Fresh Books

Some people spend their free time relaxing with a round of golf, a gourmet cooking class or maybe a hike in the hills. Senator Barbara Boxer finds writing novels to be a great way to relax after a long day (and sometimes night) on the Senate floor.

Chronicle Books is pleased to release Senator Boxer’s second novel, Blind Trust, which reunites readers with the challenging career of her tenacious character United States Senator Ellen Fisher. Now married (to a Republican) and in her second term, Democratic Senator Ellen Fisher is about to chair explosive hearings on Homeland Security. Before she goes head to head with the Vice President, whose excessive zeal in enforcing national security has begun to infringe on individual liberties, Ellen and her staff become the subjects of a barrage of charges and attacks that threaten their safety, as well as her career and marriage. Publisher’s Weekly called it “a fast-paced narrative,” and the Associated Press said, “Readers of almost all political persuasions will enjoy her skewering of a few extreme positions and personalities.”

Did you know that Senator Boxer was a newspaper journalist in her past? That fact combined with her experience in politics, makes for an entertaining read. I found myself trying to figure out if any of the characters were thinly veiled versions of politicians that I know of, but none were obvious. And if they are based on specific people, the Senator hasn’t said so to me, but I’ll keep guessing!

If you are interested in hearing more about the creative process and how her life informs her writing, see the video interview we created for the book.

And if you are in Washington or the San Francisco Bay Area and want to meet the Senator and have her autograph your copy of the book, come to one of the several appearances she has planned over her Senate vacation:

Washington D.C.
Politics & Prose
Monday, 8/3/2009
7pm

Trover Shop
Wednesday, 8/5/2009
Noon-2pm.

Bay Area

Book Passage- Corte Madera
Wednesday, 8/12/2009
7pm

Books Inc. – SF Opera Plaza
Thursday, 8/13/2009
7pm

Barnes & Noble Books- San Jose
Saturday, 8/15/2009
1pm

Rakestraw Books
Friday, 8/14/2009
7pm

Can’t get to any of these events, but still want a signed copy? Post a comment with the name of the politician (past or present) whose life you think would make a great book, and you’ll be entered to win a signed copy of Blind Trust. Enter by midnight on August 9th. The winner will be randomly selected. Good luck!

April Whitney, Publicist

Source: April Whitney

I have such a hard time not picturing Geoff Manaugh in a pith helmet. Not the military variety, but the ones you typically associate with 19th-century British explorers on safari. I know, it’s very silly (and totally un-PC), but in my mind, Geoff is a modern explorer, a cyber-age synthesis of Ferdinand Magellan/Jules Verne/Neil Armstrong/Le Corbusier.

His new book, The BLDGBLOG Book, is based on a blog by the same name, which he has been writing since 2004. It’s a feast for the imagination, weaving together architecture, science fiction, and pop culture into a fascinating collection of illustrated essays that speculate on the future of our built environment. GOOD magazine posted a great review of the book last week that does far more justice to the work than I can in this short space.

Geoff took a short breather from safari on an abandoned island in Sydney Harbor to share his thoughts with us on The Book vs. The Blog, his fantastic summer voyage, and his next big plans.

You are known for your musings on the future of built environments. I’m curious, with all of the rhetoric around the future/death of print in the digital age, what do you think of the BLDGBLOG book as a tangible object in comparison to the blog?

Having a tangible book in this case is quite interesting, I think, because reading a printed artifact has very different requirements than reading a blog. In other words, with a blog – indeed, with anything written online – you need, at the very least, electricity, internet access, and a computer, but with a book you can just sit out in the park on a Saturday afternoon and do some reading. You can take it deep into a building that has no wifi signals and still read it – and you can take notes, photocopy things, travel with it, and so on. So it’s quite a different experience. After all, it’s very easy for a blog to become inaccessible – even something as simple as staying in a hotel with no internet access means that my blog effectively doesn’t exist. On the other hand, you can lose a book quite easily…

I’ve been following your tweets this summer and you seem to have covered an amazing amount of ground. Can you give us a recap of your travel itinerary and share some highlights?

This summer has been a great mix of work and vacation – we’ve been down in the catacombs of Rome, out on an abandoned industrial island and former prison in the Sydney Harbor (where I’m teaching a two-week design studio), in a museum full of old scientific equipment in Paris, and then the big book launch was back in London in early July. There are a few more side-trips within this larger trip yet to come, mostly to speak at conferences and so on, but my wife and I also have some pure vacation days built into this. To make a long story short, it’s been fantastic so far.

My god, I’m exhausted just thinking about an average day in the life of Geoff Manaugh. But it seems like you’re only just getting started. Got any big plans for the future?

When we get back to the States we’ll be starting off in NYC for another book launch – the North American one – and then we’ll be driving across the country to do some more lectures, visit family and friends, and just see things and hike and have a good time. That brings us back to Los Angeles at the end – and, yeah, I would definitely say that I have big plans, from future books and films to videogame ideas, architectural designs, and hopefully some teaching. We’ll see if any or all of those come true.

You can read Geoff’s musings on his blog here and tap into his wanderlust on Twitter here.

More: 10 Reasons to Read the BLDGBLOG Book

Source: Guinevere de la Mare

Just like buying a used car, buying used aircraft can take the sting out of the high prices of being new.  When buying a car, it often is “Buyer Beware”. With aircraft, however, you really can have a better idea of what you are getting, because every aircraft must have a maintenance log with dates and descriptions of all the work done on it.

Most aircraft engines require a complete overhaul every 2000 hours.  A certified aircraft mechanic details all the work done in a maintenance log book to verify that the engine is in top condition.  Annually, the structure and outside of the plane must be inspected for corrosion.  Any maintenance done between the required overhauls will be recorded in the log.  As a buyer, you can request seeing the log, and discussing the maintenance with the seller is a good idea.  It is also a good idea to take a certified airplane mechanic with you to check it out, too. If it is nearing time for the engine overhaul, you might negotiate the price with the seller, since the overhaul is expensive and time-consuming.

Some used aircraft are better than new.  Owners sometimes add little perks to the original such as new avionic instruments, audio panels, GPS, intercoms, and even more powerful engines.

When you are ready to buy your own airplane, check out buying used aircraft.  The difference in price will convince you that you will be getting what you want for less, and careful inspection of the maintenance logs can assure you that the plane is airworthy.

There is nothing as satisfying as flying your own airplane, and with careful consideration of all aspects of buying a used plane, you will be joining the ranks of those who simply love to fly.

what you just learned about aircraft for sale  is just the begining. To get the full story and all the details, check us out at buyusedairplanes.com

Source: admin

If you are handy, and have always wanted a wall mounted wine rack, you  can easily build your own, cause this is indeed a very easy job to do.

The directions I am about to write below for a  wall mounted wine rack is made by using a used kitchen cabinet. You can always  get old cabinet at a garage sale, or perhaps you can use your own old one.

Simple  Steps to Creating Your Own Wall Mounted Wine Rack:

* Start by taking the door off of the cabinet. It is also important  that you take any shelves and brackets out of the cabinet.

* Find out how many shelves your wall mounted wine rack should  have by measuring the height of the cabinet.

* Use a saw to cut shelves for your wine rack. Make a back and front for  each shelf.

* To create the neck holders you will need to drill 1″ holes in  the center of the board. You will need to determine how many wine bottles will  fit across the width of your cabinet.

* Especially for the rear, you will need to repeat step 4 by  using a 4″ hole cutter. This one is for the back for your wine rack.

* Use a paint and stain to finish the  shelves and the cabinet.

* When your stain or paint is dry,  then you can assemble the mounted wine rack. Don’t forget to use the brackets  to mount the wine rack shelves in the back and in the front of your cabinet.

* Once everything is in place you will be able to mount your wine rack  on the wall.

Choose your favorite bottle of wine to put in your wine rack. Your  family will be surprised with your craftmanship, and you will absolutely proud  of yourself. Perhaps you want to  celebrate it by drinking your syrah wine.

Pretty  soon everyone will be asking how you made such a gorgeous piece out  of an old kitchen cabinet. Who would think a new wine glass racks was actually made from  kitchen cabinet?

Source: admin