Trina Boice's Blog: The Boice Box, page 4

Helping guys understand how women think

Another great review of my new book about helping guys understand how women think!


This one was posted at: 
http://reidheadrandom-ness.blogspot.com/2015/04/review-base-hits-and-home-run.html

About the book:
Love is like baseball, so hit a home run in your relationship! With Trina Boice’s advice, any man can learn how to step up to the plate. Learn tips, stats, and skills to make a powerful and lasting romance whether you’re in the “minor leagues” of dating or the “major leagues” of married life.

From Reidhead Randomness: 

Sports and Relationships go hand in hand, right?  This book takes you through great analogys that sports fans can relate to.....to give you relationship advice.  Written by a woman, for men, this book gives them the information about understanding women's thoughts, dating, and many other topics.  There is lots of humor mingled in the information of "WHAT WOMEN WISH GUYS KNEW."

While this book is written for the guys, there is "A league of their own" section at the end of each chapter that is written for the women.  They are filled with great advice and reminders to help the women as well.

The book is broken into 3 innings.  The first inning is (Play ball) "for all the guys."  The second inning (The minor leagues) "for single guys" is by far the biggest chapter.  The Third inning (The Major League) "for married guys" wraps up the book.

The author has a great understanding of baseball and has written a very entertaining and informative book.  This was very clever and used the baseball analogy to its fullest.  There are cute one liner "baseball card" cartoons that brighten up the book.

You can purchase the book here:     
                                                                  

Base Hits and Home Run Relationships book review by Shauna Wheelwright

Participating in the blog tour of my newest book, is the following book review posted by Shauna Wheelwright!   Thanks Shauna!
A review copy was provided
BASE HITS AND HOME RUNRELATIONSHIPSby Trina Boice
What Women Wish Guys Knew

Love is like baseball, so hit a home run in your relationship! With Trina Boice's advice, any man can learn how to step up to the plate. Learn tips, stats, and skills to make a powerful and lasting romance whether you're in the “minor leagues” of dating or the “major leagues” of married life.

Learn to:

Translate women’s thoughts into a sports language men can actually understand

Track your dating stats and plan strategies to up your game

Avoid foul balls, bad calls, and getting stuck in a pickle

Support each other with the occasional bunt or sacrifice fly

Cover all your bases—even when you’ve got kids on your team

With the right tools, you and your sweetheart can pitch a perfect game together every time you play. This is the perfect playbook for rookies and hall-of-famers alike.

My Review
Trina Boice is AMAZING and this book is INCREDIBLE!
LOVE. LOVE. LOVE. IT!

Just look at some of the VERY FUN chapters in this book:

* Batter UP! The Game
* The Playbook: The Rules of Romance and Love Language
* Heavy Hitter: Be. A. Man
* Eyes on the Ball: Flirting Your Way to a First Date
* The Uniform: How to Look like a Knight in Shining Armor
* Sports Medicine: Win Over Her Heart and Funny Bone
* Catcher: Courting and Date Ideas
* Peanuts and Cracker Jacks: Kindness in a Nutshell
* AND MORE

Her advice is SO. RIGHT. ON!

I absolutely LOVE the baseball theme. Want to get to know a girl? Learn her stats: favorite color, dessert, flower, etc.

And the end-of-chapter assignments are PHENOMENAL! Even the shyest of guys can accomplish the First Base assignment.

I LOVE that Trina doesn't just talk about these things...her son went out and "field-tested creative dating tips and has learned some really interesting things that he shares in each chapter." Cooper became the coach for the team (those reading this book.) I really appreciated his insight, for as he said "women talk about what they want, and guys talk about what women actually want."

DO NOT MISS OUT ON THIS ONE!
EVERYONE should read this book!
Put your relationship first and foremost...grab a copy today!

First Base assignment: ADD TO GOODREADSHome Run assignment: PURCHASE A COPY HERE
Excerpt
In the words of legendary sports announcer Harry Caray, "Hello everybody! It's a bee-yooo-tiful day for baseball!" You've bought this book and stepped up to the plate. That tells me you're really serious about improving your relationship with the woman in your life. Either that or she bought this book for you, and now you have to read it because you know she's going to ask you what you learned. Don't worry; it's not going to be that bad. After all, it's partly about baseball, and you love baseball! Romance and baseball are not all that different, actually. They're both skills that you can learn and enjoy for the rest of your life.

You could read an entire book about baseball statistics, but that wouldn't make you a better player out on the field, would it? You have to get out and practice! This book is designed to be read in small sections and put into practice. Read a little bit, and then try an idea or two to see what works for you and your sweetheart. I guarantee you're going to have a ball! (Terrible baseball puns will be included throughout this book in order to keep your eyes rolling and awake.)

Let me first state the obvious that women are different from men. And that's a good thing! A lot of men have a hard time trying to figure out what women want and how they think. It's not that difficult if you learn their language and appreciate the differences. To make it easier, we're going to use terms you might feel comfortable with: the language of baseball.

This book is written for both men who are still in the "minor league" (dating) and men who have been drafted into the "major league" (marriage). Getting a girl and keeping her are not all that different. Maybe you've been playing too much baseball and still don't have a woman in your life. This book can help you with that too! This book will help you find a quality woman you can marry and be with for eternity.

This book was conceived one day after my husband and I were discussing our relationship early in our marriage. He's going to get a lot of credit in this book for some of the really great things he does in our marriage. When I need to use him as an example of whatnot to do, I'll just tell you, "I have a friend whose husband..." so you'll never know if it's him or really a friend of mine. Hey, I don't want to get in trouble with my husband and end up sitting on the bench.

My husband, Tom, is really creative and has come up with some incredible gifts over the years. Early in our marriage, he really came through on big events such as anniversaries and birthdays, but then there were disappointing and somewhat alarming long dry spells with nothing. No flowers. No romance. Nada. Our conversations occurred during one of those dry spells and basically consisted of my pitiful complaints that I was feeling unloved and unappreciated. I suggested that maybe he could replace the few big efforts with more frequent, smaller ones. He thought about that for a few minutes and said, "Oh, it's just like baseball. Home runs are exciting but don't happen that often. It's the small, consistent base hits that win the game." In a baseball peanut shell, that's it!

*****

Each chapter will contain some ideas you can put into practice to improve your current relationship or help you figure out how to get one! Even the greatest guy and the best relationship can use some tweaking every now and then. The first-base challenges are to help you ease into The Game. Go for second or third base to up your game. When you're ready to really knock it out of the park, try the home-run assignments.

Now, I'm not talking about rounding the bases in the traditional sense the world talks about it. I'm referring to bases as increasing efforts and bigger payoffs. What I mean is that if you're a beginner in the game of romance or want to start with something easy, then begin with the first-base assignments. They're simple to do, and you'll have some success. If you really want your girl to feel loved and appreciated, go for the home-run assignments. They require more effort, but the payoff is bigger too. "Happy wife, happy life," as people say.

First Base: Set this book out on a table so your girl will see it. Yeah, your buddies will make fun of you. That's okay though; you don't want to kiss your buddies.

Second Base: Put a bookmark somewhere in the book so she'll think you're actually reading it. Be prepared for her to ask you questions about it. Let her know it is the most fantastic book ever written.

Third Base: Read the doggone book already!

Home Run: Read the book with your girl. Ask her questions. Talk about it.

To keep the fire going, you have to continue adding some fuel, right? So grab some popcorn, peanuts, and Cracker Jacks and let's play ball.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN

This is a section that will be at the end of each chapter just for the ladies. Girls, you're not off the hook here. You have work to do too. A happy, healthy relationship includes two people.

About the Author
Trina Boice grew up in California, but currently lives in Las Vegas, Nevada. She worked as a Legislative Assistant for a Congressman in Washington D.C., and was given the “Points of Light” Award and Presidential Volunteer Service Award for her domestic and international community service. She wrote a column called “The Boice Box” for a newspaper in Georgia, where she lived for 15 years. She taught Spanish at a private high school and ran an appraisal business with her husband for 20 years. She currently writes for several web sites and is the Entertainment News Editor for Bella Online. Trina was selected by KPBS in San Diego to be a political correspondent during the last presidential election.

Learn more at: www.TrinaBoice.com

Sites where you can get FREE ebooks

You must love reading books or you probably wouldn't be reading this blog!
If so, then great news!
Book lovers rejoice! The internet has made books so much more accessible, letting you find thousands of eBooks for absolutely no cost. Read on your eBook reader, your tablet, smartphone, laptop, or desktop computer. Here are 3 of the best sites where you can download your free books.1. HundredZeros.com
LikeThis site is a treasure trove for people who own a Kindle. The sitewill refer you to thousands of free books straight from Amazon.com. If you don’t have a Kindle, don’t worry – Youcan download a Kindle app for your iPhone & iPad, your Android device, for Windows Phone, and even for the PC or Mac.

2. ProjectGuttenburg.org
Project Guttenburg is a free organization that wants to spread knowledge in the world. They offer several thousand titles, mainly in English but also in Czech, Portuguese, German and French.
3. Free-Ebooks.netAnother great source for free eBooks is the aptly-named site, Free-Ebooks.net. Offering their own collection of thousands of books, magazines, including many titles in Spanish and Portuguese.

Beer with Books?

One of the companies that has published some of my books is Big World Network. The founder, Jim McGovern, posts these really great, quick videos about what's happening in the world of publishing. In this episode, he talks about some interesting trends, such as recommendations for pairing beer with books, like wine with meals. Funny. Check it out!

Photo Gallery of books by Trina Boice

I love watching movies and writing about movies, but I thought you might like to see some of my more recent published books! My next one hits stores next month! It's called "Base Hits and Home Run Relationships"! Amazon.com Widgets

The classic Cinderella story told again

Movie:  Cinderella
PG, 1 hour 45 minutes
Grade:  A-
In a Nutshell:  In an era of movie remakes, this version of Cinderella by Director Kenneth Branagh is very simple, elegant, pure, and even old-fashioned, staying true to its original animation roots.  Walt Disney would have been very pleased.  So would the original author of the story, Charles Perrault.
SPECIAL NOTE:  One of the best things about seeing this in the movie theater right now is the animated short that plays before the movie.  It’s called Frozen Fever and highlights your favorite characters from the Frozen movie!  It’s a cute singing number that features Anna’s birthday party.  Absolutely ADORABLE!
Uplifting Theme:·         “Have courage and be kind.” – Cinderella’s dying mother’s wish for her.  This phrase is repeated so many times that it’s not a subtle theme, but a very clear one that even little children will be able to pick up on.·         Inner beauty shines greater than outer beauty.·         “Just because it’s done doesn’t mean what should be done.” - Ella
-    "Where there is kindness there is goodness and where there is goodness there is magic." - Ella
Things I liked:·         The dress! Wow. We are sure to see dozens of little girls wearing miniature versions of Cinderella’s shimmering, blue ball gown  on our front door steps this year on Halloween, complete with butterflies and sparkles in the hair.  I thought it was clever to match the ball gowns with the personalities of the wearers, such as the tacky and garish stepsisters’ dresses contrasted with the beautiful, graceful one worn by Cinderella.  I also loved the Fairy Godmother’s whimsical dress with wings.·         The word that describes the film itself, as well as the set designs is charming. ·         Cate Blanchett can do no wrong. I adore her in everything she does.  She is splendid in this role as Lady Tremaine and looks absolutely stunning in every outfit in every scene.  Her subtle expressions add depth and nuance to the wicked step-mother, but they don’t change the story, only enhance it just enough.·         The mice and other CGI creatures look very real.  They provide some comic relief, but it is very understated and simple.   The narrator tells us that Ella “had very little in the way of friends…well, her friends were very little.”·         The magical transformations of the creatures to footmen, coachman, etc  is wonderfully Disney.   The lizard footmen are kind of creepy looking, but I love that they had lizard teeth and kept a green eye shadow hue to remind us of their true nature.·         Both Prince Charming (the handsome, blue-eyed Richard Madden with absolutely perfect teeth) and Cinderella are modest, wholesome, noble, and good.  That’s so refreshing in protagonists these days. ·         Cinderella shows such grace and poise even when confronted with cruelty.  SPOILER ALERT: I love it when she tells her wicked stepmother “I forgive you.”·         I’m really glad this film didn’t show the ugly step-sisters getting their feet cut off to fit into the glass slipper like in the recent movie Into the Woods.  So gross.  Speaking of glass slipper….wow!  Gorgeous.  “And you’ll find them quite comfortable.”  - Fairy Godmother    
Things I didn’t like:·         While there are a few touching moments, none are tear-worthy.  ·         Helena Bonham Carter appeared too fake and quirky for this simple, elegant version of Cinderella.   While some would say she stole the show, I thought the humor seemed too forced and out of place.·         Ella always wears the same blue dress to everything. Her ball gown is also blue.·         It’s a bit slow-moving with very little action.·         The interactions with Ella and Prince Charming were too short.  I wanted to see them together longer.·         I was surprised that Prince Charming’s castle didn’t look like the Cinderella castle in Disneyland.
Funny lines:·         “I can’t drive!  I’m a goose!.”  - Coachman


Interesting lines:·         “I believe animals speak to us if only we have an ear to hear them.  That’s how we learn to care for them.” – Ella’s mother  (played by the lovely Hayley Atwell who you will see more of in Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man)·         “Time passed. Pain turned to memory.”  - Narrator (Fairy Godmother)  True statement.·         “I do love a happy ending, don’t you?” – Ella·         “Kindness is free.”  - Ella·         “This is, perhaps, the greatest risk we will take – to be seen for who we really are.” – Narrator/Fairy godmother·         “Surely you have a right to your own heart.” – Ella·         “It really was like a dream…better than a dream.” – Ella·         “They’re all looking at you.  – Ella“Believe me…they’re all looking at YOU!” – Prince Charming·         “Names have power.”  - Narrator/Fairy Godmother·         “Punctuality is the politeness of princes.”  - King
Tips for Parents: ·         There is nothing super scary or offensive.  This is a very safe movie for family viewing of all ages. 
·         No profanity.  You’ll hear “Gosh” and “my goodness” instead. I think the harshest sentence uttered is when the wicked Stepmother says “Do shut up” to her own daughter who sings terribly.

If you can't get enough of this great classic, you'll enjoy these:

Sign up to join Trina Boice on a fun Blog Tour!

Pick a date you would like to post a review for my newest book and I'll send my readers to YOUR blog!

I'm super excited about this fun relationship book I wrote with my son.  It uses baseball terminology to help guys understand how women think.  Perfect for single guys looking for Mrs. Right, as well as married guys hoping to score points with their sweetheart.

To sign up for the blog tour, simply reply to this post or contact me at Fans of Author Trina Boice on Facebook!

Jupiter Ascending gets an A for visuals and a C- for script

Here's what bad writing can do to a movie...


Movie: Jupiter Ascending
PG-13, 2 hours 5 minutes
Grade: A- for visually amazing              C- for story and dialogue
In a Nutshell:  Wow.  Talk about sensory overload.  The special effects are amaze balls. I went with some friends to see this in 3D at a Galaxy DFX theater which enhances the sound and offers those awesome reclining chairs.  One of the ladies I sat with said she had to close her eyes several times because she couldn’t take it all in.  I wonder if you get a free vomit bag with your ticket when you watch this in those Dbox motion chairs.
This fantasy adventure feels like a visit to the cantina scene in Star Wars with crazy aliens coming together to fight over power and the ownership of planet Earth.  One of the scenes looks like it actually could have been filmed on Star Wars’ Naboo. The script is messy, but the costumes, set design, make-up, and CGI are extremely creative and impressive, surely eating up most of the reported 175 million dollar budget.  The Wachowski brothers (one of them is now female) brought us the epic The Matrix magic, but have now created a story that mere earthlings can’t quite comprehend.  Even still, it’s an entertaining ride if you don’t mind the odd moments.
Uplifting Theme:·         “It’s not what you do.  It’s what you are.” – Stinger Apini (Sean Bean)·         What would you do with your time if you had an endless amount of it? What price would you be willing to pay to get more time?·         There is an awkward exploration of capitalism, greed, and morality.



Things I liked:·         If you like action, this movie includes the non-stop variety.·         I LOVE LOVE the hover boots that make Channing Tatum look like he’s ice skating through air.  I hope I can buy a pair on Amazon soon.·         Beautiful aerial views of Chicago.·         There is a somewhat humorous attempt at explaining crop circles and dinosaurs.  I always wanted to know the scoop on those two things.  Now I know.·         I loved the see-through floor on Balem Abrasax’s space ship.·         I didn’t know Tuppence Middleton was so pretty when I first saw her in The Imitation Game.  Her character as Kalique Abrasax in Jupiter Ascending looked obviously fake in the beginning, so I was glad when we got to see her true beauty later on.  ·         There was so much to see that I would like to study some of the images frame by frame.·         The gay robotic bureaucrat scene was odd, disturbing and funny at the same time.
Things I didn’t like:·         Mila Kunis plays Jupiter Jones who falls in love with Caine in less than 30 seconds.  It’s embarrassing how quickly she throws herself at him.  Caine, by the way, is played by a blonde Channing Tatum.  He goes shirtless for a longer than necessary and the blonde scruff makes you wince just a little bit.  Two good-looking people should create sparks, but their romantic dialogue falls flat.·         One of the guys I watched the movie with noted that the musical score by Michael Giacchino was too overpowering.  That could have been because we were in a sound-enhanced screening, so it’s hard to know if others will experience the same effect.·         There were some attempts at humor, but not nearly enough successful ones.  Want to see a sci-fi fantasy flick that will make you laugh out loud a LOT?   Guardians of the Galaxy!·         Mila Kunis’emotional range as Jupiter Jones is pretty small in this movie. Even after her entire world is shaken, all she can muster is a “Holy Crap.”  Years ago I took a jungle tour of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands.  The tour guide’s name was Jupiter.  He explained to us that it was because he was so “far out.”·         I adored Eddie Redmayne in The Theory of Everything and hope he wins an Oscar to go with his Golden Globe for it, but his performance in this film was odd and vacillates between monotone whispers and screaming, with nothing in between.·         The elephant man alien appears out of place in what should be serious dramatic moments.·         SPOILER ALERT: There is an icky Soylent Green moment.·         Why were there so many bald women in this movie?·         There is so much going on in the action sequences that it’s often hard to figure out exactly what’s going on.
Interesting lines:·         “Technically speaking, I’m an alien, and from an immigration perspective, I’m an illegal one.” – Jupiter·         “Off the record, I will tell you that you are a man of rare courage and I pray that your aim is true.” – Diomika Tsing (Nikki Amuka-Bird)
Lines that make you sneer:·         “Men do not like smart women.” – Jupiter’s uncle·         “My mom says true love is just a fairy tale for little girls.” – Jupiter·         “I will never complain about the DMV again.” – Jupiter·         “I am not your mother.” – Jupiter“No, my mother never cleaned a toilet in her life.” – Balem Abrasax
Tips for Parents:·         Some profanity, but no F-bombs.·         You see the naked backside of a female and male in two different scenes, as well as a girl in her tiny underwear.  (She has amazing abs.)·         There is a short orgy scene, but you don’t see details, other than faces.
·         There are sexual innuendos, lots of violence (some bloody), and evil motives.

Alan Turing inspires a great book and a great movie

Another good book made into a great movie!
See my review from my movie review blog below:

Movie:  The Imitation Game
Grade: A
PG-13, 1 hour 54 minutes
In a Nutshell:  Two words:  Benedict CumberbatchEndless are the movies about WWII that are thought-provoking, inspiring, heartbreaking, and touching.  This is definitely one of them.  I’m embarrassed to admit that I knew nothing of Alan Turing’s history before viewing this film. In fact, his story has been hidden for 50 years.
Based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma: The Book That Inspired the Film "The Imitation Game" by Andrew Hodges, the movie is a fascinating character study of a British mathematical genius who broke the unbreakable German code during the war and who created the first computer.  He was also a homosexual during a time when it was illegal. Especially engrossing is watching Cumberbatch’s multi-layered facial expressions that reveal impressive depth and deserve Oscar recognition.
Uplifting Theme:·         Alan’s childhood friend explained it well when he said “You know Alan, sometimes it’s the very people who no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” -  Christopher
Things I liked:·         I love movie titles that have double meaning.·         I thought the suspenseful music at the beginning set the tone well for the movie. ·         The interview between Alan and Commander Denniston was hilarious.·         Keira Knightley is always mesmerizing to watch.
Things I didn’t like:·         It may be a little slow-moving for some, but I was intrigued the entire time.
Funny lines:·         “You’re serious!” – Commander Denniston (Charles Dance)“Would you prefer I made a joke?” – Alan“I don’t think you know what those are.”  - Commander Denniston·         “How the He** were you supposed to decrypt German communications if you don’t speak German?” – Commander Denniston“Well, I’m really quite good at crossword puzzles.” – Alan·         “What is it about women with little hats?” – Hugh (Matthew Goode)·         “Even a broken clock is right twice a day.  That’s not progress; that’s just blind luck.” – Alan·         “Well, this is inhuman, even for you.” – Hugh

Interesting lines:
·         “Do you know why people like violence?  It is because it feels good.  Humans find violence deeply satisfying. But remove the satisfaction, the act becomes hollow.  I didn’t learn this on my own, of course.  I had help.” – Alan·         “They only beat me up because I’m smarter than they are.” – Alan“No, they beat you up because you are different.” -  Christopher·         “Some people thought we were at war with Germany.   Incorrect. We were at war with the clock.” – Alan·         “I’m a woman in a man’s job and I don’t have the luxury of being an a$$.” – Joan Clarke (Keira Knightley)·         “The interesting question is just because something thinks differently from you, does that mean it’s not thinking?” – Alan·         “Are you paying attention?  Good.  If you’re not listening carefully, you WILL miss things.  Important things.”   “What I will need from you now is a commitment.  You will listen closely and you will not judge me until I am finished.” - Alan
Tips for Parents:·         Discussion of homosexuality, school bullying, smoking, actual war footage from WWII.·         The language is mostly clean and even eloquent.·         It’s a bit slow-moving, so children may get bored.

Unbroken brings Hillenbrand's best-selling book to the big screen

 Another best-selling book comes to the big screen this holiday season with the movie   Unbroken

Below is my movie review blog post for this amazing story.
PG-13, 2 hours 17 minutes
Grade:  B+
In a Nutshell:  This is an inspiring, true story that features the strength of the human spirit against all odds.  Director Angelina Jolie was so taken with Lauren Hillenbrand’s best-selling novel, that she felt compelled to bring it to the big screen.  The story is fascinating, but the viewing is exhausting and heart-wrenching.
Uplifting Theme:·         The end of the movie reminds us that “the way forward is not revenge, but forgiveness.”·         “If you can take it, you can make it.” – Louis’ brother, Pete
Things I liked:·         The main actors dieted for months to appear as their characters would have looked after surviving 47 harrowing days on a raft in the ocean.  They lost even more weight in the prisoner of war camps.  That’s dedicated acting.·         The casting was very good.  Young Louis looked just like the older Louis.·         The audience laughed when the starving soldiers on the raft punched a fish and a shark in order to eat them.  There were a few moments of subtle humor, but otherwise, this film is extremely sobering.  It should make you hesitate before complaining about anything again.·         The cinematography of Roger Deakins (True Grit and Skyfall ) is very well done. Some of the vistas were extraordinary.·         I always appreciate it at the end of a true story when the audience is shown how things ended up years later.·         Jack O’Connell (Louis Zamperini) did an outstanding job.  Takamasa Ishihara was so believably cruel as Watanabe that the audience cringed every time he appeared on the screen.
Things I didn’t like:·         The film is pretty long and your heart can’t take much more.  You feel like you’ve been punched in the gut, although your spirit soars with hope as you watch Louis stand up each time he falls. Angelina Jolie chooses to spend 2 hours focusing on how Louis was tortured in various ways and very little time showing us more about his character development.·         I’m sad that the real Louis Zamperini died right before the movie came out.  What an amazing man he was.  I’m especially impressed that he returned to Japan to face his tormentors and forgive them.·         As inspiring as the story is, there should have been more powerful and emotional moments in the telling.
Inspiring lines:·         “A moment of pan is worth a lifetime of glory.” – Pete·         “Here’s the plan…you go on living the best you can and try to have some fun along the way. – Phil·         “We beat them by making it to the end of the war alive.” – Blackie·         “It is necessary to have respect.  No respect, no order.” - Watanabe·         “I’m glad it’s you. “ – Phil“I’m glad it’s me too.” - Louis
Tips for Parents:  There are intense sequences of brutality and violence, as well as some charred bodies in one scene in particular.  There is some profanity, but not much, especially considering this is a war movie.  People used to call Italian immigrants WASPS and DAGOS.  After the movie, you can talk to your kids about bullying and name calling.

To learn more about the amazing life of Louis Zamerini, check out the following items: