Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Have you read it? Are you going to?
From AARP
Have Bill Clinton and James Patterson Created a Best-Seller?
The president and the storyteller talk about their new book, ‘The President is Missing’
MILLER MOBLEY
President Bill Clinton and author James Patterson have collaborated on an action-packed thriller with a plot ripped straight from the political headlines.
A few years ago, a newspaper asked the novelist and publishing juggernaut James Patterson which writers he’d most like to meet. He replied James Joyce, Bill Clinton and Hunter S. Thompson.
Within weeks, Clinton’s people reached out: The former president would be in Florida, where Patterson lives most of the year. Would Patterson like to meet him? “So we spent a couple of hours down in Boca Raton,” Patterson recalls. “And, I mean, who wouldn’t enjoy the hell out of that? It was an experience of a lifetime for me.”
“I just wanted to meet Jim,” Clinton chimes in. “I read a lot of fiction, and a huge number of political thrillers — I mean, a lot. And I like a series, so I love his Alex Cross series. I love his Michael Bennett series, the idea of an Irish cop with 10 kids — I’m a sucker for that kind of stuff.”
In 2016, when their mutual friend, superagent Bob Barnett, suggested they write a book together, the two men jumped at the chance. Their global thriller, The President Is Missing, hit shelves on June 4.
The gist of the 528-page, 128-chapter potboiler is that — spoiler alert! — a massive cyberattack, called Dark Ages, is about to be unleashed against the United States by parties unknown. The result would be catastrophic, shutting off all our power, wiping all computers, eliminating everyone’s wealth. Five terrible ticktock days ensue — featuring a high-level traitor, a female assassin, and all kinds of word and bullet battles, while the fate of the nation hangs in the balance. Can President Jonathan Duncan save America?
The book should please the fans of both men and then some. Packed with action and the usual Pattersonian red herrings and blind alleys, it also retains a certain dignity, with a presidential voice of Clintonian timbre, no matter how much the two men deny that their fictional President Duncan resembles our 42nd commander in chief. Indeed, nerdy expositions on the details of cyberhacks, international diplomacy and even, yes, the Medicaid coverage gap ensure that readers will very much see the hands of both authors in the prose.
AARP The Magazine executive editor William W. Horne recently sat down with the authors at President Clinton's office in Upper Manhattan. Clinton and Patterson, both 71, were friendly and assured, and the mood was buoyant, even exuberant. The book was essentially done and is super topical: The day before the interview, President Trump nominated the first female CIA director, Gina Haspel; the day after, the Trump administration accused Russia of hacking our power plants and electric systems. In Missing, the FBI and CIA chiefs are women and, yes, a certain superpower is messing with our water and other critical facilities.
Prologue
Q: First, congratulations. I found your book to be a smart, twisty thriller — a terrific read and very contemporary.
Patterson: Don’t be afraid to put that right in the article. [Laughter]
Q: How did the collaborative process work between you two?
Clinton: First of all, Jim’s the greatest storyteller in history. So he didn’t need my help to tell a story. Patterson: The president’s a great storyteller.Clinton: Well, I grew up in the last generation of politicians who were born without televisions, and with family members who were highly intelligent but without much formal education. All of my entertainment was storytelling. But Jim’s good like nobody else. So it was his idea that the president is involved in a crisis.
If you would like to read more of the interview, go to:
https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/info-2018/bill-clinton-james-patterson-interview.html
https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/books/info-2018/bill-clinton-james-patterson-interview.html
Inside this interview - this is of interest!
Best Book for Young Kids
Clinton: I like that one you did, Big Words for Little Geniuses.Patterson: Yeah, Big Words for Little Geniuses — my wife and I wrote that. Everybody thinks their kids are geniuses. And, to some extent, they are, in the sense that they can always exceed what you think they can do, so the idea of an alphabet book where words are like “catawampus” … I think the best books I do are the kids’ books. I have one coming out in October. The Albert Einstein estate came to me — they wanted to do something that would really keep Einstein alive with little kids and be entertaining. And they gave me the name Max Einstein — it’s the only thing they gave me. And when I sat down to pitch the book, I said, “The first thing I want to tell you about Max Einstein is she’s a girl.” And they went, “We love it.” And that’s what it should be, because we’re still evolving in terms of women and science and math. So my hope for this book, and I’ll go around the world with it, is it’s going to turn kids on to science, it’s going to demystify it, it’s going to make it entertaining. And there used to be a time when half the scientists you met, they’d say, “How did you get turned on to it?” “By reading science fiction.” [Reading] is how you open brains up.
Second Career: From Adman to Book Mogul
Q: We’re big on second and third acts at AARP, and you’re sort of a master of that, Jim, having given up a very successful career in advertising to write books. What advice would you give to people who are contemplating such a second or third act?
Patterson: It’s a combination of, I think, “Be brave” and “Be realistic.” It’s like a kid wants to be a ballerina and she weighs 200 pounds. You could still be a dancer, you can love dance, just be realistic about it. At the same time, be brave, and don’t be afraid to try stuff. People get afraid of making fools of themselves. It’s like golf: “Oh, I don’t want anybody to see me hit a bad shot.” Who cares? I think realism has to play a part in it — just what is possible at what age, what your skills are. You should know your skills at that point. And ask: Is this going to be a job or is it going to be an avocation? Avocations are cool, too.
Book Excerpt: ‘The President Is Missing’
Augie, a cyberterrorist-turned-U.S. ally, briefs President Jonathan Duncan (the “I” below) and a group of world leaders about a potential cyberattack dubbed Dark Ages.
The virus is essentially what you call a wiper virus,” says Augie. “[It] erases — wipes out — all software on a device. Your laptop computers will be useful only as doorstops, your routers as paperweights. The servers will be erased. You will have no internet service, that is surely true, but your devices will not work, either.”
Dark Ages.
“And backup files are no help,” says [Germany’s intelligence chief] Dieter Kohl, shaking his head. “Because you have infected them as well.”
“Of course. The virus has been uploaded onto the backup files by the very act of backing up the systems on a routine basis.”
“They’re time bombs,” I say. “They’ve been hiding inside devices waiting for the moment they’re called into action.”
LITTLE, BROWN AND KNOPF
“Yes.”
“And that day is today.”
“Give us an idea of … ” [Israel’s Prime Minister] Noya Baram rubs her temples.
Augie begins to stroll around again. “Elevators stop working. Grocery-store scanners. Train and bus passes. Televisions. Phones. Radios. Traffic lights. Credit-card scanners. Home alarm systems. Laptop computers will lose all their software, all files, everything erased. Your computer will be nothing but a keyboard and a blank screen.
“Electricity would be severely compromised. Which means refrigerators. In some cases, heat. Water — well, we have already seen the effect on water-purification plants. Clean water in America will quickly become a scarcity.
“That means health problems on a massive scale. Who will care for the sick? Hospitals? Will they have the necessary resources to treat you? Surgical operations these days are highly computerized. And they will not have access to any of your prior medical records online.
“The economy in this country will screech to a halt. Entire industrial sectors dependent exclusively on the internet will have no means of surviving. The others will be severely compromised. The impact will inevitably lead to massive unemployment, an enormous reduction in the availability of credit, a recession the likes of which would make your Depression in the 1930s look like a momentary hiccup.”
“The United States will be vulnerable to attack in ways it has never been before,” he says. “Your military defenses will be at 19th-century levels against enemies with 21st-century capabilities.”
Monday, August 27, 2018
September is fast approaching
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| Start your stairway to heaven on Sat, Sept 1, $5 Bag Book Sale |
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| Sign up now for the Village -wide yard sale |
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| Don't forget to check out a Family Pass if you are exploring NM this Labor Day weekend |
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Announcement from Creative Aging-ENMU for upcoming meeting Friday, 10am, 8.24.18
Welcome to another year of Creative Aging Programs and Services.
This Friday, August 24, at ENMU, room #102 at 10am, our first monthly program for the fall will be
"The Money Stretcher",
a discussion on how to handle housing issues as we age.
Luddy Leong leads this program and there are 3 other speakers as well.
Please come early, at 9am Creative Aging will be offering a brunch.
But Creative Aging’s Budget is slim so please bring potluck if you can.
Networking, socializing and just getting to meet new friends is a joy for all.
Creative Aging wants to make more time for this at our monthly meetings.
The program will run to about 12 and food will still be available after that for a short while.
Cecile will be doing special treats so do come as early as you can and bring a friend!
Clara Farah.
P.S. Call, email, or text with any questions.
Or ways you want to volunteer this fall!
575.973.7835, clrfarah@gmail.com
Clara Farah, Ph.D./ P.O. Box 737/ Alto, NM 88312-0737
Cell : 575-973-7835 / e-mail: clrfarah@gmail.com
Monday, August 20, 2018
September and October Book club
The book for September will be A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. It will be a quick read at 120 pages. It is based on a true story, set in Sudan.
We selected one of our favorites for October 4. It is the latest in the Masie Dobbs series --To Die but Once
by Jacquline Winspear.
if you missed the program on Aug 19, here's some Lady Liberty facts of interest
Information from https://invest.usgoldbureau.com/news/lady-liberty-american-coinage/
The Evolution of Lady Liberty On American Coinage
With the recent celebration of the 225th anniversary of the United States Mint we will also be celebrating the 225th birthday of the ever-present Lady Liberty. Throughout the past few centuries we’ve seen her on our coinage as a constantly evolving emblem. Lady Liberty has been depicted sitting or standing, with an axe or sword, her hair flowing behind her or pinned back, and more. Despite her many forms, we always recognize her as the symbol from which she began.
Before the establishment of the United States Mint in 1792 with the Coinage Act or Mint Act, American currency was comprised of a variety of foreign coins and tokens or coins created by individual states. A few years prior, the United States Constitution had been enacted, leading Treasury Secretary Alexander Hamilton to present a report to Congress with his recommendations for the beginnings of an official American currency.
The eventual Senate committee, chaired by Robert Morris, would follow these recommendations, and call for President George Washington to be depicted on one side of each coin leaving the mint. After some debate between the Senate and House, it was settled that, instead of our first president, each coin would have a depiction of something that we now know as Lady Liberty. The newly enacted law stated that, “Upon one side of each of the said coins there shall be an impression emblematic of liberty, with an inscription of the word Liberty, and the year of the coinage...”.
Lady Liberty: The Face of American Coins
In the beginning, the most noteworthy examples of Lady Liberty could be found on the silver dollar, though the idea of liberty was to be present on all of the half cents, cents, half dismes [sic], dismes, quarter dollars, half dollars, dollars, quarter eagles, half eagles and eagles Americans would now be able to spend.
1794: The First Lady Liberty Coin
Her first silver dollar is now commonly known as the "Flowing Hair" dollar.
A few of the “Flowing Hair” dollars made it into circulation towards the end of 1794, and though the design was well liked, the press used in the minting process was found to be too weak for the proper striking of coins. A more powerful press was soon ordered to remedy the situation.
1795: The Next Coin With Lady Liberty
Despite the success of her design, the first depiction of Lady Liberty on these silver dollars lasted only a year or so before being replaced by the “Draped Bust” dollar in October of 1795. The “Draped Bust” iteration was produced until 1803, when a need for smaller denominations shifted the focus of the United States Mint.
1836: The Year Lady Liberty Starts to Evolve
The design for these coins and the silver dollars (which were reproduced until the 1850s) remained mostly unchanged until the “Gobrecht” dollar of 1836. The “Gobrecht” dollar and the "Seated Liberty" dollar that followed departed from the profiles and busts of past coinage. Here we find our evolving Lady Liberty seated, holding a shield in one hand and a flag in the other.
1878: The New Face of Lady Liberty
In 1878, Lady Liberty reverted back to a bust in profile view with the "Morgan" dollar.
The designer of the 1878 silver dollar, George Morgan, came to the United States Mint with the idea that Lady Liberty should be modeled after an American woman, rather than utilizing the traditional Greek features found on many currencies across the globe.
Shortly thereafter, Anna Willess Williams became the new face of Lady Liberty. Anna was a resident of Philadelphia and had what Morgan deemed to be a “perfect” profile.
1916: The Naked Lady Liberty Coin
During the Art Nouveau craze, Hermon A. McNeil showed us Lady Liberty at her most risqué. With an olive branch in hand, this depiction was meant to represent peace, but the 1916 quarter showed her standing between two pillars with one breast exposed.
The release of the "Standing Liberty" quarter was met with immediate censure from the public, and the design was soon adjusted to present Lady Liberty in a full suit of armor. Rumor has it that McNeil was not pleased about this change, and that the armor was an act of spite.
1921: Lady Liberty Makes Peace
The year 1921 brings us another shot at a peaceful incarnation of Lady Liberty. We see her return to profile, but with a few new twists.
Earlier that year, a competition was held to find designs that represented peace. On the silver dollar that would later be known as the "Peace" dollar, Lady Liberty finds her representation in the multi-cultural depiction of her as a goddess. Artist, Anthony de Francisci, shows her brilliantly crowned and seemingly windswept, while the customary eagle on the other side of the coin holds an olive branch and perches above the word “PEACE”. De Francisci’s wife, Teresa, was the model for this profile of Lady Liberty, while the crown is meant to be reminiscent of the Statue of Liberty.
Lady Liberty Steps Back From Circulating Coins
As Lady Liberty evolved, so did the coins commonly in circulation amongst the public. Lady Liberty has continued to be featured on many of our higher value coins, while the faces of President Abraham Lincoln, President Thomas Jefferson, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, and President George Washington have replaced her for everyday use. Eventually she was joined by the likes of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, Susan B. Anthony and Sacagawea.
We’ve seen Liberty’s journey from being represented by one man to something of an ideal. Then Morgan took her from a classical Grecian appearance to a representation of American women. Liberty’s depiction was used to evoke peace when it was sorely needed in our country.
2017: The New Face of Lady Liberty
Today, Lady Liberty is evolving again – this time to even better represent the diversity of the American people.
Last year, the United States Mint announced that a commemorative hundred-dollar coin would be released to celebrate its upcoming 225th anniversary. One side will again feature Lady Liberty’s proud profile, but this time she’s African-American.
A press release from the Mint states:
"The 2017 American Liberty 225th Anniversary Gold Coin is the first in a series of 24-karat gold coins that will feature designs which depict an allegorical Liberty in a variety of contemporary forms-including designs representing Asian-Americans, Hispanic-Americans, and Indian-Americans among others-to reflect the cultural and ethnic diversity of the United States.”
Related posts:
Wednesday, August 15, 2018
Interesting program : Saturday, August 18 from 9 AM until noon
Lincoln County Bird Club (LCBC) in conjunction with Smokey Bear Ranger Station presents "Out of town company: birds that spend the summer in our mountains" on Saturday, August 18 from 9 AM until noon at Smokey's Garden at the Ranger Station, 901 Mechem, Ruidoso. The public is invited. LCBC welcomes birders of all levels to their presentations and to join their group. Smokey Bear Ranger Station: 575-258-4095. LCBC: jw_e@beyondbb.com or 575- 937-5416 and leave message.
Monday, August 13, 2018
Artist showing at the Capitan Library through November 21st
Barbara Cooper: artist statement
A great starting point for a new hobby is a period of crisis in
ones own life. In my case, it was when my first husband was diagnosed with cancer and would not live long,
his mother found a drawing/ pastel class to distract me.
ones own life. In my case, it was when my first husband was diagnosed with cancer and would not live long,
his mother found a drawing/ pastel class to distract me.
Thus began my love affair with art. I could begin
working on a picture in the evening and before I
looked up it was 2 a.m. in the morning! When my
husband died I couldn’t seem to draw or do
pastels any more. Then I became a teacher and there was
no time to paint.
I remarried and about forty years later my family bought me art
supplies: an easel, oil paints and brushes, everything I would need
to paint in oils. After retiring from teaching three years ago, I joined
a Friday painting group with members that gave me advice.
That fall I began studying with Daniel
Edmondson online. To my surprise he
Edmondson online. To my surprise he
wanted to see each painting as it was
finished and he made videos explain-
ing what was good about each
painting and how I could improve.
ing what was good about each
painting and how I could improve.
Wow! I loved it all.
I still try to never miss the Friday art
I still try to never miss the Friday art
group. Edmondson’s instruction
advanced my skills immeasurably.
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| Sunset Splash |
I seem to excel at painting
water and rocks. I enjoy
painting everything from
landscapes to still lifes,
flowers. I am enjoying the
challenge of painting
animals and wildlife and
capturing action in ranch
scenes.
My studio is very small. It’s the space
between my dining room and kitchen
next to the sink, and includes the
counter space coffee pot and tea boxes.
A skylight and a nearby window provide
plenty of light.
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| Round Up (reference Julie Carter photo) |
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| Balloons at White Sands |
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| Malpais and Cactus |
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| Black Bear |
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| Butterfly on Dahlia (reference photo by Krystyna Orzeł-Jowsa) |
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| Fawn |
Barbara Cooper has many paintings she would like to share with our patrons, so she promises to come and exchange paintings throughout her art show stay at the Capitan Library. Be sure to check the art everytime you come to the library to see what's new!
Saturday, August 11, 2018
Aug 19th Sunday program at 2 pm
The Sweep of American History and Culture as
Revealed through Currency and Coins
Capitan Public Library 102 East 2nd Street, Capitan, NM
Program: Sunday, August 19th, 2:00 PM
Presented by David Higgins
Eagles, Bison, Native Americans, Tennessee Woodsmen, Discovery of America,
Western Expansion, Explosion of Agriculture, Rapid Industrialization,
Idealization of Women, Wars, and more.
The numerous re-issues of currency and coins glow with insights into
the people and events that have made Americans proud.
They are a serial depiction of how our culture and values have evolved.
The line of evolution will be revealed through numerous photographs
of currency and coins and the interesting stories behind their design.
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| Special attention will be given to the introduction, development, and eventual disappearance of Miss Liberty |
David Higgins is a retired finance professor
who taught at universities in Arizona, Wisconsin,
and Texas. His expertise areas are economics,
financial management, treasury operations,
and personal investment management prior to
and during retirement.
He conducts short classes that address current
economic conditions, personal asset management,the history of money, and the history of the Southwest.
David and his wife Peggy reside in Denton, Texas, and spend much of the summer in Ruidoso.
NOTE: A light lunch will be served during an intermission in the 90-minute program. Please RSVP for the lunch portion at 575.354.3035.
Contributions to defer the lunch cost will be appreciated.
The Capitan public library is donor supported. Donations and/or volunteer
assistance are always needed and much appreciated.
For more information call Capitan Public Library at 575-354-3035.
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