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The Division of Student Life: Serving K-State Students
The Division of Student Life includes a variety of departments, programs, and resources that promote student success both inside and outside of the classroom.
Student Life programs will advocate, support, and prepare students to achieve academic success while maximizing their personal and professional potential as we become a top 50 public research institution.
Mission Statement
The Division of Student Life promotes student success through opportunities for student involvement experiences to strengthen personal and academic growth, leadership, professional development, and community engagement.
- Promote academic success to support and enhance student persistence
- Support students through advocacy and development of the whole student
- Provide opportunities for students to develop through an active and diverse student experience
- Challenge students to think globally and develop awareness, acceptance, and appreciation of personal and cultural differences
- Provide programs, environments, and facilities that are conducive to student learning and success


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Take Research and Technology 2.0 this summer
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Learn to research this summer by taking the library's one-credit course. Research and Technology 2.0 is offered online this summer. Contact Malia Willey (firstname.lastname@example.com) for more information.
Course Description:
Research expertise and proficiency are core expectations throughout academia and its varied disciplines, but they have broader applications as life skills that are increasingly valued and recognized within the professional realm. In this class, the broad range of critical issues relevant to successful research, along with practical, step-by-step techniques for using electronic resources, will make you discerning and reflective information consumers and citizens.


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The Challenge of Achieving a Liberal Order
In the United States we take peaceful, democratic elections for granted. Because we think of our form of government as clearly superior, we expect that other countries will to be able to readily adopt it.
Two recent books by social scientists raise questions about the ease of the transition to democratic institutions. Both Violence and Social Orders, by Douglass North, Barry Weingast, and John Wallis, and The Origins of Political Order, by Francis Fukuyama, suggest that natural patterns of human organization must be overcome in order to create a modern liberal democracy.
The basic problem, as Violence and Social Orders points out, is that humans evolved to reward close relatives, to appreciate exchanges of favors with friends, and to compete within tribal hierarchies. We did not evolve to share power with and confer equal status upon strangers.
The solution that emerges, according to Violence and Social Orders, is for leaders of tribal organizations to form a ruling coalition, in what the book calls a "natural state." The warlords who participate in the governing coalition are able to peacefully divide up wealth, or economic rents, which takes away their incentive to use violence to capture resources. The book refers to this as a limited‐access order. Political power and economic power are held by narrow elites. By modern Western standards, such a state is corrupt, because political power is blatantly used to extract wealth for the ruling parties. However, what we fail to see is that eliminating corruption would be destabilizing: Absent the economic bribery, strong leaders would defect from the coalition, leading to civil war. The ability to extract wealth is what binds the elites to the government.
In Violence and Social Orders, a Western‐style democracy is called an "open‐access order." The opportunity to gain economic or political power is open to everyone. This is a different sort of equilibrium, one which is not easily arrived at. Countries that are in the "natural state" are not likely to move toward an open‐access order. If the natural state breaks down, a country is more likely to fall into civil war or authoritarianism.
There are important preconditions for a successful transition from a limited‐access order to an open‐access order. These include having civilian control over all military forces, developing long‐lived institutions (such as corporations) so that society is less dependent on key individual leaders, and having the rule of law apply to elites. Once elites enjoy the rule of law, moving to an open‐access order involves extending the benefits of legal protection to other members of society.
Fukuyama also emphasizes the rule of law. He says that a liberal democracy consists of three elements: A strong central state, the rule of law, and accountable government, meaning institutional checks on the power of the ruler.
Concerning the need for a strong central state, Fukuyama writes (p.280),
But a fair normative order also requires power. If the king was unwilling to enforce the law against the country's elites, or lacked the capacity to do so, the law's legitimacy would be compromised no matter what its source in religion, tradition, or custom. This is a point that Hayek and his libertarian followers fail to see: the Common Law may be the work of dispersed judges, but it would not have come into being in the first place, or been enforced, without a strong centralized state.
Fukuyama's three elements of liberal democracy are not unlike the theory of the three branches of government. For Fukuyama, the rule of law means a force that is higher than the personal dictates of rulers. In the United States, this is reflected in the ideal of an independent judiciary. However, the rule of law is not self‐enforcing. Fukuyama argues that enforcement requires a strong central state, which corresponds to the executive branch. This executive must nonetheless be held accountable, which requires having the government's budget controlled by a legislature that is elected by the people.
In order to have the rule of law, a society must have cultural institutions that promote rules and norms that cannot be overturned by autocrats. Fukuyama argues that the Catholic Church (and the later Protestant religions) helped promote the idea of a higher law in the West. In contrast, Chinese rulers were never subject to any higher law. They could always remake the law at will.
What China did have was a strong central state. Fukuyama argues that this is because administrators were chosen on the basis of merit, through the examination system. In societies where administrators are selected on the basis of kinship, the central state tends to be weaker. Where the state is weak, it can be undermined from within by crime bosses and warlords, or it can be invaded from outside.
Along these lines, Fukuyama offers an interesting discussion of the role of slave administrators in sustaining the Islamic empires. He suggests that the success of this system was due to the fact that the slaves had no kinship ties to detract from their loyalty to the state.
Fukuyama sees the Catholic Church as helping to break kinship bonds in the West. It did so by prohibiting cousin marriages. While this allowed the Church to benefit from more inheritances, it also benefited Western societies because the marriage restrictions promoted individual rights and property ownership, rather than kinship groups and collective ownership.
The two books have a number of points of agreement. Both say that the political importance of kinship ties must be broken in order to have a liberal democracy. Both say that leaders do not necessarily obey constitutions; instead, in order to be effective, constitutional principles must align with cultural norms and be widely regarded as sacred. Both agree that the state must be able to remove the threat of organized violence, and that this is often difficult to accomplish. Both agree that elections are insufficient for establishing liberal democracy, and that in fact liberal democracy is a social arrangement that is very difficult to establish.
Nonetheless, the two books disagree on a number of points. Violence and Social Orders offers an explanation of political order that is rooted entirely in rational economic behavior. The natural state is in equilibrium because it is in the interest of elites to remain in a coalition that narrowly restricts political and economic power in what by modern Western standards is a corrupt regime. A transition to an open‐access order takes place rarely, and only after the limited‐access order has been stabilized by long‐lived institutions and elite groups have grown accustomed to the rule of law. It is the gradual extension of the rule of law to more and more elements of society that constitutes the transition to an open‐access order.
For Fukuyama, political order is grounded more in cultural and historical factors. For example, he argues that liberal democracy arose in the West rather than in the Arab world in part because of differences between the role of the Catholic Church and the role of Islam. The Catholic Church remained apart from kings, and this created a cultural separation between the higher law and the dictates of rulers. Also, the Church's rules concerning marriage effectively broke up the extended‐kin clans that remained dominant in the areas ruled by Islam.
Fukuyama sees governmental forms as rooted deeply in cultural history. He sees China today as similar in important respects to that country 2000 years ago—an authoritarian state that is based on effective bureaucracy. He sees England and its descendants as shaped by a long history of individual rights grounded in common law.
Violence and Social Orders sees the "natural state" as an equilibrium that is difficult to change. As long as there are groups that can threaten violence, a governing coalition must remain narrow in order to be able to provide elites with enough economic advantages that they have a stake in maintaining peace.
Neither book makes one optimistic about the near‐term prospects for seeing liberal democracies emerge out of the "Arab Spring." Instead, they suggest that sudden revolution from below is not the route to liberal democracy. First, elites must develop institutions that separate power from kinship. These institutions need to include the rule of law. Once the elites have rights that are embedded in law, then attaining liberal democracy is a matter of extending these rights to the rest of society.


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NEW YORK (AP) — Rebecca Hall is confidently stepping toward center stage.
This year, there was her snappy, unapologetic Sylvia in the Tom Stoppard HBO miniseries "Parade's End," a revelation of Hall's dynamism and capacity for boldness. There was her supporting role as a scientist in "Iron Man 3," an indoctrination to the Hollywood blockbuster. And, now, there's the British thriller "Closed Circuit," a confirmation of her ascendance to being a leading lady — one bristling with intelligence in any role.
"I want to play women who are rich and make mistakes and can be messy and ugly as well as pretty," says Hall. "I think that's really an important service. That sounds very grand. I don't mean it to sound grand."
In a recent interview over tea at an East Village cafe, Hall is sharp, buoyant, funny and seemingly energized by the work she's getting. She's still glowing from the singing lines of Sylvia — a "once in a blue moon" part, she calls it — a shift for her to playing a more extroverted, forceful character: "It was massively liberating," she says.
Above all, she comes across, as she says of herself, as "restless and curious."
"She's the real McCoy," says "Closed Circuit" director John Crowley. "She's hugely impressive and has massive range. It felt like she would have the intellectual prowess but also the emotionality to handle the part."
In "Closed Circuit," Hall plays the Special Advocate appointed to jointly defend a man accused of bombing a crowded London marketplace. She and another lawyer (Eric Bana), with whom she has a romantic past, must work the case under confidentiality and in a hearing closed to the public — a cloak of secrecy that masks further injustice in the name of national security.
The film has obvious contemporary relevance, but it also relates personally to Hall. The 31-year-old actress has seen her life made the fodder of British tabloids for her relationship with director Sam Mendes.
"I find it slightly disturbing that privacy means that you're guilty of something that you have to hide," Halls says. "That probably stems from the fact that I saw my parents have their privacy invaded on by the press when they were going through their divorce when I was five or whatever. I was very aware of the press always — my dad's reviews."
Hall's father, Sir Peter Hall, founded the Royal Shakespeare Company and is a renowned figure in British theater. Her mother, Maria Ewing, was an acclaimed opera singer from Detroit.
Of her childhood, Hall says: "It was mine. I don't know any different. It was peripatetic and nomadic and bohemian and exciting and at times unusual to the point of wanting some type of stability. But mostly, it was just a very creative, exciting environment to be raised in."
As a child, Hall was immediately drawn to acting: Her first professional part came as an 8-year-old in her father's TV adaptation of Mary Wesley's "The Camomile Lawn." She later attended Cambridge for two years, but then quit, wanting "to do something bold and decisive and not have anything to fall back on."
With such an independent streak, she initially recoiled when her father offered her a part in his production of George Bernard Shaw's "Mrs. Warren's Profession" in the West End.
"Then I changed my mind after six months and realized I might as well get it out of the way," she recalled. "Either I'll be mauled by the press and I'll never be allowed to do this again, or they'll get over the fact that I'm Peter Hall's daughter."
Hall won the Ian Charleson Award for the performance. Years of theater and frequent collaborations with her father followed. She stared in Mendes' Bridge Project, productions of "The Winter's Tale" and "The Cherry Orchard."
Movie roles also accumulated, most notably the seemingly prudish tourist in Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" (which earned her a Golden Globe nomination) and Ben Affleck's love interest in 2010's heist film "The Town."
Her approach to a part — a process she's somewhat protective of — is carefully plotted. She papers the walls of her trailer with charts of her characters' mental states, scene to scene. She laughs that she had "a complete and utter meltdown" when her blueprints were temporarily cleaned away while recently filming the science-fiction thriller "Transcendence," co-starring Johnny Depp.
Hall also makes playlists for every character of what she thinks they would listen to as a key to their emotions, (contemporary classical and Scandinavian jazz trios for her passionate but suppressed character in "Closed Circuit").
"Of all the actresses I've ever worked with, she was the most clear, the most thought-out," says Susanna White, director of "Parade's End." ''She'd come in and kick it straight away. It was thrilling to watch."
This December, Hall will make her Broadway debut in "Machinal," an expressionistic 1928 play based on Ruth Snyder, who was convicted of murdering her husband. Describing the character, Hall drifts into contemplation: the early wheels turning on the next character to map out.
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/jake_coyle
Emboldened, Rebecca Hall moves toward center stage
NEW YORK (AP) — Rebecca Hall is confidently stepping toward center stage.


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Although the Optima® design is almost always grouped with typefaces such as the Helvetica® and Gill Sans® designs, it should be considered a serifless roman. Compare it with typefaces like the Garamond™ and Centaur® designs, and you will find similar proportions, shapes and weight stress. Where these designs have serifs, however, Optima has a slight flaring of its stroke terminals.
The Optima typeface is a clear and precise font designed by the renowned type designer Hermann Zapf. Optima was inspired by classical Roman inscriptions and is distinguished by its flared terminals – the ends of letters. The curves and straights of the Optima fonts vary minutely in thickness to provide a graceful and clear impression to the eye.
In 1950, Zapf was researching Italian typeface design at the Basilica di Santa Croce, in Florence, and happened upon an ancient Roman gravestone that would have been missed by most tourists and casual observers. The letters cut into the gravestone were unusual in that they lacked the traditional serifs. These delighted Zapf and appealed to his classic sense of design. The problem was that he had run out of drawing paper just prior to finding the gravestone. As a result, the first sketches for Optima were made on a 1,000-lire bank note.
Zapf worked on the design, refining character shapes and proportions for two years before he turned final drawings over to Stempel's master punchcutter, who made the first test font. This was in 1952; however, because making fonts in metal was much more complicated and time-consuming than making fonts using current digital tools, it wasn't until 1958 that Optima was made available as handset metal fonts. Matrices for the Linotype® typesetter took even more time and these were not made available until two years later.
True to its Roman heritage, Optima has wide, full-bodied characters – especially in the capitals. Only the E, F and L deviate with narrow forms. Consistent with other Zapf designs, the cap S in Optima appears slightly top-heavy with a slight tilt to the right. The M is splayed, and the N, like a serif design, has light vertical strokes. The lowercase a and g in Optima are two-storied designs.
Encyclopedia Britannica®, 1989, Vol 29, p. 1028
Alphabet Stories by Hermann Zapf. RIT Cary Graphic Arts Press. 2007
Optima can be set within a wide choice of line spacing values, from very tight to very open. For example, Zapf once created an exceptionally lovely and highly readable book using Optima set nine on 24 point.
Optima also benefits from a wide range of letterspacing capability. The design can be set quite tight, with spacing as established by Linotype, or even letter spaced. If there are any guidelines, Optima should be set more open than tight. It's not that readability is affected much when Optima is set on the snug side; it's just that the unhurried elegance and light gray color created by the face are disrupted by letters that are set too tight.
Optima is not the first serifless roman typeface. The Stellar typeface, designed by R. Hunter Middleton for the Ludlow Typograph Company in 1929, predates it by several decades. This face, however, makes a stronger calligraphic statement and was limited to display usage.
In 1960, José Mendoza drew the Pascal™ typeface for the Amsterdam type foundry – a design that clearly was influenced by Zapf's earlier work. Other newer designs that pay homage to Optima are the Mentor™ Sans face, by Michael Harvey, and the Augusta™ Cursiva design, by Jean-Renaud Cuaz.
Perhaps one of the most notable uses of the Optima typeface is on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C. for the etching of the names of veterans into the wall – meant to last as well as be read.
Optima is used to convey classic ideals as well as current trends. For example, it is used by skin care giant Estée Lauder as its official typeface design. Optima is also used by the Traveller™ science fiction role-playing games.
Optima is the company logo for the British retailer, Marks & Spencer, which also uses the typeface on administrative computers in their stores. Notable media coverage includes the use of Optima in John McCain's campaign for the 2008 U.S. presidential election.
Humanistic Sans


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|This is the article on chapter 620. For the character, head to Hashirama Senju.
"Hashirama Senju" (千手柱間, Senju Hashirama) is chapter 620 of the original Naruto manga.
As Sasuke boldly declares that Hashirama's response would decide whether or not he should take revenge on Konohagakure, an enraged Tobirama states he would not allow it as he prepares to fight Sasuke. However, in a fierce exchange of silent wills that sends those around them into near-frenzied panic while the Naka Shrine quakes from the energy from their stand off, Tobirama finally stands down at Hashirama's order with Hiruzen breathing a sigh of relief and Minato marvelled. Praising Itachi to be a better shinobi than himself, Hashirama agrees to answer though it will be a long one. When he tells takes the First Hokage to make it abridged, Orochimaru reveals the war occurring outside the village with Madara leading the attack. While Hiruzen pleas Orochimaru to let them go and aid their people, Minato and Tobirama sense the situation to confirm it, with the former glad that his son was able to work with Kurama. Even after Orochimaru refuses to have them leave and considers having them ironically destroy Konoha on Sasuke's choice, Tobirama ignores his summoner's threat as he was about to go to the battlefield. However, thanks to now acquiring Hashirama's genetic material, the binding of the Impure World Reincarnation had become more powerful with only Hashirama breaking free of the additional restraint. Allaying the Sannin's fears, Hashirama tells Orchimaru that he intends to first free Sasuke from the darkness surrounded him as he casually takes a seat on the ground and begins the retelling of the story of his confrontation with Madara at the Valley of the End and the history of the Senju and Uchiha.
- In the original publication, when Sasuke deactivates his Mangekyō Sharingan, it is his own, regular Mangekyō Sharingan, without Itachi's Mangekyō on top of it. In the tankōbon release, Itachi's Mangekyō is added, resulting in Sasuke's Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.


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Design Adage
The Design Adage Is An Online Platform to Share Your Best Quotes On Design as Well as to Read Great Design Quotes From Designers Worldwide
Design Adage is an open platform, anyone with a good quote on design can contribute by submitting their design quotes after registration. The very best quotes on design are displayed on the Design Adage homepage. Unlike other platforms, you can learn what the author actually meant by his design quote at Design Adage, furthermore you can download image versions of the quotes. In this design quote Christopher Anton means: When people interact with beautifully designed objects or processes, among their first reactions is that the creator was simply brilliant or perhaps just lucky. In truth, whoever is behind the product was likely methodical in their design process. The easier something is to use and the better it looks, feels, and functions are more likely a reflection of the considerable amount of time and effort expended into the design process. Testing, theorizing, troubleshooting, and considering all the ways something might fail or be perceived incorrectly all lead to flawless designs.This quote by Frank Scott means: If you make a good design, it talks for itself; i.e. it is easy to market it, good design creates word of mouth and automated publicity. - For each quote at the Design Adage platform you can learn more about what the quote means, the descriptions are provided by the authors themselves. Furthermore, you can freely download and share these great design quotes by others.Here, we have several design quotes but to learn what these quotes on design actually mean, you should check the link of each design quote where you will find their descriptions by the authors of the design quotes. We would like to remind that you could share your very own design quotes at the Design Adage at designadage.com by registering and entering your design quotes, it takes only five minutes!At Design Adage platform the design quotes are provided not only by designers but also by editors, writers, design enthusiasts and design lovers who wish to share their insights on design. To remind you an adage is a short, usually philosophical, but memorable saying which holds some important fact of experience that is considered true by many people, or that has gained some credibility through its use. At Design Adage platform, you can share your aphorisms, axioms, dictums, maxims, mottos, precepts, apothegms, bywords, oldsaws, proverbs, epigrams and ideas on design. Feel free to submit your design idioms, design quotes and design statements at designadage.com to share them with design enthusiasts from across the globe. To learn more, read or enter your design quotes, visit designadage.comIn this quote, famous Italian designer Ettore Giordano means that the design is all around us. You too can enter and share your aphorisms at Design Adage platform. At this quote George Drakakis means that if you can't get satisfaction, if you can't feel a sense of fulfillment every time you design something, you may as well just quit designing. We will feature more quotes from the Design Adage platform, therefore remember to send your design quotes to Design Adage asap.With this quote, Dr. Cobanli means that design should be the basis of any and all business activities of a company from marketing to logistics. Design thinking must be integrated to your business completely, you should have the capacity to cultivate and grow good design ideas in-house. Design not just your products but the system itself as well.When the quote is short, usually it comes with a long description. Here at this design quote, Dr. Onur Cobanli stated: Popular designers tend to sell more, in design business, brands are of highest importance, fame sells. Brands of the designers themselves help sell products thus product manufacturers and companies prefer to work with famous designers; thus design business is a popularity contest.Description of this quote is as follows: What sells a product is not usually the archaic or archetype properties that define the product itself; sometimes a chair is not just a platform to sit; it is comfort, a bag not always a tool to hold items, it is image, fashion, or a car is not just a vehicle to move you around, it is a statement, social status. Always think what the real value behind your product is and work on to improve this value.At this quote, Elena Miller means that it takes time to create a good design; a good design is a child of the past, because designing a good project requires previous experience. A good design is also a child of future; i.e. it should live up to the expectations of today and tomorrow.On this design quote, Onur Cobanli means: Listen to what others have to say about your design, even if you do not make a change on your final design, at least try the possibilities and suggestion by others.In this quote by Onur Cobanli on good design, To make a star, you need five points; to make a star design, you need five strong statements, value proposals or properties. If your design lacks at least five qualities to support it, you should perhaps start over and think of a way to improve it.Sometimes, the descriptions are shorter than the quotes themselves. For example for this design quote by Cobanli, the meaning is straightforward: A good design relies on deep wisdom and a good company should rely on good design in all ways. At design adage platform not only you check great quotes on design but also learn the in depth thinking behind these quotes. At this design quote, Onur Cobanli says: It is usually the designer who has the best insight for a project, if you, as the designer, think your design might have a flaw, it is likely that it has a flaw. Furthermore, from another perspective, designs are also positioned and branded; if you say that your design is stupid, people will believe; if you brand your design in an amateur way, your design will look amateurish.In this quote by Onur Cobanli, the meaning is: A good story plus a good design with a good image makes the life of editors easier and gets your work published almost instantly, guaranteed. A good story is both the text and the background - history that describes your design, a good image is for example suitable for printing, sharp, clean, detailed, high-resolution, perhaps placed on a good background for ease of placing within the page, an interesting design is something original, innovative, attractive.Each Design Adage quote features a short title that gives the overall impression. In this quote titled illuminate by Onur Cobanli the meaning is: There is always less time for people to discover and learn let alone master a product. It is therefore important and crucial to let the consumers and clients know about the benefits of your products or service, not just to sell it more, but also to help your product or service deliver more value as well.Advertise says Onur Cobanli: Even if you have a good design, you must still advertise, let people remember, learn, recall and buy your product by reaching your prospects. Advertise your product designs. - There are many more quotes on Design Adage platform, most of the quotes relate to design while some others relate to marketing, business and innovation.In this quote on function, Onur Cobanli means that if a design is purely functional it becomes a tool, it is used and forgotten, if a design is purely artistic, it is art. A good design therefore is both functional - appealing to logic and artistic - appealing to emotions. - You are always invited to write better quo1tes, or explore some great quotes on designadage.comExerpt:Design Adage is an open platform, anyone with a good quote on design can contribute by submitting their design quotes after registration. The very best quotes on design are displayed on the Design Adage homepage. Unlike other platforms, you can learn what the author actually meant by his design quote at Design Adage, furthermore you can download image versions of the quotes. In this design quote Christopher Anton means: When people interact with beautifully designed objects or processes, among t..
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End of the article, click here to go back to previous page, or alternatively go back to 5px Design News homepage.


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For a list of river cruises on the Viking Longship Hlin, click
Designed by legendary naval architects Yran & Storbraaten, the team behind The Yachts of Seabourn, these new vessels offer state-of-the-art engineering, design and luxury. The Viking Longships provide guests with more ways to personalize their trip. Choose from a variety of stateroom classes thanks to our patent pending design*, onboard entertainment options and ship locations from which you can enjoy sailing through the scenery, all the while enriching your time in some of Europe's most remarkable destinations.
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Home >> Course Descriptions >> College of Arts and Sciences
Seminar: Special Topics in the Visual Arts
Three semester hours.
Selected areas of special study concerning the visual arts. May be repeated for credit with consent of instructor. Areas of study may include issues concerning critical theory, study of specific artists and movements, as well as contemporary film and performance art. Not offered every semester. Prerequisite: Consent of instructor.
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I'm planning a project to create a retro-clone of a non-D&D game. The problem is that I specifically want to restate the mechanics of the game as faithfully as possible, but I'm not sure how to handle things like the skill list and skill names, spell names, a mechanically-central set of tables, and other things that are in the "grey" area of functional versus presentational and hence uncopyrightable versus protected expression.
To sort this out, I want to see what has worked in the past and what compromises other retro-clone authors have found necessary. I know there are lots of D&D retro-clones using the OGL, and lots of non-D&D games using the OGL that are not retro-clones. Unfortunately, most retro-clones solve the problem by either deriving presentational elements from another OGL'd set of rules (e.g. skill names from d20 SRD), using a different set of rules (e.g. Mutant Future is mechanically unlike Gamma World), or by getting a license/permission from the original game's author (e.g. ZeFRS has Zeb Cook's blessing). I don't have an OGL game to derive from, no license, and I don't want to change the mechanics unless absolutely necessary.
So, I'm looking for examples of other OGL games that:
- Clone a game's mechanics without deriving from an OGL set of rules
- Created by someone without rights to the original game
- Licensed under the OGL (so I can see how they pulled it off)
All the games listed in the Wikipedia article on Open Gaming are disqualified either by (1) or by both (1) & (2). In fact, the coverage of "retro-clones" in that very article makes "retro-clone" out to be synonymous with "D&D simulacrum".
It might be that the answer is "none exist", but even that would be useful information for me to move forward with.


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Black Money World (BMW) 2: Intoxxxicated is the latest mixtape from Miami, Florida representative SpaceGhostPurrp, who's been going by "A Mack Named Purrp" or simply "Purrp" as of late. He recommends you bump this new project while intoxicated in one way or another.
From the man himself:
"BMW 2 is an R&B mixtape, it's not rap music. All these songs are R&B songs, bruh - they just dark. SpaceGhostPurrp is a dark R&B / rock artist, I am not a rapper. R&B can have lyrics involved in it too. All of my songs are R&B and rock music combined. My music is not hip-hop or rap."
Fair enough. The last we heard of Purrp was 58 Blunts Of Purrp, a 58-track compilation intended for new fans, which you can cop in our mixtape section if you wish. Stay tuned for updates, and hit Muney Jordan with a follow on Facebook and Twitter while you're at it: @SpaceGhostPurrp.
01. Ride 4 Me
02. My Phone
03. Who I Be
04. Addicted
05. Make Her Say
06. 4 You
07. OwwwL
08. IntoXXXicated
09. That Good
10. Black God Pt 2
12. Mack Named Purrp Pt 2
13. Cash
14. My StaXXX
15. Da Name
16. Big White Cups
17. Like The Way


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chain letter(redirected from Chainletter)
Also found in: Dictionary, Thesaurus.
Ask a Lawyer
QuestionCountry: United States of America
State: All States/Provinces
I got a letter in the mail that said it was not a chain letter and that it was legal. Basically there is a list of 6 names that I send a dollar to, but also include a note that says "Please add me to you mailing list". This is what it says that makes it legal, the note to add me to their mailing list. I then take off the top name and add mine to the bottom and send it to 200 other people, it says to call this number, data line, and for 40 bucks they will mail me 200 names on self adhesive labels. Is this just another chain letter or is it legal? I'd like to try it if it is legal. It's only like 200 hundred bucks total to try it. I've spent more than that on a fun weekend, lol. so any way.


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Focused on its desire to collaborate with new designers, Triode Edition is pursuing its production of lights with three new ones by Arnaud Lapierre, Simon Naouri and Pierre Gonalons. Previewed during Paris Design Week, these three lights have henceforth been distributed and flesh out the Triode Edition range set up by Jacques Barret in 2004.
Triode Collection on www. architonic.com


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Black v. Google Inc., 2010 WL 3746474 (N.D.Cal. September 20, 2010)
Back in August, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California dismissed a lawsuit against Google brought by two pro se plaintiffs, holding that the action was barred under the immunity provisions of 47 USC 230. That section says that "[n]o provider or user of an interactive computer service shall be treated as the publisher or speaker of any information provided by another information content provider." Plaintiffs had complained about a comment on Google (probably a review) disparaging their roofing business.
Plaintiffs filed and "objection" to the dismissal, which the court read as a motion to alter or amend under Fed. R. Civ. P. 59. The court denied plaintiffs' motion.
In their "objection," plaintiffs claimed — apparently without much support — that Congress did not intend Section 230 to apply in situations involving anonymous speech. The court did not buy this argument.
The court looked to the Ninth Circuit case of Carafano v. Metrosplash as an example of a website operator protected under Section 230 from liability for anonymous content: "To be sure, the website [in Carafano] provided neutral tools, which the anonymous dastard used to publish the libel, but the website did absolutely nothing to encourage the posting of defamatory content." As in Carafano, Google was a passive conduit and could not be liable for failing to detect and remove the allegedly defamatory content.


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Mark Cheetham, 'Landscape & Language: from Conceptualism to Ecoaesthetics' and Mark with Mariele Neudecker, 'Re-Inventing Landscape Traditions for the Present'
In the late 1960s, the N. E. Thing Co., a Canadian art collective, produced a series of interventions exploring the connection between landscape and language. They set up road signs next to nondescript stretches of countryside with messages like 'You will soon pass by a ¼ mile N. E. Thing Co. landscape', highlighting the fact that all it takes to turn mere land into 'landscape' is the addition of a short text. Landscape, the signs suggest, is simply where we are directed to look. For Mark Cheetham, speaking on a Monday in early October 2012 in the first of two events on the role of nature in modern and contemporary art, works like these are a stark reminder that our experience of our environment is always culturally mediated. In his talk, he went on to analyse some important recent artworks which approach nature through the medium of language. One early conceptual piece by Richard Long, for example, consists solely of lists of instructions on how to arrange sticks and other natural objects in the gallery. The lists draw attention to the display conventions that 'tame' nature when it is brought into the gallery, yet are themselves instances of these conventions (which usually remain unwritten); as such, they reveal the impossibility of capturing nature in a unadulterated form, even when, as with Long's sticks, it appears to survive the conversion into art raw and unworked.
The second event the following day gave us the chance to think further about these issues in relation to the work of artist Mariele Neudecker, who joined Cheetham to discuss the question of how the Western landscape tradition has been reinterpreted in recent art practice. Neudecker began by offering a survey of her career, focusing on particular works which speak to this theme. Characteristic of her thoughtful approach to the landscape tradition are her tank installations: backlit vitrines which contain miniature landscape dioramas submerged in hazy coloured fluid. These eerie, beautiful works reference the paintings of Caspar David Friedrich through their titles and appearance; at the same time, their relationship to this giant of the tradition is not one of straightforward emulation. As Cheetham noted later on, in the way that they demand to be viewed from different angles, and in their refusal to hide their central framing device, the vitrine, Neudecker's tanks reveal the extent to which Friedrich presents a vision of the northern landscape cut off from time and embodied experience. I agree; but perhaps the tanks' sensuous and explicitly visual response to Friedrich should also alert us to the fact that – for artists at least – the dialogue with tradition tends to be conducted in aesthetic as well as linguistic or conceptual terms. This can be an uncomfortable fact for art historians, who work within a discipline afflicted by an iconophobia so profound that it often seems more acceptable to look at anything (diaries, archives, inventories, texts, contexts) rather than the artwork itself. Events like this stimulating encounter between an artist and an art historian help us all to see a little further beyond our self-imposed boundaries.


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Click here to get access to the full list of the IUCN Red List Publications.
Wildlife in a Changing World: An Analysis of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
Wildlife in a Changing World presents an analysis of the 2008 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™. Beginning with an explanation of the IUCN Red List as a key conservation tool, it goes on to discuss the state of the worlds species and provides the latest information on the patterns of species facing extinction in some of the most important ecosystems in the world, highlighting the reasons behind their declining status. Areas of focus in the report include: freshwater biodiversity, the status of the worlds marine species, species susceptibility to climate change impacts, the Mediterranean biodiversity hotspot, and broadening the coverage of biodiversity assessments.
Download a copy in English
Download a copy in French
View the factsheets
A Global Species Assessment: The 2004 IUCN Red List
The 2004 IUCN Red List contains the global status and supporting information on 38,047 species. The analysis of the information contained in the 2004 IUCN Red List aims to provide insight into the status and trends of the worlds species, with a focus on those at greatest risk of extinction; recent documented extinctions; trends in the status of threatened species; regions of the world where threatened species tend to be found; the threats that are driving species towards extinction; the social and economic context in which extinctions are taking place; and the conservation responses that are available.
Download a copy here
The 2000 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
The 2000 IUCN Red List combines animals and plants into a single list containing assessments of more that 18,000 taxa. A large number of species has been reassessed and there has been a significant increase in the number of species assessments. Documentation on each species has been improved.
Available here


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The House-passed version of the Defense authorization bill includes a $369 million down payment for 12 F-22s in fiscal 2011.
The Obama administration on Tuesday won a decisive victory in its public effort to end production of the Air Force's F-22 Raptor fighter jets after the 187 aircraft now on order.
By a 58-40 margin, the Senate approved an amendment to the fiscal 2010 defense authorization bill that eliminates $1.75 billion added to the bill to buy seven more of the radar-evading fighter jets President Obama, Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the military chiefs say they don't need to meet future security threats.
The vote on the amendment by Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Carl Levin, D-Mich., and ranking member John McCain, R-Ariz., came after days of delays because of partisan wrangling over nondefense issues.
But it appears the holdup gave Levin, McCain and the administration enough time to make their case against buying more of the Lockheed Martin-built fighters. McCain even acknowledged the vote was in doubt just a few hours before Tuesday's roll call.
"The size of this victory is directly attributable to the president of the United States and the secretary of Defense," McCain said. "We might have won, but not the way that we did" without the administration's support, he said.
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill., observed after the vote that "a number of undecideds came our way and the White House helped."
At the White House, Obama said he was grateful for the Senate action, saying, "At a time when we're fighting two wars and facing a serious deficit, this would have been an inexcusable waste of money."
"Every dollar of waste in our defense budget is a dollar we can't spend to support our troops, or prepare for future threats, or protect the American people," he said. "Our budget is a zero-sum game, and if more money goes to F-22s, it is our troops and citizens who lose."
Last week, Obama took the unusual step of informing lawmakers directly he would veto any bill that included more F-22 funding. Gates, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Michael Mullen and Air Force leaders also signed letters supporting an end to F-22 production.
And in recent days, Gates, White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and other administration officials made calls to lawmakers, Levin said after the vote.
"I've never seen the White House lobby like they've lobbied on this issue," said Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., the Senate's most vocal supporter of buying more F-22s, which are assembled at Lockheed Martin's plant in Marietta, Ga. "It's been unparalleled in my now 15 years as a member of the United States Congress."
The administration's victory is particularly noteworthy given the significant support on Capitol Hill for the fighters. With elements of the radar-evading fighters produced in 44 states, the program's boosters have claimed the program generates $12 billion annually in economic activity in the United States.
But Tuesday's vote is unlikely to end the fight over F-22s.
The House-passed version of the authorization bill includes a $369 million down payment for 12 F-22s in fiscal 2011, despite objections from House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo., and most other Democrats on the panel. But with Tuesday's vote, Levin and McCain should be able to count on Skelton to help rid the final authorization bill of F-22 money not requested by the Pentagon.
Meanwhile, the House Appropriations Committee is scheduled on Wednesday to consider its version of the fiscal 2010 Defense Appropriations bill, which has the same F-22 language as the House authorization bill.
And both Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii, and Sen. Robert Byrd, D-W.Va., who has been absent for weeks due to illness, voted against the Levin-McCain amendment, an indication that they would support F-22 funding when their panel marks up the fiscal 2010 spending bill.
Dan Friedman and George E. Condon Jr. contributed to this report.


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Rihanna's Boston fans will have to wait to see the "Stay" singer in action.
After kicking off her tour in Buffalo, NY two days ago, the superstar had to cancel her concert scheduled for tonight after she came down with laryngitis.
Topless Rihanna wears thong, thigh-high Prada boots in provocative pic
U.S. & World
The day's top national and international news.
"Unfortunately, following her sold out concert on Friday Rihanna has contracted laryngitis and per doctor's instruction is unable to perform this evening," Live Nation said in a statement. "Boston fans are instructed to retain their tickets pending rescheduling show date information."
Rihanna is reportedly expected to be back on stage March 12 in Baltimore, according to Us Weekly.
"#BOSTON this is the hardest thing for me to deal with! I feel like we've been waiting on this day forever, and I'm hurt that I let you down," Rihanna tweeted following the cancellation announcement. "I hate disappointing people that never ever let me down!! I'm so embarrassed about this! Thank you for your prayers and well wishes!"
--Additional reporting by Marcus Mulick
Rihanna's Diamonds World Tour runs until July 28, wrapping up in Helsinki, Finland.


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- Home
- City Hall
- Departments & Divisions
- Development Services
- Planning & Zoning
- Planning Studies & Projects
In May 2011, the city of Marietta was notified by the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) of its award to three transportation enhancement grant applications that were submitted in late 2010.
The livable centers initiative (LCI) is a program offered by the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) that encourages local jurisdictions to plan and implement strategies that link transportation improvements with land-use development strategies to create sustainable, livable communities consistent with regional development policies.
The city is dedicated to providing a well-connected trail system through Marietta that will link to Cobb County trails.
The City of Marietta adopted its current plan on October 22, 2017.
Check out the studies and improvement plans for Cobb County which impact Marietta.


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Can shares of Tesla electric-car maker's stay white-hot?
- Tesla shares are surging
- Stock is up 132%25 the past six weeks
- But is the electric-car maker a tech%2C not auto stock%3F
Shares of electric-car maker Tesla fell Tuesday afternoon, erasing the trading session's earlier gains. Shares are still more than doubled the past six weeks.
And the price of the white-hot stock rocketed the first week of May after the company announced its first profitable quarter.
Tesla shares closed Monday at $83.27 a share. That was down 5.2% for the day, but the stock up 49% from $55.79 a share Thursday before its first-quarter earnings report. Since April 1, the shares have rocketed 120%.
Investors' latest infatuation with the Calif.based electric-car maker follows a glowing review of its only model, the Model S sedan, on Friday from Consumer Reports magazine.
Investors are liking what they saw in the details of the electric-car maker's earnings report. The $11 million first-quarter profit shattered the assumption that no automaker can make money selling small numbers of plug-in cars. And Tesla posted a 17% gross profit margin, using American workers, in an industry where 10% is considered outstanding.
"There's a tremendous amount of enthusiasm for this car and this company in California, which we don't see here on the other side of the continent," said Theodore O'Neill, founder of Connecticut-based Litchfield Hills Research. "How far can Tesla go? As far as they want to go."
As impressive as its first quarter looked, it's going to be a long road. Tesla's fortunes are tied to its only car, the Model S, which ranges in price from $70,000 before tax credits to more than $100,000. The car can go 230 to 300 miles on a charge, depending on the size of the battery. Consumer Reports, whose reviews are among the most closely watched in the auto business, called it the best car it has tested since 2007, giving it a score of 99 out of 100.
But Tesla has to show it can be consistently profitable with a single product that is priced so high that most buyers can't afford it. There are questions, too, about whether it can keep its order books full, or whether the number of people who crave electric cars is limited.
CEO Elon Musk has noted the affordability problem and said he hopes to create a mass-market Tesla, but that it is still three or four years away.
Tesla sold 4,900 electric cars over the first three months of the year compared with 4,244 Chevrolet Volts and 3,539 Nissan Leafs over the same period. Musk said Tesla's gross profit margin should increase to 25% by the end of the year. In contrast, Ford's first-quarter profit margin in North America hit 11%, a result that both the company and analysts thought was a sign of strength.
"It has many of the elements of a tech stock," said Jeremy Anwyl, vice chairman of Edmunds.com. "(Investors) are making a bet on Elon. Wall Street was enamored with the cult of personality."
For the year, Tesla expects to deliver about 21,000 cars, slightly better than its previous guidance of 20,000. And to hear him talk about it, Musk hardly sounds concerned about enough orders for his car.
"We haven't really tried to push volume super hard yet," Musk said. "I think you have to make sure the house is in order … before you push volume."
But competition in the plug-in luxury car field is coming, and it could cut Tesla's volumes.
GM plans to introduce the Cadillac ELR, a luxury extended-range electric coupe based on the same technology as the Volt, in January or February, Cadillac spokesman David Caldwell said. The Volt starts at $40,000, meaning the ELR could be in the $60,000 range.
In addition to cars, Tesla now makes money by selling zero-emission vehicle credits to other automakers. California requires automakers selling more than 60,000 vehicles a year — currently the six largest brands — to offer zero-emission cars. If they can't sell enough of them, or don't want to, they can buy credits from other automakers.
Sales from those credits were $68 million in the first quarter, or 12% of Tesla's revenue.
The state said that does not taint Tesla's results. "This success is not being subsidized by other car companies," said Stanley Young, spokesman for the California Air Resources Board. "Car manufacturers are not required to purchase credits, nor does ARB establish a price."
Snavely and Bomey write for the Detroit Free Press.


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Friday, February 27, 2009
North of Beautiful: Geocache-o-rama #5
So in today's cache--Beauty: One Etsy Step at a Time--I take you to one of my favorite sources of inspiration. And to one of my favorite jewelers of all who created readergirlz pendents for my divas divine as well as Girl Overboard necklaces for my editors.
How to play:
1. Visit the coordinates listed below.
2. Find the answer to the question, also below.
3. Drop a comment on this blog with the answer, your name, and your email.
4. Winner receives...a mystery cache of galleys! Woo hoo!
Inspiration comes on wings for her.
What is the working name of this artist AND can you tell which YA novel she luuuuurves?
Thursday, February 26, 2009
North of Beautiful: Geocache-o-rama #4
Come play with me!
1. Visit the coordinates below.
2. Answer the question by commenting on this blog. Include your name and email address.
3. I'll choose a winner randomly who shall receive...one of the last limited edition North of Beautiful geocaching tins! Woo hoo!
So...today's virtual cache, SHAPING BEAUTY and I'm not talking about Spanx, takes you to one of the most beautiful, powerful, and empowering women on the web. I absolutely love how this woman advocates for us to use the power of media to make positive change.
What is the name of the organization and who is its incredible executive director?
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
North of Beautiful: Geocache-o-rama #3
Welcome to Day 3 of the North of Beautiful Geocache-o-rama--your virtual treasure hunt for True Beauty on the web. Today's cache: Divas Divine. (Oh, the photo is there just to throw you off.)
Play with me!
1. Visit the coordinates.
2. Figure out the Answer!
3. Drop me a comment here with the Answers, your name, and your email.
4. Winner today wins a SIGNED copy of North of Beautiful. Woo hoo!
a. Which Diva is no shrinking violet when it comes to fashion?
b. Which Diva also created readertotz?
c. Which Diva has Brimstone running in her writerly veins?
d. Which Diva won the Mythopoeic Award for Fantasy--alongside Tamora Pierce? (www.readergirlz.com)
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
North of Beautiful: Geocache-o-rama #2
Welcome to Day 2 of the North of Beautiful Geocache-o-Rama! Today's virtual cache? BEZAZZLED BEAUTY!
How do you play?
- Visit the link that I provide below.
- Read the clue(s).
- Drop me a comment here with the Answer plus your name and email.
- A lucky winner will be chosen at random.
- Limited edition readergirlz buttons today!
What does beauty mean to you?
What is the name of the videographer who created the FIRST (and awesome) entry to the FIND BEAUTY CHALLENGE?? (Bonus points to those who drop on a comment on her video!)
Geocache-o-rama Day 1: WINNER!
Thanks to everyone for participating. Check back for the second geocache in this week of fun, tooling around the web looking at things I find Truly Beautiful.
The Question:
What is the name of the winning movie for Best Short Documentary?
Drum roll, please.
The Correct Answer:
Smile Pinki!
Monday, February 23, 2009
North of Beautiful: Geocache-o-rama #1
So to celebrate, I'm hosting a week of virtual geocaching with fun prizes of mucho fabulosity! Think of geocaching as high tech treasure hunting. Armed with a GPS device and coordinates, you hunt for thousands of stashed treasure boxes around the world. Hmmmm...aren't you curious what my North of Beautiful geocache tins contain?
So. This week we'll try high tech treasure hunting with clues I'll give to you--sending you to places that I think are Truly Beautiful. Post your comment with your answer and your email address, and I will randomly select a winner of the above geocache tin.
The North of Beautiful Geocache-o-rama #1: Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder
In my book, Jacob had a cleft lip--a condition that can be fixed with a relatively simple surgery. I find it truly beautiful that the winner of this year's Oscar for Best Short Documentary is about this very condition.
What is the name of the winning movie for Best Short Documentary?
Today, I'm thankful for readers--whether book buyers or library patrons or both!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The North of Beautiful Geocache-o-rama!
I realize that for most people, hauling out to the incredible North of Beautiful geocache that Dia Calhoun created and placed in the Methow Valley (central Washington state) is almost as impossible as hauling up to Mt. Everest. As well, I recognize that most people do not have a GPS device of their own. (Although I must say that my Garmin GPS is my accessory of choice.)
This week, I will present the North of Beautiful virtual geocache-o-rama. I will be giving away fun prizes of much fabulosity. Check back here for more details!
Friday, February 20, 2009
Poetry Friday: Captive
A lovely poem by my daughter's amazing teacher.
by Joyce Standing
A thought
captured by a pen
a moment.
North of Beautiful: The Official Geocache!
They spirited me to Dia's favorite fishing hole...where Dia presented me with the official North of Beautiful geocache! Not only did she create a cache--stuffing it with keepsakes and symbols from my book, but she had scoped out a site for the cache, too.
We were giggling as we took the coordinates... N 48° 08.290 W 120° 01.022.
Your mission: Go to the Methow Valley. You won't be sorry. And now can you find the cache?
Today I am grateful for friends who know my heart.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Operation Teen Book Drop
Last year, my online book community, readergirlz, worked with 21 publishers to drop 10,000 FREE books into Children's Hospitals around the country. (Thank you, publishers!) We're psyched for a repeat performance. Check out the video below and get ready to Rock the Drop with us!
North of Beautiful: Tour de Auburn
Meeting people--whether librarians or readers or booksellers--has got to be one of the best perks of being an author for teens. My tour schedule this year is more limited than my previous years, which made my first foray out so special. The teens in the library were especially prepared with excellent questions about North of Beautiful and my writing process.
The support I receive when I visit schools, like Auburn High School, is equally amazing. Can you even comprehend the hours the school librarian must have spent to create this display for readergirlz and Guysread? I'm so glad that she took the time to include guys. (I talked up Guys Lit Wire, too, while I was there--and if you haven't checked that resource out, you really ought to!)
Today, I'm thankful for librarians who think teens can benefit from authors visiting their schools and libraries.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Valentine's Everyday!
Today I am grateful for friends and family who have made me see that everyday is Valentine's Day.
By the way, NARS Flamenco? The lip shade rocks! Highly recommended.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
Inside North of Beautiful: Confluence Gallery
While the description of the Nest & Egg gallery in my book is fabricated from my own imagination--and the kind of studio space where I personally would love to collage, the spirit of the gallery is pure Confluence.
Confluence Gallery
104 Glover Street
Twisp, WA
Friday, February 13, 2009
North of Beautiful Blog Stop: Stephanie's Confessions of a Bookaholic
Rounding out these last two weeks o' fun with bloggers, I'm headed over to Stephanie's Book Blog. So join me over there today!
A special thanks to Sara Easterly for spearheading this week's blog tour and to Mitali Perkins for managing last week's tour.
Poetry Friday: Winter Scene
In honor of midwinter break...I give you...
Winter Scene
by Bliss Carman, 1861-1929
Now is the time, with
Winter o'er the World,
For books and friends
and yellow candle light,
And timeless lingering
byt the settling fire.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
The Official Rite of Passage Book List for Guys
The Go-To authors of choice for new teen guys? M.T. Anderson and Chris Crutcher. I can't wait to introduce my new teen to them.
Here it is, The Official Rite of Passage Book List for Guys:
Be More Chill
Lord of the Flies
A Separate Peace
Catcher in the Rye
Staying Fat for Sarah Bynes
Standard Hero Behavior
Going Nowhere Faster
The Chocolate War
Speak / Inexcusable
Looking for Alaska
Call it Courage
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
Knights of the Hill Country
Whale Talk
The Knife of Letting Go
Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life
I am the Cheese
David Copperfield
Succeeding against the odds
Fullmetal Alchemist
Samurai Shortstop
Sleeping Freshmen Never Lie
Viking Warrior
Something Happened
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
North of Beautiful Blog Stop: Mother Daughter Book Club
When I was invited to be interviewed for Mother Daughter Book Club, I couldn't believe it. I've been a fan of Cindy Hudson's for a looong time. Her mission to encourage moms and daughters to read together inspires me. And it's something I'd love readergirlz to figure out: how to get teen girls and their moms to read YA together. Talk about opening communication!
One of my personal goals is to restart the mother-son-daughter book club that I began with another friend 2 years ago. Coordinating schedules has been the biggest challenge. If you have any suggestions on that front, let me know!
Today I'm grateful for visionary mothers like Cindy.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Rite of Passage: Books
FAT KID RULES THE WORLD by K.L. Going! (I've been dying to have my son read one of my favorite books of all time. At last! I feel that he's old enough! This is present to myself, really.)
DIARY OF A PART-TIME INDIAN by Sherman Alexie! (Ditto!)
What other books should be part of his rite of passage to mark his move from boyhood to manhood?
North of Beautiful Blog Stop: Mythbuster Beauty
Put on lipstick, put on attitude. So it is severely bumming me out that I am down to two (count them, TWO) tubes of lipstick. (That's what happens when you move to two counties in three months: excessive, regretful purging.) As Paula Yoo so aptly proposed when the two of us were having a convergence of BAD DAY blahs: "I'm going out to buy lipstick."
So join me today as the guest blogger at Mythbuster Beauty, the source of all things hip and beautiful. Plus--for the bargain shoppers out there--they always have the scoopola on great deals. Which I love since it means more money to buy books. Ha!
Today I am grateful for small indulgences that boost a woman's spirit. Hmmmm...perhaps I need to record an addendum to my video essay for my Find Beauty Challenge: Ode to LipStick.
Monday, February 9, 2009
Climbing Walls: Rite of Passage
So as my son's 13th birthday approached, I'd been brainstorming about creating our own rite of passage to demarcate the end of his official childhood and the beginning of his manhood. As the Big Day neared, I had a few other personal things I needed to attend to and I was coming up empty on ideas. My friend, Lorie Ann, however, gave me a serious tushy kicking about my son's rite of passage. I'm so glad she did!
So...I challenged my guy to face his fear of heights and booked us for a lesson at our local climbing gym, Vertical World (which is where I researched part of Nothing but the Truth and a few white lies). There, he mustered his courage and scaled FIVE walls (count 'em, FIVE) as if he had been born in the Himalayas! Bhutan Boy, that's my little man!
Which, of course, inspired me to get in my harness. As it did my daughter. But what got me to the tippy top of the most challenging wall of the night? My kids down below who promised, "Mom, we'll do the laundry next week if you reach the top!"
Heh heh. Now, that's what I call inspiration. Fear conquered! The laundry fairies are visiting Chez Headley this week. Woo hoo!
Today, I give thanks to my kids--my young man and little girl--who think I'm weird but are up for my ideas anyway.
North of Beautiful: Bluestocking Society
Join me today on Jessica's blog, The Bluestocking Society, where I'm the guest blogger on Beauty. Any woman who counts Powell's Books as one of her happiest places on earth is a friend of mine. (Stay tuned: Powell's interviewed me for their website.)
Here's my favorite quote from Jessica's review of North of Beautiful:
"I could write a term paper on the layers of this theme in this book. North of Beautiful reminded me, in many ways, of a John Green novel - smart teenagers stumbling through situations and eventually getting their legs beneath them - from a girl's perspective."
Now that is high praise.
Today I am thankful for book lovers who take the time to share their love of books with others. (Go, Jessica!)
Sunday, February 8, 2009
North of Beautiful: Beauty + Book Blog Tour!
North of Beautiful celebrates true beauty, and in honor of that, my good friend Sara Easterly has organized a Beauty + Book Blog Tour. So please drop in on the blogs and celebrate what makes YOU uniquely beautiful. While you're at it, upload your video essay on True Beauty at www.youtube.com/northofbeautiful!
Monday, February 9: The Bluestocking Society
Tuesday, February 10: Mythbuster Beauty http://www.mythbusterbeauty.com
Wednesday, February 11: MotherDaughterBookClub.comFriday, February 13: Stephanie's Books
See you this week!
(Today I am grateful for all the beauty that surrounds me.)
Saturday, February 7, 2009
Giving Thanks: A Week In Review
As earth stirs in her winter sleep
And puts out grass and flowers
Despite the snow,
Despite the falling snow.
--Robert Graves
Look. There's hope.
--Lorie Ann Grover
Despite the snow, the falling snow that's been upheaving my life, there's so much hope and so much to be thankful for. Here, then, are the grass and flowers that earth has given me so plentifully:
1. Holly Cupala who so generously created the much-talked about, much-forwarded beautiful Book Launch announcement. She is a dear and loyal friend.
2. Martha Brockenbrough who is single-handedly overseeing the North of Beautiful: Find Beauty Challenge. She is truly one of the most generous (and funny) people I know. Michael Sterns, you got yourself a treasure. So did you, Adam.
3. My son and his best friend, Gaby, who gave up their entire day AND the Super Bowl to be videographers, shooting video essays on beauty at my party. You both are becoming incredible young men.
4. Mitali Perkins who spearheaded the incredibly fun Book Blog Tour with luminaries like Shelf Elf, Sarah Rettger, Bibliophile, and Teen Book Review. We dished on everything from characters to bubble tea. Now, tell me, are these soul sisters or what?
5. Brenda Gurung, the world's best Community Relations Manager at my local Barnes & Noble, who said: Justina, let me host your Book Launch Party; you just show up. So the woman created a map collage as a backdrop.
Then she kicked off a virtual geocaching scavenger hunt around the store, arranged a collage station, gave away prizes, publicized the event all over town... Brenda, you are a gift.
6. My daughter who is the best meeter-and-greeter. Ever. And best daughter ever.
7. Miss Erin whose mom drove her 5.5 hours to surprise me at the party! I cried when I saw her!
8. All my friends who turned out for the party despite the Super Bowl--from Anita at the post office whose lips have kissed every manuscript that I've mailed (good luck lips, I'm telling you!) to my StrataGem pals to my sister who tore herself away from studying for finals. And especially my Diviners critique group, readergirlz, and Kim Swift (the famous gamer girl!) who baked and baked and baked to feed everyone at the party. A special thanks to Jackie Parker whose amazing cinnamon rolls save me after a dire energy lull.
9. Barnes & Noble for putting North of Beautiful in its coveted real estate: the home page scroll on its website. It was thrilling to see my book alongside President Obama, Bruce Springsteen, and James Patterson. And then merchandised my book prominently on the Teen Page. Thank you. I am so humbled by the company Terra got to keep this week. And I am absolutely humbled that in this economy, readers are spending their precious dollars on my words. Thank you so much.
10. And all the unexpected gifts that this week held for me: a starred review from Booklist, freshly baked bread from Barbara Stolzenburg (one of the first librarians to get behind my first novel), a collage and serenade from Miss Erin... These are just a few of the ways you have made one author feel nurtured and beloved. I thank you all.
Despite the snow, despite the falling snow, hope is waiting to bloom.
Friday, February 6, 2009
North of Beautiful Blog Stop: Teen Book Review
If you want to dish about Beauty and the Neurotic Woman (oh, does that sound like me and you?), then check in next week when I visit Beauty Bloggers and a few Booksters.
For today, I drop in on the ever-popular, ever-insightful Jocelyn over at Teen Book Review. Answer the question Jocelyn poses on today's blog, and you can win yourself an autographed copy of North of Beautiful.
Here's a sneak peek at our chat:
Jocelyn: Travel (one of my favorite things!) is also important in this novel. What do you think makes travel an important experience, in general?
Justina: Traveling is a crash course on life: logistics (how do I get from here to there?), survival (are you going to starve or try the fish eyes?), resilience (can I can trek for another kilometer?), resourcefulness (okaaaay…so the train was canceled. Now what?), tolerance (got it...so when they tell me I'm fat, it's actually a compliment!).For the full interview, check out www.teenbookreview.wordpress.com.
Poetry Friday: Phenomenal Woman
North of Beautiful is officially out this week, and I want to pay homage to my favorite poem that inspired the book. This was given to me by my friend, Si Oyama, one March for National Women's History Month. And now I give it to you, the phenomenal women who read my words.
Pretty women wonder where my secret lies.
I'm not cute or built to suit a fashion model's size
But when I start to tell them,
They think I'm telling lies.
I say,
It's in the reach of my arms
The span of my hips,
The stride of my step,
The curl of my lips.
I'm a woman
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
I walk into a room
Just as cool as you please,
And to a man,
The fellows stand or
Fall down on their knees.
Then they swarm around me,
A hive of honey bees.
I say,
It's the fire in my eyes,
And the flash of my teeth,
The swing in my waist,
And the joy in my feet.
I'm a woman
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Men themselves have wondered
What they see in me.
They try so much
But they can't touch
My inner mystery.
When I try to show them
They say they still can't see.
I say,
It's in the arch of my back,
The sun of my smile,
The ride of my breasts,
The grace of my style.
I'm a woman
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Now you understand
Just why my head's not bowed.
I don't shout or jump about
Or have to talk real loud.
When you see me passing
It ought to make you proud.
I say,
It's in the click of my heels,
The bend of my hair,
the palm of my hand,
The need of my care,
'Cause I'm a woman
Phenomenal woman,
That's me.
Maya Angelou
Thursday, February 5, 2009
North of Beautiful Blog Stop: Bibliophile
Here's a tidbit from our chat:
Sarah: Did you start geocaching before it became one of Jacob's hobbies, or did it move from the book into the rest of your life?
Justina: Years ago, I had read about geocaching—high tech treasure hunting using a GPS—in an article. It later occurred to me that geocaching could be symbolic of Terra's controlling mapmaker of a father who tries to box her into a grid and the boy who uses maps to break open her world. So in the name of research, I bought a GPS, created an account at www.geocaching.com, and hauled my kids on an expedition. We were hooked!
To read the whole interview, please visit Jennifer's blog at www.tushuguan.blogspot.com.
Feb 6, Friday
Teen Book Review with Jocelyn Pearce
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
North of Beautiful Blog Stop: Archimedes Forgets
Be the first to answer Sarah's posted question on Archimedes Forgets, and you'll win an autographed copy of North of Beautiful.
Here's a tidbit from our chat:
Sarah: Did you start geocaching before it became one of Jacob's hobbies, or did it move from the book into the rest of your life?
Justina: Years ago, I had read about geocaching—high tech treasure hunting using a GPS—in an article. It later occurred to me that geocaching could be symbolic of Terra's controlling mapmaker of a father who tries to box her into a grid and the boy who uses maps to break open her world. So in the name of research, I bought a GPS, created an account at www.geocaching.com, and hauled my kids on an expedition. We were hooked!
To read the whole interview, please visit Sarah's blog at www.sarahrettger.blogspot.com.
Feb 5, Thursday
Bibliophile with Jennifer Rothschild
Feb 6, Friday
Teen Book Review with Jocelyn Pearce
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Another Book Giveaway: Debbi Florence
Anyway, this just in from Debbi:
"And as a bonus, I'm holding a drawing on my blog - http://d-michiko-f.livejournal.com. Comment on the post announcing my interview with Justina and you might win a signed copy of NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL! Drawing takes place on February 12 and I'll announce the winner on my blog on February 13th. Good luck!"
Today I am so grateful for life coincidences that bring us together in the most unexpected of places. Kindred spirits are everywhere!
Book Chic: An Author's Best Friend
For instance, Book Chic went around his town to take pix of his favorite authors' books (and to remerchandise some to face out positions). Love that! He found NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL and GIRL OVERBOARD at Barnes & Noble.
And then there's Melissa Walker, readergirlz diva and co-founder of iheartdaily.com who's been on the book look out for me.
North of Beautiful Blog Stop: Shelf Elf
New postergirl for readergirlz, Shelf Elf, is hosting me on the second stop of my North of Beautiful Book Blog tour. Be the first to answer Shelf Elf's posted question, and you'll win an autographed copy of North of Beautiful.
Here's a tidbit from our chat:
Shelf Elf: Your novel is a bit like Terra's artwork, since it is almost a "story-collage" of rich and surprising subjects: port-wine stains, geocaching, the art of coffee tasting, cartography and international adoption. I'm interested to understand how you began to make a story out of all of those topics.
Justina: North of Beautiful is a patchwork quilt of several epic journeys. (Read: several manuscripts that never came to fruition.) So much research I've done over the years for other potential stories finally made it into a book! For instance, I had been working on a non-fiction book eight years ago and interviewed the coffee buyer for Starbucks, Mary Williams.
To read the whole interview, please visit Shelf Elf's blog at www.shelfelf.wordpress.com.
Feb 4, Wednesday
Archimedes Forgets with Sarah Rettger
Feb 5, Thursday
Bibliophile with Jennifer Rothschild
Feb 6, Friday
Teen Book Review with Jocelyn Pearce
Monday, February 2, 2009
North of Beautiful & President Obama!
Self-absorption is never a pretty sight. However.
1. President Obama wrote my son a personal letter. (Yes, he did.)
2. My politico friends--you know who you are--all have photos of themselves with our president. Gallivanting off to DC for the Inauguration. Yadda, yadda, yadda.
Ahem. Just look who is NEXT to the President here on the B&N Home Page. Hmmmm... Could that be Terra?
~justina who is now weaning herself slowly away from the computer where she has been posted since her favorite B&Nie (beanie?), Brenda Gurung (CRM of mucho amazingness and event planner extraordinaire of memorable book parties), phoned her in the wee early hours and ordered her to said PC. She realizes this book-absorption is really not becoming. Or healthy. BUT says that this is infinitely healthier and more pleasant than watching the stock ticker.
North of Beautiful: Booklist Starred Review!
This just in from Booklist:
(**visualize a cute little star right here**) Headley has written an exquisite book that explores the difference between physical and true beauty...She uses Terra's artistic medium, collage, as a literary device to create layer upon layer of experiences and insights into a finely crafted, artfully written journey of self-discovery, self actualization, and love. With every carefully chosen word, well-crafted sentence, and fully developed character, Headley maps out a wholly satsifying reading experience that takes readers from terra nullis to terra firma.
Thanks to my editor, Alvina Ling, for calling me personally with the news. Love that woman.
North of Beautiful: On the B&N Home Page!
I can't believe it! NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL is on Barnes & Noble's home page scroll. Next to John Grisham and The Boss! Whoa.
My thanks to the B&N and Little, Brown team who made this happen.
North of Beautiful Blog Tour: Mitali's Fire Escape
Here's a tidbit from our chat:
Mitali: As the mother of teen boys who don't often see an Asian-American as the "it" guy in pop culture, I'm grateful that you created such a hunk in Jacob.
Justina: One of my missions as a writer was to create a hunk who happened to be Asian! That was a gift for my two brothers and my son…and all the Asian-American dudes out there who need to see guys like themselves as cool. Heartdroppingly cool. Devastatingly cool. It makes me feel great that readers of all ages are emailing me: "I. Am. So. In. Love. With. Jacob." Mission accomplished!
To read the whole interview, please visit Mitali's blog at www.mitaliblog.com.
Feb 3, Tuesday
Shelf Elf with Kerry Miller
Feb 4, Wednesday
Archimedes Forgets with Sarah Rettger
Feb 5, Thursday
Bibliophile with Jennifer Rothschild
Feb 6, Friday
Teen Book Review with Jocelyn Pearce
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Please Sign the NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL Guest Book HERE
Thanks so much for celebrating the release of my third novel, NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL. I am so excited to share Terra with you and can't wait to hear what you think about her, the book, and Jacob.
Whether you're here at today's official launch party at Barnes & Noble in Bellevue, WA, or at home in your pajamas, THANK YOU for your support. (And thanks for giving up the Super Bowl, to be here instead. THAT is a sign of TRUE friendship and EXCELLENT taste. Ha!)
Please sign into this Guest Book a la Blog.
Much appreciation,
Find Beauty Challenge
I made a pledge to tie all my books to community service somehow. So...in honor of North of Beautiful's imminent release...I give you a sneak peek at the NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL: FIND BEAUTY CHALLENGE!
Tell the world what you find to be Truly Beautiful! Just upload a 90-second video describing what real beauty means to you...and you could win yourself an iTouch! PLUS, for every uploaded video, I'll donate $10 (up to $1,000) to Global Surgical Outreach, an amazing group that helps kids with cleft lips and palates in the third world.
Here's what to do:
1. Record a 90-second video essay about what's truly beautiful to you!
2. Upload the video onto YouTube.
3. Then...send a link to email@example.com. (Martha Brockenbrough--tech guru and my friend of much wonderosity--will link your video to the North of Beautiful YouTube channel.)
4. Tell all your friends to RATE your video.
The Official Rules for the NORTH OF BEAUTIFUL: FIND BEAUTY CHALLENGE:
1) The Top 5 videos will be chosen by YOU based on the most views and highest ratings. So be sure to tell all your friends to vote for you! Any ties will be broken by the North of Beautiful team.
2) The North of Beautiful team will score the five finalists on A) 40 percent emotional appeal (humor, pull-on-the-heartstrings, incites activism, etc.); B) 40 percent content (clean, widespread appeal across audiences, plot – if applicable, scriptwriting – if applicable); and C) 20 percent professionalism (smooth transitions, stable video, non-jarring editing cuts, constant audio levels).
3) All videos must contain original content. Your entry indicates you understand this and have the legal rights to distribute your video.
4) Any videos deemed inappropriate by the North of Beautiful team will be removed. Please don't upload anything that wouldn't, say, be shown on television during prime-time hours, or anything you wouldn't want to watch with your first-grade teacher. So no nudity, profanity, or racial slurs.
5) The contest will run from 12:01 a.m. Feb. 1, 2009 until 11:59 p.m. Mar. 30, 2009. Anything submitted before or after the deadline can't be considered.
6) Justina will donate $10 for every uploaded video (for a maximum of $1,000) to Global Surgical Outreach to help fund facial surgeries for kids in the third world.
7) The Find Beauty Challenge is open to people over 14.8) The Grand Prize winner will receive one iPod Touch. 3 runners up will receive fabulous gifts, such as an autographed collection of Justina's novels, other free books, etc.


text:
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text: I have researched the Purple Martin and the bird experts all agree the bees are one of the staple food sources for them. And oddly enough, mosquitos are not due to their size. Moths and butterflies are also listed as a main food source. So if someone could train them to eat wax moths and leave the bees alone, instant fame.


text:
Need script to get row counts and table size (MB) for all tables in a db for a DB2 UDB DB. I know I can use the GET_DBSIZE_INFO proc and then do a select count(*) from tablename. However, the output isnt record/row oriented.
I want to load the results into a table for subsequent use. Any thoughts would be appreciated.


text:
Tonight, Ken Griffey Jr. joined an exclusive club. He hit his 600th career homerun, which is a feat previously accomplished by Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, and Sammy Sosa.
It is truly a remarkable accomplishment and he achieved it in a Reds' uniform. Griffey has had an up-and-down tenure in Cincinnati, but tonight everyone should just sit back and enjoy. Here, for your viewing pleasure, is Ken Griffey Jr.'s 600th homerun.
Oddly enough, the closer Griffey got to #600, the farther he may have gotten away from Cincinnati. At this point, Griffey's days are likely numbered in Cincinnati. His production doesn't really justify his cost and the Reds likely need to get younger. It's possible that the Reds will choose to exercise the team option on Griffey for 2009, but it is equally possible that the Reds were just waiting for him to hit his 600th homerun before trading him back to Seattle.
Whatever happens in the near future, tonight was certainly a special night to be a Reds fan.
Congrats Junior!!!!


text:
Welcome to PWInsider.com's TNA Final Resolution 2007 live coverage!
The Pre-Game show opened with a video feature spotlighting the main events for tonight's PPV broadcast from Orlando, Florida.
We moved live on the air with Raven beating down Serotonin with Singapore Canes for losing a dark match before they went on the air.
They went to Christy Hemme outside the building, surrounded by chanting fans pushing those at home to order TNA's first PPV of the year.
TNA is pushing a text message voting for fans to voice who's going to win the 30 Minute Iron Man match at 99 cents a text. I guess that's the new 900 number gimmick.
Mike Tenay and Don West reviewing the lineup for tonight's PPV.
Leticia was backstage Bob Backlund, who is going to be one of the judges tonight. Backlund covered her up and basically threw out a ton of big words while Leticia looked confused and tried to ad lib around it. It didn't come off good. In the end, Backlund handed her a dictionary and told her to call her mom. Seriously!
They aired a video feature on Rhino vs. AJ Styles.
Backstage, Jeremy Borash ran down matches for the PPV and pushed the Angle/Joe fan voting, which they claimed was at 50% after seven minutes. Borash introduced Rhino, who promised it was all going to end tonight between he and AJ Styles. He said the final man to stand on their own two feet would be the winner. He promised he would destroy Styles and rip him in half with a gore tonight.
Lance Hoyt vs. Chase Stevens
Stevens is still wearing his Franchised Naturals gear. They painted it as if Team 3D had destroyed the Naturals last month. They showed The Chicago White Sox' Dale Torborg and AJ Pierzynski at ringside to build to the big MLB tag match scheduled for later this year. Hoyt backdropped Stevens. Stevens hit a springboard dropkick, sending Hoyt to the floor, where he ended up in the Whote Sox's face. They mocked him. Back in the ring, Stevens worked over Hoyt. He went for a high cross bodyblock but was caught and slammed down. Stevens hit a running boot to the face on Hoyt. Hoyt caught him and hit a TKO variation for the pin. OK match. Too short to be anything of note but nothing wrong with it.
Your winner, Lance Hoyt!
Hoyt immediately went down to ringside and got into Torborg's face. Torborg shoved him and they started brawling. Torborg got tossed into the ringside area and Pierzynski slammed Hoyt over the back with a chair. Security broke it up.
In the midst of all this, Shane Douglas came out and ripped apart Stevens for wearing the Franchise colors. Stevens didn't like it and shoved Douglas back. Security then got between them. Once they pulled the bit with Shane Douglas, it came off like they were trying to do too much at once, but the MLB angle was fine.
They aired a video feature on LAX vs. Team 3D.
They reviewed what just happened with Lance Hoyt and the White Sox. Smart idea.
They aired a video feature on the Three-Way for the NWA title.
Jeremy Borash interviewed NWA champion Abyss and Jim Mitchell. Mitchell said it was a glorious time to be alive. Mitchell said that for the past several months, Sting has been a thorn in Mitchell's side but they have fixed all the things Sting has done to mess with Abyss' mind. Mitchell said that Abyss was going to get the job done once and for all tonight. Christian Cage and Tomko showed up. Cage said that he had something Mitchell would be interested in and said they needed to talk. Mitchell walked off with Cage. Abyss went to follow but Tomko got into his face and the two stared down.
Christy Hemme took predictions for the Iron Man match from fans at ringside and then pitched it to a video feature on the match. Hemme is really great in her role.
Jeremy Borash announced that the winner of the Iron Man match would challenge the NWA champion next month at Against All Odds. He interviewed Kurt Angle, who said it he came to TNA with two things in mind. He wanted to end Samoa Joe's winning streak and he did so. He said he wanted to win the NWA title and would next month. He said that last month when Joe beat him, Joe only pissed off Angle so for those 30 minutes, Joe was all his.
Don West did a hard sell to push tonight's PPV.
They aired a music video to close out the pre-game show.
For ad-free coverage of tonight's PPV and the exclusive post-game audio show, join the PWInsider.com Elite Section now!
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text:
NEW YORK, Feb 08, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Loews Corporation (NYSE: L) announced today the declaration of the Company's quarterly dividend of $0.0625 per share of Common Stock, payable March 14, 2011 to shareholders of record on March 1, 2011.
Loews Corporation, a holding company, is one of the largest diversified corporations in the United States. Its principal subsidiaries are CNA Financial Corporation (NYSE: CNA), a 90% owned subsidiary; Diamond Offshore Drilling, Inc. (NYSE: DO), a 50.4% owned subsidiary; HighMount Exploration & Production LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary; Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP (NYSE: BWP), a 66% owned subsidiary; and Loews Hotels, a wholly owned subsidiary.
SOURCE: Loews Corporation
Loews Corporation
Peter W. Keegan, 212-521-2950
Chief Financial Officer
Darren Daugherty, 212-521-2788
Investor Relations
Candace Leeds, 212-521-2416
Public Affairs