#planned out some ideas for other installments and even workshopped an idea for the timeline of each installment

[dearly-somber]

Just to clarify for those of you who might’ve been confused and follow @bonny-kookoo/ and or read her work:

I didn’t plagiarize!!

We cleared it out already and it’s not an issue, but what I meant by this (highlighted) tag:

is that I was thinking about doing what she does to alert her audience she’s updating a fic, which is reblogging masterlists whenever something is being worked on or in the process of being posted.

The reason I wanted to do this was because it gives me time to work on things without feeling rushed by a preplanned schedule that I can no longer adhere to, for whatever the reason may be.

I apologize for any confusion I might’ve caused, and I wanted to clarify just so y’all don’t spam her inbox with questions or alerts about it (even though I’m sure she appreciates it!)

We’ve already worked everything out and all is well in the world 🫶🏻

[valentinaforerocreativeblog]

Curation - Introduction to KSA’s Veolia Exhibition

The beginning:

At the beginning of this semester, I was given the opportunity along with Jordanna, to curate a mini-exhibition based on the installation in which the whole of CCI Year 2′s was focused on. This installation was created for Veolia, a UK leader in environmental solutions. They asked for us to create an installation made out of recycled materials to bring awareness to homelessness and stay within the holiday theme. We were all asked to create an idea for the installation and then create a machete using the recycled materials we thought best to construct it. Later on, Veolia decided on the best idea which led to the start of the ‘The Giving Bear’ installation project, which was the main theme of the exhibition.

1stIdeas of the exhibition:

To start off the exhibition, I made to make an object list of the artwork we wanted to display. I was given an example of an object list, I noticed that there was key information that I need on the object list such as, source, display position, and design requirements. By using the key information on the object list, helps me while creating the Id labels since I will already have all the information I need. I decided to create the object on excel since in the example I was given was created on excel and I already knew the program well. 

My 1st Object List:

In my first object list, I had the idea of making the exhibition surround by the different machetes which everyone made, but that all changed once I started asking around for everyone’s machetes. I noticed that many people had already thrown away their machetes or they simply didn’t want to show them. Which was the first of many obstacles I was going to face doing this exhibition? This leads me to the idea of basing the exhibition on images of everyone’s designs. I sent an email to everyone in the year asking for the original jpg of their machete, to have a better image quality when printed. I gave everyone a deadline of a week to send in their images. When it came to the deadline I noticed that only six people had sent in their images. Since there were only six images, the final display idea was to show images of each design step which were asked to do; original sketch, digital mockup, and a machete. In each of those categories, it was decided to show an example of the winner, Ellice’s design and show another example of another student’s design beside each other. Further, into creating the exhibition, images of the construction of the installation and of the different design groups were included into the exhibition, for the viewer to see and understand all the hard work that put into creating the installation. 

Final object list: 

Simpler layout:

Design layout & learning to use Sketchup:  I wanted to create a digital design of how I wanted the layout of the exhibition to look like. I noticed the more I start designing and being able to visualize the exhibition, it was easier for me to know what needed to be done. The idea of creating an exhibition to me was a bit overwhelming, thinking about all the steps that needed to do, it was easy to get confused along the way. 

I started searching for different digital design programs which could help me to create a more realistic image of my idea. I found this program called, Sketchup. I started viewing the tutorials and simply started designing, 

The space of the exhibition:

My 1st layout design:

In my first idea of the layout, I wanted to divide the space into sections, on the left side I wanted to display the images along the wall and separator. Along the glass wall, I wanted to set up a narrow table to display the ‘The Giving Bear’ published books, for the viewer to have the opportunity to read the book since they might not be able to go central to see the installation. Moving into the right side of the exhibition I had the idea of projecting the video which the film team, based on the construction of the installation. The plinth right in front was the original place where the exhibition text was going to be placed. I thought by having the exhibition right in the centre, it was going to attract viewers to walk in. After given feedback, I was told I needed to focus more on the viewer's experience than focusing on the most practical way to display the artwork. I started coming up on the idea of ‘bring the park to them’, I wanted to create a playful imitation of the park in a section of the exhibition. By creating a little park, the viewer can have an opportunity to enjoy the installation without having to go all the way to central. Creating the little park was my favourite part, I wanted to bring in some fake grass, along with a bench and lampposts. 

Design layout including final park idea:

Later on, the layout changed again, having the park had to be moved to the right wall since the left wall has a radiator which would’ve interfered with the bench. The wall for the projector was changed as well since there was no way to hang the projector to the ceiling. The next best thing to do was to have a plinth in a corner of the room and project straight ahead. I originally wanted the projector to be hung on the ceiling for the viewers to be able to walk freely around the space without having to worry about blocking the projection, nonetheless, we were able to place the plinth with the projector on the far ride side of the exhibition which viewers wouldn’t interfere that frequently with.  Having a clearer idea of how the design layout was going to look like, I was given the suggestion of including another element within the exhibition, to cancel out the negative space that was still there. 

Startup ideas:

I knew I was set on using chicken wiring because I thought the idea of using a material which plays a big part in the construction of the installation, would show the viewer a clear understanding of the recycling aspect of this project. From the start, I wanted to mould the wiring into the shape of an iceberg, to represent the polar bear which is the shape of the actual installation, and represent the polar bear’s habitat. We started playing around with the wire and noticed that the wire was a bit more flexible then we thought it was going to be. We thought of the idea of creating mini boxes which would make the iceberg construction easier for us, by creating separate parts and simply constructing it at the exhibition space to eliminate any moving issues. Once we had all the mini wire boxed in the exhibition space I wanted to create the icebergs almost like melting, which is why at the bottom of the icebergs, the wiring flows into exhibition space.  Besides constructing the icebergs, I wanted to spray paint the wire, so it would represent the icy texture of an iceberg. This was the first time I had ever used spray paint which I ended up finding very fun to use. 

Spray painting the chicken wire:

Constructing the icebergs: 

In addition to the wire icebergs, we had to figure out a way to have a bench for the park section of the exhibition. We were suggested to ask in the 3D workshop if they had any props from the previous exhibition in the university, but unfortunately, we were told that everything was thrown out due to the construction of the new building. At that point, it was decided to make a new plinth in the measurements which we need the projector to be. Luckily, when we went to the 3D workshop we were assisted by one of the teachers and had the plinth made within 10 minutes. On the other hand, the bench was a harder issue. After looking around the campus looking out for benches, I was told that there was a bench located in one of the offices on the first floor. My first step to achieving this bench was to send an email kindly requesting the rental of the bench, substituting the bench for two chairs which we would supply them with. In no matter a day we were given a sharp response, ‘the bench must stay in the office’. There, once again an obstacle we needed to overcome.

The final bench:

 Luckily we had the help from our course teacher Russell, which found us these two wooden units that can be connected to make a bench. What I loved about this bench was the fact that the idea of reusing and recycling was visible. We were able to take both wooden units down to the 3D workshop and received assistance in connecting both units correctly. 

Going back to the layout of the images, we were had originally thought of creating a timeline of the installation, from the very first design all the way till the finishing product. It would have included the visual aspect of different colours representing the different stages it took to create the whole project. Nevertheless, the idea became way too complicated, which could’ve made the viewer confused. 

The colour code for the timeline:

The layout of the colour code:

Final design layout (without projector working):

Creating, locating and ordering pieces:  First thing I started off with was the pieces I knew I needed to order from Amazon since they’re needed to be ordered in, I didn’t want to run the chance that they would arrive late. 

What needed to be ordered:

What was ordered on Amazon:

Correcting gel light filters were ordered because I had the idea of using the spotlights which were right above the bench and project blue light, to give more of an arctic atmosphere. We were advised to get those exact gel light filter since they were heat efficient. 

When it came to ordering the fake grass, I looked at several websites and noticed that with the measurements I needed, I was able to find the best price on Amazon. I was able to even get a bit more then I was asking for which came to our advantage. 

In the beginning, I was planning on buying a lamppost shaped wall sticker. When I told Russell about the lamppost idea, he suggested finding a lamppost image and creating it into a vector file on illustrator and sending it off to the digital printing lab within the university. The end result was perfect, we were able to have two identical six-foot-tall lamppost stickers, along with our brand new knowledge of digital printing.

We also needed to create the gift in which will be placed in the middle of the bench, to represent the actual gift on the installation. The original idea was to have an exact replica of the gift, but the process of welding another gift wasn’t going to happen. As plan b, I simply thought of just getting a cardboard box and wrapping in exact same colour scheme as the original gift. We were able to find a box and wrapped it perfectly, using white wrapping paper and red ribbon. 

Brand guidelines: 

When it came to the brand guidelines, it was very clear that the branding of the exhibition was Jordanna’s job as the art director. and I was able to assist her if she needed any help with decision making. 

Jordanna’s thought process:

The final brand guidelines:

The name of the exhibition at the beginning could’ve been anything we wanted. So we decided to brainstorm some ideas:  Tap to give differently this year Tap to give the homeless a home Tap to home the homeless The gift of giving  The gift of difference  Giving difference  ‘The gift of giving’, was the one that stood out to us.  Later on, throughout the project, we were told that the exhibition name needed to be the same as the installation. The exhibition ended up as ‘The Giving Bear’. 

Logo design & Exhibition posters: 

This was another job in which Jordanna was in charged and I was there to assist. 

Original designs:

Development of the logo:

Final logo:

Example ‘A’ of the development of the posters:

Example ‘B’ of the development of the posters:

Example ‘C’ of the development of the posters:

Final posters:

With the exhibition posters, I learnt that when putting up any poster around the university, you must get them approved and stamped from the student union. 

Exhibition Text:  The exhibition text was something I was a bit worried about since it describes the whole exhibition to the viewer and normally is placed at the front, it could determine whether or not the viewer wants to see the rest of the exhibition.  I started off researching examples of other exhibition and even some guides on how to write one. 

1st Draft: 

The key I noticed was to attract the viewer's attention, I saw many examples starting off with a question. Which brought me to create a question between the two main ideas of the installation, polar bears and homelessness. 

2nd Draft:

Final Exhibition text:

Id Labels: The Id labels were another task I needed to research on, I found many useful websites that explained the outline of an id label especially for artwork. I was also given a powerpoint on ‘captions and writing’ for curators. 

Example ‘A’��of my research:

Example ‘B’ of my research:

Final Id Labels: 

Creating the exhibition’s Instagram & QR code: With the exhibition’s Instagram, Jordanna and I separated the roles, she would be the art director and create all the content for the profile, while I create and manage the page and story contents Instagram content created by Jordanna: 

Thought process: 

Once the content was created I had to create the Instagram profile. I made it into a business page so we would be able to see the statistics of activity on the page. Meanwhile, we were constructing the exhibition, I was able to take photos which I decided to make into Instagram highlights for the profile, for the viewer to see behind the scenes. 

Profile:

Statistics on the activity of our page Dec 3 - 9th:

We wanted to create the Instagram page as the way in which people could understand the exhibition and have a further insight into the development of the installation. We thought of creating a QR code for people to find the Instagram page directly. Knowing that QR codes aren’t that popular, we still decided to implement it because of its easy accessibility.  The QR code was very simple to create, all I had to do was search up, ‘create a QR code’, and on the first page  I was able to find a secure website which gave me step by step directions and within 3 minutes I had a QR code ready to direct straight to the Instagram page. 

Website used:

Final QR code:

Conclusion: Being my first exhibition I have ever done, I must say that I am proud of the final outcome. Like in every event I have ever worked in, I know that there are always obstacles that will stand in the way, especially last-minute problems. I have learnt and improved several new skills such as time management, communication - people skills, and digital design skills on Photoshop, just to name a few.  After creating my first exhibition, it gave me the opportunity to experience first hand my major which has reassured me that this is the field I want to develop in. 

[damionpoitier]

End Of Loop

About to post this on my Royalroad.com profile!

https://www.royalroad.com/profile/84786

I came to strapped to a chair. Another chair sat in front of me and their was a hole in the ground equidistant between them. A glance at my arm revealed my Quantum Permuter was active but in a weird stasis mode. I had spent uncountable years in ridiculous situations with this thing and I had never seen the code on the screen. A glance revealed my surrounding outside the structure were strangely familiar. I wasn’t sure (especially considering the amount of traveling I had been doing) but I felt like I should recognize them.

Then He walked into my field of Vision.

Slate.

We had never spoken, but since our first encounter he had been chasing me along the timelines. Interrupting my missions. Not allowing me to fix the past.

I hated him.

I had never felt such powerful enmity for a being I had so little meaningful contact with. With his containment suit I didn’t even know what he was. I was pretty certain he was one of Them.

A Kyrati.

The Kyrati were humanoid, and required the same basic conditions humans did for life. It’s ironic, towards the late 20th and early 21st century many stories compared Humanity to viruses. Our wanton destruction of our habitat, overworking of our natural systems, and rapid reproduction rates, irregardless of the reflexive effects, made this comparison troublingly on the nose. If that was a true comparison then the Kyrati were a Virulent Cancer, multiplying and destroying far more than our worse civilizations could ever have conceive of.

They arrived in 2035 after Dylam Enterprises had secured inter-dimensional trading rights with the phase they called 1xb12. Using the Banneker theorems they had successfully created a method of contacting, viewing, and traveling to alternate realities. 1xb12 seemed to have the best compatibility with what we needed, and could supply. So after years of negotiations the terms were set and the Quantum Permuter was utilized to open a doorway.

The greatest fears of the naysayers were almost immediately realized when it was revealed that the entirety of the presented data was falsified. 1xb12 was a seed world for the Kyrati Empire. It had been colonized Years ago and stripped of 90% of its life sustaining properties. What we had been looking at was a preserve and projections of the world before it had been stripped. The planet was currently much closer to Mars than earth.

As soon as the portal was open the Kyrati installed Phase Locks and their legions poured through. Our population was reduced by 70% inside of six months. That was 5.6 billion lives in half a year. Dylam Enterprises to those that still remembered it was an instant Pariah.

So the back up plan was enacted. Thing about the Quantum Permuter, it didn’t just allow for shifting between dimensions, but further investigation and modification could allow for movement along the time stream.

I was chosen to travel back in time and eliminate the conditions that allowed Dylam enterprises to obtain the technology and bring about the Catastrophe.

I had been traveling for untold years. I had committed acts of corporate espionage. I had committed acts of sabotage. I had committed acts of terrorism. I have killed. The things I had done were beyond rationalizing. I had become a monster to stop the monsters from coming. But above all the things I’d done… The thing I had become. I had failed. And this creature was the cause of it.

It walked in front of me and paused. It’s head cocked as it studied me. I sat their shaking with rage looking at the architect of my failures. It reached up to its neck and grabbed it’s helmet. A hissing sound was followed by a rush of steam and when it cleared what I saw was impossible. I looked into the eyes of Dr. Benjamin Banneker, creator of the Quantum Permuter. My mission parameters included potentially tracking and eliminating him but I was unable to find even a trace in my travels. I couldn’t rationalize what I saw. Why. How, could he be Slate.

“Why?” I whispered

He looked at me shook his head and let out a rueful chuckle.

“You really have no idea do you?”

He stared at me for a while. Then his expression hardened.

“I always knew the Permuter could potentially time slip, but I also knew the danger. Time is a stream, interrupting or altering the flow is always temporary. If you go back and change something to avoid an outcome you lock that outcome into place. The event becomes a constant because it Has to happen in order for the consequent event that is time travel to take place.”

“But there are alternate realities…”

“Yes, ones you will never fully experience because you have violated the time stream and Locked yourself Out of time into a loop. Had you Purmuted into a reality where the events that caused you to time shift never happened you could have theoretically stayed. The only way to even conceivably experience a permanent time alteration would be for you to double back on your first loop fix the problem, and convince the first you that he had to continue. You have shifted up and down the timeline so much that said outcome is now impossible.”

“Why, how… You could have told me this we could have..”

“By the time I locked onto your tachyon signature the greater damage was already irreparable. Haven’t you noticed that every time you shift the world you return to is Worse?”

“In some ways but I…”

“Have No clue what your actions have caused!”

He stared at me and in his eyes I saw a deeper pit of pain and rage than I though conceivable. Why couldn’t he understand? What could have happened that he looked with such vehemence towards me?

“It was pretty early on for you mission wise. You were not fully aware enough of the ramifications of your actions to realize, nor so far along in your path that you ceased to care. It was before you began searching for me. I assume your mission included potentially locating and sanctioning me?”

“But I didn’t, I never found a trace of you I couldn’t…”

“That’s because I blocked it. I thwarted your efforts before you even began them, you had already taken Everything from me before it even occurred to you to look for me. I wish you had found me before… I wish…”

He began pacing, galvanized by his emotions, containing himself from an outburst I could see would lead to my end.

“It was a normal day, as normal as days got after the occupation. I was moving my family to a new safe house. They were aware that my work was the foundation of their invasion and wanted me in custody to see what expansions they could coax out of me. I had my modified Permuter, it detected the vibrational differences of Them and their technology which also allowed me a heads up on potential encounters. You were in the area on one of your fools errands. Your tachyon signature and Permuter emissions interfered with my equipment. We never saw them coming.”

He stopped, locked in a memory I had no desire to share. With effort, he gathered himself and continued.

“They played nice at first, they provided for our basic needs in a shelter I knew to be far more comfortable than what was offered to most. At first they thought they had sold me on their propaganda. I smiled and played along with their claims of Manifest Destiny and Conquerers Preeminence. Till the day they realized I was stalling the process. Imagine if you will, what a race that was capable of wiping out 70% of a population without pause is capable of doing… To the child of a man that knowingly slowed their expansion.”

He stopped at this point, tears streaming down his face, still wracked by whatever horrors he had witnessed.

We sat in silence for some time. My imagination, that of a man who could not even remember the horrors I myself had perpetrated, travelled down uncanny valleys and left me paralyzed. I could not conceive of what this man had been through because of me and even more frightening what he had planned for me. Finally he turned.

“They didn’t give me much time before demanding I get back to work. Though I had been stalling on their goals. I had been aggressively pursuing my own. I was able to figure out your specific Permuters modifications, I could see the points of interference in my time stream and I could lock onto your tachyon stream. If I could stop you I could potentially reverse the causality that led to our capture. But first I had to escape my captors.

They were aware of your manipulations but their scientists had yet to replicate the equations that allowed travel along the stream. My Permuter had sophisticated quantum encryption layers. They had never even realized I had time stream alteration equations on my drive. For them I worked on expanding the Quantum Scryers vibrational wave margins. Based off my work they were marshaling for aggressive magnification of their empire. I built a null-time workshop and put it in a quasi permeable vibrational bubble, a pocket dimension if you will. I explained to them that the glitches in my workspace recordings were a result of my vibrational research. They took another of my children to insure I was being truthful. What they did…”

He paused again but briefly this time. Whatever their offenses, they had the exact opposite intended effect. His eyes met mine.

“I built this suit to reduce my agitation of the time stream. As it locked my physical form in temporal stasis , this is the first time I have removed it since I sealed it.”

He reached into a deceptively small opening on his backpack and pulled out a oblong cylinder with a point on one end and some type of tech box at the other end. He walked over to the seat opposite me and slid the cylinder into the hole. He sat down across from me. And though I saw no indication of how my restraints receded. He simply sat across from me looking at me. Waiting. The enormity of what I had just learned began to settle and I was at a loss.

“Do you recognize where we are? When we are?”

I looked around and with dawning horror realized why this place was so familiar. Across the street was the final operating lab of Dylam Ent. If my calculations were correct it was about to be destroyed in the explosion set off by my initial time jump. But why? Why here why now if he could not alter what I had done, what could his purpose be?

“This is an entropy spike. It took me many years and no small effort to create. Once I set it off the vibrational interference will cause your initial time jump to fail, the fallout waves will undo all the alterations we have created in the time stream… Well that is if my calculations are correct. My previous efforts at temporal repair all failed. Only the power generate by the initial causal rupture has a chance to effect a wave wide repair. And only with the presence of the original temporally displaced body. So, here we are. At the start of it all. And we can stop it. None of what we’ve done, what we felt we had to do to get here, will be.”

He paused and looked at me for a long beat.

“You can’t stop it this way. I doubt you even know how long you have been traveling or remember all that you have done. We activate this and the experiment fails. All the damage to the time line will be healed. We will never meet. My family, well I don’t know what will come, but I’m willing to face that over this.”

I looked at him, I looked across the street. I thought about the many times we had faced each other, his actions, our enmity.

“Why even tell me? I’m here you set the spike off and things go back to your normal, why bother to explain it.”

He stared at me with a combination of deep hatred and pity. Offering me no clue but his checked wrath.

“You need me to do something, you need me willing don’t you?”

He remained stoically silent.

“After all we have done, all of our encounters you expect me to believe you? To help you?”

I moved to stand but his hand quickly moved towards his wrist and I controlled my self.

“How do I even know this is real, that you, you are real? That you are who you say you are?”

He still gave me nothing, I studied him. I thought about everything. I shook my head.

“No, you are the reason I keep failing. You are the reason things are getting worse. I stop you here and I can still fix this, I can save everyone your family included. How can you not see this?”

He twitched, his face darkened as he realized my insolubility.

“I bear my soul to you, the cause of all my pain and you spit in my face?” He growled.

“You thing you are the only one who suffered loss?” I spit back. “You know what I have done, what I have become. I would sacrifice a million possible lives to save 5.6 billion actual ones. I am all that humanity has left!”

He stared at me. I saw the stillness come over him. The surrender.

“Then come stop me.”

He reached for the Spike, I lunged forward faster than humanly possible. All the shifting I had done had changed my relationship with time. I had my hand over the control panel of the spike before he could reach it. My other hand was around the handle of the knife I had rammed into his chest. His hand finally settled on mine and his body rocked back from the force of the attack.

I stared into his eyes. “All this time chasing me and you thought you could tell your little sob story and get me to give up on humanity?” I leaned in and grunted between gritted teeth. “Never.”

He coughed up blood, looked back at me and smiled. “I know.”

A automated feminine voice chimed out.

“Activation parameters accepted.”

And beneath our hands the Spike began to hum and glow.

As reality began to unravel he spoke his last words.

“I didn’t need you willing, I didn’t need you passive, I tried it myself and just created a feedback loop that reset back to the damaged timeline. I needed to balance my intentions towards the experiment on a quantum level, I needed you, and I needed you to fight.”

As I took in his words and his smile I could feel eternity pulling apart my existence and everything faded to nothing.

[hellosaltysaladcollectionstuff]

CARA BLACK IS definitely in a select class of PI writers on the West Coast.

The late Sue Grafton certainly paved the way with her Kinsey Millhone series, also referred to as the Alphabet mysteries, but there are few like Black alive today who has faithfully delivered one book in the same series more or less once a year since 1998. In fact, Black recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Aimée Leduc’s introduction to readers.

An avowed “pantser,” who prefers to write by the seat of her pants than through outlines, Black is working through 20 arrondissements of Paris by way of the investigations of her private detective, Aimée Leduc. Her 18th, Murder on the Left Bank, has just come out in paperback, and her next mystery, Murder in Bel-Air, which will be out next month, followed by a new standalone set during World War II.

Last year, I attended a workshop on writing villains that she led at the Sisters of Crime Los Angeles meeting, in addition to a reading at Vroman’s Bookstore in Pasadena. We had a wonderful lunch at Fiore Café, and later I posed these questions to her.

¤

NAOMI HIRAHARA: I was first introduced to you and your work at a regional mystery conference in Pasadena in 2003. You were discussing your third installment in the Aimée Leduc mystery series, and now it’s almost 16 years later and you’ve released your 18th! I know that it may be difficult for you to identify the reasons why you have been able to deliver and publish these installments so regularly, but can you give me one internal motivation and/or discipline and one external one involving the publishing world and readers?

CARA BLACK: That’s a good question. When I began writing Murder in the Marais, my first novel, I had no idea that my character Aimée Leduc would continue and that I would write a series featuring her set in Paris. Encouraged by my editor, I wrote the next story, based where I was staying in Belleville, at my friend’s. I began thinking a lot about what would have happened in the time since her last investigation in her personal and work life with her friends and colleagues. I just progressed her from there. But I still pinch myself that I get to keep doing this — who knew, I didn’t, when I started writing that I’d get intimate with a fictional character and have a long-term relationship?

It’s been that way with each story, and I can feature the social issues in Paris and France at that time as well as her character growth. Writing Aimée became a way to investigate the darker side of the City of Light, explore things my friends talked about, get the police angle, and dovetail history. I guess internally it’s been a vehicle for me to exercise my curiosity about the elusive French I meet.

Externally, I feel lucky to have a publisher who promotes the series and readers who ask for more.

You have only two more arrondissements to write about. How did you go about selecting each arrondissement for each novel? Did you plan way ahead? And what happens after the 20th Aimée mystery?

As I said above, I had no master plan to write a series. I have just written and chosen arrondissements that appeal to me, whether it’s the landscape, its place in history and how Paris grew and became the city we know today, the stories organic to it. The arrondissement, which to me is a character, evokes a place, a time, and a crime that could only happen there. It’s organic. Not that crime can’t happen anywhere, but it’s the why here, why now that imbues vitality. I wish I could plan ahead but I’m not that organized. In Aimée’s character arc, there will be some resolution in the last story, but I’m clueless as to that and what I’ll do. But I visited Marseille recently and loved it and it could be another setting.

There’s been a lot of discussion of you beginning the series in 1993 and just moving the time incrementally (weeks or months) with each installment. What research tricks do you have in staying in the 1990s? With the advancement in digital technology, have you encountered easier ways of accessing the past? If so, please share.

My neighbor is a French programmer who worked in Paris in the ’90s, so he keeps me honest, such as reminding me that characters would use dial-up and other great details. I consult French police who worked in the ’90s; some are retired now, and they recount procedure and cases going on at the time. They even touch upon the rivalry between certain law enforcement branches. I guess we could liken it to the rivalry between the FBI and Special Forces French-style. Back then, only the French military had GPS access. My research is in historical archives, specifically consulting magazines like Paris Match and daily French newspapers on microfiche. This is invaluable. I can read the paper to know what was on sale, what strike was happening in Paris, the weather, the current world events, what movies were out, shows playing, foreign leaders visiting Paris. I also lived on and off in Paris in the ’90s, so I do remember.

Aimée now has a baby, her first as a single mother. What issues have you encountered in writing about a mother of an infant in terms of her crime-fighting investigations? As her daughter continues to develop, how will you balance Aimée’s mothering responsibilities with her work as a private investigator?

My editor encouraged me to shake Aimée’s life up a bit, to challenge myself as a writer. So Aimée’s life as both a mother and a professional investigator leads her into this new role of juggling, as so many parents find themselves doing. Aimée is now a single maman. When the story starts in September 1999, her baby Chloé is 10 months old. Aimée is running her detective agency, which focuses on computer crime, and constantly juggling her life, work, baby, and the man in her life. In other words, trying to do her best to earn the daily baguette and butter it. She’s lucky to have Babette, a nanny whom she shares with a family across the courtyard. Aimée needs to pick up her daughter from bébé swim, and life gets more complicated every minute. Murder in Bel-Air opens with Aimée about to give a PowerPoint presentation on computer security to a select, mostly male group of CEOs, the movers and shakers — when she gets that call all parents dread: her daughter’s been left at the playgroup and no one else is able to pick her up. Not only that, but Aimée’s American mother abandoned her daughter at the playgroup and has disappeared. So Aimée’s got to juggle her business, caring for her daughter and now worrying over her mother and if her mother really did leave the CIA.

Do you have some sort of character bible, timeline, and/or chronology to keep you clear on Aimée’s life moments as well as other central characters? What’s been the biggest continuity mistake you’ve made, and how have you fixed it?

I wish I had a character bible. Even a list of the shoes Aimée has worn. Which is funny because my publisher asked me for one. Stymied, I was on deadline and didn’t have time to go back through my books. So the handy-dandy folks at my publisher came up with one and made a bag and it looked like this.

The biggest continuity issue was that I’d put Aimée’s age in the first book, Murder in the Marais. This presented issues, especially with her biological clock. So on the 10th anniversary special issue my editor said I could change anything in that story. So I took out her age.

I know that you go to Paris frequently, at least once a year. Share three little-known locations that are great for authors, either for writing or observation opportunities. And also three favorite restaurants under the radar (please mention your favorite dishes, too).

Only three? Well, I’ll try.

Definitely start at the Place des Vosges in the Marais, the 17th-century arcaded square for the beauty, and go behind it to the courtyard of Hotel Sully (it’s not a hotel, but a hôtel particulier, which is what they call townhouse mansions). There’s an incredible bookshop nestled inside.

Stroll on the banks of the Seine at twilight opposite Île Saint-Louis.

Drink an apéro outside at Chez Prune, a cool place, on the Canal Saint Martin.

Museum-wise, the Musée de la Chasse, a hunting museum, in an old hôtel particulier in the Marais.

The Balzac museum in the 16th arrondissement, where Balzac wrote hiding from his creditors.

Most of all, be a flâneur, a walker with no particular destination, and see where the streets take you. It’s always a good idea, and you’ll discover Paris.

Foodwise, the jewel-like eclairs from L’éclair de Genie, roasted cauliflower at Miznon in the Marais, and the Lebanese wrap stand on Rue Rambuteau.

You are currently working on a new manuscript, a standalone historical. What can you tell us about it? After being in Aimée’s world, are you exhilarated or terrified to inhabit the minds of totally new characters? How did you make the transition? (Any burning of sage or other rituals?)

Hmm … burning sage is a good idea. I’m excited and a bit terrified. It’s about going back to the past, to another time, and immersing myself. On my wall, I’ve put up a 1940 Paris map — a special one that was issued to the occupying German soldiers with the Kommandantur, locations of the cinemas and canteens for German soldiers, and authorized bordellos. I’ve always collected old black-and-white photos circa the ’30s and ’40s at flea markets and street sales in Paris. Also, I copied files of alleged collaborators in the military archives at Bois de Vincennes. My great friend in Paris is 90 years old and joined the Resistance when he was 14. Whenever we can, we go out to eat and he loves to drive around Paris (yes, he still drives!) and show me spots where he hid, where the ladies of the night would give him bonbons, and where his father was arrested.

That sounds wonderful. I’m a sucker for stories set around World War II, and I can’t wait to see what you do independent of Aimée. I’m sure it will be an adjustment, but one that will not only service your standalone, but also inform your return to your series.

¤

Naomi Hirahara is the author of several books of fiction and nonfiction, including the Edgar Award–winning Mas Arai series and the forthcoming mystery novel Iced in Paradise.

The post The Darker Side of the City of Light: An Interview with Cara Black appeared first on Los Angeles Review of Books.

from Los Angeles Review of Books http://bit.ly/30uxlI1

[bestnewsmag-blog]

New Post has been published on Bestnewsmag

New Post has been published on https://bestnewsmag.com/wordcamp-kc-annual-wordpress-conference/

WordCamp KC: Annual WordPress Conference

WordCamp Kansas City is an annual conference focused on WordPress (free and open source website software), as well as blogging, content distribution, social media, entrepreneurship, coding, marketing and more Conference

WordCamp Kansas City gathers developers and users of WordPress as well as managers and decision-makers from around the midwest to discuss new directions, exciting implementations, creation and distribution of engaging content, and business practices.

If you use WordPress (or are even thinking about it!) – this is the premiere local conference designed especially for you: two days of helpful seminars at a cost that can’t be beaten! Plus a help desk and pros to answer all your questions! Check out our speaker and session lineup and register today!

What Are Conference Proceedings?

  Conference

The simple definition of conference proceedings goes something like this: A collection of academic papers presented at a professional association meeting or conference. However, many of the words, like meeting and conference, which make up that definition are interchangeable with other terms…and often are. If you’re not an academic or an engineer, you will benefit from the following expanded explanation.

For starters the term conference can also be exchanged with the following terms:

Meeting

Symposium

Exposition

Colloquium

Workshop

Exhibition

Confabulation (yes, confabulation — I didn’t imagine it)

The term proceedings can also be exchanged with the following terms:

Papers

Manuscripts

Abstracts (a brief paper — a paragraph up to 1 page)

Extended Abstracts (2-5 pages)

Presentations

And the term association can be exchanged with any organization, like society, agency, research foundation, council, institute, corporation, etc.

While conferences can be focused on any academic subject, from Humanities and Social Studies to Natural and Applied sciences, they are often focused on a specific discipline. For example, one conference hosted by the International Veterinary Acupuncture Society will include 30 – 40 papers all focused tightly on, well…veterinary acupuncture. This focus provides a depth of coverage, unlike any other scientific publication. In fact, one of the truly unique qualities of conference proceedings lies in the fact that they are made up of research papers from many individuals, which makes their character distinctly different from scientific books, textbooks or journals.

One conference proceedings title can include as few as 5-10 papers or as many as 2,000 papers. Some conferences are held each year, or every two years, three years, etc. Most proceedings publications are referred to as “monographs” (stand-alone), and others are part of a series. For example, the Materials Research Society Symposium Proceedings Series may have a symposium titled “Three-Dimensional Nano- and Microphotonics”, which is volume #1014 in the series.

They are relatively cost-effective sources for academic research since they are less expensive than their higher priced relatives, journals — and typically have more content than journals, albeit a little less prestigious. Conference proceedings often include new research breakthroughs, innovations, methodologies and best practices, particularly in the fields of science, engineering, and technology. They provide a platform for researchers to identify potential collaborators and can influence work in related disciplines. It is at these important national and international conferences that research findings are reported and debated for the first time – long before their formal publication in journals and textbooks.

Hopefully, the next time someone mentions conference proceedings you won’t have a blank stare on your face.

Dave Curran is a Sales and Marketing veteran with 30 years of experience in the computer and publishing industries. Dave is currently the VP of Business Development, helping Curran Associates to become the world’s leading supplier of conference proceedings to engineering and science libraries. For more information,

Top 5 Qualities of a Good WordPress Developer

  WordPress

  How do you identify the best WordPress developer from a pool of programmers? A dedicated WordPress developer is capable of pushing the boundaries, going beyond the basics and bringing innovations in the project they are assigned. Professional WordPress developers are always busy in researching more about the latest trends and technologies to remain ahead of their peers.

Here are the top 5 qualities of an efficient WordPress developer:

Technical Skillset

A good WordPress developer will have apt knowledge of different technologies and be able to create a masterpiece. An ideal WordPress developer should have sound knowledge of PHP, MySQL, codebase on Trac and Xref and should able to set up a local development environment and run the nightly build. They must be well-versed with the technicalities of WordPress such as core, plugins as well as the different themes to be able to create a website, which would help you stay ahead in the competition.

Learner’s Mindset

The versions of WordPress are steadily moving forward, and so is the environment. A good developer should keep up with the latest design, technology and security trends to build websites, which are stable and modern. An outdated look or a bugged portal will tarnish your brand image. A stagnant developer will cause stagnation in your business profits and in your image too.

Attention and Self-Motivation

WordPress professionals need to continuously push their abilities and have a fair idea of almost all the aspects of this platform. WordPress offers a wide range of options such as plugins, themes, front-end design and e-commerce. Therefore, a developer has to have hands-on, specialized knowledge to figure out what would work best for a project. A self-motivated developer will ensure that his work stands out in the crowd and does not just make up the numbers.

Solid Planning Skills

A brilliant developer would be able to sort out a chaos and make something out of nothing. However, lack of planning can become a serious problem – a directionless agenda can result in delays in project delivery and waste of time and energy. An efficient programmer will have a schedule in place and will outline goals – both big and small. They will break down tasks and create as well as adhere to timelines.

Testing and Receiving Feedback

Thoroughly testing everything that is dispatched is an important skill of any WordPress developer. They should be sure whatever codes they write work across different browsers and operating systems. Every theme and plugin must be tested across different browsers to avoid last minute hassles. Asking for feedback is a good way to know whether what you’ve created makes sense and reacting positively to feedback shows maturity and dedication towards one’s creation. Your project is in good hands if you manage to hire a developer with these skills.WordPress is an ever-evolving platform. The core team is always on their toes, trying new things and attempting to improve the existing functionalities.

The Advantages That WordPress Plugins Offer

  WordCamp

    Most of us are aware of the continuing popularity of WordPress blogs and websites. Yet, a lot of businesses and bloggers do not recognize the advantages they offer. So, we have come up with a list of 5 unique ways on how WordPress plugins give more advantages than other blogger sites that provide plugins (like Joomla or Drupal).

Live Chat Plugins

You have an edge over your competition when you use WordPress particularly for your business sales. WordPress Live Chat plugin lets you directly engage with customers to answer their queries and discuss issues. They would certainly love to talk to someone who is real, and including this in your customer service is an effective way to build a lasting relationship with them. This is where WordPress works to your advantage.

It is Easier to Create Email and Booking Forms

Though WordPress directly competes with Blogger, its widget functions make it a winner over them. As a matter of fact, even if you are not a technical person, WordPress plugins let you create booking and email forms. This can benefit low tech small-scale businesses that want their customers to find an easy way to provide their information.

Social Media Share Buttons

You can create social media buttons to let your readers share your content by using WordPress’ easy format for installing plugins. This is just great, since the idea behind websites and blogs is about sharing information and marketing products. Since social media is basic to online marketing, you need to include easy to access share buttons to expand your audience. WordPress sees to it that this is available via a variety of plugins and widgets. You can try the share buttons below.

Security

Creating WordPress plugins have made it possible to have access to a number of the best security features. The thought behind years of security data and technology has finally developed into some exceptional plugins. These protect your information, as well as that of your customer, to create a secure online experience.

Effective SEO Tools

Without a doubt, WordPress comes with the greatest number of accessible SEO plugins. It gives you a unique advantage due to the wide range of effective and comprehensive plugins you can choose from. SEO is among the most essential marketing tools that a website or blog should use. When you want to draw more viewers to your site, your site should be equipped with SEO plugins so that Google can notice you over other sites.

Over the years, all the tools that have been optimized for WordPress have given it an edge over its competitors (and for this reason it rules the web).

Always keep in mind that you need to add plugins to your site so that it can be the best it can be. All you need to do is to make the most of them.

[livelylemu-blog]

After the first terrible experience with engaging a remote builder, I was gobsmacked but at the same time determined to find the people I can trust to get the renovation job done. The other side of me was hoping that I may be able to get away with just getting it rent out as is – a bit less on yield but it’s also OK.

Despite there were one or two parties rocking up to the open, there was clearly very little interest over December and X’mas. Effectively the house would have been sitting vacant for 6 weeks by the time it hit X’mas.

To understand what the prospects were unhappy about, I’ve asked the PM for feedback on the property in order to tackle the pain areas. A couple of requests I’ve got were: – Getting security screens installed to the windows to prevent children from climbing the window and falling out – New oven to replace the one in current oven as it’s extremely outdated – Installation of ceiling fans

These are not major items so I thought to myself – perhaps the property isn’t as appealing as it should be as I still couldn’t get a half decent tenant after 6 weeks! There has been application from not so decent prospects but I would prefer attracting decent tenants. In this case it’ll be better off for me to get the rent up, and the only way to get it up is by doing some work to get the place tidied up!

First experience with remote Project Manager – Planning and Style Guides

Around the same time I met with another investor who also has properties in QLD and was doing renovation on one of his IP. He was kind enough to share some photos of the before and after as well as how he was impressed by the expertise and communications with this Project Manager he used. The before-after photos looked impressive but more than anything else, the communications and updates was exactly I was looking for in a remote renovation!

That was what triggered me to reached out to Pam Jirapak from PolyPlus Properties – right before X’mas! Pam was very responsive and provided lots of insights based on the photos available online. In first week of Jan we managed to get her into the Woodridge property and she has taken the photos in preparation and planning of next steps.

Over the course of next 2 weeks in Jan we’ve had numerous conversations around budget, planning and design details. When we work closely together I can tell she’s an honest professional with integrity. Also because she has done renovation workshops previously and also completed a number of renovation projects she has picked up some very niche design ideas from renovation experts such as Cherie Barber. It was an eye-opener for me on some of the simple concepts but putting together would have made a great visual impact!

We worked together on finalizing style guide details for kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms and external areas around the house – not a small feat! Just so you know what’s involved, have a look at the Work Breakdown structure here for Renovation Phase:

Electrical works and make ready for demolition Kitchen Demolition Bathroom Demolition Rubbish removal Left Fence installation Bedroom screens and wardrobe doors installation New Kitchen installation New Carpet New Bathroom installation Toilet mini makeover Right Fence installation Other updates and repairs Patch and repaint works Curtain re-position Door frames and door repair Steel post replacement Electrical works finished off Gardening & mulching Lawn mowing Cleaning Photo shooting & Hand over to PM

And below are some of the style guides we’ve finalized:

Proposed Style Guide for Kitchen transformation with details on the end product to be installed

Proposed Style Guide for Bathroom transformation – note new layout to create more space and more premium feel

We’ve then moved onto timeline and as she had her tradies lined up ready to go she was able to provide me a detail plan which outlines the two weeks work duration, looking at a completion date towards end of Jan or first week of February :)

Transformation at it’s best

The next 2 weeks are an absolute amazing experience with Pam. She would travel onsite literally every second day to check-up on progress, took photos and give me update/reports on progress with photos.

Here are a couple of work in progress photos:

Kitchen demolition & installation in progress!

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And bathroom transformation in progress!

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Knowing I have a tight budget for this transformation, Pam would be searching online at night for the best deals on appliances or carpets and flick them through to me for review/opinions before going ahead with order. I was very impressed – she was definitely going above and beyond in terms of her service!

Not only that – she would also get her hands dirty with some simpler items. For instance, all the new curtains was purchased and put up by herself. That again saves some cost for me to hire another handyman.

And most importantly – she managed to the team to keep to the budget and schedule! The work was completed to an excellent quality by her tradies team, and the visual transformation is phenomenal!

Again, a picture is better than a thousand words. Here are some before and after photos:

Bathroom – before and after!

Bathroom – completely different layout now!

Bedroom – before and after

And Last but not Least – Kitchen makeover! Welcome to 21st Century lol

And even better news – after the reno was completed the property was rented in 2 weeks time! And with competing tenants too…shows the good work Pam and the team has put in to transform the place completely! Funny enough I thought these only happens on renovation shows on TV but who knows it can actually happen in our everday life too…:)

To-date, Woodridge property has had a very stable tenant who looks after the place well so again I’m forever grateful for the wonderful work Pam and the team has done and the power of cosmetic reno and the visual impact it can bring to a property.

I’ve also picked up some of the renovation tips and tricks along the way which lays the foundation of my knowledge moving forward and opens up the door for my future potential of cosmetic renovation ideas on upcoming investment properties.

Just now I’ve only realized this marks as a new milestone in my investment journey as after going through this process I have now learnt to look more from an angle of how I can be smart and add value to a property by simple transformation or quick wins. This is something that I would have never thought of (or be hesitant to do so) back in my early days of property investing.

Summary of this renovation project: Total budget: $35K Actual cost: $31K Total duration: ~4 weeks from planning to completion

This brings Woodridge property to: Total cost including renovation: ~$330,000 Current Rent: $400/week Gross Yield: ~6.3%

Still a nice little performer with future potential to build out downstairs, and a granny flat at back which I can convert from the shed. The future potential is absolutely unlimited :)

As always, if you have any questions about any of the contents feel free to leave a comment or contact me directly.

Cheers, David

P.S. If you’re interested to reach out to Pam, you can contact her via http://www.polyplusproperties.com/

Alternatively, you can find more of Pam’s work on the facebook page. Enjoy! https://www.facebook.com/polyplusproperties/

  KEEPING THE MOMENTUM GOING ON PROPERTY #4 (PART 3) – Transformation time! After the first terrible experience with engaging a remote builder, I was gobsmacked but at the same time determined to find the people I can trust to get the renovation job done.