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Star Trek: The Next Generation: Season 4 (US - BD RA)
Gabe is finally starting to warm up to Next Gen. The HD restoration helps...
I think I already stated my general opinion of Star Trek: The Next Generation pretty well when I reviewed the first season Blu-ray collection last year, but, for the sake of clarity, I'd like to reiterate a few things. I grew up mostly on Star Wars, but there was an enduring family tradition of watching the original crew Star Trek films (usually at Christmas, for some reason). Later, I discovered the joys of the original series and loved watching Deep Space 9. The Next Generation has, unfortunately, never really floated my boat. I've found its refusal to develop characters frustrating, its categorical absence of conflict boring, and its usual lack of serialization has made it difficult to overlook these issues for the sake of narrative. I understand that all of these 'problems' defined Gene Roddenberry's intentions for the series and, as such, don't think they should necessarily be taken as criticism; rather, just not something I personally enjoy watching. However, once the characters were firmly established and the writers were more willing to have some kind of continuity sometime around the third season, Next Gen became somewhat more inviting for people like myself. For this season four review, I've decided to treat the episodes as standalones, as they were usually written. I'm afraid I'm not industrious enough to write full reviews for all 26 episodes, but have chosen eight, based on the recommendations of my Trekkie buddy Jena, who you may remember also helped me out when she interviewed Bruce Boxleitner for the site.
The Best of Both Worlds: Part Two
The series was still largely un-serialized throughout its seven season run, but did start to end seasons on cliffhangers with season three's The Best of Both Worlds, which leads directly into season four's premiere episode. Even as a general non-watcher of Next Gen I was familiar with The Best of Both Worlds, because I've seen the First Contact feature film and its recap of the two-parter's events. But I hadn't actually seen the episodes yet, so I was sure to watch the non-HD version of part one on Netflix before starting here. The first part is a bit clunky in terms of direction, but, even without the vested interest of watching an entire season I can't imagine waiting an entire year to see how that turned out. Part two is the superior episode. Besides better pacing, more action, and all the climax that was missing from part one, it also has the more distinctive theme. Part one acts to remind the audience that the Borg is/are scary, but part two asks the more interesting question – how can the Enterprise can function without Captain Picard? The writers are brave enough to establish that, though they love him and his presence is preferred, Picard's crew is still pretty damn efficient without him. Everything is set back to the status quo by episode's end, but there's at least a sliver of character development left to be used in future episodes and movies (including the season's second episode, Family). And any excuse to watch Patrick Stewart prance around in those Borg undies is worth taking, right?
Note: Because I watched the first part in SD, I was in the unique situation to directly compare the original footage to the remastered footage here. The re-done special effects really do make all the difference, especially shots of the Borg ship model and all of its minute details.
Episode three, Brothers, is a Brent Spiner tour de force wherein the actor plays three roles – Data, Data's creator Dr. Noonien Soong (who is introduced for the first time in person here), and Data's 'brother,' Lore. Now, I'm not very fond of Data as a character, so the prospect of seeing three times the Data wasn't particularly agreeable. Still, I recognize the value of this episode in terms of the greater Next Gen lore (no pun intended), I wasn't bored by the Roddenberry-ian philosophical mumbo-jumbo and was even impressed by Spiner's 'one man show' performance. The information revealed in this episode eventually leads into Data's extended part in Star Trek: Nemesis, but we won't hold that against it. The problem here is one of future continuity, which is my constant issue with the non-serialized show. The writers end up over-powering Data a bit during the first act. He commandeers the entire ship, travels its corridors unmolested by programming force fields, and beams down to his daddy's planet from the outside of the designated beaming area in a matter of minutes, basically proving that he's a ticking time bomb of a character. I assume this must come up again at some point, but, even after three seasons of relationship building, it's hard to justify not leaving Data on Terlina III. Or nuking Terlina III from orbit, just to be sure.
In my opinion, Worf (Michael Dorn) tends to work better aboard Deep Space Nine than he does aboard the Enterprise, but I will concede that the Worf-themed Next Gen episodes were usually better (the Klingon-centric DS9 episodes were pretty dull, characters aside). Season four was a big one for Worf overall and his journey sort of begins here when his ex-lover, Klingon Ambassador K'Ehleyr (Suzie Plakson) beams to the Enterprise with a son Worf didn't know he had. Surprise! Then K'Ehleyr is murdered, putting the boy in Worf's custody. Surprise! Reunion is also a good episode for its political melodrama, most of which revolves around Picard instead of Worf. It's the season's Tom Clancy meets Shakespeare episode, which makes it a sort of companion piece to my favourite of all the original cast movies, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.
Following a fun glimpse at the crew's leisure time activities (Klingon Tai Chi, playing 1920s detective, etc.), Clues takes a turn into hard sci-fi territory, unveiling a typically Star Trek-like mystery when a surprise trip through a wormhole appears to have jettisoned the Enterprise ahead a day in time. What first appears a harmless phenomenon quickly grows more dangerous. Roddenberry's vision for Star Trek didn't really include traditional villains or conflict. The best original series and Next Gen episodes created drama out of the unknown and Clues is a prime example of the writers circumventing traditional conflict with a science fiction gimmick. The whole thing is, of course, a little silly if you stop to think about it, but the cast and director Les Landau do a great job selling the whole thing with a straight face right to its satisfying conclusion. Clues is also an atypically tightly-paced episode for one with very little on-screen action.
The Nth Degree
Like Clues, The Nth Degree begins in a funny and unexpected place – Dr. Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Lt. Reginald Barclay staging an incredibly awkward costume drama play. Barclay, who apparently suffers from social anxiety, is terrible, but even a terrible performance is proof of emotional progress. Following the performance, Barclay (a character I barely remember anything else about) is zapped by an alien probe and knocked unconscious. He awakens a genius and starts fixing all of the Enterprise's mechanical problems. More suspiciously, his acting and social adeptness have also improved. But, because this is Star Trek, Barclay's gifts come at a price. In this case, he transforms himself into the Enterprise's computer, effectively taking total control of the ship. The Nth Degree is a very strong character study and a fine showcase for Dwight Schultz' undervalued acting prowess. As I stated in the intro, Next Gen works best for me, the casual viewer, as a character-based exercise rather than a narrative-based one. Director Robert Legato does a very good job creating a moody, semi-Kubrickian tone on a tiny budget as well. My only problem here is the fact that the writers aren't really sure how to end this particular conflict in the customary Next Gen 'everything goes back to normal, because it isn't a season finale' fashion. Still, even if its silly, the ending is at least charmingly silly.
I always like a good Q episode (the same way I like a good Mr. Mxyzptlk issue/episode of Superman) and, even as a DS9 fan, admit he works much better with the Next Gen crew. Qpid's first act is pretty dull, featuring Picard's former love interest, Vash (Jennifer Hetrick), wandering around the Enterprise while people react uncomfortably to her. But then Q (John DeLancie) appears and everything begins to pick up. Q offers to reward Picard for previous kindnesses and, when refused, decides to 'fix' Picard's problems by sticking the Enterprise crew into a re-creation of 'Robin Hood.' Because, obviously, that's the best way to make a man appreciate the affection of a good woman. What follows is a mix of costumed melodrama and delightfully bad jokes about the crewmembers being shoehorned into their Sherwood Forest roles. If more Next Gen was this enjoyably goofy I would've probably been a lifelong fan.
The Host
I was immediately suspicious of The Host, because it is a Dr. Crusher-heavy episode and I find her pretty boring. But then, pre-credits, Crusher's new alien boy-toy's stomach begins to protrude with some kind of throbbing mass and the David Cronenberg fan in me begins to take notice. The boy-toy is an ambassador named Odan (Franc Luz) who has been brought aboard to help arrange a peace treaty between two warring planets. Odan doesn't even make it to his meeting, however, because he and Riker are attacked while shuttling to the planet. Odan is critically injured and suddenly I realize why Jena, knowing I like DS9, suggested this episode – Odan is not the boy-toy, but a parasite within the boy-toy. He's a Trill, a species that becomes a central piece of DS9. The Trill mythology is clearly in its infancy here. A lot of stuff changed by the time we reached DS9, but the basic idea is still set. The lovey-dovey sequences and overtly sappy scenes of Crusher and Troi talking about love (the musical score undercuts the drama a lot here) are made tolerable, thanks to strong performances (Frakes does a fine job portraying two characters in the same body and the greater theme of love entirely transcending appearance). You know you truly love someone if you don't mind that they're actually a slimy little turd aliens hiding in humanoid bodies. The episode ends with Odan in a female body and, unfortunately, the producers didn't quite have the balls to follow through with the same sex relationship thing back in 1991.
Redemption: Parts One & Two
Paramount and CBS have become geniuses at wringing Trek fans of their cash. I don't think their practices are always malevolent – I think most fans of any property would happily buy another copy, given HD A/V upgrade – but this season four set is being released alongside a separate Blu-ray special edition version of the season finale, Redemption. This release includes the second part of Redemption, which is the season five premiere. Fans can either wait for the season five Blu-rays or they can buy instant gratification now, only to buy the season five set later, anyway. Crafty, crafty. Anyway, because Paramount/CBS is doing this I am able to review both parts of the two-part episode here.
Redemption (parts one and two) is the culmination of four years worth of Klingon melodrama, which would eventually extend into DS9. Reunion did a good job catching me up on the specifics of Worf's history I'd missed and established Gowron (Robert O'Reilly) as Picard's reluctant choice as Leader of the Klingon Council. Gowron's continuing troubles securing his position puts both Picard and Worf in awkward positions. Picard knows how much worse the situation will be if the Romulan-backed opposing team takes the 'throne.' Meanwhile, Worf cooks up a plan to clear his family's name in hopes that Gawron will come to him for assistance. Of course, everything goes wrong and Klingon civil war begins to break out with Worf and Picard trapped taking sides. Stories about characters 'finding themselves' are a Star Trek series mainstay and, as that goes, Redemption is dramatic without being too embroiled in series mythology for a passing viewer to follow (minus all of the Denise Crosby playing a time travel daughter of the character she played during season one stuff…). Worf's arc from the first half to the second half of the story works, because the writers aren't entirely devoted to big shocks and action moments (of which there are plenty for a Next Gen episode), but to the more touching moments between him and the two crews that depend on him. On a purely personal level I also enjoyed the two-parter for the simple fact that Tony Todd plays a major role as Worf's brother, Kurn. My only complaint is that, unlike The Best of Both Worlds, the second part is actually the weaker episode.
Note: Because Paramount/CBS has maintained a similar level of quality between these Blu-ray remasters, the following video and audio sections have been moved over from my season one review and updated only where applicable
When Paramount released the original Star Trek on Blu-ray, they proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that, assuming it was well-maintained, old television could look just as great as old movies in 1080p HD. Even those of us that knew what the format was capable of were taken aback by how vibrant and clean the decades-old footage was. I was again skeptical of what Next Gen would look like on Blu-ray, because I wrongly assumed that it was shot on video, which cannot be presented in 1080p (or even 720p) without 'upconverting,' a process that never yields satisfying results. It turns out I'm mostly ignorant to exactly how common it was for '80s and '90s era live-action television (outside of studio audience sitcoms) to be shot using 16mm or (better yet) 35mm film. Next Gen was shot on 35mm, which, aside from something unrealistically expensive like 65mm or 70mm, is the ideal format for the pre-digital era. And looking at the original DVD release I can now see Next Gen had plenty of room for improvement.
When I heard the series was coming to Blu-ray, I was afraid that the collection's producers would see fit to re-frame the 1.33:1 episodes in a widescreen-friendly 1.78:1. Paramount knew better than to reframe the original series and I'm relieved to see they knew better than to reframe this one as well. Looking at the episodes again, I now see that the analogue TV-friendly framing is more or less nonnegotiable. Character close-ups tend to feature plenty of head space, but wider shots involving multiple characters would be bereft of valuable visual information. By directly comparing the DVDs (and Netflix versions) to the Blu-rays, I also noticed that the SD transfers were ever so slightly stretched, which means the 1080p remaster has a more natural structure and a teeny bit more information on the right and left sides of the screen. My second biggest fear was that the remastering process would include a lot of digital noise reduction. There are obvious signs of DNR, including some occasionally waxy skin textures and flattened highlights. These are most apparent in facial close-ups, many of which I'm guessing were originally shot somewhat softly to disguise facial blemishes. Overall, however, DNR is minimal (less even than the season one release), made apparent by natural (glorious) grain levels that change, based on lighting and colour quality ( Brothers starts off a bit grainier than the other episodes). Some viewers will likely complain about the grain (others may claim it's closer to CRT scanning noise, which may be correct in some cases), but they have unrealistic expectations of the 35mm format and unfortunate aesthetic tastes.
Details are definitely sharper than any television or DVD version and are really only hampered by the original footage (there are fewer erect nipples than there were in season one – it seems that the costumers figured something out). Comparing the DVD transfer I notice the biggest improvement in clothing, prop textures, and the separation of background elements. The DVDs (and, I should note, the Netflix streaming episodes) are handicapped by a series of digital compression artefacts, including edge haloes, blocking effects, and, at worst, interlacing effects, all of which deaden details even further than an average 480p transfer. These are all but entirely eradicated on this release, save a couple of minor blocking effects on a handful of shots (the harshest red edges wiggle with a bit of aliasing). The colour quality changes are not as vast as those seen on the original series' Blu-rays, but there's no mistaking the improvement. Not only are colours sizably more rich and vibrant, there are big advancements made in terms of colour separation. The repeating hues, such as uniform and lighting effects, are far more consistent and colours of similar hues are more clearly differentiated. The SD transfers are also left wanting for yellows and oranges. Here, the warmer elements, specifically skin tones, are given the yellow boost they need to appear more natural (it is verified in the behind the scenes footage that the original notes on colour correction were utilized during the restoration process). There are still some minor bleeding effects (especially those red suits), but the only measurable issue here is some over-crushed blacks. The sharp edges and deep nature of the blacks is quite attractive, I'll admit, but shadows are often deepened to a point that detail is lost, especially on the darker costume pieces. The black and dark blue/green pieces of the uniforms are flattened quite a bit and some details (zippers, pleats) go missing altogether.
Note: The episode Drumhead has two seconds of up-converted SD footage starting at 7:05. There's a warning label on the episode that explains why they couldn't find the original material.
Note: When I reviewed the season one release, I failed to notice that some episodes had their front channel designations incorrectly mapped. This created an awkward stereo spread and echo effects on some of the dialogue. This time around, I listened extra-special hard for a repeat issue and didn't notice more than minor audio bleeding on the dialogue tracks.
The original broadcasts of Next Gen featured analogue Dolby SR/LTRT stereo-surround sound, which means the original DVD producers had something to work with while remixing the series into a 5.1 Dolby Digital format. I don't recall the sound of the DVDs all that well, but have watched the same sound design crew's Deep Space Nine discs semi-recently and have fond memories of a solid and natural remix. According to the supplemental footage, this newly minted DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 mix was made from scratch using the original source material, not the Dolby Digital tapes. Some viewers and fans will likely be disappointed that these DTS-HD presentations aren't particularly impressive when compared to modern, big budget television releases. The truth is that Next Gen isn't aurally comparable to Lost or Battlestar Galactica and it never will be without sizable editions to the existing soundtrack, which I am usually not a fan of on principle. There are only a few examples here of the production crew gleefully over-doing it in terms of stereo and surround spread.
Some of the more impressive aural sequences (those that do not entirely betray the series' humble beginnings) include the multi-channel boom of the 'Borg voice' in Best of Both Worlds: Part One, the humming of the Paxan energy fields in Clues, and all the swooping Klingon warships throughout Redemption. More subtle directional and immersive effects include Holodeck and planetary 'natural' ambience, the constant hums and beeps of the Federation ships, and the comparatively eerie buzz of the Klingon ships. These mixes are generally quite clear, but there are cases of the dialogue tracks having inconsistent volume and a couple dozen crackles and pops at high volume levels. The music is given a sizable 're-spreading' along the stereo and surround channels, creating a powerful dual wall of sound. I might've preferred just a bit more of a central musical element (it's present in the center channel, but rarely in the center of the room) and, occasionally, the score sounds a bit tinny, but those opening titles are downright breathtaking.
The extras begin with two commentary tracks that have been carried over from the older DVD releases. Disc one features commentary on Brothers with director Rob Bowman and special effects supervisors Mike and Denise Okuda and disc two features commentary on Reunion with writers Ronald D. Moore and Brandon Braga, and the Okudas.
The rest of the extras include:
- Mission Overview: Year Four (16:40, SD), where cast and crew discuss the season's best episodes (disc one, original DVD extra).
- Selected Crew Analysis: Year Four (17:00, SD), where cast members discuss their favourite episodes (disc two, original DVD extra).
- New Life and New Civilizations (13:50, SD), a featurette about the seasons' alien locations and stage sets, matte paintings, and visual effects (disc three, original DVD extra).
- Chronicles From the Final Frontier (18:10, SD), concerning the writing/tonal changes that were started in the third season and defined the fourth (disc four, original DVD extra).
- Departmental Briefing: Year Four: Production (16:50, SD), on season's direction (specifically the directing work of actors Jonathan Frakes & Stewart, and producer David Livingston's episodes) and various make-up effects (disc five, original DVD extra).
- Select Historical Data (10:30, SD), a featurette that covers the more complex, season-specific special effects creature and ship designs. (disc five, original DVD extra).
- Inside the Star Trek Archives (11:10, SD), a series of behind-the-scenes anecdotes (disc five, original DVD extra).
- In Conversation: The Star Trek Art Department (1:10:00, HD), a nearly feature-length roundtable discussion with make-up effects artist Doug Drexler, production designer Herman Zimmerman, the Okudas, effects supervisor Dan Curry, and technical consultant Rick Sternbach (disc six, new Blu-ray extra).
- Relativeity: The Family Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation, a new look back at the fourth season with various cast and crewmembers (disc six, all new Blu-ray extras) including:
- Part 1: Homecoming (29:10, HD), on writing.
- Part 2: Posterity (27:50, HD), on acting.
- A gag reel (3:30, HD).
- Eight deleted scenes collections from various episodes.
The Redemption parts one and two disc (which, again, is only available separately from the season four set) extras begin with a commentary featuring writer Ronald D. Moore and the Okudas. The disc also features Survive and Succeed: An Empire at War (30:00, HD), a new series of cast and crew interviews concerning Redemption and the episodes that lead up it.
Interviews throughout the featurettes also include executive producers Michael Piller and David Livingston, associate producer Peter Lauritson, special effects coordinators/supervisors Dan Curry, Gary Hutzel and the Okudas, make-up effects designer Michael Westmore, senior illustrator Rick Sternbach, model maker Greg Jein, writers Moore, Jeri Taylor, and Brannon Barga, director Rob Bowman, stunt coordinator Dennis 'Danger' Madalone, composer Ron Jones, and cast members Stewart, Frakes, Wil Wheaton, Mirina Sirtus, Jennifer Hetrick, Brent Spiner, Gates McFadden, Michael Dorn, John DeLancie, Denis Crosby, and Robert O'Reilly.
Fans of Next Gen likely disapprove of my general opinion on their favourite series, but take heart, even I have to admit that, with season four, the Enterprise crew began to find their way. I might even, gulp, be looking forward to revisiting these folks when the season five HD set gets released. Ignore my opinion on the series anyway and be assured that the people behind these remastered Blu-rays are maintaining their high standards – the 1080p video is sharp and the DTS-HD Master Audio sound is almost comparable with modern television equivalents. The extras include most of the old DVD collection's extras and a decent collection of new cast & crew interviews. The Redemption two-parter disc features a couple more new extras that I suppose might not be available with the season five set.
Review by Gabriel Powers
mlcm Member Join Date: November 2006 Location: Canada Posts: 942
I'm always impressed with how you articulate your dissatisfaction without making it seem like you have an axe to grind. Your introductory paragraph is diplomatic but not submissively so, and that's a rare trait to find in Internet criticism. Generally, things must either be the best evar!!1! or the worst thing. ever. So it's always refreshing to read nuanced, articulate opinion. Thanks, Gabe.
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
It's not as if it's a bad show, it's just not something that really appeals to me. There's no good reason for me to be grindin' axes on it.
...Into Darkness, on the other hand....
But thanks mlcm, that means a lot. I have little patients for the kind of extremes that usually come with the territory and I'm happy there are people that are right there with me.
...Into Darkness, on the other hand....
But thanks mlcm, that means a lot. I have little patients for the kind of extremes that usually come with the territory and I'm happy there are people that are right there with me.
Chris Gould Editor Join Date: May 2001 Location: United Kingdom Posts: 7,171
Can't say I agree with the character development comment. Development over the seven seasons is actually pretty strong, even for some of the ancillary characters like O'Brien and Barclay. The Picard, Riker, Worf, Data of the first season are almost unrecognisable by the end of the seventh. Even Crusher and Troi are given some room to grow. DS9 also took a good three seasons to get going in terms of story and characterisation, but it did finish very strongly. Voyager on the other hand went down the fan-service route with 7 of 9 and the Borg being reduced to weaklings, and a lot of the character 'development' felt forced. Hell, Harry didn't really develop at all!
Gabe Powers Editor Join Date: September 2004 Location: United States Posts: 4,721
I'm sure Next Gen characters eventually began to develop, but the fact is that Roddenberry's original plan was for them to not grow at all. The extras on this collection make it clear that the only times anything got done with this show was when they ignored Roddenberry's demands. My comment in the review is in reference to the series plan and what I have seen, not so much what might have finally happened in the later seasons.
Also, I'd say DS9 only took 1.5-2 seasons to get going. I've been very, very, very slowly watching Voyager. I'm not even done with the first season yet.
Also, I'd say DS9 only took 1.5-2 seasons to get going. I've been very, very, very slowly watching Voyager. I'm not even done with the first season yet.
This product has not been rated
Disc Details
Release Date: 30th July 2013
Discs: 5
Disc Type: Blu-ray Disc
RCE: No
Video: 1080p
Aspect: 1.33:1
Anamorphic: No
Colour: Yes
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 English, Dolby Digital 2.0 English, German and Spanish
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Japanese, German, Italian, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Extras: Cast and Crew Commentaries, Mission Overview: Year Four, Selected Crew Analysis: Year Four, New Life and New Civilizations, Chronicles From the Final Frontier, Departmental Briefing: Year Four: Production, Select Historical Data, Inside the Star Trek Archives, In Conversation: The Star Trek Art Department, Relativeity: The Family Saga of Star Trek: The Next Generation, Deleted Scenes, Episodic Promos
Easter Egg: No
Feature Details
Director: Various
Cast: Patrick Stewart, Jonathan Frakes, LeVar Burton, Brent Spiner, Denise Crosby, Michael Dorn, Gates McFadden, Marina Sirtis, Wil Wheaton
Genre: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Film-Noir, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi, Thriller and War
Length: 1184 minutes
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Dissenting voices: Ekho Moskvy and Yulia Latynina
Ekho Moskvy (The Echo of Moscow) has an established reputation as an independent radio channel characterized by open debate and quality journalism. Valeria Novodvorskaya, a well-known Russian dissident, advised her readers in September 2008: "Listen to Ekho, there is nothing else in this country to listen to or watch."[34] Founded in 1990, Ekho Moskvy boasts an audience of 900,000 listeners per day. According to data provided by Medialogy, a market research company, it was the most frequently cited Russian national media outlet in February 2009.
Some of the most popular programs on Ekho Moskvy include Osoboe mnenie (Special Opinion) and Yulia Latynina's Kod Dostupa (Access Code). Yulia Latynina is an award-winning fantasy writer and journalist born. Aside from hosting Kod Dostupa, she writes for opposition papers Novaya Gazeta and Ezhednevnyy Zhurnal. Her extensive coverage of the August 2008 war in Georgia generated a great deal of controversy in Russia, with Latynina voicing very critical views of the official Russian position. This did not go unnoticed. In late August 2008, Ekho Moskvy Editor-in-Chief Alexey Venediktov was publicly berated if not threatened by Vladimir Putin for the station's coverage of the war. "You are responsible for everything that goes on at the radio station," the Prime Minister reportedly told Venediktov. "I don't know who they are, but I know who you are."[35]
Yulia Latynina's writings on South Ossetia are scathing in their treatment of the local elites. In her view, the government of breakaway South Ossetia is an example of a siloviki-steered structure (siloviki are the representatives of the Russian security apparatus):
"I cannot even describe the regime in South Ossetia as 'separatist'. If you think about it, who would you identify as the separatists there? The head of South Ossetian KGB, Anatoliy Baranov, used to head the Federal Security Service of the Mordovian Republic in Russia; the head of the Interior Ministry, Mikhail Mindzayev, served in the Interior Ministry of North Ossetia; Defense Minister Vasiliy Lunev was a military commissar in Perm; and Security Council Secretary Anatoliy Barankevich used to be the Vice Deputy of the commissar of Stavropol Krai. So who exactly is the Ossetian separatist in this government? Prime Minister Yuri Morozov, perhaps?" [36]
Latynina summarizes her impressions:
"South Ossetia, just like the Palestinian Liberation Organization, is neither a state, nor an ethnos, nor a territory; it is a special form of para-state where residents are turned into militarized refugees. It's a quasi-army whose leader cannot allow subjects to get involved in anything other than war, a war that makes his power absolute and the money in his control unaccountable. It is where the hysteria of the deprived population becomes the main means of settling personal accounts."[37]
[34] Valeria Novodvorskaya, "Ekho Responded" (in Russian), Grani.ru, 9 September 2008.
[35] The Other Russia, "Putin Slams Radio Station for Reporting on Georgian War," 17 September 2008.
[36] Yulia Latynina, "On the Forced Bankruptcy of the Joint Enterprise Called South Ossetia" (in Russian), EJ.ru, 8 August 2008.
[37] Yulia Latynina, "On the Forced Bankruptcy of the Joint Enterprise Called South Ossetia" (in Russian), EJ.ru, 8 August 2008.
Privileged Interest? The Russian debate on the South Caucasus
- Russias dilemma: partnership or empire?
- Medvedev and Putin on red lines in the Caucasus
- Establishment Debates: CFDP and Russia in Global Affairs
- The debate in Russia in Global Affairs
- Russia, Georgia, the world in 2009: Sergey Karaganov
- The EU, Russia and the Caucasus: Timofei Bordachev
- Political Technologists: Gleb Pavlovsky
- The Centre for Political Technologies
- Alexander Dugin and Eurasianism
- Opposition Voices: Garry Kasparov
- Russia as Aggressor: the view of Andrei Illarionov
- Dissenting voices: Ekho Moskvy and Yulia Latynina
- Mainstream views on Russian TV
- Judge for yourself: Maxim Shevchenko and the Caucasus
- Pavel Felgenhauer and Novaya Gazeta
- Masha Lipman and the Carnegie Moscow Centre
- The Russian Debate online

subset: commoncrawl


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Tuesday, March 20, 2012
Put A Bird On it
22 comments:
Carol, Loving the posts. I was behind a day so just to catch up... books, bread, balcony and today birds? OK good. Sounds absolutely wonderful. Can't wait to see what you are going to paint from this trip. Enjoy it all... ~JenReplyDelete
Parisbreakfast is like a Paris mood board!ReplyDelete
Who needs Pinterest when we have this?
Love yr combinations.
I am waiting (im)patiently for the report on Jour du Macaron... I hope that you and Jill are rounding the last PH pâtisserie as I am typing this! They have cut back from 3 macarons at each stop to one? Quelle horreur! Please tell me they are still giving a box of 35 for making it to all the shops.ReplyDelete
Wish I was there with you two and Bear!
.. how exciting Macaron Day ... can't wait for many pics and updates as the worshipers flock ... meanwhile here in NYC, it's going to be 80 degrees tomorrow ... yee gads, what will summer hold !!! ... have fun, can't wait to hear/see ... xo .. Karen in CTReplyDelete
Very sweet vitrines....I love Portlandia!ReplyDelete
Absolutely, breathtakingly gorgeous work. Thank you for being a muse.ReplyDelete
Love the sweet little birds--and glad to hear you have birdsong there, too. It's that time, here, when they're all cannoodling...ReplyDelete
2 sets of goatie kids just 3 & 4 days old are sure sign of spring here, Carol! And little fluffy chicks any day now! Your bright cherry post today lightened my spirits after just getting in from battening down the barn for the deluge that has us in flood watch. Look forward to Macaron Day report too!ReplyDelete
I want some real fluffy little yellow chicks. My wife won't let me get any. She's no fun! I guess I'll have to settle for some chocolate ones.ReplyDeleteReplies
There's always divorce BillDelete
or you could, alternatively, go in the back yard and eat worms as we used to say...ahem
- Anonymous4:35 PM
Happy Spring from Portland!ReplyDelete
Love the blog, I'll keep dreaming of Paris...
-Kristin in PDX
Wouldn't it be grand if 'Portlandia' visited Paris!?Delete
Love the patent leather shiny pantones! Not only have the enormous bunnies invaded KC, but in today's paper I learned that they have NAMES!!! Note to self: Must post on Flickr.ReplyDelete
Lucky you!!!!ReplyDelete
Thanks for the link at jacadi...
I agree with you... nice dress!
Hey I've got a questions for you? How do you say:ReplyDelete
"Put a bird on it"
in French.....Why do you ask? Well, I entered an Art Call for ten artists, to get ten items and to turn it into art in ten days. I want to title it....you guessed it....
"Put a bird on it"
However, I'm not French. You are the first thing that popped up on Google. Can you help?


text:
Melges 24 Sydney Harbour Regatta - March 9 - 10, 2013
19 February 2013
The Sydney Harbour Regatta hosted by the Middle Harbour Yacht Club is quickly approaching happening March 9 - 10 , 2013 in beautiful Australia. The regatta is the largest and most competitive keelboat regatta in Australia and brings more than 200 keelboats racing in 24 divisions to the Sydney Harbour each year.
The Melges 24 fleet is excited to compete in this event due to the extreme competition and wonderful event schedule including a beach breakfast each morning with a barbecue lunch and post race entertainment. The event will wrap up with live music and a lot of dancing at the Rock the Afternoon Away party with the "Wolverines".
It is not too late to join in on all the action!
Submit your Online Entry Form here.
The close of entries is this Friday, February 22, 2013.
Don't miss out on the largest event in Australia!


text:
Rockets, Nuggets meet again in Houston
The Houston Rockets snapped a seven-game losing streak Monday afternoon and will now try to build some momentum when they welcome the Denver Nuggets to the Toyota Center.
Prior to Monday, the Rockets hadn't won since Jan. 8 at home against the Los Angeles Lakers. It wasn't pretty on Monday, but Houston emerged with a 100-94 victory and concluded a four-game road trip.
"We were playing the way we were - we were missing layups, bouncing the ball off our knee - it was a comedy act for awhile where we just couldn't get things to go," said head coach Kevin McHale.
James Harden led the way with 29 points after a spectacular night at the foul line. Harden went 19-for-21 from the charity stripe and only 5-for-20 from the field.
"That's hard to do." remarked McHale of Harden's point total versus his shooting percentage.
The Rockets as a team only shot 39 percent from the field. Chandler Parsons, Carlos Delfino, Marcus Morris and Patrick Beverley all scored in double figures. In an interesting development, Beverley played almost all of the fourth quarter instead of Jeremy Lin.
The Nuggets come to Houston winners of seven of their last nine. A six-game hot streak was snapped with back-to-back losses, one in Oklahoma City to the Thunder and a shocking home loss to the Washington Wizards.
On Sunday, Denver hosted the Thunder and prevailed, 118-112, in overtime. Seven Nuggets scored in double figures, led by 26 off the bench from Corey Brewer. All tallied, the reserves contributed 57 points.
The Nuggets were whistled for a season-high 33 fouls against the Thunder and Oklahoma City picked up 40 points from the free-throw line. Denver dominated the glass to the tune of 50-39 as Kenneth Faried and Kosta Koufos both had double digits in rebounds.
"Against the top three or four teams in the NBA, if you're not physical, you don't have a chance," Nuggets coach George Karl said. "We cannot ever allow ourselves to be dominated."
A win on Wednesday would give Karl 1,100 for his career. He moved past Larry Brown into sixth place on the all-time coach's victory list Sunday night.
"It's staggering," said Oklahoma City coach Scott Brooks, who was an assistant under Karl for two seasons in Denver. "It's hard to win one game. He's an amazing coach. He's going to do it for many more years. He's going to coach until he falls - and he's not going to fall for a long time."
The Nuggets have won four in a row over the Rockets, including a 93-87 victory on Nov. 7. Three of Denver's wins during this streak came in Houston.


text:
adjective; satisfied, contented, happy, pleased.
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New item
Set of 4 doodle placemats. Greet your guests with personalised placemats...then wash and re-use them! Great for every occasion from birthdays to Christmas.
Comes with a pack of wash-out double-ended pens.
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47 x 33 cm
All website content & copy: Bodlon 2012. Copying any part of the site or its content is strictly prohibited.
Contact us Bodlon Shop & Coffee Shop, 12 Park Road, Whitchurch, Cardiff CF14 7BQ Email: firstname.lastname@example.com | Telephone: 02920 650 564 | 07825 444 233


text:
There are all sorts of rumors swirling around Sony's next flagship phone, codenamed "Honami." Now a system dump from a Canadian carrier device with the model number C6906 has popped up, and it's believed to be either the Honami or another of Sony's next-gen devices. With either option, you're still getting an incredible list of specs that bests any smartphone currently on the market. We're seeing a Snapdragon 800 processor as well as a mind-blowing camera set-up. The camera is set to have a 20-megapixel sensor with Super Resolution algorithm, the ability to record 4K video, a new SteadyShot feature, ISO range up to 12,800, Timeshift mode (similar to burst mode), new effects and a cool new API that's supposed to allow developers to create add-ons for the camera. That's some serious camera shiznit right there. An augmented reality app made by Sony is said to be bundled with this phone, and it will take advantage of the beastly camera.
The entire Sony user interface got a bit of a refresh. The launcher has been tweaked, and other elements of the UI have received slight changes to help keep the device up to speed. Also included in the system dump was a look at a redesigned Walkman app that should include one of the most requested features for Sony phones: unlimited music streaming through the Walkman app. One interesting note about the Walkman app, though. The design language almost seems to be a hybrid of Android and Windows Phone. That doesn't mean much, but it does make for an interesting look. I'll include a gallery with more pictures below for your viewing pleasure.
Whatever this new phone is, it's shaping up to knock the socks off the competition. Does the Honami pique anybody's interest? Let us know!


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Like the shining silver stars...
happenings in twilight-breaking dawn are still in effect except that there is an extra character. Damien Cullen is forever 16 and Edwards little broth er. The marked warriors of the Shoshone tribe have kept their existence a secret for centuries. They are a group of mythical warriors who possess supernatural abilities used only to protect human life. They are very strong and very powerful. They possess unnatural beauty and amazing intellect in order to lure in they're enemies and destroy them. But they're all old legends right? Meet Lilly White, a sixteen year old girl from California, who wants nothing more than for all the legends to disappear. Although she is only half Shoshone, she is still bullied in school for being a freak, as are the rest of her Shoshone family. No one dares to speak to her or even desires to be her friend. She is the school freak. When her dad moves them to Seattle, she hopes that she can start over new and finally make some friends. In her new school, she meets the mysterious Damien Cullen and is instantly drawn to him. Its like nothing she has ever felt before; so strong and new. Can she tell him the truth about the legends that surround her family, or will he shun her away too? Can she seriously tell him, if she doesn't even believe them herself? Soon enough she is swept up in Damien's world of secrets. She knows he's hiding something from her, and she's determined to figure it out. But is she safe in his world? The summary is not that great, i know, but the story is much better so give it a read :) Also there is no such thing as the marked, it is purely fiction. leave me some reviews, they're greatly appreciated :)
Twilight belongs to Stephanie Meyer, I'm just an obsessed fan :):):)
1. Chapter 1
Rating 0/5 Word Count 5115 Review this Chapter
Chapter one-
"It's time
to say goodbye Lilly." My father, David White, muttered. He was tall and slender, but he had a good
build. He had dark brown hair and eyes
to match.
"I know." I
ran my fingers over the coarse gray stone in front of me. I traced the deeply
engraved letters that spelled out my mothers name; Aiyanna White. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the
cream colored seashell that I had stashed there earlier. I pushed its fan shape into the dirt ever so
gently. I took a deep breath and got up
to my feet. "Goodbye mom. I love you." I whispered. I tried to wipe the dirt off the knees in my
jeans, but it seemed permanently embedded.
This was
the last time I would be able to visit my mom for a while. My father had gotten a transfer to
Seattle. All they way from sunny San
Diego to cloudy Seattle. What a
relief. I hated the sun.
I tried to
remember the last time I had loved the sun.
It was the last time I had been to the beach with my mom. I could still see her, about twenty feet
from the shoreline on a wide blue bed sheet, taking in the sun. I remember thinking about how beautiful she
was and how much I loved her. My mom
was the best. Not only did we do
everything together, but we also told each other everything.
That day on
the beach was the day before she found out she was sick. She had been getting tests for about a
month. She just kept telling my dad and
I that everything would be fine. It was
all routine stuff, nothing to worry about.
Then when she told us that she had ovarian cancer, I didn't believe
her. I mean she had promised me that
nothing was going to happen. Then she
had promised me that everything would still be alright. She promised that she would pull through for
me. She put up a good fight, but in the
end, she just wasn't strong enough. She
died within the year.
Three years
had passed since then. The family house
was empty without her and dad jumped on the opportunity to get us out of
there. It would be a relief not to have
to see her everywhere I was. Although
that was not the only reason for our move, it was certainly a big part. There were many other reasons that had to do
with me, such as getting severely bullied at school for who I was. This was going to be a fresh start for the
both of us. This move was going to be
good for us, I think.
"Come on
kid, we're going to miss our flight." Dad put a hand on my shoulder. I pressed a slight kiss to my fingers and
then set them down on the stone. I was
going to miss coming to see her. I
sighed and followed dad back to the car.
I slid into my seat and slammed the door shut. Dad fell into his seat about half a second later.
When we
reached the airport, I could see the entourage waiting for us. It was mostly family. I didn't really have many friends. They were all lined up in front of the
"I still
can't believe you're leaving us." My cousin Kai folded me deep into her
arms. Kai was a year older than me and
far more bad ass than I could ever claim to be. She was my very best friend.
We were the closest of all our cousins.
We even looked the most alike.
After all, our mothers were twin sisters. And of course, we both looked like our mother.
believe it." I whined.
"You have
to call us like every day."
"Ok." She
squeezed me affectionately. "Love you
"Love you
too." I groaned as she finally let me go.
Then it was like a frenzy. I was
passed around between my other cousins; Kai's twin brother Mai and Susan and
Adrien. Their dad was my mom's older
"I'll miss
you Lilly dear." My grandmother tucked an errant curl behind my ear.
"I'll miss
you too Grandma." I tried my best to smile.
After I had nearly been smothered by my mother's family, it was time for
my friends. My father only had one sister. She and her family had said goodbye to us
the night before. She didn't want to
have to take the day off of work. I
moved quickly through the embraces of my friends; Jason, Ashley, Annie, Sam,
Mike, and Charlotte. They were the only
ones who dared to be seen with me.
The flight
wasn't too bad. It wasn't too long,
just tedious. A little kid kicked at
the back of my seat the entire time.
The entire time. I had
visions of eviscerating him. I was more
than ecstatic when we landed. I grabbed
my only bag out of the overhead compartment and pulled the strap over my
shoulder. All of our stuff had already
been shipped to our new house. A lot of
it had already been set up and ready to go.
Dad just had to finish his last two weeks in the San Diego hospital. He was a brilliant surgeon. Well, maybe I was biased.
Dad got the
keys to a rental car from a woman in an airport uniform and we were off. I pulled my mp3 player out and put it on
full blast before I got into the car. I
relaxed at the sound of, For the Fallen Dream, blasting through the speakers.
I observed
the unfamiliar town and people through the window as dad drove. Everything was dim and dark and wet. The dark I didn't really mind, but the
wet…ugh! Everything looked classic
small town 101. Everyone probably knew
everyone. They were most likely all
grouped up and paired off. Good luck
making any new friends.
I stared up
at the unfamiliar house as we pulled into the driveway. It wasn't as if I had never seen the house
before. It just wasn't home. Hell, home wasn't home anymore. I waited impatiently as dad opened the front
door. Once inside, I ran up to my room
and threw myself down on the bed.
I turned
over slightly and looked around at my new room. A dark purple backpack was leaned up against the closet
door. That's right. I was starting my junior year in a new
school, three days late of the first day.
Suddenly I wished I was back home.
Well, maybe not.
I felt my
eyes starting to close. It had been a
long day. I looked out into the
darkness through my window once before I let sleep take me over. When I opened my eyes again, dad was
standing over me. I jerked up, a little startled.
"Dad! What the hell?" I breathed.
"Sorry. Get ready.
I'll drop you off." He offered.
"There's a
bus." I mumbled, rubbing my eyes.
"I know,
but it's your first day." He shrugged.
"Ok." I got
up and rifled through one of the large boxes that covered my bedroom
floor. I found a band tee, an old blue
hoodie, and a pair of jeans. Perfect. I wasn't trying to impress anyone. They could take me as I was. I grabbed a clean towel from the linen
closet and headed to the bathroom.
The warm
water felt so good against my skin. The
soft fall of the water had always had a calming effect on me. I let my hair melt to my neck before I
washed it. I got out quickly, dried up,
and got dressed. I blew my hair dry,
afraid of how frizzy my natural curls could get in this weather. They weren't exactly ringlets, but I still
didn't want to bother. I threw my
backpack over my shoulder and ran down the stairs.
Dad asked, holding out a box of cereal.
thanks. My stomach is in knots." I
"Alright. Let's get going then." He pulled his jacket
on. We piled into the car quickly,
ready to get this first day out of the way.
I groaned
at the sight of the school building.
The weather was disgusting. It
was cold and everything was wet again.
It must have rained while I was sleeping. The clouds blocked out all of the sunlight and made everything
look almost dreary. I frowned.
luck." Dad smiled.
"Thanks." I
gathered all my things in a hurried attempt to get this over with. The sooner the better. I waved goodbye as he pulled away. When he was out of sight, I turned to get a
better look at the school. It was a big
brick building. No surprise there.
A sudden
gust of cold air blew past me. It was
much colder than I thought it was going to be.
I started to pull my jacket on, holding my bag loosely in one hand. Then I heard the zipper jerk open and
watched helplessly as my books spilled out onto the ground. I could feel how angry I was getting. I could feel how warm my face was right
then. I kicked at one of the books,
completely unaware of all the people around me. I knelt down to grab my things, but a pair of pale hands had
already beat me there. I sat there
frozen and watched as they quickly stacked my books into a neat pile.
"Thank you,
I…"I started to say before I looked up.
A pair of beautiful golden eyes met mine, and silenced me. As hard as I tried, I couldn't look away
from the beautiful golden orbs. It was
like I was seeing for the first time.
Nothing else mattered anymore. I
had a feeling like I had finally found something that I had been searching for,
for a long time, but what? There was a
very strange feeling in the pit of my stomach, a weird pull, grounding me,
keeping me in place opposite the owner of the golden eyes. My heart was pounding in my chest.
blinked. Only then was I able to take
in the rest of him. The boy in front of
me was utterly beautiful. His skin was
pale white and looked as smooth as marble.
Oh, how I longed to touch it.
His bronze hair hung slightly in his face. His eyes stood out among the other soft features of his
face. His pale pink lips parted over
gleaming white teeth.
I heard the
thud of the books as they fell from his hands but, I didn't care. I couldn't look away from his face. I was completely entranced and it seemed as
if he were as well. He held his hand
out, as if to touch my face, but pulled back.
He breathed deeply and then looked down.
"Sorry." He
whispered, reaching for the books again.
He grabbed my bag and stuffed them inside. He stood up and offered me his hand. I took it carefully and he helped me up. It felt like my whole body would explode at
his touch, but I had to pull away. His
skin was so cold. "Sorry." He said
again. He was taller than me and
seriously built. "Here." He smiled and
held the bag out to me. Oh my God. His smile melted my heart and turned my
bones brittle.
you." I took it and pulled the strap back over my shoulder. He nodded.
That's when I noticed the others.
There were three others with him.
They were all watching me curiously.
There was
another taller boy. His tousled hair
was also bronze. Upon further inspection, I found that his eyes were gold as
well. He very much resembled the other
boy. His face was covered in the same
soft features. He held the hand of a
girl, shorter than he was by about four or five inches at least. She had the same eyes and skin, but her hair
was darker, mahogany like tree bark.
Another girl peeked out from behind them. Her hair was long, curly and bronze. She stared at me with a pair of chocolate brown eyes and a
wonderful white smile. She resembled
the taller boy, but also the girl somehow.
again." I said to the boy in front of me.
problem." His voice was soft and wonderful like ringing bells or chimes. "See you around." He said, rejoining the
"See you."
I whispered. I stared after him a
minute and then headed into the building.
It took a few minutes, but I found the main office. The set up wasn't too different from my old
white, its nice to see you again." The secretary called. I had only been here once before to register
over the summer. Huh, good memory. The joys of a small town.
"Hell, Mrs.
Dyson." I smiled.
your locker number and combination, and…" She pulled a sheet of paper off her
printer. "Here's your schedule."
you." I took the papers from her and ventured out to find my locker. "E2079." I mumbled to myself, looking down
at the paper. I was thrown off balance
for a second when I collided with another girl. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I'm
just trying to find my locker."
fine. Are you new here?" She asked,
pushing a tuft of her shoulder length blonde hair behind her ear. Here eyes were a dull blue. She was taller than me and much too skinny.
"Yeah, I'm
Lilly. I just moved here with my dad,"
I introduced myself.
"Nice to
meet you Lilly. I'm Meagan. I'll help you find your locker." She
"Thanks. You're a God send." I smiled and handed her
the paper.
"Oh, your
locker is right by mine." She grabbed me by the hand and pulled me through the
hallway. "Here you go." She said once we reached our destination. I tried out the combination and it opened
easily. I shoved all my things inside,
except for a note book and a pencil, and then slammed it shut. The bell rang. "I'll see you later." Meagan reassured me and headed down the
"Later." I
headed to my first class. English. My favorite subject. I loved to read and write. I actually made it to class on time. "Mr. Peterson?" I read his name off the
"You must
be Lilly." He smiled at me. I
nodded. "Well, welcome to our
class. Here is the book we started
yesterday. There's a seat for you down
there next to Caleb." He held the book out.
I looked out to find this Caleb and saw the only empty seat in the
room. The brown eyes girl was sitting a
few rows in front of it. She smiled at
me. I smiled back and then rushed to
take my seat.
"Hey, I'm
Caleb." The boy next to me said.
"I know." I
set my things down on my desk.
right. Well its nice to meet you. You are?"
"Lilly." I
"Lilly." He
smiled to himself. He reminded me of
one of the Jonas brothers. I hated the
Jonas brothers. We both turned towards
the board as Mr. Peterson began to teach.
It was slow. Actually kind of
boring. From English, I went onto math. A nice boy named Andrew let me copy his
notes. He was really nice. He reminded me of Meagan. He was just as blonde, only his eyes were
clearer, bluer. From math I went onto
Spanish to gym to history.
I was
beyond happy when I realized that my
next class was lunch. After skipping
breakfast, I was pretty hungry. I got
myself a slice of pizza and a soda and then went to look for a place to sit.
Lilly!" Meagan called from a slightly
crowded table. "Come sit with us!" She
yelled. I pushed my way through crowds
of hungry students and dropped my tray down onto the table.
"Thanks." I
"Sure." She
Lilly." Caleb was sitting on her left,
Andrew was on her right.
"Hi." I
took a sip of my soda. There were two
other girls that I didn't recognize.
They looked like carbon copies of each other. One girl looked all snooty.
She was dressed all flashy and was wearing too much make up. Her wavy brown hair fell just passed her
shoulders. The other girl looked
somewhat shy. It was almost as if she
were just along for the ride.
A casual
conversation started up. I didn't join
in, but nodded and smiled when they acknowledged me. Then without another word, their eyes all focused on the doors. I shifted in my seat so I could see what
they were looking at. The beautiful boy
was making his way in with the three from this morning, and four other
beautiful faces.
family?" I guessed.
"You have
no idea." Caleb moaned, eyeing the brown-eyed girl.
"Who are
Cullens." Andrew crushed his soda can.
I looked at Meagan for further explanation.
"The Blonde
girl is Rosalie. The big guy with her
is Emmett." She started. Geez, Rosalie
was perfect. She was exquisite, blonde,
and curvy in all the right places. No
other girl could stand a chance with her in the room. Emmett was huge, almost
like a bear. He was all muscle. "The little dark haired girl is Alice. She's with the blonde guy Jasper." Alice was tiny in the extreme and skinny
too. Her short spiky black hair was molded
to her head perfectly. And Jasper, not as big as Emmett but big enough, looked
kind of pissed off and uncomfortable.
"With?" I
they're all together. Like together,
together. It's weird." The snooty girl chimed in. I could see her eyes glaze over in
excitement as she initiated the gossip at the table.
"The tall
bronze haired boy is Edward. The
shorter girl with him is Isabella, but she likes to be called Bella. The one with the curly hair is Renesme."
Meagan finished. I recognized those
three from this morning.
I whispered.
not actually related. They were all
adopted by Dr. and Mrs. Cullen. The
Cullens are all the ones with the reddish brown hair. They're triplets. Emmett
is their older brother by one year.
Something happened to their parents when they were like ten. Since Mrs. Cullen can't have children, she
didn't mind older children. Rosalie and
Jasper are twins, adopted a little later on.
They're the same age as Emmett.
Bella and Alice are sisters.
They're Dr. Cullen's nieces or something. Isn't that right Nicole?" He
asked the snooty girl, putting her in her place. Go Andrew.
"Oh." I
"I still
think its weird that they're coupled like that. They live together. It's
weird." The shy girl spoke up.
"Who's he?"
I nodded towards the beautiful boy."
Damien." Meagan smiled. "Cute, isn't
"Cute isn't
the word."
"He's the
only single Cullen."
"What about
"She has a
boyfriend outside of school. He picks her
up everyday after school. He's quite
the hottie. She brought him to the
homecoming dance last year, broke every guys heart." She giggled. Caleb frowned. Obviously, he had been scorned.
Cullen. The beautiful boy was
Damien. Interesting. They all seemed to have older names. I couldn't remember and Emmett's, Jasper's
or Rosalie's at my old school. Without realizing it, I was staring at
Damien. He must have noticed because he
looked up at me. I blushed but didn't
look away. Rosalie started to talk to
him and then she glanced over at me too.
She stared straight into my eyes for a second and then turned back to
Damien. He smiled and shook his head. He grinned at me and then went back to
shredding a bagel into teeny tiny pieces.
I took a good
look at the Cullens. They were all so
good looking. The four girls had the
bodies that every teenage girl dreamed of.
They were tall, slim and curvy.
Except Alice. She was slim, but
tinier then the other girls. Their
faces were so beautiful, they didn't even need make up. The guys were all built up; strong and
muscled. Emmett was the biggest. It looked as if the table would crumble to
pieces from just a tap of his finger.
Even their clothes were beautiful.
Beautiful and designer. They
were so colorful, dressed in deep blues, reds, and purples.
They didn't
look anything alike for the most part.
A few of them, Damien, Renesme, and Edward shared a couple features, but
that was it. They were all opposites. And yet, they were all the same. They were all chalky pale and undeniably
Lilly. Wake up." Megan waved a hand in
front of my face. "Drooling much?" She
"I wouldn't
bother. He's been here for two years
now, and apparently no girl is good enough for him. He turns everyone down." The snooty girl, Nicole, said. I looked back at Damien. He was fighting a smile. Renesme stood up, pushed in her chair, and
threw out her empty tray. She made her
way over to us.
Meagan." She smiled. "Andrew, Caleb,
Nicole and Marie." The other girl was Marie then, ok.
"Hey Ness,
what's up?" Meagan asked.
my brothers are being idiotic. Mind if
I sit with you?"
"No, of
course not."
you're the girl from this morning." Ness said, sinking into the chair next to
me. "I'm Renesme." She held her hand
Lilly." We shook. Her hand was so
warm. Such a contrast to her brothers.
"It's nice
to meet you. Wow! I love the color of your eyes. It's so pretty, almost silvery. It goes perfect with the color of your
you." I ran my finger through my long black hair. She was right. My eyes
did look silvery. I always stood out
because of them. "Your eyes are amazing
too. It's the first thing I noticed
about you. They remind me of chocolate."
"So where
are you from?"
"That would
explain the tint to your skin." She stared at the copper color of my skin. The sun actually had nothing to do with
it. I was part Native American. Half Shoshone Indian in fact. When I told her, cautiously of course, she
got all excited. She told me that her boyfriend, Jacob, was a Quileute.
For the
rest of the period she continued to ask me questions about home, where exactly
I had lived and what I had done there.
She asked me about all my likes and dislikes. Then the bell rang.
"So where
are you off too?" She asked,
with Bates." I handed her the paper.
brothers are in that class. I'll walk
you there."
"Ok." I
grabbed my books and followed her out into the hall.
"How do you
like it here so far?"
ok. Everyone is really nice. I just
hate that its wet."
"So does my
mom." She giggled, playing with something around her neck. "Here we are. Room 213."
"Thanks." I
tucked my schedule in my pocket.
" Sure."
She said before running off.
classroom was full of models and diagrams.
The little black tables fit two people each. Just like home. This
would force me to work with a partner.
Then I noticed that the only empty seat was next to Damien.
"You're the
new kid right?" The teacher chucked a textbook at my feet. Bates was really rude. I looked over at Damien. He was too busy doodling in his notebook to
notice me. Edward and Bella were in
this class too. They were seated behind
"Take your
seat please." Bates Barked.
I mumbled on the way to my seat. I
threw my books down onto the table angrily.
Damien was snickering quietly. "What?" I whispered. He just grinned.
Then I
heard the thud and the groan. I looked
back towards Bates. He was laying on
the floor. I guess he had just fallen
out of his seat. I threw a hand over my
mouth to stifle laughter and took my seat. Take that Bates. I looked back at Damien.
"Hey. Thanks for this morning. I don't know what was wrong with my
brain. I'm Lilly." I blushed.
Damien. Looks like we're lab partners."
He looked down at my notebook. "Lilly
White? Your dad wouldn't happen to be
David White, master surgeon would he?"
"Well then
he works with my dad, Carlisle Cullen."
is your dad?" I asked. He nodded. I looked away, trying to remember him
correctly. I had never officially met
him, just seen him through a glass window at the hospital. My dad had mentioned him a couple time.
everyone. Today is safety lab." Bates
announced, handing everyone a lab sheet.
"I'm sure Cullen will show you a good time Lilly." He smiled to
himself. Half a second later, he
collided with a desk.
"Shall we
begin?" Damien asked.
"Yep." I
grabbed my paper and a pen. We walked
briskly around the room, identifying all the safety equipment.
"So you're
from California?"
"What's it
like? I've never been there before."
hot. You have to like the sun."
"And you
"No, not
"But you
don't like the rain either?"
"I despise
"I guess
I've gotten used to it by now."
"Maybe I
will too." I breathed. Edward threw a
mock punch at Damien's shoulder as he and Bella passed us by. Damien smiled and shook his head. "So Bates is a terrible klutz?"
like that." He laughed. We mostly
answered repetitive lab questions for the rest of the period. He asked me a few more questions about home,
just as Renesme had. When the bell
rang, I trudged out into the hall. I
wanted to go back to sleep. My last two
classes went by quickly. I had a psych
class, my only elective, and a study hall.
I almost
cried when I peered through the glass panes of the front door. It was raining. I gave in and pushed through the double doors. When I spotted my dads car, I took off into
a run.
Lilly!" I heard. I stopped short. Renesme was waving to me from across the
lot., I waved back and then got into the car.
"I see
you've made some new friends already." Dad said as I pulled the door shut.
"Sure. Did you know they're all Dr. and Mrs.
Cullen's kids?"
"Oh, well
no. I've never seen any of the kids
before. There's so many of them." He
laughed. It was a quick ride home. The closer we got to the house, the heavier
the rain got. "Here you go kid. I've got to get back to work."
"Bye." I
ran as fast as I could into the house.
I set my things onto the couch and wandered up to my room. I kicked my shoes off and got back into bed. I curled up on my side and closed my eyes.
have I done?, I thought. But it wasn't
my thought. It wasn't my voice. It was someone else's.
I held a
pale hand out. That wasn't mine
either. Blood was dripping down off my
fingers. My hand turned into a tight
fist. I could feel how wrong this was.
My body was wracked with shame. I
dropped to my knees.
The body
of a young man was spread out before me.
His skin was almost as white as mine. His eyes were glazed over,
dead. He was dead.
I'm a
monster. Intense thoughts of self
hatred and self destruction ran through me.
My body shook with the force of it.
I slammed my fist into the brick wall in front of me. The window pane shattered and glass rained
down all around me. I looked down into
one of the broken pieces. The
reflection of angry, helpless, empty red eyes stared back into my own. I was
win." I said aloud, in a voice not my own.
"I'm coming home. I can't take
this anymore. I just can't." I looked down at the poor helpless boy
before me. "I'm sorry. So sorry." A tearless sob ran through me.
ringing of my phone woke me up. I
listened to the new ringtone for a few seconds before I picked it up.
"Hello?" I
answered breathlessly.
"God, are
you alright?" Kai asked.
"I'm fine.
I was just asleep."
"Oh, I'm
sorry. I just wanted to know how your
first day went."
"It was
good. I think I made some new friends."
great! Sorry I woke you up. I'll call you later."
"Love you
"Love you
too." I hung up. I propped myself up
against the headboard. For a minute, I
just breathed.
That was
such a weird dream. I never dreamt like that.
It was so clear, so vivid, so real.
It didn't make any sense to me.
Those pale hands and that desperate agony was something I wasn't going
to forget for while. I needed some air.
I jumped off
the bed and made my way over to the window.
It was only a slight drizzle now.
I could deal. I ran back down
the stairs and pulled on my jacket. A
quick glance at the clock told me that it was six. Dad still wouldn't be home for a while. I pulled my hood up and sat on the front steps.
It was
actually rather cold. I knew that
Seattle was usually like this, but this was nothing like I had actually
expected. I thought maybe it would be
something like spring in New York. It
was much worse. Yet to my surprise, the
rhythmic sound of the rain was actually soothing. It helped me to calm down, clear my head, and articulate my
A figure in
the distance caught my attention. It
was that boy from school. Andrew was
his name. What was he doing walking
around in the rain?
"Hey!" I
called. He looked around to see who was
calling him. I waved when he finally
noticed me.
yourself." He smiled.
"So do you
often walk around in the rain by yourself?" I questioned.
of. It helps me think."
"So you're
the one who moved into the old Parsons house." He commented. I just looked at him. "I live behind you." He explained.
do? That really cool actually." I stood
up. "Mind if I walk with you?" I asked,
fingering the house keys in my pocket.
"Not at
all. Come on."
"So what's
it like around here?"
mostly. Small town stuff."
"I know."
He half smiled. "I'm still getting used
to it myself. I moved out here like a
year and a half ago from New York."
"Glad I'm
not the only new kid. No offense or anything."
taken. I move around a lot. I'm used to
"Are your
parents like traveling salesman or something?" I joked.
"Uhm, no,
not really." He shrugged. "Don't tell
anyone. I'm a foster kid. My parents
died in a car wreck when I was like five."
okay. I don't really remember them."
"Yeah, it
was still insensitive of me."
nothing. How could you have known?"
"If it
makes you feel any better, my mom died about three years ago."
"I'm sorry
to hear that. And no sorry, it doesn't
make me feel any better."
subject. Man this weather sucks."
"It does,
doesn't it." He laughed.
We walked around for a while just
talking. I told him all about
home. I also told him all about the
bullies and the harassment.
Reluctantly, I told him about the legends about the Shoshone tribe. After all that was why I was bullied. They had crowned me the school freak ever
since they could talk. In return, he
told me all about how he had been bullied and the pressures he faced being a
foster kid. I truly felt for him, I
did. This was something I could
understand in a way.
We talked about other things too,
happier things, funnier things as well.
I liked talking with him. It
felt so easy. I just felt like I could
trust him. He understood me to an
extent and it was great to be able to talk to someone about all this. I knew he could be a great friend to me if I
allowed him to be.
"So, do you
want to go for another walk tomorrow?" He asked as we stopped in front of my
"Yeah, I
would like that. Maybe we can do
homework together or something?" I suggested.
"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." He smiled, before he
started home. Andrew really was
great. I found myself looking forward
to the next time we could talk.
As I headed back inside, I started
to think about that dream again.
Halfway up the stairs, it hit me.
Those pale hands didn't belong to me, no, but they did belong to someone. Damien.
They belonged to Damien.
it was true that I felt a strange connection to him. It was very strange. I
had just met him this morning, but I felt like I had known him my whole life. I felt like I had been searching for him,
and that when I finally found him, everything seemed to come into place for
me. Everything looked brighter,
all of this was true. But why was I
dreaming about him like this? What did
it all mean? I didn't understand what
was going on, but I would. I was
determined to figure it out.
- Author
- fmalove1
- Rating
1 2 3 4 5
- Reviews
- 2
- Words
- 11125
- Views
- 1
- Published
- 13 Jul 09
- Updated
- 14 Jul 09
- Status
- In Progress


text:
Noticed the link for the 15 best beers in the world. Most of them are Imperial Stouts. Didn't know that Bourbon County Stout was no longer being made. Too bad. Expensive, but quite an awesome beer.
Hmm... let's do the math here... assuming they'll charge the same price for these packages compared with 12-ounce packaging, they will bring in revenues of 12/11.3 what they did before... this is a 6.2% return. Surely the average Bud drinker knows and cares that this is the real reason for the "bow tie" design. Ha. Worthless gimmick. Anything to make more money.
Maybe getting less Bud is an advantage?
Hmmmm...."Consumers will be giving up about an ounce of beer to get that conversation started. The new can holds 11.3 ounces rather than the standard 12 ounces." Maybe getting less Bud is an advantage?


text:
The great news of the night for me was I got my T5 legs, [Nordrassil Wrath-Kilt]. I also completed the Nightbane summoning quest recently and had the 6 damage and 6 Stam gem to put in them. Using these legs right now will lower my damage a little but, but I gain a lot of Mp5. Plus, the extra crit instead of hit will be nice once I can get the one or two of the drops that will hit cap me. Most importantly this brings me one piece closer to the amazing 4 piece set bonus that increases Starfire damage by 10 when MF or IS is on the mob. I did get the two piece set bonus with item but it reduces the cost of Regrowth when you shift out of Moonkin form. Since I don't use regrowth or heal often this bonus sucks.
I have also been picking up a lot of Feral and Resto gear lately. Here are some of the things I have gotten.
[Boots of Effortless Striking] - Lurker in SSC
[Helm of Natural Regeneration] - Dragonhawk in ZA (Damn thing has dropped 3 times)
[Girdle of Treachery] - Chess in Kara
[Moroes' Lucky Pocket Watch] - Moroes in Kara
[Shining Chain of the Afterworld] - Netherspite in Kara
I really need to put together a list of all my Feral and Resto gear. So that I know what the holes are and I need to figure out which are the best pieces.
Feedback Followup: In my last post I didn't finish explaining the 5 specific abilities that need attention. So here it is from most important to least important.
- Melee for Mana: I will admit there are select times that his ability has been useful. The only times I can remember using it are for Tidewalker and Fathom-Lord. However, for the most raid situations it is useless. Most bosses have AoE or Cleave attacks that make meleeing risky plus it dramatically reduces your DPS. I would love to see this mechanic replaced by something like Improved Leader of the Pack where the moonkin and his party members either receive mana or save mana on their next spell when they crit. I think this would help with our mana issues and increase our raid utility.
- Indoor CC: Not having this really limits our desirability when running instances. Lets face it. There are a lot of bad players out there that rely heavily on CC to get them through instances. You don't know how many times I have tried to get into a pug only to be told that they need a mage for CC. I agree that no healer should have a strong viable CC, but if you made it an upgrade deep in the balance tree I don't think it would be an issue.
- Improved Fairie Fire: Don't get me wrong, I really like this talent and think it is highly underrated by most moonkin. However, its not really a moonkin talent and loses its value in the higher levels of raiding. Though I would hate for moonkin to lose any of their raid viability, I would suggest moving this to the feral tree or changing it in some way to buff Caster DPS also.
- Subtlety: I would love to have more points in this talent. I don't have large issues with threat but any kind of reduction is a good reduction. Its problem though is its place in the talent tree. It max it out moonkin are basically forced to spend 18 points in the resto tree. Also, moonkin are forced to waste points in talents that are of little benefit to us or the raid as it is. In my opinion there are two ways to fix it. Either move the talent to the second tier of the resto tree or split it in to two talents and put the damage treat reduction in tier 2 of the Balance tree. Either of these solutions would reduce the number of wasted talent points and give us much needed threat reduction.
- Force of Nature: I like my trents, but these guys are idiots. If you miss place the summon then they don't attack the mob and run back to you. They can also attack targets other than the one you intended. Having some sort of pet bar would be nice.
- This wasn't in my Blizzard post, but I also think that Druids need an out of combat rez. Druids in the Tree of Life form should be able to cast Healing Touch. And for gods sake, fix the kitty ranged bug.
Well that's it. There isn't anything else to report toon wise that hasn't already been said.


text:
Le Voleur is French for the Thief. In 1828, during the birth and rise of the newspaper, Emile de Girardin had a novel idea on how to use the newest writing technology, the printing press. He and a friend decided to start a periodical, but since they lacked capital, the weekly was entitled Le Voleur (The Thief) and it reprinted the best articles that had appeared elsewhere during the week, saving editorial costs. (from ''The History and Power of Writing'')
Wednesday, August 08, 2007
Good bye Dude
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text:
Yang achieves a major moment in authoritative fashion
Y.E. Yang's victory will go down in history as one of sport's greatest upsets. The most notable aspect of it is that Yang did to Tiger Woods what Tiger has become famous for doing to everyone else.
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