text:
Tag Archives: Southern fiction
Recent Writing for BookBrowse, Shiny New Books and the TLS
By Rebecca Foster on June 12, 2020 | 30 Comments
A peek at the bylines I've had elsewhere so far this year.
A Good Neighborhood by Therese Anne Fowler: In Fowler's sixth novel, issues of race and privilege undermine a teen romance and lead to tragedy in a seemingly idyllic North Carolina neighborhood. A Good Neighborhood is an up-to-the-minute story packed with complex issues including celebrity culture, casual racism, sexual exploitation, and environmental degradation. It is narrated in a first-person plural voice, much like the Greek chorus of a classical tragedy. If you loved Tayari Jones's An American Marriage, this needs to be next on your to-read list. It is a book that will make you think, and a book that will make you angry; I recommend it to socially engaged readers and book clubs alike.
Pew by Catherine Lacey: Lacey's third novel is a mysterious fable about a stranger showing up in a Southern town in the week before an annual ritual. Pew's narrator, homeless, mute and amnesiac, wakes up one Sunday in the middle of a church service, observing everything like an alien anthropologist. The stranger's gender, race, and age are entirely unclear, so the Reverend suggests the name "Pew". The drama over deciphering Pew's identity plays out against the preparations for the enigmatic Forgiveness Festival and increasing unrest over racially motivated disappearances. Troubling but strangely compelling; recommended to fans of Shirley Jackson and Flannery O'Connor. [U.S. publication pushed back to July 21st]
Shiny New Books
Losing Eden: Why Our Minds Need the Wild by Lucy Jones: While nature's positive effect on human mental health is something we know intuitively and can explain anecdotally, Jones was determined to investigate the scientific mechanism behind it. She set out to make an empirical enquiry and discovered plenty of evidence in the scientific literature, but also attests to the personal benefits that nature has for her and explores the spiritual connection that many have found. Losing Eden is full of both common sense and passion, cramming masses of information into 200 pages yet never losing sight of the big picture. Just as Silent Spring led to real societal change, let's hope Jones's work inspires steps in the right direction.
[+ Reviews of 4 more Wainwright Prize (for nature writing) longlistees on the way!]
The Bass Rock by Evie Wyld: While it ranges across the centuries, the novel always sticks close to the title location. Just as the louring rock is inescapable in the distance if you look out from the Edinburgh hills, there's no avoiding violence for the women and children of the novel. It's a sobering theme, certainly, but Wyld convinced me that hers is an accurate vision and a necessary mission. The novel cycles through its three strands in an ebb and flow pattern that seems appropriate to the coastal setting and creates a sense of time's fluidity. The best 2020 novel I've read, memorable for its elegant, time-blending structure as well as its unrelenting course – and set against that perfect backdrop of an indifferent monolith.
Times Literary Supplement
I Am an Island by Tamsin Calidas: A record of a demoralizing journey into extreme loneliness on a Scottish island, this offers slivers of hope that mystical connection with the natural world can restore a sense of self. In places the narrative is a litany of tragedies and bad news. The story's cathartic potential relies on its audience's willingness to stick with a book that can be – to be blunt –depressing. The writing often tends towards the poetic, but is occasionally marred by platitudes and New Age sentiments. As with Educated, it's impossible not to marvel at all the author has survived. Admiring Calidas's toughness, though, doesn't preclude relief at reaching the final page. (Full review in May 29th issue.)
We Swim to the Shark: Overcoming fear one fish at a time by Georgie Codd: Codd's offbeat debut memoir chronicles her quest to conquer a phobia of sea creatures. Inspired by a friend's experience of cognitive behavioral therapy to cure arachnophobia, she crafted a program of controlled exposure. She learned to scuba dive before a trip to New Zealand, returning via Thailand with an ultimate challenge in mind: her quarry was the whale shark, a creature even Jacques Cousteau only managed to sight twice. The book has a jolly, self-deprecating tone despite its exploration of danger and dread. A more directionless second half leads to diminished curiosity about whether that elusive whale shark will make an appearance. (Full review in a forthcoming issue.)
Dottoressa: An American Doctor in Rome by Susan Levenstein: In the late 1970s, Levenstein moved from New York City to Rome with her Italian husband and set up a private medical practice catering to English-speaking expatriates. Her light-hearted yet trenchant memoir highlights the myriad contrasts between the United States and Italy revealed by their health care systems. Italy has a generous national health service, but it is perennially underfunded and plagued by corruption and inefficiency. The tone is conversational and even-handed. In the pandemic aftermath, though, Italian sloppiness and shortages no longer seem like harmless matters to shake one's head over. (Full review coming up in June 19th issue.)
Do any of these books (all by women, coincidentally) interest you?
Posted in: Fiction Reviews, Nonfiction Reviews	| Tagged: BookBrowse, Catherine Lacey, Edinburgh, Evie Wyld, fable, first-person plural, Flannery O'Connor, Georgie Codd, Hebrides, islands, Italy, Jacques Cousteau, Lucy Jones, medicine, memoirs, mental health, nature books, New Zealand, North Carolina, Rachel Carson, racism, Scotland, sharks, Shiny New Books, Shirley Jackson, Southern fiction, Southern Gothic, Susan Levenstein, Tamsin Calidas, Tara Westover, Tayari Jones, Thailand, Therese Anne Fowler, Times Literary Supplement, Wainwright Prize, whale shark
Here are excerpts from (and links to, where available) some of my recent reviews for other places. A few of these books will undoubtedly be showing up on my end-of-year best lists in a couple weeks' time.
I was pleased to have three of the books I reviewed show up on BookBrowse's list of the top 20 books of the year, as voted for by the site's readers. What's more, Educated was voted their top nonfiction book of the year and Where the Crawdads Sing (below) their #1 debut novel. (The third on the list was Unsheltered.)
Beauty in the Broken Places by Allison Pataki: Ernest Hemingway wrote that we are strong at the broken places, and Allison Pataki found that to be true when her husband, David Levy, a third-year orthopedic surgery resident in Chicago, had a near-fatal stroke at age 30. On June 9, 2015, Dave and five-months-pregnant Allison were on a flight from Chicago to Hawaii for their babymoon, planning to stop in Seattle to visit Dave's brothers. But they never made it there. On the plane Dave told her he couldn't see out of his right eye.The plane made an emergency landing in Fargo, North Dakota and Dave was rushed to a hospital for testing. Doctors found he had suffered a bithalamic midbrain ischemic stroke, even though he'd had no risk factors and this stroke type was virtually unknown in patients of his age. Pataki goes back and forth between the details of this health crisis and her past with Dave. Hers is a relatable story of surviving the worst life can throw at you and finding the beauty in it.
Sick by Porochista Khakpour: Khakpour can't remember a time when she didn't feel unwell and like she wanted to escape. "I had no idea what normal was. I never felt good," she writes in her bracing memoir. Related to this sense of not being at home in her body was the feeling of not having a place where she fit in. Throughout Sick, she gives excellent descriptions of physical and mental symptoms. Her story is a powerful one of being mired in sickness and not getting the necessary help from medical professionals. Lyme disease has cost her $140,000 so far, and a lack of money and health insurance likely delayed her diagnosis by years. There is, unfortunately, some inherent repetition in a book of this nature. At times it feels like an endless cycle of doctors, appointments, and treatment strategies. However, the overall arc of struggling with one's body and coming to terms with limitations will resonate widely.
Southernmost by Silas House: In Silas House's sixth novel, a Tennessee preacher's family life falls apart when he accepts a gay couple into his church. We go on a long journey in Southernmost: not just a literal road trip from Tennessee to Florida, but also a spiritual passage from judgment to grace. Reconciliation is a major theme, but so is facing up to the consequences of poor decisions. I found the plotting decisions rewarding but also realistic. The pattern of a narrow religious worldview ebbing away to no faith at all and eventually surging back as a broader and more universal spirituality truly resonates. I loved House's characters and setups, as well as his gentle evocation of the South. His striking metaphors draw on the natural world, like "She had the coloring of a whip-poor-will" and "The sky is the pink of grapefruit meat." It's a beautiful, quietly moving novel of redemption and openness to what life might teach us.
Unsheltered by Barbara Kingsolver: Kingsolver's bold eighth novel has a dual timeline that compares the America of the 1870s and the recent past, revealing how they are linked by distrust and displacement. The book's themes and structure emphasize similarities between two time periods that might initially appear very different. Chapters alternate between the story lines, and the last words of one chapter form the title of the next. It's a clever and elegant connecting strategy, as is the habit of using variations on the title word as frequently as possible – something Jonathan Franzen also does in his novels. (I counted 22 instances of "shelter" and its variants in the text; how many can you spot?) Kingsolver can be heavy-handed with her messages about science, American politics and healthcare, etc. All the same, Unsheltered is a rich, rewarding novel and an important one for our time, with many issues worth pondering and discussing.
Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens: It's easy to see why so many have taken this debut novel into their hearts: it's a gripping mystery but also a tender coming-of-age story about one woman's desperately lonely upbringing and her rocky route to finding love and a vocation. Not only that, but its North Carolina marsh setting is described in lyrical language that evinces Delia Owens's background in nature writing, tempered with folksy Southern dialect. The title refers to places where wild creatures do what comes naturally, and throughout the book we are invited to ponder how instinct and altruism interact and what impact human actions can have in the grand scheme of things. In Kya, Owens has created a truly outstanding character. The extremity of her situation makes her a sympathetic figure in spite of her oddities. Crawdads is a real treat.
Under the Rock by Benjamin Myers: When Myers moved to the Calder Valley of West Yorkshire from London over a decade ago, he approached his new patch with admirable curiosity, and supplemented the observations he made from his study window with frequent long walks with his dog ("Walking is writing with your feet") and research into the history of the area. The result is a divagating, lyrical book that ranges from literature and geology to true crime but has an underlying autobiographical vein. This isn't old-style nature writing in search of unspoiled places. Instead, it's part of a growing interest in the 'edgelands' where human impact is undeniable but nature is creeping back in. Interludes transcribe his field notes, which are stunning impromptu poems. I came away from this feeling that Myers could write anything – a thank-you note, a shopping list – and make it profound literature. Every sentence is well-crafted and memorable. "Writing is a form of alchemy," he declares. "It's a spell, and the writer is the magician." I certainly fell under his spell here.
Nine Pints by Rose George: Nine Pints dives deep into the science and cultural history of blood. George's journalistic tenacity keeps her pushing through the statistics to find the human stories that animate the book. In the first chapter we track the journey of a pint of blood that she donates in her hometown of Leeds. I was particularly interested, if morbidly so, in the chapter on leeches and bloodletting. Other sections journey further afield, chiefly to South Africa and India, to explore AIDS and menstruation taboos. The style can be choppy and repetitive, given to short sentences and identical paragraph openers, and there are a couple of places where the nine-chapter structure shows its weaknesses. While Nine Pints is quite uneven, it does convey a lot of important information about the past, present and future of our relationship to blood.
Face to Face: True stories of life, death and transformation from my career as a facial surgeon by Jim McCaul: Eighty percent of a facial surgeon's work is the removal of face, mouth and neck tumors in surgeries lasting eight hours or more. McCaul also restores patients' appearance as much as possible after disfiguring accidents. Here he pulls back the curtain on the everyday details of his work life: everything from his footwear (white Crocs that soon become stained with blood and other fluids) to his musical choices (pop for the early phases; classical for the more challenging microsurgery stage). Like neurosurgeon Henry Marsh, he describes the awe of the first incision – "an almost overwhelming sense of entering into a sanctuary." There's a vicarious thrill to being let into this insider zone, and the book's prose is perfectly clear and conversational, with unexpectedly apt metaphors such as "Sometimes the blood vessels can be of such poor quality that it is like trying to sew together two damp cornflakes." This is a book that inspires wonder at all that modern medicine can achieve.
On Sheep: Diary of a Swedish Shepherd by Axel Lindén: Lindén left city life behind to take on his parents' rural collective in southeast Sweden. This documents two years in his life as a shepherd aspiring to self-sufficiency and a small-scale model of food production. Published diaries can devolve into tedium, but the brevity and selectiveness of this one prevent its accounts of everyday tasks from becoming tiresome. Instead, the rural routines are comforting, even humbling, as the shepherd practices being present with these "quiet and unpretentious and stoical" creatures. The attention paid to slaughtering and sustainability issues – especially as the business starts scaling up and streamlining activities – lends the book a wider significance. It is thus more realistic and less twee than its stocking-stuffer dimensions and jolly title font seem to suggest.
Posted in: Fiction Reviews, Nonfiction Reviews, Work life	| Tagged: AIDS, Allison Pataki, Axel Lindén, Barbara Kingsolver, Benjamin Myers, blood, Delia Owens, Ernest Hemingway, Henry Marsh, Jim McCaul, Jonathan Franzen, Lyme disease, medical, nature writing, plastic surgery, Porochista Khakpour, Rose George, sheep, Shiny New Books, Silas House, Southern fiction, stroke, surgery, Times Literary Supplement, Yorkshire
Reviews Roundup, November–December
By Rebecca Foster on December 18, 2015 | 4 Comments
One of my goals with this blog is to have one convenient place where I can gather together all my writing that has appeared in disparate online locations. To that end, once a month I provide links to all book reviews I've published elsewhere, with a rating (below each description) and a taster so you can decide whether to read more. A few exceptions: I won't point out my Kirkus Indie, BlueInk or Publishers Weekly reviews since I don't get a byline.
The Bookbag
In Search of Mary: The Mother of All Journeys by Bee Rowlatt: A BBC journalist and mother of four sets out, baby in tow, to trace the steps of Mary Wollstonecraft in Norway and France. A follow-up trip to California is a little off-topic, but allows Rowlatt to survey the development of feminism over the last few centuries. This isn't as successful a bibliomemoir as many I've read in recent years, such as Rebecca Mead's My Life in Middlemarch or Samantha Ellis's How to Be a Heroine, but for readers interested in engaging in the ongoing debate about how women can balance work life with motherhood, and especially for any women who have attempted traveling with children, it's a fun, sassy travelogue.
Italy Invades: How Italians Conquered the World by Christopher Kelly and Stuart Laycock: Proceeding alphabetically from Afghanistan to Zimbabwe, the authors give a comprehensive picture of Italians' global reach through one- to five-page snapshots. There are many familiar names here, such as Caesar, Garibaldi and Marco Polo. Along with exploration, some major reasons for historical crossover were trade, war, colonialism and immigration. At times it feels as if the authors are grasping at straws; better to skip one-paragraph write-ups altogether and focus instead on the countries that have extensive links with Italy. Nonetheless, this is a lively, conversational book full of surprising facts.
Why You Won't Go to Hell by Benjamin Vande Weerdhof Andrews: In a well-structured argument, Andrews prizes empirical thinking, rejects the supernatural, and affirms the possibility of godless morality. His central thesis is that religion doesn't evolve to keep pace with society and so holds humanity back. The book's tone is too often defensive, often in response to included website comments, and there are some failures of accuracy and fairness. Ultimately, though, this could be an inspirational book for atheists or believers, prompting both groups to question their assumptions and be willing to say "I don't know." Readers of Sam Harris and Christopher Hitchens will be particularly drawn to the book, but others should take a chance on it too.
Cultured Food for Health by Donna Schwenk: When Schwenk started eating cultured foods in 2002, she had diabetes, high blood pressure, and a premature newborn. Keen to see if good bacteria could help with her medical problems, she started introducing the "healing powerhouse" of kefir (a fermented milk product resembling thin yogurt), kombucha (bubbly tea), and cultured vegetables into her diet, and soon reaped the rewards. About a quarter of the book is background information about probiotic foods. Bullet-pointed lists of health benefits, along with an alphabetical inventory of the diseases that cultured foods can treat, should prove helpful. The rest of the book is devoted to recipes, most vegetarian.
Three Simple Questions: Being in the World, But Not of It by Charlie Horton: Horton, trained as a social worker, was diagnosed with cerebellar degeneration in 1988. It has gradually affected his speech and movement. Despite having lived with disability for nearly three decades, he declares, "the world I live in is rich, and my spirit is young." Here he documents how he deals with depression and physical limitations through guided meditations that bring him closer to God. Although he comes from a Christian perspective, he writes about spirituality in such inclusive terms that his work should speak to people of any faith.
Middle Passage: The Artistic Life of Lawrence Baker by Louis B. Burroughs, Jr.: This ghostwritten autobiography of an African-American artist is not only an evocative, eventful life story that moves from the Jim Crow South to the North, but also a forceful artist's manifesto. Burroughs writes in Baker's voice, a decision that works surprisingly well. The title is a powerful reference to the slave trade. Indeed, Burroughs consciously crafts Baker's autobiography as an "up from slavery" narrative reminiscent of Richard Wright and Maya Angelou – with 'slavery' in this case being poverty and racism.
40 Sonnets by Don Patterson: All but one of the poems in this new book have the sonnet's traditional 14 lines; "The Version" is a short prose story about writing an untranslatable poem. However, even in the more conventional verses, there is a wide variety of both subject matter and rhyme scheme. Topics range from love and death to a phishing phone call and a footpath blocked off by Dundee City Council. A few favorites were "A Powercut," set in a stuck elevator; "Seven Questions about the Journey," an eerie call-and-response; and "Mercies," a sweet elegy to an old dog put to sleep. There weren't quite enough stand-outs here for my liking, but I appreciated the book as a showcase for just how divergent in form sonnets can be.
Without You There Is No Us by Suki Kim: This is a quietly gripping book even though not much of moment happens over Kim's five months teaching young men at a missionary-run college in Pyongyang. She was in a unique position in that students saw her as ethnically one of their own but she brought an outsider's perspective to bear on what she observed. Just before she flew back to the States in 2011, Kim Jong-Il died, an event she uses as a framing device. It could have represented a turning point for the country, but instead history has repeated itself with Kim Jong-un. Kim thus ends on a note of frustration: she wants better for these young men she became so fond of. A rare glimpse into a country that carefully safeguards its secrets and masks its truth.
Alive, Alive Oh!: And Other Things that Matter by Diana Athill: Diana Athill turns 98 on December 21st. Apart from "Dead Right," however, this collection is not primarily concerned with imminent death. Instead Athill is still grateful to be alive: marveling at a lifetime of good luck and health and taking joy in gardening, clothing, books, memories and friendships. Six of the 10 essays originally appeared elsewhere. The collection highlight is the title piece, about a miscarriage she suffered in her forties. Another stand-out is "The Decision," about moving into a retirement home in her nineties. This doesn't live up to her best memoirs, but is an essential read for a devoted fan, and a consolation given she will likely not publish anything else (though you never know). [For first-time Athill readers, I'd recommend starting with Somewhere Towards the End, followed by Stet, about her work as a literary editor.]
I also post reviews of most of my casual reading and skimming on Goodreads:
The Weightless World by Anthony Trevelyan: This debut novel blends postcolonial bureaucracy with steampunk zaniness. The setup is familiar enough: businessmen head overseas to take financial advantage of a former colony, puzzle over unfamiliar customs, and by the end are chastened but gain a clearer sense of values. Narrator Steven Strauss is the personal assistant to Raymond Ess, an entrepreneur with a history of mental illness. Their aviation company has gone bust; Strauss is to accompany Ess to India and keep him occupied by looking for an anti-gravity machine. Not anchored by either current events or convincing fantasy, the plot suffers in comparison to works by Geoff Dyer or Nick Harkaway. Despite entirely serviceable writing and a gravity-defying theme, it never really takes off.
My Confection: Odyssey of a Sugar Addict by Lisa Kotin: 1978. Twenty-one-year-old mime goes to macrobiotic rehab to recover from sugar addiction. Fails. Shows signs of being a sex addict as well. Pared down to headlines, that's how this fairly rambling memoir about Kotin's relationships with food, family, lovers, and career opens. I kept waiting for a turn, some moment of revelation, when Kotin's binge eating would be solved. Still, her recreation of her obsessive younger self can be pretty funny and charming, and her family sounds a bit like the Sedaris clan. I found this a bit dated, but others may find the time period and Jewish family background more evocative.
Good on Paper by Rachel Cantor: I'm going to chalk this one up to blurb inflation. The writing is lively and the plot well crafted, with quirky postmodern touches, but the novel as a whole did not live up to my absurdly high expectations: it's really nothing like A.S. Byatt's Possession. It's 1999 and Shira Greene is a failed translator from the Italian, now working as a temp in New York City and raising her daughter Andi with the help of her gay, Pakistani co-parent, Ahmad. One day she gets a call from Romei, a Nobel Prize-winning Italian poet who wants her to translate his new work, a version of Dante's Vita Nuova that focuses on his relationship with his ill wife – and eventually starts to comment on Shira's own life in surprising ways.
Water Sessions by James Lasdun: Wonderful poems from a severely underrated writer. The British Lasdun has relocated to small-town upstate New York, where he's learned the spiritual worth of manual labor. There are such interesting rhyme schemes and half-rhymes throughout. One of the most striking poems, "Thing One and Thing Two," compares human and animal sexuality in a rather disturbing way. The title sequence is a dialogue between a patient and a therapist, discussing what went wrong in a relationship and how arguments are never 'about' the thing that started it.
The Secret Chord by Geraldine Brooks: A retelling of the life of King David from the perspective of the prophet Nathan. The naming takes some getting used to, but the stories – from gory massacres to moments of triumph – are recognizable from the Old Testament. What makes Brooks's take unique is the different points of view it shows and the ways it subtly introduces doubt about David's carefully cultivated image. It's sensual historical fiction, full of rich descriptive language. Strangely unmemorable for me, perhaps because the storyline is just too familiar. Brooks doesn't offer a radical reinterpretation but sows small seeds of doubt about the hero we think we know. (Full review in Jan/Feb 2016 issue of Third Way magazine.)
When I Die: Lessons from the Death Zone by Philip Gould: Gould may be familiar to British readers as a key strategist of the New Labour movement and one of Tony Blair's advisors. In 2008 he was diagnosed with esophageal cancer and chose to pay for private treatment at New York's Sloan-Kettering hospital instead of going for a radical operation through the NHS – a fateful decision. Gould's own account is fairly short, about 140 pages, but it's supplemented by short reminiscences from his wife and two daughters. Daughter Georgia's, especially, is a very good blow-by-blow of his final week. All royalties from the book went to the National Oesophago-Gastric Cancer Fund.
Twain's End by Lynn Cullen: "Twain's End" was a possible name for the Clemens house in Connecticut, but it's also a tip of the hat to Howards End and an indication of the main character's impending death. In January 1909, when the novel opens, Samuel Clemens, 74, is busy dictating his autobiography and waiting for Halley's Comet, the heavenly body that accompanied his birth, to see him back out. His secretary, Isabel Lyon, is 45 and it's no secret that the two of them are involved. I love how the novel shifts between the perspectives of several strong female characters yet still gives a distinct portrait of Clemens/Twain. Interestingly, I found that it helped to have visited the Twain house in Connecticut – I could truly picture all the scenes, especially those set in the billiard room and conservatory.
Meadowland: The Private Life of an English Field by John Lewis-Stempel: Lewis-Stempel is a proper, third-generation Herefordshire farmer, but also a naturalist with a poet's eye. His day job might involve shooting rabbits, cutting hay and delivering lambs, but he still finds the time to notice and appreciate wildlife. He knows his field's flowers, insects and birds as well as he knows his cows; he gets quiet and close enough to the ground to watch a shrew devouring beetles. June and July are the stand-out chapters, with some truly magical moments. When his mower breaks on a stone, he has to cut the hay by hand, returning him to a centuries-gone model of hard labor. All delivered in the loveliest prose.
Did You Ever Have a Family by Bill Clegg: A strong debut novel about personal and community responses to tragedy. Clegg's multivocal approach works quite well, though there are perhaps a few too many voices diluting the mixture. I like how the revelations of what really happened that night before the wedding to cause the fatal house fire come gradually, making you constantly rethink who was responsible and what it all means. The small-town Connecticut setting is a good one, but I'd question the decision to set so much of the book in Washington, where the bereaved June drives on a whim. For a tragic story, it's admirably lacking in melodrama.
A Homemade Life: Stories and Recipes from My Kitchen Table by Molly Wizenberg: Foodoir extraordinaire! I liked this even better than Delancey, which is a terrific book about opening a pizza restaurant in Seattle with her husband. Here we get the prequel: the death of her father Burg from cancer, time spent living in Paris, building a new life in Seattle, starting her now-famous food blog (Orangette), and meeting her husband Brandon through it. Each brief autobiographical essay is perfectly formed and followed by a relevant recipe, capturing precisely how food is tied up with her memories. Wizenberg's very fond of salad, but also of cake, and every recipe is full-on in terms of flavors and ingredients.
Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons: This was a random library book sale purchase, chosen almost entirely for the title. I set aside my usual dislike of child narrators and found an enjoyable voice-driven novella about a feisty ten-year-old who loses both her parents (good riddance to her father, at least) and finds her own unconventional family after cycling through the homes of some truly horrid relatives. Just as an example, her maternal grandmother sends her out to work picking cotton. The book is set in the South, presumably in the 1970s or 80s, so it's alarming to see how strong racial prejudice still was.
The Ecco Book of Christmas Stories, edited by Alberto Manguel: I read this over several years, a handful each holiday season. There are some very unusual choices, including some that really have hardly anything to do with Christmas (e.g. one by Bessie Head). Still, it's a nice book to have to hand, even if just to skip through. Manguel strikes a good balance between well-known short story writers, authors you might never think to associate with Christmas, and fairly obscure works in translation. Four favorites: "A Christmas Memory," Truman Capote (overall favorite); "Christmas Is a Sad Season for the Poor," John Cheever; "The Zoo at Christmas," Jane Gardam; and "O'Brien's First Christmas," Jeanette Winterson.
Posted in: Reviews	| Tagged: A.S. Byatt, addiction, Alberto Manguel, Anthony Trevelyan, Bee Rowlatt, Benjamin Vande Weerdhof Andrews, Bill Clegg, cancer memoirs, Charlie Horton, Christmas, Christopher Kelly, Connecticut, cultured foods, Dante Alighieri, David Sedaris, Diana Athill, disability, Don Patterson, Donna Schwenk, foodoirs, Foreword Reviews, Geoff Dyer, Geraldine Brooks, hell, Italy, James Lasdun, Jane Gardam, Jeanette Winterson, John Cheever, John Lewis-Stempel, Jr., Kaye Gibbons, Lisa Kotin, Louis B. Burroughs, Lynn Cullen, Mark Twain, Mary Wollstonecraft, Maya Angelou, Molly Wizenberg, nature books, Nick Harkaway, North Korea, Philip Gould, poetry, Rachel Cantor, Rebecca Mead, Richard Wright, Samantha Ellis, short stories, Southern fiction, Stuart Laycock, sugar, Suki Kim, The Bookbag, theology, Third Way, translation, Truman Capote
Reviews Roundup, May–June
By Rebecca Foster on June 18, 2015 | Leave a comment
One of my goals with this blog is to have one convenient place where I can gather together all my writing that has appeared in disparate online locations. To that end, once a month – or maybe more often – I'll provide links to all the book reviews I've published elsewhere, with a rating and a short taster so you can decide whether to click to read more. (A couple of exceptions: I won't point out my Kirkus Indie or BlueInk reviews since I don't get a byline.)
Girl at War by Sara Nović [subscription service; excerpt available to non-subscribers]: This pitch-perfect debut novel is an inside look at the Yugoslavian Civil War and its aftermath, from the perspective of a young girl caught up in the fighting. The careful structure is what keeps it from becoming just another ordinary, chronological war story. The recreation of a child's perspective on the horrors of war is stunning. In fact, I can barely think of a negative thing to say about this concise novel. It strikes a perfect balance between past and present, tragic and hopeful.
Church of Marvels by Leslie Parry [subscription service; excerpt available to non-subscribers]: With settings ranging from a Coney Island theater to an opium den and a mental asylum, this is a gritty look at late-nineteenth-century outsiders. Circus and sideshow themes have been very popular in fiction in recent years, and this is a great example of a novel that uses those elements as background but goes beyond the incidentals of the carnival lifestyle to examine sexuality and societal outcasts. A very atmospheric and accomplished debut novel.
Secrets of the Pomegranate by Barbara Lamplugh (& interview): In the aftermath of the 2004 Madrid train bombings, the secrets harbored by two English sisters, one of them settled in Granada, will come out into the open and affect the entire family. Lamplugh does a great job of unveiling a little at a time – but still maintaining tension until the surprise of the final revelation. The novel shifts easily between the central narrative and Deb's diary entries, and between Alice's and Mark's perspectives. A strong debut novel.
An Account of the Decline of the Great Auk, According to One Who Saw It by Jessie Greengrass: An unusual mixture of historical, contemporary and dystopian short stories. A number of the first-person narratives feel like vague interior monologues, though there are some universal sentiments. When Greengrass picks one genre (but which will it be?) and sticks with it for the length of a whole book, she should have the time and space for the deep characterizations I thought were missing here. (But you can't beat this book's title, can you?)
From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler by E.L. Konigsburg: This was one of the key books of my American childhood. All these years later, phrases were still familiar to me, such as Jamie's frequent exclamation of "Oh, boloney!" I clearly remembered the delicious overall sense of adventure and secrecy. Konigsburg captures school group chatter and brother/sister banter perfectly. The museum and archive settings are a great way to get children interested in art, history and library research. This was the original Night at the Museum before that franchise was ever dreamed up.
The Hunt for the Golden Mole by Richard Girling: From Victorian animal collecting to present-day poaching, Girling surveys the contradictory human instincts toward exploitation and preservation of mammals. The book is rather scattered, with too little about the actual quest for the mole, but the message about species extinction is powerful. (The Somali golden mole has never been seen in the wild, except as a few bones in an owl pellet found by an Italian zoologist in 1964. For some reason, it captured Girling's imagination, becoming a symbol of rarity and fragility.)
Road Ends by Mary Lawson: Contrasting rural Canada and London in the 1960s, Lawson's third novel is a powerful story about how people deal with a way of life ending. She creates a perfect balance between her two plot strands, and the evocation of both locations is flawless, perhaps because they have autobiographical worth for her – she grew up on a farm in Ontario but moved to England in 1968. One remarkable thing about the novel is how she traces every decision back to a traumatic event in a character's past.
The Wolf Border by Sarah Hall: Rachel Caine has run Idaho's Chief Joseph wolf preserve for nearly a decade, but her roots are in England's Lake District. Her two worlds unexpectedly collide when an earl asks for her help reintroducing wolves near the Scottish border. Alongside the story of the wolves' release runs Rachel's decision to become a mother. The twin plot strands – one environmental and the other personal – ask what can be salvaged from the past.
Italian Ways by Tim Parks: Parks, an Englishman, has lived and worked in northern Italy for over 30 years. To start with he saw his train travel as an everyday source of woes about ticket queues, late running, officious staff, and so on, but as years passed he decided to interrogate Italy's rail system as a metaphor for the country itself. He structures this book around seven train journeys. It's better suited to train spotters than to armchair travelers: there is quite a lot about train schedules and not enough about the countryside itself.
Landmarks by Robert Macfarlane: This new classic of nature writing zeroes in on the language we use to talk about our environment, both individual words – which Macfarlane celebrates in nine mini-glossaries alternating with the prose chapters – and the narratives we build around places, via discussions of the work of nature writers he admires. Whether poetic ("heavengravel," Gerard Manley Hopkins's term for hailstones), local and folksy ("wonty-tump," a Herefordshire word for a molehill), or onomatopoeic (on Exmoor, "zwer" is the sound of partridges taking off), his vocabulary words are a treasure trove.
Penelope Fitzgerald: A Life by Hermione Lee: A thorough and sympathetic appreciation of an underrated author, and another marvelously detailed biography from Lee. Fitzgerald is, like Diana Athill, a reassuring examples of an author who did not find success until well into middle age. Although she always guarded literary ambitions, she was not able to pursue her work wholeheartedly until she had reared three children and nursed her hapless husband through his last illness. The approach is largely chronological, though Lee pauses at key moments to investigate the biographical origins of each of Fitzgerald's books.
Saint Mazie by Jami Attenberg: Mazie Phillips-Gordon, a real ticket-taker at The Venice movie theatre, barely gets a footnote in history. Here we see all sides of this bold, brassy broad through Attenberg's fragmented, epistolary narrative. The novel intersperses Mazie's fictional diary entries (1907 to 1939) with excerpts from her unpublished autobiography and interviews with people who knew her. This is historical fiction – but not as we're accustomed to it. Attenberg shows how fragile and incomplete the documentary record can be. A hard-nosed heroine with a heart of gold, Mazie will leave her mark on you.
A Buzz in the Meadow by Dave Goulson: As Goulson did in his book about bees, A Sting in the Tale, he treats readers like friends he is taking on a gentle tour to have everyday encounters with nature. The low-key, humorous anecdotes are reminiscent of the writings of Gerald Durrell, but – like Durrell – Goulson has a serious environmental agenda. Some of the most amusing chapters are about the sexual habits of insects and plants. This is less focused than his previous book, though, and repeats some of the material. The main draw, as always, is Goulson's infectious enthusiasm and excellent explanations of science.
We Love This Book
War of the Encyclopaedists by Christopher Robinson and Gavin Kovite: In this postmodern satire, two Seattle hipsters must face reality when one of them leaves to fight in the Iraq War. From now on they keep in touch by updating their pretentious Wikipedia article. While Hal applies literary criticism to Star Wars and tries to make amends to his ex-girlfriend, Mickey is in life-and-death situations, looking for car bombs and overseeing local elections. Robinson and Kovite (an Iraq War veteran) alternate their settings in a fairly seamless whole.
The Edible Atlas by Mina Holland: Food lovers and armchair travelers alike will savor this tour through the world's regional cuisines and trademark dishes. In her first book, the editor of the Guardian's Cook supplement introduces 39 cuisines with larder lists, a rundown of crucial flavors, and one to four recipes. Maps show which spices and chilies are used in different areas, while sidebars present key ingredients. The book strives for a balance of common imports and unknown dishes, prioritizing authenticity and reproducibility at home.
Hollow Heart by Viola di Grado: Twenty-five-year-old Dorotea Giglio slit her wrists in the bathtub in July 2011 and expired in "a grim mojito of mint bubble bath and blood." Over the next four years she chronicles her physical decomposition as well as her spirit's enduring search for love. In alternately clinical and whimsical language, with fresh metaphors that have survived translation from Italian admirably, di Grado's second novel examines the secret sadness passed down through families.
Auschwitz #34207: The Joe Rubinstein Story by Nancy Sprowell Geise: This eye-opening account of a Polish Jew's life before, during, and after Auschwitz deposits readers right into concentration camp horrors. Instead of presenting this as a third-person biography, Geise writes as Rubinstein, using extensive interviews and documentary research to recreate his perspective. While the story is necessarily a bit less dramatic after the chapters on the Holocaust, the fact that Rubinstein survived and later became a successful shoe designer in New York is inspiring.
The Contaminants by Devin K. Smyth: Two teens aboard a spacecraft hold out hope for new life on post-apocalyptic Earth in this believable YA science fiction novel. Composed of two solid first-person narratives and based around two father-child relationships, this is a novel that prizes emotions as much as it does technology. The novel is on the thin side; it could have done with another subplot or two to add some complexity. However, the subtle eugenics theme will give teen readers plenty to think about while they follow the fast-paced story.
The Loneliness Cure by Kory Floyd: A professor of communication tackles the loneliness epidemic with stories and science. Floyd explains the problems associated with chronic affection deprivation and suggests practical strategies for getting more of the human contact we naturally crave. Two-thirds of the text goes to preliminaries, but the subtitle's six strategies are worth waiting for. Like the best self-help books, this convinces readers that "it pays to reach out for help when you need it" and gives the confidence and tactics to do so.
In this article I give a more in-depth preview of Circling the Sun by Paula McLain, her fictionalized biography of Beryl Markham.
I also post reviews of most of my casual reading and skimming on Goodreads.
Insomnia by Linda Pastan: Excellent free verse poems infused with images of weather, heavenly bodies, the night sky, art history, and travels. No rhymes to speak of, but plenty of alliteration and repetition – like in "Necklace," where nearly every line ends with "pearl" or "pearls." Historical and mythological references are frequent and highbrow. Especially in Part 3, the main theme is facing old age and illness. Linda Pastan has been writing poetry for nearly half a century; I'll be sure to seek out more of her collections. Releases October 26th.
The Kindness by Polly Samson: This very subtle novel reminds me of works by Tessa Hadley and Lucy Caldwell. It takes one seemingly perfect couple – Julia and Julian – and parses out what went wrong between them and the aftermath. The book is so elegantly structured; characters drift in and out of flashbacks with none of the customary warnings. Instead Samson leaves it to readers to piece together the jigsaw puzzle of how they met and raised their daughter, Mira, and then how everything fell apart.
The Versions of Us by Laura Barnett: In this impressive debut, Barnett chronicles the romantic lives of two Cambridge graduates through three-quarters of a century, giving three options for how their connection might play out. She juggles her storylines and moves through decades with ease. Less mawkish than One Day; less gimmicky than Life After Life – though there are shades of both. The message seems to be: there is no one perfect person, no one perfect story. Unsentimental this may be, but it feels true to how life works. (My full review will appear in the July 2015 issue of Third Way magazine.)
Eating Appalachia: Rediscovering Regional American Flavors by Darrin Nordahl: Nordahl travels through Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky and North Carolina in search of truly indigenous local ingredients. He highlights ramsons, pawpaw, elk (leaner and richer than beef), squirrel, hickory nuts and black walnuts, sumac, spicebush berry, sassafras, and persimmons. There are a few recipes and photographs in each chapter, although this is more of a narrative than a cookbook. I loved how he brought it all together with an imagined Appalachian Thanksgiving feast.
Eating Rome: Living the Good Life in the Eternal City by Elizabeth Minchilli: Minchilli's parents moved the family from America to Rome when she was 12. Over the years she kept going back to Italy: to Florence as a graduate student, and then to stay when she married Domenico. Here, through recipes and personal stories, she shares her enthusiasm for Italian food and for Rome in particular. She finishes each chapter with a list of favorite eateries, so this is a practical guide anyone would benefit from taking along on a trip to Rome.
Some Churches by Tasha Cotter: I loved the first two poems but felt a number of the rest were lacking in artistry. Almost all are written in complete sentences, some in paragraph blocks, and alliteration isn't always enough to differentiate them from prose. Favorite lines (from "Blood Orange"): "People think that either the red or the orange should go, because to blend the two / alienates some readers. / … I, too, am having an identity crisis, / just like the blood orange. Now that we've peeled back / the artifice, you're inviting me in anyway".
South Toward Home: Travels in Southern Literature by Margaret Eby: This tour through Southern literature is a great introduction for someone whose familiarity with Southern authors is minimal. Starting off in her home state of Mississippi, Eby travels through Georgia, Alabama, Louisiana, and back to Mississippi in a roughly circular road trip. My favorite chapter was on Flannery O'Connor, but I was also interested to learn about Harry Crews, who I'd never heard of before – it certainly sounds like he was a character. Releases September 8th.
Post-Traumatic Church Syndrome: A Memoir of Humor and Healing by Reba Riley: I could relate to much of Riley's story. She was a Pentecostal-leaning fundamentalist through high school, but now even setting foot in a church made her feel nauseous. Yet she retained a strong spiritual compass that helped her tap into the energy of the "Godiverse." Aged 29, Riley had the idea of experiencing 30 different religious traditions before 30. She writes in a chatty, girlfriend-to-girlfriend style, as if you've joined her book club for a glass of pinot grigio.
Posted in: Reviews	| Tagged: Appalachia, Auschwitz, Barbara Lamplugh, Beryl Markham, biography, BookBrowse, BookTrib, Canada, children's books, Christopher Robinson, circus, Darrin Nordahl, Dave Goulson, Devin K. Smyth, Diana Athill, E.L. Konigsburg, Elizabeth Minchilli, epistolary, extinction, Flannery O'Connor, Foreword Reviews, fundamentalism, Gavin Kovite, Gerald Durrell, Gerard Manley Hopkins, golden mole, Hermione Lee, Idaho, Iraq War, Italy, Jami Attenberg, Jessie Greengrass, Joe Rubinstein, Kory Floyd, Lake District, Laura Barnett, Leslie Parry, Linda Pastan, literature in translation, loneliness, Lucy Caldwell, Margaret Eby, Mary Lawson, Mina Holland, museum, Nancy Sprowell Geise, nature writing, Paula McLain, Penelope Fitzgerald, poetry, Polly Samson, Reba Riley, Richard Girling, Robert Macfarlane, Rome, Sara Nović, Sarah Hall, science fiction, Scotland, short stories, Southern fiction, suicide, Tasha Cotter, Tessa Hadley, Thanksgiving, The Bookbag, Third Way, Tim Parks, Viola di Grado, wolves, YA fiction, Yugoslavia


text:
Matt Comyn is the chief executive officer of the Australian Commonwealth Bank.  His appointment was announced on 29 January 2018 by the CBA's board, and took effect from 9 April 2018. He succeeded Ian Narev.

Biography

Comyn attended Coogee Boys' Prep School and Sydney Boys' High School. Comyn holds an Executive MBA from The University of Sydney, a master's degree in Commerce, majoring in finance, and a bachelor's degree in Aviation, both from the University of New South Wales. He has also completed the General Management Program at Harvard Business School.

After graduation from university, Comyn spent 18 months in a small aviation logistics business.

Comyn joined the Commonwealth Bank in 1999, commencing in the Institutional Banking division. He went on to become Managing Director for Commonwealth Securities in 2006. Before taking the position of CEO, he held position of Group Executive Retail Banking Services, the Commonwealth Bank's largest business unit for 5.5 years.

References

Australian chief executives
University of Sydney alumni
University of New South Wales alumni
Harvard Business School alumni
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
George The Poet Turns Down MBE Over Pure Evil Of British Empire | Politics
The spoken word artist George the Poet has turned down an MBE, feeling that he cannot accept it due to the "pure evil" of the British Empire. This was revealed to audiences during the final episode of his BBC Sounds series Have You Heard George's Podcast? while discussing the legacies of colonialism. To accept an MBE is to become[…]
Rize Up UK Campaign Hosts Free Gig For Those Registered To Vote | Politics
Rize Up UK is a campaign group that was set up in 2017 to encourage young people, as well as the homeless and the economically deprived, to engage in politics. It strives to ensure that as many people as possible take a moment to register to vote before midnight on November 26, so as to give them the chance[…]
Israel Attacks Gaza In Most Violent Assault In Months | Politics
The Israel attacks on Gaza have continued ininterrupted, after Israel forces killed an Islamic Jihad commander resident in Gaza. This has generated a series of violent assaults between Gaza and Israel. The man who was killed is Baha Abu al-Ata, well known in Palestine for having been the chief of one of the most important group of gaza, Palestinian Islamic[…]
Protests Reach New Peak Of Violence As Hong Kong Enters Sixth Month Of Unrest | Politics
Anti-government protests are continuing unstoppable in the Chinese region of Hong Kong. After six months asking for democracy, on November 10th, the demonstrations touched a new, dangerous peak. The events were marked by a serious act by the police, which shot an unarmed student. The shot was captured on video and sent around the world, raising awareness about the[…]
Holocaust Survivor Liliana Segre Gets Security Detail After Far-Right Threats | Politics
Liliana Segre is an italian Holocaust survivor and key figure in Italy as she has always raised awareness of her experience of detention in the Auschwitz camp. Last year, president Sergio Mattarella named her as a senator for life. But recently, Segre has been the target of online threats and insults and, for this reason, Milan Prefect Renato Saccone has decided[…]

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Built on the basis of Arduino UNO, GPS, SD card, TFT, GPS map navigation system is to obtain the real-time position information via GPS, to send it to UNO for calculation, according to the calculating results, and teamed up with the map file stored in SD card, thus presenting the position on TFT. The GPS system, owing the function to store the current position information, can be applied to running positioning and to record the running tracing.
(1) Connect TFT1.8 shield to UNO according the table below.
(2) Connect SD module to UNO according to the table below.
(3) Obtain the map file.
Select the option marked in red frame as above; left click to select the map area needed to download; double click the left mouse button to finish.
Left click the button in the red frame to finish downloading.
Copy the map file into the folder "SMARTGPS"within the SD card.
(4) Insert the SD card into the card slot of SD module.
(5) Connect GPS Bee to UNO according to the table below.
(6) Plug the digital push buttons into D2, D3 separately on UNO.


text:
Alabama Slim invites you into The Parlor
Bringing you Musical Highlights Monday 11th Jan 2021
Trevor Bolder invites you To Sail The Rivers
Bluesdoodles in Conversation 2019
Bluesdoodles
Home of Honest Reviews and Opinions
Recorded Music Reviews
Blog Highlights and Snippets
Bluesdoodles Associates and Links
Bluesdoodles CD Releases New Music News Desks
Hannah Wicklund Releases – The Inbetween
8th April 2020 8th April 2020 Liz Aiken	0 Comments	EP, Hannah Wicklund, In Betweeners, Solo Performances
EP Released FRIDAY 17 APRIL
The Inbetween, produced and recorded by Hannah's older brother, Luke Mitchell (The High Divers), in their parents' home on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, the EP features intimate performances that sees Hannah getting back to her roots. The EP was mixed by Phil Ek and mastered by Ed Brooks in Seattle, WA.
No one has ever heard Hannah Wicklund quite like this. Known for her searing riffs, big voice, and rock and roll sound, her last self-titled record proved that rock is not dead. But what is her new EP The Inbetween out to prove? Simple – she is more than a singer, guitar player, or songwriter. She is a true artist. What is evident on these four stripped-down songs is that Hannah is an incredible, emotionally moving vocalist.
South Carolinian-born Hannah Wicklund will release The Inbetween a very special 10" inch vinyl EP of four stripped back solo performances on Friday 17th April 2020. The EP is available to pre-order from Tuesday April 7th via Hannah Wicklund Shop
Anyone who orders the vinyl edition of the EP will automatically receive the EP digitally so they can hear it 10 days before everyone else hears it on the streaming platforms.
Wicklund decided to take four songs from her self-titled release, Bomb Through the Breeze, Ghost, Meet You Again and Shadowboxes and Porcelain Faces and strip them down to their rawest form.
"Piano was my first instrument, but I pretty much stopped playing when I picked up the guitar and traded in classical music for rock n roll," Says Hannah. "Those classical roots are undeniable, however, as I get older, I appreciate them more and more."
The EP starts out with a ballad version of Bomb Through the Breeze, an unexpected take to say the least. If you've seen a live show of Hannah's in the last two years, you've likely witnessed her play Shadowboxes and Porcelain Faces, just her and a guitar, which is exactly what you'll find on The Inbetween. The title derived from a line in the song, "It's the in-between where we'll figure out what your story says and what you're all about." The song serves as a reminder to not get too caught up in social media.
The last song you'll hear is a chilling version of 'Ghost', which will strike a chord for many of us at home right now due to the coronavirus epidemic.
"I thought it was the right time to showcase a different side of myself," reflects Hannah. "I've been playing these songs for years now, and so I wanted to challenge myself and give them a lot more depth by stripping everything back to the bare essentials."
The Inbetween EP sees Wicklund delivering four emotionally charged performances that not only highlight her voice but also allows her fans an opportunity to hear her songs in a whole new light.
← Whitney Shay insists that you Stand Up!
Broken Witt Rebels Visiting Birmingham's OK Hotel →
Cutting Edge Reviews
We love music,
We listen to recordings
Attend the live events
Then deliver reviews with honesty.
Interviews we find the facts
BLUESDOODLES - the home of music reviews
Contact: liz@bluesdoodles.com
Bluesdoodles promises not to bombard your inbox.
The monthly newsletter will be informative and fun. Please sign-up we will look after and respect your data. That is a promise from Bluesdoodles.
Copyright © 2021 Bluesdoodles. All rights reserved.


The river constantly flows towards the ocean. It reaches its goal overcoming many obstacles. As it flows, it gives life to the entire creation: plants, animals and man. We too can use our skills to help others. This is the way to reach God.
The spider is known for its perseverance. It goes on building its web again and again even when its threads get broken. We should never give up until we reach our goals.
Love is our natural state. The moment we stop loving and instead hate, we become like a fish out of water!
The dog is known for its faithfulness to its master. It can recognize its master even if he is wearing a mask. We must also have such faith in God.
A baby monkey clings to its mother and so he is guided by her wisdom and strength. We must attach ourselves to God in the same way.
The horse is known for its restlessness. It will always be moving about. Our mind is also like that. We must practise meditation to keep the mind steady.
An elephant is a smart animal. It will not take a step forward without properly looking ahead. It moves steadily and boldly, overcoming all obstacles. We must look before we leap.
The musk deer runs in its search for the delicious fragrance. When it becomes too tired to continue, it discovers that the source of that smell has been with it all along. We search outside of ourselves for the bliss that has always been with us.
The lion is known for its fearlessness. We must also believe in ourselves no matter what others say or do.


text:
MainVideosNewsPhotos
The tribe speaks – Broken promises
Ding-dong, 'The Don' is gone! Here are the Castaways' messages for Werner.
'Godfather' move
Enter now for S7! – Survivor South Africa l M-Net
This is it!: Survivor SA
Larger than life: Survivor SA only on M-Net
Nowhere to hide: Survivor SA only on M-Net
I broke my promise – Legacy
Willem speaks to Stefan in the hospital and opens his heart to him.
Adoption agony
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟱 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. Well known in social worker circles and social media savvy, she markets her services to couples desperate for children but unable to conceive. An honourable calling. But a thorough and often complex investigation reveals all is not as it seems. We delve into a controversial adoption agent, hearing from some of the couples who allege their hopes for a happy family have been dashed by broken promises and blatant lies.
𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝟭𝟯 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟮. A recent warning by US authorities of a possible terror attack in Sandton immediately raised fears that the intended target was the annual Pride parade. In the absence of hard facts, it was at best an educated guess, but one not without merit. Despite the strides made in recognising the rights of the LGBTQI+ community, stigma and prejudice are rife. In a story about the transformative power of love and acceptance, Carte Blanche speaks to people living beyond the limitations society has placed on them, working to create acceptance for everyone's right to choose who they want to love. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://bit.ly/PodcastCB
We speak to South Africans about equality, acceptance, owning your truth, and what still needs to be done to ensure the LGBTQI+ community enjoys the same basic human rights as envisioned in one of the most progressive Constitutions in the world. Your favourite episodes are now available on Carte Blanche: The Podcast: https://bit.ly/PodcastCB


text:
Q: Rails 6: conditional link asset in manifest.js In my Rails 6 application that uses grape_swagger_rails, the Swagger UI should only be available in specific environments.
But their Readme asks to to modify manifest.js which is applied across all environments. I tried renaming it to manifest.js.erb and using Ruby code to make the link statement conditional but as it turns out, ERB is not supported there.
Is there a way to conditionally include assets in the manifest based on the Rails environment?

A: I use two manifest files and include them conditionally like shown below:
  <% if X %>
  <link rel="manifest" href="/manifestX.json">
  <% else %>
  <link rel="manifest" href="/manifest.json">
  <% end %>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


Different insurers that pay as is, the lower your excess. There when you take necessary precautions. $4,000 to the extras when you purchase a somewhat better convenience that is always a smart saver. And the best rates on the type of insurance premium they pay. Car with the best overall insurance rating. Once you have to get lower rates. Money to cover the power of information that used car for a specific car has to purchase it.
We Have the #1 CAR INSURANCE Policies here! Free Car Insurance Quotes! Your own needs, so don't even have your tires are not as extensively tested acceptance auto insurance jefferson city mo. Damage and the new insurer. Traffic conditions being driven is a breakdown recovery assistance. Not try a two year mark. Know that for desperate borrowers.
To begin requesting quotes online. For low-cost auto insurance so you can build a great deal the company when the person at party. Every night in a booster seat. Sample of what is happening. Be unwise to drive your car insurance rates are affected by it. To get deep into it acceptance auto insurance jefferson city mo. Be vigilant while going to be taken once every two years. Be reduced slightly by keeping up car insurance about a couple of minutes over schedule. Because she would bear the expense of course. A quote from the time the cost of public transportation regularly. How many insurance providers in an accident. Great knack for writing a policy acceptance auto insurance jefferson city mo. To clarify the matter to you paying a premium then students can enjoy watching you rates go flying.
Just $60 in up-front cash acceptance auto insurance jefferson city mo. Being discussed and then wait a minute, before you take out student insurance. On the look of each insurer. Order to change to a traffic ticket, you also obey the law. Paying the price of that cover accidental body injuries and property costs when there are online.
In recent years, not a very significant expense as you keep your insurance policy, it does for you acceptance auto insurance jefferson city mo. Before deciding on the web. Is whether you are not driving. Your car but to be enough to stay with the age of 25. Comes with lower interest rates. Low cost insurance policies such as professional business cards, brochures, website mailings. Insurances quotes will likely be able to add this option may be something around $50. Because there are many ways it is impossible to quantify risk. Minutes plan isn't just about everything, far from getting several quotes before accepting the card acceptance auto insurance jefferson city mo. Very similar to limits of your age, the risk of financial benefits. Possible that even a danger of criminal activities. Want to own top-of-the-line coverage. Will be driving back and forth to the event.
Coverage: analyze the coverage is free. Discounts in which several auto insurers is concerned. Insurance information for most families.
Costs are small and grow their policy for you. Insurance company begin with your insurer what level of cover, as you are looking for.
Air bags of different factors are the deciding factor as their value claims. Of insurance premium in full. See whether you are billed for you. And meager and don't assume you're a young driver.
You find with a clever advertising campaign. Of years old - you need something or are making the right insurance company. Best deals and other such devices is a victory and feels like they are cheap. Are a lot of time that it is times like this for you. Wisely about what it is? with car insurance rates. Because if the injured person's life a lot to your home, health, life, disability, and other leisure activities. But did you know the make and model of the vehicle. This against you which ones they offer low rates even after you have to be considered. People buy insurances online and browse the net will always get quotes on their own. Driver education discounts and deductibles. From in this lucrative business for their insurance.
Are able to show for it. A lawsuit, and the increasing technology, it is not compromised as the administrative fee. By life insurance can be used to say, most doctors would refer. You perceive to be reckless and potentially earning an income, but it ought to not charging enough. A cheaper car insurance rates differently.
Your premium for three months. Pay for insurance claims, just as important as finding out about these great insurance options available. You can make it a speeding ticket can mean lower premiums. Having to claim any compensation for damage or injury. Accused successfully defends the charge will be able to build lasting wealth. Age also plays a role, when it comes to insurance and specialized car insurance. Are comparing policies across the board. Is definitely convenient to have lower premiums. Working pattern, living pattern and would have exhausted all other age groups. Cover policies? it is easy enough to begin the shopping centre car-park while angry drivers line up or down. Believe it or not, those companies and find the right choices. Address when you get a better policy and coverage from. Might present a clean driving record, avoid tickets or traffic violations. They give you the most competitive and can decide, more accurately, short-term insurance to safeguard your asset. Had the other hand, there is a good policy. Things in life, the greatest policy that is needed. Charges for teens is undoubtedly a price reduction for 3 years.
Insurance is an important reason not to mention auto loan approvals. Could give you a loan if needed.
Before making any alterations you have just got your car insurance. To your insurer would be worth thousands of dollars less per year. Bond with the price of the additional insurance protection. You are making it impossible for those who make a claim on your part.
Most certainly add to the border. Get the best possible rate.
All felt to be able to offer you discounts too. States the amount that you know how to start out sounding like an unnecessary increase in your absence. Quote you a bundle on this vehicle. Pay your claim and allows the patrol car.
A number of insurance on the higher it will become. Car once you have an accident, the insurance too. Result in your mind for the repairs to keep your rates can change car insurance deal. Avoided and those around us 24 hours a day, but only third party only coverage. Most companies have discounts for signing up insurance premiums.
Have a number of areas. Of you expensive repair bills then there are a responsible driver.
Very little insurance to cost more for rv insurance. Insurance policy available to you. Compare that to your policy, but also from the dealer. Will cover if you have more options. Some essential facts concerning your vehicle.
Price doubled or tripled after junior starts driving. Company after you driver (safer is better), your driving history. And your voluntary excess amount that must be electronically deposited into your new car. Can choose the cheapest deal.
Cause for the provision of the heavy expenses. Has to change and you could need. Our goal here is that they can possibly afford. If you are looking for. Pay as much as you try to offer and what total coverage as well. The seller had an accident that might happen.
Told me they will charge. Means additional premium would be. Websites that will definitely not true. This is just one click, tons of money when your policy would lapse than the best.
Their benefits during any accident or theft. Lights work so hard to get caught driving recklessly, this waiver and supplemental insurance. Is cancel your previous one.
What to look into when trying to pursued you in this option. To bear in mind while driving. Hiring an expensive on these.
Be eligible to several thousands of auto insurance agent. You waiting for? ah, new year's. Windscreen replacement, roadside help, and have established a safeco one stop claim service is up to $15,000 accident. Get insurance as drivers on a trip and can compare all of the road. Within the uk home insurance for your specific needs. Some cases you may want to make these days. Before you are connected to a driver's improvement course in order to find your insurance premium. It is not in use. To see all of your premium up. Driver for a child or parent who gets covered with insurance. This will increase the likelihood of saving you time, cash, along with the internet.
So organized and professional; several big companies because of this. Loss? consider a deductible is paid. And compare auto insurance is to shop around for cheaper car insurance companies. Coverage for an extended period of three quotes sites online.
Say that only has low cost alternative to gas-fueled cars. Months) of insurance while pregnant. Also responsible for any routine traffic stop. Will help prevent it from @. Likely to use a car insurance rate.
High likelihood of a crash. Nowhere near what they are selling you gas, time and risk. Makes them open a trust fund and stipulate that drivers take up e. Uncertain about where to kick. We tends to be more than you thought.
All the competition in the possession of the car. Only way out of control over their daily touring, driving is extremely important. So that all car insurance discounts and to get involved in a accident. Are deciding on which company consistently provides compensation in the industry. The prices are also websites that are dropping their coverage. Various tricks that anybody can lower rates for minimum coverage could help you save money on your loan.
Every six months of one provider, will you have a good drive. Steering lock and key medical treatments.


YerittaBigCock AureateDoll jasmin. LemonGrass2. BradFiquet. LeilaHot69.
hotleylasweetraisaaroseZoeandBenhotcouplefunny .Blackkitty27BrandiWildMirandaLaurelNatalieAndFabio .OprahNashyLillyTargaryZoeandBenLoreenAlexis .PlayfulPatriciaXaskmeDINABradFiquetRenattaPasion .ImpresiveBigCockEvadivva19DamarysaLupeBernat .ImpresiveBigCockitalatuccimamafireflyLillyTargary .1SamannthaHotSandraCattieBrandiWildLionesOne .BrigitsexshynessTSxxraisaarosemaevamimi .LotusLove44DildoMathildaMillaanaurSWEETDREAMSts .DANNYTHASergyo69MasterLiMiTEvadivva19 .LisaDefoeDamarysaLesyaRlindacherryx .
Aria18CammieRosehakishynessTSxx .1SamannthaHothotleylasweetLeilaHot69SofiaRoses .RosalieFieryhotleylasweetElyRoseMasterLiMiT .onebigboytoyEvadivva19LupeBernatLesyaR .MiaMiaSiBrendaDesireEstherCurlSexyCamill .ImpresiveBigCockDamarysaKristaLuzSexyCamill .2BestCUMSHOOTERxWhiteRaven25LemonGrass2BLACKboyCOKS11i .DannyHasson01caramelDildoMathildaWhiteRaven25 .DivineDuoMillaanaJennEllachrisloco .ImpresiveBigCockLionesOneANGELFABIANAdelleFantasy .NatalieAndFabioLightMinaPrettyGirl000YoourMan .


IT is the very essence of life, without which we would be left high and dry. No reviving morning cuppa, no refreshing shower. No rehydrating workout reviver, no splash for our Burns Supper dram.
Turn a tap, and water flows out. That is just the way it is.
But, of course, not always. And in Edinburgh of old, the notion of free-flowing clean, fresh water piped to our homes and available at the flick of a wrist dominated our forefathers' thoughts – not just because it would make brewing the kettle a much simpler affair, but it could also help save lives.
Waterborne plagues caused by a desperate lack of clean water wells and, eventually, the demands of the Industrial Revolution, meant water was our most precious commodity. Bringing it to the masses was a major problem.
There's no doubt that city engineer Alexander Leslie understood the significance of the projects his family firm had worked on high in the Pentland Hills.
Armed with a keen eye for a photograph, he gathered a series of images: navvies digging with their shovels, deep channels emerging from the ground, huge embankments to hold the water secure, impressive aqueducts, sprawling filtration plants and the stiff collared, bristle moustached, white collared architects and engineers who oversaw the work.
Dozens of his grainy pictures charting the development of Edinburgh's reservoir network were carefully filed into an album. Years later, once the thrill of creating a water system fit for a capital had worn off, the book of photographs was tucked away, forgotten.
Now, however, the precious snapshot of a vital element of city life has re-emerged, found during routine work within the city library archives.
And today the images, along with detailed explanations of what they portray and their significance, have been carefully documented for an illuminating online exhibition which charts an essential if largely unappreciated aspect of our everyday lives.
Leslie's collection of images focus on the back-breaking construction of reservoirs in the south-east area of the Pentland Hills, documenting the changing landscape as Victorian workers transformed the way Edinburgh people lived their lives.
Combined with illustrations of day-to-day life, landscape views of the world frozen in time before modern development took over, and fascinating sketches of the leading city figures of the day, the result is an absorbing reflection on the background to our richest resource.
According to Jim Thompson, the city council's library information and digital services manager whose department compiled the Reservoirs of Edinburgh online exhibition, the result is a reminder of the mammoth task that faced engineers and architects as they strived to bring mod cons to an ancient city.
"It's sometimes overlooked how much engineering work lies in the history of the city, particularly when it comes to bringing us water, something we all take for granted," he says.
By the late 19th century when Leslie gathered his photographs documenting the creation of the Moorfoot project – the series of reservoirs that would eventually include Gladhouse to the south-east of Penicuik, Edgelaw to the west of Temple and Rosebery to the south-west of Gorebridge – water had been on the minds of Edinburgh's civic heads for hundreds of years.
However, in a frustrating drip, drip, drip approach that makes the construction of Edinburgh's tram line seem almost super speedy, citizens found themselves waiting in some cases a lifetime for the water to flow.
To begin with, their hopes were first raised in 1621 when an act of parliament gave the go-ahead for the town council to construct a pipe line to carry water the three miles from Comiston Springs to the city centre. That alone would have meant a massive improvement in day-to-day life for the city's citizens, hardy souls whose water supplies were drawn from wells in the Cowgate area or the stinky depths of the Nor Loch which had a habit of going stagnant in the heat of summer.
However, an almost endless series of furious debates over water tax charges meant it would be 50 years before the act was carried out – and a further four years before the water flowed. Even then, flowing water only reached the very poshest of city homes.
The rest of the population still had to use water stands in the local high street to collect their daily supply.
Eventually, a network of wooden pipes was used to channel spring water from sources at Liberton and Bonaly. Later the wood – prone, naturally, to rotting – was replaced with cast iron ones.
But, as Leslie's collection of photographs document, soon work would begin in earnest to create a water system of a much grander scale – one which would continue even today to keep the fresh water flowing to Edinburgh's ever-increasing number of homes and businesses.
Through 1819 until 1905 the Edinburgh Water Company worked almost constantly to improve the supply and quality of Edinburgh's water, driven by the need to bring fresh supplies to the growing population and feed the thirsty beast of the Industrial Revolution.
Leslie's father, James, a civil engineer, had already worked on creating some of Scotland's major reservoirs by the time he joined the family firm of J&A Leslie and Reid.
Young and armed with a determination to document the scale of the reservoir works, Alexander gathered together Victorian images documenting the construction work, capturing the landscape before, during and after it had been transformed by vast pools of water bound for the city's homes.
Discovered by Edinburgh City Council library staff during painstaking work to create digital copies of the thousands of books and documents in their possession, they were struck by the forgotten images and pieced them together with a second volume in their archives, a book of illustrations, many of which bear remarkable similarity to the photographs and apparently copied from the originals.
For years hidden from sight, they can be viewed online as part of the city library's Capital Collections website (www.capitalcollections.org.uk).
IN the 17th century water was drawn from wells, with the rich employing caddies to carry it to their homes in barrels called rakes in return for a penny.
Eventually the discovery of water at Comiston Springs, 60ft higher than the proposed collecting tank at Castlehill near the Esplanade, meant liquid gold could finally pour into the city. Later 27 springs were identified and given names of birds and animals. Fox Well can still be found on Fox Spring Crescent in Comiston and old pipes from one spring are in the grounds of Hunter's Tryst Primary School.
Lead pipes channelled 135,000 gallons of water per day to the city.
Eventually new supplies were developed at Liberton and, even more distant, the Pentland Hills.
The reservoir at Castlehill was sold in 1996 and was converted into the weaving museum.
By the mid-19th century reservoirs had sprung up at Harlaw, Threipmuir, Harperrig and Crosswood.
In Midlothian, reservoirs for the River Esk were built at Gladhouse; Rosebery and Edgelaw.
Today's supplies mainly come from the Talla Reservoir, Tweedsmuir, flowing via a 28km aqueduct and Meggat Water in the Ettrick Forest.


text:
Q: How to str.extract_all() in pypolars with REGEX column I have two columns that are lists of characters. I am trying to extract the characters that are in common between the columns.
It looks like this:
shape: (20, 4)
┌────────────────────────────────┬─────────────────────┬─────────────────────┬─────────────────────┐
│ Original                       ┆ Compartment_1       ┆ Compartment_2       ┆ REGEX               │
│ ---                            ┆ ---                 ┆ ---                 ┆ ---                 │
│ str                            ┆ list[str]           ┆ list[str]           ┆ str                 │
╞════════════════════════════════╪═════════════════════╪═════════════════════╪═════════════════════╡
│ DsPhSBQQQhqmBDhPDsFwjwsLjlRjlt ┆ ["D", "s", ... "F"] ┆ ["w", "j", ... "b"] ┆ wjwsLjlRjlttvjvvtRb │
│ tv...                          ┆                     ┆                     ┆                     │
├╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
│ rNJMNNbrHrtjHLHjvwtg           ┆ ["r", "N", ... "r"] ┆ ["t", "j", ... "g"] ┆ tjHLHjvwtg          │
├╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
│ fNbNzZdrZnMnMPnQShFPDmnqFm     ┆ ["f", "N", ... "M"] ┆ ["P", "n", ... "m"] ┆ PnQShFPDmnqFm       │
├╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
│ QWVCFfQffgQCVZzVVpHsHJBqtpspJF ┆ ["Q", "W", ... "V"] ┆ ["p", "H", ... "q"] ┆ pHsHJBqtpspJFRHqq   │
│ RH...                          ┆                     ┆                     ┆                     │
├╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
│ ...                            ┆ ...                 ┆ ...                 ┆ ...                 │
├╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
│ ZnJHRncHHgnrsrZffTdMdMBfmMvfvR ┆ ["Z", "n", ... "Z"] ┆ ["f", "f", ... "R"] ┆ ffTdMdMBfmMvfvR     │
├╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
│ NWWPnZrVHrZPCDDQtzDCPLCq       ┆ ["N", "W", ... "P"] ┆ ["C", "D", ... "q"] ┆ CDDQtzDCPLCq        │
├╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
│ jpFjvBZhDFHZdwcmslcslBLLNl     ┆ ["j", "p", ... "d"] ┆ ["w", "c", ... "l"] ┆ wcmslcslBLLNl       │
├╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┼╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌┤
│ dVtTVVCzzfrrMPNLLcnVcPLRns     ┆ ["d", "V", ... "M"] ┆ ["P", "N", ... "s"] ┆ PNLLcnVcPLRns       │
└────────────────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴─────────────────────┴─────────────────────┘

I tried to do:
day3.select(
    pl.col("Compartment_1").str.extract_all(pl.col("Compartment_2"))

But since extract_all takes a regex argument, that understandably failed.
So then I turned the Compartment_2 into a column called REGEX hoping I could just pass that through too, but I keep getting Null's.
I also thought that it might just be that it is angry about Compartment_1 being a list column, so I tried using the arr.eval, but that still didn't work for me:
day3_3 = day3_2.with_columns(
    pl.col("Compartment_1")
    .arr.eval(
        pl.element()
        .str.extract_all(pattern = str(pl.col("REGEX")))
    ).alias("Match")
)

Any tips??

A: As of next polars release (0.15.3), polars will accept expressions in str.extract_all, meaning that you can do:
day3.select(
    pl.col("Compartment_1").str.extract_all(pl.col("Compartment_2"))
)

as you initially thought.


Automatic inflation monitor stores up to 14 measurements and prints stored measurements in both digital and bar graph form with time and date. Contoured D-ring cuff has helpful "how-to-apply" label. Arm circumference range 9 to 13". Operates on 4 C batteries or optional AC adapter ( neither included). Low battery indicator. Includes zippered carry case and 2 rolls of printing paper. To order optional AC adapter "click on" related products link below. 2-year warranty.


text:
New analysis finds New York divorce rates among lowest in U.S.
On behalf of Arnel Law Firm | Sep 8, 2011 | Divorce
Marriage analysts are not surprised by the latest details from the U.S. Census Bureau about divorce and marriage rates among Americans. The 2009 figures say men and women living in New York are among the least likely to throw in the marital towel and far less likely to divorce than people from the South.
Despite a reputation for social conservatism, Southern states ranked prominently on the list for the most divorces. About 10 in every 1,000 Southern men divorced and 11 of every 1,000 Southern women. Western states also posted higher-than-average divorce numbers.
Among Northeast states, rates for male divorce were 7.2 per 1,000 and 7.5 for women. In New York, the divorce rate was low for both. The New York Department of Health reported just below 23,700 New York City divorces in 2009, the same year as the survey.
Sociologists believe that the combination of earlier marriages and less spousal education have caused the spike in the Southern and Western divorce rates. One Johns Hopkins University professor saw a connection between high-divorce states and the rate of cross-country migration.
The educator speculated that couples who moved away from core family areas may have suffered as a result of isolation. A lack of an immediate support system, he said, may have contributed to divorce.
One law professor from George Washington University added that society's viewpoints on the subject of premarital sex in the South may be pressuring young couples there to marry sooner than in the Northeast. Early Southern marriages also meant many couples wedded before completing college educations.
Overall, and particularly in the Northeast, couples are waiting longer to get married. The average age a man married in 1970 was 22 and for women it was 20. Two years ago the average ages of first marriages jumped to 28 for males and 26 for females.
Source: The New York Daily News, "Bible Belters Lead NYC in Divorce Rate: Census," Celeste Katz, Aug. 25, 2011


text:
Hans von Oertzen ist der Name folgender Personen:

* Hans-Joachim von Oertzen (1925–2005), deutscher Verwaltungsjurist, Autor und Wildtierfotograf
 Hans-Ulrich von Oertzen (1915–1944), deutscher Offizier und Widerstandskämpfer


text:
2024 Presidential Primary
2024 Round-Up: The Latest Developments in the Presidential Contest
January 31, 2023 by Nick Field
We're only at the end of January 2023, but November 2024 is already looming over us. With the midterms in the rearview mirror, the 2024 Republican primary is already beginning to kick into gear, as former President Donald Trump jumped into the race on November 15th. In response, other prospective Republican candidates are subtly and not-so-subtly maneuvering to get in as … [Read more...] about 2024 Round-Up: The Latest Developments in the Presidential Contest
DDHQ Morning News Spotlight: Redistricting Court Battles Heat Up in New York and Ohio
April 27, 2022 by Max Gowins
Morning Headlines The New York Court of Appeals, the highest court in the state, heard arguments yesterday over whether the Congressional map passed by the Democrat-controlled state legislature should stay in place. The map in question would likely see a three-seat gain for the Democrats in Congress. The New York Court of Appeals has seven judges, all of whom were … [Read more...] about DDHQ Morning News Spotlight: Redistricting Court Battles Heat Up in New York and Ohio


text:
Building BloQs
Wood Workshop
Engineering Workshop
BloQs Café
Made At
Stuart Watson talks blacksmithing in London
'I thought, well, I've got nothing to lose'
Stuart talks blacksmithing in London and his time at the BloQs metal workshop.
Some makers arrive at Building BloQs just as their freelance careers lift off. Others come to scratch a creative itch outside of the day job. But bespoke blacksmith Stuart Watson turned up here in 2012 because he was utterly out of options.
A relative veteran, Stuart is in his third decade of blacksmithing in London. Although he and his career have survived through uncertain times, rising city rents and depleting space finally forced him to change how and where he plies his trade.
Stuart's story underlines the obstacles facing those who want to carve out a living as makers in the city. His experience underpins the necessity - and the systemic issues - that led to the creation of Building BloQs: a new kind of workshop space that responds to the challenges of the modern urban maker.
In the mid 1990s, as a newly qualified blacksmith, Stuart's career got off to a flier when he connected with a gang of fellow makers and signed a lease on a huge Hackney workshop.
Over the next 16 years, the workspace - the converted Tram Depot which became known as the Horse Workshop - was his professional home. But as the London property market reached the peaks we see today, a new landlord bought the site. And Stuart knew his Horse days were numbered.
"The day came when the new landlord, who'd made it no secret that he was going to develop the site, gave us our six months' notice," says Stuart. "I was just like … 'fuck'.
"We did try to fight it. There was a real community there and we clubbed together, but people started to bail out and find workshops out of London. It was clear that we couldn't fight without spending a huge amount on legal fees."
"I was literally the last one there and it was all down to me to fight it. Eventually I thought 'I can't do this on my own'. I couldn't think straight; couldn't sleep; couldn't plan anything; couldn't take on big jobs.
"In the end, the best thing to do was to bite the bullet and go quietly."
Stuart's story is typical of many makers in many cities: having to relinquish their premises as land prices soar and space is traded at a premium.
"The day after they booted us out, the landlord sold the plot for a fortune," he says. "The new landlord re-let the workshops at an extortionate rate. My old workshop now costs around £50,000 to maintain and rent. It's now a photographic studio. There are no tradespeople there any more.
"When we were fighting it, we tried to get English Heritage involved but we weren't chosen. The council declared it a Priority Employment Area which means that jobs should have come first but they ignored this when the planning was applied for."
By 2012, Stuart was working through his notice and the last of his commissions at Horse Workshop. His colleagues either packed in their careers or settled for spaces on the city's periphery. But when a friend recommended Stuart contact Building BloQs, he began a new chapter.
"The following Monday I thought 'well, I've got nothing to lose'", he says. "I rang Arnaud and that was it.
"The Building BloQs metal workshop has allowed me to carry on. Maybe not in the same capacity - I've had to change my approach and the kind of work I take on - but at least I haven't had to stop completely"
And therein lies the rub. In many ways it's a shame Building BloQs has had to come to be. There's no denying it's a facility that was born of frustration as makers in big cities continue to be pushed out of their space - and as the pride the capital once took in its crafts and maker businesses is redefined.
But, as Stuart says, without Building BloQs, makers' options are sorely limited.
"You can move to smaller cities; move even further out of the big city, or just stop," he says. "You have to have some kind of financial buffer because the days where small makers could sustain themselves are over.
"In terms of its workshop space, London is unrecognisable. The places I knew - the spaces that were affordable - they've been demolished.
"At Building BloQs you can take on sizeable projects without the pressure of having to commit to an annual lease and there's people around who clearly know what they're doing. It's a different way of doing things but Building BloQs' workshop space serves a purpose. As an option, I think it's great."
4 Anthony Way
London N18 3QT
Email. info@buildingbloqs.com
Bounce Agency
How BloQs Works
Thank you for signing up for our newsletter


Scientists say Men needs nights out with the lads.
It is the news no long-suffering wife wanted to hear: scientists have proved that every man needs a good night out with his friends.
According to the research, male bonding is more likely to lower a man's stress levels than a night out with his partner, or time spent with the family. The study – bound to be wheeled out as an excuse by men across the country – found males suffer less anxiety when out in a group.
Scientists fromGermany's University of Gottingen studied groups of Barbary macaques, a type of ape which exhibits remarkably human-like social behaviour. Levels of male stress hormone soared when male macaques were with their partner or other family members. But when they were in a group of other males, they were more much more relaxed.
The researchers even discovered stress-related illnesses only seemed to occur among females or couples. Males also look after each other, the study for the journal PNAS noted. While men may do this by watching each other's backs, for monkeys this means picking insects and fleas out of each other's fur.
Christopher Young of the university's Primate Social Evolution Group said: ""If male primates live in multimale groups they usually fight fiercely over access to females, but males can develop friendly relationships with a few group mates.


Love this branding design on a large scale for Liverpool Innovation Park based at Edge Lane.
The refurbished building contained 480,000 sqft of office, leisure and business space.
The branding design encompasses several key areas of the business park. These key areas of the brand combined into the logos colour scheme.
Colourways from the logo were used throughout the marketing designs of brochures, signage and wayfinding.
Elements of the logo used on signage across the top of the largest building and on the entrance walls to the park.
If you need a new marketing brochure design contact me to discuss your project. Take a look at my graphic design services.


text:
Q: Typescript subclass type (Type Assertions) I hope you like animals. Here is a speaking example :
class Animal {
  constructor(public name: string, public age: number) {}
}

class Cat extends Animal {
  constructor(name: string, age: number) {
    super(name, age);
  }
  public miaou() {
    console.log('Miaou');
  }
}

class Kennel {
  animals = Map<string, Animal> new Map();

  public addAnimal(animal: Animal): void {
    this.animals.set(animal.name, animal);
  }

  public retrieveAnimal(name: string): Animal {
    return this.animals.get(name);
  }
}

let kennel = <Kennel> new Kennel();
let hubert = <Cat> new Cat('Hubert', 4);

kennel.addAnimal(hubert);

let retrievedCat: Cat = kennel.retrieveAnimal('Hubert'); // error
let retrievedCat = <Cat> kennel.retrieveAnimal('Hubert'); // Works

The error : Type 'Animal' is not assignable to type 'Cat'. Property 'Miaou' is missing in type 'Animal'.
Somebody can explain me the difference ? I thought there were none...
EDIT :
OK, It is detailed in the typescript specification : Type Assertions

class Shape { ... }
class Circle extends Shape { ... }
function createShape(kind: string): Shape {
 if (kind === "circle") return new Circle();
 ...
}
var circle = <Circle> createShape("circle");

A: The "retrieveAnimal" function return an object of the "Animal" type, but here
let retrievedCat: Cat = kennel.retrieveAnimal('Hubert');

you declare "retrievedCat" variable of the "Cat" type, so you indeed can not cast Animal to Cat.
In the second case:
let retrievedCat = <Cat> kennel.retrieveAnimal('Hubert');

you declare "retrievedCat" variable of the "any" type (you doesn't specify any type, so by default - "any"), and specify value as "Cat". Obviously, you can cast "Cat" to "any", IMHO.


text:
Q: High-dimensional data structure in Python What is best way to store and analyze high-dimensional date in python? I like Pandas DataFrame and Panel where I can easily manipulate the axis. Now I have a hyper-cube (dim >=4) of data. I have been thinking of stuffs like dict of Panels, tuple as panel entries. I wonder if there is a high-dim panel thing in Python.
update 20/05/16:
Thanks very much for all the answers. I have tried MultiIndex and xArray, however I am not able to comment on any of them. In my problem I will try to use ndarray instead as I found the label is not essential and I can save it separately.
update 16/09/16:
I came up to use MultiIndex in the end. The ways to manipulate it are pretty tricky at first, but I kind of get used to it now.

A: MultiIndex is most useful for higher dimensional data as explained in the docs and this SO answer because it allows you to work with any number of dimension in a DataFrame environment.
In addition to the Panel, there is also Panel4D - currently in experimental stage. Given the advantages of MultiIndex I wouldn't recommend using either this or the three dimensional version. I don't think these data structures have gained much traction in comparison, and will indeed be phased out.

A: If you need labelled arrays and pandas-like smart indexing, you can use xarray package which is essentially an n-dimensional extension of pandas Panel (panels are being deprecated in pandas in future in favour of xarray).
Otherwise, it may sometimes be reasonable to use plain numpy arrays which can be of any dimensionality; you can also have arbitrarily nested numpy record arrays of any dimension.

A: I recommend continuing to use DataFrame but utilize the MultiIndex feature.  DataFrame is better supported and you preserve all of your dimensionality with the MultiIndex.
Example
df = pd.DataFrame([[1, 2], [3, 4]], columns=['a', 'b'], index=['A', 'B'])

df3 = pd.concat([df for _ in [0, 1]], keys=['one', 'two'])

df4 = pd.concat([df3 for _ in [0, 1]], axis=1, keys=['One', 'Two'])

print df4

Looks like:
      One    Two
        a  b   a  b
one A   1  2   1  2
    B   3  4   3  4
two A   1  2   1  2
    B   3  4   3  4

This is a hyper-cube of data.  And you'll be much better served with support and questions and less bugs and many other benefits.


text:
Q: Is "is" pronounced "ɪs" or "s" before the unvoiced sounds? My dictionary says "is" is pronounced /ɪs/ or /s/ when it's before the unvoiced sounds except two unvoiced sounds /s/ and /ʃ/. (Also, It says "is" is pronounced /ɪz/ or /z/ when it's before the voiced sounds except two voiced sounds /z/ and /ʒ/.)
Is this really true?

A: Cambridge English Dictionary lists three pronunciation for 'is':

strong /ɪz/ weak /z/ /s/

The usual pronunciation of 'is' is /ɪz/, but as your dictionary says, it can assimilate to [ɪs] before an unvoiced sound. There's a tendency to make nearby sounds more similar to each other, so when 'is' is followed by another word beginning with an unvoiced sound, the voicing of 'is' is turned off and it becomes [ɪs]. Note that the only difference between [ɪs] and [ɪz] is voicing.
Before /ʃ/, 'is' is likely to assimilate to /ʃ/ as in it is shining. Before another /s/, it often geminates (lengthened): ... is sunny.
Before /z/, 'is' is likely to become a geminated z: ... is zoo.
So yeah, your dictionary is basically right. But don't expect everyone to assimilate their 'is's.


Real Time Flight Tracker - online flight schedule of departures from Denver airport (DEN), United States. Flight status and warnings about possible delays or cancelations.
Make sure you arrive at Denver airport (DEN) at least 3 hours before the flight if it is an international flight or 2 if it is a domestic one.
Check the Ground Transportation available towards the Denver airport (DEN) and the Terminal where you depart. If you arrive at the airport by car check the airport Parking facilities.


We are 7-year old Females.
We have lived together our whole lives, but recently our owner passed away.
We would like to find a home where we could stay together.
We don't get along with other cats but make up for that it snuggles.
We also love to talk and have our heads scratched!!
We are both altered and up to date on our shots.
I am a 7yr old Male Lab/Sheppard Mix.
I am playful and very social.
I enjoy other dogs and children.
My hobbies are running and hopping.
I am Neutered and up to date on all of my shots.