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[fic] Union

Apr. 8th, 2010 03:18 am
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I find it easier (and way way way more enjoyable) to go over ALL of a 60 chapter ZeroxYuuki fanfic (Hold Me <3) rather than a measly 46 pages of tow case studies for my Seminars in HR class.

That woman makes such a potentially awesome subject have all the appeal of a Mary Sue in a badfic. Makes you smack the big blue button on the dashboard and then yell into the mic "Calling all ninjas! Calling all ninjas! This is a Mary Sue alert! This is not a drill! I repeat, this is NOT a drill!"

A random smutty drabble ... just cause =3

Smut, Under the Cut )

waaaaaaah that was fun to write =3 I think I'll double post this on 'From Yesterday to Tomorrow'. FF.net needs moar IchiHime smut! :D
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I lied...yet again *hides*

I love chapter 9 and its the first time I wrote Shirosaki and its sort of inspired by "Shade of Grey". Y' know the fic im talking bout :)

Part 10....Ze end.

Well that was a fun ride :D I have another story up my sleeve and lets see how that one plays out :)
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I totally forgot that i had to post the last parts here! So here we go! The last four parts to 'Slippery Stair Steps' will be posted in two days. Two parts every day.

Slippery Stair Steps - Part 7
Trickster )

Slippery Stair Steps - Part 8
Dreams )
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Onward to part 5! And to part 6 as well! Yes....its a double posting today!

Part 5 )

I know some folks want the chapters to be longer but I really wanted to test myself and see if I can make the chapters short rather than long. No more than 500 words each. So i'm sorry, I cant make them longer.
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I' m scratching my head over how to end this....anyhows, its Tatsuki's turn now!

Ichigo returns in the next part!
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Okay...so just because genkisam, Nocturne and Wovin (over at ff) asked for more, I wrote more. But this is mostly for sam cause she asked for more first :) So this is dedicated to you genkisam!

So....drop me a line. What did you think?
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I'm back~! And I bring to you a drabble based on yet another fanart.

I've been itching to write this for near 2 weeks now. What do you think?
sweety8587: (Default)

Lyrics by Elvis Presley, Good Charlotte and Edwin Mc Cain

Previous chapters: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V, Part VI & Part VII.

I'd like to end with a quote from Swan Lake (the 1960-something anime version)  "And to all a good night!"
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I wrote a good part of this chapter originally as a random drabble, way before ‘The Princess and the Protector’ started tap dancing around in my head. What a way for things to be…I was quite pleased to be honest.

To all who commented…I’m started to get a swelled head you guys…but please don’t stop on my account. -grins-

Lyrics by Garbage, Third Eye Blind, Phil Collins, Trademark and Lisa Angelle

Previous chapters: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV, Part V & Part VI

 Next chapter: Part VIII

Part VII )

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An important point before we start the chapter. The style in which this fic is written was inspired by the ever so amazing Tango’s “Filling in the Blanks”. One of my more favorite Buffy/Angel stories.

I am pleased, proud and a bit sad to announce that this is the first time I’ve managed tocompleted a fic. So I’m terribly pleased and proud of myself. But I’m sad because this was such a joy to write. But don't think that this is the last chapter! Cause it aint. This fic ends at Part VIII.

Lyrics by Garbage, Prince, Third Eye Blind, Robert Palmer and Eve9.

Two more parts to go. Previous chapters: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV & Part V.

Part VII : Click here

Part VI )
sweety8587: (Default)

So while I was writing out this chapter, I kept writing and writing and writing. Then I stopped and said, “Wait…how long has it gotten?” I nearly fell outta my chair when I saw that it had reached 12 pages and I hadn’t even finished yet! So the original part five has been broken down into two parts. (And yet this is still 12 pages…)

Lyrics by Michelle Branch, Remy Zero, Linda Ronstadt and James Ingram, Aerosmith, Goo Goo Dolls and Christina Aguilera.

Previous chapters: Part I, Part II, Part III, Part IV.

Part V )
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Title: The Princess & The Protector - Part IV

Rating: NC-17 I suppose. Sexual themes and some curse words.

Authors Note: Wrote this chapter first and this was inspired by kara-ljin's 'Breathless'

This was the very first chapter that I had written for this fic. Inspired by kara-ljin’s ‘Breathless’ fanart. Some curse words present.

Lyrics by Lonestar, Vast, Faith Hill, Prince, Robert Palmer and Garbage

Read Part I here.
Read Part II here.
Read Part III here.

Part IV )

Onwards to the next chapter, Part V : Click me! Click me!

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Title: The Princess & The Protector - Part II

Rating: PG

Author’s Note: Their first kiss.

Thank you all who replied back to part I, it gave me a huge boost to know that im not as crappy a writer as i think i am :)

Lyrics by Prince & Garbage.

Read Part I here.
Read Part III here.

sweety8587: (Default)

Originally this is was just going to be a one shot smut piece inspired from Yanni’s ‘Forbidden Dreams’ and kara-lija’s fanart ‘Breathless’ but it ended up taking a life of its own this fic. I ended up wanting to do a series covering Ichigo and Orihime’s first date, kiss and time.

While writing this fic and re-reading it, something about it still feels a bit off to me but I’m still happy with it. Maybe I just feel off that I’m writing something like this for the first time. Yeah….my first time writing a smut fic. Be kind therefore.

Click here for the next chapter.

Lyrics are from Garbage, Prince and Robert Palmer.  Amazing songs and amazing lyrics that just clicked.

January 2012

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Fighting the scale

While unpacking, I found my scale. The battery had died during its 6 month long stay at Public Storage. Instead of opening up the battery compartment to replace the batteries, I thought twice. And threw it out.

This was a huge moment for me, considering that I have stepped onto a scale every morning after my shower for years. Years. I have written down my weight in food journals, diaries, dry-erase boards, scrap pieces of paper.

I’m so tired of the numbers. I’m tired of a 3 digit number setting the tone for the day. I’m so sick of willing the numbers to fall. I’m so tired of punishing myself when they rise. I don’t want it to be part of my daily life anymore. I don’t want my self image tied to a number. It’s just so fucking stupid. I want to feel good about the way I look and I want my body to be strong and healthy. If I end up carrying 30 pounds over what is considered “normal” for my frame, but I still feel good, then so be it. My body should dictate what feels right. Not my scale, not my doctor, not the BMI charts. I refuse to let this keep me down any longer.

That being said, the Holidays were not good to my figure. I can tell because the waistband of my jeans has become uncomfortably tight. The candies, the cookies, the treats, the baked goods, the feasts, and then the pizza and fast food through the chaos of moving. The emotional eating from the stress.

And so, the waistband gets the wheels in my head turning at warp speed. I start panicking. Why did I get rid of that damn scale? Who has a scale that I can borrow? I must know the number, must know, must know.

But I don’t. I won’t. I’m not going to. I’m going to listen to my body and give it the fuel it needs and I’m going to be mindful about when it’s truly hungry and when it’s not. I’m going to allow myself to drink as much coffee as I please, and to savor my birthday dessert this weekend. I will not deprive myself. I will not punish myself. I won’t wallow in guilt or self-disgust. I’m done.

2 Responses to “Fighting the scale”

  1. 1 O January 24, 2007 at 6:46 pm

    Congrats! I haven’t owned a scale in years, and never plan to! It sounds like you have a good idea of how you want to live, eat when you’re hungry not when you’re stressed and savor all the celebrations… the only thing I do daily is exercise. Exercise every day just a little and you’ll be so happy, guaranteed!

  2. 2 antropologa January 25, 2007 at 3:14 am

    Good for you! There are more important things. We live too much by numbers/by the clock as it is. BMIs are a load of crap anyway. They weren’t meant to be used on individuals; rather to describe the average across the population for each height.

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Tag Archives: church

Dave Wright, ‘Don’t Segregate the Youth‘:

“Simply put, we do teens a disservice when we segregate them from the life of the church. When we build youth ministries that don’t fold students into the life of the congregation, the unintended consequence is a future of empty pews.”

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September 17, 2013 · 1:45 pm

It is meet and right beyond doubt that buildings set apart for Christian worship, should be worthy of the purpose for which they are used. Whatever is done for Christ ought to be well done. The house in which the Gospel is preached, and the Word of God read, and prayer offered up, ought to lack nothing that can make it comely and substantial. But let it never be forgotten that the material part of a Christian Church is by far the least important part of it. The fairest combinations of marble, and stone, and wood, and painted glass, are worthless in God’s sight, unless there is truth in the pulpit, and grace in the congregation. The dens and caves in which the early Christians used to meet, were probably far more beatufiul in the eyes of Christ, than the noblest cathedral that was ever reared by man. The temple in which the Lord Jesus delights most, is a broken and contrite heart, renewed by the Holy Ghost.

– J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Luke (Vol. 2), at 357.

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The central problem of our age is not liberalism or modernism, nor the old Roman Catholicism or the new Roman Catholicism, nor the threat of communism, nor even the threat of rationalism and the monolithic consensus which surrounds us. All these are dangerous but not the primary threat. The real problem is this: the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, individually corporately, tending to do the Lord’s work in the power of the flesh rather than of the Spirit. The central problem is always in the midst of the people of God, not in the circumstances surrounding them.

Francis Schaeffer, No Little People

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May 6, 2013 · 3:39 pm

Friday Funny: A Church on Fire for Jesus! (Or, Just on Fire)

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May 5, 2013 · 10:46 pm


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Tag Archives: john calvin

How big is your view of God? Let John Calvin challenge you:

“[I]t is not enough to believe simply that [God] is the only being everyone ought to worship and adore, unless we are also convinced that he is the source of all goodness, and that we must seek for everything in him alone. I am trying to say that we must be convinced not only that he created the world, keeps it going by his goodness, rules the human race with justice, puts up with it in his love and shields it with his protection, but also that there is not an atom of light, wisdom or justice, power, integrity or truth to be found anywhere but flowing from him and generated by him. […] Until people feel that they owe everything to God, that they are protected by his fatherly care and that he is the Author of all their blessings, so that nothing should be sought apart from him, they will never submit to him voluntarily. Indeed, unless they put their complete happiness in his hands, they will never truly have their lives under his control.” (Institutes, 2.1)

I must confess, personally, that I rarely — if at all — think of God in such categories. Rather more the opposite — I tend to put Him in a box, bound by my rules. Perhaps that’s why I lack thankfulness, or prayerfulness? Calvin draws a direct connection between our knowledge of God and how we live:

“The result of our knowledge ought to be first, that we learn reverence and awe and second, that we should be led under its guidance to ask for every good thing from him, and when we receive it to give thanks to him. How can the idea of God come to mind without immediately making us think that since he made us, we are bound by the law of creation itself to submit to his authority — that we owe our lives to him and that we should refer everything we do to him? Otherwise it surely follows that our lives are spoilt, if they are not planned in obedience to him, since our lives should be ruled by his will. Our grasp of his nature is not clear unless we acknowledge him to be the origin and fount of all goodness. This would always lead to confidence in him and a longing to stay close to him, if the depravity of man’s mind did not lead it away from the right approach.” (Institutes, 2.2)

The final sentence of the previous paragraph shows us why we often don’t see God for who He is — because of the fall, sin has corrupted our mind; man’s mind has become depraved. In our fallen state we fail to acknowledge Him and seek to distance ourselves from Him.

But as Christians, we are set free from sin and set free to see God for who He really is: utterly good. Let us then pray that we would not lapse into the old ways of thinking. May we be convinced that he is the “source of all goodness … and seek for everything in him alone”.

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Calvin on how the Imago Dei should influence our ethics

John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, III.4.6.696-7:

The great part of [men] are most unworthy if they be judged by their own merit. But here Scripture helps in the best way when it teaches that we are not to consider that men merit of themselves but to look upon the image of God in all men, to which we owe all honour and love. [You] say, ‘he is contemptible and worthless’; but the Lord shows him to be one to whom he has given the beauty of his image. Say that you owe nothing for any service of his; but God, as it were, has put him in his own place in order that you may recognise toward him the many and great benefits with which God has bound you to himself. Say that he does not deserve even your least effort for your sake; but the image of God, which recommends him to you, is worthy of your giving yourself and all your possessions. … You will say, ‘He has served something far different of me.’ Yet what has the Lord deserved? … remember not to consider men’s evil intention but … look upon the image of God in them, which … with its beauty and dignity allures us to love and embrace them.

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December 5, 2013 · 9:52 am

Christ, our righteousness

Then we show that the only haven of safety is the mercy of God, as manifested in Christ, in whom every part of our salvation is complete. As all mankind are, in the sign of God, lost sinners, we hold that Christ is their only righteousness, since, by His obedience, He has wiped off all our transgressions; by His sacrifice, appeased the divine anger; by His blood, washed away our sins; by His cross, borne our curse; and by His death, made satisfaction for us. We maintain that in this way man is reconciled in Christ to God the Father, by no merit of his own, by no value of works, but by gratuitous mercy.

A Reformation Debate, John Calvin

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Tips on finding the best law course to start your career as a barrister

Tips on finding the best law course to start your career as a barrister

Training as a barrister requires a time commitment as well as financial investment. Putting effort into researching courses will ensure you make the right choice for your learning style and career plans.

Plan your path to becoming a barrister

Seek out people in the know, or those who have taken the route before you, to get an idea of which course of study and institution will best suit you when it comes to making the transition from graduate to lawyer.

You can do this by visiting law fairs, such as the TARGETjobs Law National Pupillage Fair held annually in March – to speak to people direct or find out more about your options by getting in touch with approved BTPC providers.

Tips for graduates from past students...

James Haywood graduated from Goldsmiths, University of London, with a degree in history before completing his GDL at The University of Law, Bloomsbury (formerly The College of Law) in 2013. On transferring from humanities to law he found he had to adopt a new approach to learning but though the seven core areas of law were variable and challenging in different ways, James emphasises the satisfaction he found in getting his head around the complex topics.

Key advice:

'To those thinking of undertaking the GDL after graduating, enjoy the summer break and then treat the following nine or so months of the GDL as a job. Legal experience is also crucial, as well as getting involved in pro bono activities – many of which may be organised in-house by your institution.'

Jack Steer graduated from the University of Southampton with a degree in law. He undertook the BPTC at Kaplan Law School in 2013 after receiving a full scholarship from his Inn and began pupillage in 2014. Because of his plans to go into medical law he also committed himself to work for the NHS on a research ethics committee.

Key advice:

'Take the course very seriously not only in terms of the financial obligation but also with regard to the work you will be given once you get here – it's not a walk in the park.'

Danielle Lavin is an LLM in legal practice student at Cardiff Law School. She graduated with an LLB law from Manchester University before undertaking the BPTC at Cardiff University. She now combines working full time for Save the Children with completing her studies and says her dissertation has provided a great opportunity to conduct a completely self-driven and independent piece of in-depth research. She feels it has given her the avenue to develop skills and expertise that will be beneficial to both her current job and any potential future practice at the Bar.

Key advice:

'If you’re considering a masters, find your passion and then find a course that allows you to pursue it.'

...And from a law school director

Julian Davies, director of GDL and LLB programmes at BPP Law School, says drive and self-discipline are needed to do well in conversion courses. He says there’s no real difference between the CPE and GDL since both have been modernised in recent years and are intensive.

Key advice:

‘Consider your motivation for a career in law carefully before you apply. While prior legal work experience isn’t essential, getting some before you start the course is highly recommended and will help you confirm your interest in the profession.'


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Want to advertise on this website? Create your advert now.

Brilliant! This is a free non-commercial version which can be set to update automatically. You simply click on this link and then on download at the very bottom of the screen. Then follow the very simple on screen instructions. (Yes to most things.) Make sure that you click the update box and run the programme on the scheduler once a day.
An excellent free Virus remover to check a computer suspected to have a virus. On this link you will be able to run the programme - or download it free.


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"What can we do to help?"
On March 11th, 2011, Japan was hit by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, one of the largest ever recorded. Having friends in Japan, TeamFIREWORKS is helping Japan by dontating and volenteering. Below are just a few ways you can help:
PIGGY BANKS ON A MISSION - For kids, one of the easiest and most effective ways to help is with ... a piggy bank. Get a bank, or a small box, and just put your extra change inside. Simple, right? You can then donate it to our favorite trusted sites (listen below).
PEN PALS IN JAPAN - Helping out in any way you can makes a difference, even if it's to cheer someone up. Here is an index of penpal websites. http://www.youthonline.ca/penpals/penpalsforkids.shtml. My penpal's name is Miyu, and lives in Nagano. Who is yours? Tell us more in an e-mail!


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Kenya’s BRCK has launched SupaBRCK,a connected rugged microserver powered by a dual core Intel 64-BIT processor with a up to 5TB of hard drive space and a 10-hour onboard battery life.

SupaBRCK also comes with 3 SIM card slots for 4G LTE and 3G connectivity and a content delivery network (CDN) capability allowing individuals and education and entertainment content delivery firms to use it to store their webpages or content locally giving users to experience faster upload speeds, a better online experience coupled with lower data costs.

While a $50 smartphone can work as a Wi-Fi hotspot for 6 to 8 devices, a smartphone’s connection is weak and slow and cannot be used commercially and is not enterprise grade. With ability to connect 50 devices, SupaBRCK is that rugged Wi-Fi router that can allow you to access your most visited sites fast and cheaply and reliably. And because it works as a CDN, a user would easily cache their sites or content on its 5TB storage for further use. No more Netflix and chill, it loads supaFAST.

Unlike version one of BRCK which could power or conect some 20 devices. The new SupaBRCK is able to connect around 100 devices to power and internet and can also use Solar Power as it has multiple types of connectivity inputs.

For schools, SupaBRCK beats the Kio Kit which only aimed get classrooms online, but kids were already doing this using cheap $70 Android tablets, SupaBRCK goes an extra mile by allowing students and schools to locally store educational content in an offline setting on its microserver or in the BRCK Cloud.

BRCK has also launched Moja, a free public Wi-Fi set to be rolled out in Kenya and Rwanda in 2017. Though Kenyans might not care any longer about free Wi-fi, some countries in Africa would find this fascinating.

“Moja WiFi is network of free public internet access points that allows anyone to get online, even if they don’t have a lot of disposable income for this purpose – as in most frontier markets,” announced the firm. BRCK has also launched Moja CDN, an infrastructure-as-a-service offering that provides compute and storage capacity to organizations such as iROKO,, ShowMax, Netflix, BBC’s BritBox and Amazon Prime to host their applications or content locally.

If we gave BRCK a 3/10 as a device you would need, SupaBRCK gets a 7/10 for its ability to do 4G LTE, ability to be powered by solar, it’s 5TB storage and its CDN capability especially for enterprise customers across markets with connectivity and electricity problems like Africa.

We won’t be surprised if Moja Wi-Fi courts Facebook’s Express Wi-Fi or vice versa.


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Missing Piano Playing, January 24, 2016

Driving home from DC
to avoid the coming blizzard,
nestled at home with Jane
to absorb whatever comes.

And I remember the piano
that I haven’t touched
in a week while away
on a week of climate action
from Massachusetts to DC.

Inside I smile
as I contemplate
interacting with the
ebony and ivory keys

And I smile
that “the piano
is in me.”

Something new in my
retired life
after just a few weeks
of playing, improving.

I appreciate our piano.


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Monday, October 5, 2009

"Its Easy Being Green" Episode 6 Back To School

I'm a little late posting these show notes. The three 10 minute videos from this episode are now on my youtube channel. The link for the channel is in the upper right hand side of my blog.

I would like to thank Abbie for coming on the show and helping me make a juice pouch notebook. She helped to show how easy it is to make one of these notebooks.

To make an easy to sew juice pouch notebook, you will need:
-5 pieces of paper cut about 5" x 7"and then folded in half to be 5" x 3 1/2"
-embroidery floss cut to be about 15" long
-a tapestry needle
-2 paper clips
-2 clean juice pouches
-a hole punch. I prefer one that makes small holes.

1. Sandwich your paper in between 2 juice pouches. Have the folded side of the paper flush against one side with the juice pouches.
2. Paperclip the 3 layers together. One paperclip at the top & one at the bottom.
3. Hole punch along the folded paper side. I like to make 4 to 5 holes.
4. Thread your needle and begin sewing the 3 layers together via the holes that made. Start at the back of the top hole (hole #1). Move the needle from the back through to the front of hole #1 leaving a long enough tail on the back side (for tying later). Then work your way down, going from the back to the front of each hole (hole #2, hole #3, etc). At the bottom, go through the
bottom hole a second time. Now work your way back up, the same way as you did before (hole #3, hole #2, etc). Now you can tie a know with the 2 ends of your thread at the top hole. Add charms or beads or just tie a bow to finish it.
5. When the paper is all used up, take out the thread and the paper. Now replace the paper, repunch the holes, and repeat the steps.

Here is a link on how to sew a larger notebook.

Here is a link on making the pencil pouch.

You can watch the youtube videos (episode 6.1, 6.2, & 6.3) to see the show again.

I will post how to make a juice pouch lunch box at another time. I need to make a new one and take pictures as I go. In 3 weeks the how to make a juice pouch purse will air on channel 8 where I live. In 4 weeks that episode will be posted on youtube.

  1. Those notebooks look great! I may have to buy drink pouches for the boys just so I can try making them!

  2. Thanks :) You can see if any of their friends drink them, and then ask them to save the empty ones for you.

  3. one of my coworkers always drinks from juice pouches...I might save a few of hers and try some notebooks

  4. feature this at my blog


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Fleeting Commute

The snow and daily highs in the negatives have finally hit Guelph. It is a late but still welcome change for me as ski season is supposed to be here. It’s also an excellent development for another odd reason. With the temperatures hovering around zero these days the off-road part of my daily commute has been very messy (my pant-shell covered in mud), slow (ground soft with moisture) and sometimes dangerous with unexpected ice (I nearly went for a tumble the day before yesterday–thank you right foot!)
But the cold weather has meant that the frozen ground is as hard as pavement although a little bumpier and it’s really not that cold out yet so the ride is very enjoyable. I’ll have to enjoy it before the real snow hits or the symptoms of global warming return. Sigh!!!

About tgrignon

I came I saw I rented the DVD
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Episode 103: Agile Australia 2015 Vox Pop

Agile-Australia-2015-LogoCraig and Tony are once again roaming the floor, this time at the Agile Australia conference in Sydney, looking for interesting people in the Australian Agile community. While walking around the floor they run into:

TheAgileRevolution-103 (31 minutes)

Episode 59: #NOestimates with Neil Killick

@neilkillickTony and Kim Ballestrin have a chat with Neil Killick whilst at Agile Australia 2013 in Sydney and talk about:

  • The origins of the #NOestimates hashtag
  • Agile with a small ‘a’ – going for agility and not a process
  • Neil’s journey into Agile
  • The link between health and the values & principles of Agile
  • The manifesto
  • Embracing change
  • Safe to fail
  • How changing our language can change our culture
  • Expectations management through range provisioning
  • Understanding real constraints

TheAgileRevolution-59 (33 minutes)

Episode 33: Cynefin

Kim BallestrinRenee and Kim Ballestrin (organiser of Cynefin Melbourne) talk at Agile Australia about Dave Snowden’s* Cynefin.

For more details on Cynefin take a look at Dave’s XP 2012 Keynote.

Also if you are in Melbourne you can join the Melbourne Cynefin Meetup group here.

*Sorry Dave for the name error, if it is any concillation I know a Dean Snowden at work and got mixed up 🙂

TheAgileRevolution-33 (20 minutes)


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R.I.P. Peter Gutteridge (Sept 14 2014)

This is a sampling of Articles, Testimonials  and Links related to the sad demise of Peter Gutteridge on September 14 2014. Sadly missed….

Reprinted from: http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/10524939/The-rise-and-fall-of-a-music-legend

The rise and fall of a music legend

Musicians remember Peter Gutteridge, an architect of the Dunedin sound, better known abroad than at home. It was on his return home from the United States that police met him at the airport, had him admitted to hospital – and that was where he died. Jess McAllen reports.

When a bunch of guitar leads are tangled up like spaghetti, you’ve got yourself a Gutteridge.

It’s a noun friends and former bandmates of one of New Zealand music’s unsung heroes, the solitary, slight and troubled Peter Gutteridge, want to entrench.

“Both literally and figuratively,” says Graeme Humphreys, former keyboardist of the Able Tasmans. “His leads were always tangled, and his mind . . .”

Gutteridge died suddenly at Auckland’s Middlemore Hospital on Monday. He had just returned from a trip to New York – the first time he had left New Zealand – and on arrival at Auckland International airport police were called following concerns for his welfare.

His death has been referred to the coroner.

Gutteridge, who was in his early 50s, played an important role in cementing Flying Nun’s legacy and the development of the “Dunedin Sound” – despite his admission in a rare interview that he had tired of the concept because people “didn’t think about the sound of things” enough.

He founded The Clean, The Chills and Snapper and was also a member of the Great Unwashed and The Puddle. Gutteridge had recently started working on new material, a few months ago telling a friend he was preparing some songs to record. “He was on a good upward trend,” Otago University music lecturer and Verlaines frontman Graeme Downes says.

“He could have bounced back and come up with something. He looked good and was in pretty good spirits last time I saw him.”

Gutteridge was consumed by music and music was consumed by him. At the start of this year a synthesiser droned continuously inside his Dunedin home, making wobbly noises and providing a back track not only to his life but any music he wanted to make, at any time inspiration struck.

Good friend George Henderson, who formed The Puddle, offered Gutteridge a room at his rural home near Auckland after Gutteridge quit his 20-odd-year opiate and methadone addiction.

“It just gave him a chance to recuperate away from the scene he’d come from. And he did get a lot of his health and energy back. He actually got really well, better than he’d been in a long time, and he started playing again after that.”

It was no secret Gutteridge was troubled, and his long-term drug addiction, say music commentators, may have derailed him professionally.

Downes says Gutteridge’s demons impacted his music: “Peter could come up with amazing stuff but he was one of those people who found it difficult to get it to the end product. You’d need a lot of people around to push him, help him get to the stage or to the recording studio.”

Despite many in his life begging him for such a long time to quit drugs, when he finally did it was in a characteristic Gutteridge fashion, says Henderson.

“He was on lots of drugs and gave it up very quickly in a totally impulsive and self-guided way. He just jumped off because the idea came into his head and he just did it. I can’t confirm how long he was off drugs, maybe it was three years . . . but he was able to go to America because he didn’t need to pick up a prescription every day.”

Gutteridge’s trip was the first time he’d left New Zealand.

“It was just an impulsive decision, I believe,” says Henderson, who was surprised by the trip. “He suffered from pain and especially wasn’t well in the last year or the last six months and I think going to America just completely exhausted him. He was already mentally and physically exhausted and, looking back, it was amazing he was able to go.”

Henderson first met Gutteridge about 1979, remembering someone who always had a guitar in hand.

“Pete had a kind of changeling quality about him, like part of him wasn’t from around here. Over the years that came out more and more, he became more attuned to spiritual forces and messages. He would do things because he has a calling to do them.

“It was quite impressive really, his ability to change the atmosphere in a place, kind of on a musical level without even playing music.”

Close friend Stuart Page, who produced Gutteridge’s videos and helped out with his trip to New York, says: “His music was his personality. He was really into the idea of music being what it actually is, which is vibrating airwaves.

“He was really into not just the song and the words but the fact that music is basically airwaves that are being disturbed, and he got it down to that level. He would sometimes spend half an hour tuning something until the vibrations were correct.

“He was a very complex person. He could be the most gentle, soft, unbelievable kind of tender person that could write a little song and make you cry, or he could just turn into this guy who was in control of this ferocious, loud distorting vibration that would leave you deaf for like two days and everything in between.

“He often spoke about using his music to empower people to stand up for everyone’s values and needs, and properly treasure the riches from all our different cultures and individual gifts and the environment of New Zealand.”

Flying Nun label boss Ben Howe discovered Gutteridge’s music through the Snapper track Buddy and the Clean’s Point That Thing Somewhere Else. Howe thinks these two tracks are among the best and most important ever to come out of New Zealand.

Howe was in New York with Gutteridge a few weeks ago. It was the middle of a summer heat wave but Gutteridge only thought to travel with a pair of large woolly ugg boots. “He wasn’t someone you would likely have a routine or normal conversation with. He was more interested in the cosmic, spiritual or creative aspects of life, which was what made him so cool. He was also quite eccentric in an endearing way.”

Within a day of his death, tribute pieces flowed in international media – The Guardian, Pitchfork, Billboard and The Rolling Stone – before it was even publicised in New Zealand. Gutteridge, arguably, had a larger following with international indie musicians than mainstream music listeners in his home country.

“If you were to run into anyone from Pavement, Sonic Youth, Yo La Tango, Real Estate – pretty much any decent indie band in the States or Britain – and said ‘Peter Gutteridge’ they would go ‘yeah, he’s amazing’ but if you said, for example, ‘Fat Freddy’s Drop’ they would go ‘who?”‘ Humphreys says.

When Gutteridge was in a band, no matter how briefly, it seemed something magical happened. His brief stint in The Clean created Point That Thing – which he wrote at the age of 17.

Downes cites two reasons for his international recognition: “It’s for the music he played but also the role he played in being the catalyst for other people.

“Even the idea, the sheer audacity of picking up a guitar, writing your own songs and starting to play them was revolutionary enough. It’s a butterfly flapping its wings. One tiny event happened and it just spawned a tidal wave of other activity and now The Clean are playing in the United States for 18-year-old kids who love it.”

Gutteridge had a real sense for humour and wrote often darkly-funny lyrics. Henderson particularly recalls the line “lost ribbons are tied to lost sheep”.

“Maybe he was a bit of a lost sheep,” Henderson says.

“His songs were often quite lyrical, especially the Great Unwashed ones. They sound good and point to something deep without necessarily overstating it.

“He just put everything, everything into his music really. Absolutely everything, all kinds of things other people hold back on. He would sacrifice anything for music really.”

Henderson’s final memory, amid stories he says aren’t fit to print, is about their shared love of weaponry. “We used to sit in his house shooting up bottles. That was one of our main recreations – there was this pile of broken bottles at the end of the house because we’d overdone it.”

Chris Knox (The Enemy, Toy Love, Tall Dwarfs) is a fellow Flying Nun legend and was a friend of Gutteridge. In June 2009, Knox suffered a stroke that has left his speech limited but he has been using drawing to help communicate and offered this picture, right, created using only his left hand, in remembrance of Gutteridge. Gutteridge contributed the song Don’t Catch Fire towards Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox, a fundraising compilation.

– Sunday Star Times

Reprinted from: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=11324984

Death of underground music legend Peter Gutteridge

Peter Gutteridge. Photo / Christopher Andrews
Peter Gutteridge. Photo / Christopher Andrews

Peter Gutteridge, one of the original musicians behind the early 80s Dunedin sound and the founding days of the Flying Nun record label has died.

Gutteridge, who was in his early 50s, died on Monday morning in Auckland, shortly after returning from playing his first ever show in the United States earlier this month.

Gutteridge had been a founding member of The Clean, The Chills and The Great Unwashed in the early 80s.

He later went on to form the legendary noise-drone outfit Snapper and make his own solo recordings.

Snapper performed reunion shows last year following Gutteridge’s treatment for drug addiction.

A statement from the label described Gutteridge as ”a great talent”.

“All of us, and so many people around the world, have been touched and affected by his music, whether it be the swirling fuzz of the guitar or haunting piano melodies, Peter was a true hero of New Zealand music, and will be deeply missed.”

“Our thoughts and sympathies are with his family and friends at this very sad time.

“Thank you Peter for all the music, may you rest in peace.”

The largely reclusive Gutteridge didn’t enjoy being labelled part of the “Dunedin sound”

He told interviewer Wes Holland of messandnoise.com last year: “People didn’t think about the sound of things, people put on guitars and then clanged out stuff.

“I just got tired of a guitar sound that wasn’t thought about. I had my own personal style. I mean, I wrote [The Clean’s] Point That Thing [Somewhere Else]‘ at 17. That sort of sums up where I come from. I love textures. I love Indian music – now that’s true psychedelic music without having to give itself a term.

“A lot of rock music leaves me cold. It’s anal. It’s self-indulgent. That’s it. But there’s great stuff too. Rock music is only rock music.”

NZ Herald

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Tag Archives: #patentleathernudeshoe

Vintage Louboutin Signature vintage Patton Leather Nude Flat/peep toe shoe

CHRISTIAN Louboutin History :What Happened During Christian Louboutin’s Early Years?Christian Louboutin was born in France in 1968. His father was a cabinet maker, and his mother was a stay-at-home mom. Louboutin spent most of his childhood with his mother and … Continue reading

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Death and Wisdom

In a little over a month three people in my parish have passed away. One was a venerable Archdeacon, a good man full of years. He had served His Lord and the Church for decades and passed peacefully in his sleep. The other two were young, a high school boy full of promise tragically taken in a car accident, and a man in his early twenties who reposed in the Lord after a brave battle with illness.

Three deaths in three different ways. Death is ingenious like that, it has the ability to come in as many ways as there are people to visit and no one, regardless of their age or station, is immune. We expect, in the normal course of life, for those along in years to die but even the young can, and do, leave this life. We have seen it, first hand, as December has given way to the new year.

There are no answers in all of this, at least not in the short term. We know, in each case, the cause of death but the greater questions of “Why?” will take time to ponder. It always does. Death challenges pious platitudes and easy answers because death has a profound depth to it, a great mystery in the best sense of that word, and easy answers seem to fall apart in the face of it.

Death is also, though, a forge of wisdom with the power to clarify the true value of things and burn through everything superficial. The knowledge that this time on earth is limited can be a source of frivolity where all of our efforts are focused on extracting fleeting glimpses of whatever we consider the good life in a mad dash before the deadline. It can also be a source of paralysis and despair where the idea of the inevitable end clouds every part of every point along the way. Or it can call us to something higher, to search for, and practice, the good, the true, the things that transcend the moment, and even life itself. If that is the course we choose, then, perhaps, even death, as mysterious and powerful and challenging as it is, has something to offer us in this life.

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Attack of the Shutter Bugs

I went on a road trip today.

I bought a camera.

And I created a monster….

Second Born Son joined me for a trip to the International Centre where Spring Exposure 2012 was being held. He’s always loved movies and idea of movie making, so I thought he’d get a kick out of a photography showcase. Close enough, right?

From the minute he walked in the door, he was enthralled. He never complained when I spent ages at the Nikon exhibit. He didn’t murmur when I drooled over lenses. He loved the live models set up with top of the line light kits, in front of gorgeous backdrops and props. Everyone walks around wearing their gear and shooting.

“Doesn’t this just make you want to go home and start shooting, Mom?” he asked urgently. I agreed, it did.

After picking up a subscription to a photo mag, I started looking seriously at the camera body I had been researching and coveting for some time. I love my D90 and have no plans to part with it, but I’ve long wanted a back up and with the capabilities of some of the new models, I can do more the things I’m unable to accomplish with my little workhorse.

There was a show special for the camera I wanted. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hand over that kind of coin, when sale rep walked past us at the counter. In his hand was the camera I wanted. He said it was “used” and advised me of the price – substantially below what the show special was. He then challenged me to find a mark on this camera…

I couldn’t.

Apparently some morons people who have far more resources than I do, buy new models, hold them for six months or so, then turn them in for the NEXT new model. Sales Rep said he knows some of these cameras (and I would not doubt my is one of them) have never taken an image. Don’t ask me the logic, but if it means paying roughly half price for a perfect good camera, SIGN ME UP! This camera didn’t have the strap attached or the LCD cover off. Just a charged battery.

As Sales Rep rings the purchase, he stops.

“Oops, I screwed up on the price,” he said.

Greeeaaat, here’s the other shoe dropping.

“It’s ($75 less).”

Plus the $25 off coupon for any purchase over $300, I pretty much turned to SBS and yelled “START THE CAR, STAR THE CAR!” a la Ikea, cuz we were freaking STEALING this camera!

An hour later, I was STILL saying, “I’m so excited! I can’t believe how much I got it for! I’m so excited.”

SBS was definitely bit by the Shutter Bug. When I stopped my ranting, he piped up with his thoughts for photos he would take with the point and shoot at home.

Sure enough, we were no sooner in the driveway , and he was gone.

He wants the flower to be out of focus in the foreground and the background to be sharp, he said. Hmmm, ok. Interesting choice, but I’m liking it!

Then he grabs a chair and hauls it around the property. Let’s remember here that he only has one arm that’s functioning. Yes, we have some minor post-production, as per the Artist!

I really like the composition of this one, and the treatment he suggested!

I love the choices he’s making already. He asked if I would post these on the blog because he thinks they might be good enough. He thinks he wants to be a photographer.

I think he already is!

5 thoughts on “Attack of the Shutter Bugs

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Triratna News

Statement Against Buddhist Violence in Burma/Myanmar

Posted by Munisha on Tue, 12 September, 2017 - 12:04
Munisha's picture

Today on Triratna News:

1) A statement against Buddhist violence against the mostly Muslim Rohingya people in Burma/Myanmar, signed individually and personally by senior members of the Triratna Buddhist Order including Sangharakshita. The statement simply says that violence cannot be justified by Buddhist teachings.

2) Vishvapani’s broadcast this morning on BBC Radio Four’s Thought for the Day: ‘Burmese atrocities: the problem with a Buddhist state”. (Text and audio)

We first published a statement on this topic in 2013. In view of the even worse violence and dispossession now being suffered by the Rohingya people, its signatories have reissued the same statement, affirming now, more than ever, the Buddhist values of non-violence and loving kindness.

You can also listen to Vishvapani’s broadcast on the BBC website.

Read more about the complex conditions giving rise to the present violence.
Read more about the Rohingya people.
Read about the 2013 statement and the considerations involved in making such a statement.

File NameSize
Burma statement 201787.67 KB


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New agency targets foreign investment in Toronto

The Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario), the Ministry of Economic Development and Growth, the Cities of Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton, and the regional municipalities of Halton, York and Durham announced the launch of Toronto Global—an investment attraction agency dedicated to showcasing and leveraging the unique, multi-sector strengths of the Toronto Region to drive Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and growth—on Feb. 3.

As part of the announcement, all three levels of government committed $19.5 million in funding over three years to enhance the business attractiveness of the Toronto Region when competing against other major global cities like New York, London, San Francisco, Singapore and Shanghai.

“Toronto Global is the product of a shared vision – to create an engine of growth for the Toronto Region,” said Mark Cohon, Chair of the Board of Toronto Global. “It’s time to put our modesty aside and proudly show the world what we all know to be true – the Toronto Region is one of the best places to live and work.”

Toronto Global’s team of experienced business advisors will promote the business value proposition of the entire Toronto Region to international investors under one umbrella, one brand, and one unified message. Their work will promote the region’s strong, stable and diverse economy to attract FDI in targeted industries, as well as ensure a smooth transition for international companies wishing to do business in the region. Importantly, the agency will provide the Toronto Region with the capacity and capabilities required to continue competing as a world-class city.

“Our region’s strengths are starting to be known around the world. The time is now to build on that momentum by investing in the people and tools needed to highlight all that we have to offer to international investors,” said Toby Lennox, CEO of Toronto Global. “Toronto Global is pulling together the right team and networks to expand our global reach.”

In partnership with the governments of Canada and Ontario, the Cities of Toronto, Mississauga, and Brampton, the regional municipalities of Halton, York and Durham, and with the support and active participation of the region’s thriving and growing business community, Toronto Global will work to make the Toronto Region the most attractive destination in the world for business investment.

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The Torah On Women

On the eve of the sabbath observant Jews will recite Proverbs 31:10-31 which praises the noble and virtuous woman. Rank hypocrisy!

Jewish laws affecting women were created by the same sick folks that gave the world – amongst many other things – such a “treasure” as “ethical monotheism” (Pharisaic Judaism). These laws are loosely based on the Torah but are for the most part the product of the perverted minds of the rabbis.

“It doesn’t concern me” you may say “I am not a Jew/Jewess!”

At the moment the Jew is not yet powerful enough to impose his will on anybody unless you are unfortunate enough to live in that hellhole called Israel. Outside Israel observance is largely voluntary. But trust me – the Jew is working overtime to make his dream of world hegemony come true and once the Jew World Order has been established there will be no escape for anybody!

These people plan on imposing their perverse laws on everybody – halachah on Jews and the Noahide laws on non-Jews! And that means that all Jewish women would be deemed to be subject to these degrading and humiliating rabbinical rulings. And mark my words: non-Jewish women would almost certainly fare much worse.

Anybody who does not accept the laws promulgated and enforced by the rabbis (perverts and imbeciles, the lot of them) will be dealt with according to the savage laws of the Talmud which may in many cases entail capital punishment! Still think it doesn’t concern you?

The quotes below, reposted from buelahman’s website, show what they really think of women and female children. They have a pretty low opinion of their own womenfolk and an even lower one of non-Jewish females.

Depraved and insane are the words that come to my mind!

For more material on this topic visit:

“…a man may do whatever he pleases with his wife at intercourse: Meat which comes from the abattoir may be eaten salted, roasted, cooked or seethed; so with fish from the fishmonger…. A woman came before Rab and complained [of her husband’s sodomy with her], “Rabbi replied: ‘Wherein does it differ from fish?” Nedarim 20b, Soncino edition, p.58

Thanks to the encyclopedic tome by Michael Hoffman, “Judaism Discovered: A Study of the Anti-Biblical Religion of Racism, Self-Worship, Superstition, and Deceit” (ISBN9780970378453):

The birth of a girl is a sad occurrence. Baba Bathra 16b

Women are a “Vain treasure” to their fathers. Sanhedrin 110b

“Thank you God for not making me a gentile, a woman, or a slave.” Menahoth 43b-44a

“If two women sit at a crossroads, one on this side and the other on the other side, and they face one another, they are certainly witches.” Pesahim 111a

A woman who had intercourse with a beast is eligible to marry a Jewish priest. A woman who has sex with a demon is also eligible to marry a Jewish priest. Yebamoth 59b

It is not good to talk to women, not even your own wife. Aboth

Women are lightheaded. Kiddushin 29b

It is permissible to divorce your wife if she burns your dinner, or if you see a prettier girl. Gittin 91a

“… the best of women is filled with witchcraft.” Kiddushin 66c

“…the more wives, the more witchcraft.” Mishnah Abot 2:7

Gentile women are “Niddah, Shifchah, Goyyah, and Zonah” (menstrual filth, slaves, heathens, and whores) Sanhedrin 81b-82a

Rabbi Dov S. Zakheim, the former Pentagon Comptroller (among a myriad of other military appointments and positions) has written a statement on the ‘ethics’ of rape of non-Judaic women during wartime:

It is the consensus of many halakhic [rabbinic law] decisors that the yefat to’ar [non-Judaic female prisoners] can be subject to involuntary intercourse [rape], though only once, after which she must undergo a specific regimen prescribed in the Torah [i.e. Talmud], conversion and marriage, before her [Judaic] captor is permitted further sexual relations with her. (Dov S. Zakheim, “Confronting Evil: Terrorists, Torture, The Military and Halakhah,” published by Yeshivat Chovevei Torah Rabbinical School)

Rabbi: Kill those who report Judaic rape of children

Synopsis of the ruling of the Ungvarer Rov, Rabbi Menashe Klein:

An 8-year-old girl who has been raped and who identifies her father as her rapist to a trained medical professional is not to be believed. The medical professional is forbidden to contact law enforcement, social workers or child protection or do anything that could get the father arrested. If the medical professional is about to call police and cannot be stopped by any other means, he can and should be killed. And the father who raped the little girl? The father remains just as he was before, free.

The author of this depraved ruling is Rabbi Menashe Klein, a contemporary Hasidic “Gadol” (great rabbi of his generation), who heads the Ungar kehillah Yeshiva Bais Shearim, in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York.

Orthodox Judaism treats women like filthy little things

If a man and a woman are drowning in a river, first they’ll save the man, ‘who is obligated to perform more commandments,’ whereas a woman’s ‘wisdom is only in the spindle.’ In fact, ‘words of Torah should be burned rather than being given to women.’

By Yossi Sarid (Israeli writer) • Haaretz newspaper: December 30, 2011

Sex slavery and Israel’s failure to fight the growing trade

by Emile Tayyip, Global Research, November 29, 2007

“Last year, the United Nations named Israel as one of the main destinations in the world for trafficked women, according to the BBC.

Israel has also been named as an offender in the annual U.S. State Department‘s Trafficking in Persons (Tip) report, which condemned the Jewish state for not fully complying with the “minimum standards” to eliminate sex trafficking…”

Let’s give this man the last word on women:

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Nazis in Cornwall?

Posted: April 10, 2011 in anti-fascism, BBC
During the second world war a small number of Breton nationalists collaborated with the Nazis in the hope that the Third Reich would give them an autonomous Brittany within a Nazi Europe.
A clear example of the stupidity in blindly following the tactic the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The collaboration of this small group has had ramifications for the Breton movement that can still be felt today. French state-nationalists from the left and right never fail to point this out today when attacking the modern self-determination movement in Breizh. Even if the resistance in Brittany to the Nazi occupation, which contained many from the Breton movement, was as strong as anywhere else in France, all that is remembered seems to be a handful of deluded desperate men.
No surprises then that that very British nationalist, Graham Smith of the BBC, should jump at the chance to point out how one of the Breton nationalists claimed to allied security forces to have contacts among the nationalist communities in Scotland, Wales, Ireland and Cornwall. A topic that has already been explored on the Cornwall 24 forum Nazi interest in Cornwall comes as no surprise. Equally, that a Breton nationalist, no doubt active in the Celtic cultural scene, may have had friends in Cornwall does not shock as being totally unexpected. Like most state-nationalists Mr Smith never seems to place the existence of the Breton collaborators and  friends in the context of their time.
There were Breton nationalist collaborators but it must be said that in Brittany, like the rest of France, there were far more collaborators who were simply French – not to mention the Vichy government and its willingness to deport Frances Jews.
Then what of Nazi sympathisers in England? I have no idea of the level of activity of that Daily Mail darling – The British Union of Fascists – in the Celtic nations before and during the war but I am pretty sure it was a largely English affair, as is far-right nationalism today. One could also highlight the sympathy certain British royals had for European fascists or mention the Auschwitz bombing debate as indicators of the shaky nature of any moral high ground the Anglo-British establishment may like to try to occupy when dealing with Celtic nationalists. Then we have the often brushed over fact – blanked by left-wing British and French state-nationalists –  namely the pact signed between Nazi Germany and the USSR to carve up Poland. At the time communists in both countries officially toed the party line and defended the actions of their Russian comrades without question. But no, none of that is interesting or needs mentioning does it. What’s far more interesting for the likes of Graham Smith is the possibility that one Breton nationalist collaborator had a pal in Kernow.

I am pushed to pose the question again – what sort of person moves to a region like Cornwall with its own national minority identity and then sets about attacking that culture and its efforts for greater recognition and autonomy at every possible opportunity?

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Tuesday, 9 August 2016

Alpha/Dictionary Challenge 2016 Winner

Good morning all,
Tuesday here again and that means
Winners Day whoop whoop....
After our problem with the link,
I hope everything is sorted now and
everyone's pictures got included.
I checked back on the link that went
wrong and I see there was only one entry
for me to add.
Thank you to everyone who took the trouble
to upload their picture again!

So......let's see who Mr Random Generator
has picked this time......

....no 25....

Congratulations to ionabunny
please email me at
so that I can send you your prize!

Thanks to everyone who entered.

See you soon,

Jane x

  1. Well done to Ionabunny and to you Jane for sorting it out! xx

  2. Oh wow. Happy hopping here in Høle. Thanks so much. Need a little retail therapy in this sad summer weather. Hugz

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5 (or 7) Minute Face

As I previously mentioned, I absolutely love to sleep. So in order to maximize my sleep time in the morning, I’ve managed to get my makeup routine down to 5 minutes. Sure, this doesn’t always leave a lot of time for experimenting with colors, or contouring like a Kardashian, but hey, did Marilyn Monroe use three shades of shimmery shadow to achieve her perfection? Or did Elizabeth Taylor use fake lashes every day?* No.

So I figured I didn’t need to do that either. With a few key elements, I’ve managed to get a standard look that works day in, day out, for all occasions that leaves me totally comfortable in my own skin. I start with a clean, moisturized face (I use Burt’s Bees).

(Oh and I apologize in advance for the untouched photos and the ridiculous face redness left over from my weekend cold).

*That’s a trick question. Elizabeth Taylor had a genetic abnormality that gave her two rows of eyelashes. So unfair.

0:30- Lightly color in eyebrows (if necessary). I use a slanted brush and MAC eyeshadow in Espresso.
:30-1:00- Highlight from eyelid base to brow bone with a light colored, neutral shadow. My favorite (and has been for years) is MAC in Shroom.
1:00-2:00- Using liquid eyeliner (MAC Liquidlast in Black), paint a thin line with a slight wing at the corner of the eye. *See finished result below.

2:00-3:00- I’m obsessed with Bare Escentuals. It’s light, it works, and it’s quick! I use the original powder and large brush, using circles to go over my face twice. I also use the small concealer brush to touch up any areas that need it.

3:00-4:00- After I have my base on, I use a light dusting of the bronzing powder (super light dusting, I’m pale, I don’t need to turn out orange!), and an all over shimmer powder. *See below.

 4:00-5:00- Curl eyelashes, and do one to two light coats of mascara. (MAC…again).

And voila. That’s it. The 5 minute face.

After the initial face is done, I use the last two minutes to take care of any touch-ups, as well as apply lipstick if I’m feeling up to it.

Here are the results of the 7 minute face. Lately I’ve been obsessed with MAC’s Pink Plaid.

Ok, that was exhausting.

So what’s your daily makeup routine?

Leave a little love xoxo

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text:
Party with The Decorologist & HomeGoods!

I had an exciting weekend (as my Facebook followers may know) and am ready to party! Well, at least to PLAN a party for my amazing local readers!  I am soooo looking forward to hosting an exclusive party for Decorologist readers ONLY at the Brentwood, TN HomeGoods store.  The fabulous people from their headquarters asked me to be a HomeGoods blogger ambassador for the Greater Nashville area.  I've always wanted to be an ambassador!!  Ok, maybe the thought never occurred to me, but I'm super-excited about it now.

If you haven't shopped HomeGoods, you are missing out!  They are an "off-price" retailer – which means they sell high-quality goods at the best values and you never have to wait for a sale because they offer low prices every day.  HomeGoods has lots of one-of-a-kind finds and on-trend decor for up to 60% off where you might find them elsewhere.  Believe me, if you frequent the Brentwood HomeGoods store you know that it's like going into battle – if you even pause in front of a cute lamp, the chic behind you will grab it before you can put it into your cart!  And if you are like me, you have experienced the regret of passing up a treasure at HomeGoods that you've never been able to find again.  I'm about to make it a lot easier for you, my friends . . .

homegoods chairs

I'm still kicking myself that I didn't snatch up this pair when I saw them a few months ago – doh!

This is how I'll get this party started:  I invite 40 of my closest friends (that's you, local readers) to a catered brunch and shopping party on March 2, at 8:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.  Guests will each get a $10 gift card and an opportunity to win additional larger gift cards while at the party.  There will be food, games, and SHOPPING in a freshly-stocked HomeGoods before they are open to the public.  The hard part is:  which of you lovelies do I invite?

The only fair thing to do is to invite you all, but let you know when I hit my limit.  Check your calendars first, then leave me a message in the comments that you will be attending – you are allowed to bring a guest with you!  Perhaps a dear friend, or maybe just a strong fella to carry your haul home?  We'll see how many of you are interested and go from there.  I only ask that you sign up for my emails if you haven't already (you'll also receive my members-only newsletter once a month) and leave a comment that you are coming.

hg-homegoods-logo (1)

Make sure you also follow me on Facebook and Twitter to make sure you stay up-to-date on this event and other info that may not show up on the blog.  Now who's coming to my party??

Get my special report "Child and Pet Proof Decorating"
Free when you subscribe to my email updates!

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98 thoughts on “Party with The Decorologist & HomeGoods!

  1. Jen C. says:

    I want to come! It's not a party without "Last Call Christopher"!  🙂  Hope I'm not too late to RSVP–I keep getting error messages. :-/  I lovelovelove HomeGoods and the Decorologist–this is a match made in heaven!

  2. Elizabeth Evans says:

    What a fun idea.  Homegoods is one of my favorite haunts, and although I was there yesterday and purchased, I'm sure I will NEED something more in March.

  3. Tammy Sellers says:

    Sounds like loads of fun! Count me & a friend in!! I'm on a redecorating kick right now, so I can use all the help and inspiration you can throw at me! 🙂

  4. Natalie A. says:

     "I'd love to come", says the girl who knew right where you found suggested lamps based on recognizing the HomeGoods flooring design in your sample photo. 😉

  5. Katy Bell Hamnes says:

    Oh MY GOODNESS! What an opportunity! Gotta say I'm a bit envious as a decorator and conessiur of Home Goods myself! For sure, ours is the absolute best one in the South! How lucky are we!! Love your candor! Thanks for all the practical tips!

  6. Aileen Herndon says:

    I love HomeGoods and it sounds like an amazing event!  If you have any other openings, I'd love to attend.  Thank you for sharing!

  7. Holly A says:

    I would love to attend.  We are in need of some serious redecorating and March is supposed to be THE month to get it moving.  Congratulations on your recent award!

  8. Susanne says:

    I'm going to have to relocate to TN…lol. We, in the northeas,t miss out on all the fun! Congratulations Ambassador! Now that evil man, who said less than pleasant words for you, can stick them in his pipe and let the smoke float where they may. Have fun at the party. Most imporantly, never doubt are a genuine and gifted person!

  9. ~syl says:

    Sounds like a great fun time!!!!!  Wish I lived in the area!!!!!  Have a wonderful learning experience and can't wait to read the blog!!!!!

  10. Pam Lee says:

    Congratulations Ambassador.  Please, please I want to come.  I live in Chattanooga and can make it a "road trip".

    I  love you and I Iove Home Goods.  Pick me, Pick me!

    Seriously, I would love to attend!

  11. Harriette Blake says:

    Looks like I'm too late but I would love to attend if more space becomes available.  Thanks so much for the invitation.

  12. Charla Swanson says:

    Looks like I am too late.  If you have any openings or any future parties please keep me in mind.  You know that I need help:)  Congrats by the way!!!!

  13. Lori Pruitt says:

    Looks like I might be too late also.  But in the event more space opens, count just myself in!  I don't have any friends in Nashville just yet! 🙂

  14. Marilee says:

    I am such a Home Goods/TJ Maxx/Marshall's addict!  Congratulations to you! I would love to participate if there is room.

  15. Pingback: Housewarming Party at HomeGoods – This Saturday!

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text:
Ebola spread exponential in Liberia, thousands of cases expected in Sept, warns WHO

September 2014AFRICA – The Ebola virus is spreading exponentially in Liberia, where many thousands of new cases are expected over the coming three weeks, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. In a statement, the WHO said that motorbike-taxis and regular taxis are “a hot source of potential virus transmission” in Liberia where conventional Ebola control interventions “are not having an adequate impact.” The United Nations agency said that aid partners need to scale-up current efforts against Ebola by three-to-four fold in Liberia and elsewhere in West Africa. In Liberia it had killed 1,089 people among 1,871 cases, according to the WHO’s update of last Friday. — Reuters
U.S. Military to be deployed: The US military will join the fight against fast-spreading Ebola in Africa, President Barack Obama said, warning it will be months before the epidemic slows. Mr. Obama said that in its current form, he did not believe Ebola would reach the United States, but warned the virus could mutate and become a much greater threat to those outside Africa. He said the deadly toll of the disease was being exacerbated because of the rudimentary public health infrastructure in Africa. “We’re going to have to get US military assets just to set up, for example, isolation units and equipment there, to provide security for public health workers surging from around the world,” Mr. Obama told NBC’s Meet the Press. “If we do that, then it’s still going to be months before this problem is controllable in Africa.” But he added: “If we don’t make that effort now, and this spreads not just through Africa but other parts of the world, there’s the prospect then that the virus mutates. It becomes more easily transmittable. And then it could be a serious danger to the United States,” he said. The death toll from the Ebola epidemic, which is spreading across West Africa, with Liberia, Guinea, Sierra Leone the worst hit, has topped 2,000, with nearly 4,000 people infected, according to the World Health Organization. –ABC News
This entry was posted in Black Swan Event, Civilizations unraveling, Dark Ages, Disease outbreak, Earth Changes, Earth Watch, Ecology overturn, Environmental Threat, High-risk potential hazard zone, Human behavioral change after disaster, Infrastructure collapse, New virus reported, Pestilence Watch, Potential Earthchange hotspot, Prophecies referenced, Quarantine, Time - Event Acceleration. Bookmark the permalink.

One Response to Ebola spread exponential in Liberia, thousands of cases expected in Sept, warns WHO

  1. Brimmer79 says:

    I’m not sure about our troops, but I would not be eased with being sent there. I also see this as the beginning of the spread of this nasty stuff to our American soil…. All the poor decisions from our president, and he is going to continue to make more. Nice knowing 60% of you! 😦

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text:
Monday, 22 May 2017

CS Lewis Pro Socialism and Anti Radical Feminism

CS Lewis saw a fully Christian society to be very socialistic! (Ironically I think the capitalist enterprises operating in modern Christian apologetics - something highly monetised - would not even be considered fully Christian in that sense).

Guess Jeremy Corbyn's view of Britain is closer to what Lewis envisioned than May's plan for Britain.

Oh and he also said the fully Christian society would always be insisting on obedience. Including obedience of wives to husbands. This is where the radical feminists go out and burn CS Lewis' books (Aslan getting barbecued by a bunch of feminists, who'd have thought it!)

Did Peter Believe in the Trinity?


text:
The flip-flops have landed!

The flip-flops have landed!

Educators’ Trust India have just sent me this photo – isn’t it wonderful?

It shows the ETI team distributing the children’s flip-flops which (fellow volunteer) Natasha and I bought a few days before I left Goa.  We went to the local (non-touristy) market and,  with the help of our lovely taxi driver Satish,  negotiated a good price for 20 pairs of sturdy, rigid soled flip-flops in assorted sizes,  from ages 3 to 12.

They worked out at around £1 per pair;  we could have paid less,  but we wanted to get the better quality flip-flops so that they stood up to the wear and tear of life in the rural slum and on the beach.

So here are the children trying on the flip-flops for size – don’t their parents look proud and happy? The mums are looking on and smiling,  the dads are helping to fit the shoes to the feet.

And here’s a group shot of all the kids with,  for some of them,  their first ever pair of shoes.

I just love seeing how much difference a tiny amount of money can make to these children’s lives.  While I was away,  my very wonderful friend Liz saw my Facebook updates about ETI and e-banked me £20,  simply saying: “spend it how you see fit.”

That £20 bought milk for the children and mums in the field for a month.

£10 will buy 10 pairs of children’s flip-flops and help to protect the feet of girls like Jyoti.

£10 also enables the teachers and children at one of the charity’s schools to have rice for their lunch for a month.

£5 will buy apples and bananas for 30 children.

Small potatoes for us – big impact for these kids.

I’m gradually building a fabulous collection of photos featuring Educators’ Trust India and their work and I’ll post a link to my online album once I get it set up.

2 thoughts on “The flip-flops have landed!

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text: The Good Fashion Show is London Fashion Week’s largest off-schedule event. But you get much more than just amazing fashion… 25-30 British and international ethical and sustainable labels show and sell their latest collections. And many other good things on our marketplace: makeovers, clothes swishing, sweet things, fruity things, scented things… We exhibit and sell 100 unique and provocative artworks ranging from fashion photography and illustrations to video installations and pieces of fine art relating to sustainability, ethics, trade and green living. Real brainfood by handpicked experts. Confirmed keynote speakers. Spectacular evening runway show ‘Transformations’. Good fashion meets world class musicians, artists and the models from Eclipse Model Management. Hostess: Nancy Sorrell. Live on stage: Omar, Left at the Robot, Nina Burri, Miti Desai.


text:
{Day 5} It’s Not About Me

**i originally posted this on 05.20.11, but it fits so well with this series that i have decided to share it again. oh, and today is the last day to enter the giveaway.**

Sometimes, I think way too highly of myself.

Although not necessarily a conscious choice, in practice, I tend to [wrongly] assume that others should do things in my way, on my timeline, and to my standard.  In short, I tend to assume that everything should revolve around me.

But that whole mentality could not be further from the truth.

My women’s Monday night Bible Study just recently completed Kay Arthur’s Precept study on Covenant.  Although there were several aspects of this study that left a deep impact, one of the themes that stood out the most was the clarity of the big picture.

Ultimately, this study pointed us (again and again) to the Covenant relationship we have entered with Jesus Christ…

“Now the God of peace, who brought up from the dead the great Shepherd of the sheep through the blood of the eternal covenant, even Jesus our Lord, equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever.  Amen.”

Hebrews 13:20-21 (New American Standard Bible)

…but throughout the entire 11 lesson study, while pouring over the details of the Abrahamic, Noahic, and Davidic covenants, and of ancient near eastern covenants in general, we were also led to see this beautiful, awesome, compelling, and powerful Covenant in the context of God’s “big picture” story.

Tracing the beginning of the Covenant promise back to the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis all the way to the promises in the book of Revelation, while coming to a greater understanding of the details, we also observed how faithful God was (and is) to His Covenant promises throughout the span of thousands of years.

And it’s from that perspective that I have found myself becoming intimately and acutely aware of the reality that I am one, small, miniscule part of that big picture.

Recently, I have spent a considerable amount of time contemplating, studying about, and praying over the difference between my dreams and my God-given callings, how to reconcile the two if/when different, and as a result, how to discern where God is leading.  It has been awesome (in the truest sense of the word). And it has been hard.  And in some ways has left me with more questions than answers.

But through this study of Covenant, the one over-arching, all-encompassing truth I keep returning to is this:

It’s not about me.

And in considering my dreams and God’s calling for my life, I have come to the realization that I have allowed the sins of fear and pride to advance and have therefore allowed myself to think that if I take a wrong turn in discerning God’s calling, I have somehow not only thwarted, but completely and utterly ruined His eternal plan.

Umm. . .not likely!

Do I participate in the covenant relationship? Yes.

Does it require certain things of me? Absolutely.

But does it depend on me? No.

When I allow myself to become all-out consumed by what MY dreams are and what MY calling is and what MY direction should be (not that those aren’t good things to consider), I lose sight of what GOD is purposing and where GOD is calling and how GOD is leading.

So, I am beginning to not only realize, but take hold of, that the best thing I can do to discover and stay true to my God-given calling (which by the way, I don’t think I’ve really discovered…at least not in full…I’m sort of on the one-step-at-a-time plan), is to keep:

my heart grounded in the truth of the Lord,

my soul in a constant state of unwavering trust in His promises,

my mind focused on Him alone,

and the strength of my whole being seeking hard after HIM.

Because it’s not about me.

But it is all about Him.

And He is faithful.

Do you trust the truth of that promise?

6 thoughts on “{Day 5} It’s Not About Me

  1. Pingback: {Day 11} For When the “Aha! Moment” Call is Absent | The Inner Harbor

  2. Pingback: {Day 19} Greek Cafes & Knowing Christ | The Inner Harbor

  3. Pingback: Here and There | The Inner Harbor

  4. Pingback: {Day 8} Here and There | The Inner Harbor

  5. Pingback: I Want to Live for Christ | The Inner Harbor

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text:
'Song Pods' With Musical Cremated Remains Inside

When shaken or struck, Song Pods make a reverberating, mystical, sparkling sound.
When shaken or struck, Song Pods make a reverberating, mystical, sparkling sound.

We're guessing that you didn't know cremated remains could be musical instruments, or rather be safely bound inside an egg-like vessel that, when shaken, makes music! These hand-held, self-playing SongPods™ are wonderfully soothing. You send the company's owner a pinch of cremated pet or human remains and she carefully seals them in the pod to make a wind-chiming household object you'll treasure forever. Amy Lee Talon writes "SongPods have a serene echoing ring and lingering vibration that soothes the spirit."  Turning them over, near your ears, SongPods sing like a tinkling wind chime in a private breeze. Clacking them together, or on any hard surface, and another ‘voice’ is heard as they sing aloud in echoing antiquity. Unbreakable – their music transcends all time and endures all adventures.

SongPods™ are used in health care facilities, for autistic children, older adults and in numerous therapy modalities. They are also used by massage therapists and Reiki practitioners.

To the delight of their inventor, SongPods are “serving in ways I never dreamed, touching lives I’ve never known and traversing lands I’ll never see…how blessed I am to have been entrusted with their launch into this tangible world!”

The International Council of Thirteen Indigenous Grandmothers honored SongPods when several years ago they sought permission to offer them on their Sacred Pilgrimages, as Gifts to pay tribute to those leaders they encounter and as a means to support their travel.

A percentage from each sale benefits both Native and Nature Projects. Write Amy Lee Talon@tusco.net for more details. The pods cost $200 a pair.


text:
Fressing With Fishman: Kingsley Inn To Rebrand

ryan-bylineThere’s a $10 million, yearlong renovation under way at the Kingsley Inn in Bloomfield Hills (39475 Woodward), along with a change in branding and a new restaurant. The hotel won’t change hands, with owners Zaid Elia of Birmingham’s the Elia Group and Matthew Shiffman of Birmingham’s Alden Development Group sticking around, but it will have a new name — the Doubletree by Hilton Bloomfield-Detroit.

The former Northern Lakes Seafood space at the hotel will also make way for a second, suburban location for Joe Vicari Restaurant Group’s Joe Muer Seafood — an opening is planned for mid-February 2017. Vicari purchased the restaurant’s naming rights from Joe Muer in 2011 after the iconic restaurant shuttered in 1998.

A rendering of the hotel’s future

The Muer family first hit the Detroit dining scene at 2000 Gratiot Ave. with the opening of an oyster bar in 1929. The new location will seat 200 and mimic the interior of the Renaissance Center location. There are plans for outside seating and private dining. The project’s designer is Ron Rea of Ron & Roman in Birmingham.

Vicari also has long-term plans for a Las Vegas Joe Muer, expected to land sometime in 2017, and is scouting a third Michigan location in Grand Rapids, though an opening would be years away.

Short Takes

Beyond Juicery + Eatery just keeps growing. The local restaurant concept opened its doors last weekend in Detroit’s historic Eastern Market (2501 Russell St.). The new space features an industrial design reminiscent of the original space that for decades housed a local produce vendor. The original blue and yellow columns serve as focal points in the dining room, which seats 30.

The location features the chain’s full menu of salads, wraps, smoothies and juices. Their next project is a smoothie kiosk planned for Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

“Uncork for a Cure” at Bacco Ristorante on Wednesday, Sept. 28, (29410 Northwestern Highway, Southfield) will benefit cancer research and care at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center Breast Oncology Program. Don’t miss alternating courses prepared by Chef Luciano Del Signore and Chef James Rigato (of Mabel Gray), paired with wines hand selected by Plum Market master sommelier Madeline Triffon. The evening will also feature a Roberto Coin Fine Jewelry trunk show. Tickets start at $250. For more information, email or call (734) 763-0866.

beyond_1-copyAnn Arbor’s Jewish Professional Group is hosting a cross-generational dinner designed to bring together Jews of different ages, backgrounds and professions on Oct. 15. Connect8 matches groups of eight participants to dine at a downtown Ann Arbor restaurant. After dinner, the night will continue with a reception at Cavern Club, featuring drinks, dessert and live music (210 S. First St.). Admission is just $5, but participants are responsible for the cost of their dinners. For more, visit

A quick “thanks for the memories” to Yvonne Cordoba and the El Zocalo family — the restaurant closed its doors earlier this month, after more than 30 years of service at the corner of Bagley and 23rd streets in Detroit’s Mexicantown neighborhood. For Cordoba, it was simply time to retire. She and her late husband had opened the restaurant in 1983. Victor Hugo Cordoba, a Costa Rican immigrant, died in 2013.

Mazel Tov

To Samantha Lewis and Leo Reap on their marriage. We’re thrilled we could celebrate with you and your family; it was a truly beautiful night.

To Ilana Brooks and Grant Heitkamp on their marriage.

To Lauren Kastan and Jonathan Ackerman on their engagement.

To Dr. Stanley and Marilyn Levine on their 60th anniversary.

To Aaron Belen and the AFB Hospitality Group team on an incredibly successful soft opening at the Morrie over the weekend.

Happy birthday to Jake Barnett, Justin Becker, Stacey Gilbert, Gene Dickow, Scott Jurewicz, Daniel Kahn, Hannah Kessler, Rabbi Eli Mayerfeld and Bruce Milen. *

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text:
Don’t wanna call this yet another comeback!

Yup, I am right here, very much alive! What have I been upto? Nothing! Not literally. But you know.. generally.. how we just get caught up doing the same mundane stuff and feel like we aren’t doing anything?

Let me list the highs and the lows of the past few days months.

The highs –

1. I started cooking, officially, in our own kitchen. Though not full-fledged on most days, but yeah a beginning. I made Kobbari Mithai ( Coconut Burfi ) just after Dasara and planning to try out another sweet dish for the anniversary. 🙂 I did cook when I was in Chennai, but it feels good to cook for your husband. 🙂

2. My office shifted to a place which is half the distance of my old office. Though it is a temporary arrangement, for about 3-4 months, I am happy. It saves nearly two hours of my daily travel time. How I wish it was a permanent arrangement!

3. We found a maid! From the time we shifted to the new home, I was having a hard time. My MIL was cooking for all of us downstairs and I used to go down to help her, wash vessels there, clean stuff there and then clean our house and go to work too. I used to get damn tired. Then we got a maid, who has been coming since a month and has given me some relief!

4. We made up the house a bit more. All the polishing work which was pending got done and somehow that gives a much more complete feel to the house.

5. My last uncle has bought a flat very close to our house. On the day of its house-warming, all my relatives who came there, visited our house and it felt great to have everybody at home. My eldest uncle and his family even stayed over the night here. 🙂

The lows –

1. I was down with recurring fever for about a week. Just when I was get a little scared of what it could be, the blood test reports confirmed that it was just a viral fever. But it left me exhausted for a week!

2. The problems never seem to end. they just keep coming one after the other. My eldest uncle convinced the other uncles against the selling of the house, about which I wrote here. So one of them decided to move to the ground floor of the same house and lease out their current home to fix their financial crisis. But they wanted us to vacate one of the rooms upstairs for them. Now we didn’t have a problem to vacate it. But they wanted it done within that same week! Mom could obviously not do it on her own. On week days it just wasn’t possible for us and that weekend, I was down with viral fever and sis was down with a bad cold. But the entire weekend was spent doing just cleaning, dusting and moving about all the stuff! They had no courtesy to say that they could wait a while.

If it’s not this then there will be something else always happening there. With mom and grandma being alone, I just can’t stop worrying. Like the boiler went kaput one fine cold morning, they didn’t know whom to call. I happened to visit on the way to office and then called my uncle to get an electrician when coming. If dad was there, no one needed to worry. 😦 Then my grandma twisted her leg when climbing the stairs and is in pain since two days. 😦 They aren’t even moving closer to us and stay nearly 30 km from our house! What can I do?

3. It surprises me that people can be so shrewd and crooked in their ways. My co-sister never wanted my parents-in-law (PIL) to stay with them. But she and BIL didn’t want them to get to know their intentions, so they tried different ways to suggest to them to stay with us. But my PIL naturally chose their house first, my BIL being the eldest son. Since then my co-sis is behaving so coldly. She doesn’t talk to me unless I talk to her. Walks off into the room when I am there. On top of that she has told my husband to talk to my PIL, about moving to our house! Bg has spoken to them, but they have decided to stay at both places for a few months each and it has hardly been a couple of months since we’ve come here. It is really tough to keep tolerating their behavior!

4. My patience level has been close to nil! I can’t take a joke and keep getting irritated at Bg. I am a horrible person!

5. I wasn’t blogging or writing into my diary, or crafting, reading books/blogs, listening to music or doing anything! Just had no energy or interest for anything!

Waiting to see how things are, going forward!

9 Comments Add yours

  1. greenboochi says:

    Good to see you back Arch! Really. First big hugs to you. I can so relate to your worry of amma and grandma living alone – that worry seeps into us, shattering us sometimes. And I have no words to express what I feel about certain relatives who wouldnt care at all about others. Too bad. May be from their POV, its different but they can be little considerate. Also, hugs to you about your SIL’s behaviour. Tough.

    1. Arch says:

      Thanks so much GB! 🙂

  2. Mi says:

    Good to see some activity here.. So glad that your office has been shifted to place closer to your home.. Hope you find a permanent solution to that! 🙂

    After reading your post, I am left humming this old soap opera title
    khelne wale baith ke dekhenge
    naye khiladi khel yeh khelenge
    rishton ka rang badla
    naaton ka dhang badla
    aaina phir bhi wahi
    kyonki saans bhi kabhi bahu thi 😛

    I am so happy I recollected this 😀 😀

    Jokes apart.. I wish it gets better for you sweety..
    Hugs! 🙂

    1. Arch says:

      Haha 😀
      Thanks for being around Mi! 🙂

    2. It makes me want to hide in a hole because I read line number one and I knew what title that was. Lol. Too much TV!

      1. Mi says:

        hahahaha… 😀 😀 I used to watch a lot of it too..back then! 😛

  3. Just popping in to say hugs and hope your worries cease soon. Sometimes writing is an outlet and it helps. Just saying:)

    1. Arch says:

      Thanks so much! 🙂

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text:
Five life-changing books

Credit :

Books can be the best possible source of constant companionship. They come in all different sizes and stories to suit each of our tastes and needs. But a book can sometimes be more than just an instrument to alleviate boredom. Sometimes they can one’s outlook in life. They are the grand category of books often referred to as ‘Life-changing’.

As a bibliophile and a book addict I’m happy to say I’ve seen my share of such books. Sometimes these are confused with self-help books but I’m referring to works, born out of the imagination of genius’ of writers. But don’t get it wrong. I’m not one against self-help books and I have my favourites in this section too. But how impactful they are to life is questionable according to me. For a truth put straight seldom is received in the way it should and so are secrets. And when it comes to life it’s one big secret and one big truth as well.

So, the first in this line that comes to my mind is J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye. It’s got a beautiful philosophy underlying all the adventure. It teaches a most important lesson in life- Let go. And there are anecdotes aplenty to take as the escapade progresses.

Here’s a beautiful line from the book:

 The mark of the immature man is that he wants to die nobly for a cause, while the mark of the mature man is that he wants to live humbly for one.

Holden is the quintessential urban yogi of sorts whom I personally try to emulate in terms of outlook towards life and Salinger is the typical genius of a writer whose writing amazes me.

The next book that flashes in my mind is Siddhartha by Herman Hesse. It’s a one of a kind book and I’m only too happy that I was able to read last year. It was instantly my favourite the time I read it. Short and crisp though it is the point is nailed so very clearly. Even if the theme is not one that can so easily be said or understood. Only a writer who has felt it can impart such clarity of thought and fact to the reader and the reader in turn can capture the essence quickly. One needs a little spiritual spark to get anything out it; read the book at the least. But such a reader is bound to get a seed of the truth vital to his quest. I can say that with conviction for I did get a lot out of it. For others who simply want to get a glimpse into Buddha you get more than that. Herman Hesse has Buddha demystified for the commonest of people. I wouldn’t say it’s the most precise chronicling of Lord Buddha’s life and teachings but the essential extracts are set on a platter and hence the life-changing quality.

Oftentimes a book cannot be anything if it is a bestseller. A bestselling book is now a book which has reached its saturation level of popularity and its universal acceptance has sometimes invariably rendered it a clichéd image. It is a sad reality which won’t keep me from listing Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert here. Everything’s said and done and what’s more even shown in this case. Its honesty is pivotal to its success and reach and so is its passionate telling instrumental in striking that personal connection with me. The same lesson re-surfaces: Let go.

Now I come to another important book which is quite interesting in that I’m impelled to list it now but asked a year ago I would have fiercely detested its very mention. The book I’m referring to here is A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry. For an Austen fan much accustomed to happy ending and sweet twists reading this one felt like chewing a big chunk of raw bitter gourd. But after exactly one year I feel there was much truth. It wasn’t a waste of labouring over seven hundred pages of one heavy and gruesome book after all. Interestingly I also noticed having noted down just three lines from the book. And here the golden lines are:

“In the end, it’s all a question of balance”

“You have to maintain a fine balance between hope and despair”

“…Please always remember, the secret of survival is to embrace change, and to adapt”

They may be lines we’ve heard over and over but that doesn’t reduce their truthfulness in the least. And put in their context and storyline they make one big, impactful picture.

Finally the last one that I’m going to name here, assuming that I’m to name only five books, is Wuthering Heights. Yes, the gothic romance by Emily Bronte gave to me understand what a hero can actually be at the age of thirteen. I read the book twice immediately after my first reading to just make sure that I didn’t make any mistake in discerning the story. One thing, it strangely made me braver in matters of death and other grim aspects of life. On a more philanthropic level it taught me what love can be. It can be dark. It can be grim. It can be excruciating. But it can be true too. Heathcliff is a one of a kind hero whom I’ll always turn to at some point of time in life repeatedly.

So, there’s a cherry picked version of books that strike me as life changing. As of now.

I hope to turn this into a feature where we have other book lovers talk about books that changed their lives and the lessons they imbibed from them. As always I look forward to your support and suggestions.