Thomas Friedman scooped for 2012 NZ International Arts Festival

Renowned US writer to visit as Kennedy Fellow

Internationally renowned American author, reporter, and columnist Thomas Friedman will lead a top-shelf literary line-up at the 2012 New Zealand International Arts Festival’s Writers and Readers Week in March, as a John F Kennedy Memorial Fellow.

One of the planet’s most influential public intellectuals, Thomas Friedman is a foreign affairs columnist for The New York Times, the recipient of three Pulitzer Prizes and the author of six bestselling books. In being recognised by Fulbright New Zealand with a John F Kennedy Fellowship, he joins a list of eighteen eminent American thinkers including Thurgood Marshall, Harlan Cleveland, Paul Volcker and Joseph Stiglitz, who have visited New Zealand for speaking and teaching engagements in honour of President Kennedy since a memorial fund was established in his name following his death in 1963.

From the Fulbright New Zealand Quarterly

Read the full story

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8:45 PM | 0 comments

Borders metamorphoses into Whitcoulls at 226 Lambton Quay

A mysterious something has happened in Lambton Quay

Up until the last time I looked, 226-256 Lambton Quay was a big Borders store.

Lambton Quay is one of Wellington's premier shopping streets, so its situation, opposite iconic department store Kirkaldie & Stains, and cheek-by-jowl (almost) with a Farmers Department store, was enviable.

The only fly in the ointment, I guess, is that the Wellington flagship store of the Whitcoulls book chain was just a short gallop down the street.

As we all know, both chains were bought by David and Anne Norman.  I wondered what would happen to this particular Borders, and was assured by a polite young man at the checkout counter that it was going to become Whitcoulls.

And, he has been proved right.  As I passed in the bus yesterday, the store was sporting natty new signs and lots of enticing advertising.

It is now definitely a Whitcoulls store.  So far, the Whitcoulls store down the street is still intact and running.  Long may it stay that way.

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12:09 PM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - I Need Time

Novak Djokovic said Sunday he needs "some time" to rediscover top form after his historic season was interrupted by a six-week injury break.

The top-ranked Serb resumes at the Swiss Indoors with a 64-3 record this year, after a back muscle injury forced him to retire from a Davis Cup semifinals singles match against Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina on Sept. 18.

"Certainly, it's going to take me some time to get back to the right shape," Djokovic said.

The U.S. Open, Wimbledon and Australian Open champion faces 50th-ranked Belgian Xavier Malisse on Tuesday in Basel, the hometown tournament of 16-time Grand Slam singles winner Roger Federer.

"I don't expect myself to be 100 percent in this tournament but obviously I will try," said Djokovic, who beat Federer in the 2009 final here and lost their rematch a year ago.

Djokovic succumbed to pain that had flared up days earlier during his intense, 4-set victory over Rafael Nadal to earn his first U.S. Open trophy.

Though the muscle tear was "quite bad," Djokovic acknowledged the timing was a blessing.

"The injury is never welcome � but it came in the right moment, let's say. It gave me a little more time to rest and recover," he said. "I think it was the longest (break) I had in the last four or five years."

Djokovic said he had daily therapy on his back while missing the Asian tournament swing, and a shot at beating John McEnroe's dominant 82-3 season in 1984.

He now has just Basel, the Paris Masters and season-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London remaining, and must win all three to get close to the American's mark.

"I don't feel unbeatable and I don't think anybody is," Djokovic cautioned. "It's just a matter of the right momentum, the confidence you are building up.

"Sometimes you see the ball as a water melon. You feel so good on the court, you trust every shot that you have. I guess every top player has experienced that and has experienced the bad times as well."

The good times really rolled for Djokovic after leading Serbia to its first Davis Cup title last December in an emotional final in Belgrade against France.

His determination to help defend that title worsened the injury he brought home from New York.

"I decided to play Davis Cup which turned out to be a wrong decision somehow for my health," Djokovic said. "But I don't regret it because I do things as well with my heart and I wanted to play for the Davis Cup team."

The enforced break also took Djokovic out of the spotlight having become world number one on winning Wimbledon in July.

"I think I'm doing well handling everything that (comes) with the new position that I have. I haven't changed my professionalism or anything like that in the last couple of months," he said.

"We're trying to do things that we always have done and keep a simple life. That's the only way I can keep playing well and performing well and winning titles."

Djokovic believes that he "matured mentally" � on and off the court � to create a foundation for success.

"It took me maybe longer than I expected to really start believing that I can win Grand Slams next to Roger and Rafa," he said.

He has also talked of marrying his longtime girlfriend Jelena Ristic.

"Whoever says you have to make a line between private life and professional life, I don't think that's true," Djokovic said.

"It has to be balanced. You cannot run away from that fact. I got everything together in my private life as well."

Courtesy: USAToday

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1:20 PM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic Is The Man - Ivanovic

Serbian former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic has nothing but admiration for compatriot Novak Djokovic as the current top man in the game makes his return to tennis after six weeks away with a place at the Swiss Indoors.

The Basel event in the hometown of Roger Federer is also drawing the interest of Ivanovic who lives in the city. "I wish I could do the same thing and learn," said the 2008 French Open winner whose game dropped off after her own triumph to leave her with a 26th ranking. "It's crazy, he is a hero in Serbia.

"What he has achieved the dream of every athlete. I'm so happy for him, because we are very close friends. I've seen him with the title win in Australia and I know how happy he is," Ivanovic told Switzerland's Sonntag Blick tabloid.

Amid the platitudes, Ivanovic also admitted that the winner of ten titles this season is keeping much of the secret to his success to himself and his team. But he did drop a hint to his fellow player: "He says it was a matter of being happy and enjoying what you do. Then he just starts making jokes."

Ivanovic, who is working to restore of parts of her own game that have gone to seed, ticked off the Djokovic attributes: "He has the best total package on the court - one of the best returns, a great backhand, his agility and his attitude."

Courtesy: TennisTalk

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1:15 PM | 0 comments

Wellywood or what?

What sign should be put on the hillside at Wellington International Airport?

This one?  Or something more local?  A whimsy?  Or a symbol?

Eighteen months ago, the powers that run Wellington Airport announced they were going to put a huge sign on a steep, barren hillside on their land.

It was going to read WELLYWOOD.

International outrage.  Truly.  I wrote about it myself.

Such was the backlash, that our newspaper, The Dominion Post, took a hand.  Suggestions were solicited for alternatives, with various spot prizes offered, and ideas poured in.

Now the suggestions have been culled down to five, and the public is invited to vote for their favorites.

Here are the five suggestions.  Why not have a vote?  And you can like the page on facebook, too, if you wish.  Just remember that voting ends on November 9, when the winner will be faced against that infernal Wellywood proposition.

Which will win?  Only time will tell.

VOTE NOW

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12:46 PM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - Warm Up In Basel

Sorry, I cannot seem to be able to embed this video so here is the link.

http://www.videoportal.sf.tv/video?id=a0bf927c-d382-4169-9cee-6284666b8c5e

Found on doartenis

EDIT

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/video/28102011/58/djokovic-excited-return-basle.html

For those that need it in English :)

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5:16 AM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - Draw & Analysis

Novak has certainly been draw into the better half , avoiding local man Roger, in form Tipsy and big serving Roddick.

Xavier may pose a slight problem as he likes to S&V.  Round 2 is still unknown as it will be a qualifier.  QF could be anyone.  SF should be Berdych or Melzer with final again being a choice of a few players.

Hopefully Novak will get some decent match practice under his belt in preparation for Paris & London.

Ajde Nole!

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2:04 PM | 0 comments

Happy birthday Statue of Liberty

Friday marks the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty's dedication.

Slideshow
The statue was a gift of friendship from France, entitled "Liberty Enlightening the World."

"The statue has evolved in meaning since she first graced our shores 125 years ago," said David Luchsinger, superintendent of the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, in a release. “She began as a symbol of friendship between France and the United States, evolved into a symbol of our great country, and is known today as an international symbol of freedom for people everywhere. This coming Friday is an opportunity to celebrate her complete legacy.”

Between 1820 and 1920, approximately 34 million persons immigrated to the United States, three-fourths of them staying permanently. For many of these newcomers, their first glimpse of America was the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor.

The statue, sculpted by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, had been conceived of as a gift of friendship from the people of France marking the two nations' commitment to liberty. France provided $400,000 for the 151 ft 1 in. (46.05 m) statue, and a fundraising drive in the United States netted $270,000 for the 89-foot pedestal.

The Jewish American poet Emma Lazarus saw the statue as a beacon to the world. A poem she wrote to help raise money for the pedestal, and which is carved on that pedestal, captured what the statue came to mean to the millions who migrated to the United States seeking freedom, and who have continued to come unto this day.
–The U.S. Department of State

“The New Colossus” by Emma Lazarus

Not like the brazen giant of Greek fame,
With conquering limbs astride from land to land;
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand
A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame
Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles.
From her beacon-hand
Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command
The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame.
“Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she
With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me,
I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

I wish a few politicians could be forced to read that poem.  And think about it.

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12:42 PM | 0 comments

Spin-off for Icelandic literature

An unexpected benefit from being Frankfurt Book Fair's guest of honor, 2011

Each year, the organizers of the great Frankfurt Book Fair nominate a country to be their "guest of honor."

It's a huge opportunity, with immense potential -- one that innovative Amazon Publishing has taken, creating yet more headlines to make traditional publishers nervous.

Amazon Crossing, one of Amazon Publishing's six imprints, has teamed up with the Icelandic Literature Fund to publish ten titles by Icelandic authors.

See their press release, below:

AmazonCrossing

With translations of foreign language books from around the world, AmazonCrossing makes award-winning and bestselling books accessible to many readers for the first time. All AmazonCrossing titles are also available on Kindle.

Spotlight on Iceland

AmazonCrossing has teamed up with the Icelandic Literature Fund to release 10 Icelandic titles over the next year, ranging from crime thrillers and historical fiction to award winners and coming-of-age stories. See our first five selections and visit each book's page to download an excerpt.

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12:24 PM | 0 comments

Lessons from Novels

Self-help from classics

Bookshelves groan with self-help books, from diet for arthritis to how to learn Zen, and Body Mind and Spirit books abound.  If we read them all, we'd be better, healthier people, for sure.

Why not take an easier way, and get advice for life from classic novels, instead?

So posits the renowed Politics & Prose Bookstore and Coffeehouse in Washington DC, with this very funny facebook slideshow.

Enjoy!

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12:10 PM | 0 comments

Code of ancient secret society cracked

For three centuries a manuscript called the Copiale Cipher has kept its secrets 

Now a computer program has helped to reveal its hidden mysteries     


US and Swedish researchers have cracked the code of the 300-year-old Copiale Cipher with the help of a new computer program that may help to decipher other legendary secretive manuscripts.

"This opens up a window for people who study the history of ideas and the history of secret societies," computer scientist Kevin Knight of the University of Southern California (which provided the image, above) said in a statement Wednesday.

"Historians believe that secret societies have had a role in revolutions, but all that is yet to be worked out, and a big part of the reason is because so many documents are enciphered."

The 75,000-character Copiale Cipher describes the rituals and political leanings of an 18th-century German secret society, which bound the manuscript in gold and green brocade paper, the USC statement said.

The rituals, encoded in a series of abstract symbols interspersed with Greek and Roman characters, indicate that the secretive group had a fascination with eye surgery but that members were not actually eye doctors.

From the Lebanon Daily Star.

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12:37 PM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - Arrives In Basel

Novak has been updating his Twitter account as he took a stroll around Basel.

@DjokerNole: Arrived in Basel(Switzerland),and had a nice walk in the city with my team.It is beautiful piece of art on the wall ... http://t.co/2iYVgEjq

@DjokerNole: Played some guitar .. Guess with who??? http://t.co/ctEDWDgM

@DjokerNole: Jimi Hendrix :-) http://t.co/AtwgdY0p

@DjokerNole: Legends of music : Santana,Mercury.. Fantastic ART! All the credit to who ever has done it. http://t.co/PmJ4MRKI

@DjokerNole: By the way,arrived to Basel to practise indoor before tournament that starts on monday.Happy to say that so far i am practising pain free!

@DjokerNole: I will update you tomorrow with some pics from my practise ..GN

@DjokerNole: Had to tell a joke to Mick Jagger. He liked it :-) http://t.co/J0tVxEgI

Excellent to hear that his back is giving him no trouble :-)

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1:10 AM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - Paris Press Accredication

It is getting close to the Paris Masters and I am getting myself ready for my trip behind the scenes.

If anyone has something specific that they would like Novak then leave your question here and I'll do my best to get an answer.

Thanks

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9:48 AM | 0 comments

New Wiki Coffin story

The April issue of Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine is coming out in January 2012

Well, that is mysterious, but very pleasing for me, as the latest Wiki Coffin story will be featured.

Called "Salt," it takes place in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand.

Wiki's flamboyant Yankee father, Captain William Coffin, sails into the Bay with a very strange cargo -- complete with a buried corpse.

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2:48 PM | 0 comments

British Library reinstates Amazon link

Should the BL catalogue direct browsers to Amazon online?

Many people would say, NO!  And booksellers like British Waterstones agree.  However, after crumbling to criticism, the British Library is now reinstating its link to Amazon on online catalogue records.

The link takes readers of the library's catalogue records directly to the sales page for each title on the Amazon.co.uk website.

Waterstone's James Daunt heavily criticised this in The Bookseller last Friday (14th October). He said: "It's disappointing to say the least that a very British institution is driving readers away from local libraries and high street bookshops." The link was removed from the library's catalogue records shortly afterwards.

But now it is back.

The British Library explanation for the link, its temporary removal, and its reinstatement is an astonishing example of administration-inspired-media-speak. 

Read the whole item at The Bookseller.

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1:18 AM | 0 comments

Jedi Reads #004 - Joker

Jedi Reads - Joker by Brian Azzarello & Lee Bermejo (art)

I picked this up because of two things - Brian Azzarello and the cover. (Come on. The cover man. Why won't any self respecting Batman fan won't pick it up?)

The graphic novel hit the stands not long after The Dark Knight was shown, in 2008, and some might point out the similarities on how Glasgow smile on Bermejo's drawings is similar to Heath Ledger's Joker in the movie but it is purely coincidental. And unlike Ledger's portrayal of the Joker on screen, Bermejo's Joker is much more sadistic in doing things - he went as far as flaying one of his traitors, alive.

The story primarily revolves around a small time bum, Johnny Frost who joined Joker's crew which he tries to rebuild after being released from Arkham Asylum. Instead of getting into The Joker's head, Azzarello puts us in Johnny's head, and witness Joker's antics first hand. Sometimes it is more like a documentary on Joker as told from Johnny's perspective. Refreshing. I like.

Not much on the Batman but I'm sure Bats' fans would not be disappointed with the book.

Grabbed it around RM70 at Borders, and I think the price went down a bit. It is almost a four year book by now. I would not recommend this to fresh readers but to those who wants to read more about the character, please do, pick it up. You won't regret it.

Not the best Batman book I've read (that title goes to Batman: Year One) but it is definitely a fresh take on the Joker and his relationship with Batman (towards the end of the book).

Lowdown:

Story - 7 (out of ten)

Art - 8

Pace - 6

Entertainment value - 7

Final score - 7

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12:11 AM | 0 comments

Captain America Blu-ray - Deleted Scene! (just wait til the end. LOL!)

Actually this is me getting away with posting crap and still put in an entry to this blog! =p

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10:27 PM | 0 comments

Jeffrey Paparoa Holman sets sail with Tupaia

Review in New Zealand Books

"One of the great virtues of Joan Druett's style of historical writing in this extensive reassenssment of Tupaia's role in Pacific history, is her ability to make poetry from maritime history, to evoke the world of 18th century sailors and their ships with a lyrical delight," writes Jeffrey Paparoa Holman, who goes on to say, "With a novelist's narrative muscle, she has crafted a readable and convincing tale of a wronged and forgotten Raiatean hero to whom the record has given precious little credit for the success of Cook's first voyage to New Zealand from Tahiti and his subsequent circumnavigation of these islands."

Jeffrey Paparoa Holman (this year's University of Waikato Writer in Residence) may not agree with some of the conclusions I drew from detailed study of the logs and journals, but had much that is good to say.  "What is exciting about this necessary and fascinating study," he writes, "is the picture that emerges of Tupaia as a kind of co-ethnographer with the Europeans, clearly seen in the imaginative placement of his artwork alongside the better-known images of Parkinson ...

"Certainly, his role as a translator and explainer of Europeans to Maori and vice versa in the early and later New Zealand encounters rank him along with Cook as our first genuine ethnographer of Maori.  For this insight alone, Druett's retelling of his life has a value beyond its reiterations of how badly he was wronged: without him, such encounters would have shown up in far less sharp focus in the record of our earliest meetings.

"As is typical of recent Random House New Zealand history titles, the book is beautifully presented and competitively priced: sumptuous would be a fair description.  Lavishly illustrated in colour, with charts and maps, it is a pleasure to behold and explore.  There are no page references in the text (the typical scholarly apparatus), but this is cleverly circumnavigated with all citations listed and discussed in a commentary section, divided into chapters, at the end of the book.  I found it quite simple to skim through these after reading each chapter.  It's a good compromise between the Michael King Penguin History of New Zealand model (no references given at all) and the rather more pointy-headed footnote system (a la Judith Binney et al). ...

"I'm no great fan of inflated book titles that tell me I'm about to read "a remarkable story": if it is one, the reading of it will let me know.  Yet this truly is, and we're the richer for Druett's being captured by its potential, and her dogged persistence in doing the hard yards tha have given us a readable and thoughtful portrait of Tupaia and his times. ..[T]he historiography of Pacific exploration needs many more hands on deck like hers."

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3:19 PM | 0 comments

WikiLeaks forced to suspend leaking

WikiLeaks closes down

The cause?  Simple lack of crucial funding.

Follwing a boycott spearheaded by Visa nad Mastercard, dating back to December, funding for the trouble-making operation has plunged to almost zilch.

Julian Assange (pictured) stated that, "In order to ensure our future survival, WikiLeaks is now forced to temporarily suspend its publishing operations and aggressively fundraise in order to fight back against this blockade and its proponents."
"If WikiLeaks does not find a way to remove this blockade, given our current levels of expenditure, we will simply not be able to continue by the turn of the New Year."

The influential Australian newspaper has condemned the embargo as politically motivated.

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2:27 PM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - Abu Dhabi Debut Next Year

Six stars from the current top 10, including three of the top four led by world number one Novak Djokovic, will once again put the tennis world's spotlight on Abu Dhabi from December 29-31 this year.

Djokovic will be joined by world number two and 10-time Grand Slam champion Rafael Nadal, world number four and holder of 16 Grand Slam titles Roger Federer, world number five David Ferrer, world number nine Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and world number 10 Gael Monfils and the six will chase a prize fund of $250,000.

For tennis fans in the UAE and the region, it cannot get better than this as one of the current top four will be on the courts of the Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex at Zayed Sports City on the opening day of the three-day event, while the champions serve notice of their intentions for the New Year and season ahead in 2012.

Djokovic said in a message: "I've heard so much about Abu Dhabi and it's a place I've always wanted to see for myself and play here with some top competitors. This season has been very special as I've probably played the best tennis of my life, but I remain focused on the future and continuing my form into next season starting with Abu Dhabi. Obviously a tournament of real quality to begin the season is vital for building early momentum and the Mubadala World Tennis Championship is the perfect place to start."

Nadal, who has been a regular here, said: "Having seen the strength of the field, I'm already looking forward to a serious test and defending my title. I know I'll need to be at my best, so it's exactly the preparation I need ahead of the Australian Open."

Shatha Al Romaithi of Flash Entertainment, who addressed yesterday's press conference to announce the line-up said: "This year's line-up is spectacular. From the moment the first ball is struck, sports fans will get exactly what they are looking for � the chance to witness arguably the greatest rivals in world sport as they go head to head at the start of the global tennis season here in Abu Dhabi.

Greg Sproule, Managing Director of event manager IMG's operations in the Middle East, said: "The unique ability of this championship to touch both the lives of the individual in Abu Dhabi and sports fans around the world is part of its success. The Mubadala World Tennis Championship has come to mean something very special.

Factfile

Dates: December 29- December 31, 2011

Players

Novak Djokovic - World Number 1

Rafael Nadal - World Number 2

Roger Federer - World Number 3

David Ferrer - World Number 5

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga - WorldNumber 9

Gael Monflis - World Number 10

Venue: Abu Dhabi International Tennis Complex, Zayed Sports City, Abu Dhabi

Prize money: $250,000

Defending champion: Rafael Nadal

Title sponsor: Mubadala

Courtesy: gulfnews

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2:18 PM | 0 comments

Michelle Obama to publish her first book

Inspirational, and what's more, it's about gardening

Jason Boog of GalleyCat @ mediabistro.com, reports that Michelle Obama's  American Grown: How the White House Kitchen Garden Inspires Families, Schools, and Communities will be luanched by Crown Publishers next April. The four-color hardcover is the first book written by the First Lady.

Mrs. Obama will not earn an advance for the book, and plans “to donate all net or after-tax author proceeds to a charity or charities to be named later.” Crown Publishing Group publisher Maya Mavjee made the announcement today.

Here’s more about the book: “Through telling the story of the White House kitchen garden, Mrs. Obama will explore in American Grown how increased access to healthy, affordable food can promote better eating habits and improve health of families and communities across America. Mrs. Obama will describe how her daughters Sasha and Malia were catalysts for change in her own family’s eating behavior, which inspired Mrs. Obama to plant an edible garden on the South Lawn – the first since Eleanor Roosevelt’s ‘Victory Garden’ planted during World War II. The book will be inspirational and instructive and will provide ideas and resources for readers to get involved in the movement to create community, school, and urban gardens, support local farmers’ markets, and make small lifestyle changes to achieve big health results.”

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2:13 PM | 0 comments

A Curious Fellow

Another book for writers of historical fiction

Son of a scientifically-minded Scottish aristocrat, Basil Hall joined the Royal Navy at the age of 13 in 1802. His first naval engagements in America and Spain during the Peninsular War are described, as are his travels in India and the Far East. His renowned interview with Napoleon, while still a prisoner on St. Helena is featured. He was a confidante of Sir Walter Scott, Dickens and many other distinguished authors of his day.

Renowned for his curiosity and energy, he became a popular writer himself based on his world-wide travels and adventures, including his involvement in the liberation of Peru and friendship with General San Martin. He embarked on an epic, 10,000-mile journey with his family in North America and twice journeyed across the sub-continent of India under the patronage of the Admiral Sir Samuel Hood, providing delightful vignettes of Indian life of the time. Subsequent travels in Europe introduce personalities such as Lord Byron and the eccentric Countess Purgstall.

Although the narrative of his journey in the United States earned him great opprobrium from Americans for his conservative attitudes, his support in Edinburgh to the great American bird painter, John James Audubon, was greatly appreciated by the artist.

As an amateur scientist, Hall made important contributions to nautical astronomy, geology and naval technology, being a Fellow of both the Royal Society and the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Among his scientific friends were Sir John Herschel, Mary Somerville, and Sir Humphrey Davy, among many others.

He was in the unusually privileged position of moving among the upper echelons of British society’s distinguished writers, scientists and politicians thus providing a fascinating insight into the mores and manners of high society in Edinburgh and London. The inclusion of previously unpublished and often revealing correspondence has contributed to the first full biography of a very colourful individual and his times.

The author, mysteriously unnamed in this press release from the publisher, Whittles, is James McCarthy.

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12:57 PM | 0 comments

Forgotten crime writers

What do Robert Twohy, Dennis Lynds, Leon Comber, and Barry Perowne have in common?

They've all written at least one highly original detective story, and I have never heard of them before.

Long ago, some English lecturer at Wellington's Victoria University ran a course on popular crime fiction, and so the library holds a shelf of ancient whodunits alongside the serious tomes of literary criticism.  Curious about what was popular back in those days, I was scanning the faded titles, and found a collection called Best American Detective Stories of the Year (15th Series) that was edited by a wellknown name, Anthony Boucher.

A wellknown name in science fiction.  It was a great surprise that he had anything to do with crime fiction at all.  However, it seems the great fantasist also wrote detective novels, at least one of them under the pseudonym "H.H. Holmes," which was the name of a late nineteenth century serial killer.  (Anthony Boucher" wasn't a real name, either: he was actually Christened William Anthony Parker White.)

Boucher was also a noted editor and critic, so I borrowed the book with high expectations of finding originality, substance, and style in this 1966 collection.  About half of the stories were dated, possibly because they have been imitated so often since, but the handful of names cited above proved most rewarding, in their different ways.

Robert Twohy's Routine Investigation wasn't even crime fiction -- it really belongs in a fantasy collection, but boy, what a story.  It's a way-out plot, deftly presented, evoking an incredulous laugh and an "OMG" from the reader at the end.  Definitely worth hunting down, if you want an original read, but who was Robert Twohy, and where is he now?  A frequent contributor to Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and Ellery Queen Mystery Magazine, he was nominated in 1984, 1985, and 1989 for various awards, and seems to have edited (or maybe wrote) five anthologies, the last being Silver Screams in 1994, but since then he has dropped out of sight.

Dennis Lynds's No Way Out is a classic locked room mystery, though in this case the room wasn't empty, being full of alert guards when the crime was committed.  It may even have been the inspiration for part of Silence of the Lambs ... but who was/is the author, and what else did he write?

Well, surprise, surprise, he has a Wikipedia page ... under the name of Michael Collins, the moderately wellknown science fiction writer, and also the creator of the sleuth Dan Fortune. 

The Temple by the River by Leon Comber got full marks from me for its beauty.  It is a classic the-female-of-the-species mystery, but takes place in old China, with Chinese characters, and is truly most exquisitely written.  I find that he produced a collection, The Strange Cases of Magistrate Pao, which I will hunt down swiftly -- and I also find (if I have the right Leon Comber, that is) that the story of his life would make a rousing book on its own.  After serving most of World War Two as an officer in the Indian Army, he served in Malaya's secret police during the Emergency, then went on to a prominent role in publishing in the East.  Now in his 80s, he can be located in an undoubtedly booklined office at Monash University, Melbourne, famous as the author of A Historical Survey of Sino-Malay Relations.

He was also, for a while, married to Han Suyin.  Remember A Many-Splendoured Thing?  Rather daunting for an author, I should imagine.

That brings us to Barry Perowne.  Papa Tral's Harvest has a wonderful sense of place -- the Provencal setting is picturesque and evocative -- and has a most unusual moral theme.  Unusual in a crime story, that is.  For once, the reader has absolute sympathy with the criminal.  But who was the author?

Good lord, more pseudonyms!  Barry Perowne was one of the pennames of William Philip Atkey (1908-1985), another being Pat Merriman.  Atkey was mostly known, it seems, for continuing the Raffles series after the death of Hornung.

Why all these pseudonyms?   Was the way to make a tad more cash in those days?

It's a mystery in itself.

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3:00 PM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - Tennis Academy Named in His Honour

Starting from 1st of November, Academy named after the best Serbian and World tennis player- Novak Djokovic will begin its work.

In this Academy 20 the most talented players of the tennis will make their path to fame. Trainings will be held during winter days one of two times per day, on two indoor courts and under the supervision of a professional team. They will be held every working day while sparring matches will be played on weekends. The Academy includes all-day work, which means that students will have the training before and after noon, so a member could go to school and train once a day.

It�s planned to develop the Academy as one of the world's largest tennis center. Monthly membership is 800 to 1,300 euros depending on whether a member train once or twice a day.

Courtesy: expatserbia

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10:57 AM | 0 comments

Novak Djokovic - What A Point!!

BRILLIANT VIDEO, I love the cameo by Pierre :-)

Courtesy: dulebox

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6:47 AM | 0 comments

Rare naval uniform found in attic

A boon for naval historians and writers of historical fiction

Describing naval uniform in both nonfiction and fiction can be quite a problem, as I have found out for myself. In Tupaia, my biography of the Polynesian genius who sailed with Captain Cook on the Endeavour, I wanted to picture John Gore after he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, as he would have looked as he strode up the gangway. I faced a similar challenge when George Rochester, a major character in the Wiki Coffin mystery series, was promoted to the same rank in the United States navy.  In both cases, I had to resort to portraits of lieutenants at the time.

Now, it is possible to go the the National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, and study a real uniform from the era of Nelson, because of a serendipitous discovery in an attic.

A rare Royal Naval uniform worn by a British survivor of the Battle of  Trafalgar has been unearthed after spending decades in the attic of one of the sailor's descendants, Hicks's great granddaughter Carolyn Hammond.  Luckily, it was in a plastic bag.

Dating from around 1812, is an important find for military historians as it is believed no other lieutenant uniform of that era is left in existence.

Read more at the Daily Mail

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3:03 PM | 0 comments

Paris Press Pass

Here is the website I am reporting for. 

We have been able to get one of our writers apress pass into the BNP Paribas Paris Masters event next month. Expect to see great coverage from the event including photos, videos and great reports on the matches.

I wish I was the one behind the scenes who couldinterview all the players!

Looking forward to your reports Clare!

p.s. If you are attending a tennis event around the globe and want to get a press pass to exclusively report on the event for TheTennisTimes.. then get in touch.

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5:46 AM | 0 comments

Sorry for the neglect

But i'll be back in action once Novak steps back on court in Basel.

I am currently putting together a dossier on the players to take with me to Paris. Just little bits of info that may help me should I ask any questions in the pressers. Still cannot quite believe that I am going to be able to behind the scenes.

:-)

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1:51 PM | 0 comments

Self-pub eBooks on NYT bestseller list

The Mill River Recluse and The Abbey maintain ratings

Print and eBook Fiction Combined List:

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1. THE BEST OF ME, by Nicholas Sparks. (Grand Central Publishing.) Twenty-five years after their high school romance ended, a man and woman who have gone their separate ways return to their North Carolina town for the funeral of a friend.
			2. THE HELP, by Kathryn Stockett. (Penguin Group.) A young white woman and two black maids in 1960s Mississippi.
			3. THE AFFAIR, by Lee Child. (Delacorte.) For Jack Reacher, an elite military police officer, it all started in 1997. A lonely railroad track. A crime scene. A cover-up.
			4. THE MARRIAGE PLOT, by Jeffrey Eugenides. (Farrar, Straus & Giroux.) Three Brown graduates in the early 1980s wrestle with love, religion and coming of age.
			5. THE MILL RIVER RECLUSE, by Darcie Chan. (Darcie Chan.) Only one man knows an abused widow, which revealed will change many lives in her small Vermont town. Eighth week on the list.
			6. SHOCK WAVE, by John Sandford. (Penguin Group.) Virgil Flowers investigates bombings directed against a superstore chain seeking to open a store in a Minnesota river town.
			7. SNUFF, by Terry Pratchett. (HarperCollins Publishers.) In this Discworld fantasy, the commander of Ankh-Morpork’s City Watch solves a crime while on vacation in the country.
			8. LETHAL, by Sandra Brown. (Grand Central Publishing.) A woman and a man accused of murder evade the authorities as they search for her dead husband’s secrets.
			9. CAN YOU KEEP A SECRET?, by Sophie Kinsella. (Random House Publishing.) A woman reveals the most intimate details of her life to a man who turns out to be the C.E.O. of the company for which she works.
			10. THE ABBEY, by Chris Culver. (Chris Culver.) Against orders, a former homicide detective begins an investigation into his niece's murder.   Eighth week on the list.
			11. CROSS FIRE, by James Patterson. (Grand Central Publishing.) Detective Alex Cross’s wedding plans are put on hold when an elusive gunman begins picking off crooked Washington politicians.
			12. A KILLING TIDE, by P. J. Alderman. (P. J. Alderman.) An Oregon fire chief becomes entangled with a woman whose brother is a suspect in a deadly shipboard arson blaze.
			13. KILL ME IF YOU CAN, by James Patterson and Marshall Karp. (Little, Brown & Company.) A young man who finds a bag of diamonds is stalked by competing assassins.
			14. THE NIGHT CIRCUS, by Erin Morgenstern. (Knopf Doubleday.) Two young rivals at a magical circus become collaborators as they fall in love.
			Sunday Book Review | Excerpt
			15. SUICIDE RUN, by Michael Connelly. (Little, Brown & Company.) The Los Angeles detective Harry Bosch is on the scene in three never-before-collected stories.

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12:41 PM | 0 comments

Kindles for Japan

Another Frontier for Kindle: Japan

Both the Nikkei business daily and Jiji press in Japan report that the company is close to launching a Japanese Kindle store, "hoping to start the business in time for the Christmas sales season."

Japanese publishers expressed concern about eBook pricing, but Nikkei says Amazon has been discussing "a framework in which the timing and scope of price cuts would be discussed with publishers in advance." Japan's electronic content market is already estimated to comprise $850 million, which is considered small since that's only about three percent of their total market for books and magazines.

Amazon opened their French Kindle store earlier this month, their second store in a language other than English, after launching Kindle in Germany in April. Kindle stores for Brazil, Italy and Spain are all known to be under discussion with publishers.

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12:24 PM | 0 comments

ePublishing conference in San Francisco

Hopefully the next step is a conference in Australasia (we wish!) or a CD to sell

Publishers Launch San Francisco: eBooks for Everyone Else
Wednesday, November 2
9:00 – 5:00

StoryWorld Conference + Expo
Parc 55 Wyndham — Union Square

Register now!

This show is a West Coast version of the very successful conference we presented in New York to a packed audience of agents, publishers and other professionals:

“By far the best digital publishing conference I’ve ever attended and I try to go to all of them in the NYC area. It was a day packed with cutting edge info and insights into the new technologies that are changing traditional publishing in ways we could hardly even imagine four or five years ago. Absolutely exhilarating.”

Betty Sargent, Freelance Editor

(See the general introductory page for even more enthusiastic testimonials from the New York show.)

**NEW: Best-selling author Bob Mayer will join eBooks for Everyone Else in San Francisco to discuss epublishing, self-publishing, and how he’s used his extensive backlist to build a successful publishing operation and loyal readership.**

eBooks for Everyone Else

9:00
Welcome and opening remarks

Mike Shatzkin, Founder & CEO, The Idea Logical Company

9:05
ePublishing Isn’t Free
The costs and requirements of professional ebook publishing

David Wilk, Booktrix

9:20Distribution and Understanding the Markets

Choosing Your Path & Maximizing Your Market

How to think about publishing directly, or using vendors, intermediaries and new companies –who does what and who can get you everywhere you need to beMichael Cader, Publishers Lunch and PublishersMarketplace.com

70 Percent Isn’t Always What It SeemsUnderstanding distribution deals and sales modelsPerseus Books Group

9:50Put Your Book on the Map with Book CountryA new writing community and service offering from an established player

Molly Barton, VP Digital Publishing, Business Development & Strategy, Penguin USA and President, Book Country

10:05eBook Creation and Conversion

Making Simple eBooks & Making eBooks SimpleMark Coker, Founder & CEO, Smashwords

Finding the Right Approach for eBook Production and DesignJoshua Tallent, eBook Architects

App, Meet eBook.Approaches for interactive, multimedia ebooks and new product formsRon Martinez, Founder, Aerbook

10:45MORNING BREAK

11:15Digital Marketing and Discovery

Understanding Metadata
Getting it right from the startBill Newlin, Avalon

Making the ConnectionHow to increase your discoverabilityPatricia Payton, Senior Director of Publisher Relations & Content Development, R.R. Bowker

Your eBook Marketing Punch ListExplore, Observe, EngageRich Fahle, Founder & CEO, Astral Road Media

Social MediaMaking the best use of the new toolsIris Blasi, Coordinator of Digital Media, Hilsinger Mendelson East

12:15Self-Publishing as a Second LifeA bestselling author takes himself digital

Bob Mayer, Author & Publisher

12:30Insights from an eBooksellerPricing, DRM, self-publishing, enhanced ebooks, and more

Michael Tamblyn, EVP, Content, Sales and Merchandising, Kobo, Inc.

12:45BREAK

Box lunch will be provided.

1:30-3:30Learning from the Experts: Get your questions answered

Meet in small groups with these leading providers of digital services:

Bowker, Constellation, Copyright Clearance Center, Ingram, INscribe Digital, PubIt!, and Vook.

And join our publishing experts for discussion groups on :

* Publishing business advice* Metadata and discoverability* Online marketing and social media* eBook creation and conversion
* Enhanced ebooks and apps

3:30AFTERNOON BREAK

3:45How Different Agents Are Approaching ePublishing Opportunities

Moderated by Charlotte Abbott, Publishing Journalist and Digital Strategy Consultant

Deidre Knight, Senior Agent and President, The Knight Agency

Laura Rennert, Andrea Brown Literary Agency

Scott Waxman, Principal of the Waxman Literary Agency, Chairman and Co-Founder of Diversion Books

Ted Weinstein, Ted Weinstein Literary Mgmt

4:30Acting on What You’ve Learned
Developing an ebook strategy

Michael Cader, Publishers Lunch and PublishersMarketplace.com

Mike Shatzkin, Founder & CEO, The Idea Logical Company

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12:12 PM | 0 comments

Very Special Announcement

Fellow tennis fans, I have some fantastic news.

I have received Press Accreditation for the Paris Masters next month :-)

How great is that? I shall be working for The Tennis Times but don't worry, everything I write will be linked here.

This is a great opportunity to get up close to the players and find out what really goes on behind the scenes at a tennis tournament.

I welcome any suggestions for articles.

Thanks

Clare

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2:14 AM | 0 comments

10 minutes with King Baratheon....

Game of Thrones. I love that series. And guess what? Even before you pheasants (ehehe! I kid! I kid!) even got a whiff of watching that brilliant HBO Series, I got to talk to the man himself - Mark Addy who plays Robert Baratheon!

This piece came out in newman August 2011.

One of my most favorite interviews to date. Hope you like it.

Once in a while, that little black box (or flat panel these days) called the television blows our socks off with a brilliant and engaging series. In recent years, the channel that has managed to do so on the most regular basis has been the one with three letters to its name, HBO (think Six Feet Under, The Sopranos, Band of Brothers, Boardwalk Empire).

So when the channel decided to pick up George R.R Martin�s medieval fantasy epic Game of Thrones to be made into a series for television, needless to say that the book�s fanbase was more than delighted at the prospect of a much-loved fantasy being brought to life by a production company whose reputation and repertoire in drama speaks for itself.

We got hold of Mark Addy, who plays King of Westeroos King Robert Baratheon in the series (Addy�s most memorable role to date has been playing Dave in The Full Monty), as he talks about what to expect in this highly-anticipated seven-part first season (the second season is already in production as the time of writing).

What special preparations did you have to go through to get into the character of King Robert?

I took quite a few horse riding lessons actually although ultimately there are only two scenes where I appear on horseback. But in order to get into the character of a man who is a horseman and is used to be around them, you got to get into some element of understanding on how it is like. And the thing about Robert is, he�s basically a regular guy; kind of a foot soldier who�s found himself in the position of power for being the leader of a rebellion. He�s really more comfortable when he is with the troops than with the upper echelons of society, which doesn�t sit well with him being king, really.

So it didn�t take much on your side to be him?

Oh no. It�s pretty straightforward really; I got to drink a lot of red wine and allowed myself to slob out! But there was a wealth of information and history that could be used to create the character which was brilliant, because you don�t normally get that much of background information on a character you are playing.

How similar or different is the role of King Baratheon from the book to the one that you play?

He is very, very close to how he appears in the book. In the book you learn about the fact that he was once a fearsome character, this really powerful and strong guy wielding a war hammer. You don�t get to see that in the series as he�s grown fat and drunk and lazy and taken his eye off the ball. He is a terribly complex character. Not comfortable being king and trapped in a loveless marriage that was a political move in order to strengthen his power base. He is leader because he led a rebellion with Ned Stark (Sean Bean) against a tyrant who was power crazed and happily murders his people on a whim and needs to be rid off. And in the power vacuum that remained, he stepped up to nominally claim the crown but it didn�t turn out to be a bed of roses. He has surrounded himself with advisors who each have their own agendas and by people who�d rather sit on the throne than kneel before it.

How similar are you in person to King Robert?

We share the similarity of being married but unlike Robert, I am happily married and have children of my own. And nobody treats me like a king.

Any particular standout scenes fans should look out for?

They wrote a scene that didn�t appear in the book, a scene between Robert and Cersei (the king�s wife). The producers felt they needed to explain that partnership and it�s a really nice scene between me and Lena (Headey) where we talk about how they came to be and how their marriage is holding the seven kingdoms together. It�s a marriage doomed to fail from the beginning and although she had feelings for him at the start, he never loved her and the love of his life was Ned�s sister who was raped and murdered by mad King Aerys Targaryen. And that�s why Robert holds this lifelong grudge against the Targaryens. It�s an interesting scene and its one to look out for.

Did the author George R. R Martin gave any advice on how the characters should be played according to his vision?

He took part in the casting process and had the opportunity at any point to say �Yes� or �No� to the actor (or actress) playing a particular role so you know his vision of what the characters are is supported by the people that were cast. I chatted with him about his inspiration for the series of books and he said he read up a lot on British history; The Wars of the Roses for example, two powerful houses fighting and struggling for power and I suppose there are elements of Henry the VIII in King Robert. So it is not completely removed from historical reality.

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7:54 PM | 0 comments

Into the Battle of the E-Readers, Superheroes Fly

The Tablet Wars have Begun

Or so David Streitfield reveals, in today's New York Times.

Superheroes are the prize, he says — or perhaps the victim.

Amazon, seeking to make its coming Kindle Fire tablet as appealing as possible, negotiated a deal with DC Comics for the exclusive digital rights to a hundred popular graphic novels. Among the series: Superman, Batman, Green Lantern, the Sandman and Watchmen.

Barnes & Noble, with a tablet of its own to nurture, did not like this one bit. Two weeks ago it removed all the copies of the physical volumes from its 1,300 stores, saying it would not carry any book if it were denied the right to sell the digital version.

Books-a-Million, the third-largest bookseller with 231 stores, followed suit last week, making the same argument

Obviously, like Macmillan in the past (after Amazon removed the buy button from their books), they ae determined that the internet sales giant should not throw its weight around.

Read the full discussion here

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3:09 PM | 0 comments