Manhattan, KS, Letters to our Missing First Edition is a heartbreaking and ultimately hopeful perspective from the families and loved ones who are left behind, a publication of Media for the Missing. Sometimes those who disappear are victims of human trafficking, but in most cases no one knows what happened.
Letters to our Missing 1st Edition is a collection of poems, letters and photos by families and advocates that will take you to the very heart of this issue. This book is a raw, unedited glimpse into the pain families endure when their loved ones are missing. It also provides mass exposure, with family photos of the missing included. The goal is to inspire more public awareness of those who are missing and increase community involvement. To ensure accuracy and maintain the originality of content, letters and poems within Letters to our Missing are not edited.
Media for the Missing is a nonprofit organization ensuring that missing people of all ages, race, ethnicity, gender, and economic status receive equal and adequate exposure. A new, highly visible continuous information system, to be implemented as funds are raised, is in development, and the simple yet effective publicity of Letters to our Missing in its first and subsequent editions is launched with this release.
“When the public becomes aware of missing people, they become more aware of the problem, get involved and even help identify them,” says Stephanie Coplen, founder of the program. “We serve as a media outlet for missing persons information by providing NamUs a live stream viewing method to display information to the public in real time.
“We are not a replacement for law enforcement or missing persons organizations,” she continues. “We strongly encourage the public to use all the support offered by missing persons organizations.” NamUs is the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System, a national centralized repository and resource center for missing persons at www.NamUs.gov.
For more information or to submit a letter or poem, please visit: www.mediaforthemissing.org
Letters to our Missing 1st Edition CreateSpace Available now at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Letters-our-Missing-publication-families/dp/149910233X $19.95 ISBN: 978-1499102338
Black Mountain, NC, William R. Forstchen, PhD, New York Times bestselling author, professor, and military history expert, sheds a critical light on the ruthless offensive conducted by ISIS as well as its direct threat to bring their campaign of terror to the continental United States in his new release, Day of Wrath.
Turn on any news station or social media outlet and ISIS, an extremist Islamic sect and offshoot of Al-Qaeda, proudly displays its barbaric acts for the entire world to see. The images are not easily forgotten: mass executions of prisoners, beheading of children, cutting of throats and laughing as they bleed to death, and mass crucifixions of Christians.
“The campaign by ISIS, in its seizure of northern Iraq, is one of cold-blooded, systematic genocide. Their leader has promised that their next target is us, the United States; our civilians and our children,” says Dr. Forstchen. “We recovered from the terrible blows of Pearl Harbor and 9/11. But the methods of terror practiced by ISIS could be a shock our nation might never overcome. The storm is coming. It is not a question of ‘if,’ it is a question of ‘when,’ and we must prepare for it now.”
Forstchen, author of more than forty books, presents in fictional form a horrifying but likely scenario of attack. His work is based on an Islamic terror attack against a Russian school in 2004 which left at least three hundred children dead, as well as the methods of terror strikes used by ISIS and other such groups. This is his first work to go directly to ebook self-publication because of his conviction that this story must reach the public immediately and should be used as a platform for debate as to how to respond and prevent this terrorist threat.
William R. Forstchen, PhD, is a noted expert historian and public speaker and has been interviewed on FOX News, C-SPAN, and Coast to Coast on topics ranging from history to technology and cultural issues, to space technology development, to security threats. He is a New York Times bestselling author and holds a doctoral degree from Purdue University with a specialization in military history and technology.
Available on Amazon.com. To order, please visit : http://amzn.to/1HL9Z4s Day of Wrath By William R.Forstchen ISBN-10: 1625781547 ISBN-13: 978-1625781543
Spring, TX, June 5, 2014 – Children disappear from the streets of America every day; in fact, 900,000 a year – that’s one every forty seconds! While some are family abductions and runaways, many are not. Many of these missing children are kidnapped, murdered, or end up in the hellish world of human trafficking and can’t understand why no one has come looking for them. We cannot ever give up looking for them – they depend on all of us to bring them home.
Alexandria (Ali) Lowitzer is one of those missing children. On Sunday, June 8th, at 9 pm EST, Ali will be featured in the second episode of Investigation Discovery’s new series, ‘Last Seen Alive.’ The series follows the emotional journey of 12 families who chase down every lead, never giving up on the search for their lost loved ones.
New York/Pennsylvania, – Meet the dynamic duo! Politics might make for strange bedfellows, but the literary world is also capable of pairing some unusual bunkmates to produce powerful results. Noted author, and rabbinical leader Dr. Abraham Twerski, an Orthodox Jew; and, Tom Gagliano, whose roots are Italian Catholic and who is a high profile leader and successful entrepreneur in the field of addiction and self-help therapy, have joined forces to create this book, “The Problem was Me”(Gentle Path Press –July 2011). Tom Gagliano and Abraham Twerksi inspire readers to silence their inner voice of self-doubt and fear and begin living proactive, satisfying lives.
Tom Gagliano has developed unique methods and procedures that have been embraced by doctors, institutions and patients to help individuals deal with their childhood wounds. Besides his valuable psychological insight from his life experiences, Tom holds a Master’s degree in social work from Rutgers University.
Besides helping those with destructive behaviors, this book will also bring an understanding to many of us with loved ones who act in ways where they sabotage their own happiness when it comes their way. Also this book will provide some with a blueprint, a blueprint to give our children the healthy messages that may have been denied to many of us.
To learn more about Tom Gagliano’s book, visit: http://thomasgagliano.com or to find out more about the book and/or to book an interview with the author or discuss a review, please contact me at: [email protected]
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TIP SHEET:
Publishers Weekly Review: “Gagliano …presents a method of stopping the negative thoughts and self-destructive behaviors that might appeal to sufferers of substance abuse and poor impulse control…Gagliano calls his negative voice ‘the warden’ and shares how it impacted his adult life. He presents the idea, backed by a quote from Twerski, that these voices stem from negative messages received during childhood…and illustrates his theories with traumatic childhood anecdotes, some from people identified as his clients. The section on how to conduct a written inventory gives readers a tangible tool to move toward recovery. The book provides a hopeful message on how parents can help their children avoid these pitfalls and how readers can include forgiveness and a spiritual power in their lives.”
Counselor Magazine: “…This book is certainly very suitable for those who are battling addictions since, as the author points out, ‘some addicts who have been sober for a long time may continue to lead tormented, angry lives.’ …However, it should not be written off as a book simply for those who are suffering addiction as it has a much broader application …and could be helpful to anyone who wants to break the cycle of self-defeating thoughts and self-destructive behaviors.”
St. Charles, MO, – Over the last two decades a new artificial intelligence paradigm has enabled vast brain-like neural assemblies to build themselves. In turn, these synthetic minds have generated both ideas and strategies that have exceeded both their direct experience and the talents of those who have enlisted their help. Detailed analysis of how these synthetic brains originate such brilliant concepts and strategies reveals what may be the grandest notion of all: how ideas themselves are formed within the biological neural networks of the brain. Widespread use of this ultimate idea could have an astounding effect upon the world.
While hordes of futurists are predicting such a form of contemplative artificial intelligence, one man already has it. It is The Creativity Machine® Paradigm by Stephen L. Thaler, Ph.D., and it brings new hope through the most advanced form of artificial intelligence in the world.
The benefits are staggering. Economically alone, there are myriad new industries this technology can either originate or accelerate, creating endless new projects for “techies,” while indirectly spawning non-technical careers in support of each commercial effort. At the macro-economic level, machine intelligence based upon this paradigm could generate a model of national or even global financial contentedness and subsequently optimize the planet’s overall fiscal and sociological health.
This momentous accomplishment has such an immense impact on all aspects of our lives that it deserves headline status; making it difficult to understand why there are forces at work in government, academia and industry, attempting to hijack this technology – slowing its deployment in a world starving for its capabilities. There are always those willing to take credit for what someone else has already succeeded in doing, namely the creation of free-thinking, contemplative, creative, and even conscious artificial intelligence.
In terms of answering the really big questions that have perplexed humanity for millennia, the Creativity Machine Paradigm excels. Simulate its death and it spells out our inevitable fate in no uncertain terms. Drive it to protect itself and it develops all the attributes we commonly attach to human consciousness. Carefully study how this neural architecture attains such self-awareness and we suddenly understand how a cosmic consciousness can arise from inanimate matter, space, and energy. Most importantly, in the wake of these amazing revelations we see an enormous opportunity for the preservation of human consciousness beyond death through our union with this highly advanced form of sentient machine intelligence.
Dr. Thaler is President and CEO of Imagination Engines, Inc., a company founded upon key scientific and engineering breakthroughs in the area of artificial neural networks, and In Its Image, a non-profit corporation that is dedicated to extending lives and philosophical exploration of The Creativity Machine® Paradigm. Dr. Thaler graduated Westminster College and obtained a Ph.D. in Physics at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
Thaler is in the process of writing a book on The Creativity Machine® Paradigm, at the heart of which will be his invited talk at the World Future Society meeting in Boston, along with his article “Thalamocortical Algorithms in Space! The Building of Conscious Machines and the Lessons Thereof.” He is also inviting technically-oriented business thinkers to join him in the bootstrapping of new prosperity-generating industries based upon this bleeding-edge AI paradigm. To this end he is currently completing work on an informative and thought provoking web site at http://imagination-engines.com and its philosophically-driven sister site http://initsimage.org. He will also be holding a series of open houses at his St. Charles Missouri Headquarters. Watch the imagination-engines.com web site for details.
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TIP SHEET:
Dennis Bushnell, Chief Scientist & Visionary, NASA Langley: “AI’s best bet” at creating human to trans-human level machine intelligence.”
Mark Reiners: “Very simply, having now been familiar with Steve’s CM/STANNO AI technology for about seven years, I would judge it to be arguably the most important and powerful AI technology extant. We at MetaTrieval Software already have plans for leveraging some of its amazingly wide range of capabilities for important future enhancements of our own core product.”
Karl Simpson: “Imagination-Engines Inc., based in St. Louis, USA, is the future of artificial intelligence and neural networks. Stephen Thaler’s genius and insight may define the future of computation and networking. Sentient computers could be a result of this initiative.”
New York, NY, – “Knowing what you’re dying to do tells you what you are living for.” – Steve Mazan
Background for dying to do Letterman: turning someday into today (HCI Books– $14.95). A very special book which grew out of his award-winning documentary film by the same name, here is everything you need to know about Steve, the book, and the film:
Steve Mazan was a funny kid with a big dream. From the time he was 12 years old, he wanted to become a comedian for one reason, and one reason only: to perform stand-up comedy on David Letterman’s show. Like all eager comics, he hustled for work in small clubs across the country, taking any gig he could earn. The pay was crummy, the progress miniscule, and some of the jobs ridiculous (like performing comedy at a minor league baseball game without a working microphone!) But Steve continued hoping that “someday” his dream might come true.
Then he received news that would change his life forever. Steve was diagnosed with incurable liver cancer, and learned he might only have five years to live. That was in 2005. Fighting through the fear and refusing to let depression swallow him whole, Steve chose to make the most out of his remaining time…he would dedicate what was left of his life to living his dream: performing on The Late Show for his idol, David Letterman.
This life-affirming, funny documentary chronicles Steve’s moving five year journey. Verite footage mixed with intimate diary cam and home movies shot by Steve gives dying to do Letterman a raw, incredibly real edge as it looks at cancer and comedy in a brand new light.
Beginning with Steve’s decision to “live his dream or die trying,” friends and family members pull together to launch a grass-roots campaign called “Dying to do Letterman.” They hope to grab Dave’s attention. Steve entertains audiences everywhere and enlists their help in reaching out to Letterman. Thousands of Steve’s comedy fans email The Late Show with the request, “book Mazan!” It looks like everything is going great…until Steve gets an email himself.
Letterman’s executive producer informs Steve that the show ‘gets these requests’ all the time, and while they’re sorry he’s sick, it would be ‘impossible’ to make this dream happen. He’s at a devastating crossroads. But, ever the fighter, he decides he’ll just have to ‘live longer’ and get on the show the old fashioned way: being funny in as many clubs as possible. Keeping audiences laughing in clubs everywhere, Steve works hard to become the best comedian he can, all the while using humor to help him deal with his disease. He even creates his own top ten list: The Top Ten Benefits of Catching Cancer.
Over the next four years, Steve battles his health, self-doubt, and bankruptcy as he chases his “impossible” dream.
Through it all, Steve’s new age wife, Denise, struggles to support the quest as best she can, all the while subjecting him to a slew of alternative healing treatments in the hopes he’ll live just a little longer. More than simply ensuring he survives to appear on Letterman, she aims to keep Steve healthy enough to father children—a life experience he’s just not ready to undertake.
Along the way, Steve obtains hysterically honest advice from comics who have appeared on Letterman like Kevin Nealon, Ray Romano, Brian Regan, and many others. In a surprising, action-packed sequence, Steve takes his new comedy material to Iraq where, while performing for the troops, the base is bombed and he has a close call with death. Steve exclaims, “Being so close to that explosion showed me…it’s not just cancer that can kill you!” Steve even manages to forge a shaky relationship with the comedy booker at Letterman’s show, but as the years roll by he begins to wonder if he’s wasted his precious time on a silly childhood fantasy.
Just when all seems lost, Steve gets a big call: The Late Show may be interested in booking him. But when a horrible misunderstanding strikes, has Steve blown his one and only shot at his dream? As the film comes to a close, Steve finds himself alone in a hotel room in New York City, waiting for a phone call from the show: will his dream finally come true?
Hilarious and heart-breaking, Steve risks everything to prove dreams matter.
dying to do Letterman is a roller-coaster ride of laugher, tears, and reversals of fortune that boldly says, “If you stop chasing your dreams, you’re already dead.” And, now, it’s a book!
Steve Mazan. Man? Myth? Legend? Some people say he’s none of these. Steve is, however, one of the hottest comedians and speakers in the country and a veteran of the US Navy. Critics have described his act as ‘brilliant,’ ‘goofy,’ and ‘exceptionally clever.’ That reputation has landed him on the most coveted stages and numerous television shows, including The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson. Steve’s journey to try and get on the Letterman show has been made into an award-winning documentary that’s been called ‘inspiring’ and ‘side-splittingly funny.’ A former writer for Ellen Degeneres, Steve has also appeared on Last Comic Standing, Byron Allen, and The Bob & Tom Show. He lives in Los Angeles with his wife, Denise, and his dogs, Wrigley and Kuma, and currently travels the country to film festivals where his documentary is racking up critic awards and audience acclaim. For more information on the movie Dying to Do Letterman, and about Steve and his latest book, visit www.stevemazan.com and www.dyingtodoletterman.com.
Available online or at bookstores or to order directly from the publisher, contact: www.hcibooks.com or (800) 441-5569. dying to do Letterman: turning someday into today Steve Mazan ISBN: 978-0-7573-1627-2 $14.95 – October/November 2011
West Palm Beach, FL, – As a teenager, NY Times best-selling author Steve Alten read JAWS – little did he know then how it would change his life forever. While devouring everything he could find on great white sharks and the true accounts of their attacks on man, he discovered their prehistoric cousin – the Megalodon – a 70 foot, 50 ton version of the great white shark. Even though Megs were easily the most formidable creatures ever to have existed, Alten was surprised to find very little written about these real-life monsters.
That would change in the summer of 1995 when Steve Alten happened to pick up a copy of Time magazine and on the front cover was the Mariana Trench. The article revealed the mysteries of the abyss and hydrothermal vents and the wondrous life forms that existed in this unexplored realm. It was at this moment that an idea was born and Steve found himself asking ‘Now what was the name of that huge prehistoric shark I read about as a teen?’
MEG: Origins (Gere/Donovan) by Steve Alten is like the last piece of the jigsaw puzzle. The prequel to MEG, his first bestselling novel, it will give readers answers to what really happened to Jonas Taylor, the sole survivor of a mission seven years earlier who is haunted by what he knows he saw but can’t prove exists. Sold in all e-book formats, MEG: Origins proves to be another nail-biting, terrifying journey into the Mariana Trench to a time when sea monsters ruled the oceans.
The story takes place on the last of a series of top-secret naval dives into the Mariana Trench, a 7-mile deep, 1500 mile long gorge located at the bottom of the Western Pacific. Jonas Taylor is the Navy’s golden boy – a deep sea submersible pilot exuding no fear. But after three consecutive dives, Jonas is burned out, his mind in a fog. Little does he know that what awaits him in the abyss is the most frightening creature ever to have existed.
Steve Alten is a prolific writer whose compelling story-telling and rich detail makes for pulse-pounding adventure novels that take readers on underwater journeys they will never forget! The original MEG was optioned to publishers in twenty-five countries; its sequels have sold three million copies worldwide, and it has been optioned as a major motion picture to be released in the summer of 2013. A major announcement regarding a director for this $150 million feature is forthcoming.
Steve’s novels are used by thousands of middle and high school teachers as part of their curriculum to encourage teens to read and, in fact, MEG was rated #1 Book for Reluctant Readers. This resulted in Steve launching his nationwide, non-profit program Adopt-An-Author that has over 10,000 teachers registered to date and has an unprecedented success rate in getting teens to read. See: www.AdoptAnAuthor.com.
As a special bonus to readers, this international best-selling author commissioned renowned “MEG artist” Erik Hollander to create nine original color images to introduce each chapter. Combining a white-knuckle story with dazzling images has set the bar for an e-book, with readers raving about the high-tech entertainment experience. Finally, as a way of honoring his loyal readers, Steve Alten is practically giving MEG: Origins away, pricing the e-book for only .99 cents! For more information, visit www.SteveAlten.com. And for anyone who has not yet read any of the MEG books, MEG: Origins will surely whet their appetite for things to come. Pleasant dreams…for now.
