Saturday, January 31, 2009

Knights of the Guild


Been a super busy day today.. but in a good way.

Lots of Guild podcast news... first we got our drawing that we commissioned from the say person who did the drawings for The Guild cast. It turned out great (even thought I don't think I'm that large).

Second Jenni came over to record a promo and our first episode. After a rough start, trying to get skype to work so we could do an interview with Dani (Guild fan) every went smooth. Jenni and I just clicked.. we laughed and told stories and played off each other very well.

Third I cut the promo together

And Fourth, I finished the podcast website, which you can view here. I think it turned out great. I then uploaded the promo podcast to the website and also uploaded it to itunes for review. Once the approve the podcast you'll be able to subscribe to it on itunes.

Next up I have to do an interview with a crew member (Director Sean) and a cast member which I have figured out yet. Then I can cut the first episode together and post it up by Feb 15th.

It was a great day today.. lots of fun and I'm really looking forward to continuing this podcast for many years.

Cezanne "Bathers at Rest" at Barnes


Each time I go to the Barnes Foundation, as I did yesterday, I am almost overwhelmed by the Cezanne paintings (also by the Renoirs, the Matisses, the Picassos, the Rousseaus, the Van Goghs, the El Grecos, even the Glackens', etc.). There are so many Cezannes, and they span his career so there are different styles, that I come away awestruck again. Deja vu as they say.


Cezanne painted many subjects, landscapes, still life, portraits, and nudes (often bathers). Each type of subject has its own charms and contribution to his style. Today I am featuring a fairly well-known painting from 1875-1876 called Bathers at Rest. The male bathers lounging around a pond with Mont Sainte-Victoire, a frequent subject of Cezanne's landscapes, in the background, was groundbreaking in composition, color, and paint-handling when it was shown at the Third Impressionist Exhibition in 1877. It's one to be seen in person.


You can see some of my 3-D mixed media paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Got anything good to eat?

You're home from school and you are one hungry person, aren't you? What to eat? Chips? Candy bar? No. If you're going to eat something, make it at least a little healthy. How about a fast, fried burrito? Here's the easy recipe:

Take a flour tortilla and a can of refried beans. Smear a few tablespoons of beans on the tortilla. Then sprinkle some shredded cheese over the top - doesn't matter what kind.

Now add any of these that sound good to you:

chopped onions
black olives
chopped green chilis
picante sauce
sour cream
corn

Or if you want to get wild, try any of one these:

chopped pickles
tuna fish
leftover stir-fry rice
french fries
spaghetti sauce
scrambled eggs

Hey, be bold, you never know what kind of a great dish you'll be inventing!

Now fold the sides over about an inch, and roll them up length-wise.

Repeat once or twice more until you think you'll have enough burritos to get rid of that growling belly.

The best part is next. Get a frying pan and melt a little butter or oil or both - about one tablespoon coating the bottom of the pan - and add the rolled up, stuffed tortillas to the pan. Fry over medium-low heat until the bottom is lightly browned, then flip and brown that side. Frying them makes all the difference in yummy factor.

You can slice these up as snacks to dip in picante sauce or sour cream. Or you can just wrap them up in a paper towel and munch on them whole while you're reading that great new ebook you just got. Nom nom. Have a glass of milk with that, and maybe an apple to munch on after and you're good for a few hours.

Don't worry if you make too many burritos to eat in one sitting. They're pretty filling. Just save the leftovers and take one to school tomorrow.

What's your favorite tasty, easy-to-make, and healthy after-school favorite? Leave us a comment. We just might just put together a little Teen Foods recipe book if we get lots of great ideas to share.

Friday, January 30, 2009

One of "those" days

Today started off bad, just a bunch of little things that didn't go right. I knew then I should have just gone back to bed.. but of course that was not a choice. And it just go worse from there. Work was a total crazy hectic mad house. Onlines, outputs, DVD's, schedules, computer issues, lap tops breaking, internet going down and the list goes on and on. Needless to say when 6:30pm came around I was ready to go home and put an end to this horrible day.

A Bright Spot

When I got home from that horrible day there was a package for me. I finally got my Star Trek The Next Generation figures that I ordered over a year and a half ago. Ensign Ro, Dr. Crusher, Nurse Ogawa and Chief O'Brien. So with those figures and watching one of my all time favorite TNG episodes my horrible day ended on a very bright note...

Barnes Foundation - Picasso, Renoir, Matisse, and Cezanne


Today I'm at the Barnes Foundation in Merion PA. It's a great way to celebrate my birthday! I love being at the Barnes. I feel so good, and inspired too. In case you don't know, the collection included the largest number of Matisse paintings in any collection in the world, 59. I believe it also has the largest number of Cezanne paintings in any collection in the world at 69. The Barnes also has by far the largest number of Renoir paintings in any collection in the world at an astounding 181.


Almost missed in the excitement over Renoir, Cezanne, and Matisse is the large number of significant Picasso paintings, 46. That's a huge number by any standard. There are also paintings by El Greco, Titian, Rubens, Degas, Van Gogh, Rousseau, Seurat, Soutine, Modigliani, Manet, Monet, and American Horace Pippin of West Chester PA. Here is the Barnes Foundation website: http://www.barnesfoundation.org/


I've featured one of my favorites, Matisse's Le Bonheur de Vivre (The Joy of Life) several times in the past, so today I'll show Modigliani's Reclining Nude From The Back, painted in 1917.


You can view some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Pixie Preview

It's Friday and I'm happy to jump back into Teen-Seen! Fridays were important to me during high school. As the marching band drum major, it meant a pep rally and a football game in the fall - preferably a home game where we could march the halftime show - and then getting goofy after the game while not getting caught doing anything too troublesome. In the winter, we took a pep band to the basketball games - lots of fun! - followed by more goofiness. This Friday is great because I'm leaving for the beach to relax and brainstorm with a writing buddy. I don't plan on swimming at this time of year, but we'll have fun walking and watching the waves for dolphins.

What's your favorite way to spend a Friday?


Since Pixie Chicks is a short story (and a heck of a value at only $2!) I chose an excerpt from page 5 rather than page 59:

While Austin confirmed the evening's details once more, Brie opened the instrument locker they shared, reaching past the flutes, piccolo, and text books to find her brush. Checking the small mirror, she tucked away the platinum blonde wisps already working free of her barrette. When the first bell sounded, the four girls walked as a unit from the band room, toward their respective homerooms. Brie sighed, relieved she'd dodged an inquisition when Claire asked, "Where's your necklace?"

"Oh!" She patted herself where the pendant should've been. "Must've forgotten it." The second bell sounded, momentarily saving her from the slew of questions dancing in Claire's vivid green eyes. "Later," she mouthed.

The pendant she'd won for outstanding service to the band program in junior high had been around her neck every day since. Until that chilling moment today, when she'd found a cut and paste 'ransom' note stuck to her dresser where she always placed her necklace at bedtime.

There are four girls in the group, Brianna (Brie), Claire, Lana, and Austin. They've been friends practically forever and know each other inside and out. Platinum-headed Brie is the plotter of the team – a responsible kid but she's got a gift for organizing and a way of turning everything into an adventure. Trust me, all the girls noticed the absence of the ever-important necklace and you'll enjoy the journey she makes to recover it.

Just for fun, here are some answers to FAQ about the Pixie Chicks:


Ms. Black, did you have a pack of friends like the Pixie Chicks in high school?

Well, you have to realize dinosaurs roamed the earth during my teen years. The pterodactyl patrol made it especially difficult for us band geeks to sneak into our Hobbitville.

Do any of the Pixie Chicks have a greyhound?

Not yet, but stay tuned for an unforgettable appearance of a 'greyt' dog. You can read about the many real dogs in my life at my website.

Who is your favorite Pixie?

Oh, not fair! I'd happily count any of them as a friend – or even a daughter. Although, when you factor in Lana's insomnia...

Happy Friday!

Regan

Pixies are shaking things up at Quake!

Springs in science.





In Friday's showing assembly we talked about springs and showed examples of the different kinds of springs there are to be found in everyday objects.We learnt that there are two main types of springs. Compression springs as used in biros and staplers, and extension springs as used in trampolines and Newton meters.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Who's Who in Renoir's The Luncheon of the Boating Party


First, here's a link to Renoir's The Luncheon of the Boating Party on the website of the Phillips Collection which I featured in my post on Tuesday. http://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/boating/index.aspx


Second, on Tuesday I mentioned that art history people know the identity of all the people pictured in Renoir's The Luncheon of the Boating Party. Here's a link to the info. http://www.phillipscollection.org/collection/boating/whoswho.aspx Also, I'm including the diagram here, and the text below.
"The Luncheon of the Boating Party includes youthful, idealized portraits of Renoir's friends and colleagues as they relax at the Maison Fournaise restaurant. Wearing a top hat, the amateur art historian, collector, and editor Charles Ephrussi (8) speaks with a younger man in a more casual brown coat and cap. He may be Ephrussi's personal secretary, Jules Laforgue (5), a poet and critic.

At center, the actress Ellen Andrée (6) drinks from a glass. Across from her in a brown bowler hat is Baron Raoul Barbier (4), a bon vivant and former mayor of colonial Saigon. He is turned toward the smiling woman at the railing, thought to be Alphonsine Fournaise (3), the proprietor's daughter. She and her brother, Alphonse Fournaise, Jr. (2), who handled the boat rentals, wear straw boaters'. They are placed within, but at the edge of, the party. At the upper right, the artist Paul Lhote (12) and the bureaucrat Eugène Pierre Lestringuez (11) seem to be flirting with actress Jeanne Samary (13).
In the foreground, Renoir included a youthful portrait of his fellow artist, close friend, and wealthy patron, Gustave Caillebotte (9), who sits backwards in his chair and is grouped with the actress Angèle (7) and the Italian journalist Maggiolo (10). Caillebotte, an avid boatman and sailor, wears a white boater's shirt and flat-topped boater's. He gazes at a young woman cooing at her dog. She is Aline Charigot (1), a seamstress Renoir had recently met and would later marry. "
You can view some of my shaped 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

Searching For A Starry Night on Grill Today at Book Roast blog

Hear that sizzle?

I'm being roasted, grilled and put to the test today. Come see what's cooking today at the Book Roast blog.

Stop by and read a new excerpt from Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery.

** Visitors can take a chance! Answer a question at the Book Roast blog and you may win a copy of Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery or get a copy from Quake.

See you at the grill and bring your chef's hat. It seems to be up late so stop by mid-morning.

Foiled!!

Today I foiled the desk of my friend Will. A few weeks ago we were talking during lunch about practical jokes. He kept saying how good he was at it. Well when we got back he pulled a minor joke on another co worker of ours. She then came into my office and said we have to prank Will. So several weeks passed by and the day final came. Will have an appointment and left the office around 10am and wasn't expected to come back till 11:30am. So I hatched my plan. I purchased five rolls of aluminum foil and wrapped every single item on his desk. Computer, keyboard, mouse, mouse pad, pens, papers, post its, wires, coffee cup and even the coffee stirrer. If it was on his desk it was wrapped in foil.

Well he came back to his desk and had the biggest smile on his face. Of course he knew it was me who did it and proclaimed that he would have his revenge. So now I sit and wait for something to happen to me....

El Greco and Goya at the Phillips

The Phillips Collection, which I visited on Saturday in Washington DC, calls itself "a museum of both modern art and its sources." Some of its sources are old masters including El Greco and Goya who painted the same dramatic subject, "The Repentant St. Peter," about 200 years apart.



The top painting is by Doménikos Theotokópoulos, known as El Greco, painted in 1600-1605. The lower painting is by Francisco Jose de Goya painted in 1820-1824. They are displayed in the same huge gallery with a number of other older paintings by famous artists, but at different ends of the gallery. Both are very powerful paintings when seen in person. I hope you take the opportunity to see them at the Phillips Collection.
You can view some of my 3-D mixed media paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

More Guildie Podcast Stuff

After choosing a name for the podcast I had to go and build a website for it. So much stuff goes into creating a podcast that I never thought of. It's a fun process but some things cost money. I plan on putting up a paypal donation button on the site and hope folks enjoy the podcast and will make a donation to cover production costs. I decided to go with podbean.com as my podcast host. It's a very simple website and explains exactly how to create the webpage, offers templates and has a step by step instructions on how to upload you podcast to itunes. It was well worth the $50 bucks for the year. I'll post a link when it's closer to being finished.

Phillips Collection, Renoir


On Saturday I visited the Phillips Collection in Washington DC. I was struck again by what is perhaps their most famous painting, Luncheon of the Boating Party by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. It is large, animated, brilliantly colored, and depicts a fun scene with recognizable people (if you've studied impressionist art history) painted in 1880-1881. Every time I visit the Phillips Collection I am wowed by this painting. It's beautiful!
Of course, there are many other great paintings in the collection, ones you will recognize from art books you may have seen.

You can see some of my 3-D paintings on my website at www.jayrolfe.com/.

Introducing Sam Morton


Yo, yo! What Up? Slammin’ Sammy is in the hiz’ouse with a little sumpn, sumpn.

Okay, that’s the extent of my effort to be “hip.”

By way of introduction, I am Sam Morton, a member of the Quake team of teen fiction/young adult authors. I am a former professional wrestler, trained by the Fabulous Moolah who, for 25 years was the WWE women’s champion. For ten years I wrestled people like Wahoo McDaniel and Ivan Koloff. Out of the current crop of superstars, I wrestled two who are still around—Rob Van Dam and Viscera.

So how did I come into writing as a profession? Two words—Pat Conroy, author of such books as Beach Music and The Lords of Discipline (both Hollywood feature films). Conroy went to The Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina, and so did I. If you don’t consider yourself a reader, go to the library and pick up one of Conroy’s books. You will, as I did, immediately fall in love with words and language. He is a masterful writer. He’s a transformative writer. Read him, and your life will change. Mine did.

My first novel, Disavowed, came out in 2006. Besides being a pro wrestler, I was also a homicide cop for ten years. Disavowed is an adult crime novel, a police thriller based on my experience.

What made me want to try young adult fiction? Simple. I had a story to tell, and it has to do with a remarkable, inspirational 15-year-old young man named Austin Pierce Whetsell.

In my newest novel, Betrayed, (due out in August of 2009, BTW), it’s an election year and Senator Ben “Pitchfork” Stevens from Texas made a campaign promise to stop illegal immigration. He virtually has. Problem is, people trying to cross the border seem to disappear. That’s a dilemma for 15-year-old Austin Pierce whose father is a political consultant and whose best friend, Rico Alvarez, happens to be in the United States illegally. When Austin discovers Rico’s beautiful cousin Veronica helps people cross over illegally, he faces a decision: should he help his friends or help the FBI to stop the senator? Either path could lead to danger, even death.

The real Austin went on a mission trip to help renovate a church in Mexico. Just before the work week began, he and the guys from his youth group decided to go swimming in the ocean. Before heading to the beach, Austin called his grandfather to tell him about the trip so far. At the end of that call, he said, “Grandpa, what if God intends me to do this the rest of my life?” Two hours later, Austin was gone forever, caught in a rip current and swept out to sea.

His last words haunt me and I knew his story needed to be told, his spirit of helping others carried forward. And so, Austin Pierce, the teen spy, was born. Betrayed is only book one from The Austin Files. Look for another adventure to soon follow, thus Austin Whetsell and the example he set lives on.

You may find it surprising that adults could find true inspiration in the example of young adults. But if you’re a teen reading his, give yourself more credit. There are people around you with incredible courage, resolve, and determination. And if you look inside, you just may find it in yourself.

Monday, January 26, 2009

Berthe Morisot

This week has been one of those weeks that we all occasionally have. I seem to have spent all my days running around, firstly with the exhibition we have on at the moment, secondly with trying to get my visa and passport in order so that I can leave next week and thirdly with all the shopping I've had to do - that was nice though, I love buying presents to take over. The shop assistants think you're nuts when you test the weight of each thing you buy! And on top of that, the weather has been energy draining hot!

I've started a few paintings in between all the chaos, but nothing is finished. I was looking at Jo Ann Elig's blog at a recent post when she did a copy of a well known American artist, William Merritt Chase's work. In class about two months ago, we were given a project to also do a Master, so I thought, in lieu of not having a really new painting to post, I would put this up.

It's a copy of a Berthe Morisot painting, Lady at her Toilette and I found it one of the most difficult things to do - copy another's work. In the end, you tend to put a bit of yourself into it and it shows if you go to the original.

The Princess Litmus Test

I'm by no means the first person to note the problems with what fairy-tales could be teaching kids. Veritably, fairy-tales are rife with infanticide (Hansel and Gretel), incest (Many Furs), cannibalism (Hansel and Gretel again), genetic determinism based on birth order (anything featuring a Seventh-Son or -Daughter) and maleficent or outright murderous step-family (Cinderella, Snow White, etc.). Some of the more unpalatable devices have been omitted from public consumption in recent years; for instance, it's difficult to find a current copy of Cinderella, which depicts the public torture of the evil-stepmother and -stepsisters which featured at the end of original versions. In another act of housekeeping by Disney, Ariel the Little Mermaid traded her voice for legs, whilst Hans Christian Andersen's Little Mermaid endured legs which were paid for in agonising pain - every step she took on them was enchanted to feel that she was walking on upturned knives.

What the modern fairy-tales don't omit, however, is what I consider to be the most dangerous device of all - the notion of innate royalty. And, more frighteningly, how royalty is operationalised to children to, socialised by ideas of tiaras, pretty dresses, castles and white horses, are taught to aspire to it.

The Princess and the Pea instructs young readers that a Princess can easily be identified from a "commoner" through the application of a simple test - a Princess Litmus Test - where she is put to bed on a boiled pea beneath twenty mattresses and twenty feathered-eiderdowns. The take-home points from this engaging story, regarding the properties of a Princess (that is, as repeatedly emphasised, a true Princess), are as follows:

a) She will be beautiful (with tiny hands and feet, flaxen hair, and skin as white as milk, in most translations), mild-mannered, and pliable enough to allow herself to be subjected to bizarre experiments designed to determine her lineage.
b) She will be "delicate" - to the point where she is unable to sleep on a boiled pea, even when this pea is underneath twenty mattresses and twenty eiderdowns.
c) She will suffer from a bizarre skin condition which will cause her to break out in bruises after spending a sleepless night in said pea/mattress/eiderdown arrangement.
d) She will complain heartily of her mental and physical stress from the event, in front of the people who did her a favour by putting her up for the night.
ERGO: This will hook her a royal wedding and "happily ever after", as only a true Princess could exhibit such delicacy and fragility.

Take-home points for little girls (who are taught to idolise Princesses) include:

a) Princesses really are a whole different species to you and me.
b) Princesses are, without question, beautiful (and blonde, and thin, and white).
c) Princesses should not be able to cope with anything.
ERGO: The ultimate aspiration presented to little girls is to be pretty, wear a nice dress, and marry a prince after demonstrating the ultimate in physical inferiority and self-indulgent hysteria over creature comforts.

Recently, when I asked some little girls I was taking care of for the afternoon what they wanted to play. The answer was, of course, "Princesses!", and was the same when I asked what they wanted to be when they grew up. I caught myself, for one moment, trying to explain to a five-year old in a pink tulle dress-up skirt that Princesses are just like you and me, but with more expensive outfits.

"They're not," I explained,"really any different to other people. You're just the same as them."

The little girl didn't believe me. Why would she, when everyday, imagined princesses are presented to her in their rosy, golden glory, complete with storybook Prince. I suddenly had a sneaky idea. I pulled out a glossy magazine from another room, and flicked through until I found a royal; Princess Beatrice, looking pallid and unattractive at a London event.

The little girls were unanimous in declaring that she didn't look like a Princess at all. Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, playing with her children in a parka on a beach, was judged the same way. In fact, the only person that the little girls agreed did look like a Princess was Hilary Duff, in a pink dress on a red carpet.

Even real Princesses were failing the Litmus Test.

In the end, I don't think I managed to rid those little girls of their illusions about royalty. In their hearts, they know quite well that Princesses are beautiful, pink-clad, and better than real people. Instead, I think that the only take-home point I provided to the little girls that day was that they wanted to be Hilary Duff. OK by me, so long as it doesn't imply skin trauma from sleeping on a boiled legume.

An Interview with Marlis Day



You can buy The Secret of Bailey's Chase by clicking here.

Naming my Podcast

I am starting a podcast for The Guild. I'll be co-hosting it with my friend Jenni. Both her and I are fans of the Guild and worked on season two together. We are trying to come up with a name of the podcast. I put out several requests for names on several forums and today Jenni and I finally picked a name for the podcast.

We decided to go with Knights of the Guild. Out of all the names given this one we both felt told people what it was about and gave a nod to the die hard fans as the guild's guild name is The Knights of Good.

So the full title is Knights of the Guild: The Official Fan Podcast of the webseries The Guild.

National Portrait Gallery


I spent the weekend in Washington DC visiting art museums, one of my favorite pastimes. My photo of the day is one I had another visitor take of me at the National Portrait Gallery. You probably read in the newspaper that this iconic portrait of Barack Obama was recently donated to the National Portrait Gallery. It's a mixed media stenciled collage by Los Angeles artist Shepard Fairey.

You can view some of my 3-D paintings at www.jayrolfe.com/.

News!


J says "You got a scoop!" I say, I read a sign on the front of a building.

Either way, it looks like Le Pain Quotidien, the Belgian bistro that popped up in Georgetown in 2007, is spreading into the Commonwealth. You may or may not remember that I wasn't particularly smitten with it on my first visit. Located at 2900 Clarendon Boulevard above the Gold's Gym in a space that had been empty foooreeeeveeeeer, LPQ will be a welcome addition to the Clarendon neighborhood. Yes, the sandwiches were small and weird and maybe even overpriced, but the bread was DELICIOUS. It would be nice to know that I can swing by a neighborhood spot to pick up a quality bread or even a pastry! The Whole Foods bakery is so hit or miss (the babka shouldn't even be allowed to bear the name "babka" it's such an embarrassment, and don't get me started on the DISGUSTING pumpkin pie we bought in December) that we're aching for some quality over here.

Maybe it'll come. I'll certainly let you know.

Le Pain Quotidien

Coming soon to 2900 Clarendon Blvd
Metro: Orange Line to Clarendon

Sunday, January 25, 2009

What do you think of 'zines?

We're trying one out for Team Quake news and you can take a peek at our first Aftershock by clicking here.

If you want to sign up for the 'zine mailing list, you can go here. As a bonus for signing up, you'll get a free pdf of Death Match by Quake author, Sam Morton. It's an especially good read for guys who like wrestling, and it's got a scary real-life challenge in it, too. Happy ending though.

If you liked that read, you can take a look at some more of our downloads at the Quake Publishing site.

How do you read your downloads? Leave us a comment here.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

Skype Chat / One Year Anniversary

Today we had a skype chat with some members of the Treks in Sci Fi forums. Today is The Ready Room's one year anniversary. The Ready Room, if you don't know, is the podcast I do every week about the role playing game that we play on Treksf. It was alot of fun as we got alot of people to join us. You can check out the Treks in Sci Fi Forums here. We recorded this skype call and turned it into podcast.

Cynthia's Attic: Curse of the Bayou

Curse of the Bayou is book three in the award-winning young reader time-travel series, Cynthia's Attic.

Hope you enjoy reading page 59!
------------------------
Twelve-year-old best friends travel through the magic trunk in Cynthia's attic to a 1914 Louisiana bayou searching for Cynthia's great-grandfather, Beau Connor. Discovering a connection between Beau and Buzzard Jack LaBuse, the meanest, orneriest pirate this side of the Mississippi, leads to a heart-stopping confrontation to recover a long-lost treasure and lift a family curse.
------------------------------------------


Curse of the Bayou: Page 59

How do you reckon they got here, son?"

"Like I told you, Ma, I found them here in the hayloft, all nestled down like they were fixin' to take a nap."

"Well, what do you suppose we should do? Wake them, or let them sleep? I hate to disturb those angelic faces…oh, my heavens! Jay! You don't think they're dead, do you?"

I heard the word, dead, and sat straight up. "No! We're not dead, and who are you?"

"Now, listen here. I'll do the talking if you don't mind."

A tall, thin young man in overalls, resting one arm on a pitchfork, looked down at us. With that deadly weapon in his grasp, I decided to shut my mouth…for the moment.

"What? Where are we?" Cynthia regained consciousness and did a double-take.

A plump, older woman in a huge white apron answered, "You're on the Conner farm, dearie. I'm Samantha Conner and this is my son, Jay.

No wonder Cynthia was speechless. I wasn't too familiar with her mother's family, but their name was Conner, and I'd heard mention of Samantha, Cynthia's great-grandmother. Her grandfather was nicknamed Jay by his dad who thought that 'John Joseph' was too showy for a farmer's son. This might also explain why the man we were looking for, her great-grandfather, Aloysius Beauregard Conner, went by Beau.

-----------------------------------
And that's a sampling of Mary Cunningham Books

To purchase Cynthia's Attic: Curse of the Bayou, click here

Friday, January 23, 2009

Long Work Day

I'm soooooooo tired, today I put in a 15 hour day.. I haven't done that in a while. Now that we are delivering episodes to the network work is going to be getting a bit more hectic.

Well, duh, moment on the grey pics. Here's 0ur current king of the couch. He's been with us for six years and is as relaxed and lovable and goofy as they come. He thinks it's his job to teach all the fosters how to bark (greys aren't usually big on the barking).
It's kinda hard to believe from this view, but the new foster girl (just two years old) likes to climb up and annoy him into moving. With characters like this in my world, it's no wonder they find their way into my stories.

Woof to all the pets who like to cuddle with us while we read!
Regan
Power up your inner Pixie!
The Pixie Chicks is now available at Quake!

Prepare for Pixies

Four very different girls are best friends and so inseparable the drum major for the marching band dubbed them The Pixie Chicks when they were freshmen. Together they face the typical challenges of high school (homework and guys) and the atypical mysteries of the secret band hangout known as Hobbitville (how DO those statues become portals?)

Inspiration for the series came from my teenage nights spent sneaking about my hometown on several covert missions through a very unique neighbor's garden. I don't think there's a statute of limitations on trespassing, but still - Shhh, don't tell! No, sadly in our case the garden statuary didn't transport us to other cool gardens, or launch us into curious mysteries, but the risky fun we had made for great adventures – at least in our minds. LOL.

Naturally, each of the characters has their own issues and agendas, but one of my favorite quirks is Austin's ability to know every detail about every hot guy in the vicinity. The other Pixies find this informative and amusing, and more than a little scary. After all, Austin doesn't look like a stalker!

As for me, Regan, I'll be posting to the Teen Seen on Fridays. You can wait for blurbs here, or find out more about me and my books at my website. For example: we foster retired racing greyhounds (you can expect a few to pop up in future Pixie tales), have two keeper greyhounds at the moment, two cats, a parakeet (who is sure he's a small, feathered person) and two finches. It's a little like Noah's ark meets a petting zoo, without the admission fee (or the reptiles). Hmmm...maybe I should change that - the fee, not the reptiles!

Happy reading,


Regan

_________________


To buy this $2 e-book click here!


Thursday, January 22, 2009

Obama's Agenda

Today I came across President Obama's Agenda and several things caught my eye. Under his civil rights section here is a "Support for the LGBT Community". And he mentioned one item that were very important to Harry and I.

Support Full Civil Unions and Federal Rights for LGBT Couples:
President Obama supports full civil unions that give same-sex couples legal rights and privileges equal to those of married couples. Obama also believes we need to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and enact legislation that would ensure that the 1,100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions. These rights and benefits include the right to assist a loved one in times of emergency, the right to equal health insurance and other employment benefits, and property rights.

Many of you know Harry is from Austria and because of the DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) I could never sponsor Harry as my civil partner. We have been dealing with Harry's immagration status now for five years and if Obama acutally reverses this law it will open doors that he and I never though possible. If this does happen it will change Harry and my life forever.

Kids (& Characters) Just Wanna Have Fun

I'm working on a long-belated project - digging out photos of the miniatures that are mentioned in my book, Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery. Okay, call it a "forgotten" project, coming soon to a blog near you.

This got me thinking about the kinds of things we do in our spare time for fun. Characters, too. After all, who wants to read about someone that does absolutely nothing? BO-RING!

Being curious, my character, Sam and her bff Lita, find themselves enjoying their search for the missing miniature replica of Van Gogh's famous painting, "Starry Night." (That's it pictured. Yes, it's a real oil painting done by an artist. See some other Van Gogh related things in miniature at my blog).

When they finally get into the cranky housekeeper's home by a ruse Sam thought was pretty clever (at first), they discover a whole new world, okay, a small world.

You see, the housekeeper Mrs. Drake is a dollhouse miniatures collector. Why? Because I the author am, too.

The fun of writing is being able to share your own interests, and let the characters - and you, the reader - explore new places, things, and ideas. Even the characters get to have fun and "play" a little.

Life - fictional and real - shouldn't be all work, and no play. So, don't forget to have some fun today, okay?

* Your Turn: What's your hobby? What do you like to do in your spare time?

-- Christine Verstraete is author of Searching For A Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery

You can buy the book by clicking here.

BlackSalt


When I read this Five Bites Friday over at Metrocurean, I saw some words that spoke to me. "Sticky buns" and "jazz brunch." I decided that for your benefit, dear readers, I would investigate BlackSalt immediately.

First, on "jazz." There was jazz music playing, but it wasn't live (Boston, you win this round). Maybe there is live music sometimes, and I just misunderstood.

Second part was more successful. The sticky buns were delightful. Not too big, not *too* sticky (there is such a thing)--the perfect appetizer. Nuts were on top and inside the soft, flaky pastry. These buns were not dense or heavy; this isn't Cinnabon and we aren't at the Chesapeake House.

J's house-cured corned beef with cabbage and cabernet jus was a melt-in-your-mouth, lick-the-sauce-off-your-plate situation. The cabbage provided a little crunch, a fried egg and some potatoes on the side provided the balance, and the whole thing was a surprise; I'm pretty sure this was the one dish on the main brunch menu that didn't appear in the online version. His second choice was the chocolate-stuffed french toast, which will just need to wait until our next visit. Take some sweet-toothed people to brunch with you so you can have a few bites of theirs!


I had the three egg omelet with goat cheese, arugula, and mushrooms. It's not rocket science, so it was good, but I didn't care for the side salad of lame frisee and other stuff. It tasted like oil and wasn't seasoned at all. The wood-grilled salmon was my second choice, but I was feeling more breakfasty than that--this should come as no surprise, considering I eat breakfast for dinner quite often. If I was more health-to-the-wind I would have had the sticky buns (not shared) and twice as much coffee for my breakfast.

For those who aren't familiar, BlackSalt is a fish market/restaurant. You get to see some good-lookin' sea friends on your way in and out!

The service was friendly and properly attentive, and we were surprised with complimentary fruit (in lieu of rolls, which would have paled against the buns) before our brunch arrived. And of course, after eating, you should go for a walk/drive around the neighborhood and pick out which house you want.

BlackSalt

4883 MacArthur Blvd NW
Washington, DC
Metro: Hm...
BlackSalt Fish Market & Restaurant on Urbanspoon

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Introductions


I’ve posted on this blog before, but it’s been a while, and since you’re going to be seeing a lot more of me here, I figured I’d do some introductions. These sorts of things are always easier to do in an interview format, but, unfortunately, my husband is busy watching Gettysburg and my pets are, rather fortunately, still without human speech. So, I’ve decided to interview myself.

Me: Thanks so much for being here today, Jackie.
Me: And thank you for having me, Jackie. It’s my pleasure.

Me: So, tell me a little about myself.
Me: Well, I like to tell people I’m first and foremost an author. I have a great book in print, published by Quake, called Surviving Serendipity. It’s a YA fantasy about a young woman who finds out she isn’t who—or even what—she thought she was on her 21st birthday, and then, while she’s still recovering from that little shock, has to save the world.
I’m also working on getting my werewolf thriller trilogy and YA supernatural romance published. Until Oprah starts returning my calls, though, I’m still holding down a day job as a professional vampire; or, to say it in Latin, a phlebotomist.

Me: So, why YA?
Me: Honestly, it’s kind of subconscious. I originally wrote Surviving Serendipity as an adult novel, but my publisher put forth the idea of marketing it as a YA novel. And when I sat down and thought about it, I realized, you know what? This works! I’m still very much a teenager at heart; you can usually find me on the weekends in jeans and a tee from Threadless with some smart alecky saying on the front.
To go a little deeper, I had an absolutely miserable time in high school, so much so that I didn’t even attend my own graduation ceremony—I couldn’t wait another minute to get out of that place. Books were my escape. I could follow along with characters who were ordinary on the outside, but had a special secret or talent that led them on amazing adventures. Imagining I was like that, too, was one of the only things that got me through. Those are the kind of stories I still love, and so I write them, too…and a part of me hopes that it gives a teen who’s currently going through the same stuff I did something to draw on to get them through the next day.

Me: So, what’s it like, being an author?
Me: Well, for me, it’s equal parts rock star and reality check. When I do book festivals and in-person events, I never get tired of hearing, “Wow. You’re the author?” But there’s a lot of work involved, nasty dirty work like marketing and promotion. Writing the book is the easy part.

Me: So, where can people buy your book?
Me: Lots of places! You can go here, which is the direct site of Quake. You can also get it on Amazon, and if your local bookstore doesn’t have it, they can order it for you. And if you’re lucky enough to live in South Carolina, I’ll be at the South Carolina Book Festival in Columbia, SC, February 28-March 1.

Me: So, when will we see you again?
Me: I’ll be here the first and third Monday of every month. I also have my own blog, Serendipitous Times. Plus, you can:
Visit my website, SylvaniaMania.
Be my friend on MySpace and Facebook.
Follow me on Twitter.

And don’t forget—there’ll be lots of other Quake authors showing up here, so make sure you subscribe and click on Follow Me in the left column!

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

A New Beginning

Today our 44th President took office. It’s been a day I have been waiting for, for 8 years. I am happy that Barack Obama won and we can finally get rid of one of the worse presidents in history.

President Obama has a very large task ahead of him and I don’t expect him to perform miracles but at least he can turn this country around and bring back hope and prosperity.

I stayed home an extra hour this morning so I could listen to his swearing in. It was such a monumental event and in the future I’ll be able to say I was here when our first black president took this country out of the darkness and brought it back into the light. Of course we have to see if he holds true to his promises, but there is something about this man that when he speaks, you know he speaks the truth. Here’s a fantastic four years!!!!

Happy Birthday Tom

Happy Birthday to one of my closest friends and former boyfriend. And to the ordained minister who married Harry and I last August. Thanks for always being there for me. Hope you have a great day.

My First Blog

Hi,

I'm writing from cold, icy Indiana, wondering why I'm here when I could be in Florida or Arizona. Oh yes, I just remembered. It's because my family lives near me and I would miss them too much if I left this area. Oh well, winter affords a great time to write.

I'm in the process of promoting my new middle-age novel, The Secret of Bailey's Chase. I've been calling schools and inviting myself to come for a visit. So far, I have plans to visit a few places this spring when the weather breaks. In the meanwhile, I'll keep working on the sequel.

Cheers,
Marlis Day
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
To buy this book click here.

Monday, January 19, 2009

Glimpse into Missing

Okay, here's a treat for you.

In just a couple short weeks, Echelon Press will introduce the anthology Missing at the Love is Murder Conference in Chicagoland. I'm all excited because it will include a story of mine with the characters from my Adventures of Guy series.

All of the stories are about missing people, and all profits will benefit a missing persons organization.

If you're like that kid before Christmas and you just can't wait, I'm gonna let you take a peek under the wrapping at my story.

And check back here soon - I'm going to post the beginning of Fang Face, humor and vampire and teens and all that.

Here goes:

The MisAdventures of Guy
By Norm Cowie

Thurman sipped his beer and tried to watch the blur of Umberto’s fingers on the frets. After a moment, he gave up and turned his attention back to the television. Umberto had exactly three talents. He was a physics whiz, he could wiggle his ears and he could play Guitar Hero like no one else.

Umberto’s fingers flew with the speed of gas stations raising prices through the twin power guitar solos of DragonForce’s Through the Fire and Flames. Though his fingers were going at warp speed, his face was serene and blissful.

“Know what, man?”

Okay, Umberto had a fourth talent. He could have a regular conversation even while shredding his way through some of the most insane guitar riffs in music history.

“No, what?” Thurman asked, taking another sip of his brewski. His eyes widened as Umberto frazzled his way through a particularly insane twist of chords. The extremely well endowed female demon on the screen pumped her fist in animatronic exultation.

“I was playing around with some stuff in the lab the last few weeks.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. And I think I made a breakthrough.”

“Uh, huh.” Thurman wasn’t really interested. Boring science stuff. He was way more interested in the female demon.

“Really, it was like we overlooked the absolute easiest way. I’m surprised no one thought of it before.”

“What’s that?” Thurman asked disinterestedly.

“Alternate fuel.”

“Alternate fuel?”

“Yeah. I discovered a solution that would totally enable us to replace fossil fuel. And the supply would be cheap, clean, environmentally friendly and work with an internal combustion engine.”
“What are you talking about?” Thurman said, finally interested. Even someone as marginally aware of events as Thurman knew how much a gallon of gas cost.

“Oil, man. We can get rid of oil.”

“Get rid of oil? But, but … how would the people at Exxon get by without their thirty nine billion dollars of annual profit?”

“Oh, poor Exxon,” Umberto snickered.

“Are you serious about all this?” Thurman asked.

“Yeah. It’s all in the transfer agent. All we had to do was find a plentiful energy supply and a way to transfer the energy.”

“So what’s the energy supply?”

“Cortisol.”

“Cortisol?”

“Yeah. Stress hormones.”

“What the heck are you talking about?!” Thurman asked, exasperated.

Umberto took his hand off his guitar and pointed triumphantly at Thurman.

“That!”

(All kinds of great authors in this anthology. Don't miss out! Order at www.echelonpress.com!)


Norm

www.normcowie.com
www.fangface.homestead.com

The Adventures of Guy
The Next Adventures of Guy
The Heat of the Moment
Missing (coming Feb 09)
Fang Face (humor vampire stuff, coming Aug 09!)

One More Day!!!

Today is the last day of having one of the worst and most unpopular presidents in United States history. Everyone rejoin.... the evil witch is dead. Let's start a new era for the country and it's people.

Listening Time


I love to eat, especially Italian food. Give me a bowl full of pasta, or a bowl full of basil, or a bowl full of pasta with basil, and I am good to go. I recently listened to a podcast from my (former) NPR member station, WNYC, with guest Pino Luongo, chef and NYC restauranteur. I recommend it! Click here to listen, or download from iTunes to your portable sound-musicky-thing-player!

And FYI, that gorgeous pizza on the upper right is attributed to J, not to Pino Luongo!

Sunday, January 18, 2009

Vengeance Is Mine Inc.

Life being what it is, one dreams of revenge.
-- Paul Gaugain

Just recently, I came across a short story by Roald Dahl entitled "Vengeance Is Mine, Inc.". The story centres around a couple of guys who think they can make a quick buck by carrying out revenge on behalf of third parties. You even get your choice of vengeance - with options ranging from a punch in the nose to letting a de-venomed rattlesnake loose in the car of the person who wronged you. Even though the scheme ultimately fails and drives the guys out of town, I couldn't help but think it was a bloody good idea for a business. It's probably a sad indictment of my personality that when Clever Boyfriend asked me if I had any New Year's Resolutions, I immediately thought of revenging myself upon an ex-boss who ruined my finances and self-esteem in 2008.

I've been warned that revenge is unsatisfying, but then again it can't be universally unsatisfying thanks to the numerous immortal quotes on the subject. For example, the Japanese say that revenge is a dish best served cold. The Talmud says that living well is the best revenge, and even JFK said "don't get mad, get even". Many others disagree, including Juvenal, who stated that revenge is for fools - but did express his belief that "noone rejoices in revenge more than woman".

Oh, snap.

Clever Father usually pledges the Eastern solution - don't fuck your karma up with hate, and forgive your enemies. In theory. He got the best quick revenge I've ever seen done - and enjoyed it enough to cast some serious doubt upon Juvenal's little theory of gender disparity.

Years ago, when I was a teenager, my parents lived in a semi-rural area, where you have to go up a long bush driveway to the house. It also happens to be near a church, so on Sundays the quiet little street is packed with cars. And one Sunday night there was a vicious thunderstorm. I had driven my old banger back from uni, squinting through the rain, only to find that someone had parked across our driveway, blocking access in and out as completely as if the road didn't exist. I swore and cursed a lot as I tried to rain-proof myself and my textbooks for the long walk up the driveway.

I needn't have bothered. I was soaked before I was halfway up. It was pitch dark, and impossible to avoid the ankle-deep puddles snaking through the mud driveway, which was half demolished with rain. By the time I got to the house, my books were stuck together. Clever Father opened the door for me with a bemused smile.

"Dad. Some complete prick has parked across our driveway."

"I know," he says, continuing to smile. "Did you get a look at his tyres?"

Dad hadn't gone so far as slashing them, but it turns out he had let them all down. We had a great laugh over that as I wrung the rain out of my hair and spread my notes in front of the heater to dry. Revenge can be extremely satisfying. Just watch Kill Bill. In this case though, revenge was best served smokin' hot.

So, would you be tempted to use a service such as Vengeance Is Mine Inc.?

And is Juvenal correct when he says that women enjoy vengeance more than men?

Visiting Dad and More Editing

Today I got up early and did some more editing of my Doctor Who podcast. It's very slow going but I'm shaving off minutes here and there.

Around lunchtime Harry and I headed over to visit my Dad, brother and sister-in-law. It was a nice visit. We took dad out to our favorite Chinese restaurant for lunch.

When I got back home I went back to editing the podcast. I finally got it down to 1 hour and 39 minutes. It's till over by 9 minutes but I can't cut anymore. I hope Rico will accept it at this length... I'm sure he will..

Kruger Park Lion

The Kruger National Park is one of the most wonderful, peaceful, tranquil places to visit. All you can do is drive around at 30 km (18 miles) per hour, looking for animals (usually the Big 5), go back to the camp at sunset and eat and sleep, to get up again at dawn and do the whole thing all over again.

It is many years since I was there, enjoying those incredible, warm, night time sounds of lions roaring softly, hyenas snuffling in the veld outside the camp and of course, the chirrup, chirrup of the crickets. Music to go to sleep by.

The beauty of the African bush is amazing as you can see from these pics taken by a friend of mine who goes there at least twice a year.


A river in the Kruger Park and a Leopard lazing in a tree

A baobab or upside down tree and Sunset over Sabie

While she was there she also took magnificent photos of a lion ambling across a bridge. He had all the time in the world as he knew that the traffic would stop for him - and he took full advantage. He is, after all, the King of the Jungle.

This is the painting I did of him as he got to the other side - the challenge in his eyes was unmistakable. Luckily there is a whole lot of motor car between the photographer and those teeth.

I must add here, that the likelihood of a lion attacking a human is very remote. But one never takes chances!

Saturday, January 17, 2009

Editing a Podcast

Some of you may know I help moderate a forums for the Treks in Sci Fi forums. It's also one of my favorite podcasts and I have been listening for years. Well Rico (the host) put the call out there for folks to take over a podcast once a month and me along with several other forum friends got together and recorded our thoughts on the New Doctor Who series.

I'm currently editing the 2 hour and 50 minute podcast down into a very tight 90 minutes, as this is the length Rico likes to keep his podcasts. I got up super early to start working on this and it's going very slowly. I'm having to cut alot of the fun banter and sample audio clips from the episodes. This is going to be tough..

Tom's Fantastic Four-ty Party

Today one of my good friends is having his 40th's birthday party. He's a geek like me so his theme is Fantastic Four and everyone is either wearing a superhero costume or t-shirt. Harry and I opted for the Superhero t-shirts. He's having at his boyfriend Ervin’s house, who is a doctor and lives up in the Los Feliz hills in a beautiful house that over looks Los Angeles, Hollywood and the Ocean.

The party was alot of fun but after four hours Harry and I were hungry (he supplied pizza and lasagna) which is great if you are not lactose intolerant. So Harry and I left to get some dinner. It was a fun night.

Friday, January 16, 2009

BSG Returns

After a seven-month hiatus, Battlestar Galactica returns for it's final 10 episodes of the series. Man did it not disappoint. No many answers but tons and tons of new stuff to think about. We find out who the final 5th cylon was and there is a shocking moment that made me jump up from the couch and screen NO!!!!!!! Can't wait for the final 9 episodes.

Sharing assembly 16-1-09





Y3G are finding out all about magnets and magnetism in science during the first half of this term. Kymani, Bernice, Charlie,Gracjan,Geevitha and Nathan talked about what our class had learnt during assembly. We had found out that most metals are non magnetic and only four are attracted to a magnet, two familiar metals iron and steel, and two not so familiar, nickel and cobalt.

Thursday, January 15, 2009

Farrah Olivia

We had an unbelievable meal at Farrah Olivia. Surprise and delight at every turn. I wish I could show you some PICTURES of the fabulousness, but therein lies my one complaint. It was so dark in the restaurant that the photos would have required flash--an amenity not available on the iPhone and honestly, even if I had my camera with me, it would have been a little inappropriate. J claims that the restaurant wasn't THAT dark, but we were in a very dark little corner. I could barely read the menu, but it probably doesn't matter because everything is good. I gather the menu changes often, for what's seasonable, what's fresh, and what has Chef Morou come up with today?! This is a man who was on Iron Chef (v. Bobby Flay, if you're wondering).

First, the amuse bouche--we were surprised by a gratis amuse of tortilla soup served in a double shot glass. The soup was served warm and tasted like if you had blended a really good taco and strained it finely. A very nice way to kick off the meal.*

The white grits appetizer were like little fritters with a soft center, very tasty. The painted soup was half smoky black bean soup and squash soup in a ying-yang design. The soup was hearty while being very smooth and refined. The smokiness of the bean soup and the sweetness of the squash soup created a delicious balance when taken together on the spoon.

The quail stuffed with chorizo and cranberries was unbelievable. The meat was tender and flavorful, the stuffing delicious, and of course, it was probably BEAUTIFUL, but I could just make out its outline!!! J got the cured venison; according to our server, the venison is brined for hours before it is cooked. It was served medium-rare along with sweet potato truffles (sweetly coated balls of sweet potato) some caramelized vegetables and a chocolate curry sauce. All of the elements of the dish worked well together. This was J's first foray into venison, after a honeymoon full of elk and bison. He says he is now "a big fan."

With an amusing amuse, delightful starters, and expectation-blasting entrees, we had to have dessert. I mean, we were celebrating--it was the week before my last final...

The pumpkin cheesecake tasted like pumpkin pie filling with the texture of cheesecake. Not too sweet, the way some flavor-y cheesecakes come out, and very creamy and light.

The chocolate peanut tart was, well, a thin chocolate tart with peanuts. It was the shape of an oversized but skinny (really, short) Reese's peanut butter cup. It was definitely dense and rich chocolate, as opposed to too sweet, and it was served with peanut brittle.

At the end of the meal while receiving the check we were presented with a surprise trio of tiny treats. Two chocolate truffles (very rich and delicious), two raspberry fruit gels (like the faux sugar coated fruit slices), and two small shortbread cookies. We barely had any room left in our stomachs, but it would be rude of us NOT to eat them, right?

We will be back to Farrah Olivia very soon. It was a delicious meal, from beginning to the very, very end. It cost a bit more than our usual date nights out, but not that much--and the superior quality of the food and the service more than makes up for the price difference; in fact, it makes the other places seem overpriced and not worth it. I'd rather go out less and eat at places like Farrah Olivia instead!

Farrah Olivia

600 Franklin Street
Alexandria, VA
Metro: Blue or Yellow Line to King Street Station

*Mr. iEat wrote lots of this post.

Free Bang Bros Full Length

The page is broken ...

“I must learn to love the fool in me the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries”

Theodore I. Rubin


Dramático título para add the first year.


And with the ease with which life passes ended in 2008.
With the end of the year and the beginning of the next opportunity we face and we have the perfect excuse to do the analysis that can readily be done every morning, every night before bed ... we can celebrate the holidays, provide for another year ended and hoped that the next one better.

We can also do the counting and acknowledge the successes, forgive mistakes, congratulate the right choices and missed opportunities reproach. We usually

devote more time to be spent on any other date to look in the mirror, to see who we are and who we project to be.

the turn of the page that symbolizes the new year we are full of hope and positive statements, sincere desire to fix errors or at least not to make them again.

aside the mentality that "everything is written" I prefer the idea that we are the authors of each page, the writers and protagonists of each story and that makes over the years it more difficult to turn the page of the year ends, we speak of 365 days of perfect moments, difficult moments of severe falls, lessons learned, tears and laughter, hugs and goodbyes, changes and challenges ... are 365 days of experience to which we must turn to start a new page.

Over the years it is less easy to change the page and there are times that we would like to eternal ... There are moments when we wish to stop time but there are moments that we would disappear, moments in which the skies were dark and confusing world. Store page of the book that we wrote during our life means keeping those paragraphs in which not everyone was happy ...

... and there are pages that break but never can boot.
There are paragraphs that can be crossed out and others that can be highlighted.

Sure there are mistakes that cost us relationships of various kinds. Sure there were mistakes of others who left deep wounds and errors that destroyed everything in its path, but we now have a window open and the opportunity to start a new page, we are free to keep in memory only appropriate paragraphs of the previous page and leave the past in place : on the previous page. These errors can therefore be hurt and broken pages ... pages that can break.

accepting our humanity but not thereby justifying our mistakes, we must accept that there will be battles won, battles lost and there will be battles to decide not fighting. There will be tears and laughter, welcome and farewell, and we can learn from every person, every situation. We once again believe in ourselves, in the universe ... believe in humanity and make us the greatest gift : A NEW OPPORTUNITY.

changes are imminent ... the world changes every second and we have the opportunity to change, to renew. This new page to write paragraphs may be filled with totally different from the previous one and that's what we can move each day. We have the power to change history, to change our history and build our destiny.

We believe the opportunity in every sunrise, every person, to remove the labels that have built up throughout life and believing in ourselves. We have the opportunity to understand, forgive and forgive us the opportunity to try again, to fight for what we believe and fight for ourselves. We have the opportunity to love, to love our mistakes, our shortcomings, to laugh at ourselves, the opportunity to accept as humans and make mistakes and try again, to work on our weaknesses and to congratulate our successes. We have the opportunity to take deep breaths every morning, to ask forgiveness, look at the sky and paint colors our world, the opportunity to take someone's hand, smiling to any person, to look at the eyes, leave the Page rotates the rancor and leave the past in its place ... stop worrying about things that are not in our hands and the deal we can. We put our will in the world in which we live.

Surely there will be more changes and we are accepting them as opportunities, plans will go out of control and we make them our new challenges. The change from day to day we can grow if we want ... but definitely we have to move, wake up and look in the mirror, stretching their hands to feel, open your eyes to see and open the soul to see our world. We are facing a new page and we live and let broken page instead: last -be 2007, 2008 or the day before. Maybe that's the challenge harder but not impossible. Let then the torn pages in place.

wish for each of us a new page, each letter is imbued with learning, a new opportunity and FE; of faith in ourselves, we can achieve faith in humanity. Our steps are forward, our view is the front and our arrow ... that point to where each of us want, in the universe there are no boundaries and we can breathe immensity.




One year with the scent of coffee ...



¡FELIZ 2009!