Merry Wanderer of the Night [Search results for banned] 

It's Banned Books Week!

I don't know about you guys, but it seems like an awful lot of my favorite books or authors have been banned or challenged at some point. I always have two reactions when I hear about the removal of a book from a school or public library — On one hand, I'm always saddened and annoyed by the desire to keep information from kids, but on the other — I'm kinda glad, because it means that a whole bunch of people are now going to pass the name of that book or author around, and it's going to go on lists like these, and be bought and read and given away by people like us and... Yay for publicity... But mostly, I'm sad and angry and wish that instead of saying — NO ONE CAN TOUCH THIS BOOK, people would instead say — I don't want MY family reading this book, but you people can do whatever...
But alas.
ANYWAY — To celebrate the fact that the US doesn't actually ban books, even if some local and school libraries do remove them, and to celebrate the fact that we can read, we can read whatever we want and that the internet allows anyone to find pretty much any book at anytime, I'd like to give away a book today.:)

I will give away either an ARC of Perfect by Ellen Hopkins (who herself has been banned... True story really happened) OR a book of your choice that has been banned or challenged, or even — called too 'dark' and 'lurid' and 'dangerous'. Gotta give a chance to all those newer books out there, who just plain haven't had much chance to get their feet wet...
The ARC will only be shipping to the US, but anyone can enter. If The Book Depository ships to you, enter away!:)
To enter — Leave me a comment telling me what your favorite banned or challenged book (or books) are. AND I'm gonna be a meany and tell you that you cannot use Harry Potter. (If you absolutely have to include the awesomeness that is Harry Potter, you must also include another title.)

Also, please leave me a way to contact you, or make SURE that your email is also linked to the profile you commented with. You can't win if I can't find you...

If you have a favorite book that you know could be pretty controversial, but aren't sure it's been officially challenged or not, that works too.:)

The giveaway will run from now, until Oct 1, as per the linky/hop rules. Comment away and enjoyed reading those banned books!:)

ALSO — Be sure to check out I Read Banned Books and I Am a Reader, Not a Writer, the lovely ladies who coordinated this hop. You can check out their blogs for the full list of blogs participating! Also, stop by the rest of the week! I'm really hoping to have lots of reviews and posts talking about banned books, why I love them and some very definite recommended reading lists.:)

Today's Memory Monday guest is Kate, who recently had her 1 year Blogversary over on her blog, Literary Explorations. We were initially going to swap guest posts and have them go live on the same day, but life gets crazy sometimes.:) So, here is a link to the guest post I wrote for her, about the amazingness that is Contemporary Fiction, and here is Kate, talking about one of her favorite books from childhood. And what do you know, it just so happens that this, is a book that's been banned/challenged numerous times over the years. Let's hear it for celebrating Banned Books Week!:)

Bio:

I'm Kate and I am currently working on my Master's degree in Middle Childhood Education. My favorite genres are historical and realistic fiction. Philippa Gregory, Sandra Gulland and Lauren Willig are just a few of my favorite authors. When I'm not reading or studying for class, I love watching classic films, discovering new wines, and swing-dancing.

Post:

I’ve always been an avid reader, but wasn’t often drawn to the classics. I felt forced to read them in school and even now I’m more likely to pick up the latest YA publication instead of a Jane Austen novel. Now I know there are some good classics out there and I have read my fair share of them, despite my initial hesitations. However most of the time I enjoyed the classics I stumbled on outside of class, the
only exception being To Kill A Mockingbird in 10th grade since I loved Gregory Peck’s role in the movie. Unfortunately this post is not about that novel, although it would have been very appropriate for Banned Books Week. Instead I’ll discuss the book that counted towards all my personal reading requirements in 8th grade English class, Gone With the Wind.

On a whim, I checked out this ginormous book from the library and had all 1,024 pages of it read within a few weeks. I can’t remember if I read the book first or saw the movie, but all I know is that it forever shaped my impression of what a historical novel should be. Rhett and Scarlett are still one of my favorite literary couples and I liked how the novel ended. I was horrified when the sequel Scarlett was published
because it just ruined a perfectly good story for me. The book has to end when Rhett says he doesn’t give a damn because that makes sense. Scarlett realized too late that she was in love with Rhett instead of Ashley and shouldn’t get a second chance to be with him in a sequel. I’m surprised that Margaret Mitchell’s estate
signed off on another book but I guess they just wanted the money from the book sales. Whenever I see Scarlett in stores I can’t help but point it out to whoever is with me just because it’s that horrible of a novel.

Even though the movie is 4 hours long, it still is a very condensed version of the novel. Rhett and Scarlett are the main focus and although it takes place during the Civil War, it’s more of a romantic drama than a war movie. If you’re looking for an accurate portrayal of the war, you won’t find it in Gone with the Wind. I signed up for a Civil War History class this quarter and so far neither Rhett nor Scarlett have shown up. In fact we have yet to study the actual war and it’s been three weeks, but that’s another story.

Gone with the Wind taught me a limited history of the Civil War, but most importantly I learned not to disregard certain books just because they were older and contained a ridiculous number of pages. The classics can be ok reads, but I still can’t help being picky about which ones I’ll give a chance. Since blogging I haven’t picked up any classic novels to read but I did buy a 1936 edition of Gone With the Wind at a used bookstore that I plan on re-reading and reviewing. I might even do a book to film comparison since I haven’t posted one in awhile and need to re-watch my Collectors Edition for my research paper about how the Civil War is portrayed through film.

Thank you so much Kate. I admit that I've never read Gone with the Wind, or seen all of the movie (although I have seen most of it). I started the book when I was around 12, and was shocked to read that Scarlet wasn't actually pretty, because I thought the actress in the movie was gorgeous! It's definitely a book that I've been meaning to actually read for a long time! Hopefully I'll be able to sneak it in soon!

Banned Books Week is coming up soon, and I decided that it would be fun/awesome to have some Memory Monday posts about banned books that I remember reading and loving as a kid.

When I was younger (early elementary school) my older sister (2 1/2 years older) belonged to a book club at her school. That was the most grown up think I could think of at the time (other than real grown up stuff, like jobs and houses and all that stuff) and I was in awe. This also meant that I stole the books she brought home behind her back, because she hated that I would steal borrow them. (I only wanted to be like her...)

Anyway, one of the books she brought home was Annette Curtis Klause's Blood and Chocolate. Now, I'm not sure if any of you have read it. And what you think of it is largely going to depend on personal preferences, age you read it etc. But I love that book. Like, a lot. I don't even really like paranormal (partly because it all feels incredibly the same to me) but this was my very first werewolf story. Ever. And wow. Was it different from what I had previously read.
I've always been an advanced reader. Always. English and language comprehension have always been my highest standardized test scores and I'm really good at contextually figuring out what is happening when I need to. So I understood everything that was going on in this book. And honestly, looking back I'm not sure if that's really a good thing... But that's a whole 'nother story.
As a whole, this book has nothing terribly inappropriate in it for a teenager. But — I read Blood and Chocolate when I was 10, maybe 11. And the content is a little mature for an 11 year old. It's an book geared toward older teens, but I didn't care, because I felt so grown up reading it. I was a little bit scandalized by the many innuendos I came across, especially the few that I was old/mature enough to know were supposed to be, but still too young/inexperienced to fully grasp what they meant.
I've reread this book more than once since then, and I still kind of love it. The story of Vivian is one that can really resonate with a lot of teens, because although none of us are werewolves falling in love with human boys, most teenagers feel like they don't belong in their own skins, in their own lives and that's hard. Vivian simply had a specific and physical difference that she had to live with, so it's easier to see.

I do understand why parents might have a hard time with this one — There are a lot of sexual references (some more on the inappropriate side) as well as quite a bit of swearing, teenage dropouts, crass dialogue etc. But, it's also the story of a bunch of teenage werewolves who sometimes, believe they are better than/above normal humans because they are stronger. But it's also a book that teaches us a lot about what it means to be human and how important personal choices are (both themes that are explored in her vampire novel, The Silver Kiss, which I also love probably even more than this one). It's not a book that's going to be for everyone, but it's definitely one that I'm glad I read, even if I should have waited on it until I was a little older.

A 4,000-year-old statue was sold by Northampton Borough Council (NBC) last year despite an outcry from within the UK as well as other places, including Egypt. 

NBC sold the Sekhemka statue for £15.76m to an overseas buyer -- widely believed to be from Middle East -- in July to “help fund an extension to the town's museum and art gallery.”

Ed Vaizey, minister for culture, communications and creative industries decided to “place a temporary export ban” on the statue. He said the statue was "gifted" to the council in 1880.

The statue “will not be allowed to leave the country,” Vaizey said.

Arts Council England ruled earlier the sale breached the accredited standards for how museums manage their collections. Arts Council England banned Northampton Council from the Museums Association and accordingly has had a Heritage Lottery Fund bid rejected.

Vaizey’s decision is understood to be based on a recommendation by the reviewing committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest (RCEWA), which is administered by Arts Council England.

The RCEWA said the statue was of "outstanding aesthetic importance" and was significant in the study of "the development of private statuary and funerary religion in Egypt and the history of human self-representation."

Save the Sekhemka Action Group praised the ban on exporting the statue. It said in a statement “Our group are obviously delighted that Sekhemka will not be leaving the UK.”

However, the group, which has been campaigning for the statue for many years, remains “deeply disappointed that the situation has been allowed to escalate.”

The statement described the NBC actions as “reckless” and “threatening” the future of Northampton museum.

Author: Marwan Sultan | Source: Ahram Online [March 30, 2015]

Here is another post where I attempt to gather as much of the awesome Contemporary happenings into one place! As always, I know there are going to be things that I've missed, so if you've written anything about Contemporary YA at any point in November and you think I missed it, please let me know and I will add it to the post!

REVIEWS:

Candace @ Candace's Book Blog — Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen and Boyfriends with Girlfriends by Alex Sanchez

Audrey @ Holes in My Brain — Graffiti Moon by Cath Crowley

The Book Faerie — Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Young Readers — The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Ashley @ The Bookish Brunette — The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Giselle @ Xpresso Reads — June of Rock by Elisa Ludwig

Katie's Book Blog — Past Perfect by Lelia Sales

L.L. @ The Story Girl — Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Bonnie @ A Backwards Story — Rhymes with Cupid by Anna Humphrey and North of Beautiful by Justina Chen Headley

Jen @ Almost Grown Up — Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins

Racquel @ The Book Barbies — Love Story by Jennifer Echols and Catching Jordan by Miranda Kenneally

Geianne @ We Fancy Books — Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist by David Levithan & Rachel Cohn and Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Sarah @ The Hiding Spot — Saving June by Hannah Harrington,

Jenny @ The Mimosa Stimulant — Saving June by Hannah Harrington and Dancergirl by Carol Tanzman

Ginger @ Greads — Where Things Come Back by John Corey Whaley

Hannah @ Paperback Treasures — Lie by Caroline Bock

A Life Bound By Books — Every Me, Every You by David Levithan and Overprotected by Jennifer Laurens

Amanda @ Born Bookish — Memoirs of a Teenage Amnesiac by Gabrielle Zevin

Steph @ Steph: Short & Sweet — All That Matters by Youseph Tanha

Ali @ Ali's Bookshelf — Geek Girl by Cindy C. Bennett

Somer @ A Bird's Eye Review — Pretty Little Liars by Sara Shepard and the Perfect Chemistry Series by Simone Elkeles

Kate @ Literary Explorations — Twenty Boy Summer by Sarah Ockler, Past Perfect by Lelia Sales Stolen by Lucy Christopher and Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Lindsi @ Books, Sweets, and Other Treats — Anna and the French Kiss by Stephanie Perkins

Laura @ The Reading Nook — If I Tell by Janet Gurtler

Jess @ Jess Hearts Books — Wonder by R.J. Palacio

Ellie @ Curiosity Killed the Bookworm — Hidden by Miriam Halahmy

Jacinda @ The Reading Housewives — Friendship on Fire — Danielle Weiler (and a giveaway!) and I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler

Kalia @ Reading the Best of the Best — Five Flavors of Dumb by Antony John, How to Save a Life by Sara Zarr, Love Story by Jennifer Echols, Secrets of My Hollywood Life (and it's sequel, On Location) by Jen Calonita

Evie @ Bookish — Playground by 50 Cent

Sarah @ Sarah's Books & Life — OyMG by Amy Fellner Dominy

A.J. @ Collections — The Disenchantments by Nina LaCour and Stolen by Lucy Christopher

Samual @ Books for All Seasons — The Education of Hailey Kendrick by Eileen Cook

The Book Muncher — Past Perfect by Lelia Sales, Tunnel Vision by Susan Shaw, Brother/Sister by Sean Olin and Going Underground by Susan Vaught

Farah & Juhina @ Maji Bookshelf — Only the Good Spy Young by Ally Carter (book 4 in a series) and The Vincent Boys by Abbi Glines

Emma @ Novel Minded — Dirty Little Secrets by C.J. Omololu, Every You, Every Me by David Levithan and If I Tell by Janet Gurtler

Cristina — The Princess of Story Land — How to Rock Braces and Glasses by Meg Haston

Liz @ Consumed by Books — Saving June by Hannah Harrington

Kelsey @ The Book Scout — Zitface by Emily Howse and Beauty Queens by Libba Bray

Meredith and Erin @ Mint Tea and a Good Book — I'm Not Her by Janet Gurtler and Paper Towns by John Green

Jen @ I Read Banned Books — Au Revoir Crazy European Chick by Joe Schrieber

Kristen @ Strawberry Splash Reviews — Brooklyn Burning by Steve Brezenoff

Nina @ We Adore Happy Endings — Bliss by Lauren Myracle and Reality Check by Jen Calonita

Annette @ Annette's Book Spot — Untraceable by S.R. Johannes

Dustin @ Dustin Disco — The Beginning of After by Jennifer Castle and I'll Be There by Holly Goldberg Sloan

AUTHORS:

Jacinda @ The Reading Housewives interviewed Danielle Weiler (with a giveaway!)

Katie @ Bookishly Yours interviewed Hannah Harrington (with a giveaway!)

Erika @ One a Day YA interviewed Miranda Kenneally

Jen @ I Read Banned Books interviewed Joe Schrieber

Alice @ Alice Marvels Interviewed Carol Tanzman

Hannah @ Paperback Treasure has a guest post from Hannah Harrington

Mary @ Anxirium has a guest post about swoon-worthy boys from Jillian Dodd

Ginger @ Greads! interviewed John Corey Whaley (with a giveaway!)

GIVEAWAYS:

Candace @ Candace's Book Blog is giving away a signed ARC of Virtuosity by Jessica Martinez

Lena @ Addicted to Novels is giving away two Romantic Contemps!

DISCUSSION:

Kristen @ Strawberry Splash Reviews talks YA Contemporary Books with Real Issues

Samual @ Books for all Seasons talks about Remembrances of Sisterhood in Contemp

Katelyn @ Katelyn's Book Blog Top 11 Swoon-worthy Boys

Jacinda @ The Reading Housewives Top 9 Swoon-worthy Boys

Mandie Baxter's Top Ten Swoon-worthy Boys

Kathy @ I Write, I Read, I Review Top Five Faves & Most Anticipated

Adam @ Roof Beam Reader Top Five Faves & Most Anticipated

Bonnie @ A Backwards Story Top Ten Anticipated Contemps

Ginger @ Greads! Top Ten Favorites

Kailia @ Reading the Best of the Best — What I Want To See More Of

Nikki @ Paper Dreams Top Ten Problem Novels

Kristen @ Strawberry Splash Reviews Top Ten Summer Contemporaries

Mary @ Anxirium Top Ten Cutest Couples

Ariel @ The Librarian's Bookshelf Top Ten Contemp I Need to Read

The BBC has been investigating the trade, and the routes from Syria through Turkey and Lebanon to Europe.

The Smuggler

It has taken many calls and a lot of coaxing to get a man we are calling "Mohammed" to meet us. He is originally from Damascus but now plies his trade in the Bekaa valley on the border between Syria and Lebanon. He's 21 but looks much younger in his T-shirt, skinny jeans and black suede shoes. As we sit in an apartment in central Beirut I have to lean forward to hear the softly spoken young man describe how he began smuggling looted antiquities from Syria. "There's three friends in Aleppo we deal with, these people move from Aleppo all the way to the border here and pay a taxi driver to sneak it in." He specialised in smaller items which would be easier to move on - but he says even that has become too risky. "We tried our best to get the items which had most value, earrings, rings, small statues, stone heads," he says.

He made a good profit but bigger players with better connections "sold pieces worth $500,000, some for $1m", he says. When I ask who's making the money and controlling the trade in Syria his gentle voice takes on a flinty tone: "IS are the main people doing it. They are the ones in control of this business, they stole from the museums especially in Aleppo," he says. "I know for a fact these militants had connections overseas and they talked ahead of time and they shipped overseas using their connections abroad." Mohammed is still involved in cross-border trade, but no longer in antiquities. "Anyone caught with it gets severe punishment," he says. "They accuse you of being IS."

The Go-between

To sell looted antiquities you need a middle-man, like "Ahmed". Originally from eastern Syria, he is based in a town in southern Turkey - he doesn't want me to specify which one as he doesn't want the police to know. As a Turkish-speaker he is popular with Syrian smugglers, who ask if he can move goods on to local dealers. When I speak to him via Skype he shows me a blanket next to him filled with artefacts - statues of animals and human figures, glasses, vases and coins. They were dug up in the last few months. "They come from the east of Syria, from Raqqa, all the areas controlled by ISIS (Islamic State)," he says. Islamic State plays an active part in controlling the trade, he tells me. Anyone wanting to excavate has to get permission from IS inspectors, who monitor the finds and destroy any human figures, which are seen as idolatrous (those Ahmed is showing me have slipped through the net). IS takes 20% as tax. "They tax everything," he says.

The main trade is in stoneworks, statues and gold, and it can be extremely lucrative. "I have seen one piece sold for $1.1m," he says. "It was a piece from the year 8500BC." He gently handles each artefact as he brings it closer to the webcam to give me a better view. He has had to pay a sizeable bond to the smugglers to get this material and he doesn't want to lose any of it. The final destination is Western Europe, he says. "Turkish merchants sell it to dealers in Europe. They call them, send pictures... people from Europe come to check the goods and take them away." Ahmed will have to return the looted artefacts to his Syrian contacts, as I am clearly not buying them, but he won't be returning to his homeland. "If I went back I'd be killed," he says.

The Dealer

It's an unremarkable tourist shop in the centre of Beirut. Inside the glass cases are ancient oil lamps, rings and glassware but the shop owner, a laconic man in his late 40s, has an unusual selling tactic - he says much of it is fake. However, he assures me he does have genuine pieces from the Hellenic and Byzantine periods, around 1,000 years old. I'm interested what other items he can get, mosaics for example? I had been advised by archaeologists that mosaics would almost certainly be looted - at the moment, that would mean most likely from Syria. He asks which kind I want. Faces, animals, geometric designs? "If you're serious we can have a serious negotiation... there is always a way," he promises. When I ask if it's legal he smiles as he tells me the only way to legally ship these items is with official documentation from a museum saying they have been cleared for export.

If it was only a small mosaic I wanted, I could take the chance and try to smuggle it out myself but he warns it's a serious decision, as I could get caught. For a fee he can have them shipped to the UK but it will cost me many thousands of pounds. We shake hands as I leave and he gives me his business card. It has only taken 10 minutes to be offered illicit antiquities. Arthur Brand, an investigator who helps recover stolen antiquities isn't surprised, it chimes with his experience in Lebanon. "I've been there several times and at times and it really is amazing," he tells me from his base in Amsterdam. "The illicit trade is run as a professional business with offices and business cards and you can buy antiquities from Lebanon, but also from countries like Syria, Iraq." The link between smugglers and dealers is the dirty secret the art world doesn't want to admit to, he says.

The Cop

He could easily pass for the star of an Arabic cop show but Lt Col Nicholas Saad is a real policeman, head of Lebanon's bureau of international theft. In his office, filled with certificates from the FBI and Scotland Yard, he shows me photos of huge Roman busts seized in a recent raid in Lebanon. We go up to the roof of his police station, where out to the east, beyond the mountains, is the border with Syria. This is where refugees pour into the country and are exploited by the smuggling gangs.

"The refugees come in big numbers and the gangs put things between the belongings of the refugees," he explains. Since the conflict in Syria he has noticed a significant increase in the smuggling of looted artefacts, "especially from the Islamic parts, Raqqa (the base) of the Islamic State", he adds. His team has seized hundreds of Syrian artefacts. "We have the archaeology expert that said they're very valuable from the Roman period, from the Greek period, years before Christ," he says. But there isn't a market for them in Lebanon. "Lebanon is a transit station, it's one of the the doors that goes to Europe. The real money is made in Europe."

The Treasure

Inside the Beirut National museum are treasures from the cradle of civilisation - Hellenic, Roman and Byzantine statues, busts and sarcophagi 3,000 years old. Hidden away from the public in a store room below the main galleries, seized looted antiquities wait to be returned to Syria. My guide is Dr Assaad Seif, an archaeologist and head of excavations at the directorate general of antiquities in Beirut. He rings a bell and a wrought iron door is unlocked. Inside are scores of items - pottery, stonework - but the most valuable items are sealed away in a warehouse. "We have huge funeral sculptures, representing men and women used to seal the tombs, from Palmyra," he says.

Most of the seized items are from excavations rather than thefts from museums. The looters target warehouses at ancient sites like Palmyra, a Unesco world heritage site. "The warehouses at archaeological sites have objects they know are not listed or catalogued yet, and they think it could be easier to sell them," he says. "The Palmyra objects had value for people in Syria... it gives a kind of identity," he says. Although reluctant to put a price on any of the bigger items, after some coaxing he relents. "We have a dozen objects that would sell for $1m each on the open market." I understand why they keep them out of sight of curious foreign visitors.

The Destination 

It has taken days to get through to Dr Maamoun Abdulkarim, the archaeologist in charge of Syria's dept of antiquities in Damascus. When I do reach him, he's angry. "The sites under the control of ISIS, in these areas we have a disaster, a lot of problems. IS attack all things just for the money," he says. "It is our memory, our identity, for the government, the opposition, for all Syria." It's impossible to stop the looting but he is adamant more could be done to crack down on the trade. "We are sure through all the sources a lot of objects go from Syria to Europe, in Switzerland, in Germany, in UK - and Gulf countries like Dubai and Qatar," he says.

It was a common refrain. Everyone from the Lebanese police to Mohammed the smuggler and Ahmed the go-between said the main market was Europe. In the UK there have been no prosecutions or arrests for selling looted Syrian artefacts but Vernon Rapley, who ran the Metropolitan Police's art and antiquities squad for almost a decade, says too much shouldn't be read into this. "I'm quite confident that there have been seizures of material like this," he confidently states, as we stroll around his new workplace, the Victoria and Albert museum, where he is director of security.

Rapley still liaises closely with his former police unit and he is certain that artefacts from Syria are being sold here. He wants the trade in these antiquities to become "socially repugnant and unacceptable" so that in the future, he says, "we don't have interior decorators looking for these things to decorate people's houses".

Author: Simon Cox | Source: BBC News Website [February 17, 2015]

America: Our Better History is showing this weekend at the E.C. Mabie Theatre in the University of Iowa theatre building. If you haven't seen the posters around campus then become informed.

It all starts on election night in the not so distant past. Six gay men in Minnesota are watching President Barack Obama become elected. There is Martin (Kjai Block) who is hosting the party but is constantly in and out fighting with his former Iraqi soldier boyfriend Aden (David Hoffman). While Aden was in Iraq Martin had an affair with his Obama campaign partner (Chase Bottorff) which he thinks is hidden from Aden, but it turns out he has known all along. Inside is Scott (David Wheeler), the youngest gay man of the group, Harold (Andrew Clancey), and Harold's life partner Charles (Soren Olsen). Harold and Charles are a middle aged gay couple that act as the "teachers" of the group, although their attempts are often ignored. While they feel they know more because they survived events such as Stonewall and Harvey Milk, Scott disagrees and says that his generation is dealing with the same hatred every day.

The play mostly functions around the love triangle of Martin, Aden, and Robert. Aden feels that he is excluded from the group because he went to Iraq, something Martin's liberal gay friends cannot understand. He spends the majority of his time outside listening to the birds and feeding ducks until Scott shoots himself in the arm by accident and needs Aden's help. In the same scene Charles get a concussion from a fall (he is a afraid of blood) and Aden punches Martin during a fight. As Charles says, "It's a real hate crime."

The second half of the play takes place during the inauguration of President Barack Obama. Scott and Robert are fighting and Harold and Charles are trying to convince Robert to get over Martin, while Scott is trying to convince Martin to share his true feelings with Aden. There are several references to Aretha Franklin's unforgettable hat which calm the scene as Aden and Martin are fighting to save their relationship. Then Martin discovers that Aden has been reactivated and has known for three weeks. Aden says he has been trying to push Martin away so that it would be easier when he dies at war.

An amazing portrayal of an unforgettable night, one that was specifically important to the gay community. They succeeded in electing a black Democrat into office, but as we all remember (and if we don't I will remind you) that at the same time Prop 8 passed and gay marriage was banned in three states. The characters were balanced and I felt that each was truly contributing something to the plot. It was dark at times and humorous, but very real.

Written by Justin Dewey and directed by Tony Meneses.
E.C. Mabie Theatre October 30-31 8 p.m. November 1 2 p.m.
$5 or FREE with a University of Iowa student ID
Running Time: 2 hrs.

This past week wrapped up Book Blogger Appreciation Week, in which I'm sure many of you participated. In two weeks will be Banned Books Week, in which I'm sure some of you also will participate. I'm also sure that many of you participated, and will participate, with at least a post per day, if not more, on your respective blogs.

Personally, after such weeks, I feel almost burnt out and think, "Why am I doing this? I'm not getting paid for this." Do you ever feel the same way after weeks like the ones mentioned above? If you do, what do you to counter it? How do you keep going? Do you take a break from posts after that, or do you just "soldier on"?

Or if you don't feel burnt out after such weeks, why not? Also why are you a book blogger? From what I've seen and experienced, it's certainly not the fame or the glory that you get. So what is it? Why? Why? Why?

Sign in with Mr. Linky by putting a link to your post and leave a comment if you're so inclined. Thanks for participating. Hope this doesn't contribute to your burnout. ;) I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Pearl by Jo Knowles is a hard book for me to review, because honestly, I didn't feel much while reading it, and there's just... not much to it. It's not a bad book, but it's not really a good one either.

Pearl (aka Bean) and Henry are best friends (well, only friends, really). They've always lived near each other, both understand and love each other (and is it going to be love too?!?!) and they both have mommy/daddy issues. Henry's mom hasn't left the house in years and is still stuck on the fact that her husband walked out on her and Bean's mom is often drunk or ranting to her best friend about her dad, whom Bean and her mom live with, because Dad has never been part of the picture.

If I remember right, fantasies about their fathers are what initially really bonded Henry and Bean. They use to imagine what their fathers must really be like, what life would be like if they hadn't left, and they created these elaborate justifications for why such a good man would walk away from his family. But they are solid friends, always there for each other and willing to offer whatever support and love is necessary. And after Bean's grandfather dies, she needs a lot of support, especially when secrets start spilling out of the woodwork.

Honestly, this is not a novel I can imagine recommending to very many people. There's nothing overtly wrong with the book, but there isn't a whole lot going right either. The characters are a bit flat, the story line becomes predictable in it's SHOCKness and the secrets that start to come out after the death of Grandfather Gus feel barely better than a gimmick.

The way the story is told, most of the real meat of the story is so wrapped up in secrets that you can't really talk about anything without some serious spoilers. And sometimes, that works amazingly well for a story. But other times, like here, it makes things too muddy and unbelievable, leaving the reader scratching their heads saying, really? You had to do that too? And while some of the character reaction to the new information is incredibly believable and realistic, some of it is not. I had a hard time believing a lot of what was going on in the story, but more than anything else, I just didn't care.

And that, more than anything else says a lot about this book. Nothing made me care, nothing affected me emotionally, or really captivated me. It's (thankfully) a really short book, so it didn't take long at all, but the book fell short for me on a number of levels. I can see where some people might like this one a lot more than I did, and I hope that those people find it. But for anyone new to Contemporary, or not sure if it's really the right genre for you, I'd recommend either giving this one a pass altogether, or setting it on the back burner until you have more Contemporary under your belt.

*Disclaimer: I received this book through Banned Book Tours.

Elizabeth "Lizzy" Scarlett Jagger(born March 2, 1984 in New York City) is an English-American model and actress. She is the oldest daughter of Mick Jagger and Jerry Hall, and the paternal half-sister to Jade Jagger.

Lizzy Jagger strips off bare for latest playboy photo shoot. Its interesting to mention here that she was once banned from her parents for such kind on photo shoots.

Lizzy Jagger on Playboy Cover

But now her father Sir Mick Jagger and her mother Jerry Hall have given their resentful approval as their eldest daughter reveals (almost) all in a nude photo shoot.

Lizzy Jagger wearing just a pair of thigh high boots and bunny ears (Playboy Photo Shoot)

 Lizzy Jagger is completely nude, wearing just a pair of thigh high boots and bunny ears with only her long locks to cover her modesty in her sizzling photo shoot for Playboy magazine.

VIA Elizabeth "Lizzy" Scarlett Jagger strips off bare for Playboy photoshoot

This marks the last of our interviews conducted by Bonnie from A Backwards Story (for this year, at least). Today she is chatting with author Tia Nevitt, whose novella, The Sevefold Spell, is catching many eyes with it's pretty cover.
Check it out:

Tia Nevitt is the author of The Sevenfold Spell, an e-book novella centered in the world of Sleeping Beauty. The novel features a girl and her mother whose lives are destroyed when their spinning wheel is taken away from them and shows what they must do in order to survive. For a review of Tia’s book, please visit A Backwards Story.

~ What were your favorite fairy tales growing up? What drew you to them?
My favorite was Cinderella, mostly because of Leslie Ann Warren in Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Cinderella. They played it every spring while I was growing up for a number of consecutive years. The Disney version also hit the theaters when I was a girl, but I didn’t like it as much. Nowadays, I understand why—too much focus on the cute animals, and not enough focus on Cinderella. But really—there’s only so much plot to work with. I’m having the same difficulty now with my Cinderella retelling!
Later, when I was about ten or so, I discovered Beauty and the Beast, and that became my favorite. This was mostly because we had a beautifully illustrated version of it, and also because the story was more complex with a more admirable heroine.

~ What made you decide to write The Sevenfold Spell from a villager's POV?
I didn’t really. The Sevenfold Spell is a retelling of Sleeping Beauty, and I wanted to write from the point of view of the woman who owned the spinning wheel. Many readers have thought of her as a villager, but I actually envisioned her as living in a tiny neighborhood in the capital city—right where all the action takes place. But the reader is always right!
I wanted to explore the spinster’s point-of-view because I wondered what became of all the spinsters after the spinning wheels were banned. I was watching Disney’s Sleeping Beauty with my daughter and the plight of the spinsters seemed like such a good seed for a story. I wanted to show how everything in Talia’s life changed with the loss of her spinning wheel—her whole future was bound up in it. It happens incrementally, first the loss of an income, which results in the loss of her dowry, which results in the loss of her betrothed, at which time she begins to despair. I tried to put myself in the mindset of a fatherless young lady who is very unattractive, faced with a long life ahead of her with only a cranky mother for company. The only man who ever looked at her must leave… What would she do in search of happiness?
One of the ideas I had from the start is that Sleeping Beauty would actually be Sleeping Ugly. Therefore, I made Talia to be Aurora’s opposite. Where Aurora is beautiful, privileged, dreamy and pure, Talia is unattractive, poor, pragmatic—and sensual. I realize that’s a bit unusual, but a mousy and shy spinster would have been too much of a cliché, and besides, sometimes the character’s choices lead the author, which is very much what happened in this case.

~ Will future books in the Accidental Enchantments series be from alternate POVs as well? Can you tell us about what you're working on now?
Yes, they will all be from the point-of-view of people who are caught up in the magic. Right now, I’m working on Cinderella. It’s from the point-of-view of a dressmaker’s niece, whose leg is lame, and who is hounded by an unscrupulous moneylender. She makes a bargain with a certain fairy godmother, but trouble starts when one of the crystal slippers turn up missing. For my Snow White story, the prince is the one who is accidentally enchanted, so he is one of the point-of-view characters. But most of the story takes place from the point of view of one of the dwarves—who happens to be a woman. I also have some ideas for Beauty and the Beast, but they are too unformed to go into detail.

~ Was it hard coming up with your own lore when you began world-building for The Sevenfold Spell? How did you bring everything together, especially the way you created the Sevenfold Spell itself?
The Sevenfold Spell itself came straight from the fairy tale, except I believe there were originally twelve blessings, and they weren’t bound up together. Perrault only details a few of the blessings in his version of Sleeping Beauty. I settled on seven because I wanted a prime number. Five was too few, and eleven was too many. Why a prime number? It just seemed to me that if you were going to have some magical numbers, then there ought not be very many of them. Technically, there are an infinite number of prime numbers, but that infinite number is going to be much fewer than the number of ordinary numbers out there, even though they are both infinite. And since that dichotomy makes no sense at all, but nevertheless is, it seemed perfect for magic.
The rest of the lore came from the many plot holes in Sleeping Beauty. Why could each fairy only cast one spell upon Aurora? Why could the evil fairy’s spell not be undone? Why a hundred year sleep? And why would Aurora touch the spinning wheel?

~ What are some of your favorite fairy tale inspired novels and/or authors?
When I sat down to write The Sevenfold Spell, I didn’t go out and buy up a bunch of fairy tale retellings, like I probably should have done. I just sat down and wrote it. I wanted to write the retelling that I wanted to read. What I did do was read all the Sleeping Beauty versions that I could find, which is where I got Talia’s name. (I didn’t keep anything else from that version because it’s very strange.)
I did read Patricia Wrede’s Snow White and Rose Red years ago, which I kept for all this time so my daughter could read it one day.

~ If you could live out any fairy tale, what would it be and why?
Probably Beauty and the Beast, because nothing awful actually happens to Beauty! Cinderella would have had to live through either her father’s death or neglect (depending on the version you read), Snow White would have had to put up with the evil queen’s jealousy and abuse, and Sleeping Beauty was just so passive. Beauty gets to be heroic (in sacrificing herself for her father), but her punishment is to live in luxury in a castle while falling in love. I’ll take that one!
I certainly didn’t follow the fairy-tale formula in my own life. I didn’t really make an attempt to find a Prince Charming, which is probably why I found one. I left home when I was eighteen to join the military, where I ended up launching and recovering jets with my future husband. From that experience, you’d think I’d be writing military sci-fi or something. And although I had a few ideas along those lines, none were strong enough to engage me long enough to write a novel—or even a novella. Maybe I haven’t thought of the right plot yet.

~ What's your favorite Disney rendition of a fairy tale? What makes it so special?
Beauty and the Beast. It had all the right ingredients. The original story had plenty of plot, a self-sacrificing heroine, and a tragic hero; Disney added terrific animation, a great cast, and marvelous music. But the best part about it was Gaston. The original plot lacked a true villain, and the addition of an arrogant, handsome villain who had everything that Beast didn’t have was inspired. The guy who sang Gaston (Richard White, according to IMDB) was perfect.
The only flaw in the movie is that Belle actually called Beast “Beast”. Bleh.

~ What was your biggest surprise in your publishing journey?
That this story was accepted at all. This was my first attempt to submit this version of the story to a publisher. I had recently expanded it from a short story—which I had been unable sell anywhere—to a novella, and I sent it to my first choice publisher. I expected the same thing that had happened before—a rejection within a few weeks or months. I was really surprised to get a phone call, instead!

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Looters have breached tombs and Roman temples have been damaged in Palmyra, once a vital stopping point for caravans crossing the Syrian desert carrying spices, silks and perfumes, said Ahmad Deeb told Reuters in his office in Damascus.

Clashes between the army and rebels have damaged historical sites and buildings throughout Syria, during the four-year-long conflict that has also killed 200,000 people.

"Special authorities in Palmyra have done great work during the last year when they returned more than 120 antiques, the most important of which were tombstones that were secretly excavated," Deeb said.

Unfortunately, some of the looted artefacts have been moved outside Syria, he added.

Syria is a cultural treasure trove and home to six UNESCO World Heritage sites. Four of these sites, including Palmyra and the Crusader castle Crac des Chevaliers, have been used for military purposes, the United Nations says.

Nearly two dozen funeral busts and the headstone of a child from the necropolis at Palmyra were looted in November, according to UNESCO. From the 1st to the 2nd Century, the art and architecture of Palmyra married Greco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences, UNESCO says.

Satellite imagery shows that 290 cultural heritage sites in Syria, which has a history stretching back to the dawn of civilization, have been damaged by the civil war, the United Nations' training and research arm said in December.

To preserve its history, Deeb said all Syrian museums were emptied two years ago and the artefacts were put in stores. A list of antiquities smuggled from archaeological sites have been documented on a "red list" distributed to Interpol, he said.

Deeb estimates that more than 1,500 items may have been stolen from museums in Raqqa, a city in northeastern Syria now controlled by ISIS militants, and Deir Atiyah in northern Damascus. Some of are still in Syria, he said.

As jihadis who adhere to a hardline school of Islam have grown in power, they present a new threat to Syria's heritage. Shrines and tombs in areas under their control have been targeted and destroyed as idolatrous symbols.

More than 750 archaeological sites have been attacked, Deeb said. The U.N. Security Council last month banned all trade in antiquities from the war-torn country.

Author: Kinda Makieh | Source: Reuters [March 19, 2015]

A report reveals how during Winter Solstice celebrations at the site in December last year, chewing gum was stuck onto the ancient monument, graffiti was sprayed on the ancient stones, attempts were made to light fires on them, and lines of oil were dripped on several stones.

Things were much worse during the Summer Solstice in June, when volunteers and staff were "left in tears" and had to clean up vomit and feces. The "appalling stench" and the "urine, vomit and feces" were left around the stones after 37,000 revelers descended on the site to watch the sunrise.

Winter Solstice numbers were much smaller, and amounted to around 1500, though the damage done to the stones was still considerable. A spokesperson of the English Heritage conservation group said of the oil, "It's still there and it's not degrading. This is an additional concern as there is still graffiti on the stones from the summer solstice."

Solstice revelries were banned between 1985 and 2000, when they were finally opened up after a long legal battle by King Arthur Pendragon, a self-professed "pagan leader". Pendragon said pagans were also unhappy about the vandalism. However, he states that the Heritage Journal are calling attention to this because they wish to halt future solstice events. "Heritage Journal have been doing that since they were formed in the first place. Basically they're just a number of archaeologists who don't want 'the great unwashed', as they see it, anywhere near Stonehenge. Obviously, we abhor the vandalism. We always keep an eye out for these sorts of things. From my point of view, as a druid and a pagan priest, it's not on."

Solstice events are marked by various denominations and faiths around the world. However, a spokesperson of the Heritage Journal remarked, "The latest research suggests the stones were designed to allow people to view the summer solstice sunset from outside the circle, not crowded inside it."

Stonehenge, a UNESCO World Heritage Monument, is the remains of a ring of standing stones set within earthworks, built between 3000 BC and 2000 BC.

Author: Sravanth Verma | Source: Digital Journal [March 10, 2015]