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Maine Trails Magazine
Archive: 2014
April - May '14
Maine Trails, April - May '14
Inside Cover
President's Message
Cover Story
126th Maine Legislature
A meeting of minds
Fix It Now! profile: Hancock County
Cumberland County Meeting
The trucks stop here
MDOT View
The local squeeze
Road programs in Maine towns and cities, still feeling
the effects of the recent recession, look to local funds and new MaineDOT matching programs to fill the gap
By Kathryn Buxton
The problem with a drought is that, often, the effects are felt long after the initial damage has been done. That could be said to be the case for municipal road programs which, like state roads, have been subjected to a continued squeeze on funding that has meant reduced revenue for towns and cities across the state.
While state funding for local road funding hasn't dried up, it has remained flat for most Maine's municipalities and will be coming under increasing pressure as federal and state highway funding is expected to shrink in the coming years. In 2009, when MaineDOT reconfigured its Urban Rural Initiative Program to establish the Local Roads Assistance (LRA) program, funding stood at $24,209,336 and was distributed to 502 municipalities, counties and Indian reservations in Maine. As MaineDOT has struggled with recessionary budget cuts, the program was trimmed to $22,798,321 in 2010 and since has hovered between $22 million and $23 million. In the new fiscal year, that number is estimated to be $20,751,610.
"MaineDOT has one of the more generous local roads programs in the country," said MBTA President Jim Hanley. He noted that MaineDOT's history of support harkens back to the early 1900s when MaineDOT's predecessor, the Maine State Highway Commission, established the concept of "state-aid highways" and agreed to provide funding for an expanded road network. "Keeping up with that generous approach hasn't been so easy lately," he added, "but since LRA is based on a percentage of MaineDOT's budget, the number rises or falls, depending on the size of the Highway Fund budget."
For Maine municipalities struggling to keep local roads paved and plowed, tighter city road budgets have been keenly felt, especially on the heels of a long, expensive winter, with higher than budgeted plowing costs further exacerbating community-wide funding restraints caused by the recession.
Shifting responsibilities
Emily Shaw, a former associate professor at Thomas College, studied the effects of state budget cuts on Maine municipalities for the years 2008 through 2011. She found that cuts in revenue sharing, local road funding and other state support wrought the deepest cuts in municipal budgets for administration and public works. The cuts were heaviest in 2008 and 2011 when municipalities collectively trimmed more than $50 million from their public works budgets.
The effect of those cuts continues as towns' and cities' backlogs of rough roads, disintegrating sidewalks and sidetracked road improvement projects grows. A recent article in the Maine Municipal Association's magazine,
Maine Townsman,
cited the types of cutbacks municipalities have endured over the past seven years that have impacted the delivery of municipal services. Cuts to capital equipment budgets have meant older equipment, such as city plow trucks, have spent more time in the repair shop.
In Caribou, staff cuts have meant longer response times, so it takes longer for potholes to be filled and roads and sidewalks to be cleared of snow. In Lewiston, the city has delayed plans to upgrade city sidewalks for accessibility, trimmed staff hours and put off road improvement projects. In Mexico, the town eliminated the position of road commissioner to save money and transferred his duties to another employee.
Shaw's research also showed a shifting of fiscal responsibility from the state to the local level. As state debt has declined since 2009, municipal debt has increased. Her research also revealed that Maine towns raised property taxes by 5 percent between 2009 and 2011 to help offset state spending cuts on essential services, including roads.
'Sharing the pain'
MaineDOT Deputy Commissioner Bruce Van Note remembers the difficult budget decisions that were made at the height of the recession. He said that the Maine Legislature's Transportation Committee decision to cut the program did not come lightly, but was seen as a necessity. At the time, he said, the budget choice was to either cut $2 million to $3 million (about 10 percent) from LRA or reduce funding for MaineDOT's light capital paving program, a program also supported by towns. MaineDOT has cut its workforce by 400 (about 20 percent) in recent years, and further significant operational cost savings at the state level were not available.
MaineDOT refers to this as "measured, predictable, shared pain" for both MaineDOT and municipalities. "Although we understand municipalities are having to make very tough choices, the loss of Local Road Assistance funding is relatively small and measured, and MaineDOT is doing what it can to mitigate the impacts with other municipal partnership programs," said Van Note.
Those other programs include the MaineDOT's popular Municipal Partnership Initiative (MPI). First established in 2011, the MPI provides matching funds up to $500,000 for road projects that are a local priority. Since the program's first full year in 2011, MaineDOT has awarded about $17 million in state MPI matching funds for 63 projects that improved about 62 miles of roads. MaineDOT plans to commit an additional $6 million each year in fiscal years 2015 and 2016 to the program.
The MPI program has been so successful, Van Note said, that MaineDOT recently launched two other matching fund programs: the Business Partnership Initiative, generally a one-third state, one-third business and one-third local program to support local business development, and the Planning Partnership Initiative pilot program, a 50-50 state-municipal program to determine the feasibility of projects of municipal value.
"These programs leverage the local knowledge and energy of communities and provide mechanisms to move projects of local value forward," said Van Note. "We value our relationship with municipalities, and look forward to continuing to partner with them," he said.
Conservative and resourceful
In Kennebunk, the town has been conservative when budgeting and resourceful when financing road projects – looking to bonds, as well as competing for state highway matching grants. Kennebunk Finance Director Joel Downs said they have planned far out in advance of anticipated state funding reductions and implementing gradual property tax increases to compensate.
"By absorbing the reduction slowly, we have managed the growth in the property tax rate such that our taxpayers did not get hit with a big increase in a single year," said Downs.
Throughout, roads have remained a priority for available town funds. The current administration, Downs said, sees good roads and bridges as integral to the services it markets to its largest local industry – tourism.
"During the past several years we have tried to maintain and improve our road system in a controlled, measured manner," said Downs. "We understand the value to the community to have roads in good condition. Kennebunk relies on tourism dollars, and we want our visitors to have a very positive experience. Smooth, well maintained roads may seem minor, but people remember the small pleasures that keep them coming back."
Kennebunk has looked to other sources of road funding and, in some cases, has issued municipal road bonds. The town has taken advantage of MPI grants for several projects: Route 1/Portland Road (from the intersection of routes 1 and 35 to the Kennebunk/Arundel town line); Route 35/Port Road (from the lower end of Port Rd toward Kennebunk Lower Village); Mill Street (where it crosses the Mousam River in West Kennebunk); and Route 9 / Western Avenue (in the heart of Kennebunk Lower Village).
"Leveraging state funds has been a significant benefit for Kennebunk. We plan to continue applying for more funds in the near future," said Downs.
'Frustrating' time
"The last few years have been the most frustrating and challenging of my career," said Presque Isle City Manager Jim Bennett, who also has served as city administrator in Westbrook and manager in Lewiston, Old Orchard Beach, Sabattus and New Gloucester. He said that, in addition to flat state road funding, cities and towns have been caught in a tug of war with the State House over revenue sharing funds that since 2008 have declined as the state held back funds from municipalities to help balance the state budget.
Bennett said Presque Isle has done what it can to counteract the cutbacks, cutting its budget drastically: the 2015 Presque Isle budget is more than $660,000 less than the city's 2008 budget. The city did enact one property tax increase, but has tried to hold the line there by eliminating 19 percent of its workforce and shrinking city services. To balance its road budget, Presque Isle has put off purchases of new highway equipment and delayed road repairs, including work on city sidewalks, drainage and planned intersection improvements. In some cases, the city has had to make some very difficult choices.
Case in point is Academy Street/Route 10 that feeds into Presque Isle's Main Street/Route 1 and serves as a major commercial route for local manufacturers, including agriculture and forest products companies. The road, said Bennett, is in tough shape and is getting some paving work done, but the city had to forego a full reconstruction because it could not afford to earn full MaineDOT funding for the project.
U.S. Route 1, Presque Isle's Main Street, needs work, too. The rutting has gotten so bad in the pavement that it has become something of a local safety hazard.
"The ruts are bad. I mean, three or four inches deep in places, and right downtown," said Bennett. "We had a pedestrian who was injured crossing the street, it's that bad. I don't know how we're going to be able fix that any time soon."
'Bag of money'
In Yarmouth, Town Manager Nat Tupper said the town has been fortunate to avoid much of the hardship being felt in many Maine communities. He said the property tax base has remained strong, and the town has been able to absorb much of the recent cuts in state funding by implementing limited property tax increases and careful budgeting. Still, the town enacted its first sewer fee this year to help offset the need for a property tax hike, and town roads, he said, could always use more money. The town has rebuilt about 30 roads in the past 20 years, and some of those roads are due for maintenance paving. That work has been put off, so the town can address more pressing road reconstruction needs.
Finding the right balance between maintenance paving and reconstruction is a big challenge these days, according to Yarmouth's Public Works Director Erik Street. "If you look at some of those roads that are in line for maintenance paving and they are a 'B', and you've got roads that are a 'D' and need to be reconstructed, it can be a tough decision," said Street.
He said one of those has been the decision to begin work on North Street, a project starting up this summer. The road is not in as rough shape as some town roads, but the road qualified for maintenance paving funds from PACTS, and the town was able to pair the paving project with a MaineDOT MPI grant to complete work on the shoulders. That work will be completed in two phases over the coming months. For the MPI project, Yarmouth will fund $78,550 (50 percent of the work). For the PACTS / MaineDOT pavement overlay portion of the project, Yarmouth's costs will be $17,850, or 10 percent of the total project.
Tupper is matter-of-fact about the kinds of choices the town has made: "If you gave us a bag of money with $100,000 or $200,000, there are roads we would fix. There's no question about that. It is the one area of public investment that people would support greater expenditure and effort – if the tax rate were not already being pressured so hard."
President's Message
| Page 3 of 9 |
126th Maine Legislature
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It is hard to beat the range of cuisines you will find on offer in Dubai. With so many cultures and nationalities converging in one city, it's easy to taste the authentic flavours of famous dishes from around the world, whether it be in five-star restaurants, unlicensed cafes or streetside shawarma vendors.
Emirati cuisine has its own distinctive qualities – as the UAE has a long history as a trading crossroads, influences from around the world have seeped into Emirati cooking. Spices such as cinnamon, saffron and turmeric, along with nuts, limes and dried fruit add interesting flavours. Popular Emirati dishes include Al Harees (meat and wheat slow-cooked in a clay pot and served with ghee), Al Majboos (made by boiling meat in spiced water with dried limes), and Al Madrooba (salted fish in a thick, spicy sauce). Rice is a predominant feature of Emirati cooking, and is usually served with saffron, dried fruit, nuts or local spices. A good way to round off an Emirati meal is with a big serving of the delicious local dessert 'Umm Ali' – a pudding made of bread, cream, dried fruit and pistachios.
The serving of traditional Arabic coffee (kahwa) is an important social ritual. Local coffee is mildly flavoured with cardamom and saffron, and served black, without sugar but accompanied by dates to sweeten the palate between sips.
Fresh juices are also a strong feature of local cuisine, and these can be bought from most streetside shawarma stands and Arabic restaurants. Try the famous fruit cocktail, a thick blend of fresh mango, banana, pomegranate and pineapple.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Conversation With Janny Wurtsby Claire E. White
The Internet Writing Journal, June 2002
Bestselling author Janny Wurts is a rarity in today's
(Photo by Don Maitz)
Her award-winning paintings have been showcased in exhibitions of imaginative artwork, among them a commemorative exhibition for NASA's 25th Anniversary; the Art of the Cosmos at Hayden Planetarium in New York; and two exhibits of fantasy art, at both the Delaware Art Museum, and the Canton Art Museum.
As a young girl growing up in a small town, Janny was an avid reader, devouring everything that the local library had to offer. She loved science fiction and fantasy, and actually wrote several novels while still in high school. She loved horses and the outdoors, and was fascinated by the world of science. She enjoyed writing, but felt she hadn't really seen enough of the world to be an author. After graduation and a self-financed trip to Europe to see the world, Janny knew that she wanted to create something spectacular, something with breadth and scope. While still in college, she conceived the idea which was later to become the foundation for an epic bestselling fantasy series entitled The Wars of Light and Shadow. But she was also drawn to painting, and first achieved success as a commercial illustrator for the major New York publishing houses. But she never gave up her dream of not only designing book covers, but of writing the books themselves.
After years of honing her craft, Janny sold her first novel, Sorcerer's Legacy, which was published in 1982. It was followed by the Cyle of Fire coming of age trilogy: Stormwarden (1984), Keeper of the Keys (1986) and Shadowfane (1988). Raymond E. Feist, author of the bestselling Riftwar saga, asked Janny to co-author a series set on the Tsurani world around the Lady Mara and her struggle to survive in the vicious politics of her home world. The resulting Empire trilogy of Daughter of the Empire (1987), Servant of the Empire (1990) and Mistress of the Empire (1992) was an international bestseller and vaulted Janny into the spotlight as a fantasy author to be reckoned with.
But the project for which she is best known is her epic Wars of Light and Shadow series. Publisher's Weekly says of Wurts' writing in the series, "Wurts is an accomplished builder of worlds, scenes and characters through well-chosen detail, with an ear for dialogue and an eye for realism." Booklist praises the series' "endless twists and turns of plot and an artful complexity that is marvelous to behold." The Wars of Light and Shadow is a sweeping epic, which consists of six books so far: Curse of the Mistwraith (Penguin/NAL, 1993), Ships of Merior (HarperCollins, 1994), Warhost of Vastmark (HarperCollins,1995), Fugitive Prince (HarperCollins, 1997), Grand Conspiracy (HarperCollins, 1999) and her latest release, Peril's Gate (HarperCollins/Eos).
The Wars of Light and Shadow follow the fortunes of two half-brothers: Lysaer s'Ilessid, called the Lord of Light, and Arithon s'Ffalenn, called the Master of Shadow. The brothers are exiles on the world of Athera, the original world of their ancestors, where they are prophesized to defeat the Mistwraith which encircles the world in constricting fog. The brothers unite to destroy the Mistwraith, but at a terrible cost. The Mistwraith curses the two brothers to hate each other, and to continually be at war. The brothers' battles encompass the entire world, as all are drawn into the conflict. The series is full of adventure, politics, intrigue, romance and magic, and is known for its lyrical writing and depth of characterization: this is a series for people who like to think. There are more books to come in this series, and she is also working on a new stand-alone.
When she's not writing or painting, you might find her spending time with her husband Don Maitz, hiking, horseback riding or skiing. Janny spoke with us about her latest book, Peril's Gate, and how she creates her compelling characters, fantasy worlds and intricate magical system. She also gives some some fantastic in-depth writing advice for aspiring authors.
What did you like to read when you were growing up?
My love of stories began with being read to, aloud, as a child. Kipling's Jungle Book and Mowgli Stories were early favorites. My enjoyment of reading came later, and in fact, almost went off track entirely. The material used by the school system to teach reading quite simply failed to engage my attention. Since my own adventures, out in the woods were more fun, reading languished -- I hated it! While still in first grade, by sheer chance, I was messing about in my older brother's room (who didn't?) and there I encountered a copy of Walter Farley's Black Stallion. Since I was enamored with horses, that was worth reading! So I learned to read on Walter Farley, and got hooked. From there, I devoured the fiction section in the library, anything and everything that had adventure in it. This included historicals, mysteries, classics, faerie tales -- including more literate works like Stone's The Agony and the Ecstasy. The small town library where I grew up had perhaps five science fiction and fantasy titles, total. I didn't encounter that branch of fiction until much later. Zelazny was one of the first, and I think I discovered Andre Norton on an airplane trip to Outward Bound in Minnesota. So reading and woods rambling and horses were my early pursuits.
The pursuit of reading built my foundation in vocabulary. The knowledge grew naturally, by encountering words in every sort of book. I devoured every novel and nonfiction book I could find by Daniel P. Mannix, a naturalist, and later, this led to my renting a carriage house apartment on his property for thirteen years.
People often ask what writers influenced my work, and honestly, there are far too many to remember, far less attempt to name.
What was the first thing you ever wrote? What reaction did it receive?
Well, I wrote a children's story, a fantasy, in junior high school. Not a school assignment, something I tried for myself. I actually did submit it to publishers -- it got rejected, naturally. That didn't seem to stop me from writing two and a half more novels, while in high school -- science fiction/fantasy hybrids, which were done, oddly enough, before I encountered science fiction at all, beyond Madeleine L'Engle's Wrinkle in Time. I loved science classes, and seemed naturally drawn to the realm of the imagination. None of those early novels were ever submitted. They were hand written on notebook sheets, stuck together with brads, with crudely drawn covers. The plots weren't terribly sophisticated, but they were complete. As 'trial runs' they were wonderful practice! I learned the rudiments of pacing, character development, dialogue, and the satisfaction of finishing a project. In the exuberance of being a teen, and feeling invincible, I never paused to tell myself I couldn't do this. The trust, that I would proceed a page at a time and arrive at a plausible ending, was a valuable thing to learn early. Just fly with an idea, and see where it might go in the blind presumption it will work out, is a wonderful approach to creativity. Sure, I got teased by my classmates -- "Wurts is always writing these crazy stories..." But that never seemed to matter. I'd get out of school, go out in the woods, and get more ideas and write them out later. I did have a sense that these stories were practice, that I would write other novels later, though if anyone asked, I insisted writing would never become a full time career.
I'd like first to talk about The Wars of Light and Shadow and your latest release, Peril's Gate. How did you first conceive the idea for this series?
I had a young horse, at the time, that I had paid for and trained myself, and I sold her to finance a trip to Europe. I realized (as a kid just out of high school) that I needed more life experience to write this massive story. I felt I had to step beyond my backyard and see more of the world before I could design Athera, with its history and its worldly cast of characters. I wanted the "real" feeling of standing on a mountain top, or sailing in the open ocean, and I needed to encounter other experiences and cultures. Throughout college, and just after, I went on to Russia, Africa, and Korea. I did 3600 miles of offshore sailing on small boats. Took fencing, learned archery, and took wilderness trips. Studied botany, geology, astronomy, oceanography...all background that satisfied my intense curiosity, and also, laid down the foundation to write a story that would feel like a real experience. That seemed of paramount importance: to create, not just a story, but an event the reader could encounter as though they were a living participant.
Years went into this idea, watching it snowball, letting it grow and deepen and connect.
When you began the series, how much of the master plan did you create before you wrote the first book? Have you had to alter your plan at all during the process of the writing?
That seed idea actualized itself -- I had the concept, I knew who the characters were, I had a conflict -- I wrote the opening bits, fifty pages or so, without any real awareness of the scope it was going to encompass. Yes, I had a crude sort of outline -- one single spaced page and a half -- and most of what's there is still recognizably embedded into the tapestry. But where I thought I had one book, the masterful depths had yet to reveal themselves in the tale. Of course, I started the draft in the wrong place -- I had to really study and know my craft to finally arrive at the beginning. The original plan has not so much altered, as deepened. Tremendously deepened.
I realized I had too much to tackle as a young, starting writer -- and too much to encompass all at once. So I sold a first novel that was relatively simple and straightforward, (Sorcerer's Legacy) then did a trilogy ( Cycle of Fire) and another novel, ( Master of Whitestorm), while staying committed to the Light and Shadow series as a long-term project. This allowed the story to flesh out without pressure, and also let me get more mileage as a writer.
While working the other books under contract, Light and Shadows
|"I often feel that I don't create the stories, so much as they direct me...the concept frames itself, and the characters react according to their beliefs and preferences. It's like tossing a marble into a pinball maze -- you know where it enters, you know where it's going to exit, but the course it takes getting there is the event that fascinates."
This is the fantastically fun part of creativity -- watching that dream assume its own shape and dimension. I often feel that I don't create the stories, so much as they direct me...the concept frames itself, and the characters react according to their beliefs and preferences. It's like tossing a marble into a pinball maze - you know where it enters, you know where it's going to exit, but the course it takes getting there is the event that fascinates. I go into a scene, knowing where it starts, and aware of how its theme of conflict will resolve, and then just let the characters fly on their own merits.
I suppose that's why readers say my stories are not predictable -- because I don't set out to "do the story" -- I let the story "do itself." Yes, absolutely, I know the ending before I get there. The whole process is not an act of random chaos. Rather, I insist on orchestrating a finish that does not leave maddening loose ends, and then trust my imagination to build the bridges. The twists and the turns of the tale always take their own adventurous course.
At its heart, the series concerns the relationship of two royal half-brothers, Lysaer, the Prince of Light, and Arithon the Shadow Master, who have been cursed by the Mistwraith to be at war with each other. Now normally, in a series entitled The Wars of Light and Shadow, one would assume that the Light are the Good Guys and the Dark are the Bad Guys. But in this series, things are not quite so simple. It is said that history is written by the victor -- which makes for some slanted versions of past events. Yet in your series, you seem to make the reader draw her own conclusions as to who is right and who is wrong -- and who may have good intentions, but is misguided. Did you consciously set out to write a series which would stretch your readers? When you first had your idea for the books, did you have any idea what a mammoth undertaking it would be?
I get bored silly, being told who the villain is, and being able to second guess the next line. Life itself is far more intricate. One never knows -- one has to discern, or risk swallowing everything as given. Well, what we are "told" is not the whole truth. Sometimes the "truth" has been twisted or colored to fit an ideology, an agenda, or smoothed over so it won't rock anybody's preconceived notions. I absolutely did write a book that would compel the reader to discern! This story will demand a reader who thinks. It was written for the individual who doesn't want to be told, or led by the nose. The characters are going to act their beliefs out on the page, and they won't do this according to "formula." The story takes no one, and nothing for granted! Are you a brave reader? Can you handle a character you can't second guess? How well can you listen, how well can you discern, and how clear are your eyes, for perceiving what is really happening on the page -- not what you think ought to be there. Can you handle the setback, if what you presumed turns out to be wrong, and then are you courageous enough to fall into the fascination of actually discovering what is meaningful for yourself? I'd like to think I respect a reader's intelligence enough to let them form their opinions according to their merits.
Yet I fully realize this may not work for everyone. If someone reads, insisting they know what should be there, and they insistently hang onto that mindset, and stick with their preconceived notions about how a character should behave, if he's "the good guy" -- well, this story is likely to make you quite irritated! It's not a story for the person who wants run
Which is a reflection, perhaps, of our complex modern lives, where information is thrown at us from so many angles. Who is right? Who is wrong? So much depends upon viewpoint! The person who hates this or that always feels they are justified -- but who is telling the story about the ones hated? So, absolutely, yes, I set out to craft a story about a "hero" the masses followed, for the "right causes." Except with a difference -- you are going to know the whole truth, you are going to sympathize and see through the eyes of the hunted. If this book doesn't leave you with the sort of displaced feeling, that "there but for the grace ..." that if you hadn't known both sides of the picture, you might have fallen for the same lies, then I missed my set mark. I wanted the poignancy of that understanding to seed an irretrievable sense of sorrow, that maybe, just maybe, all things are worth treating with careful discernment.
No, absolutely not, I didn't realize at first what a mammoth undertaking this was going to be! But then, early on, yes, I did, and from there forward, I gave the scope of this project the wary care it deserved. This involved restraint and the wisdom of not putting it on the market too soon. I had to learn my craft, inside out. This meant investing decades of work before the first novel came out. When Curse of the Mistwraith sold in the USA, it was a finished novel, and the whole series framed out to the point where it was all of a piece -- it had evolved until I knew where everything interconnects. I won't be exploring the world on the page. I know the characters I am writing, and the awareness is precise, as to why this scene and that action should be shown, and exactly where its going to lead into the finish of the tale.
In the early days of trial and error, the first chapters of Curse of the Mistwraith were written seventeen times -- all from different starting points. But I waited until I knew for certain I had the best one to launch from. In fact, all of the foundation for the entire series is in that first volume. If a reader returns to it, at any stage, or after each sequel, the events can be reinterpreted at a more involved level. The series is designed to yield deeper insights at each review, something the more devoted readers have discovered. They can reread these books ten times, and continue to perceive new sets of insights.
The books raise some rather disturbing questions about the conflict between one's personal duties and loyalties versus one's duties as a responsible citizen of society. What do you see as the main themes of the series?
The opposite viewpoint appears to conflict -- that if the integrity of choice is made every time on an individual level -- if each encounter is treated one on one, in compassion -- what happens?
I decided to explore this, and therefore, the two characters in the series follow separate ideologies -- the one, Lysaer, is the ruler, who strives always to act for the "greater good" of society as a whole. And the other, Arithon, who is mage trained to perceive in detail, who will always react on his individual integrity. One will manipulate and control others for their supposed benefit, the other will tell himself the truth. The contrast between these opposing stances will ask difficult questions -- because the "greater good" will be somebody's ideology, and to adhere to any fixed set of principles blindly makes any fervent follower into a tool. The greater good does not doubt itself. The individual with integrity doubts constantly, and so, must develop discernment, case by case.
This is just one of many themes that play through in this series, though not in a judgmental way. The reader is left free to choose what to think and feel for themselves.
The magical elements of the book are quite fascinating, and very detailed. How did you develop the system? It also seems that we haven't quite learned everything about this magical system yet -- that there is more to be revealed in later books?
Above all, I like to create systems that appear to work! Pouf, and it happens, is not for me! I started out studying to be a scientist, until all that I perceived in the world just refused to fit neatly into that box. I had to step outside and look deeper, to find answers that had meaning, unless I continued down the beaten track and just lied, that no, what I saw was not real.
Well, my readers aren't stupid either! They might not buy the simple "it's so just because" type of reasoning. The magic in Athera had to satisfy my own sense of wonder, depth, and complexity first -- just out of respect for our human intelligence, and our incessant desire to think.
The primary underpinning for Athera's magic is actually derived from particle physics! Look deep enough, matter is energy in motion -- light is waves and it is particulate -- break down the units that make up an atom, and you find these increasingly tiny bundles of energy, filled with these incredibly lovely paradoxes. Run them again, but at a mystical level, and wow, you might just encounter this amazing tapestry! A universe that is matter, but that actually, is illusion of formed energy -- light and sound, and resonance -- now you're cooking! If positive and negative charges -- electro-magnetics, gravity, strong force and weak force form our solid world, and our thoughts are in fact electro-chemical transmissions, and everything in nature has a polarity -- we are experiencing the result of these forces, interacting. That's a concept for magic at its very best!
Athera's magical systems begin there, and then diversify -- how do you approach the process of manipulating that universe of forces -- do you use force of will overtop, maybe amplified or contrived, to make things change as you wish -- or if such a universe is conscious, in fact aware of itself, would you work in harmony with that beingness. In short, how might you gear your system of access to alter the mix of natural forces? In a multi layered book, and a complex society, there will be more than one field of belief, and more than one means of access.
I am writing fiction, make no mistake. However, I definitely strike to make that fantasy world deep and real enough to relate to our cultural diversity, and to the complexity of the natural world our eyes and the instruments of our current science are too coarse to perceive.
As a writer, you are known for your lyrical use of language, complex characters and interesting plots. When you started writing the Alliance of Light and Dark series, how did you choose the "voice" or writing style for that series? Were there any considerations that went into your choice?
Now this is an interesting question! Every story has its voice. This is essential to framing the tale. For this series, I deliberately chose a slow pace on the page, with detailed, intricate use of language. It demands a certain focus of attention. I fully realize this flies in the face of the "simple is better" school of thought! However, this is no simple story, but one that runs through layer upon layer upon layer of complexity, all interlocked! Therefore, put straightly, I had to slow the reader down! If I cut the action scenes to the bone, which, yes I could, then wham! you'd hit up against a magic sequence where the pace must slow to let through the multi-layered intricacy of the concept. Suddenly, in a line, we're looking at maybe nine levels of stuff going on: what the character is feeling, what they're seeing, the logic behind what's going on, and then its full range of causation, on more levels than the eye can perceive. If the rest of the books was done in a lean style, the reader would hit this scene at a "sprint." They'd impatiently try to slam through to see what happened, and in the process, come to miss everything. Not only that, but they'd never remember all the fine points that caused that scene to work in the first place.
The books do not lack for fast pace or action, just the on page style demands a high degree of attentiveness. This is required, to achieve the depth inherent in this particular story.
There are so many subtle clues as to how a character thinks and feels that are critical to letting the reader discern that character's orientation and ideology and viewpoint. If I just cut to the chase, and showed the dialogue without that added fillip of the thought and feeling behind each line of spoken words -- a reader would not have the insight to enact such a fine-tuned appraisal. They would not have the background to experience how they felt about that character's reaction. Without that level of understanding, what I'd have is chaos, since the reader's own script, thought/feeling, would go in between those blank lines. Therefore, I had to spell it all out, intricately, in detail, and let the completed experience be set on the page.
I truly wanted these books to have impact. Read them, and you will live an experience. You will walk in the characters' shoes, and you will know how they think and they feel -- and you will be in that room with them, or on that particular crowded street, or on that wild mountain, and you will remember as they lived the experience.
Not every reader wants to slow down and allow that sort of intimacy. Not every reader wants to take in those incredible depths. These books, then, are not for them! I set out to do something very real, and that very edgy state of realness will not always be comfortable, nor will it please everyone. And that's OK! I have other books written in looser style, and there are shops full of stories by other authors to choose from. Reading is such an individualistic taste. I selected to write for the involved reader, and not to strike for middle of the road ambiguity. I wanted to touch something genuine, with a distinct sense of individuality and identity. The language in these books won't let you lie to yourself. You either give in, accept the ride through the character's eyes, in which case, you will think and feel outside of yourself -- or you get out and go someplace else.
How has your love of music influenced your writing style (if at all)?
(Photo by Don Maitz)
How did you create the character of Arithon? Were there any characteristics that you were specifically trying to avoid with him?
Actually, the better way to view this would be, how did Arithon create himself? To begin with, he's a musician. Hang around with musicians, and you're likely to see a group of people who are in sensitive touch with their emotions. They hear and feel with a nuance that is immediate -- therefore, Arithon would have to have those qualities. He has mage talent, inborn, and was raised by mystics. His upbringing, then, would have schooled his self-awareness to an exacting degree -- had to have done so, for him to achieve mastery at a young age. Add his innate royal gift of compassion -- now you have the primary characteristics that drive him. Add on the template of his life experiences -- his framework of dreams, both realized and shattered, his fears, his hopes, his aspirations, and his list of things that are precious -- put these together, and set him on stage, he will react according to himself. That's how he "is" not how he was contrived to be. I can't say what I was trying to avoid -- except that kicked-to-death old stereotype, of the dark guy who does the thing with the shadows is EVIL. That is the myth I want shattered, and who better to do it than a character of such deeply caring intensity?
How did you approach writing Lysaer? What was the greatest challenge in creating this character?
Challenge is the key note, here. Lysaer's scenes are always the hardest, or at least, the most disturbing to write. He was raised to rule fairly, to put his personal needs second to the greater good of society, and he will always answer to the moral high ground. Therefore, whatever despicable thing he might be doing, he's got to believe he's the hero -- and if I get it right, the reader has to see enough of that belief, not to fall for it, but to understand to a pernicious degree that they might have, if they didn't know all the facts. Lysaer's justifications are indeed refined, intricate, noble lies. The nobility is the difficult part. It has to be there -- and because it's a lie, it's not comfortable, as an author, to go into his ideology with conviction. He plays as arrogant, but at his deepest level, he must play as a human being, totally convinced he is genuine. That's a paradox with the disturbing edges -- particularly when it rubs against the fair, right minded ruler who should be heroic -- who acts in heroic scale -- as long as one stays blinded to the overall effect on both sides of the outcome.
The battle scenes are quite violent and disturbing -- they certainly don't glorify war or violence as a way to solve problems, or make charging into war seem at all attractive or glorious. What went into your decision as to how to handle the issue of violence in this series?
I had set out to write a book that centered on a major conflict, and being something of a fusspot, I had to get the background right. Since Athera's development is not quite in lockstep with Earth's, I had to do massive research into weapons and tactics, so that when I put the battle scenes together, they would be believable. I studied campaigns, weapons, all that, from the Romans to the point where gunpowder began to shift the way wars were fought. Filled with all this information, I walked, blind, into a documentary film about the battle that occurred on Culloden Moor in Scotland. Put simply, it shattered me.
The facts of that "war" were set on screen in stark black and white, without any of the romance, any of the rosy glow put in the history texts, without any of the fluff our entertainment industry has built around Bonnie Prince Charlie, and the last rebellion of clan power in Scotland. I walked out, literally reeling. It made me replay in my mind all those factual campaigns I had just studied, but from a starkly changed perspective.
I was enraged. I felt betrayed. That I could have lived into my college years, cocooned in the myth, that the brutality of war solves anything -- that such an ugliness could ever be a justifiable means to an end, was quite horrifying. Whichever side is victorious, the dead are still brutally slaughtered. Not only that. I realized, in one hour, that society tells itself incredible lies, and that people buy them. Our schools and our educational system endorse them. Our entertainment exploits them. And on a global scale, our young men (and sometimes women) march onto the field, and pay the price, and face the wrenching reality.
Fantasy literature surely is one of the primary offenders -- you know, one side is "good" and it fights "evil" and then the heroes go home with the laurels.
Well, on that afternoon I was forced to rethink all of that, set against the harsh perspective of a good chunk of mankind's warring history. I had to admit what was not explicit in those "factual" books -- that the winners were likely just more numerous, better organized, or had a better general, or more brilliant tactics. The "great battles" were in fact horrific records of slaughter, in which good had little or nothing to say in the outcome. And there were no exceptions. Every single conflict was just butchery, of one side, or the other, or both. Then the victors wrote history. Whoever "won" -- "right" or "wrong" -- there were always indelible wounds. Lasting wisdom is not guaranteed by force, and "might" has exactly nothing to do with "right".
Here I was, in the middle of plotting this incredible manuscript, and I could not write the lie. Not anymore. And in the nature of such things, I suppose I was at the right place, at the right time -- because with such a story, very beautifully, I didn't have to.
It's not been easy. In fact, there are distinct moments when it's been downright harrowing. I recall finishing the ending scenes in Curse of the Mistwraith, shaking and drained, and wondering honestly if I had just put the proverbial bullet through my career. However, I had to stick by my conviction. Time and posterity will determine what's on that page, not me. I did what I set out to do, which was to rip the mask from killing wars for a "justifiable" cause. There is this sorrowful belief that violence can heal, but truthfully, it does not. Whether this concept has a lasting place in our literature -- the readers themselves become the final arbiters, and the ultimate judge of the impact.
The volumes to come in this series will step through a new doorway, and explore a new way of thought, maybe. Peril's Gate sets Arithon down at a crux where he must change -- in the hot seat of a society not prepared for that change. There lies the challenge of Stormed Fortress, (the next volume) and perhaps, one that must face our own world very soon. If we choose to step off the merry-go-round, if we stop trying to "solve" by killing, where do we go?
I'd like to talk about the actual creative process of writing. Would you take us through a typical writing day for you? (e.g., your surroundings, do you write on the computer, do you listen to music, do you keep a set schedule etc.)
I write in a room that was a made over garage, in my home, which is in the country. I like close contact with nature. The setting itself is too small to hold everything, therefore, try though I might, it gets cluttered. I use a computer with a flat screen, and it's surrounded with all sorts of esoteric stuff -- books, rocks, things I found hiking, sheets of piping music, niches for the cats to sleep (or else they'll sleep on my manuscript.) There is nothing fancy, except for the stereo, which is first rate. I derive much of the mood and background emotion from music, and I do not limit my CD budget. If I'm going to live writing, I'm going to do it with as much panache as I can, and that means quality sound because I can appreciate the difference.
A typical writing day? Starts early with feeding the horses, so a trip outside is first thing. I sit down to work after breakfast, and usually compose manuscript all day. In late day, after five, I might go riding, hiking, jogging, or off to a music lesson, or play my pipes. Evening, I often write more, or refine some draft, or I might read a book. I keep late hours at night, but not always. In between all this are the cats, the husband, his works in the art studio, and the usual little details of answering mail and accounting. Between novels, I like to go backpacking, or sailing, or skiing. I don't keep what I consider a set schedule -- if something interrupts, or I get diverted or fascinated by something, I try to let that spontaneity happen. So often, what I thought was a "guilty pleasure" turned out to be just exactly what I needed to write the next book!
I keep a map of Athera posted on the wall, and of course, many of the paintings of the characters are in this office.
Click here for the second part of the interview.


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Monday, April 12, 1999 Published at 12:35 GMT 13:35 UK
Looted art goes on show
Jean-Henri Riesener made furniture for the Versailles palace
A collection of art looted by the Nazis from the Rothschild family is on show in London, before it is expected to fetch Ł25m at auction.
Christie's is selling the 250 paintings, sculptures, and items of furniture after the eldest descendant of the family, Bettina Looram, decided to auction them off.
The Austrian government had to give its permission for the works to be exported - it is thought they could fetch twice as much on sale in London as they could in Vienna.
The collection belonged to the enormously wealthy Barons Louis and Alphons de Rothschild. The SS looted it in March 1938, less than 24 hours after Hitler annexed Austria.
Due to be shown at Hitler museum
Baron Alphons managed to escape from Nazi Austria - but his brother was caught by the SS and spent a year in prison.
They received their artworks back after the collection was found by American GIs hidden in a ski resort in the Austrian Tyrol.
The collection includes 31 Old Masters, including a Frans Hals portrait of Dutch merchant Tieleman Roosterman, expected to fetch up to Ł3.5m.
Christie's Old Masters specialist Alexander Hope said: "Hals is a master of characterisation. For this painting to come onto the market like this is extraordinary."
Other paintings include a portrait of Archduke Leopold Wilhelm by David Teniers, and a set of 17th century Dutch landscapes by Jacob van Ruisdael.
Suits of armour are also included in the collection, as are 16th century musical instruments, astronomic and mathematic instruments.
The medieval Rothschild Book Of Hours is also included in the sale - it alone is worth as much as Ł3m.
The works are on show at Christie's auction house in St James's, London until Thursday, and will be sold there on 8 July.
Entertainment Contents
TV and Radio
New Media


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Introductory it as Object
4.2 V it n to-infThe verb is followed by it, a noun group and a to-infinitive clause.
Most of the verbs with this pattern are concerned with how someone evaluates or judges a situation.
Drivers still consider it a challenge to negotiate the long, desolate stretches of road with few services.
I deemed it a great honor to be granted an interview with him.
I sometimes find it a strain to be responsible for the mortgage and household bills each month.
The passive pattern is it be V-ed n to-inf, where it is the Subject of the clause.
consider count deem feel find reckon think
It used to be considered a snub to leave work before the most senior person.
There is one other verb with this pattern, make. This verb has no equivalent passive pattern.
He has always made it his business to know about these things.
The classroom discussion was lively, with the instructor making it a point to call on different students instead of waiting for them to respond.


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Guest Post by Paige Tyler
Thanks so much for letting me guest blog today!
Readers often ask me how I come up with ideas for my books, so I thought I'd give you a little behind-the-scenes peek at how I came up with my new release, a paranormal erotic romance from Ellora's Cave called DEAD SEXY.
Before I say anything else though, isn't that cover too hot for words?! When the art department sent it to me, I probably gazed at it for a good ten minutes in mouth-drooling appreciation before I could email them back telling the artist it not only rocked, but totally fit the book. The hero is "Dead Sexy," after all!
Okay, back to the story and how I came up with it. First, to set the stage, I need to share a little something with you about myself. Well, about my hubby and me, actually. We love zombie movies, from the George Romero gems to Shaun of the Dead and everything in between, including "Walking Dead," the new series on AMC. You just can't go wrong with a movie full of walking dead people, can you? Well, if you've ever seen a zombie movie (or even you haven't), then you know the creatures aren't the heroes of the film. I mean, how can they be, right? They're all dead and decayed and downright unattractive, not to mention pretty damn scary. Which was why you can imagine my surprise when my hubby suggested I write an erotic romance about a zombie hero. I was like, you're kidding, right? What woman in her right mind would fall in love with a dead guy? No way could that possibly work, or so I thought.
Turns out, my hubby wasn't kidding. In fact, he started working up ideas for the story.
"The hero didn't have to be a zombie all the time," he told me. "Think outside the box - take a little literary license!"
Okay, I thought. I suppose I could be open minded.
My hubby told me that in his out-of-the-box world, the hunky hero got cursed by an evil Voodoo priestess and only turns into a zombie sometimes.
"I'm listening," I said.
"And when he does go zombie, he doesn't have to be like the kind in the movies," my hubby added. "Well, he has to look like one, you know all dead and stuff, but he doesn't have to be a mindless creature or attack humans or eat anything gross."
So, brains are completely out, thanks goodness!
"Think Jensen Ackles or Jared Padelecki, with a really, really, really dark tan - (yes, my hubby knows I've got a thing for the Supernatural hunks!) - well, maybe more gray and black than tan, but you get the idea."
I thought about that for a minute. "So, the hero's dead, but he's still sexy, is that what you're saying?"
"Exactly," he said, giving me a grin as my eyes lit up with understanding.
By that point, my hubby had pretty much sold me on the idea. Of course, I knew if I ran with it, I was going to have to sell it to a publisher, and I knew that could be tough since the hero is a zombie. But I ran with it anyway and ended up with a full-length novel. And it came out pretty damn good, if I do say so myself! I still had to find a publisher for it, though.
About this same time, It just so happens that several of my other books were in the process of being picked up by Ellora's Cave and I thought what the heck? Why not pitch it to my editor there and see what she thinks? So I did, and she told me to send it to her. She was interested to see how I handled the whole zombie-thing. Well, long story, short, she liked it. A lot! My zombie romance with it's dead-sexy hero had a home! I was thrilled and my hubby walked around for a week with a smug, "I-told-you-so" look on his face.
I've been getting the word out there about DEAD SEXY ever since I signed the contract for it and I'm thrilled with the interest from readers who can't wait to get their hands on it! I can't wait for them to read it, too!
Now that I've revealed the story behind the story, I thought I'd share the blurb and an excerpt just to whet your appetite for more!
Romance author Simone Kent thinks she might just have found the most perfect guy in all of New York City - in bed and out. But Drake Parrish is about as far from perfect as any man can get. Eight years ago, he was cursed by an evil Voodoo priestess to live part of his life as a zombie. Since then, he has lived like a recluse on New York's Upper East Side, afraid to go out for fear he'll suddenly turn into one of the walking dead.
The sex if the hottest either of them has ever experienced and Simone discovers just how naughty she can be with Drake, while he finds himself feeling things for her that he hasn't felt in a very long time. When the Voodoo priestess learns of their relationship, however, she comes after him again. She is determined to make sure he won't have a future with Simone, even if that means killing both him and the woman he loves.
You can read an excerpt from DEAD SEXY here
Hope you enjoy the excerpt and that you can't wait to read more! You can get DEAD SEXY from Ellora's Cave
You can also check out the trailer here!
If you decide to pick up DEAD SEXY, let me know how you like it!
Thanks so much Paige for stopping by, and wishing you all the best with your new book.


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For several years, I have been putting together a Collins S-line station, and earlier this week, I fired it up for the first time. This station was the top of the line, when it was produced in the 1960s, and although there have been plenty of technical innovations along the lines of improved frequency stability, image rejection and DSP, these units still sound great. Now that winter is approaching and the basement is growing chilly, I was more motivated than ever to get this tube equipment on the air.
I have had these radios packed up for quite a few years, not really wanting to ship them all over the world as we moved. Last year, I started putting them back into order. I started by looking through the archive at the Collins Collectors Association and joining their email list. Between the archive and routine access to people who know these rigs inside and out, I came up to speed in no time. I didn't see anything too amiss on my inspection of the rigs, aside from some carbon residue near the rectifier tube in the power supply. This is a common defect in these supplies — some arcing occurs from the rectifier tube to the metal cabinet, so I wasn't too worried about that, but realized that the rectifier socket would need to be replaced by a ceramic one down the road.
The most likely items to fail in rigs of this age are the electrolytic capacitors, so I went through each unit and replaced all electrolytic capacitors, plus any paper capacitors and some of the less reliable "black beauty" oil-filled caps. There is some debate about whether it is better to replace preemptively or only when there is evidence of failure, but I leaned towards the preemptive side. While I want to preserve the original engineering, I also want these units to perform well and get some actual on-the-air use. The other obvious thing that can fail are the tubes. Of course, I can't just run down to the corner store anymore and use their tube tester. To put that statement in context, these radios are just slightly older than I am.
There are a lot of patch cords that run between the station components, some audio, some RF. These and the power plugs and control connectors had degraded to the point that I wanted to replace them. I rebuilt the connecting cords and power cords using the original plugs and sockets, but for everything else, I visited Joel at RF Connection in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Conveniently, his store is about five miles from where I work, and it is packed with every connector, cable and adapter known to man. He also stocks a lot of the materials used in restoring Collins equipment, including replacement feet. Yes, I replaced the little rubber feet, because they also had degraded over time.
After inspecting the units, I took each out of its cabinet and to greater or lesser extent stripped them down. All the tubes came out and everything got a thorough cleaning. All the pots got a shot of deoxit, and other bits of mechanical tune up were performed. I replaced the burnt out panel lights with long life replacements from D.A. Buska Engineers, LLC. These LED lamps should last just about forever, which is good because it is something of a hassle to replace bulbs. It involves my wrist bending in ways that seem unnatural. However, I would think twice about using the LED lights again if I did another restoration. Their light is harsher than the original incandescent lamps, and there is some barely perceptible flicker.
After putting everything together came the smoke test. Since these rigs had been off for more than two decades, I approached this cautiously. I tested each unit separately, bringing power up slowly using a variac (auto-transformer). The power supply came up to voltage and all the supply outputs tested nominal. The receiver also powered up, and when I hooked it up to an antenna, it seemed reasonably sensitive. The band calibrator seemed to work, and put the dial right on WWV. I flipped through the different bands, and could hear signals on all of them.
The transmitter was more complicated. When I got to about 80V on the variac, a thin wisp of grey smoke wafted upwards from the power amplifier section of the transmitter. I couldn't find where the smoke was coming from, but the take home message was clear — I needed some professional help.
Even if I had not hit this snag, I would have sent the radios in for some professional servicing at this point. After such a long period on the shelf, they were in need of a laboratory realignment, which is beyond what I can do with my current equipment. I also wanted someone who really knew Collins equipment to look them over.
I contacted Peter Wittenburg at Collins Rebuilders. He is located near Annapolis, Maryland, which is close enough that I could carefully pack the rigs in my car and drive them up. It was definitely the right call — the radios got the love and attention that they deserved from an expert. Peter swapped out the rectifier in the power supply, fixed a fairly major problem in the receiver's permeability-tuned oscillator (not for the faint of heart), replaced a few tubes that had seen their day as well as a few other discrete components that were not up to spec. He ran the rig through its paces and gave me a nice report, that shows by and large, the rigs were seaworthy.
While he was performing his analysis and repairs, I picked up an Asiatic "lollipop" microphone with the proper Collins connector at a hamfest. I had previously borrowed a variac for testing, but decided to purchase one for fulltime use in the station. The Collins equipment was made for a time when the line voltage was lower than the present, and higher voltages will shorten component life. The whole station is now plugged into an isobar strip that itself is plugged into the variac, which maintains voltage at 117V RMS. The station is turned on/off with the isobar rather than each unit's power knob, as those knobs are all but irreplaceable and are prone to mechanical wearing.
Over last weekend, I made sure that my attic antennas were tuned up, presenting less than a 2:1 vSWR across their useful ranges, as the tube equipment is not tolerant of (read: smokes when confronted with) less well-behaved loads. The ionosphere was revved up as high as it has been in the last decade or so, which boded well. I made my first contact on 40m with WB8PPH ("wb8-pumpkin-pie-headquarters"), who was running a special event station for the Circleville Ohio Pumpkin Festival. I had a few more contacts with PA, IA, and IL and then Sweden, England, Croatia and the Czech Republic on 20m, and Cuba, Honduras, Mexico and finally South Africa on 10m. The received sound quality was golden, and I received favorable reports concerning my audio quality as well.
The rigs can be run in transceiver mode, where the transmitter is slaved to the receiver's VFO, or they can be run independently, with the both the receiver and transmitter VFOs in action; this is what you would have to do to operate split, for instance, as there is no other RIT/XIT function. Separate operation is also the way to go for CW operation. In transceiver mode, you would hear nothing when zero-beat to the incoming signal (naturally), and the offset in CW mode is 1.3 khz, which is impractically large. To operate CW, I picked a clear frequency and used the "cw-spot" function on the transmitter to send a low-level signal to the receiver, allowing me to adjust them to the same frequency. I did one round of calling (straight key, natch) and had an immediate reply from Northern Ireland and Bulgaria. I had a little difficulty getting the vox-balance right to accomodate semi-breakin operation (some hangtime after transmit so the relays aren't constantly clicking, but not so much that I miss the reply). According to the overseas stations, there was no problem with key clicks or chirps, so I guess we're okay on that front as well.
I've never been a big fan of sideband, but I got a big kick out of working stations with this rig, and I think I might be spending more time behind the mike this winter.


text:
Live wholly and thankfully in the season you are in. I firmly believe that's where joy abounds.
Did you know that every time you breathe, you inhale 150 million molecules Jesus exhaled while he lived on earth?
On Freedom
What if freedom...
Curiosity Didn't Kill The Cat
Stay curious.
Dear Church: Please Don't Cancel Mother's Day
Mother's need their families and village to celebrate them because we need filled-up moms in this world. We need caregivers who know their value, and feel loved and appreciated, not women who feel like "the elephant in the room" on their special day.
On Humility
Humility is a correct understanding of where we stand in relation to God. Let's quit it with the compliment-ducking, shame-inducing, condemning idea that to have humility means we must always think poorly of ourselves.
On Progress
Making progress is not merely a call to move forward.


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"Your purpose in life is to find your purpose and give your whole heart and soul to it" ― Gautama Buddha
There is another quote that pops into mind when I think of the Three of Pentacles--"Choose a job you love, and you never work a day in your life." We walk back into the world of career, family and home with the Three of Pentacles. Pentacles deal with the material--things, work, home, family, career, money. But each Pentacle has its own, shall we say, particular flavor. The Threes are about growth and expansion. And this Three holds amazing promise in it.
We greet the Three of Pentacles with three people--the artisan, the priest and the benefactor. The artisan creates the beautiful pentacle carvings on the walls of the church or monastery, while the monk and benefactor look on. They discuss his work, looking over his plans. This three deals with career in a meaty, substantial way. It brings together the Two's balance and the One's potential into a soul path. And this is what the Three is about. He is an artist, and artisan, but he is not whimsical in the slightest. He is making plans, watching them come to fruition.
There are never mistakes in the Tarot, and the backdrop of the church and monastery is important. His work, though physical and demanding, is sacred. He is blessed by the priest/monk/abbot, and he is rewarded financially by the benefactor. These three come together for one goal--a sanctuary. This relationship is mutually beneficial to all three of the participants. There is no charity, so to speak. These are people working hard to serve the Divine, the people and each other.
This card certainly harkens to the Empress III in the Major Arcana, ripe with creativity and innovation. Yet it holds its own personality. It is one of beautiful support on your path. It holds new levels of gratification, and the promise of spiritual, creative and financial fulfillment. I often pull this card for people who have figured out and are working their soul purpose. Not simply as a hobby, or volunteer basis, but someone getting paid for work they feel is their soul path. They have all three pillars of career fulfillment--creativity, spiritual growth and financial comfort. This card comes when someone is on their path, or working their path. There also is an implicit understanding that this fulfillment comes with partners--the monk and benefactor. We do not work in a vacuum and part of the fulfillment comes with the human connection element.
There are no "gifts" in this card. The Artisan works and worked damn hard to get to the point that he is trusted with the heart of the Church. He has poured his own heart and soul into his passion and craft. And it shows in every thing he does. As you can see, he doesn't even put down his tools to talk to his benefactor and priest. He continues working. Hard work blesses this artisan. He has worked hard to hone his craft and become confident in his expertise.
There is a strong creative side to the Three of Pentacles. This is the Card of the Artisan after all, but it can really cover any path where you feel creative in some way. I use that word often in this blog. Most often this is associated with the traditional arts--music, painting, writing, sculpture, dance, etc...but I do not mean to imply that when I say creative. I mean, how do you approach your work? How do you approach life? Creativity is a way of being, rather than a traditional artsy fartsy endeavor. Think of how you approach problems on the job. Are you working your creative muscle there?
This card comes when the Seeker becomes an expert, or competent in their chosen field. They are drawing clients and customers, and on the path of financial stability and professional achievement. It can indicate getting a degree or finishing training in some way and moving to the level of artisan, rather than apprentice. It also means that the Seeker is receiving some financial and spiritual fulfillment in their chosen career. They feel that their work is important and helping others. They are in service. This can be a cheerful Starbucks worker who smiles at each customer, to a social worker who helps destitute children. Spirit does not necessarily distinguish between these two types of service. They are equally important.
Reversed, this card can indicate someone is not working up to their potential. Or rather they have all the talent, but none of the hard work and drive to push their potential into a true career. They may be whining about how people won't buy from them, or hire them, but the truth is that they themselves are not working hard enough. It can also indicate that they are still apprentices and needing more direction in their career. The lack here is of workmanship, drive and hard work. These are the driving forces that make the Upright Three of Pentacles successful. This card also may be pulled when the Seeker is feeling unfulfilled in their work, and the streams of income are beginning to dry up. This is Spirit's way of pushing that person to make some major changes in their outlook and career.
As always, I'd love to hear your take on the Three of Pentacles, and any Tarot card I cover here. I am thinking about offering some on-line courses for Tarot in the upcoming months. If you are interested, please let me know by sending me an email at firstname.lastname@example.com.


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eurotrip part deux
We had a pleasant three-hour train ride from Amsterdam to Paris. I tried my darnedest to get quaint French county-side pictures. I was trying to get the cute little town with the church and its chapel. Out of god-knows-how-many-picture-attempts, I maybe managed to get a few decent ones.
Arriving at our Paris home, we were met by the house manager, Mr. Marcel. What a delight he was! He manages the apartment for the French owners, who live, coincidentally, in New York City. Mr. Marcel is a spry, charming 82-year-old who showed us the whole house which consisted of four floors, 5 bedrooms, 3 baths, and a roof terrace – a HUGE place for 3 ladies. He was very helpful in telling us where to go in the neighborhood and how to get around. On our departure, he called us a cab and saw us off.
Day 1:
Cimetière du Montparnasse (gorgeous, peaceful cemetery with really pretty and ornate mausoleums)
Jardin du Luxembourg
Cathédrale Notre Dame
La Seine (right before the torrential downpour)
Day 2:
Château de Versailles
Tour Eiffel
Champs-Éysées & Arc de Triomphe de l'Étoile
Those are pics from the first two days in Paris. I took over 1000 pics in France. It's such a beautiful city and my photo skills don't do it justice.
Next up: the last few days of Paris.
- Posted in: Drinking ♦ Eating ♦ Friendship ♦ Fun ♦ Life ♦ Photography ♦ Travel
- Tagged: drink, Eurotrip, friends, friendship, Paris, travel


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I want to add some more to my letter on the value of life (and death) among Mormons. So last letter I focused on the God aspect of it (sort of, lol). Now I want to focus on the average Joe aspect. I've been reading a book on the history of the AIDS epidemic from 1978-1985: the beginning of it in the United States, Europe, and Africa. I confess that I cry while reading this book. It just breaks my heart to know and realize how the world actually works. So when I'm finished reading this book, I am soooo going to read something lighthearted and cheery.
Reading this book helped me realize that respect for life is conditional among my friends (Mormons and non-Mormons) and family. I grew up in a family where war was viewed as being inevitable and unavoidable. War was something to glory about. Death was virtually ignored because that was just depressing, you know? Capital punishment was seen as necessary and vital to the progress and security of society. Social deviants, particularly homosexuals to my father, did not really deserve life. Oh sure, no one should organize a mob and kill them, but they were disgusting, deviant individuals that mar the good nature of "average" Americans. Who these average Americans are, I have no idea to this day. While watching television one time, he said with disgust how terrible it was that the government was giving more money to fund the AIDS research. In his opinion it was the gays' own faults for contracting this lethal disease.
I will state simply here that while I don't use "support," I do recognize the ugly truth that sometimes war is an option that must be undertaken. The why's behind this are for another time. That same attitude is also what underlies my grudging stance of allowing capital punishment to exist (in other words, why I don't actively go out and work to remove it).
Growing up in Northern California, I witnessed friends and strangers alike cry out angry words against Muslim countries during 9/11 and in the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. I am ashamed to admit that I supported such actions by the United States (particularly the invasion of Iraq). Several of my friends seemed to see war as same as fighting some kid after school with a ring of kids around you to watch it and cheer you on. Our enemies were wrong and we were right. Even as a believer, I found church statements and church members' support of war disturbing. How quick people were to cite passages for going to war and fighting over the passages of peace, forgiveness, and valuing life.
The main point I have in these two letters is that Mormons do not respect life, as I have come to understand. They may give lip service and fight for fetuses' rights but they do not value life itself. Life is cheapened by such doctrines as the afterlife and resurrection. It is devalued in the face of war, murder, genocide, and apathy towards such acts. Life is excused in the face of mounting starvation, human suffering, and even distance between those suffering and those not.
But can it be excused? I mean, aren't we all human and therefore prone to errors? After all, the West once actively participated in slavery for hundreds of years but it eventually learned from its mistakes, right? After all, we seem to learn from our mistakes. Nobody's perfect. The Church is a reflection, at times, of the people that are living their lives under the counsel of God and becoming better people, right? All these things may be true. And I will never deny the fact that there are those within the LDS Church that exhibit a better understanding than I do about the sanctity of life and live according to those values better than I do. But there are also those outside of the LDS Church in other religions and organizations that do the same. There is, in my opinion, no concerted effort to value life and no real interest in interpreting scripture and theology in such a way as to respect the priceless gift of life through all of its stages.
Do you agree, Kiley?
Your friend,
That Crazy MoFo


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Put all batter ingredients in mixing bowl and beat well. Spread over bottom of a glass 9x13 inch baking dish. It will be fairly thin. Make the following sauce:
Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in saucepan. Add water, butter and maple flavoring, if used. Bring to a boil and pour evenly over batter in pan. Bake at 350 degrees F for 35-45 minutes. Cut into squares and serve white warm with whipped topping or ice cream. Yield: 8 or more servings. If desired, 1/2 cup pecans or walnuts can be added to batter before baking.
By Robin from Washington, IA
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!
Recipe directions call for water to be added to the sauce pan with the brown sugar and cinnamon but it doesn't say how much water to add?
How much water do you put in the sauce?
Add your voice! Click below to comment. ThriftyFun is powered by your wisdom!


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Become a member of Kol Israel Foundation
Kol Israel Foundation members are a unique strength who have helped shape and maintain the organization. Our work to honor the lives of Survivors and preserve the legacies and lesson of the Holocaust is made possible by individual donations and volunteer efforts.
Building and maintaining the kind of organization that can properly preserve and transmit the legacy of the Holocaust requires significant financial resources. Dues-paying members will pay reduced admission rates for programs with fees, and will also receive a free renewable listing of up to six names in a special Memorial section that will be created on our website.
Effective July 1, 2017, paid membership is available at three levels:
|Age 40 and under- Individual or Household
|Over 40 years old- Individual
|Over 40 years old- Household
Our survivors will be entitled to free membership


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Flint & Tinder presents Loss Machine
Created & Performed by Kyle Loven
Everything is somewhere. Part installation, part image-driven theater, Loss Machine unearths a world of lost items, misplaced thoughts, and fractured journeys all housed within an intricately detailed set. Intimate in scale, this wistful one-man show combines puppets, objects, sound, and original music, in a visual exploration of loss and discovery.
In a tower filled with life's debris, a collection of characters move through an ever-changing apparatus with their shared emotional journey driving the mechanical process forward. Digging through layers of the everyday and the fantastical, the piece examines what is found when all has been lost.
The Artist
Kyle Loven returns to Flint & Tinder after his acclaimed 2010 work, my dear Lewis. Kyle Loven is currently a Seattle-based artist. His image-driven work combines puppetry, projections, objects, and other art forms with live actors. His original work has been seen in Amsterdam, Taipei, New York, Minneapolis, Portland, Orlando, and Seattle. In addition to his original creations, Kyle has worked most extensively with Michael Sommers and Susan Haas' Open Eye Figure Theatre but has also performed with Theatre de la Jeune Lune and The Children's Theatre Company. Kyle is the recipient of grants from the Jim Henson Foundation and numerous Seattle arts organizations.
Click here to visit Kyle's website.
Loss Machine is presented with generous support from the Jim Henson Foundation.
Photos by Tyler Korth
""...a little bit Edward Gorey, a little bit Samuel Beckett, and a little bit Czech surrealism... He's amazing... This young man could change the face of puppetry.""
— —Brendan Kiley, The Stranger, "Genius Awards: The Short List"
""...one of the most creative shows this season... Loven borders on genius.""


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College Sports
Sacramento State football hit with NCAA penalties
The NCAA on Wednesday placed Sacramento State's football program on a one-year probation for violations that occurred when Marshall Sperbeck coached the team and Terry Wanless was the athletic director.
The NCAA said the program violated the school's substance-abuse policy, allowed impermissible recruiting by a former assistant coach and conducted nonvoluntary summer activities. All are considered secondary violations "intended to provide more than a minimal but less than a substantial advantage."
"Additionally, the former head football coach did not promote an atmosphere of compliance and was responsible for violations that occurred in his program," the NCAA said in its report.
Sperbeck, who resigned in April 2014 after seven years as head coach, and the former assistant coach are not identified by the NCAA. Aaron Ingram was Sac State's recruiting coordinator from 2011 until his resignation in 2014.
The report said during the 2010-11, 2012-13 and 2013-14 academic years, Wanless, who also isn't named in the report, failed to follow the school's substance-abuse policy when six players were allowed to compete in the next game after "testing positive for banned substances."
Under an agreement between Sac State and the NCAA, the football program has forfeited one full scholarship for the 2014 and 2015 seasons. Sac State reduced by two – from 30 to 28 – the number of offers it made to incoming players for 2014-15 and 2015-16.
As part of Sac State's self-imposed penalties, coaches also weren't allowed to recruit off campus during the bye week during the fall of 2014 and 2015; there was a 20 percent reduction to 65 days for the spring 2014 evaluation period; the school did not require participation in summer workouts in 2014 and 2015; and fall and spring football hours were reduced by two hours a week.
The university also was fined $5,000, but the NCAA did not place restrictions on the Hornets' participation in the playoffs for this season or the next.
"We accept all the penalties – the ones we imposed and the ones imposed by the NCAA," said Sac State athletic director Bill Macriss. "We made mistakes, and we accept the punishment. The silver lining is that we have improved our checks and balances, increased our compliance staff and will be better through this."
If Sperbeck returns to coaching at an NCAA school from Nov. 4, 2015, through Nov. 3, 2018, he will have to complete a suspension encompassing 30 percent of one season, according to the report. If the assistant returns to coaching, his recruiting activities "must be restricted." Sperbeck, now the vice president of development at Jesuit High School, and the assistant accepted the NCAA's penalties on Oct. 7. Sperbeck would not comment to The Bee on the record.
The NCAA Division I Committee on Infractions noted that Sperbeck agreed that he "failed in his head coaching responsibilities" at Sac State.
"He failed to promote an atmosphere of compliance because he participated in and had knowledge of voluntary workout violations and he failed to monitor the former assistant football coach," the report said.
The NCAA said the assistant coach violated recruiting rules for more than four years when he engaged in impermissible in-person, off-campus contacts and 144 impermissible phone and text contacts to 19 prospects.
"After visiting a number of high schools in 2012 and 2014, the former assistant coach documented the interactions in 2012 and provided a write-up to the former head coach," the report said. "The former assistant coach acknowledged that he knew when contacting recruits that the calls and texts placed were against NCAA rules, but he continued in an attempt to 'keep up' with other schools."
The NCAA said the football program violated voluntary athletic-related activity rules during the summers of 2010 through 2014 when it required student-athletes to attend workouts. The NCAA said Hornets coaches took attendance and occasionally gave penalties for nonparticipation or late arrivals.
Wanless, Sac State's AD for 12 years and author of the program's substance-abuse policy, took responsibility for allowing those athletes who had positive drug tests to continue playing. The NCAA report said Wanless failed to follow Sac State's – essentially his own – written policy and violated NCAA Bylaw 10.2 when he did not suspend the players for the first game following a first positive drug test and did not cancel for a year the athletic aid for two athletes who tested positive a second time.
"I would point out, the kids didn't escape punishment but they didn't miss the next game as the policy is written," said Wanless, who now lives in Lexington, Ky. "I thought I had the flexibility, and I was acting in the best interest of the student-athlete. I stand behind the decision. There wasn't anything malicious."
He lauded the NCAA for its handling of the matter.
"I think the NCAA infractions committee was fair," Wanless said. "It was a decision made in the best interest of the student-athlete. There isn't any postseason ban or things like that, so the process works. Some mistakes were made, including my own, by good people. But you have to be accountable for those mistakes."
As part of Sac State's corrective actions, it intended to discipline Wanless by making him ineligible for raises or performance bonuses for the 2013-14 fiscal year and requiring him to attend a 2014 NCAA regional rules seminar at his own expense. But Wanless announced his retirement before the completion of the investigation, effective at the end of June in 2014.
After receiving a 10-page anonymous letter, Sac State began an internal investigation in January 2014 and provided the NCAA with results in June 2014. The NCAA began its investigation that September.
The NCAA noted that Sac State has taken 34 corrective actions that included suspensions, admonishments and education of football staff to ensure that similar violations don't occur in the future.
Macriss said these include hiring of a new assistant athletic compliance director; allocating space for a compliance office and maintaining a presence in the football building to provide on-site support for the football staff; and having football coaches use cellphones with compliance software.
Macriss and Sac State compliance director Katherine Zedonis met with the coaching staff and players after practice Wednesday morning to alert them about the NCAA's announcement.
"I outlined the nature of the penalties and wanted to let them know that we are committed to having a successful program, but in the right way," Macriss said.
Bill Paterson: 916-326-5506, @SacBee_BillP


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The auto industry has made an amazing recovery since the financial crisis, with U.S. automakers having seen stratospheric growth in sales. That has not only helped their stocks but also lifted the prospects for the companies that supply it with vital systems and components that go into today's high-performance vehicles. One of the big beneficiaries of the rise in auto sales is Autoliv (NYSE:ALV), which is the company responsible for making many of the airbag protection systems, seat belts, and other safety equipment that you'll find in new cars and trucks. In Thursday morning's fourth-quarter financial report, Autoliv showed just how well it has jumped on its money-making opportunity, boosting profit substantially beyond what investors had expected to see. Yet some investors question whether Autoliv can keep up its pace going into 2015. Let's take a closer look at Autoliv and its prospects over the coming year.
How Autoliv motored forward
Autoliv dramatically outperformed its own expectations both for revenue and operating margins, which contributed to a big boost in earnings for the company. Autoliv had sales of $2.35 million, with gains in organic revenue coming in at around 5%, well above the 2% it had originally projected. Similarly, adjusted operating margins came in at 10.1%, ahead of its 9.5% target and helping to produce adjusted earnings per share of $1.81, which was more than 10% higher than the $1.63-per-share consensus estimate among those following the stock.
Autoliv's segment results accentuated just how difficult it was for the company to overcome the impact of a strong U.S. dollar. Revenue for the airbag segment fell 0.9%, and seat-belt-related sales dropped a more precipitous 3.5% for the quarter. Yet currency impacts were responsible for about five percentage points of declines, and so on an organic currency-neutral basis, Autoliv saw growth of about 4% in airbags and 2% in seat belts. Side-impact airbag systems were especially strong, even as passenger airbags showed weakness.
One small but growing segment of Autoliv's business taps the active safety device market, with items like rearview cameras, night-vision systems, and driver-assistance equipment helping to drive segment revenue up 40%. With major customers including Mercedes, Jeep, and BMW, Autoliv has helped pioneer active safety systems and could continue seeing positive results in the future.
CEO Jan Carlson expressed optimism about the results. In addition to the solid results, Carlson mentioned how "Autoliv returned a record $811 million to our shareholders through dividends and buybacks," demonstrating the commitment the company has to its investors.
What does Autoliv's road ahead look like?
Looking forward, Carlson announced that the company would reorganize into two segments, with one focused on passive safety systems while the other combines the active-safety business into a broader electronics division. With a goal of reaching annual sales of $2 billion for the Electronics segment by 2019, with $1 billion of that coming from sales of active-safety products, Autoliv clearly sees the potential of new technology to revolutionize automotive safety.
Yet even with these positive moves, Autoliv still sees financial hurdles ahead. Although its outlook projects 3% higher organic revenue for the current quarter and 6% growth for the full year, Autoliv believes that adverse currency effects will send overall sales down almost 5% for the quarter, which is worse than investors currently expect. Similarly, a strong dollar will likely wipe out organic sales growth for 2015, leaving the company with minimal gains in reported revenue.
Nevertheless, Autoliv continues to have confidence in its own prospects. During the fourth quarter, the company bought back about 1.9 million shares, spending $186 million. Moreover, Carlson sees more opportunities later in the year, noting that "[o]ur full year growth rate for active safety will be affected by the fact that new launches will mainly come in the later part of 2015." As Autoliv spends more on research and development, the payoff from its initiatives could grow even larger.
Despite the negative impact of the dollar, investors were pleased about Autoliv's results, sending shares up more than 5% by midday. As long as Autoliv can keep moving forward even as economic challenges hit key areas like the eurozone, then shareholders can expect stock prices to overcome short-term currency impacts and reflect the rising confidence in Autoliv's ability to maintain its strong relationships with its supply customers.


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If all babies are cute, why there be so many ugly people in the world. - Sir Charles of Barkley
Note: When I use the term 'ugly baby' I am using it metaphorically. I'm referring to projects where the costs are relatively high and the potential rewards are relatively low. These costs/rewards can be intangible as well. Also, you may substitute program, product, policies, etc. for "project".
Recently a friend of mine on a knowledge sharing team had an initiative to try a certain software platform for collaboration and develop a quick user guide to help others start using it. This experiment was one she chose herself and at first she was energetic and determined. But as the weeks went by her enthusiasm waned and no progress was made. Wanting to help I took a look at the platform myself and it was soon apparent, the baby was terribly ugly. This assignment would be more work than we thought and without a lot to gain from it. At our next meeting we agreed to scrap the idea. She felt that a weight had been lifted from her shoulders.
1) Start early - because the baby is not getting any prettier: If things don't look good early on, don't hold out for hope that it will "all work out in the end." Be brutally honest and get rid of it. Otherwise you'll regret it later.
TIP - Call for a critical look at things at the began rather than getting everyone together for a review at the end. Seth Godin calls this "thrashing" and it belongs early on vice at the end of a project.
2) Be objective - your babies aren't better than anybody else's: Sure you conceived it and nutured it to health. You protected it from a cruel world and want to see it thrive. But that emotional attachment you've grown to this lifeless idea is blinding you to reality. Be willing to let go if deep down you know it to be true.
TIP - Having meaningful relationships with others to the level that they're comfortable telling you your baby is ugly is golden. If they do so, don't attack them - thank them.
3) Don't worship outliers - just because so-n-so succeeded against all odds doesn't make it right to ignore ugliness: Everyone wants to be the next Facebook or a similar success story, but you don't hear about the thousands of identical cases that went down in flames. Luck is a huge contributor to success in business and other areas of life. Don't be a fool, and bet that your baby will beat the odds and be a success. Remember, that's how casinos get rich, by suckers thinking that probability doesn't apply to them.
TIP - Again this is where outside advice can be invaluable. Without the emotional attachment, they can provide you with good feedback on your real chances of success.
4) Admit that it just might be bad timing - don't throw the baby out with the bathwater: So the baby's ugly now, but maybe it's a late bloomer? Try setting this project aside for the time being. This can ease to blow of calling someone's baby ugly.
TIP - When you do this make sure you document why it wasn't favorable to try it out now. That way if you consider bringing this baby out again you can ask yourself, "What has changed that makes this project more viable now than before?"
Have you had run-ins with ugly babies before? Share your war stories and advice in the comments below.


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Classical Guitar Lessons
Our classical guitar lessons are tailored to suit the level, goal and needs of the individual student. This course offers students the very basics of playing one and two string melodies, to scales, technique development, theory, sight reading and preparation for graded exams (Trinity College London & ABRSM).
Classes are 30 minutes, once a week, unless students are at a higher level.
Participating students will need a Classical guitar to bring to class and practice on at home. Mezzo offers an instrument rental scheme, where instruments are available to rent for €40 per academic term.
We are always happy to work with students who have no desire to complete exams and wish to play for pure enjoyment.
Classical Guitar Teachers:
- Chien Buggle
- Tomas O'Durcain
- Dan O'Neill
- Aisling Roberts
(Click on MEZZO Team for more information on our teachers)


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Be Mindful Card Deck for Teens
Order Your Copy
The Be Mindful Card Deck for Teens can supplement the MBSR-T sessions.
If using the cards other than as part of the 8-session MBSR-T program, there is no right or wrong way to use them. A mindful instructor working with a teen individually can also choose a particular card that might be relevant to that teen's issues, wants, and/or needs.
Teens can also use them by themselves, or with friends or family. They can choose a card at random or begin with the front of the deck and work their way through.
The deck offers three types of cards: PAWS, SelfCARE, and ACORN.
PAWS: Pay Attention With Senses
These cards are centered on developing foundational mindfulness skills. They focus on being mindful through paying attention to your senses in anything you do.
SelfCARE: Self-Compassion, Self-Acceptance, Self-Respect, Self-Esteem
These cards focus on being aware of and creating positive, beneficial, and healthy relationships with yourself and others.
ACORN: Always Consider Other Responses Now
These cards are about getting out of your mind and stuck thinking. Using them, you can learn new ways of thinking and responding to people, places, things, and situations.


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I will be at the Bermondsey Street Festival on September 20th. This an annual celebration of music, dance, arts, cuisine and creativity in South London, SE1, and gets better every year. Lets hope the recent good weather holds up! I'll be sharing my double stall space with Martin from Ministry of Words with a great selection of prints and cards, so come down and say hello. We look forward to seeing you there.
Back to All Events
Earlier Event: June 28Harris Girls' Academy, June 28th, 1pm - 5pm, SE22 0NR
Later Event: November 30Friends of Dulwich College Christmas Fair 2014


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I use an artists A5 sketch book and pencil to plan for upcoming shoots. I sketch out individual frames of ideas to use as a guide on the day of the shoot. Some I end up using and some I don't. But I know that I have something that I can use if inspiration doesn't show up on cue!
Sometimes a sketch will springboard from the original idea into a completely different direction, but it gives me a starting point. I have a portrait shoot this weekend and the request is "black and white and unusual". I have a few sketches, I might use some none or all of them, but I know that I have ideas and somewhere to start. I'm also lucky enough to do whatever crazy ideas I come up with.


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The Problem My stereo receiver is from the 70s and has a single AUX input. When we have people over, there is no simple way to let people play music without unplugging TV connection, adding an RCA -> 1/8 Stereo cable, and making people plug in directly/leave their phone by the receiver.
The Solution
Add an intermediary device that people can stream to via Bluetooth, which outputs via RCA to the receiver.
Old HiFi receivers! Hardwood (or veneer) + polished metal.
Design Process
Fabrication Process
Electronics Fabrication Process