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Stocks quoted in this article:
The 20 stocks listed in the table below have attracted the highest options volume during the past 10 days. Names highlighted are new to the list since the last time the study was run, and data is courtesy of Schaeffer's Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. One name of notable interest today is Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR), which is seeing a rush of call volume amid today's move higher.
Twitter Inc has been on a roll since reporting earnings on July 29, with the shares up nearly 14%. The momentum is continuing today, with TWTR 1.3% higher to trade at $43.86, thanks to an encouraging re-evaluation of its user metric. Option traders are responding to today's upside in kind, scooping up calls at a rate roughly two times the intraday average.
Speculators are showing a preference for short-term contracts, per TWTR's 30-day at-the-money implied volatility (IV), which has jumped 3.6% to 43.2%. In fact, all but one of the security's 10 most active options reside in the August series -- which is slated to expire at week's end.
The most sought-after TWTR option is the August 46 call, where 8,265 contracts have been exchanged. The majority of these have gone off at the ask price, and IV is up 5.2 percentage points, hinting at the purchase of new positions. Data from the International Securities Exchange (ISE) confirms that a portion of the activity is of the buy-to-open variety.
Based on the volume-weighted average price (VWAP) of $0.34, at-expiration breakeven for today's call buyers is $46.34, or the strike plus the VWAP. Profit will accrue on each additional move north of here, while losses are limited to the initial cash outlay, should Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) settle south of $46 at this Friday's close.


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Different equipments which are helpful for a house business embrace computer systems either a laptop computer or desktop, printers, and scanners amongst others. If you wish to begin up or broaden a business, authorities may be able to play an energetic position in assisting you to safe the finance. All that’s required is that your business meets specific criteria.
Work out what you should be doing not what you want doing or are good at. Then work out what the best way of dealing with that’s. On which part of your own home do you arrange your workplace? You must consider the conditions of that space of your home. Be certain that it is a convenient place to take care of your business and work necessities.
You will have to go to your native banker.
Government is just not a monetary institution and do not present loans for small business. You’ll have to go to your native banker. What government will do is to supply a guarantee for the money you’re lending. This guarantee will probably be based on special sorts of businesses which have been identified as being essential and viable. This analysis has been done by government themselves, who additionally give the assure that the business owner will repay the institution offering the financing.
Pharmaceutical consultants will help you put together this kind of analysis to evaluate any new business determination it’s possible you’ll be going through, or as a part of a comprehensive business plan for a brand new pharmaceutical business you’re launching. Their experience, experience, and industry insights can function an amazing enhance to your new venture. Once they have helped you brainstorm these key areas, they will additionally provide help to formulate comprehensive plans for motion in every of the four areas of the evaluation.
So suppose massive and believe you can.
All proper, however who’s going to buy a Costco or Wal-Mart product from an eBay itemizing when they should buy it direct from Wal-Mart or Costco themselves.” Great query and here’s the answer: Tons of individuals (prospects). Simply, a whole lot of 1000’s of individuals strictly shop on eBay. Many do not have the time or the inclination to click all over the web to seek out one of the best worth for items they need. Additionally, it’s typically assumed that one will find the lowest worth for nearly any merchandise on eBay. One other factor is that numerous buyers do not like to use their credit card for online purchasing for safety reasons. The majority of eBay transactions are accomplished quick and effectively by way of a secure and safe PayPal account.
Moreover, when writing you shouldn’t be essentially very extensive. It should characterize your business in such a method that the readers is not going to have issue in understanding the key factors. The readers ought to instantly get the main points. It’s endorsed that you simply maintain it plain and straightforward.
Income, gross revenue margins, fixed expenses and web revenue are obvious and most house owners observe these. If things change in your business, and they’re going to, replace your plan. The plan will provide you with the possible of your business, the objectives to obtain and follow, and the path you want to take.

domain: finance


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This "Slab Box" activity & project also includes:
Clay is a fun material children of any age can enjoy using. Using rolled slabs of clay, young artists create a slab box. First they design their box, then they roll slabs, score, slip, and construct a box that matches their design plan. You can add to the instructional activity by encouraging them to use texture, pattern, and even three-dimensional decorations to their simple creations.
- Great for beginning sculptures
- Uses the design process
- Sculpting tools and a kiln are needed

domain: artistic


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Let's talk about friendships (and begin cleaning this place up).
One of the Chaws recently posted a UCLA study on friendships among women. Ironically, she posted it on the day of a board blow up, but it did still get some discussion then and has really left me thinking.
In a nutshell, the women scientists noticed that when things got stressful, they would sit down together, brew a pot of coffee, clean the lab up and talk. The men would go home early, stay secluded and not want to talk. They got to thinking that maybe there was something to that pattern and they did a study on how friendship affects the sexes biologically.
Interestingly enough, in times of stress, women gathering other women and talking/venting/enjoying each other's company actually makes their brain release Oxytocin (the same stuff I was hooked on while breastfeeding). This does not happen for men.
If you think about it, it makes sense. For who knows how long, I'm sure when the town was threatened or the men went off to battle, the women gathered together to get through it while the men went off to fight it. It's almost like a survival instinct.
So basically, we NEED friends and we need to be able to gather those friends in times of stress. Sadly, in times of stress we also tend to isolate ourselves and put our needs last, which only worsens our problems. I believe the study even found that there were actual long term health benefits to the bonds formed between women.
This got me thinking to how when I'm freaking out about shit hitting life's proverbial fan, I feel so much better after shopping with my mom or dinner out with LK or even just typing it all out for the Chaws. Even if nothing gets settled during that interaction, I just feel like things are a little more do-able. It explains why I go home from Mom's Night's Out with that warm happy glow and why my girl crushes make my heart beat a little faster (and here you all thought I was a lesbo).
It also explains the surge of popularity of internet communities and the whole phenomenon of online best friends. Where else could you quickly gather support? Where else could you immediately go to vent? People are there, all the time, no matter what, and a lot of them know exactly what you're going through in any given situation.
I guess this goes back to the Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus deal, but it also says a lot about our relationships with our men. We NEED to talk. We can feel lonely even if they're in the same room some days. Most of us want to discuss, discuss, discuss and most of them want to drink beer and watch Deadliest Catch and pretend nothing is going on at all. They really biologically don't get us. Making us need other women even more.
I also know how hard it can be to make friends, especially when you are already in a stressful spot in life and need them desperately. I was so lonely after I had Big Kid. The My Gym moms just didn't get me, or my kid who was unable to follow directions and insisted on dancing inside of the big red circle instead of around it like the other kids (shocker, I know).
Then I joined a playgroup...BITCHES. Man, I felt like the last kid picked for dodge ball that day. I really put myself out there too, sweet, friendly, helpful, funny...they were just mean girls.
It was hard to get back on the horse after that one, but one of the Chaws (isn't it always the Chaws solving my life problems?) told me about www.meetup.com. I looked for a playgroup in my town and I found one that sounded pretty cool. I signed up and participated in their online message board and finally gathered up the courage to go to a playdate. They were nice. They were normal. They were down to earth, funny and welcoming. There were lots of them to choose from.
I started meeting them at parks and had the kids as an excuse to get through those awkward moments while we were getting to know each other. I went to a Pleasure Party one of them hosted and had a blast. In no time I was hamming it up at the Mom's Nights Outs and exchanging emails with a few favorites.
I don't hang with them much anymore, but I've got the 4 that I clicked with the most and that's all I really need. At this stage in my life, I feel blessed with as many other women as I know. I feel bad because I can't even keep up with some of the real life friendships as much as I'd like(the online friendships add to that problem) but I think I'm at a stage in life where my friends understand me enough to be okay with that.
I really want that same kind of happiness and those kind of friendships for all of the women out there that are feeling isolated, ready to pull their hair out, thinking no one gets them and feeling mad at the world because it really IS necessary in order to maintain our sanity.
So go find some friends! It won't be easy. You'll have to get out of your pjs. Your kids can and will embarrass you. There will be awkward moments. But you NEED them. Biologically, chemically, emotionally, you NEED other women that get you and who you can gather when times get tough. Every friendship doesn't have to be a BFF and it may take you a while to find "The One" (or hopefully OneS), but they are out there.
And when you meet them, know that they have their demons too. They have that wall up that us women build, the "I'm a perfect wife and mother" wall. Their house is a mess, their finances scare them, their marriage is crumbling, they're addicted to something...everyone has their issues. Even if it is something that doesn't look like much of an issue to you, they have things about themselves they wish they could improve on. So don't be intimidated.
Also, you have to put it out there. Even once you get yourself physically there, people probably won't be getting in line to be your buddy. Smile, talk, ask questions, tell people their kids are cute, ask where they got their bag. WHATEVER. Show them what you have to offer, even if you think it isn't much. Eventually something will stick.
Those of you who have friends, remember how important they are and seek them out when you need them, even if that means putting yourself first for once. In the long run, it is the best thing for everyone. You're worth it and you deserve it. That and a spa day.
Preferably with friends.

domain: sociology


Back in March, Laura Onstot traveled to Hanford to write a cover story on the possible dawn of a new nuclear age. Home to Washington's only existing nuclear power plant, Hanford is where the first atomic bomb was built and where cleanup from the Manhattan Project continues to this day. Cleanup that, based on a new analysis, may take a lot longer than initially suspected.
The amount of plutonium buried at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation in Washington State is nearly three times what the federal government previously reported, a new analysis indicates, suggesting that a cleanup to protect future generations will be far more challenging than planners had assumed.
The news comes as nuclear advocates are trying to build "backyard reactors" next to Hanford. And will likely be used by those anti-nuclear activists opposed to the resurgence. As one told Onstot: "It is obviously one of the dirtiest technologies ever created on the planet."


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3M launches 21-day skin adhesive tape for medical devices
3M (NYSE: MMM) today launched an adhesive tape that can be used to secure medical devices to a patient’s skin for up to 21 days.
3M, based in Maplewood, Minn., said its 3M Medical Tape 4576 is flexible, conformable and offers “excellent adhesion to the skin”, making it ideal for devices that require continuous and extended wear inside and outside of healthcare facilities.
“People deserve to live active lives without being bothered by their condition – or a device designed to monitor it –,” said the vice president of 3M’s Medical Solutions Division. Marcello Napol said in a press release. “Adhesives are more than just a material. They have the potential to unlock longer wear times, slimmer device profiles and more. We are delighted to 3M Medical Tape 4576 and what it can offer device developers and proactive real-time health monitoring as a whole.
The new polyester nonwoven tape was developed by a team in the United States and Japan and has been “worked on virtually every hour of the day for a year,” said 3M Scientist A.Udrey Shermanwhom the company has named as one of the leaders in tape development.
“Collaboration is really what made 3M Medical Tape 4576 a reality. … It is this deeply collaborative and thoughtful approach that will fuel future innovations,” Sherman said in the press release.
Learn more about 3M medical tapes and wearable devices in this MDO Contributors Network article by Del Lawson, R&D Manager, Medical Solutions Division.

domain: medical


Datasheet Infineon IRLB8743
30V Logic Level Single N-Channel StrongIRFET Power MOSFET in a TO-220 package
HEXFET Power MOSFET
The StrongIRFET power MOSFET family is optimized for low RDS(on) and high current capability.
The devices are ideal for low frequency applications requiring performance and ruggedness. The comprehensive portfolio addresses a broad range of applications including DC motors, battery management systems, inverters, and DC-DC converters.
|Lifecycle Status||Active (Recommended for new designs)|
- Power > MOSFET (Si/SiC) > N-Channel Power MOSFET


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Army veteran Richard Fierro, Club Q hero who stopped shooter, speaks out; News helicopter crashes in Charlotte, killing pilot and meteorologist; Thanksgiving traffic accidents could hit a new high, experts warn; and more on tonight’s broadcast.
01:22 Nightclub shooting hero speaks out
05:17 Deadly news helicopter crash
06:44 Supreme Court rules on Trump’s taxes
07:02 Tripledemic fears ahead of holidays
08:58 Busy holiday travel crush underway
10:47 Inside Syria’s ISIS security emergency
13:09 Black Friday deals still worth it?
14:58 Bird strike on U.S. military plane
15:15 Corporate landlords threaten evictions
18:44 Unseen legend behind the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade floats
NBC News Digital is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver compelling, diverse and engaging news stories. NBC News Digital features NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, TODAY.com, Nightly News, Meet the Press, Dateline, and the existing apps and digital extensions of these respective properties. We deliver the best in breaking news, live video coverage, original journalism and segments from your favorite NBC News Shows.
Connect with NBC News Online!
NBC News App: https://smart.link/5d0cd9df61b80
Breaking News Alerts: https://link.nbcnews.com/join/5cj/breaking-news-signup?cid=sm_npd_nn_yt_bn-clip_190621
Visit NBCNews.Com: http://nbcnews.to/ReadNBC
Find NBC News on Facebook: http://nbcnews.to/LikeNBC
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#NBCNews #ColoradoSprings #Shooting
By: NBC News
Title: Nightly News Full Broadcast – Nov. 22
Sourced From: www.youtube.com/watch?v=tbreAmw-SGM
Exciting Finds: Oklahoma elections

domain: news


Textiles are a significant part of our life, and just as we ensure making responsible lifestyle in the food products we consume, we require being aware of the effect of our role as a consumer of textiles.
Today, industries pursue sustainability goals more assertively; they realize they cannot work in isolation from their surrounding eco-system. They require working with their stakeholders like suppliers, vendors, industry peers as well as customers closely. Therefore there is a mounting need for textiles industry community to reply to this demand for shared actions. In agreement with that trend or agenda, many people across the globe are pushing for more sustainable textiles or ethically created fabrics.
Environmental, Social and Economic Sustainability in Textiles
- Environmental sustainability is and may be the most observable in future textile industry prospects. This means that we want to persuade habits that will not have off-putting long-term impacts on the environment, including the safeguarding of resources.
- Social sustainability refers to building a balance of social equity of even-handedness. We must stay away from practices that are inherently exploitative or which are only advantageous to some communities at a loss to others.
- Economic sustainability means crafting products that can realistically be integrated into the present and future markets.
Sustainable textiles commence with sustainable materials. Many of our modern textiles are produced utilizing synthetic textiles. Many people don't comprehend this, but most synthetic materials are in fact developed using petroleum. Petroleum-based fibers comprise nylon, polyester, and spandex. Anything dependent on petroleum, which is naturally limited in capacity and naturally extractive, is not sustainable or beneficial for future.
Hemp, bamboo, and soy are strong, adaptable plants with minimum environmental impact. Sheep have a lesser environmental impact than goats. Cotton is not as environmentally pleasant as hemp but is softer. Cashmere comes only from goat wool and not sheep wool. So, to ensure that textiles are economically sustainable, we require learning to develop them in new sustainable ways.
Once we have sustainable materials in hand, we require ensuring that even the definite production of textiles is responsibly done. Taking an example, dyes are a key part of the textile production, but they create a large quantity of chemical wastes. We can solve this issue by utilizing low-impact dyes, produced from natural ingredients with some salts and without any metals.
Responsible Products for Future
You can build the most responsible products for the future, but that won't matter if you can't create it at a price people can pay for and consume it. In terms of textiles, this is additionally essential as design matters a lot. So, a responsible or reasonable product will still won't work if it's unattractive.
It is important that every stakeholder realizes that sustainable products are essential for the prolonged existence of the planet earth. It is also up to the customer to have sustainable clothing or fabrics through their designers and manufacturers. However, in future, one of the strong ways that can transform the sustainable habits is if economic aspects sturdily come into the picture.


After a strong start to the season, Terence Davis’ play has dropped as of late for the Toronto Raptors. Has he hit the dreaded “rookie wall”?
It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to suggest that Terence Davis has been one of the stories of the season; not just for the Toronto Raptors but in the whole of the NBA. The former Ole Miss prospect and undrafted guard has adjusted to life in the NBA in a fairly comfortable manner.
The Raptors signed Davis to a two-year non-guaranteed deal back in July after they caught wind of him showing up and showing out with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA’s Summer League. His season, to date, has been exceptional. Though he isn’t a frontrunner for Rookie of the Year, his performances on a winning team could well see him end up on an NBA All-NBA Rookie team at the end of the season.
Up until now – with the NBA indefinitely suspended due to an outbreak of Coronavirus – Davis has averaged 7.7 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game, shooting 46-percent from the field and 40-percent from three across 64 games this year. However, on the Raptors’ recent five-game road trip out West, Davis played well beyond what has been the norm for him in his rookie season.
Davis featured in every game, averaging 3.3 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 1.4 assists per game, shooting 33-percent from the field and 18-percent from three and was a combined -33 on the court. His minutes were drastically cut too. On average, Davis is playing around 17 minutes a night for the Raptors this year, but in the last five games, he saw his minutes dwindle to 10.4 minutes per game, playing under seven minutes in three of the team’s contests.
As we’ve seen this season, Nick Nurse has often kept Terence Davis on a short leash, and now – with the playoffs looming (potentially), is there a chance that Davis has reached the dreaded rookie wall?
The rookie wall is probably more of a figure of speech than anything else, but the ramifications of playing such a long and arduous season are often felt by rookies more than most athletes in the league. They’re used to playing a much shorter and less jam-packed schedule than in the NBA, with the schedule featuring twice as many games as it does in college.
It’s not uncommon for rookies to feel fatigued at this point in the season and that could well be the case for Davis.
For a long stretch of the season, Davis led all rookies in PIPM. His recent dip in form and the introduction of Zion Williamson to the league has changed that, and Davis is now third with a +0.39 PIPM.
Davis has played a big part for the Raptors this season and already has one 30-plus point game in his career already, in a win against the Chicago Bulls back in February. That night was Davis at his best. When that’s the case, he doesn’t look like a rookie.
His shooting stroke is smooth and his decision-making is so sound, evident with his TOV% of just 13.6-percent. Davis will improve as a ball-handler and a passer, but even now he’s good for a rookie.
For a rookie, he’s an exceptional three-point shooter too and doesn’t hesitate to pull the trigger. His game continues to blossom before our very eyes, even if this recent run of form is a little concerning.
With the NBA currently suspended, however, the concerns that Davis could be tired and fatigued will probably subside – especially considering there are more pressing matters afoot.
It’s clear that Davis has hit a wall. But, if there’s a rookie that can work his way past it, it’s this one.


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Photographs by Benjamin Krain
Former Arkansas running back Rawleigh Williams is getting a great deal of admiration from several SEC coaches after he decided to end his college football career last week.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
The respect Rawleigh Williams earned throughout the SEC in his two seasons as an Arkansas Razorback was evident during Monday's SEC spring football conference call.
This story is only available from our archives.
NWADG.com for only
$0.99 for the first month.


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Thursday, June 24, 2010
"We are delighted to announce our latest signing, bringing a stunning series of books set in the harassed police department of a city full of vampires and werewolves" says the folks at AR
Angry Robot has signed urban fantasy author Justin Gustainis for a new series set in Scranton, Philadelphia, in a world where supernatural beings are part of everyday life. Stan Markowski is a Detective Sergeant on the Scranton PD's Supernatural Crimes Investigation Unit. As Stan puts it in the first book, Hard Spell: "When a vampire puts the bite on an unwilling victim, or some witch casts the wrong kind of spell, that's when they call me. My name's Markowski. I carry a badge."
Justin Gustainis said, “I'm tremendously pleased to be associated with one of the most dynamic publishers in speculative fiction today, and I look forward to selling enough books to put a smile on that robot’s face.”
The first title in this sensational series, Hard Spell, will be published by Angry Robot in spring 2011, in both the UK and USA.
Justin Gustainis was born in north-east Pennsylvania in 1951. He attended college at the University of Scranton, a Jesuit university that figures prominently in several of his writings. After earning both Bachelor's and Master's degrees, he was commissioned a Lieutenant in the US Army.
Mr Gustainis currently lives in Plattsburgh, New York and is a Professor of Communication at Plattsburgh State University. His recent series of urban fantasy investigations starring Quincey Morris and Libby Chastain now runs to three titles.
His website is justingustainis.com.
Friday, June 18, 2010
The main point of note is my bookshelf. the first gives you access to all the books future and past. (don't criticize me for my beginnings, Goosebumps were cool 50 years ago.)
The second bookshelf shows you what i am currently reading.
And there are some other minor changes that piped and popped all over the place.
Well enjoy your weekend and remember to keep reading.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Monday, June 14, 2010
The Japanese satilite Hayabusa, the first ever earth probe to land and return from an astroid with samples is back. And surprisingly enough the samples are still intact, now to wait 6 months to find out what type of dust it is.
Wonder if it brought venom along?
Keep an eye on the site for a peak at an up and coming sci-fi book that looks to beat hayabusa back into the stone age.
Sunday, June 13, 2010
Alex J. Cavanaugh's first book Cassastar to be released closer to the end of the year, looks to be an interesting read. Will be keeping my eye's out for it. But decided for yourself.
Few options remain for Byron. A talented but stubborn young man with a troubled past and rebellious attitude, his cockpit skills are his only hope. Slated to train as a Cosbolt fighter pilot, Byron is determined to prove his worth and begin a new life as he sets off for the moon base of Guaard.
Much to Byron’s chagrin the toughest instructor in the fleet takes notice of the young pilot. Haunted by a past tragedy, Bassa eventually sees through Byron's tough exterior and insolence. When a secret talent is revealed during training, Bassa feels compelled to help Byron achieve his full potential.
As war brews on the edge of space, time is running short. Byron requires a navigator of exceptional quality to survive, and Bassa must make a decision that could well decide the fate of both men. Will their skills be enough as they embark on a mission that may stretch their abilities to the limit?
If you would like to know a bit more about Alex you can check out his home page here.
Well till next time and Keep Reading
I can tall you that so far in my journey down Stephens imagination in Crown Of Vengeance i am absolutely loving it. Really awesome journey into a new world. Very captivating writing style as well.
Till our next encounter
Sunday, June 6, 2010
First of all the book im busy with now has been out for some time but i promised the author Stephen that i will review it the moment im back online.
I have already started with this book and so far it is amazing, the review might not be out yet but i can already tell you - GET YOURSELF A COPY!
I cant wait to get this one over and done with just so i can put up the review and tell you exactly how awesome it is and to get my hands on the second one.
Stephens new book The Storm Guardians, Book Two of The Rising Dawn Saga is also available now, the release date was the 4th of June. Make sure to check it out as well. I will make sure to put up a review of Book 1 The Exodus Gate as soon as i can along with the review for the 2nd one as soon as i get it.
But if you want to know a bit more about this talented writer check out his homepage at http://www.stephenzimmer.com/index.html
In addition to Stephens work i will also be bringing out reviews on the following;
Spirit by Gwyneth Jones.
Naamah's Kiss by Jacqueline Carey.
And The Blue Demon by David Hewson.
This is not all that i have however, i also have a whole stack of additional books such as The Bookman, The Exodus Gate and several more but alas i am only human so lets not overdo it. i will get to each one in time.
Till the reviews are ready i will keep you updated with all the odds and ends i can come up with so,
Keep Reading and see you soon.
Friday, June 4, 2010
You must have been wondering what happend to me these last few months.
Just to clarify i did not take part in some religeous cruisede or underground cult plotting world domination through genetically modified coconuts.
I started with my masters degree and it proved to be a bit more than i could handle but things are quieting down now and once more i have time to dictate to you exactly what books not to miss.
I have quite the selection of books coming up for review.
Not my Text Book.
Keep an eye on this site over the weekend and i will post for you exactly what is to come in the weeks ahead.
Time for a weekend break and to find a new reading corner in my brand new flat.
Keep reading and keep an eye on this site.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Hope you enjoyed it as much as i did.
reservoir, creeks bordered the Breton Court condos
along the south and east. Not too long ago, several
kids had followed the tributaries back to the reservoir
and drowned. The tragedy was still repeated at
supper time to children who dawdled too long after
the street lights went on. The main drive of Breton
Court was laid out like a horseshoe with elongated
tips. As one went down either side, individual courts
of townhouses faced one another. King lived at the
base of the horseshoe. A few townhouses were still
owned and rented out by people who simply refused
to sell to the three owners even if they didn’t live
King stayed in one of those. His condo overlooked
the southern bend of the creek, now overgrown with
weeds and filled with discarded shopping carts from
the nearly vacant strip mall on the other side of it. It
was better than living out of a car which he had done
for months. Clumped between his court of condos
and the next were trash dumpsters. A black raincoat
and a pair of jutting legs dangled from one. Merle
fell from his perch, a tangle of legs and arms in an
awkward sprawl, then drew the collar of his black
trench coat up about his neck, though there was no
chill to the air. The aluminum foil helmet was a nice
“What’s the good word, Merle?”
The old bullshit fool gave a clenched-fist salute,
though he didn’t pause from his rummaging activities.
Merle had a familiar spirit. Maybe he was one
of those faces, those strangers you bumped into on
a bus or train and instantly poured yourself out to.
Maybe he was one of those neighborhood peripheral
figures who seemed to travel in the same circles he
did, even if the two had never officially met. Thinking
back on those times, King felt a certain comfort
about the man, as if the shambling bearded tramp
were a filthy protective shadow. If he were the Merle
he had heard people whisper and laugh about over
the years, by most accounts, he appeared better,
younger, now than he did back in the day. Maybe he
cleaned up from drugs and such and was now
merely homeless. His breath smelled of pork rinds
“Signs, signs, everywhere are signs.”
“I heard that.” King plopped down on the curb,
withdrew a burrito from his bag, and offered it to
Merle. “Somehow I’m not really surprised to see you
here. You seem to get around.”
“That’s me. The bad penny.” Merle pinched off bits
of bread and scattered them about him. He shooed
away the birds, making way for a squirrel to come
collect as he will. Without a warning, Merle suddenly
bowled over, gripping his head as if trying to
keep it from exploding. His face flushed an agonized
shade of red, his mouth locked in a silent scream.
Collapsing on the ground, he waved King off from
helping him. When he next spoke, his voice had the
weak rasp of a sick kitten.
“You alright, man?”
“I’m fine. I suffer from spells.”
“You ought to see a doctor. Get that checked out.”
“I’m past the concerns of a doctor. What say you,
good King? Caught twixt the knights of Dred and
“Nah, they just jawing. They needed to show their
“The Night’s too long. Night’s daddy was a crackhead.
Got hit in the head with a shovel.”
“He was sitting on a curb, people acting stupid.
Crackhead just bopped him straight in the side of the
old noggin.” Merle tapped the side of his head, dislodging
his aluminum cap. He sprayed food with
each sloppy bite, losing almost as much as he ate
while he spoke.
“My daddy was crazy, so I hear,” King said. He
fought to be legally emancipated from his mother
years ago. She had two little ones at home and he
was old enough to live on his own so that she could
concentrate on providing for the young ones. According
to his grandma, she was never quite the
same after his father’s death. Whenever she spoke
of him, it was with a mix of awe and sorrow, as if
either she had been betrayed or her idea of him had
been. At any rate, he had to get his social security
benefits transferred into his name but to her address
so that she could spend it. They’d make it
without him. As would Nakia. More family he’d
“An OG OD’d on the streets. Brought down in a
fight over a woman. He had to have her, though.”
“My pops wasn’t no drug addict.”
“Never said he was. Heavy is the head… and all
that.” Merle wiped his hands in the grass. “Prisons
and graveyards are full of fools who wore the
“Truth and all, I didn’t know my father at all to
speak of. I just sort of fill in the blanks here and
there, the way I’d want them.” King froze, not understanding
why he gave up that bit of personal
information at all much less to a stranger. A white
stranger at that. Like he thought, maybe Merle had
one of those faces. Before he could speak again, the
homeless man spoke.
“Can I tell you something?” Merle leaned in, still
chewing on too big a bite of his burrito.
“Last night, I dreamt of the dragon.”
“You sound like that’s supposed to mean something.”
King had an air of being trapped in himself,
of not knowing who he was, that came off as rather
petulant. “You act like you ain’t right in the head and
yet you seem so…”
“Content. I am what I am. I know who I am. I accept
who I am.”
King heard a bit too much bite in his tone. “What
does that mean?”
“You war with yourself. You’re the ‘should’ve’
“Should’ve finished high school. Should’ve gotten
involved in something larger than myself. Should’ve
let myself fall in love,” King said.
“Instead you hide, afraid of betrayal. A spectator
in your own life.”
“Until lately. I don’t know how to explain it.”
“You felt the call.”
“To action.” Merle thrust the remaining bread into
the air, a makeshift sword jabbing at clouds. He
turned the jousting loaf toward King and engaged
him in a one-sided duel, waving the bread about in
strokes and feints. “Feelings overtook you. Who you
really are wants to take over.”
“And who am I?” King kept turning to face the
loaf-wielding man. As much as instinct might have
told him to, he couldn’t write Merle off as either a
bum or a lunatic. He had too much gravitas, too
much presence, to be easily dismissed.
“That is the question. I can’t answer it for you.
Some people are built to lead, some to follow. Which
are you, lion or lamb?”
King inspected the stretch of Breton Court like
there were parts within the sphere of his influence
and the hinterlands, those areas on the outskirts, out
of his influence. Prez. Damn. What happened to that
brother? Everyone seemed infected with the same
sickness, on edge. King saw the fear, the frustration,
the cauldron of terror and rage with life reduced to
desperation and survival. So many stood by and did
nothing; sick of gangs and violence, yet suffering in
“You get off on knowing the rule book without
having to share anything.”
“Knowledge,” Merle tapped his aluminum foil helmet
with the loaf, then returned to feeding the birds
and squirrels, “is power.”
“Power is power, too.”
“Ah, the first lesson in ruling. That wasn’t so hard,
now was it?”
“Making a decision. Making the hard choices is a
“What do…” King didn’t know why he sought
Merle’s advice, or approval, nor could he explain the
strange sense of kinship between them. “What’s my
“Take hold of your destiny.”
“How do I do that?”
“Either you seek it out or…” Merle stood up as if
dismissed. “Here come your boys. Anyway, I have
places to be and fey to annoy.”
“You’re the right guy, my guy. If you were another
guy, you’d be the wrong guy.”
Evenings were made to sit out and King relished the
few quiet moments. He had grown up in the area
though now he spent some time away, maybe to
come into his own. His boys were still his boys. So
they drank some, listened to the sounds of kids playing,
the occasional car horns, and dogs barking from
the fenced back patios of the rowhouses.
“Ain’t nothing changed,” King said.
“Look around you. Why would it change?” A
hard-faced man, with a scar on the back of his neck,
Wayne had the build of a defensive linesman, stocky
and chiseled, with the swinging step of someone
who knew how to use their size should the necessity
warrant. Thus also explaining why the plastic chair
wobbled every time he shifted his weight. A mane
of long dreadlocks furled down to his shoulders.
Wayne was King’s case manager down at Outreach
Inc., a ministry that worked with homeless and atrisk
youth. He’d helped King with his emancipation
and got his benefits straightened out. Even though
Wayne was four years older, the span of attaining his
college degree, he hung out with King now out of
true friendship as much as anything else. King had a
spark about him that drew folks to him.
“You know what your problem is?” King asked.
“You pessimistic. Now me, I’m a glass half full of
Kool Aid sort of man.”
“Just something in the air.” Wayne carried his survival
instinct, too. The eyes in the back of his head
that let him know when something was up. King respected
and depended on it.
“I know. I feel it, too. A vibe. Like a whole lot of
anger bubbling out there waiting for an excuse to
“Yeah, something like that,” Wayne said.
“Want another one?”
“Nah, I’m good with this one. Don’t need to be setting
a bad example for you young ’uns.”
“What about you?” King raised a beer to Lott.
Lott bobbed his head to beats and rhymes only he
heard, keeping his own counsel. He was a week past
getting his hair tightened up and his large brown
eyes drifted with the activity of the court. His FedEx
uniform – a thick sweatshirt over blue slacks, his
name badge, “Lott Carey” with a picture featuring
his grill-revealing smile, wrapped around his arm –
girded him like a suit of armor. Lott put on his pimproll
strut for all the eyes to see as he moved toward
an open seat, a puffed-up exaggerated gait with a
cool blank stare, his face locked into a grimace of
put-on hostility purposefully designed to make old
ladies clutch their purses and white suburbanites
cross the street if they were in his path. A row of
faux gold caps grilled his teeth. He was a wrong
time/wrong place sort, always getting caught up in
situations he didn’t start but felt compelled to finish,
with jail being the typical finish line. These days he
kept his dreams simple: dreaming of holding a job
and breathing free air, not like some of the other
talkers on the block.
“You know I don’t drink.”
“It’s still polite to ask.”
“And where would we be without politeness?”
King nodded then popped open the beer. There
were too few evenings with anything approaching
peace, so he opted to enjoy the time he had.
It was a glass half full of Kool Aid evening.
A nest of fine braids lined Omarosa’s head, not a hair
out of place as if she had just stopped from the
beauty salon. Hers was a cultivated beauty, but
where would her kind be without beauty? With skin
like heavily creamed coffee, almond eyes that missed
nothing, and the high cheekbones with accompanying
aquiline nose of a European aristocrat, her
pointed ears were the only tell of her mixed fey heritage.
The pair of handcuffs clicked in her hand as
she spun one spindle through the rest of the cuff.
Invisible to all, she strolled along the court sidewalks.
Only three kinds of people generally
remained invisible: fiends, homeless, and pros. Such
a station in life supplied invisibility because as fixtures
in the neighborhood, most folks averted their
eyes from them either in sympathizing shame or due
to the desire to not be approached by them. Folks
tended to assume she was a pro, though few dared
ask her for sex. She allowed them to carry on in their
assumptions, for her kind also valued the power of
illusion. After all, few suspected the need to be on
guard against the sawn-off 12-gauge that rarely left
“The game begins again.” She didn’t turn her head
to address him nor otherwise betray any surprise at
his presence. Few managed to sneak up on her, with
her battle-hardened senses keen as the edge of the
blade strapped to her thigh. However, Merle had a
way of appearing when least expected. “All the players
are almost in place.”
“Indeed,” he said. “They’ve woken the dragons.”
Friday, March 5, 2010
Seriously Extended just for you guys.
Merle never imagined that a Timberland boot in his
midsection would be the defining moment of his day.
The abandoned shoe factory on the south side of
downtown had been declared a historic landmark, but
neither the city nor any foundation knew what to do
with it nor wanted to put up the money to restore it
for modern use. The owner languished with the albatross
of high property taxes, unable to sell it, so the
building existed in a state of limbo, between being and
not being, and thus was the perfect place for Merle to
break into and lay his head. With a flattened refrigerator
box as his mattress, visions of dragons, mist, and
silver-armored knights filled his dreams.
Waking with a start, disturbing the rats which
scurried along the broken bits of crates and skids,
Merle knew he had to make his way to the west side
“Sir Rupert?” he called out. A brown and black
squirrel, with a gray streak along its back, poked its
head through a hole in the bay door of the building.
“I had the dream again. I think the time has finally
come. He has returned.”
The squirrel sat back on its haunches, eagerly
working at an acorn.
“I know, I know. There have been several false
alarms, but this time I know it’s real.” Merle
wrapped his arms loosely around his knees and gathered
his wits while Sir Rupert ate.
The squirrel finished with the nut, turned, and ran
out the hole in the door.
“You’re right, you’re right. We mustn’t tarry.”
Scooping up his backpack and his black raincoat,
Merle slipped between the still-chained doors. The
raincoat doubled as his blanket, though its winter insert
had pulled free and with a few teeth missing
from the zippered lining, he was unable to reattach
it. Not much of a clothes horse, he kept his attire
simple. A furry hat, the kind a Russian soldier languishing
in Siberia would wear, a tattered black
sweater with matching jeans, and black socks with
no shoes. He had the most difficult of times keeping
shoes and suspected Sir Rupert, prankster that he
was, of nicking them at night. He pulled the raincoat
tight around him, buttoning it only at the middle
where a belt might fall. He already missed his normal
routine that had him checking in at the Wheeler
Mission, then panhandling outside of the Red Eye
Café – whose owner often let him push a broom for
a meal – and avoiding the police eager to sweep him
under the city’s rug. It would be little more than a
three hour haul to the west side that awaited him.
Merle kept to the bank of the White River which
was unusually low due to the lack of rain. Though
the White River was a natural ley line winding its
way through the heart of the city, another one lay
closer to Eagle Creek Park, along Breton Street.
Whatever called him, he knew his destiny had to lie
there. After three hours, he climbed up the embankment
to follow 38th Street west.
The Breton Court housing addition had changed
considerably in the quarter of a century since it was
established. Once a solidly all-white not-quitesuburban
enclave, it now languished as a
neighborhood in decline. Street lore attributed this
to two things. For one, the first black family moved
in a decade or so ago. Their white neighbors, not
wanting to let a bad element gain a foothold in the
neighborhood, harassed them to the point that a UHaul
truck was soon being loaded. Unfortunately,
they had made a slight miscalculation. The black
family was also seeking a respite from bad elements
and had more in common with their white neighbors
than not. And though they moved, they never
sold their town house in Breton Court. Instead, they
rented it out. They found the worst of the “bad elements”
they could find and let them live there
rent-free for six months. The white flight was more
of an exodus of Biblical proportions.
The second factor? The townhouses had since
been bought up primarily by three owners who, in
an act just shy of collusion, opted to let the property
run down, renting to Section 8 tenants or anyone
who had cash in hand. While the word “gentrification”
hadn’t been bandied about, their goal was to
sell off the whole piece for development and by
“development” they envisioned razing the entire
Merle plodded along the creek line which ran the
length of Breton Court from 38th Street. Sir Rupert
had long scampered off, perhaps to survey the scene
from his own vantage point. No matter, Merle recognized
layabouts and ne’er-do-wells when he saw
“What you need, old timer? You look like you
need to get up.” A young man, more boy than man,
stepped toward him. His slightly faded blue jeans had
rolled-up cuffs and sagged just below his blue and
white striped boxer shorts despite the presence of a
skull-buckled chain through the belt loops. Rhinestones
dotted his black shirt.
“All’s not right in Who-ville,” Merle said.
“What you got, Dollar?” Another young man
sported a formidably sized pair of black Timberland
boots, smothered in a hooded jacket with a frog
across its back. Merle couldn’t help but think of the
cartoon with the frog singing “Hello my baby, hello
my darling” when no one but his owner was around.
“Don’t know. You up?” Dollar asked, never one to
let any potential sale slip past. The court had been a
quiet stretch of real estate until Dollar built it up into
a profitable venture. He was due to be moved up the
ranks soon, climbing the corporate ladder, to get
away from actually handling product.
“No, no. Just passing through,” Merle said while
he fished in his pockets as if he misplaced his wallet.
“What? We some sightseeing stop? Get right or get
“I’m tired of these ghetto tourist types. ‘Let’s see
how the po’ folks be living.’” The Timberland-booted
man stepped nearer, a hulk of aggression needing to
“Come on, man. Green said no drama less we had
no choice.” Dollar understood that in such stark economic
times, fiscal responsibilities demanded certain
precaution. Ever-present muscle was the cost of
doing business. But some of these young bucks were
too eager to make a name, thinking that being crazy
was the surest route to success. It was a headache he
“Green?” Merle had hoped to never hear that
name again. He buried the gleam of recognition too
“You know Green?” Dollar tilted his head with
“Yes. Uh, not really. Maybe I’ve heard the name.”
“I bet his country ass is a snitch.” Mr Size 12 Boots
gave him an exaggerated sniff. “Yeah, he smells like
a snitch bitch.”
Merle waved his fingers in front of him as if with
a sudden display of jazz hands. “These are not the
droids you are looking for.”
“Are you making fun of me?” Before Merle could
respond, the young man punched him in the gut
with such force that Merle crumpled to the ground.
With blood in the water, the Timberland boot
slammed into his side three or four times for good
measure before the man bent over to grab him by
the lapels. “Yeah, I’m gonna give you a name to remember.”
“My man.” Dollar backed up a step or two, looking
over his shoulder for Green, instead spying another
approaching figure. “Ease up.”
“We got a problem?” Tall and straight, visibly muscled,
but not with the dieseled artifice of prison
weight, the man had the complexion of burnt cocoa.
His eyes burned with a stern glint, both decisive and
sure. Hard, but not in a street tough way, his walk
was street savvy, with a hint of the swagger of someone
who knew how handsome he was. Carrying
himself properly was a survival tool. Level chin,
squared up, not moving too fast which betrayed fear.
The streets hadn’t changed much in the years Merle
had wandered them. If your body language portrayed
you as scared, you became nothing but prey. Despite
the oversized black T-shirt with a Jackie Robinson
portrait, the young man wasn’t much older than the
other man-boys. He cold-eyed both Dollar and Mr
Size 12, though not so hard as to give Mr Size 12 a
challenge he’d have no choice but to respond to.
“Nah, we ain’t got a problem. Simply a misunderstanding,”
“He in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Mr
Size 12 said. “He needed… directions.”
“He’s just an old man.” The man turned to Mr Size
12 with a weary disappointment. For a moment, the
two seemed to square off, an untold story between
them, but Mr Size 12 without displaying a measure
of backing down, withdrew nonetheless. It was as if
his spirit, if not his bearing, deserted him. “Come on,
man, he isn’t even worth the hassle. Things that slow
“Come on. Fun’s fun, but we still on the clock,”
The Timberland-booted man cocked his hand like
a gun, fired off a shot at Merle, then trailed Dollar.
“You all right? You know them?” The man’s gaze
followed them, disappointment rife in his eyes as he
helped Merle to his feet.
“All jackals and hyenas… without a lion in sight.”
Merle brushed the leaves and loose dirt from him,
though his many-stained jacket reeked of grime.
“Who is my would-be savior?”
“My name’s King. King James White.”
“Merle what?” King asked.
“At your service, oh King.” Merle bowed before
King’s steady gaze.
“Damn, son. You broke him off a piece for real.” Dollar
laughed as they made their way back to the spot.
Brief distraction aside, they were still on the grind,
though he always had his eye out for new talent.
“You ready to step up to this here game?”
“I’m here to put in work. I’m tired of playing out
here.” Prez knew what he was going to hear from
Big Momma. Not even in her house and already he’d
found the streets. But he’d been watching Dollar
from way back, a few years at least. Steady slinging,
always in fine clothes and just enough bling to set it
off. It was either the game or continue to attend
Northwest High School. Though the ladies were fine
up in there, ladies could be had just as easily out
here. No point in wasting everyone’s time killing
time and taking up space in school when he needed
to be out here doing dirt.
“Anxious to make a name for yourself.”
“Something like that.”
“I feel you. Look here, you hang with us for a
minute. Think of yourself as an apprentice or some
shit. See how we do. We got our eyes on you and
we’ll see how you handle yourself.”
They bumped fists. A new day, same as it ever was.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
The folks at Angry robot have made abailable the first chapter of a new promising book, King Maker, and i thought i would bring it to you personally.
I will be introducing it in 3/4 parts so make sure you stay tuned over the next couple of days to get the full story.
I've already started nagging my contacts at AR to send me a full printed copy of this great new novel.
Well enough of my chatting, here is Part 1 of the King Maker Sample.
silence. He drummed his fingers along the
steering wheel. Absently noting the recently closed
or unoccupied stores in several strip malls along
Lafayette Road, it was as if blank spaces pocked his
neighborhood. Even the newly opened Wal-Mart
struggled, though neighborhood lore held that
within its first week it had to let fifty of its employees
go for excessive shoplifting. He hated driving, preferring
to walk when he could, but Big Momma
asked him to pick up her son and even loaned him
her car to do it. King hardly knew Prez – as he was
known around the way, though born Preston Wilcox
– but Big Momma was a neighborhood fixture. Her
word that he was a good kid was all King needed,
despite the boy striking him as just another neighborhood
“I know.” Prez had a just-shy-of-amiable halfsmile
on his face. The wisps of an attempted goatee
sprouted along the sides of his mouth. Eyes fixed on
the road, he nestled into his oversized Kellogg’s
jacket, a picture of the Honey Smacks frog danced
on the back. Though late in the summer, the temperatures
remained fairly mild.
“You should have your own spot.” King heard the
lecturing tone in his voice, but chalked it up to wanting
to mentor the boy. The streets had their lure and
anything he could do to inoculate Prez to their madness,
well, he couldn’t help himself. His street, his
responsibility – that had always been his way.
“Ain’t no shame in it.” A sullenness quilted Prez’s
face, man-child struggling with independence but
having to retreat to his moms. Grandmoms, technically.
His moms turned him over to Big Momma so
that raising a child wouldn’t slow her down. He
knew full well that he’d have to hide any of his foolishness
from Big Momma because she would have
none of it.
“I know. Big Momma ain’t gonna let her baby
sleep out on the street.”
“Shit, I’d still be on my own if this dude who I
stayed with had let me know that he was moving
out and his cousin would be taking his place. But his
cousin wasn’t trying to pay no rent, and it wasn’t like
either of us were on the lease. So, boom, the landlord
kicks us out. We only had till Monday to get our
stuff out of there before he puts it out. And the
cousin ain’t even started to pack his stuff up.”
“Yeah,” King said without commitment, part from
having nothing to add, part due to distraction. He
eased off the gas as they passed a row of apartments.
A little girl skipped into an open door while a
woman struggled with pulling a basket of clothes
from the backseat of her car.
“What’s up?” Prez asked, noting King’s focused attention.
“Nothing.” It wasn’t as if King was going to say
“That’s my baby’s momma’s place. Look at her. You
know she be having men all up in there all hours of
the night. In front of Nakia.”
Prez spied a buxom, dark-complexioned woman
walking in the front door of her apartment carrying
a load of laundry. “Pretty girl.”
“Reminds me of someone I used to know.”
King flipped through radio stations, though Black
radio in Indianapolis only came in two flavors: hip
hop and adult soul. He loved hip hop, but he really
needed something with a melody right now. His
mom called his taste in music the legacy of his father.
King had no true sense of who Luther White was,
only the legend his mother made him out to be. It
was easy to be a legend when you were long dead
As if Saturday afternoon traffic in front of Meijer
wasn’t going to be bad enough, they crept the last
mile to the Breton Court townhouses due to construction
on the only street leading there. Prez
eased back in his seat and put one of his Timberlands
on King’s dashboard. A half-muttered “my
bad” and the foot lowering followed a stern gaze
from King. Kids today, King thought, no respect for
Sliding into one of the parking spots, one assigned
per townhouse, King grabbed the two bags of clothes
from his trunk, to which Prez nodded in appreciation,
and carried them toward Big Momma’s.
Already outside holding court, she slowly fanned
herself with a tattered magazine. Her usual courtesans,
the neighbors from across the way, sat around
the plastic table. King couldn’t quite remember the
name of his neighbor who lived across from Big
Momma, though they seemed like a nice family.
Every Sunday they dressed up for church along with
their two kids. The neighborhood kids (half of whom
Big Momma ostensibly babysat) played with a garden
hose, spraying each other and turning the center
of the court into a mud slick, a dirt-floored “slip‘n’slide”.
The white-haired candy lady, who had lived in
the court longer than anyone else, stood on her
porch passing out popsicles to any kid who took a
break from the hose. Her cats keened against the
front storm door like children denied the chance to
play with their friends.
“Damn,” he said to himself, as Prez left him with
his bags to hook up with a couple of neighborhood
knuckleheads who were setting up shop on the corner.
Their fixed gazes dared him to do something
about their presence. His face flushed with heat, but
he wasn’t about to return a hard look for each one
he received, nor could he afford to get bent out of
shape every time some fool stepped to him wrong.
Attitude and anger came in shorter supply for him
these days so he chose his spots rather than exhaust
himself on every bit of drama. However righteous
Monday, February 22, 2010
My silence for those interested is mostly due to my job, and boy did these people throw me in to the deep end. But things are getting manageable now and im coming back to you guys.
Yes even though i have endured sleepless nights i have done some reading AND thinking.
The THINKING part is due to a discussion and questionnaire im involved in with some budds across the globe on genre fiction and the future of e-readers.
Now my opinion is all and well, but i've been thinking, whats your opinion on some of these questions we are dealing with.
So if you feel interested in leaving your opinion, feel free to do so, please.
These are some of the questions we are faced with:
1. How has genre fiction changed over the years since you first started reading it?
2. The most recent trends have been things like vampires, darker storytelling, flawed protagonists, and stronger female leads. What do you see as some of the upcoming trends?
3. What should the price of a genre e-book be in your mind?
4. Which new and upcoming authors are grabbing your attention and are poised to become the next big household names and why?
5. Just what does the future of genre fiction look like to you?
Lets see what you guys do with that!
Hope to hear back from some of you loyal fans out there, till next time
Sunday, February 14, 2010
Well dont worry I decided to take a look around for you and give you some of the best info. I could find. Just to round up your week and not feel to miss informed.
First of all over on Dave's blog are two note worthy articles.
The first being an exclusive extract from Tad Williams novel Shadowrise. (click on me)
The second being something aimed at our South African readers, finally an eReader
hits our shores. (click on me)
The second Piece of Information I have for you comes all the way from our friends at Angry Robot.
They have now announced that several of there authors are up for Hugo's in this years Hugo
The List for Best Novel looks as follows:
* Slights by Kaaron Warren
* Book of Secrets by Chris Roberson
* Nekropolis by Tim Waggoner
* Kell’s Legend by Andy Remic
* Angel of Death by J Robert King
* Triumff: Her Majesty’s Hero by Dan Abnett
* Winter Song by Colin Harvey
* Sixty-One Nails by Mike Shevdon
For more on this you can take a look over there
And lastly a little round-up of some news form all over.
- The Horror Writers Association have announced the winners of the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement and HWA Specialty Press Awards. The Lifetime Achievement award will go this year to both Brian Lumley and William F. Nolan. The Specialty Press Award goes to Tartarus Press of North Yorkshire, England. The awards will be presented in March at the World Horror Convention in Brighton, England.
- Sony Pictures has optioned the rights to a series of science fiction novels by Jeff Somers, starting with The Electric Church. The novel concerns a new religion founded by a mysterious man who converts the faithful into cyborgs with human brains, enhanced robotic bodies and virtually unlimited life spans. Trevor Sands has been hired to adapt the work.
- The two film adaptations being made of The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien have been furthered delayed for a new release date of late 2012. Guillermo del Toro is still directing the films, and Peter Jackson, who produced and directed the Oscar-winning films for Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, is producing.
- Mervyn Peake writer of the Gormenghast series who died in 1968 seams to have left us something after all. A fourth book in the series written by his wife and based on the notes he left behind was found in the family's home attic by his granddaughter. Random House has now won the rights to release this next installment and plan to d so in July 2011 as part of a memorial to Mervyn Peake.
Enjoy your week and remember, keep reading!
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Jason Nahrung's Book The Darkness Within is one of those classic young woman finds out she is actually a witch from a long line of witches, but still brings its own little twists.
The story follows Emily Winters, a young down on her luck photo journalist who one night finds out she is more than she ever thought.
After a mysterious stranger and a meeting in an old church she is entrusted with her granmothers old grim moire. A simple record of her family's lineage, until you start looking close, finding what the true purpose of the book actually is.
Along with an ancient family heirloom Emily becomes flooded by the memories and spirits of all her ancestors, learning about about a power carried in her family's bloodline. A secret that made her lineage the most powerful witches and unfortunately the preferred food of a dangerous cabal. A cabal who now seems to have found her after her great great grandmother gave her life to free and hide her family from them.
The story is a familiar one, but introduces some interesting aspects such as the vampire guardians and the type of family memory which allows each new witch to learn and remember the craft form those before her.
Emily's character is a very confused and sensitive one and through the story one does see some development in her. Growing more confident and coming to terms with her gifts and eventually taking on the role fo guarding her whole family and their lineage.
In some ways she is a very relateable character though a little slow in the uptake sometimes.
Apart form Emily there is Jehal, her vampire guardian and love interest who has to deal with his own internal war of betrayal.
Brett on the other hand is the wannabe hero, trying his best to protect and win Emily's heart from the Cabal and the dark and mysterious Jehal. Still he comes through for Emily in the end and undergoes a surprising transformation himself at the end of the book.
lastly no story will be complete without the antagonist, Petr Uhgrau leader of the evil Cabal fills this role. A dark and mysterious character himself he plays the obvious nice guy, trying to help Emily in discovering her own power. He does however have his own reasons for doing so, and it's not only Emily he has his eyes on.
Now though the story has some reasonable character I was rather disappointed with the pace of the book. In my opinion it took way to long for Emily to discover her powers and finally use them. Several times throughout the book I found myself getting rather bored and wishing that something would just happen.
Definitely a book for the younger teen generation, especially girls with a taste of the dark romance. More advanced readers will quickly put this book down and move on to something with a more complex or engaging storyline.
Unfortunately not part of my book list.
Still if you feel a craving for some romance, mystery and magic then you might just find yourself enjoying it. Get your copy Here if your one of our SA readers, else UK readers can find a copy Here and US readers click Here.
Next up I will be bring you a review of The Cardinals Blades, so keep and eye out for that one. The three musketeers will never be the same again.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
and now there is yet again proof that they are doing it.
Here's the latest development from their little world of insanity.
When Kaaron Warren told us she wanted to re-write her next book Walking the Tree as a 20,000 word novella from the point of view of one of the book’s minor characters, we thought she was mad! But we’ve always encouraged creative madness.
characters, it struck me that it would be a wonderful thing if my son and
I could be reading the same book but in appropriate versions, so I wrote
Morace’s Story, the child’s point of view version of Walking the Tree.
My idea is that every parent can share the reading of Walking the Tree with their child.
Sit there, together, reading the same book.”
The first two chapters of Morace’s Story are included at the back of Walking the Tree along with a secret DVD-style download link and password that allows you to read the entire novella online or on your eBook reader. And if you buy the eBook edition you get the whole thing as an added extra. Walking the Tree is published worldwide by Angry Robot.
UK: 4th February 2010 (ISBN: 978 0 00 732 244 2)
US: July 2010 (ISBN: 978 0 06 199 417 3)
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Thanks to the folks at Angry Robot I now have my very own copy of Servant of the Underworld and The Bookman
Make sure to look out for their reviews coming soon.
But right now you can expect reviews on The Darkness Within and The Cardinals Blades
So keep an eye out for the first review coming up shortly and some more book news later on in the week.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
As promised I'm back with the first of many reviews
I decided to start with the first book I read before the little visit form the gremlin lifeforms and in this case that is Liz Williams's Winterstrike.
Liz is not an unknown name in the sci-fi arena having written several successful novel in several series. Winterstrike being her newest creation.
First of all I have to admit that this was not exactly my type of novel. It was a decent read, entertaining and interesting at times but over all not a repeat read for me.
Liz takes us deep into humanities future, man has colonized mars and in fact for a period of time lost contact with earth and completely forgot our origins.
Through Genetic science and in some aspects the misuse of it man has completely left the picture leave a world ruled by women. The plague of man is of such a dangerous nature that it is in fact illegal for any female to be seen in contact with a man.
The story primarily revolves around the cousins Hestia Mar, a secret spy for the Matriarchy, and Essegui who is on a mission to find and help her sister Shorn who has gone missing a year after her imprisonment for being seen with a genetically modified male.
For Hestia this is a dangerous mission, going against the Matriarchy as she discovers some dark secrets about their beloved leaders. One that takes her to the stronghold of a rebel group of men lead by a female warrior that died a thousand years ago, and eventually all the way back to earth where she makes some startling discoveries.
Essegui on the other hand undertakes a journey ending up with the same rebels but discovering very dangerous secrets about her family and her own sister Shorn who seams to be losing herself in some for of genetic transformation. She must come to accept difficult facts not only about her family and what they have done, including stealing a part of her soul, but also about herself and her limitations.
Both these characters go thorough some character development but I do believe they could have been developed a bit more.
The world Liz creates for us is truly unusual and strange and I found it difficult to grasp at times. A bit more detail into how some technologies worked could have facilitated this but overall for the majority of the book I failed to understand just how the mechanics of the machines and the essence of ghosts interlinked.
Yup that's right the machines are powered by ghosts and you use your soul to interface with them. Freaky!
If your looking for a really out there type of sci-fi novel then this should appeal to you, but for me the lack of insight into the workings of the world, the relatively slow progression of the book, and a rather disappointing and bluntly open conclusion was a rather big disappointment.
Still the almost medusa-like bad guys, or girls in this case, along with the Centipede Queen and her followers were some impressive additions to the story. Also the method of space travel was disturbingly cool.
Well I have decided not to score the books I read anymore, the review itself should allow you to decide if you want to read it or not.
Instead I will just say Interesting to read, it has its ups and downs but personally not a contender for my top list.
Non the less, well done Liz!
Two sequels are planned for Winterstrike as can be concluded from the ending of the first book, but their release dates are not known as of yet.
You can however find an interesting interview held with Liz here
Or if you decide you would like to give Winterstrike a go our SA readers can find it HERE
US readers can find it HERE and UK readers can grab there copy HERE
For now Be Fantastic and see you all soon with more reviews and interesting additions.
Monday, January 25, 2010
First up is my review for Liz Williams Winterstrike, the review will be coming your way in the next day or two.
Never thought someone would take the saying "And women shall inherent the earth" so literally, or in this case mars!
Friday, January 22, 2010
For the full story you can find it here on Dave's site
or alternatively you can go straight to Angry Robots site and find the article here.
With the latest trends in adapting Books to the silver screen several new books will be coming to the big TV in 2010 and post.
Apart form the teeny-boper hits of Twilight 3 - Eclipse and the first half of Deathly Hallows (whats up with that?) some more classy productions are also being launched.
Firstly is the deal to bring Carrie Ryan's The Forest of Hands and Teeth to the silver screen. You might remember the review i did for that just after mid '09. It might be able to give us a decent movie going experience for a change.
Not much i could find out on that subject apart from that the first drafts for the screenplay being in production, but will be keeping an eye out for that and informing you as more comes our way.
Secondly Terry Brooks novel Magic Kingdom for sale - Sold which forms part of the Landover series sounds to be almost done with production and could see the light of day later this year. Along with the Elfstones and the Sword of Shannara which have been in production for quite some time now, but unfortunately still has no release date.
There is also the new version of Alice in Wonderland that will be hitting cinemas sometime later this year.
Towards the end of the year we can also look out for the launch of the next installment of the Narnia series, Voyage of the Dawn Trader.
As for 2011 so far i can say i am definitely looking forward to see The Hobbit. From the few sneak peaks that have been released it definitely looks to be a pleaser.
Now then there are also a few other well loved classics that are being given a new life but more on them as the information becomes available.
For now i say Happy reading!
Due to some pesky gremlins, pixies, goblins and what ever other form of misfortune you would like to blame I was stuck without access to the 3 w's.
But i never stopped reading, so as you can guess i have quite a few reviews stacked up to publish and who knows what other insightful and informative inscriptions i have to upload.
As for my plans for where to go with the blog from here well lets keep that a surprise for now.
But you will soon start to see the trends as they unfold.
As for the original blog, as Dave said he will be returning to that, but we are still keeping in touch and will definitely be supporting each other.
For now I say be fantastic, and enjoy your read.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
As many of you may know, this was not the first blog I ran. I originally started blogging about and reviewing SFF over at my first blog, and I started this blog because I wanted to play with the options Blogger had, thinking that it would lead to a bigger, better blog. Alas, I was wrong. :-)
In the three month period that this blog has been running, it's accumulated just over 2700 hits. I thought this was pretty okay, but I also knew that there was lots of room for change and growth. I got a surprise, though, when I checked the stats of the first blog - in the same three month period, the old blog accumulated just over 30000 hits! And that was with me updating content sporadically, and then it was only writing-related stuff. So it became immediately obvious to me that the old blog was the blog everyone knew and kept on visiting; it was also the old blog that everyone had linked to, had put in their blogrolls, etc so in retrospect I have no problem saying that I was an utter fool to have thought that I could launch a new blog and enjoy as much success and attention as the old blog did. :-)
Success and attention that will probably increase! You see, a quote from my (old blog) review of Jasper Kent's Twelve has been included on the mass market paperback edition (which should already be on shelves everywhere, except in SA - we've still got a couple of weeks to wait), and I've also been mentioned in the acknowledgements of a highly anticipated book that'll be out shortly. So, making the jump back to the old blog seems like one of my better decisions of late. :-)
The other question that needs answering, I s'pose, is what will happen with this blog?
Well, David Jooste will be taking over this blog; if you need a reminder (which I'm sure you don't) David joined the old blog as a fellow reviewer some months back, and is definitely one of the reasons that my old blog and this blog were as successful as they were. :-) So, David will probably be changing things up a bit here, adding and taking away stuff until he gets the blog the way he wants it. You can expect him to keeping on reviewing SFF but the blog will be entirely his, to do with as he wants. :-)
David has got a whole slew of reviews coming up, so brace yourself! :-)
And until then, be sure to add us to your Google Reader and

domain: literature


text:
As seen on the National Geographic
The lure of precious metals and other natural resources has long been a source of conflict in Latin America, from the Andes to the Amazon and most everywhere else. But new research has begun to put a price tag on this conflict, and investors have started to respond. When the lives and livelihoods of Indigenous Peoples are uprooted by large-scale mining developments, their opposition is driving up the cost of these developments, a point that is finally starting to get noticed in corporate financial statements.
In a class action lawsuit filed last week, investors of the Barrick Gold Corp. argued that the company misstated the financial risk in its $8.5 billion Pascua Lama mining development on the border of Chile and Argentina. The project was originally estimated to cost $3 billion.
Instead of mineral riches, Barrick has unearthed a wealth of criticism for the project’s environmental impacts and how the company has addressed the concerns of local communities. Farmers living downstream of the mega-mine have fought the company for more than a decade, insisting that it would degrade the glaciers above the mine and that chemicals like cyanide and mercury will flow through the watershed of the semi-arid environment.
While the project has been shelved by Chile’s environmental authorities, Barrick has been trying to restart the project, which it once promoted as having the potential to become “one of the world’s largest, lowest cost mines.” All activity at the development—which sought to tap more than 15 million ounces of gold and 675 million ounces of silver—is currently suspended, which will cost the company an estimated US$300 million in 2014.
Argentina’s mining minister has also been outspoken in urging the project forward.
The conflict between Barrick and the local communities was typical of the 50 case studies examined in the first peer-reviewed study on how local conflicts impact the bottom line in international mining, oil and gas developments. The researchers found that delays caused by local conflicts could cost about US$20 million a week for mining projects valued between US$3 billion and US$5 billion.
The lead author for the study, Deputy Directory of University of Queensland Centre for Social Responsibility in Mining Dr. Daniel Franks, said that community opposition had become a major contributor to the cost of projects.
“There is a popular misconception that local communities are powerless in the face of large corporations and governments,” Dr Franks said. “The cost-cutting currently under way in these industries seems to be missing the potential opportunities for cost savings that can come from investing in improved relationships with communities.”
The Pascua-Lama project was featured in a report released recently by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on the impact of Canadian mining in Latin America. The IAHCR report notes that 50-70 percent of mining in Latin America is run by Canadian companies like Barrick. In 2012, more than half of all mining companies globally were registered on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and almost three quarters of all shares issued by the mining sector in the world were run by the TSX.
Yet when asked by The Guardian to respond to the IAHCR report’s main points, a spokesperson for Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development (DFATD) said that “Canada’s mining sector leads the world in responsible mining practices.” The disconnect between what happens on the ground and how it is discussed on the other side of the world goes a long way in explaining how conflicts escalate to the point where the bottom lines of international corporations are imperiled.
It remains to be seen whether the new shareholder lawsuit will motivate corporations to build constructive relationships with local communities affected by large-scale natural resource developments. More often than not, the communities feel bulldozed instead.
“A number of companies have been caught out assuming that seemingly powerless local communities and Indigenous Peoples won’t have a material impact on the success of the development,” added Dr. Franks, who emphasized the need for companies to identify and respond to issues before they escalate into conflict. “Extracting resources is as much a social project as it is a technical one.”
Original Article – A Bottom-Line Focus For Solving Mining Conflicts


text:
The Arab of the Future 3: A Childhood in the Middle East, 1985-1987
In the third installment of the acclaimed series, the Sattouf family begins to implode under the pressure of Hafez al-Assad's regime and the suffocation of their rural Syrian village.The Arab of the Future is the widely acclaimed, internationally bestselling graphic memoir that tells the story of Riad Sattouf's peripatetic childhood in the Middle East. In the first volume, which covers the years 1978-1984, his family moves between rural France, Libya, and Syria, where they eventually settle in his father's native village of Ter Maaleh, near Homs. The second volume recounts young Riad's first year attending school in Syria (1984-1985), where he dedicates himself to becoming a true Syrian in the country of Hafez al-Assad. In this third volume, (1985-1987), Riad's mother, fed up with the grinding reality of daily life in the village, decides she cannot take it any longer. When she resolves to move back to France, young Riad sees his father torn between his wife's aspirations and the weight of family traditions.
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About the Author
"God bless whatever Proustian madeleine spurred Riad Sattouf to put pen to paper for his The Arab of the Future series. Over the past three years, the Franco-Arab cartoonist has been producing a truly fantastic serialized graphic memoir about his boyhood in France and the Middle East."
"Essential reading . . . As the series builds in maturity and depth, Sattouf depicts in unsettling detail how political and religious indoctrination can infect even the most well-meaning idealists."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"An excellent addition to a series that for years to come is sure to engage readers of history as seen through a child's eyes."
--Library Journal (starred review)
Praise for The Arab of the Future 2
"Sattouf's story and storytelling [are] irresistible. . . . Living betwixt and between cultures may be Sattouf's destiny. It was hard on him as a child, and it may remain so in adulthood. But it makes for exceptionally good art."
--The New York Times
"A deft and devastating graphic memoir . . . both sensitive and biting . . . Along the way, we get a fine-grained, first-person account of the brutality of Syria under Hafez al-Assad and Libya under Muammar Qaddafi."
--New York Review of Books
"Sattouf is a master of visual storytelling, capable of compressing a great deal of human emotion and contradictions within a few panels. He creates a searing depiction of growing up poor in a country ruled by corruption and religious zealotry."
"Nothing escapes Sattouf's curious and vigilant eyes. . . . Using the magic of his visual storytelling, Sattouf becomes a darkly humorous, poignant, and vivid guide into the mind of Syrians."
--Christian Science Monitor
"Darkly ironic . . . Sattouf's father is the same immature, posturing figure familiar from volume 1--the family can only trail along in the mercurial patriarch's wake. Under Sattouf's pen, this state of affairs becomes an ingeniously apt microcosm of the larger world he grew up in."
"A darker book than its predecessor, though it's still drily funny, Sattouf never failing to make the most of the aching gap between his father's fantasies and reality."
--The Guardian (Graphic Novel of the Month)
"The scope of Sattouf's comic is remarkable, taking in the complicated landscape of politics and religion, but it is in the small, human moments that he shines as an artist. . . . The Arab of the Future is essential read that deserves such a phenomenal sequel."
"This work will undoubtedly win more accolades as the author continues the proposed five-volume series. Readers familiar with Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis will be well rewarded when they pick up this similarly engrossing book."
Praise for The Arab of the Future
Winner of the L.A. Times Book Prize
"One of the most prominent cartoonists in the world right now."
"Exquisitely illustrated, and filled with experiences of misfortune bordering on the farcical, Mr. Sattouf's book is a disquieting yet essential read."
--Carmela Ciuraru, The New York Times
"The Arab of the Future has become that rare thing in France's polarized intellectual climate: an object of consensual rapture, hailed as a masterpiece in the leading journals of both the left and the right. . . . it has, in effect, made Sattouf the Arab of the present in France."
--Adam Shatz, The New Yorker
"As the very young Riad Sattouf navigates life in Libya, France, and Syria, he gets a serious education in the mysterious vectors of power that shape not just the political world, but the intimate sphere of his own family. With charming yet powerful drawings and vivid sensory details, Sattouf delivers a child's-eye view of the baffling adult world in all its complexity, corruption, and delusion. This is a beautiful, funny, and important graphic memoir."
--Alison Bechdel, author of Fun Home
"The hundred-and-fifty-odd pages of Riad Sattouf's internationally bestselling graphic memoir . . . move with an irrepressible comic velocity. The book is told Candide-style . . . an indictment of the adult world and its insidious methods of diminishment we all have either faced or been fortunate enough to escape."
--The New Republic
"Engaging and lovely to look at . . . Sattouf has an eye for grimly funny details . . . and milks the disjunction between how he experienced his political environment at the time and how he understands it now for all it's worth."
--Douglas Wolk, Los Angeles Times
"Sattouf's work is laced with astute observations of human beings. His memoirs often dwell on their failings: hypocrisy, cowardice, bullying. Yet there's humour too - mainly because his humans are so helplessly absurd."
"The Arab of the Future is already being compared to biographical classics like Maus and Persepolis, and the modern relevance of the countries in which it is set is sure to make this a widely talked about book this year."
"The Arab of the Future maintains a balance of comedy and commentary and ...is carried by excellent drawings. Riad Sattouf's work takes its place alongside other classic animated retrospective memoirs from the region, Persepolis . . . and Waltz with Bashir."
--The New York Journal of Books
"Seriously funny and penetratingly honest, Riad Sattouf tells the epic story of his eccentric and troubled family. Written with tenderness, grace, and piercing clarity, The Arab of the Future is one of those books that transcend their form to become a literary masterpiece."
--Michel Hazanavicius, director of The Artist
"The Arab of the Future is a beautifully cartooned story that is both modern and timeless. The protagonist is one of the most endearing in comics. An important book, not just as art but as a window into another culture."
--Gene Luen Yang, author of American Born Chinese
"The Arab of the Future confirms Riad Sattouf's place among the greatest cartoonists of his generation."
"Engrossing . . . Sattouf writes in a fluid prose, beautifully translated by Sam Taylor."
--Laila Lalami, The New York Times Book Review (Editor's Choice)
"In his comics, Sattouf deftly weaves the political background with the everyday. He tells a personal story but also observes the society and country around him, and his great sense of humor makes reading the book thoroughly enjoyable. It'll have you laughing to the point of tears."
"Very funny and very sad . . . the social commentary here is more wistful and melancholy than sharp-edged . . . subtly written and deftly illustrated, with psychological incisiveness and humor."
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
"Sattouf's account of his childhood is a deeply personal recollection of a peripatetic youth that can resonate with audiences across the world. It also paints an incisive picture of the Arab world in the late 1970s and early 1980s that sets the stage for the revolutionary changes that would grip and roil the region decades later."
"Wide-eyed, yet perceptive, the book documents the wanderings of [Sattouf's] mismatched parents--his bookish French mother and pan-Arabist father, Abdel-Razak Sattouf . . . often disquieting, but always honest."
"Despite his father's determination to integrate his son into Arab society, little Sattouf--with his long blond hair--never fully fits in, and this report reads like the curious pondering of an alien from another world. Caught between his parents, Sattouf makes the best of his situation by becoming a master observer and interpreter, his clean, cartoonish art making a social and personal document of wit and understanding."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review, Most Anticipated Books of Fall 2015)


text:
#830 Sweeping rape under the rug
Girls Like Me
by Kristin Butcher
Victoria: Orca Books, 2019
$9.95 / 9781459820555
Reviewed by Carol Anne Shaw
Trigger warning: rape, sexual coercion, miscarriage
Kristin Butcher of Campbell River has written more than twenty books for young people, and has been shortlisted for a variety of Canadian literary awards during her career. She writes regularly for the Orca Soundings Series of Orca Books — a series of short, high-interest novels written specifically for teens experiencing challenges with reading. These hugely popular books target modern-day issues, contain compelling characters, and feature storylines guaranteed to hold a reader’s interests from the very first word.
Butcher’s latest, Girls Like Me, is one such book, but fasten your seatbelt; it’s not for the faint of heart.
When sixteen-year-old Emma Kennedy accepts a ride from her high school crush, Ross Schroeder, he doesn’t drive her home. Instead, he pulls down a desolate road and rapes her. But the popular boy tells everyone who will listen that Emma wanted it, and she immediately becomes a victim of slut-shaming. Even her best friend, Jen, has trouble believing Emma’s story. And in her mind, Emma should never have gone out with him in the first place; he was Jen’s crush! As far as Jen is concerned, her longstanding friendship with Emma is over.
The book opens with an adrenaline-inducing scene of Emma being rushed to the hospital. Our protagonist wavers in and out of consciousness, having suffered dangerous blood loss from a complication of the pregnancy caused by her rape six weeks earlier.
Not only is Emma continuously haunted and traumatized by memories of the assault, now she has to deal with a sudden miscarriage and the ever-growing rumours spreading at school.
It becomes clear very early on in the novel that Emma is virtually on her own. Her conservative mother seems unable to process the horror her daughter has endured, and Emma’s bumbling father is kept “appropriately” in the dark. All he knows is that his daughter has had a little bout of “women’s troubles.” Yes, it’s that kind of a family: at the first sign of trouble or discomfort, things are swept quickly and quietly under the proverbial rug. Take, for example, this passage at the end of the novel’s first chapter:
“You need to talk to the doctor,” my mother says.
Why? I almost blurt. What’s there to talk about?
I was pregnant, and now I’m not. I don’t even want to think about it, never mind talk about it. Nobody was supposed to find out. But now Dr. Abernathy knows, and so does my mother — even though she hasn’t come right out and said anything.
I squeeze my eyes shut and wish myself anywhere but where I am.
When I open them again, I’m still sitting on my bed, and my mother is still watching me.
“Supper’s getting cold,” she says and heads back to the kitchen.
Emma is carrying a very heavy burden of fear and shame. Her mother does nothing to remedy this; in fact, her stone-cold treatment of Emma’s “troubles” just reinforces the fact that this sort of thing is ugly and uncomfortable; something “good” families do not discuss.
Emma’s days at school are just as bad. Her peers have branded her a slut, and to make matters worse, Ross is treating this whole thing as though it is some sort of game. He taunts Emma, and almost gleefully reminds her that if she were to go to the police, it would be a complete waste of her time. No one would believe her. And he’s right. People, as Emma learns, are going to believe what they want to believe.
Why won’t it all just go away? Why can’t life just go back to the way it was before that awful night six weeks ago when she accepted a ride home from Ross?
But buried trauma doesn’t disappear; it simmers, and sooner or later it bubbles up to the surface to rear its ugly head. For Emma, that moment happens when Ross begins showing interest in Jen. And while the girls’ friendship is damaged, Emma knows she must find a way to make Jen understand that Ross is dangerous; a monster, someone who must be stopped before it’s too late.
Girls Like Me demonstrates that while “we may have come a long way, baby; we haven’t come far enough.” Butcher writes about rape culture brutally and truthfully, showing that, despite their best efforts, women continue to be victimized over and over again. What I especially appreciate about the novel is the way Kristin Butcher shows how archaic and damaging attitudes continue to prevail among males and females alike. The women in Emma’s life, including her so-called best friend and her mother, are no better than the men: they are quick to believe the worst about Emma. The males in her life are either ignorant, flippant, or entirely blasé.
Kristin Butcher has written a heart-wrenching and thought-provoking story about an innocent girl who has lost everything: the safe and solid foundation of home, the trust and love of a cherished friend, and most importantly, her feelings of self-worth. Shame plays a role here. It shouldn’t, but it does, and Emma, like so many other victims of rape, grows small, retreating inside of herself. She knows if she goes to the police, her world will explode; that she’ll be interrogated and publicly shamed, and that everyone will know the sordid details of what she’s tried so hard to forget.
And while my heart broke for Emma, I held out hope that justice would prevail by the end of the story. I was not disappointed. For when Emma discovers Ross has violated her friend, her debilitating fear is suddenly replaced by healthy anger and a need for justice. In an act of courage, Emma is finally able to step into her power and begin the process of putting the pieces of her life back together.
My only issue with the story is the way rape is described on more than one occasion as “having sex.” Rape has little to do with sex and everything to do with power. It isn’t a sexual act; it’s a violent one.
Girls Like Me isn’t a pretty book, but it’s an important one. Tackling such a complex and serious issue in such a short novel format is challenging, but Kristin Butcher does a wonderful job of it. Her story is clear, concise, sensitive, and informative. Emma’s character feels authentic to me and I’m sure her teenage insecurities and internal struggles will resonate with readers.
Perhaps the most important thing about this novel is that it can open up the floor for necessary discussion with young men and women alike. In the #MeToo climate in which we live, we can only hope that books such as Girls Like Me find their way into the hands of young readers everywhere. Understanding how the system works when a woman is raped, and familiarizing ourselves with old and damaging attitudes, can be a real catalyst for change. Knowledge, after all, is power.
I’m not sure I “enjoyed” Girls Like Me, but there’s no question in my mind that Kristin Butcher deserves a big high-five for this one.
Carol Anne Shaw lives and writes in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. She is the author of the award-winning Hannah series, published in Vancouver by Ronsdale Press, and is an on-again-off-again part-time visual arts instructor at a local high school at Shawnigan Lake. When she isn’t writing, she is editing other people’s writing — young adult fiction being her specialty — or she is painting at her easel. She is particularly fond of mentoring young writers and helping them discover their own unique voice. A big lover of the outdoors, Carol Anne is no stranger to the myriad of forest trails that surround her home, a passion she shares with her (coffee-making) husband and their dog, Gordie.
The Ormsby Review. More Books. More Reviews. More Often.
Publisher and Editor: Richard Mackie
The Ormsby Review is a journal service for in-depth coverage of B.C. books and authors. The Advisory Board consists of Jean Barman, Robin Fisher, Cole Harris, Wade Davis, Hugh Johnston, Patricia Roy, David Stouck, and Graeme Wynn. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Provincial Government Patron since September 2018: Creative BC
“Only connect.” – E.M. Forster


text:
The Berrimah Veterinary Laboratories (BVL) are the only veterinary laboratories in the Northern Territory of Australia and are the most northern on the Australian continent. The next nearest veterinary laboratories are at least 2000km away.
The core functions of BVL are the diagnosis and surveillance of, as well as research into, animal diseases. The unique location of BVL also gives it a sentinel status. Consequently, a lot of activity concerns the monitoring for incursion of diseases exotic to Australia under Australian federal programs such as the National Arbovirus Monitoring Program (NAMP) and the Northern Australian Quarantine Strategy (NAQS).
BVL has expertise PCR technology, as well as in the traditional disciplines of a diagnostic veterinary laboratory such as gross pathology, histopathology, clinical pathology, microbiology and parasitology. As most exotic diseases are viral in nature, BVL also has a strong virology section.
The Berrimah Veterinary Laboratories have gained quality assurance accreditation through the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA). Staff numbers are 23, and are made up of one or more professionals in each of the disciplines, and technical and administrative support staff.


text:
Wednesday, December 21, 2016
Confinement Food Journey - Shan Yao also known as Chinese Yam
Not sure if everyone knows, but Shan Yao is the fresh form of Huai Shan (Chinese Wild Yam).
Shan Yao is a root vegetable that is quite bland in taste but it helps to replenish Qi (energy), aid digestion, relieve stomach pain (good for post partum since we will suffer from uterine contractions), promote muscle growth and repair worn-out tissues. It is credited to tonifying kidney and spleen, not only these, Chinese Yam also lowers blood sugar as fresh yam contains mucus protein that can lower blood sugar. This mucus protein effectively stop the precipitation of lipids in the blood vessel wall and prevents cardiovascular. In short, it transquilizes the mind, promotes intelligence and prolongs life.
Carrots and pork bone are added to the soup to make it tasty. Carrots are widely known to have beneficial effects for the eyes.
There's tons of write up on Chinese Yam benefits which you can read up on the internet, so I shan't introduce too much here!

domain: food