... but not to the police. His ouster brought hoards of adoring fans into the streets: "We want Joe back!"
More than just Paterno, the board of trustees also fired the university president. Suddenly, small children (whatever the ulterior motives of the board) are given parity with those of great wealth and great fame. It is almost incomprehensible, given the human capacity for cover-up and excuses, that the board had the balls to do this. Not even the Roman Catholic Church -- a vastly wealthy and powerful and self-aggrandizing institution -- had the capacity and nerve to clean house in this way. Instead, they succumbed to their own version of "We want Joe back!" We want our integrity without being reminded of that which eviscerates integrity. (Here is a pretty good description of the dynamics of sexual abuse within organizations ... about three minutes into the television segment.)
-- When is a vegetable not a vegetable? Researchers have uncovered the fact that not all patients described as being in a "vegetative state" are without consciousness.
-- For those old enough to remember and possibly care, former U.S. President Richard Nixon's grand jury testimony about the Watergate scandal has been unsealed. The former president, who was forced to leave office because, despite his assertions that "I am not a crook," was a crook always was a slippery customer, so who knows how revelatory the testimony will be. Current President Barack Obama was against unsealing the testimony ... too many of those who surrounded the crook Nixon are still alive.
-- Cable companies will offer cheaper internet services to those whose children qualify for the free lunch programs in schools. $9.95 per month. Such families will also be offered low-cost computers as part of the Federal Communications Commission's directive. I am glad that some governmental agency can do what business, when left to its own devices, will not... do something that is good for the nation.
-- And in the world of business, more employers are being more 'selective' when it comes to offering paid leave to new mothers. "Lower-educated mothers are nearly four times more likely than college graduates to be denied paid maternity benefits, the widest the gap has been over the past 50 years."
▼ Nov (102)
a glass of prune juice
Autumn in the West
directions of Buddhism
air swimmers
jazz for cows
money and history
observations by Ta Hui
out of gas
eye to eye
small tragedies
second-hand lifestyle
"do no harm"
wrinkle, wrinkle little star
meaning, no meaning and cocoa
economics from the rug man
the gag reflex
damn! we won!
to believe or not believe ... is that a question?
burn it all down
hope for heaven, prepare for hell
constitutional deliberations
the blessing of our heresies
be careful what door you walk through
the rise of barbarism
and then I....
the desire to be well-thought-of
"Eastern Promises"
Occupy Wall Street hits a money-making nerve
what comes true comes out of what is false ... sor...
one picture worth 10,000 words
"mic check"
"foremost" fiddle faddle
luxury/luxuriousness
silly and/or sane
speed and chicken massacre
Stop! Look! And listen!
no nude dudes
confession and absolution
what is ignored
"My Life as a Turkey"
the conventional wisdom
old geezer
the ultimate
no trophies
cleaning out the Occupiers
the squeeze on Occupy movement
zendo entrance stairs
"integrity"
cell phone potential
Penn State -- the grand jury report
"Frisbeetarianism"
days of the week -- the habit
The Big Lie among others
The Big Explanation
let me know if you find the remote
an expectation
assumptions worth examining?
smile du jour
is anyone minding the brain-cell store?
the polygamy statute
"I know it when I see it"
when all else fails, have a war
the gunfire factor
"genius"
the "personhood" wars
spiritual nitwits
a time for unicorns
baked beans and filet mignon
Purina Diet
push-back
golden hoard, twinkling magic
the devils of our better nature
impossible stuff
questions that pin you to the wall
'once' is not now

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
The influence of emotion on language and communication disorders
Diana Van Lancker, Nancy Pachana
Communicative Sciences and Disorders
The handbook of neurolinguistics
B. Stemmer, H.A. Whitaker
Van Lancker, D., & Pachana, N. (1998). The influence of emotion on language and communication disorders. In B. Stemmer, & H. A. Whitaker (Eds.), The handbook of neurolinguistics (pp. 302-313). San Diego: Academic Press.
The influence of emotion on language and communication disorders. / Van Lancker, Diana; Pachana, Nancy.
The handbook of neurolinguistics. ed. / B. Stemmer; H.A. Whitaker. San Diego : Academic Press, 1998. p. 302-313.
Van Lancker, D & Pachana, N 1998, The influence of emotion on language and communication disorders. in B Stemmer & HA Whitaker (eds), The handbook of neurolinguistics. Academic Press, San Diego, pp. 302-313.
Van Lancker D, Pachana N. The influence of emotion on language and communication disorders. In Stemmer B, Whitaker HA, editors, The handbook of neurolinguistics. San Diego: Academic Press. 1998. p. 302-313
Van Lancker, Diana ; Pachana, Nancy. / The influence of emotion on language and communication disorders. The handbook of neurolinguistics. editor / B. Stemmer ; H.A. Whitaker. San Diego : Academic Press, 1998. pp. 302-313
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booktitle = "The handbook of neurolinguistics",
publisher = "Academic Press",
T1 - The influence of emotion on language and communication disorders
AU - Van Lancker, Diana
AU - Pachana, Nancy
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text:
It's Official: U.S. Warns It Can't Guard Part of U.S. – Mexican Border
Uptick in Violence Forces Closing of Parkland Along Mexico Border to Americans
| FOXNews.com
About 3,500 acres of southern Arizona have been closed off to U.S. citizens due to increased violence at the U.S.-Mexico border, according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
The closed off area includes part of the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge that stretches along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Pinal County Sheriff Paul Babeu told Fox News that violence against law enforcement officers and U.S. citizens has increased in the past four months, forcing officers on an 80 mile stretch of Arizona land north of the Mexico border off-limits to Americans.
The refuge had been adversely affected by the increase in drug smugglers, illegal activity and surveillance, which made it dangerous for Americans to visit.
"The situation in this zone has reached a point where continued public use of the area is not prudent," said refuge manager Mitch Ellis.
"It's literally out of control," said Babeu. "We stood with Senator McCain and literally demanded support for 3,000 soldiers to be deployed to Arizona to get this under control and finally secure our border with Mexico. "
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials have warned visitors in Arizona to beware of heavily armed drug smugglers and human traffickers.
"We need support from the federal government. It's their job to secure the border and they haven't done it," said Babeu. "In fact, President Obama suspended the construction of the fence and it's just simply outrageous."
Signs have been posted warning Americans not to cross into the closed off territory south of Interstate 8. Babeu said the signs are not enough – he said Arizona needs more resources to help scale back the violence caused by the drug cartels.
"We need action. It's shameful that we, as the most powerful nation on Earth, … can't even secure our own border and protect our own families."
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/06/16/closes-park-land-mexico-border-americans/
UPDATE: From the official website of the U.S. Fish & Wild Life Service 06/16/2010
Visit a landscape of rippling grassland flanked by mountains, and riparian zones rich in bird life. Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge provides approximately 118,000 acres of habitat for threatened and endangered plants and animals. The semidesert grassland supports the reintroduction of masked bobwhite quail and pronghorns.
Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge Remains Open
Recently there were reports in the news stating that the Buenos Aries National Wildlife Refuge was closed. This information is not correct. In early 2006, a small section of land (about 3% of the refuge) along the border was closed to visitation. However, no new restrictions are in place and the majority of the refuge remains open. Today, we are seeing a decline in violent activity in the southern most area thanks to ongoing cooperation between the US Fish and Wildlife Service and US Customs and Border Protection. The Refuge will reopen the lands along the border at such time that it is determined to be safe for visitors.
http://www.fws.gov/southwest/refuges/arizona/buenosaires/index.html
McAuleysWorld: Let me see, "The Refuge will reopen the lands along the border at such time that it is determined to be safe for visitors" means the lands are in fact, still closed. Unless you are using some type of new math, 3% of 118,000 acres equals 3540 acres. Please note that the "Federal Fish & Wildlife Service" is in agreement with the Secretary of Homeland Security who claims the border has never been safer, well actually the Fish and Wildlife staff just say it is relatively safere, but not safe enough to reopen the "closed" section of the park. On the other hand the County Sheriff, as reported above, has a significantl;y different take.
You can decide.
This says nothing about the ecological damage being done to the Park, a subject that the Federal Fish & Wildlife Service is forbiding park employees to discuss … What ecological damage you ask …..
Filed under: Arizona Immigration Law, Illegal Immigration, Immigration, Inmigración, inmigración ilegal, México Gartels Drogas, Mexican Drug Gartels, Mexican Violence Sweeps Across US Border, Mexico | Tagged: Arizona Immigration Law, Arizona Park Closed To U.S. Citizens - Drug & Trafficking Violence, Secure Borders, U.S. Citizens denied access to border park - Drug and Trafficking Violence To Blame |	1 Comment »


If you're a families of conservative values you have to be concerned with the direction the US public education system is heading. Regrettably, for quite a few parents in this predicament homeschool has offered a way out of this predicament. For parents near Daisetta, Great Homeschool Convention can provide the support you seek. At our conventions you can get the best Homeschooling Florida and many other subjects of interest to For individuals in Texas. After you have visited in one of our conferences you'll acknowledge why so many parents consider www.GreatHomeschoolConvention.Com is the best information source for families looking for homeschooling and Daisetta.
Lately, home schooling went through a few advances. Parents now have significantly more options than they did years ago. If you're thinking of this choice for a child, you should check out the future of home schooling.
There Are Several Models To Choose From – There are a couple of strategies to home-schooling your children. There are numerous schooling types to go by, including Charlotte Mason, School-At-Home, Unschooling, and Electic Education methods. Parents can look at many schooling plans and find one that's a great fit with regard to their child.
Guardians Have Several Means – If you're teaching your kids, you do not need to do everything all on your own. There are numerous resources available to homeschooling parents. There are website courses that you could sign up your child for. There are actually electronic teaching tools that will help you clarify difficult notions to your children. These resources can help parents handle the stresses of educating.
Laws Are Being Modified – The rules relating to home schooling haven't been kept fixed. A lot of states have altered home-schooling rules or put new laws into position. It's clever to check out the rules in your town before you begin home-schooling your son or daughter.
Home schooling is a great prospect for a lot of parents. Take time to read more about homeschooling to see what lies ahead.
Homeschooling your kids can be very beneficial. However, there a path to take to make certain that they are accomplishing all that they should with homeschooling in Daisetta. Therefore how should you help your son or daughter to thrive?
Make Inquires about Courses – Above all, spend some time to explore the programs and ensure that you go with the one which works for your child and you in terms of payments and also the syllabus.
Stick with a Routine – Whether your kids are seeing you as an educator or turning in assignments into a "satellite teacher", it's crucial that they use a a structure. Get them to be be conscious of the idea that they must get up early in the morning, go through the same morning routine on week days, and be done with the project that may be organized for a day before they can be considered finished.
Be Present – Your child may need help with their projects, or simply need you to ensure that they are completing their work and comprehending the information. Be in attendance and a part of your child's academics.
Allow Them To Have a Social Life – Youngsters still want interaction with their age group in order to be happy and socially fit. Plan outtings with many other kids, take them outside the home, and allow them to have friends their contemporary. When you know of other Daisetta homeschooling children, organize so they can learn in groups along with your child at a shared location, like a park. Parents who want more information on homeschooling in Daisetta and what to expect at a Great Homeschool event, please, check out our blog.


We spent 9 days at MER and loved it! The Water Cottage was fantastic. Snorkellers are looked after very well with Novi and Nelson guiding and Tahir driving, making sure we saw everything we could. The entire team made our experience unforgettable. Thanks to Sue and Mark, & Sabine for making everything run so smoothly.
Probably my best Dive Holiday!!!


You can come up with as many dissertation ideas as possible. Nevertheless, if they are not specific to the given subject, they are all considered irrelevant. You therefore need to make sure that before you choose any of them, you have read and understood the main subject in the question. This will help you avert from making silly mistakes that might cost your grade.
If you have more than one topic and you want to make a selection, do not go for one that is too complex to understand. Use of heavy marketing jargons is irrelevant because most people will not be in a position to understand the information you might give. Moreover, you might as well yourself fail to comprehend what the statement means and therefore, it will be quite difficult to formulate the right content.
What is normally interesting in your own eyes will also be interesting to another person. Therefore, you need to make sure that all the ideas are interesting enough to draw in the reader's mind. If they are boring, the latter will not have the psych to go through them and if it is about giving scores, you will get the lowest.
The beauty of formulating top notch dissertation ideas is that, they are at well written without cases of typing errors. Most of the readers who go through statements that have not been well formulated usually get irritated and therefore, they can easily award you a zero for not being very careful. Just take that into consideration.
Since marketing is a wide area, you might come across multiple ideas that you will need to choose the best. In this case, you do not have to worry or hurry up. Simply take your time and relax the mind before moving any step further. Those who hurry usually end up making mistakes by making the wrong choices. Make sure you analyze each of the options givens effectively before you settle on one.


text:
1982 Press Photo Joe Green Frank Glieber CBS Sports
Caption: Joe Green (left), ne of the most talented linemen in the histor of professional football, is now sporting a new uniform - a CBS Sports Commentor's blazer. Greene will be working as an expert analyst, with Frank Glieber (right), a 20-year CBS Sports play-by-play man, when the CBS Television Network begins its 27th year of regular-season National Football League game broadcasts, SUNDAY, SEPT. 12.
The front and back of this photograph are pictured below.


Drain the tuna well and place in a bowl. Add the yogurt, low calorie salad cream and lemon juice.
Mash together with the fork until well combined. Add the fesh dill and cayenne pepper. Mix well.
Spoon the mixture into 4 ramekin dishes and put int he fridge to chill for at least 2 hours.


A gendarme officer was at the weekend killed along the Bamenda-Ndop road by unidentified gunmen, local sources have said.
The circumstances leading to his death are unclear but reports say he was shot by gunmen who blocked the road at Sabga hill on Saturday morning.
Sources say the gunmen had mounted a checkpoint along the road checking the identification papers of passengers before discovering the gendarme officer who was in plain clothes. He was pulled out of the bus and shot by the men before his corpse was abandoned on the street.
Security forces immediately stormed the area after getting news of the incident and serious gun exchanges ensued though details of the casualties are still not known.
Several villagers living theb area are said to have fled for fear of military repraisals as has been the case with several other villages in the North West and South West regions of Cameroon.


text:
Helen Swift Mitchell (Bridgeport, 1895 - Pleasant Hill Tennessee, 1984) va ser una bioquímica, nutricionista i autora de llibres nord-americana.

Va ser coautora de Nutrició en la salut i en la malaltia, un llibre de text estàndard, del qual es van fer reedicions durant 56 anys i del qual van arribar a vendre's més d'1 milió de còpies. A més, també va ser autora o coautora d'altres llibres com Nutrició i infermeria, com també de més de 70 articles.

Mitchell es va graduar al Mount Holyoke College el 1917 i va obtenir un doctorat en bioquímica a la Universitat Yale el 1921. Després d'obtenir el seu doctorat es va convertir en directora d'investigació al Sanatori de Battle Creek, de Battle Creek, Michigan. De 1924-1935 va ensenyar fisiologia i nutrició al Col·legi de Battle Creek. El 1935 es va convertir en professora d'investigació a la nutrició en la Universitat de Massachusetts.

Durant la Segona Guerra Mundial va ser la nutricionista principal de l'Agència de Seguretat Federal i, uns anys més tard, va passar a ser nutricionista cap de l'Oficina del Departament d'Estat de Relacions Exteriors de Socors i Rehabilitació. Després de la guerra, Mitchell va tornar a la Universitat de Massachusetts com a degana de l'Escola d'Economia Domèstica.

Després de retirar-se l'any 1960, va treballar com a professora d'intercanvi a la Universitat de Hokkaido, al Japó, i més tard com a assessora de l'Escola de Harvard de Salut Pública i el programa Head Start.

Referències

Bioquímics estatunidencs
Nutricionistes
Científics de Connecticut
Alumnes de la Universitat Yale
Alumnes del Mount Holyoke College
Professors de la Universitat de Hokkaido

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
MD Shariff Abdullah
A member of the FWD team. MD was born without a left foot and runs with an Ossur Flex Run Blade. He has participated in marathons and ultra-marathons including the Boston Marathon, making him the first Blade Runner in Asia to qualify and compete. At the North Pole Marathon, Shariff will be fundraising for the Special Olympics.
Johannes Belgers
Twan is a 56 year old, married father of two lovely children and son/daughter in law. He likes to read, watch movies, play chess with friends, and of course loves to run (and at best off course). By profession, Twan is a psychiatrist, specializing in hospital psychiatry and bipolar disorder. He is afraid he might have to self-diagnose himself with this last disorder after completing a marathon on King George Island near Antarctica in 2015 and going to the North Pole soon. Twan took up running in 2005 and has since ran 26 marathons on 6 continents (and King George island). He ran across a frozen lake at the Baikal Ice marathon and 800 meters under the earth in a mine at the Merkerser Kristall Marathon. His likes to run in nature best and looks forward to a chilling, contemplative and exhilarating run on the end of the earth.
Christopher Bullock
Chris ran his first marathon in 1998 (the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C.) after noticing a flyer advertising a fund -raising effort to raise money for AIDS treatment for patients in the DC area. Nearly twenty years later, he has completed 162 full marathons, including the Comrades and Two Ocean ultras twice, marathons in all 50 states, and the six World Majors. Chris feels very fortunate to have run practically all over the world and have the opportunity to meet lifelong friends along the way. In fact, the Antarctic Ice Marathon, which he ran in November 2017, was brought to his attention by running pal Steve Munson who will also be running the North Pole Marathon.
A member of the FWD team. Wing Keung is an experienced runner who has completed the World Marathon Challenge, "7 Marathons 7 Continents 7 Days", will be participating in the North Pole Marathon for the second time. On this occasion, he will be guiding blind athlete Siu Wai Leung.
Yudiana Dian Fianto
Fedi has completed two IRONMAN challenges amongst a succession of marathon finishes across Asia, such as the World Major Marathon Series in Tokyo, Bali Marathon and esprtan Beast Malaysia.
William Dickens
John started running 10km in the late 1970s, became a short-distance triathlete in the 1980s, ran his first marathon in the 1990s, and completed his first Ironman triathlon in 2010. In the last decade, he has finished 12 standalone marathons and 6 Ironman triathlons along with countless shorter distance running and triathlon races (with a few obstacle course races sprinkled in). John is very much looking forward to this unique North Pole Marathon adventure to add to his endurance sports resume.
Vietnamese by birth, Australian by choice, Duc is a hobby runner. Relatively new to running, Duc has completed 100 races at the half marathon distance or longer. He spends most weekends trekking, running or mountaineering. The longest race completed was a multi-stage 250km desert race in Australia in 2017 (Simpson Desert). Duc joined the 7 Continents Marathon Club in 2016.
Emma Clair Dumont
Emma is a multisport athlete whose sporting life is a combination of many challenges! She loves extreme and unusual activities or experiences. Emma practices every sport she can - in the air, on the ground, ice and water. She has been motorcycling since the age of five and is a two-time Women's World Champion of Cross Country Baja in ATV. She has climbed Kilimanjaro, Mont-Blanc, and Aconcagua and is a finisher of New York Marathon in 2016. If Emma manages to finish the North Pole Marathon, she plans to participate to the 2019 World Marathon Challenge. It has always been her dream to go to the exact North Pole, and she thanks Richard Donovan for making that dream come true with the FWD North Pole Marathon!
David began running track (800m) as a teenager and as he's gotten older and slower the events have got longer and longer. Hence in the last year David has run two marathons (Afghanistan 2017 & Somiliand in 2018) and one ultra (Patagonia 250km). David heard about this event from some runners on the ultra. In the more distant past David has done another couple of ultras - Ecuador 2015 + Gobi Desert and several marathons including Sierra Leone, Medoc (France) & Berlin. David says he peaks in the first km, so is no great threat over 42k...he says he is basically a track runner who has got old so can no longer compete at 800m and has gradually pushed the pace slower, the distance longer, and the challenge harder.
Marcus Fillinger
Marcus is a Royal Australian Air Force photographer, Director of animal rescue organisation Alphadog AnimalArmy Inc and a Police endorsed tranquiliser firearms instructor. An experienced polar guide, Marcus has achieved dives under the North Pole and previously completed the North Pole Marathon in 2015 with his expedition dogs Baldvin and Bernensen. This year, Marcus is returning to run the Marathon with expedition dogs Blue and Duro in an effort to raise global attention of the animal rescue and research work of his charity Alphadog AnimalArmy Inc. Marcus will be promoting his charity's "Ks for Kangaroos" project in order to raise urgently needed funds to further his charity's research initiatives into ethical non-lethal wildlife solutions www.alphadog.org.au.
Not at all a sporty child, Nancy took up running late in life as stress relief from her day job of arguing with people about computers. The North Pole Marathon completes her Grand Slam quest that began with her first marathon at the age of 50, Arizona's Lost Dutchman Marathon. She's an avid hiker, having trekked Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim, Mount Kilimanjaro, Milford track, and the Cape to Cape Track in Western Australia. She encourages her supporters to inspire kids in the sciences and engineering by volunteering at their local FIRST Robotics Competition as a judge, referee, or non-technical volunteer: https://www.firstinspires.org/robotics/frc.
Ka Man Gi
A member of the FWD team. Ka Man is a Hong Kong Record Holder for half-marathon, 5000m and 3000m. He is an experienced middle to long distance runner as well as the founder and head coach of the Hong Kong running club. He has finished in the top three in numerous marathons and half marathons in Hong Kong.
Ramanathan Gnanadesikan
Ram is a 49-year-old who has completed 99 marathons and 73 half marathons including marathons in all 50 states in the United States. Ram is also the Chairperson of MarrowMinded, a USA based non-profit organization registering Asians and other minorities on the National Bone Marrow Registry. Ram's interest in running began in 2002 when he attended an information session for the 'Team in Training' marathon fund-raising program (operated by by the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society) after his mentor and MarrowMinded Chair Person Seema Chauhan died of Leukemia. He completed the 2002 Marine Corps marathon in honor of his friend and felt great. While training with 'Team in Training' Ram met several teammates being treated for Leukemia and other blood cancer disorders. Ram made a commitment to run 100 marathons on Christmas Eve 2004 after reading a blog entry posted by one of his teammate's mothers. His honored teammate was at the hospital and not doing well. Ram made a prayer and offered to run 100 marathons and in exchange wanted his teammate to be cancer free. His teammate Alex completed her last chemotherapy in June 2005 and has been cancer free for the last 12 years, so Ram will be running his 100th marathon in Jerusalem on March 9. Ram is running the North Pole marathon in memory of his father Gnanadesikan Thuthipet while raising funds for Michael J. Fox Foundation. To support him, see https://fundraise.michaeljfox.org/tf-2018/NorthPolemarathon2018.
Djalma Gomes De Moura
Djalma took part in the 2017 Antarctic Ice Marathon where he was amazed at the experience. A 61-year-old mining engineer, he believes sports transform, inspire and motivate people, and that age should not be something that limits one´s capacity of dreaming. Running has become the habit of his life, bringing the opportunity to meet new people and visit new places around the world together with his wife. Among his eight marathons so far, he has run Berlin/Germany, Buenos Aires/Argentina and Porto Alegre/Brazil where he got the qualifying standard for the Boston Marathon. He would like to use his participation in the NORTH POLE MARATHON to honor all organ donors and their families and make the population aware of the greatness of this act.
Cristian Gorbea
Cristian has run the Antarctica 100km , 100 miles in the L.A. Mission, Patagonia Argentina, UTMB France and the Ironman in Brazil.
Paul is taking part in the North Pole Marathon for a record sixth time and obviosly hopes to finally winit on this occasion. He has also completed the southernmost marathon on earth - the Antarctic ice Marathon - on several occasions. In 2017, Paul completed the World Marathon Challenge (7 Marathons 7 Continents 7 Days) and has also completed the Volcano Marathon, the highest desert race in the world.
Oliver Haupt
Oliver is a 43-year-old anesthesiologist at a small hospital in Hamburg, Germany. He began his running career on 19.03.2012 with a 4.71km-run. His goal behind this new passion was to develop stronger endurance. Before running, Olivier's passion was Filipino martial arts. As a trainer in martial arts for 15 years, Olivier still practices this passion today. Oliver ran his first marathon 30.06.2013 in 3:38. All of his consecutive marathons have been run on his own without an official running event. Oliver loves running alone and see the changes in nature throughout the year. The 2015 Polar Circle Marathon was his first "official" marathon. As he was running on the snow and ice of Greenland's glacial nature, he first thought about the North Pole Marathon. Running on the icy nature of Greenland was so impressive he had to do it again, but this time at the North Pole – the ultimate icy nature.
Stuart Horsewood
At the age of 70 and having only just retired, Stuart is looking to completing the Marathon Grand Slam. He is already a member of The 7 Continents Marathon Club, with 124 marathon distances cross 7 continents and more than 20 countries, including ultramarathons in the UK, Hong Kong and South Africa.
Adriana Istrate
Adriana considers herself a normal person with an extraordinary energy. To date she considers her best performance to was to take her first steps running in 2013 after a motivational speech by Andrei Rosu, another North Pole marathoner. The day after that speech Adriana went out running and at 200m she was wrecked, but she kept at it and 5 years later she was a 100k finisher in Antarctica, a 7 Continents Marathon Club member and an Ironman finisher. The North Pole Marathon is her last race and she hopes to become a Grand Slam Club member, and bipolar person :) What's next for Adriana? She hopes to continue reinventing her future in order to become the best version of herself.
Mohan Iyer
Mohan is a member of the 7 Continents Marathon Club. He has run a marathon in all 50 states, on all the 7 continents and in 27 countries. He has run at least one marathon every month since October 2010 when he ran his first marathon in Chicago. He ran his 100th Marathon in Chicago in October 2017. Although Mohan's job as the CIO for a Financial Services firm in Chicago does not let him train as hard as he would like, he has been lucky enough to remain injury-free and keep the streak going. By the time he runs the North Pole Marathon in April 2018, he will have run a total of 105 marathons (and a total of 150 races). His personal website - www.mohaniyer.com - has a listing of all the races he has completed.
Misaki Izuoka
A member of the FWD team. Misaki is a model from Japan who has competed in eight half and full marathons around the world. Passionate about raising funds for charity, Izu donated all the profits made from selling T-shirts she had created to those affected by the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami.
Ted Jackson
Ted is one of the finest athletes in the field and has led the North Pole Marathon on two previous occasions in 2008 and 2009. Unfortunately he was knocked of the lead position after 100 yards and never really recovered... failing to finish in 2008 due to being too massive and slow, but was lucky enough to finish before the polar day became night in 2009. Ted was among the first competitors to take on the World Marathon Challenge (777) in 2015 and rose to global fame after ESPN featured his epic journey in a short film. http://www.espn.com/video/clip?id=13188636. A veteran of Ironman UK and the Marathon des Sables, who has also completed all 21 stages of the Tour de France a week ahead of the pros in 2006, Ted was recently helicoptered to safety along with his son during a hazardous attempt to row across the Atlantic in a homemade catamaran. Ted is surely one to look out for this year but he is notoriously shy so he could be tough to spot. Did we mention that he has raised nearly £250000 for charity over the years? To top it all off, he is dashingly handsome and very funny. What a guy!
Hiroshi Kei
Hiroshi is full time office worker and an ultra trail runner. He has finished the Nobeyama 100K marathon in Japan, the Trail Jeju 100K in South Korea and the Ultra Trail TaiMoShan 115K in Hong Kong in 2017. Hiroshi also loves traveling and has visited approximately 100 countries and regions. His challenge is to run and enjoy everywhere in the world. Hiroshi was born in, and lives in Tokyo, Japan.
Todd Latta
A member of the FWD team. Todd is a president of a product development company and an experienced marathon runner based in Taiwan. He believes that even with demanding jobs, people should find time to be active to achieve a healthy and sustainable life. He completed his first Olympic distance triathlon in 1987 and has completed many (ultra) marathons. Todd will be fundraising for Handicap International.
Siu Wai Leung
A member of the FWD team. Siu Wai holds the records in the visually impaired category for 20km, half marathon, and full marathon in Hong Kong. He was the first visually impaired runner to complete the Antarctic 100km, where he placed sixth in 2017.
Xiaobai Li
Xiaobai is the founder and Honorary Chairman of New Silk Road Fashion Group, the 2016 Marathoner of the Year in China, an Ambassador of China Children's Charity Foundation, finisher of the World Marathon Majors, and finisher of 2017 World Marathon Challenge (7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days).
Xiaobo Li
Xiaobo is a member of the Lions Club, marathon runner and partner of Fenghe Capital. In 2016, Xiaobo completed the World Marathon Majors and in 2018 he finished the World Marathon Challenge (7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days). After completing the North Pole Marathon, Xiaobo will join the Marathon Grand Slam Club.
Hendrik Lückmann
Hendrik is 27 years old and grew up in Germany. Running has always been a part of his football training while playing for the local club Fortuna Walstedde in Germany. However, he recently he became aware of his real passion for running after moving to Switzerland in 2017 and completing the half-marathon in Lausanne. After that race, he decided to run a full marathon in Cologne (Germany) and the North Pole Marathon will be his second full marathon. Aside from running, Hendrik is passionate about hiking and did some of the Great Walks in New Zealand and some adventurous trails in Hawaii.
Shuzhi Mao
Shuzhi is a designer and general manager of Xin Tian Tian Di Cloth Company and founder of Panda Running Club to promote healthy lifestyle in Chengdu, China. In 2017, Shuzhi completed the World Marathon Majors together with her sister Sha. She looks forward to running around the world in one minute at the North Pole!
Sha Mao
Sha is a yoga practitioner, travel enthusiast, and marathon runner. In 2017, she completed the World Marathon Majors with her sister Shuzhi Mao. Her goal is to travel around the world via running activities and to contribute to the promotion of environmental protection. See looks forward to running this marathon on the top of the world and especially to feel the beauty and might of nature.
Kevin McGeeney
Kevin has had a number of running goals since taking up long-distance running in 2001. The North Pole Marathon completes the wish list, having already run the Marathon Des Sables, The Western States 100, Antarctica 100k, The Longford Ultra and running on all seven continents.
Joanna Medras
After crossing the finish line of the freezing Baikal Ice Marathon in 2016 and becoming the Antarctic Ice Marathon champion in the same year, the time has come for Joanna to fulfill her biggest "running" dream: running the North Pole Marathon and later becoming a member of the Marathon Grand Slam Club! On her bucket list of adventure, Australia and South America are still waiting for visits. Joanna is also half way to finishing the Abbott World Marathon Majors after finishing marathons in Berlin, London and Chicago. Her passion for running came from a passion for the mountains. As such, the Volcano Marathon is also on the cards for Joanna!
Steven Munson
Steve likes the experience of always pushing himself via running. He says he's a bit slow but persistent and that's just fine with him. Steve finished the 7 continents last fall and he's ready to finish the Grand Slam at the FWD North Pole Marathon. After that, it's onward to more adventures!
Jon O'Shea
Jon is a member of the Intercontinental Marathon Club and is looking to completing his 2nd Grand Slam at the Pole. He is running the London Marathon this year barefoot to raise fund for Teenage Cancer Trust and obviously saw this as the perfect warm up event. In 2015 he ran solo across Ireland in the One Man One Small Country event. He claims he is better than Simon Wrenn and Ted Jackson, who are also running the North Pole Marathon.
Argyrios Papathanasopoulos
Born and raised in Athens, Greece, Argyrios is an Emergency Physician who is now living in England. He started running marathons when he was studying medicine and achieved his personal best at the Venice Marathon 1994 in 2:44'. In 1995, he turned to ski mountaineering as an alternative sport for his training, and a few years later, was selected to the Greek national team of ski mountaineering and had competed in many European and World Championships from 2002 to 2004. He started running on the trails in 2005, and has since participated in some of the most challenging ultramarathon races around the world - Marathon des Sables, Atacama Crossing, Al- Andalus Ultimate Trail, Hong Kong Vibram 100, Namib Desert Challenge, Western States 100, El Cruce Columbia, Leadville 100, Tarawera Ultramarathon, Ultra Caballo Blanco, esprtathlon, The Last Secret Bhutan, Badwater 135, The Hidden Treasure Albania, Bromo Tengger Semeru Ultra, and Ultra Trail Pelion. He hopes to survive the freezing conditions of the North Pole Marathon, so that he can participate in the Antarctic Ice Marathon next, to complete his dream of running in all the 7 continents. He keeps a Blog of his running adventures at: www.ultra-pegasus.blogspot.co.uk.
Stephen Pienaar
Steve is an energetic adventurer and has taken part in many ultra cycling, canoeing and running races. He and his wife, Eleanor are passionate about running and travel. The couple have combined the two hobbies into an international adventure across the globe. Steve joined the 7 Continents Marathon Club in 2016 when he completed the Antarctic Ice marathon. He has completed many marathons in his home country, including the Comrades Marathon (89km race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban) on 10 occasions. Steve has also completed the London, New York , Great Wall of China, Sydney and Rio de Janeiro marathons. Steve is looking forward to what will possibly be his biggest adventure yet, when he takes on the North Pole Marathon to complete his "Grand Slam".
Eleanor Pienaar
Eleanor and her husband Steve are passionate about running and travel. The couple have combined the two hobbies into an international adventure across the globe. Eleanor joined the 7 Continents Marathon Club in 2016 when she completed the Antarctic Ice marathon. She has completed many marathons in her home country, including the Comrades Marathon (89km race from Pietermaritzburg to Durban) on 2 occasions. Eleanor has also completed the London , New York , Great Wall of China, Sydney and Rio de Janeiro marathons. She is anxious and excited about her adventure to the North Pole and feels extremely blessed to have the chance to become a member of the marathon Grand Slam club in April.
Steve Policky
To be added.
Larry Rich
Larry is the Founder & CEO of Sweat Tracker. He started the company several years ago to provide athletes with the benefits of a dedicated run coach in an online environment. This facility reduces the cost to runners and allows them to train when it is convenient for their schedule. Larry enjoys the challenge of the marathon distance and has completed more than 80 marathons, typically running at least six per year. He officially kicked off his #quest4seven in 2013 with the Athens Classic Marathon and completed it in 2017 with the Australian Outback Marathon. The North Pole Marathon is the final step to join the Grand Slam Club. To follow Larry's Quest 4 Seven, please visit http://www.sweattracker.com/quest4seven.
Alexander Rüdiger
Alexander is an Austrian television presenter, entrepreneur, adventurer and motivational speaker who is known to a large audience on the public television show Moneymaker. He is an avid adventurer who is just as happy in the mountains as on the road. Alexander completed the North Pole Marathon in 2013 as well as the Volcano Marathon in Chile in 2014. Her was born in Vienna in 1969 and is the father of a fourteen-year-old boy.
Luisito II Sangalang
A member of the FWD team. Luisito is a cancer survivor and an advocate of healthy nutrition and active lifestyles among Filipinos. Louie is a triathlete of SanteBarley Triathlon Team and former Featherweight Champion of Universal Reality Combat Championships. The Special Olympics is Louie's advocacy partner.
Kyo Satani
A member of the FWD team. Kyo is a 43-year-old entrepreneur who has completed several ultramarathons including the 89th Comrades Marathon (89km) in South Africa, and the 30th Marathon des Sables (250km) in Morocco. He also ran about 890km from Kamaishi to Inubosaki - the coastline afflicted by the tsunami caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake, whilst reporting the current situation and positive aspects of the afflicted areas/people. Kyo created the Cial- Thon, a social marathon, in 2012 which has been held 80 times in more than 50 cities. In 2011 / 2012 he held an ultramarathon, "Ultra Cial-Thon", to help raise funds following the great east Japan earthquake. He is also the founder of the world's first paxi (coriander) specialty restaurant and Tokyo's first coworking espce. His activities of the last ten years have been covered more than 1000 times by the media.
Benjamin Scully
A member of the FWD team. Ben is an experienced marathon runner based in China. He has, to date, participated in 36 marathons including New York, Boston, Paris and the Great Wall as well as 12 ultra-marathons. Even with his busy work schedule, as a senior management professional, Ben still finds time to run and train for marathons. Ben will be fundraising for Handicap International.
Jingbiao Shan
Jingbiao is a World Marathon Majors and Antarctic Ice Marathon (world's southernmost marathon) finisher. Jingbiao believes you "measure the world by foot and everything happens for the best".
Rob Shenton
Rob's father passed away in 2009 from Lung Cancer. From that point onward he vowed that every time he was short of breath he would make it count. So he decided he would run possibly the Toughest, Highest and Coldest footraces on earth to raise money for charity. So far he has done two of the three challenges:● The Toughest - The Marathon des Sables in 2011, 155 miles across the Sahara in 6 days. ● The Highest -The Everest Marathon in 2013, start point at 5184m (17,000 feet). ● The Coldest - Rob will be competing in the North Pole Marathon in April 2018. Rob was medically retired from the military after 25 years of service in 2016. He saw operational service in Bosnia, Kosovo, Northern Ireland and Afghanistan. Since retiring he has relied heavily of the charity Help for Heroes for support. He is now an ambassador for the charity and is running at the North Pole to try and raise money for the continued support they give to veterans. He is also an orienteering coach, with experience of doing mountain marathons and ultras, and likes playing around with triathlons when he needs a break from running.
Simon Silin
Over the last 4 years Simon has been fortunate enough to run ultra-marathons in various places around the world including 3 continents. He says the most memorable to date has been "the Antarctic run organized and hosted by Richard Donovan".
Joe Squires
Joe is 43 years old and lives in London with his wife Jenny and kids Mason and Lola. Despite city life, Joe likes to be outdoors on foot, on a mountain bike, or both. Joe has completed quite a few endurance events over the years, but he has never run a marathon before the North Pole, so he reckons the experience will be interesting. A few years ago his daughter Lola was critically ill with sepsis. Her sickness was a reminder that life can be fragile. As a result, Joe has spent the last 3 years getting fit. He is running the North Pole Marathon to raise money and awareness for the UK Sepsis Trust. You can read more at www.joesquires.co.uk.
Catherine Sun
Catherine has been running for over 5 years, completing more than 100 marathons. She completed 7 marathons on 7 continents twice (2015 and 2017), with the latter being the World Marathon Challenge. Later in 2017, she ran 800 kilometers Camino de Santiago within 16 days, and completed the Kilimanjaro Extreme Marathon from 5890 meters high, the roof of Africa. She is a Guinness World Record Holder.
Nguyet Minh Tang
A member of the FWD team. Nguyet is a mother of two and an owner of a fashion boutique in Ho Chi Minh City. She believes running helps her find balance in life and as soon as she found her passion in running she completed her first full marathon with only 1.5 months of training. Minh has not only inspired her two kids to complete a marathon but also seeks to inspire others through TV interviews.
Dmitri Voloshin
Dmitrii is a 43-year-old amateur sportsman from Moldova. He is an ultramarathoner, Ironman finisher and the organizer of Chisinau International Marathon. In fact, he has completed more than 50 different competitions including Comrades - 90 km, Marathon des Sables - 250 km, Ironman, OtillO 65 run + 10 swim; swimming competitions, such as the Strait of Gibraltar, OceanMan. Dmitri also participated in the competition Tough Guy, and climbed Montblanc and Mount Elbrus. As a child, he always dreamt of visiting the North Pole, and he hopes this dream will come true soon! Aside from his sporting life, Dmitri is the CEO of Simpals, an IT company which owns the largest websites in the Republic of Moldova, creates animated cartoons (https://vimeo.com/album/3539307) and organizes various sports events in the Republic of Moldova, under the aegis of SPORTER.md. More information about all these activities can be found in Dmitri's personal blog: voloshin.md.
John Ward
Johnny is a travel blogger from Ireland who recently completed a 10 year journey to every country in the world (yes all 197 of them!). You can read about his adventures at www.OneStep4Ward.com. His goals of North Pole, South Pole and Everest have brought him to try the marathon. A keep-fit enthusiast, Johnny has little to no experience in anything over 20km. Sheer fear and thoughts of "What have I got myself into" currently live inside his head since signing up!
Wojciech Wiwatowski
Wojciech is married to fellow competitor Joanna and is father to 6-year old Maria. His passion is mountains and climbing. He is a triple conqueror of McKinley and Aconcagua; he has climbed Mount Blanc some twenty times; and is he an author of many climbing routes in various corners of the world. Professionally, Wojciech runs a company, www.ekspedycjaindustry.com, which provides work services at height, including the use of advanced rope access techniques, performing extreme construction works, and rescuing workers at huge construction sites such as power plants and shipyards. He runs because mountains are sometimes too far to travel to, and his running dream is to run through his life smiling, In March 2016, Wojciech successfully crossed the finish line of the freezing Baikal Ice Marathon, and in November 2016, Wojciech successfully crossed the finish line of the Antarctic Ice Marathon.
Simon Wrenn
Simon maintains he has been running marathons, very badly, for the last 15 years. He has recorded appallingly slow race times at many marathons around the world. His list of race finishes includes the Volcano Marathon in the Atacama desert, the 100km Antarctic Marathon, the Marathon De Sables held in the Sahara Desert and the Eilat Marathon held in Negev desert in Israel. This will be Simon's third time on the start line of North Pole Marathon, following visits in both 2008 and 2009. In a dramatic break with tradition, Simon is intending to actually finish the race this year.
Guoping Xie
Guoping is the founder of Sai Wu You and Chong Chong Run. She has completed both the World Marathon Majors and World Marathon Challenge (7 marathons on 7 continents in 7 days), where she was runner-up in 2017.
Eric Xin
Eric has been running for over 5 years, completing numerous marathons and ultramarathons. He completed 7 marathons on 7 continents twice (2015 and 2017), with the latter being the World Marathon Challenge (7 Marathons 7 Continents 7 Days). Eric is a Guinness World Record Holder.
Bo Xing
Bo is Vice President of Neusoft Group, author of the Chinese edition of Harvard Business Review, President of the Shanghai Financial Information Association, President of the CEIBS AMP Club, member of the Marathon Committee of China Athletic Association, co-founder of the "400KM Ultra Gobi", and founder of Chinese Entrepreneurs 24-hour Extreme Challenge. He is the first Chinese to complete the 4 Deserts and is the record holder of the Lightest Equipment in the 4 Deserts. For the North Pole Marathon, Bo's goal is to "run on the top of the world with reverence, let footsteps not be frozen, and let spirit fly."
Jiawen Xing
Jiawen will run her first marathon ever at the North Pole and she "never expected it to be up there!" She is currently a freshwoman in the School of International and Public Affairs, Shanghai Jiaotong University, a speaker at the Forum of Shanghai Listening, a member of the 100 Young Talents Training Program of China, a member of Shanghai Youth Development Program, participant of Gobi Coming-of-age Ceremony, and finisher of Nepal ABC walk.
Song Yang
Song started running with the Athens Marathon in 2014 and has since run 25 races, including a 200-miler trail run and full Ironman. In 2016 he was the Chinese male champion in the Marathon Des Sables 2016 and ranked 127th in the Ultra Trail World Tour. In 2017 he the sole Chinese runner to finish the Ultra Trail Mont-Blanc and Tor Des Geants back-to-back races. In 2018, Sog's total planned race distance are 2000km +. He is a multi-field businessman, a sailor, a pilot, a diver, a climber, a North Pole swimmer to be, and a runner who simply loves adventures.
Russian paratrooper.
Xu Zhang
Xu has finished the World Marathon Majors and looks forward to completing the northernmost marathon in the world, the North Pole Marathon.
Cong Zhang
Cong is the co-founder of Beijing Harumi Culture. He started running in 2005 and completed the World Marathon Majors in 2016. With a "grateful heart and unstoppable feet", he enjoys every marathon he runs in the world. Cong believes that "At the top of the world, I will measure the colorful earth with my running feet."
Hua is the founder and chairman of Guangzhou Shibang Group, a human resource company, an executive director of Guangdong Women Entrepreneurs Association, a member of Guangzhou CPPCC, and is also on the working committee of Zhujiang Center of Alashan SEE Ecological Association. In 2018, Hua finished the World Marathon Majors. At the North Pole Marathon, Hua hopes to "aggregate the power of talents through running and illuminate the Arctic sea with heart."