Banned Books Week Day 3!

Ahhh, are you ready for those random few folks who decide to bypass the paperwork and do the censoring themselves? I’m not sure anyone can ever be prepared for that type of person, but here we go, the challenges found in “Banned Books” by Robert P. Doyle that reflect a bad form of censorship.

Boswell, Robert. Mystery Ride. Harper; Knopf; Thorndike Pr. Expurgated by an apparent self-appointed censor at the Coquille, Oreg. Public Library (1994) along with several other books. Most were mysteries and romances in which single words and sexually explicit passages were whited out by a vandal who left either dots or solid ink pen lines where the words had been.

Ellis, Bret Easton. American Psycho. Random; Simon. The Carthage, Mo public librarian (1991) was directed first “to take the book of the shelf and keep it under the circulation desk” and then “lose it.” The incident involving the novel “snowballed” and was one of the reasons why, under protest, the librarian submitted her resignation.

Hastings, Selina. Sir Gawain and the Loathly Lady. Lothrop; Macmillan. Challenged at the public libraries of Saginaw, Mich. (1989). The complainant requested the library to “white out the swearing” which appears on page 16 of the book. The objectionable words were “God Damn You.” Challenged at the elementary school libraries in Antigo, Wis. (1992) because a parent objected to a reference to the Loathly Lady as a “hell-hag” and to another passage in which the Black Knight suggests that King Arthur “roast in hell.”

Jaivin, Linda. Eat Me. Broadway Bks. Removed from the Marion County Public Library in Ocala, Fla. (2003). The library directed noted that the Australian bestseller was removed because the library lacks a designated erotica collection, and the novel met only three of seventeen criteria used to evaluate books for acquisition. The Marion County Public Library Advisory Board recommended that the library director retain the novel. The board’s vote was only a suggestion and the final decision went back to the library director. In Feb. 2004, the director reversed her earlier decision, reinstated the novel, and stated that her personal dislike for the book overshadowed her objectivity and adherence to policy.

Kroll, Ken. Enabling Romance: A Guide to Love, Sex and Relationships for the Disabled. First Woodline House. Removed from the Clifton, N.J. Public Library (1996) and replaced with a dummy book made of styrofoam. The library’s new policy restricts to adults any material containing “patently offensive graphic illustrations or photographs of sexual or excretory activities or contact as measured by contemporary community standards for minors.”

Silverstein, Shelf. The Giving Tree. Harper. Removed from a locked reference collection at the Boulder, Colo. Public Library (1988). The book was locked away originally because the librarian considered it sexist.

I bet you’re wondering about that book you keep going back for and the librarian says, “It’s not available.” Hmmm. Well, tomorrow we’re going to look at a couple of taboo subjects and see how they fare under the challengers hand.

Banned Books Week Day 2!

Today I’m at a festival, talking books, enjoying the nice autumn day and thought I’d give you some good one’s to ponder. What category do these from “Banned Books” by Robert P. Doyle fall under - well they are the challenges that were so bloody stupid and weird, I had to laugh, otherwise I might cry at the sheer idiocy demonstrated. You decide.

Farmer, Philip J. Image of the Beast. Essex House. Challenged at the Chapmanville, W.Va. Public Library (1981) because the book puts “mental pictures in the mind [that] have no place in the library.”

Fox, Mem. Guess What? Harcourt. Challenged at the Cook Memorial Library in Libertyville, Ill. (1991) because it features witches, boiling cauldrons, names of punk rockers, and a reference that could be interpreted as meaning “God is dead.”

Groening, Matt. The Big Book of Hell. Random. Challenged at the Hersey, Pa. Public Library (1995) because “the entire book teaches conduct contract to wishes of parents” and is “trash” with “no morals.” A request was made to “destroy all books of a similar nature.”

Jagendorf, Moritz A. Tales of Mystery: Folk Tales from Around the World. Silver Burdett. Removed to a locked closet in the superintendent’s office in Banner County, Nebr. (1992) because the book “has to do with a lot of negative things and might not be good for someone with low self-esteem or suicide tendencies.”

Kidd, Flora. Between Pride and Passion. Harlequin. More than fifty Harlequin romances donated by Glide, Oreg. Residents were threatened with removal from the high school library (1984) because “teenagers already have trouble with their emotions without being stimulated by poorly written books.”

King, Larry. Tell It to the King. Putnam; Thorndike Pr. Challenged at the Public Libraries of Saginaw, Mich. (1989) because it is “an insult to one’s intelligence” and contains foul language.

Legman, Gershon, ed. The Limerick: 1,700 Examples with Notes, Variants and Index. Carol Pub. Group. Challenged at the Oak Lawn, Ill. Public Library (1991) because the book contains bawdy limericks with explicit sexual references.

Touchette, Charleen. It Stops with Me: Memoir of a Canuck Girl. Touch Arts Bks. Removed from the Woonsocket Harris, R.I. Public Library shelves (2005) after the author’s father challenged the book. He wrote, “If members of a family wish to harm one another, those actions should be kept private and should not draw in others by involving matters of public policy.” The book was later returned to the shelves.

You want a book banned because teenagers already have too many emotions to handle a Harlequin romance? They are safer with those than books like the Gossip Girl series. Then there’s the person who found out limericks were naughty ditty’s - well, hello, they are defined as “A light humorous, nonsensical, or bawdy verse of five anapestic lines usually with the rhyme scheme aabba.”

So, did you laugh or cry at the ridiculousness shown here? Well, there’s more. I’ll be back tomorrow with more nonsense - those who like to do the censoring themselves.

Banned Books Week starts today!

Yes, that's right it's Banned Books Week!

The American Library Association [ALA] host this week to ensure the public is aware that books are being taken off school and public library shelves at the behest of one person or group. Not all books that are challenged are banned or restricted, but yes, it does happen where a book will be taken out of a collection, never to be returned again.

Most books challenged are to protect children. Before I go any further, the ALA states: “Librarians and governing bodies should maintain that parents—and only parents—have the right and the responsibility to restrict the access of their children—and only their children—to library resources.” No matter how busy a parent is, it is for them to monitor the books their kids are reading, not deny others the use of a book.

So what type of books are we talking about? That’s what I’ll share with you this week - a taste of what some communities are having problems with. Today, I’ll give you the books challenged, restricted, removed, or banned in 2006-07. It is not a complete list because about 85% of challenged library materials receive no media attention and are therefore unreported. I have included entries [exactly as reported] for a few of them so you can see some of the reasoning behind the challenges. These and more can all be found in "Banned Books" by Robert P. Doyle. They are:-

Alvarez, Julie. How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accents.
Ancona, George. Cuban Kids.
Angelou, Maya. I Know Why a Caged Bird Sings.
Atwood, Margaret. The Handmaid’s Tale.

Baskin, Julia, Lindsey Newman, Sophia Politt-Cohen, and Courtney Toombs. The Notebook Girls. Warner Bks. Challenged, but retained at the Cape May County, NJ Library (2006). The book is comprised of the entries four New York City high-school students made in a shared journal in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks.

Bechdel, Alison. Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic.
Birdseye, Tom. Attack of the Mutant Underwear.
Bradbury, Ray. Fahrenheit 451.
Bradbury, Ray. The Veldt.
Brown, Dan. The Da Vinci Code.
Burroughs, Augusten. Running With Scissors.
Chbosky, Stephen. The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
Chevalier, Tracey. Girl With a Pearl Earring.
Chomsky, Noam, and Edward S. Herman. Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media.
Chopin, Kate. The Awakening.

Christensen, James C., Renwick St. James and Alan Dean Foster. Voyage of the Basset. Artisan. Retained in the Davis County, Utah Library (2006). The complainant objected to the book after her five-year-old son borrowed it from the children’s section and showed her the illustrations it contains of topless mermaids and other partially clothes mythical creatures. The author is a retired Brigham Young University Art professor and cochair of the Mormon Arts Foundation.

Cormier, Robert. The Chocolate Wars.
Crutcher, Chris. Whale Talk.
de Haan, Linda and Stern Nijland. King & King.
Draper, Sharon M., and Adam Lowenbein. Romlette and Julio.
Eleveld, Mark, ed. The Spoken Word Revolution: Slam, Hip Hop & the Poetry of a New Generation.
Fogelin, Adrian. My Brother’s Hero.
Frank, E.R. America.
Freedom Writers. The Freedom Writers Diary: How a Teacher and 150 Teens Used Writing to Change Themselves and the World Around Them.
Gaines, Ernest J. The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman.
Going, K.L. Fat Kid Rules the World.
Gordon, Sharon. Cuba.
Gravett, Paul. Manga: 60 Years of Japanese Comics.
Gray, Heather M., and Samantha Phillips. Real Girl/Real World: Tools for Finding Your True Self.
Green, Jonathon, comp. Cassell Dictionairy of Slang.

Hedayat, Sadegh. The Blind Owl. Grove Pr. The widely acclaimed Iranian classic, written in the 1930’s, was banned in Iran (2006). “The new government intends to take positive steps for reviving neglected values and considering religious teachings in the cultural field.”

Hedges, Peter. What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.
Jukes, Mavis. The Gay Book: An Owner’s Manual.
Kehret, Peg. Abduction!
Langley, Andrew. 100 Greatest Tyrants.
LeGuin, Ursula K. A Fisherman of the Inland Sea.
Levitt, Steven D., and Stephen J Dubner. Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything.
Lowry, Lois. The Giver.
Mackler, Carolyn. Vegan Virgin Valentine.
Mathabane, Mark. Kaffir Boy.
McBain, Ed. Alice in Jeopardy.

Mitchell, Stephen. Gilgamesh: A New English Version. Free Pr. Challenged in the Clearview Regional High School in Harrison Township, N.J. (2006) because the modern translation of on of the oldest known pieces of literature was considered sexually descriptive and unnecessarily explicit. The work itself dates back to about 1700 B.C., some one thousand years before the writings of Homer.

Mochizuki, Ken. Baseball Saved Us.
Morgan, Melissa J. TTYL.
Morrison, Toni. Beloved.
Morrison, Toni. The Bluest Eye.
Myers, Walter Dean. Fallen Angels.
Naylor, Phyllis Reynolds. Reluctantly Alice.
O’Brien, Tim. The Things They Carried.
Opie, Iona Archibald, and Peter Opie, eds. I Saw Esau: The Schoolchild’s Pocket Book.

Park, Barbara. Junie B. Jones and Some Sneaky Peeky Spying. Random. Challenged in the Wake County, N.C. schools (2006). Parent are getting help from Called2Action, a Christian group that says its mission is to “promote and defend our shared family and social values.”

Parks, Gordon. The Learning Tree.
Paulsen, Gary. Zero to Sixty: The Motorcycle Journey of a Lifetime.
Peters, Lisa Westberg. Our Family Tree: An Evolution Story.
Pollan, Michael. The Botany of Desire: A Plant’s-Eye View of the World.
Richardson, Justin, and Peter Parnell. And Tango Makes Three.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
Ruby, Laura. Lily’s Ghost.
Sanchez, Alex. Rainbow Boys.

Schreier, Alta. Vamos a Cuba (A Visit to Cuba). Heinemann. Removed from all Miami-Dade County school libraries (2006) because a parent’s complaint that the book does not depict an accurate life in Cuba. The American Civil Liberties Union [ACLU] of Florida filed a lawsuit challenging the decision to remove this book and the twenty-three others titles in the same series from the district school libraries. In granting a preliminary injunction in July 2006 against the removal, Judge Alan S. Gold of U.S. District Court in Miami characterized the matter as a “First Amendment issue” and ruled in favor of the ACLU of Florida, which argued that the books were generally factual and that the board should add to its collection, rather than removing books it disagreed with.

Schwartz, Alvin. More Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark.
Sebold, Alice. The Lovely Bones.
Sendak, Maurice. In The Night Kitchen.
Shafak, Elif. The Bastard of Istanbul.
Silverstein, Charles, and Edmund White. The Joy of Gay Sex.
Steer, Dugald. Wizardology: The Book of the Secrets of Merlin.
Steinbeck, John. Of Mice and Men.
Thompson, Craig. Blankets.
Twain, Mark (Samuel L. Clements). The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.
Vonnetgut, Kurt. Slaughterhouse-Five.
Watkins, Yoko Kawashima. So Far from the Bamboo Grove.
Wood, Maryrose. Sex Kittens and Horn Dawgs Fall in Love.
Wright, Richard. Black Boy.

I’ll be back tomorrow with more, maybe some challenges that make you say "you've got to be kidding me."

Come out and meet Tilly Greene this Sunday!

Westfield FesitFall
Westfield NJ
Sept. 30th 10am-5pm

Join a tent full of talented authors as they show you all about The New Generation of Romance!

Attending Authors:

Tilly Greene
Stella Price
Cat Johnson
Rene Lyons
Bonnie Rose Leigh
Denise Jefferies
Yvette Hines

Stop by the tent for some books, info and amazing conversations, as well as free goodie bags filled with promo from a slew of amazing authors, and sign up to win a Romance Basket filled with books, candles, and goodies!

It is going to be a gorgeous day, so come out, enjoy and say HI!

Thursday 13 - #19!

Okay, here is a bit about how my mind sometimes works.

My most recent release, “Zandia”, is about a woman who can’t find a productive life on her home planet so she leaves. Her world is shaken up when she meets the perfect man for her, only he seems to offer everything she hated about her home planet. This week I recieved a fabulous review [JERR gave it a 5 stars and O-grasmic heat :-)] and realized the book was getting some great ones that used such snippets as “a kick ass story” and “alien feminists can enjoy their sexuality”. At the same time, I have just finished the Comment for a Cure challenge, thinking about what to do for October - it being Breast Cancer Awareness month - and my mind was obviously focused on women and the challenges they face - hence this weeks Thursday 13.

In 1985 Nairobi, Kenya hosted a conference to formulate strategies for advancing women’s rights. In 1995, Beijing, China followed this up with a “plan of action”. And in 2000, the United Nations hosted a conference to see what type of progress was being made.

The subjects on the table included, but not limited to, were: reproductive rights, abduction of girls, poverty and economy, education, health, and violence. How did they do? In fifteen years, eight out of 188 member states had made any progress. Seven of the eight were developed nations. In my opinion, that is a pretty piss poor showing. Here are 13 places you can go and do something productive, and some will cost you nothing but time:

1. Susan G. Komen Foundation

2. Click to Give at The Breast Cancer site - personally, I visit this site every morning before I start on my emails.

3. Kiva

4. Women for Women

5. Care

6. Camfed

7. Habitat for Humanity

8. Alpha Project

9. One

10. Family to Family

11. Women Against Abuse

12. Second Harvest

13. Gifts in Kind

Think local! Open your phone book and find the local Women’s Shelter, see what they need, it could be socks, shampoo, movies for the kids they bring with them, or your time. With all the travel we do, the cutie and I keep the bags they give you on airplanes and the little bottles in hotels then give those to our local shelter - there’s a comb, toothbrush and tooth paste, mouthwash, lotion, shampoo, soap, socks, pen and pad of paper in a small bag for when they arrive. Go through your closet and all those things you aren't wearing anymore that are in good condition, donate them to Dress for Success, or another group like it. Don’t forget your local food bank - with the holidays coming, this could make someones day. There’s loads of things to do for someone who, at the moment, needs a little help to get back on their feet.

Please note I’m not giving personal endorsements to any specific charity - always check out GIVE.org before giving.

Happy Hump Day Everyone!

In the midst of a heavy editing schedule, I've had some wonderful news, and thought I'd share it with you all:

Zandia has been rockin' with the reviewers! Here are a couple of snippets:

"I am never disappointed by Tilly Greene's books, and Zandia is no exception. It's fast paced, and full of sizzling hot sex that will leave you breathless. I could totally feel Sui's need to live her own life. And Xer, who wouldn't want a man like that? He is strong when he needs to be and he knows how to be soft. This is definitely a page turner. Oh and you'll need your own fan."
Reviewed by Julianne, 5 lips and 2 chilis, and has received a Reviewers Choice Award at TwoLips Reviews


"Zandia is a very interesting planet and Greene's story is wonderfully threaded together. Reading it, I really cared about the characters--Sui and Xer as well as the secondary characters. Tilly Greene has created a whole new world facing a sexual revolution and shows us that even alien feminists can enjoy their sexuality to the fullest!"
Reviewed by Chris, 4.5 blue ribbons, Romance Junkies


"ZANDIA keeps the tension high, passion simmering on boil and delivers a kick ass story to the reader! Ms. Greene delivers a fine story that has the reader rooting for Sui to deliver Xei a set down that will shake him to his core yet you can feel the sparks between them. It was a delightful mix in ZANDIA."
Reviewed by Dawn, 4.5 lips, Love Romances and More


"Zandia is a superb story that explores the complex emotions between Sui and Xer. Once I started Zandia I became so engrossed in the story, I could not put it down. Bravo Ms. Greene. I can't recommend this book enough. Zandia is the perfect blend of story, red hot sex, and sci-fi elements."
Reviewed by Claudia, 5 stars/O heat, Just Erotic Romance Reviews


I am so excited about these wonderful reviews! Sui Erom knows what kind of life she wants to have, and even though she quivers when Xer is near, I think it's safe to say she has everything he wants and will do anything to have. If you haven't already, check out Zandia at Samhain! Did I mention the paperback has a release date now, it will be the end of March, 2008 :-)

See you all next week for the Banned Books Week Event. I'll be here on my Hot Thoughts Blog all week, in the Samhain Cafe and on the Samhain Blog on the 4th.

Oh, and if you are out and about this Sunday, I'll be with a bunch of other authors at the Westfield NJ FestiFall. It's going to be a beautiful day so come on out and say hello!

Final Challenge Update!

I apologize for being so late in positing this...it was a heck of a weekend :-)

So, the cutie picked the name out of the person who will write the dedication for "OohRah!" and receive a copy of the ebook when it's released. The winner is Jenster!

Numero Uno!

How cool is that!?!

Thank you all for participating in the Comment for a Cure Challenge - throughout October [Breast Cancer Awareness Month] I'll be hosting a couple more contests in celebration and to keep it on your mind.

Household on High Alert!

Yup, the cutie went in to work, but he's waiting for a phone call from me to say his package has arrived.

What could possibly be so important that he's willing to leave early for it?

He has a limited time before he's off again, there's a shed load of work piled on his desk, and some experiments to check on - but he'll leave early for:



That's right - the cutie is so ready for Halo 3 to arrive, so he can play! Odds are he'll head in late tomorrow too :-)

A movie that shouldn't be missed!

I don't often recommend movies, but this one felt like I was being read a story and it was wonderful! There's a great cultural flavor here - a mix of Russian mafia and London. Fabulous! When the screen went to black, the cutie and I looked at each other and finally breathed again.

It's called Eastern Promise and it just opened this weekend.

Oh, and did I mention Viggo Mortensen has a wicked full frontal nude scene in the Finsbury baths and that is the last thing you think about because it's one of the most violent scenes I've ever seen.

No question about it - this is one film I'll remember for some time.

Here's the official movie site.

Eldest Niece Law School Update!

Law School Musical

Hmmm, this weekend a certain niece in her first term of law school sent this out - I believe we need to rethink what we'll do on our visit out there in October.

Challenge Update!

There's a week left in the Comment for a Cure challenge, so if you haven't left a comment on Tilly Greene's Hot Thoughts Blog - DO! It's a quick and easy way to support something that touches so many peoples lives.

I've just handed out the 4th CD of "Coming Together: For a Cure" and have more to giveaway. There's also the chance to have my December book - "OohRah!" - released with your dedication. The sexiest Marine, Dale Smythe, meets Tasha Ruskya at a Race for a Cure and he looks fabulous in PINK!

A Saucy Joke to start the week!

Thanks to Monica in London, I give you:

The Recipe

A man is showering up in a locker room with his buddy when he notices his friend is very well endowed.

"Damn Bob, you're hung!" Jim exclaims.

"I wasn't always this impressive, I had to work for it."

"What do you mean?" Jim asked.

"Well, every day for the past two years I've spent an hour each night rubbing it with butter. I know it sounds crazy but it actually made it grow 4 inches! You should try it."

Jim agrees and the two say good bye.

A few months later the two are in the same locker room and Bob asks Jim how his situation was.

Jim replied, "I did what you said, Bob, but I've actually gotten smaller! I lost two inches already!"

"Did you do everything I told you? An hour each day with butter?"

"Well, I was out of butter, so I've been using Crisco."


Wait for it.


Wait . . .



"Crisco!!?" Bob exclaimed. "Damm it, Jim, Crisco is shortening!

MORAL: You gotta follow the recipe!!!

Thursday 13 - #18!

For me, birthdays mean books, and with a couple of birthday this month, including my own, here are those I'm eyeing up.

For Me :-)
1.
Mythology [Ologies] by Lady Hestia Evans

2.
600 Black Spots: A Pop-up for Children of All Ages by David Carter

3.
How Many by Ron Van Der Meer

4.
Costume Jewelry for Haute Couture by Patrick Segal

5.
Greeks on the Black Sea: Ancient Art from the Hermitage by Anna Trofimova

6.
Antiquity Recovered: The Legacy of Pompeii and Herculaneum by Victoria C. Gardner Coates

7.
The Getty Villa by Marion True, Jorge Silvetti, and Salvatore Settis


For the Little Man
8.
Very Hairy Bear by Alice Schertle and Matt Phelan

9.
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

10.
T is for Terrible by Peter McCarty


For the Young Lady
11.
The Nixie's Song [Beyond the Spiderwick Chronicles Book 1] by Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi

12.
Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder

13.
Charlotte's Web by E. B. White


And, don't forget to check out my challenge to blog for a cure...click here, comment and maybe win!

Tilly Greene's September Scorcher is OUT!

Check out Tilly Greene's Monthly Scorcher for all the latest news, interesting tidbits, chats to attend, contests galore and much more, including where you can win a Tilly Greene tote bag this month.

Enjoy!

Tilly Greene
WARNING! Red hot romances ahead!
www.tillygreene.com

Tilly Greene's Monthly Scorcher
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/tilly_greene/
http://groups.google.com/group/tillygreene

A bit of random ridiculousness...

Is it wrong to be on the treadmill [2 miles and using arms weights as well], drinking water to stay rehydrated, and eating a couple of red vines [do this when I'm editing and plotting]?

I don't think so - but then again, I did it and think I might have crossed some line, pushing me in to the sick and wrong category.

And, don't forget to check out my challenge to blog for a cure...click here, comment and maybe win!

Thursday 13 - #17!

Recently I read a book called "Museum of the Missing" by Simon Houpt. It discussed the history of art theft. Yup, very interesting and so I thought I'd showcase 13 pieces that have been reported as stolen and are still missing.

1.

Henri Matisse - Luxembourg Gardens
Missing since February 24, 2006
Chacara do Ceu Museum, Rio de Janerio, Brazel
Est. current value: unknown


2.

Henry Moore - Reclining Figure
Missing since December 15, 2005
Henry Moore Foundation, Much Hadham, Herfordshire, England
Est. current value: $5.2 million
This sculpture is 11 foot in length and weight 2 tons. Thieves were seen on closed circuit tv, driving up in a Mini Cooper [oh good lord] and a stolen flatbed truck fitted with a crane. The fear is that it's been melted down by a scrap metal dealer.


3.

Unknown - The Lion of Nimrud
Missing since April 2003
Iraq National Museum, Baghdad, Iraq
Est. current value: priceless
One of 14,000 objects looted immediately following the US invasion of Baghdad. To date, about 5000 pieces have been located.


4.

Vincent Van Gogh - View of the Sea at Scheveningen
Missing since December 7, 2002
Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Est. current value: $30 million [with aother piece "Congregation Leaving the Reformed Church in Nuenen" stolen at the same time]
Van Gogh painted this in situ during stormy weather near the Hague and bits of sand remain in paint.


5.

Maxfield Parrish - Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Mansion Murals [Panels 3a and 3b]
Missing since July 28, 2002
Edenhurst Gallery, West Hollywood, California
Est. current value: $2 million each


6.

Howard Pyle - The Battle of Bunker Hill
Missing since August 2001
Delaware Art Museum, Wilmington, Delaware
Est. current value: $250,000
This is one of the more upsetting scenarios here. In August 2001, the museum was planning to show this piece and found it missing. Staff thought this piece [a part of the permanent collection] was being store in the basement. They are not entirely sure when it was taken.


7.

Claude Monet - Beach in Pourville
Missing since September 19, 2000
Polish National Museum, Poznan, Poland
Est. current value: $7 million
Thieves cut the painting from the frame and replaced it with a badly printed copy on cardboard. They are not sure when the piece was stolen, they reported it once they noticed the forgery.


8.

Thomas Sully - Portrait of Frances Keeling Valntine Allan
Missing since February 2000
Valentine Museum, Richmond, Virginia
Est. current value: unknown
This is Edgar Allan Poe's stepmother.


9.

Jean-Baptiste Oudry - The White Duck
Missing since September 30, 1992
Houghton Hall, Norfolk, England
Est. current value: $8.8 million


10.

Rembrandt - Storm on the Sea of Galilee
Missing since March 18, 1990
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts
Est. current value: priceless
The world is missing out on not being able to view the only surviving seascape by this artist.


11.

Johannes Vermeer - The Concert
Missing since March 18, 1990
Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, Massachusetts
Est. current value: priceless
After the theft of 11 paintings seventeen years ago, the museum keeps the empty frames on the wall. Very sad.


12.

Lucian Freud - Portrait of Francis Bacon
Missing since May 27, 1988
Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin, Germany
Est. current value: $1.5 million


13.

Andrew Wyeth - Moon Madness
Missing since mid-1980's
Private Owner in the Philippines
Est. current value: $3 million
Disturbing because it's not an institution or business involved, but a person. In the 1980's Wyeth's office tried without success to make contact with the private collector/owner in order to include it in the artist's catalog. The office communicated through a lawyer and no contact was made, although there was a great deal of political upheaval at the time. The paintings whereabouts reamains unknown.


Sometimes the artwork is stolen to order, other times to trade for drugs, one time it was a fan who couldn't help himself [over 200 pieces taken] - unfortunately his mother threw them in the river to hide his crime [grrr!], and other times the thefts were undertaken in a bid to take a cultural statement away from a nation.

What piece of art would you feel heart broken to never see because it was stolen?

And, don't forget to check out my challenge to blog for a cure...click here, comment and maybe win!

A challenge accepted!

First, how about a little history.

Alessia Brio of Phaze, is the editor of a series of books called Coming Together which are based in various causes and is unique in that all the net proceeds go to a set charity. Susan G. Koman for the Cure has been designated the recipient of the proceeds from the recently released Coming Together: For the Cure.

On Wednesday August 22 author Alison Kent blogged about breast cancer and promised to buy 1 copy of Coming Together: For the Cure [now available] for every 10 comments left [max. 25 copies]. The deadline to accomplish this has been set for October 1. It's been three days and she has over 200 comments. So, with all this good nature swirling around blogland, Alessia Brio set a challenge down and I accepted. Author-bloggers who host a similar contest will have a recipe added to the 2008 Coming Together: In the Kitchen, which will benefit Action Against Hunger.

I'm keeping it simple: for every 10 comments left, I'll purchase a copy of Coming Together: For the Cure and will give away them away to commentors here. This will be open for a month [September 21] and will max out at 10 copies. And, one commentor will receive a copy of my December ebook OohRah! and will also have it dedicated to them or whomever they wish...ummm, have I mentioned yet that US Marine Dale Smythe and Tasha Ruskya meet during a fundraising run for breast cancer? Yup, and he looks lovely in pink :-)

So, get busy, leave a comment about yourself, family, friends, whomever or however breast cancer has affected you, or what you or someone close to you does so it doesn't!

UPDATE: Jessica Russell, Samantha Sommersby, Kathryn Lively, Victoria Blisse and Tammi Flora have all accepted Alessia Brio's challenge...visit them, make a comment, it's a totally painless way to help!

UPDATE: The first 3 CD winners have been contact - congratulations...but I have 7 more to give away. And, don't forget, one person will be chosen from all the commenters to have OohRah! dedicated to them, or someone of their picking, and a copy of the December release. So keep commenting :-)

Think Pink!

Thursday 13 - 16!

Greetings All!

Yup, the break is over and I'm dragging. The usual things to do are on the table [literally], but the mail has been collected, milk and choc. soy milk are in the fridge, parents have all been called to say we've returned, and the laundry has been started.

Okay, it was a busy 3 weeks, full of eating, drinking, walking and much more, all good fun. Now don't go thinking it was a jolly because it wasn't, we both worked while spending some quality time with family and friends. And, it all ended on a great note...we were upgraded for the flight back and enjoyed some serious pampering. So why is my brain is still mush? Who knows.

Now, I walked off the plane with a newspaper so thought I'd give you all 13 of the more interesting bits I found. I'll give you the headline, author, and the first two paragraphs, you can let your imagination take you the rest of the way :-)

1. 'What About My Family's Rights'
by James Slack
The widow of murdered headmaster Philip Lawrence bitterly condemed the Human Rights Act last night after his killer used it to stay in Britain.

The Home Office wanted to deport Learco Chindamo to italy, where he was born, after he becomes eligible for parole next year.

2. 'Parting shot of the gamekeeper who grappled with Mr Madonna'
by Richard Simpson
Perhaps his goose was cooked the moment the lady of the house told how she feared being haunted by the souls of birds she'd bagged.

Thereafter things went sour between gamekeeper Martin Taylor and his celebrated employers, Madonna and Guy Ritchie.

3. 'BBC children's TV hosts 'are either gay or childless...and they don't like kids'
by Laura Roberts
A BBC children's presenter has said that 'everyone at CBBC is either gay or childless and don't like kids'.

Kirsten O'Brien, a stalwart of the coporation's programmes for youngsters, made the claim during a stand-up show at the Edinburgh festival.

4. 'Freed, the man who branded his wife with an iron'
by Beth Hale, Emily Andrews and Colin Fernandez
A management consultant branded his wife with a hot steam iron because she had failed to press his shirt.

Cambridge graduate Colin Read, 25, also slashed her with a knife because she had forgotten to make his sandwiches.

5. 'Full of life, girl whose heart beat the traffic'
by Chris Brooke
Like all successful transplant transplant patients, Laura Whitworth owes her life to the skill of her medical team and the courage of a heart donor's grieving family.

But in two-year-old Laura's case, the roll of honour also includes a resourceful ambulance driver and council worker Margaret Rollinson and her old Volvo saloon.

6. 'Apart from the rain and wind, are you enjoying this unusually sunny August?'
by Fiona MacRae
As you shiver miserably under menacing grey skies and reach for your umbrella for the umpteenth time, here is some news that will come as a serious surprise.

This August, apparently, has been officially sunnier than usual.

7. 'Why we're ALL to blame for our bullying supermarkets'
by Joanna Blythman
Supermarkets like to portray themselves as the ultimate proponents of dynamic free-market capitalism. But these days they bear more resemblance to the feudal barons of medieval times, ruthlessly absuing their monopolistic power and turning their suppliers into little more than vassals.

Far from thriving on competition, they seek to stamp it out so that they can entrench their fiefdoms. The grossly unequal relationship between supermarkets and their suppliers has been exposed in a series of bullying emails sent by Tesco and Asda, demanding swingeing reductions in the prices charged by their producers.

8. 'Truth is the first Casualty - again'
by Richard Littlejohn
After halving rubbish collections, Portsmouth Council is now telling householders not to stash their bags in wheelie bins.

'Elf 'n 'safety has decided that the dustmen could hurt their backs lifting the bags out of the bins.

Oi, George, putcha back inta it. Second thoughts, best not, you might do yerself a mischief'.

9. 'From mean streets to Parliament'
by Roy Hattersley
The Trinity College Center in South-East London, a university settlement was founded long ago to enable Cambridge graduates to help the disadvantaged and dispossessed in Peckham.

In the yard, children of more or less primary-school age are playing a disorganized game of football. Inside the center's slightly dilapadated building, a mountain of luggage is ready to be loaded on to the buses that will take the young footballs on holiday.

10. From Ephrainm Hardcastle
Last night's Prom concert featured a suite from an opera called Powder Her Face, by Philip Hensher, a former House of Commons clerk with a PhD in 18th century satire and a confirmed bachelor. Based on the life of the late Margaret Duchess of Argyll, it has the distinction of being banned by Classic FM. It features, inter alia, the duchess, who died in 1993 aged 80, performing a sex act with a hotel waiter. Her businessman son, Brian Sweeny, says the work is 'largely fictitious' and written in a score 'only bats can hear'. Margaret's notoriously keen interest in sex is said to date from falling down a lift shafter after visiting her London chiropodist in 1942, aged 30. A friend says: 'Afterwards she started entertaining six men at a time.'

11. 'A WAG at the Foreign Office'
by Emily Andrews
By reputation, it is a carefree life of non-stop shopping, sunbathing and cocktail consumption.

But in reality, being a WAG in foreign parts can be a perilous business.
NB: WAG=Wives and Girlfriends [of soccer players]

12. 'Joan slapped her husband's face. 'I hate you! Get out of my house!' she screamed'
by Graham Lord
When Joan Collins was contemplating marriage to the Hollywood playboy Arthur Loew in the Fifties, she told friends she needed to be sure he was the right one for her before they tied the knot. 'I'd hate to be one of those girls with four or five husbands,' she said.

Many years later, when her third marriage was over and she was preparing to wed her fourth usband, the Swedish former pop star Peter Holm, she announced: "There can be no more divorces. I absolutely cannot and will not go through taht again.' The union was to last just 13 months.

13. 'Victory in the fight to send frontline troops free parcels'
by Matthrew Hickley, Ian Drury and Dan Newling
Royal Mail last night bowed to mounting pressure and agreed to scrap charges for sending parcels to troops risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The move comes after the Daily Mail highlighted the unfairness of anxious relatives having to spend hundreds of pounds a year to send morale-boosting home comforts to their loved ones on the frontline.

Those were all found in the first third of the paper, what do you think - pretty interesting?

Gone the other way!

This is a brief interruption to the regularly scheduled "hot thoughts" - will return to the regular program soon - until then, play nice :-)

Our first house was couple doors to the right.

Behind us was a partially dismantled castle, and during the summer months they shot off its cannon...it would scare you crapless if you weren't ready for it. Yup, our garden backed onto the dry moat and a certain someone rarely mowed, not horribly neighborly Mrs.'s, hmph!

Thursday 13 - 15!

A week ago my erotic futuristic romance "Zandia" was released over at Samhain Publishing. I thought I'd give you 13 things you'll find in this book.

1. Marked, Claimed, Bound and Enthroned - oh my!

2. Royalty - no ermine or crowns, well maybe one or two of the latter :-)

3. Rituals - get a fan ready.

4. Fabulous jewels, and not just the family ones - hmmm.

5. A Universal Sporting event - and the testosterone is running free.

6. Mmmm, studly athletes - YES!

7. Strong female - of course.

8. Plans to live as suits her - you go girl.

9. Almost nothing can alter the plan - a dose of reality is good.

10. Someone who understand what she wants - ahhh.

11. Okay, made it this far before I mentioned SEX! - lots of the steamy stuff!

12. Love, lust, and trust - all must have's.

13. Warning, this title contains the following: spicy language and wild sex…okay, some kinky “take me” sex - love this :-)


Get your fingers moving and head over to Samhain Publishing to pick up your copy of Zandia today!