text:
Seattle Sounders defender Patrick Ianni wins MLS goal of the year award

Brooks Peck
Dirty Tackle

As Philippe Mexes and half of Chelsea's back line have proven this year, sometimes defenders can score better than their teammates who are actually expected to do so. Further proving that to be true was Seattle Sounders defender Patrick Ianni, who has won the MLS Goal of the Year award for his stellar volley off a free kick against Kansas City.

It was the only goal the 27-year-old former U.S. youth international scored in his 16 matches this season, so it seems to go without saying that he is definitely a believer in quality over quantity. It might not have been quite as good as last year's winner from Darlington Nagbe or Eric Hassli's tremendous runner-up against Seattle (or his Puskas Award nominated goal this year), but that's really shouldn't cause Ianni to lose sleep.

What to Read Next


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

WARC-Type: response

text:
Thursday, October 15, 2015

Upcoming Monday Classes at Allegory Gallery

It's been a lot of fun to teach Basic Beading classes on Mondays at Allegory. But it would be EVEN better if I had more folks who could come out and join the fun.

So, I have snapped some pics of the upcoming classes, and now you can see what's coming up and maybe get a friend to join you!

What's even better is that if you missed a class, we can still make the project! (Or, if you like one of the 2 prototypes, they are for sale!!!) So, tell your friends!!!! And see you soon!

No comments:

Post a Comment

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-146-51-29.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-13
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for March 2018
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


WARC-Truncated: length

text:
You have not…

Next Logo Final

If you’ve read through my blog posts, you know that the nature of our ministry is missions and church planting. When I stepped out to join NEXT Worldwide in 2011, we knew we were stepping into uncharted waters. NEXT requires mission staff members to raise their financial support. So, in order to participate in missions and church planting – 2 things about which I (Stan) am very passionate – we must raise our salary and expenses each year.

Raising support is a combination of sheer joy and sheer terror. It is joyful because we get to do something so incredibly rewarding like planting churches and sharing the gospel. The element of sheer terror is knowing that unless people feel led by God to contribute to our ministry we won’t have the resources to continue the work.

Over the past few weeks, the Lord has been clarifying our call with NEXT and for our family. I’ve mentioned before that I hope the Lord gives me 30 years with NEXT and allows me to see the gospel go all over the world.   This calling will take the support of many partners. Many of you are faithful to support us. We are eternally grateful for that!

As I mentioned in our newsletter, we are currently raising $25,000 for our year-end goal in 2013. In short, we need to raise $25,000 in the next 6 months to end 2013 in the black and provide reserves for our 2014 ministry. For accountability, the Board of Directors at NEXT requires that we always keep a surplus in our account for emergencies and any unforeseen financial circumstances. We need $2,000 immediately to remain accountable to this requirement. We know the Lord will provide it through faithful ministry partners.

$500/month equals a $6,000 annual commitment to our $25,000 goal
$200/month equals a $2,400 annual commitment to our $25,000 goal
$100/month equals a $1,200 annual commitment to our $25,000 goal
$50/month equals a $600 annual commitment to our $25,000 goal

Will you join us in planting churches and taking the gospel to the nations? This is a simple way to help further the Kingdom and share the gospel to so many who have never heard. I pray that you will join us.

To give a gift to our ministry with NEXT Worldwide – click HERE

Until the whole world hears,

This entry was published on May 29, 2013 at 1:03 pm. It’s filed under God, grace, learning, NEXT Worldwide, support and tagged , , , , . Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this:


text:
SeaDrill Limited (SDRL) added 3.87% to reach $0.27 in the previous trading session. Overall, 4.43 Million shares exchanged hands versus its average trading volume of 6.01 Million shares. The relative volume of the stock is 0.74, while its market cap is $143.47 Million.

Relative Strength Index

The Relative Strength Index (RSI), developed by J. Welles Wilder, is a momentum oscillator that calculates the speed and change of price movements. The RSI oscillates between zero and 100. Usually the RSI is considered overbought when above 70 and oversold when less than 30.

Relative strength index (RSI-14) for SeaDrill Limited (SDRL) is at 48.54.

Price Target

A price target is the projected price level of a financial security stated by an investment analyst. It represents a security’s price that, if achieved, results in a trader recognizing the best possible outcome for his investment. This is the price at which the trader or investor wants to exit his existing position so he can realize the most reward.

Basically, a price target is an individual analyst’s projection on the future price of a stock. There is no concrete way to calculate a price target. Different analysts and financial institutions use various valuation methods and consider different economic forces when deciding on a price target.

SeaDrill Limited (SDRL) has been given an average price target of $3 from analysts, according to data collected by Finviz.

Earnings Forecast

Earnings per share (EPS) is the portion of a company’s profit allocated to each outstanding share of common stock. Earnings per share serves as an indicator of a company’s profitability. Consensus earnings estimates are far from perfect, but they are watched by many investors and play an important role in measuring the appropriate valuation for a stock. Investors measure stock performance on the basis of a company’s earnings power. To make a proper assessment, investors seek a sound estimate of this year’s and next year’s earnings per share (EPS), as well as a strong sense of how much the company will earn even farther down the road.

Maximum and minimum EPS estimate for the current quarter is projected at $-0.12 and $-0.19, respectively, according to 3 analysts. Comparatively, SeaDrill Limited posted earnings of $-0.19 per share in the same quarter last year.

The company is expected to report earnings of $-0.04 a share for the next quarter.

Revenue Estimate

Revenue is the amount of money that a company actually receives during a specific period, including discounts and deductions for returned merchandise. It is the “top line” or “gross income” figure from which costs are subtracted to determine net income.

SeaDrill Limited (SDRL) is expected to post revenue of $464.7 Million in the current quarter, according to consensus of 2 analysts. The high and low revenue estimates for the current quarter are $508.9 Million and $420.5 Million, respectively. The company reported revenue of $463.81 Million in the same period last year.

Moving Averages

A moving average (MA) is a trend-following or lagging indicator because it is based on past prices. The average is taken over a specific period of time, like 10 days, 20 minutes, 30 weeks, or any time period the trader chooses. There are advantages to using a moving average in your trading, as well options on what type of moving average to use. Moving average strategies are also popular and can be tailored to any time frame, suiting both long term investors and short-term traders.

A moving average can help cut down the amount of “noise” on a price chart. Look at the direction of the moving average to get a basic idea of which way the price is moving. Angled up and price is moving up (or was recently) overall, angled down and price is moving down overall, moving sideways and the price is likely in a range.

SeaDrill Limited (SDRL)’s distance from 200 day simple moving average is -35.8 percent, its distance from 50 day simple moving average is -5.54 percent, while its distance from 20 day simple moving average is 5.82 percent.

Volatility is a statistical measure of the dispersion of returns for a given security or market index. Volatility can either be measured by using the standard deviation or variance between returns from that same security or market index.

When we see the company’s Volatility, it currently has a monthly volatility of 8.56% and weekly volatility of 7.52%.

Analysts Recommendation

In order to reach an opinion and communicate the value and volatility of a covered security, analysts research public financial statements, listen in on conference calls and talk to managers and the customers of a company, typically in an attempt to capture the findings for a research report. Ultimately, through all this investigation into the company’s performance the analyst decides whether their stock is a “buy,” sell” or hold.”

SeaDrill Limited (SDRL) has an Analysts’ Mean Recommendation of 4, according to data compiled by Finviz. The recommendation scale measures the value from 1 to 5, where 1 means ‘’Buy’’ and 5 stands for ”Sell”. SeaDrill Limited was covered by a number of analysts recently, 0 rated the stock as Buy, 0 rated Outperform, 0 rated Hold, 1 gave an Underperform and 0 rated sell.

Historical Trends

A trend analysis is a method of analysis that allows traders to predict what will happen with a stock in the future. Trend analysis is based on historical data about the stock’s performance given the overall trends of the market and particular indicators within the market.

SeaDrill Limited shares decreased -6.13 percent over the past week and rose 8.44 percent over the previous month. The stock plunged -12.97 percent over the past quarter, while declined -30.15 percent over the past six months.


text:
States seeks limits on domestic drones

States Seek Legal Limits on Domestic Drones

By Maggie Clark, Staff Writer

The city of Seattle recently ended its drone program following intense pressure from civil liberties groups. (ALAN BERNER/The Seattle Times)
Ready or not, the drones are coming home: Nine law enforcement agencies in six states already use drones, and another nine have applied to the Federal Aviation Administration for permission to do the same. So far, police agencies have not used drones for general surveillance, but lawmakers in nearly half the states are looking to enhance privacy protections before drones become standard policing.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Gregory Egan

Solar, Hydrogen, Cryogenic and Bamboo Technologist with five startups so far and still a sense of humor

About Gregory Egan

Greg attended the Graduate School of Applied Science and Business at New York University. He has over 30 years of alternative fuel and cryogenic program development. Greg began his high-tech solar marketing and system design experience with Basic Energy Construction 1977-79 and at Ergenics (INCO’s renewable materials venture) where he designed stainless-steel solar collectors. Additionally, he developed for metal hydrides hydrogen storage products. Mr. Egan spent 10 years as marketing manager of Hydrogen Consultants Inc. (HCI) where he developed systems. In 1986 he won the NASA Technology Innovation Award and was also the Principal Investigator in the Metal Hydride Compressor/Hydrogen Liquefaction System for NASA (KSC) and Metal Hydride Compressor/Refrigeration System for NASA (MSFC). In 2004, Mr. Egan founded Brehon Energy plc. (Ireland) a pioneer integrated hydrogen energy and cryogenics. Brehon was eventually bought by Eden Energy, Ltd. (Australia). Greg’s recent concentration is developing a bamboo biorefinery for filtration and chemical feedstocks.


text:
Opendi Stadtbranchenbuch
create a free listing

Hitterdal, MN Business Pages

There are 13 listings and reviews for Hitterdal, MN.
listings have additional information, such as opening hours and company descriptions.

Categories in Hitterdal, MN with:

Top categories in Hitterdal, MN

  1. Minnesota
  2. Hitterdal Mn Business Pages

The latest listings for Hitterdal, MN


text:
Opendi Stadtbranchenbuch
create a free listing

Schroeder, MN Business Pages

There are 16 listings and reviews for Schroeder, MN.
listings have additional information, such as opening hours and company descriptions.

Categories in Schroeder, MN with:

Top categories in Schroeder, MN

  1. Minnesota
  2. Schroeder Mn Business Pages

The latest listings for Schroeder, MN


text:
Wechampionchildren Status Report

Website is Online when last checked on 29 January 2018
This report has been viewed 0 times since it was first created on 21 January 2016

Wechampionchildren.com is a 2 years old domain, situated in United States. The domain is linked to the IP address which is provided by the hosting company 1 and 1.

It was registered by Steven Liles , who can be reached at . The site is owned by SL. Registration details show that it was registered on 08 Jan 2016 through 1 and 1 and will expire on 08 Jan 2017.

The site returns a status code of 200. The site is being served through Apache.

Registration Details

This data reveals what information was provided to the site registrar 1 and 1 when wechampionchildren.com was registered.
Registered by Steven Liles
08 Jan
08 Jan
Expiry of registration
08 Jan
Registrar 1 and 1
Reseller -
Status ok https://www.icann.org/eppDomain
Name Steven Liles
Organisation SL
Address 5020 Leigh Ave Amarillo, TX
United States
Name Steven Liles
Organisation SL
Address 5020 Leigh Ave, Amarillo, TX
United States
Name -
Organisation -
Name Hostmaster ONEANDONE
Organisation 1&1 Internet Inc.
Address 701 Lee Rd.,Suite 300 Chesterbrook, PA
United States
+1.8774612631 +1.6105601501

SEO Analysis

Get a free On page SEO analysis report of wechampionchildren.com
  1. Page Title: No page title found
    There is no title present on the page, which is bad for SEO.
  2. Meta Description: No meta description found
    Meta description isn't used in SEO signals anymore, but is still relevant as it explains the site purpose in search results.
  3. Meta Keywords: No meta keywords found on the page
    Meta keywords are ignored by search engines. We are referring them, because they too show the site purpose just like meta description.
  4. Compression: Enabled
    Compression increases the speed of the website. Header data sent by the website shows that compression is properly configured on the website.
  5. Mobile Optimised: Yes
    Responsive design is being used on the website, which is extremely important nowadays.
  6. Outgoing links: None found!
  7. Content Rating: Safe
    The content of the site seems to be safe for all age groups.
  8. Language: Language couldn't be determined!

Technical Background

Important background details of the website
    Website home page is 1 kB in size.

IP Address Details

All stuff related to IP address of the website.
Primary IP Address
IPv6 Address
  • Server country: United States
  • DNS is hosted by 1and1-dns.org
  • Web Hosting: 1 and 1

Complete whois text

Whois Server Version 2.0

   Registrar: 1 & 1 INTERNET AG
   Sponsoring Registrar IANA ID: 83
   Whois Server: whois.1and1.com
   Referral URL:
   Name Server: NS-US.1AND1-DNS.COM
   Name Server: NS-US.1AND1-DNS.DE
   Name Server: NS-US.1AND1-DNS.ORG
   Name Server: NS-US.1AND1-DNS.US
   Status: ok    Updated Date: 08-jan-2016
   Creation Date: 08-jan-2016
   Expiration Date: 08-jan-2017

For more information on Whois status codes, please visit

The Registry database contains ONLY .COM, .NET, .EDU domains and
Domain Name: wechampionchildren.com
Registry Domain ID: 1992751647_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.1and1.com
Registrar URL:
Updated Date: 2016-01-08T19:16:49.000Z
Creation Date: 2016-01-08T19:16:49.000Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2017-01-08T19:16:49.000Z
Registrar: 1&1 Internet SE
Registrar IANA ID: 83
Registrar Abuse Contact Email:
Registrar Abuse Contact Phone: +1.8774612631
Domain Status: ok  Status: addPeriod  Registrant ID:
Registrant Name: Steven Liles
Registrant Organization: SL
Registrant Street: 5020 Leigh Ave
Registrant City: Amarillo
Registrant State/Province: TX
Registrant Postal Code: 79110
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Phone: +1.8066776462
Registrant Phone Ext:
Registrant Fax:
Registrant Fax Ext:
Registrant Email:
Registry Admin ID:
Admin Name: Steven Liles
Admin Organization: SL
Admin Street: 5020 Leigh Ave
Admin Street:
Admin City: Amarillo
Admin State/Province: TX
Admin Postal Code: 79110
Admin Country: US
Admin Phone: +1.8066776462
Admin Phone Ext:
Admin Fax:
Admin Fax Ext:
Admin Email:
Registry Tech ID:
Tech Name: Hostmaster ONEANDONE
Tech Organization: 1&1 Internet Inc.
Tech Street: 701 Lee Rd.
Tech Street: Suite 300
Tech City: Chesterbrook
Tech State/Province: PA
Tech Postal Code: 19087
Tech Country: US
Tech Phone: +1.8774612631
Tech Phone Ext:
Tech Fax: +1.6105601501
Tech Fax Ext:
Tech Email:
Nameserver: ns-us.1and1-dns.us
Nameserver: ns-us.1and1-dns.de
Nameserver: ns-us.1and1-dns.org
Nameserver: ns-us.1and1-dns.com
DNSSEC: Unsigned
URL of the ICANN WHOIS Data Problem Reporting System:

For more information on Whois status codes, please visit


text:
The Color of Courage

The Color of Courage

Book - 2007
Average Rating:
Rate this:
Only faith sustained Lindsey Mandel after the loss of her beloved twin brother. Now a freak accident would test the U.S. Army corporal's mettle once again. Desperate to save her brother's injured horse, Lindsey placed her trust in handsome veterinarian Brian Cutter. When Brian saw Lindsey pinned beneath the steed, his only thought was to save her. With his own faith shaken by the death of his wife, he was amazed by this plucky female soldier who gave her all personally and professionally. Inspired by Lindsey's commitment to kin and country, Brian soon found a love that made him feel truly blessed.
Publisher: Steeple Hill Books, c2007.
ISBN: 9780373813230

From the critics

Community Activity

Add a Comment

There are no comments for this title yet.

Age Suitability

Add Age Suitability

There are no age suitabilities for this title yet.

Add a Summary

There are no summaries for this title yet.

Add Notices

There are no notices for this title yet.

Add a Quote

There are no quotes for this title yet.

Explore Further

Browse by Call Number

Find it at Library

To Top


text:
3 Ingredients Brownie Cake

Tried and tested; All you need is 2 eggs, 350g nutella and 150g flour. Mix them together until it forms a rather sticky dough. Place in a dish, and put in a preheated oven, and cook at 160 degrees Celsius. It took mine 25mins to be fully cooked, but always use a toothpick to check if the cake is ready. As soon as toothpick comes out of the cake clean, switch the oven off and wait for the brownie to cool down slightly before eating it.

Below, you can find a photo of the end result. I have added almonds and chocolate chips on top of my cake:

Bon Apetit!

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Wednesday, 16 February 2011

Nipped over to Radipole this morning for a bit more ringing, always good fun!

Lightning Luke wasn't around today, meaning a big catch was never on the cards. Considering this then, four birds wasn't too bad at all. Three of them were...

At last a photo that shows a Coot's true personality!

The fourth was very special to me, very special indeed...

A first-winter female Tufted Duck in my lap

I have ringed a couple of Tufties at Radipole, but this baby was special because I caught her! My first self-caught Tuftie :-)

I could see her flashing her unringed legs at me, so when she drifted a little closer I always kept one eye on her. She started to dive, and evey time she popped up she was always quite close. She went down again so I followed the bubbles, waited 'til they came right below me, nudged a couple of Mute Swans out the way, then 'splashed and grabbed!'. Well worth the wet arm :-)

I was hoping the adult Ring-billed Gull from last week was still knocking about around the Visitor Centre but no luck. The best I could find were a few of these...

Not far off full summer plumage that one on the right

No comments:

Post a Comment


text:
Military Spouse Medal

Click on image for a larger view of the product.
You have your medals now give them the recognition they deserve. Great for ALL ceremonies and occasions. This medal is a gift they will treasure and tell their friends about. Ideal to recognize their contributions. Comes with certificate
Sample of the certificate (full size 62Kb).

The medal measures aproximately 1 3/8 inches wide by 2 inches long and about 3 mm in thickness. The drape is a standard large military medal drape of purple color.

The certificate is 8.5 inches by 11 inches.

Please identify name(s) for the certificate(s) in the comment block at check out.

We DO NOT offer this item as a framed set.

We DO NOT engrave the medal.

How Many Would You Like? Reviews (9)

We Accept
Quick Find
Use keywords to find the product you are looking for.
Advanced Search
Share Product
Share on Facebook


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

text:
Log in

No account? Create an account
StephenT [userpic]

(Fic) Revenge of the Red Witch - Chapter Four

8th June 2010 (12:54)
Tags: , ,

In today's thrilling installment, our intrepid heroes finally approach the outer defences of the tower of the evil wizard. What perils await them there? Read on to find out!

2394 words, rating 15 for violence and danger.  Chapter One is here, Chapter Two is here, Chapter Three is here.

Revenge of the Red Witch - after Frank Frazetta

Conan the Cimmerian is black haired and sullen-eyed; a thief, a reaver, a slayer, with gigantic melancholies and gigantic mirth, who came sword in hand to tread the jewelled thrones of the Earth under his sandaled feet.
Willow Rosenberg is a red-haired Jewish lesbian wiccan who thinks that eating a banana before lunch is an act of wild rebellion.
Together, they fight evil sorcery.

Revenge of the Red Witch - Chapter Four

The horse had been left back aways, where hopefully it would be safe. Conan had packed light, the rucksack on his back mostly empty; but a coil of rope was slung over his shoulder and various other useful supplies secreted about his person. The witch had a small bag full of oddments she'd collected in the forest, leaves and twigs and smooth round pebbles. It seemed mere junk to the Cimmerian, but she had selected each piece as carefully as a warrior might pick out his weapons -- and in her hands, they might prove as deadly as any weapon.

They were ready.

He checked the balance of the sword at his belt as he strode forward, the witch at his heels. Just a short step further through the forest and they would come to the wizard's tower. Conan pushed aside the bushes...  and saw his horse standing there placidly cropping the grass. He cursed sulphurously.

"Uh, how did that get here?"

"It didn't. We've been turned around." He crouched to study their tracks, looking for broken stems of grass, the disturbed vegetation. "We've walked in a circle."

"How do you-- never mind. So, some kind of mind-controlly concealment spell, you think?"

The Cimmerian shivered involuntarily. "Curse all wizards and their cowardly ways!" Willow cleared her throat meaningfully, but he continued. "Afraid to face their opponents in honest battle, they hide behind spells. Can you break this enchantment, lay bare his lair?"

"Uh, probably. But it would use up a lot of my power, and I'd rather, y'know, save that for the actual battle. Not got too much to spare right now. But you didn't mention this before. You said you got right through to the base of the cliff, you didn't mention this barrier. Is it new? Does he know we're coming?"

"Crom! That's not a reassuring idea."

Willow smiled apologetically, then frowned in thought. "Maybe it just didn't affect you before. Did you - were you doing anything differently this time around? You don't have any magic charms or amulets you were wearing before, or anything? Did you go by a different route?"

"Nothing like that. In fact I was watching my steps carefully just now, looking out for the landmarks I remembered to make sure I followed the same path."

"And you weren't before? Looking where you were going, I mean?"

The Cimmerian grinned. "It was pitch dark beneath the trees, the best time for thieves to be abroad. I used my sense of direction, not my eyes."

The witch bit her lip thoughtfully - then suddenly her face was lit by a huge grin. She turned until she was facing the direction they'd just come back from... then closed her eyes and covered them with her hand. She walked confidently forward, a hand stretched in front of her - then gave an 'ow' of pain as her head hit a low-hanging branch. Conan did his best to smother a chuckle, but she just lifted her hand higher and moved forward rather more cautiously.

A few minutes later, he heard her voice shouting his name, followed by "What are you waiting for? Just keep your eyes closed!" He shrugged, but did as she instructed. After pushing his way through the undergrowth, he felt the sun on his face and opened his eyes again. The witch was sitting on a rock at the edge of the wood, grinning at him.

"See? Just an illusion affecting your eyesight. Trust your instincts instead and you don't even know it's there. I think that's one point to us." She jumped off her perch and looked north, where the great grey crag of rock loomed up in front of them. This close, the wizard's tower itself was hidden from them by the angle. Between their position and the base of the hill the ground sloped gently downwards to form a shallow bowl-shaped depression where no trees grew.

"So, I take it that's the next barrier?" She pointed to the innocuous-looking valley.

"That's right. The first of his real defenses. Fortunately I've encountered something like this before, away in the mountains of Vendhya to the east, so I recognised the signs straight away."

"The signs?"

Conan pointed to a small, huddled grey lump lying on the grass near the lip of the depression. "A dead rabbit. There are more like that, all around the edge; dead animals of all kinds."

"Okay, eww." The witch had turned green with nausea, but she also looked angry. "It's irresponsible, is what it is, setting up those kind of defenses. You can't just go around killing things all willy-nilly, it's... it's evil. Which, yeah, obvious since we already know he's evil, but he's got to pay for this!"

"For killing rabbits?"

"Among other things. *Ahem*. So, then, mister, how did you get across?"

Conan pointed across the valley. "See that outcrop there? If we can reach it, we climb up and we'll be on the same level as we are here. Above the miasma that kills these creatures."

"So it's just a heavier-than-air poison gas, huh? How do you know it's that and not a magical forcefield of death or something?"

"No birds."

"There are dead animals, but no dead birds. Whatever it is that kills, it only affects those things that walk on the earth."

"So, we just hold our breath, huh? It's a long way to walk."

"Here." He pulled a strip of cloth out of his pack, torn from an old shirt, and handed it to her. "Tie it round your mouth and nose." He brought out a second strip for himself, then watched as the witch took their waterbottle and soaked the cloth before tying it around her face. She seemed to know what she was doing, so he imitated her.

"Hold my arm." Then standing on the rim of the depression, he took several deep breaths, filling his lungs - then with a nod to his companion, set off down the slope.

It was easy at first. He matched his pace to his companion's shorter legs, but forged steadily forward. The sky looked no different; the sun shone as brightly, the grass underfoot looked as green. There was only a faint taste to the air that made his lips pucker, his eyes water a little.

They walked on. The pressure in his chest, behind his throat, was growing worse, but he ignored it. The rock wall in front of them was getting closer.

But not close enough. He kept his pace steady, step after step, fighting the urge to break into a run that would only use up all the air in his lungs faster. His chest burned like fire. The urge to take a breath was overwhelming.

Maybe it wouldn't hurt. The cloth over his mouth would protect him; maybe. Or maybe not. He'd done this before, he could do it again, fight through the pain by sheer willpower, and...

The girl at his side suddenly clutched desperately at his arm as her foot hit something half-buried in the grass. It gleamed white as it rolled away: an animal skull. She flailed for balance, landed hard against his body...

...and gasped in an involuntary deep gulp of air as she was winded by the impact.

Instantly she started coughing, a violent hacking, choking noise, her hands around her throat, her face red, her eyes streaming tears. She reeled back and would have fallen had Conan not grabbed her around the waist. Her eyes above the scarf were panicky, and the Cimmerian did not hesitate. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, then set his face towards the rock wall and began running.

His lungs were screaming in his chest. His eyesight was turning dim, his head felt on fire. Each footstep drove agony through him. When he reached the base of the outcropping he barely retained the reason to know where he was, but some instinct prompted him to throw the girl up onto the top, then scramble up behind her. Then he sank to his hands and knees and breathed deeply, not caring any more if the air would kill him or not.

It didn't. They were safe.

Or at least he was. He turned to his companion, as she lay there where he'd tossed her. She was bruised and bloodied and her skin looked grey, but her eyes were open and she was still breathing. An ugly tortured sound, but breathing nonetheless. Her gaze met his and she even quirked a small smile, before breaking into another fit of coughing.

"Tha-*koff*-thanks for saving *koff* my life. But couldn't *koffkoff* ya have been gentler about it?"

He smiled with relief to hear her lucid and able to communicate. "I'm sorry. Can you stand? Are you ready to go on?"

"Gimme a mo. *koff* Got any water left?" He handed her the bottle. She took a sip, started coughing halfway through and almost choked, but mastered herself and then took another gulp. Some of the colour was returning to her cheeks.

"Whew. I'm glad we won't have to do that again." The Cimmerian mused that they'd still have to return afterwards, but forebore from mentioning it. Instead he stood and studied the rock wall in front of him.

"Here's where we'll need your skills, girl. This is as far as I got myself."

"The sheer rock face. Huh. Didn't you realise you'd need to climb it? I mean, I'm not a mountaineer type person myself, but there look to be plenty of handholds."

"There seem to be, aye. And girl, I'm from Cimmeria. I was climbing mountains as steep as this one before I was eight summers old. But watch."

He jumped up, his hands and feet unerringly seeking the cracks in the cliff-face that would give him purchase - but met only solid rock, and slid off down again.

"See? Another of his tricks for the eyes. It may look like it's climbable, but that cliff's as smooth as polished marble behind the illusion. You'd need to be a lizard or a spider to climb this wall."

"I hope you're not expecting me to turn you into either of those, 'cause icky. Also difficult to carry clothes and weapons and stuff."

He shook his head. "Get this rope to the top and secure it, and I'll be able to climb up with no problems."

"Oh, that's easy enough. Heck, if I still had all my powers I could carry you. But as it is..."

She took the rope from the barbarian, slung it over her shoulder, and grinned at him....

...Then shot upwards into the air, flying as easily and gracefully as a swallow. A couple of minutes later the end of the rope came tumbling over the edge of the cliff towards him. Conan caught it, gave it a hefty tug, and then experimentally swung his whole weight against it. He trusted the witch, but it was his own life he was risking here.

The rope held, so he began walking up the face of the cliff, his iron-thewed arms bearing his weight as the rope creaked above him. But it held, and soon after he was swinging his body over the top of the cliff and looking about him.

The witch was slumped against the bole of a tree, the same one whose trunk the rope had been lashed around. She smiled at him wearily.

"Sorry. That kind of took more out of me than I'd expected, especially after the whole near-death experience just now. Mind if I rest for a bit?"

"Go ahead, we'll need to be ready for anything when we enter his tower. That was impressive stuff, girl. I've seen wizards fly before, but they used enchanted rugs or other sorcerous aids, not just their own strength of will."

"Flying carpets? Seriously? I'd love one of those. You could just lie back and relax as it wafted you to your destination."

He grinned. "Maybe we can steal one from the wizard."

"Good plan. So what sort of test do you think we'll face next?"

"I don't know. You wait here and rest, I'll scout on ahead."

Moving quietly as a ghost, the Cimmerian slipped through the small copse of trees that clung to the edge of the cliff. He dropped flat as he reached its boundary, inching forward to look what was beyond.

The black stone walls of the tower rose up in front of him, casting a shadow that darkened the air around. Leering gargoyle faces seemed to peer down from the battlements; they looked to be mere carved stone, but long experience and caution taught the Cimmerian to be wary of them all the same. The tower's gate was not in sight, but there was a pathway visible off to the right, winding around towards the top of the mound. Dark marble columns stood beside it at irregular intervals, each one marked with sorcerous runes.

He took in as much of the lay of the land as he could, judging distances and cover with an expert eye, then returned to his companion. She was still sat where he'd left her, but was now happily munching on an apple she'd acquired from somewhere. His stomach rumbled, loud enough for her to hear; and she suppressed a giggle then pointed upwards.

The tree she was sat under was an apple tree, and the apples were ripe. Conan reached up to pluck one for himself, then sat down next to her.

"Apparently even evil wizards have orchards. Who knew? So, what did you find?"

He described what he'd seen, and she nodded in agreement at his suspicion of the gargoyles. She frowned at his description of the path, though.

"So maybe there's an easy way up? Perhaps hidden by illusion from the bottom of the cliff. What do you think the columns do?"

"Nothing good, I wager."

"Maybe. Or, y'know, maybe they're just evil decorations. Like the gargoyles. Bought from an evil wizard home supplies depot."

"Er, right. Are you ready to go, or do you need more time?"

"Nope. Ready for action, mister wizard-slaying Tomb Raider guy. Except, y'know, without the Lara Croft style gravity-defying boobies. Unfortunately. And you have no idea what I'm talking about, and I should just shut up now. Come on."

Posted by: arkeus (arkeus)
Posted at: 8th June 2010 14:32 (UTC)

Nice little work there, and it seems this wizard is experienced in misdirection ;-(

Posted by: StephenT (stormwreath)
Posted at: 8th June 2010 20:54 (UTC)

Well, it seems to me that if you're an evil wizard, it makes far more sense to stop heroic types from ever finding your lair, than having to kill them once they get there. Less messy, too. :-)

Posted by: brutti_ma_buoni (brutti_ma_buoni)
Posted at: 8th June 2010 20:36 (UTC)

Ack! Peril! Aww, bonding.

More pls!

Posted by: StephenT (stormwreath)
Posted at: 8th June 2010 20:55 (UTC)

Willow and Conan would like me to thank you for your interest in their bonding, but they aren't too impressed by the implication that you also want more peril for them. ;-)

Posted by: erimthar (erimthar)
Posted at: 9th June 2010 03:29 (UTC)

Getting more and more curious as to why Willow is in this world, and who the wizard is.

Posted by: StephenT (stormwreath)
Posted at: 9th June 2010 13:34 (UTC)

To be honest, the wizard is, well, a wizard. An evil wizard. The antagonist. If you like, you can invest him with symbolic and metaphorical qualities such as that he's Willow's shadow self or the path not travelled... but really, this is a pulp adventure romp and as such it needs a villain. The 'Conan' stories are full of evil wizards; they probably have a union.

Posted by: Beer Good (beer_good_foamy)
Posted at: 9th June 2010 08:24 (UTC)

I can't believe how well these two work together.

And for some reason, the idea of Willow having a magic carpet fills me with glee.

Posted by: StephenT (stormwreath)
Posted at: 9th June 2010 13:35 (UTC)

Like I said last time: it's a classic buddy cop movie formula. :-)

Posted by: none of the above (frogfarm)
Posted at: 9th June 2010 08:58 (UTC)

This wizard is either going to be a mad genius with a flair for verbal comedy, or a red herring/shirt who gets taken out in less than point two seconds after all this buildup a la Sword Guy in Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Posted by: StephenT (stormwreath)
Posted at: 9th June 2010 13:37 (UTC)

Maybe. :-)

Posted by: mikeda (mikeda)
Posted at: 9th June 2010 15:43 (UTC)

Actually it'll turn out that stormwreath is doing an surprise crossover with "Dave the Barbarian" and the wizard is the Dark Lord Chuckles the Silly Piggy...

11 Read Comments


text:
Anchor alarm for iPhone

I found this very useful anchor alarm app for iPhone and iPad, made by the Active Captain crew. It’s called DragQueen, and it works using the GPS function to lock in a position while at anchor. When the anchor drags over a preset distance, the alarm goes off. The app can be downloaded for free at the App Store.

About Stranded Mariner

Marine Engineer and passionate sailor and cruiser, working in the marine business in China.
This entry was posted in Boats and boating, Navigation, Sailing and Cruising, Technology. Bookmark the permalink.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Log in

No account? Create an account

Previous Entry | Next Entry

New Who 6.8: Let's Kill Hitler

I think this qualifies as yet another Moffat-penned episode which I enjoyed at the time for its fun plot-twists, surprise reveals and in-jokes, but found myself more and more disappointed by in retrospect.

The cool stuff

The bits I enjoyed at the time included:
  • Clever playing around with the classic trope of wanting to use a time machine to kill Hitler (see also Stephen Fry's novel, Making History), and why that can't be allowed in the Doctor Who universe.
  • Flash-backs into Amy, Rory and Mels' childhood together... though young!Rory did seem a great deal younger than young!Amy, which was a bit disquieting.
  • Mels generally.
  • The dialogue about the interior of the TARDIS being in a state of temporal grace - yet another lovely "Yes, we know it's canon - don't take it so seriously" moment.
  • Action!Rory
  • The Doctor being all guilty about every single one of his (main) new-Who-era companions.
  • Finding the ultimate answer to the ultimate question before you find the question itself.
  • Hitler still being in the closet at the end of the episode.

And the bits which jolted me out of that state of enjoyment as I watched, and in retrospect have grown big enough to outweigh it entirely were:
  • Amy setting killer robots on an entire ship-full of people who really didn't deserve it, and whom she didn't know in advance had any kind of escape mechanism. I know she had to save River, but was there no other way?
  • Melody Pond / River Song giving up all of her remaining incarnations at once for the sake of a man. I get that the fact the programme revolves around a male hero-figure makes a bit of this sort of stuff inevitable, but the rules aren't immutable! Moffat gets to make them up. And he could so easily have achieved the same effect by, for example, just saying that the Doctor could be revived with nothing more than a kick-start from the last little remnant of River's regeneration energy. And then she could have helped the Doctor just the same, and still retained the possibility of her own awesome Time-Lordly future, complete with multiple further regenerations. But no. Because of the choice Moffat made, she doesn't get that now.
  • River Song being shown as taking up archaeology in order to find the Doctor, rather than because she's genuinely intellectually interested in the subject. Which, speaking as someone who chose much the same subject because it is fascinating and stimulating and offers me all sorts of opportunities to stretch and prove myself personally and intellectually, is FUCKING INSULTING.
  • Oh, and yet another fake death, still further reducing the chances of any meaningful emotional engagement when characters actually really do die at any point in any future episodes.

Unanswered questions

And of course there are the usual unanswered questions, too.

For a start, are we going to see or learn any more about the Teselecta (i.e. the doppelganger robots full of tiny people delivering 'justice' across time)? What mothership did they escape to, who passes the sentences which they execute, and according to what criteria? And most importantly, how did they acquire the art of time-travel? Very few races in the Doctor Who universe have the ability to do that - and still fewer to use it responsibly.

And obviously there are still many of the same unanswered questions about who River is going to kill, and what's up with the Doctor dying in Utah in 2011, etc. etc.. Except that I'm so sick of being strung along on those points that I'm afraid they only make me feel half-frustrated and half-indifferent now (as indeed they did at the end of episode 7), rather than excited as I assume Moffat intended.

Anyway, fun at face level, but I just wish I could concentrate better on the fun and the cleverness without having to keep on being distracted by the fail.

Click here if you would like view this entry in light text on a dark background.

( 36 comments — Leave a comment )
Aug. 27th, 2011 10:38 pm (UTC)
I still think that River is going to kill the Doctor. She did say that she'd killed the best man she'd ever known (2. series back?).
Aug. 27th, 2011 10:49 pm (UTC)
Probably - him or Rory. But I'm pretty sick of waiting to find out at this stage.
(no subject) - gylfinir - Aug. 27th, 2011 10:57 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - matgb - Aug. 27th, 2011 11:21 pm (UTC) - Expand
Aug. 27th, 2011 10:42 pm (UTC)
We know that River doesn't regenerate again after her current regeneration - because we've seen her in The Silence In The Library.
Aug. 27th, 2011 10:52 pm (UTC)
Well yes, but that, too, was in Moffat's hands. He could have suggested that she already used up all but one of her regenerations on exciting and fulfilling lives before the start of this episode, or have said that the death which she underwent in the library was so severe that it burnt up all of her remaining regenerations in itself. Anything but that huge and unnecessary sacrifice.
(no subject) - andrewducker - Aug. 27th, 2011 10:59 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - matgb - Aug. 27th, 2011 11:19 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - parrot_knight - Aug. 27th, 2011 11:23 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - matgb - Aug. 27th, 2011 11:34 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - diffrentcolours - Aug. 28th, 2011 10:32 am (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - strange_complex - Aug. 28th, 2011 11:32 am (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - draxar - Aug. 28th, 2011 04:56 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - strange_complex - Aug. 28th, 2011 06:09 pm (UTC) - Expand
Aug. 27th, 2011 11:15 pm (UTC)
He needed some excuse for getting rid of River Song's regenerations so it could be clear you've seen pretty much precisely her whole life (bar the adventures in final incarnation with last doctor). Stops fan whining about "she should have seven/many regenerations".
Aug. 28th, 2011 12:47 am (UTC)
I thought it was a jolly entertaining hour of television. Time travel soap opera with plenty of babes and guns. It bore no resemblance whatsoever to that one show I used to like when I was growing up, what was it called again, Doctor Who? I guess Moffat might have seen that show at some point and cribbed a few ideas from it. I wish they'd bring that show back again one day though.
Aug. 28th, 2011 11:34 am (UTC)
Very well put.
Aug. 28th, 2011 02:42 am (UTC)
I'm with Verlaine. I'm fed up with it all being about the Doctor, and everything else just being a backdrop for threats to four people in the whole big universe. And the cheap, dramatically deadening assumptions that Love and Family Ties conquer all -- as you say, Penny, the characters are robbed of all opportunity to grapple with moral ambiguity because you will save your daughter no matter what the consequences.

There were a lot of good touches but I'm finding it easy to talk myself out of liking it at all.
Aug. 28th, 2011 11:48 am (UTC)
Yes, it was actually Amy's action in setting the killer jelly-fish things on the people inside the Teselecta that disquieted me most of all - and the fact that nobody expressed any anguish over this or tried to challenge it at all. I'm pretty sure the woman with short hair died as a direct consequence of her actions, but this was just skipped over in the quest to save River.

Would any past companions have behaved like that - or past Doctors not even have thought to enquire into how they had stopped the Teselecta? The show's history is so long that there probably are similar examples in it somewhere, but nonetheless it still felt 'off' to me.
(no subject) - wwhyte - Aug. 28th, 2011 01:03 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - parrot_knight - Aug. 28th, 2011 01:54 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - chrisvenus - Aug. 28th, 2011 06:19 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - strange_complex - Aug. 28th, 2011 06:36 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - chrisvenus - Aug. 28th, 2011 06:43 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - djm4 - Aug. 29th, 2011 07:20 am (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - strange_complex - Aug. 29th, 2011 08:57 am (UTC) - Expand
Aug. 28th, 2011 07:31 am (UTC)
Excellent points about Moffat choosing to make it so River had to give up all her Time Lady powers *and* not choosing her discipline because of her own intellectual pleasure in it, but because everything must be All About Her Man.
Aug. 28th, 2011 11:54 am (UTC)
In fairness, because I was focusing on the outrage over the "All About Her Man"-ness last night, I should probably also acknowledge that she does say it with a bit of a twinkle in her eye, which perhaps suggests that she's knowingly playing on the trope of women taking up intellectual pursuits just in order to bag a man, and is in reality looking on it as a route to the excitement and adventure that comes along with the Doctor, rather than a straightforward route to the Doctor as a romantic conquest. But still, I would really have preferred her not have said that line at all, and coming on top of the completely unnecessary sacrifice of all her regenerations, it does all start to look rather disempowering. :-(
(no subject) - wwhyte - Aug. 28th, 2011 01:04 pm (UTC) - Expand
Aug. 28th, 2011 09:26 am (UTC)
I'm afraid I've lost all patience with it as Amy and Rory get on my nerves too much - bring back Christopher Eccleston half naked being tortured to get info about daleks :-)

I do feel sad that I've lost all patience with it though as I feel very old and miserable as a result. Will just have to watch some equally improbable Hammer nonsense but twith the ever delectable Peter Cushing in to restore my equilibrium.
Aug. 28th, 2011 11:58 am (UTC)
I still love Rory, but yeah - Eccleston's gravitas and moral weight seems a rather distant memory now, doesn't it? You can, of course, enjoy Peter Cushing in a suitably nonsensical Whovian context via his two mid-'60s spin-off movies. They're about as much in line with the contemporary TV series as last night's episode was, but they're still fun in their own technicolor way.
(no subject) - wwhyte - Aug. 28th, 2011 01:04 pm (UTC) - Expand
(no subject) - ms_siobhan - Aug. 28th, 2011 05:00 pm (UTC) - Expand
Aug. 29th, 2011 08:59 am (UTC)
You missed out the banana incident. That was fun :)

I think that as a 'second half of the series after the summer break' opener it was good - enough comedy and mild peril to entertain children, and just enough story to revive adult's interest in the programme.
Weeping Cross
Aug. 29th, 2011 12:25 pm (UTC)
The bottom line for me is that there was simply far too much going on for any reflection or development, which might have sorted out a lot of the problems. The common problem the old series had was not enough ideas to fill four or six episodes, whereas there are now often far too many stuffed into the available time. This isn't the first occasion I'd've preferred at least twice the amount of airtime to allow me to catch breath and the characters to reflect. Not a single person was given space to do any actual acting in those 45 minutes, were they?
(no subject) - strange_complex - Aug. 29th, 2011 12:37 pm (UTC) - Expand
( 36 comments — Leave a comment )

Latest Month

March 2018

Powered by LiveJournal.com
Designed by chasethestars


text:
Log in

No account? Create an account

Previous Entry | Next Entry

Start of term = busy = also tired when not actually busy = still haven't finished writing up the Starburst Film Festival I attended in late August. Friday and Saturday are covered at the links; the schedule for Sunday is here, with what I did below.

Sunday schedule.jpg

Space-flight and puzzle games

This day saw a late, lazy start, which meant a very welcome chance to catch up on some sleep. Our first appointment this time was in the gaming area, where you could play an 'I Can't Believe It's Not Star Trek!' simulator / role-playing game, with each person playing a different crew position. I haven't done much of this sort of gaming, so I was a bit worried about messing everything up by just being totally unable to understand or operate the controls, but the people running it were very welcoming and helpful, and by the end of our 50-minute session I felt properly in command of the various things I was supposed to do and was really enjoying myself. My particular role was steering the ship, and although I did accidentally put it into reverse at one point when we were supposed to be going forward, once I'd figured out what everything I could see on the screen meant I think I did a pretty good job of conducting us around our various different missions. Meanwhile, innerbrat as our science officer scanned the ships and space-stations which we encountered to figure out what we should do about them, and newandrewhickey quietly redirected the ship's energy supplies to shields, engines, manoeuvrability or whatever as appropriate. We had a Captain from the game's developers to tell us what to do, but he was no dictator - rather, it was entirely part of the game's set-up that we would talk to each other as well and make decisions together, which was lots of fun. It's a pity we only got 50 minutes on it, as I think we were just getting to the point of mastering our techniques and being ready to direct more of the play ourselves when the session finished, but it's certainly something I enjoyed and would want to do again.

Also, because it was pretty quiet up in the games area on Sunday lunch-time, after we had finished the space-flight game, they also offered us a chance to have a quick go at a puzzle-solving team game called something like 'Keep Talking And Nobody Dies' (can't remember the exact title now), which if anything was even more fun. The scenario was basically the classic action-movie trope of someone trying to defuse a bomb, and having to be given instructions on how to do it without getting blown up by someone else at the end of a phone line who can't see the bomb itself. So innerbrat was on a lap-top looking at various diagrams, while newandrewhickey were frantically thrashing through a manual across the other side of the table, trying to identify the correct situation that she was in, and give her the right instructions in order not to die. E.g. exactly how many and what coloured wires did she have, and therefore what sequence should she cut them in, or which of twelve possible very similar-looking mazes was she in, and therefore which direction did she need to move in? We felt very accomplished after playing two rounds of that without blowing innerbrat up!

Interview with Toby Whithouse

Next up was a one-to-one interview with Toby Whithouse, who has written extensively for Doctor Who and Torchwood, and is the creator and head writer of Being Human. I'd already very much enjoyed hearing him talking about School Reunion the previous day, and getting to hear more detail about his work on Being Human in particular was excellent. He talked about what a demanding job being a show-runner for anything is, and how he had come to see Russell T. Davies' work on Doctor Who in a very different light once he undertook Being Human himself. He also talked about how the concept for Being Human had initially come about, including the fact the the original idea actually hadn't involved supernatural creatures at all, but was based around a house-share between a recovering sex-addict, a person with anger-management issues and an agoraphobic. Only later on did he have the idea to splice that together with another separate concept he'd come up with about vampires, werewolves and ghosts - and of course the rest is history. He also talked about how the various characters' arcs had developed - e.g. that they always knew Mitchell would in some way be brought down by the dark shadow from his past that was the Box Tunnel massacre, though the details were worked out along the way. And said he felt that he was proudest of all of the 'middle act' of the final episode when all three characters are living separately in their ideal worlds as the Devil attempts to break them apart. I can definitely see his point, there - it is powerful stuff.

23. Aliens (1986), dir. James Cameron

This was introduced by Philip Lamont, the production designer, but I think we sneaked in a bit late after the Toby Whithouse interview and missed most of what he had to say. In any case, I can't remember much of it. The film was great, though! It is a very long time since I've seen it, and I realised that I have muddled up a lot of this and Alien between each other in my head. I'd also completely forgotten that the line "I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure." was an actual real line spoken in all seriousness by Ripley in this movie, rather than a parody extreme reaction for comic effect, as it has become in popular culture. But my own moments of cognitive dissonance aside, it stands up extremely strongly thirty years after its release, and indeed badly shows up a lot of the SF and / or action movies made since for utterly failing to follow its lead in creating strong, three-dimensional female characters and showing up the consequences of men trying to side-line and silence them.

Red Dwarf series XI: exclusive first episode preview and interview with Doug Naylor

Finally, in one of the festival's many timing infelicities, we found ourselves rushing from Aliens to join the queue for this, rather than having time to eat first as the schedule had suggested. It was worth it, though, and definitely exciting to get a sneak preview of a TV episode which hadn't been officially aired yet. We were all sworn to secrecy regarding the details of it, but since it has aired publicly in the time I've taken to get around to writing about it, I don't need to worry any more! The episode we saw was the first of the new series, Twentica, which to me felt very much like classic Red Dwarf back in the day - the crew all just as we remembered them, a neat but not too heavy plot-of-the-week and lots of good jokes. The only noticeable difference was that visually it looked a lot slicker, with some really nice sets, props and special effects. I wouldn't say the episode was blow-you-away, change-your-life amazing, but that's not really what you expect from Red Dwarf anyway. It always was a nice bit of fun, with occasional moments of brilliance. That said, in spite of seeing this preview, I don't seem to have settled in to watching the actual series as it started airing, so I guess it could have been a little stronger to really hook me in. Most of what Doug Naylor said afterwards can be read just as well on the main Red Dwarf Wikipedia page, except that as well as revealing that season XI had been filmed in a single block alongside season XII, due out next year, he also revealed that they were now working on seasons XIII and XIV. So it looks like Red Dwarf really is back to being a regular fixture, and that is definitely all to the good.

Finally, it was time to depart, sad that it had already all come to an end, but already making plans for future fantastic film-related adventures as we bid one another goodbye. I'll certainly come back for another Starburst festival if they do it again next year.

Click here if you would like view this entry in light text on a dark background.

Latest Month

March 2018

Powered by LiveJournal.com
Designed by chasethestars


text:
Yes, it’s very cold today. Beautiful and sunny and COLD. I still have snow piled against my windows from the storm we had a few days ago. It’s pretty neat here. After a storm, the highway department spends a night removing snow from the downtown area, where I live. They plow the sidewalks so people can get around, too. It’s a very user-friendly place to live.

I am still having a lot of leg pain. It wakes me up at night. I don’t think arthritis in my knee explains pain from my hip into my foot, or how I can have an almost pain-free day last week. If it was arthritis, wouldn’t it hurt every day, and why hurt when I’m sleeping and not using my legs? It’s a mystery to me.

My friend Tess bought some Meyer lemons and gave me some. I have never seen Meyer lemons here in New England before this. They smell nice, and look like a regular lemon, except more orange. It seems they are a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. I am going to make lemon curd with them. I haven’t made that in a while, and have only had regular lemons to make it with til now. Lemon curd on toast is like eating sunshine in the middle of winter. You can use it as pie filling, or between cake layers, too, although I haven’t ever. I like lemon pie. Maybe I could make a Shaker lemon pie with some of them. I’ve made it with regular lemons before. On America’s Test Kitchen the other day they made one and shredded the lemon slices instead of using them whole. I’d like to try that. Like I’m actually going to cook something. Well, I am going to make the curd. That’s cooking, right?

Anyone want the recipe for lemon curd? Here it is:

Lemon Curd

½ cup Meyer lemon juice (or regular, may need more sugar)
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest
½ cup sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup butter (1 stick), cut into pieces.

In a medium sized metal bowl, whisk together Meyer lemon zest, juice, sugar and eggs. Add butter and set bowl over a saucepan of simmering water. The bowl should not touch the water. Stir until thickened (160°F). This should take about 6 – 8 minutes.
Makes just under 2 cups.

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
Skip to content

New Wire Installations Around Philly by Baltimore-based Street Artist Reed

May 6, 2017

LOVE this!

Baltimore-based street artist Reed, who creates beautiful wire art, just came through Philly to install three new pieces. The flying pig in the photographs of this post can be found at 5th and Spring Garden streets in Northern Liberties, and the two other installations can be found at 2nd and Market streets in Old City, and Oxford and Broad streets in North Philly.

The trick to finding these installations is to walk in a circle around the intersection looking up until you spot them. Reed’s pieces are famously thin, so that the majority of people walking or driving through the intersection will not notice the artwork. Here’s an example of how hard they can be to spot when you’re approaching them from the wrong angle…

Check out previous wire installations by Reed in Philly here and here!

No comments yet

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s

%d bloggers like this:


text:
LUSH Look-a-likes: Bubble Bars and Bath Bombs

I absolutely looove being pampered, whether getting my nails done, a massage, a weekend spa getaway, or simply lighting a few candles and running myself a bubble bath. In the past, I’ve spent a ton of money at Lush Cosmetics, and while they’ll still remain a favorite, I have been looking around aimlessly for more affordable versions with the same quality. So, when I came across Mad & Mac Bath shop on Etsy, I thought, “Hey, let’s give it a try!” I’ve tried many brands in the past, and this one is the closest, in my opinion, to the quality, scents and overall feel of Lush bath products. I decided to go for a variety and picked out a few bath bombs, bubble bars, bath cupcakes and even received a freebie soap bar!

I tried to get a variety of scents, so for the Bath Bombs, I opted for “Tipsy” a champagne and orange citrus blended bath bomb, as well as “Island Romance,” a tropical blend of pineapple, papaya, coconut, mango, banana and ‘sweet rain’. Both are approximately 8-9oz, which means they’re pretty heavy and so I tried to get 2 uses out of each one.

I decided on two Cupcake Bubble Bombs, one in “Two To Mango,” a mango sorbet scent, as well as “Pucker Up,” a vanilla lemon pound cake scented base with raspberry glaze scented topping. I think the designs of these were what really sold me, the beautiful cupcake base with swirled topping and each a unique on top, like a fruit slice or raspberry bits.

Now, onto the Bubble Bars! These actually ended up being my favorites in terms of longevity, scent and bubble-making! I chose “Citrus Party Punch,” a mix of champagne, lime, lemon, yuzu, orange and tropical punch, as well as the sweet and soothing Blue Eyed Girl” Bubble Bar. That one is a mix of blue raspberry, strawberry, pearberry and watermelon, softer notes of yuzu, sweet orange and passion fruit rose.

They also threw in a complimentary “Pucker Up” Goat Milk Soap Bar! I’m happy they chose a scent which I knew I would like (as I purchased a Pucker Up cupcake) as well as a mini Bath Souffle sample to try out.

Here’s a close-up on one of the Bubble Bars: it crumbled simply and easily, letting you use a little bit or a lot per bath. I really loved the topping to the “Blue Eyed Girl” bar (see above), with the crystallized shades of blue and purple. The smell was amazing and it created the hugest fluff of bubbles that I have seen in quite a while.

–  –  –

All in all, I was really happy with my purchase and would definitely compare these to Lush brand quality at a slightly lesser price point ($4-7 each) and have a feeling they will make some great birthday and Christmas gifts for friends! Now, iff only they had a subscription box…

3 thoughts on “LUSH Look-a-likes: Bubble Bars and Bath Bombs

  1. Cool review! I’ve always been a massive fan of Lush’s bath bombs! Could you also review Vain Pursuits? I’d love to hear what you have to say about their products!

    • Huge fan of those bath bombs too! I usually split them into two though bc I find one is too much for one bath. Maybe I’m weird. What’s Vain Pursuits? I never heard of them before

Leave a Reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in: Logo

You are commenting using your account. Log Out / Change )

Twitter picture

You are commenting using your Twitter account. Log Out / Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. Log Out / Change )

Google+ photo

You are commenting using your Google+ account. Log Out / Change )

Connecting to %s


text:
SuperGeek Gladesville - Computer repairs and support
SuperGeek - Book nowAre you needing Gladesville computer repairs & support? Yes, SuperGeek can help you!

For quick immediate service, call 13GEEK (134335) now or complete the form on your right and we will call you back ASAP to confirm your booking.

SuperGeek technicians come to you, we have no call out fees and our vans are fully stocked with whatever you may need... new ram, graphics cards, hard drives, software, and even brand new desktops or laptops.

SuperGeek Gladesville, 2119 New South Wales

Gladesville is a suburb of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Gladesville is located 10 km north-west of the Sydney central business district, in the local government areas of the City of Ryde and the Municipality of Hunter’s Hill and is part of the Northern Suburbs area.

Gladesville prides itself on its riverside views and bush settings along the Parramatta River. The Gladesville Bridge, a Sydney landmark that links the North Shore to the Inner West takes its name from the suburb.

Gladesville is serviced by a commercial district centering around Victoria Road, the suburb’s main thoroughfare, and by a small shopping centre (Gladesville Shopping Village) located off Cowell Street. A number of restaurants are situated within the commercial parts of Gladesville, and serve a variety of foods including Thai, Indian, Vietnamese, Greek, Mexican and Italian. Entertainment venues include the Bayview & Sawdust Hotels as well as the Gladesville RSL Club.

Choose another suburb here >>>

Gladesville Computer & Laptop Repairs

SuperGeek provide a full range of computer services targeted towards individual home users and businesses. Technicians provide mobile onsite computer repairs and support, allowing for no loss of productivity associated with taking a computer to a repair centre. SuperGeek can assist with anything from general computer & laptop maintenance, to hardware installation and set-up. Hardware refers to any piece of equipment used to create a personal computer. Monitors, power supply, keyboards and motherboards are all considered to be hardware. The motherboard, a main PC component, is a large rectangular board located inside the computer case. It consists of integrated circuitry connecting other components of the computer, like RAM (random-access memory), together.

Gladesville Computer Support for PCs & Apple Computers

SuperGeek technicians provide professional computer support to home computer users and small businesses. Technicians can provide multiple services including holistic system management, one time call outs, disaster recover procedures, and the input of internet security programs. Internet security refers to all provisions and policies in place that prevent and monitor unauthorised access, misuse and modification. With internet security in place, network administrators are able to protect, manage, and oversee all operations taking place. Network administrators control who accesses information and programs and the associated data. Internet security measures are used by public and private computer networks.


text:
KORG app Help Center

Operation slows or stops

Try the following.

  1. Close all iOS apps that are running in the background.
  2. Turn off the iPad, and then turn it on again.
Was this article helpful?
0 out of 0 found this helpful

Please sign in to leave a comment.


text:
How to Get information about URL Mappings Defined in ORDS 3.0.x

(Doc ID 2052777.1)

Last updated on SEPTEMBER 20, 2016

Applies to:

Oracle REST Data Services - Version 3.0.0 and later
Information in this document applies to any platform.

 Display information about the URL mappings defined in the Oracle REST data Services (ORDS).

This method allows to check the "URL mappings" created "automatically" by ORDS :

- Mappings for the APEX Workspaces

- Mappings for the "REST Enabled Schemas"

Sign In with your My Oracle Support account

Don't have a My Oracle Support account? Click to get started

My Oracle Support provides customers with access to over a
Million Knowledge Articles and hundreds of Community platforms


text:
How To Restrict the Delete Batch Option In Enterprise Capture

(Doc ID 2173337.1)

Last updated on JULY 07, 2017

Applies to:

Oracle WebCenter Enterprise Capture - Version and later
Information in this document applies to any platform.

Is it possible to restrict the 'Delete Batch' option to Super Users in the Enterprise Capture console?

Sign In with your My Oracle Support account

Don't have a My Oracle Support account? Click to get started

My Oracle Support provides customers with access to over a
Million Knowledge Articles and hundreds of Community platforms


text:
UK Penserver: Service History Is Creating New Records Everytime There Is A Change In Assignment Category

(Doc ID 2238760.1)

Last updated on FEBRUARY 28, 2017

Applies to:

Oracle HRMS (UK) - Version 12.1.3 to 12.2.6 [Release 12.1 to 12.2]
Information in this document applies to any platform.

Every time there is change in assignment category a record with STARTCD ‘N’ is created in the Service History File. This is not required.

Steps to Reproduce:
The issue can be reproduced at will with the following steps:
1. Login under UK HRMS Manager responsibility
2. Update assignment category (supervisor or the people group flexfield)
2. Run Penserver - Service History File periodic
4. Find that these employees are reported with a startcd of N

Sign In with your My Oracle Support account

Don't have a My Oracle Support account? Click to get started

My Oracle Support provides customers with access to over a
Million Knowledge Articles and hundreds of Community platforms


text:
Retirement Planning: Take 100% of benefits as a 'lump sum' (UFPLS)

As illustrated, below, one can model the withdrawal of the entire 'money purchase' fund, as a lump sum, by setting the Crystallised Amount to 100%, on the one hand, and also setting Lump Sum to 100%, on the other:

 To return to 'Retirement Planning Options - Default Settings', click here <<<

Keywords: Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sum (UFPLS);

Last updated 05 October 2015, Release 4.0.22

Retirement Income (Webinar 2)


text:
Before Purchase

Question before buying. If I have this attached to my guitar and plugged into my Roland amp or the church's PA system, how easy/difficult is it to change or turn off all effects between songs? What if I do not want any effects but I am still plugged into the PA through the Tonewood AMP?

Hey Dave!

When you're in DI mode the TWA still functions the same and you have the options to run the effects only to the amp, or combine the amp with the TWA so it still resonates the guitar.

There's a bypass mode if you are wanting to use the TWA as a preamp without any effects too!

Check out our video on Output jack (D.I)

Hey Dave! Also, when you in a D.I mode (i.e. when a cable is connected to the TWAmp output) you get to control the blend between the effect and the source. Dialing the blend value to 0 will sound only the source, dialing the blend value to 25 will sound only the effect. Anything in between is a different blend (mix). This feature allows you to be very creative and to fine tune the perfect "mix" between source and effect. So you might want to hear only the source but a blend value of 2 or 3 will give a hidden trace of light and natural reverb, one that you can't hear, but definitely can feel.

Login or Signup to post a comment


text:
Sustainable Halo

A bird does not sing because it has an answer. It sings because it has a song. – Chinese Proverb

Oh, Holiday…Spooky Holiday… November 1, 2011

Filed under: Uncategorized — Simple Jess @ 12:09 am

How do we connect with the dead?  How do we actually find a line of communication with them?  Do you believe in the supernatural?  All good questions in my book.  Let us not stop there: Should we even bother?  How “real” is the possibility of them being a part of our everyday lives?

Like it or not, we are obsessed.  As a society, we flirt constantly with the unknown and unseen, while quickly skirting away when things get a little too uncomfortable.  Personally, I have found that my ability to strip away the context and story surrounding the death gives me some space.  The less I try to “understand” the situation and instead seek an “understanding” of the nature of death, I seem to find peace in loss.

No matter how traumatic the loss of life affects us, we truly can decide to embrace and love our lost ones in our own special ways.  Tonight, I honor my mother.  I seek to love my mother, who I lost so long ago.  I choose to parade with my children and celebrate life on this holiday but I am opening myself more than ever to the loving space that I trust my mother has in my heart.  As I draw the blinds on a spooky Halloween night, my spirit is drawn to my mother.  May she and I both rest in peace.

Been Hibernating February 9, 2011

Filed under: Mind, Body and Spirit — Simple Jess @ 1:58 pm

I must apologize to those who follow my blog.  This last year was one of pretty major transformation which required me to, well, hibernate a bit.  It is great to see that during this hiatus I have some new readers who were attracted by my posts of the past!  So I am back and thrilled.

You know, I started this blog with a desire and strong motivation to write and share through an urge I had to really change the modern lifestyle I was living, to make conscious choices and follow a shift that had come from my soul.  What a mind blowing journey it has been thus far!  I got more than I bargained for and have had to face, up close and personal, not just the harmonious side of doing right by myself and the universe but the ugly side as well…the reverse…the things that I, myself, was doing to hold back out of fear.  I have really been able to look at my shadow side and embrace it, to shed the false need to have only a beautiful representation of these changes taking place.  This last year I turned around and looked straight into the mirror with a willingness to see the ugly.  I realized that I was sometimes mistaking being positive with being fake.  Sometimes I have a difficult time in just admitting that, hey, something does not feel right here and its okay for me to be upset.  As long as I don’t act out on it in an unhealthy way I can accept my emotions, make friends with them and listen to what it is they are trying to tell me.  This is not easy in any way, believe me, I have found really “functional” ways to act out without being too obvious over the years.  I decided that I no longer want to take short cuts in order to appease my desires or my fears.  I no longer want to be hard on myself for things that are way out of my control.  So now, I am working this year to REALLY go inside and find the ways in which I pollute my inner riverbeds.  How do I cut corners for convenience and avoid reality when it comes to my emotions?  How do I put aside my spiritual needs to appease my dominant mind?  What is it that truly makes me feel good and at peace?  Instead of having brief encounters with my intuition and being mildly uncomfortable with the sensations it brings I choose to embrace it, get to know it and let it drive the bus.  Learning to trust myself, my higher self, the core of my being has proven to free my soul from the chains that were binding.  That shift that my soul was calling forth is in full swing now.  The only time I stumble or trip is if I or my ego gets in the way of that motion or an old pattern of belief or thought somehow escapes my now careful scrutiny of its existence within my behaviors.  I will expand on these topics later.

So, although I will continue writing about my usual subjects,  you will now see a lot more reflecting in these new areas…a little more honest, bare bones soul searching.  I hope anyway.  Certainly far from perfect, and thank God for that.

Food Matters April 21, 2010

Filed under: Alternative Health,Food, Food, Food!,Sustainable Living,Take action! — Simple Jess @ 11:23 pm

Charlotte Gerson is at it again!  My mentor and dream grandma figure lends her infinite wisdom to yet another attempt to inform Americans in the ongoing battle for health in this nation, the documentary Food Matters.  We should all take the time to brush up on the frightening but inspirational information gleaned from her lifelong crusade.  She has been plugging away for decades and now faces an ever more challenging problem with the addition of Franken Foods to the increasing veil of untruths we have to face when making food decisions in our lives,!  Agricultural corporations will continue to fight to the grave but fortunately for us, so will she.  And she is alive and kicking due to the Gerson Diet and Lifestyle so she will be fighting for us for many years to come I am sure.  She and the other very worthy warriors out there should not be so alone in this fight.  We, as citizens, owe it to ourselves to join the fight.  We are worth it.  Our children and grandchildren are worth it.  Check it out!

Love and light,

What a shame…. February 10, 2010

Filed under: Uncategorized — Simple Jess @ 3:17 am

I have been absent for awhile, just living and riding the wave of life.  I have so much to write about and much of it is lovely.  BUT!  Tonight, I am writing about something that just makes me sick.  Sick and sad.

What kind of reality do we live in when we are demanding organic, non GMO and so called sustainable food from our grocery stores?  It is a paradox!  Yes, it is good to let them know that we want something different but can we achieve that by requesting responsible products or is there a better way?  YES!!!!

There is a better way. I am going to be very simple about this because I respect your time and really am just so fed up that I am not interested in my writing skills right now.

#1.  Participate in your local Co-op if you have one.  If you can google, you can find it.  Become a member and shop there for your food.

#2.  Your local Co-op will have labels on their produce and you can look up the name and get to know the farmers.  It is a RELATIONSHIP.

#3.  If this is not an option for you, find your closest organic farm, again through google, and find out if they have a CSA.  Don’t worry about what that is right now.  Just know that it is JUST LIKE the old fashioned market. Google CSA and your town and you will find something if it is available.  If you have organic farms that do not offer CSA and you are a trooper….contact them and ask them to start.

I want to share a recent email from my CSA that broke my heart……BUT spurs me to express what is going on!

Here it is:

This Week’s Delivery CSA items for week of  February 8, 2010:   Avocado, Navel oranges, Pink Lay apples, Kent Mangos, Asian pears, broccoli, carrots of baby leeks, red mustard or kale, alfalfa sprouts, cauliflower, lettuce, salad with edible flowers, lemon, heirloom tomato and bouquet of flowers.

Dear Shareholders,

A word of caution.  This weeks message won’t be of the ‘fluff and fold’ type that I usually like to give.  There are so many incredible beautiful and uplifting events that happen every week that sustains us, I like to share them.  However with regret and gratitude to those that did support us, we are not going to be offering the farm stand after this Saturday, Feb. 13.  It truly became The Last Stand.  We were able to let many people (many with children) visit and tour so at least they know we are here and the dream lives.  It was a matter of economics and in these times, we just couldn’t afford to supplement it. Shareholders may visit any time they’d like by letting us know when and we welcome you.

I’ll give you a simple recipe for your red mustard (can be sharp/hot when raw) or kale in a minute.  Here’s some Ag news.

We receive a newsletter from the Farm Service Agency from the USDA (US Dept. of Agriculture).  The January issue had a title that caught my eye -Help Available to Stressed Farmers.  It read, “In the past year, the economy, inclement weather, drought and other factors have hurt many farming operations around the country.  These events pushed some farmers to the emotional breaking point.  Watching their livelihood being threatened is difficult for farmers and ranchers and especially for those who care about them.  The National Suicide Prevention Hotline is available to help.  If you know a farmer or rancher who is under stress (??) and is reluctant to ask for help… call 1-800-272-TALK.  ”  The last sentence reads “This service is not affiliated with the US Department of Agriculture.”  Another tidbit of information is that the zip code that receives the most federal agriculture subsidy monies is 92037, La Jolla, California!  Know of any food producing farms there?  The things that amuse me….

Greens and Pasta

This is a classic for any type of cooking green.  Wash and chop 1 bunch cooking greens (mustard,Swiss chard, kale, rapini, etc).  Saute a couple of garlic cloves (or our dried garlic) in olive oil with a pinch of dried red pepper flakes if you like.  Add greens and cook to the consistancy you lprefer.  Add to cooked pasta and toss with good shredded Parmesan cheese and toasted pine nuts.  Serve as a side dish or main with salad and crusty bread.  Even children will eat their greens!

I am not yelling, just making a strong statement.

If this is the type of interaction you would like to have with your food provider, then follow the simple steps to get started.  If it does not seem simple and you do not know where to start….PLEASE CONTACT ME FROM THE ABOUT LINK AT TOP OF PAGE.  I will help you!  I know how overwhelming it can feel and how intimidating the initial scare of the cost can be….but be assured.  Once you start, the cost pays for itself and you begin to see how you either pay now or you pay later….or our kids pay later…..

Love and light,

Thanksgiving Day Reflections November 26, 2009

Filed under: Inspirations — Simple Jess @ 4:21 pm

Hello, lovelies!

I completed my fast and have spent the last couple of days working food back into my system so I would be able to eat a meal of gratitude today with my two beautiful boys and my great friend Lauren.  As she continues her journey from Calistoga to San Diego, I am filled with excitement and joy.  The boys have been playing and sparring and crying and all the stuff little toddlers do.  I am grateful.

I decided to take a drive with them to pick up a few last minute menu requirements and chose to veer off my path a bit to get a gauge on the island on Thanksgiving.  We blasted inspirational Christmas music and gloried in the beautiful and joyful day.  There were a lot of sporty couples strolling, running and lounging on benches as they soaked up the warm sunny day.  A lot of teenagers were out and about on their beach cruisers, surely plotting how they would get away from their parents to hang with their buddies.  Maybe I was a bit like them, trying to explore my boundaries.  One man stood out.

I have seen him occasionally the past week walking around with a small piece of luggage that he pulls behind him.  He has a bright light but I could see it in his heavy shoulders and settled way that he was hurting.  Finally, today, I stopped the car.  I pulled over.  Graham said, “Church!”  I thought of how appropriate his intuition was.  I said, “Yes, honey, I need to do little something for God.”  I walked over to him and asked him if he was okay and if he had something warm for the holiday.  He said, “No.  My heart is heavy.”  My eyes welled up because he was so demure and composed.  I hugged him tight and told him that if he needed a place to celebrate the holiday he was welcome.  His pride stepped in and he explained that he was hoping to see his son.  I hugged him again and wished the best for the holiday.  He apologized as tears came and said he was worried he would wet me with his tears.  I said, “Those are blessed tears and I welcome them, sir.”  He stepped  back and asked my name, which I then shared.  He said, “I am going through a divorce and I am at the bottom.”  I said, “Then there is nowhere to go from here than up my brother.  Think about anything you might need and if I see you around, let me know.  You are welcome to have Thanksgiving with us.  God bless you.”  He thanked me and humbly walked away.

I got back in the car and wept.  I wept with sadness and joy all the same time.  I wept the whole way home and felt the gratitude that was in  me this day.  I have so many things to be grateful for today.  This man was but a reflection of me.  I saw the beauty in both of us and hopefully shared a spark of that with him.  I share with all of you, my friends, my family…thank you, thank you, thank you for listening.  Life is beautiful even when it is sad.  Life is beautiful.

Love and light,

Land of Oz Liquid Fast for Thanksgiving November 18, 2009

Filed under: Alternative Health,Food, Food, Food!,Mind, Body and Spirit — Simple Jess @ 5:34 pm

So, I created my own fast for Thanksgiving preparation and since so many of you have expressed interest in this topic I decided to share this fasting experience with my beloved readers.  Finding a relationship with food is so difficult for so many.  It can seem like we are Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz as we traverse the scores of recommendations and reports constantly surfacing, as we seek out the wizard.

I believe that with clean cells and a body set up to channel lots of energy we can handle anything.  Maybe if Dorothy had sipped a nice fresh pressed fruit drink that day in Kansas, she would have found herself much stronger and not so afraid of the wicked witch.  Bare with me and the hokey Land of Oz stuff  as I have been fasting and the creative juices are flowing…trust me, I am holding back.

Don’t be the Scare Crow and shy away from my corny approach here…keep reading!  Okay, I’ll stop.  Let’s get to the fasting.

I began with a 7 day juice fast, followed with 7 days of light eating and am now on a 10 day fast that is broken down into segments.  Here is my outline:

7 days of fresh pressed fruit and veggie juice, water, kombucha and peppermint tea fasting

7 days of light eating, mix of raw and cooked vegetables and lots of raw fruit…still juicing and tea drinking of course:)

10 days – First 7 days just like the previous 7 days and the final 3 days will be distilled water and hot peppermint tea

For the fruits and vegetables, I suggest playing around with these:

-kale, romaine, spinach, carrots, red bell peppers, cabbage, parsnips, sprouts, avocados, watermelon, apples, grapefruit, oranges, grapes (which are heavenly this time of year by the way…really sweet)

You can juice and cook all of the vegetables in unique ways.  Make sure you eat fruit by itself as it should never combined with other foods.  They slow down the digestion and it begins to rot in your tummy…giving you horrible digestion problems and eliminating the cleansing properties of the fruit all together.  My current understanding is that when you juice, you can combine fruits and veggies as it is assimilated so quickly in that form.  If you have any digestive or bowel problems it is best to separate you fruit juice from your veggie juice.  If you need your veggie juice sweet you can add a bit of stevia or even better beets or carrots…they sweeten quite well.  I am neglecting some minutia here but as far getting started goes this is good practice.  Then you can listen to your body and soul.  Pay good attention, they have a lot to say.

The juices give an abundance of energy and joy during the fast and are a really great introduction to fasting as they provide nutrients and minerals and protein and so on and so on.  I enjoy my juice so much now that it is often more appealing to me than cooked foods and salads.  However, I am at a point in my life where I still have cravings and seasonal preferences so I am not above baking an apple, roasting a big platter of root veggies and I really love blended salads…I’ll write more about those another day!  Let me share a sample day of juice fasting, today in fact:

I started my morning with nothing, just prayer and contemplation, followed by skin brushing and tooth/tongue brushing. (Fasting tends to bring out the toxins and they need to be brushed away.  I cannot stress how useful skin brushing is in my life.)  Then I showered and tinkered around the house.  Then the boys are up and we tickled for a bit. Around 9AM I juiced:

Around 15 large carrots – 3 gala apples – 2 inch chunk of ginger.  Now, this drink is highly addictive and has been known to cause an abundance of squealing from my little munchkins.  They love to help me stir before I serve it and there is never any left over.  Its always good to make enough for sharing:)  Even though it is best to drink it right away while it has the most enzymes, I am a mother and pragmatic so I understand that we all do not have time for juicing constantly.  So, you can juice in the morning and put it in stainless steel to go containers for the day…just drink it that day for sure.  I do this for my boys so I have quick sips for them on hand when they are in the mood.

After getting some exercise and doing some yoga stretching, which ended around lunch time, I juiced:

8 or 9 stalks of kale – 1 really large red bell pepper – 5 stalks of celery – 2 apples.  This juice is just heavenly.  It gives me so much energy and it would completely kick the pants off of coffee if it weren’t so peaceful and kind:)  It sweeps through your body, cleaning out your cells and letting them know that its time to dust out the cobwebs and caked up dirt that arise in our bodies due to over-indulging ourselves.  I like to think of it as “The Good Witch.”

Then I spent the day playing with and taking care of my children.  During nap and down time, I caught up on studying and reading and stuff.

Since I am taking night classes, I need a really good juice to keep my mind sharp and spirits up.  So around 4PM I juiced:

1 Whole Pineapple – 1 Grapefruit – 1 Pomegranate.  This is seriously yummy.  Its like a nice dessert treat to end my day. This is sure to take you somewhere over the rainbow!   Hopefully I will get some sleep tonight with all of these cells dancing with joy in my body.  Really though, I sleep just fine because my body is really receptive to the break it is getting from solid food and soaks up the energy of the juice but when the day is over it completely lets me knock off.  After class, I meditated and prayed, did some light stretching, took a bath and here I am about to hit the hay.

Please note that in a recent conversation with my yoga instructor he shared with me some Auyervedic wisdom.  He recommended not combining fruits and veggies during a fast because it causes “wind,” gas, and keeps us a bit too expanded.  If you feel too esoteric, as I do at times, it is good to separate the juices from the veggies.  I am not used to doing this and will experiment and share soon.  I can say that I have been feeling a little fairy like and do not prefer this so I intend to follow his advice and see what comes.  Until then, here is what my days have been looking like, minus one or two juices depending on my hunger level.

I would like to end this post with a bit of inspiration.  Whatever our approach to food is it can only bring good when we eat consciously with good intentions.  Being grateful for what we eat is so important.  Let yourself slow down and give thanks for the food on your plate.  Find the strength and kindness of your heart, even if you feel a bit like the Lion who knew he needed one but did not know how to get it.  It is there and a more compassionate and respectful approach to your food is a great place to start.  Take a little time to get to know your food and let it nourish you in ways that you might be ignoring due to the rush of life.  I am not suggesting that we make it all about food.  There are other ways we should be nurturing ourselves too.  Seek out nourishing relationships and activities.  Take care of your whole self.  Food is just a tangible thing that we can get our hands on and even though it is rich with complexity it is something we see, taste, smell, feel and hear (if we listen really closely.)  If we start with cleansing and healing our bodies, clean cells jump for joy and neurological pathways open up and the guidance we need in other areas of life unfolds.  The wisdom of our design begins to parade and lead us in directions that we never knew we were capable of.

Sure, life happens and we inevitably face hard times but it is so much easier to do when we are scrubbed clean.  Venture down the yellow brick road and see what you find.  Have some fun.  I look forward to a humble Thanksgiving and spirited experience.  Check back to see what I prepare for the feast!

Love and dancing light,

Please note that I am not a medical professional and am not dispensing medical advice. I am merely sharing lifestyle tips. If you find anything in my material that inspires you to change your daily habits I encourage you to discuss it with your doctor.  Fasting is not something to take lightly and one should be a very serious study done carefully or professionally guided if looking for success.  Make sure you know how to break your fast, which is about the most important part of the process.  Step back in to food carefully with easy watermelon, canteloupe, broths, soups, cooked vegetables, etc.

Blogging October 7, 2009

Filed under: Sewing the Seeds — Simple Jess @ 5:24 pm

Blogging is such a fascination for me. There are scores of wonderful blogs out there. I mean I could endlessly read blogs. I love to see how they are organized, what their general theme is, what is their purpose, etc. But I really love to learn more about the writers. I am always so curious about who it is out there that is writing the material. I often wish I knew them and the more colorful side of their everyday lives. In the internet age, we have formed a new kind of relationship! What used to be restricted to reading books about characters, watching television shows and communicating with pen pals has transformed into a cornucopia of networking relationships that I find very thrilling! There is a danger, however, of losing the magic of grocery store conversations, long walks with friends, playing cards with friends instead of a computer, activities and involvement in the community, etc.

I have taken classes in person and also via the computer. While a I like the pace and freedom of online courses I truly savor the classroom setting. Especially when you find your instructor to be vibrant and wise. I like to challenge my brain with a computer game but it is really pretty one sided…it is mostly your imagination. I prefer to play cards or games with real people where the real kaleidoscope of fun takes place. In recent years, I had gotten to the point where I detested phone conversations and found myself texting. While I still text, I find a good phone conversation a much better release.

I strolled the boys to the market today and there was a lovely older woman, who I discovered was a ripe 83 years young, and she stopped to give the boys a sweet hello. We started chatting and it turned into a wonderful connection. I could have stayed in my hurried, distracted and pragmatic mind frame that I was in: you see I had groceries to get and we had to walk home yet and I had to……you get the point. Instead, I took a moment to experience her colorful wisdom: the same experience I sometimes wish I could have with my favorite bloggers.

Woman in Garden

So my suggestion to my readers today is that you find the hidden gems in your community. Be open to innocent communication with your neighbors and townships. Step away from your cocoon of your home and all of its comforts. You just might find a friend. As always, you will always have a friend in me. You are all my brothers and sisters and wouldn’t it be so nice if we ran across each other at the market?

Love and light,

P.S.  No this is not the woman I met, but pretty darn close:)  Mine had some really stylish sunglasses on!