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Thermos Foogo Leak-Proof Stainless Steel 10-Ounce Food Jar, Pink
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Stainless Steel Vegetable Cutters #K8444 "100% Made in Japan!!"
Lungs
Pink Floyd - Pulse
  • Pink Floyd - Pulse
  • At long last Pink Floyd: Pulse has arrived on DVD, and Floyd fans already know it's a major cause to celebrate. The original VHS release was a milestone bestseller, but it seemed to take forever for the DVD to arrive, with numerous delays while Floyd guitarist David Gilmour and long-time Floyd producer James Guthrie labored to restore, re-edit, and remix this legendary concert video in 5.1-channel Dolby Surround Sound. The resulting two-disc set was well worth the wait: While the limitations of the original video source are still evident in the sometimes-hazy image quality (Gilmour would later admit the concert should have been captured on film), Floyd fans will unanimously agree that Pulse has never looked or sounded better, and only the absence of group co-founder Roger Waters prevents this from being the ultimate document of Pink Floyd in performance. (Even without Waters, it's easily one of the group's most impressive stage productions.) Gracefully directed with minimal intrusion by veteran music video and concert director David Mallet, and shot on video during Pink Floyd's two-week stint at London's Earls Court Exhibition Centre in October 1994, this 145-minute performance (from Floyd's Division Bell tour) is a sonic marvel to behold. Under a massive arch festooned with then-state-of-the-art laser, lighting, and projection systems, the 1987 incarnation of Pink Floyd (Gilmour, keyboardist Richard Wright, and drummer Nick Mason) and their stellar supporting band kicks off with "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" (a loving tribute to Floyd co-founder Syd Barrett), followed by four tracks from The Division Bell , two from 1987's A Momentary Lapse of Reason , "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" from 1979's magnum opus The Wall , and leading into intermission with an absolutely stunning performance of "One of These Days," the timeless opening track from 1971's Meddle . The centerpiece of Disc 2 is a near-perfect performance of 1974's Dark Side of the Moon in its entirety--reason enough to make this a must-have DVD for even the most casual Floyd admirers. And while no one will ever re-create the sheer magnificence of Clare Torry's original tour de force vocals on "The Great Gig in the Sky," it's safe to say that backup singers Sam Brown, Claudia Fontaine, and Durga McBroom deliver the next best thing, in addition to seamless contributions throughout the concert. After the closing heartbeat of "Eclipse," the concert ends with encore performances of "Wish You Were Here," "Comfortably Numb," and a no-holds-barred, pyrotechnically explosive rendition of The Wall 's "Run Like Hell," all showcasing Gilmour's guitar mastery with frequent close-ups of his picking and fret-work as seen throughout the concert. (Like Gilmour, Mason and Wright were never dynamic onstage, and that's true here as well, but their technical precision is fully evident, and while guitarist Tim Renwick and saxophonist Dick Parry are each given moments to shine, bassist Guy Pratt is a worthy substitution for Waters, especially when vocally sparring with Gilmour on "Run Like Hell.") With beautiful packaging, an 8-page booklet, and menu designs by long-time Floyd associate Storm Thorgerson, the DVDs offer an abundance of bonus features including "Bootlegging the Bootleggers," featuring surprisingly good-quality "boot" video performances of "What Do You Want From Me?," "On the Turning Away," "Poles Apart," and "Marooned." The surreal round-ratio screen films seen throughout the concert can all be viewed independently (still in round format, and several offered in both original and alternate versions). Music videos for "Learning to Fly" and "Take It Back" are included on Disc 1, along with "Tour Stuff" including maps, itineraries, and stage plans for the 1994 tour. "Say Goodbye to Life as We Know It" is a playful backstage video (mostly involving the production staff's ongoing quest for a good pint of beer), and after delivering a heartfelt introduction to Pink Floyd's 1996 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (with Roger Waters and Syd Barrett acknowledged by Gilmour), Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan joins Gilmour and Wright for a moving acoustic performance of "Wish You Were Here" (directed at Waters, perhaps?). Additional features include album cover art, a photo gallery, and the concert-only audio choice between a 448kbps audio bitstream or a higher-quality 640kbps stream for higher-quality DVD players. The system set-up feature ensures that audiophiles will achieve optimum speaker performance in keeping with Pink Floyd's exacting technical standards. In tandem with the superior concert presentation, these features make Pulse one of the best--if not the best--music DVDs of 2006, guaranteed to satisfy Floyd fans for many years to come. --Jeff Shannon More from Pink Floyd and David Gilmour Pulse (CD) Is There Anybody Out There?/The Wall Live Pink Floyd 1980-81 Pink Floyd--The Wall 25th Anniversary (DVD) The Division Bell , Pink Floyd Delicate Sound of Thunder , Pink Floyd A Momentary Lapse of Reason , Pink Floyd Live 8 on DVD--Featuring Pink Floyd Pink Floyd--Live at Pompeii (Director's Cut) (DVD), Pink Floyd On an Island , David Gilmour
  • Price : $16.68
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Elmo's World - Babies, Dogs & More
Flowers of War [Blu-ray]
  • Flowers of War [Blu-ray]
  • Fans of Chinese-born director Zhang Yimou ( Raise the Red Lantern , House of Flying Daggers ) know how immersive his films are, how exquisitely, passionately of a place they are. His The Flowers of War is no exception, a deeply moving study of how ordinary people behave in extraordinary--and inhuman--circumstances. The Flowers of War is set during the Rape of Nanking, the epic 1937 battle of the Japanese invasion of China. The sense of place is immediate and raw, though most of the dialogue is in English. That bit of disbelief is easily suspended, however, as the depth of the performances carries the story easily. Christian Bale is an unlikely hero, an American mortician who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or is it the right time? As the battle intensifies, Bale's John Miller takes refuge inside a battered church, where a small group of terrified schoolgirls has been ushered by Chinese soldiers before reengaging in battle. ( The Flowers of War is narrated by one of these young girls.) Suddenly a group of Nanking's infamous, glamorous prostitutes arrives at the church, also seeking sanctuary. Miller is torn, wanting only to leave, and knowing his white skin likely will grant him free passage out of the battle zone, but deciding to stay to help the young women. As a war film, The Flowers of War is not especially graphic, and yet it's gruesome and intense and drenched in sorrow. Death and cruelty and rape and torture are inflicted, as they always seem to be in wartime. And yet it's the tentative human connections made among Miller and the young women that prove to be a strong force--perhaps even capable of facing down a battalion. Bale is riveting in the role of Miller, a conflicted and imperfect hero. The lovely Chinese actress Ni Ni is also excellent, and heartbreaking, as Yu Mo, the steely prostitute who sees the world as it is, while wishing it might yet become what she hopes. The Flowers of War is an emotional, moving experience, and a must-see for any fans of war or historical dramas. -- A.T. Hurley
  • Price : $21.99
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Curse of the Golden Flower [Blu-ray]
  • Curse of the Golden Flower [Blu-ray]
  • Curse of the Golden Flower , a fictionalized historical glimpse into the brutally complicated politics of Emperor Ping's (Chow Yun Fat) reign during the Tang Dynasty, shows the viewer just how far a megalomaniac must go to gain and retain power in medieval China. Lavish sets, massive ceremonial displays, and perversely fascinating battle scenes impress similarly to the special effects Americans have come to love and expect from Chinese action films like Zhang Yimou's previous House of Flying Daggers and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon . An intricate plot involving the Emperor's wife, Empress Phoenix (Gong Li) and their three sons, Crown Prince Xiang, Prince Jie, and Prince Cheng, most closely follows the Empress's secret plan to force abdication upon her corrupt husband as revenge for his slowly poisoning her with Black Fungus tea. Opening on the eve of the Chysanthemum Festival, 928 A.D., the Empress obsessively embroiders gold chysanthemums to adorn her army's uniforms while hatching plans with Jai to overthrow the Crown Prince for control of the throne. Meanwhile, a side plot develops as the Emperor's ex-wife and mother to Crown Prince Yu reemerges as Yu's lover. By the time the Festival occurs, family members are pitted against each other in a King Lear -ian web of lies that can only result in demise. The most sophisticated narrative aspect of Curse of the Golden Flower is that as the royal family crumbles, the Emperor's death grip on China remains unwavering. Gorgeous scenes set in the palace and costume design displaying China's upper class decadence cannot fail to entertain. The paradox between good and evil, here, is highlighted by how the Emperor successfully rules despite, and because of, his utter cruelty. -- Trinie Dalton
  • Price : $9.36
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Snow Flower and the Secret Fan [Blu-ray]
  • Snow Flower and the Secret Fan [Blu-ray]
  • Joy Luck Club director Wayne Wang contrasts the lives of two women in the present with two women in the past in Snow Flower and the Secret Fan . Sophia (Gianna Jun), who hails from Korea, enjoys spending time with Nina (Bingbing Li) in 1990s Shanghai, though her uptight stepmother considers the latter a bad influence. Through Sophia's liberal aunt (Vivian Wu), the girls find out about Snow Flower and Lily, two laotongs , or "sisters for life," from the 1820s (played by the same actresses). Despite their class differences, the Hunan girls bond as they undergo rituals from foot-binding to arranged marriages, but Lily's mother-in-law interferes with their friendship, much like Sophia's stepmother (their contemporary versions squeeze their feet into designer heels). Typhoid and rebellion proceed to ravage their families, just as the stock market crash causes a similar effect centuries later. As adults, Nina and Sophia drift apart after a misunderstanding (concerning Hugh Jackman's nightclub owner), but an accident brings them back together, reflecting the rift that divided the 19th-century friends. Throughout, Wang shifts back and forth between eras, emphasizing the freedoms Chinese women have gained over the years, which brings The Joy Luck Club to mind, since both movies sprang from novels about female relationships, but Snow Flower isn't as much of a tearjerker. It's absorbing and attractively shot, but frequently too restrained. Wang directs with compassion, but the film could use more heat. In the featurette, he and author Lisa See talk about the origins of the story. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
  • Price : $21.93
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Tangled
  • Tangled
  • Disney's 50th full-length animated feature film, Tangled is a visually appealing, music-filled adventure full of romance and humor. The movie focuses on Rapunzel, a girl with long magical hair who's lived her entire life imprisoned in a tower by her greedy mother. Naturally optimistic and acquiescent, Rapunzel (Mandy Moore) rarely complains about her circumstances, but for her 18th birthday she longs to leave the tower to see the floating lights that appear every year on her birthday. Her mother (Donna Murphy) refuses her request, but when thief Flynn Ryder (Zachary Levi) climbs the tower to escape his pursuers, Rapunzel (once she's conked him on the head with a skillet multiple times) impulsively decides to trust the young man and convinces him to help her escape to see the floating lights. Thus begins a journey that alternates quite schizophrenically between optimistic excitement and guilty remorse that will ultimately change Rapunzel's and Flynn's lives forever. Tangled is a masterful blend of humor, adventure, passion, and drama combined with a great musical score and top-notch animation. The Real 3-D effects add to the experience but probably won't really be missed in other formats. Best of all, Disney presents a princess who matures from a meek and compliant girl into a spunky young woman who's not afraid to pursue her dreams and risk it all for love--now that's a Disney princess worth emulating. (Ages 6 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
  • Price : $15.00
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Downton Abbey: Episode 5
My Fair Lady
Deft Dante 360: Rotating Blue Kindle Fire Case (One-Piece Folio Kindle Fire Cover Multi-angle Vertical and Horizontal Stand With NO VELCRO)
Ctech 360 Degrees Rotating Stand (Pink Flower) Luxury Leather Case for Apple iPad 2 with Smart Cover Wake/Sleep Function (Retail Packaging)
Ctech 360 Degrees Rotating Stand (Blue Embossed Flower) Luxury Leather Case for Apple iPad 2 with Smart Cover Wake/Sleep Function
Intex My Baby Float
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LEGO Friends City Park Cafe 3061
Dramm 9 Pattern Revolver Garden Hose Nozzle
HIBISCUS FLOWER - Hawaiian - Car, Truck, Notebook, Vinyl Decal Sticker #1019 | Vinyl Color: White
Hibiscus Flower PINK Car Decal / Sticker
New Super Mario Bros
Super Mario World
RollerCoaster Tycoon Gold Edition: RollerCoaster Tycoon / Loopy Landscapes / Corkscrew Follies
  • RollerCoaster Tycoon Gold Edition: RollerCoaster Tycoon / Loopy Landscapes / Corkscrew Follies
  • This is a 2 cd-rom set! this item is supplied as 2 cds in sleeves. contains 3 best-selling games create the ultimate amusement park! product information rollercoaster tycoon gold edition allows players to design build and operate their own simulated theme parks with access to a complete set of design and construction tools that make even the wildest roller coaster easy to build and tune. Offers players over 90 scenarios filled with unique challenges and includes a huge variety of rides attractions and themes that will stretch the imagination as players create their own ultimate theme park. Begin building awesome rides right away! choose from a variety of rides shops and theme options. Expand and improve your parks to make profits soar. product titles included rollercoaster tycoon rollercoaster tycoon corkscrew follies rollercoaster tycoon loopy landscapes product features includes all content from original roller coaster tycoon corkscrew follies and loopy landscapes check out over 200 new track designs created by rollercoaster tycoons around the world test your skills with 91 scenarios including favorites like alton towers heide park and pleasure beach stretch your imagination with imaginative park themes including ice world medieval and martian. find out what individual visitors are thinking and meet their needs to make your profits soar. rollercoaster tycoon take a trip to fame and fortune by building the biggest best scariest and most thrilling rides ever seen in any theme park. Can you make money in this volatile business? can you become the ultimate roller coaster tycoon? design and build the biggest best and scariest rides ever seen in any theme park. Create over 50 designs from the traditional wooden rollercoaster to the high-tech steel corkscrew and the terrifying reverse freefall - all featuring accurately simulated motion dynamics. Fund the research and youll get the greatest rides current technology is capable of then charge the top prices to your vis...
  • Price : $20.98
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Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2012 - 3 Users (3 PC, 1 Mac)
  • Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security 2012 - 3 Users (3 PC, 1 Mac)
  • Strong fast and easy-to-use Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security provides the maximum protection for everything you do online. It s your all- in-one security solution.Titanium uses cloud technology to proactively stop viruses spyware and other threats before they reach your puter so it won t slow you down. It s the same technology we use to protect some of the world s biggest businesses. Now it s available to you and includes parental controls data theft prevention secure online storage smartphone security and more.With Trend Micro Titanium Maximum Security your digital life is protected.Key Benefits: Automatically stops threats before they reach your puter. Uses less than half the disk space and memory of peting security products. Monitors and limits kids' online activity and access to inappropriate content. Keeps your information like credit card numbers and passwords private. Protects you from dangerous links posted on sites like Facebook and Twitter. Stores and shares up to 10GB of your precious photos documents and more in the cloud. Extends your Titanium security to your smartphones and tablets including Android devices. Protects your Mac devices.Features: Get essential protection: EXCLUSIVE: Utilizes Trend Micro Smart Protection Network to proactively stop threats before they reach you. IMPROVED: Protect your PC from viruses spyware worms trojans bots and rootlets. NEW: Fake AV Cleaner eliminates malware posing as antivirus software. IMPROVED: Prevent unauthorized changes to your applications. EXCLUSIVE: Includes a copy of Trend Micro Smart Surfing for Mac. EXCLUSIVE: Customize your Titanium with a favorite photo or image. Surf the web safely: IMPROVED: Block downloads and access to malicious websites. Find and block malicious links in emails or IMs. Block email and image spam. IMPROVED: Windows Firewall Booster. Protect your chil
  • Price : $19.49
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High Sierra Loop Backpack
  • High Sierra Loop Backpack
  • Offering a sporty, modern style, the High Sierra Loop is a great choice for student athletes or heading to the gym after work. The large, multi-compartment design offers a zippered CD/MP3 player pocket with headphone port and an interior organizer with zippered mesh pocket, pen pockets, and removable key fob. It also includes a hanging accessory pocket, a monster hook with bottom straps for more gear, and two side mesh water bottle pockets. The yoke-style, S-shaped shoulder straps offer thumb ring adjuster pulls and a cell phone pocket, and they feature ventilated Vapel mesh to keep you cool and a suspension strap to take the strain of heavy cargo off your back. Material: Mini-Hexagon Ripstop, Waffle Weave, 600-denier Duralite Overall measurement: 19.5 by 14.5 by 8.25 inches Capacity: 1949 cubic inches Weight: 2 pounds About High Sierra For over 25 years, High Sierra Sport Company has strived to provide the bags you need at a price you can afford. Specializing in adventure travel, High Sierra's dedication to function, design, and quality shines in each product. From athletes and outdoor enthusiasts, to students, travelers, and professionals, High Sierra's versatile, innovative products are sure to fit your needs. High Sierra Sport Company is the official supplier of bags to the U.S. Ski and Snowboarding teams, and its memberships include the Outdoor Industry Association and Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association (SGMA). Founded in 1979 as H. Bernbaum Import & Export Company by Harry Bernbaum and Hank Bernbaum, High Sierra Sport Company has grown to become one of the largest outdoor companies in the United States. Today, High Sierra Sport Company employs 40 people and distributes and sells to more than 1,500 retailers and 2,250 corporate accounts worldwide.
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40" Tall Premium SKY LANTERNS - Fully Assembled - Flame Retardant - 100% Biodgradable
Contech CRO101 Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler
  • Contech CRO101 Scarecrow Motion Activated Sprinkler
  • The Contech Electronics Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler presents an innovative, humane way to keep pets and wildlife from disturbing your yard and garden without the use of complicated traps or potentially hazardous chemicals. The sprinkler combines a surprise spray of water with unexpected motion and noise to create a safe, effective deterrent to unwanted visitors, helping keep your garden looking its best. .caption { font-family: Verdana, Helvetica neue, Arial, serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; } ul.indent { list-style: inside disc; text-indent: 20px; } table.callout { font-family: Verdana, Helvetica, Arial, serif; margin: 10px; width: 250; } td.callout3-c26 { height: 100 percent; background: url('http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/01/th/content_26/Q1_2009/c26-callout3.png') repeat-y; border-left: 0px solid #999999; border-right: 1px solid #999999; padding: 10px; width: 250px; } ul.callout { list-style: inside disc; text-indent: -12px; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.5em; } h5.callout { text-align: center; } img.withlink {border:1px black solid;} a.nodecoration {text-decoration: none} The Contech Electronics Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler: Uses a startling burst of water to deter animals Teaches pets and wildlife to avoid your yard and garden Is safe, humane, and One Scarecrow can cover up to 1000 sq.ft. View larger. The Scarecrow protects your garden without using any hazardous chemicals. View larger. Safe, Humane Deterrent Helps Protect Your Garden A huge amount of time and energy goes into keeping your yard and garden looking great, so it's only natural that you want to protect them from damage caused by hungry wildlife or local dogs and cats. But there are lots of reasons to avoid chemical deterrents, traps, and hazardous electric fences. Whether you're a dedicated organic vegetable gardener or a parent looking out for the health of children and pets that play in your yard, you'll appreciate the simple, innovative, and effective water-based concept behind the Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler. It's also a great choice for neighborhoods where fences are prohibited and for people who consider wire fences and other visual barriers unappealing. When the ScareCrow detects an animal it instantly releases a short but startling burst of water. The sudden spray of water and the movement and noise of the sprinkler scares animals away. Animals associate this negative experience with the area and avoid your yard in the future. Versatile and Broad-Reaching for Maximum Effectiveness The Scarecrow is versatile enough to keep deer, rabbits, and other foragers from snacking on plants and bulbs, to prevent dogs from digging up newly seeded lawns, to keep the cat from using your garden as a litter box, and to scare predators like herons and raccoons away from your fish pond. The ScareCrow's motion detector is powerful enough to guard an area up to 1000 square feet of coverage with a single sprinkler. For added coverage, Scarecrow sprinklers can be linked in series to guard larger spaces. Efficient Design and Easy to Set Up Setting the Scarecrow up is fast and easy, and doesn't require any special tools. Simply install a standard 9-volt battery, connect the sprinkler to your hose, push the 17-inch stake into ground to secure the unit, and set the adjustable sprinkler arc to cover the area you want protected. What's in the Box Scarecrow Motion-Activated Sprinkler Keep cats from using your garden as a litter box or prevent raccoons and herons from snacking in your fish pond.
  • Price : $48.99
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Black & Decker LE750 Edge Hog 2-1/4 HP Electric Landscape Edger
  • Black & Decker LE750 Edge Hog 2-1/4 HP Electric Landscape Edger
  • You'll get great results with this Black & Decker heavy-duty Edge Hog landscape edger, one of the easiest-to-use pieces of equipment we've come across. You'll be thrilled with how quickly you can get to work, as assembly takes only a few minutes. This is an electric model, so you'll need an extension cord and an electric outlet handy, but you won't have to deal with gas or oil. And it's so quiet you can edge at any time of day--even early Saturday mornings--without worrying about waking up the neighbors. We found the Edge Hog has plenty of power in its 2-1/4-horsepower motor for both edging and trenching, and it's easy to switch from one to the other by simply raising or lowering the edge guide. The edger weighs only 12 pounds, which allows for easy transportation and great maneuverability around curved paths, but makes it more difficult to maintain a straight line when you're tackling a lawn that hasn't been edged in a while. If you're digging out quite a bit of dirt along with the edge you're creating, it takes some effort to keep the unit stable. Undoing a screw toward the front of the edger and raising or lowering its leading wheel easily adjusts the depth of the edge groove you're making along with your edge. The unit can also be adjusted to fit the height of the user more comfortably by changing the angle on the guide handle. The blade requires only a pull of the trigger to start instantly and, unlike many gas models, stops as soon as the trigger is released---an important safety feature.
  • Price : $79.00
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FORMULA ONE All Natural HCG Alternative Diet Drops with African Mango. For use with Dr Simeons Fast Weight Loss Diet, 2fl Oz Bottle. Includes Allowable Foods List, Basic Diet Instructions Guide & Customer Service.
Professional 58mm Digital Tulip Flower Lens Hood For canon 18-55mm , 28-80mm , 28-90mm , 28-105mm , 55-250mm , 70-300mm , 75-300mm , 100-300mm , 50mm 1.4 , 85mm 1.8 with Lens cap Holder and Lens cleaning Kit
Snap-on Case with Apple® iPhone® 4 / 4S , White / Purple Flower
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Waltzing With the Wallflower
After the Tears Melt - Vol. 1 (Book 3 of the new, mesmerizing, Muse Series)
The Language of Flowers: A Novel
  • The Language of Flowers: A Novel
  • A mesmerizing, moving, and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past. The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings. Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness. Amazon Exclusive: Paula McLain Reviews The Language of Flowers Paula McLain is the New York Times best-selling author of The Paris Wife . She grew up in Fresno, California where, after being abandoned by both parents, she spent fourteen years in the foster care system. A graduate of the MFA program at The University of Michigan, she has taught literature and creative writing for many years, and currently lives with her children in Cleveland, Ohio. I feel it's only fair to warn you, dear reader, that Vanessa Diffenbaugh's central character, Victoria Jones, is going to break your heart three ways from Sunday. She's also going to make you want to pick her up, shake her and scream, why can’t you let yourself be happy ? But for Victoria, the answer is as complex as the question is simple. She's spent her childhood ricocheting through countless foster and group homes, and the experience has left her in pieces. Painfully isolated and deeply mistrustful, she cares only about flowers and their meanings. She herself is like a thistle, a wall of hard-earned thorns. When we first encounter Victoria, it's the day of her emancipation from foster care, her eighteenth birthday. "Emancipation" couldn't be a more ironic word for this moment. For Victoria, as for most foster care survivors—-myself included—-freedom really means free fall . She has nowhere to go, no resources, no one who cares about her. She ends up sleeping in a public park, tending a garden of pilfered blossoms, and living on her wits. It's only when a local florist sees Victoria's special way with flowers that she is given a means to survive. But survival is just the beginning. The more critical question is will Victoria let herself love and be loved? The storyline weaves skillfully between the heavy burden of Victoria's childhood—-her time with Elizabeth, the foster mother who taught her the language of flowers and also wounded her more deeply than Victoria can bear to remember—-and the gauntlet of her present relationship with Grant, a flower vendor who's irrevocably linked to the darkest secret of her past. At its core, The Language of Flowers is a meditation on redemption, and on how even the most profoundly damaged might learn to forgive and be forgiven. By opening up Victoria's very difficult inner world to us, Vanessa Diffenbaugh shows us a corner of experience hidden to most, and with an astonishing degree of insight and compassion. So hold on, and keep the tissue box nearby. This is a book you won’t soon forget. --Paula McLain Author Q and A with Vanessa Diffenbaugh Q: What is the language of flowers? A: The Victorian language of flowers began with the publication of Le Language des Fleurs , written by Charlotte de Latour and printed in Paris in 1819. To create the book--which was a list of flowers and their meanings--de Latour gathered references to flower symbolism throughout poetry, ancient mythology and even medicine. The book spawned the science known as floriography, and between 1830 and 1880, hundreds of similar floral dictionaries were printed in Europe and America. In The Language of Flowers , Victoria learns about this language as a young girl from her prospective adoptive mother Elizabeth. Elizabeth tells her that years ago, people communicated through flowers; and if a man gave a young lady a bouquet of flowers, she would race home and try to decode it like a secret message. So he would have to choose his flowers carefully. Q: Where did you come up with the idea to have Victoria express herself through flowers? A: I’ve always loved the language of flowers. I discovered Kate Greenaway’s Language of Flowers in a used bookstore when I was 16, and couldn’t believe it was such a well-kept secret. How could something so beautiful and romantic be virtually unknown? When I started thinking about the book I wanted to write, Victoria and the language of flowers came to me simultaneously. I liked the complication of a young woman who has trouble connecting with others communicating through a forgotten language that almost no one understands. Q: Why does Victoria decide to create her own flower dictionary, and what role does it come to play in the novel? A: In many ways, Victoria exists entirely on the periphery of society. So much is out of the scope of her understanding--how to get a job, how to make a friend, even how to have a conversation. But in the world of flowers, with their predictable growing habits and "non-negotiable" meanings, Victoria feels safe, comfortable, even at home. All this changes when she learns that there is more than one definition for the yellow rose--and then, through research, realizes there is more than one definition for almost every flower. She feels her grasp on the one aspect of life she believed to be solid dissolving away beneath her. In an effort to "re-order" the universe, Victoria begins to photograph and create her own dictionary, determined to never have a flower-inspired miscommunication. She decides to share that information with others--a decision that brings with it the possibility of love, connection, career, and community. I understand Victoria’s impulse completely, and I included a dictionary in the back of the book for the same reason. If readers are inspired to send messages through flowers, I wanted there to be a complete, concise, relevant and consistent list of meanings for modern communication. Q: How does The Language of Flowers challenge and reconfigure our concepts of family and motherhood? A: One of my favorite books is Rainer Maria Rilke’s Letters to a Young Poet. In it, Rilke writes: "It is also good to love: because love is difficult. For one human being to love another human being: that is perhaps the most difficult task that has been entrusted to us, the ultimate task, the final test and proof, the work for which all other work is merely preparation." To love is difficult. To be a mother is difficult. To be a mother, alone, with few financial resources and no emotional support, is so difficult as to be nearly impossible. Yet society expects us to be able to do it, and as mothers, we expect ourselves to be able to do it as well. Our standards for motherhood are so high that many of us harbor intense, secret guilt for every harsh word we speak to our children; every negative thought that enters our minds. The pressure is so powerful that many of us never speak aloud about our challenges--especially emotional ones--because to do so would be to risk being viewed as a failure or, worse, a danger to the very children we love more than anything in the world. With Victoria and Elizabeth, I hope to allow the reader a window inside the minds of mothers who are trying to do what is best for their children but who lack the support, resources, and/or self-confidence to succeed. The results are heartbreaking for so many mothers who find themselves unable to raise their children. It is my belief that we could prevent much child abuse and neglect if we as a society recognized the intense challenge of motherhood and offered more support for mothers who want desperately to love and care for their children. Q: The Language of Flowers sheds light on the foster care system in our country, something with which many of us are not intimately acquainted. Did you always know you wanted to write a story about a foster child? A: I’ve always had a passion for working with young people. As my work began to focus on youth in foster care--and I eventually became a foster parent myself--I became aware of the incredible injustice of the foster care system in our country: children moving from home to home, being separated from siblings, and then being released into the world on their eighteenth birthday with little support or services. Moreover, I realized that this injustice was happening virtually unnoticed. The same sensationalized stories appear in the media over and over again: violent kids, greedy foster parents, the occasional horrific child death or romanticized adoption--but the true story of life inside the system is one that is much more complex and emotional--and it is a story that is rarely told. Foster children and foster parents, like children and adults everywhere, are trying to love and be loved, and to do the best they can with the emotional and physical resources they have. Victoria is a character that people can connect with on an emotional level--at her best and at her worst--which I hope gives readers a deeper understanding of the realities of foster care. Q: Victoria is such a complex and memorable character. She has so much to contribute to the world, but has so much trouble with love and forgiveness, particularly toward herself. Is she based on someone you know or have known in real life? A: People often ask me if I drew inspiration for the character of Victoria from our foster son Tre’von, but Victoria is about as different from Tre’von as two people could ever be. Tre’von’s strength is his openness--he has a quick smile, a big heart, and a social grace that puts everyone around him at ease. At fourteen, running away from home barefoot on a cold January night, he had the wisdom and sense of self-preservation to knock on the door of the nearest fire station. When he was placed in foster care, he immediately began to reach out to his teachers and his principal, creating around himself a protective community of love and support. Victoria is clearly different. She is angry and afraid, yet desperately hopeful; qualities I saw in many of the young people I worked with throughout the years. Though Victoria is entirely fictional, I did draw inspiration in bits and pieces from foster children I have known. One young woman in particular, who my husband and I mentored many years ago, was fiery and focused and distrusting and unpredictable in a manner similar to Victoria. Her history was intense: a number on her birth certificate where a name should have been; more foster homes than she could count. Still, she was resilient, beautiful, smart, and funny. We loved her completely, and she did her best to sabotage it, over and over again. To this day my husband and I regret that we couldn’t find a way to connect with her and become the stable parents she deserved. Q: The notion of second chances plays a major role in The Language of Flowers for many of the characters. Does this in any way relate to your personal advocacy work with emancipating foster youth? A: As my four-year old daughter says to me on a regular basis: "Mommy, you aren’t perfect." We all make mistakes, and we all need second chances. For youth in foster care, these mistakes are often purposeful--if not consciously so; a way to test the strength of a bond and establish trust in a new parent. A friend of mine called recently, after a year of mentoring a sixteen year-old boy, completely distraught. The young man had lied to him, and it was a major lie, one that put him in danger. My friend, in his anger, said things he regretted. My response was this: good. Your response might not have been perfect, but it was real and your concern was clear. As long as he was still committed to the young man (which he was), it didn’t so much matter what my friend had said or done; what mattered was what he did next. It mattered that he showed his mentee, through words and actions, that he still loved him, and that the young man’s mistake couldn’t change that. Q: The Language of Flowers is one of those stories that will stay with its readers for a very long time. What lasting impression do you wish the book to leave them? I believe that people are spurred into action when they both see the injustice of a situation and the possibility for change. With The Language of Flowers I tried to write a book that was honest and true, but hopeful enough to inspire people to act. Each year, nearly 20,000 young people emancipate from the foster care system, many of them with nowhere to go and no one to go to for support. I am launching a non-profit with the goal to connect every emancipating foster child to a community--a book club, a women’s club, a church group--to support them through the transition to adulthood and beyond. It is my hope that readers everywhere will read my book and become inspired to partner with emancipating young people in their own communities. Q: If you were to represent yourself with a bouquet, which flowers would you choose and why? A: Helioptrope (devoted affection), Black-Eyed Susan (justice), Hawthorn (hope), Liatris (I will try again), Lisianthus (appreciation), and Moss (maternal love). These flowers represent how I am--devoted, affectionate, maternal, and grateful--and also how I want to be--hopeful, determined, and constantly working for justice.
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