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The Utilities Sector encompasses those companies considered electric, gas or water utilities, or companies that operate as independent producers and/or distributors of power.
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Ruth Marcus: Stimulus debate continues
The treatment helped. The patient is recovering. The doctor is still being accused of malpractice.
That, in a nutshell, is the story of the $800 billion stimulus package President Obama signed five years ago, the centerpiece of a code-blue effort to defibrillate the cratering economy.
Rarely in the annals of U.S. public policy has there been a greater disconnect between the real-world effect of legislation and its political-world perception.
Substantively, the stimulus was a success. Politically, it was a disaster. A month after the law's passage, the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found 56 percent support. Three years later, that number had dropped to 37 percent.
Consider what happened on Monday, the official fifth anniversary. President Obama golfed in California and the White House figured it would wait until Wednesday to celebrate the moment. Republicans didn't wait.
"A classic case of big promises and big spending with little results," House Speaker John Boehner proclaimed. "A tragedy to lament," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell wrote for Reuters. "It clearly failed," thundered Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio.
It took until midday for the White House to respond, with a blog post by Jason Furman, chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers. The stimulus, he argued, "had a substantial positive impact on the economy, helped to avert a second Great Depression, and made targeted investments that will pay dividends long after the Act has fully phased out."
This lingering debate merits revisiting, both to assess the Republican clamor over the law and, perhaps more important, to consider why it tanked so spectacularly in the public mind.
Substance first. The stimulus represented a classic, and sensible, Keynesian response to recession, one that had been historically endorsed by both parties. As Time's Michael Grunwald noted, in January 2009 a group of House Republicans, including now Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, voted for a $715 billion bill nearly as sweeping.
The stimulus wasn't perfect, but its chief flaws were dictated by political realities. Nearly a third was devoted to tax cuts, which are less stimulative than measures such as unemployment benefits because less is immediately spent. If anything, given the depth of the crisis, the measure should have been bigger.
Likewise, the stimulus alone didn't right the economy —credit here goes to the Federal Reserve, the TARP program and the auto industry bailout — but it helped. The White House calculation that the law saved or created 1.6 million jobs a year for four years comports with estimates from the Congressional Budget Office. Without stimulus spending, more than 5 million additional people would have slipped into poverty in 2010.
A harder question is whether the fiscal bump was worth the huge price tag. Because the spending was temporary, the White House notes, the stimulus added less than 0.1 percent of gross domestic product to the long-term fiscal gap.
Even that calculation "may overstate the true cost," the White House argues, because direct gains in economic growth cover a quarter of the cost. More of the cost could be recouped in long-term growth generated by the nearly $300 billion in infrastructure, health care, worker training and other spending.
So what went wrong, and what does this mean for the future? Part of the negativity reflects the self-inflicted wound of the White House's mistaken projection that the stimulus would keep the unemployment rate below 8 percent. When the rate rose to 9.5 percent, the White House was tagged with the burden of a broken promise.
Part reflects the understandable media focus on the unavoidable stupid projects inherent in such mammoth spending.
Part reflects the sheer breadth of the law. Much like health care, it had so many moving parts, few people could remember what it did, no less assess how much worse matters might have been without it. Meanwhile, the Republican attack was straightforward: the economy hasn't recovered, hence the law failed.
Which leads to the larger concern: What happens next time? Stimulus spending has long been accepted as a crucial piece of the policy toolbox in a downturn. If Republicans have succeeded in tarnishing the tool along with the president who wielded it, it's the nation that will suffer needlessly when the next recession hits.
Email Marcus at email@example.com.

subset: commoncrawl


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Originally posted July 24, 2014
Cut the negative people out of your life.
Don't lift a finger for people who won't lift a finger for you.
Don't allow people in your life who don't deserve to be there.
Hardly a day goes by that I don't see something like this on Facebook. Clearly, there are people who are violent that we need to stay away from for our own physical safety, and marital problems absolutely must be resolved, but those aren't what this line of thinking seems to be addressing. It's talking about the difficult people. We all have them in our lives. You're probably thinking of some right now.
The constant complainer.
The drama queen.
The narcissist.
The annoyance.
The just plain unlovely.
Maybe it's a family member, a neighbor, or a co-worker. Somebody who's in your life for some reason, only you wish she weren't.
The world's advice: abort people. If they're negative, if they don't further your success, if they drain you, if they're somehow undeserving of your time and attention. Just cut them out of your life. Abort them.
Christians are on the front lines of the battle against literal abortion. "Every life is precious," we say, and that's as it should be. But somehow, the world's abortive mentality has crept into our thinking when it comes to the relationships we have with others. Babies are being killed because they're inconvenient, they'll hinder someone's pursuit of success, or they have a disability, and we're – rightly – grieved and outraged, but do we have any pangs of conscience when it comes to throwing away that inconvenient friend or that personality-handicapped family member? Is every life really precious?
We serve a Savior who loved the unlovely. Took time for the inconvenient. Invested in the drains. He felt their loneliness and rejection and knew the pain of being scorned.
Because He was one of them.
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Isaiah 53:2b-3
Jesus stopped along the roadside, not for those who would further His success, but for those who were needy. He called the awkward and personality impaired "brother." He called a betrayer, "friend." Even those who wielded the whip, embedded the thorns, and drove the nails didn't hear, "Go to hell," but, "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do."
Yes, there are people who are so difficult that we may have to love them from afar, taking time between each encounter with them to pray, recover, and forgive.
But we must remember who we were called to be.
I love, not because people deserve it, but because He first loved me.
I am forgiving because I have been forgiven much.
I am kind because God has been so kind to me.
I lay down my life for messy people because Christ laid down His life for the biggest mess of all- me.
Extend grace. Because in God's eyes, every life is precious. Even yours.


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Fatigue and Chronic Pain
Fatigue associated with chronic pain
Daytime fatigue1 is commonly reported with chronic pain and can be just as challenging to manage.2 Restorative sleep is undoubtedly important and adhering to the guidelines for sleep restriction and sleep hygiene can improve the quality and often the quantity of sleep. Less well-known are diurnal rhythms, which are independent daytime biological patterns, and how they affect us and how we can affect them. Changing what we do, how and when we do them, can help these invisible hormonal and chemical patterns synchronize and as a result have less fatigue.


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Vigai Indra Komar has been jailed in Cambodia. (Photo: Phnom Penh Post)
A Canadian man appeared in a court Monday facing child prostitution charges in Cambodia and was remanded into custody to a provincial jail, the Star has confirmed.
Vigai Indra Komar, who had his Canadian passport issued in Vancouver, could spend up to six months in jail awaiting a trial, Seila Samleang, country director of a child protection advocacy group known as Action Pour Les Enfants told the Star in a phone interview.
Seila said his group had a lawyer representing the victim in the provincial court of the northwest province of Siem Riap.
He said the passport information indicated Komar, who listed his place of birth as the Indonesian island of Savu, would be 70 years old in July.
Police raided Komar's hotel room on Friday and allegedly found him with a 14-year-old girl "cowering naked in the bathroom," according to a report in the Phnom Penh Post.
Seila said on Monday he contacted Canadian police with whom he has worked in the past with on child sex tourism cases.
"After the charges (were) confirmed, we brought the case to the Canadian RCMP for their information and we hope that they will be working on it carefully," Seila said.
Seila, whose group works closely with police to help victims of sex tourism, said he has dealt with "several cases from Canada" and that while some progress has been made in fighting the crime, "it is very prevalent here."
"We don't have a strong criminal justice system here, so children are still adrift," he said.
In a recent series on child sex tourism, the Star reported that since 1998, more than 200 Canadians have been convicted abroad of sexual crimes against children and asked for help from their government, according to figures released by Public Safety Canada.
But here at home, under a 1997 law which makes it possible to prosecute Canadians for crimes committed outside our borders, there have been only five known convictions for child sex tourism.
The Phnom Penh newspaper said Komar was arrested by police at the Hilton Angkor resort in Siem Reap, a popular tourist destination near the famous Angkor temple ruins.
"This wealthy, elderly retiree left Canada to come to Cambodia to buy child prostitutes," provincial chief prosecutor Ti Sovanthal told another national newspaper, the Cambodia Daily. "Now he is jail."
Chea Heng, deputy chief of the anti-human trafficking and children protection office for Siem Reap province, said the police found the girl in the bathroom, "along with what they described as pornographic materials and erectile enhancement pills."
None of the charges or the circumstances of the case have been tested in court.
The latest Trafficking in Persons Report for 2012 by the U.S. State Department says that the government of Cambodia "does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking" but is making "significant efforts" to do so.
It says there were convictions of 62 sex trafficking offenders during the year -- an increase from 20 offenders convicted during the previous reporting period.
In an interview with the Star, Phnom Penh Post editor in chief Alan Parkhouse said his reporters frequently report on cases of Western tourists arrested on child sex charges while local police and NGOs continue to work hard to combat the crime.
"They are definitely trying, but they are under-funded and under-resourced," Parkhouse said.
Julian Sher is a foreign affairs and investigative journalist with the Star and can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @juliansher


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The versatile Sailfish line-up of center consoles, walk arounds and bay boats offer the best value among its top-tier competitors. Featuring the exclusive Variable Degree Stepped (VDS) hull and Intelligent Ergonomic Design, Sailfish boats are truly World Class and designed provide years of trouble-free service. Take a close look at the new 2017 Sailfish line-up and get prepared to be impressed. Are you ready to Demand the Difference? The Sailfish Difference!
Sailfish Boats
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What would you do if after 50 years of being told you have a "chemical imbalance" and depression, you found severe allergies were at the root of your problems – not mental illness?
RAVE REVIEWS BOOK CLUB "SPOTLIGHT" Author Sherilyn Powers explores the connection between allergies and depression in her book, I'm Not Crazy… I'm Allergic.
Allergies, inflammation and depression
One of the main things I learned while researching my book, I'm Not Crazy… I'm Allergic, is that allergic reactions cause inflammation or swelling. It can be quite noticeable in the hands and feet/ankles, but elsewhere inflammation is harder to detect. But when you are experiencing a food or environmental reaction to allergies or sensitivities, where does that inflammation show up in your body?
Everywhere, and not just from the neck down.
This means there can be inflammation in the brain as well. Symptoms of severe swelling of the brain include everything from headaches to seizures and loss of memory, vision and more. Mostly we think of these in terms of head trauma. However, any type of inflammation on the brain can create problems.
Those extreme reactions aren't necessarily going to be the case in allergies or sensitivities, but exactly how much swelling does it take to create some of these issues, even to a lesser degree?
People are not exact science. We all have our own idiosyncrasies. What one person can handle with no visible issues, completely overwhelms others. So the answer is – no one knows exactly.
Another thing that is now being recognized by the medical community is that inflammation has a very strong correlation to depression. One of the examples used by Maria Almond, MD, MPH in her article Depression and inflammation: Examining the link is how there is a difference between the symptoms of a cold and what actually keeps you in bed when you have a cold ie. "the accompanying fatigue, inattentiveness, loss of appetite, change in sleep pattern, heightened perception of pain, and apathetic withdrawal" or as she terms it "sickness behavior". This "sickness behavior" is extremely similar to depression and "depression frequently is comorbid with many inflammatory illnesses".
Would it not be the same with an allergic reaction that includes generalized swelling? I am willing to guarantee that people having an anaphylactic reaction (which includes extreme swelling, particularly of the airway) will be anything but on top of the world emotionally or physically. If you asked, I'm sure they would be quite emotional, panicked, and even after the epinephrine calmed their physical reaction, they would still not feel all that great emotionally.
What about allergies or sensitivities that people go through for weeks at a time from exposure to pollens or mould? Would this not create "sickness behavior" as well, or depression?
Imagine having a severe cold or pneumonia for a long time, your mood would probably not be the greatest – and that is knowing what was wrong with you.
How about an unknown food allergy that you have had for say, over forty or fifty years? Constantly feeling like you should be in bed or at least not having any energy to do the daily life tasks… and not knowing when, if ever, you would feel better. How depressing would that be?
Looking at it this way, it is easy to see how some people could easily be misdiagnosed with "just" depression when it could be something physical, not mental or emotional at all.
http://www.currentpsychiatry.com/home/article/depression-and-inflammation-examining-the-link/b436332438ceca4baabe8be08701d6dc.html Depression and inflammation: Examining the link – Current Psychiatry 2013 June;12(6):24-32. Maria Almond, MD, MPH, Clinical Director PsychOncology Clinic. University of Michigan
Sherilyn Powers' contact information:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/imnotcrazyimallergic
Twitter: @SPowersINCIA
Website: http://imnotcrazyimallergic.com
FriesenPress: http://www.friesenpress.com/bookstore/title/119734000009092106
Amazon: (in most Amazon locations): http://www.amazon.com/dp/B011WGZT10/?tag=friesenpressc-20
Kobo: https://store.kobobooks.com/en-ca/ebook/i-m-not-crazy-i-m-allergic-1
iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/im-not-crazy…-im-allergic/id1022088586?mt=11


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Black Sails Postmortem: Bosses and Star on Major Finale Death, What's Ahead in Season 2
[WARNING: The following story contains major spoilers from the Season 1 finale of Black Sails. Read at your own risk.]
"There are no legacies in this life. No monuments, no histories. Just the water. It pays us and then it claims us. Swallows us whole as if we've never been here at all."
If Black Sails hadn't already proven the words above to be true, the Starz pirate drama's Season 1 finale certainly bought into that bleak worldview wholeheartedly.
After a season of twists and turns, talk of pirate bureaucracy and chasing of stolen schedules, the finale builds to Capt. Flint (Toby Stephens) and the crew of The Walrus finally sailing in pursuit of the famed Spanish treasure galleon, the Urca de Lima. But even though Flint was bolstered that John Silver's (Luke Arnold) recollection of the Urca's schedule matched Flint's own reconnaissance, the men didn't find the Urca. Instead, they came face-to-face with a Spanish war ship neither The Walrus nor The Ranger were prepared to fight.
Starz re-creates the perilous world of pirates in Black Sails
But that didn't stop Capt. Flint, who set about making plans to trap the war ship because he was convinced it was an escort to the Urca. However, after vowing in the penultimate episode to part ways with Flint after taking down the Urca, Mr. Gates (Mark Ryan) drew a line in the proverbial sand and begged Flint to give up his obsession. When Flint wouldn't budge, Gates made plans to take The Ranger and sail home, which forced Flint to do the unthinkable: He strangled Gates before snapping his neck and killing him.
"I've been shot, stabbed, fell off a cliff, and disemboweled by Freddy Krueger," Ryan tells TVGuide.com with a laugh, comparing his most recent on-screen death with his past roles. "It's very personal to actually strangle somebody and kill your best friend. There's something almost demonic and deranged about that, which shows Flint's absolute obsession with his goal of building a pirate nation."
Although Ryan says he always knew Gates wouldn't survive the first season, he didn't know exactly when or how his character would meet his demise. (Ryan says Stephens was so emotionally committed during the death scene that he almost choked the air out of Ryan and soaked him with his tears.) But that didn't stop him from enjoying the ride. "Gates was a different character to me somehow," he says. "Something about the character was like stepping into a well-worn pair of boots. It was easy to slip into his skin and he was comfortable to wear. I enjoyed playing the character, but the best tribute to celebrating the passing of any character is by celebrating a successful end to long journey. So I don't mourn him."
Nor does he regret the choices Gates made that led to his death. Ryan says Gates was forced to take a stand against Flint, after the "loss" of Billy Bones (Tom Hopper), who fell from the boat under mysterious circumstances that involved Flint. "Leading people into the jaws of death is not a thing to be dealt with lightly," he says. "[Gates] is feeling the weight of the men's lives that have been spent chasing what seems to be now some mad dream. Also, Billy's fate is unknown and unclear, but obviously for Gates, it's just too much that Billy disappears off into the ocean. [He can't get past] the fact that his best friend Flint is, in his head, responsible for the death of Billy Bones, who he regarded as a son."
Ryan also notes that, because Gates had seen what Flint is capable of, he knew that death was always an option and, in some ways, was inviting it. "I think that's why he gave Dufresne the letter," he says. "Dufresne comes with the crew's will: Once they have the money, they are going to kill Flint. He's lost the crew. ... So, he wants out one way or the other. He knows he's a dead man. In his own mind, he tidies up his own business."
And even though Gates wasn't actually claimed by the sea, Ryan says his sudden and shocking death certainly proves one of Gates' final speeches true. "It was [like] the speech about the ocean," he says. "'There are no monuments. There's no history. There's just the water.' It's a fitting tribute to Mr. Gates. I would imagine that will be his legacy. The last speech is about the pirates' spiritual connection to the ocean. They all end up going into that abyss."
But some of them live to fight another day. Although Dufresne (Jannes Eiselen) and his alliance try to unseat Flint as captain after Gates is discovered dead, Flint gets a reprieve when the battle with the war ship begins. (Or at least until cannon fire knocks Flint overboard.) However, when Flint wakes up on a beach, he learns the reason the surviving members of The Walrus (including Dufresne and Silver) haven't killed him yet: The Urca is real, but it never made it to its port because it was wrecked in a storm, spilling its gold all over the beach.
Winter TV: Check out the must-see new shows
So, what's Flint's next move? Can the allure of treasure help him win over the crew once again, or is he living on borrowed time? Plus: What will become of Nassau now that Charles Vane (Zach McGowan) is back and seemingly partnering with Eleanor Guthrie (Hannah New)? TVGuide.com caught up with creators and executive producers Jonathan Steinberg and Robert Levine to break down the finale and find out what's ahead.
Why did Gates have to die? Was that something you had planned from the beginning?
Jonathan Steinberg: It's a huge moment and a moment that we've been building to all season very consciously. I think we wanted to understand the depth of Flint's commitment to this plan of his and the drive that just won't let him let it go... despite the fact that he's fully aware that it's destroying him. I think losing his best friend, maybe his only friend... felt like an emotional way to tell that story.
He does seem to have instant remorse about what he's done.
Steinberg: It was important that you understood in the moment after that he's fully fully aware of the toll it's taking on him and the awful things it's making him do. That's a place where we want the show to live. Sometimes there is no right answer and a lot of it is how you judge it after the fact.
Mark Ryan told us Gates clearly thinks Flint killed Billy. If Gates thinks Flint was capable of killing Billy, shouldn't he have tread more lightly?
Steinberg: There's two ways of looking at it. One is that he feels like this is his best friend [and] the idea that he would do what he does is almost unthinkable. The other is that Gates has reached a point in which his two mission statements are now completely in such conflict that he's looking for a way out of it. His responsibility to protect the crew and his personal loyalty and affinity for Flint are putting him in a place where he can't manage those two things anymore. So, it's a bit of a cry for help to confront Flint in that way. That's something we play with in Season 2: What was his intent in that moment? Did he think he was going to come out of that room after confronting Flint or was this his way of getting out of this? Hopefully that's something that will hold up to both interpretations.
Silver discovers what Flint has done. Why does he try to help him, especially since he's been given no assurance Flint will keep him around?
Steinberg: At this point he wants the money, and a live Flint gives him a much better chance at getting his share of the Spanish prize than a dead Flint. It just so happens that in this moment, Silver's self-interests and Flint's interests in maintaining control align with each other.
Robert Levine: I think there's some sympathy there, though. He has some awareness of Flint being something of a divided person. Silver tries to avoid the entanglements Flint has for that very reason, to avoid having to make tough choices about people. In that moment, there's definitely an understanding.
See photos of the Black Sails cast
From Flint's point of view, Silver may be the only ally he has left.
Steinberg: This show is about Flint and Silver. It's about the beginning and evolution and ultimate tragic end of their relationship. In some respects, this whole season has been a launch to put them into this place where they are, to each other, their only ally. Season 2 is about the building of that alliance and the deepening of it.
Switching gears to Nassau, what's the future for the relationship between Vane and Eleanor Guthrie?
Levine: [In his hallucinations], she is the voice of that thing that's inside him that drives his need to prove himself to the world, which is significant.
Steinberg: They're two people with an extremely intense connection that will only allow them to exist in two states, which are incredibly chummy or ready to kill each other. They have a hard time managing a comfortable center in that relationship. Hopefully you start to get the sense that they are heading back towards each other in a way. They're opponents politically, but because they're on equal footing power-wise, they're starting to feel that attraction to each other.
And what should we make of that conversation between Eleanor and Max (Jessica Parker Kennedy)? Was Max making a veiled threat?
Steinberg: Max is feeling like her stock is on the rise and her power base is starting to solidify. The breakup with Eleanor at the beginning of the season isn't something she's forgotten about, and it's become a defining moment for her. She starts to realize that this place is every man for himself. She has spent enough time watching Eleanor be successful playing that game, and now she's wanting to play it too. The intent of them standing on that bridge between those two buildings was to show that she is molding herself a bit in Eleanor's image, but in a darker tone.
Photo Gallery: Check out bad guys we root for
The final shot proved that, despite all the terrible things Flint has done, he was right about the Urca. What's his next step?
Steinberg: It's a bit of a test. It's almost an impossible puzzle to solve. He's been exposed to his crew, so they know what he's done. They have clearly put him on the out, and he's looking at this gold that he's sacrificed everything for and it looks pretty well guarded by a lot more guys than he has. So, the puzzle of Season 2 is how does a guy who has just about nothing react, given this drive that we've already established he can't put away? Season 2 is a chance for us to do some examining of what he is. He's starting to be consciously aware of the fact that he is behaving like a monster. It's something that he spends the entirety of Season 2 wrestling with. Am I?
Sometimes monsters make the best leaders.
Steinberg: Exactly. He's starting to feel a little bit like the villain of this story. He's aware of it and not liking it. He's a guy who's trying to do the right thing and somehow ends up in these situations where the only way to continue doing the right thing is to do the wrong thing. So, it's about how somebody in this world has to lead and the toll it takes, especially for somebody who doesn't want to make those kinds of moral compromises.
And finally, can you tell us whether Billy is still alive?
Steinberg: He's in the book, so... [Laughs] I think to ask if he is alive or dead may not be the right question to ask. There are fates worse than death. What was interesting to us isn't the surprise of whether he's alive or dead. Given what he has gone through and what we will reveal he's gone through, what is he now and what has it done to him? He is a factor in this story going forward, hopefully in a surprising way.
What did you think of the finale?
View original Black Sails Postmortem: Bosses and Star on Major Finale Death, What's Ahead in Season 2 at TVGuide.com
Other Links From TVGuide.com


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The English class that I teach on Tuesdays and Thursdays lets out just in time for me to turn on Maine Public Radio and catch Maine Calling with Keith Shortall. Yesterday's program put a spring in my step as Keith had author illustrators Scott Nash, Chris Van Dusen, and Kirkus reviewer Vicky Smith discussing writing and illustrating for children, and the publishing industry. Click here for the archived show.
I pulled over and called in immediately to remind the listeners that over 500 SCBWI members in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont, and over 1,800 members in New England take the art, craft and business of children's books seriously. Since then, I've had a few emails and wanted to post a few quick answers to FAQ's and links for anyone who might be curious about SCBWI, New England SCBWI, critiques, professional development, etc. Feel free to leave me comments below with other questions and I'll try to answer them in a timely way.
If you are just getting started, you can find the top 10 FAQ's about writing and publishing for children and Young Adults, how to format your manuscript, info about publishers, and an editor's point of view here.
If you are more experienced and are looking for further professional development you can try various adult or continuing ed programs including MECA. For more intense and academic study take a look at Vermont College of Fine Arts, Hamline, Lesley, or Simmons. RISD, and Hollins are a couple of the children's book illustration certificate programs. Google MFA Children's Illustration if that is what you want.
If you are a teacher or librarian and want to hire an author or illustrator to present their book and teach about the craft of writing or illustrating, I suggest the SCBWI speaker's bureau. You can search by state, or look for specific people. The New England region also has a database called Connections.
If you live in the New England area and want to find out more about the New England region of SCBWI, visit our website. We are an active region with many events. Coming up is our annual spring conference. One of the largest regional conferences, New England welcomes more than 500 participants and 100 faculty to Springfield, MA for three days of workshops and speakers May 305, 2013. The focus this year is craft and we are featuring PRO tracks for those who are published. Registration will begin in February. Watch the website for more info.
The SCBWI community is especially welcoming and supportive and that is only the beginning. Discounts to professional development conferences and workshops, publications, critique groups, and a whole series of grants and awards are benefits of membership. Check it out. There's a link at the bottom of the page to actually register as a member.
SCBWI critique groups are only available to members. To see if there is already a group in your New England area you can click on your state here. There is a two part post with Stacy Mozer (our Crit group organizer) here, and here.
There are some writers and illustrators who are not interested in waiting for or supporting traditional publishing and so they choose the self-publishing route. There are plenty of print-on-demand, and epub companies. I'm not qualified to recommend one company over another. Do be aware that some companies are Vanity Presses (often they contact you) who make promises of publication with hidden costs. Educate yourself about publishers and agents by doing a quick check on Predators and Editors.
If you are taking your first steps on your journey to become a writer or illustrator, I have two messages. One: Welcome. If you are here you probably can't stop yourself. You write and draw because you are compelled. The journey is long and comes with many pitfalls and no promises. You are in good company. Two: If this is not your heart's desire, turn back now. The journey is long and comes with many pitfalls and no promises.


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First protected DREAMer is deported under Trump
Federal agents ignored President Trump's pledge to protect from deportation undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children by sending a young man back to his native Mexico, the first such documented case, a USA TODAY examination of the new administration's immigration policies shows.
After spending an evening with his girlfriend in Calexico, Calif., on Feb. 17, Juan Manuel Montes, 23, who has lived in the U.S. since age 9, grabbed a bite and was waiting for a ride when a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer approached and started asking questions.
Montes was twice granted deportation protections under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program created by President Barack Obama and left intact by President Trump.
Montes had left his wallet in a friend's car, so he couldn't produce his ID or proof of his DACA status and was told by agents he couldn't retrieve them. Within three hours, he was back in Mexico, becoming the first undocumented immigrant with active DACA status deported by the Trump administration's stepped-up deportation policy.
"Some people told me that they were going to deport me; others said nothing would happen," Montes told USA TODAY in his aunt and uncle's home in western Mexico where he's been staying. "I thought that if I kept my nose clean nothing would happen." He asked that the exact location of their home be withheld.
Since taking office, Trump has followed through on his campaign pledge to crack down on illegal immigration by signing executive orders to step up enforcement against the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. The new policy calls for expanding the criteria for detaining and deporting undocumented immigrants and hiring thousands of new agents.
Yet Trump declined to revoke the DACA protections Obama had granted to more than 750,000 undocumented immigrants, repeatedly saying he had a soft spot for these young people who are leading productive lives and have few, if any, ties to the countries of their birth.
"They shouldn't be very worried," he told ABC News in January. "I do have a big heart."
Even so, DACA enrollees are being targeted by immigration authorities.At least 10 are in federal custody, according to United We Dream, an advocacy organization made up of DACA enrollees and other young immigrants.
The group's advocacy director, Greisa Martinez, who has DACA protection, said Montes' case is proof that people like herself are at risk despite what Trump said.
"We've seen Trump and (Department of Homeland Security Secretary) John Kelly say, 'The DACA program is alive and well.' We've seen (House Speaker) Paul Ryan look straight into the eyes of one of our members and say, 'You have nothing to worry about,'" she said. "And then this happens."
Customs and Border Protection said Tuesday it could not discuss Montes' case because of the department's privacy policy.
After USA TODAY published the story, the Department of Homeland Security — which had refused a request for comment for 24 hours — said it could not confirm details of Montes' deportation. Spokeswoman Jenny Burke said the department had no record of him renewing his DACA status after it expired in 2015, even though Montes' attorneys provided a copy of his work authorization card that showed his DACA status was valid through 2018.
A group of attorneys filed a lawsuit in federal court in California on Tuesday requesting that a judge force Customs and Border Protection to release details of the agent's encounter with Montes.
Marielena Hincapié, executive director of the National Immigration Law Center, part of Montes' legal team, said it has requested information for months but has gotten no response.
"Even in this administration, because of Trump's comments about loving these people, the integrity of the government's promises are at stake," Hincapié said. "How does an immigrant family today know that this is not going to happen to them?"
Read more:
These undocumented immigrants thought they could stay. Trump says deport them.
Homeland Security unveils sweeping plan to deport undocumented immigrants
Trump's quick deportation plan may be illegal, past immigration chiefs say
The shy Montes was never a poster child for the DACA program. He wasn't his high school's valedictorian or a prominent advocate for fellow DREAMers.
He suffered a traumatic brain injury as a child that left him with learning disabilities that meant a constant struggle to keep up in school and everyday conversations, according to Hincapié. Despite those challenges, he made it through special education courses and graduated high school in 2013. He started taking welding classes at a Southern California community college and paid for it by picking crops in California and Arizona.
He lived with his mother and a younger brother, who was born in the U.S. and, thus, is a citizen. His mother did not want to be named or reveal her immigration status.
Court records show he has four convictions: one for shoplifting in January 2016, and three for driving without a license, most recently three months ago.
Those convictions are not serious enough to disqualify him from DACA protections, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the federal agency that approves DACA applications.
Montes received renewed DACA protections in January 2016, which keeps him enrolled through 2018. That is why Montes was confused when he was approached by the federal officer in February.
"They detained me, they took me to a center, they asked me a lot of questions, and I signed a lot of papers," he said.
Montes said he couldn't understand anything he was signing and was not given any copies. Officers walked him to the U.S.-Mexico border and released him into Mexicali.
There, he found a friend who put him up for the night. He called another friend, who drove across the border to return his wallet and bring fresh clothes. Then things got worse.
Montes said he was jumped from behind, mugged and beaten. At that point, he decided he needed to get back home. He saw some people using a rope to climb over a section of the border wall and joined them. He was quickly captured by federal agents, questioned again and deported again.
Burke, the DHS spokeswoman, said the department had no record of Montes being arrested and deported from California as he described. Instead, it only had a record of him being caught after climbing the wall on Feb. 19.
Last week, the department suspended publishing weekly reports on cities it accused of failing to cooperate with federal deportation efforts because it acknowledged the reports had been riddled with errors.
Today, Montes has reconnected with his estranged father and works in a gas station and a tortilla mill. But he's counting the days until he can return to the U.S. and continue building his life.
"There I worked and studied at the same time. I only had six more months to finish (my studies)," he said. "I liked it there more than here."


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The Hungry Planet
I attended the Hungry Planet: What the World Eats grand opening at the Burke Museum. I was totally awestruck by the large photographic exhibit and printed information from Peter Menzel and Faith D'Aluisio who show us how the rest of the world eats and feeds their families with one week of purchased food supplies. "A picture said a thousand words" and I hope that you will have a chance to view the exhibition which will be at the museum through June 10.
On Saturdays, PCC Cooks also participates in the exhibition by providing a cooking demonstration of one of eight different cuisines from around the world. I had the honor of representing PCC Cooks one Saturday by preparing Kao Tom Gai, Rice Soup with Chicken. I demonstrated how to prepare this Thai dish and provided samples. When I was growing up in Thailand this particular dish meant so much to me and the rest of the country. It was a time when families had to nourish their families with simple, healthy foods.
I was lucky to grow up in the land of plenty in Phuket, Thailand. My village has a mountain on one side and a rice field on the other. The Srisunthorn Road was on the edge of the mountain and our home was just off this main road. We spent our weekends gathering foods from the forest such as bamboo shoots, mushrooms and other edible plants. Our family also owned a plantation which provided an abundance of fruits such as rambotant, durian, jackfruit and coconut. At the end of each month, or after each sale of a crop from the plantation, my grandmother made sure to purchase a month's supply of rice and to stock up on all stable dry ingredients. Mobile markets would came every morning with meats, seafood and fresh vegetables and herbs. The open air market was full of venders of all sorts and once a week villagers could fill up their kitchen cabinets with food. In our family, when my grandmother was the treasurer of the household, she decided what was on the table on a daily basis, through times of abundance and scarcity.
My grandma shared many bedtime stories with us about the lives of others or her experiences during economic down times. She taught us that every grain of rice should be eaten. Phuket is rich in tin, rubber and other natural resources, but when it came to rice production, we depended on supplies from the central part of Thailand–a supply that was affected by the economy, politics, and climate. When the price of rice increased, our regular steamed rice would change to rice porridge to make our supply last as long as possible.
One cup of rice grains yields about 3 cups of steamed rice or 4 cups of thick rice porridge which can be thinned down to make 6 cups of rice soup. Instead of making 3 servings, 1 cup of rice can be stretched to provide 6 servings.
The Hungry Planet exhibit is eye opening. It shows how the rest of the world eats, what is available to them, what they can afford, what they choose, and the limitations. I love the picture from Mali, Africa, which shows the ritual of a family sharing a rice porridge that is cooked with sour milk.
For me, rice porridge is a soul food, comfort food and a health food. It has a healing and nourishing element and it is suitable for everyone and every occasion.
Now that you have heard my stories, what is yours?
Rice Porridge Three Ways
I know three ways to enjoy rice porridge. The first one is as a rice soup base which can then be made into Kao Tom Gai
(Click photo above for Pranee's Kao Tom Gai recipe)
A second way to enjoy rice porridge is to make a rice soup buffet for a big crowd or special event. To do this, take a rice porridge and add a little bit of ground meat. Cook it without adding flavoring, but serve it with condiments as shown in the photo below. The condiments typically consist of ginger, white pepper powder, sugar, soy sauce, chili powder, fried garlic, vinegar with jalapeno peppers and green onions.
A third way to eat rice porridge is to serve it the same way as steamed jasmine rice but ideally with Chinese-Thai style main dishes such as stir-fried vegetables with salted soy bean or oyster sauce, salted egg, salted peanut, pickled mustard green, or braised pork in five spices.
Kao Tom (Rice Porridge)
PREP TIME: 20 minutes
Yield: 4 cups1 cup jasmine rice 6 cups water
Bring jasmine rice and 2 cups of the water to a boil on high heat. Stir often while cooking for 5 minutes.
Add the remaining 4 cups of water and bring to a boil. Let cook on medium heat for 15 minutes more, until it yields 4 cups.
Related articles
- Congee (speckless.wordpress.com)
- How to Cook Rice in Three Easy Steps (answers.com)
- Chicken Arroz Caldo or Chicken Rice Porridge (luckymom2009.wordpress.com)
- Burke Museum spotlights Coast Salish artists and the world's food (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
- imabonehead: How to Cook Congee with Salted Pork & Century Egg, a Classic Hong Kong Rice Porridge | Hong Kong Food Blog with Recipes, Cooking Tips mostly on Chinese and Asian styles | Taste Hong Kong (tastehongkong.com)


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Microsoft Excel might show ##### in cells when a column isn't wide enough to show all of the cell contents. Formulas that return dates and times as negative values can also show as #####.
To make a column wider to show cell contents in full, double-click the right edge of the column header, or drag it to the width you want.
You can also try the following:
To make the cell contents smaller, click Home > next to Alignment, and then check the Shrink to fit box in the Format Cells dialog box.
If numbers have too many decimal places, click Home > Decrease Decimal.
If dates are too long, click Home > arrow next to Number Format, and pick Short Date.
Correct negative dates or times
When Excel shows ##### because the cell has a negative date or time value, make sure that you:
Verify dates and times are positive values when you're using the 1900 date system.
Use a formula to subtract dates or Add or subtract time correctly to avoid negative date or time value results.
Change negative formula results that are formatted as dates or times to a different number format.


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When I was a kid, I idolised James Cagney. To me he was not only an actor, but was an actor of short stature who came over on the screen as someone who was huge. He was a giant. I'm not talking about the old cinema screens of my youth that made anyone who appeared on them about 50 feet tall. He looked like a giant on the small television screen. He had power in his performances, an aura that made his characters bigger than life.
I did not even see Cagney on the big screen. I first saw him in a Bob Hope film called The Seven Little Foys (1955 from Paramount studios, three years before I was born), on television. Cagney played George M. Cohan, he was reprising his role in the 1942 film Yankee Doodle Dandy; a biopic of the grand old man [Cohan] of American entertainment.
There is a scene where Bob Hope, as the equally legendary entertainment figure Eddie Foy, has a table top "dance off" with Cagney as Cohan. It is, as they say, a show stopper. Hope has always been a more than capable hoofer (dancer) and Cagney actually seemed to "tone himself down" in the scene. After I watched this film, I became almost fixated on this short dancer from New York who, I knew from my parents, had started playing gangsters for Warner Brothers.
In my youth it was not easy to see really old films (in my day that counted as films made before the 60's). The VCR had not been invented yet and apart from "all nighters" that showed a wealth of work from any given actor, you just had to hope you could catch future screenings on TV by reading the TV Guide in advance.
The next film of Cagney's I watched was White Heat. There cannot be a film fan in the world who doesn't immediately think of Cody Jarrett screaming, "Top of the World, Ma!" Surrounded by fire, his world is about to end in a blaze of irony. The two characters that I'd seen Cagney play were polar opposites and he sold each one, completely.
I have read about James Cagney over the years in various books, Hollywood anthologies, and other biographies of entertainers, but McCabe does a brilliant job of bringing this legend to life. Perhaps the fact that John McCabe was a personal friend of Cagney's and as a result was able to see more of the entertainer's humanity and lack of guile.
I always refer to James Cagney as an entertainer versus an actor because he started out in vaudeville as a song and dance man (where he met his only wife, Willie, who stayed with him till he died) and he never lost his ability to dance the feet off of most of his peers. *He used to say he could never come close to Fred Astaire.*
Cagney was born in an area of New York that was heavily Jewish (he learned Yiddish as a boy) and poor. Most of his boyhood pals wound up in prison or at the gallows. His tough Irish mother taught him and his brothers how to box. The amount of things that McCabe relays, with the help of Cagney, is astonishing.
He paints as thorough a picture of the entertainer as possible. He does so without being overly sensitive with the more "unhappy" moments in Cagney's life. If you are a Cagney fan, this book will be a revelation. Printed in 1997, there are very few things not covered in Cagney's career and personal life.
When I read actor's biographies I always finish feeling slightly down. Most "celebrities" pay highly for their success in the entertainment business. Some, like David Niven, seem to have almost been punished by their success. (Don't go by the two self-penned books by Niven, but read the other two books about his live by Sheridan Morley or Graham Lord) When I finished McCabe's recounting of Cagney's life and career I felt happy and uplifted.
Cagney, despite the ravages of old age and all the pain that it brings, was a deeply contented man, who wrote poetry, painted, raised horses and cattle and loved the same woman till he died. This same contented man entertained literally millions of people over the years by his portrayal of a broad spectrum of characters.
This book is one that I would call the definitive work on Cagney; his work and his life. One that shows how he became a Hollywood legend and adored by his fans the world over; this is a real 5 star book that you should not miss if you're a fan of Cagney or film.
Related articles
- Saturday Night Cinema: Something to Sing About (1937) (atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com)
- Thugs, mugs and dames…a pictorial (onceuponascreen.wordpress.com)
- Movie Review – Smart Money (cagneyandkelly.wordpress.com)
- Charles Durning (telegraph.co.uk)
- Glasgow Film Festival announces 3 New Strands For The 2013 Line-up (thepeoplesmovies.com)


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There are some IRC channels where Hurd topics are discussed.
Everybody is welcome to join and participate in the discussions, but please respect the below guidelines if you want to participate.
Please try to stay on topic. We're not interested in Emacs vs. vi discussions, we don't want to hear why you think that the GNU project sucks, or what your favorite GNU/Linux distribution is.
Before asking a question, first make an effort to find the answer to your question. A lot of questions have been asked and answered before, so please spend some time trying to solve the problem on your own (e.g., search the web, search these web pages, etc.), and show us that you did so when you ask your question.
When asking, (1) be details, and (2) demonstrate that you have made an effort, e.g., "I am having trouble frobbing the foo. I searched the web and only found information regarding how to frob a bar, but that seems unrelated." Provide as many relevant details as possible reproducing them as exactly as possible.
This document may help you understand some developers attitudes and social norms.
Sometimes providing a log or some other excerpt of text can help solve a problem or answer a question. Do not paste the log in the channel itself if it's more than a few lines. Instead use a paste bin.
Regular Meetings
Starting in early 2008, there have been regular IRC meetings held between the
(now former) Google Summer of Code students and their
mentors. These meetings turned out to considerably help student-mentor
interactions, and other developers regularely took part, too.
For this reason, we decided to continue having these meetings, even if it's not
currently Google Summer of Code time.
Currently, the meetings take place in the
#hurd channel every
Thursday at 19:00 UTC and are open to any interested party. So,
everyone, take your chance to chat with GNU Hurd developers!
irc.libera.chat, http://libera.chat/
#hurd, the official GNU Hurd IRC channel. Some of the Hurd developers and users hang out there. Old logs. New logs.
#hurdfr, the French chapter.
irc.oftc.net, http://www.oftc.net/
#debian-hurd, Debian GNU/Hurd.


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Summer is on the way and with it, the need for cool and refreshing drinks. Often, the mind moves automatically to summer fruit cups (rather fitting, given our site's name) and the most commonly available of these is Pimm's, but increasingly more varieties are being released by other companies.
Today, we are looking at SloeMotion No7 (so named as it is their seventh product), which is a blend of gin, hedgerow, orchard, and field fruits, as well as hedgerow blossom and herbs. The suggested ratio for the serve is 1 pt SloeMotion Cup to 4 parts lemonade. It is bottled at a respectable 25% ABV.
The Taste
With Lemonade (I used the Sainsbury's own brand, as recommended by SloeMotion)
Bold, rich, and fruity flavours with plenty of luscious berry notes, as well as a touch of spice and crisp, leafy notes, which are emphasised by the cucumber garnish. Even with lemonade it's not too sweet, which adds to the drink's refreshment.
With Bitter Lemon
This produces a much tarter version of the drink, but, given how well bitter lemon mixes with sloe gin, it is not a surprise that it works well with the SloeMotion No7. There is an additional, delightfully earthy quinine bitterness on the finish.
With Ginger Ale
This is the sweetest of the drinks that I tried, but it is still rather good; I like the gentle warmth that the mixer provides and it works well with the herbal and fruit notes of the drink. It's also slightly less fizzy than the lemonade version, which will appeal to some people. Another tasty version.
With Soda Water
For those who prefer less sugar in their drink, this is an excellent choice. The greater subtleties of the fruit cup come through well, including some oaky, tea leaf tannin notes, plus citrus and some more fresh, leafy notes. Exceptional refreshment.
In Conclusion
I think that SloeMotion No7 brings something a little different to the category of fruit cups, providing a greater complexity than many of the mainstream brands and embracing fruit flavours, especially when compared to the more herbal characteristics of other excellent cups such as Plymouth or Sipsmith.
I enjoyed it most with lemonade and plain sparkling water.


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Pros: Outstanding full-range sound at a low price.
Cons: Most territories appear to have only the black EX70LP version, the white EX70SL are apparently only available in the Far East. Silly miniscule case holds only earphones, not the cable.
Ingenious iPod – shame about the earbuds.
The iPod's fatally flawed by those ineffectual white push and twist earphones which just won't stick in your ears. One size never fits all.
Over the years I've tried every kind of earphone to find a pair giving full-range bass and top notes with cassettes, portable DAT, portable CD players and hideous cardboard sounding MP3 players. Sony used to make a headband in-ear model, with huge 12mm drivers which could just be slotted into your ears if you twisted the sides of the head-band diagonally then forward, which always gives better bass anyway. Then Aiwa (now a division of Sony) introduced better lightweight phones, taking the bass response from 12 down to 10 hertz. In 1999 Sony produced the MDR-EX70LP in-ear 'buds' lowering deep bass response down to 6 hertz… yes, 6 hertz. The EX70 retrieves all the bass you thought was lost forever when converting CDs to MP3s. Just like the neoprene elasticity of KEF loudspeakers bouncing bass back into life, so does the integral silicone-rubber earplugs on the Sony earbuds seal out external sounds and produce real bass resonance in your ear canal. This isn't artificially boosted bass, but the true sound of the recorded data.
At (UK prices) 30 pounds sterling per pair, I've bought a set for everyone I know who has an iPod. The US price (quoted on the Sony website at $49.99) is a steal, too, and in the rest of Euro-land the average cost is about €49.99. Their high-performance neodymium magnets need more power than normal earphones (like the miniscule Bose 'invisible' Acoustimass two-&-a-half-inch room-filling loudspeakers need more than normal power for their comparably tiny drivers). So instead of, say, the halfway position on your iPod's volume bar, you'll probably need two-thirds to three-quarters volume, depending on how loud you like your music. This has minimal effect on the iPod's battery life, as most juice is spent on spinning the hard drive.
The Sony EX70s pick out every hint and shade of musical nuance usually lost when full-range audio is shoe-horned into compressed MP3; thus, paring down the sounds into 2D shadows of their original 3D presence. These phones do provide an extra 'top' (not hiss, but sharp 23,000hz 'brilliance') which takes a while to become comfortable with. But, this is definitely acceptable considering the hugely enhanced overall tonic it brings to every genre of music.
It's like taking wax out of your ears, peeling gloves off your hands, or slipping in prescription contact lenses – suddenly the world is sharper, clearer, more realistic, a pleasure to live in again. And on the back of the earphone packet it says "80% more powerful compared to conventional Sony earphones." I believe it.
I can't praise these earphones enough. They reduce almost all external noise; they 'plug you in' to the fullest natural bass and the widest range of musical fidelity. No over-the-ear or in-ear phones I've ever tried (not Sennheiser, B&O, nothing) comes close to these for full-range razor-sharp sound, with head-drilling bass And they're inconspicuous, almost invisible, featherweight, inexpensive, and don't leak sound out to non-willing listeners, can be comfortably worn for hours at a time, and are perfectly matched to the iPod. It's just a pity Steve Jobs or Jonathan Ive didn't seem to know this.
Only one point against them: presently only available in black/silver, so you need a small can of rubberised white paint if you want to make them visually complement your iPod. Although, Asia and Australia have them available in white/silver to match your iPod perfectly. I give the MDR-E70 an 11 out of 10 for phenomenal sound. There are three sizes available, S, M & L in each earphone pack, though the Sony website mistakenly states only two sizes.
Our Rating
Company and Price
Company: Sony Corporation
Website: www.sony.com
Model: Sony Fontopia MDR-EX70LP
Price: $49.99
Compatible: iPod 1G, 2G, 3G, 4G, iPod mini, iPod photo, iPod shuffle


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Works of the Order in Action: OCF Conferences
By Jennifer Nahas, OCF Executive Director
The 9th Annual Orthodox Christian Fellowship (OCF) College Conferences concluded as they always do – with college students longing for more spiritual nourishment and opportunities to be part of an Orthodox community. Thanks to the generous scholarships provided by The Order of St. Ignatius of Antioch, over one hundred Antiochian Orthodox college students attended College Conference, along with their peers from other jurisdictions. One student explained, "I go to school in Arkansas and cannot tell you how grateful I am, both for College Conference, and for the scholarship The Order provided. There are not many Orthodox students at my school, and being here helps me to remember who I am and why my faith is so important to me."
OCF is host to three separate conferences. One is held in the south at the Diakonia Center, one in the west at St. Nicholas Ranch, and the largest and most established is held in the east at the Antiochian Village. The conferences are always tied together by a common theme. This year's could not have been more provocative and timely – "Raise Me Above the World's Confusion." As OCF's new Executive Director, I made my way to Antiochian Village, eager to see this hallmark program in action.
The first thing I noticed upon driving up to the Heritage and Learning Center was the array of license plates as students scuttled out of their vehicles. I was then hit with sweatshirts and caps that ran the university gamut – Michigan State, Cornell, University of Maryland, Ohio University, Georgetown, Penn State, and Northeastern, just to name a few. This is a pilgrimage, as college students leave their homes right after Christmas and drive long hours to this oasis in western Pennsylvania. Screeches and tears of joy from worn out students reuniting with friends, quickly give way to calmness, as tight shoulders relax and the students' true selves emerge. The Center was at capacity, full of college students from all over the United States and Canada!
The Village is not just a home for Antiochians, but to all Orthodox. Former Antiochian Village campers and counselors extended loving arms to greet and meet their brother and sisters from Greece, the Ukraine, Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, India, and Ethiopia, as well as converts, eager for fellowship and knowledge. Through the hospitality and love from our Anthiochian college students, everyone felt at home. Late night hallway conversations, chanting during vespers, dancing at the coffeehouse, and donating blood to the American Red Cross, resulted in a seamless exchange of traditions and practices. Students shared personal stories about the internal conflict of being Orthodox on a college campus. Conversations took place about what it was like to pledge a fraternity during Lent, fasting beyond Fridays, confronting a professor on relativism, hanging out with Atheists without being judgmental, saying no to peer propositions, and merely trying to get approval from college administrators who are not supportive of an OCF chapter. It quickly became clear that it is very hard to be both Orthodox and a college student.
Through these exchanges emerged a community that was further strengthened by the wisdom of our Keynote Speakers and the intimate discussions during workshop sessions. College Conference pulls together the "rock stars" of the Orthodox faith. Bishops, priests, monks, nuns, and parishioners deftly inspire and educate college students. (Our very own Fr. Michael Nasser, Fr. Anthony Bahou, and Sister Ignatia included!) These workshops build on our high school programs. Thanks to the funding from the Order of our many camps, youth groups, and service activities for High School students, OCF reaps the fruits of your investment. These young adults come to College Conference to delve deeper into the faith by challenging, questioning, reflecting, and reconnecting to Christ and His Church. The topics were well suited for our college students and included, The Challenges of Managing Social Media; Managing Anxiety; What it Means to Fear God; The History of Icons; and Active Communal Prayer. Students left with a new perspective and depth of knowledge on how to raise themselves above the world's confusion and live as Orthodox Christians during their challenging years away at college.
The palpable sense of unity, respect, and love that emerged gave way to an undercurrent of sadness as students said their goodbyes. They were returning to the loneliness and isolation that comes from being an Orthodox Christian in college. They were going back to places where making the sign of the cross before a meal is met with stares and judgment. If they are lucky, there may be an OCF chapter and/or parish close by. However, for most, staying connected to Christ and His Church while away at school becomes a true struggle. This is OCF's number one priority – to reach out to college students and provide them with the support to be an active member of their Orthodox Faith. For more information on The Order go to: www.orderofstignatius.org.
Jennifer Nahas
Executive Director, Orthodox Christian Fellowship


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Ever wonder what the mainstream scholars (read: liberal scholars) make of prophecies about Jesus in the Old Testament? The following is a summary of John Collins' answer to the Question of the Identity of the Suffering Servant. NOTICE: Collins does not think Isaiah wrote everything that went into the book we now know as "Isaiah." This is reflected by the language of "Second Isaiah" or "Third Isaiah." These are different hypothetical authors for distinct passages in Isaiah.
NOTICE: The answers below do not necessarily represent my own views, but are an exact representation of Collins' views as expressed in his book.
John J. Collins, Introduction to the Hebrew Bible. Minneapolis MN: Augsburg Fortress, 2004.
Who is "The Servant" in Second Isaiah?
The figure of "the servant of the Lord" is one of the "best known features of the prophecy of Second Isaiah" and "an integral part of the prophecy of Second Isaiah" (385-86). "The servant in question has been variously identified as a collective figure" in which case Israel is thought to be in view, "or as in individual" in which case the most widely supported are 1) Moses, 2) Cyrus, and 3) the prophet himself (386). "The evidence of the book as a whole, [however], indicates that the servant is usually Israel" (386) since Jacob is explicitly called "my servant" in several of the Second Isianic oracles (41:8; 44:1-2; 44:21; 45:4) and Israel is called "my servant" also (41:8). "The explanation [for the depictions of the servant as an individual] that requires least hypothetical speculation is that the servant is Israel, described metaphorically as in individual"—the ideal Israel that "acts as a leader toward the rest of the people [of Israel]" and as a "light to the nations" (337-38).
How is the Suffering Servant Described?
Using the categories of Bernard Duhm who divided the servant strands into four "Servant Songs," (385) the fourth Servant Song (52:13—53:12), which speaks of The Suffering Servant, is the longest and most famous of the Isianic Servant passages (387). In the beginning of the unit, the servant is introduced as one who was "deformed beyond recognition" but is later "restored and exalted to the astonishment of kings" (387).
Who is Doing the Describing?
In the latter part of the unit, the speaking is done by a collective group ("He was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities." [53:5]). "If the servant is thought to be an individual, this group could be the Jewish community. If the servant is Israel, the speakers are the kings, whose astonishment is noted at the end of chapter 52" (387).
Could The Suffering Servant be an individual historical figure?
Since later we are told the servant actually dies before being restored—he is "cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people" (53:8)—"he can hardly be the prophet himself" (387). In fact, any attempt to interpret the servant as in individual historical figure known to the author(s) forces the interpreter to reconstruct an entirely hypothetical figure "for whom we have no other information" who, in some sense (how?) died "for the sins of my people" (388).
In What Sense Does The Servant Suffer?
Regardless of whether one identifies The Suffering Servant as an individual of collective group, one thing remains clear: His life is made an offering for sin. This is vicarious suffering: "the idea that the sufferings of one person or people can atone for the sin of another" (388). There are other places in the Bible where such an idea is found. The scapegoat in Leviticus 16 is said to bear the people's sins and carry them into the wilderness. "A closer analogy" is Ezekiel who bears the punishment of "the house of Israel" when he is told to lie on his left side for 390 days, a number "equal to the number of the years of their punishment" (Ezek 4:4-5). He is forced to eat food cooked over human dung for the allotted time (Ezek 4:12). In this case, the efficacy of the vicarious punishment was contingent upon the response of the people for whom it was performed. Something similar takes place in the case of The Isianic Suffering Servant: the onlooker's astonishment at the restoration of The Servant ultimately leads to their conversion.
In what sense, then, would "Israel" fit the descriptions of sacrificial suffering, death, and subsequent restoration?
"In the exile, Israel was deformed beyond recognition, and might even be said to have died (cf. Ezekiel's vision of a valley full of dry bones). In this case the people whose iniquities he bore are the other nations. On this explanation Second Isaiah breaks radically with earlier tradition by explaining the exile not as punishment for the sin of Israel, but as vicarious punishment for the sins of other peoples" (388). While the passage that says "he shall see his offspring and prolong his days" is problematic for an individual interpretation since "there is no hint of individual resurrection anywhere else in Second Isaiah," if one interprets the Servant as Israel "this is less of a problem" (388). "The purpose of the exile, then, was to get the attention of the nations"—especially the kings—"so that they would become aware of YHWH and be astonished by the sudden revelation of his power. Israel was like a sacrificial victim … By obediently going along with the divine plan, Israel makes righteous the many people who observe what happened. No one is automatically saved … but it creates an opportunity for people to recognize their true situation and convert accordingly" (388). The reason why there is no admission of any sin on the part of the servant is because he is "idealized, and may not be identical with the entire people" (388).
What about Jesus as The Suffering Servant?
"The idea that suffering in this life can lead to exaltation hereafter gains currency in [Daniel,] the Dead Sea Scrolls and other literature around the turn of the era. This idea would be crucial to the understanding of the death of Jesus in early Christianity. Isaiah 53 is read in the traditional liturgy of Good Friday" (389).


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Guess what? I got asked to teach more classes, all because I was willing to fail students and follow the guidelines.
No, I am not a strict teacher. No, no, no. I used to be a student. This is for the interpreting program and in order for the program to be respectable, you just can't pass on students who do not deserve to move on. It's that simple.
Would you pass on a medical student who couldn't figure out where the thyroid is and suddenly he is ready to be a doctor? NO!
tt9114286 - Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (2022)
6 months ago


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Monogram Motif Oversized Round Frame Lola SunglassesPrice TRY3,990.00
Find this item in your closest Burberry store.
Product details
- An oversized round frame milled from light blue acetate, detailed with the Thomas Burberry Monogram. The bold silhouette features textural temples referencing our Burberry Check – inspired by the signature Lola bag.
- The acetate used for the front of the frames is made with at least 25% recycled content and the bio-based nylon used for the arms contains at least 45% of bio-based content coming from castor oil, a renewable resource.
- Frame width: 14.8cm/5.8in
- Frame height: 6.1cm/2.4in


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Recipe – Chicken Paillard with Creamy Parmesan Dressing
Chicken Paillard with Creamy Parmesan Dressing
Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence
Oh how I love Tyler Florence and all that he does! I've made this recipe of his a couple of times now and each time my husband cleans his plate! That's always a good sign:) It's a pretty easy meal and one that doesn't taste too heavy which is nice. Perfect for a weekday night or for easy entertaining. I think once you make this you'll definitely go back to it as a trusty go-to recipe.
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 2 eggs, lightly whisked
- 1 cup panko bread crumbs
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup vegetable or peanut oil
- 4 anchovy fillets
- 2 egg yolks
- 1 clove garlic, pealed and smashed
- 2 lemons, juiced
- 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan
- Freshly ground black pepper
- 1 cup organic grape tomatoes, halved
- 1 bag fresh baby arugala
- 1/2 pound fresh mozzarella cheese, boccancini, halved
- Shaved Parmesan, for garnish
- Lemon wedges, for garnish
- Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling
For the chicken:
Begin by pounding out the chicken breast gently between 2 pieces of plastic wrap.
Prepare a breading station with flour, whisked eggs and milk, and panko crumbs. Season all generously with salt and pepper. Coat the breasts in flour, egg then panko. Lay the coated breasts out on a flat tray and refrigerate to let the crust dry out (about 10 minutes) this will ensure there is less moisture and less chance your coating will break when frying.
Shallow fry the paillard in hot oil for approximately 2 to 3 minutes per side depending on how thick the breasts are. Drain well, season with salt and set aside when done.
For the dressing:
Put the anchovies, egg yolks, garlic, and lemon juice into a blender and process for 30 seconds until the mixture is smooth. With the blender running, pour the olive oil in slowly for the dressing to emulsify. Add water if the sauce is too thick. Stir in the Parmesan, season with grinds of black pepper; set aside. (Refrigerate the dressing if you will not be using it right away.)
Prepare the salad by splitting the grape tomatoes in half through the middle lengthwise, mixing all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add the dressing and toss the salad well.
To serve lay the warm, crispy chicken paillard on the base of the plate and top with the salad. Garnish with shaved parmesan cheese, a wedge of lemon and a drizzle of olive oil.


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Following a three-fight stint in the world's biggest mixed martial arts promotion, nine-year veteran John Gunderson has his eyes on a return to the UFC.
And if he makes it back, it may very well be in a new division.
While he's competing in a lightweight bout at this weekend's Tachi Palace Fights 8 event in Lemoore, Calif., Gunderson today told MMAjunkie.com Radio (www.mmajunkie.com/radio) that he hopes to make it back to the octagon, and he might do so at 145 pounds.
"I don't want to be one of those guys that jumps on the bandwagon," Gunderson said. "I see all these guys saying, 'I can make 145. I'm going to 145.' Bull[expletive]. You can't even make 155, and you're whining about making 155. 'Put me back in the sauna.' Come on, you're not making 145. I can make 145.
"I walk around at 160 right now, so I'm real light. I have some training partners that get up to like 190 or 195 between fights. I don't get higher than 165. I can make 145 if I wanted to. If it's right, and if [the UFC] would have me back at 145, I'd definitely go back."
Gunderson was released by the UFC following a September 2010 loss to Yves Edwards. The defeat ended a three-fight run for Gunderson in the organization in which he went 1-2.
He's since racked up a submission win over Alejandro Solano Rodriguez at "Xtreme Vale Todo 5: Franca vs. Kheder" and looks to continue the streak against Dominique Robinson at Tachi Palace Fights 8.
Gunderson said he feels comfortable competing at 155 pounds on the regional scene, but he learned a valuable lesson during his time in the UFC about the size of athletes competing in the sport's top promotion.
"That's one thing I noticed about the UFC; when it comes to weigh-in day, I'm pretty good size because I don't really lose a bunch of weight," Gunderson said. "But when it comes fight day and I'm standing across from the other guy, I've been like, 'Holy [expletive]. There's a big size difference here.'
"All three of my UFC fights, I was like, 'Damn, these are big guys.'"
For more on Tachi Palace Fights 8, stay tuned to the MMA Rumors section of MMAjunkie.com.
MMAjunkie.com Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino's Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by Gorgeous George, MMAjunkie.com lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Goze. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.


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You are currently browsing the monthly archive for January 2013.
The Poetry Archive of NZ Aotearoa (PANZA) now has over 5,000 titles.
Thanks to all those who have donated to the Archive over the past year. The Poetry Archive of New Zealand catalogue has now been significantly updated to reflect new acquisitions in December and January.
The Archive began in February 2010 with around 3,000 titles and has grown substantially in the past year. PANZA would particularly like to thank Auckland poet, editor and novelist Alistair Paterson, Wellington poet/publisher Mark Pirie, Wellington publisher Roger Steele, Cecilia Johnson and the late New Zealand anthologist, poet and memoirist Harvey McQueen for their sizeable contributions to the fast-growing collection.
A full list of donations is listed in each issue of Poetry Notes, the PANZA newsletter.


text: Soo-Ja is angry she was tricked by Min, but she wanted to trick him as well: "She thought she was the one using him, when the opposite had been true." (p. 81) Is she getting what she deserved? Was she wrong to want - or expect - such an non-traditional relationship?


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I was dropping my son off at his driver's education class this morning (may God protect us all) when I saw that old bumper sticker standard on the car ahead of mine: What would you try if you knew you could not fail?
It's a fun question to ponder. I'd jump off a building. Do a double back flip. Gamble with the high rollers in Vegas. Wrestle an alligator. Audition for American Idol. (That was a joke.) Then the thought crossed my mind that "fail" has many different meanings. One can be an un-failure at jumping off a building and still be flattened on the landing. You can "win" in a wrestling match with an alligator and still lose a limb or two.
What is failure, where photography is concerned? Is it missing an exposure, missing a moment? Is it falling into a creative rut? Not meeting the client's expectations? Shoot long enough, and you'll experience all these things and more, probably sooner rather than later.
In reality, there's no more effective way to learn than to fail, and to do it well. Every artist should risk failure on a regular basis. And since you don't really want to do it on a client's dime and time, that means having regular, on-going personal projects.
For some reason, as soon as we photographers start trading photographs for dollars, we seem to stop shooting personal projects. The reasons (excuses?) usually fall along the lines of being too busy, having family obligations, needing to put work first over "fun." It's as if shooting for for our ourselves is massages and caviar: a nice luxury, but who can afford them?
Here's the problem. If you don't take risks and explore/fail/learn on your own time, you'll eventually either 1) produce stale, uninspired, "safe" work, or 2) fail on your clients' time. Neither of those sounds like fun to me. We have to give ourselves opportunities to explore and expand without dollar signs attached.
I'm a firm believer that every photographer should have at least one meaningful, challenging self-assignment in progress at all times. Musicians don't only play when they're on stage; photographers shouldn't only shoot when there's a client. Call it "practice" if you'd like.
If you're too busy to shoot for your own growth and joy, then you are too busy.
Let's make time for "failure" and commit to a personal project that requires heart, soul, and a few alligators. Find a theme, a self-assignment, something near and dear to you. Stick with it. Pursue it and explore the range of possibility. Shoot outside your comfort zone. Enjoy the freedom of knowing nobody but you will give a damn if the images work.
What would I do if I knew I could not fail? Be bored out of my mind, probably.


text: The big call of the week was Tony Michalek's flag on a Patriots defensive tackle Chris Jones. Jones shoved his teammate into the Jets offensive line on an overtime field goal attempt [Ben Austro, Football Zebras]. "I'm sure the league would rather the first call in history of this rule would


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Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Bakken, CH4, fracking, horizontal drilling, Natural gas, natural gas flaring, North Dakota, oil production, shale oil, taxes, tight gas, tight oil
Rampant waste and environmental degradation have been part of the Bakken boom. The state doesn't care about that, but it wants its taxes.
Helms estimates that about 30% of the gas produced in the state is flared, since development of takeaway infrastructure has not matched the pace of drilling.
Producers are currently allowed to flare gas for a year without paying royalties. The new bill would extend that tax-exempt period for two more years if an operator can collect at least 75% of the produced gas.
via N. Dakota tax bills pique industry interest – Upstreamonline.com.
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[Update: 1:35pm ET, August 10, 2019] Universal Pictures has now pulled the planned September 27 release of its satirical thriller, The Hunt, Deadline Hollywood reports. Here is the studio's statement:
While Universal Pictures had already paused the marketing campaign for The Hunt, after thoughtful consideration, the studio has decided to cancel our plans to release the film. We stand by our filmmakers and will continue to distribute films in partnership with bold and visionary creators, like those associated with this satirical social thriller, but we understand that now is not the right time to release this film.
Co-star Hilary Swank, appearing at the Locarno Film Festival, declined to discuss The Hunt or the surrounding controversy, according to Variety. However, she did say, "No one's seen the film. You can't really have a conversation about it without understanding what it's about."
My take: Swank is correct that it's a bit unfair to pass judgement on a film few people have actually seen. Trailers are just marketing tools and can often be quite different in tone from the actual film. That said, this is probably a smart move on the part of Universal, given the current socio-political climate.
Original story 1:45pm ET, August 8, 2019:
Deadline Hollywood is reporting that Universal Pictures has temporarily ceased its marketing campaign for its upcoming satirical thriller, The Hunt, in the wake of three recent US mass shootings that claimed the lives of more than 30 people. The film stars GLOW's Betty Gilpin and Oscar winner Hilary Swank as two women from opposite ends of the political spectrum hunting each other—essentially a modern update of the classic short story, "The Most Dangerous Game."
"Out of sensitivity to the attention on the country's recent shooting tragedies, Universal Pictures and the filmmakers of The Hunt have temporarily paused its marketing campaign and are reviewing materials as we move forward," a representative for the studio told Deadline.
Delays like this have become something of a standard operating procedure for Hollywood over the last 20+ years as the industry grapples with how to navigate the dark reality of gun violence in America. Back in 1999, for instance, Buffy the Vampire Slayer postponed airing the episode "Earshot" in the wake of the Columbine High School massacre. Warner Bros postponed the release and recut a scene for its 2012 film Gangster Squad because of the Aurora shooting. And just last year, the television adaptation of Heathers was pushed back, recut, and nearly cancelled in light of the Parkland shooting. When writing about Universal's decision with The Hunt, Deadline notes even more examples—from Arnold Schwarzenegger's Collateral Damage shifting after September 11, 2001 and the 2017 Death Wish remake delayed following the mass shooting in Las Vegas.
Written by LOST's Damon Lindelof and Nick Cuse, The Hunt may have been primed for controversy even before real-world tragedies occurred. The film is about 12 strangers who wake up in a clearing with no idea where they are or how they got there. They soon discover they are "prey" at an exclusive resort called The Manor, where the uber-wealthy come to hunt human beings—although Hilary Swank's high-end executive (who masterminded the whole thing) scoffs that they should hardly be considered "beings." Things really get interesting when the "hunted" get their own weapons and start fighting back.
It's not a particularly new idea since Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" was first published in 1924 and has spawned countless film and television interpretations of the basic concept over the ensuing decades. But there's of course a twist in this case: the hunted all hail from red states ("deplorables"), and the hunters are purportedly "liberals"—albeit of the super-entitled uber-wealthy variety. "We pay for everything so the country belongs to us," Swank's character declares in the film's trailer. Various teasers had previously aired on TV (including on CNN during the recent Democratic debates) and remain online (embedded below).
It's worth noting that this character's statement, and her refusal to see the hunted as fully human beings, are not even remotely representative of a liberal stance—nor a traditionally conservative one.
Needless to say, Fox News has been having a field day with the film's story. We'll wait to see the film and judge for ourselves whether it ultimately works as satirical entertainment or not, and whether it does, indeed, cross any cultural lines. As always, "good taste" can be very subjective—is The Hunt any better or worse than The Purge franchise, for instance? (Jason Blum produced both, along with Get Out.) But given the current political environment headlined by peak partisan tensions and a nation trying to simultaneously grieve and seek solutions following recent mass shootings in El Paso, Texas; Dayton, Ohio; and Gilroy, California, Universal's decision to pull back on its marketing campaign seems like a wise business decision.
For now, The Hunt will still open as originally scheduled on September 27, 2019.


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68 Days of Gourmet: Day 20
The beautiful thing about 68 Days of Gourmet is that my options are wide open. When a food magazine is in publication for 68 years you can be sure that they probably have a recipe for most anything you're craving.
We picked up a Christmas tree on Sunday. We planned on decorating it Monday and I thought I'd bake some cookies to be festive and go with our eggnog (and because I love any excuse to bake cookies). One of our favorite cookie combinations is Oatmeal Chocolate Chip. I've tried several different recipes in the past and decided to try Gourmet's recipe since I'm in the middle of 68 Days of Gourmet.
This recipe was super simple. The dough was made and ready to go in the oven in less than 10 minutes. The cookies smelled great cooking and were the perfect treat for holiday decorating! These are great and we've enjoyed having them around the house this week.
Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
(Recipe source Gourmet, March 1994)
Printable Recipe: Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and oats in a medium bowl. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a hand-held mixer) cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until fluffy and lightened in color, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla and then slowly beat in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips after flour has been incorporated.
Drop dough in rounded tablespoons onto baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between cookies. Bake for 12-15 minutes (I only baked mind for 9 minutes because we prefer soft and not crisp cookies), or until golden. Cool completely on wire racks.
Store in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Yield: 5-6 dozen (Recipe can easily be cut in half)


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The Farr Side: Swift should take high road
Taylor Swift's musical love story with her former record label has turned into bad blood. Her songs no longer belong to her and it doesn't look like they're ever, ever getting back together.
If you note the references to some of her songs, you know how big of a star Swift is. You'll also notice her life's work is out of her hands.
This is a big deal. But she isn't the first major artist to lose control of music. Prince was, perhaps, one of the most notable to have trouble with ownership of his music when he and Warner Brothers parted ways in the '80s.
I also remember how desperate Paul McCartney was to regain the rights to the Beatles' catalog that his friend Michael Jackson had owned for a while. (I do think Michael had done him a favor by helping to protect the integrity of The Fab Four's music.)
Swift parted ways with Big Machine, the label owned by Scott Borchetta that launched her career. Swift is 29, but it's important to note she was only 15 when she inked her deal.
LeAnn Rimes had signed a deal when she was quite young, only to learn later when she probably understood the business better how bad of a deal it was.
I don't believe Swift's deal was a bad one, but problems began to arise when she approached Borchetta about purchasing the rights to her songs. According to reports, Swift said Borchetta would agree to sell her the rights if she agreed to do so on an album-by-album basis and to sign a new contract. That meant, for every new album Swift recorded with Big Machine, she could reacquire one of hers. Mind you, she has six successful albums under her belt. This agreement would loop her into another 10-year deal.
That might not sound like a bad idea for most artists, but she knew the moment she signed a new contract the label would sell to someone. Something like that could take away creative control of her music and she saw trouble.
Swift left the label with the hope of someday reacquiring her music.
That's where things changed, and not for the better, for Swift. Yes, she has a new deal with Republic Records. But, Ithaca Holdings acquired Big Machine for $300 million. Taylor's first six albums are now owned by Scooter Braun, a man she said subjected her to "incessant, manipulative bullying" for years.
I understand her frustration and can see why she wouldn't take Borchetta up on his offer.
"I walked away because I knew once I signed that contract, Scott Borchetta would sell the label, thereby selling me and my future," she said. "I had to make the excruciating choice to leave behind my past. Music I wrote on my bedroom floor and videos I dreamed up and paid for from the money I earned playing in bars, then clubs, then arenas, then stadiums."
Several artists have come out in favor of both sides of this story. But most sympathize with her. I do, too.
Kelly Clarkson was bold enough to suggest Swift re-record her first six albums and remarket them, considering Swift did write all of the songs. Clarkson said Swift's strong fanbase would support this move and buy the albums again. That might be true to some degree, but the legality of this seems like it would be difficult.
Swift needs to take the high road. She is one of the world's biggest stars. Perhaps Braun will take all of this into consideration and be on that high road with her. Time will tell.
Swift's latest album, "Lover," comes out Aug. 23.
David T. Farr can be reached at email@example.com.


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1-Mattis Justo Quam
1-consectetur. Curabitur blandit tempus porttitor. Praesent commodo cursus magna, vel scelerisque nisl consectetur et. Duis mollis, est non commodo luctus, nisi erat porttitor ligula, eget lacinia odio sem nec elit.
Writing about the Unwritten
CHESTERTOWN, MD— A new book by professor emeritus Thomas Cousineau offers fresh insight into the work of Portuguese Modernist writer Fernanco Pessoa. Published recently by Dalkey Archive Press, An Unwritten Novel: Fernando Pessoa's "The Book of the Disquiet," is Cousineau's fifth book. It focuses on Pessoa's posthumous masterpiece, The Book of the Disquiet. The publisher's description states that, "An Unwritten Novel offers the general reader, as well as students and teachers, an 'Ariadne's thread' that will help them to find their way through this labyrinthine masterpiece: a self-proclaimed 'factless autobiography' in which all the expected elements of the contemporary novel remain 'unwritten.'"
Cousineau discovered The Book of Disquiet several years ago thanks to a review by the British novelist Paul Bailey in which he said, "This book has moved me more than anything I have read in years. I have rarely encountered such exhilarating
lugubriousness." Cousineau's own reading of The Book quickly convinced him that it was one of the towering masterpieces of 20th century fiction, even if, much like its narrator, it could be so aptly described as "the ruins of buildings that were never more than ruins."
Pessoa's editor and translator Richard Zenith writes that, "Cousineau does an excellent job of identifying and unraveling key strands in Pessoa's work, which he then reweaves in various patterns to illuminate Fernando Pessoa, his semi-autobiographical persona Bernando Soares, and their collaborative project(ion) of Disquiet. An Unwritten Novel, well-written and well-argued, is an important contribution to Pessoa studies that will be much appreciated by Pessoa scholars and by anyone who admires the work of Portugal's great Modernist writer."
Cousineau taught English at Washington College from 1978 through spring of 2013. In addition to guest-editing "Beckett in France" for the Journal of Beckett Studies, Cousineau's other publications include Waiting for Godot: Form in Movement, After the Final No: Samuel Beckett's Trilogy, Ritual Unbound: Reading Sacrifice in Modernist Fiction, and Three-Part Inventions: The Novels of Thomas Bernhard.