Written By Lingkar Dunia on Wednesday, November 30, 2011 | 11:54 PM
How could a historic document signed by an English king in 1215 be important to America?
Well, okay, the Magna Carta is a founding document in the story of human rights and liberties -- in America as well as England. But that was in the Middle Ages! Surely it didn't have a direct influence on the wording of the Constitution?
If you have a look at the Declaration of Rights in the Maryland Constitution of 1776, however, clause 21 rings a definite echo.
It reads:
"That no freeman ought to be taken, or imprisoned, or disseized of his freehold, liberties, or privileges, or outlawed, or exiled, or in any manner destroyed, or deprived of his life, liberty, or property, but by the judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land."
Soar Printing wins ‘Medium business’ award at Sustainable 60
Historic Auckland company Soar Printing won the ‘Medium business’ category at the prestigious Sustainable 60 Awards in Auckland last night, adding to a growing list of accolades for its dedication to corporate responsibility.
The family owned company was a finalist in three of the five categories –Environment, Strategy and governance, and Workplace – and won the award for companies with 21-100 employees.
The award came on the same day Soar Printing was notified by Landcare Research it has met the criteria to become the first New Zealand printer which can offer carboNZeroCertTM certified carbon-neutral printed products and services.
Soar Printing has been going for 90 years, set up in 1920 by Fred Soar on his return from World War I. He started from the basement of the Onehunga Orphan's Hall in Church St, Onehunga.
Soar's son Harry took over the business in the 1960s and had his own ambitions. When he finished work, he would have dinner with the family and then go into the Herald to work the night shift setting the headlines for the paper until just after midnight. He was saving to buy new offset printing technology from Germany.
Fred Soar, Managing Director and grand-son of the company founder, says the Sustainable 60 award reflect a five-year journey towards environmental best practise.
“There is huge pride in our team that our vision of being New Zealand’s most sustainable printer is coming to fruition. Sustainable values are fully entrenched in the company’s strategic focus and management structure.”
New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards 2012 Judges Announcement
Independent education and publishing consultant, Gillian Candler will convene this year’s New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards judging panel.
The former secondary school teacher, editor and chief executive of state-owned education publishing company, Learning Media says she is looking forward to a long, enjoyable summer of reading great kiwi books.
“I’m a passionate believer that good books change lives. It is therefore an honour and a pleasure to convene this year’s New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards judging panel. ”I’ll be on the lookout for books that capture my imagination; books that entice and teach, books with characters that draw me in and leave me wanting more.”
Two other children’s literature experts join Ms Candler on the judging panel: school curriculum advisor, librarian and bookseller Annemarie Florian and award-winning writer and illustrator Bob Kerr.
Together they will read more than 130 books in the search for the best of this country’s children’s books - across all age groups - published in 2011.
They will be choosing finalists, and ultimately winners across five categories: picture book, non-fiction, junior fiction, young adult fiction and best first book.
Each Category Award winner receives $7,500. The winner of the New Zealand Post Children’s Book of the Year Award takes home an additional $7,500. The winner of the Best First Book Award and the Children’s Choice Award receive prize money of $2,000 each.
New Zealand Post sponsors the book awards New Zealand Post is proud to be principle sponsor of the New Zealand Book Awards and the Children’s Book Awards. New Zealand Post is committed to promoting and assisting literacy in our communities and supporting excellence in literature. Working closely with Booksellers NZ, New Zealand Post and other dedicated segments of the community actively encourage New Zealanders to read and enjoy books.
The New Zealand Post Book Awards 2012 are also funded by Creative New Zealand. The Awards are overseen by the New Zealand Post Book Awards Governance Group, administered by Booksellers NZ and supported by the New Zealand Society of Authors and Book Tokens (NZ) Ltd.
Last Year’s Supreme Book Award Winner is This Year’s Top Judge
30 Nov 2011
Last year Chris Bourke took home the country’s top literary honour – the New Zealand Post Book of the Year Award – for his work Blue Smoke: the Lost Dawn of New Zealand Popular Music 1918-1964. This year he heads up the judging panel for the same award. A respected writer, reviewer, music historian and radio producer, Chris is well known as a former long-time producer for Radio New Zealand National’s Saturday Morning programme and as a staff writer and arts and books editor for print publications including The Listener.
Mr Bourke says he has just cleared several book shelves to make space for the entries in the 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards, and his first impression is: “never mind the width, feel the quality.
“New Zealand’s book creation industry is in full flight, with debutantes taking on seasoned authors, the self-published challenging the extravagantly produced. The year has seen fiction and poetry collections from many of our leading writers, and non-fiction seems to have recovered its strength with a plethora of well-researched, elegantly written and designed books in the general and illustrated categories.
“Ahead lie six months of demanding but exhilarating reading, about New Zealand in all its diversity.”
Joining Chris Bourke on the judging panel are: multi-award winning poet, writer, critic and journalist David Eggleton, writer, publisher, book designer and typesetter Mary Egan, poet, reviewer, writer and anthologist Paula Green, writer and Maori and Pacific literature specialist Reina Whaitiri (Kai Tahu).
Judges are selected for the broad range of skills they bring to the judging process ensuring there is a diversity of writing styles and reading preferences. The judging panel as a whole represents the wealth of diversity and depth in New Zealand writing and publishing.
They will read more than 160 submitted books published in 2011 before selecting the finalists and, ultimately the winners, including the holder of the much-sought-after the New Zealand Post Book of the Year trophy.
There will be four judging categories this year comprising Poetry, Fiction, Illustrated Non-fiction and General Non-fiction. There will be 16 finalist books in total (three finalists each in the Fiction and Poetry categories and five each in the Illustrated Non-Fiction and General Non-Fiction categories). The overall New Zealand Post Book of the Year Award winner receives $15,000. Winners of the four Category Awards will each receive $10,000, the Māori Language Award $10,000, Readers’ Choice Award $5,000, and the winners of the three New Zealand Society of Authors (NZSA) Best First Book Awards $2,500 each.
Like most other tablets that aren't the iPad, Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet (and Barnes & Noble's Nook Color) is powered by Android, Google's open-source operating system. Because the programming code to Android is available for free on the Internet, companies like Amazon and Barnes and Noble can use it to make smartphones and tablets without needing to ask permission.
E-readers like the Nook Color and Kindle Fire only run Android "under the hood," so to speak. Everything on top was made by either Barnes & Noble or Amazon, and was designed to make it easy for you to read and buy books and videos.
Now, some clever people are producing ways of turning your eReader into a bells-and-whistles smart pad. The CyanogenMod team has taken the open-source Android programming code and made a custom version of Android, which can be used as an aftermarket upgrade for smartphones and tablets in the same way that PCs and Macs can be upgraded with Ubuntu. And people on the XDA-Developers message board are experimenting with ways to bring CyanogenMod to the Kindle Fire, while the Nook Color already has well-established ways to turn it into a full Android tablet.
But do you want to do it? Personally, I can't imagine why anyone would want to surf the internet or receive and send email while reading a book. And, there are all kinds of technical drawbacks, it seems.
If you convert your Nook Color, you won't be able to bring it into a Barnes and Noble store for free browsing and in-store specials ... unless you put Android on the microSD card, and keep your Nook Color's built-in software in the internal memory. (The Kindle Fire doesn't have this option.)
And you won't get any tech support from Kindle or B&N if your tinkering goes wrong. It's just as if you opened up your computer and then regretted what you had done.
It's definitely something for techies. Not, in my opinion, Real Readers.
But you can read more of Jared Spurbeck's technical meditations here
What a wonderful gesture from Novak, to give his first coach the replica of his Wimbledon trophy. And we get to see more footage of little Novak on the court.
Before we talk about Novak Djokovic, the best tennis player alive, let's take a minute to talk about the other guy. Pick a guy. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, for instance. In the Wimbledon semifinals, July 1. It's as good an illustration as any of what happened this year in the sport, which is to say that it is simultaneously astonishing and inadequate. Officially, at this moment, Novak Djokovic was the No. 2 tennis player in the world. Tsonga was No. 19 but on a roll, having just beaten Roger Federer.
So it's the third set, Djokovic having won the first two. Tsonga delivers a nasty, hard serve, but Djokovic handles it, a sharp return from the left baseline. On the next exchange, Djokovic hits it gently, pulling Tsonga to the net. Then he sends Tsonga the other way, for a retreating over-the-shoulder backhand. Tsonga's been up and back, and Djokovic hasn't stirred from the baseline. A few hard baseline shots later: Djokovic moves up for a passing shot, and Tsonga lunges to fight it off, falling to the grass as he dumps it softly crosscourt�where Djokovic, sprawling to the court himself, sends it back. Tsonga, only half-risen, slashes at it and hits it long.
A few measly inches, and Tsonga would have had it. Could have had it. The rally was a magnificent display of daring and agility: the shift from power to guile and back again, the final flurry that put both men on the ground. Tsonga even went on to win that set, before falling in the fourth.
But fall he did. Djokovic scattered points and matches like that behind him all year long. It took another three days, and the final against Rafael Nadal, to elevate Djokovic to the ATP's No. 1 ranking. By then, however, the ATP's calculations were merely catching up to what was already true: Suddenly, amazingly, in 2011, Novak Djokovic became the most powerful force in tennis.
Tennis was not expecting this, a year ago. Tennis did not see the need. Tennis already had written the script, and it was a perfectly satisfactory one, if you liked tennis. There, in the near court, was Roger Federer, the most wonderful and successful player anyone had ever seen, slowly beginning his natural decline as he entered his 30s. Across the net was Rafael Nadal, possibly�debatably!�superior even to Federer. Certainly younger, in his mid-20s; sleek and powerful like a Grecian statue, or a tawny replica of a Grecian statue made of expensive Iberian ham.
They would play each other, Roger and Rafa, age trying to fend off youth with grace and guts. Their rivalry would be beautiful and moving; fans would choose sides, pull for Federer to bravely turn back the clock, tell themselves they were seeing the greatest tennis in history.
Novak Djokovic? Somebody had to lose to Federer or Nadal in the semis. So bring on the rawboned Serb: a nifty returner, a locker-room cutup, a guy one ineffable degree shy of championship material. He'd won the 2008 Australian Open, OK, and he'd beaten Federer in a wild match at the U.S. Open in 2010, but he seemed to have bobbed up to his natural level. Nadal was 16-7 against him, and 5-0 in tournament finals; Federer was 13-6. To wrap up their 2010 season, both of them beat him at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. He was 23 and ranked No. 3, and after helping pull off a Serbian victory in the Davis Cup final, he was able to close out the year on a two-match winning streak.
Then the calendar turned over, and so did the sport. Djokovic beat Nadal on grass, on clay, and on hard court, in California, Miami, Madrid, Rome, London, and New York. He beat Federer in Australia, Dubai, California�three consecutive tournaments�lost an epic match to him at the French Open, then beat him again in Flushing. Roger and Rafa seemed as excellent as ever. But Djokovic had crossed over into the world of the '85 Bears, Pedro Martinez, Usain Bolt. It didn't matter how good anyone else was.
What changed? Djokovic is in Monte Carlo, and someone has handed him a cell phone with a dying battery to answer questions about the inexplicable. "I've matured as a player," he says. "I've matured as a person. I know what to do. I know how to handle my life, my career." His training is the same as ever, he says. He has the same coaches he's had for years. He switched to a gluten-free diet, which he believes helps with his breathing and allergies, and which has introduced him to a worldwide community of people eager to recommend specialized restaurants, but he doesn't give credit to food magic.
"I just wasn't consistent enough, and I just wasn't actually believing enough that I could get it together and start winning more major events and be No. 1," he says.
Maturity, he says. During Wimbledon, as he closed in on the No. 1 ranking, he spent his time off the court trying to get a squirrel to eat out of his hand and tweeting about his progress. "The squirrel was one of my close friends in London," he says. "Unfortunately, I didn't see her after I won the title, because I wanted to celebrate it with her." You can also find video online of Djokovic's long, wry face jutting out from under a silky blonde wig, as he vamps his way through a fake commercial in the guise of Maria Sharapova.
The impressions, he says, were something he did as a young boy, after the famed tennis coach Jelena Gencic picked him out for training, the way she'd picked out Monica Seles. (This is not necessarily the biography of a regular-guy champion.) "As a kid I was creative," he says, "and I was dreaming of having one stroke out of each player who was on top of the tennis at that time, you know. Let's say Agassi's return, Sampras' serve and attitude on the court, and, I don't know, Rafter's or Edberg's volleys and forehand, and these are the strokes that I kind of imagined to have, and I impersonated those players, and that's how it started."
It's a goof, and it's not a goof. "I always try to have something that keeps my mind relaxed, keeps my mind a little bit off tennis," he says. The most electrifying thing about watching Djokovic, the quality that pulls in a casual viewer, is that even while playing at the highest level ever attained in his sport, some piece of his mind seems still to be functioning on the normal human plane. He has not turned his back on lesser life-forms, in the manner of a Michael Jordan, and vanished into a rat tunnel of competitive rage. He places another shot improbably�yet certainly�inside the line. He turns away and pumps his fist, not in abandon but with a sort of narrow-eyed, thoughtful glee. It's as if he's as awed as we are by what he can get away with.
2011 ATP-Season has been completed, as the World No.1; Novak Djokovic has arrived to the capital of Bulgaria�s, Sofia to debut his movie career in Expendables 2 along with the actor, Sylvester Stallone.
2011 Tennis player of the year, Novak Djokovic was invited by Sylvester Stallone to take part in Expendables 2.
On Wednesday, November 30, 2011, the world No.1 Serbiain, Djokovic has arrived to Sofia to take part in the shooting of cult action movie �The Expendables 2?.
Djokovic will play a minor role in the Up-coming movie along with Starring stars Sylvester tallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis, Jean-Claude van Damme and Chuck Norris, among others.
Serbian on Wednesday has played the role of his real self � the genius tennis player. However, the protectors did not let the fans or anybody to go near Stallone and Djokovic who worked in an abandoned store house near the airport.
The shooting of �Expendables 2� will be continued until Friday, as the tennis great will be there in Bulgaria for a short period to play his role in the movie and the last part of movie will be completed in China, as the Jet Li will join the cast.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic is enjoying his holidays on the off-court in leisure hours as a true Balkan bohemian. He spent some time in a Sofia down town casino, drank two glasses of whiskey and a couple of shots in one of Berbatov�s favourite places.
Later, Djoker took the microphone and sang some popular Balkan tunes to the greatest pleasure of the rest of the visitors and singed autographs to fans.
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Tuesday, November 29, 2011 | 12:49 PM
Are deep-sea organisms more sensitive to environmental change than those in shallow waters?
Learn more at a seminar to be presented by Jim Barry, MBARI
That is, if you can make it to Wellington, New Zealand Tuesday, 6 December 2011 at 10.30am Main conference room NIWA, Greta Point For further information contact Claire Guy, ext 7491 (claire.guy@niwa.co.nz)
Facebook has settled a privacy complaint filed by the Federal Trade Commission.
According to a Tuesday release, the FTC said Facebook has agreed to get consumers' approval before it changes the way it shares their data.
Additionally, the massive social networking engine will have to get period audits of its privacy practices for the next 20 years.
The announcement comes as Facebook reportedly is preparing an initial public offering in the second quarter of next year. Privacy scrutiny by federal enforcement officials has weighed on the company's business prospects, analysts say, and the settlement will clear the way for the projected $100 billion public offering.
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Monday, November 28, 2011 | 2:39 PM
Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea
I can't resist posting this, because it is such an inspirational story. Indeed, it would make a terrific book -- and maybe inspire an exciting novel.
Captain Seog Hae-gyun of the Republic of Korea, Master of the chemical tanker Samho Jewelry, has been presented with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea 2011, for his decisive, brave and courageous actions to protect his ship and crew during a vicious pirate attack in the Indian Ocean, which left him with serious and long-lasting injuries.
Captain Seog, accompanied by his wife, was handed the award by IMO Secretary-General Efthimios E. Mitropoulos, during a ceremony held on 21 November 2011 at IMO Headquarters in London. When the Samho Jewelry was boarded by pirates, in January 2011, the crew took cover in the designated citadel but the pirates broke in, detaining them on the bridge.
Over two days, Captain Seog steered the ship on a zig-zag course, so that the pirates would not realize that the vessel was actually heading away from, instead of towards, Somali waters. He contaminated the fuel so the engines would not work normally, pretended the steering gear was malfunctioning and slowed the ship's speed from 14 knots to six, to keep her out of Somali waters for as long as possible, thus maximizing the potential for units of the Republic of Korea Navy to attempt a rescue. However, the pirates became suspicious that some of Captain Seog's actions were intended to outwit them and they brutally assaulted him, causing serious fractures to his legs and shoulders.
While all this was happening, the pirates ordered him to communicate information about the incident to his shipping company in English, via satellite. Captain Seog surreptitiously inserted information in Korean about the true situation - information that proved vital for the Navy of his country to plan, and execute, a rescue operation. On 21 January, as the sun came up, the Republic of Korea Navy destroyer Choi Young launched a rescue operation, which they named "Dawn of the Gulf of Aden". By 06.30 on that day, the attack team had gained full control of the bridge. During this time, Captain Seog, despite his injuries, managed to send out an urgent message via VHF, warning the boarding party that there were three pirates at the steering wheel.
"We are Oscar Mike!" - You know you're a MW3 nut when you shout that whenever you're making a move.
First of all - I'm in the MW3 camp (isn't it obvious) - mostly due to the excellent storyline and the campaign. Sorry, can't do Multiplayer. Internet connections in my area is pretty shit despite being nearby Technology Park Malaysia. The irony.
So how was MW3?
Game time : 6 hours (give or take, unless you're on Easy which would have cut it half)
I finished the game on Hard settings under six hours. Would have started on Veteran level by the time you read this. Pretty decent, but i wished they would have made the campaign longer then again, it gets boring if you stretch it too much. So at the end of the day, six hours is just nice. Haven't started on the extras with the Special Forces side games which were unlocked after finishing the campaign. Will tell more about it in another post. Oh yes. I'm not gonna talk about Multiplayer, because I'm not playing it.
System requirements.
System requirements are the same with Modern Warfare 2. Graphics wise, equal with MW2 too. My current rig has 4GB RAM, single core 2.4GHz AMD, and the 1GB DDR3 graphics accelerator - clicking on the optimal settings option puts all details on high + highly detailed animations. I turned off the ragdoll settings though - kinda weird seeing dead bodies flopping around - just like in F.E.A.R.
Gameplay
Campaign storyline takes off immediately after MW2, where Price and 'Soap' McTarvish killed General Shepherd. Nikolai finally made an appearance and we are introduced to several other playable characters, mainly Yuri and Frost of the Delta Force. If in MW2 we had Ghost, we have Sandman in MW3 who is like the pointman in every mission he makes an appearance in.
Sandman tossing you a mag - first mission in MW3. Occupy? Storm Wallstreet! Actual game footage!
You'll be introduced to lots of new weapons, cool scopes and add-ons in MW3, with my favorite being the SCAR-H with Hybrid scope (Holographic + ACOG sight). Although a smart move is to accustomize yourself to AK47s - all over the place : solves ammo problem!
For ground support, you'll be controlling more than just the old Predator drones as seen in MW2 with a new range of death-from-air weapons at your disposal. On the ground, you'll be manning a tank machine gun turret and taking it old-school, manning a mortar launcher. Also, in one of the coolest part in the game, you'll get to control a UAV complete with a minigun.
Basically you'll be hunting down Makarov throughout the game, hitting hit allies and agents in order to get more intel on his whereabouts. Apart from that, you'll be playing as SAS and Delta Force Special Forces, operating in smaller cluster groups, tackling larger groups of Russians in firefights throughout Europa.
Oh yes. No Ghost. Despite all the rumors that Ghost isn't dead, and will make an appearance in MW3 - he didn't. Sad, really.
Gripes?
Nothing major, but i noticed that sometimes, the AI tend to seek cover out in the open, making them easy targets. That, or maybe i'm just pretty good at flanking these suckers.
Last word
Sold? Maybe this trailer will help you in making a decision on whether to splash Rm150+ for the original game. Pirate ones - 4 discs wei! That's around RM40.
*I do not condone the use and purchase of pirate products. Thank you very much.
All that's left for me now is to get a copy of Battlefield 3 to compare it with Modern Warfare 3.
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Saturday, November 26, 2011 | 12:43 PM
Discovered on an abandoned hut
It's amazing what you find in the Kiwi Wilderness. Last weekend we enjoyed a wonderful trek through a corner of Alastair's hunting lodge in mountainous Kawhia, on the west coast of the North Island. It isn't the first time we have "admired" this abandoned hut, and wondered about its past -- it has remnants of cooking gear, planks that formed a platform for a mouldering mattress, odd bits of tramping stuff, and (believe it or not) a sun umbrella. The owner, whoever he was, had a sense of humor. Scroll down to follow our voyage of discovery ...
Nearly 200 textiles have been discovered in caves on the West Bank, at Qumran, which may solve the mystery of the creators of the Dead Sea Scrolls.
It appears that they may have been written by a sectarian group called the Essenes.
The authorship of the scrolls has been a matter of debate ever since their accidental discovery by a shepherd. That mystery, along with the puzzle of how they got to Qumran, may become clearer with the discovery of these fabrics.
All the textiles were made of linen, rather than wool, which was the preferred textile used in ancient Israel. Also they lack decoration, some actually being bleached white, even though fabrics from the period often have vivid colours. Altogether, researchers say these finds suggest that the Essenes, an ancient Jewish sect, "penned" some of the scrolls.
The Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in eleven caves along the northwest shore of the Dead Sea between the years 1947 and 1956. They are the oldest Biblical writings known, and include material -- such as hymns, rules, and prophesies -- that are not found in the Bible. They are mostly written in Hebrew, but some are in Aramaic.
One, known as the "Copper Scroll," lists 64 hiding places where worldly treasure such as gold, and spiritual treasure -- more manuscripts -- could be found.
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Friday, November 25, 2011 | 11:41 PM
So Ferrer managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory last night and Nole is out.
Being totally honest, I am glad. He would have struggled against Roger and that is not the way to finish what has been an unforgettable year.
I believe he is now going on holiday with Janko, make sure buys the first round of drinks Novak!! Have a good rest, enjoy and we shall see you in 2012.
I was at work this afternoon so missed watching the match. I did listen on the radio but you never get a balanced view of the match and lots was made of Novak's physical condition and not his tennis. I know he is knackered and needs a break so i would have liked a little more talk about the play.
So, Janko finally gets his win over Novak so well done to him. I am sure these last 2 matches have been a great experience for him and a nice boost to take into next season.
Back to Novak, he now plays the waiting game and hope that Ferrer can do him a favour. To be totally honest if he does not make the Semi Final then so be it. Iike i said, he needs a break and I don't think another defeat will do him any good at all, especially as the SF would be against Roger who is in great form. Best for him to finish now and get himself off to a beach somewhere and relax.
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Thursday, November 24, 2011 | 11:10 AM
One of the world's greatest philanthropists
Carnegie was born in Dunfermline, Scotland, on November 25, 1835. As a child, he migrated to the United States, where his first job was as a factory worker in a bobbin factory. Later on he became a bill logger for the owner of the company, then a messenger boy a his progress up the ranks that led to founding his own steel industry, Pittsburgh's Carnegie Steel Company, which was later merged with Elbert H. Gary's Federal Steel Company and several smaller companies to create U.S. Steel.
With the immense fortune he made, he built Carnegie Hall, founded the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, the Carnegie Institution of Washington, Carnegie Mellon University and the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. His greatest gift to the world, perhaps, was the establishment of libraries, schools and universities to the United States, Britain, and many other countries. He passed away in 1919. Current news of cutbacks in libraries is probably setting him spinning in his grave.
"No person will make a great business, who wants to do it all himself, or get all the credit," he wrote.
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Wednesday, November 23, 2011 | 11:24 PM
Tip-off from mystery informant leads to "indecent" book being seized. An "indecent” book banned in 1971 has been seized from a Wellington bookstore by government officials.
Bloody Mama by Robert Thom has been listed for sale on Book Haven's website for $8.50 since February, store owner Don Hollander said.
"It got seized today. A very nice chap from the DIA [Department of Internal Affairs] with a fancy badge came by.”
The book is based on a true story about Kate "Ma" Barker who raised her sons to be criminals in the 1930s.
"I had a quick look through for the dirty bits or the nasty bits and it didn't see any,” Mr Hollander said.
The book was deemed indecent and banned by the now defunct Indecent Publications Tribunal 40 years ago, however the ruling still stands. The tribunal was replaced by the Office of Film and Literature Classification in 1993.
According to the Dominion Post, 1304 books are currently banned in New Zealand. Titles include:
Secrets of Methamphetamine Manufacture (8th edition)
Death Scenes, A Homicide Detective's Scrapbook
The Giant Black Book of Computer Viruses
Why Was He Born So Beautiful and Other Rugby Songs
Professional Killers, an Inside Look
Improvised Munitions Black Book (volume one)
Can't say I have ever read any of those -- and I suspect I am not missing a thing.
Unlike Don Hollander, owner of Book Haven in Newtown, Wellington, and past-owner of what sounds to be a very tame biography indeed.
I was really sad to read Jason Boog's report on mediabistro.com that the great fantasy/science fiction author has passed away.
I grew up with her short stories, and was then entranced with her wonderful Dragonflight series. I used them often when teaching English to 14-year-old girls. One in particular, an uninterested reader and lapsadaisical scholar, was instantly hooked. She became a reader overnight, and is now a film producer. It is a success that I attribute directly to McCaffrey.
I was once told a heartwarming story about her by a bookseller on Cape Cod. She invited her to a launch and Dragonflight festival, and to her amazement Anne McCaffrey consented to come. Every school child in the district met the plane, all dressed up as dragons or human characters in the books. When their favorite author came out of the plane, she was wearing black, totally black, and had a long walking stick. The children were terrified! Where they had been expecting a dragonrider, here was a witch! But they fell in love with her, all the same.
Anne McCaffrey was 85 years old when she died. GalleyCat confirmed the sad news with Random House this afternoon.
McCaffrey’s career began with Restoree in 1967. She went on to earn a dedicated following for her beloved series, Dragonriders of Pern. At her website, McCaffrey answered letters from dedicated fans through November. This GalleyCat editor will never forget reading her books as a middle-school kid. Share your memories in the comments section… here
WARSAW (Reuters) - The wife of Nobel prize-winning Polish Solidarity leader Lech Walesa describes the loneliness and domestic grind she faced as her husband rose to power in a frank biography that is causing a stir in the country even before its official release.
Danuta Walesa, now 62, was Poland's first lady from 1990 to 1995 when Lech Walesa served as the country's first democratically elected president. He won international acclaim when his Solidarity trade union movement led the fight to topple communism in Poland in 1989.
But behind the scenes, Danuta faced a daily struggle to bring up their eight children, according to excerpts from her first biography "Dreams and Secrets" obtained by Reuters on Tuesday and due out on Wednesday.
I am going to miss this match tonight as I am off to a local amaetur play.
I also think of Ferrer as a Duracell Bunny running around the court. He has a lot of stamina and will be hard to out-run tonight. Hopefully Novak can have his shoulder swinging from the start and make it through without any further wear to the joint.
First Lady Michelle Obama on Monday helped launched a new arts program to pick five student poets from high schools who will spend one year promoting poetry through readings, workshops and other activities.
The National Student Poets program is created by the President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities, of which the first lady is honorary chair, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services through a partnership with nonprofit group, the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers.
"What you learn through reading and writing poetry will stay with you throughout your life," Obama said in a statement. "It will spark your imagination and broaden your horizons and even help your performance in the classroom."
The five National Student Poets will be chosen from a pool of teenagers who have already received a national Scholastic Art & Writing Award for poetry. The selection panel will be comprised of poet Terrance Hayes, "Kenyon Review" editor David Lynn, Alice Quinn of the Poetry Society of America, and the Library of Congress' Robert Casper.
More than 185, 000 students apply annually for the Scholastic Art & Writing Award and since 1923, winners have included teenagers such as Truman Capote, Sylvia Plath, Joyce Carol Oates and others. The first five National Student Poets will be announced in summer 2012, and will each receive academic awards of $5,000. They will serve as literary ambassadors in their communities and encourage kids to develop writing and creative skills.
"The National Student Poets work will give greater visibility to the voice and perspective of today's youth," said Virginia McEnerney, executive director of the Alliance for Young Artists & Writers. The President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities focuses on increasing creativity in schools and engaging students in being innovative. The Institute of Museum and Library Services makes federal grants aimed at creating strong libraries and museums.
(Reporting and Writing by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
Woeful serving in the first set but he battled through saving match point along the way.
The shoulder sure got a good workout so it will be interesting to see how he feels today. Just like the matches I saw Novak play in Paris, it was a slow start. Maybe he needs time to warm up the shoulder properly and get it swinging. Time to settle is something tennis players do not have the luxury of having so he did well to come back.
Let's hope he has a easier time on Wednesday against David Ferrer.
A couple of match reports here from ESPN & the BBC
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Monday, November 21, 2011 | 1:25 PM
Huzzah, huzzah!
Julie Bosnan in the New York Times reveals that Patrick O’Brian’s popular seafaring novels will be released as e-Books in time for the holidays.
W.W. Norton, their publisher, released the news on Sunday. The 20-book series, set during the Napoleonic wars, includes Master and Commander, Desolation Island and The Commodore.
About 7.5 million copies have been sold in the United States since the first book was published in 1969. “Now that the novels are available digitally, readers who prefer the e-book format can have this collection instantly at their fingertips — as well the enviable pleasure of reading O’Brian’s astonishing series for the first time,” said Starling Lawrence, editor at large at Norton.
O’Brian died in 2000, but his heroes live on.
Goodie, maybe they will now produce another film -- with Russell Crowe and Paul Bettany, of course.
Blown Away has won the Wellywood sign competition and will take its spot on the Miramar Peninsula by March.
The sign - which says "Wellington" but has windblown letters at the end - will be visible from all flights in and out of Wellington.
Wellington residents were able to choose between three options, Wellywood, Wellington Blown Away and the Eye of the Taniwha and the votes closed on at midnight on Friday.
More than 33,000 votes were placed and Blown Away, designed by Matt Sellars and Ray McKay from advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi Auckland, was the clear winner with 18,862 votes.
The Eye of the Taniwha design was second, but trailed by more than 7000 votes. Wellywood only received 3,104.
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Sunday, November 20, 2011 | 9:07 AM
Still over 24 hours until Novak takes to the court at the O2 arena. All the talk is about his shoulder and according to many reports he is stating that it is good to go.
One trophy Novak is guarenteed to pick up this week is the Year Ending World #1 Ranked Player trophy. Not sure what day he will recieve, I do believe it could be Wednesday after his second match but please don't quote me.
Andy Murray does not expect Novak to be able to repeat 2011. Concentrate on your own game please Andy.
Article in the Independent about Novak and next year.
If you are facing problem opening official Ovi Store website(Store.Ovi.com) than you won't have to worry about it because Nokia is working and switching on its new Nokia Store domain name (Store.Nokia.com) soon users will redirect to a new official domain which is Store.Nokia.Com instead of Store.Ovi.Com, because Nokia is stop supporting brand name "Ovi" and has already removed all "Ovi" phrase from all of its products and services and focusing more on brand name "Nokia".
Written By Lingkar Dunia on Saturday, November 19, 2011 | 6:44 PM
Part 2!
Wonderkids you must buy in FM2012.
I'm into my third season now and these are the players I'd rank top 5 when it comes to must buys when you just started a new game. All attributes are as of 2013 (so do not be disheartened if you see less than impressive stats early on. It's the potential you're looking at (unless you're Manchester City who just wants to buy players at their prime)
Fire away!
1. Vaclav Kadlec (AML/ ST)
Pretty expensive but worth the dosh. A real poacher up front if you play him as Poacher or Advanced Forward. Really pacy and good finisher stats with only issue being poor in the air.
Stat wise, keep in mind he's only 21 (or much younger if you just started your game). Be very patient, aye?
2. Ivan Rakitic (M/AMC)
A player you must buy regardless the formation you're using. Really good at long shots and through balls. Play him just behind the strikers and watch them rockets fly in. Young too! My replacement for Stevie G once he retires.
3. Christian Eriksen (M/AMC)
From the ranks of the Ajax youth system and in a same mold as Rakitic but 4 years younger! Physical stats still growing so don't be fooled earlier on about his attributes. Imagine a faster Charlie Adam.
Christian Eriksen vs Ivan Rakitic
These two will be my Liverpool FC's future midfield pairing, flanking Lucas who plays Box-to-box midfielder.
4. Leandro Damiao (Striker)
If you're just starting a new game, grab him. He'll cost you a bomb later on. I'm now into my third season and the minimum acceptable bid for Damiao is $28mil. How do you compare him with the top (well, in my opinion) Brazilian striker in the game, Hulk? Make your own conclusion.
Kinda bummed I missed buying him early on.
5. Lucas Moura (AM/ ML/AMR/L)
Another case of 'get him early before he gets bloody expensive'. Minimum bid starts from $31mil and he's only 21. Good buy i guess considering he's able to play several positions. Potential man. Potential!
Social Payments is now becoming more popular amongst various social users and after launched of Facebook Credits every single social networking website keep updating their payment method for users and now Facebook is become first Social Networking website which will allow its users to send money to PayPal with its social application. PayPal has revealed a new Facebook Application that lets you send money to friends.
The new PayPal Facebook App is simply called "Send Money", as the name indicates that users will be able to just Send Money to any friends. You will have the choice to send either an ecard with money or just money with no card. If you select a card, choose a friend to send it to and then select how much money to send. According to PayPal Spokesman Anuj Nayar;
"The PayPal and Facebook infrastructure have now merged; this is another way to personalize the act of giving money."
There are also several ways to pay with PayPal via Facebook (Payvment comes to mind), this is the first app to enable peer-to-peer payments via Facebook and PayPal. And because it's a peer-to-peer transaction, there is no transaction fee, though PayPal's regular limits and international fees still apply. According to PayPal Senior Product Marketing Manager;
"Sending money, person to person, is free, if it's funded by a PayPal balance or linked to a bank account, it's free."
“I’m a passionate believer that good books change lives. It is therefore an honour and a pleasure to convene this year’s New Zealand Post Children’s Book Awards judging panel.
New Zealand Post is proud to be principle sponsor of the New Zealand Book Awards and the Children’s Book Awards. New Zealand Post is committed to promoting and assisting literacy in our communities and supporting excellence in literature. Working closely with Booksellers NZ, New Zealand Post and other dedicated segments of the community actively encourage New Zealanders to read and enjoy books.
Last year 
