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The Language of Thorns
February 4, 2018 fantasy, Teen Reads, YALitbook review, fantasylucindastein
This book cover is one of the top ten eye-catching covers from 2017. From Leigh Bardugo, author of The Six of Crows, comes an illustrated book of fairy/folk tales. These types of stories require illustrations, don't they? At least, from childhood we've come to expect that. Don't misunderstand me, these are definitely stories for young adults to adults. The beautiful illustrations will appeal to readers of graphic novels.
At first, the reader will think she is reading an ordinary fairy tale, those old stories told to children for decades. But the endings will leave you both surprised and charmed!
Sara Kipin's vivid illustrations enliven this book. There's not much more I can say about this title. The Language of Thorns demands to be read and seen!
The Strange and Beautiful Sorrows of Ava Lavender
February 21, 2017 magical realism, Teen Reads, YALitfantasy, TeenReads, YALitlucindastein
Leslye Walton's magical realism novel promises to take you on a unique journey into the magical and the ordinary, an elixir of both.
How many of us can relate to this line in the story: Love makes us such fools? But the story moves on to show sometimes it's a matter of opening our eyes.
The women in Ava Lavender's family have been anything but lucky in love. It has affected everyone down to sixteen-year-old Ava who is born with the wings of a bird and her twin brother, Henry, who is mute. Because they are different, their mother keeps them sheltered at home away from the town's critical eyes.
Ava's grandmother, Emilienne, throws herself into her work at the bakery, believing love is something to be warded off.
Ava's mother, Viviane remains heartbroken over her first love, ignoring the love that appears right before her.
Teenage Ava dreams about being a normal girl, not a creature with wings that makes people think she is everything from a freak to an angel. Then one day, Ava makes a friend who talks her into coming out to the reservoir, the place teens congregate at night. Her life will never be the same.
But it is Henry, who speaks only when it is of utmost importance, who warns the family of the tragedy to come. Will they listen before it's too late?
Guideline only: School Library Journal rates this book Grade 9 and up.
"Love makes us such fools." I'm on page 190 of this magical realism story and enjoying it. #coverlove #bookstagram #booklove #booklover #beautifulbooks #booknerd #bookworm #bookish #bookishlove #bookstagrammer #bibliophile #bookaddict #YAlit #yalovin
A post shared by Lucinda Stein (@lucindastein) on Feb 19, 2017 at 12:47pm PST
A Peculiar Story
February 4, 2017 fantasy, magical realism, paranormal, Teen Reads, Teen Writing, YA book clubs, YALitBookclubs, fantasy, TeenReads, YALitlucindastein
I picked this book up, not knowing what to expect except this story would be unusual. Peculiar is a perfect word for it! Sixteen-year-old Jacob has heard weird stories from his grandfather for years. When Jacob was little, he believed in these strange characters–children with special abilities, but as he grew older, he realized the tales were mere fairy tales.
When Jacob finds his grandfather gravely injured outside in the dark, he also sees a monster in the shadows. Or does he? Jacob's parents send him to a psychologist, thinking he's having trouble with his grandfather's death.
But Jacob remembers his grandfather's dying words, as strange and coded as his many stories, and Jacob is determined to go to the remote island where his grandfather lived as a boy–Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. There he finds the ruins of the building, walls crumbled from an air attack during WWII. But soon he realizes the house is not abandoned!
You'll enjoy the many real–strange–photographs in the book. The author, Ransom Riggs, perused through vintage photos in flea markets and antique stores, which he used in writing the story. I found myself intrigued with the book, turning page after page. Read the book before you see the movie! If you like series, two sequels to this book are already available: Hollow City and Library of Souls.
Lovin' this book! Since the grandfather who lived during World War II plays a big role in the story, it was the perfect opportunity to use my vintage items. Bakelite spoons, old dice, antique lace-up boot, and a hand mirror, it's handle worn and varnished from years of use. Also the photograph is one of my ancestors. Bit busy perhaps but I had fun with this pic. #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #beautifulbooks #coverlove #bookish #bookishlove #bibliophile #booknerd #booklover #lovetoread #vintage #antique #yalovin #YAlit
A post shared by Lucinda Stein (@lucindastein) on Jan 27, 2017 at 8:55pm PST
November 12, 2016 fantasy, NALit, YA book clubs, YA Writing, YALitBookclubs, fantasy, Goodreads, YALitlucindastein
Nineteen-year-old Feyre resides in a village with two sisters and a crippled father at the edge of a magical land called Prythian—a land of faeries. Living in poverty after her father lost his fortune, Feyre hunts for their food, keeping the family from starving. While out hunting one day, she kills a wolf.
Later a fearsome creature breaks into their cottage, seeking revenge for the death of one of its own kind. The wolf Feyre killed turns out to be a shapeshifter who was actually a faerie. The creature called Tamlin drags Feyre away and across the border to Prythian. At his estate, Tamlin allows her free access of his mansion and estate grounds. Instead of killing her, she's allowed to live according to the regulations of an ancient treaty. However, she can never return to her family. Ever.
Feyre panics over her family's survival, but Tamlin assures her he has taken care of her family. Over time, she realizes Tamlin truly means her no harm and slowly finds herself attracted to the lethal, immortal High Fae.
She learns that a blight across Prythian endangers the High Fae and has lessened his magical powers. Tamlin's estate and even his life is in danger. To protect Feyre's life, he sends her home. But Feyre's love for Tamlin leads her back to incredible danger and deeper into the secrets of Prythian.
In an intriguing version of Beauty and the Beast, Sarah Maas leads the reader through a story of magic, war, and fated love. Well written, the book contains plenty of conflict and mystery. Due to scenes of sexual and violent nature, I recommend this book for New Adult or older YA readers.
A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas, ©2015, Bloomsbury
September 8, 2016 fantasy, Teen Reads, YA book clubs, YA Writing, YALitBookclubs, fantasy, YALitlucindastein
The chatter on Twitter had me curious about the fantasy book, Six of Crows. It's an ambitious book at 462 pages and packed with adventure, violence, and intrigue. A motley group of six outcasts attempts an impossible heist to abduct a prisoner from the impenetrable Ice Court. By the second chapter, a confrontation between two gangs erupts, and the high action of this story is on!
If you find the sheer number of characters confusing, hang in there and the story will soon come together.
Kaz is the leader of this group of young criminals and outcasts. Some say he's a devil, others call him Dirty Hands. As an orphan, he came from the streets and worked his way up to be a gang leader. He also runs the Crow Club. He's known for being cold and ruthless.
Inej is call the Wraith for her exceptional power to move undetected. She works as a spy for Kaz.
Nina is a beautiful Grisha Heartrender, who has the supernatural power to burst the heart in your chest, steal your breath, and rupture your cells. She escaped a slave ship and now works for Kaz.
Matthias is a drüskelle, a member of the military who abduct and kill Nina's kind. He calls Nina a witch.
Jesper is a lanky teen who loves his pearl-handled revolvers. He has a compulsion for gambling to the point that he's in hock up to his neck.
Wylan is the son of a powerful mercher. He had all the privileges of the wealthy but chose to run away from home.
Kaz's crew attempts the heist of the century, knowing full well the odds are against them. If they succeed, they will all be very rich. Violence is a way of life in the Barrel where poverty nips the heels of those trying to survive and make money at any cost. To add to the intrigue, Kaz who is known for being coldhearted, has feelings for Inej but refuses to act on them. Sparks fly between Nina and Matthias, who are mortal enemies.
It isn't just for the money that Kaz accepts the challenge of the Ice Court heist. A thirst for revenge for wrongs done in his past motivates him to risk all their lives. Some say he has claws, but the real reason Kaz always wears gloves is even stranger! The ending of this story opens the door for the upcoming sequel. I can definitely see this becoming a movie. Read Six of Crows for yourself and see what all the talk is about!


Aerangis bouarensis Chiron, Orchid Rev. 106(1222): 229 (1998).
Epiphytic herb with a short stem (c. 5 cm long and 7-8 mm in diameter), covered with the remains of old leaf bases;, roots numerous, up to 40 cm long, 3-4 mm in diameter, glabrous, the growing tips brownish-pink. Leaves 5-6, alternate, forming a fan. set about 1 cm apart, with a sheathing base 1-1.5 cm long, flat, up to 21 cm long and 5.3-6 cm wide, oblanceolate, the apex slightly bilobed, the lobes almost equal, obtuse, the sinus open, 5-8 mm deep; mid vein faintly visible on the upper surface; colour mid green, slightly reddish on the underside, with small black spots on both surfaces. Inflorescence arising from leaf axils, about 20 cm long, the peduncle 2 mm diameter; rhachis scarcely zigzag, with 4-5 flowers set about 3 cm apart. Pedicel and ovary slender, about 5 cm long; bract blackish, 9-10 x 5-6 mm, linear, obtuse. Flowers starry, c. 7 cm diameter; sepals and petals white, tipped with pink; lip and spur of a uniform chestnut-pink. Dorsal sepal 35-36 x 4 mm, lanceolate-elliptic, acuminate; lateral sepals similar but narrowly linear, acuminate; petals 30 x 5-5 5 mm, narrowly linear, acuminate; lip similar in shape, 36-37 x 5 mm, with 2 folds at the mouth of the spur; spur 19 cm long, 2-3 mm diameter but slightly inflated in the apical quarter, the apex acute, straight, slightly recurved at the tip. Column 12 x 3-4 mm, straight, relatively slender, with a small tooth at the base just above the entrance to the spur.
The plant flowers in July and August. No perfume has been noted at any time of the day. It is grown in a fairly bright, temperate glasshouse, with a constant humidity of 70% or more. It is mounted on a slab of cork: a little moss has developed, keeping the roots constantly moist. It is sprayed even every day in summer, less often in winter.
Cameroon to Central African Rep.


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Silo City Reading Series: Mathias Svalina Categories: Official JB Events Timelines: 1b: Past Events (Unseen Archive), 2: Silo City Reading Series Archive, 4: Aidan Ryan Workshops & Events, 4: Noah Falck Workshops & Events, Just Buffalo History (2010s)
Photos from the Silo City Reading by Nancy Parisi
Mathias Svalina
Aidan Ryan
music by Cages
film by Mary Helena Clark
Silo City Row
Time: All readings begin at 7:00 p.m.
Mathias Svalina is the the author of five books, including Destruction Myth (Cleveland State University Poetry Center), Wastoid (Big Lucks Books), & the recently released The Wine-Dark Sea (Sidebrow Books). He is an editor for the small press Octopus Books. Since 2014, Svalina has run the Dream Delivery Service & ran a similar project for the Museum of Contemporary Art Denver in 2015. In the fall of 2016 through the summer of 2017 he will be delivering dreams in other cities, including Richmond, Tucson, Marfa, Austin & Chicago.
Aidan Ryan is the author of Organizing Isolation: Half-Lives of Love at Long Distance and managing editor of the Buffalo-based literary journal Foundlings. His work has appeared in CNN, The Public, The Skinny, The Buffalo News, Peach Mag, and Traffic East.
Cages is a Buffalo-based avant-garde post-noise duo made up of vocalist Nola Ranallo and guitarist David Bailey. https://cagesmusic.bandcamp.com/
Mary Helena Clark is a filmmaker who explores narrative figures of speech, the materiality of film, and the painting technique trompe l'oeil. She aims to make trancelike and transparent films. Clark's work has been screened at the International Film Festival Rotterdam, New York Film Festival, Wexner Art Center and the National Gallery of Art in Washington DC.
Buffalo Hosts World-Famous Authors
Just Buffalo has been bringing the world's greatest authors to Western New York since 2007. Find out what you've been missing.
BABEL 2019–2020
Buffalo's Summer Literary Series
This multidisciplinary series includes readings, musical acts and visual art installations from the best of the arts and cultural community from Buffalo and beyond.
STUDIO brings talented writers from Buffalo, Western New York and beyond to the downtown Just Buffalo Writing Center for readings, in-depth discussions and more.
The Just Buffalo Writing Center is dedicated to helping young and emerging writers ages 12–18 cultivate their writing skills.
More JB40 Stories

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


The 2011 USA Outdoor Championships serve as the selection event for Team USA's roster for the 2011 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, held later this summer in Daegu, South Korea.
Tickets for individual days of the USA Outdoor Track & Field Championships will go on sale later this spring.
The 2012 U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field return to Hayward Field in Eugene June 21 to July 1, 2012. Fans wishing to take in one of the world's greatest track events can purchase tickets when all-session packages for the eight-day competition go on sale on May 6, 2011.
Eugene hosted the 2008 Olympic Trials; all-session tickets sold out months in advance. A limited number of single-session tickets for the 2012 Olympic Trials will go on sale in April, 2012.
For updates on Olympic Trials ticket sales, visit http://www.TrackTown12.com regularly.


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![0 stars](../../images/ic_star_border_black_18dp_1x.png)![0 stars](../../images/ic_star_border_black_18dp_1x.png)![0 stars](../../images/ic_star_border_black_18dp_1x.png)![0 stars](../../images/ic_star_border_black_18dp_1x.png)![0 stars](../../images/ic_star_border_black_18dp_1x.png) 0

To use the Full Moon? skill, try saying...

* *Alexa,  ask moon guide when is the next full moon*

* *Alexa, ask moon guide when is there a full moon*

* *Alexa, ask moon guide what is the date of the next full moon*

A simple app. Just say "Alexa, When is the next full moon?"

***

### Skill Details

* **Invocation Name:** moon guide
* **Category:** null
* **ID:** amzn1.ask.skill.1845d6b9-e22b-4011-9183-b73edf817cdf
* **ASIN:** B01M13ZFAU
* **Author:** Brandon Bielicki
* **Release Date:** October 3, 2016 @ 01:12:30
* **In-App Purchasing:** No

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


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by Robyn Carr | 01 November 2016
Starting over is never easy, but in Thunder Point, where newcomers are welcome and friends become family, it's possible to find yourself again. #1 New York Times bestselling author Robyn Carr takes us on a moving and rewarding journey as a young woman finds new hope. After losing her child, Ginger Dysart was lost in grief. But since moving to Thunder Point, a small town on the Oregon coast, Ginger is finally moving forward. Her job at the flower shop is peaceful and fulfilling, and she's excited to be assisting with the Lacoumette wedding. In spite of her lasting heartache, Ginger is swept up in the pleasure of the occasion. But the beauty of the Lacoumette farm and the joy of the gregarious family are ruined by an unfortunate encounter with the bride's brother, Matt. Struggling with painful memories of his own, Matt makes a drunken spectacle of himself when he tries to make a pass at Ginger, forcing her to flee the scene in embarrassment. But when Matt shows up at the flower shop determined to make amends, what started out as a humiliating first meeting blossoms into something much deeper than either of them expected. Everyone around them worries that Ginger will end up with a broken heart yet again. But if Ginger has the courage to embrace the future, and if Matt can finally learn to let go of the past, there may still be hope for a happy ending.
Categories - All, Books, Fiction, Mills and Boon, Romance


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> Monographs>Lux et Nox
Lux et Nox
@ Henson, Bill
.Sold out.
The story of this book, first published by Scalo in 2002 and sold out the following year, reprinted / republished by Thames & Hudson in 2008 (as stated in the copies offered).
A controversial book, because it includes nudity of teenagers and yound adults, but an impressive body of work and a splendid book about and the limits that are pushed, about teenagers wandering and trespassing the barriers, about a search of darkness and a dark side, a book about coming of age...
Bill Henson colors teenage nights like a master
Really beautiful images where the bodies and the faces look like they are out of a Rembrandt or a Goya painting, and where the night is thick and magical.
176 pages - Hardcover with DJ
Thames & Hudson, 2008
Henson, Bill
Bill Henson (Melbourne, Australia, b.1955) is one of Australia's most notable leaders in Contemporary photography. Notable influences on his work include the famous Melbourne painter and his long-term partner Louise Hearman, and the award-winning film director Paul Cox. Photo: © smhcomau
Quick view Henson, Bill
.Sold out. Publisher's presentation: "At the age of 33, one of Australia's foremost photographers, Bill Henson, produced some of the most evocative portraits and powerful dreamscapes of his career. Now nearly 30 years on STANLEY/BARKER has published this transcendental body of work for the first time. Shot at dawn or dusk, in the suburbs of Melbourne,...
Bill Henson (*w/ signed print*)
.Sold out.Publisher's presentation: "Bill Henson is a visionary explorer of twilight zones, between nature and civilization, youth and adulthood, male and female. His photographs are painterly tableaux that continue the traditions of romantic literature and painting. Henson's elegant, formal photographs – of battered landscapes and fragile, wispy youths –...
Kindertotenlieder (*signed*)
.Sold out.Presentation by Stanley/Barker : "In an outpouring of grief after the death of his children from scarlet fever in 1833, German poet Friedrich Rückert wrote 428 poems on the deaths of children. Seventy years later the composer Gustav Mahler was so moved by these poems, he began work on a song cycle eventually scoring five of the poems. Although...
See all the books of Henson, Bill: 7
Quick view Ballen, Roger
Asylum of the Birds
Publisher's presentation: "The black-and-white images were photographed within the confines of a house in a Johannesburg suburb, the location of which remains a mystery. The inhabitants of the house, both people and animals, and most notably, the ever-present birds, are the cast who perform within a sculptural and decorated theatrical interior that Roger...
Quick view Doyle, Eamonn
Made in Dublin (*signed*)
Presentation by Thames & Hudson: " Dublin has captured countless imaginations and inspired some of the greatest artists and writers throughout history. Focused on D1, Dublin's city center, photographer Eamonn Doyle's three major bodies of work, « i », « ON » and « END » all initially self-published and brought together here, tell the tale of today's...
Quick view Campany, David
On Photographs
Presentation by Thames & Hudson: " Gain a new perspective on photography in this personally guided introduction to photographic images and what they mean by one of the leading writers and curators of our time. What shapes our response to a photograph? Where does the meaning we ascribe to it come from? And how important to our reading of it are the...
See all the books of Thames & Hudson: 5


You could be one of four lucky winners to this Pop Erotica Event. Ainsley Burrows the mastermind behind this event, and pictured in suit below reciting part of his "Climax" spoken word poetry. He entertained the Salon attendees several years ago and has been coming back to Philadelphia with his own show ever since.


But of course becoming a professional musician is a tall task and one that relies on a slice of luck, mixed with raw talent. There are numerous tales of bands spotted and signed by coincidence, being in the right place at the right time to get heard.
And that's what marketing music online is about: the internet is today's modern basement club. It's where musicians and are born and created and the one place that makes or breaks a career.
So, to make sure you give yourself the best chance to be seen and heard, marketing and promoting your music well is essential.
Here is a list of marketing tools – which are readily available for all to use – that will give you an extra beat in the battle to be seen online.
We've talked about the importance of your own dedicated website in selling your music elsewhere but as a marketing tool it is absolutely fundamental.
This won't surprise you. We're not going to shock by saying a website is a fantastic marketing tool for musicians or bands. But we repeat it because so many bands continue not to heed the advice.
A website is the mother ship that all your other marketing minions obey. The website can act as the mouthpiece for your music and that the other marketing tools (which we'll get to in a minute) can parrot. Thus, the message about your music is spread far and wide across the web with a certain continuity.
Of course, your website must contain your music, a brief bio, and contact details as standard. Additional and helpful information for fans, venue managers, or record execs to get in touch with you is your contact information and a custom email address.
With websites being so cheap and ready-made templates widely available, there's not much excuse not to have a presence online.
If you're going to make music then you need to make sure it can be listened to. This isn't rocket science.
As the flag bearer for the music industry, Soundcloud is the one audio-streaming website that you really shouldn't miss being part of.
There's a beauty to Soundcloud's simplicity. Rather than filling the website with heavy advertising, Soundcloud's creators went for a stripped-back, basic-but-best experience that really allows the music to be the focus of the site.
But there are still ways for listeners to get involved. One great way for fans to show their appreciation is by clicking on a part of the song they like and leaving a comment. This, as well as the sidebar that offers information about the band or musician, a review of who has liked the song, and who are following the artist, produces a network that allows others to more easily find your music.
You can link your website and social media profiles to produce a marketing mini ecosystem for your music only.
And it's free. What's not to love?
Another no brainer and one that shouldn't need saying: the world talks on social media.
Almost anything that's a success will be exposed to social media. People talk and that gets other people talking. So when you're trying to get the best for your band or musical career, make sure you cover the bases and set up those oh-so-easy Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter accounts!
As discussed in previously, continuity really is key when you're working with social media. Post across all of your social media accounts so that fans and spectators on each format get the same detailed information of your new release or tour date.
It helps to build the brand of your music and select a style that feels right for yourself.
In short, it's an integral part of success for any major artist.
YouTube's market dominance as a video-sharing platform is outrageous.
By that, we mean that there isn't much point popping your exquisitely directed, artfully shot video on anything other than YouTube. Well, by all means, upload it to Vimeo, DailyMotion and anything else. But make sure that your video is also on YouTube.
Many bands and musicians too early in their career to be hiring professional help to produce a video believe there's no value in putting their own recordings online. That's really not the case.
Videos build an identity and allow fans to watch your progress as a group or solo artist. There is a pleasing evolution that fans can watch as you change your sound and go on to bigger and better things.
Anything you can put online will be a real plus. And it is strictly only about the video content. There's also the SEO to think of. If you're not familiar with the acronym, it stands for Search Engine Optimization and is likely the most powerful tool you have at your disposal for rapidly improving how highly your band will rate on search engine results. As YouTube is the second largest search engine (after Google, of course), it's important to use YouTube's video descriptions properly.
But beware; there are an awful lot of SEO myths out there.
Whereas iTunes was the music listening platform for the 00's, Spotify really is the place to listen to music, hear fresh tracks, and find your favorite new artist in the 2010's.
Anyone can put their music onto Spotify but if you're not already signed then you'll have to go through an intermediary company like TuneCore, AWAL, or Spinnup to collect royalties and deal with the legalities of joining the platform. Here's Spotify's very own guide on how to do that.
Getting your music onto Spotify will push your sounds into the ears of new listeners. If one of your songs is chosen for one of the many selected playlists that reach hundreds of thousands of listeners a day, then you might find yourself enjoying some welcome attention.
Complete the artist page and link to your website so that anyone looking for more information can easily locate it.
Remember that 2nomads is here to offer professional marketing that is entirely unique to your needs. Get started on your first steps to stardom with us.


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HE wanted to buy a cowboy hat but he was nervous about it. He thought it had to mean something. Thought people would expect something from him when he was wearing it.
"Like I've got a can of dip in my back pocket and only listen to country music," he said. She grabbed another hat from the shelf and switched it with the one on his head. She liked that one better; it was darker and more sure of itself.
"You do like country music," she said, standing back to get a better look at him.
"I like when you listen to country music. That's different," he said, turning to look at himself in the mirror. She put her chin on his shoulder, told him it looked good. Told him he looked like a real cowboy with it on. A right rootin-tootin six-shootin somethin or other straight out of the wild west. She made her case about how it should've been illegal for a guy named Wyatt to have gone almost thirty-five years without owning a cowboy hat. It ain't right she said.
They were on their way back from their honeymoon. Fifty miles from home, they'd stopped for coffees and a quick peek in the country-western store next door.
"Charlotte. Be honest. This doesn't look ridiculous?" Wyatt turned away from the mirror and stood with his arms stiff at his side, not smiling.
"Only because you're standing like that. When would you ever stand like that?" Charlotte said, adjusting her purse on her shoulder. He smiled, all dimples and scruff. Looked down, shook his arms out. "See! There's my beautiful brand-new cowboy husband looking like a normal human. Take it off. We're buying it."
"Wait. I wanna get you something," he said, holding up his finger. She watched him make his way to the back of the store. It only took him a moment to see what he wanted. He walked back to her and held it out. A big ol' belt buckle with a busty mudflap cowgirl on it. She wore boots and a hat and nothing else. "Looks just like you," he said, winking. He swatted at her bottom.
"She kinda does, don't she? I love it. I'm gonna wear this, I promise." Charlotte put the cowboy hat on her head and carried the heavy brass belt buckle in one hand, held her husband's hand with the other.
"Do we have to go pick up our kids?" Wyatt said half-teasing, starting up his truck. Sure they'd missed them, but they'd also quite enjoyed having a week in the mountains by themselves. They had decided not to sleep together before they got married. It was something neither one of them had ever tried with anyone else before. Being together like that was as fresh and crisp and new as the striped linens on the king-sized bed in their honeymoon cabin. He kissed the bottoms of her feet, behind her ears, the tender inside of her tiny wrists. She secretly hoped she'd get pregnant that first time, felt herself shiver afterwards, like a wandering spirit had suddenly found a home and filled the room.
They had spent their days making love and shopping for fruit. Making love and having X-Files marathons. Making love and playing Scrabble afterwards. They had champagne and tight plums for dinner, bacon and bagels with butter for breakfast. They ate smoked oysters on crackers with drips of vinegary hot sauce spilled on top. They went nightfishing. Swam like little lake creatures baptized in wet, North Carolina moonlight. Came back to the cabin and grilled the fish in foil over an open fire in the sticky-thick night air. Ate it with lemon wedges and crispy garlic potatoes, swallowed it down with sweating brown bottles of Bell's Two Hearted Ale, Charlotte's favorite beer. They spent one entire day in the cabin naked just to see what it felt like. Charlotte thought that it would feel like being Adam and Eve and it did. There was a fenced-in fecund garden filled with vespertine flowers, but no snakes. And most certainly no moody teenagers rolling their eyes at them or stomping off to their bedrooms.
Both of their children had been born only hours apart on the same exact day fifteen years ago. July 31st. They called them their pretend-twins. Karis and Joshua were soon-to-be juniors at Sleepy Hollow High. Wyatt taught American History there. He was the baseball coach too. Joshua was his shortstop and now he was his stepson, as well. Charlotte had fallen in love with how Wyatt clapped after each at-bat, how his ass looked in those baseball pants. But she had let him make the first move. It took him months to ask her out and even then he was careful not to be too forward. She'd grabbed the collar of his shirt that first night they went to dinner. Kissed his warm mouth and held his face in her hands. What was I gonna have to do to get you to kiss me? Shit! She'd said afterwards and he laughed and laughed. I guess what you just did. I like you a lot he said and his voice was so country and sweet she knew right then she could marry him, live with him and they could raise their babies together. Hot damn. That voice, that voice. How he said any word with an 'L' in it. How he sometimes said come 'ere before he kissed her.
Their kids already knew each other so that part was easy. They weren't best friends yet but they got along well enough. Wyatt's daughter, Karis, was a bookish theatre-geek and Charlotte's son, Joshua, was mostly fine. He didn't get into a lot of trouble. Early on in their relationship, both Wyatt and Charlotte had expressed anxiety over how normal their children were. Like they were both waiting on something extreme to happen soon. Face tattoos? Undercover prostitution stings? But so far, nothing terrifying.
While they were honeymooning, the kids were staying with their other families. Charlotte's ex-husband had partial custody and had remarried some years ago. Joshua had two brand-new baby half-sisters. And Wyatt's ex-wife was divorced for the third time and shared custody of Karis.
Charlotte and Joshua's stuff had been moved into Wyatt's house because it was bigger and Charlotte especially loved the creek rock fireplace. She loved it in the winter, but also in the summer because no matter how hot it got outside, the creek rock was always cool. She could lie there and press her face against it and feel like she was lucky enough to always be on the cool side of the pillow. But the four of them hadn't spent a night in the house together yet. Tonight would be the first time. They decided to pick up Karis first.
"I think I'm nervous," Charlotte said. The cowboy hat had finally settled on Wyatt's head and it suited him perfectly in his pickup truck. She was slipping the new buckle onto her belt and when she was finished, she put her bare feet up on the dash and leaned the seat back so he could get a good look at it. He grinned and nodded in approval, stopped at a red light.
"You're nervous about what, about everything? About picking up Karis? About what?" He asked, matter-of-factly. She glanced at the knife he always kept clipped to his jeans. It made her feel safe, not scared. She breathed relief at being married to a man who was gentle with women. Joshua's dad was so quick-tempered the nine years they were married. The holes in the walls were patched over easily and beautifully because it was what he did for a living—both the construction work and the raising hell. She had loved him once but now when she thought of him she saw a snarling, bloody-faced wolf. But he was good to Joshua. She'd always convinced herself that that was all that mattered.
Marrying Wyatt had felt like closing the door to keep out a blinding, swirling dust storm. And now she was safe inside somewhere; couldn't even hear the dry howling anymore.
Charlotte looked down at her outfit and thought about how she refused to call her tank top a "wife-beater." What a cruel name. The belt buckle looked damn good with it and her old jeans. She decided she didn't want to be nervous anymore. Told herself she felt tough and it worked. Like all of the lights inside of her had been switched on and she could hear them, humming.
"Nothing," she said, putting her hand on his leg.
"You sure?"
"I'm sure," she said.
"You look good," he said. He tipped his hat.
"Thank you. You're already a perfect cowboy," she said. He shifted into first and gunned the gas. She watched his forearms and took off her seatbelt so she could lean closer to him. So she could smell him better. So she could feel the warmth roll off of him like thick ribbons, unraveling.
Both Charlotte and Wyatt had been extremely hurt in the past, but so had everyone. There wasn't necessarily anything special about their circumstances. Everyone got cheated on. Some men punched walls when they got angry. Some women didn't know how much a man needed to feel loved. Charlotte was convinced they needed it even more than women did. She loved and loved Wyatt and told him and showed him all the time. He'd even mentioned it when he asked her to marry him. You make me feel loved he'd said. Good, because you are she said back to him before telling him the ring was too big, too much. Bullshit he said, separating her ring finger from the others and holding it there.
Wyatt was deliberate in his intimacy and he maintained it even in the times when she grew distant. She'd recently realized that growing distant was her go-to response to things, an itchy comfort blanket she had to train herself to toss off. I promise to love you and I promise to let you love me back was something she said aloud at their wedding.
Karis' mother was at the front door with her hands on her hips. Charlotte looked at the dashboard clock to see if they were late. They weren't.
"Is she pissed off?" She asked.
"She's always pissed off," he said back. He kept his hat on and got out of the truck. Charlotte rolled the window down just a little bit so she could hear them.
"Today's Karis' last day of theatre camp. She's not here. She's there," her mother said, stepping out onto the porch. Charlotte waved kindly from the truck and Karis' mother waved back like just the thought of it exhausted her.
"I didn't know that," Wyatt said, shaking his head.
Her mother shrugged.
"Well I'll come back," he said.
"I guess you'll have to. You get that on your honeymoon?" she asked, tilting her head towards his.
Wyatt took off the hat and held it to his chest. He nodded and looked back at Charlotte.
"She'll be back in like two hours. Come back then," her mother said. In the truck, Charlotte put her jingly purse in her lap and pretended to be looking for something. She pulled out her phone and sent Joshua a text. Be there to pick you up in like twenty minutes. Love you.
"Okay. Tell 'er I'll be back in just a little bit then," Wyatt said. He put his hat back on and made his way down the steps. Charlotte waved to Karis' mother again, smiled. Her phone buzzed with a text message from Joshua: okay.
Not long after their first date, Wyatt had told Charlotte the story about getting arrested for beating the shit out of Karis' mother's ex-boyfriend some years back. The ex-boyfriend had gotten drunk on whiskey and grabbed Karis' arm so hard he left medium-sized Bible-black bruises from her shoulder to her elbow. Wyatt went over to the house, knocked on the door and when the ex-boyfriend opened it, he punched him in the face. The fight spilled out into the front yard and the neighbors called the cops. He kept reiterating the fact that Karis wasn't there. That Karis didn't see. He wanted to make sure Charlotte believed him and she did. He didn't have to keep saying it. She trusted him already. The ex-boyfriend had a couple of warrants anyway and Wyatt only had to spend one night in jail. Charges were dropped and he didn't lose his job or anything. His eyes got all teary when he told her that part. He said he didn't want people to think he was a violent man. He said he just lost it because someone hurt his kid. He said he hadn't been in a fight since middle school. It had taken him a good long while to feel okay with leaving Karis with her mother after that. And even still, he worried.
When they got to Joshua's father's house no one was there but Joshua. He came right out to the truck with his backpack, looking taller, browner and more beautiful than Charlotte had left him a week before. She asked him if he'd had a good week. They'd talked a couple times while she was away, but she turned around in the passenger seat so she could look him in the face when she asked.
"Yeah. Missed you guys though," he said and she was glad to hear it. He told her he'd just been swimming a lot and helping out with the new babies. Charlotte asked how they were, how everyone was. Wyatt asked if he wanted to go to the batting cages later. Joshua smiled and said sure and told him he dug the cowboy hat.
They stopped for burgers to kill some time, waiting to go pick up Karis. Joshua wore the cowboy hat now, as they sat outside in the afternoon steam of late-July in the south. They were near the river and would occasionally benefit from the water-breezes.
"It's a family cowboy hat," Charlotte said, patting her son's leg.
"So are you my stepdad or my baseball coach once school starts back?" Joshua asked, dipping his fries into salt and spicy mustard, the only way he ate them.
"Whichever one you want," Wyatt said, smiling.
"Lemme think about it. I'll get back to you," Joshua said, with a full mouth. Charlotte let it slide.
When they were leaving, Joshua raised an eyebrow at Charlotte's new belt buckle and she felt her cheeks pinking. She pulled her tank top down a little, told him it was a joke present from Wyatt. Whispered I love it into Wyatt's ear when Joshua wasn't looking.
Karis and her bags were waiting on the porch when they pulled up this time. She got in the back, buckled up and said hi to everyone. Said her mom wasn't home anymore. Wyatt asked her how theatre camp was. Joshua asked her if she wanted to wear the hat.
"I don't know what that means but yes," she said. Joshua tapped the hat on her head and Charlotte turned around and watched Karis' hoop earrings swing as she turned from side to side. Watched her tiny, pretty face get shadowed under her daddy's new hat.
"You look like a real cowboy," Charlotte said.
"I feel like a real cowboy," Karis said back.
After everyone was settled in the house, Charlotte made popcorn on the stove in her new kitchen. She made it with extra butter and salt and asked everyone to come sit in the living room. There were boxes that needed to be unpacked and lots of cleaning to be done for the double birthday party they would be throwing for the kids in a couple of days.
"I love all of you and we're gonna make this work. No. It's already working," she said to them, tilting her head at her new family. She handed everyone their own bowl of popcorn—heavy white ceramic with POPCORN written on the edges in thin lipstick-red paint. Charlotte's bawdy brass belt buckle was blazing like light from her middle and she bit her bottom lip so she wouldn't cry. She shoved all of her feelings into the overflowing suitcase of her heart, sat on it and smashed it down so she could close it, snap it shut.
Wyatt stood up and put his arm around her. Joshua and Karis looked at them, then at each other. Karis was quiet and offered a small smile. She pecked at the popcorn in her cupped hand, like a little bird. Joshua rolled his eyes and said Mom, stop. You're not going to cry are you?
"Okay. Okay. I'm sorry. Put the family hat back on, cowboy," she said to Wyatt. He said yes ma'am, picked it up from the table, set it on his head and tipped it real slow.
Leesa Cross-Smith is a homemaker and the editor of a literary magazine called WhiskeyPaper. Her debut short story collection, Every Kiss A War, is available now through Mojave River Press. Find more at LeesaCrossSmith.com
MORE: Twitter | Website | Whiskey Paper
LF #052 © Leesa Cross-Smith. Published by Little Fiction | Big Truths, October 2013.
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Ontario securities regulator slams Binance after crypto exchange claims it can continue operating there
Binance users in Canada are getting mixed signals on whether the exchange can or cannot operate in the country.
On December 29, Binance users in the province of Ontario began flagging updates they had been receiving from the exchange. The updates, which representatives for Binance have confirmed as authentic to The Block, say that they no longer need to close accounts by the end of December.
After being contacted by The Block regarding those updates, the Ontario Securities Commission released a statement saying in no uncertain terms: "Binance is not registered in Ontario."
"This is unacceptable," the announcement continued. "No entity in the Binance group of companies holds any form of securities registration in Ontario."
Binance based its statement on its recent registration as a money services business with Canada's anti-money laundering authority, FinTrac. FinTrac is a federal MSB regulator, unlike in the US, where most crypto exchanges operate on the basis of MSB registrations with various state overseers.
In its announcement, Binance referred to "ongoing and positive cooperation with Canadian regulators." The firm further said its MSB license "allows us to continue our operations in Canada and resume business in Ontario while we pursue full registration."
The meaning of "full registration" was unclear at the time. A representative for Binance told The Block that "we are making an application with IIROC to be a securities and derivatives dealer in Canada." The IIROC is the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, a self-regulatory organization.
Following the publication of this article, a representative from Binance told The Block:
"Unfortunately, there has been a miscommunication. Earlier in the week we notified users in Ontario that they did not need to close their accounts by December 31, 2021 following discussions with the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada and the Alberta Securities Commission regarding registration across Canada. However, we did not meet directly with the Ontario Securities Commission about our intentions, which was clearly an error that we are correcting. We will provide updated guidance to users as soon as possible."
Binance had taken steps to end access in Ontario in June of this year, a reaction to a Canada-wide policy of restricting crypto trading to exchanges registered with securities authorities.
The Canadian Securities Administrators — which unites provincial securities authorities, the biggest of which is the Ontario Securities Commission — began cracking down on custodial exchanges earlier this year. The operative principle is that custodial accounts represent securities agreements with crypto exchanges, even if the cryptocurrencies involved are not necessarily securities.
A similar controversy played out this month in Singapore. In that locale, Binance had operated both through its global exchange and via a Binance Singapore affiliate, neither of which had the necessary registrations to offer crypto trading. © 2021 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.
Categories Crypto News Tags Binance, claims, continue, Crypto, Exchange, Ontario, operating, regulator, Securities, slams Post navigation
Crypto's curious case of stolen identity
Ontario issues warning over crypto trading platform Binance


Unfiltered Access will be highlighting the stories of the Rochester Red Wings and their opponents on their journey this season. Unfiltered Access will be providing exclusive interviews, prospect updates, and a breakdown of the triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins.
The Wings managed to get to .500 going into a weekend series against the New York Yankees triple-A affiliate Scranton/Wilkes Barre RailRiders. The 35-35 Wings have struggled mightily as of late, especially at home as the bats have been nearly non-existent. Despite the lack of pop at the plate, the Wings have still received strong pitching performances including a lights-out start by Zack Littel on June 22. Littel settled in after walking the first batter of the game to go 6.2 innings of shutout baseball. The right-hander's era on the season would drop down to 3.05.
Former Minnesota Twins Minor League Player of the Year, Zack Granite, has seen his playing time take a dip. The lack of playing time can be related to his struggles at the dish and notable Minnesota Twins gold-glove center fielder Byron Buxton joining the Wings on a rehab assignment. Granite had 175 plate appearances without an RBI coming into June 22nd. Pinch-hitting for Buxton in the 10th inning, Granite finally broke through with his first RBI of the season, securing a Wings 2-1 walk-off win over the Syracuse Chiefs.
This is just down right unbelievable.
Byron Buxton singled on a hard lined drive to left field and landed on second.
His time from home-to-second was 7.36.
The Red Wings are currently fourth in the International League North Divison, 5.5 games behind the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (PHI).
Unfiltered Access will continue to update information on the Red Wings as information emerges.


This report, developed with support from the Ford Foundation, highlights 11 communities from across the country that have conceptualized and deployed community wireless networks to achieve different goals. In addition to offering case studies of the 11 communities, the report examines the evolution of wireless technology and explores lessons learned by communities that have implemented these networks.
This document summarizes the best practices identified by interviewees of the report. Further detail can be found in the report itself at the link above.


What's on Your Tarantula Wish List?
Discussion in 'Tarantula Chat' started by MichiganReptiles, Jun 19, 2010.
This is what I currently have on my wish list, in no particular order.
And maybe some kind of pokie.
Those are all I'm really looking at getting right now. And the Atlanta Repticon is coming up so we'll see if a can scratch a couple off that list.
Great list! other than the H. mac I'll never own one. But I'm not saying you shouldn't.
P.ornata.....will be able to cross this one off "want" list soon.
Xenesthis immanis or just about any of the few spp available.
I guess no 1 would actually be to get my female pulchra back. No 2 would be no more friggin escapes for cryin out loud! 2 in a two month period. I've kept several + hentzi over the past 30 years and only had 1 other escape which was found- as my klugi recently was.
Anything big, female, and relatively inexpensive excluding overly common species. What's always on my list are Aphonopelma species. I was just reminded of the existence of A. bicoloratum. That will be a priority if I see it at a show. Maybe a female Poecilotheria of any species would be a nice replacement for the male P. regalis who's probably going to mature next molt, but I'm not made of money, so that likely won't happen for a while.
I want to get it to ~50 spiders and quit adding anything to my collection for a year.
Oops, forgot H. mac and S calceatum. They'd be near the bottom, though.
*** - If anyone has these, and are willing to part with them, P.M. me ASAP.
I knew that posting this would lead me to Ts I hadn't heard of yet Thanks!
I was just reminded of the existence of A. bicoloratum. That will be a priority if I see it at a show.
I forgot to add that to my list. Thanks for reminding me.
Another one I didn't know about.
I'm sorry about your escapes. Are they still roaming your house?
I need more Avics.. 4 just isnt enough!
Not always, but this more often pertains to long-time collectors and breeders. New sp and rarities are a hot commodity there and understandably so. My hat's off to 'em but I'll stick to what I have along with the few terrestrials and even fewer arboreals in my want list.
M peterklaasi brought to memory by Cass is very interesting and mesomelas is about the best looking t out there. However, I'm not ready for this cool temp, wet loving genera which IMO =mold and/or fungus amongus.
GBB are cool but colors tacky and a bit too shocking. I'll name it pennywise if I get one.
P. ornata is FERRIKIN AWESOME!


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Hollywood Hospital Grinds to a Halt Thanks to Ransomware
The Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center's computer system has been offline for more than a week.
February 16, 2016 10:40AM EST
Hackers are holding a Southern California hospital for ransom following a recent cyber attack.
The Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center's computer system has been offline for more than a week as computer forensics experts, the FBI, and Los Angeles Police Department investigate.
Staff began noticing "significant IT issues" on Friday, when the hospital declared an internal emergency, CEO Allen Stefanek told NBC4 last week.
Now, computer-based tasks are being carried out via pen and paper. Hundreds of patients were diverted to nearby hospitals, while others have simply missed treatments. The Radiation and Oncology departments, meanwhile, are temporarily shut down.
It remains unclear what type of malware took down the LA medical center's network. But hackers are reportedly demanding a ransom of 9,000 Bitcoins, or about $3.6 million.
According to Softpedia, the ransomware may have spread to a number of hospital computers via a local LAN server, or the attackers are simply exploiting the infection of a small number of key machines.
There is no indication that any patient or employee data—including lab work, X-rays and CT scans, or medical records—was compromised.
Ransomware on the Rise
The Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center's website is still online.
Ransomware usually suggests that an employee on the inside clicked on a bad link or downloaded a malicious attachment. The software then takes over and locks the system, and hackers demand money for its return.
This type of attack recently forced Israel's Electricity Authority to shut down its PCs.
Will Mattel's 3D Printer Mean the Death of the Toy Store?
LG Teases Stylus 2, X Phones Before MWC


Choose from hundreds of items to screen print or embroider: t-shirts, polos, denims, dress twills and oxfords, jackets, hats, totes, aprons and more! Please note: We do not imprint "Individual Names" for teams. We do carry numbers, 8" high, in black or white only. Turn around time is 10 working days or less for custom screen printing or embroidery orders. The minimum order size is 12 items.
Click here to get a custom estimate from any item in these wearables catalogs. Especially for items not advailable for quoting on our Instant Quoter.


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Nevada, USA
59°F / 37°F
Wind: 5mph ENE
Tomorrow, in Henderson, bright and sunny weather is also expected.
The maximum temperature will be a mild 59°F (15°C), while the minimum temperature will be a wintry 37.4°F (3°C).
The highest temperature tomorrow will be a few degrees higher than the average maximum temperature in January.
Sunrise will be at 6:43 am and sunset at 5:02 pm; tomorrow's daylight will last for 10h and 19min.
Wind: 15mph S
On Sunday, in Henderson, a primarily bright and cloudless sky is expected.
The highest anticipated temperature is an enjoyable 60.8°F (16°C), while the lowest temperature will be a cold 41°F (5°C).
It will be warmer, and the maximum temperature will be more in line with February's average highest temperature of 59.4°F (15.2°C) than January's of 54.5°F (12.5°C).
Sunrise will be at 6:42 am and sunset at 5:03 pm; the daylight will last for 10h and 21min.
What is the weather forecast for Henderson for Sunday?
On Sunday, in Henderson, mostly bright and sunny weather is expected.
What will be the maximum temperature on Sunday in Henderson?
On Sunday, the maximum temperature in Henderson will be 60.8°F (16°C), while the minimum temperature will be 41°F (5°C).
What is the weather forecast for Henderson for the next ten days?
In Henderson, a combination of sunny, rainy and cloudy weather is anticipated for the next ten days.
Will it rain in the next ten days in Henderson?
Rainfall is predicted only for Monday. With a probability of 30%, minimal precipitation of 0.04" (1mm) is expected.
How warm will it be in the next ten days in Henderson?
The maximum temperature will vary between 48.2°F (9°C) and 62.6°F (17°C), while the minimum temperature will range between 30.2°F (-1°C) and 41°F (5°C).
What will be the warmest and the coldest days in Henderson?
The warmest days will be next Saturday and Sunday, with a maximum of 62.6°F (17°C). The coldest day will be Monday, with a maximum of 48.2°F (9°C).
10 days weather forecast - Henderson, NV
6:44 am 5:01 pm PST
AM Showers
Wind: 11mph NNE
For the next ten days, a combination of sunny, rainy and cloudy weather is predicted.
With a 30% probability, rainfall is forecasted only for Monday. Expected precipitation will be minimal at 0.04" (1mm).
Temperature variation will be noticeable in the upcoming days. The highest temperature will vary between 48.2°F (9°C) and 62.6°F (17°C), while the lowest temperature will range between 30.2°F (-1°C) and 41°F (5°C).
The warmest days in Henderson, Nevada, will be next Saturday and Sunday, with a maximum of 62.6°F (17°C); the coldest day will be Monday, with a maximum of 48.2°F (9°C).
Henderson, Nevada - Detailed weekend and 10-day weather forecast. Long-term weather report - including weather conditions, temperature, pressure, humidity, precipitation, dewpoint, wind, visibility, and UV index data. [2371040]


The AI:ME teaser sketch shows a hatchback with a sweeping windscreen.
Audi said its AI:ME design study demonstrates is vision for a self-driving city car for megacities.
The concept will have its public debut at the Shanghai auto show on April 16.
Audi released design sketches of the car, which show a hatchback with a sporty stance and a large sweeping windscreen.
The concept will showcase Audi's AI or artificial intelligence developments.
Audi gave no other details ahead of the concept's Shanghai debut.
The AI:ME has an upright rear end and flared wheel arches.
Audi is fighting to retain leadership of the premium-car market in China, where rivals Mercedes-Benz and BMW have almost closed the sales gap.
Audi sold just over 663,000 vehicles in China last year, narrowly beating out Mercedes with 653,000. BMW Group sold about 640,000 vehicles including Mini.
Executives say that technology leadership will play a key differentiating factor particularly in China, where electrification and connectivity are developing faster than other major markets such as Europe and the United States.


As a seaside town, Liverpool is a cultural hub in the United Kingdom. Guinness World Records bestowed the title of "World Capital City of Pop" on the city, and for 2008 it was the European Capital of Culture. Liverpool isn't just churning out pop music gods; a number of notable authors make the city their home, or set their novels in the port town. Historically a working class port city, Liverpool boomed during the industrial revolution. The writing of authors born in the city is fueled by their own shared experiences of being part of, or associating with the lower classes. Liverpool authors often create insightful portraits into the personal struggles of the poor and working class during the 20th century.


Margaret's Hope Estate 2nd Flush Darjeeling. Margaret's Hope seems perhaps an odd name for a tea estate in the Darjeeling region of India. Established in 1864, the estate was originally called Bara Ringtong. But in 1927, the tea estate manager's daughter, a young Englishwoman named Margaret, visited. Margaret was so captivated by the tea estate and its scenic beauty that she wanted to make the estate her permanent home. For reasons never stated, she was forced to return to England. She died on the voyage home. Her grieving father renamed the estate Margaret's Hope in memory of the daughter who loved it so.
Today Margaret's Hope Tea Estate, is owned by the Goodricke Group, an Indian company headquartered in Kolkata (formerly Calcutta).
The 2015 2nd Flush Margaret's Hope Darjeeling I have been drinking is a lovely tea that I have been enjoying even more since, with a bit of experimentation, I discovered that brewing the tea as I would a green tea (water at 180 degree F. rather than at boiling as is usual for a black tea) produced a better-tasting tea.
One of the oldest tea gardens in Darjeeling, Margaret's Hope Estate is famed for its sublimely delicate First Flush variety, crafted from the first harvest of the year at the very beginning of spring. With its fragrant muscatel sweetness and bright, refreshing finish, this was one of the finest tea to be produced in 2015.
Today Margaret's memory is kept alive by the estate's world-famous First Flush, consistently excellent year after year.The tea is cultivated at altitudes of 915-1830m, primarily from the original China Jat bushes which would have been growing in Margaret's day. A good First Flush all depends on the level of rain that spring; a flood or drought can destroy the crop, so you can never be sure how the tea will turn out. When news came of this year's First Flush, picked in early April, we were all on tenterhooks as we waited for the first tasting.
We weren't disappointed - in fact, we were frankly bowled over by the results. As we'd expect from such a superior estate, this year's First Flush has the fresh, effervescent quality that many compare to champagne, with the pungent fruity fragrance of a fine muscatel wine and a lovely golden colour to the cup.
Wouldn't Margaret be happy to read that?
Cucumber Sandwiches. Despite E. M. Forster's A Passage to India's Adela Quested who voiced disdain for the savory for an Indian afternoon tea, I think a cucumber sandwich on lightly toasted buttered whole grain bread, with a bit of dill to flavor, is the perfect accompaniment to my cup of Margaret's Hope Darjeeling.
Serenade for Strings by Edward Elgar: Elgar was one of the most popular British composers of the 1920s when Margaret visited the tea estate that would later bear her name. Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance Marches, though associated with the height of the British Empire, might be a bit energetic for teatime background music. His Serenade for Strings much more appropriate.
A Passage to India by E. M. Forster. What better to read while sipping Margaret's Hope darjeeling than A Passage to India by English author E. M. Forster? His 1924 novel is set against the backdrop of the British India in the same era in which Margaret made her 1927 visit to India. You might also like to view David Lean's 1984 Academy Award winning film based on the Forster novel.
image: workers gathering tea leaves at Margaret's Hope Estate. Photo courtesy Whittard of Chelsea, UK. Tea merchants since 1886.


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Uncommon Ideas
The rest is in the pages of Common Good.
Amazon's 'Rings of Power' Deserved Its Hype — and Its Criticism
Austin M. Freeman
When it comes to the streaming giant's first colossal series, let's meet somewhere in the middle.
The Rings of Power, whose first season is now complete, lands us in the second age of Middle-earth, centuries before Bilbo's unexpected journey and Frodo's destruction of the One Ring. But it's not an entirely unfamiliar story. Based on 20th-century scholar and author J.R.R. Tolkien's fictional world, the show introduces characters that even casual fans know well, elves like Galadriel and Elrond, and possibly Gandalf, too. And the show gives life to other lands and peoples that were long gone by Bilbo and Frodo's time on Middle-earth: We meet Isildur, ancestor of Aragorn the true king of Gondor, we see Numenor for ourselves, and we visit the region of the Southlands before it becomes Mordor. The showrunners meet the challenge of following Peter Jackson's trilogy adaptation (and stay true to much of Jackson's beloved world). But the most difficult challenge, as is always the case with an adaptation of a beloved story, may be satisfying the imaginations of Tolkien's most loyal followers.
But now that the most expensive television series ever made has had the space to form a full-season story arc, we can survey exactly where we stand in what had heretofore been a wilderness of speculation. It seems many of the worst rumors trickling along the sleepy byways of Tolkien fandom proved unfounded. Wokeism did not rule the day; Galadriel did not remain a petulant and vengeance-driven loner. But other dark forces nevertheless gathered power, not the least of which were silly narrative decisions and stilted dialogue. But to totally condemn Rings of Power is to miss a more important lesson Middle-earth can teach us: that even the most wretched creature has sparks of goodness waiting to be fanned to life.
Who decides how to interpret Tolkien's works? Who decides which parts are "true"? Fans are divided when it comes to this gatekeeping, perhaps between loyalty to Tolkien himself and loyalty to the sort of concerns Tolkien inspires. But that is a charitable interpretation of the division. Others might say the line lies between true fans and false fans, and that it is the duty of a true fan, with Gondor-like energy, to maintain the purity of Tolkien's vision amid the grasping hordes of the bandwagon.
Tolkien's legendarium has by and large remained polite, if not always politic. And we should heed the words of Gandalf in The Return of the King: "Work of the Enemy! … Such deeds he loves: friend at war with friend; loyalty divided in confusion of hearts."
Let us assume, then, for the sake of argument, that the criticisms of Rings of Power are all justified, every one of them. Let us agree that it is a twisted, malformed, and loathsome creature spawned by the greed and lust for domination of the Dark Lord Bezos. Let us believe it comes masquerading as an angel of light, a mechanized and manipulative product of the soulless entertainment industry. Let's agree Rings of Power is the Gollum of Tolkien adaptations.
But what does Tolkien himself have to say about Gollum?
The grievous failure
The answer to this question cuts to the very heart of The Lord of the Rings itself, and has given rise to one of its most famous passages. Early in this story, before he has met Gollum for himself or even left the Shire, Frodo finds the possibility of kindness toward Gollum almost incomprehensible. "I can't understand you ... at any rate he is as bad as an Orc, and just an enemy," he remarks to Gandalf. "He deserves death."
When it comes to Amazon's adaptation, many a Tolkien fan can surely empathize with Frodo's confusion here: Isn't it true that Rings of Power has turned the Elves into corporate businessmen? Has it implied that all white men are untrustworthy? How could it hint at a romance between Galadriel and Sauron? Should we not suspect that the earnest admiration of the showrunners merely hides a consumerist agenda?
But fewer of these fans are willing to countenance Gandalf's response to Frodo in the same moment:
Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many — yours not least.
Tolkien's Gollum is a conflicted soul, drawn almost as much to the memory of goodness that Frodo's kindness begins to rekindle in him as he is compelled to self-destruction by the One Ring. Gollum has a deep longing for life to be otherwise, for something that will release him from the tedious monotony of hatred and materialism. Nobody, not least Frodo himself, would have expected that.
Yet Gollum even comes to the precipice of repentance, as we find him on the stairs of Cirith Ungol. Contemplating the peaceful sleep of the two friends, Frodo and Sam, Gollum is overcome by love.
A spasm of pain seemed to twist him, and he turned away, peering back up towards the pass, shaking his head, as if engaged in some interior debate. Then he came back, and slowly putting out a trembling hand, very cautiously he touched Frodo's knee — but almost the touch was a caress.
But Gollum's gentle touch causes Frodo to stir, and Sam, ever protective, wakes to find Gollum crouching over them. In suspicion he chastises Gollum, and this breaks the spell of sanctity, which was at that moment just flickering into existence. Gollum's walls go back up. "The fleeting moment had passed, beyond recall," Tolkien writes.
This is the passage that Tolkien himself has said to be the most heartbreaking. In his Letters, he finds himself "most grieved by Gollum's failure (just) to repent when interrupted by Sam: this seems to me really like the real world in which the instruments of just retribution are seldom themselves just or holy; and the good are often stumbling blocks." The grievous failure here is not primarily Gollum's thwarted repentance, but Sam's responsibility for pushing him further away.
Keeping the gate
I would argue that the situation in which Tolkien fans find themselves with Rings of Power is much the same. There is, after all, a reason why it is Middle-earth, more than any other realm, that was chosen for Amazon's flagship prestige fantasy series. Audiences, and showrunners too, can feel something is there — an aura of metaphysical health that pervades this fictional world, which makes goodness attractive to a society that by and large has evacuated that term of any robust content.
However, in our rush to defend our dear master, we have taken on the role of Sam, and I fear we may be unwittingly quashing what could otherwise be a burgeoning sense of the sacred.
Sam's devotion to Frodo becomes his pride: "He did not think of himself as heroic or even brave, or in any way admirable — except in his service and loyalty to his master." The gravest vice in The Lord of the Rings, in fact, is this transformation of loyalty into a devotion that becomes possessive.
This same protective resentment has beset the community of Tolkien readers and scholars, and perhaps it has blinded some or many of us from being able to foster the real but inchoate longing for transcendence that lies beneath Middle-earth's enduring popularity. Tolkien himself has acknowledged the realness of this in his Letters: "If sanctity inhabits his work or as a pervading light illumines it then it does not come from him but through him. And neither of you would perceive it in these terms unless it was with you also." Many Tolkien fans are explicitly hostile to the faith, and tragically ignorant of the fact that the deepest desire they feel to commune with the light they find in Middle-earth is available to them here, in the real world. Likewise, will the church show this to them, or will we instead conform to the stereotype they already hold, a tribe both stultified and condemnatory?
Now, this is not to say that audiences will find that sense of the sacred in Rings of Power itself. At best, the show has provided only brief glimpses of a distinct Tolkienian atmosphere. But stumbling upon a morsel of lembas, they ask us where they can find more of the same. Instead, they meet derision and contempt. Instead, like Sam, we move too swiftly to condemn a Gollum than nurture a Sméagol.
A better path to tread
It is, after all, Sam's own experience of the hollow gnawing hunger of the One Ring, of its modernist solipsism, that finally allows him to understand Gollum, to see him for Gollum and for Sméagol:
But deep in his heart there was something that restrained him: he could not strike this thing lying in the dust, forlorn, ruinous, utterly wretched. He himself, though only for a little while, had borne the Ring, and now dimly he guessed the agony of Gollum's shrivelled mind and body, enslaved to that Ring, unable to find peace or relief ever in life again. But Sam had no words to express what he felt.
The chief virtue of The Lord of the Rings is pity, by which Sam spares Gollum's life and leads directly to the destruction of the Ring. And who knows what paths providence will choose for viewers of Rings of Power to find their true freedom in Christ? Will we learn the lessons of Master Samwise?
As we discuss the series, then, we might do better to remember the words of Tolkien at another crucial juncture, later in the life of our new heroine, Galadriel of the Noldor. Much as many of Tolkien's fans today feel a genuine sense of outrage at the implication that their beloved Middle-earth could have anything to do with a bigoted and hateful faith, Gimli the Dwarf readied himself to hate everything to do with the Elves. But in finally meeting the eyes of the Lady, "it seemed to him that he looked suddenly into the heart of an enemy and saw there love and understanding. Wonder came into his face, and then he smiled in answer."
This story is from Common Good issue
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Government - City
City of Fort Walton Beach
Fort Walton Beach is a seaside community in Okaloosa County, Florida bordered by the Santa Rosa Sound to the south and Choctawhatchee Bay and Cinco Bayou to the north.
107 Miracle Strip Pkwy SW
Fort Walton Beach, FL 32548-6614
Mary Esther City of
City of Mary Esther
195 N Christobal Rd
Mary Esther, FL 32569-1911
Shalimar Town of
Town of Shalimar
2 Cherokee Rd
Cinco Bayou Town of
10 Yacht Club Dr NE
Cinco Bayou, FL 32548-4436
Heritage Park & Cultural Center, City of Fort Walton Beach
We are an educational and cultural institution of long standing traditions. It is our mission to preserve, interpret and present the prehistory and history of the FWB community and the NW Florida area from 14,000 B.C. through the 1950's.
139 Miracle Strip Pkwy SE
Fort Walton Beach Library
We are located at 185 Miracle Strip Parkway SE, Fort Walton Beach, FL in historical downtown Fort Walton Beach. (850) 833-9590; library@fwb.org.
Fort Walton Beach Police Department
The Fort Walton Beach Police Department is a full service Department. The Department operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. The Department maintains a Patrol Division, Community Policing Unit, Criminal Investigation Division, Crime Scene Investigation, Special Weapons and Tactics T
7 Hollywood Blvd NE
Park & Recreation Department, City of Fort Walton Beach
The Recreation and Cultural Services Department is committed to permanently preserving, protecting, maintaining, improving, and enhancing the City's parkland and recreation opportunities!
132 Jet Drive
Fort Walton Beach Housing Authority
Our mission : Develop Quality, Affordable, Safe & Sanitary Housing Opportunities for individuals & families. Serving over 1,200 clients, we strive to enhance the lives of each resident to promote independence long term.
27 Robinwood Dr SW


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American soldier; born in New York city Jan. 23, 1863; educated in the public schools. He joined the regular army as a private in 1885, and was appointed second lieutenant, Second Artillery, in 1889. Graduating from the Artillery School in 1894, he became first lieutenant, Fourth Artillery, in 1895, and was transferred to the Second Artillery in the same year. In 1898 he was promoted captain and quartermaster, and since 1903 has been stationed at Washington, D. C., as major-quartermaster.
American Jewish Year Book, 5665, p. 2.


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PV Crystalox Solar to return cash to shareholders
PV Crystalox Solar saw shares rise strongly on Monday morning following news that is to return some of its cash pile to shareholders.
In an interim management statement, the manufacturer of components for solar power cells, announced: "The group has a strong net cash balance and the board is continuing to reorganise the group, to enable the return of cash to shareholders. The board expects to make a further announcement before the year end."
At the end of June, the company, which manufactures components for solar power cells, had €122.4m of cash. Sandeep Deshpande, analyst at house broker JP Morgan, estimates that it will have net cash of €87.6m or 17p a share at the end of 2012.
There are hopes that the company will return most or all of this cash to shareholders, possibly as part of a long-term plan to wind down the company, which is bleeding money in an exceedingly tough market for its products.
While the amount to be returned is uncertain, what is clear is that its trading position continues to deteriorate owing to vast overcapacity in the photo voltaic market. Spot wafer prices have continued to fall and are now 76% below the level of April 2011 and remain significantly below industry production costs.
About this the company commented: "In response to such market conditions, the group adopted a cash conservation strategy 12 months ago and reduced production volumes. Shipment volumes for the full year are now expected to be in the range of 100-105MW which is at the lower end of the 100-120MW range indicated at the time of our interim results on 16 August 2012.
"While the group has maintained its average selling prices significantly above spot levels, the board continues to expect that the group will incur an operating loss in the second half of this year."


See the Latest Starfish Accessories for your coastal jewelry collection. Teramasu has one of the best starfish jewelry collections of any boutique in the south.
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This is the Teramasu starfish jewelry collection, and the first piece we're going to look at is this starfish charm necklace. It has a starfish on it, and it also has a shell with crystals and seahorse with crystals. And then it has another starfish over here in gold. And that's one of our starfish jewelry collection pieces. We also have starfish necklaces in clear and multi-color, and they feature the triple-stranded necklace with beaded pearls and also, it has the triple starfish medallion at the bottom, which has the little faux pearl in the center along with the crystals on each piece. One of our most popular pieces in our collection is the starfish charm bracelet, which features the shells, the faux shells, faux pearls, and the starfish. Also, we have the clear starfish beaded bracelet, which is a stretch bracelet, and this comes in three different colors: the clear and the multi-color coral and green and the turquoise on the right over here. We also have the starfish sea life bracelet, which is a triple-stranded bracelet, which has a fish and a seahorse and also the starfish on the end and the seahorse in the middle. And they're all studded in crystals. And we have the two starfish charm bracelet. It actually has two starfish on it. It has a small starfish here, and then it has the larger starfish. And it also comes in the turquoise and green colors. So that's our starfish jewelry collection. And you can find the starfish jewelry collection at teramasu.com. And this is the perfection collection for a trip that you have coming up, maybe for a cruise or if you're going to a resort vacation. This is the perfect accessory to wear, the starfish jewelry at Teramasu.


Six vehicles won the red dot award 2008.
With its successful performance at the red dot award 2008, BMW Group continues its career of excellence in pioneering design.
This year, a total of six members of the BMW Group won the internationally acclaimed lable. Two of them, the BMW 3 Series Convertible and the BMW G 450 X motorcycle also won awards in the special category "red dot: best of the best" for outstanding design achievements in the automotive, transport and caravan segment.
The trophies will be presented on 23 June, 2008 on occasion of the awards ceremony at the Aalto Theatre in Essen/Germany.
Other finalists for the red dot awards 2008 were the BMW X 5, the BMW 1 Series Coupe, the Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe and the BMW HP2 Sport motorcycle. BMW Group globally operating subsidiary BMW Group DesignworksUSA also impressed the highprofile members of the jury.
The design studio won a red dot award for the interior design of the Embraer MSJ business jet and the design of the Zeydon Z60 luxury yacht. For the first time in the history of the red dot awards, the jury will provide "honourable mentions" during this year's ceremony.
With these honourable mentions, the jury will pay special attention to products that have clearly set themselves apart from the competition by their particularly successful design solutions.
According to the jury, three current BMW Group models deserve this special recognition: the BMW M3 Coupe, the MINI Clubman and the BMW F 800 GS motorcycle.
Launched in 1955, the red dot award has become established as one of the most important design awards in the world.
Thirty red dot awards are granted to contenders in the automotive, transport and caravan category, three of which are also presented with the "best of the best" award for particularly pioneering design.
Two of these top three are current members of the BMW Group family: the BMW 3 Series Convertible, which reinterprets the classic line flow of an open BMW 3 Series by combining it with a retractable hardtop, and the BMW G 450 X motorcycle, a no-nonsense sports enduro that openly displays it zest for contest.
The repeated great success of BMW Group with the red dot awards again confirms that outstanding design quality will be rewarded with international recognition.
Last year, BMW Group was honoured for its ongoing, innovative design achievement; as a highlight of the gala, BMW Group was presented with the title "Design Team of the Year". In 2007, BMW Group and BMW Group DesignworksUSA won a total of eight red dot awards for products design.
The fact that all models of all brands regularly contribute to the success of BMW Group during highly acclaimed design competitions such as the red dot award confirms the strength of BMW Group Design's unusual concept that combines a common design philosophy with brand-specific design strategies.
Dr. Klaus Draeger, Head of BMW Group's Development and Purchasing division to which BMW Group Design belongs said: "When we introduced a new concept, which would unite all our different brand design studios in the culture of BMW Group Design, we clearly made the right decision.
Expressing the fact that all our products belong to the family of BMW Group and ensuring the efficient cooperation with all process partners while boosting the unique personality of the individual brand can only be achieved when all team members are working closely together."
Without mentioning his plans to buy auto dealerships around the country, CEO of Dell Inc. Michael Dell told the Detroit Economic Club tthat he sees "opportunity all up and down the spectrum" in the auto industry.
The firm that manages Dell's personal fortune is launching a joint venture with former Charlotte, N.C.-based Sonic Automotive President Jeffrey Rachor to buy dealerships that sell premium and import brands.
"When people are panicking and don't really know what to do, that's probably the period of greatest opportunity from an investor's standpoint to make changes and do good things," Dell said during a question-and-answer session. "Now you have to have receptivity to change, and you have to embrace change, but what other choice do you have?"
Dell, 43, said he doesn't know if his company's computers will make it into vehicles, but that placing them there is sometimes discussed with automakers. Dell's investment deal with Rachor was announced last month. The venture, Chattanooga, Tenn-based MSD Automotive Partners L.L.C., is expected to invest in high-end luxury and import dealerships. One expert said the fund could invest as much as $500 million.
Dell discussed the future of his company, American competitiveness and technology during his appearance.
Technology is enabling small companies in places such as Michigan to take advantage of economic growth around the world, Dell said.
"It used to be that global companies were only the biggest companies in the world," he said. "We're seeing a lot of small- and medium-sized companies, particularly machine tool companies and equipment companies.
They might be based here in Michigan, but they also have an office in China, they've got one in India. Technology kind of enables this."
Dell spoke of the power of "compound innovations" that come from combining advances in a range of industries.
"We see our customers doing some amazing things with our products that we could never have imagined," he said.
The new TVS Flame has innovative DeltaEdge styling: The Embedded DeltaEdge trafficators give the bike a sporty finish. The chic DeltaEdge exhaust is not only unique but also enhances performance and is designed to deliver the smoothest of sounds and low emissions.
The bike flaunts an elegant backlit LCD digital console that prominently displays a fitness check indicator, and low fuel warning. This motorcycle also features an intelligent mileage indicator (IMI) that provides instantaneous mileage per litre data to the rider.
The rear end of the bike sports a dual lens tail lamp that is best in its class. The DeltaEdge styling coupled with snazzy dual tone graphics translates into an amazing road presence with an exceptional combination of power, mileage and stunning looks.
At the focal point of stunning and aerodynamic styling of TVS Flame sits a revolutionary four stroke 125 cc three-valve engine, which is propelled by unique dual induction system, coupled with a universally accepted and traditionally proven single spark plug ignition system.
This combination enables the bike to deliver the best performance in its class without any compromise on fuel economy.
The engine employs two separate induction ports called power port and swirl port to achieve this outstanding "no compromise" performance.
The power port creates tumble motion to the air-fuel mixture in the combustion chamber delivering excellent throttle response and power for quick acceleration.
The swirl port achieves extraordinary efficiency by utilising the unique flow of air-fuel mixture to burn extremely lean air-fuel mixtures in the combustion chamber, providing high efficiency in city riding conditions.
TVS brought this engine technology to Sri Lanka with the CCVTi engine. This engine has been developed and patented by AVL and licensed to TVS in India. AVL, Austria is the world leader in Internal Combustion Engine technology. AVL is the world's largest privately owned independent company, which develops power train systems and internal combustion engines.
AVL is a leading provider of technology to the global engine and automotive industry.
AVL has developed engines for most of the major automotive companies in the world. "When it comes to styling and special features, we are particularly proud of the styling of this motorcycle. For too long, international and contemporary styling has been restricted to motorcycles that are over-priced for today's young, aggressive and professional customers".
Now, Flame allows the consumers to break all compromises that they so far have been forced to make, whether on style, performance, mileage or price.
Saleen has unveiled an all-new supercar concept called the S5S Raptor. The new S5S Raptor is "primarily a street vehicle," according to Saleen, although it stresses that the Raptor's dynamic qualities "will not be compromised." Officials went on to say the Raptor "is designed to provide a truly American alternative to the European exotics."
Power will come from a mid-mounted 5.0-liter supercharged V-8 putting out 650 bhp at 6300 rpm and 630 lb.-ft. of torque at 4400 rpm.
The engine is designed to run on E85; what's more, unlike today's flex-fuel cars, this one is apparently dedicated to ethanol: "By using ethanol fuel, the powertrain is able to run higher compression and yield approximately 5 percent more horsepower than our normal 5.0-liter supercharged engine," the company says.
A 6-speed manual transmission will come standard in the Raptor, with a paddle-shift sequential gearbox optional.
The performance meter should be pegged: Saleen estimates 0-60 mph in 3.2 seconds, the quarter mile in 10.9 sec. and a top speed over 200 mph. The Raptor's aluminum chassis and composite body panels happen to be very similar in size to Ferrari's F430.
And although the new Saleen rides on a 106.3-in. wheelbase that's identical to the S7's, the Raptor is 13 in. shorter and 5 in. taller, the last dimension no doubt an attempt to make the new car more people-friendly.
Suspension is composed of double wishbones front and rear. The front brakes have 15.0-in. rotors with 6-piston calipers, while the rears are 13.0 in. with 2-piston calipers. Lots of rubber will keep this new Saleen glued to the road: 275/35R-20s up front and 315/35R-20s at the rear.
The S5S Raptor being a more road- and people-friendly car than the S7 Saleen expects to sell it for $185,000.
Toyota Motor Corp resently said on its battery joint venture with Matsushita Electric Industrial Co will start full-scale production of lithium-ion batteries in 2010 as it aims to roll out more electricity-driven cars over the next few years.
Toyota, the world's top maker of gasoline-electric hybrids, is keen to bring such vehicles into the mainstream by lowering their cost premium as more consumers around the world demand higher fuel economy amid record-high energy prices.
The battery venture, called Panasonic EV Energy Co, currently produces nickel-metal hydride batteries used in Toyota's hybrid vehicles, and is building two new factories to bring annual output capacity to 1 million batteries around 2010.
Toyota, which put the world's first hybrid car on the road in 1997, has a goal of reaching global annual sales of 1 million hybrid vehicles soon after 2010, more than double what it sold last year. It has sold a total 1.5 million hybrids since the first Prius hybrid was launched over a decade ago. Many big automakers are working in partnership with battery makers on developing vehicle-use lithium-ion batteries.


text:
To the Last Man
Book Overview:
The story follows an ancient feud between two frontier families that is inflamed when one of the families takes up cattle rustling. The ranchers are led by Jean Isbel and, on the other side, Lee Jorth and his band of cattle rustlers. In the grip of a relentless code of loyalty to their own people, they fight the war of the Tonto Basin, desperately, doggedly, to the last man, neither side seeing the futility of it until it is too late. And in this volatile environment, young Jean finds himself hopelessly in love with a girl from whom he is separated by an impassable barrier. (Summary by Wikipedia)
Book Excerpt:
. . .Then at an opportune moment he drew Jean away into the cedars out of sight.
"Son, I shore hate to make your home-comin' unhappy," he said, with evidence of agitation, "but so help me God I have to do it!"
"Dad, you called me Prodigal, an' I reckon you were right. I've shirked my duty to you. I'm ready now to make up for it," replied Jean, feelingly.
"Wal, wal, shore thats fine-spoken, my boy.... Let's set down heah an' have a long talk. First off, what did Jim Blaisdell tell you?"
Briefly Jean outlined the neighbor rancher's conversation. Then Jean recounted his experience with Colter and concluded with Blaisdell's reception of the sheepman's threat. If Jean expected to see his father rise up like a lion in his wrath he made a huge mistake. This news of Colter and his talk never struck even a spark from Gaston Isbel.
"Wal," he began, thoughtfully, "reckon there are only two points in Jim's talk I need. . . Read More
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- Liz - Dec 02, 2020
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- James (JD) - Oct 07, 2019
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- Julia - May 16, 2017
An adventure/romance set in the wilds of Arizona. A crisis builds between two feuding clans of ranchers and sheep-herders, that began years ago in Texas where the two fractious and antagonistic patriarchs grew up together. The action is non-stop as the tension increases, and the gorgeous natural env
- Mike (the Paladin) - Feb 07, 2011
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The book is much more of a romance than I look for. It reminds me tha