02.04.2020 я направил письмо Мишустину (Приложение 1). В нём я критиковал согласие правительства РФ на удовлетворение просьбы Гундяева. Просьбы о 20% скидке на газ для всех учреждений и зданий, принадлежащих религиозной организации РПЦ. Скидка предоставляется под предлогом того, что религиозную организацию правительство предлагает считать подпадающей под дефиницию «население». Мне же думается, что такой абсурдный мыслепродукт есть алогичный абсурд. Об этом я написал Мишустину 2 апреля. Кроме того, я свое возмущение высказал на официальном сайте regulation.gov.ru где отражается процедура и этапы прохождения законопроектов.
13 апреля я получил письмо из Минэнерго РФ. В нем сообщалось, что к ним поступило мое письмо Мишустину.
И вот сегодня я получил ответ из Министерства энергетики РФ (Приложения 2 и 3). Письмо подписано заместителем директора департамента переработки нефти и газа А.А. Верховым. Именно этот человек, согласно паспорту законопроекта, является разработчиком законопроекта о 20% скидке на газ для организации РПЦ.
Что же написано в письме из Минэнерго?
Сначала о том, что не написано. Нет ничего о том, почему для организации РПЦ применяют льготы, которые не применяют к другим организациям и предназначенные для «населения», т.е. индивидуальных граждан.
Написано, что сейчас проект постановления проходит процедуру межведомственного согласования. И сказано, что ответ на мой комментарий к проекту постановления предоставлен на сайте regulation.gov.ru.
На картинке к посту приведен этот ответ. Повторю его и в тексте поста.
Комментарий разработчика:
Согласно пункту 3 статьи 4 Федерального закона от 26.09.1997 № 125–ФЗ «О свободе совести
и религиозных объединениях» государство регулирует предоставление религиозным организациям налоговых и иных льгот.
Таким образом проект постановления разработан Минэнерго России в рамках реализации поручения Правительства Российской Федерации от 12.02.2020 № ЮБ–П9–837.
==
Т.е. государство захотело установить льготу для РПЦ и сделало это.
Я сейчас еще раз посмотрел пакет документов этого законопроекта. Вот текст изменения в ныне действующем порядке оплаты за газ. К категории «население» предлагается отнести и
«религиозные организации, приобретающие газ для его использования в котельных всех типов и (или) оборудовании, находящихся у них на праве собственности или ином законном основании, для производства электро — и (или) тепловой энергии в целях удовлетворения бытовых нужд на объектах специально предназначенных для богослужения, молитвенных и религиозных собраний».
Даю текст Пояснительной записки, которую написал разработчик законопроекта – вышеупомянутый Верхов.
ПОЯСНИТЕЛЬНАЯ ЗАПИСКА

к проекту постановления Правительства Российской Федерации
«О внесении изменения в пункт 2 Основных положений формирования и государственного регулирования цен на газ, тарифов на услуги по его транспортировке и платы за технологическое присоединение газоиспользующего оборудования к газораспределительным сетям на территории Российской Федерации»

Проект постановления Правительства Российской Федерации «О внесении изменения в пункт 2 Основных положений формирования и государственного регулирования цен на газ, тарифов на услуги по его транспортировке
и платы за технологическое присоединение газоиспользующего оборудования
к газораспределительным сетям на территории Российской Федерации» (далее – проект постановление) подготовлен Министерством энергетики Российской Федерации в связи с поручением Правительства Российской Федерации
от 12.02.2020 № ЮБ–П9–837 на основании обращения Патриарха Московского
и Всея Руси Кирилла от 05.11.2019 № 01/6250 по вопросу внесения изменений
в Основные положения формирования и государственного регулирования цен на газ, тарифов на услуги по его транспортировке и платы за технологическое присоединение газоиспользующего оборудования к газораспределительным сетям на территории Российской Федерации, утвержденные постановлением Правительства Российской Федерации от 29.12.2000 № 1021 (далее – Основные положения), в части отнесения религиозных организаций к категории «население»
и соответствующего для них установления розничной цены на газ.
Проектом постановления предлагается дополнить понятие «население»
для целей Основных положений религиозными организациями, приобретающие газ для его использования в котельных всех типов и (или) оборудовании, находящихся у них на праве собственности или ином законном основании, для производства электро — и (или) тепловой энергии в целях удовлетворения бытовых нужд на объектах специально предназначенных для богослужения, молитвенных и религиозных собраний (далее – религиозные организации), для нормативного закрепления установления регулируемых розничных цен на газ для религиозных организаций.
Проект постановления соответствует положениям Договора о Евразийском экономическом союзе, а также положениям иных международных договоров Российской Федерации.
В проекте постановления отсутствуют обязательные требования, оценка соблюдения которых осуществляется в рамках государственного контроля (надзора), муниципального контроля, при рассмотрении дел об административных правонарушениях, или обязательных требований, соответствие которым проверяется при выдаче разрешений, лицензий, аттестатов аккредитации, иных документов, имеющих разрешительный характер (далее — обязательные требования), о соответствующем виде государственного контроля (надзора), виде разрешительной деятельности и предполагаемой ответственности за нарушение обязательных требований или последствиях их несоблюдения.
Предлагаемые в проекте постановления решения не влияют на достижение целей государственных программ Российской Федерации.
Принятие постановления не потребует дополнительных финансовых затрат
из бюджетов всех уровней бюджетной системы Российской Федерации
=:(конец пояснительной записки)
==
Мой комментарий
Во–первых, написано, что проект законопроекта о скидке разработан «на основании обращения Патриарха Московского и Всея Руси Кирилла». То есть гражданин Гундяев назван в официальном документе своим религиозным псевдонимом.
Во–вторых, написано, что «Проект постановления соответствует положениям Договора о Евразийском экономическом союзе». Я никогда ранее не смотрел на этот «договор евразийцев». Надо посмотреть. Наверняка там много грустносмешного. Раз уж на основании этих «евразийских положений» религиозные организации приравниваются к категории «население».
В–третьих, написано, что «Предлагаемые в проекте постановления решения не влияют на достижение целей государственных программ Российской Федерации. Принятие постановления не потребует дополнительных финансовых затрат из бюджетов всех уровней бюджетной системы РФ». Я долго думал, как это прокомментировать и не нашел ничего иного как сказать:
«Чудо! Шах и мат, атеисты!»
Все посты эксперимента см. https://d3.ru/user/infinum/posts/

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Медики есть? Это правда?

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Ученые нашли в куске янтаря из Мьянмы паука, жившего на Земле 100 миллионов лет назад. От сегодняшних сородичей он отличается длинным хвостом, который мог служить сенсором для сбора информации об окружающем мире.

На сегодняшний день известно 47 тысяч живущих и 1,3 тысячи вымерших видов пауков. Древние паукообразные, ископаемые отряда Uraraneida, встречались еще в девонский период, около 380 миллионов лет назад. Внешне они напоминали современных пауков, однако отличались от них длинным жгутиковым тельсоном (концевой членик брюшка). Кроме того, несмотря на то, что Uraraneida могли производить шелк, у них отсутствовали паутинные бородавки, которые используются при формировании нитей. Считалось, что представителей отряда Uraraneida и современных арахнид могло соединять некоторое переходное звено и теперь ученые под руководством британского палеонтолога Пола Селдена (Paul Selden) из Канзасского университета нашли подтверждение этой гипотезы.

Новый вид, названный Chimerarachne (в честь Химеры из древнегреческих мифов), на один шаг ближе к современным паукам. Он все еще обладает хвостом, но уже имеет прядильный аппарат. Размеры тельца животного совсем невелики — около 2,5 миллиметров, в то время как длина жгутика составляет 3 миллиметра. Как и пауки, Chimerarachne имеют хелицеры с когтями, четыре пары ног, педипальпы и паутинные бородавки на брюшке.

Четыре представителя нового вида были обнаружены в осколках янтаря из Мьянмы, принадлежащих к среднему мелу. По оценкам ученых, возраст паукообразных составляет около 100 миллионов лет. Из–за того, что образцы были найдены в янтаре, биологи предполагают, что животные могли жить на стволах деревьев или рядом с ними. Кроме того, они не исключают, что родственники Chimerarachne до сих пор могут встречаться в Мьянме.

Источник — nplus1.ru

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150 рублей. Штраф за отсутствие 4 тыс. руб. Вери гуд бизнес, че.

Кстати москвичей носить маски и перчатки обязали только при поездках в общественном транспорте, походе в магазин и аптеку, на работе. На улицах можно находиться без масок и перчаток.

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«День Победы превращается в клоунаду»: волгоградский депутат гулял по городу с боевым орденом на груди

9 мая в Волгограде состоялись торжественные мероприятия, посвященные празднованию 75–летия Победы в Великой Отечественной войне. Все они прошли в измененном формате и дистанционно для большинства горожан, но только не для первого заместителя Волгоградской городской Думы и председателя Волгоградского регионального совета сторонников партии «Единая Россия» Андрея Гимбатова.

В День Победы Андрей Петрович каким–то странным образом оказался в числе тех, на кого ограничительные меры из–за пандемии не распространяются. Так, он был замечен на Аллее Героев, у Дома Павлова и, наконец, в строю «Бессмертного полка», где также присутствовал Андрей Бочаров и Виталий Лихачев.

Одна деталь весьма смутила журналистов. Весь день на груди у Гимбатова красовался орден Красной Звезды, учрежденный для награждения за большие заслуги в деле обороны СССР как в военное, так и в мирное время, в обеспечении государственной безопасности. Награда носится на правой стороне груди, а не на левой, как у депутата. Таким образом ее носили до лета 1943 года.

Для справки. Награждение орденом Красной Звезды производилось:
За личное мужество и отвагу в боях, отличную организацию и умелое руководство боевыми действиями, способствовавшими успеху советских войск;
За успешные боевые действия воинских частей и соединений, в результате которых противнику был нанесён значительный урон;
За заслуги в обеспечении государственной безопасности и неприкосновенности государственной границы СССР;
За мужество и отвагу, проявленные при исполнении воинского или служебного долга, в условиях, сопряжённых с риском для жизни;
За образцовое выполнение специальных заданий командования и другие подвиги, совершённые в условиях мирного времени;
За большие заслуги в поддержании высокой боевой готовности войск, отличные показатели в боевой и политической подготовке, овладении новой боевой техникой и другие заслуги в укреплении оборонной мощи СССР;
За заслуги в развитии военной науки и техники, подготовке кадров для Вооружённых Сил СССР;
За заслуги в укреплении обороноспособности государств социалистического содружества.

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Депутат Мосгордумы Ступин

Направил запросы Раковой по расследованию #ФБК в отношении ее подчёркнуто барской манеры одеваться, и прокурору Москвы для определения реальной статистики заболеваний коронавирусом. По данным Собянина 300 тыс в Москве. По данным оперштаба — в 3 раза меньше.Кто из них фейкньюс?
«С просьбой разъяснить, соответствует ли сведения, сообщенные в расследовании ФБК о стоимости ее гардероба, и откуда эти средства, которые не соответствуют ее доходам. И не считает ли она неприличным и вызывающим одеваться в столь барской манере в тех условиях, когда в Москве средняя пенсия 15 тысяч рулей. А она человек, который отвечает за социалку»
Злые языки утверждают, будто она maîtresse СС.

Также Е.Ступин сообщил, что им был отправлен запрос прокурору Москвы для определения реальной статистики заболеваний коронавирусом. Депутат считает, что тех, кто распространяет неверные данные о заболевании корнавирусом, необходимо привлечь к отвественности.

«По данным Собянина порядка 300 тысяч в Москве заболевших коронавирусом. Это явно расходится с оперативным штабом, по данным которого в столице 93 тыс. заболевших. В три с лишним раза больше. Кто–то из них врет. И нам по этому вопросу необходимо получать достоверную статистику — сколько человек в Москве заболевших. И тех кто поставляет лжестатистику, необходимо привлечь к ответственности, в том числе к уголовной, при необходимости, по статье 207.1 УК РФ»

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Вчера зарево было не только от фейерверков, но и от пуканов миллионов ватноголовых.
Госдеп имел наглость порадоваться победе Великобритании и Америки в победе над нацистами, не упомянув СССР!
На это тут же яростно отреагировал МИД РФ в лице мурки–Захаровой, а в комментах к госдеповскому посту особо уязвленные оставили тысячи негодований. Любо–дорого посмотреть!

У меня к данной новости два комментария:
1) А как часто в Рунете упоминаются союзники при поздравлениях? И почему собственно Великая Отечественная? А не Вторая Мировая? Нет ли тут наглости не вспомнить союзников, внёсших свой ощутимый вклад?
2) Меня, как россиянина, не особо волнует, что там пишет Госдеп у себя в постах, чему радуется итд. ЧЯДНТ?

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19 сентября 1939 года. Брестская крепость, Белый дворец. Командование 76–го пехотного полка 19–го моторизованного армейского корпуса Гудериана в тёплой дружественной обстановке передаёт танкистам комбрига Кривошеина цитадель (вместе с несдавшимися поляками Радзиховского в форте Сикорского) и польский флаг, снятый со шпиля дворца.

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http://doc20vek.ru/node/1397

У нас не принято уделять в школе много внимания Второй Мировой, делая упор на Великую Отечественную, в которой, согласно пропаганде, СССР победил нацизм ( при незначительной помощи заклятых союзников).
Почему же у всей планеты была мировая война, а у нас какая–то своя? А потому, что в начале войны СССР был дружком Германии и Сталин всячески поддерживал Гитлера.
Отсюда растут все эти ватные мантры, мол СССР не захватывал по сговору с нацистами Польшу, а пришел на пепелище спасать народы. Эту ложь повторяет Молотов:
Нечего доказывать, что в момент полного распада Польского государства наше правительство обязано было протянуть руку помощи проживающим на территории Западной Украины и Западной Белоруссии братьям–украинцам и братьям–белорусам. Оно так и поступило. (Бурные, продолжительные аплодисменты.
Но как же совок может обойтись без лицемерия и двоемыслия? А никак — и тут же Молотов заявляет:
Во–вторых, надо указать на такой факт, как военный разгром Польши и распад Польского государства. Правящие круги Польши не мало кичились "прочностью" своего государства и "мощью" своей армии. Однако, оказалось достаточным короткого удара по Польше со стороны сперва германской армии, а затем — Красной Армии, чтобы ничего не осталось от этого уродливого детища Версальского договора, жившего за счет угнетения непольских национальностей.
Все в порядке — коммуняка привычно все извратил и переврал даже сам себя.

А далее еще интересней — Молотов защищает гитлеризм! И вот эти строчки вата упорно не хочет замечать:
В последнее время правящие круги Англии и Франции пытаются изобразить себя в качестве борцов за демократические права народов против гитлеризма, причем английское правительство объявило, что будто бы для него целью войны против Германии является, не больше и не меньше, как. "уничтожение гитлеризма". Получается так, что английские, а вместе с ними и французские, сторонники войны объявили против Германии что–то вроде "идеологической войны", напоминающей старые религиозные войны. ...
Но любой человек поймет, что идеологию нельзя уничтожить силой, нельзя покончить с нею войной. Поэтому не только бессмысленно, но и преступно вести такую войну, как война за "уничтожение гитлеризма" прикрываемая фальшивым флагом борьбы за "демократию".

Вот так — война против гитлеризма преступна и напоминает религиозные войны. Но как только Гитлер кинул своих корешей в ВКП(б), то они тут же объявляют гитлеризму "священную войну", переобувшись на лету, что для красноперых норма жизни.

Так что не забывайте, что если кто–то говорит про то, как СССР помог братским народам в то время, когда Польша перестала существовать — повторяя слова Молотова, то в таком случае и война против гитлеризма преступна.

Написал pavelhunt на polka.d3.ru / комментировать

Comics Curmudgeon readers! Do you love this blog and yearn for a novel written by its creator? Well, good news: Josh Fruhlinger's The Enthusiast is that novel! It's even about newspaper comic strips, partly. Check it out! Rex Morgan, M.D., 5/10/20 Hey, everyone! Were you worried that Buck was going to be inconvenienced, even briefly, […]

Luke Babb dreams about their summer travel plans, now dashed by COVID-19, and what will replace their holy wandering this summer.

Continue reading Column: Raidho at The Wild Hunt.

Фестиваль Comic-Con Сан-Диего пройдет «на дому».

Организаторы крупнейшего фанатского фестиваля Comic-Con анонсировали, что в этом году мероприятие состоится в онлайн-формате из-за пандемии коронавируса.

Зрителям обещают несколько эксклюзивных материалов о предстоящих проектах в кино и на ТВ.

Традиционно Comic-Con проводится в конце июля в городе Сан-Диего. Точная дата пока не сообщается.

Состоится ли российский Comic-Con, который запланирован на октябрь месяц пока не известно.

• Ambient
• Drone
• Guitar
• Instrumental

• Post-Rock
• Ambient
• Math Rock
• Instrumental

• Jazz
• Funk
• Soul

• Thrash Metal
• Progressive

• Alternative
• Progressive Rock

• Electronic
• Synthpop

• Indie
• Hip-Hop
• Rap

Welcome to the annual Book Fair for Ballou Sr High School!

For the 8th year, Guys Lit Wire is delighted to invite readers to help this school fill its library shelves by shopping their Amazon wish list. There are hundreds of books to choose from covering every topic you can think of and we hope you will buy a book or two for this worthy school and help its students and wonderful librarian, Melissa Jackson, gain greater access to more titles. The school depends on this annual book fair and we are happy to host it. This is our chance to help the students obtain books they want to read and we can't do it without your help!

Ballou Sr High School's students face many obstacles; all of the students qualify for free or reduced price lunch and last year its graduation rate was 57%. But in 2017 every member of the senior class applied to college — a first for the school — and we certainly believe that the library was a huge support to them in their efforts.



We hope to send at least 150 books to Ballou this year and there are plenty of titles at a wide variety of prices to choose from. It's important to stress that this is a list that is reviewed and approved by Ballou students and includes many many books that they have requested. There are poetry and novels, biographies and cookbooks, graphic novels, science, travel and more. There is literally something for everyone on this list and we are sure that you will find a book (or more!) that you want to gift to these worthy students. 

We know 2017 has given us all so many things to worry about and, sadly, so many people who are in need of assistance. With Ballou the need is ever present however and, we believe, critically important. Libraries are the heart of every school and every community; they are part of the long game that can positively transform a community and are especially critical to the hearts of young people. Books can be game changers in the life of a teenager — heck, books ARE game changers and we want to get as many as we can into the hands of Ballou's students. 



The Amazon wish list can be found here. It is also easily searchable at Amazon under "Ballou High School". If you would like to embed a link in a post or tweet (and PLEASE DO!!), use this one: http://tinyurl.com/BookFairBallouHS

And here is the url in case the links are not working for you:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/registry/wishlist/2CU17Q38C3P68/ref=cm_wl_sortbar_o_page_1?ie=UTF8&sort=universal-title 

The mailing address is already set-up for checkout and there are nearly 500 books to choose from with a wide price range. We do hope you will find a book that you want to send to Ballou and help us make life a little better for a great bunch of a kids.

The Book Fair for Ballou High School Library will stay open for 2 weeks and we will keep you posted here on how things go. Be sure to follow @chasingray (GLW moderator Colleen Mondor's twitter feed) and watch the Ballou Library feed for shoutouts from Melissa (@BallouLibrary) as books show up.

 When her big chance comes, however, she throws it all away to rescue a teenager drowning off the coast of her island home.
Interacting with a human is strictly forbidden in Diana's culture, let alone saving one and hiding them in a cave.

This, however is no ordinary human. Her name is Alia and unbeknownst to her she is a Warbringer, someone who may be responsible for the greatest war ever to befall the human race.

Using a controversial myth as a guide, Alia and Diana set off to end the curse that Alia has become convinced she carries.

she does her best to stand out.
Full of action, sarcastic wit and strong female characters, Wonder Woman: Warbringer is a great teen read for anyone who loves superhero backstories. Bardugo has created a character with real depth that flies off the page, highly recommend this!
Diana is desperate to prove herself. Surrounded by warriors who make every feat of strength and agility look like a cake walk,

Poetry can be loud, it can be quiet, it can be musical, it can be classic, it can be modern, it can be freestyle, it can be metered, it can be anything you want it to be.

Poetry is not all old-fashioned and stodgy - and it isn't limited to sonnets and haikus, either. Poetry comes in all different forms and touches on a wide variety of topics and genres. There are verses and vows and limericks and lyrics. There's epic poetry, lyric poetry, speculative poetry (yep, sci-fi/fantasy/horror themes can creep into poems, too!) Poems pop up in greeting cards and commercials. They are shared in verse novels and at poetry slams.

Like plays, many poems are meant to be heard. Read a poem out loud, or listen to it being read by the author or another brilliant performer, and you might find yourself transfixed and transformed.

Think of a song with lyrics that you really like. Those lyrics just might be poetry, set to music. Check out some performance poetry. Consider Lin-Manuel Miranda's mind-blowing award-winning musical Hamilton. See what I mean? Rhythm and rhymes.

I had a lovely conversation with someone who translates poetry. She is fluent in multiple languages and loves melodic, meaningful words. She spoke of the challenge of keeping the original intention of the poem and being aware of both the connotations and the denotations of words used. When poems have a certain meter, feeling, or flavor,  it can be more important to use words that capture those feelings and rhythms than having a perfectly exact word-for-word translation, she said. Some words don't translate so precisely, she added, especially if it's a colloquialism or a turn of phrase.

Why am I posting about poetry today? Every Friday, bloggers around the world participate in Poetry Friday. This weekly event has roots in the world of academic blogs. I learned of it nearly ten years ago through the book blogging community and have been participating at my blog, Bildungsroman, every week since. Anyone may participate, and different blogs host the roundup each week.

Do you have any poets or poems you really enjoy? Feel free to leave them in the comments below!

If you're so inclined, donate some poetry collections and verse novels for the Ballou Book Fair!
http://tinyurl.com/BookFairBallouHS

Guiluli is a Red Mighty, a mutation of humans born from the Corporate World War. After 54 years of existence, Pre-ev (non mutated) humans still don't much like the Red Mighties and as a result, the Red Mighties have created their own Nationland.

Despite all of the world's natural resources being either consumed or poisoned by the war, the Nationland has cleaned up its land, so they have pure water and soil free of contaminants in which to grow food. Yet another reason for those off the Nationland to dislike the Red Mighties.

I like the idea of the evolved/mutated species emerging from a human race destroyed by its own vices and desires. It seems that hominids may be ripe for another evolutionary step, after all we have been homo sapiens for a while now. Maybe this is the next step.

This is an interesting twist on a typical dystopian novel in that I feel there is way more hope of a future that isn't just trying to exist day to day but actually thrive as a civilization. The possibility of cleaning up what we have destroyed. Backbiters is a great read for those that enjoyed the Hunger Games, Divergent, Not a Drop to Drink.

This book. This book is grounded inside its main character's mind and body in an almost visceral way, and if you've ever had a "crazy" friend--and who hasn't, but I mean one who is actually diagnosed with anxiety disorder and/or OCD--even though this book is entertaining and wonderful and all the things good fiction should be, it will help you to "get" them in a way they might not have been able to articulate to you.

Aza is the star of the show. Or maybe she's not. She's so stuck inside her head, where twisty thoughts and logic have her spinning about the bacteria in her body and how it might just take over and kill her, that maybe she's the victim. Worse, maybe she is the bad guy. And the victim. And the star.

Life is complicated.

Aza is lucky in that she has a best friend, Daisy. Daisy, who talks all. the. time. but who sticks by Aza even though Aza isn't easy to stick by. So when Daisy suggests that she and Aza make like Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden to solve the mystery of the missing billionaire, Aza goes along with it.

Things happen. So many things. And I don't want to talk about any of them, really, because it would spoil this book, which unspools almost magically. It starts from a very clenched place and almost literally unwinds to a a better stasis.

Read it. Read it to find out what role Aza plays in her own life. To see if she can find her way out of her own head, at least a little. And to find out what the title means: "turtles all the way down."

So yeah - consider this review the equivalent of me standing next to you, shoving this book into your hands, making almost uncomfortable levels of eye contact while imploring you to read it.

But really. Read it.

Well, I was reminded of the song, "Catfish John," when I read Joseph Krumgold's Newbery Medal-winning Onion John:

Mama said: 'Don't go near that river
'Don't be hanging around old Catfish John'
Come the morning, I'd always be there
Walking in his footsteps in the sweet Delta dawn.
Catfish John was a river hobo who lived and died by the river bed

Thinking back, I still remember I was proud to be his friend. (Alison Krauss does it well, but I really like Jerry Garcia's version.)

"Onion John" is what the locals call the strange, sort of derelict man who hardly talks. "The way John spoke was his own secret. Most of the words he used were full of x's and z's and noises like ptchky and grvtch. It was a high speed language full of jokes, from the way he carried on. Every so often, talking away, he'd get too much for himself and bust out. There was no way of telling whether the jokes were that good or not. The only part of his conversation I ever understood was the end of it. He said, "Well, good day," each word separate and clear and then you knew he was finished with whatever he was telling you."

The story is narrated by Andy, a young teen. His folks don't forbid him to befriend Onion John, but they think Andy should focus on his studies, go to M.I.T., become an engineer, and/or be an astronaut.

I don't want to give away the plot, but will say this: The author won the Newbery Medal twice, which doesn't happen a lot. This one was good enough that I look forward to reading more Joseph Krumgold stories.

Emmett is a humble teen from Detroit. His family has been downtrodden for generations, working menial jobs after menial jobs and he isn't showing much to prove that he can break the cycle that has plagued his family.

One day however, he gets a chance to go to a strange planet to work with an alien people called Adamites. However, there's a catch- he is going to have to compete for his spot against teens from around the world each as hungry as he is to make the cut. Babel, the company who is sponsoring the trip promises a big payout if they can succeed.

Thus begins a gauntlet of events in groups and alone that sees the teens become hardened and their skills improve. The group has many distinct personalities some of which don't mesh and the inevitable conflicts arise.

The tasks the kids are asked to do test their limits in many ways but perhaps the most difficult is manipulating the alien substance, nyxia. For some reason the substance also reminded me of the alien symbiote that Spiderman encountered in his whole Venom story arc because soon the line between manipulator and that which is being manipulated becomes blurred.

Babel is a mysterious company and the folks in charge seem to have a ton of secrets themselves. There definitely seems to be some larger plan in place-the reason the kids have been recruited is because the Adamites like children. I can't wait to see what else is in store for Emmett on Eden. Some read alikes to this book are the Maze Runner series and Philip Reeve's Railhead.

The contest is a deadly one: enter the area of the world known as Piloria, where the dinosaurs are abundant, and retrieve as many dinosaur eggs as possible. The winner will receive health care and food, two things essential in order to survive their daily nightmare.

She's joined on the Trials by Lincoln and Leif, two boys with a lot on the line. As the competition heats up, they must learn to trust each other if they're going to avoid being eaten alive. But as Stormchaser soon learns, you can't really trust anyone in the Extinction Trials and what she finds hiding under the surface of Piloria will change her life forever.

The Extinction Trials is a super fast action adventure that anyone looking for a strong female hero will love. It's got elements of The Hunger Games without a doubt, and that's a good thing because it means it will make my job as a School Librarian all the easier when I promote this book in the coming weeks. And promote it I shall, because it's got some great scenes, fully realised characters and a ton of action. Highly recommended, can't wait for the sequel!

In two weeks last month you purchased over 135 books off the wish list for Ballou as part of our annual book fair. They included everything from novels to biographies to history to a couple of MCAT study guides that were particularly appreciated by this student:

Thank you anonymous for your kind gift to us, we truly appreciate you ????????????????❤️@chasingray @guyslitwire pic.twitter.com/0auZ39B6xS

— Melissa Jackson (@BallouLibrary) November 1, 2017

With millions of people getting ready to shop this weekend, we are hoping to take advantage of your generosity one last time in 2017 and send even more books to Ballou. As you may know, students at the school suffer far too much from poverty and all its accompanying factors. They struggle to stay in school, to stay engaged in their studies and to persevere in the face of the area's violence.  They deserve every chance that we can give them and their librarian, Melissa Jackson, is an absolute powerhouse when it comes to going the extra mile for her students. We want to make it easier for her to do her job and the best way we can do that is to buy the books that those students want and need, (and in some cases positively pine for), to fill her library's shelves.


There are several hundred books on the list at Amazon and for those folks who shopped last month, you will see that several titles have been added in the past few days. They are courtesy the most recent email from Ballou — books the students are excited about and asked if we would add. (And of course we did!) We also moved several books that are on sale to the top of the list as they are excellent bargains right now. We hope that you will take advantage of the low prices and buy one or more of these titles.

If you can't shop off the list, please help spread the word on social media. Here is the direct link: http://tinyurl.com/BookFairBallouHS. Also follow me (@chasingray) and Melissa Jackson (@Balloulibrary) on twitter for updates.

The final total of books gifted to Ballou Library via the October Book Fair & Cyber Monday  holiday shopping (which continued all week), comes in just over 200 titles! Thank you so much for buying books and helping to spread the word for this DC high school!

The wish list remains open year-round and there are a ton of great books on it, all of them chosen and approved by Ballou students. These are books the teens want and we so enjoy doing everything we can to get these books to them.

In the coming days I will be moving things around a bit on the list, getting series books together so they are easier to find. (I really really REALLY wish that amazon had "search by title" and "search by author" functions. So frustrating!) And we will, of course, be continuing to assist Ballou to fill its shelves next year and hope that you will return to the list and also help us spread the word about the amazing work done by librarian Melissa Jackson.

Have a lovely holiday folks, and thanks again for all you do to support this high school library.

Sara is a journalist who wholeheartedly throws herself into her work as a journalist for a newspaper in Juarez. Mexico however is a country where journalists sometimes do their work under threats to themselves and their families and going to the police is not always a good idea. Sara soon finds that if she wants to pursue this particular story she could be putting the lives of herself, her younger brother Emiiano and their mother in danger.

Emiliano is a soccer star at his high school and in addition to this he is also a member of a school group called Jiparis who do hikes through the desert in order to build character in the young men, some of whom were involved in unsavory activities before joining the group.

One part of the Jipari pledge goes , "I will be honest with myself and others". This is easier said than done especially in a city like Juarez. One of the characters tells Emiliano, "everything is a spiderweb" and the speed with which he is enveloped in said web is astounding. Emiliano tells himself that he wants to help his family and friends out but are those his real reasons? Like any teen he wants to be seen as cool and there is also the small matter of a girl he wants to impress.

The first part of the book is told from each character's viewpoint and the author weaves the tale together in a very credible way showing how circumstances

Make no mistake, Disappeared is not a peaches and cream, hunky dory teen novel. It is a gritty and very realistic novel with a ripped from the headlines quality to it. The city of Juarez and the violence there doesn't dominate the headlines as it did a few years ago, but Stork's novel is a timely reminder that evil still exists and that it takes many people working in tandem to defeat it.

Lyrical, visceral, and wise, The Inexplicable Logic of My Life by Benjamin Alire Sáenz haunts the melancholy middle between heartbreak and hope.



In Sal’s case, he scrapes together every illuminating spark: the tenacity of Fito, the loyalty of Sam, the grace of his father, the serenity of his grandmother. And through the spark of The Inexplicable Logic of My Life and Sáenz’s luminous prose, we learn anew how family is forged by more than blood—and though who we are is our life’s work, identity is never a solitary act.

This has never happened to me before: I enjoyed the sequel more than the original! Be assured, though, My Side of the Mountain

is very good. Young Sam Gribley goes off to live in the wilderness quite comfortably in a huge hollow tree. He trains a young falcon he named Frightful:

"Every day I worked to train Frightful. It was a long process, I would put her on her stump with a long leash and step back a few feet with some meat in my hand. Then I would whistle. The whistle was supposed eventually to mean food to her. So I would whistle, show her the meat, and after many false flaps she would finally fly to my hand. I would pet her and feed her. She could fly fairly well, so now I made sure that she never ate unless he flew to my fist.

"One day at breakfast I whistled for Frightful. I had no food, she wasn't even hungry, but she came to me anyway. I was thrilled. She had learned a whistle meant 'come.'

"I looked into her steely eyes that morning and thought I saw a gentle recognition. She puffed up her feathers as she sat on my hand. I call this a 'feather word.' It means she is content."

I also enjoyed this, from near the end of the book: "I returned to my patch on the mountain, talking to myself all the way. I talk to myself a lot, but everyone does. The human being, even in the midst of people, spends nine-tenths of his time alone with the private voices of his own head. Living alone on a mountain is not much different, except that your speaking voice gets rusty, I talked inside my head all the way home, thinking up schemes, holding conversations with Bando and Dad and Matt Spell...
"I cooked supper, and then sat down by my little fire and called a forum. It is very sociable inside my head, and I have perfected the art of getting a lot of people arguing together in silence or in a forum, as I prefer to call it. I can get four people all talking at once, and a fifth can be present, but generally I can't get him to talk. Usually these forums discuss such things as a storm and whether or not it is coming, how to make a spring suit, and how to enlarge my house without destroying the life in the tree. Tonight, however, they discussed what to do about Matt Spell. Dad kept telling me to go right down to the city and make sure he published nothing, not even a made-up story. Bando said, no, it's all right, he still doesn't know where you live, and then Matt walked into the conversation and said that he wanted to spend his spring vacation with me, and that he promised not to do anything untoward. Matt kept using 'untoward' - I don't know where he got that expression, but he liked it and kept using it - that's how I knew Matt was speaking; everything was 'untoward.'"

What I liked there was that it seemed that author Jean Craighead George described how her stories got generated. Characters in her head interacted, and she transcribed what took place onto paper. I could be wrong, but maybe.

The sequel that I liked even more is called On the Far Side of the Mountain. There's a third book, Frightful's Mountain, but I have not read it yet. It's here at my desk, so it won't be long.

Have you ever formed a time loop while tying your shoes? Probably not. But have you ever read a book or watched a TV show or film where someone experienced a day over and over again? It's more than déjà vu -- it's actually happening on repeat, sometimes with different results, sometimes with the same results, and it seems as if it will never stop repeating - until, of course, the character finds a way to make it stop.

Time loops are not to be confused with time travel, another of my favorite sci-fi plot devices. In time travel, one moves forward or backward in time, willingly or otherwise. Doctor Who has time travel. The Boys are Back in Town by Christopher Golden has time travel. Groundhog Day, however, has a time loop. This film is so well-known that he is often referenced by characters experiencing time loops; more than once, I've read or heard a character say, "This is like Groundhog Day," rather than, "Gee, I'm experiencing a time loop!"

Many movies and television shows have explored time loops. Consider, if you will, the episode "Shadow Play" on The Twilight Zone, the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Life Serial," "Monday" on The X-Files, Supernatural's "Mystery Spot," or "And Those We've Left Behind" on Fringe. Some of these loops have been comedic, others dramatic, with the best ones (in my opinion) being those which deftly mix the two.

Another clarification: Plots such as those in the television series Tru Calling and Seven Days (the latter of which I sadly never saw when it aired) weren't considered to be true time loops: both shows had worked off of a second-chance premise, with Tru repeating a day in attempt to save someone's life, while Frank used the Chronosphere (also known as the Backstep Sphere) to go back in time seven days to "avert disasters."

I really enjoyed Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver, an intriguing and inventive novel in which the main character, Samantha (Sam), is killed in an accident only 80 pages into the book - then wakes up in bed, unharmed, only to find that it's not the next day - instead, it's the same day, the morning of her last day. She relives the day, bewildered and disbelieving. That evening, tragedy strikes again. The day repeats again, and again, a few times over. Sam does different things each time, spending one day being more cautious, another throwing caution to the wind, still another being more appreciative. It's an amazing book, and I highly recommend it. (And no, I haven't seen the movie yet.)

Like the novel The Time Traveler's Wife, Before I Fall has no overt sci-fi elements: there are no gadgets or gizmos or time machines that the characters use, accidentally or otherwise. Neither of those books have wizened characters who assist the protagonists with magic or explain the rules of the game to them. Instead, Henry and Sam have to figure things out (or make things up) as they go along. However, while Henry has Clare to confide in, Sam tells no one; while Henry travels through time involuntarily, Sam keeps repeating the same day involuntarily.

The NeverEnding Story by Michael Ende, the fantasy novel that has owned a piece of my heart since childhood, also employs a time loop. It is not the main plot, but rather just one of the many pieces of this elaborate and imaginative story. I don't want to give anything away; I'd rather encourage you to pick up the novel and discover things yourself. Whether or not you've seen The NeverEnding Story movie (which I think is wonderful) or the subsequent sequels or other film/TV attempts based on the book (which didn't compare), I implore you to read the original book.

Now, if you want to get technical, I haven't read the original, Die unendliche Geschichte, because it's in German, which I don't know. Instead, I've read the English translation by Ralph Manheim.

But I digress. Time loops are delicate things which not always treated so delicately, nor do they always have to deal with delicate matters. Time loops are not always handled or broken in the same way. Sam's story in Before I Fall is nothing like Phil's in Groundhog Day, and when they finally break their loops, they do so in completely different ways. The parameters and circumstances established by Danny Rubin in Groundhog Day do not apply to Sam. Likewise, though concepts such as chaos theory, the butterfly effect, and fate are discussed to different degrees in many time loop stories, they are never exactly the same - unless, of course, you personally choose to read that book or watch that episode or movie over and over and over again - which, in some cases, I wouldn't blame you for doing! When they're really inventive and strong, time loop stories can be fascinating. Some of these stories benefit from a second reading or viewing, because you notice things you may not have noticed the first time through.

Having a lackluster weekend? Go read or watch someone dealing with a time loop. Afterwards, you'll probably be happy that you are moving in a forward direction . . . or are you?

Caught in an impossible situation, Budi is forced figure out a plan if he's going to protect the ones he loves.


This is a great book, and an important one. I've already written a blog post on it discussing how attractive it is for reluctant and struggling readers which you can read here.

I have enjoyed several books by people who have through-hiked the Appalachian Trail (A.T.). But Isis and jackrabbit (their trail names) set off barefoot from Mount Katahdin in Maine on their way to Springer Mountain in Georgia (They used boots after the snow started falling on them in Virginia.).

They take turns telling the story, and that sets this book apart from others I have read. I got to see things through both their eyes. So they reignited my hope to hike the A.T. Okay, not barefoot. And I'd probably start in Georgia and hike north, but still. There's a community of through hikers there every year. To be part of that community! A lot are unable to finish for one reason or another. But still...

A beat-up green Dodge ground to a halt on the gravel beside us, and the driver rolled down the window and shouted over to us, "thru-hikers?" We smiled and nodded. "Hop in!"

We loaded two packs into the trunk. Isis and Blade clambered into the backseat with the third. The powerful reek of week-old sweat filled up the hot interior of the car, but the driver seemed not to mind.

"I hiked northbound in '88," he said. As we sped down the two-lane road to Gorham, New Hampshire, we exchanged names and hiking stories. He stopped in the driveway of a large B&B at the edge of town. The gray building just ahead of us, an old hay barn, had an A.T. sign by the door, and a crowd of familiar people longed on the strip of lawn beside the driveway.

"Welcome to The Barn," the driver said. A look of nostalgia stole over his face, a bemused mixture of joy and regret that we would see on the faces of many ex-hikers when they talked about the Trail. "Make the most of your hike. It doesn't last forever."

We thanked him and the battered station wagon pulled out of the drive and was lost in the stream of traffic.

Inside the Barn, the accommodations were fairly basic: a common room downstairs with a TV and VCR, board games, magazines, and fuzzy plaid-upholstered armchairs that had seen better days...

At a bookstore just down the street from the hostel, we shelled out the money for a copy of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Hardcover. We had debated endlessly with ourselves and each other: is it worth the weight? In the end, the prospect of truly entertaining trail reading had won out...

Matt, Blue Skies, and Tenbrooks caught a shuttle out of town in the early afternoon. The rest of us, a motley crew of southbounders and a few northbounders, convened at Mr. Pizza at 6:30...

They proceeded to pig out - a frequent occurrence for thru-hikers when they hit town. Two of them each ate "The Stomper," a pizza that measured one hundred and ninety-two square inches! Long-distance hiking burns a lot of calories.

If you enjoy The Barefoot Sisters Southbound, you're in luck. Because Isis and jackrabbit (Lucy and Susan Letcher) "yoyoed," turning around and hiking back to Maine. And they wrote a book about that, too: The Barefoot Sisters Walking Home. I enjoyed that one too.

From my recent Locus review of The Disappearances, a WW2 era fantasy that includes a curse, a literary mystery, some grave robbing, and the disappearance of the stars: