text:
Laura Maylene Walter's collection Living Arrangements won the G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for short fiction in 2011. Her stories are lucid and unflinching, involving characters ranging from a creepy man obsessed with a champion figure skater to an unattractive underwear model who arouses local interest. Laura touches upon grief, lust and place with a steady hand, quiet language and underlying friction.
1. I remember reading the story of your winning the G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction on your blog. Would you like to recap?
Good things happen when you eat fatty bread, apparently, because I was busy tasting samples at an olive oil store in California (lauramaylenewalter.com) when I got the phone call that I'd won this contest and that my debut story collection would be published. Immediately after receiving the news, I ate some vegetarian tacos, went to a couple of wine tastings, and then hopped on a train bound for Oregon. It was a surreal day, to say the least, and it took weeks for the shock to wear off.
Many of the stories in Living Arrangements (lauramaylenewalter.com) were written at a time in my life when I wasn't actively seeking publication. Instead, I was trying to improve and grow as a writer. I churned out story after story, workshopped them in various writing groups, and revised. It wasn't until years later that I first considered entering a short story collection contest. I went back to all my old stories, decided they could work as a collection (and felt a bit surprised that I'd written an entire book of stories without even trying) and entered three collection contests that winter. Seven months later, I got the call that I won the Chandra Prize, and I've never looked at olive oil in the same way since. (Okay, that's a lie.)
2. You've been writing short stories for years now, before Living Arrangements came out, what were your feelings about submitting work? Have you submitted a lot of work in the past? How did you deal with rejection? Do you think you are in a safer place now, having published?
When I was nineteen years old, I submitted three poems to The Paris Review and had the nerve to be both surprised and disappointed when they were rejected. (I still remember one of the poems. It was about an ice sculpture of a woman. I believe she was melting – need I say more?)
Despite a few overly optimistic moments like that, I wasn't a stranger to the submissions process, even as a teenager. Back then, I sent my work to publications geared toward students and occasionally queried or submitted to markets advertising in writing magazines. At age 16, I received my first paying acceptance for a short story (the journal is now defunct). In my early and mid-twenties, I sent out a few rounds of short fiction submissions to journals and was soundly rejected. It was discouraging, but I knew deep down I wasn't there yet and had a lot to learn. This is what set me on the path of just writing and revising without worrying about submitting. In the end, this paid off.
As far as feeling if I'm in a safe place now that I'm published – I don't. I still feel like I'm starting from zero and, with a very few exceptions, am submitting to slush piles like everyone else. Rejection is just a fact of the writing life. (lauramaylenewalter.com)
3. I understand you're working on a novel now. Is that connected to Living Arrangements by way of themes or place or character? How do you feel about changing genre and where do you feel most comfortable?
I'm about halfway through the first draft of a new novel that represents a departure from most of the themes in Living Arrangements or my previous novel-in-progress, OPAL, which focused on a mother-daughter relationship. I don't want to say much about the new project right now because I'm still in that elusive magical point (lauramaylenewalter.com) of the writing process and don't want to spoil it. But here's a hint: If you take some of that creepy-sexy-taboo darkness in my figure skater story ("The Ballad Solemn of Lady Malena") and twist it with the voice of the narrator in "The Clarinet," you'll get something a bit similar to what I'm working on now. In other words: Like many writers, I can't escape myself.
Honestly, I think I am still most comfortable with short stories, but there's just something about working on a novel. It becomes a part of you for so long. But I love each form for its own reasons: for the small, contained world of a short story, which makes it so alive with possibilities, and for the more complex, long-reaching scope of a novel.
4. In the UK this year has been named Year of the Short Story by some (publishers and enthusiasts), although I've always thought there was a broader appreciation for short stories in the US. Do you think that holds true?
I can't compare the short story's popularity in the United States to that of the U.K., but at least from a publishing perspective here, short story collections are not money-makers and are therefore not nearly as sought after as novels. In fact, part of the reason I never envisioned my short stories being published together in a book is because I had it drilled into my head that short story collections don't sell, agents aren't interested in representing a collection if you don't have a novel, and big houses don't want your collection unless you're already famous. (Thank goodness for small presses.) I can't count how many times I've heard a writer say that an agent or editor tracked her down based on the strength of her short fiction only to immediately ask: "But do you have a novel?" It's just how the business works.
5. Most writers' first collections bring together work that spans several years, would you ever embark on a themed or interlinked short story collection? Or do you think each story has to spring from its own well?
I'd love to one day write a linked short story collection. Right now, my new stories are not closely connected and develop individually, but I'm also conscious of how they might work together in a book. It's different this time around because with every new story I write, I consider it not just on its own but as a potential part of a collection.
6. First person, second person or third person? You work with the second person very capably - not easy. Do you have a preference or a way of deciding which person to use?
I recently poked fun at the second-person point of view in a blog post, (lauramaylenewalter.com) but as anyone who reads Living Arrangements knows, I haven't shied away from writing in this point of view. The second-person stories in Living Arrangements just poured out of me. The voices came through really strongly and I felt, at the time, that there was no other way to write those stories. But since Living Arrangements, I've largely left this point of view behind. I'm not saying that I'll never write another story in second person again, but I've moved on for now.
I don't know how to explain my POV decision-making process. I suppose it's dictated by the character or a larger vision for the story itself. It just seems to happen organically for me.
7. I particularly enjoyed some of the strange turns your stories take, which crystallise the character for the reader. What do you ask yourself when you are halfway through a story? Do you usually know where you're headed or do things come together unexpectedly?
Many of the story endings in Living Arrangements surprised me as I was writing them. I love that. I'm not a writer who sits down and makes outlines and knows exactly what will happen. That's the joy in writing for me – surprising myself and watching as the work takes over in ways I never imagined. I think I'm at my best when I'm not afraid to explore, let things happen, and maybe even get a little lost.
8. Some of your endings seem like soft landings but instead pack a hard punch during their evolution. There often seems to be an undercurrent of sexual danger, violence, the starkness of death. How do you feel when you finish a story? Do you revise a lot? Immediately or long afterwards? Have these stories undergone much rewriting and how long do you think it takes to get a story shipshape?
I revise in layers over a long period time. It's like one big onion – layer after layer covered with a messy skin and causing lots of tears, not to mention all the bad metaphors that need to be cut (see: revision is like an onion). I will revise pieces over a period of years, but the drive to revise almost never goes away, even after publication. For example, I'd probably make changes to many of the Living Arrangements stories right now if I could. Having a book published is terrifying because you can't make any more improvements, but it's also a relief for the same reason – you can finally move on for good.
When I finish a draft of a story, I feel satisfied. I feel most like myself.
9. I'm not sure how you feel about this but I shy away from questions such as, Where do your characters come from? Or, Did this happen to you in real life? I prefer to let the work stand on its own. How do you feel about these questions?
Sometimes I kind of love it when people ask if something in my fiction happened in real life, (lauramaylenewalter.com) because then I get to tell them "No." I find this really satisfying for some reason. Of course, it can also be frustrating, and I have to remind myself that this question isn't really an attack on my imagination but rather just curiosity. And am I really going to complain that there are people out there who think I was once an elite figure skater or worked as a lingerie shop model? No. It's hilarious.
10. Have you enjoyed book promotion so far? What has been your most fruitful experience? (And your most fruitless if there have been any?)
The words "book promotion" make me feel guilty because there's probably so much more I could have done. They also make me want to lock myself in my writing room and avoid all interaction forever and ever and just write, but then I have to get over myself.
Blogging has probably worked best for me and has introduced a fair number of readers to my collection. (My mantra for the blog is "Don't be boring or too promotional," which I constantly try to live up to.) I've also written articles for Poets & Writers and other writing markets, which led some readers to Living Arrangements. Reviews help, too, but that's largely out of my control. I'm not a big Twitter fan – I keep trying, but I'm just not – and I use Facebook primarily for personal reasons, not to promote my book. I get social media fatigue fairly easily and have found the blog is what interests me the most and is what I can do best.
11. Briefly, for those who haven't yet read your very earnest and cool blog, how does Laura Maylene Walter the blogger differ from Laura Maylene Walter the author?
The blogger is goofier, more self-deprecating, (lauramaylenewalter.com) and a lot drunker (lauramaylenewalter.com) than the author. I also try to take my husband's advice when blogging, which is to "keep it real" at all times. Apparently, being true to myself on my blog means attempting really bad jokes and posting photos of my cats. (lauramaylenewalter.com) So be it! The author side of me, meanwhile, is quieter, more serious, and won't shy away from writing about sex or politics like the blogger might.
Also, the blogger is willing to say, "Please buy Living Arrangements immediately" while the author just wants some quiet time alone with her cats and the writing desk.
Thanks so much Laura for answering my questions and I invite you all to order a copy of Living Arrangements.
Posted by chillcat at 06:06 3 comments:
National Short Story Week: Late Views from Behind the Coffee Pot
As a writer whose first short story collection is being published next year it's hard to admit that National Short Story Week passed me by. I knew it was happening. I didn't attend any events in my neighbourhood (tiny village surrounded by roadworks and unfortunate Palladian villas on hills), mainly because there weren't any. I didn't even read up much, reply to anything, or even finish my own damn revisions (I did make the executive decision to remove two stories. Or maybe not. Or maybe.)
But I've been reading. This year I have read quite a few short story collections, more than I can write about here. The most recent have had me really thinking about what constitutes a great short story - as a reader - and trying (desperately!) to relate that to my own work. I finally concluded early one morning as the 5.50am alarm went off that the last line of a short story is like a gate being clicked shut, or a lock being snapped closed, or the final piece of a jigsaw being eased into place. It must be a moment of completion, of being locked within the story like a tight embrace.
Nothing new here, but it felt clarifying. I was just as thrilled when I read about Hemingway's iceberg theory - where 80% of the 'story' lies suggested beneath the surface. And now I have this warming nugget to add to my writerly thoughts.
I'll start with the short story collection I am reading now, Irish Emma Donoghue's 'Touchy Subjects'. A lot of people say they don't particularly like short stories because as soon as you are absorbed, the action is over, the climax is behind your back, or shivering in your hands. Emma's stories are swift, almost casual, and difficult to put down. Each time I can feel that last jigsaw piece falling into place and I look forward to that resolution, the end of that compact journey. And yet her characters are no more compelling than you or I. A personnel officer places his chic coat over a homeless man, while ridden with moral fastidious doubts. A lesbian couple split up over a vet's bill. A man can't decide what colour to paint his house. And one of my favourites, a young guy struggles to tell his girlfriend about the hair on her chin. So artful. So cheeky.
Before that I read 'Dark Roots' by Australian author Cate Kennedy. What a mistress of the story! Cate's story 'Cold Snap' was in The New Yorker and it's easy to see why. A 'simple' country boy is treated as such by a city woman who has bought a house nearby, whose arrogance has her eliminate the old gum trees obstructing her lake view. The 'simple' narrator deals with this in a chilling way. Another favourite is the first story 'What Thou and I Did, Till We Loved'. It's almost too beautiful to explain but the essence of this and many of Cate's pieces is that outer action follows inner contemplation or compulsion. She rides that motion with scant language, speaking of relationships that change gears and the tight weave of domesticity. Strongly recommended.
Laura Maylene Walter is an American writer whose collection 'Living Arrangements' won the G.S. Sharat Chandra Prize for Short Fiction. I 'met' Laura through a loose group of American writer/bloggers who I join when I can, and I've been reading her blog for ages (I will be interviewing Laura in the near future!). I knew from the tone of Laura's blog voice that I would enjoy her book and what a rewarding, thoughtful read, with many of her stories still making eddies in my head. Laura addresses loss and place, quirky women, beauty and survival, the dance between women and men, sometimes with a hint of danger. Her characters are often numb, pulling away from their pasts or their place in society. I liked the contrast, the stillness and the lack of fear in Laura's voice. Brilliant.
I read Sarah Hall's 'The Beautiful Indifference' while on a lounger in Corsica this summer on breezy afternoons. It finished too quickly. Having received deserved recognition last year, I knew this book was a banner-waver for short story writers and it didn't disappoint for a second. I haven't read Hall's novels - already someone with such an output at her age makes me green all over - but I wouldn't want my admiration for her stories to be turned into something else. Her stories were long and fruitful, drenching, draining, beautiful. From her EFG Booktrust short-listed 'Vuotjarvi' which takes place on the shores of a Finnish lake, to a lover's tiff gone super-bad in Maputo, involving - maybe - a leopard; Sarah delves deep into the sensual folds of coupledom, and cuts into British society. Her language is break-taking:'They had already rowed out..and gone in where the shadows were expansive, the bottom a black imagining.' If you buy this one, don't give it away.
Recently I read that the best stories are those that you might forget, but you remember. You remember the tones, the lilt of the language, the current of thought. These are all collections that I will be remembering.
I have spent the past few weeks wrestling with my short story collection, due out next year. I've yet to decide on story order, although story precedence seems to be falling into place. I've also had feedback from some very generous readers - some of whom have thrown my thinking on its head. As the stories voyage from Africa to Europe and back, vastly different environments are drawn up, sketching characters who deal with their appearance or physical foibles or fixations, in shifting contexts coloured by history and landscape.
I've also been reading up on what other writers have said about trying to stitch up a collection. It's rarely comfortable reading, because there are so many elements, so many different opinions. What to aim for - a vast and diverse collection, or a thematic voyage through interlinked characters? A parade of stand-alone stories (I can think of Nam Le's 'The Boat') or a tessellated piece like Gretchen Shirm's 'Having Cried Wolf'. And, is the story collection a prelude to the more imposing authorial task of the novel, or is it art unto itself?
So many tussles going on. And this poor writer's pieces go from gay druggies in Berlin to a story of incest in Sekondi, Ghana. How to map these out without losing/baffling the reader?
And yet, as one of my readers said and some of the discussions I read confirmed, short stories are meant to be reread, fished through, digested and thought about. They sit on the stomach. They smoulder in the mind. They are not a comfy flow from one snatch of free time to the next, the connected world of the chunky novel that gives the reader relief. Rather they are demanding, feisty, often unresolved and can leave you sorely wanting. Cliff-hangers, in their most effective form, with the crux of the story's reality just beyond reach, the story around the story, leading the reader up a garden path that buzzes with suggestion.
If you are a short story writer or interested in how these collections come about, do read this discussion, one of the most pertinent series of points I've come across lately www.twentyone.org.uk/issue1/cox.html.
Some of the most interesting points include:
..Publishers favour the linked collection, especially if they can disguise it as a novel. If that isn't possible, they may still suggest a unitary title. This is how Mothers and Sons was given its title, homogenising Tòibin's wide-ranging collection, and privileging one theme among many.
..However tenuous the links may be, story cycles and thematic collections are highly visible, and they are popular with both publishers and literary critics.
..How do you go about assembling all those bits and pieces into a book-length manuscript? Do you just put your best stories together and hope for the best? Or is there some inner logic?
And, for me, one of the most resonant point of all:
..A short story doesn't really resolve anything. It sustains tension, which is probably another reason why people don't take it to the beach. It's not a relaxed form. It can mirror a confusion which doesn't have to go away.
..The word story, the word plot, means a crisis, a conflict, an escalation and then a resolution. Resolution can be a positive, reassuring, warm resolution, but it can also be a kind of Shakespearean, apocalyptic resolution. The short story does have a lot more of the latter - confusing resolution, resolution that turns everything on its head - but it's still a type of closure, a truth slamming down on the reader.
This entire piece is worth reading and is called Oceans of Stories: Collections, Sequences and the Short Story. The discussion is chaired by Ailsa Cox, of the Edge Hill Prize, and the speakers included Anthony Delgrado (bluechrome), Ra Page (Comma Press), Duncan Minshull (BBC Radio 4). Very glad I discovered this.
And this is the bit where most short stories writers photograph their post-its on the floor or the bed, showing you how maddeningly off their rockers they are. Check this out. Can betrayed Laila rub shoulders with broken Sebastien in Brussels? Will Nathalie lead on to Veronique and her contemplation of scarred Heinrik? Will Celeste stand back and allow her brother and his lover to take their own lives?
I read a beautiful comment by Scott Prize winner Carys Bray. She said that unconsciously, she had bookended her collection with two similar pieces. I was thrilled to discover a while back that I had done the same thing too - 'Pelt' starts with a feisty pregnant woman determined to win her man back, 'Volta' ends with another, completely flawed pregnant woman about to lose hers.
On Wednesday I took my second son to see the great Kenyan writer Ngugi Wa Thiong'o speak at the Mantova Literary Festival. Ngugi spoke with wisdom and - we thought - restraint about the neo-colonial state of the African continent. A key sentence in his talk was that 'Africa has given, much more than she has received'.
I wondered how many times Ngugi has said this to a fusty, literary-minded audience. Africa has given. I thought it an extremely polite way of saying, African has been stolen from since the days of Adam! In fact, when he said that 'European modernity has African colonisation at its centre', I felt like cheering. Rather over-enthusiastic of me, but let this old Africa-head explain. My favourite university course, years ago, was Modern African and Asian History - Independence Movements and the Struggle Against Imperialism, and after thirteen years in East and West Africa my favourite conversations still deal with the rich cultural and economic force that is contemporary Africa.
But - not surprisingly - there was silence when Ngugi spoke these wise words. We sat there frowning and nibbling our nails, thinking of the great writer in a prison cell devising his lauded novel. So humbling for this middling writer with a computer screen and constant electricity. And no police detention likely for the material she is writing!
Ngugi - gingerly - also warned the mainly Italian audience about the widespread hostility towards African refugees arriving on shoddy boats, half of which sink in the rough seas off Lampedusa. He asked, Why are people afraid, given Europeans have migrated to every corner of the globe for centuries? Why?
It made me think of so many stories about this new wave of immigration. Stories of how people's humanity caves in because of these age-old inbuilt fears. A Ghanaian truck driver friend, whose truck broke down on an Austrian highway in the middle of winter. He sat waiting for help for eight hours. A Nigerian-Italian lass, brought up in this country, who lost her job at a bakery because people wouldn't buy the bread she touched.
And yet, it also made me think how that hostility is terribly two-faced.
Just a week back I had a dear friend - from West Africa - sitting at my kitchen table with a beer, all het up. She is tired of Italy. She is tired of the beckoning hands that pop out of cars on a city street, in the morning, often when she has just dropped her small kids at school. Vieni, vieni quà, how much bella? And today, she is furious because her landlord, called in to check a fusebox, suddenly fondled her breasts and buttocks. A man who knows her husband, who gives toffee to her kids.
'Ah! And he just laughed!' she says. He thought it was just a joke, just a little thing. A prod here, a caress there, skin on skin.
Africa may have given for centuries, but the next day my furious friend told me that she belted back on her landlord's door. At lunchtime, a sacred hour, when all the family gather. Her landlord answered.
Hello? Buongiorno! Shall I have my husband fondle your wife's breasts? Or touch your daughter's bottom??
The man was horrifed.
Corsican escape
For years I spent my summers here in my elegant farmhouse watering tomatoes, weeding my zucchinis, making apricots flans, entertaining Sunday guests and ferrying intercontinental friends to chic exhibitions in Venice and Verona.
Then I went camp.
I mean, yes I did a stint in Berlin with some gay pals who do feature in one of my short stories and yes I did do a lot of kinky clubs as an observer... But then my friend's dog I used to dogsit died and it was suggested I join the clan of friends, exes, somewhat cousins and live dogs, for their annual camping trip to Corsica.
I did last year. And I did again this year.
The island is so beautiful. I think I should set a novel there, or it seems suited to a steamy novella perhaps. I could rent a room in a village in the hills set back from the sea, with stone paths and iron ballustrades and keening churches with scrolled white facades. I could swim early in the mornings, hike home to my shadowed room, work at length without internet, without kids, until pastis at midday.
Then, after lunch and coffee at the bar or the lady's downstairs, I could go back to my room, recharged, and as the afternoon sun moved about in boxes I could continue on, undisturbed, sentence after sentence, scene after scene.
Oh, dream on!
But I do. The evenings in the bar with its semi-circular terrace over the outstretched bay, which you wouldn't have to visit, except briefly to the shops or the pretty markets, or - dread! - to check your mail. Or yes, to meet friends passing through and urging to join a hike through the arid mountainous centre or a visit to a special pebbly beach - no way but thanks! And then hurry back.
It would be so good.
This summer the sea has been tickling my fancies. First in Cornwall with its cawing seagulls and green coasts and me nearly tripping over a pirate in the street. And then in Corsica with her fiery interior and scorched shores, tinkering jade water up my torso.
Maybe next summer. A Room of My Own? Instead of a sandy tent and fifteen Italians at lunch, buckets of rosé and a tub of washing up??
I am so tempted.
A Literary Festival Virgin
For a while there I felt it. Stinging pain, embarrassment. Worry that I wouldn't be able to perform.
Beforehand, I worried that my clothes would be all wrong, that my hands would fidget, that my mouth would say awful things.
Last week I spoke at my first literary festival in Penzance.
I watched other old hands breeze onto the stage, sip their water, cross and uncross their legs. I listened to their unburdened discourses, the ease with which they shared their characters, their writing processes, the anecdotes rolling out as if on a whim.
It made me nauseous. It made me want to run away.
A few days earlier I spoke to a friend who is a pop star, can you believe? Her advice: Be Exuberant. So that day, my day, I heeled up the hill feeling gleefully, painfully, horribly Exuberant.
Strangely, it was fine. It seems my body was two steps ahead of my thoughts and saw to it that I was just a tinge nervous, and not smiling too hard. I did not trip onto the stage. Or even sweat much. The other writers for my session were marvellous and my unease dropped away. I too sipped my water and raised some light laughter.
I came out on a rocking high!
I would like to think that, for once, everything came together. I knew why I was doing this. Why I was sitting on a stage with people looking up at me, all expectant, warm, wanting to laugh or look out the window, or thinking perhaps they should have gone to the loo. It felt good, funny, enlivening. Can you believe I want to do more? In September I am up for another one - the Women's Fiction Festival in Matera. I know I will be a little nervous as it will be in Italian. But as well as nervous I will be keen, curious, alive. I've come this far.
Outside my window in Penzance I had a peaceful view. Just walls and yards and houses. Sometimes a big golden dog barked or moved about on the stones. I worked. For four days - not before having a scrumptious Cornish breakfast each morning - I felt pure concentration. No phone calls, no homework, no taxi-driving, no worrying (should I feel guilty about this?), no guilt. The short story revision has lagged. Promotion of my novel has taken up enormous slabs of time and energy. But for a few good days I had my stories mapped on the bed, a new order in place, a rush of underlinings and crosses for a new print-out, and a damned fine view through the afternoon.
I also met other writers, such as Alison Lock, poet and short story also with Indigo Dreams who, like me, is spanning genres and wondering what comes next. I imagine this is the true purpose of Literary Festivals, just like some people go to the beach. Instead of dissolving into sand, into water, into the whole coastal experience, we writers speak of words, share hopes and defeats, gossip a bit and, best of all, start itching to go back to work.
A lovely gift: today my copy of Tears in the Fence arrived, with my story 'Veronique in the Dark' which is part of the collection. I reread it in a sushi bar waiting for my son to arrive.
By late autumn Veronique called Heinrik. She had recommenced work and her injury was no longer the thing she had to manouvre around. The light had distilled, as though winter had chosen her course and would visit their city when she pleased.
It's time to turn around. My women's commercial novel is out. I have a book under my belt. Reviews have been thoughtful and rewarding (mostly), and I've stopped reading them. I am peddling - the peddling required if a book is to make any headway - but I'm hoping a grassroots campaign will take hold. In the meantime I am allowed to turn back to the short story collection coming out next year. I am revising and editing. Easier than a novel in the sense that most of the stories have been published so they have been clarified and worked over. But it's never enough, I've learned. Editing is a microscopic process, requiring various lenses, clear lighting, a tense kinked neck.
But I'm up for it. The stories in their wide range of locations and subject matter provide a new home for my thoughts, both elated and bruised by the uncertainty of publication, and the greater uncertainty of sales in a cold, multinational-slapped world. It's quite a relief to come back to the silent, word-crammed page. No other voices from beyond, no pressure to reply, just the words of my stories. Bright polished stones looking for attention and company.
PS I am reading Deborah Robertson's delicate and compelling novel of stories, Careless. It tugs me back to Australia.
Posted by chillcat at 08:21 No comments:
A Lost City and Photo of Haji Nur
I didn't really mean for this blog to become an Africa-vent for me. The short stories in the Pelt collection are varied. Some are set in Europe or Australia. Some are set in Africa and travel close to the seam of my life. One is set in Somalia, for example, where I was a young wife without a clue how to mother.
The other night I felt a jarring when I saw my old street in Mogadishu on the news. There had a been a bombing at the National Theatre of Xamar, whose whining singers used to go on and on into the night, almost until the morning muezzin. I saw the junction where twenty years ago a cunning thief put his hand into our jeep and stole my young husband's glasses. I saw the hill we used to chug up to our turn-off, a rutted dirt road where one evening we found a blabbering man, an ex-soldier, who used to live in our street. He had fought in the Ogaden border world and lost his senses, his family, and years of his life.
I don't think of Somalia often except in bursts of guilty pain. It was my first foray out of Europe, the first strange tongue I began to learn beyond the European languages I'd learnt in high school, the first African capital I explored on foot with a driver who was as skinny as myself. It was the first time I ever had help in the house, slow Faduma who pasted magazine cut-outs on our walls and cooked fermented bread like pads of white earth.
The guilty pain comes because I wonder. I don't know what happened to my co-secretaries from the office. It was pre-internet, we left in a rush when Siad Barre's young quat-chewing soldiers took the centre, claimed cars, killed and raided houses. I don't know what happened to the children my friends were trying to raise, or those who came after in their complex and - for Westerners - uneven marriages. I just don't know. Every time I see a tall Somali man and recognise their gutteral language I don't know what to think - was he a man who as a young soldier shot at women in a market? Or a man who truly wants to harvest peace for the future?
I remember my first-born receiving his first vaccination in a filthy clinic that made me grimace. I told myself, be equal, your son is living here - quite a joke given we were able to escape. I remember the tough exterior of Somali women colleagues, so fragile and damaged inside. I remember the flat rooftop of our old Italian-built house with the spiral staircase, watching an eclipse of the moon with our watchman Elmi, the way the city cascaded down towards the sea.
Elmi was gunned down by troops soon after we left.
On the road, always
Last year a friend nearly fell over his feet when I said I hadn't read Jack Kerouac's classic 'On the Road'. Shamefully, I had not. Not even when I left my continent at 21-and-a-day, never to return, a woman who's been on the road for decades.
So I ordered a copy on Amazon and read it into the night.
For those of you who read Kerouac at the appropriate age - I would say an itchy-footed nineteen - I'm sure the book held its allure. I probably would have fallen for its powerful flux of restless movement, moneyless, sex and young love under endless starry skies. And its gaudy untempered language, the rush of it.
But as a post-40 year old who has done a lot of moving around, given birth in a third world hospital, gotten lost in deserts, been moneyless in Bamako and other assorted places, had AIDs victims in the household, Kerouac's book didn't make me feel like overturning the boat. Throughout, I was conscious of Kerouac's landmark style, an albatross that almost condemned him to early death through alcohol abuse - that I adored. But his restlessness became irritating early on, as well as his young self-centredness. As I read I couldn't help wondering how his writing style might have expanded and his subject matter deepened as he reached middle age, as his excitability ebbed and his inwardness changed shape.
That was what I wanted. I even wondered if the guy who suggested the book had remained braked in his twenties, imploded and repressed, unable to grow up.
As I have moved I have written diaries, but these diaries are tied together, locked in a cupboard, for no eyes to see. They are private. What I was searching for in Paris at twenty, as I cropped my hair and grew skinny and did the Lolita with older men, I no longer wish to know. I remember one summer I hired a car and drove it around France, from top to bottom, stopping at every town looming on the flat horizon, examining haunted Gothic cathedrals with the passion of a young woman with a shoddy colonial past. On one occasion I remember buying strawberries from a market, knocking on a man's door to open a bottle of wine, and stretching out in my bikini in a field full of cows.
Back in the 90s I was a diplomat's wife about to go into existential crisis. But before I did (there is always lots of writing material in any sort of crisis), I wrote this story. It was when I belonged to the bitchy French Ambassadors' Wives Literary Club. It was when I wore linen suits to cocktail parties. It was when I hadn't even tried local Ghanaian food, nor eaten with my hands, nor driven around that hot rich country except in a convoy of diplomatic corps vehicles that were never flagged down.
I didn't fit well in that arid world of shimmering swimming pools, gardeners bent over lawns, whispering house staff. Nor with the French Ambassadors' Wives who took their dinner parties so seriously; their charity events, their art purchases.
It amazed me how people who I knew were ordinary in Europe, who pushed their own shopping trolleys, looked for specials along supermarket aisles and took out their own garbage under the moon, were able to hoist themselves above a whole society of people, a nation where they were guests.
After my crisis that changed. And so did my stories. But this one belongs to that period. It was picked out, I don't even remember how, by Virago, and placed in an anthology of women writers called 'Wild Cards'. I still remember walking down Shaftsbury Avenue with my new lover and baby, and seeing the book jacket in the window. Colossal, beaming pride.
This month Cartography is Story of the Month on www.inktears.com, and it will be part of my collection 'Pelt and Other Stories' coming out next year. It makes me think of cool nights, friction, skin.
If Della had never walked into that café in Stuttgart looking for her German-loving friend Stacey Mahler she would never have ended up at the bar with Luce and his odd, leggy son. Luce who was leaving for West Africa in a week; Luce who said There are other worlds while exerting a take-it-or-leave it pressure on her knee. Della wrote to Stacey a month later from the rainy season, half-deluded by the stinking multifarious setting, half-drenched by Luce's unfiltered sexual coaching. What Della had been told afterwards was that Luce's thirty-six-year-old wife Chanel had perished in a plane crash on a runway in northern Nigeria. If Della had siphoned off moments of the tragedy to crystallise her own mortality, she was also conscious of being a fast substitute. Uneasy, beyond her climax of flames and metal she might think: Luce had made love to a woman who had died.
The Year of the Short Story
I heard it on the blogvine. That 2012 is the Year of the Short Story. Did you know? This makes me thrilled for two reasons. First because my short story collection has been accepted for publication and will be coming out with this spirit in the air (sadly not till 2013 – I have my debut novel on my other plate!), and next and more roundly because it will increase the standing of this accessible but tricky form.
As a young thing I never wanted to study writing. Didn't want to have my ideas pushed into shape. I was devoted to Katherine Mansfield, whose shimmering stories I think we should still go back to read. To feel the lightness of a beautifully seamed work, its spilling cloth and crafted movement. To travel quickly grasping the writer's knowing hand. To feel pulse, labour, precision.
I'm sure so many short story writers have heard it all before – the marvels of the short story, with sudden gusto brought forth by big publishing companies while many have toiled long into the night with smaller publishing companies, or independents, or in self-publishing. But surely there is still reason to celebrate, to dress up and come to the party, wearing an extravagant pair of heels?
I'll be there. Etherbooks have just put up two more stories of mine on www.etherbooks.com. For the unconvinced, my story 'Innocent' is free. Try this for size: Flemish aid worker Toby Vlaminck deals with a kleptomaniac driver wearing Peter Fonda sunglasses.
The Year of Well-Written Wonders.
The day the Klan came to Italy
Recently we've been talking about race at home. And today a blog posted by a friend made me remember a particular incident that in its warped way became educational.
My kids grew up on the old Gold Coast, today's Ghana, a country where slavery has a lengthy and even current history. I mentioned the slave forts in my last post, and while not wanting to linger in those cold dungeons I will mention standing in the pit, looking up to where it was said the governor had a wooden walkway installed, so as to look down for the prettiest captive. It was said that a woman who became with child became a freed woman: she did not have to crouch and grovel along the tunnel called 'the gate of no return'.
One of the things about being white in Ghana, apart from sunburn and never being able to be invisible, nor wear swishing local fabrics with any sort of stylishness, was that one often felt one represented the evil conqueror, the culture of the slavers, the scramble for Africa, the whole school of European thinking about the 'noble savage', the many wars of independence, today's neo-colonial wars of mineral wealth and mercenaries...
A heavy burden. But it was my fault. I studied Lenin's Theory of Imperialism in university, where I learned that capital sought new markets in order to refurbish its greedy mechanisms. I also studied African and Asian Independence Movements and in my innocent way fell in love with Isak Dinesen's beautiful opening words, 'I had a farm in Africa' (years after I went to her homestead - not the one used in the film - with a hostile guide who made me feel every bit the Dane handing out sticking plasters and paracetamol).
But back to my educational incident. For I could go on endlessly about the friction between cultures, the discomfort of history, the stories, the stories. The ancestors of today's Ghana were sent off in slave ships to the Americas. Somehow, my half-Ghanaian kid hasn't seriously studied this in school yet, Italian school I might add. They do the Civil Rights Movement, but history, which he fortunately loves, is seriously euro-centric. Perhaps that is why he made this discovery in a school friend's bag he brought home by mistake. It was around Halloween time, everyone was thinking parties, pumpkins. Masks.
My kid pulled out a triangular white cone of cloth with three holes in it. The rest of us, his older siblings, sat there staring. My youngest called out What is it? What's wrong? Slowly, we explained to him. About the raids in the bush. About the men and women chained together, families broken, never to see each other again. About the long congested journey over the oceans with the stench of death.
What type of mother handstitches a child's Halloween mask from this type of terror and cruelty? What type of idiotic being?
I used to fight battles verbally. Charge up to people. Seek justice. Rant and rave. In Africa I learnt how to fight. But strangely, my older kids calmed me. Told me how dumb these people were, how rich. That didn't stop me going to the school and having them labelled, showing my outrage. Seething.
God knows that ignorant woman had better never cross my path.
Years ago I wrote a story. It was the first time I tried to write anything after our return from Ghana. We had moved into a frigid old house in the middle of fields, the fog low upon us, rudimentary heating and the occasional country mouse. It was hard. If I thought living in the tropics was hard - malaria, thieves, power cuts, no water - I had no idea.
Eventually I pulled myself together and started to write. I was inspired by a postcard I had for some reason attached above my bed. It showed the Princes Town Fort along the Western Region coast, originally built by a Brandenburg Prince with stones imported from Prussia. It would have been the last construction seen by many a terrified slave sent across the Atlantic.
Along the sea there are several of these forts, evil bastions set among the coconut palms. Though they are frilled with fishing boats and market mammies and gleeful children, they are cruel to the core, chilly inside, burdened with enraged and frightened souls.
I don't know why I kept the postcard. We only visited that area a few times, and there were other more extensive structures at Cape Coast and Elmina where we took visitors to see the museums. This was a smaller, quieter place. But mouldy and dark; cruel. Deep down I suspect that is why I put that postcard on the wall in those early days. I had just been through a long period of cruelty, a grave injustice, a situation I never thought I would escape.
My story was originally long. Too long, too loaded. A failed son of the old regime comes back to Ghana to his hometown near the fort to witness his half-sister's last days. Her body is devoured by AIDS. His cranky mother wants the young woman's shame banished from the house. Eugene, my character, does not know how to act in this contemporary African society whose traditions he has not absorbed from birth. He is British-educated, a visitor here, only able to see so far.
Now, 'Infection' is up for publication with a prestigious magazine next year, and is part of my collection Pelt and Other Stories, the contract for which I excitedly signed this week.
Somehow, that story is my escape.
Read my interview on http://womensfictionwriters.wordpress.com
Short Stories: A Technical Chat with Laura Maylene...
National Short Story Week: Late Views from Behind ...


What motor control system evaluation platforms are available from ADI?
There are two groups of signals – raw, unscaled signals and scaled signals (green). When comparing sigma-delta to SAR it is best to use the scaled version as it makes the signals directly comparable. That is not the case with the raw data. Furthermore the scaled version is floating point and uses Ampere as unit (easier to relate to).
Always click corresponding "Update" bottom when making changes to ADIMonitor settings. Though not required, it is a good idea to stop plot refresh when making changes.
To display 2 signals in the same plot, specify same number in "Plot#". For example "1" next to both signals. To uses two different plots specify different numbers in "Plot#". For example "1" and "2". Again, remember to click update.
Top plot shows the result with LEM sensor+amplifier+SAR ADC.
Bottom plot shows result with Sigma-Delta converter+SINC demodulation.
Data are sampled at 10kHz and with 200 samples per plot; time range is 200/10000=20ms.
Inverter was switching at 50% duty-cycle while data were obtained.


text:
Isla Natividad ist eine aride mexikanische Insel im Pazifischen Ozean 6 km vor Punta Eugenia an der nordwestlichen Landzunge des Bundesstaates Baja California Sur, davon getrennt durch den Canal de Deway, und 15 km südlich der Isla de Cedros. Die Insel ist kahl und hügelig.

Isla Natividad gehört zur Gemeinde Mulegé, ist 7,1 km lang und im Südosten maximal 2,9 km breit, und erreicht eine Höhe von 150 Metern im Zentrum. Sie ist 8,665 km² groß und zählte 302 Einwohner zur Volkszählung 2010, hauptsächlich Fischer auf Seeohren, Langusten, Hummer und Muscheln im Ort Natividad im Südosten. 200 m vor der Nordwestküste liegt das 7,4 ha große Felseiland Roca Maria. Im Inselnorden gibt es einen Leuchtturm, im Südosten das gleichnamige Dorf sowie eine Landepiste.

Insbesondere in den 1940er-Jahren war auf Natividad der Abbau von Guano bedeutend. Heute gehört die Insel zum Biosphärenreservat El Vizcaíno. Sie gilt aber auch als gutes Surfrevier.

Weblinks
 Marine Reserves Pilot Project at Isla Natividad

Einzelnachweise

Insel (Mexiko)
Insel (Nordamerika)
Insel (Pazifischer Ozean)
Isla Natividad

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


Henry Tamburin is a respectful gambling expert of blackjack and other casino games, including baccarat and craps; he is the author of many professional books where he describes and explains the most widely used gambling strategies and teaches people how to play and win casino games of their choice. The achievements of this person for the gambling world are beyond any doubts: he is the one who not only plays and wins but also teaches other gamblers how to play and win!
The goal of Henry Tamburin here was to show the fact it was possible to use various baccarat strategies and systems, as well as card counting, for winning this game. The book is not very big - 87 pages; and some critics do not accept it as being a very good guide for new comers.
The well-known fact is that baccarat is the game of luck; so, Winning Baccarat Strategies is not the perfect guide for you; anyway, it can be a good addition to other baccarat books where such aspects as strategies and systems are not described. Being a great mathematician, Henry Tamburin wrote about baccarat from a mathematical point of view of course.
Henry Tamburin writes not only books but also gambling articles to many various magazines, such as Casino Player Magazine, Midwest Gaming and Travel Magazine, Gaming South Magazine, Casino Player International and others. He has written more than 700 articles already.
He also teaches people how to play blackjack: his courses are for gamblers of all levels of knowledge.
Henry is interested in video poker now and leads the courses for people who want to be the experts of this game.
Mr. Tamburin is welcomed on TV and radio, and he also takes part in different blackjack tournaments as an expert.


text:
Q: AlertDialog. Spinner. Как установить размер выпадающей ячейки? Вставил Spinner в AlertDialog, но ячейки липнут в кучу.

Перебрал массу настроек Spinner, но нужной не нашёл.
Layout спиннера:
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<LinearLayout xmlns:android="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res/android"
    xmlns:app="http://schemas.android.com/apk/res-auto"
    xmlns:tools="http://schemas.android.com/tools"
    android:orientation="vertical" android:layout_width="match_parent"
    android:layout_height="match_parent">

    <Spinner
        android:id="@+id/spinnerFrom"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="50dp"
        android:layout_marginBottom="8dp"
        android:layout_marginLeft="8dp"
        android:layout_marginRight="8dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
        android:dropDownWidth="match_parent" />

    <ImageView
        android:id="@+id/imageView3"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="30dp"
        app:srcCompat="@drawable/ic_compare_arrows_black_48dp" />

    <Spinner
        android:id="@+id/spinnerTo"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="50dp"
        android:layout_marginBottom="8dp"
        android:layout_marginLeft="8dp"
        android:layout_marginRight="8dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="8dp" />

    <EditText
        android:id="@+id/editTextAmount"
        android:layout_width="match_parent"
        android:layout_height="50dp"
        android:layout_marginBottom="8dp"
        android:layout_marginLeft="8dp"
        android:layout_marginRight="8dp"
        android:layout_marginTop="8dp"
        android:ems="10"
        android:inputType="number"
        android:textSize="25sp"
        tools:text="Введите сумму" />

</LinearLayout>

Буду благодарен помощи.
UPD. Добавляю код переопределения метода.
ArrayAdapter<String> adp = new ArrayAdapter<String>(view.getContext(),
                android.R.layout.simple_spinner_item, currenciesArray) {
            @Override
            public View getDropDownView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
                convertView.setPadding(0, 0, 0, 12); // тут значение будет в пикселях
                return convertView;
            }
        };

Stacktrace:
04-26 13:41:57.349 22830-22830/com.xpendence.development.currencyconvarter E/AndroidRuntime: FATAL EXCEPTION: main
                                                                                Process: com.xpendence.development.currencyconvarter, PID: 22830
                                                                                java.lang.NullPointerException: Attempt to invoke virtual method 'android.view.ViewGroup$LayoutParams android.view.View.getLayoutParams()' on a null object reference
                                                                                at android.support.v7.widget.ListViewCompat.measureHeightOfChildrenCompat(ListViewCompat.java:311)
                                                                                at android.support.v7.widget.ListPopupWindow.buildDropDown(ListPopupWindow.java:1288)
                                                                                at android.support.v7.widget.ListPopupWindow.show(ListPopupWindow.java:641)
                                                                                at android.support.v7.widget.AppCompatSpinner$DropdownPopup.show(AppCompatSpinner.java:782)
                                                                                at android.support.v7.widget.AppCompatSpinner.performClick(AppCompatSpinner.java:432)
                                                                                at android.view.View$PerformClick.run(View.java:19866)
                                                                                at android.os.Handler.handleCallback(Handler.java:739)
                                                                                at android.os.Handler.dispatchMessage(Handler.java:95)
                                                                                at android.os.Looper.loop(Looper.java:135)
                                                                                at android.app.ActivityThread.main(ActivityThread.java:5254)
                                                                                at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Native Method)
                                                                                at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Method.java:372)
                                                                                at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit$MethodAndArgsCaller.run(ZygoteInit.java:903)
                                                                                at com.android.internal.os.ZygoteInit.main(ZygoteInit.java:698)

A: Вам нужно посмотреть в сторону настроек самих ячеек :)
Вы определенно уже используете в Spinner какой-то SpinnerAdapter например ArrayAdapter, которому Вы передаёте разметку ячеек. В этой разметке добавьте ячейкам padding, например:
android:paddingBottom="8dp"

Но можно переопределить у SpinnerAdapter метод getDropDownView, если хотите, чтобы padding, существовал только в выпадающем списке, например:
@Override
public View getDropDownView(int position, View convertView, ViewGroup parent) {
    View view = super.getDropDownView(position, convertView, parent);
    view.setPadding(0, 0, 0, 12); // тут значение будет в пикселях
    return view;
}

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
SootinClaimon.Com
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย2 [SartKasetDinPui2] : ข้อมูล เศรษฐกิจ สังคม สิ่งแวดล้อม เกษตร ดิน น้ำ ปุ๋ย
ข้อคิดความเห็น
ตระกูลคล้ายมนต์
ผมเองครับ
ศาสตร์เกษตรดินปุ๋ย1
Twitter, Amazon, Facebook face fallout from taking action against Trump and his supporters #SootinClaimon.Com
Posted on January 12, 2021 by SoClaimon
#SootinClaimon.Com : ขอบคุณแหล่งข้อมูล : หนังสือพิมพ์ The Nation.
https://www.nationthailand.com/news/30401085?utm_source=category&utm_medium=internal_referral
Twitter, Amazon, Facebook face fallout from taking action against Trump and his supporters
InternationalJan 12. 2021
By The Washington Post · Tony Romm
Amazon, Twitter and other tech companies confronted fresh blowback on Monday for banning President Donald Trump and taking action against a wide array of websites that had glorified the deadly riot at the U.S. Capitol last week.
Twitter's decision to remove Trump's account, citing the potential that his corrosive rhetoric might incite additional violence, precipitated a sharp drop in the company's shares, which fell by more than 6% by midday Monday. Twitter also braced for a potential protest outside its San Francisco headquarters, a demonstration that the president's supporters have sought to organize on pro-Trump forums in recent days.
Amazon, meanwhile, faced a new lawsuit from Parler, an alternative social network that had become a haven for Trump's backers. Amazon Web Services, which provides cloud computing services, suspended its relationship with Parler starting Monday in a move that removed it from the Web – prompting Parler to allege that Amazon had acted unlawfully. Amazon shares also dipped slightly by afternoon.
(Amazon chief executive and founder Jeff Bezos owns The Washington Post.)
The flurry of activity reflected the still-intensifying clash between Washington and Silicon Valley in the days since Trump's incendiary comments about the 2020 election helped spark a riot that forced the U.S. Capitol into lockdown and left five people dead.
Late Friday, Twitter banned Trump, citing two tweets, including one that said he is not planning to attend President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. Facebook earlier in the week said it was suspending Trump for at least two weeks. Sheryl Sandberg, the company's chief operating officer, said in an interview with Reuters on Monday that there are "no plans to lift" the ban.
On Monday, Facebook announced additional policy moves, including a new crackdown against posts that reference "stop the steal" – a rallying cry for Trump and others that have sought to delegitimize the outcome of the 2020 race. Before Biden's swearing-in ceremony, Facebook said it also would maintain its pause on political ads and aim to monitor its service more aggressively for harmful content as it seeks to "stop misinformation and content that could incite further violence during the next few weeks," executives said in a blog post.
Other tech giants have joined Twitter and Facebook in taking action against the president and his allies in recent days amid mounting political tensions in the United States – and growing fears about deadly violence still to come. That includes Parler, which Apple and Google removed from their app stores in a move that further constrained the right-leaning service's reach. Joining Amazon, the tech giants each say Parler has not properly policed its platform for violent threats, an accusation Parler denies.
Trump responded to the Twitter ban with a statement late Friday promising to seek an alternate social network – or build one of his own – in an attempt to get around the vast digital blockade. Trump is expected to spend the final days of his presidency attacking Silicon Valley over allegations of censorship, according to a person familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe internal White House planning.
"We will not be SILENCED!" Trump said in the statement, which he previously had tried to tweet from the president's @POTUS account before Twitter blocked it.
Twitter and its fellow tech giants deny the charges of censorship. The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump's supporters, meanwhile, took to a forum sympathetic to the president, called TheDonald.win, to express their own displeasure. Some users even called for the execution of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and other political figures, according to posts reviewed and compiled by the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online extremism. Others encouraged a protest at Twitter's headquarters, though no such crowd had formed at the company's offices by midday Monday.
"Maybe the hq should be burned down when everyone goes," wrote one user on a widely trafficked thread.
A wide array of pro-Trump online communities, including TheDonald, had teemed with similar talk ahead of the riot at the Capitol last week – and since then they have glorified the violence that took place in Washington. The National Guard is set to deploy up to 15,000 troops during the inauguration in response to the heightened threats.
As users online lashed out, Parler filed a new lawsuit against Amazon that alleges the company acted anti-competitively, and hypocritically, in choosing to suspend it. Twitter also hosted violent threats, according to lawyers from Parler, who asked a judge to grant a temporary restraining order to prevent Amazon "from shutting down Parler's account."
"Doing so is the equivalent of pulling the plug on a hospital patient on life support," the lawsuit contends. "It will kill Parler's business – at the very time it is set to skyrocket."
This entry was posted in International, The Nation and tagged 2564(2021), ต่างประเทศ, รอบโลก, International, The Nation, world by SoClaimon. Bookmark the permalink.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Q: Can't find Android phone in Devices I have already Googled this problem a thousand times over; and I've tried every 'fix' to no avail.
Using 'adb devices' via command line produces an empty list.. The phone is plugged in (this is the phone http://www.bestbuy.com/site/lg-g2-4g-lte-with-32gb-memory-cell-phone-black-verizon-wireless/1723195.p?id=1219061252155&).
Nothing shows up when I try to run my application from Android Dev studio.
I have the Google USB drivers installed; but my computer (running Windows 8.1) always wants to use an MTP USB Device (http://i.imgur.com/BOWw1hD.png)
The phone, in Device Manager, is listed under 'Portable Devices' instead of other... (http://i.imgur.com/ka7tiuP.png)
I have tried manually entering the ID of the phone. I'm honestly just at a loss.. I've tried PTP mode. Everything! I've tried using different (micro-usb) cables... Dev mode is enabled on phone.
Please, any help would be great... Thanks.
EDIT: I found an older Android phone I used to use and used that instead of the LG G2.. it worked instantly. I will use that for testing purposes. Thanks for all who commented!

A: Make sure in Developer Options USB debugging is enable then try this.
If this will not detect the device then download download driver from LG website, if this also not work then download general ADB usb driver which is available on lot's of website.

A: Go to "Settings", then "About Phone". Tap on the build number 7 times to enable developer mode. Go to the developer options and absolutely make sure USB debugging is on (sometimes it unchecks itself and you have to go back in and turn it on again). Vinit is correct, you need the USB driver for the computer for the phone to even show up on the list.

A: LG Gx model phones have issues with ADB. I ran into similar issues with the G3. At least with the G3 there were several USB connection options:
MTP, PTP, Ethernet, and Power Only
With the G3 I had success after installing the drivers from LG directly and then switching from MTP to Ethernet (internet version of ethernet) after plugging it in. For some reason unknown to me, the phone showed up in ADB with that option selected, but did not show up in Windows Explorer.
Hopefully that helps.


I finally write about my visit to the first Socialcamp in Germany. There were activists, campaigners, NGOs and many others who shared their work, experiences and visions with an open spirit. Particularly, the mixture of participants from the traditional German nonprofit sector (social welfare), newer NGOs and activists were quite inspiring. This kind of mingle, which makes it very creative, happens all over again after the Socialcamp in England. The hub in Berlin offered their location and both days were filled with sesssions.
**The academic view ** There is also a newspaper article in the TAZ where Dieter Rucht, a German professor and expert of social movements, says: "My general opinion is that the means of the Internet to mobilize are greatly overrated. This is not a new form of egalitarian social movement. He sees no qualitative jump though the Internet and just hopes and expectations." Surely one can easily be enthusiastic – so far a lot of initiatives and experiments have to prove their results, but it says a lot when a German professor still share his degree of skepticism. One reason might be that especially in Germany the potential for transnational networking has not yet been acknowledge nor tested.
**Funding challenge ** One big challenge to most projects is of course funding. There are limited ways to get funding. Funders are the "Federal Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth" (official name!!) or foundations. But there is not such a foundation culture as in the USA, where people are even less willing to invest in web based projects. Another option is company funding, but in here, it is, according to a discussion, not too easy to accept all kinds of corporate money because that might "damage" the reputation within the community. So, some project offers consultancy and advise for corporate social responsibility on the side. The above mentioned TAZ article mentions that 2-3 billion privately donated money in Germany were spent by people older than 60 and those have not yet an interest in such initiatives.
**The openness challenge ** To me it was particularly interesting that NGOs face (almost) the same difficulties to open themselves up as regular companies. Although they are non-profited and should not have something to hide such as valuable patents. But they are moving in a political arena, which often makes them reluctant to go public, for example, with blogs and openness for feedback. "The willingness to engage more openly in networks with members and stakeholders is low", said many representatives from organizations. Nevertheless, I think that the event showed that openness and cooperation are key to work on pressuring social issues.


In 1908, a tradition was born – the annual St. Pat's celebration at Missouri S&T. Each year, the celebration becomes larger than life.
Be a part of the festivities and join the hundreds of people from across the country in a the best ever St. Pat's celebration.
Love St. Pat's and want to be more than just part of the celebration? Help organize the fun and join the St. Pat's Board.
Learn who is who on the Honorary Knights list for 2019. Also check out the Student Knights and Queen of Love and Beauty candidates. Four more daze, folks!
The official 2019 schedule of events is out there, so make sure to mark your calendars so you don't miss any Follies or parades!
Get your green, Missouri S&T! The St. Pat's Committee members were out in force on Friday, despite the snow. Be like them and stay warm with a new sweatshirt.
The 2019 Best Ever St. Pat's is coming up fast, so get your green and mark your calendars for Saturday, March 16.


text:
Born under the mantle of Our Lady
The first Monastery devoted to the Perpetual Rosary was founded in Calais in 1880. Calais founded Union City; Union City founded Catonsville; and Catonsville founded our community in West Springfield, MA. Accordingly, we have always had a strong love for Our Lady and her Rosary.
See our photo gallery.
As the story goes, after accepting our community into the diocese, Bishop O'Leary then asked Mother Mary Hyacinth a practical question, namely how much money she had on hand to begin the foundation with. When she answered, "Five dollars," the good Bishop exclaimed, "Do you think you can make a foundation with five dollars?" To which Mother, undaunted, replied, "I can't, but the Blessed Mother can." This trust in Our Lady's maternal care is one of the precious legacies our foundress has bequeathed to us. We have always understood that this monastery, dedicated to Our Lady under her glorious title of "Mother of God," is, in a special way, her monastery. And we are here for her, and for her Son, and so for the whole Mystical Body of Christ, the Church. Our main devotions have been, and continue to be, the Rosary and Eucharistic Adoration, both flowing from the Divine Liturgy itself.
History has a way of putting things in perspective, which is why it is good from time to time to look back on the near one hundred years we have been in this diocese. The sisters who have gone before us never had an easy time of it, yet they persevered in our way of life for thirty, forty, fifty, and for some of them, even sixty and seventy years! There was the initial work of establishing the foundation from scratch, starting with practically nothing but their faith. Then the depression set in, followed by the horrors of World War II. In the early 1950's the dream of a real monastic building (our present one) was realized, but with struggles to obtain the necessary building materials, as the Korean war was on. By the 1960's there was the building debt to take care of, amidst all the sweeping social changes, ushering rebellion and a general turning away from faith in God. Vatican II only seemed to make matters much worse, as so many religious vocations were lost or not even begun. Through all of that, day in and day out, our dear sisters have carried on our life of prayer, becoming an example of fidelity we hope to follow.
Who will be the next generation of "prayer warriors" for Our Lady? We don't know, but continue to trust in Our Lady's maternal care for us. In these dark times, the important thing is not our numbers, but that we follow the example bequeathed to us by our founding sisters, namely that of fidelity, day in and day out.
Our Foundress, Mother Mary Hyacinth, O.P.
Born January 21, 1893
Entered (at age 15!) the Dominican Sisters of the Perpetual Rosary in Union City, NJ on September 8, 1908
Sent to Catonsville, MD to be their novice mistress on September 8, 1918
Appointed foundress of our monastery by Bishop O'Leary on September 8, 1922
Under her leadership, we became nuns of the Second Order, with the full Divine Office and solemn vows on August 4, 1930
Entered into eternal rest on December 18, 1940
A formidable task
Raising the money to build a proper monastic building was a formidable task. While doing their part, the sisters entrusted this work especially to the Child Jesus. How grateful we are to all our benefactors who over the years have supported our life of prayer!
© The Dominican Monastery of the Mother of God. All rights reserved.
Home| History| Charism| Vocation| Community|
Designed by ejaeDesign


For those who are itching for a fun, action-packed summer vacation, a whitewater rafting trip on the Colorado River just up the road from Aspen may be just what's on the docket. While this mountain town is perhaps best known for its incredible skiing, from the months of May to September its rivers are transformed into a rafter's dream with class II - class V rapids that are suitable for families and all levels of experience.
The whitewater rafting season for 2018 is ON! Early season operations are in full swing, and guests have been enjoying the river conditions. The weather during the month of May in the beautiful Rocky Mountains is variable; You can expect to get a little wet every day on the river rain or shine! This is a great time of year to experience some of our Class III - IV Rapids as the water volume is higher in the early season.


text:
Q: How to use numpy.savetxt with a structured array that contains an array Say I have a structured array as follows:
a = np.zeros(10,dtype=[('label1',np.int32, 4), ('label2', np.float_)])

And I try to save this as a csv file:
np.savetxt('output.csv', a, fmt='%d,%d,%d,%d,%f')

Python will generate this error:
ValueError: fmt has wrong number of % formats:  %d,%d,%d,%d,%f

I haven't been able to create a fmt string that would suit my output. %s won't work for me here as I need the ability specify the format of the float.
Is it possible to create a csv file from this type of structured array?

A: In essence what savetxt does is:
for row in arr:
    print(fmt % tuple(row))

So the fmt has to work with a row, or in this case, an element of your array.
In [330]: a = np.zeros(10,dtype=[('label1',np.int32, 4), ('label2', np.float_)])
     ...:
In [331]: a
Out[331]:
array([([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.), ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.), ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.),
       ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.), ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.), ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.),
       ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.), ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.), ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.),
       ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.)],
      dtype=[('label1', '<i4', (4,)), ('label2', '<f8')])
In [332]: a[0]
Out[332]: ([0, 0, 0, 0],  0.)
In [333]: tuple(a[0])
Out[333]: (array([0, 0, 0, 0]), 0.0)

Nesting the 4 ints in label1 makes it difficult to come up with a format that works.  It's a matter of how to Python '%' formatting.
In [334]: '%s, %f'%_
Out[334]: '[0 0 0 0], 0.000000'

If a was 5 fields it would be easier
In [335]: a = np.zeros(10,dtype='i,i,i,i,f')
In [336]: a
Out[336]:
array([(0, 0, 0, 0,  0.),....
       (0, 0, 0, 0,  0.)],
      dtype=[('f0', '<i4'), ('f1', '<i4'), ('f2', '<i4'), ('f3', '<i4'), ('f4', '<f4')])
In [337]: tuple(a[0])
Out[337]: (0, 0, 0, 0, 0.0)
In [338]: '%d, %d, %d, %d, %f'%tuple(a[0])
Out[338]: '0, 0, 0, 0, 0.000000'

I think you need to either 'flatten' the structure of your array, or write a custom savetxt.  As I indicated savetxt is not fancy.  If you can print the array element by element in the format you want, you can write that format to a file.


What to Do With Crushed, Returned Concrete Producers can use the recycled material in some applications.
Crushed Quartz Sand Processing Equipment. crushed sand production equipments in israel. equipment, concrete sand processing sand making equipment quartz sand production line equipment.


Southern Utah's National & State Parks are a feast for your eyes and other senses!
In the slide show above, you're viewing pictures of Utah family attractions, from the state's superlative national parks and other splendors of nature, to city activities more similar to attractions you may have in your own home town. On this page, you'll discover some of Utah's best attractions in & around its famous national parks...which you may want to consider for your own family's vacation itinerary.
All ages from kids to teens to adults may enjoy the beauty of Utah's national parks...and the opportunity for adventure, too!
If Utah weren't already nicknamed "The Beehive State," it surely could be called "The National Park State" just as easily.
Utah's national parks are world-renowned, and if you'll be visiting the state, you're going to have the opportunity to witness nature's rugged Western beauty first-hand.
Mother Nature seems to have played the part of an artist here in the state of Utah. In Southern Utah's 5 national parks (as well as the region's national monuments and state parks,) striking shades of red and brown rocks have been eroded into the most awe-inspiring shapes and formations.
What are Utah's best National Parks? Perhaps no one's list of Utah National Parks & Monuments is going to be the same as anyone else's; everyone has their own favorites. But the GOOD thing is that there are NO bad choices! It's a safe bet to say, however, that if you visit Zion National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and/or Arches National Park, you won't be disappointed. These 3 popular parks show up on many tourist's best Utah national parks" list for a very good reason!
There are clusters of famous sights to see in Southeastern, South Central and Southwestern Utah. The area is packed with both state and national parks celebrating nature's beauty, so no matter which way you turn, it will be hard to miss viewing some spectacles. Below is a listing of Southern Utah's National Parks, National Monuments and State Parks that you'll want to consider for your itinerary.
WHILE YOU'RE IN SOUTHERN UTAH ENJOYING THE NATIONAL PARKS, you should know that there are some nearby attractions in Arizona and Colorado that you should consider adding to your vacation. One of these is Mesa Verde NP, which (in addition to being a US National Park) is ALSO a World Heritage Site. Mesa Verde's location in the southwestern corner of Colorado makes it even easier to include in a Utah road trip than in a vacation to Denver! You can see Mesa Verde pictures and get more information on our Mesa Verde National Park Camping page, if you're interested.
Arizona's Monument Valley is a stunning southwestern USA attraction, and it's also an easy add-on to a Southern Utah trip. So is the Four Corners Monument, which marks the only spot in the USA where 4 states come together like 4 equal slices of pie. You can get more information about enjoying Monument Valley and the 4 Corners on our Things to Do in Northern Arizona page.
* The very popular Zion National Park, well-known for its handsome, rugged scenery, is easy to reach from I-15, and provides fun activities for kids & teens, such as interpretive hikes, ranger talks and interesting exhibits in the Zion NP Visitor's Center. For families with more time to linger & explore, activities such as jeep tours, biking, horseback riding and river tubing are available. Here's the Zion National Park website, where you may get further information.
* Zion Canyon Giant Screen Theater: Not everyone agrees that national parks should have amenities other than "nature itself," but personally, we enjoy having other memorable and informative interpretive exhibits available (in addition to the park's own visitor's centers.) The Zion Canyon Giant Screen Theater (formerly the Zion IMAX theater) is one such memorable attraction. The photography is breathtaking, and we think that it's a worthwhile add-on to your visit that most people will enjoy. For prices, showtimes & a peek of clips from the movie, here's the Zion Canyon Movie Theater website.
* St George, UT family activities near Zion National Park: Of course there are places to stay closer to Zion's National Park, but a number of families choose to spend the night in the larger town of St. George, Utah. Kids (and teens & adults, too) may wish to enjoy some of the town's family fun centers during their visit. At the Fiesta Fun Family Fun Center, you'll find an attractive outdoor center with go karts, bumper boats, outdoor miniature golf, batting cages, driving range, and more (including an indoor game arcade.) Also fun is the Laser Mania Family Fun Center, where you may not only get in on an exciting game of laser tag, but also ride bumper cars & enjoy a game of indoor mini golf...complete with black light decorations! Here are the Fiesta Fun Center and the Laser Mania websites, where you'll find complete details and info.
St. George is also a center of outdoor recreational opportunities, including golf, mountain biking, horseback riding, hiking, jeep tours, fishing and more. You can discover how & where to get in on the excitement at the "Do St George" website.
Cedar Breaks Nat Mon & Brian Head resort: Much smaller than Zion National Park...but beautiful to view, if you've got the time...is Cedar Breaks National Monument. From Cedar City, head east on SR 14 (aka Utah 14, U-14) and then turn north on SR 148. There will be a number of marked viewing points for the Cedar Breaks amphitheater-shaped formation along Utah 148, including Spectra Point, Sunset View, Chessmen Ridge and Point Supreme. There is a small visitor's center at Spectra Point. Hiking trails are available. (Note: Snows generally keep this highway closed between some time in October thru May.) Here's a link to the Cedar Breaks National Monument website, for further info.
Brian Head Ski Resort: Only a short distance north of Cedar Breaks NM is the Brian Head Ski Resort. Adventurous, active families with older kids & teens may wish to enjoy the resort's summer mountain biking facilities. Bike rentals are available...and so are lift passes so that you may take the lift up; bike down. You may wish to browse through the Brian Head Resort website for complete information.
In the slide show above, you're viewing pictures of Bryce Canyon National Park, one of America's most beautiful...and unique...locations in the entire National Park System.
Another spectacular national park in Southeastern Utah is Bryce Canyon. Although it's further from Interstate 15 than Zion NP or Cedar Breaks NM, its highly unique and stunning scenery make a visit well worth the drive. Once you arrive, you may enjoy camping, hiking, horseback trails, ranger talks and visitor's center displays. Lodging is available both at the park and at the famous Ruby's Inn nearby. So popular is Bryce Canyon among European visitors, that on any given summer day that you visit here, you're quite likely to hear French, German and British English being spoken as you enjoy the area's attractions, restaurants & gift shops. Watch out for people riding bikes along the area's 2-lane highways, as well; it's another popular activity that many adventuresome tourists enjoy here. You'll undoubtedly wish to view the Bryce Canyon National Park website for complete details about the park's activities.
PDF map of Bryce Canyon National Park: Here's a printable PDF map of Bryce Canyon National Park's trails and facilities which you may like to take with you along the way as you decide which of the park's features you'd like to enjoy first.
Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park: Still another geologically-interesting area is the lovely Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP. You may observe the dunes & enjoy the visitor's center...or try some more active fun in the OHV section of the park. Here's a link to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes SP website, where you can get the info needed to make your plans. If you're an OHV enthusiast, the www.DuneGuide.com website will tell you what you need to know to enjoy your sport in this location. Also, here's a detailed map of the Coral Pink Sand Dunes State Park from the DuneGuide.com to help you find your way around.
US Highway 191 running southwards from I-70 to the Arizona border is another one of Utah's scenic highlights. This is a rugged terrain, and exquisite red rocks carved by winds, sands and water are this area's best feature. In addition, history buffs will enjoy the Anasazi Indian sites that dot this scenic route. Views along US Hwy 191 are most spectacular in the afternoon hours...when the sun shines directly on the fabulous red rocks, making them lovlier than ever.
Moab, Utah is the largest southeastern tourist town along US 191. This is where more visitors eat their meals and spend the night. Tourism is bustling every spring, summer and fall in Moab...and despite the generous number of hotels and campgrounds here, during the busiest part of the tourist season, space is always tight. We recommend that you have reservations before you arrive, if at all possible. Otherwise, Moab is a casual town where you can relax, be comfortable, and enjoy the beautiful natural surroundings to the fullest.
* Arches National Park is easily accessible from I-70; it's about a 30 minute drive from the Interstate. Before heading south to Moab, the scenic small town in which Arches NP is located, it's best to decide about your lodging for the night. The price of hotels in Moab is substantially higher in Moab than in Green River, Utah, which sits directly on I-70 not far from the turn to Arches NP. Another factor is whether or not you have a hotel reservation in Moab. There are times when the town's hotel rooms are simply all booked up...especially if you happen to be arriving in the evening time.
Arches National Park is one of Southern Utah's most scenic wonders. Located within its borders are over 2,000 natural arches...an astounding number! Of course you won't see them all, since there's a considerable amount of back-country terrain to which most tourists never venture. Nevertheless, many of the park's spectacular arches are reach-able by the park's interior roadways. The hike to Delicate Arch (which is so famous that you'll see it on every Utah license plate) is a breath-taking hike that may end up becoming your most memorable moment in any US National Park, if you undertake it. We'd recommend that families wait until the kids become tweens or teens; it's simply too strenuous a hike for little tykes. We'd also like to insist that you take a camera; we didn't, thinking that a postcard would fit the bill. It doesn't. Delicate Arch is just one of those places where you'll want to have the delight of seeing YOURSELF in the photo as you reminisce in the months & years to come!
Arches info & PDF Map of Arches National Park: If you'd like to plan out your list of activities ahead of time, here's the Arches NP website, plus a handy PDF printable map of Arches National Park which you may wish to use as a guide to its many scenic points of interest and hiking trails.
* Moab's river rafting, on the other hand, is perfect for smaller children. Most outfitters have Age 6 as a minimum requirement...and life jackets are needed by everyone of all ages. Nevertheless, if you'd like to give your kids a relatively calm-water introduction to the fun of river rafting, Moab's section of the Colorado River a good place to do it. Rafting companies will provide all supplies, drive you eastwards from Moab to the start of your river adventure, then bus you back to their headquarters to pick up your car once the journey has ended.
Moab is also a world-famous center for mountain biking. Back-country jeep tours are also popular here, as is hiking. To discover more about the fun you may have in Moab, or find an outfitter or hotel, here's a link to Moab, Utah's tourism website.
* Dead Horse State Park overlooks a scenic section of rugged western terrain. Dead Horse Point is reached by car from a point near the entrance to Arches National Park (Seven Mile Canyon Rd/SR 313.) No services are along the way; don't embark on the side-trip unless your car is in good condition and has sufficient gas. (It's a 40-mile round trip.) For further info, here's the Dead Horse Point SP website.
Canyonlands National Park, Needles Section: If you want to view the Needles section of Canyonlands NP, then that will require a separate trip! To reach the Needles unit of the park, head south from Moab on US 191. Then, turn west on SR 211. Here's the Canyonlands NP website, and also a printable PDF map of Canyonlands National Park (Needles section) which will show you where the various features and hiking trails are located.
Newspaper Rock State Historical Monument: SR 211 is also the road you'll want to take if you'd like to see the very interesting Newspaper Rock historical site. You'll see drawings and etchings made by generations of ancient Anasazi Indians here. Camera buffs will want to bring a wide-angle lens; of course, these days, you can use the "stitch" mode of your digital camera. The rock is much longer than it is wide. A primitive campground is adjacent to the monument. Here's a link to the Newspaper Rock web page on the Utah.com tourism website for further information.
Visitor's Center in Blanding: Blanding, Utah has a nice visitor's center with exhibits, brochures, helpful employees, and nice restrooms. If you stay on US Hwy 191, you'll see it plainly marked on the west side of the road. If you have young kids, they'll love being able to get out and stretch on the visitor center's lush green lawns. Shaded picnic pavilions and a children's playground are also on the grounds outside the Blanding visitor's center. Here's a link to the Blanding.org website where you can discover tourist services in this area.
Natural Bridges National Monument: Not far south of Blanding, Utah, you'll reach SR 95, which is the turn you should take westward if you're heading to the Natural Bridges National Monument. If you've got wiggly kids, this is not a side-trip I'd recommend. It's not quick & if you've just visited Arches National Park, you may find this smaller National Monument just "more of the same." However, anyone with a keen interest in geology will enjoy making the trek. A circular roadway passes the park's best features; a visitor's center and campground are available. Here's the Natural Bridges NM website, and here is a PDF map of Natural Bridges National Monument which you may enjoy printing at home before you visit.
Hovenweep National Monument: Utah has a section of the Hovenweep NM inside its borders. To reach it, head east on SR 262/Hovenweep Rd. You'll see a small number of ruins here. These are not as spectacular as the Mesa Verde Cliff Dwellings in Colorado...which you might be visiting since it's a very major attraction in the Southwest. However, the Hovenweep ruins are not cliff-dwellings, so they look entirely different. History buffs may appreciate taking the side trip. Here's a link to the Hovenweep National Monument website.
Mexican Hat, Goosenecks State Park and Monument Valley: South of Bluff, Utah, you'll leave US 191 and take US Hwy 163...assuming that you're interested in viewing Arizona's spectacular Monument Valley and Navajo Tribal Park. (Actually, you won't have to make a turn-off; US 191 turns into US 163, and you'll only need to make a turn if you wish to stay heading south on US 191.
Goosenecks State Park showcases still MORE spectacular geological formations. Leave US 163 at SR 261 & head west; then take SR 316 to reach the park. Signs are posted to help you find your way. Here is the Goosenecks State Park website, which will give you further information.
Mexican Hat Rock: Directions---Along the way to Monument Valley, you'll pass Mexican Hat, one of the most fascinating single rock formations in the Southwest. Named after its distinctive sombrero-like shape, a large flat rock seems to be precariously balanced atop a spire-like formation. You may view Mexican Hat Rock from one of US 163's turn-outs...or you may take a dirt road towards the rock to get a closer view. If you stay on US Hwy 163, you can get good photos of Mexican Hat from the area around Mile Marker 24; the turn-off to view the rock is south of that point. (You may enlarge the Google Custom Map above to use as a map to Mexican Hat rock.) The dirt road isn't in very good shape, but it's passable. The small town of Mexican Hat is nearby.
Four Corners monument: Utah is one of the famous "4 Corners" states, and is represented at the monument marking where the states of Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico meet. Unfortunately, the monument is not accessible from Utah roads. You'll need to drive along US Hwy 160, which runs through Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado (with the actual road out to the monument departing the highway in New Mexico.) You may view the Google Custom Map to your left to plan your route to reach the 4 Corners Monument.
MORE beautiful red-rock formations are over the state line in Arizona, including Monument Valley! If you have enjoyed the natural splendor of southern Utah's National Parks, you'll be glad to know that the scenic wonders don't stop at Utah's border. You'll find plenty of rugged western scenery in nearby Arizona, too! Please see our Things to do in Arizona and our I-40 Trip Planner to discover Arizona's unique natural wonders such as Monument Valley, Meteor Crater and the Petrified Forest.
* Goblin Valley State Park: Like so many of Southern Utah's other attractions, Goblin Valley SP showcases some of the area's unique geology. You might imagine that after visiting several Utah national parks, you've "seen it all." Yet, you'd only be partially right. Goblin Valley does feature interesting rock formations, true...but these are shaped in such a distinctive way that looks like legions of alien bodies are massing to take over the Earth. (Well...if you use your imagination, that is! The area was first called "Mushroom Valley," because the formations can also remind people of these edible delicacies.) Hiking is a popular activity at Goblin Valley, and a Visitor's Center is on site. Here's Goblin Valley SP info from the Utah State Tourism website and from the Goblin Valley State Park website.
Capitol Reef National Park: Formed to preserve a 100-mile long geological structure, the Capitol Reef NP is one of the least-visited of the Southern Utah National Parks. At Fruita, the orchards of an old farming settlement remain. The Park Service tends the orchards...and when the fruit is ripe, park visitors may pick them! Here's the Capitol Reef National Park website to help you plan. And, here's a printable PDF map of Capitol Reef National Park which can help you find park features such as hiking trails, campgrounds and points of interest.
Utah SR 12 attractions: The map of Capitol Reef (see link above) also shows you a scenic route through the nearby Dixie National Forest. This quiet road seems a world away from the nearby stark rock attractions. Mountainous and tree-laden, the tranquil green colors of the Dixie National Forest make relaxing and lovely drive. And, if you head south, pass the Anasazi Indian State Park (ancient ruins) and eventually reach the Grand Staircase/Escalante National Monument, another one of the state's numerous protected areas. Here are the Anasazi State Park and the Grand Staircase-Escalante NM websites, for you to use in planning your trip.
Glen Canyon NRA and Lake Powell: Lake Powell and the surrounding Glen Canyon National Recreation Area are popular attractions, particularly with boating-enthusiasts. However, you don't have to be a boater to enjoy the park. Interpretive displays are available at the Bullfrog Visitor's Center when you reach the park by heading south from I-70...and 2 other visitor's centers are located elsewhere. Here's the Glen Canyon NRA website, which can fill you in on the park's details.
PDF maps of Glen Canyon NRA and Lake Powell: The Glen Canyon NRA covers a huge amount of land. It's difficult to see it all clearly, which is why the park produces a number of different maps. If you'd like see and print up the all-encompassing PDF map of the Glen Canyon NRA, you'll see an overview of the park's entire area, attractions and services. A close-up PDF map of the Lake Powell's Bullfrog launch area will be of particular interest to Utay travelers. It will show you the exact locations of gas, ramps, the RV & tent campgrounds, swimming beach and the visitor's center. Also of interest to Utah tourists would be the PDF map of Hall's Crossing, including all services, campground and ferry location (to Bullfrog.) Maps of still other Glen Canyon NRA & Lake Powell areas (including the Page, AZ facilities) may be found on the Glen Canyon NRA Maps page of the park's informative website.


text:
Rural Nevada not equipped for 'Storm Area 51' turnout
LAS VEGAS (AP) - At first, the co-owner of the quirky alien-themed motel down a Nevada highway from the mysterious Area 51 site didn't take a posting for a prank Facebook event too seriously.
Then, her phone started ringing.
"It doesn't stop, our phone won't stop ringing," Connie West, of the Little A'le'Inn, told the Las Vegas Sun.
The 10-room motel is one of few businesses in Rachel, a town of 54 residents now gaining celebrity status among aviation and UFO enthusiasts attracted by the posting about a Sept. 20 event dubbed "storm Area 51."
More than 1 million people have responded to the internet post calling for people to "Naruto run" at 3 a.m. into the remote U.S. Air Force test area in the Nevada desert that has long been the focus of UFO conspiracy theories.
The face-forward, arms-back running style is favored by characters in the anime series "Naruto."
"They can't stop all of us," the post jokes. "Lets see them aliens."
The military is warning people not to try to enter the once top-secret Cold War site, which is posted and patrolled as part of the vast Nevada Test and Training Range.
After refusing for decades to acknowledge Area 51 even existed, the CIA declassified documents in 2013 referring to the 8,000-square mile (20,700-sq. kilometer) installation by name and locating it on a map near the dry Groom Lake bed.
The base has been a testing ground for top-secret aircraft including the U-2 spy plane in the 1950s and later the B-2 stealth bomber.
"Any attempt to illegally access the area is highly discouraged," the Air Force said in a statement released by Nellis Air Force Base near Las Vegas.
West is apprehensive about what might happen if big crowds arrive.
"It's a little scary to think that many people could descend on a town of 54," she said. "How can you prepare?"
Down the state Highway 375, dubbed the Extraterrestrial Highway, Linda Looney, at the Alien Research Center gift shop and campsite, told the Sun she also was concerned about the effect of the Facebook post.
"I don't think it's just a passing fancy," she said.
Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee said he doesn't expect many people to actually show up, and county spokesman Ben Rowley tallied 184 hotel rooms in the county.
But Lee said 500 or 1,000 sudden visitors could create traffic, parking and congestion issues in a jurisdiction with 26 sworn sheriff's deputies and about 5,200 permanent residents mostly in rural towns including Caliente, Pioche, Panaca and Alamo.
"I think this started out as a joke but there may be enough people taking it seriously and it could be a problem," the sheriff said. "Someone is going to get hurt and people may go to jail. It's not anything to joke about."
Police looking for gunman who kidnapped, robbed Dallas pizza delivery driver
Denton County seeing downward trend in COVID-19 hospitalizations


How to set security in my Upbit account?
Are you really interested in setting up the security for your Upbit account? If yes, just pick your phone and dial Upbit support number 18005093075 and attain approachable solutions from the skilled professionals. To get rid of all the errors in short-time and in hassle –free manner, feel free to call them at any minute of an hour. The professionals will guide you the whole process in steps so that you can easily apply it. They have hired skilled and talented engineers who are 24/7 active and eliminate all the technical problems. Their main aim is to provide outstanding satisfactory results to the users by their useful tricks and assistance.


2015 Sponsors: United Therapeutics / Qualcomm / ATI Industrial Automation / Paragon & Wake Robotics Inc.
Please select a tab to view detail about Team 3459's performance in the 2015 Season as well as detail of each event they attended.
This tab displays only official event's that Team 3459 attended in 2015.
Oh no! Unfortunately, we don't have any match videos of Team 3459 available at this time.


This herbal combination is similar to the Herb Lore Pregnancy Tea, but has the addition of Squaw Vine, a late pregnancy tonic herb. It has also been traditionally used to help strengthen and tone the uterus in preparation for labor and birth, but is recommended for use during the last six weeks of pregnancy only.
Ingredients: Orgnaic Red Raspberry Leaf, Squaw Vine, Dandelion Leaf, Nettle Leaf, Alfalfa, Chamomile, Oatstraw and Peppermint Leaf. Tincture is extracted in 40% Alcohol (Brandy made from grapes).
- 4oz. bottle will typically last about a month.
NOTE: Due to the Alfalfa in the combination, this product is not suitable for those on blood-thinning medications.
Helpful Hint: Ice chips made from the tea (or tincture) provides nutrition and fluids to the new mother during labor. Adding a bit of honey provides extra energy. This will also help keep the uterus working strongly and efficiently throughout labor and birth, helping to facilitate placenta delivery and aid in postpartum recovery. If using the tincture to make ice cubes, use 2 droppersful (or squeezes) of the tincture per 8oz cup of water. This is the equivalent of one cup of herbal tea.