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REVIEW: A Heart of Blood and Ashes by Milla Vane
JanineDNF Reviewsbarbarian / diversity / Fantasy Romance / gods / LGBTQ / magical powers / POC / revenge / road-romance22 Comments
Disclaimer: A Heart of Blood and Ashes is dedicated in part to DA contributor and site owner, Jane, who read the manuscript and provided feedback on it. I have no personal relationship to the author myself. – Janine
Dear Milla Vane,
In the past I've had mixed luck with the books you wrote under the name Meljean Brook. Demon Angel was a DNF for me, but I liked the first three books in your Iron Seas series much better. My curiosity was piqued by your new barbarian fantasy romance series written under the name Milla Vane and I requested an ARC of the first novel in the series, A Heart of Blood and Ashes. Unfortunately, the book did not work for me. At 60% in, I'm calling it a DNF.
The plot concerns a journey and a proposed alliance / marriage between two people from opposing kingdoms. Maddek of Parsathe is a leader of a contingent of barbarians and son to the King and Queen of Parsathe. As the book opens, Maddek receives news of the death of his parents, and he soon learns that they were killed by Zhalen, the regent king of Syssia, while in Syssia to assess a potential bride for him as Parsathean tradition dictates.
Together with three other realms, Syssia and Parsathe comprise an alliance against a powerful and evil enemy known as Anumith the Destroyer. The alliance council has accepted testimony that Maddek's father assaulted a Syssian woman and his mother killed one of the Syssian princes. Zhalen's executions of Maddek's parents in retribution for these acts were therefore deemed legal. Maddek is certain these are only Zhalen's pretexts and he burns with the desire to avenge his parents.
The alliance council forbids Maddek to take revenge. The Destroyer is about to make a comeback and the alliance can't fracture if the five kingdoms are to defend themselves. But Maddek refuses to accept the council's ruling and when he learns that his parents were lured to Syssia by a letter from a Syssian princess proposing a marriage between herself and Maddek, he is determined to avenge himself not just on Zhalen and his sons, but also on Zhalen's daughter, Princess Yvenne.
Maddek learns that Yvenne is on her way to marry the king of Toleh. He and a group of his closest fellow soldiers intercept Yvenne and her brother's retinue. But when Yvenne kills her brother, an accomplice to the murders of Maddek's parents, Maddek's desire for vengeance on her cools very slightly—just long enough to allow Yvenne to state her innocence and propose their marriage.
Syssia is a matriarchal kingdom. Zhalen hid Yvenne's existence so as not to be deposed, locking Yvenne and her mother in a tower. Yvenne is only newly released in order to be married to the malleable king of Toleh. But in Syssia succession is matrilineal. If Yvenne marries Maddek and produces a child, she and Maddek can lay claim to the Syssian throne and take everything Zhalen values. It would be a crueler revenge than his death.
Maddek considers the idea and it stays his hand. He doesn't commit to the marriage, though, because he mistrusts Yvenne. She was the one whose letter lured his late parents to Syssia, however much she claims that she didn't mean them harm. And when Yvenne tells Maddek that his mother wanted a marriage between them, he doesn't believe her. Yvenne is small and physically weak, and his parents sought a warrior queen for him.
But though he thinks she's lying, Maddek believes in Yvenne's enmity toward her father. And he recognizes that if she is telling the truth, marrying her and producing an heir would be the best revenge possible. Maddek decides to bring Yvenne with him back to Parsathe but he is unwilling to listen to any more lies. He threatens to cut out Yvenne's tongue if she says anything more about his mother.
As Maddek, Yvenne, and his six closest warrior friends travel together, Maddek feels attracted to Yvenne. Yvenne has a quick mind and a strong will, and as she is exposed to the world outside her tower for the first time, she develops strength and wins the respect of Maddek's compatriots.
Because she's a virgin, Maddek and Yvenne can't have intercourse until the next full moon. To do otherwise would be to risk the wrath of Vela, the moon goddess. But they find other ways to satisfy their growing hungers. Yvenne also advises Maddek on how to be more than a warrior, how to become a future king. Maddek comes to like and respect her, but his distrust of her stands in their way.
As mentioned before, I quit this book at 60%. A big part of my disinclination to read further has to do with this fantasy world. The worldbuilding is detailed and therefore stronger than that of many fantasy romances, but it's also confusing. The location of the various kingdoms relative to one another befuddled me. Having a map would have helped.
The world was also off-putting. I think I'm just not into the barbarian thing. Occasionally the male characters wear only loincloths. Both the main and supporting characters eat giant millipedes, snakes, and on one occasion, raw lizards. Both the internal monologues and the dialogue are written in a style I came to think of as "barbarian speak" that didn't work for me. For example:
Before even three seasons had passed, however, the alliance council bade Maddek to return to the river with a message for Iova—the Rugusian king was dead—and resume command while that realm's affairs were sorted. Iova was to have returned when all was settled. Yet despite the passing of a winter, she had not.
And another example:
"What life would it be when every breath is of air that Zhalen still breathes? As a son, I cannot let their murders go unavenged. I cannot be part of an alliance that will turn their gaze from truth and say that justice has been done."
And a third:
"I will be your queen, warrior. And I look forward to the full moon, when the blood and wetness upon your cock are not my brother's but mine, after you have thrust your sword into my virgin sheath and spilled your seed. For when that seed takes root, we will have the vengeance we both desire."
As you can see from the last example, the book is earthy. The degree of earthiness was crude at times, but other readers might like it better than I did.
Additionally, mentions of Yvenne's "moon night," the anticipated loss of her virginity, are an ongoing refrain. Much of the times they touch, flirt or banter, Yvenne's "moon night" comes up. I suspect that the preoccupation with it was intended to whet the reader's appetite, but it made the characters seem like gossipy middle schoolers. When I searched for "moon night" on my kindle I came up with 33 instances. The frequent drumbeat got annoying after a while.
Although Maddek was handsome, physically strong and a pretty good leader to the warriors who traveled with him, I had an active dislike of him. At times he seemed obtuse, both in the way he missed some leadership opportunities that Yvenne had to point out to him and in the way he clung to his misconceptions about her.
Also, on their very first meeting, Maddek demanded that Yvenne (who has no sexual experience whatsoever and was locked in tower for most of her life) bring him to orgasm. He expected her to refuse (she didn't) but nevertheless, it read like an attempt to degrade her. That Yvenne was turned on didn't make it any less of a turn-off for me.
Then there is his unwillingness to hear out Yvenne where his mother is concerned. Maddek takes this to an unpleasant, even abusive degree.
At one point, just after they have been intimate, Yvenne opens up to Maddek about something her own mother told her. Maddek thinks she is speaking of his mother, not hers, and he sticks his hand in her mouth, grabs her tongue and yanks it as if to tear it out, hurting Yvenne.
Yvenne was a more appealing character than Maddek, with an insightful mind and strategic thinking. She didn't complain even when the journey became arduous despite her limited strength. She bantered with Maddek and his warriors. These were all admirable qualities but she too annoyed me, largely because she started to develop feelings for Maddek long before he began to treat her with affection. She was smarter and more perceptive than Maddek but her budding love for him undermined that. Since I felt Maddek was no prize, it was hard to respect her judgement.
At the 60% mark, I realized that I cared more about the external plot that had to do with the politics between the kingdoms and about Yvenne's history with Maddek's mother than about Yvenne and Maddek's romance. I ran out of patience with Maddek's mistrust and didn't much care about his fate. I liked Yvenne better, but not enough to keep reading.
My favorite characters were the six people in Maddek's entourage (aka his "dragon"), even though it was hard to remember who of them was who. Their camaraderie and easy rapport were some of the best things about the book.
Another thing that worked well was the atmosphere of the woody terrain through which the group travels, or of the tavern where they stop for a night. These places are well-described and effectively spooky or haunting at times. The unfamiliar life forms that populate the world aren't that easy to visualize, but the settings themselves are an adroit blend of the familiar and the new.
Still, what I read of the book rubbed me the wrong way. Other reviewers have liked it much better; I've seen multiple A grades for it. I think a big part of the issue here is that the barbarian world isn't one that I find romantic. A Heart of Blood and Ashes simply wasn't for me. DNF.
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Janine Ballard loves well-paced, character-driven novels in romance, fantasy, YA, and the occasional outlier genre. Examples include novels by Ilona Andrews, Mary Balogh, Aster Glenn Gray, Helen Hoang, Piper Huguley, Lisa Kleypas, Jeannie Lin, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Naomi Novik, Nalini Singh, and Megan Whalen Turner. Janine also writes fiction. Her critique partners are Sherry Thomas, Meredith Duran and Bettie Sharpe. Her erotic short story, "Kiss of Life," appears in the Berkley anthology AGONY/ECSTASY under the pen name Lily Daniels. You can email Janine at janineballard at gmail dot com or find her on Twitter @janine_ballard.
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::adds barbarian fantasy to "not interested" list already containing motorcycle clubs and mobsters::
This sounds like the old SNL skit "Lothar of The Hill People."
HelenB
I tried to read the introductory short story but it's not for me. I loved The Iron Duke series, barbarians not so much
@Jayne: This world just did not work for me. I wanted to like it better than I did. Maybe there's a barbarian book out there that I could really love, like i loved M. O'Keefe's books despite disliking the mob and motorcycle tropes, but I'm not going ot seek it out.
@Tanya: Heh. I don't remember that one.
@HelenB: I read the precursor novella that was published in the Berkley anthology years ago and while I didn't love the story and thought it was a bit too dark, I had no difficulty finishing and I thought it wasn't half bad. I think the world wasn't my cuppa then either, but since it was short it was easier to ignore that.
DiscoDollyDeb
You might try Kati Wilde's Deadlands books, starting with THE MIDWINTER MAIL-ORDER BRIDE. Barbarians, princesses, magic, and really hot sexy fun-times. Consistent but not overly complicated world-building. There are two sequels (same world, different characters) that are good but not as good as the first book.
MaryK
I liked the novella and preordered a copy of this one. It's now waiting until I have time to read it because the release date naturally fell at a time when I'm really busy.
Also, two thumbs up for THE MIDWINTER MAIL-ORDER BRIDE. :D
Is Jane going to come back to reviewing? Our reading tastes aligned about 90% of the time so I've been really missing her reviews.
@DiscoDollyDeb and @MaryK: I have not had the best luck with Kati Wilde. I didn't finish Going Nowhere Fast even though a lot of people loved it.
Tara Marie
I loved this book, the world building is incredible and yes, the story telling is gritty, but I expect that of a barbarian story.
I don't mind gritty in my fantasy novels, but that overwritten nonsense dialogue is a hard pass for me. Janine, thank you for saving me from buying this.
@Tara Marie: Thanks for offering a different perspective. A lot of readers and reviewers have loved this book so I encourage readers to try a sample and see if it works for them.
@Melusine: I should add that the last quote is describing something that has actually happened and not an awkward metaphor. Yvenne kills her brother and his blood is literally still on her hands when she uses them on Maddek.
Echou
I loved this book – I've never had that much exposure to barbarian fantasy, but I thought the world-building, characters (yes to Yvenne) and plot were epic.
@MaryK: I belatedly realized my comment might've sounded like a criticism. It wasn't meant to be and I'm sorry if it came across that way! The mention at the top of the post brought it to mind.
No worries. I didn't take it that way at all.
I am so on the fence about this book (despite being abt 1 week away from borrowing it from my library). OTOH, I am not exactly interested in or even familiar with Barbarian Romances. OTOH, I have read some good reviews for the book (that go beyond the fluffy/gushing type of review thar doesn't say anything really.)
Your review has given me pause. Especially because I have a feeling I will have the same issues you did with it. Not every book is for every reader, but hmmm.
@Ariadna: I'm an outlier. Most of the reviews have been glowing, and Brook is a good author. Like Helen B. I loved The Iron Duke. You have nothing to lose by getting it from the library so I recommend giving it a shot. I would love to hear what you think if you do that.
August 19, 2020 @ 11:08 am
I finished the book because I was interested enough in the plot, but OMG, the writing style. One thing that I don't think comes through in the review examples is the odd sentence structure. I get that it is intended to sound poetic, or archaic, or evoke "barbarian", but it mostly made it hard to read for me. "Never had sinking into heated water felt so fine", "never would his family conquer his people", "not once had Maddek journeyed home to Burning Plains", and, especially in the middle of the hot love scene: "endlessly his thick cock wedged deeper". I guess this is covered by the overall "overblown" feeling, but there were so many sentences where I had to stop and read twice because I could not make sense of them the first time round. The world was OK for me but reading it felt like a hard slog just because the language seemed so convoluted, so I'd probably skip the next book.
@MD: I felt somewhat similarly—the plot engaged me but the characters, the language and the world were all irritating to me.
And yes, the Yoda speak was a factor when it came to the latter. I had no trouble following the meaning of the sentences but I thought it read like an attempt at conveying barbarian too, and in my case it just sounded…. I'm not sure why, but the word immature comes to mind. Like an unimaginative, cliched and misguided attempt at conveying what another culture's language might sound like. In any case, it fell flat.
@Janine: Ah, you captured what I felt but didn't quite know how to put in words: yes, cliched and generally misguided attempt to convey another language and culture.
"Yoda speak" works for Yoda because he is an alien talking to the main characters. So maybe it's not his native language, or in any case he is clearly "other", even if in a good way. My English may sound a bit strange to a native speaker because I have an accent and I may make grammar mistakes or maybe use an odd turn of a phrase here and there. But in my native language, even though grammar rules are different, general principles of conversational speech are the same – short sentences, clear words, maybe some slang (or swear words, whatever). But the point is, I sound like a normal person.
Clearly the characters in the book are not speaking English :-) But they sometimes sound like caricatures of foreigners, as imagined by someone who never met a real foreigner. Like people who learned English (or whatever their language is) from poetry books and now they are using a lot of unnatural phrasings. This also marks them as "other" in some way, but for me it wasn't a good way. So I felt both distanced from the characters and vaguely uneasy about the way it seems to represent a foreign culture.
By definition any culture in a fantasy or sci-fi romance is different. But it works much better if the characters sound natural in English and the culture is conveyed through other means – whether this is invented words or other world building. I love the "Foreigner" novels by C.J.Cherryh where she takes on that directly – tow foreign cultures clash, she makes it very clear that the Atevi language is different from human languages in some very fundamental ways, but her Atevi characters sound "normal" – the cultural differences are conveyed through speech patterns in greetings, and in the Brent's (human translator) head trying to reason through them, but at the same time they sound like normal people because that how we all sound to ourselves in our heads.
Yes! English isn't my native language either, I wasn't fluent in it until I was eleven or twelve. And yeah. Some language grammars flip the order of subject and object, and some (like Latin) even have declensions that make it so the order doesn't matter, it's the declension that makes the difference as to whether a word is the object or the subject. I was fascinated with Latin in high school because "man bites dog" and "dog bites man" could be declined to mean the same thing.
BUT. In my experience native speakers don't speak in such a stilted way in their own languages, as they do here. The grammatical structure in this book also felt bedecked with a series of flourishes. Like formal rather than everyday languages. Anyway, it was not for me.
I wonder if it's because neither of us is a native speaker of English that it bugged us both? I never made that connection, I just knew that it didn't work for me.
I have not read Foreigner but a book that comes to mind is The Goblin Emperor, a fantasy novel (and an excellent one at that, I really recommend it). Katherine Addison used an invented grammar for the naming conventions and while they were difficult to get the hang of at first—the glossary that explains them at the end was very useful—once I did figure them out, they made perfect sense.
Otherwise the characters spoke in normal English, except for using the pronoun "we" in place of "I," with an exemption for close relatives, and the absence of contractions. The use of "we" did sound formal, but was used for formal relationships, so it worked. The absence of contractions seemed formal too but since the book took place in a palace and the hero was an emperor, it fit the book too. Also, as with Yoda, the characters were of a different species. The culture was different from our own and had a somewhat different grammar but it worked well for that book and for me it enhanced the reading experience rather than detracting from it.
@Janine: I loved Goblin Emperor! It was long enough ago that I don't remember the details of the language, but your examples make a great point. Naming conventions, whether it is titles or places, can say something about the society. Similarly the use of pronouns and making a distinction of the level of formality. These are parts of everyday English for us as well: we may use different forms of address depending on the formality of the situation and our relationship to the people involved, and we can switch depending on the situation. So your examples use a change to the grammer to convey specific meaning and difference in culture and contribute to both world building and character development.
But, for me at least, the weird sentence sturcture used in this book doesn't convey anything other than "these folks are not from here and therefore speak funny, even in their own heads", which probably particularly irritated me because I am a foreign language speaker as well, it's an interesting connection there.
But, for me at least, the weird sentence sturcture used in this book doesn't convey anything other than "these folks are not from here and therefore speak funny, even in their own heads"


The 2019 BASO AGM will be held in November. AGM date and venue will be announed soon.
The CSC will meet in February, May and October 2019 (all starting 11am, and will be held at the Royal College of Surgeons of England).


text:
Robert or Bob Bratton may refer to:

Robert Franklin Brattan (1845–1894), American politician
Robert Bratton (sound editor) (1918–2008), American sound editor
Robert Bratton, JP chairman, see 1954 Birthday Honours
Bob Bratton (banker), see First Charter Bank
Bob Bratton, sheriff, see Carty Finkbeiner

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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"University of Northern Iowa Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, October 8," by University of Northern Iowa. Faculty Senate.
University of Northern Iowa. Faculty Senate., "University of Northern Iowa Faculty Senate Meeting Minutes, October 8, 2018" (2018). Faculty Senate Documents. 1230.


text:
Land reform: 'new dawn' or class warfare?
Posted By: Mark McSherry March 16, 2016
The Scottish Government on Wednesday hailed a "new dawn" for radical land reform as the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill passed the final stage of the parliamentary process and Holyrood unveiled a new Scottish Land Fund with £10 million available to help community buy-outs.
However, landowners' organization Scottish Land & Estates appealed to the Scottish Parliament for an end to the "politics of confrontation" on land reform and to embrace the social, economic and environmental contribution land-based businesses make to rural life.
David Johnstone, chairman of Scottish Land & Estates, said "an incessant clamour for radicalism from land reform activists" had led to landowners being cast as the "whipping boys" in an increasingly hostile debate.
Johnstone said the debate had become "feverish" with "raw anti-landowner sentiment" coming to the fore.
The Scottish Government said the Scottish Land Fund will continue until 2020 and support has trebled to £10 million a year to help communities buy their own land.
Land Reform Minister Aileen McLeod urged communities to consider whether owning the land they live and work on could mean it could offer greater benefit for local people.
The previous Land Fund awarded £9 million over three years to 52 communities.
Of the 500,000 acres of land already in community ownership, over 90,000 acres was purchased with help from the Land Fund.
The Scottish Government said the Land Reform (Scotland) Bill will:
– Allow Ministers to create a public register of those with a controlling interest in land and increase the transparency around land ownership
– Encourage and support responsible, diverse land ownership
– Address issues of fairness, equality and social justice connected to the ownership of, access to and use of land in Scotland
– Introduce a new process to sell or assign farm tenancies, creating a secure route out of farming for those without a successor
"The passing of the Land Reform Bill is a landmark moment in our land reform journey," said Aileen McLeod, Minister for Environment, Climate Change and Land Reform.
"It is a result of many years of work to ensure our land is owned and used in the public interest and for the benefit of the people of Scotland.
"This radical legislation will make important changes to specific rights and responsibilities over land, including provisions to increase the transparency of land ownership, which have never before been seen in this country.
"It will allow us to provide guidance to landowners and tenants and allow communities to be involved when decisions are taken about land.
"The Bill will also remove the existing exemption of business rates for shooting estates and deer forests.
"This is a significant next step, but is not the end of our land reform journey — I want to do even more to help future generations benefit from our land.
"Going forward we will establish the Scottish Land Commission, publish a Land Rights and Responsibilities Statement and continue our work towards our one million acre target to community ownership by 2020."
Scottish Land & Estates' chairman David Johnstone said landowners had tried to be constructive, putting forward suggestions that would benefit rural economies, communities and tenant farming.
"Unfortunately, the debate has become feverish and instead of the focus being solely on delivering what is best for rural Scotland, time and again we have seen raw anti-landowner sentiment come to the fore," said Johnstone.
"This has led to increasing pressure on politicians to ramp up radicalism at a time when the Land Reform Bill was already going to produce legislation that would have far reaching and detrimental consequences for land-based businesses.
"We are now seeing the second Land Reform Bill being passed by the Scottish Parliament in little over a decade.
"Our members are not anti-land reform. We want land reform that brings about better use of land, rather than a tired, narrow debate that focuses only on who owns what.
"It is time to move on. Landowners are major employers in rural Scotland. We are the main providers of affordable rural housing.
"We are a key part of Scotland's tourism and country sports industries.
"We are central to the Scottish Government's aim to produce more renewable energy and we are in the vanguard of conservation management — including landscapes, habitats, wildlife and built heritage.
"We have a constructive and worthwhile role to play and all too often this is disregarded.
"We know that the majority of people who work with land businesses and visit estates enjoy it and are not calling for the heads of landowners so we hope that the passage of this Bill will end the politics of confrontation and we can be regarded as willing and enthusiastic partners in delivering prosperity in rural Scotland."
Johnstone said the Land Reform Bill still leaves many questions unanswered.
"We still do not know how the power for Ministers to intervene and enforce the sale of property to a community will work in practice.
"We don't know how the proposed re-introduction of non-domestic rates on sporting enterprises will impact on employment or conservation and the most contentious proposed changes to farm tenancy legislation are a recipe for disaster in the tenant farming industry.
"Our members will continue to make every effort locally and nationally to demonstrate that landowners and their businesses are part of the fabric of rural Scotland and hope that we can go forward into a new era of co-operation."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Movie Review: KNIVES OUT
Rating: PG-13 Stars: Daniel Craig, Chris Evans, Ana de Armas, Jamie Lee Curtis, Michael Shannon, Don Johnson, Toni Collette, LaKeith Stanfield, Katherine Langford, Jaeden Martell, Riki Lindhome, Edi Patterson, Frank Oz, K Callan, Noah Segan, M. Emmet Walsh, Marlene Forte Writer: Rian Johnson Director: Rian Johnson Distributor: Lionsgate Release Date: November 27, 2019 KNIVES OUT is at once the epitome of a modern drawing-room murder mystery, and a movie that turns some conventions inside out. There's a murder, and there's a mystery, but what we wind up trying to figure out isn't exactly what we expected. Director/writer Rian Johnson obviously […]Read On »
Movie Review: IMPERIUM
Rating: R Stars: Daniel Radcliffe, Toni Collette, Sam Trammell, Tracy Letts Writer: Daniel Ragussis, story by Michael German Director: Daniel Ragussis Distributor: Lionsgate Premiere Release Date (theatrical and VOD): August 19, 2016 In some ways, IMPERIUM feels like a dramatized version of the monthly newsletter from the Southern Poverty Law Center. This approach has its pros and cons, with the balance tilted toward the positive. Domestic terrorism arguably doesn't get nearly the attention it should from the news media, and consequently, dramatization of it lags behind as well. We can hope that at least that the real FBI gives domestic […]Read On »
Movie Review: KRAMPUS
Rating: PG-13 Stars: Adam Scott, Toni Collette, David Koechner, Allison Tolman, Conchata Ferrell, Emjay Anthony, Stefania LaVie Owen, Krista Stadler Writers: Todd Casey & Michael Dougherty & Zack Shields Director: Michael Dougherty Distributor: Universal Release Date (theatrical): December 4, 2015 While KRAMPUS is far from the first movie to use the mythic anti-Santa of legend as its villain, it's arguably the best of the bunch, and indeed, up there with GREMLINS as a Christmas horror movie that deserves to become a tradition. Krampus, for those who've never heard of him, is a figure who possibly predates Christianity, but certainly showed […]Read On »
Exclusive Interview: HOSTAGES producers Jeffrey Nachmanoff and Rick Eid on their CBS series
In CBS's new series HOSTAGES, Mondays at 10 PM, Toni Collette plays noted surgeon Dr. Ellen Sanders, who is chosen to operate on the President of theUnited States (James Naughton). This is great news for Ellen, until she, her husband (Tate Donovan) and their adolescent son Jake (Mateus Sanders) and daughter Morgan (Quinn Taylor) are held captive in their own home by a small group led by renegade FBI agent Duncan Carlisle (Dylan McDermott).Duncan demands that Ellen let the president die during surgery – or her family will be killed. In the pilot episode, Ellen lets the president live, setting […]Read On »
TV Review: HOSTAGES – Season 1 – "Pilot" – Series Premiere
Stars: Toni Collette, Dylan McDermott, Tate Donovan, Billy Brown, Sandrine Holt, Rhys Coiro, Quinn Shephard, Mateus Ward, James Naughton Writers: Alon Aranya & Jeffrey Nachmanoff, original idea by Omri Givon Director: Jeffrey Nachmanoff Network: CBS, Mondays @ 10 PM Original Airdate: September 23, 2013 It's not right to compare every serialized TV thriller series to 24, but HOSTAGES makes such an analogy tempting, particularly to the previous series' first season. There is the central story element, with a doctor being blackmailed by a rogue FBI agent, there's the pacing, there are the twists. There are also conflicted people with guns […]Read On »
Exclusive Photos from the CBS / The CW / SHOWTIME TCA Party
On July 29th a big party was held by CBS/The CW/Showtime for the Television Critics Annual Summer Press Tour at The Event, which is actually the upper parking lot where the department store Robinson's/May in Beverly Hills used to be. Taking pictures before heading inside it was quite a turnout of stars from the three networks of their new shows and returning shows of the three networks CBS, The CW and Showtime. I probably missed a few as I went in as soon as the cast from the CW new show THE ORIGINALS, a spin-off from THE VAMPIRE DAIRIES walked […]Read On »
Breaking News: HOSTAGES is a CBS experiment in shorter episode runs and a more serialized format – TCA 2013
With the new CBS fall drama HOSTAGES, CBS is now embracing the concept of shortened episode runs and more serialized storytelling according to CBS Corporation President and Chief Executive Officer Leslie Moonves. "HOSTAGES, more than anything else, is a very different kind of show," says Moonves of the series a surgeon (Toni Collette) whose family is taken hostage by a rogue FBI agent (Dylan McDermott). "We've generally avoided serialized shows in those shortened orders, although we watched with great interest at the success of, obviously, a 24. THE FOLLOWING did very well. So when the [Jerry] Bruckheimer people brought us […]Read On »
Movie Review: FRIGHT NIGHT
Stars: Anton Yelchin, Colin Farrell, David Tennant, Toni Collette, Imogen Poots, Christopher Mintz-Plasse Writer: Screenplay by Marti Noxon Based on the story and film FRIGHT NIGHT by Tom Holland Director: Craig Gillespie Distributor: Touchstone Pictures & Dreamworks Pictures Release Date: August 19, 2011 I was too young to see the original FRIGHT NIGHT in theatres when it was released. I saw it like a lot of children of the 80's, on VHS. I liked the original flick and thought it was fun and I had always loved Roddy McDowell, but I didn't have any kind of deep attachment to […]Read On »


In a significant public health victory, Mexico has succeeded in eliminating a disease which is the leading cause of blindness worldwide.
The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) and the World Health Organization (WHO) announced Monday that Mexico is the first country in the Americas to eliminate trachoma as a public health issue. The disease, caused by a bacteria, affects the eye and repeated infections can lead to scarring and even loss of vision.
It primarily affects young children, and can be spread by personal contact or by flies that that have been in contact with the discharge from the eyes or nose of an infected person.
Trachoma primarily affects poor and isolated populations in 41 countries; in the Americas, the disease is still prevalent in Brazil, Guatemala, and Colombia.
Mexico has become the third country, after Oman and Morocco, to receive WHO validation for eliminating the disease.
In Mexico, trachoma affected over 146,000 people. The country ramped up its actions in 2004 with the creation of the Trachoma Prevention and Control Program of the Ministry of Health of Chiapas and the strengthening of the WHO SAFE strategy. The "Trachoma Brigades" focused on cleanliness, antibiotics, environmental improvement and surgery for the advanced stage of the disease.
The program's slogan was "With water, soap and cleanliness you can prevent trachoma." Teachers at schools would also meet with parents regularly to promote better hygiene.
The international criteria for the elimination of trachoma as a public health problem includes prevalence of less than 5 percent in children aged 1 to 9, and less than one case of trachomatous trichiasis (inverted eyelashes) per 1,000 inhabitants.
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The irony of Swofford using "sportsmanship"
Schools who were offered the game plans and didn't turn in WF should be penalized also.
And UNC goes unpunished for major academic fraud.
Unbelievable! Swoffie and crew are a big joke! Drain the Swamp!
25k, that will teach them.
We know it's a slap on the wrist but don't bother questioning us.
I hope sports media skewers these fools in charge.
I am almost sad now that Hillary lost because Swofford would have a great choice for her to head the Department of Justice. Wow, this decision sends a powerful message about sportsmanship and integrity. And I'll "have no further comment surrounding this matter." What a joke.....what an embarrassment. How does this guy keep his job?!?
Well that will teach em!
the $25K fine seems low... until you realize it is the MAX the ACC can fine a league member. so, while in the big picture, it is a small fine, at least the league went as far as it could. perhaps the bylaws should be changed. not sure WF was fined.
back then which cost much more than that. what a load of carp as it always is with the ACC.
I agree! It was BS!
First I heard they were involved.
That's fine. Now the NCAA needs to get involved.
WAKE is the victim here, no way they should be fined.
This investigation needs to be picked up by the NCAA and they need to unleash their own punishment which should be harsh. If not, then you condone this sort of behavior.
$25k fine for plays @ LOUISVILLE AND VATECH. $0 fine for 25years of fake classes at UNCHEAT. Unbelievable hypocracy!
I can't stand both schools.
I would like to ask swofford when swofford will fine UNcheat for their fake class scandal. I know it's not going to happen.
Should also be made to vacate the wins.
The only way I could imagine that being more humiliating is if I was a Wake fan. Wow!
I sure hate that those baskets were bothered by this undue distraction while they were preparing for their bowl game.
It will be interesting to see how Army self-penalizes. I bet they will do a lot more.
Papa John has that much change in his front pocket.
So no action towards WF? Lack of institutional control? Let's put women's basketball on probation. Guess they didn't give away tee shirts so none of what all 3 did compares to GT?
It's a Biblical reference but the point is as much as I loathe what was done here it's nothing compared to the academic fraud that went on for years at UNC!!
Too bad they're not as worried about integrity when it comes to UNC.
Johnny-Boy "Swifty" Swofford strikes another soft blow for integrity.
What's comical is Swofford's quote on the matter. He didn't seem so interested in cheating when it was unc.


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text:
Two vie for open OPPD board seat in Douglas County
With Del Weber's retirement, LeClair and Hurley seek votes
Updated: 6:00 PM CDT Oct 13, 2014
David Earl
It's a local race that affects almost everyone in the Omaha metro -- at least those who pay a power bill. On the November ballot, voters in Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) subdivision one will choose a new representative.Video: OPPD board candidates outline agendasAs Del Weber retires from the board, two new faces to political races have emerged: Rich Hurley and firefighter Steve LeClair."We need lower rates, we need accountability, and we need transparency," Hurley said in his one-on-one interview with KETV NewsWatch 7.The real estate agent says he's running to help right the ship at OPPD -- and to give back to the community. After more than a decade of straight rate increase, Hurley says it's time for a break."I've always been a numbers guy and there's lots of places we can cut," he said. "I can see 10 percent cuts with most of the facilities with the exception of the nuclear plant."The race is personal for Steve LeClair -- an Omaha firefighter and president of the firefighter's union."Before I was on the fire department I was an insulator and I worked out at that plant, in fact I've actually spent time on top of the reactor head," LeClair said of his time working on OPPD property. "I've worked at the Calhoun plant I've worked at the North Omaha plant, I've seen the utility working from the ground up."LeClair says he'll fight for ratepayers -- and also help make sure all of the essential parties within OPPD are working together."There are three legs to this chair, you have the board, you have management and you have labor," LeClair said. "If all three of them aren't working together this thing's going to be a failure."Lower rates have long been the bargain of public power in Nebraska. Both Hurley and LeClair say it's a pride of the state -- but the trend isn't looking good. OPPD's rates were 25 percent below the national average almost 10 years ago. Since then, with 10 years of straight rate increases, OPPD's rates are now just 11 percent below the national average for power."This is not a good trend," Hurley said. "This is going in the wrong direction."Both say they'll be a voice for ratepayers, and will actively challenge management, including OPPD CEO Gary Gates."I'm there for the ratepayers," LeClair said. "I think that will be made very apparent from early on if I'm fortunate enough to be elected."
OMAHA, Neb. —
It's a local race that affects almost everyone in the Omaha metro -- at least those who pay a power bill. On the November ballot, voters in Omaha Public Power District (OPPD) subdivision one will choose a new representative.
Video: OPPD board candidates outline agendas
Rich Hurley
As Del Weber retires from the board, two new faces to political races have emerged: Rich Hurley and firefighter Steve LeClair.
"We need lower rates, we need accountability, and we need transparency," Hurley said in his one-on-one interview with KETV NewsWatch 7.
The real estate agent says he's running to help right the ship at OPPD -- and to give back to the community. After more than a decade of straight rate increase, Hurley says it's time for a break.
"I've always been a numbers guy and there's lots of places we can cut," he said. "I can see 10 percent cuts with most of the facilities with the exception of the nuclear plant."
The race is personal for Steve LeClair -- an Omaha firefighter and president of the firefighter's union.
"Before I was on the fire department I was an insulator and I worked out at that plant, in fact I've actually spent time on top of the reactor head," LeClair said of his time working on OPPD property. "I've worked at the Calhoun plant I've worked at the North Omaha plant, I've seen the utility working from the ground up."
LeClair says he'll fight for ratepayers -- and also help make sure all of the essential parties within OPPD are working together.
"There are three legs to this chair, you have the board, you have management and you have labor," LeClair said. "If all three of them aren't working together this thing's going to be a failure."
Lower rates have long been the bargain of public power in Nebraska. Both Hurley and LeClair say it's a pride of the state -- but the trend isn't looking good. OPPD's rates were 25 percent below the national average almost 10 years ago. Since then, with 10 years of straight rate increases, OPPD's rates are now just 11 percent below the national average for power.
"This is not a good trend," Hurley said. "This is going in the wrong direction."
Both say they'll be a voice for ratepayers, and will actively challenge management, including OPPD CEO Gary Gates.
"I'm there for the ratepayers," LeClair said. "I think that will be made very apparent from early on if I'm fortunate enough to be elected."