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Thursday, August 30, 2007

What it is on the menu...

Sublimely elegant this toffee toned Bock is rich with a blend of Wisconsin and German barley malts. Over four months of resting in oak Bourbon Barrels gives this beer a wonderfully smooth body that will improve and mellow with age. Should you choose to enjoy this classic today you can expect a treasure of vanilla, oak and caramel notes to be bolstered by hops from France, Slovenia and Germany. Wild Brett yeast sings in harmony to the tune of Bock. 20 degrees Plato OG makes this Bourbon Barrel a masterwork to remember.

-New Glarus Bourbon Barrel Bock
How does that sound?

Followed by....

Named after the cream colored bricks used to build Milwaukee, this amber pale ale with its pronounced hops and hints of citrus is tasty year round.

-Lakefront Cream City Pale Ale

Ok, so the Lakefront Brewery guys really need to work on a better description of their beers.

I shall be heading down to Chicago to meet up with the Donkey Puncher and then invade Wrigley to watch the Milwaukee Brewers beat up on the Chicago Cubs. I can say that only because the Brewers won last night, making today's game a big one. I can't think of how totally insufferable Cub fans would have been today had the Crew lost last night and was facing a sweep. Yost said coming in that they needed to win the series. A sweep would be nice but 2 of 3 is what mattered. Now they have a chance.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Hammer poker on TV

I haven't had the urge to actually play poker still. Sure I played last Thursday (I think) after coming home buzzed up at the bars. Somehow I won my SnG (been running bad) and felt like el campion del mundo. But beyond that I am still spending more time watching than playing.

The new season of High Stakes Poker started on GSN. It was Hammer night! A deal was made where all players would pay any guy who wins a pot with 7 2 $500. Ok, they did play the suited Hammer but made for some interesting play.

Everyone's favorite player, Phil Hellmuth, played the Hammer perfectly against The Mouth, Mike Matusow. Watch this, it is a thing of beauty. Especially after Mike needles him constantly just before the hand.

You have to love that re-raise from late position. Perfectly played. It also doesn't hurt that Esfandiari says "he could have seven deuce or pocket aces." Good bet on the turn. Matusow screws the pooch by just calling. A raise would force Phil to fold. On the river, Matusown talks himself into folding. Brilliant!!!

Of course Hellmuth would ruin it by proclaiming how good he is throughout the episode and even declaring that "people want to be part of the Phil Hellmuth show". UGH!

I tried to watch the WSOP yesterday as I did my fantasy football draft. Saw Michael Bruce Buffer (thx Duggle) tangle with Chris Moneymaker a couple of times but that was about it. Don't know if there were any amazingly bad calls shown but I am sure there had to be.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

You make the call!

Coincidence??? You make the call!

Falstaff has an update on the WPBT Winter Gathering in Las Vegas. I notice on Pollstar that the Spice Girls are playing the MGM that Saturday.

Methinks KiltSpice has other gatherings in mind as well.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

WSOP watching

A couple of weeks back, I thought had seen the worst call in the history of televised poker. Back then, some kid called the two all ins with KK even though his two opponents clearly had him beat with all the dancing they were doing. Though he was oblivious to the obvious tells, he was at least at a final table and may have been feeling confused with all the attention and bright lights, etc. and he did walk away with a decent pay day.

Last night on ESPN's first days of the Main Event, some dufus made that guy Hall of Fame material. At featured table were a bunch of average players and Doyle Brunson. Brunson appeared to be playing some passive poker (at least what we can tell by all of the edited footage and Norm Chad's constant wailing) and some of his tablemates looked like they were simply honored to be playing at the same table. There was one older gent in particular who was planting his lips on Doyle's ass with regularity. He wasn't good either. Played some really crappy hands and you could read this guy like a book.

And he got paid off in one of those crappy hands. Big time. I can't recall exactly what he had (believe it was Q 6 soooooted). Flop was 6 6 x. Got lucky and flopped trips. Some guy bets and he calls. The turn is the case 6. He checks and proceeds to cover up his face, trying to hide his glee. He squirms a little more when the aggressor asks him how much he has behind (I think it was 11k?). Naturally, he calls the 6k turn bet. After the river card, he quickly grabs his chips and tries to toss them in to the pot like he doesn't have anything; a classic weak means strong toss. His opponent looks slightly confused and then quickly says, "I'm gonna call".

What did his oppenent call with? Must have a full house right? Or at least thinks that his opponent is bluffing and can win with A high, correct?

He called with Jack high.

Yep. Jack. High.

Maybe call there if the bet is 1000 and you want some information, but did you not look at that clown??? And you had jack high!!!!

Yes, it is a call like that that boggles your mind wondering how he won his way in or who the hell backed him or if he doesn't have a million better ways to spend 10 grand.

Two other interesting things on the telecasts last night had to be the portrayal of Scotty Nguyen and Joe Hachem. Scotty was just running over his table, busting people left and right. Every time he did, they would get up and thank him, give him a hug, and calmly walk away. Not a single person got upset, even the dude who he talked shit with and tilted into giving up his stack. Too funny.

But man is his age beginning to show. I just wish I could recall the exact quote he had. Something like "I like my monkey!". Apparently he owns two monkeys at home, but the comment on its own before they explain it was funny.

Hachem, on the other hand, seems like an ass most of the time. I don't know the guy and hope that is just how they edited the show (with the clips from his championship run), but I couldn't help but think he seems like a jerk. I will have to talk to some friends to see what they think because they impression some might get from watching the shows are not that good.

Hopefully I will get away from watching poker to playing poker again.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Peed off

I heard about this story on the radio today. I thought Grubby was the only person who had the misfortune to sit in pee chairs.

Kibiloski, a Fern Creek, Ky., computer consultant, sat in a chair soaked with
urine, apparently left there by a woman who had been playing at that slot
machine moments earlier. It was dripping off his shorts and down his leg.He said
the reaction from Caesars left him even more embarrassed. He said he got no help
trying to find a place to clean up and had to walk in his dripping shorts to his
car to get an old pair of sweatpants to wear.

Dude! Go home. It is pretty pathetic that you would not leave. I would have left and gone home to shower. Especially is someone else's piss was dripping down my leg. That sentence alone should send shivers down your spine.

Compulsive gamblers sometimes wear adult diapers to avoid having to leave a slot
machine or gaming table where they expect a payoff, the experts say.If they
don’t come prepared, they sometimes “just pee in the seat,” said Arnie Wexler, a
recovered gambling addict who operates a gambling hotline and counseling service
in New Jersey. “It’s not something the industry really likes to talk about.”

Of course the industry doesn't want to talk about it. Do you encourage people to wear diapers? Do you put up signs over the slot machines that ask "Please be neat. Don't pee in the seat!" Seriously, thinking some person is going to pee in a seat in front of their favorite machine is one of the last things I am concerned about if I sit down to play.

At least the guy did get dinner and a room for his problems. I would say it was a happy ending but the casino did not toss in a Korean massage.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

Poker in Life

Karol at Ihadouts wants to spread the word. I think there are some valuable points to be taken from such an undertaking. The disciplines in poker are used in the investment world, notably on trading desks. I can't see how they can be used in everyday life.

Harvard Law Profs Backing Poker As Educational Tool In Schools, Universities

Singapore (August 15) -- Harvard Law School professor Charles Nesson will announce an international effort to organize poker strategic thinking societies at universities and secondary schools around the world that will use poker as an educational tool to teach everything from basic life skills to war games at military colleges.
Nesson will announce the formation of the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society (GPSTS) in Singapore on August 19 during an international conference called State of Play. Chapters of the GPSTS will be organized at prominent universities on several continents, starting at Harvard.
GPSTS will offer poker strategic thinking workshops to secondary schools and community centers, particularly in underprivileged neighborhoods; sponsor team poker matches between law, business and other graduate-level programs; and conduct seminars and conferences that explore poker as a means to teach strategic thinking and related public policy issues.
Poker is one of the best metaphors for teaching life skills across a variety of disciplines, said Nesson, a founder of Harvard's™ Berkman Center on Internet Law.
Part of the goal of the poker societies is to organize an NCAA-style championship in the novel game of team poker for American universities.
Press and media representatives are invited to attend both the lecture and workshop in Singapore at the State of Play conference. Professor Nesson and colleagues will be available for interviews.
Founded by Harvard Law Professor Charles Nesson, the Global Poker Strategic Thinking Society views pokers as a game of skill that can be used as a teaching tool at all levels of academia and in secondary education. The concept is to use poker to teach basic life skills, strategic thinking, geopolitical analysis, risk assessment, and money management. The goal is to create an open online curriculum centered on poker that will draw the brightest minds together, both within and outside of the conventional university setting, to promote open education and Internet democracy.
About State of Play V: Building the Global Metaverse
This conference on virtual worlds will be held August 19-22, 2007 in Singapore. It is organized by Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, New York Law School, Trinity University, and Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. The conference invites experts across disciplines to discuss the future of cyberspace and the impact of these new immersive, social online environments on education, law, politics and society.
For more information please go to
Media contact:
Jonathan Cohen, GPSTS
(203) 722-1858
Alexandra McDougald, The Weiser Group
(202) 291-0750

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Stud viewing

I was quite pleased to see ESPN would be showing a Stud event on TV last night. I rather watch Omaha, Razz, or Stud just about any day over Hold Em. It is a different level of viewing, one that forces you to think more of how they are playing and not how they are acting.

I think the main reason might be the people who play these games. They rarely jump around like asshats after winning a big pot, or they don't trash talk people, call them donkeys if they lose. They stay quiet, observe, and process all the information they receiving.

I feel sorry for anyone who thinks that was boring. For me, it was good TV. Watching some top players in action is a good learning experience. I kept looking at the cards and thinking about how I would play them out. What hands I would start with, when I would stop betting, etc. There were two good laydowns- how can you fold aces up? Amazing laydown. It was also nice to see some of these guys make the same kind of mistakes that I have made.

For me, it was a great hour of poker television.

Yesterday I popped over to a post on Amy Calistreri's site, mainly because she was comparing the UIGEA to activities of hedge funds. WHAT??? I had to read it a couple times to try and see the parallel. Apparently hedge are in the "family harm" department. Somehow, they destroy families left and right. Not sure how because Amy doesn't say so.

Let's look further. Amy would like you to think that hedge funds blow up on a monthly basis. Not true. Sure Bear Stearns had one making the news lately but name another one before that. Last year. What effect did it have on the markets? Little.

Who bailed them out? Not the Fed but other investment advisers which is why I wonder why she was making the comparison to something that happened just about 10 years ago. Most people learn their lessons and know who to react.

Another thing that caught my eye was the comment
"In fact the Federal Reserve, while acknowledging that people were maxing
out on credit card debt, encouraged consumers to consider riskier non-fixed rate mortgages. "
I went through the link and couldn't find anything that "encouraged" non-fixed rate mortgages. I found this:
Indeed, recent research within the Federal Reserve suggests that many homeowners might have saved tens of thousands of dollars had they held adjustable-rate mortgages rather than fixed-rate mortgages during the past decade, though this would not have been the case, of course, had interest rates trended sharply

American consumers might benefit if lenders provided greater mortgage product
alternatives to the traditional fixed-rate mortgage. To the degree that
households are driven by fears of payment shocks but are willing to manage their
own interest rate risks, the traditional fixed-rate mortgage may be an expensive
method of financing a home.

I wouldn't call that "encouraging" people to try other types of mortgages. Just some explanation of how people may be better off looking at non-fixed mortgages and how they would have benefited in the early 00's if they had.

The comparison of these hedge fund managers to poker bots was interesting. However, hedge fund managers are not the best. I am sure there are many mutual fund managers who would argue with that comment.

They do not beat market indices on a regular basis as some may think. They were introduced to be part of a portfolio to protect against downward movements in the market. Hence the name. Sure they can be leveraged to the gills and they make some big bets but not all hedge funds are the same. Not all have rogue traders taking huge positions. Some actually manage the money responsibly.

Unfortunately, when a hedge fund runs into trouble, it will need to liquidate part of its portfolio which can cause rumbling in the stock market. To blame the recent market turmoil on hedge fund activities is not accurate. They may add volatility but when everyone begins the panic selling, the market is going to go down. Indices were at record highs. With all this action, the market is down about 7%. That is barely a correction. Barley an impact on families in the long run. Over the past year, most people are still head even after that correction.

I guess the bottom line for Amy is that hedge funds need to be regulated and until they are, they will be killing the little guy. Well, yes and no. They do need some regulation but they are not killing the little guy. Only people with money can invest in hedge funds. You need to have minimum net worth requirements to participate. Those who have the money invested lose the most. The little guy may- MAY- feel the aftershocks in the market place when they lose money. But the little guy can also take advantage of the situation and buy their favorite stocks at sale prices.

Years from now, this blip in the market will be history.

For the record, I am not here to defend hedge funds nor the Federal Reserve. I just thought that post was off center and not totally accurate. One cannot understand what a hedge fund does but reading wikipedia or any article that wants to blame rich people for making the little guy poor.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Brilliant!!! Now with added commentary

Hat tip: Bill Rini

I actually played some poker this weekend. Two cheap tournaments on Stars to be exact. The first was the Poker Savvy freeroll. Finished 11th out of 800some and won $3.25. Thankyouverymuch.

The other was the 100k guarantee where I finished 13000some out of 18000some.

I couldn't do much wrong in the freeroll. Haven't not played any real tournament besides the blogger tournaments, I felt the need to play in one that had more than 80 people. Sure it was a freeroll but it was the number of people that mattered. I needed to put my skills out there against unknowns. Against people who will push all in with total crap because it didn't cost them anything.

I have a thought about freerolls. They can help you try new strategies and develop new skills. You can relearn thinking processes on the cheap. Whether it be getting crippled to a short stack and playing that strategy or chipping up and bludgeoning others with your big stack, it is something I think you need to relearn and gain confidence on every once in a while.

I kicked some major ass in the freeroll. For a good portion of the second session I was the chip leader. I made some great calls and won all of my races. Yep, won all of the races. I knew when someone was pushing with A rag and made calls with my mid and lower pairs, knowing that I could lose some chips and win them back if needed. In fact, it was the first race that I lost that took me out of serious contention. 9 9 beat by A 10. That happened with less than 20 left.

I tried to then beef up my skills on short handed play as we were 6 then 5 for a good stretch of time. I was over aggressive with my A 9 and ran into A 10 to go home.

But I had a nice run where I got some needed confidence.

I had hoped to carry it over to the 100k guarantee but that didn't work. My table was very loose to begin with. 5 people would see a flop even with someone raising 5xs the blinds. I had one guy willing to call down with bottom pair (why couldn't I hit anything with A Q???).

I made one crucial mistake in this tournament. With A Ks, I raised in LP. UTG had limped and immediately pushed all in. We have all seen those clowns that make this play trying to act like they have A A. My gut told me this person did. But I heard the circus music in my head and called, knowing I would be suddenly down from 4k to 700. He flipped over the rockets and I had no chance for a flush or a straight.

I fought my way back up to 2400 but then got overly aggressive and was soon done. It did feel good to dip my toe back into the water. I may do that again but probably not until next month. Weather is too nice to spend time indoors.

Friday, August 10, 2007

I don't remember, I drank too much

I wish I could give a recap of the Riverchasers tourney last night. I know I was about 20 minutes late. I planned to leave the bar at halftime of the Cowboys game. The dice were being shaken around and shots were being consumed. So that made me a tad late.

I had only lost about 400 chips when I logged in. Well worth the shots of Makers.

I quickly chipped up and felt I could make a serious run. But I got pot committed (no, not Change style) and lost half of them. Later I would race with A Jo vs 8 8. I looked like a god when I flopped the A but an 8 hit the turn and I was done.

So being the drunken monkey that I am, I started played PLO with some of the boys. Problem there was I thought it was Hi/Lo for over an hour. I made my donation and finally went to sleep.

At least I had a good time.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Kinda missing the game

I actually sat down and played some poker last night. Low limit poker. It reminded me of how bad some of the play appears to be. I forgot how people will call down with bottom pair each time and somehow go runner runner for the straight. Or how someone will call down with two face cards to the river when there is no paint on the board.

So rather than going on mini tilt, I decided to watch the WSOP on TV. I am not sure that was a good idea. At some points, it reminded me of why I like to play the game and mainly tournament poker. The chance to play in the WSOP some day and go on a nice tear and make some good money is a dream of most players. Watching it last night, that spark inside me lit up a bit.

But it was also dampened by the annoying drama at the TV. Both hours featured Phil Hellmuth and his incessant whining. I felt sorry for the guy next to him. The worst part of it was each time he whined, it was because he made a bad play. Raising with small pairs or total crap from early position and then complaining that someone was going over the top on him. Stop the bitching about getting no respect. After watching this on TV, everyone and their grandmothers will be re-raising you. Unless this was some huge strategy move- which I highly doubt- you shown yourself to be a total LAG.

And I like watching Phil Hellmuth play! But last night was too much.

I also found myself scratching my head after one hand in particular. A kid raises in EP with K K. This lady looks down and sees two red aces. She moves all in. Hellmuth looks down at the two black aces and very quickly pushes his chips in. The others fold and it is back to the kings to decide.

As he thinks, the other two start going crazy. Really. The lady gets up and starts dancing looking sooooo happy that Phil pushed. You can see her husband making gestures to her about her hand asking if she had aces. Hellmuth is basically on the other side of the table doing the same thing and bragging about how he made his move in just a quarter of a second. A quarter of a second??? Whatever.

Now, you have just been re-raised by one person and sound an energetic insta call by another. They are dancing and excited. Don't you think your kings are no good here? How does he not fold? He calls and he goes home now. Amazing.

So now I have to decide what I will be doing about this game of poker. With summer still going, nothing will really change until the fall. I rather be outside doing stuff than sitting inside staring at a monitor. It may work for some but not me. I am a recreational player. Until that sparks turns to a flame and maybe I will find myself playing quite a bit more.

Friday, August 03, 2007

Damn those ducks

I spent the 3 hours before the tournament at the bar getting my game face on. The right amount of beer would get me in the perfect mood to play poker. A bit loose, aggressive. As long as I could think straight and be patient, I was confident I could do well.

About the only thing I worried about was the beer I had at home and opening a fresh bottle. See, I have a tendency to go bust just after getting a new beer. Happens often. Take a couple drinks and I get knocked out. Then I have nothing to do but railbird and drink my beer in a pissed off mood.

I started out the BBT freeroll in good shape. Was dealt A K right off the bat and took a nice little pot. I played aggressive and most likely bluffed Schaubs out of a pot with A J. I raised his limp from the SB and he had the nerve to re-raise me. The flop was ragged. He bet pot thinking he could scare me off. That wouldn't work. I went all in knowing he maybe had an A or mid pair at best.

I yo yo'd a bit from there before going on a nice little tear. Then I ran into the big stack Astin. I pushed him off a couple of pots knowing he would see more flops with all of those chips. What I didn't expect was for his deuces to crack my kings. Yep, he flopped a set after limping under the gun and calling my raise. He check raised me and I pushed.

I should have taken a bit of time to think that one through. I remember CJ doing that to me a number of times in the WWdNs. The luckbox would limp call with small pairs and try to hit. When he did, he would check raise me and usually knock me out.

So I should have taken a bit more time to think this out. Sure it is easier to think about folding or maybe calling here, but that is just hindsight. It is just another outcome to hopefully learn on for the next round.

Oh, and for the record, yes, I had gotten myself a fresh beer and had 2 sips when my kings got beat up.


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Friday, May 29, 2009

Another reason my workplace is great

You'll recall this cool thing they did during Kids-to-Work Day.

Now, here's an email I just got from someone in HR:

Many of you have already heard that we have a mama and eight baby ducks in the courtyard. By nature, mother ducks are very protective. The courtyard will remain open but please respect the ducks and do not go looking for them in the grass or trees. You can see them swimming in the pond and waterfall area through the cafeteria doors. Thank you.

My birding plans for this weekend are pretty ambitious, and I'm totally pumped: First, tonight, Baby G and her girlfriend plus my girlfriend and I are having a double-date-birding-night-extravaganza! We're meeting at AB's (my wonderful girlfriend) house for dinner and drinks, and then we're all going out to the Scotia Barrens for more warbler/woodcock/whip-poor-will action!

Then tomorrow morning, AB and I are headed to Penns Valley, my old stomping grounds, for a little field birding in the mostly Amish-farmed fields, and then we're going to the Nittany Antique Machinery Show for fun and frolic!

I'm also hoping to do some birding on Sunday in an unspecified location (perhaps where they hide Dick Cheney?). Haven't decided where yet.

What are your plans?

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

Camping adventures! and old business

My wonderful girlfriend and I went camping at Cunningham Falls State Park near Thurmont, MD, this past weekend; we joined some old friends of hers and had a great time building big fires, making s'mores, and cooking on the open flame.

I didn't see too many birds that weren't familiar to me; here's my list:
Red-bellied Woodpecker (they were everywhere!)
Eastern Wood Pewee
Song Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
American Robin
American Crow
Chimney Swift (weird, seeing as how there were no chimneys around)
Northern Cardinal
Eastern Phoebe
Northern Flicker
Warbling Vireo
Red-eyed Vireo
Blue-headed Vireo
Carolina Wren
Black-capped Chickadee

There were also some mystery birds:
--what looked like an Orange-crowned Warbler
--Water Thrush, either LA or Northern--sadly, my photo didn't help much with determining the ID:We couldn't get very close, lighting was bad, and my hands were a little shaky from the arduous trek. I got decent looks in the binocs, but I forgot to check whether it had that white eyestripe (Louisiana) or not (Northern), so I don't know which kind it was. It was, however, definitely a water thrush, and it made that "chik chik chik" of a Louisiana. ?
--some bird whose song went "pia-pia-pia tazip-zip!" Any ideas what that was? The leaf cover was waaaay too thick to spot him, though I tried and tried.
Not too bad, considering I only birded while doing other things. No Scarlet Tanager! Grrrrr.

We also saw some interesting non-bird things. Here are the falls, a 75-foot spectacle with some nice observation platforms at the bottom:(Definitely click on the huge version of this photo) To get to the top of the falls, you have to climb the rocks like all these people did. We didn't climb the falls, thank god, or I'd probably have fallen to my death.

We went on two long hikes, both of which were pretty strenuous for my old feeble body. I fell a couple of times and banged up my knee, but I survived. AB's back held up well too. I even saw a life-flower: Jack-in-the-pulpit!The distinct "leaves of three" of these plants are probably the reason I've never seen one before; I ALWAYS steer well clear of anything with three leaves because I am extremely allergic. This time, though, I was rewarded with a life-flower!

And we saw this weird fungal spire all over the place:
Any guesses as to what this is?

And this pretty green moth:What kind of moth is this?

Saw some cool-looking beetles who were either gettin' it on or having a beetle smackdown:We couldn't tell which. But the ooky-looking stuff they're on is that weird fungus or lichen or whatever that grows on old trees and looks like a soft light-beige shelf. I used to know the name of it but I forgot. I'm guessing the beetles were eating it, or the tree, or both.
- - - - - - -
The day before we left, I saw a Northern Flicker dead on the side of the road near my house:I always wondered why they call the eastern version of these birds "yellow-shafted;" now I know--the actual shafts of the feathers are a beautiful sunny yellow color:Amazing. I can't wait to see the western Red-shafted version, though I hope I see him alive. It was sad to see such a beautiful bird this way, but I did get to examine him up close for a long time. Look at those breast feathers, with the pretty spots on the ends. And those yellow feather shafts! Beautiful. What a lovely bird.

Friday, May 22, 2009

NUMBER 200!!! Whip-poor-will!

It happened! I got my 200th bird! And while it wasn't a Scarlet Tanager, or any of those crazy warblers, it was just as satisfying. Yesterday after work, I saw Matty for a while but he ended up cancelling on dinner so I went to TICK WORLD--the Scotia Barrens on the north edge of State College. I bought some Cutter's with 23% DEET and soaked myself in it, then I hit the trails. My best photo was of a Chestnut-sided Warbler who was driven nuts by my BirdJam:

These guys were everywhere, singing "pleased-pleased-pleased-to-meetcha" at the tops of their little birdy lungs. It was often hard to hear anything else over their din! I wish I could've gotten better pictures of this bird, but it was getting dark quickly, and we were under the canopy of leaves. He flew all around me, so close to me that many times I could've reached out and touched him. The hum of bumblebees doing their bee jobs was constant, like the drone of distant airplanes. Imagine my horror when I noticed that many sections of the path looked like this:

For a person who's allergic to bee and wasp stings, I was pretty freaked. I gutted it up, though, and walked through at a brisk but calm pace. These trees were incredibly fragrant, with a lilac-like smell. What are they? Here's a close-up:

Probably something invasive. It was everywhere. After an hour or so on this trail, looking at Canada Goose babieswatching an Eastern Towhee high in a treeand watching all the Chestnut-sideds everywhere, I made my way toward an area that's supposed to be lousy with American Woodcocks and Whip-poor-wills. I was hoping to maybe get a photo of a woodcock, and I figured that Katdoc's comment about hwo you can count it if you just hear whips (because they're almost impossible to see in the dark) made it okay to count any whips I heard as my big #200.

By now I was deep into the barrens, and I was all alone. I made it to the spot--a nice big clearing where people sometimes shoot skeet--about 8:15, as I'd been advised. It wasn't looking (or sounding) good until about 8:30, however; that's when I heard it: above the constant trills of Wood Thrushes, the never-ending songs of American Robins, and the whiny mewing of Gray Catbirds, I heard the unmistakeable "PEENT!" of a woodcock! Sweet! I strained my old eyes trying to see them in the fading light, but I didn't see anything.

Long around 8:40, I began to hear "whip, whip-poor-WILL! whip, whip-poor-WILL!" over and over again--that was it! Number 200! The best part: when I finally left, after video-ing the darkness with the whips singing in the background, I saw several of them in my headlights as they sat on the dusty dirt road! If only I'd had the camera ready!

Also on the way back, I heard a loud peenting just off the road, so I stopped and pointed my lights over a little ridge. Here's what I saw:
videoWOODCOCK! I realize I probably broke the ethical rules of birding by shining my headlights your way, Mr. Woodcock, but I was just trying to see you! It was only for a second! Sorry! Leaving now!

And so I saw and heard my #200th lifebird, and I got some decent photos/video. Pretty damned cool.

Listening to Whip-poor-wills with a big goofy grin on my face:

Note--that Eastern Towhee was singing a weird version of "drink your tea" in which he would say "teeeee-terrrrrr-tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet-tweet" with the 5 tweets sung in rapid succession after the two drawn-out syllables in front. Weird.

I heard a lot of calls I didn't recognize--strange gruntings (frogs, maybe?), weird little dry rattles (not like a Belted Kingfisher though--very quiet), and so many other sounds I can't even remember. As many songs as I've learned, there are still soooooo many more I don't know yet. It's frustrating, but I still had a great time.

And no ticks!

Of the calls and birds I did recognize, I heard and/or saw:
Field Sparrow
Chipping Sparrow
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Parula
Worm-eating Warbler
Hermit Thrush
Wood Thrush
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Yellow Warbler
Northern Flicker
Northern Cardinal
Red-winged Blackbird
Common Grackle
Mourning Dove

I think that was it. There were so many birds, but the trees are really leafing out now so it was hard to see them. It was so cool to have that Chestnut-sided so close to me; he was so tiny!

So now--the big push for 300 begins. My new goal: hit 300 by the end of the year! After all, California will offer a ton of new birds.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Warblers that could easily be #200

In which I continue to obsess over which bird will be my 200th lifer....

People on the state birding listserv are always seeing the following warblers all around the state, so any of these guys could easily be #200 on my lifelist:
Nashville Warbler (Vermivora ruficapilla)
Cape May Warbler (Dendroica tigrina)
Prothonotary Warbler (Protonotaria citrea)
Connecticut Warbler (Oporornis agilis)
Mourning Warbler (Oporornis philadelphia)
Wilson’s Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla)

I should probably review the important field marks or behaviors that each of these birds displays so I’ll be sure to know them if I see them.

Nashville Warbler—guitar (some spp. with pearl inlays) slung over scapulars, rhinestones studding primaries and uppertail coverts, whiskey bottle prominent near chins of older males and some females.

Cape May Warbler—“diamonds” (from Sunset Beach) on lores, often wears flip-flops in July-August, back is usually sandy.

Prothonotary Warbler—often seen carrying a crucifix and rosary.

Connecticut Warbler—noted for its bejeweled breast, well-manicured feathers, and all-white body.

Mourning Warbler—black mantilla worn over crown, single black wingbar, driving a hearse. Song sounds similar to this.

Wilson’s Warbler—only the crown and eyes can be seen. Fishing hat is prominent on crown.

Bird pics-o-rama!

As almost always happens, my big weekend plans for birding came undone. My girlfriend injured her back, so I spent the weekend nursing her back to some semblance of health. She's much better now.

So last night we went to Millbrook Marsh to really work the birds there. There were many young and beginning birders there too, which was really exciting. We saw the requisite Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats, and we also saw a Chestnut-sided Warbler! I got some great pics of the first two, but none of the Chestnut-sided. Oh well. Here are the highlights from the walk (most can be clicked on for embiggening, though some are small crops of larger pics). A Yellow Warbler impersonating a missile.

An Eastern Phoebe got a little ruffled at me.

The phoebe and a Yellow Warbler preened together.

I drove this YEWA nuts with my BirdJam. But look how nicely he posed!

Overheard conversation between these two Barn Swallows:
"Stop it."
"No, YOU stop it."
"I'm not kidding. Stop it."
"No, YOU stop it."
"I'm gonna kick your--"
"MOM! He's threatening me!"
"Oh gees..."

A Red-winged Blackbird posed for us.

Perhaps my best pics of a Common Yellowthroat!

I love Barn Swallows!

We also saw and/or heard a Swamp Sparrow, a Gray Catbird singing a weird song, some sort of flycatcher, Song Sparrows, Grackles, American Crows, American Robins, Mourning Doves, and some other birds I couldn't ID (grayish brown, small, bird-like...). I think that was everything. It was a nice trip, what with the sun shining and the cool breeze blowing. This is such a nice time to live in Central PA -- when it's not raining, that is.

So the girlfriend and I are going camping with some friends of hers for the holiday weekend. I'm hoping to see Lifer #200 on that trip. At this point, I don't even care if it's my nemesis, the Scarlet Tanager. I just want #200!

Monday, May 18, 2009

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Millbrook Marsh in 15 minutes

I had a few minutes to kill yesterday after work before I met my new gal for dinner, so I stopped by Millbrook Marsh just north of Beaver Stadium. I was only there for about 15 minutes, but I got some nice birds:
Yellow Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Northern Cardinal
Common Grackle
American Crow
European Starling
Song Sparrow
I didn't get to the actual pond area and viewing platform before I had to go, but I did get some photographs! These are the best (and only) pics I've ever gotten of my FOY Common Yellowthroat:
I drove several of these guys nuts with my BirdJam, but they were wily enough to remain quite well hidden whenever I got my camera ready. I got some good looks in the binocs but had to settle for these crappy photos. Still, it was fun hearing and seeing them instead of being fooled by the similar call of the Carolina Wren.

An obliging Song Sparrow:
So cute!

Tomorrow after work, the girlfriend and I are meeting at the marsh to really give it a thorough birding. I'm really excited; I've only ever been there once before, but it was cold and wintry so there weren't even any Red-winged Blackbirds, much less warblers. I hope to have some good pics for you Friday.

This weekend will also be rather birdy, as Baby G and I will be checking out the sure-thing American Woodcocks and Whip-poor-wills at the Scotia Barrens (aka TICK WORLD--more on this later) on Saturday evening, and then we'll be joined by our friend Anne the Writer for some Sunday crack-of-dawn birding at Bald Eagle State Park, where I'm hoping to see a Scarlet Tanager, dangit!

Now--you'll recall that I'm in search of Lifer #200, but I have some issues with the list now. I've heard and kinda seen a fuzzy darkened outline of a woodcock, so does that count? Because I counted it, though now I feel a little funny about it--but that's part of how I got to 199. Still, I'll definitely see them Saturday (unless it's freezing or raining, both of which are NOT on the forecast), so I figure it all evens out. Right? But then, if I hear a Whip-poor-will but don't see it--does that count? I haven't ever counted heard-only birds, but I did count the woodcock, even though now I honestly don't know if I only imagined seeing the bird's shape in the darkening conditions at Middle Creek.

I guess, for the sake of whatever, that the woodcock counts, but if I only HEAR the Whip-poor-will, it will not count. If I actually SEE it, it will be #200. But you know that I really want the tanager to be #200. Of course, I may not even see the tanager on Sunday.

I guess whatever new bird I see will be #200, no matter whether it's a tanager or a whip-poor-will or even a snipe.

Now for some info on Scotia, aka TICK WORLD: several people have been commenting about the ridiculously abundant ticks at Scotia. They're bad every year, but this year, a woman talked about finding over FORTY! of them on her and on each of her kids! And they stayed on the mown paths and dirt roads! Gretchen and I are terrified, and we will NOT be taking Domino. Speaking of Domino, here she is, whoopin' it up at Em's recent birdday party:
hee hee! She's such a party animal. Anyway, back to the ticks: I guess we'll just have to drown ourselves in DEET and hope for the best, checking ourselves for the dreaded ticks all the way and afterwards. Eek.

What birdy stuff are you doing this weekend?

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Lol birdz

Barn Swallows can be so cruel to one another.
(from ICHC)

Wednesday, May 06, 2009

My hopes for #200

As I mentioned in my next-to-last post, I'm now officially at 199 birds on the lifelist. I have been hoping to go birding one of these mornings before work, but it's been raining all week. Like I didn't get soaked enough in Cape May?

I'm hoping that we get a good sunny morning on Saturday or Sunday. In that spirit, here's my list of bird-candidates that I'd like to see take the coveted 200 spot:

Photo by Jeffrey A. Gordon, taken at the New River Birding and Nature Festival

1. Scarlet Tanager--this bird has been my nemesis for a couple of years now. I always look but never find. Zick found one for me at Oil Creek two years ago, but of course it flew away right when I looked up, so I caught only a blur. I don't count blurs. I just want to see this bird so badly--red is my favorite color, and the thought of such a beautiful red bird with black wings just makes me happy. And my gosh, look at Jeff's beautiful photo! (I shamelessly stole the pic from his excellent blog.)

2. Painted Bunting--I know--unless I'm going to Florida (with a blindfold on the whole way), the beautiful "Monet bird" is NOT going to take the 200 spot. I still love this bird, though--always have. Some day....

3. Bobolink--at least this one's possible, given my location. I soooo want to hear this song, which was described by some Flockers as sounding like R2-D2, one of my favorite Star Wars characters. (Han Solo's the man.)

4. Evening Grosbeak--I dig the black and yellow birds, and I especially love grosbeaks. (Rose-breasted is my favorite.) When I was at Middle Creek, a guy told me he hadn't seen an Evening Grosbeak in PA in over 15 years. WTF!? Odds are this bird won't appear, but I want to see one!

5. Prothonotary Warbler--would LOVE to see this bird; he's so beautiful! And now that I live in PA, I actually kinda know what a prothonotary is! (I wanted to drive to Belleplain when we were in Jersey just to see this bird, but we just never found the time.)

So this is my wishlist. I should take Painted Bunting off, but you know me--always dreaming of having silly stuff like Slayer strength or the ability to go into Harry Potter's world (and of course I'd be a Muggle witch just like Hermione!).

I'll keep you posted on the quest. Meanwhile, cross your primaries and think birdy thoughts!

Tuesday, May 05, 2009

A little more from the Cape, and a Niblet update

I also took some phone-camera pics in Cape May that I wanted to share with you. Here we go:

Sunset at Sunset Beach--the only sunlight we got all weekend, for about 15 minutes. Still, it's beautiful.

There were so many dead horseshoe crabs on the beach at Sunset. We also saw two of them mating in the shallow waves--come on, guys, produce some eggs for the Red Knots!

Why does the CMC Health Dept insist on mentioning (ugh) "human fecal matter" in the restroom of every single restaurant in Cape May? Is that really necessary? Can't they just say "wash your hands or else!"?

A book cover I saw that reminded me of a certain monkey we all know.

My amazing campfire on Saturday night. I tried something new this time, a trick for starting great fires; I read it in a book called Camping and Woodcraft (which is actually two books combined), written by Horace Kephart. The amazing thing is that I only paid 50 cents for this book at the local AAUW book sale (which is coming up this weekend!), but you can't get it online for less than 17 bucks!
Photo by Baby G
Here I am, taking the above photos of my excellent fire.

Anyway--here's the trick: get some cotton balls, some baggies, and some Vaseline. Rub the cotton, two or three balls at a time, into the Vaseline, getting a good amount into the cotton. Make sure to coat the entire blob. Note: this is really messy, but the good thing is that you can just rub the extra Vaseline onto the skin on your knees and elbows--it's moisturizing! I did about 30 cotton balls, again two at a time, and put them into three baggies. When it came time to start the fire, I piled up the wood and some kindling into the classic teepee shape; then I poked some of the cotton/jelly blobs into the base of the teepee and lit them with one of those Aim-n-Flame type lighters. (IMPORTANT: You do NOT want your hands anywhere near this highly combustible material.) I used probably three blobs of the now soaked-through cotton and got a fire that the Aggies would've been jealous of.

Gretchen and me at the lighthouse, exhausted but happy from all the birding and walking and rain.

It was a great trip, but I sure did miss my Flock friends in West Virginia. We'll migrate again, ladies and gentleman! Soon!

Now for the Niblet update. Thank you all for your continued good wishes and thoughts for the health of my little Son, Moon, and Stars™. He's doing great! No return of the infection, and I think he feels better in general these days, as he's become much more social and friendly again! The only remaining evidence of his surgery is the bald spot on his head:
Dr. Scholz said it would likely grow back the next time he had a big shed and re-grow. It's very soft! I try to kinda comb-over the surrounding fur so you can't see it. Hee hee!

He's really doing well, and he's been so affectionate for the last few weeks. I think he finally believes me when I tell him we're done with all that hurty stuff at the vet.

Monday, May 04, 2009

The BFF birding trip 2009

Last Thursday, Gretchen and I left for Cape May about 7 p.m. Spirits were high, despite the fact that I’d just phoned the campground and found out that we would have to sleep in the car (“car-camp,” as Gretchen called it) that night because check-in ended at 7 p.m., and we didn't want to lose out on Friday morning birding.

I didn’t think it would be soooo terrible.

I was wrong.

We got there about 1:30 a.m., thanks to a too-long dinner stop in Harrisburg (oh well!). That wasn’t the terrible part. The terrible part was that I discovered it’s impossible for me to sleep in the driver’s seat. Call it conditioning, call it too excited to sleep, call it steering wheel in the thighs, but I got about 2 hours of sleep that night. Gretchen, however, slept like a corpse. In fact, she may or may not have slept through:
--my 3 a.m. bathroom run to find an open convenience store
--my second bathroom run a couple hours later
--my moving of the car a couple of times to minimize light
--the rave party with live band and circus acts
--the rare but severe earthquake that struck the Jersey shore that night
In short, she was OUT while I was wide awake until about 4 a.m.

We awoke at 6 a.m. the next day, across the street from Uncle Bill’s Pancake House. After a little early-morning bathroom break, during which I found out that there was a public restroom not 50 yards from where we were parked (rage!), we had a great breakfast. We then headed to the Second Ave jetty to look around. I’d seen Black Skimmers and several kinds of gulls there the last couple of times I was in Cape May, but this time there wasn’t much: a few Forster’s Terns flying around, some Laughing Gulls, and a lot of first-year Herring Gulls. That pretty much was the tally for the whole weekend, which looked a lot like this--cloudy and cold:
What a start to a very long weekend of endless walking, warbler neck, and rain. We cooked over the campfire all weekend, with the exception of some burgers I grilled. I had pre-cut all the veggies, so food prep was easy and our meals were delicious. So at least we ate well!

Birding was pretty rough the whole weekend; a lot of rain, the cold temps, and perhaps the early date conspired to make birds scarce. No Sanderlings chasing the surf, no flocks of Black Skimmers on the beach, few birds at all on the marshes, and hardly any warblers or songbirds to be found. I hope this weekend is better, for the World Series of Birding. On a good note, Gretchen got to see first-hand how nice other birders are when you meet them in the field; we shared observations and tips with several people along the way, and everyone was very nice.

In all, we birded at CM Point (beach, pond, nature trail); Higbee Beach (where we were almost eaten alive by mosquitoes); Sunset Beach; the Meadows/Nature Conservancy; Second Avenue jetty area; the CM-Lewes Ferry area (on the CM side); and even our campgrounds in Rio Grande, a place which proved to have a few surprises in store for us.

Here’s my list of 48 species:
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Carolina Wren
Northern Cardinal
American Robin
Mute Swan
Canada Goose
Common Grackle
Boat-tailed Grackle (LIFER!)
Great Egret
Red-winged Blackbird
Fish Crow (LIFER!)
Tree Swallow
Purple Martin (LIFER!)
House Sparrow
American Goldfinch
European Starling
Forster’s Tern
Little Blue Heron (LIFER!)
American Oystercatcher (LIFER!)
Swamp Sparrow
Yellow Warbler
Mourning Dove
Laughing Gull
Herring Gull
Double-crested Cormorant
Northern Mockingbird
White-throated Sparrow
Bald Eagle
Black Vulture
Turkey Vulture
Blue-headed Vireo
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Gray Catbird
Piping Plover (LIFER!)
Northern Parula (heard)
Glossy Ibis (LIFER!)
Great Black-backed Gull
Chimney Swift
Worm-eating Warbler
Great Crested Flycatcher
Yellow-crowned Night Heron (LIFER!)
Tufted Titmouse
Blue Jay
Red-bellied Woodpecker
Common Tern (LIFER!)

Only nine lifers—far short of the forty I’d hoped for. But considering the conditions, I think we did all right. The dumb thing is that I realized that I’ve not counted several lifebirds on my giant list (like the Least Flycatcher I saw with Zick at Oil Creek), and so my tally of 186 is WRONG! I just went back this morning and corrected my errors, adding several species I’d apparently lost along the way by moving my big list from one spreadsheet to another (usually by memory—I know—feel free to laugh yourself silly; this time, I went back and checked my posts).

So once I added these eight lifers to the big list, my real and certified! count is 199. 199??!! One away from 200? Sheesh. So the next lifer I see will be the one. If only we’d seen the Black-necked Stilt that was supposed to be wandering around the Meadows, or the Say’s Phoebe that was seen at a couple of spots on Cape May!

This is my first time at the spring migration in Cape May, and I can tell you that it's VERY different from the fall. In the fall, there were just so many birds everywhere, even in the rain and cold. The ponds at the Meadows and at the lighthouse were always full of all kinds of ducks and shorebirds; this past weekend, however, the ponds were relatively bare. I don't know if we were just there too early or what, but we didn't see much in the way of migration.

Baby G in full rain gear.
My big disappointment of the weekend (besides not getting 40 lifers) was not getting to bird at the Beanery. It would’ve cost us $39 each to do so, as they require a CMBO membership and didn’t offer any kind of day pass. I think we might’ve seen more boreal birds there, but who knows? It might’ve been relatively empty, like a lot of the other places around the island. So we didn’t go there, and I’m bummed. I really like that place—so many good birds! We also didn’t drive the hour to Belleplain, preferring to stay in Cape May and enjoy our weekend there.

Now for some highlights:
1. You wouldn’t believe how we saw the Yellow-crowned Night Heron: a pair of them flew into the trees over our campsite! One of them stayed and watched us all weekend, hanging out in a big pine near us. I did get some decent photos of him, along with some other birds.

Yellow-crowned Night Heron in breeding plumage:

He was so beautiful.

A TV, hangin' at Cape May Point (photo for Lynne):

Young Herring or Great Black-backed(?) Gull and a lifer, an American Oystercatcher, showing us his badonkadonk from the concrete ship at Sunset Beach:
An Osprey--we saw a few of these:
Another lifer, a Piping Plover, photographed from waaaaay outside his protective roped-off area:
More lifers! Purple Martins (and a dumb HOSP) on their front porches near the Education Center at CM Point:
Yet another lifer, a Fish Crow--one of the million who "car"-ed their way through the entire weekend above our campsite:
A Laughing Gull photographed on the CM side of the CM-Lewes Ferry:

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet refused to be photographed:
A Carolina Wren singing his heart out--these were plentiful all weekend:

A Great Black-backed Gull at the Meadows, with some Forster's Terns in the background:

2. Gretchen and I said some crazy things that will stick in our memories for the rest of our lives. Here are a few examples of the birding-related comments, because even out of context, they made us laugh all weekend long:
“Oh holy crap… oh holy crap… oh holy crap!… oh wait. It’s a leaf. I thought it was a molting Summer Tanager. Crap.” (DG)
“If I see one more grackle, I’m going to gouge my eyes out.” (Gretchen)
“Can you please stop yelling ‘bird sex’ so loudly? You’re scaring the birds.” (DG)
On our way back, Gretchen made the same mistake I made last year when I drove back from CM through Philly/Harrisburg: she missed the exit for Harrisburg. (This time, I was sleeping!) We ended up on the turnpike for an extra hour or two, but it all worked out in the end.

3. It seemed like death was all around us all weekend. We found this tiny turtle near the hawkwatch platform at CM Point:
Dead-—we were too late to save him. Springtime can be so hard on the little ones. Any idea what kind of turtle this is? He was mostly black with red little speckles in a pattern on his underside and around the edge of his tiny though perfectly formed shell.

Another day as we walked on the Second Avenue jetty, looking between the huge blocks of rock to see what shells and stones had washed into the crevices, I encountered this:Having watched the waves crashing rather violently on the jetty, I figured it must’ve been easy for this little shark (maybe a nurse shark?) to be swept right onto the jetty and into this crevice by a big wave. He wasn’t alive, but that didn’t make it any easier. I got Gretchen to pull him out:I touched his skin a little bit—because how many people can say they've touched a shark? His body was very rubbery by this point (he was a little ripe), but the skin itself was tough and abrasive. Gretchen threw him back into the water so he could at least rest back in his home.

4. We stopped by this alpaca farm, hoping to be able to love up the cute little guys, but we didn't get any closer than this:
Probably for the best--we might've been tempted to snag one and put him in the car!

All in all, an exciting if soggy weekend. We got back last night about 8 p.m., exhausted, sandy, and happy to be home.

UPDATE--Checking out the Cape May sightings blog, I'm wondering if that was a Lesser Black-backed Gull (he was kinda small, but I had no other black-backs to compare him to). And I'm wondering if among those Laughing Gulls were some Bonaparte's. Only the Lesser BBG would be a lifer, but ???. Pete Dunne led the Meadows walk this morning, and I wanted to go soooo badly--but I had to come back to work!

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Tuesday, August 04, 2009

Almost there; desert daze

Again I'm going to post a lot of pics with a minimum of text; it's just easier to show you what I've seen rather than describe, or I'd just use "beautiful" and "breath-taking" about fifty million times. Suffice it to say that today I was moved to tears by the beauty around me as we drove out of Wyoming, across Utah, and into Nevada. Wyoming was really beautiful, but Utah and Nevada have been downright amazing. The photos were almost all taken at speed, windows up and AC on, by Matty, as we traveled along I-80. I wish I had more pics, especially in Medicine Bow National Forest in Wyoming. One day, AB and I are gonna go camping there. It's incredible.

Some last photos in Wyoming:

Utah, where everything turned red:

The Great Salt Lake:We saw two birders setting up at a scenic view of the lake, Swarovski binocs and spotting scope out, ready to check out some birds. Sadly, we are on a mission, so any birding I've done is pretty much done at about 80 mph. We stopped for a while in Iowa (that red-headed bird from the previous post) and in Colorado (the Lark Bunting), but otherwise I'm driving and watching the road. Matty's a city boy with no driver's license, so I can't really take my eyes off the road too often. (ha ha)

The Bonneville Salt Flats, where many land speed records were set:

Pilot's Peak, an amazingly tall mountain that greets you soon after you enter Nevada:
All these mountains made me think of GKL, expert mountain climber, and how much I'd love to learn to climb. Some of these peaks don't look THAT hard--of course, my fat-clogged little heart might beg to differ.

Matty Boy said...

Beautiful pictures, dg. I'm looking forward to meeting you.

Dr. Monkey Von Monkerstein said...

Wow. Great shots.

Rabbits' Guy said...

Yep .. dandy. It's a BIG country.

dAwN said...

Hey..great cross country trip..my husband and I are headed that direction soon. Will head all the way to oregon then south and east again.
I agree Utah and nevada..stunning...the rock formations are amazing!
Happy trails!

Rabbits' Guy said...

"Open up those Golden Gates ... tra la la ..."

dguzman said...

Me too, Matty Boy!

Monkey--thanks--not bad for full-speed photography.

Rabbits' Guy--I really had no idea it was so beautiful out here.

Dawn--yes indeed. Just when you think you've seen the most beautiful thing, something ELSE even MORE beautiful comes along. Amazing.

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Monday, 27 April 2009

My small piece of tarmac

I recently asked Land and Environmental Services if there was anything they could do about the state of the access footpath from the Gallowgate down into Camlachie.

The rutted surface had made getting a buggy or wheelchair across very difficult, and it would also be a hindrance to those not so steady on their feet.

I use the path almost every time I go into the area, as I tend to walk or take the bus to go to things in my ward.

I was delighted that LES very quickly came up with a solution (so quickly I suspected someone else must have asked!), but they confirmed they'd done it after receiving my email. I'm sure you'll agree, it looks good! As I'd raised a few issues about the area, they're also doing a litter pick, and are looking into improving the local environment.

Sunday, 26 April 2009

Labour goes a bit saggy

Mildly amusing news today of underwear entrepreneur Michelle Mone withdrawing her support from the Labour Party. As one of those who signed the "union list" back in 2007, I wouldn't imagine she'll jump to the SNP, but it is interesting that she's joining an increasing list of high profile business people who are backing away from Labour. Could this be signs of a developing political cleavage?*

* TM Byron Criddle, University of Aberdeen, 2000-2004.

School closures... now I've calmed down

I've waited until now to post so I could do so with a clear head. I was incandescent on Thursday, angry, upset and frustrated at the way in which Labour behaved in the Council meeting. If I had posted straight away, I'd almost certainly have been carted off to the Standards Commission. I am still incredibly disappointed at the stage management of the Labour Group, where they were permitted to move against closures in their own wards, but obliged to support closures everywhere else. This was particularly ludicrous when some of the arguments in each case were so similar.

The way in which Labour acted does a huge disservice to those who campaigned, marched, occupied and petitioned. I spent time in Wheatley House reading each and every response for St James' Primary, Queen Mary Street Nursery and Mile End Nursery. I was moved and impressed by the responses, and they strengthened my resolve. I know from the sign-in sheet in the reception that not many Councillors bothered to read these. As far as I could see, no Labour Councillor had done so. This is a huge derogation of their responsibility to their constituents and the people of this city.

By contrast with my feelings about the callous way Labour Councillors acted, I was very proud of my colleagues in the SNP, and fellow opposition members from the Greens, Lib Dems, and the Conservative. We challenged, we reasoned, we let the world (or at least the public gallery) know why the proposals were flawed and wrong. I've since had emails from those in the gallery, and I know how they saw things. The Save Merrylee Nursery website has a good synopsis.

I met with some staff and parents from St James' Primary on Friday morning and the sense of betrayal was palpable. They know how damaged their community will be; this blow is the last thing Calton needs. The challenge now is to see pupils through to the end of term and ensure their education doesn't suffer as a result of this decision.

I know that all SNP politicians are now looking to find some way of appealing and overturning these decisions. The guidelines for this are narrow, but if there's a way, we will find it.

Thursday, 23 April 2009

Closure vote today

The Council will meet at 1.30 this afternoon to discuss and vote on the closure proposals. I remain hopeful that enough Labour Councillors will see the error in some of the proposals to change their minds.

I've had a lot of emails from parents from different schools and nurseries across the city, and I've been hugely impressed by the very reasoned and researched points they have made. They know that these proposals, and this process is flawed, but they've stayed determined. I am sure your views will be put across in the chamber this afternoon. It could be a long day.

Tuesday, 21 April 2009

Participation or manipulation?

Sorry for leaving you hanging over the weekend. I did see the consultation responses, but I've been mulling over whether to reveal my thoughts on what I saw. I think I've found the 4% who supported the closures.

Flicking through the responses, there were a large number from children at recieving schools. I've no problem with young people giving their views and being involved, but it has to be meaningful. I don't think this was true of younger children.

One child wrote:
1. I like my school
2. I like sooperman and spiderman
3. I like football

This will sit alongside the most well-researched counter-argument as an equally valid response.

The consultation responses are being held in a room in Wheatley House, and members of the public can view them on weekdays between 9 and 4. I recommend you take a look.

Wednesday, 15 April 2009

Consultation Response Update

I'm deeply disappointed that the establishments in my ward, St James' Primary, Queen Mary Street Nursery and Mile End Nursery have all been recommended for closure.

The consultation responses and their appendices (where the interesting stuff is buried) have now made it on to the Glasgow City Council website. I have heard that the Lib Dems got a rougher deal than the SNP Group, not having received the information on the responses before lunchtime. The Greens may have had them by mid-morning. Nice that we're all treated consistently...

The Evening Times
reports that;

Despite 96% of those who responded being against the proposals, the ruling
Labour group on the city council voted 31-6 to press ahead with the proposals.

All parents in the City should make a point of speaking to their Labour Councillors, and demanding to know how they voted, and why they failed to persuade their colleagues. They should also double check the lists of respondents in the appendices to see whether their Councillors put in an objection to these closure plans.

450 responses were received by the Council for St James' Primary, 251 for, 188 against and 11 unclear. It's deeply interesting that the receiving school, Alexandra Parade Primary, had 280 responses filled in by pupils. They will receive £75,000 towards improvements to accommodate the pupils from St James'. I'm going over to Education shortly to see the responses for myself, and am sure they will make interesting reading.

145 responses were received by the Council for
Queen Mary Street Nursery, but parents have told me that a 20 page petition was also submitted. This isn't mentioned anywhere, and I'm very concerned at the thought that this could go missing.

I'll post another update later, once I've seen the responses in the flesh.

School closures -rumours abound

Rumours are flying around the office this morning about which schools Education have proposed to save. We knew Labour were being briefed yesterday afternoon, and the SNP were due to have the proposals for 9am this morning. At 9.56, these have still not arrived. The Evening Times has a scrolling banner headline saying they have the details, and we've got any news we have through them.

This is totally unacceptable behaviour by the Labour administration, aided and abetted by the Education Department. We meet with Education officials at 10.30, by which time the early editions of the Times will be hitting the streets with no chance for us to comment.

The worse thing about this is the abuse of democracy. The full meeting of Glasgow City Council will take the final decision on these proposals next Thursday. I am appalled at the way this has been spun to make it look like the decision - which lies in the hands of democratically elected Councillors, not Education officials - has already been taken. Labour majority or not, that is wrong and makes a mockery of democracy in this city.

Education Consultation Responses to be Released

Big day today in Glasgow City Council; the responses to the schools closures consultation will be released on the web at 9am. This will give some kind of indication of those still on the closure list, and if any will be saved. I hope to give an update during the day.

Tuesday, 7 April 2009

Things I do...

I tend to walk a lot in my ward. I'm not sure whether a lot of Councillors do, but I think it's important because you pick up a lot of details on your way.

Some of the things I notice aren't really that exciting. They're problems with litter, cracks in the pavement, potholes, blocked drains and bricks that have come loose from a wall. I know that these things matter to people, and affect the way we feel about our communities. I take a photo if I can* and report the problem the appropriate department of the Council, often Land and Environmental Services. They fix what they can, and send me a reply, then I check that it's been done.

I don't know if people notice the difference, and there's certainly no sign to say Councillor Thewliss got that fixed for you. Trying to make things better is a big part of what I do, and I've put a few of the recent ones below. I hope they helped someone!

Bellgrove Street
I was doing my recycling here when I noticed there was no bin for people to put used poly bags in. Instead, people were stuffing them down the sides of the bins and they were getting loose and blowing about. I asked for a bin to be placed here so that people could dispose of their bags and other rubbish more easily.

Bridgeton Cross
I'd been out to meet with a group, and noticed the huge puddle outside the station. I reported the blocked drain to Land and Environmental Services, who investigated and cleared an obstruction from the outlet pipe to the main sewerage system. The gullies along London Road are also going to be checked.

Ogilvie Street/Canmore Street
I don't have a picture of this, but I noticed there was a lot of litter in the area. I've asked for it to be cleared up, and I hope this will be done in the next week or so.

Bluevale Street at Inglis Street
There's a persistent problem with fly tipping here; it's a real eyesore. I've asked Land and Environmental Services to clear it up and try harder to prevent it happening in future.

Duke Street down from John Wheatley College
There's a three consecutive street lights not working here, so I asked LES to get them fixed.

* I now have the most incredible selection of photos of potholes, graffiti and litter!

Monday, 6 April 2009

Timing is everything, and this isn't it

I get a fair amount of email dropping into my inbox every day at work. Some of it is from constituents, some from my colleagues, and some of it is unsolicited and gets deleted after I've had a quick swatch. Late yesterday afternoon, I received a mass email addressed to all Council staff that surprised me so much I had to read it again. Here it is:

I'm sure we all have our own special memories of life at school - some good, perhaps some not so good. But when was the last time you were actually in a school? How much has changed since you walked out of the school doors for the last time?

When you were at school, did you have Interactive Whiteboards, Media Suites, Social Streets? Or are you reading this and thinking "what are you talking about"? Well here is your chance to find out for yourself. A new exciting initiative is being offered to staff in 2009. Education Services are organising a number of 'Back To School' events, open to all Council staff and staff from the Councils' Arms Length External Organisations (ALEO's).

Glasgow's School Estate

The Council has radically improved the condition and quality of its education estate in the past 8 years. Since 2002 the Council has invested approximately £550m to ensure that children, young people and staff have high quality, vibrant learning and teaching environments that support the core objectives of raising attainment and achievement. A high number of schools in Glasgow have been transformed. Project 2002 resulted in Glasgow's secondary schools undertaking the biggest rebuilding and refurbishment programme ever seen in the United Kingdom. Project 2002 underlined the commitment of the City Council to investing in education. The end result of the project was 11 brand new secondary schools and 18 secondary schools totally refurbished, some with major extensions built.

The Council recognised that the reform could not be restricted to the secondary sector and therefore brought forward the Pre 12 Strategy. We are currently in Phase 4 of this project - full details are available at -

Education Services want to increase awareness throughout the Council of the positive impact of the investment in 21st century schools. So we are 'opening the gates' to our schools to allow council colleagues the chance to visit and see for themselves classrooms of the 21st Century. These proposed visits will also allow colleagues to have an increased awareness of the educational opportunities now on offer to our children and young people.

How to Apply for a Tour

Full details of this exciting new project, along with an application form for anyone interested in visiting a school, are available on Connect.

Tours will commence at 10am in specific schools and will finish off just before midday with a complimentary meal in the 'Fuel Zone' - the catering service provided by Direct and Care Services that has revolutionised catering in all primary and secondary schools - This will allow you the chance to compare school meals today with yesteryears delights such as mince, semolina and lumpy custard!

Staff will also have the option of making their own way to the school or alternatively Land and Environmental Services will arrange for transport to and from the school - leaving from, and returning to, Wheatley House on the day of the visits.

This message has been authorised for all Council distribution by Margaret Doran, Executive Director of Children and Families.

For a significant number of Council staff, it's part of their job to know what's going on in our schools. Some Council staff may get access to schools as parents, and will have an idea of what they're like. As an elected member, I'm in the schools and nurseries in my ward on a regular basis and I try to keep a handle on what's going on.

For the rest, I wonder what value a trip round Glasgow's schools will bring.
Will staff will get time off their work to go on this jolly outing? Why not wait for Doors Open Day? The campaigning parents of St Gregory's and Wyndford Primaries certainly didn't need an invitation!

I'm less than convinced that in these times of austerity what is needed is Education spending money on an open invitation to all Glasgow City Council employees to come and wander around school buildings. It sounds like there will also be cost implications to Land and Environmental Services for the minibuses and DACS/Cordia for meals.

The point of this exercise clearly isn't to give staff a true impression of the conditions children are taught in. It's not about nostalgia or letting staff go back to school. The schools that have been selected aren't among the five "Category D for Dangerous" school buildings, or even among the Cs and Ds. These tours won't show flaky paint, leaking roofs, pitted playgrounds, or point out the foliage sprouting from the gutters. Visitors won't get the chance to sit in drafty classrooms with their coats and mittens on to keep them warm.

They'll be visiting these selected schools:

Primary - 22nd April

  • Ashpark Primary
  • Avenue End Primary
  • Castleton Primary
  • Merrylee Primary
  • St Maria Goretti Primary

Secondary - 23rd April

  • All Saints Secondary
  • Drumchapel High
  • Knightswood Secondary
  • St Andrew's Secondary
  • St Thomas Aquinas Secondary

I don't seek to do Glasgow schools down by this post. The effort and high standards of the vast majority of teaching staff in sometimes difficult circumstances is admirable. The new schools Glasgow has invested in are impressive. For older schools, however, basic maintenance has been skimped over years. In some cases, we don't need new schools; we just need to look after what we have.

For me, the timing is pretty tactless. In a matter of weeks, Councillors in Glasgow will decide whether to close dozens of schools and nurseries across the city. This
a diversionary PR exercise, nothing less.

Saturday, 4 April 2009

Norwegian generosity

I noticed amongst my news feeds during the week, while the G20 were fretting over the future of the world economy and the UK Government starts to consider calling the IMF, there was a small article on Reuters which gave an indication of where some of this bailout money was coming from.

Oil-rich Norway said on Saturday it was ready to offer up to 30 billion crowns ($4.56 billion) to support the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and called for the fund to play a bigger role in supervising financial markets.

Fancy that. Labour have been gleefully gunning for the arc of prosperity, but here we have cast iron evidence of how a small, oil rich nation can contribute to the world. Norway have invested their oil wealth, rather than squander it across the decades. $4.46 billion is pocket money in a fund worth $300 billion. Remarkably, this generosity comes at a time when their oil fund isn't even in the peachiest of health.

How much better off would we be as a nation if North Sea oil had been invested in this way? What do we have to show for striking black gold? As a Scottish Nationalist, you would expect me to argue the It's Scotland's Oil case. And yes, it's ours. The McCrone revelations showed that our only mistakes were underestimation of our potential wealth, and stopping our campaign too soon. I believe that we have been incredibly lucky to have oil. The majority of nations have not been so fortunate, but not having oil hasn't hindered their independence.

I have heard the SNP accused by unionists of various political persuasions of being selfish and greedy for even trying to ask for our fair share of our oil revenues to spend or invest. Who's to say that if we had taken a truely prudent approach back in the seventies that we wouldn't be able to give our neighbours a helping hand?

Norway's example of how to make the most of a finite resource should be an example to the UK government. It's not too late.


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Bart Cline Nov 19, 2014 04:45AM EST

Will this wallet accommodate larger currencies, such as the British £20 or £50 notes? Or is it designed for US currency sizes, which are uniform and smaller?

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Mighty Customer Service Nov 21, 2014 03:55PM EST BeMighty Agent
Thanks for your Question.

The height of our Mighty Wallets is 3.25" tall, and does not fit the larger British and euro notes.

The Dynomighty Billfold is slightly larger at 3.375" tall, and the Funny Money Trifold is 3.5" tall.

Let us know if we can assist you with anything else.

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I want,that means I’m alive

All the books that  I have read for now,which are dealing with themes of human happiness,all they have couple of very important messages, and somehow they  are all the same, because they have the same point,the same starting point.

In the center of all similar books (motivational, educational, religious,psychological) is a humanism.All great things in life are so simple.All great secrets in hole life are so simple. We can see a lot of peaceful and calm peoples over the globe.But when we look at them we can not see any particular reason for that. They don’t have money, they don’t have proper house over the head,they don’t have…..But they have peace.

On the other hand, we can see a lot of peoples, which according to our (today’s society) criteria have all. Money,success,health,but they don’t have peace. I watched a documentary about Kurt Cobain who had a dream to become popular,to achieve success,to have a great band and he is achieved all that. But after that he killed himself. So sad.

We all seek one thing, and that is peace,complacence.

Is it that so hard to accomplish !!!???  It is not at all.All great secrets are simple.Remember this. This is so simple, and so true.This is if you ask me the greatest truth in the world.

What is that means.In all my posts you can see that I really emphasize always how is important to be honest.Honest with yourself,because it is the only way to be happy.You should sit with yourself and talk. Ask yourself, what do you really want from life.Forget ego,forget what you have already, forget what other people can tell you about that,forget how your parents, society would react on that.

Just you and your thoughts.

When you define what you want, than take it. Make some action.It is not important what the other peoples will tell you. What is really important is what you think about that.This is so simple. This is a big secret. Big, simple secret.

Here, you can come across on obstacle from your subconscious,because they teach you your hole life different things, and your wish is contradiction with your education.But this is not important. Just listen to yourself.

If you look at the groups for helps addicts, first step is to say your name, and say that you are an alcoholic, a drug addict.This is the fist step to healing.

You will after first step experience relief, because you are honest with yourself, and you are define what you want.

Than, after first step,it is time for second step.To do something about that.You can do everything you want. But you must make a first move.First step is the hardest one.But hey, you’ve already made the first step,with your honest.You must believe in yourself and in your dreams.

You must enjoy in road toward your dreams. You should enjoy in every single step.

You are alive as long as you have wishes.Don’t ever stop to wish something new,because you will on this way always remind  yourself that you’re alive.

Remember, all big secrets are so simple.Reveal them, and do not forget You Can Do It !

Once in a time, I have discovered that we are, humans,we are walking universe. That we create our own destiny. After that, nothing was the same !

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Saturday, December 16, 2006

article - Unsilent Night, Sydney

Metro, Sydney Morning Herald. December 15, 2006

Why sing carols when you can parade around playing Chrissie music on your boombox?

Unsilent Night - an iPOD-free event.

"It's a Christmas event that isn't corny or naff," says Daz Chandler, the organiser of Unsilent Night.

"This is for people who want to do something different around the silly season, who aren't into the whole Christian carolling side of things."

Unsilent Night is a composition by New York composer Phil Kline designed to be performed as a street parade by whoever turns up with a boombox.

It was first staged in 1992; last year's New York parade attracted 1500 participants. This Saturday night it will be performed in New York, San Diego and, thanks to Chandler, Sydney.

Chandler was given a recording of the New York parade for her 2SER-FM show last year and decided to organise the inaugural Australian parade in 2005.

"We asked Phil and he was stoked, so we bought a heap of cassette tapes - you can't do it on CDs because they skip - and stayed up all hours duplicating," she says. "It was great fun so we decided we'd definitely to do it again."

The symphony is arranged in four layers and distributed on cassettes to participants, along with a map of the route through the CBD, St James, Hyde Park and Oxford Street.

"It's timed so you get to Taylor Square and you're standing there [for] five minutes and it finishes and everyone goes, 'Wow, that was insane.' It attracts a lot of attention from normal people. They're having dinner and they look up and there's all these people carrying stereos on their heads."

It draws a wide range of participants.

"I was expecting the usual suspects: art students, people into weird stuff, musicians, but there were also families," Chandler says. "We had a women who was in her 80s.

"It feels magical, it also feels a trifle naughty. It's really great to do stuff with people you've never met before and feel like you're all united in something."

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Monday, February 22, 2010

Adelaide Fringe 2010 Review #2

Tamarama Rock Surfers
The Bakehouse
Until 27 Feb 2010
Review by Brian Godfrey

If there is a Fringe award for the longest titled production, then this show has won it hands down. The title is a small indication of the wonderfully strange, bizarre, theatrical experience awaiting.

As written by Benito Di Fonzo, this is Bob Dylan’s story as Bob himself would probably tell it - strange, lyrical, mystical and very heavy on name-dropping.

The play is so well written, directed and performed, that this non-Dylan fan was rapt. Director Lucinda Gleeson wrings every drop of talent from her very fine cast and has an obvious eye for humour and emotion that never becomes overdone.

On a nicely cluttered, but never distracting set designed by Eliza McClean, Matt Ralph shines as the Man Himself, Zimmerman/Dylan. Looking not unlike the singer/poet, Ralph never leaves the stage during the show’s hour long run and barely stops speaking or singing - and certainly never stops performing. This man IS Dylan and the audience never once doubt that. Ralph is also the Musical Director of the show and excels at that as well.

Complementing Ralph wonderfully are the multi-accented, very funny Andrew Henry and the very talented, beautifully voiced, Lenore Munro; both playing a multitude of characters. One of their many great moments has to be as John Lennon and Yoko Ono.

Since Dylan and music go hand in hand, we must not forget the marvellous job performed by the nonspeaking muso, Simon Rippingale (also doubling as the second Musical Director).

This type of production can either turn out as a load of arty-farty wank or a marvellously engaging theatrical experience - Tamarama Rock Surfers have produced the latter.

Rating: 4.5 stars (out of 5)

1 comment:

Sam said...

Congrats Fonzi - those review are awesome!


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Saturday, May 14, 2011

Day one work party

We had a big day last Tuesday getting things ready for the playground set up. Rock and wood chips needed to be loaded up and spread, and the wood frame to contain them needed to be put together. All these materials were donated and delivered by local companies and individuals.

J asked co-workers to come out on their day off to help. We were surprised by how many people came out! What a blessing to be part of a wonderful "family" and support system. The sun even came out for a while. Someone brought out a gadget (transit) to level the wood frame as it was built and make sure it was all straight. We were loaned a big sound system for music. Most people brought extra tools and wheelbarrows. Muffins, juice, water and granola bars were brought in by Make A Wish. Some people came out and stayed just a while, and some stayed until the project was finished. We are so happy by the way it turned out and thankful for the hard work everyone gave for S!

crushed limestone...hard work!

S. and Dad

S. would not take off his bike helmet
but we figured it was good protection with all the hazards around!

S. got lots of rides!

S. and his Make A Wish grantor (and Jackson the dog)

most of the work crew

For some reason the pictures we took were blurry on one side. Maybe the lens was dirty from little fingers. I hope others got some quality pics!


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Magento Photo Gallery Extension By Mageworld

Magento photo gallery pro 1

Magento photo gallery extension by “MageWorld” allows web merchants to present online products on the display of their web store with attractive and creative images. This photo gallery pro plug-in has a lot of amazing Features which can meets the requirements of any product or image gallery demanded by magento store owners.

Everyone knows that images can communicate faster than Words, and visitors can easily understand the message you want to deliver. Do you know that? More than 90 Percent of information transmitted to brain is through visual, and if you would like to make your Magento Store attractive, charming, and touchy then Photo Gallery pro plug-in is an optimum choice for your ecommerce site.

Let’s have a look on some of its amazing features

  • You can link photos to your multiple product images
  • It can display product snaps in a slide show which is easy for users to visit product galleries in a row which is also a time saving way for them
  • In this module you can create your own albums and sub albums as well
  • With the help of photo gallery pro you can organize your pictures based on category, topic or some other criteria

Customer’s Benefits

  • They can view images in a slide show without any reloading frustration element
  • This extension permits your customers to rate and review product images
  • Customers can also submitted their own photos to albums with the consent of admin
  • They will see album description, and image thumbnails which will make them clear and vivid
READ  Magento 2.0- Everything you Wanted to Know

Merchant’s Benefits.

  • This module support photo link so you can easily link a photo to a product or somewhere else you want.
  • This extension support URL friendly which is quite good in SEO point of view
  • Admin can organize different photo albums and support multiple album levels as well.
  • This photo gallery pro module have friendly Backend management
  • it permit you to order photos/albums with ease and comfort
  • Site admin have the authority to optimize thumbnails so that site loading speed becomes speedier.
  • With the support of pagination photo toolbar

The price of this extension is $132

         Download                      DEMO

  • Paul Stanely

    It’s a great extension to attractive photo galleries.

    Try this extension too www(dot) /photo-gallery(dot)html
    By using this extension you can display the product images & albums on any CMS page in your store.

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Thursday, September 6, 2012

Stencil Technique - by Lisa

The holiday weekend completely threw me off, and I'm also in the final week of rehearsals for my play. Sorry for the late post!

My brother passed away this summer, and at his memorial service we had a sweets table in the reception room. My sisters and I all got together and baked up a storm. I decided to make frosted sugar cookies with his monogram on them.

I made a simple sugar cookie with white royal icing. Originally I was going to pipe on his initials, but then I realized there was no way I could do it neatly and consistently for all the cookies. So I started looking for new ideas and came up with the plan to make a stencil.

I also recently became the owner of a Silhouette Cameo. It is a machine that cuts out any shape you want on a variety of materials. I had some issues with finding the right material to cut (yeah, stencil paper is way to thick for this machine), and finally figured out a suitable solution. The next hurdle was figuring out what medium to use. Royal icing? Spray icing? Gel food writer from a tube? Finally after some trial and error, I settled on food coloring pens which worked out beautifully!

Summer came out for the service, and she was a huge help in stenciling in the cookies. We were both quite pleased with the final result!

In the future, I will try and find some more lightweight material for the stencil. I've heard the dividers in notebooks work really well. It needs to be a firm material, and something that can be periodically wiped clean without falling apart. (My temporary solution was heavy card stock with freezer paper adhered to it.)

I look forward to trying this technique again (and under cheerier circumstances) with other cookies that would require a precise design such as a logo or something similar!

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Be Inspired

Good reads – October

Autumn is coming to an end and winter is right around the corner. We spend more and more time indoors (at least in Scandinavia *brr*), and what is then better than to read a good book? We share some of our favorites, and who knows; maybe you’ll be inspired to read one!

Two by two by Nicholas Sparks
We never grow tired of the endless novels from Nicholas Sparks, and this one just breathtakingly beautiful. It’s about a man named Russel Green; who is married, father two a young girl and has a successful career. Some may say his living the dream, but not Russel. In just months his whole life is turned upside down and we follow him through his journey. Prepare for an powerful and very emotional story.

Sarah’s Key by Tatiana de Rosnay
This book follows two parallel plots, both situated in Paris. In the first plot, we follow the ten-year-old Jewish girl Sarah, who is arrested with her parents during the Vel’ d’Hiv’- the infamous day in 1942 when French police rounded up thousands of Jewish men, women and children, in order to send them to concentration camps. Before they go, she locks her four-year-old brother in a cupboard, thinking the family should be back in a few hours. In the second plot, we follow Julia, an American journalist who is asked to write an article in honor of the 60th anniversary of the roundup. The two stories cross paths and this novel is not only an emotional one, but a true page turner!

Secret daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
Girls have no value in the countryside in India, so when Kavita gives birth to a daughter, her husband kills the newborn. A few years later she gives birth again, but this time she manages to save her newborn child by bringing it to safety in an orphanage. 20 years later Asha, who has grown up at an adoptive family in America, returns to India to reveal her past. A beautiful story about two mothers and a child.

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1 Comment

  • Reply
    October 28, 2016 at 9:22 am

    great tips I wanna read all of them! Did not know Sparks had yet another book out already! Yeah!
    Do you by any chance have tips of swedish books so I can improve my swedish skills?

  • Leave a Reply


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Architect, Creative Director and Designer, Virgil Abloh was born in Rockford, Illinois in 1980. Abloh graduated in 2003 with a Master's degree in Architecture from the Illinois Institute of Technology. With 10 years of experience in design Abloh's experience has spanned across different platforms. 2012 marked the inception of a clothing line entitled OFF-WHITE c/o Virgil Abloh. Regarding creative direction, various collaborations with notable artists exist in current culture platforms of art, music and fashion.

  1. 20 Sep 2017
    Virgil Abloh creates an interview.

    Virgil Abloh and Kim Jones

  2. 10 Feb 2014
    Virgil Abloh features in a project.

    Proud To Protest


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Have you ever had a day when you were so busy with this and that, and when lunchtime rolled around you realized you hadn’t had breakfast? Or for those over 50 been too busy to color your hair so your grandchild says, “Why do you have white hairs coming on your head?” (Of course, maybe you like your changing hair color and that’s great!)

I’m one of those people who likes to eat 5 to 6 small meals a day because it keeps my energy up, keeps my blood sugars level, and helps me not be so grouchy to others or stressed during a trying moment. Well, today it was morning snack time, but I was ready to work on the computer.

Am I the only one in the world who has sensitive technology? My computer has to be unplugged and reset once or twice before it will boot up, usually only once. I’ve also noticed if it’s too cold in the winter from the heat being turned down at night that my computer might not turn on, you know, just rebelling at the cooler temperatures.

As I prepared my yummy snack of leftover turkey, cranberry sauce and a homemade roll, I tried to turn that computer on. After two tries I gave up and decided my angels were telling me to relax and enjoy that morning snack without having work on my mind.

A big part of self-care is taking breaks both physically and mentally. Although I do enjoy my online work, sometimes I need a brain break. And sometimes I need food for my body and even food for my soul!

And what does this have to do with relationships? When you take time to nourish your body, exercise, take a nap, etc. you have more vitality and happy chemicals running through your body. It may be important to women to make sure your gray hair roots don’t grow out more than a half an inch, or enjoy a manicure, or put on your makeup before greeting the world. Men may prefer watching that sports game, making sure your hair is trimmed before it becomes unruly or just taking time out to read a good book.

This “downtime” should not be neglected. You are worthy and deserving to care for yourself in ways that nourish you. When we get neglected, it’s much harder to be caring and loving towards others. You may have heard the old saying that you can’t draw water from an empty well. Likewise, you can’t draw love and energy from a depleted person including yourself!

Sometimes even with the best intentions, our spouse or other family members can’t give us all the care we may need – especially self-care. When it comes to filling your own cup so you have awesome things to give to others, remember this is a true principle and fill that cup in whatever ways are best for you by scheduling time in your daily, weekly and monthly calendar!

BONUS TIP: If you are one who works on the computer for several hours at a time or just hanging out on social media, the 20/20/20 rule is important to know. To reduce eye strain, brain fog and tense shoulder and neck muscles, take a 20 second break every 20 minutes to focus on objects 20 feet away. When I was working on my book several years ago, my muscle therapist taught me this rule because I was having lots of neck and shoulder problems. Try it! It’s a great way to practice self-care!