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Hunter x Hunter Episode 67

15 x 15

50 down, 50 more to go. With speed of that caliber, our dream team is ready to show Greed Island who’s boss.

As the boys continue to get down and dirty to catch-up in card count, the other players of Greed Island secure their own collections while making their way to the finish line. It’s a clever decision to put both Gon and Killua learning the ropes alongside experts such as Genthru and Tsezguerra, displaying both elementary basics and advanced strategy in neat little package. The arc, for all it’s worth, has at this point been largely focused on training Nen under Biscuit. Only with the past few episodes have we been expanding on the parts which compose the whole of Greed Island, as well as the remaining players who have a shot at claiming the final prize. All in name of the now approaching showdown with Genthru and his two bomber buddies, only mere cards away from the big “one oh oh”.

Honestly? I’m kind of surprised Genthru’s plan went off without a hitch. Not because of any failures in their plan, but I always figured Tsezguerra to be fairly competent. The kind of guy who was always on-guard, like the Bombers said last episode. What a let down. Not to take any points away from Genthru; they were up against a capable opponent and their gambit paid off. The fake goons provided visible recognition of their presence yet were far enough to avoid recognition of foul play, the Risky Dice rolls paid off, and most importantly they stole all the monopolized cards they needed. Even in failure Tsezguerra keeps his cool though, devising a final line of defense. Namely, monopolizing the only card any player has yet to find: #2, “Strip of Beach”.

It’s all fine and good to see the big boys play the game, but seeing Gon and Killua bounce ideas off each other as they discover the intricacies of the game is far more entertaining. Gon’s bright inquisitiveness coupled with Killua’s sharp mind and inherent shrewdness, something about their chemistry just… works. One of those “as natural as day and night” feelings. It’s especially apt actually, since even when their both great on their own, together they blend into an amazing combo. Case in point, Gon’s questioning on how cards are still available in such abundance. Despite being a game for Hunters, a vast majority of the players aren’t up to snuff and aren’t interested in collecting cards any longer. All they want to do is leave, yet getting Leave cards is generally up to money and luck. Thus Killua’s revelation! With a monopoly/stash of Leave cards, you can easily trade for restricted slot cards. YES! That’s right! You two are spot-on and you ROCK for being so smart!

There’s something so neat in seeing a thought process in motion.

This necklace is pretty handy too; part lie detector and part curer of diseases.

So with the trio fast on track, it’s time for them to conjoin with the running plot. With Genthru so close to completion, other expert teams are starting to get just a little bit antsy. What else is there to do but form an alliance of top contenders, with our trio barely qualifying. And the plan? Straight-up copy of Tsezguerra’s. It’s simple stuff, but we’re fed some curious little tidbits along with more lovely interaction for the boys. While Killua is without question the brains of the two, Gon has that human touch that resonates with others. Killua’s approach to the alliance is by no means wrong. In fact, with the only other large-scale alliance we’ve seen transpire on Greed Island end as it did, taking the cautious approach is one of the few things that can keep you alive in this world. Unending honesty carries severe risks, and Killua is all about not having Gon suffer those consequences. But when honesty resonates with others, they repay in kind. Knowledge of the Bomber’s abilities, particularly the fact that he’s already enacted the first deadly step on you, was a quick turnaround for one of the alliance members who questioned the kids’ usefulness.

Taking the meeting from a more technical point of view though, we’ve got some explicit and implicit nuggets of info. Most important o of which is the exploitation of spell cards. Typically you would use one by saying either the spell name or inserting the card into the book and pressing select. However with a card like Steal, you can insert the card into the book and view a list of players without ever pressing select, thus not using up the card. Not all of this info is gonna be useful and is probably there purely to satisfy Togashi’s geekery, but at the same time any of it could become relevant as an important point of strategy. Running out of cards at the crucial moment would suck, after all.

The other piece of info on the other hand satisfies my inner geek. See, I found it intriguing how the game recognizes certain people as teams. It’s for this reason why the alliance can’t monopolize #75. Being a card acquired through an event, every team can naturally only get one #75. The event for #2 takes the entire team aspect, and requires a minimum of 15 people to initiate the quest. For this to happen, one needs to travel to Soufrabi with an Accompany spell carrying at least that 15 people, meaning the spell recognizes who travels with it and thus engages the event. So naturally this is how the whole team aspect works; those who’ve taken part in events and have used cards with each other are then labelled as a team.

Totally pointless info. But I love it so

I’m stoked to see how this alliance plays out though. We’ve got one member who stands out from the rest, Goreinu, who coincidentally was the only member to not have come from a team. Who knows what his deal is. But the road to #2 puts the alliance up against a group of pirates led by none other than a man named Razor. Seems we’ve got a group trial on our hands with the buff admin overseeing it all. And beyond that, if the alliance doesn’t fall through and succeeds in getting the card, Genthru’s team now has a clear target to destroy. And that’s without speaking of any involvement from Tsezguerra and co. as well as the Spiders and the lovely Hisoka.

He’s gonna be naked next episode. (⊙‿⊙✿)

3 thoughts on “Hunter x Hunter Episode 67

  1. Also one more thing (this is kinda random), but when do you think we’ll be able to get a hand on Hunter x Hunter: Phantom Rouge movie? I’m DYING to see that 😀

    • Oh man, that could be a while. Besides a possible cam rip popping up online somewhere, the DVD’s gonna be a few good months at least before it pops up. Even more time for an English version, unless we get lucky somewhere along the line. The whole Chimera Ant arc is probably gonna start up before we have Phantom Rouge in our hands, so don’t got holdin’ your breath man.

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3 months ago | Pop Culture

In About: 3 months ago

Views: 19058

Section: Pop Culture

British-Ijebu War: How a Christian missionary caused the expedition of a great kingdom

The British and African soldiers that fought in the British-Ijebu war

In 1892, the refusal to allow a British missionary enter Ijebu led to a war.

The British-Ijebu war otherwise known as the battle of Imagbon is one of the keynote events in the colonization of Nigeria.

In the year 1891, the Ijebu tribe put a blockade on the trade route from the interior of Lagos. The Ijebus who were located east of Lagos on the Magbon river, did this to charge customs from Lagos which at that time was a crown colony of the British empire.

The ruler of the Ijebu kingdom, the Ajuwale also shut down the Ejirin market which denied Lagos traders from making any trade up country.

The British government was obviously not too happy about all these and persuaded the Ajuwale to open the blockade. The traditional ruler refused to do so on several scenes occasions.

Things would change in May 1891. Captain C.M Denton, a British acting governor took with him troops mostly made up who were from the North but ran to the South and joined the British army, to meet with the Ajuwale.

ALSO READ: How Nigeria transformed from a business into a country

The plan was to convince him to open the blockade so that there could be free passage of goods to Lagos. After much persuasion, the Ajuwale agreed in January 1892. The kingdom of Ijebu would receive £500 as compensation annually for the loss of custom duties which served as revenue.

Unfortunately, this deal didn’t last too long. In the same year, a white missionary was denied access to Ijebu kingdom. This act pissed off the British authorities. There was an order to use force on the Ijebu kingdom.

Under the leadership of Colonel F.C Scott C.B, 450 soldiers made up men from Ghana, Sierra Leone, Ibadan, Lagos and Northern Nigeria advanced to the Ijebu kingdom.

On May 12, 1892, sailed from the Lagos Lagoon to Ekpe where they met another 186 men.

Meanwhile, on the Ijebu side, 8,000 men were ready to do battle with the British. The first day of hostilities was difficult for the British. They had underestimated the Ijebu warriors. Still the British were able to raze down four villages. A few of their men sustained injuries.

The following day they moved to Atumba and used the machine gun to kill many Ijebu warriors. On their side, they lost 13 men, a British fighter and 12 Africans.

The Ijebus desperate not to lose the war dug the Yemoyi river deeper to make it hard for the British forces to cross. It was even rumoured that the Ijebus offered a human sacrifice to the river goddess.

ALSO READ: The Benin expedition of 1897

This didn’t stop the British forces from crossing the river. They went to the village Imagbon and continued to do battle.

At the end of the war, the British lost 56 men and the Ijebus lost over 900 men. The Ajuwale surrendered and the British flag, the Union Jack has raised shortly after.

Unlike most British expeditions in Nigeria,  Colonel F.C Scott C.B ordered his men not to pillage the Ijebu kingdom.

The British-Ijebu war is also known as the 1892 Ijebu expedition.

Faith Obadan Photo

Faith Obadan is a Associate at Meets Media, a digital journalist who reports on Pop Culture and some other section of our website.

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Romeo Kumalo chases PIC stake in Vodacom

Romeo Kumalo declined to comment on the transaction, but a close associate said he owned a minority stake in the consortium. (Robert Tshabalala)

Romeo Kumalo declined to comment on the transaction, but a close associate said he owned a minority stake in the consortium. (Robert Tshabalala)

A week after he announced his resignation from the Eskom board, former Vodacom executive Romeo Kumalo has emerged as a key players in a black economic empowerment (BEE) consortium that is tipped to acquire a lucrative stake in Vodacom held by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).

Three sources with knowledge of the transaction told the Mail & Guardian this week that Kumalo was a key part of the BEE consortium, which was in the process of buying the PIC’s stake in Vodacom.

This comes months after the PIC bought the government’s 13.9% stake in Vodacom for R30-billion. The PIC paid for the Vodacom shares in two tranches – the first one in June 2015 and the second in December 2015.

The government sold the Vodacom stake at a 10% discount to the PIC to finance the R23-billion cash injection it had promised power utility Eskom. The PIC, which invests funds on behalf of public sector entities, is wholly owned by the government.

Responding to M&G questions on Wednesday, PIC chief executive Daniel Matjila did not deny that the investment manager was considering a bid by a consortium led by Kumalo to acquire the PIC’s stake in Vodacom, but would not provide further details.

“The PIC can confirm it has been approached by various BEE consortia to buy a portion of its Vodacom shares. The discussions are ongoing. For this reason, the PIC is unable to disclose further details, considering that Vodacom is a listed company,” said Matjila in a written response.

A close associate of Kumalo’s, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that Kumalo held a minority stake in the consortium. Kumalo declined to comment on the transaction.

A former chief operating officer for the Vodacom group, Kumalo left at the end of May last year to join his family business. He was appointed to the Eskom board in December 2014. Kumalo announced his resignation from Eskom early this month following an article by the M&G, headlined “The ‘Gupta-owned’ state enterprises”, that linked him to a partner of the controversial Gupta family, Salim Essa.

Although Kumalo acknowledged being a codirector with Essa in a company called Ujiri Mining, until Essa’s resignation in August 2015, he denied any association with the Gupta family.

“While it is a matter of public record that I once tried to venture into mining with Salim Essa, the M&G failed to clarify that the company in question was actually dormant,” said Kumalo in a post-publication letter to the newspaper, after having declined to comment for the original article.

“Secondly, Ujiri Mining has never traded at all nor participated in any lucrative mining deals. The paper also further neglected to clarify that the company has had no direct links whatsoever with the Gupta family.”

Daniel Matjila heads the Public Investment Corporation. (Yunus Mohamed, Gallo)

In his resignation letter last week, Kumalo said he was leaving the power utility after just over a year “due to time constraints”.

But a source who works in the tele-communications sector says that, following the publication of the M&G article, Kumalo was advised to resign from the power utility and distance himself from anything to do with the Guptas because this could negatively affect the Vodacom share price.

The PIC declined to answer specific questions, including whether it was considering selling all its shares in Vodacom. An industry insider said this was unlikely because it would upset the markets. “They will be selling, but I don’t think they will sell all the shares, because you must remember that both Vodacom and the PIC are among the top 40 companies listed on the JSE.”

The treasury said the PIC had its own governance structures that determine its investment strategy and that it would therefore not be involved in the PIC’s decisions relating to the Vodacom stake.

In July last year, Reuters reported that the PIC intended to sell 25-million Vodacom shares – or 1.7% of the cellular service provider’s shareholding.

With a share price of about R140 at the time of the sale, the PIC’s 13.9% stake would have been worth R28.93-billion. But thanks to the 10% discount, it would have paid R26-billion for the shares.

At Thursday’s share price of R167.90, the PIC’s stake is worth R34.74-billion – and a 1.7% stake of 25-million Vodacom shares has a market value of R4.25-billion.

Vodacom spokesperson Byron Kennedy said the company would not comment on speculation.

The Companies Act Companies Regulations and JSE listing protocols require certain share transactions to be disclosed. If a person acquires shares amounting to 5%, 10%, 15% or any further whole multiple of 5% of the shares in issue, it must notify the company in question within three business days.

The person would also need to notify the company if they disposed of shares, resulting in them no longer holding a beneficial interest in the securities amounting to a multiple of 5%.

The listed entity in question would then need to issue a Stock Exchange News Service announcement.

In general, company restraints would be concerned with existing and former employees working for the competition and not with the buying of company shares.

Vodacom last month abandoned its bid for telecoms company Neotel, following opposition from MTN and Cell C and what it said were “regulatory complexities”. Vodacom had planned to buy Neotel’s fixed-line assets in a R7-billion deal that would have given it a major footprint in the broadband sector. Earlier this week, Vodacom confirmed that it was now eyeing state-owned internet company Broadband Infraco. – Additional reporting by Lisa Steyn and Jessica Bezuidenhout

Holomisa calls for probe into suspect deals

The United Democratic Movement leader, Bantu Holomisa, has called for a commission of inquiry to investigate how politically connected business people were granted funding by the Public Investment Corporation (PIC).

In an official complaint, he is calling on the public protector, Thuli Madonsela, to investigate a R40-million payment from the PIC to the ANC during the second week of last month, according to the Business Day newspaper. This allegedly helped the party to pay staff salaries and to pay for its anniversary celebrations held in Rustenburg in January.

Holomisa, according to the newspaper, also said the PIC was about to fund a R1.5-billion transaction to help an overseas-based investment company with interests in the rest of Africa to buy into South African-based assets.

Both the ANC and the PIC have previously denied Holomisa’s claims.

He told the Mail & Guardian the ANC was targeting the PIC to fund the projects of party members’ relatives and friends, which were not yielding results.

“They are just misusing the funds on projects that are not getting results,” he said.

A commission of inquiry should look at questionable decisions taken by the PIC management to fund suspect characters.

Holomisa said some of the beneficiaries of the PIC funding were close associates of President Jacob Zuma, such as Sizwe Shezi, whose consortium landed a significant stake in a controversial R1.7-billion deal. Shezi has served as a trustee of two of Zuma’s trusts.

Matuma Letsoalo

Matuma Letsoalo

Matuma Letsoalo is the political editor of the Mail & Guardian. He joined the newspaper in 2003 and has won numerous awards since then, including the regional award for Vodacom Journalist of the Year in the economics and finance category in 2015, SA Journalist of the Year in 2011, the Mondi Shanduka SA Story of the Year award in 2008 and CNN African Journalist of the Year – MKO Abiola Print Journalism in 2004. Read more from Matuma Letsoalo

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Thursday, April 05, 2007

Bird / omen! Bird / omen! Oh Shit!!!!

When I drove out this morning to go to the shops, there was a big dead white sulfur-crested cockatoo spreadeagled - spreadnoneagled? - at the bottom of the driveway. Judging by the newness of its corpse, it must have crashed to earth at just about the same time Gmail was informing me I couldn't reply, forward or download any attachments because it had swallowed my account for 24 hours. Basically it was telling me that I'd been possibly molesting the internet. Wwwould it even notice?

Anyway, hope that is what the omens were telling me, rather than impending doom is gonna come knocking.

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Macy's Sets Out To Ruin Your Thanksgiving Even More Than Last Year
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Macy's Sets Out To Ruin Your Thanksgiving Even More Than Last Year

The news. Thanksgiving Thursday is the new Black Friday.

Macy's announced Tuesday it's getting a jump on the holiday shopping sales by opening at 6 p.m. on Thanksgiving Day itself, two hours earlier than last year and six hours before Black Friday even starts.

For the past few years, Macy's has been opening its doors earlier and earlier to further cash in on the shopping frenzy known as Black Friday weekend, which starts the day after Thanksgiving and signals the start of the holiday shopping season. Last year was the first time it opened on Thanksgiving itself, at 8 p.m. The retailer opened at midnight on Fridays in years prior to that.

Macy's swears its workers don't mind having their Thanksgiving dinners with friends and family disrupted. In a statement to CNNMoney, Macy's said the stores are staffed by employees who volunteer to work and are given extra pay. "We also heard last year from many associates who appreciated the opportunity to work on Thanksgiving so they could have time off on Black Friday."

The expanded hours are your fault, too, since it's "in response to the significant, sustained customer interest in last year's opening on Thanksgiving."

Macy's isn't alone. Other big-box stores are participating in this trend dubbed "Christmas creep," a "capitalistic holiday arms race" that motivates shoppers to get in earlier and spend more.

For the past few years, Toys R Us opened Thursday at the absurd hour of 5 p.m. Target, Kohl's and J.C. Penney opened a few hours later at 9 p.m. Some Kmart locations didn't even bother to close on Thanksgiving last year and opened at 6 a.m.

These crazy hours initially sparked protests from shoppers and workers alike for infringing on the holiday. Some even started online petitions to persuade the retailers away from opening Thursday, but those yielded negligible results. As time goes on, customers don't seem to care anymore about those issues.

"Consumers have started to accept that shopping on Thanksgiving is a growing habit," Steve Osburn, a shopping consultant, told USA Today. "With consumer acceptance comes more people shopping."

Source: Spencer Platt/Getty Images
Source: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Does it pay off? Kind of.

It depends on when Thanksgiving falls in the month. The earlier the holiday begins, the more people will spend. In fact, a consumer will spend an extra $6.50 for every day earlier that Thanksgiving falls. "That means holiday spending is elastic to some degree — even with our set lists of gifts and recipients, we're willing to spend a little bit more, given a little more time," Vox noted.

But those extra hours on Thanksgiving night shouldn't be discounted. This year, there's only 28 days between Thanksgiving and Christmas. That's a relatively short shopping window compared to years past. (There's 32 days when Thanksgiving lands on the 22nd, as it did in 2012.)

So those extra hours "could be a significant boost to store sales," Osburn said. Stores are also staffing up during this time of year — Macy's is adding 86,000 seasonal employees — which should help the labor market.

Nevertheless, it must be stopped. Critics argue that this trend needs to be stopped by the government. Charles Wheelan, an economist, argued that point last year in the U.S. News and World Report

"Every party to this shopping melee is acting rationally, but collectively they have made a mockery of Thanksgiving for no purpose whatsoever," he said, also calling it an arms race. "That's not my inner Puritan speaking; it's basic logic. Everyone could get the same deals on the same stuff if they started shopping on Friday morning instead."

He writes that the government should step in and "make us better off by limiting our choices."

Good luck with that, buddy. We can think of a few hundred other issues the White House is dealing with, and interfering with the free market on a Thursday in November probably isn't one of them. If you want to put a stop to this, two words: Don't shop.


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In one quote, Stephen Colbert just nailed what the leaked Trump audio is really about

In one quote, Stephen Colbert just nailed what the leaked Trump audio is really about

On Friday night, Stephen Colbert took time on his day off to address the horrifyingly misogynistic leaked audio of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump.

In a video message recorded from his study, Colbert explained that he, along with his crew, had the night off as part of the Columbus Day long weekend, so no mention of Trump's comments had been included in the prerecorded show that would air later that evening.

"We did not know that today, this afternoon, there would be an audio release of the motherload, the El Dorado of Donald Trump misogyny gold," Colbert says in the clip.

The leaked audio, a dialogue between Trump and former Access Hollywood, correspondent Billy Bush, was too vile not to comment on, Colbert explains.

He then pops his headphones on to listen to Trump's comments for himself, presumably for the first time, and what follows is a reaction that seems so genuine and visceral that it will enrage anyone who's already heard the clip anew.

"Trump says in the video, 'When you're a star, they let you get away with anything,' and unfortunately that's true, because Donald Trump is the Republican nominee," Colbert says towards the end of the clip.

He's right: Trump's real-estate fortune and reality TV fame have all but given him the keys to the kingdom during the 2016 election. His aggressive, boardroom-ready debate style allowed him to slide easily through the Republican nominating contests. His business acumen has been widely touted by his supporters as the trait that makes him uniquely qualified to be president. Past transgressions against women, including lewd remarks that the Associated Press recently reported that he made on the set of The Apprentice, were dismissed by Trump himself as being done "for the purpose of entertainment."

Are you not entertained?

Colbert, for one, isn't laughing, and he ends his video message on a somber note on Trump's presidential prospects: "Hopefully someday, he'll be telling the story of how he tried to fuck America and failed."


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Transgender Rights: Tufts University Announces New Trans-Friendly Student Health Insurance

Transgender Rights: Tufts University Announces New Trans-Friendly Student Health Insurance

This month, Tufts University became the 38th university in the United States to include gender reassignment surgery in its student health care plan. These benefits will also include coverage of hormone treatment, which many transgender individuals turn to before or instead of undergoing gender reassignment surgery. Tufts University should be proud of its progress, especially since students will now be able to seek care at their own student health center instead of having to research trans-friendly doctors in the community.

"These are needs that are absolutely a medical necessity," said Michelle Bowdler, the senior director of health and wellness services at Tufts. "It's just about taking care of the health needs of all of our students."

While few students will actually use these benefits, Tufts values itself on being an inclusive university that caters to the needs of all its students. While the costs of adding this to the the health plan were minimal, the university did have to fight with its insurance company before finally deciding to switch providers. Most insurance companies do cover hormone therapy, but exclude benefits such as gender reassignment surgery.

Transgender students across the country have been fighting for these necessary procedures to be covered for years, with big-name universities such as Harvard, Stanford, Cornell, the University of California system, Yale, Princeton, and M.I.T. among the ones that provide coverage. Several more cover only hormone therapy, and 20 total universities have trans-friendly plans that cover their employees as well as their students.

Adding these benefits to the student health plan had immediate effects on students questioning their gender identity as well. Tom Bourdon, the director of the Tufts University LGBT Center, said that he has seen an increase in students coming to the center seeking advice for these issues. He added that students are saying they feel more safe talking about their gender identity-related problems now that the university has shown its support for their transitions.

Ira Friedman, a doctor who is associate vice provost for student affairs at Stanford University and director of the student health center there, added, "Students notice whether the issues that they care about, that make them feel like it's a more comfortable and welcoming place, are being discussed and addressed." Stanford has covered gender reassignment surgery since 2010.

In an article about the necessity of gender reassignment surgery, Lucas Waldron discussed the roadblocks in the way of his transition and tried to explain to cisgender people (those whose gender identity and sexual organs "match," e.g. a woman with a vagina) how he struggles daily with the knowledge that he was born with a vagina and developed breasts during puberty.

"As a student at a university that does not cover transgender care in its student health care plan, I can confidently say that, if I were four years younger now, I would not even consider applying to a school without a trans-inclusive health care program," he wrote. "Explaining to a cisgender person why surgery is so important for transgender people is difficult, but it helps to start the discussion with the cisgender person's own genitalia. I asked a skeptical female friend what she would do every morning if she woke up and had to corral an unwanted penis into submission. She admitted she probably would not ever want to leave her house."

The benefits of implementing a more inclusive health plan are vast — not only for current students, but for prospective transgender students as well. By taking equally necessary steps to provide quality health care for all of its students, Tufts University has become a safer and more open environment for transgender students.


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Summer Lull…

What my dolls looked like during Summer!

During summer vacation when I was a kid I would go around the house complaining that there was nothing to do and my father would look at me over his novel du jour and say, “You’re not bored… You’re boring. Go read a book.”  Of course after a few weeks of Summertime the days out of school always seemed to lose their luster. My friends would go on vacation, camp or move and everyone seemed to go into some strange catatonic state of heatstroke.

I feel the same way about this supposed recession we are in.

I live in one of the wealthiest states in the union. California. So where is all the money going? I have never been this slow at work in my entire career. If I told you how many of my clients have moved or told me they are going to attempt to do their own hair it would make even Tabitha cry. And that bitch don’t cry! I hate whining and it seems like I’ve been doing a lot of it lately. Where is everyone going? And why?

I cannot have one more person tell me that they are going to do their own hair color. All because their husbands are complaining about the expense, then in the same breath ask me to hurry because they are late for Pilates class that they do in their $200 Lulu Lemon lycra. I am sorry people… you cannot DO your own hair! It will look like shit 6 months down the road. After you put 3-4 layers of that 30 volume peroxide along with the ammonia and God knows what else, that cuticle will look like my Grandma Maya’s old straw broom.

Have you ever seen those LOL’s (little old ladies) in New York? The ones with really pruney/purple-y colored hair that looks like died grape cotton? Or the carni-chick that works the frog bop with the greenish white matted ponytail that has about two inches of black roots??

L.O.L! ( Little Old Ladies)

Ya… that is what your hair will look like after 6 months of  “dying”  your own hair. You are killing it… hence the the word… dying! If you are all seriously that broke, talk to your hairstylist. I have never heard of a hairstylist turning a client away because they are in a bad way financially. And if they do, screw ’em. They didn’t deserve you in the first place. (Just don’t drive off in your brand new Audi R8 and Manolo Blahniks.) We don’t want to lose your business and we don’t want you to feel bad. We want you to go around with beautiful hair ‘selling’ us and how wonderful we were to you when your chips were down.

Carni Sue???

Let’s play “let’s make a deal” for a minute. If I give you 3 of my business cards and    tell you that I’ll give you a discount on haircut/color etc. If you get me three new clients it’s a win-win situation! Hell, if you get me three new clients I’d probably cut your hair for free anyhow!

Stylists love new business! And don’t be afraid that if we become that popular we are going to forget about you or not be able to fit you into our schedule for 8 weeks. For me it’s the exact opposite, I will move heaven and earth to get my loyal clients, who bring me all that lovely extra hair to play with, the appointment they want when they want it.

Of course pre-booking never hurts either…


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Borcan de miere răsturnat de zei

Pe cer biciuit de vânturi și gânduri,

Soarele lenes te scaldă în raze:

Un zâmbet răsfrânt, plete și piele

Cu codri’n priviri și marea’n inele

Sub taina lunii, prismatic difuză,

Pe umarul gol, marmura sub bluză

Crăpături adânci sorb alinare,

Cristale de opal, onyx și agat

Atingerea fermă a unei mâini de bărbat

Din frânturi de om, vis și culoare,

De farmec lipite, intelect și ardoare

Fata din cioburi construiește castele

Regate de fum și dansuri de iele

Căci ea cunoaște doar prismele sparte

Oglinzi prabușite și umbrele moarte;

Fata dragă, să nu știi tu oare?

E arta in sticla, argint si beriliu,

Nu sunt doar cioburi, e un vitraliu!

Aer greu

Cel mai mare inamic al unei sabii nu este un scut de otel, ci rugina.

O flacara orbitoare nu se teme de apa, ci de lipsa oxigenului.

Lipsa provocarilor, plafonarea, rutina, lipsa muzelor, a inspiratiei. Acestea sunt demonii ce zgarie lugubru in usa din spate a mintii mele.

Ma simt cel mai natural in campul de batalie al ideilor, cu pumnul inclestat pana la sange pe sabia mintii ascutita de abrazivitatea conceptuala a celor mai complexe provocari. Privind in zare la munti maiestuosi, pe care dragonii sacri pazesc progresul omenirii, simt dulcea chemare de a ma lasa strivit de greutatea orizontului.

De ce nici eu nu sunt Charlie

In lumina tragicului atentat din Paris, asupra sediului ziarului de satira Charles Hebdo, pe social media au inceput sa circule materiale de sprijin pentru victime si cauza pe care ei o deserveau.

Doresc sa incep prin a spune ca si eu condamn acest atac, deoarece nici o forma de jignire nu justifica un asemenea act criminal si nutresc speranta ca atacatorii vor ajunge pe mana justitiei. Toata compasiunea mea merge catre rudele si prietenii victimelor. Nu doresc nimanui sa treaca prin asa ceva.

Trebuie insa sa ma delimitez de un aspect care este vital in analiza evenimentelor. Desi libertatea presei este un drept fundamental in orice societate libera, consider ca uneori acest drept este abuzat si pervertit.

Cand Voltaire afirma “Nu sunt de acord cu ce zici, dar sunt dispus sa iti apar pana la moarte dreptul de a o spune”, nu cred ca avea in minte insulte la adresa celor mai sfinte lucruri din viata unui om (literally).

Insultele nu sunt afirmatii. Nu sunt argumente sau pozitii politice, care cu siguranta cad sub scopul primar al dreptului la libertate a presei.

Insultele sunt o forma de violenta. Una psihologica.

Mai mult, viziunea mea asupra credintei personale porneste de la premiza ca este ceva eminamente individual. Chiar daca in anumite cazuri sunt inoculate idei prin intermediul unei institutii sociale, precum Religia organizata, felul cum fiecare om preia respectivele metafore si idei este responsabilitatea forului sau interior. Consider ca aspectul transcendent este o chemare intrinseca naturii umane, si fiecare om are DREPTUL sa faca alegerile sale paradigmatice in deplina libertate.

Este oare libertate cand se creaza presiune sociala pentru ca tu sa iti renunti la credinta pe care o ai? Cand credinta pe care o ai e luata in bataie de joc si tu ai o stigma sociala in momentul in care afirmi credinta intr-o Divinitate?

Nu. Nu este libertate. Este o contrangere a dreptului la credinta. Nu esti fortat direct, dar esti fortat in mod indirect, prin satira, prin presiune sociala, sub oprobiul unei priviri condescendente a curentului cultural majoritar.

As putea sa numesc asta tirania condescendenta a mainstreamului ateist militant.

Doresc sa repet, nu sunt de acord cu nici o forma de militantism. Nici cea atee, nici cea islamica, nici cea ortodoxa, nici de alte naturi mai exotice.

Fiecare om are dreptul sa isi aleaga “worldview-ul” in completa libertate. Si nici o credinta, fie ca e vorba de islamism, crestinism, ateism etc, nu are dreptul sa incerce sa isi impuna, direct sau indirect, prin forta sau prin batjocura, propria viziune.

Liberté, égalité, fraternité!

Why Scientism is a plague for the intellect

Unpopular truth:

Science does not provide an answer for everything. And that is not due to current limitations of the means of science, both technological and computational, or due to the lack of brain power.

It is simply because the scientific method is based on pattern recognition and categorizing the object of study based on proximal genus and the specific difference.

There is always something to equate with and there is never a definite answer provided.

Science never tells you WHAT IS or WHY IS, these are questions in the domain of study for ontology and broader metaphysics. Also, science never provides an interpretation for the results observed in experimental measurements.

The fact that there is a relatively broad consensus over the world paradigm in which science is interpreted is merely a sociological act of people BELIEVING in the same things.

I suggest Thomas Kuhn and Bertrand Russel for further reading down this line.

Let it flow

Blackened by burning bridges I stand

In a field of charred flowers.

Ashes flowing from my eyes cover the ground

Lost in limbo, crushed by time

Tied to drifting pieces of my memory

Seeping through the cracks of my broken self

There are letters, there are words

In a puddle of emotion my feet are drenched

For that is the source of my poetry

Drink deep from the cup of feelings

And let it shine upon the paper

For in the fields of poetry

The scars of soul are healing better

The ultimate fate of the Universe and the search for purpose and closure

I would like to begin this intellectual journey into the wondrous world of idealist cosmology by stating the twofold purpose of this essay.

On one hand i would like to contemplate what would the current hypotheses regarding the fate of the Universe would entail from the idealist perspective.
On the other hand, i would like to contemplate what would overall idealist cosmology would look like with or without a postulated “purpose” or “meaning” for existence. For this analysis, i will use Bernardo Kastrup’s arguments, as stated in his book, Rationalist Spirituality (which i greatly recommend).

This being said, it is obvious that my worldview, the reigning ontological paradigm in which i operate is the idealist one. As opposed to realism, in a nutshell, idealism states that is not the mind an emergent phenomena of the reality “out there”, but rather the “reality out there” is a product of the mind. In other words, there is no reality outside consciousness. While it is not the purpose of this short article to bring arguments for this worldview, i (again) greatly recommend Bernardo’s works. Or, for the short brief, the Wikipedia article.

Possible scenarios for the fate of the Universe

I will begin by trying to classify the most well-known and scientifically sound scenarios regarding the ultimate fate of the Universe, based on how the metaphorical line of time looks in those scenarios. As you will see, i assume that the standard model of cosmology holds true (i.e. there was a Big Bang that started everything).

Closed loop (Eternal cyclicity):

1. The cyclic model of the Universe (eternal successions of Big Bangs and Big Crunches). Even if the initial model, designed by Einstein had an issue with the ever-increasing entropy, new models for cyclical universes, such as brane cosmology or Penrose’s conformal cyclic cosmology, offer explanatory alternatives to maintain an everlasting, cyclical universe possible.

Ray (half-line, with one starting point and infinite future):

2. Big Freeze (also called Heat Death of the Universe)

3. Big Rip (the timeline is blurry here)

Finite time segment:

4. Big Crunch

5. Big Slurp

What are the variables on which the fate of the Universe is decided?

The complete answer would be:

  • The Universe overall shape
  • Its density
  • How much dark energy is the Universe truly made up of and how potent it is

Things, however, seem to be simpler. Although nothing is 100% certain (then again, what is?), it seems we have an answer about how the first two variables will play out. Even more, the answers are all connected:

The shape of the universe and whether it is finite or infinite depends of the struggle between the rate of its expansion and the pull of gravity. And the latter, depends in part of the density of matter in the universe. As such:

  • If the density of the universe exceeds a specific critical value, then the universe is “closed” and “positive curved” like the surface of a sphere. This means light beams that are initially parallel will converge slowly, eventually cross and return back to their starting point, if the universe lasts long enough. If so, the universe is not infinite but has no end, just as the area on the surface of a sphere is not infinite but has no beginning nor end to speak of.
  • If the density of the universe is less than this critical density, then the geometry of space is “open” and “negatively curved” like the surface of a saddle. If so, the universe has no bounds, and will expand forever.
  • If the density of the universe exactly equals the critical density, then the geometry of the universe is “flat” with zero curvature like a sheet of paper. If so, the universe has no bounds and will expand forever.

Recent measurements suggest that the universe is flat with only a 2 percent margin of error. That means the ultimate answer depends on dark energy and what role it will play as the universe ages.

But what is dark energy?

On short, nobody knows for sure, but we do have some hypotheses. Under our current understanding of cosmology and based on the empirical data we have thus far, dark energy is a hypothetical form of energy which permeates all of space and tends to accelerate the expansion of the universe. Dark energy was originally discovered when scientists set out to find out how much the expansion of the universe was slowing down, due to gravity pulling it back inward. They found, instead, that this expansion is actually accelerating. This shocking discovery earned three astrophysicists the 2011 Nobel Prize.

According to the Planck mission team, and based on the standard model of cosmology, on a mass–energy equivalence basis, the observable universe contains 26.8% dark matter, 68.3% dark energy and 4.9% ordinary matter.

That’s a lot of something we don’t know what is!

credit: NASA

Dark Energy – or how the fate of everything will be decided by something we do not understand

Even if we can make current day measurements, we have no data to be able to infer what the strength and influence of dark energy will be over aeons. Limiting the scenarios we consider based on the behavior of something we do not understand (dark energy) would be an epistemological shortcoming.

If the (relative) strength of dark energy will diminish over time, the expansion of the universe will stop accelerating and eventually slow down. If dark energy is comparatively weak enough, gravity will win and the Universe will fall back on itself, resulting in a Big Crunch – the entire matter and energy, as well as the whole space-time frame pulled back into a dimensionless singularity.

Now, as our understanding of physics (namely quantum gravity) is incomplete, we cannot state if that is the final state of the Universe (thus the existence forming a closed segment) or that that will be the beginning of a new cycle, and the Big Crunch will be the Big Bang of another Universe, like a Phoenix reborn from it’s own ashes.

For some reason, this scenario of eternal death and rebirth of the Universe, like proposed in the conformal cyclic cosmology or other cyclical models, sounds very appealing, from a metaphysical perspective. An eternal cycle of symmetrical processes sounds a lot more intuitive than something with a start and no end. But I will come back again to the metaphysical interpretation later.

If the prerequisite doesn’t hold true, i.e. if dark energy maintains its apparent strength, we are most likely facing the Big Freeze scenario.

In this scenario, the present day accelerated expansion is maintained and the universe continues to expand at an ever increasing speed. As this happens, due to the laws of thermodynamics, the heat is dispersed throughout the space as all known astronomical bodies are pulled apart by the expansion of the universe (as currently observed through the red shift effect). Consequently, the Universe will get colder and colder until the temperature throughout the space will asymptotically go towards absolute zero. Since the sources of energy in the Universe are limited, there is no process to counter this loss of temperature. Pulled apart, even the remaining raw material for star formation will be inaccessible, and the lights of the Universe will go dark one, by one.

After all stars will be dead (either black holes, neutron stars or white/brown dwarfs), the Universe will become a stellar cemetery of black holes, which themselves will disappear over time as they emit Hawking radiation.

This end state of the Universe was also called the Heat Death of the Universe. The big culprit is entropy. Considering the Universe an isolate system, the entropy in it will continuously increase until it reaches a maximum value. The moment that happens, heat in the system will be evenly distributed (and close to absolute zero), allowing no room for usable energy (or heat) to exist – hence the term ‘heat death’. That means, mechanical motion within the system will no longer be possible. All life, as we know it (or as we could conceive it) would cease to exist.

Unfortunately, it seems that (under nowadays data, like i said before, we cannot be certain of what future holds us, because we do not know all the laws of physics) this is the most likely scenario. Accurate measurements made by the WMAP (Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe), which picks up cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR), indicate a density that is much less than the critical density. This is very consistent with observations at the outer regions of the Universe; that being, increasing outward velocities of galaxies as they are further from us.

Metaphysically, this scenario seems very intriguing and counter-intuitive. Something with a beginning, but no end? Or, rather said, an end in function, but a continued existence as a dead, cold husk? It is true, some scientists say that it would be possible that, even in this scenario, Random quantum fluctuations or quantum tunneling can produce another Big Bang in 10^{10^{56}} years or entropy, could decrease, over an infinite time. But that sounds short of ludicrous. 10^{10^{56}}? Really? That a 10 with 10^56 zero after it.

Nonetheless, the most scary and violent two scenarios are still to come.

If the dark energy is actually stronger that we assumed (or will somehow get/act stronger), as in the case of the hypothetical Phantom Energy, it will, over time, increase the rate of acceleration (“accelerate the acceleration“), leading to a steady increase in the Hubble constant. As a result, all material objects in the universe, starting with galaxies and eventually (in a finite time) all forms, no matter how small, will disintegrate into unbound elementary particles and radiation, ripped apart by the phantom energy force and shooting apart from each other.

The end state of the universe is a singularity, as the dark energy density and expansion rate becomes infinite. What is poetic in this scenario is not only the absolute dissolution of the Universe, but rather the possibility (under Penrose’s theory) that the Universe to start again from that point.

Credit: Discovery Enterprise

These are the main theories regarding the ultimate fate of the Universe. Basically, in all of them the question boils down to the evolution of Dark energy. If dark energy maintains the present strength (or ratio within the structure of the universe), we are facing the Big Freeze Scenario. If it increases, we are facing the Big Rip Scenario. If it decreases, we are facing the Big Crunch Scenario.

There are hypotheses regarding the evolution of the entire Multiverse, such as the eternal inflation model, but I do not see the reason to analyze them, as they say nothing new in regards with the Fate of THIS Universe. Under this model, while any given universe eventually reaches heat death, there are always other regions that haven’t, and new universes being produced within the inflationary volume, so the Multiverse as a whole never ends.

I kept for the end one last model… which doesn’t really fit with the others. This is one of the more interesting ones and maybe the richest in metaphysical speculations.

It is called the Big Slurp.

I starts from the following question: What if the vacuum in our Universe is not TRUE VACUUM? I.e. what if the vacuum is not in its lowest energy state possible? Maybe the entire space-time is in a state of instability? (well, technically, metastability). Then it could, at any given time and without any warning, to undergo a vacuum metastability event, that could destroy everything, starting from an microscopic bubble, anywhere in the Universe, eating away the Universe at the speed of light.

As physicists Michael Turner and Frank Wilczek put it, in an article in Nature back in 1982:

“without warning, a bubble of true vacuum could nucleate somewhere in the universe and move outwards at the speed of light, and before we realized what swept by us our protons would decay away.”

Having your protons decayed out of existence at the speed of light, along with the entire Universe, would ruin anyone’s day.

An idealist perspective on the end of time

So, how can we frame and analyze these scenarios within the idealist paradigm?

For once, all the Universe is in the Mind. That means that an end of all things would either mean the end of the Mind (1) or the end for any need for which the Universe existed (2).

Postulating that the Mind is a non-physical, fundamental Entity (at loss of better words), that would make it outside the space-time. Thus, without end (since the concepts of time should not apply). Then the first conclusion should be falsified and we come up to the second one.

But why would Mind abandon Universe? The concept of Meaning, or purpose for existence comes in mind.

Lets go scenario by scenario.

1. Cyclicity (infinite timeline): This cosmological model sounds very familiar. Not only it is in line with ancient spiritual traditions, such as the vedic cycles of Birth and Death (which are actually an archetypal motif  throughout many religions and spiritual teachings), but it resonates with the idea of a Mind practicing the material world, as for a purpose, such as gathering knowledge (i cannot think of any other ultimate purpose).

2. Finite time scenarios: It would entail the idea that the physical world is no longer needed. Be it, at the end of a long and gradual evolution, like in Big Rip, or like a sudden universal Satori, like in the possibility of a Big Slurp.

What puzzled and troubled me for a long while was a scenario such as Big Freeze or Big Rip. While in Big Crunch there was a possibility that an advanced civilization could open a wormhole towards another universe in the last moments of our universe, in Big Rip or Big Freeze, there was NO CONCEIVABLE WAY (maybe except Dyson’s eternal intelligence, which is debatable) for intelligent life, and civilizations to find a safe haven from utter obliteration.

I was toying with nihilism. Under materialism, there would be no escape from Big Rip or Big Freeze and all the progress of humanity and other possible civilizations was doomed to nothingness. What would have been the point? And i am not talking about the obliteration of an individual, or a species. We are talking about the futility of the entire Universe. And recursively, from the end of time to the present days, any action would have been futile.

However, idealism offers a meaningful alternative.  For example, we could view Big Rip as the dissolution of the physical world, after there is no longer the need for it. Here, i am borrowing Bernardo’s hypothesis for meaning: The Mind was initially unable to reflect itself and we are fragments of it, trying to gain a complete knowledge of itself.

And when the process (which can be conceivably finite) ends, there would be no longer need for duality. No longer need for a projected outside reality and individuality. It will be Oneness, Omniscience and Bliss. Doesn’t sound so bad, isn’t it?

As an ending to this essay, however, i would like to throw an intellectual challenge, questioning the very premises on which we build so far. I also got this insight from another thinker, so i cannot claim it myself, but I enjoy expanding on it:

Bernardo was showcasing in Rationalist Spirituality the main arguments for which the Mind was perfectible and thus the process, dynamic. Because, if it would be perfect and omniscient from the start, what would be the point of this projected reality?

How about this alternative: The Mind knew EVERYTHING from the beginning, but the purpose/meaning in Existence is not the gathering of knowledge, but rather the sheer enjoyment of (previously only imagined) events? Like going to a movie you already saw. And you know the ending. You know everything about it. And you still enjoy the emotions awakened by it.

Maybe that’s the purpose of living. Or maybe, it is indeed the gathering of knowledge.

Either way, the End of Everything doesn’t sound so bad anymore.

Your thoughts?

Peace and lessons

I am not my past failures.

But I learned to accept them.

I was nurtured by the lessons born from them, I was stoked by the anger and frustration caused by them.

My past failures made me the man I am now. And for this, I am thankful.

For now, I am at peace.

May you walk the same path.


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Heirloom Bean Soup

Heirloom Bean Soup, Little House by the Dunes

One of the things that stinks when you’re an adult is that chances are if you’re the family cook there’s no one waiting to comfort you with a hot meal when you come home after a hard day. So we all need to have a little supply of easy and comforting foods for these lean times, bonus points if they are amenable to a glass of wine (or two). For me, bean soup is one of these things. It is comfort in a bowl, and it will also give you a few days of delicious lunches – thereby making your life easier to boot.

Last  year I tried some heirloom beans from the local farm market and they changed my life. Yes, it was that dramatic. I have always liked all kinds of bean soup, but with heirloom beans it became positively ambrosial. So far my favorites are the Steuben Yellow Eyes, pictured here.

If you do not have easy access to heirloom beans they are available online from several sources, including Rancho Gordo. But whenever you’re anything by the pound it’s expensive to ship, so if you’re in the midwest the best prices I’ve found are at Barry Farm (unpaid endorsements). With little more than water, onion and carrot these beans will give you a wonderful soup.

Heirloom Bean Soup Recipe (Four servings)

1 c. heirloom beans, rinsed and picked over

3 c. water

1 t. baking soda

3 c. water (can also be a mixture of water and chicken stock)

1/2 c. onion, diced

1 large carrot, sliced

Spices to taste: Cracked pepper, salt, Old Bay Seasoning, a bay leaf, red pepper

1 c. smoked ham, diced (optional)

Add the beans to a large cooking pot and cover with the first 3 c. water. Heat to boiling, add the baking soda. It will fizz up like crazy and then settle down. My grandma always did this, she said it makes them easier to digest. I don’t know if it works, but I follow her directions faithfully anyway.

Let cook for 15 minutes. The beans will start to get wrinkly and float to the top.

Drain the beans and rinse. At this point you could put them in your slow cooker if that works better for you. Recover with the second 3 c. water. If I have some on hand, I like to use a mixture of water and chicken stock. Add the onion, carrot and bay leaf. If you have a ham bone, add it too.

Cook for two-three hours (7 hours in a slow cooker on low) until the beans are soft and tender.  Add the spices and the ham, simmer for another 10 minutes. Ladle it into bowls and serve. I like to top each serving with some grated hard cheese.

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Going Pikasso with Pokémon Picross

Written by: J.H. Longman

Announced on November 12th and released earlier this month was another all new Pokémon adventure, Pokémon Picross. Exclusive to handheld, the game can be downloaded straight from the eShop and, but the free download is a game that is free to start, much like Nintendo’s Badge Arcade. You can progress so far for free, but if you don’t take care of those picrites, you will have to make a quick trip to the eShop to buy some more. For those of you who don’t know what Picross is in general, it is a picture crossword and as far as Pokémon Picross goes, there are 312 standard puzzles to solve, which takes place in 31 areas that does include Area 00, aka the PokéLab. Each puzzle is of various Pokémon that were available at the time of release. Pokémon Picross also features Legendary, Mythical and Mega evolved Pokémon from the likes of Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire.

And now, to go with something a little different, I’m going to let the game’s description speak for itself: Pokémon Picross is a puzzle game where you reveal a hidden Pokémon illustration. Once you solve an illustration of a Pokémon, you can catch that Pokémon. Collected Pokémon help you to solve more difficult puzzles. With 300+ standard Pokémon puzzles, a significantly harder advanced mode, and Daily Training, this game will supply hours of enjoyment.

As far as gameplay goes, it is fairly simple. Each puzzle is made up of a grid of squares and in order to complete a puzzle, certain squares need to be coloured in to form the picture answer, but colouring in random squares is no good, obviously. To help you locate where the shaded squares need to be, there are a series of numbers adjacent to each row or column to indicate just how many squares in which particular line wants to be coloured in. However you will not be alone when you do this because when you complete a puzzle, you can catch the Pokémon the puzzle was a picture off and utilize their skill to help solve your next puzzle. Different types of Pokémon have different skills and after using, some skills may take a while to recharge, so make sure to swap out your party in-between puzzles and if you want to make your party bigger, you can always use more picrites to purchase another space.

Thankfully there are other ways to obtain picrites over than just buying them, you can be given a load from Professor Tetra during tutorial and for unlocking the first area. You can complete Daily Training. Completing certain missions on puzzles and you can earn plenty of medals to help get more picrites. Although on most puzzles, not counting the murals and tutorial levels, you do use up energy when making moves so be sure to try to pick as wisely as you can. The last thing you want to do is storm into battle when a rare Pokémon appears and not only are your skills not charged, but you don’t even have enough energy to complete the level. You can of course use your picrites to purchase more energy and even upgraded it so you have plenty more to use, but if you are trying to complete the game as solely a free player, the upgrades will only see your progress shortened.

However not every puzzle can be solved with just the normal pencil as the Mega pencil is required, but it comes at a steep price, 500 picrites, but with it you can earn yourself 381 back and there is an alternative world you can go to, where any area you have unlocked, is unlocked there, but it requires 300 picrites to go there and you can’t win any from the Alt world. And before I let it slip my mind, there are some stages that can only be accessed by using passwords, but should you enter all four passwords, you will no longer be able to enter any more, not even passwords for picrites and Mythical Pokémon such as Mew, or Ash’s Greninja.

And now we’ve reached the point where this simple, yet complicated game is put to the test of my Pros & Cons:

-The puzzles were fun and satisfying, which made it all the more easier to pick up and play.

-It is one of the better Picross games out there with a lot of functions to keep you around.

-The use of the medals is great and it gives achievement gamers something to strive for.

-Every time you complete a puzzle, you get to feel like an artist who has perfected their latest Pokémon portrait.

-Although the game has plenty to offer, it does fail to live up to its true potential.

-It can be played and beaten as a free game, never once having to purchase pictrites, but it means you will be playing for a long time and it is much easier to just spend your cash.

-Although there are skills to use that are most helpful in beating every passing, there is only twelve and after a while, they do get a little stale.

-The game could have been a little more “free-play” and not so much “you-pay.” Picrites should have been made available in the Alt world, or at least a function implemented where some days you can get twice as much.

And as much as I really wanted to enjoy it, I honestly just couldn’t get into it, what can I say, I’m a Rumble man and for those reasons, Pokemon Picross racks up a low score of 6.8/10.0 mural tiles. Some games aren’t for everyone and as much as I do like Pokémon and puzzles, this just isn’t a game for me.

But as always, the thoughts and opinions expressed here are those of my own and it is encouraged for you to make your own.


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Archive for July, 2010

Your Milky Way Horoscope Aug. 8-14, 2010

The week begins with Venus and Saturn conjunct in Libra at 1:24 pm Sunday. Venus will be joined by Mars on Aug. 20, so try not to be too broken-hearted if you and a sweetie go your separate ways this week. Love will be in the air again. Actually, Venus and Saturn can indicate a formalization of a relationship, like in a marriage license, or at least an engagement.
STAND BACK, everybody! Feisty asteroid Juno hits 5 degrees Leo Friday, conjunct brave Regulus. (at least the traditional degree of Regulus) Women may suddenly be called on to be extremely brave and rescue husbands or kids, or they might unleash a rant online – or something! This is a real take-the-bull-by-the-nose-ring position, I think. STAND BACK and nobody gets hurt. Otherwise, Juno in Leo is pretty feisty and magnetic and fascinating to the opposite sex. Juno in Leo is a great partner and you will never be bored.
Uranus enters Pisces in retrograde motion at 11:36 pm Friday. Pisces natives may have some upsets in their lives but let’s hope that it is nothing really serious. Pisces tends to make mountains out of molehills anyway. Hmm, let me try to remember what Uranus in Pisces was like, way back in May. It was not in a work sector for me, and I recall when it entered Aries, a work sector, I got some well-paid work for a short time anyway. Uranus will be in Pisces for the rest of the year, natch. Jupiter will retrograde back into Pisces on Sept. 8, on a Virgo New Moon. That looks interesting, hey?
The asteroid Vesta enters the relationship sign Libra. This is actually a pretty poor placement IMHO because she is too willing to be a martyr to her partner. This is alright if the Vesta person is putting her spouse thru school with the understanding that the other spouse is going to reciprocate. But too often the other party divorces soon after establishing him or herself in a good-paying job. Not nice. This is an extreme example. But Vesta here is just deadly to a long-term relationship because men tend to lose interest in women who sacrifice too much of themselves.
Monday’s New Moon in Leo at 17 degrees is very tough. Pluto in Capricorn is square to Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus, and sesqui-quadrate the lights in Leo. What a lineup, folks. Crunch time all over so please try to be kind and help someone thru a tough month. I wrote some worst-case scenarios for many signs this week so please take them with a grain of salt, but do keep some cash on hand for emergencies like the one that the stars show this week.

Continue Reading July 31, 2010 at 7:04 pm

There’s something weird about (Saturn moon) Rhea, alright

by Milky Way Maid
Scientists suspected there might be a ring of debris around Saturn’s moon Rhea. But when the Cassini spacecraft flew by and took pictures, it found nothing. Hmmm.
From the article in the Monitor: “There are very strong and interesting and unexplained electromagnetic effects going on around Rhea,” said Matthew Tiscareno from Cornell University, who led the imaging campaign. “But we’re making a pretty strong case that it’s not because of solid material orbiting the moon….For the amount of dust that you need to account for [the earlier] observations, if it were there, we would have seen it.”

Continue Reading July 31, 2010 at 7:00 pm

Your Milky Way Horoscope August 1-7, 2010

Mars was conjunct Saturn on Saturday, July 31. This can be a great day to start a diet and exercise regimen for weight loss, especially if it contacts natal planets like the Sun, or the Ascendant. I once had a job that started with transiting Saturn conjunct my Sun, and the hard work I did there brought a rapid weight loss.
Other possible interpretations of Mars-Saturn are getting traffic tickets, bone fractures (due to the opposition to Uranus), accidents, regulation, the hard taskmaster who is also brilliant, or the sudden (Uranus) termination (Saturn) of relationships, jobs, contracts, and other situations. Uranus transits can mark turning points in one’s life or career (for better or for worse). It is a truism but work repeating: the worst thing that happens to you can also be the best thing that ever happened to you.
A Grand Trine shapes up over the course of the day Monday between Moon in Taurus, Pluto in Capricorn and Mercury in Virgo. It should be a very materially productive day for all earth signs so get cracking.
Jupiter squares Pluto (at 3 degrees Aries-Capricorn) very early Tuesday, followed by Mars opposite Jupiter barely 24 hours later (at three degrees Libra-Aries). Mars-Jupiter aspects bring a high level of risk as well as great opportunities, so this may mean going out on a limb in order to get to where you want to go. Be very careful and calculating what you can afford to risk, because that Mars-Saturn-Uranus aspect is still in effect (tho waning). The Jupiter-Pluto square threatens to wipe you out if you fall off the tightrope, so to speak. Sticking to philosophical principles (Jupiter) will help you to weather the trials of life.
Venus is inconjunct Neptune Wednesday night at 6:57 pm. Venus is sugar, and there is some evidence that Venus-Neptune aspects are related to diabetes or other metabolic problems. Diabetics should always be on top of their glucose levels, but perhaps it would be wise to avoid tempting fate that night. Cooks might do well to analyze where they can reduce sugar levels in recipes, or substitute natural sweeteners like fruit and honey. There are tapes out there that can help one reduce a craving for sweets.
Venus enters its second home in Libra at 11:47 pm Friday. Librans generally like going to a salon anyway, but this transit favors getting a bit more of a makeover, or treating yourself to a spa service. Librans often look great with lightened hair framing the face.
Venus opposes Uranus very early Saturday, which does not generally favor romance. Any relationships begun at this time are generally short though very interesting. You may meet rather unusual people who shake up your life and attitude. Ongoing relationships may undergo stresses and separations, or you may have to adjust to being separated by job assignments. At worst, the Venus-Saturn conjunction at 1:24 pm Sunday August 8 may signal a termination of a relationship. C’est la vie, as they say. Vaya con dios, my darling, as the song goes. The good news is that Mars and Venus rendezvous later in the month; the conjunction is on August 20.

Continue Reading July 26, 2010 at 4:40 pm

Your Milky Way Horoscope July 25-31, 2010

By Milky Way Maid
There’s a Full Moon on the agenda for Sunday, July 25 at 9:37 pm, at 3 degrees Aquarius exactly. A Full Moon seems wasted on airy Aquarius, doesn’t it? All those moonbeams and stardust have a hard time meshing with this cold, dry, mental sign. And yet Aquarius can be so sentimental over loved ones; you’ve no better, steadfast friend, brother, or spouse. This lunation features a Moon sextile to Jupiter and Uranus in Aries, so expect innovation and pioneering leadership.
Saturn opposes Uranus at 1:07 pm Monday, and then Mars opposes Uranus at 9:31 am Friday. Bill Meridian says that Saturn-Uranus aspects have historically been very challenging in business situations. Saturn is structure, and Uranus topples or collapses that structure, or at least shakes it up. On a personal level, let me add that Mars, Uranus, and Saturn together can break bones (Saturn) or cause other injuries and accidents (Uranus). Mars adds the danger of fire or heat, and Uranus rules mechanical and electrical items. Be safety conscious, and drive defensively.

Continue Reading July 18, 2010 at 2:50 pm

A Crop Circle that is a Sky Map? Yeah, at Avebury

by Milky Way Maid

I just came across this even tho the crop circle was in 2008. I probably did see something about this Avebury Manor at the time (July 15, 2008), but did not try to make sense of the crop circle as a possible map of the heavens at a certain date. However, this article does give a possible date when the planets would line up just like on the crop circle schematic. Funny how it is almost exactly two years since the crop circle appeared.

The blobs representing planets seem to line up in a configuration that matches how the solar system will appear on December 23, 2012. What is the significance of this, you ask? Well, maybe the answer has to do with the end of the Mayan calendar and how the earth will line up with the Galactic Center — or maybe not. But you can read the article at this link and make up your own mind.

Continue Reading July 13, 2010 at 7:15 am Leave a comment

The Chicken-Soup Sign Cancer: The Crab, The Scarab, Other Shelled Critters, and The Crib

by Milky Way Maid

It may crush native Cancerians’ sensitive feelings to learn that the the brightest star in the constellation Cancer, Lucida, is only a fourth magnitude star. It takes a sharp eye, or a telescope, to track the passage of Cancer across the summer sky. Come to think of it, four is both the magnitude of its star and the house of the zodiac which it rules. So there may be a certain apropos quality to the number four here.

Yet dim as it was, the Egyptians used Lucida to mark the summer solstice from about 2000 BC to 1000 BC. The Egyptians did not call it the Crab, they called it the Scarab, or actually Scarabaeus. The Scarab is the sacred beetle that rolls a ball of dung around, a ball in which it has laid its eggs for the next generation. Other Egyptian sources may have called it the Stars of the Water, or the Two Turtles, according to Rupert Gleadow in The Origin of the Zodiac. (Egypt does have river turtles, which are hard shelled critters just as crabs are.)

By the time the Greek astronomer Eratosthenes wrote of this constellation, it was called the Crab. He described it as being made up of two asses and a crib. The crib portion lies near the top, between the two asses, and is named Praesepe which is Latin for “the manger”. The nebula in Cancer is known as the Beehive, flanked by the two donkeys, Asellus Australis (the southern donkey) and Asellus Borealis (the northern donkey) .

The image of the manger and asses was transformed into one of a Nativity scene, a manger where the baby Jesus was laid, during the Christian era.

The Cancer native might not like to show their feelings outwardly. They retreat inside their shells, or cocoon inside their homes, and watch TV or surf the web. They may sublimate them into eating or overeating. They may become toxic people who poison the atmosphere around them with their unexpressed/suppressed, unprocessed feelings.

And yet they can be the most understanding and supportive friends and parents, who soothe your brow and offer chicken soup (either literal or metaphorical). They do not generally try to solve your problems for you, though they often offer the best advice you ever got.

They are the homemakers and hoteliers and restaurateurs of the world. They know just what will make a place feel like home, and they know how to make a cold impersonal hotel room liveable when THEY are travelling. They pack a few family pictures along, and maybe a special pillow, and some tea bags, and they’ll be alright.

All too often Cancer is short-changed when one is evaluating the special skills of each sign. His or her executive ability is too often unrecognized. After all, one of the biggest skills a successful homemaker has is time management. What else? Well, there’s people skills, akin to personnel management or supervisory experience. Often they set budgets and weekly menus. They actually do so many tasks that there is not enough space in this column to list them all, and I don’t want to give myself a headache trying to do so.

Rulerships and Keywords: Feminine. Receptive. Watery. Parts of body: stomach, breasts, nutrition, digestion, uterus. Bakeries, boats, buildings, lakes, ocean, pools, plumbing or sinks. Country, home, mom, apple pie. All water creatures but especially the tortoise, blue topaz, lychnis, green jasper, euchite, agate, chalcedony, amber, the lotus flower. The Greeks, at least according to a list by Manilius*, assigned Mercury (Hermes) to rule over Cancer. The Greeks assigned it the herbs comfrey and mandragora oficinalis.

*The full Manilius list, as recounted by Plato, is as follows: Pallas rules the woolly Ram, and Venus guards the Bull,/ Apollo has the handsome Twins, and Mercury the Crab,/ Jove, with the Mother of the Gods, himself is Leo’s lord;/ The Virgin with her Ear of Corn to Ceres falls; the Scales/ to Vulcan’s smithy; while to Mars the warlike Scorpion cleaves;/ The Hunter’s human part Diana rules, but what’s of horse/ Is ruled by Vesta, with the straitened stars of Capricorn;/ Aquarius is Juno’s sign, as opposite to Jove,/ And Neptune owns the pair of Fish that in the heavens move.

It is interesting that under this regime, Libra is given to Vulcan the smithy, since it is the only man-made object among these constellations. Pallas seems apropos to Aries, since she sprang fully formed from the head of Zeus her father, and was usually clad in full armor. Venus to Taurus, and Mars to Scorpio, and Neptune to Pisces, are as we have it now, and I can understand Apollo for the Twins (His chariot is pulled by TWO horses) although Apollo’s sister was Pallas Athena. Jupiter as ruler of Leo seems odd but then again Leo is the kingly sign. It’s really kind of cute that they assign Ceres to Virgo; it seems so obvious. Diana also seems an obvious choice for Sag, tho we have no idea what they were thinking of by assigning Vesta to to either Sag or Capricorn. What does Vesta have to do with goats or horses or any livestock?? Tis a puzzlement indeed. And what about this Mercury rulership over Cancer? Well, Cancer’s many ‘hands’ make her a multi-tasking demon. Other than that, nothing comes to mind.

July 11, 2010 at 7:13 pm Leave a comment

Your Milky Way Horoscope for July 18-24, 2010

Hail, all hail, to Leo – The Sun enters the sign of the Lion at 6:21 pm on Thursday, July 22. A mature Leo avoids the pitfall of demanding attention whether or not they deserve it, and progresses to inspiring others to shine in a shared spotlight. The Sun’s first aspect is a sextile to Saturn which has now re-entered Libra. Leos will have renewed ambition, and be able to set an agenda for themselves. You will be able to handle a detail work, possibly in a leadership position with a hobby club or philanthropic organization. Have you ever directed a play? This may be the year that you do so.
Saturn re-enters Libra at 11:10 am Wednesday. Libra is the sign of its exaltation so let’s hope for a renewed sense of fair play and equality in the courts of the land. Enough of this garbage about favoring corporate interests (Capricorn) over that of the public.
Jupiter goes retrograde at 8:03 am Friday, at 3 degrees 24 minutes Aries. Retrogrades are not necessarily bad things, but one needs to pay attention to where they are in your natal chart and what is going on with you. Some things may need to be redone, or some issues come back to stir up your pot. Fire signs might try to set new projects in motion when the Moon is in Sag, to create a grand trine in fire signs, good for leadership and for inspiring others.

Continue Reading July 11, 2010 at 7:10 pm

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Hi, If you want Unlimited Access and Unlimited Downloads for your cool, new Ebook Reader, you're gonna love this! http://www.Free-eBooks.net/5191-0-5-6.html There's a huge online library that gives you access to ALL formats for any Ebook Reader! It provides unlimited reading for Amazon Kindle, BN's Nook, SONY Reader and, of course, Apple's latest, The iPad. They've got thousands of books, fiction and non-fiction,for you to choose from. I just thought it was amazing how much free content, help and information was available -- all at the click of a mouse! Again, it's at: http://www.Free-eBooks.net/5191-0-5-6.html To grab your Ebook format, you simply enroll as a V.I.P.,with a nominal donation to support admin of the site and service to get complete 1st Class treatment and Unlimited Access and Downloads (for a year or even a lifetime). Hope this helps you load up your Ebook Reader, from Milky Way Maid P.S. You can also register at NO cost for a Standard Membership that just lets you read books online in any Internet Browser and download up to 5 ebooks in PDF format every month. Best to look here, for all the details: http://www.Free-eBooks.net/5191-0-5-6.html

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A gift to my lovely readers —

As a special gift to my readers I thought you might enjoy some background music. A terrific writer and geek found these archived radio recordings of the Beatles for a Swedish radio show way back when. He cleaned them up a bit and edited them, and here they are. Five songs in cool condition. So turn up the volume alright already.

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Please visit a new friend

Hi, The people at throwbackfootballjerseys.net have kindly added me on their Blog Awards listing. Thanks so much for the link, Sheila! Please visit them at the address above or at their index page at http://throwbackfootballjerseys.net/index.php. Lots and lots of high-quality clothing with beautiful renditions of sports logos. THE place to go for team wear for you and your pet. Thanks again.


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Source: Shyanne Robinson

Aside from health

and wellness, marketing is a huge passion of mine and it can be seen through this blog and my e-portfolio! I am currently finishing up my last year as a college student majoring in marketing with a degree in social media/digital marketing. It feels great to finish college doing something I love as well as having a job that I enjoy and can get excited about. Health and wellness can be looked at from a marketing perspective and it is interesting to see how quickly the “trend” has grown all over the world! Wellness can be anything from vitamins; one of the most popular is the

Source: Marie Claire

Wellness can be anything from vitamins; one of the most popular is the sugarbearhair vitamin that we see all over social media. This vitamin has grown in popularity because the sugarbearhair company uses the Kardashians as brand advocates, which mean they are potentially getting paid to promote the product on social media. This was a good choice to partner with the Kardashians because they have such a strong following all across social media and they are a huge influence on                                                                                their “consumers”.                                   Not all companies need to partner with celebrities in order to keep a high following on media sources such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! One technique or framework that I find very helpful is the

Not all companies need to partner with celebrities in order to keep a high following on media sources such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram! One technique or framework that I find very helpful is the REALLY Framework. REALLY stands for

  • Research-

    Always conduct research after a goal is in place to determine the next steps. Here are a few aspects a brand should research in this stage:

    Target Audience- particular group of people that an industry, company or organization aims for
    Influencers- individual (s) whose effect on the purchase decision is in some way significant or authoritative
    Brand Analysis- Analysis that helps consumers to better understand the drivers of business and brand value

Source: NPO.IO
  • Engage-

    don’t just talk at your audience, interact with and include your fans and followers and use specific messaging to inform, empower and/or entertain.

  • Analysis-

    Analyze target audience, influencers, brand and new channels

  • Listen-

Active listening towards the brand, influencers, consumers, positive word of mouth           (WOM), negative WOM, and competitors Target audience posts

  • Leverage-

leverage/use/incorporate user generate content (UGC), influencers, brand                              advocates, employee advocates, print, and community sites

  • You!-

focus on brand image, user generated branding (UGB), social responsibility,                          objectives, and goals, and message!

Source: Monroeville

This might not make sense to all, but this framework is an important part of all trending topics
such as wellness/health. This is important because the healthcare industry, especially ones who utilize social media, focus on all aspects within the REALLY framework to increase their brand awareness as well as their popularity.

Some aspects of the framework cannot be seen from consumers view, however, consumers and the audience will be able to see the brand engaging with their audience, listening to what their audience wants/needs. Individuals can also use this framework for personal use when it comes to wellness and health.

As individuals, we can use the REALLY framework to get in touch with who we are as people. It’s simple:

Source: Kind and Well

  • RE:

If you are looking to become a better you and have a specific goal you want to reach, research may be obsolete, however, research what it is that you want to change or improve about yourself! Want to lose weight or want to start eating better, but want to make it simple and easy so you can stick with it, do some research on what others have done, research tips and tricks for beginners. This also goes for other aspects such as wanting to wake up earlier, exercise, have a more positive outlook on life, etc. Engaging with yourself is technically possible, but in this case, we want to engage with our bodies and start small and test ourselves with our findings.

  • A-

Analyze the “small start” and how you feel about it. Also, analyze the tips and tricks and all “research” you have done to see how it will best fit you and your lifestyle and start to implement a personal strategy!

  • L-

Leverage/use the strategy you have built for yourself for a long period of time

  • L-

Listen to your body throughout your process! If you want to eat healthier, but you are finding yourself to be more hungry or if you are exercising and you are in more pain than you should be…DO NOT IGNORE IT! Ignoring your body can do more damage than you think. Go back to step one and add to your strategy!

  • Y-

The focus is you! Just like in marketing focus on the brand image, which in this case is you. Focus on yourself and focus on your goals and living a happy healthy life!

The REALLY framework is a great tool to use within any industry such as wellness and keep in mind that companies are not the only ones who could and should use this framework; people who are trying to build a brand, increase following or improve social media engagement and even you can utilize this great tool to improve your everyday life!

For more information on how you can benefit yourself (mind body and soul) check out my Facebook Page, Twitter and of course, more blog posts to come!

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Please Say His Name

After my group last Wednesday night I sat and talked with my co-leader, another widow, for a while.

It had been a very triggery group. Although  this was not a group of widows; this was a group of women whose children had died,  I have come to see that death is death. Sounds kind of dismissive, but truly isn’t meant to be.

Whoever walks through the doors of the grief groups I have been leading has had the worse thing EVER happen, in their eyes.  Whether their loss was  a parent, a child, a spouse…it doesn’t matter.  Pain is pain, death is death.  We are all going do it, and we are all going leave people behind.  Those people cope in whatever way they can. I am very grateful that some of them find the place where  I volunteer. I am vey grateful I found it after Tom died.

I also lead a group of young widows on another night, but for some reason this parent-grief group triggers me more.  I think part of it is the woman I work with and how we talk afterwards. Perhaps also that I am present in those groups differently than in the widow groups. I totally understand the widow groups, everything they express is what I have felt.  Parent grief not as much, until I hear those things that catapult me back into my own experience. In those moments, what can I say?  Dead is dead.  The experience is the same. Someone we love is dead. Period.

One of the things we talked about after group ended that night was how we felt about people bringing up our spouses (children in the group) in conversation.  The women in the group were mixed, and my co leader and I also had differing opinions. Again, this grief thing is so different for everyone, I am constantly aware of that and never surprised by anything I hear. This serves me well.  I don’t judge them, or myself.  Nothing surprises me about anyone’s grief,  not even my own.

My partner doesn’t like to hear stories about her dead husband, she cringes when he is brought up in conversation.  It makes her sad, always.  I am completely the opposite. I have always invoked Toms name whenever it is appropriate and I guess that shows, by example, that I respond well when others do.  I live for those moments that someone says something off the cuff, completely unexpectedly, that reminds me that they think of him too.  I think for me the over-riding sense in it is that I am not crazy.  He lived, he was, it wasn’t a dream.  As I sit here in my apartment writing this I am aware that, at times  it might be easy to forget, or question it.  In the house no, so many immediate memories.  Life has changed though and sometimes I find myself staring at his picture, willing myself to feel him, to remember his laugh. I was very upset the other night because for some reason my netflix wasn’t working and I had found a movie to watch. Can’t remember the name or anything about it today, but Nathan Lane was one of the stars.

Tom had been mistaken for him more than once. I wanted to SEE him.

I kept trying to get netflix to work, sort of desperately, frankly, until I GOT it,  understood the connection. Only then could let it go and go to bed.  I would have watched it though, stayed up  way too late.  I needed that hit.

I need that hit from others, that reassurance that he lived and that he had an impact on their lives. A funny story, something he said, even just a nod to him in some way.  The acknowledgment when I say something about him. It’s all so good for me. The same way it is bad for my friend.

Here we are again, in the week leading up to the day he died. I have to write about him,  I am compelled. It’s for me, I know it.  I’m going to space it out because, frankly, it’s all I can think about and so a little bit here and there feels right.

My justification  (as if I need one) is that even thought this is MY grief specific, it is inherently a universal thought, dilemma. Maybe this will help someone struggling with whether or not to say something, to recall a dead friend in the presence of their spouse , or parent, or child.

Reading this over though perhaps it won’t help anyone.  I have basically written that what works for one person may not for another, like me and my friend. I guess if I have a general take-away about this it would be for you to listen carefully to the grieving person. Do they talk a lot about their loss, about their dead person?  If so it’s a safe bet that they would welcome you to talk about them too.

In the groups though, over and over I hear “please say their names“. We have poems about it, we talk about it a lot, it ALWAYS comes up.  What is it like to have thanksgiving, or a birthday or whatever go by and not have it acknowledged by someone, anyone else in the world?  For me it is impossible.  So much so that I generally post a picture of some sort on FB of Tom and then enjoy the responses engendered by that sharing.  I am in the process of extracating myself, slowly, from FB, but certainly it won’t be was soon as next week, with another opportunity to share and to openly need acknowledgment, support and love.  Not necessarily just for me either…for him.  That he lived.  That good memories are left and always will be. I have those and always will.  Others having them too, and acknowledging that fact,  that’s what I crave.

Please, just say his name.

Add yours →

  1. This is so very touching and poignant. I have no experience like this in my life, so I have nothing to offer other than this was wonderful, and I hope to have the same dignity and integrity you have and show here and to those women when this happens in my life.

    Big hugs,

  2. I am very moved by your post. I appreciate your advice to listen carefully to the bereaved person to gain an understanding of how they want to speak of their loss. I have widowed/widower friends whom I know appreciate my speaking of the person they have lost, but it is helpful to be reminded this may not be the case for everyone. Sending you supporting thoughts xx

  3. With the exception of my grandpa, who just passed away, I have very little experience with death. When someone I know loses someone, I never know what to say but what I’m learning from you is that it’s most important to just be present. Not hide from another’s grief or pretend it didn’t happen. Just be with them in whatever capacity they need. I’m sorry that you have these experiences to share but you’re a good teacher.

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Mitchell Cycles website Launch !

Mitchell Cycles website Launch !

Welcome to the new online HQ of Mitchell Cycles!

With nearly 50 years worth of business with in the bike industry, our team has seen all shapes of 'the bike'. We realise as much as we are set up in store; moving forward and keeping up to date is essential for our customers - Welcome to the home of Mitchell Cycles online...

As well as being more interactive you can get even closer to the store team, our riders and our products with our social media pages - never miss out on cycle gossip, listen to the worst cycling jokes or miss the chance to enter our competitions!

Simply find us on Facebook & Twitter !

Mitchell Cycles | TheBikePeople


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Welcome To My Portfolio

Please browse through the various sections of my portfolio, to gain an idea as to my work.
I love exploring cities both ancient and modern and seeing what interesting things I can find...
Whatever phase of life, I capture beautiful moments to treasure. Explore some of my recent photoshoots to get a flavour.
God's creation is awesome, and I'm in a lifelong pursuit to capture its beauty, whether trees, flowers or animals.
Landscapes: My first love. Fields and fells, coasts and crags, I love photographing the beauty of the world around me.

Like what you see?