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"Saturday, 11 August 2018 Ch 17 Sakyubasu ni Tensei Shita no de Miruku o Shiborimasu (Because I Reincarnated as a Succubus, I’ll Squeeze Out Milk) Ch 17 -- Loving Older Sister and Dutiful Younger Brother ~ What has gone before ~ I made friends with a boy and out of nowhere he declared my best friend to be his (love?) rival. * * * * * We had stopped in what appeared to be the biggest street in town, with arcades on either side covering stores and shops. The buildings were all made of stone, an unfamiliar sight to a modern-day Japanese person.  It made me feel like I was visiting Kyoto or some other historical place. I suppose if you're creating an RPG then these sorts of stone buildings fit right in. The day was getting on and there was almost no traffic around, no crowds of people which was good. I rather like night when it's quiet with few people. As a hikikomori even just imagining the crowds of people who would be here in the daytime unnerved me. The stores in this town were grouped together in districts much like a lot of Japanese cities and this neighbourhood we were in seemed to be for eating and drinking. The place we had stopped outside turned out to be Erim's home, a tavern named "O - pub". It was a single-storey building about 160 square metres in extent, a bit like a family restaurant at home. Thinking that it was operated by just two siblings rather impressed me. In front of the store was one of those double-flapping doors commonly seen in saloons and the like that appear in Westerns. The light that glowed past the doors wasn't from an oil lamp or candles, it was a bright white colour just like a modern fluorescent or LED lamp. Since there probably wasn't electricity in this world the light was undoubtedly produced by something else. Although the lights were on there was a sign on the door reading "Closed" written in in something like English cursive -- hold on? "What's wrong?" Erim asked as I stopped suddenly. "I can read what's written there," I explained, puzzled. "It says that the shop is closed, doesn't it?" Erim nodded, still not clear why I was confused. I said "cursive" but the letters on the sign weren't actually English, they were ones I'd never seen before but somehow I could understand what they meant. "Yes it says 'Closed'." Erim agreed, thinking hard. "Being able to read might be a skill of someone reincarnated like yourself. This is the written language that humans use. Can you write it?" I concentrated hard, imagining myself creating text and..."It's impossible for me to write like that." I finally admitted. "I tried thinking how I'd write the letters of my name but nothing came to mind." In Japanese even if it was a word like, say, "rose" with complex characters made up of lots of strokes and radicals [薔薇] I could just read it. Selecting letters on a smartphone, it auto-converts to allow me to make the right choice from homonyms. This language though, I couldn't write the letters with pen and paper. It was so odd, being able to read but not to write. "I'll help you to learn to write as well as read." Erim offered. "Thank you Erim." I said. "However since I can already read this language it shouldn't be difficult for me to learn to write." "I hope so, but if it isn't an imposition then when I've got the time I'll help you with it as much as I can." "I wouldn't want to bother you, Erim." I protested. "I want to get a start on the battle I face," Erim stated blushingly, "and doing this for you will only help me." Battle? Are you planning to fight anyone, Erim? Any why does the idea of helping me study make you so happy? Will teaching me a letter give you a power-up somehow? Wouldn't it be better for you to concentrate on bulking up and building muscles? I searched my memory of the previous conversations trying to figure out what I might have said that would cause him to blush but I couldn't find anything. I gave up for the moment. "Excuse me, cow-san, can you wait outside for a while? I don't think you can go in until I move a lot of chairs and tables." Erim said. Minoko accepted Erim's instruction to wait and meekly squatted down in front of the store entrance. I thanked Minoko for carrying us all this way and stepped down onto the packed earth of the roadway. The cool soil felt good on the soles of my bare feet. "I'm kinda nervous about the idea of bringing a girl home to introduce them to my family." Erim said, hesitating in front of the door. "Ah, I see." I was confused at his sudden non-sequitur. "Are you likely to do that any time soon?" "Please don't say you don't understand." Erim said exasperatedly. "Well I don't, not really," I said, "but it will be fine. I'll explain everything you did to your sister and how you only had the best of intentions towards me and that will be that, Erim." "Richy-san, maybe... Are you making fun of me?" Erim asked. "What?" Where did that come from? "...She's really got no idea," he muttered to himself under his breath, "Is she truly that naive?" He shrugged. "Okay, let's go in." What Erim just said worried me but I had more immediate problems -- I was finally going to meet with his older sister. For that reason above all I was very nervous. Erim went first, pushing the swing doors open wide. I snuck in behind him, trying to conceal myself using his not-very-broad back as cover while the doors flapped back and forth in the background. A wood scent assaulted my nostrils when I entered. Unlike the usual painted or plasticky inorganic appearance of modern Japanese shops, the floor, ceiling and walls of this tavern were all boarded over. The decor seemed warmer and more welcoming for that reason. I peered into the interior of the tavern over Erim's shoulder. A long bar ran the length of the wall on the left side of the single large room, with shelves on the wall behind filled with neatly-arranged bottles of assorted colours. I could see a sink back there too. "- Oh, welcome back, you're early aren't you?" A lovely clear voice called out from behind the counter where a girl stood polishing a transparent drinking cup. Was she really Erim's older sister? She was beautiful rather than cute. Erim's older sister was 22 years old according to her brother so it may be rude to call a woman of that age a "girl" but if the thirty-something office lady at the Reincarnation Support Division could see her that person would shed tears of blood in jealous envy. I would have guessed she was about the same age as me or Erim if I hadn't been told otherwise. Her hair was a similar shade as Erim's but perhaps a little lighter, carefully dressed in a long plait that fell to her slim waist. Her large expressive eyes were a warm brown colour. I estimated we about the same height, realising I was now probably a bit shorter than originally after my reincarnation as a succubus. "Richy-san, allow me to introduce my older sister Sumirena to you." Erim said very formally. So this is Sumirena-san? I bobbed my head politely to her, wondering how she would react. Sumirena-san put the half-polished glass down on the counter and came out around the counter which allowed me to see that she was wearing a long-skirted dress with a white apron. She lifted her skirt at the front and rushed over to us in an apparent panic. "Erim...You, why..." Both me and Erim were in bare feet. It might have seemed a trivial fact but not to Sumirena-san. For me I thought their reunion would be like a family drama on teevee back home, a worried sister hugging her brother who had faced up to an terrifying orc out in the dangerous woods, asking him if he was all right, tears of relief glistening in her eyes, that sort of scene. Instead... "Kneel." - no hugs, no tears, just a word of command in a cold voice. Sumirena-san? Erim instantly knelt in seiza, back straight and feet folded under him as if obeying this sort of command was a regular occurrence in this household. "Erim, you made me worry, didn't you?" Sumirena-san said with a sorrowful voice. Erim's face, however was stricken with fear. "Even though I tried to discourage you from entering the forest as much as I could I eventually gave in and I even closed the tavern temporarily because you absolutely insisted on going. And now I found out it was a lie, you weren't going to the forest at all, you were spending your time making out with a girl instead!" "Ah, S- Sis, please hear me out!" Erim begged. Sumirena-san touched Erim's forehead with a finger to silence his entreaties before turning to pick up a heavy crate full of bottles from the bar with an "umphh". "Erim, I understand you're at that age where you're interested in that kind of thing... But if you lie to me and run off to indulge your sexual desires, don't you think that'd I'd be disappointed in you?" she said with a sigh before depositing the crate of bottles onto Erim's knees. "S- Sis! It's heavy, it hurts!" "And then you bring this bint-san back here so late? I don't wish to believe it but I can only wonder if you're planning to use our home as a love hotel? Are you going to take her up to your room now?" Sumirena-san glared down at Erim's tear-streaked face before turning to pick up another heavy crate of bottles from the bar. I didn't know what to think as my original vision of Erim's loving sister, Sumirena-san disintegrated before my eyes. "Let us explain please! This person will tell you that nothing happened between us!" Erim begged. Sumirena-san looked at me curiously but I was frozen and unable to say a word as always. I could never speak up for myself in such situations before I was reincarnated and I still retained my hikikomori fear of dealing with strangers, especially angry ones like Erim's older sister. "Well ... I suppose I shouldn't scold you before finding out what happened. Sorry." Sumirena-san said in a conciliatory tone but she still held the second heavy crate ready for use and furthermore did nothing about the first crate resting painfully on Erim's knees. "That's all right, sis. Once you understand what happened..." Erim said but Sumirena-san shook her head. "I can't believe my little brother's excuses since I'm his big sister and I know him too well but I'll listen to you, bint-san." She hefted the crate in emphasis. "However before I hear your version of events I need to ask Erim a few things." "I'm all right, sis." Erim said in relief. "I've not been hurt at all, in fact we never even came across the orc we were hunting." Sumirena-san shook her head in dismissal "No, I do not care if you're hurt unless it hinders your work in the tavern." she said coldly. "I do not care..." she said about her little brother. How unfeeling of her. My view of Sumirena-san's sisterly heart descended another level. "More importantly, that girl has a really splendid chest." Sumirena-san declared, fixing her gaze on my breasts.  I reflexively held my arms up to obscure them from her accusatory eyes. Unfortunately my new arms were quite thin unlike my substantial breasts and did little to conceal them. "Well, that's true," Erim agreed. "I don't care about her chest," Sumirena-san declared insincerely while unable to take her eyes off my breasts, "but have you done anything perverted with that girl?" "P- perverted, have I done...?" Erim looked away. "Um, no?" "Oh hoh, you did something, didn't you? Maybe you groped those enormous breasts, oh oh oh you blinked,  yeah, that's what you did. " Sumirena-san said triumphantly. "You play hooky from the tavern forcing me to close up for the evening to run off into the woods with a girl. " Her eyes narrowed, "Just how thoroughly did you massage those gigantic breasts of hers?" Stupid honest Erim remained silent which only confirmed her accusations. Thump, and a second crate of bottles was stacked on Erim 's knees. "Sister, ahhh, it's digging into my legs!" "Well, it's only about twenty kilogrammes which should be nothing for you, Erim." Sumirena-san declared. "You can stand a lot more, can't you? After all you're not making any attempt to remove the crates which tells me you're guilty, doesn't it?" "It was an accident! I didn't mean to push Richy-san down!" Erim said quickly. Sumirena-san's eyes widened and she turned to me. "Oh no, I'm sorry.  I didn't realise that my little brother had become a sex criminal behind my back. As his guardian, castration, oops, correction of his deviant personality is required of me." As she spoke she picked up a third crate of bottles from the bar. "Listen to what I'm saying! Please listen!" Erim begged. "I'm listening, but I will add another crate every thirty seconds." Sumirena-san said menacingly. "Well, uh, everything was OK to start with. I joined up with the party of adventurers as planned and we went to the Lububu Forest..." Erim hesitated, thinking,  "and I met up with Richy-san there..." The third crate was deposited on Erim's knees. "Ummm, onee-san?" I tried to interrupt. "Richy-san, leave this to me .... Please!" Erim insisted. "Well, but..." Erim pressed on. "When Richy-san was about to be attacked in the forest, I wasn't any use, I couldn't defend her, I never regretted my weakness so much when that happened to her... so I promised myself that I'd succeed next time!" "That's nice but unimportant! Hurry up with the explanation of your perverted actions. Fourth one!" The next crate was deposited on his trembling knees. He was beaten up by his adventurer companions, punched by me and then tortured by his sister and guardian. It seems to me that Erim had had a very unpleasant day since meeting up with me. By the time we finished explaining everything to Sumirena-san's satisfaction Erim had over a hundred kilograms of beer crates loaded on his knees. 4 comments: Sumirena seems so powerful, are there really people out there stronger than her ReplyDelete Thank you. It's hilarious how the first thing Sumirena notices about Richy are the size of her breasts. Is she suffering from Bro-con? ReplyDelete"

"http://albedo404.blogspot.com/2018/08/ch-17-sakyubasu-ni-tensei-shita-no-de.html"

"11/08/2018"

" 5 Interactive Distance Learning Programs on Islamic Banking and Finance Wednesday, May 6, 2009 PQFTL and Meezan Bank sign agreement Meezan Bank Ltd and Pak-Qatar Family Takaful Ltd (PQFTL) signed an agreement under which all customers of Meezan Bank’s Housing Finance (Easy Home) would be provided with Shari’ah-Compliant Life Takaful Coverage. President and chief executive officer Meezan Bank, Irfan Siddiqui and Chief executive officer Pak-Qatar Family Takaful, P Ahmed signed the agreement. According to the accord, all housing finance customers of Meezan Bank would be provided comprehensive Takaful that would cover not only life but also accidental and natural disability. --(Daily Times) staff report No comments: Post a Comment"

"http://alhudacibe.blogspot.com/2009/05/pqftl-and-meezan-bank-sign-agreement.html"

"06/05/2009"

"Monday, March 10, 2008 Oregon Culinary Institute Today I went to visit OCI. This time *I* was late to the appointment. I was late because my son's pediatrician appointment ran late, the pharmacist tech was a ding-dong and couldn't figure out his order, rushing to the car I got poopoo on my shoe, and traffic was a mess. It was A Series of Unfortunate Events. Golly. What to say about OCI? Drastically different experience. The gal that I met with was no-frills, friendly, concise. It is clear to me that she did want to sell me the program, but I wasn't offended by the manner in which she attempted to so. All of the information was clearly laid out on the table--the tuition costs for all programs, books, and fees. She did not try to BS her way through any questions that I had that I could not answer--she simply said that she did not know the answer and could find out and follow up at a later time. The tour that she conducted did not feel like a memorized script. And the tour did not last long, as the school is not very big, meaning much smaller class size to teacher ratio. Evidently OCI was formed by a large group of disgruntled WCI instructors. I don't know what the were so disgruntled about, but I got the distinct impression that many of the things that put me off had been complaints of theirs as well. I learned that my admissions rep., was also a former employee of WCI. I had great respect for her as she clearly did not want to defame the school, but touched on some major differences between the two. Mainly, there is enough burner space for students to work, that the curriculum is designed to teach students material that they can actually use in the field (ahem.... versus the "fluff" curriculum such as ice-sculpting and art projects of maps of the world) and the teacher to student ratio--they guarantee that there are no more than 25 students/instructor and assistant instructor. We ended the tour near the on-campus restaurant, where I met the Director of the school, who invited me to come back for dinner. Who could resist a free meal? So I came back for dinner that evening. The restaurant was probably half full, busy enough to see the operation but not too crazy. It turns out that I kinda knew the manager of the dining room, so I was able to get an even better feel for the whole institution. He was really positive about the place, and given my experience with this person in the past I knew that he was a straight shooter. The students, as well, had a positive, upbeat attitude. And I did notice a couple of the chef instructors, sitting up at the bar eating dinner, sipping on Mirror Pond. It must say something that the instructors are wanting to hang out after they are actually done working--most people want to run away kicking and screaming at the end of their shifts. And the food? Not bad. It certainly wasn't anything to die for. But it was simple and good and I couldn't find anything to complain about. Ha! That's unusual for me. I had various breads, lentil soup with bacon and creme fraiche, blood orange fennel salad, sauteed trout, and a rich chocolate cake. How refreshing that I didn't put food in my mouth and immediately wish I hadn't! So far, the school is at the top of my radar. There is certain considerations that my husband and I must make (you know, finances, scheduling.... the little things) before I make any kind of decision. We'll see. 1 comments: Unknown said... So is it still on your radar? Tell us more more more... Love, Mom"

"http://amysoddities.blogspot.com/2008/03/oregon-culinary-institute.html"

"10/03/2008"

"Saturday, May 8, 2010 Goat fear and/or aggression I decided to take my new goat, Xoe into our milking barn (the garage) and stanchion her to see how she would react. She got on the stanchion ok, but she really cannot stand me touching her. She tried to head butt me a couple of times and she mouthed me a few times. Not really sure what the mouthing means but it may have been a pre-bite. I'm thinking I just need to get her used to me touching her as I don't want her to freak out too much if I need to help her with her delivery. There doesn't seem to be much information on aggression or fear in does. Most google results came up with buck aggession. Here are some interesting experiences: http://www.homesteadingtoday.com/archive/index.php/t-188695.html 0 comments:"

"http://amysoddities.blogspot.com/2010/05/goat-fear-andor.html"

"08/05/2010"

"Friday, 1 July 2011 Top 5 Tips film featured on NDCS website Great news - our Top 5 Tips for communicating with Deaf Young People film has been featured on the National Deaf Children's Society website, Buzz: Which you can visit here No comments:"

"http://biomation.blogspot.com/2011/07/top-5-tips-film-featured-on-ndcs.html"

"01/07/2011"

"Saturday, January 29, 2011 Opus Gluei 87 "Key to my heart" Where has January gone?  I was all set to make a scene for the 86th challenge, and the days went, the challenge changed.........I'm behind already and its only week 4 of the year.  Ah well, I can only improve. So instead of the little scene I had planned, no not a tantrum (I gave those up just recently), here's my offering featuring hearts rather than keys.  I was going to have layers and frothy bits and glitter and bling, but I used pink instead.  I think I'm failing the glue test, either that or I'm still so relaxed and in holiday mode that two colours are all I can manage. Next time............ 2 comments: This is a lovely card. I love the elegance of pink and black. Those hearts are wonderful together. So very glad you played with us this week again at OPUS GLUEI. ReplyDelete Well, I love seeing you at our challenges and I really really love this color combo (never met a pink or purple I didn't like - so this pink is fab for me). You do clean and simple so elegantly - LOVE it! Welcome back to Opus Gluei, hope we do get to see you for more challenges but I sure understand how time gets away from us! January did fly by... ReplyDelete love to know what you think......."

"http://blackcatsmiaow.blogspot.com/2011/01/opus-gluei-87-key-to-my-heart.html"

"29/01/2011"

"Saturday, February 8, 2014 Ooops.... lost in transmission Long ago, in a land far away, a dear friend celebrated a significant birthday. The presents were assembled, wrapped, annotated..... all it needed was the card to be finished. Then life stepped in and anything on paper that wasn't a school report or a budget spreadsheet went to the bottom of the pile. And the pile grew....and grew....and grew. Okay, enough excuses. I lost the plot (Plot? What plot? What was the book again?), so finally here is the card, and the apology is heart-felt. She knows who she is, so the rest of my readers will just have to wonder........... I saw this idea for a card like a pin-board somewhere when I was surfing. It has fine gold-edged ribbon criss-crossing a sheet of pretty blue and yellow nameless paper from Riot. There's a matching yellow mat to back it before being mounted on white CS. The various flowers are Kaiser and so are the brads. The birthday stamp was a present from friends across the sea and its embossed on yellow ink with iridescent powder. I know your birthday was a happy one....... No comments: Post a Comment love to know what you think......."

"http://blackcatsmiaow.blogspot.com/2014/02/ooops-lost-in-transmission.html"

"08/02/2014"

"Not suitable for people with irony deficiency and cannot guarantee nut-free Saturday, 7 June 2014 From Our Paris Correspondent Dahlings, these photos are hot off the press from my friend O, in Paris. I just know you diehard Royalists will love these (Faux Fuchsia, I am thinking of you). O was standing only a few metres away, he could have thrown a moped or a young French actress at old President Hollande. Doesn't old Queenie look adorable in her pink bonbon number? And the Duke of Edinburgh, what a class act. What does the man have in that black attache case?  Nuclear codes? Letters of last resort?  Moped drivers manuals? O also has a fabulous Twitter account, which is retweeted by that world famous museum, the Louvre.  Please take a look, he posts the most wonderful photos he takes of Louvre works of art. He has a really great eye for detail and for bringing artworks to life.  Now and again, I leave a really stupid comment, which I expect he really appreciates!!! Right must go, off to see if I can get an audition with M. Hollande. Vroom, vroom! 11 comments: Thank you for your kind comment on my blog! Lovely photo's of your Queen! Happy weekend, Madelief x ReplyDelete Replies Hi Madelief, I love your blog, so glad to have found it through the Hattats Delete Doesn't the queen have the most lovely skin! ReplyDelete Yes she really looks good, doesn't she? Good genes. ReplyDelete Love those naughty cherubs! ReplyDelete Replies Just an average day at pre-school playgroup Delete The Queen looked beautiful in that pink number; I noticed she celebrated her birthday in Paris. As we'd all like to do... ReplyDelete Replies Ooh, a birthday in Paris, how lovely (hint, hint Mr B) Delete Dear Mrs Blighty, My Youngest and I were just visiting Old Parliament House where she did the treasure hunt thingy in 10 minutes flat. However, there was a lovely exhibition of when the Queen visited (more than once). One forgets how fresh and young she was. They played her speech to parliament and it was quite touching. Anyway, my Youngest is quite cross because she has (through this educational experience) discovered that the Royal Coat of Arms for the United Kingdom has a unicorn. A unicorn, mummy! She thinks we were ripped off with our Kangaroo and Emu. Possibly we should have gone with a Bunyip! love Lindaxxx ReplyDelete Replies Tell your youngest that a kangaroo and emu are very very cool as to us they are very exotic; a unicorn is just a pony with a stick of rock on its head and also imaginary.. what is a bunyip - off to google it now Delete My post is all Norma No Mates, cheer her up by commenting!"

"http://blightyworld.blogspot.com/2014/06/from-our-paris-correspondent.html"

"07/06/2014"

"14.11.09 Braley Mama Name of Blog: Braley Mama Name of Blogger: Summur Blogging since: July 2009 Number of followers today: 21 Average number of ppm (posts per month): 25 What the Blog is about: 1. Her life 2. Great ideas, fun stuff and God 3. She's a mommy, a missionary raising support and wife 4. She's a blog following commenter.  She's good like that! 5. She includes themed posts, Wordless Wednesdays, Growing up Mondays etc. Does the author respond to comments? YES 2 comments: Braley Mama said... Thanks Alissa, What a neat blog this is! Hulst mommy said... That's my sister! Woo woo! Thanks Alissa for supporting her blogging adventure :)"

"http://blogbrewreview.blogspot.com/2009/11/name-of-blog-braley-mama-name-of.html"

"14/11/2009"

"7.12.09 Babee Love Name of Blog: Babee Love Name of Blogger: Nicolle Blogging since:  July 2009 Number of followers today: 104 Average number of posts per month: 30 + What the Blog is about: 1.  Nicolle is a working mom to 2 young children. She blogs about anything mom, baby, and/or toddler related. 2.  She has many wonderful reviews and giveaways. Many (but not all) are baby/toddler products. (I just won a subscription to Relish, a weekly menu planner.) 3.  Nicolle often posts delicious looking recipes. (I'm dying to try the pumkin struesel cheesecake bars!) 4.  Babee Love has a tab where fabulous freebies and coupons are linked. 5.  Nicolle participates in Wordless Wednesdays. Does the author respond to comments? Yes. She is very busy with all the reviews and giveaways but returns follows and visits to the commentor's blog. 4 comments: Dee at Pedestrian Palate said... Yay! More recipes, just in time for the holidays! Lori said... I'm off to check her blog out...I love finding new recipes... Anonymous said... Thank you Tracie for this great review! I REALLY appreciate it :) Thank you for always visting me! I always try and return the favor, when time allows. (((hugs))) Amy said... I'm off to check out this blogger. Love this blogger's button pic."

"http://blogbrewreview.blogspot.com/2009/12/babee-love.html"

"12/07/2009"

"Monday, July 1, 2013 BOOK BLITZ: Shine Not Burn by Elle Casey Book Info Shine Not Burn by Elle Casey Publication Date: June 30th, 2013 IT HAPPENED IN VEGAS. I can't be held responsible. Things that happen there are supposed to stay there, right? Right? Yeeeah. Not so much. ... Andie's just days away from tying the knot, but there's just ooooone little glitch. Apparently, she's already married. Or someone with her name is married to a guy out in Oregon of all places, and the courthouse won't issue her a marriage license until it's all cleared up. Tripping her way through cow pies and country songs to meet up with a man who gets around places on horseback is her very last idea of how to have a good time, but if she's going to get married, make partner at the firm, and have two point five kids before she's thirty-five, she needs to get to the bottom of this snafu and fix it quick ... before her fiance finds out and everything she's been working toward goes up in flames. Interview with Elle  1.  You started out writing in YA.  What brought you over to New Adult? I've been a reader of new adult titles even before they were called 'new adult'.  And I love the age group it covers.  18-30 years old is such a great time in life, isn't it?  I mean, it's when you sow your wild oats, learn about yourself in the context of the whole world and not just your family and friends; it's where you figure out who you're going to be.  The adult-formative years I guess you could call it.  And the sex part is awesome too, I won't lie.  You can only get so sexy with a YA book, so as a writer, I have to hold back.  In NA, I don't have to do that.  It can be passionate, raw, sometimes awkward and full of bad decisions, but it can be REAL.  I guess that's what I love about NA most … it's raw and real. 2.  You have a lot of novels in the urban fantasy genre.  What interested you in writing romances? Romances were my first love.  Well … aside from Disney fairy tales.  But then again, those are all romances aren't they?  They've got misunderstood heroines - beaten down by others - who are looking for love and understanding, finally finding it in the hands of a guy on horseback.  I've read hundreds of romances in my time, from every publisher out there, including indie authors of course.  It doesn't matter how many I read, I always want more.  Since I love them as a reader, I really wanted to try my hand as a writer in the genre.  I have so many romance stories simmering in my brain right now, at this point, it's like therapy just getting them out of there.  I have 6 romances planned for the rest of the year and lots more for 2014.  I'm going to be very busy.  But I'm happy being busy because it's very important to me that I keep hunger readers fed.  I live to write for voracious readers.  3.  How do you write so many books in such a short period of time? Short and sweet:  I have a system for getting the work done, and I'm a helluva fast typer.  More details: I have a ton of stories always waiting in my head to be told, and when I sit down at the computer, the words just kind of spill out.  My stories are very character-driven, meaning I don't make up the story.  I just find the characters wandering around in my head, put them in a situation, and let them run with it.  Now that I'm a full-time writer, I can dedicate more of my time to writing that I used to when I was also teaching at a university.  I treat writing as a business and try to be very disciplined about it.  After eighteen months of writing, I've published 20 novels, so I think my system is working.  :) 4.  What's your favorite part of being a writer? My readers.  Hands down, it's the readers.  I get emails and messages every day from devoted fans, and I can't express how much that means to me.  There are readers out there who've set up book blogs just because they were so excited about my books, people who make it a point to promote my books on their Facebook pages and Twitter just because they want to share the reader-love, and whole families who are reading my series and discussing them at dinner.  It just blows my mind that people would be so generous and so involved in my made-up worlds.  Recently I had a fan dress as one of my characters at a comic con event.  I also occasionally get a very heart-warming message about how my writing has changed someone's life - caused them to finally start reading or to go to college.  To me, that's the sign of a life well-lived - that I've somehow inspired another person to reach for something they want in life that they thought they didn't have a chance at having before. 5.  What books do you have in the pipeline right now? All kinds of good stuff!  I'm so excited to get them out to readers.  Here's the NA Romance line-up for June, July, and August: Shine Not Burn, By Design, and Don't Make Me Beautiful, and then a 3-book series that will be released on surprise dates this year: Rebel, Hellion, and Trouble.  Links to all of them on Goodreads here: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17973653-shine-not-burn http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17981510-by-degrees http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17981514-don-t-make-me-beautiful http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18111600-rebel http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18111602-hellion http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18111607-trouble 6.  Why do you live in France? I came here for a vacation with my husband in 2007 and we both fell in love with it.  After the economy took a downturn and my husband lost his job, we started talking about simplifying our lives and focusing on different things.  That's when the idea of living in a foreign country came up.  We wanted to do it for one year, to give our three kids the opportunity to experience another culture and learn another language while also refocusing our grown-up lives to get away from the rampant materialism that had kind of taken over everything.  And we loved France, so it seemed like the logical place to go.  Once we were here, we fell in love more deeply and decided to stay indefinitely.  We still love our home country of course, but for now, we're content with a very laid back life in the south of France.  What can I say … we love wine and cheese ALOT! 7.  How long have you been writing?  What did you do before you were a writer? I've been writing since January of 2012.  Before that I was a lot of things … most recently an attorney.  But you can add the following other jobs to the list:  retail sales clerk, air traffic controller (in the Air Force), waitress, restaurant owner, stock broker, insurance salesperson, professor, and CEO of a medical device company.  I'm one of those people who gets bored easily, so after being in a job for a few years, I need a change so I can be challenged again.  The beauty of being a writer is it's never the same job twice, and it really doesn't feel like work.  It's the best job I've ever had, hands down.  It's the only job in the world were you walk into work (in my case, open the computer) and your boss starts the day by telling you how amazing you are.  My readers are my bosses now, and I wouldn't have it any other way.  They really are great motivators. :) 8.  What do you hope to accomplish with your writing? My goal is to entertain as many readers as I possibly can.  If I can also get more people reading or cause people to think about important things, that's great too.  But my overriding goal is to make people get so involved in the experience of reading my work that they skip doing chores, stay up until dawn, and tell everyone who will listen about my books. 9.  What kind of romances do you like to read? The kind where bad boys are tamed by courageous girls.  It's really that simple for me. :) 10.  What's the most important element in a romance in your opinion? A sexy guy.  Seriously, he just needs to be sexy as hell, and that doesn't mean sexy can't come in different packages.  For example, in the film My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the MC, Ian, is very understated and shy, but man, he rocked my world.  He reminds me a lot of my husband, actually.  On the other hand you have your angsty fighters ... guys who you'd never let into your world in real life but who are safe to fall for in books.  Travis from Beautiful Disaster comes to mind. Boy, did he cause a lot of fuss in the reader world!  Chemistry comes in all kinds of packages, which is awesome, but the chemistry has to be there or the book falls flat for me.  No comments: Post a Comment"

"http://bookwhirlwind.blogspot.com/2013/07/book-blitz-shine-not-burn-by-elle-casey.html"

"01/07/2013"

"Tuesday, October 6, 2009 Kandy Emailing: tooth_temple       Tooth Temple Kandy, Sri Lanka   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka40.jpg Dalada Maligava (temple complex where the tooth of Buddha is housed) Kandy, city, central Sri Lanka, capital of Central Province, on the Mahaweli River, in the Kandy Plateau. It is one of the island nation's largest cities and the economic focus of the tea-producing central highlands.   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka41.jpg Temple of the Tooth Dalada Maligava (the Temple of the Tooth), repository of a sacred Buddhist relic said to be a tooth of the Buddha, is here, and the University of Peradeniya (1942) is nearby. Kandy was the capital of a Sinhalese kingdom from 1592 to 1815, when it became one of the last sections of the island to be annexed by the British as part of colonial Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). Population (1990 estimate) 104,000.   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka42.jpg Temple entrance   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka43.jpg hallway (redecorated since the bomb damage in 1998)   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka44.jpg Buddha statue   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka45.jpg   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka46.jpg doors   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka49.jpg tells the story of the tooth being rescued from the  Sandalwood cremation of Buddha   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka48.jpg presentation of the tooth to the temple for safekeeping   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka47.jpg the tooth was displayed to save the country from draught   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka51.jpg the altar where the tooth is held   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka52.jpg stupa with processional standards   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka50.jpg more processional standards   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka53.jpg Royal Platform next to the temple   http://www.galenfrysinger.com/Photos/srilanka54.jpg Anglican church location next to temple grounds http://www.galenfrysinger.com/_themes/copy-of-canvas/acnvrule.gif Anuradhapura Asian Elephants Colombo Elephant Safari Galle Kandy dancers Polonnaruwa Rice farming Sigiriya Tea in Sri Lanka Tooth Temple in Kandy No comments: Post a Comment"

"http://chain-inbox.blogspot.com/2009/10/kandy-emailing-toothtemple.html"

"06/10/2009"

"Saturday, March 26, 2011 Six hours in Frankfurt. Saturday 12th March, I set off for Bodrum, taking the scenic route. Instead of my normal flight from Dublin to Istanbul, I was flying Dublin to Istanbul via Frankfurt am Main. The budget cuts in my pay check are beginning to bite and now I look for the cheapest route rather than the most convenient! I have not been able to post here for a while as Blogger has been blocked in Turkey. There was a complaint form Digiturk, a major satellite TV provider that some members of Blogger were illegally broadcasting football matches. Hence the shutdown there!  My journey began at 07.50 when I caught the bus to Dublin airport. I promptly fell asleep, awakening almost two hours later as we approached Dublin Airport I checked in with no difficulty (my bag was not overweight.....for  a change) and had enough time to spare to have a cup of coffee and a danish.  I found an unsecured wireless signal and checked my emails. Once we had boarded, it was off to sleep like a baby. At the moment I have a mild dose of sinusitis, a real pain in the face, so I’m taking Actifed, to try and unblock them. It makes me very drowsy, a blessing in disguise when I’m travelling. I arrived in Frankfurt at 15.30, with a 6 our wait to board my flight to Istanbul. Thanks to the miracle of Google I had found that there was an organised city tour leaving from the hotel desk in the arrivals hall at 16.00. I had emailed them to enquire about the tour and it seemed they were expecting me. I hadn’t booked but they had contacted the company to come and collect me! Our tour guide was also my pick up driver. The bus tour began in the city and he had come to the airport to collect me. Well, he started on a diatribe on the drive into the city! When he discovered I was en route to Turkey he immediately launched into a spiel about the Turks in Germany and how they, along with the Albanians, Bulgarians and people from the former Republic of Yugoslavia were responsible for most of the crime in Turkey. The EU was responsible for opening the floodgates for the dregs of Europe to come to Germany. They should have stayed out of the EU and the Euro......... Our tour bus We then picked up a guy from Kuwait who was also going on the tour. He was also a problem for our guide. He was saying 200m from the tour office but we had to drive 4km to collect him, due to the one way system. Of course this took us through the red light area, needless to say you would not find a single German in this area, only the Albanians, Bulgarians and Turks.   We were brought to an open topped double decker bus and told to take our seat. He hoped we wouldn’t have difficulty finding a seat, as there were only 85 seats and there were two of us. We then set off on what you could really say was a private tour of Frankfurt. Our guide gave us an excellent commentary on the city-surprising considering his earlier rant - full of humour and jokes. Interestingly, many museums were pointed out to us but the Jewish museum, he neglected to mention. Debit and Credit! We  sat in the open air. Today was the warmest day they have had so far, it was 16°.  Yesterday , early morning, it was -5.  People were sitting out for the first time, enjoying their coffee or beer. Frankfurt is a city of contrasts. 85% of the city had to be rebuilt after World War 2. It is a very modern city, sometimes nicknamed “Bankfurt” as it has a huge commercial centre. The city is the 5th city of Germany but it is the largest financial centre and has one of the busiest airports  in Europe. It is not a tourist centre, people fly in and out of here without ever leaving the airport. The twin towers of the Deutsche Bank are fondly known locally as Debit and Credit. Frankfurt is the headquarters of the European Bank, no mean feat for a city of just over 640.000 people.  Building in Romer Platz Frankfurt is the third largest trade fair centre in the world and holds the worlds largest  motor exposition every year at which all the new cars are launched. In addition it also host the worlds largest book fair. Hotel rooms for these exhibitions are often booked two years in advance and room prices soar. In normal times a single room in a  3 star hotel costs approximately 59 euro. In Jan – Feb when there are no tourists the same room costs 29 euro and the hotel is still empty. During a trade fair, you would be lucky to get the room for 240 euro.    We had a free half hour to wander round the Romer Platz and take photos. The old buildings are beautiful but sadly few and far between. They are juxtaposed beside modern skyscrapers. After we got back on the bus we had amazingly picked up another four people. It may be a business rather than a tourist town but it is a place that is worth a stopover or adding a couple of days .to your business trip to explore No comments: Post a Comment Thank you for stopping by. Please leave a comment and tell me what you think."

"http://cilginkiz-hocam.blogspot.com/2011/03/saturday-12th-march-i-set-off-for.html"

"26/03/2011"

"Sunday, November 12, 2017 Embracing Agile in Tunisia In October, I had the honor of being the keynote at the first Agile conference in Tunis in the past 4 years (generously sponsored by Vistaprint).  While I was grateful for the opportunity, seeing the number of the attendees from different fields highlighted the attention that Agile was getting in this growing Tunisian economy.  I was impressed by the quality of the professionals and students that attended, coming from a range of companies, government agencies, and universities.   My keynote was entitled the “Foundations and Future of Agile”.  You can watch the session here. I started my session by asking the question, “Who do you want to be.”  The intent was to get the audience to consider if they can be more than who they are today and make a commitment to Agile as they approach the future.  I followed this up with, “Who do we want Tunisia to be”?  I provided a vision on how Tunisia can be the pride of Africa. I challenged the participants to become the leaders in Agile and the customer value drive mindset. To begin the “foundation” portion of my session, I focused on the Agile Values and Principles.  I find that too many companies lead with mechanics and forget the mindset of embracing the values and principles.  Leading with the mindset will remind people why they are doing agile in the first place.  As I shared each principle, one at a time, using a roman voting technique I asked attendees if they believed in each principle. I was pleased to see that there was a strong belief in embracing the principles.  This bodes well for their ability to apply Agile methods and practices and the future of Tunisia.  As I moved into the “future” portion, I shared the importance of becoming customer value-driven.  I suggest that Agile shouldn’t be done for agile’s sake but instead the goal should be to build a customer value-driven engine. It is the customer who we are serving and who we want to make successful.  As they succeed, so will our business.  I shared the modern concepts of the enterprise kanban, customer value canvas, cost of delay, story mapping, and customer feedback loops.  I wove in the discovery mindset including incremental thinking, psychological safety, and, self-organizing teams.    I ended the session by asking again, “Who do you want to be? What is your role in building a greater Tunisia?”  With such potential in the audience from everyone I met, I can understand why some companies are already setting up development centers in Tunis such as Vistaprint.  I ended with asking all of the participants to make a commitment to explore in more detail one of the Agile concepts or mindset elements they learned today.  Almost everyone’s hand went up.  This will help make for a better future in Tunisia. I’m looking forward to it! Note:  In addition to my session, the conference included a session by Antonio Gonzalez on “The Role of an Agile Leader” and by JP Beaudry on “The Vistaprint Agile Journey”. Special thanks to Nawel Lengliz and Rahma Arfa for coordinating such a great event and to Walid Abdelaziz for sponsoring the event!   1 comment: Techsaga Corporations is the best Agile Transformations Company in Noida. Whether you are trialing Agile transformation with one team or implementing Agile to the entire organization. Combining our passion and determination to help our clients succeed, Techsaga enables you to infuse long-lasting business change and get the most from the Agile transformations company in Noida. Accelerate your agile evolution in rapid digitization with the latest digital technologies for Techsaga. ReplyDelete"

"http://cmforagile.blogspot.com/2017/11/embracing-agile-in-tunisia.html"

"12/11/2017"

"Welcome! Welcome to the Designs by Ryn blog! The monthly Customer Creation Challenge can be found above in the navigation menu as well as links to my Shop, Facebook Page and Pinterest. Along the right you will find my Design Team. I hope you enjoy your visit and leave with some inspiration. Monday, August 20, 2012 Christmas Cards in August Hello everyone, This passed weekend I finally got around to playing with some of my new faerie stamps! I put business on hold and my step mother came over for a "create date". I so needed a day of laughing and creating! I decided to use Ornament Faerie to create a Christmas card and started with embossing her in black on some iridescent white paper that I have - unfortunately, I don't remember what kind of paper it is. I'll keep my eye open because Tombow markers blend beautifully on it and the iridescence shines through whatever colour you apply! I added colour to the edges and blended in with water. I then added Glossy accents to the holly wings to add some texture.    From there I chose papers that I felt matched well and outlined the borders with Stickles, glitter glue. I also added some Christmas ribbon that I had behind the image to break up the rectangle frames a bit. A technique that Shirley Deatcher does really well!    I used a pair of my Fiskars scissors to cut the bottom edge off the front of the card leaving it a bit shorter than the back cover. I then added a band of gold to the inside so that when the card is closed it shines behind the cut edge. When the card is open it adds a little bit of interest to the inside of the card. I saw my step mother do this - she is a very artistic person who has taught me much along the way - and loved the look of it. I think it ties the front of the card in with the inside to create a unified piece.  There you have it! She ended up way more traditional looking than I had first thought but I like the end result :) It was funny timing... Shirley wrote me that night as well to show me a piece that she had made with Ornament Faerie. I guess we were both creating at the same time! I'm posting a photo of her creation. She blogged about it earlier today as well. Shirley's Blog Thanks for stopping by for a look at what I'm up to :) Ryn  All of my stamp designs are available here: 9 comments: Hi Ryn! I love your version of Ornament Faerie ! The colours on her Holly wings are awesome ! Great idea using Glossy Accents on the wings. I thought about decoupaging them, maybe next time. She is a beauty :) Shirleyx ReplyDelete Replies Thanks for your comment Shirley :) The wings made the card for me. It needed a little something extra and that was it! Delete Your card is beautiful Ryn, the fairie is just gorgeous. Shirley's card is lovely too. My wonderful water drop stamp arrived safe and sound, thank you so much - it is a brilliant stamp, I love it. Crafty hugs, Anne x ReplyDelete Replies Thanks for leaving a comment Anne! Glad to hear that the stamp arrived safe and sound. Would love to see a pic of anything you create. Bye for now! Delete Hi Ryn, great to see you have your own blog on which we can enjoy your creations! Lovely new stamps and I already asked Shirley if she can bring some at the event next year!warm greet Miranda ReplyDelete Replies Hello Miranda, Shirley mentioned that to me as well. Made me smile. That's wonderful news! I know you would do a beautiful job with them! Delete Great card Ryn, I love what you did with her. Shirley's card is fabulous too. It's a small world, as I am on a design team with Miranda as well! Crafters unite, wherever they are I guess. Judith xx ReplyDelete Many thanks Judith :) I am learning about how wonderful the internet can be for connecting people so easily. With Blogging and Facebook it really does allow us to keep in touch even from such different areas of the world. I'm loving it :) ReplyDelete Thank you for such a lovely comment on my blog, Ryn, and I'm glad you enjoyed the account of how your card was made! I enjoy doing these step-by-step ones because if I ever want to repeat a technique, I can refer back to it if I've forgotten how to do something, and other people's feedback is helpful, too. I always enjoy reading other people's tutorials, too - there's so much lovely information floating about on the Internet for us to catch and enjoy! Shoshi ReplyDelete Thank you for visiting! I would love for you to leave me a comment :)"

"http://designsbyryn.blogspot.com/2012/08/christmas-cards-in-august.html"

"20/08/2012"

"This page has moved to a new address. Установка SUDO на HP-UX"

"http://devppp.blogspot.com/2013/05/sudo-hp-ux.html"

"01/05/2013"

"Monday, 25 July 2011 245 The War Games: Episode Two EPISODE: The War Games: Episode Two OVERALL EPISODE NUMBER: 245 STORY NUMBER: 050 TRANSMITTED: 26 April 1969 WRITER: Malcolm Hulke & Terrance Dicks DIRECTOR: David Maloney SCRIPT EDITOR: Terrance Dicks PRODUCER: Derrick Sherwin FORMAT: DVD: Doctor Who: The War Games One of the firing squad is hot by a sniper allowing Zoe to rescue the Doctor. Smythe reports he is leaving for the conference to his superiors as a Tardis noise is heard and a black box materialises. Ransom bursts in but Smythe convince him he's seen nothing and has been called to a meeting then enters the box and dematerialises. Jamie meets a Redcoat solider in the cells who thinks it's 1745. He remembers fighting in the highlands, then there being a mist and then being in the First World War. The Doctor pose as an Examiner from the War Office with Zoe as his secretary. Ransom, Carstairs and Buckingham search for the escaped prisoners. Jennifer is starting to doubt what happened during the court marshall and is remembering a mist, which Carstairs blames on gas. Jamie and the Redcoat stage an escape but the Redcoat is killed, Jamie is recaptured and taken to the Examiner. Zoe knocks the commandant of the prison out and they make to leave but are cornered by Ransom. Jennifer is still doubtful of the trial when Ransom returns with his prisoners. Carstairs makes known his objections to the court martial, but Ransom still believes it was fair. Jamie tells the others about the Redcoat and Zoe about the communications device. The Doctor wonders what they are doing in that time period where they don't belong. Carstairs talks with the prisoners and takes them to the General's room to see the screen for himself. The Doctor finds the screen but neither Jennifer or Carstairs can see the screen till the Doctor gets them to concentrate. In a control room elsewhere Smythe watches them. The Doctor and his friends escape with Jennifer & Carstairs in the ambulance. Smythe returns and orders the ambulance found and shelled, convincing Ransom over his objections of attacking an ambulance containing women. The ambulance drives into mist which obscures their view. Jennifer is overcome by an urge not to go on. When the mist clears they find themselves on a peaceful dirt track near a river. Climbing a hill to get a better view they find a Roman Legion charging towards them! Oh that was top, top stuff, one of the very best Troughton episodes. The lead actor gets a starring moment commandeering the staff car and gaining entry to the prison as an Examiner from the War Office without any psychic paper just using the force of his personality. Wonderful. Then you get the deepening mystery of what is actually going on. The Tardis noise and materialisation of the box genuinely make you think that perhaps maybe the Doctor's own people are involved. He's said very little about them before now and maybe the reason he ran away is to do with repulsion at their activities. By the end of the episode we know that there are at least three different conflicts connected to each other here: the First World War, the Highland conflict of 1745 and something involving Romans. But how is it possible to move between them as we're seeing here? We need to look at the cast for the earlier episodes of this story, and due to the length of this story we'll need to keep coming back as more cast members show up. Lt Carstairs is played by David Savile who'll be back as Winser in The Claws of Axos, and Colonel Charles Crichton in The Five Doctors. He's with us for the duration of the story. Lady Jennifer Buckingham is the one Doctor Who appearance for Jane Sherwin, the wife of producer Derrick. Hubert Rees, who we've already seen as the Chief Engineer in Fury from the Deep, plays Captain Ransom here, and returns as John Stevenson in The Seeds of Doom. He's another Camfield favourite appearing in many of Douglas Camfield's non Doctor Who productions. The Redcoat is Tony McEwan who's also Baldwin in Planet of Evil. Richard Steele is Gorton, the prison Commandant and he'll be back as Sergeant Hart in Doctor Who and the Silurians, and a Guard in The Mark of the Rani, while the king of the background characters, Pat Gorman, pops up as a Military Policeman. 1 comment: Absolutely top stuff. The Doctor pretending to be an Examiner is a wonderful call back to where the Troughton version began - all the way back in Power of the Daleks. It is a bravura display of chutzpah and screen presence. I love the way that the revelations unfold in this episode to, and the cliffhanger is a fantastic stop-in-the-tracks moment, with the Romans coming, quite literally out of nowhere. ReplyDelete"

"http://dweveryday.blogspot.com/2011/07/245-war-games-episode-two.html"

"25/07/2011"

"Monday, January 16, 2012 Setting up your development environment for a CRM 2011 project Following a series of recent articles I have posted about solutions, I wanted to share some information about how you can set up an efficient development environment for your CRM 2011 project. Managing the solution synchronization among multiple environments (dev, test, prod, et.) is not always straight forward and it depends on multiple factors such as the scope of your project and the size of your team. In general, I have found an environment topology that facilitates an efficient development team and applies to most CRM projects: image Note that in the table above, each of the “environments” are not necessarily separate servers. If you have a multi-tenant CRM server you could host one or more of these environments in the same box. the only caveat is that you need to make sure that an activity happening in one environment will not interfere with an activity in another environment. For example, all environments in which the developers need to debug on the server side should be separate box since you don’t want to block testers and Business Analysts due to the debugging session in one of the CRM organizations. Thus, as a minimum, the “Individual Development Boxes” should be separate CRM servers. Remember this is not applicable 100% all of the time exactly as shown, but it is a good start to define your development environment strategy. 13 comments: Hi - really useful post. Just wondering if you had an advice for how to go about organising the "temporary transport solutions" between the developer boxes and the configuration box ? Cheers, Chris. ReplyDelete Hi Chris. For the temporary solutions it should not matter what solution name/version you use since you will delete them anyway. Not sure what you mean by "organising" ReplyDelete Is there a potential issue where two developers have been working on the same entities/forms, and one overwrites the other's changes when they import their personal transport solution into the configuration server ? ReplyDelete This is always possible and there is no "magic" to prevent it, that's why I would suggest having all the schema/configuration changes done directly in the Master Configuration environment (not in the individual dev boxes). The transport solutions should only contain components such as plugins for which you can minimize the risk of multiple developers working on the same at the same time in different environments. Hope that helps! ReplyDelete That Crm Is really cool and fantastic.I am impress in your article very good. ReplyDelete Hi Gonzalo, I have the following question concerning your suggested environment topology: In which order would you install CRM Update Rollups on your different CRM Servers since you need to ensure on the one side that everything works fine after installing an UR and on the other side not to endanger an important environment by installing an UR for the first time. Or would you recommend another separate CRM Server just for UR testing and afterwards you install "from left to right"? ReplyDelete Hi Andre, yes I would start installing URs from left to right (in diagram above). Certain URs cannot be uninstalled (e.g. UR5), so I would perhaps do a full regression testing in a separate environment before installing those special URs. ReplyDelete Hi Gonzalo, I have posted a question on the CRM forums regarding how our environment is set up. Could you please comment and provide some insights? http://social.microsoft.com/Forums/uk/crmdevelopment/thread/4c6eba1c-4bd6-417e-a4d8-64c81d7dae1b ReplyDelete Hi Gonzalo, I like your approach but I have a question concerning the licenses needed for this szenario. Do I need an own license for the production and the development server if they are separated? I could find conflicting information about this but no clear answer till now. Thomas ReplyDelete Hi Thomas, The MS licensing world is a complex one, and I don't think you need any licenses for development environments, but I would still suggest you check with Microsoft directly to be sure. ReplyDelete Hey Gonzalo, Thanks for the straight forward explanation. How do you keep your data current on the non-Production boxes? We are a labor union with over 48,000 active members. Our xRM solution is highly customized with dues and billing entities, employment history, etc. Is it possible to use a one-way SQL replication solution to push data from Production downstream? Doug, New York City ReplyDelete This comment has been removed by a blog administrator. ReplyDelete This comment has been removed by the author. ReplyDelete"

"http://gonzaloruizcrm.blogspot.com/2012/01/setting-up-your-development-environment.html"

"16/01/2012"

"Thursday, 21 March 2013 My Challenge concludes As the '3rd Annual Analogue Hobbies Painting Challenge' drew to its epic conclusion earlier this week, it seems only fitting to reflect on my small contribution to this runaway success of an idea.  I am so delighted that I plucked up the courage to enter this year and I cannot thank my fellow Ronin enough for all their kind words of encouragement and more importantly their own magnificent contributions, some of them truly staggering in both quantity and quality. There is of course one man in particular that must be wholeheartedly acknowledged before I go any further and that is the legend that is Curtis Campbell Esq. - editor in chief of  'Analogue Hobbies'.  How he managed to process all the posts, take time to reply to emails and even paint his own delightful contributions is a mystery to us all and an achievement not short of Herculean in stature. So to my personal challenge; we were asked to consider a 'par' score before we started, something to aspire to, a goal if you will.  A rough calculation of what had transpired this time last year with regards to miniature painting equated to total of 420 points* so it seemed not unreasonable to me to pitch in with a 500 point 'par' score it was, after all, supposed to be a challenge!  *Tally arrived at by using the marking matrix laid out in the initial briefing.  I was under absolutely no illusions that I was in with a shout of winning the competition, you must remember that I had prior knowledge of how the painting colossus that is Ray Rousell, swept to glory last year with a cumulative score of 4940 points!** However when the  list of my fellow Ronins' 'par' scores was posted I harboured a secret dream of bagging a top twenty spot.  It soon became clear though that the blood lust of the competition roused many a sheathed paintbrush to spring to life and self imposed targets began to tumble, while new ones were implemented almost on an daily basis; it really was wonderful to watch.  All this meant that sadly I was to fall just short of my dream, finishing an honourable 23rd; I did, however, manage to reach, and even surpass, my own 'par' finishing with a thumping tally of 536! **Those cries of 'sandbagging' now just a distant murmur on a fell wind.  What follows is a shameless pictorial representation of my efforts, some of which will feature more prominently in '28mm Victorian Warfare' at a later date, presented here in roughly chronological order. Highlander shown for scale and not entered in the challenge! Although the podium finishers have already been decided, and my sincere congratulations go to Chris, James and Kev, there are still some prizes up for grabs.  I wholeheartedly encourage you to pop over to 'Analogue Hobbies' to see for yourself the awe inspiring amount of work that was submitted over the three months, you can even cast a vote for your favourite too - if it were to be for one of my entries that would be absolutely splendid, but one should not feel under any obligation to do so. As a final aside take a look at what didn't get painted - a staggering .... points of loveliness!  We were permitted to assembly, prepare and even prime our miniatures before the official start date; having grossly over estimated my production rate the question that remains is do I carry on regardless or do I put them away for next year? 52 comments: That's a superb collection of models you have there Michael. Congratulations on painting so much in such a short time. The one thing the competition didn't seem to take into account was painting quality, so I'd rather have your 536 points of models that 4k+ belonging to someone else. Lovely painting – I think you should finish the undercoated stuff at least. ReplyDelete Replies Thank you my good man and I think you are right the undercoated models should get done at least. Delete Please carry on your work was a joy to see. Congratulations on exceeding your target. I whole heartedly laughed at the cooking pot diorama, in a week of sad news for me this raised my spirits enormously. I very much enjoyed the camels too, the detail was outstanding. Regards Andrew ReplyDelete Replies Thank you Andrew, that is incredibly kind of you. Delete Congrats on finishing 23rd Michael! You made a valiant effort indeed. I think your greyscale Samurai have got a great chance in nabbing the best unit award!!! ReplyDelete Replies Thank you Ray, I was chuffed to get above half way; now need to start planning for next year! Delete You did a splendid job Sir Michael. You exceeded your target and you turned in beautiful work. My favourite of yours was a draw between the Samurai and your Cannibals with Cooking Pot. I have a feeling you may well win that Personal Choice award. ReplyDelete Replies Thank you Anne, they have to be my favourites too. Delete Nothing shameless at all, you had some of the best work in the challenge! ReplyDelete Congrats on the #23 spot and very well done on surpassing your "par". the figures you have entered in the Challenge have been a joy to behold. I think you are in for a good chance of winning one of the other awards. ReplyDelete Replies Plenty of other fabulous work to choose from, but thank you both. Delete Congratulations there Michael and a big well done for having the balls to enter this competition, something I dont have as I couldnt see myself entering. What you have painted are of stuff great quality and I do love the "cooking" pot ReplyDelete Replies Thank you my good man, but you should definitely think about entering next year. Delete Michael, I know you've not had an easy few weeks with the occasional appearance of the "real world" interrupting your painting schedule. However, three words scream out from following your posts - Quality not Quantity! That said, congratulations to all who took part - some darned fine work all round. Pip pip PS - next year, more French Marshals and more hoplites!!! ReplyDelete Replies That is incredibly kind of you old fruit, not sure about the French Marshals though. Delete Just look on the painting table behind the Brontosaurus - I'm sure you might find a small back with some Foundry Johnny Crapaud inside. Pip pip Delete Bravo! Your work was nothing short of a tour de force, Michael. It was an pleasure to have you join us in the Challenge. I hope I can entice you to participate in the next one. I think Fran mentioned the 300 Spartans as a possible theme... ReplyDelete Replies One of the infamous bags secreted around Awdry Towers is the struggle over the body of Leonidas - does this mean I'll have to wait nearly a year to see it painted? Curt, well done on a superb Challenge. Pip pip Delete Thank you Curt and thank you so much for organising such a wonderful challenge. Delete Great work Michael, a stupendous performance. ReplyDelete Really outstanding! I particularly like the 5-barrel Nordenfelt gun, but that's just my bias for Sudan pieces. It would be nice to see what you can do with the rest of the projected pieces. That elephant looks as if it has potential! Thank you for showing these Diplomatist http://diplomatist2.blogspot.co.uk/ ReplyDelete Replies Thank you so much for the kind words Edwin; I'll see if I can't bump the elephant up the painting queue. Delete I missed the cannibal soup entry! Brilliant! That's a standout from a lovely bunch of entries, Michael. Well done! ReplyDelete Congrats Michael, Master of the seven grey scale ronins, you clearly had some of the best entries of the challenge! Cheers Nico. ReplyDelete I love following your work and its you to blame for me having £100 worth of Sudan stuff sitting in my lead pile...... Peace James ReplyDelete Replies Thank you James, I think; £100 you say, I am so sorry! Delete Congrats Michael , very nice models great paint as always Cheers ReplyDelete You were a very worthy challenger Michael, I'm glad you entered. Fantastic painting. Please keep up the good work - I look forward to seeing that bare metal come to life. ReplyDelete Replies Thank you Sir, it was great fun to take part. Delete Quantity and quality, very impressive standard and lovely looking figures. Regards, Matt ReplyDelete Well done on the challenge and looking forward to seeing the lead mountain you on the desk painted up! Christopher ReplyDelete Replies Thank you Christopher, it would certainly be a relieve to have the lead pile trimmed a little. Delete Excellent work as ever Michael.. i do love the cook pot ;-) ReplyDelete Replies Thank you Dave, you do know that I blame you for entirely for that cook pot! ;-) Delete My word you produced some truly gorgeous entries mate. I still can't decide which of them I like best. The heliograph vignette is a corker but the cannibal scene is something totally unique. ReplyDelete Congratulations, Michael. I do strongly appreciate your choice of figures to paint, and the plying of your paints in a masterful way. This blog is a lovely place to visit. Thanks much. ReplyDelete Well done Michael, both quantity and quality achieved. Cheers, Pat. ReplyDelete Top notch Michael at least you exceeded your target for this year. ReplyDelete Truly amazing amount of top-notch work on a variety of periods. Best, Dean ReplyDelete Tremendous stuff, MIchael - wonderful as ever. The greyscale ronin are indeed phenomenal. Congratulations on a terrific Challenge! ReplyDelete Well Imthink one can be proud of finishing in the top half of the Challenge. Especially if you go for quality in a competiton that where it is easier to score with weight of numbers. That being said... I think you will get a price still, since your entires included my personal top three. If others are like me, you will get some well deserved recognition! ReplyDelete Sorry to be late but I just browsed Curt's blog for my vote and I was delighted to see your entries. Gorgeous vignettes and they really did stand out in composition, use of colour, you name it. So thanks for the excellent entries and I won't tell my favorite. I don't want to end up for dinner somewhere. ReplyDelete Excellent news about the Cannibal Pot winning the Challengers' Choice! Well deserved! And it's nice to know that it was chosen by the other participants. Edwin ReplyDelete I should have read to the bottom of the post before congratulating you! Peoples' Choice as well! Stunning result, with two very nice pieces. Edwin ReplyDelete Get all your favorite alcoholic drinks at Duty Free Depot! All the popular brand name beverages for unbelievable discounted price tags. ReplyDelete Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger..."

"https://28mmvictorianwarfare.blogspot.com/2013/03/my-challenge-concludes.html?showComment=1363907686841"

"21/03/2013"

"Donnerstag, 29. Dezember 2011 [REL]Boeing YAL-1 Laser Testbed and new runway a modified Boeing 747 currently in use by the USAF to shoot down ballistic missiles using a laser system... and now you can fly it in SA :) http://www.mediafire.com/?hkpzov9yxhcphnh and i have uploaded the new Runway, including .dff and .txd for LOD. The mod was made by my friend Pepko http://www.mediafire.com/?zwm42my6gy3g5mf 4 Kommentare: I Have a problem says error vehicle blbabla cant build AntwortenLöschen Dieser Kommentar wurde vom Autor entfernt. AntwortenLöschen um how do I open the back of the plane? Its for an andromeda so there should be a place to hold stuff right? AntwortenLöschen new link: http://www.mediafire.com/?8p9rhc45q658yrz AntwortenLöschen"

"https://acfreakssanandreasmods.blogspot.com/2011/12/relboeing-yal-1-laser-testbed-and-new.html?showComment=1347650863098"

"01/12/2011"

"My Holiday by Sarah This week back at work has been a bit of a shock to the system, I think the strategy of saving lots of things to do till after my holiday was possibly not the wisest! Still it's Friday evening and I can finally take some time to look back on the glories of the week before in Dorset. No-one at work asked me to write an essay on 'My Holiday' like they used to at school but there are a few words that sum up the essence of it wonderfully: sun, sand, sea air, tea shops and knitting. The evidence is here:I heartily recommend Dorset as a holiday destination for all and for knitters in particular - not just for the beach knitting opportunities but also as it seems to be well served by LYS - in particular of the traditional British 'The Wool Shop' variety - exhibit A from Portland:I got directed to Honora on the main street in Christchurch by a lovely lady. She was delighted to see me knitting outside a tea shop as she didn't see many people knitting these days but she had heard that knitting was coming back. I reassured her that lots of people were knitting :o) The shop was great - stuffed to the rafters - most of the traditional British supplies of Patons, Sirdar and Rowan. Nothing very unusual but a real asset as your LYS I would have thought. Plan-Knit in Poole was the only shop I had found out about in advance - always important to try and factor in the yarn tourism element to ensure a successful holiday. It's quite a new shop and seems to be trying to straddle the demand for the cheaper, high acrylic content yarns and some of the more exciting and unusual blends. In a not at all surprising turn of events I bought some sock yarn including some lovely stuff from UK Alpaca that I'd not seen before. My Ravelry alter ego Thumbelina has sprung to life and set up shop in Wareham:She's doing a great job and sold me some bargains from the 99p bin and yes, more sock yarn.We also drove past a yarn shop in Swanage after it was shut and such was the abundance of visits to LYS that I didn't even make the 1TB return the next day. I bought something at all the stores I visited as I was putting a notions kit together for my cousin; a new knitter who is being encouraged at every turn! I do like to buy something when I visit a new shop and do my bit to support bricks and mortar stores; this was a nice way to buy something from everywhere without too much increase to the mighty stash - I'm still hoping I may just end up this year having knit more than I bought. Well, we are all allowed to dream aren't we? Comments Rachel said… Looks like such a nice time...beach, knitting, yarn stores...seems like a perfect break to me! Looks like a great place. Glad you had a good time :) Kai said… Glad you had a great time! :) I've always wanted to visit Dorset.. Marianne said… What a fabulous holiday! I especially loved the Thumbelina Wool Shop! T. said… Sounds like an awesome trip. Love Thumbelina's wool shop! Rose Red said… Hee hee, I have the same dream (knitting more than I buy in a year) but it's becoming a nightmare! (quite a good one though...). Your holiday looks and sounds great - sun and yarn stores, what more do you need! Lynne said… Sounds like the perfect holiday to me! Lynne said… Hey Sarah Before your next trip away from home try Knitmap.com - it'spretty cool! Linda said… Lovely place, great to find all those yarny stores! Curly Cable said… Glad you had a super holiday, it looks like a lovely place and all those wool shops too. Ahhh knitting on the beech, what bliss!! I like the cardi you are wearing in that photo, Hope you don't mind me asking but what is the pattern? It looks lovely :) Great work on the sock too :) Bells said… he he. Your holiday sounds a bit like mine. I'll be writing a similar essay I think! raining sheep said… I am laughing! I was driving behind a car that had a bumper sticker that said "this car stops sudenly for fabric stores", we need a sticker that says "this car stops suddenly for yarn stores". Sounds like you had a wonderful time, I am so pleased for you. And yeah, now back to work. what a treat, wool shops, beaches and tea shops...wow. Love the sooty outside the shop... Artis-Anne said… Oh great holiday and wool shop hunt too :)What more can you ask for ? Anonymous said… I've been to the Poole store - it took me back a few years! Glad you had a good holiday! florencemary said… Lovely photos (especially the sunset!) - glad to hear, and see, that you had such a nice break. My g-parents in Poole for a few years when I was very young, but I haven't been back since then. And Thumbelina opened a yarn shop... spooky, dontya think?! Popular posts from this blog "As in knitting, as in life" Three Elsa's Babbit"

"https://allfingersandthumbs.blogspot.com/2008/09/my-holiday-by-sarah.html"

"01/09/2008"

"Wednesday, June 1, 2011 El Yuma blogs in Spanish, too Ted Henken Kudos to Ted Henken for starting a Spanish-language version of his blog, El Yuma. Ted's efforts to gain a deeper understanding of Cuba are to be commended. And blogging in Spanish is a great idea. Así que felicidades, Dr. Henken. The Spanish-language version of El Yuma is here. No comments:"

"https://alongthemalecon.blogspot.com/2011/06/el-yuma-blogs-in-spanish-too.html"

"01/06/2011"

"Monday, June 15, 2020 Rowell Charged with Drug Trafficking A 61-year-old Vian man was charged May 26 with illegal drug trafficking, a felony, after a traffic stop in Sallisaw. Arland Dewayne Rowell was a passenger in a car under surveillance by Sallisaw police. An officer waited at the car wash on North Kerr Boulevard for the vehicle, a white Mazda pickup, to pass him. As the truck approached the officer, the driver made a rapid lane change without signaling, prompting the officer to initiate a traffic stop. As the officer pulled in behind the Mazda, the truck slowed and prepared to turn onto West Chickasaw Street as if the driver was trying to avoid him. The truck eventually stopped and the officer made contact with the driver, who reportedly appeared extremely nervous. Rowell, the passenger, had been arrested the day before for being under the influence of a narcotic. The driver admitted to using drugs the week before. When officers asked her to show her arms, they clearly saw track marks on them, the report indicates. Officers discovered a working set of digital scales and empty plastic baggies inside a bag in the truck’s bed. Rowell also had baggies of suspected methamphetamine in his right front pocket. Officers also found $1,370 in cash. After Rowell was transported to the county jail, the officer was notified that a jailer there had found another baggie with the same off-white substance inside it on his person. Police collected six total baggies, which contained more than 20 grams of the suspicious substance. Rowell’s next court appearance is set for 9 a.m. June 17 before Judge Kyle Waters. Laura Brown, KXMX Staff Writer For more news stories stay tuned to The MIX 105.1 or visit www.kxmx.com     No comments: Post a Comment Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment."

"https://arklahoma.blogspot.com/2020/06/rowell-charged-with-drug-trafficking.html"

"15/06/2020"

"Friday, August 15, 2014 Happy Friday My Friends! Well hello and happy Friday to all my friends out there. This week went by fast, didn't it? Happy that the weekend has arrived though. Not much to report, as this month has been somewhat quieter than the last. That's good in a way, gives me more time to accomplish what I want. How has summer been for you? I have a couple of shoots coming up and I was able to get out and take a few of myself the other day.  I have a few art donations going out too. The one below is headed to the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society for their annual Art Saves Animals benefit. We found our Lola there so I am more than happy to help with this wonderful cause. I shot this in March and you can find this mural in downtown Albany off of Broadway. I think that about wraps it up in my neck of the woods today. I hope that you are enjoying these last days of summer and are making great memories with loved ones! Stay safe and have fun my friends :) Anna No comments: Post a Comment"

"https://artfullyoddphotos.blogspot.com/2014/08/happy-friday-my-friends.html"

"15/08/2014"

"Wednesday, September 11, 2013 The Black Swamp Mysteries... Title- Exit 22 Series- Black Swamp Mysteries Book #1 By- P.M. Terrell Political strategist Christopher Sandige is driving along Interstate 95 in North Carolina when he is involved in a one-car accident. Stranded for the weekend, he meets a beautiful but mysterious woman and is immediately pulled into a double homicide. Now he’s on the run from law enforcement—and a hired assassin. As he falls deeper for Brenda Carnegie, he begins to wonder if she is the killer. As he pieces everything together and comes closer to the truth—time runs out. Goodreads- Amazon Kindle:  Amazon Paperback:  Barnes and Noble Nook:  Barnes and Noble Paperback:  iBooks:  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Title- Vicki’s Key Series- Black Swamp Mysteries Book # 2 By-P.M. Terrell  Following a flawed CIA mission, Vicki Boyd leaves the CIA to begin a new life in a new town assisting an elderly woman. But when she arrives, she finds Laurel Maguire has suffered a stroke and her nephew has arrived from Ireland to care for her. Vicki quickly falls in love with the charming Dylan Maguire, but all is not what it seems to be at Aunt Laurel’s house. And when the CIA arrive to recruit Vicki for one last mission, she finds her past and her future are about to collide… In murder. Goodreads- Amazon Kindle:  Amazon Paperback:  Barnes and Noble Book:  Barnes and Noble Paperback iBooks:  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Title- Secrets of a Dangerous Woman Series- Black Swamp Mysteries Book # 3 By- P.M. Terrell Irishman Dylan Maguire is back and in his first assignment with the CIA, he must interrogate recently captured Brenda Carnegie. But when she escapes again, it’s obvious that she’s had help from within the CIA’s own ranks. Psychic spy Vicki Boyd assists him in locating her again—but when he discovers Brenda’s true identity, he realizes his mission has just become very personal. Amazon Kindle:  Amazon Paperback:  Barnes and Noble Nook:  Barnes and Noble Paperback:  iBooks ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Title- Dylan’s Song Series- Black Swamp Mysteries Book #4 By-P.M. Terrell Dylan Maguire returns to his native Ireland with psychic spy Vicki Boyd. Their mission: to locate and extract a missing CIA operative. But when Dylan receives word that his grandmother is dying, his mission plunges him into a past he thought he’d turned his back on forever. Now he must confront his past before it results in murder. And as Vicki discovers the real reason he left Ireland, she is harboring a secret of her own. Amazon Kindle:  Amazon Paperback:  Barnes and Noble Paperback:  iBooks:  ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ P.M. Terrell is the internationally acclaimed, award-winning author of more than 18 books, including Vicki's Key, a 2012 International Book Awards and 2012 USA Best Book Awards finalist and River Passage, winner of the 2010 Best Drama Award. A full-time writer since 2002, p.m. previously founded and operated two computer companies with a specialty in computer crime and computer intelligence. Her clients included the CIA, United States Secret Service and the Department of Defense as well as local law enforcement agencies. Her expertise in computers and intelligence often finds its way into her books. She is also the co-founder of The Book 'Em Foundation and founder and chair of The Book 'Em North Carolina Writers Conference and Book Fair, which raises money to increase literacy rates. As a hobby, she raises freshwater angelfish - the same thing her characters do as their front for the CIA. For more information about P.M. Terrell, visit www.pmterrell.com and for more information on the upcoming Writers Conference, visit www.bookemnc.org. Facebook-  Twitter Website-  Blog-  Facebook Event -  No comments: Post a Comment"

"https://ashleysreadingbliss.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-black-swamp-mysteries.html"

"11/09/2013"

"Friday, July 17, 2015 This photograph of a frozen field in Greenville Texxas is now for sale on Etsy. Ice Field Framed Photograph"

"https://backingreenville.blogspot.com/2015/07/"

"17/07/2015"

"Monday, 15 July 2013 WTMS: Transformers - The Movie This week, it's the turn of what I'm guessing was some people's first experience of still the best Transformers movie - the animated 1986 spectacular that saw the debuts of Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, and of course the most awesome Autobot of them all - Ultra Magnus! Spoiler - Optimus Prime dies in this one. Just a warning for those of a nervous disposition there. Saturday, 13 July 2013 Episode 155 The full gang's back this week (for the last time in a little while), and the guys discuss many, many things, including the weather, sport (Andy Murray winning a tennis, for example), and the state of broadband connectivity vs. dialup. They also find out what YOU used to be in the playground (along with who you may have injured), as well as all the news that's worth knowing in the wide, geeky world - and considering it was Botcon a couple of weeks ago, that's quite a lot of stuff to begin with. We also find out what the guys used to do on their summer holidays - long story short, everyone except Glenn did interesting stuff. Glenn watched cartoons and was grumpy. Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose. Monday, 8 July 2013 WTMS: Super Powers - Battle at the Earth's Core This week sees the Super Powers of the DC Universe take on the mighty Darkseid and his forces, as they battle, quite literally, at the very core of the Earth! Who will win? Who will lose? Will they ever release this collection of figures again (because they seem to have been quite cool)? Monday, 1 July 2013 WTMS: The Real Ghostbusters - Cold Cash and Hot Water Who Ya Gonna Call? Well apparently it's the Real Ghostbusters, who, in this week's daring adventure, find out that Peter's dad has discovered a ghost frozen in ice. Unfortunately, he decides to bring it into town where it thaws out and causes trouble for the Ghostbusters!"

"https://backtotheeightiespodcast.blogspot.com/2013/07/"

"15/07/2013"

"Monday, June 30, 2008 Pentagon fights EPA on pollution cleanup MSNBC.com Pentagon fights EPA on pollution cleanup Chemicals dumped at bases deemed threat to public health, environment By Lyndsey Layton The Washington Post updated 4:37 a.m. ET, Mon., June. 30, 2008 WASHINGTON - The Defense Department, the nation's biggest polluter, is resisting orders from the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up Fort Meade and two other military bases where the EPA says dumped chemicals pose "imminent and substantial" dangers to public health and the environment. The Pentagon has also declined to sign agreements required by law that cover 12 other military sites on the Superfund list of the most polluted places in the country. The contracts would spell out a remediation plan, set schedules, and allow the EPA to oversee the work and assess penalties if milestones are missed. The actions are part of a standoff between the Pentagon and environmental regulators that has been building during the Bush administration, leaving the EPA in a legal limbo as it addresses growing concerns about contaminants on military bases that are seeping into drinking water aquifers and soil. Under executive branch policy, the EPA will not sue the Pentagon, as it would a private polluter. Although the law gives final say to EPA Administrator Stephen L. Johnson in cleanup disputes with other federal agencies, the Pentagon refuses to recognize that provision. Military officials wrote to the Justice Department last month to challenge EPA's authority to issue the orders and asked the Office of Management and Budget to intervene. Unprecedented stand Experts in environmental law said the Pentagon's stand is unprecedented. "This is stunning," said Rena Steinzor, who helped write the Superfund laws as a congressional staffer and now teaches at the University of Maryland Law School and is president of the nonprofit Center for Progressive Reform. "The idea that they would refuse to sign a final order — that is the height of amazing nerve." Pentagon officials say they are voluntarily cleaning up the three sites named in the EPA's "final orders" — Fort Meade in Maryland, Tyndall Air Force Base in Florida and McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey. Fort Meade borders residential areas in fast-growing Anne Arundel County ; Tyndall and McGuire are in less-populated regions. At all three sites, the military has released toxic chemicals — some known to cause cancer and other serious health problems — into the soil and groundwater. But the EPA has been dissatisfied with the extent and progress of the Pentagon's voluntary efforts. Fines could come next "Final orders" are the EPA's most potent enforcement tool. If a polluter does not comply, the agency usually can go to court to force compliance and impose fines up to $28,000 a day for each violation. Cleanup agreements drafted by the EPA for the 12 other sites contain "extensive provisions" that the Pentagon finds unacceptable, officials said. Congress established the Superfund program in 1980 to clean up the country's most contaminated places, and of the 1,255 sites on the list the Pentagon owns 129 — the most of any entity. Other federal agencies with properties on the list include NASA and the Energy Department, but they have signed EPA cleanup agreements without protest. The law was amended in 1986 to stipulate that polluting government agencies should be treated the same as any private entity. During the 2000 presidential campaign, George W. Bush pledged to direct all federal facilities to comply with environmental laws and "make them accountable." Cooperation varies by branch In dealing with cleanup efforts, some military branches have been more cooperative than others. The Navy has signed cleanup agreements for all of its Superfund sites, whereas the Air Force has not signed one in 14 years. But Superfund sites are only one aspect of the Pentagon's environmental problems. It has about 25,000 contaminated properties in all 50 states, and it will cost billions and take decades to clean them up. The Pentagon has a tremendous financial stake in not only how the sites are cleaned but also in which chemicals the government characterizes as toxic. Rep. John D. Dingell (D-Mich.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, is investigating the Pentagon's compliance with environmental regulation. He said it is evading the law through political maneuvers. "I find it troubling, not only that the Department of Defense is in flagrant violation of final orders issued by the EPA, but that DOD is now attempting to circumvent the law and Congress' intent by calling on the Department of Justice and the Office of Management and the Budget to intervene," he said in a statement. "The EPA is the expert agency charged by Congress with enforcing our environmental laws, and the Administration needs to allow them to do their job to protect the public health and safety." EPA spokeswoman Roxanne Smith said final orders were issued because the agency is worried about drinking water and soil contamination at Fort Meade, Tyndall and McGuire. "Under DOD's management, some of these sites have languished for years, with limited or no cleanup underway," she said. Other examples of Pentagon resistance to the EPA include its successful effort this year to get greater influence in the process the agency uses to analyze the risks of industrial chemicals. Congressional Democrats, environmental groups and the Government Accountability Office have criticized the change. The Pentagon has also fought EPA efforts to set new pollution standards on two toxic chemicals widely found on military sites: perchlorate, found in propellant for rockets and missiles, and trichloroethylene (TCE), a degreaser for metal parts. TCE is the most widespread water contaminant in the country, seeping into aquifers across California, New York, Texas, Florida and elsewhere. More than 1,000 military sites are contaminated with TCE. In the late 1990s, EPA scientists found TCE to be much more toxic than earlier believed. In 2001, the EPA prepared tougher new drinking-water standards for TCE to limit human exposure, but the Pentagon challenged those standards and took its case to the White House. The process ground to a halt; seven years later, the EPA still has not issued new TCE limits. Since Bush took office, one military site has been added to the Superfund list — the Navy bombing range at Vieques Island , off Puerto Rico . The site was added after the Puerto Rican governor exercised a federal statute to force its placement on the list. Push from Maryland Maryland has been pushing the EPA to add Fort Detrick in Frederick County to the Superfund list. This month, the state sent a forceful letter to the EPA, suggesting it would follow Puerto Rico 's strategy. On Thursday, the EPA informed Maryland that in September it will recommend Fort Detrick be added. Shari T. Wilson, Maryland's secretary of the environment, said the state needs the Superfund designation because of the Army's erratic efforts to clean up Fort Detrick, which for decades served as the service's center for development of chemical and biological weapons. She said the state wants an independent agency that is focused on public health to oversee the effort and hold the Pentagon accountable. In 1992, the state found chemical contamination in private wells just outside Fort Detrick . Under a voluntary agreement with the state, the Army removed chemical-soaked earth and rusting drums filled with toxins, set up monitoring wells and connected nearby residents to the city water supply. Two years later, TCE was detected in a spring outside the base — the first time it was noticed beyond the facility's boundaries. State officials say that the presence of TCE in the aquifer is a serious concern but that they do not think the contamination poses an immediate health threat. For nearly 10 years, Maryland has asked the Pentagon to analyze the extent and spread of groundwater contamination, a study that will happen as a matter of course if it is added to the Superfund list. "It's frustrating," Wilson said. "We need to move ahead and take the steps necessary to ensure for the public the groundwater is protected." © 2008 The Washington Post Company URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25450859/ © 2008 MSNBC.com Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center , 325 E. 25th St. , Baltimore , MD 21218 . Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net "The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs [Alert] Israelis assault award winning Palestinian journalist http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=43005 [Alert] Israelis assault award winning Palestinian journalist GAZA CITY, Jun 28 (IPS) - Mohammed Omer, the Gaza correspondent of IPS, and joint winner of the 2008 Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism, was strip-searched at gunpoint, assaulted and abused by Israeli security officials at the Allenby border crossing between Jordan and the West Bank on Thursday as he tried to return home to Gaza . Omer, a resident of Rafah in the south of Gaza , and previous recipient of the New America Media's Best Youth Voice award several years ago, was returning from London where he had just collected his Gellhorn Prize, and from several European capitals where he had speaking engagements, including a meeting with Greek parliamentarians. Omer's trip was sponsored by The Washington Report, and the Dutch embassy in Tel Aviv was responsible for coordinating Omer's travel plans and his security permit to leave Gaza with Israeli officials. Israel controls the borders of Gaza and severely restricts the entrance and exit of Gazans allegedly on grounds of security.Human rights organisations accuse the Israelis of using security as a pretext to apply collective punishment indiscriminately. While waiting in Amman on his way back, Omer eventually received the requisite coordination and security clearance from the Israelis to return to Gaza after this had initially been delayed by several days, he told IPS. Accompanied by Dutch diplomats, Omer passed through the Jordanian side of the border without incident. However, after arrival on the Israeli side, trouble began. He informed a female soldier that he was returning home to Gaza . He was repeatedly asked where Gaza was, and told that he had neither a permit nor any coordination to cross. Omer explained that he did indeed have permission and coordination but was nevertheless taken to a room by Israel 's domestic intelligence agency the Shin Bet, where he was isolated for an hour and a half without explanation. "Eventually I was asked whether I had a knife or gun on me even though I had already passed through the x-ray machine, had my luggage searched, and was in the company of Dutch diplomats," Omer said. His luggage was again searched, and security then proceeded to go through every document and paper he had on him, taking down the names and numbers of the European parliamentary officials he had met. The Shin Bet officials then started to make fun of the European parliamentarians, and mocked Omer for being "the prize-winning journalist". The Gazan journalist was repeatedly asked why he was returning to "the hell of Gaza after we allowed you to leave." To this he responded that he wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. He was told he was a "trouble-maker". The security men also demanded he show all the money he had on him, and particular attention was paid to the British pounds he was carrying. His Gellhorn prize money had been awarded in British pounds but he was not carrying the entire sum on him bodily, something the investigators refused to believe. After being unable to produce the prize money, he was ordered to strip naked. "At first I refused but then I had an M16 (gun) pointed in my face and my clothes were forcibly removed, even my underwear," Omer said. At this point Omer broke down and pleaded for an end to such treatment. He said he was told, "you haven't seen anything yet." Every cavity of his body was searched as one of the investigators pinned him down on the floor, placing his boot on Omer's neck. Omer began vomiting, and fainted. When he came round his eyelids were being forcibly opened and his eardrums probed by an Israeli military doctor, who was also armed. He was then dragged along the floor by his feet by the Shin Bet officials, with his head repeatedly banging on the floor, to a Palestinian ambulance which had been called. "I eventually woke up in a Palestinian hospital with the doctors trying to reassure me," Omer told IPS. The Dutch Foreign Ministry at the Hague told IPS that Foreign Minister Maxime Zerhagen spoke to the Israeli ambassador to The Netherlands and demanded an explanation. The Dutch embassy in Tel Aviv has also raised the issue with the Israeli Foreign Ministry, which in turn has promised to investigate the incident and get back to the Dutch officials. Ahmed Dadou, spokesman from the Dutch Foreign Ministry at the Hague told IPS, "We are taking this whole incident very seriously as we don't believe the behaviour of the Israeli officials is in accordance with a modern democracy. "We are further concerned about the mistreatment of an internationally renowned journalist trying to go about his daily business," added Dadou. A spokeswoman at the Israeli Foreign Press Association said she was unaware of the incident. Lisa Dvir from the Israeli Airport Authority (IAA), the body responsible for controlling Israel 's borders, told IPS that the IAA was neither aware of Omer's journalist credentials nor of his coordination. "We would like to know who Omer spoke to in regard to receiving coordination to pass through Allenby. We offer journalists a special service when passing through our border crossings, and had we known about his arrival this would not have happened. "I'm not aware of the events that followed his detention, and we are not responsible for the behaviour of the Shin Bet." In the meantime, Omer is still traumatised and in pain. "I'm struggling to breathe and have pain in my head and stomach and will be going back to hospital for further medical examinations," he said.(END/2008) Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center , 325 E. 25th St. , Baltimore , MD 21218 . Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net "The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs John Horn | Oliver Stone's "W" There are 206 days until Jan. 20, 2009. http://www.truthout.org t r u t h o u t | 06.30 http://www.truthout.org/article/oliver-stones-w Oliver Stone and "W.," a Story of President Bush Sunday 29 June 2008 by: John Horn, The Los Angeles Times The openly political director goes where some fear to tread. Shreveport, Louisiana - It's a conversation any father and son might have - a quick chat about baseball, families and world affairs. But when the speakers are President George H. W. Bush and his son George W. Bush, even a seemingly innocuous conversation can suddenly carry great weight, especially when Oliver Stone is at the controls. With sweat cascading down his face on a steamy June night in Louisiana, the Oscar-winning director was directing James Cromwell (playing the elder Bush) and Josh Brolin (starring as President Bush) through a critical moment in "W.," Stone's forthcoming - and potentially divisive - drama about the personal, political and psychological evolution of the current president. Although the father-son patter was ostensibly friendly, the subtext was anything but, hinting at the intricate parent-child relationship that Stone believes helps to explain George W. Bush's ascension. While the Bushes in this scene from 1990 were talking about the Texas Rangers (of whom George W. once owned a share) and Saddam Hussein (against whom George H. W. was about to go to war in Kuwait), there was much more at stake, as Stone and screenwriter Stanley Weiser saw the fictional conversation unfolding. "You need to back him down and take him out - like you did Noriega," George W. tells his father about Hussein. The elder Bush wasn't sure he was going to be that rash. "You know I've always believed in leaving personal feelings out of politics," the 41st president told his son. "But Saddam - this aggression cannot stand. Not gonna allow this little dictator to control 25% of the world's oil." As the architect of the outspoken dramas "Platoon," " Salvador ," "Wall Street," "Born on the Fourth of July" and "JFK," Stone stands apart as one of the most openly political filmmakers in a business where it's usually the actors who wear their beliefs on their sleeves. A longtime backer of Democratic candidates (recent donations include a gift to Sen. Barack Obama), Stone is either the oddest person to chronicle the life of the current president or the most inspired. Whatever the verdict, the marriage of director and subject has left nearly as many people running for the sidelines as wanting to be a part of the director's undertaking. Indeed, "W.'s" combination of story and filmmaker and the poor track record of recent biographical movies scared off at least three potential studio distributors and any number of actors, including, initially, star Brolin, and even Major League Baseball, which declined to cooperate with the production. Yet as Stone guided Cromwell and Brolin across Shreveport 's Independence Bowl stadium, doubling for the Rangers' home field, it was possible to see that "W." could be, in a complicated way, sympathetic. The father was belittling a son, George H. W. cautioning George W. to stick to simple things: "Maybe better you stay out of the barrel," the senior Bush told his son, and leave the family's political legacy to younger brother Jeb. "Well, son, I've got to say I was wrong about you not being good at baseball," the father ultimately said, tossing him a scrap of a compliment. The future president didn't quite get what the reproving "barrel" idiom meant, but he realized his father didn't respect him. Brolin took in the snub, but then his bearing grew determined: George W. would have to prove himself beyond anyone's imagining. Stone said it's part of what drove the younger Bush into the White House: to show his doubters wrong. "Someone who could step into that path and out-father his father," Stone said in his air-conditioned trailer during a break in filming. Racing to film, edit and release the film before the November election, Stone was not always getting five hours' sleep. Even though it was nearly midnight and the crew was just finishing its lunch break, the 61-year-old director grew increasingly animated talking about "W." "I love Michael Moore, but I didn't want to make that kind of movie," Stone said of "Fahrenheit 9/11." "W.," he said, "isn't an overly serious movie, but it is a serious subject. It's a Shakespearean story.... I see it as the strange unfolding of American democracy as I have lived it." Stone, Brolin and the filmmaking team believe they are crafting a biography so honest that loyal Republicans and the Bushes themselves might see it. Given Stone's filmmaking history, coupled with a sneak peek at an early "W." screenplay draft, that prediction looks like wishful thinking. Still, it's a captivating challenge: Can a provocateur become fair and balanced? And if Stone is, in some way, muzzling himself to craft a mass-appeal movie, has he cast aside one of his best selling points? Locating an Inner Voice Dressed In a suffocating Rangers warmup jacket earlier on that scorching June day, Brolin kept running into an outfield wall, trying to make a heroic catch as part of the film's baseball-oriented fantasy framing device. Stone worried the leap wasn't quite athletic enough and chose to add the baseball's falling into Brolin's mitt through visual effects - allowing the "No Country for Old Men" star to throw himself into doing everything else. Brolin spent countless hours studying the president's speech patterns and body language but said he wasn't trying to concoct a spitting-image impression, which ran the potential of becoming a "Saturday Night Live" caricature. "It's not for me to get the voice down perfectly," the 40-year-old Brolin said, even though he came close. More important, the actor said, was to unearth Bush's inner voice - "Where is my place in this world? How do I get remembered?" Like other actors approached for the film (including Robert Duvall, who was asked but declined to play Vice President Dick Cheney), Brolin had more than vague misgivings about starring in "W." He was, in fact, dead set against it. "When Oliver asked me, I said, 'Are you crazy? Why would I want to do this with my little moment in my career?'" Brolin recalled. Then, early one morning during a family ski trip, Brolin read Weiser's original screenplay, which covers Bush from 1967 to 2004. "It was very different than what I thought it would be," Brolin said, "which was a far-left hammering of the president." Brolin said many friends still weren't buying it. "There were a lot of people I tried to get involved, who were very, very reluctant to do the movie," Brolin said. In addition to Cromwell, the cast includes Elizabeth Banks as Laura Bush, Richard Dreyfuss as Cheney, Toby Jones as Karl Rove and Scott Glenn as Donald Rumsfeld. While noting Bush's low approval ratings (23% in a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll released this week), Brolin, like Stone, said "W." isn't intended to kick the man while he's down. "Republicans can look at it and say, 'This is why I like this guy,'" Brolin said. "It's not a political movie. It's a biography. People will remember that this guy is human, when we are always [outside of the movie] dehumanizing him, calling him an idiot, a puppet, a failed president. We want to know in the movie: How does a guy grow up and become the person that he did?" Stone, who was briefly a Yale classmate of Bush, is clearly no fan of the president's politics but said he's amazed by the man's resilience and ambition. The movie is basically divided into three acts: Bush's hard-living youth, his personal and religious conversion, and finally his first term in the Oval Office. "He won a huge amount of people to his side after making a huge amount of blunders and really lying to people," the director said. What further fascinates Stone is Bush's religious and personal conversion: a hard-drinking C student who was able to become not only Texas governor but also the leader of the Free World. "We are trying to walk in the footsteps of W and try to feel like he does, to try to get inside his head. But it's never meant to demean him," Stone said. The movie has hired a former Bush colleague as an advisor, and labored to get the smallest details right. For all the historical accuracy, though, "W." is clearly a work of fiction. "We are playing with our own opinions and our own preconceptions of him," Stone said. "This is his diary - his attempt to explain himself." A Project Gains Priority This wasn't the movie Stone was supposed to be making. Instead of "W.," the film was going to be "Pinkville," a look at the Army's investigation into 1968's My Lai massacre in Vietnam . Only days before filming was set to begin, with many sets already built and department heads in place, "Pinkville" star Bruce Willis pulled out of the film last fall, unhappy with a script that couldn't be rewritten because of the writers strike. Stone flirted with casting Nicolas Cage in the lead role, but enthusiasm from United Artists - whose war movie "Lions for Lambs" had just flopped - had waned on fears that "Pinkville" was too violent. At the same time, Stone had been working on the "W." script with screenwriter Weiser, the author of Stone's 1987 hit "Wall Street." Stone was at first worried the topic was almost too timely - "When I made 'Nixon,'" the director said, "he had died." Said "W." producer Moritz Borman: "He wasn't sure. He worried, 'Is there enough material about Bush? Or will there be more once he's out of office?' But then a slew of books came out." Soon after "Pinkville" imploded, Stone returned to "W.," and by early 2008 he was convinced it was not only the right time to make the movie but also imperative the movie hit theaters before the next presidential election, because its impact would be greatest then, when everybody was obsessing over our next president. But that early release date created a post-production timetable that would be half of Stone's most hurried editing schedule. Before he could set up his cameras, Stone and his team first had to answer a key question: Who in the world was going to pay for it? "You put the two names together - Bush and Stone - and everybody had a preconceived notion of what the film would be. But look at ' World Trade Center ,'" Borman said of Stone's commercially successful 2006 movie about two Port Authority policemen rescued from Sept. 11 rubble. "There was an uproar when it was announced and then, when the movie got closer to release, the very people who protested it preached from the pulpit that it was a film that had to be seen." Still, Borman and Stone knew few studios would commit to the movie, especially given the desired October 2008 release date, because studios often plan their release schedules more than a year in advance. What they needed was an independent financier, someone not afraid of challenging material - a person like Bill Block. Block had formed QED International in 2006 as a production, financing and sales company interested in the kind of highbrow drama that studios increasingly shun. Block saw in "W." not a troublesome jeremiad but a crowd-pleaser, and QED colleagues Kim Fox and Paul Hanson quickly assembled the "W." deal. "What Oliver is making is a splashy, commercial picture," Block said. "This is not a static biopic. It's kinetic." In addition to footing the film's $30-million budget, QED also raised money to underwrite its prints and advertising costs upon release. Any distributor committing to "W.," in other words, would have no money at risk: It could release the film, take the distribution fee of about 15% and move on. "I think it's a no-brainer," Stone said. All the same, "W." could spark a potential inferno inside the White House. "You never know exactly why" a studio rejects a movie, Stone said, while noting that all the major studios are small cogs in global conglomerates. "But at the highest levels, it didn't pass. Some would say it's too much of a risk and too much of a hot potato politically." Stone declined to name names, but two people close to the film said among those considering but passing on the film were Paramount, Warner Bros. and Universal. Harvey Weinstein's Weinstein Co. aggressively pursued the "W." deal, but QED, Borman and Stone picked Lionsgate Films in part because of its strong balance sheet. Also, because it's not part of a larger studio, Lionsgate is one of the only truly independent distributors left. Lionsgate worried about fitting "W." into its October schedule and has discussed a post-election release if the film isn't ready in time. But whenever it comes out, the company is ready for any backlash - after all, it's the distributor of the "Saw" and "Hostel" films. "To the extent there is going to be heat," said Joe Drake, president of Lionsgate's motion picture group, "we can take the heat. That won't be a problem." Go directly to our home page: http://www.truthout.org Sunday, June 29, 2008 Palestine in the American Imagination http://www.counterpunch.org/baroud06212008.html Religion, Politics and Media: Palestine in the American Imagination By RAMZY BAROUD The Counterpunch June 21-22, 2008 As Palestinians hurriedly buried their loved ones in the Gaza Strip following a deadly Israeli onslaught, which further contributed to Gaza’s worst humanitarian crisis since 1967 [1], US and Israeli celebrities rallied at a Los Angeles benefit concert for the Israeli town of Sderot, located near the border of Gaza. [2] Hollywood movie stars Sylvester Stallone, Jon Voight, Valerie Harper and comedian Larry Miller mingled with Israeli celebrities such as singer Ninet Tayeb and others. Children from the Israeli town of Sderot , which received the lion’s share of homemade Palestinian rockets, were cheerful nonetheless. Song and dance, interrupted occasionally by solemn messages of support delivered via satellite by both Republican and Democratic Presidential candidates, replaced the cries of sirens the images of huddling families in the town’s shelters. It was a bittersweet moment, that of solidarity, a renewal of the vow made too often, that Israel’s plight is that of America, and Israel’s security is an American priority, and, indeed, ‘God loves those who love Israel’. Welcome to America’s parallel reality on Israel and Palestine, barefaced in its defying of the notions of commonsense, equality and justice, ever-insistent on peeking at the Arab-Israeli conflict from a looking glass manufactured jointly in the church, in the Congress and in the news room, where the world is reduced to characters interacting in a Hollywood-like movie set: good guys, well groomed and often white-skinned vs. bad guys bearing opposite qualities. One may become accustomed to watching, reading and listening to the chorus of support that America – its politicians, most of its mainstream media and a large conglomerate of its churches and clergies – tirelessly offer Israel . But one must never dismiss such support, as typical, expected or, as some of Israel ’s supporters would put it, ‘special’ and ‘historic’. As simplistic and naןve in its articulation as the so-called pro-Israeli sentiment in the United States may be, in actuality, its intricate manifestation of political, religious, and cultural factors are as old, in some way, as the United States itself. To understand these factors, some deconstruction is in order. This article merely aims at shedding light at some of these factors and the history behind them. Religion Meets Politics – Old and New “They own the [Holy] land, just the mere land, and that`s all they do own; but it was our folks, our Jews and Christians, that made it holy, and so they haven`t any business to be there defiling it. It`s a shame and we ought not to stand it a minute. We ought to march against them and take it away from them.” -- Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad, 1894. Americans are commonly accepted for being more religious than their Western counterparts, whether in Canada or in Europe . After all, the American Dream was largely initiated by what is widely interpreted as a religious pilgrimage on board the Mayflower in 1620. The history of colonization of the American continent, of course, goes back to earlier years; nonetheless, it was that particular ‘pilgrimage’, in cultural consciousness, that defined the historic relationship between the immigrants from Europe and the so-called New World . One rather significant omission which often occurs is the recognition of the many nations in the new physical landscape, which in fact existed. Although the Native Americans’ plight has received a somewhat fair share of deserved analysis, I mean to emphasize here an important component that makes their story most relevant to my argument. Native Americans were dismissed as non-existent, were seen as an obstacle to the harbingers of civilizations, and, when they were recognized as an entity, political or cultural, it was meant merely to juxtapose their backwardness, their irrelevance, their savageness, with the progressiveness, the relevance and the civility of the newcomers. They too, the immaterial ‘Indians’ may have merely owned the land (although Native Americans didn’t believe in such a concept to start with), but it’s “our folks, our Jews and Christians, that made it holy.” The religious aspect of colonization is significant in the sense that it validates the cruelty of the physical uprooting, the massacring and the dismissal of entire races. “Where a command and a faith are present, in certain historical situations conquest need not be robbery,” Martin Buber wrote once. [3] If God, particularly the American God, justifies such acts, who are we, mere mortals, to defy His will? America was and remains in the minds of some, a Holy Land, with many of its towns bearing the name Salem, just like city of Jerusalem, occupied and illegally annexed by Israel . Such notions as legality and illegality might be relevant to the United Nations (itself rendered irrelevant once by US President George W. Bush himself) [4], but among large circles of American religious institutions, these notions are extraneous to the point of ridicule. But there is more, of course, to the ‘special relationship’ that justified Israel’s robbery of Palestinian land in an American religious, political and intellectual landscape than their combined search for a holy land and their textual, often selective interpretations of the Old Testament. In 1879, a scale model of the Holy Land known as the Palestine Park was constructed on Lake Chautauqua , New York by Reverend John Heyl Vincent. J. A. Miller explains, Palestine Park was a “visual aid for the legions of Sunday school teachers who flocked to the Chautauqua Institute to bone up on biblical history and geography.” It was the “first ever example of a theme park, a quintessential American construct.” [5] It featured: “…a life-size Tabernacle built to the specifications given in Exodus, a pyramid, a model of Jerusalem, and a small scale replica of the biblical Holy Land itself - complete with a ten-foot-long Dead Sea, a smaller Sea of Galilee, and markers for important biblical sites - landscaped into the rocky terrain of the shoreline …which serves as the Mediterranean Sea.” [6] The Chautauqua Institute was established five years before the Park, and “spawned hundreds of ‘assemblies’, throughout America , their popularity lasting until radio and cinema decimated their customer base.” That customer base was not only large, but influential, for it included such luminaries as “Amelia Earhart, Helen Keller, Thomas Edison, George Gershwin and at least nine presidents. Ida Tarbell, famed muckraker of Standard Oil, happily recollected cavorting on Palestine Park ’s Mount Hermon as a girl.” [7] Miller argues, that although there were many smaller precursors on American church grounds, “ Palestine Park is the iconic example of what geographer John Kirtland Wright called geopiety, ‘a deep religious devotion to a vision of the Holy Land concocted from a ‘curious mix of romantic imagination, historical rectitude, and attachment to physical space’.” [8] He proceeds, “Geopiety is a particularly Protestant obsession originating in England in the 16th century and culminating in the Balfour Declaration. Long before Herzl revved up the Jewish branch of geopiety, the Archbishop of York pugnaciously encapsulated the concept in 1875: “Our reason for turning to Palestine is that Palestine is our country. I have used that expression before and I refuse to adopt any other”. [9] While these roots continued to be firmly planted, newer religious phenomena helped contribute to that construct, thus widening the parameters of the Park to include a larger segment of American society, using television as the new and relentless platform. Welcome to the Armageddon-seeking American Evangelicals. While the advocacy for Israel by various evangelical churches is both bizarre – since the ultimate objective of this crowed is the annihilation of most Jews and the conversion of some as prerequisites for the Rapture – and widely acknowledged, their influence on the political culture of America is not equally recognized. Pastor John Hagee, for example, a “televangelist to 99 million viewers and pastor of the 18,000-member Cornerstone Church in San Antonio, Texas, established Christians United for Israel (CUFI) in 2005 following the publication of his book, ‘The Jerusalem Countdown: A Warning to the World.’ Hagee envisions CUFI as the Christian version of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, the powerful pro-Israel lobby whose political clout has significant influence on US foreign policy in the Middle East .” [10] Journalist Max Blumenthal took his cameras to the CUFI’s Washington-Israel Summit held in July 2007, in Washington DC . The result was a documentary entitled, “Rapture Ready: The Unauthorized Christians United for Israel Tour.” It opens with a dialogue with former Republican House Majority Leader Tom Delay, who was asked how important is the Second Coming is in his support of Israel. “Obviously, it is what I live for. Really, I hope it comes tomorrow. Obviously, we need to be connected to Israel to enjoy the Second Coming of Christ.” [11] Robert Weitzel reports, “John Hagee is not without fawning friends in Washington . Presidential hopeful John McCain made a campaign stop at the Summit and admitted to the audience that, ‘It`s very hard trying to do the Lord’s work in the city of Satan . . .’ House Minority Whip Roy Blunt followed McCain to the podium and assured the faithful that ‘This is a mission, this is a vision that I believe is a vision for God`s time.’ Senator Joe Lieberman was there and described Pastor Hagee as an `Ish Elokim,` a man of God. Never one to be left out of a well-attended Christian Right convocation, President Bush sent his best wishes, ‘I appreciate CUFI members . . . for your passion and dedication to enhancing the relationship between the United States and Israel . Your efforts set a shining example for others . . .’ [12] Popular Culture To examine the relationship between political and religious cultures and the popular culture in America is not an easy task, since the relationship is neither one-way nor linier. However, those preaching their version of God, aspiring to hold on to their political powers, understood well how to communicate their messages to the general public. Pop cultures are hardly shaped by polemics, reason and dialectics but by rather seemingly simple and indirect gestures that overtime ingrain lasting impressions. Combined with an already existing bias regarding Palestine , as disseminated by religious and political institutions, popular culture is constantly bombarded with positive imagery and language depicting Israel , and negative representations of Palestinians. In popular sitcoms such as Friends, Malcolm in the Middle and others, references are quite often made of Israel . One of Friends’ main characters, Chandler , had an Israeli girl friend, attractive and funny. When it was time to break up, he feared that her fighting skills, obtained during her service in the Israeli army would make such a task too difficult. That image of Israel , and the Israelis, being funny, attractive and fearsome is recurring in American television. Palestinians on the other hand are mentioned, sporadically (outside the evening news), and almost always in a negative light. I was up for a big surprise watching an episode of American Dad, one of the most watched animation programs following the Simpsons. The show comes across as progressive, in a roundabout sort of way. A young boy, one of the show’s main characters, was frustrated by the fact that he couldn’t figure out how to operate a homemade rocket. “If a five year old Palestinian boy can do this, so could I.” In another segment, another reference was made to the “anti-Zionist Aryan brotherhood,” an imaginary group that equates an anti-Zionist affiliation to white supremacy. Many such references are made on American television as well as the big screen. However, I will focus the remaining part of the article on media language and its contribution to the manufacturing of an alternative, convenient reality regarding the Middle East, but Israel and Palestine in particular. Media Language In the competitive world of media today, swift and conveniently selective reporting is of prime importance. GoogleNews, for example, claims to scan 4,500 news sources, of which only a few are highlighted as main stories. There are thousands of similar services, all competing to produce a story in the fastest time. Thorough - and thus slower - reporting is relegated and crucial information often appears too little too late. The corporate media’s depiction of the Gaza story, following Hamas’ election victory in January 2006, and which culminated in the clashes between Fatah and Hamas and the latter’s capture of Gaza in June 2007, was reduced to a few typical headlines, depicting Palestinians as unruly, uncivilized, criminal and unpredictable (thus incapable of being a trustworthy peace partner, as often parroted by Israel.) The imprisonment of 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza – where a humanitarian crisis, unemployment and poverty are still underway – should have been depicted first and foremost as a humanitarian disaster compelled by an Israeli siege. The dates related to the successive stages of the siege should follow a line of political, not ‘security’ logic. Any reasonable timeline of recent events could easily verify that (the formation of the Hamas government in March 2006, the ousting of the pro-Israeli Palestinian security apparatus in June 2007 and so on being followed by dramatic Israeli moves to tighten the siege on Gaza, Hamas’ stronghold). But little of that seemed relevant to the way the Gaza story was amply reported. Like the Iraq story, where the two main trusted sources are the occupation and its puppet Iraqi government, any story of relevance to Israel and Palestine has to be validated by the official Israeli source and to a lesser but growing extent by their allies among Palestinians. The rest are ‘extremist’, radical and hell-bent on the destruction of the ‘Jewish state.’ Note how the Jewishness of Israel is often emphasised whenever the word ‘destruction’ or similar words are infused. This is what Bridget Johnson wrote in the Los Angeles Daily News, chastising the United Nations’ Human Rights Council for its condemnation of Israel’s siege on Gaza: “There was zero mention of Hamas` continued rocket attacks on Israel -- which preceded the cut-off of supplies that has caused such an uproar -- or Hamas` refusal to renounce violence against and attempted destruction of the Jewish state.” [13] The claims were preposterous – especially that of a small group’s ‘attempted destruction’ of a country saturated with nuclear arms. The words ‘destruction’ and ‘Jewish state’ are simply passed as an innocent ‘opinion’, read by millions of Americans. There are many notable omissions as well. Hamas has repeatedly called for a mutual ceasefire, that was also repeatedly rejected or simply ignored by Israel . The siege followed the democratic election of Hamas, not the rocket attacks. Also conveniently missed is the disparity between the numbers of Israelis killed as a result of the Palestinian rockets – 10 in six years of violence – and Palestinians killed by Israeli ‘retaliation’ - over 120 Palestinians in Gaza alone within 9 days, starting February 27. [14] The killing of any civilian anywhere is tragic, but the facts are rarely contextualised by the media. This is only the tip of the iceberg since human suffering cannot only be measured by those who die, but also those who continue to live in perpetual torment. For Johnson, this is irrelevant, since this is not about right and wrong, but a war of language. To win the war, one must have command over language – and the way it’s manipulated – and access to platforms that reach the largest number of readers. An easy recipe to victory in this non-conventional war is an intentional mix of terms as Islamic extremism, al-Qaeda, Hamas, Jewish state, security, existential threats, right to exist, juxtaposed with images or clips of angry Palestinian youth burning Israeli and American flags, ‘side-by-side’, and you will have an American public and government standing in eternal solidarity with Israel . While most US politicians are self-seeking, power hungry and would do whatever it takes to be elected, the average American, unlike what it may seem, is not born ‘pro-Israel’, and ‘anti-Palestinian.’ Most Americans are pro-the-manufactured, yet misleading images of Israel reach their homes through television, wait at their doorsteps in the morning and confront them through the web. Israel has mastery over the language of the Western media, which, again, helped create a parallel reality that has little correlation to the real world, that of facts, numbers and actual events. That alternative universe only exists on the pages of New York Times, the images of CNN, and the blabber of Fox News ‘experts’. According to that narrative, Palestinians, are irrational, suicidal, demonic, mad, extremists, self hating, and all the rest. Conclusion There is no serious, equitable debate regarding Palestine and Israel in the US media, nor any other cultural, political and religious circles. If the existing narrative is to be called a debate, then it’s one with an imagined, not real, language, almost entirely irrelevant to the realities in Palestine and Israel . It’s one that is largely predicated on a narrow minded, apocalyptic religious discourse which for decades has found itself an accepted point of departure for most politicians, even those who falsely pose as liberals. Between the two discourses, that of misguided religious fantasies and pandering politicians, there exists enough room for alternative narratives. Unfortunately, that space is too overwhelmed by cultural misconceptions, institutional bias and deliberate confusion, introduced and instilled deliberately by media producers, pundits and the other manufactures of American popular culture. Until the gatekeepers of pop culture in America are seriously challenged, Palestine will continue to reside in the American imagination as a battle between good and evil, a ‘Holy Land’ that must be wrestled from the hands of those who might have owned the land, at one point, but now, they “haven`t any business to be there defiling it.” Ramzy Baroud is an author and editor of PalestineChronicle.com. His work has been published in many newspapers and journals worldwide. His latest book is The Second Palestinian Intifada: A Chronicle of a People`s Struggle (Pluto Press, London). (This article was first published in the Palestine Internationalist Journal, Volume 3 Issue 3, Apr 2008 – South Africa ) Bibliography [1] Gaza humanitarian Crisis `Worst Since 1967’, MSNBC. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23497420/ [2]) U.S. , Israeli Stars Rally at L.A. Benefit Concert for Sderot. www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/959308.html [3] Martin Buber, On Zion :The History of an Idea, 1974, p. 146 [4] Matthew Rothschild, Bush Trashes the United Nations. The Progressive, April 2003. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_4_67/ai_99818480 [5] J. A Miller, Palestine Park , The Palestine Chronicle, http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=13390, [6] Timothy Beal, Roadside Religion, 2005, p. 28 [7] J. A Miller, Palestine Park , The Palestine Chronicle, http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=13390, [8] Timothy Beal, Roadside Religion, 2005, p. 28 [9] Issam Nassar, “In Their Image”, Jerusalem Quarterly, October 2003 www.jerusalemquarterly.org/details.php?cat=4&id=185 [10] Robert Weitzel, Children of Palestine and Israel : Cannon Fodder for the Rapture, The Palestine Chronicle, http://palestinechronicle.com/view_article_details.php?id=13592 [11] Ibid [12] Ibid [13] Bridget Johnson, The U.N. can learn something from Rambo. The Los Angeles Daily News. www.dailynews.com/columnists/ci_8102360 [14] Aljazeera, Hamas sets terms for Israeli truce. http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/B09F81FA-14D9-4BCA-A7BD-AF2E52693830.htm; Donations can be sent to the Baltimore Nonviolence Center , 325 E. 25th St. , Baltimore , MD 21218 . Ph: 410-366-1637; Email: mobuszewski [at] verizon.net "The master class has always declared the wars; the subject class has always fought the battles. The master class has had all to gain and nothing to lose, while the subject class has had nothing to gain and everything to lose--especially their lives." Eugene Victor Debs"

"https://baltimorenonviolencecenter.blogspot.com/2008/06/"

"30/06/2008"

"Friday, June 29, 2012 Free enterprise I'm not picking on baseball because other sports are bad, too. But, as I watched a game the other evening, the announcers were talking about a player getting $20 million a year. Teams throw dollars around like they were Monopoly® money but when they want to build a new stadium they ask taxpayers to pick up the tab. Professional golf is the exception. Games are played on private or public courses that are used most of the time by regular folks. A professional golfer's winnings are determined by attendance, TV coverage and sponsorship of the event. The money is split by the entire field according to the individual player's finish. And they all pay their own expenses. In true free enterprise, baseball, football and basketball teams would build a stadium which they would pay for themselves. Attendance, TV revenue, hot dogs, beer and souvenirs would have to support the team. If they had a mortgage on the ball park and taxpayers weren't picking up the tab for their playground they'd be more prudent in what they pay players. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Wednesday, June 27, 2012 Not a sell-out yet "Connections" has been touted as being the largest trade show in the cleaning and restoration industry. A layout chart of the hotel that was published recently showed only 20 exhibitors have reserved booths so far. Collectively, the twenty have rented 66 of the 260 booths available, if I understand the layout chart. Attendance has been falling at such events for the past few years. We saw this trend developing ten years ago when we stopped exhibiting at Surfaces. Folks are just not traveling much these days due to erratic airline fares, rude TSA officials, high gasoline prices and the vast amount of information available on the internet. At the last event I attended, an exhibitor looked at my badge as I stopped at his booth. He said, "Oh! I see you're a peddler, too. Not many "guppies" here are there?" It was obvious there were more sales types prowling the aisles than prospects. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Monday, June 25, 2012 E-mail may be of interest to others Mr. Bill Bane: I've been in business for seven years and don't have your equipment yet, but I do buy my chemicals from your company and someday I will buy your machine. I saw a post on a bulletin board that quoted you about some of the percentages for operating a cleaning business. Can you tell me what the true labor percentage is? Margaret Thanks Margaret. The discussion was probably referring to a report on percentage comparisons of costs and how things have changed in our company over the past 40 years. Here's the link: http://www.baneclene.com/cleaning-digest/2012-Spring/articles/40years.html ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Friday, June 22, 2012 Congratulations Jasper and Pat DeVidal, of Decatur, Illinois, will celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this weekend. Jasper has been a loyal customer since October 17, 1980. Congratulations and best wishes from all of us at Bane-Clene to two wonderful people. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Wednesday, June 20, 2012 Hiring Things must be picking up for many of us in the cleaning business. Thirty-seven e-mails in the past month have asked for advice on hiring people. Many of you are expanding or taking on outside help for the first time. Where to find good people is one of the topics covered in my class at Bane-Clene Institute along with how to recruit them and where to interview the prospects. After you find the person you want to hire, be careful what you say in an interview. For example, don't ask what kind of an accent they have or even if they prefer "Ms., Mrs. or Miss," because it may be politically incorrect or even illegal. Be sure you have an employment agreement for new employees to sign which may prevent the loss of customers somewhere down the road. Have an employee handbook so they understand the policies and rules of your company. Be specific about your expectations and the consequences of not fulfilling obligations. Spell out pay, promotion and day to day procedures. Check your insurance to be sure you have worker's compensation coverage in case an employee is hurt on the job. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Monday, June 18, 2012 KeyBank honored According to the Central Indiana Better Business Bureau, KeyBank was honored as a large bank that supported the most jobs with its SBA lending program. KeyBank made the most loans and loaned the most dollars utilizing the most SBA programs. Meanwhile, Open Bank was a small bank that approved the most loans and dollars. Open Bank also was recognized for approving the second highest number of loans to underserved markets. There were some good tips in the article about borrowing. Bankers look at your personal credit history (credit cards, mortgage payments and personal bills) to get a sense of your track record with financial responsibilities. A banker won’t approve a loan that he doesn’t think has a chance of getting paid back. Have a plan for repayment when applying for a loan. Lay out details of how the venture is going to make the revenue necessary for a profit and be prepared to have collateral. Explain why the loan is critical and don't wait till you need a loan to approach a banker. Develop a face to face relationship with a bank so they get to know you. Financial statements prepared by a CPA are important to a successful loan application. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Friday, June 15, 2012 Dealing with gas prices Fluctuating gasoline and diesel prices are creating havoc with operating costs. Right now there is exuberance because prices have fallen below the $4 mark. Remember when they bumped $4 the last time and then fell. Talking heads said prices would continue to fall but instead they went right back to $4. The same thing will probably happen again or worse. There are serious predictions that the price of gasoline will go over $5 in the near future. Cleaning firms large enough to have their own fuel storage should lock in the lowest prices for as long as possible. A small service company should check sites like "GasBuddy®" for current gas prices and plan their routes to take advantage of the lowest price. Sam's Club®, Costco® and some grocery stores with filling stations offer savings to their customers. Plan routes using MapQuest® or use a GPS to know exactly where you're going. Avoid giving "on-location" estimates by doing as many of them as possible on the telephone or by e-mail. Clean furniture and area rugs on-location if possible to save that return delivery trip. Most important, slow down and drive under the speed limit. Jack rabbit starts and stops use extra fuel and cause excessive wear and tear on tires, brakes, transmissions and engines. Be sure never, never leave the vehicle idling. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Wednesday, June 13, 2012 Be careful Bob Wells, owner of B & N Carpet Care in Peoria, Illinois, told Don Terry recently that a lawyer he cleans for told him that he was handling a lawsuit against another cleaning firm. The cleaner had failed to put out warnings, caution pads or mats after cleaning a customer’s carpet. The customer slipped, fell and was hurt seriously and was suing the cleaning firm. The attorney noted that Bob used warning pads and mentioned why it was a good idea. Bob thought a reminder would be appropriate in the Clene-Times® and in my blog to be sure to use warning signs and walk off mats or better yet, both. Thanks Bob. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Monday, June 11, 2012 Employment numbers Listening to a stock touter talk on a business network the other day, I was taken with how he could sit there with a straight face and praise the number of new jobs being created. According to him there were about 100,000 each month so far this year. I doubt there is any accurate way to calculate the number of people who find a job. But newly unemployed people are easy to count because they get a check. The number of people filing for unemployment compensation for the first time has been 350,000 or more every week for the past year. That's more than a million newly unemployed every month for the past year or ten times the number of new jobs supposedly created. As with all Washington smoke and mirror accounting, the numbers are subject to change and sure enough they revise that mythical job creation number downward each and every month. So what is the real number? I don't think the inept crowd in DC has a clue. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Friday, June 08, 2012 An e-mail from a viewer I think this is a spoof, but here it is anyway: "The IRS sent my tax form back because of the response to this inquiry: 'List all dependents.' I wrote, 12 million illegal immigrants, 12½ million on unemployment compensation, 42 million unemployable people on food stamps, 2 million people in prisons, 435 politicians in Congress, 100 Senators, the White House and hundreds of thousands of bureaucrats in Washington, D.C., not to mention all those county, city and state elected officials and their bloated agencies and departments. Apparently, this was NOT an acceptable answer." Jeremy On second thought Jeremy may have something there. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Wednesday, June 06, 2012 Election Rhetoric Politicians who talk about the recession and describe it as the worst since the great depression have no idea what they're talking about. I was there during the great depression. Things were bad. Starving people of the '30s did not have cars, smart phones or flat screen TVs. They didn't even have a radio or telephone. They didn't get 99 weeks of pay if they were out of a job and instead of stamps to buy groceries they stood in soup and bread lines. Now the government has come up with a new way to pick the pockets of the few who pay taxes. SafeLink Wireless® gives cell phones and air time to "income eligible" customers. Tax dollars are given to a wireless phone provider (more crony capitalism) for welfare recipients to have free cell phones and free air time. The old concept of getting ahead through hard work has been replaced with: "Why should I work, when I can get it for free?" Click on this link to confirm this theft of our tax dollars: https://www.safelinkwireless.com/EnrollmentPublic/Home.aspx ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Monday, June 04, 2012 Business failures Most failures in the cleaning business happen because the owner gets tired of the daily grind and allows the business to be run by subordinates or simply to stagnate. Anything that quits growing begins the dying process. That's a law of nature that applies to people and business. Sometimes failure happens because management loses sight of goals. It takes discipline to make yourself go everyday. Some fail because they let finances, especially payroll, get out of hand. They don't plan for contingencies and a surprise expenditure can sink them. Advice flows like a swift-running stream in the cleaning industry. Be careful from whom you accept counsel. Some of it can be very costly. New business owners will often seek easily attainable knowledge and many times they grow to regret it. Success is really not that complicated or difficult. Bane-Clene® Institute has taught the 15 keys to success since the school's founding in 1978. Spend three days with us and give yourself an emotional lift, come away with a plan for success and enjoy a break from your business. ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com. Friday, June 01, 2012 Constitution under assault Last spring, the Tampa Bay Times devoted half of a front page section to glorify liberal MSNBC commentators. On the left side was an article about our Constitution being outdated and why it doesn't work. The left side seemed appropriate for this "Progressive" piece of literary trash. I can tell the Times why the Constitution is having trouble working. It isn't even considered anymore in Washington. It's ignored by federal judges and is under constant assault by lame street media lackeys like the Times. "Czars" (That's a communist term isn't it?) manage government agencies that aren't even authorized by our Constitution. Add the news media to the mix and there is a full-fledged assault on our founding father's dream for life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Here's a quote from someone who's been under assault for more than 100 years by Progressives: "To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical." Thomas Jefferson ©Bane-Clene® Corporation 2012 Reprinting or electronically publishing this article is strictly prohibited without permission from Bane-Clene Corp. I'd like to hear your comments on this article. Please e-mail me at wfbane@baneclene.com."

"https://baneclene.blogspot.com/2012/06/"

"29/06/2012"

"Saturday, December 28, 2019 Address for Murder by Tonya Kappes Address For Murder (A Mail Carrier Cozy Mystery #2) Good Day!  Tonya Kappes has written more than fifty southern cozy mysteries.  She is best known for stories with southern charm, humor, emotion, and flawed characters.  Tonya lives with her husband in Northern Kentucky. Her house is much quiet now that her four boys have flown the nest. Tonya writes A Killer Coffee Mystery series, A Magical Cures Mystery series, A Camper & Criminal Cozy Mystery series, and A Kenni Lowry Mystery series.  Readers can find Tonya and her books here on Amazon.  Tonya is on Facebook, and Twitter.  You can visit her website for more information about the author, her books and to sign up for her newsletter. Lady Postman circa 1880s Address for Murder by Tonya Kappes returns readers to Sugar Creek Gap, Kentucky.  Bernadette Butler is a mail carrier who cares about her customers.  She takes the time to chat with the residents on her route and help them out when they need a little something extra.  Bernadette heard that Lee Macum is not eating properly, so she picks up some food from her parents’ diner to deliver to him along with the mail.  She also makes sure to have some dog biscuits in her pocket for his fur baby, Buster.  Carla Ramey is the president of the Beautification Committee and she is working diligently to make sure the town will win the Make Kentucky Colorful award.  There will be not be messy yards or weeds on her watch if she has her way.  The only problem is Lee Macum and his yard of “treasures”.  One morning Bernadette notices Buster in the post office parking lot.  She takes him to Lee’s house to find the gate open as well as the front door (uh oh).  Bernadette finds Lee dead in an empty spot in his living room with a stamp in his hand.  She quickly calls 9-1-1 and Sheriff Angie is quick to arrive.  When Bernadette is told that Lee died from foul play, she rallies Vince and the Front Porch Ladies so they can expose the killer.  The Merry Dressmaker: The Progressive Era: A Portrait of a Lady Address for Murder by Tonya Kappes is the second A Mail Carrier Cozy Mystery.   It can be read as a standalone, but I recommend reading Stamped Out first (it is such a charming book).  Tonya Kappes has given us another engaging cozy mystery.  Bernadette Butler is fifty years old and a widow who lives in a farmhouse outside town with her cat, Rowena.  Bernadette is a kind woman who cares about her friends, family and those on her postal route.  If someone is ill, she takes them chicken soup.  Bernadette especially makes sure that the older folks on her route are alright.  She inquires about their health, their families and their day (I wish she was my postal carrier).  When she discovers Buster, Lee Macum’s dog, behind the post office, she adjusts her mail route to return him.  Bernadette finds his gate open and the door open.  She is distressed to find Lee dead in his overcrowded living room.  Bernadette liked the cranky man and is determined to find who murdered him.  She gets assistance from Vince at the senior living facility and the Front Porch Ladies who live on the same street as Lee.  While I could easily identify the guilty party, there were some clever aspects to the crime (I just love a unique whodunit).  I was curious to see how this tale would play out and see Bernadette get justice for Lee.  The Front Porch Ladies are so cute, and they add levity to the story.  Vince uses his FBI contacts and database to help Bernadette get information on her suspects.  Tonya Kappes has an engaging writing style.  It reminds me of talking to an old friend.  I started reading and did not stop until I finished the story.  Romance is in the air for Bernadette with her old friend, Mac Tabor.  The trick is seeing if they can transition their friendship into a relationship.  I liked the scenes with Rowena and Buster.  The author captured how cats and dogs react when they first meet.  The dogs are excited while the cat hisses and raises its back with fur standing on end.  There are lovely heartwarming moments in Address for Murder along with a special surprise.  I look forward to reading the next installment in A Mail Carrier Cozy Mystery series.  Address for Murder is a delightful story with swift scuttlebutt, a cute canine, an astonishing announcement, unwanted weeds, and a compassionate mail carrier.   Getting the Mail to Your Home Is Way More Complex Than You Might Think Address for Murder can be purchased here* (Amazon UK).  It is on Kindle Unlimited for those who are members or thinking about joining.  Stamped Out is also available on Amazon (and through Kindle Unlimited).  Thank you for reading my review today.  Since tomorrow is Sunday (the day I share books that I was unable to when they were released), I am featuring The Liverpool Girls by Pam Howes.  I hope that you have an enchanting day. Take care and Happy Reading! Kris The Avid Reader Give the coziest gift, our long gray sweater cardigan, this holiday season. This versatile patterned sweater is perfect for relaxing by the fireplace or to dress up for the workplace. Find the perfect gift for every Instagram personality on your list at over Elle | Banana Republic *This post contains affiliate links. No comments: Post a Comment"

"https://bibliophileandavidreader.blogspot.com/2019/12/address-for-murder-by-tonya-kappes.html"

"28/12/2019"

"Tuesday, February 25, 2014 How long, O Lord ...? I've been putting off writing for myself about church and state and same-sex marriage. I've exploded, once, on the Primus' blog; now I think it's time to work out what is, a couple of weeks on, still explosive. And my main feeling, reading and listening, picking up rumours about the SEC process with the issue and so on, is that I'm ashamed. I haven't walked out of the church - not yet, anyway - but I'm not happy about claiming kinship with people who can write, carefully and thoughtfully, something like this: But it produces an interesting situation for churches and faith groups who, like the Scottish Episcopal Church, have a historic position expressed in our Canons – or church law – that marriage is between one man and one woman for life. That is our position. We expect our clergy and our members to acknowledge and respect it – even if in some cases they do not agree with it and aspire to change it. To change it would need a significant process over two years in our General Synod and would require two thirds majorities. I wasn't brought up an Episcopalian. People who know me well know that my upbringing didn't really encourage anything so rash as faith, so that my confirmation at the age of 28 was actually an act of rebellion (sad, isn't it?). At that time, the Grey Book version of the Scottish Liturgy was in its infancy and a phone call from George our then bishop told me, as the youngest member of the old Provincial Synod,  not to vote for women priests. (At that same Synod, our then rector bemoaned the time spent discussing this as "unimportant".) It's as well to remember these things, and to remember that there are still people in the church who prefer to pray in Jacobean English and accept that "Father knows best" at every turn. Why is it as well to remember? Think about it. It seems like another life to me. The young woman who stood up at Synod and demanded clarification over deaconesses who were women and deacons who held a post to which women could never aspire - that was me. At that same time the mother of someone who became a bishop in the SEC told me that it was women like me who should be going for ordination, and I was amazed. But in global terms, it's not so long ago, is it? To be precise, it's half a lifetime. And now things have changed where before they seemed immutable. I have been going to the current General Synod for too long, as an alternate and then as an elected representative, and it's time I quit. But I long for someone to stand up and say this. Two years is nothing if there is hope at the end of it. Two years is nothing if people look seriously at a canon about a word - "marriage": stay with me - and realise that it is only a word and that it's not the word of God but a human word about a human institution that has existed since a time when people were ignorant of genetic differences. The Primus says that we expect our clergy and our members to acknowledge and respect this historic position. No. I respect that it is history. Four hundred years ago the Church excommunicated Galileo. That's history too. We progress. We know now that people don't choose their sexuality - and a moment's thought would show the lunacy of supposing that any Christian would choose to adopt a lifestyle that would bring them so much pain and exclusion. Bit like choosing to be a woman, until recently ... So are we going to be hung up on a historical fallacy while loving couples wait to have their union celebrated in the church they still - and God must wonder why - adhere to? Because the faith I still cling to encourages me to have hope, I still cherish a shred of optimism that someone in a position of authority will have the courage to lead the SEC back to where it was some years ago - and on, into a place where society will have less justification in consigning us to the scrap-heap of irrelevance. And then, perhaps, I will feel less ashamed of the church that brought me, all these years ago, to God. Friday, February 21, 2014 A high old time ... Before it vanishes into the dream-like recesses of memory, a few words on our January holiday. We were walking with a holiday company called HF - no reason for originally choosing this lot other than the name, familiar from my parents' tales of pre-war holidays in the Highlands, but now a firm favourite. We had a week in Gran Canaria, staying in Puerto de Mogàn, which is apparently one of the prettiest of the former fishing villages on the south coast. As I've found on previous winter breaks in the Canaries, I think I would soon have been bored had we spent the entire week in this pretty village - there was a beach, and it was sunny, and there were cafés and tapas bars, but ... But in the interior of the island there were mountains. A fantastic, volcanic landscape of huge calderas and bright green and red streaks of volcanic deposits, of steep-sided valleys and beautiful villages high on the shoulders of the mountains, where the almond-blossom told of much longer hours of sunshine than their opposite numbers far below. We spent five days walking there on wonderful paths - not your Munro-baggers' paths to a summit here or a distant peak there, but real paths built for communication, for mules and donkeys and people to pass between the valleys and the villages. Dramatic balcony paths used the split between two layers of rock to creep across the precipitous hillside; the occasional levada carried water across dry high plateaux. And we were able to walk here, to traverse ridges and ascend peaks and come down in quite another valley from where we had started, because we were being guided and because we knew that the mini-bus would turn up for us in some village square at an appointed time and whisk us back to our hotel. I loved every minute of it. The walks, as promised, went on getting better as the week progressed, culminating in a hike to the dramatic Roque Nublo in the geographic centre of the island - we could see El Teide on Tenerife floating in the blue west from our path as we walked.  Our two leaders - for there are always two groups, so that the less energetic can choose a less strenuous option - were wonderful, setting just the right pace so that we progressed without feeling pressured, covering the miles with an easy stride that left plenty of energy for the hilarity that seemed to accompany us wherever we went. (It might give some flavour of said hilarity that one day was occupied by an argument as to whether or not Paul was riding a beast at the time of his conversion on the road to Damascus ...) Most of our pick-up stops had a café, but whatever the day brought it ended in icy cold beer before we changed out of our boots and dusty clothes. We would march into our hotel bar like something out of a Western, and line up along the counter. Then the inevitable baths/showers/cups of tea/making sandwiches for the next day before the evening briefing and the scamper down to the neighbouring hotel for dinner. (Our hotel, where we had whole apartments as opposed to mere bedrooms, was refurbishing its dining room). We ate prodigiously and went to bed early. And then we'd rise in the chilly dawn (for it was chilly at 6.30am!) and start all over again. We must have walked between 50-60 miles that week, and climbed or ascended several thousands of feet (people kept talking, confusingly, in metres ...). We were fit, and we all caught the sun despite our shady hats. I loved every minute of it. And I've just booked another HF holiday for May ..."

"https://blethers.blogspot.com/2014/02/"

"25/02/2014"

"Friday, January 9, 2015 Texas Cowboy Blog Tour Featuring Carolyn Brown and Linda Broday They are tough, hard working, and have the manners their mama gave them. Is it no wonder that readers are in love with the ultimate hero—cowboys. But just because these men are strong and protective doesn’t mean that loving them is all smooth sailing. Today we’ve got Western romance authors Carolyn Brown and Linda Broday to describe the hardest thing about falling in love with a cowboy—and what makes this type of hero worth the trouble. Take it away ladies! Linda Broday: I think the single thing that makes it hard to fall in love with a cowboy is his god-awful stubborn independence. He thinks he doesn't need anyone in his life because he can do it all, which is pretty true but it gets awful lonely, just him and his horse and maybe a dog or two. But, when a woman does get his full  attention...let's just say that the result takes her breath. No one is more tender or gentler than a cowboy and they know lots of secrets about how to pleasure their cowgirl. Those sweet nothings they whisper in her ear can hypnotize, luring her down a sinful path and she doesn't mind one bit. Oh yeah, it's definitely worth it —especially my newest cowboy hero Cooper Thorne from Texas Mail Order Bride. He represents a tough cowboy at his best—and doesn’t know the meaning of the word quit! Carolyn Brown: In my newest release, The Trouble with Texas Cowboys, it is difficult for Jill to fall for a cowboy because she’s just come out of a disastrous relationship with a cowboy. Sawyer is so different from her previous boyfriend, and yet Jill doesn't trust herself to give him a chance after being blind to the faults of the last fellow. One thing for sure is that she has to trust him a little bit from the first day since they absolutely need each other to keep from being eaten up by the feud that is taking over Burnt Boot, Texas. So maybe the hardest thing is learning to trust the heart and listen to it. But then a cowboy does tend to be stubborn as a cross-eyed Missouri mule. And even though he’s handsome and funny, there is that little part of his heart that he keeps locked away and doesn’t share. Book and Author Information Title: The Trouble With Texas Cowboys Author: Carolyn Brown Release Date: January 6, 2015 Genre: Contemporary (Western) Romance Summary Can a girl ever have too many cowboys? No sooner does pint-sized spitfire Jill Cleary set foot on Fiddle Creek Ranch than she finds herself in the middle of a hundred-year-old feud. Quaid Brennan and Tyrell Gallagher are both tall, handsome, and rich...and both are courting Jill to within an inch of her life. She's doing her best to give these feuding ranchers equal time-too bad it's dark-eyed Sawyer O'Donnell who makes her blood boil and her hormones hum... Buy Links Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1B10J58 Author Biography Carolyn Brown is a New York Times bestselling author with more than sixty books published, and credits her eclectic family for her humor and writing ideas. Carolyn was born in Texas but grew up in southern Oklahoma where she and her husband, Charles, a retired English teacher, make their home. They have three grown children and enough grandchildren to keep them young. Social Networking Links Website: http://carolynlbrown.com  Title: Texas Mail Order Bride Author: Linda Broday Release Date: January 6, 2015 Genre: Historical (Western) Romance Summary Rancher Cooper Thorne thinks his life is finally on an even keel. But when mail-order bride Delta Dandridge steps off the stagecoach and claims he sent for her, he scrambles to set her straight. The tempestuous woman makes him see red and also challenges all his vows to remain a bachelor. It turns out Delta Dandridge is going to set Cooper Thorne straight about a few things... Buy Links Barnes and Noble: http://bit.ly/1AOk7Sg Author Biography A New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, Linda Broday writes western historical romance. She lives in the Texas Panhandle on the Llano Estacado where the American Indian and Comancheros once roamed. She’s always been fascinated with cowboys and the American West way of life because to her these men and women embody strength. Her desire to keep history alive is what drives her to write unforgettable characters. Social Networking Links *** Rafflecopter Giveaway a Rafflecopter giveaway 14 comments: Two wonderful writers featured here. I just finished Carolyn's latest Burnt Boot book and oh yes, it is a winner! I'll have to put Linda's book on my tbr list. ReplyDelete I love Carolyn's books & of course, will read this book! I haven't read Lynda' books either, but this does sound good! ReplyDelete Replies Hey, Sharlene! It's good to see a familiar face and I hope you like Sawyer and Jill's story! Delete I have no idea who my favorite Texan is. Lol. I love small town romance that take place in Texas. Love Carolyn's books but Lynda is a new author to me. ReplyDelete Replies Hi, Lori: Small towns have a pulse beat all of their own and it makes them so much fun to write about. Put them smack in the big grand state of Texas which is still a little on the wild side, and it's even more fun. Delete Looks like two great books to be added to my TBR pile! I don't have a favorite Texan. ReplyDelete Replies Thank you Allie...strange thing. I'm writing the very last chapter of a cowboy book today and the heroine's name is Alora Raine but everyone calls her Allie! Seeing your name here put a smile on my face! Delete My favorite Texan is Matthew McConaughey!!!!! ReplyDelete Replies Danielle, now that's a swagger and a southern drawl that would turn any woman's eye! Delete Who could go wrong with two great cowboy books. I was never a cowboy reader, but about 5 years ago I got introduced by Kim and I am loving them. ReplyDelete Replies Thank you, Kim, for introducing Terry to cowboy books! Sawyer thanks you. Jill thanks you. Loretta thanks you. Jackson thanks you...you get the idea! LOL! Delete John Wayne,Tommy Lee Jones,Chuck Norris, Antonio Banderas, and Patrick Swayze are among my fave Texans, Some of whom "date" me as we're close to the same age. :-) I also can't forget all the old TV westerns that I used to devour and still watch reruns of: Big Valley, The Virginian, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Maverick, etc. I'm not sure the movie stars were from Texas, but they portrayed Texans. And my paternal forebears are from Texas (Farmersville and Fort Worth), so I can't forget them! :-) I'm just glad that there are some wonderful contemporary and historical western romance authors who write stories that I love to read: you, Carolyn, Kaki Warner, Catherine Anderson, Kathleen Ball, Cora Seton, Paty Jager, Caroline Clemmons, to name just a few. I love to read about cowboys and their lifestyle, that's all there is to it. Thanks for the post! jdh2690@gmail.com ReplyDelete Thanks so much for coming on over everyone... and to Miz Carolyn for stopping by as well.... I love you peeps!!! ReplyDelete"

"https://book-obsessed-chicks.blogspot.com/2015/01/texas-cowboy-blog-tour-featuring.html?showComment=1420830122259"

"09/01/2015"

"Monday, February 8, 2016 #BOC CHEERLEADERS FOR ROMANCE PRESENTS ~ KIM LOWE of SOS ALOHA ~ Welcome to Book Obsessed Chicks newest feature, CHEERLEADERS FOR ROMANCE. Today we have the exceptional blogger and all around romance advocate, Kim Lowe. I cannot tell you how much I adore this woman. Her enthusiasm and professionalism always have me in awe and I yearn to be so as well. I've only known Kim for a few short years, but it seems like we have been friends for a lifetime. She has so graciously had me in her home, given me and a few of my #BOC ladies the tour of Washington D.C. and spent time with me at several conferences.  Kim's SOS Aloha blog is one of my favorite blogs where Kim doesn't miss a day of posting. She is always willing to help an author out and is tireless when it comes to promoting the romance community. For years, Kim has planned and executed the SOS AMERICA MILITARY SALUTE at the RT Convention without ever asking for any accolades, even though she is very deserving of them. She is the BEST and one well deserving CHEERLEADER! Please tell us a bit about yourself… I grew up in Miami; attended high school in Clearwater; and college in Tampa.  I traveled the world as an Air Force officer then as an Air Force spouse.  I fell in love with Hawaii when we lived on Pearl Harbor.  My husband recently retired near Baltimore, Maryland.  I like to think I bring the Aloha Spirit in Charm City. When did you fall in love with the romance genre? I was living in the Netherlands when my husband worked for NATO.  I was cleaning out the American Spouses’ Thrift Shop when I spotted a blue cover with red tartan sash – Cathy Maxwell’s THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT.   I decided to read the book to find out why “bodice rippers” were popular.  I was hooked. What made you decide to help spread the word about romance? I created my blog, SOS Aloha, while living in Hawaii.  I felt it was a way to stay connected to readers across the Pacific!  Who are your favorite authors? Too many to name … but I adore Cathy Maxwell’s laugh.   Kandy Shepherd’s optimism.   And Sharon Hamilton’s dedication to military families.  Do you have any advice for others who want to be romance cheerleaders? Find your voice and just do it.   Post your reviews on social media (pick one or two – don’t stress about more) and soon others will find you. What new books have you been shouting out about lately? I am a slow reader so I am always months behind reading new releases.   Besides romance, I like cozy mysteries, the zanier, the better.  For short term, I can’t wait to read Jill Marie Landis’ HAWAII FIVE UH-OH, Book Five in her Tiki Goddess series set on her home island of Kaui. For the summer, I am looking forward to Laura Levine’s MURDER HAS NINE LIVES, Book 14 in her Jaine Austen series; Jaine is a freelance writer with a pampered cat named Prozac. What do you do when you’re not shouting out about great books? I also write a travel blog, Aloha On My Mind, sharing pictures of travel, whether it’s a day trip to DC or a family vacation to Florida.  I also volunteer with the Boy Scouts – my oldest son is an Eagle Scout (and college freshman); my youngest son is a Life Scout (and high school freshman). Your Top 10 in Romance…. Impossible!  But I’ll name a few favorites! For historical romance, Cathy Maxwell’s THE MARRIAGE CONTRACT; THE SCOTTISH WITCH; and THE DEVIL’S HEART, all set in my beloved Scotland. For contemporary romance, Michele Gorman’s MATCH ME IF YOU CAN, THE CURVY GIRLS CLUB, and PERFECT GIRL, all set in London. For Hawaii set books, Jill Marie Landis’ MAI TAI ONE ON, Gina Robinson’s THE SPY WHO LEFT ME, and Dee DeTarsio’s HAOLE WOOD. For “paranormal” romance, Susanna Kearsley’s THE SHADOWY HORSES, THE SPLENDOUR FALLS, and SEASON OF STORM – she offers modern heroines in historical places with mysterious situations.  12 comments: Fabulous interview, Kim and Kimberly!! Yay for cheerleaders!! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and lighting the way ;) ReplyDelete Great interview with lovely Kim, Kimberley! ReplyDelete Kim is an inspiration to us all! Thanks for the great interview! ReplyDelete Wonderful interview from two beautiful ladies! ReplyDelete Thank you for a great interview with Kim. I learned things that I didn't know. I always admired how Kim managed to keep up her daily blog and do all the other things that she fits into her life. Well done Kim. I feel so lazy compared to you and it makes me think that I should do more than I do. ............LOL ReplyDelete I really enjoyed the interview, added the Jaine Austen mysteries to me wishlist. Love cats so am curious about Prozac. ReplyDelete I am a fan of both of the SOS Aloha blogs! Great information! Thanks for the interview! ReplyDelete I love the SOS Aloha blog. Great interview. Thanks for sharing. ReplyDelete That was such a great interview. I truly appreciate the advice, too. I post reviews and often feel guilty that I don't post on more sites. Thank you for easing my conscience. It was so wonderful to learn more about you, too. How wonderful to have lived in so many beautiful places. I also love that you were first an officer, then you were traveling the world as a military wife. Love that. ReplyDelete I love that interview it gives me more insight into the kind of person you are which just confirms my belief; you're a fabulous woman ReplyDelete I love that interview it gives me more insight into the kind of person you are which just confirms my belief; you're a fabulous woman ReplyDelete"

"https://book-obsessed-chicks.blogspot.com/2016/02/boc-cheerleaders-for-romance-presents_8.html?showComment=1455466125229"

"08/02/2016"

"Tuesday, February 12, 2013 Cover Reveal: Accession by Terah Edun Blurb Teaser: She will be more powerful than the Blood could have ever imagined. 

 He will not claim a mortal Queen and will do anything to stop her. Their battle will begin in September 2013. -- Topics: Magic, Fantasy, Romance, High School Studio: MacBook Pro 13 Director: Terah Edun Cast: Amelie Thompson, Richard LeCross Genre: Witchy Romantic Thriller Book Release Date: In stores Friday the 13th, September 2013 Rating: PG-13 No comments: Post a Comment"

"https://bookwhirlwind.blogspot.com/2013/02/cover-reveal-accession-by-terah-edun.html"

"12/02/2013"

"Friday, November 26, 2004 Friday Five:Part Three Well this anniversary count down is rivaling 'who shot J.R' and the finale to 'Friends', isn't it!!! Just wait til next year when we hit the big 25 :o) 1. Where did you go for your honeymoon? 2. What was the best advice you were given? 3. What is your best advice to newlyweds? 4. What famous couple are you most like? 5. How do you celebrate your anniversary? _______________ A verse that teaches and teaches and teaches... Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek it's own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; -1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Try that verse with "I am patient, I am kind, I am not jealous..." _____________ Patrick and I are looking forward to a quiet dinner and a movie tonight... and many more years of love and laughter. Donna No comments: Post a Comment Hello. So nice to see you. Would you like to leave a comment? Be very kind."

"https://booshay.blogspot.com/2004/11/friday-fivepart-three-well-this.html"

"26/11/2004"

"Dissapointing News Not writing much because i just got home from surgery & very groggy with a ton of pain. As I wrote before we were going to try to remove these awful stents this time. When Dr. K tested to be sure that my ureters would drain on their own there was absolutely no draining going on at all. So, the stents went back in which really sucks! Im in a lot of pain and pretty dissapointed. Next we are going to take out the left Kidney. This will probably happen sometime this year. I'll be writing more later. 20 comments: Chic Runner said... Thinking of you right now. I know you are struggling but I will be praying for you and the pain to subside. You are strong inspiration to many! Jonathan Jay said... Thinking of you and hoping you feel better soon. Livestrong && hang on o HOPE! Mrs. Realife said... Lots of thoughts and prayers going your way -- This is disappointing, but not the end -- You are so strong and a great inspiration to so many -- Keep your chin up :) Kerry said... Thinking of you and saying a few extra prayers in you behalf. Hang in there. Sandra said... Oh, so sorry to hear this. Praying for you dear. xoxo Jennifer said... I'm sorry to hear things didn't go the way you planned, but you're in my thoughts and prayers. If there is anything you need, please feel free to ask!! Obsessedwithlife said... I am so sorry to hear this. Lots of prayers! Sandi said... I am so so sorry. I feel so disappointed for you because I know the hopes you had for this to work and to feel normal. I hope you get to feeling better soon. Try not to feel too down about it. We are all thinking about you out here. ~Mrs. Guru~ said... Keeping you in my prayers. Hang in there. Me said... Cr@p. I was so hopeful that this would work out for you. Sorry to get the added news of the kidney too, though if it means one less stent... Donny donated one of his in 2006, so if you want to drop us a line please don't hesitate. Will they be able to remove the kidney laproscopically? -Rena Me said... ps. That should read 'donated one of his kidney's'. Sorry, its been a long day at work. Jettychan said... Im so sorry Meaghan! I am sending you my best thoughts and I am thinking of you!! I know it will get better soon! Love Love Jettychan Kelley with Amy's Angels said... Keep your chin up, kiddo. : ) Anjanette Young said... Praying for you. {{{hugs}}} Michelle said... oh boy, I'm so sorry. that's awful. o2bhiking said... I am saddened to hear this and am thinking of you. Stay strong, but I know that is hard right now. Jenn M said... Thinking of you. That really sucks. cancersucks said... I'm so sorry your surgery didn't work as you wanted...that sucks! I hope you are managing the pain. Thinking of you so so much! Juliana said... Those stents are the worse...hang in there! Anonymous said... cheap wedding gowns, discount bridal gowns, China wedding dresses, discount designer wedding dresses, China wedding online store, plus size wedding dresses, cheap informal wedding dresses, junior bridesmaid dresses, cheap bridesmaid dresses, maternity bridesmaid dresses, discount flower girl gowns, cheap prom dresses, party dresses, evening dresses, mother of the bride dresses, special occasion dresses, cheap quinceanera dresses, hot red wedding dresses"

"https://cancerlost.blogspot.com/2009/03/dissapointing-news.html?showComment=1238453700000"

"01/03/2009"

"Saturday, 24 May 2014 CAS Baby Cards Hi all, The weather at the moment is pretty rubbish for the end of May, so I stayed inside today and spent a little time crafting. I've made a baby card for two CAS challenges.  Less is More are asking for DIE CUTS and Addicted to CAS are looking for TEXTURE ... I cut a large heart aperture using a Sizzix die, then embossed with large dots.  I then used my two new Memory Box dies to cut the heart and sentiment. Waste not, want not, I used the die cut heart to make another (less CAS) baby card.  Looking at it I should have placed the sentiment slightly higher, but hey ho, it's stuck down now! Lol. Okay that's me for today but I would just like to finish by saying a big THANK YOU to all you lovely Limette ladies who paid me a visit last week.  Your kind comments were much appreciated! Okay dokey, bye for now Take care Suze xx 40 comments: Lynne said... Wow Suze, your cards are fabulous. The LiM one is gorgeous and perfect for the challenge. Simply beautiful. Lynne xxx Von said... I'd say you've aced it Suze :) Von ♥ Jan Ltc said... I adore these cards especially the wow & pink one xx Jan Valerie-Jael said... Gorgeous cards, just gorgeous! Sorry to hear about your bad weather! Hugs, Valerie Viv said... Two beauties Suze - love the pink one though! Craft-E-Place said... Two simply stunning cards. Elaine Dotty Jo said... Two gorgeous cards! Jo x Helen J said... Beautiful cards. Kathyk said... Two simply delightful cards Kathyk SYLVIA-ANNE said... Two gorgeous cards Suze - love the heart aperture on the baby card, and well done for using the die-cut on a second card! Thanks so much for joining us again at ATCAS - Sylvia x Vicky said... Beautiful cards!!!! :)x Sazzle Dazzle said... Awww so elegant, sweet and stylish baby cards and great use of your dies. Thanks for taking part. Sarah Less is More Karen Dunbrook said... wonderfully done.. Anonymous said... Suze, your card is so precious. Just fitting for a baby. Both of them are pretty but I'm a sucker for the first one. That pink just pops. Jenni's Jems said... Great to see you back making cards again, and two really beautifulones at that but my heart (sorry)belongs to the first one simply gorgeous!!x Josie said... I love these cards, simple but sophisticated! Is the school fayre next weekend? Keep It Sweet and Simple said... I love how you used both parts from your heart die. 2 very sweet 'baby' cards. Caroline xxx laurie said... Iv'e seen this pinned a bunch of times on pinterest already...now I know who did it! Great card! Vicki Dutcher said... Fabulous! Such dual sweet cards! Thanks for joining in at ATCAS! Chrissie said... These are both fabulous,but the first one has the edge for me! Thanks so much Chrissie "Less is More" Beth said... Such pretty cards! I love the simplicity of them :-) Beth xx G Peplow said... Lovely delicate baby cards, these are fab Suze !! :D x Darnell said... You really stole MY heart this time, Suze! That top CAS card took my breath away!! And I love your card using the negative cut, too. Thank you so much for playing in the texture challenge at ATCAS!! Hugs, Darnell Anonymous said... Ms bain how delightful what a super dooper and thoroughly all around gorgeous card ! Thanks a bunch and a half for joining in with us at ATCAS with this beauty. Marie Anne said... Suze these are both adorable, love the embossing with the heart aperture, so stylish Thanks so much for joining LIM this week Anne Less is More Designer Anne said... Suze these are both adorable, love the embossing with the heart aperture, so stylish Thanks so much for joining LIM this week Anne Less is More Designer lililindsay said... Fabulous cards Suze. The first is perfectly understated and I love the colours in the second. I have a box of "waste nots "!! Loll said... Hi Suze. Lots of gorgeous texture from the embossing and layers on your card. Adorable baby cards! Thanks for joining us at ATCAS. Jen Nelson said... love them!! and love how you made the two cards Love how you used the dies for this weeks challenge. Thanks for joining us at Less Is More Jen xx Jen Nelson said... love them!! and love how you made the two cards Love how you used the dies for this weeks challenge. Thanks for joining us at Less Is More Jen xx Jen Nelson said... love them!! and love how you made the two cards Love how you used the dies for this weeks challenge. Thanks for joining us at Less Is More Jen xx Jen Nelson said... love them!! and love how you made the two cards Love how you used the dies for this weeks challenge. Thanks for joining us at Less Is More Jen xx Unknown said... Two gorgeous cards with lots of texture! Thanks so much for joining our challenge at ATCAS. Karen x Viv said... Two fabulous cards Suze :) Viv xx Aileen said... Both simply gorgeous. Love the first and those memory box dies are brill. x Karen said... I love your cards! Congrats on the win at ATCAS! I'll be CASing this one shortly! Darnell said... Popping back to congratulate you for being showcased at ATCAS, Suze! So well-deserved!! Hugs, Darnell Mau xx said... What gorgeous cards Suze, they are both stunning! the Very CAS Pink on white one is especially nice. hugs Mau xx well done on being showcased. Janet a.k.a. swanlady21 said... Congrats on being showcased. Simply wonderful! And you inspired me too. Unknown said... Love the Baby card with the hearts the pink thing holding the heart what did you use?"

"https://cant-stop-crafting.blogspot.com/2014/05/cas-baby-cards.html?showComment=1401006041390"

"24/05/2014"

"Bubble, Bubble, Toil and Trouble The WaPo has a nice picture story featuring an Arctic lake that's leaking methane like crazy. Methane, of course, is a greenhouse gas that's far more potent than CO2 but has a relatively short half life in the atmosphere - over twenty years it is about 85 times as potent as CO2, but most of it is converted to CO2 in less than 100 years. Melting permafrost is a source of greenhouse gases, but this lake's methane has a chemical signature of carbon that's been buried for a long time, and it's feared that this may be a signature of a major reservoir.  If these turn out to be common, they could be a powerful positive feedback for global warming. Comments Popular posts from this blog Merit, Value, and Justice This Movie, Again Malthus and the Disintegration of Empires."

"https://capitalistimperialistpig.blogspot.com/2018/09/bubble-bubble-toil-and-trouble.html"

"01/09/2018"