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Friday, October 31, 2008
Play silks (that we dyed with kool-aid:) tied as capes around their necks by their whimsical Auntie.
Sam and Echo sharing a laugh (and space--which was a sweet sight to see as Sammy was having major "your in my space issues" with Echo D for most of their time here.)
We are going to miss you girls. Our Coco (as Amelia calls Echo) and Papa (as Sam calls Tara:). We'll miss Echo's little owl hoots and sweet smiles and laughs.Kissing those chubby cheeks.Her strong desire to be with the "big kids". Tara, I'll miss your companionship and shared passion for all things mothering. I'll miss your guidance in the kitchen department of my life:) and all of your yummy creations and "Nacks!" Seeing you whip around stirring and chopping and cleaning with Echo happily in a sling or on your back. I so want to be more like you in the nourishing foods area. We'll think of you both daily and miss your calm, happy presence. Love to you sweet girls. Thanks for making our home a better place while you were in it. Jen
Posted by Jenny at 9:37 PM 4 comments:
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Hard at play (which is, of course, their work).
Posted by Jenny at 2:55 PM 5 comments:
Friday, October 24, 2008
Every time, it makes my heart melt.
Posted by Jenny at 8:44 PM 8 comments:
Thursday, October 23, 2008
We had a beautiful morning at the farm today. The babies all wore cute overalls but, alas, Amelia fell/ran into the duck pond and got all wet before we could get a picture:) Anne, did I thank you for saving her from going head first into the freezing water? Thanks friend for always having your eyes on my children too! Here are the pictures we did get before Mrs. Quack, quack, quack tried to go splash with her duck friends.
A hayride around the land. Sam's favorite part of our morning for sure. "Truck! Truck! Truck!" as he stared at the tractor pulling us around.
Echo loved the baby pigs. How could you not, really? They were almost as squishy and yummy as she is.
The ducks. Sam and Amelia adore them and apparently are not afraid of them AT ALL.
As you can imagine, there was much nieghing, quacking, meowing, and mooing from our little ones:) Though we had to make a hasty retreat due to Amelia's soaking wet clothes, it was a wonderful first visit to a farm and I look SO forward to going back.
There are so many things to catch you up on, but they'll have to wait. Our time with Tara and Echo is flying by way too quickly!! I am so loving their company. When Tara comes it seems as if she just belongs here...like she should always be coming up from the basement to walk to the park or to Whole Foods or to work in the kitchen together. One of my favorite companions of all time for sure.
Did I mention that Joelie is away? He was given the awesome opportunity to go here and grabbed the chance before work begins and time away during the week isn't possible. Can't wait to hear all that he learns!!!
Really must go. Hope you all are doing well, Jenny
Posted by Jenny at 12:12 PM 5 comments:
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Little moments...
We were in the kitchen, little Sammy and I. It had been a rough day for him. It has been a rough couple of weeks for him really. Lots of crying. Lots of tantrums. Lots of emotion. So, I've been trying to spend some alone time with him as much as possible. After all, he is my little one that has always needed more touch and time....sleeping with us through his first year, loving the sling....sometimes I forget this. His ways of showing his need for touch are more subtle these days. He'll just casually walk over and lean on you until you swoop him up into your lap. Or he'll fuss when someone else is in my lap and finally it'll dawn on me that he wants me all to himself sometimes. A twin doesn't often get mama all to themselves you know.
Anyhow, he and I were in the kitchen. He was on my back in the Beco carrier while I was making this yummy squash lasagna for friends who were coming over. As I stood at the counter peeling and stirring and feeling him playing with my hair and happily babbeling away, it was just one of those moments I wanted to tuck away. Tuck away to pull out and dwell on when the next rough patch comes. Just as I was thinking all of this, I felt his little lips kiss the back of my head. My heart just melted. How I need those little moments as much as he does. Little moments that make the emotionally draining times fade away.
Oh Sam, my little spirited boy.....I love you with all of my heart. I long to know how to love you better and it is ever the prayer of my heart these days that God will give me wisdom on how to train and guide and love you most effectively. As I continue to learn, little kisses on the back of my head, or happy babbeling in my ear or sitting contentedly snuggled in my arms are the little moments that remind me how precious this journey really is. Keep them coming, Sammers, keep them coming.
Posted by Jenny at 6:43 PM 5 comments:
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
It's a fun thing to do, to go to the zoo...
Here are Sam and Amelia with a very "ferocious" cat. It was a favorite for sure. And yes, Sam wore Echo's cape all day today. Amelia followed him around saying "moon.moon" :)
Love these girls...
She stood and stared at this Lion for a very long time...
Sammy loved the fox.
Longing for a ride...
One of my favorite things about the zoo is hearing the way parents talk to children while they're there. We are all so excited to see our children see the animals that they look at in books and sign about and talk about. It is a place of awe, of delight, of total amazement to their little eyes. To see mamas and dads and grandmas and grandpas talking so excitedly to their babes as they point at the owls and foxes and birds and monkeys--it just makes me happy. To see Sam walk up and down the width up the cage with the fox and Amelia meow at all of the cat type animals--that just makes me teary:)
Here's to Fall family fun, Jen
Posted by Jenny at 7:54 PM 3 comments:
Monday, October 13, 2008
I've been distracted.
The lack of posts have been due to a squishy, cuddly creature that has invaded our home and heart. She bears a striking resemblence to my cabbage patch doll and is just pure joy to be around. Oh Echo, how we love you so! Sam and Amelia give her kisses and think she is funny and fun as long as they aren't expected to share their toy or their mama! It is so much fun having she and Tara here with us.
Tara cooking up big pots of bean soup for dinner, oats and apples for breakfast. Long talks while the babies nap, walks to the park, crafting plans, backyard fun...
We'll try and keep you updated on our fun:) Jen
Posted by Jenny at 8:45 PM 4 comments:
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Amelia and I had some fun with the Mac photo booth while Sammy snoozed a bit late this afternoon. While I was going through the pics tonight I found this one when she was a chubby little babe, and the one of my mom and I during her last visit. Mamas and their girls. It made me sniff, sniff a little to think that in a blink of an eye that last picture will be Amelia and I.
Then, my little boy awoke and I was lucky enough to get some kisses from him as well:)
Love to you, Jen
Then, my little boy awoke and I was lucky enough to get some kisses from him as well:)
Love to you, Jen
Posted by Jenny at 8:22 PM 3 comments:
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Hello there moon.
Tonight Amelia "saw" the moon for the first time. She was up later than usual and we went outside to chat with Joel while he worked in the yard. The moon was shining bright and I said, "Amelia, look. That's the moon. " Well, that's all it took. She has a new love. I think she must have pointed at it and said "moo,moo" about 50 times. Even as I finally put her in bed she pulled her bottle out of her mouth and said one last, "Moo." And with that, all of the fussiness and frustration of the day faded away. All that will be remembered of this day is a fabulous family bike ride and Amelia saying hello to the moon. Here is a little taste of her newest vocabulary--the little bit that I have captured:
Posted by Jenny at 8:36 PM 8 comments:
Monday, October 06, 2008
Walking into Fall...
It felt like we walked right up to beautiful Autumn today and gave her a hug. I know she won't be around long enough, as evidenced by the snow topped mountains that were in the distance as we walked in the mountains. We will enjoy each day of the wonderful crisp air and changing leaves and drinking hot tea and wearing sweaters and flip flops. We will march into each day with arms open wide.
Click on this picture and get a close up at Vera looking at Sam. She thinks he's pretty great--even when he's throwing a fit:)
Posted by Jenny at 7:25 PM 6 comments:
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Although I have been concentrating on the suite of items on the Ripple theme, I do still want to try and make one piece based on the shape of the puffin's beak. I have previously shown some preliminary sketches. These sketches are my latest thoughts.
The shape still has a slight feel of the Starship Enterprise, but I think it is also puffin-like. Ideal for the sci-fi birdwatcher!
Wednesday, 28 May 2008
Puffin pendant design
Labels: Design process, Evening class
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subset: commoncrawl


text:
The invention of the name Greenland may mark the start of the advertising industry.
One story tells how Erik the Red, the Icelandic Viking who wanted to get people to join his planned settlement, called it Greenland because a pleasant name would attract more settlers.
The ice sheet on Greenland covers most of this huge island.
Each summer the ice surface melts in places, but the area where melt happens is increasing over time.
Greenland is losing ice, and the mass of ice lost is measured by satellites called Grace.
Updates about Greenland's ice sheet are regularly posted by the National Snow and Ice Data Center.


text:
These two are just perfect, like a prince and a princess.
The 2 of them are wise and mature beyond their years. They bring the best out in each other, Cal is wickedly funny and somewhat reserved. Katie is all personality, quick, clever and not to mention as darling as they come. They ARE the 8th grade couple. Met in Italy where they spent 10 days together (under the watchful eye of Tim and Katie's mom, Deanna)
Soon to be celebrating 1 year together
What a great week couple of weeks in the McGinty house.
My sweet beautiful intellegent Callahan graduated from Glenn Westlake Middle School last night. The ceremony was head at Glenbard East High School.
Tuesday was the 8th grade dance on the Spirit of Chicago downtown
My photo of them in their dancing clothes has been postponed due to weather and life.
I am hoping to shoot them today.
I could not be more pround of Callahan if I tried.
Forget being rediculouly smart (scored above average on the SAT's 4 years early)
He is kind, thoughtful and caring. Cal is the kid that will get up at a restaurant to go hold the door open for a senior citizen. He is very open with his emotions. I can glance at him and see him gently putting Katie's hair behind her ear.
Callahan can fix anything...ANYTHING! he took apart a car at age 12, fixed it, sand blasted it and repainted it. He has fix computers, garbage disposals, doors, cars, lawn mowers, bikes to name a few.
I was laying in bed the other night and heard powers tools in the garage. The next morning he said he was bored so he built a table. (he had friends over in the garage last weekend and felt bad that one of the fathers had to drop off a long table for them to sit at while hanging and listening to music)
My hope is that callahan has the most amazing summer before entering high school. He is spending a week overnight at the Illinois Math and Science Academy in Aurora where he is taking a summer Energy/physics camp. He will get a taste of dorm life as he has wanted to go to HS there since 3rd grade when he walked out of his 1st IMSA camp saying
"I love it, I am finally with kids that are just like me"
Older brother build character!
Look at my guys, Love them!
Missing my Karrick in this picture, he was off chatting with the graduated girls
Callahan has just an amazing group of friends, together and tight since 1st grade. These friend are one of the main reasons I didn't have Callahan moved up a grade early on
On the morning of the Dance, Gayle got all the boys and us moms together at 7:15 am for pictures. These are the pictures I shot
We have watched these boys grow and mature into fine young men. I cant belive they will all be starting freshman year together...they were just babies yesterday
330 kids graduated from GWMS
We are all so proud of Callahan, a kind, thoughtful and caring young man. You are the real deal and we love you to pieces
Callahan is destine make a difference in this world!
You are an original


text:
Sunday, September 27, 2015
Dear Anna Duggar
Look. I'm done with the shame that surrounds the women in these situations.
Enough with it. Enough with the shame.
I get together every month or so with some amazing, awesome, beautiful, funny, smart women. We also have an epic group text going. They've been through similar trauma to Anna Duggar and myself. It's bonded us together. It's definitely a cool group to hang with. But, trust us, you don't want to qualify for it.
Not so long ago, we discussed the shame we've felt. The fact that deep down, even if they don't want to admit it, a lot of people think that our husbands' infidelity and indiscretions were ultimately our fault. That somehow, we had some fault that drove them away. Or that behind closed doors we were impossible, horrible witches so really we left our husbands with no choice.
We've felt more shame than if we'd actually done something wrong.
We wonder what people think about us. At times, our insecurities have shot up like skyscrapers.
So, it's time to start talking. Silence creates more shame. Bringing it into the light makes the shame fall away.
I know this letter is sort of dorky. But really, underneath the make-up, skinny jeans and Frye boots, I'm still the same dorky girl with bad hair that I was in middle school. So bear with me. And, if you are in her shoes, I pray that some part of this might help you put the pieces back together.
Dear Anna,
I wish I could fly across the country to Arkansas and give you a giant hug. I wish I could come help you with your sweet kids and give you room to live, breathe and think. Four and a half years ago, I was you. Three babies instead of four - but like your sweet baby Meredith, my third was only four weeks old.
I wasn't in the public eye. I've never been on TV or been a celebrity. But, I have discovered infidelity, felt the shock and the intense trauma when the bottom fell out. I've cried out to God, sobbing in the middle of the night from emotional pain that hurt so badly, I could swear I felt my heart physically break. I literally wanted to die, and cried out to Jesus that He could come back any time. I was ready.
I've wondered why my formula hadn't worked. Why good theology, homeschool, church and praying didn't "work." I wanted to know why my obedience and my "perfect" lifestyle had utterly failed. I sunk into depression as I faced the devastation of betrayal and mentally combed through my life with a fine tooth comb to find an answer -- what I could have done better, where I must have failed, what I said or didn't say.
I so badly wanted to be able to take the blame, just so I could have the satisfaction of an answer. Or at least make some cognitive peace with a life that now seemed to be nothing more than an illusion. I was disoriented and was grasping at the air, in a free fall, trying to get my feet to land on solid ground. Like spinning on a tilt-a-whirl, desperate to be able to fix my brain in some concrete place. Life had become an intense roller coaster. Albeit, not one I had stepped onto voluntarily. Rather, a ride I woke up on one day. Strapped in by the safety bar and unable to get off.
Sweet Anna. None of this is your fault. Not even one tiny bit. Not a crumb. Not a millisecond of it. True, you are not perfect. You are a vile sinner. Yes, in your human condition, you deserve Hell.
But sister, you do not own one ounce of responsibility for your husband's sin, his deliberate choice to break your marriage covenant. And, don't tell me that if I only knew how awful you were, I would see the truth.
I don't care how witchy you might have been. I don't care how lacking your physical relationship may have been. I could watch footage of your entire life, every moment and every step and I would never be convinced that this is your fault - not in whole and not in part. Your husband's actions were his and his alone. There's a great God in Heaven who has watched it all, and He agrees!
Please, take care of yourself.
Yes, I believe in God's power to redeem and restore. I believe God is so big that He can restore your marriage.
I also know you are God's daughter - one He cares for deeply. And also a daughter who currently has a big, open wound. When I was back at the beginning, where you are now, I felt torn down to nothing. But, God rebuilt me. He will rebuild you.
You are Josh Duggar's wife. Maybe you are called to this marriage, homeschooling, and the Duggar life. But those things do not define YOU. God defines you. You are more than your marriage. You are more than a mom to four gorgeous kids. God cares about you. And you are His. And He cares most about you knowing Him and His love for you.
So please. Lean into Jesus and those around you who love you. Don't believe the lies that this is your fault, and that you could have stopped it if you'd been better.
You are a gem. Your life is not over. God has big plans for you, no matter what the outcome of this big, giant mess.
All my love,
Jocelyn (a slightly crazy girl in Oregon who always, secretly, really thought it sounded like fun to have 19 kids)
7 comments:
- Sarah Molloy said...
This is beautiful. You are so brave to put your test and trials out for everyone to see but as a result you will help others. You will be blessed 10 times over I'm sure of it. Keep up the good work. :)
- September 28, 2015 at 10:13 AM
- Heather Curtis said...
Beautiful Jocelyn.
- September 28, 2015 at 9:04 PM
- Deb Merrick said...
Well done His true and faithful servant, well done!
- September 28, 2015 at 10:15 PM
This is so beautiful! I love your vulnerability and your love for another woman going through what you have experienced. Doesn't God tell us that we are to show the same compassion to others that we have experienced from Him in our times of need? That's exactly what you are doing for her! I hope she reads it and finds great comfort and the love you sent it with! Love you, sweet friend!
- September 28, 2015 at 11:51 PM
- Ayme said...
I too would have loved a letter like this, full of beautiful reminders as we were going through the Nightmares of infidelity. Anna needs this asap!!! I was so blessed to be a part of a beautiful group of women who always pointed me back to Jesus. Although all our hearts were broken for similar reasons we emerged stronger and closer to God. Good can come out of yuck, there is hope, this is not the end of the story! My heart aches for her because add a mother of five you have to keep it together for them, all the while dying inside! Thank you Jocelyn!
- September 29, 2015 at 6:23 AM
- Peggy said...
I remember your discovery and praying diligently for your process...I too wish I had a letter that understood the depths that level of betrayal takes you but GOD!
I clung to Him! He saw me through, He gave me so many opportunities to reach others and 20 years later, still is.
Isolation is a killer. Good for you to post this 💜
- September 29, 2015 at 8:24 AM
- Krellos said...
So well said! When we are suffering in this kind of trial it feels so lonely ! I didn't have anyone. I'm so glad you reached out to her. Your words are filled with truth and wisdom. I also had to get to that place of believing that " I was enough"
I'm proud of you , God is honored by this and no doubt He will pour out even more healing rivers of His love into your heart. You boldly shared your heart and your story. I pray for her heart, must be so hard to walk it out publicly. God is a redeemed of our lives. So glad to see how well you are doing, your more than an overcomer in Christ Jesus ! Blessings friend�������� God is shining bright through you!
- October 2, 2015 at 8:53 PM


text: Return to Offices & Services Quick links for Tax Filing NRA FederalUS/RA FederalState TaxesExtensionPrevious YearAmendedCanadiansRA with TreatyRefund Social Security Tax Forms W-21098T1042S88431099MISC tax office taxoffice_banner.jpg Tax Office Filing Your Tax Return Will I get Taxed? Tax Forms Contact Us Contacts: IRS & Tax Preparers Visa Information Treaties, Forms, and Publications Internal Procedures Site Editor Log On Home » Offices & Services » Business Affairs » Tax Office » Vouchers Check below for the required forms and procedures for receiving paymentsForeign NationalsNon-Resident Alien vs. Resident Alien for Tax PurposesSocial Security vs. Taxpayer Identification NumberVisa CategoriesTax ExemptionsU.S. Citizens & Green Card HoldersDocuments and IRS Forms needed to get PaidOther Types of Payments


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Status: Open
Know more about this business than we do? Cool! Please submit any corrections or missing details you may have.Help us make it right
Be the first MLive.com user to add photos or videos of Anything's Possible
Doreen the owner and only stylist is a very nice lady. I believe much of her business is from an older clientele so overall the place is not like many salons and super posh. If anything it is the…
Newly updated offering more services.comfortable setting friendly staff at reasonable prices.now doing manicures,pedicures and offering massage. this isn't just hair care its a full service salon.
+ value, comfort, location
- no signs
Anything's Possible is located at 34844 W Michigan Ave, Wayne, MI. This business specializes in Beauty Salons.
Anything's Possible is located at 34844 W Michigan Ave # 2 in Wayne and has been in the business of Beauty Shops since 1997.


text:
Boots Decongestant
Boots Decongestant may be available in the countries listed below.
UK matches:
- BOOTS DECONGESTANT TABLETS (Leaflet)
- BOOTS DECONGESTANT WITH PAIN RELIEF TABLETS (Leaflet)
Ingredient matches for Boots Decongestant
Pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (a derivative of Pseudoephedrine) is reported as an ingredient of Boots Decongestant in the following countries:
- United Kingdom
Important Notice: The Drugs.com international database is in BETA release. This means it is still under development and may contain inaccuracies. It is not intended as a substitute for the expertise and judgement of your physician, pharmacist or other healthcare professional. It should not be construed to indicate that the use of any medication in any country is safe, appropriate or effective for you. Consult with your healthcare professional before taking any medication.


text:
anything goes at Charisma Cardz
anything goes at QKR Stampede
black & white at Joanna Sheen
What a stunning creation Jo so elegant
jacqui x
Gorgeous card Jo love black and white so sophisticated, lovely layout and design.
Hugs Julie x
I LOve to see Black/White Jo and this is JUst
Gorgeous...FABulous layout..FABulous sentiment too.
LOve it.
Wow Jo! This is amazing, the black and white is really striking, great design! xxReplyDelete
Stunning in black and white, Jo! So rich and elegant. Love your paper choice, topped off by that wonderful ribbon.ReplyDelete
this is just beautiful Jo - and I love that sentiment xxReplyDelete
Totally stunning, what a wonderful sentiment also. xx FloraReplyDelete
so stunning and stylish jo.i love your mono design :D
xx coops xx
This is so beautiful Jo. it is so elegant and stylish
x catherine
Wonderful classy creation! Thank you for joining our Anything Goes challenge at Charisma Cardz.
xx Vee
simply stylish and elegant and gorgeous
Hugs Kate xx
Beautiful mono card Jo...just soooo perfect!ReplyDelete
This is gorgeous Jo. I love the elegant design and beautiful sentiment.
Thank you for taking part in the Joanna Sheen Challenge too.
Hugs Sue
Hi Jo - this is a stunner! Love your DP and the elegant layout. Helen xReplyDelete
Gorgeous card Jo, love how you framed Lexi's sentiment. The DP and the gingham ribbon are wonderful. Super take on the theme!
Stunning in black and white. Thanks fo joining us at Tuesday Throwdown for this challenge.
Margaret, DT
This is gorgeous Jo, black and white has to be my all time favourite I think, it always looks so elegant and classy! xReplyDelete
Fabulous card - I love the sentiment and I always like black and white xxReplyDelete
love B&W!!!
thank you so much for joining us at Charisma!
Hello Jo,
fantastic card! Thank you so much for sharing with us at Charisma Cardz Challenge and good luck!
Such an elegant monochrome design. Love the details with the bow and bling too. Thanks for playing at QKR Stampede and good luck. Hope to see you back friday for a new challenge. Bettina xxReplyDelete
Gorgeous! Love the black and white!! So elegant! Thanks for playing with us this week at QKR Stampede!! We really hope to see you again really soon!
Many Blessings,
Tina QKR DT
Such an elegant and stylish card
Julie x GDT
Stunning card. You are doing such a fab job of using your stash! Good for you girl!!!
This card is just so eye catching...the black and white really is stunning!


text:
Wednesday, February 15, 2017
Wednesday, February 08, 2017
What is this thing? To be interested? Nothing else matters much.
But next year I have been teaching comics for 20 yrs. Heard some stories and seen them made into comics. And it's magic.
But next year I have been teaching comics for 20 yrs. Heard some stories and seen them made into comics. And it's magic.
Lähettänyt Matti Hagelberg klo 21:28 No comments:
Beginning and end
Lähettänyt Matti Hagelberg klo 10:31 No comments:
Sunday, February 05, 2017
The leftover
Lähettänyt Matti Hagelberg klo 14:12 No comments:
Wednesday, February 01, 2017
Trained monkey
I was interviewed for the television a week back. The day was a bad one and I had been struggling with this one panel. Idea was that I would draw for the camera like the trained monkey I am, but things got a bit more interesting when I had to cut away the upper part of the panel. I was pretty sure I would have to re-draw the whole thing but the next day I managed to salvage the panel. I will later share the link of the actual process, but this is the final panel from page 6 of issue 35. You might notice the places I have cut along.
Lähettänyt Matti Hagelberg klo 13:52 No comments:
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text:
David Suissa
May 15, 2012
Judaism in two minutes
Can you "sell" Judaism in a few minutes? This question came up in a piece in The Forward by Leonard Fein, who was commenting on a recent debate in New York City between Daniel Gordis and Peter Beinart. In the debate, as Fein quotes, they were asked this question: "Both of you have written about the tragedy of young American Jews who have no connection to Judaism and the fate of the Jewish state. So let's say you were stuck in an elevator with one of the people from that demographic, and you had two minutes to sell them about why they should re-engage with Jewishness and Zionism and the Jewish people. What would you say?"
Gordis responded: "I wouldn't engage in that conversation. When in the Gemarrah, the ger [stranger, heathen] comes to Hillel and Shamai and asks them to teach him the whole Torah while standing on one foot, Shamai throws him out; the question itself is an outrageously obnoxious question. It's dismissive. I wouldn't take two minutes while standing in an elevator to try to explain everything that makes my world meaningful or to try to convince somebody to be a moral human being, and I wouldn't take two minutes in an elevator to try to convince another person why a life spent loving another person is a life that, although more complicated, is infinitely worthwhile. And I wouldn't try to convince a person why a life spent being a patriot is a noble thing. There are certain conversations that don't deserve two minutes; they deserve years of upbringing. I think we've gotten too used to the idea that important things can be summarized on the screen of an iPhone or a BlackBerry…"
Beinart then said: "On questions of Israeli policy and how we should respond to them, Daniel and I have very substantial disagreements. But when he gives answers like that, though I could not have stated it so eloquently, I could not more profoundly agree with what he said. I think he's entirely right: It's too late at that point, and the kids who ask that question have in fact been failed by our community, which says today to most American Jewish parents, 'The most important thing you can do is to raise children with knowledge of, joy in and fascination with Judaism — but, by the way, if you're interested in the possibility of a full-time Jewish school, you're going to have to take a secondmortgage on your house and the school's not likely to have a gym and we don't even know whether it's going to be around in three years. Go for it!' That's precisely why we end up with kids who would ask such an insulting question in the elevator."
Are Gordis and Beinart being too dismissive? Fein thinks so, and I very much agree with him. The sad state of Jewish education today is even more reason why Judaism can't afford to be too dismissive or pessimistic. As Fein says, our approach should be that it's never too late to try to light a Jewish spark.
I have a little story that connects with this idea.
A few years ago, I was confronted by a young Jewish copywriter in an ad agency who knew about my Jewish activities but who himself was totally disconnected from Judaism. He challenged me to explain why he should bother with a tradition that held little interest for him.
Instead of a sales pitch, I started with a few questions:
"Do you love your grandparents?" I asked.
"Yes, of course," he replied.
"If you could meet your great-great-great grandparents, would you love them as much?"
"Yes, absolutely," he said.
"Now, let's go further back. If you could meet your great-great-great-great-great-great-grandparents, would you still love them as much?
"Yes, I still would. Why?"
"Well, close your eyes and imagine if all these grandparents whom you love were standing in a long line holding hands. Imagine that this line would stretch all the way back to the destruction of the Second Temple. Consider that for almost 2,000 years, this great line of grandparents, no matter where they lived or how much they suffered, held on tightly to their Jewish tradition. And every time they opened a prayer book or celebrated a bris, wedding or Passover seder, they expressed their deep yearning to return home to Zion and Jerusalem.
"Now open your eyes. You, my friend, are privileged to live in the generation that can get what your ancestors prayed and died for; you can see and touch the miracle of Zion they yearned for during all those centuries; you can be free to be Jewish without any fear or embarrassment.
"Imagine that this long chain of grandparents are all looking at you, hoping and praying that you will take your place in the chain. What will you do? Will you stay in the chain, or will you be the one to break it off after 2,000 years?"
I could see from his face that my words lit a spark. I don't know if he ended up connecting to his Jewish tradition, but I do know this: It took me less than two minutes to connect him to 2,000 years — and it was worth every second.A version of this article appeared in print.


text:
Is there a chance that SABMiller and Molson Coors might come together under some type of alliance?
The idea was floated recently by SABMiller Americas President Norman Adami in a recent interview with Thomson Financial. He told the news service that if Molson Coors "should make themselves available" then SABMiller would look closely at a deal. While stopping short of commenting on a specific deal, Adami praised Molson Coors product portfolio and management.
It is not the first time that a marriage between Coors and Miller has been discussed as an option for doing battle with Anheuser-Busch. That speculation halted in recent years when Coors joined forces with Canada's Molson and Miller became part of the South African Breweries global push.


text:
Born Wild
Julie Ann Walker
Black Knights Inc. #5
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
Publication date: 5th November 2013
I'm a big fan of this series, what's not to love about badass alpha male commando's who love bikes? Thankfully after the little blip of the previous book Thrill Ride Julie Ann Walker has got the series back on track again with Born Wild.
Eve Edens after 3 botched attempts on her life goes to William "Wild Bill" Reichert who also happens to be her best friend Becky's brother for help. The police and even her other father don't believe she's in danger only her cousin Jeremy seems to have her back demanding that the police department reopen her case. Eve and Bill however have history when means tonnes of unresolved tension on both sides. Twelve years ago when Bill left for his Navy Seal training Eve's manipulate and over bearing father manoeuvred and coerced Eve into dating and then marrying what he considered to be a much more suitable man than Bill.
Fast forward twelve years, Bill still feels betrayed by Eve although he has never really got over her and now she's at his doorstep needing his help. Bill being the slightly conflicted but ultimate protective good guy does everything he can to protect Eve and uncover who exactly is threatening her life.
I started off disliking Eve a fair bit she's portrayed as previously being a spoilt daddy's girl who did what she was told in her younger days, leading a fairly sheltered life she came across as being a little bit timid but Eve has really grown up and is actively trying to take control of her life despite the fact that her life is under threat and evidence shows that the threat may actually be from a person very close to her. Bill is exactly the kind of hero that I expect from this series all badass commando with a heart of gold who's main weakness if the woman he loves. It may be formulaic but I still love reading it! Eve isn't the normal kind of feisty heroine I expect and that's why I ended up really liking her. It's her love for her father that has allowed him to manipulate her for years and as a result of his manoeuvring Eve feels incredibly guilty about how she treated Bill.
I have to say the whodunit mystery kept me guessing, I made my mind up early who the culprit was and got it completely wrong so bonus points there! Bill and Eve dance around each other for a fair amount of time there's no instant forgiveness and again it made me appreciate both characters even more.
Mystery, badass Navy Seals, bikes and romance all made for another great addition to the Black Knights Inc. series. Well worth a read.
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Hell on Wheels
In Rides Trouble
Rev It Up
Thrill Ride


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Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Workshop Issues: The Cost of Realism as Truest Art (A Pro-Zombie Riff?)
I love the intro to the Surreal South's call for submissions:
"Step into, say, 90% of university writing workshops, and you'll find the students interested in writing outside the lines slumped in their seats, looking like they've been pelted with rocks. For many decades now, realism has been the order of the day for those teaching serious fiction. Disappointing, isn't it? Our children are drawn to the fantastic, and naturally blend it with their own daily reality. So we immerse them in games and literature that excite their imagination... until it's time to write. Then we toss a big, fat brick of realism at them and wonder why their prose has all the sparkle of desiccated mouse turds."
This was likely written by the editors of Surreal South -- Pinckney and Laura Benedict who have been editing this anthology for a number of years with stories by Daniel Woodrell, Joyce Carol Oates, Robert Olen Butler, and a ton of new, emerging talent.
I don't blame the desiccated mouse turdish prose on realism, but, in my workshop, the goal is art. However you get there is up to you. When I tell them this, they test me. (It's not usually their first time on the workshop merry-go-round.)
"Can we write about aliens?"
"If it aspires to be art, yes."
Can we write about zombies?"
"If it aspires to be art, yes."
"Can we write a story set in the subconscious?"
"If it aspires to be art, yes."
One of the most literary and heartbreaking love stories that ever came out in a workshop of mine was an alien-human romance. The most gorgeous description of a stark rural winter and the inherent lonesomeness came from a zombie story. The most inventive story I've read from a workshop was set in the imagination -- llike the best scenes from Inception pre-Inception.
About twenty years ago after undergrad, I was teaching English as a Second Language to Spanish pilots with Berlitz, living at home in Delaware, failing some psych courses that I was taking just to rule out psych , and Fred Chappell came to give a reading at the University in this little basement where I'd seen a lot of bad theater throughout my childhood. He read a story about an idea -- I believe it was an idea -- that settled in and blocked a country road. I decided that I wanted to study with him. I applied to UNC-Greensboro where he taught, sent him a personal letter that I was applying because of him, and he wrote me back and eventually I got in. I wrote whatever the hell I wanted while there, and it was a mix -- sometimes realism, sometimes absurdism, sometimes a mix. The stories that I wrote those two years exist -- essentially -- in the novels I've published since.
Before my second year, there was a rumor that one of the new MFA students had traveled around the world because she'd won a contest. She'd answered the question: Why do you want to travel around the world? With this: Because you can't travel through it. (I'm paraphrasing.) She won. This was none other than Kelly Link, the author of some of the wildest and most wonderful magic realism going (or fabulism or sci-fi or horror or slipstream or absurdism ... whatever -ism you prefer to call what Link does). She also cofounded Small Beer Press. We were allowed to aspire to art -- whatever way we wanted to get there.
Then I went on to hunker in to realism, which, I suppose, I thought the publishing industry wanted. And it did. The publishing industry actually starved the adult audiences of fabulism (sci-fi lived in the ghetto of sci-fi) and it created a hole. Harry Potter arrived. It rushed to fill that vacant hole -- the adult appetite was proven. And fantasy element came back into the adult publishing world, allowing for successes like The Time Traveler's Wife and, eventually, vampires, zombies, paranormal ...
And not all of these books aspire to art, but some -- regardless of subject -- do and beautifully so.
Now, every workshop teacher has his/her own methodology. I don't want to mess with it. In fact, I think that limitations and rules are delights to the imagination, and what more can a writer ask for than to have something to buck against?
For me, personally, I don't believe that all writers are readers moved to emulate (referring to Saul Bellow's quote); I believe that storytelling is instinctive and, wiped clean of the history of literature, people would build a fire and tell stories around it. I've let go of the snobby shackles of subject matter, if I ever did believe in them, which I probably have. I hold onto that aspiration of art and I let 'em write towards it -- in any form that takes.
Posted by Julianna Baggott at 7:47 PM


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Aric Almirola Wins Pole for Coca-Cola 600
Driving the iconic No. 43, Aric Almirola earned his first career pole in his debut NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at Charlotte Motor Speedway by outpacing teammate Marcos Ambrose Thursday during LiftMaster Pole Night for a Richard Petty Motorsports front row sweep.
Almirola won the pole for Sunday's Coca-Cola 600 by turning a lap of 192.940 mph around the 1.5-mile superspeedway. Ambrose, who topped the practice chart earlier in the day, filled out the front row with a lap of 191.598 mph.
"My first lap on track today, I ran kind of conservative, and we had a lot of speed in the car," Almirola said. "In Victory Lane, (team owner) Richard (Petty) asked, 'Well, did you scare yourself?' and the answer was 'no.' When they drive well, it's not scary. I knew it was fast, but I didn't know it was gonna be that fast. We're looking forward to Sunday."
Ambrose was forced to second-guess his lap after losing the pole to his teammate.
"You could always want more," Ambrose said. "But I was happy with my lap, it just wasn't quite enough to catch my teammate."
Perhaps the happiest guy in the joint was Petty, who walked into the media center with a little more swagger, announcing his arrival by drawling, "Hey, y'all." He then commandeered the post-qualifying interview, and as Almirola tried to protest, The King responded with a chuckling jab: "It's my turn – we've just got you along for the ride."
"These guys have been working hard for a long time," Petty said. "We finally got a little recognition tonight with both cars. Big deal, we got bragging rights for a couple of days here anyway."
Jimmie Johnson, winner of last weekend's NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, will start third.
RICHARD PETTY (Team owner, No. 43 US Air Force Ford) – "This really makes me feel good, that hey, our guys been working hard a long time and finally got some recognition. Tonight the circumstances are right, had everything lined up. It's a confidence-builder. They thought they were getting the job done, tonight they did. Hey, it makes me feel good. These guys have been working hard for a long time. We finally got a little recognition tonight with both cars. Big deal,
we got bragging rights, for a couple of days here anyway. (It's been 13 years since the 43 was last in Victory Lane) I've been here a lot of years, and they all run together. In that standpoint, it feels like last week."
ARIC ALMIROLA (POLE SITTER, No. 43 US Air Force Ford) – "My first lap on track today, I ran kind of conservative, and we had a lot of speed in the car. In Victory Lane, Richard asked, 'Well, did you scare yourself?' and the answer was 'no.' When they drive well, it's not scary. I knew it was fast, but I didn't know it was gonna be that fast. We're looking forward to Sunday. We get a whole day to soak this in. It's been a huge honor for me from day one to come to this organization. I'm driving the 43 car, probably the most iconic car in the history of the sport. It's a huge honor I know it's only qualifying, but that's a start. (Is this a surprise?) I think it's been possible. We showed speed, it's just about executing. Our competition is so tough, that if you don't execute all the small things, they'll come up and bite you."
MIKE FORD (Crew chief, No. 43 US Air Force Ford) – "You know, I've got a short time working with these cars, but I came in for a couple weeks and observed, and these cars have speed. Took me a couple weeks to figure out how to tune them, and for the Open, we kind of embarrassed ourselves in running seventh... It's a testament to these guys. They've been beat down… these guys just executed the plan we put out, and it's time to look forward to Sunday."
SAMMY JOHNS (Director of Operations, No. 43 US Air Force Ford) – "Not only did we win the pole, we got the front row. So we're bragging real hard. It just feels like our organization is really communicating real well. I think that showed tonight. It's going to be real fun come Sunday."
MARCOS AMBROSE (Second fastest, No. 9 DeWalt Ford) – "What a great day for Richard Petty and Richard Petty Motorsports. We're a two-car team trying to take on the super teams. Congratulations to Aric on a great lap. My DeWalt car was really hooked up. Wish we'd won the pole, but happy to be on the front row. Great day for us. (Did you get everything out of the lap?) You could always want more. But I was happy with my lap, just wasn't quite enough to catch my teammate. (Mike Ford addition) Absolutely no doubt our team continues to try to become better. I wouldn't attribute the pole to him entirely, but we are a team always evolving and searching for our performance, and he's a part of that. (What does it mean to do this for Richard Petty?) Nothing would make me happier than to see The King smile in Victory Lane. I'm proud to represent him and to run well for him. He should feel good about what we did today. He is still steering the ship for us. He is the greatest racer ever. (Neither Almirola nor Ambrose had a pole before) He pretty much took my first pole away from me. I'm joking, I'm really proud of him. He got his out of the way, I'm still looking for mine."


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Hey peeps as promised I am back with another Dreadfleet post, not much of a 40k blog right now but the break from painting Space Marines was much needed in order to recharge my batteries before returning to my Space Wolves.
Anywho on to the Black Kraken which took almost no time to complete due to it not really having many colours and mostly being black with Balthasar Gold and Leadbelcher details washed using a shade mix of Agrax Eathshade and Nuln Oil, I added some green to the eye like portholes at the front to jazz things up a bit and then gave them a coat of gloss varnish.
The base was first painted in Macragge Blue, then I dry brushed in Altdorf Guard Blue followed by Calgar Blue and finally a very light drybrushing of White Scar. The whole base was now washed in a shade mix of equal parts Nuln Oil, Drakenhof Nightshade and Biel-Tan Green and then given a coat of gloss varnish once it was all dry.
Its a great looking ship which will look amazing on the seascape and I'm sure it will bring the pain in our next game.
Why not take a look at the other ships I have painted
So what's up next? I have almost finished the Curse of Zandri and I see the whether might be set to improve next week so with more natural light around I should be able to get my Space Marine army on parade pictures done and posted.
Bye for now


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Sunday, 7 May 2017
Retro Girl
As soon as I saw this image, I knew I wanted to combine it with a retro look paper. Fortunately, I had one in my stash.!
I would like to enter my card into these challenges:
Lemon Shortbread - Anything Goes
CHNC Patterned Paper - May Challenge
PINspirational Challenge - Photo Inspiration - Girl
I have used a retro paper from a paper pad by Provocraft. The image is from Lemon Shortbread and has been coloured with copic markers. Matting is red cardstock. I also added some dome button stickers.
Labels: Lemon Shortbread
3 comments:
Super cute!!! Thank you for joining us at PINspirational, good luck!!! Amy DTReplyDelete
A beautiful card, love the design – thanks for joining in the Lemon Shortbread Blog Challenge – Sarah DT – http://magentasnowflake.blogspot.co.ukReplyDelete
Sweet card!!! Thanks so much for participating in our {PIN}SPIRATIONAL challenge. Hope you participate in our next challenge!! Have a happy crafty day!!!ReplyDelete
Deanne at A Little Bit O' Paper
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Scottish voting intentions for the May 2015 UK general election (Panelbase) :
Labour 27% (-2)
Conservatives 16% (+2)
Liberal Democrats 4% (n/c)
Greens 2% (n/c)
This is the fifth Panelbase poll since the independence referendum, but the first and third used weird methodologies, which probably led to the SNP lead being understated. So, assuming there hasn't been any more methodological changes, tonight's result can be most meaningfully compared to the second and fourth polls, which produced SNP leads of 17 and 16 points respectively. In theory, the big leap to a 21 point gap could just be an extreme example of margin of error "noise", but it almost certainly isn't, because it replicates what we've seen from TNS and YouGov, both of whom also recently reported the SNP lead jumping to record-breaking levels.
And this isn't merely corroboration of the trend shown by other firms. Because the fieldwork dates for tonight's poll are more recent, it also provides us with our first indication that the additional surge for the SNP hasn't gone into reverse over recent days.
Respondents were asked whether they favoured Full Fiscal Autonomy, and by an impressive margin of 53% to 33%, they said they did. This should not be remotely surprising, given that previous polls have consistently shown that voters want Devo Max - which entails Full Fiscal Autonomy and a lot more besides. However, Labour and other unionist parties have bet the ranch on the idea that people will be more scared by the sound of Full Fiscal Autonomy than they are by the sound of Devo Max. It appears that hope is largely without foundation.
My guess is that Labour will always find it a lot harder than they think to frighten people about self-government within the UK, no matter how radical the proposal being made is. After all, the anti-independence campaign repeatedly told us that they were offering "Devo SUPER Max", "near-federalism", "Home Rule" - and if they of all people claimed to be comfortable (and enthusiastic) about such a big transfer of power, why would anyone else be terrified by the prospect only a few short months later?
The independence question was also asked -
Should Scotland be an independent country?
Yes 49% (-2)
No 51% (+2)
There hasn't been a consistent trend in favour of either Yes or No across the polling industry in recent times - some polls have shown Yes up a bit, and others have shown No up a bit, which probably means that sampling variation is disguising a largely unchanged position. However, all of the polling firms with the exception of ICM are in agreement that the Yes vote increased by several points after the referendum, and hasn't slipped back to any significant degree since. We know that the swing to Yes is real and not an illusion caused by methodology, because the results are now being weighted by recalled referendum vote.
All firms apart from ICM also agree that the race is now a 'statistical tie' - ie. because of the standard 3% margin of error, it's impossible to tell whether Yes or No are in the lead.
Rolfe mentioned on the previous thread that she had been approached at a street stall by someone who said they work for a polling company, and who claimed that a poll showing a further increase in the SNP lead was being sat on until the start of the week. If that's true, I don't see how it can be the Panelbase poll, because that was commissioned by the Sunday Times, and has therefore been released at exactly the moment you'd expect. Maybe it's the overdue monthly Survation poll for the Record? (Mind you, it's Ipsos-Mori that have their call centre in Edinburgh, so it could just as easily be the quarterly "I'm John MacKay" poll.)
* * *
As part of an epic journey to the theatre in Edinburgh (it was Birdsong at the King's, since you didn't ask), I somehow found myself at the Hope Over Fear rally in Glasgow by complete accident. I stayed for about five minutes and heard a little of Tommy Sheridan's speech, before I had to rush off and catch my train. Here are some pictures...


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I've heard celebrities say it. With so much money at their disposal, some step back and think: "There must be more that I can do with all this money than to spend it on myself."
"I have enough shoes," one celebrity said in an interview once. They had looked down at their hands and had seen their cup overflowing. They knew they needed to loosen their grasp and give.
Many of us can't relate though because we aren't millionaires... Or can we??
I've yet to read in the Bible that God calls only the rich to give. He doesn't just look at the millionaires to be a vessel for his riches to flow through.
I think what trips some people up is that they don't think what they are giving will make much impact. How can their small donation even make a difference? They reason themselves right out of the whole idea.
If this is the case, it might be time to take another look at that little boy who gave his lunch. He didn't have much, but what he had, he offered. His heart was in the right place and Jesus honored it and multiplied it to feed many. (John 6:5-15)
And, remember, giving goes beyond money. Maybe you have a talent, a service. Maybe you have a slew of spiritual gifts God has imparted to you. Do you think that He has made you rich with these things just for your own delight? God overflows cups not so that we can be satisfied and then build reservoirs to hold its overflow in for ourselves. His eye is always on feeding His Sheep.
You may not see yourself as a millionaire, but God does. Will you let Him feed His people through you?


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Yeh Hai Mohabbatein's Mihir and Mihika's love story is going through a rough patch and the circumstances are making Mihir fall out of love with Mihika after the incident with Ashok. Raman (Karan Patel) and Ishita (Divyanka Tripathi) are unaware of the seriousness of the issue.
After the disturbing incident where Mihika was presented to have had an affair with Ashok in his honeymoon suit, everyone including Mihika and Mihir are know that it was all Ashok's plan to escape marrying Shagun and that he has not even touched Mihika during the entire scenario. But both of them are unable to forget the horrific incident and move on with their life unless it is proven to the entire world.
Mihir would be seen loosing his cool and hurting Sooraj recently for talking ill about Mihika. He would later confess to Raman that he is unable to control himself and his thoughts as they are going back to the time when he saw Mihika on bed in the honeymoon suit. Though Raman advices him to get over it for Mihika's sake, he would not be able to forget what happened with Mihika that is shadowing his love for her.
Does this mean he is falling out of love with Mihika? Will he decide that he cannot get over it and leave Mihika forever? Or will he manage to solve the issue and prove Mihika's innocence? Let's wait and watch Yeh Hai Mohabbatein to know more.


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We were first given a look at Plana's extensive dramatic and comedic acting resume via a short video press kit. Plana's award-winning career as an actor, writer, director and producer spans 30 years of work in theatre, film and television including productions on Showtime, Nickelodeon, Warner Brothers, Fox, NBC and ABC, and over 70 feature films, Broadway and regional shows.
However, most notable and featured on the video is Plana's dedicated work to the East L.A. Classic Theatre, a company he co-founded and serves as the executive artistic director. In the past decade his company, which performs bilingual productions of modernized classics, has served the L.A. Latino community via literacy and educational outreach programs for youth in school and after-school. In addition, the theatre provides an opportunity for local professional actors to become directly involved with the community through exciting new adaptations of well-known plays.
Plana emphasized the importance of theatre and theatre education in his own career. Having graduated magna cum laude from the Literature and Theatre Arts Honors Program at Loyola Marymount University, he went on to train at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, popularly regarded as one of the most exceptional drama schools in the world. He shared a story about his theatre acting training coming in handy when competing against "real people" for his first Broadway role, and how his first starring role in a play helped land him an agent. For some, this story is very relevant to the challenges non-theatre based actors still face today in being cast and finding representation and clearly, for Tony Plana, his formidable training has served as a valuable career asset in theatre, and film and television.
He also shared his experiences from his award-nominating work on two history making television series where he played the role of a single father to Latino families wrestling with contemporary American issues including race, class, parenthood, gender and personal identity. His unique perspective on crafting incredibly dimensional characters such as Roberto Santiago on HBO's "Resurrection Boulevard" and Ignacio Suárez on ABC's "Ugly Betty" was an inspiring commentary on why Latino actors must continue to meet the challenge of exploring outside the world of stereotypes predominately represented in today's television programming. Notable for its groundbreaking production, "Resurrection Boulevard" is U.S. television's first one-hour drama produced, written, directed by and starring Latinos, and is the most awarded series in Showtime's history. "Ugly Betty" is currently the longest running and highest rating Latino cast sitcom earning over 70 nominations, and numerous Golden Globes, SAG, Peabody, Golden Satellite, Alma, and Primetime Emmy Awards.
"What was the best advice an actor ever gave you about the business?" asked Mario Bósquez in a final question. He replied, "The best advice is the one I gave to myself. Take each audition one at a time, and each day one at a time!"
Intelligent, thoughtful, charming, and witty personalities, both Tony Plana and Mario Bósquez should be thanked for celebrating with us a very special conversation about who we are, where we've come from and where we must grow in the world of arts and entertainment in order to continue to truthfully represent the diverse and extraordinary contribution of the global Hispanic and Latino community.
...Mauricio Alexander
Mauricio Alexander is a proud member of HOLA, the Screen Actors Guild and Actors Equity Association. He has been featured in and is a regular series stand-in on ABC's "Ugly Betty" Seasons 3 and 4. Photo credits: A Ruiz Photography. More photos can be seen on HOLA's Facebook page.


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So this week has been as fast as any of the other weeks in our house.
I'm officially dealing with a picky eater. It doesn't really bother me because I am also a very picky eater...it just makes meal times much, much longer (and messier, as he likes to spit and fling food at me). Right now he likes cheese, fruit, and oatmeal. That's it. I force feed him one food each day that he doesn't like because I'm a mean mom like that. It's how I roll.
Don't let this happy face fool you, he didn't manage to get any 'sketti in his sweet little mouth.
One night, the residency wives organized a recipe swap centered around soups. I made chicken and gnocchi soup, which tasted JUST like Olive Garden's soup. It was delicioso. Here's the recipe in case you want to give it a try. It makes enough for about 6-8 hearty bowls of soup.
3 -4 chicken breasts, cooked and diced
4 cups chicken stock
2 cups half-and-half
1 stalk celery, diced
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 carrot, shredded
1/2 onion, diced
1 cup fresh spinach, chopped
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon thyme
salt and pepper
16 ounces potato gnocchi
1 tablespoon cornstarch (optional)
Saute the onion, celery, garlic, carrot in oil over medium heat until onion is translucent.
Add chicken, chicken stock, half and half, salt and pepper, thyme. Heat to boiling, then add gnocchi. Gently boil for 4 minutes, then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.
Add spinach and cook for another 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.
(Heat to boiling and add cornstarch dissolved in 1-2 Tbsp water at this point if you want a thicker soup.).
Ladle into bowls and serve!
We saw the McDowell's for the first time since their wedding! Amanda made a mexican meal shared with us and the Mays.
We had yet ANOTHER bout of illness strike...thankfully only Michael got sick, so atleast someone was well enough to take care of him. The poor guy slept for a solid 24 hours.
We went to Hobby Lobby...Darn pinterest has me making lists of crafts that I know I just "need" to complete. So far, we did a Halloween project with Noah's footprints which was inspired by this:
Turns out it IS possible to get a 9 month old to cooperate when using paint and appendages.
I also sewed a blanket and pillowcase for my mom's house. She wanted Noah to have a retro cowboy themed room when he goes for visits. I love this fabric!!! I used this and red minky fabric.
Noah has been looking extra cute for Bible study the past few weeks:
There's also lots of work being done around the house. 2 of my favorite men are working on their laptops. Like father, like son.
Today we went to a Mickey Mouse birthday party for a 1 and 2 year old. Fun was had by all except for my son. He loves being picked up by adults. He does NOT love other children. The noise frightens him into a tizzy. One verse of Rylee singing her ABCs and he was ready to go home. ::Sigh::
Oh and finallllllly Amy makes her blog debut. I had a coupon for free queso at the new Mexican place in town!
Anyways, sorry so random. Trying to play catch up as usual and not in the biggest mood to write tonight. In fact, blogging this actually makes me feel a little bit worse tonight. I post these pics that were just taken in the last week or so....and each week really seems like a blur. I get so sad that time is moving so fast. I try my best to relish in each moment, but sometimes lose track of that when we have appointments and meal times, projects and laundry... the list goes on and on. I just want it all to slow down. I pray tonight for it to just. slow. down.
Saturday, October 27, 2012
1 comment:
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- October 30, 2012 at 9:18 AM
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Scavenger: steel cabinet/storage unit (on rubber castors) for $400
It's not deja vu, Laura really has been here before with this same great steel cabinet and storage unit for sale. This time she's dropped the price by a third, and we think that $400 for a substantial custom made unit is quite fair. We're also sure that the pictures don't do the cabinet justice. -MM
Apartment Therapy Furniture Classifieds are open for your business in the NAV BAR. Post a particularly good thing, and we'll post you here on the front page...
- Stunning, Unique Redwood Table from California for $300
- Artist/Photographer Flat Files for $380
- Beautiful Hand Carved Wooden Console for $300
- LADDER BACK CHAIRS for $40
- SHABBY CHIC WOOD CONSOLE TABLE for $25
- Wassily Chairs -Pair for $900
- ANTIQUE OAK FILE CABINET for $225
- chaise lounge-must move this weekend for $80
- 2 "Ribbon Back" chairs for $100
- Silver Candlestick Holders for $40
- "LANE" VINTAGE CHEST/TRUNK for $275
- small shaker style table for $15
Thanks, Craig!


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Thursday, June 2, 2011
GMOs in Our Bodies
Seems I've been talking about food quite a bit lately. It's really not that unusual for me, a self-confessed "foodie". But I have not been talking about food in a good way. From high fructose corn syrup in a guest blog to the toxicity of sugar and antibiotics in meats discussed here, it seems there is much to talk about that isn't so easy to swallow (bad pun intended).
And so it continues. A new study conducted by researchers at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Sherbrooke Hospital Centre in Quebec reveals that insecticides built into genetically-modified foods (GMOs) are showing up in the bloodstreams of women, both pregnant and not pregnant, with some dire implications. As reported by HMN Sponsor E Magazine, "the study published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Reproductive Toxicology looked at the blood of 30 pregnant and 39 non-pregnant women and found that the toxins did indeed persist in their bloodstreams—and in the bloodstreams of their fetuses."
As we know from last month's HealthE Mama News, "according to the USDA, in 2009, 93% of soy, 93% of cotton, and 86% of corn grown in the U.S. were GMO. It is estimated that over 90% of canola grown is GMO . . . it is estimated that GMOs are now present in more than 80% of packaged products in the average U.S. or Canadian grocery store." With GMOs so pervasive, it's even more disconcerting to discover the longevity the insecticides associated with these crops have. As the first study to show "that pesticides associated with genetically modified foods continue to circulate in women's bloodstreams," we have no answers as to what impact these chemicals have on women or their children. But we can guess it won't be good.
Taking a long-term perspective with regard to our health can be a challenge. It's hard to resist today's treat for tomorrow's health. But when our children are involved, we often find the inspiration to begin the process. With so much uncertainty about the effects of GMOs on health, even a conservative, precautionary approach seems warranted. Learn more about GMOs and seek out labels such as Non-GMO Project verified when looking for healthier, safer options - for yourself and for the future.
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Finally I can log into my blog....
Its been a long while and strangely I feel like I've spent most of the time since my last post in bed!
Not to waffle on too much but all my plans of world domination came to a grinding halt!
It happened so quick with no warning and totally floored me, the transition from being super busy and active to hardly being able to get out of bed has been incredibly difficult and most annoying, but onwards and upwards as they say......
At Last........!
Finally I can log into my blog....
Posted by FairyAlchemy at 11:22
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Douchebag Alert: Golden Tate Ruins Awesome Touchdown with Childish Taunt (GIFs)
When they scheduled this week's Monday Night Football matchup, they thought it would be a hard-fought divisional game. Then Rams quarterback Sam Bradford tore his ACL, ending his season and the Rams', and suddenly everyone was anticipating a blowout. But that's okay, because blowouts can be fun to watch, too.
Only there was no blowout. The beleaguered Rams actually outplayed Russell Wilson and the Seahawks. They had more total yards (339 to an embarrassing 135), more passing yards (139 to 91), and, somehow, more rushing yards (200 to just 44). The only reason the Seahawks won the game 14-9 was because they were at least able to make one big play. With four minutes remaining in the third quarter, Wilson hit Golden Tate with a bomb down the left side for an 80-yard touchdown.
This was quite literally the only exciting thing that happened. And Tate made it even more exciting by being a huge douchebag.
What did he do? He taunted the Rams—specifically, Rodney McLeod—as he was running into the end zone.
Take a look:
I've never been one of those uptight guys who thinks any celebration beyond a high five should be banned. I like when guys do dances and dunk the football on the upright. But this isn't a celebration. It's a guy with one of the stupidest names in football playing for a team that was underperforming who somehow has the nerve to disrespect an opponent to his face.
Tate got a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct, but of course that was applied after the ensuing kickoff. And after the game he apologized for his behavior—but not to the Rams, just his own team.
"That was immature of me. Hurt my team. I've gotta stay composed. … Act like I've been there before," Tate admitted. "I gotta apologize to our special teams. I put them in an awkward situation, but more happy to get up and learn from it and move forward."
Meanwhile, Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said Tate's taunt "kind of washes away a fantastic football play," which it most certainly did.
In college football, if you celebrate a touchdown before you actually score, the whole play is negated.
Maybe the NFL should institute an anti-taunting rule like that. What do you think?


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The Moroccan forces of repression have brutally suppressed the demonstrators; arresting more than 30 people and wounding dozens, as for homes which were precisely under siege, according to a source from the Sahrawi Ministry of the occupied territories and Immigration.
According to a non-exhaustive assessment, the Moroccan forces of repression have arrested the Sahrawi citizens, Nguiya AL Hawass, Hayat Rgueibi (recently a victim of rape), Jamal Al Husseini, Snatu Sbai, Al Dagna Musawi and Dahbi Al Jamii, Zahra Al Mussawi, Zahra Rais, Lamat Zughmane and Afaf Mohamed Fadel.
Another demonstration took place in the occupied city of Smara, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara and the release, without further delay, of the Sahrawi political prisoners still languish in Moroccan prisons, some of them are in a critical states of health because of the hunger strike, notably in Boulemharez prison (Marrakech).
sexta-feira, 27 de março de 2009
More than 30 people arrested during peaceful demonstration in El Aaiun
Publicada por Blue Woman à(s) 2:15 da tarde
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In the fall of 1968, our black and white television set blew a tube. Remember black and white? Remember tubes? I guess we couldn't afford to have it repaired, so we waited two months for Oldest Brother to return from school so he could fix it. Two months without television - how in the world did we pass the time?
We played card games and a lot of Aggravation. This is not a board game that can be easily found anymore, but it's a lot of fun and if you can roll dice and count, you can play it. That game board saw a lot of action and not just then, either; I seem to remember playing a lot.
Fast forward to maybe ten years ago. Little Brother made an Aggravation board and gathered the necessary dice and marbles and the play resumed at family gatherings. We were vicious and mean and yielded no quarter and we always laughed like crazy.
This year, Oldest Brother made the board for Sweetie and me, and he found the dice and marbles. I was so touched - I think it is the nicest gift I've ever received from him. (Last year, Next Oldest Brother gave me a five foot tall steel palm tree that he made which indeed the is nicest thing he ever gave me.)
Sweetie doesn't have the attention span or interest in card games and I beat the pants off him at Trivial Pursuit, but we played two games last night and had a blast. Thank you, Oldest Brother!
This is what I've been spinning. An interesting blend, created on the drumcarder. The usual - wool, angora, silk.
This is what I've been reading. Sweetie's gift to me.
This is what I've been baking. The bunnies helped.


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Twelve Destin area pastors and city leaders embarked on a spiritual journey on the Gulf of Mexico's waters to end the oil spill crisis that is now threatening their shores.
They gathered aboard the Innkeeper for a trip out into the Gulf to pray that the gushing oil would stop and that any oil coming their way would dissipate, reports the Destin Log.
"As we were praying, two dolphins came to the front of our boat and escorted us for the next 30 to 45 minutes. We saw at least 10 dolphins encompassing the Innkeeper. We said the dolphins were the oceans 'angels' that were assigned as our escort. Oddly enough, once we stopped praying, the 'escorting dolphins' disappeared," Pastor David Butler of Faith Assembly Christian Church told The Log.
Pastor Paul Kummer of Grace Lutheran Church in Destin told The Log said they are waiting for "God to give creative wisdom to BP and authorities how to solve this and for God to heal the Gulf waters, so that the only oil on our beaches is suntan oil."
Photo: Special to The Log Prayer team: Pastors Tom Hamon, Christian International (from left), David Butler, Faith Assembly, and Paul Kummer, Grace Lutheran Church, were aboard the Innkeeper in the Gulf.


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Continuing the strand of interviews with thought leaders in Higher Education in the UK, this post contains the highlights from an interview I had earlier this month with Amber Thomas, who is Programme Manager, Digital Infrastructure at JISC.
Many thanks to Amber for her time and input into this research.
GW: This is a very open-ended interview, so let's start with any questions you want to ask me about the OER university (OERu) or my research project.
AT: Just one to start with – I'd like to know who the research project is funded by.
GW: It's a SCORE fellowship, which is coordinated by the Open University and funded by the Higher Education Funding Council for England.
AT: OK thanks. So you want to know my view on the OERu. I think my comments will be specific to the UK. We already have some collaboration within the sector, and I think that might distinguish us a bit from other countries. Partnerships like the White Rose Consortium (between the Universities of Leeds, Sheffield and York), and the Birmingham and Nottingham partnership show that people are willing to collaborate. But the big thing in our history of collaboration was the UK e-University. That was an attempt to coordinate a distance learning offer and it failed, so people's fingers have been burnt by that.
Another thing is that we have the Open University (OU), which does a brilliant job of meeting the needs of learners who are open to distance learning, so in terms of our own learners in the UK we have a solution. In terms of learners abroad, the big UK universities have all got campuses and are franchising out anyway, so the universities that are interested in international collaboration are already doing it. So I'm not sure what need the OERu meets in the UK.
GW: I'm interested in your mention of the e-university. Do you know why it failed?
AT: The focus was about some big players sharing infrastructure and brand for a UK public limited company offering distance learning. From what I remember, they focused on subjects like Business Studies. As to what went wrong, there are lots of different opinions. One is that it never found its business model. It wanted the big players, but the big players already had ways of attracting overseas students.
GW: It sounds as if the e-university was meeting a different need from the OERu? One was an income-generating project; the other is aiming at just covering costs.
AT: Yes. But I'm what wondering is: is there a difference between the audience that the OERu is targeting and the audience that it will get? I had a look at the QA&A document, "Five things you should know about the OERu". There's this scenario about Ibrahim Omawali. I completely understand the aspiration. But I think one of the things that we do know from the last 20 years of distance education is that keeping up the learners' momentum to study online is really hard. So if this is someone who is working, is he really going to have the time to study? And then it makes me wonder, well what kind of learning experience is that guy being offered? Is it appropriate to say that he's going to be learning? Because we could all perform for tests. But learning is a lot more than performing for tests. I suppose I do have a social theory of learning. And I think you can have social learning online too, but I'm not quite sure that the OERu does that. And I was having a look at the OERu volunteers as a support structure. I should say that in my time as a learner, I did A-levels as a 6th form learner, and I did A-levels in an FE college, on the same campus. After that I did an Adult Psychology course which I dropped; I did an Adult Education course at Warwick which I dropped. As a teenager I did some WEA courses, which was leisure learning with very committed experts, who were probably quite similar to the OERu volunteers, and they were great people, but that was not a structured learning experience which would have resulted in a solid qualification. I learnt, but it was a softer, more quality-oriented experiential learning. It wasn't what Ibrahim needs. And for Ibrahim it's pretty high stakes; he's in the construction industry and there's lives at stake. It's not so much a question about accreditation and so on, but a social responsibility question: is this the best way to support these learners?
I suppose the OERu will partly be a brokering thing. So, another question is: who will determine which curricula get focused on? If in Africa, it's the African health system that is pulling in the OERu to help them and they are leading, then that is good. But in project management terms, in time-cost-quality terms, the OERu is not moving the time, it's moving the cost, and so everyone's asking about the quality. In terms of the push of asking universities to join in, what's the chance of matchmaking what institutions want to share with the need?
One of the things that annoyed me about the OERu was this pressure to join. That's commissioning universities to join – saying we need specific stuff from you. That's moving away from the talk about OERs being voluntary at the institutional level if doing that makes sense to you. If it's about commissioning educational practices, I think it's OK but I think you can extrapolate out of normal OER models too far. They're sort of trading on the good will and momentum of OER under existing levels of release, and they're saying if you don't join in you're a bit selfish. It's the difference between sustainable development and commissioning.
GW: This pressure, where was it coming from?
AT: I saw a blog post saying "Where are the big players, and in particular, where is the OU?" That's pressure. But what is the effect on students of an unsatisfactory and frustrating educational experience? Because I think it's pretty unavoidable that that's what the OERu is going to be like. I understand why people have concerns about imperialism, because it feels good to give, but I want to know, does it feel good to get?
In the UK we've got quite a social system for HE, whereas in the US, the system is more stratified – there are some institutions that have a public mission and some that don't. You're battling your own demons! In phase one of the UK OER programme, some people participated as individuals, and one of the frustrations for individuals can be that they are not allowed to reach out enough beyond their institution. I sympathise with those people. It might feel to them like there's a revolution going on from the inside. But if you think of it in terms of power structures, they are small people in their institution. This sounds terrible, but through being involved in this bigger system, they are on the side of right, and they can put pressure on a big institution like the OU. It gives them a perceived power over other institutions that is not a true reflection of their own power within their institutions.
I suppose one interesting way to look at it is that there are innovators, early adopters, and mainstream people. Some projects are more of a sandbox thing, putting your toe in the water. They're actually quite low stakes. To the people involved, it feels like high stakes because they've got agreement from senior levels, but actually it's low stakes. We still need to see whether the JISC OER programmes are maintained in the future. It can feel quite transformative, but it's too easy… The senior people who agree to it as a tactic, as a low-effort way of achieving something, might go cold on it. And so that's on the supply side if you like, if you think of the OERu as a broker. But on the demand side, there's potential for it having the Hawthorne effect, or it might have a transformative effect, say in nursing in Africa. If they don't need these big, western universities helping them that's great. It can be transformative, for both sides. So, if the OERu builds capacity in Nigeria's health service for nurses, and then, with more workplace training, they find that they can do it themselves, would they then change their relationship to the OERu, or would they exit the OERu? Would it have played a positive role in brokering the relationship between the government health service and with universities in the region? That would be a success for the OERu in terms of its mission, but it would possibly eat away at the business model for the OERu providers. So I suppose that's a question for the OERu because it would possibly eat away at their business model.
GW: The OERu is just about cost recovery. There's no profit incentive.
AT: But managers are just as concerned about cost recovery as they are about profit. The time that is always explicitly costed in higher education is academics' time, but what about the technicians, the developers?
I think my other concern is the labour needed for learner support. It's that question again. I know it's good to give and voluntary support is great and important, but I'd imagine that the voluntary labour market is quite volatile, and that can become quite frustrating for the learner.
I do see that the OERu comes from a place of goodwill. I just think, what is the end game here? We don't have to be OERu to achieve all that.
[This post was updated on 6 June.]


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Player: Brian Kingman signed with the A's as undrafted free agent in 1975 after he graduated from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Featuring a good fastball and hard breaking curve ball he advanced through the A's system. By mid 1979 he was in the A's rotation and made 17 starts with an 8-7 record, and a 4.31 ERA in 112 innings.
Kingman's 1980 season would shape the rest of his life. He was the A's number five starter for what amounted to a .500 team (83-79) and although his rate stats were not terrible with a 3.83 ERA (98 ERA+) and 1.377 WHIP, he lost 20 games with just 8 wins. The A's scored more than three runs for him in just nine of his 30 starts and were shutout five times. Compare his stats to those of teammate Steve McCatty:
Kingman 3.83 211 1.377 8.9 0.9 3.5 4.9
McCatty 3.86 221 1.358 8.2 1.1 4.0 4.6
Kingman gave up a few more hits but was otherwise better than McCatty in the other rate stats. These look more like the numbers of a .500 pitcher and at 14-14 that's what McCatty was. The A's scored 5.04 runs per game for McCatty but screwed Kingman over by plating just 2.87. Kingman was the fall guy and lived with the 20 loss tag the rest of his career.
Kingman wasn't bad in '81 but he couldn't buy a win either. He was yanked from the rotation in August and finished the year 3-6 with a 3.98 ERA in 100 innings. He started the '82 season in the minors and was recalled in June. He wasn't fooling hitters much as their hits became more frequent and the strikeouts waned. If nothing else he was determined to earn a win, twice working into extra innings and facing more than 40 batters. He finished the year at 4-12 with a 4.48 ERA, bringing his career mark to 23-45.
He was sold to Boston in the offseason but cut in spring training. The Giants picked him up and he pitched poorly and appeared in just three games. He spent the rest of the year in the minors and retired from pro ball after the season.
Flipside: Those 10 complete games jump out and seem impressive until looking at the team stats and seeing that he was fifth on the team in complete games.
Oddball: Starting in 2000, Kingman would travel to a pitcher's game if he was on the verge of losing 20 games. He even brought a voodoo doll to help ward off a loss. It "worked" four consecutive times for three different pitchers. Kingman was out of the country and not able to attend when Mike Maroth lost his 20th game for a terrible Tiger team in 2003.
History: Kingman was long known as the last pitcher to lose 20 games and it was an albatross he carried as a player. However he embraced it in retirement, thankful that he was remembered for something.
His could have benefited from a move to the bullpen. He didn't have the stamina that A's manager Billy Martin pushed for and that the other A's pitchers possessed. In his 20 loss season in 1980 he had a .196 opponent batting average with no home runs allowed in the first inning. In his career he only pitched 12 games in relief and those stats are skewed by his three bad outings for the Giants at the end of his career. Perhaps he could have been an effective one or two inning reliever, but we'll never know.
Kingman retired with a 23-45 record, 4.13 ERA, and a 92 ERA+ in 551 innings.


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dance island isithedreamaker, originally uploaded by rafeejewell.
I can't sleep. I have been fiddling around with stuff on the land. Prims are too high and I need to eliminate unnecessary ones. Grrrrr... feeling hardcore... needing some hardstyle!
IsitheDreamaker Teskat was at Dance Island. So, I took Deirdre's ride and headed over to blow off a little steam.
The pounding started and dancing began, and I just let the sound and music take me away...


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Slumdog exits Vista! Frozen Flower extended at Airport Plaza!
Chiang Mai movies beginning Thursday, June 4, 2009
… through Wednesday, June 10
by Thomas Ohlson
Best Bets: A Frozen Flower. Drag Me to Hell. Angels & Demons.
Here is my list of movies playing in Chiang Mai at Major Cineplex at Airport Plaza and at Vista at Kadsuankaew for the week beginning Thursday, June 4, 2009. There's also information on film programs at the Alliance Française and CMU's Film Space.
This year's Oscar best picture Slumdog Millionaire has left Vista, and many thanks to Vista for bringing us this fine film. Meanwhile another very interesting film has been extended at Major Cineplex, A Frozen Flower, but with only one showing a day, at 7:30 pm. Thanks to them for bringing this unusual and beautiful film to Chiang Mai.
And in the main stream, Drag Me to Hell has gotten the best reviews of any horror film in years.
This is Issue Number 32 of Volume 4 of these listings – halfway through our fourth year!
There's now a blog for Pattaya, too, at http://thomatpattaya.blogspot.com/.
Now playing in Chiang Mai * = new this week
* Drag Me to Hell: US, Horror/ Thriller – 99 mins – Director Sam Raimi started out making perversely entertaining horror fare like the Evil Dead movies before directing blockbusters like Spider-Man. Well, he's back, and in outstanding B-movie form. Alison Lohman stars as a loan officer who becomes the victim of a curse, with evil spirits on her trail and certain damnation in her future – unless she can break the spell. Drag Me to Hell is a wickedly good time: blood-curdlingly scary and ghoulishly funny, it's also taut and timely. It's the best-reviewed horror film in years. Reviews: Universal acclaim: 83/78 out of 100. The Vista version is dubbed into Thai, with no English subtitles; in English at Airport Plaza.
Rotten Tomatoes: Sam Raimi returns to top form with Drag Me to Hell, a frightening, hilarious, delightfully campy thrill ride.
* Blood: The Last Vampire: Hong Kong/ Japan, Action/ Horror – A remake of the 2000 movie of the same name. A vampire who is part of a covert government agency that hunts and destroys demons in a post-WWII Japan is inserted into a military school to discover which one of her classmates is a demon is disguise. Rated R in the US for strong bloody stylized violence. In English at Airport Plaza, in Thai only at Vista.
Twitch: Bottom line is, Blood: The Last Vampire is a straightforward action film. Forget the wafer thin plot and try to ignore the potential where certain scenes could have been made better. It's nice to look at with plenty of style over substance, and unfortunately nothing more.
A Frozen Flower / Ssang-hwa-jeom /쌍화점: Korea, Drama/ History/ Romance – 133 mins – Directed by Yu Ha, A Frozen Flower is a visually stunning historical movie set against the last days of Korea's Goryeo Dynasty (late 14th Century), and deals with the long homosexual love relationship between the king, played by Ju Jin Mo, and his chief bodyguard, Hong Lim, played by Jo In Sung. These are Korea's two top male stars. Definitely not for everyone, as in addition to much beautiful costuming, there is a lot of uncostumed sex – a lot of it! But although the homosexual relationship is at the heart of the film, most of the seemingly endless sex is purely heterosexual. By my count, the queen and the bodyguard demonstrate all but two of the 64 commonly accepted Kama Sutra positions, and that includes the one in a library using military tactics texts. As far as I can see, none of this has been censored or cut in any way by our paternalistic Thai censors.
But there is one cut, apparently by the director, that's a bit unusual. It happens right at the end of the film, after all the deaths and the camera tracks into the room with the painting of the two men on horseback. Originally, there was a sudden flashback to the young prince and his favorite guard boy on a hill overlooking the palace [see picture]. They talk a bit, and the prince asks the boy how he likes the palace, and the boy says, "It's great! I would love to live there." And the prince says, "Then how about living together our entire life?" And that's how it all began. Then the film goes on to pick up with the ending as shown in the cinema, the two grown men riding together and shooting arrows, becoming the painting the prince drew. If you should care to watch this missing scene, it's available on YouTube. The whole film is available there, in nine-minute segments. This scene occurs in Part 15 beginning at minute 7:10. You can find Part 15 by searching inside YouTube for "Frozen Flower Part 15" or by following this link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OfViauGlBlE&feature=related. Just click on it if you're reading this online. Then go to minute 7:10.
The film has been a huge hit in Korea. It's basically a melodrama, with some scenes of epic grandeur, and I found it quite exciting and a thoroughly enjoyable and intriguing movie. I recommend it.
Happily, it's being shown here with the original Korean soundtrack, and with English and Thai subtitles. That's great! That's the way films in a foreign language should be presented, I think. At Major Cineplex, Airport Plaza only.
YesAsia: One of Korea's most talked about films of 2008, A Frozen Flower goes behind the royal curtain to unveil an emotionally charged saga of love, sex, politics, and betrayal during the final days of the Goryeo Dynasty. Like The King and The Clown, A Frozen Flower tore down taboos to blockbuster reception with the depiction of homosexual love between a king and his bodyguard. But A Frozen Flower takes it many steps further on an erotic level, making headlines for its nudity and explicit sex scenes and setting a new box office record for adult-rated films. Teaming up again with A Dirty Carnival director Yu Ha for his last film before entering military service, Jo In Sung delivers the boldest performance of his career as a warrior torn between the bedchambers of the King and Queen. Ju Jin Mo (200 Pounds Beauty) won Best Actor at the 45th Baeksang Arts Awards for his magnificent turn as the King in love with his general, while Song Ji Hyo (Sex is Zero 2, Jumong) makes her big-screen breakthrough as the Queen doomed by her own sexual and romantic awakening.
Under the thumb of the Yuan Dynasty, the Goryeo King (Ju Jin Mo) is pressured to either produce an heir or name his cousin the Crown Prince. The King's true love, however, is his chief bodyguard Hong Lim (Jo In Sung), and he has never so much as touched the Queen (Song Ji Hyo). The King instead asks Hong Lim to sleep with the Queen, believing his problems to be solved as long as a son can be produced. But Hong Lim and the Queen's sexual encounter marks the beginning of a dangerous and passionate triangle of forbidden love, jealous rage, and heartbreaking betrayal.
A Frozen Flower will receive the most attention because of its homosexual angle, but the film contains very little in gay eroticism. There's one kissing scene between the king and the bodyguard, while the film features numerous graphic sex scenes between the bodyguard and the queen. While the film does open with a prominent gay angle, the film eventually settles on the heterosexual relationship between the bodyguard and queen as the crux of its story.
DVD available with English subtitles from YesAsia.
Terminator Salvation 4: The Future Begins: US/ Germany/ UK, Action/ Sci-Fi – 130 mins – With Christian Bale, Moon Bloodgood, and Common; directed by McG. In this highly anticipated – in some quarters – fourth installment of The Terminator film franchise, set in post-apocalyptic 2018, Christian Bale stars as John Connor, the man fated to lead the human resistance against Skynet and its army of Terminators. But the future Connor was raised to believe in is altered in part by the appearance of Marcus Wright, a stranger whose last memory is of being on death row. Connor must decide whether Marcus has been sent from the future, or rescued from the past. As Skynet prepares its final onslaught, Connor and Marcus both embark on an odyssey that takes them into the heart of Skynet's operations, where they uncover the terrible secret behind the possible annihilation of mankind. If you've seen any of the other three installments of this series, you know what to expect: Plenty of chases, explosions, and great effects. Mixed or average reviews: 52/51 out of 100.
Night at the Museum 2: Escape from [Battle of] the Smithsonian: US/ Canada, Action/ Comedy – 105 mins – If you liked the first adventure, you're sure to like this one even more – bigger, better, and with fantastic special effects. After a wacky night at the New York Museum of Natural History, the perpetually hapless Larry (Ben Stiller) must infiltrate the Smithsonian after some of his resurrected friends were shipped to Washington for storage. He finds himself in the middle of a vast conflict between many of the museum's most noteworthy historical figures. Mixed or average reviews: 42/50 out of 100.
Angels & Demons: US, Crime/ Drama/ Mystery/ Thriller – 140 mins – A tight, taut thriller. The team behind the global phenomenon The Da Vinci Code returns for the highly anticipated Angels & Demons, based on the bestselling novel by Dan Brown. Tom Hanks reprises his role as Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, who once again finds that forces with ancient roots are willing to stop at nothing, even murder, to advance their goals. Ron Howard again directs. Mixed or average reviews: 48/50 out of 100.
Scheduled for Chiang Mai cineplexes on Thursday, June 11
Up: Disney/Pixar animated fantasy. A comedy adventure about 78-year-old balloon salesman (voiced by Ed Asner) who finally fulfills his lifelong dream of a great adventure when he ties thousands of balloons to his house and flies away to the wilds of South America. But he discovers all too late that his biggest nightmare has stowed away on the trip: an overly optimistic 8-year-old Wilderness Explorer named Russell. Also starring Christopher Plummer, and a speech-assisted dog. Reviews: Universal acclaim: 88/86 out of 100. Rotten Tomatoes: Another masterful work of art from Pixar, Up is an exciting, hilarious, and heartfelt adventure impeccably crafted and told with wit and depth.
And looking forward:
Jun 18 – State of Play: A thriller about a principled investigative journalist in the midst of a vast conspiracy – engrossing, smart, unnerving, and surprisingly timely, and a tribute to the hardworking reporters that shed light on our political system. Russell Crowe stars as an old-school Washington beat reporter who's had a solid professional rapport with an up-and-coming congressman (Ben Affleck) – that is, until some of the congressman's associates turn up dead. Crowe uneasily joins forces with Rachel McAdams, a blogger at the paper, to untangle a sinister web of secrets and lies. The film's ensemble, which also includes Helen Mirren as an exacting editor, is unimpeachable, as is the immediacy and authenticity of the newsroom setting.
Jun 23 (yes, a Tuesday) – Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen: US, Action/ Sci-Fi. It's Autobots® versus Decepticons®, Round 2, in Michael Bay's film based on Hasbro's Transformers™ action figures. Look how we have to write about it! It's all about trade names and merchandising! The action figures for sure will be on sale in the lobby. Start saving your money, they won't be cheap. With Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel, Tyrese Gibson, and John Turturro.
Jul 2 – Public Enemies: With Johnny Depp as Dillinger! Michael Mann's latest film pits Johnny Depp against Christian Bale as the two star as career criminal John Dillinger and G-man Melvin Purvis, respectively, in Public Enemies, a Great Depression-era drama about the FBI's attempts to shut down organized crime. The film features a strong supporting cast, including Billy Crudup, Channing Tatum, Giovanni Ribisi, and Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard.
Jul 16 – Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince: Latest Harry Potter episode. As the boy wizard Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) enters his sixth year at Hogwart's, danger is afoot thanks to the growing forces of He Who Shall Not Be Named. But that's not the only hazard Harry, Ron, and Hermione have to contend with, as another sort of fickle magic is in the air: teenage hormones. Expect director David Yates to serve up the usual brand of Harry Potter excellence (he directed the last HP film, Order of the Phoenix) although screenwriter Steve Kloves has taken some liberties with the material, so Potterites, beware! Voldemort (… oops! I named him!) is tightening his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, and Hogwarts is no longer the safe haven it once was. If, indeed, ever it was.