Kristi Burns | Professional Voice Actor for Commercial & E-Learning

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I reached down to the floor to pick up my dream journal next to my bed, and ouch. A searing pain flashed from side to side across my lower back. Within seconds, my whole back spasmed and became stiff. I couldn't bend over. My mind raced through the long list of things that needed to be done the next day, I didn't have time to see my chiropractor. I shuffled to the bathroom, found my prescription painkiller, and bracing my hands on the nightstand, painfully eased into bed. I lay awake, taking deep breaths to relax my body and give the meds time to kick in. I couldn't stop thinking about my next day's schedule. I knew all I needed was a chiropractic adjustment, but I really didn't have time. I slept fitfully, waking now and then, stiff with pain, agonizing over how I was going to get everything done. I finally fell asleep, wondering if the chiropractor could squeeze me in early. Suddenly, I felt two hands gently grasp my spine and twist, each turning in the opposite direction, twice. The creaking sound in my head was so loud that it woke me up. Was I dreaming? Did that really happen? The image of the two hands was vivid in my mind. I was accustomed to having intense and sometimes prophetic dreams, but the physical feeling was new. I stayed still for several minutes, processing what had happened. Carefully, I moved to a sitting position, stood, and inched my way to the bathroom. No pain, it was entirely gone. The next morning, unsure if I'd dreamt the whole thing, I took time moving my legs, then my arms and body. My God, absolutely no pain, even when I bent over very carefully.

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On June 17, 1940, it was announced that all the clocks of France would be moved forward by one hour. France was now running on German time, and each day began in new and unfamiliar darkness. In his journal, Henri Amouroux wrote that Paris in the summer of 1940 was, "...a dead planet, occupied by an army to which the eye has not yet become habituated." In countless ways, the Germans were already branding the city, making it their own. Enormous swastika flags and banners and streamers were draped from French monuments and government buildings. A German marching band played each day at noon on the Champs-Élysées as detachments of soldiers goose-stepped along behind it. And free concerts were given in the Trillerie by bands representing various motorized divisions. The bouquinistes along the Seine reported that the books in greatest demand were French-German dictionaries and language manuals, as well as guidebooks and maps of the city, presumably to be put to use by the German newcomers. The plushest among the city's restaurants printed German-language menus to cater to the Nazi diplomats and army officers who had become the core of their clientele. The storefront, English-spoken-here signs that had been widespread since the end of World War I were replaced by ones that read, Man spricht Deutsch.

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Exotic Life, Travel Tales of an Adventurous Woman, written by Lisa Alpine. Short stories appeal to me. I must have a limited attention span. ADHD perhaps? Definitely dyslexic. Maxine Baker, my birth mother, was drunk most of the time she gestated me. Steeped in misery. Anyway, I like to write short, punchy, poignant stories. I want to spit these stories out the way I tell them to myself. Each one, a chocolate bourbon bonbon savored before I go to bed. Sassy and sweet, sometimes bittersweet, like 82% dark chocolate.

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This time of year, the evening sneaks up on you. When I'm working from a coffee shop, I never know if I should be ordering an espresso or something stronger. Thus, book bars, bookstore cafes that turn into book-themed bars by night, are a welcome plot twist. 1. At Liz's Book Bar, a black-owned bookstore in Carroll Gardens, you'll find a classic bar counter. But instead of knocking back pints, locals caffeinate on teas such as Dollhouse, peach-flavored, and Chris Van Winkle, a botanical with a calming energy. When the clock strikes six, Liz's magically turns into a wine bar. No laptops allowed. Grab a book. Liz's has a robust politics table, and lets some ideas ferment. 2. Book Club Bar. Tucked away on a quiet stretch of Third Street in the East Village, serves cocktails such as In Cold Bloody Mary and Cider House Mule. A lively calendar of events includes poetry readings, an adult spelling bee, singles night, and yes, book clubs. Scan the QR code above Iris Murdoch's The Sea, The Sea to join the philosophy-focused How to Be book club. 3. The Sleek Bibliotheque in Soho will impress the literary It Girl in your life. Lounge with a juicy read, maybe from the banned book section, on flush sofas. Or sit with your laptop on the yellow leather banquette. In chapter 15 of the wine list, titled Criticism, you'll find 100-point wines. Taste perfection. I pulled Didion and Babitz off the shelf and ordered a glass of red. The bartender offered me a reading light. Sign up to receive The Goings-On newsletter curated by New Yorkers, writers, and editors in your inbox. NewYorker.com forward slash go.

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Turning back to my coach, taking in his expression, my happy bubble goes pop. Gratitude now set aside, his head is practically flashing with shots of insight. My throat constricts, suddenly dry as desert sand as I realize why. Coach John, retired world class athlete, Olympian, and all around driven individual, has just been beaten across the pool by me. A low to mid-level ranked, couldn't get more average if you tried, high school swimmer, and by a significantly large margin. There's no freaking way he's letting this go without a fuss. Whoops, so much for avoiding drama.

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Ryan bent down and murmured, I think he likes you. I ignored him and said to Felipe, so tell me about how you and Ryan met. Well, we met at the Mecca of all boxing gyms in Brooklyn and spent our teenage years trying to knock each other out. Just about every serious fighter winds up there. Then we started hanging out in each other's houses and neighborhoods too. Ryan said, I'll never forget how that place smelled. No AC, if you slipped on all the sweat, you just went down on those concrete floors. Weights held together by duct tape, but it wasn't for show. People were polite and respectful, and no one cared how much you could bench. It was about doing the work, but boy, could those trainers break your back. I looked at him a minute, picturing him in that world. He could feel my eyes on him and turn to me. What? I shook my head. It's just, you've got this whole macho boxing past, but then you have an apartment filled with orchids and a fluffy fat cat. Felipe whooped with laughter. She's seen your green thumb. Ryan smiled. I'm a very peaceful guy. I just had a bit of anger to work out in my adolescence, that's all. Felipe snorted. A bit of anger. Don't let him fool you. This guy's got some serious talent. I have the dents in my head to show for it.

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I'm holding it together in my classes, except I realize I've skipped too much P.E. I'm in danger of flunking, which would mean another semester with Miss Perry. So I give myself a pep talk and grit my teeth through yet another timed run. I am, of course, one of the last to cross the line. Most of the other students are resting on the bleachers, waiting in bored silence for the stragglers. When I get close to the end, the row of horndog wrestlers at the top of the bleachers start grabbing their junk and thrusting their crotches at me behind Miss Perry's back. Tom turns to where I'm looking and catches enough of the performance to get the gist. He comes out of his seat in an instant and lunges halfway at the bleachers before I realize what he's doing. He grabs one guy's shirt with both hands and shakes him. The shocked kid's head bounces like one of those bobblehead figures they hand out at baseball games. Tom, don't, I yell. He stops, his face showing the strain of reigning in his anger. Did you see what those assholes, it doesn't matter. I don't need to prove anything. Douchebags like that never go away. Tom lets the guy go, and he puffs himself up, bumping against Tom's chest. They face off on the bleachers, testosterone crackling off both of them. I hear the sharp blast of a whistle. Mr. Pierce, Miss Perry yells. Miss Perry, those jerks. Tom starts to explain, but I shake my head. I get the feeling he'd like to cast himself as the hero, and he's disappointed that I don't want him to fight my battles for me. Miss Power can take care of herself. I might be imagining it, but Miss Perry gives me a look that might contain just the tiniest bit of respect. Sorry, Miss Perry, it won't happen again, he says. The final bell rings, and Tom descends the bleachers, walking past me without a word.

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Maybe Ashford has a landline so you can get the police, or your department, or something? Bulaski and Thomas are already on it. His voice was more weary than numb like mine, and he rubbed at his face as if that might wake him up. Huh, maybe they did speak, Tiger. I think I'll just lie here. Good idea. He didn't move either. At least we were in agreement. And then a pale voice said, Mommy? I tried to sit up though my head spun and barely got my shoulders off the ground when I saw Em running toward me. I hadn't the brainpower to chastise her for not leaving the building. Just accepted her when she dove down and flopped against me. Her arms wrapped around my neck and she sobbed into my hair. My left hand was still useless, but I raised the right and held her tight to me.

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It's spring, and Old Man Winter has taken himself and his blowhard cold opinions and dusty jacket and left. So long, buddy. Keep it real, pal. With spring comes blossoms and that gentle shake that, hey, everything's gonna be okay. You're still alive. And also, hey, what's that smell? While Old Man Winter didn't quite leave in a total huff before the spring cleaning, there is that surveying of the interior landscape. Toothbrush bags, pieces of pizza, crumbs, and that used book you promised you would finish in December. But there it lays in the corner of the couch, gnarled, looking in at itself. Before you even pick it up, you smell it. What is that? The middle school library? The college dorm room? My grandfather's car? Claire Armistead over at The Guardian recently looked into the science of old books. The smell, the type, the age. She, along with everyone else who has been around a book, found that every book has a distinctive smell, and each smell says something about how and when it was made and where it has been. Some of the various smells off the top of the head. Cocoa, wood, salt and pepper in an old cabinet that has a touch of the sea and yet dryness, and it keeps going. Biscuits, and the smell of rain, chocolate, coffee, old, rust, burnt, smoke, bread, and vanilla, fall leaves. We could keep going down this rolodex of Proustian olfactory descriptors, but that lack of vocabulary is about to change, thanks to a groundbreaking project by researchers at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage, who have devised a way of relating such apparently subjective descriptions directly to the chemical composition of books. To conservators and historians alike, there is a unique difference to age, touch, and smell of, say, the warm, leathery English parchment, versus the cold, sharper scent of Italian parchment. It all matters. Researchers use these Holmesian techniques to track age, decay, to create a book odor wheel. No joke. The book odor wheel is totally a thing. It allows researchers to take a subject and see how they react. From the analytical perspective, and given that coffee and chocolate come from fermented slash roasted natural lignin and cellulose-containing product, they share many VOCs, volatile organic compounds, with decaying paper, who combine the results with those of earlier research projects, such as studies of a 1940s visitor's book at the National Trust's Knoll House in Kent. Their study also took them beyond books themselves, to the places in which many of them are read, libraries. In another experiment, they asked visitors to the Wren Library in St. Paul's Cathedral to describe what the library smelled like to them. Everyone described its smell as woody, while 86% also experienced it as smoky, 71% as earthy, and just under half, 41%, reported the scent of vanilla, all smells associated with particular chemicals in old books. The life of individual books also affects their smell, how far they have traveled, whether they have been kept in damp or dry environments. Some manuscripts have hardly stirred from their original shelves since the day they were completed. Others have zigzagged across the known world in wooden chests or saddlebags, swaying on the backs of horses, or over the oceans in little sailing ships, or as aircraft freight. The researchers believe the historic book Odor Wheel could become a useful diagnostic tool for conservators across a wide range of areas, helping them to assess the condition of objects through their olfactory profile. If a book smells chocolatey, it's likely that it is releasing vanillin, benzaldehyde, and furfural, three chemicals associated with the degradation of the cellulose and linen in paper. But the study also has wider implications, as the heritage industry grapples with a new interest in the historical importance of smell. By documenting the words used to describe a heritage smell, our study opens up a discussion about developing a vocabulary to identify aromas that have cultural meaning and significance. This piece, almost all truth and a little bit of memory, with most of the truth being supplied by Claire Armistead in her piece, Can You Judge a Book by Its Odor, in The Guardian.

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It doesn't really matter where you buy your new Honda Civic, if customer service, selection and best price guarantee are not on your checklist. But if they are, and they should, shop Lehman Honda first.

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Why wait for a sale that may or may not happen when you can take advantage of everyday sale prices at Thomas Automotive. Get the financing you deserve and the car you want now. Four locations, one great deal.

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You can have your groceries delivered, or your office supplies, tennis shoes, even live ladybugs. So how about vehicle maintenance and repair? Dixon Toyota is ready with free pickup and delivery by one of our MAST ASC Certified Superheroes. Just a doorbell away!

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Exceeding expectations of what a luxury SUV is all about, the Cadillac XT4 Crossover. It's not what's new, it's what's next.

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My dad used to say a car was only for transportation. A way to get from here to there. Yeah, wait till he gets a look at my new Kia Soul. Getting there is more fun than actually being there. Kia, the power to surprise, even my dad.

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The all-new, fully redesigned Lexus IS seamlessly bridges the gap between fine art and technology. And starting at $38,310, the Lexus IS has no equal.

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Subject to dealer inventory. Pathfinder stock number T201388. $13.89 per thousand. Finance excludes TT&L. Offer ends 1031.

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It's spring, and Old Man Winter has taken himself and his blowhard cold opinions and dusty jacket and left. So long, buddy. Keep it real, pal. With spring comes blossoms and that gentle shake that, hey, everything's gonna be okay. You're still alive. And also, hey, what's that smell? While Old Man Winter didn't quite leave in a total huff before the spring cleaning, there is that surveying of the interior landscape. Toothbrush bags, pieces of pizza, crumbs, and that used book you promised you would finish in December. But there it lays in the corner of the couch, gnarled, looking in at itself. Before you even pick it up, you smell it. What is that? The middle school library? The college dorm room? My grandfather's car? Claire Armistead over at The Guardian recently looked into the science of old books. The smell, the type, the age. She, along with everyone else who has been around a book, found that every book has a distinctive smell, and each smell says something about how and when it was made and where it has been. Some of the various smells, off the top of the head, cocoa, wood, salt and pepper in an old cabinet that has a touch of the sea and yet dryness, and it keeps going, biscuits, the smell of rain, chocolate, coffee, old, rust, burnt, smoke, bread, vanilla, fall leaves. We could keep going down this rolodex of Proustian olfactory descriptors, but that lack of vocabulary is about to change, thanks to a groundbreaking project by researchers at UCL Institute for Sustainable Heritage, who have devised a way of relating such apparently subjective descriptions directly to the chemical composition of books. To conservators and historians alike, there is a unique difference to age, touch, and smell of, say, the warm, leathery English parchment versus the cold, sharper scent of Italian parchment. It all matters. Researchers use these Holmesian techniques to track age, decay, to create a book odor wheel. No joke, the book odor wheel is totally a thing. It allows researchers to take a subject and see how they react. From the analytical perspective, and given that coffee and chocolate come from fermented slash roasted natural lignin and cellulose-containing product, they share many VOCs, volatile organic compounds, with decaying paper, who combine the results with those of earlier research projects, such as studies of a 1940s visitor's book at the National Trust's Knoll House in Kent. Their study also took them beyond books themselves. To the places in which many of them are read, libraries. In another experiment, they asked visitors to the Wren Library in St. Paul's Cathedral to describe what the library smelled like to them. Everyone described its smell as woody, while 86% also experienced it as smoky, 71% as earthy, and just under half, 41%, reported the scent of vanilla, all smells associated with particular chemicals in old books. The life of individual books also affects their smell. How far they have traveled, whether they have been kept in damp or dry environments. Some manuscripts have hardly stirred from their original shelves since the day they were completed. Others have zigzagged across the known world in wooden chests or saddlebags, swaying on the backs of horses, or over the oceans in little sailing ships, or as aircraft freight. The researchers believe the historic book odor wheel could become a useful diagnostic tool for conservators across a wide range of areas, helping them to assess the condition of objects through their olfactory profile. If a book smells chocolatey, it's likely that it is releasing vanillin, benzaldehyde, and furfural, three chemicals associated with the degradation of the cellulose and linen in paper. But the study also has wider implications, as the heritage industry grapples with a new interest in the historical importance of smell. By documenting the words used to describe a heritage smell, our study opens up a discussion about developing a vocabulary to identify aromas that have cultural meaning and significance. This piece, almost all truth and a little bit of memory, with most of the truth being supplied by Claire Armistead in her piece, Can You Judge a Book by Its Odor, in The Guardian. Can You Judge a Book by Its Odor

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Justin and his older brother Jonathan entered foster care at an early age. When Justin was 10, their lives took a devastating turn. Jonathan was moved to a group home over an hour away.

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Still ahead on Dream Drives, seeing red is always a good thing in the library of this Western Promenade house. Tour a gem on this picturesque Portland Street, a showcase of sophistication and style. Newport, Rhode Island's Bellevue Avenue represents an unforgettable period in America's architectural past.

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Thinking about packing up and moving to Italy? Try it out first by renting a local villa, farmhouse, or even a castle. Vacation rentals will allow you to sample the Italian lifestyle in a more personal way than staying in a hotel. For a rustic setting, try what the locals call agriturismo, or farm holidays. These accommodations are located on farms, at castles, and wineries throughout Italy. You'll dine with host families, help out in the fields during the grape harvest, and immerse yourself in the surroundings.

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Right now, there are over 50 portraits in the Hart Gallery. One for every child waiting for a happy ending to their story.

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It's time please. 15 minutes to go. This is Iron Chef America. Three, two, one, time's up.

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The Wells Fargo Active Cash Visa Card. At last, a credit card that's as simple as it is rewarding, with unlimited 2% cash back.

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As breathtaking a rest as it is in motion introducing the new Lexus LS

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Meet your health and wellness needs with Centrum Multi Gummies, specially crafted for men and women 50 and over. They contain B vitamins for heart and brain health, and calcium and vitamin D to help maintain healthy bones.

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Getting a new pair of sneakers that aren't Skechers Go Walk 6 makes as much sense as trying to bribe your kids with chocolate covered broccoli.

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At the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, finding forever families for every child in foster care is our mission.

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Imperfect Foods, it's almost like having a farmer's market come to my door. It tastes really good and the produce is always fresh.

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Honey, maybe it's time for a quieter blower? Allison just got Ted a RYOBI Whisper Series. Says it's as quiet as a mouse. What's that? It's as quiet as a mouse. Mouse? Where?

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This is Christy Burns reading from the New York Times business section. We have a retirement savings problem Politicians can help by Ron Lieber. It should be easier to save money for retirement We can all agree on that, right? But about half of all Americans who work in the private sector do not have access to an employer-based retirement plan like a 401k

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I'm Christy Burns, reading from the New York Times Science section. Many kids' headphones carry risk of hearing loss, study finds, by Catherine St. Louis. These days, even three-year-olds wear headphones, and as the holidays approach, retailers are well-stocked with brands that claim to be safe for young ears, or to deliver 100 percent safe listening.

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The top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee believes President-elect Donald Trump is risking U.S. credibility around the globe by perpetuating evidence-free claims that millions of people voted illegally and by skipping intelligence briefings. From Politico, I'm Christy Burns for AutoRadio.

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This is Christy Burns reading from the New York Times Lifestyle section, Rye Whiskies, Young and Bucking, by Eric Asimov. Perhaps you had a wonderful gift in mind for your cocktail-loving, whiskey-sipping friend. An excellent bottle of nicely aged rye. Good luck finding it.

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Per PwC Audit Guide 2084, the primary responsibility for the opinion on the financial statements rests with the Assurance Engagement Team.

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It's important to understand the impact you and your co-workers have on the success of your restaurant. For a restaurant to be successful, it must be profitable. See if you can identify which of the following two restaurants is profitable.

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Federal law provides important protections to members of the armed forces and their dependents relating to extensions of consumer credit.

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Extending the arms of the BrowBuddy tool a bit further, lining up with the ends of your eyes, will allow you to mark where your brows should end.

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Welcome to the OSHA Workplace Safety Series. Please click on the play button to begin.

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It's time please. 15 minutes to go. This is Iron Chef America. Three, two, one, time's up.

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And yet, they have tasted great defeat. The Chosen Return to protect the one thing that matters. Redemption! Let the battle begin. New season, The Next Iron Chef Redemption. Premieres Sunday November 4th at 9 on Food Network. You will rise from the ashes.

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Thank you for calling Horizon Credit Union. Your call may be monitored or recorded for quality assurance. Please listen closely as the menu has changed.

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Hi, you have reached Accounts Payable. To speak with someone about an invoice with a purchase order number, please press 1. For all other invoice-related questions, please press 2.

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Please be aware that medical assistants are busy rooming patients throughout the day and may not be able to take your call. If you are calling with an emergent medical question or concern, press 3 to speak to the office nurse.

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You have reached Kootenai Family, Sports, and Concussion Care in Hayden. If this is an emergency, hang up and dial 911.

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Thank you for calling Kimmel Athletic. We appreciate your call and expect that your wait will be brief. In the meantime, here are a few fun facts about our company. Kimmel is a family-owned, local business that's been serving customers since 1969.