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Category Archives: Information

I Drink Beer, Dammit

I Drink Beer, Dammit.

I’m a bit of a craft beer person myself, but not all craft beer is good beer. I can tell you that there is nothing like a good beer after a day hiking in the mountains. On most of our ‘slackpacking’ trails we will make sure there is a ‘cold one’ at the end of the day, if that is your preference. It will usually be ‘Big Beer’ but if there is a local craft beer available we will try to source it.

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Simonstown to Smitswinkel section of Hoerikwaggo Trail

By no means the longest or the toughest section of the trail, nevertheless it is a good five to six hour walk with an uphill pull at the beginning and a steep downhill at the end. A word of warning, although the path is good on the descent to Smitswinkel, there is some easy down hill scrambling (hands need to be used) and there is some mild exposure on a narrow ridge, that may be challenging for those who suffer from severe vertigo. There are no ledges or cliff faces however.

Hoerikwaggo – Simonstown to Smitswinkel April 2011

It was a cool day with a slight breeze, ideal for hiking. Looking up from the start, the ascent to the top of Swartkop looks steep, but the zig zag path up from the mule track to the Blockhouse, makes the going reasonably easy. The path is good, although overgrown by stands of magnificent proteas in places. It is a bit steeper from the Blockhouse Gap (437m) to the highest point of the peak (678m). This was a good place to stop for tea, in a sheltered spot slightly down from the ridge.
The views from the top are quite stunning, overlooking Simon’s Town and False Bay on the one side and the Atlantic Ocean on the other. From the top there is a fairly sudden descent into the valley below and you can see the path stretch up on the other side. The path is clear and although it is steep, it is a reasonably easy walk, follow by a long slow trek up the other side. The views are changing constantly and the flora is wonderful, with some outstanding examples of both pink and white King Protea and plenty of sunbirds and sugarbirds around on the day.
The path undulates up and down until the final short plateau provides a vista over the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve and beautiful view all the way to Cape Point. Just after this you start the very steep descent down to Smitswinkel Bay. The wind had come up a bit at this stage but we were able to find a sheltered spot to sit and admire the view and enjoy our lunch.

Hoerikwaggo – Smitswinkel to Simonstown

The path is good all the way down, although overgrown with proteas in places. You need to be careful as there are some places where you need to use both hands and feet. We took it fairly slowly and I was lucky to spot a Table Mountain Beauty butterfly that sat still just long enough for me to photograph. At the bottom there is a stand of huge protea bushes and the presence of the long tailed sugarbirds was particularly noticeable. The path ends at the superb Smitswinkel Bay tented camp. Although we were not staying overnight on this occasion it is certainly the most luxuriously appointed of the camps and well worth a visit.

For guided Table Mountain day hikes and overnight trails contact Frank:

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World Cup Safaris and Tours with Afruka Eco Tours

With the World Cup Soccer come and gone it is good to record some of the activities, sites and scenes that we were able to offer our visitors in addition to the soccer. The overwhelming comments from the people that I came into contact with were the amazement at the diversity of the tourism product that South Africa has to offer, including game safaris, wine tours and tasting, whale watching, fantastic scenery and more. Although hiking is my particular focus, not many of our clients have made the time for this, this time around and most were not sure what to expect. I was fortunate to in being able to host visitors from Brazil, Mexico, U.S.A, England, Canada, Russia and France over the four week period and I am sure many will be back to experience this and more of what we have to offer. I have put together an album of some of the tours, the sites and the people, including a few of the Cape Town games, the Fan Walk and more. Afruka Eco Tours

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Filed under Cape Point, Day Hikes, Day Walks, Information, News, Outdoor, Safari, Slackpacker, Table Mountain, Tours, Wine Tours

The greater flamingoes – Cape Town bird tour

What amazingly beautiful birds. These flamingoes were one of the many species we saw during a tour of the settling ponds adjacent to Baden Powell Drive on False Bay. The walking tour of Rondevlei was equally rewarding in spite of the rain. Thanks to Mariana of Cape Eco Tours for her knowledgeable guidance.

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Walking in Constantia – sensational wine walk route explored.

Another stunning wine walk

This was not planned as a walk in the Winelands, but when you look at the views from high above the Constantia Valley and the experience wine tasting at Groot Constantia at the end, this has to rate up there with the best in the world.

Saturday was a stunning early winters day in Cape Town, ideal hiking weather. This, plus the planned route up to Vlakkenberg Peak and the end point in Groot Constantia attracted a big group of Meridian Hiking Club members, plus visitors from Germany (Thomas & Katrina) and the USA (Trika & Kim). The short trek up from Constantia Nek up to Vlakkenberg Nek needs a bit of effort but once into the natural fynbos vegetation higher up the slope it is a real pleasure. The sound of grassbirds, sunbirds and sugarbirds is endless. After the rain and mist of the previous two days, the birds were ready for a bit of sun. Less than an hour up to Vlakkenberg Nek and the one of the three rocky peaks for a tea break and the view overlooking Hout Bay – what a treat. There is a bit of scrambling up there for the more adventurous, but you need to know where to go.

Back to the main path to join the route to Vlakkenberg Peak and the traditional group photocall. The fairly level section from there to join the path down Vlakkenberg Ridge has some stunning Proteas and a display of flowers & fynbos. The real treat (and surprise for those who have not done this route before) is the view over the Constantia wine farms from the top and forest of Silvertrees on the way down. It is a fairly steep path down, a bit tough on the knees but firm underfoot and well maintained. Once in the Silvertree forest it is a real pleasure. Back into Groot Constantia it is short walk past the historic swimming pool and on to Simon’s Restaurant for a drink and a snack. Wine tasting is available and a cellar tour is an option. For those with an interest in history there is an excellent museum in the old manor house.

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Skydive Cape Town 2

This set was taken from the air. Amazing sequence showing the complete high and enjoyment. Scary for most but if you are up to it, it must be amazing. Just 30 minutes from Cape Town.

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Skydive Cape Town

The heart beats a bit faster when you see this little dot falling from an aeroplane and you know that it is your own son of 26 years. It falls for what seems an eternity and then slowly above him the chute billows out and as you become sure that it has opened fully you let out a sigh of relief and then watch as they descend slowly to earth. This was Malcolms birthday gift from his sister. Not sure whether it proves that she really loves him or not – but judging from the next set of picture taken in the sky, he was on a high.

Once he had landed it made me feel that I want to do it as well – definitely some day.

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Tag Archives: Cedarberg. Cedarberg Walks

Cederberg Heritage Route — Day 2

Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0052

This was reputed to be the longest and toughest days hiking of the trail and although it was not predicted to be the hottest day, the temperatures in the Cederberg can easily get in to the 30’s (°C) – +86 °F. At Riaan’s suggestion, we had breakfast at six and were on the trail by shortly after 6.30. The Mountains glowed a reddish brown colour as the sun reflected off them and we headed up the path to a rocky ridge on our way to Groot Krakadouw Peak, the goal for the day. Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0074The path was well defined and the walking fairly easy initially, with a few short climbs, sometimes sandy and sometimes rocky underfoot. We passed a variety of beautiful ericas, restios and proteas, defining the area as firmly fynbos. Riaan stopped from time to time as we passed a bank of Cedar trees, from which the area takes its name, to talk about a plant, tell a story or discuss some point of cultural interest and to give us a chance to take photographs and subtly take a rest. Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0064As we walked slowly higher the views over Heuningvlei valley became more magnificent and one could see how this flatish section of the valley, interspersed with rocky outcrops, attracted people to the area, in the early days the San people, probably at some stage the Khoi people and then later the European settlers.Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0076

As the path began to climb steeply in to the gorge that leads to the Groot Krakadouw Peak, the temperature was rising at the same time. The walking was becoming more strenuous and the path less distinct. I was pleased that we had a guide with us who knew where he was going.

Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0078

At the same time, our walking companions who had recently arrived in South Africa from Europe, were struggling to adapt to the heat. Rest stops became a bit longer and breath a bit shorter. Eventually it became apparent that a member of the party was not going get there. We were still approximately two hours from the summit when we decided to turn back. It was a good lesson in Mountain safety and the only practical optiCederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0094on at the time.Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0053

We were back in Heuningvlei by lunch time, after a pleasant walk back. In the afternoon Riaan took us down to a magnificent swimming hole and waterfall twenty minutes walk away. The silver lining was that we would not have been able to do this, if we had made it to the peak.

Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0112

Dinner with Izak that evening was beautifully tender lamb chops, served with sweet potatoes, sweet pumpkin and salads. Another excellent meal.

Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0114

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Cederberg Heritage Route – Day 1

Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0009 (2)The gathering point for all of the Cederberg Heritage Route Trails is Clanwilliam, an easy three hour drive from Cape Town. Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0020 (2)

We gathere at the Yellow Aloe – a real oasis in what can be a very hot Clanwilliam – and were treated to an excellent light lunch. This was followed by a trail briefing by Cederberg Travel, the organisers and co-ordinators of the Cederberg Heritage Trails, before being piled in to the transport vehicle for transfer to the start on the Pakhuis Pass. There we met Gert our cart driver and the six donkeys, Trapnet, Satan, President, Tryna, Beaufort and Willem, plus Jonas, the ‘sparewheel’ and back up. They would be transferring our luggage to Heuningvlei, with option for hikers to ride on the cart or walk the trail.Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0011 (2)

Having been sitting all the way from Cape Town, we all opted to start the trail on foot and the cart went ahead of us with the luggage.  This section of the trail follows an old jeep track that is no longer in regular use, but is suitable for the donkey cart to negotiate at a reasonable pace. Within a few hundred metres of the start of the trail it is easy to forget that there is a tar road in the near vicinity. The rocky outcrops, randomly balance boulders, sculptured shapes, deep valleys and high peaks absorb one quickly in to the wilderness environment. There is no formal hiking guide on this section, with Gert stopping his charges from time to time to allow walkers to catch up.Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0030 (2)

I opted to experience to donkey cart ride on a section of the trail to rest my legs and to enjoy Gert’s dry humour and his interaction with the animals. On a rocky road, a donkey cart is a bumpy, bone jarring experience and not the most comfortable form of transport. Most reasonably fit hikers will probably opt to walk most of the route. It is a bit of fun however and amazing to see how these hardy animals keep their footing, negotiating the rough terrain with some steep slopes, particularly on the downhill sections. The Afrikaans term ‘stadig oor die klippe’ (slowly over the stones) comes to mind. Being a jeep track the walking is reasonably easy and it takes about three hours to cover the 12km distance.Cederberg Heritage Route - Dec 2014_0042

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Sevilla Trail – Cedarberg

The Cedarberg is always an amazing place to hike, make contact with nature and generally experience the outdoors. I expanded my own experience of this with a hike down the Sevilla Trail, led by Kevin Matheson of Afruka Eco Tours. It is an easy two hour walk that takes you to a series of nine sites of bushman paintings. There is a real feel of what it must have been like in the years before European settlers inhabited the Cape and the indigenous people lived off the land.

This is part of the experience offered by Kevin on the Cedarberg Wilderness overnight trip.

Slide show

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Sports Nut

A Two-Peat for Lance Armstrong?

You might think that, having won the Tour de France after nearly dying, Lance Armstrong would just sit back and enjoy the fame, the good wishes, and the money that’s coming his way. Even the Tour director, Jean-Marie Leblanc, sees it that way. He has begrudgingly ranked Armstrong only second going into this year’s Tour.

In fact, Armstrong has a lot of incentive to win this year’s Tour, which started July 1, and he’s very likely to do just that. Armstrong represents one of those rare cases when a human-interest story actually obscures a more interesting sports story. Does he have a strong will to live? Sure he does. But a strong will to live isn’t exactly a unique trait among young athletes, and it takes a lot more than that to win the 2,403-mile, three-week race.

In 86 editions, the Tour has produced only 18 repeat winners, a ratio of around 20 percent, not much different than the ratio of repeat men’s singles winners at the U.S. Open tennis championships. But the margin between winning and losing at the Tour is strikingly narrow. Last year, Armstrong was handed the overall winner’s various trophies (which range from a tasteful fruit bowl to some hideous Plexiglas constructions sporting Fiat logos) for completing 20 racing days in the shortest accumulated time: 91 hours, 32 minutes, and 16 seconds. The last-place finisher, a clownish yet oddly beloved Frenchman named Jacky Durand (he’s the Jerry Lewis of the Tour), took only three hours, 19 minutes, and nine seconds more, a margin of only 3.6 percent.

What makes the Tour uniquely suited to Armstrong is that it demands a combination of somewhat contradictory talents. There are three types of daily races (stages) in the Tour. The first type is the flat races that generally dominate the first week of the Tour. Flat stages generally finish with the riders in one huge group, making it impossible to gain any time advantage. For Armstrong and the other contenders, their only job is to stay out of trouble.

The next stage is the individual time trials held July 21, what the French never tire of calling “the race of truth.” It’s also the event where Armstrong has shown the most dramatic improvement. Until 1996, when he got sick, he was just one of the bunch when it came to time-trialing. But last year (after giving his wife’s lap dog a good-luck kiss), Armstrong humiliated the current time-trial experts on a 35.1-mile loop around Metz. Alex Zuelle, the second-place finisher and a leading time-trialist, was nearly a minute down, a yawning gap by Tour standards. Armstrong also broke a record on the same course set by the now retired Miguel Induráin, a five-time Tour champ from the early 1990s.

What brought about the change? Armstrong was always physically talented. But before his illness, that natural talent led him to believe that he knew everything about training and racing. While rebuilding his body after cancer treatment, a humbler Armstrong listened to his trainers, adopting a more efficient riding style (he previously had an aversion to riding in low gears) and better training techniques. Among other things, he now races less, rests more, and spends time riding the key portions of the Tour route in advance.

Armstrong’s cancer, in a perverse way, also helped him become better at the third stage of the Tour: the mountains. It’s rare to find riders who are good at both time trials and mountain racing. Time-trialers rely on power, and the races tend to be held on relatively flat terrain. Mountain racers need to be lighter. So time-trial specialists, such as Britain’s Chris Boardman, usually struggle when confronted with the varying pace of mountain stages.

Pre-cancer, Armstrong was known as a climber, but not the right kind. He was unusually good at sprinting up steep, short hills. But that skill was useless on the big Tour climbs that drag uphill for more than 10 miles. The cancer treatment, however, reduced much of Armstrong’s upper-body mass (a legacy from his early days as a triathlete). He has lost the muscles that would have been dead weight that he had to haul up the hills.

Armstrong has had a strong season this year. At the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré, an eight-day mini-preview of the Tour held in the Alps earlier this month, he announced that he wasn’t interested in winning. Despite slumming, he finished a strong third (behind Tyler Hamilton, one of his teammates on a very good American squad) and showed good form in the mountains. And, just to make a point, he destroyed the field in the opening time trial.

There are riders on other big teams who have the gift of being able to both climb and dash in the time trial. One of them is Bobby Julich, an American who crashed out of last year’s Tour. But he has been sick and injured for much of this season. Armstrong’s strongest competition will likely be Jan Ullrich, one of the last products of the former East German sports machine. Ullrich won the Tour three years ago but was out of commission in 1999. But he is not the tactical racer that Armstrong has become—he panics when the race doesn’t go his way. He’s also tends to show up overweight at the beginning of the season (thanks to his off-season regimen of whipped cream) and use races to get in shape, a habit that’s earned him the nickname “Fat-Boy Slim” among the Tour press.

Armstrong has another advantage this year: the power of negative thinking. There’s been a cold war between Armstrong and the French press since last year’s wildly inaccurate report in Le Monde that Armstrong had tested positive for steroids. But the cycling establishment’s skepticism about him dates back much further. Armstrong had joined a French-based team in 1996, just before he got his diagnosis. In public, the team was sympathetic. In private, it sent an agent to Armstrong’s hospital to renegotiate his contract. Armstrong vowed revenge and was particularly galled after the rest of Europe’s teams turned him down. Before last year’s Tour, he recalled telling himself, “I’m going to show them.”

He did show them. But Armstrong is aware that last year’s victory could still be considered a fluke, a feel-good story. A second Tour de France victory will go a long way to helping him get his revenge.


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Four Finger Wu
Appearance(s):  Sleeping Dogs
Full name:  Four Finger Wu
Status:  Alive
Gender:  Male
Date of birth:  1964
Home:  Hong Kong
Nationality:  Chinese
Main affiliation:  18K Triad
Businesses:  Organ Harvesting, Drug Trafficking

Four Finger Wu is a character in Sleeping Dogs. Wu is a Red Pole in the 18K Triad and he is mentioned throughout the game.

His first and only physical appearance is at the very beginning of the game, he attends the drug deal with Naz and Wei Shen with the intention of buying drugs, however the deal is interrupted by a security guard who Wu proceeds to kill. The Hong Kong Police Department, who had been watching the deal burst in, triggering Wu to flee the scene. Given the fact that he is mentioned again numerous times it appears he was not arrested, considering the police have footage of his savagely killing a man it is unknown how he has remained at large.

It is later revealed that Wu controlled an organ harvesting operation with Doctor Tsang. His men would kidnap and kill members of the Sun On Yee and give the bodies to Tsang who would then harvest the organs. Eventually Tsang would take up killing Triads himself, notably Vincent, and harvesting the organs after and sell them to Wu. Inspector Jane Teng put Wei on this case after finding out his friends had been victims. Wei unraveled the scheme and put an end to it.

He is also mentioned by Patsy Wang after her car is hijacked by Shen who is collecting the money she owes Roland Ho. She mentioned that Wu has drugs stored in her car and gives them to Wei as payment.

Mission Appearances

Sleeping Dogs


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The Solarium

The Solarium is great for those small intimate gatherings, seating up to 90 people with round tables. If theatre style is used for seating it can hold up to 120 people. The Solarium has the best of both worlds, the comfort of being indoors and the benefits of sunshine. The Solarium also has a lovely fireplace to add warmth and cosiness. It is perfect for any type of small gathering! Call us today at (807) 623-3354 to book your one on one appointment.

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Family Jamie Salmon (Host)
Lord Darkness (Father)
Occupation WOLFHOUND soldier
Powers and
All Plutonian powers
Played By Jamie Salmon
Status Alive
Last Seen (Goodbye)

Shadow is the spirit within Jamie when he was latched on to him on Dragon in Jamie's universe. Shadow is pure evil and has no regard for anyone else life. In attempt to take over the world. He tried to killed Zod and Lex. Shadow is easily stronger then Zod and more ruthless then Lex, neither which could hurt him.

Powers and Abilities Edit

Powers displayed in "Metropolis" are:

  • Umbrakinesis
  • Radiokinesis
  • Duplication
  • Ergokinesis
  • Flight
  • Ultra Strength
  • Super Speed
  • Super Hearing
  • Super Smell
  • Freeze Vision
  • Trichokinesis
  • Super Bite
  • Super Digestion - He displays this when eating Lex's Cybernetic Arm replacement and nearly eating Gold Kryptonite used on Zod.
  • Super Flight
  • Hyalokinesis
  • Necromancy
  • Empathy
  • Mediumship

Biography Edit

Shadow has no known physical appearance but all Plutonian's in Strike Universe a blue-coloured humanoid creatures. Though his personality displays as an evil, proud, arrognant, brave and destructive.


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Turkey allows internally displaced persons into Afrin and forces them to obtain "Kimliks"

تحرير محمد علاء | ترجمة نهى سالطي | تحرير الترجمة Freda Hocaine 🕔 تم النشر بتاريخ : 12 مايو، 2018 8:19:24 م تقرير دوليعسكرياجتماعيإغاثي وإنساني تهجير

Local and field news:

On Saturday, the Turkish authorities allowed convoys of internally displaced persons (IDPs) from the towns and cities of Southern Damascus to enter Northern Aleppo, Northern Syria, after initially banning them from entering for over six days.

Adel al-Dimashqi, an activist and a displaced man from Southern Damascus, reported that around 100 buses, carrying 2,133 people, including women, children, and fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA), headed from the Abu al-Zendein crossing for the Der Ballout village's camp in the Afrin area.

The Turkish Army pressures the IDPs from Eastern Ghouta and the people of Afrin to register their fingerprints, and have personal photographs taken, in order for them to obtain a "Kimlik," or "temporary protection document", which is a document that the Turkish government gives to refugees as a residency document.

IDPs from the groups stranded at the Abu al-Zindein crossing, west of al-Bab, 38 kilometers east of Aleppo, Northern Syria, complained over a lack of services while the Turkish government prevented them from entering the city of al-Bab, since the IDPs arrived had arrived in the area six days earlier.

Sources close to the IDPs said that Russia informed them that their condition will remain suspended until the Astana talks begin next month.

The Negotiation Committee of Southern Damascus, held Turkey responsible for the safety of the IDPs who have been stuck in the perimeter of al-Bab city for days.

In a statement obtained by SMART, the committee appealed to Turkey for it to allow the convoys entry into the area, also calling upon the people of Northern Aleppo to pressure Turkey.

Hundreds of tents in random camps near the city of Azaz, Northern Aleppo, Northern Syria, sank, as continuous rainfall in the area caused great flooding.

The floods washed away and destroyed dozens of tents in the Yaz Bagh camps near Azaz, in addition to damaging several cars, water and fuel tanks. No reports of casualties among civilians were given.

Also on Saturday, the spokesman of the al-Rahman Legion, Wael Alwan, reported that the legion accepted an invitation by the al-Moutasem Brigade to meet with the leaders of Jaysh al-Islam in Northern Aleppo, in order to maintain public interest and surpass the current situation, according to Alwan.

In Central Syria, the first group of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham's (HTS) fighters, along with civilians, left villages from near the city of al-Salamiyah, Hama, heading for Northern Syria, in accordance to an agreement with Russia.

Local sources reported that about 20 buses and several cars carrying more than 1,500 people, including HTS fighters and civilians, left through the village of al-Romailah, heading for the town of Mourik.

In Eastern Syria, an explosion occurred while a bulldozer was removing the rubble from a building in ar-Raqqah city center, killing two civilians and injuring several others. The cause of the explosion remains unknown.

Sources from ar-Raqqah reported that a big explosion occurred near the al-Dallah square in the city center, destroying a bulldozer belonging to the primary response team, while also removing the rubble of a destroyed building as part of reopening the city's 'streets project'.

الاخبار المتعلقة

تحرير محمد علاء | ترجمة نهى سالطي | تحرير الترجمة Freda Hocaine 🕔 تم النشر بتاريخ : 12 مايو، 2018 8:19:24 م تقرير دوليعسكرياجتماعيإغاثي وإنساني تهجير
التقرير السابق
وصول مهجري حمص إلى شمالي سوريا وإسرائيل تحشد قواتها على الشريط الفاصل مع الجولان المحتل
التقرير التالي
وصول مهجرين من وسط سوريا إلى شماليها وعشرات القتلى والجرحى بانفجارات وإطلاق نار في إدلب


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Strategic Planning-Introvert vs. Extrovert

 In Smith & Dale Blog

Introvert vs. Extrovert

Recently a board that I chair, Homicide Survivors, Inc. went through a strategic planning retreat. It was really great and got all of us on the same page and focusing on the future (We met at the Tucson Botanical Gardens and we got to monitor the Corpse Flower which was about to bloom-very cool) of our organization. One thing we did was rename and reorganize our committee structures. Kind of a cool idea, we now only have 3 committees:

1) Internal Affairs Committee
• Finance, HR, Facilities…
• Staffed by CFO and HR Director (or ED)

2) External Affairs Committee
• Fundraising, public relations, outreach, marketing…
• Staffed by the Development Director (or ED)

3) Governance Committee
• BOD health/functioning: recruits new members, conducts orientation, produces board materials, BOD evaluations
• Staffed by the ED (YES – the ED should participate in building the board)

We then all volunteered for the various committees…a funny observation was made. All of the introverts from our board selected Internal Affairs and the extroverts chose External Affairs!

This new structure is really going to streamline our efforts as we execute our Strategic Plan. Check out your committees…are they relevant? Are they working? Maybe a change is needed.

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Feeling nostalgic

After reading an interesting post about Another World (a great game from a few years back) on Binary Bonsai, I took a look at his about page. What caught my eye was his first "logged" entry on the Internet going back to 1996. So, being curious, I checked to see my earliest record and it goes all the way back to January 1994. Wow, two more months it will have been 12 years since that post. Don't I feel old now...

To feel just a little older, I used to be in the BBS scene. I even did ANSi art for awhile (yeah, the cool kids spell it with a lower case i). Unfortunately, I've lost all my stuff from back then. I did a search for my pseudynom at the time, The Kind King (don't ask), and was surprised to find an entry in Wikipedia. How wierd is that?

Anybody else feeling nostalgic?

Published November 13, 2005 · Updated September 14, 2006
Categorized as Writing
Short URL: https://snook.ca/s/453

5 Comments · RSS feed
Zach Inglis said on November 13, 2005

Oh how I loved Another World. And Flashback too!

I've only been on the web for about 8 years myself. :)

Michael Heilemann said on November 14, 2005

Glad I could help stir up memories of yonder. I myself was a BBS'er and did some ANSI and ASCII art, though regretably all of my stuff is also gone :(

Ben Kennedy said on November 14, 2005

Yep, me too...

My first access to the internet was via an insecure dial-up provided by a local crown corporation for its employees. There was an open telnet gateway, presumably intended for local login to machines on their WAN, but which worked for the general internet as well. Must have been around '92 or '93.

I ran my share of BBS's too; in fact, the last incarnation is still perfectly frozen in time on the 105 MB hard disk of my Amiga 500 which is still collecting dust. One day I just decided to turn it off.

Brent Wilcox said on November 14, 2005

Captain Willy remembers The Kind King - Much more kind than The Jester ever was :>

Frank Manno said on November 21, 2005

Hehehe, freaky! As I was reading the post, all those memories started coming back.

Here's the even freakier part: I too designed some ANSi art for KFMF. I did one of the FILE_ID.DIZ (remember those?!) designs that they used for a while, though I can't seem to find it anywhere.

Those were the days... Sitting on those 14.4k modems leeching away! hehe...

Nice post, Jonathan!

Sorry, comments are closed for this post. If you have any further questions or comments, feel free to send them to me directly.


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July 11, 2018 at 11:54 am

FK Partizani Tirana vs NK Maribor Betting Tips 12/07/

FK Partizani Tirana vs NK Maribor Today’s Soccer Prediction

Curiously, this year’s participation of FK Partizani in the European Cup came about. As a league finisher not qualified directly, Tirana benefited from the fact that champions Skënderbeu Korca had been excluded from UEFA because of a suspected manipulation of the international competitions. Accordingly lean in our view, the chances for Partizani on a success in the international arena, if you are already in the mediocre domestic league only average. 15 wins in the past season were eight draws and 13 defeats. Also in the preseason Tirana lost the first duel in the Europa League qualification with the Bulgarian club Botev Plovdiv. In the recent past, the club was the most successful in the European Cup season 2016/17. After a rise over Ferencváros in the Champions League qualifiers waiting in the third round Red Bull Salzburg. Naturally, the Austrians turned out to be too big a hurdle. Also in the playoff of the Europa League was against the Russian club FC Krasnodar final stop. The only international in the squad is goalkeeper Alban Hoxha. The most famous new addition to the team of coach Skënder Gega is Stefan Nikolić, who has already played in Belgium. The FK Partizani can point to a successful past. 15 capital titles celebrated the capital club, there were considerable 21 runner-ups. In addition, they won the cup competition 15 times. However, the emphasis is on the past: the last championship title comes from 1993, the last time Cup winner was the club 2004.

On the bench sits with Darko Milanic a well-known man. The Slovenian played successfully with Sturm Graz in the European Cup, trained the Graz later. Since 2016 he gives the instructions in Maribor. Under Milanic the club became champions in the first year. In the past season, the Marburg had to narrowly just behind the arch rival Olimpija Ljubljana queuing. Both clubs were equal at the end of the championship – for the Laibacher finally spoke only that they had won the direct duel thanks to the away goals rule. Maribor builds on Slovenian international Martin Milec (right-back), center-forward Luka Zahovic (son of Zlatko Zahovic, who now serves as sports director in the club) and midfield strategist Amir Dervisevic. In the attack you can also rely on Dare Vrsic, the former striker of the Vienna Austria. These are joined by talented U-national team. However, the crew plagued bad injury concerns. Above all, the defense is affected: Coach Milanic must probably on Denis Sme (Achilles heel problems), Kassim Doumbia (knee injury) and on Luka Uskoković (not yet fit after an operation). In last year’s Champions League season NK Maribor was represented in the group stage. Although they lost to Liverpool a 0: 7 swatter. With three 1-1 draws – twice against Spartak Moscow, Sevilla at home – the Slovenes but honored withdrew respectable from the affair. Maribor has been 14 times champion since independence (record), in the 1960s, the club even won even the title in the All-Yugoslav League. The knockout winner from this encounter will face either Chichura Satchchere, the Georgian Cup winner, or Beitar Jerusalem, Israel’s league rider of the past season, in the next round. Last year, Maribor eliminated an Israeli club in the playoff on their way to the Champions League with Hapoel Beer Sheva.

Soccer Prediction of the Day FK Partizani Tirana vs NK Maribor

We clearly see Maribor as favorites in this game. Considering also that the Slovenians played last year in the Champions League group stage and how happy the Albanians have ever slipped into the European Cup, is expected from an away win.

Prediction Today: NK Maribor

Odds: 1.60

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AAAHH! I’m Almost A High School Graduate!

I have a calendar in my bedroom. It’s this giant–well, not giant–calendar, I suppose, that  has all my favorite little due dates and events written all across the days; and they are numbered.

I was looking at this calendar yesterday, flipping forward through time to the month of May and thinking about what I wanted for my birthday when, out of nowhere, it hit me: I am going to graduate high school a week after my birthday, on May 27th!

“Oh, Mamma mia,” I said–then I passed out on the floor.

Correction: I did not pass out. Rather, I screamed in my brain–or my brain screamed in me?–and went to finish that darn math homework that I had been putting off for three days. So, yes, I did freak out. Everyone freaks out. But that’s okay. It’s only high school, after all.

Only high school?

I have to find a college!

I have to buy a house! Or an extremely cheap apartment with a dirtbag for a landlord!

I have to cook! And not Hot Pockets or Pop-Tarts!

I have to be a man!

How does that work, by the way? Do I grow a rug on my chest the night after graduation and find myself speaking like Christopher Reeves in Superman? Is my dad gonna leave a pair of boots outside my door with a note reading, “Son, it is time for these boots to be filled?”

High school is slowly slipping away…I think I might cry, tear up a little. I’m being taken willingly away from this minefield of social cliques where, if you have a wayward opinion, you’ll get the shit kicked out of you and be forced to eat it on a silver platter; where the food is–okay, the food is allright. Oh, sob, sob, tear; waterfalls from my eyeballs. Tell my principal to save a spot for me in the lunchroom for when I–oh, wait, I won’t be coming back.

At least in college, or, hopefully in college, there will be freedom and excellent food and magnificent teachers and Shetland ponies…and four quartz diamonds and…a pool shaped like a brain and filled with money?

Sorry, I was reading from the wrong script.

Someone traded me for Impossible Fantasies For When You’re Totally Broke.

Yay, college?

Think daily,

A Southpaw


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Tofu and broccoli green curry

  • Skill Easy
  • Prep time 10 mins
  • Cook time 15 mins
  • Servings 6

This Tofu and broccoli green curry is quick and easy to prepare, and makes a great mid-week meal.

  • 2 x 200g packs tofu curd, cubed
  • 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons peanut or vegetable oil
  • 1 shallots or small onion, peeled, finely chopped
  • 2-3 tablespoons green curry paste
  • 1 head broccoli, cut into florets
  • 150g snow peas, sliced
  • 1 cup (200g) fresh or frozen peas
  • 1 teaspoon raw sugar, optional
  • 4 cups (1 litre) So Good Regular soy milk
  • 1 lime or small lemon, juice of
  • To garnish, pea sprouts, shredded spring onion, fresh coriander leaves

  1. Toss the tofu cubes in soy sauce and leave to marinate for 15 minutes or so while you prepare the vegetables.
  2. Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan until hot. Drain the tofu cubes and stir-fry at a high temperature until well browned on all sides and just firm. Drain on kitchen paper towel.
  3. Wipe out the wok. Add the shallots and the green curry a paste and stir well. When the paste smells really fragrant, return the tofu to the wok and mix it into the paste, reheating the ingredients as you stir. Add the vegetables and continue to stir.
  4. Pour over the Sanitarium So Good Soy milk Regular. Season to taste with 1 teaspoon sugar if needed to reduce spice and balance flavour. Heat through for 5 minutes, until the vegetables are tender. Season finally with a squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
  5. Serve in a flat bowl garnished with pea sprouts and chopped coriander. Bowls of brown rice are the perfect accompaniment to the curry.

  • Make all year round by adding any seasonal greens to this soup.
  • Per Serve
  • Energy (kJ)
  • (Cal)
  • Protein (g)
  • Fat (g)
  • Saturated Fat (g)
  • Carbohydrate (g)
  • Sugars (g)
  • Dietary Fibre (g)
  • Sodium (mg)
  • Potassium (mg)
  • Calcium (mg)
  • Iron (mg)


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How PPAs Attract Investment in the Solar Industry

3rd Sep 18

Cameron Quin

Written by Cameron Quin

As we have discussed in previous articles, Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) make solar systems more accessible, eliminating the upfront cost for the client. Instead of paying for the solar array itself, the client pays for the electricity delivered each month. The provider is responsible for financing and maintenance in a solar PPA, and all the client must do is agree to purchase electricity for a minimum term established in the contract.

However, PPAs also provide a broader benefit for the solar industry in general: they draw capital towards the industry, by making solar projects more attractive for banks and investors. There are many reasons why investing in solar PPAs is more attractive than simply selling photovoltaic systems, or building solar farms to sell power in the wholesale market.

Solar Power System Are Reliable and Durable

When banks and investors provide capital to purchase or develop of an asset, they tend to prefer constructions and systems that will last a long time. Getting funding for new experimental technologies is difficult precisely for this reason – banks and investors are afraid that the project may fail, causing them to lose capital.

However, photovoltaic systems are no longer an experimental technology, since they have been field-tested in millions of projects around the world. In addition, if the equipment comes from established solar manufacturers, the warranties available are longer than the typical payback period of a photovoltaic array.

  • Solar modules typically have a 10-year warranty against manufacturing defects, and a 25-year warranty for energy output.
  • Complementary components such as inverters and batteries are also available with a 10-year service life.

In addition to using equipment with a long service life and solid warranties, photovoltaic arrays have very simple maintenance needs compared with other energy generation systems. When investors see a project that last long while demanding little attention, they are more likely to provide capital – consider that their money becomes the project, and equipment failures not covered by warranties are equivalent to losing money.

The durability of solar systems is a positive attribute from the investment standpoint, but another factor is necessary for an attractive business case: solar developers must find a way to maximise the financial returns from a photovoltaic system. There are many ways to make money from photovoltaic technology, but their profit margins differ.

Why Investors Like the Solar PPA Business Model

If solar systems are serviced properly, they have the same durability regardless of how their electricity output is used: self-consumption, sold privately to a third party, or sold to established power retailers in the wholesale market. However, selling privately to a third party through a solar PPA provides the most attractive business case for developers:

  • Selling and installing commercial solar systems can be a lucrative business, but the system provides no additional income for the provider once it is operational. There may be eventual maintenance services, but there is no guaranteed revenue after the sale.
  • Developing solar farms to sell power in the wholesale market provides a constant income, and the project can benefit from economies of scale. However, the wholesale power market is unpredictable, and there may be occasions when the output of a solar farm must be sold at a very low price. In cases of overproduction from many projects, the price may actually become negative!

For the company offering the service, a solar PPA provides two key advantages: guaranteed revenue for the duration of the PPA, and predictable income because the price is established when the contract is signed.

The client also wins with a solar PPA, since they can rely less on local power retailers and their confusing pricing schemes. Also consider that price conditions are established upfront in a PPA, while normal electricity tariffs can increase without warning in a short period of time – many Australians saw their power bills double in less than a decade!

The Solar Industry Can Grow Faster with PPAs

From the business standpoint, another advantage of solar PPAs is helping solar providers grow their client base faster. When the PPA business model is deployed, the potential market for photovoltaic systems becomes larger:

  • When a company is dedicated exclusively to selling solar arrays, the market is limited to clients with the capital to purchase them upfront, and clients who can access financing to pay the solar array with a loan.
  • However, after solar PPAs are introduced, the market become much broader: Potential clients who were unable or unwilling to pay for a solar system upfront can now get their benefits at zero upfront cost by signing a PPA.

A similar logic applies for large-scale solar farms. When a solar developer is only focusing on utility projects, their growth is slowed down by paperwork and regulations. On the other hand, solar PPAs with private clients can be approved and developed at a much faster rate, and they are free from the volatile pricing of the wholesale market.

Investors often demand minimum profits and growth rates before providing their capital for a business venture. When solar power systems are deployed through PPAs, meeting both conditions is much simpler, compared with developers who focus only on the wholesale power market, or those who simply sell photovoltaic systems.

The development of the solar PPA business model has been highly beneficial for the solar industry, accelerating growth globally. Solar PPAs represent one of those success cases where a business models benefits all the parties involved: investors get higher profits, solar installers gain access to a larger market and constant revenue sources, and clients go solar at zero upfront cost… while getting lower kWh prices that are not available from normal power retailers.

As the cost of energy storage decreases, the range of services available with solar PPAs will broaden. When the concept was first developed, solar PPAs could only offer cheaper and cleaner electricity during daytime. However, when batteries are added to the mix, solar systems can become a 24/7 power source and a backup system during electric service interruptions.

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Guest Post: Ft. Bliss Army Post

Hi guys!  I am in California for vacation and wanted to have a few guest posts share with you about where they call home at the moment!  If you would like to guest post about your duty station or location, please email me at soldierswifecrazylife (at) gmail (dot) com :)

My next guest post is from Sarah who blogs at My Life, Army Style.

HomepageSlideshow8aI have been an Army wife for 5 years now and I definitely view this life as an adventure. I currently live in El Paso/Ft. Bliss, TX with my husband and 3 adorable cats, and my blog is quite a random mixture of food, life updates, opinion pieces, and the military.

Hello from Ft. Bliss!

I’m excited to be participating in this guest series introducing various duty stations, and I will go ahead and announce up front that this review is going to be mostly positive. =)

Ft. Bliss is definitely an Army post that has gotten a pretty bad rap over the years. I got quite a few “Ugh, I’m sorry” responses when I found out we were moving there. I think part of this came from back when it was just a small, old Air Defense post, but it has grown SO MUCH in the past few years.

Last year they finished a brand new PX/commissary/theater/restaurants/shopping plaza called Freedom Crossing, and it is unlike anything on any other military installation at this point in time. Check out the link for it below and prepare to be jealous! The theater is fantastic and shows movies as soon as off-post theaters do. Restaurants currently include Buffalo Wild Wings, an Irish Pub, Dairy Queen, Smashburger, and a sushi place, along with the usual PX food court options, and Texas Roadhouse will be opening a location soon as well. It is always a happening place to be on weekend evenings, reminding me of a mini downtown city center. The gyms are all new or recently remodeled, nicely outfitted, and offer outstanding options for fitness classes and events. None of them offer childcare but there are CDCs nearby. Bliss is very good at planning fun events throughout the year and there is always plenty going on for families to do.

Housing is decent on post. Availability is low right now due to some units being moved here from overseas, but it is beginning to level out. A few neighborhoods are old and need remodeling, and do not seem to be worth BAH from what I have heard. But higher enlisted and officer housing is very nice. An advantage to Bliss is that finding nice, affordable neighborhoods off post is not very difficult. There are many parts of town that are safe and nice-looking, within 15-20 minutes from post.  Schools on post and off seem to be rather hit or miss, just like any post or large city, and seem to boil down to individual experiences most of the time. I do not have any kids though so this is an area I’m not very familiar with.

The city of El Paso can be a little difficult to get accustomed to, but if you go into it with an open mind and a determination to appreciate something different, it is very likeable! There is plenty of shopping, including 3 malls and one outlet mall, a thriving downtown area with lots of events and concerts, incredible food (and not just Mexican, although there is certainly plenty of that!), and plenty of outdoor opportunities in the immediate area and within a few hours of driving distance.  The city takes safety very seriously and as such there is very little to worry about despite being so close to such a turbulent border city as Juarez.  Some people find the scenery here to be ugly and the weather intolerable, but I personally think the mountains and desert views (and the sunsets/sunrises!) to be breathtaking, and the dry heat is so much easier to take than the humid summers elsewhere in the country. And you will certainly never be low in Vitamin D! =)

I hope this gives you a little peek into what it’s like at Ft. Bliss, TX and if you ever get orders here, remember this Army wife has no horror stories to share! =)

(Visited 1,399 times, 1 visits today)

Tell me what you think!

7 thoughts on “Guest Post: Ft. Bliss Army Post”

  1. Thanks so much for the review! We are moving in July from being at Bragg for 9 years, and have heard alot of bad reviews too. So this makes me feel better. I’m going to try to make the best of it no matter what I entail! Thanks again!

  2. Oh bless you for this blog!! We are currently stationed in Hawaii and Ft. Bliss was the last place the we expected to go. I’ve always heard bad things about Bliss, so I’m elated to hear such good reviews! Thank you so much and I definitely plan on going in with an open mind.

  3. I’m glad it has been a positive experience for you. Not so for me. We live in the old rundown housing. It is definitely NOT worth the BAH. I spend most of my days sweeping up sand that blows in through the closed doors & windows during the wind/sand storms. When does the wind NOT blow here? Old housing is a NIGHTMARE. (Toilets don’t flush, cinder block walls, old rickety windows that don’t lock… I could go on & on & on)I don’t really care about freedom crossing or the malls off post. Those things still don’t male me like it here. It’s so brown & desolate. I was desperate to see real trees & real grass. Anything green. Thankfully, my husband found out about cloudcroft New Mexico. If you can bare the 1 1/2 escape through the desert, it is rather refreshing. Other than that, I cannot WAIT to leave this place. I will probably kick my heels up in sheer glee when we get orders to ANYWHERE else.

    • Same, I miss seeing life and green. I’d give up this dry heat for humidity in a split second. I had nose bleeds and headaches for the first 7 months here in El Paso. I feel like I’m trapped in a sand globe.

  4. Hi there,I log on to your blog named “Guest Post: Ft. Bliss Army Post – Soldier’s Wife, Crazy Life” regularly.Your writing style is awesome, keep doing what you’re doing! And you can look our website about proxy list.

  5. This is a great post, and I’m glad to see Bliss get some positive reputation. We were stationed there for 6 years! Like you said, you have to look at it with an open mind and it could turn out great. In fact, we kept our house there (we rent it out) encase we want to move back when we get off this crazy rollercoaster!

    One of the biggest complaints is that it is dry, and I can’t argue with that. But I will say that dry means no humidity, and dry means no allergens in the air. All in all, I have loved on much worse bases. I will also agree that the old on post housing are is really dumpy but they are working on that!

  6. The Military Guide is the sole source of information for all military courses and occupations evaluated by the American Council on Education (ACE).

    Guy Tells Stranger Hes Sleeping With Soldiers Wife, Instantly Regrets It kissing couple.

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Tampa FL, USA: Flying into TPA for some Rays baseball, 18 – 20 September 2015

It’s one of my close friend’s birthday, and as a treat, I decided to use my Delta Skymiles to fly us to Tampa, so he can attend games for his favorite MLB team – Tampa Bay Rays.

18 September 2015: Seattle, WA – Tampa, FL (direct on Alaska, redeemed with 12500 Delta Skymiles

19 September 2015: Tampa, FL

20 September 2015: Tampa, FL – Seattle, WA (direct on Alaska, redeemed with 12500 Delta Skymiles)

This isn’t a spectacular redemption or anything, but I am happy with it, because I got him a direct flight from Seattle to Tampa, on one of the best domestic carriers – Alaska, as opposed to my epic, multiple connection redemption to Panama City (SIX different airports! SIX!!!!).

I bought a ticket on Alaska separately for this trip ($385 initially), and used the $100 airline fee credit gift card trick from my AMEX PRG sign-up to offset some of the cost. After learning about the Alaska Airlines Lowest Price guarantee from this informative blogpost, I watched the airfare on Google Flights, and managed to get back $58 in Alaska credits, bringing the actual cost of this flight to ~$227 USD. That’s not too shabby for a 5 hr non-stop flight!

USA: Day trip to San Francisco CA, 13 September 2015

San Francisco

Taking advantage of the Delta Award sale, I redeemed 10,000 Delta points for a same-day round-trip ticket to San Francisco. I had to plan this quite well, as my main goal was to check out AT&T Ball Park, and so, I had to ensure that I flew in on a day when the Giants were playing a day game at home. The stars aligned for today.

San Francisco

Getting to downtown San Francisco

Getting from SFO airport to downtown is easy. I took the free AirTran to the BART, which sells tickets at the station, and bought a ticket with my Citi credit card to cash in on the 3X transport bonus to Embarcadero ($8.65 – one-way, a fare chart is by the side of ticket booths), as I planned on eating lunch near there before making my way to the game.

Just a small note – you might want to get round trip tickets if you know your plans in advance. I had a lot of trouble locating a machine that took credit cards when I was buying my ticket back from the Montgomery Street Station. I had to try about 7 machines before I got one that took credit cards. The rest took debit/ATM cards. Weird. You do not get a discount for getting round trip tickets.

San Francisco

The BART trains are rather oldish, but comfortable. My tushy appreciates the padded chairs! The train to/from the airport runs every 15-20 min, and the journey takes about 30 mins. The signs should be fairly self-explanatory, and the driver makes announcements at every station.

AT&T Park

I was trying to eat lunch at Rubio’s, which was featured on Business Insider, but guess what? The Embarcadero location is closed on Sundays. Grr!!! It was nice to check out the Ferry Terminal building, and the buildings on Market Street, nevertheless. After striking out on my lunch plans, I simply walked along the waterfront to AT&T park. It was a pretty nice walk, where you see a mixture of older buildings, along with those modern tall glass buildings. I would say it was a 15-20 min leisurely stroll. San Francisco

San Francisco

San Francisco also has a bike share program alike Seattle (well, Seattle probably copied them, whatever). It costs $9 for 24 hrs, and you can check them out for 30 min stretches, but I have severely strained quad muscles, so riding a bike didn’t seem like such a good idea. So, stroll, it was. There are a number of little eateries along the way, if you want to get your munchies in before going to the ballgame.

I would say I generally liked AT&T park. At the bleachers, it has some nice views of the bay. My friend, who attended a game some time back at the terrace level, didn’t like how he couldn’t get to certain places because of his ticket. I was mostly on the main level with my bleacher ticket, and I thought it was kinda nice. The AT&T Park children’s play area also looked cooler than the Safeco field play area.

One of the nice things about the bleacher area is that, there’s a dining area behind the bleachers. While you cannot watch the game from this dining area, it has picnic tables, and a nice selection of interesting food options (i.e. not just ballpark food) – a crab shack, a seafood stand, a BBQ place, and a taco place. I got a crab and shrimp sandwich ($13.50) from Crazy Crab, which I thought was tasty and fresh.

One small little tip about drinks at the ballpark. They do have soda machines near the kids’ play area, and they sell bottled sodas for $3, and take credit cards as well. I would highly suggest this option, if you want to save some money, but don’t want to drink water either. It is a good deal for ballparks, considering how watered down sodas in cups full of ice cost at least $5.50 usually. If you did not get a chance to see/get on a cable car, they do have a sample cable car by the bleachers.

San Francisco

San Francisco

Unfortunately, after 7 innings, I had to leave, as I did want to check out other parts of San Francisco as well. I walked down 3rd Street, towards Market Street (and Mission Street further south), where the BART runs underground, as I was planning on catching the BART back to the airport. I was gonna check out a cafe, and do some writing in a cafe, but wound up at Ghirardelli chocolate cafe. Apparently, a store attendant handing out free chocolate is all it takes for me to walk into a store! In the short time that I was here, I did like the buildings clustered around Market Street. They have the early 1900s flavor, with ornate carvings, high ceilings. It is a shame that I had so few hours in San Francisco!

Flight: $11.20 + 10000 Delta Skymiles

To/From SFO – San Francisco: $17.30

Lunch: $13.50 + $3

Ballpark tickets: $16

Hot chocolate: $5

Total: $66 + 10000 Delta Skymiles

Sea Salt Caramel Hot Cocoa at Ghirardelli, San Francisco (Met Trust building in reflection)

San Francisco, USA: Day trip to AT&T Ballpark, 13 September 2015

Delta Airlines is having a mileage and airfare sale. There are one-way fares going for 5,000 miles. I had 10,000 Delta miles lying around, which wasn’t good for anything (most domestic one-way airfares start at 12,500 miles), so I jumped on this deal. Because accommodations in San Francisco are prohibitively expensive, I decided to book a day trip to San Francisco, to accomplish one of my side projects – visiting all the MLB parks in the US! I found two non-stop one-way tickets, with the first arriving in SFO at 10.45 am, and the second one-way ticket leaving SFO at 7 pm. That’s time enough for me to take in the 1 pm game, and do some sightseeing around San Francisco!

So, for 10,000 Delta Skymiles and US 11.20, San Francisco, here I come!

Stuff I want to do:

1. Eat In&Out again

2. Ride the cable car

3. Check out a coffee shop

4. Watch a Giants game.

Taiwan – Taipei & Taoyuan, 17 October 2012

Today was sorta my day, so I tried to balance fun and work. The night before, I spent time researching about food in Taipei, and stumbled upon this excellent food blog – A Hungry Girl’s Guide to Taipei, and with some luck, she actually reviewed a Mexican place a couple of days before. I have been craving Mexican for the longest time, so I showed up when Juanita Burritos & Tacos opened at 11 am. It looks very much like a Chipotle, and tastes very much like it, too. I was very happy with my soft tacos, and tried their offering of steak, chicken, and carnitas. It was probably a little pricey for Taiwan (8 USD/260 TWD for three tacos and drink), but cravings don’t really have a price. Go check out their Facebook page if you want to learn more. The walk on the alley towards Juanita was also really interesting – there are plenty of cute cafes. I’d really love to check them out in a future visit!

After a snack, I settled down and worked for some two hours. This was followed by another trip to Taroko sports for another round of batting practice. Apart from doing my softball practice, I also tried the 80 kmph baseball cage. Man, that really scared me. I made NO contact, and for the first five pitches, was scared shitless. Really gotta admire baseball players who stand and face 90 mph fastballs! But it was a good experience.

After my little exercise, it was time for more excitement. Last year, I went to a Taiwanese professional baseball game between the Uni Lions and Elephants Brother. This year, I was in time for the Taiwan Series (sorta the Taiwanese version of USA’s World Series) to see the clash between the Uni Lions and the Lamigo Monkeys at Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium. It was interesting to see the changes to Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium. For one, they actually built the outfield stands, which I ended up sitting at. Probably not the best idea, given the drizzle. They also added a large TV screen, and I’m not sure if they do it all the time, but they actually had fireworks when the home team (Lamigo Monkeys) hits a home run.

Apart from the infrastructural changes, the atmosphere was also certainly different. The Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium is actually the real home stadium of the Lamigo Monkeys, and a lot of the Lamigo Monkeys’ supporters are from Taipei and Taoyuan. Needless to say, they came out in full force. Almost all the lower infield seats were filled up, and Monkeys fans also peppered the outfield stands. It sure was rowdy!

One of the many alleys in Zhongxiao area

An Alley Scene in Taipei (Zhongxiao E Road area)

Juanita Burrito & Tacos

Juanita Burritos & Tacos

Tacos from Juanita - steak, carnitas, chicken

Mmmm, tacos – steak, chicken and carnitas

Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium from the Outfield Stands

Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium

Taiwan Series 2012 - between Lamigo Monkeys and Uni Lions

Taiwan Series 2012 – Between the Uni Lions and Lamigo Monkeys

Taiwan – Taipei, 25 August 2011

Today was mostly a travel day. We flew by Cathay Pacific from Singapore to Taiwan, which meant that there was a stopover in Hong Kong, to change plans for our trip to Taipei.

We arrived in San Want Hotel in the heart of Taipei on Zhongxiao East Road at around 4 pm. It was located directly above Zhongxiao Dunhua station on the Taipei metro, making it really convenient to get around. It’s also a bustling shopping street for shopaholics, and the rooms are pretty nice. Recently, I’ve been hitting the gym, and I checked out the gym, which small as it was, was adequate with two good treadmills and a stationery bike.

Despite it being a travel day, it wasn’t a wasted day. My parents and the rest of my family went off to Danshui, while I decided to go check out some Taiwan professional baseball . They had a game going on in Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium, which was about 20 mins from Taipei via the High Speed Rail. They had a game going on that evening, between the Uni Lions and the Brother Elephants. I managed to get a student concession ticket for about 8 USD.

The ballpark was nice, but definitely way smaller than MLB stadiums. There are built more like college baseball stadiums, and the concession stands available were also kinda like that. So there were say, about six to seven concession stands. On a bright note, things were actually reasonably-priced in the ballpark, and I had the Taiwanese version of hotdog, which was a spicy sweet Taiwanese sausage wrapped in a glutinous rice sausage, that set me back by about 1.50 USD.

One of the things that Taiwanese baseball has going for it, is its incredible cheering. It was quite a mega affair. They have like a life band (like the school version), guys waving flags (at least three), and a guy yelling out team cheers with a loudhailer. The fans follow the commands of the guy with the loudhailer. It is really quite a sight to behold! Some of them include, “Get a hit, XXX [insert player’s name]” or “Hit a homerun, XXX [insert player’s name]”, and all the fans will chant that in unison. A second note about the fans – there are more stadiums than there are teams in Taiwanese professional baseball, and these stadiums are spread all over Taiwan. Some of the teams actually follow their team from stadium to stadium. That’s some true commitment there!

I didn’t stay to the end of the game. But it was definitely a good experience for me. Now, Korea is next on the list, and I’ll be done with Asian professional baseball!

Room in San Want Hotel

Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium

Taiwanese Version of Hotdog

Very impressive cheering in Taiwanese professional baseball


text:
Edin’s Hall Broch

Last week Stephen took me to Edin’s Hall Broch.   He had discovered it on one of his longer walks, but I had never been there before – indeed, had never even heard of it.

As it turns out, Edin’s Hall Broch is a very remarkable place, and I am surprised more people don’t know about it.  Or perhaps they do.  Perhaps it’s just another closely guarded Borders/Northumbrian secret.

For those of you who (like me) don’t even know what a broch is, here is a brief summary of received internet wisdom.

There is much debate about their function and purpose.  What is agreed is that they are only found in Scotland, they are superb examples of drystone architecture, and they are round.  Nobody is sure whether they were built for defensive purposes or to be lived in as farmsteads.

But ooooh – I do love the word “Broch”!  I roll it round my lips and savour the sound – quite different from any other word I know. Stephen in Edin's Hall Broch It wasn’t really that special a day to be out.  As you can tell from our photos, the day was dull, and it was quite sharply cold for May.  But it was still a comfortable – and very interesting – walk from the carpark, about a mile and half from the ruins.

After a short walk through a forested area, you cross the Whiteadder Water by the Elba Footbridge.  The Whiteadder Water then runs parallel to the walk as you climb the hill up to the broch.Crossing Elba footbridgeThe Whiteadder Water is magnificent here, swirling dramatically over craggy rocks.  But, wait – is there a yellow conspiracy afoot?!  There’s masses of gorgeous clumps of golden scented gorse, many of the trees are in that early flush of colour when the leaves are transparent yellowy-pale-green, – and to cap it all we saw a Yellow Wagtail bobbing around on the rocks in the stream! Looking down at the Whiteadder waterWhere the scenery wasn’t yellow and green, it was silvery-white.  The lichen is as much an ornament on these blackthorn trees as their own blossom.Lichen on treeOur route takes us on up and up.  The sheep gaze down anxiously at us from the ridge, not sure whether we are friend or foe.  Don’t worry, sheepy friends, we’re travelling up to the right of this pylon.

Ah yes, this pylon.  We were happily admiring the beauty and wildness of the place when we realised that there was a huge great plonking pylon – no, a chain of pylons striding across the valley.  How fascinating that we’d subconsciously “subtracted” it from our awareness.  How strange too that we object to wind farms but seem oblivious to these earlier man-made monstrosities.Pylons, sheep and gorseThe way is well-signposted.  But look behind the sign, and there’s a telling indication of modern farming.  That’s the old drystone wall broken and crumbling, and it’s been superceded by an ugly barbed-wire fence (which you can just see in the foreground of the photo).  How very sad.Route sign to Edin's Hall BrochNature gives and it takes.  En route we found evidence of the harsh reality of nature red in tooth and claw.  Somebody’s dined here….perhaps the sparrowhawk we saw wheeling above?Nature red in tooth and clawHowever the kindly sheep have left me some lovely bits of fleece to collect – it’s the softest and cleanest fleece I have found out and about for a long time.  Wish I could catch a sheep to take some more fleece home with me!fleeceFinally, we get to the top of the hill, and there – amid a lot of other stone ruins (it’s a prehistoric hill fort) – is Edin’s Hall Broch!  (You get a really good idea of the whole site with this aerial picture on the Welcome to Scotland website.)Approaching Edin's Hall BrochThe people who built this place knew about dry stone walls – they could teach modern farmers a thing or two.  Just look at the size of the stones at the base of this building!huge stones at base of wallsThe size of the walls too is enormous – at their maximum they are over 5 metres wide.thick wallsThere’s a proper entrance, and what must be a front door slab lying on the ground beside.entrance to Edin's Hall BrochOn either side of the front entrance, there are guard rooms.entrance to guard roomsSet in these huge walls around are well-built steps and more rooms. stone steps Perhaps the most intriguing thing about this place is that this is one of only a handful of brochs in the Lowlands.  They are mostly found in northern western Scotland.   And this broch is not like the northern brochs – it’s too large in diameter for starters, so there are doubts that it was ever roofed.  As you will see on the information board reproduced below, Historic Scotland have come up with the hypothesis that somebody in the 2nd century AD travelled south bringing broch-building skills with them and adapted them to this Border locality.Historic Scotland information boardWho knows?

What we do know, however, is that when this site was first excavated in the late 19th century, a number of artifacts were found (these were donated to the Museum of Scotland).  They include a stone spindle whorl, a piece of jet ring, an amber bead, an oyster shell, bones and a fragment of a glass bracelet.  Very much the normal sort of possessions of people’s lives – food, ornamentation, and the means to clothe oneself.

I’d read about spindle whorls recently in Rebecca’s Needle and Spindle blog.  She describes so clearly what an vital part they had to play in basic survival tactics – and that would have been especially the case in these colder northern climes.

So – I’m once again stretching my imagination back to the people who lived here, and I’m finding that they (like me) enjoyed a bit of bling.  Ancestors of the modern sheep grazing around would have been of value to them for clothing – just as they are to me.

The modern world interrupts my old-times reverie. Well – a slightly more modern world.  Down through the trees, on the other side of the Whiteadder Water, there’s a glimpse of an intriguing house – actually another Round House.  Apparently it’s The Retreat, built in the late 18th century by the Earl of Wemyss as a shooting lodge.  You can’t help wondering if he was referencing the round broch on the opposite hill in his choice of architecture……  It looks very comfortable and well-appointed compared to the exposed stony broch of the ancients.looking down at The Retreat


text:
Making conversation

Is it global warming? Or just coincidence? Or a blip? The trees this autumn are GORGEOUS. We went down to Winchester on Thursday so I could do a talk with Barry Cunningham at the Wessex Festival and the whole journey was like something out of a documentary about New England in the Fall. Which, if you’ve never been, is GORGEOUS. Red, yellow and gold and gob-smackingly stunning. It’s impossible not to be uplifted after a journey like that.

Especially when you have Barry Cunningham waiting for you at the other end. Barry is nothing if not a crowd-pleaser. He mentioned the bit where Jo Rowling (she’s ‘Jo’ to her friends, apparently) rang him up and talked about … something. I think we were all too busy going WOW at the ‘rang me up’ part.

We then chatted – that’s me and Barry, not me and ‘Jo’, who is still JK to me – about the ins and outs of writing a book and getting it published. Barry was very accomplished and technical and informative and I was the one going Well, it was HARD, but it was AMAZING. What else can you say? I think I said a lot more stuff, actually, but I can’t remember what it was.

The best bit was afterwards. Our audience had been the good people of Winchester and thereabouts who are trying to write, or thinking about writing books for children. Winchester is a hotbed of children’s writing. I had no idea. Some of them came up to talk about where they were up to, and what they wanted to do next, and how they were dealing with the struggle of getting to the end of the story. It was a mini self-help group for writers and simply wonderful to be a part of it. I hope my story gave them the courage to keep going because you can make it happen – oh yes you can.

It helps if you have Barry on your side. Oh, here’s a tip from the talk: do not send in your manuscript with a covering letter merely saying ‘Read my book’, as some people do. It will elicit the response of ‘Make me.’ Or even ‘Shan’t.’ Barry is a busy man, with lots of other manuscripts on his desk. He needs to be persuaded that yours will be interesting, and that you are interesting too. (But you might need to wait until spring to do it. The current Times/Chicken House competition closed yesterday, I believe, and the next one will start in March sometime. If you’re entering, GOOD LUCK.)

What else? I think the plot for book 4 has finally come together. Hallelujah! Mind you, I often think that so we’ll see if I agree with myself in the morning … Meanwhile, Threads is coming out in Brazil in a couple of weeks. Yay! Stupidly excited about this. Brazil! Where the nuts come from. (And gazillions of YA readers, apparently. Go all of you!). Sequins, Stars and Spotlights is already starting to sell on Amazon despite not being out for another three months. Fascinating. Sorry to anyone who’s waiting. I’ll put an extract on the threadsthebook website soon to keep you going. And the cover of Threads in the US (where it’s Sequins, Secrets and Silver Linings) has been slightly tweaked to bring out Nonie’s fashion conscience. She’s now wearing a badge saying ‘Make Clothes Not War’. It’s brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Why didn’t I think of that? I spent ages thinking of slogans and I never thought of that one. Art direction guys at Scholastic, I salute you. I’ll have to get my very own badge made to match it. It all comes down to accessories in the end.

If in doubt, add an aunt

Children in Ireland write a lot of stories. This is one of the things I learned on the Wildest Dreams tour. Nobody, this time, wanted to know what my favourite colour was, or whether I have bodyguards (they’re taking tea with the chauffeur, by the way). Instead, many of them wanted to know how to end a story if you’re stuck, or how to get beyond through the middle ‘when you get to that bit when you’re bored with the plot’.

Oh, I know, I know … I gave them many serious answers, based on personal experience, about keeping going regardless, falling in love with your characters, not underestimating your readers and including a twist. Sarah and Judi suggested practical things like giving your character a problem to solve. None of us suggested what the teachers wanted to hear, as it turned out, which is ‘Don’t end with “And it all turned out to be a dream.”‘ But don’t. Everyone else in your class is doing it. It’s boring, strangely predictable and leaves the reader feeling cheated of a proper solution to the puzzle you’ve created. They did in in Dallas in about 1984 (in which a whole series turned out to have been a dream – mucho annoying). It didn’t work then and it doesn’t work now.

But, as Carrie Bradshaw says, it got me thinking. How do authors get over these obstacles? Do they even experience them, or is it just me? Then, thanks to David Maybury (from Dublin – many good things come from Dublin) I came across this interview with Eva Ibbotson, just before  she died last week.

“When I get stuck in a book now, I usually try putting an aunt in,” says Eva Ibbotson, matter-of-factly. “I find it difficult to write a book without aunts. With The Ogre I had to put in three aunts, if I remember rightly.”

I had actually seriously considered this as a problem-solver for book 4. So glad I’m not alone. So glad, in fact, that I’m in such exalted company. A few months ago I was visiting a school in Cheltenham and a couple of girls told me that their favourite author (apart from me – go YOU girls, I LOVE you) was Eva Ibbotson. Actually, they may have mentioned she was slightly more favourite. And that their favourite book of hers was Journey to the River Sea.

Reader, I got that book out of the library pronto – already loving Eva’s glorious prose – and it’s  magical. The characters are gorgeous. The story is thrilling. The South American jungle setting is unforgettable. It’s up there as one of those works I aspire to one day, when I get serious.

In the interview with Michelle Pauli for The Guardian, Eva said she was hugely influenced by The Secret Garden, among other books, when she was growing up. A woman after my own heart. She died at 85, having approved the proofs for her latest book.

I have a great Aunt Eva who is still going strong at 91 (she mowed the lawn just before we visited her this summer and kept us entertained for hours with family stories). She makes 85 seem not such a great age, but it’s not a bad one for a working writer. I’d love to think that among my final moments I’ll be telling an eager interviewer from The Guardian about my plotting secrets after 4 decades of happy writing. And that they will include aunts, and plenty of them.

Authors at work

You may think that going on tour in Ireland with two other lady writers is a matter of sitting around in lovely restaurants, eating incredible Irish food, chatting about our books and our children and driving past Bono’s house to admire the view.

OK, it is.

But it’s also HARD WORK, I’ll have you know. There is setting up to do in various theatres and bookshops. Then there is taking down. We have hundreds of girls and boys to talk to (true – that bit’s easy and highly enjoyable). We have to sign and sign and sign and sign. You think we enjoy this?

All right, we love it. But it’s still work, OK?

Here are some pictures of us doing it. For more, look me up on Facebook and see the album I’ve just uploaded. Check out Judi’s hair – it’s gorgeous.

As is Bono’s house. (From the outside. We didn’t meet up with him and get invited for a tour round. Although a girl can dream.)

And it’s not over yet. If you’re in Dublin, come and meet us at BT2 on Grafton Street tomorrow (Saturday) between 1 and 3. There’s a fashion show on too, apparently, and Paula Reed from Grazia will be there. Not Bono, as far as I know. But I’m still dreaming.

Back soon

The bag is packed. The boarding passes are printed. I have a full itinerary, two copies of my presentation on memory sticks, travel conditioner and a book to read on the plane. The four year-old knows not to expect me to tuck him in tomorrow night and is fine with it. I am, in a word, ready.

Tomorrow, I’ll be landing in Shannon and from then on I’ll be travelling to places with mythical connotations: Limerick, Cork, Dun Laoghaire, Dublin. If I don’t see at least one magical creature, I’ll be sorely disappointed.

By day, I’ll be wearing my best black tights and some of my highest heels, and introducing unsuspecting Irish teenagers to the delights of Threads. By night, I’ll be partying on down (I hope – either that or sharing a quiet nightcap) with some wonderful writers, bloggers, children’s book programme managers and other lovely booky people. If there’s any time left over, I’ll be worrying about the plotting of book 4, but I don’t think there will be.

The Wildest Dreams tour is about to begin. Back soon.

Pure poetry

Well, that was a terrible day in north London …

ONLY KIDDING, MIN. It was fantastic. Again. But the librarian at Northwood College was reading this blog last night and was worried that I might say something awful about today’s visit. As if.

I do occasionally hear horror stories about authors visiting schools. I liked the one I heard today about an author who spent an hour vividly conjuring up his books and his life, only to face one, solitary question at the end. It was ‘Can you swim?’.

But so far this hasn’t happened to me. The girls at Northwood were, to a girl (and there were lots and lots of them), fabulous: bright, engaged, enthusiastic and interesting. Nobody once asked about my athletic abilities, but we did talk quite a lot about books and writing.

On the way home, I was confronted by pictures of David Cameron saying ‘Your country needs you’ and looking determined and grim. Well, all I can say is, by the time the country needs all the teens I meet on a regular basis travelling round it, it will be in fabulous shape. We are educating a bunch of wonderful young people. We’ll be fine.

It was National Poetry Day today, in case you hadn’t noticed, so Min introduced me with a limerick. It’s an old favourite of mine and here it is:

There was a young lady from Ryde
Who ate a bad apple and died
The apple fermented
Inside the lamented
And made cider inside ‘er inside.

It is actually quite difficult to feel depressed about anything after a few decent limericks. Perhaps they should be prescribed. “Your country needs you. And a bit of poetry.”

My secrets for successful children’s authors events …

  1. If you are six foot seven, heavily bearded, vastly experienced (like Philip Ardagh) and talking to a hundred primary school children, feature pants heavily in your talk. Lots of pants. Preferably second hand ones – or second ‘bottom’ ones. Read from the book in which the main character falls to his death in the first paragraph. Make the children gasp and laugh so loudly their teachers look slightly worried … and relax.
  2. If you are somewhat shorter, devoid of facial hair and still working on it, listen to the advice of a local bookseller (thanks, Jo) and make the children work.

Or in my case, Year 9s from Our Lady’s. A fantastic group of lively, talented girls who’d read Threads, understood the characters and picked up loads of details about them, which was going to prove important later. I totally had the best class to work with. Not that I met the other classes, but my girls were brilliant.

We made mood boards – one for each character. I say ‘we’. The girls did all the work and I wandered around, chatting. The results looked like this:

While we (they) worked, I also answered questions. I love it when someone wants to know what happens next. I spend so much of my life thinking about what that might be – it’s great to be able to share my obsessions. It was a totally fun way to spend an hour in a tent.

We were doing it in Hoxton Square, as part of the StarLit festival. It had a real festival feel, in the sense that there were lots of tents, and it was muddy. Very muddy. All it needed was Kate Moss in Hunter wellies and it could have been Glastonbury. With books. It was amazing. I hope I get the chance one day to do it again.

My Timberlands, caked in cool Hoxton mud

My unmuddy Topshop top half, back home recovering

Then I had to head off to do an interview with a secret source who’s helping me with research for book 4. Book 4, by the way is HARD. Bringing new characters to life is painful and demanding. I met up with a new author called JP Buxton at StarLit over lunch, and we mutually bemoaned how difficult it is to rework the magic after the first series is over. It was like a support group for writers. (His first book – I Am The Blade – sounds fantastic, by the way. If you’re into Arthurian legends, check it out. He also has mad hair, which I approve of.)

Anyway, back to my secret interview. It was fascinating. So good that the women at the tables either side of us were leaning forward several degrees to catch what we were saying. The actual writing part may be tough, but the finding-out-about-it part is fab. Especially when accompanied by cappuccino and shortbread. I just hope it feeds OK into the latest draft that I’m working on.

It would be so much easier if I could grow a beard, and a foot, and talk about pants.

The Bath Festival

This time it was different. Normally (OK, always), when I start my talk I ask if anyone’s read Threads and one shy girl in the front row puts up her hand and everyone else looks at their shoes.

But not this time. This time, I asked if anyone had read Threads and EVERY girl (I think) put up her hand. And some of the parents. And one very nice librarian.

So that made my introduction pretty easy. Normally I explain what Threads is about and who the characters are, but yesterday in Bath we could race along to the important bit, which is what they look like, what they wear, what they (and I) think about fashion and why it matters.

It was fun. I had a great time. There were loads of questions. And then the best bit. Signing time.

Poor, lovely John from Waterstones sat at the back and I did feel sorry for him. I like John, but I didn’t give him much business because almost everyone had bought their own copy from home for me to sign. Not brilliant for the bookselling trade but simply lovely for an author. There’s nothing like signing a book you’ve written that’s slightly bent and battered, whose corners are a bit the worse for wear, because it has clearly been read and re-read and much loved.

The last girl in the queue had a hardback edition which she told me she’s read three times, and has inspired her to do lots of her fashion illustrations. I hope she does some of her future illustrations in the book itself. It would benefit from a bit of customisation. And I hope she sends me some pictures to admire. As someone who can’t draw, I’m always in awe of people who can.

I’m currently copying a practice I learned from Lucy Christopher, which is to sprinkle something in your book as you sign. For Stolen, she uses sand. (It’s set in the desert of the Australian outback.) I use sequins and tiny pink hearts. For book 3, there will be stars.

Lucy’s onto something. There’s something special about handing a book back that has a little secret in it – more than your signature: a shiny memento of the occasion, that will one day fall out onto the reader’s unsuspecting desk, or bed, or shoes, and remind her of the day we met.

But the real magic was what the girls gave me. An hour of sharing my world. To Jodie, Maddie, Katie and everyone else who came, thank you so much. And I hope your parents have forgiven me for the scattered hearts and sequins that they are, at this moment, patiently hoovering up from wherever they fell.


text:
"The Tree of Life"

October 2011

The Tree of LifeTerrence Malick’s Magnum Opus

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 2274934
Format: Blu-ray, DVD

Overall Enjoyment
Picture Quality
Sound Quality

Viewing a Terrence Malick film without having strong feelings about the experience is nearly impossible. Some find his work maddeningly abstract and pretentious, while others will find themselves mesmerized by the gorgeous cinematography and signature voiceovers. The Tree of Life will divide opinion more than any of Malick's previous works, but one thing is certain: there is no other film like it.

The story's fulcrum lies in 1950s Waco, Texas. The plot follows the struggles of Jack (Hunter McCracken), a young boy who attempts to wrestle with his father's (Brad Pitt) authoritarian nature, as contrasted with his mother's (Jessica Chastain) more nurturing approach to parenting. Jack also explores his beliefs about death, faith, and personhood. Woven into this primary narrative are two complementary asides: a semi-CGI sequence that illustrates the birth of existence, both universal as well as here on Earth, and another track in which adult Jack (Sean Penn) continues to struggle with his identity.

Preconceptions about traditional filmmaking must be discarded at the door if one is to appreciate this film. For those that have trouble with non-linear plots, The Tree of Life may drive them mad, or worse, to sleep. The film doesn't entertain in the traditional sense of the word. Rather, it demands a thoughtful, open-minded, active viewer, one willing to embrace the decidedly abstract in concert with the literal, for as often as the dialogue carries the story's progression, so too does the film's imagery. The viewer is left to infer a great deal from the onscreen happenings, which often hint at the profound without ever being so vulgar as to actually voice it.

Divorced from the story, The Tree of Life is arguably one of the prettiest films you're likely to see or hear, and it finds cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki at his very best. Colors are vibrant yet natural, with special care taken to preserve the organic, unfiltered qualities of the sets, actors, and landscapes. While it would be easy to point out a few single examples of the image quality on tap, the fact is that almost the entire film is worthy of a screenshot. It’s that beautiful.

The audio track is also noteworthy. Two audio tracks are available: a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 surround track, and a Dolby Digital 2.0 track. Unfortunately, I was limited to the latter, but the original score by Alexandre Desplat sounded fabulous, ranging from simple piano cues to larger orchestral ones. When allied with the properly deep, crushing bass lines that appear throughout, this Blu-ray will be a good workout for stereo / surround sound systems everywhere, especially if you take the advice of the producers who advise at the outset that you should play the film "loud."

The only extra feature is a 30-minute behind-the-scenes piece, which includes interviews with directors David Fincher and Christopher Nolan, as well as the film's producers and stars. It yields some insight into the film's genesis, as well as its actual making.

The Tree of Life, itself, will divide opinion. The Blu-ray, however, is one of the best I have seen. Terrence Malick imparts the majesty of life with characteristic verve and grace, and it's an experience that shouldn't be missed.

Be sure to watch for: The sequence involving the birth of the universe is spellbinding, and resonates more in the world of documentaries than proper cinema. The rich reds offset the inky, cosmic blacks, while the thunderous bass line serves to underline the spectacle of it all. Stellar.

. . . Hans Wetzel

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  • SoundStage! Shorts - Estelon Extreme Legacy Edition Loudspeaker (July 2017)
  • SoundStage! Insight - Totem Acoustic Signature One Loudspeaker (June 2017)
  • SoundStage! Encore - The Cowboy Junkies'
  • SoundStage! Shorts -- Anthem's STR Integrated Amplifier (May 2017)