text:
IMPORTANT: This is a sequel to my other story, titled Blind. If you have not read Blind, I would recommend doing so, because otherwise you are going to be VERY CONFUSED.
A/N: I'm sure you thought I all died. Man, I cannot stress how guilty I feel , but at the same time, I've become very busy with school. A basic run-down of my life over the past four years are as such: purchase of a new property that demands renovations, table-saw accident, various school items, two-month study abroad/vacation, mother got a kidney tumour, and getting a new dog. Along with other minor incidents. I've been taking a creative-writing class which has helped me greatly improve my writing. I'm still proud of Blind as a well-constructed story, but the writing is pretty poor in retrospect. I know some of you are thinking "But Blind was so good!". Well, if I think Blind is poorly written, you can really tell the kinds of stories I limit myself to reading. I can't read bad literature anymore. Like, actual published literature. So reading fanfictions has ceased entirely, with some exceptions.
This fic will eventually be rated M. Mostly because of Orochimaru. For those of you who don't understand why Orochimaru would make this fic rated M (who also have Windows XP at the same time): Pull up the Control Panel. Select 'Speech'. Set the speed to the slowest. Type in the text box: "My name is Orochimaru. I like small boys." Hit 'Preview Voice'. ...That's why.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, which makes me exceedingly sad, because the plot could use some major revision.
Important Note: I'm going to be experimenting with a new writing style: something akin to the TV show, Lost. I'm going to be doing flashbacks, to show what happened during the timeskip between Blind and this story. You'll figure it out, but just thought I would give you some forewarning.
Chapter One: Survival
Two pieces of wood fell to the ground. Itachi rested the axe against the chopping block and knelt down, feeling around with his left hand. His fingertips brushed one of the pieces, splintering wood pricking his hand. He wrapped his fingers around it and stood. He turned his body and tossed the log. A rattle of wood collapsing followed its landing in the woodpile. Itachi knelt down again and found the second piece, lobbing it after the first. Wiping sweat from his brow with his right hand, Itachi took another log.
The diameter was too wide for his palm. Sighing, he shuffled to the pile, crouching down so he could hoist the log onto his hip. Taking careful steps, he lowered the log onto the block, feeling around the edges to make certain it was centered. He felt the top—it would need to be split into four pieces at the least. Eight would be better.
He grabbed the axe with his hand. He rested the blade in the log's center, then lifted it above his head.
'More to the left. Your aim is crooked.'
Itachi shifted the axe's position to the left, and swung. The axe embedded itself half-way through the log. Itachi lifted and swung again, the weight of both the log and the axe causing strain on his shoulder.
The log split in two. Again, Itachi leaned the axe against the block, and felt around for the pieces.
'Farther back.'
Itachi reached, and found one of the pieces. He set it on the block. An inward itch grated at the back of his mind. Ignoring it, he reached for the axe. He aimed, and waited for a note of correction. Only silence greeted him. Itachi frowned.
'How is my aim?'
A pause.
'Aim more to the right.'
The voice sounded annoyed. Itachi swung the axe. It embedded itself into the chopping block, missing the log. Itachi sighed. The itch in the back of his mind turned smug.
"Not now," Itachi muttered.
Itachi dislodged the axe and aimed again. He swung without asking about this time. The log split at the first strike. The smugness evaporated. The itch returned, squirming in the back of Itachi's mind. It was a deliberate attempt at distracting him. Itachi didn't react, and only picked up the pieces of the log. He focused his thoughts on what would be for dinner. Itachi sensed annoyance now. He smiled to himself.
'The old woman is coming.' A hint of a sulk was laced in the statement.
Itachi heard the shuffling gait. He could imagine her petite body, shuffling to the doorway of the cottage, her hands clasped together. She watched him as he continued to work. He kept silent until she spoke—it used to make her uneasy when he reacted to her before she had let him know she was there.
Itachi straightened up and turned his ear towards her voice.
"Chie-san, is there something you would like me to do?"
He heard a chuckle.
"You are such a good boy, Itachi-kun," she said. "Always trying to do more work than I give you."
He smiled. "I'm hardly a boy anymore, Chie-san. I'll turn thirty-two this next month."
"Phoo, compared to seventy-three, you're still a boy," she teased.
"Fair enough," Itachi answered.
"I'm going to go into town to pick up some groceries. Would you come with me to help carry them?" she asked.
Itachi swung the axe into the chopping block.
"Let me change out of my work clothes first, and then I will be ready to go."
"You should wash your face as well," Chie chuckled. "You have dirt smeared on your forehead."
He felt his forehead with his fingertips. He could feel the grit against his skin. Sweat had dripped down into his blindfold. He would change that as well, he decided. He headed towards the house, moving past Chie in the doorway.
"I won't be long," he said.
I stand surrounded on all sides. Five enemies circle me, their weapons drawn. I tense, listening carefully for the first indication of motion. They hesitated to attack, I note. They have learned from their comrades' mistakes.
"Uchiha Itachi," says one from my left. "You are to come with us and return to Amegakure. Failure to do so will result in forcible detainment."
A wry smirk passes over my mouth, despite my unease. Pain still has not given up on finding me.
"I cannot return with you," I say. "Please leave."
"We cannot do that," the man answers.
'Behind you.'
An image flashes across my mind of a man with a raised kunai lunging at me. I whirl quickly and use an upper block with my right arm. My left hand forms a fist and throws a punch into his exposed stomach. I hear the wind knocked out of him. I throw myself on him and wrestle with his hand to pry the knife from his fingers.
'Two more are coming.'
Another image. I roll out of the way, landing on my feet. I slash with the kunai and I hear a grunt of pain. My knife tastes blood, the smell fills the air. I knife strike with my right palm. My motions are frantic, I slash and stab at each sound, my knife biting in all the wrong places, my palm missing the desired targets.
'A little help would be nice.'
More images flash in my head. I prompt mentally for more as my knife strikes home in someone's throat.
'You are doing fine.'
Four years, I think to myself. My elbow plunges into a ribcage behind me. Four years without sight, fighting without sight, yet I find myself still uneasy each new battle. Each anxiety rises anew as I fight people I cannot see, can only hear, feel.
A scoff.
'Have I let you die yet?'
I ignore the question. I keep plunging with my knife, keep striking with the edge of my right hand. I pay acute attention to the signs of defeat: grunts of pain, the smell of blood, the resistance my arms encounter as I land a hit.
But still, the fray continues.
Itachi dried his face with a towel. He rested a hand on either side of the sink basin. The stone felt cool beneath his left hand, and under his right palm. He straightened up and faced the window. He could feel the sun shining through the glass and onto his hands. He imagined what the view would be like—a forest glade with green grass, and yellow flowers.
'Stop being sappy.'
Itachi chuckled. He turned away from the sink and loosed the blindfold from his head. The cloth fell away and he laid it across his right palm. He put it with his washing in his room, taking another blindfold as he left. He wrapped it around his head, holding it in place with his right hand so it would not slip.
Outside, he could sense Chie waiting for him. He knelt down on the ground.
"Would you mind tying this?" he asked her.
He let Chie take the ends of the cloth. She made tsk-ing sounds as she tied them.
"I don't see why you insist on wearing this thing, Itachi-kun," Chie said. "You have such lovely brown eyes."
"There are scars, from my accident," he said.
"Yes, white scars on the whites of your eyes," she scolded, tying the knot tight. "You have such a handsome face, Itachi-kun. But the girls won't be able to see that if you have your face covered all the time."
Itachi smiled, and shook his head. "Chie-san, I am not in a position to take care of any woman."
"You take care of me, don't you?" Chie said. "It doesn't matter if you don't have any fingers on your right hand. You work hard and work well."
"That is not what I meant," he said.
Chie sighed. "You always say something like that. There must be a girl from your past that you cannot forget."
He straightened up and dusted off his knees.
"Something like that."
My breath is ragged in my throat. My limbs shake from exertion. There is silence around me. The stench of blood is heavy like a haze. My clothes stick to my body from it, my hands are slippery with it. My foes are scattered at my feet. Most of them are dead. I listen carefully if there are more.
'They're all dead.'
'An exit?'
A window appears in my mind. A sliding window with a wood trellis and paper screen. I make my way towards it, stepping over the bodies. I fumble with the latch, but quickly manage to pry it loose. I slide the window open.
An image of the ground passes through my thoughts. I see each blade of grass and each little rock in the path. I crawl up on the windowsill and jump. I fall down two stories; I brace myself for my landing. A well of chakra passes to me, and I take it gratefully, pushing it to my feet at the last second. I land neatly.
'Go. You're seen.'
I hear the gasps first. I run in an arbitrary direction. I cannot know what I pass, but directions words flit through my head as I move. I flick right, left, leap, and duck at the mere mention of the word. I hear someone yell for me to stop. I continue to run. The words in my head guide me. Not a finger brushes me.
'We're away.'
'But how long before they mount a pursuit?'
'Soon enough.'
I keep running. I head more south as I am instructed to. So long as I continue to escape trouble, the direction matters not.
"Good afternoon, Chie-san."
"Good afternoon."
"Are you and Itachi-san heading into town?"
Itachi heard her footfalls come to a stop in the road. Likewise, he stopped behind her, standing quietly. Chie had once said to him that he acted like her hired bodyguard, standing behind her, and not meddling in her affairs. The tone had been affectionate. Itachi knew it was out of habit.
"Yes we are. I need to do some shopping and Naomi-chan needs a check up on her pregnancy," Chie said.
"You might get to see some shinobi when you're in town, if you hurry."
The back corner of Itachi's mind erupted in discomfort. He felt has hand clench over the handle of the basket, though he made certain his outer appearance did not change.
'Shinobi. We should leave.'
'It does not necessarily mean trouble. It's been years since the last time we were attacked. They gave up on us.'
'Or they couldn't find us until now.'
Itachi blocked out the voice, though he could still sense the anxiety. It was not like he was at ease himself. The gravel path into town had been normal before. Now he scoured the area for any noise out of place, any tremor in the ground. He held very still.
"Shinobi?" Chie asked. "What a rare treat. And here I had been hoping the fishmonger had come to town."
"I'm afraid not. They're making a pit stop or something."
"Well, isn't that exciting?" Chie said. "I hope we see them. Good day to you."
"Good day, Chie-san."
Itachi heard Chie's footsteps on the path. He followed her, keeping silent, listening carefully.
'What are you doing? We should leave.'
'Chie-san could be in danger. I owe her too much to leave without warning.'
'They're after you.'
'You don't know that.'
Resentful silence.
I do not stop running until the anxiousness fades from the back of my mind. My breath tears ragged through my throat and my legs are on fire. The blood dries sticky on my clothes and skin. Water. I need to find a stream.
I cock my head to the side and listen. I only hear wind and trees. I sigh. I do not sense anyone nearby, however I cannot be certain. I must keep to the path.
'Watch for road signs.'
Mute understanding flickers in response. I walk onwards, listening as I go.
After an hour, rain begins to pour. The drops are light at first, but then they become the size of pebbles. I wait until I am soaked before taking off my shirt. I squeeze every inch of it with my good hand. I hear water trickle out of it, and hopefully blood will go with it.
Though I am thankful for the water, I find myself worried. I am reminded of Amegakure's endless torrents. The pressing memories are sharp in my mind, clearer than when I experienced each event. Pain has never come himself to get me, thankfully. I do not seem high on his list of priorities, though I know that can only last so long. This rain is safe.
He sent Konan once. She never saw me, but she was there. I sensed her anxiousness as I made my escape. I hesitated from my position in the trees. It had been two years since I had seen her last. But the pressing feeling weighing down my mind urged me to continue. I knew I had to go. That was the last time I saw her.
I hold up my shirt in front of me.
'Any better?'
'Not really.'
I smile wryly, but put the wet garment back on. As the rain continues, I try and rinse my hair and clean my blindfold. I shiver against the rain, but there is little else I can do. I left my travelling cloak behind, along with my small food supply. I carry all my important belongings on my person, in the event that I am forced to flee. I have my headband, though I never wear it.
I smooth my hair out of my face, and tilt my chin upwards. The rain washes the grime away. Konan hated the rain.
'Stop thinking about her.'
I keep my thoughts blank in response.
'She's one of them.'
'I know.'
The rain becomes heavier, and the water somehow seems chillier.
'Sometimes, I don't think you do.'
"I have to go check on Naomi-chan," Chie said to Itachi.
She took the basket from him and patted him on the arm. He stood with his hands handing loosely on either side; but he never stopped listening. The noise in town was the same level as to be expected for a small town like the one they lived near. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, except for the sound of more excited whispers than usual.
"I don't think you'll want to come a long for that," Chie continued. "Why don't you head into the bar and catch up with some of the boys? You spend too much of your time with this old woman. Spend some time with men your own age."
"But I would like to accompany you, Chie-san," Itachi said. The squirm in the back of his mind was twice as paranoid he was.
"Nonsense, Itachi-kun," Chie exclaimed. "Run along now, you know how to get there. I'll meet you at the bar."
She gave him a shove with her spindly arms and quickly dashed off in the other direction, chuckling to herself like she had played a wonderful joke. Itachi felt a smile tug at the corner of his mouth. He could not be upset with her.
'You're a fool. If you kill us both, I won't forgive you.'
'You never liked me anyway.'
Itachi was met at the door to the bar by some of the old folks who usually spent their time on the front step smoking pipes. Itachi said some quiet words to them and slid the door open. The bar had a quiet atmosphere and he always imagined it dim inside. The air was stuffy; people spoke in low voices to one another, and aside from the sound of rolling dice or the quiet sip on a sake dish, conversations went unheard.
But there were unfamiliar voices in the bar today. Itachi approached the counter with his usual gait, putting his right hand in his pocket. The new voices were down the length of the counter from him, speaking low, but in the hush of the bar, their voices carried. Itachi sat down on a stool.
'And who do you think is sitting in this very room with you?'
'They haven't attacked me yet.'
Heavy footsteps of the bartender echoed down the other side of the counter.
"Ah, Ita—" the bartender started.
"Just some water today, Tanaka-san," Itachi said. "I won't be here too long."
Itachi sensed the bartender's surprise, but he went away without another word. Itachi put his good hand on the countertop, feeling vibrations in the wood as it groaned under the weight of arms and scraping glasses. Itachi turned his ear toward the sound of the talking shinobi. In the corner of his mind, there was disapproval.
'Last time, you almost died. Don't forget that.'
Itachi blanked his mind.
Hunger gnaws in my stomach. I crawl on the ground, my hand groping the earthen path. Each fistful of dirt is another six inches gained. I have not eaten for two days, and though nobody seems to pursue me, I cannot stop moving forwards. My strength is sapped. The only reason I am alive is from the same thing that causes me to be chased. I claw another fistful of dirt, falling down onto one elbow from my crawl.
'Don't act as if I wanted to be put in you.'
I loosen my grasp on the dirt and my arms shake as I struggle to keep myself from falling face-first in the dust. My breath comes out in heaves. I swallow, my dry throat scraping against my tongue. I let go of my resentment.
'You are right,' I think in response, 'I apologize.'
'Tch. You're too polite for your own good, Uchiha Itachi.'
I try and pull myself forwards again, but my arms refuse to move properly. I lick my lips and try to move again.
'Rest. I don't want to spend more chakra on keeping you alive.'
'You are surprisingly considerate,' I muse.
'For a dying human, you're surprisingly good-humoured,' was the dry response.
The 'thunk' of a cup down on the counter next to Itachi caused him to start. He groped around on the surface until his hands met the cool glass. He nodded politely.
"Thank you, Tanaka-san," he said. "I am sorry I was short with you."
"Don't worry about it," the barkeep replied.
The two shinobi had not reacted at all to anything that happened since Itachi's entrance. He took this to be a good sign. He sipped his water quietly.
"I keep telling you, we should take the route northwest to get to Konoha," the one said.
Itachi paused ever so slightly. He took another quiet sip from his water.
'Can you tell what village they are from?'
'Musical note on the headband.'
"That steers us too far to the west, we'd have to backtrack," countered the second.
The first speaker's voice was raspy. It sounded like he had damaged his voice somehow. The second speaker's voice was normal, but sounded a little more panicky, uncertain. Itachi deduced that the first speaker must be the senior of the pair, while the other was a lesser-experienced subordinate.
'What do they look like?'
A flicker of an image passed across his thoughts. The image did not tell Itachi which voice belonged to which man, but he could guess. One man had a scar across the bottom of his chin. His clothes were presentable though well-worn. He wore an Otogakure headband sideways on his head. This would be the raspy-voiced man. The other man was younger, and wore his headband on his arm—also from Otogakure. The metal was unmarked, and his clothes were newer. This was the younger anxious-voiced one.
"That road is more travelled," said the rough-voiced man. "We'd more likely be discovered."
"Don't we want to approach from the south end of the village, anyway?" asked the younger voice. "If the road is more travelled, how come the south gate has the weakest defence?"
"It's because most of Konoha's enemies are on the east side of the village, and the south is where their allies travel from," said the gruff voice. "If we approach from the west they are less likely to discover us than if we came direction from Otogakure. Additionally, we wouldn't pass off as traders, now would we? It would make more sense to sneak in from the west."
"Konoha's defences are better than they were years ago. Targeting the leader of Konoha's Police Force doesn't seem smart. Especially since he's in charge of the defences, wouldn't he make sure he's the one who's the safest?"
Itachi was surprised. If the Force was operation again, that could only mean that it had been restarted. There was only one person he could think of that would bother to do something of the sort.
"We need to get close, that's all, remember?" said the gruff one. "We're not after him. When we meet up with the others it'll be quick. And when we're done, Uchiha won't know what happened."
Itachi stood up. It took him a moment to register that he was on his feet. The men had stopped talking. Itachi didn't entirely understand what had compelled him to stand. But when he had heard his last name mentioned, the vague loyalty to Konoha sparked. He was aware he had stood unmoving for a few seconds now. The back of his mind had frozen with shock, but now it ordered him back into the shadows.
'Sit back down. Say you thought you heard the old woman,' said the voice, 'You owe nothing to the Village Hidden in the Leaves. You have no obligation to forewarn them. No obligation to stop these men.'
'My brother—'
'Hates you.'
'—is in danger.'
Itachi approached the men. He heard them shift in their seats. He felt their wary gazes. They would be reaching for weapons.
'Uchiha! What are you doing?' the voice roared.
Itachi forced it out of his head. The men would wait to see what he was up to. He himself did not know what he was going to do. His glass of water was still in his left hand. The back corner of his mind started to panic, seeing his thought pattern. Itachi moved suddenly. He took his right hand out of his pocket and charged with his right shoulder. After touching the first body, he brought down the glass on the man's head. He let the voice back in.
'Foolish human! If you get us killed, it will be at no fault of mine!'
Itachi groped among the shards of glass for another weapon. He felt a kunai pouch. He seized it with his good hand and wrenched it as hard as he could. It was securely fastened to the shinobi's belt. The pouch ripped instead.
'You haven't failed us yet,' Itachi responded, 'I trust you, Rokubi no Raijuu.'
The ring of metal came from beside Itachi's ear indicated the pouch's contents had spilled out. He grabbed at a weapon. It was a knife of sorts, but not a kunai.
'Get back!'
Itachi sprang back. The sound of metal into wood—a kunai had been thrust downward. Now a din had risen up in the bar. Villagers were emitting sounds of shock and confusion. The sound of the demon in the back of his head in addition to the sound of scraping chairs only added to the uproar. Itachi could barely hear his enemies.
"Whoa, Itachi-san," the barkeeper shouted. "What are you doing?"
A hand came onto his arm. Itachi shrugged it off and flinched away, and mentally scolded the demon that a hand had been laid on him. An image flashed—the shinobi rising to their feet. The younger one had a bloody forehead. Itachi prompted for more. Another image. The younger one taking a fighting stance, the older one tugging on him to leave. Itachi was shown an image from behind him. More reaching hands.
'You can help me, or hinder me. Either way, we are discovered,' Itachi growled.
"Come!" said the voice of the raspy one. "We're leaving."
"No way! He attacked us!"
Itachi took a step away from the reaching hands. He eased into a stance that would allow him quick movement. The demon bristled angrily. Itachi lunged blindly toward the shinobi. Grasping hands only brushed the fabric of his shirt—he was faster than expected.
'Foolish human,' the demon roared.
Itachi felt the demon's chakra wash through him like a burning heat. Everything melted into view. He saw. He saw every flicker of every movement, every detail. Chakra sparked at the nubs that had been his fingers. The chakra condensed into five extensions off of his hand. Serviceable fingers of chakra flexed.
Itachi only had a split second to register the new information. It was enough—he could see. He could see the man had a knife out, and Itachi was in direct line of attack. Itachi reflexively countered the attack with his own weapon. The older of the two men hauled the younger man out of the way.
"Go," he shouted.
The two of them ran out the door. Itachi followed before any of the villagers could stop him. He used the demon's chakra to launch himself forwards with speed had had been unable to use in years. He came in front of the men. The two of them halted, surprised at his newfound abilities.
"Who are you?" gasped the younger.
Itachi reached with right hand and hooked the collar of his shirt with one of the chakra fingers. Pulling the fabric down he saw the shock spread on their faces.
"A Konohagakure headband!"
"Look closely," said the raspy-voiced man. "It has a scratch across it."
Itachi lowered his right hand, covering his headband again. The raspy-voiced man stared at him with wary eyes.
"Who are you?" he asked, echoing his companion's question.
"Someone who has no intention of allowing you to fulfil your plans," Itachi replied.
A beat of silence passed. And then the youngest man panicked. And charged.
I rest my head back against the trunk of the tree I sit under. I spent the last of my strength getting into the shade of the leaves. My body is failing, and the demon is responsible for keeping me alive. It is doing more work than my own body to keep me from dying.
Even keeping my head up takes more energy than I have. I head slumps forwards again. My chin rests on my chest. My breathing eases out the longer I sit. I wonder if I will die this way. To have survived so long, only to be killed off by starvation and thirst. Yet I do not feel upset. I feel this time I will die. I thought so the same day I received the demon. Contemplating my mortality seems much less momentous the second time.
I do not know how long I sit, but as I do, a melody creeps into my mind. The lullaby my mother used to sing to me when I was a child. The demon is beginning to sacrifice other functions of its chakra to focus on keeping me alive.
'It's an annoying song,' it comments.
'It is fitting,' I reply.
I never made it to Sasuke's doorstep. But he knew it would be my dirge. I do not know how he did it, but using a genjutsu, my mother's lullaby plays in endless repeat in my head. Even the demon could not break it, but it was able to lower its prominence—turning down the volume down, so to speak. It was only a faint background noise, and only if I tried to hear it. But now, the demon has relinquished its hold on the genjutsu, just keep me alive.
'I want to thank you, Raijuu,' I tell it, 'and apologise. Because of you, I am alive, and because of me you will die.'
A scoffing sound echoes over the lullaby. 'I would have left you dead years ago, if I could have.'
A weak smile crawls across my lips. 'What comforting words from a dear friend. Thank you.'
I imagine the demon rolling its eyes. I try and sink into sleep. Somehow, it seems that it'll be less painful that way.
Blood on his hands, and bodies at his feet, Itachi stood in the main square. There was a deafening silence. Nobody had tried to stop the fight; Itachi had learned long ago that the villagers didn't know where they fit in the shinobi world. Now, as the two spies from Otogakure lay dead at his feet, he sensed the shock of the people watching.
The people in the bar had come out. He observed how many of them stared. For the first time, Itachi saw the faces of people he had lived among. He vacantly noted the irony that he didn't know whose voice belonged to whose face. The man in the apron must be Tanaka the Barkeeper. His face was in absolute shock.
Eyes still on him, Itachi stepped over one of the bodies as he made his way over to a water barrel. He washed his hands of the blood as his sight began to fade again. The demon's chakra retreated with a tingling sensation following in his wake.
'We need to go,' Raijuu told him.
'I know,' he thought in response, 'Guide me back to the house.'
He went back to the bodies and took all the weapons they had on them. His sight faded back to blindness. People found their voices again. Tanaka called out to him. He turned his head toward the crowd, smiling apologetically.
"I should have told you who I was," he said.
Before anyone could ask him anything, he turned towards the road. Using the chakra supplied to spur his movement, he headed back to Chie's house, the demon verbally guiding him in the dark.
The small hut seemed melancholy when he stepped through the threshold. Raijuu told him that he was being sentimental and to get over it. But in spite of that, Itachi felt doleful as he packed he few belongings—mostly clothes, some extra food, matches. He navigated the inside the house with his good hand. He'd never seen it in all the years he had lived there.
He opened a pack and stuffed the gathered items inside. Clothes were at the bottom, followed by the food in a separate bag. He felt bad taking one of Chie's canteens for water. He put the matches, and some tinder inside. A short length of rope was coiled at the very top.
'I know what you are thinking,' Raijuu said, 'You are going to return to Konoha.'
'They will only lock you up, question you, and never let out again.'
'I have to take that risk.'
'On a stray piece of information.'
'I owe it to Sasuke to protect him,' Itachi said fastening the bundle shut.
'I am sure he will be very understanding,' was the sarcastic answer.
Itachi didn't reply. He straightened up and went to the front door with his bundle. He took a travelling cloak from the wall. Chie had made it for him, fashioning it to his liking. He'd asked to put a collar on it that was high enough to cover his chin. He told her that high collars kept his neck warm. Not only had she sewn on a high collar, she had made buttons that could be fastened with one hand.
As he donned the cloak now, he thought of different ideas to communicate the situation. Leaving a note would be impersonal, cold. The situation was far too grave for that, he concluded.
'The old woman comes towards the house,' the demon informed him. 'Don't bother.'
The door banged open. Itachi caught her as she stumbled in the door. Her breath was heavy from exertion, and even before her breath calmed, she spoke.
"Itachi-kun!" she gasped. "What's going on? They say that you killed two shinobi in town. Why are you dressed like that? Where do you think you're going? Those rumours aren't true, are they?"
Itachi put his hands on her shoulders, kneeling down to her level. He bowed his head, the same apologetic smile crossing his face.
"Chie-san, it is true what they said about the shinobi," he said. "I did kill them."
"Why? How?"
"I killed them because I am also shinobi," he said. "I have been running from my shinobi past, but now I have learned that the only remaining family I have is in danger. I cannot run anymore."
"Itachi-kun, what are you saying? Why didn't you ever tell me?" Chie's voice was laced with confusion.
"Sooner or later, it will be found out that they have been killed," Itachi said instead. "They will send more men to investigate, they will come here. I didn't want to put the village in danger, but unfortunately, I have done so. Listen carefully. When these men come. Do not try to protect me. Tell them everything you know about me. How long I have stayed, how long ago it was that I left. Leave nothing out. Tell them Uchiha Itachi killed their men. Tell them that he has gone to Konoha . Tell them everything."
He took Chie's hands. The wrinkled skin was warm, and her bony fingers shook.
"Thank you for everything, Chie-san," he said. "I will never forget what you have done for me, or the kindness you have shown me. I hope one day you will be able to forgive what I have done here."
He dropped her hands and straightened up. Her shocked silence trailed after him as he moved past her and out the door. She was too kind, too good, for the misfortunes he had brought with him. She did not deserve them.
I fade in and out of sleep. At some point, it began raining. My clothes are wet, but my body is too exhausted to even shiver. I lie in a semi-conscious state. The rain and the song in my head are the only things I process.
And then the rain doesn't touch me anymore. I hear its sound, but something has stopped it. Something blocks the rain. I struggle to lift my head. I only manage to tilt it slightly to the side. I sense someone close, someone standing over me.
"Hello?" my voice barely works.
"Don't worry, young man," says a tender voice. "This old woman has come to save you."
A/N: Finally done chapter one after the course of a few months. I'm having a lot of trouble getting started. Gone are the days where I can just sit down and write, it's like I have to force it out of myself.
So, because of this UPDATES WILL BE SPORADIC AND INCONSISTENT. I DO NOT KNOW WHEN THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL COME, SO DON'T ASK. Thank you.
Um, and with that closing note…yeah. See you…next time?


text:
Captain Jason Stille
Captain Jason Stille has been a member of the Lincoln Police Department since 1997. Captain Stille has been a member of the SWAT Team since 2003 and currently operates as team commander. During his career with LPD, he has served as a duty commander, training sergeant, TIU investigator, accident reconstructionist, traffic unit officer, and as an instructor in numerous disciplines. Captain Stille holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Criminal Justice/History from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He has also completed coursework from Northwestern University on Supervising Police Personnel and from Georgetown University on Reducing Racial and Ethnic Disparities. He serves as an instructor for the International Association of Chiefs of Police in the area of leadership.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Of California persimmons and Coconut Bliss
By Art Goodtimes
PERSIMMONS … When I went to visit my dad in California this past autumn, his front-yard persimmon tree was fruiting. Usually we come in the spring or summer, but because we'd made a fall trip, we were able to harvest several bags full of persimmons to bring home to Colorado ... One interesting thing about this unusual fruit is that it ripens slowly. Very slowly. Two months later and I still have ripening persimmons scattered over every available nook and shelf of my living room and bedroom … Occasionally we eat one that looks like it's quite overripe. It's not. Ripe, persimmons are incredibly sweet and delicious. Like pudding. But unripe, they're loaded with tannins and quite astringent. And tough … My dad is a great fan of Luther Burbank and the idea of grafting one variety onto the stock of another. And, although he didn't do it, his persimmon tree has two kinds of fruit growing on it. In fact, the tree is a veritable icon of Pacific Rim diversity. It's a Japanese cultivar (Hachiya) of a Chinese persimmon tree (Diospyros kaki, or the Kaki Persimmon) that was brought to California from Portugal. Hachiya persimmons are among the sweetest, although they are very astringent when not fully ripened. Grafted on to the Hachiya is a nonastringent cultivar called Fuyu. Even unripe, they're sweet … Diospyros, the genus name, derives from the Greek dios (cognate with the Latin deus for "god). It is a genitive form meaning "of Zeus" – Zeus being the chief god of the Greek pantheon. Pyros is Greek for "wheat," deriving from the root pur- (meaning "fire"). Wheat was said to be flame-colored when ripe and was the staple of the Indo-European diet. Thus the scientific name for persimmon means something like the "fire-colored food of God" – making it a flamboyant cognate with chocolate's caffeine-like theobromine, which literally means "food of God." … The word persimmon is derived from putchamin, pasiminan, or pessamin, from an Algonquian language, Powhatan, of the eastern United States, meaning "a dry fruit."
COCONUT BLISS … As part of my fall trip to the West Coast, I ran into my old Telluride Mushroom Festival staffer Tammy Davis up in Eugene, Ore., and a great new alternative icecream company she's working for -- Larry and Luna's Coconut Bliss. They make a vegan, non-dairy and non-soy frozen dessert delicacy that uses organic coconut milk and agave nector as principal ingredients. In fact, all its ingredients are organic. And its regular flavors are outrageous enough – dark chocolate, cherry amaretto, chiapas arabica decaf – but its specialty flavors are unbelievable – lavender wild blueberry, cinnamon chocolate flake, and peruvian espresso – and its seasonal flavors divine – coconut sunrise for spring, lakshmi's luscious lime for summer, pumpkin spice for fall and bliss nog for winter. And those are only a sampling of their wild concoctions! Check the website for the full scoop, www.coconutbliss.com … Currently Coconut Bliss only available in western Oregon, from Portland to Ashland (and soon in Washington state), but I have a hunch this is a new product that's going to take off around the country … Ben & Jerry's, move over.
GUNNISON GROUSE … Dr. Bill Baker of the University of Wyoming found this quote from Aldo Leopold, and although he was talking about a different kind of grouse, I think it has some relevance to our own locally endangered species: "Everybody knows, for example, that the autumn landscape in the north woods is the land, plus a red maple, plus a ruffled grouse. In terms of conventional physics, the grouse represents only a millionth of either the mass or the energy of an acre. Yet subtract the grouse and the whole thing is dead. An enormous amount of some kind of motive power has been lost."
SPEAKING OF DR. BAKER … He and Dr. Deb Paulsen have come out with a fascinating new natural history of our area, "The Nature of Southwestern Colorado: Recognizing Human Legacies and Restoring Natural Places" (University Press of Colorado, 2006). I'm just beginning to read the book and it seems to be a handbook for reinhabitation, as the bioregionalists like to speak about. What Gary Snyder said was the "real work" – learning to become native to a place. More to come about this essential tome.
SPEAKING OF BOOKS … After 20 years of performing instead of publishing, it looks like I'll finally have a new book of poetry in print around the first of the new year, "As If the World Really Mattered" (La Alameda Press, Albuquerque, 2007) … I'm very excited, and it should be available at most local bookstores, or directly from La Alameda Press (www.laalamedapress. com) or the University of New Mexico Press (www.unmpress.com) … Here's one of the blurbs from my buddy and North Beach poetry legend, Jack Mueller: "Poet, shaman, artist and activist, Art Goodtimes gives us poems that are precise and generous and true. They sing and bring us new marvels of understanding. Some poets work inside the tradition, others outside. Art Goodtimes is one of those rare maker poets that help define a fresh, evolving tradition. These are songs of Earth and our human condition that lift as they illuminate. They serve a larger purpose: the encounter of the real, the sacred and the moment. In the splendid mess we call "human," Art Goodtimes catches the heart-wood we all need. He gives voice and song and poem to the wilderness of possibility rising. He reinvents and makes it new. You are holding poems of authentic engagement. Goodtimes knows a growing thing when he feels it, and has the skill to help it grow into your ear and heart and mind." … This month's Talking Gourd is an excerpt from the book.
Art Goodtimes is a San Miguel County commissioner.


text:
Spend This Summer in Black & White
By Modalist Editor
Summer means you tend to wear colorful outfits and increase your fashion quotient. However, this summer you can try out something new. Monochrome is soon becoming a summer trend in 2017. You will see many fashionistas trying out these two colors in different ways. While some are wearing it from head to toe, others are adding a dash of color in the form of accessories or lower or upper wear. You can wear black and white this summer in different style. From polka dots to stripes to checks and other patterns, the choice is huge. Check out the various ways in which you can dress up in black and white this summer.
Polka Dots
Polka dotted dress, blouse, jumpsuits, swimsuits and more. You are spoilt for choices when it comes to black and white polka dotted outfits. You can look pretty in a dress or you can take a plunge in your pool or a dip in the sea in a polka dotted bikini or one-piece. Keep your accessories and shoes right and you are all set.
Checks will give you a sophisticated look. You can opt for black and white checkered outfits this summer instead of looking for other colors. From checkered jumpsuits to dresses to blouses to skirts, you can choose from different styles of outfits. Pick up the perfect shoes, bags and accessories to complement your attire and up your fashion game.
Image Credit - andersphoto
If you are not game for polka dots or checks, you can try out patterned outfits in black and white. From zig zag patterns to circular patterns to other geometrical shapes, you have lots of options. A patterned outfit can give you a smart look. You can go for dresses or you can opt for trousers, skirts or even jeans.
Stripes are really a hit in the fashion scene. When it comes to black and white stripes, your look can get even more fashionable. You can wear a striped trouser or go for a striped dress. Pairing a black and white striped top with a colorful skirt can make you summer fashion ready. Show your best style with these striped outfits.


text:
Handyman in Pomeroy
Over 25 years experience in construction and mechanics. Offering low rates free estimates and years of experience. If it has a motor and is broken I can fix it. (Cars, lawnmowers, motorcycles, generators, weedeaters, ATVs etc.) If it needs built I can build it. If it needs remodeled I can remodel it. If it needs downloaded or rebooted please call someone else. Lol. The best part is you don't have to load it up and haul it anywhere because I will come to you FREE of charge to fix it. I do not charge travel time for anything under 35 miles. If its home remodeling services you seek I give free estimates so it cost nothing for calling me first. Call or text Matt Durham @ 740-416-....
Handyman Details
|Email Address
|Phone Number
|740-416-... Confirmed
|Provider Type
Notes made here will only be seen by you. If you want to message the owner of this listing
More in Pomeroy, Ohio
Looking for Handymen in Pomeroy, OH?
Find available jobs in your city.
Featured Handymen near Pomeroy, OH


text:
How was your experience with Benefit Plans?: 5
Are you satisfied with the level of service you received?: 5
Were we thorough in our explanation?: 5
Did we follow up with you promptly?: 5
Were you treated courteously?: 5
Would you recommend Benefit Plans to your friends and family?: 5
"So helpful from the first phone call to getting the process completed. There is a lot of information to try and decide what is the best option to take, and I could not have asked for anyone to be more informative in helping us work through the mess the Gov. helps to make as confusing as possible!" - Brady Smith 11/1/16
"I was amazed at how efficiently all of the information was presented to me by Grayce. Grayce was easy to follow, as she explained the process. She made me feel so comfortable with decisions that I was facing, after retiring from the Public School System. Not only was Grayce extremely knowledgeable with this process, but she was passionate about my needs. She was always available - I never had to wait. She followed through with every promise, must of which was on the spot. I am so pleased to also have the opportunity to contact her to continue following up and help with other foreseeable needs. What a pleasant experience this has been with this company, Benefits Plans, Inc., to be able to entrust my personal information and needs to. Grayce has a special trustworthiness that made me feel comfortable and secure. Thank you for your hard work for me, Grayce!!" - Teresa Conlon 8/15/2015
"Are you having a hard time understanding health insurance policies, and maybe losing sleep? Then go TODAY to see Grayce Carter at Benefit Plans Inc. You will leave confident that you made the right choices. See Grayce TODAY and go home and get a good night sleep!" - "G" O. 7/9/15
"Grayce Carter is professional, helpful, caring and so nice! Myself, and I'm sure thousands of other people did not and still do not understand the Obama healthcare! Grayce was patient and so willing to help find the right plan for me. Cannot thank her enough for all the hours she spent with me finding what would work best for me! She is definitely an asset to Benefit Plans!" - Laurie R. 6/29/15
"I can't thank Grayce Carter enough for her pleasant, patient manner as we try to navigate through our health care options. She was most informative, took the time to break through the medical jargon, and was able to bring to our attention components of different policies that we never would have seen. Not only did she address our current needs, but was also on top of changes we will incur in 6 months. Could not have done it without Grayce and Benefit Plans, Inc." - Cathy C. 6/26/15
"Gracie was so helpful with me and I needed to get things done quickly and she was able to help with my situation. And I highly recommend this company they are great." - Carol T. 6/26/15
"It's what happens after you've signed on to Benefit Plans. The after the sale customer service is exemplary. You ask a question and they will get you the correct answer. I've transitioned from corporate insurance to personal insurance, as has my wife.They have a very highly qualified staff, familiar with all insurance needs, I have and will continue to recommend them for all insurance needs." - Rick H. 6/26/15
"The professionals at Benefit Plans handle my family's health insurance needs and expertly guided me through the process of signing up for Medicare and finding the Medicare supplement policy that best fit my personal needs." - Philip S. 6/26/15
"I'm very thankful to have been referred to Grayce Carter for my health insurance needs. It's no easy feat to make very well-informed suggestions on which plans would be most appropriate for a given individual's situation (especially in the quick-turnaround, "I need it to start very soon" types of situations she must face), but if my experience is any indication, Ms. Carter is more than up to the task. Beyond her clear mastery of the plans/options/details, she was prompt and thorough in her responses to my questions. I look forward to recommending her services to others." - Javier G. 6/25/15
"This is my 2nd year with Benefits Plan. My transition from a company plan to a private plan was quiet a challenge. If not for Grayce Carter helping me thru the entire process I would have lost coverage thru the transition period. Grayce is personable, professional , and will go the extra mile to help you thru your insurance needs. I have recommend this group to my friends." - Homer W. 6/25/15
"Benefits Plans has been very helpful and professional with helping me explorer all our option for Health Insurance for a family plan. With all the new policy's and changes with Health Insurance it can be very overwhelming trying to compare all the options and Benefits Plans was able to answer all of our questions and help us determine what would work best for our family. Their follow up has been second to none." - Holly W. 4/27/15
"Cynthia and Anya were both attentive to our needs, patient with our questions, knowledgeable, professional, and personable. My wife and I choose the supplemental plans they recommended and the Medicare Part D plans that they researched and recommended to best meet our individual needs. Once the policies were in effect they were quick to respond when we had the inevitable questions about coverage, billing from the provides, etc. Once our doctors, dentists, and pharmacies were given our new policy information transactions became seamless. We would highly Benefit Plans, Inc. to anyone trying to wade through the morass of health care options." - Keith C. 4/25/15


text:
Tag: minneapolis
Officer: "I've dispatched both of them;" Body cam: Maybe he fired too quickly
Body camera video released by Minneapolis police last week seems to confirm that the two pit bulls an officer encountered in a family's backyard weren't posing an immediate threat to him when he shot them both earlier this month.
"I've dispatched both of them," officer Michael Mays can be heard saying on his radio after he shot one dog that approached him with tail wagging, and then fired multiple shots at a second one that ran in his direction.
The officer was responding to a security alarm that had been accidentally set off. One dog suffered a bullet wound to the jaw. The other was hit in the body by several shots. Both dogs survived and are receiving treatment.
The officer said in a report he filed after the shooting that both dogs were "charging" at him, but the body cam video — in addition to footage from the family's security camera — have fueled complaints that he was not in imminent danger when he fired the shots.
After shooting the dogs, the officer climbs a fence out of the backyard and walks down an alley before going to the front door of the home to let the residents know he had shot their dogs.
The full video can be seen in this CBS Minnesota report.
Mays said the dogs barked and growled at him, but the earliest parts of the video are missing audio that would confirm that.
The body camera footage was released Thursday afternoon by Michael Padden, the attorney for the dogs' owner, Jennifer LeMay, who says the animals are service dogs for her children.
The day after the shooting, LeMay posted surveillance video taken by a backyard camera to Facebook, where it went viral, garnering hundreds of thousands of views.
The body camera video shows Mays encountering LeMay's daughter, who accidentally set off the alarm.
"I don't like shooting no dogs," the officer explains to 18-year-old Courtney Livingston before inquiring if the dogs are OK.
"I don't know," she answers. "I have blood all over my house and they're both walking that I know of."
Livingston accidentally tripped the alarm and was the only one home when the incident took place.
At the Thursday news conference where the video was released, Jennifer LeMay said both dogs — Rocko and Ciroc — are having difficult recoveries:
"Rocko, physically, is probably at 75 percent; emotionally and mentally, he's not there."
She said she doubted the dogs were behaving too aggressively when the officer shot them. Her lawyer questioned why there was no audio in the earliest portion of what was recorded. It does not come on until after the shots were fired.
Minneapolis Police Chief Janee Harteau described the video as "difficult to watch," offered to assist the family in paying vet bills and promised to start providing training to officers on dealing with dogs.
(First photo, a recovering Rocko, Facebook; second photo, Rocko and Ciroc with LeMay at home, Minneapolis Star Tribune)
Posted by John Woestendiek July 24th, 2017 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: animals, backyard, body cam, body camera, body camera video, camera, ciroc, dogs, facebook, family, jennifer lemay, law enforcement, michael mays, minneapolis, officer, pets, pit bulls, pitbulls, police, rocko, security, shooting, shot, surveillance, viral
Comments: 1
Police officer shoots two dogs in family's back yard, one of whom was wagging its tail
Minneapolis police say they are helping a local family with their veterinary bills and will institute a mandatory training program after an officer shot two dogs Saturday in the family's fenced back yard Saturday.
"This was an outcome that no one wanted," Police Chief Janee Harteau said. "I've asked for an Internal Affairs use of force review. We are reaching out to the family to help them with the veterinary care bills to ensure that both dogs are adequately taken care of.
"To help us prevent similar outcomes in the future," she added, "we will be implementing updated mandatory training specifically for officers identifying effective tools and tactical strategies with police and dog encounters."
One of the dogs, Rocko, was shot multiple times and is doing OK after surgery. The other, Ciroc, was shot in the face and has a fractured jaw.
The owner of the two pit bulls, Jennifer LeMay, called the officer "trigger happy," and said the dogs were not attacking. One was even wagging its tail.
"My dog had stopped. My dog wasn't even facing him to charge him or be in an aggressive manner to him. You still shot him," she wrote in a Facebook post that included footage from the surveillance camera.
The officer was responding to a residential burglary alarm, and did not know it had been set off accidentally by the homeowner's daughter when she returned home, KARE11 reported.
Police say they will review the surveillance video as well as that recorded by the officer's body cam.
Chief Harteau described the video as "difficult to watch."
The dog can be seen approaching the officer, but not in a manner that clearly appeared to be "charging," as the officer described in a police report.
LeMay has set up a GoFundMe campaign to help with the dogs' medical bills. Its $15,000 goal was quickly reached. As of 3 p.m. Monday people had contributed more than $20,000.
Posted by John Woestendiek July 11th, 2017 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: alarm, animals, burglar, ciroc, complaint, dog, dogs, injured, investigation, law enforcement, mandatory, minneapolis, officer, pets, police, police and dogs, police chief, rocko, shooting, shoots, shot, surveillance, training, video
Comments: 2
The difference between dogs and cats
You've probably seen several cartoons in which a dog lies down on a psychiatrist's couch and utters, via word balloon, something wise, incisive or pithy.
But the truth of the matter is dogs (though some have issues and baggage) don't need psychiatrists all that much — not nearly as much as we suspect cats might.
Cartoonist Les Taha, creator of the syndicated cartoon panel "Off My Meds," captures that contrast in this work, sent along to me this week by a friend.
Taha is a freelance cartoonist, writer, and former columnist for the Tacoma Tribune who now resides in Minneapolis with his wife and two pugs.
He is also the author of the controversial book, The Architects of Rap.
"Off My Meds" appears in numerous community and college newspapers throughout the U.S.
You can see more of his work at his website and on his Facebook page.
Posted by John Woestendiek March 23rd, 2017 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animals, author, cartoon, cartoonist, cartoons, cats, columnist, doctors, dog, dogs, les taha, mental health, minneapolis, off my meds, pets, psychiatrist, psychiatrists, waiting room, writer
Comments: none
When one lost soul bumps into another
Two lost souls coming together isn't exactly a new movie theme, but it still works, especially when it has a twist like this one.
"A Stray" is about a young man whose refugee family fled Somalia and relocated in Minneapolis. He becomes sort of a double stray when his family kicks him out after he gets in some trouble.
At a mosque, Adan finds shelter. He gets a job, delivering food, and seems to be pulling his life together when his delivery vehicle strikes a dog.
Adan, at the urging of a bystander, hesitantly loads the small white mutt in the car and takes him to a vet, who pronounces the dog OK. It is then that Adan learns he must take the dog with him.
That's a problem because, on top of being homeless, Adan is Muslim. Under Muslim law, dogs are considered dirty. Many practicing Muslims, like Adan's family, forbid them in the home. When he arrives back at the mosque with the dog, he's told to leave.
What happens next — when a man raised to have nothing to do with dogs ends up with a stray, when his God and his Dog are seemingly irreconcilable forces — makes for a thought-provoking and magical movie.
It premiered earlier this year at the South By Southwest (SXWS) Film Festival, and had several screenings last weekend, introduced by writer-director Musa Syeed, at the Film Society of Minneapolis and St Paul.
The human star of the movie is actor Barkhad Abdirahman, a Somali refugee who lives in Minneapolis.
Director Syeed, in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, said he was intrigued by the idea of combining the archetypal American/Western man-and-dog story with Muslim sensitivities towards dogs.
"What was interesting to me about a Muslim kid and a dog was that these are two entities that seemingly are not able to reconcile, or that are so different," he said. "And I think that's the way that maybe a lot of people see, you know, Muslims in America … there is some inherent tension or something like that."
He said he hopes that the story of a man and his forbidden dog shows that there is room for compassion, understanding and a connection.
Posted by John Woestendiek October 21st, 2016 under Muttsblog, videos.
Tags: a stray, america, animals, barkhad abdirahman, bonding, clashing, cultures, dirty, dog, dogs, forbidden, god, homeless, islam, lost souls, minneapolis, mosque, movie, musa syeed, muslims, pets, refugee, religion, somali, somalia, stray dogs, strays
Comments: 6
Interactive map shows where "dangerous" dogs live in Minneapolis
The city of Minneapolis has taken protecting its residents from "dangerous dogs" to a whole new level with the publication of an interactive map on its website that pinpoints where dogs that have had run-ins with the law live.
The website lists each dog's name, breed and their offense — everything from "killed a cat" to "muzzle violations" and bites to humans or other dogs, KARE 11 reported.
It also lists the full names and addresses of the owners, and photos of each dog.
Seems dogs deemed dangerous have about the same rights to privacy as a sex offender — that is, virtually none.
"In order to keep our residents safe, we post pictures of these animals and their addresses," the website states, referring to dogs, of course.
To see the map and interact with it, click here.
Connie Bourque, of Minneapolis Animal Care and Control, says it's all about public safety.
"If you live in a neighborhood, you have a visual that lets you know where animals that have had incidents in the past, who have been aggressive in the past. You have a sense of where you would maybe be more cautious based on the fact that you can see that information right on the website."
Given all the other restrictions those with dogs deemed dangerous face, it strikes me as a little heavy-handed, almost as if it is meant to shame the dog owners.
Under city law, residents whose dogs have been deemed "dangerous," or "potentially dangerous," already face a variety of measures, from having their dog exterminated to requirements like liability insurance, sterilization, eight foot tall fences, warning signs posted at the front and rear of their home; and, when their dogs go out, muzzles, three-foot leashes and collars that carry a warning tag.
The new website, as of yesterday, lists 35 dangerous dogs in Minneapolis (compared to 146 people on the map of sex offenders residing in the city).
Unlike sex offender maps, which don't specify the offense or use photos of the offenders, canine offenders have their photos posted, as well as a brief summary of their dangerous behavior.
Sephy, for example, a beagle from Longfellow, bit a person; Briggs, a Lab mix from near Lake Nokomis, killed a cat; and Bernadette, an American Staffordshire terrier in Loring Park, bit another animal.
It is possible for a dog to be taken off the list, but first it must be proven by their owner that they have received training and have been rehabilitated. A home inspection is also required for that.
Posted by John Woestendiek April 14th, 2015 under Muttsblog.
Tags: animal control, animals, attacks, bites, bitten, cat, dangerous, dangerous dogs, dog, dogs, interactive, killed, location, map, minneapolis, pets, pinpoint, public safety, safety, sex offenders
Comments: none
Almost-mailed puppy up for adoption
So many people have expressed interest in adopting "Guess," the 5-month-old poodle-schnauzer mix who was almost air-mailed, that the city of Minneapolis plans to hold a drawing to help determine where he will call home.
The drawing will be held around 2 p.m. Friday at the Minneapolis Animal Care and Control shelter, according to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune.
Ten names will be initially drawn, and assigned a number. Those people will then fill out an application. After screening, the dog will be awarded to the first eligible person whose name was drawn.
The new owner will be required pay the standard adoption fee, and for a pet license, and sign an agreement to have Guess neutered on "Spay Day" (Feb. 22) before taking him home.
On Jan. 25, Stacey Champion put Guess in a box sealed with packing tape and dropped the package off at a post office near her home, telling postal officials it contained a toy robot. The box was addressed to her 11-year-old son in Georgia, for whom Guess was intended as a birthday gift.
Postal workers opened the box after noticing it was moving and hearing the dog panting.
Champion, 39, has been charged with misdemeanor animal cruelty. She attended an administrative hearing in hopes of getting the dog back but was turned down. On Monday, when she failed to post a bond to pay for Guess' shelter expenses, she lost any future chance to get the dog back, which would have been a possibility had she been found innocent.
That cleared the way for Guess to be officially put up for adoption.
"We've gotten calls from all over the globe," Jeanette Wiedmeier of Minneapolis Animal Care and Control told Fox News. "311 has taken calls from Europe. They've taken emails from people who are outraged and excited about this story, and they want only the best for this dog. We've just been overwhelmed with the amount of attention this little six-pound guy has gotten so far."
(Photo by Elizabeth Flores / Star-Tribune)
Posted by John Woestendiek February 16th, 2011 under Muttsblog.
Tags: adopter, adoption, airmail, airmailed, almost, almost mailed, animal cruelty, birthday, dog, drawing, gift, guess, interest, mailed, minneapolis, mix, outpouring, package, packed, poodle, post office, postal workers, puppy, rescue, schnauzer, sealed, shelter, stacey champion
Comments: none
Woman tries to mail puppy to her son
Time to reopen the annals of stupid human behavior and make room for Stacey Champion — a Minneapolis woman who attempted to air-mail a puppy to her 11-year-old son in Atlanta.
Champion, 39, was charged with animal cruelty after postal workers discovered the 4-month-old puppy inside a sealed package she had dropped off, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Champion told a postal clerk the box contained a toy robot. A Minneapolis police spokesman said the puppy would not have survived the trip.
The Star Tribune says that, while the package was still in the post office, it moved by itself and fell to the floor, surprising postal workers. Within minutes, postal employees unwrapped the tightly sealed box and pulled out the panting puppy.
The dog, described as a poodle-Schnauzer mix, named Guess, was placed in a shelter, costing Champion $250 in fees. Today, Champion tried to convince an administrative hearing officer to return Guess to her custody. (See the hearing in its entirety in the video above.)
Champion said in the hearing that she didn't know dogs couldn't be mailed. "They say they deliver," she noted. She further explained to the judge, "If there weren't no mistakes in life, society wouldn't be what it is now."
We can't argue with that one.
Champion also went back to the post office and demanded she be refunded the $22 priority mail fee, according to the Star Tribune. That request was denied.
The judge called her actions disgraceful and declined to return the dog to her.
Posted by John Woestendiek February 7th, 2011 under Muttsblog.
Tags: air-mailed, animal cruelty, animals, atlanta, custody, dog, dogs, guess, hearing, judge, live, mailed, mailed dog, minneapolis, pets, police, poodle, post office, postal, postal service, puppy, return, schnauzer, stacey champion, stupid, stupidity, video
Comments: 14


text:
Couple of daft questions about upgrading
View Single Post
16 September 2012, 17:55
Registered User
Join Date: Oct 2009
Location: Germany
Posts: 2,026
A harddrive or CF card should at least have two partitions. One (usually the first one) for the operating system (boot partition) and a second for (in your case) games.
If a game is installed to harddrive it usually saves its data to it. I never needed a floppy for that.
The position for icons on workbench are saved to itself. I.e. gameX has an icon file "gameX.info". The icon will hold the position information. If there is no icon, nothing is saved.
In the workbench menu there is a point what saves current positions. Don`t know how it is named.
Floppy games what are in DOS format usually have an icon and it will be shown if insert. Other formats will just show a NoDOS disk icon and can`t start from workbench. To start this NoDOS games you have to instert the floppy and re/-start the Amiga.
View Public Profile
Find More Posts by daxb
Page generated in
seconds with


text:
李绍龙博士在 Asia Pacific Journal of Management 发表论文
|发布时间:2016-3-2 来源:admin 阅读次数:4478
中心李绍龙博士在 Asia Pacific Journal of Management 发表论文 "When and why empowering leadership increases followers' taking charge: A multilevel examination in China". Asia Pacific Journal of Management致力于发表亚洲、太平洋区域的管理和组织研究,该期刊以发表严谨、独特、原创的与亚太区域有关的高质量研究,2014年该刊的影响因子为2.091。该刊也属于武汉大学经济与管理学院的B+级奖励期刊。
AbstractDrawing from the cultural self-representation model, we propose a multilevel model to examine when and why empowering leadership elicits followers' taking charge behaviors in China. Data from 310 full-time employees in 81 work groups provide support for the mediating role of role breadth self-efficacy in transforming team-directed empowering leadership into individual taking charge behaviors. In addition, this mediation relationship is found to be attenuated by high differentiated empowering leadership and low individual power distance orientation. Finally, we find support for a three-way moderated mediation—which the moderating effect of differentiated empowering leadership is found to be significant only among followers who have low power distance orientation. We conclude by discussing the theoretical and practical implications of these findings.
KeywordsEmpowering leadership. Taking charge .Differentiated leadership. Role breadth self-efficacy. Power distance orientation
Citation: Li, S. L., He, W., Yam, K.C., Long, L, R., 2015. When and why empowering leadership increases followers' taking charge: A multilevel examination in China. Asia Pacific Journal of Management, 32: 645-670.


text:
Staff Profile: Erika Barnes
Academic Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Journalism
Academic Course Leader and Senior Lecturer in Journalism
As a broadcast journalist for over twenty years, I took great pride in the quality of my news writing and story-telling. My aim is to share my experiences, helping students gain courage and skills to embrace opportunities in the news industry.
Fellow Higher Education Academy
I teach Writing and Presentation for Radio and TV journalism; Professional News Practice in Newsdays and Newsweeks. I also supervise Final Year Projects, Dissertations and Work Placements.
My research will focus on work based learning and careers for journalism students.
Previously external examiner for MA Broadcast Sports Journalism at Staffordshire University


text:
Skip to main content
Zondervan Library
Research Guides
Social Work
Finding Articles
Search this Guide
Social Work
Designed with Social Work students in mind, this guide highlights information resources to enhance your research.
Finding Articles
Finding Books
Strategies & Tools
Web Resources
Reference Resources
Get Help
Linda Lambert
Other Useful Databases
Google Scholar
Includes journal articles, book chapters and essays, and sometimes entire books. Text is frequently not available for free, but can be accessed using WorldCat or Interlibrary Loan.
Provides full-text articles from scholarly journals in a broad spectrum of topics and disciplines. Coverage spans from the journals' inception to the most recent 3-5 years (current issues are not available).
Library Databases for Social Work
Covers sociology and related disciplines, such as anthropology, criminology, demography, economic development, ethnic & racial studies, gender studies, social psychology, social work, and urban studies.
Social Sciences Full Text
Highlights scholarly materials from conferences, found in journals and magazines in the field of sociology, as well as chapters from books.
Contains citations and articles for international scholarly journals, as well as books, dissertations, and technical reports.
Academic Search Premier
Nearly everyone can find information on their topic in this tool. Use Limits to narrow by date, source type, and scholarly/popular.
Provides access to millions of citations from life science journals. Not all have full-text availability.
Provides citations and articles for international medical journals (clinical medicine, nursing, sports medicine, nutrition, and more).
AHFS Consumer Medication Information
A trusted source and recognized standard for patient drug information, available in both English and Spanish. Published by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Biomedical Reference Collection: Basic Edition
Research authoritative medical information from such fields as medicine, nursing, dentistry, veterinary medicine, the health care system, pre-clinical sciences, and much more.
Health & Wellness Resource Center with Alternative Health Module
Provides access to health & medical journals, hundreds of pamphlets, health-related videos, along with articles from general interest publications and related reference titles.
Health Reference Center Academic
Provides access to nursing and allied health journals, plus a wide variety of personal health information sources. Not all included here is scholarly.
Health Source
Provides citations and articles for scholarly journals and popular magazines, along with health-related pamphlets.
IDEAS by RePEc
From Research Papers in Economics, this international collection includes working papers, journal articles, software components, etc. in the field.
Boolean Operators & Examples
Use these term connectors in Library tool searches
This will narrow your search to include all terms that are connected with AND.
"student engagement" AND leadership
requires that both terms be present in the title, abstract, or keywords of a citation.
This broadens your search to include more options based on your search terms.
(college OR university) AND "student housing"
insists that either the term college or the term university must be present along with the phrase "student housing" in the title, abstract, or keywords assigned to a citation.
This excludes a term from a search and thus helps you narrow your search results. You may find that a search on (student AND vulnerability) brings up too many citations related to physical vulnerability.
You could add to the search NOT physical, to exclude articles focusing on that one aspect of the concept of vulnerability.
(student AND vulnerability) NOT physical
Finding Books >>
Last Updated:
Aug 2, 2018 9:54 AM
Print Page
Login to LibApps
Report a problem
Social Work


text:
Nap Eyes have a moniker that couldn't be more apt. The Nova Scotia four-piece unfurled their hazy debut Whine of the Mystic back in 2014, and now the band are set to release their sophomore outing by way of Thought Rock Fish Scale on 5 February via Paradise of Bachelors.
Ahead of the album, Nap Eyes have released lead track 'Lion In Chains', and it's a near-seven minute ethereal epic.
'Lion In Chains' is awash with warm waves of flanged guitars and restrained brushes of rhythm that coalesce into a slow desert rock jam. But the resounding element is singer Nigel Chapman's literate lyrics that bring the spirit of a long lost North American pastoral straight into the here and now. The track drifts in the air like a blissful smoke signal wafting under a flickering starlit sky.
Nap Eyes seem as though they can't help but create a sound that fuses the energy of Modern Lovers with the distant crackle of the Velvet Underground and lend it the kind of introspective intelligence found in the likes of Bill Callahan.
Listen to 'Lion In Chains' below.


text:
Sacha Baron Cohen is at it again, thank goodness because I really needed to overwrite the memories of Bruno with something better. I am a big fan of Borat, even with all its outlandishness, but Bruno was just wrong. Sacha now brings us this new character, Aladeen the dictator, and he's back to basics. Yes the movie is brimming with outlandishness as you'd expect. There is a good amount of shock humor, normal humor, stupid humor, slapstick, and it's even corny at times too. The movie itself is not exactly great, but it's not meant to be; it's meant to be funny and it is there that it succeeds, if you don't mind Sacha's style of humor. He really pushes the envelope with this extreme humor. It's what he does best. It's crazy, it's raunchy, and it's fun. READ FULL REVIEW
Tags: The Dictator


text:
The Merrell Men's MOAB FST Ice+ Thermo Boot is a winter boot for icy situations. Step directly into a comfortable boot, right out of the box, with 100g of M Select™ WARM surrounding your foot. The real champion of this boot however is the Vibram® Arctic Grip™ outsole, delivering the traction needed for ice. It also features a 5mm lug depth for gripping in snow.
Products on Sale are Discontinued Styles or Colors.


text:
President Trump's Proposed Budget – A Statement from our CEO
Last week President Trump's administration released a FY2018 budget blueprint that slashes funding for programs in the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Agriculture, and the Department of Treasury that support housing and community development.
This budget will eradicate the funding programs that our members rely on to build housing with lasting affordability in their communities – including the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, the HOME Investment Partnership program, and the Self-Help Homeownership Opportunity Program (SHOP). The Administration's proposed cuts would reduce the HUD budget by over 13%, but the vast majority of the reduction is from the very small portion of the HUD budget that does not support ongoing rental assistance, so the real impact will be devastating.
The homeownership rate in the United States is at its lowest in more than 50 years. Moreover, only 1 in 4 people who are eligible for Federal housing assistance are receiving the help they need today. We should be making significant investments in affordable housing, not eliminating programs and reducing funding.
"At a time when we should be expanding affordable and sustainable homeownership opportunities so that families with modest incomes can begin to build assets, the President's proposal completely undercuts this goal," said Melora Hiller, CEO of Grounded Solutions Network, a national organization working to build strong communities from the ground up. "Community land trusts and other shared equity programs depend upon HOME, CDBG and SHOP to build, rehabilitate, or reduce the cost of homes, making them affordable for generations of hard-working families with modest incomes."
The loss of these programs and many of the other proposed budget reductions across the government will have a devastating effect on our cities and towns—communities that use these funds to weatherize and rehabilitate homes, build sidewalks in low income neighborhoods, and provide access to transportation. One specific example is public housing. Although President Trump claims to want to improve our country's infrastructure, his budget would slash resources to repair and rehabilitate public housing developments owned by public housing authorities in rural, urban and suburban communities across the country. After years of prolonged and consistent underfunding of our public housing stock, these cuts would result in the loss of thousands of additional homes each year. We cannot afford to let this part of our public infrastructure crumble even further and we cannot accept that big cities and small towns are being left on their own to solve these problems.
"We know that where we live matters. It matters to our health, the quality of our education, the transportation options available and the jobs we can access", says Hiller. "The United States has the resources to invest in our communities to make them equitable, inclusive, and rich in opportunity where everyone can afford to live and thrive. Unfortunately, this budget sends a strong message to our cities and towns that the Federal government is no longer a partner in this effort and that they're on their own."
About Grounded Solutions Network
Grounded Solutions Network supports strong communities from the ground up. Founded in 2016, Grounded Solutions Network connects national and local expertise; bringing together the networks, knowledge and support needed to build inclusive communities. As a non-profit member organization, we promote housing solutions that will stay affordable for generations so communities can stabilize and strengthen their foundation, for good. Backed by our members and significant support from the Ford Foundation, Grounded Solutions champions evidence-based policies and strategies that work. We help our members, partners and elected officials use them to establish inclusive communities that have diverse housing options for a variety of incomes, offering choice and opportunity for all residents – both today and for future generations. Learn more at GroundedSolutions.org.


text:
Employment Opportunities
Pediatric Associates is always willing to review employment applications for staff positions including registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified medical assistants, certified nurse assistants, receptionists, and medical technologists. We have full and part-time opportunities, and we do have weekend and evening hours available.
Please feel free to download our employment application and mail or fax (434.220.7144) it to:
Human Resources
1011 East Jefferson Street
Charlottesville, VA 22902
what's new
August 14, 2018
Back to School Sleep
August 14, 2018
What is Influenza
August 14, 2018
A Guide to Teething
August 14, 2018
the adolescent center
Our Adolescent Center is a comprehensive medical and mental health-care center designed to meet the special needs of teenagers and young adults.


text:
Fundamental Tips for Buying Realty in Saint Leo FL
If you're simply starting to purchase real estate, you'll locate that there's a great deal to discover. Real estate investing is extra challenging than investing in stocks as a result of the monetary, lawful, as well as substantial due persistance needs involved. That's why it's a great idea to provide yourself a strong education and learning before you purchase your very first financial investment home.
Prior to you obtain your sophisticated level, it's an excellent suggestion to acquaint yourself with the basics. Therefore, below are 5 basic pointers for purchasing realty.
1. Location Issues
The old expression that "location matters" is most accurate when it pertains to realty investing. Prior to you shell out a deposit and put on your own in a substantial amount of financial debt over a building, guarantee that it's in an excellent location.
Seek the worst house on the most effective road. That's a concept you'll stumble upon quite a bit as you delve into further realty spending guidance.
You want to buy the worst home on the most effective street due to the fact that it offers you a possibility to build equity. It's a residential property in an excellent neighborhood (" the most effective road") that needs some job (" the worst home"). You can invest some loan to fix it up as well as sell it to someone else who wants a ready-to-move-in residence in a fabulous place. Specialist real estate investors call this "dealing with and turning."
2. Try to find Wholesale Properties
Purchasing realty is just like investing in the stock market in at least one method: you're trying to find the most effective deal. If you're a wise securities market capitalist, you possibly won't get way too many supplies at their high if you plan on holding them for a very long time. Instead, you'll follow the Warren Buffet concept of getting greedy when everyone else obtains afraid. You'll acquire supplies that are depressed as well as succeed when they reverse.
That's just what you wish to do when it comes to property investing. Prevent paying "full cost" for residential properties. Rather, search for so-called wholesale buildings that are supplied at a high discount. Certain, they'll most likely need some job. Run the numbers and see if the investment in rehab deserves the ultimate selling price.
As kept in mind at ThinkConveyance: "You can quickly spend $20,000 in a property as well as include twice that much to the asking price. That's why realty investing is so attractive to financiers who intend to optimize their return on investment."
3. Comprehend the Tax obligation Advantages
Individuals that run our government desire private investors to give real estate for people. That's since they understand that if private capitalists don't provide real estate, then the government will certainly be accountable for it.
To that end, Uncle Sam provides substantial tax obligation advantages to real estate investors. One of the most significant benefit, probably, is the depreciation write-off. When you acquire a financial investment residential or commercial property that consists of a building, you get to write off the depreciation of that structure as a tax reduction. You'll have to consult your tax consultant for specifics, however generally you could anticipate to diminish a household building over 27 years and a business building over 39 and also a half years.
The IRS views your real estate financial investment efforts as an organisation so you also get to assert the "essential and also average" deductions that company proprietors take, consisting of home mortgage rate of interest, insurance policy, as well as maintenance expenditures. Once again, it's a good idea to consult your tax obligation consultant regarding specifics.
4. Inspect Your Credit rating Record
You're greater than likely going to need to obtain loan to purchase real estate. That's why you must examine your credit score record before you begin investing in property.
If you have troubles on your credit history report that are mistakes, get those dealt with as promptly as feasible. If you have issues that are genuine, then you'll need to work to enhance your debt.
Basically, banks typically aren't going to finance money to you for a home that's not your primary residence as conveniently as they'll lend it to you for your personal home. That's why your credit report has to be incredible.
5. Make use of the "1% Rule"
If you're intending on getting a residential or commercial property that you'll lease several lessees, use the "1% Guideline" when you make a decision whether or not the residential property deserves the price you'll spend for it.
The 1% Policy just specifies that a revenue generating building needs to create 1% of the rate you spend for it on a monthly basis. If you're looking at acquiring a building for $150,000, then the monthly rental income ought to be 150,000 x 1% = $1,500.
Wrapping It Up
Property investing uses the possibility for wonderful returns. However, individuals have actually likewise bankrupted themselves purchasing realty. Make sure that you know what's entailed before you start.
If you're simply starting to spend in genuine estate, you'll locate that there's a whole lot to discover. Genuine estate investing is much more complicated compared to investing in supplies due to the fact that of the financial, lawful, and also comprehensive due diligence requirements entailed. Spending in genuine estate is simply like investing in the supply market in at the very least one means: you're looking for the best bargain. Actual estate spending offers the capacity for magnificent returns. People have actually also bankrupted themselves investing in actual estate.


text:
Showing all 9 results
Tom brief is made of feather-light fabric. No visible lines and a great fit around the bottom.Select options
G-string in feather-light fabric. Seamless finish. Sexy style that shows off the buttocks.Select options
Strapless bra - bandeau cup. Straight at the back with an elastic strip that gives added support. The bandeau cup covers a lot of the breast and has a fairly horizontal neckline.Select options
Playful G-string that is opaque at the front. Fine floral embroidery on the waist at the side. A soft strip under the embroidery ensures a comfortable wear. Very feminine, sensual and sexy style that reveals the bottom.Select options
Playful low-rise briefs that is low on the waist. Eye-catcher: the adorable floral embroidery! The back shows more of the buttocks than the Rio briefs. Playful style that only covers half the bottom. Finished with an elastic strip to ensure optimal comfort.Select options
With or without straps, a style that always radiates pure class. The subtle embroidery border adds extra finesse. Even so, this smooth bra is invisible under tops.Select options
The fine embroidery runs over the hips and really brings out the elegant line. No visible lines and a great fit around the bottom.Select options
High cut on the hip, your legs seem to go on forever and there are no visible lines.Select options


text:
Type: Bug
Status: Closed
Priority: Blocker
Resolution: Fixed
Affects Version/s: 0.7.10
Fix Version/s: 0.7.12
Component/s: None
Currently, Chef and Ohai both die on non-english locales. The fix for this will be to add support for Ohai to detect both the running locale and the list of available locales, and to enable wrapping commands that are going to parse output in LANG=en_US.
Issue Links
- All
- Comments
- History
- Activity
- Transitions Summary
In my understanding, this problem arises whenever the framework needs to parse the output of a popen4 call (defined in ohai_root/lib/ohai/mixin/command.rb or chef_root/ib/chef/mixin/command.rb, depending on what library you are using).
popen4 supports a nice argument "environment" that could be used to pass pairs of variable/value to be set before the execution of a command; so, a good solution could be to add this argument to popen4 whenever the ouput needs to be parsed.
For example, in chef_root/lib/chef/provider/package/apt.rb, the "load_current_resource" method could be modified in this way:
status = popen4("apt-cache policy #{@new_resource.package_name}", :environment => {'LC_ALL' => 'C'}) do |pid, stdin, stdout, stderr|
In my tests, this patch solves the problems I had with an italian localized ubuntu system.
Exactly right, Domenico. One tricky bit is that, oddly enough, not every system has a locale C. So the full fix is Ohai growing locale reporting, and choosing the platforms preferred english locale, and then doing exactly what you say above.
Ciao Adam!
The road you pointed out is certainly much more clean, but AFAIK the C locale is a short alias for the POSIX one, which is the minimal environment for C-language translation, so it should be available in every posix compliant (or wannabe so) system. So I think that for a UNIX system, setting LC_ALL=C should be enough. Problems, indeed, may arise on platform such as the Windows ones, but maybe them could be solved separately in the plugins of such platforms.
Thanks for pointing that out, Domenico. I was totally wrong - every system should have locale C. You rule!
We'll bump the priority up on this, because the fix is clear and and it's lame that it doesn't work properly.
Thank you again for the help.
I've created a patch for both ohai and chef with included specs. You can merge from my fix_chef-293 branches:
Already commented... copying comment here also:
I've created a patch for both ohai and chef with included specs. You can merge from my fix_chef-293 branches:
I updated both projects with new commits on the same branch.
Now Package providers will run with the system's locale instead of C so packages are installed with the correct locale (suggested by Adam Jacob).
Fixver 0710
fixver unknown, 0.7.12
Any reason why this wasn't merged in 0.7.10 ?
This wasn't merged into 0.7.10 due to requiring changes in ohai; 0.7.12 will coincide with an ohai release and also include these changes, in approx. two weeks.
Perfect. thx!
Merged, rebased uncleanly against master but backported the fixes into your patches; sorry for the delay and thank you for contributing!
Closing due to merge
Reopening to assign to 0.7.12rc0 version in JIRA.
Bulk assign 0.7.12rc0