text:
It's the Year of the Dog: Spotlight on America's Top 10 Shelter Dog Makeovers
Wahl and GreaterGood.org partner to demonstrate the power of grooming while supporting rescues
STERLING, Ill. (Aug. 8, 2018) – According to the Chinese calendar, 2018 is the year of the dog, which makes the annual Dirty Dogs Campaign even more poetic. The brainchild of pet industry leaders Wahl and GreaterGood.org, the campaign, now in its seventh year, donates funds and grooming supplies to rescues and shelters nationwide in an effort to transform more than 20,000 dogs each year and better their chances at finding a fur-ever family. Ten of these amazing makeovers have been chosen to demonstrate that a good bath can make the difference between life and death.
View hundreds of amazing shelter dog makeovers in the Dirty Dogs Before & After Photo Gallery (dirtydogsgallery.com).
"Most dogs enter shelters wearing the effects of their harsh lives, making it difficult for adoptive families to see the lovable animal underneath the matted fur and dirt," says Steven Yde, division vice president for Wahl. "And while rescue organizations work tirelessly, the sad truth is that less than half of these dogs are getting the grooming they need due to a lack of resources."
Dirty Dogs Photo Gallery & Contest
Since 2012, Wahl's pet shampoo donations have helped rescues and shelters nationwide transform more than 100,000 dogs and get them ready for adoption. Hundreds of these amazing makeovers have been captured through the Dirty Dogs Before & After Photo Gallery (dirtydogsgallery.com). What makes this gallery unique is that visitors can see what each dog looked like when they arrived at the shelter or rescue, and how they looked after they were cleaned up. The site also allows visitors to search for adoptable dogs in their area, learn more about the dogs' backgrounds and stories and share their favorites on social media.
To promote the gallery and help get the dogs adopted, Wahl is also launching the seventh annual Dirty Dogs Contest (dirtydogscontest.com). Ten of the most dramatic transformations from the gallery have been selected to participate in the contest. Public votes will determine the top three winners. The animal shelters and rescue groups affiliated with these transformations will receive monetary grants to further support their efforts. First place takes home $5,000, second place receives $2,000 and third place earns $1,000.
The Dirty Dogs Contest runs from August 8 – 21, 2018. To vote for one of the shelters, visit the Wahl Pets Facebook Page. Winners will be announced August 22, 2018. In addition to shampoo, Wahl offers doggie deodorants and wipes. To purchase Wahl pet products for yourself or for your favorite shelter, or to learn how to groom your own pet, visit WahlUSA.com. You can follow Wahl Pets on Facebook and Twitter.
"A first impression at the shelter is incredibly important for adoptions. Dirty, unkempt dogs will often get overlooked by potential adopters. The goal of the Dirty Dogs Before & After Gallery is to inspire people to volunteer their time grooming and bathing animals at their local shelter, or to donate much needed money and supplies," explains Noah Horton, Director of Marketing and Development at GreaterGood.org. "It's amazing the impact grooming can have on a dog's appearance, health and overall quality of life. And for a shelter dog, it can mean the difference between sitting in the shelter and finding a forever home."
About Wahl Pet Products
Wahl offers a full line of pet grooming solutions that make grooming from home safe, easy and enjoyable. The line includes hygiene products, clippers and accessories. Every year, Wahl is also dedicated to giving shelter animals a fresh start by donating pet grooming products to support adoption efforts and shelters devastated by natural disasters. For more information, visit WahlUSA.com.
About GreaterGood.org
GreaterGood.org is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works to improve the health and well-being of people, pets, and the planet. GreaterGood.org accomplishes this mission by partnering with charitable organizations and administering programs worldwide that address hunger and illness (particularly in women and children), promote education and literacy, feed and care for rescued animals in shelters and sanctuaries, and protect wildlife and restore the environment. A suite of internally funded Signature Programs staffed by experts in their respective fields furthers the mission of Giving Where It Matters. Over the last 10 years, GreaterGood.org has worked with more than 3,000 charitable partners worldwide and created and operated several Signature Programs including Rescue Rebuild, Rescue Bank, and Girl's Voices. You can learn more about GreaterGood.org on our website or by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Download Images and Video of the Top 10 Dogs: https://cloudmke.hoffmanyork.com/url/7r3zwx77z2sbxj96
View the Newswire Release:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8228951-wahl-dirty-dogs-contest-2018/
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STERLING, Ill. (Aug. 8, 2018) – According to the Chinese calendar, 2018 is the year of the dog, which makes the annual Dirty Dogs Campaign even more poetic. The brainchild of pet industry leaders Wahl and GreaterGood.org, the campaign, now in its seventh year, donates funds and grooming supplies to rescues and shelters nationwide in an effort to transform more than 20,000 dogs each year and better their chances at finding a fur-ever family. Ten of these amazing makeovers have been chosen to demonstrate that a good bath can make the difference between life and death.

View hundreds of amazing shelter dog makeovers in the Dirty Dogs Before & After Photo Gallery (dirtydogsgallery.com).

"Most dogs enter shelters wearing the effects of their harsh lives, making it difficult for adoptive families to see the lovable animal underneath the matted fur and dirt," says Steven Yde, division vice president for Wahl. "And while rescue organizations work tirelessly, the sad truth is that less than half of these dogs are getting the grooming they need due to a lack of resources."

Dirty Dogs Photo Gallery & Contest

Since 2012, Wahl's pet shampoo donations have helped rescues and shelters nationwide transform more than 100,000 dogs and get them ready for adoption. Hundreds of these amazing makeovers have been captured through the Dirty Dogs Before & After Photo Gallery (dirtydogsgallery.com). What makes this gallery unique is that visitors can see what each dog looked like when they arrived at the shelter or rescue, and how they looked after they were cleaned up. The site also allows visitors to search for adoptable dogs in their area, learn more about the dogs' backgrounds and stories and share their favorites on social media.

To promote the gallery and help get the dogs adopted, Wahl is also launching the seventh annual Dirty Dogs Contest (dirtydogscontest.com). Ten of the most dramatic transformations from the gallery have been selected to participate in the contest. Public votes will determine the top three winners. The animal shelters and rescue groups affiliated with these transformations will receive monetary grants to further support their efforts. First place takes home $5,000, second place receives $2,000 and third place earns $1,000.

The Dirty Dogs Contest runs from August 8 – 21, 2018. To vote for one of the shelters, visit the Wahl Pets Facebook Page. Winners will be announced August 22, 2018. In addition to shampoo, Wahl offers doggie deodorants and wipes. To purchase Wahl pet products for yourself or for your favorite shelter, or to learn how to groom your own pet, visit WahlUSA.com. You can follow Wahl Pets on Facebook and Twitter.

"A first impression at the shelter is incredibly important for adoptions. Dirty, unkempt dogs will often get overlooked by potential adopters. The goal of the Dirty Dogs Before & After Gallery is to inspire people to volunteer their time grooming and bathing animals at their local shelter, or to donate much needed money and supplies," explains Noah Horton, Director of Marketing and Development at GreaterGood.org. "It's amazing the impact grooming can have on a dog's appearance, health and overall quality of life. And for a shelter dog, it can mean the difference between sitting in the shelter and finding a forever home."

About Wahl Pet Products

Wahl offers a full line of pet grooming solutions that make grooming from home safe, easy and enjoyable. The line includes hygiene products, clippers and accessories. Every year, Wahl is also dedicated to giving shelter animals a fresh start by donating pet grooming products to support adoption efforts and shelters devastated by natural disasters. For more information, visit WahlUSA.com.

About GreaterGood.org

GreaterGood.org is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization that works to improve the health and well-being of people, pets, and the planet. GreaterGood.org accomplishes this mission by partnering with charitable organizations and administering programs worldwide that address hunger and illness (particularly in women and children), promote education and literacy, feed and care for rescued animals in shelters and sanctuaries, and protect wildlife and restore the environment. A suite of internally funded Signature Programs staffed by experts in their respective fields furthers the mission of Giving Where It Matters. Over the last 10 years, GreaterGood.org has worked with more than 3,000 charitable partners worldwide and created and operated several Signature Programs including Rescue Rebuild, Rescue Bank, and Girl's Voices. You can learn more about GreaterGood.org on our website or by following us on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

# # #

Download Images and Video of the Top 10 Dogs: https://cloudmke.hoffmanyork.com/url/7r3zwx77z2sbxj96

View the Newswire Release:

https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8228951-wahl-dirty-dogs-contest-2018/

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Wherever 41-year-old Thomas Centano planned to go with 166.8 grams of meth and $1,965, his plans got derailed on I-65, according to police.
LAFAYETTE — Wherever 41-year-old Thomas Centano planned to go with 166.8 grams of methamphetamine and $1,965 in cash, his plans got derailed on Interstate 65 near the Dayton exit, according to police.
Officers of the county's highway interdiction team stopped Centano's southbound Chrysler 300 about 9:15 p.m. near the 169 mile marker, according to police. Centano was driving left of center, which caught officers' attention, according to police.
A police dog indicated there might be drugs inside the vehicle, giving police probable cause to search the Chrysler sedan, according to police.
Inside the car police found the large amount of meth and the cash, according to police.
Centano, who told police his name was Daniel Cook, is from Lagrange, Illinois.
Police booked him into the Tippecanoe County Jail on preliminary charges of dealing methamphetamine and possession of meth.


text:
Q: send data to antoher database server? I've a website connected with database. When I fill the form the php script send the data to the database. The website and the database are on same server. To store the data in database I use:
    $con=mysql_connect('localhost',$id,$password);
    mysql_select_db($dabase,$con);
    $query=mysql_query($queryToRun);

This is how I send data to the database. Now I want to store the same form on a database stored on another server. Is it possible, if yes then how? Any kind of help is appreciated very much.

A: Instead of "localhost", enter in the ip address / host name of the server where database server is listening for requests. In order for this to work, that database server will have to allow requests from outside "localhost" aswell

A: The remote database needs to be configured to allow remote connections. See this question.
Once that is set up, you just need to set the server IP/hostname in the mysql_connect() call instead of localhost.
Side note: The mysql_* API is deprecated, it is recommended to upgrade to MySQLi or PDO.

A: You could just create two concurrent sets of connection variables and send the query to both of the database servers under question. For example, you could have:
  $dbConn1 = mysql_connect('address-of-the-first-database-server',
  $userName1, $password1);
  mysql_select_db($dbName1, $dbConn1);

  $dbConn2 = mysql_connect('address-of-the-second-database-server',
  $userName2, $password2);
  mysql_select_db($dbName2, $dbConn2);

  $execQuery = mysql_query($queryToRun, $dbConn1);
  $execQuery = mysql_query($queryToRun, $dbConn2);

PS: I would also recommend using more descriptive names for your variables, as this basically makes programming feel like writing structured English.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Duncan Campbell Scott and residential schools
The ghost of Ottawa bureaucrat Duncan Campbell Scott returns to discover how his plan for Indian residential schools worked out
By Mark AbleyOpinion
Sun., Dec. 15, 2013timer8 min. read
In this excerpt from Conversations with a Dead Man, the ghost of the Ottawa poet and bureaucrat Duncan Campbell Scott (1862-1947) is chatting with the book's author, Mark Abley. Scott spent 52 years in the Department of Indian Affairs, where he oversaw the residential schools and rose to become deputy minister. When he died, he was among the most respected men in Canada. Today his name is widely linked to cultural genocide.
"You know, I was in Winnipeg a few weeks ago," I said, leaning forward and watching him closely.
"An interesting place, I always thought. Despite its failures of beauty."
I wasn't sure I'd heard him right.
"Beauty, or duty?"
"Its somewhat discordant appearance," Scott said. "When a Scottish journalist named Bob Edwards got off the train there and looked around, he said, 'So this is Winnipeg. I can tell it's not Paris.' Not that Winnipeg was any uglier than a few other cities I could name. Tell me, has the country finally begun to appreciate the virtues of good architecture?"
I was puzzled. It seemed as though on his third visit Scott wanted to chat, wanted to digress.
"We have some beautiful new buildings and some others that are very – striking, for better or worse. You'd be astonished if you could see what's happened to the Royal Ontario Museum and the Ontario College of Art. But overall, let's say civic beauty is still a work in progress."
"I understand." Scott paused. I could have sworn he sighed. "So what did you want to tell me about Winnipeg?"
"I was there for a literary festival," I said. "It occupied most of my evenings, but the days were free. And one morning the friend I was staying with — she's a social worker — took me to the head office of CancerCare Manitoba. They have a lecture theatre where experts come and give talks to doctors and nurses and medical students. My friend kind of sneaked me in."
"Sneaked me in," he repeated. It must have been a novel turn of phrase for him.
"Yes. But that day, the talk wasn't given by any of the usual experts — not by anyone directly involved in the practice of medicine. It was given by a judge, Murray Sinclair."
"A good Scottish name."
"Absolutely. As well as serving on the bench, he teaches law at the University of Manitoba. He's widely respected across the country."
"I imagine so."
"He has another name too," I said. "Mizanay Gheezhik — meaning 'the one who speaks of pictures in the sky.' My Ojibwa pronunciation isn't what it should be."
Scott was silent.
"Of course it's a good idea for medical professionals there to be familiar with aboriginal issues, because Winnipeg has more indigenous residents than any other place in the country. And Murray Sinclair is not only a judge, a professor and an Ojibwa elder — he's also the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada."
He remained silent. I forged ahead.
"That commission is at work as we speak. Its mandate is to find out everything it can about what really happened in the Indian residential schools, and to see if there can be some kind of reconciliation at the end of all the truth-telling. The commission has its headquarters in Winnipeg. But it's been holding sessions in a variety of places to listen to the testimony of survivors. I've read the report it released in 2012. I expect its final report will be even longer and more detailed."
Scott had recovered his voice, though now it had a tense edge again. "And why should there be such a commission at this point in history, many years after the last school was closed?"
"Well, it's part of the compensation package the federal government and the Assembly of First Nations agreed to. The deal was not only that the survivors would receive some money — it's also that a commission would be set up, giving them a chance to speak. To share their story. And besides, it's important for Canada as a whole that these testimonies should be on the public record. Should be heard. Should be preserved. So that nothing like this could happen again."
"Hmm." Scott stirred uneasily. "And what did the Honourable Mr. Sinclair have to say in the lecture you attended?"
"He spoke about the different types of negative impact the schools had on the children who were sent there. Being victimized directly is the most obvious one. But there are others too. Judge Sinclair explained the fear of disclosure — children were threatened with consequences if they told their families what went on behind closed doors. Sometimes they were afraid to return to their communities, especially girls who had been violated and were now pregnant. When they did get home, boys and girls found they were inadequate at the traditional skills and tasks — they'd never had a proper chance to learn. And of course the children suffered a loss of faith, a loss of trust, a loss of belief in their parents and the extended family."
I paused for a second, giving my words a chance to sink in.
"Judge Sinclair said that he and the two other commissioners hear these stories by the hundreds. And they feel the suffering each time."
"The Honourable Mr. Sinclair has evidently done well in the world. May I ask what the current state of affairs is for the majority of his fellow Indians?"
"Interesting you should say that," I replied. "Another thing he mentioned was the intergenerational effect of the schools. Because it's not just the survivors who were scarred. He used the phrase 'residual impacts in the lives of their children.' And even grandchildren."
"You must enlighten me."
"Well, he showed a film presentation about an Inuvialuit elder from Tuktoyaktuk. The man –"
"Tuktoyaktuk, on the Arctic Ocean. I suppose it had a colonial name in your day. Today we take it for granted that most of the communities in the far north go by their Inuit names. Anyway — until the day of the hearing the man had never spoken about his experiences at residential school. His own wife didn't know what he'd been through. He recalled being put on a plane one morning, flown south and, like all the children, given a number. In a sense that's all he was: a number. For Judge Sinclair, the most powerful moment of the man's testimony came when he said, 'I'm not Number 142. I'm Paul Voudrach.' "
"I don't see what any of this has to do with — what was your phrase? — intergenerational effect."
"Paul was sexually abused in the school. Later in life he contemplated suicide. But the point is, when he became a father, he mistreated his own children. He admitted, you see, he didn't know how to be a parent. Judge Sinclair said that when they testify, at least 80 per cent of the survivors talk about how they went on to behave, or misbehave, with their own families in later life. So the shame they experienced as children gets compounded by the shame and guilt caused by their own actions."
Scott sniffed. "I'm surprised at how you keep on using the word 'survivors.' Admittedly an Indian school could be a difficult place for children, but it's not as if they'd been through the trenches serving their country in the Great War."
"Isn't it?" I said.
He stared at me. "No. It isn't."
"All right," I said, staring back. "Let's think about what they went through. Imagine that instead of being raised by your loving parents, as you were, in the company of your sisters, you were hauled away by strange men when you were 6 or 5 or even 4 years old. You were terrified, because you had no idea where they were taking you. The journey was long, and when you finally arrived, you were locked up inside a large, cold building. Your hair was hacked away. The clothes your mother had made for you were stripped off and you had to put on a foreign uniform. You wore this uniform all through your childhood and adolescence. There was no alternative. There was no escape.
"In your early childhood you'd lived outside much of the time. Now you could leave the school building only when the adults granted permission. You were given a number. You were known by that number. If you dared to use your own name, or if you were caught speaking a sentence in your own language, you were beaten. 'Spare the rod and spoil the child,' your teachers said. Gradually you forgot your language. When you were sent home in the summertime, you couldn't understand your own grandparents. Nor could you tell them what you were going through.
"Back at school you were told, day after day, year after year, that you belonged to an inferior people — you had no culture of your own. You were a savage, and your teachers were civilized. They understood God; you did not. And the God they understood was a jealous God who intended to consign your own parents and grandparents to the fires of hell. A few of the teachers were kind, but only a few. Most of them were incompetent and two or three were downright sadistic. The fear of them was so great, you could never entirely relax.
"You learned to live with constant hunger — the food was bad and there was never enough of it to fill your belly. The clothes you wore were ragged and dirty. The building where you spent most of your life was dark, ugly, infested with cockroaches, and in perpetual need of repair. At night you slept under a thin blanket in a miserable bed, with children coughing all around you and no fresh air. Over the years a few of the children in your dormitory died, or perhaps more than a few — but nobody was ever allowed to talk about their deaths. The absolute rule was silence.
"Let's suppose you were one of the lucky ones. Let's suppose you somehow managed to avoid coming down with tuberculosis, and that you weren't sexually assaulted by a teacher or one of the older boys. Of course you knew this was happening to many of the other children. Everyone knew it. You lived in fear, continual fear, that one day it would happen to you.
"More than anything else, you were isolated. From the first day you arrived at the school, you were lonely. You were always lonely. But Mr. Scott, if you endured 10 years of this and were able to walk out the door at the end, wouldn't you call yourself a survivor?"
I swallowed hard and glanced out the front window at the tree-lined street. When I looked back, Scott was no longer there.
From the book Conversations with a Dead Man: The Legacy of Duncan Campbell Scott, © 2013, by Mark Abley. Published in 2013 by Douglas & McIntyre. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
"Short of locking up her sons": VIOLET TREFUSIS, Pirates at Play (1950)
Elizabeth suddenly stepped out of the train, unorthodox, hatless, her golden hair like a nimbus about her head. Vica and Guido gave an involuntary gasp as the light fell full on her face, but whereas theirs was sheer gratification, Mamma's gasp, on the other hand, was one of sheer dismay. Short of locking up her sons ...
Lady Canterdown (family name Caracole, pronounced "crackle") has determined to send her lovely daughter Elizabeth to Florence to expand her horizons, despite the valid concerns of Lord Canterdown:
'Well, look what happens to Liza in Taunton, let alone Florence! The other day I left her sitting in the car when I went into the Bank. What did I find when I came out? Two strange young men under the car, which had nothing whatever the matter with it, and a third lighting her cigarette. She's a public nuisance, is our Liz.' He chuckled proudly as he stuffed his pipe.
Lady Canterdown's old friend, the Princess Arrivamale, has recommended the home of the Count and Countess Papagalli (such dignified designation being given him because he has the distinction of being the Pope's dentist). The Count and Countess have one daughter, the dark, gorgeous Vica (surely it's pure coincidence that her name is only one letter off from "Vita" and her description fits Vita Sackville-West to a T), and five brothers, each more lovely than the next except for poor Amerigo, who because he's shorter than his beautiful brothers gets labeled a "dwarf" and compensates by playing the clown (Amerigo's treatment by his family is jarring, but Elizabeth is charmed by him and other characters point out the success that petite men of the past have had with women, so all is not lost for him).
Elizabeth sets off and immediately conquers Florence, and when news arrives back home that she has, predictably, become engaged to an Italian, her handsome brother Charles follows, and himself gets entangled. Thus, in typical Violet Trefusis fashion, what we have is the coming together, in daft but glamorous fashion, of two luxuriantly beautiful families.
Pirates at Play has some of the usual flaws of Trefusis' rough-and-ready novelistic style. She challenged herself here with a few more characters than she could effectively manage, so some flipping back and forth was necessary for me to remember who was who. She sometimes describes in amusing detail characters who then barely appear in the rest of the novel—see for example the long but entertaining digressions on the Caracoles' "Madamzell" and Valka, the Princess's companion, despite the fact that they really don't figure in the plot, and a similar dramatic (and hilarious) impression made by the servant Bandini, whose dislike of Valka goes beyond the pale:
Bandini gave her a look which could have caused any less leathery heart to quail. He loathed Valka with a sinister subterranean loathing, as unventilated as the catacombs, but none the less deadly. He was a Neapolitan, and many were the secret devices he employed to bring Valka to a really sticky end. He had examined all of them, but had a sustained penchant for leprosy. He had in his possession a rag, which, he had been assured, had formed part of a leper's clothing and which was powerless to convey the disease to anyone but the appointed victim. Many's the time it had been pressed into Valka's hand, when she had asked for something 'to clean her odds and ends with.' He could wish the effects were a little more expeditious, ma pazienza! That innocent-looking blister on her fourth finger, for instance? He couldn't take his eyes off it.
And then he more or less vanishes from the remainder of the novel.
There are some predictable references here, as mentioned in my review of her earlier novel Tandem, of "dagos", but since Trefusis' sympathies clearly lie with her eccentric Italians, I wasn't terribly bothered by that. There's sadly a use of the "n" word too. And there is a distressing reference to the Princess's husband's apparently nearly pedophilic preference for very young girls. It's impossible to tell just how young we're talking about, as the Princess is an older woman so by "mere children" she could well mean 20-year-olds, but at any rate the Prince's predatory behavior is unlikely to provoke the giggles today it must have been intended to provoke in 1950.
But Violet makes up for these weaknesses with her usual flair for description and for characterization, and her delightful sense of humor, particularly where it comes to sex and romance. Elizabeth's Italian fiancé, for example, speculating about what she will expect of him in terms of fidelity:
Even now, he didn't know quite how he stood with her, how much she was a victim of her youth, Italy, the spring? He had kissed her more than once; skilfully, not too passionately. She had appeared to like it, but that was nothing to go by, he had kissed dozens of English girls. they had all liked it, and had seemed to attach little or no importance to the gesture. Where did they consider love-making began and flirtation ceased? How much passion was compatible with matrimony? How long would Elizabeth expect him to remain faithful to her?
And there's the tale of the Caracoles' Aunt Sybil, which highlights the hypocrisy of the family's traditional morality:
'Well, she's had as many lovers as anyone in Italy, I should think, though she did wait until she was thirty, before she started: she said she was willing to give respectability a chance. But none of the chaps she fancied proposed, so, on her thirtieth birthday, she gave a party, in the course of which she announced that she was about to take a lover, so that the members of her family who proposed to cut her should know exactly where they stood. Since then, she has never looked back. Apparently the chaps who did not fancy her as a wife were mad keen to have her as a mistress. The family was shocked at first, then, they shut their eyes, Aunt Syb gave such amusing dinners, to which people literally fought to be invited. Besides, her lovers were always jolly distinguished - one was a Prime Minister - in the end the family decided it was an honour to be related to Aunt Sybil.'
This novel and Hunt the Slipper (1937) were the Trefusis novels chosen for reprinting by Virago in the 1980s and 1990s, though by my count Violet's earlier Echo and Tandem are just as good (and the latter possibly better). Despite its idiosyncrasies though, Pirates at Play was a delightful frolic for me. If you're willing to just go with its flow, not worry too much about some occasional confusion, and bask in the glow of Violet's eccentric characters and turns of phrase, you'll likely find yourself savoring a sparkling, vivid Florence that you've certainly never visited yourself, however much time you may have spent in the earthly city of the same name.
I still have three more of Violet's novels in English to be getting on with, so I'll be boring you more about her soon enough...
Posted by Furrowed Middlebrow at 2:28 PM 1 comment:
Labels: 1950s, Violet Trefusis
"It is very awkward to feel you have driven someone to her death": IVY COMPTON-BURNETT, Daughters and Sons (1937)
"I think it is such a good idea to give a dinner, when you have been supposed to be dead," said Miss Marcon to her brother, as they walked up the Ponsonbys' drive. "It takes away the general sense of guilt. It is very awkward to feel you have driven someone to her death, and going to dinner with her is especially different."
Oh my oh my. I know that Ivy Compton-Burnett is not everyone's cup of tea, but if I were going to urge a reluctant ICB reader to sample just one of her novels, here is the one I would choose. I picked it up (along with another ICB, A God and His Gifts, which I'm looking forward to soon) for the ridiculous price of $2.50 at Second Story Books in Rockville, Maryland (near DC) on our recent trip (there were a couple of other ICBs I already had, if anyone else wants to make the pilgrimage to Rockville), and spent every possible second of our resting time in the hotel with it firmly grasped in my hot little hands.
The Allison & Busby edition I read describes this as "one of the lightest and most comic of her novels", which I believe is indeed true, but of course one must factor in that this is Dame Ivy we're talking about, so it's still marvelously dark and cynical, with deliriously tyrannical adults and gloriously subversive young 'uns. The Ponsonbys are a classic ICB family, ruled over by 85-year-old Sabine, who could give the Wicked Witch of the West a run for her money:
Sabine never spoke against her daughter-in-law, though she was incapable of seeing her the fitting mate for her son, and had no scruple in speaking evil of the dead or evil of a mother to her children, indeed seldom spoke anything but evil of any human being.
Sabine is ably assisted by the widowed John, her egomaniacal novelist son (whose career and financial situation are in considerable decline) and Hetta, her daughter who just might outdo her mother for sheer self-absorbed malevolence. And there's John's poor children, some now in their twenties but still treated like infants.
ICB fans will be more or less acquainted with the kinds of conversations and events that fill the novel, but there are a couple of particularly striking things that I loved here. Foremost is the fact that Dame Ivy gives us not one but two women writers as characters--one John's daughter France, who must hide that she's written a successful novel to protect his fragile ego, and one a family friend, Charity Marcon, a biographer whose description of her writing process is rather unforgettable:
"I have been up to London to get the book I am writing, out of the British Museum. I have got a lot of it out, and I shall go again presently to get some more; and when I have got it all, there will be another book." She slung a strap of notebooks off her arm, and advanced to the fire with the smooth, unswaying motion of a figure drawn on wheels. "So many people were there, getting out their books. It doesn't seem to matter everything's being in books already: I don't mind it at all. There are attendants there on purpose to bring it to you. That is how books are made, and it is difficult to think of any other way."
Is this perhaps ICB's version of the famous quote to the effect that scholars are just a library's means of reproduction?
We also get to meet no fewer than three more or less unfortunate governesses here--one perhaps more unfortunate than the others in winding up married to her employer. Although they don't all feature with equal prominence, the point gets made about the positions of these poor women. Jane Eyre never faced anything quite like the Ponsonbys.
One of the most fascinating things about ICB (and yes, I do really need to read the bio of her to find out more about this) is how she was so driven to spend her entire career writing and re-writing these wonderful subversions of Victorian familial tyranny. It would be very hard indeed to sympathize with most of her tyrants, as many writers would be tempted to make us do--they really are deserving of all they get, while the young characters are allowed to be charming and likable even in their oppression. And yet, it does make me wonder if a part of the message (intended or not) of Dame Ivy's novels is that we might wonder if Sabine and John and Hetta weren't similarly subversive and hopeful before being beaten down by their own tyrants. Must read more about her soon, to get a better sense of the tyrants in her own life (who clearly seemed to have failed in beating her down)!
Labels: 1930s, Ivy Compton-Burnett
"My postwar face": MONICA STIRLING, Ladies with a Unicorn (1953)
"And then I was in love with Franchot Tone. I wrote to him and he sent me a signed photograph. Of course, I must say I'd enclosed a stamp. I can't tell you what looking at that photograph did for me. Then later on there was a boy at our A.R.P. post who was awfully witty if one hadn't read Oscar Wilde. But the first time he kissed me was a shocking disillusion. Not at all what Franchot Tone had led me to expect.''
Peggy obviously shot out this nonsense rather as a pursued octopus shoots out protective fluid.
Yes, I'm continuing my Monica Stirling odyssey, this time with one of her most successful and well-received novels, set amidst the glamour of the 1950s movie industry in Rome. Here we meet four women, three "of a certain age", all bearing in one way or the other the scars of World War II, and one a lovely young starlet of 18, soon to star in the latest film by Count Anton-Giulio Sarmento, who, though he barely appears on stage in the novel, is undoubtedly its main character (and the unicorn of the title).
Monica Stirling (author pic found
by Kim Kaso, thank you Kim!)
The novel is narrated by Françoise Joubert, an award-winning composer of music for Anton-Giulio's films. Widow of a Resistance fighter, and once a bright young thing herself, Françoise is now constantly aware of her stiff, unemotional face—her "mask"—the result of multiple plastic surgeries following horrific injuries in an air raid. Her telling of the story of a few months in Rome is wry and wise, though perhaps neither so wry or wise about the feelings she hides from herself.
The novel opens with Françoise contacted out of the blue by Peggy Latour, a beautiful former schoolmate who was never really a friend, but who wants to use their connection to get close to Anton-Giulio:
But as the steaming day slowly came to the boil I was gradually overcome by the masochism that obliges me to confront prewar acquaintances with my postwar face.
Peggy is entertaining but shallow, unsatisfied in her marriage to a wealthy Frenchman whose real life has turned out to be far tamer than their wartime experiences together. He spoils her, however, and allows her free use of his money, and she has decided that by financing Anton-Giulio's next film her life will become rather more eventful. She has also come under the influence of Princess Valeria Girafalcone, a cousin of the film director and a flamboyant "grande-dame" who believes that all women should be practically obligated to have lovers and lead decadent lifestyles.
Françoise in turn soon meets and befriends the lovely, naive Anna-Maria Minsell, the unknown daughter of a Soho organ grinder who will star in Count Anton-Giulio's latest film. The four women interact in various ways, with varying degrees of friendship, jealousy, resentment, and protectiveness, and most often on the topic of Anton-Giulio himself, toward whom each feels possessive and romantic, until finally, in the end, we find which way the wind is blowing from that quarter.
And that's that really. In some ways, it's the fluffiest, frothiest of novels, revealed almost entirely in dialogue—rather like Ivy Compton-Burnett adapted by Vincente Minelli. When I first read it, I thought the novel was irresistibly charming and entertaining but ultimately just a bit of romantic fluff. But when I started going back over it, reviewing the passages I'd marked and the notes I'd made, I realized yet again that Stirling is more subtle than I'd given her credit for. War and Peace this most definitely is not, but as in The Boy in Blue, which I reviewed a while back, it offers some surprisingly powerful juxtapositions between the glamour and frivolity of the characters' present and the traumas of the past. Françoise's frozen, emotionless face may be the central symbol, but there is also, quite strikingly, the scene in which Anton Giulio takes Anna-Maria for a drive along the Appian Way, telling her about the film industry's exciting history and its scandals:
And then they reached the Ardeatine Caves and Anton Giulio forgot the cinema.
This was the place where only a few years ago, well within Anna-Maria's present stretch of memory, the Nazis brought three hundred and twenty-two Roman hostages, kidnapped at random, to be packed into the caves and shot and left, the whole and the maimed mixed in a bleeding shambles, to gasp and die in blackness behind the hastily sealed entrances.
Whew! A real event, by the way, not fiction.
And even in the first conversation between Peggy and Françoise, we get some vivid details of wartime France (perhaps from Monica Stirling's own recollections), a war that ended less than a decade before:
"Was it ghastly?"
I remembered the sunlit summer of 1940, the crowds rushing from Paris, as from a fire, to join the snake-like lines of mattress-topped cars that drove slow, slower and slowest of all just before their closely packed passengers scattered into ditches where the dive bombers still found them. I remembered Nice with its sea and sky and palm trees still as bright as new travel posters and its sidewalks crowded with the most typical of twentieth-century tourists: displaced persons. I remembered the sensation of living in a dull fear-encircled vacuum and the incredulous joy with which I greeted my husband when he arrived hollow-eyed from his narrow escape and long hitch-hike across two countries. I remembered Lyons in the unheated winters, the wind scything between the cliff-like gray houses and inserting itself into the city's labyrinth of passageways. I remembered the turnip meals, the recurrent colds and chilblains, the disinclination to wash in icy water, the sordid temporary lodgings and false identity cards, the drearily uncomfortable atmosphere, and the exhilarating meetings with friends who had also escaped arrest. And then I remembered my husband's arrest and the nightmare that followed.
"Yes," I said, repudiating stiff upper lips, "yes, it was ghastly."
Admittedly, for some the style, relying so much on conversations between the women and on recollections of the past, might feel too uneventful, but ultimately I found it a rather poignant, delicate concoction, like a hothouse flower in perfect but slightly ominous bloom, and I have to say it is now my favorite of Stirling's novels.
I now have only two Stirling novels left—Some Darling Folly, reputed to be, like Ladies and Boy in Blue, among her best, and Sigh for a Strange Land, about refugees from unrest in Eastern Europe (presumably the Communists cracking down there in the 1950s, though the precise location doesn't seem to be revealed). There's also one more story collection, Adventurers Please Abstain, which if it lives up to her other collection will be special indeed. I have qualms about finishing with her work, as she has been such a special discovery for me, but how can I resist?
Labels: 1950s, Monica Stirling, Postwar
"She lost her petals one by one": VIOLET TREFUSIS, Tandem (1933)
The charming family was dressed in every hue under the sun, but they were so small they could not look vulgar, any more than birds of the Isles look vulgar. At a distance they all looked the same, but some were prettier than others. The mother was ravishing, for instance, with eyes that took your breath away; so large and exotic were they. You thought: Oh! Poor things! How will they ever get through the winter? And the pathos of the entire family struck you. It was like watching a migration across an autumn sky.
Having happened across Echo, the second novel by Violet Trefusis, a few weeks back (review here), I seem to have been fated to explore her work further. A recent thrift store trawl resulted in my acquisition of the bio of her by John Phillips and Philippe Jullian, as well as a volume of her letters to Vita Sackville-West. A long-intended ILL finally resulted in me getting hold of this, her third and perhaps rarest novel (perhaps best too, but let me ramble a bit before I get to that). And getting swept along by kismet, I then picked up from the library Diana Souhami's dual bio of Trefusis and her mother, Mrs Keppel and Her Daughter, which, being by Souhami, will undoubtedly be superb.
Tandem was the first of Violet's novels in English--living in France for much of her life, she wrote four of her eight novels in her adopted language. It focuses on two sisters in a family of Greek origin but living in France, and according to Trefusis' ODNB entry by Clare L. Taylor, the sisters may have been inspired by Violet's friends, Anna de Noailles and Princesse Marthe Bibesco, also novelists (Taylor refers to them as sisters, but they seem in fact to have been cousins, if Wikipedia can be believed).
The novel opens in 1892 with Pénélope and Iréne, as young girls, discovering, with their widowed mother Madame Demetriades, the Villa Ivanhoe in rural France (observed in their arrival, in the passage above, by the villa's gardener), into which they soon move. We see a bit of their childhood--Pénélope clever and charismatic, Iréne less brilliant and self-assured but possessing her own charms--and we meet their older sister Marguerite, who "looms like a monolith" next to her petite, pretty sisters and mother and who garners little attention (she's soon married off to a politician and scarcely appears again, poor thing). And there's also Tante Eugénie, really only a distant cousin, but "majestic" and "stately" as well as wise and formidable, too important in their lives not to be an aunt, and her "irresponsible, impish, brilliant, incorrigible" husband Alexis, whom the girls adore.
We soon leap forward to 1900, when Madame Demetriades is the host of an exclusive salon in Paris, which boasts among its attendees the likes of Claude Debussy and a young Marcel Proust. The Dreyfus Affair is raging, and is one of the most impassioned topics of discussion. During this social whirl, Pénélope and Iréne soon make illustrious aristocratic marriages, and in the subsequent sections of the novel, we follow each into her married life.
Pénélope, already a bestseller with her debut novel, marries Sosthène de Mayeuvre-Chanville, second son of a duke, a dull but stabilizing influence with a challenging mother. She also develops a rather surprising attachment to his brother Chrétien d'Acre, whose reputation as a womanizer and cultural Neanderthal she unexpectedly discovers is a plot to allow him to be left in peace by his family. They live initially at Palombre, the family estate, but soon Pénélope spends most of her time in Paris, becoming a cultural icon with a considerable reputation as a lover, though the reality is rather less romantic.
Iréne, in a rather parallel development, marries English nobleman Francis Gottingale and lives with him on his family estate, the wonderfully named Test, along with Francis' rather awful cousin Nancy and his grandfather, the temperamental octogenarian Old Nick, who only speaks to his family via his beloved cats. Iréne's familial temptation comes in the form of cousin Gervase, but she suppresses her feelings for the good of all.
In the shorter final sections, one sister will perish and the other will survive well into the mid-20th century, into an imagined future lacking World War II but including, by the 1960s, helicoptor taxis to whisk one to one's destination. Perhaps just as well that there's little of that sort of speculation...
There is little enough plot beyond the sisters' development and the compare-and-contrast of their respective lives in England and France. But oh, what a thoroughly fun, glamorous read it is! It drags just slightly in the middle when Iréne's early days at Test are told via letters and diaries, with a little to much focus on broad and rather dull generalizations about the English. But Trefusis soon hits her stride again, and I just ate it all up.
If Trefusis is not a great writer in terms of plotting and profound significance, she certainly is great in other ways--in vividly evoking a place and time, and in lush, clever descriptions and unexpected metaphors. And she certainly knew the Paris she describes so vividly, so it's worth reading Tandem just for the vicarious travels it offers the reader. Here's our first description of the city in 1900:
It was freezing. People's noses were like irrelevant red berries stuck between their pasty cheeks. Ladies vainly endeavoured to protect their complexions by holding their muffs up to their faces as they hurried along the Quais, where the wind was at its most merciless, while the tassels on the plane trees made one think of desiccated cherries. … The men in charge of the bookstalls beat themselves despondently, hopping first on one foot, then on the other; they had done practically no business for several days. One bookstall with nothing but daffodil-yellow bindings made a patch of false spring in the universal greyness. Notre-Dame loomed across the river, its flying buttresses spread with the rhythm and symmetry of perfectly timed oars. The Seine rolled swollen waters round the great cathedral; into what massive Northern myth could this not be twisted, in which goddess turned to stone and god to river? All this majesty was pecked at, mocked, interpolated from the opposite side of the Seine, where the bird-fanciers confronted the booksellers with their twittering wares. Cage upon cage was stacked in front of each doorway, beginning with homely hens and mounting skyward with such birds as starlings, Australian thrushes, cardinals, to end in a piercing treble of parakeet and Java sparrows.
And for those who love fashion or decor, here's a description of Madame Demetriades' Paris salon:
She had had recourse to one of the pioneers of the Modern Style, recently imported from England, for the decoration of her salon. It was accordingly painted a swooning green and was surmounted by a turquoise blue frieze, against which the celebrated William Morris peacocks disported themselves. From every doorpost, dado, cornice, the straight line had been triumphantly banished, the vegetable kingdom with its undulations and fluencies had been the sole inspiration of this tentacular room in which everything drooped, writhed or clung--chiefly clung. The door was framed by two gigantic lilies; one sat on cyclamens upheld by wrought-iron stalks; tables shaped like water-lilies bore cups shaped like smaller lilies; lofty lamps wearing colossal shades, said to resemble sea anemones, lit up etchings by Helleu, Seymour Haden or Whistler. The mantelpiece was in white and yellow tiles, and the irresponsible flames reflected themselves in brass bellows, poker and tongs, masquerading as iris, sunflower and dahlia.
Trefusis also has a playful sense of humor, as in Iréne's description of unflappable Brits:
They relate the most extraordinary occurrences as though they were quite natural; for example: Lady B., the mother of three daughters, the eldest of whom is just "coming out," attends lectures on Buddhism by a hypnotic Hindu, she decides to join the Hinda and be converted to Buddhism. One morning Lord B. finds on his writing-table a letter, brief but to the point: "I have gone to join Buddha. Farewell for ever." "Who the devil is Buddha?" is Lord B.'s only comment. The audience looked by no means impressed. One lady remarked: "Very hard on Angela, just as she's coming out. Who is going to take her to balls, I wonder?"
The description of the decline of the Villa Ivanhoe's original owner is also poignantly hilarious:
The years passed. Madame de Monblason cannot be said to have died. She drooped, she wilted, she lost her petals one by one; then one day her heart politely stopped beating.
This is a novel I'll return to now and again just to savor its elegant escapism. And of course, in keeping with my particularly OCD personality of late, I now have Trefusis's four other novels available in English (two of the French ones have never been translated, drat it!) lined up for reading soon. Broderie Anglaise has maintained a certain level of fame as Trefusis' version of the famous love triangle with Vita Sackville-West and Virginia Woolf. Hunt the Slipper and Pirates at Play were both reprinted by Virago at one time. And finally, no idea what to expect from her final novel, From Dusk to Dawn, an aristocratic farce written when Trefusis was dying, to distract her from the pain she was experiencing. So, undoubtedly more to come!
Posted by Furrowed Middlebrow at 11:18 PM 8 comments:
"No memories are clearer ... than those one has invented": MONICA STIRLING, The Sniper in the Heart (1960)
Presently I said, "Now what do we do?" As I did so a memory stirred in me: a black-overalled school-girl, I was arguing with other black-overalled schoolgirls about love. Suppose you loved someone who killed someone what would you do? Despite the religious scruples supposed to burden us, the most common answer was help him hide the body. I hadn't imagined I would ever be given a chance to test this. Like many fairy tales, it proved true.
Here I am, continuing my Monica Stirling odyssey (see previous posts here). This is the sixth of her books I've reviewed here, the fifth novel (the seventh she published, out of eight), so forgive me if you're getting bored, but I am deep in my infatuation.
This one seems a bit of an enigma in her body of work. She was perhaps channeling Graham Greene a bit, creating a love story / semi-thriller set in an unspecified Latin American country in the throes of revolution. Vittoria is a young Italian photographer who gravitates to the world's trouble spots, snapping photos to sell to various news magazines. As a result of this, we get occasional bits of jaded dialogue along these lines:
"I've never been here before", I whispered, "yet it seems familiar."
"Weren't you here for the last revolution?"
"No. That was the year I was in Indo-China."
She arrives in this unstable country and encounters a man from her past--Manolo, a wartime resistance fighter she idolized in her childhood, who also happens to have been the lover of her grandmother, the bold, dynamic woman who raised Vittoria after her mother's early death. She remembers--or, as it emerges, misremembers--him vividly, and they fall instantly and torridly in love (I know, I know). Manolo is involved with gunrunning, and Vittoria gets swept up as well. There is some Didion-esque commentary on U.S. and other international involvement in the revolution, and some danger, suspense, and tragedy.
Implausible as this love story might be (not to mention unsavory, with Manolo now in love with the granddaughter of his ex-lover, whom he once helped with her homework...), it does give Stirling the opportunity to explore one of her favorite themes--the ways in which we're haunted by our memories, accurate or not, à la Patrick Modiano. A central example, from which the novel's title is taken, is the firm memory Vittoria has always had of Manolo telling of his childhood, selling lottery tickets in a cemetery. But no, in fact:
"Paquito, the boy who sold lottery tickets in a cemetery, was a character in a film."
You must have heard me describing it to Isabella one evening late, when you were half asleep on that little stool of yours."
"What was it called?"
"The Sniper in the Heart."
Similarly, his bricklayer father turns out to have been someone else entirely:
I had not thought of Giuseppe for years: one of the night people, young and burly, constantly worrying about his wife, who was pregnant and longed for anchovies with peppers. Before the war Giuseppe had been a bricklayer. Dismissing a picture of Manolo's father with a trowel in his hand, I accepted the fact that no memories are clearer, more vividly coloured, than those one has invented.
One feels that the whole romantic element of the novel was constructed to allow Stirling to examine how Vittoria gets caught up in the limbo between her childhood adoration of Manolo and her actual affair with him as an adult. And if only she had come up with a less distressing history for the pair than his affair with her grandmother and helping with her homework!
Monica Stirling with photographer Lee Miller, Paris, 1945
The novel as a whole, too, is outside of what seems for me to be Stirling's most brilliant skill--sophisticated European glamour haunted by the traumas of war. It's well done, of course, as Stirling is nothing if not an elegant, intelligent writer. But it ends up not completely working either as a glamorous romance (a revolutionary capital is not Paris and the romance is a bit creepy) nor as a thriller (the details too vague, the story too short and simple to really develop tension) nor even as a character study (neither romantic lead is very compelling or fascinating, and we're lacking the vivid supporting actors who usually strengthen her novels).
What raises Sniper at least a bit above a mere unsuccessful experiment, however, is as usual Stirling's extraordinary perceptiveness and the sense that, even if she's not always perfect in telling her story, it comes from her own passionately lived experience. I can hardly speculate as to whether Stirling herself ever actually participated in gunrunning in Latin America, but based on this novel I wouldn't dare bet against it, so vividly does she portray the thoughts and anxieties involved:
Moonlight picked out the barrels of their revolvers. I felt rather as I had once done in Africa, in an aeroplane clearly about to make a crash landing on to an exiguous jungle air strip: a moment's internal panic, then a complete lull of all emotions, followed by acknowledgement, curiously dull and unsurprised, of the fact that here, here and now, was the exit towards which we are all travelling.
And one is indeed rather curious from what personal knowledge Stirling wrote the paragraph which opens this post!
I wrote last time about the somewhat excruciating love scenes in Stirling's debut novel, Lovers Aren't Company, and I have to say that I still think she's not at her best writing love scenes (at least not sincere ones--those based, perhaps, on her own experiences?), but I should also acknowledge that with the significant caveat of the lovers' past history, she has at least improved significantly here:
Neither Manolo nor I gave a thought to the song's hero, the young man strait-jacketed by a uniform, dragged from home, hungry for love even in the guise of Lili Marlene. Long ago we had thought of him; now we thought only of long ago. Attentively impervious to the music, our minds were invaded by sounds long silent, military boots clumping over cobbled streets, words like the barking of dogs, schnell, achtung, verboten; by lights long extinguished, rays from military torches reaching, like God's finger in old engravings, after fugitives tumbling across the coffee or rose-coloured tiles of rooftops where lines of washing offered ghostly company; by civilian glances long vanished, the welcome in Isabella's face as she turned to greet Manolo, her eyes still young enough to be incandescent, the gentleness in his as he stood, a hand on my shoulder, helping with my homework.
"Long ago we had thought of him; now we thought only of long ago." That's pretty darn good, you must admit.
As a now-devoted Stirling fan, I found The Sniper in the Heart occasionally poignant, good fun and fairly addictive reading, but it's by no means the highwater mark of her work, at least as far as I'm concerned. However, of the three novels I have left to review, two of them seem to be right square in the middle of her wheelhouse--sophisticated tales of postwar Europe--so expect more high points to come. I also have another story collection to go, Adventurers Please Abstain, which could be a treasure itself. Looking forward to sharing them all with you, though I am also now beginning to have the anxiety and melancholy I always feel when I approach the end of a first read of a favorite author's work. As Kate Bush would say, oh the thrill and the hurting...
Labels: 1960s, Monica Stirling
"Short of locking up her sons": VIOLET TREFUSIS, P...
"It is very awkward to feel you have driven someon...
"My postwar face": MONICA STIRLING, Ladies with a ...
"She lost her petals one by one": VIOLET TREFUSIS,...
"No memories are clearer ... than those one has in...


Located on the island of Tahiti, Papeete is the capital city of French Polynesia–an overseas collectivity of 118 geographically dispersed islands and islets in the South Pacific Ocean. As its name suggests, French Polynesia belongs to France.
French Polynesia exported an estimated US$181.6 million worth of goods around the globe in 2016.
Highest-value French Polynesia exports are cultured pearls, coconut and fish according to the International Trade Centre.
Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Papeete were unavailable.
Papeete city limits contain a land area measuring 6.7 square miles (17.4 square kilometers) with an estimated population of 26,357 residents in 2016.
At the country level, French Polynesia had a population equal to 285,321 inhabitants as of July 2016 living over a land totaling 1,478 square miles (3,827 square kilometers).
Population density is much higher within the capital city Papeete with an average 3,900 residents per square mile (1,500 per square kilometer).
For French Polynesia overall, population density drops significantly to an average 200 people per square mile (75 per square kilometer).
French Polynesians celebrate Internal Autonomy Day each June 29 as a local holiday.


text:
Review of Game (Jasper Dent #2) by Barry Lyga
I Hunt Killers introduced the world to Jasper (Jazz) Dent, the son of the world's most infamous serial killer.
When a desperate New York City detective comes knocking on Jazz's door asking for help with a new case, Jazz can't say no. The Hat-Dog Killer has the Big Apple–and its police force running scared with no leads. So Jazz and his girlfriend Connie hop on a plane to the big city and get swept up in a killer's murderous game.
Meanwhile, Jazz's dad Billy is watching…and waiting.
Game (Jasper Dent #2) by Barry Lyga
Publisher: Little, Brown Young Readers
I couldn't find a trailer, so here's a song!
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** If you have not read book 1, I Hunt Killers, there may be spoilers in this review **
I was in love with the first novel in Barry Lyga's serial killer series I Hunt Killers. It had everything and as a reader who likes bad guys that are absolutely bad to the bone I fell hard for the killers introduced in the first novel and the ending that left me wondering one thing: What will happen next? I mean come on Billy Dent escaped from prison, people are getting murdered left and right and Jazz is doubting himself once again. Something bad is about to happen and it'll be something that goes from bad to worse. Game is the novel that gives us the bad, I'm positive that the next novel in the series will give us the worse and I have to admit, Game has set the bar pretty high already.
Game begins basically right where I Hunt Killers ended. Billy Dent is somewhere in the world planning to kill to his heart's content and he wants to see if his son will continue on with the family business. Jazz is still recovering from his experience with the Impressionist when he meets a cop from New York City that reveals to Jazz that a new serial killer is out on the loose. The Hat-Dog killer has been leaving corpses scattered around New York City and nobody can understand what his profile is or why he kills the way he kills. Jazz and his girlfriend Connie end up on a plane to go and help NYPD with their investigation.
It doesn't take Jazz long to figure out that the Hat-Dog killer must have something involved with Billy somewhere. Nothing adds up when it comes to the Hat-Dog killer's murders. He mutilates the bodies of his victims and does things to them that are plain disturbing, but Jazz is intent on figuring out the Hat-Dog killer's profile and stopping him before he can kill anybody else. Then Jazz and Connie begin to receive strange messages about a game and while Jazz continues investigating in New York, Connie is dragged into the world of serial killers. Receiving mysterious text messages, Connie winds up trapped in a game meant for just her and a killer. Jazz and Connie both know that the games these killers are playing are not meant for everybody, but the consequences of not playing are fatal.
Remember everything that you read in I Hunt Killers? Remember the way your eyes would widen when reading about a certain murder scene or the way your heart would race when you read chapters in the killer's point of view? Yeah, multiply that by twelve because Game absolutely brings it! The murders are more gruesome, more intense and more cringe-worthy. Just like something out an episode of CSI that meets the Saw movies. The killers in Game mean business. There is no hesitation, they know that they're doing is bad (mostly) and they know that in the end taking a life is just something that they have to do. It is part of the game after all.
We finally get to meet Billy Dent. We did get to see the prison scene with him in I Hunt Killers but that barely told us anything about his character except that he's the world's worst dad. Now there are chapters that take place in his head! Finally we get to see just what it is that Billy Dent thinks when he's alone and we see just how deep his obsession with making Jasper just like him lies. There are still chapters in the point of view of another killer, instead of the Impressionist it is the Hat-Dog killer. The Hat-Dog killer was a character that boggled my mind and left me with a furrowed brow and going "Huh?" Despite how creepy (and gross) the murders were, the Hat-Dog killer is still one that had me afraid and who doesn't want to be afraid when reading a novel about killers?
I Hunt Killers had a limited amount of POVs (point of views). They really were just Jazz and the Impressionist. In Game we get to see things through the eyes of all the killers, our main character and the two people closest to Jazz: Connie and Howie. I loved getting to see the I Hunt Killers world through the eyes of characters that don't have Jazz's history or mind. Plus, I really liked Connie in the last book and I think that female readers will absolutely love how strong and empowering she is as a character. She even gets dragged into Jazz's messed up world of killers and ends up stuck in a game, intent on finding the identity of the killer she's dealing with. We learn a lot about Jazz's girlfriend to say the least. As for Howie, his mind is an absolute laugh riot. I found his thoughts to be hilarious and appropriate for a teenage guy his age.
And that ending! Gah!!! I need more, so help me I don't think I can wait any longer to know what happens next!!!! Who lives? Who dies? Does Jazz save the day or succumb to everything Billy ever taught him? Will the truth be released? Tell me!! Anyhow, if you liked the mystery that was in I Hunt Killers and the mind-games that went down in the last novel then you'll probably fall hard for Game. I had absolutely no problems with the novel and devoured it in just one day.
I'd recommend this series to fans of Greg Olsen's Empty Coffin series, readers who are looking for an intensely good mystery/thriller novel and readers who are looking for a dark read that will have them second-guessing just about everything they know about the people around them.
You can check out our review of I Hunt Killers HERE!
Barry Lyga is a recovering comic book geek. When he was a kid, everyone told him that comic books were garbage and would rot his brain, but he had the last laugh. Raised on a steady diet of comics, he worked in the comic book industry for ten years, but now writes full-time because, well, wouldn't you?
JennRenee
awesome review. I can't wait to get to this book. I have it on audio and its calling to me. I have a couple more to get through before I can get to it.
JennRenee recently posted..Genre Definition and Recommendation #18
Chapter by Chapter Reply:
June 2nd, 2013 at 11:52 AM
I honestly couldn't put Game down, when you do get to it it'll be worth it. It's awesome-sauce. Thanks for stopping by :)
– Gabby


In terms of Hip Hop / Rap, this translates to, getting people to listen to your music and talk about you so more people listen to your music and talk about you, through actions that seem legit and real but are secretly planned. This then gains you access to fame and money aka "the restricted area or space without proper permission". Now probably the most notable examples of social hackers in the rap game include Lil Pump and 6ix9ine who have both used a repertoire of crazy antics, foolish behavior, and beef, to get to where they are now.
But what I am seeing as I document the underground is a growing trend of social hacking among rappers on the come up and its diverse. Two examples I have seen that are pretty unique are by the artists Bali Baby and Sukihana.
Sukihana has been acquiring a steady and growing buzz through making videos for her songs that are modern ratchet bangers that would make Lil Kim blush. She's been very underground though with her videos only achieving low to mid 6 figure views. However I think is going to change because this week she was featured in a music video for Cuban Doll. Cuban Doll is arguably bigger and more known then Suki thanks to Cubans affiliation with 6ix9ine and other exploits. Suki seized on this opportunity and not only did she do great on the song but she fxcking went and got "Booty shots" [ But injections] in the damn music video.
She now has a whole new wave of people that never knew her before talking about her. I am definitely not saying get plastic surgery in a music video for the attention, because anyone doing that after Suki is now just a wave rider, but just be aware of this social hacking and try to think about ways you can do it for your career.
Another rapper using social hacking is Bali Baby who has been generating buzz about potentially being signed to Gucci Mane, but here's the thing she isn't. I discussed it in a previous post but she's been seen wearing a chain that says 1017. The 1017 that's synonymous with Gucci Mane's 1017 records. Long story short she isn't signed and actually Asian Doll, a female rapper she beefs with, is now signed to Gucci Mane.
Here's what I didn't write in the other article though because it came to me after. I was thinking to myself about how or why she has a chain that says 1017. Then it came to me and I am not saying that she did this but I wonder if in this day and age of people using social media to get more attention to the music they make, I wonder if Bali Baby maybe had the idea for a type of social hack. A way for people to talk about her more and get more streams to her music, much like 6ix9ine and other artists do.
My thought is what if she bought a fake chain that said 1017 and took a couple pics with it knowing it would get her fans and others talking. I mean a fake chain might cost $750 to $1000 but when it could potentially generate you the same amount of buzz that would cost you 5x or 10x the $ you put into the chain, it's worth it. Plus the buzz or "impressions" you are gaining comes across as more organic.
If your wondering how buying a fake chain could be the same as putting that money into marketing and promoting your music. By posting pics with the chain, it cause a controversy and has already gotten two instagram accounts with a combined 15k followers posting about her possibly being signed, tons of her and asian doll fans commenting on posts all over IG, and on top of that she now has my blog writing two articles about it and I am sure much more buzz that got generated that cant be truly quantified.
I am not accusing Bali Baby of doing what I just theorized above I am simply saying that it's a possibility and something that rappers, producers, models, and artists in general should analyze or at least think about.


text:
Annual report 2001 In English - Ponsse
ponsse.com
Teur,
Ponsse,
Shares,
Nancial,
Depreciation,
Expenses,
Equity,
Income,
Annual,
2001 IN BRIEF
Turnover, MEUR
Turnover by Market Area
Other countries 5,9 %
Finland 38,3 %
The Group's turnover totaled EUR 123.8 million
(EUR 119.3 million in 2000). As the year
began, the initialization of the new machine
models, production progressed slowly as
expected. By the summer however, normal
production levels had been reached and an
exceptionally large backlog of orders could
be filled. By the end of the financial year
order intake and production were balanced,
but the reduced number of deliveries in
the beginning of the year in hibited turnover
Foreign business operations and exports
continued to grow, accounting for 61.7%
(56.4% in 2000) of Group turnover. Of the
company's own subsidiaries, Ponsse USA
Inc. registered the most growth in turnover.
Finland accounted for 38.3% (43.6% in
2000), the rest of Europe for 35.1% (41.2%
in 2000), North America for 20.7% (11.5%
in 2000) and the rest of the world for 5.9%
(3.7% in 2000) of Group turnover. The order
stock at the end of the fi nancial year was
EUR 23.2 million (EUR 24.6 million in 2000).
The Group's operating profit was EUR 9.7
million (EUR 12.5 million in 2000), accounting
for 7.9% (10.5% in 2000) of turnover.
Extra expenses caused by the aforementioned
slow production start-up stressed the
operating profi t. The consolidated balance
sheet total on 31 December 2001 was 68.2
million (EUR 63.1 million in 2000). The balance
sheet total grew as a result of deliveries
that had accumulated at the end of the
year; for that reason current receivables
were exceptionally high. The equity ratio was
53.3% (54.7% in 2000) and liquidity was
good throughout the entire year.
The completely renewed product family,
launched on the market in early 2001, received
a good reception among the users
and Ponsse strengthened its position as a
desirable and reliable machine supplier in all
market areas. The new product family consists
of two harvester and three forwarder
models powered by Mercedes-Benz diesel
engines. Besides the machine's modern design,
particular attention has been paid to
their fuel economy, ease of servicing and
user-friendliness.
The development of logistical solutions
for wood harvesting continued. Ponsse presented
the first data transfer and positioning
system designed for forwarders. As in the
harvester solutions, the system is PC-based
and integrated with the machine's controls.
The system's accessories include a reverse
mode camera whose transmitted image can
be seen on the cab's computer display.
Ponsse's own OptiPlan information system
for wood harvesting was well-received
in sawmills' wood procurement organizations.
This software package can be used
to assemble harvesting instructions containing
optimization calculation fi les and map
information that is then transmitted to the
harvester. It is now also possible to utilize
the mapping system in forwarders.
Rest of Europe 35,1 %
Operating Profi t, MEUR
Key Data 2001 2000
Turnover, MEUR...................................................................................... 123.8 ........... 119.3
Operating profit, MEUR .............................................................................. 9.7 ............. 12.5
Profi t before extraordinary items, MEUR .................................................... 9.2 ............. 12.0
Earnings per share, EUR.......................................................................... 0.91 ............. 1.22
Dividend per share, EUR.......................................................................... 0.65 (1 .......... 0.65
Shareholders equity per share, EUR........................................................ 5.18 ............. 4.92
Equity ratio, % .......................................................................................... 53.3 ............. 54.7
Return on investment, % (ROI)................................................................. 19.2 ............. 24.3
Average number of staff............................................................................ 518 .............. 481
1) Proposal of the Board of Directors to the Annual General Meeting
The calculation of key fi gures is shown on page 23.
Ponsse Group
The Ponsse Group comprises the Parent
Company Ponsse Oyj as well as the foreign
subsidiaries Ponsse AB in Sweden, Ponsse
AS in Norway, Ponssé S.A. in France,
Ponsse UK Ltd. in the UK and Ponsse USA,
Inc. in the United States of America. The
Group designs, manufactures and markets
environmentally friendly and effi cient forest
machines for cut-to-length harvesting as well
as information technology related to mechanized
logging. Ponsse Oyj is quoted on the
main list of the Helsinki Exchanges.
Equity Ratio, %
Return on Investment, % (ROI)
CONTENTS Information for Shareholders .................................................................. 2 2001 in Brief .............................................................................................. 3 Review by the Chairman of the Board .................................................... 4 Review by the President, CEO................................................................. 5 Financial Statements 2001 Report by the Board of Directors 1 January – 31 December 2001....... 6 Consolidated Profit and Loss Account for 2001 and 2000 ................... 9 Consolidated Balance Sheet for 2001 and 2000 .................................. 9 Consolidated Cash Flow Statement for 2001 and 2000...................... 10 Ponsse Oyj Profit and Loss Account for 2001 and 2000..................... 11 Ponsse Oyj Balance Sheet for 2001 and 2000.................................... 11 Ponsse Oyj Cash Flow Statement for 2001 and 2000......................... 12 Notes to the Accounts......................................................................... 13 Key Ratios and Economic Indicators .................................................. 22 Key Ratios for Shares .......................................................................... 22 Calculation of Key Ratios .................................................................... 23 Share Capital and Shares ................................................................... 24 Shareholders ....................................................................................... 25 Proposal of the Board of Directors for the Disposal of Profit............... 27 Auditor's Report................................................................................... 27 Board of Directors .................................................................................. 28 Management............................................................................................ 29 Company and Products ......................................................................... 30 Addresses ............................................................................................... 35 INFORMATION FOR SHARE- HOLDERS Annual General Meeting Ponsse Oyj's Annual General Meeting will be held on 22 March 2002 at 10.00 a.m. at the Iisalmi Cultural Centre, address Kirkkopuistonkatu 9, FIN-74100 Iisalmi, Finland. All shareholders listed not later than 12 March 2002 as Company shareholders in the shareholder register held by Finnish Central Securities Depository Ltd. are entitled to participate in the Annual General Meeting. Shareholders wishing to participate in the Annual General Meeting must notify the Company about their participation no later than 4.00 p.m. on 19 March 2002 either in writing to Ponsse Oyj, Share Register, FIN-74200 Vieremä, Finland, by telephone at +358 17 768 4873, by fax at +358 17 768 4690 or at the Internet address www.ponsse.com/ yhtiokokous. Written notifi cations must arrive before the above-mentioned deadline. Any letters of attorney should also be received before the deadline. Dividend Distribution The Board of Directors has decided to propose to the Annual General Meeting that a dividend of EUR 0.65 per share be paid for 2001. Dividends will be paid to shareholders listed on the matching day, 27 March 2002, as Company shareholders in the shareholder register held by Finnish Central Securities Depository Ltd. The Board of Directors will propose to the Annual General Meeting that the dividends be paid after the matching period on 5 April 2002. Share Register Ponsse Oyj's shares and shareholders are listed in the shareholder register held by Finnish Central Securities Depository Ltd. Shareholders are requested to report any change of address and other similar matters related to their shareholding to the bookentry securities register in which they have a book-entry securities account. Financial Reports in 2002 Ponsse Oyj will issue three Interim Reports during the year 2002. - The first, covering the period 1 January to 31 March 2002 will be published on 23 April 2002. - The second, covering the period 1 January to 30 June 2002 will be published on 30 July 2002. - The third, covering the period from 1 January to 30 September, will be published on 22 October 2002. Interim Reports will be published in Finnish and English on Ponsse's home pages at the Internet address www.ponsse.com. This Annual Report is available in both the Finnish and English languages. Annual Reports and Interim Reports may be ordered from Ponsse Oyj, FIN-74200 Vieremä, Finland, by telephone at +358 17 768 461, by fax at +358 17 768 4690, or by e-mail from corporate.communications@ponsse.com. The Annual Report is also available at the Internet address www.ponsse.com.
140 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 2001 IN BRIEF North America 20,7 % Turnover, MEUR 1997 1998 1999 2000 Turnover by Market Area Other countries 5,9 % 2001 Finland 38,3 % The Group's turnover totaled EUR 123.8 million (EUR 119.3 million in 2000). As the year began, the initialization of the new machine models, production progressed slowly as expected. By the summer however, normal production levels had been reached and an exceptionally large backlog of orders could be filled. By the end of the financial year order intake and production were balanced, but the reduced number of deliveries in the beginning of the year in hibited turnover growth. Foreign business operations and exports continued to grow, accounting for 61.7% (56.4% in 2000) of Group turnover. Of the company's own subsidiaries, Ponsse USA Inc. registered the most growth in turnover. Finland accounted for 38.3% (43.6% in 2000), the rest of Europe for 35.1% (41.2% in 2000), North America for 20.7% (11.5% in 2000) and the rest of the world for 5.9% (3.7% in 2000) of Group turnover. The order stock at the end of the fi nancial year was EUR 23.2 million (EUR 24.6 million in 2000). The Group's operating profit was EUR 9.7 million (EUR 12.5 million in 2000), accounting for 7.9% (10.5% in 2000) of turnover. Extra expenses caused by the aforementioned slow production start-up stressed the operating profi t. The consolidated balance sheet total on 31 December 2001 was 68.2 million (EUR 63.1 million in 2000). The balance sheet total grew as a result of deliveries that had accumulated at the end of the year; for that reason current receivables were exceptionally high. The equity ratio was 53.3% (54.7% in 2000) and liquidity was good throughout the entire year. The completely renewed product family, launched on the market in early 2001, received a good reception among the users and Ponsse strengthened its position as a desirable and reliable machine supplier in all market areas. The new product family consists of two harvester and three forwarder models powered by Mercedes-Benz diesel engines. Besides the machine's modern design, particular attention has been paid to their fuel economy, ease of servicing and user-friendliness. The development of logistical solutions for wood harvesting continued. Ponsse presented the first data transfer and positioning system designed for forwarders. As in the harvester solutions, the system is PC-based and integrated with the machine's controls. The system's accessories include a reverse mode camera whose transmitted image can be seen on the cab's computer display. Ponsse's own OptiPlan information system for wood harvesting was well-received in sawmills' wood procurement organizations. This software package can be used to assemble harvesting instructions containing optimization calculation fi les and map information that is then transmitted to the harvester. It is now also possible to utilize the mapping system in forwarders. 3 14 12 10 8 6 4 2 0 Rest of Europe 35,1 % Operating Profi t, MEUR 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 Key Data 2001 2000 Turnover, MEUR...................................................................................... 123.8 ........... 119.3 Operating profit, MEUR .............................................................................. 9.7 ............. 12.5 Profi t before extraordinary items, MEUR .................................................... 9.2 ............. 12.0 Earnings per share, EUR.......................................................................... 0.91 ............. 1.22 Dividend per share, EUR.......................................................................... 0.65 (1 .......... 0.65 Shareholders equity per share, EUR........................................................ 5.18 ............. 4.92 Equity ratio, % .......................................................................................... 53.3 ............. 54.7 Return on investment, % (ROI)................................................................. 19.2 ............. 24.3 Average number of staff............................................................................ 518 .............. 481 1) Proposal of the Board of Directors to the Annual General Meeting The calculation of key fi gures is shown on page 23. Ponsse Group The Ponsse Group comprises the Parent Company Ponsse Oyj as well as the foreign subsidiaries Ponsse AB in Sweden, Ponsse AS in Norway, Ponssé S.A. in France, Ponsse UK Ltd. in the UK and Ponsse USA, Inc. in the United States of America. The Group designs, manufactures and markets environmentally friendly and effi cient forest machines for cut-to-length harvesting as well as information technology related to mechanized logging. Ponsse Oyj is quoted on the main list of the Helsinki Exchanges. Equity Ratio, % Return on Investment, % (ROI) 70 70 60 60 50 50 40 40 30 30 20 20 10 10 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 0 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
Page 4 and 5: 4 REVIEW BY THE CHAIRMAN OF THE BOA
Page 6 and 7: 6 REPORT BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Page 10 and 11: 10 CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT
Page 12 and 13: 12 PONSSE OYJ CASH FLOW STATEMENT 2
Page 14 and 15: 14 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 2. Turnove
Page 16 and 17: 16 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 13. Fixed
Page 18 and 19: 18 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS Group Pare
Page 20 and 21: 20 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS Ponsse Oyj
Page 22 and 23: 22 KEY RATIOS AND ECONOMIC INDICATO
Page 24 and 25: 24 SHARE CAPITAL AND SHARES Ponsse
Page 26 and 27: 26 SHAREHOLDERS Management Sharehol
Page 28 and 29: 28 BOARD OF DIRECTORS 12 FEB. 2002
Page 30 and 31: 30 COMPANY AND PRODUCTS Business Mi
Page 32 and 33: 32 COMPANY AND PRODUCTS product dev
Page 34 and 35: 34 COMPANY AND PRODUCTS review spec
Magazine: Annual report 2001 In English - Ponsse