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“POLDARK” Series One (2015): Episodes One to Four

In the years between 2010 and 2015, I have not been able to stumble across a new British period drama that really impressed me. Five years. That is a hell of a long time for a nation with a sterling reputation for period dramas in both movies and television. Fortunately, the five-year dry spell finally came to an end (at least for me) with the arrival of “POLDARK”, the BBC’s new adaptation of Winston Graham’s literary series.

I am certain that some people would point out that during this five-year period, the ITV network aired Julian Fellowes’ family drama, “DOWNTON ABBEY”. I must admit that I enjoyed the series’ first season. But Seasons Two to Six merely sunk to a level of mediocrity and questionable writing. I had never warmed to “RIPPER STREET” or “THE HOUR”. And I have yet to see either “PEAKY BLINDERS” or “INDIAN SUMMERS”.

A few years ago, I had tried a stab at the first episode of the 1975-1977 series, “POLDARK”, which starred Robin Ellis. After viewing ten minutes of theatrical acting and dated photography in Episode One on You Tube, I gave up. Last summer, I read all of the hullaballoo surrounding this new adaptation with Aidan Turner in the lead. Utilizing Netflix, I tried my luck again with the 1975 series and ended up enjoying the first four episodes (I have yet to watch any further episodes) and quite enjoyed it. Then I tried the first two episodes of the 2015 series and found it equally enjoyable. I enjoyed both versions so much that I took the trouble to purchase both the entire 1975-77 series and the first series of the new version. In fact, I have decided to watch both versions simultaneously. But I am here to discuss the first four episodes of the 2015 series.

Series One of “POLDARK” . . . well the 2015 version . . . is based upon Winston Graham’s first two novels in the saga – 1945’s “Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall, 1783-1787” and 1946’s “Demelza: A Novel of Cornwall, 1788-1790”. Episodes One to Four seemed to be an adaptation of the 1945 novel. The series begins with a young Ross Poldark serving with the British Army in 1781 Virginia, during the American Revolution. During an attack by American troops, Ross is struck unconscious in the head by a rifle butt. The episode jumps two years later with Ross returning home to Cornwall by traveling coach. He learns from a fellow coach passenger and later, his Uncle Charles Poldark at the latter’s Trenwith estate that his father had died broke. More bad news follow with Ross’ discovery that his lady love, Elizabeth Chynoweth, became engaged to Charles’ son, his cousin Francis, after receiving news of his “death”. The only possessions Ross has left is his father’s estate, the smaller estate Nampara, which is now in ruins, two copper mines that had been closed for some time and two servants – the drunken Jud and Prudie Paynter – to help him work the estate. Even worse, a family named Warleggan, who had risen from being blacksmiths to bankers, were gaining financial control over the neighborhood. Not long after his decision to remain in Cornwall, Ross rescues a miner’s daughter named Demelza Carne from a mob trying to use her dog Garrick as part of a vicious dogfight. Taking pity on her, he decides to hire her as his new kitchen maid.

There have been a few complaints that this first season for the new “POLDARK” series had moved a bit too fast, in compared to the first one in 1975. After all, the latter spanned sixteen episodes in compare to the eight ones for this new first season. However, what many failed to consider is that the first series from 1975 had adapted four novels ranging from “Ross Poldark: A Novel of Cornwall, 1783-1787” to Graham’s fourth novel, 1953’s “Warleggan”. Granted, the Demelza Carne character was first introduced in this version’s first episode, whereas she was introduced in the second episode of the 1975 series. This did not bother me at all . . . in compare to some other viewers.

There were other changes that did not bother me. Many have commented on the warmer nature of Elizabeth Chynoweth Poldark, Ross’ former love and cousin-in-law. Frankly, I am glad that showrunner Debbie Horsfield had decided to go this route with Elizabeth. Unlike many, I have never considered Elizabeth’s character to be cold. Considering that Elizabeth was never a cold parent, I found it difficult to conceive her as a cold woman. I have always suspected that she was simply a very internalized character who kept her emotions close to her chest. Although actress Heida Reed portrayed Elizabeth as a reserved personality, the screenplay allowed more of her emotions to be revealed to the audience in compare to Winston Graham’s first four novels. Elizabeth’s erroneous decision to marry Francis and her personality flaws – namely her penchant for clinging to society’s rules – remained intact. But she was not portrayed as some walking icicle in a skirt, even though a good number of fans had a problem with this. I did not. I never saw the need to demand for this icy portrayal of Elizabeth in order to justify Ross’ love for Demelza. Apparently, neither did Horsfield. Some viewers have complained about Elizabeth’s husband, Francis Poldark, as well. He seemed too weak and hostile in compare to Graham’s portrayal of Francis in his novels. First of all, Francis never really struck me as a strong character to begin with. And thanks to the screenplay and Kyle Soller’s performance, Francis began the series as a rather nice young man who seemed genuinely relieved that Elizabeth had decided to continue with their wedding plans, despite Ross’ return from America. But it was easy to see how his character began its downward spiral, starting with the villainous George Warleggan’s poisonous insinuations that Ross and Elizabeth still had feelings for one another. And when you combine that with Charles Poldark’s equally negative comments regarding his nature, it was not difficult to see how Francis allowed his insecurities to eventually get the best of him.

Horsfield certainly stayed true to the story arc regarding the romance between Francis’ sister Verity Poldark and a hot-tempered sea captain named Captain Blamey. I must be honest . . . I have slightly mixed feelings about the whole matter. A part of me recognized Verity’s loneliness and the fact that her family seemed willing to use her spinster state as an excuse to nearly regulate her to the status of a housekeeper. My problem with this story arc is Captain Blamey. Why oh why did Graham made a character who had killed his wife in a fit of alcoholic rage during a domestic quarrel? When I first learned about his background, I could easily see why Charles and Francis Poldark were so against the idea of Verity becoming romantically involved in this guy. Yes, I realize that people need a second chance in life. Yes, I realized that Blamey was honest about his alcoholism and the details surrounding his wife’s death. But he became the first sympathetically portrayed male character who ends up committing an act of violence against a woman. The first of . . . how many? Two? Three? Frankly, I find this rather disturbing coming from a politically liberal writer like Graham, let alone any other writer.

But if there is one aspect of Graham’s saga that I wish Horsfield had not so faithfully adapted, it was the series of circumstances that led to Ross’ wedding to his kitchen maid, Demelza. By the beginning of Episode Three, audiences became aware of Demelza’s unrequited love for Ross. Audiences also became aware of Ross’ growing dependence of her presence in his household. I find this understandable, considering that both Jud and Prudie proved to be questionable servants. However, two things happened. First of all, one of Ross’ field hands, Jim Carter, got arrested for poaching on the property belonging to another landowner named Sir Hugh Bodrugan. Ross tried to prevent Jim from being sent to prison. Unfortunately, his temper got the best of him at Jim’s trial and he ended up in a heated debate with the narrow-minded judge, Reverend Halse. Meanwhile, Demelza received word from her abusive and newly religious father that he wanted her back in his home after hearing rumors that she and Ross were having an affair. So what happened? Demelza decided to spend her last day appreciating the finer household goods at Nampara . . . while wearing a gown that once belonged to Ross’ late mother. A drunken Ross returns home, finds her in his mother’s gown, chastises her before she seduces him into having sex. A day or so later, Ross decides to marry her in a private wedding ceremony with only Jud and Prudie as witnesses.

What on earth was Winston Graham thinking? What was he thinking? I have never come across anything so unrealistic in my life. What led Ross to marry Demelza in the first place? Many fans have tried to put a romantic sheen over the incident, claiming that subconsciously, Ross had already fallen in love with Demelza. Yeah . . . right. I knew better. I knew that Ross did not fall in love with her, until sometime after the wedding. So, why did he marry her? Someone named Tim Vicary posted a theory that Ross, drunk and still angry over Jim Carter being imprisoned, had married Demelza as a way of thumbing his nose at the upper-classes, whom he blamed for Jim’s fate. To me, this sounds like Ross had entered matrimony, while having a suppressed temper tantrum. Hmmm . . . this sounds like him. But despite Mr. Vicary’s theory, I still have a problem with the circumstances surrounding Ross and Demelza’s nuptials. Why? Let me put it this way . . . if I had returned home and found my servant roaming around the house wearing the clothes of my dead parent, I would fire that person. Pronto. The only way this sequence could have worked for me was if Ross had fallen in love with Demelza by Episode Three. Ross may have been fond of his kitchen maid and grown used to her presence. But he was not in love with her . . . not at this stage.

I really do not have many other complaints about these first four episodes. Well . . . I have two other complaints. Minor complaints . . . really. There was a scene in Episode Two in which Ross and a prostitute named Margaret discussed Elizabeth’s marriage to Francis. Margaret cheerfully consoled Ross with the prediction that he would find someone who will make him forget Elizabeth. The next scene shifted to Demelza strolling across Nampara with her dog Garrick closely at her heels. Talk about heavy-handed foreshadowing. And if there is nothing I dislike more it is ham-fisted storytelling . . . especially when it promises to be misleading. My other complaint centered around the Ruth Teague character and her mother. I could understand why Ruth would be interested in marrying Ross. He is young, extremely attractive, a member of the upper-class and the owner of his own estate – no matter how dilapidated. But why on earth would Mrs. Teague support her daughter’s desire to become Mrs. Ross Poldark? Despite Ross’ status as a member of the landed gentry and a landowner, he has no fortune. Thanks to his late father, he found himself financially ruined upon his return to Cornwall. Why would Mrs. Teague want someone impoverished as her future son-in-law? Especially when she seemed to be just as ambitious for her daughter as Mrs. Chynoweth was for Elizabeth?

Despite the circumstances surrounding Ross and Demelza’s wedding and that ham-fisted moment in Episode Two, I enjoyed those first four episodes of “POLDARK”. Enormously. Watching them made me realize that Winston Graham had created a rich and entertaining saga about complex characters in a historical setting. I have to confess. My knowledge of Great Britain during the last two decades of the 18th century barely exists. So, watching “POLDARK” has allowed me to become a little more knowledgeable about this particular era in Britain’s history. One, I never knew that Britain’s conflict with and the loss of the American colonies had an economic impact upon the country . . . a negative one, as a matter of fact. I had heard of the United States and France’s economic struggles during this period, but I had no idea that Britain had struggled, as well. More importantly for Cornwall, the price of tin and copper had fallen during the 1770s and 1780s, thanks to this economic depression. This economic struggle contributed to the slow decline of the aristocracy and the landed gentry for Cornish families like the Poldarks and the Chynoweths. I read somewhere that this period also marked the increased rise of Methodism throughout the country. Although this phenomenon will play a bigger role later in the series, Episode Three revealed the first hint through Demelza’s ne’er do well father, who ended up becoming a fanatic Methodist after remarrying a widow with children.

But the heart and soul of this series is the drama that surrounds Ross Poldark and the other major characters in the saga. When I say all of the major characters, I meant it. I realize that many would regard both Ross and his kitchenmaid-turned-bride Demelza as the heart and soul of this saga. Well . . . yes, they are. But so are the other characters – including Francis, his father Charles, Verity, Jud, Prudie Cary Warleggan, Jim and Jinny Carter, Captain Blamey, Ruth Teague and especially George Warleggan and Elizabeth. I found them all fascinating. I especially enjoyed how their stories enriched Ross’ own personal arc.

More importantly, these first four episodes provided some very interesting moments and scenes that left a strong impression . . even now. I am certain that only a few would forget that moment when Ross experienced both joy and disbelief when he reunited with his family after three years. And at the same time, discovered that his lady love had moved past the reports of his death and became engaged to his cousin Francis. Wow, what a homecoming. Other memorable moments featured the first meeting between Ross and Demelza at the local street market and the first meeting between Verity and Captain Blamey at an assembly dance. Despite my feelings regarding the circumstances surrounding Ross and Demelza’s wedding, I must admit that I found her seduction of him rather sexy. The scene featuring Demelza and Verity’s growing friendship in early Season Four struck me as very charming and entertaining. I also enjoyed the Episode Three montage that conveyed how Ross had grown accustomed to Demelza’s presence in his household and her ability to sense any of his particular needs. Another montage that I managed to enjoy, featured the community’s reaction to the couple’s wedding in early Episode Four, the poignant death of Charles Poldark in the same episode and the numerous conversations between Ross and George Warleggan that featured their growing enmity. But there were certain scenes – especially those that featured social gatherings – that stood out for me. They include:

*The assembly ball in Episode Two in which Verity met Captain Blamey for the first time. This scene also featured that very interesting and rather sexy dance between Ross and Elizabeth, which made it clear that the former lovers still harbored feelings for each . . . especially Ross. And this scene also marked the first time in which Francis became suspicious of those feelings, thanks to George’s poisonous insinuations.

*Charles and Francis’ confrontation with Ross regarding the latter’s support of Verity and Blamey’s courtship at Nampara. I found this scene to be very emotionally charged, due to the violent confrontation between Francis and Blamey that resulted in an ill-fated duel. It was capped by Elizabeth’s appearance at Nampara and her revelation that she was pregnant with Francis’ child.

*Ross tries to help his farm hand Jim Carter to avoid a prison sentence for poaching. This scene not only revealed Ross’ inability to control his temper and self-righteousness, but also featured a delicious confrontation between him and the judge, the Reverend Dr. Halse. And here is a lovely tidbit, the latter was portrayed by none other than Robin Ellis, who had portrayed Ross Poldark in the 1975-77.

*Episode Four also featured that marvelous Christmas at Trenwith sequence in which Ross and Demelza visit Francis and Elizabeth for the holidays. The entire cast involved in this sequence did a great job in infusing the tensions between the characters. I especially enjoyed the scene that featured the actual Christmas dinner.

Speaking of the cast, I have no complaints whatsoever. Everyone else have their favorites. But for me, the entire cast seemed to be giving it their all. Caroline Blakiston proved to be very witty as the elderly Aunt Agatha Poldark, who seemed bent upon making the other members of her family uncomfortable with her blunt comments. Warren Clarke gave a very memorable performance as Ross’ Uncle Charles. Unfortunately, he had passed away after filming his last scene in Episode Four. At least he went out with a first-rate role. Richard Harington made a very intense Captain Blamey and Harriet Ballard made an effectively bitchy Ruth Teague. “POLDARK” marked the first time I have ever really paid attention to Pip Torrens, who portrayed Cary Warleggan, George’s uncle. Which is not surprising, since he did a first-rate job in his portrayal of the greedy and venal banker, who seemed to be dismissive of both the upper and working classes. There were times when I could not decide whether to find Jud and Prudie Paynter funny or beneath contempt. This was due to the complex performances given by Phil Davis and Beatie Edney. I have already mentioned Robin Ellis, who was wonderfully intimidating and self-righteous as the bigoted Reverend Dr. Halse. Even after nine years away from the camera, he obviously has not lost his touch.

I first saw Ruby Bentall in the 2008 miniseries, “LOST IN AUSTEN”. But if I must be honest, I had barely noticed her. I certainly noticed her poignant and emotional performance as Verity Poldark, Ross’ “Plain Jane” cousin, who seemed doomed to spending the rest of her life serving her father’s and later, her brother’s household. Physically, Jack Farthing looks nothing like the literary George Warleggan from Graham’s novels. And I do not recall his character being featured so prominently in the first two novels. Personally, I do not care. I am really enjoying Farthing’s complex performance as the social climbing George, who seemed to resent the Poldarks’ upper-class status and especially Ross personally. Despite being as much of a greedy bastard as his uncle, Farthing did a great job in conveying George’s more humane nature. Fans have been so busy complaining that Kyle Soller’s portrayal of Ross’ cousin, Francis Polark, is nothing like the literary character, I feel they have been ignoring his superb performance. Personally, I suspect that Soller has been giving the best performance in the series. I have been really impressed by how he transformed Francis from a likable, yet mild young man to an embittered one filled with resentment and insecurities. I found myself wondering why Soller’s performance seemed familiar to me. Then it finally hit me . . . his portrayal of Francis reminded me of Robert Stack’s performance in the 1956 melodrama, “WRITTEN IN THE WIND”. Only Soller will be given the chance to take Francis’ character on another path before the series’ end.

The character of Elizabeth Chynoweth Poldark seemed to produce a curious reaction from fans of Graham’s literary series. From my exploration of the Internet, I have noticed that many fans either tend to ignore the two actresses who have portrayed her – Heida Reed and Jill Townsend in the 1970s series – or criticize their performances. For this particular series, I feel that Reed has been knocking it out of the ballpark in her portrayal of the introverted Elizabeth. Yes, Debbie Horsfield’s production has allowed Reed to express Elizabeth’s inner feelings a bit more prominent to the television audiences. Yet at the same time, the actress managed to perfectly capture the internalized and complex nature of Elizabeth’s character. On the other hand, fans and critics have expressed sheer rapture over Eleanor Tomlinson’s portrayal of Demelza Carne Poldark, the kitchen maid who became Ross’ bride. Well, I certainly believe that Tomlinson is doing a hell of a job portraying the earthy Demelza. What makes me appreciate her performance even more is how she manages to combine Demelza’s feisty personality and the insecurities that lurk underneath.

Before “POLDARK” first aired in Great Britain, many of the country’s media outlets had speculated on whether actor Aidan Turner would be able to live up to Robin Ellis’ portrayal of Ross Poldark from the 1970s. I knew it the moment I had heard he had been cast in the lead of this new series, based upon his previous work in “DESPERATE ROMANTICS” and “THE HOBBIT” film series. And Turner prove me right. He turned out to be the right man for the right role. Turner seems obviously capable of carrying the series on his shoulders. He has a very strong presence and seems quite capable of conveying Ross’ strong will. But more importantly, he is doing a top-notch of portraying not only Ross’ virtues – the will to rebuild his life and especially his compassion for other – but also his personal flaws – namely his temper, his arrogance and self-righteousness (which were on full display during Jim Carter’s trial and his assumption that Demelza would immediately know how to become an upper-class wife), and especially his obsessive nature, which has been directed at Elizabeth ever since his return to Cornwall.

Considering that this article is mainly about the first four episodes of “POLDARK”, I am surprised that I have written such a great deal. To be honest, this series has really impressed me. I have not been this enthused about a story since John Jakes’ “NORTH AND SOUTH” series and its television adaptation. I suspect that it is not as highly regarded by critics, due to it being labeled a bodice ripper or a turgid melodrama. But for me . . . personally . . . “POLDARK” is more than that. Yes, it is a costumed melodrama. But it is also a good history lesson of life in Britain in the late 18th century. And more importantly, the melodrama and the historical drama serve as effective backdrops to a first-rate story filled with interesting and very complex characters – especially one Ross Poldark. I cannot wait to see how Debbie Horsfield handles the second half of this first season.

The 18th Century in Television

Recently, I noticed there were a good number of television productions in both North America and Great Britain, set during the 18th century. In fact, I managed to count at least six productions. Astounded by this recent interest in that particular century, I decided to list them below in alphabetical order:

1. “Banished” (BBC TWO) – I do not whether this was a miniseries or regular series, but it was basically about a penal colony in New South Wales, Australia; where British convicts and their Royal Navy marine guards and officers live. Russell Tovey, Julian Rhind-Tutt, and MyAnna Buring star in this recently cancelled series.

black sails

2. “Black Sails” (STARZ) – Toby Stephens stars in this prequel to Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel, “Treasure Island”, about the adventures of Captain Flint.

book of negroes

3. “Book of Negroes” (CBC/BET) – This six-part miniseries is an adaptation of Lawrence Hill historical novel about a West African girl who is sold into slavery around the time of the American Revolution and her life experiences in the United States and Canada. Aunjanue Ellis, Lyriq Bent and Cuba Gooding, Jr. star.

4. “Outlander” (STARZ) – This series is an adaptation of Diana Gabaldon’s “Outlander” book series about a 1940s woman who ends up traveling back in time to 18th century Scotland. Caitriona Balfe, Sam Heughan and Tobias Menzies star.

5. “Poldark” (BBC ONE) – Aidan Turner and Eleanor Tomlinson star in this new television adaptation of Winston Graham’s book series about a former British Army officer who returns home to Cornwall after three years fighting in the American Revolution.

sons of liberty

6. “Sons of Liberty” (HISTORY Channel) – Ben Barnes, Rafe Spall and Henry Thomas starred in this three-part miniseries about the Sons of Liberty political group and the beginning of the American Revolution.

turn - washington spies

7. “Turn: Washington’s Spies” (AMC) – Jamie Bell stars in this series about a pro-American spy ring operating on behalf of General George Washington during the American Revolution.


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Update your book marks and head over to and check out the new site!!!

So I was contacted by Nick over at Vegas Drift a few months ago to work on the Pro Am series artwork. So you may notice some of my style in the new Pro Am logo and also on the door plates, windshield banners and the event t-shirt. Thanks again Nick for thinking of me.

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Sunday, July 12, 2009

Finding more Dubrow relatives

Have I told you the story of how I discovered a cousin lived a mile away from me, but we never knew the other existed?

That is how the Dubrow family seems to work. There are so many Dubrow family members wandering this country - perhaps the world - and little by little they are finding their way to each other, often by way of this blog.

Alice Gruber Phinzy is the cousin I discovered this way. She is, it turns out, the granddaughter of Ruth Gruber, who is my grandmother's younger sister. Ruthie and Sylvia are the youngest two children of Benjamin and Rose Dubrow, and the only two born in this country. In a stranger coincidence still, Alice knows my hairdresser - not only that, she nannies for her son! The world is a small place.

I recently got an email from Richard Hume, who informed me that he is the grandson of Jacob Solowey, who is the younger brother of "Rasel Soloway Dubrow" - who I know as Rose Dubrow. The woman who married my great grandfather, who started Dubrow's Cafeteria. As he points out, this makes him my second cousin, once removed, but as his family did not see the Dubrow family much, I never even realized Rose HAD siblings. It never occurred to me.

Finally, I also received an email from a man who reports that Irwin Dubrow (manager of Dubrow's, son of George Dubrow, and grandson of Benjamin) was his father's best friend, and they were close family friends until Irwin's death. I am currently negotiating about whether I can share any of their family's stories here, but suffice to say there is a lot more to be learned about my family's history...

As I have said to many people, and probably here on the blog before, the exciting part about this process is watching the connections unfold. I am reading The People of the Book by Geraldine Brooks, which is all about the unfolding of history, layer after layer. That's what this is all about.

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I can’t think of a better reason to begin my blog than writing about fresh, farm-picked, Oregon STRAWBERRIES! Last night we walked on out to Sauvie Island and went to Kruger Farms where live music, hay rides, handmade, wood-fired pizza, local beer (Captured by Porches Brewing anyone?) and the sweetest, juiciest, most adorable little strawberries I’ve ever tasted were in full effect. Growing up in Montana you don’t get many berry picking experiences, so once we came to Portland, we quickly discovered the utter bliss of going out to the farm and hand-picking berries. Strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, marionberries, blueberries – oh my! It’s not just the berry picking either, it’s the incredible taste – these strawberries literally tasted as if they had been dunked in a bowl of sugar. They were amazing. Am I getting the point across? AMAZING! And don’t be timid to try those little ones either – those tiny little berries pack a punch. I actually prefer them over the larger ones – their intense flavor is unexpected.

I was telling my husband last night – “I think picking berries is in my top ten things to do of all time!” This is true. If you haven’t been out to Sauvie Island – do so, please. The evenings are especially nice – sunset, warm air, berries – oh, life is good! You won’t be disappointed. It is so much more satisfying than buying berries at the store and a whole lot more affordable. I do recommend avoiding picking after serious rain, as some close friends and I found out – it is one heck of a muddy mess and the strawberries were muddy too. So, although you could pick them and put them in your basket, you couldn’t necessary eat the strawberries while you are picking, which is half the fun! I will say that we were three of about five people on the farm that day – we practically had the place to ourself.

After picking about 5 lbs. of berries we brought them home and cleaned them up. Half in the freezer – half saved for some lovely, delectable strawberry masterpiece to make tonight. To be continued…

Welcome to DULCE & brianna. Perhaps for my next post I will actually introduce myself (but you all know me anyway – and know that food is what I talk about, thus the reason for this blog)!


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I keep this as a general blerg about my life and hobbies which can make it challenging for others with specific interests to get into, but gives me a lot to talk about in general. I just haven’t been that great about, you know, putting any of that stuff on here with anything resembling consistency.

In fact, it’s been about 6 weeks since I crossed the border. I’ve taken my time about writing it up – in part because I didn’t take a whole lot of pictures, and in part because I was working for the majority of the 5 days I spent there.

Despite living only 4 or so hours from the border for a few years, I’d never been to Canada before.

I ate a lovely dinner in Old Montreal where the bilingual raw bar gentleman let me have an oyster and a beautiful scallop crudo.

I saw Cirque du Soleil and despite not understanding a word of French, I loved it to bits. I had some reservations about spending that kind of money on a ticket (particularly as someone who’s a bit coulrophobic) but I clapped my hands and gasped and laughed like child and I’d do it again.

I walked a few miles to a Jewish neighborhood for AMAZING bagels (I bought two thinking I’d have one for breakfast the next day and ate them both immediately).

I hiked to the top of Mount Royal and got quite lost on my way down.

I ate crepes. The shop girls were absolutely adorable and one couldn’t believe I didn’t speak French because I look “artistic” … “It’s a compliment” … Indeed, adorable shop girl. Indeed. They very kindly translated their crepe options from the menu board for me, made me one of the best decaf cups of coffee I’ve had, and gave me one of the best, most relaxed afternoon travel breaks I’ve had.

I avoided poutine like the plague – it’s not friendly to lactose-intolerant folks and I still have nightmares about horseshoes from the two years I spent in Central Illinois.

And I’m now looking forward to another northern foray in my future …

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Double Trouble

This week I’m planning on double workouts every day! Reuniting with the campus recreation center has gotten me beyond excited :D. This morning began at 5am with a yummy, clean breakfast to fuel my workout.

clean breakfast :)

Can ya tell I’m loving quinoa lately? After enjoying this plate of goodness I took some time before heading out to walk to the gym. I don’t have a car at school and live about a 10-15 minute walk from the campus, so it works out. I was surprised by snowy sidewalks, and definitely didn’t dress warm enough for the walk! A morning dose of frostbite anyone?! I also tried to ignore the fact that it was still pitch black out, and decided to run to the gym instead of walking! haha

Morning walk!

By the time I made it to the gym I was quite FREEZING, and ready to sweat. So for my morning workout I completed 45 minutes on the elliptical and did about 15 minutes of stretching afterward. Then it was back out to run to my apartment again 😉 .

elliptical workout

I had 4 classes today, most of them being Nutrition courses and some chemistry, too. I’m sure I’ll learn some interesting things throughout the semester to share with you!

My classes ended at 3:45 and I headed back to the gym for my afternoon workout. I focussed on core and arms with this circuit from Pinterest:

Core Workout!

After completing the circuit one time, I hopped on the elliptical for 20 minutes to get some more cardio in. Then completed the circuit a second time, and stretched out good after.

It was brutally cold today. Note to self: Dress warmer. I mean layer up with leggings and sweatpants, and a big jacket instead of a wimpy pea-coat!!  It feels great to be back at school 🙂

Hope you all had a wonderful Tuesday!

What did you do for a workout today?

Workout and Smile!

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2013, the year when multi-screen (cross-platform) becomes vogue

“Mobile will evolve from being a completely siloed marketing channel to becoming a more integral part of cross-platform campaigns. via 2013 Predictions: Gokul Rajaram, Facebook’s Ad Architect.

I’ve said I’m a big believer in multi-screen as one of the upcoming trends in digital advertising.  Part of this is because multi-screen is the default option for desktop incumblents.  It’s interesting to see that Facebook is embracing this concept of multi-screen but they are in a unique position to really benefit from it because their logged in experience gives them a big advantage since they’ll be able to track their users across desktop, mobile, and tablet.


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All the anticipation and propaganda billed up to the bestest speech evah, all the news from CNN that everyone was loving the speech, donating to DNC and naming their first born “Healthcare” and all people talk today is how evil/brave that one heckler was. Somehow, 2 words from some guy have had more impact on everyone than Obama’s “memorable, game changing” speech

I confess I didn’t watch – just read it the next day. But to me, so much attention on such a minor intermission says just one thing: it must have been one hell of a boring evening!

Skimming through the headlines, the funniest is not the one about caffeine pills, nor the one about a T-shirt but this one:

Pelosi halts effort to sanction Wilson

I guess, Nancy, “censure is …off the table:

While she said the South Carolina Republican’s action was “stunning,” and noted that lawmakers can be sanctioned for calling other lawmakers liars, she said she didn’t want to dwell on the incident.

“It’s time for us to talk about healthcare, not Joe Wilson,” said Pelosi (D-Calif.).

No shit, Sherlock. Stealing elections, starting wars under false reasons, torturing – I didn’t hear a peep from the Democrats against the evil GOP. But God forbid, heckle Teh One and all hell breaks lose…

And talking about favorites, I just found Andrew Sullivan’s favorite

First Lady Michelle Obama, seated behind and above Wilson, seemed to mouth a drawn-out “damn” at the scene unfolding before her.

Paging Dr Freud! Seems to me there’s a lot of frustration in B0botland and nobody wants to let it against the real target. So, this is why, a little heckler gets headlines Bush didn’t. Like this one:

GOP Still the Party of Lincoln? Not with Joe Wilson in It

Now with accusations of racism – and the even  iffier “he is from the South”

He’s from South Carolina, which has been in the news recently because of Wilson’s fellow Republicans, Gov. Mark Sanford and André Bauer, but not for the reasons they’d prefer.

— If you wondered if perhaps this guy might be a Neo-Confederate or other person who might not be inclined to treat a black president with the same respect as he would a white one, you’d be right again

Indeed. A one second heckler becomes a household name. All signs point to: the speech was a great success!

I can finally answer myiq2xu’s question: has an Obama speech ever change anything?

Yes, it did! For Joe Wilson!

David Brooks who recognized Obama’s pants crease as his own ilk, also considers himself a winner

Obama threw out enough rhetorical chum to keep the liberals happy, yet he subtly staked out ground in the center on nearly every substantive issue in order to win over the moderates needed to get anything passed.

There’s enough truth in that, and especially in the conclusion that Obama

He has decided to expand the current system, not fix it.

But Brooks is wrong in assuming ideology has anything to do with it. Obama did and said whatever it was that his real base wanted him to say. His contributors that is.

But who am I to say the best spech evah wasn’t effective? Rasmussen says it increased support for the bill

– by 2% from the Democrats only.

So, I think we need to plan an all out attack on Joe Wilson. Only after he is no more can the world be a better place. Change and hope and everything.

Update two

Things get funnier by the minute! Congress Dems ignore Pelosi and go ahead

Dems plan anti-Wilson resolution next week

There was a violation of the rules of the House,” said Brendan Daly, spokesman for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who initially bridled at the idea when asked about it on Thursday/ “It needs to be resolved by an apology or a resolution.”

Wilson, who has apologized directly to the president, has said he’s through with the mea culpas.

Now imagine if this Wilson guy had done something trivial, like start a war, torture people, exempt himself from laws…

Not Your Sweetie

September 2009
« Aug   Oct »


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Every paper in the cuntry is carrying the Chile Earthquake.

Only in NY, they are still clomped on their prey: Are we going to let Paterson Govern? asks NY Times

In a vile article that makes me think of the old tired “racism”, (or is it post racism?) they write

At noon on Saturday, a group of New York political leaders and longtime friends of Mr. Paterson met to try to find ways to support the governor over the remaining 10 months of his term. The group, which included Representative Charles B. Rangel; the Rev. Al Sharpton; and the Senate president, Malcolm A. Smith, said their efforts had been made more difficult because of the calls from other Democrats for the governor to resign.

I wasn’t sure about the subtext until Harold Ford was also mentioned – see – we are supposed to infer that only black politicians with their own ethics problems support this guy while “democrats” (unnamed) would want him to resign. Oh, there is one very much named

Certainly the next month is likely to be dreary for the governor. Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo’s investigators plan to spend the next four weeks interviewing administration officials

There is of course no conflict of interest whatsoever here, because NY Times once declared

Now, Mr. Cuomo effectively has the blessing of the nation’s first black president to run against New York’s first black governor.

It is being Obama’s flunkies that gives them cover to wade into racism territory.

The theme song is repeated by Newsday, which would want us to pay for their content.

Meh, maybe when they have something original to say

In Albany, they seem off the meme and maybe somewhat PO’s by the strong-arming, judging by their headline

It seems the answer is in the hands of the Chicago mob.

“I have not talked to the president about this, but it’s safe to say that anybody that read these articles, believes at a minimum, he made the right decision.”

“These articles” only exist because of this

Reminds me of the 2008 campaigns where “scandals” were mailed to a subservient media then quoted as arguments “because they are in the media”

The one headline missing from all papers in the nation (that have been posted on Newseum as of now) is this one:

Obama signs one-year extension of Patriot Act


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And Then There is Wales

16 05 2008

It’s true, when the alternative is well-paying work, I find myself inexplicably driven to blog instead.

In sharp contrast to the United States, where we’re losing sleep over other peoples’ marriages, Wales has recently shown a commendable tolerance for alternative lifestyles. In recent news there, a man was shown leniency for drinking a two and a half gallon box of wine, donning a garbage bag cape and attacking members of the First United Church of the Jedi (or something like that). I admit that I only skimmed the article the first time through, but I was so thoroughly flummoxed by the whole thing that I had to read it a second time, trying to figure out why someone would put on a garbage bag cape and attack these innocent Jedi knights. Then it sank in: he had consumed almost two and a half gallons of box wine. No wonder he thought he was Darth Vader.

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Hot Air: Heaven

The Mountaintop

Now whadda you think I was doing all last night and into the wee hours of the AM?

Yep, I spent the historic eve/morn with a motley crew of Cubs fans and revelers at, first, the Uptown Cafe and then our entire gang moved over to the venerable Nick’s English Hut where we cheered our boys on to victory. Our little army started out with B-ton fixture Kelly Wherley, attorney Amelia Lahn, international student exchange matchmaker Michelle Bird, Hoosiers, Rudy and Hill Street Blues director David Anspaugh, and a couple of visiting lawyers from Evansville who had the good fortune (misfortune?) to be sucked into riding our emotional roller coaster with us.

Eventually, Farm Bloomington chef Bob Atkins joined us, and then we lost Anspaugh and the Evansville barristers. The remainder of us dashed over to Nick’s around the sixth inning, where we watched with knotted stomachs and gaping mouths the Cubs cough up a seemingly comfortable three-run lead in the eighth inning. Tall Steve Volan was the master of ceremonies at Nick’s and we were joined by dancer and 4th Street Arts Fest volunteer coordinator Tamara Loewenthal. Our crew experienced severe emotional distress as the game seemed about to be lost, then won, then almost lost again before my beloved Cubs finally emerged victorious in the Cleveland rain in the 10th inning.

[BTW: Tall Steve had missed the first part of the game attending to his duties on the Bloomington city council. That august body had the effrontery to meet as usual on Wednesday night even though Game Seven was scheduled and the chance for world history to be changed loomed. I advised Tall Steve to quit the council and watch the entire game with me but he declined, the fool.

Still, Tall Steve escaped council chambers in good time to watch the meat of the contest. This after he was able to move a significant piece of legislation along — his proposed local parking commission was given the thumbs up by the council in a preliminary straw poll. The commission idea now will be tweaked and written up as law for eventual passage, Steve hopes, by the council at a later date.]

A Confident Tall Steve & A Fretting Tamara

Baseball fanatic and theater man Eric Paris Van Gucht writes on his blog this morning: “[L]et me tell you – it does feel like heaven.”

Oh, it did — I think.

Josh Timmers writes on Bleed Cubbie Blue:

The only words I have are THE CHICAGO CUBS ARE WORLD SERIES CHAMPIONS! [His caps.]

No one has ever typed those words on the internet. No television announcer has ever said those words. No radio broadcaster has ever said those words.

Kirkwood Avenue was transformed into one long block party from Indiana Avenue all the way down to Walnut Street after the final out was recorded. Our little crew poured out onto the street where we met Herald Times photog Jeremy Hogan. I seem to recall Kelly Wherley joyously grinding his hips into mine as Hogan snapped away. Sheesh, if I ever run for office those negs’ll torpedo my campaign forthwith.

I’m a tad iffy about my memories and feelings because I’d begun self-medicating after Cleveland’s Rajai Davis tied the game with a home run in that terrifying eighth inning. I tell you, Ketel One oughtta be dispensed only by prescription. And speaking of prescriptions, I wonder what might shrink this throbbing skull I’m experiencing this morning.

Me, Before The Roof (Almost) Caved In

Carsful of happy collegiates cruised the boulevard, the strains of Steve Goodman’s “Go, Cubs, Go!” pouring out of them.

My hand still hurts from slapping so many high fives.

As for my feelings, even now, as I type some eight hours later, I can’t describe them. I’m still numb. Yeah, I thought about Ma, the Cubs fan who’s responsible for my 50-year heretofore unrequited love affair with the team. She handed in her lunch pail in early 2014 just before this current iteration of the team began to become dominant. She’d have loved every minute of last night. Bad timing, Ma — you should have hung around a couple more years. I didn’t cry this time, though. I cried like a baby a week and a half ago when the Cubs finally made the World Series. Tall Steve can attest to that. This time? I suppose stunned is the best descriptor I can come up with. And I’m still stunned.

I’d like to say, as Lynn Schwartzberg wrote, “So, this is how it feels, wow!” but I can’t.

I know this, though: Now that my Cubs have won a World Series, I can let sports go. Yeah, no sporting event or achievement will ever be able to top this one. Beginning in 1969 when the Cubs broke my heart for the first of many times, I’ve been obsessed with seeing that wrong righted. Now it has been.

As the famed ancient sports writer, Paul the Apostle, once observed, “When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things.”

Last night’s triumph was my graduation. My only-now-unknotted stomach and my aching head will thank me.

Election Night Coverage

It’s set: I’ll be covering the doings at the Democratic Party’s Bloomington election night HQ Tuesday night for WFHB radio.

The Dems will gather at Opie Taylor’s on Walnut St., hoping to bring their national, state, and local banner carriers home to victory. WFHB will have a live remote table at the bar/restaurant where we’ll do live reports and interviews. A mess of folks will be responsible for the coverage, including tech geeks, runners, remote producers, executive producer Joe Crawford, Ass’t News Director Sarah Vaughan, and vols at the station making sure our words get to your ears. I don’t know the names of all the on-scene, behind-the-scenes staff but as soon as I get wind of them, I’ll flog them herein.

I dunno about you, but I’m pumped for Tuesday, November 8th.

Big Talk

Speaking of interviews, it’s Big Talk Thursday. My guest late this afternoon will be hand-crafted puzzle maker Marc Tschida. Marc has been an arts advocate and tireless worker in the music and theater scenes locally for eons. Now, he’s going full-time into jigsaw-puzzle making. His distinctive, collectible puzzles feature images of Bloomington and South Central Indiana as well as pix of works by local artists.

Big Talk is a regular Thursday feature of the Daily Local News. Tune in at 5:30 late this afternoon. If you miss the broadcast, don’t fret — you can catch the podcast on the WFHB website. And the mostly-unedited, full-length original interview will be posted on this communications colossus immediately after air-time (or, more accurately, as soon as I get around to posting the audio track.)

Talk to you tonight!

One thought on “Hot Air: Heaven

  1. Stephen Volan says:

    Hey Big Mike — Just a quick note: Ernest Rollins got the story wrong in the HT article too. The Parking Commission didn’t get a committee hearing last week when it was supposed to. During second reading Wednesday, Council decided to pass it anyway. It’s the law now. Maybe update your article?

    By the way, have I mentioned? The universe has changed: the Cubs are winners for the rest of our lives. In case you forgot. == Steve

    On Thu, Nov 3, 2016 at 10:14 AM, The Electron Pencil wrote:

    > glabwrites posted: “The Mountaintop Now whadda you think I was doing all > last night and into the wee hours of the AM? Yep, I spent the historic > eve/morn with a motley crew of Cubs fans and revelers at, first, the Uptown > Cafe and then our entire gang moved over to the ven” >

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Tag Archives: George Bush

telling the dream

How did we blow past Thanksgiving already?  Is the speeding of time a feature of getting older?  Am I going to be on my death bed soon wondering how the hell that happened?  The answer is, of course.  Sometimes I’m still in a state of dull shock when I realize it’s no longer 1998.  Then I look in the mirror at the little furrow between my eyebrows that used to only be there when I woke up in the mornings and my head explodes.

That furrow is a permanent resident on my face now, and will do nothing but deepen.  I named that furrow George W. Bush.  I have not yet decided which of my body’s signs of aging I will call Dick Cheney.  I may be saving that one for something chronic, painful, and insidious, like an ulcer.

But, let’s talk about something brighter than my inexorable decay.  Guess what?  13 rue Thérèse was nominated for an award!  The International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, to be exact.  Pretty sweet, no?  It’s always lovely to be surprised by a bit recognition from the outside world as I toil in my writerly cave.  It gets pretty hermity in here.  (I just looked up the correct adjectival form of “hermit” and it’s “heremitic,” but I much prefer “hermity.”)

Speaking of the writerly cave, I did a revision of In the Red over the past couple of months.  I am going to give it another once-over, then send it along to my agent.  It’s always weird to have another human being read something that’s been simmering sealed away in my head for years.  It’s a real passage, and it always comes with a big dose of trepidation.  I was once asked by an interviewer about what my greatest fear is when I turn in a manuscript.  I said that turning in a manuscript is like trying to tell someone about an intense dream you had: it may just turn out to be incoherent hash and leave you looking like an idiot.  Scary, no, when you spend a couple of years and 80000 words telling the dream?


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Winter At Last

Winter at last! It finally looks and feels like winter out there. We received about 5 inches of snow in an overnight storm that ended at mid-day.

IMG_0908I was beginning to wonder if winter would pass us by without any significant snowfall. However, here in New England, we can receive storms into April, so it was a wait-and-see game.

IMG_0950Cottony bolls of snow caught in the forks of twigs and topped the seed heads of echinacea and monarda with little white caps in the garden .

A blustery wind chased the last of the clouds to the east and tossed the snow from branches in clumps and sparkly mists that billowed and swirled through the air.IMG_0832

A walk around showed sharp contrast between dark tree trunks and branches edged in white.IMG_0850

IMG_0891Patches of blue sky spread behind silhouettes of chalk-lined oaks and tawny, rustling beech leaves danced in the breeze.

IMG_0815The river stretched out in a black ribbon, cleared of ice after our recent warm spell.  A few crows foraged at the river’s edge, turning stones in search of a meal. Their sentinel watched from a branch high above, ready to alert the browsers of any danger.

I’m glad the hard-packed icy crust had melted only a few days ago, to be replaced by soft, fluffy snow that is much easier and safer for walking. Our dog Wren, of course, is overjoyed.IMG_4308

About Eliza Waters

Gardener, writer, photographer, naturalist
This entry was posted in Country Living, My Photos and tagged , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

88 Responses to Winter At Last

  1. ok, I got it right this time. Enjoy! 🙂 It’s beautiful and I’m jealous and waiting a turn for some snow in Ohio.

  2. Trini Lind says:

    Oooooooo, loooovely! 💖❄💖❄💖❄

  3. Maria F. says:

    Nice images and writing! I didn’t know dogs could like snow so much. My Chihuahua would need a big sweater.

  4. MK says:

    It looks very pretty, and you sound happy for the snow. I’m glad, am enjoying it from afar. As for my neck of the woods — the lawn is lush and green, camellias are blooming, bees are relishing the deep purple of the lavender, and it should be 80F for Super Bowl Sunday. If only I could drive out to see your snow, and then be back in time for dinner.

  5. Oh! So glad you got some snow! The river sure looks different than your ice sculptery photos. What kind of dog is Wren? My dog, Mattie loves snow too. Happy winter!

    • Eliza Waters says:

      Wren is a lab mix with (we think) some Aust. cattle dog and maybe beagle for the nose! She tries to herd the cats (no luck there ;-D ) and us, sometimes. And rabbits and rodents are irresistible!

  6. Val Boyko says:

    About time you got some soft and fluffy .. With those wonderful smells captured underneath for Wren ❄😄❄ Enjoy this weekend Eliza!!

  7. Jewels says:

    Lovely! We got 14 inches the other day and I was like “finally!” 😉
    Have a wonderful weekend Eliza! ❤

  8. Karen says:

    It’s beautiful Eliza, wonderful snow. Your dog looks like she is having a fabby time.

  9. cindy knoke says:

    Lovely photos, especially the snow held by the twigs~

  10. Pauline says:

    Your snow looks so lovely and fluffy! Enjoy!

  11. Beautiful!! I had to look a few times at the photo of Wren… to recognise a dog in it, hahahaa, nice!!

  12. adeleulnais says:

    Beautiful photos I do enjoy your posts so much and would love to learn more about living in New England, it is a place my wife Becca and have always wanted to visit.

  13. Beautywhizz says:

    I love how Wren just dived into snow. Lovely photos.

  14. Looks lovely. Hope that you enjoy it

  15. jenanita01 says:

    Reblogged this on Anita Dawes & Jaye Marie and commented:
    Snow, beautiful snow…

  16. Dina says:

    This is gorgeous, lovely snow pics 🙂
    and soooo frustrating, it’s raining since yesterday and the rain washed away the snow in Norway. 😦
    The silence of snow is the most beautiful sound I know.
    Wishing you a wonderful weekend,

  17. Dina says:

    And Wren looks like my dog when he can dive into snow! 🙂 ❤

  18. Julie says:

    Beautiful images Eliza, that are leaving me a little envious. Thats such a funny shot too of your dog enjoying the snow, that must be great fun to be out walking with him.

  19. Murtagh's Meadow says:

    It looks beautiful – enjoy it while it last Eliza.

  20. We ended up with 10″ of wet snow clinging to everything. The sun is shining bright and it looks like a Hallmark Christmas card out there right now, and it looks like we have quite a bit more coming this week. 🙂

  21. Treah says:

    Wow….you got a lot more than we did ( a scant 2 inches). Everything is twisted this year with the south getting more snow than the north. Beautiful photos & description. And I loved Wren’s butt! 🙂

    • Eliza Waters says:

      Thanks! It does feel rather upside down. But strangely, I feel more settled with at least a covering of snow. The lack was really bothering me. Wren is obviously happy about it, too!

  22. That’s so beautiful! 🙂

  23. dorannrule says:

    As always, your perspectives are unique and charming. I especially love the final pic of Wren exploring the depths! 🙂 May your joy in winter remain infectious. 🙂

  24. I love to breathe deeply after a freshly fallen snow- the air just seems different!:) Enjoy the arrival of winter, Eliza!

  25. Snow is so invigorating, isn’t it? But I like it best when it doesn’t hang around too long. None of that slushy, brown stuff for me, please.

  26. Heather says:

    Hooray for your fresh snow! I love your river, too. Is it close to your home?

  27. arlingwoman says:

    Beautiful images. I’m so glad you got your bit of winter! And it looks as though Wren is, too.

  28. Widdershins says:

    Wren – “Squirrel!!!” 😀

  29. Yay! I’m glad your enjoying a decent snow at last! Beautiful, sparkling stuff! It makes your whole landscape like a wonderland. Wren looks delighted with the snowfall. Blessings, Sarah

  30. Cathy says:

    Lovely photos Eliza. Our dog also likes to bury her nose in snow and roll around in it! I do not envy you this snow though, as we have had some sunshine and milder weather and the snowdrop flowers are slowly emerging from their stalks. 🙂

    • Eliza Waters says:

      Thank you, Cathy. It is not a lot of snow, a few inches as opposed to several feet, which wouldn’t be as lovely to me!
      I’ll have to wait a bit longer for my snowdrops. 🙂

  31. Brian Skeys says:

    Beautiful pictures and words as always Eliza.

  32. Lovely photos. Our snowfall (blizzard) brought alternating snow and freezing rain with high winds, so I missed going out to shovel or go for a walk. Don’t you just love how the dogs go crazy over the snow? Our black lab, Pepper, used to hit the snow running in circles, just like a kid. I think she was actually smiling.

  33. Super post! If I could have given you some of our winter I would! Glad you finally got to have some fun in the snow!

  34. 1kayaker says:

    Great composition on your river shot.

  35. BunKaryudo says:

    It’s amazing how beautiful everything looks in the snow, cold though it of course will be. I had to look closely to spot Wren. He seems to be having a lot of fun. 🙂

  36. Laurie Graves says:

    What a lovely post, Eliza. Both the words and the pictures. Somehow, in New England, a winter without snow is just, well, freakish. Perhaps we don’t want as much as we got last year, but there is a happy in-between.

  37. Ann says:

    a true winter wonderland! So many photo opportunities to explore!

  38. Your snow pictures make me actually want it to snow. Well almost. My fave is the shot of your dog, I didn’t see what it was until I read your note.

  39. gaiainaction says:

    Eliza your photos are wonderful, so enjoyed. Interesting too 🙂

  40. What a winter wonderland! Love all of your description of the scene…I’m missing winter this year in San Diego, so this is as close as I’m going to get to winter. 🙂

  41. Breathtaking! Wonderful captures of the Winter beauty surrounding you! And I love your descriptions. Lol Your doggy is so cute! We had some snow here recently and a few of my dogs love it too! 😀

  42. Rebecca says:

    I do love your winter photos, Eliza 🙂

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Again, a Syria fighter badly wounded back in Belgium

The Belgian newspaper ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’ exclusively reported today about the return of another injured Syria fighter: Soufiane Aoulad Abdenbi, 27 years old and coming from Deinze, a town near the city of Ghent.

Aoulad Abdenbi appears to be of Moroccan descent, but little more is known about him.  The paper doesn’t mention how long he was in Syria, nor to which group he belonged. At first sight, he has no links with the typical ‘Shariah4Belgium’ scene. His Facebook page, where visible activity has stopped on the 26th of March last year, points to contacts in the Netherlands. Apparently, he also appeared on the forum, where a Belgian member with the name ‘soufiane-aoulad’ shared a video from the Dutch website (meaning ‘the truth’) in September 2012.

Certain is that he got severly wounded in Syria. According to security sources, he was shot in his arm, his chest and his throat. His lawyer confirmed that he hardly can speak for the moment since even his larynx was hit. He underwent surgery in a Turkish hospital before his family helped him travel back to Belgium. There he stays in prison now, as do five other men in the case against Syria fighters and the network recruiting them.

Aoulad Abdenbi is the third Belgian fighter who came home from Syria with injuries. Earlier, Hakim Elouassaki from Vilvoorde returned with serious wounds from a granate, and Bilal El-M. from Brussels did arrive in a wheelchair with injuries that allegedly still may result in an ampution of his legs.

Syria fighter seems to threaten Obama’s visit to Belgium

The widely known Belgian Syria fighter Brian De Mulder seems to threaten US president Barack Obama. “I can’t wait for his visit to Belgium”, the 20 years old muslim convert yesterday wrote on his Facebook page.

“I can’t wait for the 26th of March”, De Mulder teasingly stated yesterday evening — as the Belgian daily newspaper ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’ reports in it’s Wednesday’s edition. Only after several questions of friends, he made clear what he meant. “Obama is coming to Belgium that day.”

De Mulder didn’t mention any kind of attack — nor by himself, nor by others. But still supposed to be in Syria, were he is fighting in the ranks of the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Sham’ (ISIS), he can’t have meant he simply hopes to catch a glimpse of the visit or something like that.

The new profile picture he posted a little bit later on his account using the name ‘Abu Qasem Brazili’, showed him with his finger raised, wearing a black balaclava with the jihadi version of shahada — the islamic creed — and a kalashnikov partly visible in the background.

In the past few months, Belgium has been threatened more than once by it’s Syria fighters. Local media attributed several of those messages to Brian De Mulder. But as far as we do know, that isn’t entirely correct. De Mulder distributed some of the threats, but seemingly wasn’t the author.

Belgian Syria fighter showing picture of his injuries

A muslim extremist from Brussels apparently got slightly injured while fighting in Syria, his Facebook page shows.

Today ‘Abou Jihad Al Qital’ (20) posted a picture of his badly swollen hand, commenting: “One or two months in plaster. Don’t forget me in your prayers.” But he didn’t explain what has happened to him.

It also isn’t clear to which group the French speaking Belgian belongs, although he does show sympathy for the ‘Islamic State of Iraq and Sham’ (ISIS). A week ago, he posted pictures of dead bodies, telling they were Kurds. Apparently, he made those images himself.

According to his Facebook page, ‘Abou Jihad Al Qital’ is based in Aleppo. His true identity remains unknown, but one of his earlier pictures seems to be a portrait of him.

UPDATE: the earlier picture mentioned above doesn’t show the Belgian fighter ‘Abou Jihad Al Qital’. It appears to be Tariq Aldhahb, an Al Qaeda leader in Yemen who was killed in 2012. Thanks to @BatmanInBelgium for the clarification.

More details emerge about the Belgian ISIS emir Abu Baraa

Yesterday, a few more details emerged about Abu Baraa al-Jazairi, the Belgian-Algerian emir of the ‘Islamic State in Iraq and Sham’ (ISIS) who has been killed last Wednesday in Saraqib in Syria’s Idlib province.

A Belgian ISIS supporter, using the alias ‘Souf Al Casawé’, wrote the following message on his Facebook page — only available for friends, but rapidly shared by others: “He was killed in a vicious manner. Ahrar al-Sham and Suqur al-Sham invited him to discuss and negotiate, but at the first checkpoint of Ahrar he got shot in the arm and robbed of his kalashnikov. They did let him go, but then he stumbled on a checkpoint of Suqur where he was slaughtered with a hand gun.”

In a statement of the ‘Syrian Revolution General Commission‘ — an adversary of ISIS — that was published on the website ‘All4Syria’, Abu Baraa is described as a graduate of a Belgian university with a Masters degree in engineering. “He lived only briefly in Belgium after his graduation.”

According to that source, Abu Baraa did not hold an official status in ISIS, but he managed the local organization of foreign fighters. “Shortly after his arrival, he started to establish cells in a number of rural areas in the Idlib province and naming others as emirs on top of them.” Reportedly, he was also known as ‘the fox’ for his genius in complex operations and intelligence.

His first operation in Saraqib apparently happened in July of last year, when he raided the city’s media centre and kidnapped the Polish journalist Marcin Suder. “He continued to terrorize the city”, the statement says, “with a keenness for carrying out public executions of people deemed infidels and traitors.”


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Paris & Brussels terrorists kept weapons and explosives hidden in school

The terrorist cell behind the Paris and Brussels attacks apparently has kept its weapons and explosives for a while in a Belgian school. That can be concluded from a map on a laptop used by Salah Abdeslam — as we reported today in the Belgian newspaper ‘Het Laatste Nieuws’.

Hand-drawn map that was found on laptop used by Salah Abdeslam

It was after the shooting during which Salah Abdeslam was able to escape on the 15th of March 2016, that a laptop was found in his safe house at rue Dries in the Brussels municipality of Forest.  That HP EliteBook 8440p contained videos of extremist preachers, pictures of possible targets, information about weapons and military gear, but also a map that was titled ‘Salah’ — indicating that it was used by Abdeslam. Many files were erased, but computer specialists of the Belgian federal police were able to retrieve them, and by doing so they also discovered a rather remarkable map.

The hand-drawn map mentioned two street names: Saviostraat en Elzenstraat. A combination that only exists in Meulenberg, a neighborhood of Houthalen-Helchteren in the east of Flanders, infamous for its security issues and cases of radicalism. The buildings on the map turned out to be the local kindergarten and elementary school. Curious about what Islamic State terrorists were looking for at such a location, about twenty police officers went to Meulenberg on Saturday the 11th of June 2016.

They were armed with search warrants and in the company of Gorro, an explosives dog. The instructions written in French on the map led them along a first building, the regional center for student coaching, to the kindergarten’s playground. There, they found a hole cut in the fence, exactly at the place where was mentioned at the map: “Here you have to jump over”. The hole provided access to an overgrown piece of garden in which they found a ramshackle shed and a garage.

Garage on school domain where weapons likely were hidden

One of the doors in the garage showed traces of a burglary. But besides old school furniture, there was nothing found inside. The investigators left without any answers, but they did inform the State Security — Belgium’s intelligence service. That resulted in a confidential note on the 28th of July 2016 — a document that we have obtained. State Security found out that a former concierge of the sports hall next to the school was killed in Syria fighting for Islamic State. Younes Laabadi, 43 years old at that time, was linked by marriage to the family of Mohamed Abrini — the ‘man with the hat’ who had escaped alive during the Brussels attacks on the 22nd of March 2016.

Putting all the pieces together, the investigators concluded that the school domain has likely served as a weapon storage place. It is known that the terrorist cell possessed an arsenal of which at least four kalashnikov-type rifles, a riot gun, two pistols, two hand grenades and an amount of explosives were left after the massacre in Paris on the 13th of November 2015. Those weapons weren’t used for the Brussels attacks, and a intercepted conversation made clear that they had planned to hide the stash for later attacks.

That was reason enough for the investigators to conduct a second search on Wednesday the 10th of July 2016. Done by ten officers, with the explosives dog Jessy, and also in the sports hall this time. But again it was in vain. The assumption that the weapons have been hidden at the school remains however. “Considering the burglary traces, the possibilit exists that the weapons were retrieved and stored elsewhere just before the Brussels attacks”, the State Security document reads.

School domain with location of garage in red circle

In the meantime, there are even strong suspicions of who has carried the weapons away to hide at another place — a location, by the way, that still isn’t found. According to the intercepted conversation, that assignment was given to a certain ‘Abu Imran’, described as “a brother who has been in Syria already”. That fits perfectly well with the profile of Bilal El Makhoukhi (28), a terrorist from Brussels already known as Abu Imran, who lost a leg while fighting for Islamic State. He already admitted having been in touch with the Brussels terrorist cell in the week before the attacks, while arrested terrorist Osama Krayem declared during one of his interrogations that he met El Makhoukhi in a safe house in Laeken.

It isn’t known how long the weapons possibly were hidden at the school domain. But it is a certainty that they posed a terrible risk. The suspicious garage is situated only twenty meters  from the kindergarten, and even closer to the student coaching center. It is thought that the stash contained explosives of the types C4 and TATP. The first is both extremely powerful and hard to detonate, but the latter so unstable that it can explode by heat, friction or shock. That could easily have led to a devastating chain reaction causing lots of casualties.


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child pages not showing under parent

  1. indigenousgovernance

    I am unable to create a page that is a child to a parent page; specifically, when I post the new page, having given it a parent, I cannot find it off the website. For example, if I click the parent off the menu, or put my mouse over the parent page tab (in the menu) off the homepage, there is no reference to the child page that I created.

    And yet, I can click on the child page - as a stand alone page - within the available list of pages and it indicates its child status with the "-" dash mark.

    I will keep tinkering, but I have not had any luck.

    The blog I need help with is

  2. panaghiotisadam

    Some themes display child pages as dropdowns in the regular top menu and some (including the one you're using) don't. You need to create and activate a custom menu - see here:

  3. indigenousgovernance

    Thank you very much. I really appreciate this.

  4. panaghiotisadam

    You're welcome!

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Suggesting Connections Reloaded

  1. Hello,

    I would like to suggest my theme Connections Reloaded to be added to

    It works perfectly with WP2 as can be seen on my demo blog.

    If users feel the same please do support this post :)

  2. <humour>Boy, talk about promoting yourself. :)</humour>

  3. your demo blog points to the real Connection theme, your main weblog seems to have the Connection reloaded theme. It's just the matter of changing the sidebar to the left side, right?

    However, I would not suggest the theme that's modified by myself unless if I've fully made the whole theme by myself, for the example, my main weblog is modification of Plain Vanilla by Chetan Kunte, still I'd like team to add the original theme, not a modification one anyway :)

    just my opinion only.

  4. Actually I think that it would be cool. Both appear to be GPL'ed. I even like how he provided a link to the original version of the theme. (That's a gray area to some within the open source community. They think that being a fork of a project means that they don't have to link)

  5. In case you haven't noticed, I haven't made connections Reloaded by just changing the sidebar from the right to the left.

    This link
    tells of all the changes that have been incorporated in the very first version of Connections Reloaded.
    tells how the updates since the first release.

    And I don't see why should I not promote this theme?

    Additionally, my demoblog is running Connections Reloaded.
    My personal blog is a customized version of Connections Reloaded.

    Lastly, I don't see why I shouldn't credit the author for her theme Connections.

  6. I don't see why should I not promote this theme?

    I don't know, it's a good suggestion as it's up to you to suggest, my opinion is only an opinion :) If connections reloaded provides the "edit current theme" as what kubrick and regulus have, then it'll be better. I think.

  7. That is something I have got on hand in the next version of Connections Reloaded.
    I guess I should work on making a Connections Reloaded for ??
    So any guidelines on where I dig up this information?

  8. And I don't see why should I not promote this theme?

    Please note the humour tags on my post. I personally have no issue with such a suggestion, even in fact I welcome them. I offer WordPress support with my hosting and was not aware of your theme. (Last count was I had 47 in our install.)

    I plan to add yours (and about 8 more) when I do our upgrading to 2.0.1 next week.

    As to your quesdtion but what you have to do, I'd just go ahead and drop a feedback from your deashboard and ask the admin while explaining that you are, in fact, the developer of said theme. To my knowledge, there are no guidelines on what is required and all the themese have been editer in some manner by the admin before rollout. I would think that they would be to take in account the method of how they do their installs.

    Sorry I couldn't help more.

  9. Thanks for the suggestion drmike.

    Glad to know you plan on adding my theme to the hosting you offer.

    Will try using the feedback again so let us see if someone responds :)

  10. Have released v1.5 of the theme.

    The related post is here .

    Main addition is complete support for WordPress Widgets and cross compatibility across all the current versions of WordPress.

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