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We all know that feeling of dread, when a client seems to be moving the goalposts, or when a project just doesn’t seem to be coming together. How do you know when it’s time to cut your losses on a project and tell a client that the deal is off?

They don’t understand your skillset is a skillset:

Aesthetics is a matter of preference, skill and talent is not. You’ve invested years of hard work honing your abilities so that you can realize the client’s vision with flair. If you have the kind of client who offers to tweak your design or (worse still) thinks that all it takes to be a good designer is a copy of Photoshop, you’ve got exactly three choices: suck it up because you need the money (and resign yourself to the fact that the resulting car crash is never going to make it into your portfolio,) ditch the client and go where your skills will be appreciated, or encourage the client to try to realize their own design before you continue with the job. Once they’ve failed dismally, they’ll either be back with a new-found appreciation for your skills, or they’ll be too stubborn to admit defeat. Either way, you no longer have a difficult client on your books!

They mistake plagiarism for a brief

“I want my logo to look like the Starbucks/Nike/Facebook logo. Can you make it the same as that but with my name?” Doesn’t that just make your heart sink? You know that it’s not only illegal but completely unrewarding to try to work to a brief like this.

You can educate the client in one of two ways: you could try explaining that plagiarism will land them (and you) in a world of legal hurt. You might get a grudging acceptance of the fact, but you know they’re never going to be happy with a logo that doesn’t look just like the one they had in mind. Or you could explain that good design isn’t portable: use the logo as a jumping off point to discuss their needs.

If you take the second route you might just get a better-educated client who is enthusiastic about your willingness to realize their vision. But if they’re still intransigent, walk away!

The budget starts to evaporate

This is usually a sign of one of two things: the client is in financial trouble or they don’t appreciate your skillset. If you suddenly start being asked for spec work, or if you encounter feature creep and payment delays, ask yourself if you’re prepared to risk running this job at a loss.

If you don’t want to take a financial hit, talk to the client as soon as possible. If they’re in financial dire straits, work out a payment plan. Suggest shelving some of the work until they’re more financially secure. They’ll probably be relieved that you’ve come to an arrangement that buys them some time.

However, if design is just not a priority, consider whether you want this client. You’re likely to face exactly the same problems as you would with a client who doesn’t understand your skillset and you’ve got a choice between two equally bad alternatives: do a lousy job (which does your pride and your reputation no good) or make a loss on the deal (which does your bank balance no good.) It could be time to walk away.

“What we got here is failure to communicate…”

There are two sorts of clients who can’t communicate: one is easy to identify, the other less so.

Type number one just doesn’t answer emails, or gives you one-word replies to your carefully constructed questions.

Type number two takes longer to identify, but once you’ve seen them for what they are, run far and run fast because dealing with this type of client is an exercise in expensive insanity. These clients think they’re terrific communicators because they spend three hours on the phone with you (when all you needed was a five minute confirmation on something.) These clients send emails every time something new pops into their head, but are incapable of remembering what was agreed 24 hours ago. These clients will tell you nothing but at great and painful length. There’s nothing much you can do about a client like this. It starts to become a painful process of billing them for unproductive hours which does nothing for your reputation or your pride. Consider walking away.

Biting the bullet — how to say goodbye

Depending on your working relationship it’s sometimes as straightforward as not accepting any further commissions from this person. If you’re in contract you’ll probably have to see it out but insure yourself against any loss to your finances or your reputation: bill fairly but comprehensively based on the amount of time the client takes up, and make sure your name is not on any work that you’re not 100% happy with.If the is acting unreasonably, send a politely worded letter explaining why you can’t continue to work for them: you can say that you don’t have the resources to do the sort of job that they require and suggest that they use another designer. If the client has breached their contract or acted abusively, also terminate the relationship in writing, stating your reasons clearly.

It’s always a painful experience, breaking up with a client, and it’s hopefully not one you’ll need to go through very often. But ending the relationship on a cordial note is both classy, and good for business.

About: Raja loves writing abt webdesign, web development and SEO. He believes in green living and suggests everybody to recycle mobile for making the environment greener.


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Welcome to my blog and God bless you

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Child of Christ, Stay at home mother of 3 searching for high dollar coupons, deals and freebies with the blessing of paying it forward to others! Please leave me a comment if you received a great deal or won something from a post on my blog!

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Toys R Us deals and a Bonus Savings good April 9 - 10

*All books are BoGo (buy one get one) free
*$10 printable coupon off any video game $39.99 or higher
*Fisher Price High Five sports Ctr on sale for $74.99 (orig. $1499.99)
*All Hasbro Transformers action figures, playsets & accessories are buy
  one get one 50% off
*75% off all spring candy
*25% off Mongoose Bikes

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Current Conditions

Toronto mayor Rob Ford wants to continue to serve as mayor

Toronto Mayor Rob Ford arrives to talk on his weekly radio show in Toronto, Sunday, November 3, 2013.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Mark Blinch
November 03, 2013 - 11:42 AM

TORONTO - Toronto Mayor Rob Ford acknowledged Sunday that he has made mistakes in his life but fell short of directly addressing the alleged crack video that has propelled him into the international spotlight.

"I'm the first one to admit I am not perfect, I have made mistakes," Ford told his weekly radio show.

"Unfortunately, I can not change the past, I can just move forward and learn from the past, which, I assure you, I'm doing."

Ford apologized to his family, members of city council and Toronto taxpayers, but didn't make it clear what he was apologizing for.

He promised he would make changes.

"I also know that to move forward I have to make changes in my life, which I will assure you I can do," he said. "I want to keep working for the people of this city."

Ford didn't talk about the contents of the video that police say appears to be the one that two media outlets say allegedly appears to show him smoking crack cocaine.

But he did call on police Chief Bill Blair to release the video so the public can see it.

"Whatever this video shows, folks, Toronto residents deserve to see and people need to judge for themselves what they see on this video," Ford said.

"That is the right thing to do and chief, I'm asking you to release this video now."

Blair said Thursday that the video will be evidence in the case against a friend and sometimes driver for the mayor Alexander Lisi. Police allege Lisi tried to get his hands on the video and charged him with extortion.

Lisi was granted bail Friday.

Blair has said it is up to the courts to decide whether evidence is released to the general public.

After reports of the alleged video first surfaced in the Toronto Star and the U.S. website Gawker in May, the mayor said he does not use crack cocaine and that the video does not exist.

He steadfastly refused to talk about the issue for months, but Blair's stunning announcement last Thursday that police had what appeared to be the video triggered a torrent of calls for

Ford to either resign or address the issue.
Ford met privately Saturday with deputy mayor Norm Kelly who relayed concerns from city councillors about the fallout from the police revelations.
The video saga earned Ford international headlines, with countless foreign media devoting space on their websites to the story.

News from © The Canadian Press, 2013
The Canadian Press

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A team from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently announced that Japan may need more than 40 years to decommission the Fukushima power plant. The head of the IAEA clean up team, Juan Carlos Lentijo, said that the damage at the nuclear plant is so complex that it is impossible to predict how long the cleanup may last, and he has urged Japanese nuclear provider TEPCO to improve stability at the facility.

International Atomic Energy Agency, IAEA, fukushima, fukushima nuclear disaster, nuclear disaster, nuclear energy, japan, fukushima clean up

In a statement, Lentijo said: “As for the duration of the decommissioning project, this is something that you can define in your plans. But in my view, it will be nearly impossible to ensure the time for decommissioning such a complex facility in less than 30 to 40 years as it is currently established in the road map,”

While previous predictions have estimated that the clean up would take up to 40 years, there are concerns that the technology is not currently available to safely locate and remove melted nuclear fuel. Until then, the reactors must be kept cool and the plant must stay safe and stable. All of these challenges are expected to drastically slow the process down.

Over the last few weeks, the severely damaged nuclear plant has suffered nearly a dozen problems ranging from extensive power outages to leaks of highly radioactive water from underground water pools. In fact, earlier this month a rat short-circuited a switchboard, causing an extensive outage and cooling loss for up to 30 hours.

All of these problems have posed the question of whether the plant will be able to stay standing during the extensive decommissioning process. The issues have even led Japanese officials to compile risk-reduction measures and review decommissioning plans.

Lentijo warned of more problems to come saying, “It is expectable in such a complex site, additional incidents will occur as it happened in the nuclear plants under normal operations. It is important to have a very good capability to identify as promptly as possible failures and to establish compensatory measures.”

+ International Atomic Energy Agency

Via Japan Times

Images via IAEA Imagebank


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Gallery: SNEAK PEEK: See Inside the Delta, NYC’s Very First Self-Powere...

Equipped with a solar roof, a solar skin and a solar awning which yield a combined capacity of 10.3 KW, the Delta is able to generate a large portion of its occupants' electricity needs.

Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment

  1. BklynGuide July 21, 2012 at 1:05 am
    Excuse me, but as someone who lives in the real world of New York, why would any tenant pay more that minimal rent for an apartment with half a kitchen, an obviously creaky folding stairway, and above all a commanding view of the 24/7 traffic jam known as the Brooklyn-Queens Expressway? The three words every New York real estate agent loves most are "Location, Location, Location." This site misses on all three points. How does breathing truck fumes all day qualify as "green living"? If the developers had really wanted to test their model in New York, they would have sought a site -- the Meat-Packing District, for instance -- where their investment would have been much larger but the rewards even greater. Get a celebrity to buy a self-sufficient penthouse for several million dollars at a prominent address and your model is proven. (I am assuming luxury finishes and full compliance with the building code.) Build an awkward apartment at an undesirable address and you will loose money, building code or no. The only people who would even consider this building are unlikely to meet the landlord's financial standards. People want a comfortable, pleasant place to live, with peace, clean air, and easy access to public transit. Energy-efficiency is always a great idea, but it's never a deal-maker.


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Gallery: See How This Tiny West Village Apartment Uses Double Duty Furn...

The cozy West Village space captures James’ personality, and creates a welcoming home with bold color.

Read the rest of this entry »

  1. davieboyplays December 7, 2012 at 4:29 pm
    although the dramatically sudden and most surely sudden embracement of the micro-apartment ... the truth is that the working class and poor have subsided for many generation with woefully little free floor space. it's not what you have - it's what you do with what you have. merry xmasses, david.
  2. Jeremy December 7, 2012 at 10:01 am
    Love this kind of thing. There was a programme on British TV recently called George Clarke's Amazing Spaces that profiled some ingenious double-use furniture. The most remarkable example was an apartment in Barcelona which had one room that could convert into a kitchen, then a bathroom, then a bedroom. There's a Youtube video about it:


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Most Readable Font Typefaces for Print

Who needs advice on the most readable font typefaces for print text? Choosing a typeface for text seems like a no-brainer. Design is often focused on the eye-catching label, the attention-grabbing cover. But in reality, choosing a readable font typeface is one of the most challenging decisions of graphic design.

Print text refers to the columns of words and sentences in printed materials like brochures, books, newsletters, magazines, etc. What is readable on a computer differs from printed output. A readable font typeface for printed text can mean the difference between a short-term grab and long-term memory. Readability and legibility are top criteria for a designer of print layouts. The effectiveness of any printed text rests on how easy it is for the eyes to scan and comprehend content. Readable font typefaces makes this possible.

A readable typeface for print is built on solid principles of design. Updated cuts are then worked by master typographers and font designers. The following are considered the most readable font typefaces for printed text, with several further than this list. Most are serif typefaces, with a few sans serif font families. New designers may dismiss them as too familiar at first, but return to them eventually:

Baskerville, designed by John Baskerville

Typography poster by Andrew Henderson

Baskerville Type Poster by Andrew Henderson

ITC New Baskerville, designed by John Quaranda

Typography Poster by Strange

New Baskerville Type Poster by Strange

Caslon, designed by William Caslon

Typography poster by Eunice Chan

Caslon Type Poster by Eunice Chan

Typography poster by Shawnacy Ruffin

Caslon Type Poster by Shawnacy Ruffin

Typography specimen from Whittington Press – photograph by Tony Geer

Whittington Press ephemera - photo by Tony Geer

Century Schoolbook, designed by Morris Fuller Benton

Typography poster by Adrienne Saldivar

Century Schoolbook Type Poster by Adrienne Saldivar

Garamond, designed by Claude Garamond

Typography poster by oBrokenoRoboto

Garamond Type Poster by oBrokenoRobot

Typography poster by Hope Tweed

Garamond Type Poster by Hope Tweed

Adobe Garamond, designed by Robert Slimbach

Typography poster by Melaine Top

Adobe Garamond Type Poster by Melaine Top

Perpetua, designed by Eric Gill

Typography poster by karikun

Perpetua Typography Poster by karikun

Bembo, redesigned under the direction of Stanley Morison, from the typeface by Francesco Griffo

Typography poster by BigJaz32

Bembo Typography Poster by BigJaz32

Typography poster by Shauna Goldman

Bembo Typography Poster by Shauna Goldman

Palatino, designed by Hermann Zapf

Typography poster by theStrange6

Palatino Typography Poster by theStrange6

Typography poster by Timothy Mara

Palatino Typography Poster by Timothy Mara

Poynter Old Style Text, designed by Tobias Frere-Jones

Typography poster by Daniel Marques

Poynter Old Style Text Typography Poster by Daniel Marques

Poynter Old Style Text specimen by Font Bureau

Sabon, designed by Jan Tschichold

Typography poster by Chica Yoshida

Sabon Typography Poster by Chica Yoshida

Sabon type specimen by Helzdesign

Sabon Typography Specimen by Helz Design

Frutiger, designed by Adrian Frutiger

Typography poster by Cale LeRoy

Frutiger Typography Poster by Cale LeRoy

Typography poster by lludu

Frutiger Typography Poster by lludu

Futura, designed by Paul Renner

Typography specimen posted by maijaahonen

Futura Typography Poster -posted by maijaahonen

When we use a readable font typeface for print, we have access to all its fonts. Not just one. A typeface is a whole family of fonts. A readable typeface includes real italics, various weights like light, medium, bold, heavy, condensed, etc. And with OpenType features, you will also have access to unique styles called glyphs.

Some of these typefaces may sometimes not look as crisp on screen as you would wish. But in print text these readable font typefaces appear in all their glory. There’s a reason why they are called classics. They translate well to deliver modern messages without looking like they belong to a retro era.

Are there free font typefaces that are as readable for print text? Surely with all the beautiful free specimens available? Most of us collect free Web-friendly fonts by the hundreds. Then scale down to less than 50 for the really good ones. But studies, experience, and printing presses have shown that for print materials, the most readable font typefaces are still the classics, or some of their updated versions. Perhaps you already have some of these typefaces. If you don’t, they are worth purchasing if you intend to produce design layouts for print.

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Harry Potter House Logo Shot Glass Set of 4

This listing is for FOUR (4) 1.5oz shot glasses.

If you wanted multiples of one house instead of 1 of each house (Ex: 2 Gryffindors, 1 Ravenclaw, 1 Slytherin) let us know in the note during checkout! If there is no note, we will assume you want one of each house.

Buy a single glass here:

We offer additional engraving for $5 per glass on the backs of the glasses. Please select the number of glasses to engrave in the drop down menu. Select "No back engraving" if you do not want backside engraving.

If you order additional engraving, please write down in the notes section during check out what you would like to have engraved in "quotes", in what font and on which glass:

~Example 1 (one glass): Please engrave the name "Harry" on the Gryffindor glass in the Centaur font.
~Example 2 (four glasses): Please engrave "Happy Birthday" on the back of all glasses in the Harry Potter font.
~Example 3 (four glasses, separate sayings): Please engrave "Sam" on the Slytherin glass, "Julie" on the Ravenclaw glass, "Erin" on the Gryffindor glass, and "Andrew" on the Hufflepuff glass. All in the Impact font.

Etching is permanent and dishwasher safe.

Items are handmade to order and may take up to 1 WEEK before shipping.

If you would like to have your order made immediately for an upcoming event, our 1- Day Rush Order is an option! Your order will be made the same day you purchase 1-Day processing and will be shipped the next day!

You can purchase our Rush Order service here:

The 1 Day Rush Order option applies to the creation and processing of your order only. This does not change your shipping service to Express (overnight delivery). If you would to purchase a faster shipping service, please contact us by message and we'll have your shipping upgraded from there!

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mightier than a sword

‘Jihad’ Justin Trudeau That Handsome Devil!

in Politics by

Interviewed about Justin Trudeau’s foreign policies, by Stefan Molyneux, Ezra Levant said “Every single thing you look at, seems to be not just neutral in the war against Islamic terror, but on the other side!” After doing some basic research (something all Canada should have done) on Trudeau’s upbringing and political grooming, we discover a ‘Trojan Horse’ a Manchurian Canadian befitting his nickname… ‘Jihad Justin’. It may be hard to believe, but all that is left to do by ‘Jihad’ Justin Trudeau that handsome Devil, is change our National Anthem to… O Caliphate!

Ezra Levant from the REBEL.MEDIA again says “There is a push and a pull, on the one side it shows too much deference to radical Islam, so much so that even a convicted terrorist he (Trudeau) thinks should have citizenship… but there is also his devaluation of what it means to be a citizen of Canada.”

WHy massive immigration doesn’t work

Levant dedicates an entire chapter to this Canadian colonization by George Soros… who has taken Justin under his web to accomplish his globalist agenda. Trudeau treasonously partnered Canada with the Soros’ Open Society Foundations, to work jointly on the Canadian/Muslim refugee policy and to combat anti-globalist ideas. Trudeau/Soros partnership also fields a propaganda machine to combat anyone who is against open-borders, or questions Muslim migration into Canada.

Another think Levant makes clear, is that of the first 30,000 migrants, almost ZERO were taken from refugee camps…

“The vast vast majority were already resettled in the region, in Jordan, Turkey or Beirut… they were in apartments, some of them had jobs, they were already integrated. But to get those stats up, to get the artificial quota done, Trudeau ripped out these Muslim-Syrian migrants… and pulled them to Canada, just for photo-ops… they actually did not need saving! If you’re in Jordan you don’t need saving. …You’ve got to sort between the lambs and the wolves, he (Trudeau) is positively pro-wolf and anti-lamb!” [marker 24:10min.]

“…(Trudeau) is positively pro-wolf and anti-lamb!” —Ezra Levant

How in the world did this even happen? What were the factors that caused this insane choice for Prime Minister? In my opinion it was a perfect-storm of a few factors that was Canada’s undoing…

  1. Media held Harper to a standard they wouldn’t hold a Liberal to
  2. Aboriginal Racism against Harper for Bill C-27 ‘Transparency Act’
  3. Middle-Aged ‘Cougars’ traded in their minds… for a fair-haired Prince
  4. LGBT Community actually believed Trudeau’s lie that he was a feminist
  5. And over 30% of registered voters didn’t even show up to vote!

Let’s do the math, Justin Trudeau came to power with only 27% of the popular vote! What it amounted to was only 40% of 68.5% possible voters! And need I say it, Trudeau didn’t even have 2.7% experience at a real job, let alone running a G8 country! So what is worse? Is it the inept PM, or the misinformed, disgruntled, day-dreaming, uninformed or absentee Canadians who put him at the helm?

Unfortunately this is but a reflection of the generation that we are now living in… Postmodernism has devoured every iota of common sense, placing an entitled son-of-an elitist, slash failed drama teacher in the seat of absolute power?! Well, for now we endure Trudeau’s embolden mockery of Canadian Law and public trust.

Here is how the refugee scam works…

The thing is, it isn’t merely that Trudeau is inexperienced, but that he is being dangled by “puppet masters” to irreparably destroy Canadian sovereignty. Check out his treasonous laundry list below, and consider what can be done about it…

we endure Trudeau’s embolden mockery of Canadian Law and public trust

  1. Treasonous partnership with riot-inciting “Puppeteer” George Soros
  2. Attended Liberal cash-for-access for Chinese Billionaires $1Mil Donation
  3. Private home meeting nets approval of Wealth One Bank
  4. ‘Illegal’ Trudeau vacation to the Aga Khan’s island

  5. Fast-track citizenship for refugees! (so they can vote Liberal)

  6. Liberal money for mosque …with Muslim Brotherhood ties
  7. Trudeau’s open-border open invitation to break Immigration Laws
  8. Trudeau gives your cash to Hamas-influenced group
  9. Trudeau rewards a terrorists with citizenship
  10. Trudeau attends Islamic conference w/sponsor linked to Hamas

The following is an example of the arrogance and defiance in breaking Canadian Law on his vacation trip to “Billionaire Island” …and is now under investigation by the Ethics Commissioner. Trudeau is asked some 23 times about whether or not he met with the Ethics Commissioner, and his response is childish at least, ignorant at best, but at worst… the state of his mental health…

It is a sad day in Canadian history that our Prime Minister seems to operate above the Law, and will not answer to any authority trying to hold him accountable. Now Canada has a Refugee crisis, and out of control spending and gifts to foreign nations is bankrupting the future of Canada. This rogue globalist PM seems now the biggest threat to our national sovereignty and financial sustainability. If only Trudeau were as concerned with our homeless, and the poor living conditions among our 1st Nations communities!

There are gag laws and bills being passed to silence the airing of these contentions. Even moves to allow migrants and “refugees” to vote in the next election… thus stacking the deck in the favor of their most prestigious human trafficker. On every hand this PM has become a treasonous mess that his Marxist father created. Many people don’t know that Pierre Trudeau’s constitutional debacle put us in this position to begin with!

Can Justin Trudeau be Removed?
If Trump were Canada’s Prime Minister

Already there is no possible way for Canada to recover from the damage that Justin Trudeau has levied against our sovereign nation, but it is imperative that we STOP THE BLEEDING and have the Governor General remove him so we can mitigate the damages. Some would ask… Is this even possible? Yes, the Governor General does this all the time. Every time a new Prime Minister is elected, the GG dissolves Parliament and removes the Prime Minister and appoints a new one.

Well, I wouldn’t hold my breath if I were you… looking at the state of The United Kingdom, it would seem Islamic’s have their free reign over Her Majesty the Queen already… “Sharia law in UK is now in penetration phase 4”.

On the bright side, here is a free eBook…

“Don’t Waste Your Life” by John Piper.

  1. It is so sad that even young children are indoctrinated and who knows if they are embedded among refugees. Justin Trudeau has visited similar extremist mosques, and has never condemned their actions. He keeps saying he is a feminist, but his support for radical Islam speaks louder than his mere words. Here is a video of this sadistic ideology, that destroys their own families, and anyone who comes in contact with them… https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=10&v=9b8pHQSCisc

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2004 Interactive Fiction Competition

These are my reviews of the games I played in the 2004 Interactive Fiction Competition. I play/review as many games as possible depending on my current platform (windows or linux); this means tads, inform, hugo and usually also alan, adrift, quest, and windows/msdos executables. When I'm on a windows machine I use multimedia interpreters where appropriate.

I've sorted games into three categories, "highly recommended" (the best of the competition), "recommended" (worth the time spent playing), and "not recommended" (not worth playing); and then sorted the games alphabetically within those categories. I've put an asterisk (*) by some games that were difficult to categorize or when the categorization feels extremely subjective; you may want to read the review before deciding whether to play them.

Some of these reviews may contain minor spoilers. Unfortunately, for some games, even knowing that there is a spoiler in the review may itself be a spoiler. I don't know what to do about this short of the Magic Amnesia Stick. If you have the time and inclination, I recommend playing the games first, but if not, go ahead and read the reviews. Nothing major is spoiled.

If a game was entered by proxy or under a pseudonym, the actual author is listed afterwards in square brackets.

Highly Recommended Games

All Things Devours (half sick of shadows [Toby Ord]) Z-Machine:
Like the author says, All Things Devours is not a particularly new premise: you invented a time machine, and now you have to get rid of it because in the future it blows up the world. You know, the usual deal with time machines. Wisely, though, the author ignores the angst and the what-is-the-moral-philosophy-of-science stuff and cuts straight to the good bit: zipping through time to solve puzzles and fight paradoxes. There's one extremely tedious bit (c'mon, no >WAIT UNTIL?), and the whole thing ends up feeling a little slight — the author mentions plans to release a harder version post-comp, but I think what's required is something with a few more puzzles, not harder as such. On the whole, though, All Things Devours is a fun little puzzle game with one great thing to play with.

Blue Chairs (Chris Klimas) Z-Machine:
I don't know how this game will be received by the crowd that thinks fancy writin' is bad, puzzles should be hard, and real adventurers are AFGNCAAPs. On the one hand, Blue Chairs has some puzzles, and it allows all the poking around and stealing people's stuff that we all love so much. But on the other hand, it's also fundamentally unconcerned with that sort of thing. You start out the game drinking a bottle of something unidentified but probably weird, and the rest of the game is mostly hazy speculation on what's real and what's not — except since this is IF, you don't have to speculate, you can actually wander through the semi-real landscapes and poke at them.

In short, this is the closest thing I can think of to an IF version of Waking Life or Mulholland Drive (or, as someone pointed out, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind), and in general it's a pretty successful experiment. There are some weaker bits (the place where it dips into current politics is going to feel extremely dated in six months), bits that go on too long, or puzzles that feel thrown in for the sake of being puzzles. And, ok, it's frustrating that the game raises a question and then doesn't answer it: it claims it will show you how you got this way, and really only shows you how you are now. But Blue Chairs is really fairly incredible; I can think of vaguely similar games, but none that take things to such an extreme without losing control of the narrative and crashing, and Klimas walks that narrow line like a pro.

The Great Xavio (Reese Warner) Z-Machine:
The credits to The Great Xavio explain that this is not the first adventure the author has written with the intrepid academic protagonists, and it shows: he tosses in just the right amount of characterization for the various characters, sketching out their personas without shoving them down our throats. Warner's steady hand on the controls also shows through in the plotting — despite it being a mystery, always tricky to get right, the crime is totally solvable, things move along at a reasonable pace, and in general the whole game is brought off with pizzazz. There are unquestionably a few rough spots: some of the trickier bits of character interaction lead to bugs in the game, and in a few places the story ground to a halt as I tried to figure out what to do next. Oh, and the LLP is far more finicky than it needs to be. But all in all, this is an extremely well-done game (by a first-time IF author, no less), and I highly recommend it.

Luminous Horizon (Paul O'Brian) Glulx:
Well, here it is, the crashing conclusion to the Earth & Sky series. O'Brian keeps in the motifs of previous games: sassy dialogue, comic-sized BAMs and ZZAPs, weird alien technology, and goofy aliens. Unlike the previous two in the series, Luminous Horizon actually gives you a choice of whether you'd rather play Emily or Austin, with a command to switch between them in-game (and this is more than just optional: many puzzles are designed so that it requires effort from each to complete). The game has a few really nice scenes, and one in particular that totally floored me, even though it was perfectly set up and I should have been expecting it.

So, hmm, why was I a little disappointed by the game? I think Luminous Horizon has two major rough spots. First, gameplay: while many of the scenes are nice, the actual play through them is not. I don't want to give too many spoilers, but it seems like finding the fortress, battling the robots, and the two battles beyond that all have a great setup but then the actual thing the player ends up doing is being a little confused and wondering what to do instead of blasting on through in dynamic superhero fashion. The other rough spot is the story. This may just be a taste issue, but for me the overarching storyline in Earth & Sky ends up coming off as kind of silly. There's this bad guy who's a cat-alien, which is already borderline, and he's a mad scientist, which is fine, but he's a stupid mad scientist, who isn't all that good at what he does. It may be that genre-wise, this is how it works, but for me it made the big conclusion a little less big.

Looking back I see I've given more lines to my problems than my praises, and that may give the wrong impression. So let me say that I liked Luminous Horizon very much; it is big and bright and and a lot of fun. Oh, and it has really spectacular feelies — a very nicely-done comic to get people up to speed on the events of the previous two games.
(Disclaimer: I was a beta-tester for this game)

Sting of the Wasp (Jason Devlin) Z-Machine:
The protagonist of Sting of the Wasp might be best described as a nastier and more capable Bridget Jones; or perhaps a better description would be a prospective member of the First Wives' Club attempting to remain married. Sly, slutty, and shallow, she nevertheless has enough ingenuity to remain near the top of the pecking order at her broken-down country club. Most of the game, and most of the fun of the game, comes from being nasty to other members; Sting of the Wasp could even have stood to have a few more of these incidents, or perhaps more elaborate backstabs. The intervening time is filled in with wandering around the club making and overhearing catty remarks. Again, a few more to be overheard would have been nice — Melissa's comments through the game are just right, and it's a pity Beverly didn't have much to say. The coding is solid, the writing is pretty good, the puzzles are generally well-clued with multiple solutions, and the subject matter is superb.

Recommended Games

Bellclap (Tommy Herbert) Z-Machine:
I should really be giving this game a lower score. The main puzzle seems to have one massive read-the-author's-mind action, and, really, it's never clear what the goal is except in the most general terms (or, rather, there is an obvious goal, but it can't be accomplished — you have to do something random which turns out to lead the way to your goal). But I can't mark Bellclap down too much, because its setup is just too charming. You're a god, the parser is your respectful assistant, and the protagonist is your humble worshipper. Commands get relayed down the chain of command and the description of the effect is relayed up again, and if you're either actually omniscient or check out the walkthrough, you can help the poor lil' guy out.

The Big Scoop (Johan Berntsson) Z-Machine:
I saw some "how to write a movie script" page that said that the main problem with scripts these days was that modern audiences are jaded and need a twist ending. I'm not sure I'm all that jaded, really, but it's true The Big Scoop had a disappointing non-twist ending. You find out pretty early on who the bad guy is, and then the rest of the game is, well, them still being the bad guy and eventually you catch them and save the day, hooray. This is a pity, since the story is otherwise pretty decent — kinda railroady, but a nice combination of stuff that you would do as a bold investigative reporter. The writing follows the same pattern: no real flaws, but it doesn't take any chances, either. Room descriptions are short and to the point with hardly any color. This may be because the author isn't a native English speaker and is writing versions of this game for both languages. Still, I'd rather have seen some errors and a more colorful game than the way The Big Scoop is now, playing smoothly but unexceptional in any way.

Blink (Ian Waddell) Z-Machine:
A Photopia- or Photograph-style temporal-cutting narrative, Blink focuses its attentions on the classic question, "Is War Bad?". The problem is that this isn't really an interesting question. It's too large and too vague to relate to. What is interesting is "What does war do to this specific person?" We get a tiny amount of that in Blink, but it's a short game and the characters never develop far enough beyond stick-figureness for us to care.

Chronicle Play Torn (Algol [Penczer Attila]) Z-Machine:
Chronicle Play Torn, from the author's description, is trying to be kinda Lovecraftian, but despite the few bits depicting Things Man Was Not Meant To Know, I think it mostly comes off as one of those games where you're exploring your crazy uncle's house and get transported to a magical world where you have to solve puzzles. Not that there's anything wrong with that. Really, the readme included with the gamefile summarizes the issue pretty well: the author isn't a native English speaker and consequently the writing has some bumps to it; the game was intended to be small and grew big, so it has a somewhat ungainly layout; and the game didn't get sufficient beta-testing, so, while I didn't see a lot of actual bugs, a lot of the puzzle solutions are fairly mysterious and not well-clued. I guess if there's going to be another release of this one, I'd wait, since it could really be tightened up with some more work.

A Day In The Life Of A Super Hero (David Whyld) ADRIFT:
This isn't really Whyld's fault, but I have reached the point in my life where it is not inherently funny for a superhero to 1) have a goofy name 2) have a lame superpower or 3) be incompetent. Since the premise of A Day In The Life Of A Super Hero is that you're a semi-competent superhero running around battling semi-competent supervillains with goofy names and/or lame superpowers, I didn't get as much out of it as I could have. That said, the concept was executed fairly competently. I found a few minor bugs, the menu-based location navigation was a little peculiar, and the game came off more as a series of setpieces than as a single meaningful story, but I still thought it was ok, and someone who likes the basic premise better would probably like it a little better than ok.

Gamlet (Tomasz Pudlo) Z-Machine:
I'm recommending Gamlet, but the writing and story are so highly stylized that it's probably not going to be to everyone's tastes. Sentences are ornamented and elaborated to the point of gaudiness, and then a few other decorations are tacked on ("A tall cabinet cleft between darkness and dusk stands at the northern end of the landing.", "Thickets of weed sizzle and seethe along the almost vertical walls of sediment and vegetation."). The story is pretty stupid but it doesn't really matter; it's mostly an excuse to have the PC, a little Orthodox Jewish boy, wandering around at night looking for a book in a big house and beyond. And, hmm, what the PC finds is rotting and nihilism*. The puzzles are not very well-clued and not usually that fun, although the study has a few which require some interesting poking around. Overall, hmm, I think Gamlet is an interesting failure. It's got a theme it's working on, and some nice images pointing there, but the playing experience is so rough and the writing so florid that I couldn't get into the game enough to appreciate the theme.

* Eventually they also find a statement saying "if you played to the end of the game, you've wasted your time, ha ha on you," but it seems like the author does not in fact have any say in whether the player wasted their time, though a weak ending may sway the player's opinion.
(Disclaimer: I was a beta-tester for this game)

Goose, Egg, Badger (Brian Rapp) Z-Machine:
Goose, Egg, Badger is a curious game. I think it's intended to be a gently tall-taleish story of a young woman who lives alone on a farm with just her yak and her ape and her other animals for company. Plus her x-ray machine. Of course, this doesn't explain why she turns into a robot some of the time, or why her electrical system is so tedious to use (forcing you to traipse back to the socket each time to turn off the power when changing appliances, and leaving trails of wire everywhere). It also doesn't explain why there is a very clever pattern for getting the extra points which seems pretty much impossible to work out without looking at the walkthrough. In addition to these gripes, some of the puzzles are a touch more tedious or unclued than they really need to be, and the end of the story kind of tapers off rather than ending with a bang. But despite these problems, Goose, Egg, Badger is a fun game. It's got a pleasant setting, a nice mood, and a series of enjoyable puzzles.

I Must Play (Fortytwo [Geoff Fortytwo]) TADS 3:
You've ended up locked in an arcade overnight due to your fondness for videogames, but the tone of I Must Play is much more like The Cruise than Fallacy of Dawn. Playing the videogame throws you into a related text adventure (as Fortytwo points out, this is rather like the IF Arcade), and you must hop from game to game to complete them all. It's a cute premise and I didn't find any bugs in it, but, well, it's hard to make this slight a premise into a really satisfying game, and I Must Play doesn't pull it off. Cute, though.

Identity (Dave Bernazzani) Z-Machine:
One of the two games in the comp where you start out in a cryotube, Identity proceeds in kind of the way you would expect from there: you get out, explore the weird not-all-that-alien planet, find some semi-friendly natives, and call for help. Some of the implementation is kind of bumpy, and in particular, the number of commands required to mess with the circuit board is just ridiculous. In general the puzzles could have been clued a bit better but they were basically ok. Story-wise, I would have liked to see more of the plot with the other explorer; it was a divergence from the somewhat generic feel of the rest of the game and hinted at something better. Bonus points for the yak, though.

Magocracy (Scarybug [Anton Joseph Rheaume]) TADS 2:
I think this is going to do pretty badly in the comp, since it's not standard IF. It's got the trappings of IF — the king has called together all the powerful mages in the land plus, rather inexplicably, you, this little ragamuffin kid, to determine his successor. There is a dragon and some treasures and a secret passage and a maze and stuff. But despite all this, Magocracy isn't IF, it's IF's close cousin, a MUD. Only not multi-user. Gameplay consists mostly of watching the NPCs wander around somewhat aimlessly and fight each other, which reminded me pleasantly of all the time I wasted in college. These days, though, when I'm playing IF I am looking for a story or some puzzles, and those were pretty much absent from the game. For a while it was fun to grab treasures and fight the monsters, though.

Mingsheng (Rexx Magnus [Deane Saunders]) Z-Machine:
Mingsheng has a good premise, to adapt an old story about the origins of tai chi. It has some good scenes: the stork on the crane-still lake, the grinding boulders in the ocean, the row of statues, the mountain peak. So why didn't it do much for me? I think there were a couple problems. Most notably, pacing. The scene with the crane should be one of the peaks of the game, but in my play it came very early on, before I had any idea what the need was for it. Furthermore, it wasn't something I was trying for; just a random scene that showed up as I was moving along, and then it was followed by a passage that might as well been labelled "This is the part with the moral." Similarly, the box opening ought to have been either something cool or something that would lead to something cool, but instead the game ends shortly thereafter with another Educational Segment and then a fizzle. A double-fizzle, really, because it's likely that you'll get the bad ending first, hit undo, and then get the good one. Speaking of the box opening, that puzzle was weird too — there didn't seem to be any real reason to think it would work when, eg, throwing the box down the stairs didn't. Even with these problems, the Mingsheng is worth playing for the beautiful individual scenes; it's just a pity they weren't stitched together into a more coherent whole.

Murder at the Aero Club (Penny Wyatt) Z-Machine:
I guess it is the year for rough-but-good-hearted Aussie games; at least, Murder at the Aero Club and Redeye both fit the bill, when most years we don't even get one. Based on the title, you will not be surprised to hear that this game casts you as a detective investigating a murder at a flight club. Based on the earlier description, you will probably also be unsurprised to hear that the club is filled with a number of zany NPCs who only occasionally deign to answer your questions with anything other than their default response. Still, even without their help, the mystery is pretty easy to solve (unlike the mystery of why nobody at the club seems especially bothered by the dead body lying there). Murder at the Aero Club started to fall apart for me at the end; I think the author was trying for a more dramatic chase scene than she was really able to pull off (although this was sort of an interesting departure from normal mysteries, where it's usually over once you accuse the right person). It's not really profound, but Murder at the Aero Club is reasonably fun and worth the time.

Ninja v1.30 (Dunric [Paul Allen Panks]) Windows Exe:
True mastery of the way of the ninja reveals that all things are connected; this, I suspect, is why repeatedly looking at the sky increases your chance to fight the enemy ninja later on. Panks wrote this, I assume, to make us aware of the sort of game you can write in BASIC. Well, I am certainly aware now.

The Orion Agenda (Ryan Weisenberger) Z-Machine:
The Orion Agenda puts you in the (oddly first-person, for no good reason that I can see) role of "Jon Stark" working for "SciCorps", the "galaxy-spanning mega-corporation that is in charge of secretly monitoring promising new alien species" with the "number one rule" to "not contaminate the native culture." I assume this was all part of the settlement Weisenberger reached with Paramount. Anyway, naturally you and your new partner get a mission to go down in disguise onto a planet, and something goes wrong, and the future of the galaxy is at stake, and so on. In addition to the hackneyed premise, it's irritating that it becomes obvious early on (from the very beginning, if you do any research on the InfoNet) roughly what's going on, but aren't allowed to do anything except be "surprised" by it later on. (Other nitpicky irritations: your interactions with your companion border on a dating sim, and what is up with primitive cultures having the ability to do magic without scientists from all over flocking to be surprised at this?) Despite these flaws, though, The Orion Agenda's skeleton is fairly solid in terms of puzzle design, pacing, setting, and general gameplay, and this enables the game to pull through as an enjoyable play.

Redeye (John Pitchers) TADS 2:
Redeye is in the no-shit-there-I-was genre, exemplified by games like At Wit's End and Narcolepsy. This one is set in Australia; you wake up in the middle of nowhere wondering where the guy is who you told your wife you'd look after — ah, there he is, in the biker bar, harassing the drinkers. The writing style comes off as more enthusiastic than skilled, the coding is a little rough in spots, and the twist ending is one of those irritating ones that's telegraphed extensively but you can't do anything with the info except wait to be "surprised" when it shows up. Despite all that, though, I really can't dislike Redeye. It's short enough to not overstay its welcome, and so good-hearted that I couldn't help enjoying it.

Splashdown (Paul J. Furio) Z-Machine:
The best of the games in this comp where you awake in a cryotube and have to save the ship, Splashdown suffers mainly from a time limit, an attempt at a cute sidekick, and a few problems with command phrasing. Besides that, it is a pleasant little sf romp with a nice variety of puzzles, writing that does a good job at capturing the feel of wandering around a semi-derelict ship, and a chance to read other people's e-mail. What more can I ask for?

Square Circle (Eric Eve) TADS 3:
The actual square circle construction comes off as kind of a goofy intro: I think the phrase Eve is touching on doesn't have nearly the resonance for me that it does for him. But despite this, Square Circle is a pretty good game. It skillfully captures the feel of an Orwellian police state, and if the twist is a bit predictable, well, it could really only have been one of a couple things. The implementation is smooth, there're only one or two puzzles that sent me to the walkthrough, and overall, a satisfying experience.

Stack Overflow (Timofei Shatrov) Z-Machine:
Clearly Shatrov is a fan of the old-school game. One of the first puzzles in Stack Overflow directly recalls one of the Infocom games, and much of the rest of the game is a series of fairly old-school puzzles (the darkness/light source puzzle, the elevator puzzle, the time limit). The game kept me reasonably amused and with the help of the walkthrough I got through it all fine, but there wasn't much of a spark here, and any bits where it tried to get into actual plot/story were pretty silly. (I don't know if Shatrov was playing down the writing because he's (I would guess) not a native English speaker - I found a few quirks in the writing but on the whole it was very solid).

Trading Punches (Sidney Merk [Mike Snyder]) Hugo:
Trading Punches is an interesting mix; it combines a really pretty good premise and backstory with terrible game structure and plot/character development. I think the problem is that Merk has this massive sf epic all mentally sketched out, and he decided the best way to present it was to provide four short scenes from various points along the way. The problem is that even though the four scenes are significant plot-wise, they're not (save the last) actually interesting to play through. The middle two scenes are the worst offenders here, forcing you to perform a long series of tedious actions that are totally unrelated to the story or anything else. Furthermore, as Trading Punches skims over the narrative, character development is almost totally sacrificed; the only characterization in the game is really what we automatically supply based on the conventions of the genre — the scene with Elora is the most blatant example of this.

I took the walkthrough pretty early on and struggled through the first two scenes: the third started to show some promise and the fourth was really pretty good. It's a pity, then, that the game ended there right as I was starting to get interested. I think what Merk needed to have done with Trading Punches was to focus on what he himself found interesting. It seems pretty clear that this isn't the characters: the brother is the most developed of any of them and he's clearly in there mostly as a plot device, not a person. What's cool is the backstory, the prophecy, and the future, and that's where the attention should have gone.

ZEROONE (shed [Edward Plant]) Alan:
I know I've seen more capable parsers than this in an Alan game, so I don't know if ZEROONE's parser flaws (most notably, trying to refer to any door in this game is a nightmare, and there are plenty of doors) are due to it being an Alan game or due to the implementation being sloppy. But, as a friend of mine points out, the author did remember to code a respond for jumping on the corpses. Anyway, this is one of those games where you wake up in a prison cell with amnesia and have to wander around the complex to figure out what's up, and then you do, and then you escape, the end. It has some shooting and some gross bits and some violence and stuff, but nothing too bad. I wasn't really gripped by it, I guess because it is pretty much identical to all the other games where you wake up in a prison cell with amnesia.

Not Recommended Games

Blue Sky (Hans Fugal) Z-Machine:
I would like to go to Santa Fe someday, and it is evident the author is fond of it also, but nevertheless being set there isn't enough to make Blue Sky into a good game. Possibly this is a result of mismatched expectations: I was figuring it would start off with a touristy bit and then have me be magically transported back into Santa Fe's past or something. But no, the touristy bit was pretty much it. And, really, Blue Sky wasn't even well-designed for tourism. There was a certain amount of historic detail in the different locations, but hardly anything about the actual experience of being there; I wonder if Fugal has actually been to Santa Fe, or if he's just reading about this from a guidebook. The lack of local color plus the confusing map and fairly humdrum and not-well-clued puzzles made this game a disappointment.

Getting Back To Sleep (IceDragon [Patrick Evans]) .NET:
Ok, it is once again time for another lecture on why not to write your own IF system. No, I take that back. It is time for me to say "If you actually want to write a good game, there is no reason to spend time writing your own IF system instead of working on the game, unless you actually make real use of whatever special features your IF system has (and if it has no special features, why did you write it again?)." Ok, I guess that was a lecture, but whatever.

Anyway, Getting Back To Sleep's special feature is that it has real-time events. Putting aside the fact that the Z-Machine, Glulx, and T3 all support real-time events, let us consider what use this game makes of its real-time events. Exciting thing #1: the game ends after thirty minutes real time (I assume, anyway — I didn't feel like waiting around a half hour to find out if it was lying). Exciting thing #2: NPCs wander around aimlessly in real-time (difference this makes compared to them wandering around aimlessly on a game-time timer: none). Exciting thing #3: Uh .. I guess there's a message that is printed after N seconds instead of N turns.

In exchange for that, what have we given up? Well, for starters, there's no undo. Nor is there save and restore. Nor is there even restart. Combine those with the game's several ways to kill you or become unwinnable and you have many exciting episodes of quitting the application and restarting. Syntax-wise, the game is correct that it supports both >GO DOOR and >GO THROUGH THE DOOR, but then it makes up for this by failing to support >OUT or >ENTER DOOR. Similarly, >X is a permitted shortcut for >EXAMINE but not >L for >LOOK; >INV works but >I does not. One of the benefits of using the standard library is not just that you don't have to write the standard verbs, but that you are encouraged to use them — people are used to certain verbs and phrasings, and using alternate ones (another example: the game uses >SAY HI instead of >ASK ROBOT ABOUT MONKEY) just confuses people.

Anyway, putting aside all the parser issues (ok, one more: >X NOTEBOOK kept resolving to the note I was carrying in my inventory instead of the notebook I was carrying; no idea why), was this game any good? Enh, not really. It's another (man, the third) game where you wake up from cryosleep on a ship in trouble. You wander around and die suddenly a few times, go through a maze, search absolutely everything, read a couple notes left behind, and eventually win. The writing is generally fine, although the "library" writing is less so ("The bobcat has left via north"). I guess the summary is that the four or six weeks the author spent on the system could have been better spent on the game. Which is the usual deal with people writing their own IF systems. Which is why you don't write your own. End of lecture.

Kurusu City (Kevin Venzke) TADS 2:
Well, this is the only game in the comp I couldn't figure out how to finish. No walkthrough and the hints are inadequate, so it loses a point for that. I guess I could decompile it, but the storyline doesn't really inspire me to do so — the idea seems to me that you're this annoyingly spunky high-school girl, in a city where the government has been taken over by robots for the humans' own good. You don't like that, and being the revolutionary type, have decided to overthrow the robots. So you run around plotting and skipping school and so on. I assume the robot conspiracy has something to do with removing all the men, since out of the seven or eight NPCs in the game, the only one who's male is your dad, and he spends all his time in his room working for the robots. The game at least has the sense to realize the PC's a little annoying ("Julie Agnavo is a skinny blonde girl with a couple of inches on you. She has pledged loyalty to you at your insistence.") and that its fascination with teenage girls is a little creepy (you're attending "Peak of Ripeness Orthodox High School"), but this doesn't make you less annoying or it less creepy. Anyway, the major issue with this game isn't the story so much as the puzzles. In a perhaps realistic depiction of a high school student trying to overthrow the government, you don't have any idea how to go about it, and the game fails to provide any real direction even to start looking. With the aid of the hints I found out to start looking for an ID card, and to try and get to see somebody to ask for advice, but I don't know that these ideas would have struck me as important if the hints didn't direct me. The puzzles become gradually more obscure until I eventually ground down entirely on the monorail. And, since there's no walkthrough, there I quit.

A Light's Tale (vbnz [Zach Flynn]) TADS 2:
It was hard to know how to relate to this game when playing it, let alone when trying to review it. On the one hand, it seems hard to take a game seriously when the main bad guys are are a gang of intelligent (and I assume human-size) gophers. On the other, the game is filled with this Matrix-ish look-beyond-surface-appearances stuff that would be fatal in a comedy. Possibly the best summary of what sort of game it is is this quote:
You turn on the flashlight, producing a small, almost insignificant beam of light — yet it is light, and that is more than enough to repel the darkness. Your flashlight scans and picks up a gopher, whose name you know to be... BOB!
So, er, got me. A Light's Tale is about the right size, and it has some interesting scenes, but in general the writing isn't to my taste, and the storyline would need some serious fleshing out before I could make any sense of it. (Or, er, I guess the whole thing could be a comedy. But if so I think it's actually too elaborate to make that work, and gets too faux-philosophical.)

Order (John Evans) Z-Machine:
Ah, John Evans. He exploded onto the IF scene with Castle Amnos, described by many as "an interesting fantasy game premise, but with some nasty bugs — perhaps you should get some beta-testing." This was quickly followed with Elements and Hell: A Comedy of Errors, two games with interesting fantasy premises but in need of beta-testing and a fuller implementation. Last year he made a stunning break from tradition with Domicile, a game in need of beta-testing, though with an interesting fantasy premise, and finally, this year Evans presents Order, showing he has truly mastered the genre of games with interesting premises but that are, nevertheless, sadly in need of beta-testing. This one does have hints and is finishable, at least, even if major objects are lacking nouns mentioned in the room description. Anyway, Evans can't take a hint, so I guess the thing for me to do is give his games lower and lower scores each year from now on until I give up on them entirely. If you aren't feeling this jaded you may enjoy bits of Order. Then again, you may not.

PTBAD 3 (Xorax [Jonathan Berman]) TADS 2:
Almost completely incoherent. I can't remember if Rybread Celsius's stuff was actually better, or if it was just more of a novelty then. On the bright side, this game isn't actually offensive.

The Realm (Michael Sheldon) TADS 2:
You're a knight, somebody stole your sword and "leathery" armor in the night, the king wants you to bring him the head of a dragon. Enh. The Realm isn't terrible, but it has nothing really new or original about it, and a couple of the puzzles are pretty much read-the-author's mind. The one puzzle that did have a mildly clever twist also had an easier alternate solution, so I didn't stick around it long enough to see the clever part. I think Sheldon would be best-advised, in future games, to try for more complicated puzzles, and to get some beta-testers and see what they think of the game before releasing it.

Ruined Robots (nanag_d [Nicholas Dudek], nanag_d [Natasha Dudek], and nanag_d [Gregory Dudek]) TADS 2:
A three-quarters-implemented game with some potential to be a fun puzzle romp — there are plenty of objects that look like they might be used in complicated puzzles. In practice, though, there's a weird hunger daemon that starts and stops seemingly at random, virtually no clues unless you get exactly what the author is thinking of, some sections of the game that actually say "sorry, this isn't implemented yet", and so on. The main saving grace is the walkthrough, but even the ending that gets you to is not entirely satisfactory.

Typo (Peter Seebach and Kevin Lynn) Z-Machine:
Oof. Okay, see, based on Janitor, I was assuming Typo would start off as an innocuous job fiddling with this big machine for Flavorplex, but then it would swiftly turn into a zany meta-humorrific good time. Instead, the bulk of the time is spent on the exciting task that is reading a manual and trying to repair a label-printing machine, and it is only in an ending cut scene that the game actually has any good bits. Even the typo-correction which provides a nomimal theme for the game isn't written by Seebach or Lynn, so it's hard to give much credit for it. The only explanation I can think of for what the authors were thinking is that they ran short on time and ended up having to rush the part they'd expected to take up the majority of the game. But even so, it's hard to imagine why they thought this game as submitted was going to be at all, you know, fun.

Who Created That Monster? (N. B. Horvath) TADS 2:
The fact that the game opens in the year 2026, at the first (and only) McDonald's in Baghdad, says pretty much all you need to know about this game. You run around the city shooting AGT-style terrorists with your assault rifle and talk to diplomats, all in pursuit of the answer to your question: which Western nation helped bring Saddam Hussein to power? Gosh, I wonder. It is slightly to its credit that Who Created That Monster? generally goes down the absurd path rather than the heavy-handed satire path, but still, it's mostly throwing softballs to the choir, as it were. That said, you may find it amusing — I didn't really, but I am so burned out on politics at this point that even this sort of contact is painful.

Post-comp I wrote a newsgroup post about this game which is a useful supplement and update to this review, I think.

Zero (William A. Tilli) TADS 2:
See, unlike most people, I don't really object to the Amissville stuff because it's bad. I object because I think it's a pity the authors have semi-decent ideas but are too lazy, or too scared, to put real effort in and develop them into something that might have a shot at being decent. Zero combines a couple good ideas: you play someone traditionally thought of as being a bad guy; you're cleaning up your home after a raid instead of raiding a dungeon; you're not the most powerful adventurer in all the lands, just some guy trying to live up to his ancestors. Ok, they're not as original as Tilli thinks — Knight Orc and Zero Sum Game had this ground covered since a while back. Still, the principle could have been cool. And it's not like Tilli is entirely without skill, either: he's got a gift for coining words* and getting across the flavor of the ill-mannered NPCs. But it's all sloppy: the puzzles are weak and not well-coded, the implementation is half-hearted (for instance, nobody seems to respond to the pixie spy), the endgame is rushed, and even the areas where Tilli should be an expert are flawed (when Ratfac comes in with a ranseur at his belt, either Tilli means "rapier" or else Ratfac is a lot taller than I'm thinking). Anyway, this is overall more of the same from Tilli, so you already know what you think of it.

*I'm still laughing about "loinens", though it's hard to tell whether this sort of thing is on purpose or because Tilli can't remember what it's supposed to be.

And that's all. For other IF-related things, including many more reviews, you can go to my main IF page.


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Saturday, February 13, 2010

First of all, I'm so sorry that I haven't been posting lately, but I've been really busy, and I'm in NYC right now for none other than fashion week!  It's been amazing so far, and I'm not even half way through my long weekend.  Yesterday I was at the Bensoni show at their studio, and spotted Olivia Palermo who was sitting a bench away from me.  Here are some photos I snapped at the show:

Fur was really my favorite addition to the show.  Some of the pieces were a bit bland, but once pieces like this showed up (and the basic pants in the look below), I was impressed.

This dress looked stunning on her!

Here are a few outfit pics:

This morning I rushed to the United Bamboo show at a gallery, and went straight backstage.  The models were having their hair twisted tightly around wires, then flat ironed to be set.  Right before they were ready, the stylists took the twists out and their hair was very poofy and frizzy.  As they were already 40 minutes late for the show to start, the managers backstage asked anyone with free hands to help untwist.  There I was, someone who has trouble doing her own hair, getting a model's hair ready for the runway.  Why is this so ironic?  Anyway, it was definitely an experience...and also a photo op.  Here are some of the many pictures I took backstage, and more will come once I develop the ones I took on my film camera for photo class.

stylists beginning to twist her hair

Not only do I love these harem/cargo pants they're steaming, but I'm also in love with this girl's studded Current Elliot jeans!

what the hair is supposed to look like after untwisting it

The designers, Miho Aoki and Thuy Pham.

The designers with makeup artist Dick Page.

Tao seemed to be their muse model for the rest of the show.  She appeared in several other shows I saw lookbooks for, including the Academy of Art show I was at, and is quite popular right now...

I pitied and envied model who's hair I was undoing, both at the same time.  As we were frantically untwisting tightly woven strands of her hair, she kept squeaking "ouch!" and "try to avoid breakage as much as possible please!".  The worst part was probably whatever they had to do afterwards to get their hair back to normal.  Especially if they have another show right afterwards that they'll already be late to because everything is off schedule now!  Oh, the chaos.

We stood by the fourth row of seats after being backstage to get a peek at the show.  It turned out really great! According to, they were inspired by Amelia Earhart's boldness, thus creating a collection filled with bomber jackets and full trousers.

I attended two other shows later today, Andy & Debb, and the Academy of Art show, so I'll be posting pictures from my other camera soon (tomorrow hopefully!).  This evening before dinner, I went to a Haute Look "decades" trunk show and got the most amaaaaaazing pair of vintage Givenchy heels.  I'll definitely do a post about them soon, as I cannot even explain how in love with them I am!

I'll also do another outfit post of what I wore today soon.  Tomorrow, I'll be going shopping most of the day (hopefully hitting up TopShop!) and then go out for dinner.  On Monday I have two more big shows to go to, and I'm so excited to share them with you guys.  Keep an eye out for more fashion week posts!

  1. awesome!
    very lucky too, great photos
    i love tao too :D

    the 6th dress is ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS.

  2. thanks! and i know, it's so geometric and sleek.


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July 17, 2009

These are my confessions

I must confess, I’ve been keeping something from you my friends. This is probably already clear considering my cryptic previous post. Whelp, I'm here to shed a wee bit of light.

I’ve been seeing someone during my one-month hiatus and it just got serious. We’ve decided to move in together. We almost made the leap this time a year ago but I freaked out and renewed my lease at the last minute. Now, I’m so ready and so excited.

(My fear came from having lived with The Ex once before and it obviously not working out. Three years later, I’m over that fear. Not to mention, over The Ex ruling my life's decisions).

I’ve been living by myself for three years and I’ve loved it but I gotta admit, I’m excited to come home to someone, go grocery shopping with someone and just do nothing with someone. Guess that means I’m finally ready! Wish me luck!

1 comment:

Melina*Alecia said...

BOO! I just broke up with my boyfriend and moved out of our house that we shared for two years together. While I am excited to live on my own in my fabulous place, I fear being alone. I am glad you took your time and have decided to move in. While it takes time to work out the kinks, it will be great!


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Greater Grand Crossing

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Greater Grand Crossing

Development in the area began in 1853. The community was annexed into Chicago in 1889, and “the World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 further stimulated growth.”

Recent construction includes the Gary Comer Youth Center. This was paid for by founder of Land’s End, and also Greater Grand Crossing Native, Gary Comer. The youth center “is dedicated to providing a greater opportunity for young people in this neighborhood to practice, to learn, to study, and to sharpen their skills and intellect.”

Greater Grand Crossing is best known for having some of the best restaurants in the area.

For the best BBQ you have your choice of Uncle John’s or Barbara Ann’s. For some of the best vegan food they have Soul Veg. Some other notable restaurants are: Cafe’ Trinidad, 5 Loaves Eatery, and Brown Sugar Bakery. There is also a great jazz bar called New Apartment Lounge Bar.

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    Market Analysis

    Market analysis data for Greater Grand Crossing.

    Real Estate Market

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    Area and Demographic Statistics

    This part graphically explains area and demographics stats for Greater Grand Crossing.

    Number of households 84,467
    Household Avg. Income 48,963
    Avg. year dwelling build 1946
    Avg. Property Tax
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    Population 222,204
    Population Density 10,306
    Median Age 37
    Average value of the dwelling in which household lives $736,757
    Avg. years a household has lived in dwelling. 17 years
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    Browse through the top rated businesses in the most popular categories Greater Grand Crossing has to offer.

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Sunday, April 8, 2012

Friday, April 6, 2012

Coming up on Resurrection Day, we are reminded of the glorious miracle of the birth, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It it were not for those events, we would be lost with no hope.

I have a wonderful miracle to share that isn't as far reaching as that of our Lord's, but it is a testimony that He is still in the miracle business and it still brings Him glory.

Here is my story of the true miracle that took place yesterday:

My husband had a bowel resection in June 2011 in which is entire Sigmoid colon was removed. They were able to reattach, praise God. Things were going along fairly well until around the holidays 2011. At that time, he began to have trouble getting his body waste to pass through. With the help of many laxatives, stimulators, and fiber products, he was able to eliminate enough it kept him from seeking medical attention.

His condition worsened until he was becoming more confined to the house and was having increased pain in the area where his colon was reconnected. It was time to get to the doctor. His PCP sent him for a CAT scan. When the results came back it stated that there was a significant stricture at the prior surgery site. My husband called his Gastroenterologist and told him what his symptoms were and what the CAT scan revealed. This doctor got him in for an appointment the next day.

While we were in the Gastroenterologist's office, he came in and said he had studied the CAT scan and saw a severe stricture that looked like it was not allowing anything but liquid (and that in small amounts) to eliminate. He said this had to be taken care of as soon as possible. He had us wait in his office while he went to make a call to the surgeon who had done my husband's prior colon surgery. The surgeon said get him in my office in the morning by 7:45 am.

We were in the surgeon's office at the designated time. He told us he had gone over the symptoms and had studied the CAT scan. He said there was a definite stricture there and had to be stretched or removed. He wanted to do the surgery the next day but wanted it done at the hospital because surgery was highly possible and he needed to have access to everything needed to take more colon out and try a reconnect again. He told us it might not be possible to reconnect, which would mean a colostomy bag. If the stretching procedure tore the colon, it could result in death.

After we got home, we prayed asking God for healing, but letting Him know we would accept whatever His will was. On the 5th of April, yesterday, we were at the hospital, my husand had prepped just like one does for a colonoscopy. The surgeon scheduled my husband last because he wasn't sure what he was going to have to do: either do the ballon stretching to open the stricture which would take about 15 minutes or perform sugery to remove the stricture and reconnect if possible which would take at least 2 hours.

After 40 minutes the "surgery" was done. The surgeon took me in a room and showed me a picture of the colon where the stricture was seen in the CAT scan. He said, "I don't understand it. There is nothing there. This is one of the most heatlhy colons I have ever seen. There is no stricture there. I dont' get it, because the CAT scan definitely showed a stricture there." He said the rest of his colon was very healthy and this procedure is being considered just a colonoscopy. He walked out shaking his head in amazement.

The Lord did a total miracle on my husband between the time of the CAT scan and the surgery yesterday. There is no other explanation for it. Today he is doing great and having no symptoms.

My husband has learned that God loves him and his faith has grown over this time of having so much trouble. The surgeon learned that there is a Higher Physician who bypasses the surgeon's hands to provide healing. This experience has brought glory to God, healing for my husband, and a stronger bond between my husband and me.

To God be the glory!  Happy Resurrection Day! God bless,


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Insite Properties is a full-service commercial real estate operating company that offers a full array of traditional brokerage services including third-party project leasing and tenant representation and acquisition/disposition of investment properties.

Our team at Insite Properties has a combined 50 years of office leasing and sales experience.  We are owners of commercial office buildings and bring that unique perspective to our clients. We will take on our clients’ interests as our own and perform traditional property-based services from the perspective of the owner maintaining a focus on the bottom line of net operating income and asset value. Insite approaches leasing assignments with a very focused and proactive strategy.  We give each property the attention it deserves, providing strategic plans for leasing services that include understanding the investment goals, building strengths, market conditions, tenant mix, financing structure and competition.

It has been our experience that a proactive marketing effort combined with a coordinated in-house property management service maximizes a property’s exposure and ultimately will lead to success that maximizes value. We “go to the market” on behalf of our clients as opposed to waiting for the “market to come to us.” We can assure you that our focus and attention to detail will guarantee our properties are put in the best light and we will be aware of any potential leasing opportunities in the market. One of the benefits of working with a focused real estate company such as ours is our agility in the market, our accessibility and our responsiveness.


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Pan baked bread

Ingredients: 2¼ tsp active dry yeast - 2 cups lukewarm water - ½ tbsp kosher salt - 4⅓ cups all-purpose flour - olive oil - 1/4 cup dry herbs (optional)
Directions: Combine yeast and warm water in a large bowl. Use a wooden spoon add 1 cup of the flour and then the salt and mix until combined. Stir in the rest of the flour, one cup at a time, until incorporated. Cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size. Do not punch down the dough. Lightly oil the bottom of a cast iron skillet or baking pan. Sprinkle flour on top of the dough. Take all of the dough and shape into a disk. Place in the skillet or pan, cover loosely with a towel, allow to rise for another 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Drizzle olive oil over the top of the bread. Sprinkle with coarse salt and herbs (optional). Bake for 40-45 minutes until the top is a dark brown and crispy


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The Most Pleasant Arrival

From Kelli Bee Photography:

After my friend had her first baby ten years ago, she asked me if I would photograph the birth of her second child as she wished she was able to have me photograph the birth of her first kid. I promised her I would. That day actually came! This was my first live birth photography session and it went PERFECTLY. I had been studying birth photography blogs for some time now and braced myself for anything that could go wrong, and not one thing did, thankfully. I live 45 miles away from my friend so I was REALLY hoping she’d go into labor in the middle of the night so I could drive down to her without the fear of being stuck in traffic. Made it with hours to spare and witnessed what was probably one of the smoothest and fastest deliveries ever….or at least that day!

IMG_7257 IMG_7245 IMG_7247 IMG_7260 IMG_7264 IMG_7284 IMG_7294 IMG_7406 IMG_7459 IMG_7503

Gear Used:
Canon 5D Mark II
50mm 1.4
24-70mm 2.8
70-200mm 2.8

// Kelli Bee Photography //

// Follow on Facebook //

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Tuesday, August 30, 2011

First Class!

Today's inspiration:
Upgrade your vices: drink better wines, splurge on better seats at concerts and eat "luxury" foods from time to time.

How good does it feel 2 eat luxury food. It is such an experience for the senses. I don't drink wine, I drink vodka. Only Smirnoff though. If I'm going to have a drink, it might as well be good! I might have a ponder today on what other vices I can upgrade.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sunday, August 28, 2011

Today's inspiration:
Try the scariest ride in a theme park (and take a sickness bag).

I think the scariest ride I've ever been on would have to be Lethal Weapon at Movieworld. I can think of a couple that would b scarier. I might put them on my list!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Saturday, August 27, 2011

Top of the World

Today's Inspiration:
Ride to the top of a skyscraper in a glass elevator.

Imagine the view! You would be on top of the world!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Friday, August 26, 2011

Today's inspiration:
Give your friends something to gossip about.

When I first read this, I was a little scared as gossip to me is negative. Then I thought it could be something as simple as having a public display of affection with your partner at a party. Your friends might gossip about how in love you are. Or buying and wearing an outfit that is a little outside your normal wear. There are lots of good ways (if that's what your looking for) to get your friends gossiping!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Today's inspiration: Party all night long & through the next day without stopping to sleep.

How long could u last? For me, it would definitely depend on whether alcohol was involved or not. I like the idea of partying all night. It's been a long time since I did. I wonder how long it would take me to recover!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Today's inspiration is:
Do something scandalous that will shock your descendants one day.

I know my Mum managed to do this and it still makes me smile. Actually, there are 2 times that I can think of. And I admire her all the more for them.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

New Inspiration

If you are, or should I say were, a regular reader of this blog, you will know by now the regular postings are almost but non-existent. Now there are a couple of reasons for that of which I don't think this is the forum to share them; perhaps one day. I have been searching for inspiration to get me moving along in a new direction that I can share and I'm happy to say, I've finally found it. On an amazingly relaxing recent trip to Byron Bay, I happened upon an awesome book which has inspired me to begin my new direction for this blog.

The book is called "Things To Do Now That You're 40" by Rebecca Hall. The ideas and concepts really are for all ages, in
particular women although I'm sure they could be appropriate for men also. So I look forward to sharing some inspiration with you as time permits.

The first chapter of the book is ideas to challenge yourself, so here goes:
Drive through a foreign city in an open topped sports car, feeling the wind in your hair.

Foreign could equal one you've never been to before. Where do you get an open topped sports car? Rent it or take one for a test drive. Remember, the sky's the limit!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone


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Friday, 19 March 2010

Announcement and Tickets

The Instigate event, held with The Independent on 26th April at the Union Chapel, London on 26th April, will be an extraordinary affair.

Tickets will be availiable here next week ( 25th March) with a full line up for the debate itself and the artists performing either side of it.

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Sunday, August 28, 2011

More Integrated Science

The Ceceri family will be continuing our study of Integrated Science this year, but with one less student. John III is now off at Rochester Institute of Technology, where he is in the Interactive Games and Media program.

As a going-away present, I made him this great fish tank, using genetically-modified fluorescent GloFish. Watch the video to see what happens when you turn on a blacklight!

The mini-aquarium I put together is a project I've written about before on Home Biology. Here are the instructions, which I ran on GeekMom last week.

Keep watching this space for more labs related to the Joy of Science video series. We'll also be trying out some electronics projects as I work on a new children's activity book about robotics. I'm looking forward to another fun year!

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Alternative Approaches to Women’s Health using Integrative Manual Therapy and Nutrition

Integrative Manual Therapy and Nutrition for Women's Health

Our culture today is very different then it was when I was a child, or even when my mother and grandmother were children. The issues we deal with today are complex… maybe not more complex, but complex in different ways. Today, the average age of a girl starting her menses (menarche) has declined in comparison to the early 1900’s. There are many speculations as to the reason. Some consider that environmental exposure to estrogen mimicking chemicals is a large contributor to this change. Others claim that the rise in obesity in this country is the issue—increased average body size and level of body fat at a younger age.  Furthermore, there are those that believe that sexualization of our society is correlated. It could be all of these reasons.

A friend of mine was relaying a funny story to me recently about her middle school aged daughter, Sarah, who has been raised naturally and organically since she was an infant, free of any synthetic pesticides, processed foods, and growth hormone inoculated dairy products. Sarah recently was sharing with her mother some frustration that she was feeling because she was the only girl in her class that had not significantly developed breasts yet. She was very upset because her girlfriends were all wearing bras and she wasn’t. She was so angry that she exclaimed, “That’s it! I’m going to my friend’s house and drinking some of her milk so that I can grow breasts!” She was referring to the fact that her girlfriend was not raised naturally and was drinking milk that had growth hormones in it. Even at a young age, she knew there was a reason for the difference in development.

In addition to the decrease in the average age of menarche, Infertility is on the rise as well. The 1998 US National Survey of Family Growth reported a significant increase in infertility between 1982 and 1995 affecting all reproductive age groups. The largest increase was 42% in women under 25 years of age.1

There is a significant rise in use of oral contraceptives in young girls. Today, the “Pill” is prescribed to young girls for many different reasons—menstrual irregularities, acne, headaches, weight gain, and much more. It is hard to negate the possible correlation between today’s increased rate of infertility, earlier age of menarche, and in general, increased women’s health issues.2 ,3, 4

The impact of this on the environment and how the environment thereby affects us is an intriguing topic as well. Women that take the Pill excrete hormones into the environment; specifically, these hormones can bypass water treatment plants, and pass into our rivers. This type of pollution is not benign—as an example, these hormones can inhibit the reproduction and sexual development of wild fish populations that exist in rivers contaminated by these water treatment plants. This is referred to as ‘endocrine disruption.’ Endocrine disruption involves hormone mimicking substances from the environment that affect the physiologic function of our natural hormones.  When we drink local water, we can be affected by this.5, 6, 7, 8

All of these factors are potential determinants of change in our current American culture.  So much is different today. More women are in the work force fulltime and some men are stay at home dads. More of us women are relying on nannies and daycare for our children. Some of us are waiting longer before marrying—before having children. I married at 31 years of age and had my son at 32. My mother married at 23 and had her first child at 26. This huge differential is becoming more of a norm today.

Integrative Manual Therapy

It would be so simple if the only change we needed to make was avoid drinking tap water and limit our dairy intake to hormone free. Making lifestyle and environmental changes is important. Additionally today, there are many natural solutions available for helping to reduce and eliminate women’s health issues, including problems such as infertility, PMS, pain with intercourse, urinary frequency and incontinence, and more.

One solution is an approach called Integrative Manual Therapy (IMT). IMT is a hands-on approach to treatment of pain, disability, and disease. Developed by Dr. Sharon (Weiselfish) Giammatteo over the past 30 years, IMT is a new approach to health care developed to address the needs of complex patients. IMT practitioners identify and address the underlying causes of dysfunction using a comprehensive and holistic approach. While IMT diagnostics and treatment modalities are predominately hands-on, IMT also integrates a wide range of diagnostic and treatment technologies, and nutritional programs (i.e. natural supplements, diet, and herbs) to develop a customized solution for an individual patient’s needs.

IMT treatment techniques are based on the premise that the body has the potential to self-correct or heal itself under the right circumstances.  Tissue repair at the cellular level is a normal process that occurs within the body.  The healing of a cut or wound on the skin, or a broken bone that heals itself once it has been immobilized, are two examples of this mechanism at work.  Pain and dysfunction, on the other hand, are an indication that there is too much cell or tissue dysfunction for the body to restore health on its own.  Under these circumstances, in order to improve the body’s self-correction mechanisms, intervention is required.

IMT treatment techniques are manual (hands-on), and generally involve gentle manipulative techniques to promote tissue repair, normalize structure and restore function.  Unique to IMT is the integration of manual therapy techniques for all systems in the body (i.e. bone, nerve, fascia, muscle, organ, lymph and circulatory systems).   As each tissue type in the body has unique requirements for healing, tissue specific techniques are used to yield optimal results.  Often, multiple systems are addressed to facilitate recovery, as a dysfunction in one system may influence or be influenced by a problem in another system.  To illustrate, consider a patient with chronic shoulder pain.  Upon being assessed, to determine which structures were contributing to their pain and/or dysfunction, treatment would ensue for the affected systems.  As determined by the diagnostic findings, this may include treatment for muscles, fascia, joints, bones, nerves, circulatory vessels, lymphatic structures and/or organs. The order in which the involved systems would be treated would be determined by the diagnostic findings.  Ultimately, IMT is the integration of techniques to assess and address all systems in the body.

Integrative Manual Therapy for Women’s Health

When utilizing IMT for Women’s health issues, typically multiple systems are involved. Let’s consider urinary frequency as an example. Urinary frequency could be caused by a number of problems—biomechanical dysfunction when the pelvis and sacrum are out of alignment and putting pressure on the bladder and urethra; inflammation of the kidneys and ureters (tubes traveling from kidneys to bladder); a high toxic load in the kidneys and bladder (example: history of urinary tract infections). These are just some possibilities. When evaluating a person with urinary frequency, step one is to determine what body tissues in the region are in a state of dysfunction. Considering some of the examples listed previously, IMT assessment and diagnostic techniques are used to identify what tissues are in a state of tension, scarring, inflammation. It could be that there is impaired circulation to the pelvic region or decreased drainage from the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. In all of these cases, there could be urinary frequency. Once the specific tissues are identified, tissue specific IMT techniques are applied to help reduce tissue tension in the region, decrease inflammation, improve circulation to and from the renal organs and pelvic cavity, and improve overall function of the kidneys, ureters, and bladder. Utilizing pelvic exercises from the beginning may not lead to full recovery. However, once the individualized IMT treatment plan is initiated, functional exercises can help to accelerate recovery and full elimination of urinary frequency as well as other common women’s health issues.

Nutritional Wellness for Women’s Health

When IMT is combined with nutritional wellness, including dietary intervention and nutritional supplements, recovery from these women’s health dysfunctions can be accelerated even further. A great way to begin making beneficial dietary changes is to institute an anti-inflammatory diet. This particular diet is not meant to promote weight loss although often this is a secondary benefit. An anti-inflammatory diet can help to reduce and eliminate inflammation in the body which is often the underlying cause of most body symptoms. One of the best anti-inflammatory diets is a Gluten Elimination Diet. Gluten is a protein found in wheat, rye, barley, and oat. Gluten is considered to be pro-inflammatory. This means that when gluten is consumed, it induces greater inflammation in the body. Typically, this inflammation affects our ‘weakest system.’ For example, if a person is suffering from endometriosis, this is an inflammatory condition where the walls of the uterus are breaking down. In this case, when gluten is digested, it can induce more inflammation around the uterus and contribute to an exacerbation of symptoms associated with endometriosis. Often, people think of gluten intolerance as limited to individuals with celiac disease. In fact, this is not the case. Gluten intolerance is very common today. Because gluten is pro-inflammatory, it is an ideal diet for any one.

In addition to eliminating gluten from your diet, there are many nutritional supplements that can help to reduce women’s health related symptoms as well as improve overall health of the women’s health organs. An example of this would be essential fatty acids. Essential fatty acids (EFAs) are commonly referred to as Omega 3 fatty acids. These are widely found in cold water fish. In the body, everything is made up of cells, including organs, bones, muscles, fascial tissue, vessels and nerves. The wall of all of these cells is comprised of essential fatty acids. When we experience any kind of trauma or infection in our body, the cell walls of the injured or compromised tissues are weakened. In this case, the body needs to repair these cell walls with essential fatty acids. When the word, ‘Essential’, is referenced, it indicates that body does not produce the particular nutrient. This means that we must attain the nutrient from our diet. Essential fatty acids are an important element in our diet today. There are many options for essential fatty acids—Cod liver oil, wild salmon, sardines. There are many more nutritional based elements that can be integrated into a treatment plan to help recover from women’s health issues. Ultimately, to attain optimal recovery from women’s health issues, a combined approach of Integrative Manual Therapy and nutritional wellness can be very beneficial.

1. Chandra A, and Stephen E. 1988. Impaired fecundity in the United States: 1982-1995. Family Planning Perspectives 30(1):34-42.

2. Williams RJ, Johnson AC, Smith JJ, Kanda R (2003). “Steroid estrogens profiles along river stretches arising from sewage treatment works discharges”. Environ Sci Technol 37 (9): 1744–50. doi:1021/es0202107. PMID 12775044.

3. T.. “Not Quite Worry-Free”. Environment 45 (1): 6–7.

4. Batts, S.. “Pouring Drugs Down the Drain”. Herizons 18 (4): 12–3.

5. Zeilinger J, Steger-Hartmann T, Maser E, Goller S, Vonk R, Länge R (December 2009). “Effects of synthetic gestagens on fish reproduction”. Toxicol. Chem. 28 (12): 2663–70. doi:10.1897/08-485.1. PMID 19469587.

6. Krimsky S (December 2001). “An epistemological inquiry into the endocrine disruptor thesis”. N. Y. Acad. Sci. 948: 130–42. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2001.tb03994.x. PMID11795392.

7. Diamanti-Kandarakis E, Bourguignon JP, Giudice LC, Hauser R, Prins GS, Soto AM, Zoeller RT, Gore AC (June 2009). “Endocrine-disrupting chemicals: an Endocrine Society scientific statement”. Endocr. Rev. 30 (4): 293–342. doi:10.1210/er.2009-0002. PMID PMC2726844.

8. “Endocrine Disrupting Compounds”. National Institutes of Health · S. Department of Health and Human Services.