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I noticed on the google newsfeed tonight this article on Nasdaq's "raid" on the prestigious London Stock Exchange. It was under the headline "LSE seeks talks over Nasdaq raid".
The problem was, as a regular watcher of Yes, Minister my brain immediately assumed they were talking about the London School of Economics (LSE) rather than the London Stock Exchange (LSE).
Whoops. Honest mistake.
Sir Mark Spencer: Sir Humphrey Appleby would tell Hacker he'd be crazy to tell the job.
Sir Arnold Robinson: Yes. "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes", I can hear him say. "Beware of Greeks bearing gifts", roughly translated. Though Humphrey would have to put it in English for Hacker's benefit. Hacker went to the LSE, you know.
Sir Mark Spencer: So did I.
Sir Arnold Robinson: Oh, I am sorry.
- Episode #19, "The Bed of Nails"
Jim Hacker: "Sir Mark thinks there maybe votes in it. And if so, I don't intend to look a gift horse in the mouth."
Sir Humphrey: "I put it to you, Minister, that you are looking a Trojan Horse in the mouth."
Jim Hacker: "If we look closely at this gift horse, we'll find it's full of Trojans?"
Bernard Woolley: "If you had looked a Trojan Horse in the mouth, Minister, you would have found Greeks inside. Well the point is that it was the Greeks that gave the Trojan Horse to the Trojans, so technically it wasn't a Trojan Horse at all, it was a Greek Horse. Hence the tag "Timeo Danaos et dona ferentes" which you recall is usually, and somewhat inaccurately translated as Beware of Greeks bearing gifts. Or doubtless you would have recalled had you not attended the LSE. No well, the point is, Minister, that just as the Trojan Horse was in fact Greek, what you describe as a Greek tag is in fact Latin. It's obvious really, the Greeks would never suggest bewaring of themselves if one used such a participle, bewaring that is, and it is clearly Latin, not because Timeo ends in 'o', because the Greek first person also ends in 'o'. Though actually, there is a Greek word called Timao meaning I honour. But the 'os' ending is a nominative singular termination of the second declension in Greek, and an accusative plural in Latin of course, though actually Danaos is not only the Greek for Greek but also the Latin for Greek, it is very interesting really."
Sir Humphrey: Well I think Bernard means is that he'll know how to behave if he went to an English university, even if it was the LSE.
- Episode #2, "The Official Visit"
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thankyoubrain.com
W. R. Klemm
Professor/Scientist
Book Reviews of Blame Game, How To Win It
GoodReads, 5 Star
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/5706258-blame-game-how-to-win-it
Dr. Bill Klemm calls his book “Debt relief for the hidden costs of excuses.” People lose their homes because they made foolish purchases they couldn’t afford, but we blame greedy lenders or the government for insufficient regulation. The price of gas is going out of sight, but many of us won’t blame Congress for restricting oil exploration or ourselves for driving gas-guzzler vehicles. When our kids don t do well in school, we blame government schools or the teachers. The poor blame their poverty on the rich. If we don t advance in our careers, it’s our boss s fault. If we get divorced, it’s the spouse’s fault. American prisons are stuffed with criminals, but many Americans say prisoners are victims of racism or the justice system. Check any news outlet, on any day, and you will always find somebody in the news making excuses and placing blame in the wrong places.
How did we come to this? How did we develop a culture of knee-jerk blaming the victim and excusing the villain? I think the cause emanates from an excuse-making character flaw in a growing number of Americans. We even make excuses for others because it relieves our guilt over our own flaws. It’s called political correctness. Dr. Klemm, a prominent university neuroscientist at Texas A&M University, tackles these issues head on in his provocative new book, Blame Game. How To Win it. Excuses are costly: 1) others see our excuses for the weaknesses they reflect, and 2) failure to recognize our excuses prevents us from addressing the weaknesses that cause them. Blame Game s focus is on debt relief for the hidden costs of making excuses. Dr. Klemm lays out a five-step program for playing the blame game to win, a game plan that reduces the need for excuses and thereby leads to a more successful, fulfilled, and happy life.
One clinical psychologist, Dr. Bob Rich, calls Klemm s book a manual for living the good life, and says the book combines common-sense advice and sound scientific evidence. He says the book combines findings from many relevant fields, especially psychology, presented in easy-to-understand, plain language. Radio/TV celebrity psychologist, Dr. Laura Schlesinger says she absolutely loves this book, because it shows that positive personal change is so achievable. Dr. Robert Schuler, syndicated TV minister and founder of Crystal Cathedral, says the book will help people solve their personal problems and achieve their dreams.
Goodreads #2, Tami, 5 stars
Tami‘s review
Mar 21, 09 5 of 5 stars
We all play the blame game. I just can’t get a promotion because my boss hates me. With gas prices the way they are, I can’t save any money. I was born with big bones. If my family were more supportive, I could follow my dreams.
Underneath it all, it’s just excuses. Yes, we might convince ourselves that these things are true that someone else is at fault for our failings and we are merely an innocent victim of circumstance. Ultimately though, we are responsible for our own lives.
Blame Game provides a wake-up call for us all. It reminds us to take ownership of our life. If we really want something, we have to work through our issues.
When bad things happen the all too familiar response by all too many people is to find someone else to blame for it happening to them. Folks who didn’t have a sufficient income to justify buying a home and who are now caught up in the mortgage foreclosure crisis can find themselves tempted to blame rapacious lenders and/or a negligent government that deregulated the financial industry. When marriages fail each spouse seeks to pass off responsibility for the divorce to the other. It’s a rare prisoner who doesn’t attribute their imprisonment to flaws in the U.S. justice system, minorities who attribute their hardships to racism and discrimination, parents with children failing to learn in seeing the problems at the schools and not within their own homes. The list of blame-passing grievances goes on and on. What scientist, educator, author, and public speaker W. R. (Bill) Klemm has done with writing “Blame Game: How To Win It” is to reveal the hidden personal costs of making excuses and blaming others for the shortcomings (both real and perceived) within our own lives. Professor Klemm presents a five-step program for helping readers to recognize when excuses are being made, move away from denial and self-deception, accept responsibility, re-program the brain to reduce the thoughts and behaviors that prompt excuses, and to make their new program work to improve their enjoyment and success in life. Essentially, “Blame Game” is a thoroughly ‘user friendly’ and highly recommended ‘how to’ manual for the non-specialist general reader to effect enduring and positive changes in their personal and professional lives. –Midwest Book Review
Insite Magazine
Reviewed August 2009, p. 12, 13
Have you ever caught yourself making an excuse to someone, or possibly even yourself, for receiving low grades in a class, not getting that job promotion or missing a deadline? If so, then you have already completed the first step toward making yourself happier, according to Dr. William Klemm’s Blame Game: How To Win It self-help book.
Klemm, a firm believer in shaping your own happiness, says the first step on the road to self-improvement is to realize when you are blaming other people or circumstances for your own shortcomings. Only then will you be able to move on to Blame Game’s next four steps and learn how to free yourself from the factors that are keeping you dissatisfied with your life. These steps include moving from denial and deception, accepting responsibility, re-programming the brain to reduce the thoughts and behavior that prompt excuses and running the new program and making it work.
Klemm, a professor of Neuroscience at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Texas A&M University, specializes in analyzing and explaining mental processes. With the publication of his last book on memory, Thank You Brain, and seminars at various colleges on “Better Grades, Less Effort,” Klemm provides answers for self-help book fans looking for direction and motivation in their lives.
When writing Blame Game, Klemm says he drew from his personal experiences as he was growing up and “learning how to take responsibility, be productive, and be happy.” He relates a specific experience in graduate school that changed his entire perspective on receiving negative criticism. A strict professor constantly criticized Klemm’s work despite his constant attempts to improve until one day the professor took Klemm aside and pointed out that any time his academic performance was being attacked, Klemm would make an excuse. This sparked his interest in evaluating and creating methods with which we can avoid making excuses and take active responsibility for the outcomes of our lives.
Praised by celebrity psychologist Dr. Laura Schlessinger and TV minister Dr. Robert Schuller, Blame Game urges you to love yourself and to find a lifestyle that makes you happy. Excuse making only creates obstacles to personal fulfillment and happiness. Klemm invites you to avoid these obstacles by utilizing his book as “debt relief for the high costs of making excuses.”
www.readerviews.com
admin@readerviews.com
Blame Game: How to Win It
Reviewed by Danelle Drake for Reader Views (10/08)
“Blame Game: How to Win It,”–when I first saw the title I thought of the books that our girls purchase to accompany and conquer video games. The books are giving you all the secret doors and instructions on how to get the extra points thus earning quicker, almost instant gratification.
Winning is always good and winning the blame game would be WOW! Needless to say, Ijumped into this book with tons of anticipation and great expectations.
Explaining why we react the way we do to situations was only the beginning. Blame is always the easiest thing to do. Divided into five steps that are easy to understand, follow, and unlike many self- help books, actually do-able. By the time you read through step three you are ready to reprogram your brain. Step 4 begins the process and step 5 gives guidance for the future. Each section has “help pages” that will reiterate the information learned while pinpointing your issues to be dealt with. Yes, it’s hard, but you have to write it all down. Trust me, you will feel much better for it. Focus blocks that are encouraging and insightful thoughts are included to make you take a moment and think. Personally, I found these very helpful and inspirational by copying the thought onto note cards and placing them in visible locations in our home. My favorite: “We learn our counterproductive
attitudes and behaviors, and we reinforce them by repetition.”
“Blame Game” is very well written. Klemm takes very complex issues and breaks them down in an easy-to-understand process. If you feel you are holding grudges, placing blame, or having negative thoughts about any life situation, this book is for you. I was thinking of buying in bulk and giving it to all my relatives for the holidays. If everyone would read it and apply the practice to their self, the world would be a much healthier, happier place.
Rebeccas Reads
Blame Game. How To Win It
Benecton Press (2008) ISBN 9780975522530 Reviewed by Randy Lakin for RebeccasReads (10/08)
W. R. Klemm’s new book, “Blame Game. How to Win It,” is fantastic. Finally, someone who doesn’t make excuses for ever yone else. I was raised that you take responsibility for yourself and your actions. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where it is everyone’s fault but his or hers. The book covers Klemm’s 5-Steps to understand blame:
1st Step: Place blame where it belongs.
2nd Step: Move from Denial and Deception 3rd Step: Take Charge
4th Step: Re-program your Brain
5th Step: Run the Program
Professor Klemm points out several examples of blame. Many blame teachers for the fact that our students lack basic kno wledge. I can tell you from my own experience that the blame should be on the parents, not the teachers. When I started school I could sign my name; not just printed, but in cursive. My mother taught me to write my whole name in cursive where most of my fellow students could only print their names. My mother wanted me to succeed in life so she tried to teach me more than the basics. In this day and age so many parents blame teachers when their child does not succeed. I can tell you for a fact that the parents are lazy and don’t want to put that extra effort in so their children can get a leg up in society. You hear so many people make statements like “that’s just the way little Tommy is.” That is such a lame excuse; they’re basically saying Tommy is that way because we are too lazy to correct his behavior.
People need to acknowledge that they are placing blame, instead of just accepting the problem and doing something to fix it. People need to acknowledge their responsibility and be in control of their behavior and thoughts. So many people make excuses for everything that is wrong in their lives and the world today. Bad behavior is a learned process: when you make excuses for that bad behavior you are placing blame on the wrong person. People should take a look at the Asian community; from my own experiences there I have seen adults feel bad when they do something wrong, unlike adults in the US. When a child does something wrong they are held responsible and they must accept the blame. Here in the U.S. we make excuses and try to place blame on everyone except the one it belongs to. This is one truly enjoyable book; it lets people like myself know that there are others out there who know how to behave like adults. Take it from me that this is one book you don’t want to miss out on; it’s a real winner.
W.R. Klemm, Ph.D.
Benecton Press
Non-Fiction, Self Help
Reviewed by Dr. Tami Brady
Blame Game provides a wake up call for us all. It reminds us to take ownership of our life. If we really want something, we have to work though our issues.
thinkbrain © 2014 Frontier Theme
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[Click for all books]
Armchair Arcade
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Thoughts on Google's Big Reveals
Wed, 06/27/2012 - 2:14pm — Bill Loguidice
Hot on the heels of yesterday's striking Vizio Co-Star announcement - a proper Google TV device for $99 that also happens to incorporate the excellent OnLive streaming game service - was Google's big I/O event today. There were several major reveals, including the nifty features of the next version of the Android operating system, Jellybean; the Nexus 7 7" tablet; the Google Nexus Q, a streaming media device that's made in the USA; and Project Glass, Google's upcoming augmented reality glasses. Let's take each one of these in order:
Bill Loguidice's blog
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Annual report 2018admin-annual-20182019-06-18T10:00:32+00:00
TNI envisions a world of peace, equity and democracy on a sustainable planet brought about and sustained by an informed and engaged citizenry.
TNI achieved so much in 2018. I trust the productivity and reach we achieved will impress in equal proportion to my pride in our colleagues, fellows, allies and networks around the world. Two of our fellows were honoured by the Latin American Social Science Council for their life-time contributions to social science: Susan George and Edgardo Lander. A third, Jun Borras, was named by Clarivate as among the top most cited social scientists in his field for 2018.
It is always useful to remind ourselves of some of the big developments of the previous year, and to assess the relevance of TNI’s work to these. A wake-up call for the world came with the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report. It warned that, within the next decade, we will reach the point of no return regarding ecological breakdown of crisis proportions. The IPCC called for unprecedented transformation of the world economy. Significant new movements have emerged – Extinction Rebellion, School Strikes that have quickly globalised, and the Gilets Jaunes of France that put climate justice firmly on the political agenda. These movements are helping to shift the focus to the fundamentals of the transformation required.
Imagining post-capitalist futures was the frame for the annual fellows’ meeting. Our annual flagship State of Power report focused on how to build the popular counter-power necessary to achieve the transformations required. Our Transformative Cities project curated a showcase of some extraordinary prefigurative cases of how transformation can be achieved. TNI also began new exciting work on energy transitions, with a focus on European municipal levels, as well as ongoing collaborations with Trade Unions for Energy Democracy across Latin America and in South Africa.
Another significant revelation of 2018 – the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica scandal, which exposed how ‘surveillance capitalism’ services political manipulation – is of particular concern with the rise of the far-right. The Whatsapp-conducted election campaign of President Bolsanaro in Brazil being the latest such example. Fellows continued to produce insightful analyses of the growing pattern of authoritarian politics, particularly its notably middle-class base. The new authoritarianism was high on the agenda of the bi-annual Asia-Europe People’s Conference, as well as being the subject of a large agrarian studies conference which focused the minds of activist scholars across the world – both co-organised by TNI.
Predictably, scapegoats for the far-right have been migrants, refugees and ‘others’. We were involved in a series of people’s tribunals on violations of migrants’ human rights, and published a briefing highlighting the unconscionable criminalisation of solidarity. We also (co) published two important reports — one of which famous artist Ai Wei Wei helped publicise – concerning the externalisation of EU border policies. They drew attention to the dubious strategy of propping up dictatorships on all EU borders and the vested corporate interests that see arms exported and refugees imported.
Indeed, corporate power — and the state capture that neoliberalism has invited – has been a longstanding concern of TNI. In 2018, we finally saw negotiations begin for a new international treaty on transnational corporations and human rights. We also saw encouraging signs that the system that puts investors’ interests above the public interest (and in so doing also discourages governments taking the decisions required to rise to the transformative challenge that the IPCC urges) is proving indefensible.
In our drugs policy work, there had been much optimism that with cannabis legalisation – given decisive momentum by Canada in 2018 with TNI providing expert advice to its Senate — one might see new possibilities for impoverished small-scale farmers who have traditionally grown cannabis. The struggle now is to ensure these farmers are not pushed out of the new legal market, and the opportunity is used for rural development and the development of fair trade cannabis.
For TNI, the year began on a sombre note with the death of our beloved ‘web gardener’, Tessa Kersten. We took time to mourn and honoured her memory in numerous ways, including by planting a sidewalk garden which lends itself to the permacultural method that so enthused Tessa. We also planted a green roof on our terrace and continued to invest in energy saving for our building.
We welcomed two new members to our Supervisory Board towards the end of the year, and expressed gratitude to the two departing members, Mirjam van Reisen and Diederik van Irwaarden, who had served so loyally.
Our budget was lower than the previous year, largely due to the end of a large multi-partner project. However, we raised sufficient unrestricted funds to post a positive result. This contributes satisfactorily to our goal of building sufficient reserves to sustain us should TNI experience a significant shortfall in funds in the coming years.
We embarked on a concerted effort to raise more unrestricted funds to enable TNI to maintain its independence, take on projects that might otherwise prove difficult to fund, and to sustain us into the future as we approach our 45th year.
We thank all our funders and donors for their ongoing support to TNI’s efforts to put progressive ideas into movement.
Fiona Dove
TNI’s mission is to strengthen international social movements with rigorous research, reliable information, sound analysis and constructive proposals that advance progressive, democratic policy change and common solutions to global problems. In so doing, TNI acts as a unique nexus between social movements, engaged scholars and policy makers.
TNI’s overarching goals for 2016-2020, consistent with our emancipatory vision for society, remain:
Construct a broadly-shared understanding of what blocks realization of an emancipatory vision of the world and of viable ways towards achieving that vision, especially from the perspective of people in the Global South.
Achieve the realization of potentials by citizens everywhere, but especially those suffering exclusion and poverty, to organize around, articulate and amplify their concerns and proposals.
Advocate for the transformation of norms, policies and practice of key public and private institutions, especially those with transnational influence, towards greater transparency, accountability, engagement with and responsiveness to citizens in democratic, equitable and inclusive ways.
TNI revises its strategic plan every five years through a participatory consultation process involving allies, fellows, associates and staff.
TNI’S 2018 IN NUMBERS
TNI launched
in 7 languages
TNI’s research and analysis was cited in
325 media stories
reaching a conservatively estimated audience of
including in: The Guardian, Le Monde, Euractiv, CNN, BBC, Newsweek, The Economist, Washington Post, El Pais, Telesur, Japan Times, Dawn, South China Morning Post, Jakarta Post, Myanmar Times, Die Welt and NOS.
TNI’s webpages
TNI’s webpages were viewed more than
TNI’s ideas reached
1.48 million people
Events, workshops and seminars:
TNI co-organised
events, workshops and seminars in
attended by
12,012 people
heard TNI’s ideas through presentations at
events, workshops and seminars
Academic citations
TNI Fellows and staff were cited
in academic publications
Dialogue with policy makers
TNI was in dialogue with policy makers from
Subscriptions to TNI’s e-newsletter increased by 13% to
“TNI is admirable in its capacity to go straight to the heart of the matter. It keeps finding, detecting the dangers that our societies confront, dangers that go well beyond the familiar. Today’s powerful actors are not only people. The landscape is far more complex and diverse than the familiar power grabber and the massive concentrations of wealth. TNI goes to the innards of the system, that which we often cannot see, that which is rarely mentioned in the media. The work TNI has done on high finance is a strong example of this modus operandi.”
Robert S. Lynd Professor of Sociology, Department of Sociology and Committee on Global Thought, Columbia University
For more than 40 Years, TNI has served as a research and advocacy unit serving the needs of progressive social movements across the globe. TNI takes as its vantage point the perspective of the Global South, by which we mean the poor, exploited, marginalised and oppressed of the world. Its scope is geographically global and scientifically social with an emphasis on multi-disciplinarity. Its focus primarily concerns global public policy matters.
For more than 40 Years, TNI has served as a research and advocacy unit serving the needs of progressive social movements across the globe. TNI’s work starts from the perspective of the Global South, but its geographic scope is global, its scientific scope is primarily social scientific with an emphasis on multi-disciplinarity, and most of its work is focused on global public policy matters.
TNI challenges the hegemonic neoliberal narrative and works to build a viable counter-hegemony by placing the the interests of the poorest, most oppressed and marginalised people at the centre of all endeavours. TNI works with affected communities, engaged intellectuals, government and political parties, activists and policy makers to build movements and challenge dominant and damaging orthodoxies. We propose fresh perspectives on the ways issues are discussed, or (re)defining the roles of various actors, particularly those who are often excluded by the current economic system.
We equip movements with the tools that help to push their agenda. By gathering evidence and drawing from past and present experience, TNI helps to build the case for systemic change, and generates the knowledge and resources that movements need to assert their rights and push for equitable relationships.
We contribute to movement-building, foster and support relationships among diverse actors who can lend momentum to the emancipatory narrative, and propose and support viable alternatives. This includes understanding, exposing and challenging the power structures that favour the rich over the poor. We propose ways to dismantle structural injustices, and facilitate the adoption of those methods. When these ideas are widely disseminated, TNI supports their implementation.
TNI’s work is long term. Every year we see our work evolve, as new ideas flourish and mature work crystalizes. Some of our ideas have been in development for more than two decades and are bearing fruit as they are implemented. Others are in development as they are refined and applied. Cross cutting all our work is TNI’s special capacity to bring the right people together at the right time and in the right place through continuous and respectful engagement.
Our work includes:
strengthening the capacity of progressive international social movements to advocate for change
acting as a unique nexus between social movements, engaged scholars and policy makers
producing rigorous research and analysis
organizing international conferences; and
collaborating with other organizations worldwide
TNI works with allies in
sixty-two countries,
and participates in multiple regional and international groupings.
TNI works in support of, and as part of, progressive social movements in developing a relevant and useful research and advocacy agenda.
Activist-Scholars
TNI works with scholars to develop, challenge and refine ideas that support the ends of progressive social movements. Additionally, TNI works to spread them in scholarly spaces and to provide expertise to strengthen progressive campaigns.
From local to international levels, and across the political spectrum, TNI provides civil servants and elected representatives with information and analysis on a wide-range of themes. It does so with a view to facilitating international learning, stimulating innovative thinking, and ultimately improving policies and practices.
TNI works with media to give visibility to progressive alternatives, to share evidence-based ideas, and to serve the advocacy goals of progressive movements.
“I am constantly amazed at the volume and quality of materials published (by TNI), a really important source of analyses on a wide range of subjects. TNI has many admirable and deeply committed staff who play a significant role as public intellectuals in many different fora. It was an honour to have been asked to participate in the fellows’ meetings in 2018.”
Firoze Manji
Adjunct Professor, Institute of African Studies, Carleton University, Ottawa, Canada
OUR SUCCESSES IN 2018
In support of our long-term goals, which also indicate the type of work TNI does, an ambitious five-year programme was developed in 2014. Although 2018 only marks the mid-point in implementation, impressive progress is already apparent. Below are brief summaries in this regard, and some elaboration of indications that the programme is on track to achieve its goals.
OBJECTIVE 1:
Corporate Power & Impunityadmin-annual-20182019-05-16T10:25:12+00:00
Corporate Power & Impunity
Trade & Investmentadmin-annual-20182019-06-06T09:57:04+00:00
Agrarian & Environmental Justiceadmin-annual-20182019-05-16T10:34:40+00:00
Public Alternativesadmin-annual-20182019-05-16T10:35:45+00:00
Drugs & Democracyadmin-annual-20182019-05-16T10:37:10+00:00
War & Pacificationadmin-annual-20182019-05-30T20:15:37+00:00
Myanmaradmin-annual-20182019-05-16T10:48:55+00:00
Staying Ahead of the Curve
Constant generation and (re)definition of emancipatory ideas
TNI keeps a constant eye on the shifting bigger picture, the new issues on the horizon, and aims to be ahead of the curve in identifying, understanding and helping movements tackle them.
A key space for this is the annual TNI Fellows’ Meeting, where fellows, staff and experts from our networks take stock of the major shifts, trends and struggles shaping the world. In 2018, the theme was “Building Post-Capitalist Futures”, bringing together some 60 people from across the world to discuss what this looks like and how we might get there.
Ideas generated are presented and refined in TNI’s flagship State of Power report, an annual anthology on global power and resistance that unpacks one topic from multiple angles. The essays in the 2018 edition examined today’s social movements, their potential to build counter-power, and how we can best resist injustice, as well as lay the groundwork for long-term transformation. Inspired by the 50th anniversary of the 1968 counter-power movements, the report was accompanied by a special website featuring 50 powerful stories of resistance and transformation that have shaped our world since. Acclaimed Egyptian artist, Ammar Abo Bakr provided the illustrations for the essays supported by the graphic designer Adam Shalaan. The web design was by Evan Clayburg.
TNI maintains a future-specific focus with the advent of its experimentation with Futures Labs, which are intended as dream teams charged with exploring and giving direction on issues anticipated to be relevant for TNI’s work in the longer term. Priorities for the coming years include ‘multistakeholderism’ in global governance; the so-called fourth industrial revolution; and the rise of China.
Internal organizational development
Practicising what we preach
TNI puts a lot of effort into ensuring it acts internally in ways consistent with its value, and improving its accountability.
1. Fair Employer
TNI’s internal organisational culture is non-hierarchical and highly consultative.
By the end of 2018, the foundation had 24.79 full time equivalent (FTE) employees – a very slight increase on the previous year. The ratio of highest:median salary paid was 2.08, and highest:lowest was 3.45. TNI’s salary rates are comfortably within the norm for the charitable sector in The Netherlands. The average age of employees is around 45 years old, with 28% serving with TNI for more than 10 years. 38% of staff hold senior positions. Of these, seven are female and four are male. 62% of the staff are female. 14 nationalities are represented among the staff. Staff turnover and rates of absence due to illness are very low. TNI contracts other dedicated team members around the world, including in Brazil, Argentina, Spain, Denmark, the USA, India as well as a large team in Myanmar. External staff work under the same conditions and at the same rates as Amsterdam-based staff, adjusted for local taxes and costs of living.
2. Socially conscious and green office
TNI owns its office building, originally built in the 19th century as a school. It is zoned for cultural and educational purposes by the City Council, and has B protection status which restricts alterations to the front facade. TNI strives to attract tenants which share TNI’s vision and values. In 2018, it housed a childcare centre, a meditation centre, four non-profit organisations (concerned with human rights law, consumer rights in respect of food, the right to food, a support organisation for animation filmmakers, as well as two companies – an urban planning and architectural bureau, and a Dutch streetwear company associated with the hiphop scene of Amsterdam.
In 2018, TNI continued its efforts to make its office building as energy efficiënt as possible. Following the installation of solar panels in 2016 – clocking 14 tons of CO2 saved and 19.764 KwH of solar energy generated since, a priority was the installation of LED lights. An energy scan undertaken in 2016 indicated that lights were the single biggest contributor to electricity consumption in the building. This was mostly completed in 2018 for the floor occupied by TNI, with more replacements throughout the building planned for 2019. We are also replacing aging boilers with more eco-friendly versions. In addition, a green roof was laid on the first floor terrace which will help with insulation as well as serving as a rainwater buffer, purifying the air, and encouraging more biodiversity in the neighbourhood. We dug and planted a sidewalk garden on the street outside our building too, which also helps green the street, serving social and ecological ends.
3. Fair and green procurement
TNI developed a new Procurement Policy in 2018 in which it privileges small suppliers that share its values, with this being the primary criterion used in procuring supplies and (technical) services. This includes demonstrable commitments to ecological sustainability, fair trade practices and cooperative ownership structures. Some examples of how TNI puts its values into practice in this regard, include:
• a worker-owned cooperative is contracted for cleaning services
• an informal network of artisans and small companies with strong affinity for TNI’s values are contracted for building maintenance
• contracting auditing, salary and financial administration companies specifically dedicated to serving the non-profit sector
• using a non-profit travel agency dedicated specifically to supporting humanitarian organisations. We have also invested in improving our video conferencing facilities to help minimise the necessity for travel, and encouraging staff wherever possible to travel by train rather than fly or drive. None of our staff uses a car to travel to work.
• using only recycled or FSC-certified paper for printing, printing the minimum required, and always double-sided
• buying tea and coffee supplies from a fair trade company which TNI has supported over many decades, and buying other buying organic and fairly produced products as far as possible
• separating our waste (paper, glass, chemical, plastic, batteries, ink cartridges) for recycling purposes
4. GDPR compliant
In May 2018, the General Data Protection Regulation (GPDR) came into effect. TNI prepared well in advance. In late 2017, TNI contracted the services of a data protection consultant. He guided a thorough audit of the personal data held, where it is stored and who has access. A comprehensive inventory resulted which was shared with staff and the Supervisory Board, and is to be reviewed and updated at least annually. A workshop for staff and the Supervisory Board was subsequently organised. TNI revised its privacy policy, which was published on our website before the GDPR came into effect. TNI has since worked to document its Information & Communication Technology (ICT) policy, including data protection, data security and data breach policies. This will be completed in the first quarter of 2019, with workshops again for staff and Supervisory Board.
5. Demonstrating Effectiveness
Since TNI created the function of Evaluation & Planning Officer in 2016, there has been considerable progress in the Institute being able to demonstrate its effectiveness. A system for ongoing documentation of verifiable results, detailed quarterly reports, outcome harvests in advance of annual reflection days, which feed into annual planning days, have been institutionalised, as has quantitative data uploaded quarterly to the International Aid Transparency Initiative (IATI) open data base in respect of the major Dutch government-sponsored programme. This has given TNI a much stronger evidence base for assessing and communicating its effectiveness, and has proved very useful for refining strategies. Success is evidenced by the increasingly impressive results TNI is able to book. Importantly, it has also helped the Institute sustain the confidence of its existing funders and secure new support, particularly from philanthropic foundations.
6. Outreach results to be proud of
An indicator of TNI’s improved outreach in 2018 is the steady increase, compared to 2017, in social media followers: twitter (16% to 12,733 accounts and reaching an estimated 1.5 million people), and facebook (9% to 16,731) for the official accounts. Specialised programme accounts as well as individual staff accounts also saw significant increases. Subscriptions to TNI’s e-newsletter increased by 13% to 21.535 people. Views of TNI webpages were logged at 1.13 million. TNI publications and articles by TNI staff, researchers and fellows were cited over 3.000 times in recorded academic references. Media coverage was steady, at a conservative estimate TNI reached 19.155.000 readers in outlets across the world. At key moments, global influencers helped to amplify TNI’s messages.
Formal partnerships
In 2018, TNI also entered into more formal partnerships with like-minded (online) magazines, which helped further amplify its messages.
Within the public sphere, significant narrative changes were discernible with respect to most of the issues with which TNI critically engages with. Most notably, drugs policy, investor-state dispute settlement, public ownership, austerity and human rights, and borders and refugees. Incremental shifts in policy are evident in the first two, and a shift in public discourse is discernible in the latter three.
Activist-Scholar network
The International Fellowship and the network of TNI Associates constitute the formal activist-scholar community around TNI. There are many more scholar-activists working with TNI at individual programme level, or in more formally constructed project partnerships.
New developments in 2018 included:
Collaboration with Swansea University (Wales) on farmers and cannabis legalisation;
Glasgow University (Scotland) and others on municipal energy policy and practice;
The Institute for Social Studies (ISS) of Erasumus University (Netherlands) on authoritarianism and emancipatory politics in rural settings;
and with a project led by the University of Helsinki (Finland), and linked to the journal Globalisations, on global governance.
At least 166 scholar-activists have been directly involved with TNI over the past 5 years.
“I am happy that Transformative Cities has recognised the efforts of the CITU to establish a housing colony for the beedi workers in Solapur…. The significance of the Solapur initiative is that thousands of houses have been built for the beedi workers, utilising the provisions in the Beedi Workers’ Welfare Fund Act, and through continuous persuasion. For years together, at different levels they have given different representations to the corporation to sanction the land at cheap rates, and from then onwards, up to the government of India level… I think this recognition to the Union, to the CITU’s efforts in Solapur, will encourage the other trade unions and other organisations to take up such initiatives and help the workers, particularly in the unorganised [informal] sector.”
K. Hemalata
President, CITU
(Transformative Cities is an initiative by TNI’s Public Alternatives program. See https://transformativecities.org/)
NOTABLE PUBLICATIONS OF 2018
“I am an activist. I know TNI through my work as the co-ordinator of the Southern Africa Campaign to Dismantle Corporate based at the Alternative Information Development Centre. My experience working with TNI has been inspiring and thought-provoking. In 2018, I particularly appreciated being able to join the Peoples Week of Mobilisation in Geneva and to work closely with TNI comrades who are extremely passionate about what they do.”
Keamogetswe Seipato
AIDC, The Right to Say No campaign, South Africa
Click on photo for more
Prof. Achin Vanaik
Professor of International Relations and Global Politics, Delhi University
Achin Vanaik continues to be active in the Coalition for Nuclear Disarmament and Peace (CNDP), where his work particularly focuses on getting young people to join nuclear advocacy, through a new conference with young people, on denuclearization and the prevention of nuclear proliferation.
In 2018, he spoke at the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI) conference held on 17-18 March at the ISS in the Hague, where his book The Rise of Hindu Authoritarianism: Secular Claims, Communal Realities (2017), was also launched. His conference paper on rural authoritarian populism was widely cited in India, and a summary was published on Open Democracy.
Achin published a key piece in New Left Review, examining the hegemony of Modi’s BJP government in India. In late September, he participated in the “National Convention against assaults on Journalists” held in New Delhi.
He is also active in the Indian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (INCACBI), where he is involved in the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which works to pressure Israel to comply with international law.
Achin contributes to the Society for Marxist Studies (SMS), which holds two week long residential schools -one in the north in the Summer, and one in the south in the winter for post-graduate students and social activists. He also continues to support the JNU student movement.
Dr. Ben Hayes
Independent researcher and consultant on security policies and civil liberties
Ben co-wrote a paper, with Arun Kundnani, on “countering violent extremism” (CVE) as the new phase of the War on Terror. He presented the paper, published by TNI, at the Fellows’ meeting in June in Amsterdam, as well as at several key events. In October, he presented the paper to a full house at UN Head Quarters in New York, (together with the Special Rapporteur for the Protection and Promotion of Human Rights While Countering Terrorism). Just prior to this he spoke at Duke University on the same subject.
Also in October, Ben helped organise and presented at a conference on Pacification and Extractivism in Salento, Italy, that brought together activists and scholars concerned with the repression of anti-extractivist movements. In November, he presented at a high profile conference of EUROPOL, the EU law enforcement agency, in support of the European Court of Justice’s decisions that have deemed a number of EU data retention directives to be non-compliant with fundamental rights.
Ben worked on contract for the UN High Commission for Refugees on data protection in respect of refugees, and advising the OSI on ‘countering violent extremism’ (CVE) issues in the UK context. He also serves on the Ethics Committee of the EU’s DG Research. He spoke on EU funding for military research at a hearing in the European Parliament in February, and co-authored a submission to the public consultation of the EU on its new multi-annual financial framework.
Ben has been working hard to develop the strategic frame for TNI’s broader War & Pacification programme, putting a lot of effort into fundraising. He has helped to raise funds from OSIFE for TNI, and played an editorial and peer review role in respect of TNI programme publications.
He continues to speak regularly on border security, migration, security policy, speaking at events in SOAS (May) and Berlin (June). He drafted new data protection guidelines for EU Horizon 2020 and successor research programme, and has also helped launch litigation supported by 30 NGOs against Thompson Reuters WorldCheck database of Politically Exposed Persons due to its impact on civil rights.
He has also been supporting TNI in his capacity as a consultant in the development of TNI’s IT policy, particularly in light of the new EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Video from #4days4peace Barcelona
Dr. Daniel Chavez
Research Fellow, Coordinator of TNI’s New Politics Project
Daniel coordinates TNI’s New Politics projects, as well as playing a lead research role in the overall work on Public Alternatives, with particular reference to energy democracy and relations with Trade Unions for Energy Democracy (TUED). The latter includes ongoing work with TUED and the Alternatinve Information and development Centre (AIDC) in support of South African trade unions on the crisis of the national public utility, Eskom.
He has participated in key TNI co-sponsored forums including a TUED meeting on energy democracy in New York in May, a First International Forum of Public Enterprises in Ecuador (May), the Fellows’ Meeting in June, The Future is Public seminar in Canada (June), a talk on energy democracy in the Basque country (June), Green Academy in Croatia (August), Public utilities, energy democracy and just transition in South Africa (September), Urban politics and municipalist movements in Barcelona (September), New Politics in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union in Tbilisi, Georgia (October), the CLACSO conference in November, and a conference on critical thinking in Uruguay in November.
His writing has included a piece on lessons from Latin America for energy democracy initiatives in the UK (Renewal magazine). His co-edited book, Rethinking the public: State, society and public services in Latin America (currently in Spanish) will hit the shelves in January 2019. In November, TNI and CLACSO co-published another book that Daniel co-edited, Las disputas por lo público en América Latina y el Caribe (Conflicts Around the Public Sphere in Latin America). Both books were launched at the massive CLACSO event in Buenos Aires.
Daniel maintains his attention on regional trends in Latin America, particularly on the rise of the right wing and the deradicalisation of the left.
Dr. David Fig
Independent researcher, Chair of the Board of Biowatch South Africa, Honorary Research Associate in the Chair of Bio-Economics at the University of Cape Town and in the Society, Work and Development Institute in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg
David continues his work with environmental and local community organizations in South Africa. He is an advocate in South Africa for the UN Treaty on TNCs and exposing corporate impunity issues, cooperating with the TNI Corporate Power programme.
He was vocal in the South African media in May on the corporate capture of agricultural policy and the need for small farmers to be given greater support. He also continues to support the anti-fracking movement in South Africa.
Having joined the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation working group on Alternatives to Development, David travelled to Ecuador, and to Barcelona, Spain, to look at the applicability of the experiments there to the South African context.
David attended TNI’s Fellows’ Meeting in June, and participated in the TNI co-organised conference on public utilities energy democracy and just transition in Johannesburg in September.
He helped prepare jurors and contributed to the conclusions of the Permanent People’s Tribunal’s (PPT) third and final session on Southern Africa, hosted by the Southern African Campaign to Dismantle Corporate Power in November.
In 2018, he also published a number of pieces including analysis on the Pretoria High Court’s judgement in support of communities’ “right to say no” to titanium mining on the Wild Coast at Xolobeni; a piece in The Conversation Africa on the need for South Africa to reverse corporate capture of agriculture policy, and a co-written chapter analyzing representations of the Cold War in history textbooks in South Africa during and after apartheid in an edited volume The Cold War in the Classroom.
David continues to study and network on the legacy of the asbestos industry, and is active in a number of NGO, academic and social justice organisations such as Biowatch South Africa where he serves as board chairperson; the Society, Work and Politics Institute (SWOP), the Pushing Back Coal and Pushing for Renewable Energy coalition, the Energy Governance Initiative-South Africa and the African Uranium Alliance. He is also associated with the Department of Environmental and Geographic Sciences at the University of Cape Town.
Prof. Edgardo Lander
Professor Emeritus, Central University of Venezuela
Edgardo Lander actively participates in TNI’s New Politics project, writing critical analyses of the Venezuelan political situation that have been translated and widely circulated in Spanish, English, French and German.
He continues to participate in the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation working group on Alternatives to Development, and traveled to Barcelona in June to look at the possibilities and limitations of its new municipalist model being applied in other contexts.
Edgardo is actively engaged with the TNI New Politics work through the Latin American New Politics Platform as well as within the Venezuelan Citizens’ Platform in Defence of the Constitution. He contributed a chapter to a new book Alternatives in a World of Crisis which he has presented in Mexico, Ecuador and Spain. He attended the June Fellows’ Meeting.
Edgardo was honoured with a CLACSO award (Latin American and Caribbean Social Sciences Award, 2018) which he received along with Susan George at CLACSO’s first Global Forum on Critical Thought in Buenos Aires in November, where the Venezuelan crisis was a very hot topic.
He participated in a workshop at the forum on “The left in the North and the South and its labyrinths” co-organized with the Institute of Latin American and Caribbean Studies Institute (IEACL). He is currently working on a short book, The crisis of civilization, progressive governments in South America, and debates in the left as part of a fellowship at the Maria Sibylla Merian Center for Advanced Latin American Studies.
He continues to be active in TNI’s work, particularly the New Politics network, presenting at the Thematic Forum on Mining and Extractivism in Johannesburg in November, as well as a panel on social movements and political struggle in today’s Latin America, organised by TNI in Uruguay the same month. He is a core member of Venezuela’s Citizens’ Platform in the Defence of the Constitution, which has played a major role in mediating the crisis in Venezuela.
Dr. Hilary Wainwright
Editor of Red Pepper magazine, UK
Hilary Wainwright is a leading researcher and writer on the emergence of new forms of democratic accountability within parties, movements and the state. She is the driving force and editor behind Red Pepper, a popular British new left magazine, and has documented countless examples of resurgent democratic movements from Brazil to Britain and the lessons they provide for progressive politics.
In 2018, Hilary spoke frequently at public events including; on Radical Politics and Social Movements (London, November), Transforming the State (London, November), CLACSO conference (Buenos Aires, November) and the Conference of Critical Thinking (Montevideo, November). She is actively pushing for a People’s Vote on Brexit and has been appointed to the advisory board of Another Europe is possible.
She spoke at the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiative (ERPI) conference in March, as well as the Build it like Bernie meeting TNI co-hosted in Amsterdam immediately afterwards. Hilary attended a meeting on privatisation versus public ownership in Athens in May, travelled to the Left Forum and Democracy Collaborative events in New York in June, breaking her shoulder while going to interview the mayor there, but still stoically making it to June Fellows’ Meeting.
Hilary was appointed by the economic advisor of UK Labour Party Leader Jeremy Corbyn to join their ‘Community Wealth Building Commission’. This commission – of municipal leaders, trade union organisers and policy advisers, co-operative movement leaders , researchers and relevant NGO activists aims to build on the experience of Preston Council to use (what’s left of) public powers (of procurement , planning, house building, investment) to protect and improve local jobs and well-being and to strengthen democratic control. She was a headline speaker at The World Transformed, the UK Labour Party conference in September, and shared some of that learning at a TNI event to launch her new book in Amsterdam in October.
The book, titled A New Politics from the Left, was widely and positively reviewed in the left press in the UK. She played an active role in the UK demonstrations demanding a people’s vote in October.
She wrote on the meaning of the 1968 movements for Open Democracy in May, on the Corbyn phenomenon for Le Monde Diplo in June, and The Guardian in August. She has played an active role in TNI’s New Politics work as well as the European New Politics Platform.
As well as TNI fellow, she is also Senior Research Associate at the International Centre for Participation Studies at the Department for Peace Studies, University of Bradford, UK and Senior Research Associate at International Centre for Participation Studies’, Bradford University. She has also been a visiting Professor and Scholar at the University of California, Los Angeles; Havens Center, University of Wisconsin, Madison and Todai University, Tokyo.
Hilary continues to edit and write for Red Pepper, as well as monitoring political developments in Greece, Spain and the UK.
Prof. Jun Borras
Professor in Rural Development at the Institute of Social Studies (ISS) and Editor-in-Chief of The Journal of Peasant Studies (JPS)
Jun Borras has been a long-term leading collaborator and guide for TNI’s work on agrarian and environmental justice. He continues to work as Professor of Rural Development at the Institute for Social Studies and as editor of the Journal of Peasant Studies (JPS). He continues to serve as part of the TNI Agrarian & Environmental Justice programme, providing intellectual support and encouraging his students to support and engage with TNI.
In 2018 he wrapped up a 4-year MOSAIC project involving TNI, that has carried out action-research in Myanmar and Cambodia around the theme of the intersection of climate change politics, land grabbing, and conflict. He is producing several papers on the research. He also started a 3-year IDRC funded action research on climate change politics and resource grabs in Mali and Nigeria, and is supporting the regionalization of research initiatives around the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiatives (ERPI). He convened the ERPI conference at the ISS in mid-March, attended by 300 participants and generating 79 papers.
Jun co-edited a special issue of Third World Quarterly on the theme of: Converging Social Justice Issues and Movements. He also co-edited a book published by Routledge: BRICS and MICs: Implications for Global Agrarian Transformation. His book with Marc Edelman, Political Dynamics of Transnational Agrarian Movements, was published in Japanese.
Finally, he was included on the Clarivate Analytics Highly Cited Research 2018 List, awarded to researchers whose highly cited papers rank in the top 1% by citations for field and year in the Web of Science. He continues to actively support research initiatives tied to the Emancipatory Rural Politics Initiatives (ERPI), and to associate TNI with BICAS (see more under Agrarian & Environmental Justice programme).
Phyllis Bennis
Director of the New Internationalism Project at the Institute for Policy Studies
Phyllis Bennis’ New Internationalism project reflects the Inside/Outside strategy that TNI’s sister institute, Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) has long identified as central to changing the world. She writes and comments on the foreign policy of the Trump administration, particularly in relation to the Middle East, and the US military presence in Afghanistan.
In 2018, she continued to write and comment on the foreign policy of the Trump administration, particularly in relation to the Middle East. She has actively advocated for progressive foreign policy positions from the new wave of 2018 progressive candidates for Congress and other offices, and continues to be a frequent media commentator, writing and speaking on human rights, electoral politics, US foreign policy and Saudi war crimes in many outlets.
She commented on Gaza’s Great March of Return, the US decision to move its embassy to Jerusalem, Trumps abandonment of the Iran nuclear deal and the need for the new crop of progressive leaders to talk about progressive foreign policy alongside a radical domestic agenda.
She also drafted the militarisation section of a major IPS report, “The Souls of Poor Folk” which is providing the research for a new Poor People’s Campaign examining Martin Luther King’s “evil triplets” of racism, poverty & militarism plus climate, and is working closely with one of its leaders, the Rev William Barber. She presented at a UN conference on the 50th anniversary of the Nakba (catastrophe) of Palestinian dispossession as well as in South Africa with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in a conference on non-state actors in the Middle East/North Africa.
Phyllis was a co-author on TNI’s paper on criminalisation of the BDS movement.
In November, she spoke at the annual conference of AMEC (the Afro-Middle East Center in Johannesburg), focusing on civil society, non-state actors and their role in the MENA wars, and then did a briefing for the South African foreign ministry on Palestine, Middle East wars, US policy in the region and beyond, in anticipation of South Africa’s re-joining the UN Security Council in 2019. She also attended the Fellows’ Meeting in June.
PRESIDENT & SUPERVISORY BOARD
Dr. Susan George
Gisela Dutting
Diederik van Iwaarden
Prof. Mirjam van Reisen
Pauline Tiffen
Dr. Boris Kagarlitsky (Russia)
Dr. Joel Rocamora (Philippines)
Dr. Kees Biekart (Netherlands)
Myriam Vander Stichele (Netherlands)
Dot Keet (Zimbabwe)
Dr. Gonzalo Berrón (Argentina)
Dr. Godfried van Benthem van den Berg (Netherlands)
Halle-Jorn Hannsen (Norway)
Prof. Jan Pronk (Netherlands)
Dr. Howard Wachtel (USA)
John Cavanagh (USA)
Dr. Marcos Arruda (Brazil)
Dr. Walden Bello (Philippines)
Dr. David Bewley-Taylor (UK)
Bob Debus (Australia)
Hermann von Hatzfeldt (Germany)
Peter Weiss (USA)
Manuel Pérez-Rocha (Mexico)
Dr. Jochen Hippler (Germany)
Dr. Kamil Mahdi (Iraq)
Mariano Aguirre (Colombia)
David Sogge (Netherlands)
Dr. Ricardo Vargas (Colombia)
Dr. Tom Reifer (USA)
James Early (USA)
Christine Merkel (Germany)
Roger van Zwanenburg (UK)
Francesco Martone (Italy)
Prof. Harris Gleckman (USA)
Sebastián Torres (Uruguay)
Fiona Dove (Executive Director)
Pietje Vervest & Ernestien Jensema (Programmes)
Denis Burke (Communications)
John Kerseboom (Personnel & Office)
Stephanie Olinga-Shannon (Evaluation)
Bea Martinez
Denis Burke
Hilde van der Pas
Jess Graham
Jorrit Stoker
Melissa Koutouzis
Nick Buxton
Niels Jongerius
Sasha Trifkovich
Shaun Matsheza
Stephanie Olinga-Shannon
Tessa Kersten
OFFICE & ADMINISTRATION
Albi Jannssen
John Kerseboom
Katja Gertman
Kees Kimman
Lia van Wijk
Misrak Alayu
Mustaffa Habashi
Sebas Stellingworth
Susan Medeiros
Dania Putri
Ernestien Jensema
Katie Sandwell
Martin Jelsma
Pien Metaal
Tom Blickman
Frank Barat
Niahm ni Bhariain
Daniel Chavez
Lavinia Steinfort
Satoko Kishimoto
Sol Trumbo Vila
Alex Scrivener
Benny Kuruvilla
Bettina Mueller
Cecilia Olivet
Luciana Ghiotto
Lucille Falgueyrac
Marieke van Doorn
Pietje Vervest
Alberto Fradejas
Carsten Pederson
Jenny Franco
Lyda Fernanda Forero Torres
Sylvia Kay
Timothe Feodoroff
Zoe Brent
Brid Brennan
Gonzalo Berron
Monica Vargas
Cheery Zahau
Da Eh
Mi Kamoon
Myint Zaw
Naw Julie Aye
Phwe Phyu
Renaud Cachia
Sai Lone
Thura Myint Lwin
Zin Mar Han
David Alzate (Colombia)
Juan Lovera Rivas (Netherlands)
Meryl Goeke (US)
TNI is committed to the principles of independence, transparency, and accountability. TNI’s financial reporting was rated 5 stars for ‘excellence’ by the Transparify initiative.
we spent our money on
Ethnic peace Myanmar
Just trade & investment
we spent our money
Office & Communications
we got our money
Dutch government
Philanthropic foundations
Own means
Other contributions
For a full breakdown of expenditures per donor see FUNDING AGREEMENTS ACTIVE IN 2019 below.
over the last 5 years
Budget for 2019
Grants 4.630.769
Other project income 0
Donations and contributions 0
Exchange losses/gains 0
Interest 2.000
Other 6.876
Total income 4.639.645
– Personnel costs 432.123
– Building expenses 49.870
– Office and communication 292.760
Total overhead 774.753
– Direct project costs 2.810.026
– Personnel costs charged to projects 1.014.401
Total project costs 3.824.427
Total expenditure 4.599.179
Result 40.466
FUNDING AGREEMENTS ACTIVE IN 2018
Funding agreements
Click here for funding agreements PDF
EXPENDITURE AND PROCUREMENT POLICY
In 2017, TNI adopted a new Procurement Policy in respect of (technical) services and supplies. In 2018, TNI monitored adherence to the policy.
There were no exceptions made to the policy. There were no single invoices for amounts greater than Euro 30.000. TNI assessed 24 instances involving invoices exceeding Euro 5000.The great majority of these were one-off invoices related to tickets and venues/accommodation in respect of large events organised by TNI. TNI has preferential relationships with four companies where the total annual costs paid exceed Euro 30.000. These involve a travel agency in the Netherlands that specifically services “humanitarian” NGOs working in conflict zones; a printing company in Amsterdam; and the auditing company and financial administration companies which service TNI. In the case of the former two companies, there is no exclusive arrangement and from time to time TNI will use other companies for the same kind of service. In the case of the latter two, these are formally contracted services. In each of these cases, regular evaluations take place with a view to improvements to the relationship.
Source: TNI financial accounts report, 2018
WORKING TRANSNATIONALLY
WITH GRATEFUL THANKS – AND APOLOGIES IN ADVANCE TO ANYONE WE MAY HAVE INADVERTENTLY OMITTED – TO ALL THOSE WHO CONTRIBUTED THEIR TIME, LABOUR AND EXPERTISE TO TNI IN 2018, IN PARTICULAR:
Vanessa Lamb
Juan Liu
Yunan Xu
Devi Adriyanti
Dinesh Abrol
Divya Jain
Laksmi Savitri
Lavanya Suresh
Medha Patkar
Nilotpal Kumar
Praveen Priyadarshi
Ritanjan Das
Tripti Tandon
Abdul Rahman
Ciptaningrat Larastiti
Hanny Wijaya
Nila Ardhianie
Ruben Rosenberg Colorni
Yukari Sekine
Khin Zaw Win
Lahpai Seng Raw
Sai Wansai
Thant Zin
Ye Lin Myint
Faina C. Abaya-Ulindang
Joel Rocamora
Lloyd B. Ranises
Tania Salerno
Alice Beban
Neil Boister
Ahilan Kadirgamar
Niyanthini Kadirgamar
Clara Mi Young Park
Thieu-Dang Nguyen
Aleh Ivanou
Colin Brown
John Vandermeer
Stephan Backes
Tom Decorte
Danjela Dolenec
Vedran Horvat
Mads Barbesgaard
Imane Messouadi
Franck Gaudichaud
Juliette Renaud
Michel Forst
Olivier Petitjean
Yasser Louati
Ciaran Cross
Emily Mattheisen
Joachim Jachnow
Markus Kröger
Nikolai Huke
Pia Eberhardt
Roman Herre
Sören Köpke
Sopiko Japaridze
Charalampos Konstantinidis
Christina Sakali
Dimosthenis Papastamopoulos
Eirini Tzekou
Jenny Gkiougki
Kris Giovanopolous
Leonidas Vatikiotos
Yannis Krestenitis
Agnes Gagyi
Alexa Botar
Balsa Lubarda
Gábor Scheiring
Laszlo Zalatnay
Noémi Gonda
Tamás Gerocs
Fionnuala Ní Aoláin
Gianni Tognoni
Giulio Iocco
Luciana Castellina
Mariangela Rosolen
Mario D’Andreta
Martina Lo Cascio
Mimmo Perrotta
Nora McKeon
Paola De Meo
Raffaele Morgantini
Simona Fraudatario
Yasha Maccanico
Bart-Jaap Verbeek
Bas van Beek
Benjamin White
Christina M. Schiavoni
Elyse Mills
Fiona Dragstra
Frans Bieckmann
Freek Bersch
Harriet Bergman
Jilles Mast
Laura Schoenberger
Leonardo van den Berg
Margriet Goris
Mark Akkerman
Mindi Schneider
Murat Arsel
Paige Shipman (Netherlands/USA)
Rodrigo Fernandez
Roeline Knottnerus
Roos van Os
Rutger Groot Wassink
Sophia Beunder
Selcuk Balamir
Tjitske Lingsma
Ana Moragues Faus
Katerina Gladkova (Russia)
Natalia Mamonova
Ainhoa Ruiz Benedicto
Alba del Campo
Alys Samson
Ana Mendez de Andes
Andreea Zelinka
Geovanna Lasso
Jaume Franquesa
Joám Evans Pim
José Luis Fernández Casadevante Kois
Joseba Azkarraga
Irene Escorihuela
Nerea Morán
Nuria del Viso
Martín Barriuso Alonso
Mònica Clua-Losada
Monica Guiteras
Olatz Ribera Almandoz
Paula Fernandez-Wulff
Stacco Troncoso
Pere Brunet
Rita Calvário
Tom Kucharz
Desirée Enlund
Eline Müller
Emila Rosario Reichmuth
Alona Liasheva
Alexander Dunlap
Andy Rutherford
Ann Fordham
Arun Kundnani
Ben Richardson
Christopher Yap
Deborah Eade
Frances Thomson
Helena Norberg-Hodge
Ian Scoones
James Angus Fraser
Jason Parkinson
Julia Lux
Kyla Sankey
Les Levidow
Malgosia Fitzmaurice
Maria Kastrinou
Mark Tilzey
Mary Fitzgerald
Mary Mellor
Oliver Russell
Oliver Springate-Baginksi
Peter Newell
Rachel Tansey
Ray Bush
Sahil Dutta
Sam Cossar-Gilbert
Samantha Mason
Samuel Kenny
Santiago Ripoll
Simone Datzberger
Tom Henfrey
Yuliya Yurchenko
Mabel Thwaites Rey
Pablo Gentilli
Linda Farthing
Marcela d’Olivera
Andrezza Alves Spexoto Olival
Alexandre de Azevedo Olival
Daniela Andrade
Diego Azzi Renata Boulos
Gustavo de L. T. Oliveira
Hugo Gravina Affonso
Ítala Nepomuceno Rodrigues
Kurt Shaw
Leandro Bonecini
Lia Pinheiro Barbosa
Mauricio Gonsalves Torres
Rita de Cácia Oenning da Silva
Sérgio Sauer
Annette Aurélie Desmarais
Ben McKay
Firoze Manji (Kenya/Canada)
Maria Belen Angeles
Paulo Henrique Lima
Ryan Isakson
Danilo Urrea
Guillermo Andrés Ospina
Jhon Edier Jaramillo Ferro
Jhoni Alexander Trejos Arroyave
Sergio Mauricio Zamora Betancur
Valentina Bradbury Jaramillo
Andrés León Araya
Justino Piaguaje
Pablo Fajardo Mendoza
María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés
Miriam Lang
Alice Froidevaux
Bertha Zúñiga Cáceres
Fabricio Herrera
Fernando Galeana Rodriguez
Martha Flores
Susy Núñez
César Suárez Ortiz
Erick Gonzalo Palomares
Gerardo Alatorre Frenk
Gerardo A. Torres Contreras
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Palestine/Israel
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Remembering Tessa
The year 2018 began on a sad note for TNI. On 17 February, our dearly beloved Web Gardener, Tessa Kersten died in a tragic accident while on a weekend away. May she rest in peace. We remain dedicated to continuing the work that Tessa loved.
Writing/Editing: Shaun Matsheza
Photo Credits: Click Here
Design: Evan Clayburg
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[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great
Views expressed here are not necessarily the views & opinions of ActivistChat.com. Comments are unmoderated. Abusive remarks may be deleted. ActivistChat.com retains the rights to all content/IP info in in this forum and may re-post content elsewhere.
HAPPY NOROOZ (NEW YEAR)!
[FREE IRAN Project] In The Spirit Of Cyrus The Great Forum Index -> HAPPY NOWRUZ PERSIAN NEW YEAR to Over 300 Million People
Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 3:20 pm Post subject: HAPPY NOROOZ (NEW YEAR)!
Only New Year's related information should be posted to this thread!
Norooz, in english, means "new day". It is the new day that starts the year, traditionally the exact astronomical beginning of Spring. For thousands of years, Norooz varied. The Zoroastrian religious calendar, used before Islam, consisted of 12 months with 30 days each, making 360 days, plus a �stolen five� (Panjeh-ye Mostareghe) days that was held at the end of each year, adding up to 365 days.
Early astronomers were not aware of the leap years and did not add and additional day every four years, thus causing the variance of Norooz. The other fact was that during the chaotic times and moments of unrest in the country such as time of Alexander, or at the end of the Ashkanids, people forgot to add the five stolen days, thus resulting in another problem in the calendar. During the Sasanid era Tansar, the head priest (Mubedhan-i Mubedh) of Ardeshir I unsuccessfully tried to organize the calendar.
There are accounts of Norooz in Autumn, winter or even Summer! The first person who re-organised the calendar successfully was Omar Khayyam, the mathematician and astronomer of 5th century H (11-12th AD). He drew a chart for the year and put the start of the year at the moment of Aries� entrance to the house of Sun. He made a calendar of 6 months with 31 days, and 6 months with 30 days making a total 365 days, and suggested the addition of 1 day every four years and also addition of a months every 13,000 years. This is the most complete calendar ever made.
Khayyam called it �the Jalali Calendar� because of �Jalal� al-Din Malekshah Saljuqi, his patron king. Currently, his calendar is called the �Khorshidi�(Sun based) calendar, as oppose to the Arabic �Ghamari� (moon based) calendar. Although Khayyam was Iranian and he created this calendar based on the pre-Islamic calendar of Zoroastrians, it was not used widely in Iran until the 1925 AD(1304 HS) when Reza Shah Pahlavi ordered it to be used instead of �Ghamari� calendar. In the process of finding names for the months, there are some interesting mistakes happened which are note-worthy.
The first month is originally called �Fravartishn�, but when they wanted to choose it as the name, they found it too hard, so they made it shorter by calling it Farvardin. Second month was originally Ardibehesht, but it became Ordibehesht. Fifth month, Mordad, was suppose to be Amordad, but the Mordad form sounded better.
Seventh months Mehr was �Mithr� at first, but �th� sound is hard to pronounce in Farsi, so they chose the acceptable replacement of �h�. Azar, the ninth months was �Atar� at first, but it sounds too Zoroastrian, so �z� was found to be more acceptable. And finally, the last month was �Esfandarmadh(z)�, but oh god, who is going to say that! So �Esfand� was thought of as more suitable, although it is the name of a spice! Now, in ahistorical sense, Norooz is the oldest Iranian holiday.
Together with Mehregan (entrance of Libra to the house of Sun), it was one of the �two� new years of ancient Aryans. Mehregan was the first day of the �cold� year (Autumn and Winter), and Norooz was the start of the �warm� year (Spring and Summer). It is said that Norooz is chosen as the official holiday by King Yama (Jamsheed), the ancient Iranian king who is the hero of the mythological story of expanding the earth. According to the story, when Yama expanded the earth three times, he ordered the day of the last expantion to be called Norooz, a New Day for the Iranian race.
The truth most likely lies somewhere in between this story and the fact that Norooz is the beginning of the Spring. It could be that Norooz was already a holiday for the Aryans, but when it coincided with an important event in the reign of Jamsheed, it was chosen to be the "special" holiday. What ever it might have been, Norooz became the most important holiday in Iran after the Islam. Comparing to Norooz, Mehregan and Sadeh (another important Iranian holiday) lost their importance. The selection of Norooz as the only standing "Iranian" holiday after Islam might also be a direct result of the limitations imposed on Iranians by Moselm rulers.
For Iranians after Islam, Norooz was a sign of holding on to the national values. It helped them to remember their heritage in spite of cultural attacks of Arabs, Mongols, Turks, and Westerners. Norooz continues its role of national pride in this world of cultural trades and influences. For the Iranians out side home, Norooz is an element of nostalgia and a reminder of home, at least once a year. Although Norooz has some outside influences like Qoran and the Arabic prayer during the beginning of the year, but it still holds the distinctively Iranian values of health, green-ness, life, light, and happiness. Noroozetan Pirooz!
Above, a Now Ruz (Norooz) public performance at Tehran's Rudaki Hall during Shah's Era.
Every house prepares a display known a "Haft-sin" (the Seven S's), consisting of seven objects the name of which in Persian begins with the letter S, completed by a mirror and a bowl of goldfish.
It is considered unlucky to stay at home on the thirteenth day of the Now Ruz festival, and a massive national picnic takes place, the favoured spot; being a grassy riverside.
Norooz & other countries - By Neda Network
Norooz is the new year holiday in Iran, Azerbaijan, Central Asia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, parts of India and among the Kurds. The word itself literally means "new day" in Persian, and the festival marks the beginning of the solar year and new year on the Iranian calendar, as well as among several other nationalities.
This year, Norooz falls on Monday March 20, with the following day, the vernal
equinox, being the first day of the new year. Norooz traditionally celebrates the awakening of nature, and even the triumph of good over the oppressive darkness of winter. It is a time to celebrate life at the time when life begins or is renewed for much of that which is on the earth. The new year is marked at the instant the sun leaves the astrological sign of Pisces and enters that of Aries.
This renewal of nature is the essence of this millennia-old tradition. Originally held as a spring festival, it is believed to have been first acknowledged and named "Norooz" by the mythical Persian emperor Jamshid. Others credit the Achaemenid dynasty of the 12th century B.C. for institutionalizing the Norooz festival.
The spirit and significance of the holiday has often made Norooz a target for foreign invaders and anti-nationalist forces throughout the history of Iran. Alexander the Great and the Arab conquerors a thousand years later tried to eliminate the holiday. The Soviet Union banned it in Central Asia and Azerbaijan, as it was considered a nationalist or Islamic holiday.
The celebration was banned in Kurdish sections of Turkey, though, for the last few years, Turkish officials have allowed some festivities.
Last edited by cyrus on Tue Mar 22, 2005 3:15 pm; edited 1 time in total
Iranian Boy
Empress Farah Pahlavi�s New Year messege, Audio
http://www.verdenet.com/farah/180305.wma
Long live the memory of Shahanshah Aryamehr.
Long live Shahbanou Farah Pahlavi
Long live Reza Shah II
Rasker
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2005 3:51 pm Post subject:
The Sun Is Rising In The West! Soon It Will Shine on All of Iran!
Pasagarde
Rasker wrote:
Happpy Norooz to all Iranians and Happy New Year; 2713 Irani
Shahanshai ignores parts of our history and is thus not just!
"May Ahura Mazda protect this land, this nation, from rancor, from foes, from falsehood, and from drought"
Koroush Kabir
Mosalman/Taazi-parast:
Did it hurt you somewhere? I know it did. You can take your filthy TAAZI (arabic) calendar with you when you try to flee or once we deport you. I've heard these days that your families (akhoonds) have special airplanes ready to lift off their filthy offspring and themselves as soon as there are signs that the end is near. Indeed the END IS NEAR for you and the filthy terrorists which you support and are funded by. Can you hear marching boots? It's the marching boots of the Iranian people coming to crush your filthy Islamic Republic.
Take your SHIITE somewhere else.
Ba Sepaas
JAVID IRAN!
www.anjomane-padeshahi.org
http://aryamehr11.blogspot.com/
Liberator wrote:
I think you misunderstood me my friend. I am saying we must understand the correct Iranian year, rather than the first PERSIAN king and dynasty era. the first iraniana empire (median) was founded earlier and about 150 years before cyrus. The medians were in north-western iran (today�s greater azerbijan and Kurdistan). We must celebrate our true foundation and that began about 150 years before Cyrus.
Eid'et Mobarak!
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Review: Laced In Malice by Riley Gray
Goodreads summary (abbreviated):
Behind the creepy castle-like exterior of Birchtree academy is the sound of gossip, back stabbing and malice. When Zara’s dad takes on the new principal job at the elite boarding school, Zara knows she’ll be an outsider. She dreams of true love and marriage instead of possible frenemies and secrets. Definitely not Birchtree material.
In the cusp of everything are the twins. Oliver and Elizabeth (Lizzie) Nixon are renowned for their different – yet equally effective – methods of torture. And both have their eyes set on goody, goody Zara.Will she fall under their spell? Will friendship and raw desire cause her to re-think her values? Or will Zara change theirs?
Rarely does a book surprise me as much as Riley Gray's Laced In Malice did. In the ten minutes it took me to read the first chapter, I was hooked. By what, you ask? The descriptive train ride through the English countryside? Umm...no. By the main character's texts with her mum? Aside: even though I'm not English, I have an itching desire to start using the word Mum. Definitely no. By the sexy, leather clad, cigarette-smoking hotty who got a nice verbal backhand from the MC when he propositioned her for a quickie. *insert shifty eyebrows* Ding! Ding! Ding! We have a winner.
In a nutshell, I think guys who sleep around and use women are creepy (doesn't everybody?). But I loved that Gray was able to take this stock character, the man whore, and change him into something real. Oliver comes across as intelligent, not just because he's in the highest classes but because *gasp* Gray actually makes him sound intelligent! He actually has a well-thought out explanation for why casual sex is okay. Now, I'm not saying that I bought his excuses, I'm saying that Gray made me believe that he believed them. And in the process, like Zara, I was eager for him to see how wrong he was. Everything else about Oliver puts him in the "yes please" category. He was charming, polite, a writer (GOD yes!!), and knowing that I was going to see this sexy and intelligent young man change his tune hooked me to the story. But I don't want to leave you thinking that Oliver didn't make me want to pull my hair out or slap him silly because I did want to do both those things at various points in the story. And in the end, I wasn't entirely sure of his motivations. I kept flip-flopping, was he really just into Zara because she was an unattainable conquest or did he honestly care about her? Was he a victim too or was he hiding something BIG? I'm not going to give the story away, but I will say that Gray did an excellent job of giving his character enough depth that I loved him even while I was never 100% sure of him.
Now, Zara. Admittedly, she comes across as a goody two shoes (as it says in the summary), but she also had a tongue on her that I admired. She could give it back to Oliver just as easily as he gave it to her. I was rooting for her from the start. But there were moments in the story where I was scratching my head and wanted to take her by the shoulders and shake her so she'd wake up. Thankfully, a few chapters after I had that moment of thinking, 'you're so stupid', she had me questioning whether I was the one who had to be shaken awake. Zara was too trustworthy, but at the same time, she made me realize that I am too. I asked myself, if I were in Zara's shoes would I have tried to brush aside my misgivings about the people I called friends? Would I have tried to give them the benefit of the doubt? Sadly, the answer is probably yes. I am, like Zara, a bit naive. The good thing is that I like characters who can make me see flaws in my own, and Zara did this, so two thumbs up for her.
Together: so here's a bit of analysis that I hope will give you an extra incentive to buy this book. 50 Shades of Gray. I haven't read it. I have no desire to read it. But I have read countless discussions of it, and there's one thing they all seem to agree on. The plot line of the girl turning a guy around and making him into a worthy man is the success of that book (well along with the sex and I'll get to that in a moment). I think the same could be said of Laced In Malice. I was so so eager to see Zara turn Oliver around or for them to come to some sort of middle ground. Like I said, I'm not a 50 Shades fan, nor do I want to be one, but if you're looking for a toned-down version of that book, and a better written one, then I say look no further. Laced in Malice delivers.
The sex. Well, I had to bring this up because of the 50 Shades reference above, and I want to be fair both to the author and to my readers. Individually, I'd say that I've come across scenes in other young adult books that are just as intense as the ones here. The difference I think comes with the fact that there are more scenes of this type in Laced In Malice. It is not erotica by any means, but it does give the book a heavier sexual draw than most other young adult books I've read. I hate to put an age limit on books, but for those who want to know what it's like, that pretty much sums it up.
Finally, I feel like all I've talked about is the relationship between Zara and Oliver, and while that was a driving force as to why I loved this book and read it in one day, it wasn't the only one. I really loved the mystery/thriller aspect that Gray set up. I had my suspicions as to what was happening, but I was never 100% sure of who to trust. Like I said above, I kept flip flopping. Back and forth. Back and forth. I don't think I've gotten sea sick by a book before, but this one gave me that experience! Yay to Gray for excellent writing that keeps the reader guessing. And then... the ending! GAH!!!!!! MISS GRAY, YOU HAD BETTER SET YOUR BUTT DOWN AND START WRITING THE SEQUEL!!! Yes, I can say that because she's a friend of mine, but that in no way taints my review. Those who know me know that I'm stingy with my 5 stars, and Laced In Malice deserves them all.
Summary: five stars. Buy it now!
October reading list
OY!! I forgot to do a list for October, and now the end of November has snuck up on me as well. So...this is a double wammy, giving a brief outline of what I've been reading the past two months.
70. Bitterblue by Kristin Cashore** I've really loved the seven realms series by Cashore. Each book is a bit different but with very strong, witty female characters. With the second book, you didn't need to read the first in order to understand it. But with the third installment, it really does require that you've read the first and second book because it ties both together. The thing I loved most about Bitterblue was seeing her transform from a somewhat traumatized young woman into a powerful queen. I mean, how cool is that? The secondary characters were all memorable too, and the ending was rather bittersweet. Some may not like those types of endings, but I'm cool with it. Highly recommended.
71. Ten Miles Past Normal by Frances O'roark Dowell* I admit that I bought this book based on the very youthful, fun cover. It's basically about a farm girl who doesn't like living on the farm and how she deals with that. I think younger teens could relate to this more than older teens, but it was still a cute read.
72. The Scorch Trials by James Dashner* Dashner really took the advice of throw everything at your MC to heart with this one. Like with the Maze Runner, most of the book is a bit confusing. Unlike The Maze Runner, I didn't feel like anything was resolved at the end, which is why it only gets 4 stars for me. The Third book resumes the awesome story (and got 5 stars from me) which I technically finished in December so it's not on this post.
73. Always and Forever by Karla Nellenbach* Review here!
74. A Little Wanting Song by Cath Crowley** I luuuuurved Cath Crowley's Graffiti Moon, so I was excited when I found out that my library had her earlier book in stock. Amazing writing as with GM and fun, real characters just like GM. This book is mainly about friendship but there is a bit of romance thrown in there as well, and it has a distinct aussie-ness about it. I really loved the bits of poetry throughout. Cath Crowley is definitely a multi-talented writer!
75. Everybody Sees the Ants by AS King** This is a fabulous book about bullying that every kid should read. I loved the magical realism in it with the grandpa who was a prisoner in the Vietnam War. It added a very cool dimension to a really great boy book.
76. Personal Effects by EM Kokie** Loved this one too. The emotions in it were really raw and realistic. I knew basically the whole plot going into it, but this was one instance where I didn't really care.
77. Crash Into Me by Albert Borris* Four online friends make a suicide pact and travel around the US visiting other places where suicides occurred. It's a solid friendship book that I quite enjoyed, and of course a rather serious topic.
78. The Mockingbirds by Daisy Whitney* Didn't care much for this one as I didn't really buy into the whole Mockingbirds organization. Though I would recommend it because it's about a subject (rape) that I think is far too ignored.
79. The Outsiders by SE Hinton ** I think this makes about the 10th time that I've read this book, though it's been a good 15 years since the last time. I loved this book in high school and re-reading it was a real treat. Ponyboy forev-ah!!
November reads:
80. This Is Not a Test by Courtney Summers** I'm not a huge zombie fan, but this one really hit home. It's right up there with Forest of Hands and Teeth for me, and tells me once again that CS is made of awesome-sauce.
81. The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini**My second adult book this year (I know!!!!). I quite enjoyed this one, though to me it had what many adult books have and that's a very slow pace. It was disturbing at times, but I don't regret reading it. I definitely have a new appreciation of what's going on in the middle east due to this book.
82. Ask The Passengers by AS King * AS King has become one of my favorite YA contemporary authors. This one was sexy, and had that touch of magical realism I'm coming to appreciate in her books. I do think she writes a boy point of view slightly better than a female one, but I'm still looking forward to what she puts out next.
83. Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr* In classic Melissa Marr fashion, the world building in this book sucked up much of the pacing. BUT it was all still intriguing enough that I endured. I will definitely pick up the next in the series just to see what happens.
84. The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson** Next to Melina Marchetta's Lumatere chronicles, I think this is probably my favorite fantasy series. The setting is to die for, the characters swoon-worthy and romantic and sweet and the heroine KICKS ASS! Loved it! Can't wait for the last in the series.
85. Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake** I really like this series too even though some of it is very classic Buffy - ghost hunter (slayer), two best friends, creepy old dudes who know everything. Still a very quick and satisfying read though.
So I read one more, technically finished in December, which puts me at 86 total for the year. I have met my reading goal of 75 books!!! I was hoping to push it up to 100, but I know I won't get 14 more books read in December. Still I'm very proud to have made my goal. Any one else break past theirs yet? Any good books I need to put on my list?
Review: Always and Forever by Karla Nellenbach
Mia's first reaction is outright disbelief. Obviously, a mistake has been made. Sixteen-year-old girls don't die. But, when the diagnosis is confirmed, she dives headlong into anger. If she has to die, why should it be of cancer? In fact, anything would be preferable to cancer. Better for her to say when, where, and especially how.
Determined to meet death on her own terms, Mia devises scheme after scheme to get the job done. A “fall” down the basement stairs, driving her car off a bridge, and even a dance with a train all end in her survival.
And through it all, Mia keeps her family and friends at arms' length with her destructive and hurtful behavior. With each failed suicide attempt and burned relationship, she slowly realizes that it’s not the dying that she’s afraid of, but the life she’ll be leaving behind. Now, that life is in a shambles. As time begins to slip through her fingers and death is upon her, Mia fights to rebuild the bridges she has destroyed, but can she do it before the clock runs out?
I'm a little torn up over what to say about this book because it had me going in many different directions. For the first quarter, everything made sense. I liked Mia, I thought her friends were hilarious, and boy did I want her and Kal to get together. The whole idea of a teenage girl getting cancer - after surviving a first round of an entirely different type was a unique set up. It was heart breaking and perfectly logical for her to want to keep the diagnosis to herself. Then Mia starts behaving a little irrationally. As it says in the summary, she keeps inventing ways to kill herself before the cancer does. At this point it was hard to put myself in Mia's shoes. Would I not want the cancer to kill me? Sure. But to throw yourself headfirst towards death seemed a bit selfish. She was taking away precious time that her family, friends and boyfriend had to be with her. Besides that, something seemed like it was missing. Fear. No where during her suicide attempts does Mia show any fear of death, and that seemed a little strange to me.
I think with a topic like cancer, it's hard to know what a person would really be feeling, and therefore hard to capture what a person goes through unless you've been there yourself. You hear all these stories about the fighters, the ones who are always smiling, taking things as they come and not letting the disease get to them. Nellenbach even includes a character like this in the story. And I admit, I wanted Mia to be like that. Perhaps that's unfair, and certainly it's unrealistic. Who's to say how a person would feel when they're hit with the news that they're going to die (and not a pretty death)? A range of emotions is to be expected and anger is certainly one of them. I guess what I'm trying to say is that when Mia began acting out her anger, I kept shaking my head, wanting her to get it together. I kept thinking, dang it Mia, you need these people. You're wasting precious time. Stop pushing everyone away! It's good when a story gets me yelling at it, but it's even better when it listens. *big grin* Without being too spoilery, let's just say that the last third of the book totally made up for the frustrations I was having. I zipped through the ending, not exactly smiling (because hello, cancer) but satisfied. And sobbing. Yes, you will need to arm yourself with a box of Kleenex's for this one. The final scene - whoa. Just whoa. So beautiful.
The writing: Karla Nellenbach has a way with words. The descriptions and prose were beautiful. The dialogue was spot-on without trying too hard, and boy did I love this line: I don't have a pony in that race. I was grinning when I read that one. Nellenbach definitely has a pony in this race, and I look forward to her next book.
Monday poetry
Let's move poetry to Mondays, yay?
Drunk As Drunk by Pablo Neruda
Drunk as drunk on turpentine
From your open kisses,
Your wet body wedged
Between my wet body and the strake
Of our boat that is made of flowers,
Feasted, we guide it - our fingers
Like tallows adorned with yellow metal -
Over the sky's hot rim,
The day's last breath in our sails.
Pinned by the sun between solstice
And equinox, drowsy and tangled together
We drifted for months and woke
With the bitter taste of land on our lips,
Eyelids all sticky, and we longed for lime
And the sound of a rope
Lowering a bucket down its well. Then,
We came by night to the Fortunate Isles,
And lay like fish
Under the net of our kisses.
Wow, I appear to be slowing down even further. Got just five books read this month, and the upcoming month doesn't look too good either. Trying to get a few middle grade books in there as they tend to be faster reads and I have a SNI for a middle grade that I'm toying with. Always looking for some good recommendations so let me know what your favorite book was this month!
65. Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson** Second book in the series that started with Chains. It's about two run away slaves during the American Revolutionary war. This one, told in Curzon's POV wasn't quite as moving as the first book, though I loved it all the same. I look forward to see what happens next with these characters. Oh, and I LOVE this cover rather than the other one which I own.
66. Wringer by Jerry Spinelli** Excellent middle grade novel that addresses the expectations of how boys/men behave (being tough, killing things, etc). In many ways the ending was predictable, but I don't think that young people would pick up on this, so... still giving it 5 stars.
67. The Betrayal of Natalie Hargrove by Lauren Kate Okay, I have to say that I did not get this book at all. The MC is very unlikeable, which is all fine and good as I like an unlikeable character (heck I write unlikeable characters), but I still expect them to learn something from their experiences. To grow. With this one I kept waiting... and waiting... and waiting... and by the end I was ready to throw the book against the wall. In other words, don't waste your time. I do really like the cover though.
68. The Guardians by Lily Raye * Review here. Sweet characters. Gorgeous cover.
69. Huntress by Malinda Lo* This is the second book I've read by Malinda Lo, and I would probably say that I liked Ash better. This one takes place many years (decades or centuries) before Ash and has a bit of a Midsummer Night's Dream thing going on. ML's ability to write gorgeous scenery is something I could learn from, but some of the POV shifts in this one were abrupt and didn't work for me. Also, um yeah, she doesn't actually ever use that huge stick.
Review: The Guardians by Lily Raye
Elijah and Cassie aren’t your old-school angels chilling in the heavens and strumming harps. They’re members of the Guardians, an elite force of angels masquerading under the guise of high school teens.
Their newest mission is no walk in the clouds. In an effort to seek out troubled teens, they, along with fellow angels, Rafe, Sophie and Gabriel, will pose as a family of adopted brothers and sisters and enroll in high school. Along with their gift of “emotional divination”, which is to take on the pain of those who are suffering, they experience their own roller coaster rides of teenage emotions.
Accustomed to working with children, shy Elijah is overwhelmed when he is assigned to Abby, an honor roll cheerleader. When she discovers she is pregnant and her boyfriend abandons her, Abby turns to Elijah for support. As his feelings for Abby intensify, Elijah also struggles with the desire to be a guardian to Abby’s unborn baby. However, as Elijah is trying to do good, a dark force hovers over him in the form of Lucius—one of Satan’s demons. Things escalate when Elijah threatens Lucius. It will come to a fight to the finish with Elijah either being defeated or damning Lucius back to Hell.
Song bird Cassie sings her way into the lead of the school musical and into the life of Zach, a guitar-strumming lost soul. After constant beatings from his step-father drive Zach to a suicide attempt, Cassie must teach him about hope and faith. However, a dark force in the area leads Cassie to mistakenly interpret that Zach is her assignment. Instead she was meant for Lauren, her musical rival and the girl who has an intense crush on Zach. Cassie must somehow find a way to befriend Lauren, help her along and continue to help Zach without destroying Lauren in the process.
To fail means death for their assignments, and to fall in love ensures a fall from grace. No one ever said high school was easy.
First of all, gah gah gah, I LOVE that cover!! I can think of several other "angel" books that could learn something from that cover design, but I won't name names. Sooo pretty. The designer: Rachel Marks. Sooo talented. Check out her website.
On to the book: For me The Guardians was like tucking into the couch on a Saturday night and watching Touched By An Angel. Even if you're not extremely religious (and honestly I'm not), it still gives you that feel-good feeling of angels doing what angels do best - helping people. And like Touched By An Angel, the angels have a lot to learn in order to do their best - because humans are complex, and teenagers even more so. It was easy to relate to both Elijah's and Cassie's struggles. They both want so much to succeed, but in doing so they make mistakes which could ultimately do just the opposite. Um, I think that describes a lot of teenagers I know.
I was particularly drawn to Elijah's side of the story. He's so sweet and caring and non-judgmental. The perfect guy really. And in the end I kind of liked how his desire to help Abby with the baby was linked to him wanting to be a father. Perhaps not the most typical teenage response, but then Elijah wasn't exactly a teen. In any case, it's nice to see a guy who thinks about family. I also really liked the set up with his struggle towards the end (no spoilers, I promise), but Elijah has to make a choice, and it wasn't really the one I thought he was going to make.
Cassie's story forms the other half of the book, and I really felt what she was going through. She's sort of the newbie to the whole guardian angel gig and she wants so bad to do well. And of course she keeps messing up. And then things kind of get out of her control and she messes up even more. I like a character who can make mistakes, but I like a character even more who has a dozen hurdles thrown in their way and finds it in themselves to deal. This was Cassie.
Underneath all of this "assignment" stuff, there's something more complex going on with Lucius and the higher angels- or at least it's hinted at. I would have liked to see a bit more plot development with this because throughout I was kind of expecting there to be a big reveal as to why this particular family was targeted and why we were hearing the story of these particular angels. I thought there would be a huge tie-in, but either that was just my misconception or maybe I'll learn more with the sequel.
One last thing: despite the analogy I made in the beginning to Touched By An Angel, there are no lectures here and no overarching 'accept God into your heart' message. I appreciated that because as I said, I'm not religious even though I love angel stories. If there was any message I'd take from this book, it's simply that angels are cool (and possibly addicted to honey).
Poetry Sunday
Well, yes, technically it's Monday, but if my little guy hadn't been hogging the computer last night to play Mario Brothers, this would have come on a Sunday. I kind of love this poem for the historical perspective it gives. It was written in 1972, but some of the thoughts and sentiments are still true today which is just pathetically sad.
I'm Not a Man by Harold Norse
I'm not a man, I can't earn a living, buy new things for my family.
I have acne and a small peter.
I'm not a man. I don't like football, boxing and cars.
I like to express my feeling. I even like to put an arm
around my friend's shoulder.
I'm not a man. I won't play the role assigned to me- the role created
by Madison Avenue, Playboy, Hollywood and Oliver Cromwell,
Television does not dictate my behavior.
I'm not a man. Once when I shot a squirrel I swore that I would
never kill again. I gave up meat. The sight of blood makes me sick.
I like flowers.
I'm not a man. I went to prison resisting the draft. I do not fight
when real men beat me up and call me queer. I dislike violence.
I'm not a man. I have never raped a woman. I don't hate blacks.
I do not get emotional when the flag is waved. I do not think I should
love America or leave it. I think I should laugh at it.
I'm not a man. I have never had the clap.
I'm not a man. Playboy is not my favorite magazine.
I'm not a man. I cry when I'm unhappy.
I'm not a man. I do not feel superior to women
I'm not a man. I don't wear a jockstrap.
I'm not a man. I write poetry.
I'm not a man. I meditate on peace and love.
I'm not a man. I don't want to destroy you
San Francisco, 1972
Poetry Sunday??
Not sure if I'll be able to keep up with meme, but I've been reading The Outlaw Bible of American Poetry as research for a WIP and thought it'd be fun to share some. So, here's a little Walt Witman to get us started:
Shut Not Your Doors
Shut not your doors to me proud libraries,
For that which was lacking on all your well-fill'd shelves, yet
needed most, I bring,
Forth from the war emerging, a book I have made,
The words of my book nothing, the drift of it every thing,
A book separate, not link'd with the rest nor felt by the intellect,
But you ye untold latencies will thrill to every page.
Books of August
Hey all, August was a slow month for me reading-wise. I was on vacation for a while and trying to do some revisions, which I am still working on. Only 5 books! Well, that is actually not a bad number because I really ought to be writing more than reading in any case. Let me know if you loved any of these!
60. Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein** This was a slow starter for me, but boy did I end up loving it. I thought the characters were just so strong and true to life. I loved the idea of these women flying into the danger of war and seeing all that they'd do for each other. Their friendship was exactly the kind that I like to read about and strive to write.
61. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo* A decent fantasy read, but I felt that the character cliche of "beautiful but doesn't know it" could have been abandoned. I was totally rooting for the wrong LI, mainly because we have to rely mainly on the MC's memories of what her "crush" love interest was like and I felt she was unreliable. In short, I wanted the MC to fall for the bad guy! All in all, it was good but not good enough to earn my top rating.
62. Life is But a Dream by Brian James* A contemporary novel that tackles schizophrenia mixed with a legitimate love story. I thought the overall premise was fantastic and I really loved the romance in it. At the same time, it didn't hit that weak spot that made me weep, and I'm not sure why. Maybe because I knew how it was going to end? Also some of the prose in this was just gorgeous. Definitely worth checking out.
63. A Mango Shaped Space by Wendy Mass* This was a lower YA read that I thoroughly enjoyed. It's about a girl who feels she's different all her life because she associates colors with everything - letters, words, people. She eventually confides in her parents and finds out that she has synesthesia, or a crossing of the senses. After she meets others like her a whole new world opens up while at the same time she starts to ignore her old world. There was also a very touching theme of pet loss in this book. Overall, it didn't hit me emotionally enough to earn five stars, but I enjoyed it enough to recommend particularly to a younger YA audience (10-13 yrs old).
64. Taken by Kelli Maine* Gasp! I foraged not just into adult territory, but erotic adult territory! This is the first erotic novel that I have read in years, probably since before the kids were born. I thoroughly enjoyed the writing and the characters were HOT!!! Definitely worth the money, and if you're thinking of checking out 50 shades of Gray, do yourself a favor and buy this first. Also, I should disclose that this was written by a good writer friend, and I am so so happy for her success. Another friend did the cover - can I just say WOW! Check it out.
Books of July
Wow, what a short list. It wouldn't be so bad if I could actually remember what else I've been doing this past month. Sadly, I'm not done with revisions and I don't see any big projects around the house that got done. So I ask: What happened to July???
My reads this month:
53. No and Me by Delphine de Vigan** Ah, this one was so good. It's about a gifted teenager who befriends a homeless girl and the friendship that develops between them. It's sad and inspiring and realistic all in one. The prose is also simply wonderful.
54. Grounding Quinn by Stephanie Campbell Review on TYAC here In short, a well written story about making mistakes and finding forgiveness. However I didn't connect with the character.
55. Hallowed by Cynthia Hand* The sequel to Unearthly felt very much like the first book to me. Beautiful prose and in-depth character development, but I wish that the plot had moved along a bit faster. It didn't feel like there was any urgency to what was going on and a real conflict didn't seem to develop until about midway through. I thought the twist near the end was a bit hokey myself. I read one review that said the MC's voice is refreshing because it has just the right amount of snark without becoming overwhelming. I do agree with this.
56. The Dark and Hollow Places by Carrie Ryan* Finally finished the last book! Lots more gore in this one and visual scenes, like the swarm of the unconsecrated in the city - reminded me of watching a swarm of ants. Carrie Ryan definitely knows how to build tension... and give you goosebumps. I do wish that the villains had been a bit more realistic and 3D, but then again, this is horror. I suppose I shouldn't expect too much.
57. The Tiger Waiting by Kate DiCamillo* MG A quick read that surprisingly brought a tear to my eye by the end. I love DiCamillo's simple plots and wish I could write with as much simplistic elegance.
58. Blood Red Road by Moira Young* I'm torn about what to say with this one. I liked the beginning sooo much. Saba was a gritty character who really hooked me at first. I was expecting a dark and exciting journey with her. Then somewhere around the middle of the book things changed. It was still exciting, though not so dark and it seemed like Saba's character should have grown. Instead, we got more of the same condescending tone toward her sister and then some very ridiculous "I really like him but I don't want him to know that because I don't need anyone" back and forth play that was about100 pages too long. It didn't work for me. While the setting was wonderful, I thought the world building itself needed some work because it didn't make too much sense. Also again, the villains in this one were very black and white. Overall, I wanted to like it much more than I did.
59. The Maze Runner by James Dashner** this fits under the "I wish I had read this sooner" category. I LOVED the premise of this story, and the characters were so well developed. Some who you think are incredibly brave turn out to be wimps and those who are wimpy turn out to be brave. The 'brotherly' relationship that develops between Thomas and Chuck was especially memorable, and I'm looking forward to reading the sequel to find out what happens next.
And we have a winner!
Hey guys! Sorry I'm a day late revealing the winner. Things got in the way - B-day parties, getting ready for a short trip, you know, life. Anywho, thanks all for entering. And the winner is.....
Nicola!!!
Winner will be contacted shortly.
Raw Blue Giveaway!!!
Carly has dropped out of uni to spend her days surfing and her nights working as a cook in a Manly café. Surfing is the one thing she loves doing … and the only thing that helps her stop thinking about what happened two years ago at schoolies week.
And then Carly meets Ryan, a local at the break, fresh out of jail. When Ryan learns the truth, Carly has to decide. Will she let the past bury her? Or can she let go of her anger and shame, and find the courage to be happy?
Pre-script: Stay with me folks, this is sort of a review, but I promise there WILL be a contest at the end!
I have a really hard time talking about books that I love. I know that sounds strange because it's the books I love that I really want to promote. Yet, there always seems to be this paradox. I can pinpoint exactly what is wrong with a book when I don't like it, but when I do like it, I always end up just saying things like AMAZING!! READ IT!!! and giving the actual reason of WHY I love it is very hard. I feel like I'm imprecise with my words and can't do the book justice. This is why I've put off reviewing Raw Blue for so long. I've had a hard time finding the right words to describe it. I've loaned this book to numerous people, mentioned it in a dozen places and voted for it on many "best of" lists. But actually writing the review has been impossible. So many others have done it better.
I was first introduced to this book by my good friend, Nomes over at Inkcrush. Her review here captured much of what I wanted to say:
It has this languid, quietly intense pace which you sit back in the pocket, holding your breath. I was only a fifth in when I was startled to discover that Carly had gotten under my skin in a way that a literary character hasn't for a very long time. I was crazily invested in her and felt all ripped up and torn inside-out as the novel progressed. I so wanted her to be okay.
My other good friend, Dana also managed to organize her thoughts in such a way that left me wondering how I could say it any better:
The characters are as vividly drawn as the setting. Carly, the MC, is closed and defensive, which could have been a stumbling block for readers to get to know her. But Eagar manages to do a wonderful job of showing us who Carly is slowly and deftly, from her work in the kitchen where she goes the extra mile despite it being a dead-end job, to her dispassionate noticing of her colleague who is starving herself…we get a picture of Carly loud and clear.
If only I could muster up the adjectives and adverbs like they did.
The thing is that I could go on and on about the wonderful prose in this book, the atmosphere, the vivid descriptions of the ocean. The surfing. *sigh* The surfing. Never surfed in my life, but this book makes me want to. Okay, I would drown, but do you see the love here? Yes, all of these things about Raw Blue contribute to what makes it so special, but none of these things is what made me love this book so hard. Rather, it was the character. Carly's character and how I connected to her. To be clear, I have never been in Carly's situation. I have never been that lonely, and I have never had my sense of trust knocked down so violently that I couldn't find it again. But I still felt a real connection to Carly. She just wanted to be normal. Not in the sense that she wanted to be like everyone else, but in the sense that she wanted to just walk up to a person and say hi or flirt with a guy like every other normal girl does. She wanted to not be afraid. As an extreme introvert, I can relate to that. My own experiences are not in the same league as Carly's. I feel foolish even comparing them, but I think maybe because of my personality I was able to easily put myself in her shoes, afraid to trust, afraid of getting hurt. Watching Carly tackle her fears was something I found inspiration from.
The praise for Raw Blue has been tremendous. It won the 2010 Victorian Premier's Literary Award for Young Adult fiction and was short listed for the 2010 Gold Inky Award. If these awards don't sound familiar to you, well, that's because they're Australian, mate! Yes, Raw Blue was published several years ago in Australia and has only now become available in the UK. Sadly (sniff sniff), it's still not available in the US. However, since there's a wonderful little online store called The Book Depository, I have decided to give away a copy of Raw Blue!!! It even has a new cover design (though honestly I will always see Carly as a brunette).
To enter the contest just leave a comment with your name and email address so I can get a hold of you. If you've entered my contests before, you'll know that I hate making people jump through hoops, therefore, only one entry per person. BUT if you give me a tweet, I promise to love you forever. Contest is good to wherever The Book Depository ships and will end on July 30th (US).
Books of June
Got a little over excited with some revisions early on in the month and I didn't get quite as much reading done as I had hoped. But here are my books of June. Anyone read some of these? What were your thoughts?
45. Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler ** I really liked the use of second person in this one. The MC seemed more than a bit naive, but I still liked her enough to feel really bad by the end of it. Kind of wanted to strangle Ed though. Also I'm not sure about the form of the book. It was all in glossy print, which felt way overdone to me and the art kind of reminded me of Andy Warhol, which unfortunately I'm not a fan of. So, take that as you may...
46. The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour** For those who want a comparison, no, this book wasn't as good as Hold Still, but I did enjoy it. I really liked that youthful feeling it had, and the MC, I just wanted to snuggle up to him and say, hey you deserve better than this! Nina LaCour is definitely still one of my favorite YA contemp authors, for sure.
47. Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin** Dark and haunting is the best way to describe Masque, Bethany Griffin's retelling of Poe's short story. Some of the images really made me shiver and the world building rocked. There were times when my stomach was clenching, kind of the same feeling I got watching the movie Outbreak. BG really knows how to build tension and then raise it another notch just for fun. Also I was surprised by how much I loved both love interests and couldn't really decide which to root for. Can't wait for the sequel.
48. Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer* A bit disappointing. I had read the first chapter a while back and was kind of, shall we say, not impressed by Cala's actions? But I wanted to finish the series off, and so I put my revulsion for her cheating heart aside and read the final book. I enjoyed the set-up and how they had to go on these sort of "quests" in these dangerous places. That felt a bit Harry Potter-ish, but with a definite more YA vibe, but I didn't really enjoy that she felt she had to give EVERYONE a love interest. I expected what was going to happen at the end, so wasn't really surprised, but it still felt like a cop-out to me. Like I said, overall a bit disappointing, but I'm glad that I finished off the series.
49. The Marbury Lens by Andrew Smith The beginning - whoa. The middle - eh? The ending - WTF??? I can't really recommend this one unless you happen to be a big fan of alternate worlds in the vein of Stephen King's The Gunslinger/Dark Tower series.I read those about a decade ago and honestly didn't get past the third one. So if you like those and you like endings that don't really leave you with a sense of closure then you might like it.
50.The Catastrophic History of You and Me by Jess Rothenberg* Cute, but predictable. Instead of a survivor going through the stages of grief, here we have the dead girl going through the stages of grief. Parts of it felt predictable, but the ending really kind of threw me for a loop. Also a bit too much with the eighties references. Really, I love the eighties, I grew up in the eighties, but it just didn't feel right when there were these references being thrown at me every other page. There was definitely some author intrusion there.
51. Insurgent by Veronica Roth** LOVE the sequel to Divergent. Halfway through I was predicting what the ending was going to reveal, and once that was confirmed, the first book actually made a lot more sense to me. I liked the way VR portrayed Tris going through her grief and how that affected the way she handled things. And of course I loved Four even more than I did before. Eagerly awaiting the third book.
52. Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi** I think part of my feelings about this one stem from the fact that I plotted something similar out a couple months ago, and so a lot of what was happening really clicked for me. I loved the contrast between the two worlds, and I really loved the descriptions of the sky and how the title fit in. Character-wise, I think Aria's transition was a little too fast and a little too... predictable? As in VR couldn't resist but give her MC some kick-ass special powers too. As for Perry, the earlier descriptions of him left me wanting, but then later he grew on me, and IDK, his dreads were forgotten after awhile or something. In the end I really liked him (despite the ew-factor when he describes how Aria suddenly smells better to him when she menstruates). Planning to read the sequel.
Also, but did you notice that it's now July and I'm at 50+ books for the year?? I think I might just blow past my reading goal of 75 books. Might as well bump it up to 100. :)
Hello all you book addicts! We have a winner to announce.
*digs in hat*
*pulls up piece of paper with name scribbled on it*
*squees with glee*
I promise I would do that no matter what the name is because contests are just so much fun! I'm a wannabe bingo announcer. :)
And the winner is:
Rachael Allen
Our winner will has been contacted, but I would really REALLY encourage everyone to read this book. And... I think it's on Netgalley right now, which means that you REALLY should sign up and get it. I'll have some more fun stuff to announce tomorrow.
Have a good remainder of your weekend!
CONTEST!!!
I wrote up a review of the awesome book, Rape Girl by Alina Klein, a few weeks ago promising a contest when it came out. Well, I got a little surprise yesterday when I realized that it is out already!! (Actually I happen to know the author was a bit surprised too! But such is the world of publishing.)
Anyway, contest... so let's see, rules....
A. You have to be a reader.
B. You have to promise to lend this book to a friend because this is the type of book that NEEDS to get passed around.
C. If you write up a review after you're done, I may just throw you in for a few bonus entries on my next contest (not sure when that will be, but I've been thinking of doing one for Masque of the Red Death sometime soon).
As for official rules, I'd just like you to comment below with your name, email address, and if you happen to think of a great "issue" book that you think I should read, I'd love to hear that too. I'd love for you to tweet the contest and help spread the word around, but I also hate jumping through hoops when I enter contests, so I'm not going to MAKE you do that, only do so if you're A SUPER SWEET PERSON and you LOVE my blog and you want to get the word out about this FABULOUS book because you're just THAT kind of person. But sadly it won't get you any bonus entries.
Ready, set, enter!!!!
Contest is international and will end on June 24th.
Oh, and when you're done go to Goodreads and enter their contest too!
Books of May!
Short list this month, but hey, I finished writing my book!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's in the hands of my beta readers now, which means that I have a month to catch up on that huge, falling over stack of books next to my desk (er, dining room table). Next month I get to read:
Why We Broke Up by Daniel Handler (aka Lemony Snicket)
The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour
Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer
Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin
Insurgent by Veronica Roth
City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
No and Me by Delphine de Vigan
and probably 5 or so others depending on how nice my library is at getting things to me.
But for now, lets go over what I read this month. Hope that you find something here you like.
38. Enclave by Ann Aguirre Please don't waste your time on this book. While the premise was quite original to begin with there were just so many places where one had to suspend their disbelief (as in an entire society could consist off meat and mushrooms ALONE for generations) that it really made me scratch my head. But beyond that there were some serious issues here. I'm not sure what would make the author think that turning a rapist into a LI would work for a YA book, but she does. Yes, that was a spoiler, but if it deters you from picking this up, I don't mind and I don't think you will either.
39. Withering Tights by Louise Rennison* Very funny! Just like Georgia Nicholson, only slightly different. The only thing that really bothered me with this book is that it didn't seem to have a plot until about 3/4 of the way through. But the voice and comedy keep you gluedtothepageslikethis.
40. All I Ever Wanted by Vikki Wakefield ** AUSSIE AWESOMENESS ALERT!!! I was snagged by the end of the first chapter, heck by the first page. The thing that really strikes me about this book was how the author took a minor character that I thought was going to be the source of all evil and made me LOVE her like a favorite aunt. I want to learn how to do that. Will definitely read again and take notes. Also, lovely prose.
41. Night Beach by Kirsty Eagar** SECOND AUSSIE AWESOMENESS ALERT!!! Another great surf story by Kirsty Eagar. This one is a gothic tale about a young artist and the boy she covets, sometimes not so sanely, and how all that goes horribly (even demonically) wrong. I love Eagar's prose so much. If you get a chance to pick this one up, definitely do.
42. Also Known as Rowan Pohi by Ralph Fletcher* A short story (well, not short-short, it was 200 pages) that had great voice and character development. It was a bit predictable as this sort of plot is, and I got hung up wondering the whole time about the MC's mother and why he was laying all the blame on the dad, but in the end that got cleared up, and I was glad it did. It's satisfying enough to warrant a recommendation.
43. My Heart Be Damned by Chanelle Gray* ARC Buffy fans get out your stakes - er, blessed knives - there's a new sort of paranormal creature on the loose! I really enjoyed the snappy dialogue with this one and the close friendship between Amerie and her friends. There was maybe just a bit "too" much Buffy-ness to it, but for those looking for a kickass heroine, this will definitely suffice.
44. The Whole Story of Half a Girl by Veera Hiranandani** Middle grade read - was not aware of this when I picked it up, but I'm glad that I did. A very cute, yet serious book about a young girl trying to fit in and determine where she fits in. There's a strong message here to just be yourself and to love who that person is. Highly recommended for ages 8-12.
Review - RAPE GIRL by Alina B. Klein
The 1 in 4 number frightens me. It's not just thinking about what kind of society we live in that produces that number, it's all the victims it doesn't include, the ones that go unreported. How can we help them? How can we support them? How can we help them transition into thinking of themselves as survivors rather than victims? It's not enough to tell them we understand because chances are we don't. Still, it is important that they know someone does.
Young Adult author and rape survivor Alina B. Klein has attempted to do so with her debut novel, Rape Girl.
Valerie always wanted to be the smart girl. The pretty girl. The popular girl.
But not the rape girl.
That’s who she is now. Rape Girl. Because everyone seems to think they know the truth about what happened with Adam that day, and they don’t think Valerie’s telling it.
Before, she had a best friend, a crush, and a close-knit family. After, she has a court case, a support group, and a house full of strangers.
The real truth is, nothing will ever be the same.
Rape Girl is the compelling story of a survivor who does the right thing and suffers for it. It is also the story of a young woman’s struggle to find the strength to fight back.
I've recently had the honor of reading an ARC of Rape Girl (release date Aug 15 2012). Rape Girl inflamed my anger, touched my heart, and gave me hope. Our main character, Valerie, is like so many girls we know - eager to please, willing to break a few house rules to gain popularity, and dying to get some attention from her crush. We see in her the girl who could be inside any of us. Except then she shows us a bit more. It's bad enough that she has to go through the process of pressing charges and all that entails, but when that is said and done, Valerie has to go through more. The people around her, who should be supportive, don't believe her. It is truly devastating, and to think that this happens daily (and we know it does) is just awful. Yet Valerie shows us how someone ordinary can become extraordinary. I wanted to reach through the pages and hug her, tell her that she was a wonderful human being who didn't deserve to have this happen to her, yet I knew that she was going to be okay when all was said and done. I wanted to tell her I was proud and happy that she had found strength in herself. She was beautiful and brave.
In addition to the wonderful main character, Alina B. Klein does a superlative job of bringing all the secondary players into sharp, and realistic, focus. From the flaky best friend to the un-supportive school administrators. To the loving, and unsure-of-herself mother to the rapist's crazy, and somewhat scary friends. Everyone had their role to play and even though the book is written in first person, we were able to see how they all handled it, sometimes for good, sometimes not. I think the secondary character I loved the most was Sandrina. She seems to come out of nowhere, a girl who Valerie thought was basically her enemy, only she proves to be one of the few friends that Valerie can count on. I loved her charisma and how her slips of Spanish melded into the story so smoothly and made me want to run out and find a best friend just like her. I also appreciated the character of Wesley and what he brought to the table. With the subject of rape, it's easy to assume that the victims become regressed, fearful and shy away from boys. But that's not necessarily the case, and Wesley's role in the story and how Valerie deals with her feelings toward him illustrated that point beautifully.
Spoiler!! (highlight if you want to read): The ending tore me apart, even though there was a lot of hope there, and Valerie proves herself to be brave - yet again - I really just felt like I wanted to punch the rapist in the balls. And then scratch his eyes out. And then punch him in the balls again. Hehehe... Obviously I would have been more satisfied if Valerie had gotten her day in court, but I kind of liked that Klein decided not to do that. It was more realistic with respect to what often happens in these cases, and even though it pissed me off, I can see the value in showing that Valerie was going to be okay even though she didn't get the justice she deserved.
The writing. I can't leave a review without touching on the writing. I thought the prose here was simply marvelous. It had a natural flow and incorporated many unique details that made the scenes come alive. It was witty and to the point. The book itself is rather short, but it says all it needs to say and then some.
This book deserves five stars, hands down. Keep your ears open because I'll be doing a Rape Girl giveaway when it comes out on August 15th! Also, be sure to visit Alina's blog. It's very cool!
Books of April
Okay, first off just some things to take care of:
1. IT'S MAY! IT'S MAY! THE LUSTY MONTH OF MAY! (Camelot lovers will recognize that song, if not, then go watch the movie! Er, the 70's/80's version that is).
2. I hate the new blogger dashboard. Why do they always have to change things just as I'm getting used to it? Also, I'm beginning to think I don't like this new layout. Any thoughts?
3. My monthly book summaries seem to be the only blog posts I'm capable of committing to, and I apologize profusely for that! But hey, one commitment is better than none.
4. Rum Runners is now on it's second round of revisions. The plan is to fix all my little (electronic) sticky notes and then send it off to beta readers by June 1st.
5. My good friend Alina did a very important post today about The Not At Fault Project for rape survivors. Go visit her blog and check it out!
5. Random science note: phosphatase assays SUCK!! BIG TIME!!
So, now that that's taken care of, here's the list of books I read in May April (thank you, editor Mel) while I was working so hard (coughprocrastinatingcough) on revisions.
29. Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma* My first thoughts when I opened this book - why is a story about incest so freaking long??? Must be a lot of good smut in there! Well, there were a lot of hot and heavy scenes, more intense than I've probably ever read in a YA book. I think it was maybe a little over the top for the genre, though it didn't bother me. I didn't like the characters much in this book, but that didn't detract me from enjoying it. I expected the ending and had an interesting conversation with a friend about how it had to end that way based on the character's personalities. I recommend it to those who wouldn't be offended by the subject.
30. Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood* Slow beginning, but once I got into it I really enjoyed it. The author did a great job of playing with the reader's emotions by presenting an unjust world where women's rights are restricted and dictated by men. And there was magic. And romance. Triple win!
31. The Ask and The Answer by Patrick Ness* Second book of the Chaos Walking series. I felt that it was much slower than the first book and didn't like it quite as much. The ending draaaaagged. Patrick Ness does do an awesome job of creating complex characters though. I keep putting off reading the third book. I almost feel like I need to "gear up" for it in some sense. Maybe over a long holiday like Memorial day? We'll see.
32. Sweethearts by Sara Zarr** My second Sara Zarr book, and I absolutely loved it. This is also one of those books where after I read it I went to Goodreads and got all disappointed that it didn't have higher marks. I felt like I could really relate to the MC, and unlike most reviewers on GR didn't care much that the romance angle wasn't what it promised to be. A good story of friendship and highly recommended.
33. Everneath by Brodi Ashton I had heard a lot of friends say that they LOVED this book, so I went into it expecting something spectacular. Sadly, it didn't live up to those expectations. I thought the characters were dull and underdeveloped, the love angle was kind of same-old, same-old that you always get with these paranormal romances, and there were a lot of inconsistencies that just didn't make much sense to me. To each his own, I suppose.
34. Rape Girl by Alina B. Klein** Aw, me lovely ARC from me lovely friend, Alina. You're in for a treat guys! I plan to do a review of this closer to it's pub date, but I'll just say this: PUT IT ON YOUR TO-READ LIST!!!
35. Tell Me a Secret by Holly Cupala** And yes, I have yet another favorite YA contemp writer! I loved most everything about this book, the subject matter, the characters (especially the bitchy mom and the bitchier, man-grabbing best friend), and of course the writing itself. It was dark, yet very true to life and just utterly amazing. Highly recommended.
36. Ashfall by Mike Mullin Disappointing. I enjoyed the unique angle on how the apocalypse happens in this book, but once that had run it's course, it was much the same as any of these types of books. There were the mean characters who were hell bent on hoarding and taking as much as they could get, and then there were the nice neighborly characters who helped everyone out. There was a small token of the "this is the end so let's all just jump off a building" sort of stuff, and of course by the end, the MC had grown up and changed because of everything he had seen. The only part I found refreshingly unique was the female LI. Her character was great. I might read the second book to see what happens with her, but otherwise, not too impressed.
37. Story of a Girl by Sara Zarr**Another amazing read. I am literally a Sara Zarr fangirl now. I want to write like her. I want to know teens like she does. I want to come up with these amazingly simple premises and then turn them into gold like she does. She literally has the midas touch with YA contemp, and I wish it would rub off on me!! Cuz, you know, we could all use a little gold! hehe... :)
Tuesday Teaser
I have another teaser today!! A little background: Erik has been arrested for possession of alcohol and his father decided some time in the slammer would be good for him. Just as a warning, there's a bit of swearing in this one.
“Cookies have crumbs.”
I break off a bit of cookie – the last one.
“Rats like crumbs.”
I dip the cookie into a box of rat poison that Wiggins has kindly left me.
“This is why Erik has become The Pied Piper, calling for rats instead of enjoying the cookies himself.”
I throw the bit of cookie towards the urinal where I last saw the rat disappear into a hole in the wall.
I sigh and lean back. “Fucker could have at least left me some tape to cover the damn hole.”
Slim snores on the cot opposite mine. He was nearly passed out when he staggered in a couple hours ago so I haven’t had the chance to ask him anything. Not sure if I want to either. Right now, I can’t imagine Slim having anything good to say that would change my opinion about the son of a bitch who I call my father.
I hear the rat before he emerges - hard little taps of his nails against the concrete. There’s a slippery little squeal of glee when he spies the poison-laced cookie. I keep still when I see his flashlight eyes flicker back and forth. He scampers forward, and I scoot my butt up to the edge of the cot, so that I can see him take the cookie.
He doesn’t.
My chest aches as I contemplate what I’m going to have to do. The rat is getting closer to Slim, could eat his fucking ear off and the old man would never wake up unless I intervene. I’m tired, and if I don’t kill this rat now I’ll be falling asleep on top of my math test tomorrow.
I inch forward slowly as the rat explores his meatier prey. He stands on his hind legs, sniffing the air.
I get ready.
He scampers away, but I leap in front of him. He dodges to the left, and I slam my knee against Slim’s cot trying to follow. The drunk grumbles and rolls over, still asleep, but the rat is cornered now. The only way to get back to his hole is to go past me. He thinks he’s faster, so he comes forward.
My boot is ready.
There’s a crunch as I smash his head. This is followed by the ear-splitting squeal of a dying animal.
Slim snores again.
I grind my heel against the rat’s neck, feeling my belly roll at the bony-squishiness. I kick the twitching carcass to the corner next to his skeletal friend, and then lean against the wall, waiting for my heart to slow, my breathing to ease.
I stare through the bars and out the window.
My throat burns from unshed tears.
I told Matt that you decide before you do something whether you’re prepared to face the consequences. And I was, but it doesn’t change the fact that I wouldn’t be in here if my father weren’t such an asshole. He left me in here, with fucking rats. And he hasn’t even had the decency to call or stop in to check on me.
I slide to the floor and draw my knees up. I rest my head in my arms and rock from side to side, thinking I can contain it. But I can’t. I’m weak.
He hates me.
My father hates me.
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Adeyinka Makinde | Writer
The Mayweather and McGregor Circus
So the fight between Floyd Mayweather and Conor McGregor is on.
The forty-year-old Mayweather is arguably the greatest fighter of his generation and is certainly one of the greatest defensive boxers of all time while twenty eight-year-old McGregor, a professional mixed martial arts fighter is the reigning lightweight champion of the UFC.
Both men are considered braggarts and have consistently proved themselves to be the biggest draws in their respective sports. Before retiring in 2015, Mayweather achieved the stunning feat of having earned $700 million dollars in his career, while McGregor is the biggest money generator in the UFC franchise.
With 49 wins and no losses, many remained sceptical that Mayweather would permanently retire without leaving the sport with a record of fifty wins and no losses; the idea being to surpass the 49-0 career record of the heavyweight Rocky Marciano.
Often accused of carefully choosing his opponents on the basis of obtaining maximum financial gain at the least risk, many in the boxing fraternity see his choice of McGregor as continuing this strategy.
The Mayweather-McGregor match bears something of a resemblance to two other prominent contests in boxing history.
The first is the world heavyweight championship bout held in 1957 between the reigning titleholder Floyd Patterson and a fighter who like McGregor was making his professional debut. The difference is that unlike McGregor who had a very limited career as an amateur boxer, Peter Rademacher was an experienced amateur boxer who had won gold for the United States at the Melbourne Olympics.
Although Rademacher succeeded in knocking Patterson down in the second round of the scheduled 15-round bout, the champion recovered to score seven knockdowns en route to a sixth round knockout victory.
The bout is being held under Marquis of Queensberry Rules and is not a hybrid one. Mayweather would of course not be in a position to compete with a high level mixed martial artist able to employ kicking and grappling techniques as part of his trade in the UFC’s ‘Octagon’ cage. Also out of the equation when setting up this confrontation was a special rules contest which would enable McGregor to make use of carefully prescribed martial arts techniques.
This was the situation in the contest between heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali and the Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki held in Tokyo in June of 1976. Inoki, who was proscribed from grappling or launching jump kicks, lay on his back for much of the 15-round event while aiming kicks at Ali. He connected a few times to Ali’s legs which were enough to cause Ali wounds and two blood clots.
One has to presume that Mayweather has a penalty clause written into the fight contract that would severely penalise McGregor for utilising any of his mixed martial arts skills to either intimidate Mayweather in the clinches or to enable himself a face-saving disqualification if he is being made to look totally inept by Mayweather’s technique or indeed if he finds himself on the verge of being knocked out.
It is the considered opinion of most in the boxing world that despite his advantages in terms of youth and size, McGregor has less than the proverbial snowball’s chance in hell against Mayweather under boxing rules. While McGregor has demonstrated tremendous striking skills in his UFC career, few give him what in boxing parlance is referred to as a ‘punchers chance’.
The fight will have a tremendous buildup with both men drumming up interest through touring media conferences and soundbites which will be replete with braggadocious sentiment and ‘trash talking’.
It will be something of a pantomime circus but is expected to generate record amounts at the live gate as well as from the per-per-view market.
This is strictly a money making exercise.
© Adeyinka Makinde (2017)
Adeyinka Makinde is the author of DICK TIGER: The Life and Times of a Boxing Immortal and JERSEY BOY: The Life and Mob Slaying of Frankie DePaula. He is also a contributor to the forthcoming Companion to Boxing to be published by Cambridge University Press.
Posted by Adeyinka Makinde at 20:07
Labels: Boxing; Mixed Martial Arts; UFC; Floyd Mayweather; Conor McGregor
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ASHS Students Protest Marcos Burial
Robbi Falcon (12E) of Hi-Lites; Photos by Jowie Lizardo of Zoom Photography
On November 8, 2016, the Philippine Supreme Court (SC) allowed the burial of former president Ferdinand Marcos in the Libingan ng mga Bayani (Heroes’ Cemetery). Voting 9-5, Supreme Court spokesperson Ted Te said the SC dismissed all the petitions challenging the proposed burial of the former strongman Marcos at the Heroes’ Cemetery.
In response to this, the Ateneo Senior High School Community expressed its disagreement with the decision through events held around the campus. The Council of Student Organizations (CSO), through Ehvan delos Santos, its Vice-Chairman, organized several forms of protest through the different student organizations. For one, Performing Arts organization Teatro Baguntao arranged a small tableau to relay their disapproval of the SC’s decision. Other orgs were asked to participate in a protest around the Senior High School Campus and were encouraged to wear a black top to show their unified stance on the matter. The rally started with delos Santos giving a few opening remarks to explain the reason for the rally. In his speech, he hoped to invoke the call to be “mulat, malay at sangkot,” values taught to Ateneans in the subject of Araling Panlipunan. The protest aimed to allow the Ateneans’ voices to be heard and served as an outlet for their frustrations towards the said decision.
A number of ASHS students were present as the rally marched through the campus. Powerful chanting of the phrase, “Never Again!” echoed the hallways of the Senior High School building. Some students also brought placards containing messages such as “EDSA ang saksi, Marcos hindi bayani.” Despite the many students expressing their discontent, it was noticed that some chose not to rally as seriously.
Through this mini-protest, delos Santos hopes that this only the start of ASHS students voicing out their opinions on societal issues. “This is just the start and I’m looking forward to see more Ateneans especially from Senior High to act! I would love to see everyone to be part and to actually do something about this,” delos Santos said.
Sources: http://cnnphilippines.com/news/2016/11/08/Marcos-hero-burial-Libingan-ng-mga-Bayani-Supreme-Court.html
Interviews: Ehvan delos Santos, Nico Santana (12A), Joergen Camara (12B), Lucas Abaya (12E), Daryll Villa-Abrille (12E)
Pictures from Jowie Lizardo of Zoom Photography
Follow us on Twitter:@HiLitesAHS
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for your iPhone
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History CART/IRL Split
2019 Point Standings
After Toronto
Rank Driver Points
1 Josef Newgarden 434
2 Alexander Rossi 430
3 Simon Pagenaud 395
4 Scott Dixon 348
5 Will Power 306
6 Takuma Sato 301
7 Ryan Hunter-Reay 285
8 Graham Rahal 266
9 James Hinchcliffe 244
10 Felix Rosenqvist 239
11 Sebastien Bourdais 232
12 Santino Ferrucci 223
13 Colton Herta 209
14 Spencer Pigot 209
15 Marco Andretti 194
16 Marcus Ericsson 193
17 Zach Veach 171
18 Ed Jones 170
19 Tony Kanaan 169
20 Matheus Leist 156
21 Jack Harvey 133
22 Max Chilton 117
23 Patricio O'Ward 115
24 Ed Carpenter 82
25 Conor Daly 59
26 James Davison 36
27 Helio Castroneves 33
28 Charlie Kimball 32
29 Ben Hanley 31
30 Sage Karam 31
31 Pippa Mann 28
32 Kyle Kaiser 22
33 JR Hildebrand 20
34 Oriol Servia 16
35 Jordan King 12
Rookie of Year Standings
1 Rosenqvist, Felix 239
2 Ferrucci, Santino 223
3 Herta, Colton 209
4 Ericsson, Marcus 193
5 O'Ward, Patricio 115
6 Hanley, Ben 31
7 Kaiser, Kyle 22
8 King, Jordan 12
Manufacturer Standings
1. Honda 901
2. Chevy 842
GP of Indianapolis postscript
by Brian Carroccio
Pagenaud put in a career-defining drive
I’m just going to go ahead and say it: entering this weekend’s INDYCAR Grand Prix of Indianapolis, Simon Pagenaud had not been very good over the past year-plus. That’s not to say the likable Frenchman had been terrible. Pagenaud finished a respectable 6th in the series standings last season, and even when he doesn’t run at the front, Pagenaud is not one to crash out and make silly mistakes.
However, with one pole position, four top-five finishes, two podiums and zero wins in his previous 21 races since winning the 2017 series finale at Sonoma, the 2016 series champion was not exactly setting the world on fire; and certainly not earning results one would associate with Team Penske. While Pagenaud openly admitted struggling to come to grips with the new car introduced in 2018, his teammates Will Power and Josef Newgarden seemed to transition just fine. Without a contract beyond 2019 combined with the potential pending free agency of one seemingly-designed-in-lab to be Penske driver Alexander Rossi, who is driving part-time in sports cars for Penske this season, questioning Pagenaud’s status seemed more than fair. Penske, has after all, moved on from drivers not long after great successes before, as he did a few years ago with Juan Pablo Montoya, a mere one season after he won the Indianapolis 500, in making way for Newgarden.
And I suppose we still don’t know what Penske plans to do following this season. However, anyone planning Pagenaud’s ouster from Team Penske was given a little something to think about this past Saturday.
In what was, in my opinion, as good an IndyCar race as we’ve seen in years, Pagenaud turned in a career-defining drive. Think about this for a moment: with no yellow flag or pit stop, how often on a road course, do we see someone drive from sixth to first in 18 laps? How often do we see five-time series champion Scott Dixon hunted down the way Pagenaud hunted him down in the closing laps?
Part of Pagenaud’s epic drive that I think has been thus far overlooked was his patience. Yes, the No. 22 Menards Team Penske Chevrolet was clearly dialed in. Still, it wasn’t as if, the Frenchman simply had the fastest car and was able to drive around others like they were standing still. Pagenaud spent five laps behind both Matheus Leist and Jack Harvey to move into third and second-place respectively, waiting for the opportunity to overtake rather than doing something rash and forcing his way by.
In short, Pagenaud’s win had everything. Variable conditions, bold passes, and a wonderful balance of patience and aggression; a career-defining win, if there ever was one.
Very well done, Mr. Pagenaud.
The Indy GP is something of a unique entity for a variety of reasons. For a writer it’s a strange animal in the sense that the moment the checkered flag falls it sort of ceases to be a story, as the focus of the IndyCar world immediately shifts to the Greatest Spectacle in Racing.
Yesterday, practice for the 103rd Running of the Indianapolis 500 Presented by Gainbridge began, and storylines are already plenty. Whereas last year it came as something of a shock that popular Canadian James Hinchcliffe did not qualify for the race, this year the world of IndyCar is prepared for the fact three drivers will not make this year’s field.
Obviously, it’s early in the week, and more information as to how qualifying might play out will emerge as the week goes on. However, you can be sure there are some people in Gasoline Alley that aren’t exactly resting easy at the moment. So, if you’re interested in some early chat as to who may not earn one of the coveted 33 spots for the Indianapolis 500 you’ve come to the right place.
Jordan King – The Brit is a rookie at Indy this year after running the road and street races for Ed Carpenter Racing in 2018. However, his inexperience may not be his only liability. Get this: Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (and its previous incarnations) have not had a car qualify in the top-10 since Danica Patrick qualified 10th in 2006. Last year, in the first season of the new car, Takuma Sato and Graham Rahal struggled in qualifying, starting 29th and 30th respectively. We also all remember Michel Jourdain’s ill-fated attempt to make the race a few years back, and King is an Indy-only entry for RLL a la Jourdain. In short, RLL has not had a handle on Indy qualifying in quite a while.
King was 28th in non-tow, and 33rd overall, putting the Brit on the early shortlist to not make the race.
Alonso's team has to fix the car he crashed
Fernando Alonso – Alonso being the driver he is makes me think he will find a way to make the race. But keep in mind, this is far from the situation two years ago, in which Alonso ran at the front much of the race and won rookie of the year. That year, the two-time World Champion ran for the powerful Andretti Autosport, and the cars were equipped with much greater down force. McLaren has aligned with the much-less experienced Carlin outfit and the cars are more of a handful. Yesterday, Alonso posted the 34th-fastest non-tow speed and 32nd fastest overall.
(Note: The above was written before Alonso’s Tuesday crash.)
Someone driving for Arrow Schmidt Peterson and/or associate - Yes, Oriol Servia posted the third fastest no-tow speed in Car 77. However, the balance of SPM floundered somewhat in the lows 221s with James Hinchcliffe posting only the 30th fastest no-tow speed.
Given experience and driver talent, I still like the team’s chances of putting all four cars in. But given what happened last year and yesterday’s less than inspiring speeds, I imagine there are some nervous folks at SPM.
Pippa Mann – Mann is a veteran of six Indy 500s, with a best qualifying effort of 22nd in 2014. Although her 18th no-tow speed yesterday is encouraging, no one knows what to expect from Indy-only Clauson-Marshall Racing.
Ben Hanley – The part-time rookie ran well in a test at Texas earlier this spring. However, the combination of a new team and rookie driver, certainly make Hanley and DragonSpeed a candidate to not qualify.
A little wagering advice
Late last week, the state of Indiana joined numerous states in legalizing sports betting. The state hopes to have digital and mobile platforms ready for this year’s NFL season, which means that those attending the Indianapolis 500 in 2020 may be able to legally wager on the race on their phones. And depending on the details of the legislation and/or the development of wagering technology, bettors may have the option of wagering in-race.
Meanwhile, if you so happen to live in a state which allows sports betting (or even if you don’t), and are looking for some 500 wagering advice for 2019 think about Ed Carpenter at 18/1. Now, let me be clear that I rate Carpenter’s chances of winning behind Will Power (7/1), Josef Newgarden (7/1), Alexander Rossi (8/1), and Scott Dixon (8/1). In fact, if you gave me those 4 drivers versus the field, I would probably take the above quartet.
That said, I put Carpenter right behind those 4, and in my opinion the three-time 500 pole winner currently offers the best value on the board. Remember, Carpenter finished second last year in the current car, and has contended in numerous 500s. Furthermore, I doubt you’ll get 18/1 odds this time next week post-qualifying, as we know Carpenter is a qualifying demon at IMS. So, if you like Ed’s chances of winning his first 500 (I certainly like the 18/1 odds), my advice would be to get your ticket now.
Now, some people like to play longer shots. At the risk of sounding like I work for Ed Carpenter Racing, if you’re looking for a shoot-the moon-play consider Carpenter’s teammate Spencer Pigot at 60/1. Like Carpenter, part of the appeal with Pigot is that given the speed he’s shown so far, I don’t think 60/1 is going to be available this time next week. And ECR seems to have the package for Indy figured out at the moment. Brian Carroccio/AutoRacing1.com
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Biophysical and computational characterisation of the disorder-to-order structural transition of the small hydrophilic endoplasmic-reticulum associated protein, SHERP
Drew, Elliot Dudley (2018) Biophysical and computational characterisation of the disorder-to-order structural transition of the small hydrophilic endoplasmic-reticulum associated protein, SHERP. Doctoral thesis, Birkbeck, University of London.
E_DREW_PHD_THESIS_2018.pdf - Full Version
This thesis explores the disorder-to-order structural transition of the small hydrophilic endoplasmic reticulum associated protein (SHERP). SHERP has been shown to be essential to the life cycle of Leishmania major, a parasite responsible for leishmaniasis which kills tens of thousands every year. The protein is almost entirely disordered in solution, but undergoes a dramatic increase in helicity upon binding to anionic lipids or detergents. Although the ordered structure of SHERP had previously been solved by solution nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy in the presence of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), both the nature of the disordered ensemble of the protein and the organisation of the SHERP/detergent complex were unknown. Using a combination of synchrotron radiation circular dichroism spectroscopy (SRCD), small angle X-ray scattering (SAXS) and molecular dynamics (MD), several projects were carried out exploring the disorder-to-order structural transition of SHERP in the presence of SDS. The effectiveness of sequence-based predictors to estimate the effect of single mutants was explored, with a number of mutants expressed and characterised by SRCD and MD. A mutant, the “permutant”, was designed with the aim of decreasing the disorder of the protein in solution while maintaining amino acid composition, by introduction of multiple potential i → i4 salt bridges created by permutations of the wild-type sequence. Molecular dynamics simulations of the wild-type and “permutant” construct found a dramatic increase in salt bridge formation, and in vitro characterisation of the “permutant” construct showed it had significantly greater helical character than the wild-type in the absence of SDS. The disordered ensemble of SHERP was characterised by replica exchange MD, SRCD and SAXS. Good agreement was found between simulation and experiment, with a predominantly unfolded ensemble deficient in secondary structure described by our results. The changes that occur upon SHERP binding to SDS were also characterised. MD simulation of the SHERP-SDS complex showed that the protein bound among the head-groups of the SDS micelle, and the helical content and helix-turn-helix structure was retained. It also allowed identification of several cationic side-chains which formed stabilising salt bridges with the sulphates of SDS. The complex was then characterised in vitro, by SAXS and CD spectroscopy. The addition of the protein led to a doubling in micelle length, with multiple SHERP molecules found to bind to the anionic head-groups in the shell of the micelle. The residues identified during the MD simulation were substituted with alanine to make a series of mutants with increasing negative charge. Significant decreases in helicity, micelle length and the numbers of protein bound occurred as negative charge increased, possibly caused by decreased affinity of the protein for the micelle causing less protein molecules to bind per micelle, leading to a decreased chance of stabilising protein-protein interactions resulting in partial folding of the protein. These results demonstrate the importance of charge-charge interactions in the disorder-to-order structural transition of SHERP, and provide structural context for future functional work on this protein.
School of Science > Biological Sciences
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Child Background Check
Celebrities Who Had Burglary Experience
Some celebrities don’t get to escape from burglars these days even how tight the security of their homes. Some of these celebrities include Kirsten Dunst whose house got burglarized while in a shooting. Orlando Bloom’s house also had a break-in in New York. Kate Moss, Willem Dafoe, and P. Diddy have the same experience as well. Crimes do happen regardless of anyone’s social status in the society.
Burglary Background Check
Celebrity Tax Evasion Cases
Tax evaders are also criminals in the eyes of the law. In Hollywood, some celebrities have problems on thier taxes not being paid. Some of them include Teri Polo, Aaron Carter, Faith Evans, Robert Redford, and Chris Tucker. You find out in the infographic below how they became problematic to tax evasion. It is a serious crime which could legal to legal proceedings if one does not settle it right away before the court.
Tax Background Check
DUI, A Common Violation Among Celebrities
Celebrities are frequently reported to have been arrested due to DUI offense because they are always in parties and gatherings where alcohol, liqours or wines are being served. And so, when they drive home they most of the time meet accidents along the road and they are reprimanded by the authorities in the end. Please see more instances and cases of DUI violations from the infographic below.
Violations Background Check
DUI Confessions of Hollywood Celebrities
A number of famous celebrity stars have been arrested due to Driving Under The Influence. Among them are Lindsay Lohan, Keifer Sutherland, Gary Collins, Michelle Rodriguez, Chris Klein, Rip Torn, Vince Neil, Gary Dourdan and Nicole Richie. They all had their taste of being jailed and it was not good after all because they had to go through the legal process and all the stress which they deserved to deal with.
Stars Background Check
Celebrities Who Got Caught for Drunk Driving
Even the known and popular artists can make mistakes in their lives to the extent that they got arrested by authorities by doing something unacceptable in the society. These celebrities include Robert Downey Jr., Kiefer Sutherland, Shia Labeouf. Christian Slater got also arrested for illegal possession of firearm and then Eminem was charged with assault.
Artist Background Check
The Then and Now of Famous Hollywood Celebrities
The celebrities that you idolized certainly commit mistakes as well because after all they are humans like us. You would be surprised at some of the violation they have been into in the past. Some of these offenses include DUI, addiction, fight and other violations. Please see infographic below for you to find out what offenses your idols did in the past and how they were able to survive today.
Recovery Background Check
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The Common Violations Committed By Celebrities
Some celebrities are not only popular or famous in movies but their names also came out in the media as they committed certain crimes which they had to settle with the government authorities. Some have been arrested for violating the law on DUI, they include Mickey Rourke, Michelle Rodriguez, Kiefer Sutherland and others. They definitely are still humans and are subjected to the laws of the land. They need to abide the law or suffer the legal consequences.
Celebrity Background Check
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