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I enjoy the wines from Argentina, but I typically don't buy them. I have my own personal embargo against Argentina that will remain in force until that country's politicians and notable citizens give up their Socialistic ways. I do not wish to politicalize wine, but "if you have eyes that see" you couldn't help but notice that the policies pursued in Argentina are wrong, not working and harming the average person. If you love them, set them free!
Okay, that's it! I'm all fired up, both politically and about the wine.
Today's wine is from Andean Vineyards in Mendoza. The Wall Street Journal Wine club must have a good deal with this vineyard because they get a number of different varietals from them. There is this wine, J Opi, and a Malbec blend called "The Wax Bat;" both are good values.
The Chief winemaker at Andean is Rodolfo "Opi" Sadler and he is the mastermind behind both of the wines I just mentioned above. He is sometimes called "the Magician" and holds numerous awards including "Best Malbec from "The Wines of Argentina" competition. Not bad in a country full of people making Malbec. He also has been featured in "Decanter" magazine.
Our bottle of Opi has an inky-dark purple color. The aroma is inviting, warm like a newly baked cherry pie, while the taste is a super-smooth, medium-bodied red with plum and vanilla. I paired my wine with apples, brie, and a nice warm fire while looking at vacation pictures on a big screen TV. It was a wonderful way to pass a cold winter night.
I saved about half the bottle for the next day, and although it had lost a little of it smoothness it still was a great tasting wine.
My guess is everyone reading this has enjoyed a Malbec wine at some time or another, so telling you to try one is a little silly. And no, I don't expect you to join my embargo on Argentina either. What I would ask of you is to lift your glass think about what's going on in the world, the growth of intolerance, the decline in personal and economic freedom, and ponder what's going on around you. Who knows, you might be able to shine a little light for freedom.


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subset: commoncrawl


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BEA report! I didn't bring my camera and was way too rushed to take photos anyway. Here's the scoop from the day.
The children's lit breakfast was early but worth it. Julie Andrews emceed and she was a delight. A surprise guest came out--Peter Yarrow! From Peter, Paul, and Mary. THe music of my childhood. He had his guitar and he played and we sang along to "Day is Done" and "Puff." It was dreamy.
I did two signings--first in the Bloomsbury booth for The Actor and the Housewife. They gave away real hardcover copies! It was thrilling. I love getting to give away books. I don't know how many I signed, but I signed steadily for my allotted hour and then some. We had to leave after that, and there was a huge stack of A&H at the booth. When we got back an hour and a half later, all the books were gone. How exciting!
My editor and I had an hour to stroll the floor. There were very few books given away, a very visible sign of the economy. In past years, you'd see huge stacks of galleys for the taking. THings were pretty bare. I did score a few very key ones, and one might or might not be Catching Fire, sequel to Hunger Games. I cannot confirm or deny that rumor.
One of the best things about shows like BEA is it's such a reunion! You walk around this exhibit hall and see the most fabulous booksellers who are my best friends whenever I'm with them. There are so many, but Monica and Valerie from Hicklebees I'm claiming as family at this point. Alex from Whale of a Tale (formerly known as Moby Dick and Jane...K, I made that up), everyone from Books Inc, BookPeople, Blue Willow, The Flying Pig, Third Place...am I gushing? I love this business! I was talking with the loveliest bookseller and I'm embarrassed I've forgotten her name, though I can see her beautiful face. And she was saying how as booksellers, they're so eager to preserve and encourage and nurture the authors, to keep us writing and producing. And I said, that's just how the authors feel about booksellers. we're anxious to keep the booksellers thriving and nurtured and out there doing such good things. It's a wonderful symbiotic relationship.
And of course, besides booksellers at BEA, you get all the sexy librarians. You gotta love the sexy librarians. In my experience, the children's and teen services librarians are the happiest. And if you haven't been to BEA, imagine walking around and saying, "Look, there's Kate DiCamillo. There's Scott Westerfeld. And Sarah Dessen. And Justine Larbalestier. And Suzanne Collins. And Jeff Kinney" who gave me a hug. I'm totally claiming we're BFFs now. He and his wife were awesome. I had a very brief close encounter with Libba Bray, who was madly signing but I got to kiss her cheeks. Repeatedly. Then happily I ran into Holly Black and got to stroll around with Her Awesomeness for a while. Am I name dropping? Shamelessly. Someday soon someone's going to kick me out of this fabulous club, so I've got to enjoy it while I can. And of course all my Utah peeps--James Dashner (who apparently is going to be an author of rock star proportions), Sara Zarr, Aprilynne Pike, Brandon Mull.
I saw Jane Yolen and said, "Hi, sorry to bother you, but I love you." And I kid you not but she looked at my nametag then said, "I love you too." And she said the loveliest things about my writing. Surreal! Accuse me of making that up. I must be making that up.
Then I did a signing for Forest Born galleys. I was signing in the autograph area next to Julianne Moore, who is a completely gorgeous person in every way--down-to-earth, thoughtful, generous. What a gem. The autograph area is out of the way downstairs and I was so flattered that so many people bothered to come. All so lovely and kind. One woman let me know they were all huge fans at her house, and then it turned out she was the amazing Gennifer Choldenko, author of Al Capone Does My Shirts. She has a sequel coming out imminently.
The emceeing for the ABC dinner was really fun. I prepared very well because I had limited time and I didn't want to go over, and I wanted to make sure I knew my stuff because I was saying some things that I knew I'd be at risk to get emotional. Then I did anyway. Curses! I'd been so determined to remain composed.
But aside from the choking-up-ness, it was a good time. It's fun to make people laugh. I got to poke fun at several authors whom I adore. Meg Cabot was one, and I'd hoped to see her before and give her a head's up so my comments wouldn't come across wrong. I did see her at the Children's breakfast that morning where she was speaking--and she looked fabulous, by the way, and was, as always, a delightful speaker. But didn't get to talk to her. I didn't try to talk to Jon Scieszka beforehand, because everything I said about him is absolutely true and needs to be known. Here's the sillier part of what I said when I introduced Katherine Paterson to give you an idea of the evening (I swear it's funnier in person):
"And now, our grande dame. Or as her grandchildren call her, our damn gran." [Said many nice things here]
"Katherine Paterson is one of the few children's authors who still writes her own books, while the majority of us just outsource to Meg Cabot. Of course, not everyone hires Meg--even she can only write so many books a week. For example, I know Jon Scieszka simply eats a bowl of chili and burps books. Hey, every writer has their own process, and I don't judge."
[said many more nice things]
It was easy to say nice things about Katherine Paterson's books before having met her, and it's even easier now. WOW! She is someone you want to just be around. Funny, humble, sincere, smart, relaxed, elegant, casual, everything wonderful. I thought I was a fan before, now I'm a huge fan.
After the talks were over, there was the silent auction and reception, a couple of hours of bliss, getting to rub shoulders and chat with amazing authors and amazing booksellers. Laini Taylor is as darling as ever. Scott Westerfeld showed me the jaw-dropping sketches for his upcoming Leviathan. And everyone was so complimentary about my emceeing (and books too). I just kept thinking to myself--don't take this seriously. This is not real life. You are going home tomorrow and that will be real life. No one can live feeling so adored all the time and be mentally healthy. So it's good that I'm not in that situation often. But for a couple of hours, it was really lovely.
That was the day. Up early the next morning, long flight, and I'm home. The kids are even more darling two days later. And now that I've had a nap, I'm firmly back in the real world again, where my five-year-old sits on my lap and says, "I love you more than all of space, Mama," and that's all the adoration I could ever dream of deserving.


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Little Chipmunk is eager to begin school and even though she's still 4, I thought we'd give this homeschool thing a real go! I figured even if I mess it up, she can still go to Kindergarten next year (though I think we'll be okay). I recently read through the book, The Well-Trained Mind: A Guide to Classical Education at Home, and the classical model of homeschooling really resonated with me. For Kindergarten, our main goals are to learn how to read and do basic adding and subtracting. I … [Read more...]
Homeschool Kindergarten: Here We Come!
This Little Light of Mine: Music Videos
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Gods Kids Worship: Fall Bundle {Review}
If you're anything like me, you are always on the lookout for great music for your Children's Ministry. I'm constantly scooping up CD's and asking other kidmin leaders what they are listening to. What? You don't believe me? Check out this recent tweet! At any rate, I was super excited when I got an email from God's Kids Worship asking me if I'd like to take a look at their Fall DVD Bundle. I had heard quite a bit about God's Kids Worship, but had never tried out one of the bundles for … [Read more...]
Want to Win Some Music?
Hey Readers! I just got this email from God's Kids Worship and thought I'd pass the exciting news onto you! Announcing: God's Kids Worship Free Music Summer for 2013! We are going to be giving away music on our Facebook page starting July 22nd thru August 2nd. We will announce two winners everyday, Monday thru Friday. The free music ranges from CDs to DVDs to USB sticks to song downloads. Here is our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/GodsKidsWorship Here is the link to … [Read more...]
Easter Songs We're Singing!
Is your church planning a big Easter Egg Hunt this year? Last year, we did a station-based event and this year, we're planning on using an idea from Ministry to Children. With this plan, kids will work together with their parents to complete a resurrection booklet and make their own set of resurrection eggs. To finish off their experience, they will be visiting Miss Lindsey's Moving Picture and Song Station (that's me!) where they'll watch this cool Easter Video and sing some songs before … [Read more...]
Jesus Music Box: New Release from Yancy {Giveaway}
Are you ready for some tunes from Yancy? I have to say, I'm a pretty new convert to Yancy's music -- but we've been loving what we've used so far. This new album is described as "all about making Jesus loud in your life." Some of the songs include: "Not Ashamed", "Better Than the Best Thing", "Be Careful" and "Our God Reigns". I took a listen to these 12 new songs and I'm a fan. Yancy's style of music is the perfect style for pre-teens or older in worship or for listening as a family in the … [Read more...]


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On some of my sea kayaking trips I like to use a small sail.
I have designed my own rig and a few of my friends are now using the same set up.
Details on DIY sail can be found here.
While sailing can be great fun and can add a few more miles to your daily paddling distance (that's if the wind gods are benign to you and won't give you head wind) it can also be more challenging than just paddling.
The kayak can become more tippy in higher winds with increased wave heights.
Occasionally a kayak sailor will find him/herself in a gust of wind that just were not ready for and capsize.
Some sail rigs are rather cumbersome and don't stow away easily.
Those rigs will be more difficult to handle in case of a capsize.
The design I use has a single main sheet (one rope that goes to the boom) that with a simple flick of the fingers will depower the sail and possibly allow you to roll your kayak.
I have been lucky enough not to capsize yet in windy conditions and I am unsure if I will be able to roll back up in the heat of the battle.
On a recent trip I wanted to see if my friend Vanilla could actually pull off a "sail roll".
Conditions were not really windy but that allowed me to be next to him and document the roll.
To be able to successfully roll with the sail Vanilla let the sail out so the boom was loose.
In case of an accidental capsize that would be the first thing needed to be done or the sail would hold water and prevent rolling back up.
During rolling, the extended paddle generated more lift, especially the Aleut paddle.
An alternative roll with the sail would be to release the uphaul (rope that holds the mast up) and have the mast loose.
Once back upright the sail would be deployed (uphauled) in the usual fashion again.
I have observed several rigs on local kayaks that used my dimensions for the sail but rigged the sail with some mistakes in the set up.
Those sails can only be used in light winds where realistically the chance of capsizing is substantially diminished.
If rolling your kayak is not a skill that you already have, be prepared to have a swim or two if you use your sail in decent winds.
Make sure you know how to rescue yourself too or the swim back to shore could be a very long one.
27 January 2010
Technique: sail roll
Posted by gnarlydog at 8:54 AM
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Chapter 9
Phantoms of the past
Awakening in the chill
Beginning and end
"It has been over four hundred years since the tales of the Outcasts began to spread throughout the world. Whether they existed or not, or how much—if at all—they influenced the momentous events of those times four centuries past… those are beside the point. Though they would be long since departed from the mortal coil, the Outcasts live on.
"We who compile and study their tales have heard all the classic stories over and over again, told in a thousand different ways: the battle in the underground spider cavern, during which Hanami revealed her powers as a mage to save her new friends. Faun Muranaka's discovery of Seker, the Last Titan, and his raising of the Black Rose Tower… and the massive explosion at that same tower roughly a month later, which they say was visible from all across the world. The rampage of the Soulsnatcher. The notorious "Infernal Sheep Incident". The night of the Shroud. The journey to the north to seek out the yuki-majin. Their struggles against the Silver Order, the Demon Fangs, the Shadowhand, Epsilon, and countless other foes and challenges both mundane and supernatural… we know them all. It is, after all, our calling.
"With as many stories as there are, and the surprising degree of consistency in their telling, it is possible to establish a rudimentary timeline of the Outcasts' history, starting with Hanami's arrival in Tasakeru, commonly dated mid-autumn of Year 1349. If one were to consult this theoretical timeline, one might wonder: when exactly did the Outcasts cease to be a band of inconsequential exiles and begin to be an undeniable influence on the world at large?
"Some would argue that they made their first definitive mark on history with the explosion at the tower. Others would claim it was the tower's raising, itself a momentous event. Still others put the true beginning much further back, on that terrible grey dawn when Hanami first discovered that she was far from an ordinary squirrel doe.
"As for myself, I would place the tipping point squarely on the famous duel in the rain between Reimaru "Zero" Takaishi and the Soulsnatcher, long considered one of the most popular pieces of Outcast lore. Moreso than the raising of the tower or its explosion, and moreso than the day that changed Hanami's life, that duel had lasting consequences that no one, least of all the Outcasts, could have foreseen. Its outcome arguably set the stage for everything that was yet to come.
"I sometimes wonder: had Takaishi known what was at stake on that rainy morning so long ago, would he have chosen to act differently? Would that choice even have mattered, in the end…?"
[An excerpt from The Outcasts in Fact and Folklore, by Hill Jakes]
Two pairs of eyes watched the pattering of rain on leaves from their makeshift shelter beneath the heavy boughs. One pair, hazel and cautious, belonged to a squirrel doe who was now reconsidering the escape plan that had seemed so brilliant hours ago. The forest of Tasakeru was immense; even her brother had never come close to exploring all of it after living here nine years.
The second pair, almond-shaped and colored bright yellow, belonged to a sentient the likes of which the world had never seen. He watched the droplets pelt the leaves with rapt fascination, delighting in the rhythmic sound they made when they fell. Every few minutes, while his companion mulled next to him, he tried to reproduce that sound with motions of his lips: pop, pop, pop. He was improving as he practiced, but it was not yet accurate enough for him.
Naole barely heard him; she was too focused on the sinking realization that she had made a terrible mistake. Sure, Naole, she thought bitterly. Run out into the rain in an uncharted forest five times the size of Unify with a newborn hybrid to look after. No food, no water, no supplies, no shelter, and a bloodthirsty monster running around that wants revenge on our whole family! Blessed Lady Terra, what have I gotten us into…? Guilt stewed and churned deep in her belly. If she were in this situation by herself, perhaps it would not matter so much. But Legion was here with her, and she was his sole guide to a world he did not understand yet. How to explain to the poor thing that they were lost, with very little hope of ever being found?
A fresh wave of unease crested over her as she recalled phrases from Zero's many scrolls to her over the years: all of us are hungry… running out of food… not enough to eat out here, you know how it is… It was only in the last two months, after the flower mage Hanami's arrival, that those kinds of phrases stopped appearing. With her help, Tasakeru was more livable, but still a strange, ancient, inhospitable place. Without her help, it was practically a hostile entity of its own, never mind what things might be living in it. Oh Gods, she thought as the lead weight that seemed caught in her stomach plunged lower. What does Legion eat? Wolves have to eat meat, and he's part wolf… is there enough game out here for him to live on? If there is, will I have to teach him to— Now she felt a queasy green swirl of nausea. Squirrels only ate meat when they had to, and it was almost always leaner meat, mostly poultry and fish. Even if there were wild fowl or pigboars out here, the thought of having to show Legion how to properly slaughter and prepare one for cooking…
"Legion," she said aloud, trying to banish the hideous mental image of her new hybrid friend tearing into a fresh corpse, blood caking his snout. "Legion, I'm sorry. I think I might have made a—"
Legion wore a look of intense concentration and deadly seriousness, his brows furrowed and his long ears turned back at an angle. With great care, he pursed his lips together, then blew and made a circle with them: Pop! Pop! Pop!
Forget starving to death; Naole suspected she was in far more danger of dying of arrest from laughter. She laughed until her eyes were all but gummed shut from tears, until encroaching lightheadedness and shortness of breath told her that she had best stop or she would faint. "You…" she gasped. "Y-you need to s-stop making me laugh b-before I… Legion?"
The hybrid's long ears stood straight as flagpoles. His fur bristled all down his spine. The tight, nervous light in his eyes drained the last of her merriment away. He did not know the gesture yet, but Naole half-expected him to put a warning finger to his lips and shush her.
"Is someone coming?" Now Naole cursed herself for losing control. Damn it all, she could have led their captor right to them.
Legion's nostrils flared and closed in rapid succession. He blinked, unable to comprehend the scent that he picked up. The beginnings of a whine built in his throat.
"Shhh," whispered Naole, moving close and putting her hand over his. "I'm here. It's… it's not him, is it? It's not Stalker?"
Legion shook his head. That scent would have sent him fleeing in the opposite direction. This one was… strange. Not threatening, but unusual. Mellow and exotic, perhaps just a little bit like his own. He had no way of conveying this to Naole, but with her at his side, he was not afraid.
Now Naole could smell it, even through the rain: something like bamboo incense mingled with cooking spices. Through the forest's fog and shadows, a shape moved… a tall, slim figure hidden in the folds of a ratty old canvas cloak, an altogether different body shape than their captor. The cloak moved directly toward their hiding place, stepping carefully over wet leaves and twigs, making as little sound as possible.
Naole and Legion held each other tight.
The stranger stopped before the twisting roots of the tree that sheltered them. The feminine voice that spoke from within it was low and cool. "I have been awaiting you," she said. "Come with me, and I shall give you shelter from the rain."
"Can we trust you?" Naole tensed and shifted her position. If the cloaked figure meant harm, she would shield Legion with her own body if necessary.
"Trust me or not, that choice is yours," said the voice from the cloak, "but I believe that Outcasts, hybrids, and halfbreeds are kindred. As such, I am willing to help the two of you find your family, if you will aid me in finding mine."
"I—" Mystified, Naole leaned forward, trying to peer into the shadows of the stranger's hood. "Who are you? How did you know where to find us, and how do you know who we're looking for?"
A faint, musical chuckle. "All fair questions, but one answer at a time. I knew where to find you and why you are here because I have already seen you both, Lady Naole Takaishi and Legion. This meeting between us has been a fixture in my visions for nearly half a season… which leads me to believe that you both must be of the utmost importance to my future."
Hairs prickled on the back of Naole's neck. A seer. And she knows our names…
"As for who I am…" The stranger pulled back her hood, and Naole drew in a breath.
There were never many of her kind; some claimed there were only several hundred at the most. The few that Naole saw in and around Unify typically wore concealing clothes within the city walls, for the distinctive steely blue color of their fur made them easy targets. Foxes generally despised them and called them "taints", an ugly word for an uglier attitude. Wolves usually showed them less overt hostility, but most preferred not to think of them at all. Even in the Silver Order, the Order that claimed to protect all life, many sistren and brethren spoke of their kind in terms that were often disparaging, if not outright cruel. "Never trust a bluefur," Naole remembered one of her superior sisters telling her after treating one for a sprained ankle. "The lot of them are no good. They can't help it, they're unnatural by birth."
Yet here one stood in the rain, offering them a hand and shelter. A slender, white-muzzled face with soft, sad grey eyes looked at them not with worry or suspicion or fear, but with warmth and kindness. Her dark, arched eyebrows were partly hidden by her bangs, gradient-colored from deep blue to indigo to violet at the tips. "My name is Aria," said the wolfox, inclining forward in a bow, "and I would be honored to share my home with you both, if you will have me."
The logic clicked into place like a puzzle piece. Hybrids, thought Naole, wondering why she had not realized it sooner. They're both hybrids. Of course. Who would be better to help her teach Legion about how the world worked? Gratitude swelled in Naole's chest as she smiled up at Aria. She bowed, and indicated for Legion to do the same. "Naole Takaishi and Legion," she said. "The honor is ours, Lady Aria. Thank you."
Dull sounds of steel colliding with wood echoed through the clearing. Zero and Stalker circled each other as buzzards circle fallen prey, engaged in the immemorial dance of hated adversaries, puddles rippling at their feet with their motions. The last time they fought, Stalker emerged with the upper hand, his unnatural endurance complimenting his savage strength. Now the field was far more level: Stalker's many injuries were closed but not fully healed, and Zero knew every square meter of this part of Tasakeru as Stalker could never hope to.
The wolf lunged with his makeshift club, its remaining twigs whipping the air as he brought it crashing onto the flat of Zero's sword, raised overhead in a defensive position. The club bore many deep nicks and gashes from the ronin's blade, but Zero noted that Stalker was far more careful with it than he had been with his stolen cutlass. The branch was not made to serve as a weapon, it was exponentially more fragile and less balanced than standard Order steel. That did not mean it would not cave in his skull if Zero gave it the opportunity. In Stalker's hands, even an old wet branch could be deadly.
That said, Zero still felt the advantage… a slim one, but still an advantage. The key was to remain in the Centerpoint, and to rely on skill rather than trying to match the Soulsnatcher's raw power. As long as he concentrated on his technique, conserved his energy, and only struck when Stalker made himself vulnerable, he could win.
Takaishi's calm only made Stalker's fury burn hotter. He did not think of how unwise it was to challenge the Outcast in his home, he did not think of countering his enemy's techniques with his own. Stalker lashed out at him in a boiling crimson rage, past caring about what harm might befall him. Takaishi had to pay. For his slain brethren, for his lost eye, for the Legion spoiled by his sister's weak blood, and for Mother, whom he murdered, and whose resurrection he had surely ruined by now. Without Stalker's presence, without his hands to guide the process, there was little hope for him to bring Mother back. Damn Takaishi, damn him. Damn the Muranaka whore for catching him off guard and making a shambles of his face, damn the flower mage for nearly crushing him with her accursed vines instead of quietly surrendering her body, blood, and soul as she by all rights should have done. Damn the Outcasts, damn his pack and the worthless fae that had him exiled unjustly, damn this entire wretched, corrupt existence. Everything was crumbling around him; all Stalker had left was this duel, this one last chance to at least kill Takaishi.
An eerie, keening wail filled the hollow of the Black Rose Tower, unheard by any outside its walls. It was a hideous sound, a sound of agony that emanated from the core of the monstrous beacon surrounded by its whirling rings of orbiting souls. A faint shape moved within the confines of the core, its many limbs thrashing. Its thin, taloned fingers tented the core's upper layer as if it were made of some strange, ethereal fabric, but they could not break it. Straining, the shape's hand pressed harder, harder. Outlines of a face and body pressed against the surface, becoming more defined as it stretched and thinned…
A great, wrenching tear, and the shape within the core broke through the last barrier. Shrieking, it tumbled to the cold stone floor and lay there stunned.
The beacon crumpled, shrank, and collapsed in on itself. All of the stolen souls that supported it broke from their orbits and burst outward, phasing through the walls of the tower and scattering to the four winds like silver fireflies. Those souls that still had intact bodies would find them in time, drawn back to their mortal shells as if pulled by gravity. As for the souls without bodies to return to, they would only wander aimlessly, until they stumbled upon of the many gateways to the next world, and from there to their rest…
I… The tower's lone remaining occupant twitched on the floor, feeling returning her body in an overwhelming rush. What has happened to me?Where… Her thoughts, her memories, her sense of self, all were like water, swirling together without cohesion.
Where am I?
Who am I?
Am I… alive? She seemed solid enough. Her body had weight and presence to it, but… but her heart was still and silent within her chest when she felt for its rhythm. Lurching horror swelled up within her, she clawed at herself in a frenzy… and felt sizzling lines of pain as her talons broke her flesh. So, a body without a pulse, but still capable of being hurt. It made no sense.
Crack. The hornbeam branch split down its middle; it could take no more. The following strike of Zero's sword tore it from Stalker's grip and sent it spinning out of his hands. He scrambled after it… and found his movement brought to a halt by the handle of the sword, which Zero slammed into his gut. Reflexively, he crumpled to the forest floor, gasping for breath…
"Get up." Zero's blade stayed trained on Stalker's neck. "I said get up."
Stalker climbed to one knee. His eye rolled in its socket, their gazes met—
A searing thunderclap shot through the inside of Zero's skull and tore him from the Centerpoint in an instant. Damn Stalker, he still had his reader's powers… or some portion of them, even without one of his eyes. Assuming that he lost those abilities was a mistake that would cost Zero his life, surely. He tensed, waiting for the killing blow…
… but over the lingering remnants of the pain, he only felt the wind and rain shift as the wolf passed him by, and a rough, unfocused shove, sending him stumbling. "Coward!" Zero roared after him. "Dammit…" Taking a single step after him made him reel, the forest whirled around him in circles. No chance of following until his head was straight again. He fell roughly to his hands and knees, and felt the silver dagger in his jacket thump against his chest. Damn him…
Bleeding in dozens of places, disarmed, and only a few seconds ahead of Takaishi at the most. Stalker ran, stumbling through bracken and underbrush, slipping on wet leaves and moss-covered stones. This could not be how it ended. Somehow, some way, he had to avenge Mother. Somehow, he had to make his life count for something.
When the scent reached him, at first he thought he must be hallucinating in his panic. Fortune could not be so kind to him, not after all of his failures. He took a heaving, heavy breath, just to be sure… It was real, it was no illusion. A crazed grin split Stalker's face. He turned on one heel, nearly twisting his ankle, and made for the source of that scent, crashing through anything in his way.
Hanami was drawn by the coppery smell of blood, the smell she hated. Only as she drew closer did she pick up Stalker's scent as well, that wet, dank odor of earth and decay. She could not make her way through the forest anywhere near as quickly or easily as Zero or the wolf; she stuck to the winding paths among the ancient trunks whenever she could, and hoped that she would not arrive too late.
Her ears perked at the sound of snapping branches and startled rustling leaves. She froze, her tail standing ramrod straight with its fur puffed out in alarm…
The thing that came lumbering out of the underbrush was barely recognizable as the wolf that had invaded her home an hour ago. Now he was even more a figure of nightmares: he was soaked to the bone, the score of blade marks he had taken clearly visible through his sodden fur. His face and snout were swollen with a mass of ugly purple-black bruises; the maddened eye looking out of those bruises was like a wound welling with blood. Clutching at the spider corpse embedded in his left biceps, he staggered toward her, his lips curled in a vicious smile. "You…"
Hanami's paralysis broke. This time, she would not be caught off guard. She tore the Mage Flower from behind her ear and pointed its blossom at Stalker. "Stay back!"
"It was foolish to follow us, little maiden." A ragged, hacking chuckle. "Perhaps I cannot kill Takaishi. But by killing you, I can still make him suffer…" He raised his right hand, fingers spread wide…
Hanami let out a choked cry of horror and disgust.
There were holes in his hand. No, not just holes, mouths. A wet, yawning, toothless mouth in the center of his palm, and five smaller, vertical mouths on his thumb and each fingertip, ringed around their edges with yellowed lamprey teeth. They appeared to gasp with hunger as he staggered toward her.
"Stay away!" Hanami recoiled, fur prickling and skin crawling, repulsed to her core. A weapon, she had to make a weapon.
"Mother," said Stalker. He was almost giddy with joy. "Mother, are you watching? I have her at last. I'm going to kill her. I'm going to avenge you…"
Out of the darkness, something called to her. A sound, a cry. Some vague sense of familiarity. Confused, she moved toward that sound… her steps took her to the smooth, circular stone wall. When she put her hand upon it, it sank through with barely any resistance, as if the surface were still water. She only paused for a moment before plunging through the wall. A moment of darkness, then…
A forest, old and vast, thick with morning fog, and rain falling from the canopy high above. She watched, fascinated, as drops of water passed through her body and spattered the soil at her feet. Solid inside the room where she awakened, but insubstantial outside of it. How…? she thought again.
That sound again. It was an odd tingle in the back of her skull, a sensation that she could not resist. She drifted, phasing through trees and clouds of fog alike…
"Mother." The voice cut through her confusion for a brief, fleeting moment. It was a word that held great importance to her, though she did not know why… At a loss, she floated in the direction of the speaker.
It was a dark, bedraggled animal, half-dead by the look of it, soaked with a mixture of blood and water. The voice came from it… from him. He beamed with mad glee as he spoke again, ranting to this "Mother" about how she would finally be avenged.
That was when she saw the child. A sad little thing grafted to the wolf's left arm, its milky eyes staring at nothing, the lower half of its body melded with the larger creature's flesh. A child, a wretched, deformed thing… a child.
Her child. She knew.
But how…?
Step by step, Stalker staggered closer to her, each footfall seeming to take a thousand years. She was all his to savor… her scent, her terror, her blood and body and soul. All he needed had been dropped into his lap. Perhaps all was not lost after all.
When the thorned vine spouted from the center of her flower and lashed across his cheek, tearing it open with tiny, sharp barbs, he barely felt it this time. Pain was nothing, humiliation was nothing. It would all be worth it in a few minutes' time. Still, he thought, he would prefer not to be struck again. His eye caught hers and opened wide…
Hanami felt it. Thoughts that were not her own, scraping at her mind like claws, dredging up random memories. Memories of pain, of fire, of loneliness… The connection between herself and Stalker was tenuous and fragmented, but he could see her, the real her. Ice-cold fear clawed its way up from the pit of her stomach, energy rushed into the stem she clutched between her fingers…
The image of the type of weapon she needed was in her mind almost before she was consciously aware of it, and her flower, as always, responded to that image…
In his wounded state and minus an eye, Stalker could only focus long enough to read for a few seconds at a time… but what little he saw from Hanami was not at all what he expected. "Hrm," he said with a smirk. "So the little flower bud still hides some secrets, eh?" Now he was all but within arm's reach of her. Any remaining secrets she had would be laid bare once he touched her. The six mouths in his fingers and palm stretched open wide.
The Mage Flower twitched in Hanami's hands. A long, jagged spear of ironwood erupted from within its blossom. Guided as sure as an arrow loosed from a trained archer's bow, it grew with explosive force, plunging its pointed end straight into the yawning mouth in the center of Stalker's palm. There it kept growing, penetrating deeper and deeper inside the wolf's arm. Smaller branches split off from its main body expanded, tearing through flesh, bone, and muscle like paper…
"GYAAAAAAAAA…" An inarticulate sound of mingled pain and frustration ripped from Stalker's throat. When the wooden shaft snapped off from the girl's flower, his now-useless right arm fell, limp and heavy, mangled from the inside out by the pronged spear now permanently lodged in it. Redness and rage filled his vision as he raised his other arm, claws spread, meaning to tear the doe in two… but a twitch stopped him, some inexplicable sense of imminent doom should he try. Cursing the very stars, he hobbled back into the underbrush. She would live, for now, but so would he.
Zero found Hanami standing in the rain in the middle of the path, staring at a morass of churned and reddened mud with the wolf's footprints leading to and from it. All his instincts cried out to him to run to her and gather her in his arms, tell her that everything would be all right…
"Takky, don't touch her!" Faun's voice in his thoughts stopped him as his hand was halfway to her shoulder. It pained him in ways he could not explain, but he withdrew his hand. Swallowing the hurt, he merely spoke to her, softly and gently: "Hanami?"
Hanami looked back at him, and there was a fraction of an instant of confusion in her pale blue eyes, as if she could not remember who he was. Her voice came out low, muddled. "Ze… Zero…?"
"Did he hurt you?"
"Thank the Gods, I thought—"
"I hurt him."
That struck Zero as an extremely odd thing for her to say. "… I beg your pardon?"
"I hurt him," said Hanami, in a state of stunned calm. Shock, Zero realized. "Really badly this time, I think. I grew a branch in his arm, there was a hole. I don't think he can get away again."
Now a war sprung up within Zero, one side demanding that he stay here and comfort her… and the other telling him to get the hell away from her and stop Stalker while he still had the chance. After a brief but intense struggle, the latter side won out. "Go back to Haven Grove," he said, with what he hoped was great authority and purpose. "Find Faun and help her patch up."
"But I… I should help—" Again that dreamy, not-quite-there voice.
"You have," said Zero, meaning every inch of the words. "But I need to finish this, and it's not something I want you to see."
"All right."
One of the last things Zero expected was for her to accept that logic so easily, but he pushed aside the sensation of wrongness for now. "Daijo," he told her. "We'll both get through this, I promise." His boots made splashes in the growing puddles lining the path as he raced away, following the staggered footsteps in the mud and the trail of blood mixed with the wet soil.
When he was gone, Hanami stared down at the Mage Flower, its stem still threaded between her fingers. In most times, it was a source of comfort and strength to her, an anchor to the world. Now, and not for the first time, it felt different, in a way that made her stomach turn.
Those eyes. Those pale eyes, like robins' eggs. She saw, and when she loosed her attack on the strange wolf with the child in his arm, she remembered.
Over the next few minutes, much of what the blue-eyed girl and the sword-wielding figure in black said to each other went unheard. It was only when the one with the sword took off to catch the wolf that she moved to follow.
His trail was not difficult to follow. Hanami's makeshift spear had thrown off his center of balance; there was an uneven line of crushed leaves and bracken that zig-zagged back and forth, dotted with drops of blood that the rain had only begun to wash away. Zero slowed his pace and drew his sword from its scabbard. If he—
"You!" And Stalker was upon him, flailing at him with his ruined arm and incredibly, still trying to fight. "You…" Stalker panted, "… and that damned mage…"
"It's over," said Zero. Each swipe was easy to fend off, but he knew better that to underestimate the wolf again. "You've failed, Stalker."
"Have I?" Mad laughter rang through the forest, echoing off the old trunks. "Perhaps… but so have you, Takaishi…"
Takaishi. That was a name she knew. Takaishi.
"There is still… my Lesion, my maligned creation…" said Stalker. When Takaishi's blade came down, he shoved his deadened limb into its path, despite the pain already lancing through it. On the return, he hefted that arm and swung it wild, an improvised club. "It still… has your sister…"
It made little sense, Zero thought. Stalker's body was torn up, he could barely stand. But even a creature all but immune to pain would try to use his good arm in place of the damaged one. Why would he favor his left arm to the point of absurdity?
It was as if a match were struck in Zero's mind. The next time the wolf's arm came at him, he sidestepped rather than retreating backward to dodge the blow. Moving smoothly, continuing the motion, he let go of the hilt of his sword and pulled the dagger from his jacket with his non-dominant hand. Its blessed silver blade gleamed even in the dim, misty light; Zero prayed that Nadeshiko's foremothers had forged it for more than just ceremony as he drew it in a long guided slash, not across the wolf's neck, but through the spider embedded in his biceps, splitting it open from head to bulbous abdomen.
Burning. Agony. Somehow, Stalker knew he was dead from the moment the red-streaked dagger emerged from his arm. The only thing that caused him pain even remotely like this was the Argenteus child's greatsword when it bit into his shoulder. His every nerve was on fire, his limbs jerked in spasms as if he had been struck by a bolt of lightning. He stumbled, he collapsed, sliding down against the bark of a tree… a yew. How strangely fitting.
Zero watched. His hunch had been correct. It was over… or it soon would be. Just one thing left to do. Kneeling down, he stared into the wolf's red eye as he spoke: "Where is my sister?"
Stalker chuckled weakly. Blood bubbled at his lips. "Beneath… at least, I suppose… by now…"
With a grimace of disgust, Zero looked away. The dagger was still clutched in his hand; he ran it through the damp grass until it was somewhat clean again, then tucked it back into his jacket pocket. No sense in returning it to Nadeshiko soiled. "Listen to me before you die," he said, taking hold of the hilt of his sword again. "I want you to look at this sword, Stalker."
Unable to do much else, Stalker pivoted his eye downward. It was a katana, typical of the kind the samurai carried. Obviously old, nicked and scratched in many places, but with a razor edge that indicated it was well cared-for. His eyes traveled up the meter of squirrel steel to the handguard, a circle that resembled a wagon wheel. No, what he mistook for spokes at first were in fact eight scythes, one at each cardinal and intermediate point, their curved blades merging smoothly into the handguard's outer ring. His view of the hilt was mostly blocked by Zero's hands, but he could see leather underneath the black fabric woven over the hilt in a pattern of diamonds. He smirked. "Should I… be impressed…?"
"This was my father's sword," said Zero, reverent, but hard as iron. "It belonged to Takaishi Tesshin of Daigundan Squad 3527, and before that to Shinji Takaishi of Squad 1662, who became the regent of District Eighteen in Tachi-cho. All my fathers and grandfathers carried this sword… and it used to have a name. A great and noble name, for the great and noble Takaishi family. Do you hear me, you bastard?"
"Family." Again Stalker chuckled. "One thing… we have in common."
"I carried this sword with me on the day my squad and I were attacked by the Demon Fangs," said Zero. A tremor of emotion entered his words. "I fought with it while my brothers died for no reason. I carried it with me when I ran away, and when I was sentenced to exile in this forest. That was when this sword lost its name… because the person who held it was no longer a samurai, and no longer part of the Takaishi family. Its name is nothing now.
"I used to wonder just why I took it. I knew I would never be a samurai again… I feared death. To us, to my kind, that's an unforgivable crime. So why take the sword? It took me years to figure it out… I took it to remember. To remember my failure, but also to try to make up for it by protecting the only things that are still important to me: my home. My friends. And my little sister.
"This old sword may not mean much anymore," said Zero, rising to his feet, "and I may have no right to call myself a Takaishi. But the sword that belonged to my father and my grandfathers deserves better than being sullied by scum like you. So if you won't tell me where my little sister is… then I'll leave you here to die. You'll suffer here, for however long it takes… It's a coward's death. Coming from a coward… maybe you can appreciate it more." And he turned from the wolf, flicked the blood from his sword, sheathed it, and began to walk away.
"W… wait…" The word was pathetic, almost pleading.
Something rose within Zero that he could not suppress. An aching need, a sense of a matter of great importance, left unfinished. It would gnaw at him, taunt him endlessly, unless he made it right.
So he swiveled on his heel, eyes blazing, hand on the hilt. He drew the nameless katana from its scabbard, and it flashed in a single, crescent-shaped arc. When he brought it to a stop, half its length was painted crimson.
The wretched, twisted being resting against the yew, the sentient once called Algol, then called Stalker the Soulsnatcher, sagged against the rough back. His head lolled to one side, slid off his shoulders, and thudded to the mossy earth.
Once more, Zero knelt to clean his sword in the grass. When he was finished, he gazed at his reflection in the old, tarnished blade. "I'm sorry, Father," he whispered to it.
Pain, sensation, thought, all faded. Stalker's head blinked and gasped as its mockery of life eked away.
Strange. Before the darkness claimed him, he thought he heard something. A voice. A familiar voice. He was too far gone to comprehend its words, but it sounded… almost like…
Goodbye, Stalker. Goodbye… my child. My son.
She did not scream when the wolf's head was struck from his shoulders. She made no sound at all. She only felt deep sorrow and pity for the poor, half-mad monster who had given his life—or what passed for it—for a mother he had never even met.
All was not lost. This she vowed. The wolf that called himself her son had succeeded in at least a few things, though not in the way he expected. What remained of her child spoke to her before Takaishi carved it in two, and it told her things. It told her of the hybrid and Takaishi's sister, it told her of the beacon that pulled her from the Beneath, and it told her the nature of the bizarre tower where she emerged. More importantly, the child reminded her, once and for all, of who she was…
Her name was N'Ktane. Months before, she and all but one of her children had died in the collapse of their home, a limestone cavern in the depths of an ancient forest called Tasakeru.
Now she knew, and now she burned with the need to ensure that her last child had not died in vain. When she was finished, the Outcasts, to a one, would suffer… and she had all she needed to make that happen.
Everything will change.


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Austin's EcoClean will donate 5% of revenue generated on Wednesdays during the month of February 2012 to Theatre Action Project. EcoClean's wet cleaning process is done without the use of dangerous dry cleaning chemicals making it more environmentally friendly. Their services include EcoClean Wash & Fold, Out, Out Damn Spot, Nice Day for a White Wedding, recycling used hangers, free delivery and pickup, and more.
We invite you to visit EcoClean in February and support Theatre Action Project. EcoClean is located at 2915 Guadalupe Austin, TX 78705. Be sure to mention Theatre Action Project. For more information, call: (512) 236-8645.
Thank you EcoClean for supporting TAP!


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Mom, here's a picture of Marie wearing the "pink stuff" shirt you made...
I love her red hair. It's getting so long and messy now...
Sunday, November 01, 2009
4 comments:
She looks adorable.ReplyDelete
So cute! How old is she? Our youngest is a little red head too :)ReplyDelete
Aww, she's cute. And I love the red hair. For a little while it seemed like Sarah would get red curly hair too, but somehow that changed. Now she has very sleek blonde hair. Too bad. Even though she looks very cute now, I would have loved to see her as a curly redhead too:-)ReplyDelete
Suzanne, she is just about to turn 1. They grow so fast!!ReplyDelete
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New Orleans Photos
I usually avoid the Quarter during Mardi Gras. The crowds are outrageous and power drinking has never been my thing, although I adore the costumes and wish I could see every one of them.
This year, I wandered down on Lundi Gras. I'd heard about the people that show up toting banners, megaphones and spend their time trying to convert passersby to their religious beliefs, but I'd never witnessed them in person.
If you haven't seen them, this is what they look like. They are loud. They are judgmental. They are terrible spellers.
But as I wandered around Bourbon, taking in the sights, there was a young man just standing quietly on the side of the street. He restored my faith in humanity with one small, handwritten sign.
I hope your Mardi Gras was safe and fun.


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A History of the Portsmouth Music Festival
Records of the Festival prior to 1948 and a large number of the original trophies were destroyed during World War II because the Guildhall was badly bombed. However, some information is available in newspaper articles written during the years leading up to that date.
In 1920, the Portsmouth Welfare Association for the Young, presided over by Sir Thomas Bramsdon, the local MP, decided to add a musical competition festival to their range of activities that also included lectures, exhibitions of hobbies and boxing tournaments! Drama as well as music (especially choral music) was included in the Festival and scenery was provided by Peter Davey of the Theatre Royal.
In 1922 the Festival became affiliated to the British Federation of Festivals. Contemporary articles mention that there was to be an expansion of the event previously organised by the Portsmouth Welfare Association and it would be known as Musical Competition Festival for Portsmouth. An announcement was made in October 1922 that the first of these would take place in May 1923.
In 1923, there was a newspaper review publishing results of a festival for adult performers and choirs. Choirs are given pride of place, then solo singers and finally instrumentalists and chamber groups. At the time it was hoped that the event would become the Festival of the South of England and would boost the reputation of Southsea as a holiday resort. Harvey Grace, editor of the Musical Times, was the adjudicator that year and he suggested that it would be a good idea to combine this festival with the one run by the Portsmouth Welfare Association. However, it would appear that up to the Second World War the festival for young people was given a title which linked it to the Portsmouth Welfare Association, and adults performed in the Portsmouth Musical Competition Festival; the same people seemed to be on the committees for both events!
A highlight in 1924 was that one of the two adjudicators was none other than the composer and conductor Professor Granville Bantock M.A., Mus. Doc, whose most famous work perhaps is his Celtic Symphony.
During the years leading up to World War II, entries in the festival increased year on year and the classes on offer became more wide-ranging. In 1930 folk dancing, music, elocution and drama classes were featured and all took place in the Guildhall. There were nearly 500 entries in 59 different classes. Tickets were available at 6d (2.5p) or 1/- (5p) depending on where audience members chose to sit or, if they wanted to attend a number of classes, they could purchase a season ticket for 2/6 (12.5p).
The last report in the Portsmouth Evening News (now known as The News) appears in March 1939; although there is a later reference to the hobbies exhibition at the Guildhall in April of that year.
After the Festival was suspended during WWII, four people who had previously been members of the Festival Committee decided to re-start the event. They had only £15 in the bank but that was worth a great deal more than it is today. Their best attribute was their complete enthusiasm for the Festival. Florence Greaves, Margaret Ryan, Margaret Jewel and Mr. L. F. Glanville were chief among these enlightened people.
At the time of the Festival being re-started, it appears that the adult and youth festivals combined. References are now made in publications to Portsmouth Music Festival or Portsmouth Musical Competition Festival. Funding for the festival was now totally achieved through voluntary subscriptions and entry fees, as it is today.
In June 1949 and May 1950, two photos were published in the newspaper but there was no written report. It seems that the lack of the high profile support of the Festival, as previously given by the local MP, the Lord Mayor and the Education Authority, had diminished it in the eyes of the newspaper!
The reports of the Festival in the 1950s indicate that the format was closer to the one we are familiar with today. There were dance classes which included ballet, national, character and Greek, more music classes plus drama and elocution. During this time the reports in The Evening News are very detailed and every section is mentioned. Reporters took the time and trouble to find as much information as possible, even interviewing the adjudicators, who said exactly what they thought, in their comments. For example, in 1956 the adjudicator for dance, Claude Newman (founder member of Sadler's Wells) commented that the dancers who performed on the second day were "too mournful"; however, later in the week he stated, "Many of your classes at this festival are of a high standard, particularly among the younger age groups."
Many participants from the 1950s until the 1990s will remember Winnie Beer, a local junior school teacher, who had been a great help to Florence Greaves since 1946. Winnie took over the dance section with her considerable knowledge of folk dance and the many contacts she had in the Folk Dance Society of Great Britain.
Throughout the 1960s and 1970s the Festival continued to develop. By 1975 the classes on offer were similar to those today except that brass and woodwind were in one section, and there were additional classes in composition and with a greater range of folk and national dance.
Dan and Iris Bulger, Eric and Pauline Hunt and Olwen Cawthorne continued the valuable work with the Portsmouth Competitive Music Festival in the 1970's and 1980's following those enterprising people who had restarted the event. Dan and Eric were both Chairmen at different times, Olwen was Secretary and Iris and Pauline were both a very dedicated Heads of Speech and Drama who developed it from its small beginnings. Very soon though the Festival organisation began to falter and its financial condition caused great anxiety, so that its future looked very uncertain.
It was perhaps mainly thanks to Margaret Roberts, the current Vice-President, that the Festival survived. Throughout the 1980's, Margaret gave financial support to keep the event going and she quickly realised that the whole organisation needed modernising. The original methods of running an event of this size were no longer the easiest or the best. Margaret was invited to take over the chair on the retirement of Eric Hunt in 1990 having previously outlined the changes she wished to make. She worked tirelessly to secure sponsorship and ensure that the whole format was updated and computerised, and was greatly helped in this by the fact that her first year as Chair was the Festival's Diamond Anniversary.
In her 15 years as Chair, Margaret undertook every job there is to do on the Committee except for treasurer, which her husband, Chris, agreed to do with great effect. The Festival was restored very quickly to a safe financial footing. The syllabus for every section was overhauled, new classes were introduced and many special opportunities came our way.
By the end of the 1990's, the success of the new-style, re-named Portsmouth Music Festival (PMF) was underlined by offers from three major organisations in the city to forge a strong link with the PMF. Special opportunities were available now to a number of Festival participants: the Solent Symphony Orchestra offered an opportunity to play a concerto with the orchestra in one of their concerts (called The SSO Concerto Award), Milton Glee Club asked how they could create a link with the PMF and the sponsorship of a mid-teenage young performer was begun so that s/he could attend the European Summer School week in the summer holidays (the PMF also sponsors a young player so the two youngsters can go to the summer school together) and The Portsmouth Festivities, which began in the year 2000 and likes to shine a light on young talent, also offered the PMF two prizes - the Festivities Debut Recital Prize and a Masterclass for four or five young talented players to be given by a top class musician. All these special prizes are still being awarded each year and very many of the best young musicians in the city and surrounding areas who have entered the PMF over the years have benefitted from these opportunities.
From the success of Margaret's initial sponsorship agreements with local companies, the PMF was also able to widen the experience of its young participants in other ways too. In 1993, a large group of PMF performers visited the Conservatoire de la Musique in Caen. This was arranged through the Portsmouth-Caen Cultural Group in the city - primarily, Dan and Iris Bulger and Jo and Mary Stobseth-Brown. The PMF group was further sponsored on this trip by Brittany Ferries who waived the fares for everyone travelling to France. It was an exciting trip and certainly, the musicians in Caen were not expecting the English musicians to be as good as they were!
Another experience for the PMF performers came in 1994, a year when the Festival classes featured Swiss composers. Margaret contacted the Swiss Embassy in London and, sponsored by both the Embassy and Zurich Insurance, one of the PMF's main sponsors at that time, a well-known Swiss folk group came to visit the Festival. The folk group members, all highly regarded in Switzerland, were a family - father played the piano, one son played the clarinet, the other played the accordion, and their mother yodelled! They also brought with them a young 15 year old who played the Büchel, a relative of the Alphorn. A concert given by this group opened the Festival that year and they provided varied entertainments during the Festival as well as being invited to play in schools and for music clubs during their visit.
The reputation of the PMF was now extremely high - the British Federation of Festivals considered it to be one of the top three festivals in the UK. There were few changes to the Committee and everyone worked together extremely well. For many years the festival has been a platform for at least 4,000 performers each year. Together with the parents and supporters of the participants, a very large number of people have been touched by the benefits of performance and adjudication offered by the organisation.
The PMF has continued to succeed in these last years under the careful guidance of Gwenda Dearsley. Help in a number of ways is always needed and appreciated and we are sure that those people who originally nurtured this wonderful event would be amazed at how it has changed and grown, while keeping to its original concept of being a community event. While costs have risen enormously and money continues to have to be carefully spent, the standard of performance and the expectations of both the participants and the audiences alike have also risen and we hope the PMF would still make its founding fathers very proud.


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text:
A butterfly alights on a vine climbing outside the front door of Delia Nakayama's Bywater apartment. A melody recorded by Ella Fitzgerald drifts from the back of the shotgun, crowded with two pianos, stacks of books, sheet music and racks of Mardi Gras costumes.
The home is the highly creative environment where this Japanese-American poet raised in the poetic epicenter of San Francisco – finds her muse.
"I've written just about every day of my life," she said. Nakayama also sings her own musical compositions, loosely accompanied on the piano by Peter Nu, her life partner.
"I'm half-Japanese and Peter is Serbian-Czech from London. We have mixed heritage we can vibe with multiple sensibilities," she explained.
As a young girl, she dreamed she was standing on a wrought iron balcony – an architectural element rarely seen on the West Coast.
Years later, she followed her intuition and in 2003 took a train to New Orleans because this might be a place to explore her artistry.
Nakayama has participated in poetry readings in both cities. Her poems encompass subjects as diverse as her mixed heritage, women, children, old age, poverty, class and New Orleans. Some of it is deeply meditative, she said.
"New Orleans was my soul connection."
But she has also been an educator for 20 years, sharing her gift of creative poetic expression with adults and children. She loves inspiring others and seeing "that rush of excitement" as novices discover their own voices.
Juanita Jackson, who attended Nakayama's workshop held at the Martin Luther King Library, called those poetry-writing sessions "enlightening."
Jackson had always assumed that poems needed to rhyme, but soon learned to write prose and haiku.
"She would give me that extra push that I needed," recalls Jackson who has since performed two of her own poems before a live audience at the June Loving Festival.
Each person has a story, struggles and victories, Nakayama said. "My goal is to allow each person I teach, regardless of their age, to express him/herself freely with words and language -- and to acquire the skills to do that effectively."
Nakayama has conducted three Poets & Writers workshops in New Orleans. One, held at St. Anna's Episcopal Church, evolved into a weekly a women's group, The Well.
"Writing is something that brings comfort and nourishment to the soul," said Holly Woodie who heads The Well. "And writing in a group has an energy."
Starting Sept. 10, Nakayam will host another workshop specifically for teenagers at the New Orleans Public Library's Children's Resource Center Branch. Teens sometimes require more sensitive instruction than adults, but Nakayama creates a positive environment that is nurturing and non-judgmental.
"Often, teenagers' insights are particularly clear and even searing. It's as if they are able to open a secret window into the human experience for just a certain period of time," Nakayama said. "It's a difficult and a beautiful time of life and discovery."
One of her adult students, Paul Benton, appreciated the group support, reading and writing poetry at St. Anna's.
"I think writing poetry saved my life as a kid," he said. "It allowed me to employ my imagination."
Every student learns differently so Nakayama adjusts her teaching style accordingly.
"For some, their words come out like liquid fire. For others, they need coaxing. I have found that everyone can write, and well, if they are given the chance and the tools to do so," she said.


text:
Daniel Wilson, professor of history, is quoted extensively in an article about the history of polio and its impact on the country. http://ow.ly/Tjqt301rcl2
Patients "should think about what they can do in a day as a line, DeMayo said. The goal is to work up to that line, but not past it.... They end up really getting into a situation where they overdo it and cause increased pain and weakness and then they may have a period where they just can't function and then they have to rest. Then they get frustrated with their level of inactivity (while) resting," he said. "A lot of times it's an issue of just being smart and budgeting how you do things and what you do in order to get the most done during the day."
... "The best thing you can do," Nick Hovemeyer added, "is when you feel your legs getting weak, rest. Sit down and rest. Stop what you're doing. And that helps."
The same applies to myalgic encephalomyelitis. Do Not Pass The Line.
The article also quotes Dr. Bruno.


text:
For My Dad
Your joy passes on,
Your love floats free,
Your spirit is as high as an oak tree (Even higher up I'd say)
I love you,
You are the best dad ever!
There has never been someone better,
At being at the job of a dad!
By: Dragonfire


text:
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text:
|low graphics version | feedback | help
|You are in: UK: Northern Ireland
Friday, 2 June, 2000, 06:59 GMT 07:59 UK
'Hypocrisy' claims over DUP mayor
A row has erupted after two pro-agreement Ulster Unionists helped elect a lord mayor for Belfast who is against the Good Friday Agreement.
The Democratic Unionist Party's Sammy Wilson was elected as first citizen of the city for the second time on Thursday night.
He narrowly defeated Sinn Fein's Alex Maskey by 26 votes to 24 at the council's annual meeting.
It came about when unionists united to keep out the republican candidate.
Sinn Fein had hoped to secure the mayoralty for the first time but Mr Maskey has repeatedly been defeated in his attempts.
He has accused Ulster Unionist executive ministers Sir Reg Empey and Michael McGimpsey of hypocrisy.
Mr Maskey said it was "an irony" that the ministers had come from the power-sharing executive's meeting - which is boycotted by the DUP because of the presence of Sinn Fein - and then voted for a member of the DUP.
However, Mr McGimpsey has denied the accusation.
"We had disagreements with the DUP over the agreement and we made those disagreements voluble. We made those disagreements quite clear.
"But in local government, in the City Hall, this is a different situation and, as I said, we had an arrangement."
Former lord mayor, Alliance councillor David Alderdice accused Ulster Unionists of "barefaced hypocrisy".
But Ulster Unionist Fred Cobain denied the claim and said a rotation deal had been agreed after the last election.
Mr McGimpsey said that after the next election, another four year deal could also be arranged.
Sinn Fein has been the largest party in the council chamber for the past two years, with 13 councillors and many felt it was time to rotate the top council posts.
But the resignation of Alliance Party councillor Danny Dow dented the party's hopes for the top post, after Alliance members said they would support Sinn Fein.
Following his election, the new lord mayor - who previously served in 1986 - said nationalists had less to fear from him, than unionists had from ongoing terrorist activity.
Mr Wilson said: "I will seek to represent the people of this city as a whole while holding on to my firm unionist principles," he said.
On Thursday night, defeated candidate Alex Maskey said the result had been "a bad vote for unionism".
But he said he was confident that Sinn Fein would take the position eventually, adding that it would be "good for Belfast".
Proportional basis
Catherine Molloy, the leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party on the council, said she was "very disappointed" by the outcome of the election.
She said the council should consider deciding the top positions on a proportional basis.
Her party colleague councillor Alasdair McDonnell who was deputy Lord Mayor in 1995, said there was still a great deal of confrontation.
Meanwhile, Frank McCoubrey of the Ulster Democratic Party was elected to the position of deputy mayor.
His predecessor Sinn Fein's Marie Moore said her term in office had changed some unionist attitudes.
See also:
01 Jun 00 | Northern Ireland
Battle on for top council post
12 May 00 | Northern Ireland
Defection dents SF mayoral hopes
02 Jun 99 | UK Politics
Rival NI parties to share top jobs
01 Jun 00 | Northern Ireland
DUP win mayoral battle
Internet links:
The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites
Top Northern Ireland stories now:
Links to more Northern Ireland stories are at the foot of the page.
Links to more Northern Ireland stories
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text:
|Session Name:
|Ponycorns: Catching Lightning in a Jar
|Ryan Henson Creighton
|Company Name(s):
|Untold Entertainment
|Track / Format:
|Independent Games Summit
When many speakers tell their success stories, they essentially talk about how they were struck by lightning. The take-away for the audience is to go out and somehow get struck by lightning too. Indie game developer Untold Entertainment Inc. was struck by lightning when their game Sissy's Magical Ponycorn Adventure went viral, receiving worldwide attention and acclaim - most notably because it was co-developed by a five-year-old girl. In this exciting and surprising session, Ryan Henson Creighton reveals how to turn your game project into a lightning rod to attract success and how to bottle that surge of success without letting even a single spark escape.


text:
It was the last month of Summer =( but now its Fall! Majority of my favorites for the month of September are actually more appropriate for Fall, but I guess I jumped the gun and started using my favorite Fall products early =) Since I went to Disneyland last month, I also have a couple of Disney stuff that have been my favorites!
Face Products
- Urban Decay Baked Bronzer 'Baked'
- Nars Blush 'Dolce Vita'
- Diorskin Nude Concealer 02 Beige
|Top to Bottom: Nars Dolce Vita Blended Out, Dolce Vita Swatch, Baked Bronzer Blended Out, Baked Bronzer Swatch
These 3 products I wore maybe 70% of the time last month. The baked bronzer I looove because it adds a really nice glow! You can even see the highlight effect from the photo! I also have 'Gilded' which is even more shimmery! The Nars Dolce Vita blush I got a while ago because I loved the Dolce Vita lipstick so much, I thought I had to get the blush too right?! Looks dark when swatched but it actually gives a nice deep rosy color, its great for any skintone really. And finally my concealer that I have pulled outta the cobwebs because I needed something to hide all my blemishes! blah!
Lip Products
- Nars Sheer Lipstick 'Dolce Vita'
- Korres Lip Butter 'Wild Rose'
|L to R: Dolce Vita and Wild Rose
These two products actually look almost exactly the same in the photo, but when worn, they look completely different! Dolce Vita of course is a Nars best seller and I think its a great lipcolor to wear for Fall! The Korres Lip Butter in Wild Rose is a reddish tinted lip balm which is also great for the Fall season!
- Bath and Body Works Body Scrub 'Into the Wild'
- Neutrogena Oil-Free Moisturizer SPF 15
I normally dont have a favorite skincare just because I breakout so easily and it seems like no product in the entire universe can help me! But I did find a great moisturizer that hasnt made me breakout... yet. It also has SPF 15! And, if you havent smelled the Bath and Body Works 'Into the Wild' scent yet.. I highly recommend this if you like tropical and fruity body scrubs and washes. It smells soooo fantastic! And it scrubs away your dead skin =)
- Minnie Mouse Insulated Cup
- Mickey Mouse Mug
I thought I would bring a piece of Disneyland back home with me =)
I use the Minnie Mouse cup to take to work everyday for Lunch and the Mickey Mouse mug I also use everyday for Breakfast and Dinner! The Mickey Mouse mug also says 'Oh Boy!' oh the other side =))
Got any favorites from September you would like to share?


text:
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Spring Cleaning
It's a new challenge at the Magnolia-licious and Wee Stamps Challenge Blog. The theme for our challenge is Spring is in the Air.
Beside daffodils, tulips, new shoots poking out of the ground and buds forming on the trees, spring also means...spring cleaning!!! LOL
I found a quote on the internet that gave me a chuckle and I thought it's just perfect for my card. I can so relate to it...LOL.
Here's more of a side view of the card to show it's structure.
And I've also decorated the inside of my card.
I've coloured the 2 images with my coloured pencils.
The stamps for these images are from Magnolia of course. Magnolia stamps (full-size and mini) are available from Diana's on-line store, Magnolia-licious. If you don't see the particular one you are looking for in the store, ask Diana if she can bring it in for you. And newly available at Magnolia-licious are those wonderful Wee Stamps by Sylvia Zet.
Prices are discounted prices, you get excellent service and you also earn 2% in-store credit with every purchase!
Check out also the selections of cutting dies from Magnolia, Memory Box, PoppyStamps, Marianne Design, Cheery Lynn Designs and Joy! Crafts.
This image is of Tvi Tvi Ti Tilda from the Little Easter Collection 2013.
This is Tilda Watering from the same Little Easter Collection 2013.
I hope you'll play along with our challenge. More details on the challenge and how to join in the fun can be found at the Magnolia-licious and Wee Stamps Challenge Blog. While you're there, check out the fabulous cards of my DT teammates for inspirations.
Challenges I am entering with this card:
Charisma Cardz Challenge #11 - Die cuts
Card Makin' Mamas Challenge - Spring Colours
Chocolate Coffee & Cards Challenge #35 - Bring On Spring!
Sweet Stampin' Challenge - Lots of Layers
A Gem of A Challenge #72 - On the Move
You, Me and Magnolia Challenge #10 - Springtime
That's all for now. Thanks for dropping by. I'm always appreciative of your visits and comments. Have a fabulous week!
Materials and Tools Used:
DP's: DCVW Cotton Bloom Stack; Recollections Garden Floral paper pad and Green Gingham
Dies: Spellbinders Labels One; Memory Box Delicate Vine and Tessatina Border
Punches: Martha Stewart Garden Trellis deep edge; EK Success small Retro Flower; Fiskars 3-in-1 Celestial corner punch; Michaels tiny sun
Miscellaneous: Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink stamp pad Walnut Stain and Frayed Burlap; pearls and small pompoms from my stash
Colouring Medium: coloured pencils--Prismacolour Premiers, Faber-Castell Polychromos and Art Grips; Derwent Coloursofts. Markers for the dotted background
51 comments:
- Louise said...
Very pretty card Norma, fabulous layout and colors
hugs Louise
- March 26, 2013 2:27 AM
- JenniferD said...
Amazing job with your pencils! Love your Card design!
- March 26, 2013 3:00 AM
- Only By His Grace said...
Hi Norma!
You have perfected the pencil colouring. How adorable.
Ha! love the sentiment. Love all your pretty little flowers too.
Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous.
happy Easter to you dear Norma.
Hugs Maz
- March 26, 2013 4:05 AM
- Kelly Lloyd said...
Adorable card inside and out, my fab colours too.
Thanks for joining us for out on the move challenge at a gem of a challenge
Hugs Kelly
- March 26, 2013 4:37 AM
- Christine Dol said...
I love your spring card Norma! You always finish the insides so nice too! Gorgeous! Gorgeous!
- March 26, 2013 5:03 AM
- Sonia said...
This card is so gorgeous^_^
Adorable image and beautiful detailing also^_^
Big hug,
- March 26, 2013 5:24 AM
- Edilza Teixeira said...
Oi Norma!!!
Parabéns pelo belíssimo cartão!!!
- March 26, 2013 7:24 AM
- Danielle Champagne said...
So cute Norma! I wish I could be as happy as Tilda about spring cleaning... I so love the warm pigment of coloring pencil, so soft too. Beautiful coloring! Hugs.
- March 26, 2013 7:31 AM
- Mojca said...
such gorgeous colouring as always Norma and I love the pretty spring colours. hugs! Mojca
- March 26, 2013 7:53 AM
- Sheri said...
Love the fresh green spring colors Norma and the card design is so fun!! Can I borrow this Tilda for my house? I could really use her!;) Love your card Norma!!:)
- March 26, 2013 8:08 AM
- Joyce said...
Wow! You are very talented with those pencils as well as markers. This is absolute perfect coloring. I seriously want to "study" with you!!
Gorgeous creation!
- March 26, 2013 8:54 AM
- annemarie said...
really great card Norma, great design.
hugs annemarie
- March 26, 2013 9:05 AM
- Maris said...
this is soooo lovely Norma, thanks for joining in at YMAM
- March 26, 2013 10:07 AM
- Riet said...
What a beautiful card.
Hugs Riet.xx
- March 26, 2013 10:38 AM
- purpleprincess2007 said...
Great card inside and out and fab colouring! Thanks for joining us at A Gem of a Challenge and good luck!
Hugs xx Cara xx DT
- March 26, 2013 12:05 PM
- Sinikka said...
Wow this is great again......and so cute with the little flowers.
Hugs Sinikka
- March 26, 2013 2:15 PM
- Kathya said...
Absolutely gorgeous card,Mae! Love your coloring of the image.
Hugs, Kathya
- March 26, 2013 4:29 PM
- Nadja said...
Norma, your card is amazing! The style of your card and the design with the paper- stunning. Not to mention the beautiful coloring of both images with all the details. Thank you so much for playing along with us at Chocolate, Coffee and Cards.
- March 26, 2013 7:00 PM
- Candy said...
Fantastic card, Norma!
Love that sentiment from Erma 😊
Beautifully designed and coloured with your pencils.
Big Hugs, Candy
- March 26, 2013 7:23 PM
- cabio's craft corner said...
Beautiful card and love all those little flowers. Every time I see this Tilda image, she makes me smile. Those sentiments are awesome too :o)
- March 26, 2013 9:09 PM
- debby4000 said...
Adorable, sweet card.
- March 27, 2013 1:26 AM
- Regina said...
WOW!!! I love this Norma! and also love to know that you´re working with color pencils. Such an inspiration!
- March 27, 2013 4:38 AM
- Kelly Neis said...
Beautiful card with a great sentiment! I love this image and your sentiment is fun with her. Your colors and style is beautiful. Very fun card.
Hugs Kelly
- March 27, 2013 4:41 AM
- Paper Tails said...
Very cute card! Love the vibrant colors.
- March 27, 2013 7:04 AM
- Cathy Lee said...
Tilda is so cute, Norma. I love her green dress. Fabulous stepcard design and WOW the inside is just as beautiful. Awesome creation, Hun.
Cathy Lee
- March 27, 2013 8:46 AM
- Glynda said...
Love this card. It is so spring cleaning time. Wish I had more inspiration in cleaning. This card is great.
- March 27, 2013 10:08 AM
- Allison said...
pretty card
thanks for joining us at Charisma
- March 27, 2013 11:24 AM
This is awesome, what a fabulous idea to make a Spring cleaning card, you are so clever Norma, love it
Hugs Julie P
- March 27, 2013 1:09 PM
- Gail said...
Fabulous card. Love the fold. This is a cute cute image! I love the color, too. Thanks so much for participating in the Sweet Stampin' Challenge! --Gail
- March 27, 2013 2:18 PM
- Renate said...
Lovely creation!
Thanks for joining us at Charisma this week! :)
- March 27, 2013 3:08 PM
- Janiel/ janny said...
Very cute Norma......and really a funny one also. It truly made me chuckle!!
Hope all is well...big hugs..Janiel
- March 27, 2013 4:33 PM
- Angela said...
So super cute Norma! Love the "spring cleaning" card and fun sentiment (which is my approach to cleaning every day LOL). Beautiful papers and the inside of your card is stunning as well. hugs, Angela
- March 27, 2013 5:00 PM
- Kim said...
Gorgeous card! Love the sentiment! Thanks for joining us at Sweet Stampin'.
- March 27, 2013 6:39 PM
- Cami said...
I love your Spring card, Norma! So pretty inside and the sentiments are so cute!
- March 27, 2013 9:22 PM
- Sylvia said...
Your design and coloring are gorgeous as always Norma. I love the sentiments. Your choice of DP's and images are fabulous.
Hugs Sylvia
- March 28, 2013 2:42 AM
- Denise said...
What fantastic projects! Wow she looks so happy to clean, well maybe she doesn't craft as much as us! lol
Crafty Hugs
- March 28, 2013 3:04 AM
- cathylynn said...
Fabulous Norma! Your coloring is top notch! Great style card too!
Hugs, Cathy-Lynn
- March 28, 2013 6:17 AM
- EnblogSail said...
Really beautiful! I love your work!
- March 28, 2013 7:36 PM
- Nancee Purdum said...
Gorgeous! I love the your coloring! This is such a cute card, inside and out! :) Nancee
- March 28, 2013 9:20 PM
- Scrapbookpassion said...
Félicitation pour toutes vos magnifiques créations !!! que dire de votre coloration tout simplement sublime !! Quel talent !! Bravo !!!!
- March 29, 2013 3:06 AM
- Ivonne said...
Another gorgeous creation hun. Perfect coloring, perfect layout! Absolutely amazing! Hugs, Ivonne
- March 30, 2013 9:13 AM
- Natasja's Kaarten said...
Your card is beauitiful!
Happy Easter!
- March 31, 2013 12:02 AM
- Elizabeth said...
Gorgeous card, Norma. Love the greens and your fantastic coloring as always! Thank you for the inspiration! Hugs, Elizabeth x
- March 31, 2013 2:15 PM
- Ustvarjalni utrinki Tamara P. said...
Norma your card is stunning,
love it,
thanks for your comment on my blog,
hugs Tamara
- April 01, 2013 12:53 PM
- craftyteacher (Vikki) said...
wow! Thanks for joining the Spring Colours challenge at Card Makin Mamas. x
- April 01, 2013 2:07 PM
- Suzan L said...
Hi Norma, your card is so darling inside and out! I love the cute saying that you found to go along with the beautifully colored image along with the little flowers with the sweet centers! Have a wonderful week!
- April 01, 2013 5:11 PM
- Linda said...
Wow Norma you never disappoint!!!!! Amazing design ans choice of colors!!!!!! Gorgeous image too!!!!! Wow!!!!!
- April 01, 2013 5:41 PM
- Frea said...
Such a sweet card Norma! Love the image and love the spring colours! Hugs Frea
- April 02, 2013 11:16 AM
- Christina C. said...
OMG, that sentiment is perfect...made me chuckle!!! The cute image is colored and showcased to perfection, Norma! Gorgeoussssss!
- April 02, 2013 3:21 PM
- Chitra Nair said...
Ooooooohhhh such a sweet card, love your coloring, its beautiful... Thanks for playing along with us at CC&CC..
- April 04, 2013 3:33 PM
- soccermom23 said...
You make the most fun looking shaped cards. I want to try them out for myself!
- April 08, 2013 1:58 PM


text:
October has come to an end pretty quickly, I blame Halloween for weaving it's witchcraft and bringing us one step closer to the end of the year (however Christmas is appropriate now so, there's always that positive). You know what this means – October Favourites time, and I'm really enjoying filming these now, it's nice to sit and have a chat instead of simply listing everything off in a post, a chilled out catch up if you will.
October has been a month of blogging achievements (see what happened at the #BloggersBlogAwards here) and new pieces, lipstick combinations and finally working out how to use certain skincare products – so simple, but took months to discover. Big face palm. Oh, and as I've said a thousand times before in last week's video, I'm seeing Marina live IRL next February – can you tell I'm excited? Can you see the excitement in my face?!
Products mentioned: JewelleryBox.co.uk | Aesop Chamomile Concentrate Anti-Blemish Masque | Sunday Riley Artemis Oil | Revlon ColourBurst Matte Balm in Sultry | Lipstick Queen in Sigh
If you're loving this new monthly favourites format, please give the video a thumbs up and leave a comment telling me what you've been loving this month. Also don't forget to SUBSCRIBE for new videos every Tuesday at 9am – you don't want to miss next week's video, things get a bit hauly….
Lots of Love,
Lauren x
Some products in this post may have been sent for review or gifted, and will be marked with a * or c/o. All opinions are mine are not influenced by brands or companies. Please see my full disclaimer for more.
Website | Flickr | Tumblr | Twitter | Bloglovin | Instagram | Pinterest


text:
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text:
Michael Nickell, Director of Operations of Magnolia's, one of the restaurants featured on the Culinary Tours of Charleston, graciously shared one of his personal, and most southern, recipes.
"One of my best friend's mother, Alice Marks, made the quintessential Pimiento Cheese. I have never seen her recipe, so this is about as close as I can get to duplicating her 'Southern Caviar.' I prefer to use the fresh roasted red pepper. It gives enough extra depth and flavor to be worth the 50 minute roasting and peeling process. If you prefer a spicy version, add 1 tablespoon of sautéed minced jalapeno pepper and a few dashes of hot sauce."
Makes 2½ cups
- 5 large roasted red peppers, peeled, seeded and chopped or 2 1/2 cups jarred diced red pimientos
- 1 cup finely chopped stuffed green olives
- 1¼ lbs New York or Vermont sharp white cheddar cheese, grated
- ¼ cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
- ¼ cup mayonnaise
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
- ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
- Dash cayenne pepper
Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Season to taste with cayenne pepper. Refrigerate until ready to serve.
For more information or reservations for the Culinary Tours of Charleston, call 843-722-TOUR.


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No, no no no no. This isn't what I expected from Redmond while they're in the process of reinventing how we interact and control our computers (ahem, their wheel). I'm a major fan of the kinds of changes Vista introduced to desktop users. Granted, it wasn't the easiest of changes and the weaning off of users from XP took much longer and was more painful for some than expected. Windows 7, to my mind and to the minds of many others, I'm sure, is as near as to perfect as we're ever going to get. There's literally nothing wrong I can find with it.
So I leave you today with this short piece, a screenshot of Windows 8 in its current build being modified by Microsoft. Its the desktop mode, sans Aero Glass for the major UI elements like open windows and apps. The taskbar retains the opacity that neatly shows your background wallpaper, but the rest of it is flat and somewhat dull, in my opinion. What's next, removing the rotating desktop wallpaper option?
In all the rush to give mobile users something that looks and runs better, are you alienating your desktop users? I hope not, because I've yet to shy away from the changes you've introduced in your operating systems. Windows 8 is possibly going to change that. I hope I warm to it in the coming months.
Source: TechpowerUp!
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