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Saturday, December 4, 2010

Syracuse Manages to Survive NC State's Upset Scare

It was a game I was worried about since the schedule came out. Syracuse at home taking on the North Carolina State Wolf Pack. In the first ten minutes or so of the game, it appeared there was no need to fear. Then Dion Waiters kneed C.J. Williams in the testicles and the Wolf Pack found their stroke from 3. Then things got hairy.

North Carolina State turned a 13 point Syracuse advantage into just a 2 point lead with 5:24 left in the first half. Syracuse would buckle down on defense (while their shots would not fall) and thanks to a Scoop Jardine jumper with time expiring in the first half, Syracuse entered the locker room up 38-34 at the break.

Scoop Jardine lead the Orangemen with 23 points on 7 of 21 shooting (2 of 8 from 3-point range). Scoop Jardine made his first two 3-point attempts, and then missed his next six from long distance. Additionally, he grabbed six rebounds (many of them at key moments of the game) and had six assists along with just 1 turnover. However, Scoop constantly put up ugly shots and threw two very ill-advised alley-oop passes during really questionable moments of the first half.

There were long stretches of time during both halves where Syracuse couldn't buy a bucket, and often we saw Scoop Jardine forcing up off balanced shots and wild runners in the lane. We are going to need to cut down on that if Syracuse wants to win in the Big East.

Rick Jackson scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds, while adding 2 assists, 4 steals, 1 block and 2 turnovers. Syracuse was extremely careful with the basketball in this game, only turning the ball over 5 times compared to 17 for the Wolf Pack.

The most disappointing area of this game was rebounding. As North Carolina State somehow out-rebounded Syracuse 34-29 on the night. Fab Melo grabbed 3 rebounds, many of them early, as he only played 14 minutes. He started the game red hot on offense, scoring 5 points including a conventional 3-point play to open the game. He was a non-factor in the 2nd half. Baye Moussa Keita played 17 minutes grabbing 5 rebounds and adding 3 points, however he did commit 4 fouls.

Jim Boeheim will certainly not be pleased with this game's overall performance. Until Syracuse finds a way to play a full 40 minute game, they will continue to have nail-biting finishes. While the defense is good enough to keep Syracuse in most games, they simply can not afford to go long periods of time without a field goal not just on Tuesday against Michigan St., but once Big East Conference play starts as well. Even the bottom feeding Big East teams will be able to hang around with the Orangemen if they can't make a simple jump shot for long stretches of the ball game.

On Tuesday, Syracuse will travel 4 hours to New York City to play in the fabled Madison Square Garden against Tom Izzo's Michigan State Spartans. Michigan St. was pre-season #2 team in the nation, and will certainly be looking to re-establish their national ranking with a win against currently #7 Syracuse.

Michigan State is coming off a trip to the Maui Invitational in Hawaii two weeks ago where they were defeated by then un-ranked UCONN. The Spartans followed that road-trip up with a trip to Duke last week, where the were defeated 84-79. On Tuesday, they will head back out on the road and make a trip to New York City. That's a lot of traveling in a very short amount of time.

With the win, Syracuse improves to 8-0 on the season. North Carolina State is now 4-3. The Orangemen's average margin of victory is a mere 11 points, against the likes of Canisius, Detroit, William & Mary and Cornell to name a few. As a team, the Cuse is shooting 43.6% from the field, which ranks 180th overall in the nation.

photo courtesy of

Zach Menchini said...

i think we can all agree that this team is due for a fall, and soon. let's just get it over with.

Michael Isserlis said...

well, every team loses eventually. no one is going to run the table. this isn't woman's basketball. syracuse will lose some games but their defense is good enough to keep them in it down to the end. just need to limit the bad shots, and take HIGHER percentage shots. then we will be fine.

Anonymous said...

MSU plays some dirty streetball and they can certainly hit the 3. We'll need to step up several parts of our game to be competitive. MSU isn't going to lose to a team that's 180th in shooting but that's not the only part. When Scoop is missing shot after shot jboe needs to pull him to chill that asshole out.

Michael Isserlis said...

i dont know about "asshole" but i was screaming for boeheim to take scoop out after his 3rd straight missed off balance long range jumper in 3 straight possessions. kids gotta feed inside and stop forcing up bad shots! I understand other players aren't going out of their way to shoot the ball but there is a THIRTY-FIVE second shot clock! use it!


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Thursday, 16 April 2009

Life before Birth

I need to take the original copy of my birth certificate to work next week when I start my new job (hooray guys! I, in this economic climate of all times, have found a NEW JOB!).

I got my mother to dig it up and she told me she usually didn't allow it out of her filing cabinet.

"Guard it with your life!" she said.

This struck me as somewhat strange. No, I thought, my life is going to come before my birth certificate!

In fact, doesn't most people's?

Alexis, Baron von Harlot said...

YAY for new job. If you lose your birth certificate, you can get a new one. It's a messy application process, but still, I'd put your life first.

Maria said...

It's nice to find someone with similar priorities.

I did have some visions of my funeral with me outstretched in a coffin and the birth certificate tucked lovingly in my hands, or my parents weeping saying "We've lost a daughter, but at least we have her birth certificate! Thank the Lord for that!"

Maria said...

Oh, and thanks for the congrats on the new job. I haven't started yet (obviously) but the boss seems to be nice. I think I got in largely because I said a lot of sweet things about how great Latin is. He's apparently a Classics buff.

TimT said...

If you lose your birth certificate, do you have to be born again to get another one? I hear the church could arrange that.

TimT said...

"Through the POWAH of the LOOOORD you are REBORN in CHRIST JAY-ESUS! AHHHHHHHHMEN! And don't forget to donate generously when the collection plate comes around, and collect your birth certificate at the front door!"

Maria said...

I think some similar jokes were made when I crashed the car on GOOD FRIDAY!

Just wait for three days, maria, just wait.

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OSU Today

Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2009

Today in the News Media

Today in the News Media is a synopsis of some of the most prominent coverage of OSU people and programs. Inclusion of any item constitutes neither an endorsement nor a critique, but rather is intended only to make the OSU community aware of significant items in the media.

A New Look beneath the Waves: Ocean Observatories Initiative Gets Underway (NSF)
Giving scientists never-before-seen views of the world’s oceans, the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Consortium for Ocean Leadership (COL) have signed a Cooperative Agreement that supports the construction and initial operation of the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI). Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and its partners, Oregon State University and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, are responsible for coastal and global moorings and their associated autonomous vehicles.

Tsunami hit Indonesia, Samoa: Is Oregon next? (KATU)
Researchers at Oregon State University who have studied and mapped in detail the subsea terrain near Samoa and Tonga in the South Pacific Ocean say this event – which appears to have killed 100 or more people in the resulting tsunami – happened deep beneath the sea in a complex geological site where two of the Earth’s great plates collide.

Use more salt, but eat less of it (Mail Tribune)
Sharon Johnson, an associate professor in health and human sciences at Oregon State University, talks about ways to use salt that don’t involve eating it.

Vitamin C Provides Powerful Health Benefits (Natural News)
Recent research conducted by the Linus Pauling Institute has discovered breakthrough evidence that Vitamin C has a positive effect in the prevention of heart disease and cancer.

OSU, British teams to debate legalization of drugs
(Democrat Herald)

The Oregon State University forensics team will host its third annual public debate against the British national debate team on Wednesday, Oct. 7, in the Withycombe Hall lab theater on campus.

New book outlines impact of tall fescue (Democrat Herald)

A new book co-edited by an Oregon State University professor sheds light on the importance of tall fescue, a grass grown in Oregon for seed and used around the world for turf and forage.

New public health class engages students in current policy (Barometer)
In the midst of the current debate over national health care reform, OSU’s College of Health and Human Sciences is looking to engage students in the discussion of public health policy in Oregon by offering a new course this fall entitled Public Health Policy and Politics.

OSU approves four new degrees (Democrat Herald)
The Oregon State Board of Higher Education has approved four new bachelor degrees for the College of Business at Oregon State University at its recent meeting.

The OSU Women’s Network presents: Hitting the snooze button on your tenure clock: What does it mean to ‘extend’ your tenure clock?  Panelists: Becky Warner, Vice Provost for Academic Affairs & International Programs, Jane Ishmael-Leid, Associate Professor – College of Pharmacy, and Deborah Rubel, Associate Professor -College of Education.  It takes place from 11: 30 am to 1 p.m. in the Willamette Industries Seminar Rooms, third floor, Valley Library. This event is free and is open to all.

The Austin Entrepreneurship Program presents The Enterprise Challenge Networking Night, 6 to 7:30 p.m. in the Trysting Tree Conference Room, Weatherford Hall. The Enterprise Challenge Network Night is the kick-off event to The 2010 Enterprise Challenge, the OSU business plan competition, where prize money totals $17,500. Here is an opportunity to meet other students, hear ideas, get help with your idea, connect with fellow entrepreneurs and find out what The Enterprise Challenge is all about. All Students are welcome. For more information contact Mary McKillop at mary.mckillop@bus.oregonstate.edu

Upcoming Events

This week

NEW! OSU’s Office of the President and Career Services present Oregon State University Internship Symposium: Creating meaningful experiential education for students while meeting employers’ demand for a well prepared workforce, 3 to 5 p.m. Oct. 7, LaSells Stewart Center, Ag Sciences room. Internships are an important aspect of the Career & Professional Development Community at Oregon State University; employers and students have a great stake in improving our internship processes. Meet to discuss the challenges, opportunities, and resources available today for creating outstanding internship experiences for students and employers. To R.S.V.P. or for more information, contact Adry Clark, at 541-737-0519, or adry.clark@oregonstate.edu

NEW! The Oct. 8 Faculty Senate agenda can be viewed online at http://oregonstate.edu/senate/agen/2009/10.html. Please note that the meeting will begin at 3 p.m. in the OSU Theatre (Withycombe Hall). President Ray will present his State of the University Address, titled “Setting Our Course,” as well as talk about the attributes we should attain by 2025 to be on track to be a top ten land-grant university, review where we stand today, and indicate specific investments, strategies, and changes we must make now to continue in that direction. Additional agenda items include: a proposed Bylaws Revision, H1N1 Planning and PEBB-Open Enrollment. The meeting will be taped for later viewing on-line.

NEW! The OSU Study Abroad Fair takes place from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 8 in the MU Ballroom.  It is a chance for students and the campus community to learn more about study abroad, international internships, and the International Degree.  For more information see http://oregonstate.edu/international/studyabroad

NEW! Imagine a 225-mile journey from Jacksonville to Corvallis on foot, on horseback, and in a Conestoga wagon. Hear the story of how the Jackson County 4-H Empirebuilders Club made this 13-day trek in observance of Oregon’s Centennial in 1959. Glenn Klein, Jackson County 4-H Agent and chief organizer of this event, will talk about his adventures “on the road” and show film footage and a slide show of images from the trek. It takes place Oct. 8, noon to 1 p.m. in the Willamette Room.  For more information see http://osulibrary.oregonstate.edu/archives/archive/2009OregonArchivesMonthEvents.html

Parent Lunch & Learns are directed at parents within the OSU community. The first presentation will be held at the MU in room 109A at noon on Oct. 7. The topic will be Maternity Leave at OSU and will be presented by OSU’s HR office. More information can be found at our website at http://oregonstate.edu/childcare under the “Events & Activities” tab.

Senior staff from the offices of US Senator Jeff Merkley and US Congressman Kurt Schrader will discuss the appropriations process and recent federal funding trends including federal earmarks at a briefing hosted by the OSU Government Relations office, Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. in the LaSells Agriculture Production room. Presenters include Suzanne Kunse, District Director for US Representative Kurt Schrader and Dan Whelan, Willamette Valley Field Representative for US Senator Jeff Merkley. The presentation will be moderated by OSU’s Kate Sinner and include time for a question and answer period.

It will be Oregon State University faculty and staff night when the Corvallis-OSU Symphony Orchestra opens its 104th concert season on Oct. 7, with “Classic Vienna I.” The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. in Austin Auditorium at LaSells Stewart Center, 27th & Western Blvd., Corvallis, under the baton of music director Marlan Carlson, chair of the OSU music department. OSU staff and faculty may receive two free tickets at the box office with their OSU ID card for this first concert of the season.

A welcome reception for Gus Bedwell, Campus Veteran Service Officer, will be held Oct. 7 from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. in the main lounge of the Memorial Union. Refreshments will be served.

The Department of Botany and Plant Pathology is celebrating “100 Years of Inquiry” with a symposium featuring four notable speakers, including James Carrington, recently elected to the National Academy of Sciences, and the Bonnie C. Templeton Lecture. Everyone is welcome. It takes place Oct. 8, 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., ALS 4001.
For more information see http://www.science.oregonstate.edu/bpp/100birthday_symposium.htm

Oregon State University’s Music à la Carte concert series, now in its 40th year, continues on Oct. 8, with solo acoustic guitarist James Falkner. The free concert begins at noon in the Memorial Union Lounge on the OSU campus.

Three panelists who go by the title, “Interfaith Amigos,” will address the prospects for success of Pres. Obama’s new beginning initiative from Christian, Islamic, Jewish and interfaith perspectives. The “Interfaith Amigos,” Rabbi Ted Falcon, Pastor Don MacKenzie, and Shaikh Jamal Rahman, will hold a panel discussion on Oct. 8, beginning at 7 p.m. at Oregon State University. The free public event will be held at Gilfillan Auditorium, 2601 S.W. Orchard Ave. The event is part of the Hundere Endowment in Religion and Culture lecture series at Oregon State.

The Linn Benton Employers Partnership for Diversity is pleased to announce its 2009-10 workshop series, which kicks off Oct. 8 with a workshop on retaining a diverse workforce. The workshop will be held at the Corvallis Benton County Public Library’s public meeting room from 3 to 5 p.m. The Linn-Benton Employers Partnership for Diversity is a consortium of local employers who are dedicated to celebrating diversity in our communities and providing opportunities for employers to learn more about how they can support differences in the workplace. Because OSU is a partner, all faculty, staff and student employees may attend the workshops free of charge. To register or request accommodation: katrina.HOPKINS@Co.Benton.OR.US Information: diane.davis@oregonstate.edu

Triad is powered by orange! OSU’s faculty lunch club is open to all tenure track and professional faculty and meets on Thursdays at noon in room 109 of the MU. Be our guest on Oct. 8 and hear what Megan McClelland has learned about getting our youngest ready for school. Call Nick Houtman, 541-737-0783, to reserve a seat. A complete fall program is at http://oregonstate.edu/groups/triad/schedule.html

Employee Benefits Fair– Oct. 9, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. MU Ballroom. Meet with Health and Retirement providers and get all of your questions answered.  Representatives from PEBB, Providence, ODS, Willamette Dental, VSP, ASIFlex, Standard Insurance, UNUM, EAP-Cascades Centers, PERS, OSGP, Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, Social Security, Oregon Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance, Dixon Recreation, Faculty Fitness, and more will be there.  For more information visit the OHR website at: http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/workshops.html Medicare workshop – Oct. 9, noon to 2 p.m., MU Room 208. Learn the in-and-outs of Medicare and Medicare Supplemental plans. Workshop provided by the Oregon Senior Health Insurance Benefits Assistance program (SHIBA).  More information visit OHR website at: http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/workshops.html

Next week

NEW! The Corvallis Science Pub presentation, “The Cheese Stands Alone: The Science behind Oregon’s Acclaimed Artisan Cheeses,” featuring Lisbeth Goddik takes place from 6 to 8 p.m. Oct. 12, at Old World Deli, 341 SW 2nd St., Corvallis.

NEW! Fall term Beaver Strides registration is happening NOW!  Come join us for the Beaver Strides Kick-off Party on Oct. 16, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. at Plageman Hall, Student Health Center, Room 322. Beaver Strides registrants will receive their pedometers and tracking booklets. There’s a chance to win prizes, plus healthy snacks will be provided by First Alternative Co-op. Register for Beaver Strides today at the Student Health Services desk at Dixon Rec, and join us for the fun!

NEW! An OWN open house, sponsored by OSU Women’s Network (OWN) and International Student & Faculty Services (ISFS), will take place from noon to 1:30 p.m. Oct. 21 in 448 Snell Hall. This is a chance to network and discuss ways in which OWN can support the unique professional/personal needs and concerns of the international women of OSU. Bring your lunch, coffee, tea, and dessert provided.

NEW! “My Name is Rachel Corrie,” a play detailing the experience of a student from Washington’s Evergreen State College who was killed in Gaza working for Palestinian human rights, will show at Oregon State University Oct. 21-24 at 7:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. Oct. 25.

NEW! Art Of Imagination” starring Las Vegas illusionist Garry Carson is coming to Corvallis Oct. 29, 7 p.m. at the LaSells Stewart Center. See exotic animals, comedy magic, and grand illusions. Tickets are $20 until Oct. 22 then $25. All proceeds benefit all Corvallis public schools’ “Student Opportunity for Success Fund”. Tickets available at GraceWinds Music, All About Kids, Frogs & Pollywogs, all Corvallis Public schools and at www.cpsfoundation.org. For VIP tickets or for tickets on Free and Reduced lunch program call 757-5857

Oregon State University Theatre will be one of 100 theaters in the world to premiere “The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later,” an epilogue to the highly acclaimed play, “The Laramie Project,” which is one of the most performed plays in America of the last decade. The premiere will take place on Oct. 12, at OSU’s Withycombe Hall main stage beginning at 7:30 p.m. The reading is free and open to the public.

For more current and upcoming events, go to http://oregonstate.edu/events/

News for Employees

PEBB Open Enrollment for the Plan Year 2010 is mandatory for selecting a 2010 medical plan OR to continue to Opt-Out of the medical plans.  If you do not re-enroll or opt-out of a 2010 medical plan during October, PEBB will move you to the Employee-ONLY tier of the Statewide Plan and your dependents will lose medical coverage effective Jan. 1, 2010. Open Enrollment is also the time of year you can make changes to your benefit elections. For more information regarding Open Enrollment, please visit the OHR website at: http://oregonstate.edu/admin/hr/2010openenrollment.html

Training and Professional Development has scheduled several courses this term for OSU faculty and staff entitled, “Being Effective in Times of Uncertainty,” “Difficult Conversations,” “Stretch Goals-Taking Performance to the Next Level,” “Handling and Turning Around Employee Complaints,” and “A Brick of a Gift? – Giving and Receiving Feedback.” These workshops are presented as a service to employees and offered at no-cost. For course details and to register online, visit http://oregonstate.edu/training and log in (ONID username and password required).

The Graduate School announces a call for nominations under the Delson Bridge to the Future Fund. This fund is designed to assist students in the final phase of their graduate education to pay research expenses, publication costs, and other incidentals that stand in the way of completing their studies. Deadline: Oct. 21. For complete details see: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/grad_school/current/delsonbridge.html

The Graduate School is currently accepting applications under the Jesse M. Bell Memorial Graduate Student Loan Program. These non-need-based loans are available on a one-time basis to enrolled graduate students to assist with educational and/or research expenses associated with their advanced degree. Loans up to $5,000 may be requested. Deadline: Oct. 28. See Graduate School web for details: http://oregonstate.edu/dept/grad_school/current/jessebell.html

The Research Office is accepting applications for the Undergraduate Research, Innovation, Scholarship and Creativity (URISC) for the academic year 2009-10 (Winter and/or Spring Terms). Applications are due in the Research Office by Nov. 2. The complete program description and application may be accessed on the Research Office web site at: http://oregonstate.edu/research/incentive/urisc.htm For more information contact Debbie Delmore at debbie.delmore@oregonstate.edu 541-737-8390.

The Arts & Sciences Business Center is recruiting for one full-time Accounting Technician Position, $2138-$2960 + benefits. To review posting and apply, go to http://oregonstate.edu/jobs posting number 000480.  Closing date is Oct. 18.

Facilities Services is seeking a Management Analyst 1. This is a half-time position, reporting to the Senior Planner of Facilities Services. Recruitment is open to current OSU employees only.  Position details and qualifications can be found at  http://oregonstate.edu/jobs, posting # 0004808.  Position closes Oct. 16.

Administrative Program Assistant, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology. Full time.  Internal OSU search. To review posting and apply, go to http://oregonstate.edu/jobs posting number 0004781.  Closing date: Today.

Accountant I
– Student Finance, Office of Business Affairs, Oregon State University, F/T, $2960-4306/monthly + benefits. To review posting and apply, go to http://oregonstate.edu/jobs Closing Date: Oct. 7. OSU is an AA/EOE.

Traffic and Maintenance

Oak Creek Building: Due to necessary repairs on the building water system, all domestic hot water services to the Oak Creek Bldg. will be temporarily shutdown.  This will affect all sinks on all floors. The shutdown should end by 5 p.m. Oct. 9.

Oak Creek Building:
Due to upgrades on the building network system, all network services will be temporarily shutdown. This will affect all desk top and/or laptop computers connected to the Oak Creek building network system.  Prior to the close of business on Oct. 7, please shutdown all computers and/or laptops. If devices are not successfully shut down, please be sure to restart all devices October 8th, this includes all network printers. The shutdown will begin at 9 p.m. on Oct. 7, and should end by 10 p.m.

Even the raccoons frolicking in front of Kidder Hall this morning looked like they could have used some mittens, because it’s downright chilly today. But things should warm up to 65 under sunny skies, followed by an overnight low of 40. The slight warming trend continues as we edge toward the 70s later this week.

OSU Today is a daily e-mail news briefing provided by OSU News and Communication Services. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the mailing list, go to http://lists.oregonstate.edu/mailman/listinfo/osutoday. Questions, comments and ideas for news briefs may be sent to Theresa Hogue at osutoday@oregonstate.edu. More news from OSU News and Communication Services is available at http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/

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Bringing the Arab-Israeli War Home

If America were blessed with a noninterventionist foreign policy, we could all thank Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for giving President-elect Barack Obama a thoroughgoing lesson in the absolute irrelevancy of Israel and Palestine to the national interests of the United States. More than a week into Israel’s invasion of Gaza, America is still alive and kicking and none of our citizens are dead, which is the way it should be, as this is their religious war and not ours. If stubborn noninterventionism were our creed – as the Founders intended – the Gaza war could continue for two more days or two more months and we could simply shrug and mutter "Who cares?" America could simply go on its way, rebuilding its economy and marveling over the madness of two religions fighting to the death over a barren sandpit at the eastern end of the Mediterranean.

Unfortunately, America today is run by a political and media elite that is addicted to intervention. This would be bad enough if these men and women had the brains to intervene and produce a result that benefits U.S. interests, but they are not. They are instead – despite their Ivy League diplomas – uneducated and naïve people who still live in the Cold War, foolishly believing that America is the boss of a strong Western/NATO community (which is now in its death throes on Afghanistan’s plains); that other nations are eager to do America’s dirty work; and, most fatally of all, that the national security interests of the United States and Israel are identical.

There should be no mistake among Americans about what is going on in Gaza. Although Israel has billed its invasion as an attempt to destroy Hamas and thereby protect Israelis, its main goal is to ensure that Obama is tied as tight as Gulliver to the status quo of U.S. foreign policy in the Muslim world. In addition to hurting Hamas, Israel’s invasion of Gaza was designed to and has successfully underscored the salience of Osama bin Laden’s now 12-plus-year-old message to the Muslim world:

  • First, that the United States – under Republicans or Democrats – will allow Israel to do anything it pleases in regard to starving and bombing the Palestinians. This has been underlined for Muslims by the words of President George W. Bush, the silence of President-elect Obama, and, according to the Jerusalem Post, by the blame-it-all-on-the-Palestinians visits of New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Congressman Gary Ackerman, and leaders of major U.S. Jewish organizations.
  • Second, that the ruling Muslim regimes in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Jordan, and elsewhere are impotent "agents" of the Zionists and Crusaders and will do nothing to protect Muslims when they are attacked by the U.S.-led West, be those attacks in Palestine, Pakistan, Iraq, or Afghanistan. "[The] failure of the Arab foreign ministers at their meeting in Cairo to take any position to confront the continuing Israeli aggression against the Gaza Strip," explains the independent and influential UK-based Arabic daily Al-Quds al-Arabi, "confirms the theory that says the Israeli aggression has come as a result of coordination and the blessing of influential Arab states, especially Egypt and Saudi Arabia."
  • Third, that Muslims are regarded by the West as subhumans, and their blood, lives, and children are – for America, Israel, and Europe – worthless and expendable. The Gaza score to date will indelibly make this point across the Islamic world: to date, 500 dead and 2,300 wounded Palestinians and less than 10 dead Israelis. As Pakistan’s Frontier Post has said, the West silently watches as "Israel is set to starve the Palestinian Muslims into nonexistence. … No respect for Muslim life! Muslim blood is cheaper than water!"

After the Gaza invasion, Israel will have accomplished two vital goals. It will have reenergized Hamas, which will in turn renew the suicide bombings inside Israel that allow America’s Israel-firsters – including Obama’s IDF-veteran chief of staff – to portray their country-of-first-allegiance as the poor, put-upon innocent. It will also have produced the end of whatever slim hope there was of an Arab-Israeli peace settlement over the course of Obama’s term. What is likely to become known across the Islamic world as the "Gaza slaughter" will ensure the continued growth of the Sunni insurgency al-Qaeda leads and inspires. All told, Israeli leaders at the conclusion of the Gaza invasion will be able to more credibly quote President Bush and say that their "mission" has been accomplished.

Now, there is no reason for Americans to be angry at Israel. Hamas is a nagging military threat to Israel, and Israel’s leaders can defend their citizens in the manner they deem appropriate. Indeed, had various U.S. governments abstained from continuously intervening in the Arab-Israeli conflict over the past 30 years, it may well have been long since settled and over – one way or another.

The American people should be livid, though, with their bipartisan political elite and the Israel-firsters at Commentary, the New York Times, National Review, the Weekly Standard, and the Washington Post, as well as that hive of anti-American U.S. citizens that fund and lead AIPAC, for involving them in this barbarous mess. At some point down the road, every U.S.-taxpayer-funded bomb, artillery shell, and bullet aimed at the Palestinians will yield Americans killed at the hands of al-Qaeda, its allies, or those it inspires in attacks launched in response to U.S. support for Israel. Those Americans will be killed because their political and media leaders – corrupted to the bone by AIPAC – have involved them in a religious war that threatens nothing vital to their country’s principles or national security, their personal economic well-being, or their children’s lives.

And worse is yet to come. Israel’s Gaza invasion has produced an unusual number of public anti-Israel demonstrations by American Muslims around the United States. The 2006 Israel-Hezbollah war produced similar events, but the current, Gaza-focused demonstrations are angrier and larger in number. How long, one wonders, will it be before Israel’s military actions lead to violent clashes in America?

If this occurs, Israel and its American supporters will have the insurance policy they desire above any other, one they are desperate to obtain before Israel takes harsh action – by forced deportation or other means – against its rapidly growing and radicalizing Arab population. Once the Arab-Israeli religious war has been brought into the United States and is producing blood in America’s streets, the Israel-firsters will claim the carnage proves that secular America and theocratic Israel are in the same boat and facing the same enemies. Flogging this plausible but palpable lie, AIPAC-owned American leaders will consign this country to an unending war against Islam, the same catastrophe that is Israel’s lot.

Read more by Michael Scheuer

Author: Michael Scheuer

Michael Scheuer is a 22-year veteran of the CIA and the author of Imperial Hubris: Why the West Is Losing the War on Terror.


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Sunday, 14 February 2010

Royal Institute of British Architects, Portland Place W1

The side elevation of the RIBA on Weymouth Street is enlivened by Sir Christopher Wren surrounded by representative figures of the Artisan, the Painter, the Sculptor and the Mechanic. They were carved by Bainbridge Copnall.
The Artisan

The Painter
The arrangement is an unconscious revelation of the way architecture works.
The Great Man is surrounded by his backup team, unnamed even when they are great artists in their own right. This has got out of hand recently, with 'starchitects' hogging the media with their team lost in obscurity.
The Mechanic
The Sculptor

Funnily enough, though, Wren himself has been suffering from the reverse effect recently with a nasty tendency for attention-seeking critics to claim that his assistant Hawksmoor was a finer architect but has been ignored by history because of his working class origins. This is pure snobbery, enabling the critic to show his superior taste by dismissing the architect everyone knows in favour of one that a tiny minority has even heard of. And it is nonsense.

1 comment:

Hels said...

Funny :) I suppose it depends who commissions the sculptures. If the architect does the commissioning, I suppose the architect-figure will be bigger and more central than the other figures, especially on the Royal Institute of Architects. On the silver vaults, the order of importance may be different :)

Something just occurred to me. Look at the relative size and importance the various professions and trades in Depression Murals in the USA of the same date (early 1930s).


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Osun Cocoa Association Lauds Aregbesola’s Agric Initiatives Distributes Chemicals

604The Cocoa Association of Nigeria, Osun state chapter in its bid to match up with other cocoa growing states in Nigeria, has commenced the distribution of chemicals to boost cocoa production millions of Naira across the state.

The Association, in a release signed by its Deputy Chairman Board of Trustees and Zonal Secretary Oyo/Osun zones, Dr. Bola Otunla and Hon. John Alalade, respectively directed the procurement and the distribution of chemicals to cocoa farmers.

Otunla noted that the gesture was borne out of the association’s support for the government of Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola who has been rendering yearly support to cocoa farmers in the state.

He stressed that the Association felt that the time to reciprocate the Governor’s yearly gesture is by coming to the aid of the state by ensuring that the assistance to farmers continue unabated in the face of the financial challenges of the state.

According to him, “It gives me great pleasure to inform you that the state chapter of the Cocoa Association of Nigeria has started the distribution of fungicide and insecticide to cocoa farmers in Osun with effect from the first week of July, 2015.

The initial consignment has come and been distributed  and it will continue until the end of the rainy season in 2015.

“This is to ensure that we match up with other cocoa growing states in the South-West, especially our competitor in Ondo state”.

He urged farmers in the state to put in their best in the area of cocoa production, saying all hands must be on deck for the state to realise it’s full potentials in agriculture and specifically in the area of cocoa production in Nigeria.


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Sunday, April 05, 2015

2015 Triton Teased, launching Next Month from 71k up

Kuala Lumpur, 1 April 2015 – Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia (MMM), the official distributor of Mitsubishi Motors vehicles in Malaysia, will be launching the all-new Mitsubishi Triton in May. In conjunction with the arrival of the new model, authorised Mitsubishi Motors dealers nationwide are accepting pre-launch bookings from customers who wish to be among the first owners of the new Triton in Malaysia.
Here's 2 photos taken at the Mid Valley Sneak Preview, which happened from 1 to 5 April (last weekend) :

XENON HID headlamps with DRL
“Mitsubishi Motors Corporation (MMC) has been producing pick-ups for the past 36 years, since 1978, and to date, overfour million units have been sold worldwide and in Malaysia, the Triton has found 55,000 proud owners since its launch in 2006. The new Triton, which is the fifth generation of the model series, has been developed based on the concept of‘Smart Utility Truck’ and we believe it will impress customers with its new design and enhanced features, as well as even tougher engineering,” said Won-Chul Yang, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Mitsubishi Motors Malaysia.
“The new Triton sets new standards and has many first-in-class features which will delight our customers. Estimated introductory prices starts from RM71,000 to RM114,000,” Mr. Yang added.
The new Triton is imported as a Completely Built-Up (CBU) vehicle from MMC’s regional production hub for the model in Thailand and as before, customers will be able to choose from different variants to suit individual requirements and budgets. The Malaysian market offers five variants with the following estimated prices (including insurance and GST for private registration) in Peninsular Malaysia:
NoVariantEstimated PricingColours
1All-New Triton VGT AdventureRM114,000Earth Green, Pearl White, Shadow Black, Red Solid
2All-New Triton VGT AutomaticRM103,000Sterling Silver, Pearl White, Shadow Black
3All-New Triton VGT ManualRM97,000-
4All-New Triton ManualRM87,000Sterling Silver, White Solid
5All-New Triton QuestRM71,000-
The all-new Triton is powered by the proven and reliable Mitsubishi powertrains which have been improved for the new generation. Included in the powertrain options is the 2.5-litre VGT 4-cylinder turbodiesel engine which produces a maximum output of 178 PS at 4,000 rpm. Maximum torque has been increased from 350 Nm to 400 Nm at 2,000 rpm.
4WD Selector
VGT stands for ‘Variable Geometry Turbo’ which was introduced with the previous generation. The advanced turbocharger delivers uncompromising power by achieving an optimal turbocharging at any given speed. The result is more instantaneous response for acceleration with minimal lag while at the same time, achieving high fuel efficiency.
Just as the previous generation of the Triton set new standards in the pick-up segment, its successor also brings to the segment first-in-class features such as a Push Start Button for engine ignition, Keyless Entry, Xenon HID Headlamps with integrated Day Running Lights, Tilt and Telescopic Steering and Paddle Shifters for manual control of the automatic transmission when the driver wants it. The all-new Triton also comes with an aerodynamic design with best-in-class co-efficient drag of 0.42.
Push Start Button
Additional advanced features include Dual-Zone Climate Control, 4WD Selector that allows shift-on-the-fly (4H, 4L or 2H), Touchscreen audio system with reverse camera, auto headlamps and auto wipers that are activated automatically when needed.
Malaysians will be able to get the first close-up view of the all-new Mitsubishi Triton at a series of teaser displays at major towns and cities in April. The locations and dates of the roadshows are shown below:
1Mid Valley MegamallKlang ValleyWest Lobby01-Apr05-Apr
2Tesco MergongAlor SetarMain Concourse06-Apr12-Apr
3Sutera MallJohor BahruSub Court09-Apr12-Apr
4Queensbay MallPenangNorth Court15-Apr19-Apr
5Aeon Kinta CityIpohSub Court20-Apr26-Apr
6Suria SabahKota KinabaluCourt G4 (A)20-Apr3-May
7The SpringKuchingCentre Court C20-Apr10-May
8East Coast MallKuantanMain Entrance23-Apr26-Apr
All-New Triton teaser display in Mid Valley from 1-5 April 2015
The Triton, widely acknowledged as the most awarded pick-up truck of the year and one of the best handling pick-up trucks in the market, has been a great success, creating a new trend with powerful engine, ride comfort and enhanced safety features.
The Mitsubishi Triton ranks highest in the recent J.D. Power 2013 Malaysia Initial Quality Study (IQS) for the pickup segment, with a score of 52 PP100. The JD Power IQS Study, now in its 13th year, examines new-vehicle quality during the first two to six months of ownership. The overall initial quality score is determined by problems reported per 100 vehicles (PP100), with a lower rate of problem incidence indicating higher quality.
Over the years, the Triton has also won awards for Autocar Asean awards 2007 4×4 Pick-Up of the Year, New Straits Times 2007 Pick-Up truck of the Year, New Straits Times 2008 Pick-Up Truck of the Year, Autocar Awards 2008 Pick-Up Truck of the Year, New Straits Times 2009 Twincab Pick-Up Truck of the Year, and Autocar Awards 2010 Pick-Up Truck of the Year.
For further information, customers can visit any of the 58 Mitsubishi showrooms throughout Malaysia. Showroom locations can be found at or by calling the Mitsubishi Motors Customer Careline at 1800 18 6611 (9 am – 5 pm, Mondays to Fridays excluding public holidays).

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Thursday, 31 July 2014

A Bright Moon for Fools by Jasper Gibson

Review by The Mole

Harry Christmas is a conman who has conned one too many. Now he is on the run from a lover's stepson who clearly wants him dead. Fleeing to Caracus would seem far enough to be safe - but is it?

Harry is also a hopeless drunk and that actually fuels his crimes so arriving in Caracus with his trousers on backwards doesn't surprise him - although he didn't know that he'd done it.

Harry is one of those fictional characters you will probably dislike from the off and find it difficult to get started in the story, but if you stick with it you will start to be more tolerant of him as he blunders from situation to situation and you may actually grow to like him. He is a hopeless womaniser and comes across as sexist but is he really? Some events in his journey are laugh out loud funny and many are extremely sad and moving but as the book moves on the humour is replaced by his frustrations of the chase, his anger of violence against innocents and his regrets at his own stupidity.

An extremely enjoyable book that, while very emotional at many times, will not bring you to tears but will have you joining in Harry's condemnations of his own actions.

Publisher - Simon and Schuster
Genre - Adult Thriller

Wednesday, 30 July 2014

Broken Monsters by Lauren Beukes

review by Maryom

 After eight years in Homicide with Detroit police department, detective Gabi Versado thought she'd seen every possible way to die - but the latest death still shocks her. Only the upper half of the young boy's body is there - below the waist it's been attached to the lower half of a deer! What kind of monster would do such a thing and why?
 While Gabi and her team try to track down the killer, others have their own concerns; her teenage daughter Layla and friend Cas are trawling the internet looking for paedophiles; journalist Jonno is trying to put grief and his life in New York behind him and make a new start in Detroit; TK is emptying the contents from abandoned homes and businesses, and helping out at the homeless shelter; and down on his luck artist Clayton Broom thinks he's found inspiration at last....

 Broken Monsters is the new thriller from Lauren Beukes, the author of The Shining Girls, and again she's mixing nail-biting thriller with a touch of the supernatural. I know this isn't quite everyone's taste - they prefer their crime, no matter how disturbing, to be set very firmly in the real  world - but I loved it. What matters to me is that the characters, and their motivations and desires, ring true, and they do here. And what an array of characters and story-lines! All of the sub-plots are up in the air at once, weaving in and out of each other, deftly juggled so none falls flat, and leading to a dramatic meeting of the ways.
 Detroit is almost a character is its own right; a fabulous setting - a contrast of derelict buildings and vibrant art scene with 'pop-up' installations and events in abandoned properties - absolutely the right place for a thriller of this kind.
It's a hard-hitting and disturbing novel which opens with a real stomach-churning moment but the writing style pulled me in and held me. If I could have read it cover to cover without a break, I would have!

Maryom's review - 5
Publisher - Harper Collins (Harper)
Genre - Adult crime thriller

Monday, 28 July 2014

Bocchi + Pocchi and the Bird by Noriko Matsubara

Review by The Mole

Readers may remember Bocchi and Pocchi in A Tale Of Two Socks and this book is structured along very similar lines.

Once again, both written and illustrated by Noriko Matsubara, the colours are bright, the pictures simple and the text brief and vocabulary uncomplex.

In this story the socks meet a bird who has hurt her wing and they offer their help.

Another good book for the very young reader to quickly read and enjoy while, perhaps, reading aloud to a parent or teacher.

The only comment I have about both these books is based on the socks names - why are they spelt like that, how are they pronounced, and if they are pronounced "bocky" and "socky" would it not be easier for the young reader to spell them that way?

That aside they are both lovely books for the very young reader to have a go at.

Publisher - Troika Books
Genre - Children's Picture book/first reader

Friday, 25 July 2014

A Place for Us by Harriet Evans

review by Maryom

Winterfold is a special sort of place - for 45 years it's been the home of Martha and her artist husband David, the place they've brought up their three children, and thrown open to neighbours for Christmas celebrations, Summer garden parties, Bonfire Night fireworks. The children are now all grown; Daisy out in India involved in charity work; Florence, a professor of art history in Florence; only the eldest, Bill, now the local GP, has stayed close to home. But Martha's 80th birthday is approaching and she's decided that will be the ideal occasion to gather them back together - and spill some long-held family secrets.

As you can guess this is a family saga where the real state of their lives lies hidden behind a smiling façade. It opens with a fantastic attention-grabbing first line - "The day Martha Winter decided to tear apart her family began like any other day" - that had me just longing to know what she was going to do, what she'd reveal and, above all, why. I'm still on tenterhooks though for this novel is being published as a first four-part e-book serial - the first part now (31st July), the others to follow at monthly intervals - and then the whole story in a paperback edition in January 2015.
Part One has set the scene brilliantly with a dispersed family, each hugging their own secrets that you know are all going to come tumbling out and shake their world; some of them I warmed to and sympathised with, some I didn't - just like real families. So far I'm loving it - great characters, a plot to hook me and a promise of more secrets to be unearthed. But just as I was getting really immersed in their world it ended - and on a revelation that shook my whole view of what I'd read so far.
Now I'm desperately waiting for Part 2!

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Headline Review
Genre - adult fiction, family saga

Thursday, 24 July 2014

The Road Between Us by Nigel Farndale

review by Maryom

June 1939 - two young men are arrested in a London hotel. Charles and Anselm are lovers - not a problem today but in 1939 it's illegal and, when they are discovered in compromising circumstances, there are penalties to be paid. Charles, a pilot in the RAF, is court-martialled for 'conduct unbecoming', and Anselm, an artist studying at the Slade, is deported back to Germany where he is sent to be 're-educated' in a labour camp. Separated by the war sweeping through Europe and by the prejudice of society, can their love survive?
In the present day - Charles's son, Edward, having been captured on a diplomatic mission to Afghanistan and held for eleven years in a cave is eventually freed. The timing and means of his release are puzzling - who, after all this time, has stepped in and paid the captors' ransom demands? Back home, Edward finds the world hard to adjust to. The everyday world has changed a lot in 11 years but there are more personally disturbing changes - his wife Frejya has died and Hannah, the daughter he remembers as a 9 year old, has grown into a carbon copy of her.

The Road Between Us is a compelling story wrapped around themes of discrimination, intolerance and the overwhelming power of love. The two story-lines unfold alternately, teasing the reader on to discover where and how they'll meet - for you know they will - uncovering deeply hidden family secrets on the way.
At its core The Road Between Us is a story about love - the strength that it gives, the power that it can hold over us and the sacrifices that have to be made for it - but it's not a cute hearts and flowers romance. It's dark, often distressing and disturbing in a variety of ways. Anselm's life in the labour camp is filled with casual cruelty - kept on the minimum rations, worked till exhaustion, experimented on in the name of rehabilitation, men are singled out for torture or summarily executed at the whim of the camp's commander - Edward's solitary imprisonment in the dark plays on all our fears of claustrophobia and abandonment, and the physical, sexual attraction between him and Hannah, particularly Hannah's willingness to give in to it is disquieting to say the least. Taken as a whole, it's a deeply affecting story, one well worth a re-read  but first I'll catch up on the author's previous novel.

Somehow this book passed me by when it was first published and I only came across it thanks to the #bookadayuk initiative on Twitter started by Borough Press and now continuing with Doubleday where it was mentioned as a book that hadn't received the attention it deserved. I'm so glad I found it - even if a little late.

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Genre - adult fiction,

Tuesday, 22 July 2014

Love Insurance by Earl Derr Biggers

review by Maryom
British aristocrat Lord Harrowby is set to marry American heiress Cynthia Meyrick - he may be deeply in love but it's also a financially convenient match so, just in case, he decides to approach the new York branch of Lloyds and take out insurance against the possibilty of his fiancée calling it all off.  Although they're used to odd insurance requests, this seems the strangest of all but they agree to take it on with the proviso that one of their staff, Dick Minot, joins the happy couple in Florida for the final week of wedding preparations to ensure nothing comes between them. Unfortunately, on the train journey south Dick meets a fascinating young woman and promptly falls in love - then discovers she's the bride-to-be! Torn between his job and his feelings, what IS Dick to do?

Love Insurance is a delightful romcom-style novel that it's hard to believe was first published in 1914.
Although it's the last thing he wants to happen, poor Dick finds himself having to fend off all sorts of last-minute obstacles in the way of the wedding and help the couple on their way to living happily ever after  - and there are all manner of things trying to get in the way of the wedding - someone claiming to be Harrowby's long lost elder brother, therefore the real Lord Harrowby; the mysterious disappearance of a famous diamond necklace; an actress with incriminating letters.....   It's no wonder Cynthia's father's demands to call off the wedding are growing more heated!
It does have a few things that date it - primarily the fact that Florida is seen as a quaint winter holiday destination for the rich seeking to escape the northern cold, rather than a tourist hot-spot flooded with visitors from all over the world - but it's a light, enjoyable read with lots to appeal to today's reader.

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Hesperus Press
Genre -  adult fiction, humour, romcom

Monday, 21 July 2014

The Broken King by Philip Womack

Review by The Mole

When Simon's sister, Anna, starts to tease too much, Simon loses his temper and, to frighten her, recites a nursery rhyme that invites the Broken King to take her away. The poem doesn't bother Anna but terrifies Simon when Anna is taken away in front of his very eyes. The next day, before his parents waken, he finds that she really has gone and flees the house looking for her. Meeting a winged deer he learns he must go to the Broken Kingdom to get her back. On the way he meets Flora who did exactly the same to her elder brother, Johnny, and is starting a similar quest. On their journey they meet people who can't exist, go to places that are impossible, solve insoluble riddles and encounter terrifying enemies.

This is the first in a series entitled "The Darkening Path" and it really is a great start to the trilogy. While we know Simon and Flora are the "good" guys they learn to doubt everyone they meet along the way - even the ones that give them real positive assistance and this keeps the reader looking at every nuance of the story for some sign that may lead to betrayal. With the reader so heavily engaged the book flies by and then... Well it's a trilogy as I say and they must wait for book 2!

Plenty of horror, plenty of monsters, lots of action - everything the young fantasy reader will love. Described as for the 11+ reader it will be enjoyed by any competent reader as our two young protagonists set out on a quest of atonement to try to retrieve their siblings.

Publisher - Troika Books
Genre - Children's fantasy, 11+

Friday, 18 July 2014

Making the most of your summer writing course

Rather unusually today we are featuring a submission by Shelley Weiner, a tutor from the Faber Academy. We are very much aware that there are a lot of budding authors out there and without them where will the next JK Rowling come from. This post is for everyone who wants to become a published author.

So you’re on the brink of signing up for a summer writing course – and, about to take the plunge, are nervously wondering what the best possible outcome can be?

A brilliant novel and/or sparkling short story, obviously. We all want that. And in my work as a tutor/mentor, I have isolated SEVEN VITAL FACTORS that will inspire new writers to leave a workshop or session with a surge of creative energy and the tools to channel this energy into a stronger, better piece of fiction:

1.      SHARED ALLEGIANCE. The important (and, ideally, only) thing that writing group participants should share with one another is allegiance to the work. No egos. No ‘stuff’. Or as little as possible when a group of people collaborate on something as precious as an unfolding piece of fiction.

2.      COLLABORATION. I like to see the workshop process as collaborative editing rather than teaching. We work together to make the writing as good as it is possible to be.

3.      SUBJECTIVITY. I always make it very clear to new writers that – even though my responses are informed by years and years of writing and teaching – there is always a level of subjectivity and, with this in mind, the opinions of the group are at least as valid as mine.

4.      DISCUSSION. My input is therefore a series of suggestions rather than instructions, and always open to discussion.

5.      TRUTH. My undertaking, as tutor, is to inhabit the story or fictional world that is presented to me, and to base all my responses on being true – as I see it – to this world.

6.      TRANSPARENCY. I always say that the best writing doesn’t show. It enables the reader to see straight into the heart of what a writer wants to convey; anything that distracts along the way (purple prose? Over-elaborate layout? Bad spelling? Characters who act/speak out of character) should be firmly addressed.

7.      GOALS. Clear goals are important. When we first meet we agree on the best possible realistic outcome for each participant. We check at the end of the process how far these goals have been met.

Shelley Weiner is an acclaimed novelist, short-story writer, journalist and creative writing tutor at Faber Academy. Her summer course ‘The 5 Day Short Story’ begins on 4 August. To view the summer programme visit @FaberAcademy

Wednesday, 16 July 2014

The Extraordinary Journey of the Fakir who got Trapped in an Ikea Wardrobe by Romain Puertolas

review by Maryom

Ajatashatru has for years been impressing the people of his small Indian village with his tricks and sleight of hand, fooling them into thinking he is a real magic-working fakir. Now he's persuaded them to buy him a new bed of nails - not just any old bed of nails though, but the Ikea Hertsyorbak, to buy which he needs to travel to Paris - again funded by the villagers. His long-distance shopping trip is going fine - till he discovers the bed he wanted is out of stock and he must return the next day.  Having to spend an unexpected night in Paris, Ajatashatru decides to do what many of us have probably wanted to try - stay in an Ikea show-home -  until he hears people approaching... Could it be Security coming to throw him out? If so, will he be able to get back into the store the next day to pick up his lovely new bed? Hiding inside a wardrobe seems like the sensible thing to do....but it's just the start of Aja's adventures...

This is, as the title says, the story of an extraordinary journey - one which starts like the Pevensie children's with a wardrobe - but instead of going through the wardrobe Narnia-style, Ajatashatru gets carried away in one! Taken to Great Britain very much against his will, Aja wants to do nothing more than get back to the Ikea store in Paris, to pick up his bed of nails and maybe, if luck is on his side, be reunited with the fascinating French woman he met in the cafeteria. Other people have different plans for him though, and he finds himself travelling this way and that across Europe - with a brief stop over in Libya - by truck, plane or boat, floating off in a hot air balloon or stowing away in a trunk; making new friends as he goes - from illegal immigrants to a beautiful actress; pursued by an irate Parisian taxi-driver and his relations; shedding his con-artist life and re-inventing himself as a person who spreads goodness wherever he goes.

It's a story of bizarre events and improbable coincidences which despite its overall light-hearted, even farcical, feel, also has serious comments to make about the plight of illegal immigrants -  exploited by everyone who 'helps' them on their way, shunted from one country to another, neither reaching their hoped-for destination nor able to go home.

Translated by Sam Taylor

Maryom's review - 4.5 stars
Publisher - Harville Secker
Genre -  adult fiction, humour

Monday, 14 July 2014

The Keeper by John Lescroart

Review by The Mole

When Hal Chase's wife goes missing then the police are quick to start a murder investigation despite there being little or no evidence that she is dead. Hal is quick to get Dismas Hardy to represent him as his lawyer and, in turn, Dismas engages Abe Glitsky, a retired police officer, to find Katie (Hal's wife). Hal gets taken into custody and put in the jail where he works, but as a warder he is afforded almost hotel style accommodation.

Abe sets out looking for Katie or at least another suspect - and therein lies the problem, who but Hal would benefit from her death?

This is the second Dismas Hardy story I have read and while I knew some of the back story, that itself was not at all important in this book.

Abe is now faced with the difficult task of proving a suspect is innocent whereas his career as a police officer was focused on finding someone who is guilty and this shift in thinking is brought out well by the author.

Towards the end when things start to wrap up you are left with a feeling that this is a very scrappy ending but it's not done yet and Lescroart pulls a rabbit or two out of the hat that really left me thinking "Yes, that makes sense - and it's not a 'how convenient ending' either".

I did enjoy The Ophelia Cut but The Keeper is an even better read with a better ending and a better melding of the characters. A really good crime thriller that isn't burdened with too much procedure or blind alleys but still springs surprises throughout.

Publisher - Headline
Genre - Adult crime thriller

Friday, 11 July 2014

The Devil in the Marshalsea by Antonia Hodgson

review by Maryom
Tom Hawkins is used to living on his wits, making his 'living' at cards and gambling, but now his luck has deserted him and he finds himself in debt; in 1727 that means being sent to gaol. Inside the Marshalsea debtors' prison,  he's given a spare bed in the lodgings of Samuel Fleet, one of the few people imprisoned for matters other than debt and regarded by many as a devil, striking fear wherever he goes. The spare bed though turns out to have been that of Captain Roberts, a recently murdered inmate who now supposedly haunts the gaol. Tom is offered a deal - help track down Roberts' ruthless killer and he'll go free. Sidetracked by the captain's attractive widow, suspicious of his 'room-mate' Samuel Fleet (believed by many to be the murderer),victimised by his gaolers, Tom walks a dangerous line as he tries to uncover the truth.

The Devil in the Marshalsea is a richly atmospheric novel full of the sights and smells of this abominable place,brought to us through the naive eyes of Tom. At first he thinks he could settle quite comfortably -  until he realises that he's only seen the more presentable side of the Marshalsea and that beyond a dividing wall is the 'Common Side' where those without any money or outside influence are crammed together in the most appalling disease-ridden conditions. It's almost unbelievable that people could be mistreated in such a way but the end goal of the prison is to turn a profit, and there's always someone willing to turn a blind eye for that!

The novel's strengths lie more in historical atmosphere than detection. It's difficult at first to see why newcomer Tom is picked to investigate the murder - surely the Governor has men of his own who could have done the job? - but, through luck more than detective skills, he at last uncovers the culprit and, as with all good murder mysteries, everything is revealed at the end.
An interesting addition to historical crime novels - and I'm hoping there'll be more to come about Tom Hawkins.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton
Genre - adult fiction, historical crime

Wednesday, 9 July 2014

Snowdrops by A D Miller

review by Maryom

Nick is engaged and about to get married but first he's got something he needs to come clean about to his fiancée.
Back when he worked in Moscow as a quiz-kid corporate lawyer, enabling dodgy financial deals, Nick found himself sucked in to a similar, more private, one. Seduced by the enigmatic Masha, he left his scruples and morals behind and went with the flow, agreeing to anything to please her, only discovering too late what he'd become involved with....

This is one of those books that I'd heard a lot of praise for, managed to come late to the reading of but that left me feeling a bit flat and wondering what all the fuss was about. Set in modern, post-Communist get-rich-quick Russia, it's a tale of the rapid disintegration of moral standards - of society in general and of one man, Nick, in particular. It's told in the form of a letter to his fiancée and ok this is just a plot device but it doesn't ring true - as a confession of past misdeeds he probably could have summed it up in 2 sides of A4. The big reveal of what he's done is too long in coming and too obvious beforehand.

At the heart of my reaction, though, is that I didn't really 'warm' to Nick. He made a lot of protestations about his innocence and gullibility, but somehow they never rang true. If he ever was that naive, the 'ask no questions, hear no lies' attitude of his workplace had definitely rubbed off on him long before he met Masha, and no matter how many times he claims to be sorry for what he did, I didn't feel he was - and that he'd do it again given the opportunity. An innocent led astray deserves a level of sympathy; a lawyer on the make doesn't.

I've seen a different take on this New Russia of money, muscle and hustle through the eyes of Martin Cruz Smith's Arkady Renko - in Tatiana and Stalin's Ghost - and I prefer his grimier, tackier world.

Maryom's review - 3.5 stars
Publisher - Atlantic Books
Genre - adult fiction,

Monday, 7 July 2014

The Bone Seeker by MJ McGrath

review by Maryom

In an attempt to get away from the disturbing events of the past, Edie Kiglatuk has taken a job as a summer school teacher in Kuujuaq, another Inuit community on Ellesmere Island 70 kilometres further along the coast. She's hoping for peace and quiet but when one of her teenage pupils goes missing, Edie finds herself dragged into a murder investigation. The community are convinced that Martha's killer must have come from the nearby military base but Edie feels this is just too simple a solution, especially when the military step in and take control of the case, and persuades her friend police sergeant Derek Palliser to continue the investigation secretly. Also puzzled by events is lawyer Sonia Gutierrez, in Kuujuaq pursuing a case against the military relating to the clean-up and decontamination of a decommissioned early warning base. Could there be a link between activities at the old base and Martha's death?

The Bone Seeker is a thriller with an unusual backdrop - the Canadian High Arctic. It's set in the brief summertime when the sun never sets, temperatures 'soar' to 10 degrees and the tundra bursts into flower. Against this bleak but beautiful landscape long-buried secrets are being revealed. Edie's hunting instincts tell her that there's more to discover than the murderer's identity. The trail is as confusing and complex as any reader could wish for as it leads Edie off in one direction, sidetracks her in another, then doubles round into a third or fourth.

This is the first Edie Kiglatuk story I've read so there was a fair bit of back-plot to catch up on, which made the early chapters a little hard going, but once Edie was a the trail of the killer the pace picked up. I was just left at the end wondering if all the ends had been tied off neatly - maybe I missed something...

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher -
Mantle (Panmacmillan)

Genre - adult,
murder mystery

Friday, 4 July 2014

The Statistical Probablity of Love at First Sight by Jennifer E Smith

review by Maryom

Hadley is flying to London to be a bridesmaid at her dad's wedding. She's not looking forward to this at all, as it will put the final seal on the end of her parents' marriage, so maybe it isn't completely accidental that she misses her flight by the smallest of margins. If she hadn't missed it though, she'd never have met Oliver. A Brit studying in the US, he's also heading to London for a family event, and, as he helps while away the tedious hours  waiting for her re-scheduled flight and distracts Hadley from her fears on the flight itself, they start to form a connection that surely can't be broken as they leave the plane...

The Statistical Probability of Love at First Sight is, as you might expect, a story of falling in love at, not quite but almost, first sight; a feelgood teen romance of missing connections and making new ones. It's fairly obvious where the story is going but there are enough hitches and obstacles put in Hadley and Oliver's way to keep an element of doubt. It's delightful and light without being fluffy or overly-sentimental. If there's a downside, it's that, like me, you'll want to read it in one sitting - and then be left with nothing to read.

I somehow missed this book when it was first out and worked my way round to it through This Is What Happy Looks Like and The Geography of You and Me so I sort of knew what to expect from the author and I think it had less of an impact than if I'd read it first.
Maryom's review -  4 stars
Publisher - Headline
Genre - rom com, teen/YA

Thursday, 3 July 2014

Season to Taste or How To Eat Your Husband by Natalie Young

review by Maryom

Out today in paperback, with a brand new cover, is Natalie Young's Season To Taste or How To Eat Your Husband.
Not for the squeamish and easily upset, this is the tale of Lizzie Prain who one day takes a spade and murders her husband - and then finds herself with a body to dispose of. Never one to let anything go to waste, Lizzie decides the 'moral', environmentally-friendly thing to do is eat him!
It's dark and funny - and I loved it.

See my full review from January here

Season To Taste is without doubt a bizarre, twisted and darkly funny book, and it's certainly not going to be everyone's cup of tea. I loved it but I think this is a time when you should consult your own tastes rather than accept the word of a reviewer. You need an odd sense of humour and a strong stomach, as Lizzie roasts, stews and barbecues her way through her husband's remains - but I'm not sure what that says about me as I romped through it. The cooking methods are lovingly described; as Lizzie rubs the meat with olive oil and salt, chops the garlic, squeezes the lemons and sprinkles over the freshly chopped herbs, it's easy to forget WHAT she's cooking  - so much so that at times I found myself thinking "that sounds good, I might try it" before remembering Lizzie's choice of meat.
It's all rather Sweeney Todd meets Desperate Housewives with a storyline that would feel more at home in Wisteria Lane in the quiet Surrey countryside, but why shouldn't Britain have its share of eccentrics? If you love the dark and weird, can find the humour in Shaun of the Dead's Winchester zombie battering scene or merely want to step outside your comfort zone temporarily, then this is for you. It's dark and wicked, and mocks our obsessions with appearances and fine dining...... and maybe husbands should beware.

Wednesday, 2 July 2014

Spare Brides by Adele Parks

 review by Maryom

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you'll remember me singing the praises of Spare Brides when it was first published back in February. Now, for anyone who missed it or read and loved a library copy, it's out in paperback!

Beginning on New Year's Eve 1920, Spare Brides is the story of four very different friends; of how, in a world radically altered by the First World War, their lives, hopes and expectations have changed too. All come from privileged, wealthy backgrounds but there the similarities end. One is a widow, one rather dully married, one not interested in the marriage market and one desperate to find anyone to love.

 "Spare Brides has got everything you expect from a conventional romantic novel - glamorous parties, gorgeous clothes, an enigmatic hero and a passionate love affair - but it's far from a piece of light fluff. Alongside the glitz and glamour lies the heartbreak and devastation of the War, and it's continuing emotional impact. The story also takes a shrewd look at the changing roles and expectations of women in this period. All four women have been brought up to believe that their role in life will be as wife and mother, nothing more. But times are changing; husbands are few and far between, and women have more freedom and possibilities; hopes and ambitions need no longer be confined to the drawing room and nursery.
It's another great, absorbing read from Adele Parks. One that once started you won't want to put down, I certainly didn't.
The ending might be a little predictable but so what? Show me a Jane Austen ending that wasn't obvious a mile off!

If you're intrigued, you can find out more on the author's blog

Maryom's review - 5 stars
Publisher -
Genre - Adult, historical romance,

Tuesday, 1 July 2014

The Incarnations by Susan Barker

review by Maryom

Wang is a Beijing taxi driver, married in a happy-enough but dull sort of way with a young daughter, plodding along in his daily routine till one day he finds a letter left for him in his cab. The letter turns out to be the first of many, comprising a series of short stories, cameos from China's often brutal past, in which two lovers meet in a series of reincarnations. The author claims to be one of this pair of lovers- and that Wang is the other; that they have met, loved and betrayed many times over the centuries, and will meet again soon.
All this coincides with the reappearance in Wang's life of a former lover - a male prostitute, towards whom he feels both attracted and repelled. Is he responsible for the letters? Is it just an elaborate attempt to win back Wang's affection? Someone is definitely stalking Wang and his family, growing closer and intent on harming them.

The Incarnations is a real epic of a novel; a complex story jumping backwards and forwards in time, it's story of desire and betrayal working itself out time and again over the centuries against the backdrop of China's history from the extravagant but dangerous Emperor's court to the schoolrooms of the 1960s Cultural Revolution; the two lovers are father and daughter, young captives by invading Mongols or concubines plotting to kill the Emperor. To further complicate matters, the story also jumps between Wang's life as it is now and flashbacks to show how he came, from a high position in society, to hold such a lowly one.
It's an amazing blending together of all these threads and themes: a potted history of China mixed with a compelling read which captures the atmosphere of these various historical periods and gives a wonderful insight into life in those times.
 I just found one slight niggle, it reminded too much of Kim Stanley Robinson's The Years of Rice and Salt - though that is an alternate history of the world if European civilisation had collapsed with the Black Death, whereas The Incarnations is set very firmly in real events.

Maryom's review - 4 stars
Publisher - Doubleday
Genre - adult contemporary literary fiction, historical fiction


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Cleveland Clinic’s Orthopaedic Surgery Department Receives $2 Million Gift

By Stacey Bomser

Cleveland Clinic Florida’s nationally ranked orthopaedic surgery department may soon be even better, thanks to a $2 million gift from the Levitetz Family Foundation and Jeff Levitetz.

The gift by the philanthropist and longtime supporter of Cleveland Clinic Florida was recognized with the naming of The Levitetz Department of Orthopaedic Surgery. The naming was in appreciation of his significant contribution to orthopaedic research and development, caregiver training, and patient care initiatives.

“We are incredibly grateful for the support Jeff has shown to Cleveland Clinic Florida,” said Wael Barsoum, MD, President of Cleveland Clinic Florida. “Our donors make it possible to continue innovating and provide advance training for our caregivers that further Cleveland Clinic Florida’s patient-centered care model and help us achieve clinical excellence.”

As founder and president of The Levitetz Family Foundation, Levitetz makes charitable gifts to organizations that support children, families, veterans and scientific research. As a longtime supporter of Cleveland Clinic Florida, Levitetz has made contributions to support the hospital’s Maroone Cancer Center.
“I am excited and honored that our name will be on the Orthopaedic Department here at Cleveland Clinic Florida,” said Levitetz during a recent event unveiling the new department signage. “We will continue to be a great custodian for the clinic.”

The Levitetz Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Cleveland Clinic Florida treats patients affected by bone, joint or connective tissue disorders. Its specialties include hand, wrist, elbow and shoulder surgery, hip and knee surgery, as well as a foot and ankle surgery.

Jeff Levitetz is the founder and chairman of Purity Wholesale Grocers, a distributor of grocery products and general merchandise. The company is listed among one of the nation’s top private companies.

He is a celebrated athlete who led several U.S. wrestling teams, including a 2004 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman team that competed in Athens, Greece. He has also served on the Board of Directors of USA Wrestling.

In addition to promoting wrestling, Levitetz is passionate about developing youth. He has been involved in Florida youth wrestling clubs and established a scholarship fund to help young athletes attend summer wrestling programs. He also co-founded Handshake University. The online training program helps young people build self-confidence and develop leadership skills.


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Saturday, May 2, 2009

FLY Day 31 - Take time to establish your routines

Today is the last day of the FLY basic lessons for me. It feels so good to "finish" - doesn't matter what it is. It is a closure. I am ready to continue on my de-cluttering and re-organizing projects. If you have been reading the FLY posts, I hope that you would find it helpful to take the baby steps back to keeping your home - all for His glory.
Have a blessed day!

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I didn’t want them in my house. I thought I wanted to be alone. But like good girlfriends do, in they pushed. There I sat with my eyes swollen and my stomach contracting with pain. Their eyes were soaked with tears, too. They hugged me & loved on me & then departed. Words were sparse but love was abounding. I needed them.

My husband cried. He listened. He pulled me close to his chest and wrapped his arms around my body. He fielded phone calls and told people I didn’t want to talk. He protected me. He told the sweet people at my church not to mention anything to me in a public setting. She’s just not ready to talk. Private yes, public no. Please pray. He told me how much they cared. He took me to the doctor. He made sure I ate. He let me mourn. He mourned. I needed him.

My brother called. Every day. He left messages. He sent texts. I’m just calling to check on you, Sis. I needed him.

My mom, dad, father-in law, mother-in law, and step-father in law each offered to babysit my son. They took care of him while I layed beside the Kleenex box in my bed. I needed them.

The strangers on the internet understood.  The ones in the support groups and chat rooms  were brutally honest.  The bloggers who wrote about their losses gave hope. I needed them.

My Professor at University nodded her head and said I’m sorry with her gentle glance when I entered class for the first time after my loss. I needed her.

My girlfriend’s husbands hugged me. They squeezed a bit harder when I placed my head on their warm shoulders. They didn’t utter a word, but I knew they cared. They told my husband they loved him. They asked my husband if he needed to talk.  We needed them.

My doctor and the nurses at the office hugged me. Their cheeks were landing grounds for tears. One nurse sent me a text the next day telling me she was thinking about me. I needed them.

My best friend forced me to go on a weekend getaway. Just the two of us. It wasn’t fancy. Just a hotel with a pool. We were the oldest people slipping down the waterside. She even brought a book to read. She hates to read. We laughed we giggled. She asked how I was doing. I needed her.

I need you to know that you can’t take away the pain. Tears will still pour from our eyes & our hearts will still ache. But I need you to know that we need your love.

Simply showing up means more than you’ll ever know.

“Rejoice with those who rejoice; Mourn with those who mourn” (Romans 12:15).

Ideas for Offering Support to Someone Who Has Experienced Miscarriage or Pregnancy Loss

  • Hug
  • Pray
  • Say I’m sorry
  • Send a letter, email, or text expressing your sincere condolences
  • Flowers
  • Don’t bring it up in a public place. You can nod, whisper I’m so sorry, or gently squeeze our hands, but please don’t ask us about our loss right before the company business meeting. Talk to us in a private place.
  • Respect us if we don’t want to talk
  • Listen if we do want to talk
  • Let us grieve
  •  Drop off food
  • Offer to babysit our other children. Ask us twice so we know you are serious, but don’t force us if we say no.
  • Gift a book: Miscarriage Resources & Links
  • Educate yourself: Miscarriage Resources & Links
  • Ask us if we need anything from the store. There are physical side effects to pregnancy loss
  • Gift this book: Love You Forever. The story was written to commemorate the author’s unborn child.
  • Give an angel ornament or some other token of appreciation.
  • Ask our partner if he needs to talk. Listen.
  • Invite us to dinner or coffee the weeks after our loss. Invite us to talk. Listen.
  • Subscribe to Stepping Stone’s eNewsletter.  Send an email to
  • Visit Miscarriage Resources & Links
  • Choose your words carefully. Read What Not To Say To Someone Who Had a Miscarriage
  • Invite your loved one to join Loved Baby Facebook Group
  • Understand that you can’t fix it but you can love on us.

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Pasco County and Entire Tampa Bay Area Braces for Impact of Hurricane Irma See Hour by Hour Rain and Wind Estimates for Central Pasco

 Ever since Hurricane Andrew, Florida mandated the most stringent building codes in the U.S. Since 2001, structures must be built to withstand winds of 111 mph and up. Here is some information Compiled by as of 3 am Sept 10, 2017 from
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Bulkhead and Dock Repair

Who Am I

My Standards

Why Choose Me

My name is Dylan Caudle, I have lived in the great city of Bayou Vista for going on 13 years. During that 13 years ive done many big and small jobs obtaining the knowelge to be able to tackel any project thrown my way.
Bulkhead and Dock repair is your one-stop-shop for all your construction and repair needs. Whether you’re looking for help with something minor or need an experienced professional to take on a larger scale project — I’m your go-to pro and I’m ready to handle it all. Browse through the list of my services below, and get in touch for your free estimate.
I have the knowelge and the reffrences to make sure the job gets done the right way. My work is always done in a timely maner and leaves the job looking better than we started.