text:
Fragments of Time – Sue Martin
Get an opportunity to view Sue Martins latest body of work which includes Prints, Photography and Paintings.
Until 30 Sept @ 9am
Halifax Art. Shop 35 on 4th Avenue, Parkhurst, Johannesburg. (Tel) 082-784-6695
Stilled Lives
Karin Preller will be showcasing her latest body of work this September in a solo exhibition.
Until 3 Oct @ 10am
Lizamore and Associates. 155 Jan Smuts Avenue, Parkwood, Johannesburg. (Tel) 011-880-8802
Existential – Mack Magagane
Magagane's exhibition will feature existing pieces as well as work from his new project titled 'Chapter 4'.
Until 31 Oct @ 11am
Room Gallery. 23 Voorhout Street, New Doornfontein., Troyeville . (Tel) 011-074-4944
Neels Coetzee – Crucible
Coetzee has passed away in 2013 but his work still resonates in the art world. His wife is curating this exhibition in which she showcases his sculptures.
Until 26 Sept @ 6pm
Circa on Jellicoe Gallery. 2 Jellicoe Road, Rosebank. (Tel) 011-788-4805
Batha strives to achieve balance of form in his work, allowing his pieces to speak for themselves; the viewer is encouraged to focus not on the subject matter, but rather the brushstrokes that evoke the tradition of Expressionist painting.
Until 28 Sept @ 9am
In Toto Gallery. 6 Birdhaven Centre, 66 St. Andrew Street, Birdhaven. (Tel) 011-447-6543
Close – Perspective
Lionel Smit is a popular South African artist with success both locally and internationally. Get to see some of his latest paintings and Bronzes.
Until 30 Sept @ 9am
Everard Read. 6 Jellicoe Avenue, Rosebank. (Tel) 011-788-4805
Alinka Echeverria
This is Alinka Echeverria's first solo exhibition on the African Continent. Her photographics works develop from South Mexico, South Sudan and South Africa.
Until 25 Oct @ 2pm
Johannesburg Art Gallery. Cnr Klein and King George Streets, Joubert Park, Johannesburg. (Tel) 011-725-3130


text:
You have to love the Pickle - she does things her way. Her christmas list is always worthy of note. She really became aware of Christmas aged three and her greatest wish was for a bunny costume and a book about bunnies (okay, she found the book 'How much do I love you?' rather mawkish and it has seldom been read). The following year she asked for a pair of new wellies and a pair of scissors (no connection).
Last year her taste rather plummeted. I gave her a 'Letterbox' catalogue to flick through for inspiration, as most of their toys are fun and generally either wooden, costumes or crafty. She managed to fall in love with a 'Princess Coralie' make up head. The make up head has somewhat redeemed itself in my eyes, as one morning I came down to see her engrossed with her Aunty Bat; seeing my voluptuous, gothic, rockabilly, burlesque friend doing play hair and make up was priceless.
So far this year either she wants a retractable glove to pick blackberries at the top of bushes or a flying machine. Easy...maybe.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
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text:
Friday, 7 February 2014
Thunderhawk Progress.
OK, so this is strictly WIP. I did notice that when I mentioned 'thunderhawk' in my list of outstanding things, no-one even mentioned it. Well, just I case you thought I'd forsaken the Guard and gone over to the power-armoured side. I present, for the time being, my thunderhawk !
From this angle the big feature is the cockpit canopy. Which on a one piece resin floor tile will need a bit of work. And/or balancing amount of skill. Neither of which are abundant around here, but I'll give it a go. S'only spaze muhreen terrain, after all.
So that's two layers of (midnight and then royal) blue and then blue ink. So there'll be another glaze of ink (or two) and then a layer of 'ardcoat and I'll see what that looks like. The airframe was undercoated black, then sprayed a nice deep red (just a shade deeper than red gore). Then hairspray and sand and then the German Grey. So I'm quite pleased with the weathering effect but you'll have noticed that the German Grey is perfect camouflage for the terrain. Ho hum, time to rethink the landscape,
I figured that the Grey T-hork could pass for a Black Templar one that had been out in the sun a lot, or some sort of codex grey replacement airframe or Inquisition vehicle. Or perhaps belong to a Chapter that really does have grey a colour scheme.
So carried on with the further weathering; mostly rust. Now my blazing orange had almost had it, but responded very well to resurrection. So after a bit of paintomancy, I sloshed some on. It looks very vivid, but that's the light/camera/refractive index etc. It's dulled down with a black/brown oil wash. a bit.
Another few thin washes with the black and brown in differing quantities should improve things a bit. One problem I have with this is self restraint; to apply a thin wash in the first place and then to let it dry enough before doing the next thing. What I find is that the wash always ends up heavy and that a blast from Mrs Zzzzz's hair drier would improve things. Ho hum, I'll try and concentrate next time.
I plan on just carrying on with the weathering that I've already done and carrying on until the orange is a little less in-yer-face. And of course, eventually changing the landscape to something a little more beige. I'm allowed beige, because I'm old enough. You have to call it brown. But I figure that the tile is big enough to handle a bit of beige around the crashed bus and fade to grey at the edges.
Ummmmmmmmm, Ultravox. I'm sure that used to be a piece of wargear.
11 comments:
I had no idea you had one of these beasties....ReplyDelete
i suspect you have many things about which I have no idea.. but still..
larverly rust. i hve lots of things i use for rust, but orange paint is always in there somewhere :)
I suspect that a very convincing weathering job and colour change of the base could be achieved with a ground up pastel (or weathering powders) and some appropriate sealer... well, combine with airbrush/drybrush first maybe .. but still wouldn't take long to make it look "bostin"Replies
I think you're right, there's an amount of mig powder rust there already, but the effect is sort of lost in the noise until you're at froth blowing range.Delete
I will try to remember that less is more the next time I touch it.
That looks smashing (or should that be smashed?), really nice job. Have to say I quite like that closeness between the camo and the landscape, it looks like the dust is slowly reclaiming it. All that 'small debris' as well as the obvious broken wing etc, makes it look very realistic.ReplyDeleteReplies
I agree with the camo/terrain thing; realistically, the camo should match the terrain. The T-hork in the ointment here is that they are quite often painted in bright primary colours.Delete
And it's the sculpting that makes it so easy to work on and give such a good result even with my levels of both skill and diligence. When I ordered it, I had no idea that it was as good as it is.
What? "I'm paining a Thunderhawk" he said. "Surly he is joking" I thought. A Chaos Warhound and now a crashed Thunderhawk. Now I'm waiting for you to say that you have also been working on a FW Imperial Fortress (the giant £721.00 one)!ReplyDelete
The bright orange isn't all that bad you know, particularly from the first angel. I agree that it will dull nicely with a wash or two.
The weathering is well done too. I'm interested to see how it will look in a 'beige' (arr, I mean brown) setting. As Ed said, the grey landscape does work quite well.Replies
In my defence, your honour, all of these things (the list I blogged at the beginning of the year) were already purchased.Delete
This years rules are only bits and services to allow projects from that list to be finished.
Looking fantastic, man! Love the rust effect, it really looks beat up. Good stuff!ReplyDeleteReplies
Many thanks ! Whenever I pass it I think about masking the existing to effect the changes to the ground. Looking forward to better weather in the garage. I suspect that you are still under 18' of snow ?Delete
I dig it - a bit more contrast between the ground color and the THawk might help the whole thing 'pop' a bit more.Delete
Only a couple inches of show, but it's been down around -20c pretty consistently over the last few days. Supposed to get up to 0c today, gonna break out the shorts and t-shirts in this heatwave! Hah!
Echoing the above mate - looks great - with a few washes to tone back some of the vibrancy in the rust it'll look schmicko.ReplyDelete
Agree the need to change the tone of the ground though otherwise it all really does blend in together.
Very cool stuff and the title of the post totally threw me!Replies
Ah, well; I did give in eventually and get some spaze muhreens. But the comic over-the-top aspects of the Black Templars meant it had to be them; I quite like how the old BT 'dex has pythonesque echoes. Well, not so much echoes, there are no overt references, but the spirit the Holy Grail, Jabberwocky and Life of Brian is writ large across the BT. More from them soon !Delete


text: Rugged devices market responds to consumerisation trend 24 Aug 2015 12:53 PM Consumerisation is driving the rugged devices market towards tablets and the Android operating system, while manufacturers attempt to persuade customers that buying cheaper consumer products is often a false economy. Kate O'Flaherty reportsThe rugged devices market is shifting as consumerisation tightens its grip on the industry. It is seeing increasing use of tablets, which in turn are pushing out larger notebooks and laptops – and even smaller handhelds.At the same time, the Android operating system (OS) continues to gain market share. The rugged tablet market saw a 17.5% increase in 2014, according to analyst VDC, fuelled by embedded manufacturing applications and first responder use.The total rugged market in 2014 was roughly $5bn (£3.21bn), according to Kathryn Nassberg, lead enterprise mobility hardware at VDC Research. This is split evenly between large and small form factors.According to VDC Research, rugged handheld device shipments were flat last year, but revenues were up 4% compared with 2014. Rugged smartphone shipments increased by 9.8% during the period, driven by growing demand in construction, utilities and manufacturing.In the handheld market, Zebra Technologies – which bought Motorola Solution's enterprise business last year – and Honeywell's combined market share was nearly 65%, says Nassberg.Panasonic and Xplore have the largest tablet share. In 2014, Motion Computing had a 13% market share, but the company was this year bought out by Xplore for $9m. In notebooks, Panasonic, Dell, and Getac have a combined market share of 90%.Consumerisation of IT Increasing demand for consumer-grade, yet rugged, devices continues to challenge the market. There is pressure to be thinner, lighter and faster – but also to contain multiple ports, have adequate battery life and the ability to function in all weather environments.Adding to this, cost pressures – combined with a lack of understanding of what is required – are pushing many organisations to buy cheaper devices such as iPads for staff. But this is a false economy; many of these businesses end up buying rugged cases to protect the devices, says Ian Davies, country manager, Northern Europe, Xplore.Additionally, says Peter Molyneux, president, Getac UK: 'Businesses need to consider more than the upfront capital expenditure – they need to look at the indirect cost of hardware failure. That can include engineer downtime, management of returns and device repair or replacement.'The battle for the rugged industry to prove total cost of ownership (TCO) continues to be complex, says Andy McBain, EMEA head of regional product management at Zebra Technologies. 'You can buy three consumer products for the price of one of ours but then the update cycle comes to a halt,' he says.In response, rugged manufacturers have started to develop consumer-like products, but this requires a fine balance, says Jonathan Tucker, European product marketing manager at Panasonic. 'We want to achieve the consumer look and feel. We've been very conscious of having something industrial, but that's easy on the eye.'One of the key challenges is to develop devices that meet the varied requirements of different sectors – in terms of form factor, performance and specification, says Molyneux. Manufacturers also need to understand specific user requirements, conform to health and safety regulations and ensure the device installation is reliable.Tablets onslaught The drive towards consumerisation has seen a steady migration to tablets rather than notebooks and laptops. 'Tablets enable better mobility, and allow some companies to avoid expensive vehicle docking systems,' Molyneux explains. Additionally, tablet solutions can see costs cut by 50%.There has been growing use of tablets for applications that do not require a full keyboard. As field software becomes increasingly 'touch centric', this will increase even more, says Thomas Löfblad, VP of sales at Handheld Group.As this growth continues, VDC is anticipating the rugged notebook market will contract over the next five years. However, encroachment on notebooks from tablets has not happened to the extent that was expected, says Nassberg. 'So far, where a keyboard for data entry is still a major component, there has been very little erosion in unit shipments.'Meanwhile, demand for larger displays similar to those on tablets is also seeing handheld screens increase, says Molyneux. 'The 3.5in screen offers limited functionality,' he says.In operating systems, Android continues to make headway, says Nassberg, with a growing number of vendors now offering the OS. However, some companies are still hesitant to switch from Microsoft Windows.'Factors range from a desire not to migrate legacy applications, to security concerns, to the apprehension of the relative fragmentation of Android versus other operating systems,' she says.McBain says Zebra has seen demand for Android increase by 400%. He explains: 'We do have some customers looking at Windows 10, but Android owns 70% to 80% of share as a phone OS, so the developer base has moved to that.'Field mobility and postal are areas particularly benefiting from Android, says McBain, citing the UK's Royal Mail as an example. Android share is 'creeping up', agrees Tucker – although he adds that Panasonic has only three products running Android compared with more than 10 on Windows.'It's still only 15% of volumes, but it was about 10% before. The skill set has grown, and the experience is pretty good if you're an Android mobile user on a tablet.'Box: A Wearable FutureWearable technology has the potential to revolutionise the rugged market, according to some industry experts. The technology could be particularly useful in manufacturing, or for augmented reality around servicing vehicles, Panasonic's Tucker suggests. 'When you are on the job, there's always something you need to know,' he points out.Recent developments in head-mounted displays have created an increase in interest in the form factor, VDC's Nassberg agrees. 'There are companies that are working on head-mounted displays that can also function as safety glasses. The notion of hands-free access to data and input is a strong value proposition in areas such as field services and construction.'Meanwhile, Google Glass could be used in the warehouse and logistics, and there have already been test deployments. Voice recognition is also an area with potential, says Tucker. For example: 'Microsoft's Cortana can understand natural speech – this could open new types of workflow, maybe in conjunction with a headset.'However, there are still issues with wearable technology – and it may not be as applicable to the industrial arena as first thought, Xplore's Davies warns. The demands of software applications lead to issues surrounding battery life, and for many field users, a smaller screen is not desirable, especially if the information required is detailed. There are also health and safety concerns in some industries, such as working at height.James Atkinson EditorLinkedIn |Google + |Email Leave a CommentPlease write code to prove you're humanMore on... RuggedisedHandheld introduces ALGIZ 8X rugged tablet Handheld boosts Algiz RT7 rugged tablet performance with Android 6.0 Finnish Defence Forces to deploy Bittium Tough Mobile smartphonesMore on... Zebra TechnologiesExtreme completes acquisition of Zebra's WLAN business Extreme Networks to acquire Zebra Technologies' wireless LAN business Latest in TechnologyHandheld introduces ALGIZ 8X rugged tablet Handheld boosts Algiz RT7 rugged tablet performance with Android 6.0 Finnish Defence Forces to deploy Bittium Tough Mobile smartphones


text:
The reference desk covers a lot of territory, but librarians--since we are not lawyers--do not give legal advice. Sometimes we have to send a patron off with good wishes, wondering what a lawyer will do with a question such as this one:
"My husband was abusive. Now I have cancer. I don't know if it's connected. Should I sue the hospital or my ex-husband?"


text:
Monday, August 1, 2011
Here comes the bride....
Kim Kardashian has finally revealed to us that the great Vera Wang will be the lucky seamstress to design her wedding gown. Vera has been great friends with the Kardashian's for a long time. Her and Kim have been talking about this moment since the day they met, and can't believe it is actually time to make Kim's dream come true!! I CANNOT wait to see the gown. I liked the dress Vera made for Khloe's wedding, but I am sure that Kim's is going to spectacular and on a level all its own. Just wanted to keep you posted!!!
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text:
I have no design wall but I have a few clothespins and an I beam in the basement. This is the baby quilt I put together this morning. I am going to pin baste it now and start quilting it. Every thing is from my stash. Not making a dent but that is okay
Patchwork Times.
In stitches,


text:
Title: White Lace and Promises
Author: Natasha Blackthorne
Series: Carte Blanche #2
Book two in the Carte Blanche Series
Beth and Grey's passionate battle of wills continues...
New York Merchant Prince Grey Sexton loves the audacious, spirited young temptress who seduced him in a Philadelphia bookseller's and made passionate love to him in his carriage. Her fiery nature broke through his cold self-protection. But in a time of war and trade disruption, he cannot allow himself to be distracted. He vows to put business above all else in his life, including his bride.
Shocked and hurt by Grey's distance, Beth wonders whether he truly returns the burning love she feels for him. Beth demands that Grey prove he can truly change once and for all or else she will not start a family with him. But will the dark, sensual secrets she yet keeps repel this arrogant, self-controlled gentleman she has married?
Review: In a time of war and trade disruption, Grey and Beth struggle with there new engagement because Grey is determined not to let anything distract him from his work and Beth is hurt and struggles with his distance. Beth demands a change from him or she will not start a family with him.
Beth all so has to deal with people from her past like scrounging brothers and sisters and the first love she had long forgotten. as you can see, this is not the best start for our couple.
from Greys side of the story we see him struggle with his new life, trying to find a balance between his work life and his home when all he can think about is the amazing woman willing to spend the rest of his life with him. he all worries that his new marriage will end up just like his first one and he doesn't know hoe to deal with it.
This book I thought another amazing read from Natasha. I was doubting how much I would enjoy it after such a hit with the first book but I'm happy to say I really enjoyed it. I think Natasha is an amazing writer who was gifted in so many ways. The only down side I have with her work is that it should of been put into paper back so I could keep it on my shelf with all my other favourites.


text:
US diplomatic cables set for imminent release by WikiLeaks will reportedly show that NATO ally Turkey aided Al Qaeda in Iraq, while the US supported the PKK, a Kurdish separatist group fighting Turkey.
The claim was made in the London-based Arabic newspaper Al-Hayat, reports Reuters:
The next release is expected to include thousands of diplomatic cables reporting corruption allegations against politicians in Russia, Afghanistan and other Central Asian nations, sources familiar with the State Department cables held by WikiLeaks told Reuters on Wednesday.
The allegations are major enough to cause serious embarrassment for foreign governments, the sources said.
According to the London-based daily al-Hayat, the WikiLeaks release includes documents that show Turkey has helped al-Qaeda in Iraq – and that the United States has supported the PKK, a Kurdish rebel organization that has been waging a separatist war against Turkey since 1984, the Washington Post reported.


text:
For the best experience on the Abcam website please upgrade to a modern browser such as Google Chrome
Synthetic peptide corresponding to a region within internal sequence amino acids 288-337 (LPQERLLIAD VAISASEFMF EETRNYVKQR KAFGKTVAHL QTVQHKLAEL) of human ACADL (NP_001599).
Our Abpromise guarantee covers the use of ab82853 in the following tested applications.
The application notes include recommended starting dilutions; optimal dilutions/concentrations should be determined by the end user.
|Use a concentration of 1 µg/ml. Predicted molecular weight: 48 kDa. Good results were obtained when blocked with 5% non-fat dry milk in 0.05% PBS-T.
Please note: All products are "FOR RESEARCH USE ONLY AND ARE NOT INTENDED FOR DIAGNOSTIC OR THERAPEUTIC USE"


text:
Equivalency of broiler litter to ammonium nitrate as a cotton fertilizer in an upland soil
Estimates of litter value based on crop yield equivalency to inorganic fertilization may reflect the actual value of litter more accurately than estimates based on its N, P, and K content. The primary objective of this research was to identify a rate of broiler litter that results in cotton lint yield equivalent to inorganic N fertilization and to estimate litter value based on this yield equivalency. The research was conducted in northern Mississippi in 2002 to 2004 in a Loring silt loam upland soil. Cotton was fertilized with six broiler litter rates ranging between 2.2 and 13.4 Mg ha–1 or six NH4NO3–N rates ranging between 34 and 168 kg ha–1 or was not fertilized. Lint yield calculated based on fitted models peaked at 1033 kg ha–1 when cotton was fertilized with 94 kg ha–1 NH4NO3–N, which is similar to the 90 kg N ha–1 local recommendation. Lint yield of cotton fertilized with litter (8.7 Mg ha–1) peaked at 1156 kg ha–1, which is a 123 kg ha–1 lint yield increase over NH4NO3–N. The economic optimum NH4NO3–N rate was 72 kg ha–1, which produced 88 kg ha–1 less lint than the economic optimum litter rate of 5.2 Mg ha–1. Fertilization with 3.7 Mg ha–1 litter produced lint yield equivalent to the locally recommended 90 kg ha–1 NH4NO3–N. The N fertilizer replacement value of litter calculated based on this equivalency exceeded the value calculated using the traditional method by 27%. These results overall show that fertilizing cotton in this soil with litter increased lint yield above that possible with conventional inorganic fertilization by 12% and that broiler litter is substantially more valuable than can be estimated from its N, P, and K contents.
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text:
September 5, 2011
Akara / Acaraje
For this Akara, I didn't use much pepper. I used one chilli pepper and a lot of basil. It turned out tasting very different and amazing. I think I will keep trying fresh herbs in my akara.
1 cup peeled beans
1 raw chilli pepper
1 egg
2/3 tspn salt
3 Tspns chopped basil
1/4 cup chopped cooked shrimp (optional)
oil for frying
Direction HERE
29 comments:
- kitkat said...
i know i've told u this many times but i'll say it again! U need a restaurant!!
I miss akara, i used to eat it with bread anytime i visited the village *sigh*
- September 5, 2011 at 8:27 PM
- Destiny - Yankeenaijachick + Success said...
this brings back memories of my innocent childhood...am hungry.
- September 5, 2011 at 8:53 PM
- NikkiSho said...
wow this looks sooo delish *drooling*
adding basil/herbs is a new to me and it looks REALLY good.
- September 5, 2011 at 10:10 PM
I LOVE akara!...infact am having it for breakfast this morning with custard!..yummy.
- September 5, 2011 at 11:37 PM
- A-9ja-Great said...
The silly mistake i keep making is visiting this blog when i've not eating.Like now,i've not had breakfast and i'm salivating over that perfect breakfast.You're mean 9jaFOODie.
- September 6, 2011 at 1:43 AM
- Prism of an immigrant said...
Your akara has an aje butter look to it o. It could be mistaken for a "Western" appetizer at a fancy restaurant. Unlike the ajepako akara that looks like akara from a mile away
- September 6, 2011 at 4:57 AM
- deolascope said...
Egg in akara? I've used it in moi-moi but not akara. Should try that soon...
- September 6, 2011 at 5:12 AM
- 9jaFOODie said...
@Kitkat: hoo the joy of bread n akara, very hot road side akara... that was my favorite part of leaving Lag early to go to the villa, we used to stop in Ibadan for some. I wantttt :(
@Destiny: You know right... it was the ish in those days. lol
@Nikkisho: OMG..you need to try it, it tastes so fresh n different.
@Ibhade:lol...you are living the luxurious life, some of us have to plan for days before we can make that happen.
@A-9ja-great: lol..my bad :D.
@Prism: LWKMD...HAHAH...you are right though, I think it's just in the basil and using fresh/clean oil
@Deolascope: for real??? so what do you use?
- September 6, 2011 at 6:14 AM
- Chic Therapy said...
Akara?not a big fan...but it reminds me on Saturday mornings in Naija.Sigh!
- September 6, 2011 at 7:37 AM
- stelzz said...
I really miss akara.. ...
- September 6, 2011 at 10:24 AM
- 9jaFOODie said...
@Chic Therapy: yeapp... street akara on weekend :)
@Stelzz: it's easy to make your own :)
- September 6, 2011 at 11:15 AM
- Myne Whitman said...
I made Akara here once and it didn't turn out well, been a bit scared to try again since. These look luscious!
- September 6, 2011 at 12:06 PM
Ok I have questions and a comment o. Lemme do comment first.
The beans that I soaked overnight DRANK almost ALL the water.
Now questions:
1. That's expected right?
2. You said not to add water while blending the chilli and the beans. Wouldn't it spoil my blender?
3. What's the difference when eggs are added? cos I don't think we've ever added eggs in our akara mixture in my house.
4. Moin-moin puree should be thicker than akara puree right? Or is it the other way round?
Ok that's all :) ... for now :)
- September 6, 2011 at 12:10 PM
- Natural Nigerian said...
You have really stepped up with the photography and all. When is the cookbook coming out?
- September 6, 2011 at 1:32 PM
- *Michael Onobote* said...
hmm...Akara toh sumptious.LOL! This akara feels so rich. I'd try this one day(when no-one is at home sha).
- September 6, 2011 at 3:16 PM
- 9jaFOODie said...
@Ms Myne: hoo noo.. sowwy.
@Mstizzle: 1) yes, I advice you change the water often though 2) the beans should be extremely soft, it shouldn't ruin your blender 3)I think the egg helps to form the shape, I have never made it without egg 4) nope, akara should be thicker than moin moin. lol
@NN: Hoo.. thanks much, hopefully
soon ei, fingers crossed. lol
@Micheal: lol..it's extremely easy to make.
- September 6, 2011 at 4:35 PM
- Koinonia said...
I'm with prism of an immigrant on this one :)
- September 6, 2011 at 9:15 PM
- aloted said...
hmm akara with egg..never tried that before...should do that next time i make akara.
basil hmmm..ok naa
i usually add a little water cuz i fear for my blender, make e no come spoil :)
nice one!
- September 7, 2011 at 2:31 AM
- enybees-hub said...
Yeah never heard of eggs in akara. What won't invention do. Copied the recipe and will try it out.
Prism don't talk am o, ℓ☺ℓ Akara looks inviting when with the almost reddish/clay look! ℓ☺ℓ
I relish akara hot,hot,hot!!!!
- September 7, 2011 at 3:15 AM
- P.E.T. Projects said...
I wont eat akara even if im paid to, it just does funny stuffs to my tummy but the beans in the last post... hmmmm, yummy! yummy!
My plantain soup didnt look as good as urs i have to do it again, my love for plantain wont let me give up like that.Thanks babes for all the recipes!
- September 7, 2011 at 3:30 AM
- 9jaFOODie said...
@Koinonia: lol... you and prism. I will make it look ajepako next time. lol
@aloted: lol... a little water is okay, most people go all out with the water and the akara never takes shape. If you add in beans batches at a time, your blender will be fine. lol
@Enybees-Hub: For real?? we never made akara in my house without egg o... I should try it without. The reddish look in street akara is a result of mixing palm oil with groundnut oil( inviting stuff but the cholesterol level is through the roof)
@P.E.T: hahaha... really? humm, maybe you have sensitive tummy. ndo!. didn't look as good??? lol... I am sure it's all in ur mind, take a picture the next time you make it :)
- September 7, 2011 at 6:01 AM
- Ginger said...
Wondering if bean flour produces nice akara or must it be made from fresh beans...lazy cook asks....
- September 12, 2011 at 3:21 PM
- 9jaFOODie said...
Ginger, I have never used powdered beans for akara, I have seen it done and it was okay. I think you should get already pealed beans instead though :D
- September 13, 2011 at 6:42 AM
- 9ja Mom said...
Basil in Akara - 9jaFOOdie you don finish me oh! I luv luv basil but can't make Akara well for nothing...Just got back from a trip to visit mumsi though and I had akara and ogi for breakfast almost every day... Now I need to convince her to add basil the next time she's visiting... or maybe you can fedex ehn? I wish they'd hurry up and invent a way to taste via computer screens!
- September 13, 2011 at 11:17 AM
- 9jaFOODie said...
9jamum: cheiii..lucky you, i want my mummy too :(
lol... i swear you have to try the basil. if only fedex will carry this thing ooo..lol...we definitely need that invention.
- September 13, 2011 at 1:39 PM
- The Relentless Builder said...
Shrimp in akara? Chei! See talent! I thought that "fillings" were limited to moi-moi. I have learnt something new today. I actually prefer moi-moi to akara, but maybe your recipe might change that soon.
- September 15, 2011 at 11:49 AM
- 9jaFOODie said...
Try it or get the MS to make you some, you will enjoy it. :D
- September 16, 2011 at 6:06 AM
- Natmane said...
Happy to see that you experimented with something green.I'm not a fan of bland akara.I put mint leaves,onions and some pepper in mine... Yum!! I love the subtle mint flavor in beans. I will most def. try your recipe. Have you tried frying your potato with onions? Or sprinkling it with some white pepper when it's fried...I miss house grej o...
- September 23, 2011 at 7:13 AM
- Fascinatedbuttercup said...
6:30am and I wake up hungry for akara and ogi... If only it can be posted from Nigeria :(
- August 10, 2012 at 10:39 PM


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Henry's on the market http://www.henryshousecharleston.com/ is not on my usual list of places to go when it comes to good burger craving. After eating there on a recent evening , I'm adding it to my list. The kitchen features food by Cru Cafe. You can not go wrong with Cru.
I ordered the classic bacon cheddar burger ($10.50) and was in cheeseburger heaven. The bacon was crisp and perfect. The cheddar was melted just the way it should be and the fries were crispy thin delights. The lightly toasted bun was right on target. It was served with lettuce, tomato, onion, and house made pickles. This burger paired perfectly with a $2.00 happy hour Yuengling. All domestics are $2.00 for happy hour and imports are $2.50. There are no food specials for happy hour but with a burger this good, full price is not a problem. Just enjoy a few cheap beers and leave happy.


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This is one of my favorite tintypes, I love the black lines running thru it, to me it makes it much more interesting.
I finally found a use for this old rusty coffee can and love the addition of a piece of lace given to me by the wonderful Laura of 52Flea!
I think this is my favorite rusty one. I even found a tintype with rust on it, just perfect for this piece.


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Gaylen posted this quiz and I love these things, so...
What your name Means
You are usually the best at everything ... you strive for perfection.
You are confident, authoritative, and aggressive.
You have the classic "Type A" personality.
You are wild, crazy, and a huge rebel. You're always up to something.
You have a ton of energy, and most people can't handle you. You're very intense.
You definitely are a handful, and you're likely to get in trouble. But your kind of trouble is a lot of fun.
You are a free spirit, and you resent anyone who tries to fence you in.
You are unpredictable, adventurous, and always a little surprising.
You may miss out by not settling down, but you're too busy having fun to care.
You are very intuitive and wise. You understand the world better than most people.
You also have a very active imagination. You often get carried away with your thoughts.
You are prone to a little paranoia and jealousy. You sometimes go overboard in interpreting signals.


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Manufacturers, Exporters, Wholesalers, Distributors and Suppliers
of a comprehensive range of quality products. Acknowledging the era of dynamic modern technology, we have employed a diligent team of dexterous professionals. Owing to our years of extensive research and relentless pursuits, today, we have obtained a market leading position in our domain. With our client centric approach, our efforts are directed towards meeting each and every varied need of our clients, so we bring forth a plethora of products like
Electronic Weighing Machine, Electronic Weigh Scale, etc.
All the manufacturing process is carried out in our advanced infrastructural base that spreads over a large area.
Under the able and inspirational guidance of our mentor, our Manager, we have been able to consistently meet our client expectations. Even after achieving a reputable position in the domain, we have carried on our drive for excellence in the same fashion. Being quality centric entire range of products offered is rigorously tested on well-defined quality parameters for delivering optimum quality products.
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Star Cast: PRITHVIRAJ , MIA, MEGHNA RAJ
Producer - P.K.Muraleedharan , Santha Murali
Story And Script - Jeethu Joseph
Cinematography - Sujith Vasudev
Editor - V. Sajan
Art Director - Saburam
Makeup - Roshan.G
Production Control - Shaji Kavanad , Sajeev Arjunan
Associate Director - Cylex Abraham
Lyrics - Shelton , Sejo John
Music Director - Sejo John
Stills - Abhilash Narayanan
Designs - Collins.
The intelligent scripting and interesting story line makes it a must watch movie, especially for the fans of thriller genre. The first half may be just above average, nut the second half is truly brilliant. Especially the climax.
Prithvi has done it again. fourth Hit in a row for him, after a lean patch. He is simply excellent as the full time drunkard cop. It is difficult to believe that he is the same guy who couldn't do such roles till recent past. This time he got it bang on ! Rest of the cast gets minimal scope, but have done their roles neatly. The choice of villain was good and surprising. background score and Editing helps the film a great deal. Camerawork looked ordinary at places, was ok otherwise.
on the flip side is the slow pace of the movie, especially in the first half. it takes time before the film gets into the grew. But intelligently the film has been publicized in that manner, brave but Good decision. Direction also looked ordinary. There are some small (negligible) plot holes.
Those who enjoyed film like Mumbai Police, grandmaster shouldn't miss this. its also a must watch for Prithvi fans.
Nice investigation thriller, Go for it


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Now that Congress has backed away from the fiscal cliff it faces three new deadlines and two more months of difficult debates.
The expectation is more of the familiar partisan battles in January and February over the debt ceiling, across-the-board spending cuts and a temporary budget to keep the federal government running.
The vote in Congress on the fiscal cliff, however, didn't fall entirely along those same lines. It split the Triangle's lawmakers 3-3, and brought surprises from both parties. Republican Howard Coble voted for the deal, a break from many in his party, because it preserved income tax cuts for most Americans and ensured that estates under $5 million wouldn't be taxed.
"There was some compromise. And compromise in my opinion is not a dirty four-letter word," Coble said on Wednesday. But he was guarded about the prospects for more of it. "Perhaps," he said.
Meanwhile, liberal Democrat Brad Miller of Raleigh, who's not returning for another term, voted against the legislation, warning that it set the stage for bargaining over spending cuts that would go too far.
"Congress has assured that there will be more embarrassing and damaging melodrama over the debt ceiling and spending in just a couple of months," Miller said, referring to the March 1 deadline to make spending cuts or trigger automatic 8 percent cuts in the military, education and other programs, and the expectation of reaching the debt ceiling in mid-February.
"I have held my nose and voted 'yes' many times, but this bill makes mindless cuts to programs important to the middle class inevitable," Miller said.
Rep. Mike McIntyre, a Democrat from Lumberton, voted against the fiscal cliff compromise as well – for different reasons. McIntyre said it added to the debt, delayed spending cuts and didn't go far enough in tax reforms that help small businesses.
Those reasons were echoed to some extent by Rep. Renee Ellmers, R-Dunn.
"We must get serious about addressing the true driver of the fiscal mess that our nation is in," Ellmers said in a statement Wednesday. "Our out-of-control spending does nothing to help American families and only exacerbates the problems facing our country. I look forward to working with my colleagues to address the real sources of this crisis and continuing the fight against government waste" in the upcoming congressional session.
But Democrat David Price of Chapel Hill and G.K. Butterfield of Wilson, who voted yes Tuesday, said it would be impossible to solve the deficit problem through spending cuts alone.
Price said the legislation preserved lower tax rates for the middle class, tuition tax credits for students and unemployment benefits, and postpones automatic, across-the-board cuts, what he called the "meat ax" approach.
In a statement Tuesday night he said he was hopeful that the vote meant "Republicans are newly committed to shared sacrifice in a broader, balanced deficit reduction agreement" and the new Congress should get to work on such an agreement right away.
But in an interview Wednesday he did not sound optimistic.
"Republicans seem likely to pursue the same kind of crisis-creation tactic they have before," Price said. "What may restrain them is just how fed up people are with this. I certainly hear it. I hope they not only hear it but are going to do something about it."
Republicans in the end agreed to raise revenue through higher taxes on the rich, but that gains only $600 billion – far from what's needed to cut the deficit, Butterfield said.
Congress earlier this year voted to reduce federal spending by about $1 trillion for domestic programs and $500 billion for defense.
"Those are programs we depend on greatly in North Carolina. And now we've got to look at spending cuts again," Butterfield said.
Butterfield said he hoped the House of Representatives would debate both spending cuts and adjustments to entitlement programs, such as Social Security and Medicare, at the same time.
Lawmakers may not be willing to vote on some hard calls on a stand-alone basis, but might do it if it's part of a grand bargain that would solve the deficit problem, he said.
For example, Butterfield said, take raising the age limit on Medicare from 65 to 66.
"I'm vehemently opposed to it, but if it's part of a huge, huge package, I could probably take a different approach," he said.
Coble said he would have preferred an agreement with more spending cuts, but there wasn't support to pass it. He said he was torn over his vote.
"My gut told me I wanted to vote no because I knew a lot of folks back home wanted me to vote no, but by the same token a lot of folks wanted me to vote for it.
"Making the tax cuts permanent was what decided it," he said.
The plan preserves the Bush-era tax cuts for individuals making less than $400,000 ($450,000 for couples). The measure also ensures that 31 million Americans won't be hit a bigger bill with the Alternative Minimum Tax.
It also exempted the first $5 million of an estate from taxes.
"That feature of the bill probably generated more calls and support than any other feature," Coble said. "Family businesses could be wiped out if only $1 million was exempt."
Both of the state's senators voted for the legislation to avoid the fiscal cliff.
Republican Sen. Richard Burr said the deal was "far from perfect," but it protected most Americans from increased taxes.
Democratic Sen. Kay Hagan also said the measure wasn't ideal. "I would have preferred a comprehensive, balanced solution to avert the fiscal cliff and begin reducing the deficit," she said.
Schoof: 202-383-6004 or firstname.lastname@example.com


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Simulation Modeler Lanner Signs Agreements with Beijing Tianyan Rongzhi and Beijing Hi-Key Technology Corporation, Ltd, to Support Major Growth Strategy in Key Market.
Online PR News – 04-March-2012 – – Lanner, a provider of simulation software proven to maximize performance and optimize resources, today announced the expansion of its partner network in China, with two new reseller agreements focused on increasing the market share of WITNESS, Lanner's flagship simulation software.
Beijing Tianyan Rongzhi, a specialist in the provision of software and training to education organizations will work with Lanner to increase adoption of WITNESS within the 65 universities already using the software, as well as new universities and teaching establishments. As part of the agreement, Beijing Tianyan Rongzhi will become the primary WITNESS reseller to Chinese schools.
In parallel, Beijing Hi-Key Technology Corporation, Ltd, a leading provider of engineering software, training and support in China, will help to extend Lanner's footprint in the Defense and Aerospace industries. With a successful track record of introducing several simulation products in China over the last 10 years, including Fluent and Flowmaster, Hi-Key will extend its sales and technical professionals teams in Beijing and Shanghai to achieve the targets set out in the agreement.
"Following on from our landmark project with Xugong, China's largest manufacturer of construction machinery and the biggest and most successful simulation project undertaken in China to date, these agreements represent further evidence of our commitment to increasing our profile in the region," comments David Jones, CEO, Lanner.
"The China market is developing well and the understanding of the benefits of use of simulation, amid a business environment of increased automation and rising resource costs, is increasing at the fastest pace since we entered this market.
"China is an important part of Lanner's growth strategy, and as part of this, we need to work with the very best channel partners in the region. Beijing Tianyan Rongzhi is the market leader in providing quality software to Chinese universities, and Hi-Key's expertise in the defense and aerospace sector, combined with a strong track record of introducing simulation software to the Chinese market, means it is well aligned with Lanner's vision."
About Lanner: Any business can use the proven simulation software and services delivered by Lanner to maximize its performance and optimize the use of resources.
Lanner is an international company with headquarters in the UK. Its simulation software has delivered answers for commercial businesses and government organizations since 1979, helping them move toward operational perfection.
Lanner's customers include some of the largest and most successful organizations in the world and its technology is embedded within leading software vendors' products.
For more information, visit Lanner.com or follow Lanner on Twitter [.]Lanner


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Complexity and the importance of links
by eskokilpi
The structures of the brain and the Internet look the same. In the brain there are neurons that link as a result of being active at the same time. This firing together creates a connection, "a wiring together", that increases the strength of their connection. On the Internet there are servers and people that are linked in temporal interaction, sometimes as a result of being inspired and interested in the same topic, "firing together". This short-term communication sometimes leads to a relationship increasing the strength of the connection. No neuron links with all the other neurons at the same time. No server links with all the servers at the same time, and no one interacts with all the other people at the same time. So all interaction is always local, whether in the brain, in an organization, or on the Internet. However, local here does not mean spatially local. The nodes in local interaction can be physically located in different parts of the world.
We often think of individuals as independent and self-contained. The view suggested here sees individuals as nodes of the complex networks they form when interacting with others, co-creating themselves and the reality in which they participate.
A complex system consists of a large number of agents/nodes behaving according to their own principles of local, self-organizing interaction. No one agent, or, a group of agents determines how the system as a whole behaves. Self-organization here means the agents interacting locally, following their own principles, rules and intentions, without any steering from outside that interaction. All influence takes place in the local interaction. No one agent in the brain or on the Internet, or in an organization, can be in control of the whole system and how it develops, as it develops as a global pattern.
There is control and there is development, all the time. Both control and development are emergent phenomena of local interaction. The interaction itself constrains and enables the people in the interaction. People cannot just do whatever they want in a relationship. Relationships create stability just because relationships always impose constraints. Relationships that are based on diversity and difference may enable development to take place without a plan for development. There cannot be novelty if people in a relationship are alike. Consensus leads to stagnation. What happens is a complex ongoing process of people relating to each other. This places links, or relationships, at the center of understanding life in organizations. The number of nodes comes third, if even that. The second most important thing is the diversity/quality of the nodes. The most important things are the links; the process of linking: wiring together as a result of firing together, in the brain, on the Internet, or in an organization.
One of the biggest promises of Internet-based work is the way it redefines local interaction, as Doug Griffin puts it. Global participation is possible, beyond anything we have experienced before. Mass production is giving away to short-term mass participation based on mass communication.
The human brain has more than 100 billion neurons. There are around 1.8 billion Internet users at the moment. So we are still far away from the potential of the brain when it comes to possible link combinations of local firing together. But it is high time to visit our beliefs. There can be control without somebody controlling. There can be development without a development goal and a plan as to how to reach the goal on a global level. This is how the brain works. And this is how we work!
Thanks @venessamiemis for being the inspiration for this post. Thank you Doug Griffin for thinking together with me


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Archive for the 'Religion' Category
Here's a comment I made on someone's blog about how non-biblical marriages (i.e., featuring homosexuals, cheaters, divorcées, etc.) are destroying the concept of family and are therefore a detriment to society. Basically the OP was arguing that for a society to flourish, it must follow the Bible, especially in the area of marriage and family. […]
Filed under: Christianity, Equality, Life, Religion | Leave a Comment
Atheism survey
Well, I dunno if I'd call myself an all-out atheist, but i thought this survey would be interesting to take nonetheless. Enjoy! Q1. How would you define "atheism"? Atheism is nothing more or less than the lack of belief in a god or gods. It's not a religion or philosophy. It's a simple yes/no stance […]
Filed under: Christianity, Religion | 1 Comment
Tags: Agnosticism, Atheism, Christianity, Religion
Back to the Gita
After forays into the worlds of the Upanishads, the Dhammapada, Tao Te Ching, Analects of Confucius, and the Qur'an, I have decided to read the Bhagavad Gita again. It was a part of the curriculum for my Sacred Texts class last quarter, but to be entirely honest, I didn't read it then because I have […]
Filed under: Books, Hinduism, Literature, Religion | Leave a Comment
Tags: Bhagavad Gita, scripture
Ashta jaharam.
Like I mentioned in my last post [since deleted. sorry!], I have lately been feeling a reconnection with Christianity, specifically with the character of Jesus. This is all well and good, because Jesus was a great guy, and I think he had some really good ideas and a firm base in God. But in the […]
Filed under: Christianity, Craziness, Religion | 1 Comment


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UFO Sighting Report - United Kingdom
August 8th 2009 : Woking, Surrey, England
UFOINFO Sighting Form Report
Location: Woking
Date: August 8 2009
Time: 22:00
Number of witnesses: 2
Number of objects: 1
Shape of objects: Round
Weather Conditions: Calm, warm, slight breeze
Description: I was watching tv and sitting opposite the front window. I noticed an orange light flickering. At first I thought it was the way the light might be refracted through the old window (glass is old) so I got up and went to window. There was an orange light which had an elongated orange glow to it almost like a a flame which hovered above it. On seeing it I went outside with my partner....by this time it had stopped moving and remained stationery then very slowly it moved back and then seemed to get smaller and smaller as if travelling away... Until it vanished... 10 minutes fro stop to start... weird eh?
Custom Search


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This post will stay at the top till Friday 20 August
Please scroll down for new posts.
Please scroll down for new posts.
Hi all,
Hope your week has gone well and you've something nice planned for the weekend. Just wanted to say that my next Stampin' Up! Class is being held on Saturday 21 August instead of the original date of Saturday 7 August. I have two spaces available for anyone nearby wanting to come and craft for a couple of hours making a couple of cards with some other ladies.
Email if you're in the local area and interested in coming along.
Sneak peeks to be revealed soon...
Bye for now,


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So beautiful and colourful!:)love your blog.xoxo Shubhi's Revels!
i like this post its inspiring me
LOVE!!xo - David
Great hairstyles! :)
Les vidéos sont superbes!Angela Donava http://www.lookbooks.fr
Love this post!! I love bright colours, looking at colourful things makes me so happy.Lizchewylove.blogspot.com
What a fun post! Love it.XX,Miranda
Your inspiration posts are always so amazing! Love this one too, especially the pastel crates & Gaga one at the bottom!
Such inspiring post!!! I love the Cath Kidson photo, the fabric is so pretty!!!!ang-closet365.blogspot.ca
Only one look and I have power for whole day:)
I LOVE that colourful Polyvore set!! xxxxhttp://rendersublime.blogspot.com.au/
Nice, I like your blog! :)
I love you for looking at this post!!Thank you so much:)


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Winning travel entries:
Amanda J from Sometimes It's Better Out Than In on Egypt
The Australian travel warning for the majority of Egypt is "High Degree of Caution". In recent years the emergence of terrorism has posed a threat to Egypt's tourism industry, and consequently, the place is riddled with Tourism Police. I often saw them on the corner of intersections, near major tourist attractions and outside hotels. Their white uniform with the words "TOURISM POLICE" printed boldly on their shirts made them pretty obvious. What was also obvious were their guns. BIG guns. The rifle shot-gun kind.
Read more here .
Lacy from Perks of Being a Jap on Israel
I spent the day in a happy oblivion, taking in the sites and marveling in the fact that I was in Israel. Much later that day, we pull up to our hotel (which was craptastic), and everyone gets off the bus, starts pulling their suitcases out and dragging them to the hotel. I get off the bus, and can't look through the pile of suitcases on that side. I don't see mine. . .
Read more here .
Distracted Spunk on Southeast Asia
I could write about the tan line on my left wrist, of the shadow of my silver and turquoise watch now imprinted on my skin.
I could write about the mosquito bites tracing a trail along the side of my right leg, verbose in its catalog of places I've traveled.
I could talk about the elephant's ear flicking off my left shoe and causing me to jump in my seat, and the boy who tore lemongrass from the ground for me to smell.
Read the rest here .
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Blog Carnival 9: Travel
Winning travel entries:
1 comment:
- Lacey Bean said...
Yay! Although my name is misspelled :( It's ok though yay!!
- December 4, 2008 at 12:33 PM


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Little known fact: One of my early inspirations for Daddy Types was the IBM Selectric II typewriter--aka the typewriter with balls--which ushered in a workplace revolution. With the IBM and the word processors and computers that followed, typing was no longer considered just women's work.
Nowadays, a generation later, the idea of a man not being able or willing to use a keyboard--or of him handing a pile of notes to a female colleague and asking her to type it up for him--is ridiculous.
From the outset, I wanted daddytypes.com to contribute to a similar revolution in the way we, I, society looks at parenting. And besides, design-wise, no one seemed [seems, even two years later, really] to be giving too much love to the Selectric's aesthetic, typefaces and document layout innovations, which were direct precursors to the MS Word word processing conventions that are so ubiquitous now. Courier,
Arial, Letter Gothic, Univers, and more were all fonts created for the Selectric.
Anyway, that's all just a self-imporant precursor to saying that while I'm stoked and amused that workfriendly.net will reformat web sites to look like Microsoft Word documents, I'm more interested to find something that makes them look like the monthly sales summary from the Ohio office, circa 1975.


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TOMORROW is the Beckett Grading Egg Break. No purchase necessary. Come by Saturday, March 1 between 11AM and 4PM to win FREE BGS CARD GRADING! Every egg has a prize, supplies are limited!
TOMORROW starting at 1:00 PM we'll be Group Box Breaking in this order:
2013 Crown Royale football2013 Topps Museum Collection
football2013/14 Panini Gold Standard basketball2014 Topps Tribute baseball **2 boxes**2013 Limited football JUST ADDED~~PIZZA~~DRINKS~~FUN~~
If you'd like to participate, please e-mail me or visit the store.
Wax Czar is now an official Beckett Grading drop-spot. Simply drop off your cards Saturday March 1 - Saturday March 7 and Wax Czar & Beckett take care of the rest. The cost for grading is $10/card + $2 per certified autograph + $15 for shipping, insurance, & packaging. Grading simultaneously protects and adds value to your cards.
Please call or e-mail with any questions about the Group Box Break, Egg Break, or having cards Beckett graded with Wax Czar.


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Home Page
by Liz Sager
For certain is death for the born,
- Bhagavad Gita, Chapter 2
What was a man armed with BAs in English and Latin and a teaching certificate to do when it seemed like every place that would conceivably hire him already filled their quota of chain-smoking neurotics? Andrew Stokes sighed in defeat, sinking onto a bench in Central Park around mid-afternoon and lit a cigarette, inhaling and then exhaling heavily. He closed his eyes and scratched his head in weary thought. He wasnÆt giving up. Of course not. He simply needed to keep looking. There must be somewhere in Manhattan that would hire him. He was employable, dammit!
ōYou look beat,ö said a man in a dark suit from beside him.
Andrew jumped out of his reverie, nearly inhaling his entire cigarette. ōWh¢where did you come from?ö he coughed. He hated it when people snuck up on him, it was so creepy.
ōIt doesnÆt matter where I came from,ö he answered, brushing a minuscule piece of lint off the shoulder of the suit jacket. ōI donÆt matter at all. IÆm more interested in you.ö
This wasnÆt making Andrew feel any better. In fact, he was nearly ready to tell the man to go to hell and tell Judas he said hi. Andrew was not normally a rude person by any means, but this guy was really beginning to unnerve him. His mood was not improved by this seemingly all-knowing and all-around really strange man. ōWhy?ö he asked, flicking the ashes into the grass.
ōBecause you, my friend, are unemployable and I have a job for you.ö
Despite his objections to being called this manÆs friend, Andrew was intrigued. ōWhere? How do you know?ö
ōI just know,ö he shrugged, waving Andrew off with one hand, as if the answer to the second question were irrelevant or simply unimportant. ōJust like I know where you grew up and what your picture in the ninth grade yearbook looked like, I know that you have gone on no less than twelve job interviews in the last three months and have been turned down for all of them.ö
This was starting to get creepy. ōSo why would you want to hire me?ö
ōYou have determination. Ambition. We can admire that.ö The man had a knowing smirk on his face, and was pulling a card from the breast pocket of his jacket.
ōWe?ö Andrew said skeptically, taking the card and reading it. On it was printed a single address in Lower Manhattan, in the financial district, and a time: three days from now, at noon.
ōIf you decide that you need a job,ö he continued with a sardonic smile, ōthen show up there at that time. IÆll be there to show you around.ö He stood up to leave and Andrew opened his mouth. He had to make sure...
ōWhat does my ninth grade photo look like?ö
The man smiled and stopped walking. ōYou werenÆt in the yearbook that year. Missed picture day.ö
What the hell? Who was this guy? ōWho the hell do you work for? The CIA or FBI or something?ö
The knowing smirk came back. ōSomething like that.ö He kept walking, leaving Andrew to gape after him.
Deciding a job would be most advantageous, Andrew kept his appointment with the mysterious man. He greeted him in a pristine lobby with chairs that looked like they werenÆt meant to be sat in and bare walls with a tasteful plastic houseplant in the corner. With a cursory nod, the man motioned to an elevator that seemed to fit perfectly into the decor, and they stepped inside. ōSo, where are we going?ö Andrew broke the ice.
Wordlessly, the man pressed a green button on the panel, and the elevator began to descend. ōDown,ö he said, as if this action needed no further explanation.
ōOf course,ö Andrew said. The elevator went further. ōWhat is this place?ö
ōYou shall see,ö the man answered with a calmness that irked Andrew greatly.
ōGreat,ö he muttered, looking at his reflection in the chrome elevator doors.
They descended for a long time, so long that Andrew figured they must be a few stories under the surface of the city. Finally the elevator dinged open into what looked like a normal office space. There were cubicles, filing cabinets, and people sitting at the desks. They were ignored as they walked down the central corridor. ōWhere are we?ö Andrew felt compelled to ask.
ōUnderground,ö the man said easily, striding down the corridor as if he owned the place. It occurred to Andrew that maybe he did.
ōWhat is this place?ö he asked, stopping. ōIÆm not moving another inch until you tell me exactly where the hell I am.ö His stance resembled that of an obstinate child and looked as ridiculous as one would imagine a man in his mid-twenties would.
The man gave him an appraising look. Andrew felt about four inches tall. ōNo need to be like that, Mr. Stokes, I was just going to explain.ö
And you really looked like it, he thought sarcastically, but said nothing and waited for the man to continue. ōWe are an organization that does top secret research in conjunction with the U.S. government. We work with the government but not for the government. Does that make sense?ö The man opened a door and went through, motioning for Andrew to follow.
ōEr, I suppose so,ö he replied as he did so. He looked all around, up and back and forth. They were in a long hallway with shelves along both walls. The shelves went two, possibly higher on both sides of the corridor, which was impossibly long. On closer inspection, Andrew saw that these were also rather deep Ś two rows of clocks graced each shelf. They were all different shapes and sizes and colors and designs, but all were the old-fashioned, wind up alarm clocks.
Andrew knew he had asked for it when he learned all the clocks in the east corridor didnÆt tell time. Oh, but it wasnÆt just the ones in the east corridor Ś the north, south, and west corridor clocks didnÆt tell time either. ōDo these clocks actually work?ö he asked in an affected voice, still in awe at So Many Damn Clocks.
ōOh, they work all right,ö his boss/recruiter/tour guide said, only a shade bitter. ōGo on, take a look.ö
Andrew stepped closer to the shelves, despite his reservations. So many damn clocks. ōAre you telling me that these are all the people in the United States?ö Andrew choked out, glancing all around him.
ōDonÆt be silly, Mr. Stokes,ö the man chuckled in a way that gave Andrew the feeling that he was being mocked. ōThis is just the AÆs.ö
ōSilly me,ö Andrew echoed dryly. After a long glance at a few different clocks, he discovered not only did they work, but they were all different times. Or they would be, if they told time. Indeed, upon another glance, he noted ten numbers on the face rather than twelve Ś 1 to 10 on the very outside, and two hands. ōOnly ten numbers,ö he mused aloud.
ōThe little hand tells tens of years,ö the other man said suddenly from AndrewÆs side. This man Ś Andrew hadnÆt bothered to ask his name, and he doubted an answer would be given if he had Ś seemed to have a talent for that. ōThe big hand gives you single years. Like a real clock.ö The irony in his voice could have been cut with a rusty bread knife. ōSee those little dials down there?öAndrew looked, and sure enough, three smaller circles rested along the bottom. ōThatÆs months, days, and hours. The small hands, going back to the middle, are minutes and seconds.ö AndrewÆs eyes flickered back to the middle, where two much smaller hands were Ś and if he had taken time to count them all, there were sixty little tick marks in a circle. ōSo, what is it these clocks tell?ö the man asked conversationally, by way of wrapping it up.
Andrew vaguely wondered if this was some sort of oral test before he could start working here. ōNot time,ö was the only thing he could think of to say.
ōTechnically, Mr. Stokes, it is time,ö he answered, picking up the clock heÆd been examining. Andrew winced. YouÆre going to break it... ōIt is days, hours, months, and years of a personÆs life. Do you see the hands?ö
Sure Andrew saw them. ōThey move backwards,ö he said slowly.
ōBackwards, and forwards, contradicting itself... as life often does,ö he answered. ōCounting down the hours and days of a personÆs life until his death.ö
AndrewÆs mouth felt like someone had force-fed him cotton balls. ōDeath?ö
ōYes,ö he nodded, carefully placing the clock back on its place on the shelf. There was the persistent tick tock tick tock of every single clock in the hall, which made for more of a constant buzz than a separate sound.
ōWhat happens when the clocks reach zero?ö
ōThe person dies,ö the man said, while giving Andrew a look that seemed to question his SAT score.
ōYes, I know that,ö Andrew said impatiently. ōI mean, what happens?ö
As if on cue, an old fashioned alarm clock (at least thatÆs how it sounded) about fifteen feet up began to ring. There was an immediate reaction of a man who appeared from a door in the wall and began to scale a ladder to the offending clock. Andrew fought the urge to roll over and press the snooze button. ōThat,ö the man answered. ōTheyÆre inexact but always very close. YouÆll learn soon enough.ö
Andrew simply nodded. He supposed he would.
After that, life started becoming very boring very fast for Andrew. After a month of working there, rather than resisting the urge to press the snooze button whenever a clock went off at work, he now resisted the urge to seize his alarm clock on the dresser at home and carry it to the other room where he would proceed to copy down numbers, names, and all other manners of things when he was at home.
Once Andrew got past the fact that the clocks didnÆt tell time, but a personÆs time of death, it was just like every other nine to five job. Or was it eight to four? Three to eleven? He couldnÆt tell. He always forgot to wear his watch. The job was more or less the same day in and day out, whenever that day started and ended. The observance on the clocks was more or less constant, and when clocks went off, numbers had to be looked up and cross referenced with all sorts of government agencies. He didnÆt know what actually happened when he reported a clock that had gone off. There was a definite hierarchy around here, and those at the bottom Ś where he was currently dwelling Ś did not know more than they needed to. The man had told him he would learn soon enough.
One particularly slow Tuesday Ś Andrew knew it had to be a Tuesday because of the Swedish Meatball Surprise in the cafeteria Ś he was handing in paperwork on a particularly gorgeous brass wind up clock that had gone off three minutes before he would be able to leave for home, when he was approached by the man again. ōHaving a nice day?ö he asked congenially enough.
Andrew wondered if heÆd forgotten to initial something or date something heÆd signed, but figuring heÆd hear about it if he had, said, ōItÆs been all right.ö
ōGood, good,ö he nodded in response. Andrew waited, not sure if he was going to go on with that train of thought or go on to something else. Just when he was going to turn around to go punch out, the man spoke again, ōAre you finding the work to your liking?ö
It was The Voice. Andrew had heard it a thousand times; from his mother when she asked him if he knew what heÆd done to receive a punishment as a child even though she knew he had no idea and it was the voice of a professor in a seminar class who asked questions about algorithms and oranges. Andrew certainly didnÆt know anything about complex math formulas and citrus fruit. ōItÆs... fine. Just fine,ö he answered, glued to the spot by the manÆs eyes boring into the back of his head.
ōGood,ö he said again. Andrew wished he would find some other word to convey his satisfaction. ōWe donÆt do a lot of recruiting, you know. We keep our eyes open for brilliant young people. But working here takes a certain...ö
Desperation? he thought dryly. He could feel the back of his neck becoming slick with sweat.
ō...level of understanding.ö
Andrew turned around. ōEx Ś excuse me?ö
ōWell, this job takes a certain amount of ability to understand concepts. We do complicated work here, Mr. Stokes, thinking skills are important here.ö The man kept a steady gaze on him, like he could see right through AndrewÆs skin.
ōEr. Yes.ö Nothing to say to that.
ōIÆm just saying... not everyone is cut out for this job. They just canÆt handle it. The clocks, you know, unnerve some people. ThatÆs why we have to be secret. Imagine what would happen if everyone out there actually knew we existed.ö The man laughed as if he were sharing a wonderful joke with Andrew.
Nervously, Andrew joined in the laughing. ōClocks? What clocks?ö he tried his hand at a joke that fell flatter than a pancake.
ōGlad to hear that,ö the man nodded, brushing imaginary lint from his suit jacket and walked away as surreptitiously as he had appeared at AndrewÆs side.
Andrew sighed heavily and left to punch out. He really needed a cigarette.
While there was no official rule against it, it was an unspoken regulation that an employee never looked up his own death clock, or usually that of a family member.
There is an old phrase that says, ōCuriosity killed the cat.ö Andrew happened to know that cats did not have death clocks, although he did not know how the clocks would work if they did, what with the nine lives and all. That being beside the point, one day AndrewÆs curiosity finally got the better of him. Surreptitiously, he looked up his motherÆs uncle Ś Orville Redgrave. He hated that man with nearly every subatomic particle in his body, and looking up his death clock was almost a game. When he finally found it, Andrew was half-pleased to discover a reading of three weeks, two days, one hour, and nine minutes exactly left. When he did the math, it worked out to Thanksgiving Day.
Andrew made sure he was dressed up for the occasion. He was even able to smile when good old great-uncle Orville gave him a manly slap on the back and asked if he was putting his education to good use, and Andrew replied he was working for the government, still reeling from the smack on the back. He figured that technically, it wasnÆt a lie and as a retired something-or-other in the U.S. Army, this seemed to satisfy him into thinking Andrew wasnÆt all that much of a failure after all.
Andrew almost felt bad that it was his day to die. But that didnÆt mean he didnÆt watch with fascinated horror when Orville keeled over at the dinner table, clutching at his chest. Andrew calmly sipped at his cider while chaos reigned in the dining room. Just let him go, he thought. ItÆs his time. His clock said so.
ōSomebody call an ambulance!ö yelled his mother, and he looked up. He saw the looks on everyoneÆs faces, scared and pale, and he realized that this would be a bad place to point out the fact that it was his time. He couldnÆt. No one knew about the clocks.
An ambulance arrived on the scene, great-uncle Orville was taken to the hospital and was doing well by nightfall. AndrewÆs tie came off, and he sat on the front porch chain-smoking while deep in thought. His clock had been up! HadnÆt it?
After great-uncle OrvilleÆs brush with death (whose clock was now completely set for the next fifteen years, to AndrewÆs dismay), Andrew was more baffled than ever. If these clocks told a personÆs time of death and they didnÆt die, what then? Why were they still alive?
More curious than ever, Andrew did something he never, ever should have done.
He looked up Stokes, Heather Rose Ś his younger sister Ś wrote down the number, and looked through the hall for it. After a search that persisted for forty-five minutes and moving the ladder three times, he found it. He carefully took it off the shelf with both hands; he was ten feet in the air and dropping his sisterÆs death clock just seemed like the ultimate sibling retribution that he really didnÆt want to be responsible for.
He held it in his hands, took a look, and grinned. It was a Mickey Mouse clock that looked like every other Mickey Mouse alarm clock ever manufactured, like the one Heather had in her bedroom Ś except for the fact that it was a death clock. Ten numbers, three smaller faces, and four hands. He looked at the face, and he nearly dropped the clock. He fairly literally juggled it before finally catching it and looking at it again in disbelief.
Four years.
Three months.
Six days.
21 hours.
19 minutes.
Sixteen... fifteen... fourteen seconds.
His sister was going to die exactly four years, three months, six days, 21 hours, 19 minutes and some odd seconds from now.
Andrew placed the clock back on its place on the shelf and went down the ladder. Once his feet touched the floor, he sprinted to the front lobby and jammed quarters into the payphone and punched in the phone number of the house heÆd grown up in with trembling fingers. What time was it anyway? He looked around desperately for a clock, and found none. The phone on the other end of the line picked up. ōHello?ö
ōIs Heather home from school?ö Andrew demanded without preamble.
His mother seemed to make nothing of his distressed tone or shaky timbre. ōShe just walked in the door. Hold on a second, Andy.ö Andrew took the opportunity of the phone changing hands to roll his eyes at his childhood nickname. The outside world could call him æAndrewÆ and æMr. StokesÆ or æHey YouÆ, but his mother would call him Andy until the day he died, or she died. He didnÆt plan to find out which would come first. ōHello?ö
ōHeather,ö he answered, trying not to sound too relieved. ōHow Ś how are you?ö
ōIÆm all right,ö she said, a bit uncertain. There was a pause, and he heard a kitchen chair scrape across the floor as she apparently pulled one out to sit down. ōUm, how are you?ö
ōSpiffy,ö he replied, dry-mouthed and feeling a bit ill. ōWhatÆve you been up to?ö
Another pause. ōAre you sure you want to know?ö
He hesitated, and then rested his forehead against the wall beside the phone. Eight years and a figurative ocean of space between them. Of course she was asking if he was sure if he wanted to know.
Too many years spent in disinterest. So few left... ōI have fifteen. IÆm listening. Tell me everything.ö
So heÆd finally gone off the deep end.
Not in the traditional sense. He wasnÆt in a white suit (at least not by choice, only when nothing else was clean) and he was still allowed to use the silverware in the cafeteria. But after viewing his sisterÆs, the death clocks were no longer just a job for Andrew. They were an obsession.
At home, when he wasnÆt sleeping, he was lying awake staring at the pristine white ceiling, the buzz of the tick tocking clocks still in his ears, never to fully leave.
The thought that one of the hundreds of thousands and even millions of clocks in the corridors belonged to him was not something he cared to think about Ś yet he couldnÆt help it. He had a recurring dream about the clocks. He was atop one of the ladders in the corridors with the clocks, and was searching for his clock. He had no number written down or even in his mind, but he knew it was clock he was reaching out to find. He was finally able to take a clock from the shelf, but before he could look at it, he always woke up Ś usually to his alarm, ironically enough.
If you want the exact date he cracked, it was December 10, a full year and a half after he began working there Ś or if you wanted to talk in terms Andrew was thinking; three years, one month, 4 days, 12 hours, 35 minutes and X amount of seconds until his sister would die. He was flipping through pages in the computer database, looking for a name ōStarkeyö.
Not that much different from his own name, Stokes.
...What would a look hurt?
HeÆd just look at the serial number, he reasoned. That would satisfy the curiosity and he could go back to his job and waiting for his sister to die.
The serial number he was going to copy down for Starkey, James Joseph became his own. It was not only written in short, quick pen strokes, but was now burned into his retinas.
Before he could stop himself, he jumped up from his desk in his cubicle and moved to the corridors that contained the clocks. The buzz filled his ears. He wouldnÆt go to find it, he told himself as he walked to the far west wall where he knew that it would be. He wouldnÆt touch the clock, just look at it, he reasoned as he scaled the ladder with the fierce determination of a mountain climber who was mere inches from the summit of Mt. Everest. He would just hold it Ś not even look at it, if he was going to do that, was the argument for several years.
Before he knew what had possessed him, he held the clock in his hands. His clock in his hot little hands.
I canÆt look at it...
You know that you want to.
But I donÆt!
You do.
Andrew held the clock in his hands and felt the steady tick tock tick tock as it worked on. Slowly, he turned it over, and several things happened at once.
First, Andrew lost his balance on the ladder Ś he stood at one of the uppermost rungs of the ladder, and the fall was not going to be charitable. Second, the clock went haywire Ś the hands went beserk, spinning the way they were supposed to in a very fast, continuous movement. Relatedly and lastly, Andrew dropped the clock and fell after it.
The descent was rather fast, and Andrew discovered his life flashing before his eyes wasnÆt as boring as he thought it might have ended up being. There was his childhood, the bicycle he got for Christmas in Kindergarten, falling off said bicycle and getting six stitches in his chin, tripping in the cafeteria in junior high, a rather embarrassing junior prom night, a slightly better senior prom, graduating magna cum laude from university, all mixed in with his family, a string of girlfriends, and the incessant clock tickingŚ
Andrew hit the ground, and one clockÆs alarm went off with the sickening crack of a neck being broken.
The rest of the clocks ticked on.
When AndrewÆs body was found, the man who had recruited him merely shook his head. ōThe kid never learned,ö he sighed to himself, picking up AndrewÆs clock that laid next to his body Ś the face smashed in and springs poking through. HeÆd never learned. Never learned not to look for curiousityÆs sake, never learned that the clocks were only an estimate, and never learned that a manÆs clock only lasted for however long they made it last, not the other way around.
Without the help of friends and classmates, The Day That I Die would be mediocre. My classmates Erica Nuss, Aaron Stroschein, Evan Jones, Jessica Fraghia, Melissa Mickael, Alonso Avila, Chris Kehe, and Jeff Weisenborn all gave me good feedback. I appreciate their input and responses. Extra special thanks to Melissa, though, for not only feeding my ego in return for me feeding hers, but letting me use the extra scene that she suggested without demanding royalties. I also have to thank my mother who is always a decent sounding board.
My internet friends who encourage me even when I probably shouldnÆt be encouraged -- thank you. You all know who you are, and to those of you who I see on AIM every night I thank especially for giving me the Real Andrew Stokes.
More thanks to my FYS instructor, Terry Heller, who thankfully seems to appreciate my paltry attempts at humor, my bad Italian, and for some reason put up with my constant interruption in class, and whose insight and feedback was and is always welcome.
Thanks to my roommate, Leisl Schutte who can sleep through anything, including me printing off eighteen copies of a six-paged story at three in the morning Ś even at two pages to a sheet of paper, thatÆs fifty-four sheets of paper. She was always willing to laugh with me and laugh at me, and has not only been a great is messy and unorganized roommate but a good friend.
I must also thank the diligent workers at Pepsi Cola Inc., because without their continued work, I would not have caffeine and would not be able to work to ungodly hours of the morning.
You, whoever you are Ś thanks for your time in reading my story. If you had half as much fun reading it as I had writing it, well, I had twice as much fun writing this than you did reading it. And if you can tell me what short-lived TV show that was from I will give you a cookie.


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To explain Harold and Maude would be like trying to explain the fun of fishing to a vegan. You don't get the full experience and it loses its majesty. After coming back from the movie, a friend and I were talking about it. People in my suite (especially my roommate) were giving us horrified looks as we laughed about the "suicide" attempts of the movie. Of course we knew that it wasn't real and the movie made it humorous but no one else understood the humor. That is why I went an bought the movie.
The movie itself reminded me of Juno and its lax feel with witty dialogue and mellow music. While Juno is more indie and Harold and Maude is ...well Cat Stevens, it still brings a soothing feel to the movie. Of course after watching the movie (for the second time) we watched Thank You For Smoking (same people who produced Juno). Another out there kind of film.
It is no wonder why Harold and Maude is a cult classic. I am sad I did not discover it earlier and am immensely thankful for the chance to have seen it and more importantly share it. It is an inspiring movie of living life to the fullest and never taking one day for granted. Death is not the end, mearly a new beginning.


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1 Accommodation, 4 Things to do
Garranes Lake is located in Drimoleague, County Cork. A large stock of small native brown trout is present and large rainbow trout are regularly stocked to maintain a high stock density and give good angling results.
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This newly-revived ancient pilgrim path is set to become the "camino" of West Cork.
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Join David and Elizabeth Ross on the two day walking tour, which starts at the Top of the Rock, Drimoleague and ends at St Finbarr's Hermitage in Gougane Barra.
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St Finbarr's Pilgrim Way, from Drimoleague to St Finbarr's Hermitage. An ancient pilgrim path which has been recently revived, it traverses three mountain and valley systems, culminating in a glorious descent into Gougane Barra, 35km in two days.
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A warm welcome awaits you at the Top of the Rock, in the family farm in Drimoleague, West Cork. Here you will enjoy the unique camping pods, family atmosphere, and miles of walkways, a perfect location for discovering the whole of West Cork.
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Want to know more? Ask a question in our Community, they're the people who know Ireland best.
For more information on travel, accommodation and attractions have a look at our brochures and maps.
If you're a visitor from the island of Ireland you may want to visit one of these sites… Otherwise proceed to Ireland.com
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The Abused is a psychological thriller about nine addicts who go to rehab only to have one of them start murdering the others. The novel is set to release in Fall 2016.
Reader discretion is advised. Some of this content may be profane and not appropriate for readers under the age if 18.
Detectives Marcus Patrick and Vincent Valdez had spent a grueling afternoon talking to each addict. Marcus found their insistent chatter emotionally draining. He felt like he had gone from crackerjack police detective to psychoanalyst all in one day. He chuckled to think some people did this for a living. He thought he would have to shoot his brains out if he had to spend a career listening to people whine about their "cravings" and their shitty, little lives.
At one point Marcus wanted to scream, "Hey! I had a shitty life too buddy, but you don't see me snorting coke and popping pills. Oh no! I'm here trying to figure out who killed your politician buddy who from the reports sounded like maybe a stab or two in the gut was well deserved."
Marcus though sat there with a languid face and listened to each person's plausible deniability. "I don't know nothin'." "You ain't accusin' me, are you?" "I'm an addict not a murderer." It would be a challenge to see through the bullshit to the truth. Addicts were excellent liars – good at covering up their crap with solid-sounding lies. Well, the smart ones anyway. The stupid ones, they just lied and hoped everyone believed their heaping pile of steaming shit.
Marcus kept thinking about Merry not the array of addicts parading in front of him. He was looking forward to reporting back to her. She was a beacon of light in the midst of this oddly absurd place called rehab. Though it was Finley Sullivan who caught his attention. The former lawyer-turned-loser addict was barely functional as was the case with Kendra, but at the same time Finley had a vacant expression of lackluster care.
"So, you were a lawyer?" asked Marcus.
"Yeah, okay, yeah, they tell me that, but I honestly don't know."
"You don't know?" questioned Vincent.
"Nope," said the hapless man who had to catch occasional drool from his own mouth.
"You think maybe a mental institute might accommodate you better?" asked Marcus.
"Don't know."
"Do you know anything at all?" questioned Vincent.
"Not really. You know when is Jell-O time. I like the green shit," said Finley.
"Lime Jello-O?" asked Marcus.
"Yeah, lime … can I go now?"
"Guess so," said Marcus in a quiet voice.
Finley got up and ambled off like a drunken fool, which he was by all accounts. Vincent looked at Marcus with a quizzical stare.
"Hell, that man's chain is loose and his marbles lost," said Marcus.
"No fooling," laughed Vincent.
"You think he could stab the shit out of someone?"
"Yeah, and eat some puddin' later?" jeered Marcus.
"I think he's one step left of straight and very lost."
Marcus nodded and considered whether the very confused Finley Sullivan could actually stab a blade into someone's gut or not. And why would he? Unless he knew the disgraced politician in his former life as a lawyer, which the hapless fool didn't even remember having done for a living. It didn't seem particularly plausible except that things that often made zero sense added up to two cents and a confession and life sentence.
"You think those two knew each other at some point?" asked Vincent.
"It's possible, but the real question is…"
Merry walked in the room, "Did they hate each other?"
Marcus turned and looked at the demure Merry whose eyes sparkled at him with an unusual and unexpected flirtatiousness. "Exactly."
"Nope!" she said flatly.
"How do you know?" asked Vincent.
"Already checked," she replied astutely.
"Well then … there goes that lead," complained Marcus.
"It's lunch time in the common area … top sirloin and eggs over easy," offered Merry.
"Cool! I'm famished," said Vincent. "You coming?"
"Nope, I want to speak to Ms. Fenmore for a moment."
"Suit yourself … easy eggs and steak await…" and then Vincent bounded out of the room like a hungry hunter destined for some chow.
Marcus focused his attention on Merry. "You always researching the 'inmates'?"
"No, but then again it's rare someone gets murdered on the 5th floor, right?"
"You're very attractive," blurted Marcus.
"Um, okay…" said Merry with a frown.
Marcus stepped forward and she stepped back in some sort of strange dance move. They both halted for the moment and gazed at each other.
"I like Enya. You like her? I love the song 'Angels'. You are, you know … an angel."
Merry had never heard such nonsense. She only stared at the attractive detective and didn't have anything to say.
"Heaven pass away … and memories to pull …" he spouted like a hopeless romantic.
"What?" she was speechless.
"Angels … all those dark clouds …" he grinned.
"Are you crazy?"
"Um … okay."
"You want to go to town. The Highways and Byways Diner – best damn waffles you'll ever taste."
"I don't like waffles."
"Eggs then?"
Merry stared at her perfectly shaped black Italian-leather pumps. The word "angels" echoed through her mind. She looked up and with the slightest smile and replied, "Yes."
Marcus grinned and they left the room – together.


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Reuters Staff
1 Min Read
Aug 21 (Reuters) - First Bancorp
* First Bancorp - during the transition period, Bear Insurance Service will continue to operate under its name Source text for Eikon: Further company coverage:
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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 Froggy's Beauty Salon
Since 2004 the company has been providing Cosmetologist.
Froggy's Beauty Salon is located at 116 N Main St, Tekonsha, MI. This business specializes in Beauty Salons.


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We had a wonderful weekend spent with many of our awesome LP family!
On Saturday, we met up with our friend Ian and his mom, Sharon and his brother Matthew, for the Readington Balloon Festival in NJ!
The kids were in awe of all the free giveaways, the games, tattoos, food, rides, and crazy mascots!
Unfortunately due to the weather, the balloons weren't able to launch, but we still had a blast! Can't wait to go again next year!
On Sunday, the Mohawk Valley Chapter participated in the first annual "Ride With Pride" bike run!
Our chapter members Lee and Manon Sikes, of Broadway Choppers, organized this great event. The amount of support we received was amazing!
Here come the bikes!
Liam was just beside himself with excitement!
An incredible number of bikers and riders.
Even the news crews came to get the story!
We had a great time hanging out at LT's Grill, enjoying the food, bounce house, and of course, each other's company.
After the bike run, we hung out with the Korpais and were entertained by this crazy crew and their multiple performances!
It was a crazy, busy and fun weekend! Our LP family ROCKS!


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I've been shooting the Minolta Autocord in the month of May.
(Click Here) to see and read about the camera.
I don't like to admit it, but I had a hard time getting used to shooting this camera. The twin lens reflex (TLR) design is somewhat challenging to shoot, but I've always enjoyed shootiing with my Rolleiflexes. When I first received my Autocord, which is in really great condition, I was impressed with the brightness and sharpness of the focusing screen. I thought I would get a lot more use out of the camera than I did this month.
I did take it several places, to try different applications. Here's a shot from a bluegrass festival, from a jam inside a livestock barn.
Barngrass, by Reed A. George
Minolta Autocord, Fuji Reala 100 Film
In an upcoming post, you'll see a lot more pictures from this event, taken with my Leica M3. I really used the M3 a lot more than the Autocord at this event. However, I do like the color in the shot above.
I also took the Autocord ot one of my local haunts, the Manassas National Battlefield. There I met Madison (below) and her parents, who were kind enough to let me take her picture on the front porch of the Henry House.
Madison, by Reed A. George
Minolta Autocord, Fuji Reala 100 Film
Perhaps part of my trouble finding the opportunity to shoot the Autocord had to do with the fact that I kept it loaded with Reala, which is iso 100 film. That, coupled with a relatively small maximum aperture of f3.5 meant that shooting in anything but bright light was a challenge.
I also noticed that some of my images from the Autocord are not super sharp, while others are very sharp. Now, that may very well be related to the slow film, again. I may not be holdiing the camera still enough for slow shutter speeds. At this size of the computer screen the images look plenty sharp; up close (pixel peeping), not so much. Again, probably more related to my technique than the camera or lens.
Another thing I need to keep in mind is that depth of field is shallower with medium format than with 35mm. So, at a given f-stop, with the longer "normal" lens of the TLR, and the larger film format, I may just need to be a little more careful in setting exact focus, or stop down to increase depth of field.
Into The Future, by Reed A. George
Minolta Autocord, Fuji Reala 100 Film, Rolleinar Closeup Lenses
Above is an example where I got a nice sharp image. For this shot, I used a Rolleinar close up lens set. I'm pretty sure mine is a Rolleinar 1. This is a pair of attachments that go on the front of the camera lens, which in the Autocord has the same bayonet filter mount as the f3.5 Rolleiflexes. One closeup lens (the thin one) goes on the taking lens, the other with a thicker attachment to provide parallax correction, goes on the viewing lens. The Rolleinar is a must for portraits with a TLR. I've always gotten great results using the Rolleinar on my Rolleiflexes. It does fine on the Autocord as well. The other factor in this shot above is that I set the camera on the handrail you see in the picture. So, I knew that camera motion would not be an issue. I think that strongly contributed to the sharpness of the image. I guess I need to load up some iso 400 film in the Autocord, shoot at higher shutter speeds, and pay more attention to holding the camera steady.
I used the Rolleinar closeup lenses for the next two shots as well.
Manassas Cannon, by Reed A. George
Minolta Autocord, Fuji Reala 100 Film, Rolleinar Closeup Lenses
No problem with sharpness here, either.
Here's a portrait using the Rolleinar, window light, and a reflector (to bring up the dark side of my friend's face).
Lifelong Friend, by Reed A. George
Minolta Autocord, Fuji Reala 100 Film, Rolleinar Closeup Lenses
I set this shot up to show some Autocord bokeh (out of focus areas). That's me in a mirror in the background, standing on a bed, peering down into the Autocord. This shot would have been impossible without the Rolleinar, which allowed me to focus close enough, and reduced depth of field to highlight the bokeh effect.
Here are a couple more shots, from my wandering around the Northern Virginia, West Virginia area.
Harpers Ferry Roofline, by Reed A. George
Minolta Autocord, Fuji Reala 100 Film
Evening Walk, by Reed A. George
Minolta Autocord, Fuji Reala 100 Film
In this final shot, I focused on the grass at the front of the picture. I like the way the focus drops off with distance in this shot.
So, yes, I do need to keep trying to perfect my technique with the Autocord. It produces lovely color and bokeh. I just need to learn to feel natural shooting a TLR again - I used to use them quite a lot. Overall, I'm pleased with the results from the Autocord, but I'm not selling off my Rolleiflex.
Meanwhile, I'll be shooting a completely different camera in June for SFTC - the Konica Auto S1.6 rangefinder.


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On Sunday, October 30, 2011, I spent a delightful afternoon at an artists' open house co-hosted by Glenda Dietrich Moore, painter and illustrator (http://glendadietrich.com) , and Tamy Burnett, fiber artist. (http://www.etsy.com/shop/rockstaryarns).
Today I will introduce you to Glenda, my long-time friend. Her Flowers in Vase painting is my favorite piece of artwork in my Girl Cave: http://pasqueflowerponderings.blogspot.com/2011/05/girl-cave.html.
Glenda is a visual artist by training, and also an ordained pastor in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). She often combines her passion for art and spirituality in her paintings, and her work was recently featured on the cover of Imagine the arts ministry magazine of Imago Deo. Her Creation Energy series was one of my favorites.
Glenda also does incredible line drawings, still life floral paintings, and paintings of cats. (She has a Cat Rescue sticker prominently displayed on her front door.) And she illustrates books and teaches art classes to students of all ages in her studio.
The photos above show: 1)Glenda in her studio; 2) one of her works in process inspired by a trip to the Southwest; 3) a beautiful little landscape; 4) the cover art for Imagine magazine; and 5) two of the beautiful and inspiring note cards I purchased. I especially love the image of the women sheltering other women. Glenda and Tamy are coworkers at the University of Nebraska Center for Women and Gender Studies, and another one of Glenda's paintings of a young girl dancing is used in publicity photos for the Department. The dancing girl is also one of my daughter's favorite art prints.
On Wednesday I will introduce you to Tamy Burnett of Rock Star Yarns. I could do some serious Christmas shopping in her shop! In fact, I've already purchased a beautiful teal scarf for someone special on my Christmas list: http://www.etsy.com/listing/84336869/teal-fuzz-scarf.
Happy Halloween!
LeAnn aka pasqueflower


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View of newyork city from empire state building, which dominated the Newyork City skyline since 1931.
Bird's view of newyork city...
Security is tight, may be after the 911 blasts; each and every person visiting the building is photographed and kept in records.
A distant view of the great lady, the statue of liberty.
We waited for the sunset inspite of the cold breeze and it was worth waiting.