MaryAnn Bernal's Blog, page 338
December 19, 2013
History Trivia - Publius Septimius Geta, co-emperor of Rome, murdered
December 19
211 Publius Septimius Geta, co-emperor of Rome, was murdered.
324 Licinius abdicated his position as Roman Emperor.
1075 Edith of Wessex, wife of Edward the Confessor of England, died.
1154 Henry II of England was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
1187 Clement III became Pope. The fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in the Third Crusade occurred during his pontificate.
1490 Anne, Duchess of Brittany, was married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy.
1551 The Dutch west coast was hit by a hurricane.
211 Publius Septimius Geta, co-emperor of Rome, was murdered.
324 Licinius abdicated his position as Roman Emperor.
1075 Edith of Wessex, wife of Edward the Confessor of England, died.
1154 Henry II of England was crowned at Westminster Abbey.
1187 Clement III became Pope. The fall of Jerusalem to Saladin in the Third Crusade occurred during his pontificate.
1490 Anne, Duchess of Brittany, was married to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor by proxy.
1551 The Dutch west coast was hit by a hurricane.
The Phil Naessens Show Do Mike Piazza, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens Belong in the Hall of Fame?
http://phillipnaessens.wordpress.com/2013/12/18/the-phil-naessens-show-do-mike-piazza-barry-bonds-and-roger-clemens-belong-in-the-hall-of-fame/
On this edition of the Phil Naessens Show We’re talking New York Mets Hot Stove Baseball and debating the 2014 MLB Hall of Fame ballot and more baseball talk! Segment 1: Blogging Mets Mark Berman and Phil discuss the New York Mets recent signing of Free Agent Pitcher Bartolo Colon and take a look at the 2014 Mets starting pitching staff plus much more Segment : Athletics Nation Lead Writer Alex Hall and Phil discuss the 2014 MLB Hall of Fame ballot and cast their own votes on who they would like to see enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame plus much more.
On this edition of the Phil Naessens Show We’re talking New York Mets Hot Stove Baseball and debating the 2014 MLB Hall of Fame ballot and more baseball talk! Segment 1: Blogging Mets Mark Berman and Phil discuss the New York Mets recent signing of Free Agent Pitcher Bartolo Colon and take a look at the 2014 Mets starting pitching staff plus much more Segment : Athletics Nation Lead Writer Alex Hall and Phil discuss the 2014 MLB Hall of Fame ballot and cast their own votes on who they would like to see enshrined in the Baseball Hall of Fame plus much more.
December 18, 2013
Three Kings of Kindle on Price Match this Christmas
http://adventuresofceciliaspark.blogspot.com/2013/12/three-kings-of-kindle-on-price-match.html
Three Kings of Kindle on Price Match this Christmas
All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was.–Ernest Hemingway
All the books featured in today's post are enrolled in
which means if you buy a new print edition of these books (or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for FREE. Stocking Filler Ideas!
Wonderful gift ideas from Mary Ann Bernal, author of The Briton and the Dane novels, is an avid history buff whose area of interest focuses on Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain during the Viking Age. Mark Barry, author of The Ritual, Hollywood Shakedown, Ultra Violence, Violent Disorder and Carla, is a writer who writes across genre. He has been writing since he was twenty one, having his first tentative pieces published in 1986 in 'Knave' and 'Razzle' magazines. Ngaire Elder, author of The Adventures of Cecilia Spark novels, is a natural storyteller whose love of animals is reflected in her work. Click on the link below for purchase information http://adventuresofceciliaspark.blogspot.com/2013/12/three-kings-of-kindle-on-price-match.html
Three Kings of Kindle on Price Match this Christmas
All good books are alike in that they are truer than if they had really happened and after you are finished reading one you will feel that all that happened to you and afterwards it all belongs to you: the good and the bad, the ecstasy, the remorse and sorrow, the people and the places and how the weather was.–Ernest Hemingway All the books featured in today's post are enrolled in
which means if you buy a new print edition of these books (or purchased one in the past), you can buy the Kindle edition for FREE. Stocking Filler Ideas!Wonderful gift ideas from Mary Ann Bernal, author of The Briton and the Dane novels, is an avid history buff whose area of interest focuses on Ninth Century Anglo-Saxon Britain during the Viking Age. Mark Barry, author of The Ritual, Hollywood Shakedown, Ultra Violence, Violent Disorder and Carla, is a writer who writes across genre. He has been writing since he was twenty one, having his first tentative pieces published in 1986 in 'Knave' and 'Razzle' magazines. Ngaire Elder, author of The Adventures of Cecilia Spark novels, is a natural storyteller whose love of animals is reflected in her work. Click on the link below for purchase information http://adventuresofceciliaspark.blogspot.com/2013/12/three-kings-of-kindle-on-price-match.html
The Wizard of Notts Recommends: Rosslyn Chapel, Midlothian Scotland
http://www.rosslynchapel.org.uk/
Building the ChapelIn 1446 Sir William St Clair, 3rd Prince of Orkney, founded Rosslyn Chapel. It was said of him: 'William, with his age creeping upon him... came into his mind to build a house for God's service, of most curious work . . . that it might be done with greater glory and splendour.'
If you visit the Chapel today, you can see a series of shields high up along the north wall of the Chapel displaying the letters:
W L S F Y C Y Z O G M iii 1L
which stand for: ‘William Lord Sinclair Fundit Yis College Ye Zeir Of God MCCCCL’ (1450). We know that the Chapel was begun in 1446 and so this inscription suggests that its foundations took at least four years to build.
The Chapel itself took some forty years to build. It required a large number of workmen and it is thought that the village of Roslin grew up to house them.
All kinds of craftsmen would have worked on the building: quarriers hewed the stone, masons carved it, blacksmiths sharpened tools, and carpenters modelled designs in wood before they were sculpted in stone by the masons.
What you see today is thought to be only one part of a larger scheme. Excavations in the 1800s uncovered foundations stretching a further 30 metres (91 feet) beyond the west end of the Chapel, suggesting that a cruciform building was intended. However, William died in 1484 and work on the Chapel seems to have ceased after this time.
But nearly 600 years after it was built, the Chapel still stands testament to the fascinating mind which conceived this extraordinary design scheme. William’s plan for a building of ‘curiosity’ and ‘splendour’ has clearly been fulfilled.
Rosslyn Chapel is open all year (closed 24 and 25 December and 31 December and 1 January)We are currently open:Monday-Saturday09.30 - 17.00Sunday12noon - 16.45Last admission 30 minutes before closing.
For more details on what to see and do, our coffee shop, tickets, information for groups and families, access and directions please continue to visiting the Chapel.Rosslyn Chapel,
Chapel Loan,
Roslin,
Midlothian,
EH25 9PUTel: 0131 440 2159
Email: mail@rosslynchapel.comRosslyn Chapel Trust is a charity registered in Scotland number SC024324
Building the ChapelIn 1446 Sir William St Clair, 3rd Prince of Orkney, founded Rosslyn Chapel. It was said of him: 'William, with his age creeping upon him... came into his mind to build a house for God's service, of most curious work . . . that it might be done with greater glory and splendour.'
If you visit the Chapel today, you can see a series of shields high up along the north wall of the Chapel displaying the letters:
W L S F Y C Y Z O G M iii 1L
which stand for: ‘William Lord Sinclair Fundit Yis College Ye Zeir Of God MCCCCL’ (1450). We know that the Chapel was begun in 1446 and so this inscription suggests that its foundations took at least four years to build.
The Chapel itself took some forty years to build. It required a large number of workmen and it is thought that the village of Roslin grew up to house them.
All kinds of craftsmen would have worked on the building: quarriers hewed the stone, masons carved it, blacksmiths sharpened tools, and carpenters modelled designs in wood before they were sculpted in stone by the masons.
What you see today is thought to be only one part of a larger scheme. Excavations in the 1800s uncovered foundations stretching a further 30 metres (91 feet) beyond the west end of the Chapel, suggesting that a cruciform building was intended. However, William died in 1484 and work on the Chapel seems to have ceased after this time.But nearly 600 years after it was built, the Chapel still stands testament to the fascinating mind which conceived this extraordinary design scheme. William’s plan for a building of ‘curiosity’ and ‘splendour’ has clearly been fulfilled.
Rosslyn Chapel is open all year (closed 24 and 25 December and 31 December and 1 January)We are currently open:Monday-Saturday09.30 - 17.00Sunday12noon - 16.45Last admission 30 minutes before closing.For more details on what to see and do, our coffee shop, tickets, information for groups and families, access and directions please continue to visiting the Chapel.Rosslyn Chapel,
Chapel Loan,
Roslin,
Midlothian,
EH25 9PUTel: 0131 440 2159
Email: mail@rosslynchapel.comRosslyn Chapel Trust is a charity registered in Scotland number SC024324
Mr. Chuckles was around the Wizard's Cauldron when Open House Editing Crystal Schall stopped by
The Great Wizard speaks:
Crystal Schall is a writer, and lately, proprietor of Open House Editing, is one of life's good folk. Fun, provocative, outspoken and entertaining, she's well worth listening to.
A resident of the Southern States of the United States, she took a break from her editing, sat peacefully on her rocker, and spoke to me on the Wizphone. Here's what she had to say...
Click on the link to read the interview in its entirety:
http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2013/12/editor-crystal-schallaround-cauldron.html
Editor Crystal Schall...Around The Cauldron
Editor Crystal Schall...Around The Cauldron
OHE EditsCrystal Schall is a writer, and lately, proprietor of Open House Editing, is one of life's good folk. Fun, provocative, outspoken and entertaining, she's well worth listening to.
A resident of the Southern States of the United States, she took a break from her editing, sat peacefully on her rocker, and spoke to me on the Wizphone. Here's what she had to say...
Who is Crystal Schall?
That’s a good really good question. I’m a work in progress. I’m just me. Take me as I am or leave me alone. I am a woman with a laptop and an opinion,and I’m not afraid to use them. I’m very plain spoken, sometimes to a fault. There’s no stop sign between my brain and mouth, whatever I think just falls out.
My mother has tried to teach me to be more politically correct, but being the way I am works for me because people always know where they stand with me.
http://www.originalfatchick.tumblr.com/
I have a wicked, sometimes warped, sense of humor,and I’m not afraid to use it either. The way I have it figured if we can’t laugh at ourselves who can we laugh at?
Whereabouts in the US do you live and do you like it there?
I live in a rural area of the southern, and when I say that I mean out in the country where the dogs are on chains, chickens roam free, and pigs can be pets.
Crystal lives somewhere south of here
I started out in the big city and landed in the country when I was a teenager.
Crystal's pre-apocalypse next door neighbour - the criminally
underutilised, Daryl Dixon
Our town is so small the sunshine is pumped in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They pump the water in on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. The air catches a ride with the water and sunlight daily, but we still have to breathe carefully.
Classic FF episode - "Terror in a Tiny Town"
I love it here. We all know one another. It’s a great place to raise kids. They can get into all sorts of trouble if they want to, but there’s nobody pushing stuff on them from the sidewalks like in the big city. It’s peaceful for the most part; the kind of place where you don’t have to keep your doors and windows locked all the time.
One of Wiz's favourite films about the South -
the last fifteen minutes
are epic
Is it snowing?
No. As a matter of fact, I think we’re going to be in the 60s this week. It rarely snows and sticks where I live. If there’s a chance it will, everyone runs out emptying store shelves of bread and milk. I’m not sure why.
What made you become an editor?
I fell in love with reading as a child and have been hooked on it since. I will read just about anything I can get my grubby little hands on, and do so whenever I get the chance. There is one thing that drives me absolutely crazy when I'm reading, and that is running across simple mistakes. It's like driving down the road and suddenly hitting a pothole you never saw coming.
Your manuscript will be cuddled by Crystal's editingYou hit the brakes, come screeching to a halt, and jump out to check your car for damage, ending the smooth ride you were enjoying. When I hit a mistake while reading, that is just how I feel.
Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics during one of it's finest hours:
Jim Shooter
This is why I became an editor. I've read books and articles with so many mistakes in them that I've wanted to take a highlighter, mark each one, and send them back to the publisher with a note telling them to try a little harder next time. There is some real slap-shot editing going on out there, and you have to be careful whom you trust your manuscript to.
Perhaps the greatest editor in American literary history - Maxwell Perkins, who made the work of amongst
others, Ernest Hemingway, seem titanic
A writer needs someone who will do the job right and really cares about what they're doing, and that is where I come in.
I am dedicated to making writer happy with the service they receive. I strive to keep their writing in their voice, the way they intended.
J.Jonah. Jameson. Editor of the Bugle and bigoted
enemy of Spider-ManWhat does an editor do?
An editor takes the ideas the writer has written down and makes sure they make sense, are easy to read, and follow a logical sequence. Not only does an editor make sure all of the “I”s are dotted and periods are in the right place, they’re a writer’s second set of eyes. The editor is supposed to put the spit and polish on the manuscript, and if it takes a little elbow grease to bring out the glow they’re the person sitting beside you rubbing Aladdin’s magic lamp. If your main character’s aunt is named Penny at the beginning of the book and Penny in the middle, then your editor missed something. It’s the editor’s job to catch anything that’s gotten past the writer. We’re only human like everyone else, but what sets an editor apart from everyone else is being anal retentive about words and punctuation to the point of distraction.
How long does it take you, on average, to edit a 60,000 word novel?
I always allow 4-6 weeks turnaround time for any manuscript if I can, but it depends upon how much editing it needs. I’ve turned them around in three weeks. There are also times when I’m pulling my hair out at the 11th hour. As I said, it depends upon how much editing is involved.
Do you ever feel the desire to get involved with your author’s plot? Do you ever make recommendations? Do you find yourself banging your head on concrete slabs in frustration?
Yes, I can’t help but get involved in the author’s plot, and I tend to make all sorts of recommendations as I edit. I can’t turn off my reader side, not that I ever want to. I pay attention to the actual story as I edit. I’ve heard there are editors who say they don’t read manuscripts, they just edit them. I don’t understand how anyone can do that. I don’t think you can be a good writer or editor without being a reader first.
Santa’s elves come down the chimney at the Schall mansion and kidnap you on their magic bicycles. You have no idea what you have done to offend Santa.
You are taken to Lapland and thrown in an igloo with nothing but a packet of Fig Newtons and a wooly bobble hat.
Underneath a block of ice, you find one of Santa’s discarded sacks, which was planned for someone who, unfortunately, no longer believed in the great icon. Inside, are three books, two CDs, and a DVD – what would they be?
Man, that’s a hard one. I always have a hard time narrowing books and music down to just a few favourites.
Ummm... the King James version of the Bible
Original copy of the King James Bible on display at Southwell
Minster in Nottinghamshire, UK
anything from the Xanth series by Piers Anthony,
Fantasy book
“The Briton and the Dane: The Complete Trilogy” by Mary Ann Bernal (which I’m reading now) by the way,
High quality historical fiction from the
editor of Green Wizard Publishing
Queen’s Greatest Hits,
and the Xanadu soundtrack.
“The Polar Express”,
Will the Kansas City Chiefs beat Denver to the AFC Championship and if not, will you lend me a thousand dollars to back Denver?
Not an NFL fan, but if you have an inside line I’ll give you two grand and we’ll split the profits, LMBO!
I'm on Kansas at 13/2, but it's not looking good! What does 2014 have in store for fans of Crystal Schall?
My first grandchild around the beginning of June , more time with my family, and lots of love and warm and fuzzy moments.
Crystal, thank you for coming around the Cauldron and treating Wizardwatchers to such an engaging interview.
You're welcome, Wiz. Loved it!
Contact:
Open House Editing - http://www.OpenHouseEditing.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/OpenHouseEditing
Twitter - http://twitter.com/ohedits
Author Site - http://www.CrystalSchall.com
The Book Rack - http://www.TheBookRacks.com
http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2013/12/editor-crystal-schallaround-cauldron.html
OHE EditsCrystal Schall is a writer, and lately, proprietor of Open House Editing, is one of life's good folk. Fun, provocative, outspoken and entertaining, she's well worth listening to.A resident of the Southern States of the United States, she took a break from her editing, sat peacefully on her rocker, and spoke to me on the Wizphone. Here's what she had to say...
Who is Crystal Schall?
That’s a good really good question. I’m a work in progress. I’m just me. Take me as I am or leave me alone. I am a woman with a laptop and an opinion,and I’m not afraid to use them. I’m very plain spoken, sometimes to a fault. There’s no stop sign between my brain and mouth, whatever I think just falls out.
My mother has tried to teach me to be more politically correct, but being the way I am works for me because people always know where they stand with me.
"I’m a big girl with a love for chocolate. I even gave myself the name The Original Fat Chick because I got tired of my weight being a big white elephant standing in the corner of the room that everyone tries to ignore."
http://www.originalfatchick.tumblr.com/
I have a wicked, sometimes warped, sense of humor,and I’m not afraid to use it either. The way I have it figured if we can’t laugh at ourselves who can we laugh at?
Whereabouts in the US do you live and do you like it there?
I live in a rural area of the southern, and when I say that I mean out in the country where the dogs are on chains, chickens roam free, and pigs can be pets.
Crystal lives somewhere south of hereI started out in the big city and landed in the country when I was a teenager.
Crystal's pre-apocalypse next door neighbour - the criminallyunderutilised, Daryl Dixon
Our town is so small the sunshine is pumped in on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. They pump the water in on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday. The air catches a ride with the water and sunlight daily, but we still have to breathe carefully.
"As a matter of fact, our town is so small that we only have one red light and one caution light, which puts us one step above Mayberry. "
Classic FF episode - "Terror in a Tiny Town"I love it here. We all know one another. It’s a great place to raise kids. They can get into all sorts of trouble if they want to, but there’s nobody pushing stuff on them from the sidewalks like in the big city. It’s peaceful for the most part; the kind of place where you don’t have to keep your doors and windows locked all the time.
One of Wiz's favourite films about the South - the last fifteen minutes
are epic
Is it snowing?
No. As a matter of fact, I think we’re going to be in the 60s this week. It rarely snows and sticks where I live. If there’s a chance it will, everyone runs out emptying store shelves of bread and milk. I’m not sure why.
What made you become an editor?
I fell in love with reading as a child and have been hooked on it since. I will read just about anything I can get my grubby little hands on, and do so whenever I get the chance. There is one thing that drives me absolutely crazy when I'm reading, and that is running across simple mistakes. It's like driving down the road and suddenly hitting a pothole you never saw coming.
Your manuscript will be cuddled by Crystal's editingYou hit the brakes, come screeching to a halt, and jump out to check your car for damage, ending the smooth ride you were enjoying. When I hit a mistake while reading, that is just how I feel. "I mentally hit the brakes, thinking, “Where the heck did that come from?” It ruins my concentration as well as the flow of what I'm reading. I have to reboot my brain and try to get back into the story that had me so engrossed just seconds ago. There are times I just have to stop reading all together and come back later."
Editor in Chief of Marvel Comics during one of it's finest hours:Jim Shooter
This is why I became an editor. I've read books and articles with so many mistakes in them that I've wanted to take a highlighter, mark each one, and send them back to the publisher with a note telling them to try a little harder next time. There is some real slap-shot editing going on out there, and you have to be careful whom you trust your manuscript to.
Perhaps the greatest editor in American literary history - Maxwell Perkins, who made the work of amongstothers, Ernest Hemingway, seem titanic
A writer needs someone who will do the job right and really cares about what they're doing, and that is where I come in.
I am dedicated to making writer happy with the service they receive. I strive to keep their writing in their voice, the way they intended.
J.Jonah. Jameson. Editor of the Bugle and bigotedenemy of Spider-ManWhat does an editor do?
An editor takes the ideas the writer has written down and makes sure they make sense, are easy to read, and follow a logical sequence. Not only does an editor make sure all of the “I”s are dotted and periods are in the right place, they’re a writer’s second set of eyes. The editor is supposed to put the spit and polish on the manuscript, and if it takes a little elbow grease to bring out the glow they’re the person sitting beside you rubbing Aladdin’s magic lamp. If your main character’s aunt is named Penny at the beginning of the book and Penny in the middle, then your editor missed something. It’s the editor’s job to catch anything that’s gotten past the writer. We’re only human like everyone else, but what sets an editor apart from everyone else is being anal retentive about words and punctuation to the point of distraction.
How long does it take you, on average, to edit a 60,000 word novel?
I always allow 4-6 weeks turnaround time for any manuscript if I can, but it depends upon how much editing it needs. I’ve turned them around in three weeks. There are also times when I’m pulling my hair out at the 11th hour. As I said, it depends upon how much editing is involved.
Do you ever feel the desire to get involved with your author’s plot? Do you ever make recommendations? Do you find yourself banging your head on concrete slabs in frustration?
Yes, I can’t help but get involved in the author’s plot, and I tend to make all sorts of recommendations as I edit. I can’t turn off my reader side, not that I ever want to. I pay attention to the actual story as I edit. I’ve heard there are editors who say they don’t read manuscripts, they just edit them. I don’t understand how anyone can do that. I don’t think you can be a good writer or editor without being a reader first.
"The good thing is that I use the Track Changes in MS Word so the writer can just ignore my comments if they choose to. There are times when I almost have a running dialogue going in the comments section because I can’t help but ask the questions I think another reader will ask. I prefer to edit fiction, and I can’t help but point out when a writer asks me to suspend belief in something that I know is true but hasn’t given me enough reason to do so. I don’t think I’m nit-picky as much as I am trying to help make the work I’m reading and editing to be the best it possibly can be before publication."
Santa’s elves come down the chimney at the Schall mansion and kidnap you on their magic bicycles. You have no idea what you have done to offend Santa. You are taken to Lapland and thrown in an igloo with nothing but a packet of Fig Newtons and a wooly bobble hat.
Underneath a block of ice, you find one of Santa’s discarded sacks, which was planned for someone who, unfortunately, no longer believed in the great icon. Inside, are three books, two CDs, and a DVD – what would they be?
Man, that’s a hard one. I always have a hard time narrowing books and music down to just a few favourites.
Ummm... the King James version of the Bible
Original copy of the King James Bible on display at SouthwellMinster in Nottinghamshire, UK
anything from the Xanth series by Piers Anthony,
Fantasy book“The Briton and the Dane: The Complete Trilogy” by Mary Ann Bernal (which I’m reading now) by the way,
High quality historical fiction from theeditor of Green Wizard Publishing
Queen’s Greatest Hits,
and the Xanadu soundtrack.
“The Polar Express”,
Will the Kansas City Chiefs beat Denver to the AFC Championship and if not, will you lend me a thousand dollars to back Denver?
Not an NFL fan, but if you have an inside line I’ll give you two grand and we’ll split the profits, LMBO!
I'm on Kansas at 13/2, but it's not looking good! What does 2014 have in store for fans of Crystal Schall?
My first grandchild around the beginning of June , more time with my family, and lots of love and warm and fuzzy moments.
"It would be great to say I’m going to publish new books and work like a mad woman, but family is what’s most important. If we’re all doing okay with a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and love in our hearts, everything else in life is just gravy."
Crystal, thank you for coming around the Cauldron and treating Wizardwatchers to such an engaging interview.
You're welcome, Wiz. Loved it!
Contact:
Open House Editing - http://www.OpenHouseEditing.com
Facebook - http://www.facebook.com/OpenHouseEditing
Twitter - http://twitter.com/ohedits
Author Site - http://www.CrystalSchall.com
The Book Rack - http://www.TheBookRacks.com
http://greenwizard62.blogspot.com/2013/12/editor-crystal-schallaround-cauldron.html History Trivia - Carthaginian forces defeats the Roman Republic
December 18
218 BC Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebbia – Hannibal's Carthaginian forces defeated those of the Roman Republic.
1118 Afonso the Battler, the Christian King of Aragon captured Saragossa, Spain, causing a major blow to Muslim Spain.
1352 Innocent VI became Pope. He introduced many needed reforms in the administration of church affairs and also sought to restore order in Rome, where, in 1355, Charles IV (1346–78) was crowned Holy Roman Emperor with his permission, after previously having made an oath that he would quit the city on the day of the ceremony.
218 BC Second Punic War: Battle of the Trebbia – Hannibal's Carthaginian forces defeated those of the Roman Republic.
1118 Afonso the Battler, the Christian King of Aragon captured Saragossa, Spain, causing a major blow to Muslim Spain.
1352 Innocent VI became Pope. He introduced many needed reforms in the administration of church affairs and also sought to restore order in Rome, where, in 1355, Charles IV (1346–78) was crowned Holy Roman Emperor with his permission, after previously having made an oath that he would quit the city on the day of the ceremony.
The Phil Naessens Show: NBA Coaches Who Can’t Coach and NBA Coaches Who Can Still Play
http://phillipnaessens.wordpress.com/2013/12/17/the-phil-naessens-show-nba-coaches-who-cant-coach-and-nba-coaches-who-can-still-play/
On this edition of the Phil Naessens Show We’re talking about NBA Coaches who can’t coach, NBA coaches who can still ball and we preview all 12 Wednesday night NBA matchups plus much more. Segment 1: Pounding the Rock lead writer Aaron Stampler joins Phil to preview Wednesday nights NBA matchups including; San Antonio vs. Phoenix, Utah vs. Orlando, New York vs. Milwaukee, Memphis vs. Dallas, New Orleans vs. Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago vs. Houston and the resounding theme of this segment is NBA coaches who can’t coach plus much more Segment : Welcome to Loud City lead writer Zeb Benbrook joins Phil to preview Wednesday nights NBA matchups including; Indiana vs. Miami, Charlotte vs. Toronto, Sacramento vs. Atlanta, Detroit vs. Boston, Washington vs. Brooklyn and Portland vs. Minnesota and the resounding theme is NBA coaches that can still ball.
On this edition of the Phil Naessens Show We’re talking about NBA Coaches who can’t coach, NBA coaches who can still ball and we preview all 12 Wednesday night NBA matchups plus much more. Segment 1: Pounding the Rock lead writer Aaron Stampler joins Phil to preview Wednesday nights NBA matchups including; San Antonio vs. Phoenix, Utah vs. Orlando, New York vs. Milwaukee, Memphis vs. Dallas, New Orleans vs. Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago vs. Houston and the resounding theme of this segment is NBA coaches who can’t coach plus much more Segment : Welcome to Loud City lead writer Zeb Benbrook joins Phil to preview Wednesday nights NBA matchups including; Indiana vs. Miami, Charlotte vs. Toronto, Sacramento vs. Atlanta, Detroit vs. Boston, Washington vs. Brooklyn and Portland vs. Minnesota and the resounding theme is NBA coaches that can still ball.
December 17, 2013
The Wizard of Notts Recommends: New dawn for ancient monument: Stonehenge visitor center opens
http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/17/travel/stonehenge-visitor-center/index.html
New dawn for ancient monument: Stonehenge visitor center opensBy Barry Neild, for CNNupdated 4:37 PM EST, Tue December 17, 2013
(CNN) -- In a cold, wet field two hours' drive west of London, there's no mistaking the huddle of ancient shapes that emerge suddenly on the horizon, back-dropped by a distant cluster of leafless trees.
Until recently, any first encounter with Stonehenge, that legendary keeper of Neolithic secrets, could prove deeply underwhelming.Two traffic-snarled highways have encroached on the brooding rocks, robbing them of their scale.Now that's changing.The site's custodians have unveiled a $44 million visitor center and a radical remodeling of the landscape that will reconnect the circle with the atmospheric terrain it has occupied for more than 4,000 years.CNN was among the first visitors through its doors -- and to experience a redesigned approach to the UNESCO World Heritage Site that its guardians hope will restore some of its once-formidable presence.Visitors are no longer directed to a cramped parking lot slapped hastily on top of historically significant earthworks.The parking lot and a roadway, which for decades has severed the stone circle from an ancient avenue, are being torn up and grassed over.Instead they arrive at the new center, an elegant modern pavilion of glass and weathered sweet chestnut wood that now forms the gateway to the enigmatic millennium-old monument -- helping to create a sense of anticipation and drama.
These stones have waited a long time for a proper visitor's center.Contrast vital"One key thing has been to make it as different from the stones as possible," Stephen Quinlan, one of the center's architects, told CNN.The building's undulating roof and matchstick steel pillars blend in with the area's rolling hills and sparse woodland, he said.The center officially opens on December 18, three days before the winter solstice, when druids, pagans and revelers gather to watch the sun rise in perfect alignment with the stones -- a celestial event that both explains their purpose and deepens their mystery.These time-honored traditions show how cherished Stonehenge is, not only to the people who assign it spiritual importance, but also to the archaeologists who study its origins.Not to mention the 1 million tourists who traipse here each year.It's no wonder the government bodies guarding the site have been cautious about remodeling -- enduring 30 years of wrangling over budgets, designs and locations before creating the new center.MORE: Britain's most beautiful views -- no, not just the postcard shotsWorthwhile waitFor some, however, the wait has been worth it."I think it's fabulous," Mark Horton, a professor of history at Bristol University, told CNN at the center's opening."It's one of the most important archaeological monuments in western Europe and has been for so long woefully neglected."In one way the delays had been an advantage, he said.
Unlike real Britain, the virtual vista isn't obscured by drizzle."If it was here 10 years ago, it would look out of date because we now have completely new interpretations of how and why and when Stonehenge was built."Stonehenge isn't visible from the center, lying over the crest of a hill -- so visitors spend time exploring its new exhibition space before walking or catching a road train to cover the mile and a half to the stone circle.The exhibition's centerpiece is a 360-degree virtual display that tries to simulate the experience of standing within the stone circle -- something most visitors have been banned from doing since the late 1970s in order to protect the rocks.It uses laser-scanned images to zap the viewer back through history amid dramatic solstice sunrises and sunsets.For anyone who has waited in vain for a dawn obscured by the miserable British weather, this could actually be an improvement.Neolithic head reconstructedAmong 250 other antiquities, the exhibition also includes the reconstructed head of a 5,500-year-old Neolithic man found nearby.Archaeologists have used advanced 3D scanning technology on his skull to reveal his face.While this undoubtedly offers a valuable glimpse into the human story behind Stonehenge, there's no escaping the fact that the result of all that hi-tech labor bears an uncanny resemblance to Jeff Bridges in "The Big Lebowski."The Neolithic man's skeleton is also on display, a fact that has stirred some controversy.
Some aren't happy about the display of ancient bones found near the site.The leader of Britain's self-proclaimed largest order of druids says the use of the bones is disrespectful to their long-dead owner."Those who've been laid to rest should stay at rest -- it's not a pagan issue, it's one of common decency," King Arthur Pendragon, who describes himself as the Battle Chieftain of the Council of British Druid Orders, told CNN.While it brings visitors face to face with the monument's history, what the new center cannot do is shed definitive light on how and why Stonehenge was constructed using stones quarried 150 miles away in the Preseli mountains of Wales.There have been numerous theories about their construction and purpose, ranging from outlandish claims about UFOs or mythical stories of giants and wizards to explanations concerning druidic rituals or astronomical observatories.READ: Best places to spend Christmas in 2013Solstice ceremoniesThe 2009 announcement that another stone circle -- Bluestonehenge -- had been discovered adjacent by the nearby River Avon has lent support to another theory: that Stonehenge was a temple forming part of a larger funeral and burial complex that only later became a place for solstice ceremonies.Back in the 21st century, with much of the remodeling yet to be completed, it's still a work in progress.Although the road train's slower approach to the stones does help build the atmosphere, the old parking lot and the remaining busy highway still blot the landscape.There are times, however, walking the circuit around Stonehenge, when the traffic, the noise and the fellow visitors taking iPhone selfies suddenly melt away.In these fleeting moments there's a sense of the power these simple rocks have conveyed to so many.But while the site's guardians hope their innovations will help visitors to connect better to the surrounding ancient landscape, for some there will always be one crucial element missing."The only thing that struck me is you can't go up and touch it," said fourth-time visitor Keith Foskett, of West Sussex, England."I think that's a real shame. English Heritage might own it, but it really belongs to the people. You should be allowed to go up and hug the stones."
Stonehenge
, near Salisbury, England. +44 87 0333 1181. Visits over the festive period won't require booking but must be reserved from February 1, 2014, when entrance will be managed through timed tickets; adults $24, child $14.50, family $65.
New dawn for ancient monument: Stonehenge visitor center opensBy Barry Neild, for CNNupdated 4:37 PM EST, Tue December 17, 2013
(CNN) -- In a cold, wet field two hours' drive west of London, there's no mistaking the huddle of ancient shapes that emerge suddenly on the horizon, back-dropped by a distant cluster of leafless trees.Until recently, any first encounter with Stonehenge, that legendary keeper of Neolithic secrets, could prove deeply underwhelming.Two traffic-snarled highways have encroached on the brooding rocks, robbing them of their scale.Now that's changing.The site's custodians have unveiled a $44 million visitor center and a radical remodeling of the landscape that will reconnect the circle with the atmospheric terrain it has occupied for more than 4,000 years.CNN was among the first visitors through its doors -- and to experience a redesigned approach to the UNESCO World Heritage Site that its guardians hope will restore some of its once-formidable presence.Visitors are no longer directed to a cramped parking lot slapped hastily on top of historically significant earthworks.The parking lot and a roadway, which for decades has severed the stone circle from an ancient avenue, are being torn up and grassed over.Instead they arrive at the new center, an elegant modern pavilion of glass and weathered sweet chestnut wood that now forms the gateway to the enigmatic millennium-old monument -- helping to create a sense of anticipation and drama.
These stones have waited a long time for a proper visitor's center.Contrast vital"One key thing has been to make it as different from the stones as possible," Stephen Quinlan, one of the center's architects, told CNN.The building's undulating roof and matchstick steel pillars blend in with the area's rolling hills and sparse woodland, he said.The center officially opens on December 18, three days before the winter solstice, when druids, pagans and revelers gather to watch the sun rise in perfect alignment with the stones -- a celestial event that both explains their purpose and deepens their mystery.These time-honored traditions show how cherished Stonehenge is, not only to the people who assign it spiritual importance, but also to the archaeologists who study its origins.Not to mention the 1 million tourists who traipse here each year.It's no wonder the government bodies guarding the site have been cautious about remodeling -- enduring 30 years of wrangling over budgets, designs and locations before creating the new center.MORE: Britain's most beautiful views -- no, not just the postcard shotsWorthwhile waitFor some, however, the wait has been worth it."I think it's fabulous," Mark Horton, a professor of history at Bristol University, told CNN at the center's opening."It's one of the most important archaeological monuments in western Europe and has been for so long woefully neglected."In one way the delays had been an advantage, he said. Unlike real Britain, the virtual vista isn't obscured by drizzle."If it was here 10 years ago, it would look out of date because we now have completely new interpretations of how and why and when Stonehenge was built."Stonehenge isn't visible from the center, lying over the crest of a hill -- so visitors spend time exploring its new exhibition space before walking or catching a road train to cover the mile and a half to the stone circle.The exhibition's centerpiece is a 360-degree virtual display that tries to simulate the experience of standing within the stone circle -- something most visitors have been banned from doing since the late 1970s in order to protect the rocks.It uses laser-scanned images to zap the viewer back through history amid dramatic solstice sunrises and sunsets.For anyone who has waited in vain for a dawn obscured by the miserable British weather, this could actually be an improvement.Neolithic head reconstructedAmong 250 other antiquities, the exhibition also includes the reconstructed head of a 5,500-year-old Neolithic man found nearby.Archaeologists have used advanced 3D scanning technology on his skull to reveal his face.While this undoubtedly offers a valuable glimpse into the human story behind Stonehenge, there's no escaping the fact that the result of all that hi-tech labor bears an uncanny resemblance to Jeff Bridges in "The Big Lebowski."The Neolithic man's skeleton is also on display, a fact that has stirred some controversy. Some aren't happy about the display of ancient bones found near the site.The leader of Britain's self-proclaimed largest order of druids says the use of the bones is disrespectful to their long-dead owner."Those who've been laid to rest should stay at rest -- it's not a pagan issue, it's one of common decency," King Arthur Pendragon, who describes himself as the Battle Chieftain of the Council of British Druid Orders, told CNN.While it brings visitors face to face with the monument's history, what the new center cannot do is shed definitive light on how and why Stonehenge was constructed using stones quarried 150 miles away in the Preseli mountains of Wales.There have been numerous theories about their construction and purpose, ranging from outlandish claims about UFOs or mythical stories of giants and wizards to explanations concerning druidic rituals or astronomical observatories.READ: Best places to spend Christmas in 2013Solstice ceremoniesThe 2009 announcement that another stone circle -- Bluestonehenge -- had been discovered adjacent by the nearby River Avon has lent support to another theory: that Stonehenge was a temple forming part of a larger funeral and burial complex that only later became a place for solstice ceremonies.Back in the 21st century, with much of the remodeling yet to be completed, it's still a work in progress.Although the road train's slower approach to the stones does help build the atmosphere, the old parking lot and the remaining busy highway still blot the landscape.There are times, however, walking the circuit around Stonehenge, when the traffic, the noise and the fellow visitors taking iPhone selfies suddenly melt away.In these fleeting moments there's a sense of the power these simple rocks have conveyed to so many.But while the site's guardians hope their innovations will help visitors to connect better to the surrounding ancient landscape, for some there will always be one crucial element missing."The only thing that struck me is you can't go up and touch it," said fourth-time visitor Keith Foskett, of West Sussex, England."I think that's a real shame. English Heritage might own it, but it really belongs to the people. You should be allowed to go up and hug the stones."
Stonehenge
, near Salisbury, England. +44 87 0333 1181. Visits over the festive period won't require booking but must be reserved from February 1, 2014, when entrance will be managed through timed tickets; adults $24, child $14.50, family $65.
