tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-23567206558061466852024-03-12T23:24:07.881-04:00DindyWritesCommentary on Art, Books, Writing, Food & Wine, Travel, Culture, Etiquette and Social Issues.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.comBlogger76125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-57696348002628351032011-12-01T16:06:00.001-05:002011-12-01T16:08:09.724-05:00Secret Santa - Friend or Foe<a href="http://www.examiner.com/etiquette-in-national/secret-santa-friend-or-foe-1">Secret Santa - Friend or Foe</a><br />
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display: block; text-decoration: none;"><img alt="Who's Your Secret Santa?" src="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/hash/e0/74/e07403ffcc9af7da81b74648e4caff8d.jpg" style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; height: 90px; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-right: 20px; max-height: 90px; max-width: 120px; vertical-align: bottom; width: 120px;" title="Who's Your Secret Santa?" typeof="foaf:Image" /></a></div></div></div>Who's Your Secret Santa?<div class="field field-name-image-credits field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix field-bundle-photo"><div class="field-label" style="float: left; font-weight: bold;">Credits: </div><div class="field-items" style="float: left;"><div class="field-item even" style="text-overflow: ellipsis;">Dreamstime</div></div></div></div></div><div class="node-title-wrapper title-with-photo" style="margin-bottom: 10px;"><h2 class="entry-title" datatype="" property="schema:name dc:title" style="font-size: 26px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 1.4; margin-bottom: 0.5em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Secret Santa - Friend or Foe</h2><ul class="meta clearfix" style="color: #a7a9ac; float: left; font-size: 12px; margin-bottom: 20px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: -10px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><li class="author first" style="border-right-color: initial; border-right-style: none; border-right-width: initial; color: #4e4e4e; float: none; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.5em; list-style-type: none; margin-right: 5px; padding-right: 5px;">By <a about="/user-dindy" class="username fn url" href="http://www.examiner.com/user-dindy" property="foaf:name" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;" title="View Dindy Yokel's profile." typeof="sioc:UserAccount" xml:lang="">Dindy Yokel</a>, Etiquette Examiner</li>
</ul></div></div><div class="clearfix entry-content" style="line-height: 1.5em; word-break: break-word;"><div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden field-bundle-story entry-body" style="margin-bottom: 0px;"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even" property="schema:articleBody content:encoded"><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Good natured pranks at the office reign supreme on April Fools Day but holiday parties and Secret Santa gift exchanges are not the appropriate place to poke fun at a co-worker or the boss.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The gist of the “game” as some call it is that identities are withheld and the recipient is challenged to unmask the giver. Instead of playing, most of us want to slink off way behind the water cooler to lick our wounds and calm the sting of derision implied by the gift at hand.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">A spectacular way to avoid the strum and drang of this prickly holiday tradition is to take a page from an as yet unidentified Secret Santa in Pennsylvania. Kelly Bayliss reported today, December 1, on nbcphiladelphia.com following up on an article in The Reading Eagle, a Secret Santa handed out $20,000 in $100 bills to 200 residents in Reading, PA. Wishing to remain anonymous, this uber-generous Secret Santa said that upon learning that Reading, PA is the poorest city in the country, “It’s time for us to step up, not step back.” Bravo!</div><div class="dart-ad dart-ad-300x250" id="dart-ad-3-3-432138881" style="background-color: #fafafa; float: right; height: auto; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; min-height: 250px; position: relative; text-align: center; width: 300px;"><span class="dart-ad-title" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: #fafafa; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(229, 229, 229); border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1px; 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height="250" id="VE_INV_3CE25D56_2679_E2CB_99FB_CFEBD29F898F" name="VE_INV_3CE25D56_2679_E2CB_99FB_CFEBD29F898F" pluginspage="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" quality="high" scale="noscale" src="http://core.videoegg.com/eap/15402/html/swf/AdManager.swf" style="display: block; visibility: visible;" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="300" wmode="transparent"></embed></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Money and/or gifts are not the issue here; it is finding a need and filling it with goodness – what better example to set for gift giving at anytime of the year. Spend some time thinking about a charitable organization that would be meaningful to your “Secret Santee” and make a donation. The guessing fun is still in play but instead of a useless deer antler headband or a snarky g-string for the macho man in the office, a little goodwill go a long way. No clue where to find a charity or one with a specific mission, check out <a href="http://www.causecast.com/" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">www.causecast.com</a> or <a href="http://www.kickstarter.com/" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">www.kickstarter.com</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">The Internet has how-tos and answers for nearly any question and the ins and outs of creating a Secret Santa program is no exception. Secretsanta.com provides the rules and a free GuestList program that is quick to set up and manages the entire process online. Other options for online assistance include <a href="http://www.bestsecretsanta.com/" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">www.bestsecretsanta.com</a> and <a href="http://www.elfster.com/" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">www.elfster.com</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Still intent on pursuing the game in its time honored tradition? A few tips to make it a joyful, fun and generous holiday:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">• Set a maximum price – one that takes into account those further down the salary rung.<br />
• Rig the recipient selection to prevent office meanies from bullying their usual prey.<br />
• Have the organizer vet the gift selections before the exchange takes place.<br />
• Select a theme (food, travel, movies – you get the idea), an easy way to give those who are too stressed out to be creative a general idea of what to purchase.<br />
• Imbibe after the exchange to minimize snide comments. Office parties are not the best place to be intoxicated for any reason but that’s another article entirely.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">These thoughts and recommendations are applicable to Secret Santa exchanges among friends and relatives, in addition to your office family. Don’t just put everyone’s name in a hat and buy one more item to perch on an already crowded desk – put some thought into gifting and a merrier time will be had by all.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Enjoy what you read? Please subscribe by clicking on link next to author's photo.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">More etiquette articles available at <a href="http://www.examiner.com/x-13446-Etiquette-Examiner" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">http://www.examiner.com/x-13446-Etiquette-Examiner</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">Dindy is also the Long Island Literature Examiner. Read her reviews at <a href="http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/dindy-yokel" style="color: #336699; text-decoration: none;">http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/dindy-yokel</a>.</div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="share-links article-share-processed share-links-processed" id="share-links" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"><ul class="horizontal clearfix" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-left-style: none; border-left-width: 1px; border-right-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-right-style: none; border-right-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(223, 223, 223); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; display: block; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 10px; padding-bottom: 10px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 10px;"><li class="like first" style="float: left; list-style-type: none; margin-right: 5px;"><span><fb:like action="like" colorscheme="light" height="25" href="http://www.examiner.com/etiquette-in-national/secret-santa-friend-or-foe-1" layout="button_count" send="true" show_faces="false" width="120"></fb:like></span></li>
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Continue reading on Examiner.com <a href="http://www.examiner.com/etiquette-in-national/secret-santa-friend-or-foe-1#ixzz1fJrhrsYc" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">Secret Santa - Friend or Foe - National etiquette | Examiner.com</a> <a href="http://www.examiner.com/etiquette-in-national/secret-santa-friend-or-foe-1#ixzz1fJrhrsYc" style="color: #003399; text-decoration: none;">http://www.examiner.com/etiquette-in-national/secret-santa-friend-or-foe-1#ixzz1fJrhrsYc</a></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-40564026970307975132011-11-21T09:53:00.000-05:002011-11-21T09:53:20.914-05:00Changing Face of Publishing: Staying Focused with Rochelle Melander<a href="http://azpublishingservices.blogspot.com/2011/11/staying-focused-with-rochelle-melander.html">Changing Face of Publishing: Staying Focused with Rochelle Melander</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-17283937472587330682011-10-28T08:52:00.000-04:002011-10-28T08:52:28.197-04:00I Am A Reader, Not A Writer: Author Interview & Book Giveaway: Write-A-Thon by Rochelle Melander<a href="http://iamareadernotawriter.blogspot.com/2011/10/author-interview-book-giveaway-write.html">I Am A Reader, Not A Writer: Author Interview & Book Giveaway: Write-A-Thon by Rochelle Melander</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-79235194339642309932011-09-29T16:01:00.000-04:002011-09-29T16:01:30.029-04:00An Exclusive Love by Johanna Adorjan<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a class="ocmap ocm-main-photo" href="http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/an-exclusive-love-a-memoir-photo"><img alt="Johanna Adorjan" src="http://cdn2-b.examiner.com/sites/default/files/styles/large/hash/22/0c/ADORJNJOHAN_198_0.jpg" title="An Exclusive Love: A Memoir" /></a> </div>
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Johanna Adorjan<div class="field field-name-image-credits field-type-text field-label-inline clearfix field-bundle-photo">
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Photo Credit: Peter von Felbert</div>
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An Exclusive Love by Johanna Adorján</h2>
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<li class="author first">By <a class="username" href="http://www.examiner.com/user-dindywrites" title="View Dindy Yokel's profile.">Dindy Yokel</a>, Long Island Literature Examiner</li>
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“On 13 October 1991 my grandparents killed themselves,” the first sentence of <i>An Exclusive Love</i>,
a memoir by Johanna Adorján grabs the reader and does not let go until
the end. Reported without emotion - but not without beauty - as a news
reporter does best, (Adorján is a cultural journalist), the reader
immediately knows the ending but not the infinitesimal details, so worth
paying attention to, of the path that leads one there. </div>
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Shocking to the reader, still reeling from the
harsh beginning, is presented succinctly but no less forceful when
Adorján recounts the final entry in the official folder of the suicide.
One last punch before book closes is from the Danish police file is the
bill from the locksmith who opened the door of her grandparents’ home -
$297 kroner. The reader sees the door open and imagines the scene
beyond it.</div>
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Grandparents are an enigma. The tales they tell
are often about our parents when they were young as if the near past was
more important than decades that came before. In <i>An Exclusive Love</i>
we are privy to not only the author’s memories but also the intimate
thoughts of people from each stage of her grandparents’ (Vera and
Istvan) life.</div>
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The recent passing of Dr. Jack Kevorkian evokes the
polarizing discussion of “death with dignity.” Some called him “Dr.
Death” and opposed his methods. Some called him the “angel of mercy.”
The Federal Government has recused itself from the conversation and
handed the reins to each state to determine if and when assisted suicide
is legal. A private matter and a private choice, Vera and Istvan did
not ask permission from anyone but each other.</div>
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<i>An Exclusive Love</i> is a painful and
engrossing detail of the day that Adorján’s grandparents acted on their
suicide pact. Throughout the memoir, the author stays gently in the
background allowing her grandparents their contemporaries and family
members to re-construct the days, hours, and minutes leading up to their
mutual suicide in 1991. Timing is everything and Adorján graciously
inserts herself into the story calling forth her conversations and
experiences with her beloved, mysterious forbears.</div>
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In the early 90s the Hemlock Society was operating covertly in the United States and its book, <i>Final Exit</i>
was impossible to find except via the Internet. Founded in 1980 by
Derek Humphry, The Hemlock Society’s mission was to help people like his
wife Jean and reform the laws about doctor-assisted suicide.</div>
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Aware of the book, Vera locates it, reads it and
the suicide pact is in place. Planned and painless at the end, quietly
so that nobody would attempt to intervene, Vera and Istvan slip into the
next realm together as they have been for decades.</div>
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A graceful shift into dialogue between her
grandparents on the Sunday morning that is the focal point of the story
shows a couple who have lived with and loved each for 50 years. They
survived the Holocaust and reconstructed their life – not obliterating
the past - once settled in Copenhagen.</div>
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“She goes into the kitchen to wash the ashtrays she
has collected from the guestroom and the front hall. Everything must
be neat and tidy. She doesn’t want to cause any hassle. No one must
find her decision a nuisance.” The grandmother’s internal dialogue
continues to rend the readers’ heart.</div>
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Page after page the reader finds another snapshot
of the day that causes tears to flood the page. “You must say goodbye
to each other now,” says Adorján’s grandmother. The grandfather holding
Mitzi, their dog, kisses her nose, strokes her head and squeaks out
goodbye.</div>
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The beauty of <i>An Exclusive Love</i> is the
twofold – the memory of the event and the words carefully selected to
convey it. In the tradition of Joan Didion’s 2007 memoir <i>The Year of Magical Thinking</i>,
this intensely personal telling of exceptional love and loss is one to
read over an over again reminding us why we read. To find ourselves
through the stories of others, find out why we are here and what we
ultimately want for ourselves.</div>
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Adorján resides in Berlin and is an editor of the <u>Allegemeine Zeitung’s</u> culture section<i>. An Exclusive Love</i>
is her first book. Based in the U.K., Anthea Bell is an award-winning
translator of a range of work including W.G. Sebald’s Austerlitz and the
Inkworld trilogy by Cornelia Funke.</div>
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<span class="date">September 29, 2011</span>
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<span style="display: block; float: left; margin-left: -25px; padding-right: 2px; text-align: right; width: 40px;">N</span>ETTIE PARKER'S BACKYARD</h1>
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ForeWord Review<span class="rating" style="-webkit-user-select: none; margin-left: 3px;"><span class="value-title" title="5.0"></span><img class="foreword-icon" height="16" src="http://www.forewordreviews.com/favicon.ico" style="margin-left: 5px; vertical-align: sub;" width="16" /></span></div>
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C.V. Smith's protagonist in her novel <i>Nettie Parker's Backyard</i> breaks with traditional book format, creating a three-dimensional adventure wherein she invites the reader directly into her story: "Why don't you meet me there?" asks Halley. The second-person narration is one of the literary devices that Smith handles deftly throughout her book about intolerance throughout history, whether by race, religion, or disability.</div>
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The novel's message cuts a wide swath, taking events from a global perspective to the personal experience of the heroine, Halley's elderly neighbor, Nettie Parker. Shifting from Halley's point of view to Aunt Nettie's, the novel reaches back in time to the Middle Passage, the Holocaust, segregation in the US, and more. All are recounted in Nettie's calm voice during an interview she gives to Halley for a history project.</div>
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The Middle Passage, as presented by Nettie, is a compelling and accurate history, relating the capture of Africans and the horrific conditions of the boats carrying them to the United States where they were sold into slavery. The details of this first leg of indentured servitude are not soft-pedaled for the young reader.</div>
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Segregation on the scale it once existed is incomprehensible to young people today. Nettie, exposes the reader to Martin Luther King, Jr. and other well-known events not well known to those born before the 1970s. Swinging back to the personal, Nettie tells Halley's class of the humiliation she and her mother experienced during their annual shopping trip to Beaufort, South Carolina.</div>
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Nettie also speaks of her husband, Jonas, to focus on the history of the Tuskegee soldiers. Her telling illustrates that African-Americans were obviously deemed fit to fight in World War II, but nonetheless did not reap the benefits of white soldiers.</div>
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The novel continues to peel the layers of history from the horrors of the Holocaust to the celebration of Bar Mitzvah, a rite of passage for thirteen-year old Jewish children. Nettie's stories about prejudice go beyond racism to detail the sub-standard treatment of physically challenged people.</div>
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"I wrote this book for children aged nine to twelve, the time when one questions everything," says Smith. An educator for thirty years in the Los Angeles Unified School District, she worked with ESL and Special Education students and authored <i>Stuff</i>, an anthology of rap, poetry, and prose for children in crisis.</div>
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<a class="reviewer" href="http://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/reviewers/dindy-yokel/" style="color: #014f80; text-decoration: none;">Dindy Yokel</a><br /><time class="dtreviewed" datetime="2011-08-03T15:41:03+00:00" pubdate="" style="font-style: italic;" title="Wednesday, August 3, 2011 at 3:41pm">August 3, 2011</time></div>
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margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-left: 2em; list-style-type: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; z-index: 5; position: relative; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; border-top-width: 0px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); float: left; border-right-width: 0px; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-left-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; width: 602px; "><li class="menu-1373 menu-path-front first odd " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(171, 104, 105); border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; width: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: white; text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Home</a></li><li class="menu-179 menuparent menu-path-user even " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(171, 104, 105); border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; width: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/user" title="" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: white; text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Me</a><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; z-index: 5; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); top: 22px; left: -1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; overflow-x: visible !important; overflow-y: visible !important; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-left-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-left-radius: 7px 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px 7px; "><li class="menu-1421 menu-path-user-register first odd " style="margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/user/register" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "><span class="tab"></span></a></li><li class="menu-12859 menu-path-nolink-12859 even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="nolink" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(206, 206, 206); "></span></li><li class="menu-12860 menu-path-nolink-12860 odd " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="nolink" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(206, 206, 206); "></span></li><li class="menu-12861 menu-path-nolink-12861 even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="nolink" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(206, 206, 206); "></span></li><li class="menu-12862 menu-path-nolink-12862 odd " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="nolink" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(206, 206, 206); "></span></li><li class="menu-12863 menu-path-nolink-12863 even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="nolink" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(206, 206, 206); "></span></li><li class="menu-12864 menu-path-nolink-12864 odd " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><span class="nolink" style="font-size: 13px; color: rgb(206, 206, 206); "></span></li><li class="menu-1406 menu-path-become-red-room-author even last " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/become-red-room-author" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li></ul></li><li class="menu-1431 menuparent menu-path-books odd " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(171, 104, 105); border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; width: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/books" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: white; text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Books</a><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; z-index: 5; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); top: 22px; left: -1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; overflow-x: visible !important; overflow-y: visible !important; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-left-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-left-radius: 7px 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px 7px; "><li class="menu-1432 menu-path-books first odd " style="margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/books" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1433 menu-path-books-new even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/books/new" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1434 menu-path-books-published-reviews odd " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/books/published-reviews" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1435 menu-path-books-member-reviews even last " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/books/member-reviews" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li></ul></li><li class="menu-1436 menuparent menu-path-authors even " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(171, 104, 105); border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; width: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/authors" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: white; text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Authors</a><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; z-index: 5; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); top: 22px; left: -1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; overflow-x: visible !important; overflow-y: visible !important; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-left-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-left-radius: 7px 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px 7px; "><li class="menu-1437 menu-path-community first odd " style="margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/community" title="" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1477 menu-path-blogs even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/blogs" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1438 menu-path-search-author_solr odd " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/search/author_solr" title="" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1439 menu-path-become-red-room-author even last " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/become-red-room-author" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li></ul></li><li class="menu-1440 menuparent menu-path-members odd " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(171, 104, 105); border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; width: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/members" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: white; text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Members</a><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; z-index: 5; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); top: 22px; left: -1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; overflow-x: visible !important; overflow-y: visible !important; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-left-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-left-radius: 7px 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px 7px; "><li class="menu-1441 menu-path-community first odd " style="margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/community" title="" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1442 menu-path-blogs-members even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/blogs/members" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1443 menu-path-search-member odd last " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/search/member" title="" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li></ul></li><li class="menu-1444 menuparent menu-path-blogs even " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(171, 104, 105); border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; width: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/blogs" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: white; text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Blogs</a><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; z-index: 5; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); top: 22px; left: auto; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; overflow-x: visible !important; overflow-y: visible !important; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-left-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-left-radius: 7px 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px 7px; right: 0px; "><li class="menu-1445 menu-path-blogs-all first odd " style="margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/blogs/all" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1446 menu-path-blogs-popular even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/blogs/popular" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1447 menu-path-blogs-new odd " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/blogs/new" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1450 menu-path-blogs even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/blogs" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1451 menu-path-blogs-members odd last " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/blogs/members" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li></ul></li><li class="menu-1459 menu-path-clubs odd " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(171, 104, 105); border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; width: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/clubs" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: white; text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">Clubs</a></li><li class="menu-1462 menuparent menu-path-node-40924 even " style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: rgb(171, 104, 105); border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; width: auto; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/about-red-room" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: white; text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; ">About Us</a><ul style="margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-left: 0px; list-style-type: none; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 8px; z-index: 5; position: absolute; visibility: hidden; list-style-position: initial; list-style-image: initial; border-top-width: 1px; border-top-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); top: 22px; left: auto; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; overflow-x: visible !important; overflow-y: visible !important; width: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-right-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-left-color: rgb(166, 166, 166); border-bottom-left-radius: 7px 7px; border-bottom-right-radius: 7px 7px; right: 0px; "><li class="menu-14636 menu-path-node-40924 first odd " style="margin-top: 8px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/about-red-room" title="" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1463 menu-path-node-40918 even " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; border-left-color: initial; border-top-width: initial; border-top-style: none; border-top-color: initial; float: left; background-color: initial; background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/meet-the-red-room-team" title="" style="outline-style: none; 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background-image: none; display: block; width: auto; clear: both; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; z-index: 998; white-space: nowrap; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; "><a href="http://redroom.com/causes-we-support" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(80, 80, 80); text-decoration: none; display: block; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; cursor: pointer; font-size: 13px; "></a></li><li class="menu-1469 menu-path-node-3493 odd " style="margin-top: 3px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 2px; padding-right: 10px; padding-bottom: 3px; padding-left: 10px; position: relative; border-right-width: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-left-width: initial; border-right-style: none; border-bottom-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-right-color: initial; border-bottom-color: initial; 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margin-bottom: 0px; clear: both; "><div class="pane-inside" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; clear: both; margin-left: 18px; "><div class="pane-content" style="font-size: 24px; color: rgb(68, 57, 35); border-top-style: none; border-right-style: none; border-left-style: none; border-width: initial; border-color: initial; border-bottom-width: initial; border-bottom-style: none; border-bottom-color: initial; padding-top: 0.5em; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; margin-bottom: 3px; background-image: none; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: initial; letter-spacing: -1px; line-height: 1.2em; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial; ">Are you there Ms. Blume? It's me, Dindy.</div></div></div><div class="panel-pane pane-node-content" style="position: relative; margin-bottom: 10px; clear: both; "><div class="pane-inside" style="padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 18px; padding-bottom: 18px; padding-left: 18px; clear: both; "><div class="pane-content"><div id="node-202231" class="node node-type-blog node-promoted clearfix" style="clear: both; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; "><div class="meta" style="float: left; width: 574px; margin-bottom: 10px; "><span class="submitted" style="line-height: 22px; margin-right: 7px; text-transform: uppercase; font: normal normal normal 10px/normal verdana, arial, sans-serif; ">BLOG POST BY <a href="http://redroom.com/member/dindy-yokel" title="View user profile." style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(124, 19, 21); text-decoration: none; ">DINDY YOKEL</a> - JUN.16.2010 - 3:34 PM</span><div class="node-links" style="float: left; 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width: 34px; height: 20px; line-height: 20px; padding-bottom: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; text-align: center; font-size: 11px; font-weight: bold; margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-left: 3px; padding-top: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-left: 4px; float: left; background-position: 0px -114px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; ">1</a><div class="atclear" style="clear: both; "></div></div></div></div><div class="content" style="clear: both; "><div class="all-attached-images" style="float: right; margin-left: 15px; clear: both; width: 225px; "><div class="image-attach-body image-attach-node-202230 img-0" style="float: left; margin-left: 0px; "><a href="http://redroom.com/member/dindy-yokel/media/images/are-you-there-god-its-me-margaret" style="outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; outline-color: initial; color: rgb(124, 19, 21); text-decoration: none; display: block; "><img src="http://redroom.com/files/images/9780440904199.jpg" alt="Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." title="" class="image image-300x300 " width="36" height="60" style="border-top-width: 1px; border-right-width: 1px; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-left-width: 1px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; padding-top: 4px; padding-right: 4px; padding-bottom: 4px; padding-left: 4px; border-top-style: solid; border-right-style: solid; border-bottom-style: solid; border-left-style: solid; border-top-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-right-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-left-color: rgb(204, 204, 204); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); width: 216px; height: auto; " /></a></div></div><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Are you there Ms. Blume? It's me, Dindy. </p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Margaret Simon and I have been friends for 36 years since Mrs. Feldman, the librarian at the now-defunct John F. Kennedy Elementary School, introduced us. I connected with Margaret, the glorious girl that you created and she showed me that I wasn't alone. It clicked at that moment, I would be a writer and repay the kindness (pay it forward in hackneyed parlance).</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Reading was (and is) my refuge, the perfect hiding place for a shy girl who was the first in sixth grade to get her period. How the entire grade found out I will never know, but news like this travels fast. Margaret was the gentle friend I needed at the time. </p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">You made me laugh and cry, you gave me a friend and you gave me a career. For decades I have given your books, particularly "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," as gifts to young women who need a respite from the crazy, super sonic world. It is still one of my favorite gifts to give.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Ms. Blume, you inspired me to read and keep reading, to write and keep writing and I know you inspire those who I introduce to you and your creations.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Thank you for giving birth to Margaret and so many other realistic, hilarious and wise characters and stories.</p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; ">Love, Dindy </p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "> </p><p style="margin-top: 1em; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 0px; "> </p></div><div class="terms terms-inline" style="display: block; 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All rights reserved.</p></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-83561845943253094992011-09-01T13:09:00.000-04:002011-09-01T13:09:13.111-04:00FRANK WARREN PUBLISHES CONFESSIONS OF LIFE, DEATH, AND GOD<a href="http://www.examiner.com/node/37013971/friends_family">FRANK WARREN PUBLISHES CONFESSIONS OF LIFE, DEATH, AND GOD</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-71475987368557965192011-06-08T12:35:00.000-04:002011-06-08T12:35:44.405-04:00Strays Reviewed in ForeWord ReviewsDogs, spiders and snakes - oh my!<div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-20351615893380317362011-05-24T10:16:00.000-04:002011-05-24T10:16:22.538-04:00Bob Dylan New York Book Honors the Musician on his 70th Birthday<div class="clearfix entry-content"> <div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden field-bundle-review entry-body"><div class="field-items"><div style="background-color: transparent; border: medium none; color: black; overflow: hidden; text-align: left; text-decoration: none;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPY3hNgjp_Wc5knDhTyX4HVaeM1wtUeKE3HEVvEISw7iq4qpt3NWAjupHUVJXp_zkgjk3mH8XgNTICsJKUYJh968DTemeZhpjbtymgLvyGOoVsR0BrVFdZFmRu9_irFLlGlbwU6fwwpU/s1600/51DHgszrs7L._AA160_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHPY3hNgjp_Wc5knDhTyX4HVaeM1wtUeKE3HEVvEISw7iq4qpt3NWAjupHUVJXp_zkgjk3mH8XgNTICsJKUYJh968DTemeZhpjbtymgLvyGOoVsR0BrVFdZFmRu9_irFLlGlbwU6fwwpU/s200/51DHgszrs7L._AA160_.jpg" width="200" /></a>Bob Dylan celebrates his 70th birthday today. The original North American troubadour, Dylan’s career spans six decades and shows no signs of ending - good news for his ardent fans.<br />
<br />
June Skinner Sawyers has penned <em>Bob Dylan New York</em>, the newest addition to the MusicPlace Series. The cover photo, courtesy of PBS, depicts a young Dylan not long after his arrival in New York City in 1961. The night Dylan arrived he scored a gig at Cafe Wha?, the free spirited epitome of Greenwich Village coffeehouses.<br />
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According to the author, Dylan was in search of his musical hero, Woody Guthrie, for whom he wrote, “Song to Woody.” His inimitable poetry set to music has maintained its clarity and commitment to Dylan’s values and integrity.<br />
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New York City serves as Dylan’s home base and the maps designed by Kim Rush create context. For those not intimately familiar with the cafes, shops, taverns, live music locations, hotels and neighborhoods, the maps parallel Dylan’s adventure from the early 60s to the present day.<br />
Since 1962, Dylan has recorded more than 50 albums of his inimitable poetry set to music. Many consider Dylan a Folk Singer but that moniker does not scratch the surface of a man who has worked without a pause.<br />
<br />
A.O. Scott presciently wrote in the <em><a href="http://hwww.nytimes.com/2011/05/18/movies/bob-dylan-in-movies-at-the-film-forum.html?_r=1&scp=3&sq=A.O.%20Scott&st=cseon" rel="nofollow">New York Times</a></em> on May 17, 2011, “Devotees who use the age of their idol to calculate their own dismaying senescence may be shocked that he is so old, but to many more of us he has always been around.”<br />
Many around the world grew up with Dylan as the soundtrack to exact moments in life, relationships, and whereabouts. One’s momento mori comes into sharp focus when a particular track is heard. Skinner Sawyers’ compact book is a primer for those who are unfamiliar with Bob Dylan and a cherry atop a hot fudge sundae for those who can recite every lyric to every song.<br />
<div class="dart-ad dart-ad-300x250" id="dart-ad-3-3-908693858"> <span class="dart-ad-title"><br />
</span> <div class="dart-ad-content"> </div></div>Search the Internet and one will find more than 38 million entries and 1.3 million birthday wishes, articles and celebrations dated within the past few days. Look again and there are more than 1,700 books in print about Bob Dylan. For a man who rarely granted interviews throughout his career to date, there is a mammoth range of music and print media to draw on.<br />
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Cue up whichever albums make you sing and dance along and in Dylan’s words, may you stay “Forever Young.”<br />
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<strong>About the author: </strong>June Skinner Sawyers’ themes include music, literature, and travel. Her credits include more than 20 books and untold articles and reviews. Her subjects have included the Beatles and Bruce Springsteen. She currently teaches at Loyola University’s School of Continuing and Professional studies and at the Newberry Library.<br />
<br />
<strong>About the publisher:</strong><a href="http://www.roaringfortiespress.com/" rel="nofollow"> Roaring Forties Press’</a> MusicPlace Series portrays the links between musicians and the cities they call home. According to the publisher’s note, each book in the series is “Packed with details about the musician’s life, and work and stories about the city’s neighborhoods and night spots, each volume in the series captures the mood, the culture and the sounds of a revolutionary ear in popular music.”<br />
<br />
Copyright Dindy Yokel 2011 <br />
<br />
Bob Dylan New York<br />
Roaring Forties Press<br />
ISBN # 978-0-9843165-9-5<br />
<br />
Continue reading on Examiner.com: <a href="http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/bob-dylan-new-york-honors-the-musican-on-his-70th-birthday-review#ixzz1NHMclyh4" style="color: #003399;">Bob Dylan New York Book Honors the Musician on his 70th Birthday - Long Island Literature | Examiner.com</a> <a href="http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/bob-dylan-new-york-honors-the-musican-on-his-70th-birthday-review#ixzz1NHMclyh4" style="color: #003399;">http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/bob-dylan-new-york-honors-the-musican-on-his-70th-birthday-review#ixzz1NHMclyh4</a></div></div></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-77299196986260097252011-05-24T10:09:00.002-04:002011-06-08T12:27:14.313-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8KsjWKX4Q5CAwANIXhk9NHpbuFTigoVrTtQpHvvwMrH7T1BZsTrXazoU9I7zTzwcPZ99kjI24svEmtyCUgsZMyToDwplkK8T5xNwJaDBh-tRAL29ZnifOr48H7kL4_0os0I6uf4slVc/s1600/51DHgszrs7L._AA160_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL8KsjWKX4Q5CAwANIXhk9NHpbuFTigoVrTtQpHvvwMrH7T1BZsTrXazoU9I7zTzwcPZ99kjI24svEmtyCUgsZMyToDwplkK8T5xNwJaDBh-tRAL29ZnifOr48H7kL4_0os0I6uf4slVc/s320/51DHgszrs7L._AA160_.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-70977054448390070952011-04-22T13:39:00.000-04:002011-06-08T12:28:48.276-04:00The Dissemblers by Liza Campbell - A Unique Take on the Art World - Long Island Literature | Examiner.com<a href="http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/the-dissemblers-by-liza-campbell-a-unique-take-on-the-art-world-review">The Dissemblers by Liza Campbell - A Unique Take on the Art World - Long Island Literature | Examiner.com</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-70085319116968198162011-04-22T11:02:00.000-04:002011-04-22T11:02:58.085-04:00Peace in the Heart & Home by Charlotte MikulkaAmidst all the chaos today of natural disasters, financial implosions and the general "decline and fall," of our hemisphere, aren't we all looking for peace and harmony? Charlotte Mikulka gives readers just that in <a href="http://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/peace-in-the-heart-and-home/">Peace in the Heart and Home</a>. <br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcnsKUGVJ_YYutJXBJRrw-c3gDcdLCt1GWPwnGY5Bb3SRRXWXy8HoWhvXIydvGu1xceec6R15PT0i6drDpq-1Dc4WSB-uIWgz9Wic57mjmjKBqw6WFocoXG3uwP5dzh2fqpMntRD4V6o/s1600/9780984490301.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbcnsKUGVJ_YYutJXBJRrw-c3gDcdLCt1GWPwnGY5Bb3SRRXWXy8HoWhvXIydvGu1xceec6R15PT0i6drDpq-1Dc4WSB-uIWgz9Wic57mjmjKBqw6WFocoXG3uwP5dzh2fqpMntRD4V6o/s1600/9780984490301.jpg" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-54177247537039180302011-04-22T10:44:00.000-04:002011-04-22T10:44:56.212-04:00Ice Pop Joy by Anni Daulter<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn7CK2PbGRFGBFgB1EDnBjEYetMsdk0mc1UBzFp3Rw65VqCERwBYZuKS__3AiOxexDgBE3kINXMYGzt-cbImKHBxcEO_zpvgp3aUCp5gbLMnrAxWUDZyHkF3JOApcsa3Xm1En4E6xl3o/s1600/9781416206255.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnn7CK2PbGRFGBFgB1EDnBjEYetMsdk0mc1UBzFp3Rw65VqCERwBYZuKS__3AiOxexDgBE3kINXMYGzt-cbImKHBxcEO_zpvgp3aUCp5gbLMnrAxWUDZyHkF3JOApcsa3Xm1En4E6xl3o/s1600/9781416206255.jpg" /></a>Summer is nearly upon us and our minds and palates turn to yummy cooling treats. Anni Daulter's <i><a href="http://www.forewordreviews.com/reviews/ice-pop-joy/">Ice Pop Joy</a></i> features easy-to-make recipes with organic ingredients, fruit, vegetables, agave nectar and coconut sugar.<br />
<br />
Alexandra DeFurio's gorgeous photography firmly places the reader in idyllic meadows, backyards and parks with lush flora and fauna and smiling faces.<div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-21837283276661625372011-02-07T12:01:00.000-05:002011-02-07T12:01:59.079-05:00Haiti Noir Anthology Edited by Edwidge Danticat<div class="" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><!--StartFragment--> </div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgZhOYo6jE9od05kyXK8zG1keeMBXlOYyujQaDmomEJDvmCme-ZQoKNzQ7PtzwFqOavSpTWkz1Y_ADfCDdLUTL4d8jSjOfzmECK1BtA2I2sYDbMsbV5nRQiZii19gLXC-ukVQe7vk6l0/s1600/HaitiNoir1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQgZhOYo6jE9od05kyXK8zG1keeMBXlOYyujQaDmomEJDvmCme-ZQoKNzQ7PtzwFqOavSpTWkz1Y_ADfCDdLUTL4d8jSjOfzmECK1BtA2I2sYDbMsbV5nRQiZii19gLXC-ukVQe7vk6l0/s1600/HaitiNoir1.jpg" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial;">Haiti churns out bad news daily whether it is a cholera epidemic, a returning dictator or two or the aftermath of the earthquake of 2010.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visitors to the island nation know there is beauty, culture and miraculous people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The armchair traveler has a plethora of news books out this year written by Haitian authors to choose from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The best way to jump in feet first is with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Haiti Noir</i> edited by Edwidge Danticat. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Authors and publishers are taking up the mantle of doing well by doing good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Rebecca Skloot and her foundation for the Lacks family benefitting from book sales is a superb example.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Haiti Noir</i> a publisher’s note informs readers that, “a portion of the profits will be donated to the Lambi Fund of Haiti, a nonprofit organization working toward economic democracy, and alternative sustainable development in Haiti.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As if one needs a reason beyond outstanding fiction writing to indulge in this superb anthology.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">"Even before the earthquake, life was not easy in Haiti.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was always the risk of dying from hunger, an infectious disease, a natural disaster, or a crime.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But there was also hope, laughter and boundless creativity," writes Danticat.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">A series of readings and appearances is scheduled now through May 13, 2011, for details please visit the publisher’s <a href="http://akashicbooks.com/haitinoirevents.htm">website.</a><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Authors included in the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Haiti Noir</i> anthology will accompany Ms. Danticat<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>to locations in the Bronx, Brooklyn and Baltimore, MD.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Each story is fresh and heart wrenching whether for the lost people, lost beauty or lost time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Danticat has orchestrated an outstanding selection of voices that reach into every nook and cranny of life in Haiti.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">18 new stories, including one by Danticat and two by non-Haitians, Madison Smartt Bell and Mark Kurlansky, bring the sounds, aromas, colors, and landscape of Haiti to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rainbow's End</i> by M.J. Fievre is a father-daughter story that transcends the island's borders to resonate with fathers and daughters everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The story is Haiti-specific in the rhythm and syncopation of the words including the oft-repeated "Because Ben Knows Where I live."<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Gary Victor's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Finger</i> shocks and surprises in a creepy crawly way but leaves readers Googling him and the 17 other authors craving more work to read by these sensational voices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Paradise Inn</i> by Kettly Mars pays homage to the magical realism of Isabel Allende.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mars has a superb voice and her lyricism gallops without stumbling from word one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Izzy Goldstein is the protagonist in Mark Kurlansky's <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Leopard of Ti Morne</i> and possesses a unique and funny voice and spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Kurlansky puts the reader smack dab in the middle of Goldstein's Miami Beach apartment with his lush and intimate description.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">In an email conversation with Madison Smartt Bell about his story, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twenty Dollars</i>, Bell said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“</span><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">I started going to Haiti in 1995, once or twice a year, to research my books and then because I got to love it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: "Lucida Grande"; mso-bidi-font-size: 14.0pt;">This is not the first time Bell has written about Haiti and when asked about his fascination with the island the author sums it up with a declaration by his character and alter ego in <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Twenty Dollars</i>, Charlie Chapo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Haiti is a place where magical thinking actually works.” <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEW6MeWmUvdMdy31wT7PzTaHkefFi2axwdPA7ENOEynY66n3laGMQCuwRoDWoPfRvFDKN3FFUyh_81uSt226CfNl6Df7hthjNz9ihKrTzWSsq0UwePUlv309WYYBvMs2Ip87rpVgP5vc/s1600/Dant_9781400041152ap2-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiEW6MeWmUvdMdy31wT7PzTaHkefFi2axwdPA7ENOEynY66n3laGMQCuwRoDWoPfRvFDKN3FFUyh_81uSt226CfNl6Df7hthjNz9ihKrTzWSsq0UwePUlv309WYYBvMs2Ip87rpVgP5vc/s320/Dant_9781400041152ap2-1.jpg" width="215" /></a><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Born in Haiti in 1969, Edwidge Danticat moved to the United States at the age of twelve. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Create Dangerously</i>, Danticat’s new memoir just out from Princeton University Press, is a collection of essays exploring the responsibility of immigrant artists “to bear witness when their countries of origin are suffering from violence, oppression, poverty, and tragedy.”<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Danticat is the author of <i>Breath, Eyes, Memory</i>, an Oprah Book Club selection, <i>Krik? Krak!</i>, a National Book Award finalist. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><i>Brother, I'm Dying</i>, her memoir, was a 2007 finalist for the National Book Award and a 2008 winner of a National Book Critics Circle Award. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In 2009 Danticat was awarded the prestigious grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lives in the Little Haiti district of Miami with her husband and daughter.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial; mso-bidi-font-family: Verdana;">Akashic Books launched the Noir Series in 2004 with its award-winning best seller <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><a href="http://akashicbooks.com/brooklynnoir.htm"><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none; text-underline: none;">Brooklyn Noir</span></a>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></i>The anthologies include all new stories, each set within a distinct neighborhood or location within the title city.<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haiti Noir</i> is the 36<sup>th</sup> book in this series. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;"><i>Haiti Noir</i><o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Edited by Edwidge Danticat<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Akashic Books<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Hardcover ISBN# 9781617750137<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Trade Paperback ISBN# 9781936070657<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cover Photo: Steve Lindridge/istockphoto.com<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial;">Cover Design: Jon Resh/Undaunted</span> </div><!--EndFragment--> <br />
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<a href="http://www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/dindy-yokel">www.examiner.com/literature-in-long-island/dindy-yokel</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-76738378253598275652010-12-10T16:56:00.000-05:002010-12-10T16:56:39.503-05:00December 10 - Reverb10 Prompt - Wisdom<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c2525; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">Gave my old laptop in excellent condition to the grandkids of the woman who cleaned my apartment in Atlanta. Made her life better as she didn't have to sit around in the library after a day of hard work while the kids waited in line to use the computer. In fact, I centered most of my giving on these four little girls. Information about Women's History Month and a book from the website - anything to add some education on top of what they get in school. Another joy, mentoring at Kipp Strive in Atlanta via the Wren's Nest former home, now a house museum, of the gentlemen who wrote the Uncle Remus books. Met some super people, was happy to learn about a school that does what a school is supposed to do - enrich, educate and enliven. Loved meeting my 5th grader mentee, Kwesi, and working with him to write the essay about his grandfather which was included in a book published in time for the Decatur Book Fair. He is a cutie patootie and so bright. Good decisions both - got me out of my box and out of the house among kids. Ignited fire in my soul encouraging kids to write. Loved getting the book reports I assigned. Being with kids is wondrous, calming, inspiring and joyful. Noisy, aggravating and exhausting too. Spend more time with kids in 2011 was a wise decision and is on my to do list for 2011.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #2c2525; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', Tahoma, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;"><iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=dinnotben-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0982247923&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe></span><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-56964312692537684222010-12-09T20:46:00.000-05:002010-12-09T20:46:35.176-05:00December 9 - Reverb10 Prompt - Party<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9GgaIeb_KwXUbe5uwfwl2KRQKouCENUy-qcq9w26usgiTk4PweRudRMm8b5wyTDczse1SWzeIxj6fLY2V9UGWLA-fFVxd5XZArodgIK7vUj75-fW6Co-fjkk8q6zxfo73S0m_Yb0TRk/s1600/reverb10story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgD9GgaIeb_KwXUbe5uwfwl2KRQKouCENUy-qcq9w26usgiTk4PweRudRMm8b5wyTDczse1SWzeIxj6fLY2V9UGWLA-fFVxd5XZArodgIK7vUj75-fW6Co-fjkk8q6zxfo73S0m_Yb0TRk/s1600/reverb10story.png" /></a></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: 28px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: inherit;">My 30th High School reunion - had avoided previous reunions but the stars aligned on this one - best friend Hillary came in from Cap d'Antibes and we met up with dear Jimmy before heading off to the event. Bonus time spent with Alessandra and Juliana her adorable daughters - we went to Big Apple Circus with Paulette (grand mere). So we came into the house on the grounds of the Merchant Marine Academy three-strong. DJ playing 80s dance music - didn't sound good to me then and hasn't improved with age. So busy talking to people I barely remembered that I didn't make it to the buffet - heard I didn't miss anything. In the middle of this a member of the class entered in full Scottish regalia playing the bagpipes in remembrance of our classmates who are no longer with us. Odd choice as most of us are Jewish. Didn't remember the piper nor most of those pictured on the screen without accompanying names. Cut out as soon as we could and headed off to Scobee Diner - closed early - little did we know that in the following weeks Scobee would close permanently followed by an auction<iframe align="left" frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=dinnotben-20&o=1&p=8&l=bpl&asins=0446573647&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="align: left; height: 245px; padding-right: 10px; padding-top: 5px; width: 131px;"></iframe> of the guts of our favorite hang-out. Who would want an old booth, grease embossed counter top and those gnarly rotating cake display units. It was a great evening, haven't stayed out until 4:30 am in I don't know how many years. Good to connect with my history and those I don't have to explain where I come from to.</span></span></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-19578881310155660102010-12-08T14:26:00.001-05:002010-12-08T16:50:00.381-05:00Beautifully Different - Day 8<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">What makes me "beautifully different," is that I care and people sense that along with my generosity of spirit, information, time and money. I give whatever I have because I believe that tomorrow will bring me more of whatever I need. I've been told that my smile is infrequent but worth waiting for. Had a client once who said that I "give good leg" his vernacular way of complimenting me. It is all what is in my head and heart and that's what I look for in others - physical beauty comes and goes, changes with the trends though classic beauty is always in style. Nothing better than a crisp white button down shirt, jeans, a good belt and pair of sneakers, hair back in pony tail (wish there was an elegant way of describing this hair style) and some simple but "good" jewelry. Think the Hepburn women - my style icons and their charitable way of living is my working model - Audrey with Unicef and Katherine with the cultural center in Connecticut. Doing well by doing good is my modus operandi.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">HIllary, Me and Jim at my 30th High School Reunion - <br />
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Writing is what I do. Always on the lookout for a way to jump start my day and have employed Julia Cameron's Artist Pages for at least a decade. For those who don't enjoy a journal and pen here's a super new place to get your 3 pages written www.750words.com. I like the mind dump so much that I am willing to try it online and do it twice a day. Wondering what to send me for the holidays? Mont Blanc Cartridge refills. Not expensive and much appreciated. Another super application for writers of any stripe is www.ommwriter.com - locks out everything but the writing until you tell it otherwise. Plays subtle music which helps me concentrate and you can silence this as well. If you are stuck or too easily distracted put down the Ritalin and check out these two programs. Back to writing...<div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-88694425994682540502010-12-07T15:50:00.000-05:002010-12-07T15:50:19.242-05:00Reverb10 - Day 7<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Community - among my favorite words. Found community upon my move to East Hampton by reaching out to publisher Marty Shepard at <a href="http://www.permanentpress.com/">www.permanentpress.com</a> a neighbor in Sag Harbor. Received a warm welcome with open arms and a first invitation to visit him at the "office." His German Shepherd, Monty, is my new bff. Left with an armful of books including his current memoir, ON THE RECORD. Read it in one clip. Second invitation, dinner to meet his wife and business partner, Judy, and three wonderful writers who also make this super cold part of Long Island their home year-round. Jenny, Joan and Mary. What a treat. Third invitation is for dinner tonight. Can't wait to discover more about my new friends.<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEYxAwX19zL4Dw8Wk2NxKsX6DaCa223_ihZh-spiXDjTtFYxatFttXwtDSywKmn2GVCxcrtgHRm-nbJWra8MSfFp2n-k-RY3uVjmPzRWJSvt6WEhyphenhyphenivsPZIKCudvd50AvdNTIXfOFfSg/s1600/reverb10story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWEYxAwX19zL4Dw8Wk2NxKsX6DaCa223_ihZh-spiXDjTtFYxatFttXwtDSywKmn2GVCxcrtgHRm-nbJWra8MSfFp2n-k-RY3uVjmPzRWJSvt6WEhyphenhyphenivsPZIKCudvd50AvdNTIXfOFfSg/s1600/reverb10story.png" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-12646903587054585702010-12-07T15:43:00.001-05:002010-12-07T15:50:41.243-05:00Reverb10 - Day 1It is day 7 on Reverb10 but my day 1 so I'll kick this off by covering the prompts in the first six days together. One word from someone who writes for a living - hah! Breathe, that's it. Breathe in life, family, friendship, love, writing, reading and the glorious winter weather in New York. Writing - what can I eliminate that doesn't contribute to my writing? Shopping - do it all online and only for those who truly deserve gifts. One moment this year? When I drove off route 27 and arrived in East Hampton - early morning, crisp air, sun that didn't burn, trees lots of trees but no palm trees. I had arrived home and my body relaxed and my mind ramped up. Cold weather is where I belong. How did I cultivate a sense of wonder this year? Facing my laptop out toward the woods, pausing to watch the deer and wild turkeys, the leaves blowing off the trees and the first snow fall. I let go of people who just had an outstretched palm. Done with the takers and on to the sharers. Make. Just finished knitting Wool & the Gang's Jane collar in a luscious bulky caramel color yarn. Re-working the pattern on a thinner yarn in cream - almost finished. Simultaneously I knitted an infinity scarf with Artyarns gorgeous green bulky yarn. So yummy I haven't taken it off except to sleep. That covers the first six days of #Reverb10.<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMilsw8UvMZD0jG_V5yuvInGOzASEa6FnKQVrL4ZsoD7sdN3U32VLgGQed7AAXWevVvWywTcRkyqGtR9GgWf5oyQZfNIvKmhRF87MmLZ-TR43NHIqc9WKlsmwfsprfOLBLQ-dHlyl-FU/s1600/reverb10story.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxMilsw8UvMZD0jG_V5yuvInGOzASEa6FnKQVrL4ZsoD7sdN3U32VLgGQed7AAXWevVvWywTcRkyqGtR9GgWf5oyQZfNIvKmhRF87MmLZ-TR43NHIqc9WKlsmwfsprfOLBLQ-dHlyl-FU/s1600/reverb10story.png" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-33190998996049438322010-08-04T11:13:00.003-04:002010-08-04T11:36:02.173-04:00The Passing of Purvis Young<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande'; font-size: x-large;"><br />
</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: auto;"></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">ARTS & OPINION</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-large;">Art Culture Analysis</span></strong></div><div style="text-align: center;"><strong><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 24px;">Vol. 9, No. 4, 2010</span></strong></div><strong>into eterntiy</strong><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><strong>THE PASSING OF PURVIS YOUNG</strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: large;"><img alt="Purvis Young (1943-2010)" height="123" src="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2010_v9_n4/volume_images/purvis-self.jpg" width="95" /></span></strong><br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><strong>by </strong></span><br />
<strong><span style="font-size: medium;">DINDY YOKEL</span></strong><br />
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<div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><strong>When I think about Purvis Young, a movie-trailer of moments runs through my mind -- from our first meeting until his death on April 20, 2010. Each snippet a story and education unto itself; run together these clips span three years in Miami.</strong></span></div><div align="center" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><img alt="Purvis Young" height="331" src="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2010_v9_n4/volume_images/purvisyoung-1.jpg" width="512" /></span></strong></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">Th</span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">e S & S Diner on NE Second Avenue located across the street from the cemetery is a favourite Miami breakfast spot. Despite twelve years of counter dining where I zipped in and out of this rundown and so-called dangerous part of town, I somehow I missed the secret art studio of Purvis Young across the alley. How many times were we at the diner simultaneously, me eating eggs or pancakes and Purvis his daily tuna fish sandwich? How privileged I was to eat with him at the diner many times after we met.</span></strong></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><img align="left" alt="Purvis Young" height="240" src="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2010_v9_n4/volume_images/purvisyoung-6.jpg" style="text-align: left;" width="250" /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"></span></strong></div><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><div style="display: inline !important; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">We first met in 2006 when Young was selected as Director’s Choice for the 17th annual Art Miami Contemporary Art fair. Walking into the studio was like walking into one of his paintings. Wildly colourful, everything is recycled or “found” including the red velvet fainting couch that was Young’s favourite perch. My eyes adjusted and I found the artist sitting quietly, petting his rescue dog Goodbread, named after his renowned Goodbread Alley art installation. Weighing in at close to 300 lbs at the time, Young’s girth did not overwhelm the petite couch nor overtake the studio. His serenity counteracted his size.</span></strong></span></div></span></strong><br />
<div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">No matter the time of day a television droned on in a back room</span></strong></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><img align="right" alt="Purvis Young" height="320" src="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2010_v9_n4/volume_images/purvisyoung-2.jpg" style="text-align: left;" width="191" /></span></strong></div><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"> where Young napped; he rarely slept a full night. One evening after an interview with the<em>Miami Herald</em>, I was departing and bent down to give Purvis a hug and kiss on the cheek. He was surprised. “I am 60 years old and you are the first white woman that has touched me.” This shocked me as a true New Yorker, race did not preclude people from touching each other, and hadn’t since the 50s and here it is the first decade of the 21st century in southern Florida and race was still an issue.</span></strong></span></div></span></strong><br />
<div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">There are at least two schools of artists: those who have said all they have to say through their work and those who love to wax erudite about their work. Talking with Purvis about his paintings satisfied my need to understand without hearing a ton of artist-speak. When I inquired about his work he had sharp, short and sane answers.</span></strong></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><img align="left" alt="Purvis Young" height="159" src="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2010_v9_n4/volume_images/purvisyoung-4.jpg" style="text-align: left;" width="320" /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"></span></strong></div><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><div style="display: inline !important; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">The figure of a nude pregnant woman with her arms stretched to the sky is one of Young’s significant icons appearing alone or in groups throughout he work. “My pregnant woman stands for hope which comes from birth and God,” said Young. Hope, as Young continued, “is a common wish without attention to our colour or religion.” Simple, eloquent and something that we can all relate to and desire. The viewer doesn’t have to “get” Young’s work or be given an interpretation by art world experts. The work appeals on a visceral level, the story is obvious, the colours glorious and the materials are those we encounter everywhere and not only in art supply stores.</span></strong></span></div></span></strong><br />
<div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">Scores of people, either white or black, populate his paintings. The black groups represent Purvis’ “tribe” and those upon horseback are the leaders. Horses represent freedom. Succinct and easy to grasp, we all have our groups whether by race, religion or location. We yearn for community and belonging and Purvis understood this well. He often spoke about “finding” and rejoining his African tribe after death.</span></strong></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><img align="right" alt="Purvis Young" height="240" src="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2010_v9_n4/volume_images/purvisyoung-3.jpg" style="text-align: left;" width="304" /></span></strong></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">Many considered Young simple of mind and unstable as examples of his belonging to the genre of outsider artist. Having known Purvis, he was neither. He was very private and shared his thoughts with those in his very tight circle of family and a smattering of friends, many of whom have been in his life for decades.</span></strong></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">Young also received these labels due to his unfortunate <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/24/arts/24young.html?_r=1" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;"><span style="font-size: small;"><u>dealings with people who stole</u></span></a> from him, misrepresented him and used him for their own good. What this came from was his willingness to trust people, regardless of warnings from others and foul treatment experienced first hand. He kept people in his world long after they proved themselves untrustworthy -- Purvis gave people unlimited opportunities to redeem themselves with him. Somebody must be crazy to allow others to take and take without putting an end to the problem, don’t they?</span></strong></div><div align="left"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><img align="left" alt="Purvis Young" height="240" src="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2010_v9_n4/volume_images/purvisyoung-5.jpg" style="text-align: left;" width="252" /></span></strong><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"></span></strong></div><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><div style="display: inline !important; text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">Purvis wasn’t crazy -- he was a people-pleaser. People wanted his art and so he painted prolifically. People wanted to lay claim to him and he acquiesced not because he didn’t know better but because he wanted to give everyone in his life whatever they wanted. He was generous and loving. He treated Eddie Mae’s children and grandchildren as if they were his own. Nothing illustrated his sanity better than observing Purvis talk with his grandchildren -- but this was private. As was his sadness when his dog “disappeared” after a stint in the hospital. He was convinced that those meant to care for Goodbread simply let him go in the streets. Until the last days of his life Purvis missed this sweet dog.</span></strong></span></div></span></strong><br />
<div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">His trusting nature yielded financial problems and mishandling of his career by others. A simple Google search will bring these names to light but have no business here as they have benefited enough from Purvis. During the final years of his life misery was his frame of mind as his ability to run his own life was legally stripped from him.</span></strong></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">All Purvis wanted was freedom and this was something he never had. He wanted to live life his way and paint what he wanted when he wanted and these options were taken from him. Others had their opinion of him shaped by the courts, doctors and the public. He preferred not to fight or rebel other than through the messages in his art. “I realized that standing up for what I believe and fighting for it would only land me in jail. I went once and that was enough. From then on, I expressed my thoughts through my paintings instead of through my fists.”</span></strong></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">His legacy is already being mishandled and his work sold at bargain prices when it should be increasing in value because there is no more and yet there is so much. He was a treasure and but never regarded as such. Purvis was a kind and loving man, a family man who deserved a better life. He will be missed and those of us who were privy to his intuitive and insightful thinking will wish more had been written down so that others could know the man and not the portrait painted by others.</span></strong></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;">Goodbye my friend, I hope you have found your tribe in heaven and are resting easy.</span></strong></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></strong></div><div align="center"><div align="left"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><u><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><u><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Also by Dindy Yokel: </span></u></span></strong></u></div><strong><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2009_v8_n4/schrufer-yokelfinster.htm" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Paradise Gardens of Howard Finster</a></span></span></strong></span></div><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-weight: normal;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2007_v6_n3/schrufer-purvisyoung.htm" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">The Art of Purvis Young</a></span></span></strong></span></div></span></strong><strong><div style="text-align: left;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-weight: normal;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><a href="http://www.artsandopinion.com/2008_v7_n1/schrufer-quilts.htm" style="color: #003399; font-family: 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; text-decoration: none;">Quilts and Quips</a></span></span></strong></span></div></strong><u></u><br />
<div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><strong><span style="font-family: 'Arial Narrow'; font-size: small;"><br />
</span></strong></div></div><div align="left" style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Images are courtesy of Doug Hirsch.</span></div></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-85085939598199148142010-05-03T10:58:00.003-04:002010-05-03T10:58:35.545-04:00Kim Severson to Read from New Memoir on May 5 at Decatur Library<a href=http://www.examiner.com/x-12064-Atlanta-Literature-Examiner~y2010m5d3-Kim-Severson-to-Read-from-New-Memoir-on-May-5-at-Decatur-Library>Kim Severson to Read from New Memoir on May 5 at Decatur Library</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-81546265799133421522010-05-03T10:58:00.001-04:002010-05-03T10:58:09.350-04:00Author Jean Kwok To Read on Tuesday, May 4 at DeKalb Public Library<a href=http://www.examiner.com/x-12064-Atlanta-Literature-Examiner~y2010m5d2-Author-Jean-Kwok-To-Read-on-Tuesday-May-4-at-DeKalb-Public-Library>Author Jean Kwok To Read on Tuesday, May 4 at DeKalb Public Library</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-92070783058954018402010-05-03T10:57:00.003-04:002010-05-03T10:57:36.439-04:00Kim Severson to Read from New Memoir on May 5 at Decatur Library<a href=http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12064-Atlanta-Literature-Examiner~y2010m5d3-Kim-Severson-to-Read-from-New-Memoir-on-May-5-at-Decatur-Library>Kim Severson to Read from New Memoir on May 5 at Decatur Library</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2356720655806146685.post-28794645440669864242010-05-03T10:57:00.001-04:002010-05-03T10:57:36.203-04:00Kim Severson to Read from New Memoir on May 5 at Decatur Library<a href=http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-12064-Atlanta-Literature-Examiner~y2010m5d3-Kim-Severson-to-Read-from-New-Memoir-on-May-5-at-Decatur-Library>Kim Severson to Read from New Memoir on May 5 at Decatur Library</a><br /><br />Posted using <a href="http://sharethis.com">ShareThis</a><div class="blogger-post-footer">?alt=rss</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15721479467653885056noreply@blogger.com0