text:
Q: Inserting file names as column values in a data frame I have several txt files. Each file has the columns of data separated by a comma. And each has its own individual file name.
So far I have combined these files into one big data frame, using the following code:
files = list.files()
data2=lapply(files, read.table, header=FALSE, sep=",")
data_rbind <- do.call("rbind", data2)
colnames(data_rbind)[c(1,2,3)]<-c("name", "sex", "amount")

This returns:

name sex amount
Anna   F   24567
Emma   F   23210
Isabelle F  31212
Amanda  F   22631

I would like to add a 4th column which specifies next to each line of data, the name of the file that the data was originally sourced from.
So, for example, if the first file 'example1.txt' contained the following:

Anna, F, 24567
Emma, F, 23210
Isabelle, F, 31212

And the second file 'example2.txt' contained the following:

Amanda, F, 22631
Sara, F, 41355
Katie, F, 2387

I would like to get the following:

Name Sex Amount Year
Anna F 24567 example1.txt
Emma F 23210 example1.txt
Amanda F 22631 example2.txt
Sara F 41355 example2.txt
Katie F 2387 example2.txt

Is this possible?

A: Try:
files = list.files()
data2=lapply(files, read.table, header=FALSE, sep=",")
for (i in 1:length(data2)){data2[[i]]<-cbind(data2[[i]],files[i])}
data_rbind <- do.call("rbind", data2)
colnames(data_rbind)[c(1,2,3,4)]<-c("name", "sex", "amount","year")

A: You could also use:
   nm1 <- c("Name", "Sex", "Amount", "Year")
  files <- list.files(pattern="^example")
  files
  #[1] "example1.txt" "example2.txt"

  setNames(do.call(rbind,Map(`cbind`,
           lapply(files, read.table, sep=","), V4=files)), nm1)

   #       Name Sex Amount         Year
   #1     Anna   F  24567 example1.txt
   #2     Emma   F  23210 example1.txt
   #3 Isabelle   F  31212 example1.txt
   #4   Amanda   F  22631 example2.txt
   #5     Sara   F  41355 example2.txt
   #6    Katie   F   2387 example2.txt

Or use rbindlist from data.table
 library(data.table)
 setnames(rbindlist(Map(`cbind`,lapply(files, fread),files)),nm1)[]
 #     Name Sex Amount         Year
 #1:     Anna   F  24567 example1.txt
 #2:     Emma   F  23210 example1.txt
 #3: Isabelle   F  31212 example1.txt
 #4:   Amanda   F  22631 example2.txt
 #5:     Sara   F  41355 example2.txt
 #6:    Katie   F   2387 example2.txt

A: You can try something like:
data2 = lapply(files, function(x) {
    res <- read.table(x, header=FALSE, sep=",")
    res$year <- x
    res
}, header=FALSE, sep=",")

data_rbind <- do.call("rbind", data2)
colnames(data_rbind) <- c("name", "sex", "amount", "year")


text:
Ban mobile phones from schools, Sussex MP says
James Butler
A Sussex MP in the Department for Education has said mobile phones should be banned from schools.
Speaking to the BBC, Nick Gibb - who is also minister for school standards in England - said: "Many schools have already taken the decision to ban mobile phones from the classroom.
Nick Gibb. Picture: Sarah Standing
"While this is clearly a matter for the head teacher, my own view is that schools should ban their pupils from bringing smartphones into school or the classroom."
Mr Gibb, who has been at the Department for Education for more than six years, spoke out ahead of the government publishing new guidance to schools. This was expected to cover issues regarding internet safety, social media and online gaming.
He went on to say: "Children should not be spending hours and hours on their smartphones or iPads. There are obviously huge benefits to the internet and there's nothing intrinsically damaging about spending time online.
"But if the time children spend using social media or playing computer games becomes excessive, it drives out time for them to talk to their parents, exercise, do their homework or play with friends.
"It eats into the amount of sleep and rest children have, resulting in their coming into school the next day tired and unable to concentrate."
He added: "Ensuring children can regulate their own use of smartphones and social media is becoming an increasingly important life skill for them to learn."
What do you think? Contact us on Facebook or email.
Midhurst pupils help Chichester homelessness charity

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


School is finally out and that could mean two things for us; one, we could sit on the couch staring at a TV, or two, we could curl up in a hammock engrossed in a new book that has completely captured our imaginations. I am a avid reader, but sometimes I find it hard to discover the next great adventure to stick my nose in. I have put together a list of my top ten books that I believe every 12-14 year old should read. At the top of that list is Gregor the Overlander by Suzanne Collins. Note, I am a big fantasy person so the books series I included are not for the faint of heart. If you are one who likes to enter a crazy world, these are the ones for you.
The same author who wrote the critically acclaimed Hunger Games also wrote a series for younger teens and tweens about a young boy who discovers a whole world under New York City where the dangers include giant rats and unforgiving prophecies.
Gregor is your average eleven year old living in an apartment in New York City. He runs track, plays the saxophone. He's normal, but he does have one secret. Two years ago his dad disappeared without a trace and he just wasn't the type to leave. On a hot summer day, Gregor and his two year old sister, Boots, head down to the laundry room. Lost in his thoughts, Gregor doesn't notice that his sister has vanished…Until he finds her falling through a gate to an old air duct. Gregor doesn't hesitate and jumps in after her. Immediately, he is plunged into a strange, dark world where peculiar looking humans ride bats and slay giant rats with swords. All he wants is to leave and get his sister to safety when he learns of The Prophecy of Gray, a prophecy that leads back to his dad.
I'd probably go as far as to say I've read hundreds of books over the course of my thirteen years, but Gregor the Overlander really sticks out. It's the start of a wild, five-part series. These books are clean joy-rides, each packed full of wild twists and turns. I've already read it twice and I don't waste time rereading unless I fell in love with the story the first time around. The characters are fleshed out and real, making the story that much more enjoyable. My only complaint about this book is that it ends.
This unforgettable novel by Suzanne Collins, the international bestselling author of the Hunger Games series, is rich in suspense and brimming with adventure.
Thinking one day about Alice in Wonderland, author Suzanne Collins was struck by how rural the setting must seem to kids who, like her own, lived in the city. In New York City, you're much more likely to fall down a manhole than a rabbit hole and, if you do, you're not going to find a tea party. What you might find…? Collins's musings led to the creation of The Underland Chronicles. "I liked the fact that this world was teeming under New York City and nobody was aware of it. That you could be going along preoccupied with your own problems and then whoosh! You take a wrong turn in your laundry room and suddenly a giant cockroach is right in your face. No magic, no space or time travel, there's just a ticket to another world behind your clothes dryer," Collins says.
Gregor the Overlander is squeaky clean. You won't find profanity in this series and although there is a romance, it is light and innocent. Just note that this is about battle in a world below ours, so there is violence but descriptions are in a way that you have a clear idea of what is going on, but are not repulsed or overly grossed out.
Have you read this book? What did you think? I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Looking for more book ideas for summer reading? Check out this list of favorite books for middle school students.


Involved in a hit an run accident? Involved in an accident where the driver responsible was uninsured? You may still be entitled to compensation for your injuries if the policy of insurance that covers you for the loss contains coverage for Uninsured Motorist Benefits. Uninsured Motorist coverage will provide compensation for your pain and suffering if there is no other liability insurance to provide compensation. However, even though Uninsured Motorist Benefits are an additional coverage that the policy holder (often times the injured person) pays an additional premium for, insurance companies more often then not attempt to deny payment, or offer unreasonable compensation for your pain and suffering. The Michigan Auto Accident attorneys at the Law Firm of Elia and Ponto, PLLC will fight for you to ensure you receive fair compensation if you are ever involved in a hit and run motor vehicle accident, or an accident with a vehicle that is uninsured.


Composed by Duke Ellington (1899-1974). Arranged by Ralph Ford. Jazz Ensemble; Performance Music Ensemble; Single Titles. Young Jazz Ensemble. Jazz. Score. 16 pages. Duration 3:20. Alfred Music #00-46157S. Published by Alfred Music (AP.46157S).
You may think this chart is all swing but it begins as a Latin then alternates with a swing feel---very clever! The tempo is bright at around 190-200 BPM. With written-out solos for trumpet and tenor sax, a few piano montunas, a big shout chorus and the big ending closes up this fine chart. It's hot! (3:20).


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'Survivor' castaway Simone Nguyen: 'I almost died'
Samantha O'Connor
Updated: October 6, 2017 12:36 PM EDT
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Simone Nguyen is not the outdoors type. She's never been camping, she isn't the best swimmer and she doesn't even like the sunshine. But despite her lack of survival knowledge, the 25-year-old New York City-based diversity advocate took on the wilderness in Fiji as a member of the Yawa tribe during the new season of Survivor: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers.
Although Simone was only the second castaway booted from the game, she learned an incredible amount about herself during her six days on the island – the most important being that she'll likely never go camping again.
"It's kind of like watching these uncomfortable home movies that you never wanted taken. But this was my first-time camping, so at least I didn't have to take my own pictures," Nguyen joked the morning after her semi-painful elimination episode.
On top of her blindside, she had watched her former tribe call her things like "weird" and "the least valuable member" of their tribe to the CBS cameras but despite being an outcast from the Yawa tribe's core, she continued to challenge herself and fight for her spot in the game, which is Simone's definition of a true hustler.
"I had known that I was an outsider pretty much from the beginning, because during the marooning in the first episode, they didn't get the chance to show it, but I basically almost drowned. I almost died," she shared.
"Devon [Pinto] had to come save me. And so, from that point, I was kind of cemented as the person that almost died on the first day before we even started. I can see why people thought of me that way and to be completely honest, I'm not a physical threat."
After failing to complete an imperative puzzle during the week's immunity challenge, Simone knew she was on the chopping block, but also assumed that her tribe-member Patrick Bolton had annoyed enough of their peers with his attention-seeking antics ahead of tribal council.
"My thoughts walking in was that it was 50/50 between me or Patrick," she said. "I know that I'm the person that screwed up on the puzzle. I'm a fish out of water and I'm not connecting like other people, but I thought this is new school Survivor. People need to go with people that they trust. So, I tried to play off the fact that Patrick is so unpredictable."
Despite walking out of the game so early, Simone has no complaints about the way she took on the epic game and the new experiences it threw at her.
"In terms of what I learned about myself, I was open and vulnerable and it felt good to be that open and vulnerable, because I put that all out there. I stood in my truth and I can appreciate that fact, even though I didn't go far. My survivor experience was something that was really mine."
Survivor: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers airs Wednesdays on Global and CBS.
View Full TV Listings


Here are the calculations you should do to conduct a proper financial analysis of your business's operations.
Financial health is one of the best indicators of your business's potential for long-term growth. The Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's recent Small Business Financial Health Analysis indicates business owners knowledgeable about business finance tend to have companies with greater revenues and profits, more employees and generally more success.
The first step toward improving financial literacy is to conduct a financial analysis of your business. A proper analysis consists of five key areas, each containing its own set of data points and ratios.
Revenues are probably your business's main source of cash. The quantity, quality and timing of revenues can determine long-term success.
Revenue growth (revenue this period - revenue last period) ÷ revenue last period. When calculating revenue growth, don't include one-time revenues, which can distort the analysis.
Revenue concentration (revenue from client ÷ total revenue). If a single customer generates a high percentage of your revenues, you could face financial difficulty if that customer stops buying. No client should represent more than 10 percent of your total revenues.
Revenue per employee (revenue ÷ average number of employees). This ratio measures your business's productivity. The higher the ratio, the better. Many highly successful companies achieve over $1 million in annual revenue per employee.
If you can't produce quality profits consistently, your business may not survive in the long run.
Gross profit margin (revenues – cost of goods sold) ÷ revenues. A healthy gross profit margin allows you to absorb shocks to revenues or cost of goods sold without losing the ability to pay for ongoing expenses.
Operating profit margin (revenues – cost of goods sold – operating expenses) ÷ revenues. Operating expenses don't include interest or taxes. This determines your company's ability to make a profit regardless of how you finance operations (debt or equity). The higher, the better.
Net profit margin (revenues – cost of goods sold – operating expenses – all other expenses) ÷ revenues. This is what remains for reinvestment into your business and for distribution to owners in the form of dividends.
Operational efficiency measures how well you're using the company's resources. A lack of operational efficiency leads to smaller profits and weaker growth.
Accounts receivables turnover (net credit sales ÷ average accounts receivable). This measures how efficiently you manage the credit you extend to customers. A higher number means your company is managing credit well; a lower number is a warning sign you should improve how you collect from customers.
Inventory turnover (cost of goods sold ÷ average inventory). This measures how efficiently you manage inventory. A higher number is a good sign; a lower number means you either aren't selling well or are producing too much for your current level of sales.
Capital efficiency and solvency are of interest to lenders and investors.
Return on equity (net income ÷ shareholder's equity). This represents the return investors are generating from your business.
Debt to equity (debt ÷ equity). The definitions of debt and equity can vary, but generally this indicates how much leverage you're using to operate. Leverage should not exceed what's reasonable for your business.
Liquidity analysis addresses your ability to generate sufficient cash to cover cash expenses. No amount of revenue growth or profits can compensate for poor liquidity.
Current ratio (current assets ÷ current liabilities). This measures your ability to pay off short-term obligations from cash and other current assets. A value less than 1 means your company doesn't have sufficient liquid resources to do this. A ratio above 2 is best.
Interest coverage (earnings before interest and taxes ÷ interest expense). This measures your ability to pay interest expense from the cash you generate. A value less than 1.5 is cause for concern to lenders.
The final part of the financial analysis is to establish a proper basis for comparison, so you can determine if performance is aligned with appropriate benchmarks. This works for each data point individually as well as for your overall financial condition.
The first basis is your company's past, to determine if your financial condition is improving or worsening. Typically, the past three years of performance is sufficient, but if access to older data is available, you should use that as well. Looking at your past and present financial condition also helps you spot trends. If, for example, liquidity has decreased consistently, you can make changes.
The second basis is your direct competitors. This can provide an important reality check. Having revenue growth of 10 percent annually may sound good, but if competitors are growing at 25 percent, it highlights underperformance.
The final basis consists of contractual covenants. Lenders, investors and key customers usually require certain financial performance benchmarks. Maintaining key financial ratios and data points within predetermined limits can help these third parties protect their interests.
Read more articles on financial analysis.


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Akina and Helton discuss law limiting ocean cruises in Hawaii
"Hawaii Together", PVSA
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii research associate Jonathan Helton gave institute President Keli'i Akina the lowdown on the federal government's 1886 Passenger Vessel Services Act during the latest episode of "Hawaii Together" on the ThinkTech Hawaii network.
As Helton explained in both his interview with Akina and his new report for the institute, "Cruising in Hawaii," the PVSA is a lot like the Jones Act, only it applies to people, not cargo.
Like the Jones Act, it is harmful to Hawaii's economy and should be either repealed or reformed.
Listen to this highly informative interview and learn about the history and economic implications of this blatantly protectionist federal maritime law.
Or you can simply read the complete transcript of the conversation below. Please also read Helton's report, "Cruising in Hawaii."
Jonathan Helton on "Hawaii Together"
Keli'i Akina: Aloha everyone and welcome to "Hawaii Together" on the ThinkTech Hawaii broadcast network. I'm Keli'i Akina, president of the Grassroot Institute.
Well, ocean cruising here in Hawaii should be a natural part of our tourism industry, but did you know that a federal law has held it back for more than a century? That's according to a new policy report from the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii. The report examines the 1886 Passenger Vessel Services Act and its effect on the economy. Now, in many ways, it's similar to the Jones Act, which deals with cargo, but the PVSA deals with people and cruise ships.
To talk about that today, I have one of our research associates at the Grassroot Institute, Jonathan Helton, who put together the recent report published by the institute. Jonathan, welcome to the program. Aloha.
Jonathan Helton: Thank you. I'm glad to be here.
Akina: Well, you've done great work, and I thank you for that. You along with a bunch of other bright young minds are fueling a lot of our research at the institute, and I wanted to feature you today. Can you tell me a little bit about what you do at the Grassroot Institute and why you are involved?
Helton: Sure. Starting off with why I'm involved: In high school, I was debating about transportation policy. We ran across the Jones Act as one of the big issues in transportation policy, and even after high school I kept researching it. I got here to college and eventually I got in contact with you guys about writing some articles and stuff about maritime policy. I've been here about two years. I have been working on Jones Act-related projects and now the PVSA project.
Akina: There's so much that you could be involved in. Why do you choose to be involved in an institute that commits itself to individual liberty, free markets and limited accountable government?
Helton: Well, I think especially for the Jones Act issue, it's a matter of what's promoting good public policy. We've got a law that obviously hasn't worked. It's been on the books for so long. I think it's good for the economy at large if we update that law, and that applies to a lot of other policies you guys are working on as well.
Akina: Well, we're going to talk about the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which is similar in some ways to the Jones Act, but slightly different. First, I want us to bring our audience along. Could you just very succinctly describe the Jones Act, which we've been talking about, and which we've discussed quite a bit on this program?
Helton: Sure. The Jones Act was passed in 1920, 100 years ago, and it has four basic elements. The first is that any ship moving cargo between two U.S. ports has to be built in the United States. The second is that it has to be crewed by U.S. citizens. The third is it has to be flagged in the United States. The fourth is that it has to be owned by a U.S. company. The Passenger Vessel Services Act is very similar.
Akina: Well Jonathan, let me ask you, what has the impact of these rules on our ships that are used in the Jones Act trade been on Hawaii?
Helton: The Jones Act, according to one of the more recent studies, costs Hawaii millions of dollars annually and prevents the creation of thousands of jobs.
Akina: It has an economic impact on the whole economy and obviously, then, an impact on the lifestyles of our people, the cost of living. Well, now you said the Passenger Vessel Services Act was similar to the Jones Act. Let me ask you a general question: What kind of transportation does the PVSA apply to?
Helton: As the name implies, it relates to transportation of people. We're talking cruise ships, ferries; anything that's moving people from point A to point B across the water is pretty much covered by the PVSA.
Akina: OK. Now that's in contrast to the Jones Act, which covers the movement of cargo between two U.S. ports.
Helton: Absolutely.
Akina: Now, I have to tell you this. I have rarely read anything in the general media about the Passenger Vessel Services Act, which we will call PVSA. What motivated you to dive into this, research it and get published with us?
Helton: I think it was summer of 2019, we were looking into some maritime-related issues, and PVSA popped up on our radar. There have been a couple of op-eds published over the years, but as you've said, there's not really been a lot of analysis of this law. We found a couple of op-eds, and then one study done in 2009 by some people at the University of Hawaii. We decided to run with it from there, do some additional research. We found there was actually a little bit more than we thought, and we decided to turn it into a policy report discussing the law's history and its impact.
Akina: All right. Well, let's dive into the PVSA itself. First of all, highlight how it differs from the Jones Act, and give us a little bit of the history of the PVSA here in Hawaii.
Helton: Sure. I'll start with how it differs from the Jones Act. In some ways, the PVSA is less restrictive than the Jones Act, but at the same time, it's a lot more confusing.
There's really two differences between the PVSA and the Jones Act. The first is a closed-loop cruise. What a closed-loop cruise is, is a cruise ship will, for example, leave Los Angeles, visit Hawaii, and then return to Los Angeles. But to return to Los Angeles, in order to not violate the PVSA, it has to stop at a foreign port. This would be a port like Vancouver or Ensenada, Mexico. It's called a closed-loop cruise because it begins and ends at the same U.S. port. That's the first big difference.
The second is a distant-port exemption. I'll give you an example of some cruises that have happened in Hawaii before. A couple of years ago, there were some cruise lines that would commonly offer cruises in Hawaii that would allow their visitors to visit the Hawaiian Islands, but they would have to make a stop at Fanning Island. Fanning Island is an island that's about 1,000 miles south of Hawaii and isn't U.S. territory.
The cruise lines could escape the PVSA by visiting this distant foreign port. You see this today with cruises that will leave from the West Coast, stop by Hawaii and then continue on to Australia or Asia. Under the Jones Act, it's a lot stricter, and ships would have to unload their cargo at every foreign port before returning to the U.S. port. They couldn't move cargo, for example, in the same way that the PVSA moves passengers.
Akina: I want you to recap what you've said about Fanning Island. You're talking about a closed loop in terms of travel from one coast back again to that coast, and yet one way of getting around it and being able to use a ship, given the PVSA rules, is to stop at this international site, the Fanning Island.
Helton: Yes, that's the distanT-port exemption. You visit somewhere that's not in North America, and you can escape this PVSA restriction. Lots of cruise ships would just take the 1,000 miles sail south, and then they would return to visit the Hawaiian Islands to escape the PVSA restrictions.
Akina: What are the implications of having to get around the PVSA by stopping at Fanning island? How does it impact the ships and the passengers?
Helton: For the passengers, it might not be too much of a burden on them, but it really hurts Hawaii's state economy because if the ship is spending one day, two days, three days sailing to Fanning Island and then back, that's money that the tourists could have been spending in Hawaii's shops and towns and cities. The same way if you're cruising to the West Coast as well. If a cruise ship decides to take the extra couple of days to visit somewhere like Ensenada, Mexico, both Hawaii and the West Coast are losing out on revenue. It's been spent in other countries.
Akina: Stopping at such a port has become impractical at times, so Hawaii has been exempted from it on occasion, particularly in World War I, and recently as well. Do you want to talk a little bit about that?
Helton: Sure. There's a couple of fun exemptions we found for the PVSA. In World War I, there was a lack of ships, and ships were being conscripted into the U.S. Army. So some legislators suggested that Hawaii be exempted from the Passenger Vessels Services Act in order for goods and people to actually get to Hawaii from the mainland. There was an exemption that ran from 1917 to 1920 that allowed foreign cruise ships to move people in between the mainland and Hawaii.
Akina: Well, recently because of the coronavirus, we've seen a virtual shutdown of cruise ships coming to Hawaii and leaving, but prior to that, the market was quite active. Do you want to describe what it was like in terms of the cruise liner market here in the Hawaii waters?
Helton: Absolutely. There were obviously the West Coast-to-Hawaii cruises that would then have to make the stops at Mexico or Canada in order to qualify for the PVSA. There were also the cruises that were going between Asia and the United States, and they would sometimes stop off at Hawaii. Then one of the other big ones was the Pride of America, the only ship that can actually cruise within Hawaii waters without having to visit a foreign port on its itinerary.
Akina: Well, tell me a little bit more about that, the Pride of America. That seems extraordinary that there's one and only one ship that can be exempt from the PVSA rules. How is it that that's the case? Do you see the opportunity for other ships to have that exemption as well?
Helton: The Pride of America was one of the big issues that was on our radar when we first started researching this. I'll give you a little bit of the history.
In the early 2000s, there were a couple of companies that decided that they wanted to try to invest in the Hawaii market and build PVSA-compliant cruise ships that could service some Hawaii routes. They tried two, and they had a shipyard in the southern USA contract to build a ship to service the Hawaii market.
The shipyard couldn't actually complete this ship, and this ship had to be transported over to Europe to be finished. Once the ship was finished in Europe, it didn't qualify as a U.S.-built ship; therefore, it wasn't going to be able to offer cruises in Hawaii waters. Some senators from Hawaii and elsewhere got together and they were able to sponsor an exemption for the company, which was Norwegian Cruise Line, to allow the ship to operate in Hawaii waters. Norwegian Cruise Line not only got this ship, but they got two others, the Pride of Hawaii and the Pride of Aloha, to also operate in Hawaii … waters. This was maybe 2005 when all of these ships were actually active in Hawaii-only itineraries.
Akina: Well, how many U.S.-owned cruise line companies are there? How many of them serve Hawaii?
Helton: Today, there's actually a surprisingly large number of U.S. cruise line companies, but the difference here is that most of these current cruise line companies don't have PVSA-qualified cruise ships. Think, Disney, for example. That's a U.S. company, but Disney doesn't operate any ships on routes that would have to fall under the PVSA.
In general, apart from the Pride of America company and the company that operates them, there are only a few U.S. cruise line companies that have PVSA ships. Most of these operate on routes in the Mississippi River or maybe in the Pacific Northwest. Some of them visit Alaska. These are all smaller vessels and smaller cruise lines than what we think of when we think of going on a cruise, for example, in the Caribbean.
Akina: You're saying that the PVSA limits the extent to which U.S. companies can operate cruises in Hawaii or even up and down along the West Coast, or to and from other domestic ports in the mainland, like Seattle or Alaska. Is that right?
Helton: Absolutely. One of the big deterrents is that building a cruise ship in the United States would just be extremely expensive. There hasn't been an ocean-going cruise ship — like what we think of normally when you think of cruise ships — there hasn't been one of those constructed since the 1960s in the United States. As I said, there was the one in the early 2000s that they tried to build, but despite federal subsidies, they weren't actually able to complete it. That's simply a barrier to entry to any company that would want to enter the U.S. cruise market.
Akina: Well, let's go back to what you're saying about Disney. I understand that they hope to start cruises in Hawaii waters as early as 2022, once the coronavirus restrictions are fully lifted. They would be launching from Vancouver, Canada, and stop in Honolulu before returning. Is that because they use foreign-built ships?
Helton: Yes, that's correct. Now, Disney actually expressed interest in the late 1990s in building a PVSA ship, but there weren't any U.S. shipyards that wanted to build it. They simply didn't have the know-how because they hadn't built such a ship, as I said, since the '50s or the '60s. Yes, Disney, using foreign ships, is going to have to depart from Canada or Mexico, if it's going to offer cruises in Hawaii waters.
Akina: Disney certainly hopes to be able to return to Hawaii and make it one of its key stops. In terms of the economic impact of the PVSA, what have we been able to tell overall?
Helton: The economic impact has been varied in some instances, but I'll bring up the example of Puerto Rico. Puerto Rico got an exemption from the PVSA in the mid-80s. It saw its cruise tourism industry boom. Several million dollars in revenue, massive amounts of visitors from the U.S. mainland who don't have to have a PVSA ship to cruise to [Puerto Rico]. They're able to use all of the foreign ships that are available … to cruise to Puerto Rico, and they were able to visit it from there without having to take detours to foreign locations.
Akina: Well, we've received a question from a viewer right now, as we're broadcasting live streaming on the internet, and it has to do with how we would fix the PVSA. I'm going to ask you that question a little later on, after we take a break, but thank you Jonathan for informing us about the PVSA. My guest, Jonathan Helton, a research associate at the Grassroot Institute. We'll be right back. I'm Keli'i Akina on ThinkTech Hawaii's "Hawaii Together." Don't go away.
[Intermission]
Akina: Aloha and welcome back to "Hawaii Together" on the ThinkTech Hawaii broadcast network. Grassroot Institute has just published a research report on the Passenger Vessel Services Act, and I hope you can get ahold of that. It's on our website, www.grassrootinstitute.org. That's "grassroot," singular, "institute.org."
[The PVSA is] a little bit complex, but Jonathan Helton, one of our research associates who put the report together, is explaining it. We've been talking about some of the interesting history of it.
In particular, Jonathan, I want to go to something that is related to the Disney ships, but a separate matter. Tell me about a little bit of the history with Pride of Hawaii and how it actually became the last ocean-going U.S. cruise ship. There's a little bit in there that dives into politics, I understand. There was a role played by our U.S. Sen. Daniel Inouye, and he was even opposed at the time to the Jones Act in the late '60s and early '70s. Tell us a little bit about that.
Helton: Sure. Let's first look at Sen. Inouye's opposition to the Jones Act.
Shortly after Hawaii's statehood, Alaska was also opposed to the Jones Act as well. So congressional representatives from Alaska and Hawaii got together to try to sponsor some resolutions and bills to reform the Jones Act. These ultimately fell through. It didn't attract enough interest in Congress to get them reformed. But fast forward a few years to 2003, and Sen. Inouye is attempting to exempt some of these ships, specifically the ships that they failed to construct in the U.S. shipyard. He's trying to pass an exemption for this ship to be allowed to operate in Hawaii waters. He successfully works this exemption through Congress, and Congress actually grants the company, Norwegian Cruise Line, the ability to have three ships in the Hawaii trade.
Akina: That's very fascinating because people believe that the Jones Act is an issue that is divided on partisan lines. But it's very interesting that Sen. Inouye and other Democrats were actually opposed to the Jones Act and found ways to exempt Hawaii ships from it. That ultimately impacted the PVSA.
Helton: Absolutely. Even today, the two main Jones Act reform proponents we have [are] Rep. [Ed] Case from Hawaii, who's a Democrat, and then Sen. [Mike] Lee, from Utah who's a Republican. This is definitely a bipartisan issue. We actually were able to contact Sen. Case regarding the PVSA. He said he hasn't looked into it much, but that he would definitely be interested in looking at the PVSA as an item.
Akina: Well, it's definitely a bipartisan issue. Now, the PVSA has not only affected ocean cruising out in the big ocean, Atlantic and Pacific, but also the river cruises that take place in the United States. Tell us a bit about that.
Helton: Sure. One of the big stories when it comes to the PVSA and river cruising is Viking Cruise Lines. In maybe, I think it was 2015, Viking expressed interest in offering cruises in the United States and on the Mississippi River. One of the challenges that Viking ran into is having to buy ships from U.S. shipyards to operate on these routes. Because normally with Vikings routes in Europe, it's going to buy ships from European shipyards. It couldn't do that. It would have to buy significantly more expensive ships from U.S. shipyards. As of today, Viking has actually made some contracts with U.S. shipyards to go ahead and offer cruises in the United States. I believe that's starting in 2022. For a couple of years, Viking wasn't sure if it was going to be able to, because of the capital cost that they'd have to pay upfront to get the ships that it could have gotten from Europe for maybe three times less.
Akina: I understand that in doing your research you reached out to scholars such as Dr. James Mak at the University of Hawaii. Back in 2009, he did some research and ultimately concluded that we should abolish the PVSA. What did you learn from professor Mak?
Helton: Professor Mak's study was probably one of the most detailed analyses of the PVSA that's been done so far. He looked at what happened when Norwegian Cruise Line removed two of its ships from the Hawaii trip. Because remember, there were three, now we only have the one, Pride of America. When it introduced those three ships to the Hawaii market, prices [to cruise on] … these ships fell, and the number of tourists that were visiting Hawaii on these routes went up significantly.
Citing various reasons, Norwegian Cruise Lines decided to remove those two other ships from the market. The result was then increased cost, and now we only have the final U.S.-flagged ocean-going cruise ship, the Pride of America operating in Hawaii.
Akina: What do you think would be the major benefit to Hawaii from reforming the PVSA?
Helton: I think the biggest benefit is that, if we either repealed the PVSA entirely or reformed it so that U.S. companies could buy foreign-built cruise ships, we would see a lot more companies either offering routes that were entirely in Hawaii — that would be under repeal scenario — or, if it were reformed, we would be able to see U.S. companies — there are several, as we've talked about — that might decide to buy a PVSA-qualified ship, if they were able to get it abroad. Then they could offer routes directly from Hawaii to the West Coast. They would be able to cut out those confusing stops at Vancouver or Ensenada or Fanning Island. There would be more time for the tourists to spend in Hawaii, which is going to bring more revenue to state coffers.
Akina: We could experience significant economic gain not necessarily from repealing the PVSA, but reforming it in terms, particularly, of where we get our ships produced and allowing our companies to buy them from our allies overseas?
Helton: Definitely. Interestingly, that's actually something that members of the river cruise industry had suggested. Unlike the Jones Act, where a lot of the industry members want to block foreign-built ships, there are members of the U.S. river cruise industry, such as American Steamboat Co., that have in the past expressed concern about the cost of buying a ship in the United States, buying a cruise ship from a U.S. shipyard. It's simply so expensive that they'd rather risk the additional competition and have the ability to buy their cruise ships from somewhere like Europe, and have them in the trade simply because it's less expensive.
I think we'd see the same thing happen in Hawaii. We'd have companies that were able to come in and pay a much lower cost of upfront capital to be able to enter the market.
Akina: Politically, where does most of the support for the PVSA come from? Who's really arguing that it should remain in place?
Helton: There are proponents of the PVSA that are also proponents of the Jones Act. For example, the Transportation Institute is one of the organizations that supports both laws on the premise that they support maritime security. There are several proponents who profess similar ideas, but there's only one U.S. ocean-going cruise ship left. There's not really much of an industry to protect from competition at this point. But some of the other supporters of the PVSA are actually supporters you'd not expect.
For example, Canada really benefits from the PVSA because cruises to Alaska from Seattle have to stop off at somewhere like Vancouver before they can continue on for their routes, to fall under the PVSA. Canada actually benefits from PVSA. Some have suggested that in the past, Canada has actually lobbied to leave the law in place so that their cruise hubs get additional revenue, as opposed to that revenue going to a U.S. city.
Akina: Reform of the PVSA would be in the interest of American companies and consumers?
Helton: Definitely.
Akina: Now, during the past several years, have there been attempts to repeal the PVSA?
Helton: Sure. In the early 2000s, when there was a bunch of interest in reforming the Jones Act, there was also interest in reforming the PVSA. Now, there were several bills. Some of them would have repealed it entirely. One of them that I found interesting would have allowed companies to buy foreign cruise ships with the promise that they would then, after being in the market for a while, also buy U.S.-built cruise ships. It would be a middle-of-the-road approach where it allowed companies to have a lower cost of capital now, but then they'd have to promote the U.S. shipbuilding industry by buying one later.
Unfortunately, none of those efforts really got anywhere, although in 2017, I believe it was, there was some interest from one of the federal agencies in looking at how to stimulate the passenger vessel market, the cruise market in the United States, and that faced some backlash. Ultimately, there hasn't been anything recent that would have repealed the PVSA.
Akina: Where does that issue stand in Congress right now, both in terms of where it is amongst our congressional delegates from Hawaii and beyond in Congress in general?
Helton: We reached out to several of the members of the congressional delegation from Hawaii. The only one who expressed any interest in maybe looking at the law or revisiting it to perhaps reform it was Rep. Case. Sen. [Brian] Schatz expressed his support for the PVSA. The other ones didn't get back with us. That's really the main interest in repealing or reforming the PVSA. It's a bipartisan issue like the Jones Act could be. I know Rep. Case and Sen. Lee have several bills in Congress that will reform the Jones Act. So far, neither of them have proposed bills that would amend the PVSA.
Akina: What do you think motivates members of Congress who are advocates for the PVSA?
Helton: Frankly, I don't think there are a ton of supporters. If there are supporters, these people support the PVSA for the same reason they support the Jones Act, the premise of a healthy maritime industry that would boost national security
. Frankly, I don't think that many of the members of Congress really know what the PVSA is. They don't know that there's only one bluewater cruise ship left in America and that cruise ship wasn't even built in America. They don't know that we haven't built a cruise ship in the United States in over 60 years. They don't know that the riverboat companies, the cruise companies that operate on the Mississippi, … would actually like to see reforms to the PVSA.
That's one of the benefits of this report, … we're getting the word out about the state of the cruise industry in the United States and how it's ripe for reform.
Akina: That's very interesting, because one might think that at the root of the advocacy to retain the PVSA, you would have a whole bunch of special interests operating on congresspersons, but what I'm detecting from what you say is that, that may not be the case. It may be that this just flies under the radar because nobody knows about it, and nobody will know about it until they read your report.
Helton: Right. I think that's pretty much accurate. There's not been much organized support for the PVSA, absent from it being lumped in with the Jones Act as U.S. cabotage law.
Akina: Well, short of a total repeal, which may not be practical for any ancient federal law — by ancient I mean about a century old — what do you think is the most feasible change we can propose to the PVSA that might have a chance in Congress?
Helton: I think that the best idea right now is to advance a build-requirement reform similar to what we've argued should be done for the Jones Act. Allow U.S. companies to buy foreign-built ships, the same as they do for foreign-built airplanes or foreign-built trucks. These would be significantly less expensive, especially in the case of the cruise liner market, since we just don't have the know-how to build them in the United States anymore.
Akina: Thank you, Jonathan. You've done a great job on the report, and it is available at the Grassroot Institute website, grassrootinstitute.org. I appreciate your work. I want to ask you to give a closing comment. Tell us what you would say to a congressperson if you're trying to help them understand the importance of changing the PVSA.
Helton: I would point out the tremendous cruise potential that especially Hawaii has, and Alaska has. I would say, "Hey, did you know that there's only one U.S. cruise ship left?" They probably wouldn't know that. Then I'd point them to the fact that it's just so expensive to buy a ship here, that no one wants to. If we want to bring revenue to these port-side states and port-side cities, it would be really helpful if we reform the market so that people could buy foreign-built ships, for example.
Akina: Well, Jonathan, thank you very much for your work again, and thank you for being on the program today, I appreciate it. Aloha to you.
Helton: Thank you for having me on.
Akina: Well, I hope you all enjoyed your time with Jonathan Helton, research associate at the Grassroot Institute. If you are interested in researching with the Grassroot Institute, let us know. We're constantly looking for bright minds who care deeply about principles of liberty, economic freedom and maintaining a limited, accountable government. Those are important values to us at the Grassroot Institute. I hope you found this program helpful. Until next time, I'm Keli'i Akina, wishing you much aloha.


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Doing a white sauce for Tagliatelle, receipe calls to heat creme friache in a bowel over the cooking tagliatelle, melting cheese into it, then adding the egg just bofore adding the tagliatelle. Would it be ok to heat the yogurt instead or would it just curdle?
I'd recommend using sour cream instead. I have better luck with sour cream not curdling than yogurt. Temperature control is the key to success. heat the SC over the cooking pasta. Whip the egg in a separate bowl. Temper the egg by adding a small amount of the warmed SC to the eggs as you whisk or stir it in. Repeat until the two are completely combined. Return the bowl with the SC and egg to the boiling pot and heat while stirring until it's just warm enough to melt the cheese. Stir the cheese in gradually.
If you get the sauce too hot, the SC and the cheese are subject to curdling.
I don't think I've ever successfully heated yogurt. It breaks every time. I agree with Andy, sour cream or even buttermilk is a better way to go if you're heating it. If using yogurt in a warm dish, I add it after the entire dish is done (and even then I've had it break).


RICH HIGGINS is the former Director for Strategic Planning of the Trump Administration's National Security Council and is an expert on the nexus between theological doctrines and information age unconventional warfare.
He has spent 20 years combating terrorism, managed a classified project for Special Operations Command (SOCOM), served as the Chair of Special Operations and Low Intensity Conflict at the National Defense University, and formed the Department of Defense's (DOD) Irregular Warfare Support (IWS) program office. He was directly responsible for the creation of several new strategic and operational capabilities and has advised the White House, Congress, and foreign governments on strategy, technology, and terrorism related matters.


Welcome to the second installment of "Fun Fruit Friday" in Beijing. Yes, we are a little late today - but technically it is still Friday in many parts of the world and especially back home where we aim to regale our homies with culinary encounters both exotic and strange.
(Please see the post below for the epitome of strange culinary encounters).
Trying to say that once, much less three times, elicits uncontrollable laughter from our Chinese hosts - and since the Chinese love a good laugh - we aim to please - huo long guo, huo long guo, huo long guo! Wait, I've been informed that I just said "your mother has dragon breath".
According to the venerable Wiki - dragon fruit comes from the cactus species of the genus Hylocereus - an epipytic vine native to Mexico, Central and South America; but adopted by southeast Asia as a fruit of their own. Look at the rind!
Speaking of Mexico. Dragon Fruit looks like it might have been the inspiration for those lovely surrealistic Mexican folk art flaming hearts - beloved by the likes of Frida Kahlo and often paired with Guadalupe (as they say in my old 'hood, in Guad we trust).
The fruit can weigh from 150-600 grams and the flesh, which is eaten raw, is mildly sweet and low in calories. Personally, I like my dragon fruit paired with a phalaenopsis for best results.
The skin is not eaten, and you can imagine why. The fruit may be converted into juice or wine; the flower can be eaten or steeped as tea.
Eating the fruit is often likened to eating kiwi fruit due to a prevalence of sesame-sized black, crunchy seeds found in the flesh of the fruit. I though the taste rather benign to be honest. Give me mangosteen anytime.
It is generally recommended that the dragon fruit be eaten chilled, for improved flavor. Or perhaps marinated for three weeks in rum -- that's what I'm thinking.
And, although the tiny seeds are eaten with the flesh, they are indigestible.
Warning Label: Ingestion of significant amounts of dragon fruit may result in a reddish discoloration of both urine and feces: a lasting reminder of your dragon fruit meal.
Gorgeous shots - one better than the next!
It's pretty. And if it's boring, well, it's a whole lot less scary than the stuff from the last post!
It's all foreign to me. Beautiful to see, but I wonder if your stomach is talking to you.
First cidadas, now fruit with warning labels? Have you found a Mickie D's yet?
What an interesting fruit and I really enjoyed learning about it so thank you! Great pics too.


text:
Евге́ний Пантеле́евич Жу́ков () — советский футболист, защитник. Выступал за московское «Динамо» и «Пахтакор». Мастер спорта и мастер спорта СССР международного класса.

Карьера
Начинал карьеру в «Динамо», в первой группе «А» дебютировал в 1969 году. В следующем сезоне провёл уже 21 матч и забил 1 гол. Также в 1970 стал обладателем Кубка СССР: в финале «бело-голубые» обыграли тбилисских одноклубников, однако Жуков не принимал участие в матче. В 1971 году в высшей лиге Евгений сыграл 25 матчей, забив 2 гола, и также сыграл 2 матча в турнире дублёров. В 1972 Жуков стал финалистом Кубка кубков. В финальном матче «Динамо» уступило «Рейнджерс» со счётом 2:3. Всего на турнире он провёл 9 матчей.

В 1975 году покинул клуб и перешёл в «Пахтакор». В первом же сезоне команда вылетела из высшей лиги, а через год Жуков завершил карьеру в возрасте 26 лет, сыграв за узбекский клуб 62 матча и забив 3 мяча.

Достижения
  «Динамо»
 Обладатель Кубка СССР: 1970
 Финалист Кубка обладателей кубков: 1971/72

Примечания

Ссылки

Футболисты СССР
Игроки ФК «Динамо» Москва
Игроки ФК «Пахтакор»

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Q: Prove that the quadrilateral whose vertices are the midpoints of the sides of an arbitrary quadrilateral is a parallelogram
Prove that the quadrilateral PQRS, whose vertices are the midpoints of the sides of an arbitrary quadrilateral ABCD, is a parallelogram. This is an exercise in a linear algebra textbook so I would like to solve it using vectors.

I tried expressing the sides of the parallelogram in terms of the half-sizes of $ABCD$ eg. $PQ = PB + BQ$ but I that probably isn't enough information because the resulting equations did not lead anywhere useful. (Relevant figure can be seen here).

A: The midpoint of $AB$ is $\frac12(A+B)$.
The midpoint of $BC$ is $\frac12(B+C)$.
The vector from the midpoint of $AB$ to the midpoint of $BC$ is $\frac12(B+C)-\frac12(A+B) = \frac12(C-A)$.
Repeat for $AD$ and $DC$ to see that you get the same vector there.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Was anyone else dissapointed by the season 1 ending of Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha?
Does Duel portal still use silverlight?
Well it runs on Unity, so probably not.
RIP my Starcraft 2 modding career (2013-2018). You will be sorely missed.
Got a copy of your map for the memories?
Where are the christmas lights?
The YCM 2 theme has it, though it stands out kinda weirdly.


text:
Čierne je obec na Slovensku na Kysucích, v okrese Čadca.

Historie
První písemná zmínka o obci pochází z roku 1645.

Název obce
Kronika udává, že území Čierného před založením pokrývaly tmavé, černé lesy. Lidová tradice říká, že na konci vesnice se nacházela černá, rašelinová zem. Jiný pramen tvrdí, že název Čierné pochází ze starodávného slova "crn", kterým se označovala nezarostlá místa pod houštinou před vrcholem hory.

Partnerská města
  Albrechtice, Česko
  Vendryně, Česko
  Hrádek (okres Frýdek-Místek), Česko

Geografie
Obec leží ve výšce 454 m n. m. a její katastr má výměru 20,840 km². K 31. prosinci roku 2016 měla obec 4 403 obyvatel.

Obcí protéká říčka Čierňanka. Katastrem obce je plánovaná výstavba dálnice D3. Stavba má začít v červnu 2014, dokončena má být o 4 roky později.

Památky
 Římskokatolický kostel sv. Ignáce z roku 1888.
 Kaple sv. Josefa.
 Nově postavený kostel sv. Petra a Pavla.

Odkazy

Reference

Externí odkazy

 Stránky obce

Obce v okrese Čadca
Obce v regionu Kysuce
Sídla na trojmezí
Česko-slovenská státní hranice


To open a bank account, we recommend Banco Santander, which collaborates with the Complutense University and offers accounts for students without interests. This card is called University intelligent card (TUI-UCM https://www.ucm.es/english/student-card).
To get the TUI-UCM card, bring your ID or passport to any issuing point, where they will check your personal data, will take a picture of you and will give you the card.


text:
Stay engaged with the latest pay equity news and reports.
This is how we fix the gender pay gap
Women have been getting paid less than men for as long as women have been doing paid work at all. And the fight for equal pay has been going on for just as long. So why does the pay gap…
White House Gender Policy Council established
Press Briefing by Press Secretary Jen Psaki, Co-Chair of the Gender Policy Council and Chief of Staff to the First Lady Julissa Reynoso, and Co-Chair and Executive Director of the Gender Policy Council Jennifer Klein, March 8, 2021
The secret reason you did or did not get a pay raise
Think back to the last time you received an adjustment to your compensation. Were you told that it was because of your performance? Or that it was because you "exceeded expectations" in 360 peer reviews? Did you assume that HR…
Biden to Seek Pay Data to Help End Gender, Racial Disparities
The incoming Biden administration is looking to boost pay transparency for all U.S. workers through better data collection, a move academics, attorneys, and civil rights groups say is necessary to close workforce racial and gender pay gaps. Women and workers…
Pay Equity In the Era of COVID and the Black Lives Matter Movement
Most employers traditionally consider issues of workplace fairness from the perspective of legal compliance rather than from the viewpoint of a commitment to a principled, moralistic, and value-based system. Employers often approach matters by "checking the box" as identified by…
New tech solutions help curb sexism and racism
The last few months, from the spread of Covid-19 to the protests following the death of George Floyd, have only further exposed the systemic racism in society and the huge problem of inequality in the workplace.
Your partner in pay equity.
#wherefairpayworks
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text:
Homepage > Research & Education > Departments & Divisions > Department of Internal Medicine > Division of Cancer Prevention and Control > Our Team
Cancer Prevention and Control Team
Electra Paskett, PhD
Director, Division of Cancer Prevention & Control
Dr. Paskett became the Marion N. Rowley Professor of Cancer Research at The Ohio State University in 2002. She is a professor in the Division of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health and the associate director for Population Sciences and program leader of the Cancer Control Program in The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center (OSUCCC). She is also director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity at The James.
Theodore Brasky, PhD
Dr. Brasky is a research assistant professor in the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. His research interests focus on developing a further understanding of the association of inflammation and cancer. Specifically he is interested in the study of substances and genes hypothesized to affect inflammation. In addition to working with other researchers as well as clinical colleagues, he has an expanding interest in the study of diet and dietary supplements, components of which may affect inflammatory processes, and their association with cancer risk and survival.
Michelle Naughton, PhD, MPH
Dr. Naughton's research focuses on psychosocial issues and quality of life in cancer populations. She is currently the principal investigator on three studies in the Alliance assessing quality of life related to cancer treatment, one in the area of colorectal cancer and two in the area of breast cancer. In addition, Dr. Naughton is the past principal investigator of a Behavioral Center of Excellence in Breast Cancer funded by the Department of Defense.
Paul Reiter, PhD, MPH
Dr. Reiter's research addresses cancer prevention and control through two main thematic areas: cancer screening and vaccination. Both health behaviors are effective strategies for reducing disease burden, yet remain underutilized. He is particularly interested in examining the determinants of engaging in these behaviors and designing programs to increase their use.
Peter Shields, MD
Dr. Shields is an internationally renowned physician-scientist and expert in cancer prevention. He serves as a professor in the College of Medicine and is the deputy director of the OSUCCC. Dr. Shields is a leader in researching new biomarkers of cancer risk, molecular epidemiology and carcinogenesis. His primary focus is identifying biomarkers that can be used in the clinic to assess breast and lung cancer risk, particularly those related to diet, smoking and lifestyle, as well as to assess tobacco-related toxicity and development of methods to assess new tobacco products.
Division Leader
Dr. Paskett is the director of the Division of Cancer Prevention and Control. She became the Marion N. Rowley Professor of Cancer Research at The Ohio State University in 2002. Dr. Paskett is a professor in the Division of Epidemiology in the College of Public Health and the associate director for Population Sciences. She is also director of the Center for Cancer Health Equity at the James.
Contact the Division
Division Administrator:
Sarah Wilkins
1590 N High St
sarah.wilkins@osumc.edu


text:
Once Upon A Longbox Top Books of 2014
It has been a great year to be a comic reader. So Tony and I decided to highlight some of our favorite books of 2014. However we decided to focus on the great books that aren't getting as much attention. So before you guys start telling us we are idiots for not putting books like Saga on here, we just feel they are already really well represented. To keep it clear My thoughts will be in black and Tony's thoughts will be blue.
Top Books of 2014
Written and Drawn By Walt Simonson
Released by IDW
This book came out of nowhere to me. Written and drawn by Walt Simonson, this series brings the godfather of Thor back to the realm of Asgard and the relating universe. Ragnarok tells the story of what happens to the nine realms after Ragnarok comes to Asgard. But because the gods are all dead this book focus' on a family of Dark Elves. It's only on the 3rd issue due to a lengthy release schedule so the story is still being built. But Ragnarok really shows why Simonson is still relevant in the comic industry.
Written By Jeff Parker
Art By Evan Shaner
Released by Dynamite Entertainment
I added this book to my pull list after reading Kings Watch. I always enjoyed the cheesy quality of the eighties Flash Gordon movie, but I had never read any of the Flash Gordon comics. Jeff Parker makes the Flash an incredibly fun character in this series. Flash is a rich kid with no goals in life except to find the next big rush in his life. Flash often doesn't think before he acts, which tends to get him into lots of trouble. But the aspect to me that really makes it stand out is the interactions between Flash and his two companions Dr. Zarkov and Dale Arden. Both have very little patience for his actions which makes for a nice level of humor, to offset the dark concepts like genetic testing, universal domination, and oppressive leadership. This is a must read for anyone who likes the feel of the old pulp stories.
Written By Gail Simone
Art By Walter Giovani
Gail Simone really embraced the whole package of what Red Sonja has become known for. It is a delicate balance of babes, blades, beer, and interesting commentary. Before reading this I would have never believed that Red Sonja could have poignant messages that actually make you think, but Simone has done just that. Whether it is PTSD, Slavery, or even religion. Gail Simone has taken the "She Devil With a Sword" and made her a very complex character. This is a book that everyone should really checkout.
Completely agree with this pick. As much as I hate that Simone is everyone's go-to whenever there's a book with a female lead, you can't argue with the results. She portrays Sonja as a strong, confident, and capable woman with her own code of honor and her own lusts and desires to satisfy. We used to describe art in a Dynamite book as "Dynamite-tastic", which is to say it's complete garbage. Dynamite has been making great strides to remedy this and Walter Giovani has been leading that charge. His lines are nice and clean and he does a good job at panel-to-panel storytelling.
Art By Jamie McKelvie
With the creative team involved it was guaranteed to be a good book. But The Wicked + The Divine is almost perfect. It focus' on a group of deities that return to Earth every ninety years in the form of teenagers. They live for two years then die. The generation the book highlights are all musicians of different kinds, and the story is told through the eyes of a teenager who is a big fan of the group. Gillen and McKelvie really explore what can be done with the comic medium, as well as weave an amazing world these characters live in.
When this was announced, I had a feeling it was going to be the "can't miss" title of the year. McKelvie and Gillen have proven that they are a great team. Gillen has a real talent at writing young adults and McKelvie renders them beautifully. My only knock on this series is that it makes me wish that they were still doing Young Avengers. They were just hitting their stride on that title before it was over and they moved on to this title. I really wanted to see more of Miss America!
Superior Foes Of Spider-Man
Written By Nick Spencer
Art By Steve Lieber
This book was just fun all around. Superior Foes followed the new Sinister Six (But There Are Only Five???). Lead by Boomerang the team is comprised of a group of C-List or lesser villains. The team are planning a Ocean's Eleven style job that will make them legends in the villain game. But first they need to get past a series of double crosses and infighting. Every member in the team gets their fair share of focus within the length of the book, making it easy to root for the lovable losers. Then you get the moments with Mach VII and his misadventures in trying to keep Boomerang out of trouble, which makes for some of the funniest moments in comics this year.
Without a doubt, one of my favorites of the year. In the last couple of years, there's been a wonderful trend of quirky, irreverent titles--titles like Hawkeye, Deadpool, Secret Avengers. But this is the gold standard among these titles. It took characters that nobody cares about and turned them into a dysfunctional team that you wanted to read about every month. Spencer and Lieber really clicked on this one and it really shows in the consistent quality we got every month. Lieber especially is an underrated talent. I hope to see more from both of these guys soon.
Written By Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner
Art By Chad Hardin and others
Released By DC
This series could've been a real flop or majorly one note. But the creative team of Palmiotti and Conner have really made Harley Quinn jump out of the shadows of her Puddin's shadow to become a really great character. The first great decision they made was moving Harley out of Gotham and into Coney Island. Harley is now a landlord for a building full of Carnival performers. And between taking in stray animals and dodging multiple attempts on her life, Harley helps the performers and hangs out with her best friend Poison Ivy.
Another quirky title. This one has been so much fun. As we witnessed in their Power Girl run, Palmiotti and Conner are an excellent duo when it comes to creating fun stories. I hate only one thing about this series: Conner isn't doing the interior art (we get a cover from her every month) and that's a damn shame! The series artist, Chad Hardin, does a wonderful job and is certainly no slouch.
Written By Tim Seeley
Art By Mike Norton
The story of a small town rocked by the return of several residents from the dead, Revival is more than just a horror comic. The world put together is genius. All of the people inhabiting the small town have interestingly realistic quirks to them. When all is said and done the horror aspects take back seat to a character study.
Thor: God of Thunder
Written Jason Aaron
Art By Esad Ribic and Russell Dauterman
This book has been really strong since it began, and 2014 was no exception. Even with the change in wielders of Mjolnir Aaron has written some of the best stories in comics. And his writing has only been bettered by the art of Ribic and Dauterman. Every month I look forward to reading this series. And in time I am sure that this book will go down as one of the best runs in the history of Thor.
This is a character that Ted has more passion for than I do, but Aaron's run can't be denied. Almost from the beginning until now, it has been top-notch. Ribic's visual style will define this era's Thor for years to come. He joins Simonson and Coipel in a very exclusive club of definitive Thor artists. It's too early to tell, but Dauterman may join them eventually. His work on this year's Cyclops title was fantastic in its own right, but he seems to have ratcheted up to another level on this book. And credit has to go to Aaron, solicits had me thinking lady-Thor was going to be stupid, but so far I'm intrigued!
Terminator Salvation: The Final Battle
Written By J. Michael Straczynski
Art By Pete Woods
Released By Dark Horse
The story picks up right where Terminator Salvation ended. The battle between man and machine is raging with both sides gaining little ground. But both sides are making preparations for their play at the endgame. For man this means a full assault on Skynet to send Kyle Reese back in time, as well as try to make their push to end the machine army. For machines it is making a deal with the devil to wipeout mankind for good. But the devil in this scenario is a dangerous serial killer from the past that Skynet wants to give full control of its army. In twelve issues this book takes everything you think you know about the battle in the future and turns it on its head. At the same time all of the events you know need to happen occur, and you get to see how they were planned out and what was risked to make them happen.
Review: Deathblow Deluxe Hardcover
Since getting back into comics I have been finding that the Wildstorm universe is probably one of the best put together universes in comics. And the foundation of the Wildstorm Universe is all based around Team 7. All the major characters have spawned from Team 7. Whether it's Grifter who was a member of Team 7 or the entire team of Gen 13 who are all descendants of Team 7. With that said my review this time around is the deluxe hardcover of another member of Team 7.
Deathblow: Deluxe Hardcover
Written by Brandon Choi and Jim Lee
Art by Jim Lee and Tim Sale
Released by Image/Wildstorm
Deathblow is one of real standout characters of the Wildstorm universe, but he hasn't really had the exposure that other members like Grifter have seen. Deathblow was the only member that survived that didn't get affected by the gen-factor testing. But since the break-up of Team 7 Michael Cray/Deathblow has continued working for I.O. as a mercenary. And the years of killing are catching up with him. Mentally, spiritually and physically.
The story starts with Deathblow finding out that he has terminal brain cancer and only has two years left, so he decides to take care of unfinished business from his past. Unfortunately his actions put him at odds with his former employers. Which leads to him being forced to kill a man he trained. And that is when his descent begins to settle in.
But that just sets the table for the true story in this series. Michael finds out that the cancer has spread throughout his body and now he only has a couple months left to get his affairs in order just before going on one last mission. The mission takes him and his team to Iraq to take down a Hussein-esque dictator. But there are darker powers at work, and their mission leads to the release of "The Dark Angel". The second in command to Lucifer and the only person who can release Lucifer from his prison. In the battle Deathblow kills a priest that was part of The Order of the Cross, a faction of the Vatican specializing in battling the servants of the dark lord. Putting Cray right in the middle of a battle that's been waged since the death of Christ.
All of these events align with the rise of a child that is prophesied to put an end to the dark of the world. A former cop turned nun named Sister Mary takes the child into hiding on the orders of the Order of the Cross. And eventually Deathblow and Sister Mary cross paths and team to try to stop the darkness that is gaining power. But both sides are trying to recruit Deathblow for their cause. The Dark Angel wants him to lead their armies against into the Heaven and help them burn it out of the sky. Where the Order of the Cross wants to help him atone for what his life has wrought, and in turn use their weapon against them. And both sides are devious with their methods to try to convince him to join their cause. The Order promises him he can drink from the Grail, which would heal him of his cancer.
At the heart of this series is a story about a man realizing that he isn't so sure that he likes the world his actions have built, but he doesn't know anything other than war and death. As well as his battle with spirituality. It really tackles some pretty deep subjects, but it never seems like it is being forced down your throat. The big question I pulled from this series though is "Which matters more? The ends or the means?'
Art wise Jim Lee only does the first issue of the series, and this is some of his best nineties art. But the book gains so much more when Tim Sale steps in. Sale brings his usual rough line work, but it never feels as exaggerated as the art he is really known for. Sale really shines with the subject matter of the book. If there were any downsides to his art, it would be that there are a couple female characters within the book that look almost identical which makes hard to tell at first if they are supposed to be the same person going by different names at first.
I would be doing a disservice if I didn't mention that the packaging on this collection is great. It is a nice sturdy hardcover and it has all of the Pin-ups and variant covers in the back. And the pages are a high quality paper.
I highly recommend this series to anyone who likes great character writing and beautiful art. As well as anyone who wants to see why the core of the Wildstorm universe is one of the strongest in comics.
Thanks for reading my review. If you have any comments or questions, leave them in the comments section. And as always, Keep reading comic fans.
Review: Gotham Central 1-40
Gotham Central
Writers: Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka
Artists: Michael Lark and others
Anyone who knows me knows I have a massive blind spot when it comes to DC in general. I don't usually find their characters particularly compelling and have always been apprehensive about getting too invested in that universe because I feel rebooting just feels like pulling the rug out from under people. But I've been trying to work through the some of material that many people say are high watermarks for the company. For example, I've been working my way through Mark Waid's Flash run (which I'm sure I'll review at a later time). For now, I'm reviewing Gotham Central for two reasons: One, I've heard nothing but good things about it over the years and Two, Rucka has never failed me as a creator. Brubaker has been strong as well, if we ignore his X-men work.
I'm going to try to be as spoiler free as possible because I wouldn't want to ruin anything in this series for anyone. Some of the points I'll be making may come across as gross generalizations, so please bear with me.
"And when Alexander saw the breadth of his domain, he wept for there were no more worlds to conquer."
Why did I throw this quote in here, you ask? I imagine this had to be how Rucka and Brubaker must have felt after writing this series. Where could they possibly go from here? Would they ever be able to top this? Granted, both men did move on to some wonderful projects (Brubaker to Captain America and Rucka to Wolverine, for example), but this could have been their drop-the-mic moment. They could've stopped here and called it a day. Mind you, the art in this series was fantastic, the writing is the true star.
This series reads like a police procedural that you would have seen Thursday nights on NBC back in the day, like a Law & Order and the like. At first, the cast seems so large that you'll never get your head around who they all are and what's going on. But this passes and you soon fall in love with each of them. You learn their relationship dynamics with their partners and their other co-workers on the force. Some of the character arcs force you to really become invested in some of them and you'll want to know what's going to happen to them next!
Throughout, we see these officers martyred, we see some go corrupt, and we see others go through a redemption of sorts. One of the finest examples of how strong the writing is in this series is how they handle one of the officers being outed as a lesbian. Rucka and Brubaker tackle this subject with such a maturity that I can do nothing but applaud such a fine effort. Another excellent example of the writer's range comes in my favorite arc of the series, Soft Targets. In this arc, it's a taut, fast-paced thriller that evokes thoughts of movies where there's a race to stop a killer before the body count gets too high.
As I've briefly mentioned before, the art is no slouch either. Michael Lark is among the modern masters in panel layouts and storytelling, right up there with the likes of Gabe Hardman and Darwyn Cooke. Each panel looks exactly like a shot that you would see if this was a movie or tv show. He eventually leaves the book, but he leaves it in capable hands. Artists such as Kano and Steve Leiber do a phenomenal job picking up the reigns and continuing the story.
The verdict: My absolute highest recommendation. This series is one of the best I've read in years and I almost want to kick myself for not checking it out sooner. Everything about it is absolutely top-notch. Be warned though: you will come to love the characters in this book and the final arc is heartbreaking. If I ever did a "Top 5 gut-wrenching moments in comics" article, this would be on it. It leaves you feeling sad and angry at the same time. When a comic can bring out such a visceral reaction in its readers, you know it's good!
The score: 5 out of 5 stars.
Creator Interview with Aaron Duran
I recently got the chance to do an email interview with Aaron Duran, a Portland based comic writer that I have been a fan of for a while now. He is currently writing two self published books, La Brujeria and Dark Anna and the Pirates of Kadath. But there are many levels to the man that is known as "Geek In The City". So let's dive right in.
Ted: Where did your passion for comics begin?
Aaron: I don't really know where my love for comics comes. Actually, that isn't true. Comics have always been a pretty big part of my family for as long as I can remember. With some exception, I didn't have adult figures talking down to comics. My mom saw it as a great way for me to learn to read (which they are), and many of my aunts and uncles read comics well into adulthood, so it came pretty natural. I guess something about the sequential art format spoke to me. And, as much as I love film, radio, and television, they all have a limitation that comics simply do not have. I can tell any story I want, without a care towards budget or technology.
Ted: You are currently writing La Brujeria with James Sinclair and Dark Anna and the Pirates of Kadath with Ethan Slayton. Are there very many differences between the way the collaboration works between you and the two artists?
Aaron: I think the biggest difference in working with James and Ethan are the levels of familiarity and shorthand I can get away with. I've worked with James long enough that I can basically say something like "horror hag, kinda' lich-like" and he knows exactly what I mean. I am certain Ethan and I will get there, but for now I try to be more specific. In the end, I try really hard to cater myself to the individual artists style and likes. (Although I enjoy tossing in a curveball from time to time). But I think artists have the more labor intensive side to comics, so if I can help them tell a better story, so much the better. Strong art can save the weakest scripts, so you give as much as you can to the artist.
aron:
Ted: Both of your books feature a strong female lead, which I as a person who grew up mostly in a house filled with strong females, find a really strong selling point. What inspired you to make both of your leads female?
Aaron: With Althalia, it just felt like the right choice. I grew up in a house with strong and independent women, and some of the stories they would tell me always focused on women with special gifts. So when I started playing with the ideas behind La Brujeria, it made sense to make the lead a woman. With Dark Anna and the Pirates of Kadath, it was a necessity. When I first started working on the story, I initially planned to make it with Kevin Stephenson (who would end up doing the cover for the 0 issue). We wanted to make a pirate / Lovecraft comic together. During our planning stage he mentioned he'd love a book that he could give to his daughter one day as inspiration. And I wanted to take a historical pirate and give them a fantasy twist. Cut to a quick Internet search and I found Christina Anna Skytte. The rest fell into place. That being said, all of my stories start with the fleshed out human element first. Simply starting out by saying "Well, time for another strong female hero" is an immediate disservice to the story and readers.
Ted: What complications do you find being a creator who is self published?
Aaron: Money, or the lack thereof. I know, such a mercenary answer, but it's the truth. Modern printing and digital comics have made it easier than ever to get your work out there. But it still takes money to make a comic. With La Brujeria, James and I have a more equal partnership, in that we don't get paid until the book gets paid. And while we've always operated in the black, no one is making anywhere near what they should make. (Read, anything at all). As a freelancer myself, I know all too well what it's like to be offered a job that pays in "exposure", (which is code for giving it all away and wasting your time). So when I come up with a new comic idea, I work very hard at making sure the people involved get some form of compensation. That all adds up, rather quickly. Then comes distribution. It's simply not there. Well, not to the extent a creator would like. There are places like ComiXology, Apple Comics, and DriveThruComics that provide global platforms, but it's a very crowded pool. Still, it's a wonderful feeling when you can help get your book to rise above cacophony of the crowd. So I guess the very thing that makes it challenging is also a huge opportunity.
Ted: What creators inspired you?
Aaron: Oh wow, there are quite a few. In comics, one of my earliest inspirations was and is Denny O'Neil. I really got into comics when he was an editor at DC and I remember flipping to the middle of the book to read "From the Den" before I read the comic proper. Later I would dig through back issues and discover the incredibly smart storytelling he was doing, years before anyone else. In the more modern era, it's writers like Greg Rucka and Kelly Sue DeConnick that leave a strong impression upon me. In their own way, their styles and stories are utterly fearless. But on the flip side, aren't put off by telling a story simply because it sounds like a hoot. In recent years I've tried to focus on artists. Mainly because I want to know more than "well, it's what I like". To that end, I am still in awe behind the manic genius Jack Cole, the creator and artist behind Plastic Man. A rather haunted man, but what he did for visual storytelling was simply amazing and very under appreciated. Then there are creators like Becky Cloonan and a whole swatch of creators that made their own books and never once compromised. It's a work ethic I try to follow.
Ted: Of all the actors that have portrayed Bruce Wayne/Batman which was your favorite Bruce? and which was your favorite Batman?
Aaron: Kevin Conroy, no question. I read anything with Batman, that is the voice I hear. Now and forever. Indeed, when it comes to my favorite, I'm going to fall down the Animated Series line the whole way. That series is Batman perfection. But, if I have to pick a live version, I don't think Michael Keaton gets enough credit. His Batman was a little stiff, but I think his Bruce Wayne is a wonderful mix of obsessed and aloof. (Although in a better movie, George Clooney could have been THE Bruce Wayne).
Ted: Do you feel the amount of event series and the tie-ins that carry over into the regular books are hurting or helping the big two?
Aaron: I think the Big-Two are only focused on the short term. For good or bad, they have bigger masters to serve and those masters, with their shareholders, are not interested in the long game. (Although I think Disney has been very good for Marvel, I don't know if the same can be said for DC and WB). Having been both a consumer and merchant in comics, I know event fatigue is hitting both pretty hard. The number 1s always serve up big numbers, but they simply don't sustain. But, they sell well enough that both DC and Marvel are going to keep it up. Hate all the constant resets and events leading to events leading to events? Stop buying them. Support the ongoing stories and both companies will respond. It's as simple (and difficult) as that.
Ted: Wolverine's bone claws. in your eyes which is the better continuity. Did he Always have them? Or are they due to his healing factor compensating for the adamantium being ripped from his body by Magneto?
Aaron: I'm a big jerk and say neither. When Magneto ripped the metal out of him, he should have been sans claws, period. But I guess if I HAVE to pick, I'd go born with them. The compensation angle just doesn't make any sense to me. Not ever superhero comics sense.
Ted: Between my co-creator on the site Tony and I we have a debate going. So perhaps you could help us settle it. "Alien" and "Aliens" are two very different styles of movies, but in your opinion which is the better movie on the whole?
Aaron: Whoa, whoa, whoa... Don't pull me into your nerd-lover spat here. Nice try! Also, I am again gonna' pull the jerk move and say you're both correct. The thing with Alien and Aliens is that aside from a shared universe and monster, they are wholly different films. Alien is quite honestly the greatest Lovecraftian horror film ever made. Whereas Aliens is a kick ass war movie. While both use dread with strong results, the pay off is from a whole other spectrum. Now, if you want to know which one I pop in the player more often, that's Aliens. On the flip side, Aliens can be a casual background flick that I quote as I cook dinner. But Alien? Alien requires a dark room and your total attention. Didn't help at all, did I?
Ted: So where can people find Dark Anna and La Brujeria if they wanted to pick them up?
Aaron: Right now both are only available online. We still have some print copies of Dark Anna, which you can find atgeekinthecitycomics.bigcartel.com – You can get a digital copy at ComiXology. (A 5-Star rating is always appreciated, it's the only way a Submit Title rises up the ranks). La Brujeria is only available in digital format these days, we can't afford a 6th printing (yes, 6th, to which we thank everyone for making that a necessity). La Brujeria #1 - #4 is at DriveThruComics and ComiXology.
Ted: Are there any upcoming projects you would like to promote?
Aaron: I am in the middle of publishing my first novel, in fact by the time this goes out the book should be at a few publishers being reviewed. So, fingers cross at that one. James is hard at work in finalizing issue #5 of La Brujeria, while Ethan and I are hard at work on the first full issue of Dark Anna and the Pirates of Kadath. (Look for shameless crowd-sourcing promotion soon). Finally, I am working on an unnamed project with Matthew Clark which we should be announcing early in 2015. In the mean time, people can check out my weekly podcast atGeekintheCity.com, it's moderately entertaining. You can also follow me on Twitter at @GeekintheCity, where I will ramble on about episodes of Star Trek, why Flash Gordon is a genius film, and random home brewing pictures.
Thanks for taking the time to chat with me!!
Aaron Duran works several jobs, podcaster, ships cook, brewer, and writer just to list a few. So volunteering his time to answer these questions for me was a real honor. And if you get the chance please checkout La Brujeria and/or Dark Anna, they are both really good books and a lot of fun.
Review: Nazi Werewolf Zombie Inferno
Welcome back fellow readers. For this installment I am asking the question, "What's in a name"? My co-creator Tony suggested this one to me. So let the fun begin.
Nazi Werewolf Zombie Inferno
Written By Chris Bradshaw
Illustrated By Karl Jull
Released By Markosia Enterprises
The story, like the title, is something out of a late night B-movie. And that is the appeal to me. It tells the story of a man looking for a Nazi treasure that has been missing since the end of WWII. So he hires a small group of mercenaries to help him find the location detailed in an old Nazi scientist's journal. When they locate the bunker and how to get in, it becomes clear that there is a history of dark experiments that occurred in this bunker. And before long they come face to face with what was really going on there. An army of werewolf soldiers that have been dormant since a little after the fall of the Third Reich. The rest is pretty predictable. Army gets released. Team turns on each other. People die.
Unfortunately the title and premise is where the fun ends on this book. The dialogue is boring and confusing. The characters are extremely one note, even for the B-movie feel. And the story is disjointed and confusing. So much so that by the time the twists in the story take place they have little to no effect.
But what really hurts this book is the "art". I put it that way because it is little more than pictures that have been enhanced in photoshop to look slightly drawn. This was ambitious and could have really worked. But the way the images worked made for confusing layouts which made the story harder to follow. It made it so hard to follow that I can't even tell you fully what happens in the story. This art style also made it really cheesy when the creatures are unleashed. It is very obvious that the werewolves are just people wearing bad masks.
This book would have been so much better to me with a true art style and an artist with a good understanding of layouts to tell a story. I wanted to enjoy this like I enjoy the cheesy horror movies of the eighties, but it wasn't even the good version of a bad horror movie to me.
As always, thank you for reading my review. If you have any comments or suggestions leave them in the comments section. And remember keep reading comics fans.


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Where Reading is the Coolest Thing
Allison Varnes writes a cautionary tale about censorship for young readers
By Tina Chambers | September 10, 2018
"You're going to read a lot about me and the things I've done," says twelve-year-old June Harper at the beginning of Allison Varnes's new middle-grade novel, Property of the Rebel Librarian. "So take your time. I'll just be sitting here, grounded for all eternity, while you read about the moments when everything fell together and apart. They're all here. Every last one."
Photo: Belinda Keller
A seventh-grader at Dogwood Middle School, June is an avid reader who loves spending time with the school's librarian, Ms. Bradshaw. But when June's parents confiscate her library copy of The Makings of a Witch, deeming it "too scary," they set in motion events that June can scarcely believe. Soon Ms. Bradshaw is suspended; two-thirds of the books in the school library have been removed for containing "profanity, drugs, violence, rock/rap music, witchcraft, drinking, smoking, or rebellion of any kind"; there's a new group on campus calling itself the Student Club for Appropriate Reading (or SCAR); and teachers warn students not to be caught on school grounds with unapproved reading material or they will face severe consequences.
June expected to spend the year hanging out with her best friend, playing flute in the school marching band, and flirting with her eighth-grade crush, but all that changes when she finds herself the victim of blatant and widespread censorship. Adding insult to injury, her parents raid her room and take away her own personal books, keeping them until they can determine whether they are "quality reading material," according to her father.
That's when June walks to school by a different route and stumbles upon a Little Free Library in a nearby neighborhood. It turns out to be a jackpot of banned books: Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry; The Lightning Thief; Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; Brown Girl Dreaming-the supply seems endless.
After adding a false bottom to her backpack, June begins transporting the books to school for distribution to like-minded students. As the contraband book supply draws hungry readers to her side, June makes new friends and finds herself in the midst of a quiet mutiny. "This is no longer the same Dogwood Middle," she observes. "It's an alternate reality where reading is the coolest thing you can do and I, June Harper, am the leader of the cool kids-of the rebellion. I'm sure I'll wake up any minute now and everything will be back to the way it used to be." As more and more students-friends and foes-figure out June's secret, she won't have long to wait.
Allison Varnes earned a Ph.D. in education from the University of Tennessee; in Property of the Rebel Librarian she has written a cautionary tale especially appropriate for young readers with a passion for books. If the adults in the novel seem a tad over-the-top, they serve to heighten the contrast between freedom and censorship that Varnes wants to illustrate, and they demonstrate the way repressive ideologies tend to escalate.
A former teacher writing about a topic that is obviously close to her heart, Varnes includes lists that direct readers to all the books mentioned in the novel, just in case they wish to follow June's lead. As the Rebel Librarian herself proudly proclaims, "All I know is, they don't want me to read it, so I'm gonna. Every last book I can find."
A graduate of Auburn University, Tina Chambers has worked as a technical editor at an engineering firm and as an editorial assistant at Peachtree Publishers, where she worked on books by Erskine Caldwell, Will Campbell, and Ferrol Sams, to name a few. She lives in Chattanooga.
Tagged: Book Reviews, Children & YA
Chandeliers and Self-Discovery
A Lavish Mural of 1970s Indulgence
Property of the Rebel Librarian
By Allison Varnes
Against My Better Judgment
By B.T. Polcari
Wild Rose Press
"When it comes time to snoop, Sara is more than ready, or at least she was until a hot new teaching assistant moves in next door. Suddenly she learns things are never as they seem. Ever."
Also by Tina Chambers
Tina Turner shares her spiritual practice of 50 years
The joy of young adult literature
Allison Moorer turns family tragedy into bittersweet art
Country music superstar Sara Evans offers her life story and hard-earned wisdom
Lisa Donovan's memoir is never short of passion
See More from Tina Chambers


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Sara Kimberley
McLaren partners with Arrow Electronics
McLaren Racing has announced a long-term commercial partnership with Arrow Electronics to push technology and innovation to the forefront of racing.
The partnership will begin at the Indianapolis 500 in May, where Fernando Alonso will compete at the 103rd running of the historic sporting event.
Built on the two organisations' shared belief in technology and innovation as enablers of progress and the improvement of everyday life, the partnership will see the Arrow brand prominently represented on the two McLaren MCL34 Formula 1 race cars, as well as the team's race drivers, Carlos Sainz and Lando Norris, as part of a multi-faceted activation programme. Arrow will also be carried on the McLaren race car when the team descends on the iconic Brickyard in Indianapolis this month.
The partnership brings the global technology and innovation business into the sport of Formula 1 for the first time. This wide-ranging commercial partnership will see the McLaren Group, which includes McLaren Automotive and McLaren Applied Technologies, benefit from Arrow's technology and experience, and will integrate Arrow's services into the McLaren Racing team's operations.
Zak Brown, Chief Executive Officer, McLaren Racing, said: "McLaren is a technology business at its heart and it is therefore natural to welcome Arrow, a global leader in its field, as a new partner. McLaren, like Arrow, is driven by innovation and applying technology in the pursuit of better, not just in motorsport but across all our group activities. We are delighted Arrow has decided to join our racing team, we're proud of the class-leading brands that support our racing efforts and we're looking forward to getting out on track together."
Mike Long, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Arrow Electronics, commented: "At Arrow Electronics, we design technology solutions that guide innovation forward and improve the quality of life. We look forward to partnering with McLaren to not only take the experience of racing to the next level, but also apply the safety and performance advances from the track to everyday living."
McLaren – Racing meets Gaming
McLaren Automotive enters APC funded project
McLaren 570S GT4 to make track debut


The purpose of this paper is to present a recent design offer for design and realisation of a sizable housing development. The computers were significantly involved in both, making the offer, and organisation of project design phase. The story illustrates some interesting relationships between IT and certain types of design problems. The paper presents how the offer was prepared, discuss whether the computers would be beneficial in getting the design tasks done, and finally, pose the question whether such design tasks could be achieved without the help of computers. The explicit design tasks and use of the computer tools make this case of "computerised craftsmenhip" appropriate for presentation in educational environments.
Petrovic, I. (1995) A Framework for Cooperative Activities of Computer Design Agents , Proceedings of the International Conference ACADIA ë95. Seattle, WA. Oct.19-22.