book
Posted in Uncategorized on July 25th, 2010 by jordanhaley1974Material from:How To Publish A Childrens Book
Dear Steve:
Everybody seems to be emailing you these days about the whole iPhone 4 antenna issue and giving you guys grief over it, but don't worry, I'm not writing you about that.
Back in December of 2008, I–or rather my Romanian developer, Alex Brie–submitted my self-published mystery novel, Knife Music, as a book app to your App Store. After waiting a week for it to be reviewed, I was stunned to learn my app was rejected for having “objectionable content” (your gatekeepers even sent a screen shot of the tawdry bit they didn't like).
I never thought my book was all that racy, although it does have some mature themes, such as teen suicide and male doctors' sometimes uneasy relationships with their female patients. But it wasn't any more risqué than many popular novels these days–or the lyrics to all those rap songs and R-rated movies you have in iTunes.
Anyway, after being disappointed for a couple of minutes, I realized, hey, wait, Apple just rejected my book! In my day job, I'm an executive editor at CNET, so I have decent instincts about what makes a good tech story, though it doesn't take a genius to figure out that anything Apple related–especially something with a negative slant–seems to light up the traffic numbers. All the major tech sites picked up on the story, including our own CNET News as well as your personal favorite, Gizmodo, and some more mainstream pubs.
Suddenly, a lot more folks were aware that my book existed. As I said, I self-published the thing, but not before having some frustratingly close calls with major publishers–or so my high-powered agent said. After so many passes, it was nice to get a rejection that turned out to be good!
The only problem was I didn't have an app and I really wanted one (it's not about writing the Great American Novel anymore, it's about writing the Great American App, right?). So, in an effort to adhere to Apple's standards, I stripped out every naughty word in my book. It wasn't that hard, because, as I said, I'm no Henry Miller. And lo and behold, once I did this, my app was approved.
Not surprisingly, I got a little grief for censoring myself, but I write for the Web, and I'm used to being flexible and updating my reviews and stories as companies upgrade their software and sometimes make critical fixes. When the app was accepted, it quickly shot to #7 in the free book apps list and stayed in the top 100 for four months until I took it down. I don't have to tell you how popular the iPhone is, but over 1,000 people a week were downloading the ebook and I was getting emails from readers in places as far away as Malta (yes, they speak English there).
All that awareness also helped sales of the paperback, which I published through Amazon (Booksurge) and on the Kindle, where I was selling it for $3.99 and it briefly hit #1 in the legal thriller category (this was before Grisham was published digitally, however).
Anyway, after a little over four and half months on the market, a local TV station in New York, NY1, did a story on the book, which led to some renewed interest from publishers and an eventual contract from The Overlook Press, which is publishing Knife Music this month in hardcover, with an ebook edition to follow from Penguin, which distributes Overlook titles.
Was it all due to my iPhone app? Probably not, but it was certainly a major help, and it may be the first iPhone app that's been turned into a hardcover book.
I'm also happy to report my developer recently submitted a new, uncensored Knife Music iPhone/iPad app–it's about 40 percent of the book, not the full book, but it is free–and it was approved, with a NC-17 rating (or whatever you guys call it). So there's definitely been some progress and glad you guys listened to all of the complaints from authors who felt their book apps were unfairly rejected.
Personally, now that iBooks has arrived, I think standalone, text-based book apps are a dying breed, but the future is bright for more graphically rich and interactive book apps. I only did the app again because you guys aren't allowing authors to submit free ebooks to the iBooks Store and neither is Amazon or Barnes & Noble without some special arrangement with the publisher. I also put the excerpt up on Scribd for a limited time, though the iPhone/iPad has two bonus chapters.
Anyway, thanks again. And thanks for having a good sense of humor about some of the Apple articles I've written over the years at CNET, including my latest series on the iPad and the one where I had you and Jeff Bezos going at it in a fictional conversation, discussing the arrival of the Kindle. You do have a sense of humor, don't you? If you don't, you know there's an app for that.
In finishing, I'd like to invite you to my reading on July 27 at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park (7 p.m.), just a couple of miles from where you live. I grew up in Palo Alto and much of Knife Music takes place in the area. Come by and support a great independent bookstore that was included in the Huffington Post's recent list of favorite independent bookstores.
Sincerely,
David Carnoy
David Carnoy is an executive editor at CNET.com and the author of “Knife Music,” a novel that has nothing to do with technology.
Publishers Weekly:
The Los Angeles Review of Books, an online periodical that will include multiplatform book reviews, author profiles, Skype interviews, and readings as well as critical essays on classic authors will launch in the fall under the direction of Tom Lutz, professor and chair of the creative writing department at the University of California at Riverside.
Lutz, author of cultural histories Doing Nothing and Crying, has enlisted a roster of more than 200 contributing editors that includes several Pulitzer winners and is representative of the growing importance of Los Angeles and West Coast-centric writers.
Read the whole story: Publishers Weekly
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writing
Posted in Uncategorized on June 13th, 2010 by jordanhaley1974Material from:econ-dom.ru
It’s safe to assume that there’s no Web user out there that hasn’t experienced auto-complete. Whether on Google site search and toolbars, Facebook search, or on ecommerce sites like Amazon, auto-complete has become a de-facto usability feature. Its ubiquity means that there’s a very shallow learning curve for users to get accustomed to it when used outside of the browser setting, and that’s exactly what eType is banking on with its auto-complete-as-you-type product.
We have 1000 exclusive invites for TechCrunch readers! Get them while they’re hot, here.
Now before you cubbyhole eType as a utility strictly for non-English speakers, here’s an anecdote that may change your mind: There’s an Israeli company called WhiteSmoke, which developed software that enriches written English. The product was originally developed to assist non-native English speakers boost the quality of their writing in emails and such. Lo-and-behold, WhiteSmoke discovered that their main customers were actually native English speakers that bought the software to polish their writing. And they’ve been buying it in droves, for around $100 a pop.
The point I’m making is that native English speakers are very much part of the target audience for eType, and may easily constitute the majority of its userbase.
eType is completely free and a breeze to use. All you have to do is, well, um, type. By default, eType starts auto-completing words on the third letter, but this can be changed up or down. Word suggestions are based on machine-learning and offer the most probable suggestions, based on what the user is typing out. For example, eType is able to take into consideration that the word ‘running’ can have multiple contexts such as ‘running for office’, and ‘running a marathon’.
One thing to remember about eType is that it’s executable client software, as opposed to a browser plugin. The major benefit is that it allows eType to be used across any application, from word-processors, to browsers, to email clients. The major downside however, is that eType currently only supports Windows XP and above. I’m told touch interface support (iPhone/iPad, etc.) availability is expected by year’s end.
While eType can be used across any application, users can opt to disable it on applications of their choice. For example, some users may want to disable it on their IM application.
eType comes with English, Spanish, German French and Hebrew dictionaries. It also offers word translations to and from English to these languages. Definitions are pulled from Wiktionary and there’s even an English thesaurus built right in. New words can be added simply by typing them out naturally. These are added to users’ own personal dictionaries, but are also sent back to eType for review and possible inclusion in the universal dictionaries.
The founder of eType is Israeli serial entrepreneur Daniel Scalosub. He is known for founding DSNR, a web marketing company, along with a couple of sister companies in the same field. This means that eType has significant marketing muscle behind it. Today, eType is where Scalosub focuses his energy.
At a panel at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books this year, I sat on while three distinguished authors discussed their work. After about 45 minutes of talk of craft and inspiration, the panel was opened up to questions from the audience. One by one the readers and writers (you are either or both if you hold a ticket to this panel) stood up from creaking UCLA lecture hall seats to inquire about character development or how to query an agent.
Toward the end, a twenty-something man popped up from his seat and, in a tone of pure desperation, asked the three fiction writers where they did their writing. He asked as if these published authors would reveal an enchanted garden or some other sacred location, the knowledge of which would change the course of his writing career from then. If only he could know where they write, he could go there as well and produce his magnum opus at last. At that moment, I sat at the edge of my seat as well, pen and Moleskine ready to capture the secret. And then Elizabeth Crane, author of the story collection, You Must Be This Happy to Enter, said that she writes at home, often on the couch with the T.V. on. “It's not very exciting to the onlooker,” she said. She went on, however, to explain that it is exciting to her because she is creating her stories in these places. Crane's refreshing answer was at once slightly disappointing (what, no cabin in the woods?) and utterly encouraging because it taught this young writer a lesson in comparing my experience to others'. I can only write what I write from where I write it.
However, inquiring minds such as mine want to know more, so I have asked a few writers whom I admire to talk about where they write. Here are their responses.
Emily St. John Mandel, author of Last Night in Montreal (Unbridled Books, 2009) and The Singer's Gun (Unbridled, May 2010):
“I do most of my writing in my home office, at my unbelievably messy desk. It's by far my favorite place to write–my cats and my music are there, and it's a very peaceful room. I live in Brooklyn and work at a university in Manhattan, and I get off work in the mid-afternoon. Often if I have theatre tickets or some other plans that require me to be in Manhattan that evening, I'll linger at work for a few hours. When that happens, I go to the library at the university where I work and write there for a while. Often, very often, I'll find myself writing in the subway. I spend two hours a day on the F train, five days a week, and I always carry a notebook with me.” (photo: Kevin Mandel)
Alexander Chee, author of Edinburgh (Picador, 2002) and the forthcoming The Queen of the Night:
“Usually it's trains where I get the most writing done–I wish I could get a residency from Amtrak on a sleeper car, or an office booth in a cafe car. I recently had a residency at a colony in Florida, where I had two days of writing 17 pages a day, and it would have continued if I hadn't had to leave. I think anonymity and displacement help me no matter where I am–I need to feel like I've vanished and no one can find me.”
Nova Ren Suma, author of Dani Noir (Aladdin/Simon & Schuster, 2009) and Imaginary Girls (Dutton, summer 2011):
“I live in a tiny apartment in New York and can sometimes be found writing first thing in the mornings at a cafe, if I can find a good table, but I don't stay there for long. There are the crowds. The noise. I can't control the music on the stereo. The real place where I get most of my writing done is called the Writers Room. Billed as an urban writers' colony in New York City, it's a place for writers of all genres to go for space, quiet, and uninterrupted time to work. At various desks in the giant loft space of the Writers Room, I've written, no exaggeration, thousands of pages. When you pay for an 'office space' like this and have a dedicated place to go, one filled with other working writers typing up their own pages, it makes you all the more motivated to do your own work.” (photo: Erik Ryerson)
publish
Posted in Uncategorized on June 12th, 2010 by jordanhaley1974Material from:zoozz.ru
Online news aggregation and curation startup Publish2 is today at the TechCrunch Disrupt conference launching a new product dubbed Publish2 News Exchange, with the ambitious goal of disrupting the entire reason for being of The Associated Press.
The AP being the cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and TV stations in the US, which operates a monster news and photo distribution network that non-contributing media organizations can subscribe to (for a hefty sum, evidently).
Publish2 is taking a swing at the newswire mammoth – they un-lovingly call it an inefficient monopoly – by launching a platform that allows newspaper publishers and other media organizations tap the vast amount of quality content already available for free on the Web (we don’t mean to brag, but TechCrunch was one of the examples cited by the startup on stage).
The startup realizes that the only way to disrupt the monster co-op is by offering a completely scalable substitute. Here’s basically what the company hopes the Publish2 News Exchange will do to the AP: ‘Craigslist it’.
As in, kill the AP’s main income stream by offering an open, efficient alternative.
And my educated guess is publishers are going to love this.
Publish2 announced an initial $2.75 million round of financing back in March 2008.
At the helm of the company we find Scott Karp, former Director of Digital Strategy for Atlantic Media and publisher of The Atlantic and current Editor & Publisher of Publishing 2.0, a widely-read industry blog. The startup can also fall back on a solid set of advisors (Stowe Boyd, Dan Gillmor, David Cohn etc.) and quite an impressive board of directors (which includes people like Robert Young, Kurt Johnson, Howard Weaver).
Does Publish2 really have the potential to destroy the AP and help publishers survive and thrive thanks to free online content publishers?
Time, as ever, will tell, but we can’t help but cheer for this one.
Feedback and Q&A:
Philip Kaplan: on one hand, feels like selling paint to the Titanic. Also not sure if I want newspapers to survive and thrive, as they’ve basically disrupted themselves.
Josh Williams: Great presentation. Cutting out the middleman is very interesting.
Chris Fralic: You explained the problem really well. The press will love it, as will the blogs.
Jeffrey Bussgang: felt like selling vitamins to dinosaurs. Where’s your business when newspapers die? What’s the value proposition then?
Response: the brands will survive on the Web, and we can play a role in that story as well.
Jeffrey Bussgang: The question is how big the window of opportunity is.
Second round presentation and expert feedback
“We want to become the brand newspapers rely on, and when they fade, we want to be there to help them.”
Publish2 wants to be in a position of trust and authority, that will ultimately be very profitable in an admittedly shrinking market. Scale is key.
“It’s all about the value of news brands.”
Philip Kaplan: are you charging for the content or is it advertising-based?
Response: we’re not charging, but content owners can and then we take a transaction fee. If the content is free, we have the licensing fee model.
Philip Kaplan: It makes sense, and that’s why we invited you back. Reducing the expense for publishers makes sense. But making an ad network out of it at some point, is going to prove very, very hard. Why not just sell the hell out of the content that you’re offering?
Response: yes, that would be fantastic.
Jeffrey Bussgang: How big are the budgets you’re going after?
Response: $30-$40 million for the AP disruption part, and then there’s the international aspect.
Chris Fralic: Shrinking AP’s market – what would you expect them to do?
Response: ignore us in the beginning, then reduce their business to provide the same kind of value. By the time, they will, it’s going to be too late. We can stay way ahead of them.
Women Buy Miniskirts When The Weather Gets Nice, And Other Press Releases Bored Reporters Will Publish
In preparation for the holiday, the Daily Mail helpfully republished an eBay press release that women buying miniskirts can predict coming warm weather. Can they also predict my “Correlation is not causation” tattoo? [Daily Mail, image via SerialK]
Send an email to Megan Carpentier, the author of this post, at askalobbyist@gmail.com.
writing
Posted in Uncategorized on June 11th, 2010 by jordanhaley1974
It’s safe to assume that there’s no Web user out there that hasn’t experienced auto-complete. Whether on Google site search and toolbars, Facebook search, or on ecommerce sites like Amazon, auto-complete has become a de-facto usability feature. Its ubiquity means that there’s a very shallow learning curve for users to get accustomed to it when used outside of the browser setting, and that’s exactly what eType is banking on with its auto-complete-as-you-type product.
We have 1000 exclusive invites for TechCrunch readers! Get them while they’re hot, here.
Now before you cubbyhole eType as a utility strictly for non-English speakers, here’s an anecdote that may change your mind: There’s an Israeli company called WhiteSmoke, which developed software that enriches written English. The product was originally developed to assist non-native English speakers boost the quality of their writing in emails and such. Lo-and-behold, WhiteSmoke discovered that their main customers were actually native English speakers that bought the software to polish their writing. And they’ve been buying it in droves, for around $100 a pop.
The point I’m making is that native English speakers are very much part of the target audience for eType, and may easily constitute the majority of its userbase.
eType is completely free and a breeze to use. All you have to do is, well, um, type. By default, eType starts auto-completing words on the third letter, but this can be changed up or down. Word suggestions are based on machine-learning and offer the most probable suggestions, based on what the user is typing out. For example, eType is able to take into consideration that the word ‘running’ can have multiple contexts such as ‘running for office’, and ‘running a marathon’.
One thing to remember about eType is that it’s executable client software, as opposed to a browser plugin. The major benefit is that it allows eType to be used across any application, from word-processors, to browsers, to email clients. The major downside however, is that eType currently only supports Windows XP and above. I’m told touch interface support (iPhone/iPad, etc.) availability is expected by year’s end.
While eType can be used across any application, users can opt to disable it on applications of their choice. For example, some users may want to disable it on their IM application.
eType comes with English, Spanish, German French and Hebrew dictionaries. It also offers word translations to and from English to these languages. Definitions are pulled from Wiktionary and there’s even an English thesaurus built right in. New words can be added simply by typing them out naturally. These are added to users’ own personal dictionaries, but are also sent back to eType for review and possible inclusion in the universal dictionaries.
The founder of eType is Israeli serial entrepreneur Daniel Scalosub. He is known for founding DSNR, a web marketing company, along with a couple of sister companies in the same field. This means that eType has significant marketing muscle behind it. Today, eType is where Scalosub focuses his energy.
Clarion sf writing workshop Write-a-Thon
The Clarion Writing Workshop at UCSD La Jolla is having its annual write-a-thon, in combination with Seattle's Clarion West and Australia's Clarion South: “From June 27 to August 7, 2010, Clarion supporters can tap into the creative energy of the renowned six-week Clarion workshop, encourage this year's Clarion students, and help secure the financial future of Clarion, all without leaving home. The first annual Clarion UCSD Write-a-Thon will take place at the same time as this year's Clarion Workshop. Write-a-Thon participants embark on a six-week writing journey alongside the 2010 students-in-residence, supported by friends, family and fans.”
I'm in. I'm writing 1,000 words a day, five days a week, on Pirate Cinema, the YA novel I've got due next Christmas. You can pledge to support me and my $500 fundraising goal for Clarion. Clarion helped make me into a better writer — and it's done the same for hundreds of others. Fundraising is an increasingly important part of Clarion's viability. With major cutbacks from our host organization — the bankrupt UC system — it's fundraise or die.
I hope that you'll participate in the Clarion Write-a-Thon, either as a writer or a donor (or both!).
Participate in Clarion 2010 without Leaving Home!
(Disclosure: I am proud to volunteer as a board-member for The Clarion Foundation, a 501(c)3 charity that supports the Clarion workshop at UCSD)
book authors
Posted in Uncategorized on June 9th, 2010 by jordanhaley1974Everyone has a book in them, right? Well Barnes & Noble wants to give you the opportunity to push that book in front of a few million people using their PubIt! service.
The new service allows you to upload a document, convert it to epub, and sell it on their B&N reader system, including on the Nook and iPad. It’s coming this summer and is currently accepting sign-ups.
Interestingly, they’re focusing on independent publishers, which suggests that we won’t see too many scrawled treatises on alien mind control in the Carter cabinet or the how the ghost of Jack Ruby is coming to inappropriately touch an older man in Boca Raton.
There will be a “competitive royalty model” but they’re not announcing specifics right now.
Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s a freebie: if I were an author looking to get the most out of the social web (and I am), I’d do something along the lines of what I’m about to share. Your mileage may vary, but here’s a decent approximation of the things I’d do. Please feel free to share liberally. Just link back to An Author’s Plan for Social Media Efforts, please.
An Author’s Plan for Social Media
- Set up a URL for the book, and/or maybe one for your name. Need help finding a URL? I use Ajaxwhois.com for simple effort in searching.
- Set up a blog. If you want it free and super fast, WordPress or Tumblr. I’d recommend getting hosting like Bloghost.me.
- On the blog, write about interesting things that pertain to the book, but don’t just promote the book over and over again. In fact, blow people away by promoting their blogs and their books, if they’re related a bit.
- Start an email newsletter. It’s amazing how much MORE responsive email lists are than any other online medium.
- Have a blog post that’s a list of all the places one might buy your book. I did this for both Trust Agents and Social Media 101.
- Make any really important links trackable with a URL shortener. I know exactly how many people click my links.
- Start listening for your name, your book’s name. ( Covered in this post about building blocks.)
- Consider recording a video trailer for your book. Here’s one from Scott Sigler (YouTube), for his horror thriller, Contagious. And here’s one from Dallas Clayton for his Awesome Book. (Thanks Naomi for pointing this out).
- Build a Facebook fan page for the book or for bonus points, build one around the topic the book covers, and only lightly promote the book via the page.
- Join Twitter under your name, not your book’s name, and use Twitter Search to find people who talk about the subjects your book covers.
- When people talk about your book, good or bad, thank them with a reply. Connect to people frequently. It’s amazing how many authors I rave about on Twitter and how few actually respond. Mind you, the BIGGEST authors always respond (paradox?)
- Use Google Blogsearch and Alltop to find the people who’d likely write about the subject matter your book covers. Get commenting on their blog posts but NOT mentioning your book. Get to know them. Leave USEFUL comments, with no blatant URL back to your book.
- Work with your publisher for a blogger outreach project. See if you can do a giveaway project with a few bloggers (here’s a book giveaway project I did for Donald Miller’s A Million Miles in a Thousand Years book).
- Offer to write guest posts on blogs that make sense as places where potential buyers might be. Do everything you can to make the post match the content of the person’s site and not your goals. But do link to your book.
- Ask around for radio or TV contacts via the social web and LinkedIn. You never know.
- Come up with interesting reasons to get people to buy bulk orders. If you’re a speaker, waive your fee (or part of it) in exchange for sales of hundreds of books. (And spread those purchases around to more than one bookselling company.) In those giveaways, do something to promote links back to your site and/or your post. Giveaways are one time: Google Juice is much longer lasting.
- Whenever someone writes a review on their blog, thank them with a comment, and maybe 1 tweet, but don’t drown them in tweets pointing people to the review. It just never comes off as useful.
- Ask gently for Amazon and other distribution site reviews. They certainly do help the buying process. And don’t ask often.
- Do everything you can to be gracious and thankful to your readers. Your audience is so much more important than you in this equation, as there are more of them than there are of you.
- Start showing up at face to face events, where it makes sense, including tweetups. If there’s not a local tweetup, start one.
- And with all things, treat people like you’d want them to treat your parents (provided you had a great relationship with at least one of them).
This sounds like a lot of steps. It is. But this is how people are finding success. Should this be the publicist’s job? Not even a little bit. The publicist has his or her own methodology. The author will always be the best advocate for his or her own work. Never put your marketing success in the hands of someone else. Always bring your best efforts into the mix and you’ll find your best reward on your time and effort.
You might have found other ways to be successful with various online and social media tools. By all means, please share with us here. What’s your experience been with promoting your work using the social web?
Chris Brogan is the New York Times bestselling author of the NEW book, Social Media 101. He is president of New Marketing Labs, LLC, and blogs at .
rooibos tea
Posted in Uncategorized on May 12th, 2010 by jordanhaley1974Used Material from:Organic Rooibos Tea
seafood restaurants
Posted in Uncategorized on April 4th, 2010 by jordanhaley1974Sourse :Seafood Salad Recipes
There are some great lunches to be had in this town, and we want to celebrate the midday meal. So, let's do lunch, shall we?
It is a common misconception that authentic ethnic food has to be hidden away in some hole-in-the-wall with a “C” rating on the door. Some fantastic eats are hiding in plain sight. In the case of Massis International Grill, it is hiding somewhere between McDonalds and Hot Dog on a Stick.
This Persian-Armenian kabob shop (kabobbery?) has occupied the same location in the Glendale Galleria since 1976. It was one of two original restaurants in the food court, and there is a good reason why it still stands. The addition of giant decorative 3-foot rotating kabobs to celebrate their 30th anniversary only adds to their coolness factor. The family-run business has three other locations in the Westfield Fashion Square Mall, West Covina Plaza and Montebello Town Center.
Taste Washington 2010: An Epic Eating and Drinking Marathon in Seattle
Cured's charcuterie plate at Taste Washington. [Photographs: Leslie Kelly]
It was flat-out impossible to taste everything at Sunday's Taste Washington, the massive annual wine event in Seattle showcasing 225 producers pouring more than 800 different wines. Sixty restaurants provide tasty fuel for the record-busting 3,500 people who attended Taste.
In a space that's as big as a couple of football fields, chefs sizzled in two Viking demo kitchens. Sippers played a grown-up version of ring toss (the winners scored a bottle of wine). There were a dozen “cheese stations” and a spectacular raw bar starring pristine Northwest oysters, mussels and clams. Many tasters juggled wine glasses, full plates and cell phones as they Tweeted impressions from the event. (Check #TasteWA on Twitter for 140-character reports.)
Sensory overload was definitely a clear and present danger. But over the years, I've developed a sure-fire strategy to taste as much as possible without collapsing into a food coma. I think of Taste as a marathon and pace myself. I go slow and steady, never sprinting.
After spending five hours—yes, five hours—chewing and sipping (and spitting) through various Tastes, I finished right where I started: at Elliott's Oyster Bar. I love those briny, bracing bites from the sea, especially the beautiful Virginicas, originally from the waters off the East Coast, now thriving in Totten Inlet. The Virginicas' texture is so rich and buttery. After eating about a dozen, I closed my eyes and felt like Hemingway at a Parisian café.
Continuing on my search for seafood to pair alongside the lovely whites I was trying, I hit the jackpot with the Dungeness Crab Louie Roll from Etta's and then wrapped my tentacles around the grilled octopus and Olsen Farms potato skewers with chimichurri aioli from Matt's in the Market. Oh boy.
Even though I'm kinda over the whole gourmet mac-and-cheese thing, I had to admit I really liked the deep-fried Dungeness cheesy pasta poppers from The Georgian, really fun bar food from one of the most formal dining rooms in Seattle.
Lamb from Picazo 7Seventeen.
As I shifted to reds, I went in search of meat like marathoners zoom into hydration stations. Absolutely loved the lamb chops in a dried Chukar Cherry barbecue sauce from Picazo 7Seventeen in Prosser, the heart of grape-growing country in Eastern Washington, and the steak from fantastic Snake River Farms was so incredibly tender, I barely needed to chew.
The generous charcuterie plate from Cured in Leavenworth was a little bit spicy, which was just the thing to pair with the finest wine I tried all day: the 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon from Betz Family Winery. A gorgeously balanced wine, the intense fruit went on and on.
My favorite bite at Taste, though, was neither surf, nor turf, but the greenest of seasonal greens. SkyCity, the restaurant at The Space Needle, served a creamy, complex soup made with wild stinging nettles and peppercress. A sprinkling of chopped Holmquist Farms hazelnuts provided the crunchy crescendo to this symphony of flavors.
After five hours, I had done such a good job pacing myself, I still had room for something sweet. But, darn it, I waited too long to make my dessert dash. The line was hundreds deep.
Next year, I'll eat dessert first.
About the author: Former Seattle Post-Intelligencer restaurant critic Leslie Kelly has been apprenticing in professional kitchens since the newspaper folded in March 2009 and chronicling her culinary journey from pen to pan for Serious Eats. She recently started a new project on her personal blog, inspired by Michael Ruhlman, she's exploring “An Egg A Day”.
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poetry
Posted in Uncategorized on April 3rd, 2010 by jordanhaley1974Source:Book Publishing Service
31 Responses to “Video: Ghostface Speaks On Wizard Of Poetry’s Poor Sales”
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Every Wednesday night, Hissa Hilal steps on to the stage of the popular Abu Dhabi television show The Million's Poet. As is required of Saudi women appearing in public, she is covered from head to toe in a traditional abaya. Facing an audience carefully segregated by gender, she recites poetry that brazenly calls out for women's rights and the end of Islamic extremism.
A housewife and mother of four from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Hilal has become a sensation and a polarizing figure in the Arab world. One might think that, given her controversial subject matter, she would be thankful for the abaya's anonymity. But she told the BBC that she (and her poetry) would be just as bold without it: “I am hoping my daughters won't have to cover their faces and they'll live a better life.”
Hilal's poetry has, not surprisingly, led to death threats by Islamic extremists. She is admittedly worried for her children, but as for herself, she says simply, “I am not afraid.” And the Arab world's response has primarily been supportive. “Most of the people loved what I said, from their hearts,” she continued, “They think I am very brave to say so, and that I said what they feel in their hearts.”
That feeling has shown up in the votes. Hilal has already gone farther in The Million's Poet competition than any woman before her, and she received the highest overall score in last week's semifinals, pushing her through to this Wednesday's final (and its $1.3 Million prize for the winner). She was loudly applauded, and one of the judges praised her as “a courageous poet.”
My poetry has always been provocative,” she told The Associated Press. “It's a way to express myself and give voice to Arab women, silenced by those who have hijacked our culture and our religion.” She has said that she “always dreamed” of a day when she could talk to the people directly.
A taste of that straight talk is below. It's an excerpt from Hilal's semifinal poem, translated by the Abu Dhabi newspaper The National, in which she decries the actions of conservative clerics in the Muslim world.
I have seen evil from the eyes
of the subversive fatwas
in a time when what is lawful
is confused with what is not lawful;
When I unveil the truth,
a monster appears from his hiding place;
barbaric in thinking and action,
angry and blind;
wearing death as a dress
and covering it with a belt
He speaks from an official,
powerful platform,
terrorizing people
and preying on everyone seeking peace;
the voice of courage ran away
and the truth is cornered and silent,
when self-interest prevented one
from speaking the truth.
How is Hilal able to get away with being so critical? In an interview with the New York Times, Lina Khatib, an Arab media expert at Stanford University, explained: “The show is at the heart of cultural conversations in the Arab world. Because it's poetry, one of the most respected forms of expression in the Arab world, you can push the boundaries much further than you might with popular music.”
Hilal aims to do more than push boundaries–she aims to break them down. “My message to those who hear me is love, compassion and peace,” she has said. “We all have to share a small planet and we need to learn how to live together.”
Watch:
March 30th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
Ghostface is one of my favorite emcees, but because of the concept and bad word of mouth, I avoided this LP like the plague. Well, heard it for the first time this weekend, and I’d like to issue an apology to Mr. Coles.
This album is crack.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
I’ll take that one on the cheek and keep it moving.
^ayo
March 30th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
For the record, it was definitely promoted heavily online…
^This is self-defeating. Your promoting it to people who just plan to steal it.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
How do you make decisions on how you dress\look? Personal preference or strictly for bitches.
^
both. i’ll dress for breezies all day but i gotta ok the look in the mirror while playin my favorite chunes. hate me for it, i could giva fuck.
also, i keep a full beard thas groomed to look like a natural 5 o’clock shadow. then i watch chics clamor. i be shoppin at whole foods lookin yummy to chics.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
lololol cold worried about Achick
cOLD Says:
May 21st, 2009 at 1:12 pm
dude killed himself online for getting clowned yall niggas be easy.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:42 pm
Ghostface is one of my favorite emcees, but because of the concept and bad word of mouth, I avoided this LP like the plague. Well, heard it for the first time this weekend, and I’d like to issue an apology to Mr. Coles.
This album is crack.
—
I think people definately slept. I liked it.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
and bad word of mouth,
——-
LOL… i still say it sucks… by ghostface standards … it might be ok in comparison to the more prominent skinny jeans rap of today… but for a clansman, it sucks …
March 30th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
kevfrescura de talco Says:
i be shoppin at whole foods lookin yummy to chics.
^^^
Whole Foods is definitely a cool spot to find the femaliens
March 30th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
@ KzA
Seeing as you get flamed everyday in here, I can see Y you wanna past the torch. But seriously, STFU B!
March 30th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
pass>past
lol!
March 30th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
This album was pretty damn good…Sorry Ghost..these young’ns dont know shit..
March 30th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
i was just listening to WOP over the weekend. album is dope!!
*daps 1:39-1:46*
March 30th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
landLORD Says:
May 21st, 2009 at 1:38 pm
her neck look like Verrazano Narrows Bridge cables …
^
uifaeslufli
March 30th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
BTW the Wu-Massacre album is dope. Its real short, but I liked the whole project.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
B-Ease
12 mins ago
the whole site dumbed down… music as well… its a microcosm of society …. we done all fell off …
^^
Word.
^
* late pass*
true. I lurked for a long time, and finally started
commenting to restore the feelings, ever since French Kev came through and destroyed the buildings
March 30th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
“A” Chick Le Fleur – I Got My Billions UP Says:
March 30th, 2010 at 1:44 pm
@ KzA
Seeing as you get flamed everyday in here, I can see Y you wanna past the torch. But seriously, STFU B!
^
first of all.. no I dont. Second, pass the torch? Im reading a thread from a year ago. get over it
March 30th, 2010 at 1:47 pm
You couldn’t pay homage to Ghost or Rae as an MC. To try to redo their style would be abysmal for any artist.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
>>So with only one album left owed to Def Jam…
^word! get the fuck outta there.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
KzA Says:
first of all.. no I dont.
^you kind of do though
March 30th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
You couldn’t pay homage to Ghost or Rae as an MC. To try to redo their style would be abysmal for any artist.
—
You mean like a remake of one their songs? That would be difficult.
March 30th, 2010 at 1:49 pm
*late pass*
I have to congratulate Beezy for having a good
run with those Dre lines
*daps Beezy and Dre*
March 30th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
first of all.. no I dont. Second, pass the torch? Im reading a thread from a year ago. get over it
————-
hl Says:
March 30th, 2010 at 11:38 am
The real Kza and his REAL girl at their wedding. Bless their hearts.
i43.tinypic.com/20axkr9.jpg
—-
holy.shit.
————-
SAY WORD U DON’T GET FLAMED EVERYDAY?
Again, STFU, B!
March 30th, 2010 at 1:50 pm
Beezy Says:
March 30th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
KzA Says:
first of all.. no I dont.
^you kind of do though
^
gtfoh. You the only one that ever says shit to me. and either way, Ive NEVER taken a beating as bad as that. shit was 4 posts long. even eskay was havin a field day.
A chick handled it pretty good then though, wierd how shes gettin cranky bout it now
March 30th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
I dont see how anybody wouldn’t like Wizard of Poetry when a lot of his hit singles over the years that everybody was feeling is similar to tracks on his album….*sarcastic* I guess it had to have a Drake or Weezy feature on it
March 30th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
ima listen to WOP one more time… cause i admit i gave it only 2 or 3 complete spins… but i remember being clearly dissapointed by all the soft r&b beats … sounded like beats for LLCoolJ …
March 30th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
g7 Says:
March 30th, 2010 at 1:48 pm
>>So with only one album left owed to Def Jam…
^word! get the fuck outta there.
———-
LOL! Def Jam stay giving artists 10 album deals. Word to LL….
March 30th, 2010 at 1:51 pm
You fuckin’ the FiOS nigga?!
March 30th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Ghost finna sign to Stones Throw
March 30th, 2010 at 1:53 pm
TheCo!!inB Says:
March 30th, 2010 at 1:52 pm
Ghost finna sign to Stones Throw
——
now that would work for me …
March 30th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
his album before this was dope as fuk and no 1 bought it
this 1 had roughly the same first week sales
I bought it but expected more, it was still better than 90% of the shit out
it could have been bigger with some better features and a couple different beats
I hope Ghost goes indie
March 30th, 2010 at 9:01 pm
Previously: Ghostface Speaks On Wizard Of Poetry’s Poor Sales (Video)