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adventure, alligator, Backpacker, Backpacking, bourbon street, canal street, French Quarter, Louisiana, mardi gras, music, New Orleans, photography, Road trip, Sazerac, Travel, traveling, trip
18 Thursday Aug 2016
Posted Backpacking, Goal, Happening, New Orleans, Road trip, Travel, Travelingin
adventure, alligator, Backpacker, Backpacking, bourbon street, canal street, French Quarter, Louisiana, mardi gras, music, New Orleans, photography, Road trip, Sazerac, Travel, traveling, trip
06 Friday May 2016
Posted Backpacking, New Orleans, Philadelphia, Road trip, Travel, Travelingin
adventure, Backpacker, Backpacking, Baton Rouge, Lousiana, New Orleans, Philadelphia, photography, Road trip, Travel, traveling, trip
Here we go again!
24 Thursday Mar 2016
Posted Concert, Philadelphia, Travel, Uncategorizedin
Black Sheep, concert, emily haines, Fillmore, Grow up and blow away, Joywave, Live it out, Metric, Pagans in Vegas, Party, Philadelphia, Philly, photography, rave, Scott Pilgrim, Scott Pilgrim Vs The World, Synthetica, Travel
METRIC! I've been a fan for year, but I've never really been a big show goer outside of my usual handful of bands. I don't know why, but I've made it a point to start going out to see more live music. I always have a great time, it's bizarre that I've been missing all of these events for no good reason.
Metric released their tour dates back in December, and I snatched up a ticket as soon as they went on sale.
Before I get into them, let's talk about the venue!
The Fillmore..
Lemme just say, this place is BEAUTIFUL. It's essentially just a gutted warehouse with a more modern and minimalist interior, but what it does, it does extremely well. Dual iron staircases, exposed brick. They nailed the aesthetics of the place. Right down to the glowing purple chandeliers. Might be my new favorite concert venue in the city, I can't wait to see another show here.
– See a show at the new Fillmore
The place was full, but not overcrowded like I expected it to be. For the first time in a long time, (if not the first time ever), I managed to slither my way through the crowd and grab a spot up at the front gate. Perfect timing too, the opening band took the stage not even five minutes later
Their first song didn't do too much for me, but their last couple drew me in. I was a fan. I think. I'm in a weird neutral zone with them. I need to listen to more of their music for a final verdict, but I did appreciate their energy on stage. In fact, think I'll put em on while I finish up this entry.
Their performance was fantastic! They didn't pull any over the top antics, it was straight business. A rapid fire succession of music from a set list that did a thorough job covering their numerous albums.
I would have liked a few more of my favorites, I was really hoping for Lie Lie Lie, or Lost Kitten, but Black Sheep happened so I was satisfied.
Not ashamed to admit that the Black Sheep cover in Scott Pilgrim was what originally clued me into Metric, but from the crowd reaction, I'm assuming I wasn't alone. The place went crazy when those familiar black sheep, c'mon, black sheep, c'mon, lyrics began.
The concert as a whole was a lot of fun. I THINK their US tour has ended now, they've recently crossed into Canada, but if I'm wrong, GO! GO TO THE SHOW! Have yourself a time. Worth it for a fan. And if you're not, go and try out some new music!
-See Metric live! Finally!
14 Wednesday Oct 2015
adventure, Android Jones, art, art festival, Backpacker, Backpacking, blackrock, blackrock city, BM2015, BRC2015, Burner, burning man, burning man 2015, carnival of mirrors, conclave, death guild, Deathguild, deathguild thunderdome, dust storm, El pulpo Mecanico, Festival, Fire, Fire Arts, flaming lotus girls, mayor monday, photography, Ranger, reddit, reddit meet up, Road trip, serpent mother, Thunderdome, Travel, traveling, white out
My last few days in Boulder were spent gathering supplies for the biggest venture of the trip; the Blackrock desert and the city that buds within!
Burning Man 2015 was on the horizon. The desert happening has brought so much change, so many people, so many events and learning into my life just through its influence, yet I never experienced it myself, I've never journey out there. Until now.
The drive from Boulder was significant, (considering we had just driven from New Jersey to Denver it wasn't THAT long) but still something to contend with. 18 hours of more cornfields and emptiness, although come Utah, the landscape finally started to change.
Finally we arrived, and by arrived I mean we made the last turn out of civilization. No more stores/gas/stops outside of a tiny little town a ways away. We got maybe five minutes down the road before we hit the back of the line. I've heard stories about the gates taking upwards of six hours, so I pretty much knew we would be greeted with brake lights.
The combination of a car accident, gate pulsing, and 70,000 people trying to get into the same place at once left us on the road for most the day. We made the best of it, all part of the overall experience, right? The crowded cars soon expelled their humans and the roadside pre-parties started popping up. Every time the caravan started moving the crowd would scurry away toward their cars, only to reemerge a few minutes up the road.
Exhausted, disgruntled, and hungry, we dropped out things in the sand and dust, and set up camp in the darkness. As much as we wanted to explore, the bed was much more inviting. After my years of local burns I've learned that pacing is absolutely key. Don't burn yourself out on day 1, because you've got way more to do! And so, we face planted into our mattresses and passed out.
Now, before I get into this, let me preface by saying this:
One of the greatest challenges I faced after returning from Peru was trying to find the words to fully encompass everything I had experienced, especially to my eager friends/family who wanted to hear every detail. My ayahuasca ceremonies just felt lacking when I tried to attached words to them, so empty for such a powerful and life changing experience. I tried to put things down on this blog, I really tried, but I still did them no justice. Here I find myself again trying to find the words to describe Burning Man.
So instead of forcing my numerous experiences into hollow casings, I've decided to just let my pictures tell the tale. I'll review some highlights, but I'll leave this entry mostly to the pictures.
Unfortunately, my camera took a serious dive and the focus/lens never recovered (and my phone ended up breaking on the drive in! Lesson in being present much?!? ) Please excuse my blurry photos, but I hope you enjoy them all the same.
The temple is always one of my favorite places at the local burns, but finally seeing the grand scale of The Temple of Promise was like a tragic dream come true. The Temple warps in shape every year, and means a lot of different things to a lot of different people, but the respect for the structure seems to be universal. Nestled away from the high energy radiating through the rest of the desert, the Temple is where one goes to let go, to mourn, to grieve, to pray, to reflect, to forgive, to express whatever it is they need to express (before it all goes up in flames on the final night).
The walls may be made out of wood, but the structure itself is infused with so much raw emotion that it's a challenge to step inside and remain untouched. I made it a few steps passed the threshold before my eyes started to well up with tears. The stillness is the first thing I noticed. In a work of art filled to the brim with people, only silence and the occasional whimper, cry, or whisper filled the air. Along the walls, writing utensils hung freely for those who had something to add to the walls. Messages were written, pictures of loved ones hung, whatever it was you wanted to express, the Temple is the place to do it.
With tears streaming down her face, I watched from afar as an older woman wrote a message to her mother who had passed away recently, finally saying the things she never got to say in life. Behind me was a scathing message written by a woman to the man who had brutally raped her in the past. On the bench next to me, a man sat in quiet meditation, holding a picture of a young child. Stories of love, hate, encouragement, loss, sadness…I could go on. Everywhere. Every story, every makeshift shrine was different, but each one was laced with powerful emotion.
I wrote my own message, a personal something to myself, and I silently cried my damn eyes out…
-Write in the Temple of Promise
Wednesday some dear friends arrived at camp. For any long time readers, you may recognize them from one of my very first entries. We unloaded their car, helped em setup and made our way back to the playa.
The DeathGuild's Thunderdome was my kinda place. Don't get me wrong, I enjoyed the house music, the burners and all the oneness with the universe and what not, but the Thunderdome stole my heart. Hard rock/industrial, people fighting, girls in revealing black leather and the guys suited up in some badass wasteland armor! When I arrived they were blasting some of my favorite songs by Manson, Rammstein, and Mindless Self Indulgence. MSI on the Playa!?!? I loveeeee my MSI!!!
The goth kid in me came out in full force! I found myself at the top of the Dome, shouting for the combatants to tear each other apart many, many times throughout my week.
Warning – The video has strong language and sexy people in black leather NSFW
I love you Thunderdome!!
Finally see the Thunderdome in person
Created by the Flaming Lotus Girls, this monstrosity of fire and metal has earned its place high on my list of all time favorites. I've seen a lot of fire performances and fire art, but this was…this was something else. The serpent writhed back and forth in the sand, lifting her head and opening a mouth lined with flaming daggers. The metal body of the serpent gleamed in the night, illuminated by the the plumes of fire hissing from each one of her segments. Within her coil, the Mother protectively wrapped her flaming tail around a massive copper egg.
I stood within the Serpent's grasp, surrounded on all sides by the roar and heat of the fire until the crowd was ushered a safe distance away. A safe distance from what? I wasn't sure, but I was about to find out.
With all the flammable humans at a safe distance away, the egg she so carefully guarded over, bloomed like a lotus. The hatching egg remained quiet, until a hiss louder than anything its Mother had produced up until then, came screaming out of the top of the egg. What burst forth was a plume of fire unlike I've ever seen before. One, then two, then three at once. These spires, these spears, these swords of fire tore through the sky, spouting flames of nearly 50 feet. The bright red flames bled into a blinding orange, then to a burning emerald green.
This was something to behold, truly. Words do little justice…
Radical self reliance is high on the list of Burning Man principles. You must bring everything you need to survive, and you must be capable of surviving in the first place. This is definitely not just some music festival (much to the disappointment of some girls I found sobbing in a dust storm, complaining about how terrible everything was and it was nothing like they thought). As fun as it all is, if you're not prepared, you're in for a world of trouble. Of course people won't let you die, but you should do you best to not be a burden for anyone else. Whether it's food, water, or weather, be prepared. And we had quite a bit of weather…
The white outs are a common occurrence out on the playa. Huge dust storms that blow in and drop visibility to zero in a matter of seconds. I prayed I'd get to experience one, and I think I prayed a little too hard! As my friends said, the intensity and frequency of the white outs was the worst it had been in a handful of years. Structures fell, tents were destroyed, I watched people smash their bikes into one another when their sight had disappeared.
For the first day or two I really tried to keep the dust out of my tent, but by the third day I realized how futile the battle was. Falling asleep and waking up in INCHES of playa dust took some getting used to but, hey, I enjoyed it. How comfortable does one need to be anyway?!
The art, the structures, the builds were all so beautiful to experience. But like all things, nothing is permanent. Everything must burn…
In Conclusion, Burning Man was as incredible as I thought it would be. I got to spend it with some of my favorite people, got to see some of the art I've only seen in pictures, and now I've got a ton of stories to tell! Like I said, words do little justice, and as much as I did the entire week, I still missed so much more! This is but a glimpse!
But it wasn't all fun and positivity, unfortunately I'm coming away with a few regrets. Regrets due to a symptom of a larger internal issue. Under the microscope of a the big burn, it's easy to see such things. Now, to fix it. Things to work on.
Always evolving right?
Regrets aside, this was truly one of the favorite experiences of my life.
Dance on an Art Car -View the best fireworks display I've ever seen in my life when the man burned Live in the desert for a week -Finally see El Pulpo Mecanico -Spend time with my Philly friends at BM2015 -Sit in for many BM workshops -See Android Jones' work in person -Finally make it to Burning man!!!! Burning Man 2015: Carnival Of Mirrors!!
Cheers to the possibility of Burning Man 2016!!
15 Saturday Aug 2015
Posted Backpacking, Goal, Happening, Road trip, Travel, Travelingin
adventure, Backpacker, Backpacking, burning man, colorado, photography, Road trip, Travel, traveling, west
06 Monday Apr 2015
Posted Concert, Goal, Happening, Mindless Self Indulgence, New York, Travelingin
Brooklyn, Chantal claret, concert, DDR, Frankenstein Girls Will Seem Strangely Sexy, If, Jimmy Urine, Julien-k, Kitty, LynZ, Mindless Self Indulgence, MSI, Never wanted to dance, New York, NY, Orgy, photography, Steve Righ?, Terminal 5, The Birthday Massacre, The End Records, Tight, Travel, You'll rebel to anything
"Congratulations! You're getting this e-mail because you've been selected out of hundreds of submissions participate in our MSI music video shoot.
Please confirm (respond to this e-mail) with a simple "YES" or "NO" in the subject line so that we can know to expect you. If you can't make it, we're not gonna be pissed, we just need to know how many additional people to bring in for the video. Cool? Cool."
This was the email I found awaiting me after a long night of partying. I wasn't completely sober so I wasn't sure if I was reading that correctly, but if this was saying what I thought it was saying, I needed to send back a YES immediately.
MSI has been one of the only bands I consistently keep up with since their first album in 1999. They were, and honestly still are, one of the very few bands I even cared about. There was no way I was going to miss out on this!
By the time I made it into Brooklyn studio the building teeming with people, inside and out. Trucks, equipment, cameras, bodies were scurrying around, gravitating around an alleyway lit up by purple spotlights. This was clearly where the video was planned to take place.
Before that though I was ushered inside the studio and led to a room with the other extras. We were supposed to wait inside and mingle (which I did) but I also took some time to slip out to snap some pictures.
I met some pretty awesome people while we waited for instruction. In the meantime the show runners gave us some MSI merch to keep us busy.
Make some friends I still talk to even to this day!
Once the preparations were complete and the sun went down, we were once again escorted, this time to the alley, now glowing and pulsing with life within the darkness. We filmed all night, bringing to life an idea that Jimmy got while on tour. (He would later tell the story about these "underground DDR" illegal rave like tournaments and thought it would make for a good video).
Our only job was to dance and look excited, both of which I could do without any real instruction.
Much to the dismay of everyone, the sun started to rise, putting the night scene of the video in jeopardy. Thankfully we were almost done.
Fun fact: The director approached me and one of the girls in private and asked us if we were up for a scene of our own. Hell. Yes. We were tasked with the opener of the video itself, sneaking through the darkness to hang up the "If" poster on the entrance to the alley. Unfortunately the scene didn't make the final cut, there is a quick cut of my hand, but damn it was still so awesome to be a part of it! I'm STILL hyped when I think about it!
I got a pretty sweet headshot at 53s in!
With the video complete, we all disappeared into the morning sun with plans to meet back up the following weekend for the concert.
The entire night was just phenomenal: Julien-K and The Birthday Massacre opened with killer sets, followed, of course, by Mindless Self Indulgence with all the things you expect from one of their concerts. For me and for the others, we were hyped up on more than just the music. We felt like we were a part of the experience now.
First concert I learned I could smuggle sharpies in my afro
We danced and sang the night away until the lights flicked on and the venue started to clear out. It was around then that I saw a few familiar faces from the video shoot and went over to have a bit of a chat. The director, a few of the photographers, some of the crew, and of course, Jimmy, Kitty, Steve Righ? and Lyn-Z.
See MSI in New York
Be an extra in a music video
Meet Mindless Self Indulgence for the very first time
11 Thursday Sep 2014
Posted Backpacking, California, Canada, Goal, Road trip, Travel, Travelingin
adventure, Alaska, Amazing Race, Backpacker, Backpacking, Cali, California, Cliff diving, Fanastic Race, Getty Museum, graduation, Hollywood, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Race, Party, photography, photos, Retreat, Road trip, SoCal, The Getty, The Getty Center, Travel, traveling, trip, Venice, Venice beach
(Ok, I'm back. Time to finish this story and catch up with the Firsts!)
Before I made it to California, I had another unfortunate run in with the Denver airport. Thankfully however, it wasn't for another 9 hour layover.
At least I knew the airport by heart and revisited my comfortable corner. During the height of my boredom the first time around, I wrote this note to myself since I knew I would be coming back. I wanted to see if it would still be where I hid it, tucked away behind a phone kiosk, and alas, it was. HA!!!
California, how I missed thee. I hadn't been to Cali in a few years, but once again, I found myself walking through the familiar lengths of LAX. I had a few weeks to kill, had some plans, had plenty of free time, so I wasn't sure what I was going to get
into, but I trusted myself to cause some laughter inducing mischief.
First on the list and the heart of the trip: my cousin's graduation.
She had fireworks for her graduation. I got rain. Sure mine was nearly ten years ago, but I'm still mad at mother nature for that one!
Attend my cousin's graduation
Also got to meet my new baby cousin. New boy in the family! Finally!
Highlight #3: The Getty Museum
I'm not one for museums, never have been, I've never really found the level of engagement I need to enjoy a museum. With that said, the Getty did house some exhibits that I found interesting and I absolutely loved the garden grounds. The building itself was my favorite part to be honest, it was like a beautiful fortress resting high above the clouds and the world below.
Highlight #4: Clubbing in Hollywood
My sister's wanted two things for her birthday. Fishbowls and to go out in Hollywood. We accidentally made them pretty strong, but they were still delicious!
Later that night we made our way into Hollywood. Some of my sister's friends showed up and recommended a spot we decided to check out so we made our way over there. 600 dollars for table service? SIX. HUNDRED. I nearly told the group I'd wait in the car! Mathematically though, considering we had a small group with us, it kind of evened out to a regular cover charge. "This is pretty much what you're going to run into out here, even if we go to another place" said someone in the group.
Before we walked in, we all huddled together for a quick pep talk. My sister's friend jumped into the center of the circle like some rabidly enthusiastic football coach "Ok. We just spent a lot of fucking money. So we're gonna go in there and do this proper! Readyyyy break!"
The venue was actually pretty cool. We were greeted by a fireplace lined outdoor courtyard filled with a large rectangular fountain running through the center of it. This fountain was overflowing with bubbles, while a beautiful young lady was seated on a swing mounted above. She smiled as we walked passed and gave a light kick to the foam, littering the air with glistening bubbles.
We got our table, neat little spot actually. Food, drinks, mixers, fruit. It was honestly a nice spread, and my sister seemed happy so it all worked out. The group wandered the venue and we eventually ended the night on the dance floor.
In rare form, I ended up drinking too much and got myself a pretty potent case of the spins. I guess that's what I get for accepting shots from the costumed woman sitting on the shoulders of a man on stilts (even if most of it got in my eyes)
Go clubbing in Hollywood Dry Heave until the sun came up
Highlight #5: Venice
I've been to Venice beach many times, but every time I'm there the beach is a playground for photos.
Highlight #6: Cliff Diving
Go cliff diving in California
Highlight #7: The Amazing Race
I would highly recommend this one to anyone with a competitive group of friends/family. This was easily one of the best things we ended up doing while in Cali.
The race was a mixture of a scavenger hunt, puzzles, riddles, etc that sent us speeding through the streets of Hollywood. We solved puzzles while weaving through crowds at the Chinese Theater, ran through subway stations to catch trains with moments to spare, wracked our brains at the Disney Orchestra building and burned through the streets of Hollywood while police were yelling at us to slow down.
There was a moment there, when a series of cars exploded in the background, that left me feeling like John McClain in Die Hard 3. (The explosions weren't part of the Race, they just happened to be filming a commercial in the area, but it was still really friggin awesome).
The creators were rather brilliant in their design. Not only were you playing a game, but the race led you to city hotspots with an intention, rather than just milling around in the tourist crowd. You can also make it as intense or relaxed as you want. We just happen to be rabid competitors so we sprinted most of the way.
Like I said, I would highly recommend. This was simply incredible AND they have races opening in more areas. Check it out!
Notable Mentions:
#1 Cupcake ATM We were dumbfounded. "What? That doesn't exist" we said. We were wrong.
And they came in neat little boxes too. LA can be a strange place.
Eat a cupcake from the cupcake ATM that really does exist
#2 Dinner and Piano with friends
Have drinks at a piano bar in Hollywood
There's plenty I'm leaving out, but this entry is already long enough! California was a fantastic as always, and it served as a perfect end to my extensive trip.
Alaska to Canada, Canada to Minnesota. Minnesota to California, California back to Philadelphia. (Start at the beginning here: Things I've Never Done:31 Returning to Depart)
Good times, good memories, and some great Firsts!
13 Monday Jan 2014
Posted Backpacking, Canada, Goal, Road trip, Travel, Travelingin
adventure, Alaska, Backpacking, Canada, Cards against humanity, Hostel, Minnesota, Mountains, photography, Road trip, self improvement, Travel, traveling, trip, women
My companion was at the front desk, signing his lease and other official while I slipped into the stairwell and made my way to the third floor. She was here somewhere, behind one of these doors scattered throughout the long twisting hallways with the 70s carpet.
I was on a stealth mission and as such, I dodged and hid in the doorways when residents made their way in my direction. There must not have been any cameras in the building, or security wasn't watching, but my venture through the labyrinth that was the apartment complex probably looked shady as all hell.
But alas, I carried on! My job was to find her door, set these two stuffed animals my companion had brought back from Alaska, knock, and run back to the awaiting apartment downstairs before she could see me.
"Mission complete!" I shouted as I bolted into the door of my companion's new apartment downstairs. I laughed and retold the tale but was hastily interrupted when the door swung open. Enter new character: Caelys.
In she walked, the voice and the words I've spoken to for ages in physical form. We came across one another through mutual friends and started up a friendship that has lasted over the years. We've talked, we've skyped, but this was, however, the first time I was actually seeing her in person. Proper greetings were in order, and so, we hugged. It was lovely.
I crossed mountains, swam rivers, fought ice trolls in the frigid north, and finally turned up on her doorstep victorious! With the three of us united at last, celebration was in order! Drinks all around!
Have a drink with friends in Minnesota
On the way home, we stopped at a few places since the fridge was empty. We got some much needed essentials for the rest of the week and the upcoming house warming party.
There wasn't much planned now that the drive was over. The goal of this entire trip was to assist my companion during his move to MN; I pulled the final bag from the backseat, and my job was now complete.
I had a week in MN before flying out to my next destination, let's find something to do.
The Mall of America was one such outing. I remember back in 5th grade, hearing about it for the first time and being absolutely captivated by the thought of it. Here I was, walking through the lengths of the massive building, mentally high fiving the shadow of my younger self.
We also stopped for sushi. Delicious, delicious sushi.
I would recommend. Ask for Rebeka.
Eat Sushi with friends in Minnesota
We ventured on; saw the rides, the mirror maze and other attractions before it dawned on me that this was, essentially, just a mall. A mall that had all of the same stores that any would have, just larger and more of them. Does one really need a floor sized Abercrombie?
Lost in a world of mirrors.
-Visit the Mall of America
The housewarming party was next on the list. Caelys brought her friends and we had ourselves a night of games and hastily created concoctions. I discovered a strange mysticism people have with magnetic stacking balls, and finally took my hand at Cards Against Humanity.
Play Cards Against Humanity
Make new friends in MN
After the festivities, the pace for the remainder of the trip settled into that of a relaxed state. The days were spent doing random activities, or visiting more of the Caelys' friends…
-Meet MJ. Maria. David. Devon!
…while the nights, I found myself in her apartment watching movies and spending some time together. The driving companion and I had been conjoined at the car for the majority of the trip, so it was nice to get away for a bit.
The days slipped away until my leaving date had arrived. I packed up my bag, gave Caelys a hug goodbye, and walked out to the car. My companion and I were off for our final ride together.
This is where I took a bow, and exited the scene. Through the automatic doors I stepped, and into the crowd of the bustling lobby. That feeling, that excitement tinged with just enough fear to keep you heightened, but not enough to actually stop you from continuing, ah, yes, that feeling of being inside an unfamiliar airport, how I've missed thee!
At the start of this entire thing, people thought I was out of my mind for even considering such a trip, and to be honest, I've never actually considered going to Alaska or Minnesota. All of these entries, this whole story, all the photos, all the people I met and things I saw, are a product of stepping out of my comfort zone and saying "yes" at the very beginning. I could have said no, quite easily too, and erased the possibility of it all from my personal history. How frightening of a thought, how many other "No"s in my timeline could have ended up being brought into beautiful reality?
I suppose that's a question for another day, because I say "Yes", yes to it all, and that makes me smile.
-Meet Caelys – Hug Caelys
Conclude the Alaska to Minnesota trip in its entirety
My plane left within the hour. Onward to California!
26 Thursday Dec 2013
Posted Backpacking, Book, Goal, Happening, Road trip, Travel, Travelingin
adventure, Backpacking, Couch surfing, Couchsurfing, Customs, Hostel, Minnesota, North Dakota, photography, Road trip, self improvement, Travel, traveling, trip
We let out a sigh of relief as the border disappeared from sight (with no FBI agents driving black SUVs in hot pursuit).
Enter the United States. Hello again.
North Dakota. How would I describe North Dakota? It was…nice? Flat. Green. Empty. Lots of farms and tiny planes flying everywhere, dusting their fields.
Not much for people, more cows and livestock than anything else. A couple houses here and there, complete with rocking chairs and grain silos.
And lots of bugs
We made good time, though our speed fluctuated as we got used to driving in MPH again.
The trip had been pretty flawless, minus the car breaking down a couple times and the border agents, but with our finish line almost in sight, we were……..SHIT! Almost right on cue with our conversation about DWB, a cop sped passed us coming from the other direction.
We pressed our faces into the rear view mirrors, watching the cop as we held our breath. We were clearly speeding so our only chance was for the cop to just turn a blind eye to it.
"Don't U-turn! Don't U-turn!" we chanted, hoping he would disappear under the horizon.
Unfortunately for us, the cop slows down and makes the dreaded turn, lights ablaze. We're not even in the states for an hour and we get pulled over!
The glare obstructs the flashing lights screaming at us
At least the cop was nice about it. And a $35 dollar speeding ticket? That was a welcome surprise. I get parking tickets for more than that!
-Get pulled over in North Dakota -Drive through North Dakota
Back on the road (paying close attention to the speed limit this time). No longer days, HOURS until our final destination.
6 hours remained. Then 4, then 2, then 1.
Drive into Minnesota
The expressway turned to residential roads and our finish line was the apartment complex in the distance. With a final right turn, we pulled into the lot and parked, marking the end to our journey.
The car let out what sounded like a long, deep sigh of relief as we stepped out and took in the surroundings. Victory!!! We did it!
-Drive from Fairbanks, Alaska to St. Paul, Minnesota. Venture through the Yukon, through nature reserves, through numerous Canadian towns and through the plains of North Dakota, with our eventual destination lying in Minnesota.
^Be sure to click this one, look how much earth that is! I'm quite impressed.
The drive was over, but not the trip entirely. No, no, no. Inside that apartment complex was a dear friend of mine, who I've known for years but never had the pleasure of actually meeting face to face. Inside she waited, unaware that we had arrived.
The drive was finished, but the week in Minnesota was just beginning.
Let's go find her…
03 Tuesday Dec 2013
Posted Backpacking, Canada, Goal, Happening, Road trip, Travel, Travelingin
America, Backpacking, Border Agent, Canada, Customs, Hostel, North Dakota, photography, Road trip, Travel, traveling, trip, USA
We packed in the darkness and left Banff while the sun was still nestled behind the mountain in the distance. Today was the push. Today, the Canada chapter was ending.
Onward, once more.
We passed through Calgary, the home of two brothers of the soul from my retreat down in Peru (Previous Entry: The Ayahuasca Retreat). Not one, but two people from my retreat, how exciting! This was the closest in proximity I've been to any of them in almost a year, and who knows when the next time would be. My dear citizens of the world, scattered throughout, it makes me smile to know you're out there, but I do miss those physical shapes of yours. Sadly, as much as I wanted to stop, we pressed on.
After the haze of tax and duty free stores littering the landscape, we made it to those familiar looking lanes. This was the first time I was crossing INTO the US from a neighboring country, but the procedure was about the same.
We waited patiently behind the van in front of us, while I entertained myself by teasing my companion about the illegals and getting shot in the face by the former vice president turned border agent.
Finally it was our turn, and we pulled up to the window for the usual questions. However, instead of the "Ok, welcome home boys, go on through!" that I expected, the agent told us to pull around for a search and further questions. That's new.
My companion is convinced that there were secret microphones in the grass, and my joke about Dick Cheney was overheard through the rolled up windows, thus the reason for secondary questioning. I'm pretty sure it was just random, or training, or they saw two weirdos in a car packed to the brim, and wanted a closer look. Whatever the variable, we obliged and pulled into the awaiting lot.
Uh oh! We're in trouble now! We got out and sat patiently in the lobby.
The urge to cause mischief was skyrocketing, I had no drugs, weapons or illegal immigrants in any of my pockets, so why not? Surely they wouldn't hold an upstanding citizen like myself, right?
We surrendered our passports at the counter before being asked to sit down once more. Then, they came for me. Just me. Two large men, uniformed, armed, heavily mustached, and who waddled more than they walked, due to their batman utility belts and their overall girth. "Come with us please" the leading man said, before turning and motioning down the hallway.
The crunch of leather echoed down the corridor as they led me to a very sterile looking room around the corner. Just a small window, small table and two chairs awaited me. Inside they ushered me to one of the chairs, and mentioned they'd return momentarily. I suppose to build anticipation for questioning?
It looked something like this, but with regular glass, no double mirror. I guess I wasn't bad enough for that room.
I sat in my chair, attempting to get comfortable and lean back, but the thing was bolted to the floor, as was everything else in the room. When they returned, the older of the officers took the seat across the table from me, while the other stood uncomfortably close with his arms crossed, demonically gazing down at me. Second cop was clearly bad cop.
And then it began. "Where are you going" "Who are you with" "Got any drugs?" "Are you actually traveling together or have you been kidnapped?" "Are you smuggling any moose?" "What's in your hat?" "What did you do in Canada" "What did you see?" "Why did you want to leave the US in the first place"
I do believe there was a question about whether or not I believed in or sympathized with jihad or something of that nature. It took my everything not to say "Yep, ya got me!", but I'm sure my attempt at humor would be met with blank faces and possibly handcuffs.
"Please empty your pockets"
And so I did. He reached over the table and picked up my wallet, carefully examining it before he pried open every corner of the leather. Money. License. Bank card, business cards (wait for it!), a condom, a razor blade, and two pills.
He blinked. I blinked. He nonchalantly laid the three items in question out on the table looked at them, looked at me, looked at them, looked at me. I didn't look up, but I could almost HEAR the veins popping out of bad cops forehead. My heart jumped at the blade, I had completely forgotten that was in there. At the same time, my mind was desperately trying not to laugh at the many scenarios one might use all three items for.
"Don't ask me about the razor blade, don't ask me about the razor blade" my mind whispered. How could I put "I couldn't bring my usual blade on the plane, so I opted for something smaller and more compact" into terms that wouldn't get me held indefinitely.
He slid the two pills toward me. "Oh thank god, he picked the unmarked drugs!" cheered my brain. "What…are these?" he said, as he did the now comical, rapid stare from pills to me.
"Bayer Aspirin"
Which they were, but with the razor blade and condom, you'd think I was railroading em right before having myself a good ol' time.
He held his stare and folded his arms. Much to my surprise he didn't press, and leaned back satisfied.
The bad cop finally broke from his statuesque posture and stepped toward me. He leaned down and wrapped his sausage fingers around the soulstone hanging from my neck. AGAIN, this is the second person to molest my crystal with their filthy, unwanted hands. I met his glare with one of my own and repeated the exact lines I used with the TSA agent. (Previous Entry: Onward To Alaska)
"Quartz. Crystal". "Where did you get it?" "Peru". He stared into with an official curiosity, while I sat there questioning why people are so dumbfounded by quartz crystal.
With no more questions, the officer at the table stood up and shook my hand. He thanked me for my cooperation and said he would be with my momentarily.
Meanwhile, the bad cop uprooted himself and walked out of the room. He crossed the corridor window, and exited through the security door. The officer who was talking to me, reached for the handle before it closed, but he was a second too late and the heavy door clicked shut. He swiped his ID card, pulled the handle, but the door remained locked. He swiped it again, pulled a little harder, yet still nothing. He did this two more times while I watched, peering out from the room where the air of authority is still thick in the air, with this look on my face
One more time he tries, and one more time he fails. He stood there for a second, defeated. And in that glorious moment where zero tolerance meets awkward human nature, he slowly turns his head, looks through the window at me, and lets a timid smile shine through his stuffy mustache. Aw!
Bad cop eventually opens the door and lets him out. They get my papers back in order, then I'm released as well. Bad cop is standing at the end of the row with his hand extended. I thought he was going for the handshake, but he had my razor blade in his hand "Forgot this" he groaned. "Oh. Yeah. Thanks."
My companion was released shortly after and we returned to the car to exchange stories. All that and I didn't even get a stamp in my passport. What a bummer.
Hello United States, I'm back!
-Conclude a road trip through Canada -Cross into the US from a bordering country – Get stopped at the border for secondary questioning – Pull a razor blade on a border agent -Enter North Dakota


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Looking for a reliable AMD socket 939 motherboard- with AGP if possible.
Found so far in my search a Gigabyte GA-K8NSC-939 and a second one a GA-K8U-939, also considering a Asus A8V as a possible. But what are the differences in the 2 Gigabyte boards. One is slightly cheaper that the other. But both handle the 939 chips, have AGP and plenty of PCI slots, have on board sound and network.
Any MSI or other brands that have 3 year full warranties or longer that would fit the bill for an upgrade?

subset: commoncrawl


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😐 All Sales are Final. No refunds or exchanges. Prices subject to change while supplies last.
All Sales are Final. No Refunds or exchanges. Prices are subject to change while supplies last.


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Until the Whole World Hears
Friday, March 21, 2014
The Greater Purpose of the Tabernacle
- When we read any book of the Bible, we should be keeping it in context of the grander scale of what God is doing. The theme running throughout the Bible is God's passion for His glory through the redemption of Man. Everything in the Scriptures serve this end of glorifying God.
- With that in mind, what do the seemingly tedious lists that God decrees to Moses over and over again regarding the tabernacle in Exodus 25-30 show us? They show us that God does not do things that are random or unbeknownst to Himself. They seem unbeknownst to us, but He has a plan. He is in control and knows all things. The tendency at this point is to make a principle that goes something like this: God has a specific plan for your life and He will work all things out for your good. While this is true, I think we are missing the greater principle. God knows it all. And while He makes plans for your life and my life as individuals, His passion is for His covenant community. His plan was never to redeem individuals to Himself, but Mankind to Himself. Do you see the perspective shift? We shouldn't begin with self-focused thinking when God declares that He has our good in mind. We should begin by viewing ourselves in light of the community we entered when Christ regenerated us. This slight perspective shift will begin to draw us away from individualistic thinking and bring us into how we should be operating as the Church--as a body of believers.
-Finally, and what I intend to be the bulk of this post, pertains to the greater meaning of the Tent of Meeting, or the Tabernacle. In Exodus 40:34, after the Tent of Meeting was completed as God had commanded, "the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle." Wow. Stop for a moment and grant me an attempt to feel what it was like as the nation of Israel to have the Lord to dwell among them. Up until this point, Israel has been communicating with God through Moses and away from their presence. Moses has very much been the intermediary between them and God, and to be sure, Moses continues to be the intermediary. But the difference now is that God is tangibly dwelling in a tent that they have made for him in the same camp that they sleep and eat in. I know I'm not doing this context it's full justice but this is unbelievable! God chose to come and dwell among His people. I would imagine that whenever an average Israelite were to walk by the Tent of Meeting or even see it, that would do something in them. I imagine that they would remember that God is there by the cloud that covered it by day, and fire that covered it by night (40:38). Of course, this doesn't mean they stop sinning, as we later see in the following books, but that's powerful. The Tabernacle became central to Israel and, fast forwarding hundreds of years for the sake of my point, leads to the building of the Temple in Jerusalem. "How does the Tabernacle and Temple factor in God's plan today?" The punch line to this is that the Tabernacle is no longer necessary. The Temple? No need. Because Paul tells us that we are the temple that houses the Spirit of God since Jesus has taken our sin to the grave. Now, by faith, we accept that Christ took our punishment so we don't have to, die to those sins daily, and put on the righteousness that Jesus gives as a free gift. In light of this we are new and 1 Corinthians 3:16, 17b says, "Do you not know that you are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in you? ... For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." Again, we can be sure that our bodies, individually, are God's temple as Paul clearly says later in 1 Corinthians 6:19. This is unbelievable as well. However, keeping with theme, the "you" in 3:16-17 is meant to be plural. We are viewed together, whoever recognizes Christ as their Lord. To conclude, we can see that God, by His ultimate plan of redemption, purposely established this Tent of Meeting in Exodus to be a shadow of how He will one day live in the body of believers. He has no need for a Holy Place, like in the Temple. He lives in His sons and daughters so that instead of communicating through an intermediary like Moses or a priest, Jesus is that intermediary that gives us direct access to the Father.
I hope this helps to give purpose to the book of Exodus where it can seem dull at times. The entire Bible has a meaning and greater purpose to show His glory that ultimately is fulfilled in the person of Jesus, the Christ, and His finished work on the cross.
My continued thanks to Pastor Andrew. You can check out some of his thoughts for yourself at his blog here.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Alcohol and the Church
I don't particularly endorse or agree with all of what the author of the post has to say but I think he does an interesting job writing his post. It's a long article so I would encourage you to carve out 10 minutes to read it. Whether you agree with it or not is beside the point but if nothing else, let it stretch you in what you may think about alcohol consumption. I think the author may have something about the church being too passive in what is going on in culture. I don't say that to rip the church but rather to speak reality into our congregation. Sitting idly by while culture "does it's thing" is not what Jesus intended for His church. We are called to be engaged with the culture but not to be identified with it. We identify with Christ and His finished, redeeming work on the cross. From there, being firmly grounded in that identity, we should engage the culture to show them the hope that there is in God. Again, we can't afford to shut out the sinful "world." We treat everyone with the same love and grace that Christ has shown us so that people outside the covenant with God can see there is something to be desired in the Christ. The general point I want to get across is that we, the church, shouldn't be quick to dodge tough issues. Open up dialogue and let's search the Scriptures on tough topics like alcohol and sex. It's when we are silent on issues like these that the devil begins to pervert them of their true meaning and how we ought to think about these issues.
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Christian Mission
This was an assignment for one of my classes. I needed to write a forum post on this question: "Is there a legitimate hope biblically of making America Christian? Should that be the church's/Christian's goal?" in response to a couple of articles I had to read. Here's my answer and glean what you can from it.
We should not be looking to make America a Christian nation. It's not biblical. You can make the argument of going into all nations proclaiming the Gospel, but it doesn't say anything about going into the places of law and political places to convert them. Christianity deals with people. We need to keep that the real thing. The moment we try to take the whole media and whole movie industry, we need to re-think our motives. I'm perfectly ok with using media and movies to reach out to people for Christ. A great example is the movie To Save a Life. I'm all for trying to redeem a part of the media so we can get the message of Christ out there too. Our aim, however, isn't to conquer the entire industry.
In the "Disowning Conservative…" article, the preacher makes a good point. "When the church wins the culture wars, it inevitably loses. When it conquers the world, it becomes the world. When you put your trust in the sword, you lose the cross." Our focus needs to be on the people. Relationships relationships relationships. That's our focus and motive as Christ followers. We strive to make those lasting relationships because that's how we thrive. When we're in community with others and loving on each other with the love God first showed us. Family to family. Friend to friend. Husband to wife.
The "Look Who's Happily Unmarried!" article puts statistics to it. People long to be in relationship but our fallen condition has blinded us from seeing the beauty and benefits of marriage. Marriage is a blessing that God has given us to enjoy and struggle through with one other person on this Earth. He might even bless you with children because what greater joy is there than raising up another human being to see and live out the love that God gives us daily? Yet people are simply settling for what they think is best by saving their own health benefits and keeping commitment to a minimum so that way once things get dicey, boom, they're gone and off to another person to who will settle for less too. This is so sad to see and it needs to start in families reaching out to those who may be going through something tough or some young couples who may not even know what they're doing is wrong. From there, the Gospel can be communicated first through the way they live, then eventually as the relationship grows, communicated verbally.
Families are a huge passion of mine and I've observed that that is where the world's problems are coming from. It's a huge, sweeping statement but let me unpack it a little bit. Would most of the juveniles causing trouble in gangs be in gangs if they had a father who showed interest in them? How about a mom that loved on them by providing food at night? I know there are different instances I've heard where a kid has the best family that provides but still ends up in trouble, but he probably got pulled down into trouble by someone else who didn't have a great upbringing. If a family isn't giving a kid what is good for his soul, he's going to try it somewhere else, and these days it's not always in a good place that he finds it.
To wrap up, the article "For the Health of the Nation" goes into what needs to be done as a Christian as far as standing up for our morals. Not only what we believe, but also how we should be active in being involved in our world. As Christians, we aren't called to sit back and referee what is right and what is wrong. Jesus calls us to go in Matthew 28. It requires a movement on our part and to get off the couch. From there, we make disciples in Jesus name baptizing them in the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. That's where the church needs to operate from and that's the central mission. Not simply to redeem an entire nation, but to reach people where they are in their hurt and healing, and show them hope in Christ.
-a wretch made right
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Grace (Pt 2)
Something hit me tonight. It's something that I knew before but it was one of those reminding thoughts that God brings up.
Once we confess our sins, God chooses to forget them. We are holy and blameless in His sight.
Think about that.
-a wretch made right in His eyes
Monday, March 14, 2011
My pastor preached a home-run message yesterday. It was on Ephesians 2. Grace is the central theme in this passage.
I kind of forgot how important grace is when we're talking about salvation. First of all, a good dose of humility is handed out. We don't do anything in the salvation process. Literally. Nothing. We don't even make the decision to follow Christ because He calls and draws us to Himself. I know that I've struggled with that idea. God gave us free will right? (Yeah.) Then how don't we make the decision to follow Christ? But I have to realize that God is Lord over all and while we have free will, He works everything for His glory. We may get what we want and what we think is best for us but God knows better. He often turns our plans upside-down in order to draw us to Himself.
Second of all, not only do we not do anything, we don't deserve anything. There is nothing good inside us. We were made by God and our essence is good because God created us good (1 Timothy 4:4). But inside is our sin nature (Romans 7:18). This created a barrier between us and God. We've disobeyed Him ever since the Fall in Eden. There is nothing good that we do (Isaiah 64:6) so there nothing we can do to earn our salvation.
It's all done by God. He truly orchestrates all things according to His glory. In the end, no matter whether you go to Heaven or Hell, it will give glory to God. If you go to Hell, you will be glorifying Him by satisfying His wrath against sin. If you go to Heaven, then you will glorify Him by choosing to believe in Him and living their life for His purpose.
So I urge you to take full realization of this grace that God presents to us. I pray He leads you to Himself by realizing this truth not even just a little bit, but I'll venture to pray that He lavishes it on you and you'll have no excuse but to respond in obedience and complete submission to Him.
He loves you.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Versus: Tents vs. Houses
Passing vs. Permanent. Fleeting vs. Forever. Limited vs. Lasting.
A good friend of mine came across this passage just a little while ago and showed me. She pointed out the usage of the words "tent" and "house." "Tent" is referring to our earthly bodies, while "house" is referring to our Heavenly bodies we will receive. That is a good way of putting it. I'm only passing through this campsite waiting for my call to move into my house. Until then, I've got some people all around me in this campsite that are going to stay in tents their whole lives, whether they know it or not. This may be a poor analogy but I'm the spokesperson for the ultimate Real estate agent. That analogy comes short of who God truly is, so I don't mean to take any glory away from Him but I thought it helps a little bit in understanding.
In the next verse, it says that "meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling..." This sums up the human spirit perfectly. Whether we know it our not, everybody knows that 1) there is God (Psalm 14:1) and 2) in some way, they were made for something bigger (hence, the need for religion). I've found that many times my spirit aches to be with Christ that I just want to cop out of this life and go on to glory.
But that's too easy. Christ didn't call us to a life of "easy." It is tough for me to say this because I'm dealing with an instance where I have to be patient and wait on Christ. I'm not one to wait. Like the rest of humanity, I want my reward right now. A lot of times, I selfishly say to God "I don't care, I just want it now." And something terrible happens: He gives it to me. It's not that He's giving it to me to spite me or that He's fed up with me, rather, it's so I can learn from my mistake and realize His sovereignty again. His discipline make the best lessons. Of course when I say "best", it's not always the most pleasurable. It is what is best for our relationship with Christ and it is often painful.
So realize that if you have Christ in your life, 1) realize that you are living in a tent right now so don't get comfy down here and 2) live in such a way as to show others that have something awaiting you. Don't get lazy. Show the love and joy that Christ has given you because if you're not joyful about all that Christ has given you, I would challenge you to take another look at your faith because it may not be there.
For the non-Christians, turn from your sin while there is still time. With all this craziness going on in the Middle-east, it's going to get ugly. I say this with a loving urgency to turn to Christ and leave your life of sin behind. You won't become perfect when you turn to Christ. That's not what it's about. But it means that you are no longer a slave to sin and you now have the opportunity to choose Christ as Lord of your life every day.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Versus: Confidence vs. Arrogance
2. belief in oneself and one's powers or abilities; self-confidence; self-reliance; assurance:
ar-ro-gance [ar-uh-guhns]
Have you ever been in the situation where you feel like someone is really abusing their powers and abilities? For example, there may be a professional football player that is really talking up his ability to play ball. You can't really argue with him because he has the game to back up his talk. Is that being confident or being arrogant?
This is a tough thing to discern. I think the key thing to look at here is the difference in the definitions. They both have key words, I believe, that signifies a difference. Confidence has the word "assurance." It's true that this can be a part of arrogance too but the key word for arrogance is "offensive." If it is abrasive and overbearing, that's a fairly good sign that it is arrogant.
There are a couple times in Scripture that I find some arrogant sections.
The one that comes to my mind is in Philippians. In chapter 3, verse 17 Paul says "Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example." The first time I read that, I was like "Woah!! Paul, getting a little full of ourselves are we?" But after re-reading, I feel like he's being confident in the life he is living. He is confident that even though he is sinful, God is working through him enough to where people should be following his example.
We can and should follow his example too. And that can go for any other solid Christian figure today. We can follow their example in living a holy life, just as long as we realize they're human too and we shouldn't idolize them.
With that being said, are you using the gifts and position in your area of influence that God has given you rightly? Or are you using it to boost your own glory?


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Tuesday, July 19, 2005
Just a note to the blog, in case anyone goes looking for gazehound.com and can't find it.... The domain is off line for several days, until the dns servers catch up with my tardy renewal. Life In General has had me more than usually distracted lately and I managed to let the domain lapse. How embarrassing is that? :-) People can email me for now at firstname.lastname@example.com or email@example.com and/or post here in any of my blogs to keep in touch. Gazehound.com should be back within a couple of days.
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In support of my author-crush on Joe Hill (and also because my friend Spencer recommended it), I picked up the first trade paperback of Locke & Key, "Welcome to Lovecraft." The Locke siblings, Tyler, Kinsey and Bode, have had it tough recently: their dad was murdered by a psychotic student and their mom moved them across the country to the town of Lovecraft in New England. Their new home is the strange Keyhouse, the mansion where their father grew up, which holds wonders and horrors and secrets. Trouble follows the Locke family to Lovecraft, violent, relentless trouble. Author Joe Hill and artist Gabriel Rodriguez draw the reader in and raise the stakes immediately; this story is unsparing.
I'm pretty limited in my exposure to comics. I enjoy Y: The Last Man, Fables, The Umbrella Academy; I collected "Season 8" of Buffy the Vampire Slayer; I suffered through the first 100 issues of The Walking Dead. Buffy just got too far out there for me and I gave up. TWD I find just too grim and gruesome. I like reading horror novels - Stephen King, Joe Hill, some Clive Barker, Justin Cronin - but the scary comics are just too much: I think I prefer the images in my head to the images on the page. That's why I just didn't wholeheartedly embrace Locke & Key ... and yet I'm torn because I am interested in the story, just not the artwork. I think I'll try the next TPB and see how it leaves me.
1 day ago


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As you already know, our auctions are now closed.
We will be contacting all our winning bidders over the next few days with instructions as to how to proceed – it might take us a little while to get to everyone, but we will contact you!
Since we closed last night, we've had some queries about the cut-off point for placed bids.
To clarify, we closed the auctions at midnight, and disabled the comment boxes on all the items. The system takes a minute or two to process this: it's something we couldn't avoid, and on a couple of items, one or two bids made just after midnight went through. Unfortunately, we are unable to include these in the auction.
In the interest of fairness, we will only be accepting bids placed up to & including 12:00, according to the WordPress comment timestamps, in line with the advertised closing time.
The highest bid (or bids, for multiple items) which were registered at or by 12:00 (midnight) will be the winning bids.
We appreciate this may have caused some concern, and apologise for any confusion or disappointment.
In the meantime, thank you so much to all our wonderful supporters and donors, and to everyone who has got involved in bidding, and in spreading the word about Genre for Japan. It's been a greater success than we ever imagined possible, and your generosity has been nothing short of amazing.
We are deeply grateful to have been involved in such a positive experience–and we really can't thank you enough.
Without all of you, none of this would have been possible – and we hope you've enjoyed it as much as we have!


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Frischling has since, in various forums over the past 15 years, exploited the tragedy of Flight 800 by describing scenes he could not possibly have seen and bragged about money he could not possibly have made from photos that could not possibly exist.
Prepare to be offended.
Only weeks after the accident, Frischling responds to a spammer on a newsgroup to brag he made more than $2,000 in six hours because 230 people died one night:
alt.journalism.photo: "Great CASH GAINS" (8/3/1996)
"6hrs at TWA Flight 800, I was the only non-related civilian on the US Coast Gaurd base, I made over $2,000 in 6 hrs........."A few years later, that amount has climbed to $7,000+:
Sports Shooter: "Stringing for AP" (12/1/2003)
"The last assignment I really shot for the AP was in the morgue the night TWA Flight 800 crashed off Long Island. AP got it's five or six photos for $180 (x2 because of the time I invested, and access I was able to get without their help) plus miles, and I managed to get $7,000 from Newsweek for photos they never ran in their North American editions."Contrast that to six years earlier, when he claimed he had banked nearly a year's salary that night, and also makes the absurd claim of being inside the makeshift morgue! First, it is doubtful the authorities would have allowed a photographer in that morgue, and if they had, don't you imagine that those photos would been seen all over the world?
NPPA-L: "Who Makes What...some actual numbers" (7/20/1997)
"then again I left a few days before TWA 800, was the only photog on thebase or in the morgue that night and made a little less that the yearly salary in one night..."He repeats this claim about the morgue in 2008, and now brags he has been at "multiple plane crashes!"
FlyerTalk: "anyone ever been through an aborted takeoff/landing?" (5/14/2008)
"Having shot around multiple plane crashes in my news career, including being the pool photog in the make shift morgue for a 747 that blew up, I'm not keen on being on crashing planes. I'd rather shoot news than be news."But being in the vicinity of a plane crash and making a fortune off it is not dramatic enough for Steven Frischling. In 1999 he hijacked a thread about the Columbine school shooting in Littleton, Colo., to grab some attention for himself by overstating his connection to Flight 800. He admits to making "bad jokes about TWA 800" (he's all class!) but you must understand, he needs to make these jokes! Even three years later, it is all Frischling can do to get through each day after the hell he witnessed that night!
NPPA-L: "Littleton, Tornadoes, etc." (5/5/1999)
"I know I have made a number of bad jokes about TWA 800, but I also know that I never want to see my negatives again from the night the 747 crashed. Making jokes, seeming all confident and strong is what kept me and keeps me from falling down in a ball of tears."What a sensitive soul.
He also claims a county detective ripped the film from his camera, and describes distraught Coast Guard "boys" standing over stacks of body bags!
NPPA-L: "seeking police contacts" (2/22/1998)
"I think most of us have faced this. While on the USCG base the night TWA Flight 800 crashed an over zealous Suffolk County Detective,who had no offical power, as he was ona federal military base, where I was a guest, ripped the film from my camera, he was escortd from the base, and the base X.O. filed a complaint against him."NPPA-L: "to die for?" (9/29/1997)
"5 photos were taken durring actual rescues, including photos of USCG rescuers over a stack of body bags the night TWA 800 crashed just outside the morge, these men(boys really) are holding each other and holding in tears"
This guy is literally unbelievable.
Extra thoughts come from a commenter, who clearly knows a thing or two about news photography:
"If he was actually on an assignment for AP he would have not been able to sell his images to Newsweek for what he is describing as a high fee for first look (to get exclusive images in order to beat out the other news mags) AP would have owned his film.Another commenter:
If he was pool for the morgue his images would have appeared on all the wire services, but they do not.
If he had been INSIDE the morgue he would have had access to powerful images that would have surely run all over the place. I have never seen one.
There is ONE photo on the AP wire of the exterior of a coast guard station with ambulances parked in front. Nothing from inside. No dramatic photo of Coasties holding back tears as they stack body bags."
"I have googled, binged and yahooed every possible variation of TWA flight 800 morgue as well as East Moriches Coast Guard TWA morgue and have come up with nothing other then a reporter who won a Pulitzer Prize for his story about the morgue following the crash of TWA 800. I looked on the AP wire, AFP and UPI - not a single pool picture of body bags stacked or anything from inside or outside a morgue on the night the plane crashed. The photos that Frischling describes would have ran EVERYWHERE and would still have a presence on the web. Weeping Coasties and body bags? Hell, a picture like that might have even been a contender for the Pulitzer. I think the real story is that he shot the outside of this building using direct flash and that was about it. Like I said, if he had been the pool photographer, all of those pictures would have been shared with all of the wire services and he wouldn't have made a dime on resales because the market would have been saturated with those photos since they would have been distributed by multiple outlets."Do you find this offensive that anyone would exploit the deaths of 230 people in such a manner? Do you find it absurd that this giant tool still has a travel blog on BoardingArea.com? Meet Randy Petersen, the owner of BoardingArea and founder of FlyerTalk, who refuses to remove Frischling's blog despite being well informed about his actions. In fact, it would appear Randy Petersen even pays Steven Frischling a share of the money from the advertising on the site! (Do you think BoardingArea.com advertisers know what their ads are appearing next to?) By the way you can email Randy Petersen at email@example.com to ask why he still keeps Frischling as one of his bloggers, whom he claims are all "hand selected" by his "team!"
|Randy Petersen, BoardingArea.com founder


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There is that old saying "It's good to have friends in high places". Well, I have a friend at the tippy top of the high places. At the Summit!
At our quilting retreats, we all supply our own food and beverage for retreat, and have a shared snack table to graze between feeding times.
This time, in addition to the snack buffet, Leisl offered to tap into her connection to Summit Brewing in St. Paul. She brought an assortment of beers for us to sample.
So I did.
My problem is, I am not a very good sampler. They all were very drinkable, so I really can't rate or compare them to each other! The Maibock and Porter are varieties that I probably would not have purchased because my pre-conceived notion would tell me that I would be wasting my money on something I would end up passing over to Bob to consume. (He'll drink anything!)
Well, they were actually very tasty, and I would not have shared with Bob!
And then, while shopping at the local little Gordy's Groceries in Augusta, I spied this--
I was not familiar with a "malt specialty" liquor. I did buy this and brought it home to share with the previously mentioned guy. It was probably the marketing that made it for this beverage. The patriotic theme of the name, complete with eagle flying and mountain peaks on the horizon. The flavor "apple pie" is like the trademark of America! The folksy chalkboard-art-looking graphics, which remind us of the good old school days of our childhood. The description at the bottom states it is brewed in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, evoking a picture of the beauty of nature all around us as we sip our drinks. And then, bottling it in a mason jar really completes that moonshiney backwoods down home feel! After sampling it straight, I'm not a fan. But it has been suggested to me that I might like to try it mixed with ginger beer or cranberry juice. Sounds like a good idea! As I did a little more research into the making of this product, I found that it is made by Stout Brewing Company. My first thought was that it had a connection to the nearby University of Wisconsin - Stout in Menomonie, nowhere near the Blue Ridge Mountains. But it's a different Stout. In North Carolina. Not far from Charlotte, in the city of King's Mountain. 42.4 miles from Ballantyne, the home of the Carolina branch of our family! Maybe a field trip on our next visit there! It's a small world after all! (And now I will have that earworm in my head all day!)


text:
Every year my family goes camping at Bass Lake in central California. It is SO beautiful. Lots of hiking, swimming, fishing, and boating. It was a great time.
It rained..
While it rained we read...
We did some local hiking on the Goat Mountain Trail.
We hung out by the lake.
We rode the Yosemite Sugar Pine Rail Road.
It was very hot.
Since it is very close we decided to spend a day in Yosemite. We saw a bear.
We decided to hike to upper Yosemite falls.
The information guide said it was a bit under 7 miles but that it was very strenuous and it would take 6 to 8 hours round trip. I was with my sister, three nephews, and my nephews girl friend. We laughed about how fast we would hike it - my nephews boasting they could complete the entire hike in 2 hours. I was thinking I could do it in 3.
I learned to never underestimate a Yosemite hike again. We started at really fast pace... The girlfriend dropped about a half mile in. My sister about a mile in. They both stopped at the first lookout point and said they were not going anymore. The rest of us told them to wait there and that we would be back in a hour. Yeah right!!
I followed the kids at their speed for another half hour and then told them to do there own thing and I would meet them at the top. It was very strenuous!
In the end it took me five hours, my nephews four hours, and two people in our party didn't make it at all.
It was very beautiful.
At the top of the falls.
It was not as awesome as Vernal Falls.. but it was still a cool hike.
Sketch staircase that you could die from falling off of. :S
My favorite picture from the hike is below.
I only had my iPhone camera but it did a great job capturing Yosemite and the lake!!
It was a great trip. Hope you are all having a great summer! Are you going or have you gone on a vacation anywhere?


text:
Hello there, it's the three of us Eddie, Archie and Cubbie. Well we've been just about stir crazy these last few weeks, we've not been able to get out and have a bit of a run. However today the humans took us all for a bit of an adventure, and boy oh boy, did we need it. This rain might be o.k. for ducks, but it's no good for
Fox Terriers, we like to be out and about, chasing lizards, and investigating everything we see. But most of all we love to be racing through puddles, getting wet and filthy and then falling asleep because we're so tired.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Mostly, water's good fun.
Posted by Margi Parton at 6:29 PM No comments:
The river rushes on.
Looking back towards the CBD, it looks a picture perfect day, and if it wasn't for the flooding river, it would be. The speed of the filthy muddy deluge was estimated at around 30 kph, boats ripped from their moorings, pontoons, shipping container, and family belongings were all seen rushing on their way out of the mouth of the Brisbane River and into Moreton Bay. Stay strong and brave beautiful Brisbane. Leave a comment, tell us how you've managed in this crisis. you can see more of margi's images by visiting her web site www.margiparton.com
Posted by Margi Parton at 5:52 PM 1 comment:
The William Jolly Bridge.
Here, peeping through the trees along the top of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs, you can see the William Jolly Bridge. One of the many busy links across the Brisbane River to the beautiful city of Brisbane. The muddy flood waters are swirling around the pylons, trapping debris carried along by the current and creating whirlpools.
Posted by Margi Parton at 5:29 PM No comments:
Kangaroo Point. Brisbane
Looking down to the park and recreation area at the base of the Kangaroo Point Cliffs late yesterday afternoon, this was the sight that greeted ones eyes. To the right is a picnic table, but everything, paths, lawns, safety railings etc., all completely covered with the swirling, filthy, stinking, flood water. Chin up Beautiful Brisbane.
Posted by Margi Parton at 5:14 PM No comments:
Someones Dreams.
This is just one of the many boats which were washed down the Brisbane River this week. I can imagine the proud owners of this lovely little boat, sitting there on their pontoon, planning their next fishing adventure, or trip across to the islands for the day. It's heartbreaking, such devastation and destruction, along with loss of precious lives. Mother Nature can be such a force to be reconned with.
Posted by Margi Parton at 4:43 PM No comments:
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Coast Guard - Brisbane River in flood.
Thank you so much to everyone who has been there to help the people of Beautiful Brisbane in our darkest hour. The stories and vision seen on t.v. have been extra ordinary to say the least. Anna Bligh has show herself to be a worthy premier of this state, she has been inspirational to the people of Queensland during this terrible episode, which will now be part of our history.
Posted by Margi Parton at 10:53 PM No comments:
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Wot Father Christmas left.
Well, I can't see much house work being done in future, (it's me again, Cubbie) once the mistress places her self in this lovely swinging seat and her nose in the latest Jeffrey Archer novel, there'll be no telling when she'll surface again. Who knows, we may never be fed again. I've heard her say how comfortable it is and how she dozed of the other day. None of these things are really good signs, though I have to agree with her. When she was reading the other day I was on her lap and I had no trouble in dozing off, so there you are. However I think the mistress will be pretty mad if she finds a tuft or two of the cats hair in her lovely new swinging seat, it's out of bounds to felines. I have a feeling something might be said.
Posted by Margi Parton at 2:47 PM No comments:
G'day from Eddie.
Judging by the comments from other members of our K9 family, I'm beginning to think there's been some pretty sloppy behavour over the Festive Season. I certainly wasn't involved as you can see by my bright eyes and smiling face. 'Early to bed early to rise' that's my motto, and of course with age comes wisdom. Anyway Happy New Year to everyone, K9s or humans it doesn't matter. I think this year of 2011 is going to be a real beauty, from what I hear there seems to be some pretty exciting events in store.
Posted by Margi Parton at 2:28 PM No comments:
I've just had my first birthday.
Hi there it's me Cubbie, and I had my very first birthday on New Years day, so that means I was 1 on the 1-1-11 how good is that? But I'm tired out, the festive season has really taken it out of me, I'm not used to all this partying, rich food, and late nights with lots of whistleing and happy new yearing, I'm a bit young for this scene. Everybody says that Archie and I look alike, and it's true what do you think. Well I need to get a little shut eye, a girl needs her beauty sleep you know.
Posted by Margi Parton at 12:47 AM No comments:
Happy New Year !
Hi there, and Happy New Year to all. It's me Archie and I have to say I'm glad this festive season is over. I've eaten far too much, partied far too hard, (up till 3.30 a.m. on New Years Eve), and I need a rest. I'm only 3, well maybe just over 3, and I feel like and am acting like a sluggish old dog. I'll have to rest and get my act together if I'm to keep up with the other two. The humans also embibed somewhat, I thought to myself 'what a fine example they're setting'. You can see more of the mistresses pics by visiting www.margiparton.com and do leave a comment, we'd love to hear from you. How was your Christmas anyway?
Posted by Margi Parton at 12:31 AM No comments:
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text:
when uncertainty, stress or fear
halt the journey,
entries in its journal also cease
till there is a turning within.
Silence helps.
Okay, think.
But not too much.
Or thoughts are stopped.
Blocked. Stalled.
In spiral descending.
Opposing growth
Of cedar or pine.
Or the flight of an eagle
Time matters not
To the Eye of Light,
To the rate of waves returning,
The song of season's change.
The cliff on the cape
Forever washed by storm
And sailors dreaming.
The new day
Is lit by vision.
For thought
Cannot stop the sunrise
After storm.
I write. And it was a good day for Thanks.


text:
Genetic control of disease resistance between and within sheep breeds
- Abstract
- Cite This Article as
- Corresponding Author
This study was conducted to indicate the association among blood potassium with some physiological traits of Iraqi sheep breeds, its in-cluded198Awasi , 40 Arabi and 59 Karadi sheep besides fecal egg count for internal parasite were calculated. Blood potassium estimated by using of atomic absorption flame photometer. The results revealed the fallowing :1- Potassium level of Awssi, Arabi and Karadi sheep blood showed a bimodal distribution , the low potassium (LK) and the high potassium (HK) . 2-Arabi sheep recorded significantly more FEC than that in Awasi and Karradi in which 7410, 4313 and 3519 egg/feces respectively .3- Karadi (LK) sheep showed significantly higher FEC than that in LK Karradi sheep in which recorded 6360 and 3255 egg/feces respectively. Generally this study proved that the FEC increase in the Ewes com-paring with Rams in all different breeds, Although without getting a significant differences, the reason for such results because the females undergoing through a period of her life go through different stages of physiological condition such as pregnancy and births, which increasingly influential in the effort to increase the intensity of infection. Older animalshave lower FEC than younger animals, and the young sheep have less resistance to infection compared with the old sheep, as well as the case for females sheep in which they have less resistance when comparing with male sheep.
[S. H. Al-Samarrae, Ali Ibrahim Ali Al-Ezzy (2015); Genetic control of disease resistance between and within sheep breeds Int. J. of Adv. Res. 3 (2). 0] (ISSN 2320-5407). www.journalijar.com
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text:
Jurassic Park III tells the story of a couple of people who go to Isla Sorna with a certain Dr Alan Grant and after landing on the island, the dinosaurs begin to, as you'd expect from said film, cause them a wee bit of trouble. Simply put, Jurassic Park is actually an OK sequel to its predecessors (which I didn't rate highly in the first place to be honest), loud and nonsensical, and not really worthwhile the time it takes to watch as the plot goes nowhere and is filled with awful characters and an even worse end. In reality, dinosaurs are long extinct from the earth, much like this franchise should be but unfortunately, we're due for another in 2014.
Image from: Jurassic Park III, (2001), [ONLINE]. Available here
PS: Pixelated Fridays should be back next Friday – Sooooo busy!


text:
APPOINTMENT SETTING —— Altamonte Springs area accounting firm seeks enthusiastic people with clear speaking voice to set appointments for our accounting firm. No selling, professional work environment. Base salary $9-$11 per hour with the opportunity to double your weekly income through our very achievable bonus program.
•Flexible day-time hours; full & part time
•Paid training provided
•No accounting experience required.
For interview call Bob at 800.994.4276 between 9AM and 5PM EST, M-Th.


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After years of wearing acrylic nails I decided to break them all off and start growing out my nails so I could have nice natural nails. Well this was quite the process for me, every time I would get them just about the length I wanted them they would start chipping and breaking. So then I would have to file them all down and start over. This was becoming a real pain...so I went to my sister Krista who was just finishing up Cosmetology school at the time and she started telling me about a vitamin they learned all about in school.
The vitamin is called Biotin and it helps with the growth of hair and nails. I figured I would try it out it only cost a few dollars and it was carried at all the local drug stores and even Target, and Walmart. After a few weeks I really started noticing a difference not only with my nails but my hair too!!
I now have been religiously taking Biotin supplements since that day and I have to say my nails and hair grow like CRAZY! My nails are stronger than ever and my hair is actually thicker than it has ever been before too! I have been telling my friends about this vitamin for a while now so for those of you I have already informed if you haven't bought it already... do it now. But for anyone else that Krista or myself haven't told yet I just wanted to spread the word. And NO I am not selling this vitamin I just really love it!
For those of you who always forget to take their vitamins one thing that has helped me remember is to keep the bottle in my desk drawer at work and take my vitamins right after lunch.


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new MyClass(arg[0],arg[1].. etc.), so I had to figure out how to replicate the behaviour of
new in some other way.
You may have heard that JavaScript inheritance is prototypal. If you don't know what that means, thin of it as one object inheriting from another by making a copy of the original object. Everything in JavaScript is an object, including functions. You may think that JavaScript has classes. It doesn't. It really just has functions.
JavaScript is prototypal, but it wanted to appeal to programmers that were used to "classical" inheritance, so it included the 'new' keyword that we all love so much. That means you can do things like:
So what's going on? MyClass is called, but there is this 'this' object that isn't declared anywhere. Where did it come from?
function MyClass(arg1,arg2) {
this.foo = arg1;
this.bar = arg2;
this.baz = 3;
var mine = new MyClass('foo','bar');
// mine.foo == 'foo'
new created it for us and put it into the scope of the MyClass function. If a function called with 'new' doesn't have a return statement, it returns 'this' by default. You could try to call MyClass by itself, but you would end up creating 3 global variables because
this defaults to
window. So how do we redefine
this? There are two methods on all functions (remember, functions are objects, just like everything else) that let you control the value of
this: call and apply.
var foo = { qux: '123' };You might now be thinking that
// foo.foo == 'foo' && foo.qux == '123'
// if you don't know the exact number of arguments you can use apply
var args = ['foo','bar'];
// apply takes an array for the arguments
MyClass.call({},'foo','bar') is the same as
new MyClass('foo','bar'). Well,
new does a bit more than that. Remember the prototype? Calling
new more or less creates a copy of the class's prototype, which is then used as
this when calling the function. e.g.
MyClass.prototype.myFunc = function(a,b) { return a+b; };
var mine = new MyClass(...);
// mine.myFunc == function(a,b) { return a+b; }
One brief digression from our quest: John Resig blogged about a way to create classes that are instantiated correctly even if you forget
new. An interesting read, but not quite what we need since we may need to instantiate classes not under our control.
So if you create a new object, copy all the properties of
MyClass.prototype, and then call
MyClass.apply(...), is that the same as
new MyClass(...)? Nope.
new does some things behind the scenes that you cannot replicate without calling new. e.g.,
var mine = {};
for(var i in MyClass.prototype) {
mine[i] = MyClass.prototype[i];
// mine instanceof MyClass == false
So, what we have is an instance that is almost, but not quite identical to an instance created with
new. If you know that the object will only be duck typed, then this is good enough. However, if it's possible that it might end up in an
instanceof or have some other low level type check, this isn't good enough. The final trick that you need is
function newInstance(type,args) {
var f = function() {};
f.prototype = type.prototype;
var o = new f;
return type.apply(o,args) || o;
By creating a no-arguments function with the same prototype, we can safely use
new to get the prototype copying, and then call the constructor using apply.
instanceof type (and other checks, like
prototype.constructor) will return true, and the new instance will walk and talk like a duck of MyClass.