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Sandra Lawler was all grown up and had left her Boston home before she realized that not everybody serves lamb on Easter.
"I moved to Chicago, and they were serving ham, and I said, 'What is this? Who eats ham for Easter?'"
The chef at Baltimore's Feast @ 4 East on Madison Street is expecting 50 family and friends for Easter dinner this Sunday, and she will be serving lamb, of course. But it is on the menu at her restaurant almost every night, too.
Braised lamb shanks. Stuffed boneless lamb roast. Lamb chops. Even lamb salad.
"And if friends come to dinner and they want to know what we are having, it will probably be lamb."
Lamb doesn't scare Lawler the way it does some cooks, who might be intimidated by the size of a leg of lamb or its price tag. Earthquake and severe weather issues in New Zealand and Australia have driven prices even higher recently.
"And I think cooks can be afraid that it will have a gamy taste. But this isn't the mutton your grandmother used to make," she said.
In Lawler's kitchen, cooking lamb is as easy as cooking any other meat. "Slather it, roll it and put it in the oven," she said. "It's a roast, for heaven's sake."
For Lawler, the "slather" is usually a good Dijon mustard. And she most often "rolls" the meat in fresh chopped rosemary. But she might also use crushed pistachios or a sumac rub. Or she might marinate chops in an herbed lemon and olive oil mixture.
Lamb can indeed be fatty, and it takes trimming — especially a leg of lamb. But the upside is that there will be plenty of pan juices for sauce or gravy.
She purchases only New Zealand lamb because it is free range and no antibiotics are used on the animals. And every time she finds it on sale, she buys it and tosses it in the freezer.
"You are going to pay $6 or $8 a pound for a roast or chops, but for a while there, it was up to $21 a pound for a rack of lamb," she said.
She does, however, purchase locally produced ground lamb from a purveyor she trusts not to use fillers.
Lamb, she says, can make the recipe jump from France and Italy to the Middle East without missing a beat.
She serves it with mint sauce or chutney, which is traditional. And she braises lamb shanks with root vegetables, onion, garlic, tomatoes, red wine and herbs, serving the rich and meaty ragout over mashed parsnips or couscous.
But she also likes the way lamb mixes with cinnamon, or with apricots, figs and honey. And she has also baked lamb chops in grape leaves. She saves the stalks from rosemary to use as a bed for smoking lamb on the grill or for skewering kebobs.
Repeating the cooking axiom that you can't undo brown meat, Lawler likes her lamb rare, so she is likely to roast it until the internal temperature is only about 130 degrees, assuming that it will continue to climb while the meat rests.
"When you slice it, there will be well done pieces at each end with pinker slices closer to the middle, something to please everyone," she said.
"You never had to worry about lamb leftovers in our house," Lawler remembers. Good bread and some mayonnaise with a slice of warmed lamb is among her favorite childhood memories: "I can't think of anything better."
But for more sophisticated tastes, there is leftover lamb salad: Greens tossed with a lemon vinaigrette and topped with warm or cold slices of lamb, a good feta and perhaps some kalamata olives.
This Easter, Lawler will also be serving her crowd asparagus, baby carrots and roasted new red potatoes — just as her mother did. Or perhaps fresh green beans with shitake mushrooms and garlic. Something else which, like lamb, evokes springtime.
There just won't be any ham.
Rolled boneless leg of lamb
Makes: 8 servings
1 boneless rolled leg of lamb, 6 pounds
2 cups rice
3 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 cups golden raisins
3 cups mushrooms (white, cremini), brushed clean and sliced
1 bunch scallions, finely sliced, separate white and green parts
1-2 tablespoons minced garlic
2-3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh herb: sage, rosemary or thyme.
1 cup chopped parsley, flat leaf is best
zest of 2 lemons
red table wine (optional)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees
Cook the rice in 21/2 cups chicken broth for 10 minutes. Add the raisins and let sit for 5 more minutes until the rice has absorbed the broth. It should be just "al dente." If the rice is too al dente, add a little more hot broth, cover, and let sit a few more minutes.
Sauté the mushrooms in a small amount of canola oil for a few minutes until they start to soften. Add white parts of scallions and cook until translucent (1 to 2 minutes). Toss in the garlic and immediately add the remaining broth.
Unroll the lamb, keeping the netting. If there are any large chunks of fat, you can remove them.
Mix the rice, mushrooms, fresh herbs, lemon zest, scallion greens. Salt and pepper to taste.
Spread mixture inside lamb and roll it back up, squeezing it back in the netting or using kitchen twine to secure. Salt and pepper the outside. Place in a shallow baking dish. Pour the wine over the roast at this point.
Place the roast in the oven for 10 minutes then reduce the heat to 350 degrees. Cook for about 11/2 hours or 15 minutes per pound. It should register internally about 135 degrees for a medium-rare roast.
Cook any extra stuffing covered in the oven, with a little more broth.
Let rest 10 to 20 minutes before slicing. De-grease the pan drippings and serve alongside.
Serve with mint sauce or mango chutney.
Recipe courtesy of Sandy Lawler
Simple classic leg of lamb
Makes: 8 servings
1 boneless rolled leg of lamb, 6 pounds
2-3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2-3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
Remove leaves from rosemary branches and chop. Leaving lamb in the netting, smear it all over with the Dijon mustard. Sprinkle it with the chopped rosemary. Pat the rosemary into the mustard.
Place in a baking pan fat-side up. (Can be done a day ahead at this point and stored in the fridge.)
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Put roast in oven. Reduce heat to 350 degrees and cook for 15 to 20 minutes per pound (base on room temp or cold meat), until the internal temp is 135 degrees for a pink roast, about 11/2 hours.
Remove roast to serving platter and let rest for 10 to 20 minutes in a warm spot before slicing.
De-grease the pan, deglaze with water or wine, salt and pepper to taste and serve the drippings alongside.
Recipe courtesy of Sandy Lawler
Braised lamb shanks
Makes: 6 servings
6 large lamb shanks (or 12 small ones)
canola oil
1 pound sliced carrots
1 pound sliced parsnips
1 pound sliced white or yellow onion
2-3 bay leaves
4 sprigs of thyme
1 tablespoon oregano
2 cup chopped tomato (canned is fine)
1-2 smashed garlic cloves
1/2 bottle of red table wine
salt and pepper
Heat an oven-proof pan with high sides on a burner over medium-high heat. Salt and pepper the shanks. Pour in oil to cover the bottom of the pan and sear the shanks on all sides.
Reduce heat to low and cover shanks with one-quarter of the carrots and parsnips and all the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook in the oven at 350 degrees for 1 hour. (Can be cooked stovetop but needs to be watched and the shanks moved.)
Carefully remove cover (should be very steamy) and add remaining vegetables. Give the pan a shake to nestle the fresh vegetables. If the pan is getting dry, add more wine or water. Recover and place back in the oven for two hours or until the shanks and vegetables are tender.
Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Recipe courtesy of Sandy Lawler
Pistachio crusted lamb rack
Makes: 8 servings
4 lamb racks, cut in half
1/2 cups pistachio meats, crushed fine
Dijon mustard
Canola oil
Cut lamb racks in half. Smear racks with Dijon mustard; roll in pistachio crumbs (can prepare ahead to this point). Heat oven to 425 degrees. Heat skillet. When hot, add a little oil and sear the fat/top side of each rack for about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, place racks fat-side up in a cookie sheet with sides. If crust comes off, just pat it back on.
Bake for 15-20 minutes to desired doneness.
Recipe courtesy of Sandy Lawler
Tips for cooking lamb
•The best way to cook rack of lamb ribs, Lawler says, is fat side down in a very hot cast iron skillet using a small amount of olive oil. After about 3 minutes, turn the rack over and put the pan in the oven for 20 minutes.
•When cooking loin chops, Lawler likes to sear the fatty end of the chop first to keep it from appearing an unappetizing grey. Do the same with the bone end of a lamb shank.
•Lawler likes to start her roasts and legs of lamb in a hot oven — 425 degrees — before turning the heat down to about 350 degrees.
•Always rest lamb for 15 to 20 minutes before serving, she says.
•She suggests serving lamb with a Rhone Valley red wine.


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A person who designates a row of parking spots as his own, so in order to park your car you have to pay his a small fee so he can "watch after it to make sure no one messes with it"; when in actually if you don't pay him anything, he himself will F with your car.
I was in a hurry to get to the bars and just when I find a place to park... fuckin' Rotchy on the Spot comes out of nowhere!!!!
by Ratcheed Wallace July 30, 2004
buy the domain for your diy blog

subset: commoncrawl


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104289 - Front Molded Floor Mats
Specially designed to fit snugly into your Volvo, tiny nubs on the underside create a non-slip grip, and the built-up lip keeps dirt in its place, off your carpet. Help maintain the resale value of your Volvo by keeping the carpets in good shape while keeping your car safe. Not to mention that wet carpets create a musty, moldy smell in your car and can lead to corrosion and rust problems.
Adding items to your shopping cart and placing an order is only an intent to purchase. We will not charge you for anything until we can ship the products you ordered (if paying by credit card. PayPal is a prepayment method.) We will do everything we can to fill your order in a timely manner. You can cancel your order at any time prior to shipment.
This item is an Kit-On-The-Fly product. It consists of multiple component products that are all pulled together at the time of shipping.
Additional component stock typically takes 60 days or less to arrive and get be available for shipping.


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Discussion in 'The Howard Stern Show' started by Double Blizz, Jan 25, 2013.
Open up restaurant! We want a portion of food right now!!!!
Look at Wiggy showing off. Going to dinner after the sun set.
"Fly little pelican! Fly!"
Oh fuck me running.
I can't wait to see what Engaged Chicken thinks of all this
What I think is that two ode people, one in their forties, one their fifties have no business taking pictures of themselves like two thirteen year olds. For starters.
I also think that he should have shaved, that grey stubble with his black wig looks ridiculous.
And she's a little long in the tooth for a barrette.
they got twitteritis
They have dinner at 5pm, Beth goes out at 8pm...
View attachment 7060
Love how Beth always goes into her rehearsed fake pose, the one where she stares at Howard "with love in her eyes", every tme they are in a picture together.
I was thinking that too. If you take a good look, you'll see that her jaw and mouth are clenched in a grimace. That is one angry smile.
She's not just going to dinner..She's going to "work". I'm sure she's plenty miserable.. He pays for the GF experience....it's gotta get old.
She's probably gonna be forced to "put out" later.
I saw your penn-store. Impressive. (in Darth Vader voice)
Why didn't Robin order one of your pens to mr Wig?
So is it part of the deal she has to look at him like he is a God in every photo. YUCK
I doubt that. I doubt it very much. Call it a hunch.


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Flight day 4
The spacewalk
There are approximately four hours of preparation in the morning before the spacewalk, despite the fact that a whole lot is done the night before. The spacesuits are awkward to put on, or more accurately, to crawl into. It is important that the job is done carefully and several checks are carried out to make sure that nothing goes wrong.
Besides wasting a lot of time if you forgot something, it is also a dangerous environment in the vacuum of space. BillyO is the one who 'dresses' us; he also guides the spacewalk from the flight-deck of the Space Shuttle. In the airlock we also have help from Thomas and/or one of the other members of the crew of the ISS.
Before Beamer opens the airlock we have connected ourselves securely to our safety-lines. Then he glides out from the Space Station and I send out the equipment that we will need before I myself follow him out. It is true that it is called a 'walk', but it is almost exclusively with the arms that you work and move around on the Station.
Our first task is to connect P5 and P4 together, furthest out on the port side of the truss. P stands, by the way, for 'port', i.e. the left side in plain English. Inside the ISS, Joanie and Sunni manoeuvre Canadarm2 with P5 attached and steer it into place. It is tricky, as different parts belonging to P4's solar panels stick out in the way and P5 must almost be threaded through like a piece of cotton through the eye of a needle.
At the narrowest points we only have a few centimetres of clearance from a container carrying a 155 V direct current and people have been a bit worried that, if P5 should hit the container it would crackle and send out sparks, to the extent that I, nearest to it, could get an electric shock. So I have every reason to see to it that all goes well when I am monitoring P5's slow movement in towards P4. Furthermore, inside the ISS they can't see properly what is happening but have to trust in what Beamer and I say and in that way we actually guide P5.
Unlike almost all of the other modules on the ISS, P5 has no automatic bolts that can be remotely controlled from the inside; rather we have to screw them securely by hand, although we do have a sophisticated battery driven bolt wrench that is called a PGT: Pistol Grip Tool. After that, a number of small jobs on P5 follow; there are grounding straps to be connected and the attachment for the robotic arm must be removed.
The other major task during the first spacewalk is to replace a broken camera, which should take a little over one hour. After a total of six hours we are back in the airlock and Beamer closes the hatch behind us. Tired, more mentally than physically, we are well taken care of by BillyO and the others. We quickly get out of our spacesuits and don't need to clean up or tidy up after ourselves. That night we get a good night's sleep on the Space Shuttle.
Last update: 25 October 2006


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New Orleans Calas
You know about beignets, but have you heard of calas? Calas are a snack or dessert from New Orleans. They're a simple yet scrumptious blend of leftover rice stirred into an sugary egg batter, then deep fried and topped with powdered sugar. The process is much like the quintessential beignet, but the history is much more dynamic.
It's likely that calas came to New Orleans through slaves from the rice-growing parts of Africa, such as Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Ghana. Beginning with the French rule of the 1700s, slaves were usually given Sundays off each week. Calas vendors, the so-called "calas women," began selling the fritter-like bites outside of the famous St. Louis Cathedral to the well-heeled white churchgoers while calling, "Belle Calas! Tout chauds!" — "Beautiful calas! Very hot!"
The Spanish took control of Louisiana in the 1790s, making it legal for slaves to buy the right to their freedom with cortacion. This meant that calas was often the currency by which the enslaved became free people of color. Approximately 1,400 New Orleans slaves purchased their freedom under Spanish rule, although it is unknown how many did so with profits from calas. Street vendors selling calas and other street food remained prevalent in the city until the early 20th century, but the tradition dwindled and just one calas vendor remained in 1940.
However, Poppy Tooker, of Slow Food New Orleans and Louisana Eats!, is on a crusade to bring back this historic and delicious dessert. She emphasizes, "It was with calas money that many slaves freed themselves…this is an important dish!" For many New Orleanians, calas can have the evocative power to recreate memories of another era, and are a cornerstone of culture and cuisine.
Poppy's recipe is adapted below. Her calas are beyond delectable. A recipe that requires 5-6 cups of oil for frying? Sign us up!
2 cups cooked rice
6 tablespoons flour
3 heaping tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
5-6 cups vegetable oil for frying
Powdered sugar for topping
Mix the rice with flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Sprinkle on the vanilla and mix well.
Add eggs and when thoroughly mixed, drop by tablespoonfuls into the hot oil (360 degrees.) Fry until browned on both sides.
Drain on paper towel and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve hot.


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Oct. 2, 2012
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Colleen Quigley and Jakub Zivec turned in outstanding efforts at Friday's Notre Dame Invitational and have been recognized as the Atlantic Coast Conference women's and men's Performers of the Week.
It's the second sweep of season by the nationally ranked Seminole cross country teams, who have now combined for five Performer of the Week honors by the conference through the first five weeks of the season.
Quigley, a sophomore, turned in the finest performance of her collegiate career en route to capturing the individual championship in the Notre Dame Blue Division race. The St. Louis, Mo. native led the second-ranked Seminoles to the runaway team title, covering the 5-kilometer course in 16:29, shattering her previous best time over that distance by more than 50 seconds.
With the victory, the Seminole women climbed to No. 1 in the USTFCCCA Coaches poll.
Under near-perfect racing conditions, Quigley posted the fifth-fastest winning time in the 26-year history of the meet. It was also the second-fastest 5k time in Florida State women's cross country history, trailing only the 16:26 mark established by four-time All-American Susan Kuijken on the same course in 2008. Her effort comes on the heels of an outstanding freshman season, when she earned ACC Rookie of the Year honors in cross country and followed up with an All-American finish at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in the steeplechase.
The Seminoles routed the 18-team field with a meager 28 points as Quigley was one of four FSU runners among the first seven finishers.
Zivec, a junior, guided the Seminoles to a fourth-place team finish out of 20 teams by finishing fourth. The Litomerice, Czech Republic native, who is also coming off a strong outdoor track season, blazed away around the 5-mile circuit on the Notre Dame golf course in a personal-best time of 23:40.
His performance was the continuation of what is stacking up to be a strong fall season. Two weeks earlier, at the Virginia Tech Invitational/Pre-ACC meet, Zivec finished second to freshman teammate Zak Seddon.
Zivec, known as "Kuba" to his teammates, battled back from injury last spring and qualified for the NCAA East Preliminary in the 1500-meter run and narrowly missed advancing to the championship meet.
At Notre Dame, he teamed with Breandan O Neill to give the `Noles a pair of top 10 finishers as FSU posted a score of 152 points, just 13 shy of a second-place finish and 48 short of the team title won by Tulsa.
Quigley and Zivec join teammates Linden Hall, Paul Lagno and Seddon as previous ACC Performer of the Week winners. No other conference school has produced more than two weekly honorees this season.
Women ascend to No. 1 nationally, again
Coach Karen Harvey's Florida State women are back where they spent a majority of the 2011 season – as the nation's top-ranked team in the USTFCCCA Coaches Poll.
The Seminoles claimed 11 first-place votes this week and jumped Washington for the top spot after running roughshod over the field at the Notre Dame Invitational. FSU spent five weeks at No. 1 in 2011, and finished there in the final regular season poll before posting a fourth-place NCAA Championship finish.
Arizona climbed 10 spots to No. 2 nationally, and is followed by Washington and Oregon, which claimed the only other first-place vote. Iowa State, Georgetown, Stanford, Michigan, Cornell and Michigan State round out the top 10. Florida State is the only ranked cross country team in the state.
The Florida State men slipped four notches to No. 14 after a fourth-place finish at the Notre Dame Invitational, but like the women, remain the only Florida school ranked in the top 30 nationally.
Gigantic Florida State Invitational set for Friday and Saturday
While a great number of Florida State's top men and women will train through this weekend, the Seminoles will still be well-represented Friday when the annual Florida State XC Invitational/Pre-State meet gets underway at Apalachee Regional Park (ARP).
FSU's home course, which will host both the NCAA South Region and Florida High School Athletic Association's State Championship meets in November, will be the scene for the largest cross country meet in Tallahassee history. More than 20 collegiate programs will get the two-day affair underway Friday with the women's 6-kilometer race starting at 6:15 p.m. – a change by five minutes from the initial schedule – followed by the men's 8-kilometer race at 6:45 p.m.
Saturday's high school competition, which includes most of Florida's top powers as well as a few strong programs from Georgia, will include a 12-race schedule and get started with the Gold (Elite) Division races at 7:40 a.m (boys) and 8:05 (girls). In addition to eight varsity races – four each for boys and girls – there will be four junior varsity races.
In all 96 complete boys teams and 91 girls teams, plus a handful of individuals, will compete. In all, more than 2,000 runners are expected to race over the ARP course that is home to the FSU cross country program.
In addition to the highly competitive racing, which will be captured with live results posted throughout the races on a giant GoTron board, there will be a large Nike merchandise tent with music and interactive activities.
There is no admission charge for either day.


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Key Features:
- Deadlight is a narrative driven puzzle platformer set in the postapocalyptic '80s devastated by a zombie epidemic.
- A unique graphical approach with 3D backlit silhouettes increasing immersion with a continuous notion of danger.
- Survive above all and face your fears.
- Solve obstacles, dodge zombies, set traps and manipulate the environment. Escape any way you can!
- Combat is always an option, albeit a poor one
More articles about Deadlight: Directors Cut


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The city council finds:
(a) That the city of Duluth desires field and laboratory testing services and desires to hire professional consulting firms to provide the services required to support the construction, operation and maintenance of city systems for fiscal years 2008 - 2010;
(b) EPC Engineering and Testing has submitted a fee schedule for field and laboratory testing services in connection with this work.
RESOLVED, that the proper city officials are hereby authorized to enter into an agreement with EPC Engineering and Testing to provide the city with such field and laboratory services and that the cost of said field and laboratory services, estimated at a total of $10,000 for fiscal year 2008, will be paid from the various appropriate funds, departments, agencies and objects.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: This resolution will authorize annual field and laboratory testing for the engineering division to support construction, operation and maintenance of city systems. The tests may include 1) density of subgrade, gravel base and bituminous surfaces; 2) density tests to ensure proper compaction of utility trenches to prevent settlement; 3) gradation tests to ensure proper sizes and amounts of sand gravel and rock are in each aggregate for base concrete and bituminous mixtures; 4) extraction test, which checks the amount of asphalt cement (oil) in bituminous mixtures; 5) concrete strength, in which test cylinders are broken after a cure period to verify that design strength is met; 6) soil borings to verify existing soil conditions and exploratory boring for ledge rock. It is anticipated that this multi-year contract would be a blanket purchase agreement, with projects ordered and billed on an hourly basis. Entering into an agreement with the city of Duluth does not guarantee a minimum order on this contract. Requisition No. 08-0084, City Project No. 0691TR.


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At W&L, we have a tremendous trail system both on campus and
in the town of Lexington for our runners to take advantage of.
Click here to see a short video of a few of the
The Dick Miller Cross Country Course:
- Located on the W&L campus, these maintained and dedicated trails offer a soft surface in a shaded environment to run on. The course is a great mix of hills and flat loops with all natural surfaces. Click here for the course maps.
The Woods Creek Trail:
- Woods Creek Trail runs right through campus and throughout the town of Lexington. The trail follows Woods Creek and is another great shaded place to run
Jordan's Point:
- Jordan's Point is a Park in Lexington with a variety of soft trails looping through the woods and along the Maury River.
Jacob's Ladder:
- A very hilly and challenging run which peaks at the top of a big climb…its worth the work once you get to the top with great views of the surrounding Lexington area.
Furrs Mill Road:
- Furrs Mill Road is a great flat run. Easy to get to from campus it's a favorite for an easy run day.
The Chessie Trail:
- The Chessie is a straight flat trail which runs along the Maury River. The trail was converted from an old railroad bed and offers a great contrast to the hilly surroundings. This is a popular place for a flat long run or tempo workouts.


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Difference between revisions of "Šiauliai"
Revision as of 20:50, 26 March 2013
Siauliai is a fourth largest city in Lithuania. Its name derives from the word Saulė, which is a Lithuanian word for Sun. It is named after a Sun Battle that took place nearby. With time the name has changed and had several kinds of spelling.
The settlement dates back to Neolithic Era, it became a town in ca XI century, but the official date of foundation is considered to be 1236 when the Sun Battle (Saulės Mūšis) took place near the modern location of Šiauliai city. In 1795, Šiauliai was incorporated into Russia. During WWI Šiauliai was burned down and totally bombed. Became a Lithuanian city again in 1918, acknowledged to Lithuania by Soviet Russia in 1920. Restored during the interwar years, then bombed again during WWII in 1944 when the Red Army retook it at the war's end. The city became an important industrial center of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic and the home for a Soviet Air Force base (10th Fighter Regiment of 7th Mixed Air Division of Baltic Special Military District, and the 18th Military Transport Aviation Division). With Lithuania's independence in 1991 the Soviet troops had been withdrawn, however the old historical part of the city (with exception of very few buildings and churches) is lost.
Get in
You can get to Siauliai by train or by bus from most other cities in Lithuania. The schedules for buses you can find from [2] and railways from [3]
Get around
Siauliai is not a big city, so you need no more than buses or just your own feet. Buses go all through Siauliai. There are daily buses that go to places around the city.
City buses run from 5AM-11PM. You can by tickets in the kiosks, one ticket costs 1,80 Lt
The microbuses go from 6AM-11PM. You can buy tickets in the microbus. One ticket costs 2,00 Lt.
Hill of Crosses (Kryžių Kalnas)
The Hill of Crosses,link title (Kryžių Kalnas), north of Šiauliai is a national centre of pilgrimage in Lithuania. Standing upon a small hill, a former hill-fort, are many hundreds of thousands of crosses that represent Christian devotion and a memorial to Lithuanian national identity. Over the centuries, the Hill has come to signify the peaceful endurance of Lithuanian Catholicism. After the 3rd partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth in 1795, Lithuania became part of the Russian Empire.
Poles and Lithuanians unsuccessfully rebelled against Russian authorities in 1831 and 1863. The two uprisings are thought to be connected with the contemporary use of the hill as a religious site. When families could not locate bodies of perished rebels during the uprisingslink title, they started putting up symbolic crosses in the location of a former hill fort.
After WWI, in 1918 Lithuania regained independence. In 1922 there were 50 crosses, the number before the WWII reached over 400. During that period the Hill of Crosses was a place for Masses and devotions.
After WWII Šiauliai region became a part of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic. During the Soviet era, the pilgrimage to the Hill of Crosses became an expression of Lithuanian nationalism. The Soviets repeatedly removed the crosses placed on the hill by many nationalistic and Christian Lithuanians.
In 1961, 1973 and 1975 the Hill was cleared and the crosses were burned or turned into scrap metal with the area being covered with waste to discourage further similar activities at the site. On each occasion the local inhabitants and pilgrims from all over Lithuania replaced the crosses on the hill.
The hill is currently visited by many thousands of visitors and pilgrims from all over the world. The current number of crosses is unknown. Estimates put it at about 55,000 in 1990 and by 2006 the number had grown to an estimated 100,000. Diverse styles, designs and sizes are represented amongst the crosses. Some are carved out of wood, others sculpted from metal. The crosses range from 3m tall to countless tiny examples hanging upon and about the larger crosses.
On 7 September, 1993, Pope John Paul II visited the Hill of Crosses, declaring it a place for hope, peace, love and sacrifice.
In 2000 a Franciscan hermitage was opened nearby. The interior decoration of this monastery draws upon La Verna, the mountain where St. Francis received his stigmata.
Although the most interesting site near Šiauliai, the Hill of Crosses, is situated north of the city, the most attractive recreation area lies some 20km south-west from Šiauliai centre. The area is commonly known as Kurtuvėnai Forest, which is a part of Kurtuvėnai Regional Park [4] with the centre in Kurtuvėnai village. The management of Regional Park with the guest house is settled there. Horse riding centre locates in the stables of Kurtuvėnai Manor and operates since 1995. The three-star camping site "Kurtuvėnai" was established in the garden of the manor in 2008. The tavern "Kryžkelė" ("Crossroad") was opened in the renewed peon's house. The building was built for the czarist army's warehouses when they dig Venta-Dubysa channel in the 19th century. Here you can try, of course, genuine Lithuanian beer, as well as some culinary heritage dishes which are made using old traditions. The Regional Park has numerous places, related to Lithuanian national movement of the junction of the 19th-20th centuries and to the events of both world wars. Kurtuvėnai has a rich, nice and diverse environment. Park area covers 17252 ha, including 12130 ha of the forests. Whole park's territory is divided to several zones: conservation (nature reserves), ecological priority (preservation), recreation, economic (forestry, agriculture) and living zones. Sparsely populated, park territory has about 1200 local dwellers. 30 small lakelets are swashing and 20 forest rivulets are running in the shelter of forests. Kurtuvėnai settlement is surrounded by nearly 100 fishery reservoirs. In the western part of the park there spurt well-known multiple springs of Svilė, which are considered to be the biggest in Lithuania. Predominant forests are coniferous. The landscape is characterized with high biodiversity of vegetation, some 981 plant species have been found there. There can be found many common species of birds and animals, even wolves are among them here, they permanently live in the western part of the forest. Some of the habitats are of European importance (Natura 2000). There are 2 cognitive paths (about 4.5 km each one) and 2 bicycle trails, 6 defensive hill-forts, 8 interesting landscape objects, 15 alone standing trees, each of which is a separate object of interest, related to one or other historical event or is just an expressive example of nature. The Shrovetide Feastival of Kurtuvenai is acknowledged as a one of the most viable traditional festivals all over Lithuania. Also, other feasts take place there, such as the Festival of barn-theaters, Fire-linkup on the Girnikai hill-fort, Midsummer Feast, and various events of the Christmas time.
Get out
Klaipeda, Lithuania's third largest city is to the south west.
Kaunas, Lithuania's second city is to the south east.
Telšiai, the capital city of Samogitia region.


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Families have started decorating for the holiday, and this weekend, local residents have a chance to see some of the Christmas decorations on display at local homes. The Shawnee Football Wolf Moms will have their 10th annual Holiday Home Tour from 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2.
Families have started decorating for the holiday, and this weekend, local residents have a chance to see some of the Christmas decorations on display at local homes.
The Shawnee Football Wolf Moms will have their 10th annual Holiday Home Tour from 2 to 5 p.m., Sunday, Dec. 2.
"The tour has become a Christmas tradition for many in Shawnee," said Lisa Walker with the Shawnee Football Wolf Moms.
Included in the tour will be the homes of:
• Randy and LuAnne Floyd at 1709 Pecan Crossing Drive, Windmill Ridge,
• Michael and Shannon Caldwell at 1905 Brownstone Way, Windmill Ridge,
• Earl and Barbara Brothers at 44805 Benson Park Road, South Rock Creek,
• Greg and Stephanie Wilson at 1005 Muirhead, Country Club, and
• Margaret and Terry Hopkins at 1730 N. Broadway.
LuAnne Floyd said her home will feature decorations that her family has inherited, including part of a Santa Claus collection from her mother-in-law and some Coca Cola figurines from her father-in-law, who worked for Coca Cola. She also has a nutcracker collection and four trees.
She started decorating the day after Halloween.
"That way I could pace myself and not get stressed out," she said.
Floyd is one of Wolf Moms, and she said she hopes everyone enjoys the event.
"The money goes to a good cause. Our football program, in order for it to be a successful program, it takes a lot of money," she said. She also added that the home tour is about more than just raising money for the program, though. "It's also about giving the community something fun for the holidays."
Barbara Brothers said she has been working on decorating non-stop for nearly three weeks, though she added she has been fortunate to have a lot of help from Zack Tyner, a 19-year-old boy from down the street.
"He's just the nicest kid, and he and his dad have been such a blessing to my husband and I since we moved here," she said.
She has decorated every room with a different theme, including a Santa's office room, a snow room, a gingerbread room, an angel room and more, with six trees downstairs and four upstairs.
She plans to have cookies and cider for visitors, as well as a little card with the legend of the candy cane.
Brothers said her reason for having her home on the tour was her mother-in-law, who had looked forward to doing the home tour with her before passing away unexpectedly.
"At first, I wasn't going to do this, but she was so excited about helping me with it," Brothers said, adding that they had been very close and both loved decorating for Christmas. "I'm really doing this in honor of her, because she loved it so, and I hope she's looking down and is pleased."
Some of the decorations include things she has inherited from her mother-in-law.
"I'm hoping everybody will enjoy it and make friends," Brothers said of the event.
Heather Acock, granddaughter of the Hopkins, said they decided to do the home tour because her grandparents will be moving into another home, and they thought the tour would be a way to find a good family to buy the house on Broadway.
"It's probably one of the prettiest homes in Shawnee," Acock said.
She said the stairwells and fireplaces would be decorated with garland, and the dining room table set for a formal Christmas dinner.
"We're trying to make it as traditional as possible, keeping it in the style of the home," she said.
Tickets for the event are $10 if bought in advance, but they will also be sold at each home on the day of the tour, and will be $12 if bought at the door.
Shawnee football players will greet visitors at each home, Walker said.
Tickets are being sold in advance at Lasting Impressions, Eric's Pharmacy, Chicago Street Deli, Benedict Street Market, Uncommon Threads, Shepard's Men's Wear and Shawnee Honda.
Walker said the money raised by the program would go to the football program.
"Each week, the Wolf Moms provide the football team with weekly snacks and dinner on Sunday nights. Also, the Wolf Moms decorate the locker room each week with motivational slogans to encourage the team."


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The European team for the 2012 Junior Ryder Cup, which takes place at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois, USA from September 24-25, has been finalised.
The team, comprising two under-16 boys, two under-16 girls, four under-18 boys and four under-18 girls, will attempt to regain the trophy from the USA after a 13 – 10 defeat at The Gleneagles Hotel in 2010.
The Junior Ryder Cup was formally introduced in 1997, following an exhibition match between teams of boys and girls from Europe and the United States in 1995. It traditionally takes place just before The Ryder Cup.
Spaniard Covadonga Sanjuan earned automatic selection for the 2012 European team after her victory in the European Young Masters at Royal Balaton Golf and Yacht Club in Hungary last month, as did Italy's Renato Paratore, who won the boys' competition.
Emily Pedersen of Denmark and Germany's Dominic Foos, both under-16s, were also chosen by a selection committee comprising European Captain Stuart Wilson, Assistant Captain Kristin Gunhildrud and representatives from the European Golf Association and The European Tour.
The committee was present at a number of key junior events, including the European Boys' and Girls' Team Championships, and also took into account performances in national championships plus standings in national and European Amateur Golf Rankings.
Austrian Matthias Schwab, who played on The European Tour as a 15 year old in the 2010 Austrian Golf Open, was selected, and is joined in the boys' under-18 category by England's Toby Tree, Ireland's Gavin Moynihan, who was the youngest player ever to win the Irish Amateur Championship this year, and Sweden's Victor Tarnstrom.
The girls are represented by Linnea Strom of Sweden, who has dominated junior golf in her country, Quirine Eijkenboom of Germany, Harang Lee from Spain and England's Bronte Law.
The Junior Ryder Cup celebrates the progress and hard work taking place at the grass roots level of golf, which helps talented young players develop into national team amateurs and some even to The Ryder Cup itself. The collaboration between PGA professionals and junior organisers at club level and PGAs and governing bodies at a national level help these youngsters develop into Junior Ryder Cup players. The Junior Ryder Cup promotes friendship and good sportsmanship between the best junior golfers from the US and Europe.
It has been the platform from which successful professional careers have been launched for numerous players. Spaniard Sergio Garcia played in the 1995 exhibition match and four years later was part of the full European Team at The Country Club in Brookline, while Suzann Pettersen played in the Junior Ryder Cup in 1997 and 1999 before becoming Norway's top female golfer and taking part in six Solheim Cups.
Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy was in the victorious 2004 team, since when he has won two Major Championships and will represent Europe for a second time in The 2012 Ryder Cup. For the Americans, Hunter Mahan, having been in the 1999 junior team, has progressed to become a US PGA Tour winner and was part of the 2008 and 2010 US Ryder Cup teams.
Other notable past Junior Ryder Cup players are Matteo Manassero, who played in 2008 and has since become one of golf's hottest properties, and Carly Booth, who also played in 2008 and has won twice on the Ladies European Tour this season.
European team:
Quirine Eijkenboom (GER)
Dominic Foos (GER)
Bronte Law (ENG)
Harang Lee (ESP)
Gavin Moynihan (IRL)
Renato Paradore (ITA)
Emily Pedersen (DEN)
Covadonga Sanjuan (ESP)
Matthias Schwab (AUT)
Linnea Strom (SWE)
Victor Tarnstrom (SWE)
Toby Tree (ENG)


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Install new version of HADB.
Register the new HADB version, as described in Registering HADB Packages
Registering the HADB package in the HADB management domain makes it easy to upgrade or change HADB packages. The management agent keeps track of where the software packages are located, as well as the version information for the hosts in the domain. The default package name is a string starting with V and containing the version number of the hadbm program.
Change the package the database uses.
Enter the following command:
hadbm set PackageName=package
where package is the version number of the new HADB package.
Un-register your existing HADB installation as described in Un-registering HADB Packages
If necessary, replace the management agent startup script.
For more information, see Replacing the Management Agent Startup Script
Verify the results, as described in Verifying HADB Upgrade.
(Optional) Remove the binary files for the old HADB version.
After verifying that HADB has been upgraded properly, you can delete the old HADB packages.


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Two-, three- or four wheels: River Falls offers routes for them
River Falls has been nationally recognized as "bike friendly community" by the League of American Bicyclists.
The declaration reflects on how the city and biking groups encourage citizens to bike through support from law enforcement to make the streets safe for bicyclists and careful planning to provide trails and opportunities to bike.
"For being such a small town, I don't know any other town that has the quite the biking experience we have or the options," said Isaac Curtis, owner of Crank Worx Bike Shop in River Falls. One of these options it to join We Bike River Falls (WBRF) on its monthly bicycle rides. This group formed two years ago on the UW-River Falls campus and is one of these groups.
"It's just getting people out, being active," said Ian Johnson, the UWRF campus sustainability coordinator, "It gives then alternative option other than sitting around and watching tv" The group was formed by university students, faculty and staff. They wanted to raise awareness to how bicycle assessable River Falls is and the healthy benefits of riding bicycles.
Since its creation, WBRF has been supported by the St. Croix Institute for Sustainable Community Development and the UWRF Office of Student Life. The goal: Promote bicycle friendly transportation and local recreation options. This "healthy transportation alternative," Johnson said, could help reduce vehicle emissions if people choose to bike to work to school instead of driving.
On the third Friday of each month, May through October, the group meets at 5:30 p.m. in Veteran's Park. Participants go on five-mile bicycle ride, typically lasting about an hour. All ages are invited to participate in the bike ride, along with anyone who wants to come. There is no group membership. Events and bikes rides and free and open to the community. "That's more family-oriented," said Curtis, "once a month, casual, around town kind of riding." There are also options for "hard core adults," said Curtis. Kinnickinnic Off Road Cyclists (KORC) is one of these. KORC formed with the goal of creating quality terrain for mountain bikers.
The difference in terrain from street riding, or what We Bike River Falls members would ride on, is that the paths are rougher with steeper hills, uneven terrain and "close encounters to trees," says Truman Purdy, a member of KORC. The group formed seven years ago when a group of mountain bikers in River Falls came to the conclusion that the trails they had been using in Glen Park had become too dangerous and should build a new course. Together, they formed the non-profit KORC.
After meeting with the city and planning a new trail, the group began the construction project on the six-mile Whitetail Ridge Trail, located by the Whitetail Ridge industrial park. The KORC website describes it as a "tight, twisty single track, rock sections, steel climbs, fast downhill" trail. The trail is also used by KORC to host races at 6 p.m. on Tuesday nights. Participation requires a helmet and registration.
"That brings a lot of people from other areas like Hudson and over in the cities," Curtis said.
Whitetail Ridge Trail is also available to walkers and runners, even though it was created initially as a mountain biking path. During the winter, it is open to snowshoeing too. Other trails that can be used for mountain biking are in the sandy-trailed Glen Park and the gravel-trailed Hoffman Park.
A new bike rental option will also be available to the community through UWRF Recreation and Sports Facilities' Kinni Outdoor Adventures (KOA).
This department, located in Hunt Arena on the UWRF campus, has rented outdoor equipment, ranging from snow shoes to sleeping bags for camping, to students and the community, but bicycles will be added to that list in early July.
KOA will have six mountain bikes and six mountain bikes available for to rent for a day, weekend, or seven-day week.
For more information about bike or equipment rental, click the Kinni Outdoor Adventures link on the Recreation and Sports Facilities' website: www.uwrf.edu/RecreationAndSportFacilities.
"Everybody has an opportunity to ride no matter which style you do," said Curtis.


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I had designed a mockup in Sketchup and went from there. These mockups are just a basic idea, things got changed around during the build and the monitor stand is completely placeholder in the mockup.
So, on to the pictures...
Starting work on the legs.
Next we jump ahead a few weeks or so to a nearly complete desk, just adding final touches like trim. Still needs stained and then coated in finish for protection.
A good overview pick of the front of the desk, with the case shelf on the side.
The back
Shelf for my modem/router and anything else I plan to stick there...
From the side
Finished rear cable area (added the support across the bottom, the monitor support pole will be bolted to this)
(Note to self, pre-drill holes to prevent wood splitting)
Case Shelf with trim (The blocks allow the case to still have it's roller wheels on it, the case support pads rest securely on the blocks If I want to remove the wheels, I just detach the shelf, unscrew the blocks and I have a flat shelf)
Everything here was done with hand tools and these two saws. No fancy table saws here
Edited by S.T.A.L.K.E.R., 04 April 2012 - 09:15 AM.


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Forbes Takes South Dakota to Task Over High School Coverage Bill
The unusual combination of South Dakota politics and sports have been in the national news lately. First, it was one of our legislators calling mixed martial arts the 'child porn of sports', now it's a new law banning South Dakota public high schools from selling exclusive media rights to their events.
Senate Bill 119 was brought about by Pierre High School attempting to sell exclusive broadcast rights to their events to Capital Radio Group for a reported $7,500 to $10,000 per year. That prompted other media outlets to cry 'foul' and the legislature took up the cause.
Now, Bob Cook, a contributor to Forbes.com, is weighing in, and he's not impressed by the actions of our elected officials:
As a word person, I generally applaud the invocation of the First Amendment to ensure that information is freely distributed, and that I don't get thrown in jail for what I write. However, I have found one case testing my First Amendment absolutism....
...This bill is less about freedom of the press than it is the ability of the press to get things for free...
...As I hear the patriotic music telling me that the colonists fought and died for our rights to free web access to Pierre high school basketball, I also hear the sound of hypocrisy.
His point? The same people that are arguing against a school district's ability to make money selling these broadcast rights are the same people who want to use these games to make money by selling newspapers or advertising.
The key word at the heart of the issue is 'exclusive'. The bill does not outlaw selling rights to all-comers, just limiting it to one entity. But are those rights as valuable if anyone can purchase them?
Cook also wonders how the legislature can limit a public high school's ability to sell exclusive rights, while allowing state universities to sell exclusive rights to their events. Currently South Dakota and South Dakota State have exclusive deals with Learfield Sports.
Regardless of which side of the debate you're on, it is an important reminder that no matter how isolated we sometimes feel in the Upper Midwest, the rest of the country is watching.


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Triton's Rapp, Carpenter wrap with All-State honors
FRANKLIN — Triton's senior top flighters went out in style at Wednesday's state finals.
Ryan Rapp followed up his 2-under 70 at Tuesday's opening round with another 70 to finish in fifth place overall at 4-under 140, and Quentyn Carpenter shaved a stroke off his opening round with a 73 but still fell a spot in the final standings to 24th with a 3-over 147 over two days at The Legends Golf Club in Franklin. Rapp's fifth-place result earned him an automatic All-State selection, while Carpenter's finish was also good enough to make the All-State cut when added to the state series points he had already accumulated via a runner-up finish at regional and third-place result at sectional.
It was a fitting send-off to the storied careers of the two DI recruits, who closed out their freshman seasons at the state meet back in 2010 in the Trojans' first-ever team state berth.
"Most people here (at state) have five studs, they have five kids that can shoot in the 70s; we're probably the only program here that doesn't," said Triton golf coach Jack Carpenter. "We have two kids that go very, very low, and the other two we just try to get them through the best that we can. It just says a lot for Quentyn and Ryan to be able to bring those kids along, to get them this far. Basically, they're the ones that brought them here. If we didn't have them, there's no way we were even close."
Rapp was in the hunt for the individual championship at the turn at 5 under Wednesday, and he moved to 6 under with a birdie on the par 5 second hole at The Legends before a trio of bogeys on 4, 6 and 8 pushed him back to 3 under par. He ended on a high note with a birdie on the par 4 ninth to edge out Madison's Jordan Griffith by a stoke after the duo closed out Tuesday's opening round in a tie for fifth.
"On the last hole after taking bogey on three of my last four I figured I probably should try and birdie," joked Rapp of his finish Wednesday. "No, I ended up in the fairway and had a good approach and just made the putt. It was pretty cool."
"It's a great note to end a high school career on, I think. A top five finish and All-State, a great way to end," he said. "It's just icing on the cake, really. All-State wasn't my goal at all."
The fifth-place All-State finish was just the latest accolade for Rapp, a Marian University signee who seemed to turn a corner over the last month of his high school career with championships at the Uebele Invitational, the Northern State Conference Meet and the Warsaw Sectional.
"I played really bad last year and turned it around during the fall and summer. It carried on into this season; hopefully it'll carry on into the next four years," said Rapp. "Like I've said, the last few weeks my attitude has changed towards the game. It helps a lot; I don't get frustrated on the course."
"His last four weeks of high school golf have just been absolutely incredible," said Jack. "I'd like to say, I think his last six rounds he is probably at like 9 under. He's just had one heck of a run here as of late."
As in Tuesday's opening round, Quentyn hit the turn at 3 under Wednesday following a three-birdie back nine, but bogeys on 1 and 4 and a double bogey finish on 9 pushed him back to 1 over for the day and 3 over for the tournament. The Ball State recruit had to wait some two hours after finishing his round before getting the good news about making the All-State team, but while he wasn't thrilled by his finish immediately following the round, he was happy to end his high school career back at state after missing the individual cut out by three strokes at last year's Homestead Regional following back-to-back state appearances with the team and individually in 2010 and 2011.
"I was playing golf the way I should, posting a good score, but unfortunately I just couldn't drop putts. And then I doubled my last hole on kind of some bad luck, but it happens," said Carpenter.
"Making it back to state was my first goal this year. I made a list at the beginning of the season, and that was at the top of it. It was pretty heartbreaking not making it back down here last year. It wasn't the scores I wanted; it wasn't the season I wanted either, but it's golf, and I've got four more years to go to college and get better. This is just the beginning for me."
While Carpenter and Rapp sewed up All-State selections Wednesday, the Triton team also ended the year on a high note with a 304, nine strokes better than the Trojans' opening round score on Tuesday.
With the 617 tournament score, Triton finally got over the hump versus area rival Warsaw, which had beaten out the Trojans by a stoke for the Warsaw Sectional championship on May 31, then trumped Triton for the regional title at Stonehenge via fifth-score tiebreaker last Thursday. The Trojans entered Wednesday's final round trailing Warsaw by seven strokes, but the team's 304 Wednesday was good enough to edge out the Tigers by two strokes for 14th place in the elite 15-team field.
"The 304 that we shot here today was probably just as good if not better than the 305 we shot (at regional) at Stonehenge because we know the Stonehenge course a little bit better," said Jack. "Plus there's a little added pressure just being that you're in the state finals with a lot more people watching."
Of the nine strokes Triton shaved off Wednesday, Quentyn Carpenter accounted for one and junior Tanner Shepherd cut off three, but most of the difference was made by junior Lucas Shafer, who saved his best golf for last following up his 84 Tuesday with a 79 Wednesday. Shafer got off to a hot start with back-to-back birdies on 10 and 11 then closed with a pair of pars on 8 and 9 to end the year with a career-low.
"I had a great start, birdie, birdie, and I just kept going," said Shafer. "At the very end I went double, double, and I was getting kind of worried because I didn't think I was going to break 80, but I finished out with par and par. It was pretty good."
While Wednesday's dual All-State nominations made a fitting bookend to the high school careers of Quentyn Carpenter and Rapp, the two have plenty of golf still ahead of them as Rapp moves on to Marian, and Carpenter heads to Ball State. With the four-year mainstays now departing, Triton golf will have some work to do to get back to the run of success it's enjoyed over the past several seasons.
"Our solution next year is we're not going to have that kid. I know that Tanner has got a bug and my Shafer kid I think he's really starting to feel that he can play some golf, so our idea next year is instead of having two low scores and a couple higher, we're just going to need a bunch of kids around 80," said Jack. "We just keep pushing them, keep prodding them, trying to get them to play as much as they can in the summer time. It's not easy in a small program to do that.
"The expectations aren't going to get any less. We want to keep that momentum going. They say success breeds success so I'm hoping that the younger kids that are here watching kind of see what Quentyn and Ryan have done and the groups before them, and they want to keep that pride within the program."
At The Legends Golf Club (Par 72)
Team scores: 1. Westfield 575, 2. Columbus North 577, 3. Floyd Central 580, 4. Jasper 591, 5. Noblesville 592, 6. Avon 594, 7. TIE Bishop Dwenger, Evansville Memorial, Hamilton Southeastern 604, 10. Pendleton Heights 608, 11. Carmel 611, 12. Valparaiso 612, 12. Terre Haute North 615, 14. Triton 617, 15. Warsaw 619.
TRITON (617): Quentyn Carpenter (74-73-147); Ryan Rapp (70-70-140); Tanner Shepherd (85-82-167); Lucas Shafer (84-79-163); Gregory Music (95-103-198).


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(Scopus umbretta)
Facts about this animal
The Hamerkop stands about 56 cm tall. The plumage is rich sepia brown all over with a slight iridescent purplish gloss on the back, and there are several darker brown bars on the tail. The West African race minor is smaller, as well as a little darker.
The legs are blackish, with feathering only extending down the upper half of the tibia. Both neck and legs are relatively short for a wading bird, so it is not surprising that it feeds mainly in shallow water. The wings are borad and rounded and in flight the Hamerkop is reminiscent of an owl or perhaps a large moth. The neck is stretched out when soaring or gliding, as in most members of the stork family, but, being a smaller and more mobile bird, the Hamerkop indulges more in flapping flight, during which its head is partly retracted in towards its shoulders.
For feeding it requires shallow water, though the shallows themselves need not be extensive and may be along a lakeshore or the banks of a large river, as well as any small streams or seasonal pools. it can frequently be found on sandbanks, mud or floating vegetation. The other requirement of the species is somewhere to build its enourmous nest. Trees are normally favoured, but other possible sites include cliffs, and rocky hillslopes.
The true affinities of the hamerkop within the families of the order CICONIIFORMES are difficult to determine. Usually it is placed between the herons and the storks, but it is very different from both.
Did you know?
that the origins of the Hamerkop are extremely obscure and nobody really knows where its nearest affinities lie, though it is usually placed in the Ciconiiformes order? Superficially the Hamerkop's bill recalls those of both the Shoebill (Balaeniceps rex) and the Boat-billed Heron (Cochlearius cochlearius), but this is normally attributed to convergent evolution. It has a pectinated middle toe as in the herons, a free hind toe as in the flamingos, egg-white protein like the storks and yet ectoparasites which are only otherwise found in plovers. To confuse matters further, its habits and behaviour are unique, leaving taxonomists with little option but to place it in its own monospecific family.
|Name (Scientific)
|Scopus umbretta
|Name (English)
|Name (French)
|Ombrette du Sénégal
|Name (German)
|Name (Spanish)
|Local names
|Afrikaans: Hamerkop
|CITES Status
|Not listed
|CMS Status
|Not listed
Photo Copyright by
Sebastian Ritter
|Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar
|Wetlands of a wide variety, including estuaries, riverbanks, lakesides, fish ponds. Usually requires trees for nesting.
|Wild population
|Common and widespread. It adapts rather well to the presence of man and is frequently seen around villages (Red List IUCN 2011).
|Zoo population
|200 reported to ISIS (2007)
In the Zoo
How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 17 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
Find this animal on ZooLex
Photo Copyright by
Joachim Huber
Why do zoos keep this animal
The hamerkop is not a threatened species, and zoos do not maintain coordinated breeding programmes. It is mainly kept for educational purposes, because of its unique taxonomic status, morphology and nest-building behaviour, and for promoting wetland conservation, ideally in mixed exhibits (walk-thru aviaries)


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Morneau's Not Satisfied, But Twins Are Relieved
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Justin Morneau isn't producing the same way he used to.
Still, the former American League Most Valuable Player award and four-time All-Star has a .273 batting average, 19 home runs and 77 RBIs.
Not bad considering the huge physical hurdles he has finally cleared. Problems with his head, his neck, his back, his wrist, his knee and his foot are in the past.
The most important measure of his worth for the Minnesota Twins this season isn't any of those Triple Crown statistics.
It's the 131 games he's played, including 97 at first base. This is the first time Morneau has been on the field past mid-September since 2008.
Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Material may not be redistributed.


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Style # 222505
Your favorite bodycon just got a cool-girl update. This bebe curve-hugging dress features a diamond slashed top. Next you just need to style with studded flats and a crossbody bag.
- 92% nylon, 8% spandex
- Machine wash
- Made in USA
- Center back to hem: 30" (76 cm)
- Model is 5'9" and is wearing a US size S
Rated 5 out of 5�by 1 reviewer.
Rated 5 out of 5�by Cass Awesome dress! I ordered this for my daughter and she was nothing but smiles! November 3, 2014
1-1 of 1


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I provided my take on the issue. I've never said you have to agree with me. At least I did not jump to conclusions like:BlueLotus wrote:Yet you do.santa100 wrote: I haven't attained "Direct Knowledge" so there's no way for me to say with 100% certainty about anything.he would NOT be able to attain arahantship in his current life because of the Five Heinous Crimes rules
Bluelotus wrote:
It doesn't sound right a compassionate Buddha waited till he killed so many people (what the difference of your own mother and some other mother anyway) if he could help the guy before.. OR:
Killing your own mother is unimaginable but killing your neighbor's mother is somewhat imaginable? It sound like possessive thinking of someone stuck in self-view..


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Small Cool 2009: Laura's Small & Snug
Who Lives Here: Laura
Location: Washington, DC
Size: 425 square feet
What is your one favorite element in your small, cool home? I wasn't too crazy about the apartment itself when I moved in, but I tried to make it a place that I could call home. My favorite part of the apartment is how the dining nook has a cozy little cafe vibe to it. I'm really proud of how it turned out, especially since I personalized it quite a bit, including painting the chairs and making the lampshade myself.
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!
What was one of the biggest challenges you faced in furnishing your small home? While I love the fact that my home is small and snug, it was important for me to carve out separate areas for eating, sleeping, and entertaining, as I didn't want to have to sit on my bed while talking to my friends, or eat on my couch, etc. I tried to do this without sacrificing too much, and I think I was able to accomplish this through using elements like the bed canopy, divider screen, lighting, and rugs to define the separate areas. I used a lot of resources in planning my apartment. Design websites (especially Apartment Therapy) were a great resource for ideas, as well as magazines, and store displays.
Budget was also a constraining factor, so Ikea, Craigslist, and flea markets were my favorite resources for furnishing my apartment. Aside from my mattress, nothing in my apartment cost more than $250. I also like to incorporate accessories that I've picked up on my travels, such as Delftware china that I bought in the city of Delft, a table runner from Botswana, and crosses from Honduras and Texas, just to name a few.
Thumbs Up Voting is only activated for 48 Hours — so don't delay!


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GameSpot lines up footage from all three versions of DmC: Devil May Cry to help you decide which looks the best.
Part of the problem with these comparisons is that the video is hosted on youtube so it's running at 30FPS, when the PC version can run at much more.
Here are a couple of videos of DMC running at 60FPS on PC for comparison:
There you go! PC version is unsurprisingly the way to go, 360 2nd, PS3 3rd as with most games that use the UE. I will one day soon get a beefed up PC but for now the 360 version is the way to go, at least for me!
All I know is the cutscenes suffer from a dramatic drop in fps on ps3
its always been ez for me all my multiplats go to 360. exclusives PS3.


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Real Ginger Wife Gives Head & Swallows
Lovely brunette receives two facials
Hard Cock Makes A Cute Babe Happy
Hard Cock Makes A Cute Babe Happy
Fresh Porn videos
Amateur Teen Slut Rides Cock
Beautiful Teen With Big Tits Sucks Cock In Point of View
When I say that she takes an impressive cock in the ass, I actually say that she only takes a small piece because it is so huge...
Latina GF POV Oral Sex
Tinder chick puts out in the first hour
19yo brown amateur broad homemade sexual intercourse
Filming the Mrs trying to deep throat my penis
Rave Slut Gets Fucked Out in the Desert
Hot Teen Takes Deep Blowjob in the Mall
Young GF Giving a Sensual BJ
Magnificent amateur brunette teen rides a dick and gives her lover the fuck of a lifetime.
Ex-girlfriend Amanda giving POV blowjob
Teenie non-professional oral sex and facial cumshot
Homemade gorgeous teeny oral lovemaking
Black GF BJ for Cum on Face
Petitte Teen Plowed By Arm Sized Cock
Beautiful chick blowing cock till the guy explodes
Too big for her hands
"this is somebody elses girlfriend" lol
Perfect blowjob and finish from hot chick
Wife giving me slow blowjob and cum in her mouth
Just Helping Her Friend Wake Up
Perfect deepthroat blowjob performed by my blonde princess
Dude gives sunbathing girl some unwanted lotion
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Working husband's big cock
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Blonde GF Sucks & Jacks off Her Boyfriend until He Cums
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I fuck my wife and use her mouth as a cum target
Naughty GF Gets Rammed From Behind
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Sexy Girl Sucks Dick and gets Filmed!
I Get To Cum On Your Face for Doing You That Favor
Amateur couple fucking hard in many positions for their first home sex movie


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I just tried to update my daughter's xo. First tried while connected wirelessly to our home net. We waited and waited. Finally did a USB update and it worked fine - it seemed.
But for 'step 8' I had to sign back into our home net but it seems the wireless radio is turned off and I can't find where to turn it back on. Checked the control panel - 'network' and I un-checked the 'Radio' box (and I tried it checked again too) so it was in 'regular' power saving mode.
The little wireless 'mic shaped light' on the front panel won't come on.
where can I access that? It did say that the update occurred successfully.


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- AltCar Auto Show
- Beijing Auto Show
- CES Auto Show
- Chicago Auto Show
- DC Auto Show
- Detroit Auto Show
- Frankfurt Auto Show
- Geneva Auto Show
- LA Auto Show
- NAIAS Auto Show
- New York Auto Show
- Paris Auto Show
- Philadelphia Auto Show
- SEMA Auto Show
- San Diego Auto Show
- Shanghai Auto Show
- St. Louis Auto Show
- Tokyo Auto Show
Auto Show: 2013 Detroit Auto Show
2013 Detroit Auto Show: Preview
- It's winter outside, but it's spring in the Detroit show.
- Workweek machines rub fenders with upscale contenders.
- Emboldened by better sales, carmakers get conceptual again.
More than 50 launches are set for the 2013 Detroit Auto Show. And we should probably feel sorry for 49 of them.
The big news at this year's North American International Auto Show (also known as NAIAS, or just plain Detroit) is the official introduction of the 2014 Chevrolet Corvette. Few cars have been so well loved over the years, especially by citizens of these United States. The 2014 model heralds the seventh generation, code named (predictably) C7, and it looks like it's playing just as big a part in American car culture as the Corvette nameplate has for the past six decades.
Luckily for the rest of the auto world, not everyone is in the market for a powerful 2-seater sports machine. So this event -- held early every year in what is often nicknamed Motor City -- still holds plenty of interest for families, luxury buyers, young drivers and the eco-conscious.
Meat, Potatoes ... and Caviar
Truck fans should be especially excited, since the 2015 Ford F-150 is expected to show up, along with the revised 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and 2014 GMC Sierra. A diesel version of the 2013 Jeep Grand Cherokee could surprise some traditionalists, but perhaps it signals that diesel's day has arrived at last. Another new sibling, the 2014 Jeep Liberty, is scheduled to make an appearance.
Despite the bread-and-butter models that domestic makers typically rely on, Detroit 2013 will see a large number of high-end rides. The new Infiniti Q50, replacing the G series, is already creating a buzz. But rivals won't be left in the dust. A new version of the Lexus IS executive sedan is set to debut, while the all-new Mercedes-Benz CLA 4-door coupe (a scaled-down riff on the sleek CLS) joins a face-lifted 2014 E-Class range.
A powerful (320 horsepower) M iteration of the BMW Z4 competes for enthusiasts' attention with the updated 2014 Audi R8 (one of the finest sports cars available) and the 2014 Audi RS 5 Cabriolet. On a slightly more modest note, a John Cooper Works treatment of the relatively new 2013 MINI Paceman compact crossover/coupe is primed for its Motown moment.
Using Detroit as its launching pad is the 2014 Cadillac ELR coupe. It works on the same drivetrain principles as the Chevy Volt plug-in hybrid.
Concept Confidence
There's no delicate way to put this, but things got pretty scary for a few years. Now it seems that vehicle sales in general are looking healthy (14.5 million cars and light trucks sold in the U.S. in 2012 -- the best figure since 2007, according to Autodata) and companies are ready to be a little brave once again. In terms of car shows, bravery means concepts.
Enter the Toyota Furia concept. This might, just might, point toward how the next generation of Corolla compact sedan might look. BMW is bringing its X4 concept. You know how an X6 is virtually an X5 with a more sloping roof? That's the kind of relationship the X4 has with the X3. And it's close to production. As is the BMW 4 Series, which takes over from where the 3 Series coupe left off.
Hyundai has its HCD-14. It sounds like a spy plane, but the company says it's really "a glimpse into future Hyundai premium vehicle design." This probably means that the next version of the Genesis will look something like this.
VW is displaying a 7-seater SUV project, while Lincoln has a compact crossover idea called the MKC. Wraps will be pulled from a prototype of the next-generation 2014 Acura MDX as well as a crossover design study based on the Honda Fit subcompact, called the Urban SUV Concept.
We'll have more details and comprehensive coverage when the press days, Jan. 14 and 15, roll around. The 2013 Detroit Auto Show is open to the public from Jan. 19 to 27.
What it means to you: The next car to grace your garage or driveway might well make its debut at Detroit 2013.


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Ukrainian students advocate for clean water
Water is essential for life. It covers about 70% of the Earth's surface and makes up about 70% of our body mass. There is no substitute for water. However, water resources on the planet are limited, and unevenly distributed in time and space.
International World Water Day is held annually on 22 March as a means of focusing attention on the importance of freshwater and advocating for the sustainable management of freshwater resources. An international day to celebrate freshwater was recommended at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro. The United Nations General Assembly responded by designating 22 March 1993 as the first World Water Day.
Recognizing that social advertising is apowerful tool for galvanizing public opinion and educating people UNDP Ukraine partnered with Association of Advertisers of Ukraine and Student Advertising Festival to organize a contest dedicated to the World Water Day and issues related to protection of water resources and universal access to clean water.
The organizers have received more than a thousand videos and posters from Universities all over Ukraine. The best three works have been awarded with multimedia tablets. The students' videos and posters are very professional and will be widely used by UNDP in public awareness and educational campaigns.
"It is especially refreshing to see impressive works of young people, the students who responded to our call to devote their time and talent to create videos and images onwater. It is my hope that when they become professional advertising designers and copyrighters they will remember the good feeling they had when theywere working on something meaningful and willcontinue to donate their talent and creative skills to uphold social causes."- said YevgenRomat, the Dean of Kyiv National Economic University and the head of the contest jury.
UNDP partners with Ukrainian Government, private sector and civil society to implement a number of successful water projects which focus on rehabilitating natural water springs, developing a comprehensive Monitoring framework of Dnipro's ecological status, helping to elaborate better environmental legislation, introducing modern water purification technologies to plants and factories so that the water they discharge into the rivers is not harmful, helping local communities to restore water networks and teaching children to be environmentally conscious and savvy.
Through its Local Development projects UNDP Ukraine supported more than a thousand local community projects aimed at improving water supply and sanitation for 400thousand people. These included reconstruction of hot and cold water supply and sewage system pipelines in houses, construction of street water supply pipelines, restoring community springs and wells as well as installation of drinking water fountains at schools.
The Dnipro Basin Environment Project pilots Cleaner Production Technologies for the small/medium-sized enterprises, developed a comprehensive Monitoring of Dnipro's ecological status, helps to introduce better environmental legislation and facilitates international cooperation among scientists, officials and experts from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus aimed at integral Dnipro Management . The project helps Ukrainian companies to implement low-cost cleaner production measures that are both affordable, energy efficient and widely-used in developed countries.
Photo by Syuzanna Fonaryova


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It was the fall and winter of '76 that Bret Harte came to Hartford and collaborated with Mark Twain on the play "Ah Sin," a comedy-drama, or melodrama, written for Charles T. Parsloe, the great impersonator of Chinese character. Harte had written a successful play which unfortunately he had sold outright for no great sum, and was eager for another venture. Harte had the dramatic sense and constructive invention. He also had humor, but he felt the need of the sort of humor that Mark Twain could furnish. Furthermore, he believed that a play backed by both their reputations must start with great advantages. Clemens also realized these things, and the arrangement was made. Speaking of their method of working, Clemens once said:
"Well, Bret came down to Hartford and we talked it over, and then Bret wrote it while I played billiards, but of course I had to go over it to get the dialect right. Bret never did know anything about dialect." Which is hardly a fair statement of the case. They both worked on the play, and worked hard.
During the, period of its construction Harte had an order for a story which he said he must finish at once, as he needed the money. It must be delivered by the following night, and he insisted that he must be getting at it without a moment's delay. Still he seemed in no haste to begin. The evening passed; bedtime came. Then he asked that an open fire might be made in his room and a bottle of whisky sent up, in case he needed. something to keep him awake. George attended to these matters, and nothing more was heard of Harte until very early next morning, when he rang for George and asked for a fresh fire and an additional supply of whisky. At breakfast-time he appeared, fresh, rosy, and elate, with the announcement that his story was complete.
That forenoon the Saturday Morning Club met at the Clemens home. It was a young women's club, of which Mark Twain was a sort of honorary member — a club for the purpose of intellectual advancement, somewhat on the order of the Monday Evening Club of men, except that the papers read before it were not prepared by members, but by men and women prominent in some field of intellectual progress. Bret Harte had agreed to read to them on this particular occasion, and he gaily appeared and gave them the story just finished, "Thankful Blossom," a tale which Mark Twain always regarded as one of Harte's very best.
The new play, "Ah Sin," by Mark Twain and Bret Harte, was put on at Washington, at the National Theater, on the evening of May 7, 1877. It had been widely exploited in the newspapers, and the fame of the authors insured a crowded opening. Clemens was unable to go over on account of a sudden attack of bronchitis. Parsloe was nervous accordingly, and the presence of Harte does not seem to have added to his happiness.
"I am not very well myself," he wrote to Clemens. "The excitement of the first night is bad enough, but to have the annoyance with Harte that I have is too much for a new beginner."
Nevertheless, the play seems to have gone well, with Parsloe as Ah Sin — a Chinese laundryman who was also a great number of other diverting things — with a fair support and a happy-go-lucky presentation of frontier life, which included a supposed murder, a false accusation, and a general clearing-up of mystery by the pleasant and wily and useful and entertaining Ah Sin. It was not a great play. It was neither very coherent nor convincing, but it had a lot of good fun in it, with character parts which, if not faithful to life, were faithful enough to the public conception of it to be amusing and exciting. At the end of each act not only Parsloe, but also the principal members of the company, were called before the curtain for special acknowledgments. When it was over there was a general call for Ah Sin, who came before the curtain and read a telegram.
CHARLES T. PARSLOE — I am on the sick-list, and therefore cannot come to Washington; but I have prepared two speeches — one to deliver in event of failure of the play, and the other if successful. Please tell me which I shall send. May be better to put it to vote.
The house cheered the letter, and when it was put to vote decided unanimously that the play had been a success — a verdict more kindly than true.
J. I. Ford, of the theater management, wrote to Clemens, next morning after the first performance, urging him to come to Washington in person and "wet nurse" the play until "it could do for itself."
Ford expressed satisfaction with the play and its prospects, and concludes:
I inclose notices. Come if you can. "Your presence will be worth ten thousand men. The king's name is a tower of strength." I have urged the President to come to-night.
The play made no money in Washington, but Augustin Daly decided to put it on in New York at the Fifth Avenue Theater, with a company which included, besides Parsloe, Edmund Collier, P. A. Anderson, Dora Goldthwaite, Henry Crisp, and Mrs. Wells, a very worthy group of players indeed. Clemens was present at the opening, dressed in white, which he affected only for warm-weather use in those days, and made a speech at the end of the third act.
"Ah Sin" did not excite much enthusiasm among New York dramatic critics. The houses were promising for a time, but for some reason the performance as a whole did not contain the elements of prosperity. It set out on its provincial travels with no particular prestige beyond the reputation of its authors; and it would seem that this was not enough, for it failed to pay, and all parties concerned presently abandoned it to its fate and it was heard of no more. Just why "Ah Sin" did not prosper it would not become us to decide at this far remove of time and taste. Poorer plays have succeeded and better plays have failed since then, and no one has ever been able to demonstrate the mystery. A touch somewhere, a pulling-about and a readjustment, might have saved "Ali Sin," but the pullings and haulings which they gave it did not. Perhaps it still lies in some managerial vault, and some day may be dragged to light and reconstructed and recast, and come into its reward. Who knows? Or it may have drifted to that harbor of forgotten plays, whence there is no returning.
As between Harte and Clemens, the whole matter was unfortunate. In the course of their association there arose a friction and the long-time friendship disappeared.
Last updated Sunday, March 27, 2016 at 12:00


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|View Poll Results: Shakugan no Shana III - Episode 21 Rating
|Perfect 10
|9 out of 10 : Excellent
|8 out of 10 : Very Good
|7 out of 10 : Good
|6 out of 10 : Average
|5 out of 10 : Below Average
|4 out of 10 : Poor
|3 out of 10 : Bad
|2 out of 10 : Very Bad
|1 out of 10 : Painful
|Voters: 40. You may not vote on this poll
|Thread Tools
|2012-03-04, 01:12
|Link #21
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: DP 原画 --> ヨハネ
The new law just enforces not doing something that is now effectively a pointless chore with no returns whatsoever
|2012-03-04, 02:04
|Link #22
The Dark Knight
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: From the deepest abyss in the world, where you think?
Age: 32
The fact that the Flame Hazes are instilling fear and having the survivors pass it on goes to show that even with Xanadu Denizens could potentially still travel to Earth and from there consume humans. They are literally turning Earth into a mythical land filled with demons to scare them off. Since this is down the road and not immediate I'm guessing the Flame Hazes will pass into legend as they wouldn't be needed anymore so they are ensuring Earth's protection and handing it off to the survivors to carry it on.
With the law prohibiting consumption of humans they are also putting in a guarantee that the Denizens will not go back to their old ways of consuming humans as they wouldn't be there to keep them in check either. Yes there's a limitless supply (however that is) but sometimes things or people kill/eat simply for fun or just for whatever reasons. That's why paradises do not exist because people find them to be boring.
|2012-03-04, 03:05
|Link #23
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: DP 原画 --> ヨハネ
They eat to maintain their form just like how every living thing eats to survive.
If you are the one being eaten and want to do something about it then you just attempt to fight back and kill whatever that tries to kill you.
There's no right or wrong, it's just something that is.
The senior Flame Hazes though, they've long been removed from this cycle and are just fighting out of pure bloodlust. Any Tomogara that crosses their path, if he/she holds nothing of usefulness to the Flame Haze, is exterminated on sight.
It's not out of self-defence or anything like that. It's cruelty that serves no purpose.
Those that hold true dedication to preserving the balance are few and far between.
Boring? You are talking about Existence power. Enough of which allows warping of reality to achieve nearly whatever you can want. How does mere killing compare to that? The odd psychopath may exist here and then but the majority would be far too busy with that new power to care
You seem to think Tomogara feed out of cruelty or malice. They're not Flame Hazes. What drives them at the core is far different. Tomogara are a species. They are not something that is born out of circumstances unlike Flame Hazes. Hell, one of the most malicious and evil Tomogara you can ever find is Pheles and look how she wound up....
Certain Tomogara, a very major character in fact, have good reason to hate humans and do generally view humanity as just fuel to be expended. There's extenuating circumstances in those cases even then so passing condemnation like that is wrong at best. Of course, I don't think it makes any difference in your eyes and it doesn't affect the topic at hand anyway since they're mostly dead.
There's plenty of effed up people in the world and our race in general isn't very pleasant. Then all humans are psychopaths incapable of anything good I presume?
And yes, the supply is limitless. How? Well the Snake is a God-rank being for a reason.
Last edited by Cosmic Eagle; 2012-03-04 at 03:20.
|2012-03-04, 17:03
|Link #25
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2008
Location: The Netherlands
Age: 30
The Reiji Maigo only restores PoE at midnight. Maybe Johan's 'body' was broken because of Sabrac's assault and because of that his 'body' is having trouble regulating the PoE. Maybe this has been getting harder for him as time went by and he suspects that he won't be able to regulate the PoE at all anymore soon. That would result in him disappearing. I guess that this would explain why even infinite PoE (Reiji Maigo) won't save him.
Since he's about to disappear, he's betting everything on a plan using Yuji's/SnH's creation of Xanadu.
|2012-03-05, 15:12
|Link #26
Senior Member
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Lusitania
Age: 30
Despite what many people think of this episode and actually enjoyed it!
I know everyone is free to have his/her tastes, but I really think many SnS fans have been spoiled by the novels and are expecting certain events in the anime, like fight scenes and action. I like them too, but we needed a clear explanation on several issues: and we've got them in this episode. Furthermore, as much as I like Shana x Yuji pairing, we have a lot of other important characters who need attention. Also we are reaching the end *sobs* and a lot of action - after all it's the story's climax. We need some "calm" moments before that: we are almost at midnight.
I was surprised by Sale's background. He is a mysterious Flame Haze, and little is known about him, but I'm quite interested in his story. Loved Kazumi and Johan's talk, I adore him and Pheles! And what a cliffhanger...
|2012-03-05, 18:35
|Link #27
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: a room full of despair
Age: 29
|2012-03-05, 21:54
|Link #28
Senior Member
A possible unspoken reason for this slaughtering of denizens - To keep some of the more powerful denizens preoccupied and out of Shana's way in case Aizen!Yuji doesn't take kindly to how she's changed his new world for denizens (and hence the two come to blows once again).
Basically, without those more powerful denizens preoccupied, they could conceivably rush to Snake of the Festival's aid if he continues fighting with Shana, hence potentially overwhelming Shana.
I'm not going to cry too many tears over beings who feed on sentient lifeforms being taken out like this. Granted that there's definitely a certain blood-lust and cruelty to it that I'm not exactly going to cheer, either, but if I was a human on Shana's world, I think I'd sleep much more comfortably at night knowing that the Flame Hazes are going to take every last measure possible to ensure that my fellow humans and I don't get ate by denizens (even if their reasons are more about "balance" than any compassion for humans specifically).
Now, as for my take on Episode 21 overall. That was an awesome cliffhanger, but it's too bad that the next episode preview kind of ruins it.
Spoiler for In case you wisely skipped the preview, lol. ;):
The conflicts in this episode were pretty fun to watch, but I have to admit that I also would have liked to have seen more of Yuji and Shana. Ultimately, they're the characters I care the most about, whereas a lot of the combatants we're seeing now are new characters brought in just this season, and a lot of them have only been barely fleshed out. Dantalion's "son" and Mrs. Glorious Green Phoenix Rider are quite cool to watch, but I haven't really been given a lot of reason to seriously care about them.
The Johann/Pheles/Kazumi scene was great, though. I really enjoyed that.
So I'll give a 8/10 for this episode. Hope we see much more of Yuji and Shana next episode though.
Last edited by Triple_R; 2012-03-05 at 22:15.
|2012-03-06, 01:49
|Link #31
The Dark Knight
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: From the deepest abyss in the world, where you think?
Age: 32
They came to Earth because of greed and taste. It's not about survival. Very few Denizens have the discipline to restrict their diet while the majority take what they can. If that wasn't the case then the Flame Hazes would've never have been needed in the first place.
When a lion eats a gazelle, it's not contributing to the destruction of the world. When a human eats a hamburger, eventually the carbon and energy ingested will return to the planet.
Killing fleeing people with broken morale is NOT self-defence.
In this case the Denizens are still on their feet fighting and their morale isn't broken. There's a difference there.
Some people just do things simply because they can.
I specify then as Denizens because unless there's a specific term for the ones that actually eat humans I'm not aware of it. I do know as the show has shown that they form the majority which the Flame Hazes target.
It was already made very well clear in S1 and S2 that not all Flame Hazes were angels. As Shana stated their job is to maintain the balance. This brutality and efficiency is expected of them otherwise they never would've been this competent in maintaing the balance.
Hell from what I read the attacks of the 4 Gods works in that for every Denizen killed it stabilises their PoE to avoid upsetting the balance.
That and no one in the show has stated against it either.
|2012-03-06, 02:24
|Link #32
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: DP 原画 --> ヨハネ
Whether they destabilize the world or not is beyond the point. If you are trying to sustain your self you wouldn't care.
Which again brings me back to where did I say they were in the right?
It's just a fact of how their setting works. Which is why the whole point now is changing the way the setting works
You have no idea what the hell I'm talking about and you say "I know it?"
It should be damned obvious an all out war situation like what's happening now is completely different from usual times.
Which is incidentially what I refer to. Any Tomogara that crosses path with a Flame Haze is put down on the spot. Outside of an all out war. Whether the Tomogara has any affiliation with a hostile faction or not.
Since you are using judicial terms here, this is not a trial or anything resembling a court even. This is running around carrying out summary executions.
Obviously those are not "tons of murderers"
You know what is the concept of dealing with each case individually?
Generalizing an entire group like that when you yourself said "some people?" Is that not anger directed at a group yet the ones on the receiving end are individuals whom you know nothing about?
I hope you are not a judge because then plenty of people who should get life imprisonment or long jail terms at most would be put to death if you were in charge.
The Corpse Eater is an N/A case. So I never mentioned him at all.
Flame Haze target all Tomogara that appear in this world.
There's no umbrella term because you need fuel to exist here. Minor characters have to eat. Even Lords and named characters too.
Merihim, when he swore never to eat humans again, he eventually burned himself out training Shana if you would recall. And he's one of the most powerful Tomogara around. He was near death ever since he stopped feeding as he was literally running on nothing and had to conserve as much energy as possible.
Last edited by Cosmic Eagle; 2012-03-06 at 19:42.
|2012-03-06, 11:56
|Link #33
Knowledge is the solution
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: St. Louis, MO
Age: 34
|2012-03-09, 03:51
|Link #35
User of the "Fast Draw"
I didn't really expect the Flame Haze to simply alter Xanadu instead of preventing its very creation. Does deal with some of the criticism that all they could offer was the status quo. They'll let the Tomogara head off, but just after a major beating and setting up some preventative measures. Helps take care of their worries about a future apocalypse. Also takes care of the morally questionable idea of sacrificing people in a new world so this one would be safe. Make eating people seem like an absolutely terrible idea and just make the Earth a damn scary place to go to .
People can say it wasn't necessary and yet you have people like that crazy professor upset about this change. You think someone like that would give up experimenting with lives like that? Considering most of the Tomogara there have eaten people its a good idea to set up some safety measures. SnH can call this Yuji's plan and yet something like that was left out?
More curious about what Johan and Pheles are going to do. Glad as well that Pheles feeling terrible about rejecting Carmel was brought up. Clearly she had a reason, but no surprise both of them were hurt.
|2012-03-10, 17:58
|Link #36
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Monterrey, México
Age: 38
Either in the fourteenth or the fifteenth episode, Centerhill made clear that the Four of Gods of the Motherland wouldn't be able to monitor and enforce the rules if Xanadu was created at the other side of the rift.
So, Shana's declaration revealed in this episode was setting up the "One Law" for Xanadu that no matter if a legion of Tomogara departed from Earth to Xanadu, they wouldn't be allowed to eat humans ever.
Now, in order for the FH to make clear they mean overkill business to the Tomogara, they're waging a magnocidal campaign of Tomogara to dissaude any survivors establishing in Xanadu afterwards not too ever consume human POE.
To make their message more smoothly on the Tomogara they're also targeting the high-ranking Tomogara to deliver them the message, because those Tomogara command high respect and prestige amongst their peers, and they'll be acting as Elders to spread the rumors about the carnage and untimely deaths their cohorts met at the day of Xanadu's birth for having tasted the existence of humans.
This word would spread eventually to newly-born Tomogara leaving for Xanadu, creating a universal taboo sustained in Xanadu about the newborn giving seconds thoughts about ever trying to eat humans.
This law and the countermeasures are the leverage that the Four Gods agree to provide their assistance to Shana and the other FH, because whatever extermination of Tomogara are doing has a meaning, and said meaning will cause ripples that will shape the new world at becoming a world with a certain degree of order and conditioning.
This conditioning would cause Xanadu to stabilize and to follow the status quo of the Balance of Existence, preventing the dreaded Apocalypse of all the Worlds at the expense that Xanadu would no longer be the paradise utopia of unlimited desires that Sairei no Heibi intended from his original vision.
|2012-03-11, 11:58
|Link #37
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2009
i dont seem to understand the role of Johan and Pheles as well as their connection to Yoshida and the war, i think half of the time i dont get what the characters are talking about...
anyway the actions continue, speechless about the "kill as much we can" tactic of the so call "4 gods"
|2012-03-11, 16:03
|Link #38
The Voice of Reason
Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: The Netherlands
Age: 42
And I also wonder exactly what the punishment for breaking the One Law is (as I assume the law itself dictates that the Denizens shall not eat humans, or something along that line).
|Thread Tools


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Message Board
Laura Garner Message Board
Talk about the novels, new and used books that Garner has written!
Author Garner's Book Reviews
I Ain't Superstitious
Five Star, Dec 2004, 26.95, 248 pp. ISBN: 1594140804 Madeline �Max� Maxwell recovers from the shock of losing her baby by working at Abneyville Shores Resort as a handyman. She also passes time studying to become a private sleuth via a correspondence course. The resort owner Adam Norcross hires Max as a sleuth though she remains unlicensed. He wants her to go undercover to learn whether a ghost or more likely a more mundane culprit is haunting...