George Garrett, novelist and mentor to many a writer, gave me some soothing advice when I once complained that, in the writing process, some of the best passages get cut from the draft. There are various reasons why this happens — the essay changes direction and that passage is no longer relevant to the argument, or, let’s face it, that passage was never very good in the first place. Then George advised me, "Nothing is ever wasted." He told me to hold on to the unused material until it inevitably bubbled up somewhere else. He assured me that it would. He said he had this experience many times in writing his novels. He was right. I always find
someplace else to cram my darlings.
Now, I have the great distress of learning that the people behind the forthcoming "Sex and the City" movie have taken the same tack with a companion book. NDTV quotes Sarah Jessica Parker: "It’s a brand new book of the movie with every picture, every costume, location and the entire script so there are characters in there and scenes in there that didn’t make the movie."
One person’s zen-like approach to writing is another person’s marketing scheme, I guess.
One other brief mention: Comedian Jeff Foxworthy has written a book, "How to Really Stink at Golf." Are you kidding? People don’t need help with this, Jeff.

latimesblogs.latimes.com

Age Of Empires 3 is the sequel to the critically-acclaimed strategy game. It introduces all-new gameplay elements, new civilizations to discover, random maps to conquer and a single-player campaign unlike any other.
A.I. opponents are now well-developed characters with deep strategies, motivations, and personalities-and more than 4,000 audio taunts at their disposal New lighting and shadow effects, in a game world designed to have real physics and depth - you’ll almost feel like you’re there The first 3D iteration of the series uses bump- and tone-mapping to render realistic water and shadows Havok engine’s cause-and-effect physics bring battles to lurid life.
Age Of Empires III offers gamers the next level of realism, with advanced battle physics and unparalleled visual detail. The new game picks up where Age of Empires II: Age of Kings left off, placing gamers in the position of a European power determined to explore, colonize and conquer the New World.
In this action adventure tale of historical fiction, players take on the role of Morgan Black and his family, struggling against the hostile wilderness and a mysterious cult that’s crept in from Europe.
In a series of 24 scenarios divided into three acts, Morgan Black and his descendants help the Aztecs resist conquest by Spanish conquistadors, pit the French against the British in the French and Indian War and help Simon Bolivar lead revolutions in South America.
This time period features stunning scenes, from towering European cathedrals to courageous tribes of Native Americans, and spectacular combat with Industrial Age units like rifled infantry, cavalry and tall ships bristling with cannons.
Age of Empires III has exciting game-play elements, including the concept of a “Home City,“ new civilizations, units, technologies and an immersive new singleplayer campaign that will span three generations.
Much like the persistent character from a role-playing game that encourages you to keep playing, your Home City is an important support system to your efforts in the New World. During a game, your Home City can regularly send you supplies or military reinforcements.

palluxo.com

Six Miami men who survived two mistrials will be tried for a third time on terrorism charges in an unprecedented federal case.
But the jury foreman in the retrial that deadlocked last week questioned the prosecution’s decision on Wednesday to retry the Liberty City defendants again, saying it would probably lead to a third mistrial. They were mainly charged with conspiring to assist al Qaeda in a government sting operation.
In the undercover investigation, the FBI recorded the defendants as they pledged their allegiance to al Qaeda in a March 2006 oath led by an FBI informant. The informant, an Arabic man who went by the name Mohammad, posed as a financier for the global terrorist organization.
Prosecutor Richard Gregorie said Wednesday the U.S. attorney’s office decided to pursue the third trial because the ringleader, Narseal Batiste, was a dangerous man whose mission was to ”kill all the devils” in a war against the United States — beginning with the destruction of the Sears Tower in Chicago, then FBI buildings.
But the jury foreman in the second trial, who did not want to be identified, said the prosecution’s conspiracy case wasn’t strong enough and that jurors would likely deadlock again on their fate.
”I’m in disbelief they are going for a third trial,” said the foreman, who contacted The Miami Herald after the government’s announcement was reported on the paper’s webpage on Wednesday. “I’m afraid if they go for a third trial the jurors will hang or they will have the same issues we did.”
The foreman said the vast majority of jurors in the retrial wanted to convict Batiste and his alleged second in command, Patrick Abraham, on the central charges of conspiring to provide ”material support” to al Qaeda in 2006.
But almost all wanted to acquit defendants Naudimar Herrera and Rotschild Augustine, he said.

miamiherald.com

Hutto voted to annex 28 acres to bring more commercial development to the city.
City council members annexed 28 acres known as North Town Commons at the intersection of FM 1660 North and Limmer Loop into the city limits. Hutto is approximately 30 miles northeast of Austin.
City officials say they've identified the area, divided it into five tracts of land, as a prime commercial corridor. The city is negotiating a planned unit development and working with current landowners to determine the best industrial and commercial use for the land. Current owners include North Town Commons LLC, Trim Tech of Austin Inc., Robert M. Castle, Jr. and William Randall Russ and Nancy N. Rabb Properties LTD.
Quotes supplied by ComStock, an Interactive Data company.

news.moneycentral.msn.com

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<table> </table> Plié, relevé, passé,” the teacher called out, as tawny, graceful women bent and leapt to the piano’s waltz music.</p><p>It was exactly 50 years ago, but William Whitener’s memory of first walking into Seattle’s Cornish School remains diamond-clear.</p><p>The tiny boy of 7 was enthralled at the sights and sounds, and this year — coincidentally the 50th anniversary season of the Kansas City Ballet — he decided to try to capture that in choreography.</p><p>“First Position” receives its world premiere this week alongside Donald McKayle’s new piece on Kansas City jazz. (See cover.)</p><p>Both works attempt to capture a slice of their creators’ past — the moment, perhaps, in which they knew they wanted to dance.</p><p>“What I’ve tried to do with this ballet is to show how a boy would enter the world of ballet, to evoke the awe and wonder,” said Ballet artistic director Whitener, who in March takes his company and his new work to New York’s Joyce Theater.</p><p>“I walked into Cornish and what did I find? Women in tulle dancing, many of them waltzing and posing in classical-era tableaux.”</p><p>Whitener didn’t even know you could take <em>lessons </em>in ballet. It was like a peek at a magical world largely hidden from boys.</p><p>“There are lots of ballets about girls, but it’s very seldom you see the entrance into ballet through the eyes of a boy.”</p><p>Set to music by Glazunov that oozes “ballet-ness,” the piece evokes the spirit of great classical ballets like “Giselle” or “Swan Lake” — without actually quoting them — in subtle ways that will make dancers nostalgic.</p><p>In the piece, Matthew Powell is the young man who wanders in unawares.</p><p>But he’s not playing the part of a child, Whitener said.</p><p>“He’s the spirit of youth.” Powell’s character joins a boys’ class, dances with girls, partners. Ballet characters, “moments” and fundamental techniques referenced, fleetingly.</p><p>The title, “First Position,” alludes to the first thing a student learns in ballet class, Whitener said: feet turned out to form a straight line, heels and knees touching.</p><p>The piece also contains stylistic nods to his predecessors at the Ballet, former artistic directors Tatiana Dokoudovska and Todd Bolender, which informed viewers should notice.</p><p>Nevertheless “First Position” is not just for balletomanes, Whitener said.</p><p>“It’s about evoking the awe and wonder of <em>anyone </em>first coming to ballet. I happened to be 7, but it can also happen to an adult. It’s about discovery.”</p><p><hr class="infobox-hr-separator" /> <div class="infobox"> <strong><span class="infobox-head">‘First Position’ </span></strong><br /> <strong>What: </strong>Kansas City Ballet presents William Whitener world premiere</p><p><strong>When: </strong>Thursday through Feb. 24</p><p><strong>Where: </strong>Lyric Theatre</p><p><strong>Tickets: </strong>$30-$60, or $10 rush tickets for students and seniors an hour before curtain </p><p><strong>Call: </strong>816-931-2232 or kcballet.org</p><p></div>

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