text:
This 'n' That
I have a few different things to natter on about today. Well, three.
You guys, you guys! KidlitCon '11 is in the works! September 16-17 in Seattle. More deets needed? Check out Chasing Ray for the lowdown. I love this conference and I've been at every one so far. The best part is meeting all the cool people I know in cyberspace.
So what's the final word on the #48HBC? See MotherReader's wrap-up post for a global view. As for me, my final donation tally is 11 books read x $5 per book, and 23 comments left x $1 per comment, for a grand total of (drumroll) 78 dollars to Make Way for Books, a Tucson-based literacy organization. Who ever heard of donating 78 dollars? I'm making it an even 80.
Finally, this made me happy: an SLJ interview with Sir Terry Pratchett, one of my favorite authors on the planet even before he started writing books specifically for children and teens. Quotes like this are why: "Amazingly, I find that children understand rather more than their parents think they do." So true.
Labels: conference, new books
48-Hour Book Challenge . . . Met!
So, another 48-hour Book Challenge, come and gone. I think I've got my technique down now. I pick books I'm excited about to keep up my energy. I use the audiobook option to give my eyes a break and let me do things that I can't do with a book in my hand. I keep Twitter and Google Reader open so I can dip into the Internet and see how other challengers are doing. I use a stopwatch-and-spreadsheet technique to keep track of my time. Yes, I'm a nerd. Shut up. So this was a pretty good year!
Here are my totals.
Books read: 10 (not bad, considering that I worked all day Saturday)
Audiobooks: part of one. I'll count it as a round one.
Time reading (including audiobook time): 14 hours, 33 minutes, 22 seconds
Time blogging, including this post: 4 hours, 31 minutes, 52 seconds
Time social-networking: 1 hour, 38 minutes, 45 seconds.
For a total time of . . .
20 hours, 44 minutes.
Wowwwwwwwwwwww.
Since I pledged five dollars for every book read, that's 55 dollars for Make Way for Books so far. I'll wait until Monday night to tally up the replies on my posts (a dollar apiece) and see how much the final donation will be.
One of the things I take away from this every year is, "Boy, are there a lot of nuts out there." Um, I mean, "Cool people who love the same things I do." The other thing is how quick it is to write a blog entry. I get re-energized and into a pattern of reviewing. Maybe this time it'll stick, what do you think?
Thanks again for another great year, MotherReader and all my fellow challengers!
Audiobook Review: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery
Book: Anne of Green Gables
Author: L.M. Montgomery
Narrator: Laurie Klein
Matthew and Marilla Cuthbert thought they were getting a sturdy, sensible little orphan boy who would help Matthew around the farm. What they got instead was Anne Shirley, a sensitive, imaginative, red-headed orphan girl who will bring breath and life into the stagnant Green Gables.
Like the Stones say, you can't always get what you want . . . but sometimes, you'll get what you need.
Time: 3:01:48 (partial)
Why I Wanted to Read It: I love audiobooks, but have a hard time listening to ones that are new to me, so I tend to pick books I've read before. It's been entirely too long since I spent time with Anne.
So this is a partial review, since I've only listened up to the first meeting with Diana Barry. I'd forgotten how long it takes for Anne to ease into Avonlea society. After all, we can't imagine one without the other. But then, the other thing I'd forgotten was how weird and wild Anne is to the staid and prosaic people of Avonlea, not least the Cuthberts. Full of imagination and romantical fantasy and plopped down in a practical and hard-working farming community, this is a fish out of water and no mistake. Maybe the reason Anne has to exist in Avonlea (and vice versa) is that they are so different they function as two sides of the same coin.
Reading this as an adult, I find myself horrified by Anne's life before Green Gables, and profoundly grateful for the mix-up that landed her there. As sensitive as she is, it couldn't have been too much longer before the lack of love and the constant exploitation would have destroyed her. Or maybe I'm being pessimistic and her sturdy imagination, which creates friends out of reflections and echoes, would have shielded her into adulthood. Luckily, we'll never know.
The other part of reading this as an adult is that Anne is hilarious. Like many a starry-eyed teenager, she takes things she's heard and barely understands, mixes them up, and spouts them forth. And yet, she's not being pretentious. She genuinely loves the romantic poets of her era (she seems to exist somewhere in the 1870's or 1880's) and is open to the joys of nature. Some of the stuff she comes out with could be seen as manipulative if written in a modern book, especially when she talks despairingly of what a trial she is, or how frightfully badly she should be punished. But we all know Anne is simply not like that.
The narrator, Laurie Klein, annoyed me a little bit at first, because she seemed to be a little over the top herself. But either I got used to her style or she settled into it. I'll go on reading this, definitely, and remembering why this girl still resonates with kids and adults over 100 years later.
Labels: 48 Hour Book Challenge, book review, tween
Book Review: The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis by Barbara O'Connor
Book: The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elvis
Author: Barbara O'Connor
Nothing ever happens to Popeye. Living out in the country along with his shifty Uncle Dooley and his overburdened grandmother, Velma, each day is the same as the last and next. He longs for changes and adventure. Then he meets Elvis.
Well, not that Elvis.
Elvis Jewell is the oldest of five children. He lives in a Holiday Rambler that's just gotten stuck in the lane that leads to Popeye's house. He's the president of the Spit and Swear club, and just like Popeye, he's ripe for an adventure. But it'll have to be a small adventure, because they've only got a few days until his parents manage to un-stuck the Holiday Rambler and then he'll be gone.
When Popeye and Elvis find boats made out of Yoo-Hoo containers floating down the creek, bearing cryptic messages, they know this is the small adventure they've been looking for. But is there time to have it before Elvis has to leave again?
Why I Wanted to Read It: With only about an hour and a half left of the 48-Hour Book Challenge, I wanted a very short read, and I've liked Barbara O'Connor's books in the past.
There's a timelessness about this book. It makes no reference to cell phones or the Internet, to anything that anchors it to any particular time beyond now-ish. It's about two bored kids in a long, hot summer, longing for excitement and challenge in lives that don't offer much of either.
Although it's clear that all the characters are living in what comfortable suburban kids would consider abject poverty, O'Connor makes no effort to address or correct this. It is what it is, it's their life, and they're living it.
What is there to take away from such a short, odd little book? What I closed it with is the sense that friendship, no matter how fleeting, is something to be treasured, and adventures, no matter how small, are something to be pursued.
Labels: 48 Hour Book Challenge, book review, children's lit
Book Review: A Spy in the House by Y.S. Lee
Book: A Spy in the House
Author: Y.S. Lee
One step from the gallows, Mary Lang was rescued and given a new lease on life by Miss Scrimshaw's Academy. Five years later, at the age of seventeen, the rechristened Mary Quinn is recruited for the secretive Agency, a collective of female operatives who do all the dirty jobs that their male counterparts can't.
Her first job is in the Thorold household. Apparently, there's something fishy going on with Mr. Thorold's company, and in the guise of serving as a companion to his spoiled daughter, Mary is to keep her ears and eyes open for any hints as to what.
There's plenty afoot in this house. Why is Thorold's secretary, Michael Grey, so flirtatious? Why is Mrs. Thorold so sickly sometimes and so assertive others? What's with the clever and sarcastic James Easton sticking his nose in everywhere? Mary's got a lot on her hands, sorting out the truly dangerous from the merely seedy, and she's got to do it fast.
Why I Wanted to Read It: Victorian girl spies! It's like the Gallagher Girls, but with crinolines!
Except not. Oh well.
Mary was so far removed from the central investigation that I couldn't quite grasp the nature of the mystery, and her efforts at finding out more just seemed like recklessness instead of taking initiative. Honeypot, you're a trainee spy, serving as a backup to the central agent in the investigation. This is not the time to boldly declare your independence and go tearing off to screw up said agent's careful plans, especially when you have no idea what they are. Aside: and why is a trainee spy thrown into an investigation without support beyond one or two cryptic notes from the head of the Agency? Also, why didn't we ever find out the identity of the central agent? I was waiting to find out that it was somebody really cool and heretofore unsuspected and . . . nothing.
I did like the setting. Mary's London is so seamy that you half-expect the Artful Dodger to pop up, and she's so comfortable in it that you'd expect her to say, "'Allo, gov," to said famous pickpocket. Lee also touches on the plight of minorities in Victorian London. Mary, it transpires, is half-Chinese and considers this a terribly shameful secret. I wish we'd witnessed the treatment of Asians before that, just so her position wouldn't be so cringe-inducing to a modern reader.
I also liked James, conducting his own investigation and constantly running afoul of Mary's work, and she of his. The sparkage was interesting, which makes me hope that we'll see him again, even though his final appearance in the book would seem to deny that possibility.
Less Gallagher Girls, more straight-up historical mystery. I'll read the next book for the setting, and the interesting premise, and hope that the things that frustrated me this time around will be corrected.
Labels: 48 Hour Book Challenge, book review, YA lit
Book Review: Enchanted Glass by Diana Wynne Jones
Book: Enchanted Glass
Author: Diana Wynne Jones
Aiden Cain is in a pickle. Orphaned by the sudden death of his gran, he's also being stalked by strange creatures, which has gotten him kicked out of at least one foster home. His gran always told him he could go to Jocelyn Brandon, of Melstone House, who would know what to do about him. But when Aidan arrives at Melstone, he discovers that Mr. Brandon is dead and the new owner, Mr. Brandon's grandson, doesn't have any more idea what to do than Aidan does.
Andrew Hope is likewise in a pickle. He's inherited his grandfather's field-of-care, the responsibility for the magical well-being of a huge area of land. It's been far too long since his childhood lessons with his grandfather, which he's starting to realize were more than just the imaginative play that he told himself they were. He's also starting to realize that Aidan is a lot more than just an orphaned relative.
As magical enemies gather on the horizon and high summer looms, Andrew and Aidan are going to need to keep their heads cool and their wits about them if they hope to come through this one alive.
Why I Wanted to Read It: Please. Did you see who wrote it?
One of my favorite parts of this, and of most of Jones' work, is how high magic and legendary creatures exist alongside prosaic English country life. Soccer games are witnessed by sanguine weredogs, friendly giants eat unwanted vegetables, and gigantic cauliflowers grown by magic are made into cauliflower cheese. (I had to look this up. Yecccch.) In fact, in many ways this is a book that could never have been written by an American, because the base of it is a particularly English-countryside mindset of ownership and responsibility for the land and the people in it.
There was some discussion about Andrew being at least as strong a main character as Aidan, if not stronger. Conventional wisdom holds that kids only want to read about other kids, but then, Jones never seems to pay much attention to "conventional wisdom" when it comes to her books. (Witness the success of Howl's Moving Castle, which has one child character, and that a secondary one.) It didn't feel at all jarring to me, and I think we don't give kids enough credit for being interested in a good character no matter their age.
Basically, this book is classic Diana Wynne Jones. Mayhem, narration filled with biting wit, outrageously flawed adults and children, magic, more mayhem, coolly threatening villains, and main characters who despite being woefully unprepared for the task at hand, roll up their sleeves and plunge in. If you're already a fan, this won't disappoint. If you're not, this will make you one.
Book Review: Forget You by Jennifer Echols
Book: Forget You
Author: Jennifer Echols
Zoey Commander's life kinda sucks at the moment. Her dad is marrying his pregnant twenty-four-year-old mistress in Hawaii and her mom is in the loony bin. Not to mention, she can't seem to get away from brooding Doug Fox, who calls her a spoiled brat and blames her for all his problems.
Then the wreck happened, and everything changed. Doug is suddenly acting like they're something special to each other, and her actual boyfriend, Brandon, is nowhere to be seen. But what is responsible for this sudden change? Because try as she might, Zoey can't remember a thing about that night. And she doesn't dare let anyone know, because she's terrified that she might get locked up alongside her mother. But how can she discover the truth without anybody figuring out that's what she's after?
Why I Wanted to Read It: I really loved Going Too Far. Unfortunately, this book didn't live up to the promise.
My major problem with this book was the main character. Frankly, Zoey annoyed the daylights out of me. With her life in a shambles, she's clinging desperately to what little she does have control over, then accuses Doug of lying to, manipulating, and controlling her. Character-wise, that makes sense, but god, was it exasperating! Probably the thing that annoyed me most was her insistence on holding Doug at a distance because she was with Brandon . . . a guy she had stupid, impulsive sex with once, didn't like it, doesn't think much of him, and yet he's the love of her life? Whatever.
I realize this sounds like I think this is the worst book ever committed to paper, but it's not. I did feel for Zoey, confused and lost and looking for answers in all the wrong places. I also felt for Doug, who is as confused in his way as Zoey, but at least it's obvious he cares for her. There was just so much that drove me batty about Zoey that I can't completely endorse it as a romance. I'll read Echol's other books, because she is awfully good, just as long as she doesn't come up with another character who's this much of a mess.
Book Review: The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by Jacqueline Houtman
Book: The Reinvention of Edison Thomas
Author: Jacqueline Houtman
Edison Thomas knows all sorts of things, like the Latin name for his pet rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), how many grams there are in a pound (453.59237), and the hardest substance in the human body (tooth enamel). What he doesn't know is how people work. For instance, why does Mitch, who has been his friend since childhood, always say strange things and laugh when he's around? What is the meaning behind the ketchup packets that are suddenly turning up in all his things? (They're certainly not his.) And what does it mean that new people, like geeky Justin, science-fiction fan Terry, and musician Kip, are suddenly talking to him?
As he struggles to create an invention that will solve the problem of a dangerous intersection near the school, Eddy finds himself reassessing the nature of friendship. Of the two, the second is the far thornier problem.
Why I Wanted to Read It: Duuude! Science!
I have a great affection for scientific kids in fiction, such as Calpurnia Tate and Phineas L. McGuire. They approach the world in a logical and orderly fashion. Of course, very often the narrative conflict comes from the refusal of people to act in a logical and orderly manner, and that's certainly the case with Eddy. I loved seeing him slowly recognize the unhealthy nature of his relationship with Mitch, and start to build on better ones with new people who appreciate him as he is and overlook or gently correct his quirks.
While never explicitly stated in the text, Eddy does seem to have Asperger's or some other form of high-functioning autism. He's terribly sensitive to sudden noises, tends to fixate on random facts, and goes to specialized counseling sessions. But neurotypical kids will recognize his quagmires, even if his methods for dealing with them would differ from their own.
I would have liked to see a stronger comeuppance for the poisonous Mitch, but otherwise, I won't hesitate in recommending this book for anyone who wants a unique and interesting book about friendship, science, and the intersection of the two.
Book Review: Bumped by Megan McCafferty
Book: Bumped
Author: Megan McCafferty
Source: Review copy provided by publisher via NetGalley
In a near-future America, a virus has sterilized everyone over the age of twenty, meaning that fertile teenagers are suddenly the hottest commodities in the free market.
Melody was the first of her classmates to sign on as a pro, getting contracted to deliver a baby to an infertile couple who would pay richly upon delivery. But due to pickiness on the couple's part regarding the potential sperm donor, she's sixteen and still hasn't yet "bumped," or conceived. Although that's not her fault, she's facing derision from her pregnant classmates. Plus she's afraid that her best guy friend, Zen, is drifting away from her. Not to mention the horrible thing that happened to her best friend, Malia, when she gave birth. Oh, and there's the matter of the long-lost twin sister that suddenly turned up on her doorstep . . .
Harmony is a runaway from a conservative religious sect that deals with the fertility problem by arranging marriages at thirteen. She's come to her sister, hoping to bring her to God and also feel a little less like an outcast herself. She's out of touch and dazed by the secular, sinful world she finds herself in now, but also a little exhilarated at the unaccustomed freedom, especially after she's mistaken for her sister and swept off to get inseminated by the most beautiful boy she's ever seen. Besides, she can't exactly go back. Because she's left more than a few secrets behind her . . .
Told in alternating viewpoints over just a couple of days, both girls are forced to confront the beliefs of their differing worlds, and how those beliefs don't mesh with what's inside them.
Why I Wanted to Read It: While I never read the Jessica Darling series, I wanted to see how this particular spin on the dystopia craze would play out.
McCafferty makes the preggy-crazy society entertaining as all hell, with pop songs about insemination and accessories that imitate a pregnancy belly. Harmony's world, mostly told and not shown, is a little more standard-fare, repressive patriarchal religious cult, ho-hum.
As the story unfolds, we realize the far-reaching damages that both societies inflict. Late in the book, we meet an eleven-year-old girl in a birthing center, and not to visit. In both cases, sexual choice is removed from the teenagers' control. I say teenagers and not teen girls because the boys are part of it too. The more genetically desirable boys are encouraged to procreate, some of them even becoming professional inseminators, and the less desirable are called "worms" and reduced to being the designated driver at the orgy. Again, there's less of Harmony's world shown, but if you've read one repressive-patriarchal-religious cult book, you've read 'em all, and you know what to expect.
I feel as if this book didn't quite do what it set out to do, but it's still thought-provoking. Both girls feel out of place in their worlds, seemingly for different reasons but actually for the same one. They're being told what to do with their bodies. Have as much sex as possible, wait for the assigned mate. Get pregnant, pop 'em out, for reasons forced on them from the outside. Neither sister will be happy until they take control and make the choices instead of having them made for them.
So much for individual choice. But my cynical side says, "Yes, but . . . society's got a point. Without the teen pregnancies, there would swiftly be no human race." It's the free-market aspect of it that's so entirely horrifying.
My strongest complaint is the end. So the two sisters have gone through their separate journeys and arrived at the same conclusion and come together as sisters, oh! hugs and puppies! All of a sudden out of left field there came this weird sequel-begging, he-said/she-said Big Misunderstanding denouement. It was kind of annoying, because it felt as if the story was going somewhere else entirely and then someone decided we needed a series. I'll read it, because this was entertaining and I want to see where Melody, Harmony, Zen, Jondoe, and Ram end up in their messed-up world, but I feel like it could have been done in one book.
Book Review: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by Tom Angleberger
Book: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda
Author: Tom Angleberger
Dwight has to be the weirdest kid in school. He's been known to answer yes-or-no questions with colors, wear really long socks with shorts, and basically be counted on to be the oddest person in the room. But the strangest thing about him may be the Origami Yoda he carries around on his finger, who gives advice. The yet weirder thing? In general, it seems to be good advice.
But Tommy, who's been advised by Origami Yoda to ask the girl of his dreams to dance at the School Fun Night, needs better proof than that. He gathers anecdotes from every kid who's ever gone to Origami Yoda, compiles it into a file, and studies it all with commentary from steadfast doubter Harvey and doodles from Kellen. Is it really just a folded piece of paper and a weird voice? Or is Origami Yoda the real deal?
Why I Wanted to Read It: Another one that everybody and their sister was talking about.
Remember middle school? Angleberger does. Sucked, didn't it? He remembers that too. He brings middle school roaring back with all the confusion, doubts, clumsiness, and general hideous angst of being twelve. The things that happen in this book would be considered small, but in the world of tweendom, they're huge and loaded. Who likes who? How can I stop being mocked? How can I stay out of trouble?
Origami Yoda's answers reflect the worldview of an observant outsider who is still a kid. But sometimes you will find yourself wondering if he's more than just a folded puppet, and that's the magic.
The doodled pictures will probably make this a hit with the Wimpy Kid set, and the short, gulpable chapters make it a further draw for reluctant readers. What fun, and I'm looking forward to more from this author, whether it features Origami Yoda or not.
Labels: 48 Hour Book Challenge, children's lit, tween
Book Review: The Enemy by Charlie Higson
Book: The Enemy
Author: Charlie Higson
Published: 2010 (US)
Ever since the first teenager walked the earth, adults have been the enemy. But now, when a mysterious ailment has transformed everyone over the age of sixteen into a mutated, cannibalistic creature, it's the truth. Kids have banded together for survival, battling the grown-ups, scavenging for food, and praying to make it to tomorrow without becoming lunch.
For a little group holed up in a Waitrose supermarket, despair is encroaching fast. So when a mysterious boy turns up with the news that there's a substantial community of kids not only living but thriving at Buckingham Palace, they decide to take the chance and journey through London to the shimmering possibility of safety.
But when they arrive, the leader of the Palace kids seems an awful lot like a power-hungry madman. Now they have to ask themselves . . . are the grown-ups the only enemy?
Why I Wanted to Read It: I kept hearing such good things, from bloggers I trust.
Zombie books are one of those things I have a conflicted relationship with. On the one hand - ooo, post-apocalyptic! Fighting! Danger! High-intensity drama! And, duh, zombies. On the other hand, bloody depressing, and I mean that literally.
This isn't precisely a zombie book: after all, the grown-ups aren't dead, although they're certainly not what they were. But it shares much of what makes true zombie books so depressing: the feeling of insurmountable odds, not being able to trust anybody even when you desperately want to, seeing the people you loved and depended on either reduced to monsters or killed by those same monsters.
Higson doesn't pull punches with the deaths, y'all. In general, authors tend to kill off secondary characters, but Higson brings the horror home by spending time, even telling pieces of story from a character's point of view, and then killing them off. The end result is that even when good things happen, or hope flickers, there's a cynical little worm in your head saying, "This kid's gonna bite it." And half the time you're right. It brings you into the wearily fearful mindset of the characters more powerfully than any other technique.
Higson also uses his setting to explore human nature, in all its power-hungry, cowardly, underhanded, generous, loving beauty. Anybody who's ever thought that kids are somehow morally superior to adults will have that notion struck down, and anybody who's ever thought the reverse will have the same experience.
It's a disturbing book in a lot of ways, not for the sensitive. The Nick-and-Rachel sequence will give you the severe jimjams, and the way the kids use "mothers and fathers" to refer to the attacking grownups makes you both sad and a little queasy. But I couldn't put it down, and the only reason you're seeing this post now instead of sometime very late last night is because I had to work today. I have the prequel The Dead as an e-galley, and given the ending of The Enemy, I'm looking forward to a sequel soon. Very soon. You hear me, Higson??
Labels: 48 Hour Book Challenge, YA lit
Book Review: Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me? by Louise Rennison
Book: Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me?
Author: Louise Rennison
Source: Local Library (downloaded onto my Nook!)
Georgia Nicolson is back, and so are all her fab mates. Not to mention the Luuuuurve God, and of course Dave the Laugh. And if both those lads are hanging about, you know Georgia's in turmoil. Because who wouldn't want a beautiful Italian like Masimo? He's, y'know, beautiful, and, um, Italian, and - oh, I've got it! He kisses like a dream. Although it must be said that when Georgia wants to laugh and hang about and feel most like herself, it's not Masimo she turns to, but instead Dave the Laugh. Hmmmmm. Odd, that.
Now Masimo wants to go live in London with his band. Should she ask him to give up the opportunity for musical famousosity and stay with her? Should she go with him? Or should she send him away to pursue his pop-star dream, with a stiff upper lip (and a gently quivering lower one)?
Possibly, there is a mysterious Option D. Although it's only mysterious if you are as thick as an extremely thick thing in Thicky-A-Gogo-Land.
Why I Wanted to Read It: I've been reading these books for years. One of my first reviews on this blog was Away Laughing on a Fast Camel. After the last one, however, I said, "Enough of this!" because the series was just going on and on and on. But this landed back on my list when Ms. Yingling mentioned it was the last one, and things actually got settled, and all really quite well. Plus, after Scars, I really needed to laugh like a mad laughing thing.
And I did. Oh, how I did. I fully expect the nice men with the white coats to turn up on my doorstep, called by the long-suffering neighbors. (It's okay, they know their way here quite well by now.) Georgia is in fine form, with all the silly dances, dirty jokes, and snarky commentary we've come to expect from her.
If I were one of the adults in her life, I might well strangle her. She's impulsive, snotty, irreverent, insensitive . . . in short, she's a fifteen-year-old girl, which is why she's so enormously appealing. Those moments when the basic goodness shines through, such as her patience with her sister Libby and her treatment of the first-formers who idolize her, make her someone you want to spend 150 pages with.
As for how the series wound up, I have to say, I knew it all along. As I said above, Georgia's appeal is that she's still a goofy, impulsive, silly teenager. Throughout the series, she's been trying to be fabulously cool and sophisticated for the sake of the older boys she dates. Which really is not her at all. Ending up with the boy who loves her when she's most herself is the best ending I could have picked in a million years.
I love recommending this series, and one day I will listen to them all on audio, because the writing is just made for reading aloud. Of course, given that I listen to audiobooks in my car, that could prove incredibly dangerous.
Book Review: Scars by Cheryl Rainfield
Book: Scars
Author: Cheryl Rainfield
Source: Review copy from the author
Believe it or not, fifteen-year-old Kendra is actually in a better place than she was six months ago. Sure, she's in therapy and sure, she's cutting herself to let out the bottled-up pain. But six months ago, repressed memories of childhood sexual abuse began to rise to the surface . . . which is how she landed in therapy and started cutting in the first place.
But although he lurks in the shadows of every painting and sketch she creates, Kendra still can't remember the face of her abuser. Even attempting to do reduces her to terror. All she knows is that it was a trusted man in her childhood life. Worse yet, he's still around - somebody's leaving her notes and messages, warning her not to tell or he'll kill her.
The only sunny spots come from her relationship with a new girlfriend and the warm reception that her artwork, always derided by her artist mother, is beginning to garner from others. A new life is within Kendra's grasp, if only she can muster up the courage to discover and face the man who destroyed her old one.
Time: 0:17:13 (partial because I started reading this yesterday and wasn't done yet)
Why I Wanted to Read It: I'd been hearing about this book for some time. Cheryl is a Kidlitosphere pal and I knew it was a deeply personal story, drawn from her own experience. In fact, her arm is the scarred limb shown on the cover. When she emailed to offer me a review copy, I leapt at the chance, even though I knew it wasn't going to be a book full of hugs and puppies.
The good news is, this is definitely worth the read. Sometimes you get the "thinly veiled autobiography" feeling with books based on the author's experience, but Kendra felt real and alive to me, and I couldn't stop turning the pages to follow her slow blossoming, in spite of the pain that seethed under her skin. I did flip to the end to find out the identity of the abuser, because I'm terrible like that, and it was exactly who I thought it would be.
One of the things I appreciated was the portrayal of a family life that made the abuse possible. Her mother's willful ignorance and incredible self-involvement, plus her father's need to be at the center of the family's attention at all times, made it credible that nobody would have noticed what was going on and that Kendra would have thought so little of herself as to believe that she deserved the abuse, and that nobody would listen to her if she told.
I would have liked to see a little more from the time that the memories started to resurface, especially how the break-up with her first girlfriend affected or prompted them. I also thought the climax was unexpectedly dramatic for a book that had been all about the inner emotional journey up until that point. I did see the need for Kendra to face and conquer her abuser, so it worked in that way. It was just startling.
As I said, it's not a hugs and puppies kind of book. But it is a well-told and deeply affecting one, and the cutting aspect is included as just that, an aspect of the pain that Kendra is experiencing.
Sixth Annual 48-Hr Book Challenge Starts Now!
I was going to start in the morning, but then I decided that I couldn't wait! My bookshelf has so many books I've been looking forward to reading that I'm just going to go ahead and start. I do have to work all day tomorrow (curses!) so it'll be a smaller year than usual, but I aim to have a blast anyway. My audiobook will be Anne of Green Gables, so I'll listen to that as I drive to work, cook, take knitting breaks, exercise, and do other things that require two hands for.
For every book I read and review (because the reviewing's half the fun, dontcha know!) I'll donate five dollars to Make Way for Books, a local literacy organization. For every comment on a review, I'll add a dollar. If you're coming here from MotherReader's starting line post, check out my more recent reviews and updates. Also, you can follow me on Twitter or Find me on Facebook.
My first book will be a partial one, Scars by Cheryl Rainfield. I started reading this yesterday and thought I'd have it finished, but it's been a busy couple of days. Since I was getting the "gotta-review" feeling about it anyway, I decided this was going to be my first book.
If you have no idea what I'm talking about ("She wants to do what for 48 hours?"), drop by MotherReader's blog and find out! If you have a blog of your own (or were always meaning to start one), join in!
Library: 19
Teen: Shine by Lauren Myracle
Myracle tends to be hit or miss with me. This book, about a damaged girl coming back to life as she peels back the layers to reveal the nasty underbelly of her small Southern town, was a monster hit.
Tween: Where the Streets Had a Name by Randa Abdel-Fattah
Hayyaat is on a quest to bring her ailing grandmother soil from her home. Sounds simple, right? Until you factor in that the soil is in Israel, and Hayyaat is a citizen of Palestine. This book gives readers an up-close-and-personal look at the devastating effects of drawn-out conflicts, and also the terribly complex nature of that conflict.
Children: TIE Pearl Verses the World by Sally Murphy
As her grandmother weakens and finally dies, Pearl struggles to make sense of it all through her own particular brand of poetry, which is not what they're being taught in school. Quiet, reflective, and never maudlin, this slim book stands out in the life-after-death genre for first-to-third graders. (Coming out Aug. 23.)
The Dreamer by Pam Muñoz Ryan
Kids might not realize this is a fictionalized account of the childhood and youth of Pablo Neruda until the very end, but that's okay. Neftali's struggle against an overbearing father and his desire to create his poetry on his own terms are all relayed through a magical-realism style that will keep them turning pages.
Yanked Me Out of My Reading Funk: For Keeps by Natasha Friend
For the Pacifists Among Us: Truce by Jim Murphy
Reliably Excellent: Glitter Girls and the Great Fake-Out by Meg Cabot
Audiobook Review: Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Mon...
Book Review: The Small Adventure of Popeye and Elv...
Book Review: The Reinvention of Edison Thomas by J...
Book Review: The Strange Case of Origami Yoda by T...
Book Review: Are These My Basoomas I See Before Me...


At Harvard these days, Green is the new Crimson.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This is part 3 of a three-part series. Click to read part 1 and part 2.
The fossil-fuel divestment campaign now sweeping America's college campuses is a window onto much that is wrong with our culture and our politics. The fate of America's free-enterprise system — long the engine of our prosperity and security — now hangs on a generation increasingly skeptical of the system's premises.
Surely doubts about capitalism held by America's 20-somethings have been greatly magnified by climate change. Yet it is not changing global weather patterns but the deteriorating climate of intellectual interchange in the nation's academy — and the press — that has shaken the faith of America's young in the foundations of our prosperity.
We have examined the course and ideology of the fossil-fuel divestment movement in the two previous installments of this article; this final installment is a case study of the debate at Harvard University, where decisive victory for a student referendum last November put tremendous momentum behind the national movement to have university endowments sell off their fossil-fuel holdings.
#ad#The quality of debate in the runup to that student-body vote was atrocious. America's oil companies are incomparably reckless public enemies, we were told. We should abandon 80 percent of the world's fossil-fuel reserves unused. These claims at the heart of the divestment movement went virtually unchallenged. Campus critics of divestment instead went out of their way to praise the campaign as an admirable effort based on an appropriately dire assessment of the facts. Such criticisms of divestment as were offered were largely tactical: Sell-offs won't work because stocks will be purchased by other investors, leaving the oil companies flush and Harvard's endowment poorer. Well, yes. But the fantasy of a cost-free post-carbon economy went largely unchallenged. There was plenty of talk about the consequences of doing nothing, yet nary a peep about the costs of the so-called remedies. And although McKibben has been invoked repeatedly at Harvard — before and after the November vote — his highly controversial vision of America's post-carbon future remains all but ignored, as does Klein's.
Harvard's divestment debate was also littered with apocalyptic disaster scenarios drawn from the most questionable studies. The numbers were trumpeted repeatedly in the Crimson and elsewhere without challenge. One popular claim, drawn from a New York Times blog post, was that unchecked global warming would mean death for six out of every seven inhabitants of the Earth — 6 billion people. Yet the same blog post contains links to stories casting doubt on such lurid predictions.
The DARA study and the credulous treatment of it by the press were quickly skewered by critics. Bjørn Lomborg showed that the 100-million-deaths figure had been grossly inflated by combining projected deaths due to climate change with the much larger number of projected deaths from factors like indoor smoke given off when dung or straw is burned for home cooking and heating in developing countries.
A DARA official later conceded that several press reports had "misattributed our air pollution and other carbon economy death estimates to climate change." Attempts to justify the report's findings and presentation in the wake of Lomborg's criticism seem strained. In any case, fossil-fuel divestment at Harvard isn't designed to prevent Asian or African peasants from using dried cattle dung for cooking fuel. If anything, divestment would make it harder for the developing world to acquire safer cooking fuels like kerosene or pressurized gas. Yet DARA's apocalyptic death projections were seized upon and touted repeatedly in Harvard's debate — well after the 100-million climate-change death figure had been exposed and essentially discredited.
In truth, Harvard's divestment debate was barely a debate at all. Objecting to the movement on any grounds other than tactical was clearly out of bounds. The exchanges amounted to a bunch of left-liberals strategizing among themselves. Is this the best America's most storied university can do at exploring one of our great national controversies? No wonder those funny mass-death numbers went unchallenged. Raising perfectly legitimate questions about either the math or the premises of the divestment campaign would have left opponents liable to be stigmatized as climate-change "deniers" and abetters of corporate evil.
Harvard's administration has contributed to this problem by turning climate-change activism into something close to official policy. Like many universities today, Harvard has an eco-bureaucracy — an "Office of Sustainability" with its own motto: "Green is the new Crimson." The office is dedicated to making Harvard's buildings more energy-efficient and to pressing lifestyle changes on students (e.g., drive less, consider vegetarianism). There are also "peer-to-peer behavior-change programs and initiatives" to forward this goal. There's even a green holiday of sorts, the "Green Is the New Crimson Sustainability Celebration"; the first such event, in 2008, featured an address by Harvard alumnus Al Gore.
Harvard's Office of Sustainability has even issued a guide for activists to use when speaking with "skeptics and opponents." Would "opponents" include those who favor technologies of mitigation and adaptation over lifestyle changes as the most sensible approach to climate change? Harvard's guide to dealing with skeptics bemoans the fact that about half of all mainstream news stories on climate change make a point of including opposing views. From the official Harvard perspective, climate change would therefore appear to be beyond debate.
#page#Yet where does the Office of Sustainability draw the line? Is it legitimate for news stories to quote those who doubt that current models have rightly estimated the climate's sensitivity to carbon dioxide? Can news stories still quote those who have questioned the attribution of Hurricane Sandy to climate change? May those who would focus on tech-based solutions and economic growth in preference to lifestyle changes be interviewed by respectable reporters? And if Harvard would tolerate the inclusion of such views in media accounts, might it consider scaling back its intrusion into students' lives?
#ad#Harvard's Office of Sustainability may not have endorsed a carbon tax or a cap-and-trade scheme, and yet it's easy enough to see how its activities could have put a damper on campus debate. How seriously does Harvard University take its core obligation to preserve a free marketplace of ideas on campus? Perhaps not seriously enough.
The divestment campaign hasn't yet worked its way into the center of our national debates, although that may soon change if tactics now under consideration, like hunger strikes, sit-ins, and building seizures, go forward. The biggest publicity coup to date was a Harvard-inspired story in the New York Times, which helped the campus movement to spread nationally. Despite a brief, obligatory quotation from a petroleum-industry spokesman, that article was a virtual advertisement for the divestment campaign. And as at Harvard, the only real debate explored by the Times story was over divestment as a tactic. McKibben was handled with kid gloves; his hugely controversial no-growth philosophy never came up.
"But what about global warming?" you ask. Even if we don't want to become postmodern peasants, even if peak oil was a myth, don't we still have to stop using fossil fuels just to stop the planet from frying? No, we don't. That's why a real debate is so important.
Using the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's own estimates, Jim Manzi has argued powerfully that the negative effects on economic growth of carbon taxes and cap-and-trade schemes outweigh potential gains. This is not a case of "putting profits before people," by the way, since depressing economic growth can very easily cost lives. Refrigerators holding vaccine in rural Africa need power, after all. A look at Manzi's exchanges with climate activists ought to be required reading for any student considering joining the divestment movement.
Addressing climate change through technologies of mitigation and adaptation (prizes and small, well-targeted public and private grants to further demonstrated progress, not massive government subsidies) makes more sense than pulling the plug on the world's economic engine. McKibben and Klein reject technological fixes, and yet if economic opportunity led to tech-based solutions for the seemingly intractable problem of peak oil, why not for global warming?
All this assumes the models behind the most widely quoted climate estimates are accurate. Increasingly, there is reason to believe that revisions may be in order. Sheer physics dictates that the release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere has a warming effect. Yet the long-term rise in global temperatures has leveled off over the past decade or so, even as carbon-dioxide emissions have increased. While it's possible that this warming standstill can be fully explained by confounding factors like atmospheric particulates and changing ocean currents, it may well be that climate is less sensitive to carbon-dioxide emissions than some current models hold. It's going to take time to get a more accurate estimate of sensitivity levels, very possibly forcing significant revisions in Bill McKibben's math.
Economic growth and the technological innovation that drives it have long been bulwarks of our domestic tranquillity and national security. Enlarging the pie for everyone prevents politics from devolving into nasty zero-sum squabbles over redistributing wealth. Growth also keeps us strong enough to hold external threats at bay. Do we really want to surrender this time-tested recipe for social peace and international success?
The creators of the divestment movement would like us to do just that. Whether their young followers recognize it or not, the fossil-fuel divestment campaign is tailor-made to discredit America's economic system. Turning oil companies into murderous monsters and shutting off the energy that drives our prosperity is a roundabout way of undercutting capitalism itself, as the divestment campaign's sponsors well understand. To accede to these propositions without serious debate is to cheat ourselves and our posterity, while betraying the very principles of intellectual exchange upon which liberal education rests.
The campus fossil-fuel divestment campaign tells us plenty about the direction of this country right now. Conservatives warn that Democrat-supported initiatives like Obamacare and cap-and-trade will inhibit economic growth and tamper with our freedoms in profound and dangerous ways. Democrats dismiss such talk, yet do little to count up the costs. The occasional imprudent voice on the left can't help bragging that conservatives are right about what stands on the other side of our ongoing transformation, yet most play it smart by playing dumb.
McKibben straddles the line. Although he has long insisted that the death of fossil fuels would spell an end to economic growth, the kid-gloves treatment he now receives in the liberal press downplays such talk. McKibben seems happy to oblige, perhaps understanding that success for his divestment campaign would do more to advance a post-growth society than any mere lecture or book.
Millennials, meanwhile, are in a bit of a haze. Their support for an expanded entitlement state and an end to fossil fuels threatens to render their employment woes permanent and their tax burdens unsustainable. Yet they have barely considered what is at stake. How could they, when the press won't cover the conflicts? With a monolithically leftist faculty, and conservatives viewed as either dangerously uncool or outright genocidal, campus debate over such issues has all but disappeared.
Conservatives rightly want to win back the culture, especially among the young. The problem is that many millennials aren't waiting to carefully consider earnest arguments from both sides about what sort of society we should want. They've swallowed the Left's caricature of the Right, more out of the need for a secular religion or as a matter of fashion than from due consideration of the issues. That will be tough to reverse.
The fossil-fuel divestment campaign will test the capacity of our politics, our press, our universities, and our young people for thoughtful debate on serious issues. The results so far are disappointing.
— Stanley Kurtz is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center. This is the final installment of a three-part article.
Stanley Kurtz is a senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.


Yowies have become all the rage in the northern Gold Coast hinterland, where the mystery monster was spotted by three horsemen a week ago.
Yowie songs, Yowie jokes and Yowie cartoons have become the order of the day on the river plains north of Tamborine Mountain, even though the three bushmen are still sticking to their story. The three men - a farmer, a fencer and a saddler - say they were mustering on the steep northern slopes of Tamborine last Tuesday when their dogs took fright and they spotted the huge grey creature walking slowly through the bush.
Now the nearest watering hole, the historic Logan Village Inn Hotel, is full of Yowie stories every night.
In fact, the quiet roadside pub is set to challenge the big Yowie capital of Advancetown where Yowie burgers are the tradition. Most Yowies have been sighted nearer to Advancetown, south of Nerang, in the past, but now Tamborine and Logan Village locals are wondering if the puzzling primate has moved further north to escape the publicity.
The three bushmen have refused television interviews about their sighting because they say the story has been told and that is that. But now their neighbours are talking about 'strange happenings' on the mountain spurs behind Tamborine and sounds in the night that have spooked their normally fearless blue cattle dogs.
"I've never seen so many blokes cop so much ribbing, but they are still deadly serious about what they saw," said the man who's heard all the Yowie stories of late, Logan Village publican, Graham McDonald.


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VPN Topology
IPsec and IKE
A site-to-site VPN tunnel connects networks in different geographic locations. You can create site-to-site IPsec connections between managed devices and between managed devices and other Cisco or third-party peers that comply with all relevant standards. These peers can have any mix of inside and outside IPv4 and IPv6 addresses. Site-to-site tunnels are built using the Internet Protocol Security (IPsec) protocol suite and Internet Key Exchange version 2 (IKEv2). After the VPN connection is established, the hosts behind the local gateway can connect to the hosts behind the remote gateway through the secure VPN tunnel.
To create a new site-to-site VPN topology you must provide a unique name, specify a topology type, choose the IKE version that is used for IPsec IKEv1 or IKEv2, or both and authentication method. Once configured, you deploy the topology to Firepower Threat Defense devices.
In Cisco Defense Orchestrator, site-to-site VPNs are configured based on IKE policies and IPsec proposals that are assigned to VPN topologies. Policies and proposals are sets of parameters that define the characteristics of a site-to-site VPN, such as the security protocols and algorithms that are used to secure traffic in an IPsec tunnel. Several policy types may be required to define a full configuration image that can be assigned to a VPN topology.
For authentication of VPN connections, configure a pre-shared key in the topology on each device. Pre-shared keys allow a secret key, used during the IKE authentication phase, to be shared between two peers.
Monitoring Site-to-Site Virtual Private Network
Configuring Site-to-Site VPN for Firepower Threat Defense
site-to-site vpn

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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राष्ट्रिय
नुवाकोट
प्रबास
बिचार / अन्तर्वाता
थप विधा
हेरचाह सौन्दर्य
यौन
बिचित्र
साहित्य/कला
Zhang calls on PM
Posted on: October 21, 2016 | views: 137
Visiting Chinese Minister of State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Zhang Mao, today paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the latter's official residence in Baluwatar.
On the occasion, Prime Minister Dahal expressed happiness as an agreement on intellectual property protection was signed between the two countries during the Chinese Minister's Nepal visit.
According to Prime Minister Dahal's press advisor Govinda Acharya, Dahal had shared that such visit would help further strengthen the decades-long bilateral relations.
Prime Minister Dahal, praised China's 'One belt: One road' developmental roadmap and expressed confidence that Nepal could get benefit from the policy.
Minister Zhang expressed pleasure saying that the bilateral projects are smoothly moving ahead in Nepal and Chinese companies are getting appropriate working environment in Nepal.
Similarly, British ambassador to Nepal Richard Morris today paid a courtesy call to Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal at the latter's official residence in Baluwatar.
According to PM Dahal's private secretariat, they held discussions on bilateral relations and mutual benefits between the two countries during the meeting.
सम्बन्धित सामग्री:
Trishuli Power house caught with fire
Province-3 collects inputs for periodic plan
Nepalese Female also becoming active in the field of Tattoo Art
किरियापुत्री कल्याणकारी प्रतिष्ठानलाई सानिमा बैंकबाट २५ हजार सहयोग
बाढीपहिरो तथा डुबानमा ६७ जनाको मृत्यु, एक हजार ४ सय ४५ को उद्धार (पछिल्लो अपडेट)
बाढीबाट पीडित भएकालाई कांग्रेस सांसदले पाँच दिनको तलब दिने
बिपी कोइराला स्वास्थ्य-विज्ञान प्रतिष्ठानमा करोडौ भ्रष्टाचार, पूर्व-उपकुलपति सहित ८ जना विरुद्ध मुद्
बाढीपहिरो वितण्डा अपडेट : मृत्यु हुनेको संख्या ३२ पुग्यो, दुई हजारभन्दा बढीको उद्धार, २१ अझै बेपत्ता
नेविसंघको मसाल जुलुसमा प्रहरी हस्तक्षेप, एक दर्जन नेता पुगे हिरासतमा
कांग्रेसीहरु दिनभर बीपी, रातभर विप्लव !
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China, Japan, S Korea to strengthen trilateral cooperation
Foreign ministers of China, Japan and South Korea agreed in Tokyo on Saturday to strengthen trilateral cooperation for better political, economic and cultural relations.
Japanese foreign minister Masahiko Komura (C) speaks during a joint press conference with Chinese foreign minister Yang Jiechi (L), South Korean foreign and trade minister Yu Myung-Hwan after the tripartite China-Japan-South Korea Foreign Ministers Meeting in Tokyo, capital of Japan, on June 14, 2008.
Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi, Japanese Foreign Minister Masahiko Komura and South Korean Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Yu Myung-hwan reached the agreement at the second trilateral meeting of foreign ministers from the three countries.
Yang said the meeting was held when the trilateral cooperation is showing bright prospect. "The trilateral cooperation is facing new opportunities and is standing at a threshold," Yang told his counterparts during the meeting held later in the afternoon.
"Further development of the trilateral cooperation is in line with the expectation of the three peoples and is conducive to peaceful development of the three countries and the region," Yang said.
He called for cherishing of the opportunities to actively push forward the trilateral cooperation toward the direction of peaceful coexistence, comprehensive cooperation, mutual benefit and common development.
Yang called on the three sides to keep their respective political promises, improve understanding and trust in each others, expand logistical and financial cooperation as well as social and cultural exchanges and deepen communications on regional cooperation and significant international and local issues so as to further improve the mechanism of trilateral cooperation.
The three ministers agreed that the trilateral cooperation is very important for peace, stability and prosperity of Asia. They agreed to carry out new cooperation on disaster relief.
The three ministers agreed to keep regular communications between leaders and foreign ministers of the three countries and scheduled a meeting of heads of government of the three countries in Japan in September.
The three ministers also agreed to strengthen cooperation on promoting peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula, combating climate change, environment protection, food and energy safety, assistance to African development and the United Nations' reform.
Komura and Yu wished the Beijing Olympics a great success.
(Xinhua News Agency June 15, 2008)
Pet Name
- Chinese FM to attend FMs meeting of China, Japan, South Korea
- China, Japan, S Korea must pursue peace, friendship
- Leaders of China, Japan, S Korea meet in Singapore
- China, Japan, S. Korea Converge for Foreign Affairs Consultation
- China 'concerned' over Japan-Taiwan boat collision
- Bush secures Brown's support
- SED plays constructive role in US-Sino relations
- Chinese vice president kicks off visit to N Korea
- Fears over China-US economic talks baseless
> Korean Nuclear Talks
> Reconstruction of Iraq
> Middle East Peace Process
> Iran Nuclear Issue
> 6th SCO Summit Meeting
- China Development Gateway
- Foreign Ministry
- Network of East Asian Think-Tanks
- China-EU Association
- China-Africa Business Council
- China Foreign Affairs University
- University of International Relations
- Institute of World Economics & Politics
- Institute of Russian, East European & Central Asian Studies
- Institute of West Asian & African Studies
- Institute of Latin American Studies
- Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies
- Institute of Japanese Studies


20 photoshopping portraits tips to help you improve your portrait editing in Photoshop and Lightroom. Daily FixThePhoto retouchers improve thousands portrait photos of models, family, children, couples, etc. and now we want to share tricks and tips for photoshopping portraits as a pro with you.
View more about several ways on how to download Photoshop free trial and start editing photos like professionals.
Many amateur photographers tend to neglect images culling and do Photoshop portrait retouching of all photos they took. This photo editing step doesn't require special knowledge but helps get cool results. Remove the photographs with distracting things (strangers, stains, too bright textures or colors), anything that distracts attention from the model. If some objects cut your model's face, body or distracts, remove this photo too. I prefer Lightroom to be the best photo culling software for mass display, assortment, and uniting my images, and the Compare and Survey view get much benefit. Choose about 30 shots and ask your friends to specify the ones they like the most.
If you want to make a natural skin, remove stray hair from your model's face and body or create dramatic, grunge or glitch effects in Photoshop FREE, I recommend you learning these techniques having watched YouTube Photoshop portrait tutorials.
Before you start Photoshopping portraits, it is necessary to make color correction, namely, adjust the white balance. These settings are done to give the skin a natural look in the photo. It is extremely crucial for Photoshop indoor portrait editing when the artificial light is used.
You may have some difficulties, trying to get the proper color, as every light source produces the light of different color temperature. Some colors will look too bright, while others remain slightly faded.
View more a 7-step tutorial about installing brushes in Photoshop CC and create amazing photos and designs.
Every detail in the portrait must be smoothly retouched. There are lots of Photoshop retouching tutorials about How to whiten teeth in Lightroom, but some photographers still forget to do it. That is why even the most charming smile loses its beauty. This yellowish tint appears as a result of the poor lighting. Photoshop editing is a very effective solution of such a problem. But be very attentive in order not to overdo the whitening, because the teeth will acquire a very unnatural look. Put Opacity to 50% for a better look.
Read more about how to whiten teeth in Adobe Photoshop in 3 easy steps or download FREE teeth whotening Lightroom brushes to make it 1 click.
Fortunately, there are many Photoshopping tricks for portraits that will enable you to bring attention back to the model's eyes – to brighten them, change or enhance eye color or correct the eyes' whites. Not all the shooters know how to edit like a pro. They just sharpen the eye and that's all. If you lighten the model's eyes, it's better to brighten the area opposite the catch light. Having forgotten about it, you will receive a 100% unnatural and "alien" look. Find out How to change eye color in Photoshop or watch the following Photoshop video tutorial. I recommend download free Photoshop action for eyes.
the low-frequency layer (tonal features).
Frequency separation helps completely get rid of black-heads from a model's nose by wiping over the affected area with the clone tool, removing just these defects without damaging the color and tone. Besides, you can put detail back into a burned out area in several clicks.
So, you need to analyze the skin tone first and then proceed to Photoshopping portraits.
You may have a portrait photo-session outdoors when the light is harsh or the lighting in the studio is rather poor. Moreover, your model may feel tired and suffer from insomnia. Anyway, you will probably see the dark bags under the model's eyes and you must know how to get rid of them NATURALLY. You can do it your own or apply Lightroom portrait presets.
Remember, any skin retouching may be a tricky task and you have to know all the nuances how to make it naturally beautiful. The customers usually know what the result they want to see, so watch these creative Photoshop portrait tutorials to do everything the best way possible.
The most frequent problem with newborn or baby portraits is the redness of the skin. It usually appears on the cheeks, near the nose and the eyes. Fortunately, with the step by step Photoshop tutorials for beginners you will learn to get rid of redness.
In the photo terms, "dodge" means "to lighten" and "burn" is "to darken". These techniques have become very popular among fashion portrait photography, and they are a must if you need to add shadows and highlights to a picture. Thus, the visual contrast of the photo is increased.
You find the dark areas on the skin and dodge (lighten) them, while the light spots must be "burnt" (darkened). In such a way, you will be able to even the skin tone and improve all the imperfections. According to cool Photoshop tutorials, every professional photographer must know how to use "dodge" and "burn" tools. They are very effective and completely non-destructive. If you need it but have never done before, address portrait photo retouching service and order Dodge & Burn retouching for about $5.
Photoshop editing of hair takes a long time. And not always the result satisfies the photographer. You can do hair color change for making stylized photos or improve the hair color and make it more vivid and pop. You need to know that changing the color from light tones to dark tones is more comfortable than doing vice versa. This actually does not depend on the program in which you work. Sometimes the transition from dark shades to light shades of hair color is almost impossible. And this must be taken into account when you proceed to Photoshopping portraits. It is essential not to overdo it when you are editing portraits in Photoshop. Otherwise, you will get an unrealistic photo.
Photoshopping portraits always includes hair editing. Usually, a photographer or retoucher removes hair that protrudes or covers the part of the face. It is a very laborious work that takes a lot of effort. Stray hair is the main problem of most portraits outdoors. There are many Photoshopping portraits tips for quick hair editing. Each photographer chooses the suitable image retouching technique. If you have not yet determined the most optimal one, then we suggest watching the video from which you can get to know different methods that will help you speed up the process of editing portraits in Photoshop.
Photoshopping portraits is not only about face retouching, but it includes image manipulations with the hair. The following video will show you how to edit like a professional photographer. They will help you give the hair volume and shine if it is necessary. Therefore, you will be able to make your pictures eye-catching.
Very often photographers are asked to remove freckles, birthmarks, acne and other skin defects. The photos of models for glossy magazines are done with the help of different Photoshop retouching plugins and tools. Spot Healing Tool is perfect for removing blemishes on the face. It enhances the image editing process greatly. If you want to learn more about this technique, we recommend watching the video with useful Photoshopping tricks for portraits.
Make-up is a great way to emphasize the beauty of the face and to highlight its individual peculiarities, for example, the shape of the eyes. Basic retouching in Photoshop also includes editing makeup. Photoshop tricks described in the following video will help you improve the makeup and make each part of the face expressive. This type of editing is mandatory for Fashion and glamor photos. The results will be impressive.
Many customers do not want to see wrinkles on their face in photos. Wrinkle smoothing is a great way to improve the picture and surprise the customer even if he/she did not order this service. This tool makes it possible to perfect the image. When you remove wrinkles from the face, do not overdo. Otherwise, you will get a cartoon image of a doll. The photo should look natural so that the results of the image retouching will not be visible. You can use tips for Photoshopping portraits from the next video.
If you want to give the picture an emotional mood or show the character of a person, turn a photo in a black and white one. This option is suitable if you're going to focus on the subject. Use the manual black-and-white photo editing, don't use auto correction.
Photoshop portrait filters help photographers shift focus to specific details of the image. In this case, you can use the Sharpening Tool. It becomes possible to lay the emphasis on some parts of the picture. You can also regulate contrast, change light and composition. These tools enhance the image quality. You should evaluate the finished image and highlight those elements, which will help show the model in the most favorable way. It can be accessories, such as watches or hair wreath. Bright parts of the clothing can be also brought into focus. You can also concentrate on the eyes or hair. In this case, it is important to be very careful, otherwise, you will accentuate the undesirable details, which will distract attention from a model. Watch the video to learn more Photoshop tricks about sharpening photo.
The glass reflections may spoil the whole portrait image. It happens because of the glare from the glasses. This defect is sometimes complicated to eliminate, and photo retouching can take extra time. One of the most effective tips for Photoshopping portraits is to take an additional photo of a model without glasses. This method will help you quickly retouch the picture. There are a few more Photoshopping portraits tips of removing reflections which you can find in this video.
Make a quick and professional color correction in Lightroom – apply pastel, matte, film or vintage effects to your photos.
By means of Photoshop actions you can brighten eyes, make teeth pure white or enhance the skin tones.
All of these tricks for Photoshopping portraits will help you quickly and efficiently edit the images. These video tutorials are suitable for beginning photographers who just start their photo retouching experience. Using Photoshop & Photoshop alternatives retouching tools properly, you will be able to create gorgeous pictures.


The 8th Congress of Italian Architects, Planners and Landscape Designers, held in Rome on July 5-6-7 2018, produced a manifesto for the promotion of urban regeneration based on a well-founded and wide-spread architectural culture. With the Manifesto Architects, aware of the profound transformation cities and territories are undergoing, ask the new Government a political action for overcoming the present inadequate town planning regulations, the persisting crisis of the real estate market and the soil consumption which is becoming more and more dangerous for the preservation of Italian territory.
The Manifesto states the necessity of an Act for Architecture and Landscape as Common Heritage, expression of culture, identity and collective history.
In a time when knowledge and responsibility are fragmented, bureaucracies rule, competences are deprived of any authority, the role of architects as a creative, thinking and proposing category, bearer of a sound culture of project, looking at the future even when they deal with conservation, is determining for the betterment of the environment.


From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ana Kristina Gasteyer (born May 4, 1967) is an American actress of stage, film and television. She is best known for her comedic roles when she was a cast member on Saturday Night Live from 1996 to 2002. Description above from the Wikipedia article Ana Gasteyer, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
May 4, 1967	In Washington, D.C., U.S.


With an elegant, clean and streamlined look, this table was designed with flexibility in mind. The slimline steel frame is detailed with a 5mm shadow feature and suits both the kitchen / dining setting as well as an office environment.
We love it styled with copper accessories but the beauty that concrete and steel offer up endless opportunities and versatility!
Suited to both indoor and outdoor enjoyment.
For the office, we can even create a custom hidden IT cable management system.
50mm lightly textured powder coated steel frame with a 5mm shadow line feature.


I am a retired corporate executive. I have grown children and no spouse.
I'd like to travel and get to know an area as a local rather than the typical tourist stay.
I am extremely reliable and mature. I like to read and walk/hike.


text:
Tom's Biography
Born: April 23, 1987: St. Louis, Missouri
College:
2006 – 2008: Rockhurst (Jesuit) University, Kansas City,
Named to NSCAA/adidas NCAA Division II Men's All- America Team as a sophomore and as a junior;
Also played for St. Louis Lions in USL Premier Development League.
Professional:
2009 Charleston Battery, USL, made pro debuted against Vancouver Whitecaps in season opener;
2010, helped Charleston win division title;
At season's end on loan to Carolina RailHawks of USSF, Division 2 Professional League;
2011-2012, joined Columbus Crew, Major League Soccer;
2013, signed with Vancouver Whitecaps;
2014, signed with Ottawa Fury FC, Feb 2, 2014 by North American Soccer League expansion side ahead of their inaugural campaign.
Memorable Quote - about playing soccer
"I just try to come and bring a good attitude every day, try to work hard, do the things that I know I'm capable of and leave the rest up to the Lord."


text:
Innovid acquires Taykey to provide more data to video advertisers
Video advertising company Innovid has acquired another advertising startup, Taykey.
We've written about Taykey as a tool that companies can use to target their ads based on the topics that their desired audience is interested in. Innovid says that by combining Taykey's analysis with its own data about video engagement, it can show advertisers how targeting relevant content affects the performance of video ads.
The financial terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Both Innovid and Taykey count Sequoia Capital as one of their investors — Taykey had raised $32 million total, while Innovid raised $50 million.
Innovid also declined to provide specifics about how much of the Taykey team it would be hiring, except to say that it would make "key hires" in product and engineering from Taykey's New York and Israel offices. Taykey CEO Amit Avner will not be joining Innovid, but he will provide advice during the transition for the next few months.
"There is massive opportunity for marketers to gain higher performance by leveraging real-time contextual intelligence for video content as a factor in how they plan, optimize and ultimately deliver video creative at scale," said Innovid co-founder and CEO Zvika Netter in the announcement. "That's why this acquisition is so exciting for us — it enhances the breadth of insights that Innovid's media agnostic platform already delivers to brands and drives more effective video marketing, and provides an additional input for data-driven video strategies"


text:
Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo to Leduc, Canada
Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Leduc, Canada
WAT (West Africa Time) is 8 hours ahead of MST (Mountain Standard Time)
12:30 pm12:30 in Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo is 4:30 am04:30 in Leduc, Canada
Moanda to Leduc call time
Best time for a conference call or a meeting is between 4pm-6pm in Moanda which corresponds to 8am-10am in Leduc
12:30 pm12:30 WAT (West Africa Time) (Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo). Offset UTC +1:00 hour
4:30 am04:30 MST (Mountain Standard Time) (Leduc, Canada). Offset UTC -7:00 hours
12:30 pm12:30 Moanda, Democratic Republic of the Congo / 4:30 am04:30 Leduc, Canada
Moanda Information
Moanda Facts
MNB, Moanda, Muanda
Franc (CDF)
5° 55' S Latitude / 12° 22' E Longitude
Leduc Information
MDT - Mountain Daylight Time
-7:00 hours during Mountain Standard Time, currently in use.
-6:00 hours during Mountain Daylight Time.
Sunday, March 13, 2022 at 2:00 am local time. DST starts annually the on second Sunday of March. Clocks are turned forward 1 hour to Sunday, March 13, 2022, 3:00 am local daylight time instead. Also called Spring Forward or Summer Time.
Sunday, November 6, 2022 at 2:00 am local time. DST ends annually the on first Sunday of November. Clocks are turned backward 1 hour to Sunday, November 6, 2022, 1:00 am local standard time instead. Also called Fall Back or switch to Winter Time.
Leduc Facts
Leduk, lei du ke, lideog, lwdwk, lydwk, Ледук, لودوک, ليدوك, لیڈک، البرٹا, 勒杜克, 리덕
53° 16' N Latitude / 113° 33' W Longitude
Popular Moanda Converters
Moanda to BRST
Moanda to FET
Moanda to HNY
Moanda to AHDT
Moanda to AST
Moanda to Dharangaon
Moanda to Zipaquira
Moanda to Moshi
Moanda to Asaba
Moanda to Hangu


It's April and the vines have begun to shoot in the Penedès. This is the first sign of the vines' activity as the first shoots begin to form the canes, leaves and the future grapes.
A curiosity of the budbreak phase is that as the plant's sap rises, we can see a transparent liquid seep from the pruning cuts. As it drips off it causes a curious phenomenon we call "the vine's tears".


This vehicle includes a Money-Back Guarantee* and passed our precise inspection process. Best of all the price you see is the price you pay. No haggling. No back and forth. No pressure. And this price is so good it is guaranteed. Contact Autonation Toyota Corpus Christi today for information on dozens of vehicles like this 2007 Toyota Camry XLE. This 2007 Toyota Camry comes with a CARFAX Buyback Guarantee, which means you can buy with certainty. When it comes to high fuel economy, plenty of versatility and a great looks, this ToyotaCamry XLE cannot be beat. This Toyota Camry's superior fuel-efficiency is proof that not all vehicles are created equal. In addition to being well-cared for, this Toyota Camry has very low mileage making it a rare find. More information about the 2007 Toyota Camry: The Camry continues to live up to its reputation as one of the most sensible buys among mid-size sedans, with the frugal four-cylinder CE model more feature-loaded than ever, the V6 more luxurious and powerful than before, and an advanced new Hybrid model that's surprisingly affordable. Furthermore, automotive leasing expert ALG ranks the Camry as the mid-size car with the strongest residual value, which translates to strong resale value. Strengths of this model include roomy interior, Value, available fuel economy and performance, luxury-car amenities, and smooth, quiet ride *Money-Back Guarantee is valid for 5 days or 250 miles, whichever comes first. Subject to certain terms and conditions. See store for details. Some restrictions apply.


text:
package org.embulk.filter.distinct;

import org.embulk.spi.Column;
import org.embulk.spi.ColumnVisitor;
import org.embulk.spi.Exec;
import org.embulk.spi.PageBuilder;
import org.embulk.spi.PageReader;
import org.slf4j.Logger;

class ColumnVisitorImpl
    implements ColumnVisitor
{
    private final static Logger logger = Exec.getLogger(ColumnVisitorImpl.class);
    private final PageReader pageReader;
    private final PageBuilder pageBuilder;

    ColumnVisitorImpl(PageReader pageReader, PageBuilder pageBuilder) {
        this.pageReader = pageReader;
        this.pageBuilder = pageBuilder;
    }

    @Override
    public void booleanColumn(Column outputColumn) {
        if (pageReader.isNull(outputColumn)) {
            pageBuilder.setNull(outputColumn);
        } else {
            pageBuilder.setBoolean(outputColumn, pageReader.getBoolean(outputColumn));
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void longColumn(Column outputColumn) {
        if (pageReader.isNull(outputColumn)) {
            pageBuilder.setNull(outputColumn);
        } else {
            pageBuilder.setLong(outputColumn, pageReader.getLong(outputColumn));
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void doubleColumn(Column outputColumn) {
        if (pageReader.isNull(outputColumn)) {
            pageBuilder.setNull(outputColumn);
        } else {
            pageBuilder.setDouble(outputColumn, pageReader.getDouble(outputColumn));
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void stringColumn(Column outputColumn) {
        if (pageReader.isNull(outputColumn)) {
            pageBuilder.setNull(outputColumn);
        } else {
            pageBuilder.setString(outputColumn, pageReader.getString(outputColumn));
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void jsonColumn(Column outputColumn)
    {
        if (pageReader.isNull(outputColumn)) {
            pageBuilder.setNull(outputColumn);
        }
        else {
            pageBuilder.setJson(outputColumn, pageReader.getJson(outputColumn));
        }
    }

    @Override
    public void timestampColumn(Column outputColumn) {
        if (pageReader.isNull(outputColumn)) {
            pageBuilder.setNull(outputColumn);
        } else {
            pageBuilder.setTimestamp(outputColumn, pageReader.getTimestamp(outputColumn));
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Two hours before every round, the relentlessly accurate Stenson begins this powerful routine.
Henrik Stenson is relentlessly consistent.
Over the course of a tournament, many of his competitors will spray shots into danger zones and put up the type of crooked numbers that effectively sabotage their weekend.
The 42-year-old Swede, who currently holds six PGA Tour wins, simply continues to pound fairways, find greens, and elude bogeys, hole after hole after hole. As lesser players fall into trouble and frustration, the ultra-cool Stenson slowly climbs the leaderboard.
It's proved to be a fruitful approach for the world's most accurate golfer.
Thus far this season, Stenson leads all players on Tour in both driving accuracy percentage (74.79%) and greens in regulation percentage (74.25%).
No one has avoided bogeys better than Stenson, either, as he's earned a +1 on just 12.20% of his total holes played, the lowest figure among 194 qualified Tour players.
The golf swing is a fickle beast. A fraction too little or too much movement, be it in the wrists, shoulders, hips or knees, can turn pure contact into an expletive-producing duff. No one is better at steering clear of these mis-hits than Stenson, who seemingly produces quality shots ad infinitum.
That's difficult enough when you're in perfect health, but the schedule of a professional golfer is a constant assault on the body. Stenson averages about 25 tournaments a year, and each tournament week sees him take thousands upon thousands of swings. Swinging a club head in excess of 100 mph is an incredibly explosive movement, and performing it over and over grinds down even the fittest of players. The never-ending travel, often to far-flung locations outside of the United States, further leeches player's health.
"The millions of golf balls we hit over our careers takes a toll. It's about managing the little nicks that show up," Stenson told STACK. "And It's virtually 50 weeks a year where you can play a tournament. Christmas and New Year's are the two weeks with nothing going on. And you feel like you've got demand at certain tournaments at certain times, so scheduling is quite hard. All the long flights and the jet lag really take a toll."
Add in the pressure of battling against the greatest golfers in the world in front of massive crowds each weekend, and you've got a recipe for a body riddled with injury. To prevent achy joints and pretzel-knotted muscles, Stenson spends an extraordinary amount of time on his warm-up and recovery.
"Players are looking after themselves physically in a different way now than they used to. Going back 30 or 40 years, it used to be at least a few guys who would hang out in the bar when the day was over. Now, the players hang out in the gym instead," Stenson says. "You believe every little bit is going to help the bigger picture."
For Stenson, many of those "little bits" are gained inside the Massage Envy Player Performance Center, a traveling fitness center housed in two massive trailers that are on-site for every PGA Tour event. One trailer is filled with treadmills, free weights, exercise bands and other "sweat-centric" items, while the other has physical therapy tables, massage tools, and high-tech recovery equipment. Two hours before the start of every round, you can find Stenson inside the trailers.
"My pre-round routine is really important. How it looks for me is I start my warm-up about two hours before my tee time. I will get a stretch, get some checks, then I do my active warm-up, as well. Then after that, I go out," Stenson says. "Every player has a different routine. I start on the putting green probably for 20-25 minutes, then I got and hit balls. The thought is that once I've done that half hour of stretching and the active warm-up, I'm ready to go. I could go down and start hitting a driver straight out on the range. If you don't do (the stretch and warm-up), it's almost a bucket just to get going. You're trying to warm up your body by hitting golf shots, instead of warming up your body before you start hitting the shots. Ideally, you want to feel the same every day."
The "stretch" Stenson refers to is known as "Total Body Stretch." Total Body Stretch is a system of assisted stretches that are designed to increase mobility, flexibility and performance. The stretches are administered by a certified Massage Envy practitioner, which makes it possible for deeper and more effective stretches than what you can do on your own. The practitioner is able to identify tight spots, customize the stretch program to address these issues and coach you through the stretches to maximize the benefit. A Total Body Stretch session—it's also available to the public at Massage Envy locations—is a similar overall experience to getting a massage, but you're getting stretched for the duration of the session.
"(For our PGA golfers), the majority is spine that we take care of. Work on spinal mobility, lateral rotation of the thoracic spine, lateral motion in the hips, as well. Those are the two areas where we can maximize movement. If those two areas move well, then the pressure's taken off the low back. And we want to prevent all low back injuries, because if you get a low back injury, those can be more nagging and more chronic down the road," says Corey Hug, PGA Tour physical therapist.
Once Stenson's been stretched out, he performs several active warm-up exercises. These exercises are designed to help him increase mobility and fire up key muscles before he hits the range. "You're working through the whole body. You're stretching it, but you're activating it at the same time before you get out there and start hitting balls," Stenson says.
Let's run through some of staples of his active warm-up program and explain how they help him maintain one of the smoothest swings in golf.
This classic yoga move promotes mobility in the spine.
Begin in an all-fours position with your hands underneath your shoulders and your knees underneath your hips.
As you inhale, arch your back and look up. This is the "cow" position.
Exhale, look down, press into your hands, and round your back like a cat.
Move slowly through these two positions, hitting each position 10 times.
This move targets the mobility of the T-Spine, which is short for "thoracic spine." With the twisting motion inherent to the golf swing, mobility through the T-Spine is an absolute must. Not only can it help reduce the risk of injury, but it can also result in greater club head speed and control.
Place your right hand near your ear, as Stenson does, or right where your neck meets your torso.
Keeping the rest of your body stable, rotate down to your left as far as possible, leading with the eyes, and allowing your right head and shoulder to follow.
Lift your right elbow straight up towards the sky, opening the T-Spine in the opposite direction.
Breathe through the movement and hit both the top and bottom position 10 times on both sides.
Mobility through the hips is essential to a buttery smooth golf swing.
Start by performing a Lateral Lunge to your left and shifting over your left leg (your left knee should be about even with the pinkie toe at the endpoint, if not slightly beyond). Keep your hips back during the lunge.
While keeping your hips low, move into a Lateral Lunge to your right.
Perform 8 reps on each side.
The hip hinge is a critical movement pattern for athletes. Being able to tap into the strength of your glutes with a stable core is essential to elite performance. Stenson also performs a mini hip hinge every time he stands over the golf ball.
Begin with your feet at shoulder width or slightly beyond that.
With your hands on your hips or lower back, bring the torso toward parallel to the ground. Although you can bend your knees slightly, think of "hinging" at the hip rather than squatting forward.
Keep your core and glutes activated to perform the movement correctly, as your muscles should be doing the work of lowering and raising your torso—not your joints. Perform 2 sets of 10 reps.
This exercise specifically targets the gluteus medius, an oft-neglected muscle that provides stability to the hip. Weak gluteus medius often lead to pain or injury in the low back, knees and ankles. The variation that Stenson performs is known as a Back-to-Side Fire Hydrants.
Assume all-fours position, extend leg directly behind, squeeze glute and lift leg toward ceiling.
Bend knee and hip to bring leg to side position.
Hold for two counts and keep knee at 90 degrees.
Repeat for 6-10 reps. Perform set with opposite leg.
Bird Dogs are an excellent movement to reinforce proper spinal alignment and optimal core recruitment.
Assume an all-fours position with your hands beneath your shoulders and your knees beneath your hips.
Keeping your spine neutral, raise your opposite arm and leg straight out. Keep your abs braced and the musculature in your low back and glutes activated. This will help you resist rotation and extension forces that attempt to take your spine out of natural and allow you to maintain a straight line from extended hand to extended foot.
If you've never performed Bird Dogs before, you may need to regress the movement. Perform 2 sets of 12 total reps.
Pallof Pulses are a variation on the traditional Pallof Press. This exercises combines anti-rotational core strength and stability with a small range of movement. The range of movement generally mimics where Stenson will be contacting the ball. This anti-rotational core work helps Stenson better control his club head and also aids in his ability to decelerate through the second half of his swing. "You're coiling every time, and it takes a lot of stress on (the body) to slow it down, as well. When you're hitting drives, it's a lot of weight. Even though the club is light, the force you put into it actually makes it quite heavy. So you've gotta slow that down on the other side," Stenson says. Never performed Pallof Presses before? Here's everything you need to know.
In golf, posture is crucial. Many modern humans, including many professional athletes, are anterior dominant—meaning they use the muscles on the front of their body (e.g., the quads and pecs) more frequently than the ones on the back (e.g., the hamstrings and trapezius). Anterior dominance has become the norm in our society due to the positions we assume during most of our daily routines (such as staring down at a smartphone or working on a laptop) and our training habits (overtraining the "mirror muscles" while neglecting the posterior muscles). For golfers, who spend hours each day hunched over a ball, the risk is even greater. To combat anterior dominance and pull himself into better posture, Stenson performs Band Rows. Perform two sets of 10 reps, keeping your posture upright and pinching your shoulder blades together as you contract.