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As any who has read this blog can attest to, I got sucked into Gillian Flynn's dark and scary brain this summer, starting with Gone Girl and then moving onto Sharp Objects. So on a stormy day last week, I bought her third novel (actually her second published one), Dark Places. Like the other two books, Flynn's main character is a deeply damaged young woman from the Midwest.
Dark Places is the story of thirty-something Libby Day, the sole survivor of her family's murder. When she was seven years old, her older brother, Ben, supposedly massacred her mother and two sisters. She escaped out of a window and lost a couple toes and fingers in the process due to frostbite (the murders happened in February).
Libby grew up tormented and angry. Her brother was put in jail for life while she lived off of donations people sent her over the years. Twenty-four years after the murder, though, the money is drying up. She has never been able to hold a job in her life – she can barely get out of bed some mornings and suddenly she has to figure out how to support herself.
Enter the Kill Club. She is contacted by a young man named Lyle who belongs to a group fascinated by unsolved murders. Lyle is particularly interested in the Day murders and like many of the people involved in the group, does not believe that Ben committed the crimes. He offers Libby money to appear at a convention of the Kill Club where she meets other supporters of Ben. They spark a curiosity in her to investigate the murder further. After all, she was only seven when it happened and was clearly coached through her testimony that damned Ben.
No matter how damaged Libby is by the events on that February night, she can't help but use the Kill Club's resources to start questioning the mystery. She is paid to track down different people involved with the case and question them about that night. Little by little the story starts to emerge. Each present day Libby chapter is followed by a flashback of either Ben or Patty, Libby's mom, as they go through the day of the murder from the early morning to the murders.
The tension simmers slowly but intensely throughout the book as the reader tries to piece together what happened. Libby may be as messed up as the characters in Flynn's other two books, but she was certainly a unique character, damaged in her own way. The Kill Club's money drives her to action and allows her to investigate the murders slowly.
Like Flynn's other two books, I finished this feeling unsettled. Not because the ending wasn't satisfactory but just because it was a pretty messed up story. I guessed most of the twists in the other books (even though Flynn really did keep me guessing most of the time) but this book kept me wondering what had happened that night until the very end. I suspected a piece of it but turns out there was so much more to the story than I ever would have figured out on my own.
I seriously hope Gillian Flynn goes ahead and writes her next book soon because now that I'm done with all three, I'm not sure who else writes really good thrillers like this. Any suggestions? I prefer standalone books to a long series featuring one character but I'd appreciate recommendations for other great thrillers!
Buy it at amazon and Barnes & Noble


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Previous PostsAn austerity suggestion for the Indian government
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subset: commoncrawl


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To start the new year off on a convivial note, Geri had everyone wear name tags and then she called on each person to introduce themselves and tell us a bit about their quilting story.
Geri brought us up to speed on our "Transitions" challenge to be exhibited at the Northwest Quilt Expo in the fall. The challenge is to take a traditional quilt or block that means something to you and create a modern interpretation of it. We want to have a poster sized image of your inspiration to hang next to your finished piece, so keep that in mind as you take photos or collect inspiration.
Speaking of inspiration, our fabulous volunteers have organized a field trip to The Latimer Quilt and Textile Center in Tillamook:
Date: Saturday, February 11, 2017
Time: 1:00 pm (in Tillamook)
Place: 2105 Wilson River Loop Road
Tillamook, Oregon 97141
Admission Fee: $4.00 (payable at door)
We still have a few spots left in a carpooling van (fee is $15 which covers fuel and admission). Please call to see if there is room (503-635-1353). Those going in van will meet at The Pine Needle at 9:30 am - van leaves at 10:00 am!
Otherwise, bring a friend and meet us in Tillamook for this special tour! Leave early and grab lunch at Tillamook Cheese Factory! PLEASE RSVP by phone (503-635-1353) so that we can let Latimer know how many people to expect!
After filling us in on the challenges, we were treated to round robin style demonstrations of several clever log cabin and curved rulers, plus some fun coloring products.
Of course, no Westside meeting would be complete without Show and Tell.
Linda R started us off with one of her quilts made using the curved ruler she demonstrated. Check out that pop of green too -- it's pretty close to Pantone's color of the year, Greenery, which Geri introduced us to earlier in the meeting.
Marlene brought the gorgeous quilt she made at last summer's retreat.
Alicia shared her cheery black and pink creation.
Deslie designed this lap quilt herself which shows off the rich fall colors in her inspiration fabric. As always, she's incorporated her leftovers into a handsome tote bag!
Michelle found these low volume squares at a great price so she sewed them together into this sweet little quilt and excellent showcase for her machine quilting.
Marilyn showed off her Robert Burns inspired appliqué and embroidered Thistle quilt which she also designed herself.
Susan B wowed us with this baby quilt she made for her niece. She liked it so much, she decided not to give it away (don't worry, she made another quilt for her niece).
Susan B also made this ebullient hexie medallion.
Sisters Carol and Barbara brought a family heirloom made by their great grandmother. This lovingly preserved crazy quilt has been in their family for generations.
Linda D brought a fun baby quilt too. Her's highlights colorful elephant artwork by her cousin.
More green and black and white! Linda D designed this bold quilt, and...
this one is the same design, just made up in completely different fabrics. It's amazing how much fabric choices change the look of a quilt and make each one unique to it's maker.
Kathy W shared her happy quilt, made using our Illumination pattern, which she'll donate to CARES. She pieced the backing using a formula she found in Bernina's downloadable newsletter, Through the Needle.
Thanks to everyone who came out for the meeting. We look forward to seeing you all on February 22nd, the last wednesday of the month, if we don't see you on the 11th for the Latimer field trip.


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Perhaps Mother Nature reads my blog? The original storm that was supposed to bring snow turned into rain on Wednesday morning but then another storm appeared out of nowhere! We had a delay Wednesday morning but it started snowing later in the afternoon as we scrambled to dismiss the kids. By the time I left at 4:00 the roads were AWFUL...I drove white-knuckled to pick up Audrey, then drove way below the speed limit on the way home. I've never driven in such terrible conditions but luckily we made it home safely. I've been reading commuter nightmare stories on WTOP.com. People up north had it so bad, I just can't believe some of the horror stories! You can read a few of them yourself here.
We ended up getting around 3-4 inches here. We had a wonderful day at home...I was more than happy be with Audrey. We went outside for a little bit and made a bunch of little snowballs. She didn't want to ride on her sled or even walk around. Oh, and she ate pears for the first time today....pretty big deal :)
Luckily our teacher workday is still on for tomorrow. I'm looking forward to a full day of working in my classroom. Usually we're stuck going to meetings and professional development classes. I have a long list of things to do and I'm hoping to leave tomorrow with everything checked off!
Photo courtesy of Stacy Hart Photography
Edit 1/28/10: I got to work this morning as it began snowing, only to see fellow teachers slipping and falling! I was super careful & only ended up staying for about 30 minutes, until they canceled the workday (20 minutes before everyone was supposed to arrive!) Two custodians walked me back out to my car and luckily the drive back home was fine.


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F. Scott Fitzgerald
Saturday, December 14, 2013
Playlist: Old Love
" I don't ask you to love me always like this, but I ask you to remember somewhere inside me there'll always be the person I am tonight. "
Thursday, November 28, 2013
Blinded By Love
50s/60s inspired outfit. Simple, easy, and cute!
bow- Bettie Page
shirt- Ragstock
jeans- Forever 21
purse- Coach
shoes- Buffalo Exchange
Posted by Jill at 11:36 AM No comments:
Labels: 50s, 60s, coach, cute, dark colors, Fashion, feminine, ootd, outfit, outfit of the day, red, simple, style, vintage
Tuesday, November 19, 2013
Nails: Flower Power
These nails are so cute and easy! All you need is nail polish and a bobby pin. I'll link the tutorial I used soon.
Colors I used:
in the lime light- China Glaze
24/7- Sinful Colors
pink forever- Sinful Colors
french white tip- New York Color
times square tangerine- New York Color
queen of speed- Color Club
Posted by Jill at 2:23 PM No comments:
Labels: cute, feminine, floral, flower, flowers, girly, nail polish, nails, nails of the day, notd
Smell The Flowers
Here's an outfit I wore for the senior panoramic picture. Ignore my goofy faces. :)
crop top- Forever 21
skirt- Forever 21
belt- Vintage
purse- Coach
booties- Buffalo Exchange
Posted by Jill at 1:53 PM No comments:
Labels: clothes, cute, Fashion, forever 21, girly, ootd, outfit of the day, thrifted, vintage
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Playlist: Atmosphere
I was in Minneapolis this past weekend at a G Eazy concert and it was so much fun! But for whatever reason I decided to make an Atmosphere playlist instead of a G Eazy one (I'll make one for him later).
This is a list of some of my favorite songs from the albums I have: When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold, The Family Sign, and God Loves Ugly.
I know Don't Ever Fucking Question That isn't on these albums, but it's just so damn good. Another song that I don't have on a CD is Say Shh but it's fantastic and I suggest you check it out, especially if you're from Minnesota!
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I did it and it was an experience, especially doing loop the loop!
So something to do before I was 50.
I decided on a skydive.
I had two problems in my way for this one.
1, I was 3 stones too heavy
2, I didnt think I would be brave enough to do it!
Tackling the first one took me while to do but eventually I managed it.
The second one was going to be a challenge!
I came to the conclusion the only way I was going to do it, was if I did it for charity. After all I couldn't let them down. I decided to do it for the Stroke association since Kevin had, had a stroke two years ago.
I booked the skydive through skyline.com to do it on the 3rd August and set up a Justgiving page. Ok I thought thats the easy bit done.
I did this back in March and apart from sharing my giving page on facebook and taking my form to work, I didnt really think about it.
July soon came around and thoughts of what I had booked kept coming into my mind. It sounds silly but I kept bending over looking at the floor and imagining what earth would look like from 10,000 feet!
I had to be at the parachute site for 7.30am so I decided to book into a hotel the day before to save me panicking on the drive up.
As there weren't a lot of hotels near the airfield that catered for a family, I decided to book into Thurnham Hall self catering apartments.
It ended up costing the same as booking two rooms in a hotel anyway and it looked far nicer.
As the day arrived the weather changed and I had my doubts about whether or not it would happen this weekend. I decided just to enjoy my day in Lancaster, Thurnham Hall and being with my family, minus Georgia and Josh who kindly stayed behind to look after the menagerie!
Thurnham Hall didn't disappoint the apartment was huge, modern and had everything you could possibly want.
In the morning I was up at 6am ( after not sleeping very well, from nerves, not the bed) we had just booked out of the room when the phone rang to say the weather was too bad, no flying today.
To say I was disappointed was an understatement! But I did have a nice time in Lancaster.
When I was home I rang them and rebooked...weather permitting for the next day, I couldn't leave it any longer my nerves might not stand it.
As I set off the next day, the weather was getting better and better and I knew today was going to be the day.
The 'drop' was at the Black Knights Parachute Club in Cockerham near Lancaster.
It was set in the middle of no where but I suppose it has to be but it was very easy to find.
The staff were immediately welcoming and put me at ease.
We were able to watch all the take offs and landings to get an idea of what I would be doing.
They do tell you to expect to do a lot of waiting and they weren't wrong. But they had a cafe and settees to lounge on and videos of parachuting to either help calm you or make your nerves worse!
After a couple of hours I met my instructor Ralph, who talked me through exactly what would be happening step by step, making sure I understood at each stage what was expected from me.
After this I felt much less nervous and just wanted to get up there!
After we boarded the plane, Ralph gave me clear instructions and fastened us 'together'
As the plane got higher and higher I looked out of the window and felt surprisingly calm, it was just how I imagined it would be when i'd been 'practising', looking at the floor. At this point Ralph showed me his 'gadget' on his wrist to show me how high we were. It was pointing to one, 'that must stand for 11,000 feet ' I thought. 'Are we ready then now Ralph?', I asked. No! We are only at 1000 feet another 10,000 to go yet'
I did ask if he was joking but as the plane climbed higher and higher I knew he wasn't.
He showed me again at 5000 and then 8000 feet and at that point I did ask if it was too late to change my mind. It felt as high as when I fly on a boeing 767 on my holidays! Nothing like I expected.
The next thing I know we are shuffling to the edge of the plane and as I hung over the edge wondering what the heck I was doing, we were out!
Falling at 120mph doesnt actually feel like your falling at all, the best way I can explain it is as if your whole body was in one of those Dyson handdrying things you find in public toilets! Cushioned by air rather than falling. I was in shock and couldn't speak for a few seconds but then realised I was falling to earth and screamed. Surprisingly, you cant hear yourself, it was so noisy from the wind.
After 50 (million) seconds and the ground getting closer by the second, the parachute opened. I didn't shoot upwards as expected, I was just thrown from a horizonal position to a vertical one!
From then on it was amazing, the views, the silence, the floating sensation Ralph twirled me around showing me some famous land marks all which lasted about 15 minutes. The landing was very smooth and gentle. Much better than I had expected. Phew!
It was over, I had done it!
Would I do it again?
I wouldn't ring up and book another but if someone asked me to do another, I would.
And I have now raised nearly £1000 for the Stroke Association!
Mmmmm what next.....


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Keep away from people who belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great.
Happy Friday to all! It's time for another edition of Favorite Quote Friday, a weekly series dedicated to motivational and inspirational quotes from a variety of sources. This is one of my favorite days to post on this blog and I hope that it is one of your favorite days to read it!
Today's quote comes from world-famous author and humorist Mark Twain. Mark was born Samuel Langhorne Clemens in the tiny town of Florida, Missouri (it's so tiny its current population is zero), and grew up in nearby Hannibal, Missouri. Today he is most famous for his novels The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. But if you come up here to Missouri and take a day trip to Hannibal, you will find that we know him as something more than just a published author and funny guy. He was also pilot of a steamboat that went up and down the muddy Mississippi. If you go to Hannibal and take a ride on the steamboat, they will tell you all about it.
Aren't you glad Twain decided to write books and become famous instead of continuing a career on the river? It would have been unfair for the rest of the world if the only people he was sharing his witticisms with were the people on a wee boat in the middle of the Mississippi.
Now I will let you in on a little secret—I am not a big fan of Mark Twain's writing. It puts me to sleep. Don't tell anyone, okay? Even though I am not one of his biggest fans, I do have several of his quotes in my favorite quotes file, and of course today's quote is one of them. In fact, it is probably my all time favorite thing that Mark Twain ever said. It is good, common sense advice.
Nothing good ever comes from surrounding yourself with negative people who insist on destroying your dreams. The only thing you accomplish with this is bad nerves, bad skin, and bad digestion. And unless you are some sort of weirdo masochist, you don't want any of those things. Trust me.
If you have negative people who are always trying to bring you down in your life, get rid of them. Cut them off completely. I don't care if it is your mother, your father, or your best friend. If they bring down your mood and make you question yourself and your abilities, they don't need to be in your life.
Instead you need to become involved with successful people who are glad to take you under their wing and share their success with you. You are never too old to go out and get a mentor, and there are many people out there willing to let you in on their secret to success.
If you think positive, you will get positive results.
So if you are struggling with depression or you are suffering from bad luck, take a long, hard look at your situation. Who are you hanging out with? What are they saying to you? How is your overall physical and mental health doing? Would it be better if you made some changes to habits and the people you associate with?
It is time you started thinking, "Out with the bad and in with the good." Don't let negative thoughts and negative people take over your life!
Related articles
- Hannibal MO: The Town Mark Twain Has Kept On the Map (gadling.com)
- The only existing video footage of Mark Twain, as filmed by Thomas Edison [Video] (io9.com)
- Mark Twain accused of… racism (english.ruvr.ru)


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WATCH Justin Bieber get frisked in Jail
Police have released surveillance video of celebrity Justin Bieber inside the Miami jail just after his DUI arrest.
For the first time we are seeing international pop-star Justin Bieber in the processing area of the Miami Police Department.
A Miami Beach officer saw Bieber driving a yellow Lamborghini in a race against a red Ferrari in a residential area of Miami Beach, Martinez said.
The cars were speeding at about 55 to 60 mph in a 30 mph zone, he said.
Bieber "made some statements that he had consumed some alcohol, and that he had been smoking marijuana and consumed some prescription medication," Martinez said.
To read more about Bieber's arrest click here.


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A funny site for cartoons, jokes, weird news of the day, funny stories and funny videos. Come get a laugh from what I've found while researching the web - some of it is edgy.
23 May 2010
Posts Roundup at Dennys Blogs - 23 May 2010
Cup of coffee from Brazil by il Quoquo @ flickr
From Denny: Thanks for visiting all my blogs! It's amazing how much the web has changed in only 18 months. Now people can read blogs without ever physically visiting - just read the posts in a reader.
At the top of the list here for each blog are the most recent posts. I've included many of the most popular posts you've enjoyed the past few weeks too.
I've just started up yet another interest blog for posts and news on music and art. Thank you for the great response! I had no idea people would respond so well to those couple of posts so quickly.
And special thanks to the folks who posted the Jazz Music poem up on social sites this week. Apparently, there are a number of music fans out there! :) Thanks for visiting The Social Poets!
The Social Poets:
America This Week: World Politics Cartoons and Commentary - 22 May 2010
Jazz Music poem - Libations Friday 21 May 2010
Funny Poet: Guy Wetmore Carryl
Funny Volcano and Weather Quotes - Cheeky Quote Day 19 May 2010
Scientists: New Airport Scanners Not Safe
Roundup of Late Night Funnies - 17 May 2010
Funny Video: Stewart Skewers Conservatives 4 Obama-Bush Comparisons
Funny Video: Colbert Lampoons Kagan Confirmation Hearing
Posts Roundup This Week at Dennys Blogs - 16 May 2010
Dennys Global Politics:
Political Cartoons: Local and World Economy
Actor Kevin Costner Pitches Solution to BP Headache, Intelligence Head Resigns, Why Kagan Elitist Good - News Headlines 20 May 2010
Russia Furious With America Over Afghan Drugs, Terrorism Financing Un-Islamic, White House Food - News Headlines 19 May 2010
Sticking It to Iran, Obama and Jobs Creation, Survey Goes Against New Oil Drilling - News Headlines 18 May 2010
Airport Scanners Safety Questioned, Iran Skirts Nuke Sanctions, Sex Criminals Indefinitely Detained - News Headlines 17 May 2010
The Soul Calendar:
Ground-Breaking King of the Lab: Venter Creates Synthetic DNA
Video: Check Out the River Monsters Swimming Near You
Bloggers: Get The New Google Buzz Buttons
Neuroscience: Want Your Man to Better Understand You? Try Empathy Nasal Spray
Beautiful Illustrated Quotations:
Sometimes What You Sideline is a Good Thing
3 Quotes: Have You Validated Yourself Recently?
3 Positive Attitude Quotes to Help Shape Your World
Are You Stuck in Life Not Knowing Where to Go Next?
Mothers Day Quote From Rose Kennedy
How Can You Help Your Child Keep Their Balance And Yours?
Mothers Day Quote: The Funny Stages of Motherhood
4 Special Quotes to Anchor Your Dreams
Humor blogs - Dennys Funny Quotes, Ouch Outrageous Obnoxious And Odd:
Dark Humor: BP Oil Spill Cartoons - 22 May 2010
Outrageous: Graduation Debt Cartoons - 22 May 2010
Funny Video: Colbert On BP Oil Containment - No One Knows What The Flock They're Doing
Funny Video: Cartoonist Mocks Tea Party Hypocrisy
Funny Video: Betty White On SNL Monologue
Funny Video: Betty White, SNL Golden Girls Lampoon Lawrence Welk Show
Funny Video: Cover Up Your Sex Scandal With A New Batch Of Euphemisms
Terrorism and Times Square, Immmigration Cartoons - 15 May 2010
Hunh? Funny Political Cartoons 15 May 2010
10 Funny Odd Photos - cute animals and crazy dressed people!
Funny Video: TV Anchor Falls off Chair
The Healing Waters:
Controversial Successful New Treatment 4 Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Injuries During Sex, Miracle Baby, Bad Drug Ad Snitches Wanted - Health News Stories - 14 May 2010
Funny Wall Street Political Cartoons - 15 May 2010
Food blogs - Romancing The Chocolate and Comfort Food From Louisiana:
Simple Summer: 2 Super Easy Spaghetti Sauces
Easy Recipes: 4 Versions of Crawfish Pie
Triple Chocolate Toffee Brownies
Elegant Cheap Dishes From Manhattan Chef: Chicken With 40 Garlic Cloves, Salad and Dessert
Sweet Breakfasts: Caramel Pecan Buns, Sweet Blueberry Drop Biscuits, Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
Tradtional Sandwiches Updated: California Tuna Melt, Egg Salad
Chocolate Wonders: Kentucky Derby Pie, Make-ahead Chocolate Soufflé
Easy Moist Chocolate Mayo Cake From Bon Appetit
Video: Louisiana Chef Makes Crawfish Etouffee
5 Easy Recipes 4 Chicken and Sausage Gumbo
2 Crowd Pleasing Easy Casseroles: Mexican Lasagna, Turkey Tetrazzini
Awesome Cajun Barbecued Shrimp — New Orleans Style
Yummy Homemade Coconut Cream Pie
Awesome Sauces 4 Louisiana Seafood
Spring Into Grill Season: Mouthwatering Steaks
Chef Rocco Dispiritos Cheap Yet Healthy Comfort Food
Kid Friendly Recipes: Chocolate Quesadillas, Very Best Fudge
Visual Insights, photo blog:
Political Cartoons: Memorial Day - 22 May 2010
Supreme Court Nominee Political Cartoons - 15 May 2010
Dennys Funny Photo Gallery: The Nose Knows
Dennys Photo Gallery: Garden Views
Dennys Photo Gallery: Life is Just Plain Funny
Dennys Photo Gallery: How to Know Its Spring
Funny Odd Couples: Cats and Their Weirdo Friends
Dennys Photo Gallery: Spectacular Sunrises
Dennys Photo Gallery: Beautiful Blues in Our World
Photography, Beautiful Metaphor for Life: 17 Boats
Only White Theme: 26 Photos
Photo History: 1st Lady Gowns, Michelle Obama Donates Hers
Dennys Art Santuary:
The Stones, Otis Redding, Ronnie James Dio - Arts and Music News 17 May 2010
Featuring Marilyn Monroes Jazz Pianist Hank Jones - Arts and Music Headlines 18 May 2010
*** THANKS for visiting, feel welcome to drop a comment or opinion, enjoy bookmarking this post on your favorite social site, a big shout out to awesome current subscribers – and if you are new to this blog, please subscribe in a reader or by email updates!
Posted by Denny Lyon at 9:36 PM
funny, weird, humor, funny-news, politics american politics, Barack Obama, Dennys poetry, health news, latest news, music news, Photography, political analysis, political commentary, political opinion, recipes, spiritual life, us news


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Sunday, August 21, 2011
Larry in the sky with diamonds
With the rise of the internet, these darn rascal young experimenters have a new place to get drugs, no questions asked. They come from other countries. One of the things that has become available are mushroom spores. They are intended to help you grow your own mushrooms (oh what fun) to use as dope. Kind of like a science experiment in your room.
So one of the ways that these mushroom spores come is in a big syringe of say 10 ccs. They are mixed with water. Apparently they come with a needle attached. Do you see what's coming next? Can you guess? Yup. There have been fools who decide to shoot themselves up with this shit. They shoot themselves up with a fungus, a very unbright thing to do. As humans we really should try to avoid fungus.
Well, the outcome was, of course, not good. They got infections in places that are not good places to get infections. They got them in areas, that if you mess them up, will most certainly cause your demise. They eventually died. A bummer for all concerned. Moral of the story: stay away from fungus.
Posted by girlvet at 11:27 PM
1 comment:
Encephilitis is such a bad trip man...
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New Orleans R&B legend Snooks Eaglin passed away yesterday. He had prostate cancer.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune obituary is here.
Mr. Eaglin, a virtuoso guitarist, was known locally as "the human jukebox" for his massive personal repertoire of folk, jazz, blues and soul tunes (plus, I'm told, the complete works of Bad Company). The man could not be stumped when it came to requests.
Blind since infancy, Eaglin was billed as "Li'l Ray Charles" early in his career. He went on to record with giants of New Orleans music such as Dave Bartholomew, Professor Longhair and James Booker.
Click here to hear "Brown Skinned Woman," an acoustic blues from 1961, on my Vox blog.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Snooks Eaglin (1937-2009)
Posted by Undercover Black Man at 9:08 PM
Labels: In Memoriam
1 comment:
- destruction said...
Here's to ya Snooks.....I especially love his solo work like Kiss of Fire, and the Mr. Sandman medley.
- February 27, 2009 at 9:48 AM
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Heartbreak-The Heartbreak consists of a fragile porcelen heart and light yet strong titanium hammer, booth are connected and made unsperable by a titanium chaine. When broken the heart will show cracks, yet it wil never fall appart as there is a layer of rubber on the inside that will keep the heart together. Indeed as one will usually recover from a broken heart, the small cracks will inevitably add up and form who we are.
Love Heart-The word love written in all the possible ways there are to say 'I love you'..
Design: Tjep


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Pretty ThingsThis slow winding down of fall from the bursts of red and orange peak foliage, to the Rembrandtesque browns, tans, yellows is very beautiful. We're blessed with mild weather and sun, giving one the feeling of being lost in a glassy prism of sharp light and crisp breezes, autumn at its best.
It's so pretty like pretty girls in pretty clothes, dashing along with the breeze, flipping their hems of swirling skirts, showing off a silky satin petticoat of moire hue. You want to tear after them, chase them down, but they spiral up, and away, like unearthly dancers. Those aren't little wisps of women, those are just pretty leaves. Leaves leaving us and leaving winter in their place.


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The marcipanguf (what an awesome name! pictured below) came a close second - it was two sugary, biscuity layers with a slice of marzipan baked in the middle. I tried to eat it slowly. I couldn't. I scarfed it down like I thought someone had made it illegal.
Copenhagen isn't the vegan-friendliest capital city, but stop into a Naturbageriet, and you'll feel well loved.
29 Frederiksborggade and 98 Istegarde
33 14 62 26
14 comments
Apricot and apple Danish pastries used to be my favourite sweet things to buy from bakeries but I've totally forgotten about them since going vegan. Yay for vegan bakeries, perhaps I'll stumble upon a vegan danish one day...ReplyDelete
The rum ball looks impressive, I make them often as my man is obsessed with them.Replies
Wow - definitely send the recipe my way, I'd love to make them at home!Delete
Wow, I appreciate all the hard work you do, eating all that delicious food, just so you can do a great job of informing us readers of what's out there! I love that in Denmark, there are no Danish pastries. Just like in China, there's no "Chinese restaurants," just restaurants, ha ha. Anyhow, how did you discover these bakeries? Were you planning on checking out all the bakeries until you found some that had vegan goodies, or did you know about these two ahead of time? Besides breakfast, baked goods are the most challenging to find when traveling. I love that there were so many vegan options for you.ReplyDeleteReplies
I'm nothing but an altruist when it comes to bakeries!Delete
With a place that's not very vegan friendly, like Copenhagen, I do a load of research before I left. I wandered around with my little sheaf of paper with restaurant listings on!
How much do I love it that the ingredients were listed on the window? Man, I wish that more places would do that! It would make ordering so much easier!ReplyDelete
Thank you so much for suffering on my behalf! Know that if roles were reversed, and I was faced with an abundance of delicious, vegan pastries, I would do the same for you!Replies
Vegans are so giving that way, aren't they? Always testing out treats on each other's behalf!Delete
Man you're like Mr. Traveler Guy! So envious. :) And I always wonder about the vegan-ness of some European countries and cities, so I appreciate reviews like this!ReplyDeleteReplies
It's been a bit of travelling year this one - I'm not normally this much of a travel bunny! That said, I'm off to Amsterdam next wee for my mother in law's birthday...Delete
Thanks for suffering through all that pastry on the chance we might find ourselves in Copenhagen one fine weekend. I wish I could follow your recommendations at this very minute as I'm hungry and facing a bowl of hot cereal which is beginning to seem even more dull than it did before I read your post!ReplyDelete
It has the same effect on me - I'd rather be chowing down on one of those rum balls then a sarnie at work!ReplyDelete
oh yum. That looks so good. Thanks for all the info.ReplyDelete
I have heard tell from people who have visited Denmark that Danish pastries are something quite different, not to mention better, than what we are used to here (in the U.S.), but I didn't know they called it Viennese bread. Although you say Copenhagen was not the most vegan-friendly city, I find it encouraging that there were two branches of a vegan-option bakery there. It may just be me, but I think that posting ingredients is a trend that may be catching on. Both of your choices look good, but I must admit my favorite vegan pastries are homemade cinnamon rolls which I will probably make for "the holidays."ReplyDelete
"Being Danish and therefore speaking English better than the English" - ha ha! You are too funny! I am so envious of your travels, and it sounds like it was an educational and tasty excursion. :)ReplyDelete
I really want to go to Copenhagen, so it's great to know I can enjoy some vegan pastries when I'm there! :) It looks lovely to top it off. Although I'm with you about wanting my cake to taste bad for you... ;)ReplyDelete


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Stimulation Additives
Solvay, your preferred partner for stimulation additives
Stimulation is key to maximizing reservoir production in shale gas or tight oil basins. The most frequently used stimulation techniques are hydraulic fracturing - which can be accomplished using gelled fluid and slickwater systems - and matrix acidizing. Solvay's broad offer in stimulation is able to meet the needs of almost any well and ensure performance, efficiency and optimal recovery.


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Classes at the MezhFak (Mezhdunarodniy Fakultet – International Faculty) have been getting better and better; I've been getting used to the Russian way of teaching (a method much less forgiving than back in the good ol' US of A), which got easier after I ceased to notice the continuous tapping of 3-inch + heels rushing up and down the corridors. Later today I'm sitting in on Old Church Slavonic, one of the mainstream classes I might take with Russian students.
Although this is my "study-abroad", my academic studies have only been a small part of my experience in Irkutsk so far. In addition to the full immersion in the culture and language here, I've also had a chance to discover some of the natural beauty of the region. The main natural wonder here is of course the astonishing Lake Baikal, the deepest, purest lake on the planet, which we saw in its entire splendor last weekend. We—the Middlebury group, our resident coordinator Riley, and our guide Nadya—got to Bolshie Koty (which apparently does not mean "big cats" but rather "big wooden shoes", which used to be made for state convicts?) on a boat that went up the Angara River into Baikal and past Listvyanka, one of the main tourist towns on the coast of Baikal. After arriving to Bolshie Koty and dropping off our stuff in our cabin-hostel we hiked up to the peak of a small mountain, allowing us to see the whole town of Bolshie Koty and a huge chunk of Baikal, which seemed more like an infinite ocean rather than a lake. Looking past Baikal it was interesting to think that past the other coast of this gigantic body of water was the rest of Eastern Siberia, all of the Far East, followed by the largest ocean in the world, followed by California, where my parents were most likely sleeping since it was probably really late at night, the previous day. I think that's when I realized just how far away from home I am.
We got back from our exploring and made some dinner (pasta accompanied by a tasty meat sauce made by our favorite German Helena), and after dinner finally experienced the Russian Banya! It took Ethan and me a while to figure out how the whole process with the birch leaves was supposed to be carried out (all of this in almost 200° F). The evening ended with us gazing at the most stars I've ever seen in my life in the clear midnight sky of Bolshie Koty, peaceful night to precede the rigorous 7-hour hike to Listvyanka that was to come the next day.
It's also been great getting to know my host-parents (host-older-siblings?) Sasha and Vitya, as well as their cat Persik (a cat that doesn't hate me?), who's become one of my best Russian friends. Sasha even advertised for me a bit online and I've been teaching English to two of her friends since last week! A wise man once said, "**** ******, get money".
Going to class now. Plans for tonight: 2 hours of English with Anya and Sasha (also a guy's name in Russia, short for Aleksandr), read Gogol's "The Portrait", and prepare for a camping trip with Nastya and Misha (her boyfriend) and co.
|The crew
Pizza with Sasha


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Table Talk
Tonight's Table Talk
....to create conversation
Q: Which is better: your short-term or long-term memory?
Q: A container without hinges, lock or a key, yet a golden treasure lies inside me. What am I?
A: An egg.
(each day 24/7 MOMS posts a question and riddle to help you create dinner time conversation with your families)t
Labels: Table Talk


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Over the last six years, Rogue Chocolatier has been pushing the limits of bean to bar craft chocolate manufacturing. When our company was founded in 2007, I was so disappointed by food brands whose quality would go down over time, and brands who would compromise their integrity. I was inspired to make a company that existed for its products, not solely to create profits.
We started production in a small 400 square foot facility in Northeast Minneapolis. From there, we began trying to make some of the worlds finest chocolates by hand, with the goal of creating a company that doesn't compromise. Very early on we were fortunate enough to get some major press coverage and thus began a long journey. Along the way we've won numerous accolades, including winning Best Chocolate at the Good Food Awards two years in a row! Our guiding light has always been and will always be the pursuit of excellence in what we do. To this end, we are launching our Kickstarter project to fund a newly developed manufacturing process that is going to take us to the next level.
We already use a variety of proprietary processes in manufacturing our chocolate. In fact, we go through so many extensive steps to produce our chocolate that it takes a week to produce a single batch! We are very fortunate right now to be in a position of having a persistant backorder in our sales, but of course there are obvious drawbacks to this. The experience of the last six years has lead me to develop a new, but extremely elegant solution to our production that increases our capacity by 50% and at the same time will improve the flavor, aroma, and texture of our bars. I wish I could tell you more, but I will say that it is a new method for milling and conching. This method solves one of the major problems with milling high percentage dark chocolate, which is that the certain particles mill preferentially. Furthermore, it solves a major issue with dark chocolate conching by improving the quality of results, which are often hindered by the properties of high fat compositions. The solutions to complex problems are often so simple they seem effortless, even if you spend years trying to solve them. Needless to say, I am elated at the prospect of finally implementing this new technique. I think our customers(you!) are going to be really excited with the results.
Unfortunately, even simple, elegant solutions cost more than we have capital for at this time, so we are asking for you to help us with this project through Kickstarter. We want to be able to continue to develop new ways of approaching and improving chocolate, and this is the first step to get us there. Remember that Kickstarter is an all or nothing funding system, so if we can't reach our goal we get nothing and you get your money back. Also, we only have 30 days to pull this off.
Once we have the funding, we will commence to purchase the necessary pieces of equipment, and within two months will be able to start producing our first batches with this technique. We are excited to be offering the first batch using this new method to you, our Kickstarter backers. We are so grateful for your support. Let's keep pushing the envelope and see just how good we can make chocolate!
Questions about this project? Check out the FAQ
Funding period
- (30 days)


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What's new: Travel and expense features [AX 2012]
Updated: September 12, 2013
Applies To: Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R3, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 R2, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012 Feature Pack, Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012
We have changed and added functionality in the Travel and expense area for Microsoft Dynamics AX 2012.
What's new
Tighter integration between Expense management and Projects
You can now filter by project, category, or employee validation, set up default dimensions, and budget for projects in Expense management. In addition, expense entry has been optimized for project expenses.
For more information, see About integrating Travel and expense categories with Project management and accounting.
Expense report posting can be added to workflow.
You can now post expense reports as part of the expense report workflow.
For more information, see About Travel and expense workflow.
Expense budget control
You can now have better control over budgets by monitoring and controlling actual spending.
For more information, see Set up budget control.
Receipt management by using expense reports
Because business organizations are not required to pay taxes on legitimate business travel and entertainment expenses in some countries/regions, a legitimate record must be created and submitted to the appropriate tax authorities. Receipt management lets users provide transaction receipt records together with an expense report that is submitted.
For more information, see Key tasks: Create expense reports.
Enhanced Level-3 data on expense reports
You can more closely control and monitor the company money that is spent by employees. Level-3 data requires that employees provide more information about the expenses that they incur when they travel for work. This information can show when policies are violated and when employees are overcharged.
For more information, see About travel and expense policies.
Recovery of value-added tax (VAT)
VAT can be recovered from certain expenses that are incurred in specific countries/regions. In Microsoft Dynamics AX 2009, you could calculate and recover some taxes by using the sales tax code configuration. You can now calculate VAT and potentially recover even more money.
For more information, see Value Added Tax (VAT) recovery in Travel and expense.
Define travel and expense policies.
By using Level-2 and Level-3 data, you can create more detailed policies for travel and expenses. You can also create more detailed pre-travel policies.
For more information, see About travel and expense policies.
The expense report workflow is now integrated into workflow.
The Expense management workflow that is based on line-level reviews of expense reports has been integrated with the workflow framework. This integration enables more efficient customization.
For more information, see Set up workflows for travel and expense.
Credit card disputes on expense reports
If a credit card transaction on an expense report has inaccurate information, you can create and submit a transaction dispute when you reconcile the expense report. However, a transaction dispute can be submitted only to the credit card company, not to the merchant where the transaction occurred.
For more information, see Key tasks: Credit card expense disputes.
Expense management workflows
You can create work item queues for Expense management workflows. Expense reports can be routed to a queue of users, and a user in that queue can complete tasks for the expense report. For example, the user can verify that receipts have been attached.
For more information, see About Travel and expense workflow and Create a work item queue.
Announcements: To see known issues and recent fixes, use Issue search in Microsoft Dynamics Lifecycle Services (LCS).


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Thursday, 18 November 2010
It's just a story but a mystery I want to solve!
I am not sure why it matters that I find some sort of substance for the Elizabeth Mashford 'illegitimate story but it does. Stubborness perhaps or the fact that my ancestry research so far, both on the maternal and paternal line, has always come up with a 'source' for a particular story.
Except this one. On the basis of intuition, logic and common sense I know this story has some substance... I just don't know what it is or where to find it.
I don't actually care what the answer is, I would just like to know the source of the story. I am curious as to why something like this would be handed down through the generations and yet have no substance in any kind of fact. Of course people have made up stories and it could simply be that this is a made up story but there are specifics which have been retained and the story has had enough power to be handed on by sons and daughters alike.
I thought we might have had an 'answer' the other day when Luke Scane Harris said he thought that Jane Mashford was illegitimate because she was born after John Mashford was dead. It sounded great and had a reasonable 'ring' to it because Jane went on to marry the Irish artist, George O'Brien who could trace his lineage back to the Irish kings. Nobility and illegitimacy entwined in Elizabeth's sister... an easy mixup.
Except it wasn't that easy. I wondered why I had not noticed before the birth discrepancy and the reason was, as Kylie Nott pointed out, there wasn't one. Luke has gotten the wrong message from a typo which had her birth in 1843 instead of 1833. Back to square one.
Kylie has a theory that the story had filtered across from one of the Lewis-Nott ancestors but Granny Nott, who came to Australia in the 1920's and who was illegitimate is unlikely to be the source in my book because my father never mentioned any Lewis's let alone any Notts. From what I could see there was no connection between Elizabeth Mashford (Lewis) Atkins sons by Peter Lewis and her children by Edward Atkins.
More to the point, Granny Nott was too late. For the story to have been re-hashed and attributed to Elizabeth Mashford wrongly it would have had to have been done by Mary Atkins Ross who was then in her sixties and my grandfather, Charles Ross, who was then in his thirties. Again it did not make sense.
This sort of story, particularly when handed down by grand-children has to be heard in childhood for it to register. Grandpa Ross wouldn't have given a toss about bastards or nobles or any such thing; certainly not enough to bother telling his three children the same story in such a way they felt compelled to tell their children.
And the same story had come down through Luke's family which was descended from James Atkin's youngest son, Ambrose Roy. But it is clear that our Elizabeth Mashford is one and the same with the Elizabeth Mashford born to John and Mary Cann Mashford in Coldridge.
Could Elizabeth have been an illegitimate child for Mary even though she was married to John? But then where would the story about the family 'sending her to Australia' come from if they waited 27 years to do it? That doesn't make sense.
Could Elizabeth have had a child to some noble father and they adopted the child, thus requiring Elizabeth and all of her family to be 'removed' to the colonies so the link could be extinguished once and for all? That could make sense.
So far, the 'ingredients' for the story are:
From Charlie Ross's children, the variations on the theme of :
a. Elizabeth Mashford being born of a noble family and 'sent' to the colonies because she had an illegitimate child to a man of lesser birth. The problem here is that she came out with five other family members.
From the youngest son of Elizabeth's son came:
b. Elizabeth Mashford was the illegitimate daughter of a nobleman and forced to leave England by his wife (or his mother) Lady Elizabeth. The problem here is that it looks pretty certain that our Elizabeth Mashford had a mother, a father and a number of siblings. And if Mary Cann did get pregnant to another man why would they wait so long to 'get her out of sight?'
At this point I have sent out an email asking family members for any stories they may have or if they had no stories. It would be interesting to check with descendants of Elizabeth Atkins Cox to see if they had a variation of the story. That would mean all of Elizabeth's children by Edward Atkins had the story but her descendants from the Lewis side did not.
I have also asked the Devon researcher to check bastard births for Mary Cann and her daughter Elizabeth Mashford in relevant years.
And, at this stage of the somewhat mysterious game, if there is a slight chance that the story might be a re-hash from the Lewis-Nott side, and it is a very slight chance, then perhaps there is a better chance that the story is not about Elizabeth Mashford but her husband, Edward Atkins...about whom we know nothing!
The 'gangrene' story was right story wrong person; attributed to a male, Charlie Ross when in fact it happened to a female, Elizabeth Mashford. Edward Atkins died nearly 30 years before Elizabeth; could the story have gotten confused over that time?
It doesn't seem the sort of thing which Elizabeth would have mixed up.... the names Mashford and Atkins being quite different .... but it is possible.
Then again, in this game anything is possible; the trouble is proving it!
Posted by Roslyn Ross at 02:30
2 comments:
Roslyn, I wanted to find your blog and thank you for your very insightful comment on my post. You have so many I wasn't sure which one to follow, but this one looks good since I'm very interested in genealogy and family history.ReplyDelete
KarenG,How nice of you to visit and even nicer for me to find your blog. One cannot have too many Followers so thanks for joining.ReplyDelete
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Search information celebrities which you looking for................."THIS SITE STILL IN PROGRESS"..................
Cleopatra Coleman
Born : 29 October 1987 Wentworth Falls, Sydney, Australia
Occupation : Actress
Personal Life
Cleopatra Coleman born 29 October 1987 is an Australian actress, currently living in Los Angeles, California. She was born in Wentworth Falls, and grew up in Byron Bay New South Wales. Her first television part was in a Direct Factory Outlets commercial and her first television role was in Silversun. In 2006, she was cast in the recurring role of Glenn Forrest in Neighbours. In addition to this, Coleman has appeared in many Australian television programs including Blue Heelers, Holly's Heroes, Wicked Science and season 3 of City Homicide.
In 2005, Coleman had a featured role in the American telemovie Attack of the Sabretooth with Robert Carradine for US Sci Fi Channel. She is also a professional dancer who has appeared with the Tony Bartuccio Dancers in The Rocky Horror Stage Show, Dancing with the Stars, and The Footy Show finale, 2005.
In 2008, she appeared in the television series Elephant Princess and in stage productions of Simon Stephens' Motortown with Melbourne's Red Stitch Theatre Company and "Antics" with Ezy-Peezy Productions.
In 2009 she appeared in a guest role in the television series City Homicide.
In 2010 she spent three months in Los Angeles obtaining representation and returned to Australia for a guest role in the television series "Rush".
In 2011 she co-wrote, executive produced and starred in her own short film entitled 'Trains' which was the first project for Coleman/Coleman productions, founded by Cleopatra Coleman and her father, Mick Coleman. She is currently residing in Los Angeles, California to work more closely with her US representation and affiliates.
In 2011, she was cast as DJ Penelope in Step Up Revolution, which was released on July 27 2012.
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Can's posting regarding his reaction to Pie n Burger prompts the Grubster to revisit a recent question: What restaurants do not live up to their Chowhound hype? ie, what restaurants seem to be thriving on some unexplained, mysterious cachet that draws folks -- even discerning hounds -- to them?
At the risk of offending the same folks I offended last time, I won't mention Tito's Tacos or Krispy Kreme, but go straight to Apple Pan (look Mom, it's a hamburger theme!) whose cachet seems to be only their ability to serve "pretty good," somewhat pricey burgers in an uncomfortable setting.


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Many Canadians are known for not tooting their own horns, but in 4A this year I have really wanted the students to have an understanding of what it means to be proud to be a Canadian by watching these athletes compete every day.
Yesterday, we watched the three Canadian teams skate in the short program of the pairs figure skating. When the team of Paige Lawrence and Rudi Swiegers finished second after their skate, my classroom erupted. They seem to be catching a little bit of Canadian Olympic fever.
Now, it will all really start I think when the Canadian men's hockey team takes on Norway on Thursday morning, but until then, my kids are more than willing to watch different events for the sake of the speed and skill as well as for cheering Canada on.
We are keeping track of our Canadian medal count as a school and our class is keeping track of who wins each medal with a medal tracker board outside our classroom in the hallway.
Whoever said Canadians weren't allowed to be patriotic or too shy to be patriotic? Well, in 4A, I can see some grade fours who are just willing to not only be patriotic, but to learn how to cheer for a win, humbly take a loss, and cheer for what they believe in no matter what.


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Me: Lets learn about logs, a'ight? What they are and ooh look they seem to obey a bunch of rules, I wonder if we can use that to solve equations and for applications?
Bottom line is, it seems so utterly pointless to learn about logs, and log laws and then practice manipulating logarithmic expressions. Why would I let my students wait to see the power of log laws in solving equations that previously left them dumbfounded? I'm even wondering, why teach them the change of base formula, when they can handle any equation just using basic log laws? If there ain't a need, why go there?


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Municipal Infrastructure: No One Wants To Overpay
Do not be mistaken, saying that the problem of municipal networks in Russia today is one of the most acute. Investment in housing is for investors to low-yielding, and because commercial organizations prefer to send funds in other sectors of the construction industry. According to many, investment in this sector not only liquid, but are a direct appreciation of the building. In addition, existing tariffs in the sphere of housing outside the law bounded above, it can not hold investors. Funding mechanism for public infrastructure is still not clear, although the Town Planning Code in its latest edition provides that land under building should be sold at auction with a ready infrastructure. In the West, this practice has long been traditional. But in order to sell plots with communications, the government must invest huge money in the wiring these networks. And where is the money to take? For example, the budget of the Kirov region in 2008 involves the allocation of grants for the development of engineering infrastructure of municipalities of the region at the expense of federal budget the amount of 24 million 126 thousand rubles, and grant co-financing investment projects of social and engineering infrastructure in the amount of 166 million rubles. Is this enough? "It's no secret that the Kirov is difficult to financially region – said the executive director of the Union of construction companies of the Kirov region, Alexander Nevinsky. – It is still an unresolved issue of granting land plots with prepared infrastructure.


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Today I woke up wanting zucchini and squash, so I looked at some food blogs to get some inspiration. I found a true ratatouille recipe, which sounded good, but then I remembered a tex-mex squash recipe that I bookmarked a long time ago and still haven't tried. One thing that these recipes lacked was protein. So, I decided I'd make my own recipe and hope that it turned out well. So, here goes! The pan is in the oven baking and I can hardly wait to dig in!
1 lb ground beef
1 packet taco seasoning
2/3 c. water
2 yellow squash and 2 zucchini, cut into coins (4 cups)
1 medium onion, diced
1 medium green pepper, chopped2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 jalapeno, diced (I used 1/2 of a Poblano to make it less spicy. Missy doesn't like things "too hot")
3 tablespoons of butter
2 c. diced fresh tomatoes
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon of cumin
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 cup of chicken broth
2 tablespoons of flour
1/2 cup of cream
1/2 cup of sour cream
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
2 cups total of grated pepper jack and cheddar
Salt and pepper to taste
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Start by sauteing 1/2 of the chopped onion in 1 T butter in large skillet. Add the beef and cook until brown. Drain the fat and add the taco seasoning and 2/3 c water. Cook until thick. Pour meat in the bottom of casserole dish.
Add 2 remaining T of butter to the pan. Add onion, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, zucchini and squash. Saute until onions are translucent and squash is soft about 10 minutes.
Add garlic, cumin, chili powder, cayenne, salt and pepper and cook for about a minute. Add the flour and stir until thick brown paste forms, about 1 minute.
Add the chicken broth and tomatoes and stir until mixture thickens, which should happen in a couple of minutes. Add the cream, sour cream and cilantro and remove from heat. Stir to combine.
Pour squash mixture over the meat in casserole dish. Cover with cheese and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese is golden brown


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I screened a recent Metropolitan Opera broadcast of Verdi's opera Ernani — originally broadcast to movie theatres through the "Live in HD" program on February 25 and rebroadcast on KPBS Sunday, June 24 at noon (in the Sunday morning/afternoon ghetto in which the local PBS affiliate has exiled so many of the best programs, not only the Met's live operas but also Moyers and Company) — which was quite entertaining even though I have much fonder memories of an earlier Met telecast of Ernani from 1983, when this production (by Pier Luigi Samartini with costumes by Peter J. Hall) was brand-new and Ernani was played by Luciano Pavarotti, who despite his bulk had enough charisma and sheer energy to suggest the Errol Flynn-esque action hero the character should be. This time around Ernani was Marcello Giordani, a competent enough tenor even though there's a rather nasty vibrato in his voice (not quite a wobble but the sort of thing hard-core opera nuts call a "bleat"), the heroine Elvira was Angela Meade (who in 2008 did the 42nd Street number and sang in this production as a last-minute replacement for an indisposed Sondra Radvanovsky, who some modern-day opera freaks consider the world's greatest still-living and still-singing Verdi soprano.
This time Meade got the star part from the get-go, and the lower-voiced men were Dimitri Hvorotovsky as Don Carlo (a.k.a. Charles V, king of Spain) and Ferruccio Furlanetto as the real baddie of the piece, de Silva. The plot came from a play by Victor Hugo called Hernani — though Verdi's librettist, Francesco Maria Piave (who's had a lot of nasty things said about him by Verdi's biographers, though by and large I think Verdi's operas with Piave as librettist or co-librettist tend to be stronger than his ones with other writers — at least until he used Arrigo Boïto for Otello and Falstaff, which had the benefit of Shakespeare-derived plots as well!), changed the names of the lead characters from Hernani and Doña Sol to Ernani and Elvira, no doubt to give the singers something easier to pronounce. Hernani the play is far better known for the riot that broke out during its premiere than for its plot; at the time virtually all serious French drama was written in a strict poetic meter called the alexandrine, and when Hugo, a few minutes into the story, had one character interrupt another character in mid-alexandrine some people in the audience were so upset they started screaming their disapproval. (He was probably influenced in this by Shakespeare, whose plays had started filtering into the rest of Europe in the early 19th century; playwrights in continental Europe wondered why their dramas had to be so stiff and formal when an Englishman writing 300 years earlier had broken or simply ignored all the hallowed rules and constructed plays where lines broke off, characters interrupted each other all the time, and the plots freely mixed drama and comedy, and wandered all over the place instead of following the Aristotle-prescribed unities of time — a single day's duration — and place: just one locale.)
Some of Shakespeare's plays stretch the suspension of disbelief but in Hernani Hugo did a taffy-pull with it; Hernani is the son of a nobleman who fell from favor when Holy Roman Emperor Charles V became King Charles I of Spain; Hernani's father is executed by the King's order and Hernani is forced to assemble a band of outlaws and make his living as a bandit. When the opera opens he's singing a song to his merry men — the aria "Come rugiada al cespite" — saying that he's just met and fallen in love with a young woman, Elvira, who's living at the castle of Don Ruiz Gomez de Silva, but that Silva is going to force her to marry him. Desperate to see Elvira before she gets hitched to the other guy, Ernani crashes the castle — just after Elvira has sung her big aria, "Ernani, involami," expressing hope that he'll come for her and Take Her Away From All That — only Silva catches him and they're about to fight a duel when yet a third contender for Elvira's affections, King Charles V himself, shows up. Charles presses his suit on Elvira but she's aware that he's already married and therefore the best she can expect from him would be his mistress, or "favorite" as the euphemism went, and she's not interested in a guy she can't lawfully marry and live with above-board. In the second act Ernani, believed to be dead, shows up in disguise as a pilgrim and Elvira says she's going to kill herself rather than go through the forced marriage to Silva. Silva feels bound by the laws of hospitality to shelter Ernani when the king's men show up to arrest him, and when the king leaves with Elvira as a hostage Ernani and Silva make a pact to rescue her, but with a proviso that has to be one of the most ridiculous dramatic devices in history: as the price of Silva's help to rescue Elvira, Ernani must kill himself whenever Silva blows his hunting horn (a quite different use of the hunting horn than in the other most famous opera that contains one, Wagner's Siegfried).
In Act III, Charles is about to be elected Holy Roman Emperor (in actual history he was Holy Roman Emperor before he was made king of Spain, which led to him being Charles V as Holy Roman Emperor and Charles I as king of Spain — three kings later the king of Spain was Charles II) but he still finds time to worry about that pesky business with Elvira, Ernani and Silva. Ernani sneaks into the chamber where Charles is pondering his new title and attempts to assassinate him, but is caught. Elvira pleads for Ernani's life, and Charles, like King Marke in Wagner's Tristan und Isolde, realizes he can't hold his reluctant woman any longer and decides not only to pardon Ernani but allow him and Elvira to wed. Act IV takes place on the morning of Ernani's and Elvira's wedding, but if you think either Victor Hugo or Francesco Maria Piave were going to let this story have a happy ending, you've got another think coming: Silva blows his hunting horn on cue, and after a bit of byplay in which Ernani tries to talk him out of it and Silva accuses him of being a dishonorable character (the people who defend this ridiculous story like to say it's all about "honor," but it manages to make "honor" look as stupid and bone-headed as Sir John Falstaff said it was in the marvelous monologue from Shakespeare's Henry IV, part 1 that Verdi and Boïto incorporated into the opera Falstaff even though they took most of its plot from The Merry Wives of Windsor), Ernani takes Silva's dagger and duly stabs himself in the chest, using his last breath to implore Elvira to go on living. That's how Piave's original libretto actually ended it, but in this production Elvira takes the dagger (with Ernani's blood still on it!) and stabs herself as well, though being opera leads the two still get to do a surprising amount of last-minute singing before they expire.
As stupid as its plot is (the business about Ernani having to kill himself whenever Silva blows his horn seemed ridiculous to me as a child, when I first read the story of this opera on the liner notes to a highlights album on the short-lived Regent label called The Heart of Ernani, which for years left me thinking that The Heart of Ernani was actually the opera's title, and it still seems ridiculous), Ernani is actually one of Verdi's best early operas — it was his fifth one out of either 26 or 29 (depending on whether you count his extensive revisions of I Lombardi, Stiffelio and Simon Boccanegra as different operas) — composed in the wake of his mega-hits Nabucco and I Lombardi and featuring rousing choruses, strong arias and gripping ensembles. The Met's staging was traditional, which is a good thing; the scenery and costumes are actually historically appropriate for the opera's setting in 16th century Spain (as opposed to all those "Eurotrash" performances which not only move the time and place up but present a confusing mishmash of historical, modern and symbolic costumes, often following a scheme of symbolism and metaphor that is a mystery from the director's head) and the action moves effectively across the Met's big stage, though I could have done without the shots between acts of the stagehands pushing scenery around. The singing was a bit more problematic: as I noted above, Giordani has an acceptable but not great tenor voice, and though he's considerably less massive than Pavarotti was in this role he's also considerably less charismatic and appealing. (Pavarotti insisted on singing an extra aria Verdi had inserted into Ernani years after its premiere to assuage the ego of a tenor who didn't think the original score had given him enough to do; the interpolation wasn't made in this production, and it's probably just as well.)
Hvorotovsky and Furlanetto are old pros, and though Furlanetto's voice has got pretty thread-bare by now it's not inappropriate for an old character whose age, and the bitterness that has come with it, is actually a major part of the plot. Hvorotovsky is enough of a dreamboat (when he arrived on the scene he was hailed as much for his blond good looks as his voice) even now that he's the sexiest of the three guys, both physically and vocally, but he was never a great singing actor and he doesn't make the kind of impact in Carlo's great scene (a marvelous piece of vocal writing that anticipates "Ella giammai m'amo," the great scena Verdi gave Charles V's successor, Philip II, in Don Carlos) Sherrill Milnes did in the Pavarotti broadcast. Surprisingly, Angela Meade, the least-known cast member, turned in the best performance; she's been compared to Joan Sutherland, and like La Stupenda she's clearly a "woman of size," but though she was hampered by conductor Marco Armiliato's poky tempi on her big aria (where the recorded competition includes stunning performances by Rosa Ponselle and Maria Callas!) he sped up for the ensembles and she tore through the role as if this bizarre concatenation of melodramatic plot devices and situations actually meant something. The commentary for the broadcast described Ernani as "bel canto," a term usually used to refer to the immediately previous generation of Italian opera composers (Rossini, Donizetti and Bellini); in Ernani Verdi was clearly using some of the devices of bel canto (the vocal displays and the slow-fast cavatina-cabaletta structure of several of the arias), but he was already growing beyond that style and writing music that delved deeper into the emotions than any previous Italian opera composer had and needed a stronger, louder, more assertive style of singing. This production certainly does the work justice!
And for comparison's sake, here are my notes on the 1983 Met telecast of Ernani:
Anyway, yesterday began with me watching a very different kind of music video: Verdi's Ernani, broadcast by the Metropolitan Opera December 17, 1983 (but taped five days earlier), with James Levine conducting a stellar cast featuring Luciano Pavarotti as Ernani, Leona Mitchell as Elvira, Sherrill Milnes as Charles V, Ruggiero Raimondi as Silva and a surprisingly good comprimario, Charles Anthony, as the King's squire. (Whatever happened to him?) This was actually only Verdi's fifth opera, and it's in his best early-Romantic genre, a four-sided romantic triangle (all three of the male leads are in love with the same woman) featuring nobleman-turned-outlaws (one wonders if Johnston McCulley copied Ernani and its source, Victor Hugo's play Hernani, in creating the character of Zorro), sinister guardians, put-upon wards, amorous kings and codes of honor so ridiculous that, in one of the sillier plot twists in any kind of fiction ever, the hero Ernani is obliged, as a point of "honor," to kill himself whenever the villain Silva blows his hunting horn. (I remember reading that as a child, in the liner notes to my mother's copy of the Regent Records album The Heart of "Ernani" — and even then I thought the idea was silly.) Verdi's music is toe-tapping in its rhythmic insistence (the fact that I had the same visceral reaction to the opening chorus of Ernani as I did to Nirvana's "About a Girl" — both made me tap my feet in time — is revealing), and the structure of the work is straightforward and predictable. Hugo's Hernani may have revolutionized French drama with its structural innovations (its sprawling, Shakespearean plot and its bold "breaks" in the traditional metrical structure of French blank verse), but Verdi's opera version broke no comparable new ground in Italian opera (that had to wait for his second Hugo adaptation, Rigoletto).
As for this performance, Robert Levine had harsh words for it in his survey of Verdi on video in the summer/fall 1987 Opera Quarterly, being particularly withering towards the sets ("so large as to make the characters seem like they are in different operas") and Leona Mitchell's Elvira ("devoid of temperament, without the right timbre for the role, who chooses odd, unmusical moments to take breaths and who lacks the chest voice to make some dramatic statements"). I agree with him about the sets — especially Elvira's bedroom, with a 50-foot painting (nothing in medieval art, other than actual murals, was that big) dominating the wall — though I attribute their unreasonable size more to the amount of stage space they have to cover at the "new Met" than anything else — but I think he's being woefully unfair to Mitchell. Granted, she's not Ponselle or Callas, but within her vocal limitations I think she does an excellent job of creating the character, and though she's somewhat overshadowed by the men, that's partly Verdi's fault (that's the way he wrote the opera!) and partly Levine's (for casting the three male roles stronger than the female one). Barring a time machine that would give us access to the Met's 1928-29 production (with Martinelli, Ponselle, Ruffo and Pinza!), this is probably as good an Ernani as we're going to get, featuring Pavarotti (singing the music rather than playing to the galleries, and reminding us all once again of how good a tenor this man really is, especially singing music that "fits" his voice as well as this does), Milnes (who practically steals the performance in the scene in Charlemagne's tomb, vividly acting the complex role and singing his heart out) and Raimondi (properly oily and cadaverous, strikingly — and appropriately — resembling Vincent Price in his makeup and mannerisms). Levine, an uneven conductor, is in his element in this score, and while he makes some odd textual choices (a cabaletta to "Infelice! E tuo credevi" and an extended second-act finale that gives Pavarotti another aria — both added by Verdi after the premiere to meet singers' demands in subsequent productions), this is a display opera, whose appeal is visceral rather than intellectual, and therefore the additions are welcome. — 2/8/95
I got my journal written at noon to 1:30, then read the remainder of Victor Hugo's Hernani and tried to take a nap (which I couldn't do because I was too congested). Hernani, like Oscar Wilde's Salome, is one of those plays that seems to have been destined from birth for opera librettohood. Its characters ceaselessly explain themselves to themselves, giving readers little respite as they go over and over again, in tortuous detail, to tell us how much they love/hate/fear/want revenge on each other. Without Verdi's music to back it up, a straight performance of Hugo's play to a modern audience would result in total laughter (about the only way to make Hernani a viable stage property in the modern era would be to write a virtually new play around it, dramatizing the controversy that surrounded its first performance, with a theatre audience onstage, ostensibly watching the first performance of the play and alternately cheering and hissing as the French literary factions actually did during the real premiere). Verdi and his librettist, Francesco Maria Piave (first of something like 12 collaborations between them, including Macbeth, Rigoletto, Traviata, La Forza del Destino and most of Verdi's best pre-Boïto operas), adapted it almost "straight," adding an opening chorus and aria for Ernani (they probably dropped the "H" from his alias out of sheer concern for euphony; they also changed the heroine's name from Doña Sol to Elvira because the latter was easier to sing) but otherwise changing little except softening the ending (in the play, Hernani and Doña Sol drink poison together, after which Silva kills himself as well; in the opera, only Ernani actually dies onstage); the fact that it works much better set to music only confirms the accuracy of Ethan Mordden's comment that opera is "the last refuge of the high style," and even there (as Bernard Shaw noted at the end of the 19th century), the greater psychological realism of the operas of Wagner, Bizet (Carmen, at least), the later Verdi and the Italian composers who followed him had made Ernani seemed old-fashioned and pointless. — 2/15/95


text: McCain Denies Charges of Impropriety with Lobbyist Calls female lobbyist a 'friend,' denies any 'unwarranted access or influence' By Caroline Miller, Newser Staff Posted Feb 21, 2008 8:18 AM CST 0 comments Comments Republican presidential hopeful, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., accompanied by his wife Cindy, speaks at a news conference in Toledo, Ohio. Thursday, Feb. 21, 2008. (AP Photo/Gerald Herbert) (Associated Press) View 3 more images (Newser) – A subdued John McCain, flanked by his wife, held a press conference today to deny all charges in a New York Times story alleging improprieties involving a female lobbyist. Saying he is "disappointed" in the Times, and that the story alleging a romantic relationship is "not true," McCain said that he and Vicki Iseman are just friends, and that he did not do favors for her as chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee. He said no former staffer ever spoke to him about an appearance of impropriety in his relationship with Iseman, as several claimed to the Times. "I have many friends who represent various interests in Washington—including those before my committee," McCain said. "I had meetings with hundreds of them. It was my job." He also said his record shows no "unwarranted access or influence" for Iseman or anyone else. He criticized the Times for relying on anonymous sources; when asked about former top aid Jeff Weaver, who was a named source, he said, "I don't know anything about that... Since it was in the New York Times, I don't take it at face value." View 3 more images


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Tuesday, October 4, 2011
iPhone 4S
iOS 5
Apple's newest version of its iOS operating system runs the 4S, adding over 200 new features to the phone. These include a Notification Center (ala Android's notification bar), iMessage (ala Blackberry's BBM), deep Twitter integration, reminders, and enhanced camera functionality. Updates are now computer-free, meaning you can activate or update your phone on the go.
Dual-Core A5 Processor
The 4S will feature Apple's A5 dual core processor, resulting in faster processing and graphics speed (up to 7x faster than the iPhone 4, according to Apple). The upshot is that this iPhone is designed with gamers in mind... graphics-intensive apps will perform like never before.
iCloud brings deep cloud functionality to all your Apple devices. Music, photos, documents, contacts, mail, apps, etc will sync automatically between your iPhone and any other iOS 5 device you own.
The iPhone 4S will operate on both GSM and CDMA networks, making it a global phone. According to Apple, it also uses two antennas that "intelligently" switch between transmitting and receiving, making for faster browsing and download speeds. Also, the new phone will debut on three US carriers, Sprint being added alongside of AT&T and Verizon.
One of the major improvements of the 4, the 4S introduces an 8-megapixel (60% more than the 4) camera with a new lens, a larger aperature, and a new sensor. Photos will have fantastic resolution, and the backside illumination sensor will make for brighter, full-colored shots even in poor ambient light conditions. The camcorder function will record in 1080p HD, and both stills and video can be edited on the phone itself.
Siri (Beta)
Okay, I saved the best for last. Siri is your new personal assistant (courtesy of Apple), and it can do just about anything on the phone. The kicker is, it recognizes "natural language"... just talk to it like you'd talk to a friend. Siri can recognize and answer the question "What is the weather in Chicago?" or "Will the weather be better today?" or "Will it rain today?" Siri transcends simple voice commands. For instance, say you get a text asking if you're free next Friday. Siri can look at your calendar, reply correctly, then start a new event for you. Maybe you want a reminder? Siri can do that too. Just a basic search? Yup. Most anything that can be asked of Siri, it can do... and it's only going to get better.
Final Analysis
Though the 4S is not a revolutionary device, Apple has produced another great product that will cause millions to stand in line for hours, waiting to get their hands on the newest, best iPhone. Is it a gamechanger? No. Will it spell the death of Android? Doubtful. Is it fancy and cool? Hell yes.
Labels: Android, Apple, ATT, Blackberry, iCloud, iOS, iPad, iPhone, iphone 4S, iphone 5, Mac, Siri, Sprint, Verizon
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Wednesday, 6 August 2014
Blood swept lands and seas of red
I was working along the South Bank today, but close enough to the Tower of London to cross Tower Bridge to take a look at the newly opened World War I Commemoration in the moat outside the Tower.
It is an installation with around 190,000 ceramic poppies so far and many more are being added between now and November 11, to reach the total such that there is one poppy for every British and Commonwealth soldier killed in the First World War.
Its already a sea of red, and yet it's probably only about one quarter complete at this time.
Coincidentally, I'd recently found some of the family history of my namesake relative from World War I. He was already in the Army when war was declared and had reached the rank of Lance Corporal.
As part of the British Expeditionary Forces he set sail for Le Havre on 14 August (ten days after Britain's entry to the war) and his 1st Battalion made their way along the Marne to Aisne. That's where one of the earliest bitter trench warfare battles took place at Chemin des Dames. It appeared as quiet fields on this year's Tour de France.
Not so quiet when he was killed there aged 19 in the 6th week of the war.
One of the Missing, his name is on a memorial around 200km to the north of the battlefield, in Ypres, Belgium.
1 comment:
- OldLady Of The Hills said...
What a beautiful idea....this tribute representing all those killed in "the war to end all wars"....is truly stunning and when completed will no doubt be even more beautiful and also, very touching. It already is so very moving as seen in your pictures.....! Thanks for sharing this, my dear. I hope you will take more pictures when it is finished.
- 17:27
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is the name will will henceforth be known as.
Simone Emily And
Simone Emily Agriculture
Simone Emily Abracadabra
We produced a video screening a couple of weeks ago at BLANKspace in williamsburg, callled it HOTBOX. We screened the video art of our friends, ourselves, and friends of our friends. Links to a few videos: simone pete molly
Our next project takes place in Berlin. The SEA is everywhere. It deserves a whole new post.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
S.E.A! High Volume
is the name will will henceforth be known as.
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At least once a day, and sometimes three and four times a day, I get an email from a right-wing group called TheTeaParty.net. The emails are nothing more than soliciting tools, designed to get me to part with my money and give it to people who say they are fighting, well, I'll just give you the latest example:
Dear Patriot,
We are facing great danger, my friends; an enemy from within. When Barack Obama was sworn in as President, he swore to uphold and defend the Constitution. Instead, he is abusing the office of the Presidency punish those who they perceive as their enemies. Sign and share our petition to tell Congress to stop him!
We cannot do this without you. Fundraising in the beginning of the year started off great and we thought we could do this. This year we can take back our country with your help. For those of you who have stepped up and donated, we are so very grateful for all of those donations. However donations have fallen off and we cannot keep up the fight without them. Please donate at least $5 if not $10, $20, $50 or $100 right now, then go onto signing this petition and sharing with at least 3 additional people!
Standing for the Constitution makes you an enemy in Obama's eyes. Stop him!
Believing in personal responsibility makes you an enemy to Obama. Stop him!
Barack Obama has shown us what lengths he will go to in order to punish those he sees as his political enemies.
He has used the IRS to target, intimidate, and harass every day, patriotic, freedom loving Americans in an attempt to silence them into submission.
We must stand together against his flagrant abuse of presidential power. Stand with us today! Sign and share our petition to tell Congress to stop Obama's abuse of power in targeting political enemies!
*You are not required to donate in order to participate but your contributions give us the resources we need to accomplish incredible things on behalf of the TeaParty movement.
Thank you,
Todd Cefaratti
Freedom Organizer
Yes, this freedom organizer needs resources in order to accomplish incredible things. Incredible, as in "impossible to believe," is exactly right. It turns out that Todd Cefaratti is quite a marketing genius and has made a lot of dough by appealing to the worst fears of right-wingers who have more disposable dollars than sense. Here's what the Institute for Research & Education on Human Rights had to say about Cefaratti and his organization:
TheTeaParty.net, founded by Arizonan Todd Cefaratti, is largely a list-building money-generating machine. Cefaratti has a background in data harvesting, mining contact information and then reselling the leads to clients in the reverse mortgage industry.
The organization's parent group, Stop This Insanity, Inc., was founded as a political action committee in Arizona in early 2010 by Cefaratti and Ron Dove, who became TheTeaParty.net's treasurer and human resources manager. The PAC was terminated in November 2010, while it was in the process of losing a lawsuit with the Federal Election Commission. It also developed a bad reputation with other Tea Party groups after raising money ($469,000 between January and October 2010), and then not funding rallies or candidates.
Instead, a significant amount of the funds, $189,759, went to online marketing.
As you can see, most of the money that culturally frightened white people are giving to TheTeaParty.net is going into Cefaratti's pockets or somewhere else other than to the causes dear to those who fear. But he's not alone in using fear and white anxiety to make himself a pretty good living. There are plenty of grifters out there just like him:
A Washington Post analysis found that some of the top national tea party groups engaged in this year's midterm elections have put just a tiny fraction of their money directly into boosting the candidates they've endorsed.
The practice is not unusual in the freewheeling world of big-money political groups, but it runs counter to the ethos of the tea party movement, which sprouted five years ago amid anger on the right over wasteful government spending. And it contrasts with the urgent appeals tea party groups have made to their base of small donors, many of whom repeatedly contribute after being promised that their money will help elect conservative politicians.
Out of the $37.5 million spent so far by the PACs of six major tea party organizations, less than $7 million has been devoted to directly helping candidates, according to the analysis, which was based on campaign finance data provided by theSunlight Foundation.
The Post tells us where the dough is going:
Roughly half of the money — nearly $18 million — has gone to pay for fundraising and direct mail, largely provided by Washington-area firms. Meanwhile, tea party leaders and their family members have been paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in consulting fees, while their groups have doled out large sums for airfare, a retirement plan and even interior decorating.
The lavish spending underscores how the protest movement has gone professional, with national groups transforming themselves into multimillion-dollar organizations run by activists collecting six-figure salaries.
Three well-known groups — the Tea Party Patriots, the Tea Party Express and the Madison Project — have spent 5 percent or less of their money directly on election-related activity during this election cycle. Two other prominent tea party groups, the Senate Conservatives Fund and FreedomWorks, have devoted about 40 percent of their money to direct candidate support such as ads and yard signs.
Perhaps my favorite detail is the fact that the chairwoman of the well-known Tea Party Patriots, Jenny Beth Martin, whose mug ought to be familiar to anyone who watches cable news or C-SPAN, "sets her own $15,000 monthly fee for strategic consulting — payments that have totaled $120,000 since July." Not bad, no? Except that's not all:
She also draws a salary as president of the Tea Party Patriots' nonprofit arm — gettingmore than $272,000 in the 2012 fiscal year, according to the group's most recent tax filing.
Her twin salaries put her on track to make more than $450,000 this year, a dramatic change in lifestyle for the tea party activist, who had filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and then cleaned homes for a period of time to bring in extra money.
Now, you have to hand it to these people. To go from cleaning crappers for change to peddling bullshit for nearly half a mill a year is pretty impressive, sort of a fulfillment of the mostly mythical American Dream, except that most people don't dream of bilking the gullible as a way out of bankruptcy.
Even though this is all very unseemly, I suppose those of us on the left should be happy that a lot of right-wing dough is being wasted this way. And I suppose that one shouldn't feel too sorry for white folks who think Barack Obama is "an enemy from within" and are willing to throw money at anyone who will say it loudly and often.
But this isn't one of America's finest moments, no matter how you look at it.


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I just received my copy of the National Education Association's Read Across America 2008 Resource Calendar and Toolkit which features gobs of cool stuff, including a calendar jam-packed with illustrations from books by pals Kadir Nelson, Jon Muth, Christopher Myers, Robert Neubecker, and many others (oh, like me. Knuffle Bunny Too is January).
It rocks.
Also included is this Elephant and Piggie mini-poster:
Want one for your classroom, school, or library? Sign up now while supplies last!


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Hey! It's Aunty Feather and Uncle Honeypie!
When my kids were little, the tones alerting me to email and Facebook messages were sounding more than usual on one day, and that's because Mark was out of town on a business trip and we corresponded through chat and email.
Was he in Toronto? Montreal? Ottawa? Edmonton? …no, he was in teeny, weeny Trenton, Ontario. This may seem odd, but it actually is not when you consider that he worked for an aviation maintenance company that has contracts with the Department of National Defence in Trenton. His current job is as a Technical Representative on the very aircraft he worked on while we were posted in Trenton for over ten years.
While we lived in Trenton, we would regularly travel about an hour away to Havelock, Ontario, to visit with his aunt and uncle – Heather and Bill. I can still remember the first time we visited them the summer we moved to Trenton.
It was a beautiful, sunny, hot day and we all sat on the lounge chairs on their back deck, sipping cold drinks and reminiscing about their old times. I felt at home right away, and there was no doubt the kids, at 2 and 3, took to them right away.
Being so little, the kids had trouble pronouncing some words and 'Aunty Heather' came out as 'Aunty Feather'.
Some time later, Bill disappeared into the house. We could hear him in the upstairs bathroom and all of a sudden, Heather called up to ask him for something, using her usual term of endearment, 'Honeypie' to address him.
Right away, the kids were captivated and started calling him 'Uncle Honeypie' and to this day they are…
Aunty Feather and Uncle Honeypie!
While living in Ontario, we spent a great deal of our time at Bill and Heather's house in town or the family property at Mud Lake.
On one particular day, Bill decided the kids needed a task, so he told them there was a kangaroo living just over the hill in his back yard. For the longest time after, the kids would spend time at the top of that hill looking for the kangaroo.
Mark's Dad, his youngest brother Bill (Uncle Honeypie), and his older brother, Paul had inherited their mother's waterfront homestead property on Mud Lake after she died.
Mark's family had owned the entire waterfront for generations, but as a result of the initial flooding of a large chunk of their property when the Trent-Severn Waterway was created, and his grandmother having to sell off chunks periodically to survive, what's left in Bill and Heather's hands is much smaller.
Even on the hottest days, when we'd be limp and ragged from the heat and humidity elsewhere, the property was cooler with a refreshing light breeze blowing in off the water. The lake itself teems with life – several varieties of fish, snapping turtles, frogs, etc. As a matter of fact, in a previous post, I described a 'frog fishing' expedition with the kids early one morning at the property's dock.
We went there in the afternoon to check out the property and the cabin (actually, shack). Thinking about it now, it would be a lovely place to live. At present it's just recreational property the family uses for camping and fishing.
Yesterday, Mark spent the evening with Heather and Bill, having dinner and catching up on the news since we moved away eight years ago.
It was pretty obvious from his emails that he was feeling nostalgic. As a matter of fact, so was I, and Erin and Stu as well, from reading his emails and posts.
By the time we moved from Trenton to Chilliwack, I was begging to get out of there. Trenton never was home and Mark missed British Columbia just as much as I.
I will say though, that I would spend time on the family property again without hesitation if it were closer.


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So I was all done with facebook and closed my account and everything. I was very bummed that I no longer see photos of my brother's son or know the daily whereabouts of my other brother. But other than that I didn't really care.
Facebook is so weird. People join and have like 300 friends and then no one says anything or posts anything. And then if someone does you almost get annoyed with them, how dare that acquaintance I don't even know anymore get pregnant and post what size fruit her fetus is! There's pressure to friend everyone who wants to friend you and then you hesitate to post anything because is it appropriate for ALL these people you barely know to read about? How many cat photos are appropriate???? So I'm virtually silent, I don't even post when I had an emergency appendectomy, and I still don't know why. I guess I was over Facebook by then.
And even then in the back of my mind I thought, well, maybe one day we'll be able to adopt and then I'll rejoin Facebook then. That just speaks mounds. It seems most if not all of my Facebook anxiety revolves around my infertility. What is possibly left when everyone is posting about their kids???? Do I seem like the biggest loser in the world when I post yet another cat photo? I think I do. I do not know how to face infertility gracefully, I wish I did. I think I'd have to have some crazy ambition in order to do that. My ambition has been and will always be to have a family. I couldn't give a rats ass about a career. And even then do I post career bullshit while other people are posting baby photos and their kid's soccer practice. It's just not the same, unless you're my brother and you are traveling and doing interesting things.
It's just so weird, facebook politics. When I encountered privacy problems linking my pinterest without my knowledge or consent I just gave up on Facebook and closed my account.
And here it is just a few months later and a long lost friend FROM ANOTHER COUNTRY asked me to friend him on facebook or join facebook. And it's like here's the person I really want to be Facebook friends with, the kind of thing facebook should be for, and I have to make a decision. Do I rejoin Facebook or not? I have to really think about this.
I want Facebook to be what I want it to be. I want to do what I want to with it. I want it to be like a blog or flickr but the difference is I feel like people find people they want to know about and read their blog or look at their flickr photos but on facebook I feel like it's a numbers game. No one wants to hear from all 300 of their fake friends. In a way I want facebook to be what I want it to be and I don't know if that's possible.
It's also rich coming from someone who actually has a blog and can write whatever she wants in it and never posts.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Friday, June 01, 2012
Little Gray
So this is happening...
He does the best matador I've ever seen...
Maybe this one pulls the heart strings a little more:
He does the best matador I've ever seen...
Maybe this one pulls the heart strings a little more:
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