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The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories

Since the recent Kaiki posting generated some interest, I thought I’d get out this Raw Feed while I worked on new material.

Raw Feed (1989): The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories, eds. John L. Apostolou and Martin H. Greenberg,

“Foreword”, Grania Davis — An account by one of the consulting editors on the book’s genesis and the translation of the stories.

“Introduction”, John L. Apostolou — A brief overview of the genre in Japan (it started surprisingly early with, as in many other places, the translation of Jules Verne and progressed, not surprisingly — especially in Japan — with military/future war sf), its character there (surprisingly unconcerned with technology and the future — it is caught up in the present and future and social commentary), and its major practioneers.

The Flood”, Kobo Abe — It’s pretty clear this story of “workers and poor people” being turned into a strange, unruly, unpredictable liquid that travels en masse, diverges into individual forms, and threatens rich folk is an allegory for class struggle and, like most Japanese sf I’ve read (not very much at all — one story or two) concerned with individualism (a natural stance for an author) versus conformity. Abe seems to take swipes at the vagaries of Japanese media, the ineffectiveness and isolation of Japanese politicians, nuclear energy. I liked the humorous bit with Noah yelling at people (a swipe at capitalism given the socialistic/Marxist flavor of the story) to get off his boat.  This story can in no way be called sf despite some scientific jargon.

Cardboard Box”, Ryo Hanmura — One doesn’t even have to guess at the allegory of this story:  it’s spelled out in a one line introductory blurb (I want to know if the blurbs in front of all the stories in this story are written by the author — a Japanese tradition? — or the editors and/or translators). This tale of animate, talking cardboard boxes discussing their destiny, fate, and purpose/fulfillment is an allegory for working people.  Here the boxes are seemingly identical but begin to individuate (got to be a crit word).  They seem to be allegories of Japan’s consumer society — designed solely hold products.

Tansu”, Ryo Hanmura — This story, like Ryo Hanmura’s story above and many stories in this anthology, is not sf. It seems to be just a story of psychic possession/haunting by a chest. Perhaps there’s some social commentary on familial relationships but it seemed slight if dryly humorous.

Bokko-chan”, Shinichi Hoshi — A genuinely sf story with a dark ending. I liked this tale of a beautiful but stupid robot and her bartender creator. One is again tempted to read an allegory into this story  (Japanese sf seems quite allegorical): the creation of beautiful, uncaring, stupid women by Japanese society or, alternately, the role of women in Japanese society.

He-y, Come on Ou-t!“, Shinichi Hoshi — The allegorical concerns of this story seems to be the short-sightedness of Japanese environmental policy. The mysterious hole swallows all sorts of physical (including nuclear wastes — another swipe at nuclear power in this anthology), social, legal, and economic embarrassments. Hoshi also takes a shot at science by having his scientist utter facile statements, inspired by arrogance, about things he does not understand. Of course being a cautionary allegory the hole regurgitates its contents.

The Road to the Sea”, Takashi Ishikawa — A light story about a naïve boy fatally attracted to the notion of visiting the sea. Unfortunately, he’s on Mars, runs out of air, and dies. There may be a moral here to listen to your elders (a fairy tale as well as Japanese theme) since the boy is cryptically and ironically told he must go to heaven to see the sea.

The Empty Field”, Morio Kita — There’s no good reason for this story to exist. I have never read James Joyce (apart from Brian W. Aldiss’ interpretation in Barefoot in the Head) nor do I know anything of Kita’s readings, but it seems that he was trying to imitate Joyce’s style. That seems to be the story’s only reason for being (and a poor excuse it is) since the thematic message — that things must change or die — is trite and has received much better treatments elsewhere.

The Savage Mouth”, Sakyo Komatsu — The blurb for this story says Komatsu is Japan’s leading sf writer. I can see why from this story. First, he actually writes sf and writes in a straight forward way that is familiar and comfortable to my Western ear. I read this stomach-churning, quesy, gross story while eating lunch. (It is a reminiscent, but possibly predates, Stephen King’s story “Skeleton Crew” — a story about similar acts. I only know King’s story by reputation.) Its theme of self-cannibalism was graphically, effectively done with good sf detail from the first bite of thigh to the protagonist eating his own brain. Its theme of self-hatred and mutilation and existential (the story actually used the word so I’m not using a buzz word) boredom, triviality, and despair was well-presented. I liked this story. It had a simple theme — animal life being based on aggression some times turned inwardly — but was fresh.

Take Your Chance”, Sakyo Komatsu — First of, this story isn’t sf. If it was to be placed in any genre it would be crime genre dealing, as it does, with a con and con men. Perhaps it gets put in this anthology because, as Apostolou says in his introduction, sf is/was considered part of the mystery genre (not as silly as it sounds) in Japan. That being said, it’s an intriguing and enjoyable story with some of the same provocative things to say about self-destruction as Komatsu’s “The Savage Mouth”. There is a very Western sf rationale for the time travel con (a different explanation of parallel/alternate worlds than I’ve heard before but I’m not that experienced with the sub-genre). I liked the idea the the sure knowledge of apocalypse, the calmness it brings (no need to struggle to build a future you know won’t happen), the appetite to see the end of the world — and suffer it with little pain — would be so compelling. The sort of smug, silent, comforting knowledge of the impending day of destruction reminded me all too much of some of the motives at work in apocalyptic religions.

Triceratops,” Tensei Kono — I couldn’t find any overt allegories in this story. It was a simple sf about trans-temporal/dimensional story travel. It seemed to be, like so much Japanese sf I’ve read, another variation on the conflict between individualism and conformity, free thought and intellectual orthodoxy. The imagery of the triceratops dimly superimposed over Japanese houses reminded me of the lightness of Japanese art despite the story’s end carnage.

Fnifmum”, Taku Mayumura — A surrealistic tale told from the point of view of an alien whose body grows and exists in time (and there are hints he may appear as an ocean to us). It was strange, not unusually memorable or exciting (Japanese stories seldom seem to go for emotional effects), but like some western sf stories of strange aliens. The concept of an alien existing and growing in time (sending sensory organs back to time-points on his body) was kind of neat (I can’t think of any other sf stories I’ve read with a similar idea) and reminded me of Boethius’ concept of God.

Standing Woman“, Yasutaka Tsutsui — This is the second time I’ve read this story (the only Japanese sf I’d read previously). The first time I found it very weird and just remembered the basic idea of the story: people being turned into trees. This time I found that image — people being unwillingly reduced to the physical, mental, and emotional level of plants — quite disquieting. Especially poignant was the narrator talking to his wife who was slowly turning into a tree. Her words were of love, care, feeling but her emotions had a disturbing muteness about them. I suppose, especially given the specific references to Japanese culture and government, this is probably a social criticism (the narrator dares not write social criticism any more) about the  political orthodoxy of Japan and the sanctions against social criticism, an allegory for people hastening (as the manpillars do by eating) their vegetable state, their group passivity. There’s also something quintessentially Japanese in this story’s central idea. Japan is the land that gave us the art of the bonsai, twisting trees into an almost human shape. Here men are straightened into trees.  There also seems to be a swipe at urbanization too since the lack of greenery is justification for turning people into trees.

More reviews of fantastic fiction are indexed by title and author/editor.

2 thoughts on “The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories

  1. I’ve seen a few collections of Japanese sci-fi around, but never picked any of them up, because reviewers tend to say that all of them have very little actual SF. I wonder if this is generally true of Japanese SF writing, or just what the translating editors tend to prefer.

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Auto-Tune the News Creators on Living the Viral Dream [EXCLUSIVE VIDEO]

The Gregory Brothers, of Auto-Tune the News fame, are spanning just about every genre lately — from television to alternative music. Mashable caught up with two of the four Gregorys to chat about their recent success.

From rocketing to legit musical fame with their remix of "Bed Intruder" (scoring a spot among iTunes's top downloads as well as a place on Billboard's Hot 100), to securing a Flight of the Conchords-esque pilot on Comedy Central, the Gregory Brothers are living the viral dream.

Fresh off a recent appearance in the album release campaign for Weezer's Hurley, Michael and Andrew Gregory stopped by Mashable HQ for a chat. Check out the video above for more on their Hurley vid (embedded below), as well what other artists they wish they could auto-tune. Stay tuned to the end to hear the jingle they auto-tuned (naturally) for us.

The Weezer Collaboration

Video by Evan Wexler

Image courtesy of The Gregory Brothers

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To help you determine the correct price we’ll provide you with a comprehensive analysis of comparable properties in your neighbourhood. Whether you’re buying or selling, the Masters have all the right answers to make your next move the right move.

For all selling or buying inquiries, please call Gina or Guy Masters at: 705.878.3737 or use this form.


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Duke Math Professor Says Odds of a Perfect Bracket are One in 2.4 Trillion

Math Professor Jonathan Mattingly

Bracket math isn’t an exact science, but for years mathematicians have told us that the odds of picking a perfect NCAA tournament bracket are a staggering 1 in 9,223,372,036,854,775,808 (that’s 9.2 quintillion).

According to Duke math professor Jonathan Mattingly, the average college basketball fan has a far better chance of achieving bracket perfection. Taking into account the fact that a 16 seed has never beaten a one-seed (meaning your bracket should have four guaranteed wins) and adjusting probability based on seeding, the odds of picking all 32 games correctly is actually one in 2.4 trillion.

Using a different formula, DePaul mathematician Jay Bergen calculated the odds at one in 128 billion. Either way, V. Stiviano has a better chance of becoming President of the United States than anyone on Earth has at filling out a perfect bracket.

Story by Nick Schwartz, and posted online:


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Teen Pregnancy pact, Juno, and Jamie Lynn Spears

Has teen pregnancy become chic?  Well Jamie Lynn Spears just had her baby the other day and the movie Juno, which was a massive hit, conveyed a nonchalant attitude toward teen sex and pregnancy, and now we have a cluster of high school girls making a pact to all get pregnant.  So what is going on here?

Much of this can now be seen in the language used to describe a sexual encounter.  What most young people refer to as “hooking up.”  Do you hear what a casual tone that has to it?  Its kind of like going for a walk, grabbing a cup of coffee, hanging out.  All imply that sexual activity is no real big deal and nothing is really at stake.  Of course I realize that teen sex is not a new thing, one could easily argue that it was much more of an issue during the free love 60’s of Adam’s youth.

But the culture we live in today is more celebrity driven than any culture has ever been.  A “baby bump” has almost become a new fashion accessorie that is splattered all over the cover of People magazine and its counterparts.  It has somehow become cool to have a baby.  And this is the saddest part of it all, the paradigm shift between thinking about procreation from a standpoint of servant, and what is best for the life that is being created; to the mindset of neediness, asking what need this life being created will serve for me.

I know a group of girls making a pregnancy pact goes deeper than just watching Juno and following in the footsteps of Jamie Lynn Spears.  Yet the cultural milieu which strangles silent any moral voice that would constrain anyone’s sexaul activity, is left exasperated in moments like this.  There are no real comments to be made in situations except those of the utilitarian variety.

7 Responses

  1. It seems like there are two ends to this spectrum from a celebrity standpoint.

    A) The Irresponsibly “Spears” Model

    B) The Wait Until I’ve Had a Career Model

  2. i’d like to add a third end (that makes no sense, so maybe it lies directly in the middle of the spectrum?)….adopt children from other countries. then you cannot be dinged for getting pregnant or having some extra baby weight in the tabloids…

  3. I cried at that movie..

  4. NO TEENS SHOULD HAVE BABIES! go watch the baby borrowers on nbc, go to college, wear condoms. don’t be dumb. please.

  5. Well said, Sylvia, although I doubt that watching reality TV is going to help much with the “don’t be dumb” plea.

  6. I knocked my wife up to be cool.

    I’m cool now right? Right guys?

  7. Jake, knocking up your wife doesn’t make you cool. She is 27. The girl you knocked up in high school is what makes you cool.

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WARNING: Cuteness overload. Perrie Edwards is killing us with cute pooches!

This post contains cuteness of the puppy sort.

giphy (2)

Meet Sky, Perrie Edwards’ mums(?) new puppy! The Little Mix babe took to Instagram to post about the new pooch. She could just be the most adorable thing we have ever laid our eyes on. That little howl!!

One myth says that dogs with two different color eyes can view heaven and earth at the same time.

Una foto publicada por Perrie Edwards (@perrieeele) el

A video posted by Perrie Edwards (@perrieeele) on

It wasn’t long ago that Perrie got a new pooch herself, here’s little Teddy!

We can’t WAIT to see pictures of Zerrie with the new pooches. The perfect little family.

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Written by Gemma Calvert

Gemma loves Jedward, but don't hold that against her. This whizz kid has been on Maximum Pop! for over a year and manages the MP! social channels, in English that means she's the boss of our Twitter and Facebook. She works all hours for nothing much than hugs and cookies. Say hello to her on Twitter.

Alarm Pop: Hunter Hayes is lighting the UK up with new track ‘Light Me Up.’

Fifth Harmony plop ‘Worth It’ on YouTube, it’s saucy and you need to listen to it.


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Warning: This post contains spoilers for the end of The Defenders. If you have not yet finished watching, it could ruin the surprise.

If you are finished with The Defenders, then you know that parts of New York City were built on the bones of a dragon. These bones were the secret to immortality, the “substance” which The Hand craved so badly. The motivation for all of the fighting throughout Daredevil and Iron Fist. While Madam Gao took the time to explain some of the details of these mystical dragon bones, show-runner Marco Ramirez has explained the rest.

Of course, the first shot that brought the full skeleton of a dragon into view, was that of Danny Rand in it’s cavernous belly. But when we first met Danny, in Iron Fist we never got to see the most popular dragon of the MCU, Shou-Lao the Undying. This is the dragon in K’un Lun which Danny punched in the heart in order to earn the Iron Fist. Many viewers were confused if these bones were intended to be that same dragon, or close relations to this beast.

That dragon skeleton — that wasn’t Shou-Lao the Undying’s, is it? It’s just a pile of bones implying that there had been dragons all over the world and one wound up buried under New York?
Yeah, it’s the second one. The idea of that was that there had always been this kind of mystery that the Hand can bring people back from the dead, but we never knew exactly how, and it made sense to connect the life-force idea of the chi in the Iron Fist to the idea of the life force [the Hand members] use for various purposes, so we’re just saying it’s dragon bone that they use, that that’s the substance. That felt like the cleanest way to tie everything in.

This is the type of connection that we expected from The Defenders, as it tied together four different characters with their own background and mythology. Ramirez added that this connection also gave a way to tie in some mysteries from the first season of Daredevil, particularly related to the most well-known finger of The Hand.

And it’s been set up since Daredevil season 1; Gao operates in the background of New York with drugs made from that ground into powder. It felt like we could make back alley drug deals in New York and dragon mythology all part of the same story, so that was my way of trying to tie them all in.

It seems like a waste to put some of the limited supply of an ancient substance which provides immortality into street drugs, but evidently tying things together was more important than things making sense.

How do you feel about the idea of mystical dragons once roaming the world, and their fossils providing stability for one of the greatest cities in the world? Did the connections between Iron Fist and Daredevil work for you? Let us know, in the comments. Meanwhile, look for our final episode review for The Defenders, where I will give more of my own feelings on the subject, tomorrow!

Source: Entertainment Weekly


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Genomic DNA for SNP Genotyping

Sample requirement for Illumina genotyping
  1. Genomic DNA concentrations should be the same for all samples. Samples should be free of phenol residue as seen by an absorbance at 270 nm on NanoDrop. The 260/280 and 260/230 OD ratio of DNA should be at least 1.7 to 2.
  2. Genomic DNA must be run on an agarose gel (e.g. 150 ng/sample on a 1% gel). Samples should not have fragments that run below 2 kb. If a gel cannot be run, a note of permission to process without gel image should be included with the sample submission. Whole genome amplified (WGA) samples will have reduced genotype call rates. WGA samples are processed at the user's own risk.
  3. Genomic DNA should be diluted in TE buffer (10 mM Tris, 1mM EDTA, pH 8.0).
  4. Genomic DNA should be submitted in 96-well plates for larger project. All samples should be at the same concentration (70 ng/ul).  If submitting in a 96-well plate, PLEASE load samples in columns (vertically) as opposed to across the plate (rows/horizontally). This removes complexity involved in assembling the amplification plate.  Please provide an electronic file with sample identities and plate coordinates.
  5. Due to pre‐packaged reagent limitations samples should be submitted in multiples of 16 (e.g. 16, 32, 48, etc.).
  6. It is the responsibility of the user to collect any unused sample from us within 60 days of receiving the data. Samples will be discarded without notice after this time frame.


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What to talk about? o.O

Well let’s see, I said I’d be back more so here I am… But I have no idea what to talk about? Did any one read my chapter? I hope so ^^… I hope you liked it as well, should I post the 2nd chapter?

Anyway… A cool little wordpress blog AnimeAce very good blog, I’m sure all you anime lovers will like it as well… You can get links to downloads and online anime videos.

Moving on… I have not been up to much resently, went out a few times… Been writing a lot really, my second story is coming along fast and it seems very good to me, I’d like to get that one published first as it is only a short story.

A lot of things

Well, have not been on in a while again ^^’… Well now, what to talk about…

Well I guess a lot of things have happened lately. I’ve gotten better so that’s cool :). I’ve finished writing my manga out which is also cool ^^. I’ve writen it out all in script form so it is not completely finished yet. Speaking of which, if any artists are reading this and would like to try their hand at a manga then feel free to contact me ^^. You can contact me here, at Deviant art W-D-A or at megaarchlord@yahoo.co.uk. The first chapter is here for those who would like to read it Chapter 1. Anyway… I’ve been back at college for a while now and that’s going well. I’ve been making a few AMV’s lately aswell. I will try to update my blog more often from now on as this is the first post in like 2 months so everyone reading it has most likely got board if they even come here at all that is. Well anyway, I better start work on a new project, yes I have a second one after the first one finished at 300 chapters this one has 25 so far and will be going for some time but not as long as the other one this one will most likely be around 150 chapters but nonetheless.

Pardon any mistakes.

Hello and my manga

Hello, back again, have not been on here for quite a while, I also have to go to hospital again so I might not be on for a while again. Well I posted up my manga in deviant art which can be found here Chapter 1. Please do say what you think of it, at the moment I am looking for an artist, so if anyone is interested in that please say ^^.

I hope everyone likes the first chapter ^^.

Hunter X Hunter Is Back

Posted On October 6, 2007

Filed under Anime, Manga, Manga and Anime

Comments Dropped one response

OK, I will keep this short but as the title says Hunter X Hunter is back and out now.

You may get it here: HXH Chapter 261

Be sure to thank the scanlators for this release.

Watch New Bleach And One Piece Online

Posted On September 30, 2007

Filed under Anime, Manga, Manga and Anime

Comments Dropped 6 responses

Well a lot of people are doing the downloads but failed to see an online one (maybe because I did not look hard?) Oh well. Anyway I will do this for all my friends who visit my blog, here you go.

One Piece

New Bleach AMV

Posted On September 27, 2007

Filed under Anime, Manga, Manga and Anime

Comments Dropped leave a response

A short bleach AMV I made:

Download Manga and Anime

Posted On September 25, 2007

Filed under Anime, Manga, Manga and Anime

Comments Dropped one response

New Manga Drawings

Posted On September 25, 2007

Filed under Anime, Manga

Comments Dropped 4 responses

Some more of my manga drawings, some were drawn in a book so sorry for the quality.

Naruto 2
Naruto 3
Shaman King

Review, Summary And Ichigo

Posted On September 24, 2007

Filed under Anime, Manga

Comments Dropped 6 responses

I think I might try and have a go at a One Piece review soon and also a bit of what I think about Ichigo off of the Manga and Anime Bleach:

Ichigo is the worst main character ever.
Think about it, he is weak, in the SS arc against Byakuya he was super fast and now everyone can keep up with his speed with out releasing their shikai. And also in the battle against Byakuya it emphasized his speed greatly and you don’t see that anymore you just see everyone keep up with him without breaking a sweat so his Bankai is useless. And he hardly ever wins.

OK rant over, some might agree with that while others might not.

Also I will post up a summary of our manga soon.

Watch Anime Online

Posted On September 23, 2007

Filed under Anime, Manga

Comments Dropped one response

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Mets Roster Moves July 7- Church To DL, Evans Called Up

DENVER - MAY 24:  Nick Evans #6 of the New Yor...Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Mets outfielder Ryan Church is going back on the disabled list for the second time due to post concussion symptoms. Nick Evans is being called up from Double-A Binghamton to replace him on the roster.

Church left the team in Philadelphia to be examined for what was termed as a migraine. Apparently, that wasn’t the case or the team is being cautious this time.

The Mets caught lightning in a bottle with Evans the last time he was called up. He hit three doubles in his Major League debut in Colorado. But his success was short lived as he appeared over matched by big league pitchers.

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Author: Dave Doyle

Frequently disappointed Mets fan

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Michael Riordon

the view from where I live

Mustafa Staiti: My way to fight

Mustafa Staiti is twenty-five, tall, in black t-shirt and jeans, cool sunglasses perched in a mass of curly black hair. As he talks, now and then a smile starts on his face and plays there for a moment.

From the shaded courtyard of the Freedom Theatre, where Mustafa works, we walk out into his home-town, the Jenin refugee camp. With no gate or sign, it is just another a neighbourhood in Jenin city, though more densely packed and in some streets the pavement is more broken. Three generations of Palestinian refugees live here, some 18,000 people in less than half a square kilometre.

The sloping streets are almost empty due to midday heat and Ramadan, the Islamic holy month. People will come out later to walk, when the sun goes down and they’ve finished the meal that breaks the daily fast.

The streets in this part of the camp seem unusually wide for the old cities here. “It wasn’t like this before the invasion,” Mustafa explains. “These used to be alleys, but when they were rebuilt they made them wide enough for tanks to come through. If they made them narrow like before, the tanks would break the walls of houses again.”

This is Mustafa’s landscape, as familiar to him as forest and meadow are to me back home. Three boys in their early teens walk by, watching us. Mustafa greets them, “Salaam aleikum,” peace be with you. Two boys return the greeting with nods, but the third says, “Fuck you.” Mustafa smiles. “He thinks you are Jewish. Some people think any foreigner who comes here is Mossad (the Israeli spy agency) or CIA, the enemy.” Between 2000 and 2004, sixty-one children were killed in Jenin by Israeli forces, 676 in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and some 14,000 injured. Close to 5000 residents of Jenin saw their homes demolished by the occupying army.

Mustafa Staiti is a survivor, his life framed by occupation, resistance, and invasion. Born a refugee in 1986, he has witnessed both intifadas. In the second, which erupted in 2000, he wanted to be a fighter, but at seventeen he was considered too young.


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Escape from the Saudi Siyara Shawshank

A few moments ago MB reblogged a post from the Saudiwoman’s Weblog. It concerns the Saudi Arabian news of the last twenty-four hours that Saudi women are now to be allowed drive cars for the first time. Just as interesting, and maybe even more so in the opinion of MB, is another angle to the story that is not getting nearly so much illumination; namely that women will be able to get a driving license WITHOUT the permission of a male guardian. And if you know and understand Saudi society even a little, that fact is probably even more revolutionary than the fact of being allowed to drive itself. The winds of change are certainly blowing.

The requirement for any female to take the permission of a male guardian (normally husband, father or brother) – called the Guardian System, is crucial to the stranglehold that men have traditionally held over women in so many aspects of their lives in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. If any KSA lady wants to travel abroad, get a job, join a club, or numerous other things that populations the world over consider normal, she must first get the written permission of her male guardian. Otherwise the job, trip or club just can not happen.

MB is now reminded of various conversations he had on the ‘female driving’ subject matter during his 2012 to 2014 Saudi sojourn. He particularly remembers attending a farmyard BBQ one night in a small village near the town of Buraydah, which lies approximately four hours drive from the capital city Riyadh, in the conservative heartland of the Kingdom. Whilst munching some BBQd chicken, MB discussed the ‘lady drivers’ topic with a young Saudi Imam (preacher). On MBs asking the Imam to explain the ‘no women driver’ rule with which he strongly agreed, and the fact that no other Muslim country had such a rule, his explanation was approximately as follows:

If Saudi women are allowed to drive, they will have sex with many men, and this is a huge problem in the other Muslim countries. Sin will be the result.

On receiving the explanation, MB immediately decided that there was no arguing with the ‘superior’ logic and intellect of the young Imam, so instead, he threw out a mischievous question:

 So you do not trust Saudi ladies Mohammad? asked MB, trying to keep a straight face.

 “I trust Saudi ladies MB” replied Mohammad, “but I do not trust Saudi men”.

And there MB & Mohammad left the conversation, moving on to discuss Mohammad’s brother’s end-of-month trips to Dubai to avail of cheap hookers in the cheaper hotels of the Deira area, next Dubai international airport, a situation he did not object to nearly as strongly as he did when discussing the possibility of allowing Saudi females to drive a car. MB was thinking only today, that he would love to be invited to another BBQ back in Buraydah, with the exact same guests, and ask the exact same question!

MB left a comment on the Saudimoman’s Weblog about the combined effect of many chisels over time on a rock. He also used the Arabic word for ‘car’ in his comment – ‘siyara’.

MB he is now thinking of one of his, and everybody else’s, favourite movies, The Shawshank Redemption, when a tiny chisel was used by the character Andy Dufresne over many many years to escape from Shawshank Prison.

Congrats to all the Saudi ladies whose efforts and sacrifices over too many years have finally resulted in their escape from the Saudi Siyara Shawshank.

One Comment on “Escape from the Saudi Siyara Shawshank

  1. Pingback: Escape from the Saudi Siyara Shawshank | Janet's thread

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Sunday Shot – No Comment

Sunday Shot – No Comment

Weekly Photo Challenge – Elemental

The photo challenge this week is to explore the classical elements of earth, air, water, and fire.

Difficult to get all the elements in a single shot of course, so MB will give followers a few of the recent shots he took around the square in front of the chateaux in the town of Nyon, Switzerland. The shots contain elements of the elements!

The hostel in the square in front of the castleSONY DSCSONY DSC

Some weather thingy on a wall in the square. The inscription below the weather clock reads – He who looks at me loses time – or some such. French attempt at humour or wisdom, MB presumes.SONY DSCSONY DSC

View from the rear of the castle

Foto Friday – The view of & from Le Château

HX followers were left agog following publication two days back of MB’s Photo Challenge post. What lay beyond that teasing and tantalising ‘château’ shot? – numerous followers were asking (too numerous to mention of course). Sleepless nights have been the order of the day, since Wednesday night last (some sentence MB!). At least MB assumes that was the case.  Read More

Weekly Photo Challenge – Satisfaction

MB has a Yankee friend called JL from Connecticut. MB remembers JL telling him a story many years back about a 6-month French language course that JL had attended. Now JL has many gifts, but the gift of languages is not one of them. And never will be. The end of the course arrived and JL could only mutter one single phrase en Francais; which was:

“Marie, où est la bibliothèque?”

After 6 months – that was the sum total of JL’s French!!!

Anyway, a few weeks back, MB found himself in Nyon, a small French-speaking town some 15 minutes train-journey from Geneva. MB had heard that there was a castle on the outskirts of the town, on the lake edge, that was worth a visit and a few camera shots.

“Parlez vous Anglais?” said MB to a couple of shop assistants, a few minutes after disembarking from le train.

“Mais oui Monsieur” replied les deux Francais.

And just at that precise moment, all of MB’s school French came flooding back to him. Like un tres grande linguistic sunami, en Francais.

“où est le chateaux?” said MB, casually, to les deux Francais, who looked quizzically at l’Irelandais, wondering if this guy before their eyes wasn’t some kind of major p**s taker. He had just asked them if they spoke English and had then addressed them in perfect Francais. ‘Quell assh**e’ they were thinking for sure, thought MB.

“à droite Monsieur” – instructed les deux Francois.

“Merci beaucoup, merci beaucoup, au revoir” replied MB in accent-perfect Francais.

“Un plaisir (assh**e)” replied les deux Francais.

MB turned right just down the street as instructed. What satisfaction did MB not feel on seeing le beau chateaux before his eyes, a mere 100m in the distance. All as a result of MB’s tres bon multilingual skill-set!

Foto Friday – Pubs & Castles

There is a castle and pub next to a river bridge on the road between Shannon Airport and Limerick City in the west of Ireland at a village called Bunratty. The castle takes it’s name from the village – Bunratty Castle, where you can book into one of the castle banquets that take place there most nights during the tourist season as far as MB is aware. The pub is one of Ireland’s oldest at almost 400 years old and has the great name of Durty Nelly’s. If you want to check out who Durty Nelly actually was, you can read it on the pub’s website She was certainly a character.

Even amongst natives, the pub is renowned for the quality of the Guinness beer served within. A number of years back, MB and English friend Pete, who liked his Guinness in the pubs of London, stopped off for a tipple having landed at Shannon Airport only a short while before. “Well Pete, how do you like our Irish Guinness served in Durty Nelly’s” enquired MB, Pete having taken a swallow that made almost half the contents of the pint glass disappear on the occasion of his first visit to Ireland. Pete closed his eyes, leaned back on his bar stool and uttered the immortal reply -“It’s like strawberries and cream on a summer’s day MB”. And so it was.

MB took the below shots on his trip home last week on a bright sunny day as he passed through the village:

Weekly Photo Challenge – Dreamy

This week’s photo challenge asks bloggers to post a photo to suit the theme – Dreamy. MB was recently in his Irish homeland. One of the dreamiest places on the planet.

Herewith – 10 of the best from MB’s Irish trip. From counties Limerick & Waterford. Double click for larger view: Read More

ME Culture (5)

The walls of the 12th century Crusader castle at Byblos, Lebanon. Byblos is considered the oldest continuously inhabited city/town in the world (at approx 8,000 years) and was founded by the Phoenicians. The castle walls are decorated with the columns of a former Greek (or Roman?) Temple which was demolished to make way for the castle. The stone columns of the temple were cut using a rope, water and sand. As shown in the second pic.


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Clarklake, MI 49234 ZIP Code Profile

Related Place Profiles:
Clarklake, MI

Camera Icon Photos of the local Clarklake, MI area

ZIP Code 49234: Basic Data & USPS Preferred City Name

Preferred Name, USPS
Clarklake, MI 49234

  • ZIP Code Type: STANDARD
  • County: Jackson County
  • Centroid: Latitude 42.12, Longitude -84.349
  • Time Zone: Eastern Time Zone (UTC -5 hours)
  • Observes DST: Yes
  • Businesses Addresses: 70
  • PO Box Addresses: 88
  • Residential Addresses: 1,229
    • Multi-Family Addresses: 0
    • Single Family Addresses: 1,229

The ZIP Code maps and database are updated 4 times per year.
Database updated: February 1, 2018, Maps updated: February 1, 2018.

EXTREMELY LOCAL Demographic Data

Address Based Hyperlocal Data Input an address and get data & demographics for the pertinent census block group (CBG), a searchable map and a customized directory. The CBG is the smallest geographical unit used by the Census Bureau for reporting demographic data.

49234 ZIP Code Map

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Clarklake, MI 49234 Data & Demographics (As of July 1, 2017)

Total Population 2,890
Daytime Population: Workers 740
Daytime Population: Residents 1,523
Total Daytime Population (TDP) 2,263
Ratio TDP/Total Population1 0.78
Population in Households 2,882
Population in Familes 2,391
Population in Group Qrtrs 8
Population Density2 109
Diversity Index3 11

Median Household Income $69,426
Average Household Income $92,856
Per Capita Income $39,018

Total Housing Units 1,541 (100%)
Owner Occupied HU 1,035 (67.2%)
Renter Occupied HU 177 (11.5%)
Vacant Housing Units 329 (21.3%)
Median Home Value $222,995
Average Home Value $269,203

Total Households 1,212
Average Household Size 2.38
Family Households 848
Average Family Size 3
  1. If the ratio of the TDP to Total Population is greater than 1, the location gains population during the day when commuting workers are present. If the ratio is less than 1, the location is more of a bedroom community where people commute to another place for work.
  2. Population Density = Total Population per square mile.
  3. The Diversity Index is a scale of 0 to 100 that represents the likelihood that two persons, chosen at random from the same area, belong to different race or ethnic groups. If an area's entire population belongs to one race AND one ethnic group, then the area has zero diversity. An area's diversity index increases to 100 when the population is evenly divided into two or more race/ethnic groups.

2010-2017 2017-2022
Population 0.11% 0.2%
Households 0.23% 0.21%
Families 0.05% 0.12%
Median Household Income   2.85%
Per Capita Income   2.96%

Clarklake, MI 49234 - Peer Comparisons by Rank and Percentile

The table below compares 49234 to the other 984 ZIP Codes in Michigan by rank and percentile using July 1, 2017 data. The location Ranked # 1 has the highest value. A location that ranks higher than 75% of its peers would be in the 75th percentile of the peer group.

Variable Description Rank Percentile
Total Population # 604 39th
Population Density # 499 49th
Diversity Index # 761 23rd
Median Household Income # 105 89th
Per Capita Income # 73 93rd

Additional comparisons and rankings can be made with a VERY EASY TO USE Michigan Census Data Comparison Tool.

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A long, long time ago

So Long Ago
So Long Ago (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

So there I was sitting in the garden on a more chilly an afternoon than we’d had for quite some time, though a little later it all changed once more and I began to reminisce. It was Sunday, a day for resting and I know I should have been taking a walk somewhere but somehow that was very far from my mind. I was in introvert mode, didn’t want to see anyone, speak to anyone or even leave the security of my home surroundings. I was moody and full of self-pity, Sound familiar to anyone? I love people but sometimes cannot bear to be with any of them. I had taken my cup of coffee out onto the patio to sit and reflect on things. As is normal in these situations my mind wanders all over the place, dipping into and out of the past and my experiences in it. Does it not seem strange that we can only look into the past? The present doesn’t really exist for as we think about the moment it has already moved into the past. The future is a place we have yet to visit so we know nothing of it as a personal experience. Our future we hope about. Anyway I got to thinking about my childhood experiences and my parents, specifically my mother, imagining what it must have been like for her when she was younger. as children we seldom think about the childhood our parents had and especially their experiences. It is only as we grow do we begin to consider those things, the struggles they faced in their own time and after we were born. I sometimes have to shake myself from such thoughts and just remember the good times. There were far more good times than bad ones. Then this song came into my thoughts and I couldn’t stop thinking about my mom. My mom died in 1997 and I remember her liking the song too….

Well she often reminded me of the songs that were about when she was younger, the golden oldies. Songs may represent the era in which they were written but essentially they reflect life and the same old problems that each generation has. I hope you like it anyway.

Shirley Anne


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Girls, Chill Out

I really didn’t know what I wanted to blog about today. There’s the whole Trayvon Martin deal, but I think enough people are talking about that. There’s our pending marriage, but I’ve talked about that a good bit. There will be plenty more to talk about later on. So I’m going to choose one of my favorite topics: dating. Girls, get ready because I’m probably about to step on some of your toes. Guys, get ready because for once it’s not all going to be your fault. However, remember that the majority of the time it is your fault. (Kidding, of course) Let’s begin:

A date. Why does that freak so many of you girls out? I’ve been in these circles. I’ve talked with you about boys. The majority of you are boy crazy. While you would NEVER admit it, let’s go through a boy crazy test.

1. Do you think about what it would be like to have a boyfriend more than once a week?

2. Do you have “crushes” on more than one guy? Aka your heart speeds up when you’re around him?

3. Does your heart yearn for some guy to ask you to a fraternity function even though you’re “so over frat parties”?

4. Do you talk about guys with your roommates or friends every day?

If you’ve answered yes to all four of these questions you are, in fact, boy crazy. For those of you who answered yes to 2-3, don’t fool yourselves. You’re boy crazy too. Now that that’s established, let’s move to my point: You guys sit around a talk about guys, think about guys, want to be around guys but when one asks you on a date it’s like the heavens and earth collide! All you’ve wanted, even though you’d never admit it, is to go on a date. But now when a guy FINALLY gets the courage up to ask you, you have to call your mom, talk to ALL of your friends, pray and fast for a week, make pro/con lists and sometimes even talk to his friends to “see what he’s thinking.” STOP IT. I will say it again, STOP IT.

By no means do I claim to be a dating expert. I definitely made some mistakes and fell into the same traps you did. However, I can look back and see those traps and I’m begging you to not go that route. Here is my dating advice: Go on the date. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I’m pretty sure a single date doesn’t mean he’s proposing marriage. {Note: If you are 100 percent, absolutely positively without a doubt positive that he is NOT the one. Zero romantic interest at all. Ever. Then please say no. But if there’s a chance, one date won’t hurt.}

We’ve been wrapped into the hyper-spiritual phenomenon where a single date has now been turned into this MAJOR life decision. I am not saying that you shouldn’t pray over your decisions, relationships, etc. However, I really don’t think a first date requires a weeklong time of fasting and praying. It is ONE date. Girls, stop thinking that you are SO perfect and flawless and lovable that by going on one date with this guy that he will fall in love with you. And then you’ll have to break it off and his life will be ruined. He’s a big boy now. He’s a man. He’s asking you on a date knowing that there’s a chance it won’t work out. You won’t ruin his life by saying no to a second date. And if his life is ruined by this, then good thing you didn’t go on a second date.

On to my final point. Know how it feels to ask a guy to formal? Know that pit in your stomach, could barf feeling? You’re nervous that he might say no. Or that he won’t like you. Or that it could be awkward. Well, now imagine that it’s not just a single night of dancing with lots of friends and it is just the two of you doing things that YOU plan and pay for. That’s what guys go through. We think it is SO painful to ask guys to be our dates, but what if you had to ask them on REAL dates? See what they have to go through? Realize that they have it rough. I know I would HATE having to be the one to initiate everything: the first date, the “I like you” talk, the “Are we bf/gf?” talk, the first kiss, etc. It’s hard. Cut them some slack. I’ve heard people complain about dinner and a movie. What do you propose? What exactly is there in Auburn? Dinner and bowling? Dinner and a walk? Trust me. He’s nervous enough because you’re pretty and you smell nice. Him taking you on a date is big deal. Don’t complain to your friends because he took you to Olive Garden instead of Provinos. It’s spaghetti. Get over it.

In conclusion, chill out. Quit putting so much pressure on yourselves and him. Go on the date. Be yourself. Remember that he’s put a lot of thought and time into this. He’s had to work up the courage to ask you. And even driving to get you, he’s having to build up the courage. Remember, you are pretty. That instantly grabs him. But also remember, he’s an adult. He knows it’s a first date, not marriage. Girls, just chill out.

One thought on “Girls, Chill Out

  1. Pingback: Ladies, Let’s Take a Stand « Miraculous Maze

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You can dance if you want to~

Probably one of the biggest reasons that pushed me into dance was the realisation that exercise is extremely boring and unpleasant. I’d been telling myself I was too old to learn dance since primary school age, but really I think it just took me a while to learn how to handle the state of not already knowing how to do something. So I decided I might as well just toughen up and try it.

Dance is a lovely thing I like to call ‘incidental fitness’.  You end up concentrating so much on learning the steps that you don’t really realise you’ve been working your body that hard until you emerge at the end of the class covered in sweat. But dance also leaves you in a great mood. It’s probably a combination of endorphins, the excitement of seeing yourself improve, and the general creativity among friends. Fitness and happiness are both essential contributors to better health.

But I was also surprised by how much it improved my perception of my body. I actually spend a fair bit of time feeling terrible about my appearance. But even on my worst days, dancing makes me feel like I’m okay. There have even been moments during classes that made me feel, for the first time in a while, that I could actually be beautiful. Regardless of their weight, gender, age, etc., everyone finds their own unique grace and allure.

Since the beginning of last year I’ve been sampling dance classes. So if you might be interested, here is a quick run-down of a few popular styles.

Irish Dancing is the happiest dance ever. It’s about community, friendship and love. It’s simultaneously powerful and elegant, as well as wild and fast. I pretty much feel like a deer when I do it, and male Irish dancers remind me of stags. When you get into hard-shoe, you can really make the floor thunder beneath your feet. The dance is limited within its emotional range because it’s pretty much impossible to leap and skip in a sad way. It also rarely uses arm movement, which can feel a little rigid sometimes, but the complexity of the footwork makes up for it. This is also one of those dances that looks way more complicated than it is to actually do, so you’ll start to look like you’re good at it quite quickly. It’s very high impact and it will make your calves mega buff.

Ballet doesn’t feel as strict as it sometimes looks. Granted, any dance will feel more rigid when you start trying to perfect advanced technique and take it super seriously, but ballet can actually make you feel free. It’s fairly hard to get the technique perfect as a beginner; despite that, you can still look and feel pretty graceful from the start. The feet turnout takes a bit of getting used to. Ballet is perhaps not a very natural or instinctive way of dancing but it seems to be about transcendental strength, grace and nobility.

Contemporary blew my mind a bit. There isn’t much repetition or many patterns to follow and all of the steps kind of merge together. It’s very free and expressive – you can show a lot of emotions with it, though it’s generally got a bit of an angsty, passionate vibe. It looks great in ensemble or solo. One of its strongest principles is actually about efficient use of energy. Instead of controlling movement all the way, you relax your muscles completely whenever you can use gravity instead. That’s what gives contemporary that loose appearance. If you’re looking for structure I would look elsewhere, but a lot of people enjoy the simplicity of the movements and free expression.

Salsa is one of the few couples’ dances I tried. The trouble with couple dances is that you can’t practice without a partner, and you need to work as a team rather than just focusing on learning your moves on your own. But this can be a great benefit to some; you’re always in it together with your partner, you can learn from each other and laugh together. The steps and movements for this dance come more instinctively and naturally to me than any other, though everyone finds that certain dances suit them better. Salsa is really about flirting and showing off – in the best way possible. It’s fast, sexy and vivacious.

Belly dancing is surprisingly disciplined for something so exotic and sensuous. If trying all these dances at once was like trying to learn multiple languages at once, belly dancing was like adding sign language to the mix. While most dances balance movements within the body and show reactions all the way through the form, belly dancing emphasises isolation of body parts. Ideally, if you move your hips, no other part of your body should move with them. It’s a really interesting skill to learn and it looks pretty cool. Also, I never thought I’d be proud of any part of my body that jiggled when I wiggled, but this dance really makes you love your lady lumps. It’s low-impact but gently works your core, as well as your legs and arms. You also get to wear a coin scarf around your waist so that the chinking sounds help you refine your movement. Despite what you might expect, guys can do it too – look up videos online; they’re pretty amazing.

Hiphop makes an interesting combination of loose and controlled movements. It uses some body parts in isolation and makes some big slamming motions as well as almost robotically smooth moves. It gives you stacks of confidence and is a great release for anger and attitude. It seems to usually be about showing off and proving your point; it’s fairly masculine and has a lot of wide stances and posturing, but it does rock the hips and curves too.

Illness and negative perception of your body often results in perceiving your body as an obstacle. Learning how to dance gives you freedom of spontaneous self-expression that acknowledges your whole identity: mind, heart and body. Dance is the undeniable reminder of the implicit strength and beauty that lies in all of us.

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Weekly Photo Challenge: Journey

April 6, 2012 by The Perfectly Imperfect One

Ok, so this photo may not seem like it represents a journey, but I took this the night of our wedding, and marriage is a journey! 🙂

13 thoughts on “Weekly Photo Challenge: Journey

  1. Jude says:

    Looks like the start of a wonderful journey!

  2. reb says:

    it most definitely is! 🙂

  3. Marriage is the biggest journey of all!!!

  4. Gilly Gee says:

    Yes your lifelong journey, what could be greater than that? 🙂

  5. orples says:

    Marriage is perhaps the most challenging and rewarding journey you’ll ever take. Perfect choice for the theme.

  6. woven decor says:

    Only the greatest journey of all 🙂

  7. Northern Narratives says:

    Great post for journey 🙂

  8. suitablefish says:

    like your interpretation of the challenge!

  9. Arindam says:

    It’s a great interpretation of this week’s challenge theme.

  10. heidikins says:

    Love this. 🙂

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text:
The Little Sister

  • by Raymond Chandler
  • Narrated by Ed Bishop
  • 1 hrs and 29 mins
  • Unabridged Audiobook

Publisher's Summary

Ed Bishop stars as Philip Marlowe in this powerfully atmospheric BBC Radio 4 dramatisation of Raymond Chandler's novel about the cynical, world-weary, wise cracking Shamus whose honesty in a dishonest world sent him down the mean streets again and again in search of some kind of justice. The case of a missing brother from some two-bit Kansas town didn't look like Marlowe's best shot at the big time. But pretty soon it turned out that this particular brother had the embarrassing habit of knowing guys who finished up on the wrong end of an ice-pick. Until, that is, he did too.

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Customer Reviews

No customer reviews available

Book Details

  • Release Date: 09-02-2009
  • Publisher: BBC Worldwide Limited


text:
The Holy Bible - KJV: Romans

  • by George W. Sarris (publisher)
  • Narrated by George W. Sarris
  • 1 hrs and 3 mins
  • Unabridged Audiobook

Publisher's Summary

George W. Sarris is an accomplished actor, narrator, and spokesman. He served on the Board of the Screen Actors Guild in Boston, and has been a spokesman for radio and television commercials and industrial films for companies such as AT&T, BMW, Burger King, Duracell, Honda, Pizza Hut, Sprint, and UPS. Mr. Sarris holds the degrees of Bachelor of Science in Speech from Northwestern University, and Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. He has been involved in media ministry for over 30 years.

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Customer Reviews

No customer reviews available

Book Details

  • Release Date: 20-07-2010
  • Publisher: George W. Sarris


text:
Blood of the Lost : The Darkness Within Saga

  • by JD Franx
  • Narrated by Simon Vance
  • Series: The Darkness Within Saga
  • 19 hrs and 46 mins
  • Unabridged Audiobook

Publisher's Summary

Few people survive the suffering that Kael Symes has experienced. Hot steel, demonic magic, and the loss of those he loved.
After escaping the horrors of Arkum Zul, Kael and his companions survive a terror-filled night on the ocean only to find themselves shipwrecked and stranded in the Wildlands. With forest tribals on the warpath and old enemies roaming the forest, Kael struggles to come to terms with what he is slowly becoming - a killer. A DeathWizard.
In the fight against the evil that threatens to consume him, Kael learns that the Dwarven Mountains far to the north may hide an ancient monolith that holds the answer to the corruption that flows in his veins.
But trekking across Talohna is a dangerous prospect. It is a world that holds its secrets close. The cost of uncovering them may very well be his soul and quite possibly his life.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful

Great epic fantasy with a few niggles.

I'll break this review down into a few sections to make it easier to see what I liked and didn't like.

Characters: Largely excellent characters that are brought to life in full 3d. Each are distinct and have a depth of personality, character, strengths and weaknesses that set them clearly apart from each other. Like or loath the character they are certainly fully formed and fun to follow.

Story: The story is what you expect from a good epic fantasy. It is deep with plenty of plots being embarked on by the main characters and those that are targeting them with good or ill intentions. The magic system the author has made is a good one, though the spells being used might have had a bit more depth at times I though. I also thought that at times they story dragged a little, but never quite enough to bore me too much.

Negatives: Convenient magic and stupidity were two of my main issues. The issue with the magic came about from our DarkWizard. When he first arrives he is saved a couple of times by casting a shield on instinct to save his life. Yet later this stops happening. It's possible that his tattoo is the issue, abut at no point does he try to fix this or even try to cast the shield with his will when he starts to understand his magic a little more. Given how often he is nearly killed I can't believe this would not be a priority for anyone. Likewise he carries around a Grimoire for months that he looks in a total of two times and one of those is to show someone else the book. He wants to learn about who and what he is and how his powers work but makes no real effort to look at more of the book.

Stupidity is where the author makes a character do something that isn't likely for any sane intelligent person to do just because the plot needs them to do it. Some of it would be like me entering evil lair, seeing a pentagram surrounded by candles and thinking it would be an awesome idea to go stand in the middle.

There are other things where characters ignore stuff they likely wouldn't in reality, or say things that aren't likely just because if they did it would radically change things in how the plot went.

Overall: The two books are a good listen, made all the better by having Simon Vance as the narrator. He in my top three narrators for fantasy fiction and does his usually excellent job here too. Overall I certainly recommend this series of books and there is plenty of story left to tell after this one.
Read full review

- M. Paddon

A vey enjoyable book

I enjoyed this book immensely a good storyline and easy to follow the characters were brought to live by the excellent narration
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- Amazon Customer

Book Details

  • Release Date: 24-10-2017
  • Publisher: Podium Publishing


text:
When Gravity Fails : Marid Audran

  • by George Alec Effinger
  • Narrated by Jonathan Davis
  • Series: Marid Audran
  • 11 hrs and 54 mins
  • Unabridged Audiobook

Publisher's Summary

In a decadent world of cheap pleasures and easy death, Marid Audrian has kept his independence the hard way. Still, like everything else in the Budayeen, he's available for a price.
For a new kind of killer roams the streets of the Arab ghetto, a madman whose bootlegged personality cartridges range from a sinister James Bond to a sadistic disemboweler named Khan. And Marid Audrian has been made an offer he can't refuse.The 200-year-old godfather of the Budayeen's underworld has enlisted Marid as his instrument of vengeance. But first Marid must undergo the most sophisticated of surgical implants before he dares to confront a killer who carries the power of every psychopath since the beginning of time.
Wry, savage, and unignorable, When Gravity Fails was hailed as a classic by Effinger's fellow SF writers on its original publication in 1987, and the sequence of Marid Audrian novels it begins were the culmination of his career.

What the Critics Say

"Fast, cool, clever, beautifully written, absolutely authoritative. A kind of cyberpunk Raymond Chandler book with dashes of Roger Zelazny, Ian Fleming, and Scheherezade - but altogether original." (Robert Silverberg)
"Ingenious, layered, sophisticated, and consistently bloodcurdling, When Gravity Fails kept me awake long after I had finished reading it." (Spider Robinson)
"[Y]ou people are cheating yourselves if you don't forego food and rent to pick up on Effinger's work. Now, this time, will you for pete's sake listen to me and buy When Gravity Fails? It's as crazy as a spider on ice skates, plain old terrific; and if you don't pay attention I'll have to get tough with you!" (Harlan Ellison)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful

This is a well-paced cyberpunk novel, with lots of tension as the lead character, Audran, tries to solve a series of murders in an Arab ghetto. There were enough twists and turns to stop me figuring out ?whodunnit? before the end, and I also liked the descriptions of the technology involved.
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- Jeremy

Mixed feelings

Marîd Audran is painfully slow at working out this fairly simple mystery and the Islam motif is a little off in this literary love in which tries to be sexy and deep but only stumbles upon profundity occasionally, seemingly by accident. Finished it and got the sequal immediately though so it can't be that bad.

Performance is less than ideal as John Davis over-dramatises to the point of mis-reading. Additionally suffers from a forced Arabic accent which at times verges on the excruciating.
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- chris

Book Details

  • Release Date: 03-03-2011
  • Publisher: Audible Studios


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Friday, June 18, 2010

M2M - Growth Opportunities for MNOs in Developed Markets

The new M2M analyst report that I just finished has now been uploaded and is available on the Maximizing Wireless Profits website.  M2M, machine-to-machine communications, is a very intriguing market.  It is closely related to enterprise mobility in that mobile devices (embedded mobile devices, remote sensors and monitors) are collecting and sending data back to a central server. The audiences for this report are mobile network operators (MNOs), M2M and mobile enterprise software companies.

Handset driven customer growth has reached the saturation point in many regions of the world and Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) are looking for new applications, new markets and new technologies for their next phase of growth. Machine to machine (M2M) devices and applications are an area of wireless data usage with a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 25% per year through 2014 and a projected need for up to 50 billion M2M devices by 2025. In addition, low churn rates, low acquisition and operational costs, expected long product lifecycles, and a market that needs many additional value added services makes this a compelling market opportunity for many MNOs.

Why is the M2M market interesting for enterprises?  Nearly all high value assets and equipment that are remote or mobile could benefit from having an embedded mobile device in sensors and monitors that provide information wirelessly back to the asset management and tracking system at the office.  Pressure gauges, measurements, volumes, temperatures, operating hours, mileage, etc., can all be collected and wirelessly sent to the central management system.

When a piece of remote equipment begins having problems, an alert can be wirelessly sent to the asset management and work order management system so repairs can be scheduled.  Maintenance schedules can also be set based upon data collected by remote monitors.

Embedded mobile devices can also be implemented to both send and receive data.  Some M2M systems provide the capability for instructions to be sent to remote monitors that will change settings on equipment.  I have read about large trucks having their engines adjusted remotely to improve performance or fuel mileage.

I believe that mobile enterprise application platforms (MEAPs) may expand to support M2M data integration that will be used by enterprise asset management systems and service optimization solutions like SAP's mobility partner ClickSoftware at some point.  The data, whether coming from a smartphone or a remote sensor, looks the same to the platform.  It is just data coming in wirelessly to the system.

There are some very interesting M2M companies like Enfora that are offering a wide range of specialized M2M devices, services and systems.  Enfora is a provider of wireless networking solutions that enable enterprises to access, analyze and leverage information from their geographically dispersed assets.  It is interesting to read about how their solutions are being implemented and the ROIs their customers are experiencing.

Kevin Benedict, SAP Mentor, SAP Top Contributor, Mobile & M2M Industry Analyst
CEO/Principal Consultant, Netcentric Strategies LLC
***Full Disclosure: I am an independent mobility consultant and Web 2.0 marketing expert. I work with and have worked with many of the companies mentioned in my articles.


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Expression Motorsport Mercedes Benz C Class

If you bored with famous Mercedes Benz tuner since their bodykit is everywhere, this one might be suitable for you. The wide bodykit package from Expression Motorsport for the W204 C-Class might take your C Class into different level. There are front bumper with LED plus carbon fiber lip spoiler, sporty hood from C63 AMG, side skirts, rear bumper spoiler with carbon fiber diffuser and F1 style LED brake light, rear trunk spoiler with carbon deflector. But the best part is the wide fender, which allows 22″ to fit without any difficulties. Now the C Class looks like it came out straight from the DTM race.via modtor
Check out more pictures after the jump

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Parenting Milestones: The First 6 Months

Photograph by Getty Images

As parents of a newborn, you look for guidebooks to help you through the first year. You want to track those developmental milestones. You buy What To Expect the First Year and download several Week by Week apps. There are so many handbooks all about your baby’s milestones. But what about a companion guide for parenting milestones?

Here are six months of baby milestones along with my version of accompanying parenting milestones you really need to know about. Really.

RELATED: 10 Reasons New Mom Sex Isn't Happening

Week One:

Baby: Congratulations! You are bringing your baby home this week. She will be sleeping most of the time, as newborns are only awake about 10 percent of the day. Hush, little baby!

You: Your feelings are somewhere in between shock and a severe hangover. You love your baby but you swear you have shrapnel in your cooch and you’re constipated. You are both excited and happy to bring your baby home and to her nursery, which you lovingly decorated, but then you realize she can’t really see yet, that your bed does not sit up and recline, and that nurses can’t take the baby to the nursery while you sleep. Also, your home doesn’t have those late-night cafeteria chicken strips, which you are craving now. WTF.

Week Two:

Baby: Your Little One may start to focus a little more. She is still sleeping most of the day. Her umbilical cord may fall off this week. Don’t forget to put it in her Memory Book or, better yet, a time capsule!

You: You have managed to watch all four seasons of Breaking Bad. The delivery guy from Taste of India has a key to your house. If one of you accidentally threw away the umbilical cord, the other one will act devastated, but really not be that torn up about it.

Week Four:

Baby: Your baby will start to exercise her little vocal chords with sweet little gurgles, sighs and coos. It is an early and adorable step in her effort to communicate with you.

You: By now you have come to understand that a group of kittens is not, in fact, sitting in the corner of your room knitting a bolero-style jacket for you, but that you are experiencing hallucinations, which are a very normal result of sleep-deprivation. Your nipples look like ground beef.

You have let your baby fall off the bed, champ.

Month Two:

Baby: If you tickle your baby, she may squeal or laugh out loud. She is getting good at expressing herself. Don’t forget to talk to your baby! She may also be able to push herself up during tummy time.

You: Aside from the time you (both of you!?) somehow forgot you had a baby and almost left her in the car, you’ve managed to successfully take her into public and get her back home again. You may also need to allow for more travel time as you stop the car every 15 minutes so you can check to see if she is breathing. That’s TOTALLY normal.

Month Three:

Baby: Your baby moves from newborn into infant status! She will now start to develop a daily pattern of waking, eating and sleeping. If you follow or help her stick to a pattern, she will sleep better and cry less.

You: That is some bullshit (the sleeping more and crying less). By now, you have discovered that your baby has acid reflux because of the way she projectile vomits a dozen times a day. You have regurgitated milk on your clothes, in your hair and on the chaise lounge. And the reflux makes her colicky so she cries a lot. That’s OK, though, because you find that you are good at sympathy crying. But, look at her cherubic face! Now look away and dramatically bite your lip.

Month Four:

Baby: Your baby is becoming an expert at cooing and giggling. Physically, she is able to put some weight on her legs. She may also be ready to eat solid foods. She has likely learned to roll from tummy to back. This little rascal is starting to figure things out!

You: Your baby was not ready to eat solids. You could not wait to see the look of delight on baby’s face when you put the spoonful of bland, rice cereal in her mouth. Instead, she just gagged and pushed it out with her tongue. Why are you in such a hurry to feed her solids?

RELATED: What I Wish I'd Known Before Joining a Playgroup

Month Five:

Baby: Your 5-month-old will love to play peek-a-boo as she starts to understand the concept of object permanence. She may recognize her name and turn toward you when you say it to her. She may be rolling like a steamroller now, so keep an eye on that baby!

You: You may not have kept an eye on her as carefully as you should have. You have let your baby fall off the bed, champ. What kind of parent are you? You will reenact the fall, yourself. You know you just did. You probably feel shame. And you will Google the hell out of all combinations of “my baby fell off the bed.” Also, you love to tell people the part about “object permanence,” and other parents will slow-nod for a yes, I have read about that. Everyone is educated. Good.

Month Six:

Baby: Can you believe it is halfway through baby’s first year? She is becoming very active, possibly sitting up on her own and eating solid foods. She is stringing together sounds and getting ready to crawl.

You: By now you regularly dry heave from the smell of her “solid food” poop. Yup, that’s a real treat. But, seeing her open her little bird mouth and devour the sweet potatoes softens the burn that diaper gives to the nostrils. You’ve convinced yourselves that she has deliberately said her first words, “Dada,” “Mama” and “Ghana.” You know deep down she doesn’t know what she is saying, but you let it melt your heart anyway. You hope she doesn’t crawl anytime soon.

Did you reach these parenting milestones? What would your handbook say?

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Woman Sues Sperm Bank After Major Mix-Up

Woman sues sperm bank after being sent the wrong sperm

An Ohio mom has slapped the Midwest Sperm Bank with a lawsuit after they allegedly committed "the one mistake you never make" when you’re in the sperm bank business—delivering the wrong sperm. (Ooof.)

Jennifer Cramblett says she and her partner Amanda Zinkon had very carefully selected their donor—a Caucasian man listed as No. 380—three years ago, before Cramblett was inseminated and became pregnant. But it wasn't long before she discovered a careless mix-up had happened back at the lab. Instead of getting No. 380 delivered to her, Cramblett was unknowingly sent No. 330, who is African-American.

"All of the thought, care and planning that she and Amanda had undertaken to control their baby's parentage had been rendered meaningless," the lawsuit states. It also claims that the mistake happened due to the sperm bank's reliance on handwritten records. Unfortunately, someone's "380" sure looked a lot like "330."

Don't get it wrong, though—Cramblett says she and her partner love their now-two-year-old daughter Payton to bits. But they want to make sure this kind of avoidable mishap doesn't happen to another family.

"I'm not going to sit back and let this ever happen to anyone ever again," Cramblett told NBC News. "You can't just do that and say, 'Well, you got a baby ... so you should be happy. Lesbian couples can't have a baby anyway.'"

To complicate matters, Cramblett and Zinkon just so happen to live in Uniontown, Ohio, where the population is 98 percent white, and as the lawsuit implies, is not particularly accepting of minorities. In fact, she cites in her lawsuit that she has to travel far, to a black community, just so her daughter can get her hair cut.

"There are things I don't feel I have the background to even know. ... Things we have to go out and research and talk to people and figure out how to do, as simple as a daily chore of doing your hair," Cramblett told CNN.

She also notes that many of their relatives are "unconsciously insensitive" to other races, which has created some tension. As a result, Payton's therapists have suggested she move her family to a more racially diverse community. (Good idea.)

"I want my child to be raised around people that maybe look like her, and unfortunately, we are not going to get all of those assets there in Uniontown, Ohio," she continued. "We want her to grow up in a community where she feels accepted, feels like it's normal to be who she is."

The Midwest Sperm Bank, which is based in Downers Grove, Ill., has since apologized and issued a refund check for the six vials of incorrect sperm. But obviously, it's too little, too late, considering Cramblett said they were initially pretty insensitive about the mix-up.

Photo via Chicago Tribune

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Bitter Oranges

Following on from “Welcome to Europe!“, a highly informative article by Carole Reckinger & Gilles Reckinger on the plight of sub-Saharan migrant workers in the orange plantations of Rosarno (published in Issue 1 of Le monde n’est pas rond), the two researchers, together with anthropologist Diana Reiners, have just returned from a second field trip in southern Italy. Carole Reckinger wrote in from Foggia, where the tomatoes are picked:

“The situation is just crazy. I mean we know how bad the situation is, but each day we learn something new and it is just heartbreaking. It is really a new form of slavery. We talked about it a bit today, and actually it is a step further than slavery. In classical slavery, the slaves were the property of the landowners. You make sure your property stays in a more or less good shape, even if you exploit them. In this new situation, people don’t belong to anyone, and are completely interchangeable. The exploiters don’t even need to make the slightest effort.

Rosarno during the summer was hard. 40 plus degrees, no shade, no work. Depression, and no medical and mental health care.”

Carole, Diana and Gilles have just launched Bitter Oranges, a website documenting their research project. It contains new photographs showing how the orange pickers live, and a three-minute video including an interview with one of the workers.

Visit Carole Reckinger’s website to see more photographs of the migrants’ summer days in Rosarno.

This first field trip to Rosarno was financially supported by the Luxembourg Ministère de la Culture, helping to kick-start the project. In order to carry out an in-depth research and follow individual people over a longer period of time, Carole, Diana and Gilles are returning to Rosarno at least twice a year:

“Journalists usually only report about the living conditions in Rosarno during the busy winter months. However, we would like to contribute to extend existing knowledge with testimonials of people, but especially with a long-term observation of the conditions for individual people. The long, hot, summer months, when no work is available to the migrants, are of particular interest to us.

We are working on an exhibition as well as a manuscript for a non-fictional book including photographs, testimonials and personal observations in both German and English.

We are currently looking for partnerships, collaborations and financial support in order to continue this project. If you would like to support us, or would like to have more information, please contact us @ bitter_oranges at yahoo dot com.”

A crowd-funding campaign will soon be launched. Stay tuned.

Detail from "Welcome to Europe!", by Carole Reckinger & Gilles Reckinger, Issue 1

Detail from “Welcome to Europe!”, by Carole Reckinger & Gilles Reckinger, Issue 1

About antoinecassar

Poet, translator, editor, activist
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monica is…hunting vintage.

today i went on a hunt for smaller bags. after lugging my heavy leather bag in 80 degree heat, i decided to give in. i had a yummy breakfast plate (sorry no photo since i was starving!) at mustard seed cafe & headed to squaresville, where luckily i found 2 great & affordable bags! perfect for my absolute necessities, especially my new favorite wallet!  finally picked up mishna wolff’s i’m down, which i can only expect will get better, since the first page already had me laughing…

i picked up a new read, which i hear is a riot!

makeshift mousepad…

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Tom’s Garden

Vendor Since: 2015

About Us:
Tom’s Garden sprouted in 2010, although it first germinated 25 years ago. That’s when Tom planted his first peppers using cayenne, jalapeno, Hungarian hot wax and one new variety – a habanero. He first used the new habaneros as party snacks daring friends to try at weekend get-togethers. This progressed into canning, which led to many amusing memories of experimenting with friends and family.

After an unimaginable amount of recipes, trials and errors did Tom finally develop his favorite concoction, Tom’s Garden Man Sauce. Wary be to the uninitiated as Tom went seeking his final test…tears, sweat and screams of joy for his newly created sauce. Soon to follow was Tom’s Garden Woman Sauce for the more sensitive taste buds and the neophytes not yet acquainted with capsaicin. Not as intimidating as Man Sauce, it offers an exciting flavor to the jalapeno-base pepper sauce. Tom’s Garden dedication to flavor and taste and determination to use only the freshest peppers and highest quality ingredients drives his intensity toward his number one concern…customer satisfaction.

Products We Sell:
Hot sauces—mild and hot; jalapeno mustard, habanero dry rub.

Other Markets:
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News and Announcements

Your Child’s Yearly Physicals

Setup your Child’s Yearly Physicals!! If your kids are going to be active in sports it is important to have physicals done. In most case it is covered by your insurance company so take advantage of it.

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Gaining Perspective on a Western Harem

In Scheherazade goes west, Fatema Mernissi has an interesting and enlightening argument about why the Western Harem and the Eastern Harem are on completely different spectrums. She brings to light a lot of history that tells of stories that prove why the west has such a different view than that of the East. The underlining title of the book, different cultures, different worlds, explains very well why the viewpoints of the western harem is different from the eastern, and that is because they grew up with completely different philosophers, religions, and cultural understandings.

While reading this book we are exposed to many different perspectives. When Fatema Mernissi is handed a book written by Immanuel Kant, she learns about the westerns philosophies and how some of them view women. “What a terrible choice Kant’s woman has to face, I thought-beauty or intelligence. It is as cruel a choice as the fundamentalists’ threat: veiled and safe, or unveiled and assaulted.” (Mernissi, 90). This is something that Mernissi took from reading only the first part of Kant’s book. She had one perspective on the way that western cultures viewed their women and it came from Kant. Reading this and understanding that those words are coming from some of the West’s biggest philosophical and cultural influencers, was a tragic realization that the way we view ourselves as women and the way other westernized men view us, is much different than that of the East, and in some ways very demeaning. In Kant’s Harem, ideally he would have women who would not be able to speak let alone think a profound thought. He would see their beauty as the only thing that could possibly attract him and other men and see intelligence as that of something completely unattractive. Although the way that Western men picture a beautiful woman and the way that the Eastern men picture a beautiful woman are very different, there are definite relations that Eastern women and Western women can feel towards one another by understanding the harsh reality that men are suppressing women in ways we did not even realize.

Reading Mernissi gives women an understanding as to why they feel the way they do by men and where that history came from in part, whether you are looking at women from the East or women from the West. Mernissi goes to show this by saying, “Isn’t it strange, I thought upon reading this, that in the medieval Orient, depots like Harun Ar-Rachid appreciated defiantly intelligent slave girls, while in enlightened eighteenth century Europe, philosophers like Kant dreamt of silent women!” (Mernissi, 94). We see the different hearts of men in the East and men in the West. What a rude awakening it is to find that our intelligence is being undermined and our beauty critiqued.

Understanding that beauty can mean two very different things if you just cross an ocean or two was mind blowing while reading this one and only book. It makes you question the actual substance of being a woman and having a mind that is powerful and useful yet, not necessarily knowing how to use it. Is this one of the major reasons that women in the West are that much different from women in the East? Do we really have such a diverse history and knowledge of each other that it makes us goes back to our early thinkers to try and understand where the thoughts originated? Because of all this diversity, is it harder for Western woman and Eastern women to relate to each other? There has to be a sense of misunderstanding as Mernissi has previously mentioned, not by saying those words but by the way that we view her opinion about the West and the way that we think. Mernissi makes a valid argument that the reason Western Harem’s are so different than Eastern Harems is because of the history behind both cultures, which goes all the way back to early philosophers such as Immanuel Kant. But is her research enough to change the minds of those that study it? Is it enough to make assumptions and pretend to understand the entanglement and the corrupt structure of how women are treated? Continuing to learn and study about these issues is something that many if not most women should be interested in.

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I’ve been reading a biography of Gaius Julius Caesar, a man of tremendous ability uniquely positioned at what he was to make one of the defining moments of history. I know that the ‘great man’ theory of history has fallen out of vogue with the modern establishment, instead capitulating to the notion that great potentialities create the necessary people to rise to the challenge inherent in their exploitation. Yet when you read a life of the Pontifex Maximus himself, you find it hard to believe that many others could have stepped into the role, and undertaken the risks with the necessary audacity or met with the same success. But indeed before Caesar there was Sullla, and before Sulla, there was Marius. Great names long forgotten to the everyday man, but their exploits made everything Caesar did possible.
One aspect that I think personifies many great men, and Caesar especially, is that they transcend the limitations of their circumstances. The world admits of a certain number of possibilities and believes that there is a prescribed range of actions that can be engaged in. Caesar, perhaps unwittingly, occupied a unique position as an outsider that allowed him to see through the institutions of his age: The Roman Senate, The Tribunate, The Consuls and the Consularis and to recognise a crisis at their core that left them unable to respond to the challenges of an expanding Roman empire ruled by a notional commonwealth of citizens.

This trait I believe to be one of the markers of true greatness. People who can understand their world around them, and perceive the flaws that others do not believe exist, or to identify when there is a disconnect between reality and the popular conception. That opens up a perspective to action that can allow a person to redefine their world in a way that is conventionally thought impossible. It is this ability to understand that there are more realities then the common reality, that the underlying facts are nuanced and capable of interpretation.

Can all of us transcend our circumstances? I believe that this is so. Is all that is required the presence of a certain stubbornness of vision and a ruthlessness of execution? I believe that this is so. Do we only have to be firm enough in the conviction that we are right to persevere to defy the limits of all those who came before us? I believe that this is so. Can this be for both good and evil? I believe that you have to at least think you’re doing it for good. Even Caesar rationalised his dictatorship as an attempt to save the Republic from imminent collapse.


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michigan state kansas jayhawks are march madness teams 2016 images

The Kansas Jayhawks and the Michigan State Spartans are the respective No. 1 and No. 2 teams with the February 29th college basketball AP Poll. Both teams went undefeated last week while formerly top-ranked Villanova suffered a defeat at the hands of the Xavier Musketeers. With two coaches that are right for the job, I think that the AP Poll has it right when it comes to sorting out the favorites just ahead of the month of March.

Kansas has Bill Self at the helm, a proven coach when it comes to playoff success. There are a lot of coaches out there, including Jay Wright for the Villanova Wildcats, that do well in the regular season but usually don’t follow it up in the playoffs. However, Self is not like that as his Jayhawks were the runner-ups back in 2012. Previously, he took his squad to the NCAA championship, winning it all with Kansas in 2008.

Tom Izzo, the head coach of the Michigan State Spartans, also has a history of winning in March. Izzo took an underdog team to the Final Four just last season, a team that returns many players to this year’s squad. It has been a long time since Izzo last won it all, something he did in 2000. However, that’s not to say that there haven’t been deep runs. Besides last year, Izzo’s Spartans were in the Final Four most recently in 1999 and 2000. Correction: Michigan State Spartans also were in the Final Four in 2001, 2005, 2009 (runner-up), 2010 & 2015. Thanks to our readers who were quick to point this out.

There are few other proven coaches that have elite teams this season. North Carolina with Roy Williams is in the mix, but the Tar Heels have lost some favor in recent weeks, drifting out to No. 8 in the AP Poll. The defending champion Duke Blue Devils, under Mike Krzyzewski, continue to have a disappointing season as they are now ranked 17th following a poor week that saw them lose at Pitt. Rick Pitino’s Louisville Cardinals were looking like a promising team, but they are out of the playoffs already following the scandal that rocked their campus a couple of weeks back. Furthermore, John Calipari’s Kentucky Wildcats, the pre-season favorites, are nowhere near championship form as they have drifted way out to No. 22 following a loss at Vanderbilt this weekend.

The March Madness NCAA basketball tournament doesn’t start until March 15th. It will conclude on Monday, April 4th with the championship game. Ahead of the playoffs, there’s plenty of regular season action still. In fact Kansas will play a key game on Monday night at Texas, a team ranked 23rd in the polls.

Following the wrap up of the regular season, there’s only a million conference playoff games to be played. With the hundreds of team that will contest the conference playdowns and then the big dance – all in straight elimination format – this March promises to be just as dramatic for college basketball fans as any March previously.

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