Jack Rabbit Moon: A Refreshing Read In Today's Times

Jack Rabbit Moon

There are a lot of novels that have been written over the years about family dynamics. Some of the more popular ones in recent years include: The Hour I First Believed: A Novel
by Wally Lamb and Carolina Harmony by Marilyn Taylor McDowell. However, none of these have really struck a cord with me. Perhaps it is because they have been based far in the past, or in places that I have never been. Or maybe it is just because I could never relate to the characters and story. Therefore, when I got a copy of the recently published Jack Rabbit Moonby Dorraine Darden, I had a little trepidation. Although based in the present-day and taking place in Texas, I was still a little cautious. However, within a few chapters I put aside my hesitation and delved in; so much so that when I went to New Mexico for vacation it was the only book I took.

Long story short, I finished the book on the second day of vacation. Marnie Evans is the spunky, self-determined little girl that Dorraine weaves a tale of family hardship, natural beauty, and true friendship around. Finding refuge in the wilds of Garner State Park from her alcoholic mother and her abusive boyfriend, Marnie delves into the beauty and solitude of all of natures bounty. On her wandering journeys through the woods Marnie encounters “Ranger Rick,” the Park ranger who along with his wife, takes Marnie under their wing and shares with her the life she is missing at home.

The story could end here – and most readers would be content if it did – but this is just the beginning. There are flash floods to deal with, crazy college kids who cause problems in the park, the return of Marnie’s father, and the shooting of Marnie herself. Making sure these various threads fit with the larger story is no small feat; but when they do it is the work of a skilled writer. Dorraine Darden does an excellent job, weaving together a rich tapestry that any serious reader would be pleased to read.

Jack Rabbit Moonis not the typical novel on family dynamics and misfortune. Rather, it is a fresh tale on the healing power of nature and friendship. Told from multiple perspectives, Jack Rabbit Moongives the reader a heart warming tale fit for our times. When the world is in chaos, corruption is rampant, and good deeds seem like a thing of the past, Jack Rabbit Moonis a refreshing read.

Get a Copy of Jack Rabbit Moon now!

Flights Of Fancy: Call for Contributors to Aviation Film As Genre

CALL for CONTRIBUTORS FLIGHTS of FANCY: AVIATION FILM as GENRE

Audience: Intended as a course text/reader for a new upper division undergraduate course at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, "Film Studies and Aviation," this would also be a book of scholarly interest in the areas of history, film, mass communications, and popular culture.

Format: The text would include an introductory chapter on film studies and film criticism, followed by a series of chapters written by invited scholars on exemplary films with aviation themes. Each chapter would place the film in its historic context in aviation history and describe the featured aircraft in addition to a close reading of the film and its themes. (It may be that the aircraft profiles are written by the editors as sidebars to each chapter or by additional invited aviation and aerospace writers, depending upon the interest or background of the contributing scholar.) A central thesis is that the aviation “story” has established itself as a genre in which the aircraft is central that to the story, that without it as a literal and figurative vehicle, the story would not be possible.

Preliminary Outline
Preface: By the editors
Foreword: The editors will solicit from a notable personality in the aviation or entertainment industry. Chapter 1: Understanding Film and Genre
Chapters 2-18, The Films: (listed alphabetically, may be arranged by era of aviation history or date of release; contributing scholars may suggest additional films but we feel this is the core from which our course readings would be drawn.)
Air Force One
Airplane!
Airport
The Aviator
The Blue Max
The Bridges at Toko-Ri
Catch 22
The Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell
The Flight of the Phoenix
Flyboys
The Hindenburg
The Right Stuff
The Spirit of St. Louis
Strategic Air Command
Top Gun
Twelve O'clock High
United 93
Chapter 19: The aviation story templates
Appendices: Aviation Filmography

Editors: Ronald Thomas, Ed.D., Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Thomas Cavanagh, Ph.D., University of Central Florida

For more information, please email: thoma825@erau.edu.

Ronald C. Thomas, Jr., Ed. D.
Associate Dean, Online Academics
Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University
Worldwide Online
600 S. Clyde Morris Boulevard
Daytona Beach, Florida 32114-3990
386-947-5219
Email: ronald.thomas@erau.edu

National Security Law and Con Law: Call for Papers in Pace Law Review

Pace Law Review Call for Papers: National Security Law and Con Law

Call for Articles, Essays, and Book Reviews: National Security and Constitutional Law

Proposals due May 15, 2009

The editors of Pace Law Review invite proposals from scholars, researchers, practitioners, and professionals for contributions to a special issue on the relationship between national security and constitutional law to be published in Winter 2010.

Pace Law School is dedicated to advancing a greater understanding among scholars and the legal community concerning the role of constitutional law in national security concerns. This law review issue will promote an ongoing discourse on the balance between constitutional rights and effective national security.

Please submit proposals of no more than 500 words by attachment to plr [at] law.pace.edu by May 15, 2009. All proposals should include the intended author’s name, title, institutional affiliation, contact information, and should concern issues related to the relationship between national security and constitutional law. Book review proposals should also include (a) the title and publication date of the book proposed for review; (b) a description of the importance of the book to the general topic; and (c) any other information relevant to the book or proposed review (e.g., the reviewer’s expertise or any relationship with the author). Authors are also welcome, but not required, to submit a CV. We expect to make publication offers by June 1. We encourage clear, concise, and accessible writing that will be of use to lawmakers, attorneys, and students.

Completed manuscripts of book reviews and essays will be due July 15, 2009. Completed manuscripts of scholarly articles will be due August 1, 2009.

Interview With Bryant Terry: Author of Vegan Soul Kitchen

Bryant Terry's Vegan Soul Kitchenlaunch at San Francisco's Museum of African Diaspora featured several delicious items from Bryant's Cookbook including Spicy Goobers, Garlicky Baby Lima Bean Spread with Winter Crudites, BBQ Tempeh Cubes, Rosemary Butternut Squash Soup Shooters, and Citrus Collards with Raisins Bruschetta.

My interview with Bryant follows:

MV: You introduce each recipe with a story. What story about you would you like to share?

BT: I was inspired by the late Edna Lewis, a chef from Freetown, Virginia who grew up enjoying the local foods of her region. She moved to New York and became head chef at Manhatten's Cafe Nicholson. Sharing Country Cooking and the diverse flavors of the South were important to her, and in addition to being a chef, she was a cookbook author. Her second cookbook, The Taste of Country Cooking, deeply influenced me as an artist, storyteller, and creative person. It's important for me to tell stories and consider the history of food and memory of family connections. The industrialization and mechanization of our food system has facilitated the loss of food knowledge which I'm trying to help people recover.

My personal food choices align with my values of supporting, all living beings, local economies, and the environment as well as working towards a more equitable food system. Inspired by Alice Waters,I am committed to helping people think more deeply about these issues by bringing everyone to the table to celebrate the sensual pleasures of food.

MV: If people in the San Francisco Bay Area with limited garden space wanted to have a garden with vegetables and herbs that coincide with your book's recipes, what advice would you give them?

BT: Grow herbs in your kitchen window, fire escape, on the roof. Plant a small garden. If you have space, grow food in your front yard. I built a raised-bed garden in my front yard, and it's inspiring people to convert their front yards into edible landscapes. In our garden, I have three different varieties of collard greens, chard, broccoli, celery, thyme, marjoram, rosemary, oregano, kale, and two varieties of lettuce. We have a nectarine tree in the backyard. Several people in our neighborhood are creating our own micro-community that's making a tremendous impact on the street.

Read more of Bryant Terry's interview here, or get a copy of Vegan Soul Kitchen: Fresh, Healthy, and Creative African-American Cuisine now!

What Charles Darwin Ate for Dinner: New Book With Recipies and Illustrations

Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Book: Revived and Illustrated

Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Bookcommemorates the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's "The Origin of Species." It does not directly address Darwin's achievements, yet it is a worthy celebration of them because it delights in so many different ways.

First, most obviously, it is visually enchanting: both beautifully printed and gorgeously illustrated. The pictures include photographs of Down House in Kent, where the Darwins spent most of their married life and raised their 10 children. It also has Victorian drawings of vegetables, fruits, animals and fish, and, most significantly because it is, after all, a cookbook, it has delectable photographs of the featured dishes. Many of them are pictured on Wedgwood china, always a pleasure to look at but particularly apposite because both Emma and Charles Darwin were grandchildren of the great Josiah Wedgwood, a pioneer of English bone china. The Darwins owned a set of Wedgwood's Waterlily pattern, shown in all its painted glory in one of the photographs and also attractively used as a background on the recipe pages.

The recipes themselves are another of the pleasures of this book. The authors reproduce them as both facsimiles in Emma Darwin's own hand and also in modernized versions. They confess, "When we started working on this project, the general feeling among those who knew the manuscript was that the food would be, at the worst, dire, at best dull."

This feeling, a stereotyped attitude toward Victorian food, was further justified by the knowledge that Charles Darwin had a notoriously iffy stomach. Many foods upset it, and he had to eschew even a single glass of wine and participation in dinner parties, which he greatly enjoyed, because the consequences could be days of sickness.

Modern researchers suggest he suffered from Crohn's disease. Whatever the diagnosis, his illness kept him at home, where, free from social distractions, he could pursue his work. Another consequence was that Emma Darwin and her cooks had to be cautious in their choice of dishes, invariably choosing plain over fancy.

Read the rest of Claire Hopley's review here, or get a copy Mrs. Charles Darwin's Recipe Book: Revived and Illustrated now!

Travel Writing Contest: Seeking Stories Focusing on Responsible Travel

52 Perfect Days Travel Writing Contest

Submit an Article Focusing on Responsible Travel for a Chance to Win a 3 Night Trip to Kauai, a 5-Page Website, or Daypack

Focusing on one of the hottest and most popular travel trends, 52perfectdays.com announces its Responsible Travel Writing and Photography contest. 52perfectdays is accepting article submissions through October 31, 2009 focusing on ecotours, agrotours, voluntourism and sustainable travel within the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

The travel writing contest is open to freelance, professional, and aspiring travel writers. Submit an original article up to 1,000 words with supporting photos for a chance to win. There is no entry fee.

For submission guidelines, visit http://52perfectdays.com/2009-travel-writing-contest-guidelines

Prizes

Grand Prize: A Three Night Trip To Kauai for two including accommodations courtesy of The Grand Hyatt Kauai Resort & Spa, a two hour surfing lesson with Hawaiian Surfing Adventures, two Golden Circle seats for the Sheraton Kauai Resort’s Surf to Sunset Luau, a five-hour Secret and Sacred Falls guided paddle and hiking adventure for two with Kayak Kauai, tickets for two on the Fern Grotto Boat Cruise & Garden Luau with Smith’s Kauai and a round of golf at the Poipu Bay Golf Course.

2nd Prize: A Five Page Website designed, created and posted online courtesy of ZD Design.

3rd Prize: Redwing 2650 Daypack from Kelty.

Runners Up: The Packing Book: Secrets of the Carry-On Traveler by Judith Gilford

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About 52perfectdays.com
52perfectdays.com is quickly rising in the ranks as one of the leading online travel magazines offering readers travel articles and city guides throughout the U.S. and Mexico. For more information about 52perfectdays.com please visit www.52perfectdays.com.

Alexa Meisler
Editor/Publisher
alexa@52perfectdays.com
52 Perfect Days
www.52perfectdays.com

Future Fire Magazine Seeking Feminist Science Fiction Entries

The Future Fire magazine (http://futurefire.net) is accepting submissions for a themed Feminist Science Fiction issue toward the end of this year or the beginning of 2010 (as long as it takes us to acquire the requisite number of stories). By "feminist" we do not mean stories necessarily written by women or featuring female protagonists; what we are interested in are science fiction (or speculative) stories that address issues of gender, sexual identity and sexuality; stories that take the "radical idea that women are human beings" and do something about it; stories that can engage, empower, educate, and inspire men and women alike. And of course stories that challenge our expectations, that avoid cliché, that are beautiful and useful, that are social, political, and speculative cyberfiction.

Please follow the usual submission guidelines (http://futurefire.net/about/contrib.html), and indicate in your cover letter that this is a submission for the Feminist Science Fiction special issue. Stories submitted to the general pile will be considered for the feminist themed issue, and stories submitted to the theme will be considered for the intervening issues. This will in no way affect our selection criteria or standards: we shall still purchase only the best stories we receive.

For more background, see the editorial to issue #15 at
http://futurefire.net/2009.15/

Publisher Pickering & Chatto Calls for Manuscripts on Religion and Culture

‘Religious Cultures in the Early Modern World’ Pickering & Chatto Publishers: a Call for Book Proposals

Pickering & Chatto invites monograph proposals on all aspects of social, cultural and political history of religion in the early modern period. The series extends from the early fifteenth to the later eighteenth centuries and encompasses both European and non-European societies. You can find out more about this series at: www.pickeringchatto.com/religious. If you would like to discuss an idea for a monograph proposal or an edited collection of essays then please contact Mr Daire Carr (Junior Commissioning Editor for History) at: dcarr@pickeringchatto.co.uk

Mr Daire Carr
Junior Commissioning Editor for History
Pickering & Chatto Publishers
21 Bloomsbury Way
London WC1A 2TH
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7405 1005 | Fax: 6216

Email: dcarr@pickeringchatto.co.uk
Visit the website at http://www.pickeringchatto.com

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‘Political and Popular Culture in the Early Modern Period’ Pickering & Chatto Publishers: a Call for Book Proposals

This monograph series publishes works that interrogate the political culture of the early modern period in all of its complexity and subtlety, exploring any aspect of social, economic, religious, and intellectual life which can be shown to have shed light upon political life and the ways in which it developed. You can find out more about this series at: www.pickeringchatto.com/politicalpopularculture. If you would like to discuss an idea for a monograph proposal or an edited collection of essays then please contact Mr Daire Carr (Junior Commissioning Editor for History) at: dcarr@pickeringchatto.co.uk

Mr Daire Carr
Junior Commissioning Editor
Pickering & Chatto Publishers
21 Bloomsbury Way
London WC1A 2TH
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7405 1005 | Fax: 6216

Email: dcarr@pickeringchatto.co.uk
Visit the website at http://www.pickeringchatto.com