text:
Sunday, November 30, 2008

Dear iPhoneCrackDetector

Attention readers: you may have noticed a lack of posting around here. It's because of those damn hackers and their DDOS. As such I have been offline and studiously building a fallout shelter in my backyard.

Anyway I found this in my Inbox a few days ago:
"Dear iPhoneCrackDetector,

I have been following your blog for a few weeks and been checking for the Info.plist crack even before you mentioned it. You're [sic] methods of being subversive have helped me well and I have been tracking usage for sometimes [sic]. I seen [sic] that your daughter ratted you out to her cracker friends so as a gift I will show you my usage statistics for my application ******* ********.

You're [sic] friendly iPhone Developer,

ps I hope my grammer [sic] and spelling are good enough for you! My graphs also don't track my paid users because I'm a nice guy!"
Ok. I'm not going to nitpick on the grammar and spelling so much, [redacted], but I will post your graphs (slightly edited to remove incriminating evidence) since they are very enlightening.

This is an eleven day run which tracks application execution. As you can see [redacted]'s application gets fairly constant usage per day.

Ok. Over a span of eleven days, [redacted]'s application has been copied at least 260 times. If you count the bars, you'll sum up to 260 but his graph title says 263. In either case, I say at least because these are the suckers that fell into the Info.plist detection trap.

[redacted] didn't give me enough statistics in his first correspondence to me, so I asked him for minimum, maximum and average usage over the eleven days he sent me. I also asked for his total number of sales for the 11 days and here's what he said:

"Hey iPhoneCrackDetector,

Minimum uasge is 1 for the eleven days. 12 pirates installed ******* ******** and ran it once. Maximum usage is 32 by 5 pirates. Next highest maximum is 29 by 52 pirates. Average usage is 7 runs per pirate.

My daily reports show 574 sales for those 11 days.

HOLY FUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When I read this I immediately divided 260 into 574. This yielded 45.296%.

Unfortunately my math was wrong. Over the total number of downloads (260 + 574) then the piracy yield is really: 260 / (260 + 574) = 31.175%.

This is still not a number to be scoffing at.

Given that most of the pirated copies are in constant use then I'm pretty sure running an application on average 7 times a day for 11 days is beyond the intent of the "trial period" that some of the lead crackers in the jailbreak/cracker scene are advocating.

So what do you do?

I suggest to you [redacted] that you stop developing for the App Store. 31.175% of your users are lying, cheating, scummy bastards. Another suggestion is to increase your application price. Store owners do it to counter shoplifting, so I suggest you do it too. Your new customers will be subsidizing the pirates who use their copies for free, but hey, put it this way... your existing customers won't have to pay anything.

Covenant550 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Covenant550 said...

Hey sorry for deleting my other comment. Yes I'm sure you know my user name but that does not matter to me. I was actually wondering if you have an e-mail address or anything where I can talk? If you want you may e-mail me first (I'll probably forget to check back :P) I think you'll find some of what I have to say interesting. Thank you.

iPhoneCrackDetector said...

You could have guessed like every one else:

Score_Under said...

You need to separate your post tags out with commas, otherwise they're pretty much useless.

TheDragon said...

Another thing to keep in mind, which may be in one of the Penny Arcade guest posts that I mentioned in a previous comment, the Pirates are not your target demographic. Most typically a Pirate would never pay for the product in the first place even if it couldn't be pirated. They shouldn't even come in to consideration when looking at your sales, because they would not have been potential paying customers in the first place.

Personally, if I find an application that's too much of a hassle to crack (and I mean in general, not app store apps) I will find an equivalent open source application. This tends to be the consensus in the Pirate community.

The trial period argument is a cop-out. It's used by Pirates that are afraid to come out and say flat out that they steal software. In some cases the lack of a trial may be the impetus of piracy, but you now have the full application without having paid for it. Why pay for it at that point?

Valve is a company that tends to put value in paying for their applications. I paid for Team Fortress 2, and plan on buying Left 4 Dead because there's genuine value in their online interaction and I'm willing to pay to access that service.

Anyway, I think that if the application developer that sent you this data had no piracy of his application at all, his usage would dip but his sales would stay the same.

luke said...

Just curious, I don't see a HUGE reason to be concerned with piracy of applications. I am a developer myself and I guess you just have to accept that some people may crack your app and use it illegally. The thing you have to realize is that the people who are cracking your application are the people who were not likely to be buying the application anyway, so you are not losing money from it nor are you losing any customers.

Tevin said...

I think that arguing that 'they wouldn't have bought your app anyways' is BS.

I'm not saying they would; but honestly, I sweated for hours over my app, gave up days of my life and spent a bunch of money getting everything together. And now, while my app struggles to get some traction in the app store, thousands of pirates have played it already...

that pisses me off, to be honest. Why should they get a free ride off the portion of my life and finances that I put into this game? Let them go play flash games for free online. There are enough free apps and free games out there that they shouldn't be cracking something that only costs $2 in the first place.

This sense of entitlement, that it's somehow alright to take other peoples work and use it for free, is disgusting.

polo shirt said...

Do not mean bad.Thank you so much! I just want to show some fashion wedding dress to all of you. I like wedding dresses, because wedding for a girl, it is the most special day in her life. Do you want to have the beautiful wedding dresses in perfect day??

polo shirt said...

Fantastic! God bless you! Meanwhile, we have the highest quality but the lowest price fashion cheap wedding dresses. Here are the most popular designer wedding dresses and lace wedding dresses for all of you. Also the cheap evening dresses is a great choice for you. Let you dream come ture!!

polo shirt said...

Perfect!! You are a outstanding person! Do you want to wear stunning discount wedding dresses and join the party wearing beautiful cheap prom dresses?? Or you want all people's eyes can't move from you? The evening formal dresses are the best gift for you!

polo shirt said...

Best wishes for you! May be you are interested in party cocktail dresses, and you may need cheap bridesmaid dress for you special Occasions. We can provide cheap cocktail dresses, cheap flower girl dresses even the plus size wedding dresses. You can choose that you like!

Eric said...

Made since the launch of his ASICS GEL-KINSEI 2 campaign by Japan in 2007, marks Onitsuku Tiger trainer has a series of ASICS GEL-Nimbus 9 shoe sculptures created, each of which Onitsuka Tiger Mexico 66 different aspects of Japanese culture.True to its tradition, Tansu carpentry, sculpture contains a series of boxes and drawers made of wood Onitsuka Tiger Ultimate 81 carved.

guangming said...

cell phonesCheap cell phonesDiscount Handbags On Sale-Beautycasa Online : - Hermes Handbags Miu Miu Handbags Fendi Handbags Prada Handbags Balenciaga Handbags Chloe Handbags Marc Jacobs Handbags Jimmy Choo Handbags Mulberry Luxury Handbags Christian Dior Handbags Hermes Wallet Gucci Handbags FREE GUCCI WALLET Difference the amount Designer Handbags Chanel Handbags Burberry Handbags Louis Vuitton Wallet ecommerce, open source, shop, online shoppinging

ally said...

Fashion is all about lookingwholesale LV handbagsmoncler jackets good and being comfortable at the same time. monclermoncler coatsEvery woman loves being complimentedmoncler t-shirtmoncler vestmoncler outlet for her sense of style and elegance. ugg bootscheap ugg bootsdiscount ugg bootsNo woman wants to be labeled as outdated and old fashioned.ugg classic tall bootsclassic ugg bootsWomen are expected to be in constant touch with the latest trends in ordermoncler jacketsmonclernew moncler coats to adopt those trends and look fashionable and stylish. moncler vestmoncler outletmoncler polo t-shirtWomen need to make sure that whatever they wear, coach outletcoach handbagscoach bagsit should compliment their personality and they do not feel awkward while wearing it. coach totescoach outletlouis vuitton handbagsAn article about Gothic costume clothing and the importance of choosing Gothic choker. LV handbags 2010Louis Vuitton bagsLouis Vuitton totesThis article explores the wide variety of Gothicrain boots
rainweardiesel jeans chokers available from everyday to special occasions. Ture Religion Jeanslevis jeansabercrombie and fitch outletIt should inspire people to go shopping for their own Gothic chokers. ed hardy wholesaleed hardy outletcheap ed hardy wholesaleThe origins of the Flat cap span discount ed hardy wholesalewholesale ed hardy

cl said...

ed hardy
ed hardy clothing
ed hardy discount
discount ed hardy
cheap ed hardy
wholesale ed hardy
buy ed hardy
don ed hardy
Ed Hardy Women Apparel
ed hardy intimates sleepwear
ed hardy women bottoms
ed hardy women denim
ed hardy women dresses
ed hardy women hoodies
ed hardy women knits
ed hardy women tops

ed hardy women outerwear
ed hardy women swimwear
ed hardy women t-shirts
ed hardy women tanks
Ed Hardy Women Shoes

xiaolong001 said...

We offer the farouk chi flat iron. We provide the best price and free shipping for all the
chi flat iron. As we know, the
ghd iv styler is the first class and famous brand. So it is the good chance for you. Don't let it pass. If you are looking for the
babyliss flat iron, you have come to the right place for
instyler rotating hot iron.

ghd straighteners was known as
ghd flat iron, which was authorized online
ghd seller provides all kinds of hair straighteners,pink ghd,purple ghd,babyliss. By visiting
ghd iv salon styler , you will find what you want and made yourself more beautiful.If you miss it ,you miss beauty.Buy a piece of ghd for yourself.Come and join us to win the
ghd iv mini styler.
ghd uk
ghd australia
ghd africa
ghd southafrica
t3 hair dryer
purple ghd straighteners
ghd spain
ghd ireland
ghd denmark
ghd america
ghd italy
ghd germany
ghd france
cheap ghd
purple ghd straighteners

GMMMO said...

Are you fighting in Final Fantasy XIV for FFXIV Gil or Final Fantasy XIV Gil?
Can you suffer yourself being called newbie in FFXIV Gil game?
Are you seeking unofficial Buy FFXIV Gil cheats or Final Fantasy XIV guides in order to make Final Fantasy XIV Gil faster?
Can you get millions of Cheap FFXIV Gil in one day?
Even if you know how to farm Buy Final Fantasy XIV Gil you have to prepare enough Final Fantasy XIV Power Leveling first to buy height class Final Fantasy XIV Items, to upgrade your Final Fantasy XIV characters.
FF14 Gil Then why not Buy FFXIV Gil from us?
In Final Fantasy XIV it's the fastest way FF14 Gil,for you to get rich. We are online 24 hours a day ready and 7 days one week to power up your FFXIV Gil accounts with FFXIV Gil. Here is the best place for the Final Fantasy XIV Online players to buy your Final Fantasy XIV Gil.
We are the professional website in FFXIV GIL sale.FFXIV GIL here,We are professional FFXIV Power Leveling online. We update price every single day to make sure we are the lowest in the market.(we don't compare price with scam sites which uses unbelievable low price to deceive.)
Our slogan:Cheapest price, Fastest delivery, Best service! Final Fantasy Xiv Gil
In the 2 years we are in this field , FFXIV Gilbuilt many business with tens of thousands of customers. They are very satisfied with our service.So if you want to get a log of Cheap FFXIV Gil ,no doubt ,come to our website to buy. Our customer service is ready for you on line now!(WWW,GM MMO,COM Sell FFXIV Gil)

Theresa said...

Excellent. thanks for sharing this iphone app development Cracked . its must be helpful for me . thank you

Star said...

Thanks for sharing this, it's pretty interesting to know.My dad who likes to get Generic Viagra told me about it.

dfadf said...

Microsoft Office
Office 2010
Microsoft Office 2010
Office 2010 key
Office 2010 download
Office 2010 Professional
Microsoft outlook
Outlook 2010
Windows 7
Microsoft outlook 2010

mybach62 said...

In year 2004, Christian Audigier licensed the rights to produce the ed hardy wholesale line, which is based on ed hardy clothing wholesale imagery. Prior to the Ed Hardy clothing line, Audigier was the Head Designer at Von Dutch Originals, which marketed the imagery of Kenny Howard. Audigier has attempted to replicate the marketing techniques employed by Von Dutch Originals, by marketing directly to celebrity ed hardy jeans wholesale and by opening stores in high profile fashion districts.

Koon said...

good article and valuable post, thank for idiot sharing okkk
Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
How to Get Into Acting
Breville Smart Oven
How to Impress Woman
Picking Lottery Numbers
Canon Powershot A800
Adidas Barricade
Adidas Barricade 6.0
Cuisinart TOB-195
Acne Conglobata
Acer 11.6 Netbook
500 payday loan
acne inversa
checkmate payday loans
Pengurusan Masa
How To Stop Panic Attacks

Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
How to Get Into Acting
Breville Smart Oven
How to Impress Woman
Picking Lottery Numbers
Canon Powershot A800
Adidas Barricade 6.0
Cuisinart TOB-195
Acne Conglobata
Acer 11.6 Netbook
500 payday loan
acne inversa
checkmate payday loans
Pengurusan Masa

poh said...

Counter Depth French Door Refrigerator
How to Get Into Acting
Breville Smart Oven
How to Impress Woman
Picking Lottery Numbers
Canon Powershot A800
Adidas Barricade
Cuisinart TOB-195
Acne Conglobata
Acer 11.6 Netbook
500 payday loan
acne inversa
checkmate payday loans
Pengurusan Masa
How To Stop Panic Attacks
Didik anak
Adidas Barricade 6.0
Adidas Barricade V

Chang bui thi said...

Any way I'll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you post again soon.
i like play games friv4school online and play games go girls Download facebook

Frozen Juegos said...

Thanks for sharing this quality information with us. I really enjoyed reading.
Jugar juegos de frozen en línea gratis, los nuevos de princesa de Disney juego frozen - la princesa encantadora y linda. Divertirse frozen!

Facebook Descargar said...

I found a lot of information here to create this actually best for all newbie here. Thank you for this information.
download descargar facebook gratis para Android celular and download free descargar facebook apk and descargar facebook gratis , descarga facebook

games unblocked said...

great article, I was very impressed about it, wish you would have stayed next share
kid games
unblocked games
juegos de un show mas

thị hậu nguyễn said...

Fantastic work! All you do a great blog, and have featured some of the documents, please see here:
happy wheels
super mario bros

Giải Trí Tổng Hợp said...

The blog or and best that is extremely useful to keep I can share the ideas. Age Of War 2
Big Farm | Slitherio | Tank Trouble
Of the future as this is really what I was looking for, I am very comfortable and pleased to come here. Thank you very much.
Happy Wheels | Goodgeme Empire |


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
The Thick of It

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

What is going on?

I've not blogged as I managed to break a bone in my hand playing football recently and am only just now getting back up to speed with typing properly. The plaster cast means I'm continually hitting space bar.

I've also been away, to Zurich, which seems like the Swiss party town. I saw Interpol and Klaxons play live. Interpol were excellent, Klaxons fun though I'm not sure they meet their top billing yet.

The Labour Party seems to be in a mess too. The government seems as if events control it rather than the other way around. Hmmm...

I went canvassing at the weekend in Highbury with Jeremy Corbyn MP, Islington's Labour Group Leader Cllr Catherine West and Cllr Richard Watts. A highlight included speaking to a real man called George W Bush, who was undecided about which party to support. I suppose that happens when one is about to leave office, the desire goes.

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-158-191-93.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2017-51
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for December 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


text:
This website uses cookies to function correctly.
You may delete cookies at any time but doing so may result in some parts of the site not working correctly.

To order your repeat prescription, please either sign up for online services or just call the POD.

The POD is a simple phone call, at a local rate, to order your repeat prescription.

We're delighted to report that the waiting time for a GP appointment, with one of our permanent GPs, is LESS THAN 2 weeks.

In addition we can offer appointments wit our Advanced Nurse Practitioner within 1 week, and on-the-day appointments with our Nurse Practitioners, for any urgent concerns or minor illnesses!

Our GPs are increasingly being asked to complete reports and letters, and we wanted to take this opportunity to give some background and explain why we ask for 5 working days for such paperwork to be completed.  Thank you for your cooperation.

Time spent completing forms and preparing reports takes the GP away from the medical care of his/her patients.  Most GPs have a very heavy workload – Our GPs work to 60 hours per week and paperwork takes up an increasing amount of their time.  In addition non-NHS work must be undertaken outside of NHS contracted time.

The National Health Service provides most health care to most people free of charge, but there are exceptions.  Sometimes the charge is made to cover some of the cost of treatment, for example dental fees.  In other cases it is because the service isn’t covered by the NHS, for example, medical reports of insurance companies, claims on private health insurance and other letters and forms which require the doctor to review the patient’s medical records.

It is important to understand that GPs are not employed by the NHS, they are self-employed and they have to cover their costs – staff, buildings, heating, lighting etc – in the same way as any small business.

The NHS pays the doctor for specific NHS work but for non NHS work the fee has to cover the doctor’s costs.  Our fees are calculated based on our GPs Private hourly rate.

What is covered by the NHS and what is not?

The government’s contract with GPs covers medical services to NHS patients.  In recent years, more and more organisations have been involving doctors in a whole range of non-medical work.  Sometimes the only reason that GPs are asked is because they are in a position of trust in the community, or because an insurance company or employer wants to be sure that information provided is true and accurate.

Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge their patients

 Certain travel vaccinations

  • Private medical insurance reports
  • Holiday cancellation forms
  • Referral for private care forms
  • Appropriate letters requested on behalf of the patient
  • In certain instances fitness to work forms

 Examples of non-NHS services for which GPs can charge other institutions are

  • Medical reports for an insurance company
  • Some reports for the DSS/Benefits Agency
  • Examinations of local authority employees

I only need the doctor’s signature – what is the problem?

When a doctor signs a certificate or completes a report it is a condition of remaining on the Medical Register that they only sign what they know to be true.  Therefore in order to complete even the simplest of forms, the doctor may need to check the patient’s entire record.  Carelessness or an inaccurate report can have serious consequences for the doctor, with the General Medical Council or even the Police.

We close our doors for Staff Training on a Tuesday Lunchtime from 1-2pm.

You will still be able to get hold of us on the phone for any urgent queries!

Thanks in advance for your co-operation, this will provide valuable time for our clinical  and admin teams to share good practice and develop our service.

Blood Tests

blood_tests_4A blood test is when a sample of blood is taken for testing in a laboratory. Blood tests have a wide range of uses and are one of the most common types of medical test. For example, a blood test can be used to:

  • assess your general state of health
  • confirm the presence of a bacterial or viral infection
  • see how well certain organs, such as the liver and kidneys, are functioning

A blood test usually involves the phlebotomist taking a blood sample from a blood vessel in your arm. and the usual place for a sample is the inside of the elbow or wrist, where the veins are relatively close to the surface. Blood samples from children are most commonly taken from the back of the hand. The child's hand may be anaesthetised (numbed) with a special cream before the sample is taken.

You can find out more about blood tests, their purpose and the way they are performed on the NHS Choices website.

Call 111 when you need medical help fast but it’s not a 999 emergencyNHS ChoicesThis site is brought to you by My Surgery Website


text:
Friday, 30 December 2011

Thoughts on 2011

Books and Blog:
I'm pleased that I've continued to enjoy reading and blogging throughout 2011.  As the year has gone past, I've become less worried about number of followers and frequency of posts and the types of books I review and I've just settled in and enjoyed it more.  There are a number of bloggers that I feel like I've developed friendships with this year, so thank you to all of you who keep visiting and commenting :)

I've also managed to meet my own vague personal goal of reading 100 books, which I am chuffed with.  I'm going for the same next year, but without any pressure.  All I want in terms of reading is to read and enjoy some great books, then share my thoughts on them.

On a more personal level, 2011 has been the most intense year of my life so far.  There have been so many good and even wonderful things about it and a share of bad too, and it feels in some ways that someone pressed a fast forward button on my life this year.  I don't usually discuss personal things on my blog, because it's a book blog, but I wanted to share some things that happened in 2011 for me:

At the start of the year I had proper health problems for the first time. I actually ended 2010 in hospital and spent a lot of 2011 at hospital appointments and having diagnostic tests.  Luckily things are well under control now and I feel better than I have done in ages, but I never really realised how important good health was, and how much not having it can effect everything in your life until this year.

And then in April we moved house.  Wasn't planning to so soon, but we are so glad we did now as we moved from a flat to a proper house with a garden (still renting, when is the housing market going to settle?) and we're both happy here.  After April all my time was taken up with wedding planning as I got married at the end of July.  All of August was spent having the most wonderful honeymoon touring the southern states of the USA.  That was definitely my favourite part of the year and we're planning to go back to New Orleans at some point in the future.

September was a difficult time.  The new school year started and I had some new things at work to get used to.  My granddad also passed away at the end of this month, which I haven't felt OK typing about until now.  My grandparents lived in the house opposite us during all of my childhood and teenage years and I'm lucky to have so many happy memories.  He had been ill for a very long time, but it was still hard.  I'm getting there now.

And then in December, a welcome happy event as my big sister got married.  My poor parents - both daughters married during the same year, I'm sure it was a challenging year for them too!  It was nice to be so involved with the ceremony (I was a bridesmaid) without the pressure of making all of the decisions.

Thankfully, my Christmas holidays have been relaxing and low-key.  I'm planning a quiet New Years Eve, cooking a curry for my husband and parents and staying in.  I hope to have a quieter 2012, and to have time to take pleasure in the simple things.  And read a great many good books of course!

Happy New Year Everyone!
Are you happy or sad to see the end of 2011?

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Regular readers will know that I don't read much YA, but every now again I like to pick up a YA book from the library and see what I am missing.  Before I Fall is the story of high-school student Sam, who is killed in a car accident whilst being driven home from a late-night house party (not a spoiler, it happens right at the beginning).  But rather than moving on, she finds herself reliving the day of her death over and over again in a Groundhog-day type scenario.  As she starts the same day afresh every morning, Sam must learn that every action and even inaction that she takes has consequences for those around her.

I liked the main character of Sam in this book.  At the beginning, she was not a very nice person - not the sort to start bullying others but the kind that will readily join in without feeling guilty.  She's distant from her parents and has cut her best childhood friend out of her life in order to be seen as popular.  She's obsessed with wearing the right thing, saying the right thing and even eating the right thing at lunch-time.  She's self-absored in the way that only teenagers can be, and Oliver wrote this part beautifully. But then as the book went on, I got to see Sam slowly change and mature.  Of course the whole process was sped up by the groundhog day scenario, but it read like a real reflection on the growing up process that happens to all of us.  I appreciated that Oliver didn't create a perfect main character (like I've seen in a lot of YA books) but instead let us watch her develop throughout the course of the story.

When I was reading Before I Fall, I felt as though I had gone back to my own teenage years, as Oliver perfectly captures what it is like to be a teenager when you aren't sure of yourself and the world of school and your relationships with other teenagers are the most important things in the world.  At points I wanted to reach into the book and shake the characters, saying "it does get better when you get to the real world."  And that's the essential problem for me with this book and with YA books in general - I don't always want to be transported back to my teenage years.  In fact, I'm quite happy to be out of them.

But Before I Fall is definitely one of the best YA books I've read for a long time.  It's addictive, hard to put down, well written and contains a cast of decently developed secondary characters.  There are no stereotypical teens present in Oliver's book.  As the story goes on, you do find yourself rooting for Sam and hoping that she will be able to change herself into a better person.  I would recommend this book to anyone who likes YA, or anyone who wants to be reminded of what it is like to be a teenager.

Verdict: A good YA book about a teenage girl in a ground hog day scenario who must learn to be a better person.
First Published: March 2010
Source: Library (random browsing)
Score: As YA, 4.5 out of 5.  For me overall, 3 out of 5.

Thursday, 29 December 2011

The Ruins Of Us by Keija Parssinen

The Ruins of Us hits the ground running.  Rosalie, an American woman married to a Saudi man, Abdullah,  is shopping for a gift for her daughter when the shop-keeper casually asks if she enjoyed the anniversary gift her husband bought recently.  Knowing that the gift was not for her, it doesn't take Rosalie long to find out that her husband has secretly taken a second wife, Isra.  The after-shocks of this revelation are the real meat of the story as everyone in the family is affected.  Rosalie must decide what to do whilst Abdullah hides behind the shield of tradition.  Their daughter feels oppressed by the contradiction between her upbringing and the rigid rules for Saudi women but it is their son, Faisal, who is holding a deep resentment against his mother and her American-ness.  As he becomes further drawn into extremist activity, events start to spin out of control.

The Ruins of Us is an impressive novel that straddled several genres comfortably.  Different chapters in the book are told from the different perspectives of each of the main characters and Parssinen managed to make each voice distinct.  I was particularly drawn to the story of Faisal as he became radicalised and this remained undetected by his family.  Parssinen did a fantastic job of showing how bored, wealthy young men are often easy targets for extremists- in the news here it's not unusual to hear of young men from moderate, successful families ending up in terrorist training camps abroad, and I felt that this part of the story showed real insight.  Faisal's guilt at being half-American was easily manipulated and used against him as he was desperate to become more Saudi and more Muslim.  As his family struggled to deal with their own issues, no one noticed what was happening to him as he started to idealise poverty and suffering and rebel against his wealthy upbringing.

Parssinen also successfully showed the emotions that each family member went through as they came to terms with Abdullah taking a second wife.  I felt for Rosalie, even if I couldn't understand her choices.  Having grown up on an oil reserve in Saudi Arabia, she was as much in love with the country as she was with Abdullah.  There was also some good examination about what it means to truly belong somewhere, and to be caught between two very different cultures.

One criticism I will make is that I wanted to hear more from Rosalie and Abdullah's daughter, Mariam.  Whereas Faisal was rebelling by becoming more extremist, Mariam was busy fighting the strict rules for women in Saudi Arabia by decorating her abaya (outer covering worn by Saudi women) and writing an anonymous blog.  These issues about life for women in Saudi Arabia were just touched upon through the characters of Mariam and Rosalie and I would have liked to see some more examination.  But this is just a minor criticism - I thoroughly enjoyed this book and will look out for more by the author in the future.

Verdict: Good examination of family dynamics and culture clash in modern-day Saudi Arabia.
Source: From the publisher via NetGalley
Score: 4 out of 5

The Ruins of Us is published on January 17th 2012.

Wednesday, 28 December 2011

Christmas Loot!

I'm having a relaxing day today after a busy Christmas.  I have had a lovely few days and thoroughly enjoyed my first Christmas as a married person, as well as the first Christmas in our house (last year we were in a tiny, poky flat so it's a definite upgrade).  The majority of my presents were not books as the fact that I own a lot of books is well known and generally puts people off buying any more for me.  However, I did receive some books that I'm very happy with ....

The Night Circus was a gift from my parents.  I bought the same book for my sister as a gift and when it came in the post I read the first chapter.  That was enough to get me hooked and I added it to my own Christmas list straight away.  My parents always get me a beautiful hardback book for Christmas - last year it was The Passage and the year before, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell.

The Marriage Plot was a gift from my husband, and he had specific instructions about which book I wanted!  I've been desperate to read this ever since I started seeing reviews pop up on other people's blogs.  I am a big fan of both The Virgin Suicides and Middlesex, so fingers crossed I will enjoy this one too.

My final bookish gift was a wonderful surprise present from my in-laws - a hardback collection of the Penguin classic editions of Arabian Nights!  I read the Burton translation of Arabian Nights earlier in the year and loved it so much that at the time I did mention to a few people that I would like a beautiful copy to keep on my shelf.   These are going to look great on my bookcase next to my other hardback Penguin Classic editions.  I can feel the urge to collect coming on....

Each of the three books has a different cover. The paper inside is just beautiful too.

My favourite.

So I have lots of reading to keep me busy over the next few months!  I want to dive straight into my new books but I do have some review deadlines coming up as well as some books on hold at the library that I need to finish before the return date. I will have to practise restraint...

All in all, a great Christmas.  Did you receive any books as gifts?

Tuesday, 27 December 2011

The Oracle of Stamboul by Michael David Lukas

The Oracle of Stamboul is a charming fairytale about nine year old Eleonora Cohen, who is precociously intelligent.  She can memorise anything she is given to read and converse in seven different languages.  When her carpet-seller father leaves for Stamboul (Istanbul) on business, Eleonora secretly follows him.  But her intelligence and gifts can not stay secret for long, and she soon finds herself wrapped up in the Sultan's court.
I have to admit that I chose this book purely because it is set in Istanbul during Ottoman times. The Ottoman Empire is one of my favourite parts of history and I'm always looking out for new books about this period.  Where I think Lukas definitely succeeded with this novel was in the way he described the city and the Sultan; he really captured the exotic, other-worldliness that we as Westerners often think of when we imagine Istanbul at that time.  I wouldn't have been surprised if at some point a flying carpet or a genie appeared.  There were spice markets and mosques and tiled mosiacs and the call to prayer and at some points I wanted to climb right in through the pages.

The setting was so wonderfully described that at times the story was secondary to it.  The basic story line of a gifted child and a worried Sultan was a good one, but it is Stamboul itself I will remember from this book.  The story was told in the way you would a fairytale, which I am not usually a fan of, but it did work well in this case.  Because of this method of storytelling, the magical elements did not seem out of place and they didn't bother me at all. In much the same way the secondary characters were slightly underdeveloped, but again it didn't matter as the whole novel was like a fairytale.

The Oracle of Stamboul is a quick, charming read which I liked but didn't love.  It's perfect for a cosy Sunday afternoon in front of the fire but it's not one I will reread or remember for years to come.

Source: Library
First Published: 2011
Score: 3.5 out of 5

Saturday, 24 December 2011

Best of 2011: Part The Third.

Welcome back to my Best Of 2011 posts, where I am highlighting my favourite book from each month of the year.

The Sandalwood Tree by Elle Newmark

The Sandalwood Tree is the story of two Western women in India at different times.  American Evie has moved to India in 1947 with her scholar husband Martin, and whilst she is there she finds a cache of letters written by two Victorian women, Felicity and Adela.  This is a very evocative book and both stories are delightful.  You'll definitely want to visit India after reading this one.  Recommended for armchair travellers and fans of historical fiction.

Cleopatra: A Life by Stacy Schiff

This is hands-down the best history book I've read all year, the one that has the best balance between being readable and satisfying history buffs.  It's full of great little facts and manages to place Cleopatra's life in the context of the time in which she lived, rather than mythologising her.  A good introduction to reading non-fiction if you're not a regular reader.

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway

This is simply a beautiful book about normal people and normal life during the worst siege of modern times.  When death becomes a random act and the person next to you is gunned down by a sniper whilst you survive, how can you continue to live as normal?  Quite a philosophical book, it still has a story that is devastating in places.

Purge by Sofi Oksanen

There's not much I can say about this book apart from: it's amazing and go and buy a copy right now.  It's a harrowing story about the abuse of two Estonian women during the late twentieth century, but it also has lots of elements of a psychological thriller and one of the creepiest characters I've read about in a long time.  Go and read it!

I hope you've enjoyed this run-down of my favourite books of the year, I've certainly enjoyed reading the lists on other people's blogs.  I'll be celebrating Christmas with my family over the next few days, so see you all on the 27th...Merry Christmas!

Thursday, 22 December 2011

The Calligrapher's Daughter by Eugenia Kim

Najin Han is born in Korea just as it becomes a colony of Japan in 1910 and grows up in a country that is mourning the loss of its freedom and age-old traditions.  Her father clings on to traditional views and customs in the face of rapid change and discrimination, making it hard for Najin to gain an education and employment. As the rule of Japan becomes more oppressive and opportunities for Koreans narrow, Najin must do all she can to support her family and balance her traditional upbringing with Japanese rule and the reality of modern Korea.

The Calligrapher's Daughter is a leisurely read packed full of lovely description.  From the winter snow to the rustle of clothes to the smell of cooking, I felt as though Kim had transported me back in time and half way around the world to Korea.  Unlike a lot of historical fiction, she used showing rather than telling as her main literary device.  Despite not being explicitly told that 'yangban' meant a respected class of people in former Korea, it was easy to guess this through the use of the word.  And there was a lot of this trust in the reader to work things out for themselves, which I really liked as it made me feel like an observer to the story, rather than the main reason the story is being told.

Najin was a likeable main character and it was hard as a modern woman not to sympathise with her struggles against her father's traditional views.  Najin goes through hardships and good times during the course of the novel and I definitely empathised with her when things were rough.  A lot of the story is apparently based on the story of Eugenia Kim's family, which added a bit of weight to the story and my reaction to it.

I do think there were some pacing issues with this novel. It starts with a very slow, leisurely pace which I personally enjoyed as it was like being immersed in Korea at the time and I love the little details in historical fiction. This slow pace continues through most of the book.  By the last third, I was used the characters spending time thinking about the events of the novel when suddenly things sped up.  I don't know if Kim wanted to finish the book quickly, or convey some kind of urgency, but I found the change in pace and the swiftness of the ending unsettling when compared with the rest of the novel.  I still very much enjoyed it, but I felt a bit unsettled after the end.

Verdict: Intriguing novel set in Korea during Japanese rule; a portrait of a country struggling to balance traditional beliefs with a more modern world.
First Published: 2009
Source: Library
Score: 4 out of 5

Wednesday, 21 December 2011

Best of 2011 Part Two: May To August

Welcome back to my Best Of 2011 posts, where I am highlighting my favourite book from each month of the year.

Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides

I went into this book expecting a story about a hermaphrodite, and it is that, but it's also so much more.  It's an epic family saga of three generations of a Greek-American family and each story is distinct.  My favourite was the story of Cal's parents, who immigrated to America from Greece, and who shouldn't have fallen in love with each other.  I was expecting to be disappointed with this book as The Virgin Suicides is one of my all time favourites, but I loved it.  Recommended for literary fiction fans.

Tiger, Tiger by Margaux Fragoso

Tiger, Tiger is a controversial book.  It's the true story of a relationship between a fifty-one year old man and a seven year old girl.  It's also brutally honest, to the extent that many reviews I've read of this book have been a bit victim-blaming, as Fragoso perfectly describes the process of grooming and how she eventually became the instigator.  It's a disturbing read, especially as many of the adults around Margaux do seem to be aware to some level of what is going on, but unwilling to face the horrible truth.  Recommended especially for anyone who works with young children.

On Chesil Beach by Ian McEwan

On Chesil Beach is the story of newly-weds Florence and Edward on the day of their wedding.  Both nervous about the intimacy that is to follow, for different reasons they are apprehensive about their wedding night.  Edward has performance anxiety but Florence is repulsed by the very idea of sexual contact.  Unable to communicate effectively, as a reader you watch as they effectively throw away their love for each other.  This is a short book but packed full of astute observations about being human and relationships.  Recommended for anyone who has ever felt awkward.

Pigeon English by Stephen Kelman

This was my pick for the Booker prize.  Eleven year old Harri arrives in London from Ghana with his Mum and sister and is overwhelmed by the new sights and experiences.  Without realising exactly what he is doing, he soon becomes caught up with local gangs and the murder of a teenager.  I loved this as you completely get inside Harri's head and it's a perfect examination of how growing up in an inner-city area like the one in the book can destroy childhood.  Recommended for anyone who wants to escape themselves, or has connections with the inner-city.

Next time, the last installment: September - December.
I'm really enjoying looking back over all of the books I have read this year.

Tuesday, 20 December 2011

Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad by Bee Rowlatt and May Witwit

Talking About Jane Austen in Baghdad is a true story told in a collection of emails exchanged between two women, Bee and May.  Bee is a Londoner who needs to find an English-speaking Iraqi to interview for her job with the BBC world service.  After she interviews May, a university professor from Baghdad, the two remain in contact and become close friends.  Bee shares details about life in London and her family and May responds with the brutality and horror of the Iraq invasion.  As things become worse for May, Bee does everything she can to try to help her escape the country for good.

I enjoyed this book at first. It was interesting reading the actual emails the two women shared as their friendship developed and progressed.  These initial emails contained lots of information about family history, everyday life and current events - it was a good way to get to know the two women.  But as the book continued I found myself getting irritated with the fact that every single email ever written between them had been included.  This made things very repetitive at times, especially when May is trying several ways to obtain a visa for the UK and in my opinion, a sensitive editor could have avoided this problem completely.  Some emails could have been cut without the overall effect of the book being diminished.

I also found myself getting a bit annoyed with the English woman, Bee.  She often writes cheerful emails full of family news in an attempt to cheer up May, but this does at times come across as insensitive.  Bee obviously comes from a well-off family and her constant chat about weeks away, holidays and complaining about having to train a new au-pair whilst May is being shot at in the street seems a bit tactless.  At times she is also very blunt with May, and I cringed whilst reading the sections where Bee tells May in no uncertain terms that she won't financially support her when she arrives in England.

May's emails, on the other hand, perfectly convey how hopeless and frustrated she feels with the situation in her country.  During the periods where her and her husband are basically prisoners in their own home due to the danger, I really empathised with their depression and loneliness.  I was rooting for May throughout the whole book and did become emotionally invested in her.   This was the key strength of the book and I felt it would have been improved by focusing less on Bee and more on May, rather than including every single email written between them.

Verdict: Interesting true story told through emails that could have benefited from a sensitive editor.
Source: Owned
Score: 3 out of 5

Monday, 19 December 2011

Best of 2011: Part One

Believe it or not, 2011 is the first year in which I have kept a record of every single book I have read and as of today, 19th December, I have read exactly 100 books.  I'm thrilled with that and still hope to finish a few more before the start of 2012.  Having kept such a record for the first time, it has been easy for me to look back and see what books I have very much enjoyed this year.  I've highlighted one favourite book from each month to share with you all over a series of posts.  Today's post covers Jan - April:

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman

This retelling of the life of Jesus is a thoughtful examination of how stories change depending on who is telling them and on the role of the church in creating and shaping myth.  Pullman separates Jesus into two characters - Jesus (in the Jewish tradition) and Christ (who starts to create the new Christian ideas).  Despite it attracting a lot of controversy, I found that most of Pullman's anger was directed at the institution of the Church, not religion itself.  A great book for anyone who likes to be made to think.

Half of a Yellow Sun by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

This is all about human lives against the backdrop of civil war in Nigeria.  This book was my first introduction to Adichie, and since then I have read all of her published books this year.  Adichie alternates sections about the war and sections about life before the war to show how the war has altered everything and how everyday concerns just vanish in the face of extreme difficulty.  Recommended for fans of historical fiction, literary fiction and armchair travellers.

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

OK, OK - this one is in here partially because I am proud of myself for completing it, but mainly because I am proud of myself for enjoying it.  I hadn't read much classic Russian literature before trying this book and I was pleasantly surprised by how accessible and soap-opera-ish it was.  It's a true epic with many interweaving characters and stories threaded together by Tolstoy's wonderfully perceptive observations about what it is to be a human.  Recommended for fans of classics, even if you think you can't do it.

People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks

People of the Book is historical fiction at it's finest.  Hanna works as a book conservationist and is sent to war-torn Sarajevo to restore an immensely valuable Jewish Haggadah.  Through the use of many characters in settings such as Spain at the time of the Spanish Inquisition, Venice and Yugoslavia, Brooks lets us see the journey of the book and the factors contributing to it's survival.  Recommended for historical fiction fans and general book lovers.

Next time: May - August, including some non-fiction as well as fiction.
Interestingly, three out of these four books were library books.  I use the library a lot more than I really should, given the amount of unread books I actually own, but I have been introduced to some great authors through randomly picking books up off the shelves.

Saturday, 17 December 2011

Cain by Jose Saramago

Cain is the last book written by Nobel Prize for Literature winning author Jose Saramago, published after his recent death.  It is essentially a retelling of the Old Testament through the eyes of Cain, who was marked forever for murdering his brother Abel.  Cursed by God to wander, the Cain of Saramago's book witnesses Abraham almost killing Isaac, the destruction of the Tower of Babel, Sodom and Gomorrah, the trials of Job and the building of Noah's Ark.

Throughout all of this Cain is a stand-in for scepticism and the desire of humanity to argue with God.  How many people, even Christians, have wanted to be able to argue with God, just for one minute?  Cain gets to do so on a regular basis and he exposes some flaws in God, who is painted by Saramago as the Old-Testament God of vengeance rather than the New-Testament God of love.  At times in this book God miscalculates (he instructs Noah to build the Ark in the wrong place), doesn't take time to punish only the guilty (Sodom and Gomorrah) and displays poor time-keeping (Cain has to rescue Isaac as God's angel is going to be too late).  Saramago does seem to want to shock, and I think this book would be offensive if you are a fundamentalist sort of Christian, but more than that he wants to poke fun in a gently mocking sort of way.

The story is told in a folksy style that has more in common with oral language than spoken language.  I thought this worked well with the subject matter.  Cain is the first Saramago I have read so I was immediately struck by the run on sentences, the eight page paragraphs, the lack of capitals and the complete absence of speech marks.  Apparently this is common of his work and whilst I am all in favour of being experimental with narrative, the lack of paragraph breaks irritated me and I wanted proper grammar.  I had to use much more attention than usual to keep track of who was speaking at what moment.

Whilst I did like this book, it didn't blow me away.  I felt like Philip Pullman's The Good Man Jesus and The Scoundrel Christ was a better and more thought-provoking re-examination of biblical stories.  Cain passed the time nicely but it didn't really make me think in the way that perhaps the author intended.

Verdict: Retelling of Old Testament stories from a sceptical Cain, in a sometimes hard to follow style.
Source: From the publisher via NetGalley
Score: 3 out of 5

Thursday, 15 December 2011

BBC Documentary: Books - The Last Chapter?

If you live in the UK, there is a nice documentary on iplayer at the moment called Books - The Last Chapter? (here)  It's mainly about whether e-readers will ever take over from printed books but it's also a nice story of why we all love books so much, with a presenter that is clearly a bibliophile.

I don't know yet where I stand on the issue of e-readers.  I will always be a lover of printed books, especially beautiful editions such as the Penguin hardback classics, but I also appreciate the convenience of my kindle.  If I'm going to buy a standard paperback, I'll probably buy a digital version.  It's likely to be cheaper, it saves space in my house and I can access it instantly.

In the future, I can see my library of digital books growing and my library of printed books shrinking to much loved childhood editions and 'special' books that I will always cherish. I have some battered copies of childhood classics like Little Women and A Little Princess that I will never be parted from, likewise my hardback adult favourites like Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, but for my three star rated books, I'm indifferent whether they are printed, from the library or on my kindle.

How about you?  Do you have any strong views either way?

Monday, 12 December 2011

Purge by Sofi Oksanen

I first heard about Sofi Oksanen's Purge through Willa's blog, and as soon as I read her review of it I knew I had to read it for myself.  Finally, almost four months later, I managed to get my hands on a copy.  Set in Estonia during the 1940s and 1990s, it is the story of two women who have both suffered abuse.

Aliide Truu is living an old-fashioned life in rural Estonia, cut off from all her neighbours.  She is happy being self-sufficient until she finds Zara, a badly beaten woman, in her garden.  As Aliide begins to help Zara, she is forced to look back on her own past and involvement with both the Estonian Nationalist Movement and the Soviet state.  Zara is a young Russian-Estonian girl who is visited by a friend and promised a luxurious life in the west, only to be sold as a sex slave and kept captive.

Purge is not an easy story to read.  Both women go through experiences that you could only describe as horrific and some of the things that happen to Zara in particular will make your stomach churn.  Aliide's story doesn't hide from the use of rape as an interrogation technique by Soviet forces.  These experiences are described graphically but not gratuitously by Oksanen, and you really feel for both women.

I went into the story knowing that there would be descriptions of sexual abuse, but for me the most disturbing thing about this book was the character of Aliide herself.  Oksanen slowly reveals more and more about her and her thought processes with the result that she has created a wonderfully three dimensional and distasteful character; at times I felt very sorry for Aliide but at other times I felt disgusted with her.  I didn't guess the revelation about her that comes in the closing section, and I felt that this was very clever of Oksanen.

Despite dealing with difficult subjects, Purge is definitely a worthwhile read.  I finished it a few days ago and yet my mind is still buzzing with thoughts about it.  It has illuminated a chapter of European history I knew very little about.  Purge is also a page turner, I found it almost impossible to put this book down as I was desperate to find out what would happen to Zara and why Aliide was the way she was.  It's a book that has a great impact and I would strongly recommend it.

Verdict: Powerful story of the abuse of two women in Estonia.
Source: Library
Score: 5 out of 5

Saturday, 10 December 2011

A Beginner's Guide to Acting English by Shappi Khorsandi

Shappi Khorsandi is an Iranian born comedian who is quite well known here in the UK due to her performances on Live At The Apollo and as a panellist on shows such as 8 out of 10 Cats.  A Beginners Guide To Acting English is a memoir of her childhood during the Iranian revolution.  The family originally left Iran as her father had a job opportunity in London, but when he later tries to return after the rise of the Ayatollah Khomeini, he only just manages to escape with his life.  Unable to go home, the family must come to terms with becoming refugees and getting used to the English way of life.

A Beginners Guide To Acting English is a well written memoir.  It is written with a light and humorous touch, which make the occasional 'heavy' moments more profound.  Stories of learning English and getting to grips with English food are interspersed with worry about family members left in Iran and the constant fear that Shappi's father will be targeted by radicals, even in London.  The emotional anchor of the book is really the later sections in which the family must enter police protection for a time to keep them safe.  Shappi describes the all-consuming fear she felt realistically and also manages to do so from the point of view of the child she was at the time, who didn't really understand everything that was going on.

That said, there were things about A Beginners Guide To Acting English that didn't work as well.  Whilst I thought  it was interesting to read about family members left in Iran, Shappi's technique of writing them in the first person didn't really work.  All these other family members ended up speaking in the same voice, which dulled any impact they might have had in the memoir. I also think the title is a bit misleading; there wasn't too much about the culture shock of moving to England, and more about events in Iran and lives of other Iranians in exile.  I did find this interesting, but the title does lead you to think this memoir is about things it isn't.

Overall, this was an average memoir.  It passed the time nicely but I probably wouldn't recommend it to others.  For me, Persepolis is a much better memoir of the Iranian revolution and life in exile.

Source: Library
First Published: 2009
Score: 3 out of 5

Thursday, 8 December 2011

The Secret Countess by Eva Ibbotson

Winter is the perfect time for reading fairytales.  In The Secret Countess, Anna Grazinsky, a Russian Countess, has to flee to England with her family after the Russian Revolution.  With all her money lost, Anna takes on a job as a servant in the house of the Earl of Westerholmes and tries her best to fit in with the staff.  But it's soon obvious that she is different to the other servants and matters become even more complicated when she starts to fall in love with the Earl, Rupert, who happens to be already engaged.

The Secret Countess is an enchanting, magical book.  Ibbotson certainly has a way with words and this simple plot caught me up in it's web within the first few pages.  Even though I knew what was going to happen, I couldn't put it down.  I loved the glamour of the Russian characters, the cosiness of the English country house setting and the understatement of the love story.  Although the romance is a central part of the plot, it is written with a light touch and shown rather than told, making it more powerful.

It is true that Ibbotson's characters are either very good or very bad.  Although Anna goes through some tough times, she remains impossible bright, vivacious and full of life.  Her counterfoil, Rupert's fiancee Muriel is all bad; she believes in eugenics, is cruel to the staff for very little reason and can be very spiteful.  Usually I would have a problem with these all-good, all-bad characters, but within the fairytale like elements of the setting and plot, it made sense.  After all, no one complains that the evil witch in Hansel and Gretel lacks good characteristics alongside her evil ones.

The Secret Countess was a perfect escapist read, like watching an old-fashioned film.  It didn't challenge me intellectually or introduce any new ideas but it did whisk me away to a stylised version of early twentieth century England and caught me up in it's story.  I will be reading more by Ibbotson soon.

Verdict: A cosy, escapist read for a Sunday afternoon.
Source: Library
First Published: 1981
Score: 4.5 out of 5

Tuesday, 6 December 2011

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

I usually don't read books that attract a lot of hype.  When they are in the middle of that bubble of buzz, my expectations are raised so high that rarely does the book actually live up to it.  I've found that if I let the hype subside with time and read the book as just another book, I have more chance of enjoying it.  So it was probably about time that I dusted off my copy of The Lovely Bones and gave it a shot.

Susie Salmon is a normal high school girl who is brutally raped and murdered at the age of fourteen.  Unable to leave her family and friends, she watches their lives afterwards, desperate both the see how the world carries on without her and for them to realise who the murderer is.

I should start this review by stating that I enjoyed the first half of this book very much.  I liked that Sebold reveals who the murderer is straight away and instead focuses on Susie's family and how they try to carry on with life after her death.  The emotions and actions of the characters at this point felt realistic and the impact was occasionally powerful.  I liked the scene where Susie's sister, Lindsey, is forced to sit through an interview where her principle expresses his condolences and the way she looks through people to avoid having an emotional reaction.

I also enjoyed some of the characters, especially Susie's glamorous Grandmother, who tries to help the family carry on functioning.  Some of the other characters I could have done with seeing less of, particularly Ruth, the child-genius-lesbian who could sense death; I felt that she was very cliche and predictable.

So there I was, enjoying my reading - until I got to the end of the book.  I'm not going to give away the ending in case some of you haven't read the book, but something very silly and unbelievable happened and it completely ruined the book for me.  Took away all credibility from the story and I felt annoyed to have invested so much time in the book only for this paranormal inspired ending to happen.  I know I'm supposed to feel touched and moved, but I completely didn't.  I was just annoyed.

Verdict: Good first half, shame about the silly ending.
Source: Owned
Score: 2 out of 5 (2 points for the beginning sections).

Sunday, 4 December 2011

Sunday Salon: My Sister Got Married Yesterday!

Apologies for my blogging absence over the last few days but yesterday was a wonderful day as my older sister got married.  Because I am a proud sister, I just wanted to share a few photos.

(L-R): Me, the groom, my sister, Mum and Dad.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend too.  I'm looking forward to catching up with you all over the next few days.

Wednesday, 30 November 2011

Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore by Stella Duffy

Theodora of Constantinople was the daughter of a bear trainer who became a dancer, actress, prostitute, religious convert, mistress, Empress and finally Saint of the Orthodox Church.  In Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore, Stella Duffy provides a fictional biography of the first part of her life, from when the death of her father forces her on the stage to the moment she becomes Empress.  A sequel is planned.

I found this book to be underwhelming.  Theodora certainly had an interesting life, and it was obvious that Duffy had done a great deal of research into her character, setting and time period, but this novel was just an average piece of historical fiction for me.  It was one of those books I was anxious to finish so that I could get on to something else.

I think part of the problem was the way the characters, especially Theodora herself, spoke to each other.  I have nothing against swearing or crude language, but it was all done with modern phrasing.  Didn't the Ancients have their own swear words and phrases?  It was jarring for me as a reader to be transported back in time only to have the characters come out with very modern dialogue.

What I enjoyed most about Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore was the settings.  Constantinople and Alexandria were written vividly and I could easily imagine what it would have been like to live in them.  The sights and smells were all invoked skilfully.

Verdict: Average piece of historical fiction about a woman with a fascinating life.
First published: 2011
Source: From the publisher via NetGalley
Score: 2.5 out of 5

Sunday, 27 November 2011

Sunday Salon: How Far Ahead Do You Plan Your Reading?

One thing I've noticed since starting this blog is that I am a very unorganised reader.  When I finish a book, I have no idea what I'll be reading next or even no clear idea of what books I actually own.  I have a goodreads account (add me!) but I'm only about a fifth of the way through adding my physical books and I've not even made a dent in adding my kindle library.  I buy books on a whim at different times, put them in all different places and forget I have them until a few months later.  This means a lot of them just don't get read and my TBR is out of control, to say the least.

I know other people are not like this.  It's the time of the year when sign-up posts for challenges start appearing and I've noticed that some bloggers are very organised with their reading plans to the extent that they know which books they will be reading and in which month.  I don't know what I'm reading next, let alone what I am reading in 2012.  I also don't have a dedicated TBR pile of books that I want to read soon, all of my books are mixed in together.

I think the reason I am like this is that my inner rebel doesn't like having a schedule or time deadline for reading, I like to just read on a whim based on whatever takes my fancy that day.  I like that I have such a stock of unread books, because I have an available book for any genre or mood.  I like rediscovering books that I have forgotten I bought and I like the feeling of finally reading a book that I have owned for many years, because the time and my mood are right.

How about you?  What are your reading plans and how far ahead can you list what you will be reading?  Are you unorganised like me, or strictly organised?

Wednesday, 23 November 2011

The Cellist of Sarajevo by Stephen Galloway

The Cellist of Sarajevo is an extraordinary novel about ordinary people caught up in a war they did not want and have no control over.  The siege of Sarajevo is the longest running siege in modern history, lasting from April 1992 to February 1996 and killing around ten thousand people.  An average of 329 shells hit the city every day and snipers in the surrounding hills targeted civilians, making everyday tasks like a game of Russian Roulette.  When the difference between life and death becomes totally random and out of your control and the person walking next to you can be shot down whilst you survive, life becomes unimaginable.

The Cellist of Sarajevo follows three characters.  Dragan has managed to get his wife and son to safety but was unable to leave the city he loves himself.  Kenan must make several dangerous journeys to find fresh water for his family.  And Arrow has joined forces with the counter-snipers, trying to defend her city.  All of them are struggling to come to terms with what happens when civilisation as you know it melts away.

Despite all of this, it is not a novel of despair.  There are moments of humanity and hope amidst all of the destruction, such as people coming under sniper attacks themselves in order to save strangers.  All three of the main characters struggle with how much humanity and civilisation they are going to allow the snipers to take away from them, and for one of them the simple act of walking with your head held high and greeting passers-by becomes an act of defiance;

"He will behave now as he hopes everyone will someday behave.  Because civilisation isn't a thing that you build and then there it is, you have it forever. It needs to be built constantly, recreated daily.  It vanishes far more quickly than he ever would have thought possible." p216

The most powerful part of the book for me was how random death had become for the inhabitants of Sarajevo.  At one point Dragan is waiting to cross an intersection and he witnesses some people cross without incident whilst others are gunned down and tries to figure out why some are targeted.  But there is no answer and I can't imagine having to come to terms with that.

I was very impressed with Galloway's writing.  Considering it is quite a slim book, he didn't need many words to create a powerful impact.  The ending was extremely powerful and it's a book that I've carried on thinking about long after I put it down.

Verdict: Profound portrayal of the impact of war on ordinary people. Highly recommended.
Source: Owned
First Published: 2008
Score: 5 out of 5

Monday, 21 November 2011

Venice in February - Help Me Pick!

Regular readers will know that I'm not one for reading challenges.  I don't work well with the pressure of reading certain books at certain times, which is also a reason as to why you won't see too many ARC reviews on my blog either.  I'm an eclectic reader and I like to be free to choose my next book on a whim, rather than based on how many challenge boxes I can tick.

When I saw the Venice in February challenge on Dolce Bellezza's blog, I thought 'that sounds nice' and I was all prepared to move on until I saw the selected titles and I was hooked!  I had no idea how many wonderful sounding books are set in Venice!  Please do visit Dolce Bellezza or Snow Feathers and check out the reading suggestions.

At the moment, I'm torn between the following:

A Thousand Days in Venice by Marlene di Blasi
A travelogue of sorts from a woman who transformed her life by following a man she loved to Venice.

A Venetian Affair by Andrea Di Robilant
A forbidden romance in 18th century Venice, based on a cache of real life letters.  I love good historical fiction.

Casanova by Ian Kelly
Historical biography.  This one is very tempting.

In The Company of the Courtesan by Sarah Dunant
16th century historical fiction about Roman courtesans who flee to Venice.

Othello by William Shakespeare
This one needs no introduction.  I am a big Shakespeare fan, but have never read Othello.

The Four Seasons by Laurel Corona
Another historical fiction, it's becoming clear I like this genre!  This one is the story of two sisters, one of whom is taught by Vivaldi.

So help me choose - which one(s) would you read?  I am hoping to read at least two of these books, but won't have time to read them all.  If you were me, what would you pick and why?

Saturday, 19 November 2011

Next To Love by Ellen Feldman

Next to Love is the story of three American women caught up with World War Two.  Babe, Millie and Grace are left at home whilst their husbands go to war and must deal with both the waiting and not knowing and the reality of life after the war ends, a life that will never be the same again for any of them.  Broad and sweeping, Next to Love follows the lives of the three women and their children for many years and deals with a multitude of issues including bereavement, anti-semitism, grief, madness, adultery, snobbery, women in the workforce and the creation of a consumerist society.

Next to Love was one of those novels that was fun to read but that didn't make a big impression on me. The writing was smooth and flowing and I read through it quickly, but I think it suffered from trying to deal with so many issues at once.  For me, all of the power and impact of the story was in the opening sections dealing with the actual war and the immediacy of grief.  Some of these parts were heart-breaking to read and the subsequent chapters dealing with everything that happened years later just lacked in impact compared to that.  I wanted Feldman to concentrate on just the one thing.

The multiple perspective changes could also be confusing at times.  I don't know if this was just because I had a review copy on my kindle, but perspective changed a lot within chapters without any warning, which was confusing at first.  I like each chapter to be from the same perspective.  I also felt that the voices of the three women were distinct, but not distinct enough to warrant a lot of the perspective shifts.  The voice of Babe stood out more than the voices of Grace and Millie.

Despite these issues I had with the book, reading it was an enjoyable experience.  Feldman created the atmosphere of WWII America well and there were lots of nice touches, like a section dealing with the creation of the credit card and everyone being confused by it first of all.  I also very much liked the ending of the story (which I didn't see coming), as it allowed me to look back on the book in a different way.

Verdict: Issue-packed story of three American women affected by WWII that loses steam towards the end.
Source: From the publisher via NetGalley
First Published: 2011
Score: 3 out of 5

Sunday, 13 November 2011

My Antonia by Willa Cather

I have to admit to not knowing much about American Literature. I know lots about English Literature but the only real American Literature I've read is Hemingway's A Farewell To Arms and I didn't like it much.  Fitzgerald and Hawthorne are strangers to me, as are Zane Grey, Henry James and Melville.  I never even read Little House on the Prairie whilst growing up.

My Antonia was a first attempt at rectifying this situation.  Jim Burden, a lawyer, recounts his childhood on the plains of Nebraska and particularly his friendship with a Bohemian immigrant girl called Antonia.  Rich in detail, it is a love letter to a way of living that has since been lost and a poem to American midwest.

I liked My Antonia as a coming of age tale.  I've read other reviews where the major complaint is that not much happens in the novel, but I enjoyed the cosy, lazy Sunday afternoon pace and the descriptions of a childhood spent in the great outdoors.  At certain times it did feel as though Cather was romanticising her own experiences of growing up on a farm, as none of the hardships ever felt particularly real.  In their first winter in America, Antonia's family are caught unprepared and have little in the way of food or warm clothes.  Antonia runs about barefoot in the snow in only a cotton dress, but even this is looked back on in a nostalgic sort of way.

Behind the cosy narrative, a lot of powerful themes were lurking.  I read this as a tale of immigrant experience, of the separate classes that grew up of 'Americans' and 'foreigners'.  In My Antonia this whole system is mocked as the foreigners are the resourceful, enterprising ones who by doing things that the Americans find distasteful, such as sending their daughters to work, are able to become more successful in the long run.  But the boundaries between the two groups remain firm; Antonia and Jim could never have married.

There was also a lot on the theme of gender.  Antonia and Jim were both androgynous characters, with Antonia taking on classically masculine characteristics such as physical strength and Jim having a lot of feminine elements.  Throughout the book, the female characters are the strong ones.  I thought this was interesting in the light of Cather's sexuality and how she herself used to dress as a man whilst she was growing up.  It was nice to read a book in a rural setting where the women do more than keep the house and prepare meals.

Overall, My Antonia was a well written coming of age story that kept my interest.  It had a cast of lively characters and evoked life on the plains very well.  I would recommend it as a good example of American literature.

Source: Library
First Published: 1918
Score: 3.5 out of 5


text:
Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Drawing in Paint with Q-tips

We have these foam rollers with which the kids love to paint. I decided to add to it by putting out Q-tips. First the kids rolled paint onto their paper. (We used card stock.)

Then they took a Q-tip and drew a picture in the paint.

The paint dried pretty quickly, so they had to draw fast. When the Q-tip got too full of paint it didn't work as well, so the kids flipped it over to use the other end. They really seemed to enjoy "drawing" with something different.

It even looked cool with just some scribbles.
When the kids were doing this, it reminded me of pyramid drawings, so I think I will have to add this to my Ancient Egypt unit!

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Paper Plate Butterflies

Today was all about butterflies! I ordered caterpillars from Insect Lore and they are now in their chrysalids. (You can read about the last time I used this kit in my classroom here.) We are eagerly waiting for them to emerge as butterflies. Unfortunately, I think this will happen over the holiday weekend. Boo. In the meantime, we made our own butterflies with mini paper plates.
One table was set up to make the wings. The kids painted the paper plates with watercolors.
The other table was for the body of the butterfly. I took colored card stock and cut it into fourths. Then I rolled them up and taped them closed. (My stapler didn't fit in the hole.) I also used the scissors to make two small holes on one end for the antennae.
I put out a bunch of these with sparkly pipe cleaners and markers.
The kids put a pipe cleaner through the holes of the rolled paper.

Then they used the markers to make eyes. (And some kids even made decorations on the body.)
When the plates were dry, I cut them in half and shaped them a little to make them look like wings.
I stapled the wings together and used masking tape to attach them to the body. I tried using glue dots, but the plates weren't sticking very well. The tape worked fine as long as the kids didn't pull on the wings. And if they did and the wings came off, it was easy to reattach them. In fact, I mentioned that without the wings, it looked like a caterpillar. So then the kids started playing with them first as caterpillars and then added the wings to turn them into butterflies! I think they look so colorful sitting on the table in a big group.
And here are the kids making their butterflies fly!
You could use them as finger puppets, too!
Fun Fact: Butterflies taste with their feet!

Monday, May 20, 2013

Caterpillar Cuties

We are studying the life cycle of a butterfly this week. Last week I brought in caterpillars from Insect Lore and when we showed up to school this morning, they were all in their chrysalises! Today I taught the children all about caterpillars and then we did an easy art project.
 We used Dixie cups to make circle prints on our paper.

I think K-cups would be better because the smaller size would have allowed us to make more prints. But I didn't have any, so Dixie cups it was. I reminded the kids to make sure all their circle prints touched so their caterpillars wouldn't lose any body parts! Once the paint was dry, we used makers to add facial features and legs and anything else we wanted.
They turned out very cute!

This next one has "fake eyes" on all it's body parts to scare away predators (according to the boy who drew it)!

Fun Fact: Caterpillars have 12 eyes.

Monday, May 13, 2013

Handprint Carrots/Footprint Flowers

We are talking about vegetable gardens this week, and today we made carrots with our handprints!
We dipped the sides of our hands in orange paint to make the carrots,

and dipped our fingertips in green paint to make the tops of the carrots.
It was a very simple project!
If they wanted to, when the paint was dry the kids could make a brown line across the carrots to show that the orange part grows in the dirt and the green park sticks out above the dirt.
And one more quick thing I wanted to show you, completely unrelated. Here is the Mother's Day project I made for my mom with my daughter's help.
It says "The only thing better than having you for a mom is my daughter having you for a grandma." It's a quote I've seen all over Pinterest. I used Elise's footprints to make the flowers and just quickly drew in stems and grass with a marker, although I wish I had used paint. It turned out very cute!

Thursday, May 9, 2013

Mother's Day/Teacher Appreciation

Just wanted to show you what we made for Mother's Day this year. I had the kids draw a picture of their moms.
Then I "framed" them by taping them to a slightly bigger piece of colored construction paper. I also asked each child to finish the sentence, "My mom is..." and I wrote their answer on the frame.

Didn't they do a great job? We also made cards. I let the kids paint their own hand any way they wanted.
Then they made the print on the front of a card. I printed out a poem on colored paper. This is the one I used:
Sticky fingers and big wet kisses
Dirty toes and stars with wishes
Splashing through puddles and hugs too tight
Afternoon naps and sleepless nights
I’m getting so big and I’ll soon be grown
So I’ve made this handprint for your very own
Tuck it away and keep it, please
So years from now I can see
How much I’ve changed as time went by
And you can always remember my…

Sticky fingers and big wet kisses
Dirty toes and stars with wishes…
The kids glued the first part of the poem on the front of the card and the last two lines on the inside of the card. Then they decorated it.

I'm not sure what that's a picture of, but it cracked me up when I saw it!

And I wanted to share what I made for my daughter's teachers for Teacher Appreciation Week. It was her first week in day care, but I couldn't resist putting something together. It was very simple. I bought some baby food jars and cleaned them out. Then I filled them with M&Ms (plain and pretzel). I made a label that said, "You are a Marvelous and Magnificent teacher! Thanks for being my M&M!"
I got that idea from Mommy's Kitchen. She had a whole poem, but I just used the last part. I also covered the tops with some scrapbook paper.
You could also use mason jars, but I thought the baby food jars were cute, since they are infant teachers.
Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there, and Happy Teacher Appreciation Week to all the teachers out there!!

Monday, May 6, 2013

Arm Cuff Bugs

What?! Yep, that's what they are. Arm cuff bugs.
Or you could call them bracelets since my kids just wore them on their wrists. I got the idea to use toilet paper rolls for the insect legs from Homemade Mamma. First you cut it the long way to open it up, then cut it in half the other way. Then cut 3 slits in each side for the legs.
I put out construction paper and the kids were able to cut their own bug parts. Then they glued them to the legs.

So creative, these kids, I tell ya!


text:
Wednesday, December 31, 2014

New Year's Eve Crafts

I have some quick crafts you can make with the kids to get ready for the New Year! The first one is the big ball drop. I got this idea from Free Kids Crafts, but instead of using white paint, we used glue. I started by making a line down black paper and the kids wrote the numbers 1-5 down the side, starting with 5 at the top. Then they wrote 2015 at the bottom. They were excited to use my metallic Sharpie!
Then it was time to make the ball. I cut a circle out of bubble wrap and squirted some white glue on it. The kids spread the glue around with a big paint brush.
I made sure they painted all the way to the edge so it would look like a circle when they made their print. Then I flipped it over onto the line on the black paper, towards the bottom, and the kids pressed it down gently. Make sure not to let it slide all around! Then I peeled the bubble wrap off, put the black paper in a box, and the kids sprinkled silver glitter on it.
After shaking off the extra glitter, we had a sparkly New Year's Eve ball!

None of my kids knew what the ball was, but that's probably a good thing, right? We also made party hats! I again got this idea from Free Kids Crafts. I cut out some headbands from large construction paper. I set out sparkly pipe cleaners and whimsical stars cut from construction paper. The kids decorated one side of the headband and then flipped it over to add the pipe cleaners. They used tape to attach everything so I didn't have to help much at all.

They loved them! We walked around the whole center saying Happy New Year to the other classes and showing off our party hats!
Have a happy and safe New Year's!

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Rudolph Nylon Craft

When I was at my sister's house this past weekend to celebrate our family's Christmas, I noticed this really cute craft hanging on a door knob.
Her son had made it at school. I took a closer look and realized it was nylons stretched over a wire hanger! How cool is that? I knew I would not have enough time to collect old nylons and hangers for my whole class, so I made one with my daughter instead. But next year I'm totally going to do this with my class! I started with a pair of old nylons (or "old lady socks" as my nephew called them) and a wire hanger.
I stretched the hanger by pulling the middle part down. Then I pulled on the nylons. I ended up using both legs to make it a little darker. Then I tied them at the top.
My daughter dipped a big red pom pom in glue and put it on the tip of the hanger, where the nose would be. Then she added eyes cut from paper. I showed her where to put them.
For the antlers, I wanted to use handprints. But hers were a little too small!
So I traced my husband's hands and attached those to the top by the hook. They covered up the knot. I used masking tape on the back to hold them in place. Then I found some fun craft paper and made holly and berries from it. I helped Elise stick them on.

And here's how it looks!

I love how it already has a hanger. I hung it from a stocking holder for the pictures, but now it's on the door knob of our closet.
So cute!

Happy Holidays, everyone!

Monday, December 22, 2014

Framed Ornaments Craft

When it came time to think of a holiday gift the kids could make for their parents, I remembered what they made last year.
I loved them! (You can read about them here.) I wanted to do something similar, but a little different. And I was looking around the room and saw our stained glass ornaments hanging from yarn in the windows.
Perfect! So this year we made ornaments.
Actually, I let the kids decide if they wanted to make trees or ornaments. This project takes several steps. I put the frames together for them ahead of time. I used jumbo craft sticks and glue dots. The kids decorated them with sequins. Then I cut squares from white card stock to fit the frame. The kids used blue watercolor to paint the square.
They also painted a strip of card stock with watered-down glue, added tissue paper squares, painted over them with the glue again and added a touch of glitter.
When they were dry, I flipped them over and drew on two triangles or three circles, depending on what the child wanted to make. Those who chose trees cut the triangles out themselves. I cut out the circles for those who wanted ornaments because the kids have a hard time cutting circles. For the ones that were making trees, I added some snow to the bottom of the blue watercolored square with extra white card stock. I just trimmed it to fit.
Then I glued on tiny trunks made from brown construction paper and the kids glued the trees to the square.
For the ornament craft, I left the whole background blue and the kids glued the circles on. They glued one on each side and one in the middle and put them at different heights. I set the frame on top of the square so they wouldn't put the circles too far over on the sides, but it wasn't glued on yet.
I used a clear ruler so I could see the exact middle of each circle and drew a line from the top of the circle up to the top of the frame. After having each child practice making a bow (an oval on one side of the line and an oval on the other side of the line), they made their bows on their craft. I glued the square to the frame using glue dots.

This year I added magnets on the back instead of ribbon for hanging. Still love how they turned out and I'm sure the parents will as well!
And speaking of gifts, my daughter has two college students who help out in her room at day care. I didn't want to forget about them this holiday season, but I also don't have a lot of money to spend. I love all the "mistletoe" gifts I've been seeing online so I decided to do that for them. I found a nail file, some foot scrub, nail polish and fuzzy slipper socks. I put them together in a little bucket that I found at Walgreens and added a tag from The Classy It Girl.
They turned out pretty cute!

Thursday, December 18, 2014

Gingerbread Sweeties {Class Display}

Wow, it's been a long time since I've posted. I've been crazy busy lately. I just stopped in to share my holiday class display. The kids decorated a gingerbread boy or girl with glitter glue and buttons.
They didn't make a head because I would be adding their own face!

Then they partnered off and colored a gingerbread house together.

I displayed everything in the hall with the title, The Holidays Are Sweeter With Friends!
I put their gingerbread person next to the house they colored.

Short and sweet! I'll be back soon to share the gifts the kids made for their parents!


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Tuesday, July 7, 2009

And there are days when you are choked with emotions..but the numbness is so overpowering it refutes all reasons of letting thoughts breathe without fear of consequences.

Like stray memories demanding a decision to forgive or forget, let go or supress...
life sometimes poses questions framed in a format that is hardly decipherable by the mind and the heart... A phase comes I guess when an individual has no clue of what is happening around him/her but keeps operating...functioning..surviving...and sustaining... awaiting with bated breath for moments that would reaffirm his faith in the very word faith itself...

Crossroads are a dangerous juncture... you have to take you pick..
you may go backwards, go ahead..but freezing or going still is the worst form of surrender!

But life, time and again with its favourite game of hide and seek has splashed reasons on me to keep functioing...and at times cherishing and reveling in the ecstasy.

So what are we ultimately, zombies?? aliens to the other wordly creatures (if any) who emote, cry, smile, demand, whine, pester and ultimately mould into the rationalities with the emotions getting emoted like machines, where even a decision from the hearth is as functional as a device that flashes reminder or to-do note as set by its owner. The only difference here is we ourselves are the owner here running our lives like a puppet show. The heart is scared to feel,changes boggle and amuse it... and the most that the owner can do is probably try and tenderly hold the heart with utmost care by protecting it from the harshness outside. A scratch and you are damaged for a lifetime. How weak;) I guess whoever says he is strong says so with all the scratches and wounds having gone numb in the heart and well! ignorance is bliss right, you just need to be prepared to shut the sudden pangs and desires that heart cries out for at times.

By the way I inteneded to start this post on an entirely note, but never mind..
Life is beautiful:) more later...

Sidharth said...

Heart exists. Soul is existential. The very "owner" you mentioned, is a soul which changes its abode in every life, a changed body, form or a "puppet". It lets heart experiment, learn, unlearn like a father wants his child to play, hurt himself, take risks and then learn the ways of life. The heart is oblivious of the choice it possesses, the choice of letting "things/experience" affect it. Experiencing them is important to understand their triviality. So let this heart indulge in its wanderlust, the protective sheath is their.
..And you know, there are a few more nice souls around you, who'll protect you shonu.

AshenGlow said...

Ok. Lemme not give you gyan, because India me gyan muft me mil hi jata hain.. ;)

But if you have something worrying you dear, talk about it to someone.. You know, most people already know many things, its just that sometimes you just need to hear that from someone else. It suddenly makes more sense then.
Iv tried it and it worked.

Love and prayers,

Khamakha said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Khamakha said...

@sidharth-"It lets heart experiment, learn, unlearn like a father wants his child to play, hurt himself, take risks and then learn the ways of life."... lovely words:)

@ashen- absolutely...and like i said..there are days like these when u just want to pen it all down, bas khamakha ;) :)


text:
Monday, March 1, 2010

Revenge of the reader

Yesterday, I was compiling a function in SLIME, and I consistently got error: illegal function call messages from SBCL. The function was a pretty complicated one, and I couldn't figure out the error. I even resorted to commenting out sections, until I had an empty shell, with only the docstring. Then realization dawned — here is a simplified example of how the function looked like:

(defun foo (bar)
  "Docstring, followed by accidental dot".
  (let ((baz (1+ bar)))

Did you notice the dot? I didn't, for a while (guess I should take breaks every hour or so and rest my eyes, especially in the evening). But the reader did.


text:
Building Faith

The Building Faith initiative challenges us to make three-year commitments that will pay off our mortgage so we can build the facilities needed at the lowest possible cost!

TMCC was started because of a specific need: a genuine Christian community where people could experience the joy of being equipped and entrusted with significant ministry, and be encouraged to become everything God created them to be!  We were also determined to be a place that always had room for more people and would present the unchanging Word of God in ways that the current generation could understand and embrace!

Rather than concluding “We’ve arrived” because we have a building that feels full on the weekend, we seek God to grow us into our full potential as a congregation, believing that anything less would be sinning (missing the mark).  With the opening of the first building, our attendance literally doubled and then it nearly doubled again! With the large influx of people, we began praying earnestly “Increase our capacity to grow people!”   Now we must initiate steps to build again because our facilities are preventing us from becoming the church God is calling us to become!  We must build, and we must do it right!

Four Reasons Why I Believe the Building Faith Initiative is Absolutely Necessary!

1.  Help us build at the lowest possible cost!  Paying off our mortgage will help us qualify for a loan from Bank of the West (BOW) at half the interest rate of Church Development Fund (CDF) (currently 3.6% vs 7.5%). CDF would loan us everything we need to build today, but we’d rather qualify with BOW and right now we fall short by $1.8 million in assets.

2.  Keep the church about people.  Buildings only become the focus of churches who borrow too much because they give too little.  By giving generously, we will make the building our servant instead of our master.

3.  Grow people of great faith! We need this challenge to grow the faith of a great church. Even faith only becomes strong when exercised! Through the exercise of giving, our faith will grow as we experience the faithfulness of our God!  People with great faith give and people who give grow great faith. The first time we borrowed about $1.5 million when 38 households made commitments of $354,700 and gave $365,833.71 (but $175,000 came from outside TMCC) in order to secure our first building loan.

4.  Expand Our Ability to Invest in People. By paying off our loan now, TMCC will be in a secure financial position to grow our ministry to people when it is time to build again!  We are now heavily invested in reaching out, touching lives, and growing people and people are depending on us to spend as little as possible on mortgage interest!

“. . . it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done.”

If you call TMCC home, download our free 40 day devotional, find answers to many FAQ’s about the Building Faith Initiative, watch the Building Faith Message Series, and see how God is building the faith of a few members of the TMCC family!  God may use you to help us reach out, touch lives, and grow people to know, love, and serve Jesus!

– Randy Youngblood

p.s. Ready to participate now?  You can give online without a pledge!


text:
Our Elders function to oversee staff and leadership and make decisions to support the congregation regarding stewardship of the resources of the church in accordance with the mission, vision, and values of TMCC.  Each year, men are recommended for Eldership by the people of TMCC whom they respect in the way they follow Jesus, serve faithfully in an area of ministry, lovingly manage their households,  whose leadership they would willingly follow, and whose life inspires them to follow Jesus to serve God’s purposes in their own lives.  The men whom are selected serve in three year terms.

This year’s Elders are:

Stuart Engle, Software Engineer

Verlyn Fick, Vice President Instruction Provost of Cochise College

Joe Farmer, Principal of Buena High School


text:
Sunday, June 23, 2013

Wheely Sweet Friend...

Hi Everyone!!!! wow what a month I have had!!!! and o boy enjoyed every single day of it! more than you can ever imagine! I love my husband and kids so much! ..OK enough of that ;) ...I wanted to finally touch and play with my new SU products and yes I'm RUSTY! so I went with a simple sketch from The Sweet Stop to get my feet wet again..I will say I love the Coastal Cabana color..I can't wait to use that color way more..here's the name and item numbers I used for this card:
Coastal Cabana cardstock #131297
Afternoon Picnic DSP #131390
Cycle Celebration stamp set #130273
This card will be for my card class next week and I think I will change the color of the sentiment I don't think you can see it very clear..but overall it was fun to make..I will be making another card tonight so I will see ya all tomorrow :).....
I would also like to say THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO COMMENTED ON BOTH MY HOPS! your kind words touched me so much! and I so appreciate you all stopping by! I hope at least 2 of you will come back LOL! :)
Have an awesome Sunday!!!
Thank You!!!! Come Again!!!!

  1. Pretty. Love your color choices. Thanks for playing along with The Sweet Stop! Looking forward to seeing your creations at our next challenge. ♥ Jamie at CraftyGirl21

  2. What a sweet card Mandy. Love the bicycle image and the pretty ribbon. Thank you for playing along with us at The Sweet Stop.

  3. Love your card. The bike looks perfect with this sketch. Thanks for joining us at The Sweet Stop this week.

  4. This is such a manly creation. Love the "Wheely" sentiment. Thanks for sharing on The Sweet Stop Sketch Challenge.