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Geneva and A.D. Harrell Estate and Living Estate "This estate has long been moved with the Harrell farm in Buladean N.C." Saturday August 12th ten:00 am Preview 9:00 am a hundred twenty five West Sector Avenue, Johnson City, Tn We're unpacking this estate as immediately as possible. Considered I would place up several pictures for yourself. I'll add a lot more photographs as we area things about the auction floor. This will likely be an excellent one particular. It is a nice "as found" estate" like we all like to uncover. Auction will include look at this site the contents of the home position and barns over the farm. It is a pleasant early estate with numerous categories of antiques and collectibles.

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the sale outcomes. You can't see them if you do do not login.If you do not Use a login you have to get it. It's going to take 18 seconds. All you will see may be the a lot plus the estimates. It's essential to LOG IN!!!!!!!!!!Here is the connection. The Henry “ Hank” Barth Estate Cane Assortment Nashville Marriott Airport Resort Saturday September 8th- eleven:00 am Central Time (Preview 9:30am) 600 Marriott Dr. Nashville, Tn 37214 Mr. Barth was an avid collector and scholar in the sphere of canes. Following retiring in the movie generating environment he devoted A great deal of his the perfect time to accumulating and researching the historical past of canes. His collection may differ in styles, age, and composition that is a bonus to your collector wishing to get these days. The collection consist of a lot of wonderful ivory handles, nautical, gadget, guns and swords, silver and gold, porcelain and even more. This tends to be an complete auction without any reserves and all canes are going to be sold to the highest bidder. We will likely offer a group of canes right after we end the catalogue sale for attending bidders. The small resolution brief loading pdf from the printed catalogue: The "Ideal" high resolution sluggish loading( takes about ten-quarter-hour) pdf of the printed catalogue.. Put it aside towards your desk major the first time you open it and it'll load less difficult for yourself once you need to watch it future time: The online world bidders catalogue: This will be our greatest catalogue that We have now at any time created. Subscribers can get one but We'll overprint a couple of copies for the general public at 25.

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Wednesday, September 22, 2010

The Japanese Introduced the world�s largest OLED- display

The japanese unvail the largest Organic LED display which is set to exeed 100 inches
New Japanese company will exceed 100 inches (2.5 meters) diagonally, according to an official press release. The company Mitsubishi Electric introduced the world's largest OLED- display.Screens Diamond Vision OLED - modular and consist of individual blocks. The size of these blocks is 38.4 centimeters in width and height with a depth of 10 centimeters. Authorization for such a module is equal to 128 pixels by 128 pixels. Weight of the entire module is only 8 kilograms.Thus, when placing six modules of horizontal and four vertical modules diagonal screen is about 108 inches. Screen resolution in this configuration is equal to 768 by 512 pixels.It is noted that the Diamond Vision OLED displays are designed for ...
[Source: News Weird Magazine]

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Wednesday, April 5, 2017

Internship Vacancy

Internship Vacancy

The Living Rainforest is inviting applications for an unpaid voluntary work placement with the Animal Department. Our internship programme has been running successfully for over three years and we are now offering the vacancy to external candidates.

The Trust for Sustainable Living is a registered charity based near Newbury, Berkshire. At our visitor centre, The Living Rainforest, the animal collection is contained within two tropical glasshouses and consists of more than 60 species. These include callitrichids, toucans and turacos, snakes, chelonia, stingrays, dendrobatids, and invertebrates.

Role and Responsibilities:
•        The primary role of the intern will be to participate in the daily husbandry and daily routines of the animal department. This includes feeding animals, maintaining enclosures, daily record keeping and animal health checks.
•        As an intern, you will also help with the daily supervision of existing volunteers and participate in the training of new volunteers and work experience students.
•        You will also receive training and be expected to participate in keeper talks, workshops and keeper experience days which run through holidays and at weekends.
•        You will have the opportunity to gain knowledge of the different aspects of the department such as veterinary treatment, enclosure design and record keeping.
•        You may also be invited to attend both internal and external meetings. This may include ethics committees, BIAZA taxon working groups and staff meetings.
•        Where suitable, there may also be opportunities for research projects to be undertaken.

Terms of placement:
•        This is a six month voluntary work placement for a registered charity, from April 2017.
•        It is preferred that interns are able to work from 9am to 5.30pm five days a week on a rota basis. This will include some weekends and bank holidays as necessary.

The applicant
•        Preference will be given to applicants with an Animal related qualification or working towards an Animal related qualification, who want to partake in this voluntary work placement in order to seek further industry experience.
•        Some experience within the zoo industry or with exotics would be desirable but not essential.
•        Applicants should be enthusiastic, hard-working and have a willingness to learn new skills.
•        It is recommended that you have your own form of transport to get to and from The Living Rainforest each day as public transport is infrequent in this area.
•        Please note that there is no accommodation available with this position, but some assistance can be given towards moderate travel expenses.
To Apply
The vacancy will remain open until May 5th 2017 unless filled sooner. Interviews will be held as soon as possible after applications are received, on a first come first served basis. To apply for this position please send your CV and cover letter, including a contact telephone number to Paula Rhoads, Human Resources:
Post: The Living Rainforest
Hampstead Norreys
RG18 0TN

Peter Dickinson
Independent International Zoo Consultant

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Ziply Classifieds
Classifieds Advertisement Category: Misc-11
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Location:     Curwensville, PA USA (16833)

Category:     Collectibles

Title:     The Stuff Store

Posted:     Nov 27th, 2016

Phone:     (814) 236-2047

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Price:     $0

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Thursday, August 02, 2007

Everything's Archie

I just want to call attention to some Archie-comics related articles that I didn't mention when they first appeared:

- This long, sympathetic and entertaining article from Vanity Fair about 65 years of Archie and how it's managed to stay popular for so long.

- Scott Shaw! writes about the issue of "Archie's Mad House" where Sabrina, the Teenage Witch first appeared, and reproduces the first Sabrina story (written by George Gladir and drawn by Dan DeCarlo). You'll notice two things about it. First, that many of the details are lifted from the play and movie Bell, Book and Candle: the idea that witchse can't cry and that they lose their powers if they fall in love (this was abandoned when Sabrina became a regular series). Second, that the original conception of Sabrina was much more sophisticated than it originally became -- like Bell, Book and Candle and many similar witch comedies, it presented witches as a breed apart from ordinary humans, cooler and hipper.

- A blog post from last year about perhaps the best Archie artist, Harry Lucey -- his artwork and poses were much funnier than Dan DeCarlo, and while Samm Schwartz was the funniest of all, Lucey was more versatile.

While Archie comics are anachronistic (heck, they were already anachronistic when they started), there's been a lot of good work done in its pages over the year: Lucey, Bob Bolling, Frank Doyle and Samm Schwartz did consistently funny and entertaining stories, and I'm glad to see that the work they (and others) did is starting to get more attention.

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≡ Menu

Credit: Beau Jocque | photo copyright The Times Shreveport, 1997

In an article for Lafayette’s The Advertiser, Zydeco Crossroads contributor Herman Fuselier highlights a new documentary called By the River of Babylon.

Don Howard and Jim Shelton have been working on the film for the better part of a decade, starting first with a focus on Beau Jocque and the music of Louisiana before expanding to include to the changing climate of the state’s natural landscape in the wetlands.

From the article:

“We started out making the film just about the music and the dancehalls,” said Howard, a professor of radio, TV and film at the University of Texas at Austin. “There’s a problem with that kind of movie because the only people that are going to get it already have it because they’ve already been there.

“We didn’t really know how to make the best film about it. Then we read this book, ‘Bayou Farewell,’ which was an introduction to what’s going on in the wetlands. We realized the dancehalls are dying on a certain level, but also the landscape itself is drowning.

“Those obviously aren’t causally related, but it seemed to be a poignant thing to make the film about.”

Read the full article here and watch the trailer below. The documentary airs tomorrow evening on WORLD Channel‘s America Reframed program. It will be available worldwide at worldchannel.org beginning Wednesday, June 17th.

A 1989 documentary called J’ai été au Bal (I Went to the Dance) explores the histories and dynamics of Cajuns and Creoles in Louisiana. Filmmakers Les Blank, Chris Strachwitz and Maureen Gosling incorporated interviews with musicians, including Michael Doucet and Queen Ida, with clips of the Louisiana dance halls, archival footage and performances of some of the original Cajun and Creole players. Watch the documentary on Youtube below.

The 78 Project

Credit: Ashlee Michot, Corey Ledet and Louis Michot | photo via The 78 Project

Inspired by John and Alan Lomax’s field recordings of the 1930s, Alex Steyermark and Lavinia Jones Wright began The 78 Project in 2011 as a way of connecting a thread from those early archival recordings to contemporary musicians. Armed with a 1930s Presto direct-to-acetate recorder and many painstakingly-crafted acetate disks, the Philadelphia area filmmakers travel across the country to encounter musicians of all styles.

Featured in the documentary is an early iteration of Soul Creole. In 2013 Steyermark and Wright drove to Arnaudville, Louisiana to meet up with Corey Ledet, Louis Michot and his wife Ashlee and record them performing a song in one take, straight to acetate. The trio sings a beautiful rendition of the traditional cajun song “Trape Mon Chapeau.” From the folks at The 78 Project:

Louis Michot told us that what he loved about French music was that everyone playing was driving the same rhythm and the same melody together at the same time. A community of song. We had driven to the Michot family home in Arnaudville, LA last August, and in the course of a hot and happy afternoon, recorded Louis with his wife Ashlee and their friend and musical collaborator Corey Ledet for The 78 Project Movie. The trio cut a 78 of the traditional Cajun dance-ending song “’Trape mon chapeau,” fiddle, accordion and guitar working together the whole way through to forge a powerful, cohesive feeling into the song. Compelling imaginary dancers to crowd together on the floor and enjoy the last joyful moments of the party.

Prior to the segment with Soul Creole, Steyermark and Wright get a lesson in the history of zydeco and Cajun music and listen to Lomax’s recording of a juré musician, performing a style of music that many call the roots of zydeco (you can read Michael Tisserand’s thoughts on these recordings in Kingdom of Zydeco).

Upcoming screenings of The 78 Project are listed below. You can purchase the soundtrack and listen to a clip of “Trape Mon Chapeau” here.  Listen to one of Lomax’s recordings of juré musician Jimmy Peters below, followed by the The 78 Project trailer.

Upcoming screenings:

Charleston, SC: Thursday, January 29th at the Charleston Music Hall (info)

Montclair, NJ: Tuesday, February 10th at the Film Forum at Montclair State University (info)

San Francisco, CA: Sunday, February 22nd at the Noise Pop Festival (info)

Write to contact@the78project.com to set up a screening in your town.

The crossroads of Creole and Cajun musicians

Photo: Clifton Chenier & Rod Bernard on the cover of Boogie in Black & White

By now we know the difference between Cajun and zydeco music. As Michael Tisserand put it in our interview with him, “The difference between Cajun and zydeco music is zydeco music reflects the Creole origins of its performers, heavily influeced by African Carribean and African music. Cajun music reflects the Acadian white Cajuns coming down from current day Nova Scotia.”

They are two distinct art forms that are rooted in two very different cultures. And while it’s understandable that members of each culture would want to maintain their singular identity, crossing the barriers of white / black, fiddle / rubboard or French / Creole can be cathartic both musically and socially.

Over the last several decades musicians from both Louisiana sects have crossed those bridges and collaborated on recordings and at live shows. In fact, one of the first recordings of what would go on to become zydeco music is an archive of  Cajun fiddler Dennis McGee performing with Creole accordionist Amede Ardoin (you can listen to the snippet, recorded by Alan Lomax, here). Below you’ll find more instances of Creoles and Cajuns teaming up to celebrate the unique flavor of Louisiana roots music.

Dennis McGee performing with Bois-Sec Ardoin

Dewey Balfa, Rockin’ Dopsie and Nathan Abshire  performing “Oh Bye Bye” and “Jolie Blond”

Rockin’ Dopsie / Dewey Balfa & Nathan Abshire by fredozydeco

Clifton Chenier and swamp pop artist Rod Bernard performing “Ma Jolie Blonde”

Steve Riley with Sherelle Chenier at Jazz Fest 2009

John Delafose & The Eunice Playboys performing Cajun song “Jolie Catin”

Outstanding! Here’s a rare video of Clifton Chenier With CJ Chenier on saxophone, Cleveland Chenier on rubboard, and the late Harry Hypolite on guitar.

Soul Creole performs “Madeleine” at Blue Moon Saloon in Lafayette, LA on October 30, 2014, a clip from the forthcoming Zydeco Crossroads documentary film by Robert Mugge.

Watch Rockin’ Dopsie at El Sid O’s Zydeco & Blues Club

Rockin’ Dopsie, Jr. performed at El Sid O’s Zydeco & Blues Club in Lafayette, LA on October 29, 2014 for the Zydeco Crossroads documentary now in production. Here’s a clip from the forthcoming documentary by director and producer Robert Mugge for WXPN.

Watch a clip of the Zydeco Crossroads Dance Party

Zydeco Crossroads

Credit: Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble | photo via Instagram by @lisabethweber

Last Saturday night zydeco fans old and new gathered together at the Perelman Theater in the Kimmel Center for an evening of music and dance. They were lead by Lafayette’s Curley Taylor & Zydeco Trouble, while Lake Charles’ Harold Guillory gave dance lessons to the newcomers. Watch a clip of Guillory and the crowd having a blast on the Zydeco Crossroads Facebook page here.

The next live Crossroads event is a holiday potluck this Saturday at the Holy Saviour Club in Norristown.  Rosie Ledet and the Zydeco Playboys will provide the music.  Find more information on this event here.

Put on your boots: The five best Zydeco dancing videos

Zydeco Dancing

Credit: Zydeco dancing at the Blue Moon Saloon | photo by John Vettese

Zydeco isn’t just all about the music, it’s also all about the dancing.  And in case you haven’t heard, the first Zydeco Crossroads Dance Party is coming to District N9NE on December 6th with Curley Taylor and Zydeco Trouble.  Lucky for us beginners, Lake Charles dance instructor Harold Guillory will be holding lessons before the show.  But if you want to get a head start on nailing the fancy footwork (or you want to see how fun Zydeco dancing can be) check out Jambalaya Magazine‘s list of the five best Zydeco dancing videos on YouTube below.  More information for the dance party can be found here.

Wolf, cluck, grunt: Animals in Zydeco

Nathan Williams | photo by Rick Olivier via www.spartanindependent.com

Music draws inspiration from everywhere, including the natural world. Popular music has called on animals from Big Mama Thorton’s “Hound dog” to Ylvis’s “What Does the Fox Say?” and Zydeco is no exception.

Some songs use animal sounds, like Boozoo Chavis barking in “Dog Hill,” and other songs simply reference them. Beau Jocque borrowed heavily from Boozoo, including barking on stage. Dogs also appear in songs by Rockin’ Dopsie, John Delafose and Willis Prudhomme and in Rosie Ledet’s double entendre “I’m Gonna Take Care of Your Dog.” Goats are also popular, with several recorded versions of Boozoo Chavis’ “Johnny Ma Cabri” (“Johnny Billy Goat”). Nathan Williams sings “Follow Me Chicken” and “Everything On the Hog.” Beau Jocque sang “Who Stole My Monkey?” and “Don’t Sell My Monkey.” Boozoo also had “You’re Gonna Look Like a Monkey,” and Zydeco Joe’s well-known for “Jack Rabbit.” Cats, bulls, mules and cows round out the Zydeco menagerie.


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Many Teams Are Interested In Yu Darvish

Many teams have expressed their interest in Yu Darvish, and I am going to break down why each team could use him.

                            Chicago Cubs

@jonmorosi at MLBN stated that the Cubs have “inquired the Rangers on availability of Yu Darvish.”  It has also been reported that the Rangers have had scouts at the Cubs minor league games.

Yu Darvish would be a huge help to the Cubs starting rotation. Darvish has posted a 6-8 record with a 3.44 ERA so far this year. Just imagine a rotation of Jon Lester, Jake Arrieta, Jose Quintana, Kyle Hendricks, and Yu Darvish. I’m just saying that would be pretty dangerous as the Cubs make a playoff push.

                             Houston Astros

@jonmorosi also stated that the Astros had a scout in attendance for Darvish’s last start. He also reported that the Astros are tracking all major rotation trade candidates.

With Keuchel about to come back the Astros starting pitching will look pretty good, but one more big pitcher could push them over the edge and give them a World Series ring.

                         Los Angeles Dodgers

The Dodgers were another team that was scouting Darvish the other night, and I think it would be huge if they landed him.

I don’t want to even think about the Dodgers starting rotation if they acquire Yu Darvish. The Dodgers already have two incredible pitchers in Clayton Kershaw and Alex Wood, so just imagine them with one more all star pitcher. If the Dodgers acquire him it will not be easy to beat them when it comes playoff time.

                        New York Yankees

The Yankees are shopping for a big time starter, and one of the big names is Darvish. @jonheyman stated that The Yankees are checking out Darvish, Gray, and Garcia.

The Yankees have proved that they can be a contender in the AL east, but they might need one more big name pitcher to help them. With Pineda done for the year and Montgomery struggling lately the Yankees could really use someone like Darvish.

Check us out on our twitter @1N2W_ for my trade deadline news

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Gaming Thoughts – Winter Challenge Aftermath

Well, Monday’s here which means it’s back to work and all the fun of the weekend is behind us. Also, we’re back from the Winter Challenge, held down in Exeter, and while we (“we” being myself, Adam and Darren) could only make it for one of the two days, we all had a great time.

Before I get into the meat of this post I’d like to extend our thanks to Ian, The Wargaming Trader, for his superb organisational skills for the day we were present. Also, thanks to Corvus Belli for not only giving us the game we all love, but also for providing a wonderful tournament system for events such as these, and the support they’ve shown by sending Ian various goodies for the prize pool. Finally, some thanks to Antenociti’s Workshop and Micro Art Studio for the prizes they supplied – plenty of Antenociti’s new line of sci-fi bases, plus Micro Arts wonderful Infinity tokens, plus a few other bits for the prize pool! In fact, the prize pool was so large, that every attendee got given a goody bag with contents relevant to their faction(s)!

The contents of my Winter Challenge goody bag - click to enlarge
The contents of my Winter Challenge goody bag – click to enlarge

With the formalities out of the way I’ll get on with the actual post now!

Before I go on, the missions we used were this Season’s ITS missions, which can be downloaded here. I figure it’s better to link to the file rather than pad my word count explaining each mission to you. If anyone does want an expanded discussion of the missions, let me know in the comments below. Please bear in mind that I’m writing these from memory, so apologies in advance to any of my opponents reading this if I get anything incorrect!

For reference, the list I took to the event was:

Combat Group 1
Auxilia with Auxbot (Forward Observer)
Auxilia with Auxbot (Forward Observer)
Deva with Devabot (Lieutenant)
Deva with Devabot
Hexa with Spitfire
Hexa with Multi Sniper Rifle
Aquila Guard with HMG
Indigo Spec Ops (Climbing Plus, +3 WIP, -3 BTS and Hacking Device)

Combat Group 2
Fusilier with HMG
Fusilier (Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater)
Fusilier(Forward Observer, Deployable Repeater)

(You can click any of the unit names to see what they look like on the Infinity website)

In most ITS events, you’re able to have two different lists (from the same faction) depending on your opponent/the mission, and so I had a second list with more orders in it – I simply dropped the Forward Observer skill from both of the Auxilia and one of the Fusiliers which gave me enough points to fit in a Trauma Doc and Palbot.

Game 1

My first game was vs Robin with his Combined Army. Our mission was Supply Run. I lost the Willpower roll-off at the start of the game, and Robin elected to go first, which left me to choose deployment zones and the order of deployment. I elected to choose a side which had some buildings with raised parapets, reasoning that since the objectives were quite exposed, I’d be able to set up to cover them and gun down anyone trying to go for them. You can see an image of the table below. I’ve highlighted my deployment zone in green, and Robin’s in red:

Game 1 Deployment Zones - click to enlarge
Game 1 Deployment Zones – click to enlarge

Unfortunately, a bit of a mistake on my part with my deployment meant that I’d left my entire right flank almost completely uncovered and so afforded a clear approach for Robin’s Anathematic, who promptly scuttled across, nestled into a nice little corner and proceeded to Sepsitorise my Aquila Guard. A single shot or a Discover attempt from a prone Hexa would have been all I’d had to oppose his movements, although I didn’t risk it as it would have revealed her (she was sat on a rooftop as a Prone TO Camo marker). Sepsitors are nasty as they allow the Combined Army player to capture and later control your figures. Robin then revealed a second figure, also carrying the dreaded Sepsitor, a Skiavoros, which bounded forward towards a central objective.

I made a break on my left-flank with an Auxilia and his Auxbot to go for the objective sat there, and was successful in grabbing a single crate and pulling back towards my deployment zone, however, as the game went on, Robin’s forces were able to gradually pick me apart and whittle me down with gunfire and Sepsitor attacks, meaning I went into retreat on Turn 3. I’d only managed a single kill – a Corax spec-ops. Robin also grabbed the central objective, putting him far ahead on Objective Points at the missions’ end, while a big fat zero was all I got at the end of that round!

Not the greatest start to a tournament, but learning from my mistake (of not covering every approach), I prepared myself for game 2.

Game 2

Game 2 was Frontline, vs Peter with his Steel Phalanx (the Aleph sectorial army). Like game 1, I lost the roll-off, and Peter elected to go first, giving me the choice of deployment zone. Given that much of my strength comes at range, I elected to take the side with the best vantage points in order to cover the approaches towards my scoring zones. As before, here’s a photo of our table with my deployment zone highlighted in green and Peter’s in red:

Game 2 Deployment Zones - click to enlarge
Game 2 Deployment Zones – click to enlarge

I also decided that my Hexa would start the game hidden, which meant I had to send Peter away while I photographed the position of my Hexa Sniper:

Hexa hidden deployment - click to enlarge
Hexa hidden deployment – click to enlarge

The beginning of the game went well for me – Peter spent what I felt was too great a number of orders trying to shift my Aquila Guard from his prone perch atop the highest tower with a Palbot sat next to him (to try and patch him up if he died). Unfortunately, the Aquila was laid low by the amount of shots coming his way, and both he and the bot died. I was lucky enough in that the central approach between the hill and central building was completely out of sight to Peter’s forces lurking in the ruins, and so I pushed forward to hopefully gain some ground. My Fusilier Link Team were anchoring my right flank, ready to oppose Peter’s Thorakitai link team led by Nesaie Alke.

Unfortunately, due to some duff dice during my turns, I was unable to damage any of the enemy models. A late-game appearance by Diomedes put paid to much of my Link Team on the right flank, and on turn 3, the Aleph led a heroic charge into no-mans land and claimed dominated each scoring zone of the battlefield. Another loss for me!

Game 3

The third game of the day used the Seize the Beacons mission. I was paired up against Stuart, who was using Nomads. This time, I won the roll off at the start of the game, and elected to choose deployment, as I figured, after a bit of checking across the board, that I would be better off with a commanding view of 2 out of 3 objectives. Stuart went first, I believe (I could be wrong here). Here’s a shot of our deployment zones:

Game 3 Deployment Zones - click to enlarge
Game 3 Deployment Zones – click to enlarge

This was far and away my favourite table of the day – a more urban setup, with a couple of long firelanes but also some nice hiding spots and the chance to advance unseen.

It looked like my luck had turned by this point, while Stuart suffered some real runs of bad luck with his dice (such as a pair of Markers both scattering back horribly into his own deployment zone – although that didn’t harm him, it certainly made my advance a lot easier as there was far less chance of my remotes being hacked on the way). On my first turn I spent a succession of orders on my Spec Op, who blitzed up the table, capturing two of the 3 Beacons as he did so – he then dropped prone behind the central one, ready to cover any Nomads attempting to come and re-capture it. It was like he was playing Call of Duty or something! Having a model with WIP15 is a god-send in PanOceania, where they usually have quite low Willpower in comparison with the other factions in the game. I was also able to get my Link Team into a commanding position watching the third objective, ready to try and stop Stuart from capturing it for his own gains.

Stuart’s run of bad luck continued into the following two turns, and I was able, bit by bit, to chip away at his forces, and even managed to score my Classified Objective, which up until this point in the day, I’d managed to forget about! (Mind you, with the way my first two games went, I had no chance of getting them even if I had remembered!). In this game, I’d managed to roll the Casualty Identification and Sabotage objectives, so I chose the Casualty ID one, as I lacked any models with D-Charges to carry out any sabotaging! At one point, Stuart sent a Prowler over towards my right flank, and I was able to pick him off with the Aquila Guard. The Prowler went down not too far from my Lieutenant, and so I spent a couple of orders running towards him to ‘stick the boot in’ and get my Classified Objective for this game.

In the end, we got to the end of turn 3 and Stuart was unable to capture the third beacon on his side of the table, although he had managed to whittle me down a little bit.

Finally, I was off the ground with 7 points!

Game 4

The final mission of the day was against Andrew with his Yu Jing. The mission was Annihilation, and we were informed that this was a fight to the death, and so the normal rules for Retreat would not be used – that suited me just fine!

In Annihilation, you get given two Classified Objectives, and this time I’d rolled Telemetry and Experimental Drug – basically I had to successfully hack an enemy, and also perform a successful Doctor roll on an ally. I was pretty confident I’d be able to carry at least one of these out in the game.

Game 2 Deployment Zones - click to enlarge
Game 4 Deployment Zones – click to enlarge

Andrew had won the roll for first turn, and had a fairly symmetrical setup, with a Remote on either flank (I would later find out that one of these was actually a Su Jian), each supported by a Shaolin monk. Andrew had placed a Keisotsu with Missile Launcher on top of one of the rock spires in his deployment zone, and a camo-marker on top of another on my right flank. He also had a third remote in the centre behind the dump-truck, and his Shang Ji on my left-flank.

I’d placed the majority of my forces out of sight behind walls and such, although the Hexa was placed in hidden deployment, prone atop the tallest building in my deployment zone, as seen here:

Hexa hidden deployment - click to enlarge
Hexa hidden deployment – click to enlarge

Things started fairly poorly for me, with turn 1 seeing a great deal of my Fusilier Link Team take fire from the Keisotsu and newly revealed Daofei. My turn 1 saw my Trauma Doc go and patch up one of the Link Team (getting me the Experimental Drug objective as well as saving an HMG in the process), although any attempts to shift the Daofei and Keisotsu were met with failure. On the left the other Shaolin gunned down one of my Auxilia and a Palbot. Things on this side of the table became very cautious, and I began to re-arrange my forces in preparation for Andrew’s second turn.

Turn 2 began and Andrew really put the pressure on, advancing on both flanks, although I’d been able to position myself well enough to shut down his push on my right, as I was able to use the Aquila Guard to see through his smoke grenades and kill both the Shaolin Monk and Su Jian with some lucky crits, plus a nicely hidden Devabot who flamed the Shaolin as he emerged from the smoke. During the fight, however, I lost the Hexa with Spitfire, who pushed his luck a bit trying to take on the heavily armed Su Jian before the Aquila could finish it off. I was able to shut down his remote which had gotten in close, along with his Shang Ji, and that’s when things got interesting. Our dice had been pretty decent throughout this turn, although Andrew was being very careful not to expose his troops to too much of the PanOceanian firepower at once. His Shang Ji decided to take a shot at one of my Devas (who, unknown to him was my Lieutenant), and succeeded in wounding her, however, I had noticed he’d gotten quite close, and I begun to formulate a risky strategy which I was sure would secure me the game.

My second turn began with a little re-arranging of forces, although my main goal was to try and pin the Shang Ji down long enough for my Indigo to get close enough and perform a Hacking roll against him, which would both shut his armour down and give me my second Classified Objective.

I sacrificed a Fusilier from the (now broken) Link Team to push forwards and fire at the Shang Ji – I succeeded and the Shang Ji ducked back behind cover, and that’s when I kicked my Spec Ops into gear – using his Climbing Plus ability he climbed down from his perch atop a building, and he got close enough to be able to carry out a hacking attack with my final order – Andrew decided to Hack Defensively with his own Hacker, and was successful, but I’d managed to roll a Critical success, destroying his Hacker’s hacking device and immobilising his Shang Ji in the process, not to mention completing my second Classified Objective.

With the time already running late, we decided to call the game there at the end of turn 2, and I’d managed to score 8 out of a possible 10 points for the mission!

All in all, it was a great day out, and the experience gained from each game has been invaluable. That said, I’m looking forward to a bit of a break from ITS missions, going back to more casual affairs such as YAMS, or even devising some scenarios of our own using scenes from action films as an inspiration.

Until next time!

7 thoughts on “Gaming Thoughts – Winter Challenge Aftermath

  1. fleshandmetal says:

    Reblogged this on Rise of Rlyeh and commented:
    Check out my mates review of the Infinity Winter Challenge tournament that I attended last weekend. I will try and write up my own review on how my Nomads faired soon!

  2. Gingerk1d says:

    For the Hyperpower! NeoTerra is something I’ve had a lot of experience with but I think you did a good job. Here are some quick bullet points:

    – Aquila is a great choice. Visors are a must-have for any ITS environment where smoke and camo can ruin your day.
    – A Deva as a Lt choice is AWESOME. 0SWC, a flamerbot, No-Wound Incap, amazing!
    – A Hacker spec-ops is a great way to save some SWC while getting a good high-WP model in there. Did you use the Shock Army Regular as a base? (-1ARM, +1WIP)

    – Everything starts in your deployment zone. Your only deterrent from an opponent taking control of the board is long range AROs (which can be risky). NeoTerra suffers with no basic Infiltrators, but you could use the peacemaker to ward off hackable opponents.
    – Two order pools is good, but you need something that can “reach out and touch” your opponent without needing to spend orders getting there. Have you considered a Garuda?

    – How much do you feel losing first turn cost you in games 1 and 2?
    – Do you feel the lack of a second list hurt you?

    – Great idea highlighting the deployment zones
    – Your final turn hacker sprint was awesome!

  3. Leeman says:

    Thanks for the comments!

    Regarding the Spec Ops, I went for a Fusilier base troop as I preferred the idea of a Fusilier (call it me being pedantic because it’s a Fusilier model rather than a Regular, plus Regulars don’t appear in the NeoTerra list) 🙂

    I don’t mind having everyone in the DZ at the start – it’s just a part of the NeoTerra playstyle, so I’ve learnt to overcome it! If I want infiltrators I’ll play vanilla 🙂

    I think that losing the first turn in the first two games wasn’t too big a deal, as I’d aimed to deploy where I wouldn’t take too many losses. I lost those games due to a few bad mistakes and duff dice when I needed them! (That and the two guys I played are very experienced players I later found out)

    I actually did have a second list (I mention it just after I detail my list in full) – the only difference was the Auxilia and a Fusilier losing Forward Observer, which gave me enough points to fit in a Trauma Doc and Palbot into the main combat group.

    The Spec Ops really became my MVP of the day after his performance in games 3 and 4!

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About Casey Nunes

25, Bay Area born & raised, straight up sardonic. Over the years, there have been various interests and affairs, but theatre is my one true love. Thank you, places. I hate eggplant, getting my ears wet, being shocked by static electricity, pancakes, tardiness, spelling errors, clowns out of context, flan, wet plastic bags, bad dental hygiene, group clapping, tangled cords and cables, and feeling too much too soon. Also, cookies make me angry. It's probably best you know these things first.

They can drive a sane person mad…

For those of you unfamiliar with any of the day-to-day tasks of stage management, one of the fun jobs we get to do is take line notes. A line note is a note taken during rehearsal when an actor doesn’t say a line correctly, calls “Line!” (meaning, they need the line given to them), drops words, paraphrases, etc. The Shape of Things is a four-person play…which means they have all a LOT of lines (and they are doing an awesome job, by the way!) and it’s inevitable that there will be pages upon pages of notes for them…

My wonderful assistant stage manager, Mason Brown, is a part of a SM team for the first time and I’ve delegated this responsibility to him for a few reasons:

1) I trust that he will give the actors accurate notes

2) He pays attention during rehearsal (this seems silly, but really… it can be a lot to ask)

3) As stage managers, we’ve all had to go through it: why not go all out for your first time?

So, Mason, I appreciate all that you’re doing (and the actors do, too!) Welcome to my world, kid.

This is what lines notes have done to him.  Enjoy.

Identity crisis.

As a first time costume designer on Dog Sees God, I guess the only things I’ve got going for me are:

  1.     I attended FIDM for awhile (but dropped out – sorry, Mom and Dad)
  2.     I like clothes
  3.     The show is set in modern times (so I don’t have to worry about being time period specific)
  4.     Lots of people that work with me trust my judgment (or so they tell me)

Although I am armed with these…um, powerful tools of design, this show will be no easy task: it has the most looks out of all of the shows featured in 2X4BASH. But there is a larger challenge I face: one of my characters, C.B.’s Sister, is a teenager who has an identity crisis and is constantly changing her look and how others perceive her and I need to express that via costumes. I’m definitely up for the challenge, but it’s a lot to take on.

On a personal note, I admire this about the character, in a way, and feel that it is extremely indicative of what we’re all doing in the BASH. One day, I’m someone’s stage manager and two hours later, I’m their sound designer, and all the while, dealing with the every day issues of managing a new company. Wearing multiple hats all day long can be tiring and, mostly, confusing, leaving me wondering on a daily basis “who I am” today.

This particular character inspires and scares me. Sometimes, I fear that I won’t be able to define myself clearly as an artist the best way I can this summer, since I am not primarily a “designer” by nature. I am an arts manager: I am excellent at upholding the integrity of others’ artistic choices. But making my own? That’s a scary thought, but I’m up for the challenge.

So, here’s to finding my way, through design, this summer. C.B.’s Sister: you are my personal mascot for breaking through the confusion and defining myself.

“You’re a difficult equation with a knack for heart evasion…” Design inspiration for None of the Above

So, it’s my second time ever sound designing (pretty stoked about it) and after reading the script, I felt the relationship between the two characters had a quirky, sometimes awkward, but playful tone to it. Other than the lyrics cleverly bouncing around metaphors of math and English, Sia’s “Academia” captures the kind of mood that I hope to throughout my design in the show. The song talks about two people who are trying to essentially express the same thing to one another, but it’s as if they speak two different languages. Give it a listen! Let me know what you think! (Lyrics are below).

You can be my alphabet and I will be your calculator
And together we’ll work out on the escalator
I will time you as you run up the down
And you’ll measure my footsteps as I pleasure this town
The mean of our heights is divided by the nights
Which is times’d by the daggers and the root of all our fights,
The pass of your poem is to swathe me in your knowing
And the beauty of the word is that you don’t have to show it

Oh academia you can’t pick me up
Soothe me with your words when I need your love

I am a dash and you are a dot
When will you see that I am all that you’ve got
I’m a binary code that you cracked long ago
But to you I’m just a novel that you wish you’d never wrote
I’m greater than x and lesser than y, so why is it
That I still can’t catch your eye?
You’re a cryptic crossword, a song I’ve never heard
While I sit here drawing circles I’m afraid of being hurt

Oh academia you can’t pick me up
Soothe me with your words when I need your love

You’re a difficult equation with a knack for heart evasion
Will you listen to my proof or will you add another page on
It appears to me the graph has come and stolen all the laughs
It appears to me the pen has over analysed again
And if I am a number I’m infinity plus one
And if you are five words you are afraid to be the one
And if you are a number you’re infinity plus one
And if I am four words then I am needing all your love

Oh academia you can’t pick me up
Soothe me with your words when I need your love

How To… Prep for a Show (As a Stage Manager)

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” — Benjamin Franklin

Word, Benjamin Franklin. Word. Frankly speaking, the majority of stage management is all about preparation and being ten steps ahead of everyone else. In light of Little Shop of Horrors rehearsals beginning, I figured mapping out exactly what I do to prepare for a show would be most appropriate for my next entry:

1)     Read the script. – Okay, I don’t always read the script completely and closely beforehand, but I definitely skim through it four or five times. I usually do this to look for information (sound cues, props, obvious light changes, quick changes, etc.) rather than reading it for plot. This can be just as helpful in familiarizing oneself with the show because you’re looking for the nuts-and-bolts details that make the show tick.

2)     If it’s a musical, find the soundtrack and listen to it. A lot. – The more you listen to the music, the easier calling the show is going to be for you (even though the arrangement in your production will never be identical to what you’re listening to). Just getting used to the music that will be drilled into your brain is a good way to ease into the process. Try listening to it while doing your prep work (the steps below).

3)     To-do lists are your best friends. – Make lists. Lists upon lists upon lists. Even if you think it’s something so small and irrelevant, add it to a list anyway, and as you work through it, you’ll see if it really needs to be addressed or if you can toss it. The idea is to get your mind in show mode: to be thinking about everything and anything regarding the show.

4)     Do the paperwork (dun dun dunnnnn). – Cast list, contact sheet (both for the cast and the production/design team), character breakdown (a chart of when each character is in each scene), scenic breakdown (locations/times of each scene), and preliminary prop list (just in case you need to gather rehearsal props). Those are the very basics and honestly, there’s only so much you can do before you start rehearsal. Other documents I’ve done: a work log (a list of when we worked on certain scenes, to keep track of progress) and scene by song number breakdown. No matter what paperwork you do, getting organized is the key.

5)     Put your book together and buy supplies. – Head on over to Office Depot/Target/your office supply store of choice and stock up on the essentials: at least a 2½” ring binder, pencils, pens, paper/a large notepad, and dividers. Every stage manager has their own style, but other things I need to have:

Index tabs: I use regular dividers to separate the larger sections of my book (script, schedules, rehearsal reports, etc.) but I use these stick-on tabs to break down scenes within the script, the paperwork I produce/receive from various departments, and many other things. Very, very handy!

Sharpies: You never know when you’re going to need one. Seriously.

Post-its, in a few colors: For making easy, removable notes as you go through the process. I say pick up a few colors so you can designate, for example, green as “quick changes” or pink as “scene shift,” or whatever you’d like.

Medium binder clips: Because I hate the permanence of staples (if you don’t happen to have a staple remover on hand) and paperclips just suck.

6)     Communicate with your director(s) about the rehearsal schedule and do your magic. – This is probably the most time-consuming part of prep, but once it’s done… what a good feeling. This is what great stage managers should be best at: organizing other peoples’ time in an efficient way. Make sure to have it confirmed by the directorial team and then distribute the information to everyone who needs it (production team, cast, etc.)

7)     Go have a cold beer (or soda, if you’re under 21). – It’s about to get crazy, so enjoy those last few moments of quiet and free time. Do something you want to do because pretty soon, it’s all about other people. SEE YOU AT STRIKE!

“I felt very still and empty, the way the eye of a tornado must feel, moving dully along in the middle of the surrounding hullabaloo.” — Sylvia Plath (The Bell Jar)

(Little Shop of Horrors opens at The Western Stage on Friday, June 10th and runs through June 26th! Tickets can be purchased here. Da doo…)

We’re following the Tweeter, the Tweeter, the Tweeter…

“Great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events, small minds discuss people.” — Eleanor Roosevelt

An idea that we at 2x4BASH have been toying with is incorporating “media-friendly” shows, where people can sign up to sit in designated seats in the house (as to not disturb our ‘traditional’ audience members) and use their Smartphones during the show to comment on or react as they watch. SF Playhouse (http://www.sfplayhouse.org/) used this concept during their production of Wirehead with Twitter and they re-tweeted select posts from audience members. I think this concept is pretty cool, but as I see it, there are so many factors that go into making this even slightly successful, especially introducing it as a completely new idea to our theatre community here on the Central Coast.

Cell phones in the theatre are typically considered blasphemous, but as time evolves, I feel we as theatre artists need to, as well. Most of us always have our phones on our person at all times (I know I do) and yes, I do think it’s incredibly rude to talk on your phone at the theatre, or not silence it. But if we were to create an environment where it was okay to use your little, technological limb for good rather than evil, I think both audience member and the theatre could benefit.

We have to look at the constants versus the variables in this situation. The constants: where the seats are located, making sure all participants interested sign up and have a verified Facebook/Twitter account (so we can check to see if they actually posted something). The variable: Internet connection, and the biggest variable of them all… human beings. We can only tell them what they are supposed to do, but will 100% of the participants do exactly that? Doubtful. The idea is to get our audience engaged and talking about what’s going on, on a first impression basis. Most of the time when we see a show, if something strikes us in a strong way, we have the rest of the show to think about or rationalize it. But if you had the opportunity to say exactly what they thought or felt about that moment in time (as we often do with Facebook and Twitter anyway), wouldn’t you want to?

Ideally, if we can rally up enough interest in our production, people will want to talk about it, right then and there without having to wait. I believe this is our ultimate goal: interest, reaction, dialog. We want to share our dialog with you.

To get started, follow us on Twitter! (2x4BASH) We promise to follow you back!

Some interesting links, regarding this topic:

The Maine Attraction.

“Perhaps, therefore, ideal stage managers not only need to be calm and meticulous professionals who know their craft, but masochists who feel pride in rising above impossible odds.” -Peter Hall

As I pack and get ready to say ‘see ya later’ Dover-Foxcroft this week, I recall the quote above (which is annoyingly placed in the signature of all of my outgoing emails) and can’t help but acknowledging that this is exactly how I am feeling at this very moment. Having only a month to put up a full-scale show with high schoolers’ schedules, a limited budget, and a two-person design team doesn’t necessarily render these ‘odds’ impossible, but they do make the overall process more of a challenge…and they definitely don’t make me feel any calmer. But when all was said and done, we had a beautiful, fun, enjoyable show.

The Apple Tree, for those who are unfamiliar with the show, is three mini-musicals, based off of three short stories: “The Diary of Adam and Eve” by Mark Twain, “The Lady or the Tiger?” by Frank Stockton, and “Passionella” by Jules Feiffer. Thematically they are all linked by topic of temptation, the power of choice, and what it is to be a human being. As you can already tell, I am a fan of using quotes to illustrate my points, and Eve in the first story sings:

“How’d I come? Where’m I from? What’s my ultimate aim? I don’t know. Even so, I’m glad I came.”

Thank you, Eve, for perfectly expressing my feelings about coming to Maine this winter. And thank you, cast and crew of Foxcroft Academy’s The Apple Tree, for allowing me to, once again, feel extreme pride in what I do. I will never, ever forget you!

Patience is a vice.

“Your job is to manage the crazy and bring out the talent.” –Jack Donaghy, 30 Rock

Patience. A virtue, some say. I say it’s an art form, a muscle: it’s something you craft or tone. Every person I work with, every place I work, every show I do… it’s all a part of the shaping of my patience. I find that I need to be addicted to patience, almost like a drug. Without that addiction, I’m any other stage manager, running on way too little sleep and an affinity for office supplies.

I’d say that for most of my life, I’ve prided myself in being a patient human being and I’ve taken that gift, applied it to stage management, and used it to my advantage. In my perfect world, I’m tolerant and can withstand any frustration that is thrown my way. As a stage manager, I believe I have to carry out this ideal no matter what, even if that’s not how I’m feeling inside. Some days I feel like I’m acting more than the people on stage. I feel guilty for lapsing into momentary spurts of internal impatience (which, I know, is ridiculous) and make a mental note to myself to try not to have that weakness in the future.

My current gig at Foxcroft Academy in Dover-Foxcroft, ME (whose spring musical, The Apple Tree, just opened on March 31st) was no exception. I was hired to stage manage and be the technical mentor for the show and technical theatre class. I had students fail to produce work at the given deadlines, not know their music a week before tech, show up half an hour late to rehearsal with no notice, and many, many other irritating things that drive me (and stage managers, in general) insane. Tiny, incremental things that got under my skin, put me in a foul mood, and therefore, all of that was in danger of being projected onto the kids. And I hated that possibility. One of my jobs as the stage manager (and more importantly, a working professional setting an example for kids who are still learning) is to help maintain high production morale and if my slight impatience started to poison the well, there would be no turning back. Negativity is infectious and when it spreads, even if you find an antidote, at that point it’s hard to purge every crumble of that attitude out of the show. Now, I won’t say that I never yelled or reprimanded them throughout this process… because I definitely did (more so than normal). But being firm and making point and yelling to establish dominance are two very different concepts. Furthermore, when I’m being firm, I am not being negative; I am simply trying to get my message across. I had to keep my cool and remind myself that they weren’t born knowing all the rules. I was given this incredible opportunity to guide them in the right direction, even if it tried my typically unwavering patience.

Two examples in The Apple Tree come to mind when it came to exercising my patience and my need for it. The first: my deck crew. Four sophomore boys with little to no experience in running a show backstage and who bicker over asinine details (or nothing at all) without actually working out problems. This is what I had to work with. One of their tasks during the show is to take down an eight-piece wall unit, consisting of six 4’x10’ flats that are held together with coffin locks and supported by a jack, with a screw drilling it to the floor. Basically speaking, it’s a pretty simple piece of theatre scenery to assemble and disassemble. The four of them have ten minutes or less to take it apart (during our second intermission). The first time I timed them? 22 minutes. After a hellish tech week, where they made mistakes, fixed them once, and repeated them, they can now take it down in three-and-a-half minutes, at best. In addition to all of this, I need them to set and keep track of all props in the show and maintain a quiet and productive backstage area. Time and time again, they were told how things needed to be done. Time and time again, they did the total opposite of what I wanted. Time and time again, I became frustrated that the notes weren’t sticking; at one point during final dress rehearsal, I was yelling directions to them from the back of the house (something I rarely do under normal circumstances and never do the day before opening). But after each slap on the wrist, I definitely instilled in them the positive reinforcement needed to keep them coming back for more. Now, I have a fully functioning crew that I would happy to work with again in the future. Taking the time to fix the problems and see them through no matter what, in addition to not giving up on them merely because things didn’t always go perfectly, made all the difference. I feel extremely proud to have been an integral part of their development in this art form, merely because I invested my time and patience in them.

The other example: a senior actor in the show (oh, how his reputation preceded him). When I first met this kid, he came off as combative, at best; always had an answer for everything, resistant to direction or suggestion. He had his answer that he wanted in his head and if yours didn’t match, he was fixed on what he wanted. I didn’t know how to approach him. Should I try to befriend him? Should I be firmer with him because he doesn’t follow certain rules I’ve set? I didn’t know, so I did neither, going against my first instincts. I waited for the answer to come to me and I found that I couldn’t have done anything better. Being patient and waiting for him to become comfortable with me, to know what I’m all about and in turn, learning what makes him tick, ending up being the best decision I could have made. I find this particular student to be entirely different than how he first portrayed himself to me; he is an extremely bright, emotionally in-tune individual with tons of potential. Had I not been fervently patient, I would have never gotten to really know and understand such a great kid.

And as much as I’ve pushed these kids to shine and play out their potential (not only as theatre individuals, but as future adults), I feel I have been pushed by them, as well: remember to always keep the faith and fight to the finish. That is the true magic of theatre: the unknown spark that ignites the fire. That is one of the things I love the most about what I do. And despite all of the mistakes and errors, the feeling of overcoming it all was worth it. There is a quote I use as a constant reminder of this:

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foreign tongue. Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.” -Rainer Maria Rilke

Some people believe that being patient is something you are born with, like having blue eyes or a birthmark. I truly believe that patience is something you have to want, and if you don’t want anything to do with it, you won’t. That’s how we are as human beings. We focus and set our minds to things we are drawn to and we reject and stay away what we don’t care for. The difference in being patient versus wanting to be patient is desire, plain and simple. This desire is what drives me as a stage manager: to become the best version of myself, on and offstage.


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text:
Home ->Castle of Black Iron ->Chapter 8: Mental Arithmetic by Abacus

 Chapter 8: Mental Arithmetic by Abacus

Translator: WQL Editor: Geoffrey

Walking out of the grocery store, Zhang Tie kept Donder's words in mind. Thinking of Donder's words, "soft tongue is sharper than any weapon as it can break hard bones and smart brains!", the depressed teenager felt a bit better.

When Zhang Tie passed the flea market, carbide lamps along the street were ignited one by one. Lamplighters in the Blackhot City were shaking bells on their four-wheelers and parked them in front of each lamp. They climbed onto the poles, removed the lampshades, added fuel, and ignited them. When they left, sexy women with half exposed breasts appeared under the shadows of carbide lamps close to the railway station as the passersby ogled. A couple of those women gathered and talked about something to their companions. Following that, some of them laughed presumptuously and madly.

Zhang Tie walked and peered at those women under lamps. They made him upset and gradually aroused his desire.

"Baby, come here to your aunt. Let me teach you how to be a man..." a forty-odd year plump and enchanting woman with red curly hair greeted him at the end of the alley beside a lamp pole. Zhang Tie could see her clearly. Looking into Zhang Tie's eyes, the woman slightly lowered herself so that Zhang Tie could notice her magnificent white breasts. She squeezed the two exposed balls outside the collar and groaned slightly, "Mmm......". She then opened her mouth and slowly licked one finger. Seeing this, Zhang Tie felt that a muscle in his throat was shaking like a rubber band, his blood had rushed to his brain, and his crotch instantly rose up. Zhang Tie escaped under the lecherous laughter of the women.

The flea market beside the railway station became really noisy at night. People from all walks of life appeared when the darkness arrived. Zhang Tie recovered his composure when he was almost 100 meters away from that terrifying and alluring woman; however, the untamed thing was still raising high. In order to avoid embarrassment, Zhang Tie had to pretend to hide his hands in his pockets so as to press down the wild thing.

The moment Zhang Tie walked out of the flea market, a voice from a roadside stall slowed him down.

"Boss, you got all these things from the ruins?"

"Of course, look at this book. The characters on it are Chinese and Andaman City-States Alliance has no such publishing. Look at its cover. it's an abacus from a Chinese clan, a computing tool that could date back to several thousand years before the catastrophe. How could it be preserved so well if not from the ruins?"

"We are not idiots, I also know that this is Chinese; however, nobody recognizes it. Bullshit, what motherf**king abacus. Nobody uses such an antique at all......"

"I'm telling you the truth..."

Zhang Tie was attracted by the word "Chinese". He moved over towards the stall and squatted together with the other two in front of the roadside stall. Many things were placed on a water-proof cloth in a disorganized way. The cloth was no larger than two square meters. The only attractive goods were daggers and copper wrist guards on the four corners of the cloth. In the flea market, each stall owner would declare that their odd goods were from the ruins after the Catastrophe, and even idiots would never trust their words...

One of the two beside him purchased a nice sheathed dagger for 8 silver coins and 60 copper coins. Then, the two went away, leaving Zhang Tie alone.

The stall owner was a sixty-odd year obscene man with a red brandy nose. Once Zhang Tie spoke to him, he could directly smell the smell of hedge wine. The old man reminded him of an animal - a mouse.

After Zhang Tie glanced over the stall casually, he took an abacus book and asked, "How much?"

"This is a treasure from the ruins, so at least twenty silver coins... " replied the old man treacherously.

"What's it used for?"

"Well, it may be a technical book on how to compute using an abacus!" the old man was also not sure about it. He had read it, but didn't understand its contents at all. He also invited an alleged expert to authenticate it; however, the expert could only identify some simple numbers inside. The contents were strange number arrangements like three three two two five five six six...

"What is it used for? Teach me how to count sheeps to fall asleep?"

"Erm, well... Sixteen silver coins, no less!" the old man added reluctantly.

"Do I look like an idiot? The book is no more than sixteen pages in total which is not even enough for me to clean shit. You want sixteen silver coins? No way! I asked about it out of curiosity," Zhang Tie threw the book angrily. He was familiar with the flea market. If you didn't bargain aggressively, you would be ripped off by them.

"So how much can you afford?"

"Eighty copper coins!"

"Eighty copper coins?" the old man sprung up like a mouse having its tail stepped on. "Boy, at least ten silver coins. I got this out of the ruins!"

"What motherf*cking ruins, I am not an idiot. There is no ruins within one thousand kilometer radius of Blackhot city. Even if there truly were some, they would have long been removed. It was never your turn. Eighty copper coins!"

"Nine silver coins, no less!"

"Well, as I respect you, ten more copper coins! "

"Ninety copper coins?" exclaimed the old man like a pig being slaughtered. "It's even lower than my price!"

"One silver coin!"

"Seven!" the old man gritted his teeth...

After a ferocious bargaining for two minutes, Zhang Tie directly stood up and left instantly. Surprisingly, the old man shouted anxiously after Zhang Tie took five steps, "No, don't leave. As you said, pay me four silver coins and the book is yours!"

A slight smile appeared on Zhang Tie's mouth. Naturally, those outsiders didn't know the name of the book; however, Zhang Tie was stunned when he saw it - . He skimmed over it and found a mental arithmetic method that was related to the abacus. He thought it was special and decided to buy it...

On the way home, Zhang Tie's stomach was already growling; however, Zhang Tie was satisfied when he touched the book in his pocket. In this age, knowledge was expensive and any skill or knowledge acquired outside the school gate was unique and precious. Zhang Tie remembered that Donder watched him for more than three months before he taught him how to use the strange thing known as the abacus. Even then, he still felt reluctant to teach him. Whereas, Zhang Tie found that only a few people in the Blackhot City knew how to use the abacus. Ordinary calculations were usually made on paper. As for superior calculation methods, there were metal hand-driven calculators in exchanges and commercial firms. Thus, the abacus seemed useless. Still, it was a special skill that could not be easily gained. When Zhang Tie noticed the abacus pattern and pithy formula on the title page of the book, he recognized the value of this book. Generally speaking, Zhang Tie thought it was worth the price. Even if its value couldn't be seen for now, Zhang Tie still felt it was valuable, let alone the fact that those silver coins weren't even his to begin with.

"Learn more, at least it's not harmful to you," Zhang Tie's dad always taught him when he was young.

His parents had always forced him to learn Chinese by slapping his hand with a bamboo clapper when he was young. It took him ten years to recognize all characters on the big-headed Chinese dictionary; it was Zhang Tie's darkest period. A dozen years later, today, Zhang Tie finally found what he had learned to be useful. He was a little pleased about this experience.

Zhang Tie never trusted the old man's word when he said that this book was from the ruins. As goods from the ruins were at least one thousand years old, this book doesn't seem that old. He suddenly found several gloomy Chinese characters under the abacus pattern, "Recommended afterclass reading for students". "I almost ready to enter society, yet I don't know about this at all. What students?! After-class reading?! Comparisons are unpleasant!"

After being beaten inexplicably, he joined the brotherhood and lost face in front of Miss Daina. Besides that, he used his war trophy to buy a book.

On the way home, Zhang Tie recalled that he had spent money and gained money today; he didn't even know whether he earned or lost today... Zhang Tie's house was in the commoners gathering area north of Blackhot City. When the upper eastern area in Blackhot City was the backyard garden of the rich, the northern areas were the cozy nests of the regular workers and citizens. Compared with the upper eastern areas, blocks in the northern area were not beautiful; however, they were tidy and safe. The parasol trees on the two sides of streets here made it somewhat warm and ordinary. Through a dozen years of effort, his parents could only afford a building with less than 100 square meters on one side of a street. The building was attached with a small log cabin in the backyard. His parents opened a roadside rice brew store in the room downstairs. His dad was a worker in the mill, while his mother ran this store. The business was so-so as it was mainly taken care of by neighboring households, and the thin profit could only slightly improve their quality of life.

When Zhang Tie returned home, it was almost 9pm. His parents were not at home; he guessed that they were at church. The rice brew store was also closed. Supper was in warm water to keep the food warm. It contained a pot of mixed vegetables, a bowl of bacon braised with kidney beans, and a huge bowl of cooked white rice. A few slices of broad bean-like sliced bacon could be seen on top of the kidney beans. This was specifically left by his parents who always said that they didn't like them as an excuse. Eating the supper, Zhang Tie felt somewhat moved. He vowed to himself that when he became rich in the future, he would provide enough fish and meat for his parents everyday.

He finished supper quickly and cleaned the kitchen. With a fatigued body, he went upstairs. When he arrived at the second floor, he could hear the rhythmed clashes and evidently depressed breath from his elder brother's room, although the door was closed. This was not the first time, and Zhang Tie naturally knew what was happening. Silently passing, he moved to the hallway. At the end of the hallway, Zhang Tie touched the rope on the wall and slightly pulled it down. Then, a wooden plank glided from the ceiling at the end of the hallway, and a flight of stairs appeared on the other side of the plank which directly connected to the above attic.

These days, the pulley might be in need of lubricating oil, as there was a big creak when the flight of stairs was lowered. The rhythmed clashing from his brother's room stopped for a few seconds before it continued more violently than before Zhang Tie had climbed up.

He finally reached the top and pulled the stairs back to reset the plank. The tiny attic with a triangular roof belonged to Zhang Tie.

The house was not large, and with a rice brew store opened downstairs, less space was available; therefore, Zhang Tie had no other choices but to live in the attic. Almost half of the tiny space was occupied by iron sheets and planks for sundries. As a result, the rest space was only available for a bed, a desk, and a small wardrobe. There was only enough space for one person to move in. The paint on the furniture had already started to fade. They were all second-hand commodities that Zhang Tie bought in the flea market and were worth less than two silver coins in total...

A room smaller than eight square meters and several second-hand furnitures were all that the miserable 15-year old teenager owned......


text:
Well, I’m Back…

…and not entirely pleased with what the scale said when I stepped on it. Oh well. Was I missed? I’m not as brave as Miss AO in giving out actual numbers, but I will say that I gained more than 5. Boo.

I will give more details of how the trip went later, but for now, I will say that I had a doctor’s appointment this morning and the verdict was at least 17 pounds. That’s how much I need to loose in order to be a healthy (according to my doctor’s opinion) weight. I think it’s reasonable, and truth-be-told, it was what I was aiming for anyway. I figured I might as well ask while I had his attention. I was glad to see that at least we were both on the same page.

And I got myself a tall iced white chocolate mocha to reward myself for it and all the other doctor’s appointments I’ve got this week. At least it was with non-fat milk and no whipped topping, right?

PS – Bonus geek points if you know where the title quote comes from…

“I will now bring you up to speed. I know nothing. Now you are up to speed.”

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Scientists in Finland Have Created 3D Printed Trees that Harvest Energy

March 11, 2015

YouTube video VTTFinland

Scientists at VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd have developed a prototype of a tree that harvests solar energy from its surroundings – whether indoors or outdoors – stores it and turns it into electricity to power small devices such as mobile phones, humidifiers, thermometers and LED light bulbs. The technology can also be used to harvest kinetic energy from the environment.

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Dear boopie,

I hate my sister “Beth.” I don’t hate her, hate her. Really I just hate the choices she makes. And all the attention she gets, but I especially hate the men she dates. She repeatedly dates men with the same bad character traits – aloof man-boys who play tough, and pretend like they’re in charge. Quite similar to our dad. UGH, I just want to kick them all in the balls. I have a big event coming up. My mother insist my sister be in attendance, but I especially don’t want her loser boyfriend to come. What should I do?

Well Sarah,

That’s a beautiful name by the way

I too have a sister, who is something of a celebrity. And I too have at times lived in her waifishly thin shadow. Like this,

but really more like this

Growing up we were pretty different. Believe it or not, I was on the ah, arty moody end of the childhood development spectrum.

Where as my sister was little miss perfect.

A square for sure, but also a little intense and scary

Anyway, my parents really encouraged (read forced) us to support one another; it doesn’t always come naturally.

Sarah, I endured years of lackluster piano recitals

despite it being clear that there was very little future for my sister music.

Now we’re very close, too close some might say,

…and there’s a price to pay for that

Anyway, I digress. My point is, it takes time. That and parents with a real commitment to corporal punishment. Actual animated gif of a whippin’ given to me:

There’s something else I need to say Sarah; I also sense a little bit of jealousy.

And you know what the root of jealousy is, insecurity

If boopie knows one thing, it’s that the battle for self love is an ongoing one.

(she’s in army fatigue, close enough?)

Let me just break the fourth wall of gif-horoscope-question-answering Sarah and use a little metaphor as in, a thing regarded as representative or symbolic of something else.

I’m in the gif business and have searched for a lot of “Graphic Interchage Format” files. I have frequently searched (dare I even type the queen mother’s name) Beyonce Giselle Knowles Carter. There are lots, innumerable really. She’s the most giffed human on the planet (her and that praise baby, a personal fave). Lord, I searched Jessica and Ashley Simpson and this gem popped up in the top twenty:

I also searched Solange. There were far fewer but they were diverse, surprising and dare I say it… better.

My point is Sarah – Beth may get a lot of “attention,” she may have the volume on lock, but you offer something different.

As for her boyfriend.

plus this

Ick, Superman let that turd circle and flush. He’ll get his…

You’re the bomb Sarah

About 4U Mag (264 Articles)
A lifestyle magazine by Kelly Lovemonster and Caitlin Donohue. Not a total vanity project.


text:
Genesis 5020

My Story for His Glory

This Means War: A Strategic Prayer Journal (For Teens) August 27, 2015

Filed under: Book Reviews — Melissa Finnegan @ 5:37 pm
Tags: , , ,

this means war

You’ve got battles to fight—on your knees.

The teen years can be tough; don’t try to make it through without one of your most powerful weapons—prayer. A companion book to the movie War Room, this new kind of journal will get you ready for a new kind of prayer life, one that’s strong, growing, and reflects just how powerful prayer is. Each short chapter tackles one of the biggest questions teens have about prayer, questions such as:

Why pray, anyway?What should I pray for? Are selfish prayers okay?Who should I pray for? Am I really supposed to pray for my enemies too?Will God listen? And will He answer? Just-right journaling prompts will then get you thinking—and praying—and reinforce the real power of fighting battles on your knees.

My thoughts:

I love this book for teens. It takes a simple, straight forward approach to introducing them to prayer and asking them questions to get them thinking about why it’s hard to pray.

At one point the teen is asked to be quiet for fifteen minutes and pray and reflect on what that’s like. Not easy for a teen but I love that they are being pointed in that direction.

I can see this book having a HUGE impact on lives if the child will actually go through it slowly and take the time to write down answers to the questions in this book.

I will say I haven’t gotten my daughter to do it yet and I don’t believe forcing her is what God wants. So I’ll leave it with her and hopefully one day she will decide to pick it up. Maybe you could do the same thing for the teen in your life 🙂

Grab your copy at your local bookstore, Amazon, Barnes and Noble,, Books-A-Million or your favorite retailer. (Book releases Sept. 1st)

A copy of this book was given to me in exchange for an honest review.

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Benkyodo: A Japanese Tradition

“Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens
Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens
Brown paper packages tied up with strings
These are a few of my favorite things.”

This song comes to mind when I think of the mochi and manju that I get from the Benkyodo Company in San Francisco’s Japantown.  There is something very special about these hand made confections.  Benkyodo opened in 1906 as one of the original businesses in Japantown.  During WWII, Benkyodo was forced to close when the family was interned.   The endurance of the family allowed them to reopen after the war and the business has been handed down generation after generation.

What is mochi and manju?  Mochi is the specific name for glutinous rice that is pounded into paste and molded into a shape.  Manju is the general term for Japanese confections, and there are many, many varieties.

For Christmas, my friend and I picked up some manju from Benkyodo.  During the holidays, it’s always best to pre-order so that you can ensure they have the varieties you are looking for when you arrive.

I decided to get a few of their seasonal varieties – blueberry mochi and apple manju, as well as one of their popular varieties – the green mochi filled with red bean paste sprinkled with soybean flour.  I enjoy these treats as they are not too sweet and come in bite sized portions.  As you bite into the blueberry mochi, you get a rich burst of blueberry in your mouth.  This is the first time I enjoyed the apple manju, one of their baked varieties which tasted like a miniature apple pie.  The green mochi with the red bean paste is more traditional, and the soybean flour adds a nice nutty flavor.

There is definitely a rich tradition and an art in the making of mochi and manju.  More than I enjoy eating them, I love unwrapping the packages that are tied up with strings.

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Staggering into Stag’s Lunchette

I love working in Downtown Oakland. One of the biggest reasons is that there are so many food options. Recently, my nose lead me one and a half blocks away to Stag’s Lunchette. It’s been open since last July, but it was my first time there.

Stag’s is open for breakfast and lunch, but the latter appears to be the more popular meal. They make specialty sandwiches that customers line up for. They use quality ingredients. It was too bad I wasn’t there a week earlier because Stag’s was making dungeness crab rolls.

When I was there, the menu had six different sandwiches including both meat and vegetarian, a chopped salad, and a Thai curry chicken soup. By the time I reached the cashier, I decided on the pastrami Reuben. The pastrami is house smoked with gruyere cheese and a spicy sauerkraut. I found the photo below on their Facebook page. Doesn’t it look awesome?

It felt like a long wait and my name wasn’t called, so I went to inquire at the counter where the sandwich makers were. They told me it would be a couple more minutes. They apologized and offered me a soup. I was happy about that because earlier when I read the menu board I was intrigued.

The bread was nicely toasted, but by the time I got back to the office, it got a bit soft. The cheese and sauerkraut was perfect with the thinly sliced pastrami. I also enjoyed the small side of vinaigrette based cole slaw that came with it.

My complimentary soup was delicious. It had chicken stock, chicken, curry, tomatoes, fried onions, cilantro, basil, and garlic oil. It was aromatic, fresh, and comforting. I was blown away by how amazingly good the soup tasted. I don’t think you could find something this good at a local Thai restaurant.

Each Tuesday, Stag’s changes their menu. I know I’ll be back with a friend so we can split a sandwich and also have soup.

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