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Toy Robots and Space Toys
Home > 8: Misc Vintage Space Toys

Most viewed - 8: Misc Vintage Space Toys
DISTANT EARLY WARNING RADAR STATION - MASUDAYA - JAPAN329 viewsA large grey-black lithographed tinplate battery operated tracking station. It has the usual Masudaya rotating plastic antenna and the pylon tower with the flashing light and Morse sound. The novelty feature of this toy is its attempt to recreate a radar cathode ray tube.

One of the four Masudaya space toys using this distinctive pressing.

Radar N Scope. Radar screen. Morse button. Rotating antenna. Detachable pylon with light. Console.
EXPLORER AND VANGUARD TRACKING STATION - MASUDAYA - JAPAN326 viewsStructoys / Masudaya Large red lithographed tinplate battery operated radar control center. MT. Satellite rotates around Earth in the central window. Rotating antenna. Morse key operates buzzer and light on pylon. Versions exist with Structoys and Masudaya logos at bottom left of box lid. In the Miles Kimball catalog for 1958.

One of the four Masudaya space toys using this distinctive pressing.
TWO-STAGE ROCKET LAUNCHING PAD, VERSION 2 - NOMURA - JAPAN299 viewsTin battery op rocket launching station. This is the more common light purple version. In this version the rocket is pressed into the silo manually, instead of crank action loader. The launching function is automatically started (battery operated) after pushing down the "launcher" part. A countdown sequence begins, the controller pulls levers, then the rocket launches. This version has extra rockets mounted around the firing tube. Some examples still retain a direction arrow at the point where the crank handle of the earlier version would have been. The earliest sighting of this, the more common version, is in the 1960 Higbee Company catalog. Marked Jupiter on the side.

There is a less common green litho version, the Rocket Launching Station.
ROCKET LAUNCHING PAD - NOMURA - JAPAN288 viewsTin battery op rocket launching station. This is a green version of the Nomura Two-Stage Rocket Launching Pad. In addition to the litho change there is a completely different box art and name. No date yet but details suggest it is later than the Two-Stage (See Gernot's article in Alphadrome)
AIR DEFENSE CENTER - CRAGSTAN (MAKER?) - JAPAN274 viewsA tall red lithographed tinplate battery operated console with radar screen and flashing lights.

The 1962 Sears catalog advertises this toy: "Radar scans sky.. warning lights blink.. missles fire! Air Defense Center is busy with action.. has rotating antenna and radar scope; winking lights; moving air speed register and altimeter. 3 rubber-tipped darts. Steel, 12 in. long."

Large oval rotating antenna. The box art depicts a military scene but the actual toy resembles the Masudaya range of similar control centres.
TWO-STAGE ROCKET LAUNCHING PAD VERSION 1 - NOMURA - JAPAN271 viewsTin battery op rocket launching station. This is the rarer light blue version with a "flatter" finish than the slightly raised litho of the purple version. There are no rocket holder clamps and the litho on the launcher top and base is different. The plate at the bottom of the launcher also has a different shape.

The main difference is the crank handle attached at the front and the presence of an additional button on the launch tube. The crank is used to start the launch sequence mechanically. The later version is started by simply pushing the rocket down. The handle folds flat for storage in the box. It is assumed that this is an earlier version which was unnecessarily complex and dearer to make.

The box is believed to be the same.
NASA CONTROL CENTER - MASUDAYA - JAPAN260 viewsA large blue and white tinplate battery operated command center console. This is a later example of the Masudaya control center and it has a decidedly less toy-like feel; it offers more realistic computer influenced design.

A command ship orbits the Moon. The object is to dock it with a lunar module. Inspired by NASA's Apollo moon program. Rotating two dish antenna.
ROCKET LAUNCHING PAD, FIRING COMMAND VERSION - YONEZAWA - JAPAN258 viewsTin battery op rocket launch pad. Countdown clock with lighted screen and "radio signal". Push the firing switch and the countdown meter starts backwards from ten as a radio signal sounds. TV screen shows rocket takeoff.

Two versions of this rocket launch are known, this one with the Firing Command wording has been first sighted in various 1959 catalogs including Aldens.
ROCKET LAUNCHING PAD, COUNT DOWN VERSION - YONEZAWA - JAPAN246 viewsTin battery op rocket launch pad. Countdown clock with lighted screen and "radio signal". Push the firing switch and the countdown meter starts backwards from ten as a radio signal sounds. TV screen shows rocket takeoff.

Two versions of this rocket launch are known, this one with Count Down wording and one with Firing Command wording. The Firing Command version has been sighted in various 1959 catalogs including Aldens. It is possible that the name later changed to reflect the popular TV countdown sequences.
ICBM VANGUARD SATELLITE LAUNCHER - REMCO - USA243 viewsPlastic missile launch station. Launches planes and spinner disks.
Appears in the Miles Kimball 1958 catalog.
THE SATELLITE TRACKING STATION - MASUDAYA - JAPAN242 viewsLarge red lithographed tinplate battery operated tracking station. Behind the screen is a model Earth with an orbiting satellite. Morse button. Rotating antenna. Detachable pylon with light. Console. Appears in a newspaper ad dated November 1958.

One of the four Masudaya space toys using this distinctive pressing.
MONDBAHN TERRA LUNA, NO ANTENNA GE-262 METEOR EXPRESS - TECHNOFIX - WEST GERMANY234 viewsHighly lithographed tinplate track toy. Two versions, one with additional spinning rocket antenna. 19" long. The box has no name for the toy.

Dated to 1951 in the Technofix archive. Mondbahn. This version, without antenna, features in Eaton's 1953 catalog as "Rocket to the Moon".
PIONEER 3 STAGE ROCKET WITH LAUNCHER - NOMURA FOR ROSKO - JAPAN234 viewsTin spring loaded rocket launch pad with USAF rocket.

The white rocket has red and blue fins. It consists of three sections, the last being a rubber tipped dart. The rocket sits on a spring loaded base alongside a blue tinplate gantry. When the button is pressed there is a "countdown" delay before the rocket is launched. 19" 49cm

"At Cape Canaveral".

The Pioneer is featured in a newspaper ad in June 1959
TWIRLY WHIRLY ROCKET RIDE - ALPS - JAPAN231 viewsTin battery op fairground ride with spinning capsules. 13.5. Rockets spin & light as they rise. Bell. On sale in November 1959.
MONDBAHN TERRA LUNA WITH ANTENNA GE-262 METEOR EXPRESS - TECHNOFIX - WEST GERMANY230 viewsTin windup track toy. Early version of the toy that has two satellites spinning in circles as two 1.75" long tin cars are shot around the track. Beautifully litho'd toy has illustrations of space ships on both sides. 19" long. The box has no name for the toy. Mondbahn

Dated 1951 in the Technofix archive.

Image Smith House Auctions
ROCKET EXPRESS GE-286 - TECHNOFIX - WEST GERMANY229 viewsBrightly lithoed tin wind up space toy. Small rocket cars orbit a track arond the Earth against a space port scene. Based on the Terre Lune pressing. West Germany. Raketen Express

Dated to 1957 in the Technofix archive.
MOON PATROL HELICOPTER, MOON SCOUT - MARX - USA225 viewsTin wind up space helicopter. Two rotors. Litho details. An example of a toy given a space theme despite the absurdity of the science.

Image courtesy Smith House auctions.
MAN-MADE SATELLITE - SWALLOW TOYS/HOKU - JAPAN223 viewsTin battery operated orbiting satellite toy. Circa 1958. Earth turns as the satellite spins above, Mars spins and the rocket light blinks. With signal button and Morse code 8.5" Beautifully lithographed base with a lunar landscape on one side and space rockets on two other sides. Is this Hoku?

On sale in December 1958
SPACE TRIP STATION - YONEZAWA - JAPAN220 viewsA large lithographed tinplate control center combining battery operated and wind up drives. Electro Toy space launch station. Shoots spinners. Approx. 13.5" long. Brightly lithographed console. Lighted space scenes moving across central screen while the top dome with astronaut spins around. Plastic spinners can be launched from the wind up mechanisms at either side.
UNIVERSE TRAVELLER - MASUDAYA - JAPAN219 viewsLithographed tinplate track toy. Two tin rockets move along Technofix style as the wind up mechanism raises and lowers the track. Large rotating antenna. A clockwork mechanism lifts the track and allows the cars to roll from end to end. A rectangular metal antenna rotates. The spaceship is a small red and yellow vehicle marked X-100.

There are two litho versions of this toy: one has a darker blue space scene and the other has a light blue background with a different space scene.

The same design of toy also appeared as the Dragon Ride circa 1952/3.

On sale with the spelling Space Traveler in October 1958.
CAPE CANAVERAL ?AK 1100 ROCKET LAUNCH PAD - STRENCO - WEST GERMANY216 viewsTin wind up rocket launch pad. Red and white rocket on blue base with gantry. Rocket approaches the gantyr then launches. Small plastic figure included.
TICK TACK EXPRESS - Phillip Neidemeyer (PN) - WEST GERMANY214 viewsTin wind up track toy. Two wind up cars travel from end to end via a central Station. Technofix style. Space graphics on the box, not on the toy.
SATELLITE IN ORBIT - HORIKAWA FOR CRAGSTAN - JAPAN213 viewsTin battery op space toy. The world turns and a styrofoam ball floats on the stream of air created by the blower. Made in Japan for Cragstan by Horikawa. Serial no 40225

First sighting in the May Co. Toytime 1959 catalog.
ROCKET LAUNCHING BASE - MASUDAYA - JAPAN206 viewsA red lithographed tinplate rocket launch station. The console has a detachable pylon with a red light, a rotating dish antenna and a plastic rocket. The station has graphics of various dials. In the center is a ring of white lights that provide a countdown before the rocket is launced. Morse buzzer, spinning antenna and lighting pylon. 8"x5" Date?

One of the four Masudaya space toys using this distinctive pressing.
GLOBE WITH ORBITING SPUTNIK AND SAUCER 2000 - MS - WEST GERMANY200 viewsW Germany. Tin clockwork globe with orbiting flying saucer and sputnik. MS Chamois Logo 2000
Made by Michael Seidel. Founded 1881 in Zirndorf near Nuremberg. Schopper is also from Zirndorf. It´s possible that those toy companies - Schopper/Fuchs/Seidel - changed toy parts, not unusual for German toy producers.
LANZA COHETES SPUTNIK - RODADOS BRILLO - ARGENTINA196 viewsTin missile launch toy. A stubby plastic rocket fits inside a launching tube mounted on a rotating platform. Two sentry posts. Marked Rodados Brillo. The term Sputnik is included for topicality: there is no obvious connection.
SPACE SATELLITES WITH LAUNCHING STATION - MARX - USA196 viewsThis is the first version of this space station toy. Tin lithographed space launch base with crank powered spinners. See the "Space Satellites with Launching Sites and Rocket" variation.

On sale in December 1956.

SPUTNIK THE MAGNETIC SATELLITE - MAKER? - JAPAN192 viewsTin battery op spinning toy. Central globe holds batteries. Magnetic satellites spin around the outer track, lit by power from the center.
EARTH AND SATELLITE TOY NAME? - MAKER? - WEST GERMANY192 viewsTin and plastic wind up? Earth ans satellite orbitin a conical stand. West German ?

Image courtesy of Smith House Toys
MECHANICAL SPACE MOBILE - MARX - JAPAN190 viewsTin lithographed battery operated space train rolls backward and forward over a tinplate lunar style track. Space-Mobile. Track dismantles for storage in box.
SATELLITE - MAKER? - JAPAN190 viewsTin battery op toy. Batteries housed in central globe. The magnetic satellite spins around the track, lit by power from the central globe.
DOCKING APOLLO - MASUDAYA - JAPAN187 viewsBrightly lithographed tin and plastic spacecraft and plastic lunar lander. The two craft travel around a figure of eight track with a detailed picture of a moon landing. Tin battery op track toy with Apollo capsule and plastic lander. An imaginative attempt to capture the intricacy of the Apollo moon landing operation.
RAKETEN BAHN - SPACE ROCKET TRACK - VOITH - WEST GERMANY187 viewsTin track toy. Tin litho launch station propells tin rocket around the track. West Germany. Fritz Voith Zirndorf
ROCKET CONTROL CENTER -SANKEI (FOR AHI) - JAPAN185 viewsBlue and yellow battery-operated Rocket Control Centre game. The box shaped toy comprises an endless rotating grey plastic conveyor belt with fixed rockets and Moon Launchers with magnetic moveable rocket. The magnet in the base of the plastic rocket trips a switch underneath the belt, allowing the belt to move. A wheel is turned which moves the magnetic switch from side to side, taking the rocket with it and so guiding the rocket through the moving obstacles. Should the rocket hit one of the approaching obstacles it drops contact with the magnetic switch and the belt stops. Space scenes on base and illuminated green control panel. 33cm

Some boxes carry the AHI logo as well as the Sankei logo.
SPACE-SATELLITE - Phillip Neidemeyer PN - WEST GERMANY184 viewsTin wind up toy. Tin litho toy has overall size of 4x13x5.5" tall. 1960s by Niedermeier, Western Germany. Center unit of the toy which has lever is domed globe showing continents along with large images of a jet plane and ocean liner. Attached to this by rods are a 3.5" long spaceship and 2" diameter satellite both featuring images of the Sputnik 2 dog Laika at windows. Toy works and spins to give appearance of the spacecraft rotating the Earth.
SKY ROCKET - BILLER - WEST GERMANY184 viewsTin wind up space toy. Two levers control the movement of a rocket approaching a docking station. W germany
MECHANICAL ROCKET EXPRESS - LINEMAR - JAPAN182 viewsTin wind up orbiting train and satellite. Two rocket trains marked SP sit on either side of a central disk rotating on a blue base with space lithography. When wound the trains move round, passing under a tunnel and through a station. A Sputnik satellite orbits above. Honeymoon Express style. 1950s?
SPACE TRIP - MASUDAYA - JAPAN181 viewsA metallic blue lithographed tin battery operated track toy. Rotating space station lifts tin rockets and sends them around the track. When turned on and the two sided cars are placed on the top portion of the track, they race to the left where they drop and flip over transferring to the bottom inside section of the track. They then jump over a ramp and disappear into a rotating space station that rotates moving the cars to the top section to repeat the action. During operation a space sound is heard. On sale in October 1959.
FLY TO THE MOON BY SPACE CAPSULE - Maker? - JAPAN177 viewsA tin and plastic space moon globe. A detailed lunar globe is encased in a light green plastic sphere. It stands on a tin and plastic base with space scenes. A white and red Apollo spaceship is attached to a track on the side of the globe and travels around the moon. Battery operated.
MOON'S STATION - ANANIADES - GREECE176 viewsTin wind up Honeymoon Express style train travelling around Earth. The two carriage train is fixed to a central disk. As the disk turns it takes the train around, through two tunnels. Saturn. rocket and jet lithography. A rocket and Sputnik style satellite on a wire orbit the central Earth hemisphere. Greek. Possibly by FINO?.
DAN DARE WALKIE-TALKIE SET - MERIT - ENGLAND175 viewsMerit England, plastic electronic walkie talkie set. Black and red plastic handsets with three function buttons. The devices are claimed to work using "magnetic power" not batteries. Set No Set No 3100. Red versions with black trim are also known, but are less common. A Morse code card was also included.

Remco QX-2 design with three additional decorative buttons.

Advertised in the Meccano Magazine May 1954.

Merit was the trading name of J & L Randall.
APOLLO LUNAR LANDER TOY - K LOGO KOKYU - JAPAN173 viewsK Logo. Tin wind up Apollo capsule and lander orbit the moon. The lithographed tinplate toy comprises a square base with a hemispherical red and yellow moon surface. From the center of the cratered moon surface two wires extend, one with an orboting Apollo space capsule, the other has a lunar lander. Wind up rotating action. Japanese box version.
ASTRONAUT ORBIT WITH 3 MERCURY CAPSULES - ATC - JAPAN173 viewsLithographed tinplate lever action amusement ride carousel with three 3 tin Mercury capsules attached to the canopy by wires. Blue base, central girder tower and a yellow tin canopy. The space capsules are fitted with large celluloid propellers which turn when the toy runs.

Asahi Toy company. Similar to the SPACE CAPSULE CARROUSEL
I.C.B.M. LAUNCHING STATION - HORIKAWA - JAPAN173 viewsTin friction rocket launching ramp. Turn crank on base to turn the friction motor on the missile then push the button on the base. The two stage missile is released. When the missile hits the end of the ramp a button automatically triggers the rubber tipped rocket to release. 45cm assembled. ICBM

Image courtesy Smith House Auctions
MECHANICAL ROCKET RIDE #400 - CHEIN - USA172 viewsA tall 18" brightly lithographed tin wind up carousel with rockets. The tall, slender toy has a red tin base, solid hexagonal tower, blue canopy. Four vintage fairground style style rockets each hang from a pair of wires. The rockets, two red and two blue, each carry two passengers. Each rocket has a celluloid propeller which turns when the toy runs. Wind up action. Sold in a brown box with minimal graphics. USA

First sighted in Read's Christmas Catalog for 1952.

This toy has been reproduced.
ROCKET LAUNCHERS - AMERICAN TOYS - USA169 viewsA target game. Rubber tipped wooden darts are thrown at the tin rocket launching pad. If the target is hit the rockets are launched. Large three-rocket and small one-rocket versions.

The smaller version has feathered darts.
FLYING SAUCER AEROPLANE NR 132 - MAKER? - WEST GERMANY168 viewsTin friction plane with spinner. Forward motion launches the disks. Box art of plane with flying saucers. W. Germany. DPs Maker?
MUSICAL MECHANICAL SPACE RIDE #265 - CHEIN - USA166 viewsA 9" tall light blue lithographed tin lever action space carousel ride with three rockets. This carousel has a round base, a round central cylindrical column and a domed canopy, all with copious early style rocket and space decoration. Four vintage fairground style rockets with different litho detailing, each hang from a stout metal rod. Litho rider detail. The toy uses a simple spring activated lever. It actually rotates very fast with centrifugal force pulling the ships nearly horizontal. As the canopy rotates it generates an ascending scale of three different plinking sounds; each is slightly higher in tone than the previous. It then repeats. This is the "musical" part of the toy. The toy was on sale in December 1954.

Note: only confirmed with four rockets. A version with three rockets has been seen but may have been adjusted to compensate for a missing rocket.
CONEY ISLAND ROCKET RIDE - ALPS - JAPAN165 viewsA light blue lithographed tn battery operated fairground ride. Circa 1959. Two red, yellow and blue rockets are on either side of a central beam and spin and light as they twirl around the tripod mounted tower. A bell rings. See also the Twirly Whirly Rocket Ride variation.

Image Smith House Auction
EL SUPER ROBOT - SPAIN164 viewsMagic Robot game. Small plastic robot in the center is a Dux Astroman.
SPACE BUS - BANDAI - JAPAN163 viewsA large lithographed tinplate battery operated space helicopter. the boxy design in bluw, red and yellow has a formawd canopy and tailfins on the side rear. Two folding plastic rotors fit on a tin dome and are synchronised to rotate such that they overlap. Battery operated remote control gives forward and reverse movement with flashing lights.

Featured in a newspaper ad in October 1964.

SPACE COMMANDER WALKIE TALKIES - REMCO - USA162 viewsRed and black plastic walkie talkie set. Display box. String type. Also in red and blue. A much copied design. On sale 1953.

HELICOPTER ME-632 - CHINA161 viewsThis is considered to be one of the finest of Chinese space toys. This is a dark blue lithographed tinplate battery operated space helicopter. This unusual spaceship is a flying wing, with two large helicopter rotors. The brightly lithographed ship has a picture of itself in flight. Two plastic structures hold the rotors and there is a forward plastic control center with two pilots. The spaceship has a two stage action: first it advances with spinning rotors and flashing lights, then it stops and two flaps on the wing open to reveal litho characters beneath. The box has a superb illustration of the toy flying through space. ME632
STRATO-COPTER MZ-560 - HUKI? - WEST GERMANY153 viewsGerman, 1950s, tinplate wind up toy. Helicopter orbits with flying saucer around a central tower. Excellent box art. HK-560 (proably HUKI) on helicopter which has separate wind up motor for its rotor. See box other version.
AMUSEMENT PARK ROCKET RIDE - YONE/YONEYA - JAPAN152 viewsSY/Yoneya's Jumping Rocket pressing has been used to create this rocket amusement ride. The lithographed tin wind up ride consists of a square tower with a beam fitted to the top. Two rockets with vinyl pilot heads rotate horizontally around the tower. The rockets are suspended using string. The box depicts a much more streamlined version than the actual toy. In the bottom right hand corner of the box is ENCOR ROMA which indicates that this was an Italian exclusive release.

See the Super Rocket Ride variation of this toy. 8" 21cm high. On sale in September 1966.
2 WAY ELECTRONIC MAGNET POWERED WALKIE TALKIES - REMCO - USA151 viewsSilver plastic electronic walkie talkie set. Handset with separate mothpiece and earpiece. Small antenna. Magnet powered.

The current earliest sighting is 1953.
Morse Code Space Set147 viewsMorse code set with working lights and buzzers.
METEOR HWN-XC7 - HWN - WEST GERMANY146 viewsLithographed tin jet plane. Red, blue and white. Friction drive with spark. The box carries no name but the graphics establish the space credentials. W Germany
ROCKET STATION No 136 RAKETEN STATION - HWN - WEST GERMANY142 viewsTin spring loaded rocket launching building with plastic rocket. Wind up timing release mechanism. West Germany.
ROCKETS AWAY - AMSCO - USA141 views`Sensational Space Travel Game` A shooting (bomb aiming) game. The set consists of Space Station with Rocket Launcher, four dart like plastic rockets with sharp tips and a target board. The darts are loaded into the aiming device, an assembled card box, and dropped onto the target.

On sale March 1953.
ROCKETS TO THE MOON SPACE GAME - WOLVERINE - USA139 viewsTin and plastic bagatelle.
HK-555 PLANE - HUKI - WEST GERMANY139 viewsTin friction(?) rocket plane. The wings are articulated, allowing a variety of shapes. Huki - West Germany, 50s. Another version exisiting with different litho and colors
SPACE ROCKET SR-1007 - MAKER? - JAPAN138 viewsLithographed tin friction rocket with jet plane styling. Blue, red and yellow. Delta wing. Japan. Maker?
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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Diane von Furstenberg and Friends

Diane von Furstenberg is a woman with lots of connections. Recently I became intrigued by the idea of designers in their off-time. Who do they socialize with? What do they wear? I decided to explore the possibilites in a mini-series of blogs. I hope you enjoy.

Diane von Furstenberg with Jay Fielden and tennis star, Roger Federer [left]. Diane von Fursternberg with Vera Wang [right].

Diane von Furstenberg with Carol Hamilton and Anna Wintour [left]. Diane von Furstenberg with Candy Pratts Price with Barbara Walters [right].

Diane von Furstenberg with Michelle Trachtenberg [left]. Diane von Furstenberg with Ralph Lauren, Ricky Lauren, Donna Karan, and Valentino Garavani [right].

Thank you for reading. I hope that you liked what you saw and decided to follow me through bloglovin' or GFF [links to the right]. And please don't forget to check out my second blog. I try to post three times a week. I'll see you tomorrow!

Photos courtesy of

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Tuesday, March 22, 2016

Blood Eagle

I don't quite know how I managed to miss the development of Blood Eagle, from the team that bought us In Her Majesty's Name.  But I have only just found out about it, thanks to some fellow bloggers.  This is particularly odd as it seems perfect for me; being for Dark Age skirmishes with 3 to 15 figures a side.  A few years ago I bought Saga but although, admittedly, I have never played it the inclusion of elements like the battle boards put me off.  It seemed to be too 'gamey' (like the jugged hare my uncle gave me once) for someone as stupid as me, whereas I have played and enjoyed IHMN and the rules are based on the same engine,

Better than that, I actually have a number of Dark Ages figures painted. First up are these old Gripping Beast Romano-British and Saxons.  This was before Little Big Men shield transfers!  I think I have all the Gripping Beast figures based on the Bernard Cornwell Arthurian novels and I bought a job lot long ago from the time they had a shop in Richmond upon Thames.

From the same period I have painted around 30 Musketeer Miniatures Early Saxons. I also have a number of Grand Manner Dark Ages buildings, some of which are painted too.

Moving forward in time I am working on some Carolingians and have quite a few more under way for a Lion Rampant force.

I have also painted a few Andalusian crossbowmen and have some unpainted infantry somewhere

It's Vikings I have the most of, however, and it is really these that I will be looking at for my first Blood Eagle forces.  I must have around 60 painted so I would already have enough to try out the rules.

I've also got Norman, Byzantines and Crusades figures but I think it's probably the earlier period I am going for.

I need to get hold of a copy of the rules and see what sort of forces and, therefore, figures you need. There is an official Blood Eagle blog here.

Gordon Richards said...

Some lovely figures. I shall look forward to seeing your Blood Eagle adventures!

Matholwch said...

I too shall look forwards to seeing what you think of the rules when they arrive :)

It's worth noting that there is an extremely active Facebook page for the game with 500+ members that's been going a few months while we were finishing off the rules.

You cna find it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/424811634371518/

Paul O'G said...

I'm looking forward to this too!

Nice figs - now lets see them in action :-)


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Within Darkmoon Vale, the ramshackle town of Falcon’s Hollow is a wild place that rests perilously close to the infamous Darkmoon Vale. Nestled in the shadow of Drokar’s crag the shadow of nearby mountains casts a shroud of gloom on the desperate souls who call this place home. It is a place of hardship broken only occasionally by a festival or an infrequent merchant caravan. The people of the tiny village face constant adversity from both the wilderness and the wiles of man. Wolves nip at their heels and cutpurses ply at their pockets.

Still many are drawn here to make their fortune cutting darkwood lumber in the lush forests of the vale. They are undaunted by the mist that hides the feral beasts, trolls and the restless souls of the dead that roam the forest.

Others journey to these remote fringes to start over, cobbling together their shattered lives on the edge of an untouched wilderness far from the things of man. The remoteness also attracts persecuted zealots and outcasts. Here, these fanatics practice their strange and often deviant rites unfettered by the mores of civilization.

Regardless of the reason they choose this town as their home all know that dark things await them just beyond the edges of what civilization they have made in this wilderness.

Darkmoon Vale

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Say it ain’t so Tonex! Is this good bye?

TonexWow… I know this will work together for Good in the end… but it doesn’t stop me from feeling the pain that he must be going through right now!

Quoted from Tonex’s blog at

After long contemplation and much financial & emotional hardship I have decided that Tonex needs go on hiatus from the music industry. I have tried very hard to endure all that I can from being misunderstood to being down right lied on and I don’t physically or emotionally have the capacity to continue on anymore under the current circumstances.

note: to hear the live interview on this topic go to

I’m really overwhelmed. In Tonex’s blog, he goes through his personal list of woes and hardships that he’s endured recently.  I really encourage you to go read the whole thing for yourself here .  What disturbs me most is that he’s had to face such hardship in the hands of the “Church Folk”!  Now I’ll put my personal bias out here and I’ll make it clear… I love what I know of Tonex and his ministry.  But even if you are totally opposed to everything he does, does that exclude him from being another brother in the Lord… for whom Christ died?  Do we forget that artists and entertainers are people too… need Jesus too… need to be loved and cared for too- right or wrong?

This is a sensitive subject for me because of the difficulties I have faced in the pursuit of my faith.  I’ve become especially sensitive to those who the church frequently mistreats.  The church in the US has such an institutionalized culture and can be so exclusive of those who culturally don’t fit in. This isn’t to say that Christians should continue in any-old way of living… but we bar people from coming in the door based on the way people look or the way they might make us look. So many times we push ‘sinners’ away because we just can’t stomach who they are right now. I personally have been pushed away, forgotten, and ignored because the sins I struggle with are too uncomfortable for those in my leadership.

Again, I’m not in a place to make a judgment call about anything going on in Tonex’s life because I’m not in his life nor am I his spiritual covering. But it truly pains me to hear his struggle with LIFE.

One friend I talked to about this commented: “we put our grown up spirituality on other people and leave them no room to grow and mature into their faith. Then what we get is ‘burned-out’ Christians who shut down for years before returning to ministry—after they have matured”. I’ve always seen Tonex simply as one who’s maturing in his faith yet who’s bold enough to be himself in the process. We always praise the ones who “act just like so-and-so”, or who are “going to be the next so-and-so” but what about the one that leaves you blessed and scratching your head at the same time? Kirk Franklin falls into this same category in my book… a brother in Christ who just like all of us is growing and maturing, but who’s transparent enough to let us SEE God at work in his life.

I could go on for a while about this (and maybe there will be a part two) but I just want to leave on this note. JESUS was transparent about his life too. Have you ever looked at the temptation of Jesus in the Wilderness?

You can Read it HERE Mathew 4:1-11.

Think about when the devil comes to tempt you… when was the last time he showed up in red tights, sporting a big red cape, horns, and a pitch fork? Did he announce: “I’m the devil here to test you… please disobey God and do what I say.”? I don’t think so, when WE are tempted, he comes through subtle suggestions in our minds… suggestions that have just enough truth to make sense to us. He doesn’t sound like SATAN… he sounds a lot like YOU.

The Bible tells us that Jesus was TEMPTED in the same ways that we are. Now the other part for us to wrap our minds around is this: nobody had to know that Jesus ever felt tempted. Think about it… no body was there with him in the desert. Here he is, all alone, with little thoughts coming to his mind that might make sense—especially after the heaven’s just opened up and announced “This is my son in whom I’m well pleased… listen to him”. So why in the world would he come back and tell anyone that the DEVIL was able to bring a thought to his HOLY mind? Because Jesus wants us to know that yeah, temptation has knocked on his door too. But we can overcome it just like He did. He set a president… not to keep everything hush-hush but to say—look at my life… I was tempted by the devil to bow down to him, I cried and agonized in the garden about following through with the Will of God for my life, I experienced pain, rejection, humiliation, and suffering… and I’m THE son of God. He opened up the not so glorious parts of His life so that we can be free and have no need to hide the not so glorious parts of our own lives.

Anybody wanna be just like Jesus!?

It’s my prayer that as with all test and storms in life, this too work together for Tonex’s good… that on the other side of the tears and the pain, a glorious ministry of healing and hope spring forth for everyone who can identify with what he’s going through right now.

In the mean time, keep us honest and transparent folks up in prayer yall! It ain’t easy being on the front line being shot in the back by Christians who aren’t comfortable with you on the SAME team with them.

In the words of that infamous man of God: ToNeX

“2 each His own”,

Wednesday January 25, 2006 – 01:52am (CST)

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Tuesday, 29 January 2013

Couture Corner: The look to build self-esteem

Slip those feet in the Crockett & Jones Apron Toe Penny Loafers

Paul Smith belt

Look neat in a Jaco white V-neck t-shirt

 Be on time with a Flud Watch

Protect those eyes with a pair of Police Sunglasses

Make sure you get the appropriate Chino pants

Ashley Mokwena

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Carnegie Stage 23 Definition

Age is approximately 56 postovulatory days

Length is approximately 28-30mm (middle range); full range is 23-32mm

External Features Include: The eyelids are starting to fuse at margins. The superficial vascular plexus is rapidly approaching the vertex of the head. The limbs have increased markedly in length and show more advanced differentiation of their subdivisions.

(O'Rahilly R and Muller F [1987] Developmental Stages in Human Embryos. Carnegie Institute, Washington, Publication no. 637)


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Make your own free website on

Market Risk
Home Income Volatility Graph Ending Value Graph Worst Year Graph Avg. Income Graph

The Methodology
Fixed Annuity Issue
Market Risk
Combining It all
Other  Withdrawal Targets
Withdrawals Forever
Efficient Frontiers
Simple and Efficient
Alternatives/Next Steps
Omega Strategy (not)
About the Author

Market Risk and the "4% Solution"

The next thing that was done was to decide what methodology to use to evaluate ‘risk’ and the requirement for mid-course corrections. As I said previously, it was not clear to me how the following should be handled (I’ll be starting with the assumption that there is no fixed annuity in the equation).

Assume that you have decided that a 4.4% withdrawal rate is proper and in the first year you start with $1M, withdraw $44,000 for living expenses, and the markets have a very bad year resulting total portfolio loss of 20%. At the time for withdrawal at the beginning of year #2 your $1M in assets are now worth

(1,000,000-44,000) x (1-.2) = $764,800.

Even assuming no inflation in the first year, another $44,000 withdrawal is 5.8% of the remaining portfolio. Granted the analysis done says that there has never before been a combination of years where this would have presented a problem. But I was very uncomfortable with the concept of withdrawing 5.8% under these circumstances. So the question is what is the probability of this happening, what is the correct withdrawal strategy for handling this, and how does this impact the planned income stream?

Again, for reasons of consistency with previous studies, I stayed with a 30 year time horizon. I also decided that the ‘proper’ strategy was to limit the annual withdrawal to be the smaller amount of:

The initial withdrawal amount adjusted for inflation

A fixed percentage of your current portfolio

After thinking about this for a while I modified the second limit to recognize that shorter timeframes should be able to accommodate more aggressive withdrawal percentages. So I modified #2 to linearly scale the percentage from the initial withdrawal percentage in the first year to 7% in the 30th (final) year.  I started the analysis with an initial withdrawal amount of 4.4% based on earlier analysis. The choice of 7% was basically arbitrary and I have not yet done any further analysis to try to optimize this choice. Note that I did NOT assume that your withdrawals would increase in those cases where your portfolio value grows faster than inflation.

In these terms the withdrawal rules for the Jarrett/Trinity studies were the smaller of:

The initial withdrawal amount adjusted for inflation

100 % of your current portfolio

Presenting the results of this analysis is more complex than the previous cases. I decided to analyze this situation by looking at the following data for each of the 54 different retirement starting years. The starting conditions were a $1,000,000 initial portfolio value and initial withdrawal of $44,000.

The number of times that the annual withdrawal had to be reduced by more 10% of the original withdrawal amount (after inflation adjustment) in each of the 30 year retirement scenarios. Click Here for Income Volatility.

The largest income drop encountered in each of the 30 year retirement scenarios. Click Here for Worst Year.

The average inflation adjusted withdrawal amount for each of the 30 year retirement scenarios. ClickHere for Average Income.

The ending inflation adjusted portfolio value for each of the 30 year retirement scenarios. Note that this withdrawal methodology means that the ending value will never be zero, although it can approach zero in the limit in some cases. ClickHere Ending Value.

In this chapter the data is presented for one initial withdrawal target (4.4%).

I ended up drawing the following conclusions.

It is very likely that even using a ‘conservative’ 4.4% withdrawal strategy, you will encounter years with an income below the target of 4.4% of the initial portfolio value (adjusted for inflation).

Seeing the data in this form pushes me toward a more aggressive asset allocation target for retirement.  I found the ‘they all worked at 40/60 and some failed at 60/40’ view compelling using the Trinity/Jarret withdrawal methodology. But from the data that  I'm seeing using this withdrawal methodology, I find a conservative 40/60 asset allocation to be less compelling. The opportunity for a higher ending portfolio value using a 60/40 asset allocation (vs. 40/60) is clear (as is the opportunity for a larger worst case income drop if you look carefully at the graphs). Even 80/20 looks less than reckless when viewed from this perspective.

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Thursday, December 30, 2010

Happy New Year!

We just got back from a week long vacation with my family to San Antonio, TX. My sister lives in Texas, but we decided to rent a house (thanks Shell!!) and spend the week some place fun and that most of us have never been. Although my Dad, Brother and Sister and law couldn't make it, we all still had a blast exploring and spending Christmas there together.
We stayed in this adorable 3 bedroom/ 2 bathroom Spanish style cottage close to downtown and all the shopping destinations. Highlights from our trip were the River Walk, shopping, eating and hanging out.
  I'll leave you with a few photos and will post more next week. This was taken on River Walk with all the lights surrounding the river.
 My sissy and  me.
 Everyone (minus David) waiting to eat at Casa Rio on Riverwalk. It got super cold that night, but every other day it was in the 60's.
Everyone (minus James). We are glad to have the weekend to take down Christmas decor, clean the house and hang out with Davids family (since we didn't get to spend Christmas with them). Cheers to a great 2010 and hoping for an even better 2011! Pin It

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

After Christmas Sale Goodies!

I've been pretty exicted to post about our after Christmas decorations that we found! On Christmas night I made our game plan that had the stores numbered in order of visiting, addressess, and hours. We started out with JC Pennys at 7am. We bribed the boys to come with breakfast out. We didn't find much there so we hurried over to Target where we found a lot of stuff!
 Here is our cart. Keep in mind this is both my sister and my stuff. She went with a champagne color theme and I wanted lime green and red.
 This is my favorite picture. Michelle was pretending to run through the store, we are actually on our way to check out.
 Here is our car loaded up. We had no luck at all at Home Depot/Lowes (everything was gone). Garden ridge was a last minute addition and it was a great choice (good call Shell). I found some stockings and Michelle got light up trees for her door and stockings. Sams club was good for gifts and a few decor things. They didn't have the ornaments I wanted (they had absolutely no ornaments left) so I was and still am bummed. It was like a mad rush of people in there, crazy.
 Here we are with our items. We stopped for starbucks at target and went from 6:30am-11:30am. We had such a fun time, the boys thought we were nuts. James did find some things he needed along the way so he got into it too. Big shout out to David for standing in line for 45 mins at Garden Ridge because there was ONE cashier working for 50 people in line and to James for transporting us to Sams so we could get there when it opened and going back for David.
 Here are some highlights: We got a set of 6 fun notepads (for gifts) for a toal of $4.91 (originally $15-20).
I have the hardest time finding a tree skirt that I liked so I decided I was going to try to make my own. I got this fabric on sale for $2 a yard at JoAnn's. It is going to go with my new color scheme. I love it.
 Here are my new stockings! They were originally only $8 so they were half off for $4 each!
 I got this fun tree decor from Sams for around $10.
These are med/large ornaments from target on sale for $2.50.
These are all the fun things my sister got for half off. I'd say it was a big success! What did you guys pick up?
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Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Recipe Books!

Now that christmas is over, I can share with you the homemade gift I made for my Mom and Sister. It is homemade recipe books. I looked on etsy for books and things to hold full page recipes and came across fabric books and the prices were over $30-$40 so I decided to make them myself. David came up with the design of how to construct it and I sewed it all (David taught me).
Here is the finished product. My mom got the gray with the flamingo and My sister got the pink with the M.
This is what they look like open. You start with a 3 ring binder and we added padding under the fabric. I put sheet protectors in there and printed out my favorite recipes for them.
The very last thing I did was iron on the embroidered elements. I got an M for my sister and by accident ironed it on the wrong side and its now a W, but if you flip it the right way its an M again.You can't see it since its on the back, but I was bummed when it happened.
They really enjoyed getting the recipe books and it was fun making them. I think we may even do them for Davids family next year (so if you're reading, forget about it until next year and pick your pattern).
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Sunday, December 26, 2010

After Christmas Sales

 I hope everyone had a great Christmas and I hope Santa was good to you.
 It's now time to re-focus and get ready for the after Christmas sales!!
This is my favorite time to shop for sales. I love to decorate for Christmas and hate the prices leading up to Christmas. You can get some REALLY great deals if you head out the day after. Most places will have 50% off, if you wait till later in the week or the week after they will go to 70-90%, but the selection will be very limited. I am super excited this year and we have a game plan. I want to change the theme of my tree to lime green and red so I need ornaments. Sams club has a huge set of 115 ornaments for $30 that I want for half off. I just hope they'll have some left! I will also be hitting up Kmart (I know what you are thinking, but no one goes there so they always have a huge selection left the day after), JC Penny (has great gift sets), Target, Home Depot/Lowes, Joanns/Hobby Lobby and wherever else I can think of.
Some other great things to buy are wrapping paper (make sure to get things you can use all year round such as silver paper or things that don't scream Christmas), wreaths, stockings, tree skirts, ribbons, bows, stocking holders, artificial trees, inside/outside lights, yard decorations and any gifts (think ahead).
Happy Shopping! Wish us luck.
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Thursday, December 23, 2010

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas blog readers! We'll be spending time with family and friends so I'll be taking a few days off from blogging. Hope you have a very Merry Christmas! I'm looking forward to our traditions of our Christmas craft, cookie making, Christmas eve lasagna, after Christmas sale shopping and being with our family. We wish we could be with both of our families, but we will miss those who we can't celebrate with. Love and miss you all! Pin It

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Rock Climbing on the Roof

This weekend David also got up on our roof to repair some of the damage we had from the tornado/wind storm. We had some of our siding loose (not pictured) that was at the WAY top of the side of the house. I was a nervous wreck and couldn't watch David fix that one. I kept saying, I think its time for you to call your buddy David.
He tied himself like he was going rock climbing (he also pretended he was repelling down the roof). He had it anchored to his truck in the driveway and I don't exactly know how he did it, but he ensured me it was safe (riiight).
I am just glad it is fixed now, I'm so lucky to have such a handy husband!!
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Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Work Holiday Luncheon

 On Friday we had our Christmas Luncheon at work. We had so much good food so I'll let the photos speak for themselves.
 Pigs and a blanket appetizers
 Dessert Table
 All the yummy food. We are a company of mostly women and the men that we do have can really cook! Our IT guy made Roast Beef and Pork tenderloin and our Warehouse Manager made a ton of Salmon. I tried Salmon for the first time and I LOVED it!
 The company bought most of the sides so it was nice to just help set up and not have to worry about bringing anything else since I made a bunch for Thanksgiving.
 Here are the work gals (Leah, Lacey and me). My hair is really getting long!
 Everyone is enjoying their meal and Kevin (IT guy) is getting ready to set up a video. The only big enough space for us all to gather is the warehouse and luckily this day was in the 50's outside so it wasn't so cold.
 Our pretty centerpieces.
If your chair or the underneath side of your plate had a Christmas tree on it then you won a prize! Mine unfortunately did not have any.
Our CEO couldn't make it to our Luncheon and she always does a Twas the night before Christmas poem and changes the words to incorporate everyone from our company so she recorded it so we could all enjoy. Pin It

Monday, December 20, 2010

Early Christmas

David and I celebrated our Christmas this weekend for a few reasons. The biggest reason was because David couldn't wait to open his gift since he picked it out and ordered it for himself.
 We also wrapped Mollys and she wasted no time sniffing out hers and opening it.
  She really tore into it and had it open in no time. We got her this big set of tough toys from Sams club.
 I was a little nervous about the durability as Molly doesn't really play all she does is chew her toys. Turns out this one was the same way, as you can see in the picture. She already chewed it in to pieces. They are good for about 5-10 mins of play. The tail end of it is still good though. The only toys we are allowed to give her from now on are Kongs and Nyla bones.
 David did THE BEST job picking out my gift this year. We gave each other a $50 limit. He found this gigantic pot with the rack inside to hold 6 cans (for boiling the lids on tight) for $15! You can also make low country boils and sorts in there. Every since canning with my Grandma I have been wanting to build my own supplies. I want to make this a yearly tradition. He also got the canning kit that comes with everything you need to move your cans and open them after the fact (which I found to be nearly impossible). He also had money leftover to buy me this great Georgia Southern necklace that matches my bracelet and earrings I bought the last time we were there. Sorry I look rough, we were crafting all afternoon.
 David I got David this wireless bluetooth s9 hd headset from Motorola. You can play music and podcasts directly to your wireless headset so you don't have to have your wires in the way. It's great for working out and really does block the noise.
 Since he already knew what he was getting, I wrapped anything I could find so it would be a surprise. My friend Brooke's husband works in construction and they came over for dinner last week and David was saying how cold it has been so Trent sent this home for me to give David. It is super warm and he hadn't seen it so he loved it!
I also got him things that he needed like warm socks, aftershave and cologne. He was glad to get these and I was just glad it was a little bit something he didn't know was coming. We had a great time hanging out. I can't wait to post on our homemade gift that we did for my sister and mom. They turned out great and David taught me how to sew (yep, you read that right)! I really loved it and can't wait to keep practicing. David was the mastermind behind how to do it, but he let me sew and craft the whole thing. Pin It

Friday, December 17, 2010

Thai Chicken Pasta

 Last week I got a big salsa from Sams Club which I love, but sometimes it gets wasted because its so big. I decided to look up recipes that contained salsa. I got this Thai Chicken Pasta recipe from Recipe Shoebox.
12 oz. uncooked spaghetti noodles (I used ronzoni garden harvest that is multi-colored)
2 cups salsa
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup orange juice
2 Tbs. honey
4 tsp. soy sauce
4 cups chicken breast, cubed and cooked
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1/4 cup minced fresh cilantro
 Directions:  Cook pasta according to package directions.  Meanwhile in large sauce pot, combine the salsa, peanut butter, orange juice, honey, and soy sauce.
 Heat until sauce thickens and add chicken
Heat through.  Drain pasta.  Serve with chicken mixture. Garnish with peanuts and cilantro (none of which I photographed it with). I understand that the plate of pasta above is gigantic and yes, I did eat the whole thing. Enjoy and have a great weekend! Pin It

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Slow Starting Day

I got home yesterday just as the freezing rain was starting in our area. I went to our neighbor Megan's house to eat pizza, wrap gifts and hang out with her adorable little kiddos and knew nothing of the weather outside. As I was coming home I almost fell up the driveway, it was a solid sheet of ice! Luckily I had grippy shoes on and I was able to ice skate my way up and into the house.

Here is the only pic I took this morning of the ice. It is our lovely, beat up grill cover that was all icy. I know I'm from NY and ice and a little snow are nothing, but its still exciting. The ice stayed with us this morning until our temperatures rised and the rain melted the ice. I am glad I have such an understanding boss and work so I was able to take my time coming in.
I also sent all my packages to their destinations today! I was so glad to get it all done, Christmas is sneaking up on my this year! So much to get done. I went to Hobby Lobby yesterday and they were having frames at 50% off so I thought it was the perfect time to get my Grandmas frame. I took a picture from when she taught me to can tomatoes this fall and put it in a nice frame. I ended up going with my Grandmas on the right and I am keeping the one on the left for me. Pin It

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Baked Homemade Gift Ideas

I have been in search of some great edible homemade gifts. Our Best Bites has so many great suggestions and it made this really easy. Lets get started with cookies!
Sugar cookies frosted and festive are great gifts. You can make shapes or keep it simple.
 Candy Cane Kiss Cookies It really is all about the packaging. Take a look in all the photos to really make the presentation festive and fun!
 My new favorite thing is dry mix cookie ingredients with the recipe attached. We might just be doing this for Davids family (spoiler if you are reading).
 My next idea is for homemade bread! Who doesn't love bread, whether you give them the tools or you make it for them.
 Our Best Bites also had this cute photo of garlic bread seasoning with a loaf of bread! How adorable. Sorry, they only had a small pic available.
 Last year we did this hot fudge for his family.
My last idea is popcorn. I love Carmel popcorn and this candy popcorn looks so festive! My mom also wanted to add her fruit cakes which are easy and you can wrap it up with colored saran wrap and a cute bow. Her camera phone wasn't working last night so no picture. Any other suggestions I haven't thought about?
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Tuesday, June 14, 2016

New Business Owners

Back in October 2015 David and I left our corporate jobs to pursue an opportunity to own our own business. We began working with the previous owners for an intense 3 month training period and as of January 1st, 2016 we are now the owners!
David will spend the majority of his time in the field servicing our accounts and growing business. I will be in our office/warehouse managing the books, invoicing, billing, marketing and all the behind the scenes duties. I started this post back in January so coming back here in June to update is interesting. David's goal was to also try to focus on growing the engineering side of the business to have more office time and be billable that way. Thanks to our nephew, Josh, for leading the service accounts and being our road warrior it's now possible. We also have our other nephew helping when needed, especially this summer.  So far we are loving being our own bosses.
We are sharing a very large warehouse space with another great company (they gave us a few offices and we have 3,500 sf of warehouse space).  Oh, did I mention that it is only 6 minutes from door-to-door from our house to get to work!
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Mock family said...

So exciting!! Keep up the good work

Jen S said...

What a great opportunity for you guys! Glad it is going so well.

Chris said...

Woot, exciting times! You have an office and A/C in there some where? Hope so cause it's hot as hades this week. :o)

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Author/activist Raj Patel has been rumored to be the messiah. In an interview with Sirota, Patel denies the veracity of the charge and then goes on to outline the arguments he makes in his acclaimed new book The Value of Nothing. Listen to the AM760 interview here.

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Monday, December 14, 2009

The Christmas Carol Dilemma

I get to work with kids. Great kids. And I love them. The joy they give me is the gift I'm unwrapping today as part of Tuesdays Unwrapped at Chatting at the Sky.

I work as a Children's Ministry Director at our church. We are not a huge church, so I am able to know all of the kids personally--all of their names and most of their personalities. I have known many of these kids for a long while, some since they were born. What a privilege.

This past Sunday I was the speaker in the services--doing first person talks as Mary. The kids choir also prepared a song as part of the service. They knew they were singing on the same day I was speaking...and it was part of their rehearsals to pray for me. Kid's prayers are precious and they warmed my heart. It was an honor to have them lifting me in prayer as I prepared.

Well this Sunday came, and I couldn't have been prouder of them as they sang. We don't normally have a kids choir--they just assembled for this song. They did such a great job singing "Waiting for Christmas". A last minute decision was made that the kiddos would stay up front for the singing time--it was a few Christmas Carols. They didn't practice any of these...but the words would be projected on the screens and they were told to just follow along.

I was backstage getting into Mary garb as they sang, so I didn't see what happened. But when I went to see some of them in their 5th and 6th grade classroom during Sunday School, I was bombarded. First, I was bombarded with "Good job" and "I liked your talk" and "You were a great Mary". How awesome is that? They were totally engaged with it. How sweet of them to encourage me. It was the most meaningful feedback of the day.

But then, the encouragement switched to--"Miss Dawn, did you hear what happened to us???" (imagine this being said in different voices and word choices all at the same time). I wondered what might have happened. I found out soon enough. "Miss Dawn--they made us sing a bad word!!" "I didn't know what to do!" " I just closed my mouth." "Me too!" "I got the giggles". "I couldn't finish the song." 'I never say bad words." Again...all at once.

It turns out one of the songs that was sung was What Child is This. There is a line in that song that says "Where ox and ass are sleeping." They don't say that a-word. So the poor dears were left with a quick decision to make--do we sing that word in front of the whole church? Is this some sort of test? Or do we not sing the word and look like we don't know what we are doing?

Most of them chose the latter--and I heard stories of wide eyes, shocked faces and mouths slammed shut during that word.

I don't know about you, but I think that is HY.STER.I.CAL. Wish I could have seen it. But I think the 15 different versions told in 15 different voices all at the same time might have been even better.

And then when the chattering died lone kid said... "I just sang the word." I love it!

Aaah, kids. I love them. Their joy is contagious and their perspective refreshing. And they are SO funny. What a gift to know these kids.

Sharone said...

Ha! I love it, what a sweet group of kids. And I bet your presentation was terrific too. :)

Bobbie said...

That is adorable!

Dawn said...

what a great story! and i can just imagine all of those voices exclaiming all around you! so glad you felt all of this love!

Karen said...

Love it. I can just imagine the shock on their faces and then the giggles. Congrats on doing well with Mary. I had a feeling you would. :)

Jen said...

Great Christmas story!
I remember singing the song 'Angels we have heard on high' in grade school. No one could pronounce "in excelsis Deo", so we were told to sing the words "in egg shells".

Deidra said...

Perfect! Really perfect!

And I'm so glad the Mary talk is done and that it went so well!

A Little Of This And That said...

The innocence of children... what a special gift.

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Christchurch Tramway

7 Tramway Lane, Christchurch
Christchurch, Canterbury
Last Century most Christchurch folk used to get around by tram until they were gradually overtaken by buses and cars.

A short inner city loop was reopened in 1995 as a tourist attraction, and was an immediate hit though tinged with amusement at the renaming of Worcester Street as a Boulevard to enhance it's attractiveness. Though the track was damaged in the earthquakes it has returned under new management and is going strong. The new base is on 'Tramway Lane' south of Cathedral Square.
The 2.5 km route links a number of Christchurch attractions.

A special attraction is the Christchurch Tramway Restaurant allowing you to combine dining with seeing the city's sights, best to book in advance for this.
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Monday, November 19, 2007

My Birthday...the description seems true about me..

Your Birthdate: January 1

You are a natural born leader, even if those leadership talents haven't been developed yet.
You have the power and self confidence to succeed in life, and your power grows daily.
Besides power, you also have a great deal of creativity that enables you to innovate instead of fail.
You are a visionary, seeing the big picture instead of all of the trivial little details.

Your strength: Your supreme genius

Your weakness: Your inappropriate sensitivity

Your power color: Gold

Your power symbol: Star

Your power month: January

My Escapade in Genting

I went to Genting Highlands last weekend [17&18Nov] with my boo and as my previous trips there, Genting never failed to enchant me. It was superb, fun and entertaining! A complete dose of forgetting all the problems I have back 6000 feet below.

We stayed in First World Hotel [room 17789] and the view faced the theme park. It was magnificent! On our first day there, we went for a stroll down the First World Plaza, dined in Kenny Roger's and shop a little before resting our [tired] bum for a cuppa in Starbucks while accessing the net until good 1 in the morning. Then, we called it a night.

The next day, we headed to the theme park and tried all the possible rides which we could get our hands on. This was done after fulfilling our tummy's need for a full breakfast :). The first ride that we tried was The Flying Dragon and the next stop was Corkscrew. Both were rollercoasters and Corkscrew was far more dreadfully frightening due to its massive height. But it was so much fun! I would do it again, only if our being there wasnt restricted by the time. Then we tried the Go-Kart, Pirate Ride, Cyclone [the first rollercoaster in cool was that?], Antique Car [silly ride] and Space Shooter.

I can tell, Space Shooter was the most entertaining because of the fear that I have to overcome by looking at its frightening height. While waiting for our turn, there was this one Japanese lady who screamed and screamed [and screamed..and screamed...] once the Space Shooter 'fell' from its utmost peak until it landed back again on ground. It was so much fun!

Anyway, we ended the day by riding the Sungai Rejang Fume Ride [the splash made me wet...and laughing gaily!] and the Gold Mine Coasters. The only disappointment was the shutdown of two my favourite rides - the Euro Express and Flying Coasters, which I didnt know what was the cause. We're sure we'll come back for more!

Friday, November 16, 2007

Britney's original VMA 2007 choreography

Just watched this choreographed dance which Britney was supposed to do in previous VMA 2007. The dance was superb! As the quote says there 'It was sexy but not raunchy.'

But as we all know, it went the other way round..

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Freaking Funny..LOL!

You guys certainly have to catch this. Its hilarious! Its silly! Its the comedy of the time!

I watched it in Mid Valley the other day with my boo and it totally blew me off! The story line is simple - a world renowned pingpong player in '88 tried to make a comeback in helping the FBI investigating a triad under a man simply called Feng, who is a big fan of pingpong and organizes annual international pingpong tournament, and at the same time tries to take revenge on Feng who killed his father. As simple as it may sound, the story itself develops gradually and at a correct pace - with lots of humors worth of loud laughs.

Enjoy it at your own risk!

Listen To This!

Amy Jade Winehouse has always been a favourite of mine and this song is currently my personal favourite and occupies every player that I have! The video is about a heart-broken woman, going to the funeral of her own 'heart'. [Get it? Dumped, heart-broken, burying the heart, no more love?] Anyway, its a great song and a brilliant vid to go with it.

Enjoy it and let me know!

Love This - Lions for Lambs

How many outlook does a stand has? A policy the State puts into gamble may affect an optimistic senator, a far-sighted veteran journalist, a realist student, a theoretical professor and a couple of patriotic friends. These are the players and the silent contributor in this game of national interest.

I have to admit, as soon as I saw Meryl Streep on the trailer of this movie, I thought to myself 'I gotta catch this one!'. She has been one of the few good actors/actresses whom I admired and never failed to deliver exquisite perfomance, with records from Lemony Snicket's Series of Unfortunate Events, The Devil Wears Prada and The Hours [she completely blew me away in The Hours]. So I thought, this must be a very good movie and it certainly was.

The story revolves around the invasion [aka domination] of US of A in Afghanistan and Iraq, which centers on the new policy made by a probable presidential-candidate senator in haste, only based by the theory and depicts the selfishness in acquiring the fastest win-win situation. Unfortunately, one's piece of mind isn't always the best and this is shown by the different opinions and outlooks from the journalist interviewing the senator, the armies subjected under the new policy, a political science lecturer and his head-strong, realistic student.

Many argue that this picture is somewhat boring and dreadful to watch, but in my opinion, Robert Redford made a very brilliant movie by staying true to the 'truth' and the status quo of the current situation without being bias. It pops out questions that people always wanted to know and the answer the State would provide in maintaining its amicability. As a Political Science student, I found the movie is exceptionally good and every issue pointed out in this motion picture is easily grasped by people on the go with current affairs, especially regarding the Afghan-Iraq thing.

The simple message it has deployed is, a simple stand/policy can affect so many groups of people and have so many stand from different thoughts. What we may think is the best, isnt necessarily so. The US of A once won people's consent by sending its troops over to Iraq and Afghan, but after 7 years to no avail, they are losing people's faith - simply by making false decisions and being stubborn, ignorant to the other priority - its people.

A must watch - if you are into politics!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Happy Deepavali y'all!

To all my Hindu friends, a warm wish on this festival of lights!

I love this book~!

There are not many books that can enchant you, moved you and make a difference in your life even in a slightest way. Thus, when you found one book that makes you feel all of the above [or one of them is good enough], you feel a certain accomplishment arises inside of you. Exaggerating? Not really.

As much as I love books, I always ponder hard in front of a particular book that I have targeted to buy, whether to do so or not...and to disappointment, the answer has always been nearly 100% NO. C'mon, you cant expect a medium income student depending solely to the mercy of his parents to buy a book that costs ridiculously..! But sometimes I do though..with my Anna Karenina and other equally good books.

This time around, it started co-incidentally when I was waiting for my boo browsing his selection, I picked up this one book that has everyone talked about. I read about its review everywhere - in The Star, in the forums, everywhere. It was 'For One More Day' by Mitch Albom. As I had read his previous work before [The Five People You Meet In Heaven], my expectation on this book was quite high and I didnt want to be disappointed.

And, I did not.

It was brilliantly written with Mr Albom's signature short, simple sentences yet has very provocative and thoughtful depth. Basically it was about this man, named Chuck Benetto, who thought he had lost everything in his life - his wife, his daughter, his career and most importantly his mother. So he tried killing himself but on the verge of doing so, he was somewhat experiencing a 'new' life. He went back to his childhood house and saw his [dead] mother preparing breakfast for him like nothing had ever happened. So, the [true] story goes with Chuck reminiscing about the one special day he spent with his [again, dead] mother, from day to night before conscious again and attended by paramedics.

'You might call it a ghost story but which family story isnt a ghost story?' That was how Albom describe the story as a whole. Although my reading at the bookstore ended abruptly after my boo finished his browsing, I continued to read it from page to page whenever I visited a bookstore [my boo and I love books..winks]. So, as you can see, my reading wasnt a continuous one. Yet, I managed to grasp every emotions, feelings and the pains Chuck gone through. I feel as if he was talking directly to me. The way it was written makes you feel closer to the story...and no wonder I managed to shed a few tears after the last page, in MPH The Curve. Haha..

It was a beautiful book. It teaches everything one should know. How the family value is indeed the most important thing and it is the foundation to your life. A very brilliant book and I will get the hardcover version as it really deserves the place to be on everybody's desktop.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Blogging - here I go!

So..officially this is my first posting!

Woohoo! And boy do I feel good having my own blog. Before this, I was doing minute blogs on my friendster and myspace sites [feel free to drop by and give it a visit. The address is at the bottom]. So now I have my own space to speak out my minds and it really feels great! Haha! Cant wait to start!

Everything that I [will] post is based on my own humble perspective. So feel free to give comments or whatever say you have kay!


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Melon Acres Recalls Canteloupes for Possible Salmonella Risk

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Melon Acres recalled cantaloupes at several Midwest locations including Greenwood, Indiana, Lansing, Michigan, and Tipp City, Ohio due to a possible risk of salmonella contamination.

The recall was announced August 27 on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Web site.

As of this date, no illnesses have been associated with the recalled cantaloupe, according to the news release.

The agency tested the melons on August 11. They found one of twenty tested positive for salmonella. The findings were reported to Melon Acres on August 21.

Salmonella is frequently the culprit behind food-borne illnesses. Symptoms of salmonella contamination include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and abdominal pain. Generally, symptoms appear within 12 hours to 72 hours of eating tainted food. Infants, the elderly, and those with weakened immune systems are more likely than others to develop severe illness.


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When he gained his super powers, Smith just woke up one morning able to see clearer, move faster and stronger, etc. and those abilities kept growing until he realized he was now a superman. While he was coming to terms with this his father - the leader of a small Eastside mob running rackets - was killed by a rival gang. The younger Smith then took over and personally killed every member of the gang that had killed his father, and even ripped the spines out of their bodies. He soon took over the city and built up his power base from there.

In the years prior to the creation of Team One, Slaughterhouse Smith was ruling the largest criminal empire on the East Coast. He also had the immense edge of being one of the very few known superhumans - basically, the list boiled down to him and Mister Majestic; though there were other Kherubims and several Daemonites, they were either thought to be human adventurers (such as Saul Baxter aka Lord Emp, or 'Lucy Blaize' aka Zealot) or flying below the radar (such as Helspont). His super-powers and criminal base let Slaughterhouse Smith and his syndicate get away with far more than murder; in the the closing months of the 1950s they successfully attacked an Army convoy with automatic weapons to acquire an entire shipment of infantry weapons and continued their growth.

At the same time the first American team of extraordinary heroes, Team One, was assembled, Smith was approached by the Daemonite lord in exile, Helspont. He proposed a joint venture in which Smith would help him break the human race using their own technology, in exchange for domination over whatever was left. Along with the powerful Daemonite and his alien troops, the superhuman crimelord and his men, all very well-armed, took over the North Dakota nuclear missile silos. Helspont ordered for the first nuclear strike to be conducted against New York City, which wasn't in the plan. Slaughterhouse Smith refused to go along with the plan, demanding that the missiles be aimed at Washington D.C. instead, where he had no special ties. Helspont refused and revealed that he now held sway over his men, who along with the power-armor clad Daemonite troopers of Helspont aimed their weapons at their don. Even his consigliere, Daniel Pike, who had long ago come to the conclusion that betraying Smith would be stupid and counterproductive, was swayed by the alien lord.

As the freshly-assembled and still untrained Team One hurriedly burst into the base, Slaughterhouse Smith turned his might in equal part against his men, the Daemonites and Team One. At one point he and Saul Baxter engaged each other in combat, and Baxter felled Slaughtersmith with one of his highly potent mental blasts.

Smith fell into a coma caused by the attack - but his superhuman physiology would not just allow him to die, and he stayed in a coma for 35 years in a clandestine medicalised room in a Park Avenue basement, where his faithful valet Ruddock (whom Helspont had never turned against him) kept caring for him and dreaming of revenge against Saul Baxter.[1]

In 2000, Ruddock found out that Smith's daughter had a son, who had the powers of his grandfather. Dreaming of revenge against the relatives of Saul Baxter (who was officially dead), Ruddock told Samuel Smith the truth about his grandfather and his powers -- only to discover after he was done that Samuel was actually an utter, murderous psychopath. Feeling crushed that he had thus led the Smith family to what would obviously be an ignominious end - feelings worsened by a plot for treason he had conceived at one point and which he was trying to atone for ever since - the aged valet stopped Slaughterhouse Smith's life support equipment and took a suicide pill, dying near the inert form of his master.[1]

Samuel Smith, after a number of psychotic murders in an attempt to find and kill Mr. Marlowe, the supposed descendant of Saul Baxter, was killed by Grifter.[2] However, his grandfather even survived the shutdown of his life-support equipment and emerged from his coma unaided a few years after those events.

Likely emerging from his coma around 2001, he discovered the modern world with consternation and worked on recovering his position, though he seems to be more of an independent operator than the leader of a permanent crew or mob. His fearsome power and rock-like determination proved as redoubtable as can be expected, and he became (or rather returned to being) a seemingly major figure in the New York City crime scene.

At one point, the experimental Stormwatch PHD team was sent against him, via a plot hatched by a superhumans-hating bureaucrat in StormWatch's HR department. Hearing they were on his trail, Slaughterhouse Smith just went to drink right in front of the precinct house hosting them, so they would have to try to apprehend him before superhuman reinforcements could arrive. During his drinking he mentioned how much he despised his grandson for being born with his powers and only using them to kill women, while voicing he probably would have killed him on his own if not for his grandson's death by Grifter.[3] Confronting the team, Slaughterhouse Smith casually disposed of them and collapsed the entire building on them, but the PHD operatives all unexpectedly survived thanks to the Monstrosity - though most had to be hospitalized. Bitterly making strangely accurate predictions about the future, Smith flew away while expressing his scorn for the modern world.[4]

  • Flight: Smith has the ability to fly at varying speeds from subsonic to sonic speed
  • Superhuman Strength: has strength enough to punch through steel, rip a grown man in half, collapse a building complex and lift objects as heavy as gas tankers and semi-trucks.
  • Energy Projection: Slaughterhouse Smith's abilities allowed him to project beams of concussive energy from his hands & eyes or really any part of his body at will.
  • Energy Enhanced Punches: Smith could also keep the energy he normally fires from his hands stored within his fists in order to deliver incredibly powerful punches that can shatter most anything.


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This article suffers from a lack of quality writing. You can help the DC Database by improving this article's grammar and sentence structure to bring it up to a higher standard of quality. Poor Perry's gonna have a heart attack if you don't!

Tanaka Rei was a Japanese man who obtained super-human speed and became a super-hero called the Flash, whom is named after and inspired by Tanaka's idolized comic book hero Barry Allen. Tanaka did finally met Barry during the "Crisis on Infinite Earths" when Barry Allen accidentally arrive in Earth-D and helped Tanaka in defeating this universe's Mirror Master. After being acquainted with one another, Tanaka and Barry went to the Justice Alliance of America and, with help from Earth-One's Justice League of America, to mount a defense against the Anti-Monitor's Shadow Demons. Ultimately, the heroes failed to prevent the invasion and inevitable destruction of Earth-D. The heroes only resorted for a complete evacuation of Earth's denizens, in which they constructed a Cosmic Treadmill to open a portal to Earth-One. The Flashes powered the treadmill until Barry was abducted and leaving only Tanaka to power and buying more time for the evacuation. He along with the Justice Alliance stayed on Earth-D, holding off the Shadow Demons before dying at the mere moments of the end of their universe.

  • Tanaka concealed his costume inside a pen rather than a ring mainly used by the mainstream Flash.

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This character is or was a member of the Justice League of America, or the Justice League in any of its various incarnations, sworn by a duty to act as guardians of America and the world by using their skills and/or superpowers to protect Earth from both interstellar and domestic threats.
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text: Laura Vandervoort, who plays Supergirl on Smallville and who also stars on ABC’s V, has been added to the cast of Seth MacFarlane’s Ted, the Universal Pictures/Media Rights Capital comedy that stars Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Joel McHale, Giovanni Ribisi and Patrick Warburton. Vandervoort will play Tayna, a gorgeous salesgirl and coworker of John (Wahlberg) at the rental car service who is clueless to the gaggle of men who drool over her all day. She’s repped by Levine/Okwu/Erickson and Norbert Abrams.


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Greek alum Jake McDorman has landed the male lead opposite Laura Prepon on the new NBC comedy series Are You There Vodka, It’s Me Chelsea. He will play a new character, Rick. If you feel like you’ve already seen McDorman in the pilot for the multicamera comedy, you’re not mistaken. McDorman guest starred in it playing a different role, Big Red, which will now be recast. Inspired by late-night star Chelsea Handler’s bestselling autobiographical book about her party-rich life in her 20’s, Are You There Vodka centers on Chelsea Hanson (Prepon), an alcohol-loving, oversexed cocktail waitress. McDorman’s character Rick is a bartender who works with Chelsea. McDorman, repped by UTA and Reel Talent, recently starred in Lifetime’s highly rated movie The Craigslist Killer.

Nick Zano (The Final Destination) has joined another upcoming broadcast comedy series, CBS 2 Broke Girls, also playing a bartender. The role will be recurring despite being listed as regular on the casting breakdown. 2 Broke Girls chronicles the lives of two waitresses in their 20s — Max (Kat Dennings), who comes from a blue-collar family, and Caroline (Beth Behrs), who was born rich but is now down on her luck — working together at a Brooklyn restaurant. Zano will play Johnny, a sexy, funny brilliant street artist using “Jpeg” as his art name. He works as a bartender in a neighborhood bar and has a sarcastic relationship with Max as both feel they are too cool to admit to their blossoming feelings for each other. Zano’s series credits include Melrose Place and What I Like About You.


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目前分類：Students' writings (3)

瀏覽方式： 標題列表 簡短摘要

Hi!  I’m Peggy Lee. We are class 217. We’re very glad to know you. There are 38 students—19 boys and 19 girls—and a teacher in our class. We’re 15-16 years old. We are lively, friendly and also noisy. Our class’ favorite sports are basketball, baseball and tennis. The Boys always play basketball after school or on weekends. We also watch the baseball games sometimes. Our favorite subjects are PE and History because we can exercise on the sport field and know a lot about our past because civilization happened long time ago attracts us a lot.

Our school is in Lujou, Taipei, Taiwan. It is founded as a junior high school in 1990—that is the year when I wan born—and turned into a senior high school in 1996.  The size of school is large. The number of students is around 4000. There are 26 classes (38 students in a class) in the 8th graders. In our school, we need to wear uniform or sport suit. Sport suits have three colors—green, dark blue and light blue, each grade in different colors. That can discriminate what grade you are. Also, girls need to have the short hair, and boys, too.

The weather here is often rainy in spring. 20 years ago, when it is rained, Lujou would be flooded. But now, we have an embankment, so we don’t worry about that. In summer, many typhoons come to Taiwan. It rains heavily, but rains come fast and go fast.  Lujou city is near Taipei City. It is our capital. We also have the highest building of Taipei 101 in Taiwan. You can shop there and are never disappointed!

We are very excited to make friends with you. We promise that we will write email back to you to report the adventure of your “cookie” bear.  We hope you may enjoy reading them.

We also visit you to visit our class online photo album. www.pixnet.net/dearsu1218.  The photo we enclosed is our trip to a temple with your cookie bear and Australian bear.

From Peggy and class 217

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 Following are short passages written by the students of class 217. We hope you like it. For more photos, please visit our online class photo album.  www.pixnet.net/dearsu1218

Today is Wednesday. The bear is our new guest(客人). My family likes him very much. I’m so glad that bear visit our home. We eat dinner together. And my brother plays with him. Now he is looking at me. I’m writing my homework now. I’m so happy that he doing everything with me. I want to tell him” thank you very much, I’m so happy today!” by 36 Crystal

I feel happy because I sleep with a Cookies Bear. I don’t know Cookies Bear is a boy. I read books to him. We sing and listen to music with my sister Angel. I am many happy tonight.  By 27 Belle

Today is April 23 Saturday. Teddy Bear comes to our family. My family is very happy because Teddy Bear arrives at our family. We watch TV , do the homework , read books and play computer games together. Hope Teddy Bear can visit our family again. I feel happy that day. By 10 Chester

Today is 25th,April.One girl introduce her friends for me, so I meet many friends. I make friend with about. She's as big as a person Her name is Kiki bear. She's very friendly. We play together at night .We play and sleep together. Today is very happy. By 25 Ann.

Today I go to a girl's home. Her name is Peggy. We watch TV together. Then we eat dinner together. Oh! It is nice smelling. I'm very envy that she can eat delicilous food every day. After dinner, she do her homework. I sit on her bed to play with another friends. It is fun. I hope I can go to her home again. By 39 Peggy.

Wow! The bear is so cute. I can very happy because Teddy Bear comes to my home .We listen to music and watch TV .I have a test tomorrow, so we read books until 10 o'clock. Today is happy day.  My family hope Tedy Bear comes my home every day. By 40Astro

This is Su, the teacher of Class 217. I will write something for this cute visiting bear. I think "her" name is "Cookie". Today is April 40, 2005 Cookie says: I am so happy today because the teacher, Miss Su, is going to take me to Kaohsiung, the southern part of Taiwan, to join the i*earn year meeting. I know it is hot down there. I am wondering if I can eat the famous "iced bar" or iced pearl milk tea. Why are there pearls in tea? Can we eat them? Gee, it's so strange. I will tell you the answer tomorrow. Cookie.

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There are many kinds of clothes such as wedding dress, sportswear, jeans and T-shirt. When you at the different places, you should wear the different clothes for example to exercise, you have to wear the sportswear; to marry. The bridegrooms should wear the suit and the brides should wear the wedding dress. The girl’s clothes usually are more than the boy’s clothes because the girls like to dress up. In Taiwan, when you go to school you have to wear the uniform. The uniform’s accessories have the belt and the bow tie. To wear the uniforms has many advantages for example neat-looking.

By 29 Alice

I always wear school uniform in school because it is a school regulation. Some times, I wear T-shirt and pants in my home because it can let me feel relax. Some idols wear fancy clothes. I don’t like that because it’s not suitable for me. I always go shopping clothing with mom. I don’t like shopping very much because it may take me much time.  By 36 Crystal

Clothes are very important for everyone. There are many different clothes in the world, everybody like to dress up oneself with clothes, shoes, hats, pants and many others. If you choose suitable clothes, you will become more handsome or more beautiful. Clothes can make people look good.

By 18 Mark

There are many kinds of clothes in this world. For example, Moslem’s girl has to wear a long cloth to cover their face and tradition Japanese has to wear kimono in the special occasion. Clothes are very import ant in our life. It can protect your body.

By 39 Peggy

I usually wear shirt and jeans because I feel better-looking. Sometimes, I wear coat and belt on jeans. My sister wore wedding dress on church last year. My friends and I feel my sister is beautiful. I hate to wear uniform because I really think uniform is ugly. I like in coat and pants. That brown clothes is better-looking, too.

By 15 Jack

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Wednesday, 6 November 2013

Database tracking Performance in Secondary Schools in Tanzania Launched

A website has been launched to track down the performance in O-Level Secondary Schools in Tanzania. Tanzania's education sector has received a barrage of criticisms from different people most notably educational and curriculum practitioners and policy experts. Further questions arose following the abysmal and appalling Form Four results last year (2012), which saw a record failure of 60 percent. A Commission to Investigate Causes of Poor Form IV Results was quickly formed by Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda. The findings are yet to be made public.

Just last week, the Ministry of Education came up with a new grading system which saw the expunging of Division Zero (Sifuri). Despite these changes, I have read and listened to a number of arguments and it seems the idea has not augured well with many. Tanzania's education system has for decades been on the spotlight for all the negative things. Issues such as the crisis of language in our education system, poor education infrastructure, inadequate skilled teaching personnel, corruption in the education sector, poor payment of teaching staff, amongst many other problems. In the recent past, civil societies in the ares of education have really brought these issues to us. CSOs such as Haki Elimu and Twaweza have instilled a culture of public accountability and citizen action in the areas of education. Civic awareness and the demand for accountability has risen forcing government to act in expediency.

I am pleased to see more efforts been directed towards tracking the performance of secondary schools in Tanzania using innovative and modern ways such as having a results database for all schools in Tanzania.  The initiative is within  the context of Tanzanias commitment to the Open Government Partnership, The Shule Yangu initiative promises to be a fantastic idea more precisely because the government has failed in its duty. Such brilliant initiatives will not only improve awareness but act as a engagement platform for all stakeholders to discuss and monitor education trends across Tanzania. The initiative has started with Form Four Results, I am pretty sure the A-Level Tracking will be launched soon. The government should embrace this and seek ways for consultative dialogues in order to improve the standards of education in Tanzania.

For further details see Shule Yangu website here.

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Monday, February 11, 2013

Thoughts scattered along a winding road... | Protectorate Jack IPA

Every beer has its place...
Matt Brynildson is the brewmaster at Firestone Walker.  He also makes amazing beers.  Firestone is responsible for a large portion of the impetus which compelled me to start brewing.  In college at UC Santa Barbara, Firestone was one of the only real craft breweries that could claim to be local.  On road trips up Highway 101 to Northern California to camp in Big Sur or visit friends, you'd drive past Firestone, sitting alone in what felt like the middle of nowhere adjacent to the Gaviota Coast in Buellton, CA.  I was never old enough during times that I drove by, so a stop there wasn't feasible.  However, I drank plenty of Firestone in college and always savored it.  When you and a roomate hustle together some money to buy beer, it's hard to turn away from the $4.99 thirty pack of Keystone Light (even with the "specially lined can" there would always be 1-4 beers that were undrinkable somehow) and instead spend $5.99 for a twelve pack of Double Barrel Ale, but it happened often enough.  Apparently I had my priorities more in line than I realized at the time.

If I was to try and characterize the evolution of my beer palette, Firestone would be first or second along with Sierra Nevada and Nectar Ales as the most influential beers at a time when I was especially impressionable (incidentally, Firestone now owns and brews Nectar Ales).  At NHC 2011 I had a chance to listen to a very articulate and entertaining Brynildson talk candidly about hops and generously share Double Jack and other outstanding beers with the audience.  His talk and a realization of his role as Firestone's archetype sort of snapped in line a lot of previously disjointed and seemingly unconnected thoughts about how I became a homebrewer.  Since then, I've been drinking a lot of his beers and I like almost everything.

Protectorate Jack
He shares a recipe and procedures for brewing Union Jack IPA in Mitch Steele's tome on hop-centric beers, IPA, and I decided to brew it as closely as possible to his specifications.  Union Jack is light and crisp with ample aroma from two separate dry hopping additions.  Even though Centennial and Cascade make up the bulk of the additions, there are small portions of Simcoe and Amarillo added into each dry hopping, making the nose that much more complex.  The recipe calls for London Ale yeast, which should provide a rounder, fruitier taste, and plenty of two row along with some light crystal and Munich malts.  I added a small dextrose addition to mine to dry it out and further accentuate the hops.  I named my version Protectorate Jack IPA after Oliver Cromwell's short lived era of rule as Lord Protector of the United Kingdom when the Protectorate Jack flag flew in place of the Union Jack.  Cromwell is a controversial figure, being the only one to rule England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland concurrently, but also maligned by many of his contemporaries and plenty of British historians.  He was one of a few historical figures to be posthumously executed.  I hope my beer is judged less harshly.  History aside, I'm excited to try and recreate what I think is one of the best West Coast IPAs around and maybe check in with a younger version of myself.  Perhaps I can understand his mindset a little more clearly, since the process that started me on this winding road seems to be slowly curving its way around toward full circle.  Check the recipe below:

Protectorate Jack IPA

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