Time Reading Program

The Time Reading Program, often abbreviated to TRP, was a book club by Time Magazine from 1961 through 1966. Although Time as a publisher is best known for its magazines and nonfiction series books published under Time-Life, the TRP books followed no specific theme but covered literature both classic and contemporary, as well as nonfiction works and historic topics. The books themselves were chosen by National Book Award judge Max Gissen, perhaps best remembered as Time Magazine's chief book reviewer from 1947 until the TRP began in 1961.
The books themselves were published by Time Inc. and followed a specific format despite their widely varying subject matter. Though considered trade paperbacks, the covers are constructed of a very stiff cardboard material for durability. The books are eight inches tall, or just less than an inch taller than a standard 18-cm mass-market or "rack" paperback. Each book had a wraparound cover with a continuous piece of artwork across both covers and the spine, generally a painting by a contemporary artist commissioned specifically for the TRP edition. The TRP covers attracted a measure of acclaim at the time--according to Time, in 1964 19 TRP covers were cited for awards from The American Institute of Graphic Arts, Commercial Art Magazine, and the Society of Illustrators guild.
Perhaps most importantly for scholars and collectors, most of the TRP books had unique introductions written by various scholars specifically for the TRP edition. In a few cases, the texts have also been revised by the authors to create a definitive edition, although this should not be confused with abridgement, as the goal is not to make the book shorter.
Subscribers to the TRP typically received four books a month, though some books arrived as multi-volume sets. Also included was a small newsletter describing the books and why they were chosen.
Time once again attempted the reading program in the early 80s, with many of the same titles. Today, as with most book club editions, TRP books are generally not of particular value to collectors, with most titles being worth less than five dollars even in excellent condition

Avalanche

An avalanche is a slide of a large snow (or rock) down a mountainside, caused when a buildup of snow is released down a slope, and is one of the major dangers faced in the mountains in winter. An avalanche is an example of a gravity current consisting of granular material.

In an avalanche, lots of material or mixtures of different types of material fall or slide rapidly under the force of gravity. Avalanches are often classified by what they are made of, for example snow, ice, rock or soil avalanches. A mixture of these would be called a debris avalanche.

A large avalanche can run for many miles, and can create massive destruction of the lower forest and anything else in its path. For example, in Montroc, France, in 1999 300,000 cubic metres of snow slid on a 30 degree slope, achieving a speed of 100 km/h. It killed 12 people in their chalets under 100,000 tons of snow, 5 meters deep. The Mayor of Chamonix was convicted of second-degree murder for not evacuating the area, but received a suspended sentence.

During World War I, over 60,000 soldiers died as a result of avalanches during the mountain campaign in the Alps, many of which were caused by artillery fire. However, it is very doubtful avalanches were used as deliberate weapons; more likely they were simply a side benefit to shelling enemy troops, occasionally adding to the toll taken by the artillery. Avalanche prediction is difficult even with detailed weather reports and core samples from the snowpack. It would be almost impossible to predict avalanche conditions many miles behind enemy lines, making it impossible to intentionally target a slope at risk for avalanches. Also, high priority targets received continual shelling and would be unable to build up enough unstable snow to form devastating avalanches, effectively imitating the avalanche prevention programs at ski resorts.

Victor Herbert

Victor Herbert received his early musical training in Europe at the Stuttgart Conservatory, where he developed into an outstanding cello player. He and his wife immigrated to the United States in 1886 to join the Metropolitan Opera—she as a soprano to sing the title role in the American premier of Verdi’s Aida and he as principal cellist.
In 1892, Victor Herbert exhibited another side of his musical life when he became conductor of the 22nd Regimental Band of the New York National Guard, succeeding the great Patrick Gilmore; the following year he took over leadership of Gilmore’s civilian band following Gilmore’s death. Then in another change of pace, Herbert conducted the Pittsburgh Symphony from 1898 until 1902. Six years later, he founded the Victor Herbert Orchestra, and conducted programs of light orchestral music on tours and at summer resorts for many years.
In 1915, Herbert became the first man to compose a film score—for The Fall of a Nation, a forgotten sequel to The Birth of a Nation.
In the early years of the twentieth century, Herbert championed the right of composers to profit from their work and worked closely with John Philip Sousa and others in founding the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP), the organization that even today protects the rights of creative musicians.
In 1894, Victor Herbert composed the first of his operettas, Prince Ananias, and it was soon followed by The Serenade and The Fortune Teller. Starting in 1903, Babes in Toyland, Mlle Modiste, The Red Mill, Naughty Marietta, and many other successes made him one of the best-known figures in American music. He finally realized his long-standing intention to compose an Irish operetta, Eileen, produced in 1917.

Maria Schell

Maria Schell (born Margarete Schell on January 15, 1926) is an actress born in Vienna, Austria to a Swiss author and an Austrian actress. She is the older sister of actor Maximilian Schell.
Schell starred in such films as Gervaise (1956), Le Notti Bianche (1957), The Hanging Tree (1959), and Superman: The Movie (1978). She also had three guest appearances in the television series, Der Kommissar.
Schell was married twice, first to Horst Hächler and later to Veit Relin. Her daughter by her second marriage, actress Marie Theres Kroetz-Relin (born 1966), who is married to Bavarian playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz, has recently made a media and Internet appearance as a spokeswoman for housewives (If Pigs Could Fly. Die Hausfrauenrevolution, 2004).
Burdened with old age and illness, Maria Schell lives as a recluse somewhere in the Alps.