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Monthly Archives: September 2014

Increased Elephant Rides to Amer Fort Jaipur

There is something enchanting and delighting about elephant rides in Rajasthan that transform you into a regal era of Maharajas when they used to commute with pride on these adorned elephant backs.  Have you ever wondered how overwhelming riding on a huge elephant back is? It really makes us feel like a king of some dynasty or a Royal!!

The Elephant Safari at Amer Fort Jaipur offers this fabulous experience to the tourists in Jaipur. And now there is good news too…

With the increased influx of tourists in Jaipur the elephant rides at Amer fort will be increased to 5 rounds from  October 05, 2014 and the rides will take place between 7.00 am to 11.30 am and 3.30 pm to 5 pm in the evening.

Now, enjoy the elephant rides up to the Amer Fort for as much time you want!!

Camel Polo; the new attraction of Rajasthan Tourism

camel polo

Camels fascinate tourists from across the borders with their movements, desert charm and grace. People from all over the world visit India to attend the Festival where camel owners flock to show-off their camels and off course the exuberance of Thar Desert.

Rajasthan tourism brings an exciting surprise for the tourists in Rajasthan, especially for those traveler who want to experience the escapades of “off the beaten track” among the multicolored desert people of Rajasthan.

Tourists visiting the desert state of Rajasthan can soon enjoy Camel Polo with the state government contemplating to introduce the entertaining activity in sand dunes.

Camel has been accorded the status of State Animal recently and now the government wants to further promote camel as one of the most important features of tourism in the state which is more popular as a destination of forts and palaces.

So next time you visit Rajasthan, do ask your travel operator to also take you to spectator the exciting game of camel polo in Rajasthan.

Theatre Extravaganzas in Jaipur

This is a good weekend for theatre lovers in the city. Jaipur will host various theatre actors and directors, including Anjan Srivastava, Rakesh Jugal Kishore, Samik Bandopadhyaya and artistes from UP, Kerala and Maharashtra, as part of the Indian People’s Theatre Association’s annual meeting.

Jaipur-based People’s Media Theatre and Rajasthan Forum will also present a drama extravaganza, Katharang 7. To be held today and tomorrow, it will include Hindi and English plays. On day one, Harishankar Parsai’s Bechara Common Man and Apraadh, written by Udai Prakash, will be staged. On day two, The Wedding Story by Juliaane Homokay, Pag Ri Jooti by Vijaydan Detha and Sadhachar Ka Tabeez by Harishankar Parsai will be staged for theatre aficionados. City-based group, The Amateurs, too, will showcase their acting skills with the play Aakhri Mauka on Sunday.
The two-day event, scheduled to be held today and tomorrow, will touch upon various aspects of theatre.

Important Rajasthan Monuments to visit on World Tourism Day

The department of tourism has lined up a series of events on the occasion of the World Tourism Day (WTD) on September 27. This year, the day is being celebrated under the theme ‘Tourism and Community Development – Focusing on the Ability of Tourism to Empower People and Provide Them with Skills to Achieve Change in Their Local Communities’.

In the state, the celebrations will begin with the revival of the popular programme ‘Music in the Park’. Classical singer Parveen Sultana will perform at the Central Park on Saturday from 7 pm. This event is being organized by DoT in association with the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA). Entry to the programme is free. Besides, musical performances, heritage walks and along with a free entry to the monuments in the state under the department of archaeology and museums will mark the day.

Here’s the list of 7+ popular monuments you can visit for free on account of  World Tourism day in Rajasthan.

City Palace, Jaipur: An amalgamation of traditional Rajasthani and Mughal architecture, City Palace complex has several palatial structures.

City Palace, Udaipur: Originally started by Udai Singh, additions have been made to this building in such an ingenious manner that it is difficult to imagine that the building was not conceived as a whole.

City Palace and Museum Udaipur

Hawa Mahal, Jaipur: Tha landmark building of Jaipur is a multi-layered palace with a beehive structure built by Sawai Pratap Singh (grand son of Sawai Jai Singh and son of Sawai Madhoo Singh) in 1799.

Hawa Mahal

Vijay Stambh, Chittorgarh: Translated as the Victory Tower, it is a nine-storeyed 37 metres high structure with sculptures of a secular nature to ornate the exteriors.

vijay stambh

Jantar Mantar, Jaipur: Jantar Mantar of Jaipur, the ‘Yantralaya’ of Sawai Jai Singh II built on his designs, is the largest of five astronomical observatories founded by him in 1716.

Jantar Mantar

Jantar Mantar

Amber Fort Jaipur: Known for its artistic style of Hindu elements, Amer Fort is the principal tourist attractions in the Jaipur area, located high on Aravalli hillock. . With its large ramparts, series of gates and cobbled paths, the fort overlooks the Maota Lake, at its forefront.

Amer Fort, Jaipur

Museums Museums can be a great way of peeking into the history of a place and culture as each artifact has some interesting tale. The museums in Rajasthan can get you a clear understanding of the rich and diverse culture, traditions, arts, history, crafts and other notable features of the state. The major Museums of Rajasthan are:

  1. Alber Hall Museum Jaipur
  2. SMS City palace Museum Jaipur
  3. Udaipur Museum
  4. Government Museum Jodhpur
  5. Junagarh Fort Museum Bikaner
  6. Mehrangarh fort Museum Jodhpur
  7. Rao Jodha Museum Kota

Pictures from Abhaneri Festival 2014

The first day of Abhaner Festival on September 26 and 27, 2014 at Chand Baori and Harshad Mata Temple near dausa district of Rajasthan was full of fanfare, music and colorful performances. Rajasthan Tourism Buzz brings you this photo blog on the cultural events, dance and activities took place on the first day of celebration during Abhaneri Festival.

Abhaneri -A marvelous piece of architecture which gives a sense of magical touch and adds to the beauty of Rajasthan.

Tourists and visitors watching Abhaneri Stepwells from the top.

Tourists and visitors watching Abhaneri Stepwells from the top.

Dancers performing kachchi Ghodhi dance, and the foreign guests joined in.

Dancers performing kachchi Ghodhi dance, and the foreign guests joined in.

Dancers performing kachchi Ghodhi dance, and the foreign guests joined in.

Dancers performing kachchi Ghodhi dance, and the foreign guests joined in.

The popular Raas leela of Radha Krishna was beautifully portrayed in the form of dance by the local artists of Rajasthan during the Festival.

The popular Raas leela of Radha Krishna was beautifully portrayed in the form of dance by the local artists of Rajasthan during the Festival.

The world renowned kalbelia dance form couldn't stop tourists from tapping their feet with the performers. A  memorable moment captured during the Abhaneri Festival.

The world renowned kalbelia dance form couldn’t stop tourists from tapping their feet with the performers. A memorable moment captured during the Abhaneri Festival.

Flower decoration and Rangoli are the special attractions for the tourists at Abhaneri Festival.

Flower decoration and Rangoli are the special attractions for the tourists at Abhaneri Festival.

Today, on the second day of Abhaneri Festival, more exciting performances are lined up to attract and entertain the local and foreign spectators. Performances like Terah Tali, Bhavai and Chakri dance are few to name. Keep following for more exciting updates and images from Rajasthan!!

Abhaneri Festival on World Tourism Day in Rajasthan

With the multitude of colors and vivid shades of its rich culture, Rajasthan once again gears up for annual cultural, social fairs and festivals. Beginning with the vibrant Abhaneri Festival at the popular Chand Baori known for its stepwells, Rajasthan is soon going to bathe in the beauty of music, dances and cultural events.

Nukkad Artist 4

Abhaneri (Around 94 km from Jaipur on Agra Road) will host a two-day (on September 26 and 27) ‘Abhaneri Festival’ beginning from today at ‘Chand Baori’ and Harshat Mata temple from 10 am to 5 pm. Conceived and celebrated since 2008 by the tourism department, the festival has gained popularity and a large number of foreign and domestic tourists visit Abhaneri during the festival and throughout the year. Marking the theme of World Tourism Day on September 27  this year, there will be a camel cart village safari along with Rajasthani folk performances like ‘Kachhi Ghori’, ‘Kalbeliya’ and Algoza. There will also be a performance of shehnai and a puppet show. The ‘Bahrupiya’ will add humor to the event.

594_448618278506731_791567880_n kachchi ghodi chakri dance3 chakri Dance 2 Nukkad Artist 2

Be a part of the celebrations at Abhaneri and drink in the rustic charm of traditional Rajasthan with Abhaneri Festival.

Images: Rajasthan Tourism Buzz (Abhaneri Festival 2013)

Nine Days of Navratri Celebration in Rajasthan

Navratri Festival

Navratri! The festival of gaiety, dance, music and fun for all nine days and nights is one of the most sought after festivals in India and specially Rajasthan!

Devoted to Goddess Shakti, the Navratri festival in Rajasthan is celebrated with much fanfare and fervor. The most important factor of the nine nights’ festivities is the folk dance of Gujarat called Garba. It is said that each day Goddess Durga manifests herself in different forms.

Each day of the fiesta begins with Aarti. People from across the country specially visit Rajasthan to celebrate the festival and get energized by the celebrations of Navratri festival for nine days starting from September 25 to October 03, 2014. Devotees from far flung areas also come down to Rajasthan to pay visits to Goddess Durga temples in different cities of the state.

navratri Celebration

People adorned with colorful and traditional costumes perform the Garba folk dance around the statue of Goddess Shakti till late midnight. The dancers usually make use of dandiya, i.e. long wooden sticks, to play garba. During the nine day long festivity, clubs and gathering places are enthused with decoration, colorful lights, tempting food stalls and interesting games.

Navratri Celebration

You would also get to see passion, devotion and enthusiasm of the people with which they indulge in the festive activities of the Navratri season. Devotees from different regions celebrate the festival in different ways, according to their rituals but the devotion behind Navratri celebrations are same.

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IPL 5: Day 45 – Table toppers secure their lead to meet in Qualifier…

May 20, 2012 at 12:10 am (Cricket, IPL, IPL 2012, IPL 5) (, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , )

Hi all,

A day before the close of the league games of this season of IPL.

Match 69:

Kings XI Punjab Vs Delhi Daredevils

Kings need to win this game atleast to be in the contention for the Play off’s, Delhi will look to secure the top spot, which give them a chance more for them to take the cup.

Dharmasala it is, Delhi won the toss and decided to field first. KIXP was left to taste their own medicine, which they offered CSK couple of days back, this time Umesh Yadav, Varun Aaron & Morne Morkel provided it to KXIP as they were tottering at 20/4 in 5 overs. How ever Chitnis, & Azhar Mahamood played a sensible innings in the middle and late surge from Gurkreet ensure KXIP finished with a decent 141 runs on the board.

For team like Delhi who are mostly Batting heavy, 140 was always gonna be easy, and if Warner was in the mood just like today, least could be spoke about other, as Warner himself won the game for Delhi, In the end V Rao did some finishing off’s to win the game and end the league stage on a high note.

Delhi Daredevils won the game by 6 wickets with 10 balls to spare…

Match 70:

Pune Warriors India Vs Kolkata Knight Riders

KKR need to win this to ensure their second position, on the other hand, Pune wants to finish with a win infront of the home crowd. Also this win will ensure that even if Deccan’s win tomorrow Pune don’t end up being the wooden spooners.

KKR won the toss and decided to Bat first, All of a sudden PWI bowled really well and their fielding was too good, which meant KKR reached their 50 runs in 10.5 overs. Having McCullum in the crease for this long time. But Shakib switched himself to power mode which gave necessary impetus KKR looked for and Run rate came back very fast. Shakib finshed with 42 and McCullum finished with 41 runs. KKR finished with 136/4 in 20 overs.

Needing to win to end their losing streak, PWI started with a boundary, but they hardly didn’t know that was going to be their only Boundary for the entire innings. Jesse Ryder got couple of Big hits over the fence and that’s all to say, as others walked past the crease and gone before u could read their names in full. PWI finished with a dismal 102/8 in 20 overs.

KKR won the match by 34 runs…

Standings as on DAY 45:

From the points table we can clearly say, we have just one more slot to fill it in, and two teams in contention is Royal Challengers Bangalore & Chennai Super Kings.

Equation for RCB is quite simple, win the game enter Playoff’s, if you lose the game, better luck RCB we will meet next year, and CSK must the luckiest team ever in IPL history, having 3 other results have gone their way to bring them into Playoff’s.

Interesting facts as on Day 45:

–          Umesh Yadav bowled the 26th Maiden of IPL 5.

–          4/20 is the best figures for Morne Morkel in this season of IPL, and now undisputedly he leads the wicket takers list.

–          Andre Russell became the 7th Bowler & 8th time to concede more 50 runs in the four overs bowled, other were Amit Singh, M Gony, A Nehra, M Patel, Vinay Kumar (twice) & M Morkel.

–          Second time for KXIP to get lost in the same venue (Dharmasala) which eventually taken them out of competition.

–          1 Boundary & 2 sixes are the only boundaries scored by Pune Warriors India which means just 16 runs came of boundaries is the lowest ever in IPL history. Ironically, previous lowest runs scored in boundary is also by Pune Warriors 32 runs (5 fours & 2 sixes).

–          94 balls without boundary is the highest ever in IPL history. Pune’s last boundary came in 4.2 overs when Jesse Ryder smoked one over long off, unfortunately they didn’t know that was their last one for the day.

–          Pune Warriors have now lost nine consecutive matches in this year’s IPL. This is now the new record for the most consecutive defeats in this tournament. Deccan’s previously lost 8 in a row.

–          With loss for KXIP, Mumbai Indians becomes the third team to qualify for the Playoff’s.

–          Delhi Daredevils have won 9 games while batting first in this season, out of their 11 wins.

–          Delhi Daredevils were the team which finished last in IPL 4, and now they finish as the League toppers.

At the end of DAY 45:

No. of Catches dropped for the day – 5

Total no. of Boundaries – 1741

Total no. of Sixes – 662

Longest Six – Chris Gayle – 111,109,106,106 &106 Meters followed by Kieron Pollard – 105 Meters.

Most no. of Fours – A.Rahane (71) followed by R.Dravid (62)

Most no. of Sixes –Chris Gayle (57) followed by K.Pietersen (20)

Orange Cap – Chris Gayle (706) followed by S.Dhawan (564)

Purple Cap – Morne Morkel (25) followed by S.Narine (22)

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Blog Archives

Disgraced ex-Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge, accused of presiding over decades of brutality and torture, has died

Jon Burge, the disgraced Chicago police commander and felon whose sordid legacy of torture and other misconduct exacted an agonizing price from the city, has died in Florida at age 70, according to police union officials and a Florida funeral home.

Details about his death were scarce as the union and family members declined to speak with members of the news media, which spent years reporting on the numerous cases in which Burge was accused of torturing suspects in order to obtain confessions.

Jon Burge

Representatives of Zipperer Funeral Home in Ruskin, Fla., confirmed receiving Burge’s body but declined to share any further information, citing the family’s wishes. Burge, who had previously been treated for cancer, lived in nearby Apollo Beach.

“They (family members) let us know they’re not doing anything in any newspapers,’’ said Sarah Zipperer.

Stories of the violence committed under Burge — including beatings, electric shock, suffocation with typewriter covers and games of Russian roulette — proved to have a long reach. Although most of Burge’s alleged misconduct took place in the 1970s and ’80s, his accusers played a fundamental role in former Gov. George Ryan’s decision to vacate Illinois’ death row in 2000 and declare a moratorium on capital punishment in the state.

Lawsuits from Burge’s victims, meanwhile, have cost taxpayers many millions in settlements and judgments, much of it paid out of city coffers in the past decade.  Read More

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Hey, folks. Welcome to Ranter Works!

This is where I, Fábio Fontes, have connected various of my works, from comics, my DeviantART gallery, etc. So, in a way, one could see this as an online portfolio of sorts. I’ll also showcase projects I’m involved in, and every now and then just ramble about whatever.

Also, this site may contain strong language here and there, specially on older stuff. With this, you’ve been warned.

You got extra ways to get to me on the right. Yeah, those tiny icons!

Since early 2011, I’ve started to do work (mostly) for board games and card games. Such includes:

  • Illustrations
  • Logotypes
  • Pixel Art
  • Card Layouts and icons
  • Below are some of the projects I’ve been involved in:

    For Level 99 Games:

  • BattleCON Series
  • Minigame Library Series
  • Pixel Tactics Series
  • 7 Card Slugfest
  • Disc Duelers
  • Sellswords
  • For Munji Studios:

  • Alchemist Academy
  • For Endymion Games:

  • Paper Toss
  • Advertisements

    Leave a Reply

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This all-day Greek cafe and rooftop bar is headed to West Town Six06 Cafe Bar Facebook
Six06 Cafe Bar Facebook

West Town is getting a new addition on Chicago Avenue – a Greek cafe and cocktail bar with a rooftop to be exact. At 1641 W. Chicago Avenue on Monday, Six06 Cafe Bar opens offering a variety of Greek and Mediterranean dishes from morning until evening, boasting a beverage menu packed with wine, cocktails and both American and Greek beers.

According to the Eater, the previous private cook to the King of Saudi Arabia, Chef Dimitris Dib rules the Six06 kitchen.

RELATED: An immigrant Greek film studio’s origins started with debt, suicidal thoughts and a wedding

The 38-year-old who grew up in Greece, now lives in suburban Bartlett, according to the news outlet. When he describes his all-day menu, Dib coins it as “Greek and Mediterranean fusion,” with breakfast including Greek pastries as well as quiches.

For lunch and dinner options, pork kebobs, wine braised chicken, and teriyaki salmon are just a few of the highlights featured on the menu. Desserts include loukoumades [fried dough] tiramisu as well as banana caramel crusted pudding, according to the Eater.

Six06 Cafe Bar opens at 7 a.m. on weekdays and on weekends, 8 a.m. according to the news outlet. The 2,300 square-foot restaurant offers 60 seats on the first floor and about 45 on a rooftop patio that will later open up in the warmer months.

The space features flat-screen TV shows programming from 28 soccer channels and of course, there is free WiFi, according to the Eater.

“I’m feeling excitement and anxiousness more than anything. We want people to come in and try it out,” said George Panagakis, co-owner on Monday. During Six06 Cafe Bar’s planning phase a few months back, Panagakis said, “We want to drop the pretentiousness and concentrate on being friendly and having a warm and inviting vibe.”

RELATED: Coming soon to Chicago’s West Town: Meals fit for a king, literally

Six06 Cafe Bar is at 1641 W. Chicago Avenue and hours are listed below:

7 a.m.  until 11 p.m. on Monday through Thursday
8 a.m.  until 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday
8 a.m.  until 11 p.m. on Sunday

To look at the food and cocktail menu, click here.

Stories You Might Like


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text:
The good, the bad and the ugly of choosing another brand

Since I bought an eReader almost everyone I’ve told has had one of two responses:

“oh you mean a Kindle?”

“why didn’t you get a Kindle?”

This kind of thing is one of the reasons I didn’t buy a Kindle in the first place. One of my (growing number of) wacky beliefs is that domination by one player in any market is rarely good for the consumer so I wanted to support competitiveness in a market I think will become increasingly important to me. Other factors included a lingering dubiousness about the Kindle seller’s business practices and not particularly wishing to lock myself into a proprietary format for the books I buy (and thereby being at Amazon’s mercy somewhat).

My reason for choosing the PRS-650 in particular is a combination of design and form factor. In my day job I have had demonstrations of a couple of dozen eReaders over the years and have borrowed several (including a Kindle and a Kobo) for extended ‘research’ and found all of them lacking one or other design element I was looking for. The Sony felt perfect as soon as I held it in my hand and didn’t disappoint upon closer inspection.

The Good

The device is pretty much all-screen, with only 5 slimline buttons along the bottom edge for the most commonly used commands (page turning, going to the home screen which is displayed in this picture, changing size of text and accessing the context sensitive menu). There are no buttons along the sides (I have accidentally clicked buttons on the side on several devices I’ve played with). All the other commands you need are accessed via the context-sensitive touch screen menus (i.e. the touch screen menu accessible while you are in the middle of a book has different options than the one which appears when you are managing a collection of books). When you need a keyboard for data entry (which is not that often) one appears on screen and you can use your fingers or the device’s inbuilt stylus. The upshot of all this is that when you’re reading (i.e. 99% of the time) the device feels very little like the computer it is and very much like a book.

It’s a good size: the screen size is 12cm x 9cm (it galls me that even in this country which has used the metric system of measurement since 1977 it was sold as the 6” model) and the device itself 17cm x 12cm with its cover (closed). So it’s slightly wider and taller than a mass market paperback but significantly smaller, lighter and thinner than the trade paperbacks which make up the bulk of my physical book reading. Though light enough to hold for several hours without cramping it still has enough weight not to feel flimsy or easily breakable.

I can easily hold it in one hand and because you can turn pages either via the touch screen or the buttons at the bottom I can read one handed in virtually all circumstances (e.g. curled up in bed with just finger or two poking out from under the blanket on a cold, winter’s night, with the reader propped up against the cereal packet during breakfast etc). I didn’t know I wanted to be able to do this until I could.

The touch screen is not gimmicky like I thought it might be. Using it for page turning feels very responsive and helps replicate the sensation of reading a physical book. The touch screen menus work well too and disappear all together when I’m reading (which is what I do with the device 99% of the time) which adds to that sense of it being a book.

Some of the other features which I love (and are by no means standard on all eReaders I have used)

  • automatic last page memory (i.e. if you leave it alone for a few minutes the device goes into sleep mode but when you wake it up it remembers which page of which book you were on, very handy for people with a tendency to fall asleep while reading)
  • the ability to keep multiple bookmarks in multiple books (the Kobo I used did not have this feature)
  • note taking and underlining that is collected all in one spot for each book (handy for reviewing)
  • an easily accessible dictionary (tap on a word and it is immediately defined for you)

Although many books sold for the Sony do have proprietary Digital Rights Management (DRM) inbuilt which means they too (like books sold for the Kindle) would lock you into the device there are also loads (and the number is growing) which don’t.

The Bad

To get books on the device you have to use a computer and a cable (mini USB/USB), there is no wi-fi or 3G downloading direct to the device. I knew this going in and it doesn’t matter to me in the slightest (in fact it enforces a slight amount of impulse control which is a good thing in my case) but I know it’s an issue for some so it’s worth being aware of.

There are not as many books available in Sony compatible formats as there are for the Kindle. Again I knew this going in but I figured one way to help turn this around is to support a different format myself. This is not likely to be as big an issue for those who live in the UK or US as territorial copyright is far more restrictive on my eBook buying than format-based restrictions (there is for example a Sony eBook store that I am not allowed to access because I am not American).

At $345 (with cover) it’s expensive. That’s nearly double the price of the Kobo (which is its main, non-Kindle competitor here in Australia) and about $100 more than having the equivalent sized Kindle shipped to me. Still, I’d have paid $450-$500 for a new bookcase for physical books and I simply did not like the form factor of the Kobo at all so that wasn’t an option for me.

The ugly

The software that you’re supposed to use to manage your eBook library and to transfer books from your computer to the device is truly awful. Really, truly terrible. Configuring user interfaces for information management systems is part of what I do for a living and if I produced this level of inherent stupidity and clunkiness I would be lynched and/or unemployed very quickly. However, thanks to some lovely people at the Sony Reader Forum (sometimes the internet truly is a magnificent place) I was able to put in place a workaround for the worst of the problems I encountered (the automatic synchronisation between computer and device not working as it ought to). Although the answer was difficult to find (thanks for not helping in any way, shape or form Sony), once I knew the solution it was very quick and easy to implement and turns out to allow better management of books than if it had worked properly in the first place. I also learned about some alternative software I can switch to if I want to which has a much better interface and metadata capturing (I’m still internally debating the pros and cons of switching).

I love my PRS-650 (even though it has a name that completely fails to roll off the tongue) and am pleased that I waited for it to come along. As I spend a good percentage of my leisure time reading and plan to eventually do all of my reading via eBooks I wanted a device that I actively like using and will be happy to continue using until it falls apart (I didn’t want to be looking wistfully at whatever comes out next month). It is definitely the right device for me. I’ve no idea if it’s also right for you so wouldn’t presume to recommend it but I would urge you to at least consider looking beyond the biggest player in the market. Perhaps this video review (via a great website, The eBook Reader) will inspire you.

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16 Responses to The good, the bad and the ugly of choosing another brand

  1. Maxine says:

    Really glad you like it, Bernadette. I have to say those workarounds would have phased me. I am afraid I am one of those people with a Kindle (only just) – partly because it was bought for me as a gift. The choice of books is not actually that great – it is good, but not as good as I would like. For example I have a standing Amazon shopping basket of 100 plus items (have done for 5 years or more, though items in it come and go!), and of those, very few have Kindle editions. Howver, so far, I have found two books that I wanted to read, available in Kindle at a reasonable price (I am trying not to download one until I have read the last, so a small sample size at present).

    Unless one wants to get tecchy, over here in the UK the main choice still is Kindle or Sony – I looked at the Sony as Karen has one, but the choice of books is nowhere near as big, and there isn’t the convenient wireless to Amazon link, so in the end I gracefully accepted the Kindle. I can see me getting another brand at some point, as the price of these devices is cheap and getting cheaper, just in order to maximise my choice of reading while digital rights management and business models are sorted out (grrr).

    Don’t I know what you mean about metric vs imperial! It was the thing that struck me the most in the USA when I first visited, how old-fashioned everything seems because of their quaint unit system.

  2. Bernadette – Thanks for giving your feedback on your E-reader. I’m eagerly collecting all of this information, because I may make the move to one myself. I haven’t done so yet, but there are so many choices out there that it’s really good to know what works well and what doesn’t.

  3. Maxine I totally understand about the tech stuff, playing with gadgets and software is second nature to me but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.

    Interesting that you say you’ll get another brand device at some point because I have been thinking I’ll need to do the same thing if I really do want to replace physical book reading. But I’ll wait until publishers wake up a bit to the rest of the world.

  4. Thanks Margot, hope it helps a little bit. One of my reasons for putting down my thoughts like this is that I couldn’t find much information about the experience of using eReaders (lots of technical reviews but not a lot of experiential stuff).

  5. Kerrie says:

    Does the Sony take epub Bernadette?

  6. kathy durkin says:

    So glad to read about this and so glad that you are enjoying the Sony so much and plan to keep using it. Me–I think I’ll pass. Luddite is my middle name, really. My eyes glaza over at these descriptions and of what one must buy, connect, process, etc. I’m still freaking out about my nonusable printer which I need for tasks. But so glad to hear of others enjoying this technology. It’s great. I’ll stay with my paper books, thanks, and my dvd’s from the library and occasionally buy from Book Depository, Amazon and Partners in Crime, a favorite. (I haven’t read with a book propped up against a cereal box for awhile, but must return to that practice and get in every minute of reading time. I used to work (in high school) down the street reading a book.

  7. kathy durkin says:

    Errara: I used to walk (in high school) down the street reading a book.

  8. Patty says:

    I am just so in love with the ease of my Kindle 3…and I have owned two other Kindles…I am in that group that just does not get any other reader…each to his own…

  9. Dorte H says:

    Thank you for another useful post on the subject.

    The other day I told my husband what a Kindle cost. “Why don´t you just order one?” he asked. Well, because I don´t know yet if Kindle is what *I* want – and unlike him, I don´t buy gadgets until I am sure I really want or need them 😀 We have enough in that garage already.

  10. @Kerrie yes the Sony will take ePub but some publishers put DRM in their files so you have to use Adobe Digital Editions to access it (or use a hack to strip the DRM out first). These publishers are of course living in 1953.

    @Kathy it would be boring if we were all the same wouldn’t it? I happen to love tinkering with technology but I’m sure there are things you can do that I cannot.

    @Dorte I’m the same – I like to take the time to choose the right thing when I’m spending a chunk of money. If you know anyone who has a Reader or if you can play with them in any stores then have a go – they all have a different feel to them I’ve found. Realise that might be a bit hard where you are though.

  11. Bill H says:

    I also have a Sony rather than a Kindle. The decision maker for me was that the Kindle can not be used to read eBooks from the public library whereas the Sony can. Just thought I’d mention this in case it is something that might make a difference for other people as well.

  12. Thanks for that Bill. We don’t have that facility at our library here yet (though there are rumours that it might be coming soon-ish) but that’s another excellent reason to choose something other than the Kindle.

  13. BooksPlease says:

    Very interesting. I’m still considering what if anything to get. I looked at the Sony about 18 months ago and wasn’t convinced, mainly because of the limited number of books available for it at that time. I don’t like to rush into buying things like this (unlike my husband who’s always one of the first to get new gadgety stuff) and I don’t like the idea of having to buy two devices! On second thoughts, however, I don’t see why not – I buy lots of varieties of other products quite happily. As you can see I just haven’t made up my mind yet.

  14. JoV says:

    I really love this post Bernadette, it gives me a balanced and honest view about Sony e-reader. I have been tempted by both Kindle and the Sony e-reader, but I truly believed you have made the right choice.

    Enjoy your time with it! 🙂

  15. I have an old sony and have found Calibre the easiest way to manage the books. The Sony reader library software is clunky but compared to the system for accessing e-books through borders its a walk in the park.

  16. Pingback: Do you really own the ebook you just bought? « Bibliojunkie

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text:
A Little Gift

In Time For Christmas

The next morning arrived. Grey clouds sat stubbornly overhead. Only a few of the castle’s defenders had slept, the rest had endured an uneasy journey from the previous day. Without much talk, people breakfasted and went to their positions. It would happen on this day, they were sure.

By mid afternoon, an uneasy hush had swept across the castle and its grounds. A faint humming rolled towards them. Those on watch, girded themselves for whatever new plague would emerge. It was growing in volume, rolling like drums from beyond the grounds.

At exactly two fifty-seven, and Chris would remember this moment for the rest of his life, the drums stopped. Seconds later, a stag stepped out of cover and nervously sniffed the air. It picked up the smell of humans coming from the stones to its left, but chose to move towards them. Taking two tentative steps onto the  melting snow, it waited again, then broke into a gallop.

From behind it came the gathering storm of hooves, each now in full flow. Wave upon wave raced across the lawns and then down the precipice and with practiced ease, raced down paths that no human could have followed. Then they were gone, a swathe of trodden slush the only sign that they had been there at all. Nature was in full flight before the Piper’s creatures.

At seven minutes past three, the giant showed itself.

“So that’s it then?” Lucy asked.

“Yes, that’s our man,” answered Chris.

A small group of them had gathered in the muniment tower to watch the gathering of the Leathers.

“He doesn’t look human,” she added.

“Technically he’s not, Lucy,” Mr. Dale took the opportunity of speaking, his rational tones playing against any panic that may have surfaced. “It’s like a mummy. From the look of what he is wearing,” they could see from there that he was dressed in an old cloth draped over his torso, “he was a member of a monastic order, probably a penitent. I would say that he ceased being human a number of centuries ago.”

“Whatever it is, it is certainly scary,” murmured Judith.

“That would be The Piper’s intention. Battles can be won before they are fought. It is fear that destroys armies and makes them run. Remember that the Piper is the heir of Pan and Pan caused panic in his victims before he struck.”

The news of the giant monk spread quickly. Panic had been intended and its seeds were sown.

Amongst the audience was one Craig Dawkins, a young man who was well aware of what the monk was. Unlike the others, he felt a surge of enthusiasm. At last, he had the means to escape and get some very valuable cargo back to Flowers. He sat on the end of his bed and wondered just what would be given to him if he were to help capture the Andrews’ clan. His first step was make his escape, a thing easier thought than done in this place of heightened tension.

Since the events in the forest, his head had cleared. Dawkins was a rationalist. Whatever happened there had died there. He could not help them and wouldn’t wish to. One for one and one for onemeant putting yourself first. He had always been a survivor. As such, he recognised no bonds of loyalty, friendship or love, he was an island that only traded with others. On his own, he had to think and act quickly. The first problem that he had to solve was how to get out of his locked room.

Now he watched the leathers from his window, their dark forms filling him with certainty. Soon, he would be free. He listened to the confusion around him, the nervous voices, hurried feet, and the unmistakable hiss of panic. His secret smile was there again, the last time he had worn it was when his marksmanship had brought down the boy who had failed him. His contentment was twofold, first there were the Leathers who had been sent to save him and then there was his own deception, a masterstroke. They had fallen for it, had carried him childlike from the car, had tucked him up and cared for him. Now they would rue their kindness and he would ensure that. Outside the room came footsteps.

In all the confusion, they had almost forgotten about Dawkins. They had kept his room locked ‘just in case’, but visited him regularly with food and water. His normal carer was Mrs. Sanderson, the woman who had done so much to care for the children when they first fled the city. Now, the present crisis had taken her off with the other children again and nobody had spared a thought for their guest apart from Lucy.

She was sweeping the corridors and rooms making sure that nobody was left behind. Many of the small children read the signs immediately and the memories of the past came back. Mr. Dale and Mrs. Sanderson had collected them together and calmed them. After moving to the muniment room, a headcount revealed that at least one child was missing. Lucy volunteered to check the rooms.

Whilst Dawkins listened with his ear to the oak door, Lucy’s voice was entering rooms and enquiring if there was anybody there. Her progress brought her closer and Dawkins clasped the metal fork he had been fed with. As her steps moved towards him, he folded back against the stone wall just as the handle began to turn.

Lucy was a little puzzled. This door was locked. She searched for the answer before noticing the key that rested on the top of a small cabinet. She picked it up, inserted it into the heavy mechanism and turned it. When she pushed open the door, she found an empty room awaited her.

“Why lock it?” she asked herself.

Two steps in and she had the answer.

When Dawkins saw that it was a girl who had entered his trap, he was both surprised and delighted. She would be easy to take down. He watched her careful steps, allowing her the access that a spider would give to a fly. His instinct was to strike, to bring pain and blood, to watch with amused interest, but he knew that she would be more useful as a hostage. His silent steps, unfettered by shoes gave him the advantage he required. With her back to him, she presented an easy prey.

As the mechanisms of Lucy’s mind were falling into place, Lucy simultaneously felt the cold touch of metal upon her exposed throat and heard the chilling words,

“If you move or scream or do anything that I don’t like, I’ll ram this fork as far into your throat as I can. It will hurt like hell. Do you understand?”

Beginning to tremble slightly, Lucy nodded her understanding.

“Now you are going to show me how to get out of here without anybody seeing us. Move.”

The Edge Of Reason

Avenging Angel

Chris knew that Michael was not the same. Physically, he was bigger. He was obviously stronger. That run along the passageway and up the stairs was not something his older brother could have done before. And he did it without breaking sweat or having to catch breath.

Lucy had not said anything as yet, but she had spent her time considering his brother. On the surface, she had been friendly, but beneath, she was unsure. In the short time he had known her, he had begun to measure her reactions to people and situations. His mother also appeared nervous around her son.

“It is a concern,” the voice coming from the stairwell said. “I noticed something from the first moment I set eyes upon you,” said Mr. Dale. “I have seen this before and have since persuaded myself that I did not.”

Chris was confused yet Michael looked on resignedly.

“In my previous role as a man of the cloth, I worked in India. India is suffused with the spiritual and their holy men are granted a status very rarely enjoyed by other mortals.

In that country, especially away from the main towns and cities, people’s lives are governed by a profound belief in the worlds that exist alongside our own. Spirits are to be found in everything from a beetle to a bull.

One day, I had the wife of a local farmer come to me for help. They were members of my church, attended every Sunday, but were also believers in Krishna. I was never absolute in my demands upon the church’s flock. I had this belief that most roads eventually led to God or, in some cases to his nemesis. Her husband had been bitten by a snake and was struggling for his life when a strange happening befell their youngest son. The child started to speak in an old language that nobody in the village understood, we found out later that it was Sanskrit, and the child lay with his father doing battle with the demon within for three days. When I was called, the father had made a miraculous recovery but the child was dreadfully unwell. It was as if he had sucked all the poison out of his father and was now suffering the consequences.

The thing that I noticed above everything else was the vague blue light, an ethereal aura, that encased the child. I saw that with you, Michael.”

“What happened to the boy?” asked Chris.

“I’m afraid he died. I tried everything to save him. Just before he went I read him the last rites, my belief was still stout back then, and he opened his eyes, looked straight into my soul and spoke in English. That was the first time I had heard that. He said that the Piper was awake and then he passed away.”

“What’s that got to do with us?”

“You know what it has to do with us. You’ve seen your brother in that other form. You saw what I saw.

We are living in the time of judgement. I denied it to myself for so long, but now it is inevitable. These are the revelations that are in the Bible and there will be battles. You two are as much our weapons as anything we have found in the armoury.”

Outside a blast of winter rain peppered the windows and roof. In the hills to the north, the rain was falling with more vigour, melting snow and ice and swelling the streams that fed the rivers that flowed out of them.

The following morning, a member of one of the scouting parties saw the first line of leathers on the horizon and the alarm went up.

The Sword Of Christmas

“As you can see,” Graham said with pride, “Zack and his group have been doing an awful lot of groundwork. Indeed, they discovered these,” he continued and produced three swords from the armoury. “We have quite a selection of these and after out talk earlier, I think that swords may be one of our best forms of defence. Without their appropriate limbs, the leathers will struggle to do much harm.”

For once, his gentle humour failed to reach an audience so he continued.

“The next thing that I wish to ask is difficult,” he cleared his throat slightly. “You see, we need to get an early warning of their arrival so we would be best served by deploying a scouting unit that can cover the immediate areas around the castle. It will be a dangerous task so I only want volunteers. One thing to bear in mind is that you may have to move pretty quickly to get back to HQ if and when you do spot them.”

Keith Rains shot up a hand and this was followed by several others, all men in their late twenties or early thirties, all of them having lost family members. Then, Michael stepped forward and he was holding the sword he had picked out for himself. It was a shorter version of a long sword yet had a blade that was not straight. The blade had been fashioned into a facsimile of a series of flames, each one glinting with shiny menace. Graham had told him that the sword was favoured by German soldiers protecting the most important personnel.

“It would have been used in a sweeping movement to ensure greater coverage and to keep the unwanted attentions away from those who were being protected,” Graham touched the blade and drew a little of his own blood in doing so.

“As sharp today as it was when it was first forged. They called this a Flammanschwert, the flame sword, and these edges meant that any strike would be intensified by the additional surface area. It was meant to maim.”

Chris had noticed that his brother’s presence brought immediate attention from the rest. It was not born of the charisma of Graham, the wisdom of Mr. Dale of the admiration of Judith. No, when Michael was in the room, people just stopped doing those things that they would have been doing; chat and movement were stilled as if awaiting the arrival of some natural disaster.

If Chris had not known his brother so well, had not understood his truly sensitive nature, had not seen his head stuck, night after night, into some grand book or other, he would have felt the same as the others.

“I volunteer,” Michael announced. This was followed by his brother who was now standing shoulder to shoulder with him.

The rise in optimism was matched by a hike in temperature. The signs of a thaw were there for all to see and, whilst usually the disappearance of snow brought about a twinge of sadness, everybody welcomed its short, if powerful life span.

Within little time, the organisation for the defence of the castle was completed to a satisfactory level. The rat runs were trodden and re-trodden to familiarise all with the evasive measures that would probably be required. Graham, his knowledge of history becoming their guide to survival, set up three murder holes, confined areas were attackers could neither move backwards or forwards once they had entered and where his quickest and strongest males could strike with relative impunity.

Because of the confined spaces, only short swords and spears could be used. However, Keith Rains had equipped himself with a ‘morning star’, a brutish looking club that was studded with vicious spikes. “I used to play cricket a bit so I should still have a good swing,” was his explanation for choosing such a weapon.

Towards twilight, the first of the refugees began to emerge from the countryside. First there came two young men, all smiles and greetings not disguising their discomfort at being within such a large group of strangers. Then, very soon afterwards, came more and more. On questioning, it would seem that the empty landscape through which Graham’s band had travelled was not so empty after all. The group’s reluctance to venture into buildings meant that they had missed numbers of others who were just hiding and surviving. For all they knew, Graham may have been in charge of a mopping up exercise run by The Piper so they did not show themselves.

“So why now?” Mr. Dale wondered aloud.

The dreams. They had all experienced dreams about the leathers and these dreams had been so disquieting, so very different to the replays of the previous terrors, that many of them took them to be warnings of things to come. Then they had dreamt about the man who was yet a boy, the one with a sword of flames, the one who had the brightest light at his back but not upon him, and they headed towards the castle in which he resided believing that he could halt the flood of their hunters.

“That’s him,” a voice cried out in amazement, its owner pointing towards Michael who had just entered the room with his brother. “That’s him from my dream.”

A tide of rising whispers seeped into the library with faces turning towards the one who had been identified. In return, Michael walked quickly from the place intent on becoming as invisible as he could.

“Michael wait for me,” Chris was after him. “What is it? Why were they pointing at you?”

Michael had broken into a run by this point and his brother had to do likewise to keep up. The pace increased to a sprint as they raced along the ground floor and then the eldest darted to his left and through a large opening that took them into another tower. Taking the stairway two steps at a time, they were soon at its summit. Chris was breathing heavily, the short activity having taken a surprising amount of energy from him. His brother, who was standing by the towers widow looking out to the east, was apparently in no discomfort at all.

“What was all that about? Why did you run away?”

Michael hesitated for a long time before answering, “They think that I can save them. They believe that I have been sent here to stop the leathers.”

“That’s stupid. How do you know that?”

“Have you not seen it in their faces? Every time somebody looks at me, there’s something in their eyes. Have you not noticed how only a few of them actually talk to me. The young ones, they talk, they’re not the same, but the older ones…sometimes some of them can’t even meet my eyes. They look at their hands or their feet. Others just rush away as soon as they can.”

“Perhaps it’s just your imagination.”

Again Michael looked towards the gathering dusk.

“When I was with Mum, I had this dream, it was as if I couldn’t wake up. You were in a wood somewhere and you were with Lucy. There was a man who was pointing a gun at you. You were in danger. I saw the man. No the physical one, but the one inside him and it was The Piper. He’d coiled himself up inside this bloke. Inside him was this snakelike creature that controlled all of his actions and the creature was commanding it to kill you. Payment. That’s what it was after. Payment.”

“That happened. Just last week. We had stopped by this big private school and Will, a bloke who came in with Judith, made me go up the woods where he was going to kill me. He had a gun. Said that it was for The Piper and he talked about the debt. It’s a good job that he couldn’t shoot straight.”

“I distracted him. At the very last moment, he saw me and I saw him. You were thinking about the window you had seen in the church.”

“How do you know?”

“You thought that the figure in the window was me.”

The younger brother listened without interrupting.

“The Man in the window had something like this hadn’t he?”

Michael was holding up his sword and, in an instant, Chris noticed the flames, the real fire that danced along its edge. “Chris, I don’t know who I am any longer. I have blackouts. Look at me. Am I the same brother you had less than two months ago?”

To Read Or Not To Read

This Is The Question

My early schooling was spoilt by the fact that I found it almost impossible to learn to read. My friends were running through the programme as if it was a ride in the park. They were fast readers, accomplished learners who never had to endure the torture of actually learning something from scratch. Me? I was just a dumbo whose brain had not evolved to the level required to decode the books that were placed before me.

These two little ‘lovely’ children made my life hell, on a daily basis.

It was common practice to let children read aloud. It was a way of getting everyone to participate in the story. It ought to have been good, but I found it excruciating.

I grew to hate these two.

I also grew to dread that long path that led towards my desk and the moment when one of the easy reading community passed on the bemusing baton for me to latch on to. I would stumble over the easiest of words, struggle with compounds and blends, and collapse over consonants and vowels. I absolutely hated reading aloud.

Apart from my dad, nobody else took much notice of my lack of literacy. It was funny for many of my pals when I stumble and fell off each and every sentence that was placed before me. I discovered that the laughter was a screen that I could hide behind. I had a talent that could make my life a little easier. My talent was not reading, but it was the ability to prompt amused responses from those around me. I couldn’t read so I decided to try to make people laugh instead.

I have come across this in students that I have taught throughout the twenty-five years I have had in teaching. The class-clowns, often razor sharp, frustratingly ahead of the game (if the game is to avoid learning), practiced in numerous techniques and strategies to avoid going anywhere near their Achilles Heels in the course of any given school day. They have mastered diversionary tactics that mask their deeply-rooted anxiety about the one thing that trips them up. They build around the problem, develop new skills, nurture talents that may not have been cultivated if it hadn’t been for their issue. Often, they succeed in avoiding the literacy thing all together; that is until it comes back to bite them when they cannot hide any longer. I had the chance to become one of these kids, but something stopped me. I loved learning. Even the class-clown that I was, loved learning.

My literacy problems did not go away overnight. I still have them. When I first became a teacher, I would fret about my poor spelling. I would fret about writing on the boards. Back then, it was the old blackboards that took some rubbing clean. Any mistakes that I made would stubbornly remain, ghostlike behind my intention. Smart kids would offer up alerting hands to point out words that I had incorrectly placed before them. I would joke and point out that that was why I kept a dictionary close at hand, so that I could check before I wrote. Even now, many years an English teacher and practiced writer, I still check my words. I have mild dyslexia. A gift from God.

It was Shakespeare who first helped me.

I loved Shakespeare because the language seemed as impenetrable as the ordinary stuff that was served up at school. Everybody struggled with Old Bill and that made me happy. All those self-satisfied smug looks fell away in one reading. All at once it was me who was finding the going amusing. I took a copy of Romeo and Juliet home and set about reading it aloud. Nobody at home worried about this because it was me doing it and I did funny things anyway. And you know what? When I read Shakespeare, I read it in role. I became a Shakespearean character reading Shakespearean English. I was not myself. I was not the lad who could not read. I could read and I was brilliant at reading Shakespeare! It wasn’t until later that I found that I had to become someone else in order to overcome the many challenges that were to stand in my way.

Sally Gardner From The Guardian newspaper November 2014.

(No! That’s not me dressing up. This lovely person is a writer who’s embraced her dyslexic gift.)

When I was at school nobody really knew what dyslexia was. They called it word blind. I always think not being able to spell is just the tip of the iceberg. It’s a bit like seeing the iceberg and saying there is dyslexia – but it’s what’s underneath it that interests me a lot more than the boringness of spelling and reading and writing. Because before the first dictionary was written by Mr Samuel Johnson, we spelt rather imaginatively. Nobody was dyslexic, there wasn’t such a word. Some really famous writers from the past such as Chauncer and Shakespeare would have been in a special reading scheme as they hardly spelt the same word the same twice. A lot of Shakespeare’s work was written down for him.

I was sent to a school for maladjusted (which means behaviour problems) children which I eventually left. Then I was 14 went to a posh girls school, but the girls were absolutely horrid to me. I eventually learnt to read at 14 and my mother told me if I got five O levels (old fashioned version of GCSEs), I could go to art school. I just memorised everything. And did manage to get the five, even English literature. When I took that particular exam my English teacher told me write very quietly and not make any noise. She told me: “There are children here going to university and you’re not. So don’t disturbe them please.” So you can see she wasn’t a very supportive teacher.

Sally Gardner

It has taken me my life to come to terms with the pain of not ever having been a natural reader. I think that I have passed my gift on to my daughters. And the good thing with that is that they are thriving because of it.

The Last Hope

A Gift Before Christmas

Read After Burnout

Safe and Sound

The castle was built for both attack and defence. Its commanding view of the surrounding countryside gave it a great advantage for seeing the enemy whilst providing a platform from which counterattacks could be launched.

Facing to the south and east, lay the moat and to the north and west the castle was perched upon the most imposing of rock precipices that few would dare to climb. Below the rocky outcrop, separating the fortress from the town, was a river which snaked into the grounds from the west and curved round the northern walls before swinging east and then north back towards the source of its flow. Again, nature had been thoughtful enough to provide another line of defence. In other times, the castle could be said to be a complete fortress.

It had been the curiosity of the young ones that had discovered the armoury and…

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The Last Hope

Safe and Sound

The castle was built for both attack and defence. Its commanding view of the surrounding countryside gave it a great advantage for seeing the enemy whilst providing a platform from which counterattacks could be launched.

Facing to the south and east, lay the moat and to the north and west the castle was perched upon the most imposing of rock precipices that few would dare to climb. Below the rocky outcrop, separating the fortress from the town, was a river which snaked into the grounds from the west and curved round the northern walls before swinging east and then north back towards the source of its flow. Again, nature had been thoughtful enough to provide another line of defence. In other times, the castle could be said to be a complete fortress.

It had been the curiosity of the young ones that had discovered the armoury and it was also their adventurous nature which provided the group with a working knowledge of its internal layout. The various tourist maps of the castle had given them a basic compass, but it was the energy and need to explore that made their knowledge so impressive. While the adults had been busy with the celebrations on the first night, the kids had been off, working in groups, opening doors, venturing down stairwells and hallways; even descending into the lower places that used to be the dungeons. In the space of twenty four hours, they had a complex understanding of the place. And, they had found the armoury.

Since escaping the school they had grown. They were, to all intents, twenty first century children who had had the twenty first century stripped away from them. In essence, they had been picked up by the scruff of their necks and thrown back almost three centuries to a pre-industrial age. They were not only children but integral members of a self-sufficient community and they were contented creatures of this new age.

Zack, although not the eldest, was a leader of sorts. He was tough and brave in a way that allowed him to enjoy an occasional spurt of recklessness. His foray into the deep halls of the castle was the adventure that resulted in the discovery of the golden fleece. He was also a bright lad. All in all, there were now thirty three youngsters, a number having deserted the group during the days whilst leaving the city. Nobody ever mentioned these, dreading to think about the fate that they had decided upon.

“It’s in here, Mr. Hunter,” Zack had not had sufficient contact with the old man to use his first name.

Double doors surmounted by a silver plaque proclaiming the word, ‘Armoury’ opened up to his touch. Graham, a child once more, walked into the room, struggling with the possibility that he would be allowed to handle such weapons. Moving along the glass cases and cabinets, he saw sabres, cutlasses, claymores and even a scimitar (brought back from a crusade). His eyes were wide with glee and expectation. Zack watched with an imperceptible shake of his head, adults were often as childish as children.

“Its okay, they’re open, Sir.”

Carefully placing his hand on the unlocked casing, Graham eased it open and reached inside to place his hand on the hilt of the scimitar. Fingers forming a soft glove, he lifted it from its restraints.

“A scimitar, Zack. I can’t believe that I am holding one. It’s fabulous. When I was a boy, I dreamt of owning one of these things. Don’t you think it’s beautiful?”

Zack did indeed think that it was a thing of considerable beauty.

“Yes. I think it is wonderful.”

“It was the sword of the Moors. You can still see it on the flags of Arab countries.”

“I know, Sir. We did that in History with you in Year 7.”

“Yes, Zach. I had forgotten that you were in my class back then. And here we are now.” He paused for a while to consider what had gone. “We have work to do, don’t we?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Zack, you know the castle as well as anybody.”

“Good, then I want you to show me all that you know. I want shortcuts, hidden passages, I want to see places where we can run to if it gets bad, I want a way out if it gets really bad. Do you understand?”

“Of course. It’s like Lord of the Rings isn’t it?”

“You’ve got it Zack, but I think that Orks have a nicer disposition.”

They were sharing the joke when Chris spoke. He and his brother had made their way to the armoury using one of the other boys, Lewis, as a guide.

“Is it alright if we join you?”

“The more the merrier,” chuckled Graham through heightened spirits.

Christmas Memories

Memories again

Read After Burnout

Lovely, dark and deep.

Lucy’s Diary 22ndDecember

Will everyday be like these? I sometimes wonder if we are meant to be living through or just suffering them.

Last night would have constituted one of the best of my life. ‘David’ who still likes to be known as Chris. I can’t help calling him David and it’s becoming a bit embarrassing. Anyway, last night was one of the first normal nights that the world has possibly seen since The Purge and Graham led a celebration for our deliverance. More importantly, Chris kissed me for the first time.

I know that it has been coming, right from the start the signs were evident, but it would have been magnificent if he had not seen ‘The Giant’, as he is now commonly known, snooping around in the grounds. That put a stop to the kissing and started that look again, the…

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text:
Earworms 23 January 2017

67463659 - marigold flowers filled in as background

Just four tunes for you this week, and some interesting info about “Give a Gig Week” on 24 – 31 March, a fund-raising Youth Music charity initiative with the aim of having 100 gigs happening in one week. Sounds like fun.

On the admin side, I’ve just renewed the annual subscription for WordPress Premium, which allows us to continue to post music on The ‘Spill. It’s $99, which is about £80, so if anyone wants to chip in (a fiver or a tenner at most), please email me on earworm@tincanland.com or message me by one of the many other means available.

Meanwhile, many thanks for the earworms this week, and please continue to send them to earworm@tincanland.com, should you have any you want to share.

Sujatha Majumdar – Genda Phool – Ravi Raman: This is an A R Rahman tune composed for a movie called Delhi 6 (an part of Old Delhi). Genda phool is the Indian marigold, which doesn’t have an arresting aroma like the jasmine or rose. One sort of gets accustomed to it. And that’s what the song’s about.  A mother telling her newly wed daughter “your in-laws are like genda phool. You may not like them at first but you’ll find out that soon they’re an integral part of life”. A prime example of what I call folktronica. https://youtu.be/d0RCVX1Wgw4

Chris Forsyth & The Solar Motel Band – High Castle Rock – tincanman – No one told him this kind of psych fusion experimenting supposedly died in the 70s. Good thing, too. (Love this. Ed.)

Procul Harum – Whiter Shade of Pale – goneforeign: This cut has a special memory for me; My friend Augie Coppola had his office on the 6th floor of the faculty tower, one day about 5pm I popped in for a chat. When I entered his office this was playing quietly on his radio, we chatted a bit. Then a student knocked on his door, she was young and beautiful but she had the most amazing pale green eyes, I couldn’t stop staring at her. When she left I asked Augie, Did you ever see eyes like those? And that’s all we talked about all the while Procol Harum played on, her gorgeous green contact lenses.  It must have been 1967; you had to be there.

Walk the Moon – Shut Up and Dance – alimunday: WtM are an American rock band from Ohio, who had a hit with this song in 2014. I keep hearing it on the radio lately – it’s a great pop / rock song, bouncy, upbeat and very earwormy.

All Celebreties

Give a Gig Week – On January 18th Youth Music launched their new initiative ‘Give a Gig Week‘ a nationwide music-making extravaganza, with the charity aiming to have 100 gigs happening in one week (24 – 31 March 2017). Gigs can take place anywhere: your own living room, the local pub, legendary music venues or more unusual spaces. One band, The Monotones, plan to stream gigs live from all Three Peaks in the Yorkshire Pennines!

Charmfactory (a music PR company who sent us this info) is a big supporter of Youth Music, a charity set up to invest in music-making projects for children and young people facing challenging circumstances.

On the event, YM Ambassor Laura Mvula and supporters Sophie Ellis-Bexter and Rizzle Kicks share messages:-

Give a Gig is a really good idea because it allows singers, musicians and venues to do what they’re already doing for the benefit of a young person. Laura Mvula, Ambassador, Youth Music

Without Youth Music we wouldn’t have got to where we are today, honestly! We’re supporting Give a Gigcause we want others to have the same opportunities for making music that we did. Rizzle Kicks

Music is a huge part of my life and I feel so lucky to have been able to make a career out of something that I love so much. Youth Music creates music-making opportunities for thousands who would otherwise miss out. That’s why I’m supporting Give a Gig, so others can experience the joys of music as I’ve doneSophie Ellis-Bexter
All info on the registration process can be found at www.giveagig.org.uk

Image Copyright: vinodpillai / 123RF Stock Photo

8 thoughts on “Earworms 23 January 2017

  1. Interesting to see the time stamp on Genda Phool. Now to see if it works across systems.
    High Castle Rock is just superb. And that too 10 minutes long. Just the way I like it. Definitely the pick of the week.
    Whiter Shade: have had great fun across the years discussing what it’s all about. A firm favourite.
    Shut Up and Dance, nice bouncy way to close the playlist.

  2. Will mail re contributions – both sort. I liked High Castle Rock very much. Great stuff. Listening to that Steve Hillage track on Songbar last week must have reignited something. Genda Phool not far behind. A lovely piece of music.
    Other two good too although I have heard WSOP more times than I would care to recall. I used to insist that it was the best single ever when I was in my teens. Still sounds great if you hear it just once in a while. Never heard Shut Up and Dance before which shows how much attention I pay to music radio – in 2014 or now. Yes, it was a nice bouncy ending to the sequence.

  3. If your bank details are the same as last year, Ali, (sortcode 089…. and account no. 0337….) I’ll chip in directly.

    Thanks, as ever, for sticking with this.

  4. Liked Genda Phool a lot, quirkily original, but High Castle Rock is my top pick this week: reminds me a bit of Allman Brothers instrumentals, like “High Falls”, which is A VERY GOOD THING….

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