text:
Where have the last 3 months gone? March Madness is on the horizon, Duke plays Carolina in Cameron tomorrow, and Baby Alex is already 3 months old. Craziness!
I had originally planned to go back to work in April, but that was back when I figured we'd get a spot in his sister's daycare. Well, we will, but probably not until June, but possibly as late as September.
September! Yikes! Considering he was born at the end of November...yeah, there's no way I can stay on maternity leave for 9 months. Even June is pushing it, but is more doable.
But in the end, having the extra time at home is going to be a blessing. Not only do I have more time to spend with the cute little guy, but I've decided to put it to advantage and really get some good writing done.
At Gemma's suggestion, I decided to apply for the Nook First program through Barnes & Noble. I'm not really a huge fan of exclusivity agreements as a matter of principle, but since Nook First is just 30 days and is only for new releases, I figured it was worth an experiment.
I'm super excited to announce that Barnes & Noble has selected Pointe of No Return as the May 14 Nook First pick! B&N only spotlights 4 books per month in the Nook First program, so this is really cool.
But this means that Pointe will only be available as a NookBook for the first month, so all other readers will have to wait until June 13. So I've decided to run an ARC contest right now. Leave a comment and you'll be entered to win an ARC of Pointe of No Return once it's ready. It's still in revisions at the moment, but I'm working hard to get it ready to publish in May, so hope to have the ARC ready to be sent in April.
Pointe is the sequel to Codename: Dancer. Dani is assigned to understudy her nemesis Hadley in the Nutcracker. Which is a big honor for a freshman, except it means she won't get a chance to dance in the performance. So when Hadley mysteriously goes missing, Dani doesn't really have any incentive to try to find her. Except knowing Dani, she won't stand by when there's a mystery to uncover!
It's got kidnapping, a drug ring, dirty politicians, and the "Real Trophy Wives of Scottsdale." Throw in some great dancing and you've got "Pointe of No Return!"
So consider this an IOU. If you win, I'll send you an e-book copy in the format of your choice in April.
And for now, enjoy the first chapter!
Normally it would be pervy for a middle-aged man to touch a teenager's rear. But there hasn't been anything normal about my life ever since I moved to Arizona earlier this fall.
"Miss Spevak, your lines are a disgrace."
"Point your toes!"
"Posture, Miss Spevak! Lift your carriage and lengthen your body!"
"You ladies dance like apes!"
"How many times do I have to tell you to tuck your buttocks?"
That last one might be cause for sexual harassment complaints anywhere else, but not here. I'm a student at Mountain Shadows Academy of the Arts, majoring in dance. I divide my days between ballet and biology, tap and trigonometry, hip hop and history.
"Well, Miss Spevak?" Grigor Dmilov, the legendary principal dancer from the Phoenix Ballet, towered over my five-foot-three frame. His dark eyes bored into me as he pretended to wait for an answer that didn't really matter since the question was rhetorical anyway – dancers aren't allowed to talk in class. He used to intimidate me when I first came here.
Oh, who am I kidding? He still intimidates me. I just don't cry in the shower after class anymore.
The difference now is that I know corrections are an important part of the process. We spend six hours every day in the studio, striving for perfection. Sometimes it felt like our teachers loved to torture us, but they were just trying to get us to live up to our potential and beyond. Getting corrections was a compliment because it showed that the teachers wanted to nurture your talent.
Not being noticed at all was far more damaging to your career. Nobody wanted to be invisible.
I stood straighter, lifting my rib cage and tucking my derriere under as I prepared to bend my knees and lower myself to the ground in a grand plié. I have a natural tendency to slouch, so even though I've been dancing for years, I still have to consciously remind myself not to. It may be more comfortable, but it definitely doesn't look very nice. Monsieur Dmilov pushed on the back of my thigh to verify that I'd engaged my gluts, then satisfied that I had readjusted my alignment, moved on to his next victim.
The class raced through the positions – first, second, fourth, fifth – skipping third since it was useless, finally finishing with a grand port de bras to stretch our bodies. As I leaned forward, dropping to the ground with a graceful sweeping motion before straightening back up again, I caught the accompanist's eye and smiled.
It was a standard barre exercise, just like the start of class on any other day. Only it wasn't any other day. Today was Nutcracker audition day.
The nervous energy in the theatre was palpable. The next ninety minutes would determine how we'd spend the rest of the fall semester. What roles would we dance? A soldier or a soloist?
I looked around the stage at a sea of clones. In their black leotards, pink tights, satin toe shoes, slim physiques, and hair pulled back into a tight bun, the other girls looked almost identical to me, like a genetic experiment gone awry. At first glance, the only way to tell us all apart was by skin tone and hair color.
I wondered whether this was intentional. By tamping down our individual fashion sense in class, the underlying message was that we were not prima ballerinas. Yet. Most of us would be dancing in the corps, where our only responsibility was to perform choreography in a large group, nothing more. Standing out in the corps de ballet would mean you were doing something wrong, since the group was supposed to move as one body. The only time you wanted to be invisible.
A tall order for a group of girls who all had been the star back at home.
Would I be assigned to dance in the corps this year? Probably. I was just a freshman. The soloist roles were generally reserved for upperclassmen. Except for the boys, of course. Guys were lucky, because nobody really expected too much from them since they were few and far between. Girls were expected to be perfect, but as long as a guy could point his toes, jump, and make a reasonable effort at turns, everyone got excited and turned a blind eye to any deficiencies in his technique.
And if he was both cute and straight it was just a bonus.
It wasn't fair.
But nothing in ballet was fair, so I would just have to suck it up and deal, otherwise I would spend every waking hour making rug angels of despair for the rest of my life. Nobody wanted to admit it, but everyone felt jealousy.
Even Hadley Taylor.
Mountain Shadows' current star, Hadley was a junior and everyone's prediction for this year's Sugar Plum Fairy. She was also a certifiably unpleasant person to be around.
Look up the B-word in the dictionary and they have a picture of her right under the definition.
Or they should.
Hadley commanded the place of honor at the front of the barre. It wasn't an official position or anything. She just grabbed it on the first day of class and nobody was brave enough to challenge her for it. Not that it would matter anyway. Her dad was a major donor to the school.
A sharp clap broke my reverie and brought me back to the here-and-now. "Grands battements. Four front, four side, four back, four side. Á la seconde, you will close front first. Front, back, front, back."
Monsieur Dmilov briefly marked the pattern of the exercise, using his arms to substitute for his legs since we were supposed to understand simply from the names of the steps. "Crisp movements, ladies. At the end of each one, bring your feet back together in a tight fifth. If I try to squeeze a credit card between them, I should not succeed." He nodded at our reigning teen queen. "Miss Taylor, please demonstrate."
Hadley didn't even attempt to suppress her smug smile as she effortlessly kicked her leg high in the air. She had exquisite extension, each movement fluid. She was born to dance.
And she knew it.
But so was I. And I was going to show them.
An hour later, sweaty and feeling the burn of the workout tingling in every inch of my muscles, I dropped to the floor with the rest of the girls in grand révérance to our instructor and accompanist. I'd done this at the end of every ballet class for years, but today the curtsy was almost a prayer. An offering sent up to hopefully ensure a role. If I knew an Indian rain dance I'd probably try that, too.
We could use the rain in Arizona.
I just had to dance a solo. Clara would be great. Or Snow Queen. Or even one of the life-sized dolls. I wasn't picky.
Normally we would exit as quickly as possible, rushing to get back to the dorms, but today we all lingered, hoping to catch a glimpse of the cast list as soon as it was posted.
"You looked great today, Dani," my friend Maya Sapp said as I untied the satin ribbons of my toe shoes.
"You, too."
She laughed. "Now you're just being nice."
"No way. I saw that triple pirouette during the adagio. It was gorgeous. So smooth you almost hung in the air."
"Well, I fully expect I'll be dancing Snow again."
"Snow Queen?"
She shook her head. "One of the snowflakes in the corps. I think Ana's got that solo in the bag."
I had to agree. Our friend Analisa San Miguel was the epitome of elegance and grace. She'd make a beautiful Snow Queen. She hadn't come backstage yet, but had instead climbed into the orchestra pit to chat with the accompanist and practice her Spanish.
Well, that was one solo down. No, make that two. Hadley would definitely be Sugar Plum.
"Who do you think will be Clara?" I asked.
Me, me, me, me, me, I silently chanted, as if that could actually make it come true.
Maya shrugged. "I don't know. I think you're probably a strong contender. Or maybe Kat?"
"But she's a triple threat. Why would she want to be Clara?"
"Just because she wants to sing and dance on Broadway doesn't mean she wouldn't want a lead in a ballet."
I wrinkled my brow. "I thought she was a senior. Isn't that too old to dance the part of a twelve-year-old?"
"Not on stage. Kat's short. She could pull it off. Besides, pros do it all the time in the companies, and they're in their twenties."
She was right. And Kat would be perfect for the part. She had such an innocence about her when she danced. A natural actress. I could almost picture her skipping around the stage in the party scene with the wooden nutcracker, a present from her weird Uncle Drosselmeyer.
Okay, back to the drawing board.
Maybe I could dance Arabian? Or Chinese? The around-the-world dances in the Land of Sweets were always a crowd pleaser. Arabian would be super hot.
I shoved my toe shoes in my bag and was standing up to leave when Analisa joined us.
"Good class today. Easy," she said, tucking an imaginary stray wisp back into her tight bun.
Easy? My legs hurt way too much for a supposed easy class. But no way was I about to admit that. Especially not with Hadley within earshot.
In the great scheme of things, I guess it wasn't the most technically challenging class I'd ever taken. It seemed designed to observe us more than anything. I guess the challenge was in impressing the director.
"Dmilov was totally loving you," she continued, looking directly at me.
He was? "No way. He kept criticizing me."
"Dani, Dani, Dani." Maya shook her head. "Haven't you learned anything yet? Criticism is good."
I knew that, but sometimes the fragile artist's self-esteem needs a boost.
Especially when you were afraid you'd danced like a cow.
Or looked like one.
"Much better to be noticed than not," Analisa agreed.
Maya laughed. "Like me. He totally ignored me. I could've just slept in and nobody would've been the wiser. But I expected that."
"Why?" I asked. "You were on Teen Celebrity Dance-Off. You're one the best dancers at the school!"
"I'm a contemporary dancer, Dani. Ballet's not my thing. Not like it is for you and Ana. You're the bunheads." She shrugged and rolled her shoulders to work out the kinks in her muscles. "It's okay. I'll have fun dancing Snow. I already know the choreography."
"Wanna go grab a smoothie while we wait?" Analisa asked.
I flinched, both from the question and from the pain of my bleeding toes as I peeled back the lamb's wool I'd shoved inside my dance shoes. (I always laugh when people say that dancers probably have the nicest feet. Do they actually know any dancers?)
Did I really need the extra calories and sugar from a smoothie? I had costumes to fit into – well, I would if I got a role, that is.
Maya must have seen my hesitation because she answered for me. "Yes, she does. Let's get out of here."
We left campus and walked the two blocks to Groovie Smoothie. I thought about ordering a bottle of water and calling it a day, but I knew Ana and Maya weren't going to hear of it. I knew they were worried about me, but they were wrong. I didn't have a problem.
Sure, I'd agreed last month to see a body image counselor. And I'd been going, but it wasn't the least bit necessary. Interesting – I was learning a lot – but not for me.
The dance department was full of hypocrites. They encouraged us to do whatever it took to be slim and trim so we would look good up on stage, but they didn't want the liability of their dancers ending up hospitalized. So my counseling was just a formality, and everyone knew it.
Besides, I didn't have a problem. Really.
"I'll have an extra-large Mango Madness with a raspberry swirl." I could just have a fruit smoothie, no need for yogurt. Lo-cal, no fat. Perfect. "Oh, and a soft pretzel," I added with pointed look at Maya.
See, I didn't have a problem. Really.
We grabbed our snacks and headed back to the theatre to check on the result.
No list. Damn.
We were just packing up to go back to the dorms when an excited cry rang out from the far end of the room. "The list!"
I limped down the aisle to join the crowd of girls all huddled around a small sheet of paper tacked to the wall. The list contained both girls' and boys' names, even though the particular audition we'd just completed was girls-only. The boys took class in a different studio, and their audition was less competitive since there were so many fewer of them so they were pretty much all guaranteed roles.
The crowd was six deep in front of the soloist list, so I checked out the results for the corps first.
My eyes scanned down to the S's:
Maya Sapp
Talia Small
Alexa Sutton
Lydia Tsai
They skipped me. They skipped me! Which could only mean one thing.
I was going to be a soloist! Sweet!
"Excuse me. Pardon me," I said, elbowing my way to the front of the other list.
OMG! My name, right there in bold font.
Sugar Plum Fairy
Hadley Taylor
Daniela Spevak (understudy)
Me – the Sugar Plum Fairy! As a freshman! I couldn't believe it, but there it was in black and white. I couldn't wait to share my news.
I spun around and saw Analisa and Maya. "I'm dancing Sugar Plum!"
"No, I'm dancing Sugar Plum," Hadley sneered, behind me.
"What do you mean?"
Analisa bit her lip. "You're the understudy, Dani."
I turned back to the list and checked it again. She was right. I was the understudy.
Worse yet, I was Hadley's understudy. How could I have missed that crucial piece of info?
"That's fantastic, Dani." Maya threw her arms around me and enveloped me in a bear
hug. "You go, girl!"
I shrugged out of her grasp and scanned the list again. My name didn't appear anywhere other than that understudy role. It had to be a mistake.
"I'm not…performing?"
Hadley laughed. "Looks that way. Sucks to be you."
Now I knew why dancers say "merde" instead of "good luck." This was shit. For real.
But I wasn't going to let anyone see me cry.
I looked at the cast list again. Maya was right – Analisa was going to be the Snow Queen. I was thrilled for her. I really was.
But why didn't I get a role? I mean, I'm just a freshman, so I guess I shouldn't have expected a solo. I was honored to understudy such a prestigious role at just fourteen years old, but why couldn't I also be a Snowflake or even a girl in the party scene?
"Congrats, Hadley,"
I said, pasting on my happy face. "And Ana, yay!"
After the requisite round of congratulations, I sneaked out the back with the rest of the rejects while everyone else was still chattering about the upcoming rehearsals.
Hours and hours of rehearsals that I would have to attend, even though I wouldn't get a chance to dance in the performances. Because let's face it. Short of a tragedy, there was no way Hadley wouldn't be dancing.
It just wasn't fair.
Why wasn't I good enough? Monsieur Dmilov corrected me, so I know he saw something in my dancing that he wanted to cultivate. And just last month I danced on national TV. So it couldn't be my dancing.
Which only left one thing.
I ran to the bathroom and threw up.
Friday, March 02, 2012
It's March already?
Where have the last 3 months gone? March Madness is on the horizon, Duke plays Carolina in Cameron tomorrow, and Baby Alex is already 3 months old. Craziness!
Posted by Anonymous at 9:29 AM
Labels: Amanda Brice, Contest, nook first, pointe of no return
17 comments:
- Zita said...
So now I have to wonder...do apes actually dance? And do they dance better than ladies?
- March 2, 2012 at 10:05 AM
- Sarah S. said...
That looks great I can't wait to check it out.
- March 2, 2012 at 10:05 AM
- Katwoman1980 said...
I'll read anything recommended by Gemma Halliday so I can't wait to read this one!
- March 2, 2012 at 10:20 AM
- Lauren S. said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- March 2, 2012 at 10:28 AM
- Lauren S. said...
- This comment has been removed by the author.
- March 2, 2012 at 10:29 AM
- Lauren S. said...
This sounds like a fabulous book! I can't want to read it! :)
- March 2, 2012 at 10:31 AM
- traveler said...
Love this excerpt and that title is perfect. saubleb(at)gmail(dot)com
- March 2, 2012 at 12:47 PM
- petite said...
Wonderful and so appealing. Yu are talented. elliotbencan(at)hotmail(dot)com
- March 2, 2012 at 12:50 PM
- Laurie Kellogg said...
Congratulations on getting the book placed in the Nook First program, Amanda. I hope it leads to many, many sales for you!
- March 2, 2012 at 1:15 PM
- Pamela said...
This looks exciting, can't wait to check it out!
- March 2, 2012 at 3:06 PM
- mitzi77598 said...
Dear Baby Face, If "Trigger Happy" recommends you, you must be good. I read it and love it so far and intend on definitely getting it when you release it.
- March 2, 2012 at 3:37 PM
- 80slady said...
Congratulations!! Looks like Mother/Daughter book club will be reading a new author :)
- March 2, 2012 at 5:05 PM
- Robin Kaye said...
Congratulations, Amanda! I'll have to tell Twinkle Toes, she's been waiting for it!
- March 2, 2012 at 7:06 PM
- Diana Layne said...
too cool, looks like a fun read, congrats on the nook first, hope it helps you a lot! And Alex cannot be three months old already!!!
- March 2, 2012 at 8:48 PM
- Kim W said...
I love ballet! Sounds like a great book!
- March 4, 2012 at 5:31 AM
And the winner is...
I'll contact you to find out what format you'll want, and then will send the e-book in April.
- March 4, 2012 at 10:50 AM
And the winner is...
I'll contact you to find out what format you'll want, and then will send the e-book in April.
- March 4, 2012 at 10:51 AM


text:
Authorities in Papua New Guinea have broken up an alleged cannibal cult responsible for the deaths of seven people, The Australian reported.
The 29 (cult members), including a 13-year-old boy and a teacher in his 50s, were arrested during a dawn raid at Biam village, Madang province on PNG's northeast coast last night.
Two men, one believed to be the group's leader and known only as "Joe", are still on the run.
Armed with home-made guns fashioned from rubber and believing they had supernatural powers to identify sorcerers, the group has killed four men and three women since April, police say.
While forensic reports and statements from the accused indicated that parts of the victims were eaten, there appears to be an otherworldly motive, an official said.
"They were not demanding money off people," (Senior Constable Daniel) Kapen said, adding that getting wealthy did not appear to be the motive for the murders.
"But we believe there was an exchange of money for the power to recognise sorcerers."

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
by John Jackson Miller and T.M. Haley
estimated comics orders for May 2010. Apologies for the delay in reporting this month: I just finished my first novel (Star Wars: Knight Errant, out next February).
After a couple of months where the calendar and publisher offerings made for year-to-year comparisons that were wildly uneven, this May probably provided a more fair comparison with the previous year. Unit sales for comics were up 9% with dollars up 15% — that latter partially a reflection of the fact that the price of the average comic book retailers ordered has gone from $3.32 to $3.51. May 2009 was regarded as weak at the time, being up against Final Crisis #2 and Secret Invasion #1 the previous year; May 2010 unit sales are up, but still have a ways to go to get back to 2008 levels.
The real difference continues to be in trade paperback orders; retailers ordered half a million dollars more of Diamond's Top 300 trade paperbacks in May than in April, but the total is still down 15% from May 2009. That weakness appears to be present in the backlist, as we calculate that once all comics and trade paperback orders are accounted for (including those beneath 300th place) overall orders for comics, trade paperbacks, and magazines were down 2%. It appears that retailers ordered at least $2 million more in trade paperbacks below 300th place last May.
My suspicion continues to be that orders for bigger-ticket items have been more likely to be impacted by the general recession; retailers are letting trade paperback inventories fall a bit, even in months in which they're ordering more comic books (even given the price increases). Running some correlations, I have not been able to draw a direct connection between new comics cover prices and trade paperback sales, although that is something worth revisiting.
The aggregate figures:
TOP 300 COMICS UNIT SALESMay 2010: 6.15 million copies
Versus 1 year ago this month: +9%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +5%
Versus 10 years ago this month: +2%
YEAR TO DATE: 28.78 million copies, -1% vs. 2009, -2% vs. 2005, unchanged vs. 2000
TOP 300 COMICS DOLLAR SALESMay 2010: $21.56 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: +15%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +26%
Versus 10 years ago this month: +33%
YEAR TO DATE: $100.22 million, +3 vs. 2009, +19% vs. 2005, +32% vs. 2000
TOP 300 TRADE PAPERBACK DOLLAR SALESMay 2010: $6 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: -13%
Versus 5 years ago this month, just the Top 100 vs. the Top 100: +7%
Versus 10 years ago this month, just the Top 25 vs. the Top 25: -6%
YEAR TO DATE: $28.25 million, -15% vs. 2009
TOP 300 COMICS + TOP 100 TRADE PAPERBACK DOLLAR SALESMay 2010: $27.56 million
Versus 1 year ago this month: +8%
Versus 5 years ago this month, counting just the Top 100 TPBs: +23%
Versus 10 years ago this month, counting just the Top 25 TPBs: +29%
YEAR TO DATE: $128.41 million, -2% vs. 2009
OVERALL DIAMOND SALES (including all comics, trades, and magazines)May 2010: $35.05 million ($39 million with UK)
Versus 1 year ago this month: -2%
Versus 5 years ago this month: +31%
YEAR TO DATE: $164.29 million, -3% vs. 2009, +21% vs. 2005
The average comic book in Diamond's Top 300 cost $3.49. The average Top 300 comic book that retailers ordered from Diamond cost $3.51. The median comic book price in Diamond's Top 300 was $3.99, and the most common cover price on Diamond's list remained $3.99 for the third consecutive month.
As June includes Batman #700, I would expect to see the order index number climb dramatically in the June chart; Batman is the title Diamond uses to key its charts.
Here's a look back at what was going on in previous years...
May 2009's top seller was Marvel's New Avengers #53, with estimated first-month Diamond orders of over 94,300 copies. As suggested above, New Avengers had about half the orders of May 2008's top seller, Secret Invasion; this month's Avengers relaunch sold nearly 70,000 more copies to retailers. Check out the detailed analysis of the month's sales here — and sales chart here.
May 2005's top-seller was DC's Green Lantern #1, with Diamond first-month orders of more than 168,300 copies. DC titles took several spots in the top five, with the final issues of Green Lantern Rebirth and Villains United taking the third and fifth slots. Check out the sales chart here.
May 2000's top-seller was Image's Uncanny X-Men #382, with estimated Diamond preorders of approximately 114,800 copies. Chris Claremont's return to the series coupled with the upcoming release of the first X-Men movie to bring the title back to Diamond's top spot. Check out the sales chart here.
May 1995's top seller at Diamond and at Capital City Distribution was Image's Spawn #32. Capital reported preorders of approximately 94,600 copies, meaning overall sales were probably closer to 400,000. Marvel moved its distribution to Heroes World in July, effectively ending (for a while) the era in which a single distributor's charts reported sales for all publishers, although Capital did for a time integrate Marvel orders based on retailer reports into its tables.
May 1990's top seller at Capital City was Batman #451, one of two Batman issues in the month. Both Batman issues topped Legends of the Dark Knight #9, finally unseating the title after its long ride at #1. By this point, Batman was almost back at parity with what was then the traditional market leader, Uncanny X-Men. Capital had preorders of 83,350 copies on Batman #451, suggesting overall orders north of 400,000 copies.
The top dollar title for the month was the first Batman Archives, priced at $39.95. Capital had first-month orders of 7,650 copies on the hardcover.
May 1985's top seller at Capital City was Marvel's Secret Wars II #3, the shorter sequel to 1984's best-selling comics series. Capital's orders were approximately 61,900 copies; overall sales would likely have been higher than 300,000.


text:
Greenpeace wants to
Saving bees isn't just about saving the honey makers of the world so we can have it to drizzle on our toast in the
Saving bees isn't just about saving the honey makers of the world so we can have it to drizzle on our toast in the morning. When it comes to our food and wild plants and economic health, bees are invaluable. Bees pollinate one in every three bites you eat and 70 percent of America's food sources. If that statistic isn't alarming enough, let's add some dollar signs to it. The global value of bee…
Greenpeace is the leading independent environmental organization campaigning for a green and…Read More
I'm a beekeeper in Loudoun County, VA and I'm concerned about the increase in bee deaths throughout the world. The fact that bee colonies bounced back in areas where a moratorium was placed on the use of neonicotinoids, seems to indicate that this specific class of pesticides is responsible for a…Read More
Because I want my generation to known for more than just forcing others to listen to our boring phone conversations and putting a big box store on every corner.
To save the planet and leave a clean environment to the futur generations "our progeny"
If you think abut it, Bees are Life! I just signed this petition to make a difference. Join me.
go cycling... go green


text:
WorldVitalRecords has just announced that they have partnered with Dundurn Press and will start to post over 400 genealogical and historical books online.
This was an unexpected announcement, as the press had been in existence since 1972, but WorldVitalRecords says that it will bring more publicity to the press and people will know more about it.
Some of the titles that will be put online will be 100 Canadian Heroines, Strangers at our Gates: Canadian Immigration Policy, 1540-2006, and Maps for Family and Local History.
Just by coincidence, June Coxon, also a writer from Ottawa like myself, attended the Conference '08 of the Ontario Genealogical Society in London, and while there, she interviewed some people in the marketplace, and one of the interviews was with Barry Penhale of Dundurn Press.
Barry was with Heritage Books before, and since 2007, has been with Dundurn Press.
A New Role For Natural Heritage Books and Barry Penhale
June Coxon
You couldn't miss seeing Barry Penhale if you visited the marketplace during this year's OGS conference, in London, Ontario. His was the first table in the first aisle as you entered the room.
But the large banner sign behind him read 'Dundurn Press' and most people likely associate him or at least his name with Natural Heritage Books, a company specializing in publishing books about Canadian heritage, natural history, and biography. Penhale and his wife, Jane Gibson, established that company in 1983. But since January 2007, it has been a member of the Dundurn Press Group, and Penhale now calls himself publisher emeritus. Obviously, that does not mean he has left the publishing world completely. He's been in the business for some 40 years and is not likely to leave it behind any time soon.
As for his company's new association with Dundurn Press, some people might be leery about the decision to join forces with another publishing company, but not Penhale. "The president of Dundurn, Kirk Howard, has a great appreciation for history," said Penhale. "In fact, he's been a genealogist for years. Also, Dundurn started primarily as a small publisher of Canadian history, military history, politics, current affairs, and biography," he noted. "So becoming part of the Dundurn Group was a good fit for us, especially since I've been assured that my company's signature name will continue to be used in conjunction with that of Dundurn's."
Natural Heritage has published over 200 books, of which approximately 100 are still in print. But Dundurn has more funding and therefore more books (Since it started 1972, Dundurn Press and its associated imprints have published over 1,450 books, of which 650 are still in print They publish about 75 to 80 new titles a year ). "The move we made last year will enable our book selection to strengthen and expand," Penhale said. Both Natural Heritage Books and Dundurn are located in Toronto.
Some of the most popular and successful books published by Natural Heritage Books include the series of eight written by Ottawa-born Dr. Lucille Campey about Scottish immigration to Canada. For those unfamiliar with her books, the one she published in 2005, The Scottish Pioneers of Upper Canada, 1784-1855: Glengarry and Beyond, is 397 pages full of tantalizing information for genealogists like charts, maps, and passenger lists. This book also contains descriptive information about the progress of Scottish settlement in Upper Canada, with details about the 550 ships that made over 900 crossings and carried almost 100,000 emigrant Scots to Canada.
"Dr. Campey's last book, An Unstoppable Force, was on sale at the BIFHSGO conference in Ottawa this year and every one was sold," Pehale pointed out. But he also told me that Dr. Campey has written her last book about Scottish immigration to Canada. Deciding to turn her research and writing to a different part of the British Isles, Campey has signed a contract to write three more books for Natural Heritage Books. But they will be about people who immigrated from England to Canada. Like her last two books, these will bear the joint imprint of Dundurn and Natural Heritage. Her first book in this next series is scheduled for publication in 2010.
Barry Penhale and his books are a familiar site at conferences and fairs. He has been displaying and selling his books at conferences like the one in London for many years. "From a vendor's point of view, it's always a great experience because of the many interesting people I meet as well as the new contacts and connections made at such fairs," he concluded.
Natural Heritage Books,The Dundurn Group, P.O. Box 95, Station O, Toronto, Ontario M4A 2M8, Canada.
E-mail: <firstname.lastname@example.com>
Phone: 416-694-7907 or 1-800-725-9982.
Fax: 416-690-0819


text:
Select a topic or year
Stock markets create some of the most challenging computing environments of any industry. Financial institutions serving their investment clients must flawlessly execute up to millions of transactions each day, managing massive volumes and varieties of financial data while staying on top of regulatory and security requirements.
To meet these challenges, SLIB selected a new IBM Power 770 system equipped with the new POWER7+ processor. The new system is engineered with the latest data security and privacy technology, easily integrates with SLIB's cloud environment, and automatically ramps up processing performance to meet extreme financial market workloads including big data and analytics.
"SLIB clients require the very best financial markets and shareholder services technologies that support their core business strategies. IBM Systems technology helps our company guarantee the highest service levels for our clients, giving us a competitive advantage over other companies that do not invest in innovation. Moreover, the built-in scalability and flexibility of the new Power Systems servers allow us to commit with new clients under very short deadlines," said Philippe Cognet, CEO of SLIB.
Designed specifically for compute intensive workloads such as those required by financial markets, the Power 770, combined with IBM Content Manager, WebSphere MQ and Sterling software, supports environments with high volumes of sensitive data. As a result, SLIB can securely handle millions of securities transactions for each client such as orders and trades, clearing and settlements, and stockholder meeting votes.
"SLIB is finding new ways to grow and lead with IBM technology in a highly competitive industry that is constantly changing," said Alain Henry, Vice President, Systems and Technology Group, IBM France. "Our companies have collaborated on the premise of innovation driving growth for over 20 years, keeping a sharp eye on evolving client needs."
About SLIB
Both a software publisher and an Application Services Provider, SLIB is a trusted partner to the financial services industry, always on the lookout for changes in the European securities landscape, by supplying its customers with innovative software solutions to streamline their securities processing and improve their performance, whilst mitigating their risks.
SLIB solutions support securities order and trade, clearing, settlement, custody, online vote prior to General Meetings and risk control.
SLIB has two strong shareholders: BNP Paribas and Natixis.
About IBM Power Systems :
About IBM Websphere MQ et Sterling :
|XML feeds
|Banking and Financial Services
News about IBM solutions for the banking, investment banking, and insurance industries
|IBM Cloud Computing
Gain access to your applications from anywhere, at any time.


text: The PFB 3419 interface bar is part of a unique and flexible system that is ideal for video wall setups and in-line menuboarding. With this modular concept, based on Connect-it, you can create a video wall solution for almost every set-up requirement. The video wall consists of interface bars (PFB 34xx) and one set of multi directional (3D) adjustable interface display strips (PFS 35xx) per display. Vogel's offers 3 different lengths of interface bars varying from 1900 to 3300 mm and two different interface display strips with VESA 400 mm and 800 mm. The PFB 3419 interface bar is a part of the modular Connect-it system which can be used for ceiling, floor and wall mounting. The PFB 3419 with a length of 1900 mm is ideal for mounting multiple displays. The PFB 3419 can be used in combination with other interface bars of the PFB 34xx series by using the interface bar coupler (PFA 9104).The advantage of the modularity is that you create almost any desirable length without cutting.


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ORLANDO, Fla. – Newly released 911 calls from witnesses outside the scene of a deadly downtown Orlando shooting reveal not only what was going on outside, but also what happened inside the Vixen Bar just before police opened fire, killing a woman patron.
Orlando police said 22-year-old Maria Godinez was struck by a stray bullet from an officer's gun fired at 12:45 a.m. Tuesday at the Vixen Bar at 118 South Orange Avenue.
According to Orlando police, three officers were called to the club about an armed man making threats and confronted the man, identified as 23-year-old Kody Roach, which resulted in more gunfire.
Most of the 911 calls came from witnesses who were standing across the street from the bar, but one call came from inside the bar, from the employee who kicked out the suspect police were called to arrest.
Bar caller: "The officer's yelling at him to get on the ground right now and he's refusing."
Dispatcher: "Was that the officers yelling in the back?"
Bar caller: "There's like five officers and they just tazed him."
Bar caller: "Ooh [expletive]."
That 911 call records the exact moment police fired on Roach, who bar staff said had just waved a gun inside the bar. That officer's stray gunfire subsequently struck Godinez, an innocent bystander, according to Orlando Police Chief John Mina.
Just minutes before, bar staff kicked Roach out of the Vixen bar.
Bar caller: "Yeah, I have a gun-wielding maniac on 116 South Orange Avenue."
Bar caller: "There's a guy we kicked out of our bar because he's too drunk and now he's started waving his handgun around."
Dispatcher: "Did he actually fire the gun?"
Bar caller: "No, but he set it on the bar top and he's wielded it many times, a couple times. I had to throw him out. I had to run inside and lock my door before he tried to do something stupid."
Godinez was taken to a hospital, where she died.
"Our officers responded to calls for help about an armed suspect making threats," Mina said. "The preliminary indication is that during the situation a bullet was discharged from Officer Eduardo Sanguino's firearm and fatally struck Maria inside the establishment."
Mina said Roach is being charged with carrying a concealed firearm and could face felony murder charges, as witnesses are still being interviewed.
"The Orlando Police Department is committed to a full investigation to understand how this tragedy happened," Mina said. He also added that there is no indication that Roach fired shots from his gun.
"We join her friends and family as they mourn her loss," Mina said. "I know I speak for everyone at the Orlando Police Department and throughout the city who are praying for her family during this difficult time. As police officers our job is to protect the public and keep our residents safe, and one of the most challenging aspects of our job is when criminal activity affects innocent bystanders."
Roach was critically injured and taken to Orlando Regional Medical Center, where he is in stable condition.
"The officers were on scene and I guess he didn't respond to them, and by them already knowing that there was a shot fired, they opened fire -- about seven shots and took him down," Brian Adams said.
Lt. Frank Nunez was shot in the leg and suffered non-life-threatening injuries, Orlando police said. He was treated, released and is recovering at home.
It's not clear who fired the shot that hit Nunez.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, the agency investigating the police-involved shooting, said it's searching for witnesses who were near the Vixen Bar at the time of the shooting. Anyone with information is urged to call 800-226-8521.
As standard procedure, the officers in the shooting, Sanguino, Nunez and Officer Jeff Angel, were put on paid administrative leave.
Sanguino has been with the Orlando Police Deparment for 2-and-a-half years and Angel has been with OPD for 14 years. Both Sanguino and Angel are part of the department's downtown bike unit.
Police said Nunez has been on the force for 19 years.
Photos: Maria Fernada Godinez


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It looks inevitable that FOX Soccer will shut down later this year.
At a presentation this morning, FX executives announced the launch of their new sister channel dubbed FXX, which will premiere on September 2. Despite contrary reports in some media outlets this morning, there has been no confirmation that FOX Soccer will become FXX even though it appears likely that it'll happen.
"The launch of FXX this September was announced this morning, but we have nothing to announce today about FOX Soccer," said a FOX Sports spokesperson.
FXX will focus on comedy alongside sister channels FX and FXM (FX movies). FX says their FXX network will be available in 74 million homes and will feature TV shows such as "It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia" and "The League."
According to the Los Angeles Times, "FX was mum on how it will be able to launch in so many homes, but News Corp. executives have been telling pay-TV distributors that it is considering converting [FOX Soccer] into FXX."
There are still several questions to answer. FOX Soccer is currently in approximately half of the 74 million homes that FXX touted this morning. Plus, even when FOX Soccer does formally close its doors, the question remains regarding what the future for FOX Soccer Plus will be, and whether FOX Soccer 2Go will morph into FOX Sports GO.
FOX Soccer is still alive but on life support. It's too early to say "RIP FOX Soccer" until the future of the network is officially confirmed.


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The inspectors are now under inspection. As of Oct. 1, the New York City Buildings Department began tracking its inspectors with Global Positioning System technology via their cell phones. Supervisors can see where the inspectors are at any given time, pull up archives of where they were the day before and even watch their minute-by-minute movement -- all they need is Internet access and a password.
The department's move faces opposition from the Allied Building Inspectors Union. The friction stems mostly from what the union claims is a lack of information about how the system will work and how the department will ensure that the technology does not follow inspectors during their time off.
The Department's Many Woes
The program comes amid building department efforts to cope with a year of controversy that, among other reforms, resulted in the resignation of former Commissioner Patricia Lancaster last year. The latest scandal came last week when six inspectors were arrested for bribery, and prosecutors accused the Luchese crime family of infiltrating the department.
Over the past five years, the Buildings Department has seen at least one bribery incident every year. Often inspectors themselves reported the bribe attempt to the Department of Investigations, which then worked with buildings to arrest the briber.
Tracking will certainly not solve all the department's problems. Knowing the location of an inspector does not immediately reveal wrongdoing in cases like bribery, said buildings department's spokesperson Tony Sclafani.
"This is one step to ensure integrity, but it's obviously -- it's not going to be the catch-all," said Sclafani.
Tracking Offenses
The Department of Investigation has worked closely with the Buildings Department on a number of cases in which GPS tracking would have indicated inspectors were not where they were supposed to be.
Following the crane collapse in March 2008 that killed seven people, the city arrested building inspector Edward Marquette. Marquette had allegedly falsified his inspection of the site 11 days earlier. Another inspection was conducted the day before the accident.
A press release on the investigative report published this past March states that the investigators "found that the DOB crane inspection and permitting protocols would not have identified the rigging errors that caused the collapse."
GPS would have sent warning signals about an elevator inspector who was on the payroll of the Buildings Department as an inspector and of the Metropolitan Transit Authority as an elevator maintenance supervisor. On his timesheets, he claimed to have worked for both departments simultaneously.
In a statement on the arrest, then Commissioner-designate Robert LiMandri promised to begin using GPS technology to ensure inspectors arrived at their sites. Even without GPS, though, the department's Office of Internal Audits and Discipline picked up on the discrepancies, which resulted in an investigation and the inspector's arrest.
Of the GPS program, the investigation department emailed this statement on Sept. 25: "DOI is supportive of any measure that improves supervision and strengthens integrity, accountability and safety for city inspectors." Neither of the departments addressed specific inquiries about whether the Department of Investigation will have access to the GPS software or records in the event of an investigation.
A Trend to Track
The department's revamping efforts have resulted in a dozen new laws, more money for oversight programs and reorganization of leadership. So why make the extra effort to monitor inspectors even more closely? Sclafani said the three main goals were "integrity, efficiency and safety."
President of Local 211 of The Allied Building Inspectors Union, Joseph Corso, disagreed. "Public perception. Sounds good," said Corso. "That's what they're doing. They're placating the public."
Other city governments that have instituted similar programs also have faced resistance. In Massachusetts in 2006, the public safety commissioner suspended 20 inspectors who refused to accept phones that had the GPS capability needed for tracking. Here in New York, the GPS technology can be activated on existing phones,
Inspectors in Bridgeport, Conn., were fired after the fire department secretly placed GPS tracking devices in their government vehicles and found inspectors using the cars for personal use. The inspectors went to court to argue that the devices were illegal according to state law. A judge rejected their argument.
New York City has its own experience tracking government employees. The Fire Department has Automatic Vehicle Locators in all of the city's fire trucks and ambulances. Fire department spokesman Steve Ritea said that the system allows the dispatchers to send the closest vehicle to the scene of a fire or other emergency.
The Buildings Department, though, will track people, not vehicles. It has signed up to use Telenav Track, a product of Telenav designed to follow the movement of employees who work outside the office. The product's website advertises that employers "get more from your mobile workers" with minute-to-minute tracking to "keep your finger on the pulse" and alerts on when workers enter or exit a certain location.
Sclafani said that the technology would correspond with the route schedule inspectors receive at the beginning of each shift. A supervisor can sit at any computer with Internet and look up the location of his unit's workers at that moment. The supervisor also can follow them from inspection to inspection or look at past routes to see whether or not they correspond to the schedule they were given. No one can access the information without the correct username and password.
The department publicly announced the plan Aug. 28 and began implementing it two days later.
Corso said the city should have provided the union with more information than it did and might file a lawsuit over the tracking.
Although the union knew the department had been considering the program for a while, the inspectors did not receive word of its implementation until the day before the public announcement -- three days before the city started using the software with its first 10 workers. The union did not know who those 10 workers were.
To date, Corso says he has not received documentation from the department about how the software works and what the actual plans entail. He said he had two face-to-face meetings with city officials, with few results.
Sclafani said that the union was "well-informed as to the particulars of the program."
If Local 211 does not receive adequate documentation "in the very near future," Corso said that the union would take legal action, a process that starts with the federal Labor Relations Board.
The union, Corso said, wants to ensure that the workers are not tracked past designated work hours, especially since a given inspection does not have a specific ending time. There is, for example, no set time for an inspector to go on lunch break. Because workers must keep their phones on 24 hours a day for emergency purposes, Corso is also concerned the software could track the inspectors after working hours. A sales representative from Telenav said turning off cell phones deactivates the tracking device.
Sclafani said that the technology was activated and de-activated according to the inspectors' schedules. "The software is sophisticated enough where we're only tracking them on duty," he said.
Corso dismissed the tracking program as unnecessary since the Buildings Department has people ensuring that workers are on site, including unit supervisors and the Department of Investigations. People who think it is the "norm" for inspectors to avoid certain stops on their scheduled route "just don't know the system," he said.
The tracking system could do more than upset current workers, Corso said. He worries that it will deter people becoming inspectors, a sobering prospect for an agency that already has a hard time recruiting new people
The inspectors' starting salary of $49,000, said Corso, is less than they could receive in the private sector. The idea of being tracked on the job, said Corso, would present "another stumbling block."


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Joe Danger 2: The Movie Review
Nearly two and a half years ago, the original Joe Danger hit the PS3 and provided that system with a fine physics-based biking game since it lacks the Trials series. It essentially combined the skill needed to excel there with a very light-hearted tone more akin to Excitebike, and like that classic, also gave you rivals to race against. The SE version of the original hit the Xbox 360 in December of last year, and now less than a year later, 360 owners can play both entries in the series.
The Movie is all about doing more in every way. There's a lot more variety to the gameplay now. Before, it was all about getting coins or achieving star ratings through exceptional performance. Now, that's still a big deal, but you can do more than 'just' ride a motorcycle to do it. The game BEGINS with a mine cart, and unlike the ones in the DKC series, they're an absolute joy to take part in. You move on from that to jetpacks, skis, snowmobiles, and even get to race on a unicycle.
Most of the vehicles feel about the same – there isn't much of a transition from a bike to the mine cart, skis, or snowmobile for example, but the jetpack and unicycle have their own quirks to them that you have to get used to. The jetpack, just like it does in the Pilotwings games, gives you a lot of precision and doesn't really have much of a learning curve to it. The controls are different than using any bike-like device, but it really just amounts to aiming with the left stick and throttling with A instead of using RT to accelerate. The unicycle has the hardest learning curve of anything you can use.
The use of a movie as a framing device for everything is great because it allows the light-hearted humor to shine even more. This largely equates to a lot of movie references, and while they're all fairly obvious homages to famous franchises, that doesn't make them any less fun to see. It also leads to funny bits like the director yelling action, cut, and all that kind of thing that add small bits of humor throughout the game. I also love the movie trailer of your greatest exploits after you finish a set of stages – it makes the challenges offered up by the stage even more worth it.
The original game had some tremendous level design, the sequel continues that trend, and now you can craft your own with a level editor. Every stage in the game was made with these tools, and you're eased into them with playable tutorials that teach you every single step of the process as you go along. It makes the process slightly more time consuming than just jumping in, but allows you to make better use of that time since you WILL learn things faster this way than just having a video show you what to do. Afterwards, you'll easily be able to drag and drop any items you want into whatever stage setting you want and upload stages quickly as well.
Visually, the Movie is more interesting than the original. It retains the same kind of cartoony art style, but there's a lot more variety due to the movie-style backdrops. You'll go from Indiana Jones-style appearances to snow, to cops and even robots. The variety really goes a long way to keeping the game interesting to look at. The music is a lot like what was in the first game. There's a lot of wacky, cheery stuff and you get jollier versions of action movie-style music. It all fits the game well, but isn't the kind of stuff I'd probably listen to outside of it. The director's verbal cues are a great help given the faster pace of the levels, and the bone-crunching sound effects for crashes sound horrific. It's really the one area they didn't go all wacky with, and it helps.
All in all, if you loved the original Joe Danger, you'll love this one too. If you didn't, then I doubt the new variety will really appeal to you since the core gameplay, regardless of the new vehicles, is basically the same outside of the unicycle and jetpack. I love the level creation tool, and anyone who found themselves wanting to do that in the first game will be in heaven with it since it's one of the easiest to use on the market today. For $15, there's a lot here, and if you're in the mood for stunt racing, this is the game for you.
Reviewed By: Jeremy Peeples
Publisher: Hello Games
Rating: 92%
This review is based a digital copy of Joe Danger 2: The Movie for Xbox Live Arcade provided by Hello Games.


text:
Transition Tech Tools to Empower Your Student/Adults by Sean Smith
- Start Date:
- 1/22/18
- End Date:
- None
- Duration:
- 3:30 PM CDT 4:30 PM CDT (Time Zone Sensitive)
- Type:
- Webinars
Presented by Dr. Sean Smith, Kansas University***This presentation will focus on technology-based solutions for students in transition and adults with disabilities facing the demands of living and working in the 21st century world. With the explosion of Apps, devices, web-based technologies, and similar innovations, individuals, their families, and their network of caregivers have a variety of options from which to consider and thus, employ. This session will focus on exploring the solutions through various demands that the home, workplace, post-secondary educational environment, and the community place on the individual with a disability. Participants will leave with a variety of solutions including lists of Apps, how to find the right one, and tools to use to further empower individuals in their varied environments across the day and busy week.
Permanently Archived
Registration: Please click here to register.


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Only a month and a few weeks until Mists of Pandaria is released unto the world (well, some of it). Our raiding group is still slogging through DS. We've almost got Hagara heroic down now. I think the only thing that kept it from us this last week is that we didn't even try because we were missing one of our main raiders and our replacement wasn't really geared up for that fight. We were able to successfully do the other heroics that we had already done and are on "farm" at this point. I finally picked up a second Heroic tier piece, my Legs. Best part about the legs is I can self-enchant them (since I'm a leatherworker). I started using up those Queen's Garnets that I have lying around too. Three for this piece…
I believe that our Raid Leader would really like us to finish DS Heroic before MoP comes out. I would be really surprised if we did so, but only because of attendance issues. This coming week, I think we're all around but then the week after we won't all be available. Possibly the last couple weeks before the release we might have the time to really make the push.
I played around a bit more with the Pet Battles in MoP Beta but I started getting odd errors some times where I had to logout to clear the error. The pet battles are a little simplistic generally but I'm sure they might get a little more interesting at the higher levels. My pets are still around level 7-8 or so for the highest one. I've decided for now to hold off on doing too much more with it because I don't want to burn out and get bored with them before the game comes out. One thing that would have been pretty cool if they could have put it in would be some visual indication of the level of your pet. Maybe 5 different "skins" per pet based on it's level. Almost like a "evolution" in Pokémon.
Well, maybe they can work on that in a future patch. I'm sure the resources to build that many skins for all the pets has to be enormous. It would be cool to just have some other benefit other than just a higher leveled pet.


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Join us this Saturday at 10am to tryout for our Amateur MMA Fight team.
Registration is at 9:30 (No Cost) and is open to the general public.
You will be put through a set of drills and tests by Coach Dennis Davis.
For More Information please contact the gym (702) 616-1022


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Birds of a Feather (BoF) sessions provide face-to-face exposure to those interested in the same projects and concepts. BoFs can be organized for individual projects or broader topics (best practices, open data, standards). BoFs are entirely up to you. We post your topic online and onsite and provide the space and time. You provide the engaging topic. You may sign up onsite if there are any available slots on the BoF Board, located downstairs in the ballroom foyer.
See the current listing of scheduled BoFs
Moderating a Birds of a Feather talk is open to attendees and speakers at the event. You must be registered to conduct a Bof talk. The moderator is not a speaker in the main program.
For information on exhibition and sponsorship opportunities at the conference, contact Yvonne Romaine at email@example.com
Download the O'Reilly MySQL Conference & Expo Sponsor/ Exhibitor Prospectus
Download the Media & Promotional Partner Brochure (PDF) for information on trade opportunities with O'Reilly conferences or contact mediapartners@ oreilly.com
For media-related inquiries, contact Maureen Jennings at email@example.com
To stay abreast of conference news and to receive email notification when registration opens, please sign up for the O'Reilly MySQL Conference newsletter (login required).
View a complete list of O'Reilly MySQL Conference contacts.


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Medical information – Please read and action urgently
As soon as you have completed online enrolment, please ensure that you complete the online medical questionnaire. You will find the questionnaire at: https://s3.plymouth.ac.uk/s3 . Alternatively, you can scroll down on the induction web page where you will see a link for the Medical Questionnaire (You must complete online enrolment first). The information is required solely to enable organisers of field courses, lab work and other activities you may undertake to be alerted to any special requirements or precautions which may be necessary.
Monday 16 September 2019
09.00 – 10.50 Welcome Meeting – Room 605, Rolle Building
Welcome from the Head of School, Professor Deborah Greaves
Introduction to staff and some general information.
10.50 – 11.45 A series of short presentations as below. – Room 605, Rolle Building
10.50 - 11.05 Introduction to Student Wellbeing Services
Student Services will outline the support available to all students and where you need to go to access this support. The session will include information about:
- Disability Services
- Student Wellbeing Services (Counselling, Mental Health and Wellbeing)
- Chaplaincy
- Learning Development incl SUM UP
- Care Leavers
- Peer Assisted Learning (PALS)
11.05 -
11.15 Placements
Andrea Kemp
11.15 - 11.30 'Civ Soc' (the student Civil Engineering Society) -
'Civ Soc' President or representative
Civ Soc is run by and for the students. They organise talks and trips about Civil Engineering, as well as social activities.
11.45 Introduction to the Students' Union
A representative of the Students' Union will outline all the extra-curricular activities you can enjoy, including; sports clubs and societies, volunteering, and how the Union is the hub of social life whilst studying. They provide your student support and representation.
11.45 – 12.45 Health and Safety Talk - Room 605, Rolle Building
Tony Tapp
Tuesday 17 September 2019
10.00 –
11.00 Diving Talk – Devonport Lecture Theatre, Portland Square Building
Keiron Fraser
It is ESSENTIAL that you attend this introduction session if you wish to be considered for diver training.
11.00 –
13.00 What is expected at University – Devonport Lecture Theatre,
Portland Square Building
Programme Manager – Ed Ellis
13.00 Lunch with Personal Tutors – Robbins Foyer, Robbins Building, Robbins SR1, SR2 and SR3
14.00 –
15.00 Introduction to the Library and IT – Devonport Lecture Theatre, Portland
Square Building
Information Specialist
A short presentation from your subject librarian introducing you to the facilities and services of the University library.
15.00 – 15.30 Campus tour - meet outside Devonport Lecture Theatre, Portland Square Building
Shanshan Cheng
Wednesday 18 September 2019
10.00 – 16.00 Model Making
Ed Ellis,
Shanshan Cheng
Group 1 – Room 200, Smeaton Building
Group 2 – Room 201, Smeaton Building
Group 3 – Room 202, Smeaton Building
Group 4 - Room 212, Smeaton Building
You will be given instructions regarding groups and which location to go to on Tuesday.
10.00 –
16.00 Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) Issue - Room W014, Brunel Building
Tony Tapp
All new students will be issued with a free pack of essential PPE, required for attendance at laboratory sessions (etc). You should attend at a specific time as advised earlier in the week. Only students who have attended the Health and Safety talk will be issued with Personal Protective Equipment.
19.00 – 21.45 Welcome Party - Graduation Marquee, Plymouth Hoe
The Welcome Party is your opportunity to meet informally with other students new to The Faculty of Science and Engineering as well as some current students and your academic staff.
Additionally, the evening includes a welcome drink, entertainment and the chance to win a £100 Amazon voucher.
Thursday 19 September 2019
10.00 – 12.00 Model Testing – Devonport Lecture Theatre, Portland Square Building
Ed Ellis, Shanshan Cheng, Trevor Bevan
Any time between 09.00 – 16.00 University Card Collection - Room 015, Ground Floor, Smeaton Building
Your card is used for entry to the Library, some room entry, handing in coursework etc.
You must complete online enrolment and upload a photo prior to attending this session. You will need to bring identification with you to this session. The preferred form of identification is a valid current passport. Please refer to our University Card Collection web page for further details.
NB: If you already have a card i.e. because you were previously a student on another course or at a Partner College, you do not need to attend this session.
14.00 – 16.00 - Institution of Civil Engineers registration – Room 105, Smeaton Building
Ed Ellis
You will be given instruction regarding the time that you should attend earlier in the week.


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Blur's massive box set arrives at a time when the Britpop icons are again on a career upswing. The group is headlining a sold-out concert at Hyde Park to close the 2012 London Summer Olympics and just released two new songs, "Under The Westway" and "The Puritan." With Blur 21: The Box, the band cleans out its vaults: The 18 discs include all seven of Blur's studio albums—each of which is packaged with a bonus disc of B-sides, demos, and live cuts—plus four more discs of rarities. (Über-fans will be pleased to note this includes the infamous aborted sessions with Andy Partridge for the album that would become Modern Life Is Rubbish. Judging by these three songs, the XTC majordomo wanted to remake Blur in his own likeness.)
That Blur would release such an extensive collection is somewhat surprising. As nostalgic as Blur's music can feel—think the majestic, string-swept "The Universal," the French-pop noir of "To The End," or the Spiritualized-esque "Tender"—the band has never been particularly sentimental about its past. Each of its studio albums has a distinct personality and set of musical influences, as if the group was hell-bent on reinventing itself every few years. While Blur was always pitted against Oasis during Britpop's heyday, in retrospect the band has far more in common with Radiohead, a peer fond of undergoing marked metamorphoses between albums.
Blur's creative ambition was there from its inception. Although 1991's primitive, psychedelic-tinged Leisure is beholden to the remnants of the Madchester/Baggy dance scene, 1993's Modern Life Is Rubbish is a creative leap forward. Brimming with Technicolor pop, the record dabbles in the quirky character sketches favored by The Smiths and The Kinks, with an arch British attitude that would set the tone for Blur's next few albums. 1994's Parklife is another triumph, its social and political commentary—as well as swelling orchestras, loopy horns and giddy keyboards—rivaling Madness (and, to a lesser extent, XTC) in tone and style.
Jarringly, Blur's final three studio albums largely eschew overtly British sensibilities and pop influences. 1997's Blur and 1999's 13 reflect guitarist Graham Coxon's interest in lo-fi guitar acts such as Pavement and Beck, while 2003's electronic-focused Think Tank (which features minimal contributions from Coxon, who split from the band during the recording sessions) aligns with vocalist Damon Albarn's then-nascent Gorillaz project. While this trio of records has moments of brilliance—among them the Bowie-esque folk lament "Strange News From Another Star," the punk thrash of "We've Got A File On You," and eager power-pop gem "M.O.R."—more often they sound ragged and fractured, the sound of a band flailing to find a direction.
This growing discord correlates with the increased disenchantment and boredom evident in Blur's lyrics. Although dissatisfaction with the modern world was always part of Albarn's focus, 1995's synth-pop-heavy The Great Escape portrays sad-sack citizens who can't get ahead or find personal fulfillment. On subsequent albums, more and more bitterness creeps into this longing—from caustic social regret ("Death Of A Party") to romantic vengeance ("1992"). Swan song Think Tank was even more glum, its apocalyptic bent and self-destructive references creating unsettling imagery. For a band whose biggest hits included a goofy synthpop jam ("Girls & Boys") and a pogo-punk burst ("Song 2"), Blur could always turn shockingly dour.
Paradoxically, this tempered outlook has helped Blur's music age well and kept it from becoming something best left in the past. Blur: 21 The Box, however, is probably only essential to the band's hardcore fans. That's not meant as a criticism of the compilation: The bonus material contains an abundance of amazing, weird, and brilliant moments. But the type of extras included—like a disc of demos from Blur's early years, when the band went by Seymour—will likely only interest completists. Still, even the most obscure corners of the collection are valuable: Together, they create a thorough picture of just how Blur has survived 21 years—off and on—as a band with its popularity and integrity intact.


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Summary Edit
This book gives the readers insight about combat, advices on how to prepare for it and how to live through it. It replaces Sword and Fist and updates its content for 3.5 edition. It contains additional rules and advice for the creation and use of character classes which specialize in melee and ranged combat, as well as lots of new such classes.
Back to Main Page → Publication List → 3.5e Publications
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Shipments and returns
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If a product does carry a Guarantee, the Guarantee will be supplied by the manufacturer of the product or through the supplier, and not by Rabtron. Our Supplier/Manufacturer then has the ultimate decision on any Guarantees and we uphold those decisions.
We will refund customers and deduct a 10% handling fee if certain conditions apply:
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To complete your return, we require a receipt or proof of purchase.
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