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Among the most important skills a chemist has is the ability to predict and explain phenomena based on chemical structures. Monitoring how these skills develop can help in identifying which teaching strategies lead to the most effective learning. In a recent study,1 Sonia Underwood and colleagues describe the use of such monitoring to judge the effectiveness of an alternative general chemistry curriculum against a more traditional approach.
Several hundred students in two cohorts from a research university in the southeastern US, had their understanding probed using the Implicit Information from Lewis Structures Instrument (IILSI). The IILSI comprises a single multiple choice question: ‘what information could you determine from a Lewis structure and any other chemistry knowledge you may have?’ Students can select from 16 pieces of information, which may or may not be determinable from a Lewis structure, relating to explicit (eg the elements present) and implicit (eg acid–base properties, relative boiling point) information.
Previous work using the IILSI showed that even after two years of chemistry, many students did not recognise that they could predict properties from molecular structures. In this study, students’ developing understanding was monitored over time by administering the IILSI at five points over two years, during which they took four courses in general chemistry and organic chemistry. The data is presented in the form of competency curves that illustrate the proportion of students who select a given IILSI response item at different time points, visualising the development of the cohort’s competence over time.
This method was used to compare the progress of students studying traditionally delivered courses against those studying a new curriculum known as ‘Chemistry, Life, the Universe and Everything’ (CLUE). The latter is built around the interconnectedness of core chemical ideas, which are developed over time to encourage coherent understanding. Competency curves illustrating the progress of students studying each curriculum beautifully illustrate that the CLUE students connect structure and properties much earlier than the students of the traditional curriculum. These differences persist throughout the study, ie students of the traditional curriculum fall behind early on and never catch up. The authors suggest that instructors wishing to emulate the success of the CLUE approach should reinforce structure–property relationships regularly, and use assessments that require the construction of explanations in preference to multiple choice tests.


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HELENA, Mont. -- The West Texas district attorney who prosecuted former NFL quarterback Ryan Leaf in 2009 said Saturday that he'll file a motion to revoke Leaf's probation following his arrest in Montana.
Leaf did not immediately respond to text and voicemail messages left Saturday.
Farren said if the judge revokes Leaf's probation he could go to prison for longer than the probation term. The judge could treat each of Leaf's drug charges in Texas -- seven counts of obtaining a controlled substance by fraud and one count of delivery of a simulated controlled substance -- separately because that's the way the plea deals were done, he said.
Some of the charges carry sentence of up to 20 years in prison.
Last year, he wrote a book titled "596 Switch" -- the name of a passing play in the Washington State playbook -- that focused on the 1997 season when he led the Cougars to their first Rose Bowl in six decades.

industry_corpus2: Law & Justice


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Siberian Tiger in Alaska – Are there any Tigers in Alaska?
What is the Biggest Tiger in the World?
INTERESTED IN OTHER SPECIES TOO?
Mysterious and elusive, and with only 550 remaining in the wild, the Siberian tiger remains a complete enigma. This blog is primarily meant to address the Siberian tigers’ losing battle against poaching and diminishing habitat.

industry_corpus2: Others


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The Lighthouse Art Center Gallery and Art School offers a fantastic selection of cultural events and art classes to those in the Palm Beach area.
Founded in 1964 by a group of eight artists and Christopher Norton, the son of the founders of the West Palm Beach’s Norton Museum of Art, the Lighthouse ArtCenter is a cultural staple in that enriches the lives of visitors and students. The ArtCenter features multiple galleries, a school of art, a gift shop, and an art supply store.
Their school of art offers classes and workshops for children and adults, beginner through professional levels in painting, drawing, ceramics, jewelry design, photography, portrait and figure instruction, sculpture, and much more. Classes are taught by outstanding professional artists, and special needs classes are also offered for adults and children.
“Our classes and workshops are great because they allow people to challenge themselves creatively and, at the same time, make new friends, discover a community of artists, and learn from top professional artists,” points out Politsch.
In addition to their gallery and school of art, the ArtCenter hosts a summer ArtCamp. Their ArtCamp, which runs weekly during the summer months, is offered to children ages six through twelve who learn about art history while exploring different art techniques and create their own drawings, paintings, and sculptures. Scholarships for ArtCamp are offered to children in need. Additionally, the ArtCenter’s community outreach program, ArtReach, takes educational art experiences to underserved populations and communities.
With over 3,500 feet of gallery space their ArtCenter Gallery offers an inspiring schedule of exhibitions this season beginning with “Elegant Threads: Wearable Art and surface Design.” The exhibit showcases the beauty and timelessness of unique handcrafted clothing, jewelry, handbags, quilts, and exquisite textile art pieces for the home…just in time for holiday shopping. The centerpiece of this exhibition is the Norma Canelas Roth Collection presenting stunning historical ethnic fiber pieces and jewelry from around the world. Be sure to attend the monthly Third Thursday Reception in November for which the highlight is a fabulous runway show featuring pieces from their Elegant Threads Exhibition.
Up next is the “Jupiter Island Arts Exhibition “which consists of works created by residents of this exclusive island community with names like Ford, Johnson, Bush and Guggenheim. There will also be pieces on loan to the ArtCenter from the residents’ personal collections. On its heels is the impressive exhibit “Arrived: Florida Artists Emerged,” showcasing the art of five internationally acclaimed Florida artists.
The spring season highlight is the 5th annual Plein Air Festival, the largest outdoor painting event in South Florida. “Thirty- Five award- winning Plein air artists will be found painting at outdoor locations throughout Palm Beach and Martin Counties. If you are an art lover or collector you don’t want to miss this weeklong event.” says Politsch.
Closing out a busy season of classes, workshops, exhibitions, lectures, and day trips, the ArtCenter’s “Best of the Clubs” exhibit showcases works of artists residing in the area’s many gated communities.
“Those who haven’t visited this lighthouse should definitely come check us out and discover a world that inspires and engages the imagination. The ArtCenter is a place for the whole family to create, have new experiences, make new friends and have fun!” concludes Nancy Politsch.
Be sure to stop by The Lighthouse Art Center Gallery located at 373 Tequesta Drive and the School of Art at 395 Seabrook Road, Tequesta, FL, 33469. Find out more at www.lighthousearts.org.

industry_corpus2: Subject Education


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I knew this day would come for me. For so long I tried to “fight” it, because I knew that it would require me to be a different person. Not even in a bad way, nothing like that. But in a way that changes the way I communicate with people. I was having this deep conversation with my mother one day, about how strong I come on when I’m expressing myself. I feel that I have to be that way, because I feel that people see me as nice, always in a good mood, friendly, and a Christian who don’t get mad or cuss people out. And more than once, I had to show these people…. I will TEAR THAT AZZ. And I don’t like that.
So, I’ve decided to change the way I communicate. When your dad, mom, sisters, brother and friends tell you that you come on too strong, at some point you have to listen to them. I have learned to tone it down, and ITS SO FUN.. OMGGG. I don’t feel the need to comment on everything. I don’t feel the need to have an opinion about everything. I can just sit back, listen to a conversation and have little to NOTHING to say about it. I’M JUST LOVING IT.
I ALWAYS – ALWAYS felt that I had to live up to what people expected from me. To be their free personal Therapist and give feed back. I’ve always had people sit on my couch and just let it all go. I enjoyed that because it helps me to understand people. To listen to them whenever they called, text, or see me in person. To tell me their story and have an opinion about it. I NOW realized that I don’t have to call my friends everyday and listen to whats going on in their lives. I realized that I don’t have to know whats going on with people, wondering how can I help them. I realized that I don’t have to text long messages to my friends to show them that I care about whats going on with them and their situations. I don’t have to ask 100 questions to show them I love them and interested in their stories. When I showed people that I cared by asking them questions about what we were talking about, they felt that I was being “all in”. HOW THE HELL DID I EVEN THINK THAT I HAD TO “BE THIS PERSON” TO FOLKS IN THE FIRST PLACE? I don’t know. People who know me, knows that I love them and I will always be here to listen…. but its not top priority in my life anymore. I’m done with that.
I realize that I Am LaCrease, I don’t have to do anything else. When I walk into a room people notice and feel my presence. When I speak everyone listens. When I give advice, people Thank me. When people see my face one time, they never forget me. Strangers pray for me on the spot, people adore me. God LOOOOOOOOOOOOOVES ME.. I don’t have to do anything else. My job is to show Love to people. I no longer feel that I have to devote hours and conversations to people just so that they know I care, love and feel apart of their world. If you know me, you know how I feel ANYWAY. I am a people person. You know my Character. You know my Personality. I am in search of me.. its my time.
I Am LaCrease, and I don’t have to do anything else.

industry_corpus2: Health & Medicine


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Add your first name and e-mail below to get instant updates when Ben releases his next fiction book!
Upon stepping into a dark shed in the middle of the forest, twin brothers River and Terran are transported to a remote prison island in another world crawling with strong magic, hidden snares, and rogue creatures. Using their powers to control the elements of water and earth, they fight their way from the island, only to discover an entire world sieged by evil shramana and vile serpents.
Do you know that you can be an integral part of Ben’s community on Facebook?
After years of success in the health and fitness industry, Ben has returned to his love of fantasy.

industry_corpus2: Literature & Emotions


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Have you done well saving, investing and building a nice nest egg for yourself? Your qualified retirement accounts, such as your 401(k) or Traditional IRA, have probably played a big role in helping you accumulate your retirement savings. They allow you to defer paying taxes on your money until you wish to take them, ideally after age 59½ to avoid any government penalty. But what happens when you reach age 70½?
Some people have done such a great job planning their retirement that they have accumulated assets in their qualified retirement accounts that they don't need or want to draw on. However, at age 70½ the government requires you to start drawing a portion of those assets each year for the rest of your life. This is called your Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs). But what about the people who wish there was a way to delay taking their RMDs? Wishes do come true.
Recent changes to U.S. Treasury regulations now allow you to delay taking your RMDs on a portion of your qualified retirement accounts until as late as age 85 by purchasing a Qualifying Longevity Annuity Contract or QLAC. By purchasing a QLAC, you are able to delay taking RMDs to $125,000 or 25% of your aggregate IRA account balances, whichever is less. Even if you have already started taking your RMDs from your retirement accounts, you can still purchase a QLAC and delay taking RMDs on that portion of your assets until as late as age 85.
By purchasing a QLAC, you could give yourself more guaranteed income later in life which can give you more security and confidence in retirement. You could also preserve important benefits in retirement. Social Security and Medicare can be greatly impacted based on the amount of income you claim. For example, up to 85% of your Social Security benefits may be taxable if what the Social Security Administration calls your Combined Income* exceeds $44,000 for those who are married and filing jointly. Medicare Part B premiums can also vary based on your income. If your modified adjusted gross income exceeds $170,000 for those married filing jointly you may be charged a higher premium for your coverage.** QLACs can also help you create a legacy. With a deferred income annuity offered as a QLAC, future payments can be paid over 2 lives (you and your spouse) for better legacy planning. Talk to your financial professional to see if a QLAC could be a good fit for your retirement plan.
*Source: www.SSA.gov. Combined Income is your modified adjusted gross income +1/2 of your Social Security benefits.
New York Life is not offering a QLAC with direct investment inside an employer sponsored qualified plan. New York Life only offers an IRA version of a QLAC, and therefore requires an IRA balance as of 12/31 of the previous year in order to purchase a QLAC. Neither New York Life, nor its agents or employees offer tax or legal advice. Please consult your professional advisor for tax or legal advice.
^Andrew Martin, Registered Representative offering securities through NYLIFE Securities LLC, Member FINRA/SIPC, a Licensed Insurance Agency, 1110 Montlimar Drive, Suite 1010, Mobile, Alabama 36609, (251) 460-4606.

industry_corpus2: Finance & Economics


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We're back with another of Tim Cottrell's wonderful designs!
Tim's work covers a range of themes and each design always has thought-provoking content. This piece is based on a tweet by Timothy Keller, an American pastor and theologian.
Keller is well known for his books on Christian apologetics and Christian living. Some notable titles include 'The Reason for God', 'Generous Justice' and 'Counterfeit Gods'.
I first heard this Tim Keller quote when it was used in a preach at King’s some time ago. I find it to be a really helpful reminder that everything I have comes from God. For the poster I wanted to play-up the contrast between the emptiness of pride and the beauty of gratitude. I designed the letters for the word ‘PRIDE’ to be as bloated and puffed-up as possible, without any actual substance. I drew ‘gift’ by hand to be something of a signature: extravagant and written in royal, beautiful gold.
If you like Tim's work, you can view more projects on his website.
'The Collective' is a group of people at King's who cover a range of creative disciplines. The group's aim is to grow in what they create, but also as followers of Jesus. Find out more here.


text: Unlike other combat knives, the Recon Scout's® broad clip point is highly resistant to bending or breaking. It’s ideal for long range cutting and slashing. Additionally, the blade is equipped with a slightly concave false edge that measures approximately 3 1/2" long.

industry_corpus2: Manufacturing


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In which countries in the world does everyone know their blood types? The answer has to be Japan and South Korea. The considerable interest in blood types in the two countries has become something of a running joke [ko], especially when compared to Western countries in which many people don't know – and don't really care about – their blood group.
Whilst evident across Asia, nowhere is the ‘blood type personality theory’ more strongly adhered to than in Japan and South Korea, with books, comics, songs, and products on sale, all based on the idea. On South Korean Facebook, people can even add their blood type to their profile along with other important personal information.
Although this fad has somehow faded over the recent years, its popularity is still strong, somewhat equivalent to that of horoscopes in Western countries.
According to the theory, people's ABO blood type is predictive of their personality, temperament, and compatibility with others. The adjectives which best describe the traits of each blood type are as follow: Type A is considerate but shy, B is creative but whimsical, O is sociable but unorganized and AB is rational but calculating.
The images below, created by cartoonist Park Dong Sun, exhibit how each blood type behaves in a certain situation. Park's cartoon scripts on blood type personalities are published on South Korea's largest portal site, Naver.com on a regular basis.
ABO blood types on a summer vacation: The B Type is seen as fully enjoying the moment, the Type A is putting quite a lot of effort into building a sand castle, and Type AB is located very far from the group. Image from Cartoonist Park's blog (CC BY NC ND).
The most organised, Type A, softly complains about who packed the vacation baggage, Type AB points at Type O and B for lousy packing. Type O and B are busy playing in the sea. Image from Cartoonist Park's blog (CC BY NC ND).
Short-tempered Type O is cooling off by sitting right in front of an electric fan, very noisily and repetitively complaining about the weather. Type B, so irritated, is on the verge of hitting Type O. Type AB is paying no attention to any of them. Image from Cartoonist Park's blog (CC BY NC ND).
Type AB, the rarest blood type, is always pictured as a sort of outsider, even an alien sometimes. In the image, AB is riding on a UFO while others are sitting on the ground. Image from Cartoonist Park's blog (CC BY NC ND).
To find out more details about the each type's trait, read this Global Voices post written by Hyejin in 2007.
USBs based on the characters from the blood type cartoons. Image from Cartoonist Park's blog (CC BY NC ND).
Although harmless, cute images are adopted to explain the blood type personality theory in cartoons, the theory itself is a relic of the dark past. It is often traced back to the scientific racism used first by Nazis and later by Japanese imperialists to promote ideas of supremacy over different races or countries during the 1920s-30s.
When Austrian scientists first found the four different blood types, it was a truly ground-breaking research which later saved countless human lives by preventing them from receiving mismatched blood transfusions. However, later studies revealed that the different blood groups are distributed disproportionately across the world and this prompted some racist, imperialist researchers to publish non-statical reports on the theory of blood type personalities.
One famous piece of research was done by Japanese scholar Furukawa, who focused on the racial traits of the Taiwanese who revolted against Japanese imperialism. The researcher concluded that since more than 40 percent of Taiwanese had type O blood, which is believed to be the least submissive type, they needed to dilute the country's ‘rebellious blood’ by increasing intermarriages with Japanese.
Even after many Japanese academics discredited the theory for its lack of scientific basis, it somehow managed to survive through several sensational publications, with the help of media's unyielding interest. Starting from late 1990s, this fad spread to South Korea, gaining huge popularity in early 2000, and has been famous ever since.
[Despite all the criticism] it is proven to be right in most cases. Of course there are exceptions. I have seen a Type A person who is really a direct shooter and a Type O person who was a big bigot and not cool at all. […] But when treating other people, there is no other standard more convenient than the blood type personality. […] There are a lot of things in the world which cannot be measured or fully explained by science.
You are someone who act bold, but on the inside, you are so thoughtful and considerate that even on decisions you have already made you would often look back and ask yourself “have I made a right choice?” You are sweet to other people and maintain good relationships with them, but it takes quite a time to get to know the real you.[…] You must have nodded along while reading this paragraph. It is because humans have different facets. Even the boldest guy can be indecisive and an easy-going person who would sometimes appear as absentminded can be really considerate on some level.
In South Korea and Japan, two countries with strong sense of collectivism, people are educated and trained to value a group over individuals. Getting along with others and others’ opinions about you matter a great deal. [Once the belief on the blood type personality is settled in the society] the effect of the blood type personality can be maximized, as individuals are often forced to accept how others, seniors and their group perceive them and act accordingly.
Personally, I prefer the traditional explanation of personality types. Its basis goes back 2000 years to Hippocrates – the father of medicine.


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Changing lives that impact a hurting world.
Here’s the reasoning behind it: When people think of giving, they often think of supporting groups that feed the hungry and help those in poverty. This is essential, God’s word commands it, and we need to do it.
But what about the future? Who will give to the poor 10 years from now? Who will feed the hungry in 20 years? Who are tomorrow’s missionaries, and who will support them?
By giving to WCRC, you are helping us raise up the next generation of givers. Our goal is to see young people respond to the gospel, giving their hearts to Him in ever increasing measure, so that they are then willing and able to respond to Him in faithful obedience when He calls them to be a part of His work in the world.
Whether it’s through Kaleidoscope Camp, our programmed retreats, or the church groups we host year-round, WCRC gives people a chance to come away from their busy lives to get re-focused and re-connected so they can return re-charged and ready to reach out to a hurting world.
By giving to WCRC you are helping to forge a new generation who will be the hands and feet of Jesus to a hurting world. We are growing tomorrow’s givers, mobilizing tomorrow’s missionaries, and equipping tomorrow’s leaders.
Please join us by making a generous, tax-deductible year-end contribution.
Sunday afternoons during late June and July are abuzz on the grounds of WCRC. Camp staff members scurry around setting up signs, arranging tables in the dining room and prepping for Kaleidoscope Camp check-in. A line forms outside the Commons as eager campers arrive early. Old friends anxiously wait to see if they are in the same cabin again and new campers may wonder a bit apprehensively what this week away from home surrounded by new faces will bring. Some of them have had their bags packed for weeks in anticipation. When the doors open, the line surges forward as campers rush to see where they will be staying and who their counselors are. While friends and fun activities may be foremost on the camper’s minds, for many of them the week ahead will have life changing significance.
Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center was started in 1984 to provide a place where young people can give their hearts and lives to Jesus. Our mission is to reach children and teens with the gospel and help them grow in their faith. Throughout the week counselors engage their campers on a spiritual level through cabin devotions, discussing how camp activities tie into spiritual principles and singing songs of praise together.
Each summer we see God working in the lives of campers at Kaleidoscope Camp. Our hope is that we can welcome every child who wishes to attend to come experience His grace here.
To do this we have a “Campership” scholarship fund from which we give scholarships to enable families in need to send their child to camp. In 2015 we were able to give out 52 scholarships totaling over $10,000. Scholarships are entirely funded by donations. In addition, the actual cost per camper is slightly higher than what we charge in order to keep it affordable to most families. This deficit is covered through donations as well.
Whether you have never been involved with camp before, have witnessed the joy the experience brings to the life of a child in need or have been the recipient of a scholarship in the past you can help make a difference. By participating in Bike-N-Walk, you donate just a couple hours of your time and the registration fee of $20 ($30 cap for families, or $10 for team members), but through the pledges you receive we hope to raise $10,000 which will all go to our scholarship fund for 2016!
Want to participate but can’t make the event? Find a friend who is participating and make a financial pledge through them, or donate to the event here!
Please prayerfully consider how you can support Bike-N-Walk and share God’s truth with young people in need of His love!
Last week we added a group of new bricks to the patio at the Commons!
The new bricks were placed by the following: the C Ross Family, the Wadsworth Family, Lea & Glenna Hertzler, The White House, John Stanton and Jamie & Lizzy (Home Away from Home).
Many thanks to those who have sponsored bricks! Come on out and see them in place when you can!
Our Buy-A-Brick campaign helps support our Facilities Renewal fund. Place a brick in honor or memory of someone special to you or the Retreat Center.
Our 20th Annual Golf Classic was this past week. We had 100 golfers come out to support our ministry here! We were blessed with beautiful weather and a safe day.
The proceeds this year are the highest we’ve ever had with this fundraiser! All the funds are going to some work we’ve had done on our pool. We had the pool edge re-tiled and some repairs to the surface in preparation for the summer season.
The pool opens on May 23 for Memorial Day weekend! Come on out and celebrate the warm weather with us!
I have always been somewhat reluctant to make New Year’s resolutions, but if I did make one this year, I would resolve to be more encouraging to others. You can change someone’s day with a short phrase of affirmation or praise. Encouragement is such a powerful thing.
An encouraging word at the right time can mean the difference between success and failure, hope and despair, perseverance and giving up, and sometimes even life and death.
Encouragement is at the heart of Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center’s ministry. In a broad sense, we provide this peaceful setting to encourage people to come away from their busy lives, focus on the Lord, and worship and grow. But in a deeper and more personal sense, our goal is to walk alongside our guests and campers and encourage them to begin or deepen their relationship with Jesus.
Williamsburg Christian Retreat Center is truly a place of spiritual encouragement.
By supporting WCRC, you give the gift of encouragement. Our fees only cover a portion of our expenses, so donations are essential to our ongoing ministry.
Would you please consider a year-end, tax deductible gift so that we can continue to provide a place where God changes lives through encouragement?
You can give online, or send a check made payable to WCRC with “Annual Fund” in the memo line.
To do this we have a “Campership” scholarship fund from which we give scholarships to enable families in need to send their child to camp. In 2012 we were able to give out 40 scholarships totaling over $6,000. Scholarships are entirely funded by donations. In addition, the actual cost per camper is slightly higher than what we charge in order to keep it affordable to most families. This deficit is covered through donations as well.
Whether you have never been involved with camp before, have witnessed the joy the experience brings to the life of a child in need or have been the recipient of a scholarship in the past you can help make a difference. By participating in Bike-N-Walk, you donate just a couple hours of your time and the registration fee of $10 ($25 cap for families, or $5 for team members), but through the pledges you receive we hope to raise $10,000. Half of this will go straight to the scholarship fund and the other half will help us pay the bills so that we can continue to offer Kaleidoscope Camp and all our other retreats.
Want to participate but can’t make the event? Find a friend who is participating and make a financial pledge through them.
Get a glimpse into our camp life, find retreat planning tips, recipes and devotions.


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Hi Nick here, I get asked all the time how to make a good damper. In this video I show you how to make the perfect damper with just self raising flour, salt and water. I’ll be cooking it in a camp oven on an Ozpig.
A good damper has a nice crusty top and is soft in the middle.
All you need to use is two cups of self raising flour, a pinch of salt and some water to combine.You don’t need to use butter or beer or any other ingredients.
The method is simple – two cups of flour straight in the bowl and add a pinch of salt. Get yourself a wooden spoon and all you have to do is make a well in the centre and slowly add the water whilst stirring. We don’t give an exact amount of water or liquid as you only need just enough to combine the flour. Add water little by little until the mix comes together. Once it starts to come together, use your hands to gently form into a round shape.
Place onto a floured camp oven base and cook over a medium heat or until golden brown. The damper should sound hollow when tapped and this means it’s ready. Serve straight away with lashings of butter and some cocky’s joy.

industry_corpus2: Hospitality & Catering


text: Thank you for choosing Iceni, The difference donations make is life-changing and sometimes life-saving. We are a small local independent charity based in Ipswich. Since 1998 Iceni has been committed to working with local families dealing with complex issues surrounding domestic abuse, drug and alcohol misuse, mental health problems and a range of social and economic problems. Iceni’s mission is to strengthen local families, break the cycle of inter-generational addiction and poverty and give children the opportunity to have a happy, fulfilling and healthy start in life. Today Iceni works with 300+ local families each year and without the support of donors, local companies, volunteers and fundraisers, this would not be possible.


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The undated postcard is loosely translated "Algers-Blacks playing chess." Of course, in French "échecs" does not necessarily refer to "chess," but could refer to other board games such a warri, ayò, or draughts. Pictured are four men playing what looks like a precursor to contemporary chess. However, the board men appear to be the same height, dark colored and positioned on alternating squares… likened to checkers or its precursor, "el-Quirkat." Perhaps the game being played was a variant of "Shatranj." More important is the point of these men showing utmost erudition at a board game requiring strategic execution.
It is possible that the above picture was taken in pre-colonial Africa more than 150 years ago in the Northwest country of Algeria. In the picture, the man standing is dressed in a handsome robe and turban commonly worn by Moorish men. Notice the picture's similarities with this one. The Moors inhabited a swath of land stretching across the breadth of the Sahara and were adept blindfold players, problem composers and tournament competitors. This zeal for chess was brought to Europe in the 8th century and would serve as the forefather of the chess we know and love today.
Also read, "The Black Genesis of Chess: Moors of Spain"
"For instance, it is common to find clusters of people playing African chess or European checkers under the shade of a big tree. In fact, checkers is one of the very few sports in which Senegalese really excel."
Dr. Mbodj is making an implicit statement about Senegalese players such as GM Ndiaga Samb, but perhaps he's making reference to the widespread appeal of checkers as an ingrained part of Senegalese culture. Certainly many U.S. and European checker players in barber shops and park benches have arrogantly laid claim to "titles." It is only when they meet a player such as the ones pictured above do they realize that they are not as good as they have advertised. Alas! It is the same story in chess!
Sulaiman Smith tells a story of a Senegalese named Mamadou who approached a group of checker players in College Park, Georgia (USA) and asked to play. After the men were completely outclassed by the Senegalese draughts maven, they couldn't believe he was so much better than them! Perhaps Mamadou got his start on the sandy streets of Dakar, Senegal watching older men play the venerable board sport as seen above.

industry_corpus2: Gaming


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Sept. 25, 2017, 11:19 a.m.
It, therefore, settled on what it called BP (boundary pillar) 55+ as the starting point for doing the delimitation just as Ghana had put forward.
According to the Chamber, Côte d'Ivoire failed to prove lack of good faith on the part of Ghana during negotiations between the two countries.
The Special Chamber also rejected Côte d'Ivoire's claim that Ghana violated the Special Provisional orders issued by the court on April 25, 2015.
The Special Chamber accepted Ghana's argument of adoption of equidistance method of delimitation of maritime boundary between it and Cote d'Ivoire.
It, accordingly, rejected Cote d'Ivoire's bisector line method of delimitation.
Cote d'Ivoire's claim that Ghana and its coastal lines are unstable was also been rejected by the Special Chamber.
Ghana's argument that both countries had a non-treaty based "tacit agreement" regarding a "customary equidistance" boundary failed.
The Tribunal agreed that the methodology governing the delimitation of the maritime boundary between Ghana and Cote d'Ivoire is the equidistance method, thus rejecting Cote d'Ivoire angular bisector theory.
The tribunal settled on what it called BP (boundary pillar) 55+ as the starting point for doing the delimitation just as Ghana put forward.
The Tribunal then proceeded to set the geographical coordinates along which through line starting on land from BP 55+ into the sea, extending to 200 nautical miles into the sea and beyond.


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A raft of students from North Nottinghamshire College will be given invaluable work experience over the next three years thanks to a partnership with local construction company Woodhead and A1 Housing.
A total of 84 construction students from the college will get the chance to spend a week working on the Smith Square site in Harworth over the next three years, where Woodhead and A1 Housing are in the process of replacing outdated ‘Airey Houses’ with 71 modern and energy efficient homes.
Woodhead, A1 Housing and North Notts College kicked off the programme during National Apprenticeship week as the first three students got a taste of working life.
“From the planning stages of this project it was our intention for local people and local communities to get much more out of this than simply new Council homes.
“It’s great to see young people spending time on our sites, learning a skilled trade from our team, especially during National Apprenticeship Week. Each of the students successfully achieved their CSCS card with us last week, which means that they have demonstrated that they are competent enough to work safely on a building site, this is something that they can take with them for future opportunities.
“We are delighted to be able to offer our students this opportunity with Woodhead, as they will benefit enormously from the experience of working on a real project.
“Developing their practical trade skills in our workshops is an essential part of their programme, but there is no substitute for having the chance to apply those skills on the job, along with all of the expectations of them relating to behaviour, timekeeping, health and safety, and so forth.

industry_corpus2: Real Estate & Construction


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This statement by Neil Gaiman appears on the back cover of his latest book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane. And like most statements by authors about their own works, it is wildly inaccurate, nearly to the point of being completely untrue. The statement is made in absolute earnestness and without a shred of guile, but what Gaiman says his book is about applies less to this book specifically, but entirely to the reason he writes books at all – which are the best reasons that any writer writes for, and arguably the only reason any author ever should write.
The list of things that Gaiman claims that The Ocean at the End of the Lane is about are not what it is about – it is only what the book contains. The book has magic, love and families in it, but it is not about magic, love, or families. He says it is about the power of stories, but it is not. Gaiman has written other stories about the power of stories, but this is not one of them. It is one of the most powerful stories he has ever written, however, and this is because of the few things the book actually is about, his book really is about survival. It is about surviving life, which is what every great book – that is, every book that is useful to humanity – is about, and Gaiman is right to apply this statement to his book because what he has written really is a great book.
This perfectly states Gaiman’s intent behind The Ocean at the End of the Lane, as well as his other fairy tales, Coraline and The Graveyard Book. In all of these books he has created worlds filled to the brim with evil and danger – fantastic worlds which we instantly recognise as being more real than our own world because the evils are more easily identified, and the dangers more abrupt – and placed at the centre of them one single, vulnerable child. This may or may not prove to be the most meaningful story of mankind, but it is the first story of mankind. It is the story of each of us being suddenly born into a world of more evil and corruption than we can define – our first great anxiety. And to be told this, and to be shown the way to survive it, is the highest purpose of literary art – which Aristotle terms catharsis, which is the cleansing of emotions, which is another way of absolving the soul of the fears that it experiences.
Common elements can be found in Gaiman’s works, as well as all the great authors of children’s books (the first educators) such as Roald Dahl and the Brothers Grimm: useless, if not actively hostile, parents; an evil from the wilderness or an outer-realm; and help from the ancients. This is not to say that this book (or any of these stories) are formulaic – that is one thing that Gaiman will never be accused of – but that this book follows the logic of truth, for parents are the first authorities that are proved to be fallible (since they are also human), the first evil we experience is that from outside of humanity, and the first hope of salvation can be found in the wisdom of those who have gone before us. Gaiman’s fairy tales follow this logic because he loves the truth of its outworking, he loves his characters too much to ever go easy on them, and he loves us, the audience, too much to ever lie to us and say that there is no life without danger, and no victory without personal sacrifice.


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Mudlick Mail provides postcard advertising for salons, spas, and weight loss clinics all across North America and Canada! Our beauty and wellness marketing experts have helped grow business profits by 20-50%!
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As Chief Executive Officer and co-founder of Capital Wealth Advisors and Vice Chairman & Partner of Fundamental Global, our affiliated investment manager, Bill is dedicated to building client relationships marked by communication, commitment and a keen ability to clarify complex decisions.
Bill’s career has spanned more than 20 years. Throughout that time, Bill has worked with many of the nation’s largest families. Bill leads a team of over 40 professionals focused on assisting families with their asset management & estate planning.
Prior to founding CWA, Bill served as Partner of First Financial Resources in Naples, FL, and Director of Estate Planning at Creative Asset Services in Pittsburgh, PA.


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Near the city of Calgary, Alberta, Canada this is a friendly guest ranch/farm stay B&B that is very popular for its horseback riding, its spa and its top quality food.
Paola herself is a qualified chef from Italy and you can expect the breakfast to be great. She is happy to adjust the menu to accommodate any dietary restrictions and on request and for an extra charge she can also serve some really fantastic and good value evening meals. She also provides excellent cooking classes too.


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Summary: Researchers have found a new mechanism to stop dopaminergic neuronal apoptosis, a possible approach for the prevention and treatment of Parkinson’s disease.
Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons (dopamine-producing neurons) in a specific area of the brain (substantia nigra). Higher incidence of PD is observed in people aged 60 or older with symptoms – tremor, stiffness, slow motion and postural instability. Regarding cell death process, in vivo cell, stress and damages activate Poly ADP-ribose polymerase-1 (PARP-1) and induce accumulation of excessive Poly ADP-ribose (PAR), all these activities activate apoptosis-inducing factor (AIF) which causes cell death. Researchers from Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology have identified a new mechanism to stop dopaminergic neuronal apoptosis. The research findings are published in the journal Oncotarget.
There are no government-approved drugs which can inhibit dopaminergic neuronal cell death. Moreover, current medications help to just alleviate the PD symptoms. The research team found a new candidate compound in licorice. They identified the mechanism where cortisol (a stress hormone) promotes dopaminergic neuronal activity by inducing expression of parkin protein that inhibits dopamine neuronal cell death. In this study, researchers have found candidate drugs which induce RNF146 protein expression, involved in the inhibition of neuronal cell death through a high-speed mass screening technique. The study confirmed that liquiritigenin – licorice extract induces the RNF146 protein expression. Consequently, it has been scientifically proved that liquiritigenin can be used to treat the neurodegenerative Parkinson’s disease.


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READY FOR SOME ME TIME: The SingleNest is the perfect hammock when you don't feel like sharing.
ADVENTURE READY: Weighing only 16 ounces, the SingleNest stuffs easily into attached storage bag. Packed Dimensions: (L x W) 4" x 5"; Unfolded Dimensions: (L x W) 9' 4" x 4' 7".
MASTER THE ART OF LOUNGING: Includes Aluminum Wiregate Carabiners and nautical grade line that allows you to quickly and safely secure the SingleNest to trees, poles, boat masts, or even the wall.


text: The Sussex Schools Cross Country Championships took place at Waterhall over a testing course. Several Blue Stars competed for their various Schools, with some excellent results. Alex Richer, running in the Senior Girls race, run over 4.3km, representing Collyers, had another good run to come home in 3rd place in 16m46s, to guarantee selection for the National Schools Championships. In the Senior Boys race, run over 7.1km, Luke Burgess finished 7th (26m03s), Bradley Burke 11th (26m40s) and Josh Barnett 13th (26m49s) to help the Collyers team take second team spot. Charlie Ferris, representing the Weald, ran in the Junior Boys race, run over 4.3km, where he had a great race to take 5th place in 15m54s, with school mate Jesse Mackarel finishing 25th (17m05s). Olivia Sharpe finished 27th in the Junior Girls race, running 13m15s for the 3km course, whilst in the 6km Intermediate Boys race Ash Williams, running for Forest Boys, also had a good run to finish in 6th place running 21m29s.

industry_corpus2: Sports


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Home Inspector in Clarkson, Canada’s Professional Home Inspections Inc. has the most experienced and skilled home inspectors in Clarkson and surrounding areas of GTA. These expert home inspectors are master in their work and can fulfill all your residential inspection requirements. They provide all kind of services that include pre-purchase inspections, new construction inspections, pre-warranty expiration inspections, mold inspections, and infrared inspections.
Looking to invest in a property or buying a home? Make sure to get it inspected to be on a safer side. Canada’s Professional Home Inspections Inc. has a certified and licensed team of Home Inspectors that provides residential home inspection in Clarkson for buyers and sellers. Getting your home inspected from a certified home inspector would ensure that you are investing in right property. They work with all safety standards to guarantee a secure place for you and your family.
Detecting mold inspection can be difficult but hiring an expert mold inspector can make your day. Want to know where can you find a good mold inspector in Clarkson? Canada’s Professional Home Inspections Inc. has a team of professional mold inspectors that can figure out whether your home has any kind of mold issue or not. Not only this, they will even determine the location and cause of the mold.
Want to get detailed information of your property you are thinking to buy? Canada’s Professional Home Inspections Inc. has home inspector in Clarkson who provides you with infrared home inspection service. This service would allow you to know about all the hidden issues present in the home that otherwise are invisible with naked eyes. Infrared home inspector would help you find plumbing or leakage of roofs, deficiencies of insulation, electrical systems problems, and structural problems.
Next time you are planning to buy a home in Clarkson, always keep in mind to get it inspected. This would save you from buying any unsafe property and reduce your risk of losing money.
Stop waiting and contact Clarkson Home Inspector from Canada’s Professional Home Inspections Inc. for free advice or a free quote over the phone.


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There are two types of smoke alarms available today: photoelectric and ionization. When smoke enters a photoelectric alarm, light from a pulsating light source is reflected off the smoke particles onto a light sensor, triggering the alarm. When smoke enters an ionization alarm, ionized air molecules attach to the smoke particles and reduce the ionizing current, triggering the alarm.
While photoelectric smoke alarms generally respond faster to smoldering smoke conditions and ionization smoke alarms generally respond faster to flaming fire conditions, both types provide adequate protection against fire. Combination smoke alarms featuring both photoelectric and ionization technology are also available at hardware, department and home improvement stores.
Any smoke detector you install should have a test button. When the button is depressed, the audible alarm sounds the warning signal. If you have a hearing impaired person in your house, consider the installation of a hearing impaired smoke detector. These are special units that feature a powerful strobe light to alert the hearing impaired in the event of a fire.
How Good Are Smoke Detectors?
They are very good indeed. The common home smoke detector cost around $10.00 and will detect smoke in very small concentrations in the home. Smoke emission occurs during the early stages of a fire, so smoke detectors in the ceilings of the home will provide plenty of early warning in the event of a fire.
Develop an escape plan and review the plan with all members of the family frequently. Be aware that children and elderly people may need special assistance should a fire occur. Establish a meeting place outside the house for all members of the family to ensure that everyone gets out safely. When fire occurs, get out of the house and use a neighbor's telephone to notify the Fire Department.


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With the Summer season nearing a close, I figured it would be a nice time to try something a little tropical. In this particular case I went ahead and made some homemade coconut shrimp.
Hours before even doing anything on the side of cooking, I made a marinade mixture of lemon juice, lime juice, ancho chile pepper, salt, and cracked pepper. I let the shrimp marinade for about 6 hours. Initially to the shrimp, I put them in a bowl, added flour and mixed good until a nice coating and the outside of the shrimp were on the dry side. I then took a few egg yolks, some shredded coconut, some bread crumbs and combined with the shrimp until a nice thick coating was on the shrimp. In a large pan, I poured in some grape-seed oil and brought to high heat. I then tossed in the shrimp and cooked on both sides until browned.
Though it is hard to see because of the bowl, as a side dish I made some Kaniwa, which is a South American grain close to quinoa. I put them in simmering water, added some butter, some diced up mango, salt and pepper and cooked until the water had fully soaked in. I placed a layer of the kaniwa in the bottom of the bowl. I then placed a thin layer of savoy cabbage and finally topped with the shrimp.
As a sauce, I took some mango I had diced up, added some sugar, some lemon juice, some balsamic vinegar, some white wine and brought to a simmer. I then covered and let simmer for about 10 minutes. At this point, the mango was soft enough I could mash it with a spoon to make a thick mango puree.
Today I kept it simple on the side of prep work but still be able to combine various flavors.
I started off with some boneless chicken thighs which I stuffed with some pea-shoots and some cheddar. I folded the thighs over and made a rub of sweet paprika, ground mustard, salt, pepper, and wasabi powder. I put the thighs in an oven dish which I poured in a mixture of water-soy sauce and let cook in the oven.
While this was cooking, I made a “pancake” of millet, pea-shoots, egg, salt and pepper. I did this in my 8 inch pan with some grape-seed oil and cooked until slightly browned on each side. I then drizzled honey on the pancake (placed some on the side as well) and placed the chicken on top. With the earthy and spicy flavors found in both the pancake and on the chicken, the honey provided a refreshing contrast.
A big part of my summertime eating experiences is broadly characterized under the category of seafood. However there are a few specifics which to me are part of what is defined as genuine summertime meals and tonight’s dish is one of those.
Most of the time I would be fine with either a fish filet or fish portion. In this particular instance, I must have the whole Branzino aka European Sea-bass aka Bronzini. My take on it tonight was rather simple. Butterfly cut the whole body, I sprinkled in some ancho chili powder, some pink salt, layered inside some organic pea shoots and thin slices of fresh lime and then closed it up. On top I made some thin lemon slices and topped with halved heirloom tomatoes. This was then broiled in the oven with a coastal white wine/ olive oil blend.
My first side dish was broccoli rabe with shiitake mushrooms and coriander seeds. Initially the rabe and mushrooms went into a pot of boiling water for 1-2 minutes. It was then drained and placed into ice water. In a pan I added in some butter, coriander seeds, pink salt, sliced garlic, and sauteed the garlic. Upon slightly browning of the garlic I added in the rabe and mushrooms and sauteed them in the pan for a few more minutes.
My second side dish was golden mashed potatoes. A rather simple dish with a few added flavors of truffle infused olive oil and some fresh asiago cheese. This was then topped with some organic pea shoots.
With the way rotating shift schedule is in the lab this happened to be the week where I have the “midweek weekend” while next week I will have a 3-day weekend. So on the second day of being off, I was getting a little too bored and started some extra meal/meal planning.
The midday point started off with making some muffins. I figure with the way the work schedule is (and the fact that until I move in October I have an hour or so commute) quick foods are the best bet and nothing is quite like homemade muffins (can also be frozen for future usage).
I first started off with some blueberry-strawberry muffins with some added honey to the batter which turned out quite tasty (the berries inside were moist and juicy when first out of the oven. The second type I made was more of “hmm, what do I have lying around from other projects, snacks, etc.” so I gathered some bananas, some walnuts, and a white chocolate bar and made a muffin batter with said ingredients as well as some spices and boy were they tasty.
On to the next food creation of the day. While at Wegman’s, I was in the mood for a good craft beer so I picked up some Ommegang Hennepin (highly recommended, awesome for this time of year with the spices of coriander, ginger, and orange peel. An all-around amazing Saison). So what would go good with this? How about some homemade salsa.
I kept it simple yet amazing. I utilized some nice heirloom tomatoes, some red onion, scallions, cilantro, lemon juice, fresh avocado, and some poblano peppers (added a nice kick but not too strong as to offset the flavors of all the other fresh herbs and vegetables). A nice afternoon pairing with the ale.
Somewhere in between all of this I made up some homemade buffalo sauce with some very hot chilis (hotter than jalapenos and some mango) but that post will come when i actually make the wings (currently frozen drenched with sauce).
So on to the main course. At first I wasn’t sure what I wanted to add to this, but after a few purchases, I decided to go with a bit of a seafood combination. So the risotto I made had shrimp, squid, asparagus, and shiitake mushrooms (initially sauteed in oil, garlic, and lemon juice).
The arborio rice was initially put in the deep skillet and slightly heated. For my first liquid addition I did a combination of a white wine/ stock blend (had a homemade chicken stock from a while back chilling in the freezer). I then stirred while it simmered. Overall you do this a cup at a time with the stock until around 5 cups (it takes somewhere around 20 minutes or so to go through that process. Towards the end, I added in the blend of vegetables and seafood and let simmer a few minutes longer as to incorporate all of the flavors.
Well a quick on tonight being how it is late and well it’s been a long day. Am really looking for general feedback. Had just completed this cake (have a family member’s christening/party this weekend and well here is the cake I made up.


text: The Organic tables offer the same crank height sit-to-stand worm gear mechanism as the Generation IV series. The graceful lines create flowing surfaces that can increase posture comfort and reach envelopes. All tables can be upgraded by adding a motor to the table frame. Note: Only available with vinyl waterfall edge. 48" corner bilevel table. Aligns with 30" deep side tables.


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The committee supervises and directs the Protection and Advocacy Project, which provides advocacy and protective services for individuals with developmental disabilities and individuals with mental illnesses. Under Section 25-01.3-02, the Legislative Council appoints one member of each house to serve on the seven-member committee.
Information on the project is available from the Protection and Advocacy Project.


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civilization and the history, politics, and culture of today's Muslim world?
Does your study-abroad program lack representation from the Muslim World?
consult Mamiko Hada at [log in to unmask], telephone 202-686-7873.
connects them with colleagues at institutions around the globe.


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When looking to not only increase the level of security around the home and garden but to add some design appeal there are a wide number of options available that will fit the bill.
The addition of a clearly defined boundary is one of the most effective solutions to preventing unwanted visitors and would be thieves from gaining access to your property. Not only does a well-constructed fence or hedge act as a physical barrier but will also act a psychological barrier that will deter most people.
With a wide range of options to choose from, some options are more effective than others and some certainly look better than others. If it were purely down to security, then the most obvious solution would be to install a high wall with barbed wire fencing around the top. However as this would make the home look like a prison, this is probably not going to be the best solution.
What most homeowners find to be effective is either a high fence that can be constructed from either timber or metal. These are popular materials because they can be made to a number of designs that are available to suit most garden designs. For example, the addition of some metal fencing with a spear top design will make the home look regal and classy, whilst at the same time making it difficult to climb over. The drawback to this design is that because metal fencing is generally not of solid panel construction, a minimal amount of privacy are achieved.
In comparison, a wooden fence will provide lots of privacy and a softer overall look to the home making them more suited to older properties. However, timber fencing is not as strong and durable as the metal option if not installed correctly and constructed from the correct grade of timber. However, having said that, so long as the timber is regularly treated to prevent decay, there is no reason why one material should outlast the other.
For a less architectural look, the addition of thick hedges and shrubs are also an effective solution. In terms of species, hawthorns and spiky buses are popular because not only do they act as a barrier but will also be pretty painful to get through should someone be really determined to gain access over the boundary.
In addition to securing the majority of the perimeter of the home with fencing, this can leave the vehicular and pedestrian access points more vulnerable unless adequate security measures are in place. For this reason, the addition of high-security garden gates and driveway gates will provide the perfect option. With literally thousands of design options available, generally, in a matching style as the fencing, you can easily create the perfect uniform designer look to your home.
In addition to the physical security improvements, other factors can play a part in protecting your home and garden. With the addition of some outdoor garden lighting, areas that were once dark and inviting for criminals to watch the movements of the occupants can now be transformed into a tranquil and aesthetically pleasing environment that can help create a perfect setting for outdoor evening entertaining with friends and family.
Around the front of the property, the addition of security lighting that works off a sensor is also really effective. Working off movement, they can provide an early warning system alerting homeowners to someone`s presence outdoors.
In conclusion, security is something that we all need to be aware of. With many design options available and often very simple to complete on a DIY basis, there really is no reason to scrimp on home security.
This article has been written by Dan from www.gardengatesonline.co.uk who specialises in writing about a wide range of home improvement ideas for the home including ideas such as installing wooden driveway gates, landscaping design solutions and many other DIY project that will add a real design statement to the home whilst at the same time increasing the value of your home.


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Daniel Robbins has been on death row for nineteen years (half of his life) when the execution warrant arrives.
29 October 2004. One minute after midnight.
29 October is my birthday, so the date instantly hooked me in. When we’re young we count down the days – or sleeps! – to such dates; imagine counting down to your own death, or that of someone you love.
Robbins had a troubled upbringing, in and out of care, and there’s now no one in the outside world who’s in contact with him. But he remembers one thing his real mother taught him: Truth is not necessarily what people want to hear, and now he’s in prison because he failed to tell the truth – the truth about how, in 1985, he came to shoot dead 15-year-old Shep Stanley. Shep’s father is Deputy Sheriff Nathaniel Stanley (Nate), and it was he who found the fatally wounded boy. He cradled Shep while he bled to death, and his testimony helped put the 19-year-old shooter in the state penitentiary, and on death row.
Shep’s mother, Irene, is beside herself, depressed and suffocated by pain. Shep was the apple of her eye, her world. Even her daughter, Bliss, feels left out. Believing she couldn’t cope with hearing the truth about what really happened on the night of her son’s murder, Nate keeps the secret for nineteen years. Until, that is, he discovers his wife has been secretly writing to the condemned man for years … that she’s forgiven him. Incensed beyond control he blurts out the truth. The revelation catapults Irene into a frenzy of activity which takes her all the way to the window opposite her son’s killer.
The book, The Crying Tree ( a perfect title) is cleverly structured. The first section flips between the years leading up to the murder and its aftermath (1983-1990) – and the days immediately after the death warrant comes through (the first two days of October 2004). The second part picks up at 1995 and takes us up to 7 October 2004. The third and fourth sections inch us ominously through the remaining days of October 2004 as the condemned man counts down the rest of his mortal life.
But his careful planning and preparation is thrown into chaos when the murdered man’s mother writes to him … when she arrives seeking mercy … when her daughter supports her – a woman who is herself a criminal prosecutor who’s ‘probably put more men to death than he had sitting in his entire unit‘! It’s a ‘compellingly outrageous‘ situation to be in.
The author of this superb book, Naseem Rakha, an acclaimed journalist, doesn’t shirk the big questions either. The rightness of capital punishment. The Biblical understanding of Do Not Kill. Religion and homosexuality. The meaning and consequences of forgiveness. How grief affects people. Punishment and imprisonment. Nature versus nurture. Weighty questions all.
– a face ‘buttered with sympathy’ or ‘buffed of expression and the eyes drained of color’, of – a man running to ‘get as far away from himself as possible’.
– the women in a backwater, ‘their long flannel shirts covering up what gravity had claimed’.
– the people in the tavern ‘strung out on a line waiting for life to turn better’.
Her masterly handling of suspense and conflict, particularly in the chambers where the deed will be/is done, chills the spine. I experienced a CT procedure recently which necessitated everyone else leaving the room leaving me alone in the tunnel with an IV infusion to automatically shoot dye into my veins and thence into my heart, while a robotic disembodied voice warned me it was coming, and my body reacted strangely to the substance. It felt weirdly isolating. And I could see parallels. Only, in my case, I lived to recall the experience!
A masterpiece from a hugely talented writer.
Some time ago I listened to one of these programmes where people tell their stories of good triumphing over tragedy. In this case it was a woman called Zoe, who told of her experience losing 5 early pregnancies. The consultant, she alleged, had told her not to even start looking for support; there was nothing out there. In response she set up her own helpline: originally called Saying Goodbye, now the Mariposa Trust.
Actually, it’s not true there’s nothing out there. I worked in the field of parental loss for decades, and there are a number of organisations that reach out to grieving families in their need. As a researcher, I myself studied what bereaved parents want and need, and my findings were widely disseminated.
Which all brings me to today’s subject. It’s important not to forget that what we do builds on the shoulders of others; often of giants. And it’s the same in literature. We’ve all benefitted from reading other people’s work – volumes they’ve laboured over, struggled with, paid a heavy price for. Sometimes we aren’t even consciously aware that these writings are impinging on us, altering our way of thinking, touching us at some deep level.
I’ve had a weird sensation of deja vu this week. I’ve been reading One Life by Rebecca Frayn. It tells the story of Rose and Johnny, a young couple who unexpectedly discover a deep desire for parenthood. But unfortunately Johnny is sub-fertile, and Rose is unable to get pregnant even with medical help (IVF, ICSI).
I explored the scenario of infertility in two of my own early novels: Paternity and Double Trouble, so of course I was fascinated to see how Frayn tackled it. I’m not suggesting for one moment that this author has copied my work – her approach is quite different, and I don’t suppose she even knows of my existence! But we are neither of us entering virgin territory, we are both building on what has gone before, maybe our own experiences, certainly those of others who’ve delved into these sensitive areas before us, in factual accounts as well as in the world of make-believe.
And this is where fiction especially comes into its own, because it has a dual effect, touching the heart as well as the intellect. It allows and encourages us to get inside the skin of people like Rose and Johnny, to empathise with their emotions, and hopefully emerge more understanding, more open-minded, more supportive, more compassionate. My raison d’etre. I’m delighted to find another debut novelist entering into my world.
Well, it just goes to show – reading is such a subjective experience.
I turned to I Saw a Man by Owen Sheers because it’s billed as ‘the most stylish thriller’ … ‘taut’ … ‘suspense almost physically frustrating’ … ‘exemplary thriller, clever, classy, slick’ … ‘extraordinarily tense and powerful’ …all the kinds of accolades we’d all like to receive about our writing, huh? And just the masterclass to help me make my own current writing more taut and unputdownable.
What a let down. OK, the essential thread of suspense is there – a bereaved man, a writer, Michael Turner, walking into his neighbours’ house because he sees the back door open and worries that intruders have entered it. Once inside, he’s distracted by a sense of his late wife’s presence which lures him upstairs into hitherto unknown territory. Up there, he unwittingly causes and witnesses a terrible accident, but can’t do anything about it without revealing his own trespass. The knowledge haunts him. Meanwhile his neighbour is also harbouring a massive burden of guilt, lying about his activities. Who will do or say what? Whose secrets will come to light first? What will the repercussions be? And hovering in the background, is the man who pressed the button that resulted in the collateral death of Michael’s wife.
So far, so I-want-to-know-what-happened. But for me, it felt hollow. Far too much description and backstory slowing the pace. The characters spineless and selfish. The ‘crimes’ unworthy of so much weight. Some of the main threads going nowhere. I’m sure these criticisms are in large part a measure of how much I’m currently agonising over the balance in my own domestic thriller, but authors are always critical readers, and I make no apology.
Although I’d personally take issue with some of the simplistic sentence construction, there are, however, a number of beautifully lyrical passages, commensurate with Sheer’s reputation as a poet.
And he weaves in some occasional surprisingly insightful wisdom. Not surprising maybe in a book about how men cope with grief.
He laughed, thinking she was joking, but then saw that she wasn’t.
And that’s where I part company from the gushing critics. My chemical reaction with this book fizzled rapidly like a damp squib. Sorry, Mr Sheers. Your credentials may put you way beyond my reach, but your idea of tension and suspense is vastly different from mine.
One of the things agents often say to writers is, “I didn’t love your story enough to fight for it.’ Would an agent have loved I Saw a Man enough if an unknown author had submitted it? Hmmm, I doubt it very much. But I’m not reading it as an agent, and it’s given me a different and helpful perspective and yardstick for my own book, so that’s a bonus. No reading is wasted on a writer.
Back to my own novel. And I am relishing the terrific help of my experts. A lead paediatrician in Child Protection, and two accountants, and one of my long-suffering literary critics, have all given me invaluable guidance and feedback. I’m galloping along surrounded by all this evidence of their support and friendship and life experience.
I’ve been to a very dark place – psychologically as well as physically – for the sake of my art this week. Mostly readers never know the agony and ecstasy behind a book, so I thought I’d give you a glimpse into what’s going on behind the scenes with Killing me Gently.
Come with me and let your imagination take over.
Imagine a distraught young woman careering along an unlit muddy path beside a fast-flowing river at 3am on a freezing February morning.
It’s inky black everywhere. Unseen branches reach out and tangle with her hair; ivy and exposed roots lie in wait at her feet. She slips and slides in the mud. Each heaving breath tears at her throat and lungs.
After a while the roar of the water cascading over rocks lures her closer, blocking out the echo of the relentless screaming that drove her to run away. She climbs onto the low stone wall and leans over, oblivion beckoning seductively. Will she …. won’t she …?
Now imagine an elderly woman scrambling through that same path, twilight enfolding her, sensation ebbing from her toes and fingers.
Her mind too is seething, watching the power of that relentless water … imagining the force … feeling the despair in that young woman’s heart. Picturing the growing horror of being disorientated, alone, lost … knowing not a single soul knows where she is.
That’s where you’d have found me on Tuesday evening this week. Consolidating the opening chapter of my current novel. Immersing myself in the horror. Feeling it killing me gently!
This is easily the scene’s tenth version, but I think …. I hope … I believe … it’s now almost there. Immediate. Setting a scene. Capturing key elements. Hinting sufficiently to draw the reader in. Making them ask … How desperate is this young woman? What is she running from? What has driven her beyond endurance? Will she slide into that abyss? Who has she left behind?
I’m not alone in revising and revisiting and re-editing my introduction endlessly. We all know the importance of the beginning of a story; no one more than an author who has to pitch to an agent/publisher! But once again the trick lies in deciding when it’s good enough. Going to the river, experiencing its reality, feeling spooked, has helped me towards that decision.
And for me, there’s a purpose as well as a limit to the psychological damage!
Psyching myself back into my current novel after all the excitement and busyness of the festive season, required a game plan. First, read a new-release novel from my shelves about a woman struggling to love her baby: Two Little Girls by Kate Medina. Even the cover sent a chill down my spine: a pair of tiny red sandals full of sand, lapped by the edge of the waves; the text ‘Two little girls walked to their deaths and nobody noticed …’ interspersed with the bald title. Says it all. And indeed the story includes these macabre murders, so it felt oddly serendipitous that, on the very day I read it, the BBC showed a documentary about the murders of the so-called ‘babes in the wood’, 32 years ago. Listening to the parents decades later brought home the indescribable horror these families live with daily.
And because of this reality, I felt uncomfortable seeing the novel dedicated to the author’s own two young daughters. Hmmmm.
Kate Medina has had a lifelong interest in psychology but she uses it effectively. Her characters ring true; policemen hypothesise, psychologists analyse and theorise, ordinary people don’t turn their brains inside out! The setting too, feels authentic – I know people who have a holiday home in Wittering!
… and Carolynn was running alone on the beach when a second little girl was murdered.
Phew! Is she guilty? Is she not? Is anyone else in danger?
Which brings me nicely to how far would my own protagonist go when her baby drives her beyond reason? And I come back to the writing with a renewed sense of what constitutes a thriller. A preparatory day well spent.
Phew! That’s it over for another year.
Thinking up a viable storyline, writing it (11,000 words plus), that’s the easy bit of the annual McHaffie Christmas story/play. Putting it into dramatic effect is a far harder task, and this year involved more hours pouring over the detail than ever before. Several weeks went into hand-drawing scenery representing Victorian streets to cover the walls of the hallway, stairs and landing alone!
With no single theatre stage to work with, no stagehands, furniture had to be moved around in six rooms to create Victorian shops, a banqueting hall and a rambling attic in a mansion house.
The storyline itself involved three youngsters from vastly different backgrounds learning from each other and the experiences they encountered, how to value and respect difference.
Weird gadgets, special boxes, changes of costume, cryptic messages, all added challenge and laughter to the mix.
and underwent a dramatic transformation when danger threatened.
they learned about transforming their own and others’ well-being by their attitudes and approach to life.
buttons and ribbons; and chocolates.
The names of the characters and their shops had to be worked out.
with which they decorated all the trees in the town, bringing sparkle and joy to its dark streets.
I rather think it might take a few weeks for dodgy backs and creaking joints to recover from the contortions they’ve undergone, but it’s well worth all the effort to see – and hear! – the family’s enjoyment.
And this year I had the added delight of my eldest granddaughter helping with the behind-the-scenes production of the event to mark her milestone birthday as an adult.
It only remains for me to wish you all peace, joy and health for 2019. Thanks for visiting my blog!
A couple of weeks ago I happened to catch a bus into the town centre already crowded with students from a science faculty outside the city boundary. There was a healthy buzz of conversation everywhere but the voice of the girl behind me dominated because she was speaking loudly into her mobile (as people tend to do).
Hello? You think creative people don’t suffer stress? Aren’t perfectionists? Why, only this week I was reading about an author, Madeline Miller, who took ten years to write her first novel, five of them spent writing and rewriting the first few chapters over 50 times! She describes herself as an ‘incorrigible perfectionist’.
It was Voltaire who allegedly first penned the famous aphorism: perfect is the enemy of the good, although other well known writers and philosophers have come to a similar conclusion.
We all have to achieve a balance between our ideals and our realities, don’t we? I first really absorbed the concept of ‘good enough’ when I was a researcher looking into parenting issues. I remember in 1988 quoting in my PhD thesis, the British pediatrician and psychoanalyst Donald Winnicott who coined the phrase ‘good enough’ mothers way back in 1953.
And all through my academic life I had a post-it on my screen: Perfection is always one more draft away. Theses, journal articles, books, conference presentations – there came a point with everything, when I had to say, ‘Stop! It will do’. No merit in constantly striving for perfection and never letting anything try its luck in the real world.
It hadn’t occurred to me until that student’s conversation impinged on my brain in the bus, that here I am, right now, in my fictional world, worrying away once again at what constitutes good enough parenting.
My protagonist is a new mother, a perfectionist, a brilliant academic, stressed by the demands of a fretful baby who simply hasn’t read the manual! And when bad things start happening to the infant, the professionals responsible for safeguarding have to decide where the line can and should be drawn between the ideal and the realistic. Get it wrong and a baby’s life might be in jeopardy as well as a mother’s mental health. We’ve all seen the vilification of social workers and community health professionals when a child is horrendously abused and dies in real life; the press have a field day.
I’m also somewhat preoccupied with the point at which the current novel itself is good enough to publish; it’s far from that point at the moment. Indeed I’ve scribbled several possible new opening sentences just over Christmas – the brain doesn’t recognise official holidays! And I know it won’t ever be perfect; they never are. It just has to be good enough to satisfy the reader that it’s a tale well told and worth writing. And believe me, young-angst-ridden-student-scientist, artists most certainly are perfectionists too!
175 years ago yesterday Charles Dickens published A Christmas Carol. Since then it’s been reinvented time after time until it’s become one of the most familiar and well-loved tales ever. In Dickens own day, the book changed the way people viewed the world, generating as it did, at once a feeling of love and of shame. Overnight charitable giving soared. And in the twenty-first century it remains a salutary reminder of the joy to be found in friendship, kindness and generosity.
The film, The Man who Invented Christmas, is based on the true story of how Dickens (played by Dan Stevens) wrote his masterpiece – you can click on the picture above to watch the official trailer. It beautifully captures the torture of writing, the agonising, the obsession, the exhilaration. Scrooge, Jacob Marley, Bob Cratchitt, Tiny Tim … they all come alive as they take shape in Charles’s imagination and indeed become more important to him than his own flesh and blood, as his long suffering wife laments. It felt totally believable; I too know that affinity with the people of my imagination, the difficulty of living in the real world when you’re totally immersed in the fictional one.
But what comes across powerfully in this dramatic representation is the sobering reality of Dickens’ actual life, which I knew already from books like Charles Dickens: The Gas-light Boy, reviewed in this blog post last year. He’s famous at a young age, yes, but constantly struggling to cope with the debts forced on him by his reckless and feckless father, a large and growing brood of children, and fickle publishers. Under enormous pressure to churn out book after book merely to stay afloat … thousands upon thousands of words written in dim light with a scratchy pen dipped in ink! Astonishing and humbling to view his genius against this context.
Here he is, weeks from Christmas, and struggling to find a viable idea for his work. The magical story-telling powers of a little orphan Irish girl trigger a thought … the name Scrooge brings Ebenezer into sharp relief … the vision of a happy ghost gives him one of the three spirits … the tears and entreaty of the Irish girl at the death of Tiny Tim spur him towards the perfect ending. The novella is completed with minutes to spare. And becomes his most famous and best-loved work.
Among the stacks of files for possible novels-I-might-write-some-day is one labelled ABORTION – a hot potato and one with evolving ethical and legal and philosophical issues.
I’ve personally lived through major change as a clinician in this area of practice. When I was in my early twenties, deliberately terminating pregnancy was illegal, and we midwives saw at first hand the damage done by so-called backstreet procedures carried out by unskilled hands. Then in 1967 the law changed to allow abortions to be carried out by trained professionals in certain circumstances. And gradually, over the years, those strict criteria have been relaxed. Nowadays, social circumstances and personal preference can be used as reasons to proceed; the mother’s mental well-being is invoked. But somehow a novel on the subject has slipped farther and farther down my priority list.
So perhaps it’s better that an American author has picked up the gauntlet and run with it. And I’d have said, Jodi Picoult was a natural choice to do so. She’s one of the four authors closest to my own genre of writing, and I’ve read (and own) pretty much all her books.
In A Spark of Light – just published – she’s tackled many of the issues I planned to include. The scene is The Center – formerly The Centre for Women’s Reproductive Health – the last standing abortion clinic – in Mississipi. The building is a hideous orange scar on the cityscape, everything inside it is run down, shabby, used. It’s protected by a perimeter fence, a border patrolled by zealous vigilantes /activists demonstrating outside it and against it.
Into this centre of controversy strides a very angry man with a gun and a personal agenda. He cold-bloodedly shoots some of the women and a male doctor before taking others hostage. His murderous rampage is fuelled by rage, because it’s in this place that the life of his own potential grandchild was taken; all he can think of is exacting revenge on those who were responsible.
Police negotiator Hugh McElroy is drafted in, initially unaware that his own teenage daughter and his sister are inside The Center. The two men establish contact. When he discovers that Bex (his sister) has been shot and seriously wounded, and that his girl Wren is being held hostage, it all becomes horribly personal.
The story unravels backwards in hourly increments. Hmmmm.
Picoult explores profound questions. Just where does the right to life end and the right to choose take over? When does killing for a cause (war, unwanted pregnancy) become murder? How can black and white legislation deal with the multiplicity of greyness that is people’s lives and experiences and beliefs? So far, so appropriate.
But sad to say this book did little for me. Sorry, Jodi.
Stylistically it simply doesn’t work. It starts with the shooting and unravels back to the reason each person is in that building at that time. Had I cared about any of the characters I’d have been interested in their backstory; but they were either too unbelievable or two-dimensional. As it was, with each chapter giving snippets about each one, I struggled to hold their identities in my head.
I was more concerned with how far the shooter would go, but then, blow me, after all that effort to follow the threads, the ending falls very flat. Promising story lines are left in limbo.
The agenda glares through the narrative, both visible and contrived.
The cod psychology is both intrusive and pervasive.
Everyone philosophizes and juggles competing ideals and thoughts and wise reflections, makes profound statements, encapsulates deep existential ideas in succinct phrases – completely unbelievable … especially in a crisis like this!
So why do I offer such a negative review? Because the experience reminds me of the burden on authors – myself included. My own next book has the potential to disappoint my readership. I’ve strayed outside my comfort zone with this story and just this week one of my critics has pointed out many flaws – even questioned the appropriateness of the genre! It’s on hold at the moment, but in the new year I’m going to have to forensically dissect it and try to up my game.
Oh, and I dare to criticise Picoult on two counts. I’ve given her plenty of positive publicity in the past. And she’s rich and famous and confident enough not to be derailed by my humble opinion!!
As promised last week, a dip inside the second treasure discovered in Scotland’s National Book Town last month.
Content to trudge along in the furrows ploughed by his father and grandfather, unsentimental George is frankly incapable of understanding his wife’s addiction to fantasy; and she is indeed obsessive when it comes to fiction. She wills herself into the ‘phantasmal worlds‘ created by poets and romantic writers; she even longs to develop interesting diseases … starve on the wild cold moorland … be beaten and cast out … know tragedy … to have some kind of grievance … anything to add spice to her life!
The real enigma is that this rich selfish man of the world should fall earnestly in love with a superficial, unlearned, vapid girl who is so far beyond his honour and class and social milieu, but he loves her ‘fatally, unaccountably, mysteriously, but eternally’, and try as he might, he’s utterly unable to rid himself of the enduring emotion – it’s ‘true metal’, ‘virgin gold’. Having fought against it in vain, he throws caution to the winds and offers her his whole heart and life.
But in fact, Isabel’s own infatuation goes no further than a kind of idealised spiritual unfaithfulness … she is ‘strictly punctilious with herself even in the matter of her thoughts … She only thought of what might have happened if Mr Lansdell had met her long ago before her marriage.‘ There is no sense of danger or disloyalty to her husband in her mind as she meets him clandestinely; she continues to give her duty and obedience to George Gilbert, whilst bestowing the poetry of her soul on Roland Lansdell – after all, why not? – that half of her nature is despised and rejected by her husband. So she is utterly bewildered by Roland’s sense of degradation and shame and humiliation and suffering. Perfect happiness has come to her; she is loved by the bright object of her own idolatry.
Idealised her love may be, but, sadly, her rose-tinted view of the master of Mordred and what he might offer, serves only to highlight ‘the utter hideousness and horror of her life.’ Her only escape is to imagine scenarios where ‘if only …’ had brought her within his orbit under other circumstances and they could have spent their days in idyllic splendour and artistic bliss, or she could even yet succumb to an early romantic death.
As long as Roland remains a remote might-have-been to her, she lives her dream, but when he demonstrates the seriousness of his real-life intentions by expecting her to abscond with him, Isobel is appalled. In desiring something outside the poetical parameters of her ideal, something carnal and earth-bound, he plummets from demigod to cruel villain, debasing something pure and sacred to vulgarity and depravity. She wouldn’t have hesitated to commit suicide and occupy a marble mausoleum with him for all eternity, but to betray her marriage vows, to spend her life in shame and disgrace? – that would outrage the high ideals of her adoration. His feet are now occupying ordinary mundane ‘common ground’; he himself has become an ‘everyday creature‘. Her dreams are shattered.
But on the wings of that fragmented vision she loses her naive outlook, her childhood, the ‘sweet age of enchantment‘, for ever. Disappointment, followed quickly by tragedy and death, bring reality crashing into her life, mowing down her romantic silliness, and gradually a sadder, wiser, more mature and altruistic woman emerges from the ruins. I won’t spoil the book for you by spelling out what happens.
The Doctor’s Wife was Mary Braddon’s deliberate attempt to please her more discerning critics with a literary work, borrowing the plot from Flaubert’s Madame Bovary, and littering the text with literary allusions to real fictional works, although I fear the majority would be lost on most readers (psst … some versions – including mine – add explanatory notes which go some way towards explaining the references for the uninitiated). And inasmuch as it’s all description and analysis and very little plot, it fulfils the requirement for ‘literary’. Those descriptions, however, are wonderfully evocative, wry humour marching alongside perceptive observation and psychological perspicacity, and even occasionally laugh-out-loud funny, but the author takes whole chapters to recount the pecadilloes of her main characters, to animadvert on the folly of their behaviour, the sorrow they fall prey to – and I couldn’t help but picture any reputable agent/editor today scoring nine tenths of it out with a vicious red pen. Indeed, I estimate the whole book is almost 190,000 words; more than twice as long as the recommended length for a novel today, even though there were no computers, no cut-and-paste, 200 years ago! Likewise the adverbs, intrusive verbs, the surfeit of punctuation marks … all no-nos nowadays.
It feels strange to our modern understanding too, to have the all-seeing eye of the omniscient narrator taking us into the thinking and motivation and aspirations of all the characters. And every now and then the said narrator even pops her own head out from behind the screen to animadvert of some reminiscence or preference of her own. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the power of prose that carries you along at a pleasing gentle pace reminiscent of a leisurely stroll in the country lanes of Yorkshire.
Not the best kind of writing to tuck into when I’m seriously editing my own writing I suspect: I’d be adopting the ponderous precision of a bygone age without noticing it. But in between drafts, just what the doctor ordered! The length and style of this review is my personal homage to a lady whose writing should be more widely acclaimed than it is.


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Welcome to the new NGAI Auxiliary!
membership in the NGAI Auxiliary is FREE for the year. Just submit an application.
Dues are collected for the current calendar year and cover from January 1 to December 31.
If neither you or your spouse are members of NGAI then you can become an Associate member. Dues for Associates are $15.00 for the calendar year.
The Auxiliary also collects dues for the EANGUS Auxiliary (but you are not required to join). Dues for the EANGUS Auxiliary are $7.00 with a $2.00 donation to the EANGUS Scholarship Fund. We collect the EANGUS Auxiliary dues and send them in at the end of the year for the next calendar year.
The NGAI Auxiliary does have officers!
Laura Snyder is the current president. Her email is laura.snyder@ngai.net.


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Interested in serving or selling Pink Elephant at your restaurant, coffee shop or store? Fill out the form below to discuss wholesale buying.
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A wholesale relationship with us includes training and help with equipment in addition to the coffee.
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Interested in serving our coffee at your establishment? We'd love to hear from you and see if we're a match. Fill out the form below to make it happen.


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Zip Code 47129 | Southern Indiana Real Estate | Joe Hayden Real Estate Team - Your Real Estate Experts!
Search all Homes for Sale in Zip Code 47129. Zip Code 47129 is in Clarksville, IN.


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Travel time from from Fredrik Langes gate to Flyplassen 12mins.
Travel time from from TOS to MEH 2h 14mins.
Travel time from from Mehamn lufthavn to Galgenes 41mins.
How long does it take to get from Tromsø, Norway and Lebesby, Norway by air and road.

industry_corpus2: Transportation


text: EXCELLENT LOCATION!!! This stunning home in College Place built by Village Builder features 3 bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms. Family room, Breakfast room, Formal Dining, Cook's Dream Kitchen with Granite Countertops & Tiled Floor. Sizable Upstairs Gameroom with Large Upstairs Secondary Bedrooms! No Backyard Neighbors! Brand New 2019 HVAC!


text: Montrose Decorative Kitchen & Bath Showroom is proud to present this polished nickel finished widespread bathroom sink faucet, by Rubinet. The 1AMQLWHPN is made from premium materials, this Widespread Bathroom Sink Faucet offers great function and value for your home. This fixture is part of Rubinet's decorative Mattew Quinn Collection, so make sure to check out other styles of fixtures to accessorize your room.


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Though I've been a travel consultant a short time, I bring a lifetime of travel experiences to the table.
With thanks to the US Army stationing me around the world I took advantage of the opportunities to travel throughout Europe, Hawaii, and the United States.
Since starting I have co-lead group travel to Ireland, Mexico, Honduras, Belize, Jamaica, Grand Cayman, the inner-passage of Alaska, and Victoria BC. I have also done bus groups to Washington D.C., Orlando FL and the Cape Cod area.
I am currently preparing a bus tour to our nations Capital for the Independence Day Celebration 2-6 July 2018. My next out of country tour will be to Iceland in June 2019.
From personal to business, individual group, prepared itinerary, or build it from scratch from the ground up, I will dedicate my attention to every detail of your travel plan for the smoothest trip and best deal possible.

industry_corpus2: Travel & Geography