St Baldrick's 2011

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The Barracks Thief By Tobias Wolff

This book took me by surprise. I began reading it and immediately expected a Vietnam war story but man, was I wrong. Yes,  it is an army story set during the Vietnam era but it deals mainly with Phillip Bishop who joins the army to get away from his divorced and feuding parents as well as his brooding brother. While stationed at Fort Bragg, he connects with 2 other recruits, Hubbard and Lewis. All is well until someone starts stealing from the soldiers in the barracks. Who the thief is did not come as a surprise to me but the reasons for the thefts and the choices made by the 3 main characters during the aftermath of the thefts really caught me off guard. The story is well written, with each character giving his perspective on the events.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "My Wave" from "Superunknown" by Soundgarden

No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog by Margaret Mason

#2 “Fess Up: Writing gives you time to consider how to present yourself. Online, you can be smarter, wittier, kinder. Alternately, you can be a mind-numbing bore. This sometimes happens because your audience (however small you think it may be) gives you stage fright. You worry that certain things could be misconstrued, so you’re tempted to water things down. You hone, delete, and reshape until you’ve sucked all the juice from your posts.”

Yep, that’s me. I continuously worry that something I say is going to be taken wrong and someone will be offended. If I can’t change this way of thinking then I will never continue to grow as a person. So from here on out, I am entitled to my opinions and if I upset or offend you then send me a comment and then suck it up and move on.

As for this book, it is a must read for anyone interested in blogging or writing. It is full of great ideas on how to keep your audience interested in your work and how to keep your work fresh.

Rest assured I took lots of notes and hope to implement some of the ideas in the near future.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Feet On the Ground" from "Experience Music: A TuneCore Hip Hop/RnB Sampler" by Soulphonics & Ruby Velle

Please donate to St. Baldrick’s Foundation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The St. Baldrick’s Foundation is a volunteer-driven charity committed to funding the most promising research to find cures for childhood cancers and give survivors long and healthy lives.

It Takes Life-Saving Research
Since the St. Baldrick’s Foundation became an independent charity in 2005, it has funded over $56.9 million in life-saving childhood cancer research. And more than $14 million in 2010.
• Cooperative Research Grants fund the clinical trials and laboratories of the 230-member Children’s Oncology Group. Through this grant, the St. Baldrick’s Foundation funds virtually every institution in North America with the expertise to treat childhood cancers.
• St. Baldrick’s Fellows are new doctors training to specialize in pediatric oncology research, funded for two to three years. From 2005 to 2010, 46 St. Baldrick’s Fellows have been funded.
• St. Baldrick’s Scholars are young professionals pursuing exciting research, funded for three years or more. Because grant funds are so scarce, it is difficult for those early in their careers to compete with more established researchers. These grants keep new researchers focused on childhood cancer. From 2008 to 2010, 30 St. Baldrick’s Scholars have been funded.
• Research grants are focused on finding new and better cures for childhood cancer. Some focus on a single type of disease, and others will help children and teens with all types of cancer.
• Infrastructure grants help institutions treat more kids on clinical trials (their best hope for a cure), or provide resources to make more research possible.
• Foreign beneficiaries receive funds raised by St. Baldrick’s events held in their countries.
• St. Baldrick’s Summer Fellows work in a pediatric oncology research lab for the summer after their first year of medical school. Students accomplish a research project and the experience may encourage them to choose childhood cancer research as a specialty. Six St. Baldrick’s Summer Fellows have been funded.
• Supportive Care Research grants will lead to the improvement of the quality of life for patients and survivors. This research addresses the side effects of treatment, long-term effects faced by survivors, psychosocial aspects of childhood cancer and more.

www.StBaldricks.org • 888.899.BALD (2253)

Definition of Introvert -- What is an Introvert?

Definition of Introvert -- What is an Introvert?

Pikes Peak Library District, High Prairie Library, Peyton, Colorado | American Libraries Magazine

Pikes Peak Library District, High Prairie Library, Peyton, Colorado American Libraries Magazine

Pikes Peak Library District, High Prairie Library, Peyton, Colorado | American Libraries Magazine

Pikes Peak Library District, High Prairie Library, Peyton, Colorado American Libraries Magazine

Big Appetite: My Southern-Fried Search for the Meaning of Life by Sam McLeod

After one of his friends has a heart attack, Sam heads to his doctor’s office for a checkup. The doctor’s advice? “…Sam, I’m telling you again, like I have so many times before, diets don’t work. You’ve got to find some meaning in your life that will motivate you to take care of your body – something that gets under your skin, something that grabs your imagination, something other than a diet. And only you can figure it out.”

So with that advice, an out of the blue invitation to a neighborhood reunion from his childhood sweetheart, Lexi, and strong encouragement from his wife, Sam hits the road from Walla Walla, WA. to Nashville, TN.

As he chronicles his time on the road, he reminisces about his childhood and weaves a nostalgic tale of growing up in rural Tennessee, childhood adventures, dilemmas, love and the meaning of life.

It’s a story a lot of people like myself can relate to. So what is the meaning of life? Read this book and find out for yourself.

 

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Medicine" from "2008 Amazon Free Sampler" by Rara Avis

Kissing Babies at the Piggly Wiggly by Robert Dalby

  With the Piggly Wiggly shut down and an uncertain future, Mr. Choppy decides to run for mayor of Second Creek. “Kissing Babies” is a continuation of the tales of Mr. Choppy and the Nitwitts. While not as quirky as the first book, “Waltzing at the Piggly WIggly”, the storyline seems more enjoyable and brings a good message about forgetting the past and moving on with your life. It follows the changes occurring with all the characters as they face past problems that they have kept hidden from their friends. If you liked the first book, you should enjoy this one as well.

 

While writing this, I was listening to "Woman" from "Love Behind the Melody (Deluxe Version)" by Raheem DeVaughn