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Thursday, 24 December 2015

The Way to Bake (A Delicious Cake)

This is just a post to share a couple of unrelated photos - seemingly unconnected apart from the song title -
Starting with one of this cake ....
made by my friend Gina - one time machine embroiderer, and textile artist and tutor, NOW magnificent professional baker, under the name 'Apricot and Fig'.
I'm slightly disappointed that she dismissed my suggestion for her business name - "Bake Well Tart" on the basis that it may attract the wrong kind of customer. (I just know that if I was cooking, I'd have to try anything to get people to buy MY cakes.)
Anyway, we had two cakes, one with icing, and one with just fruit and nuts, which we've just tried.
Firstly, can I say that she hasn't paid me to endorse her products, or given it to me as a bribe, or even said that she won't be my friend if I'm not nice about it, so this is my unbiased opinion - it was the loveliest fruit cake I've ever had, very moist and even the fruit had fruit, if you know what I mean.  My Dad - who is a fruit cake connoisseur - said he has never tasted better.  You can't say fairer than that, so thanks Gina.
And how could I NOT share these next photos ..

Our very own Snow White.
She's SO going to hate these pictures when she sixteen.

Happy Christmas everyone xx

The Way To Bake (a Delicious Cake) - by Snow White

Friday, 18 December 2015

China in Your Hand

Last week we had our Creative Sanctuary 'works Christmas outing'!
Angela kept it a secret about where we were going, and all we knew was that it was going to be a creative evening.  Anyway, it turned out that she had arranged for us to go to Elly Wall, a local potter with a studio in her garden,  to make Christmas decorations.  It was a great evening - first of all Elly explained that we needed to roll out the clay as if it was pastry (like I've ever made pastry - but I think I must have seen it done sometime, because I soon got the idea), and then we pressed different textures into the clay, and used cutters and letter blocks, before glazing the final pieces.  We all agreed that it had been a fun thing to do and we'd really enjoyed ourselves.
I'm afraid there are no photographs of the event as my hands were too mucky, but I got a text today to say that the pieces had been fired and were ready to collect from the shop - so here's mine
I'm really pleased with them, and I plan to book some classes next year, to see if I can manage to make a pot or a mug.  Maybe I'll apply to the Great British Throw Down - although I'd get fed with with that bloke bursting into tears all the time.

China in Your Hand - T'Pau

Sunday, 13 December 2015

The Hostess with the Mostest

Wow - missed November altogether in a frenzy of stitching and knitting - and lolling about, if I'm honest.
Anyway, I'm here now to show you my Holiday Hostess frock - fab Michael Miller fabric with Doris Day lookalikes in festive poses.
I used my tried an tested Emery dress pattern

I don't have much of a waist (obviously, I don't mean it's tiny, I mean it doesn't seem to go in much) so I made the front waist darts a bit smaller, and did away with the back waist darts altogether.  I also wanted the skirt as 'puffy' as possible so I didn't bother with the skirt pattern pieces and used the whole width of the fabric - just in case it didn't look quite ridiculous enough as it is.
I'm not sure how much wear I'll get from such a season-specific frock, but so far I have got four occasions this year when I intend to wear it - fortunately with a different 'audience' each time, so that'll do me.
Anyway, it had it's first outing yesterday when I wore it to the Christmas lunch of the North Herts and Beds branch of the Embroiderers Guild.  Sounds very grand and boring, but actually its a bunch of about 70 women who like to paint/dye/bead/burn/stick/print/stencil/hand and machine stitch - in fact all things textile-y.  Some people even embroider! If you're reading this and fancy finding out more about the Guild, email me - we are always looking to attract new members, and, if you are not local,  there are branches all over the country.
Our speaker at yesterday's lunch was the most famous male cross-stitcher in the UK today - Jamie Chalmers aka Mr X Stitch - a really entertaining speaker who talked us through some incredibly inspirational works by textile artists.
Anyway, that's me and my totally age-inappropriate frock.
Better 'mutton dressed as lamb', than 'mutton dressed as mutton' I say.

The Hostess With The Mostest - Frank Black


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Thursday, 24 March 2016

VMware Site Recovery Manager 6.1 Enhancements

With SRM 6.1 VMware announced the RPO of 5 minutes if you are using the VSAN datastores
Enhancements in SRM 6.1:-
There are alot of enhancements in SRM 6.1, now lets start with the briefing on these enhancements and in the later part of this post i will discuss them in more detail:-
1. Storage Policies based Protection Group
2. Streched Storage Support & Orchestrated vMotion
3. Enhanced Integration with NSX
4. SRM Air

Storage Policies based Protection Group
Storage policy-based protection groups utilize vSphere tags in combination with vSphere storage policy based management to enable automated policy based protection for virtual machines. Storage policy-based management enables vSphere administrators to automate the provisioning and management of virtual machines storage to meet requirements like performance, availability and protection. vSphere tags allow for the ability to attach metadata to vSphere inventory, in this case datastores, which makes these objects more sortable, searchable and possible to associate with storage policies.

 Here is how tags and storage-policy based management are used together with storage policy-based protection groups:

• A tag is created and associated with all the datastores in each desired protection group
• A tag based storage policy is created for each protection group utilizing the tag
• A storage policy-based protection group is created and associated with the storage policy

When any virtual machine, new or existing, is associated with that policy and placed on the replicated datastore, Site Recovery Manager protection is automatic. If a virtual machine is disassociated from that policy and/or moved off the datastore it is automatically unprotected. The same happens for datastores and the virtual machines on them. Leveraging storage profiles to identify protected resources saves time and reduces cost and complexity by eliminating the previously manual operations required to protect and unprotect VMs, and to add and remove datastores from protection groups.

Streched Storage Support & Orchestrated vMotion
Prior to Site Recovery Manager 6.1 customers had to make a choice between using Site Recovery Manager or vSphere Metro Storage Clusters/Stretched Storage to provide a multisite solution that was optimized for either site mobility or disaster recovery without being able to attain the benefits of both solutions simultaneously. Site Recovery Manager 6.1 now supports using cross-vCenter vMotion in combination with stretched storage, thereby combining the benefits of Site Recovery Manager with the advantages of stretched storage.
Graphic thanks to VMware

The integration of stretched storage with Site Recovery Manager 6.1 allows customers to achieve what was previously only possible with vSphere Metro Storage Clusters:
• Planned maintenance downtime avoidance – Orchestrated cross-site vMotion and recovery plans allow for workload migration transparent to app owners or end users
• Zero-downtime disaster avoidance – Utilizing the ability to live migrate workloads using cross-site vMotion and the planned migration workflow in Site Recovery Manager 6.1, customers can avoid downtime instead of recovering from it

Enhanced Integration with NSX

Graphic thanks to VMware
Networking is typically one of the more complex and cumbersome aspects of a disaster recovery plan. Ensuring that the proper networks, firewall rules and routing are configured correctly and available can quite challenging. Making an isolated test network with all the same capabilities can be even more so. Additionally, solutions like cross-vCenter vMotion require a stretched layer-2 network which can create even more difficulty. NSX 6.2 has a number of new features which enhance Site Recovery Manager. This means that organizations can now use NSX and Site Recovery Manager to simplify the creation, testing and execution of recovery plans as well as accelerate recovery times. NSX 6.2 supports creating “Universal Logical Switches”, which allow for the creation of layer-2 networks that span vCenter boundaries. This means that when utilizing Universal Logical Switches with NSX there will be a virtual port group at both the protected and recovery site that connect to the same layer-2 network.

SRM Air is a software-as-a-service offering from VMware, which brings the management and automation benefits of Site Recovery Manager to VMware vCloud Air. SRM Air is fully integrated with vCloud Air Disaster Recovery to provide self-service protection and centralized recovery plans for orchestrated migration, failover, and fail-back between on-premises data centers and vCloud Air.
Graphic thanks to VMware

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Wednesday, August 8, 2007

NCAA mini review

Bill Harris over at Dubious Quality has a mini review of NCAA 2008. Check it out if you are interested in the game. As usual, his thoughts are pretty spot-on. Check the site out for some great video game commentary even if you aren't into football games.

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Omega Vitals

Healthy Essential Oils for Head-to-Toe Omega Benefits

Omega Vitals is a proprietary and purified blend of essential fatty acids to promote health, cognitive function and cardiovascular support. Our exclusive formula has left nothing to chance and includes the following:

  • Fish oil – from sardines, mackerel and salmon found in the deep seas, and contains the omega-3 fatty acids eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)—precursors of certain eicosanoids that are known to have many health benefits.
  • Evening primrose oil – provides the omega-6 fatty acid gamma-linolenic acid (GLA).
  • Flaxseed oil – contains alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), a precursor to the essential omega-3 fatty acid that partly converts into DHA and EPA in the body.
  • Pumpkin seed oil – known to have one of the three highest concentrations of Omega-3 and Omega-6 fatty acid oils.

Omega Vitals helps provide the crucial building blocks for every cell membrane in your body and helps produce key ingredients for energy metabolism, support for cardiovascular health and immune health. Regular intake of Omega Vitals is beneficial if you do not eat enough fish on a regular basis.

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Nutritional Benefits

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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure or prevent any disease.


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Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Tg Sutera (Johore) Trip - June 15-17 '09

The rocky shore off Tg Sutera Resort.
Jambu air or Water Apple ( Syzygium aqueum)

Pebbles, pebbles ( quartize pebble) everywhere Quartized rock that resembles a heart

A moth spreading the wing like F117 stealth plane
While others were busy buying fruits , I dashed over the other side of the fields and did a few quick fotos of passion fruit's flower
and the Dragon fruit .. from the Desaru fruit farm.

Sea bat lily or Tacca leontopetaloides growing under the shade of sea- almonds.
This one had very different leaves structure than
the normal bat lily we found on Bukit Timah Reserve.

Melastoma malabathricum or Straits Rhododendron a common wasteland plants.

Wild boar's (?) wallow seen on our forest trails
Sea Lettuce( Ambong-ambong) or Scaevola sericea's flowers the stigma reminds me of
H.G. Well's War of the World invading machines.

Pandanus odoratissimus or Common Seashore Screw pine (Pandan). I saw squirrels nibbling at the fruits.
Padina Mermaid's Fan ( A brown algae) -
noted the characteristics of the banded fronds
Sea cucumber **
The 'gut' of this creature can be seen through the semi transparent 'sac'.

Frilly anemones, Phymanthus sp **.
Another one at dried land try to dig in and throw up a circular fountain of water when disturbed

Rock formation of Tg Sutera Fruits of Oil palm and you can eat it ( see below)

A fallen bread fruit, Artocarpus altilis on our Kampong walk.

Would be a nice breadfruit snack to go down with Tiger Beer
Bright color of a kampung house
While others were focusing on taking the bright red flowers above
i was attracted to the unusual 'funnel'-shaped fruit of Pereskia bleo or Rose Cactus.
Love-in-a mist , Passiflora foetida
One of my childhood edible bush berries ( orange when fully ripe)

Fruits / Seeds washed up on the shorePong Pong , Cerbera odollam

Xylocarpus granatum**

Nipah palm fruits, fossiled version or nipadites exists else where.

Box fruit of Putat Laut or Barringtonia asiatica for making fish poison
and the unmistakably coconut

Group Members' fotos here: Vimala's , Juliana's , Marijn's

**Thanks to Ria Tan for the IDs of seashore creature and the spilled out seed fruit

Mahaya said...

As usual , you have a unique eye for the unusual . Great shots , YK ! I am really pleased we all had a wonderful time in Tg Sutera ... will keep in touch for future explorations and photo shoots .

Cheers ! :-) . :-)

darkmatter said...

Thanks Mahaya. Looking forwards to another adventure.


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Saturday, October 16, 2010

Bukit Timah Nature Reserve II - where is the other cave?

We missed out this one on last week trekking. Going  in for a closer look.
 What strikes me :  a bright light at the other end of the cave !!!

If you stood near the entrance you could pick up the dripping echoes from  the cave ceiling. A flashed shot revealed the many ripples ( the through entrance  is barely visible from this angle).

'Ants' marching up the buttress root..
A closer look reveled the 4-5 lane highway were stationed with peripheral 'guards'. From the pic the antennae of these guards  were not angled so could these be marching termites instead? Ant vs Termite diagram courtesy of the unknown author from the web ( reproduced below) [VIDEO here]

Rock Path .. a short but  interesting path
Looks like the one in SBG's rain forest path
005- first cave 007 2nd cave, 37.52 metre from the first cave.

South View Path to Cave Path to Catchment Path to Rock Path.
Take blue line to TAS VHF station and back

Ivan said...

Yup, those are termites indeed.

Dark Matter said...

Hi Ivan:
Thanks for the +ve id.

Anonymous said...

hi can i find out if you were able to go in the cave. It's kinda urgent. Pls reply me through my email add at Thank you very much.


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Monday, 14 March 2011

The Chilli Pickle opens at myhotel Brighton

Two successful Brighton businesses - The Chilli Pickle and myhotel - have now joined forces.

myhotel first opened its doors in 2008 and was described as a place where Freddie Mercury might have met the Maharishi. Since then the hotel has become a firm favourite and has been listed in Conde Nast Traveller's Hot List and was recently voted the UK's 4th trendiest hotel in TripAdvisor's Traveller's Choice Awards.

Similarly since The Chilli Pickle first opened its doors a couple of years ago the restaurant has become extremely popular with locals and visitors alike and won the top gong at The British Curry Awards 2010 and was listed as one of the Best UK Curry Houses in the Independent.

Given the Eastern influence of the hotel it seems a logical move for the Chilli Pickle to expand and move into myhotel's premises. The new restaurant officially opens today (14th March) and includes a lot of the old favourite dishes as well as a few new ones. There are a number of seating options from banquettes to free standing tables or even canteen style seating at the new 'banana table'! Having recently returned from a research trip to India, the owners - Alun and Dawn - have made sure that everything is as authentic as possible, even down to the music as they have selected 1950s Bollywood classics.

To book a table call 01273 900383.

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Visit Phaistos
traditional villages, Crete

Holidays in the traditional Greek villages

Visit Phaistos
Vori, Phaistos, Crete

Nature, history and traditional way of living

Visit Phaistos
Phaistos Area, individual holidays

Situated between mountains and sea

Villa Epavlis Kamilari, with panoramic view

Epavlis, Holiday house Kamilari

Village: Kamilari

  • 4-6 Persons
  • 2 bed room
  • 2 couches in the living room
  • 1 bathroom

Price from per day: 90,- €

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Epavlis Villa, is one of the oldest stone buildings in Kamilari village, located at the top of Ovora hill, at the northeast and highest point of the original Kamilari settlement. It offers panoramic views of Psiloritis and Messara Valley. The original house complex was the first historical building to be restored in Kamilari by our family for family housing purposes. It therefore keeps a traditional Cretan family house character, which we believe our guests will appreciate and enjoy!

The historical building offers a unique accommodation experience (it is and feels like a real home) while the yard offers unique panoramic views of the magnificent surrounding natural landscape of south Crete (it is and feels like real Crete). Enjoy your coffee, lunch or dinner with peaceful and magnificent views of Psiloritis, Lassithi and Asterousia mountains, Messara Valley and Phaestos Palace. Feel and hear the fresh northern breeze, see birds flying around Epavlis hill, admire the unique sunrise and moonlight which has inspired Cretan culture since Minoan times!

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Tuesday, November 3, 2009

Sydney New Year’s Eve fireworks – a display of cutting-edge pyrotechnics

Of course, you would have heard of the New Year’s Eve fireworks in Sydney. And of course, you would have seen it – on television at least – every year, for this is one of the most, if not the most, famous and the most televised New Year’s Eve fireworks in the world.

The New Year’s Eve firework display in Sydney is known for its synchronised perfection and its technological precision. It has been an awesome show of advanced pyrotechnics every year. Fireworks are launched from barges and rooftops, and from various locations on the Harbour Bridge. It has been estimated that this year the show will use over 3000 kilograms of explosive devices including shells and shooting comets and other special features and effects!

WOW - to say the least!

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Friday, March 18, 2011

Thursday, March 17, 2011

Wait, what?!?

Thanks, technology

Think about it for a few seconds

Live radiation monitor from West LA

This is displaying counts per minute [CPM]. Normal background radiation is variable, but CPM in the 5 - 60 range are not unusual. Sustained CPM of 130+ indicates something over and above background radiation.

Another monitoring site: here

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Beef red chile enchiladas

This was supper tonight.

First off, they are made with a ton of red chile powder I brought back from a trip to New Mexico, where I grew up.  NM expatriates take that stuff back out of state by the pound when they visit there.

Second, these were hot.  Not just piquant, but seriously endorphin releasing levels of heat.  Think really hot Thai food.  Odds are you couldn't eat it.  You have to grow up eating this kinda stuff.

Third, I can't really give a recipe for them, because I just make them w/o measuring anything.

Fourth, the endorphin release after eating these is about the same as you get at the 4 mile mark on a balls out 6 mile run.

Mixed Memes

If you don't watch Man vs. Wild, you won't get this

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

There will come a time when you believe everything is finished. Yet that will be the beginning.

Louis L'Amour

No kidding

Tuesday cattitude

Monday, March 14, 2011

I'm at a loss for words, but empathy abounds

People can be quirky.  That is part of what makes us individuals.  And those quirks can be amusing or irritating to others, based on their personality, which is a summation of their own experiences and quirks, also emotional and thought patterns.  Some people are attracted to people who are opposites from them in significant ways, while others are attracted to people who are similar to them.  One article I read recently suggested that people tend to be attracted to others who have similar levels of emotional development, that being one of the reasons why dysfunctional families tend to perpetuate themselves across generations.  People with similar levels of dysfunction recognize each other, fall in love, get married, then pass those traits on to their kids.

With respect to what I'm calling "dysfunctional" here, let me divide that into different categories.

Mild dysfunction isn't necessarily something that means the person is flawed or that there is something wrong with them.  It just means that there are certain rules or expectations they have about how people interrelate,and they are somewhat inflexible about them.  It might not even be fair to refer to something like that as a dysfunction, as much as a convention that existed in the family of origin, and that is carried on by the children of that family into the family of their own, later in life.  To the extent that you carry on quirks your parents have, into the next generation, you may be experiencing something like what I'm trying to describe here.  For example, as a child your parents may have insisted that something be done a certain way.  In your new family, you tacitly negotiate the importance of that with your spouse.  They also negotiate similar expectations with you.

This can be something as trivial as what brand of mayonnaise your family uses.  Say your parents always used Hellman's, for example, so you won't use Kraft's.  Your spouse kinda prefers Kraft's, but it is less important to them what brand you use, than that there is harmony in the family.  So, Hellman's it is.  I postulate that a lot of this gets worked out in the post honeymoon phase of a relationship.   Once the ego defenses collapse during the amorous love phase, then they begin to reassert themselves.  Conflicts emerge and compromises are worked out, and the relationship between the partners gain richness and deepen over time, as a fabric of shared priorities and compromises is constructed.  I digress.

More seriously dysfunctional components of a family structure can cause bigger problems though.  There are things that are beyond quirks or benign "inherited" preferences, but that actually can cause physical or emotional harm to a spouse or child, for example.  Physical and emotional abuse, neglect, are examples.

It is well understood that emotional abuse can be every bit as severe as physical abuse.  It is also well understood that abuse can cause profound harm to the recipient thereof.  In researching this subject over the last few months, one of the things I learned is that people who are subjected to abuse will react to it in different ways, based on their own personal traits, and in a synchronous balance that works with the nature of their relationship to the rest of the family.  Some will rightfully not put up with it.  Others may internalize the abuse, essentially blaming themselves for it, as a way of explaining or understanding why it is happening.

In particular, children may internalize the abuse.  They don't have the cognitive ability to understand that what is happening is wrong.  They don't have the defenses, the assertiveness, that an adult often has.  They are also not in a position to leave, because they are unable to support themselves outside of the family unit.  So in some cases, children who grow up in an abusive environment use the only defense they have available.  They can't blame the parent or parents who are perpetrating the abuse, so they blame themselves.  Similar behavior can be seen with some abused spouses.

I'm not doing justice to describing the family structure, dysfunctional or otherwise, in the paragraphs above.  I'm only supplying a context for details that are to follow.  If you want an in-depth view of what I've poorly summarized above, please consider getting a copy of the revised edition of "The Family", by John Bradshaw.  It literally takes hundred of pages to do the subject justice, and Mr. Bradshaw has done an excellent job.

Having sketched out a framework for this, and provided a cite for a much better treatment of that framework, now I turn to an example of this.  I have a friend I'm going to call X.  I know X as well as anyone does, and he has gone through a period of chaos then healing after finding and dealing with emotional abuse sustained during childhood.  Until X was about 8 years old, his childhood was pretty normal.  Loving parents, safe, clean environment, no important unmet needs.  When X was 8 years old, though, things began to change.  X's mother had, over the course of several years, slowly lost an important sensory ability.  By the time X was 8, that ability had been totally lost.  X's mother was affected by this, triggering what an educated guess calls bipolar disorder.

This didn't come on suddenly, it was more like a slow confusing descent.  As the mental illness progressed, X's mother changed.  She was like a different person compared to the mother X had grown up with up to that point.  She increasingly became emotionally abusive, to the point that X's whole world shook around him.  Things were regularly said that a person wouldn't say to their own worst enemy.  Any significant event, like a holiday or birthday, guaranteed that emotional punishment would be thrown like boiling oil on everyone in the family.  As the disorder progressed, X couldn't even predict what would set his mom off.  It was seemingly random, which made it even more terrifying.

X couldn't do anything except walk on eggshells all the time, waiting for the next incident of emotional abuse.  Unable to understand what was going on, unable to escape it, X had limited, childlike defenses available.  One of those defenses was to blame himself for his mother's behavior.  That is what I was referring to above, when I said some people internalize the abuse.  Think about it: X didn't know that what was happening was wrong;  X knew he loved his mother;  Consequently, X came to believe that it was his fault that his mother acted that way.  If she said he was worthless and that she wished he had never been born, she was right  If she degenerated him in ways that were every bit as painful as a severe beating, it must be his own fault.  I also suspect that internalizing abuse is a way that children or other victims use in an attempt to gain some sort of an illusory control over the situation, because the situation is otherwise emotionally impossible to deal with.  By blaming themselves, they give themselves the illusion that if every aspect of them is perfect, then the abuse will stop.

One of the most horrible results of being abused as a child is that it colors how the victim sees the world later in life.  In the case of X, he carried that internalized blame, or Toxic Shame, into his adult life.  X was essentially a shame based person, and his perception of the world was largely controlled by that.  Something that another person might see as a setback, or even just bad luck, X perceived as confirmation of the underlying shame he felt about himself at the most basic level.  People like that may have characteristics such as always seeking to please, emotional overreaction to perceived slights, hyper-vigilant behavior, being socially withdrawn.  Shame based people take everything negative as something personal, as a reminder of that underlying sense of being less than human that defines their self image.

Needless to say, X wasn't a very happy person.  Some events later in his life caused him to finally seek help for this, and through a long process, X was able to remove the shackles that had kept him bound in a shame based prison.  He learned to take off the filter of toxic shame through which he saw, and misperceived, himself and the meaning of events around him.

I won't go into any details, but will hit the high points of how he got there:

X had to recognize the abuse for what it was.  That isn't easy to do, especially with respect to abuse by a parent.  There is a natural tendency to deny it, and to defend the offending family member.  As a first step, that defense has to be dropped.  That can take months of work, and it isn't something X was able to do alone.  I postulate that it happens in several phases.

First, the abuse has to be recognized as incorrect behavior by the parent.  Not normal.  Something to be condemned.

Second, the victim has to recognize how the abuse affected them.  They need to see how they internalized abuse by a parent, and made it their fault.  Then they need to see the fallacy in doing that.

Third, they need to recognize that the reason for the abuse was something outside of them.  In the case of X, it was his mom's bipolar disorder.  Once X accepted that, with a bit of time and work with a good therapist, he was able to recognize that the shame didn't belong to him.  It belonged to his mother.

Fourth, the victim needs time to emotionally process all this, and re-order their emotional house free of the toxic shame.  It doesn't happen overnight.

This is a fundamental change in an old component of someone's personality, and fixing that isn't like swapping out a bad part.  The way the victim sees and perceives the world is changing, and change is scary and takes time to get used to.  I also postulate that there is a period of time when the victim, now beginning to become free of the emotional harm from the abuse, has to test drive the new perspective he or she is starting to develop.  There will be times when that doesn't always go well, and sort of a "two steps forward, one step back" period goes on.  How long?  For as long as it takes.  They may reconnect with others who do not echo this new perspective, and that may cause regression.  They may also connect with new people who are free of it, and that can move things forward.

So where did X end up?  I think he is still in that "test drive" period, although he is growing more confident about his new perception of himself and the world with every day that passes.  I've seen some amazing changes in him.  He was a very timid person in a lot of ways, but is now someone I'd characterize as much more Type A. He doesn't take everything as some sort of judgment against him.  He has a growing sense of self worth that is completely independent of anything external to himself, for the first time in his life.  Prior to this, the only sense of self worth that X had was based on what is called "other esteem."  He was his job, the title there, how nice his car was, or his house was, or how much money he had in the bank.  Now, he isn't a summation of external validations, but is instead first and foremost, himself.

I asked X if I could post this, and he said it was OK so long as there wasn't anything personally identifiable in it.  He looked over it before I posted, and gave his OK.

I also asked X what was the single most important thing he had learned out of this process.  He said that "Unless you are being a jerk or something, how people react to you is 95% about them, and 5% about you."

Monday Kitteh

Felt this way after the last page of "THE GIRL WHO KICKED THE HORNET'S NEST"

If you don't watch Man vs. Wild, you won't' get this

Out loud...

An interesting discussion on what is going on with the nuclear power plants in Japan

Why I am not worried about Japan’s nuclear reactors.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Note to self...


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Abstract of IRC2005 - The North European International Rubber Conference - Creating Value Throughhout the Supply Chain     2005

Engineers and designers are searching in their quest to reduce costs, for reliable alternatives to be used in their current metal-to-rubber product ranges. Where as in the past metal did the job, they have chosen engineering plastics to be suitable candidates. Function integration, weight, interaction with the rubber and cost reductions are only a few of many criteria, which make the choice for plastics an obvious one. DSM

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101 Totally True Facts About The Ramones

In 2016, The Ramones celebrated the 40th anniversary of their first album. Let’s check out 101 Ramones facts to celebrate!

One of my favorite musical genres is Punk. I love the energy, the attitude, the style. If you know me IRL, you might see me as a bit buttoned-down. But if you look below the surface, you’ll see something more.

I’m vmcampos. Rock-and-roller!

101 Ramones Facts

  1. The Ramones formed in Forest Hills, New York in 1974.
  2. The name of the band comes from the time Paul McCartney called himself Paul Ramon.
  3. The four original members of the band were Joey on vocals, Johnny on guitar, Dee Dee on bass, and Tommy on drums.
  4. Joey Ramone’s real name was Jeffrey Ross Hyman.
  5. He was born on May 19, 1951, New York.
  6. Johnny Ramone’s real name was John William Cumming.
  7. He was born on October 8, 1948, also in New York, and making him the oldest Ramone.
  8. Dee Dee Ramone’s real name was Douglas Glenn Colvin
  9. He was born on September 18, 1951, sharing the same year as Joey.
  10. Tommy Ramone’s real name was Thomas Erdelyi.
  11. He was born on January 29, 1949.
  12. The second drummer for the band was Marky Ramone, whose real name was Marc Steven Bell.
  13. He was born on July 15, 1956.
  14. The third drummer was Richie Ramone and his real name was Richard Reinhardt.
  15. He was born on August 11, 1957.
  16. Their fourth drummer was Elvis Ramone. His real name was Clement Bozewski, born on November 24th, 1955.
  17. He only lasted for two live gigs: the shortest-serving Ramone.
  18. After Dee Dee Ramone left, C.J. Ramone replaced him on bass. His real name was Christopher Joseph Ward.
  19. He was born on October 8, 1965, making him the youngest Ramone.
  20. There were four Ramones born in New York: Joey, Johnny, Marky, and C.J.
  21. There were three Ramones born in Queens: Joey, Johnny, and, C.J.
  22. There were two Ramones born in New Jersey: Richie, and Elvis.
  23. There was one Ramone born in Virginia: Dee Dee.
  24. There was one Ramone born outside the U.S.: Tommy, born in Budapest, Hungary.
  25. They had a total of 14 studio albums throughout their career.
  26. They most often released an album in September.
  27. But they released at least one album almost every other month of the year; Except March, June, & August.
  28. Their first album was released in 1976, titled, “Ramones
  29. Their last album was released in 1995, and was named, ¡Adios Amigos!
  30. They had an album titled in Italian: Mondo Bizarro (1992). It means bizarre world.
  31. They had an album titled in Spanish: ¡Adios Amigos! (1995), which means goodbye friends; a fitting title, since it was their last one.
  32. They released an album with a country in its title: Rocket to Russia (1977).
  33. Their only album title that mentions drugs: Acid Eaters (1993).
  34. The Ramones were very prolific. They released TWO albums in one year, 1977. They were Leave Home (January 10) and Rocket to Russia (November 4)
  35. In the ’70s they released 4 albums (Ramones, Leave Home, Rocket to Russia, Road to Ruin).
  36. In the ’80s they released 7 albums (End of the Century, Pleasant Dreams, Subterranean Jungle, Too Tough to Die, Animal boy, Halway to Sanity, Brain Drain).
  37. In the ’90s they released 3 albums (Mondo Bizarro, Acid Eaters, ¡Adios Amigos!).
  38. The longest time between albums was 3 years: 1989’s Brain Drain and 1992’s Mondo Bizarro.
  39. The shortest time between albums was 10 months: January 10, 1977 – Leave Home to November 4, 1977 – Rocket to Russia.
  40. Their Shortest Album was “Ramones” from 1976 at 29:04.
  41. Their Longest Album was “Mondo Bizarro” from 1992 at an astonishing 37:25.
  42. Therefore, their avearge album length was about 32:45. Which is perfectly punk: Fast, Loud, and Done.
  43. The Ramones published 177 songs.
  44. For a total of 7 hours and 42 of non-stop play.
  45. The first Ramones song was ‘Blitzkrieg Bop.’
  46. The last Ramones song was ‘Born to Die in Berlin.’
  47. The most songs they ever had on an album was 14.
  48. Their average was 13.
  49. But the most common number of songs on an album was 12.
  50. The longest song was ‘Bye Bye Baby’ from Halfway to Sanity in 1987. It was an epic 4:35.
  51. The shortest non-instrumental song was ‘Judy is a Punk’ from Ramones, in 1976. It roars by at 1:33.
  52. The absolute shortest song is the instrumental track ‘Durango 95’ from Too Tough to Die in ’84. It’s on and gone in 55 seconds.
  53. Their longest song title is ‘Everytime I Eat Vegetables It Makes Me Think Of You’ from Mondo Subterranean Jungle [1983]. It’s 10 words and 52 characters.
  54. Actually, ‘every time’ is misspellled as ‘everytime’, so the song title is really 11 words and 53 characters long.
  55. Besides their numeric song titles, their shortest title is ‘No Go’ from Too Tough to Die [1984] at 2 words and 5 characters.
  56. The Ramones released three songs with numbers in the title: 53rd & 3rd [1976], 7-11 [1981], 7 and 7 Is [1993].
  57. Joey was lead vocals in 161 songs.
  58. Dee Dee sang lead 7 times, starting with ‘Time Bomb’ from Subterranean Jungle in 1983.
  59. His last lead vocal song was ‘Punishment Fits the Crime’ from Brain Drain in 1989.
  60. C.J. sang lead 9 times, starting with ‘Strength to Endure’ from Mondo Bizarro in 1992.
  61. The only album that did NOT start off with Joey singing was Acid Eaters from 1994; that was C.J.
  62. The song with the least lyrics, ironically, was “Got Alot to Say” from ¡Adios Amigos! (1995). It has two unique lines and goes on for 1:41.
  63. Song with the most lyrics is ‘She Talks to Rainbows’ with 13 unique lines, and goes on for 3:15. It’s from ¡Adios Amigos! in 1995.
  64. The Ramones released a Christmas song, titled ‘Merry Christmas (I Don’t Want to Fight Tonight)’ it was on Brain Drain (1989).
  65. They also released a sequel to a song – ‘The Return of Jackie and Judy’ from End of the Century (in 1980), which continued ‘Judy is a Punk’ from Ramones (1976).
  66. Richie, the 3rd drummer, wrote a song about Jesus for the band, titled “I’m Not Jesus” from Halfway to Sanity in 1987. It was a very Heavy Metal style song.
  67. Their most violent song is ‘Scattergun’ from ¡Adios Amigos! (1995) with lyrics like “I got the bead on you, she fires true” and “Cut any man right off at the knees Don’t need to bother the police”
  68. But if you think about it, even from the earliest song, ‘Blitzkrieg Bop’ – Ramones [1976], they had lyrics like, “Shoot him in the back now.”
  69. Even their second song ‘Beat On the Brat,’ which is about beating a kid with a baseball bat is pretty violent!
  70. The bleakest song is ‘Worm Man’ the last song from Halfway to Sanity (1987), with lyrics such as, “I’m no good to anyone” and “” and ends with “I wish I was dead.”
  71. The happiest song is ‘Chasing the Night’ from Too Tough to Die (1984), with lyrics such as, “I’m never ever gonna tire.” “Life my life as I choose.” “Rock all night.” Excitement generated.
  72. Song titles that start with ‘I’ – 21.
  73. Songs that start with ‘You’ – 3.
  74. Songs that start with ‘We’ – 1.
  75. Songs titles that include ‘Love’ – 9.
  76. Songs that include ‘Hate’ – 0.
  77. Believe it or not, they had a song for every letter of the alphabet. If you bend the rules for U, V, and X, that is.
  78. First concert was August 16, 1974 CBGB in New York.
  79. Last Concert was August 6, 1996 at The Palace in Los Angeles.
  80. This list is coming at you from San Diego. The Ramones played in San Diego 18 times.
  81. Debbie Harry, from Blondie, sung guest backing vocals on ‘Go Lil’ Camaro Go’ from from Halfway to Sanity [1987]
  82. Flo & Eddie from The Turtles sung guest backing vocals for ‘Touring,’ on Mondo Bizarro.
  83. Pete Townshend, from the Who, sung guest backing vocals on ‘Substitute’ from Acid Eaters [1993].
  84. Sebastian Bach, from the Heavy Metal band Skid Row, sung guest backing vocals ‘Out of Time’, also on Acid Eaters.
  85. Lastly for Acid Eaters, notorious underage porn star Traci Lords sung guest backup vocals for Somebody to Love.
  86. What was Acid Eaters? An album completely of covers from 1993.
  87. The Ramones loved covering songs, and had one in every one of their 14 albums except 4.
  88. The Ramones had their own movie: “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” from 1979.
  89. The Executive producer was Roger Corman, a trailblazer of independent film.
  90. Joe Dante gets co-Story credit. Dante later went onto create such memorable films as “Gremlins” in 1984.
  91. Alan Arkush was the director and was most famous for TV projects like ‘The Twilight Zone,’ ‘L.A. Law,’ and ‘Ally McBeal.’
  92. The Ramones appeared on ‘The Simpsons’: in 5th-season episode “Rosebud” from 1993. They’re hired by Smithers to play at Mr. Burn’s birthday party. Afterward, Mr. Burns orders, “Have the Rolling Stones killed.”
  93. The Ramones also appeared on the 5th espisode of the 1st season of ‘Space Ghost Coast to Coast,’ in 1994. They ate Space Ghost’s birthday cake.
  94. On March 18, 2002, the Ramones were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
  95. In 2011, the Ramones earned the Grammy’s Lifetime Achievement Award.
  96. Sadly, Joey was the first to die. He was 49 (April 15, 2001).
  97. Dee Dee was the second to die. He was 50. (June 5, 2002).
  98. Johnny was the third to die. He was 55 (September, 15, 2004).
  99. Tommy has been the most recent to die. He was 65 (July 7, 2014).
  100. The Ramones toured non-stop for 22 years.
  101. They fuckin’ rocked!

Hey, ho! Let’s go!

Got any more Ramones facts? Comment below!


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11 Things You Don’t Want Your Mom To Know About Voice Over

bad voice over secretsMoms are great.

They are caring, strong, and pretty much kick butt.

Sometimes, it can be hard to be honest with them about some stuff, even if the truth might not be the best news in the world.

Voice over is no different.

I’ve come to realize that there are some not-so-glamorous things about voice over that moms everywhere deserve to know, even if I don’t want them to.

P.s. Pay special attention to the part right after number 11. After reading this, you’ll be glad you did.

1. I’m not famous and (probably) never will be.

I don’t like saying never, but even if I was trying to become famous, this is not the route I would take. Recently, I asked a few friends of mine if they know who voices SpongeBob SquarePants. In case you don’t know, SpongeBob SquarePants has become one of the most well-known cartoons of the past 10+ years and probably of all-time and has become an $8+ billion franchise. Plus, my friends are part of the SpongeBob generation of cartoon watchers, so why wouldn’t they know? Yea, they had no idea it was Tom Kenny. For all you non voice actors, did you know that?

2. I don’t have a guaranteed salary.Money

Yes, this is one of the scariest things about being a professional voice actor. It is all up to me. There is no guaranteed salary. If I decide to just zone out for a few days, it will cost me big time. Even if I do work my tail off every single day, there’s no guarantee anyone will hire me.

3. I don’t get benefits.

On top of not being guaranteed a salary, I don’t get any benefits like healthcare, dental, vision, retirement accounts, etc. Technically, if I became part of the SAG-AFTRA union, I would be eligible for some benefits possibly. But alas, I’ve chosen to be a non-union voice actor. I have to pay for all of those things out of pocket.

4. People aren’t lined up down the block to hire me.Line of People

Moms are our number 1 supporters and think we are the bee’s knees, but unfortunately, not everyone else thinks that. Unless I call, e-mail, snail mail, talk to everyone I can and bust my ass (sorry for swearing, moms) marketing my services and building up business relationships with people who may or may not hire voice actors, no one is going to know who I am, let alone hire me.

5. Clients don’t care if I have a “nice sounding” voice.

Clients seriously don’t really care about the sound of my voice. They care about me being able to represent their brand, product, or message in a way that is believable, grabs the audience’s attention and causes the audience to do what the voice over is trying to get them to do.

6. Sometimes, clients don’t pay me (on time).

I know this will make all moms mad. Can you believe this could happen to your own child?! Fortunately, all of my clients have been pretty awesome and have paid me. *Knock on wood* But there have been a couple that have needed some gentle reminding. And I’ve heard a few pretty bad horror stories about some not-so-good clients.

7. I stand alone in a dark, enclosed box most of the day. Cat in a box

No, I’m not crazy. It’s just my recording booth. And yea, I don’t have any coworkers in there with whom to socialize. But I am definitely NOT asocial. This is just the reality of the situation. Most of the time, I’m in the recording booth recording auditions and gigs or sitting at my desk in my office by myself editing audio, calling clients, marketing my services, etc. Moms shouldn’t worry about this though, because I actually like it.

8. I am applying for a job every single day.

Remember how frustrating, exhausting and hard it is to apply for a job? I get to do that every single day! Every time I audition, cold call, record a spot, talk to a client, or even come in contact with anyone who may possibly need voice over at any time ever, I am potentially applying for a job with them. So, I literally have to be on my “A Game” all the time. I have to tell ya… it can get tiring.

9. A project can be taken away from me at any moment.

Remember when our moms taught us the value of sharing? I think I may need another lesson, because even if I get hired to do a gig, a client can take the job away from me at any time before I hit record and even after… If I have a specific contract signed, that’s another story, but most projects don’t have contracts. I don’t like sharing a lot of my hard work for free (except when I’m helping my mom mulch her yard, of course), but that’s how this business works sometimes.  Hopefully, the client will pay me for my time if it gets to be a lot. But clients are picky about who they choose to voice their projects (which I understand) and sometimes change their mind about using voice over after they’ve already decided to use it. It can get frustrating, but it’s part of the business I understand and just have to accept.

10. One awesome project does not guarantee more projects from that same client.

Even if I get a really cool, important gig from a client, there is absolutely no guarantee I will ever be hired by them again. It’s nothing personal. My voice just hasn’t fit right with any of the jobs they have produced since then. All I can do is build a strong working relationship with them and be available if and when the right project does roll around.

11. I fail…a lot.Missed catch

I hate to admit this, but I fail A LOT. A lot of my marketing techniques don’t work. Most of the time, I don’t land the gig after I audition for it. Heck, I’ve even made some mistakes with this blog.  It’s a learning process, and I am unfortunately not perfect.

It gets better, I promise!

You’ll have to wait a week, but next Friday, I promise I’ll tell you what I DO want your mom to know about voice over.

To read what I DO want your mom to know about voice over, please subscribe in the upper right hand side of this blog by entering your name and e-mail address. That way, you will really see if everything will be alright.

Please share this blog post if you think all moms (and everyone else) deserve to know the cold, hard truth about voice over.

Thanks for reading, commenting and sharing!

15 Comments on “11 Things You Don’t Want Your Mom To Know About Voice Over”

  1. Tara Tyler

    For sure!! When you tell friends/family that you do voice over they immediately want to know what cartoon you’re starring in and which national commercials you’ve voiced! Definitely saving this link to send to them. Thank you! 😀

    1. John Lano

      Tara, I can totally empathize with you. I just spent the weekend with family and experienced the same thing. Let me know what they say after you show them this.

  2. Garnet D Stencill

    And with the eleven you have grown John and mybe in the future have another eleven 🙂 good article

  3. Brent

    Brilliant John you nailed it. My mom still doesn’t really ‘get what I do’. She’d much prefer a more ‘steadier’ career for her ‘baby boy’. Even though I am quite successful and recently bought a home (due to my VO success)and had a 200sq ft Broadcast quality studio built in my new home, its still not really sinking in! Alas we dare to dream…

  4. Sam

    Like many other careers, voice over is probably not a career move your mum would be thrilled to hear about. Very funny but very true!

  5. Dan Bonebright

    Really nice post, John. As a marketing professional, I know how much work it can be to constantly market not only your clients (or company), but yourself. Thanks for sharing your personal experience. It’s always refreshing to learn from people who are chasing their dreams despite the long and uncertain journey. Cheers!

    1. John Lano

      Thanks, Dan!

      Yea, it is so difficult to constantly market yourself. However, it’s a necessary step to making things happen and achieving your goals. What are you working toward in your career?

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

  6. Nicola Redman

    Hi John. Another good read. It is always difficult when people say “what would I have heard you on?” But luckily my parents have developed a good understanding of the industry. If I get bored of fielding questions I just say I was the voice of something they would have heard but I couldn’t have possibly voiced and watch their amazement at my vocal talents! Then slink off and record some on hold messaging for a local business…. One day it’ll be Pixar!
    Northern Irish voice

  7. Linda Coelli

    Hi dear!
    It’s a very funny approach of such a ‘serious’ question.
    Would you allow me to translate your post into brazilian portuguese for my blog, with credits of course?

    Thank you very much in advance!
    Best regards,

    1. John Lano

      Hi Linda!

      I responded to your email, so you already know that of course you can translate this post. Thank you for asking for permission.

  8. Pingback: Voice-over y traducción | Traidlation

  9. Pingback: How This 1 Stealthy Word Change Slapped On 263% More Clicks

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Leonsis on changing the Wizards' name and colors

(AP file photo)

The question I've been asked most often over the past few months is whether I think Ted Leonsis will change the Wizards' name and color scheme after he assumes control of the franchise. His comments on that question have been pretty scarce, but Friday he was asked point blank about the issue during a luncheon at the National Press Club.

"As evidenced by merchandise sales, Washingtonians have never embraced the changed name of their basketball team," went the question, submitted by defense reporter Pat Host. "Is there any consideration to returning the team to the original name of Bullets, and its colors?"

There was mild applause to the question. And Leonsis obviously knew this was coming.

"I get lots of e-mails, and I see all the comments and quotes," he said. "I don't want to be someone who does [things] to make people like me or think I'm listening to them. And there's so much work to do, to figure it out. And that would be a part of everything.

"But it's not the first decision that we have to make. I probably will like red colors more than the teal blue that they have, but there's a lot that goes into it. And I intend to listen to people, but I also think Mr. Pollin made a personal decision, and I want to understand it, and I want to pay the appropriate respect that a decision like that would deserve."

Leonsis did say that even if he wanted to it would be impossible to make any change for next season. Bear in mind that Abe Pollin decided to change the Bullets name and colors a full two years before the first time they were used in a real game. So my reading was give it time, but at the very least, a color change is likely on the way.

By Dan Steinberg  |  May 21, 2010; 3:14 PM ET
Categories:  Wizards
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Next: Leonsis says NHL is in better shape than NBA

YEEEES! Bring back the all red unis with the blue writing Teddy!! And change the name to the Statesmen or Generals!!!

Posted by: imfromdc88 | May 21, 2010 3:30 PM | Report abuse

OK here is my solution....

Rename the Wizards the Washington Justice
Rename the Mystics the Washington Power

Red, White and Blue jerseys, make them both look similar to the old Bullets Jerseys with stars and stripes, even incorporate the "reaching hands logo"

I would incorporate the whole "Supreme Court" theme. Court is now in session! All Rise! the marketing potential would be endless.

This would solve having the lame nickname Wizards and PC incorrect Bullets. Problem solved!

Also bring back the Mascot Hoops, dress him up like a judge and give him a giant gavel.

Posted by: MrWillie | May 21, 2010 3:32 PM | Report abuse

I have also long thought of the Washington Justice (and playing on the supreme court). That's funny. The other name, which could be used for the mystics as well, is the Washington Monuments.

Posted by: megatron57 | May 21, 2010 3:36 PM | Report abuse

It is worth mentioning that the Bullets were last or close to it in merch sales prior to the name change.

Red, white and blue is a lock. Going back to Bullets -- unlikely. He'll say he respects Abe Pollin's decision. About the only way he goes back is with Mrs. Pollin's blessing I assume.

Posted by: doubleuefwhy | May 21, 2010 3:38 PM | Report abuse

You mean teal & vomit don't make for good uniform colors?

Posted by: Scoonie97 | May 21, 2010 3:39 PM | Report abuse

Red. Red. Red.

keep the theme going.

Posted by: DreamOutLoud | May 21, 2010 3:44 PM | Report abuse

Washington Monuments is trademarked by the US Park service we can't use that nickname

Posted by: MrWillie | May 21, 2010 3:46 PM | Report abuse

By all means, Ted. Don't listen to the fans. They "only" pay the freight. Every vestige of the Abe Pollin curse has got to be wiped clean. If you follow in that idiot's footsteps, the results will be the same. Wake up!

Posted by: lp_lodestar | May 21, 2010 3:53 PM | Report abuse

introducing The Washington Generals

Posted by: imfromdc88 | May 21, 2010 4:02 PM | Report abuse

Yeah, I love that logic. Old fart Pollin made a stupid decision. I have to respect Pollin's legacy. So therefore I have to respect the stupid decision. Great, Ted.

Posted by: poguesmahone | May 21, 2010 4:09 PM | Report abuse

"introducing The Washington Generals
Posted by: imfromdc88 | May 21, 2010 4:02 PM"

Wait, they're not already the Washington Generals? Then who have we been watching lo these many years?

Posted by: EdTheRed | May 21, 2010 4:11 PM | Report abuse

Only nerds care about uniform colors.

Posted by: Barno1 | May 21, 2010 4:12 PM | Report abuse

"Only nerds care about uniform colors.
Posted by: Barno1 | May 21, 2010 4:12 PM"

only nerds like Wizards

Posted by: imfromdc88 | May 21, 2010 4:22 PM | Report abuse

Oh please, the Justice?

Why has nobody suggested the Washington Founders? I think it works pretty nicely.

I like monuments ok - and i bet the park service will let them use it.

But please, no singular name. No "Justice", "Power", "Strength", or anything of that nature.

Posted by: tn13 | May 21, 2010 4:28 PM | Report abuse

Stick with the Wizards. All these other names sound like they came out of some dusty history book. The Statesmen...Generals...Monuments. Geez. I can only imagine the stupid looking crappy logos we'd end up with. About 10 miles from cool. Just for a minute, let's pretend we aren't a bunch of middle-aged white men. :)

Posted by: 3rdGenRFan | May 21, 2010 4:32 PM | Report abuse

My only thing about the Bullets name is that the Bullets never played in Washington. They were the Baltimore Bullets, and then when the moved to Landover, they took "Washington". When the MCI Center opened and they moved to D.C., it made sense to abandon a name that alliterated with "Baltimore" for one that did with "Washington".

Posted by: patrickneil | May 21, 2010 4:35 PM | Report abuse

The alliterative effect of "Baltimore Bullets" and "Washington Wizards" are both kind of cool, although neither name itself is particularly good. Going back to Bullets is pointless, as it's almost like desecrating Pollin's grave, after he made the personal decision to change the name. I'm sure there are better names to be had, but bringing in yet a THIRD name for the team would be bizarre. Probably best to keep Wizards, but to roll out cool new uni's, a new logo, and red-white-and-blue color scheme.

Posted by: cali_snowboarder | May 21, 2010 5:20 PM | Report abuse

I think we should look to the past, remember the nature of the town and stay present and combine Bullets and Wizards and be the ................WASHINGTON BUZZARDS!!

Posted by: fatbear781 | May 21, 2010 5:22 PM | Report abuse

How hard is it to just tell us you're going to change these HORRIFIC uniforms & color scheme? For the love of god just tell us we're going in a new direction with the new regime & the highly anticipated #1 pick coming to town.

Posted by: jeffbo_80 | May 21, 2010 5:25 PM | Report abuse

Surely there was someone else donning those colrs depicted above , other than the one youy chose. Give me a break. Like above no singular names please.

Posted by: bossclifnpooh2 | May 21, 2010 5:38 PM | Report abuse

Change the name to Washington Justice. I've always liked that name, as it makes a ton of sense. "Holding court" "laying down the law" "justice is served." The big three - assuming John Wall, Arenas or whomever we trade him for, and a future free agent pick-up (Durant in 2011) can be nicknamed the "judge, jury, and executioner." I think we should have black uniforms however, at the very least as alternate uniforms.

Posted by: rone1 | May 21, 2010 5:45 PM | Report abuse

Can not change to the Washington Generals because it is trademarked by the Harlem Globetrotters. That is the team they have been beating up on for decades. I for one would welcome a change back to the Bullets and the Red, White and Blue. The Wizards experiment has been a total failure and all these other names are just stupid.

Posted by: dadiddenjr | May 21, 2010 6:24 PM | Report abuse

Keep the name (for Mr. Polin sake) but go back to the RED WHITE AND BLUE Jerseys!!!

Posted by: Bigmon411 | May 21, 2010 6:33 PM | Report abuse

Washington Bullets
Washington Senators
Washington Wizards either or

If Wiz is kept i would like to see it maybe updated with color and Wiz logo

But Bullets should be the team name Wizards just a corny name that a dleague team and mls team have . I would like are name to be original

Posted by: cjdwolfpack | May 21, 2010 6:34 PM | Report abuse

Justice...playing on the Supreme Court...stands full of foam rubber gavels...This rocks! I was for this when they changed the name before but it wasn't even one of the choices.
If not that, then find something to do with DC but not the federal guvmint which everyone hates. There must be something in DC's history similar to the Raven for Baltimore.

Posted by: didnik | May 21, 2010 7:19 PM | Report abuse

I like WASHINGTON JUSTICE. I also think WASHINGTON GUARD could be kind of cool. And the Red White and Blue is long overdue.

Posted by: WestCoastBullet | May 21, 2010 7:48 PM | Report abuse

Go back to the Bullets, with the Red, white & Blue uniforms.

Posted by: dashriprock | May 21, 2010 8:08 PM | Report abuse

I always thought that they should have gone from the Bullets to the Ballots. All that would need to be done was change a few vowels, and they could have kept the red white and blue colors and the raised arms logo. They should still probably do this.

Posted by: agent026 | May 21, 2010 9:27 PM | Report abuse

Wizards was always a horrible terrible crappy name. But let me tell you how I really feel.

Probably can't/won't change the name, but make it red jerseys...we'll paint the whole town red with Caps, Nats, and REDskins (burgundy is close enough).

Posted by: Section104 | May 21, 2010 10:19 PM | Report abuse

I just want Gryffindor colors! I'm tired of the Merlin theme. I think Gryffindor colors are very similar to Burgundy & Gold. I think it's Scarlet and Gold. So we could still have Red Outs.

Posted by: pecdec8705 | May 21, 2010 11:07 PM | Report abuse

If the name isn't changed and I don't think it will be then the old color scheme doesn't work. Does red, white, and blue invoke thoughts of wizardry, hardly. Second, I don't like the thought of three teams in town with the same brand (Nationals, Capitals, Wizards). Show some imagination and go with a different color scheme.

Posted by: croftonpost | May 21, 2010 11:47 PM | Report abuse

Noooooooo! Comon red? I love the blue. change the name back to bullets though, wizards? im use to it by now but bullets sounds better even charles barkley said we should change it back. I know abe probally didnt want it but comon its not the bullets fault ppl are dying. its the dumb person who fired it, if our team was named the dumb person team then yes change it

Posted by: liltruco2010 | May 21, 2010 11:48 PM | Report abuse

if bullets doesn't work here are some good suggestions

Washington Stolen Wallets
Washington John Walls
Washington Washing Machine
Washington Gizzards
WashingtonSniper(just kidding thats stupid)
Washington Pollen
or better yet the Washington Winners

Posted by: liltruco2010 | May 22, 2010 12:04 AM | Report abuse

another vote for the Washington Justice right here!

Posted by: hockeypunk | May 24, 2010 8:07 AM | Report abuse

On uniforms...

Uniform 1, a dark blue with red and white trim,
Uniform 2, white with red trim and a homage to the DC flag in the trim (2 red stripes with 3 red stars) on the sholders and pants horizontal.
Uniform 3, Red, white trim and blue stars down the side under the arms.

Also how-about something that looks like the american flag pants worn in Napoleon Dynamite. (joke)

Posted by: alex35332 | May 24, 2010 9:12 AM | Report abuse

How about the SeaDogs? (he ducks)

Posted by: tadas | May 24, 2010 12:53 PM | Report abuse

I like the idea of a complete team make-over. DC sports fans will never forget Abe Polin but this is a new era and Ted needs to make the team his own. I also want to suggest another name change...instead of Nationals Ballpark how about "The National Ballpark". Thoughts?

Posted by: audelt0426 | May 24, 2010 1:05 PM | Report abuse

YEEEES! Bring back the all red unis with the blue writing Teddy!! And change the name to the Statesmen or Generals!!!

Posted by: imfromdc88 | May 21, 2010 3:30 PM

The Washington Generals?

As in "always losing"?

Posted by: bs2004 | May 24, 2010 1:07 PM | Report abuse

Washington Traffic?
Washington Lobbyists?
Washington Bureaucrats?

Posted by: Rhino40 | May 24, 2010 4:14 PM | Report abuse

Considering the current folks in Washington, I think the team should be the Washington Comrades. Or maybe the Washington Politburo. Washington Collective? Washington CCCP? Or really simple: The Washington Reds.

Posted by: ThisIsJohnGaltSpeaking | May 24, 2010 6:48 PM | Report abuse

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B’s Story

B is a 17 year old girl who has been in foster care since 2014. For the past two and a half years, B has been in a group home with no prospects for adoption. All of her basic needs are met in this group home and she is the most stable that she has ever been. Our focus in advocacy has included improving the quality of B’s life. Her Guardian ad Litem, Sherry Howse, has been a passionate advocate and located a local therapeutic horse riding facility. B expressed interest and we were initially able to work with case management and use funds from B’s master trust to cover the majority of expenses. After we were certain that B wanted to continue with horse riding, I reached out to Voices, who happily provided funding for the purchase of a lovely pair of proper riding boots for B. She could not have been more excited and grateful! For the summer months, case management agreed to cover the costs for lessons for a portion of the summer. Voices, again, stepped in to cover the remaining expenses so that B could continue lessons uninterrupted through the summer and until her 18th birthday.

The impact these riding lessons have had on B cannot be overstated. Her overall happiness is greater and she truly enjoys interacting with and learning about the horses. Even more importantly is the impact that the lessons have had on her health. B was becoming overweight, which contributed to problems with her hips.
Although a nutritionist was consulted, B still had difficulties losing weight. Since beginning horse riding lessons, B has lost a considerable amount of weight. Her orthopedic specialist even determined that surgery was no longer necessary!

When the other parties in B’s case had determined that B’s life was “good enough”, her Guardian, Ms. Howse, and Voices said, “We can do better” and stepped-up to make “better” happen. Without Voices, B would have suffered yet another loss-the loss of an activity that benefits her physical health, mental health, and overall wellness. We cannot thank Voices enough for the positive impact their support has made on B.

“We can


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Sunday, 27 September 2015

Airwaves Is Coming To Town Again

November the 4th this year represents a little milestone for me. It will mark the beginning of my fifth Iceland Airwaves festival. The musical journey began for me in October 2011 when I came to Reykjavík to attend Airwaves for the first time. I wasn’t living here at the time but was beginning to ‘commute’ every year to visit the place. Like a lot of the really cool stuff that happens to you in life I stumbled upon the festival quite by chance. I wasn’t able to visit Reykjavík until October in 2011 so I was looking for something to do that would keep me entertained. Having misspent six years of my youth on the road with all manner of rock bands back when I was living in New Zealand and Australia I’ve always had a bit of a thing for music especially when it’s of the loud, fast and heavy variety.
Airwaves differs a lot from of other festivals in that it does not all take place at the one venue. Given that it is held at the beginning of November it would be almost impossible to do this outdoors in Iceland due to the weather (that sort of carry on is saved for the very middle of summer) so they have come up with the most cunning and imaginative of alternatives. This year the festivals is spread over ten primary venues: Harpa (a world class concert centre that incorporates four venues including the Icelandic Symphony’s concert chamber), NASA (a once defunct and now reopened venue of much fame and legend), Gamla Bíó (an old theatre converted into a music venue), Húrra (a friendly and cosy bar with a stage at one end), Gaukurinn (the bar next door and upstairs from Húrra that is the definitive rock venue in Reykjavík), Iðnó (a restaurant with a stage at one end that also acts as a live venue), Tjarnabíó (a working theatre that also serves as a music venue, cafe and arts centre), the Reykjavík Art Museum (no prizes for guessing what this one does on its days off), Fríkirkjan (a church) and Vodafone Hall (a large multi-purpose sports and concert venue).
On top of these official venues there is also a huge off-venue programme where anyone in the city can pop along to a vast variety of shops, hotels, cafes, and bookshops who open their doors to the public and host concerts during the afternoon before the real action takes place later on in the evening. You can see nearly all the bands performing on any given year at these off-venue performances in what can sometimes be tiny and very intimate settings. The off-venue system gives the festival a decidedly inclusive feeling as if the whole city is taking part and to a large extent that is true. During the daytime you can walk down Laugavegur and Austurstræti and it feels and sounds as if every shop, coffee house and backpacker’s hostel is in on it. There are bands playing in shop windows, in record stores and hotel bars and foyers. It is a cornucopia of noise, rhythm and beats. And fun. The whole city centre feels as if it’s having a good time.
The main attractions for me this year include the more prominent members of the local rock scene: Agent Fresco, Endless Dark, kimono, Muck and perhaps a little more surprisingly the opportunity to see John Grant perform with an orchestra. Over the last four years I have seen some wonderful contemporary performances when the Icelandic Symphony have teamed up with some of the local composers. This year John Grant will join the elite ranks of Valgeir Sigurðsson, Ólafur Arnalds and Jóhann Jóhannsson all of whom I’ve seen and been thrilled by in the magnificent Eldborg concert chamber.
Agent Fresco have just released their second album ‘Destrier’ to universal acclaim and praise and will be playing songs both old and new to loyal local fans as well as a bunch of new foreign converts. These guys have an intensity about them that very few other bands can match. Not in volume or speed but simple raw emotion and honesty. Last year they were responsible for the best night I’ve ever had at Gaukurinn with their incredibly emotive performance and I’ve had some pretty good nights there over the last four years. Arnór Dan has a no holds barred approach to his lyric writing and the themes of loss, love and regret are always to the fore in their songs. They are not a band that will make you want to bounce or scream, they are a band designed to make you feel and that’s exactly what they do.
Endless Dark were one of the first bands I saw at my first Airwaves and have remained a serious favourite of mine ever since. They have been threatening to release their debut album for some time now but there are signs that this year might actually be the one when it hits the shelves. They have gone through some line-up changes of late but have just released a pretty damn cool video for their single ‘Warriors’. They are definitely a band to keep your eye on.
Kimono are another band threatening to release another album sometime in the not too distant future. Their performance at Airwaves will be only their third this year having played recently with Ari Russo at Húrra and once before that at a recording for local radio downstairs at Bar 11. I was lucky enough to be at that show and can happily say that if the upcoming recordings match the quality of ‘Specters’ and ‘Less Than Zero’ then we are in for a real treat when the album does come out. #thisisgoingtohurt #kimonoiceland

Last but very definitely not least is the Icelandic powerhouse that is Muck. They get described as grindcore but for me they’re just punk rock with long hair. I have seen these guys three times in the last few months and their shows just keep getting better and better. They are a serious force to be reckoned with live and have earned my stamp of approval in a big way. I would have to say that they are undoubtedly the best live act in the country at the moment. That’s a big call given that there are much more popular bands out there who can draw much bigger crowds than the Muck boys do but they have repeatedly shown that their ability to whip a crowd (especially a late-night crowd of drunk guys with shaved heads and big beards) into a complete frenzy is unparalleled. I have seen slam-dancing at their shows that would have put gigs by GBH to shame. Muck play as fast as any band you will ever see but do so with an incredible tightness and clarity that sets them well apart from their peers. Their album ‘Your Joyous Future’ is indeed a joy to behold and despite the recent departure of their long-time drummer I can see these guys going a long way in the business of rocking you till your socks fall off. As far as they want to is what I’m guessing.

Sunday, 13 September 2015

'THE DEFENCELESS' by Kati Hiekkapelto

It was only four short months ago that I was reading Kati’s first novel while attending CrimeFest in Bristol. My subsequent review of ‘The Hummingbird’ enthralled, titillated and amused discerning readers all over Finland while leaving the rest of the world scratching their collective heads in bewilderment at what the hell I was talking about. So I’m back for a second bite at the cherry and this time it’s ‘The Defenceless’ and this time I’m determined to get anyone I might have missed the first time around. I may very well be a little twisted and possibly unhinged in one way or other but I am very thorough if nothing else.
Anna Fekete has been launched through my Icelandic postal aperture and back into my life and I’ve got to say I’m pretty happy she’s back. There’s something about Anna that I’ve come to admire. I like the way she struggles to get on with those around her, whether it be Esko, the obnoxious, self-aggrandising drunk she is forced to work with or Ákos, her troubled and equally hard-drinking brother. Esko has dreams of making a fresh start elsewhere but seems myopically unaware that his problems will simply follow him wherever he goes. While Ákos seems to be the epitome of the lost soul. He is a stranger in a strange land. Uprooted and transplanted to a new life in a new country he self-medicates his disconnection with as much booze as he can afford on any given day.
Neither relationship is as black and white as you might possibly expect from a less intuitive writer and Anna’s sympathy for each deeply-flawed male swings first one way and then the other. She is torn between loathing her colleague and tolerating him and detesting her brother’s wasted life and blaming herself for his long list of poor decisions. In fact there aren’t too many truly likable characters in her life and for me that’s what makes her existence ring true. Books full of nice people bore me.
An old man is run over while lying down in the street by Hungarian rally driver Gabriella who is investigated for dangerous driving but later exonerated of impersonating Ari Vatanen and released. For Anna this is only the beginning of their relationship as the obviously lonely yet irritatingly arrogant Gabriella seeks Anna’s attention, advice and company like a newly acquired puppy. The dead man then becomes the centre of an investigation that involves a turf war between rival biker gangs, heroin dealers, a jealous ex-lover and an asylum seeker so desperate not to be returned to his homeland that he is willing to admit to a crime he didn’t commit in order to remain in Finland albeit it in a prison cell. For him Finland has indeed become the land of endless opportunity.
Piece by piece Anna puts together the puzzle of what Sammy the Christian Pakistani asylum seeker has or hasn’t done since his application for leave to remain was turned down. The worries he deals with every day are not just limited to arrest and deportation but to where he can find his next hit of heroin or dose of Subutex. Meanwhile Esko struggles with himself as much as the criminals he’s after while trying to stop the expansion of a foreign gang who seem hell-bent on moving their narcotics business to the chilly northern-Finnish idyll. A blood-covered knife found in the woods and a corpse in a room full of narcotics complicate matters for them as the story builds towards its climax.
I found ‘The Defenceless’ to be an impressive step-up from ‘The Hummingbird’ which is not to say that her first book wasn’t good. It was. Really good. It’s just that the writing here feels more comfortable and assured and the relationships between the characters that appear in both books have grown and provide subplots that give insight and depth to the controlling idea of the story.
Anna Fekete will continue to be a favourite leading lady of mine simply because of the way she deals with the slings and arrows of her everyday existence. She hates getting her period, she likes hooking up with men but rarely wants anything to do with them once she’s slept with them and struggles with the demands of many of the other people in her life even when all they’re trying to do is be nice to her. I think that possibly says as much about me as anything else though.

As a foreigner Anna views Finland as only an outsider can and that is a great way to create empathy for an international audience. John Irving says that all writers are outsiders and I think they need to be in order to do their job properly. If you want others to understand what you trying to say you have to be able to put yourself in their shoes for a while in order to do your job properly and that is one thing Kati is particularly skilled at doing. She is able to see her country from the outside looking in and wants us all to take a good look before turning our attention back to our own and doing the very same thing there.

It wasn’t long after I had finished reading ‘The Defenceless’ that I had a dream. A strange and troubling vision that seemed to want to tell me something although I am still not sure exactly what it was it was trying to say. The next morning I couldn’t tell if it had simply been one of the many nightmares I am prone to having, such is the dark and twisted nature of my mind, or possibly some kind of premonition.
In the dream my trusted Samoan attorney and I were driving very fast along an old and worn moose track somewhere in the north-eastern corner of the Gulf of Bothnia. I surmise it was in fact on Hailuoto although I have yet to set foot there. Now I feel I must go. That I in fact have no choice in the matter such was the clarity of the dream. We were somewhere on the edge of the island, because I could smell the salt in the air, when the drugs began to take hold. The huge red car began to swerve from one side of the narrow track to the other as if it was suddenly beyond my control. I vaguely remember saying something like “I feel a bit lightheaded; maybe you should drive....”
And suddenly there was a terrible roar all around us and the sky was full of what looked like huge puffins, all swooping and screeching and diving around the car, which was going about a hundred miles an hour with the top down so we would make it in time to the last ferry back to Oulu. And a voice was screaming “Holy Jesus! What are these goddamn animals?”
Then it was quiet again. My attorney had taken off his bright red Hawaiian shirt and was pouring Saku Originaal on his chest to facilitate the Finnish tanning process.
“What the hell are you yelling about?” he muttered, staring up at the midnight sun with his eyes closed and covered with wraparound Spanish sunglasses.
“Never mind,” I said. “It's your turn to drive.” I hit the brakes and aimed the Great Red Shark toward the shoulder of the moose track. No point mentioning those puffins, I thought. The poor bastard will see them soon enough. I was right. It didn’t take long at all before I could hear him making strange and incomprehensible sounds.
“Haista vittu lunnit!” I heard him mumble to himself as I climbed into the back of the car to get some much needed rest. I couldn’t remember what we had done to necessitate such a speedy exit from the island but whatever it was it must have been serious. There was a moose’s head lying in the footwell directly behind the driver’s seat. Its antlers had been hacked off in a crooked and frenzied fashion and its eyes had been pecked out by a hundred or more razor sharp beaks. The wounds were too numerous to count and the damage the moose had sustained before having its head cut off had been horrible in the extreme. “Haista vittu lunnit” indeed I thought to myself.
“To the ferry, my friend, this is no time to take it easy you drunken bastard,” I screamed up at the sky as I waved my arms as menacingly as I could in front of my face to keep the belligerent puffins away. “There’s not a moment to lose,’ I continued briefly before passing out on the moose’s head.
After the dream I woke not knowing if we had made it to the boat or not. I didn’t know if the puffins had got the better of us or even if the moose had been a friend, an enemy or a lover. Without the proper information from my attorney it’s hard to guess at exactly what goes on in the middle of the night on those strange Finnish islands.

Now, after much contemplation I have decided that the dream was merely a sign and not a warning so I have decided that during the spring of 2016 I will be taking a break from writing and my Samoan attorney and I will be relocating to Hailuoto to manage Kati’s band Parrakas nainen (The Bearded Women) and record and produce their debut album, ‘Smell the Moose’.
My trusted Samoan companion is also a very talented artist and will therefore be responsible for producing the artwork for the album. The cover of ‘Smell The Moose’ will feature a heavily greased naked man on all fours with a dog collar and leash around his neck. There will be one moose’s front leg extended holding onto the leash while the other front leg pushes a black glove in his face forcing him to sniff it. The question we want listeners to ask themselves when they first experience this Finnish sonic assault is “How much more moose could this album be?” And the answer of course has to be, none. None more moose.
The first single to be lifted from the album will be ‘Lick My Love Moose’ which we fully anticipate will be banned in at least twenty moose-intolerant areas in North America alone before it even goes on sale. Hopefully this will only be the case in small moose-hating communities so sales of the single and subsequent album will not be affected worldwide. The idea is that the publicity generated internationally by the bans will completely outweigh any loss in sales in places such as Moose Jaw, Moose City, Moose Creek or Moose Mountain.
‘Fear Of A Moose Planet’ is already being talked about as the follow up album to ‘Smell The Moose’ where we will see the band take a decidedly sideways move into the world of hip hop. Parrakas nainen have said repeatedly that they do not want to be confined to just the one musical genre so they can reach as many people as possible about their support of universal moose domination.
I can’t do nuttin’ for ya man
You better moose kiss my butt
I can’t do nuttin’ for ya man
I'm busy tryin’ to do it for my moose
I can't do nuttin’ for ya man
That’s the way the moose bounces gee

Bass for your face, kick that moose shit boyyyy!

As soon as ‘Lick My Love Moose’ is released the band, myself and my Samoan attorney will be setting out on a comprehensive world tour. The first gig on the tour will be a show in Iceland shortly after the Around Iceland in 66.6 Days puffin charity walk that Kati will be doing to raise money for Puffins Without Borders. The charity walk gets its name from the number of days it has been calculated that it will take Kati to circumambulate Iceland’s Ring Road at the rate of 20km per day. A pace that she has selected herself as being the most suitable and attainable for the conditions. The concert will also be the headlining attraction at Iceland Noir 2016. The support act for the show will be Yrsa and Lilja Sigurðardóttir covering the hit made famous by The Eurythmics and Aretha Franklin ‘Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves’.
On the charity walk around Iceland Kati will be accompanied by both myself and my Samoan attorney in a convertible red Cadillac as well as by her favourite Icelandic pack horse, Peachfuzz Bumblefuck III. We want to assure people that under no circumstances will Peachfuzz be carrying Kati for any of the walk, as this would breach the conditions of the charity event, and that he will merely be there to provide a little specialised advice, introduce her to some of the locals along the way, encourage her when she gets tired and to carry ‘a few things’. As yet my attorney has not decided exactly how many things constitute ‘a few’.
While Kati is completing the Around Iceland in 66.6 Days walk work on the third book in the Anna Fekete series will continue unabated. The remaining text will be ghost written by my Samoan attorney in the backseat of the Cadillac while I drive and keep a very keen eye out for puffins. The subsequent novel will be entitled, ‘The Girl in the Moose’s Lair’ and will be published to worldwide acclaim by Orenda Books sometime in late 2016.
In conjunction with the charity walk Parrakas nainen will be releasing a live version of the UK Subs song ‘Down on the Farm’ with something of a Finnish twist to it to raise even more money for Puffins Without Borders. How these crazy little birds survived before she came along I honestly don’t know. As far as the puffins are concerned she is a gift from heaven. ‘Down on the Farm’ will be recorded at the Iceland Noir concert in Reykjavík complete with backing vocals from the Sigurðardóttir sisters. We will celebrate this great one-off punk event with a couple of Saku Originaals and my attorney will be jotting down a short review of the show for Puffinblaðið, Iceland’s number one puffin-related newspaper.
Nobody comes to see me
Nobody here to turn me on
I ain't even got a moose lover
Down here on the farm

I can't fall in love with a wheat field
I can't fall in love with a barn
Well everything smells like moose shit
Down here on the farm
Time and time again my mind is drawn back to that terrifying dream.
“Haista vittu lunnit,” he had said to me.
“Vittu hirvi,” I should have replied.
“Vittu hirvi” is right. What had we done to cause us to be in such a hurry? Is there any chance we would make it off that goddamn island alive? What did the moose do to deserve to die in such a way and were we going to be next?
I hope I wasn’t wrong about that dream. I hope it wasn’t meant as some kind of terrible warning and that once my Samoan attorney and I get to Hailuoto next year we will make it off the island again in one piece once we have recorded the album. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the years it’s that there’s no such thing as a sure thing in this life. And if you’ve ever found yourself having to get the hell out of a moose-friendly nation like Finland in a big hurry with a moose’s head stuck in the footwell of a large red convertible and a drunk sunburnt Samoan attorney at the wheel you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about.


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Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Heritage JV Cheers

This past weekend I had the opportunity to photograph the Heritage JV Cheer squad at Red Rocks. These girls were so much fun to work with! Even though it was a little chilly in the morning they stuck it out and we got some great photos. Here are just a few of the pics from the day. Thanks to their great coaches Tiffany and Kari.

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FIVB: Gstaad Grand Slam Finals (Live Video)

Fivb gstaad finals

Today marks the end of another stop on the 2011 FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour.  The women's event has already completed and the Brazil powerhouse of Juliana-Larissa claiming another gold medal over Xue-Zhang Xi of China.  On the men's side of the tournament, the gold medal match is about to begin and we have the live streaming links so you can watch it along with us.

Women's Brackets

Men's Brackets

Live streams and video links after the jump.

Live Stream Links


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Mbox default
Infobox incomplete (Issue: not specified)
The infobox template in this article is missing some required data. You can help Voyage Century Wikia by filling it in.

Accurate Detonator Gun is a level 10 gun. This weapon can only be crafted by players that have learned the corresponding drawing.

Accurate Detonator Gun is crafted provided Foundry skill is at least level 94. Crafting will increase players foundry experience by ?? points.

Crafting drawing requiredEdit

Template:Infobox drawings

Crafting materialsEdit

Template:Infobox materials


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The Village of Palm Springs
226 Cypress Lane
Palm Springs, FL 33461
Ph: (561) 965-4010
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Backflow Preventions
Cross Connection Control Program
Pursuant to the Village of Palm Springs Ordinance 2010-26 State Health regulations, imposed on all water purveyors, is that they have a program for identifying and eliminating cross connections to the potable water system.The purpose of the Cross Connection Control program is to protect the health, safety, and welfare of those persons consuming potable water from the village’s water system through preventing waterborne diseases and contaminants from entering the public water system.

The program is intended to prevent water from private plumbing systems (which could contain waterborne diseases and contaminants) from entering the public water system through backflow or cross connection.Backflow prevention devices eliminate the possibility of a cross connection occurring.

Our goal is to assure all of our residences safe drinking water, and we believe our program helps to identify and eliminate any possible cross connection to our water distribution system. We want to assure our customers that the very last user on our water line has water that is just as safe as the very first user and that nothing has entered the system in between.

Ordinance 2010-26

View Ordinance 2010-26 for a further detailed explanation of the Village’s Cross Connection Program and the Backflow prevention guidelines.

If you would like more information, please contact Ed Horton at (561) 641-3401 or by email.


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