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Blood Test by Jonathan Kellerman, Modern Murder
I still remember the thrill of reading my first Jonathan Kellerman novel. It was not, in fact, his first book, but his second. I soon read his first and was a faithful reader of each book as it came out for many years, as were millions of others.
By Jonathan Kellerman hit the scene, murderers were bad, but pretty much like you and me. They killed for money or for love or for revenge and if they killed more than one person they did so for logical reasons, generally to cover up for their first murder. The manner of murder has been also usually pretty straight forwarded and the authors did not spend much time on the gruesome detail. The detectives were either "proper" detectives in that they were policemen or professional investigators, or they were completely ordinary people who kept on falling into murderous situations. In 1985, with the publication of Kellerman's first book, this all changed.
We must remember that the term "serial killer" was only coined in the 1970s and that the type of "Ted Bundy" murderer who was thus labeled was relatively rare prior to then. So when Kellerman started to write about people who killed for kicks, who killed for the pleasure of it rather than for a rational reason, and started to concentrate on the actual killings themselves, this was all very new to us – and undoubtedly thrilling.
While Kellerman's baddies were in many ways badder than we were used to, his goodies did not hold fast to the stereotypes either. Alex Delaware, star of almost all Kellerman's books, is a psychologist, with a close relationship to a cop, Milo, who happens to be very ugly and very gay. They are good and kind and we could not get confused between who is on the right side and who is on the wrong one.
Kellerman thrilled us by breaking a literary barrier, and a number of other writers – for example, Patricia Cornwell, Kathy Reichs and James Patterson – followed close on his heels, creating a whole new sub-genre of the murder mystery.
When I read the first of Stieg Larsson's Millennium Trilogy – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo – I experienced a similar thrill, and so did millions of others. Once again a barrier had been broken, but what exactly is it?
I believe that what has changed here is that Larsson's goodies and baddies are not that easily told apart. The protagonists who should be on the side of right and good do most decidedly bad things. The baddies are bad, indeed, but one does find oneself asking, at times, if they have not been as much sinned against as sinning. The "heroine" is extremely peculiar and certainly does not conform to a standard set of moral values. She is, I think, the archetype of the modern (western) human being – totally self absorbed, completely sure that her individual needs and desires are paramount and interested only in achieving her own goals.
In reading this trilogy we become less sure of the moral divide, which creates dissonance, turns our expectations on our heads and… thrills us.
I'm fascinated to see whether this particular thrill will be as easily emulated as Kellerman's was, or whether this trilogy will remain a stand-alone phenomenon. I'm also agog to know what the next barrier to go will be.


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OK, so now we know that Google is run by morons. At least, if you buy Mark Cuban's logic that only a moron would buy YouTube — which the big G just did for $1.65 billion in stock. When he heard rumors of the pending deal last week, Cuban added that Google must be "crazy" as well and he's sticking by that.
Cuban's negative outlook is rooted in the observation that the threat of a crackdown on rampant copyright infringement is a sword of Damocles hanging over YouTube.
Of course, being besieged by copyright owners is hardly a new experience for Google.
Update: A BusinessWeek analysis looks at what Google's purchase of YouTube — and the audience that watches the 100 million videos it serves daily — means for competitors like Microsoft and Yahoo. Meanwhile, Todd Bishop expands on the Microsoft angle.

subset: commoncrawl


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Saltdean seafront
Arguably, the most decadent and debauched of all decades
In 1920 Brighton & Hove Albion were elected to the Football League as founder members of the new Third Division.
In 1925 a boating pool was built. Then, in 1928 there was a major expansion of the Brighton area, with the villages of Patcham, Ovingdean and Rottingdean being absorbed.
These are the photographs you have chosen to use.
Choose how you would like to display the photographs.


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Fra Angelico a fresco from the 1400's
"I don't know why God allowed this to happen to me!" I hear this so often from so many.
I, too, have questioned God and life on many occasions. And yet, he has suffered my fist shaking at Him well, because I believe, that such a Holy God who is so far above me, understands that I am a mere toddler and have, at times, so little understanding of the reality of this world.
The voices of our world often promise an easy fix, a happy ending, that in this life a person can have it all.
Yet, as we observe the landscape of many who have "had it all" in this world, fame, money, power, prestige, and yet in the pursuit of glory in this world, they became so full of despair in finding that this world does not satisfy, they have taken their lives.
I recently read an article somewhere on the web, where a man who was a drug addict said, "Drugs are not my problem. I go to drugs because I feel such despair in this world."
Imagine with me, if you will, a family in Europe in the beginning of World War II. What if they had read newspaper accounts of Hitler invading Poland or another country, heard that he was coming into their land next, had been warned by the local police, and yet denied that there was a war beginning to rage. What if they went on as normal, did not prepare their children, did not seek to find a place of refuge. Then imagine if their town was bombed, their house destroyed, and some of their loved ones in their community were killed. Because of their refusal to see the reality of the battle raging, their horror and disappointment would be more pronounced.
Similarly, we must recognize that we are in a battle in our generation--a battle between 2 kingdoms--the world where Satan is called the ruler and our Lord who is redeeming this world and taking us to His kingdom forever.
Recognizing that this is the "fallen place," is one of the most important pieces of wisdom to arm us to handle what the world will bring to our lives. And, we must also arm our children as warriors--to learn their foundations, to understand their defense, to know they will never be alone--but God will always be with them every minute to answer, to give wisdom.
Yet, we must also recognize that we have greater potential to become stronger, more able to cope with the difficulties, more organized for life, more able to endure--because God is us has created us with a great capacity to overcome, to succeed.
Perhaps the battles that are most difficult are against our own weak character--but practice and perseverance helps with this. Practicing strength training one day at a time.
Or the illness, death or catastrophe that life can bring our ways. Or the unloving rejection of others. God is with you--He will help you through. Cultivate love with one or two that can understand. Talking with someone who truly relates to your pain but will help you walk through it, is a pursuit for finding in a friend.
Or maybe just the mundane, relentlessness of chores, duties, work and loneliness--learn to light a candle in the darkness. Create beauty, pleasure, joy in your realm.
Regardless the battle, we must arm ourselves to be strong in the battle so that we do not become victims in defeat.
Our children must learn to own their lives--to take responsibility for their faith--to have as a goal to be faithful to God no matter what happens--to live valiantly through many temptations and end courageously strong in the end.
And, they must learn this from our own courage. Our own choice to believe God through the storms life brings and through the love we choose to give in spite of injustice and pain from the hands of others.
But, our courage will come from the hope that is real in our hearts.
No matter what our status in this world, we are royalty in the next.
No matter what grief or injustice comes our way now, God has taken account of every tear and has promised that in the Kingdom of God we shall be comforted.
Jesus said, "My Kingdom is not of this world."
It was in this world that He was crucified, rejected, spit upon, beaten, and had countless profanities hurled at Him.
He who created the light of the dawn, the smell of roses, the swirl of dark clouds, suffered the worst at the hands of the very men He created.
My talented husband, Clay, is a songwriter. One of his songs is called "Rusted Nails." A verse from it says,
"They drove the nails through to the wood,
How could they understand, that He who made the universe, had made the nails that pierced His hands."
And yet, He is coming again--to bring us to His banquet, to have us in His kingdom forever more.
It is as we accept these realities, these battle lines, the future that is sure, that we will be able to live more courageously, more valiantly today. We are in a battlefield for allegiance to our God, a fight for righteousness, and we are the ones God has chosen to be His warriors. But we know who will win in the end. And this is our confidence.
Preparing your children to be warriors in their world, for the glory of God:


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Last week I sent out my bud vase subscription. The pieces are one of my favorite patterns- one I've been playing with since early 2104.
This design is inspired by the early work of my favorite Japanese textile designer, Naomi Ito. I began working in my sketchbook with blue ink, wanting to achieve a similar feeling of airy floral clusters, rendered in blue and white. I looked at flowers in my own garden- phlox, sweet william, poppies, zinnias, and roses- and simplified and stylized the blossoms until I had a handful that I was pleased with. Tiny forget me nots crept in after a spring trip to Maine, and foliage has crept in and out as this pattern has evolved. This design marks the point where I began painting directly onto my surfaces rather than using cobalt exclusively as inlay. Over the years I've applied the pattern thicker and more spread out, trailing off in wisps and clustered thickly. It's still one of my favorites. This time I used it on bright smooth English porcelain- I love the contrast between the cobalt and the bright white.
Next week I'll have my cup and bowl subscriptions ready to ship. They are another newer iteration of something I've been making for a long time and have been working on refining in the past year. More on that next week.
Also later this week I'll be opening up my next round of cup or bowl subscriptions. This quarter, they will all be one of a kind sketchbook pieces. More on that later.
Happy week, friends!


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Well, Gov. Rick Perry finally admits he was wrong on the 2007 effort to force Gardasil on every little girl in Texas.
His third question from the crowd was about an issue that his critics have touched on his 2007 mandate for girls to get vaccinated against the cervical cancer-causing HPV virus.
I signed an executive order that allowed for an opt-out, but the fact of the matter is I didnt do my research well enough to understand that we needed to have a substantial conversation with our citizenry, he said. I hate cancer. Let me tell you, as a son who has a mother and father who are both cancer survivors.
Perry said hed invested government resources in cancer cures, adding, I hate cancer. And this HPV, we were seeing young ladies die at the early age. What we should have done was a program that frankly should have allowed them to opt in, or some type of program like that, but heres what I learned when you get too far out in front of the parade they will let you know. And thats exactly what our legislature did.
I'm glad he's recognized he was wrong, and even admits he should have set up an opt-in program than mandating its use with parents permitted to petition -- subject to state approval -- to exempt their children from "Doctor" Rick Perry's prescription. The reality was that he backed down in 2007 rather than get his butt kicked by the GOP-controlled legislature -- but apparently time has caused his views to mature.
But let's look at the reality of that 2007 effort.
Here are the problems with Perrys actions in this situation.
1) He acted unilaterally, with no consultation with members of the legislative branch.
2) It is questionable whether or not Perry had the authority under the Texas Constitution or statutory law to impose the requirement.
3) Perry and his aides argued that not only did he have the right to issue the executive order, but that the Texas Legislature lacked the authority to overturn his actions or prohibit the use of state money to fund the vaccination program.
4) HPV is different from every other disease for which the state of Texas requires vaccination as a condition of enrollment in school. The others can be easily passed in a normal classroom setting in the course of the ordinary activity of going to school. HPV, on the other hand, is not ordinarily passed under such conditions therefore the nexus between school enrollment and the vaccine is lacking.
5) If Perrys reasoning is accepted as legitimate, then there is no legitimate barrier to a future governor issuing an executive order mandating that girls receive Norplant as a condition of enrolling in school beginning in sixth grade. After all, given the multitude of societal problems caused by teen pregnancy and the negative impact on the future of girls who do become pregnant, there is a compelling argument that such a mandate is beneficial to society and the girls religious, moral, legal, and constitutional questions notwithstanding and that argument is every bit as compelling as the argument for Gardasil (actually more so, given the number of teen pregnancies every year).
Besides, I think that the commercial that the manufacturer put out at the time really offers the best critique of Perrys misdeeds in this case. It said ask your doctor if Gardasil is right for you but nowhere suggested consultation with your governor or other elected officials. It is therefore clear that Rick Perrys decision to play doctor with the little girls of Texas was the wrong one.
And before you ask, this statement still does not convert me into a Perry supporter. I still have the same reservations about him I did when I wrote this piece during the gubernatorial primary in 2010, and it will take more effort on his part to bring me around to support him for the nomination.
For my writings on the subject back in 2007, look here, here, here, here, here, and here.
ADDENDUM: Welcome Michelle Malkin readers!
To Politicaljules: Oh goodie..so we'll fall for 'Hope and Change' all over again?? As long as Perry isn't Obama, he's ok? Change the names and does that sound familiar??? COME ON! Have we learned NOTHING??!!
Seriously, VET YOUR CANDIDATE!!!!! Don't ignore a warning! MAYbe it's nothing but MAYbe it's not! If it means you have to get off your butt and do some research, DO THE RESEARCH!!!
You haven't offered anything other than to say you are 'tired' of the story. Why do you think there even IS a story? Might it be to warn you of something? This isn't a candidate for dog catcher..this is for PRESIDENT OF THE FREE WORLD!
You should be HAPPY you have access to this information so you can check it out for yourself so you are knowledgable on the subject to your own satisfaction so you can vote in 2012. C'mon people! We call ourselves a Free People but are we?? Do we deserve to be?? Was Benjamin Franklin thinking of you when he hesitated in his answer and said "a Republic,..if you can keep it." in answering a woman about what form of gov't those brave and tireless men just gave us? THINK!
I could understand why the politician acted right away instead of seeking other people's opinion. It is because he wanted to eliminate the chances of people to acquire cancer. But it is nice that he knew that he was wrong and he acknowledge it, which is not easy thing to do. I just hope that the vaccine will really help people in the near future.
Kristen B.
Onkyo tx-nr708 Reviewer
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Alasdair MacIntyre on incommensurability in the human sciences
"Each warring position characteristically appears irrefutable to its own adherents; indeed in its own terms and buy its own standards of argument it is in practice irrefutable. But each warning position equally seems to its opponents to be insufficiently warranted by rational argument. It is ironic that the holy secular humanist disciplines of the late twentieth century should thus reproduce that very same condition which lead their 19th century secularizing predecessors to dismiss the claim of theology to be worthy of the status of an academic discipline." -- The Rival Versions of Moral Enquiry, p. 7


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On a scale of 1-10 how competitive are you?
The number isn't nearly as important as the example you give to back it up. 99% of the time, the question will be followed up with, "Tell me about a time when you showed this kind of competitiveness." Consider yourself warned. Pharmaceutical companies like to hire competitive people.


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5 Essential tips for Windows 10 (Part 1)
Windows 10 has been out for a while now, so far it's on over 76 million machinesin over 192 countries, mainly because it's a free upgrade for Windows 7 and 8.x usersuntil July 29th, 2016 that is. It's an exciting and anxious time for 1.5 billion Windows users around the world. However, with these '5 Essential tips for Windows 10' I hope to remove the anxiety and guide you through prosperity with Microsoft's latest greatest operating system, Windows 10.
1. The Start Menu: Finally, the Start Menu has come back to Windows…
For some strange reason Microsoft decided to get rid of the beloved Start Menu, where a list of frequently used applications and documents, in Window 8. They tried to bring it back in Windows 8.1, but it was too late. However, in Window 10 the newly redesigned Start Menu has returned. It is a great blend of the simplicity of Windows 7 and the beauty of Windows 8. To launch the friendly neighborhood, Start Menu do the following:
a. Click or tap on the start button on the bottom left corner of your screen and there it is.
You may hear the old television show from the seventies, staring a very young John Travolta, theme song start playing in your head "Welcome back…"
2. Hey Cortana: Say hello to your little friend…
Cortana is a voice activated personal assistant, Microsoft's version of Apple's Siri. To get started with Cortana do the following:
a. Type a question into the search box
b. Click on the Notebook icon
c. Click Settings.
d. Turn on "Hey Cortana."
e. Click the "Learn my Voice" button so that Cortana can become familiar with your voice and have fun
3. Contact Support: 'Someone please call 911…'
Unless your computer catches on fire there is no real need to call 911. However, if you can't find an answer to a Windows 10 question in "An Essential Guide to Windows 10", you can use Contact support. Contact support provides you online help for all of your Microsoft account and products like Xbox, Skype and Windows store. In Contact support you can chat online with a Microsoft Answer Tech or even schedule them to call you on a specific date and time based on your availability. To launch Contact support, do the following:
a. Click on the Start Menu
b. Select All Programs
c. Select Contact Support
d. Select Accounts & billing or Service and Apps
4. Microsoft Edge: "A whole new world…"
There is a famous theme song from a children's animated film that describes "a whole new world," and with Microsoft Edge, Microsoft has stepped out onto a ledge into a more intuitive, interactive and, dare I say it, fun world. Microsoft Edge formally known as a Project Spartan, is the newest way to surf the web and much more. To quickly launch Microsoft
a. In the search or 'Ask me anything' box type in Microsoft Edge and select Microsoft Edge
b. It is the only web browser that allows you to take notes, highlight, and doodle directly on webpages
c. Microsoft Edge has the ability to save articles and content you may want to read later by selecting Add to favorites and reading list , Reading list , and then Add .
d. For a clean and simple layout, select Reading view in the address bar. This will bring whatever you are reading front-and-center without any unnecessary ads
5. Privacy: "I always feel like somebody's watching me"
The internet has been buzzing about Windows 10 privacy. In the words of the Rock and
Roll inductees, 'Don't believe the hype.' With the controversial privacy settings, Microsoft wants to get you know you better just like every company we all interactive every moment of our lives. These settings are turn on by default, allowing every app to have access to your name, photos and other account information however, there is something you can do about it…disable them. To disable or turn off the settings do the following:
a) Click on the Start Menu
b) Select Settings
c) Select Privacy
d) From the General to the Background apps tab you can choose what app has access to what information.
The '5 Essential tips for Windows 10' is just the tip of the iceberg making your experience with Windows 10 easier. There are much more essential and fun tips in "An Essential Guide to Windows 10" get your paperback copy from smiles.amazon.com and where Foundation Hope for Haiti Inc. will receive 5% of the proceeds of the sales price to continue its amazing work in improving healthcare, strengthening schools and nurturing communities in Haiti.
Yanatha Desouvre is an author, poet, speaker, an experienced Information Technology professional currently at the University of Pennsylvania and an adjunct professor at Chestnut Hill College. He has been passionate about serving others through technology and through the arts for almost two decades. Born in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Desouvre grew up in Brooklyn, New York and Philadelphia, Pa. He earned his Bachelor of Science in Business Administration concentrating on Management Information Systems and Marketing at Drexel University. He received his M.B.A concentrating on Marketing and Mass Communication and Media Management at Lynn University. Desouvre has written eight books: Walk Through this Journey: Volumes One and Two (The Next Step Forward); A Family Affair; La Hermana mayor; La Hermana menor; Grande soeur; Petite soeur and Savor the Moments: Inspired by True Stories. He co-wrote the # 1 best-selling children's book Big Sister, Little Sister and has created mobile apps for iOS devices and Android devices: "Pre-K Math," "Proud to be Haitian," "Proud to be Jewish," "Kids Eat Free HD," "Pocket Poetry," "i Love My Dog," and "Proud Jamaican." Desouvre is currently working on his debut novel To Whom Much is Given (expected publishing date April 16, 2016).
Connect via LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/yanatha and follow on Twitter @yanatha


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NHS Scotland - Confirmed case of Ebola diagnosed in Glasgow - Nurse Pauline Cafferkey treated at Royal Free London hospital - free of the virus - discharged
A Scottish nurse who contracted Ebola in Sierra Leone has been readmitted to an isolation unit in London following an "unusual late complication".
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde confirmed that the virus is present in Pauline Cafferkey but said it was left over from the original infection.
It is not thought to be contagious.
The 39-year-old, from Cambuslang, South Lanarkshire, has been flown back the isolation unit at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
Ms Cafferkey spent almost a month in the unit at the beginning of the year after contracting the virus in December 2014.


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Our last two weeks were divided into two episodes; the first one is a bitter-sweet story about how we got our asses kicked by Miss Fortune in Milan and the second one calmly revolves around our reconvalescence. Will we try Italy again? Sure thing, we've gained some experience and next time we'll be ready. Enjoy learning from our mistakes!
The ride started nice and smooth. We drove through Swiss highways, a bit of mountain roads and a whopping seventeen-kilometer-long tunnel that led us through the heart of Alps. The views were spectacular and, as always, impossible to catch with our not-so-proffessional camera. That's all Niki could get:
Since our friends and the Internet scared us a bit about burglars and thieves lurking from dark corners on our beloved van, we decided to book a super safe, extra insured parking lot. All in all it cost us just 25€ for 5 days and nights so not that expensive. Also, it turned out that it was under a big supermarket so during the day there were quite some people walking around and at night it was guarded by surveillance cameras as well as security guards.
Trial run in Milan
Our plan was to use the first day in the capital of shopping for sightseeing and sniffing around. See the city. Explore the places. Learn what we should see and where we could possibly perform. At the Tourist Information Centre we got a map and learned where people sit in the evening, as well as that Milan is the city where you can see the Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci. Since we didn't plan to perform this day, we've decided to go and see this famous piece of art that miraculously survived bombing in 1943. What we actually saw was a perplexed smile of a lady from the front desk, telling us that we have to book a visit and the soonest free date is… in September. Three to four weeks from now.
Prior to this day we also registered on a special Street Artists Portal and after being approved (screening system including videos and photos!) we were free to book places all over the city to work there. There was a catch, though – the system works flawlessly and is very, very efficient, but only for people… who know Milan well enough. For us all the names we saw were just points on the map so Nick, to be on a safe side, booked the first place which was close to the strict city centre. After that, we took out our wheels – a scooter and a longboard we described in the previous post and off we went to the subway in the direction of the Duomo.
The Cathedral presented itself really spectacularly. Located in the middle of a large square it stood over heaps of people indifferent to these masses as well as to us. However, it was not as giant and overwhelming as the Cathedral in Cologne. There is an interesting legend about it, though. It is said that in the past the ruler of Milan had a dream in which the Devil told him that his life would be spared if he built a cathedral with depictions of devil himself. In result, Duomo is "decorated" with over ninety scary stone gargoyles. Moreover, the monument was being built for over five centuries so Milan locals have a saying "to do something as long as building Duomo". :)
Back to the main subject – when we arrived at the place that Nick booked, we already knew it was a wrong move to do it before checking it. It was completely empty… We tried to change the reservation, however it was impossible. We tried to book another place – it was also not allowed. That's how we found out you can only book one place at a time and the next reservation can be made when the first one expires. Doh. What could we do? We went for a pizza. The real, Italian pizza. Oh yes!
When the day came, we tried to perform anyway. We gathered a few people, but seriously, it wasn't worth it.
For Friday we managed to book a place we knew would be full of people. It was a nice promenade by a canal, quiet, a bit away from the city centre, but bustling with relaxed nightlife after 9PM. All in all – a very promising place. With this thought in our heads we spent the day looking for a swimming pool (shower time!) After riding around Milan and making over 10km that day we found an open one. Can you imagine that many, many places – service stations, swimming pools, restaurants are closed in August due to holiday season. Interestingly, all Italians' explanation is "Agosto". And a shrug. It's so obvious to them everything is closed in Italy in August. Wow.
Anyway, we found the swimming pool. It was a really old building, but not like late 1950's but more like 1750's old. Indoors everything was carved in stone – especially the pool! It reminded us of those old swimming pools in Poland but they become more and more rare. We were more than happy to jump into the water, but before… We were told we must wear swimming caps! They happily lent us a pair. Oh dear…
Water was great, we had some fun, we swam there and back again for 45 minutes, our joy was indescribable.
Clean and tired we went back to our Wolfie to get ready for Fire. Unfortunately, right when we were ready to go… it started raining.
Unsure and with bad feelings, we made it to our spot. And guess what? Yeah, empty. Rain stopped around 9pm, but there was no chance that anyone was going for a walk. It was cold, wet and that's when we got really depressed.
We said to ourselves "ok, let's try one more time, Saturday must be good here". However, one look at the website confirmed our fears – the place was already booked. Just like all other places that could be good, which of course made sense, as it was for Saturday. It was the time for The Decision: are we going further to Piza and Lucca or are we going back to Switzerland? After a long debate we decided to leave NOW. We simply couldn't risk any more days with no income. Sad and disappointed we drove to Lugano to spend the night there and maybe perform during the day.
Unexpected brake
On Saturday morning we walked around the city and we realised that it's very compressed. It basically contained of a city centre and that's it. A lot of people, not enough space to perform with anything bigger than a guitar, plus you need a permission that can be obtained only at the police station, which was closed during the weekend. With bitter smiles we agreed that we have to go back to Zurich or Konstanz, especially since we don't want to miss the end of this week. Leaving at 1pm we thought we would be there around 3 – 4pm. Ah, how naive!
We drove through the motorway for about 30 km with no problems and then it started. A traffic jam. But not an ordinary one – it was 20 km long and the intervals between driving and waiting were so big people actually were sunbathing, others were taking out beers and partying. No shadows in vicinity, just sun and mountains. We killed some time by reading to each other. It lasted for three hours.
When we were closing to the direct reason of the traffic jam (traffic lights, regulating flow in the 17km long tunnel) we realised something was wrong with our car. It started braking by itself. Nick got out and checked the wheels. Three of them were fine but the forth one… Oh gods. The rim was so hot one could fry eggs on it! Quick diagnosis – the piston in the brake caliper (here is a link for any Curious George around what it is) jammed and caused brake pads to clutch the wheel. Technical gibberish. In short – Nick tried to loosen them up on the emergency lane but to no avail. Fortunately right after the cursed traffic lights there was a gas station. He thought he could get some tools (we had some basic ones) but apparently Swiss service stations have only fuel, some oil and souvenirs.
We were told that a few kilometres from the service station there is a workshop and possibly it was open. May we remind you – it was Saturday afternoon. We got ourselves together, drove to the place and, of course, it was closed like everything else on Saturday afternoon. Somebody told us that since we have a van we could sleep at a parking lot nearby and come back on Monday. Yeah, sure…
So, we decided to drive slowly and hope for the best, especially that after the traffic lights there was no more lines to be stuck in. And so just when we were on the way to join the highway, it turned out that this bit of road is under construction. Next exit – 8km away… which means we would have to be stuck in this traffic AGAIN. We knew our car wouldn't make it, so we stopped at the petrol station that was on the other side. We got some tools from friendly truck drivers from Lithuania and Nick, ignoring their warnings in a very broken English, took apart the entire brake.
Actually, it's easy to say, but it lasted for 3 hours or so, everything was so jammed and corroded. With tears in our eyes we started considering calling the roadside assistance, but then we realised that in Switzerland everything costs a lot – starting from a phone call. And the Internet? Nope, you don't have the free Internet at the station. After a short discussion with guys from Lithuania and Serbia we pulled ourselves together and determined to get to Konstanz the same night, we decided to drive with only three working brakes. We clogged the hose leaking brake fluid as much as we could, bought three bottles of it just in case (8.90CHF each! Rip-off!) and off we went. To be honest, we were scared out of our wits, driving through the Alps, with our brakes just working so-so but eventually we made it to Konstanz. At 1 AM. 250 km took us 12 hours. Exhausted, we parked at our favourite spot and fell asleep. Oof.
After these five days outside of Germany we spent Sunday bubbling in the city. It raised our spirits immediately – people were nice, the income decent and everything seemed just fine.
The other day one guy paid us with a pizza!
We felt so comfortable being "home" that even rain didn't break our spirits – actually, we were quite fond of it as we could finally have an evening off without the feeling of guilt. ^^
We also had to take care of changing this lovely brake of ours. Buying it in Germany was not an option (over 300 euro), so Niki got an idea to call our mechanic from Poland and send it here. It turned out to be perfect – the part cost 80 euro and delivery only 10. All in all, we made a great deal with help of Niki's Dad, who sent us the piece.
What is more interesting, Niki tried sushi again, this time without nori or raw fish, made by our new friend Melchior. He's a wizard, seriously, she liked it!
Art around us
We made some new friends and laughed hard during their shows on the street. If you don't know the Super Banana, you should, as she'll be the one to save the world!
And if you feel mellow and a bit feminist, enjoy the most errrrrotic Fire Show on Earth! (before she started the show she was going around telling people that her boyfriend broke up with her, so we gave her a big hug; then it turned out it was a part of her act, so we got fooled! XD)
In Zurich we could witness fundraising for a hospital organized by a school of roller-skaters. We watched their dance for almost an hour; we were amazed by the skills of older participants and we "awwwww-ed" the youngest.
So… how was you week? XD


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Police have arrested two men on suspicion of murder over shootings at a house that left three men dead and two women badly injured.
Hertfordshire Police said the pair were detained in Stevenage last night and are being questioned by detectives.
Keith Cowell, 52, and his son Matthew, 17, were shot dead at their home late on Tuesday – along with Tony Dulieu, 33, of Billericay, Essex.
A 23-year-old woman and a 54-year-old woman were badly hurt in the attack in Plaw Hatch Close, Bishop's Stortford, Herts.
They were in a "serious but stable" condition last night in hospital, where they are thought to be under police guard.
Locals named the younger woman as Clare, Matthew Cowell's girlfriend. The older woman was said to be Keith Cowell's sister, Christine.
Police said a three-year-old girl, named by neighbours as Clare's daughter Angel, was unharmed and is being cared for by family members.
Post-mortem examinations carried out yesterday confirmed that Keith and Matthew Cowell died from firearms injuries, Hertfordshire Police said.
The final post-mortem examination, on Mr Dulieu, will be carried out later today.
Officers said their inquiries into the shooting were "progressing" but repeated appeals for information.
Flowers have been left outside the house where the killings took place and friends have paid tribute, with many leaving messages in memory of Matthew Cowell on an internet website.
But some people who claimed to know the Cowell family painted a darker picture.
One man said Keith Cowell had "upset" a lot of people. A woman said she was "not surprised" by the shootings.
Detectives would say only that the attack was "targeted", but sources said the victims were known to police.
Locals said the Cowell family moved to Bishop's Stortford around two years ago.
Before this they lived in and around the nearby town of Buntingford.
Keith Cowell is said to have worked on building sites and as a taxi driver.
Neighbours said he had also been involved in running a wine bar in Stevenage.
Matthew's sister, Charlotte, who is in her early 20s, was a member of a local youth council as a teenager, neighbours said.


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I have the eye pencil in Golden Bronze - which, once it's warmed up, glides onto the lids beautifully. It can either be worn as a liner, or blended across the lid to make an all over colour - it's easy to blend too which makes it nice and versatile. The colour looks fairly metallic in the pencil because of the little shimmery flecks in it, but on the eye it has a subtle sheen to it - really pretty.
The eye pencil is in the middle - blended out, and the right, non-blended. On the left is the brow pencil in Dark 02.
I have never really been much of a 'doing my brows' kinda girl; I've been blessed in the eyebrow department, but since this combo of products arrived, I've been obsessed!
The Brow & Eyeliner brush is such a handy tool - although it's marketed as one end an eyeliner and the other, a spool for brushing your brows, there's nothing to say you have to stop there! You can use the spool to brush through your lashes if you want to declump mascara, and I like to use the liner end of the brush to create a defined highlight under my brow.
That aside, they are also great for their intended uses - the liner brush is nice and firm and you can draw a nice straight line with ease. The pointed end allows you to get to the inner corner of the eye more easily. I have been brushing my brows up using the brow brush and it makes such a difference at how groomed I look, or if you have accidentally got a bit of foundation sitting on your brow, this will remove it!
I have been using these in conjunction with the brow pencil in Dark 02 to fill in any gaps by drawing gentle, feathery strokes, and also to make the inner sides of my brows a little neater. For someone who has never really done her own brows before - it's really easy to work with!
And then of course, there's the sharpener - stylist and chic in a little compact silver square, it's a perfect size for the make up bag, and the fact it collects the shavings internally is a big bonus for application on the go!


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What a fun celebration of the arrival of Paul William! With Priscilla up and feeling much better recently our dear friends hosted a beautiful baby shower. What an event!
Walking in the door, we were greeted by a home filled with loving people and good food.
David's mother, Sue Waller has been a huge blessing and encouragement to have around to help and encourage and always offers her loving arms to cuddle her first officially "Waller" grandchild and third grandchild.
Becky wrote a song for our wedding that David sang, "Together we will Serve" and continues to be a great friend and prayer partner for Priscilla.
What a blessing to have older and wiser mentors to encourage us as we raise our son to love and honor the Lord.
How about the decorations? This little banner reads, "A Little Miracle." Very true! Every life is a miracle.
I guess Paul must have seen the gifts! 🙂 People were all so generous and kind!
Mrs. Barth was so gracious to give a devotional. Here Mrs. Waller and Mrs. Barth pose for a picture together. What a blessing to have such Godly people surrounding us.
Robert and Kendalyn's little girl Sauntina found David's favorite gift– Rees' Peanut Butter Cups :-).
If you found this post format to be helpful, please let us know in your comments. We still have a lot to learn about websites and how to make it easiest for our family and friends to be a part of our lives. ~David and Priscilla + Paul
34 Comments
Wow- how wonderful. Yes this format is better, i like the bigger pictures with the description. I was just thinking did Priscilla go to hospital to have paul or was it a home birth? Thanks David for keeping us up to date on your blog- yours is one of my many favourites.
Thank you David! Yes, this is much better!
Of course it's a blessing. Thank you so much. There is a fan page on facebook for your family
I definitely vote in favor of this new format. Thanks for sharing!
I'll take pictures and updates any way I can get them! It looks like you had a wonderful time! I am so happy you are blessed with such a great support system. And the picture of Paul looking wide-eyed made me laugh out loud. So cute!!
Yup, I like the bigger pictures and little description too!
First of all,I love the new format.It is easy to read and I like the fact that the pictures are interspersed throughout and captioned underneath. What a marvelous idea, having a baby shower after the birth. Your narrative makes me feel as if I'm right there. Paul is adorable. The picture of him wide eyed and looking surprised. Priscilla looks beautiful and content. You are obviously a doting husband. Both of you are an example of a Godly marriage. I wish I had that kind of example as I was growing up! May the Lord continue to lead you and your growing family. Again, thank you for sharing your lives with us!
I love how Paul was part of the baby shower! How special!
And I love the picture of the little girl looking at the chocolate… such a priceless fun pic.
The new photo format is GREAT!
May God guide and bless you. Thank you for being an example and an encouragement to young people; they certainly need it in todays world.
It took me a little while to even identify how you'd changed the format. This way people like me who don't always open thumbnails do get the full content. For pictures, it's probably best.
Hey David,
Also when you have few kids people don't give you a shower. So, you can give them a diaper shower, since they have baby clothes and toys. All the guests give you diapers.
Priscilla, you look so pretty in pict 3!:-)
I like this format better too.
The shower looks like it was amazing! Little Paul looks like he is well taken care of by many loving hands. Mrs. Waller is positively glowing!
Can I make a request? So many people are asking about the birth, maybe when Priscilla is feeling up to it, she could give us the lowdown? With so many people praying for you, and following your struggles, successes, your triumphs, and your failures, the birth of a child is one of God's greatest miracles so of course we're curious. I'm sorry if that seems too forward, but it would answer some of your readers questions. Thanks in advance!
The Format is great!! Anyway glad to see how well you two have adjusted to parenthood. Now your family is complete.
Your blog is such a blessing to read! What a beautiful child. Congrats! I love the new format…so much easier to view pictures.
God Bless,
The new format is heaps better.
Love the format. What a lovely family. Priscilla: You look absolutely beautiful! Congratulations!
Congratulations. Given the state of the world, I'm grateful to see 2 (now 3) great mission-minded servants proclaiming God's word. Thanks for your work in making Christ known.
By the way, if you or a family member has a Costco membership, it is a great place to buy both diapers and wipes. Saved us a lot of money when we were at that stage.
Yes, I really like the new format. I was not sure if it was just my computer or something else with the other format. I would click on a picture and when it would open–it would only be that one picture and you could not advance to any other pictures–and the pictures were smaller. Thank you for your lives and testimony! Thank you for being such Christ-like examples in this present world. Congrats to you with Paul! What a blessing!
Hi Mr. David and Mrs. Priscilla,
I'm 22 years old. I been searching to find Christian places that young people around my age joined that taught about God and to follow Jesus through life while guarding our heart, soul and mind so I was wondering if you all could give me information about Journey to the Heart place. I'm looking for information about it to see what it's about because I'm thinking about going there myself but before I can I need to give my parents information about it. I saw they had a website but could you tell me what you all did there that you enjoyed please? Thank you!
Beautiful baby! Such a lovely family! God Bless!! 🙂
That's nice, I like the Photos, glad Priscilla was feeling well enough and much better to go, so nice to have a Baby Shower after their Baby, Paul William Waller, was born, never heard of that before, lol, so sweet, glad everyone had a great time and enjoyed the yummy food and thanks for sharing other stuff as well, etc.
Paul is such a cute baby!
I heard the beautiful song "Together We Will Serve" at your wedding and was wondering if it is published anywhere and or available for purchase. Thanks!
Is the song "Together We Will Serve" published anywhere? or available for purchase?
Hi all,
Hope you are all doing ok. You haven't posted for a while and I do find your posts so encouraging. My kids and I are dying to see new photos of baby Paul . Hope all is good with you and the baby.
Would love more pictures of Paul. Hope everyone is doing well! Blessings to you all.


text: Kevin's looking to push his acting career to the next level. He needed some killer head shots, so of course, he came to right place! This guys is truly a joy to be around. Always making us laugh! Check out our fun studio session as we capture some of Kelvin's brightest moments.


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Unsettling and Creepy Stop-Motion Short Film DRAINED
Here's a very interesting and creepy live-action stop-motion short film produced by Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite) called Drained. It tells the story of how "a man's addictions can destroy the woman he loves." It's actually really quite unsettling and sad, but it's also done very well.
In an interview with io9, director Nick Peterson explained the story saying,
It's an interesting story because everybody knows somebody in their life who has drained them, whether it's a brother who's always getting into trouble or a spouse who brings his or her problems home. This film doesn't end with a happy ending — but we chose not to, because it shows what happens when you do nothing. I recently directed a video for the band Five-Finger Death Punch that is an anti-suicide, anti-bullying video. That video went over well, as it showed that you can be saved. But for Drained, we played the down card. That may cost us on the popular approach, but we're showing consequences here, and that will emotionally resonate with certain viewers.
I honestly never expected to see anything like this from Heder who added:
Whether you're a fan of my previous material or not, I wanted to give audiences a sense of what my interests are — and those range from broad comedies to these experimental, dramatic shorts.
Watch the short film and share your thoughts with us on it.
Here are some Fun Facts about the film listed on their YouTube page:
Fun Facts:
• The funding was raised through kickstarter.com, a crowd-source funding website.
• To give this film a unique look, the entire film was shot with still photographs at a speed of 8 frames per second. All 254,000+ still frames were shot with a single Canon DSLR 7D camera.
• In order to compensate for the slow frame rate of 8 seconds, the actors had to move 3 times slower than normal while covered in makeup, wearing masks, and with blinding strobe lights flashing in sync with the camera at 8 flashes per second.
• While shooting the Director and DP were unable to look through the eyepiece of the camera and had to kind of guess where the actors were in the shot during each take.
• Shooting lasted for 10 days.
• Due to the sudden illness of the original actress, Andee Tims was cast to play the Woman the day before she began the shoot.
• Makeup took about 4-6 hours each day to apply, and about another hour each day to remove.
• Over 1000 condoms were used to build the condom suit.
• The final 8 second shot of the film took 14 hours and two animators to shoot, and 6 people 2 hours to clean all the goo from the floor.


text:
I don't know if I've ever read such an original story chock-full of so much weirdness, violence, and humor. Yes, humor. The Pilo Family Circus was written by a 19-year-old law school dropout from Australia who was diagnosed with schizophrenia. Will Elliott wrote the rough draft in three months, sometimes in sporadic bursts and sometimes in a single sitting resulting in ten thousand words. Pilo was written in times of sleep deprivation, using cabin fever as inspiration, and while he was coming down off anti-psychotic medication. This book is amazing.
One late night an Ordinary Joe named Jamie spies three menacing clowns on the street. One throws a bag of something behind a bush, and when Jamie gets it home he discovers some weird beads in the velvet bag. His ingestion of some of the beads gets him visited by three ruthless clowns who vandalize his apartment and leave him a message informing him he has 30 hours to pass his audition or he forfeits his life.
Jamie passes his audition when me makes the head clown laugh and is whisked away to the Pilo Family Circus. He is now part of a family of clowns led by the brutal and short-tempered Gonko. Once Jamie puts on the clown paint, his alter ego emerges. J.J. the clown is not an Ordinary Joe, but a psycho who enjoys roughing up carny barkers, menacing the dwarves, and getting a thrill out of murdering the gypsies who travel with the circus. Thus begins the battle between Jamie and J.J. over control of their body, not to mention keeping secrets from each other about a revolution at hand by a small group of carnival workers who yearn to break free from the Pilo Family Circus.
The circus is run by Kurt Pilo and his dwarf brother, George. The circus performers include macho but graceful acrobats, evil clowns, and a bitter magician allowed to perform only silly acts like pulling rabbits from hats, which sends him into fits of rage. The freak show is run by Fishboy, and includes Tallow, a thing whose skin melts into rivulets at his feet; a Yeti that is forced to eat glass at every show; and a severed head kept in a glass cage. All freaks were once human, but as punishment by the Pilos were turned into grotesque things by the Master Manipulator.
The circus has been around for centuries, putting on shows for tricks—humans attending a normal circus but who stumbled up to the wrong ticket booth. Sometimes the tricks lose their lives due to unforeseen circumstances, but they are the lucky ones. The others who stumble back into the real world had their souls sucked out of them as wages for the performers.
The most amazing part of this book is finding out how the circus came into existence, and just who is running the show. Oh, and the clowns have been recruited throughout history to return to the normal world and steer the course of human events in violent ways—e.g. influencing a failed Austrian artist with the initials A.H.
The Pilo Family Circus is one of many great bizarro books being published today. If you're a horror fan and want to delve into the truly weird, the world of bizarro fiction might be for you. Bizarro fiction has been described as the equivalent of the cult section at the video store, and some of the names to watch for are Jeremy Shipp, Carlton Mellick III, Anderson Prunty, Mykle Hansen, David Wong, Lance Carbuncle, Rolan Topor, Ryan C. Thomas and, hopefully, many more from Will Elliott.
Bizarro Central
Monday, February 08, 2010
Book Review: The Pilo Family Circus
By Tressa Fancher at February 08, 2010
No comments:
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text: The scene begins with the boarding of an ANA Boeing 747-400. Everything seems normal, with the flight attendant bowing at each passenger. But behind the Club ANA curtain, the scene is different. It's full of warmth. The music in the background is "Another Sky" by violonist Taro Hakase. ANA uses it as onboard music, as well as in other commercials.


text:
Hello Lovlies
This is a post about SEDONA LACE Make up Brushes.
Sedona Lace makes & offers very good quality Cosmetic Brushes & lovely Eye shadow palettes at affordable prices.
Have a look at this 12 Piece Professional Make up Brushes set:)
Aren't they pretty!!
I am pretty sure that each pretty lady would want not one such make up brush but all of these to add beauty to their vanity tables.I also want to own these as this is a perfect kit and it includes all the essential brushes for the eyes,lips & face:)
The brushes included in this kit are as follows:
|Powder Brush 376
This sculpted brush head with natural bristles, allows for more precise placement.
Great rounded top for "all over" application of loose powder.
|Duo Fibre Brush 813
This brush is known to add the finish of an "airbrush look" when using liquid foundation, not the best brush for creme foundations.
The great natural bristles of this brush help with the application of blush, also used as a highlight brush.
|Foundation Brush 727
The synthetic bristles on this brush are non-absorbing to help keep your foundation on your face and not on the brush!
Tapered Oval head gently helps to blend the foundation into place.
Works well with any Liquid/creme products, but works best with Sedona Lace's 10 color camouflage concealer palette.
|Large Angled Contour Brush 850
This angled shaped brush works best when used for applying blushes.
Used to apply cheek contour, could also be used wet as a foundation brush.
These natural bristles are best when used with Sedona Lace's Contour and Blush Palette.
|Concealer Brush 954
This Rounded flat shaped, thin precision tip brush with synthetic bristles allows flawless application of cream or liquid concealers underneath the eye or in hard to reach areas, like the inner eye or lash-line.
|Medium Angled Shading Brush 407
This angled shape, yet flat with natural bristles brush, is best used underneath the eyebrow and inner corners of the eyes.
Also great use for blending shadows outwards.
|Small Angled Brush 561
This stiff natural bristled brush is angled to help create the perfect eye brow when filling in.
This is an essential brush when applying gel or creme eyeliner.
|Large Shader Brush 941
This flat shaped brush is ideal for applying eye shadow primer and creme formulas.
Could also be used for concealers in precise areas.
Natural bristles.
|Tapered Blending Brush 863
This brush has a rounded and tapered top and a perfect size for applying and blending an all over shadow.
Packs color into the lip and also blends for a soft result.
These natural designed bristles are best when used with Sedona Lace's Ulta shimmer 88 palette/matte 88 palette and the 120 pro palette first edition.
|Pencil Brush 904
This brush is name of natural bristles and is perfect for smudging out eye liner
Great for applying color in the crease and outer corner of the eye.
This brush can easily create a gorgeous 'smokey eye' look.
|Eye Shading Brush 305
This brush has a soft rounded top to helps apply loose eye shadows and pigments.
Ideal for packing on a lot of pigment and keeping an intense color.
Natural bristles.
|Eyeliner Brush 772
This extra fine brush with natural bristles helps give a precise line when applying liner.
This kit is so reasonably priced at $49 and you can order it here
For more details on brushes and other products you can also visit SEDONA LACE at www.sedonalace.com
Thanks a lot for reading.
Stay Happy Always.


text:
Redcliffe College
Charity information
Redcliffe College
As a centre for mission training Redcliffe's purpose is to prepare Christians for world mission. We seek to prepare the whole person to take the whole gospel of Jesus Christ to the whole world.
We aim to be the leading provider of high quality mission training and intercultural studies in the UK and Europe, and a major provider of such training throughtout the world.
We are an international community of people of all ages and backgrounds from over 25 countries.
Founded 1892
Established: April 1892
Registered Charity Number: 1054907
Phone number: 01452 399930View charity accounts on the Charity Commission website


text:
Property coin gives you an exclusive opportunity to participate in a fully regulated coin that is backed by real estate assets and loans. To our knowledge, there is no way, currently, for investors to invest in an institutionalized, technology driven fix and flip investment strategy at scale in the U.S. or elsewhere. Traditionally, residential fix and flip strategies are only available to "country club" deals made by the ultra wealthy. Property Coin is changing that. We aim to democratize access to our investment strategy by giving investors the opportunity to share in the profits produced by our existing operational and technological platform.
Aperture is a California based real estate technology and investment company focused on the acquisition, rehabilitation and disposition of distressed residential real estate and writing loans to smaller investors with the same strategy.
In their careers, our team is estimated to have been involved in the closing of over $150B of real estate financing transactions, the flipping of over 3,000 properties, the origination of over $10B of mortgage loans and the creation of proprietary technology systems for some of the largest investment banks in the world.
To date, we have produced over 50% unlevered IRR's on our investments.


text:
Nerve Root Compression Treatment in Staten Island, NY
Calmare Pain Relief Solutions offers treatment for nerve root compression to the residents of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and the surrounding communities in New York.
What is nerve root compression?
Nerve root compression is when the nerves of the spine are compressed and irritated. It is a painful condition that can occur from disease or after an injury to the spine, and no matter how the nerve root became compressed, the result is always pain.
The main symptom of nerve root compression is pain. Most people experience this pain directly in the area of the nerve. They also will feel pain through their legs and sometimes in their buttocks. The pain tends to worsen when walking, which causes people to have difficulty walking long distances. Also, in rare cases, the functions of the bowel and bladder can be affected. The symptoms of nerve root compression can vary among individuals, depending upon which nerve is affected.
Determining the severity of the nerve root compression can be difficult, however, and will require a thorough evaluation by one of our back specialists.
How is nerve root compression treated?
The condition may be treated with Calmare® Therapy, a non-narcotic, non-invasive medical procedure for the treatment of chronic pain. For more information about Calmare® Therapy, please click here.
Who is a candidate for treatment?
People who experience a pain in their back, through their legs, or in their buttocks may be candidates for treatment, which can be determined after a series of diagnostic tests that your doctor will order, such as X-rays, CT scans, and MRI imaging. Also, if the pain you experience causes you to have difficulty walking long distances, you could be a candidate.
What is the recovery process?
Following the prescribed treatment, the condition may resolve immediately or may take a bit longer, depending on the severity of the condition prior to treatment. That is why it is important to seek treatment immediately upon symptom onset. On average, however, it takes the typical patient about six weeks to recover.
Patients are under medical management during the recovery phase with an emphasis on minimizing and reducing pharmaceutical usage.
Calmare Pain Relief Solutions offers non-narcotic, non-invasive options for the treatment of nerve root compression to the residents of Staten Island, Brooklyn, and the surrounding communities in New York.
Our team of physicians, who boast more than 30 years of combined experience in neuropathy and are certified in the administration of Calmare® Therapy, is specially trained to help you manage and treat a number of pain conditions, including back pain, chest pain, neck pain, and nerve pain, as well as the pain often associated with cancer treatment. We also treat other painful conditions such as pain associated with shingles, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) and Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS).To schedule a consultation with one of our specialists, call Calmare Pain Relief Solutions at 718-984-9020.August 21, 2013


text:
Well, I joined Margo, Chris and Jason in The Grommet's awesome booth the first day of the Dallas Total Home and Gift Market. Despite electrical obstacles resulting in a 10+ hour set-up, Team Grommet was all vim and vigor greeting, sprucing up shelves, and selling by the time I rolled in close to 10. At least I brought snacks, so I wasn't totally useless.
Booth 2401 was well-positioned near the elevators on the 12th floor of "Temporaries," and there was a steady stream of buyers throughout the day. Of course I had to check out the Gourmet Food section and cross the street to poke around the Vintage offerings. And yes, I managed to snag a few souvenirs (thanks Freakers and Kalalou). But mostly I tried to stay off my feet. Wrong shoes, anyone?
It's difficult to overstate the crowds, energy, and sheer quantity of merchandise at a gift market. What an honor to have Let Them Eat Candles among the unique and innovative products featured on the summer circuit with The Grommet Wholesale.


text:
As a millennial born into the midst of the beginning of digimodernism, it is a movement that is entrenched into my own and my peer's society. Digimodernism looks to describe the changing culture we see on the online world, and the way this new representation of media changes the way we consume content. As Rose discusses in her post, Alan Kirby relates the role of the digital to both art and culture.
Kirby focuses specifically on digimodernism in relation to textuality. However, our modern age has a rapidly developing culture unlike any of the generations before us, thus making the modern generation extremely unique. The digital world improves tremendously from year to year as our technology is constantly trying to become better than the last form produced. Social media websites contain a huge part of our current culture resulting in a change from the time Kirby's novel was written, to what we see in the world today. This change primarily focuses on imaging. Facebook, Snapchat and Instagram use images as a catalyst to exchange information. A picture or post is produced and the poster's friends/ followers interact with the post through commenting, liking or forwarding. These reactions can take place at any time with the possibility to start new discussion introducing elements of onwardness and haphazardness. The change from text to imaging is a product of the rapid technological advances we have seen. We have fairly high quality cameras on our phones and laptops and can send images within seconds. This drastically changes the way we consume our information. Our generation reads and believes almost everything found on social media. One consumes content differently from a picture than through a long text.
Snapchat for example, has a strong connection to digimodernism. The social media platform is perhaps one of the best examples of evanescence, defined as: "text is difficult to capture and archive, has no interest in being reproducible". Snapchat pictures are taken and sent to the viewer, who can then open and view the image for any time from 1-10 seconds. Users use this to their advantage and can change the view time based on how much they want the viewer to be able to read, or how long they want the viewer to be able to see the picture. Pictures are taken and sent very quickly without the intention of being reproduced. Evan Spiegel, the founder of snapchat, said, "Historically, photographs have always been used to save really important memories, but today… pictures are being used for talking". Spiegel recognizes the change in today's younger demographic. When an image is taken, the amount of text is limited to four lines, putting the focus on the image itself, often a picture of an individual or space. Therefore, image is responsible for relaying most of the message.
Another aspect of digimodernism is the change in the relationship between the creator and the audience. Instead of having an object created by one person and consumed by another, digimodernism creates a medium for the viewer to actively change the object, the consumer "gives to the world textual content or shapes the development and progress of a text in visible form". Many social media posts accompany a caption such as; "if this post gets X amount of likes/retweets I/we will…" which include reaction from the viewers, resulting in the audience having the ability to make change or have an impact if they forward the post. Therefore, reformulation and intermediation of textual roles is present on most of our social media platforms. The basic premise of "liking" someone's post or photo also requires a reaction from the audience. The viewer is allowed to express their opinion to the post through a symbol that others can also see. Facebook even has a feature where you can "react" to a post in different ways. From my personal experience I believe that this effects my generation in particular because many people are obsessed with the amount of likes they receive as if it translates the popularity. The new form of reaction from your followers/friends is very important to my generation.
As Rose states, "Although it may seem that digimodernism amounts to a mere shifting of medium, it actually has profound impacts on the ways we consume, use, and understand media and narratives". Our generation in particular practically lives on digital modes like cellphones and laptops. We are educated online, and socialize online. We are used to (and dependent upon) having information at our fingertips and exchanging information quickly. Therefore, digimodernism will continue to be present as new technology is put out and new forms of communication are created.


text:
As a small child, terrified of thunder, my parents used to bundle me up on stormy nights and take my sister and I onto our back porch to appreciate the beauty of the tempest. Enveloped in the warming smell of rain, I watched in the distance, as the lightning danced across the endless fields. Flickers of light offered glimpses of the grand thunderheads rolling boldly across the sky as the swirling streaks of rain playfully frolicked around them.
I spent evenings and summers exploring the undeveloped areas behind our little subdivision with my sister: frogging, adventuring, learning. Small things that instilled in me a love of Mother Earth. Growing up near Wichita, on the Kansas plains, in the middle of tornado alley, I developed my awe for nature — its unyielding power, and its intense beauty.
Later, I developed a fascination with the Native American culture local to our community. Through immersion and interest I developed an understanding of and appreciation for the fundamental idea that we as humans are dependent on the Earth, so we must care for it and live our lives sustainably to avoid eliminating our resources. That generations-to-come depend on us doing things now to ensure their futures.
Yes — I am a tree-hugger. An environmentalist and humanitarian. I am a member of well-respected environmental organizations like the Sierra Club. I am a donor to and volunteer for the National Parks Foundation and National Parks Conservation Association. I own a small business as a landscape photographer in New York State. I grew up on Dr. Seuss' "the Lorax" and believing that there is no compromise in the defense of Mother Earth. I live for the beauty and purity of untouched natural places.
I believe in sustainability. It angers me to think that poor decisions that we make today for convenience, frugality, or some political pat on the back to corporations are destroying our environment. We use nature as a credit card with no spending limit and overdraft the environment to live a plush existence with little concern for the eventual consequences.
These beliefs, I learned, weren't universal. Ten years ago, walking out of a local movie theatre in my Kansas hometown, I noticed a large cardboard poster for Al Gore's film, "An Inconvenient Truth." They had been talking about this film in my science classes and I was eager to see it; the same wasn't true for my friends. "I can't believe they made a movie about that crap!" one said, staring at the poster. "None of it's even true! It's just Democrat propaganda! Look! It's cold outside! Global warming is just a hoax."
That moment moved me deeply. And triggered a dramatic change in my reality. I finally understood that some people disputed global warming as fact—and how political of a problem this scientific truth had become.
As I grew and learned about global warming in school, nature's powers that I saw in Kansas storms began to frighten me. If we don't change what we are doing and how we are doing it, we could develop ourselves to extinction.
In the summer of my junior year at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) I worked on a research scholarship from the National Science Foundation's Research Experience for Undergraduates (REU) to study wind energy out of the University of Iowa. The first few weeks of the program was a crash course in wind power put on by the leading experts and companies in the industry: cutting-edge technology, legislation and policies, meteorology, materials, fluid dynamics, efficiency.
I was in one of the leading collegiate research groups to solve the most challenging problems facing the troubling wind capacity factors. Make them bigger, make them taller! Use concrete instead of metal to reach new heights. Build offshore! We worked on wind farms, in labs, and in fields scaling and setting up meteorological data towers.
When we started traveling to the industrial wind farms, I couldn't help but think how inefficient they were. Looking at the little turbines scattered across the landscape with the knowledge that one little baseload plant, a couple of acres across could more than double all those turbines were producing–I was deeply disconcerted.
We were improving their capacity factors — alright! But those new and improved capacity factors were still… awful. I also became more aware of the problems standing in the way of wind energy being a particularly viable wide-scale source of energy. The lack of progress at that time in battery storage, for instance meant more fossil-fuel reliance when the wind doesn't blow. Furthermore, and possibly most concerning to me was the stifling amount of area required to produce a certain amount of power—a practically usable amount of power. It wasn't until I fully understood this that I really lost hope in wind energy's ability to make a decent splash in the climate crisis.
Through many courses in school, the numbers had already proven to me that solar energy was not my niche. While I found passive solar technologies to be wonderful supplemental practices and great at reducing consumption, photovoltaics weren't for me. The manufacturing processes were too toxic, the word "battery" just made me twitch, (from an environmental perspective,) the sun rarely shines in upstate New York, and they are fabulously inefficient.
I returned to school for my senior year very concerned. I knew solar and wind energies were too unreliable and intermittent to replace coal and natural gas, but I still felt uneasy about nuclear power. I had so many media-driven preconceptions about nuclear power. Unsubstantiated but strong beliefs about storage of nuclear waste, radiation exposure and, what about all those people that died at Three Mile Island? I heard about that in school. I was pretty sure mushroom clouds were a thing, too.
I couldn't believe in a sustainable future where hundreds of thousands of barrels of seeping liquid nuclear waste was leaching into our water and playgrounds. Or one where our children are all going to develop cancer by poisoning and proximity.
By the time I was done, I was convinced I should at least give nuclear the same shot I gave to wind. So I applied to work at Ginna nuclear power plant, in upstate New York.
I found Ginna — which has one reactor and is thus about half the size of many nuclear plants — in a pristinely pruned, gorgeous little apple orchard. As an engineer, I am intrigued by how things work — as a landscape photographer, I am intrigued by how things look.
My love affair with photography began when I was 14-years-old, studying Ansel Adams in an art elective in high school. The vast and majestic beauty found in the most unexpected places can easily be mistreated and taken for granted. If I can evoke a new appreciation in someone for the National Park, canyon, glacier or view in their backyard, I have reached my goal.
As I grew, learned, and evolved I found that my passion for photography and engineering profession began to mingle. As I learned of disappearing natural wonders in energy and environmental lectures, seminars, conferences and papers, I found myself changing my next assignment to match course. And my love of scenic beauty has guided me into sustainable engineering.
Arriving on-site at Ginna, reality takes hold. I drive past signs that warn me of imprisonment and/or deadly force if I bring certain things with me or try any shenanigans on-site. I make my way up to the security building—for what seems like miles—through huge concrete dividers forcing my path.
After finally being admitted to the plant, I am stunned — what a beautiful place to work! The lake is within full view. It is clean. Bright. Updated. People are friendly. Not at all the dark, dingy, dirty place I had pictured.
My interview is with four gentlemen. They spend an hour grilling me on the ins-and-outs of thermodynamics and fluid dynamics, like practical applications of the Rankine Cycle. My interrogators then ask me if I have any questions. "How much radiation do you think we absorbed sitting here in this interview?" They all laughed at me, unabashedly.
Needless to say, I overcame my fears, and took the job. I currently work in fire protection engineering at Ginna Nuclear Power Plant. I have also worked in design engineering and at James A Fitzpatrick Nuclear Power Plant on their inspection team.
The health and safety of the public is the number one concern in the hearts and minds of everyone I have had the pleasure of working with in the nuclear power industry. No one treats their duties trivially or with reckless disregard. Dosimeters provide data that proves the radioactivity concerns I had clung to before were nonsense.
In my career, I have scuttled through the bowels of the plant, climbed around inside of main condensers, steam generators and pressurizers, scooted through pipes, climbed to the top of the containment dome, spent hours upon hours inside of the containment vessels of several plants and I have no concerns that these plants are not held to the strictest and most critical standards.
If people like me trust fear over information, and small nuclear plants disappear they will be replaced by fossil fuel driven plants. And that scares me.
It is early March in 2013. I sit perched, perfectly still on the rocky shore of the mirror-like pond leaching from the Fláajökull glacier tongue in southeastern Iceland simply absorbing the stillness and calm of the scene in front of me. The guffawing squawks of nesting birds on an adjacent cliff and occasional 'kerplunk' of ice diving to the pond below are the only sounds to break the eerie silence. After what seems like an eternity, using my tripod as an anchor, I hoist myself to my feet.
This is my "process" as a landscape photographer. I try to establish a point of equilibrium with the place I am photographing to try capture the essence of it with my lens. After my experience in the movie theater, I was compelled to shift my focus in photography from people to these types of places. Places that are disappearing as the climate changes.
Now, at the pivotal moment of importance for the application of nuclear power to combat climate change, America is at risk of losing Ginna and nuclear plants like it, even though they provide clean low-cost power. Excluded from policies that support solar and wind, nuclear is at risk of disappearing like the trees in Dr. Seuss' "The Lorax," the book that spawned my initial love of caring for the Earth. As the book instructs, "Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better. It's not."
I have grown tired of watching as political decisions are made out of fear.
I've decided it's time to speak out — and march. I am eager to join the Mothers for Nuclear and Environmental Progress on their March for Environmental Hope in California, June 24 - 28. It's about saving California's last nuclear plant, Diablo Canyon, as well as Ginna and many other plants at risk of premature closure.
I am confronting my fears — fears that humans are going to turn our backs on this important technology for climate. Fears that people will refuse to understand nuclear for what it is, and insist it is something it is not. I am reminded of those stormy nights as a girl in Wichita. Though I would start each of these nights cowering in fear, I would become oblivious to the commanding boom of thunder, shaking our little corner of the world. I was calm. Intrigued. Enthralled.
That's why, when my family and friends asked why I'm going to California for a week, the answer I give them is this: I refuse to give in to people's irrational fears. I feel deeply that we must march—for hope.
This article was written by Sarah Spath and represents her opinion alone and not that of her employer.


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Friday, April 2, 2010
Universal Studios Singapore Book Tickets Online
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Posted on Friday, April 2, 2010 Resorts World Sentosa - Universal Studios Singapore to book your tickets online. You can get a ticket for 66 SGD on weekdays and 72 SGD on weekends. Two day and annual passes are also available for those who are into theme parks.
Universal Studios Singapore has seven themed zones namely Hollywood, New York, Sci-Fi City, Ancient Egypt, The Lost World, Far Far Away and Madagascar. The park stretches to 20 hectares and occupies the eastern part of Resort World Sentosa. There are a total of 24 attractions which includes the famous movie based attractions like Waterworld, Jurrasic Park Rapids Adventure and Shrek 4-D Adventure.
I can't wait to visit Universal Studios. Quite expensive though. Calling Universal Studios for free tickets! :)
This post was written by: Mark Ferdinand Tayag
Makoy is a Senior Software Engineer based in Singapore. He enjoys cooking, swimming, running and taking photos. Makoy started blogging way back 1998 during his College years. Aside from his personal blog, he maintains a music blog, an entertainment blog, making money online blog and a photo blog. A certified Filipino blogger that wants to dominate the blogosphere.
Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.
3 Responses to "Universal Studios Singapore Book Tickets Online"
May 11, 2012 at 3:59 PM
Hi Makoy, I would like to use your picture in this blog for educational purpose. I'm just wondering if you could give me a permission to use the picture. Thank you.
May 11, 2012 at 4:37 PM
Hi igna93, sure you can use the image on this post.
May 16, 2012 at 12:32 AM
Well done then, big thanks for you :)
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Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Cleverman - The Namorrodor
I was recently lucky enough to work on the Creature Design for the new series, which is out already and I recommend checking it out if you can, called Cleverman made by Pukeko Pictures. I worked at WetaWorkshop along with Leri Greer who oversaw the project as well as getting to collaborate with Ryan Griffen who created the show and Jake Nash who were fantastic to work with. I learned a lot about Aboriginal culture and felt fortunate enough to be apart of this team. Currently been working on Season 2 which looks to be just as good!
Posted by androobaker at 10:05 PM
Labels: Cleverman, creature design, Pukeko Pictures, The Namorrodor, The Namorrodor concept art, WetaWorkshop
3 comments:
has a head that I would pet5! mint looking slender fulla Bakes!ReplyDelete
G'day - Is the back pattern on the final concept supposed to look like a Corroboree frog (Pseudophryne corroboree) or is that just happy coincidence?ReplyDelete
Loved seeing this critter on screen, a fantastic design for something so crucial for the story, and looks every bit as scary as my younger mind imagined the Dust Echoes version!
Hey Ales, Thanks very much for the message. Apologies the late reply.Delete
The pattern originally was from a guinea fowl which got reduced down to just those stripes. :) Glad you liked how he appeared on screen!
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End of May Update
It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and all we wanted to do was play outside so Dax Greener introduced us all to a new game called Bocce. We all met in the park that is in the middle of our apartments and played Bocce, bad mitten, volleyball and soccer. It was a blast. All the little neighborhood kids swarmed to us and wanted to play with us as well so if you see some unfamiliar faces in the pictures it is the neighbor kids. Lucas decided to come sell with us. It is so much fun to have him around. He is preparing to go to graduate school in the fall at BYU.
Pictured below is Lucas, Steve Ritchie, Brandon and Sarah Ritchie, Mike and Brittany Hoggan, Ben Downer, Mike and I, and Dax Greener.
On memorial day we all went to the Minnesota Zoo. Unfortunately this is the only picture we took because our camera ran out of batteries. The highlights from the zoo included, a dolphin show with 4 dolphins, it was not quite sea world but pretty good for Minnesota, we also went to a bird show and then spent a good chuck of time watching wolverines battle. I have never been to a zoo in the spring time but I think from now on I will only go in the spring time because the animals are way more active and entertaining. Plus there are a lot of baby animals.
Posted by Mike and Hillary at 6/02/2008 6 comments:
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THE HUNGER GAMES - New Images Arrive
Here are two new images from Gary Ross' adaptation of The Hunger Games. The images feature Katniss (Jennifer Lawrence) during the selection process and all dressed up for the interviews. I am pretty sure these are new, if not, please do not get upset. There is nothing wrong with looking at photos over and over again for this awesome looking movie. Lawrence looks great as Katniss.
The film also stars Josh Hutcherson, Liam Hemsworth,Woody Harrelson, Elizabeth Banks, Stanley Tucci, Donald Sutherland, Wes Bentley, Toby Jones, Amandla Stenberg, Alexander Ludwig, Isabelle Fuhrman, Jacqueline Emerson, Paula Malcomson, Dayo Okeniyi, Jack Quaid, Leven Rambin, Willow Shields, and Lenny Kravitz.
Here's the Synopsis:
Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the evil Capitol of the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. A twisted punishment for a past uprising and an ongoing government intimidation tactic, The Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which "Tributes" must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she's ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. THE HUNGER GAMES is directed by Gary Ross, and produced by Nina Jacobson'sColor Force in tandem with producer Jon Kilik. Suzanne Collins' best-selling novel, the first in a trilogy published by Scholastic that has over 16 million copies in print in the United States alone, has developed a massive global following.
The movie is set to be released on March 23rd, 2012. Check out the other image below and share your thoughts:


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The Rich McCloud Band
Thursday June 15th AT 7:00PM
Rich McCloud is a prolific songwriter, composer, producer and performer from Florida that combines hip-hop, soul, rap, and a fiery spirit. From the projects and streets of Florida to earthy Oregon, this artist draws from his past and present to create music that inspires and stirs the soul. He mesmerizes with a live band, his guitar, his tracks or simply as spoken word poetry.