text:
My interview with Melina Lewis!
Abbigayle Grace
I asked Abbigayle where she would like to chat:
So, Laura asked me to pick the place for our interview, and anybody who knows how indecisive I am—not to mention how in the middle of nowhere the town of Orangeboro is—knows I could only pick here: Benny's Pizza. We're sitting in the corner booth, right next to an inconspicuous closet door that's painted the same beige as the walls. The door blends in so well you almost can't see it. I only know it's there because I know the owners of the pizza shop, two guys named Bob and Joe, personally. I even know that Joe happens to be an elf, coming from inside that door. No, he doesn't live in a closet—that's Harry Potter—no, the closet is actually a portal to a different world. I just call it the elf world, but it might have a different name. For now, let's focus on the pizza shop.
It's a pretty homey sort of place, just what you would expect from this town. The booth is comfortable and the table is clean hardwood. The menus have an elvish word puzzle on the back, but you won't want to mention that to anybody (It's a secret). And I don't recommend ordering anything—not if it has pizza sauce on it, anyway. Bob makes the worst sauce I've ever had and he's the only one doing a lot of cooking since El's gone and Julie went to college. In fact, we probably won't want to have anything, unless Laura would like some coffee—that I know is good. I come here way too often for the coffee, and the stories, of course.
Laura Mae: What inspired you to enter the world of writing?
Abbigayle Grace: I pretty much grew up with it. My family has always been very into books, which nurtured my imagination and love for the written word. And when I finally grew "too old" to play games with my siblings and our imaginary friends, I decided to keep it all alive through writing.
L: How long have you been writing for?
A: I started writing very soon after I learned to read, which was when I was four, but it didn't really take until I was about twelve, when my parents published their first kids' book. That was when I decided I might actually like to try getting published too.
L: What are you currently working on?
A: I'm currently working on a number of projects, but chiefly editing my second book, which is Book 2 of The Pizza Shop Chronicles, Goblinprince. If you've read Book 1, Elfboy, you're probably wondering how the series can go on since I killed off one of the chief characters, but it does. There are about four more books left, and they will be worth reading.
L: Are there any books or authors who inspire your work?
A: I find that almost every book I read inspires me in some way or another, by at least giving me something new to think about.
L: What has been the most challenging for you so far?
A: Writing isn't that hard, editing isn't too horrible, the publishing process wasn't that nerve-racking, but getting used to the fact that I am a published author and people actually like my writing? That is hard. I'm still not fully adjusted to that.
L: What is your favorite writing trope?
A: Least favorite? I feel like I don't know enough tropes to answer this question properly, but I've never cared much for love triangles (and, yes, I write them), and I do love me a well-written enemies-to-lovers.
L: Besides writing, what is it you like to do?
A: I love to be outdoors, especially doing stuff like rock climbing, and I taught myself several varieties of needlework after learning to crochet from my mom's cousin. I also enjoy doing some art now and again (I did my book cover in colored pencil).
L: What would you say is your favorite book or series of all time? Why?
A: That's a tough question. I'm going to say The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. It took me over three months to read, but I really loved all the stories and characters. It gives you a new look at Middle Earth.
L: Are there any regrets you have or anything you wish you knew sooner?
A: I think my biggest regret is forgetting to include the one character's dog, Ollie, in the finished product. I feel like he would've given readers a better understanding of the character. But other than that, I try not to have regrets since I've found they weigh me down.
L: In a brief statement, have you self-published or traditionally published? What was your experience?
A: I'm self published and it's been interesting. There was a bit of red tape just to set up my KDP account. Everything after was pretty easy though, and I've been doing fairly well sales-wise.
L: What are you currently reading?
A: I'm reading The Magician's Sin by Alexander Thomas. It's a fantastic book, and I'm really enjoying. I'm also beta reading for a few of my writer friends.
L: What genre do you read?
A: Even though I write a hundred percent fantasy, I tend to read pretty much anything from encyclopedias to fantasy novels and everything in between.
L: What does a typical day of writing look like for you? Any rituals or 'must-haves'?
A: I'm pretty flexible about this sort of thing. I like to draft in my notebook and edit on the computer. Other than that, I pretty much write anytime, anyplace.
L: Any songs or type of music you need to listen to when you write?
A: I enjoy upbeat music that I can sing along to, but tend to tune out background noise of any kind while working. An especially handy talent when trying to read or write among younger siblings.
L: What's a word or phrase that people say that always irritates you?
A: "Suddenly". It's the one adverb that I will try to avoid using at any costs because it often comes across as a lazy way to start a sentence. Suddenly, I ran out of coffee. "I ran out of coffee" just sounds better (except when it actually happens).
L: Who is your favorite literary character and why?
A: I really have more of a favorite "type" of character. And they're generally the ones that die. Examples are King Finrod Felagund from The Silmarillion, Prince/King Ninus from The Crown of Three by J.D. Rhineheart, and Dustfinger from Inkeart by Cornelia Funke.
L: Where would you say you get most of your inspiration?
A: I get a lot of my inspiration from dreams and random thoughts that occur throughout the day. Other times, it comes from challenges I set for myself, like "create a really awesome character in five minutes".
L: For aspiring writers out there, what would be the best advice you want them to know?
A: A lot of times, I think new writers don't really need advice. It's definitely a good idea to learn as much as you can about the trade, but most of that learning comes from hands-on experience. The only way to get that is to write, and write a lot.
Abbigayle Grace is an avid writer from Pennsylvania and currently lives in Kentucky where her writing is inspired by her beautiful surroundings. She has always been obsessed with books – both reading and writing, as well as actively spending time outdoors. Her magical love of nature is vividly captured within her stories. Her stories are adventurous, mysterious, magical and humorous, while her Christian faith is apparent in her characters as they face tragedy and turmoil.
You can find Abbigayle on Twitter, Goodreads and her website.
Elfboy – After both his parents die, Chris is thrust into a new life with his widowed aunt and 14-year-old cousin, who live in a rural Kentucky town, where Chris has to start high school after being homeschooled his whole life. As if that wasn't bad enough, there's a fellow student who everyone warns him to stay away from because of some terrible secret where eight people went missing.
But, no matter how Chris tries to avoid him, he ends up bumping into him and finds himself caught up in a murderous plot where he barely escapes being one of the next victims. He becomes swooped up in a mysterious adventure where the local pizza shop, and even the school's weird principal, are all involved. Is anyone who they seem to be? What is going on in this little town, and, wait, where did you say we're going next?
Wanda Fischer
I asked Wanda where she would like to interview:
Fenway Park, September, 1965. I know I have school tomorrow morning, but the Red Sox season is almost over, and my mother said I could go to this game. i love this team, even though they're terrible. Loyal to the end. Red Sox forever! I'm alone in the bleachers, in the front row, with very few other spectators on this cool evening as the sun sets around this tired old ballpark with the manual scoreboard in left field. None of my friends could come tonight, but I don't care. It's the last gasp for this season. After buying my traditional Fenway Frank, I only have enough money left to buy tokens for train fare home. They're my team, no matter how bad they are. They're playing the Kansas City Athletics, whose crazy neon green-and-yellow uniforms, accented by shoes made from kangaroo leather, stand out like road signs in a construction zone.
With my score card in one hand and stub of a pencil in the other, I'm keeping track of the game, as usual. It's the sixth inning. The Red Sox are losing, and the bleacher bums around me are getting vocal about it, screaming things to baseball players who are so far away, they can't hear a word of it. I look down into the visitors' bullpen and see an old black man get up and begin to soft-toss a ball. Easy and slow. As he begins warming up, I notice his front leg kick gets higher and higher, his kangaroo-leather shoes glistening in the glow of powerful ballpark lights. I look up his number on my program. "It's Satchel Paige!" I look at the security guard, who normally wouldn't allow anyone to get close to the chicken-wire screen separating the bullpens from spectators. He looks as if he's falling asleep. I get up from my seat and press my face against the barrier. "Mr. Paige?" "Yes, ma'am," he replies. "Do you mind if I watch you?" "No, ma'am, be my guest." My heart beats what seems like a million miles a minute. I am watching a legend. I stop keeping score. He lifts his leg high and throws, harder and harder, looking up at me, grinning, between every pitch. At age 15, my baseball life is complete. Or so I believe tonight.
Wanda Fischer: I have been a writer for as long as I can remember, going all the way back to elementary school. I've been inspired to write since I wrote my first "real" book (beyond the Dick and Jane books). I can remember writing short stories and poetry as far back as the second grade.
W: For more than 60 years.
W: I wrote my first novel, "Empty Seats," about three minor league baseball players. I received several requests from readers to write a sequel, because they wanted to know what happens to the three characters. I am working on that sequel. Originally, I began writing a sequel about the three characters when they were in their sixties, but I decided that I needed to write about them in their twenties. I don't have a title for that yet. I'm also writing a memoir about my experiences in baseball, which will be called "Satch in the Bullpen and Other Baseball Memories," which is an allusion to the fact that I had the chance to watch the legendary Satchel Paige pitch in the bullpen in Fenway Park in 1965.
W: I participated in a summer reading program when I was in the tenth grade (so long ago!). Our teachers had selected writers whose works focused on the immigrant experience, such as Sinclair Lewis, Willa Cather and others. Those books left a major imprint on my life. I also enjoy Edwin O'Connor's "The Edge of Sadness" and a number of Irish writers, including those who write short stories and plays.
W: Trying to find a publisher and/or agent. I have written many query letters and approached countless publishers. I must be doing something wrong, because, despite the fact that I did public relations and marketing for 40 years, I can't get a rise out of anyone.
L: What is your favorite writing trope? Least favorite?
W: Foreshadowing, and then making sure the hints I give in my story somehow come true. Least favorite? Trying to be too literal instead of using a solid metaphor.
W: I play competitive tennis. I'm also a singer/songwriter and have recorded one CD. I've done a folk music show on public radio for more than 40 years (37 on my current station, four at my previous station), and the Folk Alliance International inducted me into their Folk DJ Hall of Fame last February. I also love to read to inner-city first-grade students.
W: Right now, I'd have to say "The Given Day," by Dennis LeHane. It contains so many intriguing elements. First, it talks about Babe Ruth and baseball, then it explores racism, immigration, Irish immigrants in Boston in the early 1900s (that's when my ancestors came to Boston and essentially took over the police and fire departments), social justice issues, the founding of the NAACP, and historical facts.
W: I wish I'd known about beta readers. I wish I had given a draft of my novel to a few of my friends prior to using the "publish" button. I am normally a stickler for proofreading, and I hired a couple of people to proof my novel, and they still missed several misspellings. It was embarrassing.
W: I wish I had traditionally published, but I ended up self-publishing. I think I may have spent too much on an editor (she was a great editor), and on some other things associated with the publishing process. I think if I were to self-publish another book, I have learned a great deal and could save some money. However, I don't really know how I would be able to finance another book, even though I have two others in the pipeline.
W: "Walking Across Egypt," by Clyde Edgerton. I have a record album that goes along with the book, and my husband picked this up at a used book sale. I've wanted to read this for a while.
W: I read baseball books and sports fiction, but I read general fiction as well. I do not read erotica and am not generally attracted to futuristic or fantasy novels. Every now and then, however, I will pick up a book in a genre I don't normally read, and I'm pleasantly surprised at what I find.
W: I try to write a couple of hours every day except for Saturday, which is the day when I do my radio show. If it gets too crazy at my house, I pack up my laptop and go to the library. I would estimate that I wrote about about 75 percent of my first novel at my local library (can I tell you how much I love my local library while I'm at it?).
W: I don't need to listen to any particular music when I write. However, sometimes I have a baseball game on in the background.
W: "Hopefully," as in "hopefully, we'll get this finished by the end of the day." The other one that drives me crazy is when people use the word "criteria" when they mean "criterion" (plural vs. singular).
W: Can't answer this one. Too many.
W: I get most of my inspiration from life lessons–things I've done and/or experienced in life. I remember people I've met and conversations I've had over the seven decades of my life, and the conglomerations of those encounters, along with news stories and current events (I'm a news junkie), give me all the inspiration I need.
W: My ninth-grade English teacher, Edward White, who encouraged me to write, told me once, when I tried to do something crazy, "You have to learn to walk before you can run." I've remembered that after all these years. I find myself repeating this to myself frequently, whether it's vis-a-vis writing or other endeavors. I would advise writers to stick to the basics when they're starting out. The other important thing for aspiring writers is to READ, READ, READ. You can pick up so much by reading the work of others. You won't learn to write by reading tweets; you must read BOOKS, SHORT STORIES, even NEWSPAPERS.
When a young high schooler during the 1960s in Weymouth, Massachusetts, Wanda Fischer aspired to be a sportswriter; however, that career option was difficult at best for women at the time. After having to drop out of college for financial reasons, she earned a bachelor's degree in English at Northeastern University while working full-time as a secretary at MIT.
She broke into radio broadcasting as both a news journalist and a folk music DJ. She has continued as a folk DJ for more than 40 years; the Folk Alliance International inducted her into their Folk DJ Hall of Fame in February 2019, recognizing her dedication and contributions to folk radio. She's been on WAMC-FM, the Albany National Public Radio affiliate, since 1982.
She retired in 2014 from a 40-year career in news, as well as public relations/marketing/media relations in government and not-for-profit organizations. After retirement, she parlayed her love for baseball into her debut novel, Empty Seats, which is not necessarily about her favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. Using baseball as a backdrop, the book explores coming-of-age issues and has received accolades from the Independent Press Association and New Apple Literary.
You can find Wanda on Instagram, Twitter and her website.
Empty Seats – What Little Leaguer doesn't dream of taking to the mound and striking out one of his heroes? This novel follows three such dreamers who were were drafted to play minor league ball, thinking it would be an easy ride to playing in the big time. Little did they know that they'd be vying for a spot with every other talented kid who aspired to play professional baseball. Young, inexperienced, immature, and without the support of their families and friends, they're often faced with split-second decisions. Not always on the baseball diamond.
Jonathan Lazar
I asked Jonathan where he would like to chat:
We sit as the rain gently falls like mist on some quiet intersection on Washington Ave in downtown Saint Louis, at a café that no longer exists. People run past on the damp streets, and a single brave soul sits outside on the black iron table, he enjoys the crisp fall air as he smokes a cigarette. Inside where I sit, the smell of espresso and fresh baked pastries is intoxicating. It fills the lungs and brings a sense of calm to all who enter. The wooden table I sit at is caramel colored and cracked with age. Any large holes that formed, were filled in with Scrabble Tiles. A random assortment, unable to spell any real words had been meticulously added to be level with the surface, though the Q tile is slightly off kilter.
I run my hand along the red brick that makes up many of the older buildings in the city as I sip my caramel latte. There is something hauntingly beautiful about a city that protects its buildings as such,
for even the wood floor is near original, and you can see every scrape and nick. If you listen as the rain falls, you can almost make out the whispers of generations passed. A jingle of entry bells takes my
attention away as a waterlogged patron enters to warm up. I go back to sipping my latte.
Jonathan Lazar: Writing is one of those things that people know they want to do. Sort of like musicians, we hear the call of characters sing to us, we hear the individual peoples of the world tell us the plights that unfold into the plots. It is something we are born into. People say, anyone can write a book, and unfortunately it's not true, just as not everyone can play a musical instrument or read music for that matter (I am one of those, that can't read music to save my life!). I honestly can't imagine myself not writing, its been something I have done for the longest time.
J: I started writing in the third grade. I had to do a short story using the weekly spelling words. I was the only student to use ALL ten or so spelling words, and I did it with a (looking back) terrible Mighty Morphin Power Rangers (that's right, I'm a geek), fan fiction. See, everyone starts somewhere. I made this terrible fan fiction, and my teacher swore I would one day get an Oscar… yeah… I'm still waiting too. I have been creating in some capacity ever since them. Whether it is my books, or my comics I want to make. My brother played hockey for the longest time, so I was always in rinks as a kid, and I always had my notebook in my bag ready for when
inspiration struck.
J: Mainly I am currently working with my publisher, Kyanite Publishing, on my urban fantasy series, The Case Files of Zachariah Lars, the first of which is actually available now (Zachariah Lars & the High Elf Mystery). The forthcoming book (date TBD) is tentatively called, Zachariah Lars & the Time Traveler Conundrum! I am also independently publishing my fairy tale fantasy series, The Bound by Tales series, and my epic fantasy, The Gehenna Cycle. I am hoping to have books 1 & 2 of both these series out by March, in time for Tucson Festival of Books, where I will be attending. This is of course not including all the other random works I have plotted and planned, such as my sword & planet series, The Ranul Saga, among others.
J: For much of my fantasy, Roger Zelazny has inspired the way in which I build worlds and characters. But L. Frank Baum also inspired me, due to his ideas that fantasy is fantasy and you can have whatever you want happen.
J: Holy crap, definitely building an email list!! By far the most challenging thing for me as an author. I know I need to do it, and I have it, just keeping up with it, and advertising that I have it. If anyone would like to sign up here is the link: https://mailchi.mp/deef1dd9af52/jonathanwritesbooks I don't spam in case you are wondering!
J: I am an avid tea drinker. I actually worked for Teavana for just over six years, so I have a vast knowledge about tea. As well, I am a huge video game junkie. Love playing classic RPGs or Nintendo Games, and when I need to take a break from writing, the husband and I actually play Diablo 3 together. Nothing better than crushing demon hordes with your husband to recharge the batteries!
J: Favorite book series is the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny. Its ten books in length, divided into two arcs. Books 1-5 deal with Corwin, Prince of Amber, and the second five deal with his son, Merlin. The series while fantasy in nature, also has elements of science-fiction, dealing with the Multiverse, as the royal family hails from Amber, which is the true world and all other worlds, including our own, are copies. It is also fascinating about series, is the first five are much more fantasy based in its writing, and the last five move towards a more cyber-punk, which shows when they were written and how Roger Zelazny himself was influenced by the growing trends in writing. Overall, everyone needs to read at least the first five books.
J: Knowing that it's okay to not know everything! I have kicked myself over and over for things I have done, or stupid mistakes I have made, such as sign with a particular publisher, who was not the best. As long as you learn from your mistakes and use the experiences to grow, that is all you can hope for!
J: I have done both self-published and traditionally and both have its pros and cons. Self-publishing gives the freedom to publish what you want, on a schedule that best fits your needs, and of course you get the majority of the profits, you just have to be ready to put in the work (marketing, promotion, editing, covers, etc.). However the same can be said for traditionally publishing, yes you lose a little control, but depending on the company, they have the tools you need. Best advice I can give is, do your due diligence. What would work best for you? Maybe it's both, or one or the other. Everyone is different and unique. But always ask questions regarding marketing, royalties, time frames, and any other questions that you find pertinent and remember if something doesn't feel right, it probably isn't.
L: What element of writing do you enjoy the most? (characters, descriptions, ect.)
J: I love world building, hands down! For many of my larger works, I have whole series bibles that contain all my world building notes, my secrets, my characters. Every minor character gets a sub-tab in the respected area. For instance, in my Gehenna Cycle series, there is the Order of the Unnamed Goddess, which is littered with dozens of Priestesses of different levels… so every time introduce one, I make a note… or even if they are never introduced, I know who is in what Temple! I am also a sucker for a good description. I love to let people know when a character is uncomfortable, or hungry, or what food they are eating. Makes the world more alive when you know what is going on around them.
J: I am currently reading Frank Herbert's masterpiece, Dune. I have had it for years, but never had the chance to enjoy it. I have been doing a lot of traveling recently, so I figured now was a good as any time to read it. Though of course, my TBR pile's around the house are at least three books deep.
L: What genre do you typically read?
J: I am fairly predictable, reading mostly fantasy and science fiction. However I have been dabbled into literary fiction when the mood calls for it, though this is few and far between when I do this.
J: I am a morning person, so my writing day HAS to start with some black tea, with a splash of almond milk. Hands down, even the mornings I am off to work, I am making black tea. I typically go into my office in my house, put on some music and get to writing, unless it's the weekend, then I am typically catching up on Game Grumps on Youtube.
J: 95% of the time, I have on Video Game Soundtracks while I write. This is the best, as the music is designed to stimulate and engage you, but not distract you. It is the absolute best for writing. My go-tos are usually Final Fantasy or similar games soundtracks, or Kingdom Hearts.
J: I would have to say that 95% of my inspiration comes from must everyday things, and places. I can see a random license plate or street name, and instantly have a place or character. I have a note folder on my phone for random names. Once there, I can then pull from it later, or depending on the character, they will instantly tell me all about themselves and I know which story to put them.
J: Never give up, never surrender. I know, I know, cliché right? But it's true. There will be those that support you, and those that don't, but you have to keep doing what you do. If the characters won't shut up, tell their stories. There will always be those that read your works, and just wait, you could be their favorite author!
Born to the greatest Generation, the Nintendo Generation, Jonathan grew up in the South suburbs of Chicago for numerous years before going away to the boring planes of Illinois to get a B.A. in English (cue Avenue Q song) from Illinois State University. There he would unknowingly have his life
changed, when he met his future husband. From there, his life would be a whirlwind of adventure as he lived in Michigan, and Saint Louis, which would influence him to create "The Case Files of Zachariah Lars" Urban Fantasy series, before landing (for the time being) in Tucson, Arizona.
Writing since he was in the third grade, he really knew this was his passion, when in sixth grade he wrote a 6-part short story for extra credit. He doesn't think he got the extra credit, but he does know he never did get the story back. This notion of being a writer really solidified throughout high school when he started the first draft of what would eventually become his "Gehenna Cycle" series.
You can find Jonathan on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and his website!
Something of Him – How do you navigate adulthood? That is the question 30-something year old Jeffrey must learn in order to not get lost in the complications caused by the love he has for two men. Meanwhile an old flame shows that love is more complicated than what is seen in the movies. Will Jeffrey manage? Or will he be forever dreaming of the perfect lover?
Zachariah Lars and the High Elf Mystery – 150 Years Ago: The Veil, which kept the mystical and magical hidden, broke. Humans were forced to integrate with those that they deemed mythological and the world got more complicated.
Present Day: Saint Louis, Missouri, New World. Zachariah Lars, former Magi Police Officer turned Private Investigator takes the cases that the Magi won't touch. When the mysterious line of African High Elves make their presence known in the New World, in time for the High Elves Annual Remembrance Ball, Zachariah is visited by their emissary, High Princess Mahtab. She believes someone is looking to assassinate her, and will pay handsomely for Prince Juraxxus of the Saint Louis High Elves to be brought to Justice.
Zachariah must piece together the mystery of not only this stunningly beautiful African High Elf, but also, if Juraxxus is behind the assassination attempts on the High Princess's life. And he only has three days to accomplish the task. Mystery, intrigue, humor, magic and foul language abound in this series by Jonathan M. Lazar.
Lydia Russell
My interview with Lydia Russell!


The enticing water of the Red Sea awaits on Marsa Alam's beautiful eastern shore, which has taken small town chic to the next level through its development into a secluded yet lively tourist destination. There's food, drink and culture to take in here, plus we can't forget those sensational beaches. Discover more by checking out our fantastic range of package holidays to Egypt.
This is Marsa Alam's most well-known stretch of shoreline and one of the more famous spots along the Red Sea. If you're wondering what makes Abu Dabbab so special it may have something to do with the beautiful stretch of creamy pale sand that curls around the bay. Not only is it home to some stunning reefs below the surface of the water, but it also houses countless families of turtles and other marine life.
You're likely to encounter a little shelled friend during your stay, and specialists are on hand to help you get acquainted with the cute creatures in question. Order a cool drink while you lounge on the sand, or head out and hire some diving gear for a closer look at what lies beneath – the choice is yours.
Abu Dabbab is widely known for being one of the few places where 'sea cows', or dugongs, make a regular home. You may even be able to meet these endearing local celebrities for yourself when you sink to the briny deep. The water here is so clear you can practically see all the way down to the ocean floor. Colourful fish and the occasional octopus show off the world beneath the waves in ways that make Marsa Alam a leading place for diving enthusiasts enjoying Egypt holidays.
Known for its beauty, prized for its peacefulness and admired for its frequent ability to score among the world's best beaches, Sharm El Luli Beach is a Red Sea jewel. That's partly because this shallow, lagoon-like curvature of coastline is undeveloped, lending it an unspoilt air that makes it unlike anywhere else.
Plus, the shallow water is ideal for waders and little ones. Get ready to lose yourself to inner peace, while a trip beneath the waves will give you the chance to meet fascinating marine life and colourful coral.
Close to the well-tended natural reserves of the Valley of the Camels, Gorgonia Beach is a little way out of Marsa Alam. Still it's ideal for those looking for a more structured way to spend your time by the sea. Beach umbrellas and inviting, comfortable loungers lace the sands here, while amenities, food and drink are all at hand.
As with anywhere else in this part of the world, the invitation to dive to the depths of the Red Sea should never be ignored. The colourful reefs and active marine life all exist thanks to the concerted efforts of the local community, who understand the natural treasures they have on their doorstep.
That's good news for you, because it means that guided tours to the hottest diving spots on the Red Sea are just a short boat ride away.


It's hard to believe 2017 is coming to a close, yet I have never felt more positive about the progress we've made for dolphins as I do now. We've gained tremendous momentum worldwide as people across the globe are realizing that dolphins do not belong in captivity, nor should they be hunted, abused or slaughtered. The three most difficult places on Earth to work on behalf of dolphins are Japan, Indonesia and the Solomon Islands – in fact, we are the only organization on the ground in those places and will remain there as long as dolphins are in need.
• Dolphin Project has long advocated dolphin sanctuaries to retire captive dolphins, and we are continuing to move forward with plans for Europe's first dolphin sanctuary project. This year I had the opportunity to scout various locations in Italy and Greece as we continue efforts to make this project a reality.
• Lincoln O'Barry and Dr. Sarah Meltzoff returned to Fanalei in the Solomon Islands to continue our work in helping dolphin-hunting communities transition away from their conventional hunts. Home to the largest drive slaughter of dolphins in the world, annual kills have dropped from a yearly average of 850 to 110 in 2016. We are currently building a permanent field base in Fanalei, which will allow us to continue working with the community to develop sustainable economic alternatives to dolphin-hunting and strengthen marine protection in the area.
• In Indonesia, we are continuing our efforts to end dolphin abuse, including putting an end to the traveling dolphin circuses, dolphin-swim programs and renovating Camp Lumba Lumba, the world's first permanent rehabilitation facility for captive dolphins. Dolphin Project established an education center in Flores, where islanders and tourists alike can learn about the importance of protecting marine life. It is the first center of its kind in Flores, an area known for marine mammal and sea turtle poaching.
• Dolphin Project returned to The Cove in Taiji, Japan, for its 15th season, where our team is on the ground for the entire six-month hunting season. Using live-streaming technology and – new this year – 360-degree "immersive" video to document the dolphin drive hunts, we remain committed to sharing this information with the world. The season launched on Japan Dolphins Day, an international day of action and awareness that we have coordinated since 2005. Earlier this year, Dolphin Project Celebrity Ambassador and Game of Thrones star Maisie Williams traveled to Taiji in support of our campaign.
We've come a long way since 1970 when I made it my life's mission to protect dolphins worldwide from exploitation and slaughter. Now, 47 years later, all of us at Dolphin Project are as committed as ever to making real and positive change for dolphins, but we need you on our team. We are entirely funded by you. Each time you donate to Dolphin Project, know that you are aiding the longest-running anti-captivity dolphin welfare organization in the world. Thank you for your support and for being on the right side of history.
One of the best efforts happening on Earth today. If you can please help them by spreading the word and donating.


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Which Louisville hospitals made the grade?
Darla Carter
@PrimeDarla
More hospitals in the Louisville area are earning good grades from a national watchdog group, but three KentuckyOne Health facilities continue to languish near the bottom on hospital safety.
University of Louisville Hospital and two other KentuckyOne properties, Jewish Hospital and Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital, all received Ds Monday from The Leapfrog Group, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit.
Of more than 2,600 general acute-care hospitals rated nationwide, less than 160 received a D and only 20 received an F, the lowest possible grade. No local hospital received an A.
"In the fast-changing health care landscape, patients should be aware that hospitals are not all equally competent at protecting them from injuries and infections," Leapfrog president Leah Binder said in a news release.
The top grades in Louisville went to Baptist Health Louisville and two Norton facilities, each of which received Bs in this fall round of scoring. Norton Audubon Hospital and the Norton Women's & Kosair Children's Hospital on Dutchmans Lane had previously been Cs.
Leapfrog's safety grades are issued twice a year. They are based on information from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and other sources, including a Leapfrog survey that some hospitals choose to participate in.
►RELATED: See all Louisville-area safety scores here
►READ MORE: Hospital sale keeps Floyd Co. out of the red
The group considers 30 evidence-based measures of patient safety, including hand hygiene; falls; infections, such as Clostridium difficile (C. diff); and foreign objects being accidentally left in the body by surgeons.
Baptist Health Louisville and Baptist Health LaGrange responded to their B grades by saying, "We are committed to providing safe, quality care to the communities we serve." The written statement from Connie Barker, vice president for quality and clinical effectiveness at Baptist Health Louisville, also noted that both hospitals have teams in place to monitor quality and safety data, but they do not provide information directly to Leapfrog.
Norton Healthcare officials didn't respond by deadline to a request for comment about its facilities, which include Norton Hospital downtown and Norton Brownsboro Hospital. Both of those hospitals earned Cs.
KentuckyOne Health said it has implemented programs and best practices to improve quality and safety across its facilities, including at U of L Hospital, which has been fraught with controversy this year.
"The success of these initiatives can be seen in our internal reporting and we are confident it will be reflected in upcoming Leapfrog scores," the company said in an email from spokesman David McArthur.
"While these Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades at some of our facilities may not reflect the culture of quality, safety and service instilled in recent years across KentuckyOne Health, we are confident that the commitment of nurses, physicians and employees at all our facilities will guide our improvement and the delivery of quality care," the statement said.
►READ MORE: Food fight over McDonald's exit from hospital
Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grades – formerly known as the Leapfrog Hospital Safety Scores – are important, Leapfrog says, because hospital safety mishaps, such as patient injuries, accidents and infections, kill more than 200,000 Americans a year.
"We believe everyone has the right to know which hospitals are the safest and encourage community members to call on their local hospitals to change, and on their elected officials to spur them to action," Binder said. "States that put a priority on safety have shown remarkable improvements."
Leapfrog ranks the states based on their percentage of A hospitals. This fall, Kentucky improved its ranking from 40th to 35th. Its 12 A-rated hospitals include Pikeville Medical Center and Frankfort Regional Medical Center.
The Bluegrass State trails slightly behind Indiana, which ranks 33rd, down from 27th in the spring. Indiana has 15 A hospitals, but Clark Memorial Hospital in Jeffersonville received a C. So did Baptist Health Floyd, the former Floyd Memorial Hospital in New Albany, Ind.
Neither chose to comment on its grades, but Baptist Health Floyd noted, through Baptist Health Louisville, that it has teams similar to the other local Baptist hospitals.
KentuckyOne Health, which manages U of L hospital, pointed out several efforts to improve that beleaguered Louisville facility.
"Specifically at University of Louisville Hospital, we have accelerated programs focused on quality, safety and also employee recruitment and retention," the company said. "Since this summer, we have seen an increase in nurse hires, additional clinical support positions, and a decrease in departures. Chuck Neumann is serving as interim president at ULH and leading a wide range of initiatives in collaboration with physician and nurse leaders."
U of L hospital has been under a cloud this year because of multiple issues. A surgeon's complaint that nursing shortages had made the facility unsafe triggered a state inspection in July that found that three patients had been endangered, according to the Courier-Journal. The state later found that the hospital had corrected the problems.
Other troubles have included the departure of former U of L Hospital president Ken Marshall earlier this year; a rock-bottom, one-star rating from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services; and a money spat between KentuckyOne Health and University of Louisville. The school recently claimed that it's owed millions by KentuckyOne, which laid off a number of its own top executives last month, according to the newspaper.
Also, U of L Hospital, Jewish Hospital and Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital all received Ds from Leapfrog in the spring.
But "we definitely know it's possible to turn things around" at low-scoring facilities once significant improvements are made, said Erica Mobley, director of Communications and Development at Leapfrog.
She also noted that even A-rated hospitals can have issues, so patients should speak up when they suspect something is going wrong, "particularly if they notice that a provider hasn't washed their hands," she said.
Having a friend or relative around also is advised. "If you are being hospitalized, most likely, you are not operating at your full capacity and so having somebody there who can be alert – to pay attention, speak up if something might be going wrong, take notes – can really be effective," Mobley said.
Reporter Darla Carter can be reached at (502) 582-7068 or dcarter@courier-journal.com.
For more information about the hospital grades and state rankings, go to www.hospitalsafetygrade.org.
Here are Louisville area scores for the fall of 2016:
Hospital Fall 2016 Spring 2016 Fall 2015
Jewish Hospital D D C
Norton Hospital C C C
Baptist Health Louisville B B B
University of Louisville Hospital D D C
Norton Audubon Hospital B C C
Norton Women's & Kosair Children's Hospital B C C
Sts. Mary & Elizabeth Hospital D D C
Norton Brownsboro Hospital C C C
Baptist Health LaGrange B B B
Clark Memorial Hospital (Jeffersonville) C C C
Baptist Health Floyd (New Albany) C C C

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


I've lived most of my life in Tasmania, which is one of the beautiful Australian states. Deliriously happily married to my college sweetheart for over 22 years, we consider ourselves extremely blessed to be raising 2 wonderful teenagers. Hubby and I have also been long time child sponsors with Compassion so we have overseas kids.
I desire to impact the world through the words I share. I long to enrich, empower and encourage others whilst delivering my stories with empathy and understanding.
In my new-found boldness I've started this website where I aim to release a weekly post.
I pray that the words I release are a great source of encouragement to you. I would LOVE to hear from you!


Emmitsburg Township located in Emmitsburg Maryland. SSPCS was contracted to overhaul an aging video broadcast system. Computers were installed along with a Digital video mixer. Existing video cameras were in good shape, so they were retained in the system. The meetings are archived locally in the computer, to the cloud, and burnt to DVD per client request. We additionally provided training to the office personnel.
PowerPoint computer, for 24 hour TV broadcast channel and web site content. Additional computer for recording township meetings that are broadcast live and replayed throughout the month.
Roland VR50 digital video mixer was installed with all cameras and computers connected for complete control to multiple outputs including a cable TV modulator and room projector.
Camera control and computer for PPT presentation on a 24 hr. loop for residents to see township events and news.


We offer a variety of customizable services to meet your home inspection needs!
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A relationship with Area 81 Racing will expand your brand! Contact us for sponsorship details.
Richard and crew. Finally found a few spare moments in my busy day to drop you a quick message to thank you again for the great time we had at Watkins. Dan and I really enjoyed the weekend with your team and look forward to next year. Waterfall should be proud to sponsor such a great team like yours. You not only treated Dan and I like VIPs as Waterfall customers but also displayed the Waterfall logo in a very professional and very visible manner. I don't know how much money they give you but they are definitely getting their moneys worth and then some from a customers point of view. Again I can't thank you enough for the great time that we had a look forward to next year. Make sure that you have work for me to do as I really enjoyed helping in the pits. Also make sure that Tim is there as well. Take care and best of luck in all your races. I will follow on Facebook and your website.
Waterfall Security Solutions is pleased to partner with Tim Pierce, Richard Franklin, and the Area 81 Racing team. Sports car racing is a great way to build employee pride and develop camaraderie with our customers. We are very proud of Tim, Richard, and the entire team's efforts and accomplishments.
Working with NASCAR and F1 teams is fun, but it's even better to support a local racing program that is developing into one of the premier teams in their division.
Area 81 Racing competes in SCCA road races and time trials throughout the southeast region.


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Ireland's Fate In U20 Match
The Ireland team faced Scotland on Sunday, 4th June at the AIA Stadium. Located in Kutaisi, this place was the venue for the Under 20 Championship campaign. The start was miserable for their team in this world rugby tournament. They had obtained runners up position in 2016 but this year it seems as if they would be exiting early from Pool B in the tournament that is being held at Georgia. Here in Scotland gained a win, but it was a narrow one, the final scores being 32-28.
Scotland succeeded in five tries. They did lose out in the opening match that they played against New Zealand, but they recovered in this one.
Players like Jack Kelly were able to put my two scores while Jack Stafford did put in considerable effort, but it was in vain for the Irish team. The team had been able to put in a better performance last year when they lost out in the finals in England. The fans were all excited and looking forward to the match between Ireland and Scotland in the U20 category. Both teams had suffered defeat in their opening matches.
This was the sixth meeting that the two nations were involved in, being Celtic nations. Diarmuid Barron was unable to join the game as he had a fractured thumb. Adam Moloney was asked to take up his place. Jordan Duggan was playing along with Kelleher. He replaced Joey Conway while several other players remained the same as per the combination that played in the opening matches. This was a game that did give them team a setback.
However, the coach will work on the strategies and what they need to do to overcome the shortcomings. Fans can look forward to a stronger and more united team coming back to play soon.


Pulse Nursing wants to recognise your hard work and dedication. That's why we're giving you the opportunity to collect points and turn them into rewards – with £1,000 up for grabs!
Earning points is simple. If you're a nurse, midwife, ODP or HCA, all you need to do is book your shifts through Pulse (either via your consultant or ipoint) and you'll earn one point for every hour you work.
When you've got enough points you'll able to claim either cash, vouchers or support towards your DBS or training certificates – it's up to you!
If you're already registered with Pulse there is nothing you need to do. You will start to collect points from any shift worked on or after the 8th January 2019.
If you are new or looking to register with Pulse, you will be automatically enrolled once you're cleared and ready to work.
We're taking care of the hard bit. We will add up your points each time you work and update you once you've reached a level or come close to reaching a reward.
You have from the 8th January until 31st December 2019 to collect your points and reach £1,000!
Each month you'll receive an update on your points and how many you've collected. To keep your points going throughout the year, you must work at least one shift within a 12-week period, otherwise your points total will be reset back to zero – we'll send you an email notification if you're getting close to this point.
To claim a reward, you must have enough points at that level to do so, i.e. 150 points to receive £50.
When you reach a level you'll be sent details on how to claim your reward. If you have any questions, contact either your consultant or the central email address (rewards@pulsejobs.com) with the subject line 'Pulse Nursing UK Loyalty Scheme'.
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More choice. More work. More rewards.


text:
60 Minutes December 19, 2017
Did This Girl's Father Torture Her For A Decade To Make Her 'Superhuman'?
(New York Post) Girl's father tortured her for a decade to make her 'superhuman'
By Jane Ridley December 9, 2017 | 7:22pm
At least twice a week, an 8-year-old Maude Julien was made to grasp an electric fence for 10 minutes at a time without betraying any feeling — no twitching or grimacing, not even a blink.
The cruel ritual, supervised by her father, was considered a test of her willpower as he sought to turn her into the "ultimate survivor."
"I held on with both hands, and it was most important to show no reaction at the moment of the power surges," recalled Julien, now 60, to The Post. "I had to stay impassive."
As if that weren't disturbing enough, once a month, the little girl was locked overnight in a rat-infested cellar to "meditate about death."
Julien, now a grandmother living in Paris, has chronicled her horrifying childhood in the memoir "The Only Girl in the World" (Little Brown, out Tuesday).
According to the book, she spent 18 years being mind-controlled by her paranoid dad, who belonged to an esoteric lodge of Freemasonry that dabbled in the occult and subscribed to a mishmash of oddball philosophies. He believed in a fallen world and thought that there would one day be an uprising of evil. In his mind, Maude had been chosen as a leader and his protector.
"He was most definitely insane and an alcoholic," said Julien of her father, Louis Didier, who died in 1981 at age 79.
Didier, who became relatively wealthy from selling transport stock after World War II, created Maude for his own twisted purposes. It started when he adopted a 6-year-old girl, Jeannine, in 1936, then groomed her to become his wife.
In November 1957, Jeannine gave birth to the child whom her husband would put through experiments to raise the perfect "superhuman."
The trio lived in an isolated mansion in northern France, where Julien was home-schooled and subjected to Didier's countless "endurance tests." These ranged from being dangled over a cliff and assisting in the slaughter of livestock, to drinking whiskey before having to walk in a straight line.
To this day, Julien has liver damage from all the alcohol her father forced on her.
For 10 years, between the ages 3 and 13, she was sexually abused by a laborer who worked on the estate.
Meanwhile, Julien was forbidden from leaving the compound for nearly a decade. Her only companions were her dog and two ponies whom she adored.
"I really think that, without my animals, I wouldn't be alive today," she said. "They gave me physical contact and warmth because nobody [in my family] was allowed to touch each other in the house.
"I learned love and compassion from them."
She sought solace in books, though Didier dictated what she read. Eventually she became fond of Dostoyevsky and, particularly, "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas — which inspired Julien to dream of her escape.
Amazingly, despite the mind control and hypnosis, the girl resisted being totally drawn into her father's "cult of three." But she suffered from self-loathing and took to self-harm as a coping mechanism.
Mercifully, her savior came in 1972 in the form of a music tutor, Andre Molin, who arrived to teach her how to play the accordion and piano.
"He played along with my father for three years to gain his trust," explained Julien of how Molin eventually helped free her from the house. "Then he got my dad's permission to teach me at his shop in a nearby town and I eventually got a job there."
When Julie was 18, Didier allowed her to wed a young musician she'd met during classes — with the caveat that she'd leave him after six months and return home a virgin.
She seized the opportunity and fled for good.
The six-year marriage produced a daughter, now 35. Julien later settled down with another man and had a second daughter in 1990. Julien is still estranged from her own mother, to whom the memoir is dedicated.
"She is a victim and I sent the book to her with a note," she said. "She didn't react directly but I heard through intermediaries that she was afraid and wasn't happy I wrote it."
Over the years, Julien has received intensive therapy to help cope with the traumas of the past. After receiving her psychology degree, she now treats patients of her own.
She admits that writing her memoir triggered flashbacks to her childhood horrors. But she's relieved her story's being published. She said: "I really want it to be a book of hope — I consider it an escape manual."
Is 'Selfitis' – The Obsessive Need To Post Selfies – A Genuine Mental Disorder?
Pink See-Through Fantasia
Did Colin Firth Just Become Italian?
Post-Brexit woes.


text:
< S824550DN S824552DN >
XK150 Cream
Fixed Head Coupe Light Blue
Cycle & Carriage, Singapore, Malaya
824551 31 July 1958
V4736-8
JLS41295CR
1958 Cream
Rest: Nice
VSV633
Record Creation: Entered on 6 September 2018.
Uploaded September 2018:
Uploaded November 2017:
Details Photos: Exterior (4)
Car registered for XK60 in '09.
Car to be at auction 11/17
www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2017-11-25/cars/ref-41-1958-jaguar-xk150/
Auction description:
Mercedes-Benz World
Lot 302 - 1958 Jaguar XK150 Fixedhead Coupé
Registration VSV 633
Chassis Number S-824551 DN
Engine Number V-4736-8
Odometer reading 1,316 miles
Estimate £45,000 - £55,000
Having been manufactured on 14th July 1958, this genuine righthand drive Jaguar has led an interesting life. She was exported to Malaya and registered on 1st September 1958 to Mr. Douglas Earp who was a rubber plantation manager who was awarded an MBE in 1974 for services to the planting industry. The current vendor - a Chartered Design Engineer - was working on various large projects in Kuala Lumpur in anticipation of the creation of the state of Malaysia when he purchased the Jaguar on 1st August 1963. He commissioned some repairs on the car in 1965 and had the original blue interior changed to red with materials being supplied by Connolly Brothers. Throughout his stewardship, the vendor kept the Jaguar very well maintained as confirmed by the two quite significant history folders. In 1967 the car was repatriated to the UK and used on a regular basis. The vendor had a couple of other assignments abroad but chose to leave the Jaguar in storage in the UK, he even has correspondence from Jaguar about how to store the car correctly for long periods.
In 2007 Mark Cooper a Jaguar trained mechanic carried out some work on her and has been maintaining the XK150 ever since. In total and after inspecting the history, it appears VSV 633 has covered in total 46,000 miles from new. Supplied with a V5C registration document and a current MoT test certificate valid until 17th October 2018, this matching numbers, low mileage with only one former keeper, Jaguar is a sound example with an exceptional pedigree.
Car to return to auction 9/18
www.historics.co.uk/buying/auctions/2018-09-22/cars/ref-160-1958-jaguar-xk150-fi ...
Genuine right hand drive example
Otherwise same as above.
Car did not sell.


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text:
About Mark Aldrich
The Gad About Town
All posts copyright 2013–2020 by Mark Aldrich.
A Thank You Note
Posted on December 31, 2015 by Mark Aldrich
Has anyone produced a list of the best of 2015's "Best of …" lists? No? Anyone? This won't be that. First, a thank you.
Thank you to everyone who reads this website, even if this post is the first one by me that you have seen: Thank you. If The Gad About Town receives its usual number of visitors today, one of you might give this site the 34,000th view it has received in 2015. More than 18,000 visitors have read or at least gazed at almost 34,000 things here. That stuns me.
Thank you for sharing this via one of these wonderful services:
Why Ask Why?
Posted on November 3, 2015 by Mark Aldrich
From 1995 till 1997, I wrote a humor column, "The Gad About Town," for a great weekly newspaper in Sullivan County, New York. (I still read it online.) It held the distinction of being the only column in the newspaper that did not generate even one letter from readers. Another editorial columnist, a genial elderly man, wrote the most innocuous weekly pieces and received the most vituperative letters disagreeing with everything he wrote. I admired that this only amused him.
I did create one controversy, once: our music columnist used his own space one week to disagree with me and take me to task about something I had written the week before. Since he could have written a letter to the editor complaining about me and also submitted his usual column, but chose to sacrifice his space to rebut me, I became skeptical about his music suggestions. (I believe he is still writing for the paper and I am here, writing for no pay two decades later, so I think we can safely say that he won in the long run.)
Why Bother Getting up in the Morning? Awards, of Course
Posted on September 4, 2015 by Mark Aldrich
In the last month, four fellow writers gave The Gad About Town four different awards. That is as kind as it gets.
Snow: A Five Photos, Five Stories … uh, Story
Posted on April 16, 2015 by Mark Aldrich
The photo above was taken on November 26, 2014. The coordinates: 41°24′07″N 74°19′22″W, which if you have a globe, direct you to Goshen, New York. I live a 10-minute drive from this spot.
In "Connect the Colors," I wrote, "Perception may be the most unique and personal portion of human experience—or it may be the most identical; either way, we do not have a means of testing it, except based on anecdotes from individuals. Perhaps strawberries taste the same for you as they do for me, or they do not." Perhaps an exception can be made to this perception about perception: the weather. Maybe we all feel it the same.
Two Awards, Plus a Film Plug
Posted on March 24, 2015 by Mark Aldrich
About two years ago, before this blog was launched, an online publication presented without any introduction a short film that I could not stop watching. It was an insomniac night and I no longer remember the name of the publication that made the insomnia worthwhile. (Buzzfeed, perhaps?) I think the only thing the publication said about it was that it was "narrated by Siri," the iPhone voice, and that it was weird.
Posted on March 9, 2015 by Mark Aldrich
I'm a dope. If an acceptance speech was required or expected, I did not deliver one. The one time an award was given to me at a real awards ceremony, I dashed from my seat upon hearing my name, ran to the front of the hotel ballroom, paused long enough to collect the plaque (long since lost), looked at it long enough to see that my name was in fact etched on its surface, and dashed back to my newspaper's table. The presenters were not looked at long enough for their faces to be retained in my memory.
I grabbed that thing as if I expected the membership of the New York Press Association to demand an instant recount. As if someone had clicked start on a stopwatch. It was not my plan to turn into Carl Lewis and hurdle the tables of our rival newspapers, but something snapped. It was 1997 and I still could run, but I lived a life in which I did not expect good things, so when good things came I was not "pleasantly surprised" as I like to be now, I was shocked into feeling like I was getting away with something that I clearly did not deserve.
I reprinted the column here in December; it was called "The New Wave"; the link is to it.
If You're Not a Part of the Solution …
Posted on January 16, 2015 by Mark Aldrich
The bitter angels of our nature are sometimes easier to hear. Sometimes, the words chosen and spoken by the "better angels of our nature," the peace-lovers among us, are heard by the bitter angels as bitter. That is insidious.
When President Lincoln delivered his first inaugural address, from which we get the phrase, "better angels of our nature," there was little he could have said or done that would have averted the Civil War; there was no guarantee the war was going to happen, but enough people were looking for the fight rather than looking for areas of agreement that the war was minutes instead of hours or months away. (Some states wanted to leave—and had already formed a new country—and the remaining states did not want them to leave but did not want them to stay in the Union with slavery as a part of their economy, so there were few areas of agreement.) Once an anti-slavery, pro-Union Republican (a new political party) was elected president, secession began, and war looked ever closer.
Lincoln dedicated his speech to explaining that secession was logically impossible, since a Union is a union, and promising that the federal government would not fire unless fired upon (which happened a couple weeks later, at Fort Sumter).
He concluded his address with an emotionally stirring paragraph, beginning with this plaintive sentence: "I am loath to close." He did not want to end the speech. It was almost like he believed that, the longer he talked, the longer the Union would remain. But he went ahead and finished with these famous words:
We are not enemies, but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords of memory, stretching from every battlefield and patriot grave to every living heart and hearthstone all over this broad land, will yet swell the chorus of the Union, when again touched, as surely they will be, by the better angels of our nature.
There was no response from the states that had seceded, official or otherwise, until the attack on Fort Sumter. That was their reply, and then the war was on. Those southern newspapers that deigned to report on the new president's first speech focused on his "threats" (their word) to preserve the Union and ignored or insulted the concluding sentences. Northern newspapers apparently highlighted the "better angels" passage.
(I have an acquaintance who believes himself to be a Southerner more than an American and refuses to allow pennies in his house, because "that man" is depicted on them. It would be comical, except for it not being funny at all.)
In her book, "Abraham Lincoln the Orator," a Binghamton University scholar named Lois Einhorn writes about the first inaugural address and the marked difference in reactions to it from North and South:
Selective listening, in effect, means that people hear what they expect and perhaps want to hear. All people listen selectively, hearing only part of any message. In the case of Lincoln's Inaugural, one could expect a great deal of selective listening because the situation was marked by a high degree of prejudice and because Lincoln had said little to counter these prejudiced views. Many of the editorials evaluating the Inaugural Address support the view that selective listening and selective perception help account for the divergent reactions to the speech. Northern and Southern editorials tended to quote different portions of the speech: Northern editorials usually quoted the speech's conciliatory peroration, while Southern editorials usually quoted Lincoln's forceful statements about how he would treat the South.
"Selective listening" is an enormous phrase. I saw it in all its power recently. A friend who was important to me started to express opinions that I found offensive; I struggled to find the words to express my discomfort—this friend was not attacking me personally, after all, so why complain? There must be some reason behind what I felt was ugliness coming from my friend, I thought. I wrote to him, explained that I was not going to attempt to change his opinion, that I did not need an explanation in return nor did I want a debate, but that I simply needed to express my discomfort and for that to be accepted so we could move on to happier conversations. Even if my friend simply expressed discomfort with my discomfort, I would have been fine. ("Agree to disagree," as they say.)
I hoped my better angels were present. The issue happened to be about social unfairness and race and recent events in the news, an issue I have written about before—in "Guilty of White" —and will again, and my friend responded with a photo of himself with people of color, as if such a thing could even be a response. (I restrained myself and did not write this: "Okay, fine. You have African-American friends. Have you shared with them what I have been reading from you? How well has that been going?") A joke that I will not reprint followed from my friend; it was at about the same level of emotional maturity as not allowing pennies in one's house. I have walked away from that friendship, grateful that I learned a lesson, but I am still not certain what that lesson was or is, because this is a friend who tended (tends) to find better angels in almost every circumstance. I was and am confused.
My friend read my expression of discomfort as an attack that needed to be rebuffed; it is sad. Was I selectively hearing his anger as hate? Was he selectively hearing me attacking him? Both at the same time?
There is a line I can not cross just so I can say that I am friends with all sorts of individuals, even intolerant people who insist on being tolerated.
The WordPress Daily Prompt for January 16 asks, "Do you have a good friend or close relative with whom you disagree on a major issue (political, personal, cultural)? What's the issue, and how do you make the relationship work?"
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Tapping into 'Echo Spring'
Every alcoholic has a collection of anecdotes that can be simultaneously heartbreaking, outrageous, and hilarious. Perhaps they are hilarious only to fellow alcoholics; perhaps they can not even be listened to by outsiders. For an outsider, most alcoholic anecdotes may as well conclude with the same punchline, an interchangeable rubber-stamped ending: "And then I got away with it again." Or, "I didn't die that time, either." And then comes the next hair-raising—or eyebrow-raising—tale.
There are two standard anecdotes, one usually about outrageous behavior, and another about the pit at the end of the road. Almost everyone who drinks has a few of the first sort of story.
"I thought things were going great and I was happy to be sober and proud to be in recovery, but I kept having these urges. I was in a good mood and I talked about the urges and people helped me understand. And now it's two weeks later and I don't remember these two weeks." That is the second kind of story; I heard it from someone today. The speaker had "picked up," which is recovery-speak for "drank." He "went out" is another phrase.
In her 2013 book, The Trip to Echo Spring, Olivia Laing quotes Andrew Turnbull's biography of F. Scott Fitzgerald (pictured above):
He describes Fitzgerald in his room at the Grove Park Inn making endless lists "of cavalry officers, athletes, cities, popular tunes. Later, he realized that he had been witnessing the disintegration of his own personality and likened the sensation to that of a man standing at twilight on a deserted range with an empty rifle in his hands and the targets down." The images are drawn from Fitzgerald's own account in "The Crack-up," but somehow have more impact here. (Laing, 84)
That is the second kind of story, too.
Towards the end of my drinking, but really, nowhere near the end, I remember extemporizing for several hours straight about NASCAR to a friend. Now, I am a racing fan so I have a fan's knowledge base, but I remember feeling like I had turned into an obsessed young boy who has discovered the backside of his baseball cards and wants to read off every single statistic out loud to everyone. And the moment came from nowhere. It was possibly a symptom of delirium tremens, but I recall feeling safe in settled facts and unsafe in the open field of conversation. The subject matter of the facts was chosen at random, by me, and could have been any other topic area, but I cleverly picked one that none of my friends shared enthusiasm for. There could be no conversation. For my friend, it must have felt like what Turnbull described about watching Fitzgerald as I rattled off lists of winners and possible routes to the championship for certain race teams. For hours. ("Cavalry officers, athletes, cities.") I also remember that I detected an intervention in my future and I figured that if I spoke continuously, no intervention could happen. Instead, I probably hastened one.
That is the second kind of story. My brain was firing blanks, a lot of them in rapid succession, as confidently as my brain had ever fired off substantive thoughts in graduate school classes or in front of classrooms, but blanks anyway. A line from a Robert Lowell poem, "Eye and Tooth," haunted me: "I am tired. Everyone's tired of my turmoil."
Laing's book mixes travel narrative, expository journalism, and literary biography in pursuit of a personal answer to a large question: "I wanted to know what made a person drink and what it did to them. More specifically, I wanted to know why writers drink, and what effect this stew of spirits has had upon the body of literature itself." She picks six male, American, Twentieth-century, writers—Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Tennessee Williams, John Berryman, John Cheever, and Raymond Carver—as her biographical subjects, even though she is young, British, female. These figures give her sufficient distance to look more closely at the subject; she alludes to being raised in a house "under the rule of alcohol." She adds, "There are some things that one can't address at home," and decides to travel to America.
What I wanted was to discover how each of these men—and along the way, some of the many others who have suffered from the disease—experienced and thought about their addiction. If anything, it was an expression of my faith in literature, and its power to map the more difficult regions of human experience and knowledge. (Laing, 12)
(The 'Echo Spring' of her title comes from Williams' "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," in which Brick, to get away from Big Daddy, excuses himself. Big Daddy asks, "Where you goin'?" and Brick replies, memorably, "I'm takin' a little short trip to Echo Spring." Echo Spring is his brand of bourbon and the nickname for the liquor cabinet holding it.)
It is the first kind of story, the outrageous anecdote, the prurient tale, that Laing says that she wants avoid, and she successfully does; the hair-raising bits are kept to a minimum, and, when seen, sketched very deftly, as on page 82: "Once, in the 1920s, he stripped to his underclothes in the audience of a play." That was Fitzgerald at his hijinks-loving "best." Fitzgerald's fellow famous Baltimoran appears in the next sentence, at his most pruriently judgmental. "According to Mencken, [Fitzgerald] shocked a Baltimore dinner party 'by arising at the dinner table and taking down his pantaloons, exposing his gospel pipe.'"
Laing finds and expresses the empathy that can be found in Fitzgerald's apparent fondness for drunkenly dropping trou, though, and writes about the mask that baldly revealing oneself can prove to be: "Undressing is an act of concealment sometimes. You can yank down your pants and show off your gospel pipe and still be a man in mortal terror of revealing who you are." An alcoholic will shock to prevent a embarrassing conversation about his drinking.
It is that mortal terror that animates much addiction and certainly contributed to the art these six writers created; to her credit, Laing's empathy is clear-eyed and clear-hearted and she does not look for redemption where there is none. That second kind of story is too heart-breaking, after all, and each of her six writers lived it. Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Berryman did not survive theirs.
The WordPress Daily Prompt for January 14 asks, "Open your nearest book to page 82. Take the third full sentence on the page, and work it into a post somehow." This was it: "Once, in the 1920s, he stripped to his underclothes in the audience of a play."
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text:
Crime,
Despite outbreak peak, drug gang violence continues in Mexico
Photo yucatan,com.mx
(AP) — Homicides in Mexico dropped only slightly in April despite widespread lockdowns and social distancing measures for the coronavirus outbreak, suggesting the pandemic has done little to stem drug gang violence.
Killings nationwide amounted to 3,020 in April, down from 3,078 in March. That was below the peak of 3,158 in July 2018, but it was above the average of about 2,900 killings that had occurred in recent months.
One bright spot is that mass looting events that authorities feared might happen during the pandemic have not materialized. After a half dozen such incidents reported between late March and mid-April, authorities haven't reported any in May.
With many stores, factories and other businesses closed and huge reductions in traffic and movement of people, some had thought killings might decline. But much of the violence appears linked to dispute between rival drug gangs.
The state of Guanajuato, where the Jalisco and Santa Rosa de Lima cartels are fighting for control, once again led in total homicides, with over 1,500 registered so far this year.
"We have been able to maintain a line of contention and haven't allowed homicides to continue rising, as they had been doing," said Public Safety Secretary Alfonso Durazo.
It appears disruptions in drug markets and other illegal activities may have forced gangs to branch out into new areas, like robbing trucks loaded with food.
Last month, President Andrés Manuel López Obrador blamed killings on drug cartels "who continue to fight over turf and drug trafficking routes; they are fighting each other constantly."
The Yucatan Times
cartel violenceCrimedrug gangsinsecurityMexico


text:
Q: Returning a pointer to an array of structures from a function that reads in from a file to populate the structure in each element of the array /*
This code results in "signal: segmentation fault (core dumped)"
The code requires that an array of structures be initialized with the returned pointer to an array of type Car from the readCarList() function
**/

#include <iostream>
#include <fstream>
#include <iomanip>

using namespace std;

enum  vehicleColor { blue, red, orange, silver, black, green };

struct Car
{
  string brand, model;
  int mileage, year;
  vehicleColor color; // enum type variable
};

// function declaration
Car *readCarList(string file, int numCars);

int main()
{
  int numCars = 10;

  string fileName = "cars.txt";

  //cout << "Enter a filename:"
  cout <<"  //calling the function....  " << endl;

  //Use readCarList function to initalize dynamic array of structures
  Car * vehicle = readCarList(fileName, numCars);

  printCarList(vehicle, numCars); // Call print car list(structArray, 10)

  delete vehicle; // Delete memory to avoid leak
}

Car *readCarList(string fileName, int numCars)
{
  cout << "Inside of readCarList function";
  int count = 0;
  string car_color_temp[6];

  //open file for reading
  ifstream inputFile;
  inputFile.open(fileName);

  Car * totalCars; // Pointer to Car variable
  totalCars = new Car[numCars];//Allocate space for 10 elements

   // Read in data from file into each
  for (int a = 0; a < numCars; a++)
  {
    inputFile >> totalCars[a].brand;
    inputFile >> totalCars[a].model;
    inputFile >> totalCars[a].mileage;
    inputFile >> car_color_temp[a]; //String array for holding color
    inputFile >> totalCars[a].year;

    //Convert value read into string array, into structarray[a].color (ENUM data type)
    if (car_color_temp[a] == "blue")
      totalCars[a].color = blue;
    else if (car_color_temp[a] == "red")
      totalCars[a].color = red;
    else if (car_color_temp[a] == "orange")
      totalCars[a].color = orange;
    else if (car_color_temp[a] == "silver")
      totalCars[a].color = silver;
    else if (car_color_temp[a] == "black")
      totalCars[a].color = black;
    else if (car_color_temp[a] == "green")
      totalCars[a].color = green;
  }
  return totalCars;
}

The file is organized one piece of information per line, so each of every 5 lines has the make, model, mileage, color (enum variable) and year, e.g.:
Ford
F-150
200456
blue
2014

I have read through all course content, this program should result in this output:

I don't need this problem to be solved for me. I need to learn what I am doing incorrectly. If someone could help me, that'd be great.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Q: Learn Python The Hard Way ex32 I'm using "Learn Python The Hard Way" to learn programming. I had some problems in the thirty-second chapter.
This is the content from the book:
the_count = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
fruits = ['apples', 'oranges', 'pears', 'apricots']
change = [1, 'pennies', 2, 'dimes', 3, 'quarters']

# this first kind of for-loop goes through a list
for number in the_count:
    print "This is count %d" % number

# same as above
for fruit in fruits:
    print "A fruit of type: %s" % fruit

# also we can go through mixed lists too
# notice we have to use %r since we don't know what's in it
for i in change:
    print "I got %r" % i

# we can also build lists, first start with an empty one
elements = []

# then use the range function to do 0 to 5 counts
for i in range(0, 6):
    print "Adding %d to the list." % i
    # append is a function that lists understand
    elements.append(i)

# now we can print them out too
for i in elements:
    print "Element was: %d" % i

This is the result  from the book:
$ python ex32.py
This is count 1
This is count 2
This is count 3
This is count 4
This is count 5
A fruit of type: apples
A fruit of type: oranges
A fruit of type: pears
A fruit of type: apricots
I got 1
I got 'pennies'
I got 2
I got 'dimes'
I got 3
I got 'quarters'
Adding 0 to the list.
Adding 1 to the list.
Adding 2 to the list.
Adding 3 to the list.
Adding 4 to the list.
Adding 5 to the list.
Element was: 0
Element was: 1
Element was: 2
Element was: 3
Element was: 4
Element was: 5

This is what I have input :
the_count = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
fruits = ['apples', 'oranges', 'pears', 'apricots']
change = [1, 'pennies', 2, 'dimes', 3, 'quarters']

# this first kind of for-loop goes through a list
for number in the_count:
    print "This is the_count %d" % number

# same as above
for fruit in fruits:
    print "A fruit of type: %s" % fruit

# also we can go through mixed lists too
# notice we have to use %r since we don't know what's in it
for i in change:
    print "I got %r" % i

# we can also build lists, first start with an empty one
elements = []

# then use the range function to do 0 to 5 counts
for i in range(0,6):
    print "Adding %d to the list." % i
    # append is a function that lists understand
    elements.append(i)

# now we can print them out too
    for i in elements:
        print "Element was: %d" % i

This is the result I have got:
PS C:\Users\Administrator\exercise> python ex32
This is the_count 1
This is the_count 2
This is the_count 3
This is the_count 4
This is the_count 5
A fruit of type: apples
A fruit of type: oranges
A fruit of type: pears
A fruit of type: apricots
I got 1
I got 'pennies'
I got 2
I got 'dimes'
I got 3
I got 'quarters'
Adding 0 to the list.
Element was: 0
Adding 1 to the list.
Element was: 0
Element was: 1
Adding 2 to the list.
Element was: 0
Element was: 1
Element was: 2
Adding 3 to the list.
Element was: 0
Element was: 1
Element was: 2
Element was: 3
Adding 4 to the list.
Element was: 0
Element was: 1
Element was: 2
Element was: 3
Element was: 4
Adding 5 to the list.
Element was: 0
Element was: 1
Element was: 2
Element was: 3
Element was: 4
Element was: 5

I have made a repeated comparison and tried to find what the problem is.

A: Indenting (:
change
# now we can print them out too
    for i in elements:
        print "Element was: %d" % i

to
# now we can print them out too
for i in elements:
    print "Element was: %d" % i

Because your current code runs that in the last loop block. Remember that Python uses indenting to determine block scope. Whilst it can be a little bit of a mind-bender, it also leads to clean, similar styling between coders, which has its benefits.


Home >> Blogs >> New Canaan is now available!
New Canaan is now available!
Get it today (April 2nd, 2017) for just $0.99!
The colonists of the ISS Intrepid have nearly reached the end of their long journey. The system of New Canaan is within their grasp. Holding on to it, on the other hand, will take even more effort than they imagined.
"Just once I'd like to fly into a system where everyone doesn't want to kill us."


text:
Vol. 10(11), pp. 2-7 The McAllen International Orchid Society Journal November 2009
A Weekend in Monterrey, Mexico
Fig. 1. Biologist Salvador Contreras A., Wilma Ferry, Trudy Hager. Downtown area of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. Digital photo DSC_3166; Sat-26Sept09.
Backtracking a few weeks, your editor, well guarded by his wife and neighbor lady Trudy, took a brief trip to Monterrey, Mexico via Noreast Autobus. We boarded the bus in McAllen, crossed the Río, did some minor paperwork, and transferred to another bus parked next to us, and were off to down town Monterrey by late afternoon. Saturday morning saw us (guided by Biol. Salvador Contreras Artiaga) first at a downtown location in Monterrey (Fig. 1) where we dropped off several journal issues to be hard-back bound, following which we drove southward toward the Horsetail Falls area.
Fig. 2. South of Monterrey, Mexico; ascending the road to Laguna Sanchez; Wilma, Biologist Salvador, & Trudy at one of several lookout sites; looking back toward the way traveled. Digital photo DSC_3173; Sat-26Sept09.
Passing the Horsetail Falls, we continued up the mountain road, over the crest, and down into the valley toward Laguna Sanchez. Considering the mountain range the road's carved into and over, the highway is good and along the way one is obliged to stop for some truly magnificent scenery (Fig. 2)!
To look out over the way one has just driven, is more than just "impressive" when one sees a waterfall nearly a thousand feet below, and realizes the water is falling another thousand feet. This is the area your editor has traversed many a time with young Salvador's father, the late Dr. Salvador Contreras Balderas, while doing field research on your editor's doctoral thesis some eleven to fifteen years ago! To traverse the same beautiful route once again, with that mentor absent, brought ever-present feelings of great sadness to this individual. More will be written about him at another time, but for now we will try to concentrate on the scenery and the orchid plants seen.
Fig. 3. Plant of Schiedeella sp. (center) among wild begonias. South side of road, past the crest, and descending to Laguna Sanchez. Digital photo DSC_3177; Sat-26Sept09.
Fig. 4. Malaxis unifolia. Sepals, petals, & labellum green, rachis erect; roadside; descending to Laguna Sanchez. Digital photo DSC_3222; Sat-26Sept09.
Along the way, at various points, Biologist Salvador pointed out [at a over 1,300 m (4,000 feet+)] plants of Dieregyne, Govenia (both G. utriculata and G. superba, although they were not in flower at this time), Malaxis, Ponthevia, and Schiedeella (Fig. 3); all terrestrial orchid species native to the state of Nuevo León, Mexico. A short distance past the crest and continuing down the western side of the range two more species were encountered. One was a short form of M. unifolia, (Fig. 4) with its green-flowered inflorescence arranged in the easily-seen spiral pattern of the fibonacci sequence. This plant measured all of 10.6 cm high.
Fig. 5. Malaxis species. Sepals, petals, & labellum green-white, rachis erect. Roadside, descending Sierra road to Laguna Sanchez. Digital photo DSC_3217; Sat-26Sept09.
The other plant was also a Malaxis species (Fig. 5), of 11-12 cm height with its inflorescence held erect.
Fig. 6. Malaxis species, possibly albescens form of M. wendtii. Sepals, petals, & labellum white, rachis erect. Roadside, descending Sierra road to Laguna Sanchez. Digital photo DSC_3224; Sat-26Sept09.
A little later, another Malaxis species was encountered, not greatly distant from the others. This one may be an albescens form of Malaxis wendtii (Fig. 6).
The eastern slope of the Sierra Madre Orientál is generally devoid of orchid plants; most (the terrestrials in particular) are past the crest, on the western side. The reason is obvious. With the air circulation pattern generally from west to east, as the air is forced upward on the western side, it loses its moisture (adiabatically), with the result that the terrestrial species are afforded both the terrestrial moisture and the atmospheric humidity as well as a higher level of ultraviolet light due to the altitude.
The daytime temperatures during this excursion were quit comfortable, although your editor was soon reminded of the altitude! Any degree of exertion brought on panting and puffing as one sought to pack oxygen into aged lungs!
Fig. 7. Antigone leptopus (Corona San Diego; Queen's tears), on roadside rocky slope. Digital photo DSC_3197.jpg; Sat-26Sept09.
Fig. 8. Youths Trudy and Wilma cross the aqueduct and start up. Digital photo DSC_3200; Sat-26Sept09.
Not all of the group spent all of their time searching for orchid plants. For some obscure reason the ladies decided to do a little mountain climbing. The slope they chose may more easily be visualized by comparing a typical area of the roadside (Fig. 7) with the slope of loose rocks the ladies finally elected to climb (Fig. 8), or rather clamber up while attempting to retain both their balance and footing. Your editor watched apprehensively as they made their way up the slope with frequent admonitions to watch their step, go no higher, and other such advice common to the elderly observing the foolishness of youth.
Fig. 9. Biol. Salvador Contreras A. assists Wilma Ferry, with Trudy Hager offering words of advice. Mountain area south of Monterrey, Nuevo León, México. Digital photo DSC_3208; Sat-26Sept09.
They finally called a halt to their climb, rested, and then came back down; sometimes picking and choosing steps cautiously; at other times electing to sit down and slide part of the way. While it may be tempting to include another figure or two that more graphically illustrates their excursion up and down that mountain slope, discretion dictates it is probably better to include the one of young Biologist Salvador assisting during the descent (Fig. 9).
As one writer put it, all's well that ends well, and the excursion was made with no injuries other than (for a short time) a slightly elevated heart rate for your editor.
Fig. 10. The panoramic scene at the Laguna Sanchez. Digital photo DSC_3209.jpg; Sat-26Sept09.
The group continued (driving) on down the western slope from the crest and into the valley where there was a stop for lunch at Fito's roadside restaurant. Continuing on through the valley's farming and ranching area, with mountain peaks on both sides, the group at last came to the Laguna Sanchez area. and was treated to a truly spectacular view (Fig. 10)! The view was seemed almost too picturesque to be real. It was as though one was looking at massive picture-postcard scene rather than out on an actual scene!
Fig. 11. Dichromanthus cinnabarinus. Cliff overlooking road at Laguna Sanchez. Digital photo DSC_3212; Sat-26Sept09.
Perhaps it would be just as well to end this article with the scene above, but as the group drove a short distance back from the above scene, another orchid was spotted growing at the edge of a cliff just above the highway after one had made the hairpin turn down hill. It was past flowering but was holding a well-formed seed capsule. In the distance one can see the road below. It's a vertical drop from the plant to the road. The plant figured (Fig. 11) is Dichromanthus cinnabarinus. Others have been spotted in the general area, but this was the only one readily available provided one was not averse to lying down and leaning over the edge of the cliff to photograph it. For any died-in-the-wool orchid hunter, however, this was just another hurdle to be surmounted!
Fig. 12. Malaxis brachystachys. Digital photo DSC_3227; Sat-26Sept09.
Along the way back was a larger Malaxis; M. brachystachys (Fig. 12), this one was a full 17 cm height. In the same area, although not in flower at this season, were plants of both Govenia utriculata and G. superba, both well-remembered by your editor from research excursions several years ago.
Fig. 13. Returning, but stopping for a look back at the Laguna Sanchez Valley. Digital photo DSC_3210.jpg; Sat-26Sept09.
Reaching the western side of the crest of the Sierra, the group stopped for one more look at the valley from which we had just ascended. The country is rugged, and there are still vast unexplored areas remain in the mountain range visible in the distance. There was once talk of securing horses and equipment and packing back, but for now we merely paused to reflect once again at the scenery (Fig. 13).