text:
19 - Unexpectedly, it became the truth
Mar 14, 2021 15 min read
Luo Tang went back to his own exam room, sat down and put the set square aside, next to his actual set square.
He just went to see how she went, Wei Ruxia's math test wasn't bad. He had deliberately skipped several of the longer math problems because he wanted to calculate his points.
The two-day long monthly exams soon ended and the classrooms were full of joy and sorrow. Hu Junsong didn't care at all since he always scored poorly. Hu Yinyin's performance often went up and down, so she had resorted to worshiping the gods.
Ke Wenzhen, who had been invigilating the exams and distributing test papers to the exam rooms the past two days, came into the classroom.
The room was very noisy. Everyone was discussing the English exam. Ke Wenzhen listened to the reading comprehension question they were discussing and asked with a smile, "You all chose A? For this question, it should've been C."
The class who chose A suddenly sighed.
Knocking on the table, Ke Wenzhen reigned in the class and asked, "How did you do in the exams?"
"Ahhhh, don't ask." Wu Jiajia was the class's English rep and had the best relationship with Ke Wenzhen. When Ke Wenzhen asked, she frowned and let out a sweet voice.
This sixteen or seventeen-year-old young girl was too talented at playing tsundere. The more she acted like she didn't do well in the exam, the better she did in the exam.
Ke Wenzhen looked at the frowning faces of her class and she guessed an average in her heart. She smiled and said, "Okay, we don't want to talk about the exams. I've just received the notice from the school that the school sports meet will be held next Wednesday. Everyone please enthusiastically sign up. Huang Xingqun, you can keep track of the numbers."
Huang Xingqun was one of the members of the student committee. Hearing the arrangement, he nodded and said, "Got it."
The first monthly exam was two weeks before the school sports meet, as was tradition at Ancheng No. 1 High School. As soon as the announcement was made, the originally quiet classroom blew up again.
"Woo, the sports meet is finally here, but I've only been playing the past two days!"
"Didn't you take the long jump last year? Will you do it again this year?"
"I don't want to participate, there are only some prizes, and we have to spend all our time preparing. I'd rather just go to school and hang out afterwards."
The school's sports meet was a track and field event that was held over three days. They only needed to gather for the opening on the morning of the first day and the afternoon of the third day. The rest of the time, students were free to go between then events.
Listening to the enthusiastic discussion of her classmates, Wei Ruxia remembered the time when she was back up north. Her school's study arrangements were very tight, there weren't any sports meets, they were only for the junior high schools.
At the time, everyone liked participating in the sports meet and her classmates often cheered loudly. Part of the reason was that they could earn credit and prizes for participating.
The monthly test results were posted up before their PE class the following week. Their math class had just ended and Liu Naiwen hadn't left. After a glance at their results, he turned back and said, "It would be great if you guys would get these scores on the math tests."
With an average score of more than 100 points, they should basically be able to score more than 100 points on the tests. After Liu Naiwen finished speaking, the class burst into laughter and jumped over to see the results.
Whether or not Hu Yinyin's results were good would affect how much pocket money she'd be getting, so when she saw someone moving to check their results, she dragged Wei Ruxia in.
They were sitting at the back of the class and when they got to the board there was already a circle of people crowding it. Hu Yinyin was short and couldn't see, so she asked Wei Ruxia, "Can you see? What did I get?"
Wei Ruxia's height was just enough to see the results. She was aware of her level, so she looked at it from the bottom moving up. She saw Han Junsong first, then Hu Yinyin, and finally her own name at the twenty-fifth place. Wei Ruxia was about to scan from top to bottom to look for Luo Tang, but when she looked up, she saw that Luo Tang was right above her.
Luo Tang had placed twenty-fourth in the exam, which was nine places lower than his initial scores.
"You're 30th." Wei Ruxia came out of the crowd and said to Hu Yinyin.
Hu Yinyin's performance remained stable, and she thanked the gods she hadn't dropped.
Wei Ruxia went back to sit down, and said to Luo Tang, who was still reading his comics, "You took the 24th place in the exam this time."
Luo Tang didn't seem to care at all about his grades. He turned a page of the book, his long eyelashes shifting lightly, and he responded, "Hm."
"Is it because I often got you to help me that you didn't have as much time to study?" Hu Yinyin said that he has very stable grades, was good at all sciences, and would definitely be ranked higher after the small subjects were added.
Luo Tang hadn't been out for a fight recently, and he would put away his comic books during class to listen to a class or two. He shouldn't have ranked so badly in the exam.
When Wei Ruxia asked, Luo Tang raised his eyes and looked at her. The teenager's face had deep contours and fair skin and Wei Ruxia was close enough to see the small hairs on his face.
"I forgot to bring a set square when I took the math test." Luo Tang said.
With that said, Wei Ruxia remembered what had happened during the exam. She thought about it, Luo Tang seemed to have a only lost points on math this time and only scored just over ninety points in the exam.
There were two long questions that required a set square, if she added those marks together, that would account for his lower than usual score.
Wei Ruxia felt it was a pity, she said to Luo Tang, "I'll remind you to bring a set square to the next exam. Since you lost points on the exam this time, you're next to me. Our midterm exams might be in the same exam room."
She had thought it was a joke before the exam, but now it seemed to have come true.
Luo Tang looked at her regretful expression, his eyes moved slightly, then he retracted his gaze, and went back to reading comics.
Everyone looked at the results. Huang Xingqun clapped her hands, gathered everyone and said, "It's time for PE class, let's go outside, everyone hurry up and gather downstairs."
In the end, it was impossible to get self-conscious teenagers to sign up for sports events.
As soon as the PE class began, Huang Xingqun explained the situation to the teacher. After getting the teacher's consent, she stood in front of the class and said to everyone, "There are still many events that have not been filled, and everyone seems to think that they aren't athletic. To make things fair, let's have an internal competition today and choose those with the best results to participate in the sports meet."
Huang Xingqun was a girl who spoke quickly and had a bad temper. She was a little hot chili pepper.
"Urgh, isn't that too much." Someone in the class said.
Huang Xingqun frowned and said with displeasure, "Don't you have a sense of class pride?"
"Can class pride help me get to the lunch line early?" Someone else said.
Huang Xingqun got angry and shouted, "Chen Yisheng!"
This Chen Yisheng was the old fried dough stick of the class, he was different from Han Junsong and others, he studied well, but he didn't like to participate in any activities outside of study.
"Don't you care about our prime minister?" Huang Xingqun complained our Wang Anshi.
Wang Anshi, who was standing at the back of the class was named. He uttered an 'uh' then said to everyone, "If everyone is enthusiastic about signing up, you don't need to be selected."
Chen Yisheng sneered and asked, "Then the class reps should take the lead and fill up those events that no one else wants to do."
"Chen Yisheng!" Huang Xingqun shouted again.
Wang Anshi felt that as the class rep, he really ought to take the lead. He pushed up his glasses and asked Huang Xingqun,"What events are people least willing to participate in?"
As a leader, Wang Anshi's personality was really too soft. When Huang Xingqun heard Wang Anshi's question, she was all out of anger and said, "Shot put."
Wang Anshi, "..."
Everyone laughed.
Although there was a lot of dissatisfaction, everyone finally cooperated in the selection for the events. They started with the women's events, the first was sprinting.
As soon as the class dispersed, Han Junsong walked over to Luo Tang, he was wearing a basketball uniform, and they had made plans to go to the gymnasium to play basketball.
"Luo'ge, let's go."
Luo Tang didn't move, his gaze stayed on Wei Ruxia in the middle of the track.
Hu Yinyin was next to Wei Ruxia on the track and she had her brow wrinkled with a frown on her face.
"Running is really killing me, I wanted to queue up to buy barbecue bibimbap."
Wei Ruxia was happy.
Huang Xingqun yelled 'on your marks' and everyone squatted to make preparations. As soon as the word 'go' was called out, Wei Ruxia dashed out with large strides.
When she started running, Wei Ruxia didn't put in too much effort. After the sprint, she looked back and found that everyone was behind her, Hu Yinyin next to her.
The results came out very quickly. Huang Xingqun ran up to Wei Ruxia, like she'd found a good seedling for the national team. She said to Wei Ruxia with a smile on her face, "Wei Ruxia, you can participate in the 100 metres, 400 metres and 4x200 metres relay."
After just running a hundred metres, Wei Ruxia's breathing was still even while Hu Yinyin was out of breath next to her. She hugged Wei Ruxia and said, "So much running!"
Huang Xingqun glanced at Hu Yinyin and said, "You can participate too, none if the other girls in the class were as fast as you."
"Wah." Hu Yinyin reacted, pointing to the tired and out of breath girls next to her and said, "You guys ran slowly on purpose!"
Wu Jiajia looked a little low on blood sugar. She leaned on the girl next to her and said, "You have long legs. One step for you is two steps for us."
Wei Ruxia didn't mind Huang Xingqun's arrangements, she thought it would be nice to be able to participate in the sports event. After she'd joined the class, she hadn't interacted with many of her classmates, and participating in the sports meet could bring her closer to her classmates.
"Okay." Wei Ruxia agreed.
Han Junsong also watched the whole race between the girls. Just now, when Wei Ruxia ran with her two long legs, she really looked like she took only one step for their two.
"Long Legs is pretty good." Han Junsong said with emotion.
Luo Tang glanced at him and Han Junsong fell silent immediately. Luo Tang straightened up and walked out of the track field with his schoolbag on his back. As he walked, he said, "Let's go."
Putting on the jersey from his schoolbag, Luo Tang came out of the locker room. Han Junsong and the others were already warming up on the court.
Class 25 and Class 24 all had PE class together. After slipping out, they would meet in the gymnasium.
Today not only were there the two classes, but the school basketball team was also training. The Senior High School Basketball League was going to be held in mid-November, and they were stepping up their practice.
"Luo'ge!" Han Junsong threw the basketball in his hand, Luo Tang reached out to catch it, and after bouncing it twice, he flicked his wrist and threw the basketball towards the hoop.
He was standing outside the three-point line, and the basketball flew in an arc and reached the backboard very calmly. Finally, with a 'clunk', the basketball fell into the basket.
"Wow!" Han Junsong was stunned. He watched the three-pointer then turned back to Luo Tang and said, "You're getting more and more disgusting."
Luo Tang didn't care, he straightened up and walked to the rebounded ball to start the game.
With Luo Tang there, Class 24 scored horribly. When Luo Tang made the last goal of the game Class 24 had no fighting spirit left.
When they were about to end the game, they suddenly heard a 'puff' falling to the ground from the other side of the court, and everyone looked over.
"Ah!" A boy screamed.
The basketball team who were just being coached by Wang Ye rushed into the crowd. The player in the centre was holding his leg, his face was pale, and his sweat was cold.
"Get out of the way!" Wang Ye gave the team members orders and shouted, "What are you doing in a daze, send him to the infirmary!"
There was chaos on the basketball court, and Luo Tang watched the whole process.
Han Junsong watched the player being carried away, and said sharply, "It's Lai Qing, the basketball team's vice-captain, right? Fuck, it looks like he's hurt badly."
Someone from Class 24 added, "He definitely won't be able to participate in the basketball league. I will finish reading the results of our school this year."
The reason why the Ancheng No. 1 High's basketball team was invincible was inseparable from the synergy between the basketball captain Li Haoshu and the vice-captain Lai Qing. The team would be paralyzed if one of their arms were broken.
"Mr. Wang is worried again." Han Junsong said.
After returning home from school that day, Wei Ruxia told her grandmother about her results and that she would be running at the sports meet. Hearing that her grades have improved, Li Suhe was very happy and encouraged, "That's wonderful, I think you've been working hard, you'll definitely be able to catch up later. The standard of the students at No. 1 High School is very good, if you can be ranked in the mid-range, it shows that you are well within that standard."
Li Suhe used to be a teacher and after hearing what she said, Wei Ruxia gradually gained some confidence in her heart. She had no long-term plans for the future, but she definitely wanted to go to college. As for where she would go, what kind of university she would go to, that would all be determined by her high school grades.
"Yeah." Wei Ruxia replied and asked Li Suhe, "How are you doing these days?"
Hearing her granddaughter's concern, Li Suhe felt sweet in her heart again. She smiled and said, "I'm okay. Today I took some Chinese medicine from Dr. Jiang. It's just a matter of conditioning. Don't worry about grandma."
When Li Suhe said that, Wei Ruxia felt relieved. She did cough badly during the National Day holidays, but during the whole call she didn't even hear her cough once.
By the end of October the days were getting shorter and shorter and the time passed faster and faster, the sports meet soon began.
Of Wei Ruxia's sprinting events, the 100 metres was on the morning of the first day, the 200 metres on the morning of the second day, and the 4x200 metre relay was on the morning of the third day.
Her events were relatively scattered and she was in a very good state during the competitions, taking the top three in the 100m and 200m. Huang Xingqun almost regarded her as a female warrior, massaging her shoulders and legs.
As a competitor who was also going to run the 4x200-metre relay, Hu Yinyin moved her leg next to Huang Xingqun and said, "Sports Rep, my legs are also sore."
Huang Xingqun knocked her leg aside and said in disgust, "Get up, you didn't even rank, you should be ashamed to ask."
"Then we won't even enter the finals." Hu Yinyin said dissatisfied.
Wei Ruxia smiled and retracted her legs, and said with a smile, "My legs are fine."
As soon as she pulled back her foot, Hu Yinyin stretched out her leg with a smile, and Huang Xingqun massaged her in disgust.
It was about time to prepare for the race. Some athletes had already entered the middle of the track and Wei Ruxia saw a girl with a high ponytail in the crowd.
"Chen Yanming, she's a sprinter." Huang Xingqun massaged Hu Yinyin's legs and analyzed the situation. "They've all been training for the relay races, we definitely can't outrun them. For this event if our class can get fourth place it'll do."
"Could you please have higher expectations of us?" Said another girl who was running in the relay race.
Huang Xingqun snorted and said, "If it weren't for Wei Ruxia, my only hope for you is just not to take the last place."
Wei Ruxia knew Chen Yanming, they'd met twice before the sports meet, and every day of the meet. She was a sprinter and the women's 100m champion was her.
While she looked at the tight muscles on Chen Yanming's thighs, Chen Yanming also looked over to their side, and then sneered and turned her gaze back.
She seemed to be Li Yawen's best friend.
When Han Junsong followed Luo Tang to the track, the women's relay race was about to begin. The two arrived at the place where their class was,Wang Anshi was already there sitting and watching. He still had a large number hanging on his chest. He didn't participate in the shot put competition in the end but the long jump.
"Is Fatty running first?" Han Junsong took two bottles of mineral water from behind the class rep and threw a bottle to Luo Tang as he asked.
Wang Anshi nodded and said, "Yeah, Hu Yinyin is first, and Wei Ruxia is last."
While he was talking, the gunfire sounded and the runners started sprinting, the whole field was filled with cheering from their classmates.
In the golden autumn of October, the young boys and girls on the track raised their immature faces, their clear eyes were full of encouragement and expectation. Their shouting was inspiring.
When Wang Ye found Luo Tang, he was watching the race on the track. He walked to the boy, who had just finished playing basketball and hadn't even taken off his wristband. His slender fingers held a bottle of mineral water, his bones distinct and beautiful, they were a good pair of basketball hands.
It was Han Junsong who noticed Wang Ye first. When he saw him, he was puzzled and said, "Hey, does Coach Wang like to watch track and field, too?"
Luo Tang turned around and found Wang Ye was watching him.
Wang Ye was a basketball coach, he used to play basketball and was 1.85 metres tall. Although he was middle-aged, his figure was still very good, and although he looked quite mellow, he was fierce on the basketball court. Han Junsong often heard him shout when he played. But getting angry wasn't his main skill, it was the basketball team that he coached that was really amazing.
Wang Ye was actually there to find Luo Tang. He smiled at Luo Tang and said, "I'm here to find you."
"What's up?" He was focused on the track, and there was only one more pass before Wei Ruxia's run. In the 200-metre race, the students in the art class were about to overtake the students from the ordinary class.
Luo Tang was 1.8 meters tall, had slender and well-proportioned limbs, tight muscles and strong skills. In the three days of the sports meet, he'd played basketball everyday in the gym, and Wang Ye had observed him for three days.
"The basketball team's vice-captain Lai Qing is injured, and the center guard position is now empty. The skill of his alternate is also too poor." Wang Ye started and then asked Luo Tang, "Do you have any interest in filling the role?"
Wang Ye rarely talked to his players in such a calm manner. When he thought he was being particularly amiable, instead of answering him, the teenager in front of him ran away.
"Hey." Wang Ye yelled, and his gaze followed the young man as he sprinted away and looked over.
In the relay race it was arranged for Class 25 to run the second track which was considered the outermost track, and the third track was for students from the art class. The art students originally had a long lead on them, but at the third baten pass, it seemed they deliberately narrowed the distance. At the fourth baton, Wei Ruxia and Chen Yanming took the baton together.
In the relay race, each person only needed to run 100 metres, changing at each corner. Wei Ruxia and Chen Yanming were neck and neck, and at the turn, Chen Yanming swung out with her backhand and baton was about to hit Wei Ruxia. Wei Ruxia dodged subconsciously and stopped suddenly, but the sudden change in momentum caused Wei Ruxia to lose her balance and fall.
The sound of her own heartbeat pierced her eardrums, and the air that was knocked out of her felt like a knife, cutting her throat as she breathed. Wei Ruxia looked at Chen Yanming, who was running ahead to the finish line. When she gritted her teeth to stand up, her arm was suddenly pulled up and Wei Ruxia smelled the scent of mint.
Luo Tang frowned slightly, staring at the bruise on Wei Ruxia's ankle as he held her.
"It's okay, let me finish running." Wei Ruxia took the baton and started to run.
Before she could take a step however, the back of her collar was pulled.
"Why are you running?" Luo Tang pulled Wei Ruxia into his arms with a slight amount of force, and then lifted her up horizontally. His expression was tense, and his perfect face in the sun resembled a painting drawn by the artist himself.
"I'll take you to the infirmary." Luo Tang.
Tangtang: Showing affection in front of the teachers and students of the school.
Wei Ruxia: I'm not in love with you yet.
Tangtang: Eep~
Recommend the urban romance 高不可攀 by 基友寻香踪, the story of a female scientist and an entertainment actor, interested friends should collect it.
I liiiiive!!! Sorry about the wait, I know how much it sucks waiting! I'll try my best to get back to daily updates, but I currently have no internet at new apartment QAQ. Also, I'm going to try to update the site tomorrow (2021.03.14), so if it goes down for a bit that's why.
The recommended above is from the author, I haven't read it but I left the Chinese there if anyone wanted to Google it. I might check it out after I finish this one.
01 - Dog boy 02 - I like long legs 03 - We aren't close 04 - Treat you to a sweet 05 - Isn't there still me? 06 - Fight after we talk 07 - I can do it now 08 - I can lie for you 09 - ..........what? 10 - Don't call me 11 - Thank you 12 - Do you want to do it? 13 - No need to delete, I'll do it 14 - I'm involved now 15 - You didn't tell me either 16 - He doesn't want to go back 17 - They will grow up together 18 - I really want you to come back 20 - I'm not happy to see anyone 21 - Wherever the infinite flowers are is home 22 - She has me, that's enough 23 - You still have me 24 - You can always see me 25 - Because you're sweet 26 - I hope I can be that person 27 - Only if you're happy or not 28 - I cannot leave you 29 - A'Mang, I'll protect you 30 - Are you willing to come back with me? 31 - What belongs to you, I won't give away 32 - I'll take you home 33 - I like you 34 - I'm your boyfriend 35 - Only have you 36 - I'll leave after this photoshoot 37 - You still know how to come back 38 - Drop you off on the way 39 - Next month, I want to see you 40 - Can't I? 41 - She heard a man's low and hoarse voice 42 - I think of you 43 - Is my thigh not enough for you to hold? 44 - The thing I'm best at is waiting for you 45 - Their hearts can't wait, their bodies can't wait 46 - I don't want to miss you again 47 - Sure enough, it's the general demeanor 48 - We've been together since high school, almost 10 years 49 - Have you always been together? 50 - She loved him more deeply


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Home America President Trump Affirms His "Stable Genius" Status
President Trump Affirms His "Stable Genius" Status
Gabrielle Seunagal
Earlier today, President Trump responded to critics who have questioned his mental health and stability, as noted by The Hill.
President Trump, the Stable Genius
For quite some time, the President's detractors have alleged that he is mentally unfit for office, incompetent, and worse. These condemnations are in spite of the booming economy, rising stock market, and tax cuts which have engendered pay raises for countless American workers.
However, President Trump took to Twitter this morning to defend his intelligence, stability, and accomplishments:
Now that Russian collusion, after one year of intense study, has proven to be a total hoax on the American public, the Democrats and their lapdogs, the Fake News Mainstream Media, are taking out the old Ronald Reagan playbook and screaming mental stability and intelligence…..
….Actually, throughout my life, my two greatest assets have been mental stability and being, like, really smart. Crooked Hillary Clinton also played these cards very hard and, as everyone knows, went down in flames. I went from VERY successful businessman, to top T.V. Star…..
….to President of the United States (on my first try). I think that would qualify as not smart, but genius….and a very stable genius at that!
On Thursday, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders also slammed assertions of the President's lack of mental wellness:
"It's disgraceful and laughable. If he was unfit, he probably wouldn't be sitting there, wouldn't have defeated the most qualified group of candidates the Republican Party has ever seen."
President Trump's adversaries continue to cite his tweets as evidence of his supposed lack of mental fitness. Many mainstream media publications have also jumped on this bandwagon and are no longer attempting to remain neutral. Earlier today, the New York Times slammed President Trump as "self-absorbed," "impulsive," and "lacking empathy." The aforesaid accusations and others like them have greatly contributed to what is now known as "fake news." Many conservatives and Trump supporters furthermore routinely criticize outlets like the New York Times for bias and refusal to report equitably.
What Do Americans Think of the "Stable Genius" Tweets?
The President's "stable genius" tweets are currently being analyzed and discussed by the country. "#StableGenius" is trending on Twitter and nearly every media outlet is covering the tweets.
As America continues to offer their take on President Trump's tweets, reporters have also asked the President to divulge into further details. He gave the following remarks earlier today during a press conference at Camp David:
"I had a situation where I was a very excellent student, came out, made billions and billions of dollars, became one of the top business people, went to television and for 10 years was a tremendous success, which you've probably heard."
The President then affirmed that Michael Wolff, author of the controversial "Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House" did not interview him, as Wolff previously claimed:
"I ran for President one time and won, and then I hear this guy that does not know me, does not know me at all. By the way, did not interview me for three hours, it didn't exist, OK? It's in his imagination."
President Trump's supporters have moreover taken to Twitter to defend him against critics:
President Trump's critics seem to think they can say whatever they want about him, but if Trump responds, then they have an issue.
"How dare he respond to 24/7, often misleading and untrue criticisms." #StableGenius
— Gabrielle Seunagal (@ClassySnobbb) January 6, 2018
Just remember who's calling @realDonaldTrump mentally ill
Pedophiles, sexual assailants, perverts, triggered millennials, pop-culture who worry more about playlists than politics, comedians afraid to make fun of Obama for 8 yrs 👈all voted for a criminal #RealTalk #stablegenius
— 🎙Wayne Dupree (@WayneDupreeShow) January 6, 2018
The lying mainstream media calls Trump "mentally unfit" when they know he really is a #stablegenius. Nobody in recent history has accomplished even close to what Trump has accomplished in his first year as President.
— Makada 🇺🇸 (@_Makada_) January 6, 2018
stable genuis
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http://GabrielleWrites.com
Gabrielle Seunagal is a proud and talented staff writer for USA Herald. Outside of advancing her career as a writer and editor, Gabrielle's hobbies and passions include traveling, karate, exercising, and sparring. She is fearless, determined, and innovative. Gabrielle Seunagal knows that anything can be accomplished with gumption, grit and a strong work ethic.
Cardi B: If I "Focus Up," I Can Become "Part of Congress!"

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Hello fellow readers! March is over (unbelievable), and we are on to a new month. I had a decent reading month in March, with a total of 12 books read. It helped that I had a couple of Readathons that I participated in the last 2 weekends of the month. I feel like I could have read more than I did if I hadn't tried to make myself stick to a TBR list that I had predetermined, but lesson learned.
Here's a list of what I read!
My 5 Star reads this month were The Paper Magician, The Shining, The Whisper Man and Shadow Frost. They received 5 Star ratings because the stories were amazingly well written, the world building in Paper Magician and Shadow Frost was beautiful! Both were fantasy worlds that I longed to live in while I was reading the books. The Shining and The Whisper Man get the award for scariest books I read in the month of March. Stephen King sure knows how to write a story that builds and builds until you realize your heart is pounding and you haven't taken a breath for a while. The Whisper Man by Alex North brought the horror of little kids rhymes and serial killers and actually made me jump when I was reading it at night. Props to any author who can do that, especially seeing as I'm a horror addict and pretty desensitized to most things that go bump in the night.
I have good feelings about April, and hope it will be another good reading month. I'm a few books behind schedule in my Goodreads challenge, and in my BookRiot Read Harder challenge, but hey it's only April!! This month I'm going read with my mood and not force myself to stick to a predetermined TBR. I think if I let myself read that way then I might surprise myself and beat my record of a 12 book month. Oh, and now with my new glasses how can I not have a good reading month? heehee Nerd status!!


Wing of male of Mycodrosophila claytonae from Wheeler (1981, fig. 7) .
(1981) Drosophilidae. in: McAlpine J.F. (Ed.), Manual of Nearctic Diptera. Agriculture Canada, Ottawa, pp. 1011-1018.
Wing of male of Stegana coleoptrata from Wheeler (1981, fig. 6) .


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REPLAY: Watch The Sims' Official 18th Anniversary Livestream!
UPDATE: The livestream has ended! You can watch the YouTube replay down below.
The Sims Team will be doing a livestream today, February 9th at 8PM CET / 11AM PST to celebrate The Sims' 18th Anniversary!
During the livestream The Sims Team will be revisiting The Sims 1 as well as play The Sims 4.
QUIZ: How much do you know about The Sims 2 Base Game?


Bachelor bathroom design karakoy loft uses rich wood features and. Loft industrial bathroom design australianwildorg. Loft in berlin by santiago brotons design bathroom pinterest. Home designs: unique creative bathroom design industrial loft.


[Bradford, West Yorkshire, England] – A dancer who left Bradford more than two decades ago to pursue his dream career has returned to train the city's next generation of ballet boys. Lee Smikle was 19 and had only been learning ballet for one year when he auditioned with about 900 hopefuls and won a place at a dance college in Swindon in 1992.
He had been working as a theatre usher at St George's Hall and was so star struck by all the musicals and dancers he saw on stage that he put his name down for classes at the Wilson Dance Academy in Shipley.
"I am a Bradford Billy Elliot story. I came into dance late. There was nothing like this for me at that time so I am pleased to be here in Bradford now doing this," Lee said.
Lee, who is now 43, lived in Allerton with his father. Since leaving the district, and following more training at the Rambert School of Ballet and Contemporary Dance, he has danced around the world with the internationally acclaimed Matthew Bourne's New Adventure Company.
He has also appeared in a Kylie video and the Billy Elliot film.
This week he is back in Bradford as a professional dance teacher and choreographer working with a group of boys from the city and across Yorkshire. They have been creating a five minute piece to perform in front of a packed Alhambra audience before the curtain raises on a professional performance of Sleeping Beauty on Friday, February 26.
Matthew Bourne's New Adventures Company starts its five-night show on Tuesday, February 23.
The half-term workshop at St George's was part of a dance project legacy left from Matthew Bourne's Lord of the Flies when it came to the Bradford stage one year ago. All the boys at the Sleeping Beauty workshop had parts in the Lord of the Flies and the project is a way of keeping them hooked on dance with mentorship and opportunities.
Lee, who is a resident artist at the New Adventures & Re:Bourne company and founder and artistic director of London's Shoreditch Youth Dance Company, said he was pleased to be back in Bradford.
The legacy workshop is in partnership with Bradford Theatres, New Adventures & Re:Bourne and Leeds-based Pheonix Dance company.
Among local boys being put through their paces by Lee are Ilkley Grammar School pupil Daniel Burgess, 14, from Ben Rhydding and 15-year-old Bradford Academy student Joshua Batty from Bierley who, despite having his arm in a plaster cast after a football clash, will be in the spotlight.
A world-renowned soloist from The Royal Ballet is on a mission to persuade soccer-mad boys from Hackney to swap their football boots for ballet [shoes].
[London, England] – The BBC tracked American dancer Eric Underwood as he went into Berger School in Homerton to inspire the students. He wants to see more kids from less affluent backgrounds – and in particular more boys – give classical dance a whirl.
He was filmed by regional London current affairs programme Inside Out as he visited the Anderson Road school.
Mr Underwood told the Gazette: "Ballet has a stigma, especially to children, that it's primarily all about girls dancing around on their toes. Since the beginning of time all little boys think that just girls dance. It's difficult for boys to say: 'I want to be a male ballet dancer.' They are shunned.
The 31-year-old grew up in a poor suburb of Washington DC and only started dancing ballet aged 14 when he "accidentally ended up in a dance class". He later won a scholarship for New York's School of American Ballet.
Mr Underwood, who moved to Shoreditch two years ago, showed the youngsters clips of ballet dancers and talked about his life before putting them through their paces, demonstrating spins, splits and stretches.
He picked out two boys he felt had the potential to take on ballet as a career and returned to the school with ballet [shoes] for them.
He found the youngsters at Berger "really receptive", and "a lot more open minded than adults".
"I'm fortunate that someone introduced me to ballet," he said. "I feel a bit of an obligation to return that favour to other boys. I was like them at their age – I didn't come from a family that was super arts-inclined. Ballet has given me a chance to see the world, I can provide for my family; it's given me a chance to work with photographers and as a model.
"I definitely think I made a break through. If not dancers, they may become future audience members – posh people go to the ballet whether they are in America or in England, and I'm trying to get it a little bit more acceptable for other people to go, too.
[London, England] – Youngsters gather in a room in north London for a ballet lesson. But here there are no tutus, pirouettes – or even any traces of pink.
Jean-Claude Van Damme, Rio Ferdinand and Christian Bale may not sound like your typical pink tutu-wearing ballerinas. But all three have taken ballet classes in the past and are role models for pupils at the London Boys Ballet School, the first of its kind in the UK dedicated entirely to boys, according to its founder James Anthony.
The popularity of the school may be part of a trend that is seeing more boys take up ballet and other forms of dance.
Royal Ballet School figures show the number of boys who applied for full-time training with it increased by 30% in the past two years. "There are many more male dancers as role models on stage and on our TV screens which helps to counter some of the perceived negativity around boys taking up ballet," says Annalise Cunild from the Royal Ballet School.
Elsewhere, probably Britain's best-known choreographer Matthew Bourne recently recruited more than 300 novice dancers for his Lord of the Flies tour, in an attempt to get more young men dancing.
Mr Anthony says he started the London Boys' Ballet School, which offers weekend and evening classes, partly because he was too embarrassed to take up ballet when he was growing up in Swansea. "I really wanted to take up ballet when I was at school but I thought I would get bullied," says the former teacher and sports coach.
He says boys who are good at ballet need "huge amounts of strength, confidence, flexibility and athletic ability".
One of the school's star pupils, nine-year-old Ellis Jones, says he was inspired to try out ballet after seeing a dance show and "wanting to do what the dancers could do".
So could international interest from budding Billy Elliots mean the London Boys Ballet School might put its best foot forward elsewhere? "It's early days, but you never know," Mr Anthony says.
[London, England] – Budding Billy Elliots are being sought for a flagship all-boys ballet school setting up in Finsbury. London Boys' Ballet School, the first of its kind in the UK, is set to open next month and founder James Anthony is hoping to end the taboo surrounding lads in leotards.
Mr Anthony, 32, started one-on-one ballet lessons a year ago as he was too embarrassed to take it up as a child in Swansea. Now he wants to stop other boys being put off by creating an environment in which they don't feel like the odd ones out.
Mr Anthony recently took over his mother's dance school business in Swansea, which has been running for more than 35 years and has 150-plus students. He is involved in a number of other theatre and dance projects in London and south Wales and is a former teacher and sports coach.
Drafting in his sister Amelia Jane, an experienced ballet teacher who has performed and taught all over the world, he is hoping to show boys that there is nothing embarrassing about ballet. "I took up ballet when I was 31 at the Royal Dance Academy and they said it would never happen but now I'm looking at taking exams.
Despite living in Brixton, Mr Anthony chose Islington as a base for the school as he said the majority of interest he had received for the project had come from north London.
The classes, suitable for boys aged four to 14, will be held at The Old Finsbury Town Hall in Rosebery Avenue.
The school opens on March 1 and the first class is free.
Go to www.boysballetlondon.com for details of how to sign up.
© 2014 Archant Community Media Ltd.


Michigan Department of Education administers federal funds though the US Department of Agriculture to help programs in Michigan provide healthy meals to kids in the expanded learning space. The two major sources of funding are the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) and the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP). Both have separate meal requirements and reimbursement rates, but the results are the same: healthy meals for kids.
For more information on operating CACFP in the after-school space (during school year), click here.
For more information on serving SFSP funded meals when school is in recess for the summer, click here.


text:
Dr. Jinshan Zhu is a lawyer and economist with engineering background. He got his PhD of comparative law and economics from University Turin, Italy. He holds a master degree of law and economics and a master degree of environmental engineering from Hamburg University and Technical University of Hamburg-Harburg, respectively.He works as Humboldt research fellow at the Chair of International Politics at the University of Potsdam. His research is financed by Alexander von Humboldt foundation. His research focus is law and economic analysis of accidental costs of climate engineering. This research applies law and economic theory with regards to the potential accidental costs of climate engineering. Besides, he keeps an active focus on the carbon governance as well as institutional innovation for environmental protection in the developing world.
Before working with University Potsdam, he served as visiting scholar at Cornell Law School. He has also been working as project manager (intern) at UNEP Finance Initiative, research assistant to chief engineer at Chair of waste management of Technical University Hamburg-Harburg, and guest researcher at Potsdam Institute for climate impact research as well as Leibniz- Institute of Agricultural Enginering, Bornim.
Jinshan has published articles in both natural science journals (Environmental Research Letters, and Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change) and social science journals (European Journal of Law and Economics, and Journal of Environmental Planning and Management). He speaks Chinese (mother tongue), English (fluent), Germany (intermediate), and Japanese (basic). Since 2015, he holds a membership at China Society of Comparative Law.
<link fileadmin projects fuhr jinshan_cv201522_01.pdf>CV
Phone: +49 331 977 - 3863
Office: Karl-Marx-Str. 67, room 3.08
Last changed: 25.09.2015, Sebastian Breuer
URL:https://www.uni-potsdam.de/en/fuhr/team/research-fellows/zhu


Dirk Hartog's landing in 1616 was the first recorded landing of Europeans in Western Australia and marked the beginning of a series of expeditions revealing Terra Australis Incognita, the unknown south land.
Studies and collections made by explorers of the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries represent some of the earliest scientific records of Australia's people, landscape, flora and fauna.
Thomas Nicolas Baudin was born in 1754 and joined the French Navy in 1774. Under orders from Napoleon Bonaparte he led a voyage of discovery between 1801 and 1803 that contributed significantly to knowledge of Shark Bay and much of Australia.
In 1801 Baudin's corvettes, Le Géographe and Le Naturaliste, spent 70 days in Shark Bay with the ships' companies exploring, mapping and naming many features. They named Bernier Island for the expedition's astronomer, Bellefin Prong for Le Naturaliste's surgeon and Heirisson Prong for Le Naturaliste's sub-lieutenant. The navigator-surveyor Louis de Freycinet named Henri Freycinet Harbour for his brother and Cape Lesueur for Le Géographe's artist. The expedition's naturalist, François Péron, explored the peninsula that now bears his name.
During a trip to Dirk Hartog Island the commander of Le Naturaliste, Emmanuel Hamelin, discovered the plate left by Willem de Vlamingh in 1697. Believing it sacrilegious to remove the plate, Hamelin instead nailed a lead plate recording his own visit to another post on the northeast side of the island. Hamelin's post and plate have never been found.
After surveying Tasmania and Australia's entire southern coast the expedition returned to Shark Bay in March 1803. Landing parties from Le Géographe made excursions to different parts of Peron Peninsula, which Péron crossed from east to west making notes on fauna, flora and the Aboriginal people. These were the first written descriptions of the Malgana people to be presented to the outside world.
Baudin died of tuberculosis in Ile de France (Mauritius) in 1803.
Francois Peron was born in France in 1775 and while travelling as a naturalist on Baudin's expedition was among the parties exploring Shark Bay in 1801. In doing so he made some of the earliest recordings of Shark Bay's wildlife and first people. It is in his honour that Francois Peron National Park is named.
The eldest son of a poor village family, he contracted smallpox when four years old and this left him blind in one eye. After studying in a monastery he became a soldier in the Napoleonic wars and was severely wounded and taken prisoner.
In 1800 Peron achieved a position as pupil zoologist on the Baudin expedition. They first arrived in Shark Bay in July 1801 and undertook extensive surveys involving collection of many specimens.
During the return voyage in 1803, the Geographe anchored offshore from Cape Lesueur on 19 March. On hearing reports of Aborigines on the mainland Peron organized a walking expedition across the peninsula from west to east. He was accompanied by Petit, an artist, and Guichenault, a gardener. They attempted to communicate with some Aborigines near Herald Bight, but the Aborigines fled.
Peron's focus on scientific exploration throughout the three year expedition "impelled by my zeal, and the pleasure I had in the important discoveries I was making" often led him to disregard Baudin's orders and contributed to ongoing friction between the two men during the expedition. Peron was also in the habit of getting lost and returning dehydrated and exhausted while exploring.
Peron was the leading scientist on the expedition when the Geographe returned to France in 1804. Of the 23 scientists who began the expedition, only three returned. Peron was the only zoologist to complete the trip and to him fell the task of writing the zoological results. His work was illustrated by Charles Lesueur who had joined the expedition as a gunner.
Many of the 100,000 animal specimens taken to France on the Geographe had been collected in Shark Bay and Peron's writing established him as the father of anthropology. The specimens represented almost 4,000 species – one of the greatest achievements in scientific history. Of these, more than 2,500 were new to science. While he became famous amongst scientists in France, he was not recognized elsewhere.
Péron died of tuberculosis in 1810, six years after returning to France. Many of the expedition's manuscripts were finished by Louis de Freycinet.
Louis Claude de Saulces de Freycinet was born in 1779, joined the French Navy in 1793 and was a veteran of Baudin's voyage of discovery from 1801 to 1803. In 1817 he was given command of the corvette L'Uranie with the commission to finish some of the surveys and scientific work left incomplete by Baudin. This included studies of natural history, anthropology, geography and magnetic and meteorological phenomena. His wife Rose refused to be separated from her husband and joined the ship's company as a stowaway.
L'Uranie sailed into Shark Bay in September 1818. De Freycinet set up an astronomical observatory near Cape Lesueur and spent some days collecting botanical specimens and exploring the inlets and coastal areas. His company also met with a group of Malgana people, a tense encounter that was diffused with dancing and an exchange of gifts.
A party was sent across to Dirk Hartog Island to recover de Vlamingh's plate, which de Freycinet had first seen in 1801 during Baudin's expedition. Back then de Freycinet had disagreed with his commander's decision to leave the plate on the island. He believed "its natural place to be in one of those great scholarly and scientific storehouses which provide historians with such rich and precious documents". Under his own command, the plate was eventually delivered to the Royal Academy of Inscriptions and Elegant Literature in Paris. There it stayed until 1947 when the French Government presented it to the people of Australia. The plate is now in the Western Australian Maritime Museum.
After briefly running aground on a sand bank between Bernier and Dorre Islands and the mainland, L'Uranie headed north to Timor, through the Pacific, south to Sydney and around Cape Horn. Her luck ran out in February 1819 when she was wrecked off the Falkland Islands. More than half of the scientific specimens were lost but the entire ship's company was rescued by a whaler which de Freycinet purchased, renamed La Physicienne, and sailed back to France.


text:
Q: "Provider Kzu.NuGetReferences.GraphProvider failed to initialize" Visual Studio 2015 error After opening VS project, I have some error in "Task List".

Failure has occured while loading a type.
Provider Kzu.NuGetReferences.GraphProvider failed to initialize.
Exception has been thrown by the target of an invocation.

What wrong with VS 2015?
How to fix this?
Thanks.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


VCC is using Flickr Groups to provide an additional venue to showcase our member's photography and allow members to see other members' images with EXIF, comment, fav and discuss. This capability is not currently present with the website galleries. The website galleries remain the primary place for the Club's field trips, SIGs, Monthly images, etc. Please note that you can view the groups on Flickr without signing up to Flickr.
Flickr is a photography-oriented social media sharing site from Yahoo. It provides a full range of privacy and copyright settings, including right-click download blocking. The Free account will likely meet most member's needs, however there is a Pro option – the choice is yours. The Flickr Help pages are extensive and easy to read and understand, and you can always ask another member.
VCC Members must be invited to join the VCC Flickr group(s). In order to join a group you must have a Flickr account. VCC does not require members to have a Flickr account, participation is voluntary. See the Flickr website (http://www.flickr.com/) to set one up.
Once you have a Flickr account, email the VCC Group Administrator (see the table below) and identify yourself (real name) as a VCC member and give them your Flickr account name (NOT password). They will invite you in. You can also search for "VCC" under groups (you will recognize our logo) and send a message through Flickr.
You can leave the group at any time. Please remember to do that should you leave the club. The group(s) will be reviewed occasionally and those persons no longer members of VCC will be removed.
Have a close look at your Flickr account settings to ensure you have set the privacy and copyright options to your liking. Be aware that if you put a private image in a public group all members of that group can see it and comment on it, but it will not be seen by the Public.
Flickr was purchased in April 2018 by professional photo hosting service SmugMug. Users, with free accounts, are now limited to 1,000 pictures on the photo sharing site, instead of the free 1TB of storage that was previously offered.


text:
what i'm reading, children's books edition: # 2
How this series works: I write about one or two older books, offer an my opinion on whether the book will be relevant and accessible to children today, and suggest a more contemporary equivalent. I also recommend two additional children's books.
Still Classic?
My Side of the Mountain, Jean Craighead George, 1959
Hatchet, Gary Paulsen, 1987, first of series of five books
Sam Gribley, the teenage hero of My Side of the Mountain, runs away from his crowded New York City home, determined to live off the land. He brings only a few basic tools and a little money, and learns how to survive by trial-and-error and through research at the local library. Sam does more than survive: he builds a rich life for himself in the woods. After contact with some locals from nearby towns, this "wild boy" of the forest becomes something of a local legend.
I was fascinated with this book as a child. It inspired fantasies of living off the land the way Sam Gribley did, and deepened my appreciation of nature. Re-reading the book as an adult, I was still impressed. There are some awkward, old-fashioned phrasing - "You know, it really does hurt to be terribly hungry" does not sound like a teenage boy to me - but the arc of Sam's progress is compelling enough to overlook those. The book is packed with details about nature and survival, from how to build a fire and find edible plants, to how to train a hawk and tan a deerskin hide.
In Gary Paulsen's Hatchet, fifteen-year-old Brian Robeson survives an accident but is left alone in the Canadian wilderness, his only tool and helper, a hatchet. Where My Side of the Mountain is a naturalist's tale, Hatchet is about survival. Brian's life is at stake. He is forced to learn how to build a fire without matches, how to make a safe shelter, how to get food. These lessons are about more than information and technique. They are, quite literally, lessons of life or death.
As Brian adapts and learns, he becomes more atuned to both himself and his surroundings. He acquires more than new skills; he acquires a new sense of self, of nature, of the interconnectedness of all things. He also learns, painfully, about the random luck of life and death, of nature's beauty, and its cruelty, and its loneliness.
Paulsen's writing is sparse and urgent, and always feels authentic. Because Brian has survived a terrible accident and has no possibility of simply leaving and going home, Hatchet has an urgency that My Side of the Mountain lacks. Brian is also dealing with his parents' recent divorce and some painful knowledge about his mother. This also grounds Brian's character in reality. Sam Gribley's family, by contrast, is an abstraction.
Jean Craighead George, author of My Side of the Mountain, also wrote the excellent Julie of the Wolves (1972), among other books. George was a naturalist who lived with a family full of animals, and a prolific and excellent writer. She died in 2012, her death little noticed (perhaps because Maurice Sendak, a more famous children's author, died around the same time).
I would still recommend My Side of the Mountain to young readers, but I'd go for Hatchet first.
Little House on the Prairie, Laura Ingalls Wilder, series originally published from 1932-1943, republished in many subsequent editions
Dear Canada, Dear America, My Story, I Am Canada series, various authors
I was fascinated with the Little House series as a child, and you can guess why. The main character's name was Laura, and she grew up to be the Laura who wrote these books. A Laura who was a writer. I don't know if I read the entire series, but I read many of them, and many times. [The Canadian equivalent may be Lucy Maud Montgomery's Anne of Green Gables. But I didn't grow up in Canada, I don't share the Canadian obsession with these books, and I won't venture into that territory just now.]
I haven't looked at a Little House book since my grade-school days, and I had no idea how they would read. The answer is: really well. The writing is simple and straightforward, and surprisingly, does not feel dated. The Ingalls family faces challenges and hardships, always together as a family, and always seeing the bright side of every situation.
But. There's a big but. The Ingalls family were white settlers on the American frontier. That means they encountered Indians, as the Native Americans would have been called. And depictions of Indians, in those days, means racism. The Little House books are perennials on the Challenged Book list, always accused of racism. Picking up these books for the first time in more than 40 years, I was holding my breath a bit, wondering how bad it would be.
I'm pleased to say it wasn't that bad. Nowhere near as racist as Hollywood movies of the same era, where Indians are either bloodthirsty savages or lazy idiots. Wilder's Indians are utterly different from the white settlers - they are exotified - and their difference frightens the family. But they are depicted as real human beings - people with families and traditions, and an authentic culture of their own. When a character says, "The only good Indian is a dead Indian," Pa - who is the moral authority of the series, the voice of benevolent authority - disagrees. Pa believes in mutual respect, in live-and-let-live.
But. But still. These are settlers. They are descendants of Europeans, and they are "taming" a "wilderness"; they are claiming this land for their own. There is no challenge or counterpoint to Manifest Destiny. I would hardly expect a children's book to refer to the westward expansion as genocide, but the indigenous point of view is completely absent.
There are other cringe-worthy bits, too. In Little Town on the Prairie, a minstrel show comes to town. The racism here is blatant, and quite disgusting.
Racism and imperialism in classic children's literature is a huge issue, and I won't try to deal with it exhaustively here. Little House on the Prairie is the tip of the iceberg. Some old children's books considered classics, still on the shelves in libraries throughout the English-speaking world, are shockingly racist, and I question the need to include them in our libraries today.
Here are two interesting perspectives on this issue. In The Diamond in the Window, a blog about children's books, a mom writes about dealing with the racism, both written and implied: Racism, History, and Little House on the Prairie. This mom feels the answer is providing context. I agree, but it's a tough job, and I wonder about the necessity of it. Do our children really suffer if they're not exposed to the books of their parents' or grandparents' youth? Won't books of their own generation do well enough?
In the Laura Ingalls Wilder blog Only Laura, a writer and fan of the series asks, "Little House on the Prairie: Racist or Not?".
Yes, Ma is racist (and as a mother I must say understandably so, trying to mother her children in the middle of such unrest). But if Ma is racist, isn't Pa her counterpart? And whose side does Laura take? Whose side does the narrator take? What emerges is, in fact, a complex push-pull relationship as Laura has to make a decision about how she feels about these people she knows as Indians. And the author shares with me — the reader — that decision.
Laura likes Indians. She admires them. She feels badly for what's happening to them. She does not say each of these things outright, although she does say some of them. By what Laura Ingalls Wilder, the writer, chooses to share about the character Laura's thoughts about the Indians, it's clear that to her, Ma's judgment does not ring true.
I think that for young readers, the lesson here is not racism. It's acceptance and respect.
Well, maybe. This is the perspective of someone who finds racism "understandable" when a woman is "mothering" children, and who employs that delicate, blame-free euphemism, "unrest". I agree that Wilder, through the character of Pa, emphasizes tolerance and mutual respect. But the reader is still identifying with the trials and tribulations of the settlers. The Indian perspective is barely alluded to.
I think young readers are better served from a fresher perspective on history. Historical fiction series like Dear America, Dear Canada, I Am Canada, and My Story all tell history from the first-person point of view of a young person. They tackle some difficult territory, like the internment of Ukrainian immigrants in Canada, the anti-Semitism that led to boatloads of doomed European Jews being turned away from North American shores (both in the US and Canada), and child labour. The writing is very good, and the first-person narratives are gripping.
I was very disappointed to see that the "Dear Canada" series is marketed exclusively to girls. The equivalent series marketed to boys is almost entirely focused on war. (One exception is a book about building the transcontinental railway.) Don't boys need and want to learn about history? As a student librarian, I already find myself clashing with childrens' readers' advisory that is almost entirely segregated by gender. Let's save that discussion for another day.
However, as I was writing this post, I was very pleased to learn that the "I Am Canada" series, the "boy" history series, includes a story of a war resister! A soldier in the trenches of WWI, horrified and traumatized, wanders off, as if he can go home to Canada. He comes upon a band of deserters, and must decide whether to continue to resist the war, or to return to the front. I've requested a copy from the Toronto Public Library (the Mississauga Library System doesn't own it) and will write about it soon.
These historical fiction series are, of course, still official readings of history. Don't expect Howard Zinn. But the non-dominant perspective is brought forward, in a way that the Laura Ingalls Wilder books cannot do.
When You Reach Me, Rebecca Stead, 2009
Set in New York City in the late 1970s, When You Reach Me is a straightforward, realistic story, with a touch of the fantastical mixed in, a kind of magic realism that is thrilling and just a bit scary.
As Miranda's long-time best friendship breaks apart, and just as she tentatively begins to form some new friendships, the barefoot, laughing man appears in the neighbourhood for the first time. Who is sending Miranda these tiny handwritten notes - and how does the note-writer know so much about her?
This powerful tween novel also pays homage to one of the best children's books of all time, A Wrinkle in Time. I can't tell you what the two books have in common without giving too much away. Like Holes, When You Reach Me is a story of redemption. It's also about friendship, and independence, and what gets left behind as we come into our own. Also like Holes, it's one of the very best tween books I've read.
Because of Winn Dixie, Kate DiCamillo, 2000
When 10-year-old Opal finds a big, ugly dog in a Winn-Dixie grocery store, she names him after the store and brings him home. Opal lives with her father, a preacher, and misses her mother, who she doesn't know much about. Opal needs friends, and she makes them - because of Winn Dixie.
An assortment of quirky but very believable characters comes into Opal's life. The town librarian, whose ancestor made his fortune by creating a candy that is sweet, but tastes like sorrow, and who once fought off a bear with a copy of War and Peace. A nearly blind woman who town children say is a witch. A man in a pet store who plays his guitar for the animals. Winn Dixie brings these people into Opal's life, and Opal brings them into each other's lives.
This is a lovely, sad, heartwarming, but not sentimental, story. Children who like it will want to read it again and again, to get closer to the wonderful characters.
Posted by laura k at 12/28/2012 11:00:00 AM
Labels: bigotry, children's books, history, indigenous peoples, what i'm reading
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Home Article Present Dangers
Present Dangers
Apparently comfortable with the moral cesspool into which he wandered during the Abu Ghraib hearings, Senator Joe Lieberman announced in a July 20 Washington Post op-ed that he planned to join with the least reputable figures in national-security circles to relaunch the Committee on the Present Danger (CPD), an organization not heard from since the last days of disco. A good rule of thumb for telling whether a foreign-policy group intends to offer a serious contribution to the public debate or is more interested in pulling the wool over people's eyes is whether or not its membership includes Laurie Mylroie. Naturally enough, she's a member, along with fellow travelers from the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) like James Woolsey and Danielle Pletka.
Mylroie's shtick is pushing the entirely discredited theory that Saddam Hussein not only had "links" to al-Qaeda but was, in fact, a major sponsor of the group. As such, Hussein is held to be responsible for the September 11 attacks, the 1993 World Trade Center bombing, and, indeed, every major foreign terrorist attack against the United States in the past decade. It's the kind of theory that, though lamentably lacking in evidentiary support, would obviously be helpful to an administration determined to, say, invade Iraq. As such, Mylroie followed up her first book on Hussein's alleged terrorism sponsorship with a second work, Bush Versus The Beltway, explaining that the president wisely understood the truth of her paranoid fantasies but was being held back by lazy bureaucrats at the CIA and FBI more interested in covering up Hussein's crimes than defending America.
This "I would have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling intelligence analysts" account has suffered lately as the administration has (repeatedly) explained that it believes no such thing -- and independent inquiry after independent inquiry backs up the intelligence community's position on the matter. Nowadays, right-wingers hoping to be taken seriously point not to the discredited Mylroie but to Stephen Hayes' The Connection, which puts forward a much more modest version of the al-Qaeda-Hussein story.
Like all good hawks these days, those at the CPD are long on talk about their interest in spreading democracy around the world. Their seriousness of purpose here, however, is subject to question. The group's founding executive director has already been dismissed after Prospect contributor Laura Rozen revealed that he was a lobbyist for Jorg Haider's neofascist Austrian Freedom Party, which apparently didn't sit well with the group's largely Jewish membership. Less objectionable to the CPD, though perhaps even more at odds with its ostensible aims, is Hannaford's history of work for such democratic stalwarts as the People's Republic of China, Saudi Arabia, and Algeria.
Justin Raimondo, meanwhile, has reported that another of the group's founding members, Hedieh Mirahmadi, is general secretary of the Islamic Supreme Council of America, "a small Sufi cult devoted to the teachings of one Shaykh Hisham Kabbani."
As Raimondo notes, the supreme council's thoughts on foreign policy consist largely of apologetics for Uzbek President Islam Karimov, who's ruled the country since the communist era and whose contributions to governance including widespread torture, scalding dissidents, and jailing men whose beards are too long.
The group's very name smacks of dishonesty and a preference for propaganda over serious policy analysis. The original Committee on the Present Danger was formed in the 1950s to raise awareness of the Soviet threat, but the current outfit hearkens back more to the second CPD, formed in the late 1970s around Senator Scoop Jackson of Washington. In an eerie echo of contemporary events, the CPD 2 busied itself arguing that U.S. intelligence was underestimating Soviet strength when it was, in fact, overestimating it. Politically, the CPD 2 served as a bridge for hawkish Democrats to exit the party and join the Ronald Reagan-led GOP, but they misjudged Reagan almost as badly as they misjudged the Soviet Union. In the chief accomplishment of his presidency, Reagan ultimately rejected the CPD's counsel, recognized the underlying feebleness of the Soviet system, and agreed to work with Mikhail Gorbachev to bring the Cold War to a successful conclusion.
The ostensibly new group may not be so new after all. Its membership contains significant overlap with that of the Foundation for the Defense of Democracies (FDD), which co-sponsored the CPD launch event, and the two groups share office space in Washington. The FDD, in turn, began life as a pro-Israel public-relations outfit tied to the Israeli Foreign Ministry.
But what does the CPD want? Its public statements are maddeningly vague, describing its primary purpose as "educat[ing] the American people about the threat posed by a global Islamist terror movement," though the existence of such a threat is hardly a well-kept secret. There are indications, though, that the group's agenda is to push the United States into conflict with Iran. The Post op-ed announcing the groups' creation, co-authored by Lieberman and Senator Jon Kyl, described "the present danger our generation faces" as not only "international terrorism from Islamic extremists" but also "the outlaw states that either harbor or support them." Coming 18 months ago, one would take that as a reference to Iraq, but in the present context it either means Iran or it's nonsense.
So is another war around the corner? Probably not. The CPD's formation is more a sign of weakness than strength. The troubled occupation of Iraq has decreased the credibility and influence of the neoconservative faction in the Pentagon, and Robert Blackwill, who was brought in to pull the president's chestnuts out of the fire and take over Iraq policy from his desk at the National Security Council (NSC), is known to favor engagement with Iran.
What's more, the CPD wasn't even able to round up all the usual suspects to join its group. Key figures like Weekly Standard Editor Bill Kristol and Project for a New American Century Executive Director Gary Schmitt pointedly failed to sign on. This is just the latest in a growing list of indications of a split within the movement between the Kristol's circle and another centered at the AEI. When the administration broke with neocon favorite Ahmad Chalabi, the latter group broke with the administration, sided with Chalabi, and began bitterly griping about Paul Bremer and the growing influence of the State Department and the NSC staff. The Standard, meanwhile, stayed silent on the Chalabi question and has published a series of fawning Bremer profiles by Executive Editor Fred Barnes.
Still, it's fair to say that we're not out of the woods yet. The president was notably not eager to side with the Iraq hawks in his administration when he first took office. Steps long favored by Paul Wolfowitz, like arming the Iraqi opposition and supporting it with air power, were put on hold in favor of an effort to improve the sanctions regime. Only after the shock of 9-11 did the hawks have the chance to implement their agenda. For now, they seem to be down, but as the launch of their new group reminds us, they're still here, waiting for their moment.
Matthew Yglesias is a Prospect staff writer. His column on politics and the media appears every Tuesday.


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The Eastern Panhandle Medical Reserve Corps (EPMRC) has been established by the Berkeley County Health Department to help coordinate human resources that may be used during a public health emergency. The EPMRC is currently working with local emergency planners, existing emergency response agencies, and community partners to establish, coordinate, and train volunteers so we can better respond to widespread disasters and improve community health education. The following is an excerpt from the Medical Reserve Corps Website: "The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers.
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"The mission of the Medical Reserve Corps (MRC) is to improve the health and safety of communities across the country by organizing and utilizing public health, medical and other volunteers.
The MRC was founded after President Bush's 2002 State of the Union Address, in which he asked all Americans to volunteer in support of their country. It is a partner program with Citizen Corps, a national network of volunteers dedicated to ensuring hometown security. Citizen Corps, along with AmeriCorps, Senior Corps, and the Peace Corps are part of the President's USA Freedom Corps, which promotes volunteerism and service nationwide.
MRC units are community-based and function as a way to locally organize and utilize volunteers who want to donate their time and expertise to prepare for and respond to emergencies and promote healthy living throughout the year. MRC volunteers supplement existing emergency and public health resources.
MRC volunteers include medical and public health professionals such as physicians, nurses, pharmacists, dentists, veterinarians, and epidemiologists. Many community members—interpreters, chaplains, office workers, legal advisors, and others—can fill key support positions.
MRC units are provided specific areas to target that strengthen the public health infrastructure of their communities by the U.S. Surgeon General. These are outlined priorities for the health of individuals, and the nation as a whole, which also serve as a guide to the MRC. The overarching goal is to improve health literacy, and in support of this, he wants us to work towards increasing disease prevention, eliminating health disparities, and improving public health preparedness.
MRC volunteers can choose to support communities in need nationwide. When the southeast was battered by hurricanes in 2004, MRC volunteers in the affected areas and beyond helped communities by filling in at local hospitals, assisting their neighbors at local shelters, and providing first aid to those injured by the storms. During this 2-month period, more than 30 MRC units worked as part of the relief efforts, including those whose volunteers were called in from across the country to assist the American Red Cross (ARC) and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
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Cost: $190 USD ($250 CAD). Canadians will pay $250 CAD ($190 USD). All taxes are included.
Participants will be introduced to using power tufting machines to create rugs by hand. During the 6-hour class, we'll cover the basics of setting up the backing cloth and frame, threading and working the tufting machines. You'll begin creating your own rug or pillow design that is 22" x 22". You will also learn how to cut, glue, and finish a rug for use on the floor or as a wall hanging. The tufting frame, cloth and yarn is included in the cost of the workshop. Additional supplies and the tufting machine will be available for purchase at a discounted price.
I'll provide tufting machines to used during the workshop so you don't need one to take the class.
For venue questions please contact Arounna at bookhou.


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When it comes to movies and books, the rule of thumb is that the sequel rarely is better than the original.
Thursday night, Thorsten Hohmann and Jayson Shaw were the exception to this belief.
Fresh off of a lopsided loss at the hands of Shaw on Wednesday, Hohmann jumped out to an early lead and nearly pulled off the upset before losing in a sudden death shootout in the quarterfinals of the World Pool Series 8-Ball Classic Championship at the IDM Club in Bucharest.
Hohmann took advantage of a couple of Shaw dry breaks early and jumped out to a 4-0 lead. He had an opportunity to increase his lead to 5-0 but committed an unforced error which allowed Shaw to get on the board instead. Hohmann used an unforced error by Shaw in the ninth game as well as a pair of run-outs after his break to build an 8-4 advantage but the Scotsman slowly chipped away at the lead.
Shaw won two quick games to cut the lead to 8-6 then took advantage of a misplayed 8-ball by his opponent to cut the lead to one. Three consecutive breaks and runs by both opponents left Hohmann with a 10-8 advantage in a race to 13 but Shaw responded by scratching out three straight wins to take an 11-10 lead. Hohmann again tied the match with a break and run and returned to the table in the 23rd game when Shaw failed to pocket a ball on the break.
Feeling the pressure of the moment, Hohmann laboriously worked his way through the balls while trying to maintain control of the cue ball. After partially blocking his path to the 7-ball, Hohmann pocketed the ball with a touch of spin then executed a tough cut shot on the 8-ball into the corner pocket to climb onto the hill.
Hohmann had a chance to close out the match in regulation but missed a difficult 10-ball after his break shot. Shaw ran out to force a sudden death shootout in which he made three of the overtime shots while Hohmann was shut out. Shaw stated after the match that he practices shootout shots on his Chinese 8-ball table at home.
"I was feeling the pressure a little bit at the end of the match. I was behind the whole match," Shaw said.
The match was a stark contrast to the previous day's match on the winner's side, which Shaw won handily, 11-6.
Shaw will face Eklent Kaci of Albania, who put on a dominating performance in a 13-4 victory against Poland's Daniel Maciol. Using a fierce break shot, Kaci jumped out to an early 4-0 lead then rattled off seven consecutive victories while Maciol struggled to pocket balls on the break.
Maciol attempted a late rally, winning two games to cut Kaci's lead to 12-4, but any hopes of a comeback dissolved when he left a 2-ball near the corner pocket in the 17th game.
Semifinal action begins Friday at 11 a.m. local time with Chris Melling taking on Romania's own Ioan Ladanyi, with Kaci and Shaw starting at 7 a.m.
Melling opened quarterfinals action Thursday with a 13-9 defeat of Wojciech Szewczyk of Poland while Ladanyi overcame an early 7-2 deficit to upset Fedor Gorst of Russia.


So I just glued up a blank of goncalo alves for a 45-47" reef gun with a reel. I'm planning on setting it up with 2 14mm small id bands and a 130cm 7.5mm shaft. I'm terrible at getting a good epoxy finish so I usually stick to tung oil.
On this gun I was gonna go for my first attempt at a wood handle without a handle frame. I was curious if anyone has had experience using different woods for the handle on an oil finished gun. I heard there can be issues on using different woods in the blank due to bowing from different rates of expansion, but I was wondering if that was a problem with the handle. I was thinking it might add a little buoyancy as well since it's a denser wood.
As long as the woods are at a good low moisture level you should be fine. If they're still holding moisture the lams might try to come apart. I've done cedar and black locust for a handle before, two very different woods, and it came out fine.
I guess my biggest concern was if the tenon on the handle swelled much more than the blank it might try to split the lamps apart.