Loosely modeled on a medieval-era England ravaged by the Wars of the Roses, Martin's world does not gloss over the starvation, rape and murder that follow in the wake of war. The class stratification and brute injustice of feudal society screams out of
Despite nightly walks in the solid hills above our house, breathing in the summer's jasmine and roses with my new baby strapped to my chest, the air seemed to choke and constrict me. I came down with strep throat three times in as many months.
Birthday turns into memorial for NKorean leader
PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — Two months after the death of Kim Jong Il, North Koreans commemorated what would have been his 70th birthday Thursday with the flowers that bear his name, along with songs and art praising him as a powerful but benevolent father figure.
As the sun rose above frigid Pyongyang, North Koreans began arriving at Kim Il Sung Square, the main plaza in the capital city, to leave red “kimjongilia” begonias and other flowers at a portrait of the longtime leader hanging on the Grand People's Study House.
The veneration of Kim has accelerated in recent weeks, but festivities were expected to be muted in light of his Dec. 17 death of a heart attack, which plunged the nation into mourning and propelled his young son into the seat of power just three years after he was anointed his father's successor. The leadership has emphasized Kim's legacy while praising his son, Kim Jong Un, as the only choice to lead this socialist nation of 24 million.
