Adam Blumer's Blog, page 40
June 15, 2011
Study: Housing Collapse Steeper Than During Great Depression
Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com
Study: Housing Collapse Steeper Than During Great Depression
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The author of a study claiming the U.S. housing collapse is now worse than during the Great Depression warned Wednesday that the market likely will continue to fall for the rest of the year before going stagnant.
Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist for Capital Economics, predicted home prices would fall another 3 percent over the rest of 2011 before potentially hitting bottom.
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a158en"Even when that happens, I don't think we're going to see any significant or sustained rises," he told FoxNews.com Wednesday, predicting "a couple years of pretty much no recovery whatsoever."
Read more at www.foxnews.com
June 14, 2011
Video: Full CNN Republican debate from New Hampshire, June 13th
Amplify’d from www.2012presidentialelectionnews.com
Video: Full CNN Republican debate from New Hampshire, June 13th
On June 13th, 2011, seven GOP candidates took to the stage in Manchester, New Hampshire to duke it out for the 2012 Republican nomination. In case you missed it, here is the entire debate video from St. Anselm College broadcast on CNN and WMUR-TV:
See more at www.2012presidentialelectionnews.comSee this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a153un
June 13, 2011
See the card trick that drove Houdini nuts
How did he do that?
Amplify’d from www.theblaze.comUS 'Hand of Fate': See the Card Trick That Drove Houdini Nuts
See more at www.theblaze.comSee this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a1511h
Andi's Fair Surprise by Susan K. Marlow
Andi's Fair SurpriseCircle C Beginnings, Book 3
by Susan K. Marlow (Kregel Publications)
About the Book
If Andi can't take Taffy to the 1874 California State Fair and win a blue ribbon, she doesn't want to go. But the fair turns out to be so exciting that Andi's glad she came . . . until her brother tells her she can't keep the prize she won fair and square!About the Series
Children ages 6-8 can join six-year-old Andi, her friend Riley, and Coco, Andi's hand-me-down pony, for a whole new series of adventures on the Circle C ranch in 1874. A baby Taffy will join the ranch as well! These are completely new stories, with fun, black-and-white illustrations and easy-to-read text, for kids who are ready for first chapter books.
To hear Andi talk about her new adventures, click HERE
About the Author
Susan Marlow has a BA degree in elementary education and 20 years teaching experience in private, public, and homeschooling fields. In addition to writing her Circle C Adventure series for kids, she speaks at Young Author conferences, teaches writing workshops for kids, and serves as a freelance editor. She and her family make their home in Washington State.Visit the author's Web site.
Check out the novel at Amazon.com.
My Daughter's Review
I liked how the book told about different places at the fair you can go to, and I like all the animals Andi saw. I liked how she gave up what she loved to help her family. I liked how her mother told about the shepherd giving up all of the lambs just to find one. This shows that Jesus cares for all of us. I would recommend this book to other kids my age who like animals. The story gives you a nice, warm feeling, as if you're actually there watching Andi look at all the animals and all the fairgrounds. The book also teaches us that when you're on trains not to open the windows!
—Laura Blumer, 9
Note: Thank you, Kregel Publications, for the free review copy!
June 8, 2011
How Huge the Night by Heather Munn and Lydia Munn
This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing How Huge the Night Kregel Publications (March 9, 2011) by Heather Munn and Lydia Munn
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Heather Munn was born in Northern Ireland of American parents and grew up in the south of France. She decided to be a writer at the age of five when her mother read Laura Ingalls Wilder's books aloud, but worried that she couldn't write about her childhood since she didn't remember it. When she was young, her favorite time of day was after supper when the family would gather and her father would read a chapter from a novel. Heather went to French school until her teens, and grew up hearing the story of Le Chambonsur-Lignon, only an hour's drive away. She now lives in rural Illinois with her husband, Paul, where they offer free spiritual retreats to people coming out of homelessness and addiction. She enjoys wandering in the woods, gardening, writing, and splitting wood.
Lydia Munn was homeschooled for five years because there was no school where her family served as missionaries in the savannahs of northern Brazil. There was no public library either, but Lydia read every book she could get her hands on. This led naturally to her choice of an English major at Wheaton College. Her original plan to teach high school English gradually transitioned into a lifelong love of teaching the Bible to both adults and young people as a missionary in France. She and her husband, Jim, have two children: their son, Robin, and their daughter, Heather.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Fifteen-year-old Julien Losier just wants to fit in. But after his family moves to a small village in central France in hopes of outrunning the Nazis, he is suddenly faced with bigger challenges than the taunting of local teens.Nina Krenkel left her country to obey her father's dying command: Take your brother and leave Austria. Burn your papers. Tell no one you are Jews. Alone and on the run, she arrives in Tanieux, France, dangerously ill and in despair.
Thrown together by the chaos of war, Julien begins to feel the terrible weight of the looming conflict and Nina fights to survive. As France falls to the Nazis, Julien struggles with doing what is right, even if it is not enough-and wonders whether or not he really can save Nina from almost certain death.
Based on the true story of the town of Le Chambon-the only French town honored by Israel for rescuing Jews from the Holocaust-How Huge the Night is a compelling, coming-of-age drama that will keep teens turning the pages as it teaches them about a fascinating period of history and inspires them to think more deeply about their everyday choices.
Endorsements
"The Munns have written an engrossing historical novel that is faithful to the actual events of World War II in western Europe during the tumultuous year 1940. But How Huge the Night is more than good history; it is particularly refreshing because the reader sees the conflict through the lives of teenagers who are forced to grapple with their honest questions about the existence and goodness of God in the midst of community, family, and ethnic tensions in war-ravaged France."—Lyle W. Dorsett, Billy Graham Professor of Evangelism, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University
"Seldom have the horrors of war upon adolescents—or the heroism of which they are capable—been so clearly portrayed. I loved this coming-of-age story."—Patricia Sprinkle, author of Hold Up the Sky
"The book expertly weaves together the lives of its characters at a frightening moment in conflicted times. As we read of their moral dilemmas and of their choices, we too wonder, Would I do has these in the story have done?"—Karen Mains, Director, Hungry Souls
If you would like to read an excerpt from How Huge the Night, go HERE
Watch the book video:
My Review
Actually, my mom grabbed this one before I could read it, and I share her thoughts. (The novel is on my TBR pile.) This was a terrific read! The novel was hard to put down and very well done with a clear faith message. The protagonist grapples with various life issues including how to respond to difficult situations and those who hurt others. There are some powerful themes here that will stay with readers long after they turn the last page. The writing was superb, the characters well developed, and the story compelling and fascinating—everything you look for in a good novel. This one is highly recommended!
May 26, 2011
Blair: Obama anxious about Israel's fate
Nothing to worry about. The Bible says God will protect Israel.
Amplify’d from www.google.comBlair: Obama anxious about Israel's fate
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LONDON (AP) — Middle East envoy Tony Blair said Thursday that he believes President Barack Obama launched his peace initiative out of concern for what might happen to Israel if Palestinian statehood is endorsed by the U.N. General Assembly.
Speaking to an audience of Middle East-focused business leaders at London's Royal Institution, the former British prime minister said that Obama was "frankly worried about the position that Israel is in."
See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a13wosBlair described Obama's initiative — rejected by Israeli leader Benjamin Netanyahu — as "an attempt to fill a vacuum which he sees as dangerous, particularly dangerous for Israel in the run-up to September," when the assembly is expected to take up the issue of Palestinian statehood during the U.N.'s annual meeting.
Read more at www.google.com
May 25, 2011
17 Lost Egyptian Pyramids Found From Space
Amazing
Amplify’d from www.foxnews.com17 Lost Egyptian Pyramids Found From Space
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See this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a13vpxWatch out Dr. Jones, there's a new sheriff in town.
Seventeen lost pyramids and more than 1,000 tombs have been uncovered in a satellite survey of Egypt.
Researchers at the University of Alabama also located more than 3,000 ancient settlements in the area after studying images produced by a state-of-the-art infrared technique which allowed them to clearly see the ruins underground.
With two pyramids already confirmed by scientists, they believe there are thousands more unknown sites in the region.
"I could see the data as it was emerging, but for me the 'aha' moment was when I could step back and look at everything that we'd found," Dr. Sarah Parcack, who led the survey, told the BBC. "I couldn't believe we could locate so many sites all over Egypt."
Read more at www.foxnews.com
May 24, 2011
Get Paid to be a Word Nerd
Interesting
Amplify’d from www.writersdigest.comGet Paid to be a Word Nerd
Writers who leverage their skills as copy editors can earn bigger paychecks, diversify their portfolios and spend more time doing what they love. Learn how you could be one of them.
Few writers grow up with dreams of one day becoming copy editors. I have no scientific data to back up this assertion, but my hunch is that most of us who imagined ourselves as professional wordsmiths—and ultimately pursued careers in publishing—had paths more akin to Hemingway's in mind. Perhaps this is because, as editorial jobs go, copy editing is not very glamorous; it is painstaking and underappreciated. No one has ever won the Nobel Prize in Literature for double-checking an author's use of sport-fishing terms or making sure that Santiago is spelled correctly in all references. Yet people with well-honed grammatical skills are an asset to any industry. What creator of any written material wants his work published without someone else's careful eye giving it the once-over? Not me.Read more at www.writersdigest.comSee this Amp at http://amplify.com/u/a13upy
Over the Edge by Brandilyn Collins
This week, the Christian Fiction Blog Alliance is introducing Over the Edge B&H Books (May 1, 2011) by Brandilyn Collins
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Brandilyn Collins is an award-winning and best-selling novelist known for her trademark Seatbelt Suspense®. These harrowing crime thrillers have earned her the tagline "Don't forget to b r e a t h e..."® Brandilyn's first book, A Question of Innocence, was a true crime published by Avon in 1995. Its promotion landed her on local and national TV and radio, including the Phil Donahue and Leeza talk shows. Brandilyn is also known for her distinctive book on fiction-writing techniques, Getting Into Character: Seven Secrets a Novelist Can Learn From Actors (John Wiley & Sons). She is now working on her 20th book. In addition, Brandilyn's other latest release is Final Touch, third in The Rayne Tour series—young adult suspense co-written with her daughter, Amberly. The Rayne Tour series features Shaley O'Connor, daughter of a rock star, who just may have it all—until murder crashes her world.
ABOUT THE BOOK
Torn from the front lines of medical debate and the author's own experience with Lyme Disease, Over the Edge is riveting fiction, full of twists and turns—and powerful truths about today's medical field.Janessa McNeil's husband, Dr. Brock McNeil, a researcher and professor at Stanford University's Department of Medicine, specializes in tick-borne diseases—especially Lyme. For years he has insisted that Chronic Lyme Disease doesn't exist. Even as patients across the country are getting sicker, the committee Brock chairs is about to announce its latest findings—which will further seal the door shut for Lyme treatment.
One embittered man sets out to prove Dr. McNeil wrong by giving him a close-up view of the very disease he denies. The man infects Janessa with Lyme, then states his demand: convince her husband to publicly reverse his stand on Lyme—or their young daughter will be next.
But Janessa's marriage is already rocky. She's so sick she can hardly move or think. And her husband denies she has Lyme at all.
Welcome to the Lyme wars, Janessa.
"A taut, heartbreaking thriller. Collins is a fine writer who knows how to both horrify readers and keep them turning pages."If you would like to read the Prologue of Over the Edge, go HERE
--Publishers Weekly
"Tense and dramatic. Holds its tension while following the protagonist in a withering battle." –NY Journal of Books
"A frightening and all-too-real scenario. Very timely and meaningful book." –RT Reviews
"If you know someone who suffers from Lyme, you need to read this compelling novel." –Lydia Niederwerfer, founder of Lyme-Aware
Watch the book video:
My Review
I'm about half-way through and really enjoying this one. I especially like the first-person point of view; that's a nice change for Brandilyn. I feel like I'm in the character's skin and can experience every ache and lack of mental focus. The Lyme plot idea is gripping and rings with originality, and the pacing and writing are excellent, as always. (I always learn so much as an author just by studying how Collins writes her books.) Lyme is a real-world issue that has affected a few people I know, and I commend Brandilyn for educating the reader while entertaining. (I must admit, however, that while the medical information is there for those interested, I find myself skimming through it. I'm more interested in the plot.) When I return home after summer walks, I'll certainly pay more attention to the ticks that cling to my socks and crawl on my legs (these aren't the same kind of ticks, thankfully).
So far I have only a couple of minor gripes: the characters lack roundness (the main character's husband, Brock, is just plain bad), and any spiritual component is barely mentioned, but my opinion could change by the time I finish the novel. I'm looking forward to seeing how this plot unfolds and seeing if the main character can get help and protect her daughter. This is an original, captivating medical thriller deserving to be read.
