text:
Skip to content

It's a Blog!

children's literature from a pineapple-lover's point of view…

Hello devout followers!

Now that I’ve graduated and I actually have time to devote to this blog, I’m moving it!

You can follow the re-vamped, way better, and totally awesome ramblings of yours truly at

Hope to see all of you there!

Hey everyone!

If you’re interested, check out the New York Times Best Illustrated Children’s Books Winners 2012. The judges were Caldecott winner Chris Raschka, Vanity Fair‘s Bruce Handy, and Cathryn Mercier, the director of the Center for the Study of Children’s Literature at Simmons College and ten books were chosen. Click here to see the ten winners!

Humbly yours,

Okay, I have to warn you, this one is going to be long. Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday of the year (and I say that without putting quotes around holiday intentionally) and there are just too many books with too many Halloweeny undertones. So let’s divide up the Halloween vibes, shall we?

First we have the books that put you in the mood. One totally awesome book that does this is Jeremy Holmes’ There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly. I actually mentioned it last year but never really described it. That was wrong. It deserves describing. Beautifully crafted, designed, and illustrated, Holmes creates a highly interactive book that proves to be a wonderful interpretation of the famous nursery rhyme. With a unique and innovative design, the book highlights the creepiness of the woman who continues to swallow animal after animal as the reader turns page after page over her stomach. The illustrations are dark and the end of the book is even darker as the woman shuts her eyes with the turn of the final page. Perfectly done. Other wonderfully dark books are those by Gris Grimly and Edward Gorey. Anything they touch is gold. Right now my favorite Grimlys are Wicked Nursery Rhymes, Boris and Bella, and his illustrated version of Edgar Allan Poe’s Tales of Mystery and Madness. I think my favorite Goreys have to be The Gashlycrumb Tinies and The Curious Sofa. Each of these books features dark, shadowy illustrations with dark messages attached to them and virtually every character in each book does meets a gruesome, if not deadly, fate. I also want to quickly throw in Brian Anderson’s The Prince’s New Pet and Mary Howitt’s and Tony DiTerlizzi’s The Spider and the Fly; they each feature dark, heavy illustrations with strong shadows, both of which are perfect for getting into the Halloween spirit.

If you’re looking for something spirited but not necessarily gruesome or dark, check out then look no further than Spells by Emily Gravett. She’s one of my absolute favorite illustrators and she creates a fantastically creative book with interchangeable flaps so readers can mix and match different spells. And, of course, there’s a surprise ending. Lisa Wheeler’s and Mark Siegel’s Boogie Knights is also a low key but super fun book with multiple story lines that are perfect for getting you into the Halloween spirit. A pseudo-counting book, Boogie Knights tells the story of a prince who watches the armored knights in his castle come to life and throw a wild party with the ghosts, witches, and goblins that roam the halls. But even better is the illustrated-only storyline of the prince making friends with the girl in the painting. Again, not scary but perfect for Halloween.

Now for the category of “yes, they have monsters but they’re adorable monsters so it’s not scary.” A couple of new books out this year are Frankenstein by Rick Walton and Nathan Hale, Vampirina Ballerina by Anne Marie Pace and LeUyen Pham, and Hubble Bubble, Granny Trouble by Tracey Corderoy and Joe Berger. Each features an adorable set of monsters while still maintaining some level of cynicism and dark humor that makes the illustrations engaging and helps highlight the spirit of Halloween. There’s also a lot of buzz around Patrick McDonnell’s The Monster’s Monster. In all honesty, I haven’t had a chance to check it out but School Library Journal, Booklist, Publisher’s Weekly, and Kirkus Reviews (or the Big 4, as I like to call them) can’t stop talking about it. Check it out, let me know what you think. Finally, two previously-mentioned-but-still-great favorites are Mostly Monsterly by Tammi Sauer and Scott Magoon and Zombie in Love by Kelly DiPucchio and Scott Campbell: still funny, still Halloweeny, and still wonderfully dark.

So those are my favorite Halloween books. What are yours?

Hauntingly yours,

Tags: ,

I know it’s been forever since I’ve posted but check me out on Auntie Karen’s Book Pile at

Look for new posts coming soon!

So I’m stuck in bed with the flu and thought that this would be an appropriate time to write about wordless picturebooks. Probably not the best reason I’ve ever had but bear with me…I have the flu.

Since picturebooks are equal parts words and pictures (or they’re supposed to be, anyhow), removing the words from a picturebook seems like it would throw off the balance of the book, make it an easier and quicker read for a child (or adult enthusiast). And yet, if done correctly, that doesn’t seem to be the case at all: wordless picturebooks have the ability to encourage a much stronger interaction between the reader  (or beholder as we might call her in this case) and the illustrations and because the only way to fully understand the narrative is to understand what is happening in the illustrations.

There are a few illustrators out there who are extremely familiar with the wordless picturebook. David Wiesner, Barbara Lehman, and Suzy Lee to name a few, have each created award-winning books that tell their characters’ stories without the use of words. Readers get drawn into their illustrations to understand the narrative of the story, making the book more interactive.

Some other awesome wordless picturebook include The Conductor by Laëtitia Devernay, The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney, A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka, The Boys by Jeff Newman, Mirror by Jeannie Baker, and The Arrival by Shaun Tan. Each of these books successfully conveys a story without the use of words and creates a deeper connection between the beholder and the artist, forging a connection between the two.

There are some absolutely beautiful wordless picturebooks and I’m definitely only naming a few of them. What are your favorites?

Never wordlessly yours (seriously, I have witnesses),

Tags: , ,

I know, I know…I’m terrible. It’s been forever. But in my defense at least I didn’t completely forget…right? On the bright side, the blog has a new look so at least I’m keeping things fresh…

So what to write about for my first post in waaay too many months? Well in the spirit of February 14th (and because I’m in a super good mood these days) how about picturebooks about love? Or about zombies and love? They seem to intersect more that usual these days…

Zombies in Love by Kelly DiPucchio and Scott Campbell and Boris and Bella by Carolyn Crimi and Gris both stories about holding out for true love. Both Mortimer and Boris and Bella end up finding love in the unlikeliest of places (and in the case of Boris and Bella, the unlikeliest of people) and both books feature comical illustrations that highlight the hilarity of the situations the characters find themselves in. TEN LITTLE ZOMBIES: A LOVE STORY by Andy Rash is also a story of what someone will do for love, though the stake are slightly higher. Two people learn the true meaning of love as they run for their lives in Rash’s picturebook and his minimalistic illustrations are hilarious and engaging, practically daring the reader to turn the page to see what disaster will befall the next zombie.

If zombies and monsters are not your thing, check out Rob Scotton’s Love, Splat (Splat the Cat). It’s a fun read with illustrations that are extremely accessible to younger children and characters with whom children can easily identify.

Lastly, if you’re looking for picturebooks that say “I love you no matter what,” take a look at Even If I Did Something Awful? by Barbara Shook Hazen and Nancy Kincade and Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw. Beware that the stories are extremely didacti, and the artwork falls often flat because of the message-heavy text. However, the books do make good gifts if that’s your sort of thing and do send an important message: even if you burn down my house I’ll still love you because you’re my biological child.

Happy Valentine’s Day, everyone!

Lovey-dovingly yours,

Tags: ,

I hope everyone had a successful Halloween! My house actually hosted a party this year with the theme “fractured fairy tales.” Of course, the problem with concentrating so deeply on fairy tale-themed decorations for the two months prior to Halloween is the withdrawal you experience when the party is over.

So naturally I purchased eight new fairy tale picture books and decided to blog about them. Yay!

The stories, of course, can be traced back to Perrault, the Brothers Grimm, Anderson, etc., so it’s really the illustrations that make one picture book stand out over another: how and what an artist chooses to depict in an picture highlights what the artist thinks is important, or not, in the story. And that’s how I ended up with several versions of the same story—but it was totally worth it. There are some beautiful interpretations out there!

First, there are some obvious (but still amazing) illustrators like Paul O. Zelinsky and Ed Young. Rumpelstiltskin (Caldecott Honor Award) and Rapunzel (Caldecott Medal) are the only two I own by Zelinsky and they have definitely grown on me over time. While I wasn’t immediately drawn to the realistic illustrations, I found myself fascinated with Zelinsky’s use of light and shadow and I’ve decided that the cover illustration of Rapunzel is one of the most fantastic drawings I’ve ever seen. From the cover alone you can tell the time of day, location and height of the tower, that the hair is significant…the list goes on. And Ed Young is amazing, too: I currently have Lon Po Po: A Red-Riding Hood Story From China (Caldecott Medal) and Yeh-Shen: A Cinderella Story From China and they’re stunning. His images become a part of their environments, blending into the backgrounds of the illustrations and leaving room for the reader’s imagination to take over and complete the drawings.

One fairy tale illustrator I was unaware of previous to my tirade on Amazon was Chihiro Iwasaki. The Little Mermaid arrived just yesterday and I’m already so in love with it that I’ve since purchased Snow White and the Seven Little Dwarves and Swan Lake. Iwasaki often worked with Anthea Bell (a well-known translator) to create beautiful interpretations of fairy tales that are colorful, yet minimalistic at the same time with dark lines and soft water colors. Danie Egnéus’ Little Red Riding Hood is kind of in the same vein, colorful yet minimal. It’s hands-down one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever seen, with washed-out images mixed with collages and heavy lines. It also has just the right level of creepiness which, if you find yourself interested, can also be seen in Camille Rose Garcia’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland—totally awesome, but super creepy.

Ok, so some quick shout-outs: Marcia Brown won the Caldecott Medal for her Cinderella (and rightfully so), and Paul Heins’ and Trina Schart Hyman’s Snow White is also notable. Finally, while I’m not a huge fan of Angela Barrett, her depiction of The Beast in Beauty & the Beast is phenomenal.

Happily ever afterly yours,

Tags: ,


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Truncated: length

WARC-Type: response

text:
I’m a firm believer in life’s phases.  Even though I’d like to think I’m the only one in the world who’s lived through this freakish and undulating patchwork of Twilight Zone episodes, Eat, Pray, Love moments, and Nightmare on Elm Street-like near-(intellectual-)death experiences that is my life, I know I’m just being conceited.  It’s well documented, after all, that all toddlers go through the terrible twos (which for me, lasted until I was 16) and adolescents through a long and tear-filled angsty phase (I’m not sure I’m finished with that one yet) and undergrads through an experimentation phase (oh, college…).  But I’ve recently and reluctantly become the victim of another one: The self-help phase.

Most people, I’m guessing, find themselves here in their 40s.  They’re fed up with life, or their jobs, or their spouses, or themselves and read things like “Think and Grow Rich” or “Seven Habits of Highly Successful People” (oh the irony that my former bosses who were hopelessly unsuccessful in their careers were Seven Habits Certified) or the Chicken Soup books (I never understood why people bought those books… Slimy advice that’s mushy in your mouth and tasteless on your tongue?  No thanks!).

But.  Oh, how I hate to admit it, but.  I have a confession.  I’m not sure if it’s London or the fact that I’m changing careers or that I’m becoming more and more my father’s daughter or that I’ve always been inclined to think big thoughts (thank you, University of Chicago).  But in the past few years I’ve read things like “Influence” and “Working Identity: Unconventional Strategies for Reinventing Your Career” and “Mrs. Moneypenny’s Career Advice for Ambitious Women” and lots of other titles that I’m embarrassed to have on my bedside table but that I see as one of the more benign side-effects of the over-examined life.

Some of these books, mind you, like “The Game,” stretch the boundaries a bit.  But hey, why shouldn’t the self-help genre include a book about how flaccid unattractive men can use evolutionary psychology and verbal cues to make women feel desperate enough to date them?  To each their own, I say (and ladies, it’s worth reading as a self-defense book… you should never let yourself be “neg’ed” again).

So there you have it.  I read this stuff and I’m starting to see some value in it.  It’s true.  I wish it weren’t, but it is.  I’m willing to withstand all the eye-rolling you’re doing — I can feel it through the ether — because sooner or later, I know, and the statistics on Amazon prove it, that one day soon you’ll find yourself googling “time management books for the Facebook fanatic” or “how to win virtual friends and influence e-people.”

And when you do, I know you’ll come to the same conclusion I have: that reading self-help books is all part of a predictable quarter-life crisis (we’re all going to live to 120, right?) just like hating your parents is the birth right of every teen and becoming bisexual for a few days is the obligation of every college co-ed.  And you’ll also realize that the reason self-help books are so popular is that by wasting all your time reading about what you should be doing, you don’t actually have to do anything.  What could be more helpful than that?

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-148-41-166.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-30
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for July 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
Thrilled and Motivated

Twirls around happily.

This is so great! I can’t believe how many supportive bloggers there are out there. I wasn’t actually going to post today, but after seeing a thread called “First Friday“. I started getting more people interested in my blog, which made me want to produce more for everyone out there, that said, I’ve decided to post a recipe tomorrow. (Sometimes Saturday).

Since my first post was Dinner; “Cheesy Rotini“, I figured on a Saturday, I would share with you, our recipe for an amazing breakfast, this is one big dish, so its best to have with lots of friends and family. (Or just do what we do and hoard it for yourself, and have it for leftovers! It’s technically breakfast, but it can be eaten any time of the day.) Yum.

Curious? Come back tomorrow to find out what the recipe is. I can’t wait to have you back, so we can fill the air with yummy food aromas!

Waves Goodbye, before continuing to twirl around the room.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Favourites Basket

FREE Delivery
*Next Working Day
*Same Day Delivery (order before 12 noon)

Terms & conditions

Welcome to mercurydeliver.com (a division of Mercury Distribution Ltd). Your use of the site and any order placed with us constitutes your agreement to the following terms and conditions:

The following user agreement (‘Agreement’) governs the use of the mercurydeliver.com site and all services provided by the company. Please read carefully the terms contained in this agreement.

You can access this agreement at various points throughout the site and if you do not agree with any part of these rules, please do not continue to use the Site.

Mercury Distribution Ltd expressly reserves the right to revise the rules contained in this agreement.

These terms and conditions do not affect your statutory rights. To order goods through this website you must be at least 18 years of age and accept delivery within our served areas. We will treat each order for goods as an offer by you to purchase the goods subject to these terms and conditions.

To the best knowledge of the mercurydeliver.com team, the prices and sizes of products as stated on the website and, any catalogues, brochures, price list or other product information source available from the website are correct at the date of publish.

While every effort is made to maintain the prices and sizes as specified, mercurydeliver.com reserves the right to vary these without notice as changes from suppliers dictate.

GST is included in all of the prices quoted.

Mercury Distribution Ltd (the Company) does not charge for delivery of goods.

Customers must spend a minimum of £30 per order (before applying any discount) to make an order online.

All goods must be paid for either by credit/debit card at the time of ordering. All goods remain the property of Mercury Distribution Ltd until paid for in full.

Use of copyrighted material

Mercury Distribution Ltd permits you to view and use the material and data on the site solely for your personal, and non-commercial use.

It is forbidden for users to sell or modify the material in any way for any public or commercial purpose. The use of the material on any other website or in any networked computer environment for any purpose is prohibited. Mercury Distribution Ltd reserves the right to terminate access to the site of anyone found to be in breach of the agreement, and all copies made of material must be immediately destroyed.

Description of Goods

Most product descriptions are provided by the manufacturer, and the Company accepts no responsibility for such descriptions. All images, descriptive matter, specifications and advertising on the site are for the sole purpose of giving an approximate description of the goods. Full detailed specifications are available from the manufacturers.

Accuracy of Product Information

All product specifications, images and other information published on the website have either been acquired from suppliers, manufacturer's, publications, publicists, or been gathered from public-domain sources. The intention of Mercury Distribution Ltd is that all information on the website will be as accurate and as up-to-date as possible. All actions taken by the user of the website are the responsibility of the individual.

Typographical Errors

In the event a product is listed at an incorrect price due to a typographical error, an error resulting from incorrect pricing information from the supplier or, a tax or duty change, the Company reserves the right to refuse or cancel any orders listed at the incorrect price, whether or not the order has been confirmed. If a charge has been levied against a credit/debit card and the order has subsequently been cancelled, a credit will be posted to the account in question to the value of the incorrect price (including any applicable delivery charges).

Availability of Goods

All products and services are subject to availability and may be withdrawn at any time. Information on the site detailing stock levels should not be viewed as a guarantee of availability. Failure to supply goods for any reason will result in a full refund for the item(s) in question, however no responsibility is taken or compensation offered for other losses incurred as a result of the failure to supply.

Unless expressly stated otherwise at the time of issue, each e-Coupon:

- is valid for use by a recipient only once
- is valid for use per customer or household, as the case may be
- may not be used in conjunction with any other special offer or e-Coupon
- cannot be exchanged for cash or redeemed against the purchase of gift-vouchers

Mercurydeliver.com is rigorous in the enforcement of the law concerning the prohibition of sales of intoxicating alcohol to persons under the age of 18.

Alcohol is only offered for sale to clients aged 18 years old or over. By placing an order the customer affirms that he/she is at least 18 years old. If the wine is purchased as a gift, then the recipient must be aged 18 years old or over.

All goods must be signed for on delivery by an adult aged 18 years or over with valid proof of identification. If proof is not available and there is no-one of that age at the address when delivery is being made, the goods may be retained by the driver. In such a case the driver will leave notification of the attempted delivery, and a contact telephone number to rearrange delivery.

The Company reserves the right to decline any order relating to the above.

Following delivery of goods to the door, or to a nominated person, responsibility for the goods lies with the purchaser. From the time of receipted delivery of the goods, any loss or damage to the goods will be at the purchaser’s own risk.

Any transit damage to the goods, shortages or incorrect goods supplied must be noted on the delivery consignment note at the time of delivery.

Privacy Policy Statement

Mercury Distribution Ltd is committed to protecting the privacy of all customers. Information collected will only be used lawfully, and in accordance with the Data Protection Act, 1998.

Technology may be used to track the pattern of behaviour of visitors to the site and this may include "cookies" which would be stored on the browser of the computer used to make the purchase.

By submitting information to MercuryDeliver.com, the customer consents to the collection and use of the information by Mercury Distribution Ltd and its service provider or providers.

Mercury Distribution Ltd does not sell, trade or rent personal information to others.

Anonymous and aggregate information may be used to tailor the services to an individual customer’s needs, in the interests of improving the service offered by Mercury Distribution Ltd.


text:
Left-Wing French street artist, experiences the joy of diversity first hand.

I always get a giddy thrill when something like this happens. Apparently, a famous street artist who goes by the name of COMBO, decided to paint a mural in a Parisian Muslim ghetto of the word “Coexist” with the letters C, X, and T, replaced with a Muslim half moon, Jewish star of David, and a Christian Cross respectively. Obviously, the point was to promote tolerance and peace between the different religious groups in France currently.

The mural in question.

As noble a goal as that may be, he didn’t take into consideration the fact that not everyone is as tolerant as he would like. For his efforts, he was severely beaten by four Muslim men.

From Conservative Headlines

A French street artist was severely beaten by four Muslim men for refusing to remove a “Coexist” painting. The artist, who goes by Combo, was left with bruises and a dislocated shoulder,

The painting includes a self-portrait of Combo dressed in Arab garb and the word Coexist spelled with a cross, half moon, and six pointed star. Combo had painted the image on the east side of Paris near an immigrant Ghetto.

Combo was adamant that the beating has not swayed his left-wing ideology.

On Facebook he wrote “I am deliberately being vague about the description of these cowards and where it all happened. To me, it doesn’t matter where they come from, what color their skin is, what their religion or their political ideas are. In this context, all they represent is stupidity and ignorance.”

Combo has received international media coverage in the past for street art in Paris, Hong Kong and at the former site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster,

Reading the bolded part reveals a sad but obvious reality to me. In my last post I discussed how people are very attached to the beliefs they already hold and will do whatever it takes to justify those beliefs and discredit ideas that are counter to them. Reading this however, makes it clear to me that for some of these people, it is far worse than I ever suspected. This man was beaten severely by a group he was trying to promote tolerance towards simply for preaching his messages of tolerance. Yet it seems that no amount of reality can make lunatics like this reconsider their stupidity. There’s literally no hope of ever convincing people like this to think differently. His own daughter could go through a Rotherham like experience and he himself could be beheaded by ISIS, and in the last few seconds before his death, he’d still be preaching the joys of diversity.

Consider yourself “Culturally enriched”, COMBO.

Let this man serve as an example. Do you really want to be so brainwashed by your sense of smug superiority of being tolerant and understanding, that you’d be willing to go through this yourself? Personally, I’d think you were a fucking moron if you did.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
AmeriCAN-DO Attitude

Are you an AmeriCAN or an AmeriCAN'T?

Obama’s Afghanistan Policy: The Hokey Pokey

“You put your left foot in
You take your left foot out
You put your left foot in
Then you shake it all about
Do the Hokey-Pokey and you turn yourself around.
That’s what it’s all about!”

That’s the song that comes to mind upon reading this about the Ditherer-in-Chief’s Afghanistan policy, which he finally — after 10+ months of dithering on it — announced tonight:

Now, he says that his dithering didn’t cost any troops any reinforcements because, supposedly, not a single plan presented to him called for troops before 2010.

First of all: What?

Second of all: It will take about nine months just to get these surge troops into place (I base this on the Iraq experience taking five months — and they had seaports and good roads). So there will be a delay — McCrystal said we had a year to win this thing, and that was three months ago. Obama’s dithering means that we won’t have the troops in place before McCrystal’s war’s-over date.

Third: He says in almost the next breath all troops will be out of Afghanistan in 2011.

As a commenter points out — this means the troops will just be built up in-country by the middle/late 2010 and then he’s going to immediately start evacuating them out again.

Most of the speech was directed to the left, which I guess is expected. I don’t mind explaining this to the left. I mind throwing them substantive bones like cheaping out on the military and promising, effectively, to begin evacuating the moment we’ve just gotten all the surge troops in place.

“You put 30,000 troops in,
you pull 30,000 troops out.
You put 30,000 troops in,
And then you shake them all about.
Have them do the Hokey Pokey
and then turn them right around.
That’s what it’s all about.”

Yep, that’s what it’s all about: Obama using 30,000 troops as political pawns to do the hokey-pokey in Afghanistan.

You know, every time that Obama and his frat-boy spokestool Gibbs say “unprecedented”, I think they mean to say “Un-Presidential”.

What an absolute piece-of-sh!t Obama is to use our military in this manner. God help them, and their families, survive this Un-President.

Is it 2012 yet?

December 1, 2009 , 9:23PM - Posted by | Afghanistan, Barack Obama, Liberalism, Military, Operation Enduring Freedom, Terrorism, US Military

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Saturday, November 14, 2015

Chu at Brookings

The Oluanpi Lighthouse.

KMT Chairman and Presidential Candidate Eric Chu is on his US tour. He visited Brookings in DC today.....

Friend says: Here is the text of the opening statement Eric Chu gave at Brookings this morning. He first read it to the press outside, and then reiterated it at the closed-door meeting inside.

Eric Chu opening statement at Brookings this morning

It gives me great pleasure to be in this institution, a bulwark in American democracy that knows the science of public policies and the art of speaking truth to power. And it is not just the academic appeal of the Brookings Institution that brings me here, it is also the friendship I, my party the KMT, the opposition party DPP, and, indeed, all Taiwan people have enjoyed for decades that led me here. We are thankful of American’s support for Taiwan’s democracy.

As top experts in Chinese foreign policy and cross-strait relations, you can see that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is in the national interests of Taiwan, Mainland China, and the United States. Any misstep by any party in the triangular relationship can seriously damage the delicate balance of interests across the Taiwan Strait.

Therefore, on June 3, DPP Chairwoman Tsai revealed in a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies that she has “articulated and reiterated [her] position of maintaining the status quo”…and that she “will push for the peaceful and stable development of cross-strait relations in accordance with the will of the Taiwanese people and the existing ROC constitutional order.” The “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait, however, is a major achievement of President Ma. And as the presidential candidate of the KMT, I most certainly will maintain the status quo. So, does this mean that “the more things change, the more they stay the same?” After all, Taiwan has undergone many difficulties over the past two years. Has the DPP finally turned a new page in its dealing with Mainland China? My answer is “Hardly.”

There is a major difference between the DPP’s treatment of cross-strait relations and the KMT’s. The DPP engages in wishful thinking vis-à-vis cross-strait relations. The DPP offers a policy goal, i.e., maintaining the status quo, which people agree upon, but the DPP shirks the responsibility of providing a workable formula to achieve that goal. The KMT treats cross-strait relations as a “substantive policy”, that is, you need to gauge how other parties think of you, what kind of policy framework you should lay down, what signals you should send and expect to receive, and, ultimately, how you walk the tightrope in dealing with a rising great power. President Ma has done an excellent job in designing an architecture that created and helps maintain the current status quo. But he did neglect one aspect about the complicated and complex nature of cross-strait relations. If elected president, I will make up for what he left out—cultivating a domestic base for a grand strategy that can secure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.

Before I start discussions with the distinguished scholars present here, let me draw a rough outline of my cross-strait policy:

Taiwan needs to continue its current policy framework to pursue rapprochement with China so as to make the status quo work;

Taiwan must strengthen its understanding of China and incorporate a realistic assessment of China’s intentions toward Taiwan in every round of encounters;

While working closely with the United States, Taiwan must not entrap the United States in any unnecessary entanglements in the Taiwan Strait;

For Taiwan to be a responsible stakeholder, Taiwan people must think responsibly and seriously about its national security;

Taiwan must further liberalize its trade regime to make its businesses more competitive in the world market. And,

To achieve the above, institutional reforms will be needed.

That is the end of my remarks for now. Thank you.
It is hard to see how Chu can do this:
"If elected president, I will make up for what [Ma] left out—cultivating a domestic base for a grand strategy that can secure peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait."
...since the public is opposed to the KMT's cross-strait policies and Chu's cross-strait policies are simply those of Ma himself. Chu is aiming this at audiences back home, of course.

Note in transcript below the State Dept once again says it isn't going to intervene in the election.

UPDATE: State Dept Transcript:
QUESTION: Hi. Nadia Tsao with the Liberty Times Taiwan. Just follow up, Chairman Chu just visit Washington, I believe, both Danny has met President – Chairman Chu. So did you find that there were more information provided by Mr. Chu regarding the meeting between Ma and Xi? Do you think this is (inaudible) actually, less flexibility between Taiwan and China in the future if the opposition party got elected? And do you got any new information from Mr. Chu? Thank you.

ASSISTANT SECRETARY RUSSEL: Well, look, our conversations with the KMT candidate for office in the upcoming elections in Taiwan focused on policy. We have an open door to major political actors from Taiwan, and I want to underscore that, contrary to speculation in the Taiwan press, we treat both representatives from the KMT and the DPP with an equal degree of access, with evenhanded treatment. We don’t play favorites. It’s for the voters on Taiwan to decide who their favorite is. So we don’t back parties, but we do care about policies. And these visits have created an opportunity for us to consult, confer, and discuss policy issues with the head of the KMT as it did with the head of the DPP earlier on.

I think the real point is that we have strong unofficial ties based on our deep respect for Taiwan’s democracy, based on our interest and stake in Taiwan’s security and freedom from coercion, based on our economic interests, and those considerable economic interests, and based on our support for an appropriate level of access for Taiwan in the international arena and international space. So the focus of our conversation was in the context of our “one China” policy, how our unofficial relations can develop and how the stability of cross-straits can be sustained, and how tensions there can be reduced. So I think it was definitely a constructive set of exchanges.

MR KRITENBRINK: I fully agree – could I add just a couple of points. I completely agree with everything Danny said, and I just wanted to underscore a couple of things that Danny mentioned. One, we welcome Chairman Chu’s visit. Our conversations with him were productive. Number two, we received Chairman Chu in exactly the same way that we received DPP presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen during her visit to Washington in June. We met both candidates at exactly the same level. And thirdly, I’d just emphasize and underscore what Danny said: We will not take sides in the election; the outcome of Taiwan’s election is a matter for the people of Taiwan to decide. We respect Taiwan’s robust democracy. We look forward to working with whomever the people of Taiwan choose as their next leader.
Don't miss the comments below! And check out my blog and its sidebars for events, links to previous posts and picture posts, and scores of links to other Taiwan blogs and forums!

1 comment:

Ben Goren said...

If the US says it won't interfere with the election or try to influence the result aren't they effectively saying "we're not going to help one side win this time and whatever happens happens"? ;)


text:
10 April 2008

4 Inconsequential Items

1. Dude, I want this swimsuit. It's not going to happen, despite Tanya's and other people's remark that my swimsuit is so done. Who pays $54 just for a top? Maybe someone who swims a lot, or has a rule about always having a swimsuit with you (Amy's mother-in-law). For those of you who want to see more, look here.

2. My class went well. I hope we can learn
together. I'm super excited for construction of race. Today I laughed with the professor about the Seinfeld where Elaine thinks her boyfriend is black and he thinks she's Spanish, so when they find out they're wrong, the basis of their relationship (to be an interracial couple) is gone and they break up. Ha ha.

3. Shopping for roommates (or letting people check us out) has brought us closer than ever before. We arrange time to be together and talk about our plans while we're in the same room. Too bad Ulli's leaving now just when we're getting more of that family feel that she wanted.

4. Tomorrow I am headed to Frankfurt for the first time. Wahoo!

  1. You're already teaching? That's cool. And, yeah, you do need a new swimsuit.

  2. Oops, Tanya has been leaving comments under the guise of John's blogger sign-on. By the way nice swim-suit.


text:
24 April 2008

Girls' Day

Interesting. Today is Girls' Day. I could write something comparing the text of this website about Girls' Day with gender roles of 100 years ago. Alas, I'll do my real homework instead.

1 comment:

  1. I really like my "typically female career choice." Sorry Girls' Day organizers.


text:
Future of the PhD in the Humanities, Part I

Question: How many universities does it take to change a lightbulb?

Answer: Change?!

 I heard that at the Future of the PhD in the Humanities Conference (say that 10 times fast!) held at Carleton a few weeks ago. Although it wouldn’t be funny if it weren’t at least partially true, over the past few months I’ve had the opportunity to participate in several discussions about the future of higher ed and the PhD degree itself (including an illuminating discussion about comps here at Windsor), which suggests that change is in the air. However, it should be noted that we’re talking about academic time, which has been observed to move slower than other types of time, so the outcome remains to be seen.

The goal of the conference was to continue a discussion (started the previous year I believe) on the fact that the PhD has traditionally trained people to become scholars and academics, but many PhDs are finding work outside the academy – both due to interest and a lack of positions within departments. Coming from a school that doesn’t have PhDs in the humanities (only the social sciences), as well as a program that has an applied focus, it was interesting to observe some of the common challenges and some of the stark differences.

The conference started with a presentation and discussion by graduate students on some of the key points that emerged from the grad student conference the previous day. The students wanted more focus on non-academic jobs/career paths during their training, possibly including professional development workshops and/or programs, alumni talks, and support for students wishing to pursue work outside the academy. Within the applied social program here at Windsor, the focus is (obviously) on applied settings and we already do these things on a regular basis. From the student perspective, the alumni talks are very valuable because we get to learn about different jobs and how people ended up on their current path, and make connections that will be valuable once we graduate. We have also had researchers (incl. students) from another U who do their work in the community discuss their research and process with our students. In this case, we learned about ways to build community-university partnerships which was neat. One thing that we do that could be adapted are internships and practica. In our program, the students go out to conduct research with an organization, but many of the non-academic careers that were discussed at the conference could be adapted (e.g., archivist, work at historical sites, research for organizations, etc.).

The second area highlighted by the students was the need for increased transparency and data sharing from departments and universities. Some of the things that students wanted were more information on the university structure and processes, clearer information about funding packages, opportunities and costs of living/associated costs of the program. Are the documents accessible? Understandable to incoming students? Do they paint a realistic picture of what it will be like to be a student at the institution? Programs do a disservice to incoming students when this information isn’t available. My own experience has been that information can often be hard to find, outdated, or confusing – which is very frustrating and can also lead to confusion over course selection, timelines, etc. One thing that the Psychology Graduate Council (a departmental student committee with representatives from the different tracks/programs) does is compile a package for incoming students with things to do in Windsor, basic information about the program, and things like information on the cost of living in Windsor. It’s not perfect, but it could be adopted as a temporary measure in the absence of centralized info provided by the school. Focus groups with grad students about their experiences finding information online and in-person could identify areas for improvement.

When we discussed this at our table, it was mentioned that one program had been tracking the outcomes for their grad students, which revealed some interesting patterns (i.e., women with children dropped out more often than men with children) and useful information. This data could be used to identify areas or students that may need additional support or to help adapt programs to student needs. Things like typical time to completion or where grads have ended up working would be super helpful for incoming students.

Particularly interesting to me (coming from the social sciences and also currently fighting with my own dissertation) was the interest in non-dissertation models of scholarship (thesis artifacts). Students felt that having the option to do a non-monograph-based artifact could better feed into non-academic career paths. It seems possible that some artifacts of this type could be directly used to help recent grads find work and demonstrate skills and competencies to future employers. The students suggested that if programs aren’t willing to abandon the dissertation altogether, perhaps build in an applied piece. In our program, we complete both a dissertation and a 1,000 hour internship, which often leads to jobs for our grads (and at the very least, work experience!).

The final point was about the 3 Ws – Workload, Work flow & Work/Life Balance. For workload, the panel indicated that there was a need to help incoming students understand the workload and set realistic expectations at the outset. Included in this are all the unofficial program expectations, such as to present at conferences or serve on departmental committees. One suggestion from the attendees was to consider including professional expectations (conference attendance, research presentations, exhibits) in the graduate handbook so that students can plan appropriately. Related to this, work flow (and completion times) could be improved with clear, explicit and consistent program criteria. If there were program-level learning outcomes in place, it might help programs to prioritize and help students focus on achieving a fewer number of meaningful objectives instead of jumping through pointless academic hoops. Problems with work/life balance aren’t limited to the graduate student experience, but it remains an area of significant concern in many (if not all) programs. The panel stressed the importance of flexibility on the part of programs and the need to destigmatize survival strategies like leaves of absence and accommodations. Access to free or low-cost mental health services for graduate students is also crucial. One suggestion brought up at our table was the option to attend part-time. Another colleague mentioned cultivating a departmental culture of support and communication, and mentioned that they have an informal weekly coffee hour where students and faculty can drop in and chat.

Since this is already quite lengthy (and it’s quite late), I’ll continue with my thoughts on the rest of the conference in my next post.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Sodaro's Stories

June 8, 2015

I have a plan (30 days of blogging 2015)

Filed under: Uncategorized — michelle sodaro @ 7:00 pm

“A goal without a plan is just a wish.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

When people tell me they have always wanted to write a book, I tell them “THAT IS GREAT!!! What’s your game plan to get this done?” Then I get that blank stare like I asked them how to get to Sesame Street.

Before I finished Whatever you Make of It, I was completely all over the place with my writing. I didn’t have a game plan at all. (Think Pheobe on Friends, “I don’t even have a pl—“). I just wrote whatever I felt like and claimed that was my free spirit and no one could tame my spirit. I just wanted to write — arms flying in the air, spinning around and around…this is why I have multiple first drafts sitting in my office.

Then I published my first novel and the skies opened up and the angels sang and I knew I needed to publish every book I had started. To do that — I needed a game plan. I needed to be more effective than just the “devil may care, free, write whatever you want, whenever you want” world and I needed to have a set of deadlines and break projects down into achievable steps. I needed to approach novel writing the way I approached writing a paper for class. I needed a deadline (and I learned  very quickly that I needed to be public about my deadlines for accountability as I tend to change deadlines when it is only me holding myself to the date.)

I also, in addition to the deadline, have due dates for my First Draft, my Editing, and for my Revising. I stay motivated and focused and I make sure that I talk to people about my game plan (again, accountability).

My wish of being a best-selling author became a goal when I made solid plans…and with a solid plan there is no stopping me.

Leave a Comment »

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post. TrackBack URI

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

Create a free website or blog at

%d bloggers like this:


text:
Seven Things You Might Have Missed about Lexington’s New Catholic Bishop

At the beginning of this month, Father John Stowe was installed as the new bishop of Lexington’s Roman Catholic diocese. As such he embodies the long reach of Pope Francis, who, in his Apostolic Exhortation, ‘The Joy of the Gospel” (JG) announced his determination to fundamentally reform the church.

There the pope said, “In this Exhortation, I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon . . .  new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come” (JG 1). Francis called for “. . . conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are” (25).

Early returns indicate that in Bishop Stowe, Pope Francis has appointed a change agent like himself intent on implementing the pope’s program whose essence might be described as prioritizing the needs of the poor.

That prioritization was presaged even before Bishop Stowe’s official installation on May 5th. It was evident the night before at the vespers ceremony and reception at Christ the King Cathedral in Lexington, where the bishop-elect showed himself to be a master of symbolic communication.

In fact, the new bishop has sent at least seven clear signals that he and the pope are on the same page and that Lexingtonians can expect a welcome emphasis on social justice themes.

During the ceremony, then bishop-elect Stowe:

  1. Announced a “new chapter” for the Catholic Church in Lexington. The phrase, which appears in the first paragraph of Francis’ “Joy of the Gospel,” was evidently chosen to indicate the bishop’s endorsement of the pope’s agenda.
  2. Said that the new chapter would emphasize service of the poor. Yes, worship would also be prioritized, he promised. However, even liturgy could never ignore poverty in our midst.
  3. Demonstrated that conviction by prioritizing Spanish (the language of so many of the poor among us) throughout the vespers liturgy – in readings, responsorials, and hymns. In his own remarks, then Bishop-elect Stowe spoke each paragraph first in English and then in Spanish translation. At other times, his initial thought came in Spanish followed immediately by an English translation.
  4. Invoked the example of Jesus as the foundation for emphasizing service of the poor. Jesus himself was impoverished, the bishop said. He was an working man, a carpenter with dirty hands who enjoyed friendship with fishermen and sinners. He accompanied the oppressed and finished his life as a criminal on death row. The authenticity of Jesus’ resurrected presence was certified by display of his body wounded by imperial forces.
  5. Specifically identified other excluded and marginalized groups as the focus of his ministry: overlooked Appalachians, refugees from the Congo, the sexually abused (a clear reference to the Church’s pedophilic scandal), and exploited workers. The church, Bishop Stowe said, must identify with brothers and sisters of that kind or “it isn’t much of a church.”

Outside the vespers introductory ceremony, it was disclosed that Bishop Stowe:

  1. Has a special devotion to Oscar Romero, the martyred archbishop of El Salvador, who is considered the patron saint of liberation theology – which interprets Jesus’ gospel from the viewpoint of the poor and oppressed.
  2. Has decided to abandon residence in the plush quarters of the episcopal mansion. Instead he’s locating among his confreres in a community of retired priests.

It is this last action, more than the others, that signals Bishop Stowe’s intention to channel Pope Francis for us not just in words, but in deeds and life-style.

These are seven good reasons to hope that the new bishop will indeed not “leave things as they presently are.”

Published by

Mike Rivage-Seul's Blog

Emeritus professor of Peace & Social Justice Studies. Liberation theologian. Activist. Former R.C. priest. Married for 40 years. Three grown children. Four grandchildren.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Ends Today: Extra 30% off Holiday Sale

Email sent: Dec 22, 2013 9:14 am
Bonobos New     Shop     Sale     Gifts     Forward to a Friend
Last day for expedited, guaranteed delivery by Christmas. Shop Now
Free shipping ends today
30% off sale items
The Holiday Sale is here
Gift Guide Guideshops Gift Cards
#thatsBonobos FB TW INST PIN TUM Ninja Service 1-877-294-7737

This email was sent to
by Bonobos Inc. 45 W. 25th Street 5th Floor | New York | NY | 10010

To ensure delivery to your inbox, please add to your address book and safe-sender list.
Shop Now. If you no longer want to receive emails from us, you can unsubscribe.

Other emails from Bonobos

Jul 27, 2017
🚨 Extra 40% off final sale items ends tonight 🚨
Jul 25, 2017
Meet your missed connection with 20% off.
Jul 24, 2017
Starting now: Extra 40% off FINAL SALE.
Jul 20, 2017
A smarter approach to work pants.
Jul 19, 2017
Today only: Get 25% off ALL polos.
Jul 15, 2017
New shades for summer days.


text:
‘Me Before You’-Jojo Moyes

About the book
Author’s Name Jojo Moyes
Picture of the Author
ISBN 978-0-718-15783-8
Price [INR] 399/-
Pages 481
Main Plot Louisa Clark, simple small town girl, gets employed at Traynors’, as a care giver (carer) for their Quadriplegic son, Will. Louisa and Will’s life take a different turn, their relationship gives a different meaning to the individuals they are in such a manner that at a point nothing matters to them other than each other. Are they in love? Do they take vows to live for each other forever? How does this carer role merge with a partner’s role? Is it even possible for a Quad to live a normal, wedded life love life again? What does Will want? What does Louisa want? Are they looking for the same things from life, once they’ve met each other? What does Louisa’s 7 years’ old boyfriend, Patrick, has to say about them?
No. of Characters 2
Tone of writing  Heart touching, simple yet polished.
Book Review

>A girl of average desires or no desire at all meets a boy with so much life inside him which is not visible to others on the outer.

>The girl has nothing major to do in life other than worrying about balancing the earning of her family against the expenses of them all. The girl belongs to a close knit family, full house and a set of parents who are caring and giving. A sister that is sharp and honest to the core in giving her feedback about her and the strongest supporter the girl has.

>The boy is bounded by situation, willing to end his life, not willing to accept that his ‘that’ life is no more in his hands and that he has something to look forward to live, like that! The boy’s family is filthy rich, wanting to save him but not knowing how to. The boy is in despair, totally drenched in self pitying his life and is full of sarcasm.

>In short, hope meets despair! That’s what I would call the beginning of this book and this meeting of hope with despair results in two new persons, emerging as confident of what they want from their lives and they support each other, even after death does them part!

>It is a story of this girl and this boy; Of wanting to make something out of life and completely destroying one’s life for its uselessness. The story is about thinking beyond your own self, thinking for others’ life and helping them achieve what they want to.

>A completely normal living human creature can also waste his/her own life in doing nothing and not knowing its’ own possibilities and potential and a completely non functional human creature can show you the way to your dreams and also make them happen in real for you!

>How contradictory am I sounding here? But that is the beauty of this novel. Moyes has given it a direction by which you would know what I mean above. Sometimes, having a normal life doesn’t excite us but if someone has a differently able life we tend to plan his/her future in a way that it looks all rosy and nice!

>I don’t know how well could I get the message out of Moyes’ story, but I think it tells you to look for possibilities in life, every life has a meaning, every human being has to give something to someone, it could be courage, love, patience, money, direction, hugs and companionship! This giving is important, everyone of us has a meaning to our lives, a motive to lend something to someone that will make his/her life better.

>I liked the novel, it shows you through two lives which are poles apart and how the poles come together to make a different world altogether!

>Although the other reviews say you would need box of Kleenex while reading it, I didn’t need any, not that the story didn’t reach me, it did but I guess I’m stronger than others 😉 *just saying*

>Jokes apart, I think this novel brought a smile on my face, gave me a food for thought, which I’ve written above and maybe that’s why I wasn’t teary eyed at the end of it!

>Moyes has written lot of other books, this one was my first pick. Would love to explore more of her writings.

‘Mirror Image’-Danielle Steel

About the book
Author Danielle Steel
Picture of the Author
ISBN 9780552141345
Price [INR] 199/-
Pages 524
Main Plot Mirror Image is a story of a pair of motherless twins-Olivia & Victoria. Identical in every which way except the personalities. One is caring, loving and giving and other is ferocious, wild and random. Both are beautiful, slender and catch attention wherever they go. The story is set in 1920s in the US of A. Raised elegantly in riches and comfort, at the age of 20 their lives changes, for good and for bad! Drastic steps are taken, new families are made and yet there is a void that only these two can help fill in for each other. They decide to play mischief for a little while, which they used to as children. Does that mischief fill their void? Where does their mischief take them?
No. of Characters 3
Tone of writing Rich vocabulary & Heart warming.
My take on the book
Review >A small mischief, turns out to be a big life changer, for their husband, their father and Geoffrey, a 10 year old son of their husband!

>The story is emotional, tears at your heart and you feel strongly about characters mentioned.It is like getting involved in the story so much so that it feels like happening in front of you!

>Being a twin is not a joke. An identical twin at that. They are inseparable like one soul two bodies.

>A story of sisterhood, family ties and love! Steel has done a great job at steering the story well from a happy tale to a reality spin and back to happy tale.

>At the end you feel it MUST have a happy ending, you feel that strong urge! And the end is indeed marvelous, quite logical and apt.

>The book runs fast, though it has 500 odd pages but since it is not slow you can finish it even in a day! I would term it as un-put down-able.

>If you are looking for a simple yet intriguing life drama read, this is the book for you. Also, the language used is impressive; you feel great reading such rich vocabulary!

>I normally love Steel’s books. Not that I’ve read her entire collection but so far I’ve 3-4 books and I like the way she writes.

‘Things I Want My Daughters To Know’-Elizabeth Noble

About the book
Author Elizabeth Noble
Picture of the Author
ISBN 978-0-141-03001-2
Price [INR] 350/-
Pages 438
Main Plot Letters and Journal left for daughters of a deceased mother. Things that the mother wanted to speak to her daughters, to share with them as women, to guide them when they will most need her and she knows she’ll not be there by their side.
No. of Characters 5(+1)
Tone of writing Sounding real life, straight from the heart.
My take on the book
Review >A book that will touch your heart. Will give you idea of something that you would want to do for your daughter(s) when you leave them behind.>A mother’s heart tore open and laid in front of the daughters, separately, to cherish the thoughts and words their mother wanted them to know of.

>The book has passing on of woman wisdom, sharing of girly secrets, revealing of dark life patches, and expressing the deep love that a mother can hold in her heart for her daughters.

>The book will take you through the emotions, you’ll smile, feel sentimental and will make you cry, at least it did this to me, especially towards the end of it, when Mark raises toast for Lisa & Andy!

>It is a simple, written-from-heart book. Noble has crafted all the characters very well and they go absolutely well with the story line.

>I would not say I loved the book, like I’ve read the raving reviews and heard from friends about it, but I would say it is a good book, one should read sometime in her life.

>I also felt that the book could have been organized a little more than it is now. The slicing of chapters and the flow of story could have looked better than this, although this doesn’t mean right now it is crap,eh!

>Nevertheless, a heart warming, mother to daughter, sister to sister and most importantly a woman to woman book!

>Leaving you with the best part of the entire book:

Do not stand at my grave n weep
I’m not there I do not sleep
I’m a thousand winds that blow
I’m the diamond light on snow
I’m the sunlight on the ripened grain
I’m the gently falling autumn rain
When u wake in the morning hush
I’m the swift up lighting rush
Of quite birds in circling light
I’m the soft star at night
Do not stand at my grave and cry
I’m not there I did not die!!!

‘Two Pronouns and a Verb’-Kiran Khalap

About the book
Author Kiran Khalap
Picture of the Author
ISBN 978-93-81506-08-0
Price [INR] 295/-
Pages 220
Main Plot Love triangle between friends grown up together, learning to answer questions thrown by life at them and trying to solve the emotional jigsaw that has been created between them by destiny!
No. of Characters 3
Tone of writing Simple
My take on the book
Review >A relationship saga of 3 friends, Dhruv, Arjun and Eva. It has been written in a different pattern; each life in a chapter format. As if each of them are speaking to you about their life journey turn by turn!

>Entangled relationships, deep running friendships, sacrifices for each other and questions to answer at a crossroad! Yet is not that complicated to handle, that’s the beauty of it!

>Khalap has written the story by heart; it is evident from the feel of his writing.

>This is an okay read, not very fancy or intriguing. But you don’t always want to read something deep, right? So when you want to just read and not think too much on the plot, pick this one. A smooth flowing story with simple language and characters those are not larger than life!

>Something that stuck with me after I put down the book was this:

“There is no better hormone than self-respect!”

“Every reaction creates Karma, and every suppression of reaction creates disease!!”

‘The Lowland’-Jhumpa Lahiri

About the book
Author Jhumpa Lahiri
Picture of the Author
ISBN 978-8-184-00386-4
Price [INR] 499/-
Pages 340
Main Plot A story of siblings growing up together, becoming each others’ shadows. A small middle class family touched by destiny’s ups and downs in the lowland of Calcutta (now Kolkata). It is set up in mid 1900s; where Subhash & Udayan grow up as one to only grow apart from each other in their lives.
No. of Characters 4
Tone of writing Literary & Maturely refined.
My take on the book
Review >I’m speechless, quite literally, after finishing it. There are stream of thoughts running in my head, to put them down here, but I’m unable to coherently arrange them.>I liked the book, though I’ve to admit that initially, in fact for almost 50-60 pages I didn’t really get the hang of it. I thought of abandoning the book and pick another one. But something inside me insisted to continue, and continue I did.>The writing is descriptive and reaches you. Lahiri has the knack of taking you to the depth of the story with her words.

>A story of love, betrayal, family and choices that we make in life. How turn of events change so many lives at the same time and a family is destroyed by the hands of destiny. It has all the emotions of all so many relationships, mother-daughter, husband-wife, brothers, sister-in-law and brother-in-law, step father. Midst these relationships, the story has been weaved beautifully!

>It is hard to be a mother, when you are not prepared, when you are drawn to your past, when you are in so much love that death doesn’t mean anything to you, it is hard to be someone else’s wife, to be married to the shadow of your own husband of love. It is hard to imagine that life, to live even when your soul has left you long ago to be with you deceased husband.

>The complications of relationships, the actions that we take in order to iron out the creases of life and how those actions turn out to be lethal at times.

>This story ascertains the fact that you can’t make all situations turn around. Something does go from bad to worse in life and all we are left to do is to accept the fact.

>How love doesn’t know boundaries of life and death. Love is surreal; it happens and stays within the human heart, forever!

>Childhood is the most important part of our lives and we retain all the love and hatred, which is developed in this phase, for eternity!

>There is a touch of political episode, about Naxalbari, in those times that took place in the country. Mention of wars around the world, but it is no way a political novel.

>I’ve to admit that I might not have done a proper justice while writing this review, as I’m falling short of appropriate words to voice my thoughts. I might revisit this review and add to it or modify. But the crux is I liked the book.

‘Intermission’-Nirupama Subramanian

 About the book
Author Nirupama Subramanian
Picture of the Author
ISBN 978-93-5029-323-2
Price [INR] 250/-
Pages 271
Main Plot A story of Sarin family, living an urban life in Gurgaon. The dynamics of a 17 years long nuptial knot, spouses who are independent and detached. In the midst of a steadily-but-not-smooth flowing, relationship, enters the heart and it’s whims and fancies stir up everything. It tells you, what you know for sure, that how difficult it is to deal with the whole situation carrying an upper middle class status.
No. of Characters 3
Tone of writing Straight and Simple.
My take on the book
Do I recommend the book? Not really. Though I’ll not reject this book by terming it as ‘not worth reading’.
Review >The story is easy, unfolds quickly without much fuss and like I mentioned above, the tone of writing and choice of words is as simple as unfrozen butter!>A corporate couple,Gayatri and Varun Sarin, in their mid 40s, with an almost-achieved-everything-in-life assumption, come at a juncture where their marriage does not have that ‘spark’ left in it.

>The story is about the couple who in spite of having lavish careers and good family are not happy, typically suburban types!

>The story takes the reader through the ups and downs of the puppy love, marital routines, newly found romance, a dash of adultery, family values, sacrifices and the whole sanctity called marriage!

>Subramanian has picked up a very ‘tried and tested’ plot for a story and has weaved in through the real urban life and its technicalities.

>The book loses its grip in the last leg of the storyline. Though the reader’s imagination is kept on hold for sometime as to what does Sweety Singh decide for herself and Varun Sarin, but the curiosity is killed with the pace becoming a little slower, giving away the signals to the secret easily.

>It felt like the author herself lost the track of that little suspense that came into picture and hence concluded the story plainly.

>The story gives you insight of extra marital affair, the confusions faced in the ‘this’ relationship and that one question at which everything comes to an end in the world-‘Marriage or Adultery?

>It has also shown the glimpses of a liberal women and how lot of them still haven’t realized where their happiness lies and they have their own lives to live too apart from being wife, daughter in law and a mother!

>It raises a question in the reader’s mind; do all marriages look same after ample years of time spent? Is a relationship outside marriage only about physical pleasures? Is there anything like an intellectual connect, an affair of minds, and whether that is even considered to be valid and legitimate outside marriage?

>We all are human beings, poor, rich, middle class, these are all tags given by us in the society to the financial statuses. What about the core of the human being, life? Everyone is made up of same red color liquid, pink flesh and white bones inside, aren’t we? Anyone, under this Sun can fall in love and maybe many a times! Then just be being slotted as not ‘poor’ can make so much of difference in our lives to accept our relationships and our desires out in public? Point to ponder!

>So are family ties important and take over us triumphantly or love has more power to rule above all?

>The book made me ask this to myself and to others: In all the suburabanian chaos, I’m not even sure if people still know the meaning of love? Are we sure we know what exactly it feels like and when to call it as ‘love’ love?

>I must say I loved the name of the book, it is aptly chosen and suits the plot totally!

>The book is average, newness is missing in the line but Subramanian has written it well because the very fact that it is a very common plot the write-up still makes you think for a moment and for that she deserves 3 cheers!

‘Those Pricey Thakur Girls’-Anuja Chauhan

About the book

Anuja Chauhan

Picture of the Author

Price [INR]

Main Plot

A huge Thakur family with all the ups and downs that a normal family goes through. 5 sisters, which are ‘those pricey girls‘, and each one is a distinct character in itself. The story is about family bonding, disputes, hiccups of being all girls’ parents and all boys’ parents, marriage decisions and dash of love and hatred in between. Interestingly, there is a little political wave (Sikh Killing in 1984) added in the flow of family drama and it makes the novel intriguing, that said it doesn’t make it a politics based novel and does not confuse the reader between drama and politics.

No. of Characters

2 (+5)

Tone of writing

It is hilarious, straight forward, raw and very Indian.
My take on the book

Do I recommend the book?

Yes, for those who want to read drama which is less like fiction but more like real life story. A no brainer, light, hilarious and tension free novel!

>First and foremost, I’ve to mention that I bought this book totally based on its cover, it is intriguing and stunning!

>It is a light read, though a fat book, but will keep your mood light throughout.

>It has emotions,drama and portrays ghar-ghar ki kahani with a pinch of salt and dash of honey.

>Unpredictable, gripping and has crests and troughs of family drama.

>Chauhan has written the script in a fashion where in you can relate to so many things that happen in Indian families.

>Things like sprinkling cold water on the mattress before sleeping in summers. Or a group discussion and debate taking place to decide who would be the ‘would-be’ of one of the girls. Or Sister fights and leg pulling over clothes, boys etc.

>There are places where the author is very bold in using some abusive words but they match the flow of the story and don’t stand out to sound odd. Honestly, when I first encountered the words, I thought how odd, but then when I gave a deep thought, I realized that it suits the entire plot and the usage subtly fits in.

>Chauhan has good writing skills, it is thoroughly researched and laid in a manner where in it will surely strike connect with the Indian reader.

>I liked the way Chauhan has done detailing of each character of the story and that too in a way that doesn’t seem like an introduction but a neatly weaved in the flow.

>On the other hand, the kids in the story are way to mature and nosey than their age permits. But that may be very typical of large families where in kids grow up before their age.

>The story length could have been shortened.


text:
AuthorsA. B. Yehoshua

Wikipedia says,

Avraham (“Boolie”) Yehoshua was born to a fifth-generation Jerusalem family of Sephardi origin. His father, Yaakov Yehoshua, was a scholar and author specializing in the history of Jerusalem. His mother, Malka Rosilio, immigrated from Morocco in 1932.

Yehoshua served as a paratrooper in the Israeli army from 1954 to 1957. He attended Gymnasia Rehavia. After studying literature and philosophy at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, he began teaching. He lived in Jerusalem’s Neve Sha’anan neighborhood.

From 1963 to 1967 Yehoshua lived and taught in Paris and served as the General Secretary of the World Union of Jewish Students. Since 1972, he has taught Comparative and Hebrew Literature at the University of Haifa, where he holds the rank of Full Professor. In 1975 he was a writer-in-residence at St. Cross College, Oxford. He has also been a visiting professor at Harvard (1977) the University of Chicago (1988, 1997, 2000) and Princeton (1992).

Tamar Yellin

Tamar Yellin’s website says,

Tamar Yellin was born in the north of England. Her father was a third generation Jerusalemite and her mother the daughter of a Polish immigrant. She began writing fiction at an early age, and the creative tension between her Jewish heritage and her Yorkshire roots has informed much of her work. She received the Pusey and Ellerton Prize for Biblical Hebrew from Oxford University, and has worked as a teacher and lecturer in Judaism. Her first novel, The Genizah at the House of Shepher, appeared from The Toby Press in 2005 and was awarded the Sami Rohr Prize, the Ribalow Prize and was shortlisted for the Wingate Prize. Her collection, Kafka in Brontëland and other stories, appeared from Toby in 2006 and was awarded the Reform Judaism Prize, was longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story Award and was a finalist for the Edge Hill Prize. Her third book, Tales of the Ten Lost Tribes, appeared from Toby Press in 2008.

Tamar Yellin lives in Yorkshire.

The Link

Both authors are children of Jerusalemites, although only one lives here. (Also a link to me and my almost published novel).


text:
Skip navigation

Janet H. Murray

Janet H. Murray is Ivan Allen College Dean’s Professor in the School of Literature, Communication, and Culture at Georgia Institute of Technology. She is the author of Inventing the Medium: Principles of Interaction Design as a Cultural Practice (MIT Press).

Titles by This Author

The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace

I want to say to all the hacker-bards from every field—gamers, researchers, journalists, artists, programmers, scriptwriters, creators of authoring systems . . . please know that I wrote this book for you.”
Hamlet on the Holodeck, from the author’s introduction to the updated edition

Principles of Interaction Design as a Cultural Practice

Digital artifacts from iPads to databases pervade our lives, and the design decisions that shape them affect how we think, act, communicate, and understand the world. But the pace of change has been so rapid that technical innovation is outstripping design. Interactors are often mystified and frustrated by their enticing but confusing new devices; meanwhile, product design teams struggle to articulate shared and enduring design goals. With Inventing the Medium, Janet Murray provides a unified vocabulary and a common methodology for the design of digital objects and environments.

The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace

Stories define how we think, play, and understand our lives. In this comprehensive and readable book—already a classic statement of the aesthetics of digital media, acclaimed by practitioners and theorists alike—Janet Murray shows how the computer is reshaping the stories we live by. Murray discusses the unique properties and pleasures of digital environments and connects them with the traditional satisfactions of narrative.


text:
Skip navigation

Kenneth J. Waldron

Kenneth J. Waldron is Nordholt Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Ohio State University.

Titles by This Author

The Adaptive Suspension Vehicle

What is 16 feet long, 10 feet high, weighs 6,000 pounds, has six legs, and can sprint at 8 mph and step over a 4 foot wall? The Adaptive Suspension Vehicle (ASV) described in this book.Machines That Walk provides the first in depth treatment of the "statically stable walking machine" theory employed in the design of the ASV, the most sophisticated, self contained, and practical walking machine being developed today.


text:
Indictment of Colorado Dispensary Owner for MMJ Diversion Couldn’t Have Come at Worse Time

Earlier this month, the government released a study claiming that large amounts of medical marijuana from Colorado are ending up in the wrong hands. The report pegged the problem squarely on the shoulders of dispensary owners, MMJ workers and patients who are abusing the medical cannabis system.

We warned that the government and cannabis opponents could use the study to intensify a crackdown on medical marijuana in Colorado, even though the methodology and objectiveness of the report are highly questionable.

Unfortunately, a development this week will most certainly bolster the study’s central argument.

The office of Colorado Attorney General John Suthers has accused local dispensary owner Leon Cisneros of helping to ship 40 pounds of marijuana to other states, part of a 59-count indictment against 11 individuals. Cisneros – who founded The Silver Lizard dispensary on the edge of downtown Denver – also was charged with tax fraud.

From the indictment: “Mr. Cisneros used his position as owner and high managerial agent of The Silver Lizard, LLC,” to illegally distribute marijuana in violation of Colorado’s medical cannabis laws.

This is exactly what the industry doesn’t need right now. The indictment of a dispensary owner for diversion of medical marijuana – the very actions highlighted in the study – makes it harder for everyone else to refute the findings.

This will no doubt fuel the anti-MMJ fire and could give local and federal officials another reason to target the medical cannabis industry in Colorado (where dozens of dispensaries have been forced to close due to federal pressure on their landlords). At the very least, it represents a small setback for every dispensary owner out there who strives for legitimacy on a daily basis.

Perhaps the comment one observer made on The Silver Lizard’s Facebook page sums it up best: “Idiots. Thanks for giving the industry another black eye.”

Daily News | Colorado Medical Cannabis Business & Marijuana Legal News

  1. William A Wigle August 16, 2012
  2. Ben August 19, 2012

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Comments are moderated by our editors who do their best to approve comments ASAP. As Marijuana Business Daily is focused on business, we approve comments that are specifically relevant to industry professionals. General opinions and questions about cannabis may not be posted.


text:
Risky Business: Some LA Medical Marijuana Dispensaries to Remain Open Despite Ban?

Scores of Los Angeles dispensaries are preparing to close on Sept. 6, when a new citywide ban on medical marijuana centers takes effect.

But some cannabis centers are reportedly considering another option: Stay open and try to fly under the radar.

Here are several reasons why they might go this route:

– It’s still unclear how Los Angeles will enforce the ban – and whether it even has the resources to do so effectively. Chief Deputy City Attorney William Carter sent warning letters to more than 1,000 dispensaries and 728 landlords threatening fines and jail time for those who don’t comply. Following through on the threats could be difficult, though. If the city takes a lax approach to enforcement, dispensary owners might figure they can skate by with little pressure.

– There are several key pending court cases tied to medical marijuana that could end in a favorable ruling for California and LA dispensaries, which would severely undermine the ban. At the same time, local officials are trying to draft up a plan that would allow dispensaries that launched before a 2007 moratorium to continue operating in the city. Lastly, a pro-MMJ group is attempting to overturn the ban via a voter referendum. Some dispensaries might try to hang on and continue operating until one or all of these issues play out rather than close and then have to reopen (and absorb all the costs of doing so).

– Some dispensary owners simply think they are on the right side of the law and plan to challenge any direct order to close.

Staying open is a huge gamble, of course, and most MMJ lawyers would likely advise against defying the ban.

Regardless, it looks like some – and possibly many – dispensaries will take this calculated risk. So don’t expect the medical marijuana market in Los Angeles to come to a standstill overnight.

Daily News | California Medical Cannabis Business & Marijuana Legal News | Dispensary/Retail Store Business News

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Please note: Comments are moderated by our editors who do their best to approve comments ASAP. As Marijuana Business Daily is focused on business, we approve comments that are specifically relevant to industry professionals. General opinions and questions about cannabis may not be posted.


text:
My Prime 9 Answers to the Red Sox’s Spring Questions

Life after Varitek re-signed has been so much easier. I have slept better the past two days, I am not as testy, and I got to tell everyone how happy I was that he re-signed. I guess it was a little obvious that I wanted him back.

The Great Gatsby.jpg
In my American Literature class, we are reading The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald. I’m sure that most of you have read this great American classic, and you can attest to how well written and intriguing it is. As I was reading through chapter four, we are introduced to Meyer Wolfsheim, a character who was inspired by Arnold Rothstein, the man who fixed the 1919 World Series. As we were discussing it in English today, my teacher said,
“Alright, we are introduced to a new character in this chapter, who is it?”
Immediately, I jumped on the opportunity to maybe– MAYBE get some baseball into this.
“We are introduced to Meyer Wolfsheim, he’s a gambler– the guy who fixed the 1919 World Series–“
“Yes, would you care to explain that”
Ah, my one track mind was appeased! You all know the story of the 1919 World Series, I’m sure Jen can tell it best, and she will also endorse Shoeless Joe’s innocence. We even went on to the famous quote: “Say it ain’t so Joe,”. Too bad it was so. This is also where Ken Burns got the title for his episode, “The Faith of Fifty Million People”.
This wasn’t the only time that the 1919 World Series came up today. In my AP American History class, we just started learning about the 20’s. So of course I got the snide comment:
“Well, you know we won’t be seeing the RED SOX in this decade, they last won the World Series in 1919…”
1919?? I think we’re a year off here.
“Actually, the Cincinatti Red Stockings won the World Series in 1919, it was the year of the infamous Black Sox Scandal? Yeah, the Red Sox won the World Series in 1918”
I love finding baseball innuendos wherever I possibly can. I’m thinking that it’s called ‘itching for baseball syndrome’ but I’m not really sure.
As I logged onto the Red Sox website, as I always do as soon as I get home, I noticed the latest article Spring to Bring Nine Answers for Sox. Instead of reading through the article and then reporting the same thing, I decided to just look at the bold print, and offer my analysis on each subject. It’s like my own little Prime 9. I fully credit Ian Browne with the ideas and witty titles, but this is just my personal take. I have not read this article.
David Ortiz 2.jpg
Big Papi tries to get his groove back
I think we all remember the… painful struggles that Big Papi went through the entire season last year. Especially the prolonged slump at the beginning of the year, which was shattered in a grand slam which I called against the Texas Rangers. It’s been known that he has bad wrists, and the doctor’s diagnosis was merely rest. There are 162 games in baseball, and one day off here and there simply won’t cut it. I think that since he rested it this entire offseason, that he has a great chance of getting his “groove” back for the 2009 season. Plus, he’ll get some extra practice in the World Baseball Classic.
Jed Lowrie 3.jpg
Lugo and Lowrie battle it out at short stop
I knew that this was bound to happen as soon as Lowrie came up to fill Lugo’s void, which he happened to do very well. In fact, I knew he’d be good when I scouted him out at Spring Training last year. Lugo struggled at the plate, he struggled defensively… okay, he just struggled. When Lowrie came up on the other hand, he was great defensively, and even though his numbers fell towards the end, he DID have that walk off hit for the ALDS. He’s a bit better in the clutch than Lugo, but not by that much. I still think we need to give Lugo the benefit of the doubt, but I’d hate to see Lowrie’s efforts go to waste.
Varitek’s Offense
I don’t need to say much about this. I’ve told you about his offensive stats, but I don’t think I mentioned much that he had been going through a somewhat nasty divorce throughout the year. Think back to 2007, specifically, JD Drew. Apparently, his son had some medical issues throughout the year, and that obviously hindered his offensive capabilities. So perhaps now that this divorce has settled down, Varitek might have a similar turn around year to JD Drew. It’s hard not to let your personal life interfere with your performance. It’s unavoidable, we’re all humans.
Tim Wakefield.jpg
Bard-Wakefield back together again
Bard was absolutely fine in Spring Training 2006. In fact, everyone had him set to catch Wakefield for the year, he had battled it out and he won. Before the season started though, it seemed like he outthought himself a bit. If he could catch Wakefield before, there is no reason that he can’t catch him again.
Dice-K Matsuzaka.jpg
Matsuzaka’s temporary exodus (I thought Ian’s title for this was clever)
I’m assuming this means journey to the World Baseball classic (told you I didn’t read it). The thing about Dice-K was that for a lot of his starts, he only went five or six innings. With our bullpen this year, that is a [unadvised] possibility. We want Dice-K to have longevity, and hopefully, the World Baseball Classic won’t tire him out before the season. There is no way we could prevent him from playing with Japan, after all, he is a superstar.
Rocco Baldelli 2.jpg
Baldelli’s Energy Level
Now that he has been re-diagnosed with “channelopathy”, which is treatable, I think it is a bit more clear. He has even admitted that he is not an everyday player, but we all know that when he does play, he plays well. Having a player like Baldelli coming off the bench is great.
Jacoby Ellsbury 3.jpg
Ellsbury’s Consistency
When Jacoby Ellsbury came up from Triple AAA Pawtucket in 2007, everyone was wowed by him. The way he hit in the clutch was incredible for an inexperienced player like himself. The problem was, a lot of people expected him to continue to play like that which is completely unrealistic. I think that now that he has had a year to adjust to the big leagues, that he will really improve. He’s a .285 average guy for me. He’s a catalyst for the rest of the offense– if he gets on base, he will steal, and then runs will happen. If he has a good year in 2009, I can see the Red Sox going long term with him.
Bullpen Band.jpg
Sorting out the bullpen
Don’t they say that you can never have enough pitching? The Red Sox now have an abundance of pitchers, which they lacked last year. We have an incredible bullpen, probably one of the best in the majors. The bullpen is so overlooked sometimes, everyone always talks about the hitters and the starters, but the bullpen really matters! We could trade for more catching depth, which is what we need. Plus, more members of the bullpen band!

  1. Lissi

    I love the Great Gatsby! It’s my favorite book of all time! I almost died when I saw it on your blog. I loved the chapter about Meyer Wolfsheim; I thought it was hilarious. Unfortunately when we did our projects on The Great Gatsby someone else took sports (didn’t even mention baseball might I add) and I did cars or fashion I think. My teacher said that minus the cheating and lying part I reminded her of Jordan Baker.
    Anyway you are right about the Red Sox pitching. I think y’all of have one the best pitching staffs (?) all around in the American league if not baseball.

  2. bostonredsoxgirl46

    Melissa: So far, I love the Great Gatsby!! Fitzgerald truly has a way with words like no other. I’m absolutely in love with the book. Besides the cheating and lying, Jordan Baker is a great character!!

  3. AJRoxMyWhiteSox

    Love love love love LOVE The Great Gatsby. The movie turned out to be really good, which surprised me since book-to-movie doesn’t always turn out well. And I will forever lobby for Shoeless Joe to be taken off the banned list. 🙂 Someone will listen to me eventually. I hope Baldelli does well this season because I loved him last season.

  4. bostonredsoxgirl46

    Jen: I’m with you on the Shoeless Joe thing, I think he should be in the HOF! The Great Gatsby is so beautiful. Are you talking about the movie from the 70’s? I hope Baldelli is able to stay healthy.

  5. juliasrants

    Elizabeth – great blog! (And yes – great book!) I worry about Dice-K in the WBC. If the Red Sox can’t find a way to get his inning count up we could be in trouble. I am so excited – the equipment truck leaves Friday! Spring is almost here! I don’t care what that silly groundhog said yesterday!

  6. Kaybee

    Great analysis! It will be very interesting to see if Bardo can bounce back and have success catching Wake or any of the guys. You have a ton of great pitchers, and it might be difficult sorting them out. But hopefully you will be able to have a solid bullpen and plenty of guys for the band, too!

  7. bostonredsoxgirl46

    Julia: Can fans go watch the bus leaving? That would be so exciting!!

    Bob: You’re right, Varitek’s successor is crucial to our future.

    Kaybee: I have faith that Bardo will bounce back, and we always need guys for our band!!

  8. Jane Heller

    Elizabeth, you really covered all the bases with that post (pun intended). You nailed all the Red Sox question marks going into the season – at least the ones this Yankee fan would ask from afar. And I do love how you find a way to bring baseball into every setting. I’m guilty of the same thing!

  9. bostonredsoxgirl46

    Jane: LOL, but it’s better than thinking about all the other annoying things in life right? Like chemistry, and well, life outside of baseball?

  10. bostonredsoxgirl46

    Jeff: It was a bad investment, but so is basically putting a couple of million dollars on the bench.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
I’ve never actually used a kotatsu before but now I’m tempted to…

It’s winter now, and snow starts to fall.  On the first snow day, Umaru and Taihei bring out a kotatsu to keep themselves warm.

We then flash-forward to Christmas Eve, where Umaru is at home alone while Taihei and Bomber are forced to work overtime.  Eventually, Taihei comes home dressed in a Santa suit, with Kirie in tow.

Umaru looking a bit more serious than we usually see her.

We flash-forward again to New Year’s Eve, and Bomber hangs out with Umaru and Taihei for the countdown.  Umaru falls asleep before the clock hits midnight, so Taihei and Bomber decide to spend the first hour of the new year drinking beer whilst standing on the balcony.

Oh Sylphyn, never change.

Now that is a New Year’s buffet!

The next day, Umaru and Taihei go to the local shrine to make a wish.

That background is lovely.

At the very end of the episode, after the credits, we rewind a bit to focus on Chief Kanau, Taihei and Bomber’s boss.  She spends her Christmas Eve alone, but a text from Taihei cheers her up.

My Opinion:

I actually really enjoyed this episode.  It focused mainly on daily life stuff and was calming to watch.  All the interaction between Bomber and Taihei/Umaru was cute.  I did notice that this episode decided not to include the plot twist that occurred in the manga.  I am sure that plot-twist happened around the New Year’s Eve chapter if I remember correctly (I binged-read all the scanlations so my memory of it might be a little off).  If the anime producers really did skip that plot twist, I can sorta understand why.  While the Umaru-chan series is fairly popular, I suppose the producers are playing it safe in case a second season can’t be made.  Also, it wouldn’t be too hard to make mention of the plot-twist in later episodes because the circumstances leading to it are fairly easy to replicate without destroying too much of the base story.

Anyway, this episode was a really fun watch.  Sadly, the girls (Ebina, Kirie, and Sylphyn) didn’t get too much focus, but we still got to see snippets of them here and there which is enough for me.  We also surprisingly get a lot of focus on Chief Kanau.  It’s interesting that her act was relegated to after the credits; probably because her’s has such a somber tone compared to Umaru’s festivities.  Everything about Kanau’s situation is kinda sad, but at least the episode’s ultimate ending was sweet.

Overall, this was a good episode.  I did notice an awful lot of QUALITY ANIMATION though.  Also, in the scene where Umaru makes a donation at the shrine and rings the bell, she suddenly doesn’t have a hat on, but has it back on in the next scene.  Now, I’m guessing that it’s probably tradition (or due to respect) not to have hats on when ringing the shrine bell, but the scene could have been segued better.  Anyway, that’s a really petty criticism from me.  I still greatly enjoyed this episode, because Umaru was acting like her usual self except with all the awful whining and manipulation tactics.

Out of five:

precure heart2precure heart2precure heart2precure heart2

Chief Kanau has the saddest Christmas.


text:
Enable SSL connections in Google App

Mohan Manohar March 12, 2011
0 people like this post

SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) is a protocol that provides secure communications on the Internet for such things as web browsing, e-mail, instant messaging and other data transfers. If you enable SSL connections, Google will force HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure) when your users access most services in Google Apps.

SSL varies by service and is available for Email, Chat, Calendar, Docs, and Sites. Please note that SSL access is not available for Google Video for Business or the Google Talk desktop client.
The advantage of SSL is added security for your users. If your users access Google Apps on a non-secure Internet connection, such as a public wireless or non-encrypted network, your users’ accounts may be more vulnerable to hijacking. A secure connection prevents hijacking by protecting the cookie session. Cookie session hijacking refers to a situation where an impostor gains unauthorized access to cookies and seizes control of a legitimate session while it is still in progress.
Google app
However, forcing HTTPS for your users can make Gmail a little slower. Also, please note that, if you enable SSL, you will not be able to see your mail in the Gmail gadget on the Google Apps Start Page since it is not served over SSL. If you trust the security of your network, you can turn this feature off at any time. When the feature is disabled, your users will access Google Apps via HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol).

To enable this feature:

Sign in to the Google Apps administrator control panel.
Click Domain settings.
Under the General tab and in the SSL section, check the box next to Enable SSL.
Click Save changes.

Note: If you force HTTPS, your users won’t be able to disable HTTPS on an individual basis. However, if you don’t force HTTPS, your users can enable HTTPS when necessary but only if you also have enabled the Enable pre-release features check box in your Google Apps control panel.

Enhanced by Zemanta

Category: Google
  • 0
  • 41
Mohan Manohar

Mohan Manohar is a blogger from India who founded Ittech back in 2007. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand.

Leave your comment

%d bloggers like this: