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Tag Archives: Gail Z. Martin
by disq2332 | October 30, 2016 · 11:34 am
In the Dark Hours of the Night–a #HoldOnToTheLight guest post by Charles E. Gannon
Hold On To The Light is probably advice that all of us c/should live by. But for those whose lives have been harrowed by one or more mental/emotional/behavioral challenges, this phrase achieves the status—and significance—of a mantra. Because in the dark hours of the night, when sleep does not come to draw its blackout curtain across the notional gargoyle-presences spawned by those challenges, the afflicted have only one recourse: determination and raw guts, anchored to the light of a seemingly distant hope, seen at the end of a long tunnel of isolation.
We all have some experience with that outlook. There is no broken heart, no worrisome diagnosis, or pending medical test, that has not cost us a night's sleep, somewhere along the timeline of our existence. But I dedicate what I have included below to those who daily awaken to the knowledge that they are once again rising into a state of siege: that the adversary cannot be surgically removed or excised, and that their battle is endless, for that foe is always ready to pounce upon any loss of resolve, any sideways stumble, any weakness.
I have seen numerous family members grapple with many such conditions. And if the bestiary of those adversaries is diverse—depression, anxiety, addiction, PTSD, any of the conditions now linked under the unified genera "autism spectrum", more—these variform demons all evince this dark commonality: that those whom they haunt must live with a weight that they cannot shed. Rather, their victims can only carry the burden with as much determination, strength, and grace as human nature allows.
This excerpt from the forthcoming web-serialized novel The Gathering Storm (with Eric Flint, Kevin J. Anderson, and Marko Kloos), is my brief, awkward attempt to honor all their ongoing struggles in the form of one veteran's battle with PTSD and addiction.
Opium. Reflex turned Conrad von Harrer's head toward his battered wooden night table. Resting on the stained top, a cracked and yellowed meerschaum imp adorned the Hungarian-made bowl he had purchased for his opium pipe. His two eyes locked on the imp's one. If only he could outstare it, then he could reject it. But the meerschaum imp was like the opium; the more one tried to defy it, the more one realized that there was nothing to defy except oneself. It was a game, the type a child plays when trying to trick its own reflection in a mirror.
A honey-thick torpor overcame von Harrer while his gaze was still fixed on the pipe. Time passed and the difference between seconds and minutes—or hours—became indistinct, meaningless. He watched as the imp's face lost its yellowish glaze, gradually deepened to amber as the sun moved from the center of the sky toward the horizon. The one laughing eye still glared upward: puckish, sardonic, leering. A leer like those worn by the fire-bleached skulls outside Mafeking, Kimberley, and in the ruins of Johannesburg: leers which evoked no mirth, only desolation.
When Conrad's eyes once again showed him the world of the present, he saw that the last light was fading, giving way to darkness. The orange sun had grown larger and murkier, diffusing itself across the light-smeared horizon. On his first approach to Al Qahira, von Harrer had tarried to sit on the sands at Giza and watch the sunset glaze the pyramids: fading triangles that sat squat and timeless on the horizon. His mind's eye could still make out the cowl of the sphinx, the faint light limning its supine contours. It was an enigmatic posture, a recline that did not suggest rest but, rather, endless watching. A pitiless gaze which had seen the death of many an age, perhaps many a species. It was easy to believe that such blank eyes had always looked out on barrenness, knew nothing else, could augur nothing else.
Von Harrer let his own gaze slip from the window and back into the room, rolling like a lazy ball from one empty corner to another. His eyes touched the spaces that had once been occupied by his possessions: a lamp with crystal pendants, a little mahogany liquor cabinet, a roll-top desk, and a dresser. Faint shadows on the floor marked their old territories, darker where the boards had been spared the bleaching stare of the sun.
All gone now. All gone to the same place. He turned his eyes back to the meerschaum pipe-bowl. All gone there.
Cravings jumped up at the thought, the sight, of the pipe. The meerschaum eyes laughed, invited: just once more.
He turned away, looked at the bare wall on the opposite side of his bed. He could still feel that mocking leer boring into his back, the dull ivory eyes promising: you'll almost forget.
You'll almost forget the clusters of dart-shaped steel rods that screamed down from nearly twenty miles above Johannesburg, glowing with heat when they impacted, the ground vomiting upward in waves, shot through with flame—right before the blast knocked everything flat.
You'll almost forget the airships hovering out of rifle range, dropping bomb after bomb, only leaving to get more from Rhodes' secret arsenals of death, hidden safe behind the British lines.
You'll almost forget the endless litter of civilian dead on the retreat back through what was left of Johannesburg, particularly the children, their little bodies blown apart by the concussive forces, their little heads—blonde, brown, and black—rolled up against walls or into ditches like those of decapitated dolls.
You'll almost forget the defeat, the camps, the dysentery, the hunger, the vengeful African guards and, finally, the stumbling silhouettes of the internees who were evicted due to disease or frailty. Within the first one hundred yards, each one unfailingly attracted a loping cluster of cape dogs or jackals, whose patience was invariably rewarded by a taste of human flesh.
But opium's promise of forgetfulness was a lie. The memories never evaporated; they were simply disordered. Even when his head was filled to the point of nausea with the musk-sweet fumes, visions of the past always trespassed upon the present. But instead of complete scenes of the so-called Greater Boer Insurrection, they came as splintered flashes of carnage, each image frozen onto a shard of the shattering mirror that was his mind, his memories.
For those interested, The Gathering Storm is set in 1903, but in a world where a single alteration of physics—that the Michaelson-Morley experiment at Carnegie Mellon did in fact detect the expected existence of aether—began changing history in the 1880s. The aether-assisted air-craft and even space-craft changed history in this universe where alternate physics has created a Dark Edwardian downturning. Characters as diverse as Churchill, Tesla, Wells, Roosevelt, Rhodes move among the shadows of a past tinctured by both streampunk and hard sf sensibilities.
I hope you'll keep an eye out for it, starting in 2017. ——Chuck Gannon
About the author: Dr. Charles E. Gannon is a Distinguished Professor of English at St. Bonaventure University, where he was the Director of Graduate English until he became a full-time author in 2007. A Fulbright Senior Specialist in American Literature and Culture from 2004 to 2009, his most recent non-fiction book is "Rumors of War and Infernal Machines: Technomilitary Agenda Setting in American and British Speculative Fiction." Now in second edition, it won the 2006 American Library Association Award for Outstanding Book, and was the topic of discussion when he was interviewed by NPR (Morning Edition).
Among various media appearances, his most recent was as an expert commentator on The Discovery Channel's second installment of its premier series "Curiosity". Along with 45 other SF writers (such as David Brin, Ben Bova, Larry Niven, Jerry Pournelle, and Bruce Sterling), he is a member of SIGMA, the "SF think-tank" which has advised various intelligence and defense agencies since the start of the millenium (including the Pentagon, Air Force, NATO, DARPA, Army, the Department of Homeland Security, and several agencies which may not be disclosed). For more information on SIGMA and its work, go to www.sigmaforum.org .
Filed under #HoldOnToTheLight
Tagged as #HoldOnToTheLight, Aaron Rosenberg, Addie J. King, Alexandra Christian, Alma Alexander Natania Barron, Alyssa Day, Amy Bauer, Baen Books, Bishop O'Connell, books, Brian Rathbone, Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Calandra Usher, Cara Santa Maria, Cat Rambo, Catherine Asaro, Charles E Gannon, Cheryl Wilson, Chris Kennedy, Christopher Golden, Chuck Gannon, Clay and Susan Griffith, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Darin Kennedy, Darynda Jones, Davey Beauchamp, David B. Coe, Deborah J. Ross, Delilah Dawson, Diana L. Gunn, Dianna L. Gunn, Emily Leverett, Emmie Mears, Eric Asher, Gabrielle Faust, Gaie Siebold, Gail Z. Martin, Gregory Wilson, Harry Markov, J F Lewis, Jada Diaz, Jake Bible, James Maxey, Jay Requard, Jaym Gates, Jean Marie Ward, Jeanne Adams, Jennifer Brozek, Jennifer St. Giles, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jody Lynn Nye, Joelle Reizes, John G. Hartness, Jon Sprunk, Jonathan Oliver, Josh Vogt, Joshua Palmatier, Juliet McKenna, Justin Gustainis, Kameron Hurley, Karen E. Taylor, Karen Miller, Kathy Lyons, Keith DeCandido Mindy Mymudes, Kelly Harmon, Kelly Swails, Ken Schrader, Laura Anne Gilman, Laura Taylor, Leanna Renee Hieber, Leo Champion, Leona Wisoker, Linda Robertson, Lyndsey Harper, Marc Tassin, Mari Mancusi, Mark Van Name, Matthew Saunders, Michael J. Allen, Misty Massey, Myke Cole, Nancy Northcott, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Peter Prellwitz, Phil Giunta, PTSD, Rick Gualtieri, Robert Greenberger, Robin Hobb, Rod Belcher, Ron Garner, Rowena Cory Daniels, S.H. Roddey, Samantha Dunaway Bryant, Sascha Illyvich, Seanan McGuire, Selah Janel, Sherwood Smith, Stuart Jaffe, Tally Johnson, Tamsin Silver, Tera Fulbright, Tom Leveen, Tom Wells, Tracy Chowdhury, Travis Heermann, Trevor Curtis, Trisha Wooldridge, Valerie Willis, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Wendy S. Delmater, Weston Ochse, Whitney Evans
The Other End of the Situation–A #HoldOnToTheLight guest post by Stuart Jaffe
When I was first asked to write this blog post for #HoldOntoTheLight, I agreed without hesitation. Then I tried to write this thing. But it hurt, so I put it away. I tried again, sitting in my office, thinking, staring at the screen. But I couldn't. Not yet. Put it away, I thought. I'll get back to it. By the time other authors had started posting, I should have had this done. I read their blogs, saw how open and honest many of them were, but still, I couldn't.
I finally decided that hey, I'm a writer. I should be able to do this in some form that works for me — like fiction. So I wrote a thousand-word piece about a man and a woman reaching the point where they realized they had a trauma to deal with.
And I shelved it.
See, the problem here isn't that I'm embarrassed or ashamed or anything of the sort. The problem is that the depression I deal with on a daily basis is not mine. I don't want to betray a trust. I don't even know if I have to right to discuss the issues of a depression that isn't mine.
What I can discuss, however, is what it is like to be on the other end of the situation. I can reach out to the spouses, parents, and friends of those who suffer.
Because we suffer, too.
We are just as caught in a world of silence and sadness. We are the ones making excuses for our loved one's absence at parties, events, and family gatherings. We are the ones running interference between our loved one and the demands of the world. We take on the tasks and burdens of two. And we hurt when we see the dark place our loved one has gone to, when we reach out to help and nobody reaches back, when day after day turns to year after year and it gets harder to maintain a connection.
It's like watching an enormous ship — a life — slowly sinking in the ocean. We want to help. We try to help. But we rarely have the ability to jump aboard and patch the holes. Even when it seems like we can succeed, those holes reopen the moment we step away.
We're stuck watching.
I've been fortunate, so far. My loved one is still alive. But for many, that ship sinks. Many watch as depression ends in suicide. And regardless of what outcome we find ourselves in, we feel guilty. Because no matter what, we always think we can do more than watch. No matter how often we try, no matter how often we are rejected, no matter how many slivers of good days we cling to, in the end, we can only stand there, hold out our hands, and hope that our love will raise a hand to reach back. We can watch and wait.
And we do.
That is the thing I want those of you with depression or PTSD or any mental illness to understand. We are there for you. We are holding your hands. We want you back. So much that we'll suffer for you, too. We don't give up on you. Ever. So, you shouldn't either.
Because that's the way love works.
About the campaign:
#HoldOnToTheLight is a blog campaign encompassing blog posts by fantasy and science fiction authors around the world in an effort to raise awareness around treatment for depression, suicide prevention, domestic violence intervention, PTSD initiatives, bullying prevention and other mental health-related issues. We believe fandom should be supportive, welcoming and inclusive, in the long tradition of fandom taking care of its own. We encourage readers and fans to seek the help they or their loved ones need without shame or embarrassment.
Please consider donating to or volunteering for organizations dedicated to treatment and prevention such as: American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Hope for the Warriors (PTSD), National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Canadian Mental Health Association, MIND (UK), SANE (UK), BeyondBlue (Australia), To Write Love On Her Arms (TWLOHA) and the National Suicide Prevention Hotline.
To find out more about #HoldOnToTheLight, find a list of participating authors and blog posts, or reach a media contact, go to https://www.HoldOnToTheLight.com and join us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/WeHoldOnToTheLight
Stuart Jaffe is the author of the Nathan K fantasy-thrillers, The Max Porter Paranormal-Mysteries, The Malja Chronicles, a post-apocalyptic fantasy series, The Bluesman pulp series, the Gillian Boone novels, Founders, Real Magic and After The Crash as well as the short story collections, 10 Bits of My Brain and 10 More Bits of My Brain. Numerous other short stories have appeared in magazines and anthologies.
Filed under #HoldOnToTheLight, Guest Blogger
Tagged as #AKF, #AlwaysKeepFighting, #HoldOnToTheLight, Aaron Rosenberg, Addie J. King, Alexandra Christian, Alma Alexander Natania Barron, Alyssa Day, Amy Bauer, anxiety, Bishop O'Connell, Brian Rathbone, Bryan Thomas Schmidt, Calandra Usher, Cara Santa Maria, Cat Rambo, Catherine Asaro, Cheryl Wilson, Chris Kennedy, Christopher Golden, Chuck Gannon, Clay and Susan Griffith, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Darin Kennedy, Darynda Jones, Davey Beauchamp, David B. Coe, Deborah J. Ross, Delilah Dawson, depression, Diana L. Gunn, Dianna L. Gunn, domestic violence, Emily Leverett, Emmie Mears, Eric Asher, Gabrielle Faust, Gaie Siebold, Gail Z. Martin, Gregory Wilson, Harry Markov, J F Lewis, Jada Diaz, Jake Bible, James Maxey, Jay Requard, Jaym Gates, Jean Marie Ward, Jeanne Adams, Jennifer Brozek, Jennifer St. Giles, Jeri Smith-Ready, Jody Lynn Nye, Joelle Reizes, John G. Hartness, Jon Sprunk, Jonathan Oliver, Josh Vogt, Joshua Palmatier, Juliet McKenna, Justin Gustainis, Kameron Hurley, Karen E. Taylor, Karen Miller, Kathy Lyons, Keith DeCandido Mindy Mimudes, Kelly Harmon, Kelly Swails, Ken Schrader, Laura Anne Gilman, Laura Taylor, Leanna Renee Hieber, Leo Champion, Leona Wisoker, Linda Robertson, Lyndsey Harper, Marc Tassin, Mari Mancusi, Mark Van Name, Matthew Saunders, Michael J. Allen, Misty Massey, Myke Cole, Nancy Northcott, Nicole Givens Kurtz, Peter Prellwitz, Phil Giunta, Rick Gualtieri, Robert Greenberger, Robin Hobb, Rod Belcher, Ron Garner, Rowena Cory Daniels, S.H. Roddey, Samantha Dunaway Bryant, Sascha Illyvich, Seanan McGuire, Selah Janel, self-harm, Sherwood Smith, Stuart Jaffe, suicide, Tally Johnson, Tamsin Silver, Tera Fulbright, Tom Leveen, Tom Wells, Tracy Chowdhury, Travis Heermann, Trevor Curtis, Trisha Wooldridge, Valerie Willis, Vonnie Winslow Crist, Wendy S. Delmater, Weston Ochse, Whitney Evans
by disq2332 | November 25, 2015 · 9:05 am
Join the Shadow Alliance (and Other Cool Stuff)
Join the Shadow Alliance–it's the most fun you can have without a secret decoder ring!
The Shadow Alliance is my street team. Plenty of contests, prizes, exclusive sneak peek excerpts and updates on what I'm working on next, and other secret members-only cool stuff you have to join to discover! And, oh yeah, Alliance members help to spread the word about my books. Did I mention members-only get-togethers at select cons and cookies? Join now, have fun, help get the word out! Sign up here
Next up–Holiday giveaway! Win books and gift cards! Authors include me, Faith Hunter, David B. Coe, John Hartness, Stuart Jaffe, Laura Anne Gilman, Darynda Jones, Christina Henry, Jennifer Estep and Mindy Mymudes. Easy to enter, and the more you enter, the more chances to win!
You can find the book giveaway links here where you can enter
To win the gift card, go to one of these participating blogs and comment!
Slippery Words November 24th, 2015 I Smell Sheep November 25th, 2015 Literal Addiction November 27th, 2015 Cherry Mischievous November 29th, 2015 Drey's Library November 30th, 2015 Tome Tender December 1st, 2015 London's Scribbles December 2nd, 2015 Fantasy Fun Reads December 3rd, 2015 Rabid Reads December 10, 2015
Shopping for the holidays? Books are the best presents! Vendetta, the new Deadly Curiosities novel, is available for pre-order now and comes out in stores December 29! Other new books this year include War of Shadows in my Ascendant Kingdoms Saga series and Iron & Blood, for the Steampunk lover on your list!
Filed under Books, Gail Z. Martin
Tagged as books, epic fantasy, Gail Z. Martin, giveaway, holiday, prizes, steampunk, urban fantasy
by disq2332 | October 22, 2015 · 1:51 pm
Days of the Dead 2015: Tricks, Treats and Stuff that's Scary-Good!
Welcome to the 2015 Days of the Dead blog tour!
We are going to celebrate in style this year with excerpts, interviews, book giveaways, sneak peeks at new covers, and more!
Three new books are coming up—and that's just the beginning! On December 29, Vendetta: A Deadly Curiosities Novel (Solaris Books) launches—and it's got an awesome Chris McGuire cover. Then in March, Shadow and Flame (Orbit Books) comes out—the fourth and final book in the Ascendant Kingdoms series. In June, we return to the world of The Summoner with Shadowed Path, a print (and ebook) anthology of the first ten Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures PLUS an exclusive eleventh story that is only in the anthology!
But wait, there's more! The Weird Wild West anthology is out, with a Storm and Fury Adventure story from Larry N. Martin and me, and The Side of Good/The Side of Evil anthology/flipbook is also new—and it's got another Storm and Fury Adventure story as well. Speaking of the Iron & Blood-related Storm and Fury Adventures, check out the FREE full novella Grave Voices on Wattpad as well as short stories Resurrection Day and Airship Down on Kindle/Kobo and Nook.
There's a brand new Deadly Curiosities Adventure short story, Spook House, which will be out right in time for Halloween, and earlier this year we wrapped up Season 2 of the Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures—Season 3 will start in 2016. Coming soon are the all-new Blaine McFadden novellas in the King's Convicts series, that happens before the main action in Ice Forged (available on Kindle/Kobo and Nook). And in December, a Blaine McFadden short story, No Reprieve, debuts on Orbit Short Fiction.
In fact, there is so much awesome cool stuff going on that it takes TWO different blog tours to contain it all! That's where the Full Moon Blog Tour comes in—with even MORE great blogs from 25+ different authors (including me) so just click here or on the graphic to get started!
So what ELSE is going on with the Days of the Dead tour? Here's the deal—different blogs will post my guest articles on different days. Make the rounds, enter the contests, be entertained and grab some fun freebies! Where? Watch for links for Beauty in Ruins, ESpecBooks, The Qwillery, SF Signal, The Book Plank, Magical Words, I Smell Sheep, Bookloons, Romance Bandits, SFNow, Fantasy Book Critic, SF World, We Geek Girls, SF Bokhandlein, Fantasy Faction, SFX, No More Grumpy Booksellers, Solaris Books and more!
What kind of freebies? First off, there's The Swaggiest Swag giveaway. If you like bookmarks, postcards and cool free stuff from bestselling authors, this is for you. I'm one of 11 authors who are giving away neat stuff for just the cost of a self-addressed/stamped envelope. Find out more here:
I'll have three different Goodreads giveaways, one for Iron & Blood, one for Deadly Curiosities and one for The Weird Wild West. There are also giveaways on Reddit, Bookloons, The Full Moon Blog Tour, No More Grumpy Bookseller and Romance Bandits. Sprinkled along with the guest blog posts are links to excerpts for all my books and short stories, plus DOZENS of links to books and short stories by author friends of mine. Enough to keep you reading for quite a while!
What are you waiting for? You can get in on all the Days of the Dead fun on a treasure hunt/Trick-or-Treat just by visiting these sites. Check back at www.AscendantKingdoms.com and here to find all the links! And please, "like" my TheWinterKingdoms page on Facebook and follow me @GailZMartin on Twitter! And if you join my Chronicles newsletter, you'll never miss out on something because Facebook didn't show everyone the update!
With so much good stuff going on, it's going to take a week just to get through it all! What are you waiting for? Dive in and help me celebrate the Days of the Dead!
And because Halloween wouldn't be complete without some Trick or Treating, here are some excerpt links to my stuff and stories by some of my author friends!
Book swag is the new Trick-or-Treat! Grab your envelope of book swag awesomeness from me & 10 authors https://on.fb.me/1h4rIIe before 11/1!
Trick or Treat! Excerpt from my new urban fantasy novel Vendetta set in my Deadly Curiosities world here https://bit.ly/1ZXCPVS Launches Dec. 29
More Treats! Enter to win a copy of Deadly Curiosities! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/160181-deadly-curiosities
Treats! Enter to win a copy of Iron & Blood! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/160182-iron-blood
Halloween treat! Read two of our complete haunted novellas FREE on Wattpad The Final Death https://w.tt/1jsKqLL & GraveVoices https://w.tt/1kapSrn
Halloween Loot! Double-Dragon Publishing sampler #1 https://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/sample/DDPSAMPLE001.mobi
Good Stuff! Double-Dragon Publishing sampler #2 https://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/sample/DDPSAMPLE002.mobi
Win some WeirdWildWest awesomeness! https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/enter_choose_address/138364-the-weird-wild-west
Filed under Gail Z. Martin
Tagged as contest, Days of the Dead Tour, excerpts, fantasy, Full Moon Tour, Gail Z. Martin, Ghosts, giveaway, Goodreads, Halloween, Haunted, horror, Scary, steampunk, superhero, Trick or Treat, urban fantasy
by disq2332 | December 17, 2013 · 11:09 am
Kicking the Athena's Daughters Kickstarter Up a Notch!
Help fund the Kickstarter campaign to bring the Athena's Daughters campaign to life!
Athena's Daughters is the second Kickstarter anthology I've been part of. (The first is the upcoming Clockwork Universe: Steampunk Vs. Aliens by Zombies Need Brains Press.)
Once again, I am amazed by our fantabulous backers! We have passed Stretch Goal #20, which means all backers at $5+ get the audio book of War of the Seasons Part I by Janine Spendlove, plus the amazing print of Athena by Ginger Breo, plus a new anthology story by Jennifer Brozek, plus a new e-story by Tera Fulbright,–we added all those goodies just in the last couple of days, thanks to you!
Each time we make another stretch goal, all backers at the $5+ level get new stuff. The more people who back the Kickstarter, the more loot we all get. Got it? Fund it!
So what's Stretch Goal #20? A limited edition hardcover of Athena's Daughters will be published. This won't be a freebie, but it will be available to order, and the funding at this level makes publication a possibility.
Stretch Goal #21 will mean an additional story will be added to the anthology by Diana Peterfreund.
Goal #22 will fund the creations of a companion anthology, Apollo's Daughters, featuring female characters written by some of the top male science fiction and fantasy writers! Writers like Michael A. Stackpole, Aaron Alston, Aaron Rosenberg, David Mack and Brian Young, so you know this is going to be good!
And Goal #23 adds a story by Alma Alexander to the anthology! We are adding new stretch goals and new pledge rewards almost daily! There's still plenty of good stuff–but you've got to fund it to get it!
In addition to the Stretch Goals, there are still some awesome Pledge Rewards waiting to be gobbled up. These exclusive packages have limited quantities, and offer unique bundles of ebooks, print books, art, music and surprises. Support at the FIERCE level and get personalized, signed copies of my books The Sworn, The Dread and Ice Forged, plus other goodies. Support the REGAL level and get a personalized, signed copy of a limited-edition ARC of my book The Blood King. Support at the MENTOR level and get a manuscript review by one of our anthology's published authors—perfect for your own work or to give as a gift to the writer in your life!
Here's something else that's awesome–for every book sold, Athena's Daughters will contribute to RAINN (Rape, Abuse, Incest National Network), the largest anti-abuse network in the U.S. You get the whole stretch goal package–books, ebooks, e-stories, artwork, music, and victims of abuse get the help they need to survive. It's a great way to do good while getting goodies.
You've got it fund it to get it! Please become a backer of Athena's Daughters: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/103879051/athenas-daughters-women-in-science-fiction-and-fan's (You'll also see all the contributing authors, artists, editors and musicians, plus the AWESOME stretch goals, pledge reward levels and add-ons.)
Watch the Athena's Daughter's video.
Get to know the Athena's Daughters awesome authors with our blog hop! Just follow this link to blogging bliss!
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Athena's Daughters is a Kickstarter anthology featuring short stories by women writers in science fiction, fantasy and steampunk. Introduction by retired astronaut and former space shuttle pilot Pam Melroy. Authors include Mary Robinette Kowal, Gail Z. Martin, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Jean Marie Ward, Janine Spendlove, Maggie Allen, Conley Lyons, Cleolinda Jones, Cynthia Ward, C.A. Verstraete, Tera Fulbright, Tanya Spackman, EJ Lawrence, Nisi Shawl, Vicki Johnson-Steger, DL Stever , Diana Peterfreund, Jennifer Brozek, Tricia Barr. Art by Tietjen Alverez, Kellie Neier, Betsy Waddell, Ginger Breo. Edited by Jean Rabe.
Filed under Anthology, Books, Fandom, Gail Z. Martin
Tagged as Aaron Alston, anthology, Athena's Daughters, Betsy Waddell, C.A. Verstraete, Cleolinda Jones, Conley Lyons, Cynthia Ward, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, Diana Peterfreund, DL Stever, EJ Lawrence, fantasy, Gail Z. Martin, Ginger Breo, heroine, Janine Spendlove, Jean Marie Ward, Jean Rabe., Jennifer Brozek, Kellie Neier, Kickstarter, Maggie Allen, Mary Robinette Kowal, Mike Stackpole, Nisi Shawl, Pam Melroy, RAINN, sci-fi, Tanya Spackman, Tera Fulbright, Tietjen Alverez, Tricia Barr, Vicki Johnson-Steger, women's fiction
by disq2332 | December 10, 2013 · 4:06 pm
Strong Women, Exciting Stories–Athena's Daughters Anthology Kickstarter is Live!
I've partnered with Silence in the Library Publishing, Kickstarter, and a host of renowned authors including names like Mary Robinette Kowal, Jean Rabe, Sherwood Smith, and many others in a new Kickstarter project titled Athena's Daughters.
My story, "Retribution", is set in my Deadly Curiosities universe, in modern-day Charleston, SC. It's the same characters and setting as my "Buttons" adventure, and as the upcoming urban fantasy novel, "Deadly Curiosities" (Solaris Books, 2014)
Athena's Daughters is a collection of short fiction from some of the best female science fiction and fantasy authors in the industry. This anthology features stories written by women about women. I'm also incredibly excited to have an introduction to the anthology by retired astronaut and Space Shuttle Commander Pam Melroy.
The publisher, Silence in the Library, believes strongly in the concept of bringing the artistry back to publishing. To that end, every anthology they produce features illustrations for each and every story. Additionally, my fellow authors and I, and the staff at Silence in the Library Publishing believe that any good project should contribute something to improving the human community. In keeping with that goal, a portion of every book sold will go to RAINN. RAINN (Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network) is the nation's largest anti-sexual violence organization. RAINN created and operates the National Sexual Assault Hotline in partnership with more than 1,100 local rape crisis centers across the country and operates the DoD Safe Helpline for the Department of Defense. RAINN also carries out programs to prevent sexual violence, help victims and ensure that rapists are brought to justice.
By funding Athena's Daughters at any level, you help bring this project to life. And for supports who fund starting at the $5 level, you get awesome thank-you gifts from the authors. Help us reach our stretch goals, and you could win free books, ebooks, audiobooks, art, and more. You might even win the chance to be written into one of the stories!
Watch the cool video Janine Spendlove made to tell you all about it: Athena's Daughters–You can make this live!
This is only a small portion of what is waiting for you when you visit the Athena's Daughters Kickstarter project page. Please join us and become a part of the Athena's Daughter's journey by visiting https://tinyurl.com/athenasD and contributing today!
Read an excerpt from my Athena's Daughters story, "Retribution" here: https://www.wattpad.com/story/10512852-retribution
Tagged as anthology, Athena's Daughters, Danielle Ackley-McPhail, fantasy, Gail Z. Martin, Kickstarter, Mary Robinette Kowal, science fiction, women authors
Surviving the Publishing Apocalypse
By Gail Z. Martin
You've seen the headlines. "Print is dead!" "Books are History!" "It's the End of Reading As We Know It!"
Rumors of the death of publishing, to borrow from Mark Twain, have been exaggerated. It's certainly shifting and changing, breaking new ground and taking new forms, but it's not dead yet.
I would argue that publishing is where camera makers and record producers were several years ago. You remember records, right? Round, spinney things that played songs? They gave way to CDs, which were rendered useless by … Napster. Record companies never saw downloadable music coming, and because their entire business model was built on charging for entire albums rather than song by song, they felt very threatened. It took a while for legal downloads to win their trust, and even so, many major artists were hold-outs for many years.
Then there were cameras—the film kind. You know, where you take photos that are saved on film and you have to pay for the film to be developed, and wait a while, and then get to see your pictures? Kodak owned that market, but it didn't see the threat digital cameras posed to their kingdom until it was too late. Good luck trying to get your film developed at your neighborhood drug store these days. Everything's gone digital. Kodak's gone bankrupt.
Or how about watching movies at home? Not too long ago, people went to Blockbuster or Hollywood Video and rented movies. Then Netflix created a way for you to get your movies without leaving home, and Redbox gave you top hits for just a buck. Bye-bye Blockbuster.
Have people stopped listening to music? Taking pictures? Watching movies at home? No. They just changed how they consume them.
That's a lesson publisher are slowly learning. Their profit models are built around how things used to be, and the new reality is uncertain and scary. They're tippy-toeing into the brave new world of ebooks, wary of technology that might cut out the traditional publishing middle-men.
Meanwhile, authors and small presses are experimenting. You'll see long-published authors bringing out their out-of-print titles on ebook as self-published ebooks. You might see small presses offering the first book of a series for free to hook new readers into paying for future installments. Authors and small presses are doing Kickstarter projects to underwrite the cost of putting out a new book, and readers are proving that they'll pay for content they really like.
We're seeing the return of serialized novels, something that hasn't been popular since Charles Dickens. Podcasts offer audio novels created by the authors themselves, while social media allows authors to interact with readers in real-time, all the time.
The world of publishing has changed, and it's changed fast. Tomorrow's successful authors will be marketing pros as well as good writers, because staying in touch with readers through Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads and other sites is part of doing business. Readers expect to have an ongoing conversation with authors, and writers ignore that at their peril. Publishing houses still haven't grasped that their real value lies in their ability to promote, because many of them still view marketing as a secondary function. In reality, they're sitting on a gold mine and haven't quite realized it yet.
So is the publishing apocalypse upon us? I don't think so. We do live in "interesting times" as the Chinese curse says, but it's not cause for despair. Publishing, and books, will be with us for a long time to come.
Gail Z. Martin is the author of Ice Forged in her new The Ascendant Kingdoms Saga (Orbit Books), plus The Chronicles of The Necromancer series (The Summoner, The Blood King, Dark Haven & Dark Lady's Chosen ) and The Fallen Kings Cycle (The Sworn and The Dread). She is also the author of two series on ebook short stories: The Jonmarc Vahanian Adventures and the Deadly Curiosities Series. Find her online at www.AscendantKingdoms.com.
Tagged as Gail Z. Martin, Print is dead, Surviving the Publishing Apocalypse
Mythology and Fantasy—Where's the Line?
If you're a fan of world mythology, you may have noticed that famous (and rather obscure) creatures from folklore and legend have made their way to the pages of recent bestsellers. Epic and urban fantasy, paranormal romance and blockbuster movies all seem to have raided the pages of Bullfinch's Mythology for their cast of characters.
What's behind our fascination with the characters—and plotlines—of ancient myths? Do these modern versions qualify as "retellings" of the myths, or just the literary equivalent of discount knock-offs?
The myths have hung around for thousands of years because they speak to something deeply human, and to shared dreams, fears and fantasies. The myths also give us an archetypal framework in which to discuss good vs. evil, hubris and humility, and the values that make it possible to create a successful civilization, like honesty, hard work, truthfulness, loyalty, friendship, self-sacrifice, etc. The characters may be fabrications, but they are very human on a bigger-than-life scale.
Telling the old stories WAS popular entertainment for much of human history. These are the stories that ancient peoples memorized by heart and handed down from generation to generation. Many of the ancient cultures borrowed their myths from even more ancient peoples, adapting them to fit the times and the conventions of their civilizations. They would be told, retold and embellished at night around the campfire, on long winter evenings, and during celebrations and special ceremonies. Oral traditions became murals, tapestries, plays, and ballads. Plays became books, movies, ballads became operas. Watch closely, and you'll even see the old themes play out in music videos.
So what's with using mythology in modern fantasy? In my opinion, it's just another generation's retelling of the old, old stories, spruced up for today's readers. The setting and superficial details change, but the essence of the stories and characters remain the same. Does that mean there's no such thing as a "new" story? Perhaps in one way, because according to some experts, there are only two real plots in all of literature: 1) a person takes a trip and 2) a stranger comes to town. (Someone else pointed out that it's really just one story told from different perspectives.)
But in another way, there are an infinite number of stories, because each storyteller brings a unique personal interpretation to the myth, the journey and the characters. Re-told myths become more relevant when they are framed in contemporary images, broadening their appeal. Those of us who tell stories for a living are just the latest in a long line of bards, spinning tales around a campfire.
Tagged as Gail Z. Martin, Mythology and Fantasy—Where's the Line?
Why we can't get enough of medieval magic
What is it about the Middle Ages that makes us think of magic?
Maybe it's because those times seem so far removed from our own that it's difficult to believe they were actually real, and not just an elaborate backstory created by Hollywood. Especially here in the United States, where our oldest buildings are only from the 1500s, anything older seems hard to imagine.
Of course, magic was considered to be "real" during the Middle Ages. Throughout Europe, witch hunts brought many innocents to a bad end. Educated people lived in fear of witches and curses, werewolves and vampires. Given the lack of scientific knowledge, illness, natural disasters and even crop failures were blamed on magic, which seemed the most likely explanation.
I spend a lot of time researching background elements for my epic fantasy series, and it's no surprise that I'm frequently drawing on medieval sources, legends, and real-life occurrences involving magic. I'm fascinated with a world where magic was believed to be real, a world whose inhabitants saw mystery—and horror—at every turn. What did it feel like to live in a world where so little was explainable? How vulnerable would you feel if there were no scientific explanations for the weather, disease, mental illness, blights and pestilence, if those and other hardships seemed to arise from curses and evil spells?
Medieval Europe was a place of dark forests and wild seas. The world was still not well explored, so the discovery of previously unknown peoples, places, animals and objects seemed magical in the literal sense of the word. The Old Religions acknowledged magic as real, venerating it in their legends and rituals. Catholicism disdained magic, but replaced it with an unending series of miracles and miracle-working saints whose legends often ventured into what can only be termed "magic."
All of which explains why medieval settings seem tailor-made for fantasy adventures. Limited technology and scientific knowledge, vast distances and slow communication, daunting natural disasters and uncharted waters all set the perfect stage for telling stories laced with magic. Looking back through the darkened mirror of time, even historically documented events seem to have the feel of forgotten magic about them. That world seems so different from our own that it barely feels real.
And yet, people really don't change. Examine today's urban myths, and you'll find more than a hint of magical thinking as people try to explain big, complicated events with simple causes. Logic need not apply, and many urban myths and conspiracy theories won't hold up for a moment to scientific evidence, but there is something soothing at a primal level about simple, organic explanations in our nano-tech world.
I guess that's why I love writing epic fantasy with magic. I enjoy the idea of a world that isn't completely explainable, filled with wonder and mystery, where magic can and does happen and things aren't always as they seem. In our world full of satellite images, Google Glass, and cellular biology, sometimes it's fun to imagine not knowing everything. I enjoy the mystery.
Tagged as Gail Z. Martin, medieval magic
Promoting Your Book with Podcasts and Trailers
You've written a book. Congratulations! Now you need to let the world know, and attract readers. That's the hard part.
Out of the many options you have for promoting your book, many authors choose to make podcasts and trailers part of their marketing plan. One reason for this popularity is that podcasts and trailers bring sound and visual to the written word, adding excitement and engaging multiple senses. Another reason is that smart phones, digital cameras and inexpensive software have made podcasts and trailers easy to create. And the third reason is, they're fun to produce and fun to consume, making them a great way to reach out to readers and create a bond.
"Podcasts" don't really require an iPod. They are audio recordings shared via the Web that can be downloaded to and listened on any device that can play an MP3 or WAV file—iPods, smart phones, computers and a variety of MP3 players—and shared via social media.
"Trailers" are like the previews you see at the movies—short visual commercials that tease the viewer into wanting to know more. These can be viewed on YouTube, Vimeo and other video sites, downloaded to computers, and shared via social media.
What do you talk about on a podcast? Anything you want. Some authors interview other authors. Some podcast hosts record readings from their books, either with a single voice or a cast of characters like old-time radio shows. Others do a radio show-type of format that includes whatever catches their fancy. The point is that a podcast is a regular recording you share via social media that provides a way for readers to get to know you in a setting that isn't specifically promotional.
How do you create a podcast? Although it's pretty easy, that's a little beyond the scope of this article, although you can read "Podcasting for Dummies" by Tee Morris or my own "Launching Your Books Without Losing Your Mind" book for tips and how-to ideas.
If you've been on YouTube of Goodreads, you've probably seen book commercials, sometimes called "trailers." The simplest book trailers are really a video of a PowerPoint slide show, doing a transition from photo to photo to tease the viewer into wanting to find out more about the book. More complex trailers use special effects and even live action to create a commercial that brings a book to life.
One author I know who wrote a book with a pirate theme found a local pirate-themed event and went with her camera, taking photos of participants in pirate gear (with their permission) and sequencing the photos into a fun, simple book video. (If you use photos of people, be sure to get them to sign a simple form authorizing you to use their image.)
You can bring your commercial to life with music. Just be sure to purchase royalty-free tunes from a place like MusicBaker.com so that you stay on the right side of the law, and always use photos that you've either taken yourself or obtained through a royalty-free online service so that you don't infringe copyright. You can use the iMovie app (about $5) if you have an iPad, or Windows Movie-Maker (usually a free part of your basic software) if you use PC, or even a program like Camtasia if you want to get fancy. Or, you can hire a service like Apex Reviews or Circle of Seven (COS) Productions, both of which I've used.
Why bother? The short answer is, because podcasts and trailers help you sell books. The long answer is, because a career as an author is all about building a relationship with readers, and that relationship happens over a period of time, utilizing a variety of senses. Podcasts and trailers give prospective readers new ways to meet you, get to know you, and learn about your books without a direct sales pitch. By engaging readers through sound and visuals, your books come to life before the reader turns the first page.
Still not sure? Check out the author podcasts and videos on Goodreads, including the ones on my author page. There are as many styles as there are authors, and you can find something that fits your technology comfort zone, busy schedule and lifestyle.
Give your books a life of their own with podcasts and a book video, and see what happens to your sales!
Tagged as attract readers, Gail Z. Martin, Promoting Your Book with Podcasts and Trailers, written a book


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Detroit Movie Palaces
The Film Programs of the Detroit Film Theatre, Michigan Theater and Redford Theatre
← Sing-A-Long Grease
As Time Goes By →
Journey to Cinetopia
Posted on June 2, 2012 by Administrator
The energy of the inaugural Cinetopia International Film Festival was building to a high point at about 9 p.m. on Friday, June 1, 2012, as I listened to the final comments of Suzanne Lloyd, granddaughter of the famous silent film comedian Harold Lloyd.
Inside the main auditorium of the Michigan Theater, Suzanne was finishing a slide show presentation about her grandfather's life and career. You could hear a large crowd gathering in the Grand Foyer, waiting to see the 9:30 p.m. showing of Louder Than Love, a documentary about the rock scene in Detroit in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Soon, we were applauding Suzanne's appearance, which followed a 7 p.m. showing of Harold Lloyd's 1925 comedy The Freshman, with accompaniment by Michigan organist Stephen Warner. On that high note, the audience exited to the Grand Foyer, which was buzzing with anticipation for Louder Than Love.
Michigan Theater, June 1, 2012
It was the kind of continuous energy that festival planners hoped for when they set up this four-day event. It started on Thursday, May 31, and finishes on Sunday, June 3, with screenings at the Michigan, the State Theater, and Angell Hall on the campus of the University of Michigan.
Interestingly, my first encounter with Cinetopia was in a much quieter setting. The Michigan earlier hosted a 5 p.m. showing of the documentary Bestiaire, a quiet observation of animals and the people who interact with them in different ways.
It had almost no dialogue or music, but what might have been a test of patience turned out to be a very peaceful film. You could quietly reflect on the simple lives of animals, and the patience and humility that they need to survive. I work at Domino's Farm on the east side of Ann Arbor, where I enjoy observing the many animals on the grounds of that office complex and at the Domino's Petting Farm. Those experiences added to my enjoyment of Bestiaire.
Cinetopia builds on the relationship that the Michigan has developed in recent years with the Sundance Film Festival, which has used the Michigan to premiere movies that later played at Sundance. Cinetopia includes films that screened at Sundance and film festivals in Cannes, Berlin, Venice, and Toronto. In that festival spirit, flags advertising Cinetopia lined the streets of Ann Arbor.
Inside the theater, visitor-friendly tables were set up with personal greeters and different guides to Ann Arbor. Blue-shirted volunteers were everywhere to help keep the event running smoothly.
It's the kind of event that has many possibilities for growth and change, like other yearly Ann Arbor events, such as the summer art fairs and the Ann Arbor Film Festival. The festival name (Cinetopia International Film Festival) is unique enough to keep it from being confused with the Ann Arbor Film Festival, which is in March. The festival name also opens it up to expanding beyond Ann Arbor.
Also, Cinetopia is presenting feature-length and story-based films in both English and foreign languages, while the Ann Arbor Film Festival includes shorter, more experimental movies than what Cinetopia is showing. Cinetopia continues some of the practices of the Ann Arbor Film Festival, like informal discussion groups in non-theater settings and visits by the different creators of the scheduled films. And it also has the upbeat, dynamic atmosphere that has helped draw people to the AAFF. All of the Michigan staff members and volunteers that I saw at Cinetopia seemed to have a special level of energy and enthusiasm.
A highlight of the weekend was a three-day tribute to Harold Lloyd that included feature films on Friday and Sunday, and several short comedies on Saturday. The tribute gave the Michigan the chance to show off two of its organists—Stephen Warner, who played the music for The Freshman (1925) on Friday, and Steven Ball, who accompanied the short films on Saturday and Safety Last! (1923) on Sunday.
I saw both of the features, but had to miss the short movies. On Saturday afternoon, I was at the Redford Theatre, enjoying another comedy classic—It Happened One Night (1934), which won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director (Frank Capra), its two stars (Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert), and writer Robert Riskin.
As I watched It Happened One Night, listening to its witty dialogue that made full use of the soundtrack, I reminded myself that the silent The Freshman had been released less than 10 years before. It was a blessing of sorts that movies were silent long enough to produce the great work of Harold Lloyd and others, and then it was time for sound to come along and add new dimensions of expression.
After The Freshman was shown, Michigan CEO and Executive Director Russ Collins sat down on stage with Harold Lloyd's granddaughter Suzanne Lloyd for a discussion of her grandfather's life and work. Her comments added a personal touch to what we had just seen on the screen, and when I watched Safety Last! two days later, I reflected on her words.
Safety Last! featured leading lady Mildred Davis, whom Lloyd eventually married, and who was Suzanne's grandmother. Suzanne also talked about the accident that had severely damaged Harold Lloyd's right hand, and in Safety Last!, you could see how well he had adapted to his handicap.
His famous scene in Safety Last! where he climbs the tall building and hangs from the broken clock was exciting enough, but was made even more impressive when you thought of what he had to overcome to perform the scene.
Before the movie, organist Steven Ball asked the audience how many people were seeing their first silent film. Many people held up their hands, and from the laughter and exclamations of wonder at the feats of Harold Lloyd in Safety Last!, I'm sure it won't be their last silent movie.
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redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


With each new collection, Tumi takes inspiration from a cosmopolitan city, in line with its ethos of making travel and business bags for the global citizen. The sights, sounds and smells of New York is the destination of choice for Fall 2017. From the contemporary artwork at the Museum of Modern Art to the tranquil landscapes of the Hudson River Valley, the iconic city on the Eastern seaboard of America is on full display within Tumi's collection.
One of our longtime favourites is the Alpha Bravo collection. These bags are designed to last and feature Tumi's signature military-grade ballistic nylon fabric. If it's good enough for the rough terrain that soldiers traipse through, it's good enough for us. For Fall 2017, Tumi has rendered the bags in two colours – the existing (and very popular) Hickory as well as Blue Camo.
Another signature collection is the 19 Degree series, a range of aluminium and polycarbonate luggage that has garnered fans and accolades the world over. The interior is smartly designed so that you don't waste space, the exterior is wrapped with a special film that reflects light when the bag is on the move, and all of the products in this collection are extremely lightweight.
For Fall 2017, Tumi introduced the 19 Degree Aluminium in blue. Perhaps not the most imaginative of colours but you need to see the luggage in real life to appreciate and understand the understated but beautiful hue.
And for the digital savvy traveller, there is also a variety of power banks to charge your electronic devices, should the need to be stylish while juicing is ever a requirement. In the Instagram generation, I suppose it's always important to look picture perfect. There is even a power bank that doubles up as a luggage tag.


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The Jefferson Grid
by Kaushik Tuesday, June 05, 2018
The vast majority of America's western land is divided into a lattice-work of farms, towns and forests. This grid pattern was first proposed by Thomas Jefferson shortly after the American Revolutionary War, when the federal government came into possession of large areas of land. Before this newly acquired land could be sold, distributed and settled, it needed to be surveyed.
Before the Land Ordinance of 1785 was adopted, colonies were surveyed using the British system of "metes and bounds," where property boundaries were defined by local geography and topography. A typical description for a parcel of land might read: "From the point on the north bank of Muddy Creek one mile above the junction of Muddy and Indian Creeks, north for 400 yards, then northwest to the large standing rock, west to the large oak tree, south to Muddy Creek, then down the center of the creek to the starting point."
But relying on natural topography to define properties has its flaws. Trees die and rivers shift course. Besides, Thomas Jefferson, who would become the third President of the United States two decades later, realized that this approach wouldn't scale well to large regions. So he proposed the grid system. Not only was it easier and logical, it allowed the government to plot and sell land to investors without them actually visiting the site.
Jefferson idea was adopted in 1785, and two hundred years later it is still being used by the federal government to survey land.
These satellite images of the Jefferson grid are curated by Israeli artist Shabtai Pinchevsky who became interested in the American checkerboard system of delineating townships, neighborhoods and plots in 2014. His instagram account has a whole lot more.
Related: What Happens When The Grid Meets The Curvature of The Earth?
The Jefferson Grid Reviewed by Kaushik on Tuesday, June 05, 2018 Rating: 5
Tags : Historical Oddities USA


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De marathon van Madrid 2010 werd gelopen op zondag 25 april 2010. Het was de 33e editie van deze marathon. Het evenement heeft de status IAAF Silver Label Road Race.

De overwinning bij de mannen was weggelegd voor de Keniaan Thomson Cherogony. Met een tijd van 2:11.27 verbeterde hij het parcoursrecord. Bij de vrouwen zegevierde de Ethiopische Girma Tadesse. Zij zorgde voor de eerste vrouwelijke Ethiopische overwinning in Madrid. Op de finish had ze negentien seconden voorsprong op haar landgenote Dais Letay.

Het eveneens het toneel van de Spaanse kampioenschappen op de marathon. De nationale titels werden gewonnen door Miguel Ángel Gamonal Martin (2:17.25) en Ana Casares (2:47.50).

De marathon trok 10.000 lopers uit 49 landen.

Parallel aan de marathon werd er ook een 10 km hardloopwedstrijd georganiseerd. De overwinning hiervan ging naar de Ethiopiër Haile Gebrselassie (28.56) en de Marokkaanse Nazha Machrouh (34.17).

Uitslagen
Mannen

Vrouwen

2010
Madrid

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


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Lucas Leiva Offers Positive Injury Update On Twitter
Lucas Leiva has handed Liverpool an injury boost after confirming that his knee injury isn't as serious as being reported and he should be back in a 'few weeks'
Football Talk
Lucas Leiva has handed Liverpool a timely injury boost after confirming that his knee injury isn't as serious as being reported and he should be back in a 'few weeks'.
The Brazilian midfielder was forced off against Aston Villa during Saturday's 2-2 draw at Anfield after hearing a 'click' in his right knee following a clash with Fabian Delph midway through the second half.
Boss Brendan Rodgers was initially hopeful that the injury wasn't serious but it was widely reported in the national newspapers on Tuesday morning that Leiva was set for two months on the sidelines after apparently damaging the medical collateral ligament in his knee.
However, it appears those reports were wide of the mark with the 27-year-old taking to his official Twitter account on Wednesday night to play down those fears, claiming the injury isn't serious and he'll be back within a few weeks.
I would like to let you know that my injury isn't serious and I will be back in a few weeks. Thanks #relieved #thedreamstillalive
— Lucas Leiva (@LucasLeiva87) January 22, 2014
The news will come as a huge relief to Rodgers as another lengthy injury to one of his key men would be a massive blow in what's going to be a decisive few weeks in the Reds hunt for a top-four finish.
Liverpool currently sit fourth in the Premier League table after 22 games and with games against Everton, Arsenal and Manchester United coming up, Rodgers will want as many of his players available as possible. Leiva may be just short to face their Mersey rivals on the 28th January, but he should be fit to face the Gunners on the 8th of February.
Related TopicsBrendan RodgersInjury NewsLiverpoolLucas Leiva
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The Parkerville Tavern is a lovely old pub: double story Federation style, verandahs front and side.
It is situated in a wooded valley on nearly 2 hectares opposite Jane Brook and the surrounding natural park.
Essentially it is a country pub in a bush setting in the Perth metropolitan area.
Come and enjoy al fresco dining in the fabulous beer garden or the cosy indoor pub setting with friendly staff, great food and top service.
Open for lunch and dinner Monday – Sunday.


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Alpen offers chance to 'Reach Your Peak' with new campaign
Alpen, the £60 million brand, has hidden 20 golden tickets in selected packs for the launch of its new 'Reach Your Peak' marketing campaign – inspired by Alpen's mountain heritage.
The £1 million campaign, which includes the on-pack promotion on core Alpen bars and muesli, is designed to increase consumer awareness and drive sales this summer.
Across the breadth of the campaign, consumers will get the chance to win a range of prizes, with the pack promotion offering multiple consumers the chance to win £1,000 cash.
The campaign will also be supported by a wide range of POS toolkits to drive physical availability in store, as well as a strong digital campaign.
The on-pack promotion will be live from mid-August and will run until October.
Helena Blincow, Marketing Manager, Alpen says: "It's been a big year for Alpen with our Bars packaging refresh, NPD including the new Protein Bars, new Coconut & Chocolate flavour, and an optimised range of single bars, not forgetting our new Alpen Create product within our muesli portfolio. The brand is currently growing at +2% and we're hoping to build on this growth and reach our peak too with the new campaign!
"By injecting some excitement and engaging consumers we're aiming to increase visibility instore and online, driving sales and wider category growth too. Retailers should make sure to stock up on the limited edition packs and make use of the engaging POS available to showcase the Alpen range and bring the campaign to life in store."
The limited-edition promotional packs will be available across the wholesale, convenience and grocery channels.


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File photo of Praful Patel speaking at an event in 2006. (Photographer: Antoine Antoniol/Bloomberg News.)
Praful Patel Summoned For UPA-Era Aviation Scam
PTI@PTI_News
The Enforcement Directorate has summoned senior Nationalist Congress Party leader and former aviation minister Praful Patel next week as part of its money laundering probe related to alleged losses suffered by national carrier Air India, officials said Saturday.
They said Patel, a Rajya Sabha member, has been asked to appear before the investigating officer of the case at 11 am on June 6 in New Delhi.
This is the first major action against a political leader in the alleged multi-crore aviation scam that is stated to have taken place during the United Progressive Alliance government led by Manmohan Singh.
Officials sources said Patel, a senior politician belonging to Sharad Pawar-led NCP, needs to be put through certain revelations made by arrested aviation lobbyist Deepak Talwar and certain evidence unearthed by the agency in pursuit of this case filed under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act.
Patel, also the All India Football Federation president, has been asked to bring along certain documents related to his personal and official finances on the day of deposition, they said.
Meanwhile, the NCP leader said in Mumbai that he will be happy to engage with the Enforcement Directorate. "I will be happy to cooperate with ED for their understanding of the complexities of the aviation sector," he told PTI over phone.
Patel, 62, has represented the Bandra-Gondia seat of Maharashtra in Parliament four times and was Union civil aviation minister in 2004. He was also appointed cabinet minister for heavy industries in 2011.
The agency had recently filed a charge sheet in the case naming Deepak Talwar. It has said that Talwar was in regular touch with Patel.
The Enforcement Directorate claimed in the charge sheet that Talwar, who has been arrested, allegedly finalised various communications addressed to Patel on behalf of Emirates and Air Arabia.
"There is evidence including e-mail conversations between Deepak and Patel," the probe agency told the court.
According to the charge sheet, the investigation revealed that Talwar obtained undue favours for the private airlines using his contacts.
The Enforcement Directorate charged that Talwar had been engaged in liasioning/lobbying with politicians, ministers, other public servants and officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation for Emirates, Air Arabia and Qatar for securing undue benefits for them.
"He (Talwar) illegally managed to secure favourable traffic rights for these airlines during 2008-09 at the cost of the national carrier, Air India," the agency claimed.
It was also revealed that in lieu of securing favourable traffic rights, these airlines made payments to the tune of Rs 272 crore to Talwar during 2008-09.
"He created a web of his own entities and used companies of his son, Aditya Talwar, in India and international offshore havens to launder Rs 272 crore received from foreign airlines. Part of these payments were made to a bank account in Bank of Singapore belonging to a company Asiafield Limited, registered in the British Virgin Islands and beneficially owned by Deepak Talwar," the agency had said in a statement.
These proceeds of crime were "layered" through a series of international money transfers to partly integrate in India in Wave Hospitality Private Ltd., a company beneficially owned and controlled by Deepak Talwar in the name of his son Aditya, it had said.
While a court has issued non-bailable warrant against Aditya after the Enforcement Directorate told it that he was absconding from investigation, the agency has also grilled Deepak Talwar's wife Deepa in the case. Deepak at present is in jail and has sought bail on health grounds which is under consideration of the court.
The Enforcement Directorate had told the court earlier that it was trying to find out the names of officials of the Ministry of Civil Aviation, National Aviation Company of India Ltd and Air India, who favoured foreign airlines, including Qatar Airways, Emirates and Air Arabia, by making the national carrier gave up profit-making routes and timings.
"It has been alleged that officials of Ministry of Civil Aviation, NACIL and Air India, by abusing their official position as public servants and receiving illegal gratification, in conspiracy with other public servants, private domestic and foreign airlines, made the national carrier gave up profit making routes and profit making timings of Air India in favour of national and international domestic and foreign private airlines," Enforcement Directorate's advocate A R Aditya had told the court. "This resulted in a huge loss of market share to the national carrier and also led to pecuniary benefits to private domestic and foreign airlines."
India held bilateral meetings with Dubai, Sharjah and Qatar after which there has been an increase in the seat entitlements for both the contracting countries and increase in points of call for foreign carriers, it said.
Deepak Talwar was booked by the ED in August 2017 and the Central Bureau of Investigation in criminal cases of corruption, while the Income Tax Department charged him with tax evasion.
He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate early this year after he was deported from Dubai.
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Fred Prince was born in northeastern Pennsylvania dairy country where he first fished for trout. He later attended college at Penn State and Ohio University. His Ph.D. was one of the first studies on human muscle fiber types and adaptations with exercise. Since 1985 he has been teaching Human Anatomy and Physiology, Cell Biology, and various other biological courses at Plymouth State University (NH) – www.plymouth.edu.frederickpprince.


Exxon donated nearly $2 million to a group that financed NJ Governor Chris Christie's election campaigns. Then, Christie decided to settle a $9 billion lawsuit against Exxon for $225 million --just 3% of the damages it should pay.
Had a good few hours at the San Jose Craft Beer festival.
Naturally there were too many IPAs present, as they are the fad of the decade for beers. But still plenty of good stuff: porters, bitters, ciders.
Worst stuff I tasted was the "sour ciders". I've never encountered those before, and I don't care to encounter them again.
Most interesting was the Blue Moon "Cinnamon Horchata" beer. As the server recommended: it goes great with beef tachos!


Hugs the Wall as you Recline..
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We offer great deals on furniture ideally suited for any living room, game room, or man cave.


text:
Conference: Titanic 1912: Soundings in Global and Media History
An interdisciplinary symposium 100 years after the sinking of the luxury liner as a transnational media event . 30 March-01 April, 2012, Munich
An interdisciplinary symposium 100 years after the sinking of the luxury liner as a transnational media event
30 March-01 April 2012, Munich
Organization: Dr. Nic Leonhardt
Global Theatre Histories Project
Ludwig Maximilians-Universität München
In the night of the 14 to 15 April 1912, the R.M.S. Titanic sank, the second luxury liner, after the Olympic, of the White Star Line, which, from the late 19th century, operated shipping lines between America and Europe. The maiden voyage had been eagerly awaited, and marketed worldwide. Newspaper articles, illustrations, technical reports, and product advertising had all contributed to generating global public attention even before the ship was launched. Well-heeled and famous passengers, among them many international figures from media, business, and the arts, who travelled the transatlantic trade routes, functioned as additional magnets of attention. However great the expectations surrounding the launching were, they were surpassed by the global reception after the sinking. Already on the morning following the disaster, a multifaceted medial, artistic, literary, and ideological reaction began, which has determined the controversial debate on the sinking of the luxury ship to this day. The event crystallised the practical aspects of the infrastructure of the transatlantic trade routes for theatre and media, for the ensembles, managers, producers, actors, designers, and film crews had been using ships as the only usual means of transport for their companies since the late 19th century. Already in June 1912, only two months after the catastrophe, Mime Misu directed the first Titanic film, In Nacht und Eis ('In the Night and Ice'; working title: Titanic; atelier of the Continental Kunstfilm GmbH, Berlin). But other media and arts – among them "old" media such as Magic Lantern projections, theatre, painting, as well as newspapers, products of popular culture, advertising – took up the event immediately.
The focus of the two-day symposium Titanic 1912 - Soundings in Global and Media History is the examination of the Titanic catastrophe from an interdisciplinary, global and media historical perspective. Although the disaster has been recalled in recent years by James Cameron's hit film Titanic (1997, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet), the conference is concerned explicitly with the immediate medial and artistic resonance prior to the event (i.e. 1911-1912, which helped determine the impact of the catastrophe) and the global reception and treatment directly afterward in the media, arts, and literature (1912-1914).
More Information (English) (36 KByte)
More Information (Deutsch) (172 KByte)


text:
Q: What is the complexity of the given function can someone tell me what is the complexity in the function and why please?
Thanks
def func1(n):
    if n==0:
        return (1)
    if n==1:
        return (1)
    if n==2:
        return (2)
    return (n*func1(n-3))

n=int(input())
func1(n)

I think the complexity is: "O(nlog n)"

A: The time complexity of the function is O(n) because n - 3 is linear. It would be O(logn) if it was a dividing operation. For further explanation, you can refer to this.
P.S. multiplication with n itself does not affect the given parameter in each recursive call therefore, it does not affect time complexity at all.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Mom always told us if you say mean things about the other children, they won't want to play with you, reminds Enterprise Cloud News (Banking Technology's sister publication). Larry Ellison, Oracle's feisty founder, is learning that lesson, if a report on The Information is true.
Oracle trash-talked both Amazon and Salesforce last year – particularly Amazon – and now both companies are looking to cut their extensive investment in Oracle databases, according to a report on The Information, attributed to anonymous company insiders.
Ellison singled out Amazon in particular for verbal abuse last year, but Salesforce got its share. In an earnings call last month, Ellison said, "Amazon continues to buy Oracle technology to run its business", spending $50 million during the quarter. And Salesforce "runs entirely on Oracle", he said.
Amazon began exploring Oracle alternatives in the early 2000s. Its retail unit has switched two internal databases that power its e-commerce business from Oracle to NoSQL, according to The Information's article.
Salesforce has been developing an Oracle database replacement, with the delicious code-name "Sayonara" (which is Japanese for "goodbye") and is ready to deploy it internally. Salesforce expects to be completely off Oracle in 2023, the article says.
Oracle declined to comment, and Amazon did not respond to a query from Enterprise Cloud News.
Amazon and Salesforce may be motivated by cost, as Oracle is very expensive, and Oracle aggressively enforces licensing, which is confusing and easy to violate, The Information notes.
Another article in Between the Lines presents an alternate theory: that the two companies are tied to Oracle; they just want Ellison to shut up about it.
And, indeed, the development efforts inside of Amazon and Salesforce could all just be a matter of getting leverage over Oracle. By preparing alternatives to Oracle – and leaking news about it too – Amazon and Salesforce could simply be building muscle to negotiate a better deal with the big red database provider.
On the other hand: Amazon is stepping up its database service offerings to compete with Oracle, while Salesforce and Oracle compete on applications. Does it makes sense for two companies to rely on a competitor for vital infrastructure?
A new packaged solution for payments, retail and corporate banking.
Oracle reported total cloud revenues up 44% to $1.5 billion for Q2 of its fiscal 2018.


text:
4 Ways Science Can Predict Death, Rate Of Aging
Oct 29, 2014 07:30 AM By Anthony Rivas
Many of us fear aging and death, but scientists have discovered ways to predict when it'll happen anyway. Photo courtesy of Shutterstock
It starts happening sometime around our late-20s. All those bumps and bruises we accrued during our teenage years, though healed on the outside, start to appear in the form of random pains in our joints, or our backs — we just can't move around like we used to. Some women start to see wrinkles forming (gasp!) We all worry about aging, and some of us think too much about when we'll die. Although it's best not to worry about these things, if you're really interested in getting an estimate, here are four ways scientists have been able to predict death and aging.
Your Sense Of Smell
The nose requires constant cellular regeneration to maintain its ability to smell, especially when it comes to those more subtle scents. But as we age, our cells begin to lose their ability to regenerate, due in part to "age-dependent changes in tissue-specific stem cells," a 2005 study said. So it makes sense, then, that the nose's ability to smell will falter as we get older.
A study from earlier this month found just that. After testing the ability of about 3,000 men and women aged 57 and up to identify five scents — peppermint, fish, orange, rose, and leather — they found that those who were worse at identifying each among a group of four were three times as likely to die within five years.
How Strong is your Grip?
It turns out that your level of educational attainment can be a predictor of death, if only by a small margin. Surveys on aging from around the world have already begun implementing strength tests as a way to determine a person's rate of aging. After all, less strength can be associated with anything from disability to cognitive decline, and a person's ability to recover from injury to death.
A May study, published in the journal PLOS One, rounded up data from over 50 other studies, and found that a person's educational level could hint to their grip strength, and thus predict their rate of aging. They found that "a 65-year-old white woman who had not completed secondary education has the same handgrip strength as a 69-year-old white woman who had completed secondary education," the study's author Serguei Scherbov said in a press release. "This suggests that according to a handgrip strength characteristic, their ages are equivalent, and 65-year-old women age four years faster due to lower educational attainment."
A Blood Test for Aging?
There's no doubt that our blood is one of the best ways to measure our health. Blood tests tell us about disease (STDs, for example), our immune health, and obviously, blood pressure and cholesterol. But recently, scientists also learned that blood biomarkers, molecules within that indicate health conditions, can also determine whether or not a person will live longer.
A study from March this year gathered blood samples from 9,842 people; within five years, 508 of them died. When the researchers tested the blood, they found that four of them — plasma albumin, alpha-1-acid glycoprotein, very low-density lipoprotein particle size, and citrate — appeared in higher concentrations than the rest. Another experiment on 7,500 participants found similar results.
The researchers said that these biomarkers were indicative of diseases to come, since they were signs of general frailty in the body. But it was those whose levels of the biomarkers were in the top 20 percent of all people with the biomarkers that were 19 times more likely to die within five years, when compared to those in the bottom 20 percent.
Think Fast! Your Life Depends On It
It should come as no surprise that a person who is able to react quickly to any sort of stimulus probably has better cognitive function. In a study published earlier this year, researchers at University College London created a simple test, which you can play here, that was able to determine a person's risk of early death, depending on how quickly they reacted.
The goal of the game was to see how quickly people could push a button when prompted by an image moving swiftly across the screen. If you blinked, you'd probably miss it. Over the course of 15 years, the researchers found that participants 378 of the 5,000 participants who had played the game at the start had died. When they compared these rates to the scores on the game, they determined that those with slower-than-average reaction times were 25 percent more likely to die.
"One theory is that slow reaction time might reflect deterioration of other bodily systems, such as the brain and nervous system," Dr. Gareth Hagger-Johnson, author of the study, told Medical Daily at the time. "Perhaps, people who are slower to react are also more unhealthy."


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Home » Actor Tips » Brad Pitt on What He Learned Working With Anthony Hopkins
Actor Tips
Brad Pitt on What He Learned Working With Anthony Hopkins
By Chris McKittrick January 8, 2020 No Comments
"If it's real for you, it's going to be real, because the camera reads that." – Brad Pitt
One might not initially think of Brad Pitt and Adam Sandler in the same sentence (except that Sandler has made two movies with Jennifer Aniston and Pitt was once married to Aniston), but the unlikely duo recently had a conversation about their recent career successes (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood for Pitt and Uncut Gems for Sandler) for Variety. At one point, Pitt spoke to Sandler about the improv nature of comedy and remarked on how similar it was when he watched Sir Anthony Hopkins during one of their films together.
Pitt made two movies with Hopkins, 1994's Legends of the Fall and 1998's Meet Joe Black, and he recalls observing how Hopkins completely changed his approach to a scene in less than a minute. He recalls, "I once saw Tony Hopkins, we were doing — this was mid-'90s — something, and the scene wasn't working for him. He turned his back to us all for about 30 seconds, turned back around and he did it. He just came in; it was a completely different tone. The words were the same, and it was glorious. I've always made a point since then to keep trying to mess up the intention of the scene. That's what I drew from. Whenever I see comedy guys riffing like that, it's always fresh."
Reflecting on that almost-improvisational approach, Pitt adds, "That's always my argument. If it's real for you, it's going to be real, because the camera reads that."
Chris McKittrick
In college, overachiever Christopher McKittrick double-majored in Film and English because he loves to read, write, and watch movies. Since then Chris – who was born and raised on Long Island, New York and currently lives in Queens – has become a published author of fiction and non-fiction, a contributor to entertainment websites, and has spoken about literature, film, and comic books at various conferences across the country when he's not getting into trouble in New York City (apparently it's illegal to sleep on street corners...) For more information about Chris, visit his website here!
Nicolas Cage Talks Acting and How He Finds Inspiration
Michael Emerson on How He Creates Characters and the Advice He Gives to Actors
Ruth Wilson on the Challenges of Auditioning Early in Her Career


Frequently you may need to repeat (R) a line and to modify one of them. This edit macro is to help you if you need to perform this operation on a lot of lines which can be identified. One purpose for which the edit macro might be useful is in JCL. Suppose you situation where if there are //PRINTER cards in JCL you want to add //PRINT2 cards below all occurrences. This edit macro would help you perform this task.
lptr-range indicates that two line pointers are required to indicate a range of lines to be deleted. The line pointers must be a labels. Specifying one line pointer is invalid. The default is to process all lines (.zFIRST .ZLAST).
AFTER Lines will be repeated AFTER the Current NX lines and the original NX lines will be undisplayed with a =NOTE= to show the original NX line. You can then change the new lines individually or globally.
BEFORE Lines will be repeated BEFORE the Current NX lines and the original NX lines will be undisplayed with a =NOTE= to show the original NX line. You can then change the new lines individually or globally.
Applies to NX lines only.
There must be at least one NX (displayed) line present. Generally most lines should be X (undisplayed) lines, but the usage will vary.
This is one of those macros where the macro itself is a lot smaller than it's documentation.
If BEFORE is not specified it will be processed as if AFTER had been specified.
Processing occurs from the bottom of the range so that inserted lines will not affect the line number being processed by the macro.
000003 Steps to be taken by Executive Committee.
=NOTE= Steps to be taken by Executive Committee.
000005 Steps to be taken by Executive Committee.
You are visitor since count started June 5, 1997.


text:
Legal & Regulation
The Biden Administration Now Weighing an Executive Order on Cryptocurrency
The Biden administration continues to try to think of ways to regulate the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry. The latest move in this direction is the White House weighing an executive order on crypto as part of its efforts to set up a government-wide approach to cryptocurrency, reported Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter.
According to this proposed directive, federal agencies would be studying and offering recommendations on crypto and covering relevant areas such as national security, economic innovation, and financial regulation. Also, the administration wants relevant agencies to examine crypto in other areas, including consumer protection, research, and innovation, competition policy, the official said.
The plans, which are still under consideration, will reportedly further aim to coordinate agencies' work on crypto-assets throughout the executive branch, and those departments that haven't given much attention to crypto will be pushed to focus on it as well.
By bringing in the Treasury Department and financial regulators to the Commerce Department, national security agencies, and the National Science Foundation, in the framework, the White House aims to take a unified approach to crypto.
According to a White House official, Deputy National Security Advisor Daleep Singh is directly involved in the work. He is a veteran of the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Officials are also considering appointing a White House crypto czar to act as a point person on the issue, one person told the publication.
The draft would provide clarification as to the responsibilities of various agencies. Currently, it is circulating among senior officials and regulators. Different agencies will be tasked with examining relevant topics and reporting back on their findings, said the people.
Already, as we reported, the Presidential Working Group is examining stablecoins and considering regulating them as banks.
In response, Senator Pat Toomey sent a letter to the Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen this week, urging the administration "to take a thoughtful, fair, and balanced approach to analyzing stablecoins" and ensure that they are fostering technological innovation instead of stifling it.


text:
Q: Content Height Based On Browser Viewport I have some Javascript using JQuery to give my main content's container a height if it is smaller than the browser's viewport. This is to ensure the footer is always at the bottom of the page. Wen I call it like this, it works:
$(document).ready(function() {
    var windowHeight = $(window).height();
    var contentHeight = windowHeight - 325;
    if($("#content").height() <= contentHeight) {
        alert(contentHeight);
        $("#content").height(contentHeight+"px");
    }
});

But I want to declare it as a function so I can use it on the page resize event, but when I do that, it doesn't work. Here is the code I am trying to use:
function pageSizer() {
    var windowHeight = $(window).height();
    var contentHeight = windowHeight - 325;
    if($("#content").height() <= contentHeight) {
        alert(contentHeight);
        $("#content").height(contentHeight+"px");
    }
}

$(document).ready(pageSizer());
$(window).resize(pageSizer());

Any ideas?

A: $(document).ready(pageSizer());
$(window).resize(pageSizer());

change to
$(document).ready(pageSizer);
$(window).resize(pageSizer);

You are invoking your functions instead of passing them as a reference which jQuery expects.


text:
Q: Refactor Two JS Functions That Share Same Variables What would be the best way to refactor the following two functions that include very similar variable declarations:
function minFeeCheck(input) {
    input.value = parseFloat(input.value).toFixed(2);
    var minFeeUpdate = parseFloat($("#minimumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
    var maxFeeUpdate = parseFloat($("#maximumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
    var minInt = parseInt(minFeeUpdate);
    var maxInt = parseInt(maxFeeUpdate);
       if (minFeeUpdate < 0) input.value = 0;
       if (minInt > maxInt) input.value = maxFeeUpdate;
       if (minInt > maxInt) {
           input.value = minFeeUpdate;
           $("#maximumFee").val(minFeeUpdate);
       }
}
function maxFeeCheck(input) {
    input.value = parseFloat(input.value).toFixed(2);
    var minFeeUpdate = parseFloat($("#minimumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
    var maxFeeUpdate = parseFloat($("#maximumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
    var minInt = parseInt(minFeeUpdate);
    var maxInt = parseInt(maxFeeUpdate);
       if (maxFeeUpdate < 0) input.value = 0;
       if (maxInt < minInt) {
           input.value = maxFeeUpdate;
           $("#minimumFee").val(maxFeeUpdate);
       }
}

Both functions seem to be similar except one target a minimum and one targets a maximum.  What would be the most ideal and cleanest method of writing this out while maintaining the same functionality.  Thanks.
UPDATE
With the help of @gaetanoM, here is a possible solution.  It includes a check if the user enters a negative number (which would change the minFee and maxFee as a zero).
HTML:
<input id="minFee" class="form-control form-control-custom" value="" maxlength="255" onchange="minMaxFeeCheck(this);" min="0" max="200" data-toggle="tooltip" title="A number greater than zero and less than maximum fee." type="number"/>

<input id="maxFee" class="form-control form-control-custom" value="" maxlength="255" onchange="minMaxFeeCheck(this);" min="0" max="200" data-toggle="tooltip" title="A number greater than zero and minimum fee." type="number"/>

JavaScript:
function minMaxFeeCheck(input, minormax) {
    input.value = parseFloat(input.value).toFixed(2);
    var minFeeUpdate = parseFloat($("#minimumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
    var maxFeeUpdate = parseFloat($("#maximumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
    var minInt = parseInt(minFeeUpdate);
    var maxInt = parseInt(maxFeeUpdate);
    var tmp = (minormax) ? minFeeUpdate : maxFeeUpdate;
    if (input.value < 0) {
          input.value = 0;
          $("#minimumFee").val(0);
    } else {
        if (tmp < 0) input.value = 0;
        if (minInt > maxInt) input.value = tmp;
        if (minInt > maxInt) {
            input.value = tmp;
            $("#minimumFee").val(tmp);
        }
    }
}

A: My proposal is:
function minmaxFeeCheck(input, minormax) {
    input.value = parseFloat(input.value).toFixed(2);
    var minFeeUpdate = parseFloat($("#minimumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
    var maxFeeUpdate = parseFloat($("#maximumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
    var minInt = parseInt(minFeeUpdate);
    var maxInt = parseInt(maxFeeUpdate);

    var tmp = (minormax) ? minFeeUpdate : maxFeeUpdate;

    if (tmp < 0) input.value = 0;
    if (minInt > maxInt) input.value = tmp;
    if (minInt > maxInt) {
        input.value = tmp;
        $("#minimumFee").val(tmp);
    }
}

Indeed:
if (minInt > maxInt) {

is the same of:
if (maxInt < minInt) {

A: You can try this method :
 function minMaxFeeCheck(input) {
  input.value = +parseFloat(input.value).toFixed(2);
  const minFeeUpdate = +parseFloat($("#minimumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
  const maxFeeUpdate = +parseFloat($("#maximumFee").val()).toFixed(2);
  minFeeUpdate < 0 ? input.value = 0 : minFeeUpdate > maxFeeUpdate ? input.value = minFeeUpdate && $('#maximumFee').val(minFeeUpdate) : input.value = maxFeeUpdate && $('#minimumFee').val(maxFeeUpdate);
}


It's not strange for kids or even some adults to shy away from certain vegetables, and many parents know dinner time can become quite the hassle because of it.
So when I heard the term "eat your veggies," I was assuming there would be a child. Nope. This is one cats very real struggle against owners who know just what he hates. Check out what he does because of it!
Next story Cowboy Dad Catches his Daughter Dancing to Hip Hop. Now Watch his Reaction!
Imagine Relaxing in Your Pool and Seeing THIS Approaching You. OMG!


text:
Q: GPU rendering of camera preview stream drop frames when using complex fragment shader My target device is an android 4.4.2 pad device with PowerVR GPU. Now I designed a program to retrieve the live video from camera, and then feed to GPU to do rendering, and the result is encoded as H.264 stream.
This flow is very similar with the one on bigflake: http://bigflake.com/mediacodec/CameraToMpegTest.java.txt
And I also make use of this code to do the whole staff.
Now the problem comes. I need to increase the output video resolution, for example, 2048x2048, and I also need to use a very complex fragment shader. Then I find that the app drops some frames. My incoming video is 30fps, while the outcome video averages to be 22fps, while sometime the video will seize for about one second or so.
I doubt that the GPU work load maybe too high. So I use PVRTune to profile the app workload. The GPU task load : tiler is very low, for each frame only consumes 0.4ms or so, while GPU task load : renderer is very high, for each frame it consumes 15~19ms. Other GPU task load and CPU load are all very low. During adjacent rendering frame, the GPU idle time is about 10~30ms, and it varies for each rendering frame.
I modified CameraToMpegTest.java code, put the drainEncoder() function call in an independent thread for faster processing, so my app main working loop is as follows:
while (System.nanoTime() < desiredEnd) {
    mnGPUOpCount++;

    // Acquire a new frame of input, and render it to the Surface.  If we had a
    // GLSurfaceView we could switch EGL contexts and call drawImage() a second
    // time to render it on screen.  The texture can be shared between contexts by
    // passing the GLSurfaceView's EGLContext as eglCreateContext()'s share_context
    // argument.
    mStManager.awaitNewImage();
    mStManager.drawImage();

    // Set the presentation time stamp from the SurfaceTexture's time stamp.  This
    // will be used by MediaMuxer to set the PTS in the video.
    if (VERBOSE) {
        Log.d(TAG, "present: " + ((st.getTimestamp() - startWhen) / 1000000.0) + "ms");
    }
    mInputSurface.setPresentationTime(st.getTimestamp());

    // Submit it to the encoder.  The eglSwapBuffers call will block if the input
    // is full, which would be bad if it stayed full until we dequeued an output
    // buffer (which we can't do, since we're stuck here).  So long as we fully drain
    // the encoder before supplying additional input, the system guarantees that we
    // can supply another frame without blocking.
    if (VERBOSE) Log.d(TAG, "sending frame to encoder");
    mInputSurface.swapBuffers();
}

If the fragment shader can not be optimized anymore, and the resolution remains very large, the GPU render time would be as much as 19ms. Under such condition, Can I get fluent video rendering? I think for 30fps we have 33ms operation time, so it is very possible to achieve. So what causes the frame dropping? I have no idea how to further improve the main working loop.


Being school holidays, we have had the fun of having them home every day. Last week we took them to a special high tea (Enchanted Forest High Tea at the Stamford Plaza in Brisbane) to celebrate their birthday, get dressed up like princesses and princes and have tea and cake (a daily mission for them!). We were the only ones there, and we got the special treatment. The kids were overwhelmed with the tea pots, cake and sandwiches. It was very special – and reports from the kids "I think that high tea is very special Mummy".
It was an amazing time – and so incredibly worth it (we got 2 for 1 vouchers off of Facebook, so it was very affordable!). They all had an excellent time, and had happy birthday sung to them!
Cakes are even in birth order!
We sang happy birthday three times, and they had a small piece of each cake. (we still have left overs even after giving some away!).
After cake, we set off for birthday camping. We went to Murphys Creek Escape, in the Lockyer Valley. It was amazing. The kids love the caravan. So do I. It is some quality screen free time where we all have to work together, play together and be together. We had a camp fire every night, and some marshmallows roasted over the fire one night.
We set off on a "safari" where we wandered through the creek bed and the rocks. It was a wonderful few hours (yep hours!) where the kids were able to safely explore and look around. Even though it was cold and the water was freezing, they all unanimously decided to go for a 'safari swim' and build a dam. Thank goodness for warm showers (20 cents for 2 minutes) and extra clothes!
All four kids were dripping wet, covered in sand, mud, and red dirt. But they had FUN. And so did we. Watching them work together (for a bit!) building a dam, then running off and splashing, playing and just being kids. It was beautiful to watch. And I know they will remember it. No fighting, just fun and exploring safari style.
I have started the impossible washing load (am 6 loads in…a few to go) and the kids have mentioned a few hundred times how much they love camping and want to go again. And soon.
So now I have a 7 year old, and three 4 year olds. I cannot wait to see what the next year brings!
How can you not laugh!!?
Awesome job guys! Our boys turn 2 on the 16th July and also looking forward to going camping 'one day'….not exactly the wife's favourite pastime…lol.
High Tea looks awesome! Another one to add to or must do list as well.
It's certainly an experience camping with them – we went the first time more than a year ago and went in a tent where we cable tied the windows and doors! They have come a long way!
The high tea was so special for them – they are at that age where they are busting to be a big kid!
Yay to the best week any four old would love. Love all the cakes. Slimer is my favourite. Love ya loads.
You guys are amazing. They grow up so fast. Harry is now 16 and learning to drive and Campbell just turned 12.
Oh Kath it feels like ages ago! I remember the belly rubs haha!