text:
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Vote in the new poll! ------------------->
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 01:08 5 comments
Labels: harry potter, poll, spiffy
One of the more important things that I've found lately
I stumbled onto this tonight. I really think it might be one of my most momentous finds in a long time:
TR2N is going to be in 3D. oh my oh my oh my.
Sorry the quality of the clip is bad.
Viva Comic Con.
user, user, user...
and for good measure:
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 00:39 4 comments
Sunday, November 23, 2008
the Sirius link
As I mentioned in a previous entry, I really like the winter night sky, its stars and constellations.
Sirius is the brightest object in our sky that does not come from our solar system. (First the Sun, then the Moon, then Venus, then Jupiter)
The Egyptian name of Sirius, the Dog Star, or main star of Canis Major, was KLB. (Vowels were not noted at the time like the are today.) KLB was Egyptian for dog. At the time, the appearance of Sirius in the sky was the way that the Egyptians knew that the Nile was going to flood. This was the way those living along the river survived, the Nile flood essentially making the land fertile. Obviously this was an important marker to the Egyptians. They used an important name that would recall a few things to them. KLB was a play on words because it also meant, and was probably said like, Kolob. It was as if it were a reminder to them, the star's appearance meant temporal life. Thus it was a symbol of eternal life.
Even though later this meaning and idea was lost, the initial reason why KLB was used is linked to the facsimiles in Abraham and the time he spent hanging out with the Egyptians and teaching them. That topic will be for another post. And it is darn cool.
As a side note, the Nile no longer floods. Crazy, I know. But it's not like it wasn't to be expected.
And for an etymological side note in Semitic: Qalb in Arabic means heart or home of God. In Hebrew, Qereb (Qarab) means center or nearest part (to the soul), etc.
Friday, November 21, 2008
No graduation?
I was just in the BYU bookstore looking for a greeting card: Happy Graduation. They didn't have one slot marked for said cards, nor did they have any just hanging around. Anybody else find this disconcerting?
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 19:50 6 comments
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
and now for something completely different
a student emailed this to me. how could I not share?
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 15:50 3 comments
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
an addendum to Sauron's eye/new planet picture thingie
ESPN.com can be useful in so many ways. I just found this picture in an article from ESPN that helps us find the planet (referenced in an earlier blog post) around Formalhaut, the brightest star in the constellation Piscis. This is pretty cool:
For a better view, click here.
Isn't that simply amazing? Wow. I love the stars.
Speaking of stars, you know my favorite part about Winter? The stars in the night sky. Aren't the winter stars beautiful?I love Orion, it's such a great constellation. And the star Sirius in the bottom left corner of the picture is great. I think I'm going to post sometime soon about Sirius and the Egyptians, and the Mormon connection. If I forget, remind me. It's pretty schwank.
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 14:47 7 comments
my Christmas wish list proves just how nerdy I am
Mom asked me what I wanted for Christmas, what my wish list was. It took me a while to think of anything. After I'd told mom what I wanted, I yet again realized how uber nerdy I am:
John Adams Bio
Team of Rivals
History of American Political Thought
Toothbrushes, yes, plural.
And there's an item that's perpetually on my general wish list, and that someday I'll convince myself to finally buy: Ken Burns' Baseball. Oh, and this, too.
What else should I want? I can't think of anything. Especially when some of my most favorite items are free.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
New Trailer
This is the new HP6 US trailer that they're releasing with Twilight this next weekend.
I would like to point out that this next weekend was supposed to be the date of HP6's release.
The new trailer makes the movie look great. We'll see. I'm thinking about protesting the pushing back of the release and not going to see the movie until it's been out for a bit, so that their opening weekend numbers aren't as good.
Oh, click here for bigger versions.
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 20:03 4 comments
Labels: harry potter, video
Friday, November 14, 2008
would you want to live on this planet?
So according to CNN, "Astronomers capture first images of new planets."
This is the picture that they have right now on CNN's homepage:
Which of course inevitably reminds us of:
Would you want to live on this new planet?
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 00:09 4 comments
Sunday, November 9, 2008
never give up! never surrender!
This is the last post for today, I promise.
In Relief Society today we were talking about the 2nd Coming & Millennium (I imagine a lot of you out there were, too). A girl quoted this movie, saying "Never give up! Never surrender!" I seriously had to bite my lip, concentrate hard on being reverent, and deny myself a belly laugh. I love that she quoted this scene:
2 nights ago I had a dream about a mad craving for salmon. I got a fillet in my dream and commenced eating it. I woke up right after that and thought it was a rather weird thing for me to want so desperately.
But I couldn't shake it, so I had a grilled salmon fillet yesterday. It was great.
Who am I? What have I done with myself?
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 18:36 4 comments
I just stole this from both Emily and Anna-Lisa [ænəlísə]
What is your salad dressing of choice? chunky blue (bleu?) cheese
What is your favorite sit-down restaurant? i really don't think i have one. i like lots of different places and different styles of food. that churrascaria in Foz do Iguaçu had some great food.
What food could you eat every day for two weeks and not get sick of? beans and rice, beans and rice.
What are your pizza toppings of choice? pepperoni and pineapple (sometimes with sausage for fun)
What do you like to put on your toast? scottie and mom made this tasty strawberry freezer jam a few weeks ago that's just great
What is your wallpaper on your computer? a picture of Grand Canyon West
How many televisions are in your house? 3, but only 2 are used.
What color cell phone do you have? navy blue. but i need a new one. i'm sick of it sending random texts.
Are you right-handed or left-handed? right
Have you ever had anything removed from your body? 4 wisdom teeth. bone spur. the alien. (okay, that last one was bad.)
What is the last heavy item you lifted? not the foggiest. do pushups count?
Have you ever been knocked unconscious? yep. wallyball, once. softball once or twice. probably other times, too.
If it were possible, would you want to know the day you were going to die? nope.
If you could change your name, what would you change it to? Lorgh L'kor (click here), or maybe Eviess Ariennye (click here), Sweva Laspa (click here), maybe someday my last name?
Would you drink an entire bottle of hot sauce for $1,000? right now, maybe. when i'm financially a bit more stable? not on your life.
How many pairs of flip flops do you own? 4 or 5. maybe more.
Last time you had a run-in with the cops? a run-in? never. but i got a speeding ticket over the summer.
What do you want to be when you grow up? mom. teacher. political wonk. youth sports coach.
Last person you talked to? scottie
Last person you hugged? mom
Season? hot days of summer
Holiday? i like the 4th of July and the 24th b/c of the BBQing. i like christmas.
Day of the week? i don't know if i have one. saturday for sports. weekdays b/c of teaching. sunday b/c of church and family dinners.
Month? july for weather. october for baseball. march for basketball.
Missing someone? sure am.
Mood? pretty great :D
Listening to? football game. (in general, harry potter books)
Watching? football game. (in general, too)
Worrying about? i'm trying to figure out if i'm worried about anything. oh, probably nothing, then, huh?
First place you went this morning? out of the house? church
What can you not wait to do? eat the homemade pizza downstairs.
What's the last movie you saw? we watched Pirates 1 last night.
Do you smile often? yes, with belly laughter.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
So I'm subscribed to 99 blogs.
Who wants to be #100?
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 02:00 8 comments
Labels: spiffy
Friday, November 7, 2008
Song in the head
Some of you probably know that I often have a soundtrack to my dreams. I wake up a lot of times with a song in my head. But yesterday's was weird: I'm Henry the 8th, I am.
I really wonder what I was dreaming about.
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 16:42 2 comments
Thursday, November 6, 2008
the GOP regrouping at homebase
I can't believe that I'm about to write this entry.
The GOP needs to regroup and needs to do it fast. Among the leadership of the party down many, many republicans that I've talked to, there seems to be a lack of continuity of idea. The party needs to gather around strong leaders that represent the best of the GOP, leaders who have a vision of the future.
Man alive, am I going to write this? The GOP needs to rally around Mitt Romney (and people just like him). The reason why is that his basic political beliefs are exactly the core ideals of what the GOP has had as its backbone for the last I don't know how many decades.
The political stances of the bulk of the members of American political parties tend to clump together in a moderate middle. By that I mean a moderate position within the party's ideology. The bell curve below shows the Republican party circa 1998. The party was fairly united on many core Republican issues. Because of this unity, the ideology of the Republican party looked a lot like a good bell curve:
There are obviously some going to be some people who are more the right or the middle of the party. But the majority will be found in the middle.
People in the W. Bush administration (note, not necessarily the President) pushed a political stance that was much farther to the Right than the so-called "base" of the party.
It was a very sly movement on their part, and not totally perceptible, but it happened.
Because of this movement, it made the Democratic party look farther Left than it really was:
The Dems actually were much more of a standard deviation bell curve this whole time. If anything they were leaning toward the middle because it gave them more political clout and helped them to keep their Congressional seats. But it looked skewed because of the Administration's movement.
But what happened to the Republicans? Well, eventually this movement to the Right became obvious and very unsettling to many member of the GOP. In an effort to reestablish the middle ground, people started to look for political positions and ideas to help fix the problems in America. Because there was no longer a firm foundation in the middle, the GOP started to look like this:
There were calls for this and that from all over the spectrum of political opinion. Do you remember hearing anything during the GOP primaries/caucuses and national campaign that carried a solid theme that had actual planning and information behind it? Rarely was there a constant ideology. Senator McCain was trying to rally a disparate Republican party that had no unity in their ideas. This unfortunately made his campaign struggle in their message to the American people as a whole because they didn't know how to calm down the party.
So what's to be done? The GOP needs to examine the basic difficulties in America today, then look at its core ideology and come up with unified front of ideas. These plans must be worked on and then explained to every senator and congressman, who must then clearly explain the ideas to their constituents.
We'll see if this happens. The GOP needs a plan for America, yes. But first they must rein in all of the outlying ideas and move the party back to its center. We'll see if the RNC can do this. We'll know by February.
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 02:01 9 comments
Labels: picture, political musings
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
That number has always been a cool one in our family, anyway.
But I especially like it tonight.
Thanks for everyone who GChatted me congrats, left a comment or texted me. It's as if I won myself. It made me smile.
Laurel and I broke out the fake Mormon Champagne and had a jolly good time.
When I saw McCain's speech, I ached for him though. I really wish that he had gotten the GOP nomination in '00. He would've won easily, I think, that year. I would've voted for him then, too, I'm guessing. Oh, how these last 8 years would've been different.
But my craziness of the day? Yes, I wrote in my mom's name under County Commission - Seat C
I usually don't vote for someone who's running uncontested, but this time I pulled a trick.
But I'm pretty overwhelmingly excited as all get out. Yep, stoked.
It's a new thing for me, voting for a winner.
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 01:25 5 comments
Labels: family, friends, picture, political musings
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Another possibility ------------->
For those of you who aren't hyped about voting for different candidates or sundry issues, you can vote for your favorite muppet in the poll I created for a friend in a similar predicament.
**Sorry that I forgot Miss Piggy. Totally spaced that one.
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 14:36 2 comments
Monday, November 3, 2008
My Blues and Reds
First things first: I wanna have a big party tomorrow, all blued and redded up. What should I do?
Also, I'm going early tomorrow morning to vote. I haven't voted yet because I get all cheesy romantic about voting on Tuesday and wearing around my sticker. I really should just get over it.
This is my guess for tomorrow (maybe Wednesday?)
States that I think will go Blue for Obama
Maine (1 electoral could go Red)
New Hampshire
New Jersey
New Mexico
New York
Rhode Island
Washington (state)
Washington D.C.
The total for Blue? 338
States that I think will go Red for McCain
Nebraska (1 electoral could go Blue)
North Carolina
North Dakota
South Carolina
South Dakota
West Virginia
The total for Red? 200
My crazy prediction? Utah could be at only 59% for McCain! This percentage would be seismic.
Anyway, here's the map:
States that I'm not really sure about: Florida, Indiana, Missouri, North Carolina, Ohio
This is why I like him so much: College football playoffs
As soon as I find Senator McCain's, I'll upload it. It was pretty funny.
Found it:
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 21:49 11 comments
Labels: picture, political musings, video
Sunday, November 2, 2008
the founding brethren
I almost always accidentally refer to the Founding Fathers and "The Brethren." I've done it before. It's very embarrassing.
Anyway, I can't remember who I promised the comparison of basic political platforms to. So if I promised it to you, will you let me know. I should really write these things down. And if I haven't promised it to you, and you want it, let me know.
Anyone else annoyed about Falling Back? I'm a big fan of making Daylight Savings the standard. Time to start counting down to the 2nd Sunday in March. I love sunsets occurring after 9pm.
You know, I was really happy when the dates were changed to extend Daylight Savings during the year. But I really miss President Monson's reminders during April Conference.
BYU and Colorado State played a game today that was more reminiscent of the crazy scores from the Wacky WAC. Seriously, where'd the Cougars defense go? 45-42?
I don't know how much this will help the Senator's presidential campaign, but it's pretty darn funny:
And one more:
Posted by Vanessa Swenson at 02:37 5 comments
Labels: church, football, friends, funny, musings, picture, political musings, video


text:
Stormtrooper Veteran Sergeant with sword and scabbard:
Note the colour scheme of backpack grenades too: they had red-blue-blue.
Hot-shot lasgun helps to balance the model. I remove his close fist: I need it for the next Stormtrooper Sergeant...
Stormtrooper Veteran Sergeant with close fist:
I've sculpt almost half of his body with green stuff, now he's like Colonel Straken!
Stormtrooper Gamma squad(s) completed:
|Gamma! Gamma! Gamma!
[Update 05/02/2015] New pics for 3rd edition Stormtroopers:
Two conversions in sequence, you can compare them in this link.
It has been a very hard work, I know. But my Stormtroopers need this and other!

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Either way it is way more hectic than one can every imagine, let alone plan for!
(Aargh... I used that nasty four letter word again!)
I had so many things I was going to do when I pre-tired, or as Lord Erroll posited "pre-tarded", thanks for that Merlin!! (It only twinged because it had more than a smidgen of truth to it!).
I hit overload in April, or more correctly I recognised that I hit overload in April, from which time I have been frantically searching for ways to row backwards from the lip of my own equivalent to Niagara Falls.
The fact is, that I had been pushing far too many of my FUN TO-DO items into the period after I was pre-tired. This backlog was in fact a major cause of the overload. Then, to cap it all, my friends in the security world awarded me "Security Person of the Year", which has served to make the whirlwind spin ever faster! I cannot properly explain how pleased I was to have been nominated let alone be, given the award. Thank You Folks! I do know that I was sitting back, bow tie undone, jacket off, when the award was announced. Little did I know that at least two people on my table, who were actually on the Awards Panel, were itching to tell me to "get dressed"! A piece of good luck came from the fact that I was trying out a newly learned trick of wearing a false bow tie and then switching to a real one when it came to relaxing. I owe my godson Matthew a drink, however I am now resolved to practicing doing up a Bow Tie as easily as I can do my shoe laces, but I will do that when I retire properly. (Hmmm, I sense a new overload in the making)
Well, my body has now signalled enough, by allowing me to catch Man-Flu. There will be those uncharitable folks who will point out that the session at Stephens Restaurant, under the shadow of Big Ben, which involved a few too many bevvies, might just have lowered my bodies defences. The subsequent hazily remembered tube and train journey home then provided the surfeit of viruses for the coup de grace. As I said uncharitable...
I have started searching for technical solutions to my dilemma surely there's an iPhone App for this... Apparently there aren't, there are many that purport to be, but they all turn out to be very effective Procrastination Aids, NOT Prioritisation or Action Aids. I suspect the developers of such tools were, like me?, wanting something to take the guilt away, but didn't think through the fact that simply putting it in a Procrastination App doesn't get it done!! Doh!
Ideas any one?
Friday, May 14, 2010
Pre-tirement or Pre-tardment?
Posted by The Watcher! at 10:00 AM
Labels: Pretirement, Procrastination
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text:
10. The SF/F and Related Blogs You Read
9. Adventures in...Cancer?: If Only You'd Been Bad Asthma (Or, Leading Up to Diagnosis -- Part Two)
8. Hugo Award: What I Nominated
7. Literary Explorations: What the hell is a "strong female character"?
6. Poll: The Retro Nostalgia Film (#7)
5. Death Star Economics and Ethics? (Or, What Would You DO With a Death Star?)
4. Link of the Day: Liz Bourke on (Male) Rape in Epic Fantasy
3. Hugo Awards Finalists (Plus Preliminary Thoughts)
2. Top 10 Overused Fantasy Cliches
1. Top 10 Cats in Science Fiction and Fantasy
I'm not sure what to make of this mishmash of old and new. Either certain posts of mind continue to have some kind of lasting impact or aliens have set up some kind of auto-refresher that changes IPs so I can feel special about a blog. The latter makes no sense...
April should be equally interesting, methinks.


text:
To make a shoe rack, cut two poplar boards for the shelves and two more for the sides, and screw the pieces together. At the back of each shelf, add a dowel rod to hold the heels. For a quick finish, use spray paint in the color of choice.Continue Reading
Measure the inside of your closet, and cut two pieces of 3/4 x 8-inch poplar boards to the height of the space and at least 16 inches high. Cut the shelves to width of the closet space minus the width of the side boards. For the heel holders, cut two dowel rods 1-inch larger than the length of the shelves.
Position the shelves along the side boards, and mark the location with a pencil line. With a high heel on the shelf, mark the location for the dowel rod. For each shelf, drill three pilot holes on both sides. For the heel holders, drill holes large enough to hold the dowel rod in place.
Attach the shelves to the sides with 1 1/4-inch wood screws, and insert the dowel rods into the holes. To finish, spray or brush paint the shoe rack.


text:
Photo Gallery
EAST HAVEN — Police are investigating who abandoned a dog in a crate near a dumpster on Tuesday.
A two or three-year-old male pitbull was found Tuesday morning in a bottomless cage near a dumpster on Coe Avenue, in East Haven. Temperatures at the time were below freezing.
Animal control officers said the dog was aggressive and children in the area were warned to go inside when the dog was being removed.
Officers said the dog did not have any collar or chip. They believe the dog has not been to a vet.
The person who abandoned the dog could face animal cruelty charges.
The dog is still with animal control, and had initially been well behaved but then became aggressive. Because animal Control is conducting a criminal investigation, the dog cannot be seen at this time.
For more stories about pets and animals, click here.


text:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 5 (To read all six chapters in an e-book format please clink on this link ... Storage [so far])
Chapter 6
Rosie sat down heavily. It was as if the bench morphed around her and became part of her. She sank back and sighed. It was the same every time. Whenever she needed to get away from ... anything, she came here. To see Ryan. But Ryan never saw her. She felt as lonely as before she met him, but at the same time she felt like she was more at home than anywhere she had every been since she left Crown Wood. That's where her other family lived, the one that didn't want her any more. She knew more about them than they knew about her. That's the way it had always been she felt.
Another sigh escaped from her soul and this time she felt tears running down her face. She hated to cry. The tiredness that accompanied her on the way to the bench prevented her from even raising her hand to wipe the tears away. So they ran, unhindered, down onto her pink uniform. It was a colour she hated because it reminded her of her bedroom, but she didn't have a choice. It was a uniform, after all.
Conforming was not something that Rosie had dreamt of ten years ago when she had first made her escape. The short time with Ryan had confirmed that she wanted to be a free spirit, like him. Rosie looked over at the spot where Ryan lay still beneath the ground and remembered his laugh, his smile and them being together. After that first day they just seemed to follow each other around. Neither of them ever said anything that constituted an agreement to be together, it was just accepted. Sometimes there is no need for words.
Their days together were similar, but so different. The day after Ryan told Rosie his story they woke up and untangled themselves from each other and then packed their sleeping things together to go and sit in their usual spot. They didn't talk about it. The only difference was that they looked at each other more, but only when they thought they were undetected.
Rosie sat on the bench and was filled with the same desperation to know answers that she had felt the morning after Ryan's revelations. The drugs had worn off and she was shaking. Feeling irritable as usual she decided to use her mood as a reason to question him.
"I could pretend I'm still sleepy," she mused as she opened her mouth around the question in her head. It never made it out of her mouth. Fear of changing the status quo drove the words back into her heart and now they sat heavily there, alongside questions about this new man that had just died at the hospital. Ryan had been the first person that she saw die, this man was just another patient that didn't make it. Rosie couldn't understand why he was now lodged in her brain next to Ryan. Ryan was special. John Doe was nobody to her.
Yet she wanted to know more about both of them. Ryan would have the answers, she had thought that's why she was sat on the bench near him. Later, as usual, she would speak aloud. She would ask the questions that twisted her insides, that was the only way she could rest.
Rosie was beyond tired. She was exhausted but not just because of the long night shift. The unanswered questions were heavy.
It was the same as when Ryan had shared, but different. She loved Ryan. Not that she ever told him that. They didn't need to say love, they showed it. This man, with the odd coloured-eyes, had shared something and thrown so many questions at her in the process. All the questions of life. With no answers.
Rosie was frustrated.
When she had desperately wanted to ask Ryan some questions she hadn't done it because she didn't have any information that she was willing to trade. So she kept quiet. Once, a week or so later, she was just about to tell him about the birthday party when she saw an unfamiliar look in his eyes and she closed in on herself again.
She was laughing to herself when he looked at her again.
"What's up?"
"What's the joke then?"
"You're strange sometimes, Rosie. Did you know that?"
"Yes." She smiled at her private joke. "Yeah, I know I'm strange ... but you like me!" Then she laughed again, a bit more nervously than before. Inside she swore to herself for making that mistake and then she promised to be more careful again. She knew she couldn't afford to go down that road again – not even with this man.
"After all," she thought, "I've only known you for about eight weeks, what was I thinking?" she continued to smile at him, but it wasn't a real smile.
Ryan just looked at her for a long moment, he started to say something then changed his mind, shrugged and turned away. When he was no longer looking at her she let the smile drop completely. And she remembered – all of it.
The blank looks to the left and the right returned and she knew she was in danger again.
Ryan knew what was happening but he pretended he wasn't interested.
"It's better this way, anyway," he thought, "I can't really take her crap on right now." His arm was sore again and he needed to get the dressing changed but that would mean more questions that he didn't want to answer so he scratched at it to soothe the pain.
It's bleeding." Rosie spoke casually to him as she looked over. She had been watching him as well. They were like distant chess players.
"Oh. Damn!"
"Oh. Damn!"
"You'd best stop that or it'll get ..."
"Shut up, Rosie! Who the hell d'ya think you are? My doctor?"
"I was only trying to say ..."
"Well, for Christ's sake stop trying. It's boring and it's none of you damn business anyway."
"Suit yourself you ignorant sonofab..."
"I will! Now butt out will ya?"
Ryan had turned away from her by now and was scratching his arm vigorously.
"Fine, I will!"
"Fine! Do that!"
Ryan moved the now bloodied and dirty bandage down his left forearm. I really hurt and he didn't know what to do. It was a different kind of a pain, not the nice pain that he wanted, this pain was jagged and bitter. His scratching had opened up the wounds again and there was a yellow pus as well as the blood soaking into the grimy crepe bandage that was wrapped around the cuts. There was a time when that bandage had been white. Now it was difficult to remember as the crusted dried brown blood and dirt mixed together.
Trying to reposition it back over the open wounds he unwound it slightly and tried to retie it more neatly. Holding a piece in his left hand he rewound the bandage but it wasn't doing any good. The blood came right through the loose layers.
Rosie just looked at him. She wanted to help but refused to budge until he apologised. She practised the words in her head, "Here, let me help," they sounded right. She watched as Ryan grimaced when he the shredded pieces of bandage together.
"Nearly there," he thought, "I'll show her." Then without warning he started to cry.
They were both shocked.
Laughing was just about OK but crying was definitely not expected or accepted according to their unwritten rules.
Ryan tried to stop but he couldn't. Dropping the tattered ends of the bandage – and all pretext of trying to fix it up – he let his left arm drop heavily onto his thigh. The pain jerked through him but he didn't do anything different. He just cried. Like a hungry baby. Rosie stared at him. She did not move.
When his tears stopped he got up, packed up his bags and started to walk away. She watched him as he walked further and further from where she sat. He never looked back.
Ryan waited in the accident and emergency room of the hospital for his name to be called. It was an unusually busy week night. He hadn't been there for a long time. He hated it there but there was nothing else he could do this time. He'd opened up an old would before it'd healed properly and now it wouldn't stop bleeding. He knew what they would say and how they would look at him.
He was right.
"Ryan Carroll."
"Yeah," he mumbled as he got up and walked to the nurse's office for triage.
"Hello Ryan," he knew this nurse but he wasn't sure that she remembered him. He was good with faces and people. That was something he had learned quickly when he was sober.
"I haven't seen you for ages, Ryan." She did remember him after all. His heart dropped. He preferred to be anonymous.
She went through the patient identification routine quickly as she glanced up at him from the computer screen in front of her. Leaning across the table she beckoned to him.
"Let's have a look at your arm," she said as she wheeled around the end of the table towards him on her low stool. She was not one of the rough ones so he lifted his eyes to look at her for a brief moment.
Staff Nurse Stanton her badge said. He said the name over and over to himself like a chant while she used her gloved hands to peel back the bloodied bandage. He'd try to remember her name but he didn't really want to see any of them again. Rosie. That's who he really wanted to see. He didn't know why she had to be so nosey.
"They'd been getting on fine before she ..." he paused mid-thought as he tried to remember exactly what she had done that had made him so mad. It must have been something. It was always something.
Nurse Stanton gently peeled back the dirty bandages and threw them into the bin. She didn't show any of the usual signs of disgust some of them wore when he was here.
"Ah. Let's clean this up a bit," she said.
"Sorry, but I have to see what's going on in here. Hold on a minutes and I can tell you what we can do for you."
"It hurts," he mumbled, almost to himself.
"I know it must but I've nearly finished here, just a few more seconds and we'll be done."
"OK." He winched as she pressed his arm. He had experienced much more pain than she was causing so he couldn't understand why any of this was bothering him.
Two hours later he had ten stitches in his arm and a new dressing on it. The nursing staff had also managed to make him promise to visit the outpatient's department in a week's time to have it checked - because he didn't have a GP. He had no intention of going but he said yes just to get them to stop talking, to give him some pain killers and to let him go.
He was thinking about Rosie all the time he was in there. He thought she would have liked the chance to sit with him on those seats as the hours drained away slowly. She may even have slept like she did the last time they were there. He needed to see her, but he couldn't go and find her. He wasn't weak. He had to prove it.
After agreeing with the nurses to return Ryan picked up his dirty bag from the clean hospital floor and headed to the doors that led into the ambulance bay and the car park. He knew he was wasting his time being in there. He had money to get because he needed to get high – quickly.
Rosie ducked down behind a car as Ryan scurried out of the A & E department. In her hurry to drop out of sight the lighter that she was always playing with fell from her hands. Frantically she reached beneath the car to retrieve it. When she looked up again he was further away from her than she had planned. Her move wouldn't work now. Rosie sighed. She had practised her lines. They stayed in her throat as she watched him leave. She was getting used to watching him leave. Ryan never saw her as he hurried out of the door with his head down. He looked as if he was searching for something on the ground. He acted like he was in a play, like Hansel and Gretel, but he was on his own, searching for an invisible trail. And his Gretel was hiding behind the car – watching him go.
Keeping hidden she followed him back to the squat and waited for him to make his way in. Pulling the temporary boarding away he burrowed through the opened window on the ground floor and replaced the board behind him.
Shivering, across the road, Rosie hunched down by a hedge and waited.
A dim, unsteady shaft of light appeared in the gloom – he had lit the last piece of the candle that they had kept. The batteries for the torch had run out weeks ago. They hadn't been able to either steal or buy any in the time since. They had been busy getting high.
As a slice of wind hit her Rosie realised that she was shivering and hungry but she didn't move. She had to see what he would do. When he went to sleep she would crawl in and go to sleep next to him. Then, in the morning, they'd carry on as if nothing had happened. That was the way they always did things. But it had never been this bad before. Nervously Rosie talked herself into waiting a while longer. She couldn't feel her feet anymore because they were cramping, but she stubbornly refused to move. She deserved to suffer, that's what she thought. That was just one of an avalanche of thoughts that came at her as she sat there. Thoughts about pink bedrooms, birthday parties, a place in Crown Wood and the lighter, they all tumbled around her head as she stared at the space where Ryan had crawled into the squat.
Eventually the light went out. She'd estimated that they had about an hour's worth of light left and he'd put it out after about thirty minutes.
"Good," she thought, "he's gone to sleep." She was wrong.
As she started to straighten herself out to walk across the road she saw the board moving. Rosie threw herself behind another parked car and grazed her knee in the process. She prevented herself from calling out in pain.
Questions filled her head and made it heavy.
"Where's he going? What's he doing now? What the ..."
Ryan climbed back out of the window. He put his bag on the ground. Then he reached back in and pulled out another bag. Rosie had never seen that one before.
"Where was that hiding?" she thought as she looked at the Burberry patterned holdall on the ground next to the dirty rucksack. It was packed to the brim. It was clean. She got angry in a second.
"What's that?" she said to herself. Then, as she saw him lift both bags up and lope off down the road she whispered, "Who the hell are you?" Sat behind the car Rosie felt more alone than ever before. She tried to stop breathing but it only hurt her lungs and her head. It had been months since she'd slept alone and the night fear returned to grip her throat.
"He lied." She said it over and over again to herself. "He lied to me."
"I've got to get a hit," she thought and standing up she defiantly walked in the opposite direction to Ryan. At the corner of the road she looked around but he had already gone.


text:
My puppy Chance just turned nine years old. He's taking a little break from his Guinness to wish you all a happy St. Patty's Day! I'm celebrating with the help of my friends at Kerrygold Cheese & Butter thanks to an invite from the lovely blogging collective Inland Empire Food Bloggers. I've long been a member of Food Bloggers Los Angeles, and enjoyed their advice and camaraderie. When I found out their sister club IEFB was having a St. Patty's-themed meeting featuring cheese I knew I had to visit.
The cold, rainy weather we had in January made me long to try my dad's from-scratch corn chowder. With my heavy schedule, it's taken me this long to get around to it. So when Kerrygold sent a mouth watering care package of four different kinds of cheese and their grass fed cows milk butter, I knew I would be adding my favorite ingredient into the mix - cheese!
My dad's chowder is heavy on the meat, with cubed ham and sausage rounds. I have a tendency to veer from a recipe anyway, so I studied my dad's recipe as a guide for ratios of ingredients and timeline, and then did my own riff basically from the beginning. From his base I got the idea to add new potatoes and fresh dill.
A big part of my blog is experimentation. I like to try new things and use this blog to expand my skills. Since I'd never made a chowder before, part of this "home culinary school" episode was learning how to prepare the corn itself. I was advised by friends that the magic of the soup would consist in roasting the corn before adding it to the base. I bought a 5 lb bag of organic white corn from Costco, so I didn't have to worry about shucking or cutting niblets from the cob, and I was able to freeze the corn until the right day to cook came up.
There are two posts I turned to for guidance in roasting corn: one from the Hughes family recipe collection and this one from Pen & Fork on pan roasting. The Hughes family recipe is closest to what I was looking for, but I soon realized since I was starting with frozen corn I would have to use a lower temperature heat and longer oven time. I mixed a couple tablespoons olive oil and about 1/4 smoked paprika into the corn, then baked at 375 for about twenty minutes and bumped up the heat to 450 for the last five minutes in the oven.
The two-step process of roasting then making the soup meant an investment of time, but while I had to be home, it didn't need to be tended often, so this recipe turned out to be a great project for a study day. I envision making this soup again on a football game day, or any rainy indoor movie-watching day.
It came out completely differently from my dad's original recipe, but better than I could have imagined! I actually rushed to blog this recipe before I forgot my steps, as I really do want to make it again. I'll have to pair this with a nice Irish Soda Bread for lunch tomorrow.
Kerrygold Cheesy Corn Chowder
3 C Frozen Organic Corn
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika (for roasting)
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil (for roasting)
2 Tbsp Kerrygold Butter
1 bag Pearl Onions
1 C Shredded Carrots
2 C Low-Sodium Veggie Stock
1 can sliced New Potatoes
1/8 tsp minced Garlic
1/4 tsp Smoked Paprika
2 Tbsp fresh Dill
1/4-1/2 tsp Salt (to taste)
1/2 C Heavy Cream
3 1/2 oz Kerrygold Aged Cheddar Cheese
3 1/2 oz Kerrygold Skellig Sweet Cheddar Cheese
1. Thaw the corn slightly, enough to separate the niblets. Mix with olive oil and 1/4 tsp smoked paprika to coat, then oven roast as preferred. I cooked mine at 375 degrees for about 20 minutes then bumped up the heat to 450 degrees for another five minutes.
2. Saute thawed pearl onions, covered, in butter for about ten minutes, adding the shredded carrots for the last 3-4 minutes.
3. Add veggie stock, potatoes, and spices and let simmer, covered, for about twenty minutes. If desired, use an immersion (stick) blender to partially puree the chowder before adding in corn. I wanted my chowder chunky but not whole pieces, so I gave the stick blender about four quick whirls and called it good.
4. Add roasted corn and cream. Allow to come back up to a simmer.
5. Turn off heat and stir in cubed cheese till melted. Serve warm.


text:
How do you rate Waterside Court?
Very pricey, but that's Bath. Maintenence request had to be put through twice to be noticed but was sorted quickly after the second time.
On 14th November 15
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|Harington Court
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Very pricey, but that's Bath. Maintenence request had to be put through twice to be noticed but was sorted quickly after the second time.
On 14th November 15
Read Waterside Court Reviews
Staff not present and sucks, fire alarms randomly going off.
Best accommodation for house parties, security is pretty chill especially Danny...he is pure gold, brought my delivery right to my bedroom door.
Great location, however the halls are overpriced and the kitchens are outdated, the extractor fans don't work and many of the cupboards and facilities are broken.
I have enjoyed my experience throughout due to the brilliant staff to help with many matters, however when it comes to maintence it is rather slow
Great location, Useless cleaners. Comfortable livinf
Amazing halls. Good sized rooms with very friendly staff! :)
The Wifi signal is honestly excellent and I would argue that Waterside is the best value for money out of all the private accommodations available in Bath, after seeing the others. The location is pretty good, you could walk to the city centre in 20-30 minutes and it's very close to the Bath Spa directed bus stops and of course, the Lidl! However, the cleaning and maintenance lacks in speed and availability, but the staff are nice enough. There is hardly a common room space here.
Very pricey, but that's Bath. Maintenence request had to be put through twice to be noticed but was sorted quickly after the second time.
Nice looking from inside and out, and good management when things need fixing etc. But cleaners don't do anything!!! And new curtains too pls!
Great for night life and parties room had things wrong with it which they seemed to disregard and maintenance processes are bit inefficient
Probably the best place to stay for bath spa students, brill location :)
It Was like living with a giant family could go anywhere start chatting and make friends
Don't be deceived by the lower housing costs and photoshopped images that are portrayed on the website. Yes the building is in a good location for bus routes and walking into the city and the rooms are big enough for you to live comfortably within however for what you get it's hugely overpriced. Management is good but maintenance problems are frequent and usually take a long time to be resolved. Socially, it's okay but most problems you encounter at Waterside are due to the noise, cleanliness and activities of other residents.
I wish I could have stayed all through uni! Charlton court is next door so there's hundreds of you all together!


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17 & 18 Get Graphic
It just so happens that my next two books are both graphic novels! Now, my personal graphic novel experience has been limited to the Buffy series, but these two are definitely ones I was glad to try. They are both in the top ten of the 2013 Great Graphic Novels.
The Silence of Our Friends is a true story (a few details are changed) about the TSU Five trial and the events leading up to it. Mark Long's father, Jack, is the news cameraman in the story who really wants to do the right thing and cover the race issue in Houston like it should be covered. He's not scared to speak up for his black neighbors, but it's a volatile time. I think the fact that the story is mostly true (and Long covers the actual events in an Author's Note at the end), makes it that much more powerful. I can't forget to mention the artwork. The art makes this story. Without the visual, it doesn't have the same impact.
Trinity: A Graphic History of the First Atomic Bomb is very well put-together. I can definitely see the appeal. The information is presented in such a way that teens may find it easier to understand the concepts, and Fetter-Vorm does especially a good job of explaining the science behind the atomic bomb.
Personally, this isn't a book I would choose to read casually, but I'm not a big nonfiction reader. I wouldn't really recommend it as a reference source for someone writing a report, but for someone who is interested in the subject or is having a hard time understanding how things happened, I would absolutely give them this book.
Book 13 (Where I Gush About Tamora Pierce)
A long, long time ago, when I was in middle school, I was introduced to Tamora Pierce in the form of her Circle of Magic quartet. I remember that I actually started with Tris's Book because Tris had red hair and wore glasses, like yours truly. I loved it so much that I started over from the beginning, and I made sure to read every book Tamora Pierce has written since. (more…)Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
Books 11 & 12
I actually have a reason for putting these books together in the same blog post. They are both Alex Award winners, books written for adults that are deemed to have an appeal to teens. Both of these, I feel, completely fail in having appeal to teens as anything but historical fiction. (more…)Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
Books 9 & 10
Two more books this week. One was a struggle. One I would really like to see a sequel. (more…)Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
Books 6, 7, & 8
So I was lazy, and when I finished Boy21 last week, I never posted. Since then, I've also finished The Miseducation of Cameron Post, which took me up until the day before yesterday, and The Night She Disappeared, which I started and finished yesterday (partly because it's short, and partly because it's really good). (more…)Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
Book 5 Finished
When I was a kid, I read all of the really scary fairy tales where people's eyes were pecked out, or they cut off their own toes. (And people talk about modern YA being dark!)
Enchanted by Alathea Kontis doesn't have any of that, though it does have an evil fairy godmother. It starts off as a sweet retelling of The Frog Prince, and then things get complicated. It's as if all of the fairy tales we know and love all happened to the same family. Sunday Woodcutter, the seventh daughter of a seventh daughter, is doomed to a happy life (she'd rather have an interesting one). Her elder sisters, those still living, each have their own gifts, and hers is that anything she writes will come true. This means she can only write about the past, and no one wants to listen to her stories until she meets a frog named Grumble. They become fast friends, and Grumble, who is falling in love with Sunday, asks for a kiss each time she leaves. Sunday obliges, and the day that she is truly in love with him is the day the spell is broken. Too bad she's not there to see it happen.
Sunday's older brother is the infamous Jack (of all of the Jack tales), and he's presumed dead. It's her adopted brother Trix who trades the cow for magic beans which become the beanstalk. There's references to Rapunzel, Princess and the Pea, Cinderella, and I can't remember all of them, but they come off as tongue-in-cheek rather than contrived. Some might be bothered by the insta-love between Sunday and the prince, but that just made it seem more like a modern fairy tale to me.
Read Enchanted, named one of the top ten 2013 Best Fiction for Young Adults, if you like Robin McKinley and Shannon Hale's fairy tale retellings.Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
Book 4!
It's been a few days since I finished this book, which was in the top ten for the 2013 Popular Paperbacks for Young Adults. Unfortunately, I got distracted and perturbed by library-haters, so I'm just now getting to my review.Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
Book #3 Complete (Finally!)
Dodger is a right tosher, which just means he travels the sewers of Victorian London looking for anything of value. One rainy night, he emerges to find a beaten girl trying to escape her captors and comes to her rescue. This is how he comes to meet Charles Dickens (that's right), a reporter for the Morning Chronicle and Henry Mayhew, co-founder of the satire magazine Punch and activist for the poor. Mayhew and his wife take the girl into their home to recover, and Dodger, being a good sort (and already falling for this girl), is determined to bring her captors to justice — or at least for a ride on the Thames without a boat. This girl isn't just anyone, though, and Dodger finds himself emerging from the stews and into London's poshest neighborhoods to keep the girl safe.
I really like the plot of Dodger, but the book is so character-driven that I often felt like the story was coming to a standstill. Pratchett does a lot of world-building, though he admits in a note at the end that he took some liberties with history to make it all fit. Dodger comes into contact with the historical figures of Dickens and Mayhew, but also Sweeney Todd (fictional), Baroness Angela Burdett-Coutts (real), and Sir Robert Peel (real and also helped create the modern police force). A lot of detail is given about life in Seven Dials and the ins and outs of being the lowest of the classes. The language adds to the authenticity. All of this detail immerses you in Victorian London, but like I said, I was often wondering when the mystery of the girl would pick back up, and I ended up skimming quite a few pages.
I would recommend this to people who like to be immersed in history. If you're looking for a mystery, though, I would steer you elsewhere.Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
Book 2 Complete!
I'm having a hard time describing Wonder Show by Hannah Barnaby. I'll start with what it's about. Portia Remini was nine when her father left her with her Aunt Sophia (and even younger when her mother took off). Portia wasn't a particularly easy child, and Aunt Sophia had no patience for a headstrong girl who constantly made up stories, so at the age of thirteen, Portia was sent to the McGreavey Home for Wayward Girls, run by a man known only as Mister, who believed that the girls were there to be his own labor force. After all, none of their families were ever coming back. Portia, as always, maintains faith that her father will find her, but she soon realizes that she can't stay at the Home. Remembering how her father loved the circus and learning that there was one passing through, Portia literally runs off to join the circus. She ends up with the Wonder Show, a sideshow group traveling with the circus, and they become her family.
Wonder Show is written in a very nontraditional style. Chapters go back and forth from first person, Portia, to third person, to first person, a different character. It makes for a constant readjustment, especially with short chapters, that might not be for every reader. For me, it made for a very quick, enjoyable read.
Wonder Show is a 2013 William C. Morris YA Debut Award finalist, edged out by Seraphina. I can't think of anything I've read that's been quite like this book.Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )
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Tuesday, September 22, 2009
New Clothes!
11 comments:
- a corgi said...
and the Colts won last night; that was a good game!
that collar looks adorable on Gibson and Gibson looks so very cute in all the pictures!! I think those corgis purposefully do not pose for pictures so that they can get more treats :)
enjoy the day
- September 22, 2009 at 8:34 AM
- Jenny said...
Oh my gosh, that last picture and caption is too funny! Love it!
- September 22, 2009 at 8:43 AM
- ^..^Corgidogmama said...
It always amazes me that it isn't just Hoosier's who follow the Colts!
Love that collar...will check out the site.
Gibson sure is a cutie!
- September 22, 2009 at 8:45 AM
- Corgii said...
Thanks for linking that site! I know I'll be spending ALL of my money there getting adorable collars for my little (future) corgi girl to accessorize with!
- September 22, 2009 at 8:45 AM
- Kelly said...
Betty, I think his collar brought them good luck! He'll never be able to take it off again during the season! lol
^..^Corgidogmama, I was actually a hoosier for 24 years before I moved here :) My husband is from Indy too, so that is what really got me into the Colts! :) (plus the fact that Peyton Manning is my boyfriend)
Corgii, glad I could help!!
- September 22, 2009 at 9:04 AM
- Dozer and Coop said...
Geez Gibson, you look just like me! No wonder you are so handsome BOL!
We think your Mum takes the most exquisite pictures of you, of course being incredibly handsome doesn't hurt. We love your new collar and will go check out your collar site. We can always use more accessories.
Pink Baby got started from Kylie (http://misskyliem.wordpress.com/) and then gets sent to someone new each week. You can follow Pink Baby to its new location and then request that Pink Baby come visit you. When PB is done with us, she will be going to the Giant Speckled Chihuhua so if you wanted to have PB come visit you, you will need to contact GSC at http://giantspeckledchihuahua.blogspot.com/ and have them send PB onto you when she is done there.
So far Pink Baby has made it to about 5-6 blogger homes and we suspect in the coming months she will be traveling all over.
We'll be getting our photo in for your contest tonight. Mum has to shift through a bizillion digital images she has taken of me and Dottie.
Love, Dozer
- September 22, 2009 at 9:37 AM
- ClassyChassy said...
Love the photos!!!
- September 22, 2009 at 3:14 PM
- Aj said...
Loved the pictures and the captions!
- September 22, 2009 at 3:31 PM
- The Beasts- Royal, Brock & Alki said...
sooo handsome!
tail wags & butt wiggles,
The Beasts
- September 23, 2009 at 12:05 PM
- Freya's Human said...
I need to get Freya a collar for her birthday in a month. I've been eying a custom collar for months now--soon.... first Halloween costumes.
- September 25, 2009 at 11:39 AM
- Dances with Corgis said...
The blue looks really good against Gibson's coloring.
I think he needs a colts jersey!
- September 25, 2009 at 11:52 PM


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Thursday, May 31, 2012
Being A City Blogger For 'Schöner Wohnen'
24 comments :
Congratulations! That's just awesome. I don't speak German, took a class many years ago when I worked for Adidas but it didn't stick. Lol. Have fun with it. That's exciting news!ReplyDeleteReplies
Thank you Sherry! It was a quite exciting experience!!Delete
How many times can I say "Congratulations!", Igor? ;) Very impressive pedigree you're cultivating for yourself, Mister! Well done! Yet again!ReplyDeleteReplies
Merci, Bradford!! I must stop with my self-centered shout outs though:-))Delete
Congrats Igor! Mach weiter so!ReplyDeleteReplies
Vielen lieben Dank, Nina!Delete
That's awesome Igor!Gongratulations a thousand times!Wish I could speak German to read your story...!You must be so excited...Keep on!!ReplyDeleteReplies
S'euxaristw para poly!!!Delete
Herzlichen Glückwunsch zur 'Ernennung' zum Münchner City-Blogger, Igor! Tolle Locations, die du ausgesucht hast und ein wirklich klasse Interview! Ich freu mich schon riesig drauf, bei meinem nächsten München-Besuch in ein paar Wochen wieder einige neue Shops und Cafés zu entdecken ... dank Deiner genialen Tipps!ReplyDelete
Have a happy day!
This post is well written and informative. I don't comment often, but it doesn't cost me anything to say it when it's true. Cheers.ReplyDelete
SEO Melbourne
World Domination. Yay!ReplyDelete
Igor, you are famous and deservedly so. You spread Happiness around and infect us all with it. Well dine lovely x
Conquering the world indeed! Congrats, Igor! (can't read German but love your photos)ReplyDelete
FANTASTIC Igor!! Great shots and report-the perfect job for you-really well done! :-)ReplyDelete
Oh thank you all for your nice comments. So uplifting reading each of your comments!!ReplyDelete
Congrats! So cool! I loved the report!ReplyDelete
Now if only I could read German. :) Hooray for you! So pleased to hear many more people will benefit from your great style and good advice!ReplyDelete
Congrats Igor! You're popping up everywhere... though it's no surprise to me. :) Love the space you picked, all my favorite elements in one stop (with the bar being the most important! j.k.) I honestly love discovering Munich through you!ReplyDelete
looking great this place.. I think I already congratulated you with the schoner wohnen but once more well done you happy dude ... :)ReplyDelete
Great Igor, congrats! Shoner wohnen was my first interior magazine and I still love to read it. This art gallery looks great...ReplyDelete
Gratulation Igor! I'm off to read your interview now - after the awesome Linie 58 I checked out earlier, you are leading me lots of places today ;)ReplyDelete
How exciting! Congrats, Igor! Reading 'Schoener Wohnen' is one of the many things I miss about living in Germany.ReplyDelete
- AnonymousJune 1, 2012 at 11:25 PM
Oh my, you're becoming a celebrity! ;-) I'm off to check out the link. Yes, I can read German even though it's a bit rusty.ReplyDelete
Have a wonderful weekend!
Igor, that is fantastic news, I'm a little late to the party but I do enjoy reading your posts so much and I can see the dedication to your blog is paying off with this wonderful recognition. Well done.ReplyDelete
Brilliant photos! Looks like you had a great time!ReplyDelete


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Church's Fried Chicken
Over the years, many friends from southern states, big city ghettos, farm country folk and even city slickers have mentioned that there is one fried chicken restaurant that stands above the rest. According to the folks that really know good fried chicken, Church's is the best!
Fried chicken restaurants are right on the borderline of being fast food joints, but they are not really fast food. Some fried chicken restaurants fill the rest of the menu out with fast food junk items and some do not. Church's Fried Chicken offers a menu full of good country style side dishes and condiments that traditionally go with fried chicken. This menu strategy appealed to me.
Church's is in the business of selling great high quality fried chicken that is cooked crisp and it is not greasy. Maintaining high quality standards, cleanliness and offering good fast service is what makes Church's Fried Chicken customers happy. Happy customers usually become repeat customers who can be counted on for future business.
Church's fried chicken has a good reputation for great fried chicken and they have built a solid clientele base of loyal customers. Now Church's has me as one of their loyal customers, because I was impressed by how good their fried chicken was! It was fried chicken, like how good fried chicken should be.
Church's Fried Chicken has several locations in Las Vegas and I visited the site at Rancho near Highway 95. The parking area is well lit. This is a service business area and office park zone. Working class neighborhood are nearby. This location has easy street access. Fried chicken sells good in a prime location like this!
I recommend Church's Fried Chicken for any fan of good southern style fried chicken! Church's Fried Chicken is not really fast food. It is just simply some good cookin'!


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Temescal Gateway Park
Plan Your Event Here
Hike & Event Calendar
Temescal Canyon Outdoor Education
Temescal Gateway Park Map
Our committed and professional naturalists lead students on a three-day/two-night hands-on science program that aligns with the California State Science Content Standards.
Customized day and overnight programs are also available. For more information contact the MRCA Outdoor Education Program or call (818) 878-0866, ext. 228
Outdoor Education Flyer
Directions: Temescal Gateway Park is located in Pacific Palisades, one mile north of Pacific Coast Highway at the intersection of Temescal Canyon Road and Sunset Boulevard.
15601 Sunset Blvd., Pacific Palisades
Phone: (310) 454-1395


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This is a no-healthy-muffin-and-certainly-not-a-5-a-day post. I better declare that early because the only thing remotely healthy about this muffin is the fact that I used unbleached organic plain flour but nothing else. NOTHING else.
Right now, I feel terribly clever. Terribly clever indeed for making such gorgeous muffins - like that which you could get at a bakery with coffee - come true in my own kitchen. Yay yay yay says my tummy!
An indulgent, lemony-vanilla, moist, fine-crumbed muffin chock-a-block with the tiny semisweet chocolate chips I love; finished with a demerara, walnut, chocolate chip topping. Now why wouldn't that be the perfect way to start the day?
I suppose now that I've made a muffin so lovely in all its state of unhealthy grace, I should attempt some which are 'healthy'? Is sneaking in a bit of wholemeal flour and some rolled oats into the batter considered doing the healthy thing or an illusion of the healthy thing?
Also, why is it that instead of actually making some healthy muffins, all my thoughts are now completely consumed with glorious visions of lemony Blueberry Muffins and boozy Rum & Raisin ones? Is there no help for me at all?
115g Salted Butter, softened
160g Raw Sugar
2 Eggs
1 teaspoon Vanilla Essence
200g Greek-style Yoghurt
240g unbleached organic Plain Flour
1 teaspoon Baking Powder
Scant 1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
Mini semisweet Chocolate Chips
Zest of 1 Lemon, grated
Pinch of Salt
Topping - Some Demerara Sugar, chopped Walnuts and mini semisweet Chocolate Chips
Preheat oven to 140 Celsius. Line a 12-case large cupcake tray with paper cases. Set aside.
Mix the topping ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. Mix the Flour, Baking Powder and Baking Soda in a bowl with a whisk. Set aside.
In a large bowl, cream the Butter and Sugar for a couple of minutes, just until combined. Beat in one Egg with an electric mixer, just until well combined. Repeat with the second Egg. Add in Vanilla, Lemon zest and pinch of Salt. Next, beat in the Yoghurt. Now, with a spatula fold in the Flour, Baking Powder and Baking Soda into the wet mixture to create a slightly stiff batter. Add in the Chocolate Chips.
Measure out all the batter into the 12 paper cases which have already been prepared. Sprinkle on the topping mixture. Place the tray in the oven and increase the temperature to 160 Celsius. Bake for about 20 - 25 minutes until the tops are golden and a skewer poked through the centre of a muffin comes out clean.


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And then, since it will most likely be dreary and gray, we figured it's probably a good idea to head somewhere a little warmer for the second half of our trip! That part of the trip is still up for debate, but I think we've narrowed it down to two front runners.
First, there's Barcelona. It's big, busy, coastal, and decently cheap. Plus, everyone we know seems to have visited already, so we'll be able to get lots of recommendations on what to see. I really enjoyed Madrid when I visited during college, and Joe's never been to Spain. I'm pretty confident we could have a laid back yet exciting little trip if this is where we ended up.
And then there's Lisbon. Everyone we talk to says they've heard great things about Portugal, and that they had a friend who visited and loved it. But no one we've encountered has actually been there themselves. That makes it a little more exotic, which is appealing to us. It's got a lot of the same appeal as Spain, but might be just a little cheaper and a little warmer. Both qualities that we appreciate!
We don't have to decide our secondary destination just yet, thankfully. We're planning to fly in and out of London, and to fly a low cost airline to our second destination. But I'm pushing to get our tickets to London purchased within the next month or so, just to know it's official. Fingers crossed this all works out...


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September 21, 2011
Avoiding Psychological Torture (aka Jeans Shopping)
Usually in the past when I've bought new jeans it hasn't been because my old ones are worn out, but because the hem is frayed. I'm average height, but the back hem usually drags a little, which means the hems get worn out long before the jeans are. See exhibit A:
I can't stand the ratty look, so I used to buy new ones once the hems were shot. This, of course, usually required hours and/or days of psychological torture as I went to store after store trying to find a pair that didn't make me feel fat, fall off my hips, fit everywhere but in one spot, display the color of my underwear (or worse) whenever I sat down, have strange bedazzling/rips/acid wash, cost a fortune, give me a muffin top, pool around my ankles, look dated, give me camel toe, or require liposuction. This search usually ended with me curled up in the fetal position in the corner of a dressing room on top of a two foot pile of rejected jeans, weeping like a baby.
Last year I decided something MUST be done to stop this cycle, or I was going to need serious therapy. So I tried an experiment and was surprised how well it worked: I used clear nail polish to paint the very tip of the hem. It binds the fibers together and if the hem drags now it rubs on the nail polish barrier instead of wearing down the fibers. It works great! You only need to paint the very edge–don't make it too thick or the hem will be stiff. I re-paint it on every few months if I see it's wearing off, and it is making my jeans last so much longer! Jeans are usually one of the most expensive clothing items I buy, so I'm thrilled that mine are lasting longer.
These are the maternity jeans I bought last year. I wore them for about six months, and they look almost as good as new!
When I come up with a solution for having to buy new jeans because of weight gain/loss and jeans going out of style, I'll be sure to post about that, too…


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Volume 9 Issue 1
Erica's Story
In our work in Human Resources, we often get just one opportunity to speak with a person and help them in the process of deciding if full-time ministry is for them. Then there are other opportunities where we get to have multiple chances – like Erica…
Erica's Story
In our work in Human Resources, we often get just one opportunity to speak with a person and help them in the process of deciding if full-time ministry is for them. Then there are other opportunities where we get to have multiple chances – like Erica…
Erica had just completed her freshman year at Michigan State University when we first met her on the 2009 Keynote Summer Project. At Cru's Christmas Conference in 2011 we talked with her about internship options (Keynote, overseas, back at Michigan State…) upon her graduation. A few months later Erica applied to do an internship with Keynote. Leslie had the privilege to pour into Erica as she evaluated her internship application. In 2013-2014 (the year following her time at Keynote) Erica spent a year with Cru overseas. In the fall Leslie met up with Erica at a follow up conference for new staff with Cru. Erica has recently reported to her full-time assignment in Boston. We asked her to share a bit of her journey with you.
When you met with Mike and Leslie, what solidified your decision to intern with Keynote?
From what I remember of our conversation, I appreciated being able to ask you both many questions and felt cared for in an unbiased way. I'm sure you guys wanted me to intern with Keynote, but it was very important to me to feel cared for in whatever decision I would come to make and I felt that way with you guys. That care actually helped me make the decision to intern with Keynote.
As you look back on the past years, is there anything that the Lord used to confirm you calling to Staff?
In the midst of MPD [Ministry Partner Development], I've been reminded of the need for people to know Christ for the future (eternity) and immensely here on earth. I've been refreshed hearing countless stories of students who've made decision to follow Christ and hearing how Jesus has brought them fulfillment and purpose. I've been reminded of my deep desire for getting the gospel out to students who might not have anyone in their life who follows Christ. I've had times where I've rejoiced at knowing my life matters because I have Christ in my life no matter what the circumstances and this fervent desire to make this possible for other students has further confirmed my calling on staff. And in general, I really enjoy Cru. :)
See the FULL interview at: http://bit.ly/erica_interview
Prayer Requests
- Wisdom and unity as we gear up to work on support full time in the near future.
- As we travel next month to training new staff. Strength for the long work days.
- Prayer for Chelsey (whom Leslie is coaching) as she is walking through a challenging season in her life. (grace, wisdom, forgiveness)


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text:
"In a number of neighborhoods in Brussels there are fewer and fewer women on the street. Muslim girls are troubled if they don't wear a headscarf. Ethnic Belgian women are jeered at and called whores if they dare show a piece of naked belly. "An atmosphere of intolerance prevails. Ethnic Belgian women tell me that they wear a scarf because then they aren't bothered any more."
Q: Have you yourself been troubled?
Take the Zuidlaan across from the South Station. In the past it was a completely mixed neighborhood, where many Belgians had a store. Now it's a neighborhood where immigrant shops dominate, which are controlled by a specific type of men. They look from the cafes at everybody who passes by and intimidate women. An atmosphere of intolerance prevails. Women can't dress like they would want. Well, we are fed up of being called a whore on the street and jeered at because we are not dressed according to the notions of certain men.


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So the other day I wrote about a little room makeover that we have been working on at our house. I mentioned that I was headed to our local paint store to get "Party Time" for a special project. Well, I did it! I finally did it. I've been talking about wanting to do this project for several years and now it's done!
I painted our piano!
After 8 days of working on this project and some where around 9 coats of priming, painting and polyurethaning it's finally done. I knew this was going to be a biggie– that was one of the main reasons why I kept putting it off. If you decide to tackle it, you may want to see a physician first for a few Prozacs to knock the edge off. Actually, the worst part of it all was how long it dragged on. I was hoping to have it done in a couple of days, but all the painting and waiting for it to dry made it carry on for over a week. Even if it took a month, the transformation was sooooooo worth it! I couldn't have done it though without the help of my superhero and husband, David! He took the piano a part into 6 pieces, which made the painting process so much easier. And he helped put it all back together.
Our room is almost done. All that's left is the fun stuff– hanging art, finding a small side table and lamp, and taking care of a couple of other little things. When it's all done I'll let you see, but for now here's just a peek:


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Five seconds after you finish reading this story, it will self destruct.
If that phrase sounds familiar (and it will to a lot of people) it's because it's a reminder of what once was one of the most popular shows on television.
The series aired on the CBS network from September 1966 to March 1973.
It returned to television, as a revival, for two seasons on ABC, from 1988 to 1990, and later inspired a popular trio of theatrical motion pictures starring Tom Cruise and Ving Rhames in the 1990s and 2000s, with the role of Phelps played by Jon Voight.
The original series earned 4 Emmys, 3 Golden Globes, and one Edgar.
It wasn't until 1971 that the main actor in the series, Peter Graves, earned a Golden Globe as an actor in a television series for his portrayal of fictional character Jim Phelps.
He passed away earlier this week, and it wasn't until I read his obituary that I realized that we had a few things in common.
For starters, we were both born in the Twin Cities.
His birth name was Peter Aurness, but he later changed his last name to Graves, which was a maternal family name. His brother is James Arness, who played Marshall Matt Dillon on the long-running television series Gunsmoke.
Like me, Mr. Graves attended the University of Minnesota (where he studied drama), and he also has a daughter named Kelly Jean.
Like my father-in-law, he had three daughters.
He was born on this date in 1926, and he died just last Sunday, which made him 4 days shy of being 84 years old when he started his new life in the hereafter.
His role as Captain Clarence Oveur on the 1980 comedy film Airplane! eventually led to a recent series of commercials for AirTran Airways:
On October 30, 2009, Mr.Graves was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. As a result, he is living proof that for a boy from Minnesota, no mission is impossible.
Incidentally, if you're computer starts smoking after you finish reading this story, don't panic.
It's just an optical illusion.


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TGIF Once a Month: Tremont Art Walk February 9th 6 to 10 PM
Yes it's cold out, but no reason to stay home and sulk! The Tremont Art Walk goes on in rain, snow, cold and oh yeah, in good weather as well. It's a blast, there is creative exciting art to see (for example, check out the Brandt Galleries). And for good food, Lucky's at Professor and Starkweather or Edison's Pub on Professor. No shortage of food and art. Held every 2nd Friday of the month, with many galleries to view and fun eating and libation establishments to visit. Bergen Village is one of the stops and we are hosting fabulous photographer Robert L. Stockham on February 9th. In Robert's words, he is featuring work that involves a 'silver emulsion process on canvas' and you can see an example of this work here. I know Robert from his black and white and color photographs of (mostly) gorgeous Cleveland architecture, bridges and landscapes. His exhibit called Cityview at our Ohio City Howard Hanna Smythe Cramer Office is just that, city views of Cleveland, housed appropriately near the West Side Market at 1903 W. 25th Street. Stop in between 9 and 6 - they are gorgeous. He can also be found in historic downtown Berea at the Book and Bean (where you can have great coffee too). At both of these locations you will see beautiful quality photographs; in order to see the Works on Canvas, you have to stop by Bergen Village, West Fifth and Literary at Tremont Ridge on February 9th between 6PM and 10PM.
Peace Out-3C


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According to election records, the team has now made another $25,000 donation to the Friends of GreenLight campaign, fighting to get light rail and improved bus service to Pinellas County. This blog has previously reported how the Rays, Bucs, and Lightning have all donated $25,000 to the campaign, which leaders on both sides of the bay have suggested would be a great step forward in solving the region's transit woes.
Earlier this week during a Twitter chat, Rays VP Matt Silverman said this:
Strong supporters of @Greenlight2014. 1st step toward regional transit RT @2outhits Will team combine regional efforts...? #AskThePrez
Transit would certainly help the team regardless of where it were to play in the bay area. However, with Hillsborough County lagging behind in transit planning, maybe the Rays are stepping up their commitment to Pinellas a little more? It is, after all, where I've always said the team would end up long-term....
— Tampa Bay Rays (@RaysBaseball) September 16, 2014


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Tuesday, November 29, 2016
Monday, November 21, 2016
#AfterChurchSelfie #Kingsville #CatholicChurch
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Saturday, November 19, 2016
Hearing confessions for a TRUE PRESENCE retreat. God have mercy on us.
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Friday, November 18, 2016
Audiendo confessiones
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Thursday, November 17, 2016
George West young Catholics roar! #GosIsAlive #TheChurchIsYoung
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Wednesday, November 16, 2016
Weary? Weak? Worried? Come away to a lonely place and rest a while. Jesus our Eucharistic food, rest, and oasis longs to strengthen you with his love and mercy. #WhenInDoubtPrayItAllOut #JesusMercy #JesusSaves
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Sunday, November 13, 2016
Today our coffee shop was assailed by awesomeness.
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Friday, November 11, 2016
Thank you for your sacrifice. #VeteransDay
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Thursday, November 10, 2016
Cigars and bourbon with friends on election night. #GodBlessAmerica #ThankGodForCigars #ElectionNight
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Monday, November 7, 2016
I'm so glad I get to see one of my most favorite people of all time, my niece, @baylynpaige riviere. She is newly married and pregnant for the first time and always full of new joy. Every time I see her she teaches me something new about how to love and how to live. I am such a better person and better priest because God created her. I am with her mourning our cousin but I rejoice too because she newly reminded me tonight that it is good to be alive. It is good to be loved. Hope springs eternal. #IAmBaylynPagesBiggestFan #RockOnBaylyn
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Wednesday, November 2, 2016
#IVotedEarly🇺🇸✔ #GodSaveUsAll #GodBlessAmerica #LocalPolitics #Texas #CorpusChristi #NeucesCountyCourthouse
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Tuesday, November 1, 2016
Today was a historical event in my life. I had the best steak I have ever tasted. By far. Prime Rib at the Angry Marlin at South Padre Island. #GodBlessTheCook #godblessamerica🇺🇸
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How would you feel if one evening you walked in to your home and found it ransacked and your loved one brutally assaulted? That's how I felt ten minutes after walking in to watch Ek Villain. My heart was ransacked, and one of my all time favourite films I Saw The Devil was brutally assaulted by director Mohit Suri. Like the protagonist of the original film, I wanted revenge and felt an intense urge to physically and mentally torture Suri for breaking my heart.
But then something miraculous happened that made me sympathetic towards Suri: Kamaal R Khan shows up in the film as a 'Best employee of the month' and cracks a '2 Rupees people' joke. That's when I realized that literally no one associated with the film gives a tinkers cuss about people complaining of Ek Villain's similarities to I Saw the Devil. The KRK character was the combined entity of the spirit of Bollywood filmmaking giving the finger to the fans of the Korean original.
Now considering that this is a product of Mohit Suri, a guy who has mostly earned fame ripping off phoren films and turning them into melodramatic romances, and the target audience demographic which mostly digs this kind of thing, how does Ek Villain exactly fare as a film? Shockingly, it's not so bad. Suri takes the core of the original film and turns it into a full on melodramatic manipulative pyaar mohabbat dardi humdrardi drama.
One of the reasons the original is a classic is that it skips over the love story and focuses purely on the revenge section. Another reason is that the villain in that film is a murdering psycho, just because he is. Suri and his team of Tushar Hiranandani and Milap Zaveri make the story even more 'nuanced' by adding in an hour of backstory for the villain – because they feel you need to understand why his character goes on a killing spree. They also add in two hours of love story – because you should feel for the character's loss and justify his actions.
Aur kya love story hai bhai. The heroine is such a divine character she would make angels cut off their wings. She worships Lord Ganesha, plays with kids, helps unrelated terminally ill old people get married, despite being terminally ill herself. Kya heroine hai bhai. The hero, a goonda falls in love with her and decides to leave his life of crime, get a job, 'come clean', cure her terminal illness and marry her. And when the girl gets pregnant and dies, he spends the entire film avenging his heroine. Kya hero hai bhai. Plus there are amazing contrivances like Lord Ganesha himself appearing multiple times to save the good people from misery. Add in all the weepy heartrending songs and it's the ultimate paisa vasool 'filmi' film that audiences here long for.
Now we come to the difficult topic of the acting department. Sidharth Malhotra is a good-looking guy for sure, but the man's facial muscles move at the speed of Swiss glaciers. One desperately expects him to emote, but whether he's trying to render happiness, or pain, or pity, or desperation, or love his face remains exactly the same. At various points you want to grab him by the collar and shout YOUR WIFE IS DEAD DUDE AREN'T YOU LIKE UNHAPPY? He doesn't even emote during the action, and it doesn't help that he's part of a contrastingly well shot two minute long single take fight scene.
On the other hand those who fell in love with Shraddha Kapoor post Aashiqui 2 will be even more entranced by her this time, because apart from once again falling for a misogynist asshat, she rides a Royal Enfield. She's great at playing the quintessential bubbly but tragic filmi Bollywood heroine, but it'd be nice if she moved away from her comfort zone some day.
The villain is actually pretty well rendered by Ritesh Deshmukh. Like in pretty much every previous film of his, he's a refreshingly big talent in a pool of mediocrity. In Ek Villain he proves that he can be a really great dramatic actor, and if this nets him some genuinely great and/or original movies I couldn't be happier.
In the original film there is psychotic character who is such a good friend of the antagonist that he feels happy when the latter proceeds to violate his slave wife. KRK manages to play a character even more despicable than that, and it comes so naturally to him. I tip my hat to Mr Khan, and I have made up my mind to recommend every film that he appears in, including this one.
(First published in Firstpost)


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Wednesday, January 09, 2008
It does not count as age-inappropriate browbeating if I tell you that we're trying to toilet-train Cal, does it? I figure it's either that, or I'll start getting notes from people cavilling, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOUR TWO AND A HALF YEAR-OLD ISN'T TOILET TRAINED YET, GOOD LORD WOMAN, WHAT ARE YOU THINKING, MY TEN MONTH OLD HAS SUCH EXCEPTIONAL BLADDER CONTROL THAT HE CAN PEE IN A VERY SMALL SHOT GLASS FROM ACROSS THE ROOM! So anyway, between the two extremes, let's just call it even.
So yeah, we're trying to toilet train Cal.
So far, he has been pretty good about keeping himself dry for an hour or so in underwear before bathtime in the evening--the timing of such extended diaperless tightrope acts being timed to minimize the fallout from an errant urine stream or two. He can hold his pee for a while, and he can pee on the potty when the mood seizes him. But to say that he's anywhere close to being toilet trained is a vast overstatement at this point.
He does seem to like his new underwear, however.
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During the April NCC AIIM meeting, a member of the audience asked how the IRS' Free-File could avoid becoming another ChoicePoint, clearly a reference to recent security breaches. Everyone in the room immediately understood the reference; no explanation was needed.
Susan Smoter explained that the IRS was reviewing security procedures with its partners. Partners must explain to the IRS how they handle information they receive from taxpayers and what security policies and procedures they have in place.
ChoicePoint Data is now synonymous with security breach and loss of privacy. This is a public relations disaster for the company.
Adam Shostack has additional information.


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Friday, July 31, 2009
A Monster's Notes by Laurie Sheck.
And the Monster Is -- ?
by Mary Rice
A Monster's Notes by Laurie Sheck. (Knopf. 530 pages; $30)
Frankenstein. Ever since Boris Karloff's memorable portrayal, the monster at the center of Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein has been called that, even though he actually had no name. A Monster's Notes is about that monster and that author. The book's premise is that the monster was real, and has continued to exist to the present day. Yet Mary Shelley was intimately involved in his life, and he in hers.
"Where do you end and I begin?" the monster asks early on. That question is never quite resolved. But here the monster is not really monstrous; he commits no violent acts. This is not a horror story, but an experimental novel. A gloss on Frankenstein, it re-imagines both the novel and its author's life.
The structure is enormously complex, and initially confusing, an amalgam of disparate parts much like the monster's own body. Fragments of information -- the notes of the title, even whole articles, are combined with passages of first-person narrative.
The primary "I" is the monster; his consciousness, his struggle to understand himself and human life, is the organizing principle. But there are other voices as well, in the form of letters, that staple of 19th century novels. Mary Shelley's narrative is crucial, but only appears late in the book. It is through her step-sister Claire Clairmont that we first see her.
Characters drawn from Mary Shelley's complicated family history include her mother Mary Wollstonecraft, the 18th century feminist writer, who died after giving birth to her; her father William Godwin, the philosopher, whose step-daughter from a previous marriage was Claire Clairmont; and Fanny Imlay, Wollstonecraft's daughter from a previous relationship of her own. Not to mention poet Percy Bysshe Shelley, who eventually married Mary, after eloping with her -- and Claire.
Conspicuously absent from the cast of characters is Frankenstein himself, the monster's creator. Although the monster addresses him in his thoughts and, poignantly, keeps his lab notes, it's as though he can't bear to think about him too deeply. Victor Frankenstein created life to see if he could, without thinking about the consequences. When he finally succeeded, he was appalled by what he had done and abandoned his creation, like a profoundly rejecting parent. In this book, he is never given a chance to speak for himself.
Mary Wollstonecraft, the parent who, by her death, unintentionally abandoned Mary Shelley, does speak and speaks eloquently. "I never wanted gorgeous words. Wanted language stripped. Plain as undraped windows." In letters imagined as she lies dying, she relives her life and wonders about her newborn daughter. This is only one of the deaths in the book, where absence and loss are themes. Naming and the power of words are others.
Fiction writers often say that characters come to them, suddenly appearing in their minds, or take a story they're writing in unexpected directions. Here a character is presented as having an independent physical existence and writing a book of his own, which is partly about the author who wrote about him.
Who and what, exactly, is he? The monster's nature remains elusive. He is able to observe people in a way that transcends geography and time. "Time meant nothing to me," he says near the end. "Past, present, future, all wrapped up as one." Yet he is material. Mary Shelley finally admits to Claire that she saw him as a child, heard his "gravelly" voice, interacted with him repeatedly. Some two hundred years later, he walks around unremarked in New York, and his manuscript and computer are found in an abandoned building there in 2007, when the book begins.
Beyond the complex relationship of character to author, the book explores the nature of human identity. In her preface, Laurie Sheck puts it beautifully: "So much of a life is invisible, inscrutable: layers of thoughts, feelings, outward events entwined with secrecies, ambiguities, ambivalences, obscurities, darknesses strongly present even to the one who's lived it -- maybe especially to the one who's lived it."
For all its own obscurities, A Monster's Notes is both imaginative and intriguing. In an age of robotics and cloning, exploring the psyche of an artificially created being has special resonance.
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