text:
"Fifty Percent Grey" directed by Ruairi Robinson
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Short Film: Fifty Percent Grey
Installation: Hello World
Untitled is an enormous grid of 5,000 orange illuminated rocker switches. The piece was part of the Fünf Räume (five rooms) exhibition at the Austrian Cultural Forum in New York City. The illuminated message is a nod to computer programming, an attempt to create a link to a foundation of modern technology that now seems out-dated. All I can think, though is that this would seriously be a rocking alternative to the sad little grease board I have hanging on my wall at home.
Labels: computers, electronic art, installation
Photography: Rail Transit Exposures
Tokyo-based photographer Appuru Pai has been capturing these fantastic long exposure photos of the Yurikamome transit line that travels between the Japanese cities of Shimbashi and Toyosu. Make sure you check out the rest of her photography as well, like this, this, and this.
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 10:30 AM 0 comments
Labels: photography
Merchandise: Lord of the Rings Minifigs
The Fellowship of the Ring assembled for a group shot in a display showcased during the UK Toy Fair last week, but now Lego has officially unveiled the tiny plastic threats they'll face in new images promoting its upcoming The Lord of the Rings sets. That's right, tiny Uruk-hai, Ringwraiths, orcs and an extra creepy lil' Gollum. Pardon the obvious reference, but this stuff is preciousssssssss.
Labels: legos, lord of the rings, toys
Cards: LOTR Valentines
"Lord of the Rings Valentines" by Peregrint
Labels: cards, holiday, humor, lord of the rings, valentines
Cards: Avengers Valentines
Labels: cards, comics, holiday, humor, valentines
Monday, January 30, 2012
Posters: Jurassic Park
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 12:30 PM 0 comments
Short Film: Fantastic Flying Books
Inspired, in equal measures, by Hurricane Katrina, Buster Keaton, The Wizard of Oz, and a love for books, "Morris Lessmore" is a story of people who devote their lives to books and books who return the favor. Morris Lessmore is a poignant, humorous allegory about the curative powers of story. Using a variety of techniques (miniatures, computer animation, 2D animation) award winning author/ illustrator William Joyce and Co-director Brandon Oldenburg present a new narrative experience that harkens back to silent films and M-G-M Technicolor musicals. "Morris Lessmore" is old fashioned and cutting edge at the same time.
"The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore" is one of five animated short films that will be considered for outstanding film achievements of 2011 in the 84th Academy Awards.
Fresh Take: Space Invaders
Fun fact: Tom modeled this using his feet. He broke his left wrist halfway through the creation process, so instead of pressing CTRL, SHIFT and ALT on the keyboard to navigate in ZBrush, he used foot pedals instead.
Labels: fresh take, space invaders
Link Round-Up: January 30, 2012
Photographed by Anders Sune Berg
LEGO's developmental department known as LEGO PMD have a new space to inspire their creative juices. The Rosan Bosch & Rune Fjord masterminded space is very much in line with the brand's disposition as one of the world's premiere toy companies with several opportunities for adults to reminisce in their childhood. A wide-open work space covers different points of interest whether it be a large metallic slide and massive display cabinets, to a peaceful bonsai garden and parts bin where children and adults alike can feel comfortable creating.
Interview: Meet the artist who takes being 'immersed in his work' to an entirely new level. Levi Van Veluw fuses sculpture, photography and installation art to stunning effect as he camouflages himself to fit into a series of carefully constructed backgrounds.
Dennis Maitland takes urban photography to new heights by taking pictures of himself leaning down the side of rooftops in this daring new series that takes #fromwhereistand to the next level….
USS Enterprise Coffee Table is furniture's final frontier
I hope that if my kid becomes a Lego freak he'll make stuff like the Citadel from Mass Effect. The rest of the photostream has more really cool Lego creations, so browse away.
Robot Media is offering a utility for creating interactive children's books for tablets.
Labels: architecture, legos, round-up
Installation: Cloud Cities
On exhibit at the Hamburger Bahnhof in Berlin through February 19, 2012
Argentine artist Tomás Saraceno currently has his largest solo presentation to date installed at Berlin's Hamburger Bahnhof. The incredible exhibition consist of twenty balloon structures suspended by complex webs that stretch across the massive space that used to be a train station. Each balloon houses its own ecosystem that all together, create a utopian garden. His installation invites visitors to move amongst them, with some making it possible to climb inside and float in space.
"Tomás Saraceno's installations shatter traditional concepts relating to place, time, gravity and traditional ideas as to what constitutes architecture. His works are utopian and invite the viewer to play a part in their impact on a particular space, as they reach up to the sky and down to the ground. The artist creates gardens that hang in the air and allow visitors to float in space, fulfilling a dream shared by all humankind. Saraceno draws inspiration from soap bubbles and the incredible strength and flexibility of spider webs."
Labels: installation
Video: PROTEIGON
Labels: papercraft, stop motion, video
Crafts: BioShock Crochet
Big Daddy & Little Sister BioShock Crochet by Nerdigurumi
This amazingly well done crochet is sadly not for sale. But maybe if you throw enough money at this talented BioShock fan they'll make you one.
Labels: bioshock, crafts, video games
Video: Upside Down, Left to Right
A fascinating short documentary about letterpress printing. The film focuses on the Plymouth University letterpress, one of the few remaining movable type print workshops in the UK.
Labels: video
Friday, January 27, 2012
Short Film: 85.12.30
Time travel may not be as cool as you think.
Labels: humor, short film, video
Video: Still Life
Still Life is an interactive picture that can be tilted by the viewer, causing the objects in the picture to be tossed about the frame. Garner created the effect with a framed TV, swivel mount, spatial sensor, and 3D software.
Source: MAKE
Labels: electronic art, video
Link Round-Up: January 27, 2012
Source: Facebook
Casio has some weird science magic that can make 3D sculptures out of 2D pictures. I'm hoping it also plays music when you hit the "demo" button.
Fox News (or some branch thereof) has gone after DC Comics' reboot for being too smutty. That's arguable, but the article also points out that Fox still holds several Marvel movie properties.
My next big dream project is somehow getting Lovecraft-inspired carpets in our house without my wife noticing.
Reddit's r/EarthPorn is the largest of the SFW Porn Network, dedicated to hi-res photos.
SOPA-compliant B*tman fan-art by Dean Trippe.
Star Wars Lego minifigs are invading London, the Doctor remains unavailable to help due to the trademark lawyers being unable to stop having seizures.
Want to take photos that are two stories high? Get a 35 foot long camera.
When stuffed animals are no longer adoptable, rest assured that their skins are being recycled as art.
Labels: round-up
Fresh Take: Snowman Cross-Section
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 10:07 AM 0 comments
Labels: fresh take, humor
Photography: Twin Cities Brightest
Labels: light painting, photography
Cards: Skyrim Valentines
Skyrim Valentine's Day Cards by Jemma Salume
Jemma's special VDay cards are perfect for the wandering Redguard or feral Khajiit you're been questing after. The Thieve's Guild stole all my belongings, Valentine, but you stole my heart.
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 9:45 AM 1 comments
Labels: cards, skyrim, valentines, video games
Video: I Built a Tardis
Watch a cute girl build a life-size replica of Doctor Who's TARDIS. I'm pretty sure her TARDIS isn't bigger on the inside. It is however a pretty accurate recreation of the exterior, right down to the lights.
Labels: crafts, doctor who, video
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Short Film: Dot and the Line
The dot and the line is a romance in lower mathematics starring a dot and a line. It won the 1965 Academy Award for Animated Short Film.
Labels: animation, short film, video
Merchandise: Never Sleep Alone
Never Sleep Alone Zombie Bedset by Melissa Christie
Maybe you could convince the zombie hordes that you've already been eated and debrained with the Never Sleep Alone bedset. The entire set costs nearly two hundred dollars, but you can get the pillows for just US$35.
Labels: horror, humor, merchandise, zombies
Video: Primer on 3D Printing
Primer on 3D printing from Lisa Harouni
2012 may be the year of 3D printing, when this three-decade-old technology finally becomes accessible and even commonplace. Lisa Harouni gives a useful introduction to this fascinating way of making things -- including intricate objects once impossible to create.
Labels: 3d printing, lecture, video
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Link Round-Up: January 25, 2012
Bespoken Art creates personalized canvas art from your voice's sound waves, transforming your words, wedding vows, favorite quote, or even song into a 100% customized piece of art. Guaranteed to a be a great "conversation piece."
Bioanimation companies like XVIVO, Hybrid Medical (Previously), Random42, Biolucid, Argosy Medical, and BioDigital have been doing beautiful work for hire, freely available to watch.
Today's Astronomy Picture Of The Day is astonishing.
The Turtle and the Shark is one of Samoa's most cherished stories, and it has been animated beautifully by Ryan Woodward in the style of siapo, or Samoan tapa barkcloth.
Labels: merchandise, round-up
Short Film: MutantLand
MutantLand directed by Phil Tippett of Tippett Studio
As the sun goes down in the dark and terrifying place that is Mutant Land, the creatures roaming this world are on the ultimate search for food.
Quick Pic: Tesla
Buy prints at Imagekind.
Labels: quick pic
Merchandise: Video Game Laptop Decals
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 10:30 AM 1 comments
Labels: merchandise, portal, stickers, video games
Sculpture: Sleeping Robot
"Goldie 1971" by Joe McCreary
This is a new installation on the University of Alabama campus, it was just unveiled today and I took this straight after the ceremony. [...] it's pretty awesome.
Installation: One-Minute Paris
One-Minute Paris: The exhibition 'In_Perceptions' will be on display at the In_Perceptions exhibit at 104 Le Centquatre in Paris, France until March 2012. Centquatrein Paris consists of five mind-bending monumental installations by artists Leandro Erlich, Ann Veronica Janssens, and Lawrence Malstaf that are designed to play with our perceptions
Bâtiment (pictured above) is an interactive mirrored art installation from Buenos Aires-based artist Leandro Erlich that gives visitors the illusion that they are climbing or hanging off a building. Paris Update filmed a short clip of visitors using the installation. Warning: may induce vertigo.
Labels: installation, optical illusion, video
Posters: Hyrulean Travel
Tumblr artist Dean Walton created an excellent set of limited edition retro prints inspired by his all-time favorite places in Hyrule. These Legend of Zelda travel posters are now available in various sizes at GamerPrint!
Labels: legend of zelda, posters, video games
Video: Bioanimation
Bioanimation companies like XVIVO, Hybrid Medical, Random42, Biolucid, Argosy Medical, and BioDigital have been doing beautiful work for hire, freely available to watch.
Labels: computer graphics, science, video
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Papercraft: Origami Masks
Paper artist Joel Cooper folds these astounding masks and tessellations from single pieces of paper. Given the right conditions I might be expected to fold a piece of paper in half, and on a good day even into fourths, but I simply can't fathom the patience and understanding required to transform paper into three-dimensional objects like this. You can see more of his work on Flickr and even buy some of the pieces on Etsy.
Labels: masks, origami, papercraft
Short Film: No Robots
No Robots directed by YungHan Chang and Kimberly Knoll
This poetic short animation, No Robots, is a student project from San Jose State University students. In the vignette, an anti-robot shopkeeper must deal with an unexpected clanking visitor.
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 12:00 PM 1 comments
Labels: animation, robots, short film, video
Fresh Take: Bioshock Infinite
Alex Garner channels JC Leyendecker in this Bioshock Infinite illustration.
Labels: bioshock, fresh take, video games
Painting: Future of the College Classroom
"University of Ohio: The hi-tech future of the college classroom"
From The Heads of State
Labels: paintings, technology
Illustration: The Universe Is in Us
NASA Remix Project, Challenge #20 - JOURNEY TO THE GALAXIES.
Galaxy By NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team via Wikimedia Commons
Labels: astronomy, Illustration, photoshop
Link Round-Up: January 24, 2012
In 2009, Roxana Altamirano made her first post to Nerd Boyfriend (previously), a style blog that finds clothing similar to those worn by iconic male figures. Now, almost three years later, there is a Nerd Girlfriend.
Bespoken Art creates personalized canvas art from your voice's sound waves, transforming your words, wedding vows, favorite quote, or even song into a 100% customized piece of art.
BoingBoing points that way to Zombie Family Car Stickers
Salute the sinister with incredible early concept art for Batman: Arkham City
Spray Down is blog specializing in the Graffiti Art of Chicago. Much of it is of a geeky variety.
This might be the most amazing 404 error page ever.
Labels: round-up
Monday, January 23, 2012
Installation: Volume
Volume is a sculpture of light and sound, an array of light columns positioned dramatically in the centre of the garden.
Volume responds spectacularly to human movement, creating a series of audio-visual experiences. Step inside and see your actions at play with the energy fields throughout the space, triggering a brilliant display of light and sound.
Labels: electronic art, installation, lights, music
Short Film: Archetype
Archetype directed by Aaron Sims
RL7 is an eight-foot tall combat robot that goes on the run after malfunctioning with vivid memories of once being human. As its creators and the military close in, RL7 battles its way to uncovering the shocking truth behind its mysterious visions and past. Think Robocop meets Japanese anime.
Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! This has been a labor of love on a budget of $0 and it makes it all worth while when we see other poeple responding to it. Thank you! - Aaron Sims
Labels: robots, science fiction, short film, video
Artist: Dustin Harbin
Cartoonist Dustin Harbin has an on-going offer to take commissions for sketches of just about any subject drawn in an hour for thirty dollars. You can see a wide-range of his work on his Flickr gallery. He uses black ink and a 7" x 8.5" piece of Strathmore 500 bristol.
Installation: Vapor Slide
Vapor Slide by Korean artist Soo Sunny Park
This installation was exhibited in South Strafford, Vermont in 2007. It was constructed of found/recycled materials, including brazed chain link fence, plastic cups, paper clips, river rocks, cotton strings, iron oxide, latex paint, and artificial light. It's rather expansive dimensions are 9'10" x 23' x 42'.
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 10:30 AM 0 comments
Labels: conservation, installation, junk
Painting: Mario
This is without question the hardest and largest thing I have ever painted. It is Mario made of 256 3inch by 3 inch paintings, each unique in its own way. Each of the 256 squares will be posted on FB (the artist CU) sooner or later. I am very proud of this piece, thank you for looking at it. Acrylic. 4 foot by 4 foot
Labels: 8-bit, mario, paintings, video games
Project: Starturn
I love all the work that Bruce Monro does, especially his Field Of Light installations. StarTurn is an altogether different proposition, though. Monro created this beautiful contraption for people to bike inside in order to raise money for for Help the Heroes.
Labels: charity, installation, lights, project, video
Video: Moonshine
Moonshine: Artists after Dark directed by Alexis Wanneroy
DreamWorks' first personal art publication, Moonshine, was conceived as an opportunity to highlight the breath of artistic development talent at Dreamworks. This short documentary gives you a sneak peek into the personal works from the artists.
Labels: books, Illustration, video
Painting: Elite Cavarly
Another illustration of my steampunk project. I hope you like it!
Labels: paintings, science fiction
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Quick Pic: Duct Tape Bowser
"Look what a buddy of mine and I made out of different colored duct tape!"
Source: Imgur
Labels: 8-bit, mario, quick pic, video games
Lego Creations: Dalek Time-Lapse
Using 328 hours and 157,460 separate Character Building Bricks, four people built a two meter tall Dalek that will be unveiled at this year's Toy Fair to celebrate the Character Building Doctor Who range of micro figures and construction playsets that were first unveiled this time last year.
Labels: doctor who, legos, video
Humor: Dating An Artist
The Pros and Cons of Dating An Artist by Bill Dixon
Pro: Never Want For A Pen Ever Again-It's like they come with a kit! Every artist is permanently equipped with writing instruments at all times.
Con: Unforgivably Vicious Emotional Damage -Artists are unforgiving bastards and will viciously tear your heart out. Breakups usually include personal possessions being hurled into the street, personal possessions being set on fire in the street, and personal possessions being defecated on, on fire, in the street. Also, Lets not forget the public displays of "fuck you" in the form of song, beat poem, blog post, etc. depending on the artist's medium.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Sweets: Dalek Cookies
Custom design (with help from my boyfriend after my original design completely failed), adapted from Bakerella's Cake Balls. These were made for a Doctor Who Series 6 kick-off party.
Devil's food cake balls with candy-coating, chocolate-covered pretzel sticks, eyeball decorations (purchased at a local bulk store), slivered almonds, and oreo cookies.
Labels: doctor who, sweets
Artist: Andrei Pervukhin
Russian Andrei Pervukhin is a contributor to Digital Painting Techniques, Vol. 3. While you can see more of his work on Deviant Art, this series in which Pervukhin re-envisions The Hobbit is among the best of his work.
Labels: artist, fantasy, lord of the rings, paintings
Painting: St. Kryptonia
Prints available at Society6 for US$14
Acrylic on canvas, 2012.
Based on Guido Reni's "St. Veronica"
Illustration: Future Face
"Future Face" by Billy Nuñez
Labels: Illustration, robots
Link Round-Up: January 20, 2012
Solar Radiation Gel Pills by Vaulot & Dyèvre
"Moodiness, flaccid skin, looking dull, tendency to depression! You are obviously in lack of sunshine. Our range of supplements Kelvin Lumen restores the vitality you need. Sunset Laboratories offers a wide range of solar radiation, Borabora, the Maldives, Haiti and the Bahamas, ask your pharmacist. Read the instructions carefully. Do not exceed the recommended daily dose. This additional Solar should not totally replace natural exposure. Avoid abusive use."
Download 400+ Pages of Original AKIRA Storyboards
Firefly designs on merchandise. Stumbled across this Firefly inspired design by Nana Leonti. Available on a T-shirt, hoodie, iphone case, art print, and more. There is also a "Keep flying and stay shiny" design by Perdita on the same site here.
Dr. Horrible kawaii fan-art. Boulet, a french cartoonist, did several kawaii fan-arts about show he likes, including a Firefly one in october. Now it's Dr. Horrible's turn.
Possibly inspired by Al Gore, Apple announces a new iTunes U app, textbooks for iBooks 2.0, and iBooks Author, so you can create your own interactive books.
A one-of-a-kind, 35-foot-long camera that exposes 6-foot-tall negatives. The detail in a portrait subjects' eyeball alone is a thousand times greater than what you get with the average negative. Resulting portraits will be featured on prints 2 stories tall. Photographer Dennis Manarchy is traveling around the country documenting various cultures.
Shyamalan shares Concept Art From His Post Apocalyptic Will Smith Movie
Turbo Sculpture is an essay by Aleksandra Domanović about sculptures of pop culture heroes, e.g. Bruce Lee, Rocky Balboa and Bob Marley, which have been placed or proposed in the nation-states that once comprised Yugoslavia. You can also watch a photo-illustrated reading of the essay voiced by a dead-pan British man.
Mash-Up: Calvin and Hobbes / Star Wars
"Not the Droids!" by Billy Allison
Prints available at Society6 for US$14.56
Labels: calvin and hobbes, mash-up, star wars
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Sweets: Stormtrooper Cake
Stormtrooper Cake from Boston-based Amanda Oakleaf Cakes
Constructed of white cake, Rice Krispies Treats and fondant, this three hundred pound cake was served at the Arisia science fiction and fantasy convention to a crowd of some six hundred convention goers, who managed to polish it off in just under two hours. It stands 6 feet, 4 inches. Read more about the cake at Wired's Geek Dad blog.
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 6:00 PM 0 comments
Crafts: Space Invader Cheese Board
Space Invader Cheese Board by David Abramson
Made from birch and black walnut, and finished with food-grade mineral oil and beeswax. Available for US$60 at Etsy.
Posted by Pipedreamergrey at 5:30 PM 0 comments
Labels: crafts, space invaders
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
EITHER WE INSPIRE OR WE EXPIRE (2015) by artist Liam Gillick and data journalist Nate Silver considers technological failure and its lack of visibility in a society obsessed with success.
Created as part of Rhizome''s Seven on Seven conference, which convenes leading artists and technologists for high-level collaborations, this web-based project draws on a selection of words handpicked by Gillick and Silver—such as THE .COM FOR MOMS, ASSASSIN VAPORS, DRONE CON, and WRAPIPEDIA—from a database of inactive trademark applications.
Gillick and Silver embarked on the project by taking one of the questions commonly addressed using statistical analysis—How can we reduce risk?—and inverting it, asking instead: How can we guarantee risk? Applying this question to the creative process, Silver observed that our understanding of innovation suffers from "sample bias": we have a distorted perception of the success rate of new ideas because only the successful ones, or the ones that change the game or disrupt an industry, are discussed. Thus, failure in creative production and innovation represents a "dark corner" for statisticians.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
From signature dishes that appear in every home cook's kitchens to upscale reinterpretations infused with African, Taino and Spanish flavors, dine your way through the Dominican Republic. A journey through this outstanding dining scene will lead you to the most treasured parts of this Caribbean nation.
Elevate your culinary journey in the Dominican Republic when you reserve your tropical escape with us. We'll provide you with exclusive amenities to add refined luxury so you can experience all of the flavors of this tropical paradise.


text:
Tag: New York City vegan dining
NYC is a vegan foodie's paradise!
This month, my sugar booger and I ventured off to NYC for our anniversary and not only did we have a delightfully romantic stay but we also had some of the tastiest vegan food on the planet! Here's a quick recap: Place we most frequented...
Read more >>


text:
Man buys bogus land lease on Craigslist
Police in southeast Wisconsin are warning bargain hunters search for deals on Craigslist.
According to officers, a scammer who calls himself "Roger Ronkowski" has sold items like leases to hunting land that aren't his.
WISN 12 News received court documents that show Glendale police are looking into this scam.
Police said a man saw an ad for leasing hunting land up north. He told police that he met the man at Bayshore Mall.
According to court documents, the man presented a contract and collected $1,500 for a year's hunting lease.
The buyer drove all the way to Iron Mountain, Mich., only to learn that the man he did the deal with didn't own it.
Glendale police have subpoenaed records from Craigslist in the hopes of stopping him before he strikes again.


text:
- Boudicca
- Fred. Olsen
- 05 Sep 2019
We thoroughly enjoyed this 5 day cruise from Dover. The food and entertainment were great, we were able to relax, enjoy the sun decks and the company. We were happy to be aboard a smaller ship, a good experience all round. Thank you.


text:
10 Items
10 Items
Konnect™ System Accessories
Nothing is complete without accessories! Don't struggle through your day with clutter and stress. All items included are designed to make your workspace visually pleasing and functional. From rail extenders to tape dispensers, you'll wonder how you were ever productive with the absence of these Konnect™ add-ons.
The core of the Konnect™ line are the cord management rails. Coming in two sizes, 12 or 21.5 inches, these rails are perfect for desktop or permanent wall mounting. They dock any of the compatible Konnect™ items so you can maintain a clear desk, and hide tangled, messy wires. They're sold individually for your convenience. Improving the design of your surface are the rail extenders. They add extra length so this system easily fits any desktop. The corner connectors also offer layout customization, allowing multiple rails to link together.
Also an additional accessory is the sticky note holder. Each comes ready for note-taking with a post-it style notepad on a small angled stand. In the rear of the stand, you'll find handy holes for pen storage. Stop hunting around for a pen when your phone rings and you need to take a quick note. You'll always find it in the pen holder right next to your post-its. The size of this organizer is also perfect for displaying business cards. It's perfect if you work in sales or have an interview coming up and need a few business cards easily accessible.
The tape dispenser will be your new favorite! It's lightweight and features an extended blade so you never lose the end of the roll. We all know how frustrating that is. Great for any work or school space! Keeping you ready and focused, it automatically comes with a single roll of office tape. Use the sticky note holder and tape dispenser alone or dock them both to your Konnect™ cord management rail. Choose from four colors to match the rest of your Konnect™ items, such as the wide storage cup and 3-piece folder tray. Colors include: black, navy blue, white and charcoal gray.


text: This thing would look incredible if it wasn't just a prettier version of the Vestas Sailrocket. The derivative-looking concept drawing is actually Alain Thebault's idea of a 100-knot boat, and if there's anyone obsessive enough to spend the years it could take to refine Paul Larsen's and the SR team's design to a 100-knot craft, it's Thebault. We wish he'd stick to developing his RTW mega-foiler, but sometimes following is a lot easier than leading. Here's the presser.


text:
Our Story
Coffee is about pleasure. It's that moment when your hand is warmed by the mug, you raise it to your nose, inhale deeply and then take a sip.
That sip is the culmination of years of work, three-thousand mile journeys, and passion. Here is how we make that sip perfect.
While you are holding that cup of coffee, close your eyes. Open your mouth slightly. Breathe in deeply through your nose.
You are smelling the most complex thing humans consume. When people talk about the flavors of coffee — notes of orange, or hints of clove — it's because those organic molecules are contained in the coffee bean. If a coffee reminds you of apple pie, it's because coffee shares some of the same components as food, like lactic and malic acid.
Inside that small bean are the same natural components that make flowers smell so lovely, the same ethers that let you know when a piece of fruit is ripe. Coffee has twice as much going on, molecularly speaking, as red wine.
When tasting coffee, try waiting for it to cool down a little — you'll be able to taste (and smell) the most when it's the same temperature as your body.
Flavor only matters in the context of you. What do you like? What does this scent remind you of? Are you looking for a full-bodied cowboy coffee, or a delicate, tea-like finish? Chocolate aromas, or hints of jasmine?
Don't worry if you can't describe it precisely, or have a different perception than someone else. Even when you can't put it into words, you'll know what you like.
You experience the full flavors of the coffee bean if and only if nothing has gone wrong during…
There is one right way to roast coffee.
Someone stands by that roaster, all day, a person who knows exactly how to bring the best out of every bean — that ideal ratio of sweetness to acidity, that balance — because he or she has been doing this for years.
Again and again, they repeat the same motion: pull a tiny sample of the beans. Stare at them, looking for the tiny signs of perfection. Smell them deeply. Put them back. Pull out some more beans. Stare. Smell. Five seconds later, repeat the process in a meditation that last hours. Do that hundreds of times a day. Do that every day for years.
Know every bean on a personal level. Adjust times and temperatures throughout the day, knowing that 15 seconds could make the difference between letting this bean shine and overwhelming it. Know that in the morning, the roaster is cold. Know that in the evening it's hot, and you should probably shave 45 seconds off that roast.
Roast just enough to bring out the best and full potential of what's inherent in each particular coffee already. Roast to draw out things like acidity, floral notes, chocolate, molasses, and earth. All of the coffee's flavor potentials are presented at the first crack – an audible signal that happens at a particular point when roasting coffee. After that, roast just enough to add the right amount of body and sweetness, without degradation.
Roasting different coffees as though they're the same? Not going to work. Roasting for color, not taste? Never this.
Please don't burn those beans. They've been through so much. They've come all the way across the world.
The best coffee grows in the most remote places. There is a thin band that goes around the world near the equator. Within that band, you need mountains, thick old-growth forest and just the right microclimate. Set aside up to four days to get there.
On your way there, you'll pass through Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport, or you'll stand in the endless security line at New York's JFK en route to distant parts of Ethiopia, Colombia, Indonesia and 10 other countries around the world.
You'll also experience 8 vaccines (the malaria pills—which can cause hallucinations and nightmares—are the worst), a passport that fills up with handwritten visas, bumpy eight-hour van rides, granola bars and in at least one case, eating the heart of a bull that has been slaughtered in your honor.
The Green Team members, named for the color of coffee beans before they are roasted, don't do it the easy way, which would be buying bulk, mid-quality beans at a trading floor in a capital city. Instead, they go right to the source of the best coffee — that farm or washing station high atop a distant Ethiopian hill. It ends when they arrive at that distant farm, washing station, factory or mill. They sit down in a home or around a campfire to talk about this year's crop with a producer they have met many times. They get to work.
In Colombia, if you go to four farms you will get four bowls of sancocho, which is this soup with chicken, yucca, plantains, potatoes, corn, avocado. Basically, it's as many calories as you can cram in a bowl."
The Green Team visits every producer as often as possible, sometimes up to three times per year. They constantly roast and taste the coffee, and they form long-term, lasting partnerships with the producers. They'll help them implement a new farming technique that could lead to even better coffee. Or they'll teach a seminar on a new way to process coffee cherry, which is the fruit of the coffee tree surrounding the seed or bean.
They routinely pay producers up to four times what they could get for their crop on the commodity market, but in return, they ask for a lot more work—hand picking each cherry at ideal ripeness, or implementing a new piece of equipment.
The Green Team also identifies potential future producers—maybe this side of the mountain has just the right climate, but the quality level isn't there yet. Stumptown will invest in that farm, or mill, or factory if that producer is willing put forth effort to get the beans to the level the Green Team looks for. It's a partnership, and there is prestige and pride involved. For a producer, selling to Stumptown means something.
Above all, they want to help farms become sustainable and to set up strong businesses that build up their communities and produce the highest-quality coffee possible year after year.
No region we buy from is the same as another, and it's important to approach each as a unique relationship so that we can understand the challenges that person or entity faces – whether it's a single producer, association, mill or exporter. With our purchases, we hope to offer stability so that our partners can focus on quality."
What does Direct Trade mean to Stumptown?
We don't buy in bulk on a trading floor. We buy directly from the people who are making the coffee. It's not a transaction; it's a partnership. If someone is growing the quality of coffee we're interested in, then we will help them in any way we can. That means regular visits (even though that trip can take up to four days), implementing new techniques and equipment, and forming long-term partnerships.
We shoot for sustainability, and not just in the environmental sense. A sustainable coffee producer is someone who is paid fairly for their incredible work and who can in turn encourage others to follow in their footsteps. A sustainable producer innovates, develops and improves cultivation and in turn can fetch even higher prices from Stumptown. The more each side of the partnership puts in, the better the coffee gets.
Producers & Processing
We don't call them farmers, we call them producers, which gives credit to the fact that they are production experts. They are the ones who make this coffee great. They are the ones who are like-minded, who go the extra mile for quality.
Southeast Asia
Latin America
Producers are the heart of what makes great coffee.
Their skills, expertise and craftsmanship is the difference between mediocre coffee and coffee that is like nothing you've ever tasted before. The coffee will never get any better in quality once it lands in our hands, after all. We rely on the producers for that pristine bean. A good roaster works tirelessly to preserve that coffee's inherent greatness.
The producers grow the coffee trees. They pick the cherry when it is perfectly ripe. They remove the outer fruit, leaving just the bean covered in a thin parchment. They rest the beans, let the beans develop into their full selves.
Everyone on this page does something slightly different — he may tend a small patch of coffee trees on the farm he inherited from his grandmother; she may oversee the cherry soaking in a big tank of water, fermenting at just the right rate.
They live on four continents. They speak at least 30 different languages. Some use traditional methods that are centuries old; some have taken out four-year loans to get that new top-of-the-line piece of equipment that will lead to a greater, cleaner cup.
It's not the easy way. It's not the fast way. It's the right way, and it creates the best coffee possible.
Coffee is a tree, and you probably prefer one branch to another, even if you don't know it yet.
There isn't one kind of coffee, there's a coffee family tree. For hundreds of years, humans have been cultivating, hybridizing and perfecting it, and today there are hundreds of types, or varieties.
The variety of coffee tree matters—or at least, it usually does. Just as different types of grapes yield different wines, the variety of the bean can have a profound impact on the finished cup.
There are hundreds of varieties, and we've chosen roughly a dozen that we find truly special. But here are the first ones you should know.
So sweet, so complex and so delicate, this is the pinot noir of coffee. The plants are fragile and don't produce as much cherry as some other varieties, but they're worth the effort. A cup of Bourbon-type variety is lush and classic. It's the coffee of coffee. It charms the snob and the rookie alike. And no, it has nothing to do with the delicious brown adult beverage, though we at Stumptown are big fans of that kind of bourbon, too.
Related: SL28, Tekisik, SL34, Villa Sarchi, Caturra, Colombia, Castillo, Catimor, Maracatu, Catuai
This is an offshoot of the Typica family, which is delicate, floral, at times even citrusy. This variety was brought to Indonesia in the late 1600s by Dutch traders. We love it for its nuances and high, fine acidity. Villalobos in particular brings strong flavors of stone fruits like apricots, peaches and plums.
Ethiopian Heirloom
The beauty of these is in their mystery. They are the wildflower varieties, descended from the natural coffee forests of southwestern Ethiopia. Each village has its own variety, handed down over centuries and shaped by the soil, elevation and weather.
Related: All of them, really but these in particular: Typica, Gesha
Think of Gesha as coffee from an alternate dimension. It's like a Szechuan peppercorn, or the Sun Ra Arkestra, complex and otherworldly. It's as far as it could be from diner coffee, a delicate, black-tea body, with a zest of bergamot. Gesha is picky—it will only grow when, where and how it wants, in tiny microclimates. But whether you grow it in Indonesia or the Americas, it is always thoroughly itself.
Related: Nothing. It's in its own orbit.
Which, finally, brings us to the very beginnings of coffee…
Ten thousand years ago, the Coffea trees grew wild and tangly on the mountain slopes of southwestern Ethiopia.
There, you can still find people performing traditional coffee ceremonies many times a day—one woman will prepare it for the circle of her friends and family who stand around her. She roasts it in a pan, grinds it, pours hot water over it, serves it in the predetermined social order.
The Dutch traders, enamored of this tradition, brought cuttings of the plants to Indonesia. French missionaries, who also saw the beauty in this hot, euphoric brew, spread it throughout Africa and across the sea to the Americas.
Today, coffee trees are cultivated in every hemisphere on four continents. In 70 countries, you will find those shrubs and their cherry. You'll also find the farmers who tend them, the pickers who select them, the processors who obsessively convert fruit to bean. You'll find the roasters who delicately transform them, and you'll find the coffee drinkers.
You'll find the earliest riser in the backpacking crew that stokes the fire and sets the water on to boil. You'll find the barista who pulls the first shot of the morning for the go-getter. You'll find the group of 70-year-old men in the diner at 6 a.m., spending hours discussing the issues of the day over their bottomless cups.
Drinking coffee is a pleasure. Coffee drinking is fun, and it feels good, and every once in awhile I remember that we're actually cultivating pleasure. Why do you put anything in your mouth? Because it's delicious."
Everything that came before—the shrubs, the farmer, the journey across the sea, the hybrids and the mutations—is for this moment. Because the only thing required for the smallest, quietest and most personal of coffee ceremonies are some good beans and a way to brew.
You'll hold that mug possessively. You'll inhale deeply. And then you drink.


text:
SONOMA — Bow hunters are being asked to take aim to help control the deer population in a 5,000-acre wildlife preserve near Lake Sonoma in Northern California.
The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports (http://bit.ly/15prxPb ) the Army Corps of Engineers and the nonprofit Friends of Lake Sonoma have launched a program that allows a handful of hunters to target deer in the forests on the northeastern side of the lake.
Hunters are restricted to bows, and they have to be escorted in and out.
The state Department of Fish and Wildlife says hunters can take a total of six bucks from the preserve this season.
A $500 fee is charged for the privilege of hunting in the rugged land.
The fee will be donated to the Friends of Lake Sonoma.
Information from: The Santa Rosa Press Democrat, http://www.pressdemocrat.com


text:
"What's that?" Derek asked as he knelt down beside our dog Oreo, who was rolling around on the living room carpet.
Registering the alarm in Derek's voice, I quickly rose from the couch and rushed over to where he was now holding Oreo's back legs.
"What is that?" I echoed, as I looked closely at the ugly red sore on Oreo's stomach.
Instantly I felt a stab of guilt. How had I not noticed that earlier?
Oreo began to wiggle, and Derek let him go.
On a Sunday night, with the veterinary office closed, there wasn't much we could do except worry and do some research. Derek called his mother and brother, both longtime dog owners, while I researched canine skin diseases on the internet.
The sore was round, quarter-sized and puffed up. Gross, I know. But more-so, it was alarming.
"Ringworm?" Derek offered.
I looked it up. Yes, perhaps it was ringworm, a fungal infection that invades the hair follicles of dogs and causes red circles on the skin.
Derek ended the call with his mother, and so I read aloud from petMD: "Ringworm is transmitted by spores in the soil and by contact with the infected hair of dogs and cats, typically found on carpets, brushes, combs, toys and furniture. Humans can acquire ringworm from pets and vice versa."
Derek quickly walked out of the room with an uncomfortable look on his face. I heard the faucet running in the kitchen. He was washing his hands.
All of the sudden, it seemed a wise decision for us to both run out of the house. But we couldn't abandon poor Oreo. No, we'd stick it out. But out of morbid curiosity, I googled photos of people with ringworm. Bad idea. My skin began to itch.
"Ringworm by itself is not an itchy condition," I read.
My skin stopped itching.
I paused in reading the rather terrifying article on ringworm to take a deep breath and look at the facts.
A few things didn't quite fit. Ringworm typically appears on the face, ears, paws and tail, according to petMD, and Oreo only had one sore on his stomach. Plus, none of the photos I saw of ringworm showed it being puffed up like Oreo's sore.
OK. So maybe it wasn't ringworm.
"What did your brother say?" I asked as Derek hung up from his second phone call.
"That he hopes it's not mange," Derek replied in his typical matter-of-fact tone.
"That doesn't sound good," I said as I typed "mange" into the search engine.
It wasn't good. Mange is an inflammatory disease in dogs caused by mites inhabiting hair follicles and skin. It leads to lesions, genetic disorders, problems with the immune system and hair loss. But in looking at the photos, mange looked nothing like Oreo's sore.
We were getting nowhere. Diagnosing Oreo would have to wait for the veterinary clinic — in the morning.
Have you ever gotten sick in the evening, after your family doctor's office is closed, and you know it's not serious enough for a costly visit to the emergency room? Then you know the feeling of having to "make it through the night." It's not a good feeling. And I think it's even worse when it's your dog.
We could only think of one thing to do: give him Benadryl, one of the over-the-counter human medications that are OK for dogs. Benadryl would help Oreo sleep, and if the sore was some sort of allergic reaction, it would help him with that, too.
We looked up the correct dosage, double checked it, triple checked it, then gave Oreo two pills before going to bed.
I was on the phone as soon as the veterinary clinic opened at 8 a.m., and luckily, they could squeeze Oreo in at 8:40 a.m., leaving me just enough time to pack a bag of treats — something with which to distract Oreo in the event of a barking fit.
The appointment was short and, well, a bit loud. Oreo did have a barking fit, which began when I didn't allow him to "play" with a tiny puppy in the waiting room. But anyway, the important news: the dog doctor took one look at the sore and said that it was a common infection. He could see a small puncture wound at the center of the sore.
"A puncture wound?"
I thought back over the last few days. Oreo plays outside in the yard for hours each day.
"Come to think of it, there was one time a few days ago that we heard him yelp while he was running around the yard," I said (or something along those lines). "We thought we saw him step on a stick. Or maybe … "
"It could have been caused any number of ways," the dog doctor said.
He was right — and he probably didn't have time to listen to me turn my dog's injury into a game of Clue, canine edition. (Who? Oreo. Where? Under the lilac bush. With what weapon? An especially sharp stick.)
"It's not ringworm?" I blurted out, thus confirming my role as overbearing mother hen.
No, it wasn't ringworm, he assured me.
Oreo and I left the clinic with a bottle of antibiotics and instructions to stop by a pharmacy for a triple-antibiotic cream.
A sigh of relief. The sore was not the ugly tip of an even uglier iceberg. No skin disease. No internal malady. Just an infection, one that I tended with care and is now healing right up.
If you have a story or advice to offer about injuries that dogs can sustain in the outdoors, send an email to email@example.com. Or simply leave your story or advice in the comment section at the bottom of this page!


text:
Since its introduction of the iPad nearly two and a half years ago, Apple has held onto the lion's share of the tablet market. In particular, Apple has managed to hold off all competitors that dared to mimic the 9.7-inch, or 10.1-inch, platform made famous by the iPad. As of Oct. 23, Apple claims to have sold more than 100 million units from its iPad family, with more than 62.5 percent of the total tablets shipped in 2012 (according to IDC).
However, the new threat to Apple's dominance in the tablet space may not come from 9.7-inch and higher models. Surprisingly, Apple faces its largest competition in the tablet space from a form factor that, previously, Apple had not offered -- the 7-inch model (namely, the Amazon Kindle Fire, Kindle Fire HD, and the Google Nexus 7).
With the 7-inch market growing at an exponential rate, it was only a matter of time before Apple would address this product segment. Despite Steve Jobs' protestations that 7-inch tablets were "too big to compete with a smartphone; too small to compete with an iPad," on Oct. 23, Apple CEO Tim Cook introduced Apple's latest device, the iPad Mini.
Featuring a 7.9-inch LCD display with 163 pixels-per-square-inch, the iPad Mini also boasts the use of the same A5 dual-core processor found within the iPad 2, WiFi accessibility, and the availability of an LTE-enabled model.
In terms of its design, the Apple iPad Mini takes advantage of Apple's previous design methodologies to create a product that Apple feels will address the growing consumer demand for 7-inch tablets. The Apple pessimist will point to the iPad Mini as half an iPad 2. But the Apple optimist will call the Mini a supersized iPod Touch. Consumers will decide if the $329 price tag is worth it.
Click on the photo below to check out the guts of Apple's iPad Mini, and then tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Allan Yogasingam is a technical research manager at UBM TechInsights, owned by the same company that publishes Design News and EE Times, UBM plc.
Related posts:
- Teardown: Inside Apple's iPhone 5
- Slideshow: Kindle Fire HD Teardown
- Slideshow: Samsung Galaxy S3 Teardown
- Apple iPad 3 Teardown
- Slideshow: Amazon Kindle Fire Tablet Mini-Teardown
- Slideshow: Garmin GPS Teardown
- Slideshow: Apple iPhone 4S Teardown
- Slideshow: Apple iPad 2 Teardown
- Slideshow: BlackBerry PlayBook Tablet Teardown
- Slideshow: HP TouchPad Tablet Teardown
This story was originally posted by EE Times.


text:
Above: A promotional poster for the Treviso Comic Book Festival 2012 by Dylan Horrocks.
New Zealand cartoonists are taking our comics abroad in the next few months, starting with an exhibition in Italy at the prestigious Treviso Comic Book Festival. Taking place from the 22-30th of September, the festival will feature an exclusive pavilion dedicated to New Zealand comics, and an exhibition Aotearoa: Clouds from New Zealand, featuring artwork by: Dylan Horrocks, Ant Sang, Chris Slane, Colin Wilson, Roger Langridge, Rufus Dayglo, Greg Broadmore, Toby Morris, Barry Linton, Ben Stenbeck and Becky Dreistadt. Many of the artists will also be attending the exhibition in person, signing books, discussing their work, and generally representing comics from the land of the long white cloud.
Above: A poster created to promote the Aotearoa: Clouds from New Zealand exhibition by Dylan Horrocks, featuring a classic Crash O'Kane comic book by Eric Resetar.
If you happen to be in Europe and want to check this out, the NZ exhibition takes place at the Benetton Foundation pavilion, from the 27th of September-14th of October, with a opening event on Saturday 29th of September at 12am. And if you're in Paris in early October, look for a comic signing featuring Colin Wilson and Ben Stenbeck...(details to come).
Above: Triumph, the latest book from Greg Broardmore, one of the many NZ authors appearing at the Frankfurt Book Fair. Copyright Greg Broadmore 2012.
Once the exhibition in Italy is done, a contingent of our cartoonists will be heading over to Germany to appear at the Frankfurt Book Fair, as part of the New Zealand Guest of Honour showcase.
Taking place from the 10-14th of October, New Zealand is spotlighting a wide variety of NZ arts and cultural events at the fair, from author talks to film screenings. Included in the list of attending local authors are: Greg Broadmore with his latest Dr. Grobort volume Triumph, Dylan Horrocks promoting the new German edition of Hicksville, Roger Langridge with his first volume of Snarked! soon for release, and Colin Wilson, whose graphic novel Bullet In The Head has been adapted into a major movie due out next year.
To accompany these events, Dylan Horrocks has produced a new 100 page booklet promoting New Zealand Comics and cartoonists. If you'd like a copy of this for yourself, you can potentially look for it at the New Zealand Comics stand at this October's Auckland Armageddon Expo. I'll also have some special announcements for this year's convention; so if your a fan of NZ comics and this blog in particular, hold on to your hats! Because once we've taken New Zealand Comics to the world, we're going to be bringing them back home...in a BIG way.


text:
Take-out pizza. When is the last time you had take-out pizza that was gluten-free? I can tell you when I last had it. Never. Well, not until tonight, that is. Sure, Donato's Pizza makes a "No Dough" pizza, but it is not the same. There is no "crust". The "No Dough" is either a soy crisp with sauce, cheese & toppings or sauce, cheese & toppings on a plate. Not my idea of take-out pizza.
Enter: Boston's, The Gourmet Pizza. Boston's has locations throughout the United States, with 2 locations in Ohio. One of the Ohio locations happens to be right next door to my husband's office, so I asked nicely if he could bring home some take-out for us. 🙂 Of course, he did! Jon ordered the pepperoni & cheese pizza, I ordered the Florentine pizza. My pizza was topped with Boston's special pizza sauce, fresh spinach and basil, mozzarella cheese, artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, roasted garlic and freshly grated parmesan cheese. The pizza were a little under 10 inches (the gluten-free pizza only comes in a size small). There are many choices for toppings on the menu.
Jon's – Pepperoni & Cheese
More Pepperoni & Cheese
My Florentine Pizza
More Florentine Pizza
So, the part you have all been waiting for. How was it? In a word…..phenomenal! WOW!! Seriously, I am super impressed. The toppings were plentiful & flavorful. The crust was thin and crisp and held the weight of the toppings! Jon ate his entire pizza by himself!! I ate half and had a large salad on the side. I wanted to save some for lunch tomorrow! 🙂 I would definitely recommend Boston's to anyone, gluten-free or not. They have additional menu items for those who are not gluten-free, including pastas & grill items.
***Editing to add some pricing information. The cost of 2 small, gluten-free pizzas from Boston's was $26.00. Aaron was a little shocked by the price. I found it to be in line with the price of Uno Chicago Grill's GF Pizza and the Take-N-Bake Pizza from Holiday Baking Company.
Now, for some fun stuff:
New article up on The Examiner.
Check out Megan's Chobani giveaway.
Filed under: Family, Gluten-Free, Gluten-free Eateries, Gluten-free Products | 20 Comments »


text:
AAC M5: 12.17.13 EditionPosted by Mike Lemaire on December 17th, 2013
- Tonight is a big one for the AAC as two of the name-brand programs that will actually still be in the conference next season are playing in New York as part of the Jimmy V Classic. There are few stages at this point in the season that are bigger than the Jimmy V Classic and to represent half of this year's field is a big deal. Both games are big tests for Memphis and Cincinnati but there is one team with a lot more at stake at Madison Square Garden — Mick Cronin's Bearcats. Cincinnati hasn't beaten anybody worth talking about and they were mildly embarrassed in the Crosstown Classic by Xavier over the weekend. We have harped on the Bearcats' offensive struggles, but perhaps surprisingly, the team's biggest issue is an apparent lack of toughness. I am still putting the finishing touches on my white paper Advanced Methods of Quantifying Toughness, so it's easier to just say they weren't great on either end of the floor against the Musketeers. Still, toughness is ostensibly supposed to be one of the Bearcats' hallmark competencies and they didn't do a great job on the glass or defending the three-point line, so it would probably help if they toughened up in those areas.
- As a college basketball fan, it would have been awesome to see Florida's much-hyped freshman Chris Walker suit up for the Gators tonight, but I bet Memphis fans are breathing a sigh of relief. Well okay, so it wasn't likely that Walker was going to light the world on fire, but Memphis only plays two real big men in Austin Nichols and Shaq Goodwin (and Florida already had a size and athleticism advantage to begin with). The game will obviously be competitive, but it will be especially interesting to see how the personnel decisions on both sides shake out. Memphis will want to play three guards and the Gators will probably want to rotate Casey Prather and Dorian Finney-Smith at small forward — both of whom are too big and athletic for the Tigers' guards. Josh Pastner is going to have to bring his A-Game to face a coach as good as Billy Donovan, and it will be fun to watch them match wits tonight.
- Although it will have no effect on the 2013-14 season, the news of UConn guard Rodney Purvis' shoulder surgery still made headlines on a slow news day. Purvis transferred from North Carolina State and is sitting out this year anyway, so it makes sense to fix a torn labrum in his left shoulder now so he can be ready for next season. I know… fascinating stuff. But it gives us an excuse to talk about Purvis, a former McDonald's All-American who started 23 games as a freshman for the Wolfpack. He transferred without much fanfare but he is an athletic 6'4″, 200-pounder, who scored in double figures in 12 games last season. Granted, most of those games came before conference play and he was a bit more inconsistent as the competition improved, but he will be expected to take on the lion's share of the load Shabazz Napier leaves behind. I don't really know how what I just wrote has anything to do with his impending surgery, but that's fine. Just log those few sentences away for now and call me out when I self-plagiarize for an impact transfer preview for next season.
- The conference's banner program will also be in action tonight as Louisville hosts Missouri State. The Bears aren't the same mid-major headache they once were, but they are 8-1 on the season and their only loss was on a neutral floor to Virginia, so they will be dangerous. Head coach Rick Pitino is especially worried about their potent three-point shooting ability, and while he is overstating their offensive brilliance a bit, he would be wise to make sure his team defends the three-point line. In the end, there is little chance that Missouri State has enough defensive ability to hang with the Cardinals on the road, even if Louisville is still missing scoring point guard Chris Jones. The bottom line is that the Bears will probably make it interesting in the first half but Louisville has more than enough horses to pull away in the second 20 minutes.
- The South Florida Bulls play host to Dunk City tonight as Brett Comer, Chase Fieler and the rest of the Florida Gulf Coast will be in town for an intrastate match-up. Although they are probably the less recognizable team, the Bulls will play as the favorites as the Eagles are struggling to recapture the magic from last season and have lost three of their last four games. Of course they are still the more compelling storyline for ESPN.com and thus Myron Medcalf wrote a worthy profile of life after last season's NCAA Tournament run that is worth reading. It's not AAC news necessarily… or like …at all. But we are equal-opportunity providers and when we see a good story with some connection to the league, you better believe we are posting it.


text:
Tuesday, July 05, 2011
Sundays...for the Sake of Israel
According to the proposal, Saturday and Sunday will be official days of rest while Friday will become a half day work-wise...and an extra 30 - 60 minutes would be added to Monday to Thursday's workdays. (source)
Netanyahu requested that the committee bring recommendations by the Winter Plenum of the Knesset in 4 more months.
Who is against?
- The Arabs will demand from the Supreme Court to over-rule this option, since Friday is the Muslim "day of rest"
- Manufacturing / High Tech Companies already get more than 8.5 hours a day from workers, so requiring an extra 30-60 minutes will be irrelevant, Friday will not be much for a work day...and now Sunday will be chopped from the work week. If the Sunday "day of rest" passes into law, I predict that salaries in the high tech sector will be slashed by 5-15%.
- There will be problems for people who need to get home before Shabbat in the winter-time, and I'm sure traffic will be a nightmare.
- There are probably halachik issues with working on Friday afternoon (I recall hearing some of them a few years ago)
Why its crucial?
Today, there is so much conflict within Israel surrounding the day of Shabbat; should there be public transportation, what should be open, what entertainment should be available? Creating Sunday as an additional day of rest would greatly reduce the tension and in-fighting within the country. Everyone would agree that Sunday would be a relaxing day...with public transportation and all shopping centers and entertainment locations would be open.
Finally, there could be social interaction between more sectors of society on a day without the religious restrictions of Shabbat.
Children could do more project related homework, with the help of their parents.
Families could go on trips, enjoy recreational time, participate in a variety of social, cultural, educational and sport activities.
People would be more relaxed, blood pressures would go down, and there would be a reduction in traffic accidents.
For the sake of Israel's future - I believe that Sunday, as an additional day of rest for Israel -- is a must.
Visiting Israel?
Learn to Shoot at Caliber-3 with top Israeli Anti-Terror Experts!
Follow the Muqata on Twitter.
Wherever I am, my blog turns towards Eretz Yisrael טובה הארץ מאד מאד
27 comments:
- Tehillah said...
I disagree - for the very reasons you listed:
1) hi-tech salaries will be slashed (and they're already ridiculously out of sync with the cost of living here)
2) there will be problems getting home on time on Friday to prepare for Shabbat
3) there are halachic issues with working on Friday afternoon
4) people will NOT be more relaxed because Fridays will be tension-filled with blood pressures rising in a rush to beat the clock to have everything ready on time. And this could cause an increase in traffic accidents from people fighting to get home on time.
5) I don't know if you've ever lived in the US - and if so, when - but having Sundays off doesn't cause most parents to participate in their kids school projects. Either they're conscientious parents and they do it when they can, or they don't do it at all. Sunday has nothing to do with parental participation.
6) Do you honestly believe that social interaction between haredim and secular Israelis will increase for the better because they share a common rest day?! (what are you smoking?)
7) If public transportation, shopping centers and entertainment locations are open on Sundays, then gee - I think that means SOMEBODY HAS TO WORK! = more division between social classes
8) "Everyone would AGREE that Sunday would be a relaxing day"?!!! I'm rolling on the floor!
- 7:13 PM, July 05, 2011
- Jameel @ The Muqata said...
Tehilla - here are my responses:
1. Why are high tech salaries "ridiculously out of sync with the cost of living here" -- I'm sorry, but I respectfully disagree. Its all supply and demand.
2. I wrote in my post that getting home for Shabbat could be a problem -- people will leave earlier on Fridays in the winter and later in the summer.
3. There are bigger halachik issues with all the chilul shabbat on Shabbat, because there is no alternative day of rest.
4. More relaxed on Fridays? My Friday are already crazy TODAY...AS IS. "Beating the Clock" is a weekly occurance. I suggest you read the classic post here on Erev Shabbat Craziness: Link.
5. Actually, I grew up in the USA, and Sundays were the only day I had to go to the library and research projects. Sunday was for little league and baseball. Sunday was for reading. Sunday was going to parks and barbeques. Actually, its the only thing I miss from Chutz Laaretz.
6. What am I smoking? Tell me, how much do YOU interact with secular Jews in Israel? If you aren't the problem is with you...why aren't you making it a point to interact with them? Sundays would be a PERFECT opportunity...since there is NO OTHER DAY OF THE WEEK POSSIBLE.
7. Nobody HAS to work on Sundays -- and if they do, they get overtime pay.
8. Seems like you are already quite relaxed as is -- maybe the rest of us deserve a break as well?
- 7:53 PM, July 05, 2011
- Neshma said...
I agree; however, I would not add on hours during the week, or reduce pay. Let it be an 'intifada' gift, early Fridays and the Arabs can stay home if they want. The Jews/Israelis need a break.
- 7:55 PM, July 05, 2011
Another more modest proposal: A 5 day school week, Sunday - Thursday. Kids will spend less hours in front of the TV in the PM, less transportation and electricity expense related to school facilities since no Fridays. And Friday becomes a leisure day (for those who can be organized about it).
- 8:15 PM, July 05, 2011
- Jameel @ The Muqata said...
Anonymous: Unfortunately, Fridays are never a leisure day because of Shabbat preparations. I've never managed to really have a leisurely Friday.
- 8:22 PM, July 05, 2011
I used to be a big proponent of Sundays off, but I am no longer so sure.
The plan has one big advantage: To be able to go out for an entire day with the family without having to worry about being back in time for Shabbos and preparing the food.
But that's about it.
The disadvantages are much bigger.
1. Sunday is a great day for global businesses. Sure it starts slow (like Monday's in America), but it gives us a day's head start on the rest of the world in terms of productivity.
2. Who the hell wants to officially work a 10 hour day (unless you're in hi-tech, and there you work more anyway), just to make up the missing Sunday and half of Friday?
3. Who actually thinks that a 9.5-10 hour work day will be more (or even, as) productive as an 8 hour work day (outside of high tech)?
4. I think most office workers are already working 5 days a week. I don't know many office workers that work on Friday. Store clerks and the like will work shift hours anyway (and probably on Sunday too).
5. I don't necessarily want my kids home from school. I like that they have school on Friday mornings, and on Sunday.
Having said all that, having a day to be able to go out together with the family without having to rush home would be great.
Perhaps the first Sunday of each month could be designated as work-free. Businesses would lose less of their advantage, and we wouldn't really have to change over everyone's work schedule to one that is not likely to be as productive.
- 8:52 PM, July 05, 2011
- Tehillah said...
Jameel, you're jumping to conclusions. I'm dati, live in a mixed neighborhood and interact with secular Jews on a daily basis. And there is a day every week when it's possible to spend special time to socialize with them, it's called SHABBAT. Not all secular Israelis are opposed to joining people like us for a Shabbat meal or talking with us in the park while our kids play together. Our social challenges are not religious - they're language; we have Russians, Ethiopians, Americans and Europeans in our immediate neighborhood.
- 9:10 PM, July 05, 2011
I don't believe such a law is going to improve our lives in Israel. A better option IMHO would be for employers to be encouraged to offer flexible work schedules (when it won't harm their business - and in many cases it helps) so that employees can choose whether they prefer Sunday or Friday (or some other day) off. That is what many US employers do, so if Israel is trying to model itself on what the world is doing, that would be a good start.
- 9:12 PM, July 05, 2011
i dont think working on friday is such a big deal
hundreds of thousands orthodox jews do it now in north america and europe without a problem, yes it means that during the winter you cant put in a full day but that is what anti-discrimination laws are here for
if sun were to become a day of rest then people who do work on sunday should be paid overtime the increase in expense in staying open on sunday will be offset by the increase in consumers able to shop and participate in recreational activities on a day that the entire country can participate in.
I'm surprised no one has mentioned how working on sunday and NOT friday has effected the TASE and the financial sector in Israel. now that we are part of the OECD and the rest of the worlds financial markets are in such a disarray Israel has become a valuable place to put your money in a foreign market account, putting our financial system in line with the rest of the world will only help
- 9:57 PM, July 05, 2011
- aliyah06 said...
I've lived in Israel for 5 years now. Since I found a job, I have yet to have a "weekend off" where I can actually go somewhere with my husband and kids. I work S-Th, get up early and shop Friday mornings, cook, clean and get ready for Shabbat on Friday, and my son is in school on Fridays -- then we're home for Shabbat or at most within walking distance. I've never been to the Ben Shemen forest or Tiberias or anywhere--because I work FT and am observant. Give ME a day off, please, so I can get off this stressful schedule. I have NO day to unwind, NO day without any obligations. Don't tell me to shop during the week! Or to cook on Thursday--because I'm exhausted at the end of the work day, since I routinely put in 9 hour days, and if I get behind, I work Fridays while the chicken is cooking.
This is a ridiculous way to live. The advantage to people who work Sundays is that they (like people in the States) will get overtime. So people who want to make a little more will be glad to work Sundays and take a different day off.
- 10:10 PM, July 05, 2011
The worst traffic jams are on Yom HaZikaron /Erev Yom Ha'Atzmaut when all of Israel works a half day. Suffer through that every Friday?! And, as if we don't get home late enough already, working an extra hour Monday-Thursday?! We for will all need a Sunday to recover!
- 10:37 PM, July 05, 2011
People, you forget something. Workers (in the public sector at least) have more than 30 days vacation a year. This already gives more than double what Americans get in vacation. Add to that miluim/extended maternity leaves, and people work a lot less here than there. Competing with the global economy (and with its academic research, my field) is almost impossible with the work week as is. Giving up Sunday as a work day would be a death blow.
- 10:43 PM, July 05, 2011
When do you think American Shabbat observers prepare for Shabbat? Thursday night.
If you can do that too, then you can have a half day of rest and relaxation -- on Friday!
If you can't then you will be forced to anyway because you'll be working on Friday!
- 11:48 PM, July 05, 2011
- NormanF said...
I don't think so. If money is a consideration, give every one off Thursday or Sunday so they can have free time.
It would reduce conflict with observant Jews since people who chafe at Shabbat restrictions would be able to do things they want without desecrating Shabbat. And people would actually look forward to taking Shabbat as G-d intended.
We have every right to improve on our Creator. As long as a word in the Torah is not changed. And no one is proposing to change it with an extra day of rest.
- 11:51 PM, July 05, 2011
Having Sundays off would help Aliyah for sure! Jews in most of the rest of the world as used to a relaxing Sunday. Olim have always had trouble getting used to Sunday-as-Monday.
People work too much already (or, as with the unemployed and charedim, either they don't work enough). Let's have BOTH Sunday and Friday as full holidays! Muslims would like it. There would still be school for kids on Friday (sorry, teachers!) so parents could prepare for Shabbat or work on their own projects or other work.
Most of the world already has a 5-day work week -- why not cut it down to a 4-day work week without making us work more hours each day!? Why does work have to take up our whole lives anyway? Our basic necessities do not have to cost that much.
With people working the same daily hours on only 4 days a week, there would be more work to spread around. This would make it easier for charedim to enter the labor force in large numbers, which has to happen someday anyway, and could even help unemployment among the Palestinians. It would also make it easier for olim to find work.
Come'on Israel! G-d gave us the 6-day work week thousands of years ago. Now give us the 4-day work week! Imitating G-d's merciful attributes is, after all, an all-important ethical duty (according to the Gemara!)
- 5:31 AM, July 06, 2011
Looks like I'm your only non-shomer shabbat reader in Israel, so let me assure you and anyone who thinks otherwise that I, and all the other "chilonim", would still be mechallel shabbat if I had a Sunday to play with as well.
It is a stupid idea in this current formulation. As usual, the policy-makers haven't thought it through properly and it will be killed off.
- 11:47 AM, July 06, 2011
- George said...
I am totally against this half-baked idea, which I'm sure hasn't been totally thought through. I currently work in hi-tech, where my official day is nine hours and my actual day is usually ten to ten and a half hours. That's a working week of 50 - 52 hours. If we go to a 4.5 day working week, I will have to fit in 44 - 46 hours into four days. Thank you, but no thank you.
Another thing that hasn't been thought through is the traffic problems on Fridays, especially in the winter. If today, starting times are staggered between 7 am to 10 am and finishing times between 4 pm and 8 pm (and sometimes later), on a Friday everybody will be starting between 7 am to 8 am and finishing between 1 pm to 2 pm. The traffic will be horrendous.
Another reason I don't believe in this idea is that Uriel Lynn is assuring us that it is for the good of the country. For those of you who have short memories (or moved here in the last 8 years), Uriel Lynn was one of the "geniuses" who brought us the direct election of the Prime Minister, telling us that one of its benefits would be the end of coalition haggling. Anybody who had thought through the idea would have realised that the exact opposite would be true.
I think that the major reason behind the move is purely to keep Silvan Shalom's name in the headlines and to ensure that he gets a high place in the Likud list for the next Knesset. That is no way to run a country
- 12:19 PM, July 06, 2011
- Jameel @ The Muqata said...
To the anonymous non-shomer shabbat commenter: Welcome! :-)
I don't think anyone expects more shmirat shabbat if we make Sunday a rest-day as well, but I think it could lower the tensions of the secular community (or make the current status quo more palatable) vis-a-vis the lack of public transport on Shabbat.
What do you think?
- 12:25 PM, July 06, 2011
- JoeSettler said...
Direct Elections for PM was an excellent idea. The problem is that it was implemented stupidly.
The PM didn't have defined separate powers (as well as checks and balances between him, the Knesset, and the Judiciary) and thus was reliant on the Knesset for everything anyway, and the Judiciary does what it wants regardless.
The Knesset members weren't elected directly, so it still came down to coalition politics.
And the PM still had to primarily take MKs as cabinet members, instead of professionals, technocrats, or whoever, meaning that coalition politics still played a too central role in the PM office.
They really didn't understand the US system, and assumed that direct elections of the President was the only difference between our political systems.
- 12:52 PM, July 06, 2011
- 1:11 PM, July 06, 2011
- George said...
We can agree to disagree as to whether or not the concept of direct elections of the PM is a good one. However, we both agree that the implementation was abysmal. It is precisely for this reason that when Uriel Lynn says that moving to this new working week model is good for the country, my initial opposition is only confirmed.
- 3:20 PM, July 06, 2011
And what about just a half-day off, like tuesday afternoon or wednesday, from 1 PM ?
Not as problematic as a full day, and it still give people a lot of free time.
- 10:34 PM, July 06, 2011
- JoeSettler said...
To: R. Halevy
Your comments are not being censored or erased. But for some (technical) reason they aren't being posted onto the blog. Perhaps you are erasing them by accident after you post them.
Try again.
- 11:11 PM, July 06, 2011
- Holy Hyrax said...
>People would be more relaxed, blood pressures would go down
I have been saying this for YEARS now.
- 3:06 AM, July 07, 2011
- Jameel @ The Muqata said...
R. HaLevy -
There's a problem with blogger's comments -- I did NOT ERASE a single comment here, and in general, comments are only deleted here if they are extremely offensive or create a liability for libel.
Holy: Glad to see you're still around :)
Amihai: The problem is that most companies would still not let their employees leave a half day on a Tuesday...and would consider it a "reccomendation only" (the private sector would make it difficult to leave)
- 10:21 AM, July 07, 2011
- Rabelad said...
As far as the Muslims go, Friday is NOT a day of rest for them. Mohamed was asked the question of whether Muslim should regard Friday as a day of rest and he specifically said no, that it was bad for business. In Islam Friday is a day of assembly at mosque, not a day of rest. Walk through the Muslim Quarter of J'lem's Old City on Friday mid-morning and the place is bustling with commerce.
- 4:53 PM, July 07, 2011
- westbankmama said...
I agree with you Jameel - give us Sundays off! I have friends that I see about once a year, because with our families it is tough to invite each other for Shabbat. I'd love to be able to get together on a Sunday for a picnic with friends!!!!
- 5:43 PM, July 10, 2011


text:
Read Daily Updated Light Novel, Web Novel, Chinese Novel, Japanese And Korean Novel Online.
If it was still the former scene in the Feng manor, when Feng Jin Yuan was still the prime minister, a concubine going into labor would definitely result in a few midwives being brought into the manor in the event of an emergency. Presently, however, Feng Jin Yuan was nothing more than a stablehand without rank or title. Even the residence that he lived in was sent by the fifth prince. How could he still have the heart to ask for a midwife.
Han shi's belly began to hurt out of nowhere. Even Fen Dai, who usually accompanied her was caught off-guard.
Cheng Jun Man made a prompt decision to use her personal money to bring in a midwife and doctor. She then brought Cheng Jun Mei and An shi over to Han shi's courtyard. After Yao shi heard about it, she also rushed over to take a look; however, she was stopped by Qing Lan. Qing Lan told her: "Madam has never gotten along very well with Han shi. It would be best to not cause trouble at a time like this."
For some reason, Yao shi did not listen to this advice. She just went out and headed straight toward Han shi's courtyard. While walking, she said: "What trouble could there be? If she thinks that I am irritating to look at, if she gets angry, that would be her own problem. If my appearance is enough to cause Han shi some trouble or cause the birth of this child to not go as smoothly, that is all that I could ever hope for."
When Yao shi spoke, a cold look appeared on her face, causing Qing Lan to tremble. Ever since that morning when Yao shi made the decision to return to the Feng manor, she felt that Yao shi was a little off. It was like right now, when this emotionless yet cold appearance occasionally appeared. It was not something that could even be hidden.
Finally, when everyone was gathered in Han shi's room, with Xiang Rong even being present. An experienced granny in the manor was in the inner room, helping Han shi calm her emotions. Everyone else was led by Cheng Jun Man to sit in the outer room. An shi had just gone to the inner room to take a look and had returned while frowning and thinking about something. Xiang Rong closed her eyes, and the scene from the beginning of the year that took place at the side of a lake in the Feng manor replayed in her mind.
She quietly asked An shi: "Was second sister informed?"
An shi nodded, "A servant has gone to the Yu Palace to report." She then raised her voice and told Fen Dai: "But since this is husband's first day on the job, it's unknown if he will be able to be called back."
Fen Dai did not look as favorably on Han shi's pregnancy as in the past. After all, the Feng family's head wife position was occupied by the Cheng shi sisters. Not a single person could overtake them. Also, she had become engaged to the fifth prince, and it was as the official princess. Thus whether or not Han shi gave birth to a son was no help to her. But no matter what was said, she was still her birth mother. She still hoped that her father would be here to help her instead of feeding some damn horses.
She stomped her foot and said to her servant Qiu Yue: "Go to the Li Palace and tell his Highness the fifth prince. Have him make an appearance to help get father back."
Qiu Yue nodded then glanced at Cheng Jun Man. Seeing that she did not stop her, she quickly ran off. Fen Dai snorted coldly and said to Cheng Jun Man: "In truth, there is no need for his Highness the fifth prince to make an appearance. As long as mother could send someone to ask, father would definitely be able to return to the manor."
Cheng Jun Man faintly smiled and told her: "I could say something, but there is no need. Currently, husband is not even a lowly ninth-ranked official. The position of a lowly concubine in the manor is not the same as before. If I used my position as the Empress' niece to bring husband back, and word of it was to get out, perhaps husband would get in even more trouble. Fourth young miss, you must think more carefully before taking action in the future. Either way, you must consider our situation more carefully."
She delivered a lecture straight at Fen Dai, causing Fen Dai's face to turn green with anger. She wanted to argue a bit; however, her servant, Dong Ying, grabbed her sleeve in a timely manner and quietly said: "Taking care of concubine mother is most important."
Only then did Fen Dai shut her mouth; however, it was at this time that they heard An shi slowly say: "Sister Han was treated very well, but her belly did not look very full. She's already about to give birth, yet it still looked a bit small."
Fen Dai did not know what Han shi had done behind her back. Thus she was completely unable to understand the hidden meaning behind An shi's words. She just thought that she was worrying about Han shi, thus she asked: "Then what can be done? Nothing will happen to the child, right?"
An shi looked at Fen Dai with a bit of confusion. She understood Fen Dai. Although she had a bit of a temper, she was not overly treacherous. She could not hide anything in her heart, and any thought that she had would be written all over her face. An shi always felt that Fen Dai should know about the matter that Xiang Rong had told her about, but it seemed that Han shi even hid it from her daughter. Thinking about it, for a concubine mother like her to understand Fen Dai to such a degree, how could the birth mother, Han shi, not understand it. If she told Fen Dai, perhaps it could not have been hidden until today.
Fen Dai's inquisitive gaze stopped on An shi, and An shi could only say: "It would be best to wait and hear what a doctor has to say!"
An shi could not make any more comments. Yao shi, however, got in the mood. Standing up from her seat, she moved toward the inner room.
Fen Dai was stunned and subconsciously stopped her, "What are you doing?"
Yao shi looked at her then faintly said: "Your concubine mother is giving birth. I am experienced and want to go take a look. What's wrong with that? In this family, I am the only one to have given birth to two children. I do have experience."
Yao shi's words were very reasonable, and Fen Dai had no way of refuting it. She could only watch as Yao shi brought her maidservant inside. She suddenly felt very lost. Thinking about it, she simply got up and followed her in.
Han shi was in so much pain that her head was soaked with sweat. She was laying in bed and did not stop screaming. After Yao shi entered, the servant inside seemed to be a little shocked. She stared blankly at her for a moment then bowed to salute before taking care of her own matters.
Yao shi walked forward and stopped beside Han shi's bed. Her eyes stared at Han shi's belly for a while before moving her gaze up. After looking at the face that was contorted in pain, she furrowed her brow.
For a person, the biggest problem would be a guilty conscience. Han shi finally found a way to get a doctor outside to give her medicine to induce labor, allowing her to give birth one month early. This was to match up with the day that Feng Jin Yuan left the capital. What she feared now was for someone to realize that something was off with her pregnancy, yet Yao shi, who had mysteriously returned to the Feng family, was now staring at her belly with an inquisitive gaze. This scared Han shi to the point that she could no longer breathe, and she nearly fainted.
Fen Dai was so scared that she quickly went forward to help her breathe. While helping her, she said: "Madam Yao, if you want to come help, think of a way to help ease concubine mother Han's suffering. If you came to see a spectacle, please go back!" Fen Dai's current temper was already much more restrained than in the past. Although there were many things that she could not understand, she had already learned to get angry much less often, and she did her best to endure.
But no matter how much she endured, Yao shi still came for the sole purpose of instigating the mother and daughter. They heard her say while staring at Han shi's belly: "Sister Han, this belly looks a little bit odd."
Han shi's face turned white, as the pain and horror caused her to be unable to respond. Instead, Fen Dai asked: "Madam Yao, what do those words mean?" The people of the Feng family still called her madam Yao because she was still divorced from Feng Jin Yuan, and she still had the title of first-rank noble lady. Respect was something that still needed to be shown. Feng Jin Yuan still remembered when he had gone to beg Yao shi to return. He was a little surprised by Yao shi's return, but it also came with a bit of joy.
Han shi desperately clutched at Fen Dai's hand. Her original intention was for Fen Dai to not continue asking, but Fen Dai misunderstood and believed that Han shi was worried, thus she continued to ask: "Madam, quickly speak! What exactly is odd?"
Yao shi saw Han shi's writhing appearance and suddenly felt a joy in getting revenge. While experiencing this joy, the nerves that had been wound up tight were relaxed a little. She calmly pointed at Han shi and said: "We have all given birth before. Tell me, does this pregnancy look like it has lasted ten months?"
Han shi's body began to tremble, and horror immediately surged forth. Her screams began once more; however, she also shouted: "I don't understand what you are saying! Out! Get out!"
If this was before, Yao shi would definitely have run out while covering her mouth and tears streamed down her face; however, Yao shi was no longer as easy to push around as before. Not only did she not retreat, she even added: "Han shi, when exactly did you conceive this child?"
Once this was said, Han shi's guilty conscience surfaced once more, and she said in a panic: "Of, of course, it was when husband left the capital!"
Yao shi shook her head, "Feng Jin Yuan left the capital at the end of the year." Very oddly, she did not truly suspect Han shi at the beginning. She had just heard what An shi had said, thus she wanted to come and instigate Han shi a little; however, she never thought that Han shi would have this sort of reaction. With things like this, she really did begin to suspect.
But before she could speak again, Fen Dai realized that Yao shi's goal was definitely not to help out, rather she had come to cause trouble. She could no longer continue to act calm and endure. As though she had gone crazy, she pushed Yao shi, "Out! Get out!"
Yao shi was pushed sideways by her and nearly fell. Fortunately, Qing Lan supported her. Fen Dai had gone crazy. She picked up some pillows from the bed and threw them at Yao shi. While throwing them, she cursed: "Scram! You slut! Why did a divorced woman come back? Do you have any shame? Get the foock out!"
Yao shi retreated under Fen Dai's curses until she reached the outer room. Under everyone's gaze, the initial panic quickly returned to calm. In just a moment's time, she returned to sitting in a chair. She picked up a cup of tea and expressionlessly began to drink.
Everyone looked at her. Although their gazes did not linger for long, they all began to think, especially the Cheng shi sisters. They looked at each other and immediately began to feel a little doubtful of Yao shi's return to the manor.
In the new Feng manor, Han shi's screams filled the entire manor. At this time, in the streets of the capital, Feng Yu Heng was seated in an imperial carriage with Huang Quan and heading toward the Feng family. Along the way, her mood was not very good. Her expression sank, and she did not say a single word. She just leaned back against the carriage and had her eyes partially opened. She looked completely languid.
Huang Quan carefully asked her: "Young miss, do you not want to see madam?"
She shook her head and did not respond, just remaining silent the entire time. When the imperial carriage finally stopped in front of the Feng manor, Huang Quan lifted the curtain and said to her: "Young miss, we've arrived."
Only then did Feng Yu Heng get out of the carriage; however, it was at this time that they saw a person outside the manor trying to sneak looks inside.
Liked it? Take a second to support NovelFree.tk on Patreon!