Observer staff and Scott Blades from TIHAN present Robert Ellis, Observer editor-in-chief and founder, with the organization's 2013 Stonewall Award.
The gathering on Sunday, Sept. 7 at IBT's to celebrate the 90th birthday of Observer Weekly founder and editor-in-chief Bob Ellis wasn't only an opportunity for the 38-year-old LGBT newspaper's staff to celebrate the life of its founder. It was also a moment to bring together members and leaders of Tucson's LGBT community, as well as a handful of elected and would-be elected officials.
Sitting with Bob under the LGBT bar's green awning in the back porch was his niece, who was in town from Texas, and members of the Observer staff. A stack of birthday cards and gifts slowly took over the center of the table. Between birthday kisses, handshakes and well wishes, Ellis said it felt good to realize the newspaper he started—first called the Tucson Gay Newsletter—remains relevant today.
And while LGBT political progress has been tremendous this past decade, Ellis did lament that it also made it challenging for the LGBT community to pull together as it did in the past, when towns like Tucson had more than just a few gay bars. Ellis has seen the community through the best and worst times while experiencing an unbelievably full life.
A Minneapolis native, Ellis loved books as a kid. He served in the Navy during World War II and the Korean War and left the military a decorated veteran with an amazing war record you can review at the Tucson Gay Museum website.
Besides his military service, he worked as an artist relations rep for King Records and eventually moved to Austin, Texas, where he owned the city's first gay bar, the Jesters Club, and helped form the first underground gay and lesbian rights group at University of Texas.
Ellis founded the Observer in the wake of a tragic incident that took place on Sunday, June 6, 1976. A vacationing Richard Heakin was murdered outside Tucson's Stonewall Tavern by high school students. This was a huge turning point for Tucson's LGBT community, which pressured the city to address the murder, hate crimes and equality. They also wanted better communication with the LGBT community, so Ellis launched the Tucson Gay Newletter.
The newsletter grew into a newspaper and has continued in different incarnations, with a brief break in 2011 after Ellis took a fall. Observer Senior Editor Greg Miller told me that while Ellis recovered from his fall, a group ensured the publication continued. Ellis returned as editor-in-chief, and while he may not participate on a day-to-day basis, he does give Miller feedback. Even the night of the party, Ellis gave Miller advices on headlines and white space.
"He is still very much involved in the paper," Miller said.
Past gatherings with Ellis have happened on St. Patrick's Day at IBT's and El Torero, that legendary South Tucson Mexican restaurant.
"Last year's birthday we took over the building," Miller said. "Even the old ladies there remembered him and people from the older crowd came out to join us."
Miller said the paper plays a vital role in Tucson.
"Every community need a voice and the voice doesn't necessarily have to agree with itself, but everyone needs to feel like they are being heard," Miller said. "It makes things so much easier to move forward and get things done."
As current elected officials, as well as former and would-be, filed into IBT's back porch—state Senator Olivia Cajero Bedford; Tucson Unified School District governing board member Adelita Grijalva; Legislative District 9 House candidate Randall Friese; former state Senate candidate and Friese campaign manager Cheryl Cage; former state Attorney General and current Secretary of State candidate Terry Goddard, state lawmaker Demion Clinco—the Observer staff scurried to take pictures of them with Ellis.
"I think the reason people come out to see Bob isn't just because they are proud of the Observer and that he dedicated his life to doing that, but that he made an impact on a generation," Miller said. "The first person in Austin to start a gay bar and this paper. Sure, now he's a but of a curmudgeon, but I think he's that person we think about when we are younger—that older gay person you would aspire to be."
Assistant Editor Christopher Pankratz said the Observer will look at Ellis as editor-in-chief until he no longer want to be. "His legacy is one of the reason we're all sort of involved in this newspaper," he said.
The Observer has been a way to unify the community when it has seemed impossible. Last year's controversy surrounding the annual Pride is a good example, Pankratz said.
"Someone will say, 'You have to run my point-of-view and no one else,' and we have to remind people the Observer belongs to everyone," Pankratz said.


2 weeks in Melbourne have already passed. Jet lag is gone, but still everything feels a bit "upside-down".
When Germany sleeps we are awake and other way around, Nutella comes in plastic containers, beaches are just around the corner, concentrated beer is available, trees are blooming in purple, birds chirp differently, everything comes in familypackage size, café latte tastes fantastic, messages are written in the sky, after rain comes the sun and after the sun the rain again, the people are relaxed and friendly, "eggs benedict" for breakfast are to die for, sport is mandatory, the steering wheel is on the right hand side, koalas and kangaroos are very cute, bread tastes the best toasted, sushi comes in hand rolls, tomatoes are expensive but delicious, asian food on every corner, using your mobile phone in the car could cost you 430 Dollar, you can get your mini-me in 3D as an avatar and there is basically nothing you cannot have.
2 Wochen in Melbourne liegen hinter uns. Der Jetlag ist vorüber, aber es fühlt sich immer noch alles ein wenig "upsidedown" an.
Wenn Deutschland schläft sind wir wach und andersrum, Nutella kommt in Plastikbehältern, der Strand ist vor der Tür, Bier gibt es als Konzentrat, Bäume blühen fliederfarben, die Vögel zwitschern anders, alles kommt in Großverpackungen, der Café Latte schmeckt sensationell, Nachrichten werden in den Himmel geschrieben, nach Regen kommt Sonnenschein und nach Sonnenschein wieder Regen, die Menschen sind entspannt und freundlich, "Eggs Benedict" zum Frühstück sind der Knaller, Sport ist Pflicht, das Lenkrad ist im Auto rechts, Koalas und Kängurus sind total süss, das Brot schmeckt am besten getoastet, Sushi gibt es auf die Hand, die Tomaten sind teuer aber sehr lecker, asiatische Essen gibt es an jeder Ecke, das Mobiltelefon im Auto zu nutzen, kann schon mal 430 Dollar kosten, sein eigenes ICH gibt es als Avatar in 3D und es gibt eigentlich nichts, was es nicht gibt.
This entry was posted in Family Life and Travel and tagged Australia, Australien, Beach, Familie, Familienleben, family, family life, Kangaroo, Koala, Melbourne, Oz, Strand. Bookmark the permalink.
Some lovely close-up shots, Dani!


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Click here to login New feline thyroid drug raises safe-handling questions
Label warnings on Felimazole, a new drug for cats with overactive thyroids, have thrown a spotlight on risks of the active ingredient methimazole, and raise the possibility that practitioners may be too casual in handling the generic form of the drug.
Veterinarians for decades have prescribed methimazole for cats, off-label; the drug (brand name Tapazole) is licensed for human use. Because of this, safe handling information for methimazole differs somewhat from that of Felimazole, which is made specifically for cats.
For example, the label for Felimazole has a section headed "Human Warnings" that reads, in part: "Wash hands with soap and water after administration to avoid exposure to drug. Do not break or crush tablets. Wear protective gloves to prevent direct contact with litter, feces, urine or vomit of treated cats, and broken or moistened tablets. Wash hands after contact with the litter of treated cats."
That passage startled Dr. Kristi Krause, a feline specialist in Southern California. It caused her to wonder whether the same cautions apply to Tapazole.
In an online discussion with colleagues hosted by the Veterinary Information Network (VIN), Krause wrote: "What? So do I need to start warning owners about Tapazole? ... What about my staff that is cutting Tapazole for clients?"
The answer from drug-safety experts is that methimazole in any form should be handled with caution. The medication impedes the body from using iodine to make thyroid hormone, thereby inhibiting synthesis of the hormone. The drug may cause birth defects and has been found to cause cancer in rodents.
"I would provide the same precautionary information to clients regardless of what product you choose to have your clients use," said Douglas Kemp, Pharm.D, a pharmacology and toxicology specialist and former director of pharmacy at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine. "Your (and your clients') interests are best served by a conservative approach."
Dr. Timothy Allen, technical services veterinarian for Dechra Veterinary Products, told the VIN News Service (VNS) in a response to questions by e-mail:
"I would strongly recommend that hospital staff should not cut methimazole tablets for clients with bare hands. The Human Warnings on the Felimazole were added by FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration), not Dechra. Obviously, FDA is extremely concerned about human safety. The issue is oral absorption of residual drug rather than absorption through the skin. Besides being a safety issue in pregnant women or women who may become pregnant, the drug should not be handled by lactating women because methimazole is transferred in breast milk at a high rate.
"Probably the reason human methimazole (Tapazole and generic methimiazole) does not have similar warnings," Allen added, "is the individual handling the pills is the hyperthyroid patient."
Laura Alvey, a spokeswoman for the FDA's Center for Veterinary Medicine, confirmed that labels are prepared with the intended patient population in mind.
In the case of Felimazole, "This is potentially a lifetime drug (assuming alternative treatment is not pursued), and since cats don't self-medicate, they rely on their owners to administer the medication," Alvey wrote by e-mail. "Because cats often don't cooperate with administration of oral medication, there is potential for the pill to become wet/mushy/coating lost with re-administration, which could expose the owners to the drug unknowingly, if the coating is melted away. If they don't wash their hands after administering the medication, repeated exposure could pose a risk to humans."
Alvey added that inherent risks exist for people who handle their own methimazole medication, as well, "but those instructions are left to the physicians to communicate," she said. "We were concerned with people unknowingly exposing themselves to the drugs in ways they wouldn't normally be aware of."
The agency felt that special attention to the potential for unwitting human exposure through cats' bodily fluids and excretions was warranted, as well, Alvey said:
"Cats vomit — it's their job," she wrote. "And hyperthyroid cats vomit a lot. It's part of the disease, and vomiting is also an adverse reaction to methimazole treatment. ... Somebody has to clean it up. Since the medication could be in the vomitus, we felt it prudent to advise owners once again about possible risks of exposure to the drug. Also, since the act of pilling cats can induce vomiting, it is not uncommon for them to vomit right after any oral medication is administered, so in this case, methimazole could potentially be in the vomitus."
Similarly, methimazole is excreted in urine and has been found in the feces of cats receiving treatment, she said, hence, the cautions about litter-box cleanup.
The main reason for wearing gloves and washing hands is to avoid accidentally ingesting any drug residue on the hands, Alvey said, but she noted that methimazole presumably can be absorbed through the skin as well, since the medication often is compounded into a transdermal product.
At least one cat owner is known to have been affected by topical methimazole that she applied with a bare finger to her cat's ear. It happened to a client of Dr. Peter Mundschenk, a part-time practitioner who serves as director of regulatory affairs with the California Veterinary Medical Association.
One day when the woman was in the clinic to drop off her cat, Mundschenk happened to be near the front desk and politely asked how she was. "I'm all screwed up," the elderly client replied. "They can't figure out why my thyroid's so low. It used to be normal. Now it's low. They've done all these tests and they can't figure it out."
Mundschenk asked if she was applying methimazole to her cat with protective gloves, or just her finger. She said she was using her finger; no gloves. "Tell your doctor," Mundschenk urged.
Later, she reported to the veterinarian, "The doctor tells me I have to use the darn glove." Sure enough, three weeks later, Mundschenk said, the client's thyroid levels were back to normal.
Mundschenk told the VNS that warnings probably have long been in place for methimazole but that practitioners perhaps have not always paid close attention. As he spoke, he looked through a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for methimazole. On the sixth of seven pages, he came to the section headed "Protective Equipment."
"Splash goggles, lab coat, dust respirator and gloves," he read, then commented: "So that is why we are supposed to read the full MSDS sheet on products we have in the clinic."
In light of the warnings, Krause, the practitioner in Southern California, said she will no longer allow staff to cut pills. She will also share the cautionary statements with clients. She said most of her feline patients who take methimazole are on 5-mg doses, for which generic pills are available.
For cats that need 2.5-mg doses, Krause said she will let their owners know that Felimazole is available in the lower dose if they do not wish to cut the generic pills themselves. Felimazole costs about twice as much as generic methimazole.
A check of prices by the VIN News Service (VNS) found a bottle of 100 5-mg tablets of Felimazole selling to veterinarians for slightly more than $20 and the same amount of generic methimazole for about $10.
Felimazole also comes in a 2.5-mg dosage form; methimazole for humans does not. Mike Eldred, president of Dechra's U.S. operations, has told the VNS in the past that the 2.5-mg tablet of Felimazole "is a manufactured dosage that's better suited for cats" than the tablets made for humans.
Alvey said veterinarians are not required to stop using a human drug off-label when an approved animal drug becomes available. However, she said: "Your inquiry speaks to the benefits of using an approved veterinary drug versus an unapproved veterinary drug. We are able to communicate important information to safeguard both the pet and the owner, which is information that is not available when non-veterinary or unapproved drugs are used."

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Station Pontgibaud is een spoorwegstation in de Franse gemeente Pontgibaud.

Foto's

Pontgibaud
Pontgibaud

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Novel openings: recent acquisitions
18 Comments	/ Blog / By Rachel
So, that recent post on abandoning novels to the DNF pile made me realize it's been some time since I looked over the books and samples recently added to the TBR file on my Kindle. There've been a bunch, a bit ironic considering how few new-to-me novels I've been reading this year. Big year for re-reads, and the books I have read for the first time have mostly been additions to series I started a year or two (or more) ago. (Not that there's anything wrong with that! About time I finished Brennan's Lady Trent series, for example.) (Though I did read, and very much enjoyed, Sabrina Chase's space opera Sequoyah trilogy.)
Still, despite having no idea when I might get to them, I've added a good many books and some samples to the pile. Let's take a look at some of those:
1. The Dragons of Esternes by Steve Turnbull. This is one of those from the SPFBO book sale, which I mentioned a couple days ago. Here's how it opens:
The floorboards trembled beneath her and she came awake with a jerk.
The air in the eyrie was cold against her skin, and the light of the smaller moon, Colimar, shone red through the arched window in the tower's stone wall. It was still deepest night.
Must have been a dream, thought Kantees, as she re-adjusted the thin blanket and tried to burrow deeper into the pricking straw. The boards beneath her shifted again, and there was a quiet grumble. Oh, by the mother's milk. What now? Stupid animal.
Okay, this is perfectly fine, if not very interesting. I read the next few pages and nothing much happens for a bit. Then enemies invade, or at least attack, and I expect the story picks up at that point. So far the story seems okay, but not much above okay. We were mostly in agreement that the protagonist needs to be likeable or at least not boring, and right off the bat Kantees' voice is not that catchy, though her situation – a servant girl taking care of a racing dragon – is intrinsically interesting. I'd certainly go on at least for a chapter or two and see how the story unfolds.
2. Heart of Dragons by Meg Cowley:
The gigantic trees of the living forest rustled and contorted, but there was no wind to move them. It was as if the very trees themselves were angry. Aedon knew it to be true. The forest was furious.
He dashed across the rope bridge walkways that soared above the forest floor, clinging on for dear life. The living trees, the dhiran, buckled their limbs around him, sending the walkways swinging like ribbons in the wind.
Aedon was lucky he had always been a nimble elf. Even so, he struggled to keep his footing. He ducked and wove as branches tore at him, their leaves razor sharp. Every knobby arm of wood stabbed at him like a sword, leaving his skin peppered with nicks and grazes.
Still, it was better than descending to the forest floor. If he did, Aedon had no doubt he would be eaten by the forest itself – or at least strangled in the writhing roots of the trees that strained to rip themselves free from the earth in their determination to grasp and punish him.
Tir-na-Alathea was a special place. No one left if the forest did not wish it. Luckily, Aedon had a better plan.
And then we learn that a couple other elves are pursuing Aedon; that Aedon apparently stole something of theirs.
This is another of the SPFBO novels. Although this opening is certainly more lively than the first one and I don't actually dislike it, I do see some problems here. I should add that reading just the opening like this puts me in super-picky mode. Still, it seems to me there are a lot of clichés in these few sentences. "Clinging on for dear life." "Ducked and wove." "Leaves razor sharp." "Stabbed like a sword." Plus there are other slightly awkward word-choices:
The gigantic trees of the living forest rustled and contorted, but there was no wind to move them.
Shouldn't it be "though there was no wind"?
And, "living forest" and "living trees"? Aren't most trees living? I get that this is a special use of the word, but this usage still struck me as a little peculiar.
No one left if the forest did not wish it. Luckily, Aedon had a better plan.
Better than what? Shouldn't it just be: "Aedon had a plan"?
Still, quibbles aside, I'd go on for a bit and see how the story looks after a chapter or so. But I'm not too hopeful right up front.
Okay, moving on:
3. Eyrie by K Vale Nagle
Thirty feet up a tree that reached twice that height into the forest canopy, Zeph clung beak-down and surveyed the forest floor. Several large, flightless ground parrots pecked at crushed berries. Violet stains covered their green plumage. The berries were casualties of a conflict much higher up. Two flying squirrels fighting on the sunny tree tops had dropped them, splashing Zeph with juice when the berries landed. While the rush of sugar the berries offered was tempting, that was short-term thinking. Instead, he groomed the juice from his feathered face, left the area, climbed one of the many massive redwoods, and glided back to a good vantage point. The local ground parrots had become wary of the fresh scratches on trees that marked the climbing habits of gryphons. …
And then we get a little hunting scene in which Zeph kills a couple of these giant parrots, during the hunt he happens to spot a scene of earlier minor carnage, and the story goes on from there. This is a story where all the characters are gryphons of one type or another, and in fact there are quite good line drawings of radically different types of gryphons at the beginning of the book. The types are so different I want to say "species," but apparently they can and do interbreed quite freely, so perhaps that term is not the best.
Anyway, this seems to be more of a slice-of-life beginning. The "minor carnage" involves the slaughter of livestock – capybaras! – rather than people. There's potential for conflict between different groups of gryphons, but so far, in the first chapters, conflict seems more potential than active. The writing's decent, though so far Zeph isn't doing enough or thinking enough to be all that interesting as a protagonist. The setting may carry this story forward until the plot gets going, because hey, different types of gryphons are intrinsically fun. I'd go on with all these books, at least for a chapter or so, but so far this one is more appealing than the first two.
4. Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri
Mehr woke up to a soft voice calling her name. Without thought, she reached a hand beneath her pillow and closed her fingers carefully around the hilt of her dagger. She could feel the smoothness of the large opal embedded in the hilt, and its familiar weight beneath her fingertips calmed her. She sat up and pushed back the layer of gauze surrounding her divan.
"Who is it?" she called out.
The room was dark apart from one wavering light. As the light approached, Mehr realized it was an oil lantern, held aloft by a maidservant whom Mehr knew by sight but not by name. Through the glare of the lit flame, the maidservant's features looked distorted, her eyes wide with nervousness.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, my lady," the maid said. "But your sister is asking for you."
I think the three above were self-published, while this one is from Orbit. I picked it up because of a recommendation on Twitter that made it sound appealing. This opening is okay, I think. The servant wants Mehr to come comfort her baby sister, who has been frightened by a spirit that came out of the desert – these spirits might have been much more powerful in the past, I gather. It's well written and in fact I've read about a third of the book so far. For me it's just okay, but I have mentioned that new-to-me fiction has an uphill battle to appeal to me this year, right? This story has an arranged-marriage plotline, which works for me because I know (from the Twitter recommendation) that the romance component of the story has a Happily Ever After ending. That's important because at the moment, the protagonist and her new husband are in a pretty dire situation.
I expect I'll go on with this story pretty soon, though I interrupted it to re-read the entire Valor series by Tanya Huff. So at least I finally finished that series; I'd been waiting for the final book to come out and finally realized it had.
5. Blade and Rose by Miranda Honfleur
Out the fifth-story window, or not at all.
It was her only chance to sneak out unnoticed. Rielle sprang from the bed and grabbed a coat, white wool with the master mage's four-bar chevron, and fastened the double rows of buttons from neck to hip.
Gloves next. No glow of spellcasting to give her away. She slipped her hands into the wool-lined leather and flexed her fingers. A new pair. The heat of her pyromancy last mission had ruined the previous set.
With a flick of her wrist, she extinguished the fireplace and every candle in the room, willing the flames away until only darkness and the faint glow of the gibbous moon remained.
She tossed her braid over her shoulders and opened the window latch. Her boot perched on the sill, she peered at the ground. Dark. Quiet. Empty.
Farther away from the Tower, torches illuminated the walls of the inner bailey, dotted the outer bailey and the gates. Beyond them, white pines challenged the midnight sky, their peaks silvered by the moon. The forest – that was her destination.
Okay, now we're talking! I so admire artistic use of fragments. This is another one from the SPFBO sale. I'm glad I picked it up, because this is a promising start. Most definitely going on with this one, and crossing my fingers that the story will prove as strong as it continues as this beginning suggests.
6. The Songweaver's Vow by Laura Vanarendonk Bough
The attack came at down.
Euthalia woke to the terse, worried voices of men, and she crawled into the dawn light. "What is it?" she asked, only half-expecting an answer.
But Miloslav stopped mid-sentence to turn toward her. "Get back!" he snapped. "Hide yourself!"
Euthalia swept her eyes across the camp, seeing men picking up weapons and looking up the river, where she saw a dragon.
Its head rose from the water and curled upward, glaring down upon the surface in disdain. The river barely rippled around its sinuous neck. Its body was long and narrow, and she saw now oars protruded from either side, launching it across the river. Behind it came other boats, also bearing beast heads, but somehow – because she had seen it first, or because it was the nearest, or because for just a moment it had been a real sea serpent in her mind – the first one seemed the most frightening.
Pirates, she realized. Terrifying, horrific men who went a-viking to prey on traders.
The last of the books I picked up from the SPFBO sale. This is a promising opening. A lot to like about it. Nice cover, too.
Historical fantasy, obviously. That's a subgenre that appeals to me very much, so I'll look forward to going on with this one.
7. His Own Good Sword by Amanda McGrina
In truth, he'd rather not go to Vessy.
He'd considered just sending a letter from the post-station at Chaelor. That would be the easiest thing for himself and his father both. Certainly for his mother. But if he didn't go now, there was no telling when he'd have the chance to go again and it was two years already since he'd last been home. No – better to go, to break the news in person. Harder, maybe, but he owed them that much. This was the last time in what would probably be a very long time he'd see either of them. Harder, in person, but it was the right thing to do.
At the crossroads at Chaelor, where most of the big roads in this northern part of the province came together, he took Risun onto the eastward road leading to Vessy. The road ran close along the shore of Lake Morin and for most of the way it went on pilings because the ground was reed beds and soft green marshland that flooded in the springtime. Vessy itself, the ancient Cesino capital, was built on a hillside above the lake. The oldest part of the city was at the base of the hill, below the causeway: fishermen's huts and ships' housing and rows and rows of mossy weathered mooring stones. The younger part, above, was Vareno-built, and the buildings stood out starkly from the old Cesino buildings below – walls of white marble rather than flagstone, roofs of clay tile instead of straw thatch.
The villa of the Risti sat on the very crown of the hill because Torien Risto, Tyren's father, was the most powerful man in Cesin, and one of the more powerful men in the Empire.
Okay! I think that is a good first sentence, followed by way too much description wrapped around too little story. I should add that the next pages go on in the same vein. I am a fan of good description, and this description is mostly quite good, but the author has fallen into textbook mode. Let me tell you about the setting rather than the protagonist really existing within the setting. Story and setting really need to be integrated, and here, after the first sentence, it seems to me that the author has paused the story to do an extended stop-action scene where she pans the camera sloooowly around to show the reader the scenery. That's not the impression the reader should get in the first pages.
The biggest problem, or at least one big problem for me here, is the names. There are lots and none of them mean anything to the reader. Is Risun the name of the protagonist's horse? Can't tell, though that is my tentative conclusion. Is Tyren Risto the protagonist of the story? Can't tell that either, not for sure. This is one of the dangers of starting off the story with a pronoun rather than a name. While it's true that people don't think of themselves by name, it's also true that the reader needs to know the name of the protagonist. This should be crystal clear. Here, it's really not.
However … the description is good. I do plan to go on for a chapter or two.
8. As the Crow Flies by Robyn Lythgoe
I am called Crow, and I am a thief. The name and the profession go hand in hand and, like the bird, I am not at all opposed to appropriating what pleases me. I am good at it. Crows are smart and clever. Black of hair, dark of eye, and dusky of skin, I am as like that much-maligned bird as any man can be. My nimble fingers and quick mind have guaranteed me the most profitable jobs and a comfortable place in the annals of history.
I always work alone. Most of my life has been spent alone, a situation I never felt inclined to alter until, in my thirty-first spring, I fell in love. Ah, Tarsha, my beautiful jewel …
It was for her sake that I perched on the ledge of a arrow window in Baron Metin Duzayan's residence more than three stories above the churning waters of the Zenn River.
The din of pursuit clattered down the hall behind me. Which way would the guardsmen most likely look for me? Down. Down was the easy way to go, the quick way, but any fool can leap to his death in a raging river, and I am no fool. With vengeful Winter tramping through the land, it would be bitterly cold, too. I would rather fly than take a wetting, so up it was.
Voice is particularly important in first-person narratives, and this guy immediately strikes me as a jerk. I often like arrogant protagonists, as long as they are in fact (nearly) as competent as they think they are, but I'm not sure I like them as much in first-person narratives as third.
Well, we'll see. I liked the back-cover description of this book, so I'll go on and see how the story unfolds. I believe the protagonist is going to find himself in a tough spot very shortly, which might not knock the arrogance back a touch, but perhaps it will.
9. Sherwood by Meagan Spooner
"My lady." The voice was urgent. "My lady, please – please wake up."
Marian swam up out of dreamless sleep, her mind groggy and confused. It was dark, but as her eyes adjusted, the light of a candle came into view. Behind it she could see a familiar face, drawn and frightened.
"Elena," she croaked, dragging herself upright. "What is it?"
Her maid swallowed, the candlelight bobbing and swaying with the trembling of her hand. "It's my brother, my Lady. They've got him – they've arrested him and they're going to kill him at dawn. Please, my Lady, I don't know what to do."
Marian was on her feet before she could think, reaching for yesterday's dress handing over her changing screen. She threw it on over her shift, ignoring the trailing laces at its back. "Where is my cloak?" she demanded, quick and curt.
Kind of funny that this opening is so similar to Empire of Sand, above! I wonder how many stories in the world open with someone saying, My lady, wake up!
This is a Robin Hood story. There's a prologue in which Robin himself, fighting in the Holy Land with the king, is killed. Then we start here at Chapter One with Marian. You can probably imagine how the story unfolds after this, as Marian is determined to keep the story of Robin Hood alive even though Robin himself is dead. I'm looking forward to it. For one thing, this version of the Robin Hood story simply cannot suffer from the common weakness of Robin Hood retellings, which is a weak ending. They all have a weak ending. But in a sense this one gets that over with right at the beginning – Robin Hood is dead! – so the author should be able to take this story in a very different direction at the end.
Okay, one more:
10. The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
Do you remember where you were when the Meteor hit? I've never understood why people phrase it as a question, because of course you remember. I was in the mountains with Nathaniel. He had inherited this cabin from his father and we used to go up there for stargazing. By which I mean: sex. Oh, don't pretend that you're shocked. Nathaniel and I were a healthy young married couple, so most of the stars I saw were painted across the inside of my eyelids.
If I had known how long the stars were going to be hidden, I would have spent a lot more time outside with the telescope.
We were lying in the bed with the covers in a tangled mess around us. The morning light filtered through silver snowfall and did nothing to warm the room. We'd been awake for hours, but hadn't gotten out of bed yet for obvious reasons. Nathaniel had his leg thrown over me and was snuggled up against my side, tracing a finger along my collarbone in time with the music on our little battery-powered transistor radio. …
… I pulled the covers up over myself and turned on my side to watch him. He was lean, and only his time in the Army during World War II kept him from being scrawny. I loved watching the muscles play under his skin as he pulled wood off the pile under the big picture window. The snow framed him beautifully, its silver light just catching in the strands of his blond hair.
And then the world outside lit up.
I wanted to get to the meteor hitting, so I cut a bit out of the first pages. However, here you go, this is basically the opening to The Calculating Stars, which as you all know won the Hugo a few days ago. A bit like cheating to include it with a bunch of random books picked up partly because they were on sale! But it's fun to compare. I don't think I'm biased when I say that Kowal brings an assurance to her writing that's lacking in most of the selections above. Great first line. Clearly established first-person voice. Protagonist and story effortlessly integrated with the setting.
As far as I'm concerned, the two obvious standouts from this set of ten are The Calculating Stars and Blade and Rose. What do you all think?
18 thoughts on "Novel openings: recent acquisitions"
Pete Mack
Living trees should probably be 'sentient'. I won't be buying that one: when one uses a lot of adjectives, word choice really matters.
How do redwood trees and capybaras grow in the same environment? If the author (or back cover copy) didn't swiftly imply a modern-ish world of trade & animal/plant importation all over I'd drop it fast.
What is it with opening with females waking up? Seeing so many is striking.
That first one isn't bad – it establishes important bits of setting without wasting words. The second is trying too hard, while the fifth I think (the mage escaping) was doing fine, for a bit, then it tried too hard as well. I think it was the 'boot perching' bit that triggered that reaction.
I have to admit, I was not crazy about the "boot perching" phrase. But if you were reading the book in an ordinary way, rather than critically looking at the opening, would you notice? I kind of think I'd have skimmed past that without noticing.
I was amused by a) redwoods; b) berries; c) capybaras; and d) ground parrots all mixed together. It struck me as cluttered-for-fun rather than author-has-no-clue-about-ecology. But I could be wrong! But one of the griffin species is PEACOCK-based! Which is just so amusing to me and helps me not take the setting too seriously.
Kim Aippersbach
Most of these are so wordy! My fingers are quivering for a red pencil to slash through half the sentences and another half of the words. Assured writing like Kowal's trusts the reader more, so it isn't so explainy and describey.
I thought Sherwood was admirably concise and to the point; gets right into the action, too. Hers was also traditionally published, I think?
In general that's the biggest problem I have with self-published books: they desperately need an editor. (And I don't think I'm just saying that because I'm an editor!)
(You and Andrea Höst are among the few self-published writers I can read—you're both experienced enough to trust your readers and only say what needs to be said. Also you have great voice; I can read a lot of extraneous stuff if it's in a great voice.)
Well, I was traditionally published years before I self-published. Though come to think of it, I've never had any editor take a red pencil to my sentences.
Yes, looks like Sherwood came out from Harper Collins. How about Empire of Sand? Did that one seem wordy to you?
Also, a typo in the first sentence is daunting:
"The attack came at down?"
"Living forest" reminds me of the currently commonplace phrasing "lived experience". (As opposed to what?)
Probably that was me! Re-typing several paragraphs fast makes for typos.
I just read a very interesting book, "Sirens Unbound" by Laura Engelhardt. Very different. Pretty good. Not on your SPFBO site, but free on Amazon Kindle Prime.
Thanks for the tip, Alison!
Amazon's description for anyone interested:
Dr. Amy Bant faces the challenge of her career – developing a cure for magical blindness that is sought by mages, the military, and powerful forces she does not yet understand. In pursuit of the medical answer, Amy will uncover truths that have been hidden from humans by mages, fae, and even her own family. Actions have consequences, and the decisions made by the Bant family will herald the start of what could be the most destructive war the world has ever seen.
I'll try a sample and see how it goes!
Hanneke
The Miranda Honfleur one looked interesting enough that I looked it up, but alas it is only available on Kindle, as the first of a six-book series (5&6 still to be written).
I really try not to feed Amazon's voracious monopolist & monopsonist tendencies, so I haven't bought it yet. The only ones for whom I've broken my "don't feed the monopolist" rule are the Penric novellas by Bujold, as I am a completist regarding her work. But if ever a collection of those gets distributed to other ebook sellers or published as a paper collection, I'll buy that too (the paper collector's editions at $15+ for each novella are beyond my value-for-money budget).
I don't think I'll break that rule for this unknown; I'm hoping it will get distributed to other stores once the series is finished.
" How about Empire of Sand? Did that one seem wordy to you?"
A bit, all that detail about the dagger, but it wasn't coming off as too much, just world building a trifle clumsily. But on the page would I have noticed, instead isolated like this? Don't know. If it was right after something else that was too wordy in just the wrong way I probably would have.
" was amused by a) redwoods; b) berries; c) capybaras; and d) ground parrots all mixed together. It struck me as cluttered-for-fun rather than author-has-no-clue-about-ecology" Ok, if it's clearly going for fun and humor I can live with that.
We have redwood, berries and parrots (went feral and bred, I believe) around here, although not usually quite so close together, so those elements didn't jump out as needing an explanation for the combo.
If it were me, I'd feel compelled to make it clear that the berries were from a VINE climbing in the canopy of the trees, not from the redwoods themselves. But probably no one else would care if the author implies that redwood trees produce berries…
The only–oxymoronic!–conifers with berries are yews (red) and junipers (blue), as far as I know. Write about redwoods with berries, and you could drop the 'oxy'.
I am reading calculating stars. And things went a bit off the rails with this:
'… you can see further down the occasion, 12.8e9 G of thrust.'
This is gibberish. Really gibberish. Thrust is a unit of force. g (not G!) is a unit of acceleration, and in any case, 10^2 g is enough to crush a human. 10^9 g is more than enough to make a black hole. (G is the universal constant for gravity, and is ridiculously small; even 10^9 G is a tiny number–solar sail magnitude.) And in any case, neither of these is a measure of thrust.
If you are going to talk the details of real physics, get it proofread by someone who knows the basics, or better, get someone to teach you the basics. The bare bones stuff isn't complex–mostly unit analysis and definitions.
I just finished Calculating Stars, liked it a lot, and (of course!) did not notice the mistake. In the afterward, she says she did run everything past a … I don't remember exactly … physicist or astrophysicist or rocket scientist or something like that. I guess that person missed this mistake, which must be embarrassing for them both, but Kowal apparently did take that step.
Fair enough. I reported it on the kindle in any case.
Good, but I don't know whether those reports actually go anywhere. I have never once seen any such report on any of my books.


text:
Women Have Role in Disaster Risk Management
Disasters that afflicted Indonesia in the past twenty years have caused many fatalities and damaged infrastructures that led to economic losses. According to Sri Hartini, S.Kep., Ns., M.Kes., Ph.D, the position of Indonesia in the Pacific Ring of Fire made the country face disaster risks. So, disaster mitigation management became the main activity to do.
"Activities that need to be done include prevention, mitigation, preparedness, early warning, emergency response, emergency relief, restoration, rehabilitation and reconstruction. These are all done before, during, and after the disaster," said Sri Hartini in UC UGM on Thursday (21/12) during the 13th International Seminar on Disaster: Gender-Inclusive Disaster Risk Management.
In this condition, said Sri Hartini, nurses stand in the front guard of service institutions. Nurse services in clinic or community are very important before, during, and after the disaster.
Hence, the 13th International Seminar on Disaster: Gender-Inclusive Disaster Risk Management that was organised by Nursing Program Faculty of Medicine UGM and Kobe University, Japan was very important , because both Indonesia and Japan have similarities as countries that are prone to disaster, particularly earthquake.
"The theme has been raised by taking into account that disaster impact caused by natural factor is not gender neutral," she said. Sri Hartini hoped the seminar would serve as the forum for sharing during mitigation, handling, and rehabilitation of disaster, facilitate cognitive and psychomotor competence of the nurse for disaster mitigation management.
One of the speakers of the seminar, Prof. Satoshi Takada, said there had been a change in Japan in terms of women's role from private to public areas. Many have occupied jobs which later affected the family and community.
"The role of women in disaster has not much been studied. Due to women's role to care for children and senior citizens, they can also give contributions to disaster risk management," he said.
Satoshi Takada said the role of women during disaster also differs from that of men. Satoshi said women can be agent of vulnerabilities of senior citizens and children. They can propose to change disaster risk mitigation and enhance community resilience.
"Women can do community empowerment in disaster due to their skills and capacities learned in their households. Thus, women have to be engaged in disaster risk management," he said.
Disaster Threats, Student Association of Disaster Care Initiated
Establishing Excellent Network of Disaster Management, UGM Launches SIAP TEPAT
Monday,27 February 2012 - 14:08
Disaster Risk and Management Training for Architects
Tuesday,10 April 2018 - 10:54
Summer Course at UGM on Ecosystem-based Disaster Risk Reduction
Tuesday,31 July 2018 - 10:55
UGM Rector Becomes Keynote Speaker in Global Education Dialogue in New Delhi
Thursday,12 February 2015 - 15:47


WITHAM'S business leaders could fill the void left by police cuts by funding their own security measures.
Witham Chamber of Commerce, Witham Town Team and Braintree Town Team are in talks to create a Business Improvement District (BID) in Newland Street.
If voted in by businesses, they would pay a levy on top of their normal rates to invest in improvements and protection.
A similar scheme run by Witham Industrial Watch has seen 47 automatic number plate recognition cameras installed and an estate manager hired to watch out for crime and provide a link between all member companies.
Since the BID was introduced five years ago, crime on Witham industrial estates dropped by more than half.
The discussion comes after a recent spate of burglaries and criminal damage to premises in Newland Street, and the forthcoming closure of Witham police station in April.
Liz Storey, chairman of Braintree Town Team, told a Witham Chamber of Commerce meeting last Friday: "We are trying to get enough people to make it work.
"We would need all the businesses in Newland Street to commit in the same way they do in the industrial estates and use the experience and resources they have managed to establish to make this a better place.
She added: "You know you are safe in Braintree because we have the radio system.
"But in Braintree, we have George Yard to run that – we don't have that core hub to run that when there's two separate shopping centres in Witham.
She said businesses in Newland Street had already given positive feedback about the idea.
Tina Townsend, chairman of Witham Chamber of Commerce, said: "As a long-term plan, we have been doing some work for a BID here inWitham.
Witham MP Priti Patel said: "They are successful because they work in partnership.
Representatives from Essex Police were invited to Friday's meeting, but they failed to attend.


There is often a lot of debate about what an employer brand actually is. At the simplest level, it is about building trust to gain attention and persuade by presenting a view of the organisation, its culture, values and employment experience. In a competitive marketplace, it's crucial for every organisation that the impact and reach of their Employer Brand is leveraged to help showcase differentiation. Recruitment marketing channels are becoming noisier, and this means each business needs to be as creative as possible in identifying all opportunities to maximise their brand.
The challenge is that an employer brand can no longer be just a strap-line created by a marketing focus group. Fuelled by the growth of information available from social media and workplace review sites like Glassdoor, the level of due diligence potential employees are undertaking on the companies wishing to hire them has grown exponentially. An employer brand now needs to be transparent, authentic and stand up to the scrutiny of our ever more connected world. The companies that are rising to meet this challenge are the ones who are open and honest and let their employees speak as advocates for them to provide the social proof of an insider's point of view.
By far the most successful tactic to showcase an employer brand in a compelling way is to share positive authentic employee stories, which underline culture and showcase the employee experience in a way that resonates with the appropriate target audiences of talent. In order to do this effectively, employers need to identify brand advocates within their organisation who will be sources of content and produce content regularly and consistently. Social media is an obvious place to share these stories but they should also be used as content to connect with audiences via other recruitment marketing channels including job boards.
This storytelling strategy has proved to be successful for numerous companies both large and small across many different talent markets. I've interviewed a number of these companies for the Recruiting Future Podcast including Standard Life, Brewdog, Chilis and CA Technologies. If you click the links you will be able to listen to the interviews and find out more about the different ways these employers are sourcing and sharing their employees' stories and the positive effect it has had on the perception of their employer brands.
The talent market is predicted to get even more competitive in 2018 so there has never been a more important time to review and implement employer brand communication strategies if you want to improve your company's ability to attract the best talent. Authenticity is key and helping your employees to tell their stories is one of the best ways of achieving it.
s1jobs offers a range of recruitment solutions that can help improve your employer brand. For more information, call 0141 302 7510.
Matt Alder is a Strategic Consultant who focuses on all aspects of recruitment marketing, employer brand and recruitment technology. Over the last seventeen years Matt has helped employers connect to the best talent, improve ROI and drive value via digital recruitment strategies and techniques and has recently written Exceptional Talent – How to Attract, Acquire and Retain the Very Best Employees. You can follow Matt on LinkedIn or via his podcast.


The National Prosecuting Authority (NPA) says the State declined to prosecute newly elected prosecutions boss Silas Ramaite for a drunk driving case because there "were no prospects of a successful prosecution".
President Cyril Ramaphosa appointed Ramaite as Acting National Director of Public Prosecutions on Tuesday after former head Shaun Abrahams was forced to vacate his office following a Constitutional Court ruling on Monday.
The court found that Abrahams' appointment was invalid because his predecessor, Mxolisi Nxasana, was wrongfully removed by then president Jacob Zuma.
Ramaite was arrested between Levubu and Elim in Limpopo for drunk driving in 2011.
At the time, it was reported that Ramaite allegedly crashed his luxury Jaguar into a Nissan 1400 bakkie.
Then Limpopo police spokesperson Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said blood samples revealed that Ramaite was driving under the influence.
He was released on R1 000 bail the following day.
NPA spokesperson Luvuyo Mfaku told News24 on Thursday that a chief prosecutor for the Pretoria cluster was requested to allocate this case to a senior prosecutor from the same cluster after there were allegations that Ramaite was well-known in the Limpopo province and justice "might not be seen to be done".
Mfaku said advocate Sanet Jacobson was tasked with conducting the prosecution of the case after she received the docket in August 2013.
"After consultation with the two police officials and the complainant, the prosecutors established on their evidence that more than three hours expired before the blood was drawn.
"The doctor submitted the reports of the blood-drawing only on 5 September 2011, three months after the incident, after the initial reports and hospital files got lost," Mfaku said.
He said the doctor relied on his memory to complete the forms in respect of time and observations.
Mfaku said there were there were "irreconcilable discrepancies" in their evidence, adding that there were also material discrepancies in respect of the blood kit serial numbers.
"This is significant, and the blood reports would not be admissible in light of the above reasons. During consultation, both SAPS members indicated that had the complainant not alleged the issue of drunkenness, they would have dealt with the accident and the matter as one of possible reckless and negligent driving," he said.
According to him, a police sergeant said she had taken blood samples from both Ramaite and from the bakkie driver, as both had disputed being drunk.
A constable at the scene had said both drivers appeared "fine".
"The State declined to prosecute on the basis that there were no prospects of a successful prosecution in 2013. SSA [State Security Agency] conducted a vetting investigation in June 2015 and Dr Ramaite was awarded a security clearance," he said.


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Having joined the company in 1999, Paul is one of the longest-serving members of the Hyperactive Broadcast team. He started out as a driver, before moving into the warehouse, where he learnt about all the kit in our inventory. He ultimately progressed into our Broadcast department, where he remains as a senior broadcast bench engineer.
Highly regarded by customers and colleagues alike, Paul is one of the people responsible for keeping our EVS products, cameras, lenses and hire stock prepped and maintained to the highest possible standards.
Career highlights include prepping for the 2012 Olympics, where he found the sense of comradery to be inspiring, as well as de-rigging the feature film 'Sahara', not least because the job involved a trip out to the Sahara desert.


text:
package org.nanocom.console.input;

import java.util.Arrays;
import java.util.HashMap;
import java.util.LinkedHashMap;
import java.util.Map;
import static org.junit.Assert.*;
import org.junit.Test;

public class ArrayInputTest {

    @Test
    public void testGetFirstArgument() {
        Map<String, String> map = new LinkedHashMap<String, String>();
        InputInterface input = new ArrayInput(map);
        assertNull("getFirstArgument() returns null if no argument were passed", input.getFirstArgument());
        map.put("name", "Arnaud");
        input = new ArrayInput(map);
        assertEquals("getFirstArgument() returns the first passed argument", "Arnaud", input.getFirstArgument());
        map.clear();
        map.put("--foo", "bar");
        map.put("name", "Arnaud");
        input = new ArrayInput(map);
        assertEquals("getFirstArgument() returns the first passed argument", "Arnaud", input.getFirstArgument());
    }

    @Test
    public void testHasParameterOption() {
        Map<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
        map.put("name", "Arnaud");
        map.put("--foo", "bar");
        InputInterface input = new ArrayInput(map);
        assertTrue("hasParameterOption() returns true if an option is present in the passed parameters", input.hasParameterOption("--foo"));
        assertFalse("hasParameterOption() returns false if an option is not present in the passed parameters", input.hasParameterOption("--bar"));

        map.clear();
        map.put("--foo", null);
        input = new ArrayInput(map);
        assertTrue("hasParameterOption() returns true if an option is present in the passed parameters", input.hasParameterOption("--foo"));
    }

    @Test
    public void testParse() {
        Map<String, String> map = new HashMap<String, String>();
        map.put("name", "foo");
        InputInterface input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition(new InputParameterInterface[] {new InputArgument("name")}));
        Map<String, Object> map2 = new HashMap<String, Object>();
        map2.put("name", "foo");
        assertEquals("parse() parses required arguments", map2, input.getArguments());

        try {
            map.clear();
            map.put("foo", "foo");
            input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition(new InputParameterInterface[] {new InputArgument("name")}));
            fail("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid argument is passed");
        } catch (Exception e) {
            assertTrue("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid argument is passed", e instanceof IllegalArgumentException);
            assertEquals("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid argument is passed", "The \"foo\" argument does not exist.", e.getMessage());
        }

        map.clear();
        map.put("--foo", "bar");
        input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition(new InputParameterInterface[] {new InputOption("foo")}));
        map2.clear();
        map2.put("foo", "bar");
        assertEquals("parse() parses long options", map2, input.getOptions());

        input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition(new InputParameterInterface[] {new InputOption("foo", "f", InputOption.VALUE_OPTIONAL, "", "default")}));
        assertEquals("parse() parses long options with a default value", map2, input.getOptions());

        map.clear();
        map.put("--foo", null);
        input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition(new InputParameterInterface[] {new InputOption("foo", "f", InputOption.VALUE_OPTIONAL, "", "default")}));
        map2.clear();
        map2.put("foo", "default");
        assertEquals("parse() parses long options with a default value", map2, input.getOptions());

        try {
            input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition(new InputParameterInterface[] {new InputOption("foo", "f", InputOption.VALUE_REQUIRED)}));
            fail("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if a required option is passed without a value");
        } catch (Exception e) {
            assertTrue("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if a required option is passed without a value", e instanceof IllegalArgumentException);
            assertEquals("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if a required option is passed without a value", "The \"--foo\" option requires a value.", e.getMessage());
        }

        try {
            map.clear();
            map.put("--foo", "foo");
            input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition());
            fail("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid option is passed");
        } catch (Exception e) {
            assertTrue("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid option is passed", e instanceof IllegalArgumentException);
            assertEquals("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid option is passed", "The \"--foo\" option does not exist.", e.getMessage());
        }

        map.clear();
        map.put("-f", "bar");
        input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition(new InputParameterInterface[] {new InputOption("foo", "f")}));
        map2.clear();
        map2.put("foo", "bar");
        assertEquals("parse() parses short options", map2, input.getOptions());

        map.clear();
        map.put("-o", "foo");
        try {
            input = new ArrayInput(map, new InputDefinition());
            fail("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid option is passed");
        } catch (Exception e) {
            assertTrue("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid option is passed", e instanceof IllegalArgumentException);
            assertEquals("parse() throws an IllegalArgumentException exception if an invalid option is passed", "The \"-o\" option does not exist.", e.getMessage());
        }
    }
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


Alison heads to Florida with the 2014 Blog Cabin kitchen in her sights. This beautiful 1920's home has a blank slate for a kitchen and is in desperate need of a design. Alison and host Chris Grundy start by building cabinets, a giant center island, and custom pantry. As the days roll on the empty room becomes a showplace complete with concrete counter-tops, custom wood and metal chandelier, welded pot rack, huge copper topped work space, built in banquet, herb garden and all new gorgeous appliances. In the end this blank slate becomes an amazing and enormous space combining rustic and modern touches that anyone would be thrilled to call home.
Alison is stuck within the footprint of Maria and Matt's galley kitchen, so rather than fight the space, she pumps up the creativity and changes up the layout. First, she shortens a large window and moves the sink underneath to maximize countertop and cabinet space. After the soffits are out, ceiling height light sage-colored cabinetry comes in to compliment whitewashed laminate flooring and marbled black, cream and white granite countertops. Next up, smudge-proof black appliances including a double oven, cooktop, counter-depth refrigerator and stylish hood. To keep up with the black accents, Alison installs a heavy-duty black granite sink, faucet and sleek cabinet hardware. On the DIY side, Alison and the homeowners construct a mudroom with a custom boot tray to give this family more space and a vertical succulent piece and herb garden to bring nature indoors.
A dark and outdated kitchen is gutted and opened up into a Mid Century Modern space! In just three days the kitchen is completely transformed with brand new hardwood floors, all new cabinets, bright backsplash, banquette seating and a custom walnut dining table. Plus, an island faced with gypsum tiles takes center stage and is completed with walnut stools made with seat belts!
Ari and Lara's kitchen is cramped and the layout is all wrong, until Alison Victoria comes in and revamps the entire space, partially knocking down the wall into the dining room and accenting the room with an arch and DIY distressed corbels. Alison brings in a reclaimed wood floor to give the room a rustic feel and grey washed cabinetry with detailed doors and crystal hardware for a modern feel. Where there was once a wall, there is now a custom reclaimed wood peninsula and alcove with a DIY picture frame and chalkboard. A faux brick paneled wall, quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances finish off the space.
While they're very happy with their indoor kitchen, Casey and McKenzie's urban backyard has a lot to be desired, until Alison and her crew step in for a complete overhaul. They start by turning the stairs on the existing decking to create the feeling of a room below, the perfect spot for an outdoor kitchen. Alison brings in composite gray decking and has it cut and mounted into squares to create a unique pattern. Next, a pergola, built-in bench with planters and stone bases come together to make up the footprint for the space. Garapa wood is mounted horizontally to a wall to enclose the space and two grills are installed to give the homeowners options when they cook. To round out the design, Alison and the homeowners make a DIY porch swing and chic herb garden that is both functional and fabulous to look at.
Alison and the Kitchen Crashers Crew find a couple of homeowners with a huge kitchen that has become almost unusable. The traffic flow is terrible and everything from floor to ceiling has seen better days. This massive renovation begins with demolition of two walls and a complete re-imagining of the entire space. With an eye toward the couples' love of both entertaining and sushi, Alison brings a design that both opens the space even larger and looks like a fancy sushi restaurant. The elements include a new layout, flooring, cabinets, countertops and appliances. Then the custom touches are created like a low profile asian dining table, grasscloth shoji wall treatment, and resin paneled chandelier surround. The end result leaves the homeowners overwhelmed by a kitchen that is beyond both of their expectations.
Michael wants an outdoor kitchen that screams party so Alison delivers! She drops a shipping container into the yard and transforms it into a sleek outdoor kitchen complete with awnings, a bar, cabinets, shelving, lighting and a kegorator. She adds a deck with smoker and prep area, two picnic tables and a custom concrete ping pong table. The result is a usable back yard with lots of entertaining space and the most unique outdoor kitchen around!


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Coming Soon: Roosevelt Gallery and Bier House to Bring More Beer and Wine to Downtown Phoenix Arts District This Fall
Benjamin Leatherman | July 6, 2012 | 10:09am
Grabbing an adult beverage while attending a typical First or Third Friday in downtown Phoenix is sometimes a frustrating endeavor. Nearby establishments such as
Carly's
are often jam-packed with bodies, while bartenders are usually swamped with drink orders.
Come this fall, however, Ira and Patricia Hayden will attempt to alleviate this logjam of libation-seekers when they reopen their art space, Celtica Gallery, as the Roosevelt Gallery and Bier House at 509 E. Roosevelt St.
According to the couple, the combination art gallery and drinkery will serve a variety of beer and wine from a granite-topped bar they're installing in the back of the property, which is near Roosevelt and Fifth streets. Currently, they're busy renovating the place and securing the necessary permits from City of Phoenix and Maricopa County officials in the coming month.
In May, the couple won a Series 7 license (which allows establishments to sell beer and wine) via a lottery held by the Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control.
Whereas the Lost Leaf is a beer and wine bar that features art the couple says their establishment -- which has peddled paintings, sculptures, and other works for close to three decades -- the Roosevelt Gallery and Bier House be more akin to as a "gallery that serves beer and wine." While it might be a case of splitting hairs, Ira says visual art will still be "a big part" of the place.
"I've been down here running Gallery Celtica for a long time now and [it] has constantly evolved over they years," he says. "And we decided recently, since the whole area's become so much more festive, we decided to revamp the interior of the gallery and put in a bar."
Patricia says they hope to complete the conversion of Gallery Celtica into Roosevelt Gallery and Bier House and start pouring around mid-September, but admit it hinges on the city approving their permits and paperwork.
They've been too busy ripping down plaster from the walls to expose the brickwork underneath and creating more room inside the property -- which Ira has operated as an art space in one form or another since the early 1980s -- to decide on which beers or wines they will serve (or whether it will be available in either draft or bottle form).
Ira says his two sons, who are fanatical connoisseurs of both beer and wine, will assist them in determining what to stock at the bar. The couple is also hoping to serve a limited menu as well, although that too is still up in the air.
Ira says in addition to opening up more room inside the property to accommodate drinkers, they'll also expand their hours and will be open multiple days a week (and not just First and Third Friday) like nearby beer and wine joint The Lost Leaf.
Ira, however, says their not aiming to put their neighbor out of business, but instead want to help make the popular intersection of Fifth and Roosevelt even better.
"We don't want to take anything away from what's already here, we're just trying to help improve what's already a unique area," he says. "We've had people come over from Lost Leaf because they didn't want to stand in line outside any longer and they knew we were building a bar. Unfortunately, we haven't been able sell them anything yet."
New Restaurant Alert


How To Draw Dragon Ball Z Kai Trunks - October 18, 2015 by admin.
Post tagged: how to draw dragon ball z kai trunks.
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Suggested Usage: As a dietary supplement, take 3 Vcaps 2 times daily, preferably with meals.
Other Ingredients: Cellulose, Cellulose (capsule), Maltodextrin, Magnesium Stearate (vegetable source), and Silica. Contains no salt, yeast, wheat, gluten, soy, milk, egg, shellfish or preservatives.


Today we celebrated Talk Like a Pirate Day and had a BLAST learning on the high seas!
As an ITRT, I don't have an assigned set of students to work with so I needed to wrangle up a few Pirate Leaders who would sail the seas for pirate adventures. I sent an email to teachers and quickly filled my day with lesson requests!
We landed on four activites for teachers to select; each Pirate Plan was customized for student needs and teacher preferences. Some teachers wanted an hour long session with three rotations. Others only had 30 minutes to spare. Like hearty pirates charting the course, we adapted our maps to make each lesson engaging and filled with hands-on learning opportunities!
Click here to make a copy of my Pirate Hook card!
This morning my crew mates arrived, ready to start our day as Pirate Leaders. We knew there would be lots of excitement in store!
Below is a list of our lessons crafted for Talk Like a Pirate Day. I've included links to resources you can use as well!
Students used props to dress like a pirate then create a sentence using Pirate Words. Once they wrote their sentence on their sheet, they recorded their pirate talk using the Flipgrid app on an iPad!
We even offered a private recording studio for any pirates who wanted to record in secrecy.
If you want your own studio, check out this link from Ikea – thanks, Joe Merrill, for the great idea! Another round of thanks to Flipgrid and Claudio Zavala for the awesome stickers you sent!
To calculate like a pirate, you must be wise to solving problems as they arise. Students grabbed an iPad and searched for "hidden treasure" around the room (aka Pirate Problem QR code sheets), then scanned the QR code with our i-Nigma app to discover pirate-themed word problems to solve.
This second grade crew was so quick with their scanning, I couldn't snap a photo of them in action, but caught them reading and problem solving on their own.
I will let you in on a little secret, mateys. Pirates only find treasure through persistence. There has to be a plan. You have to be prepared for rough seas. You must engage your crew from the start – no scallywags allowed!
Our Sail Like a Pirate activity challenged the crews to design a ship with one piece of aluminum foil, one popsicle stick, and all the tape they desired. They then tested the strength of their ship by placing it on the high seas (a bucket filled with water) and adding their treasure (pennies and gold coins).
How much treasure could their ship hold before sinking? Could they redesign their ship to hold more? Did it matter where they placed their popsicle stick or how they stacked their treasure?
One student creatively discovered she could break her one popsicle stick into two pieces to create a more balanced ship!
After students tested their best prototype, they used the Flipgrid app on the iPad to describe their ship design and how much treasure they gained.
This was the first day our students used Flipgrid – no specialized tech tool training required! Just type in the code, tap the plus sign and record!
One of my favorite activities was teaching the students how to code – WITHOUT TECHNOLOGY! A pirate paradox? Shiver me timbers! Students used a basic chart to design their own treasure maps, complete with landlubber obstacles and a key. Then they created a Pirate Code to safely guide their crew to the loot.
Some classes turned their pirate maps into coordinate grids. Others focused on cardinal directions found on a compass rose. Our fifth grade buccaneers learned how to shorten their code with repeaters, casting a hook into more complex algorithms!
Pirates had an opportunity to swap their maps with other pirates to test the validity of their code. (That's right – validity. Our pirates can handle big words!) Pirates who received question marks beside their codes didn't throw a man overboard, but tried their code again to problem-solve their mistake.
We even inspired other pirates to do lessons of their own – Pirate Ambrose and Pirate Tapper led their crew to create unique pirate names and craft pirate patches, recording their creations in Flipgrid!
Our pirate fun continued through Back-to-School Night as buccaneers entered our Innovation Lab to showcase their learning. How fun to add some parent pirates to our crew as they worked with their children to Talk Like a Pirate, too!
All in all, our pirate adventures were a smashing success! Students were engaged in authentic learning experiences with relevant applications of math, science, language arts, engineering, technology and more!
Did you know that you can experience Talk Like a Pirate Day ANY day you choose? Why limit yourself to a specific date on the calendar? Chart your course, set sail and create a learning experience your students will never forget!


text:
Q: Como recibo un conjunto de datos en una consulta Mysql Necesito encontrar la forma de traer resultados asociados a un contenido en un arreglo
SELECT n.*, nf.url, nf.filename FROM noticias n INNER JOIN noticias_fotos nf ON nf.idNoticia = n.id WHERE n.fecha BETWEEN '2019-07-10 00:00:00' AND '2019-07-10 23:59:59' ORDER BY fecha DESC

Resultado:

Aunque en primera instancia parece correcto esto solo funciona para registros con 1 sola imagen, y ahí viene mi pregunta... Como hago para traer ese registro pero con un arreglo de cada imagen si tiene más de una.
resultado ahora:
[id,titulo,contenido1,contenido2,contenido3,url_imagen]

Lo que necesito
[id,titulo,contenido1,contenido2,contenido3,[url_imagen1,url_imagen2,etc]]

A: Podrías usar LIMIT = 1, de esta forma entregaría únicamente un resultado:
SELECT n.*, nf.url, nf.filename FROM noticias n INNER JOIN noticias_fotos nf ON nf.idNoticia = n.id WHERE n.fecha BETWEEN '2019-07-10 00:00:00' AND '2019-07-10 23:59:59' ORDER BY fecha DESC LIMIT 1

Actualización:
Lo que obtiene el usuario es :
[id,titulo,contenido1,contenido2,contenido3,url_imagen]

pero necesita un arreglo de las imágenes:
[id,titulo,contenido1,contenido2,contenido3,[url_imagen1,url_imagen2,etc]]
En este caso no se puede generar un "array" de imágenes, pero puedes obtener el conjunto de las url, concatenarlas mediante GROUP_CONCAT() y agregarlas en un campo de la consulta:
SELECT n.*, GROUP_CONCAT(nf.url) urls, nf.filename
FROM noticias n INNER JOIN noticias_fotos nf
ON nf.idNoticia = n.id WHERE n.fecha BETWEEN '2019-07-10 00:00:00' AND '2019-07-10 23:59:59'
ORDER BY fecha DESC

A:
Como hago para traer ese registro pero con un arreglo de cada imagen si tiene más de una.

Técnicamente, no es posible con SQL, porque no existen los array en MySQL. Lo más que puedes hacer es hacer un GROUP_CONCAT sobre la columna que puede devolver diferentes valores en la consulta, tal que retorne los diferentes valores separados por comas. Pero eso es todo.
Cualquier otra solución es programática, y no por MySQL puro.
Algo parecido a esto:
SELECT id,titulo,contenido1,contenido2,contenido3, GROUP_CONCAT(nf.url) url, GROUP_CONCAT(nf.filename) filename
FROM noticias n
INNER JOIN noticias_fotos nf ON nf.idNoticia = n.id
WHERE n.fecha BETWEEN '2019-07-10 00:00:00' AND '2019-07-10 23:59:59'
GROUP BY id,titulo,contenido1,contenido2,contenido3

No hay que olvidar que una vez que usas el GROUP BY, no es posible que uses "*" en el SELECT...

A: se me ocurre que puedes hacer la consulta normalmente, con la imagen 1 y la 2.
Lo único que en vez de traerte todo el registro en un único array, hazlo campo a campo.
Cuando lo estés recorriendo lo puedes montar como tu quieras.
Estoy hablando del lado server.
Te pongo un ejemplo en PHP.
$link = new mysqli("127.0.0.1", "USER", "PASS", "ESQUEMA_BBDD");
$link->set_charset("utf8") or die();

$consulta = "SELECT CAMPO1, CAMPO2, CAMPO3, CAMPO5 FROM ALIAS;";

$result = mysqli_query($link, $consulta);

$resultado_a_devolver = [];

while ($pos = mysqli_fetch_array($result)) {
        $array_temp = [];
        $resultado1 = $pos[0]; //resultado: --> CAMPO1
        $resultado2 = $pos[1]; //resultado: --> CAMPO2
        $resultado3 = $pos[2]; //resultado: --> CAMPO3
        $resultado4 = $pos[3]; //resultado: --> CAMPO4
        $resultado5 = $pos[4]; //resultado: --> CAMPO5

        array_push($array_temp, $resultado4);
        array_push($array_temp, $resultado5);

        array_push($resultado_a_devolver , $resultado1);
        array_push($resultado_a_devolver , $resultado2);
        array_push($resultado_a_devolver , $resultado3);
        array_push($resultado_a_devolver , $array_temp);
}

echo json_encode(resultado_a_devolver);

Ya me dices si te vale! ;)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
New Ratchet and Clank Incoming
On 05/30/2012 at 01:23 PM, by Jesse Miller
Insomniac celebrates the duo's 10th Anniversary with a new downloadable only game.
We all knew that the folks at Insomniac Games were preparing something for Ratchet and Clank's 10th anniversary this fall, but there weren't many who were expecting a brand new entry in the popular series. Well, that's exactly what we'll be getting this fall with Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault.
The game is, of course, a Sony exclusive. Details are scant at this time, but according to Insomniac Games CEO Ted Price, we can expect a "return to the series' classic feel, camera, controls and weapons," a response, perhaps, to All 4 One's lackluster reception from critics and fans.
While returning to its roots, Full Frontal Assault will offer some innovations to keep the series evolving. An online component will allow players to "experience Full Frontal Assault with [their] friend." Whether this means that there will be full campaign co-op or a separate online suite is unclear, but perhaps the biggest news is how the game will be distributed.
Full Frontal Assault will be exclusive to the PlayStation Store – a move that sees Sony taking larger steps towards more involved digital distribution.
Excited to see a new Ratchet and Clank game coming? Have thoughts on the digital only format? Let your thoughts be known in the comment section below.
#Ratchet and clank #Digital #Anniversary #Insomniac
Jon Lewis Staff Writer
I kiiinda called this last night :D
Jesse Miller Staff Writer
Yes you did.
Esteban Cuevas Staff Alumnus
Man. Already wrong. E3 hasn't even started!
To be fair, we said it wouldn't be announced at E3 ;)
Loopholes!
Jason Ross Senior Editor
The last Ratchet and Clank game caught the duo with their pants down, so it's no surprise they'd go full frontal this time around.
Ratchet & Clank Future: A Crack in Time Review on 11/29/2009 at 10:40 PM
Resistance 3 Hands On Preview on 06/07/2011 at 02:17 PM
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One Hands On Preview on 06/08/2011 at 08:38 PM
Ratchet & Clank: All 4 One Hands On Preview on 09/16/2011 at 10:14 AM
Ratchet and Clank: Full Frontal Assault
Sony Computer Entertainment America, LLC.


text:
Bears re-sign safety Venable to practice squad
PUBLISHED: October 13, 2011 at 12:00 am | UPDATED: July 19, 2018 at 5:31 am
Two days after placing rookie safety Winston Venable on waivers, the Chicago Bears have re-signed him to the practice squad.
Venable, a former San Rafael resident, was cut loose Tuesday to make room for rookie safety Anthony Walters to be promoted from the practice squad. The move Tuesday was interesting because Venable, with the exception of the game against the Carolina Panthers, has played well on special teams. He's fourth on the team with five tackles, two behind team leader Corey Graham.
But Venable is viewed pretty much as strictly a special teams player. Therefore, the move could be with an eye toward getting Walters a chance on defense. The Bears have been plagued by poor safety play and coach Lovie Smith addressed it Wednesday.
Walters, an undrafted free agent from Delaware, is also expected to have a role on special teams if he is active for Sunday night's game with the Minnesota Vikings at Soldier Field.
Oakland A's extend win streak to five games with 9-2 victory over Mariners
Sports briefs: Marin Waves' Holden-Wingate breaks decathlon record
Sports in Marin: July 17-18


It has been said that 'Life is a pitch.' For many PR professionals, nothing beats the adrenaline rush that accompanies new RFPs (Request For Proposals), with their attendant brainstorming sessions, creative debates and final exciting delivery… all fueled by copious amounts of caffeine!
Once you receive your brief, you need to formulate a strategy that will successfully highlight your potential client to the public. Various components can be incorporated, such as creation of a brand identity, staging of unique events, thought leader positioning and social media activation. Brainstorming the concept is an important part of your planning. Your big idea should have a 'base,' meaning it must be strong enough to be disseminated meaningfully to your proposed audience. To establish your base, spend time visiting your client's website to understand their vision and mission. Undertake extensive industry research to ensure your campaign is unique and one that will catch their eye.
The creative brainstorming sessions and planning meetings typically involve teams being split up to generate different ideas and angles, thereby creating a number of themes and options. This process often take up the lion's share in meeting the proposal timeline, meaning that there is usually a race with execution to ensure everything is finalised ahead of the deadline for sharing with the client.
Even though you might have mind-blowing concepts and ideas, you need to package them in such a way that they will sweep the client off their feet in 15-30 minutes. Your pitch should consolidate international and regional case studies, competitor analysis, strategic insights, target audiences, PR strategies, SEO analysis, media plans, communication tools, timelines and more… all contained in a concise and highly attractive presentation.
Step 4: Let's do this – it's showtime!
Driving to meet your potential client for the pitch you will probably feel your stomach in knots and ice water running through your veins! On arrival at the client's HQ you may well bump into your competitors in the lobby. If this is the case, you wish them well and say: "may the best agency win!" Once it's your turn to enter the room, you do what you came to do… deliver your carefully thought out presentation the best that you can. You harness your belief in your proposal to sway your audience, captivating them with your zeal and enthusiasm.
The client may not be ready to finalise their choice of agency immediately following the pitch. If this is the case, you should undertake a follow-up consultation a minimum of two to three weeks after presenting. The worst that can happen is that they will say no. The best that can happen, naturally, is that they will accept what you are offering. If this is the case, congratulations! You now need to focus on the next stage, which is building a great business partnership with your new client that that will last for years.


I just looked up the ice cream fitness workout and it's pretty solid for a novice. Includes alot of the "money" compound exercises alot of people don't emphasize enough.
The point is not to be skinny after running the program. I built my squat 5x5 up to 308 while losing weight at the same time and while I was still natty, and I've got pretty much the worst genetics for this that anyone can have. The program makes you push yourself hard and after each reset you'll be able to exceed your limitations. Right now I know a guy, who's natty, and benches 265 for triples after 1.5 years of training. That's what happens when you make lifting your #1 endeavour.
Sounds like he's been training for strength if he's doing triples.
Was the ice cream fitness program made by Jason Blaha? The man, the myth the legend? Anyway, seems solid. However, I would add movements for the middle/rear delts - my favorite is overhead carry with a shrug for 1-2 minutes but push press with a slow negative works too.


Hello to you all and greetings on this 50th Birthday of the National Theatre.
The Test for "Hamlet" will begin at 1100UK/1200CEST.
NOTE: This is a 27MHz DVBS-2/8PSK broadcast. There are NO subtitles to worry about.
I am sure you all know how to tune, and even how to 1st-fault fix. Those of you still unable, please cal your Helpline.


text:
The Yoke of Colonialism: An Exploration of the Research Relationship between Tarby Mason and Norman Tindale
Home ⟩ Blog ⟩ The Yoke of Colonialism: An Exploration of the Research Relationship between Tarby Mason and Norman Tindale
Trevor Tisdall
BArch(Hons), Department of Archaeology, Flinders University, November 2012
This thesis is concerned with the deconstruction of a research relationship between an Aboriginal man (Tarby Mason) and a Western researcher (Norman Barnett Tindale), to whom the former provided significant cultural knowledge over half a century ago. Along with many positives that may be identified in the outcomes from this interaction, there were also significant problems that have not been satisfactorily dealt with to date. These issues have been brought to a head by Indigenous disquiet about the practices of archaeology and anthropology that have had the effect of appropriating Indigenous cultural heritage. Indeed, for the last 30 years researchers and research institutions have had to deal with questions of the removal and appropriation of tangible cultural heritage and human remains. This disquiet has also extended into serious concerns about the way archaeologists and anthropologists have participated in the appropriation of the intangible cultural heritage of Aboriginal communities. Such issues are at play when considering the work of Tindale, which took place in an early disciplinary phase.
A decolonising theoretical framework was selected as being the most instructive approach to deconstruct such a relationship. Colonial aspirations have their roots in European imperialism and the control and acquisition of land. There has been a tendency to describe Australia as post-colonial, however we may discern colonialism in Tarby Mason's and Norman Tindale's relationship through the appropriation of tangible and intangible culture. The definition of colonialism is thus broadened to encompass those practices that deprive Aboriginal people of their cultural heritage.
A 'participatory action research' methodology was employed to investigate these issues as, in part, it has the potential to empower Indigenous communities. Consequently, this thesis has identified problematic practices in the field, in scholarly forums and in popular writings. These practices have provided significant support for colonialism, both within archaeological forums and in the broader community. Rather than purely documenting disappearing Indigenous cultures, there are aspects of the practice of archaeology during this historical period that are identified as supporting colonialism.
Authors: Trevor Tisdall
Title: The yoke of colonialism: An exploration of the research relationship between Tarby Mason and Norman Tindale