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Volume 3, Issue 3
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Subscribers: 394
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July 7, 2003
In this Issue:
Editor Notes |
Software |
Books |
Inspiration |
Educational |
History |
America
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REPRINT RULES:
We understand the nature of Internet publishing and
understand that some of you may like to share the content found here
with your own readers.
Content in "American Icons" may only be referred
to by direct link, with a short four line description --- unless the
content is available from the source
under different rules.
Each heading has a printed URL directly under it that you can place
in your ezine or on your website for your own readers or visitors.
Simply cut-and-paste the link shown and your readers will be able
to go directly to the information you wish to share with them.
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Editor Notes
Direct URL:
http://double-eagles.com/american_icons/3-3.html
Subscribe to American Icons
From Judith:
I want to thank Bill for giving me the chance to be your editor
for six months. It was a very enjoyable experience. My life
has been changing during this time and I find I now want to
move on and do a newsletter of a more "spiritual" nature.
Since American Icons format does not fit this, I wrote Bill to
explain. He graciously accepted the newsletter back. I will
remain a subscriber and I hope you will do the same.
Thank you for letting me be part of your lives!
Judith
http://www.agoodread.com
"Sharing is the Key to all our Success"
From Bill:
After two plus years in publication we are now changing our format to
a web-based HTML-only ezine. Over the past two years, our readers have
helped make our ezine a success, and now we are returning the favor. If
you would like to submit content to us that we can use, then we will print
your name and url with your submission. We are seeking content in six
different categories. Please review our submission guidelines for more
information.
I had hoped to have the submission software in place before I delivered
this month's issue to you, but I have run out of time. So, if you are
interested in submitting content to American Icons, please go ahead
and review our Submission Guidelines so that you will know
what we are looking for. I will have the submission page online within
the week, so keep an eye out for my following notification that the
submission software is ready for your use.
Since I began American Icons, I have also learned how to program Internet
software. So it is only a matter of time until I get this software wrapped
up.
Under the new format, you will be able to send content directly to my
server through a form on this website. I will review all submissions
myself, and if I see something I like, I will schedule it for publication.
Once an item has been scheduled for publication, then it will be published
on schedule. If your content is not published right away, don't fret. I can
actually schedule the publication of certain materials months in advance.
If your content is selected, then I will publish along with the content
your name, city, state, country and URL --- so long as you provide that
information to me. I will ask you to do so in the submission script, but
your personal information is not required to be shared. Think of it more
as a chance to see your name in lights.
Truth be told, there are in fact two reasons why I am making these changes.
My time is short and getting shorter with the success of my online businesses. I did not want to kill this publication, so I am scripting
the software to enable my readers to submit content to us for possible
publication. By simply approving the content that has been submitted,
I can fulfill my end of the publication of American Icons in very short
order.
With the growing threat from the anti-spam community, the safest way
to get an email in your email box is to send a link to you. So each
issue of American Icons will be stored on my Double-Eagles.com
server where you can view it at any time.
I would be tickled to know what you think of these changes. If you would
care to share your thoughts, please click through to my Contact Form and tell me what
is on your mind.
Bill Platt - Owner
American Icons - Best of the Web!
thePhantomWriters.com Ghost Writing Program
Double-Eagles.com Web Hosting
Software
Direct URL:
http://double-eagles.com/american_icons/3-3.html#software
Subscribe to American Icons
Resume Builder Shareware
from SarmSoft.com
Sarmsoft Resume Builder is a powerful resume creation
application for job-seekers. It will help you create a great
looking professional visualy exciting resume very quickly.
The application does the thinking and writing for you.
Courtesy:
AAA-SOFTWARE E-ZINE
Book Reviews
Direct URL:
http://double-eagles.com/american_icons/3-3.html#books
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Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Written by J.K. Rowling
Harry Potter and the Gargantuan Page Turner
Review by Paula Bardell
Three frustratingly long years after the publication of Harry
Potter and the Goblet of Fire, J.K. Rowling's legions of fans
were rewarded for their patience with the release of
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – launched
simultaneously in Britain, the USA, Canada, Australia
and in other English-speaking countries at one minute
past midnight on 21st June 2003.
This fifth book in Rowling's incredibly successful wizarding
series is a challenging 766 pages long, containing over
255,000 words and weighing in at 2.8lb (1.3kg). In
Britain alone, it sold 1.8 million copies in the immediate
hours following its release - a Nielsen Book Scan
estimate revealed that one person in every 28
possessed The Order of the Phoenix. In the US, five
million copies were sold during the same period. There
can be little doubt that Harry Potter is a global literary
phenomenon.
Trivia aside, Potter is no longer the awkward 11-year-old boy
wizard that readers were introduced to in the first book.
Phoenix sees the tangle-haired Harry in his fifth year at
Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. He is now an
angry adolescent, a survivor of various hair-raising escapades
who often finds it difficult to control his emotions. He
frequently finds himself "consumed with anger and
frustration, grinding his teeth and clenching his fists", and
occasionally takes his "growling resentment" out on his best
friends Ron and Hermione.
Phoenix is an enormously harrowing adventure for Harry and
definitely not ideal bedtime reading material for the squeamish
or fainthearted. He is attacked by dementors, threatened with
expulsion from Hogwart's, banned from playing Quidditch,
discredited among much of the magical population, haunted by
dreams, visions and stories of his dead parents, accused of
being a liar by the atrocious Dolores Umbridge, forced to
endure the loss of a dear friend – and all this before his
destiny is finally revealed to him by Dumbledore, who sits Potter
down in his office and tells him "everything".
The book is considerably darker than the first four novels as
Voldemort begins to spread his evil influence, opposed at each
stage by the Order of the Phoenix, a protective circle of
benevolent witches and wizards.
Once again, serious issues such as slavery and racism are
touched upon in subplots such as Hermione Granger's quest to
liberate the long-suffering House Elves and in Malfoy's fascistic
hatred of "mud bloods" and "filthy half-breeds".
Rowling's
books reflect rather than condone prejudice and Harry
continues to take people at face value. Indeed, in their
steadfast determination to shield the weak against the evil
forces of Voldermort, characters like Professor Dumbledore
quite clearly advocate open-mindedness and empiricism at
great personal cost to themselves.
Unsurprisingly, Phoenix, like earlier books in the series, has
been subject to intense political and moral analysis. Since
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (the Sorceror's Stone
in the US), first took the American reading-public by storm in
1997, there have been vicious attacks by Christian
fundamentalists who believe the series is cultivating a
generation of "evil-doers". Indeed, the more extreme of these
groups have accused Rowling of deliberately "spreading
witchcraft". After the release of book four, the Minnesota Star
Tribune reported that a New Mexico town had actually held a
book burning, and the People Magazine informed its readers
that parents across the country were seeking to ban the book
from their children's school libraries. Mercifully, the vast majority
of American families have taken Harry to their hearts and
Phoenix has broken all US sales records, outselling even the
biography of former first lady, Hillary Clinton.
In a far more agnostically inclined Britain, critics have tended
to complain that Potter and his palls are a tad too
"Middle-England" for their liking. However, I can only surmise
that there must be a distinct lack of humour amongst
present-day literary commentators because Rowling is quite
obviously being ironic when she writes of the curtain-twitching
residents of Privet Drive and the Minister of Magic in his
pinstriped robes.
The Order of the Phoenix is by far the most sophisticated and
mature book of the series so far; it is also a more confident
work than its predecessors. Although the earlier books were
far more comedy-driven, there are still many hilarious scenes
in Phoenix that will amuse children and adults alike. The
narrative moves at a cracking pace as Harry struggles to
convince the wizard world that Voldemort has returned, and
the book's prodigious size allows Rowling to weave in serious
themes.
With two books to go, it remains to be seen which direction
Rowling's storytelling will take, but it seems likely that the
link between Harry and Voldemort will lead to ever more
elaborate plot-twists and sensational revelations. In the
meantime, Pottermania will continue to inspire children
across the globe to read – a truly magical achievement in
itself.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Paula is a poet, essayist and
short-story writer who has contributed features
to numerous publications on the subjects of literature,
travel, culture and history. She is the editor of two
popular online guides:
All Info About Poetry and
All Info-About English Culture.
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Inspiration
Direct URL:
http://double-eagles.com/american_icons/3-3.html#inspiration
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I had a drug problem when I was young. I was drug to church on Sunday
morning. I was drug to church for wedding and funerals. I was drug to
family reunions no matter the weather. I was drug to the bus stop to go
to school every weekday. I was drug by my ears when I was disrespectful
to adults and teachers. I was also drug to the woodshed when I
disobeyed my parents.
Those drugs are still in my veins and they affect my behavior in every
thing I do, say, and think. They are stronger than cocaine, crack, or
heroin, and if today's children had this kind of drug problem, America
might be a better place.
Signed,
Old Fart
USA Today
in its 3/10/03 edition had a large article on two Cowboy Churches
in Texas. They printed the Cowboy's Ten Commandments posted on the wall at
Cross Trails Church in Fairlie, Texas. It was too good not to pass along.
Think if we all used these instead of the one with all the "shalt nots"
in it, we could probably understand and live up to them a lot better!
(1) Just one God.
(2) Honor yer Ma & Pa.
(3) No telling tales or gossipin'.
(4) Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
(5) Put nothin' before God.
(6) No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.
(7) No killin'.
(8) Watch yer mouth.
(9) Don't take what ain't yers.
(10) Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff.
Guess cowboys just kinda tell it like it is!!!!
Y'all have a good day now.
Educational
Direct URL:
http://double-eagles.com/american_icons/3-3.html#educational
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Learning about Weather and Climate: some short articles
The articles are organized by topic in the Table, and listed by
sub-topic, or one can search by keyword(s). This site appears
to be an entire book on this subject placed online. You will find
a full seventeen chapters full of information on the given subject.
History
Direct URL:
http://double-eagles.com/american_icons/3-3.html#history
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New York City Subway Resources
The New York City Subway Resources site specializes in the history and
operations of the NYC subway. Features include tours of abandoned stations,
track maps, photos, and much more.
New York City dot Info
For people interested in New York history and culture. Includes vintage NY
images, stories, artwork, and more.
History of the Erie Canal
The Erie Canal had an enormous impact on New York and America in the
nineteenth century. University of Rochester students are writing the
history of the Erie Canal and its successor, the New York State Barge
Canal. This project is under development. It looks like nearly 25%
of the project is currently online.
America
Direct URL:
http://double-eagles.com/american_icons/3-3.html#america
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Do you know that at military funerals, the 21 gun salute stands for the sum of the numbers in the year 1776?
Have you ever noticed the honor guard pays meticulous attention to correctly folding the American flag 13 times?
You probably thought it was to symbolize the original 13 colonies, but we learn something new every day!
The 1st fold of our flag is a symbol of life.
The 2nd fold is a symbol of our belief in eternal life.
The 3rd fold is made in honor and remembrance of the veterans departing our ranks who gave a portion of their lives for
the defense of our country to attain peace throughout the world.
The 4th fold represents our weaker nature, for as American citizens trusting in God, it is to Him we turn in times of peace
as well as in time of war for His divine guidance.
The 5th fold is a tribute to our country, for in the words of Stephen Decatur, "Our Country, in dealing with other
countries, may she always be right; but it is still our country, right or wrong."
The 6th fold is for where our hearts lie. It is with our heart that We pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of
America, and the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with Liberty and Justice for all.
The 7th fold is a tribute to our Armed Forces, for it is through the Armed Forces that we protect our country and our flag
against all her enemies, whether they be found within or without the boundaries of our republic.
The 8th fold is a tribute to the one who entered into the valley of the shadow of death, that we might see the light of
day.
The 9th fold is a tribute to womanhood, and Mothers. For it has been through their faith, their love, loyalty and devotion that the character of the men and women who have made this country great, have been molded.
The 10th fold is a tribute to the father, for he, too, has given his sons and daughters for the defense of our country since
they were first born.
The 11th fold represents the lower portion of the seal of King David and King Solomon and glorifies in the Hebrews'
eyes, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The 12th fold represents an emblem of eternity and glorifies, in the Christians' eyes, God the Father, the Son and Holy
Spirit.
The 13th fold, or when the flag is completely folded, the stars are uppermost reminding us of our nation's motto, "In God
We Trust."
After the flag is completely folded and tucked in, it takes on the appearance of a cocked hat, ever reminding us of the
soldiers who served under General George Washington, and the Sailors and Marines who served under Captain John
Paul Jones, who were followed by their comrades and shipmates in the Armed Forces of the United States, preserving
for us the rights, privileges and freedoms we enjoy today.
There are some traditions and ways of doing things that have deep meaning.
In the future, you'll see flags folded and now you will know why.
Share this with the children you love and all others who love the it is good to be reminded symbol of "Liberty and
Freedom."
In this Issue:
Editor |
Software |
Books |
Inspiration |
Educational |
History |
America
Home |
Submit Content |
Archives |
Subscription Management
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