text:
Home Addition
A home addition can be very beneficial for people who own their own homes. A home addition can add value to a home. This is because the home addition will add bedrooms and living space in the home which makes it more valuable to potential home buyers.
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The best way for people to people to finance a home addition is to save the money themselves and pay for things as they go or to apply for a construction loan. When people take out a loan, they need to make sure that they borrow as much as they need to avoid overages. This is why it is best to get estimates and then factor in 20% in case of any unforeseen expenses.
A home addition can provide people with the peace that they need to finally have the home that they always dreamed of. It is important for people to make sure that they have a budget so that they can create a living space that will have the utility and aesthetic that they have always dreamed of. The process can take several months so it is important for people to get started as soon as they can.
Home Addition


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BURBANK, Calif. — Brazzers has announced the release of "Meme Lover 2: Dawn of Just," which will be available on June 4.
The sequel follows two Internet reviewers, Mick and Ray, as they search for the ultimate adult star to satisfy their girlfriends "because, reasons."
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To watch the safe-for-work trailer for "Meme Lover 2: Dawn of Just," click here.
Email sent. If you wish to send to another person, click here.

subset: commoncrawl


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text: In the southwest corner of Montana lies a community in the heart of the Bitterroot Valley. A valley that is surrounded by the majestic Bitterroot and Sapphire mountain ranges. Along this valley, the Bitterroot River gently meanders along historic working ranches and the wide open meadows and fields that make up the majority of the landscape. Within the Bitterroot Valley, near Hamilton, sits one of the West's greatest treasures, the Stock Farm Club. It's within this private and exclusive club that you will find our newest listing, 700 Pallo Trail. This custom built log cabin was created for individuals that understand and appreciate the very finest things in life. Immerse yourself in custom rustic fixtures and finishes throughout; including rough-sawn hardwood floors, exposed beams and a custom designed wood burning fireplace with a burnt wood mantel. There is ample room for family and friends with 2 full master suites and a lower level "bunkroom" with a chefs kitchenette and full bathroom. The private wrap around deck features sweeping views of the Bitterroot Mountains and overlooks the 18th fairway of the Fazio designed golf course.


text:
There was a time when faith conjured up for me a shot of hope followed by a swill of anticipated dread and despair. The hope was an attempt to grasp the present moment. The dread and despair byproducts of grasping the negative memories of the past and projecting them into the future. As a result my mind often disconnected from my body. I eventually identified the feeling -- it was like a balloon that has been let go and was floating away into space.
Faith can still be illusive. In those moments of feeling overwhelmed I fall into old patterns of being the victim and not being good enough. A foggy haze creeps around my head and body, intoxicating that part of me that longs for the familiar, no matter how painful.
That's where grounding becomes so important. There are healthy, conscious ways of grounding. Many of them can also become comforting to the point of addiction. Food can be very grounding, a bath, sex, a massage, exercise, yoga -- anything that plugs you into your "real world", the one that you are consciously making for yourself that is comforting and supportive of your freedom. Just remember the golden rule -- Everything in moderation...including moderation.
I left Mineral Wells last Friday with a sore throat. While in Austin, most of my time was spent in my pj's laying around -- when I was not in circle with the breath. It was one of the most relaxing weekends in a while -- not my normal way of being. I usually have the mind set of, "it's summer, shouldn't we be outside!" Just because it's 100 degrees outside does not mean I need to go outside, to go swimming. With the sore throat I opted out of all outside activity. Staying inside gave me a different perspective and brought me back into a more relaxed and refreshed place. It was a very grounding weekend and it made me more present with my faith around many aspects of my life.
Find the activities that ground you, that give you comfort, that feed your soul. Use them wisely and they will reward you with a strong sense of security and well being.


text:
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Good summary (as always). Am looking forward to the promised follow-up.
In this text, you provide what look like a lot of, mainly economic, reasons why and independent Kosovo would might have a hard time. My view is that what makes a country work or not rarely comes down to economics - people and identity are much more important.
I've probably said this before and shold wait for your follow-up piece, but will expand on it anyway.
In short, things look pretty bleak. I think an independent and ethnically homogenous Kosovo has the best chance for success.
Kosovo albanians are very nationalistic and, as you pointed out, politically naive, that's not going to change overnight. Best then to give an independent Kosovo as few reasons to fight and blame others as possible. The best way of doing this is to get the Serb minority and the international community out of there.
To make this at least a bit palatable for Serbia (and also to try to give as few reasons as possible for future conflict) I think the northern slice of the province (say north of Mitrovica) should be given to Serbia and all populations on the 'wrong' side resettled with the help of the intl. community. Some churches ans monasteries in the other parts of Kosovo could even be relocated.
This would enable each side - Serbia and Kosova - to focus on getting on with their independent lives. The intl. community (the EU) could focus on the cheaper (and from their perspective more important) task of preventing smuggling and organized crime instead of keeping large military force in place.
The Kosovo albanians might have a hard time accepting this since they seem pretty set on getting it all. Serbia should be glad since this way at least they get to keep a part of Kosovo and can forget about the albanians forever (which I think most Serbs would be very happy to do - maybe even build a huge wall along the border or something).
This all goes to the issue of /how/ Kosovo will gain its independence. We'll get to that!
Right now I'm just trying to sketch out what they have, and what they might do with it.
Doug M.
I'm interested in how possible a future union with Albania would be. I rarely hear it mentioned, except from paranoid Serbian nationalists, who see the machinations of a Greater Albania everywhere. Still, it would seem to make sense, wouldn't it? Certainly more than an independent land-locked blob.
I'm probably getting ahead of the story, though, so I'll just sit back and wait.
(This Kosovo series has been fantastic, Doug)
Hi Michael,
Thanks for the kind words. If you really like it, point folks this way! I'd be interested to hear what other people think about this stuff.
Greater Albania is not quite a myth, but it's close. Support for it has waxed and waned on both sides of the border, but at the moment neither Kosovars nor Albanians are very enthusiastic. Albanians view Kosovo as an albatross, poor and politically complicated, at least at the moment. Meanwhile Kosovars have not worked this hard to gain their sovereignty just to hand it over to distant Tirana.
Joining the two countries makes sense from a nationalist POV, but economically... well, there's an inconviently large mountain range in the way. There isn't even a rail link between Kosovo and Albania.
Finally, it's close to 100% certain that any final status agreement will include a provision against Kosovo joining another country. There's precedent (Germany and Austria) in the EU.
Doug M.
The usual road between Albania and Kosovo is through northwestern Macedonia, which, coincidently is inhabited mostly by Albanians, too!
Let's take the three regions and make a country that makes sense both ethnically and economically.
I always thought it was the Kosovo Albanians who viewed their cousins in Albania proper as poor and unsophisticated. Living in Socialist Yugoslavia must have been a lot better than living in Communist Albania, at least until Milosevic appeared....
What's the GDP per capita in Kosovo and Albania (in real USD, not PPP)?
Fifteen years ago, Kosovars were much richer than their Albanian cousins. Today the Albanians are ahead.
Kosovo's per capita income is about $1200 in real dollars or $3000 at PPP. Albania's is about $1,900 in real dollars or about $4,500 at PPP. By either measurement, Albania is about 50% richer.
This makes sense when you think about it. Albania had a roller coaster in the '90s -- recession, then rapid economic growth, then a total collapse in 1997. Then since 2000 it's been chugging along at about 6% per year.
Meanwhile Kosovo had an utterly disastrous '90s, culiminating in the catastrophe of 1999, when what wasn't bombed by NATO was blown or looted by the retreating Serbs. They had some post-war growth, but the economy has been pretty flat for the last year or two.
Given the province's deeply rooted problems, it doesn't seem likely that Kosovo will catch up to Albania again soon.
Bogdan: there are some problems with your vision of "Greater Albania". To name just one, the Greeks and Serbs would be utterly and absolutely set against it.
Doug M.
Today's FT actually had a pretty interesting article on the behind the scenes lobbying in Washington on the Kosovo independence issue.
It describes how a Mr. Behgjet Pacolli, a native of Kosovo and head of the Swiss-based Mabetex Group, has funded the Washington think-tank "Alliance for a New Kosovo" with a number of US politicians and ex-politicians tied to it.
The Serbs on the other hand don't seem to have their act quite together yet but a spokesperson for the Serbian Unity Congress says that ethnic Serbs, a large diaspora, played a role in George W. Bush's 2004 election victory.
Also, Tadic has apparently hired Washington-based RSLB as consultant. The FT writes "RSLB is run by a group of Israeli businessmen and former officials and military figures, including Yuval Rabin, son of the assassinated Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin. This has raised speculation that the Serbian side hopes to attract the support of Washington's influential Jewish lobby groups."
Interesting. Just sad that once again the US will decide on an important European issue. I wish the EU, or at least individual European countries, woudl for once tell Washington to back-off and then take action instead of just footing the bill for whatever solution Washington decides on.
I think this overstates. It's not that Washington will decide. More like Washington has a veto power, and can push the Europeans to hurry up.
Remember, Europe's track record in the region is not wonderful.
Notice that Tadic visited Israel recently, and explicitly compared the Albanians to the Palestinians. There's an old Serbia-Israel connection; Sharon was always an admirer of Milosevic, and the Israelis sold security equipment to Belgrade in the '90s.
The Serbian lobby in America has consistently been a day late and a dollar short. They are usually enthusiastic Republicans, while Albanians strongly tip Democrat.
Doug M.
I'll be headed to Camp Montieth near Gnjilane later this month. I've been trying to keep up with whats been happening in Kosovo since I found out that I was going. Your posts have been very insightful. I've started a blog and plan on posting on what i see happening there, and many pictures from my time in Kosovo.
First, you write "Remember, Europe's track record in the region is not wonderful." I agree, but I'd say that the US's is even worse.
Second, other than maybe some better than average behavior during WWII from a Jewish standpoint, what's the basis for the Israeli-Jewish connection you describe. I always thought the old Yugoslavia sided with the Arabs during the Cold War?
It seems rather paradoxical that Israel should have run arms to Serbia at the same time as the US was training Tudjman's troops and helping the Iranians smuggle arms to the Bosnian muslims.
Also, I always though the 'jewish lobby' in the US supported the Bosnian muslims and the Kosovo albanians becuase they were the seen as victims of genocide and concetration camps. All this while Israel was supporting Milosevic?
I'd say that the US's is even worse.
In the Balkans? Since 1990?
Oh my goodness, no.
Say what you like about US policy elsewhere, but we've done relatively well in the Balkans. Reprehensibly slow in some cases, but "slow" is better than "motionless until sharply prodded".
Israel and Serbia: couple of reasons. One, there's a lingering sense in Israel that Serbia was one of the less reprehensible countries in the region during the Holocaust. The belief is that (1) Serbs and Jews got along pretty well, by regional standards, before the war; and (2) most of the rounding up of Serbian Jews was undertaken either by Germans or by a minority of quisling Serbs under direct German supervision.
This is IMO not altogether accurate, but the perception is there. In Israeli eyes, Serbia is probably the least-bad country in Eastern Europe after Bulgaria.
Second, there was a very strong perception that Serbia : Albanians :: Israel : Palestinians. Milosevic's repeated invocations of Serbia as a post-genocide country surrounded by hostile Muslims touched a chord here. Also, right-wing Israeli politicians have a fondness for other "pariah" nations... cf. the long covert alliance between Israel and South Africa before 1990.
Bosnia, etc.: There is often some daylight between American Jews and Israel.
BTW, AFAIK the Israeli's weren't selling arms as such. (There was never any shortage of those in Serbia.) More security equipment (wiretaps, laser taps, sigint software) and training.
Doug M.
You write "Say what you like about US policy elsewhere, but we've done relatively well in the Balkans."
There are a couple of things which give me a pretty negative opinion of US policy in the former Yugoslavia:
1. As far as I understand it was US opposition which sank the 1993 Vance Owen plan. Had it succeeded, it might have stopped a lot of bloodshed. The European supported it.
2. US smuggling of arms to the Croatian government and allowing the Iranians to smuggle them to the Sarajevo government undermined UN/western peace efforts.
3. US training of the Croatian army and aiding it in its attack on the Slavonian and Krajina regions, with the subsequent ethnic cleansing.
4. US one-sided support for the UCK in Kosovo 1998/99 increased rather than decreased the propensity of the two parties to come to a more peaceful agreement.
5. US sponsored 'Peace talks' in Rambouillet were a complete set-up used to justify an attack on Serbia, which finally ensured that Milosevic had nothing to loose by driving out as many albanians as he could.
6. The US led bombing campaign against Serbia quickly took the form of terror-bombing - when there were no more easy military targets they started bombing power stations, water treatment plants, bridges, TV stations, etc, with quite a lot of uranium tipped missiles. All the while Serbian troops and paramilitaries could kill remaining albanians in Kosovo because the US was too scared to put in any groundtroops (or even the much vaunted Blackhawk helicopters).
So, in comparing US and 'European' policy in the Balkans, I'd say it's the same old as always - the 'Europeans' don't do much at all and the US does a lot of stupid things. I prefer slow action to stupid action.
Hi Oskar,
First, thanks for the nomination over at Fistful of Euros.
Second, time doesn't permit me to answer all of these in the detail I'd like. But, briefly:
-- It's hard to get enthusiastic about support for Tudjman's Croatia. That said, it's even harder to feel enthusiasm for the Republic of Serb Krajina (RSK). A gangster state run by thugs and incompetents, it had quite thoroughly immiserated its own people long before the Croatian Army came storming in. And while I'm entirely sympathetic to the Serbs' desire not to live under Tudjman, they lost the moral high ground early in the game when they expelled or murdered their own local Croats.
The Europeans couldn't come up with a solution to the problem of RSK. The closest they got was the Z-4 plan in summer 1995. Z-4 would have given the Serbs local autonomy under fairly nominal rule from Zagreb, subject to the return of Croat refugees, etc, etc.
It was a reasonable compromise. Unfortunately, Serb Krajina was not run by reasonable people. When they rejected Z-4, it was clear that Europe had no plan B. The only alternatives were to allow the RSK to continue as a de facto independent state, or allow the Croats to take military action. And if the latter, then the better equipped the Croats were, the faster the whole ugly business would be over.
Operations Lightning and Storm were resolved in a matter of days. Again, I hold no brief for Tudjman or for Croatian nationalism -- but if the US hadn't trained and equipped the Croatian Army, the conflict over RSK would likely have dragged on much longer, with a corresponding increase in deaths and atrocities.
In evaluating any diplomatic policy, especially in the Balkans, you have to consider the plausible alternatives. So, what if the US hadn't armed and supported Croatia? Well, either they wouldn't have been able to undertake Lightning and Storm -- in which case we'd still be seeing the RSK controlling a quarter of Croatia's territory -- or they would have gone in anyway, but with greatly inferior training and equipment, possibly resulting in a protracted Bosnia-style conflict.
US one-sided support of UCK... US policy on UCK was inconsistent. But while US support certainly encouraged UCK, it didn't make a peaceful solution harder to reach. By 1998, a peaceful solution was already impossible. From 1991 to 1998, Milosevic could have reached a peaceful agreement with Rugova. He didn't. And by 1998, the Kosovars couldn't take it any longer; they were simply not going to live under Belgrade's rule any more.
I mentioned already the March 1998 Adem Jashari "Drenica Massacre" incident. This seems to have been the point of no return. Serb police and paramilitary forces wiped out an entire extended family, including women and children, and this sent shock waves of horror across conservative rural Kosovo. After that, there was no going back; either Belgrade would triumph, or the KLA/UCK. And either of these victories would involve shedding a great deal of blood.
BTW, there's an interesting bit of background to the Drenica Massacre. Just two weeks earlier, US envoy Robert Gelbard had said in Belgrade that "the KLA is, without any questions, a terrorist group". Milosevic interpreted this as a green light: the US didn't care about Kosovo, so he could do as he pleased. He ordered the crackdown at once.
So, if the US made a mistake here -- and I think we did -- it was not too much support for the KLA, but too little. A clearer signal to Milosevic in early '98 might have avoided the Drenica Massacre and the corresponding empowerment of the KLA, leaving some narrow crack of hope for a peaceful solution open.
But I doubt it. Milosevic had begun his career with a call to end Albanian autonomy; it would have been politically unthinkable to give it back again. And Kosovars were not going to endlessly tolerate living in an racist apartheid society quite deliberately designed to impoverish and humiliate them. (N.B., most comparisons of South Africa to Kosovo fall short. Kosovo was worse. South Africa at least made some sort of sense, from the ruling minority's POV. Kosovo was just a decade-long exercise in humiliation and dominance.)
I have some thoughts on your other points, but I also have small children and a job. Perhaps later.
Doug M.
Hi Doug,
On the Fistful of Euros comment. The nice mix of politics and daily life is something which makes your blog such interesting reading. Too much of either and the balance is lost. Too bad HDTD isn't eligible (as I understood it).
I have a couple of basic issues with US foreign policy in the Balkans:
First of all, the US like to solve problems using military force. Having a big military the US likes to cut its Gordian knots more often than it seems to want to take the time to figure them out and open them carefully.
The problem with military solutions is that things quickly get out of hand and what seemed like a plain vanilla operation get very ugly. The US might not have inteded it that way, but it's still responsible for the outcome. This is true both of Iraq, Kosovo and Krajina.
Second, I especially don't like the US shooting its guns here in Europe. Basically I think the European should grow up, get their own military force and throw out the US military.
Third, just like the US likes easy (military) solutions to it's problems it also like its problems easy and clear cut (which makes it easier to apply a military solution). Seeing the world in terms of good and evil isn't very pragmatic.
There's lots of other issues with US foreign policy. My intention is not to enumerate them all here.
Hi Oskar,
I might agree with your criticisms in general, but I don't think they apply very well to US policy in the Balkans.
First, the US has actually been somewhat reluctant to use force in the Balkans. Operation Storm didn't happen until every diplomatic avenue had been exhausted. The NATO bombings that forced the rival Bosnian parties to Dayton didn't take place until after more than three years of war. And the NATO bombings in Kosovo didn't happen until after eight months of ethnic cleansing and massacre.
It's also possible to point to several examples where the US /didn't/ use force -- most obviously, the conflict in Macedonia.
I hold no brief for recent US policy in, say, the Middle East. But just because force has not worked well there does not mean force never works. You compare Iraq, Kosovo and Krajina; I don't think these three belong together. Iraq has dragged on for three years and cost tens of thousands of (American and Iraqi) lives. Kosovo lasted 78 days, while Operations Storm and Lightning took about two weeks. Kosovo certainly went on longer than either side expected, but it's hardly in the same category as Iraq. And the use of force there seems to have worked: Serb rule in Kosovo is over, and Serbia itself has a chance to join the EU. This would not have happened if Milosevic were still in power -- which, barring the use of force by /someone/, he probably still would be.
This touches on your second point. I agree! It's a bit weird that the US should be intervening in the Balkans at all. This is Europe's back yard, and it should be Europe's job to police it. And Europe should be able to make a convincing threat of force.
Unfortunately, Europe doesn't quite seem to be there yet. Which means the US involvement in the region is far from over.
One other point: the nastiest bits of Europe are in places where neither the US nor the EU can make a convincing threat of force. I'm thinking of Belarus here, and of the "Transnistrian Republic". These places are just too close to Russia for even the US to rattle its sabers. This is not altogether a good thing.
I invite you to consider the counterfactual: no US involvement in the Balkans after 1990. Do we see a better outcome? I really don't think so, but I'm open to being persuaded.
Doug M.
Hi Doug,
I think you are too hard on the Krajna Serbs:
- they cleansed their Croats - after those Croats had sided with Croat police/army forces on several occassions. Call it the logic of a civil war.
- they had conquered ethnically Croat territory - after Bosnia declared its independence in a move that was clearly meant to isolate the Krajna.
- they rejected the Z4 proposal: simply because they believed that they could get better (independence: it was well known that Tudjman valued an ethnically homogenous state and was not totally unwilling to give up some territory for that). It happens all the time in peace negotiations that some party rejects a proposal because it believes it can get better. Z4 may be more memorable because it was the first time Croatia accepted a reasonable proposal.
- after the rejection of Z4 all hope was not lost. If Bosnia was solved Krajna would have good reasons to reconsider their position.
The Serb leaders of the Krajna - a small backward area - were not genuises. But they were a lot more rational and consistent than you give them credit for. And I certainly don't see why they deserved to be mass expulsed.
As for Kosovo and Albania: a new road is being built that will run from a bit north of Kruja to Prizren. So a more direct connection is coming.
come on of course kosovo should become independent. it deserves it. people dies for the country and the serbs shouldn't rule anyone but themselves. KOSOVO is going to become independent, and with that occuring it will help other countries as well.
The comments to this entry are closed.


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People forgot about the vortex risk when months go by without an incident. Men wander far away from shielded areas even though the risks are well documented: if hit by a vortex, men transformed into women. Alex, like most men, took no heed of the vortex problem. Out of sight, out of mind.
Alex felt the vortex risk was small and he was right. Vortexes coming out of space are rare and when they strike only a small number of men are affected. Alex grew tired of living in the shielded part of his home. He wanted to take his girlfriend, Beth, out on the town. And so he did.
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Alex knew there was nothing he could do. He held Beth's hand and watched as the vortex sped closer. It was clear the vortex was very small as it approached. It moved so fast it was impossible to calculate a move out of the way. Alex looked down and closed his eyes. He heard a hum as the vortex raced by. A gasp went up from the crowd. Alex opened his eyes to see everyone looking at him, Beth still holding his hands. Alex was the only victim.
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text:
Shit, I was just getting to consensus with myself about the music to one song I made. And there we go again. It was enough to get up for a cup of coffe to get my brain out of control.
So, now I accidently have the lyrics for another song "When you sleep - I dream".
What should I do with all the lyrics laying around in drawers, on the floor and everywhere? If I could get just 1 dollar each, I would be rich!
I will keep on struggeling to get myself to do what I decided for another hour....


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Everybody knows the cliché Valentine's Day gifts; chocolates and flowers. It's a challenging task for lovers who want to make a difference on this special day to find the perfect gift for their significant other.
We've set out with the idea that a gift's worth is not in its price or brand but the value it adds to our life. We've decided to communicate that giving electronics as a gift on Valentine's Day is a way to remind your significant other of yourself at all times and to impact their lives positively.
It's a fact that we share a lot more with the proliferation of technology. Setting out from this insight, we've prepared a film in which we show the place of technological devices which are with us at every instance of in our relationships using only hands.


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Sable Academy School Times
Follow us as we begin and continue on our journey in homeschooling.
Friday, March 30, 2012
Temperate Deciduous Forest
We have been learning all about the different kinds of forests and focusing on the TDF (Temperate Deciduous Forest). While we were studying this Aly created a painting of some birch trees which are deciduous trees.
We are going to be finishing up a birds nest and we will add it later.
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Literal translation were depict through colors mostly, not so much in form of werability or function for summer. Milan was overloaded with mesh, too much mesh. Clothes were looking too concrete on purpose rather than "running off to Hawaii" Prada said before the show.
To follow, Domenico Dolce & Stefano Gabbana did jackets with heavy metallic and sequins embellishments. The only garment that could relate to summer was the y-fronts on Madonna's boy toy.
At Burberry, Christopher Bailey showed variety from crayon hues to chalky pastels. Tailored outers were slouchy and looking wilted-- in a good presentable way. Blazers unlined, puckering trenches seams evoked precipitousness but still was well executed.
Minimalists run the risk of under-designing-- And I couldn't agree more. The much anticipated Jil Sander Collection was unsatisfactory. Raf Simon showed a washed-out collection at Jil, which lacks designs. Inspired by Japanese-French painter Tsuguharu Foujita (and possibly Prada's trembled blossom ) , Tsuguharu's paintings of Western bodies were excessively 'painted' across shirts, pants and knitwear.
Another minimalist that showed in Milan was Calvin Klein. Zucchelli meticulous tailoring techniques and minor detailing was abundance yet subtle. Despite the bold and masculine structure of the clothes, everything seems weightless or tissue-weight.
Images Via WWD.
Labels: BURBERRY PRORSUM, CALVIN KLEIN, CHRISTOPHER BAILEY, FASHION, JIL SANDER, MENSWEAR, MILAN, PRADA, RAF SIMONS, REVIEWS, SPRING
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And how powerful images to strategies known marketing and advertising, consumers will not only consume the product or brand, before it consumed the entire projected by the semantic mark; a lot of arguments, speeches and imagery that are preplanned for (or at least that is thought to) strengthen the entire thickness of the brand in the markets.Brands are an excellent opportunity to deepen the way how our brains work; we are consumers, but above all we are living beings with a lot of possibilities and mechanisms that provide a variety of strengths but also vulnerable points if we are not fully aware of our reality.
Already discovered in Italy during the nineties as mirror neurons are responsible for our ability to "see" outside activities, those that are performed by our peers in our environment, and going a little further, are these neurons which equally we "connect" with others at a level of "empathy" and that help us better understand how the people around us feel and perceive things, (possibly it is an interesting point about how it could work proposed by Bartra exobrain). But for marketing and advertising, the importance of such a mechanism are interesting as mirror neurons, is its effect on consumer behavior – according to a research of fatorgenius oficial.
For Martin Lindstrom , the guru in marketing and advertising excellence are mirror neurons that make the consumer "feel identification with what brands say and posit their images", a specific product or brand you see for some commercial, it is through an act of "reflection" are the mirror neurons that motivate a thought like, "I might as well see me in those jeans" is a purely natural act and that comes as part of human evolution and it has become a more complex act given line of business that our society has as a paradigm.
Another factor that probably will gradually given greater scope in the commercial field and marketing , is the "humanizing" a little more rolemodels currently present in brand communications: a clear example is the successful expression position that " Dove " has taken a while, where he presents the natural beauty of women (at all levels), regardless of age, skin color, "imperfections" and other "failures" as totally natural part does, beautiful and pleasant women who reflect a great charisma and being transmitted with great power in brand messages, and which a great brand appeal is built, "all women are beautiful and beautiful, all, absolutely all are beautiful.
This is also supported by Martin Lindstrom, who mentions Dove as a brand that relies on the "authenticity of the people" and comments regarding the use of human images closer to reality, "we can identify and connect with them ( compared to ordinary people) more easily. Besides ordinary people seem warmer. It is as if we into someones the world brand "
This "welcome in the world of the brand" is critical to building brand credibility, sometimes the brands that combine "conviction" true "faith" in their values and bases, are those that are more likely to be a space in the mind of a niche, segment, or an entire category.
Know and have an idea of how connections work within the broad consumer without doubt the knowledge on which to base decisions and positioning strategies, all strategist always looking for a prior knowledge of its resources and means with which account to devote himself to the battlefield, to give their best "movements" of combat.


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Bid Information
Bid Alert No: 00000525035
Bid Title: Architect and Engineering Services
Agency Bid No. Title: Not Stated
Received Date: 03/29/2016
Close Date: 04/22/2016
Purchase Type: Not Stated
Delivery Point:
Delivery Date: Not Stated
No additional specifications were given.
Bid Related DocumentsDownload Solicitation Notice
Product Code: 92505
Agency Information
Issuing Agency: Monticello Ctl School
State: New York
Agency Type: State and Local
Contact: 237 Forestburgh Road, Monticello, New York, 12701


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Nana's Vintage Attic treasures
It is from a shop called 'Frost it Pink' that as a name I thought was wonderful. The story that Amy has put with the item is just lovely.
'Imagine walking up the old creaky steps into a wonderland that is your Nana's attic .....'
Here is a link to Amys' shop so you can go and see for yourself
It is so strange that just after this find on etsy I spent the weekend at my Moms, and we had some fun sorting through an old sewing chest that she had been given. I very happily came away with a wonderful stash of buttons and bias. So I now am drawn to my sewing box and fabric stash to see what I can come up with using this wonderful lot.My friend Joey was very lovely and put one of my monsters in her etsy treasury. It all looked so beautiful together. I love it when treasuries have a colour theme. Here is a look at what she put together.
I have not sat at my craft table for a few days now so I don't have any new photos to show you, but there has been discussion in our house of painting our Chimney Breast green! Our house is white throughout with dark wooden beams. Clive one night suddenly announced that he felt we needed more colour in our front room and that we should 'paint the chimney breast'. After much discussion and debate I over-ruled Clive and Elliot and decided green, in fact a 'lovely fresh spring green'. So DH dutifully went to the paint shop and purchased a tin of 'lovely fresh spring green' paint! I will keep you posted on this and may even produce before and after photos - it certainly makes a change to be doing decor full size instead of in miniature!


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Kevin Patrick
Kevin Patrick
Managing Director
Kevin's role at Taemar is Managing Director, responsible for all contract negotiation and agreement as well as commercial management of large construction projects.
He has over 40 years' experience of working in senior roles in the Construction Industry, as well as being qualified in Construction, Civil Engineering and Health and Safety.
He has worked on numerous projects at a senior level, both in commercial and residential sectors.
He has previous experience with BAE Systems, MOD, NHS, Daewoo, Drax Power Station amongst a long list of notable clients and most recently a new facility in Norway for the Oil and Gas Industry.
He manages a team of office and site staff across all fields including estimating and cost planning, cost control and reporting, value engineering and design management, negotiation, risk management, measurement and valuation.


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This week I had the pleasure of seeing TWO films at the dollar cinema, the only way to watch a movie as far as I'm concerned, especially blockbuster summer spectacles that looked iffy in the previews. If you can get passed the sticky floors and not so great projector quality, you'll have a mighty fine time.
First film: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
I saw Indiana Jones KOTCS on Tuesday, officially making me one of the last humans in America to see the most current enstallment of the renergized franchise. And...well, it's no Raiders of the Lost Ark. Not by a looonnnggg shot. That did not diminish my enjoyment of the movie, but like Matt Fraction stated in his June Word Balloon interview, the more time passes after you watch this film, the less you like it.
And I totally get why.
See if you're like me - a child of the 80s - then you've no doubt seen Raiders a minimum of 15 times. MINIMUM. When we lived in California it came on KCAL 9 no less than once every 3 months, and I always caught it at the exact same spot (when Indy is in the desert, digging for the awesome built to scale city map). I remember watching the spirits ascend from the ark and liquify people behind the safety of the living room couch (the best place to watch any and all things scary). The music from the film is permanently embedded in my brain, right next to my collection of cartoon theme songs.
And yet, we are drawn to this film like a moth to a flame. Why? Because Indy is an icon, right up there with Bond, hotdogs and every other cliched American thing we can think of.
But friends, this is no Star Wars or Raiders. It's not even Temple of Doom, which is saying a lot, considering how exceedingly annoying the screaming woman was (really, is there anyone else who was sad that she didn't burn up in molten lava? I know I was.)
This, my friends, was an Indy movie that morphed into a weird hybrid of poor dialog, bland characterization, and National Treasure rip-off discovery with a bit of X-Files conspiracy thrown in for good measure. A funny film, but in a "Wow this is pretty ludicrous," sort of way, not unlike the poor fodder thrown to the robots of MST3K.
The sad thing is that there was absolutely no reason for it to be this bad. Harrison Ford, Shia LeBoef and Cate Blanchett are fine actors stuck in a badly written film with CGI monkeys. CGI monkeys. Really? Is that even necessary? And why is it that Cate's Russian spy sounded like Natasha from Rocky and Bullwinkle? I kept waiting for her to bust out with "Must capture moose and squirrel!"
Team Lucas/Spielberg didn't fare so well with this one. Which by no means will influence whether I see any more of their movies. Because I will. Because that's how myself and every other person in the 18-49 demographic roll. Darn you, Star Wars and Raiders, we shall never be free from your death grip of awesome.
Film two: Hellboy II: The Golden Army
On the complete opposite side of the spectrum was last night's film, Hellboy II: The Golden Army, which I also had near zero expectations of and was greatly impressed by the story as well as the creatures. Seriously, Guillermo del Toro makes Jim Henson's creature shop look like child's play.
Del Toro and Mike Mignola are cut from the same cloth. And you can definitely see how the director's work in Pan's Labyrinth plays out in this film.
The best character by far was the Angel of Death, a beautifully creepy creation. I would like nothing better than to meet Guillermo and see the innerworkings of his mind when he creatues such fantastic monsters. Never have I seen an angel look like this.
And not just the angel, but all of the creatures were fantastic, from the lovely yet strange Elves to the reinvisioning of Tooth Fairies as sadistic little buggers.
The best part of all of these creations is that they are not only scary, but beautiful in an odd way. They are more than monsters, each with their own motivations and feelings for why they do what they do, not unlike Frankenstein's monster.
The supporting cast of creepies nearly overshadow everyone else, but all of them pull their weight nicely, particularly Ron Perlman as the cigar chomping Hellboy and Abe Sapien, who is given a little romance this time around.
The flaw of the film though is that the theme is not given enough screen time.
Prince Neuda makes an interesting argument to Hellboy, why fight against your own for those who will hate you when you can join those who will view you as a god? It's a rather compelling argument, given Hellboy's appearance (he's not named Hellboy for nothing you know), the fact that his best friend is a fish hybrid and his girl is pyrokentic which a propensity for blowing up buildings. It's also a theme that
deserved more screen time, as it is mentioned only briefly after the Elemental fight scene and then becomes no more than an afterthought. Considering that this was truly the heart of the film, I am surprised that Del Toro did not give it the consideration it deserved.


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Having viewed the successful social franchising partnerships pilot programme that serviced sanitation facilities at 400 schools in the Butterworth District of the Eastern Cape of South Africa, the Amathole District Municipality (ADM) expressed interest in exploring how well the partnership model could empty household pit latrines in its jurisdiction. The impact and effectiveness of the model was demonstrated by the emptying, by five franchisees over a period of only six weeks, of the contents of 400 household ventilated improved pit latrines in Govan Mbeki Village, and the safe disposal of their content. The paper describes the methods and results in removal and disposal of faecal sludge. Problems were encountered, and the solutions (technical, institutional and social) are described. Not unexpectedly, the amount of effort involved in this work – including time, training required, equipment required and ingenuity – varied enormously. The main variables included the type of top structure, the nature of the pit contents, whether or not there was broad consistency of type and contents in an area, distances (between pits, from home base to work site, from pits to disposal site, from location of specialized equipment to work site), logistical delays (e.g. non-arrival of equipment) and bureaucratic hold-ups (especially payment delays).
- faecal sludge
- microenterprises
- schools
- social franchising partnerships
- South Africa
- Received January 4, 2012.
- Accepted March 28, 2013.
- © IWA Publishing 2013


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I have to admit to loving the coleslaw that you get at KFC. When I was in the states, my girlfriends mother made this coleslaw and said it is as close to the real thing that you can find. I have to agree with her on this as I think it tastes just like the one from there. She says the secret is using tarragon vinegar and Miracle Whip mayonnaise. Try this recipe and I am sure you will love it.
1 small cabbage- finely diced
1/4 cup carrot - finely diced
2 tablespoons minced white onion
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup Miracle Whip mayonnaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tablespoons tarragon vinegar (can use white wine)
2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
Make sure your cabbage, carrot and onion are finely diced then place in a large bowl.
Blend remaining ingredients until smooth then pour over the cabbage and mix well.
Cover bowl with cling wrap and refridgerate for several hours or overnight, which is best.
This amount will serve at least 10 people.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
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If you are into chocolate research, responsible farming, and the health benefits of chocolate, you may want to check out Chocolate USA a website from the Chocolate Council of the National Confectioners Association. The website formerly was the home of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association. In 2008, the members of the Chocolate Manufacturers Association decided that the needs of its members were so closely aligned with those of the National Confectioners Association and the most efficient and effective method for future development would be to integrate the two organizations and to be known as the Chocolate Council of NCA.
The website is chocked full of information and provides links to chocolate resources and recipes. While I was looking around, I came across a pdf entitled "A Guide to Hosting a Chocolate Tasting Party". Well, that sure sounded fun. Follow the link to see the pamphlet. It contains a chocolate tasting how-to guide; a list of common chocolate descriptive terms; an overview of cocao %; and a chocolate glossary.
Even if you don't want to have a party, the pamphlet is very educational. Happy Tastings!


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1st Sgt. Milton Anthony Warden.
"From here to Eternity"
Paul Valery
The Wisdom of the Ages
Mikhail Kalashnikov
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
"Four strong winds that blow lonely... Seven seas that run high..."
Here's the latest Glam Shot of the (as yet, unfired) ...improvised shotgun.
It's already out of date, the photo. The 1/8" X 3/4" steel, artfully wound round the breech (confining those expanding gasses you know - we'll cover that later) has gone the way of the albatross.
That idea looked lots better in my head than it did once all was said and done, so I cut it off and welded a piece of 1,1/4" pipe over the breech instead.
In retrospect though, this older one looks better. It's just got more of that "ultimate funk" thing going on. I don't know.
Perfect segue time:
Speaking of funk; below, please find all the information needed to build The Four-Winds-Shotgun.
If the JPG's are a pain to read, it's available as a PDF here - along with lots of other bitchin gun info.
I'll not burden the program with anything regarding the author other than; he supposedly coined the term "survivalist" and his info is on the web.
Kurt Saxon.
The name of the weapon is nice, very romantic - quasi-oriental.
Hence the silly weather references I made at the beginning of this post.
However, the meaning of the name is made clear in the text and it's less "aesthetically pleasing" but far more informative.
This thing is very bare-bones; even for me, which is going some ways.
I don't know if I've got the balls (read: reckless stupidity) to put one of these together and fire it although one would gather that old Kurt has done so, and retained enough digits to type.
It does seem to answer a lot of questions that will be coming up in our safety briefing (soon).
Seemingly, those same questions (to wit: "can off-the-rack plumbing parts contain the massive force of a shotshell detonation?" etc.) may be answerable by our friend, Dexter at the close of the page.
Now, safety issues aside, faced with an evil zombie army to arm, on a limited budget, this is the thing.
Or, if your level of fear was pathological enough, you could guarantee that every door in your house had a sawed-off shotgun behind it... for like, a hundred bucks.
The idea's got nothing but appeal but the nagging safety questions remain:
Did Kurt dictate?
Did he buy special "survivalist-grade" pipe?
Or, and here's the rub, is this, maybe - just maybe - a crock of horseshit?
We'll leave that hanging along with a general EEWWW over all of Kurt's "disposal of the murder weapon" scenarios.
My personal fave is the "home-defense" scenario (I'm in no way arguing against the defense of one's home) wherein he says: "This is great for home defense... and then you can scatter the parts around the neighborhood."
I can see it now.
It would play like this:
"Officer, that guy, the one whose head is splattered all over my breakfast nook? Well, he was a bad guy, so I shot him."
"I shot him... but...
I lost the gun! Or, wait!
I didn't have a gun.
His head just 'blew up.'"
"Will you need me to go down to the station?"
Here's where Kurt didn't think this through.
"Fight the power", but sometimes the power's on your side.
Let's go to the owner of a real-world bardog.
Help us out here, Dexter.
You see, the rather chastened looking young man to the right (he's the one in the handcuffs) appears to be the owner of a Sumpak (See, it's in the caption!).
Reading for context here, Dexter appears to be the prisoner of Arsenio, the rather formidable, older gentleman to the right.
He's the one fondling Dexter's Sumpak with less-than-reverent admiration.
The one ol'e Dex needs to be calling "Sir".
Obviously, Dexter here has trodden upon his Oscar-Meyer and done so big-time. Therefore, he is not seeing the humor of this situation.
But, he's young, 23 - it was in the text of the article - he can go to business school...
The sky's the limit.
Dream the impossible, Dexter!
Anyway; He planned to use his Sumpak somewhere in the process of his "carnapping" (Could ya' die?),
Ergo: He must have had: A. Experience with it. Or
B.reasonable intelligence that it would work - and not leave him bleeding profusely in the street while his would-be "carnapp-ees" go their way saying, "What the hell was that?".
Or he was just an idiot.
Stay tuned.
10 comments:
- Assrot said...
Happy New Year
- Chas S. Clifton said...
South or possibly southeast, if it's a morning photo and the prevailing wind is westerly, as it usually is on the High Plains.
- Oliver Hart-Parr said...
Thank you, Joe and back atcha.
Chas, you are good. My conclusion (upon which I'd be willing to bet) exactly.
You're good - or you've merely noticed that one unconsciously leans toward the West in those regions.
The flag is a dead giveaway although she could have been facing North while photographing the kids... in the afternoon... during that rare time in MT when the wind comes out of the East.
This looks like dangerous ground Dan. I'd definitely be watching from the safety of the Landrover!
I think I'd just take my $70 bucks and go get an NEF from Bimart.
As I recall Saxon's books were kind of interesting in a not OSHA approved kind of way. When I bought mine he even threw in a pvc rig with a hypodermic in it (in case you wanted to do someone a la KGB) Don't think such purchase bonuses would fly today!
- Culpeper said...
Your WWII jeep is sitting at high noon or close to it. Perfect sniper light
- Chas S. Clifton said...
He changed photos.
Chaining the front wheels only -- I don't know about that. I did not know that the practice went back so far.
In my modest experience, you are more likely to break a chain on a front wheel (from the motion of steering), and then the loose end does something cool like wrap around the brake fluid line and break it.
- Oliver Hart-Parr said...
Yeah Chas,
Culpeper, he's a few cod filets short of a fisherman's platter, that lad.
I've heard - even though my fervent belief is that; if you need chains on a 4X4 vehicle, you need to be at home, or institutionalized - that if you've only got one set of chains for a 4X4 that they should go on the front, although the steering issue is certainly worth considering.
I suspect that it was admissible in the heat 'o the mo' but wasn't SOP.
- Culpeper said...
I be going to Red Lobster tomorrow with cod in mind:). I believe those jeeps aren't true 4x4. Part time 4x4 on both ends. They also turn over very easy. Thus, you may want chains on the heavy front end rather than the lighter rear end. You want those rear wheels to lose traction in a fast turn on ice to avoid a roll over. I don't know about these older models but the one I drove had the battery under the passenger seat and the gas tank under the driver seat. Based on personal experience this creates a burning sensation when upside down, strapped to the seat, and at a complete stop. Then along came the Humvee. Yep, one of the last to utilize Vietnam era equipment on active duty. That is my legacy to the Cold War.
- Oliver Hart-Parr said...
Do you wear a cod piece?
I like those old jeeps. I've said it before and I'll say it again, until someone kills me or whatever: Fuck the Humvee, over-engineered boondoggle piece of shit.
My claim to fame vis a vis the cold war is that when I played the big 13F (forward artillery observer) video game at Ft. Lewis, the screen picture was of the Fulda Gap.
A documentary from the early '80's described this location as "...the site of the upcoming, largest tank battle in history.
Or not.
- Culpeper said...
I've never been in a Humvee. Our jeeps had a pallet of radios behind the front seats. Also served a roll bar.


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Yesterday was my youngest son's birthday. Where have the years gone? I remember him as a happy little kid who loved to make funny faces, loved running fast and playing hockey with his brothers and his friends. He liked WWF wrestling, and hotdogs over the fire. He loved our dog, Major. His birthdays always included playing a hockey game, a sleepover, and pancakes for breakfast.
Jeff - Dad and I are so proud of the man you have become. We are so glad that you have a close relationship with your brothers and your sister. We are thankful that you know the Lord as your Saviour and are trying to live your life for Him. Keep seeking Him, Jeff and give Him the glory every day. He will guide your steps, and protect you from evil. Happy Birthday!


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So we purchased a bookcase from Costco Home last night. I fell in love with when I saw it, and I fell even more in love with it when we got it into Maizey's room. I've posted a picture of it, and a picture of yesterday's lunch, and one of Porter (it's not that I love him more than Lou, it's just that Lou is always in the same place--and that doesn't really make for many interesting photos).
Our cute, new bookcase with Maizey's only book (so far).
My pregnant woman lunch yesterday included (but wasn't limited to) spaghetti with cheddar cheese, yogurt, chocolate milk, and Fresca. It was preceeded by 6 chocolate donettes.
Porter is already depressed about the baby. This is him looking very sad in the baby's room.


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We moved further west for our last two days to the most adorable place we visited and instantly fell in love with Guanajuato with it's colonial feel yet somehow odd terrain on hills with dozens of subterranean tunnels that would loose anyone after a couple of margaritas. Speaking of margaritas, we asked for the bebida del casa, which here was a yummy sangria and then went on to a bottle of L.A.Cetto Nebbiolo 2011 Riserva Privada from Valle de Guadalupe. We had tasted another Nebbiolo from Cuna da Tierra, a winery we visited several days earlier, and this grape has really taken well to the Mexican climes.
El Callejon del Beso is named for the famous street nearby where everyone kisses amidst the fable of the girl who tried to run off with her student boyfriend as she kissed him on this so narrow street that their balconies touched. Alas, her father did not agree to the match and as they kissed, he stabbed his daughter in the heart. The specialty of the restaurant is grilled hearts which are served aflame tableside and then stabbed; we refrained, but chose to started with the Crocodile Carpaccio which was delightful-a kind of earthy chicken-tasting dish which went well with the wine's big earthy flavors. Trucha Ahumada was another superb starter and the smoked trout was served ceviche style with tomato, spice, onion and cucumber. Bread came with many salsas, a kicky mayo aioli, salsa verde with avocado crema, olive oil with chilies and tapenade.
We were in heaven enjoying every flavor.
Sam spotted plain Pasta with Fineas Hierbas and chose that while Will and I tried two mains from the famous grill:
Pulpo a la Plancha which offered up huge chunks of tender octopus with lime and an olive tapenade salad
Pulpo a la Plancha which offered up huge chunks of tender octopus with lime and an olive tapenade salad
Corte a la Casa was a huge steak with potatoes, chilies and oil that we could not finish but was as tender as could be. It was fun to try the various dishes with the aioli and different salsas as well.
We were full, but could not resist the description of dessert, Pan de Nopal, which literally is nopal cactus bread, but here it was a whimsical creation of a desert scene. The cake was moist nopal cactus with caramello sauce and cocoa-which was like the dusty sand, sesame, lime and apple with a strong alcoholic sauce (I assume tequila or mescal) and the while thing was topped with a crunchy grasshopper....YUMMY,
Sam loved his red velvet cake made with Philly Cream Cheese and a huge spun sugar dome (the dome is missing on FB--sorry).
We had only been in Guanajuato for hours, but we were already in love with this charming town!


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Recovering from a really wonderful time at the book launch. People had worked very hard to make it go and it did! Ran like clockwork, smooth as silk and very professional (you might think they did it every week). Greeted at the door, led to the mince pies and mulled wine then escorted to the book room. Wow! At last - "The Cheshire Collection" in the flesh - well in a beautiful binding: a real book we could be proud to be associated with. A dream come true.
What has this to do with G.O.E.S? Those great folk, the Vale Royal Writers Group, have decided to give G.O.E.S. the profits - and already this amounts to £500. I really can't take it in. I've spent today in a dreamworld, thinking of all the good this money can do. Thanks and thanks again. Bless you all.
Saturday, 8 December 2007
Time for a very big grin.
Posted by Tom at 17:54
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Briar: So this is the last chapter. Also there is a poll to vote for the name of the sequel please vote I want to know your input. It will be a great sequel and me and Akira have been collaberating. I hope when the sequel comes out you all read it since I am loving it as much as TT.
Shiro: I better be getting my happy ending *holds zangetsu at Briars throat*
Briar: Oh god this is like that stephen king movie! On wit the fict so the sword goes away.
The month had passed. After hearing from Shiro, Ichigo's spirits lifted more and more everyday. Dodging his father's attacks and hitting him back in retaliation. However, he was not allowed to go hollow hunting. A rule of Toshiro's since he thought after Ichigo's good mood that he was planning on going through one of the hollows portals. That wasn't how it was. Ichigo still couldn't contact Shiro but he knew he would escape.
During his second week of house arrest Ichigo would spend more time with the twins. Asking them how school was. Bringing up a conversation with them startling them. Karin even hitting him to make sure that it was Ichigo there and not Kon. Yuzu had smiled and cried in happiness to see Ichigo return to his normal self. Glad to see that the brother she grew up with was back instead of the walking zombie that had hung around. When she asked about Shiro and Grimmjow she even noticed that Ichigo didn't flinch or had sadness in his eyes. It was a shocking turn of events and she held a feast. Renji being ever so grateful since he ate like an army of men. Toshiro had been thankful as was everyone else. Each soul reaper guard enjoying the meal.
Even their father laid off on the attacks making Yuzu more at peace. Not liking how at first her father had to make up for the time Ichigo was missing. So she decided she'd make cakes as a surprise. Giving Ichigo his favorite and even asking the soul reapers what they liked.
With Ichigo's recovery Yuzu noticed that his friends came around more. His human friends. They had been taking care of the hollow hunting for Ichigo and were glad to see that he was better. Yuzu inviting them for dinner making it more like a party with the amount of house occupants rather than a dinner. Everyone eating in the living room rather than the dinning room.
It warmed Yuzu's heart. Knowing her brother was getting better even though she knew how close he must have been to Shiro. Knowing that if she were to loose Karin she would never be the same. Not fully being able to understand ow her brother felt either. Yuzu knew that Ichigo and Shiro had a closer linkage. The two telepathic due to the hollow soul reaper relationship. How they had grown up together as well in hueco mundo. She wished she could bring Shiro back. Even though Ichigo was starting to get better. Then things would be back to normal with an extra addition or two to the household.
Then there was the third week of being under house arrest. Ichigo was gaining more of his weight back that he had lost in the first week. Getting stronger. Ignoring his guests as they watched him doing push ups and sit ups. Ichigo managing to do one hundred push ups and sit ups ten times. Shocking them but Ichigo had been bored as hell. Not receiving so much homework and that his friends were doing the hollow hunting. Nothing major coming to town either. Surprisingly since the winter war was coming close.
So for the past week Ichigo was gaining muscle mass to make up for the ones he lost. Not able to even spar Renji in his human form but Soi Fon had been glad to offer. So when he wasn't doing push ups or sit ups Soi Fon would spar with him in the back yard. In their gigai's of course. Ichigo didn't have the same speed as she did but he had his reflexes and power.
Toshiro had been against it but Ichigo had claimed it harmless fun since he was in a gigai. It wasn't like Ichigo had zangetsu and Soi Fon Suzumibachi. They could only rely on hand to hand combat. Shuuhei was their referee. Each time deeming when the match would be over. Even though Yuzu had been concerned for Ichigo she cheered him on and unfortunately Isshin did as well. Having a air horn and confetti. Throwing them around. At one point one of the elderly neighbours came by and told Isshin to quiet down. Then Ichigo was scolded for fighting a woman. Ichigo thought Soi Fon would be insulted but she had a smug grin on her face. Yoroichi even came by since Isshin and Kisuke talked over the phone, placing bets on who would win. Ichigo was outraged when Yoroichi said his own father bet against him. So of course, being the man Ichigo was he was determined to win. Managing to pin Soi Fon. Embarrassing her in front of her hero. That helped Ichigo since his father have a large wager on Ichigo loosing to the captain of the stealth force.
Then there was Ichigo's final week. He had become restless. The soul reapers worrying but to cover it up Ichigo started drinking coffee. Blaming the caffeine for his jittery state. The soul reapers believed them since they had seen Hanataro on coffee once. The shy soul reaper becoming more talkative, energetic and shaky. It make him an easier target on his fellow members but they figured Ichigo was like that too. Just not as easy to scare.
So Ichigo would end up pacing in his room. Though when it got closer to the soul reapers leaving Ichigo managed to be more relaxed. Sleeping a little more. Claiming that it was the crash and burn from all the caffeine he had drank and the lack of sleep. Isshin being one to back Ichigo up as well. Shockingly, but it managed to get the soul reapers off his back.
With the week up the soul reapers were getting ready to leave. The collar being removed since it only blared an alarm if Ichigo tampered with it or anyone who might help him like his human friends or the outlaws of soul society. The only one who could remove it being Shuuehei, Toshiro and Soi Fon. Renji was not allowed since he was a friend of Ichigo. So with the collar removed Ichigo felt more liberated and happy. A senkaimon would open soon and Ichigo pulled Soi Fon aside. Intending to talk to her. She may try to hide it but Ichigo still sensed how she missed Ggio. So he would confront her. Now that he was free Ichigo could go to Hueco Mundo. Able to open and close a garganta before anyone could enter. So when he was alone with Soi Fon he could sense her unease. Most likely thinking Ichigo were up to something. Which was not a lie.
"You want to see Ggio," stated Ichigo," don't deny it. I can read people so you might as well as admit it. Might as well forget about your pride for this one time."
Soi Fon crossed her arms but nodded in agreement. A faint blush on her cheeks. Which lead to Ichigo's next question. If she would join him in Hueco Mundo to be with him. That causing the assassin's eyes to widen in shock. He could see her brain as it thought whether or not it was a good idea. So Ichigo gave her the reassurance she might want. Explaining how he was stronger than Aizen himself. How Soi Fon would be under Ggio's watch and that Ggio Vega was the fraccion to the second espada making him strong as well. No one could harm the mated. It was a hollow rule.
Also that if soul reapers even thought about trying to harm her Ichigo and the others would defend her. Knowing that this is where she belonged as well. Someone else could replace her. Soi Fon didn't need to worry about the work of being a captain. She now had a mate to relieve those tensions.
After a few minutes of silence Ichigo saw her head nod in agreement. Ichigo cheering internally. So since Soi Fon was already out of his gigai Ichigo popped out of his. Keeping his spiritual pressure at the same level. What he didn't expect was his father to enter the room as soon as he left his body. Mouth dropping and opening and closing Ichigo tried to form words but failed. That was the last person he expected to catch him.
"Go," insisted Isshin," my time as a parent to you is up. Spend time with Masaki and Grimmjow. You seemed happier there. You'll find away to keep yourself safe. Just...Try to visit after everything cools down okay."
Ichigo nodded his head. Thanking his father for allowing him to leave. Internally he was thanking every god out there that his father was not acting like a complete goof ball and making a scene that might alert the other soul reapers. Leaving the house in a hurry Ichigo made one pit stop. Entering Orihime Inoue's home.
Orihime was inside. Sitting at her coffee table in her living room. Pictures still on the shelf as well as stuffed animals Things hadn't changed since the last time Ichigo was in his house. Tatsuki wasn't there either so it made things simpler. Orihime was the only occupant. Drinking a cup of tea with some snacks out as what it looked like that she was studying for an upcoming test.
With his footsteps coming closer it caused Orihime to jolt in shock. Not noticing Ichigo nor expecting him to visit. So when he looked at her with a simple gaze that gave away what he was doing he saw her sad smile. Knowing Ichigo was going against what the soul reapers wanted. But when he offered her to come join him Ichigo was surprised that Orihime agreed. Never expecting her to want to visit the same place she was a prisoner to. Yet, Ichigo was grateful. Giving something Ulquiorra could look forward to. Ichigo owed him after all.
After all the trouble he had gone through. Ichigo owed all the espada. For taking care of him. Dealing with his childish self. Taking care of Shiro. He was so young and Ichigo knew Shiro was most likely unhappy. Worrying all of them, even about Ichigo. Unaware if he were alive or not.
So opening a garganta Ichigo knew the alarm bells in the research and development were blaring. Sounding that Ichigo was leaving the world of the living. Pushing Soi Fon and Orihime first Ichigo entered afterwards. Knowing he had to act quickly before any of his guards had figured out what was going on. He only had one chance to escape and he had to make it perfect.
Just as it was closing he saw Renji standing there in shock but Ichigo could only smile in happiness. He was going home. He didn't care what the soul reapers wanted. Ichigo would not fight this war. At one point telling them why it mattered where Ichigo was. How he was just a substitute soul reaper. They didn't need his help. So really him not fighting meant they didn't loose or gain an advantage. He had made up his mind that he wouldn't fight when he had forced Shiro to return to Hueco Mundo.
So as they moved on Ichigo took the lead. Telling Soi Fon to run beside him but Orihime to be behind him since he wanted to surprise Ulquiorra. Also having Orihime reign in her spiritual pressure. Making the surprise all the more better.
Ichigo had no idea where he would land in Las Noches but he hoped that it wouldn't be in a place too far from Grimmjow-oops a place that wouldn't be too far from his Daddy or even Shiro or Lauren.
The path wasn't too long. The garganta opening on the other side and when Ichigo came out he was shocked to see all the espada. He was in the meeting roo,. Looking around he saw each of their flabbergasted expressions. Gin even opening his eyes. Lauren and Shiro jumping up and grabbing him in a hug. Kissing them each on the head Ichigo told Shiro to sit down. Shiro did not do such a thing. Instead hugging Ichigo and not letting go. Bawling like a five year old and saying how he missed Ichigo and how happy he was to see him back. Ichigo's eyes softened and he too told Shiro how much he missed him as well as Lauren.
Turning to Lauren and asking for her to take Soi Fon to Ggio. Ichigo knew Aizen was giving him a disapproving look to Ichigo for bringing the stealth force captain but he turned to him speaking of how Soi Fon was loyal to Ggio now. Since Soi Fon would not listen to the other males as the month had passed in the world of the living. She had gone against Toshiro saying it was age that made her do so but in truth it was because that wasn't her alpha telling her what to do.
With the little tidbit of reassurance Ichigo turned to Ulquiorra gaining his attention. Moving aside Ichigo smiled when he saw those emerald orbs widen in surprise to see the ginger haired human standing beside Ichigo and moving forward towards Ulquiorra. The man seemed happy though he didn't show it. Oirhime had shown Ulquiorra where the heart laid giving him a chance to understand emotions more.
"Woman," gasped Ulquiorra.
"Ulquiorra-kun,"replied Orihime.
Orihime sat on Ulquiorra's lap. She was still in her school uniform. Ichigo casually went and took his place in-between Grimmjow and Shiro. Shiro's tears stopping for now as he sat in his seat holding on to his other half. Grimmjow and Masaki grinning to see the return of Ichigo. Aizen looking at Ichigo from the head of the table. A curious expression on his face.
"Why have you returned Kurosaki Ichigo?" asked Aizen.
"Well Aizen-sama it's because I didn't like it there in the world of the living," explained Ichigo," they don't trust me as it is. Placing a collar on me. I was unhappy there but they just wouldn't leave me alone. Plus I gave you one of the most dangerous assassins giving the soul reapers a disadvantage."
"But you are also giving captain Soi Fon a chance to exterminate my soldiers," Aizen pointed out dryly.
"She is loyal to Ggio," countered Ichigo," since she's his mate she has to listen to him. I'm sure Ggio told her not to kill anyone and she has to follow his orders. Hollow mating rules."
"I suppose you are correct," agreed Aizen and formed a smile," welcome back Kurosaki Ichigo."
"That's Jeagerjaque Ichigo," corrected Ichigo," Kurosaki Ichigo died when he defeated Grimmjow."
"Welcome back, Jeagerjaue Ichigo," repeated Aizen.
Briar: The end. The last sentenced made me squeal I loved is a poll. Please vote. The sequel will not be posted for two days. Since I need a fair amount of time to see how many votes there are. I shall miss this fict but I am stoked for the next. Bye bye for now my lovelies. See you again.


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August 1 marked the holiday of Lughnasadh in the Pagan/earth-centered holiday calendar. It is the halfway point between summer and autumn. The first harvest.
There is a ritual outlined in one of my Druidry books that I adapted for the holiday, but I didn't do it this year, due to fatigue and packing for a much needed vacation, which is coming up on Tuesday. But I've tried to focus on the meaning of the holiday in modern times, in any case - for me, a non-agrarian-yet-naturecentric-spiritual person, it's about looking at what you've accomplished this year, and how that is coming to fruition. And in spite of two months of bronchitis, a reaction to the accompanying antibiotics, a bad stomach virus, and pretty much exhaustion, I have accomplished quite a bit. I worked two jobs the first half of the year, in addition to school. This took a toll on my academics, so I ended up on academic probation. I quit one job and re-took a class, bringing up my GPA back to a 3.0. I'm really going to have to bust my ass off to keep it though, and I'm still not sure how I'm going to juggle it all. I'm now part-time at the current workplace, so that I can basically make my own schedule. I still have to work enough to pay the bills, though, and I'll have Saturday classes and my first internship to balance as well. I'm nervous, but today's(well, technically yesterday) holiday serves to remind me that it's all going somewhere in the end.
Faeries aka Fairies Are Real
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Bid Information
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text:
Written by Emily Edelman
About a month ago, I found myself needing a change of pace in my Wednesday routine and headed over to Infinity Hall to sit in on Open Mic Night. At this point I would like to point out that I am not a musician. I tried to be one (several times, in fact) but I can't even sing and clap my hands at the same time. I like musicians, though (this is good, as I have worked with them for the majority of my professional life), and my fondness for them often sends me out of my comfort zone and into music venues to watch and hear them at work. Open mics are wonderful; they allow musicians to practice their art and bounce ideas off of their peers while providing a supportive environment in which to debut new material and take musical risks. Infinity Hall's Open Mic Night does these things well (as is evidenced by the fact that there are more than a few people who travel 90 minutes or more to participate) but also goes a bit further: performers are eligible to compete for a chance to be an opening act for an upcoming show.
On May 29 Infinity Hall held the first of what will hopefully be many of these competitions. Twelve acts were selected from the open mic participants to play their music on the stage. Even as a non-musician, I could sense and appreciate the performers' excitement: they were performing their (mostly original) songs in a restored turn-of-the-century theatre with great acoustics and top-notch sound engineering. The supportive environment I mentioned earlier was a big part of the show due to the large number of open mic performers present who were not finalists and the attention of an almost-capacity audience: we listened to every note, laughed at every joke, and held our collective breath when a terrific thunderstorm briefly knocked out the electricity. The people on stage were our friends and neighbors and the opportunity they'd been given was exciting to share with them.
The community that has grown up around Infinity Hall's Open Mic Night is certainly fun for the performers, and it offers a great experience for spectators, too. I've been attending only a short while, but I have already made friends and been introduced to music I probably would not have sought out on my own. I'm not out of place there; there's always a conversation to be had and another musical style or influence to discuss.
The Open Mic Big Stage Competition presents a unique chance for participants to play a great venue and, for the non-musically-inclined among us, to see talented local musicians and appreciate what they can do.
Open Mic continues at Infinity Hall this Wednesday June 5th, around 8:15, with sign-up starting after 7pm. Come join the fun!
Head over to Infinity Hall's YouTube page to watch past Open Mic Performances!


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By Joie Goh
/8 June 2017
Singapore's top beauty export with boutiques in Europe and sold in Sephora across the US is finally joining the sheet mask game. True to its DNA of bespoke, customisable skincare, its latest offering is a series of three types of sheet mask for different concerns: Black Gold for calming and detoxing inflamed skin, Platinum for brightening dull skin, and Rose Gold for anti-ageing and wrinkles.
It doesn't stop there – each mask is made of two parts, one for the top half of the face and the other for the bottom, and each part is packed separately. That means that you can mix and match the halves (in fact, you're encouraged to). Marionette lines and forehead zits? Pair the bottom half of Rose Gold with the top half of Black Gold. Pigmentation and dull skin on the cheeks, but congested pores on the chin? Then match the top of Platinum with the bottom of Black Gold.
I have chin acne and fine lines around my eye area, so I used the top half of Rose Gold with the bottom half of Black Gold. The mask sheet itself is made of hydrogel, which, while I love for its intense hydration, often poses a problem with application because it's so floppy and jelly-like. However, this issue is avoided when the mask is split into smaller, manageable sections. The sheets clung firmly onto my skin instead of sliding down my face as most hydrogel masks tend to, and after 20 minutes, my skin felt softer, hydrated and brighter – but I didn't see any visible plumping of lines, and my chin pimples stayed stubbornly put.
Verdict: Great as an intensive hydrating treatment, and easy to use.
I'm pretty late on the cushion game. When they initially came out, launched by South Korean brands, I didn't like how shiny they made my skin look, even though that was the ideal K-beauty dewy aesthetic. I stuck resolutely to compact powder foundation and tinted moisturisers, until very recently, when brands began to abandon the lacquered glowy look and create cushions that gave more velvety finishes.
This cushion compact has a satin finish, which falls somewhere between matte and all-out gleaming. The first time I tried it, I had hurried slapped it on post-shower at the gym, and it totally hid my blotchy, red skin (I'm not one of the lucky few that experience post-sweat glow – my face is either deathly pallid, or tomato red, no in-between). The second time, I had a nasty breakout on my chin, and that too was easily covered. The coverage game of this cushion is on point.
However, it doesn't stay on the skin for very long. Any accidental hand-to-face contact would leave finger marks on the finish, and pressing a tissue to the face removes about 60 to 70% of the foundation. This issue can be fixed by setting with a dusting of loose powder – but then, what's the point of using a cushion, which is supposed to pare down your makeup routine?
Verdict: Great coverage, lovely finish, but average adhesion and requires frequent touch-ups.
Miu Miu's second fragrance launch, following the 2015 debut of Miu Miu Eau de Parfum, is a lighter, fresher cousin. It's described as having a top note of lily-of-the-valley, middle notes of dew-covered white flowers, jasmine and rose touched with fresh greens, and base notes of white musk and a Givaudan-developed molecule called akigalawood.
I doubt anyone can formulate a scent based on what I had just typed (neither can I), so I shall attempt to describe it. At first whiff, it's fresh and bright, and quickly dries down to a soft, sweet and powdery fragrance that's neither cloying or harsh. There's a mild hint of woodiness in the musky base, but otherwise, it's a lovely cloud of white florals without the typical headiness of scents based on the note that are marketed to a more mature audience (is it because of the dewdrop note? How does a drop of dew even smell like?).
I don't like flowery, pretty scents, but this is a flowery, pretty scent that I would actually wear more than once – so that's saying a lot.
Verdict: I like it. Very much.
Question: if I consider myself a millennial, would products made for millennials work on me? Strivectin's NIA line (it literally stands for Not Into Aging) supposedly pre-empts early signs of skin ageing by targeting the lifestyle habits of millennials, which apparently involves wearing lots of makeup and pulling outlandish facial expressions to take selfies, late nights and weekend benders, work drama, and constantly looking down at your phone to squint at the screen.
I'm guilty of the last one: I'm always hunched over my iPhone scrolling through Reddit and stalking good-looking people on Instagram, and it has affected my spine to the point that I require regular physio sessions to loosen up my stiff thoracic vertebrae. But never mind my posture – my neck is already starting to develop horizontal lines where my skin folds over as I look down. The horror!
The Tech Neck Line Smoother is essentially an anti-wrinkle serum, but what's the fun of using any old serum when you can literally roll this nifty applicator up and down your neck like you're whitewashing cracks out of a wall? Plus, it has biopolymers that form a lightweight elastic film over the neck to tighten up the lines. I used it for a couple of days, until the novelty wore off, and I went back to my usual habit of applying my extra face serum on my neck.
Verdict: It works for an instant, cosmetic smoothing effect, but only if you can put in the time and effort to roll it up and down (and up and down, and up and down) over your neck twice a day.
When it comes to scenting home, sweet home, there are four options: candles, essential oil burners, reed diffusers and room sprays (I know I skipped on incense, because honestly, they do nothing much other than make your home smell like a temple or church, and leave an ashy mess behind). Candles are chic and elegant, but when blown out, emit an unpleasant sooty burnt smell. Reed diffusers don't have that problem, but they have to be replaced often before they collect too much dust. Essential oil burners face the same candle issue, with the added hassle of having to wash the bowl in between users.
That leaves us with room sprays, which is the least chic but most practical. However, Aesop's new home fragrance spritzer is anything but not chic. First of all, the amber bottle and classic Aesop label immediately classes up any counter it sits on. Secondly, the blend is complex and layered, with citrus-y notes of grapefruit and bergamot mingling with green and spicy notes of galbanum, cedar and cardamom, ending with a hint of incense (sans mess).
The only downside: the smell doesn't linger very long, but it works well for me. I spray it in the bedroom an hour before bedtime, which allows me to unwind and relax, and I fall asleep when it fades – too strong a smell keeps me awake.
Verdict: It works as a pre-bed ritual, and you can pick from three scents: citrus-green Olous, smoky-floral Istros and warm-woody Cythera.
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Friday, September 14, 2007
Beginning anew - fall lessons
We started up Tuesday morning with a lengthy, fun circle out in the yard around a pile of leaves. Of course this involved jumping into the pile of leaves during our rowdier 'falling down' songs, but truly, it was great fun! During our closing song our three voices blended and rose up so beautifully that I almost cried. Afterwards I hugged them tightly, showered them with kisses, and welcomed them into a new year of school-- into 3rd grade and Kindergarten.*
Sunburst was feeling a bit unsure of what 3rd grade held for her. "Are we still going to do stories?" She asked, longingly.
So it was then I knew we had to jump right in. I started simply, as I drew her (and Moonshine) along into the overarching story for the year. Again, we're back to our school story, The Adventures of Clara, the wise man's daughter. She's off to stay with her Cherokee grandmother and make friends with the neighboring Jewish family. While she's gone, a good friend and her family will take up residence in Clara's home...
I told this part of the story over a picnic lunch at the park, and when we arrived back at our own home, we entered the house with 'new' eyes. If a family was coming to stay in our house, what would they see? What should we clean up?
Barbara Dewey suggested at her conference last month that we get our houses in order before we begin our homeschool year. It's a great idea, but I haven't been able to make much headway with all the things going on. So that's what we did, we cleaned up. Together. And it was fun because it was part of the story.
When we felt satisfied, we went to the table and drafted a letter to the friend who was coming to stay in Clara's house. Sunburst offered up her ideas (play with my toys, feed my cat) and I wrote them up into a proper letter on the chalkboard for her to copy down into her new main lesson book. Moonshine wanted to do something too, so she drew a picture for Clara to leave with her letter.
Then Clara traveled along to her grandmother's house, arriving after sunset on Rosh Hashana. Her first day of the new adventure -- the start of the Jewish New Year.
Seeing that time correlation in the story made me take a deep breath in. I was so worried that I wouldn't be able to make this year work-- to mesh together all the themes and make it exciting and wondrous. Really, it was stressing me out! So I went to sleep and asked for some guidance. I woke up with no answers, but then this story just fell out of my mouth and seemed to click. New beginnings, a perfect theme for the Waldorf 3rd grade year. Creation stories, Old Testament stories (like Noah), farming (planting the seeds), shelters... it's all about beginning anew.
And thus we began. Welcome to our year!
*The grades placement actually means a lot to them. I never figured it would as homeschoolers, but now that they have a street full of public school children to play with, they are paying much more attention to what grade they are in as sort of a rite of passage. It helps them know they are striving along, climbing that ladder to maturity.
6 comments:
Sounds like a great first day! I love your theme for third grade--planting seeds, beginning anew. That really hits the third grader. We went with self-sufficiency (planting our own food, learning to build a shelter, kntting one garment, etc.) and focused more on the struggles of the wandering tribes to survive. Interesting how the same material offers different inspiration to different people!ReplyDelete
What a good idea. It helps so much when the kids think things are fun and get on board.ReplyDelete
I recently found your blog--my daughter began 3rd grade at our Waldorf school this year. I love all the themes and activities for 3rd grade.ReplyDelete
It's magical how just the right story can come forth--I blogged a bit about it earlier today. Just had to comment as there were so many parallels in your post!
I have to tell you how much I love your approach. I wish so much I had your talent for telling stories, as I can't think of a lovelier way to do school. Your children are very lucky. Is there any hope at all that you might one day write out some of your stories for us? Have you ever considered writing a book or a series of lessons? I for one would absolutely snap them up at any price.ReplyDelete