text:
Read the blog? Like getting stuff for free? Consider a $0.99 donation to help me continue to create great content. Or if you want to read the book faster, try buying the print version.
– – –
Chapter Eighteen
As the sun reached the apex of its climb on the third day, a guard on the northern perimeter of the camp noticed horsemen coming in on the horizon. Luik was summoned and stood beside him, along with Grinddr and a few of the other Dibor.
"Jrio, my Lord," said the warrior on watch.
"Aye, but with too few men," Luik noticed. Of the two tens and five horses that drew near, only half of them bore riders.
"Something's amiss," Grinddr spoke up. The pack grew larger, a billowing dust cloud behind them. The shapes of the men became more distinct, and soon Luik noticed large packs on the backs of the riderless horses. His stomach churned.
"Bodies?" Cage questioned.
But no one spoke. They just stared and watched. Hoping. Dreading.
Men from all over the camp gathered around the High King. They spoke in hushed tones, but soon said nothing at all. The anticipation was palpable. Only the rhythm of horse hoofs beat through the ground. The dust was thicker and the scene more disheartening with every moment that passed. Soon the herd of horses was upon them, and the awaiting group could clearly make out the sacks slung over the animals. Yellow colored cloths were wrapped around man-sized bundles, each lashed to a board, presumably a litter.
No one dared say a thing.
Luik looked but did not see any sign of Jrio, nor of Fyfler or any of the brothers from Somahguard. He looked to the rider in the lead, moving toward him as he slowed. The man spoke before the King could open his mouth.
"Is all well, my King?"
Luik was a bit taken aback. "Aye, but I would ask the same of you."
"Forgive me, my Lord, but the whole lot of you looks as though you'd just watched your brothers fall in battle," the man replied. He then noticed everyone was eyeing the bundles quite hesitantly. "Ah! There is no cause for alarm," he smiled, quite relieved for them. "This is King Jrio's doing."
"He lives?" Cage asked.
"Of course he lives! Did you think us slaughtered in the King's own realm?"
"Well then, good man, is there a reason he is not among you?" Luik questioned.
The man beamed. "He said he'd prefer to trade the back of a horse for something more—how did he put it?—exhilarating is the word he used."
Luik looked to Grinddr and was about to speak when the man pointed from atop his horse. "Here he comes now!"
Luik turned to look along the newly carved coastline and walked past the horses. He blinked in eerie disbelief. The rest of the warband began mumbling among themselves, obvious curiosity in their voices.
"I can't believe it," Cage said. "I've never seen anything like it!"
In the distance were more than ten brightly colored yellow sails, flying like odd swooping gulls that dipped and rose in the wind. Each one was bowed, curved against the air and diving toward the sea as if about to plunge for fish, only to recover and surge skyward at the last moment. Barely visible to the eye were thin lines that led from each sail to a single man on the water, each erect, skimming along the surface and holding to a bar between both hands. Luik walked more quickly, a grin creeping across his face. Among the five men in the water, he noticed Jrio's form in the lead. His feet were affixed to some sort of board which he rode over the waves, a wake kicking up behind him.
"That's incredible!" Cage hollered and slapped the High King on the back. Luik glanced to his right and caught Grinddr's eyes. The Immortal simply shrugged with an awkward smile. Then all three looked back to the horses and everything made sense.
By mid-afternoon Jrio and his team had unraveled the packs on the horses, set up the diji-hi, or water flyers as Jrio called them, and laid out the wooden boards. The finely woven canopies were expertly crafted, the yellow fabric bearing the crest of Trennesol—a gull hovering over a leaping dolphin. This novelty was something Jrio said his clan was known for, though no one outside of Trennesol was familiar with the invention.
"It's something my father and I were working on," Jrio said proudly. "Our tribes took to the sport quickly," as any Trennesolian would with their long heritage in sailing. "I gathered these from a small village just north of us on the coast."
Thin lines made from terren root fibers were laid out on the ground and affixed to a wooden dowel about the length of a sword's handle and the width of a man's arm. Jrio demonstrated to everyone how to hoist the sail into the air and maneuver it by turning the bar. But when he passed the dowel and flying canopy to the others, everyone realized just how much power was at their control, and sometimes not at their control. One man was picked right off his feet, dangling from the bar and hoisted a tree-length into the sky before letting go and slamming into the ground. He was no worse for wear, but his pride was far from intact.
"It's all right," Jrio comforted as he raced to help the man up, others fetching the collapsing diji. "It's not easy. But you'll adapt sure enough."
Jrio and his team continued throughout the remainder of the day to give each man a turn with the sail and bar, more than one hundred diji aloft, all swooping like giant yellow birds. And before the sun set and the winds died, most took a turn with the diji in the water. Jrio demonstrated how to enter the water along the shore, diji aloft, and straddle the wooden board. As he steered the canopy overhead, plunging it toward the horizon, the bar jerked in his hands and he surged forward on the board. Within moments the plank was on plane and he stood, riding it just as many of the ocean-dwelling clansmen did; the only difference was that Jrio didn't have a wave. With the diji-hi he was the wave.
Jrio rode about, carving water with the board by leaning back against the strong pull of invention. He swerved this way and that, even changing direction numerous times to stay close to shore so everyone could see.
"Now he's just showing off," Cage muttered.
"He certainly makes it look easy," Luik added. "Think everyone can learn?"
"If not, I'm sure Jrio will be glad to carry them across."
"But that may hinder his style," Luik mused, winking at Cage. As if on cue, Jrio pulled violently on the bar, whizzing the canopy in a wild change of direction overhead; the diji-hi hoisted him clear off the water's surface, but not before Jrio grabbed the board and brought it with him, twisting in the air as he went sailing skyward. Everyone held their breath as he continued to climb, suspended in mid-air, before gently landing back in the water and continuing on in his course. The warband let up a mighty whoop, applauding the feat.
"Correction," Cage added, "now he's showing off."
• • •
Just after dawn the next morning, Jrio and Luik had the men packed and ready. The winds were strong out of the northeast, making it an easy reach to the far shore. The horses were loosed of their burdens and tack, and then sent on their way back to their homeland in Jerovah; once on the other side of the new channel, the warband would have to make it on foot.
Based on everyone's performance the evening before, Jrio selected those who most easily took to the diji-hi and instructed them on the procedure for the crossing. Luik, despite his wounds, was one of them, and he listened eagerly. Because there were more men than there were diji-hi, each crossing would need half of the men to return, each bearing the burden of an extra board and rolled-up canopy. It was not impossible, but they would need the most agile and proficient riders to execute the plan. Those that simply couldn't manage the crossing were given the task of finding timber to construct rafts. But with scant few trees at their disposal, and Grandath still too far away to be of use, the rafts would be few in number.
By mid morning the first group was wading into the surf. The winds were picking up which, while making it easier to keep the sails aloft, also meant rougher seas. A number of the men were tossed about, falling off their boards, their sails tumbling into the sea. Jrio strode through the waist-high water, helping steady as many of the warriors as he could. With a little guidance and encouragement, the first wave was off, sailing across the channel on a single tack. Most stood on their boards, but more than a few remained seated, content to be dragged through the sea and not risk losing their balance.
In all, the first trip across was a success. Half the men stayed while the others returned with board and bundle tightly wound and carried under their arm. Maneuvering the bar with only one hand was much more challenging, many of the men choosing to sit down as standing was simply too awkward.
Upon their return, the bound diji-hi were rolled out, their sails hoisted skyward, ready for the next man. Luik steadied the sail and prepared to hand it off to a man just beside him. When only one hand reached for the bar, Luik instructed him.
"You'll need both hands," he said. Luik looked from the beautiful canopy soaring above to the man next to him. It was Sheffy, son of Wildaburn. He was suddenly embarrassed, but equally delighted to see him again, having not even noticed his whereabouts over the last few days. "I—I didn't mean—"
"No harm done," Sheffy said with a smile. "It's good to see you too, my King. I think I can manage just fine," he said, nodding at the sail above.
"Aye, that you will, Sheffy. Of that I have full confidence." Luik felt forever bonded to the little man, his conversion back to the land of the living a momentous miracle for all those who lived to remembered it. Luik knew this man had much to be grateful for and would never again begrudge an indecency against him. His was the joy of knowing his life was afforded him, and no more. Whether one less hand, or one less leg, it did not matter so much as long as he awoke another day to see the light of the sun. Luik studied him as he edged to the shore and, with no little effort, sat atop his board and set off across the channel, smiling as he went.
A gentle tug on his tunic startled Luik. He turned to see Fia behind him.
"My dear friend," he smiled and knelt down to her level. "How do you fare?"
"When do I get my turn?" she asked without room for argument.
"Fia, the task is one not even every full-grown man has the strength for, let alone a fair lady like yourself."
"You are calling me weak?" She balled her fists and locked her arms.
"Easy there, child," he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. "You are certainly far from weak. Still, I would have you ride with Jrio." Fia looked over at the King of Trennesol as he helped a sea-swollen man back onto his board. Jrio's handsome look brought the color to the little girl's fair face. "Will you mind the company?" Luik asked. She bashfully looked down between her feet. "As I said," he concluded, "you'll make the trip with Jrio. See you on the other side." He tousled her sandy hair with his hand and sent her running to the shore.
The air was hot; the sun soared high by the time the last trip was made. Luik and the remaining Dibor, along with the Immortals, who seemed equally suited for the diji-hi, raced along in the strength of the strong winds. Luik's board skimmed across the waters, cresting waves and ripping across the swells. He found himself quite enjoying the sport and wondered why Jrio hadn't shown him sooner. He raced west but found himself gazing to the southern horizon. Facing the Great Forest, Luik couldn't help but notice that the intense black that hung over the region was growing. Ever darker, ever wider. He knew Grandath was being consumed, and he could only assume that Morgui was on the hunt. The traitor wanted Ot. He knew it.
And yet the ground had torn, and the sea had divided the land. Was this rift in Trennesol simply a diversion? Was this Morgui's means of delaying Luik's warband? If so, his powers were far greater than Luik had imagined, possibly growing stronger. Or was Creation purging itself of disease, to extinguish the flames that burned her from within? If so the timing was far from optimal with regard to their journey home. Or perhaps, was this the Swift Sure Hand of the Most High, trying to keep Luik from returning to Mt. Dakka? And why would He do so? Was the city compromised and the greater need now in Ot? What did this mean for his companions?
Luik wrestled all of these thoughts in the span of a breath. Doubt filled his spirit, stirring up endless conflict. He was eager to get on with things, to know the answers. Now. He had never tasted the bitterness of anxiety as he had over these last few days. It was something he despised, like a rotting corpse inside his flesh. But even with the disgust, he could not shake it off. He could not stop being anxious. The more he entertained it, the stronger the grasp became. He hated it! But he could not resist it. It tightened around his throat, squeezing his chest. Even as the High King savored the sea air and the priceless moment of ease, riding across the waves, he knew his integrity as a leader was being assaulted once again.
Luik shook his head but could not pull his attention from the scene in the south, where black smoke blotted out the sky. Morgui would destroy the Scriptorium if he could. Even the Great Libraries, too. But Luik knew there was something more that Morgui wanted, something he wished to uncover; this, the means to an easy victory. And there would be no stopping him then.
– – –
Read the blog? Like getting stuff for free? Consider a $0.99 donation to help me continue to create great content. Or if you want to read the book faster, try buying the print version.


text:
Know & Tell is a consumer group from Fleishman-Hillard. Just answer a short survey and you may be matched up with companies looking for people in the know. This may include product samples as well as surveys. Go here to sign up.
Know & Tell
April 27, 2010 by Rachel
About Rachel
Rachel Akers writes about crafts, recipes, and features the adventures of a family of 4. It is always crazy but I wouldn't change it for the world! Comments or questions? Talk to me on Facebook or Twitter or sign up for our RSS feed to have future articles delivered to your feed reader.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
January 1, 2015 – December 31, 2015
The Rules:
- This challenge begins January 1, 2015 and ends Dec 31, 2015.
- You may sign up anytime during the year.
- I won't be creating different levels. Read as little or as many books as you want.
- You may include books of any format including traditional books, ebooks, or audiobooks.
- Books may be YA, adult, horror, romance, etc.
- You may reread books.
- Books may count towards other reading challenges.
- Use the hashtag #2015ReadingBites
- If you could be so kind, please place the The Reading Bites Challenge banner on your blog to help spread the word.
- Please link back to this blog, post about it on Facebook, Tweet about it, and so on to help spread the word.
This reading challenge is hosted by Hippie Book Reviews. For more information and to sign-up, please see this post.


text:
I'm so happy to see that one of my favorite stamp sets from the Occasions Catalog will be in the upcoming Annual Catalog! Every year the town I live in has a huge Balloon Festival where balloonists come from all over to compete. It really is a treat for the eyes to see all the gorgeous colors as dozens of balloons inflate and take launch! In the evening many of the balloons return to the launch site to do a balloon glow. It really is quite spectacular!
When I purchased the Lift Me Up stamp set and the Up & Away Thinlits, I knew that I was going to use them to scrap some of the photos I took at last years festival. Here's one of the pages.
I used the Cupcakes & Carousels DSP, which is still available in the Occasions Catalog. I love this paper, but it's 6x6 size presented a little bit of a challenge to use on this 12x12 page. I had to get a little creative to hide seams and also used a larger piece of retired DSP from the Best Year Ever paper pack (retired SAB paper) for the main background.
The title was cut using the retired Little Letters Thinlits. Here's a closer look at the die cut balloon detail of my page.
I used a mix of both patterned paper and coordinating card stock for my balloon. The little pennant banner was fussy cut from one of the patterns in the Cupcakes & Carousels stack.
Thanks for visiting today!


text: Seller: maygall (244) 100%, Location: Prestatyn, Ships to: GB & many other countries, Item: 142756019417 For sale is this magnificent rare black forest two train mantel cuckoo clock (one train fusee) for restoration . Please check pictures to see its lovely condition. Im not sure on the make, but I believe it is 19C , probably a GHS (Gordian Hettich Söhne) or Beha? The pendulum swings as it should and has been going now for several days without any problems. The clock itself is in need of restoration, it is missing its back door, and its missing both its bellows. Also the brass line is broken on the fusee so i am selling as spares and repairs. Despite the losses this is a remarkable looking clock, and I do hope someone enjoys restoring it to it's obvious former glory as clocks like this are quite rare to find. Please check pictures for details of condition. Size appx. HEIGHT 20.5 inches (52cm), WIDTH 14 inches (35cm) and DEPTH 7.5 inches (19cm) Comes complete with key and pendulum. Condition: Antique item, with losses and damage as seen in the pictures


text:
Toggle navigation
Home Construction/Remodeling
Decorative Concrete
Design Services
Ornamental Fence & Gates
Flagstone Patio
Mortared Stone
Outdoor Fireplaces
Outdoor Kitchens
Outdoor Living Spaces
Patios & Decks
Patio Enclosures
Pergolas / Arbors
Retaining Walls
Seamless Guttering
Concrete Work/Decorative Concrete
Flagstone Patio
Outdoor Fireplaces
Outdoor Kitchens
Outdoor Showcase
Patio Extension
Patios and Decks
Retaining Walls
About Us
About Us
Compare Us
Bathroom Remodel
Boulder Wall Construction
Deck Construction
Fireplace Construction
Garage Construction
Home Remodel
Outdoor Living Area
Pergola Construction
Pool Construction
Retaining Wall Construction
Stone Samples
Contact Us
Patios and Decks
Composite by Evergrain Decks, Stained Cedar Decks
Stained Cedar or Composite by Evergrain
For Decks, we provide two (2) types of decking materials:
Stained Cedar Deck, or
*Composite Deck from Trex or MoistureShield.
This is an amazing website with information, history, pictures, and ideas: http://www.moistureshield.com
*Our previous composite supplier offered only Evergrain when the company started in '01, as Evergrain offered a 25 year warranty. But, our supplier has since discontinued the Evergrain line, and is now the exclusive supplier for MoistureShield, which was the 1st composite deck in the business, since '89, and still offers a transferable Lifetime Warranty on their product.
For Cedar deck, there is not much technical information available. It is a great looking product, has a long life, can be stained, is easy to install, and will wow many a guest when stepping on to it in your back yard.
Composite deck is the premium line of deck choice, and is the choice that more customers invest in year after year. If you are looking for better performance across the board; then, depending on your project and budget, we have the deck board to fit your needs, be it Cedar or MoistureShield.
This is captured directly from the MoistureShield website:
"Innovation and craftsmanship drive all that we do. Our unique manufacturing process totally encapsulates natural wood fibers in polyethylene plastic. This delivers extremely durable decking that can even have direct ground contact. Plus our deck boards are extruded and allowed to cool slowly, which means they will not twist or warp. MoistureShield is non-toxic and doesn't require staining, painting or sealing.
Available in a solid profile, our reversible boards features a natural wood-grain texture on both sides, allowing use of either side for easier installation. In addition, the planks come with or without grooves to accommodate hidden fastening systems. MoistureShield offers a straightforward, industry leading warranty against rot, decay and termite damage, but our performance is unmatched. Since we started making our incredible deck boards, we've never had a field failure...ever."
Explore the many color and profile options available in our Essential and Vantage Collections. There you will find the perfect solution that will feel like a natural extension to your home."
Deck boards are installed on top of underside framing consisting of #2 treated lumber, iron gusset plates, and angle iron supports. All deck boards will be screwed down with GRK RSS structural pinhead screws that almost disappear into the deck board.
Options for your deck design: Stairs, Rails, Skirts, Angle Board Cuts, Trim Boards, Mouldings, Pattern Inserts, and the super popular LED Lighting.
For even more detailed information about deck construction, please click on this link:
Visit our Patio Decks Services page to see how our hardscaping and landscaping services Tulsa can help!
YES! I am interested.
Contact Us


text:
Designed to be used with the OEM tailgate and an aftermarket offset spare tire adapter / spacer. (Skyjacker Part # STRJK212) This product is designed to be used with 33" - 37" diameter tires & wheels with 4" - 5.5" backspacing.
When it comes to leveling kits, suspension kits and sport lifts, Skyjacker Suspensions delivers a vast selection of parts for Jeeps. We carry everything from the basics to the odds and ends that keep rides smooth and bouncing in check on or off the trail. Wrangler, Cherokee, Rubicon drivers and more depend on the heavy-duty construction that has become a Skyjacker staple to make wheeling on big tires safe and sound. Everyone needs adventures in their life and Skyjacker products like suspension and stabilizer kits, shocks and coil springs help make them possible. Shop Skyjacker Now
We Pay Your Sales Tax


text:
The Race day started out with a slight brisk wind just about right for a race Prince Albert to Anglin Lake 50 miles,first the 12 dogs teams left town followed by us,the 8 dogs teams as the count down started my sponsor rider jumps on the sled right off, the bat we are behing the 8 ball, weight wise so to speak we are two big boys. but I knew the rules coming in we all start even ,
off we go the team starts well down main street and on to the river over on to the opposite bank we come to the drop off for my rider he thanks, me I in return thank him and his company for helping the race ,As sponsors, are a big part of most competitive sport.as we wind though the outskirts of Prince Albert and on to farmland the day is rapidly warmimng up the team just doe'st seem to be themselves.
as we continue along we come to a drop down to the little red river no trail just a drop and man" do we drop and Crash' we hit the bottom of the river bank I do a quick survey of the team at this point, they all look no worse for wear so we continue on. (everyone who went down this embankment has a story to tell, a couple went the wrong way one musher lost her team,for the first few miles all teams are jockeying for position and this will continue for the next while The trail is heavy and slow ,Bo starts to have a slack tug line way out of charteter for him ,when we stop he's not hitting the line wanting to go, the way he normally does ,I keep my eye on him ,All the teams seem to be in a good mood .we leave the field and head into the forest and are now in Resort country ,I still felt at this point we where in a good position and that the team would respond once it cooled off as i was planning a night run.
we arrive at Anglin Lake check point and My Handler JD is there to greet me we discuss the team and any concerns with their Care , as the vet are checking over the team I tell them about Bo" My main wheel Dog, not being himself, once examination are done all is good except Bo he has a bruised lung tissue, I mention the wreck at the river ,we all agree in the best interest , Bo's race was over" ,it was hard to leave him behind,as he was one of my best wheels dogs .
I'M down to 7 dogs.
we head out of Anglin Lake on our way to Elkridge check point #2 ,20 mile run finally some fast trail we do the run in 21/2 hrs , they don't seem to have an appetite i decide to stay a couple of hrs. we do other check of the team all looks well,off we go I'm hopping to do a 40 mile run ,we are now heading back to the highway. about a mile from there i spot two teams sleeping in a warm up shack ,A couple of my dogs seem off so once again I decide to give them a break .I grab my sleeping bag and head in. theres a fire going I like this, it turns out to be 2 mushers I know well and good friends,I tried to be as quite as possible ,Sid was up and we had a short talk. I get about an hr worth of sleep,still to hyped up ,Sid & Jess pull out I decide to stay a couple more hrs I roast a couple of hot dogs for breakfast and have a cup of tea ,As I'm hooking up the team the morning feels to warm for northern Sask we have been here when it has been -49 -59 ,now I'm Way to warm -6-16,Off we go check point #3.
As i Step on the Runners, In a blur I notice
That my lead dogs, guide dog (Yeah really) is continually looking back never a dip on hers tugs ,I start worrying she not running right soon she just says to heck with this and stop working completely ,
we stop and I do a head to toe check to see if she has and injury , None evident Not taking chances I load her in the sled still 35+ miles to go. "Now" this, as we carry on the heat of the days is catching up with us ,I'm doing all I can to stay positive at this point, anything different and the dogs will pick up on it and act to it,
As the heat overtakes us we stop we are all exhausted ,Checkers come by ask how its going ,I explain NWAS but thanks for asking, Nice guy we chit chat for a bit,He keeps saying I don't know but they don't look to good , I should consider scratching, I'M Thinking no, only 1 dog is feeling poorly the rest are ready to continue(I Think ), I ask Him if the Vets could come and have a look at her, he agrees and request or suggests (sleep Deprivation) he will call my handler to the roadside just in case.(As a last place musher HRS behind the rest there are times when some want the race to be over and to close the checkpoints, as everyone is tired its been a long week and so on ,more negatives I won't dwell on,moving along)
I agree and But stat I will only make my decision after they have had a once over by the Vets Because we still had a lot of time to go and I felt we could still make it .The race Marshall arrives I explain my position to him he agrees to let me drop the dog there and says the other racers will have the same concessions, he goes on to say the rest look real great and to keep going which I explained I had every intention if the team was fine, I end up dropping another Dog,down to 6 with a 100 miles to go.
"What is going on here not the team I left Home with" Do they have a bug or is it the heat, I'M racking my brain here ("Where is my Team"),So on we go Trying to push the afternoon into the Dark. Then around 3:00 its trying to Rain, at that point a checker arrives ask how this are going, "You know what I said " she says that "ITS about 9.6KM to go, and most of it involved Hills I thanked her for this information, And said I should continue on, and that if I did not arrive in 2hrs to send help and a sandwich LOL ,
As I started again got to thinking I should have said 3-4hrs what if the team stopped,But on the last hill into checkpoint #3 the dogs just flew in ,So in we go JD is there waiting for me I go to a fire to warm up. JD tends to the team ,once done he said we could go to the local hall where the rest of the Mushers rested for a much needed snooze "we get there the doors are Locked ,WTF ,I say Really)
JD" I give up sleeping in trucks yrs ago This is gonna be a long Night I just feel it,I make some calls to the R.M and soon the hall doors are open .Just in Time I start cramping up big time My handler gets me hydrated along with Some pain killers, I crawl into my brand new 400 dollar sleeping bag goodnight" Irene,ZZZZZZZZZZ until about 3 in the morning I wake up sweating drop's of water, Bags working too good soaking wet, I take my undershirt off its wet ,then Lay down to ice cold bag ,shriving I sit up put back on, my wet shirt ,Why the Hell didn't I take up surfing,suddenly theres a loud bang" Furnace must have kicked on Time to rise and run " I wake JD up who just layed down hrs ago after dropping them I get a run down on who's eating and drinking ,as a handler the musher relies on the information and observation the the teams actions while resting I have one dog to be concerned about ,and yes one of the big boys .Its a 20 mile run to the last check point The vets do a quick examine he stats the team looks good,The vets are the trooper of the race out 24 hrs very little rest and Their volunteering their time Can't thank them enough,Off we go the dogs start OUT AT A Good LOPE i HOLD THEM BACK IT IS A FAIRLY EASY RUN TO WHAT IS KNOWN AS LT's
Once we arrive it is my good friend and previous president of the race ,I explain to dave we plan on staying till night fall fall, He says we have lots of food and drink stay as long as we need .I have a good visit with the crew ,and come late afternoon my big boy still is not drinking as much I i would like,I'm starting to worry ,Only 60 miles to go Can I make it with five dogs what to do ,about 3:30pm he starts to drink and eat . Thank my lucky stars ,I ask if there is anywhere along the trail I can drop this brute if he falters, Dave says there is a drop about 35mile up the trail and he states someone will be There." AS we hit the trail it is smooth and just right for the team I hold them back just enough to loosen them up all of a sudden, Mooshu starts to dip for snow and dip and dip right on hes getting hydrated ,Off the road and into the woods we go the sun is down and its starting to cool off the team is flying.
NOW this is the team left home with where have you been, I ask them,When we stop they are hammering the gang line to go,
I says to the team alright if you wanna go we'll go
I'm looking for this road with the checkers on it .As i had already passed a couple of roads, but saw no one But as i was leaving I said to the checker to tell the crew ahead I was planning on taking my time as we were not gong to catch the first 2 racers , all we wanted was to cross that line and slay my Dragon,
As I have tried this Race 3 times previously ,and came up short,at about 11:30 I knew that either we have passed the road or we are really going slow ,12:00 am Nothing,all of a sudden we are on a lake and there are homes along the shore ,could this be Lac La Ronge ,on we run the Northern Lights come out briefly as if to congratulate us soon the lights of town show up ,and I know we have finally finished what we started ,AS I watched my Team run into town the Tears, start rolling down ,I said thank you my most precious friends" Thank you.
I was told Later on That we for Now hold the record for the fastest finish of both the 12&8 dogs teams, from LT'S to the finish line "8hrs15min nonstop ,6 beautiful dogs. The smokey river racing team collects the........... RED LANTERN
Monday, February 15, 2010
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)


text:
Phantoms release 2 veteran players
By Tom Williams
After the Youngstown Phantoms completed their final practice before the roster has to be reduced to 23 players, forward JJ Piccinich said he can't wait for his second USHL season to begin.
"The whole team is really excited," said Piccinich after Wednesday's practice at The Ice Zone. "The intensity at practice was higher [than usual]. I think we're ready to go."
Friday night at the Ice Cube in Ann Arbor, Mich., the Phantoms will open their fifth USHL season against the USA National Team Development Program's 18-under squad. Saturday afternoon, the Phantoms will play Team USA's 17-under squad.
"Now that the team is pretty much what [it's going to be], I think guys are really starting to join together," Piccinich said.
The Phantoms began making roster moves on Tuesday. Two of last year's hockey players — forward Mac MacSorley and defenseman Kale Bennett — won't be back as they were released to make room for newcomers.
"It was difficult on everyone," third-year head coach Anthony Noreen said of those cuts. "It was difficult on them, it was difficult on us. [Cutdown time] is the one day of the year we least look forward to.
"You build a relationship with these guys, you go in to battle with those guys for more than a year," Noreen said. "They were two guys who did everything the right way, every thing we asked them to do.
"It was just a situation where we felt it was probably better for us and them that we give them different options."
Last season, MacSorley played 22 games, scoring two goals and one assist. He finished -3 in plus/minus that measures on-ice performance during even-strength and power-play opportunities.
Bennett had three assists in 41 games and finished -16.
Noreen said he released them early to give them a better chance to latch on with another junior team.
"We didn't want to hold them hostage," Noreen said. "We wanted to give them some time for other teams in the league to give them a hard look."
Wednesday, the Phantoms traded a conditional draft pick to the Indiana Ice for defenseman Alex Smith. Last season, Smith played 12 games for the Ice. Two seasons ago, he played 47 games for the Muskegon Lumberjacks.
It's uncertain if Smith will be in the lineup on Friday, but most likely Jake Moore will be in goal. Last season, Moore played in eight games after taking over the backup position to Sean Romeo after Patrick Spano was traded over the Christmas break.
Noreen said he's not certain Romeo will be ready to play Friday as he heals from a minor injury.
"To his credit, when he was number three, he was not on our active roster and he could not play a game for us," Noreen said of Moore. "But he was the hardest working guy on the team, the last off the ice every day. He never asked when he was going to get his turn, just worked and trusted that we were going to get him in there at some point."
Moore played in eight games last season, posting a 4-2 record.
"When Jake was called upon last year, I thought he did a very good job," Noreen said. "Throughout the preseason, he's given a chance to win in very game. We feel fully confident in Jake."
More like this from vindy.com
- October 11, 2013 12:15 a.m.
Phantoms' Connor leads USHL in scoring
- June 11, 2013 12:05 a.m.
Phantoms' camp concludes
- April 14, 2014 12:05 a.m.
Romeo's injuries, Walker's departure hurt Phantoms
- April 11, 2013 12:08 a.m.
Phantoms vault into second
- September 28, 2013 12:07 a.m.
Gamblers stun Phantoms late
Featured Broadcast
Subscribe Today
Sign up for our email newsletter to receive daily news.
Want more? Click here to subscribe to either the Print or Digital Editions.


text:
Well this is a first, they have in the past reported up markets down, down markets up and once even reported dramatic moves in a market that was closed. Paul Mason has just breathlessly reported from New York that a late breaking after market story on the Bloomberg newswire has "halved AIG's share price on the futures markets". There is no open futures market for shares, as anybody who knew anything about financial markets would know.
There are electronic markets where stocks trade after hours. Perhaps that is what he meant? With Newsnight's market reporting you just never know.


text: you have been very informative & kind in all your connections. I & my daughter Julie, who also had a reading with you, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. You have spent an over amount of time on the readings. You have sent us links to various websites, including Lilou's. (love her work), and suggested books which we might read. Your commitment is of a very high standard. Hence Julie & I are in receipt of knowledge & understandings which will change the course of our futures. Much more into a positive direction, now that we've met with you.


text:
American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre Presents...
Movies on the Big Screen Since 1940!
1328 Montana Avenue at 14th Street in Santa Monica
Connect with other film fans on:
SOLD OUT SCREENINGS: There will be a
waiting line for Sold Out screenings. Tickets often become available at the door the night
of an event.
Sold out programs will be
indicated here if sold out 24 hours in advance of screening date.
All guests are subject to
availability. The Cinematheque will offer a refund due to guest cancellations only IF the
refund transaction is complete PRIOR to the start of the show.
<<< July 31 - 23, 2008
Visit us on myspace:
This series also takes place at the Egyptian Theatre!
Join us for more of what you love best new and vintage
classic and cult fantastic films, kicking off at the Egyptian
with a Sneak Preview of Larry Bishops phantasmagorical biker pic HELL RIDE
(produced and edited by Quentin Tarantino) and including, the Pang Brothers newest, RE-CYCLE,
the U.S. Premiere of the new animated STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS and the World
Premiere of Norman Englands documentary, BRINGING GODZILLA DOWN TO SIZE.
Plus, more British horror classics from the Golden Age, including JACK THE RIPPER, A
STUDY IN TERROR, THE TELL-TALE HEART, THE VAMPIRE LOVERS, brand new prints of Hammer
Studios Christopher Lee adventure pix THE DEVIL-SHIP PIRATES, THE PIRATES OF BLOOD
RIVER and TERROR OF THE TONGS, a new print of Hammers hardboiled wartime
atrocity opus THE CAMP ON BLOOD ISLAND, plus a Peter Cushing sci-fi triple feature
of THE ABOMINABLE SNOWMAN OF THE HIMALAYAS, ISLAND OF TERROR and ISLAND
OF THE BURNING DAMNED, classic American sci-fi/horror IT CAME FROM BENEATH THE SEA and
EARTH VS. THE FLYING SAUCERS (both with Ray Harryhausens SFX), KRONOS, CURSE
MUTINY IN OUTER SPACE, Italian horror THE VAMPIRE AND THE BALLERINA, a Pre-Code
Hollywood horror double bill of ISLAND OF LOST SOULS and KONGO, an Egyptian
Theatre 85th Anniversary double feature of ALIEN and ALIENS (both
of which premiered at the Egyptian), a whole evening of sci-fi shorts and more! Keep an
eye out for our must-see sidebars at the Aero
with a LORD OF THE RINGS marathon, a Tribute to Stan Winston (including ALIENS,
PUMPKINHEAD and PREDATOR 1 and 2) and a cozy Post-Apocalyptic weekend featuring
DAMNATION ALLEY, A BOY AND HIS DOG, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, THE OMEGA MAN and more! Each night there will be a drawing for prizes courtesy of
Warner Bros. and Every Picture Tells A Story.
Saturday, August 2 5:00 PM
Fantasy, Horror & Sci-Fi Series --
Special Marathon!
FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, 2001, Warner Bros., 208 min. Dir. Peter Jackson.
2002, Warner Bros., 223 min. Dir. Peter Jackson.
THE KING, 2003, Warner Bros., 251 min. Dir. Peter Jackson.
Director Peter Jackson and a brilliantly talented cast and
crew have brought to cinematic life J.R.R. Tolkiens epic adventure of good against
evil. The future of civilization rests on the fate of the One Ring, which has been lost
for centuries. Powerful forces are unrelenting in their search for it. Fate has placed it
in the hands of a young Hobbit named Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood), who inherits the
Ring and undertakes a heroic quest through Middle Earth revealing how, through courage,
commitment, and determination, even the smallest of us can change the world. With Viggo
Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, Ian McKellen. The
Extended version will be shown. Illustrator artist Greg Hildebrandt - who
became internationally known for the original STAR WARS movie poster and beautiful J.R.R.
Tolkien LORD OF THE RINGS artwork - will introduce the marathon. Discover the Hilderbrandt
brothers work at Every Picture Tells a Story. Special price for this event: All
admissions - $3.00. More on this
August 15 16 at the Aero Theatre
Few visual effects artists have influenced the American cinema as
much as the late Stan Winston, who, before his death this summer at the age of 62,
worked on the TERMINATOR films, JURASSIC PARK, and countless other special effects
landmarks. The American Cinematheque at the Aero Theatre pays tribute to an American
master with a selection of his most popular films, including ALIENS and
Winstons directorial debut, PUMPKINHEAD.
Friday, August 15 - 7:30 PM
Double Feature:
ALIENS, 1986, 20th Century Fox, 137 min.
Seven years after Ridley Scotts original ALIEN, James Cameron directed this
sinister, explosive WWII-movie-in-space, about a platoon of U.S. Marines stranded on
planet LV-426. Sigourney Weavers Ripley is darker and richer here
haunted by alien nightmares, confronting her deepest fears. Special effects by Stan
Winston. With Bill Paxton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Reiser. More on
this film.
PUMPKINHEAD, 1988, MGM Repertory,
86 min. Effects wizard Stan Winston made his directorial debut with this macabre
modern folk tale. Lance Henriksen stars as a grief-stricken father who goes to an
old witch in the swamp to bring forth a demon from hell to wreak vengeance on teen
dirtbike riders who accidentally ran down and killed his tiny son. More on this film.
Saturday, August 16 7:30 PM
PREDATOR, 1987, 20th Century Fox, 107
min. ALIEN meets RAMBO when an elite military squad heads into the jungle only to be
confronted by an unstoppable extraterrestrial killer. Director John McTiernan shows
signs of the expert action technique he would later refine in DIE HARD, while Arnold
Schwarzenegger provides rooting interest as the tough-as-nails hero. More great
special effects from Stan Winston. More
on this film.
PREDATOR 2, 1990, 20th Century Fox,
108 min. Director Stephen Hopkins takes the PREDATOR mythology from the jungle to
urban Los Angeles, where cop Danny Glover discovers that something far more
dangerous than Colombian street gangs lurks in his city. Bill Paxton and Gary
Busey provide solid character actor support in this unusually distinctive sequel.
Co-presented by Fallout� 3
Sponsored by Bethesda Softworks and Geek Monthly Magazine
August 22 - 23 at the Aero Theatre
It's the end of the world as we know it, but you'll feel fine at a
weekend of two explosive, apocalyptic triple features. From cult classics like DAMNATION
ALLEY and A BOY AND HIS DOG to two pre-Will Smith adaptations of I Am Legend,
there's something here for everyone who enjoys the spectacle of humanity self-destructing.
Giveaways and surprise guests will accompany all three programs, which also include
visionary masterworks by Ralph Bakshi and Terry Gilliam.
Friday, August 22 - 7:30 PM
Triple Feature and special treats!
1977, 20th Century Fox, 82 min. Dir. Ralph Bakshi. An animated post-apocalyptic
vision like none before, where twin wizards the wicked Blackwolf and the
good-hearted Avatar battle for rule over an epic fantasy wasteland.
DAMNATION ALLEY, 1977, 20th
Century Fox, 91 min. Dir. Jack Smight. After World War III, George Peppard
leads a ragged group of survivors (including Jan Michael Vincent, Dominique Sanda
and Paul Winfield) on a journey to the last civilized spot in America -- Albany,
N.Y.! Part road movie, part apocalyptic action flick, this is one of the most enjoyable --
and hard-to-see -- sci-fi films of the 1970s.
min. Jason Robards and a young Don Johnson star in this cult classic, an
adaptation of Harlan Ellisons short story about the survivors of a nuclear
holocaust. Slyly satiric, the film was directed by character actor (and Peckinpah
favorite) L.Q. Jones. Special guests, giveaways and
free popcorn & soda. Check our website for more details. More on this film.
Saturday, August 23 - 7:30 PM
Triple Feature and Special Treats!
Repertory, 86 min. Dir. Sidney Salkow (co-dir. Ubaldo Ragona, uncredited).
Terrifying adaptation of Richard Mathesons landmark sci-fi horror novel, I Am
Legend, with Vincent Price as the lone survivor of a vampire plague that has
left the world population a shambling, nocturnal undead race thirsty for immune
Prices blood. Full of starkly surreal, nightmare images, this is an underrated gem. View Trailer
THE OMEGA MAN, 1971, Warner
Bros., 98 min. Dir. Boris Sagal. Whiskey-drinking, WOODSTOCK-watching scientist Charlton
Heston faces the possible extinction of mankind, while bug-eyed Anthony Zerbe
and his legions of soul-brother vampires prowl the night, in this whacked-out adaptation
of Richard Mathesons classic novel I Am Legend. Here, Heston remade himself
as an �ber-cool 1970s action star, cruising the plague-ridden streets of L.A. in a
convertible Mustang. View
12 MONKEYS, 1995, Universal, 129
min. Dir. Terry Gilliam. Chris Markers LA JETEE serves as the inspiration for
this haunting and beautiful sci-fi film. Bruce Willis is a time traveler trying to
save mankind from a global epidemic; unfortunately, upon arriving in 1990s Philadelphia
hes immediately incarcerated as a madman and imprisoned alongside a particularly
loony Brad Pitt. Special guests, giveaways and free
popcorn & soda. Check our website for more details. View Trailer.


text:
newsletter: month fourteen
Dear Nico,
I had this written two days ago, on time. Then the web host was broken. We can't win! Except we do, every day, and then I sit down to write these letters and they don't come out funny like Dooce's at all. They come out maudlin and sappy. I'm hopelessly in love with you, is what.
You're beautiful. I think so, the world thinks so, and Molly and her camera think so too. Lucky us, huh?
A few weeks ago you said your first Russian word. It's шляпа, shlyapa, which means any kind of brimmed hat. I have no clue where you picked it up, but you clearly knew from the beginning what the word meant, despite there being no brimmed hats around the first couple of times. So I fixed that.
I've woken up in the dark morning bedroom to your tiny little voice next to me, whispering with a breathless wonder: shhhhhhhhlyapaaaaaaaa. The first couple of times you might've dreamed of it just prior; now, I'm pretty sure you do it partly to make me laugh. In all, not a bad way to wake up.
My belly button with the birthmark perched on its edge has become a weird little comfort object. You never nurse anymore without fidgeting until your hand finds it. Then you go all still (except for the feeding part) and watch my face, or space out.
You're becoming measured in your old age. More deliberate in your actions. I can see inklings of little kid in the way you ponder flavors. This month was my birthday, and we had a Cheesemas party, which is just what it sounds like, so then there was a ton of cheese left in the house, and man, you love Dubliner. Even more than you love cheddar.
You also love baby broccoli, chicken, rice, teething biscuits, and your babushka's cooking. And those homeopathic teething pills, which have a faintly sweet nondescript taste and an inexplicable calming effect on you. Mostly I think homeopathy is bunk, but if it's doing something to relieve your teething pain, who am I to argue?
Speaking of pain: the older you get, the harder it is for you to let go of pain. You've begun processing it as deeply unfair. You're the most pathetic little thing when you're hurting. On the other hand, the other weekend when you burned your thumb on the oatmeal pot (all my fault), your lip got all trembly for a few seconds and then you forgot about it, even before I was able to see where you'd gotten burned.
Which is ok, because we're not lacking for big feelings around here. On top of everything else, transitioning to a single nap during the day is an exercise in flexibility and zen.
But who am I kidding, mostly you're still delighted with the world. You love watching the snow coming down. You turn up your face to feel the snowflakes, and get mad if I put up the car seat hood to "protect" you. You love the car seat, and riding in the car. You love little plastic Easter egg shells, which older kids are only too happy to give you since you ignore the candy stash. You love the Mystic river with its ducks and swans and wind. You love expeditions outside with shoes on, and sometimes march through the apartment right to the front door and demand to be let out. When it gets warmer, I'll indulge us both.
You continue to charm your now-international audience. Yesterday you met my dear friend Jon, who lives and writes game-stories in that other Cambridge. Predictably, he's now firmly on team NAZ. Now, if only we could figure out how to see him and his family more often than once every few years. Fancy a trip overseas?
Speaking of tripping: we're going to Nebraska in July. What do you say we drive?
PS pix


text:
DanceCleveland has received a $54,171 grant from DANCE/USA, the national service organization for professional dance. The grant comes from "Engaging Dance Audiences," the first national funding program for audience engagement focused specifically on dance.
The Cleveland presenting organization is one of only 20 nationwide -- and one of four in the Midwest -- to receive a grant. The organizations were chosen from a field of 57 applicants through a review panel of national dance peers. The program receives support from the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
The grant will enable DanceCleveland to nurture its Dance Ambassadors program, which was piloted last year with a grant from the Cleveland Foundation.
"Engaging Dance Audiences" is a $1.748 million program conceived in 2008 by DANCE/USA in collaboration with the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation.
The goal, according to a press release, is "to significantly increase the dance field's capacity to engage audiences by researching, implementing and documenting effective and forward-thinking practices, and sharing them with the field."


text:
|Hassan Abbasi
Iranian Official Boasts of "Guerilla Movement" within the U.S.
- Candice Malcolm
In a new video, Hassan Abbasi, a senior advisor to former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who now runs a security policy division of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), is seen boasting about a "guerilla movement" of Iranian agents living and working in the U.S.
Abbasi claims there are over two million Iranians in the U.S., and that Iran is leading a clandestine army of potential martyrs within the U.S.
"We have identified the United States' Achilles' heel," said Abbasi. "We [know] all their ground, naval, air, technological and other vulnerabilities."
Abbasi said that while only a handful of Saudis carried out the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Iranians are even better organized and more committed to waging war against the West.
View the video
(Toronto Sun-Canada)


text:
Stepping Out to Cure Scleroderma: Let Us Know Your Thoughts
We would like your feedback to help us improve next
year's online experience for our participants. The survey will take approximately 15 to
20 minutes to complete. The deadline to complete the survey is 11:59 p.m. Central Time Saturday, Oct. 31, 2015. To access the survey, click the link provided in this email or visit www.scleroderma.org/walksurvey today.
To show our appreciation, you can receive a
special gift from the Foundation for providing your input. Please provide us your contact
information in the fields at the end of the survey. Your gift will arrive in 4 to 6
weeks to the mailing address that you provide.
If you have any further questions, please contact Tracey O. Sperry, National Director of Research and Development, at email@example.com or (800) 722-4673, Ext. 248.
Take the survey now >>
Video: What Your Dentist Wants to Know About Scleroderma
About half of the dentists responding to a survey feared that lack of
knowledge might result in harm if they treated scleroderma patients.
This concern reduces access to oral health care for scleroderma
patients. Dr. David Leader will explain what dentists should and would
like to know about scleroderma, oral health, and you. This session was
recorded at the 2015 National Patient Education Conference put on by the
Scleroderma Foundation.
View the entire video now >>
New Evidence for PAH Therapy Using Two Popular Medications
Recent studies have indicated a confirmed benefit for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) for patients using two popular medications, Letairis (ambrisentan) and Cialis (tadalafil).
Severe risk factors, such as death, hospitalization and worsening disease progression, were reduced by half in one clinical trial group. Findings from the study were presented earlier this year at the American Thoracic Society's annual meeting.
Read the full story at MedPage Today >>
New Oxygen Therapy Guide from Pulmonary Hypertension Association
Our friends at the Pulmonary Hypertension Association have recently released a new online guide for oxygen therapy. Find out more about oxygen therapy, resources, and if your insurance coverage will help.
Read the full resource guide from PHA here >>
Visit PHA's full website here to learn more about their programs and resources >>
"Scleroderma Voice" - Submit Your Story Ideas
Our next issue of "Scleroderma Voice," our quarterly member magazine will be due out in early 2016. Please submit your feedback or story ideas to us. We'd love to hear from you!
The deadline to submit your story ideas and comments is Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015. Please email to email@example.com with "Scleroderma Voice Ideas" in the subject line.
Learn more about our award-winning magazine here >>
Disclaimer: The Scleroderma Foundation in no way
endorses any drugs, treatments, clinical trials, or studies reported in the eLetter. Information is
provided to keep the readers informed. Because the manifestations and severity of scleroderma vary among individuals, personalized medical management is essential. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that all drugs and treatments be discussed with the reader's physician(s) for proper evaluation and treatment.
Unsubscribe | Visit our web site | Contact Us | Donate
300 Rosewood Drive, Suite 105, Danvers, MA 01923 tel: 800-722-HOPE (4673)
© 2019 All rights reserved.
The Scleroderma Foundation is a qualified national nonprofit operating under 501(c)(3) status. The foundation's federal tax identification number is 52-1375827. Our primary goal is to raise funds for our three-fold mission of support, education and research. The foundation has 20 active chapters and 160 support groups across the country.


text:
When Universal McCann released data from their Wave 6 study of active social media users late last year, they described a social media landscape that differs slightly from the conventional wisdom. The growth in social media appears to be in the expansion of current user profiles rather than in recruitment of new users. Tastes vary depending upon age, category and by nationality. And although people are concerned about their privacy, they're not especially compelled to take action about it.
The dynamics of social media appear to be changing, if they were ever what we thought they were…..


text:
- Creative
- Animation
- Film Production
- Fine Art
- Graphic Design
- Illustration
- Music Production
- Photography
- UI/UX Design
- Writing
I thought I'd put the projects in reverse order, to make it easier for people who have seen the earlier glitch projects already.
Lesson 5: Editing Sound as Image
I thought I would try to create some kind of rhythmic pattern by playing the idea that pixels are arranged from left to right and from top to bottom. So what I did is just select long bars of vertical pixels and replace them with white (command-. on a mac). The idea is that there would be some kind of regular rhythmic pattern corresponding to each line of pixels with the same pattern of white pixels. The result was not as regular as I thought it would be, but I'm still fascinated by the result. Also, the original file was shortened by more than half (white space became truncated?).
Here is the upper half of the image.
Here is the original sound (it's a piece by me that gradually increases the density of orchestration from a solo bassoon until it's distorted and noisy).
Here is the databent version...
Lesson 4: Datamashups
Here are a couple of results from a lot of experiments. I went overboard and did a lot of work with not a lot of super great results IMHO. I'll try to update more if I can find the time. This one takes an image and mashes it with a reversed version of itself.
Here is a mix of three tracks with pieces of the image reversed and rearranged in different ways.
Then I took a GIF of Animal from the Muppets headbanging. I divied up the images in GIMP and datamashed all of them. I was surprised that the result wasn't more extreme.
This is the result of datamashing all 15 frames together...
It seemed that after 5 frames or so there were diminishing returns on the perceivable changes. Here is a GIF illustrating the datamash from 1+2, 1+2+3, etc. All the way to 15.
And then a GIF of an extreme JPG compressed version...
Extra Project: Bending Vector Graphics
I've been interested in bending vector graphics since I saw there was a possibility a few weeks ago. My first attempt was pretty...meh.
SVG files (scalable vector graphics) are great because they can be scaled to any size and you don't loose any resolution. That's because SVG files are written in an XML code that describes lines/curves in terms of relative coordinate and angles, so that, for instance, a plain black circle is about 1 line of code that tells you how big the circle is, where it is on the canvas, and it's line and fill color.
Here is an example of what an SVG file looks like in a text editor...
This is a lot more complicated than a simple circle because of reasons which you'll see below, but you get the point. It's readable code.
Bending an SVG file is pretty simple. You just have to be careful not to bend any of the words, which are specific keywords that describe things like "paths," and you must be careful not to bend any of the header info either (the header can easily be cut out and pasted back in after the bend). Essentially this just means a simple Find and Replace technique using decimal and hexidecimal numbers.
So where can I get some complex SVGs? I could just download some from the internet, but I thought of something more fun. Adobe Illustrator has this cool feature called "Live Trace" which takes an image and converts it to vector graphics.
So where can I get an iconic image to vectorize...hmmm...
Usually the goal with vector graphics is to make the vectors have as few breakpoints as possible, but my goal is different. I want complexity because that means more data to hack. So here is what a "bad" Live Trace looks like.
You can see the edges aren't smooth as you would normally want if you were a graphic designer trying to make a nice simple smooth image. But that's not what I want. So lets go for our first bend. I'll open it up in Text Edit and do a Find and Replace.
Iteration 1: Find and Replace
You got a little something on your face Mr. President.
Iteration 2: Find and Replace
This is the iteration where the image got ridiculously long. Here's a shrunken overview...
Here is the cropped version
Iteration 3 (cropped)
You can see that some of the colors are changing too. Especially in the next one.
Iteration 4: Final
Drizzle President
The image dimensions shrunk to a more manageable size and I really like the colors and the shape of it. It almost looks like some kind of cartoon bust.
Pebble Splatter
Here is an unrelated bent SVG that was derived from close up photograph of concrete. There were thousands upon thousands of vertices (because the image has tons of detail as compared to the Obama poster), so Illustrator slowed to a crawl when working with this image.
Bent SVG:
Lesson 3
Databending with Audacity
Cactoid II
Pretty simple Audacity bend using echo. Same original as Cactoid I.
Spinal Penetration
Another echo bend with another cactus original.
Salty Schmear
Same original as Salty Smolder (a macro of a cracker). This was a created by first bending in Hex Fiend and then (you guessed it) using an echo effect in Audacity. Clearly echo is my fave.
Glacial Itch
So lets take a stepped approach to a relatively involved glitch. To start lets do echo (I know, I know, but it's so good) on an image of a glacier.
Step 1.
That looks good by itself, but lets take it further. How about reversing a portion of it.
Step 2.
Let's add a little phasor action.
Step 3.
Way to go algorithm. Now lets compress it into a jpeg and hack it with Text Edit find and replace.
Step 4.
Well, I think I just designed the new flag for the nation of Glitch (now all we need is a battle cry). But why not go further? Lets rotate it and bring it back to Audacity. Cut and paste to counter some of that horizontalness.
Step 5.
That'll work. Let's rotate it back and apply my favorite effect (echo) once again to top it off.
Step 6.
....aaaand that's a wrap! Or is it?
Lesson 2
This was a PNG databend using TextEdit. Inserting paragraphs and deleting chunks. The PNGs didn't open in GIMP (just as black images), so I converted them to JPEGs in Preview first.
Salty Smolder
Lesson 1:
All of these glitches are done in Hex Fiend or Text Edit on a Mac. Using some combination of cut and paste, find and replace, or just typing random messages into the file.
Chicken of the Woods
This is my first attempt at glitch from a couple of weeks ago.
Glitch Dialog
First iteration:
I love how on the very first edit in Hex Fiend that the birds faced each other...
I went several iterations further, but I think I like this one the best (thinking of cropping, but I'm torn. I really love the green part).
Taken with an iPhone with an aftermarket macro lense.
I used the following technique to get this effect: Edit in Hex Fiend, rotate, edit in Hex Fiend, rotate, edit in Hex Fiend, rotate, edit in Hex Fiend, rotate, edit in Hex Fiend.
Another macro, this time its a close up of a sandy pier.
This was a simple find and replace with an extreme result. I'm rarely satified by the horizontal stripping effect that I get when I take something too far because they all tend to look the same, but I am quite fond of the colors and texture of this one.
I just downloaded this from a random website. It's a photograph of what I believe are Lorikeets.
There appears to be a glitch in this photograph already...
Entirely done with Text Edit. I inserted short texts in place of large blocks of code and long texts were inserted in place of shorter texts. I had to screen grab this because only my mac previewing function interpreted the image this way (it looked very different in "GIMP"). The black bars are from the fullscreen mode of the previewing function (I liked them, so I kept them).
Here is the same exact bend but in GIMP...


text:
Obvious Internet Study Finds Obvious Things February 6, 2010Posted by bitchwantstea in News, Tech / Science.
Tags: addiction, depression, internet, leeds university, mental health, study
Guess what?
Being addicted to the internet can make you depressed and impact on your mental health.
Want to know what else is truly shocking? The average age of addicted internet users hovers around twenty one.
Reported here, here, here, and zzz….
Next Week: Drinking Lots of Booze Makes People Seem Prettier
No comments yet — be the first.


text:
|Sighting Report
|Occurred : 8/18/2013 05:30 (Entered as : 08/18/13 5:30)
Reported: 8/18/2013 3:34:06 PM 15:34
Posted: 8/30/2013
Location: Austin, TX
Shape: Rectangle
Duration:75 minutes
|Craft videoed near daybreak near Austin
I was using binoculars to search for the ISON comet in the northeastern sky. The sky was evenly overcast with haze and reflected the city lights, and buildings blocked the lower northeast sky. I gave up on the comet, and noticed I could spot only four or five stars even with my sports binoculars. I turned them toward the flight path to our airport. I saw a jetliners following the usual pattern, above the trees and apartment complexes east of my second floor balcony.
Maybe five minutes later I focused on another set of similar lights in the same direction and elevation, and because a white light was blinking and there seemed to be an orange light at the back and a bluish white light on the front, I assumed it was another plane. I have a table and a chair on he balcony, and tipped the table up on end and sat in my chair steadying my binoculars. I realized that the object did not move relative to the roofs of neighboring complexes. That would mean! the plane was far, far away, and enormous, but repeated observation over about seven minutes convinced me that the object in the sky was not a jetliner and was not moving toward the airport at all.
Daylight was coming soon, and I doubted that I could locate my digital camera and get it set up in time to photograph the unrecognized object, but I hoped that it could be done, and by steadying the camera and going to full 15x optical zoom. I could get some 10 megapixel color videos to study at my leisure. The binoculars are about 10x, but the images were fleeting and begged to be studied carefully.
I took the camera off its tripod and rushed to the balcony.
I hoped the batteries would last. The warning screen on the back of the camera showed some red lines across the battery icon, and I know my time was short.
I sat on my sturdy chair, leaned the lightweight folding table against my knees, and did my best to locate the strange object using the view screen on the back of the camera. It was a challenge, and the camera was unsteady. The image on the screen was basically a black grey haze, and the craft was invisible. With the naked eye I could see the craft and using a left of the table and a tree branch visible on the view screen, I aimed and shot several videos. I finally stopped and rushed to get fresh batteries. I changed from the view screen to the "through the lens" viewfiner. At last I could see the UFO, and hoped that despite the shaking of the camera, I might capture at least a few images of the elusive UFO. Soon the sky was too bright for viewing the UFO, and I left the balcony. It was about 6:30 AM and I had a lot of chores to do to prepare for a visit from a relative. I finally got enough work done to allow me to slip the SD card into my desktop computer and chec! k my videos. I was delighted to see that in the several videos I shot, a few second of "UFO" images appeared. The shaky camera made it look like the UFO was zooming all over, but it was not. With the naked eye, it appeared to be motionless in the sky. I don't know if my UFO was actually a set of lights on a tall tower atop a distant hill, or an actual craft in the sky. Because I have never noticed anything like this UFO in the 29 months I've been in this city, even though I have been an avid airplane watcher for seventy years. I was a Civil Air Patrol Cadet, studying at Randolph, Lackland and Barksdale AFBs in the 1950s and an aviation enthusiast the rest of my life.
Upon examining the videos, it seems that the UFO was actually three or four lights, perhaps all attached to one hovering object. On the right was a round, seemingly "shattered" white or light-greenish orb. If the craft had been headed for a landing at the airport, the light on the right would be at the "front." Additionally there was a red dot of fairly bright light below and on the middle of the bottom, and a dimly lit thin horizontal line of yellowish white light at the "rear" where the vertical stabilizer would be on a jetliner. When I first spotted the craft, there was a blinking white light where the red light appears in the videos, and I thought it was a regular aircraft strobe light. Upon examination, I have not seen it.
When I say "front" or "rear," I am assuming the craft was aligned with the landing approach jetliners follow from north of the city to the airport on the south east.
I'm sorry that the videos are tedious to look at, but I don't know a thing about editing them to eliminate all the "dead" time.
August 18, 2013


text:
Yosemite has some of the biggest and oldest trees in the world.
They have survived wars, drought, storms, snow, fires, floods, and humankind (so far). Almost all of these massive trees have survived numerous lightning strikes.
For instance, this Giant Sequoia below (dubbed the Grizzly Giant) once survived 6 different lightning strikes just in one storm. It may look like a crooked photo of the tree, but in actuality the tree has a natural lean where it extends 17.5 feet south and 5.5 feet west. Also, its largest branch – which is bigger in diameter than most of the trees in the National Park (6 feet) – is on the south side and adds to the lean. It is the largest tree in Yosemite and is believed to be the 5th largest tree IN THE WORLD. The Grizzly Giant weighs an incredible 2 million pounds and is 209 feet tall. The circumference is 96.5 feet and the diameter of the base is 34.7 feet. This gigantic tree is thoughts to be 2700 years old – the oldest known sequoia tree. Sequoias are among the oldest known organisms on Earth.
Those colorful dots are people.
When you finally wrap your head around how big and old these trees really are (I have no idea how long this takes; I still am not able to fully process this information) you are able to think about other things. For example, you get realize that trees that weigh over 1 million pounds have fallen.
If a 2 million pound tree that is over 200 feet tall and 30 feet wide falls and no one is around, will it make a noise? Hell yeah! Sometimes these behemoths fall. Just seeing one that has fallen is a transcendental experience. It's surreal to see a tree that is so huge and so tall; yet, its whole existence and its whole life and journey and unattainable mass is there right next to you. I believe it must feel comparable to seeing a dead blue whale on a beach. That massive creature that has had a life that you know practically nothing about is so close to you. It doesn't feel right to see such a majestic creature in that form. It's almost like seeing a fallen skyscraper in the city. It doesn't belong there. But, it is an aspect of the natural order of life and it happens from time to time.
Upon closer inspection though, the amount of trees that are fallen and dying is increasing greatly and at an unprecedented level.
One of the main causes is drought. Drought is affecting all of California and most of the United States. We are using up our water faster than it can be replenished. For instance, this is the South Fork Eel River. These bridges were built at this height because of the preexisting river level. Currently though, the river trickles down and is only a few inches deep in many places. This whole rocky area you see used to be covered by water – everywhere the tire tracks and small bushes are was underwater by multiple feet. If you were here like I was or able to look at this photo at full resolution, you'd see that the old riverbank was about 3-4 meters (10-13 feet) higher than the current trickle.
Of the water that is not set aside for environmental purposes, 78% is used by agriculture and the remaining 22% is urban/residential.
(Sources: PPIC, usgs.gov)
Then right after this sign reading "Build Water Storage NOW" came this:
The agricultural community is finding that they too are running out of accessible water (see photo). They are now having to drill deeper, more dangerous, and more expensive wells to access the water. One farmer told me that he had to dig a well that was just 150 feet deeper than his previous well, but it cost him $275,000 USD to do it.
Yosemite gets most of its water from a source different than many parts of the United States: snowpack. The amount of snowpack is determined by the water fall and the entire water cycle. Yosemite is its own microcosm; it has its own water source that feeds everything. This is the lifeblood of Yosemite.
The snowpack is basically the amount of snow that falls on the rocks and massive walls of Yosemite and stays on these elevated areas throughout winter. It melts throughout the year, supplying a steady stream of water to Yosemite's rivers.
During 2015, the snowpack Yosemite got was 2% of what it SHOULD GET to feed the valley and what it has gotten in years past. It has been steadily decreasing, but 2015 is the lowest year on record… ever. The Sierra Nevada snowpack is at its lowest level in 500 years. This has caused numerous changes. Many of the smaller creeks have dried up and the lakes are multiple METERS lower than their normal levels. Pictured here is the basin at the bottom of Bridalveil falls. This was taken at the height of summer, when water should still be rushing furiously throughout the valley. Instead, it was gently flowing and the basin is about 1.5 meters lower than it should be (see the markings on the wall).
2% of what's needed means that there will be a massive die out because every living thing needs water in some capacity. This historic drought will not immediately kill all the trees and animals, but it does exact most of the damage and stress that they feel.
Adding to the miniscule snowpack, Yosemite received minimal rainfall, causing Yosemite Falls to dry up in September, months before it usually does. The falls is a necessary source of water to the Valley. The act of it drying up will increase the negative effects of the drought. I shot this photo during the peak of summer, when the falls is usually flowing with intense force. As you can see, the falls is more of a trickle at the time of this photo. The remnants of the domain of this once powerful falls can be seen in the lichen that inhabit what is known as the "splash zone." Lichens are a combination of algae and moss. Here they are dormant – they will await the life-supplying water of Yosemite Falls to return.
But will the return of the falls be enough to save the rest of the fauna at Yosemite? Specialists, park rangers, and foresters say that it's not enough. The early absence of water is already causing profound stress to the fauna and increasing the effect of other issues.
Think of the trees and plants as a big family that has been using water from the city and always had a constant supply. However, they've been cut off from their sources of water and now they can only use the water they have saved in their rainwater catchment.
The trees are sharing limited water that they get from rain. All the trees and plants are competing for the water. Just like the family in the scenario, this would cause intense stress, and many members of the family would die or struggle to survive. The exacerbated stress is so extreme that it in turn is causing a massive die out.
To the untrained observer, everything is going as it should. Yosemite is as beautiful as ever. There are numerous colours in the vegetation and the gargantuan trees are living proof of the vitality of the national park.
However, once one looks around they can see that there is a current pervasive die out. One of the characteristics of this die out is the frequent viewing of dead trees lying on the ground (previous photo). Like giants from another world, they seem out of place on the ground and it seems irreverent for their lives to end in such a way. Another characteristic of this die out is the strange sight of dead trees still standing. Known as "ghost trees," these dead trees that have lost all their branches and leaves are just dead trunks standing up. Being among them is an eerie feeling.
Visitors may say, "Yes that's bad, but at least Yosemite is full of different beautiful fall colour". This may actually be the most troubling sign that everything in Yosemite is not as it should be. Fall colours inherently are a beautiful sight and a wonderful facet of the changing seasons. The issue is not the fall colours; rather, the time at which they are seen. There are numerous red, orange, and yellow trees that exist in seasons OTHER than fall.
These so-called "red trees" seen other than in fall (pictured) are dead trees that are still standing. The tree has not gotten enough water through its root system and has died standing up. The branches and leaves are still there.
These trees are reminiscent of some of the dead cast bodies found at Vesuvius in Pompeii. [These bodies are entombed in ash and remain in their human form at the time of death. Details such as facial emotions and body positions can still be seen.] The trees' lives are preserved, but it is evident that they are dead.
At the time, I believed these trees to be simply a byproduct of a huge lack of water. However, upon further research, I found that there is an additional factor that is the final nail in the coffin for these trees.
The factor is small in size, but becoming large in numbers. It is the bark beetle. Bark beetles are able to burrow into and kill already weakened and stressed trees.
And they have.
Bark beetles are native to the California's woodlands, and flourish almost every time there is a large-scale drought like the current one. Bark beetles bore into cedar, pine and fir trees, and lay their eggs inside. Healthy trees fight back against the attack by flooding the beetles' egg areas with sap. The sap pushes the beetles and their larva out of the bark.
Distressed trees, however, cannot spare enough sap to dislodge the pests. And as you read earlier, the lack of water is the ubiquitous cause of stress.
Some trees die from girdling – the insects bore roles of adjacent holes underneath the bark that eventually removed an entire strip of bark around the circumference of the tree. Other trees give in to a fungus the beetles carry that grows into the sapwood and prohibits moisture and water from moving up the trunk. The fungus can be spotted by the telltale blue stains on the wood.
Again, every red tree is a dead tree. And the U.S. Forest Service asserts that there are 12.5 million of them in California as of April 2015.
The Forest Service examined over 8.2 million acres of California forest in April and found dead trees on 1 million of these acres. The dead trees amount to the size of Rhode Island. This is the worst bark damage California and Yosemite has seen.
Within the Sierra Nevada Mountains, fire has been a necessary part of the ecosystem for thousands of years. The flora and fauna have become reliant on the fire for seed dispersal and for an opportunity to thrive.
With that said, the typical forest fire would just burn the groundcover and dead trees and other low tinder. The taller trees would have enough water to resist the forest fires and remain standing after the fire terminates.
This is why drought is a multi-tiered problem. Drier trees and more dead trees = more tinder to burn. This issue coupled with the increasing presence and destruction of the bark beetles, and then the easy-to-burn deadwood doubles. The main concern for forestry officials is not the fact that millions of trees are dying, it's that all the dry, rotting wood will be easily combustible fuel for wildfires. This increase of firewood adds to the size of the fire and its ability to spread.
The larger and hotter the fire, the more trees will burn. The less water inside the trees, and the less ability the tree has to fight off the fire. If the tree cannot fight off the fire and succumbs to the inferno, it becomes more fuel for the fire and helps the fire grow.
The firefighters try to end the fire with water, and end up using lots of water that has to be taken from an already low water source in the area. This is turn increases the drought which will increase the magnitude of the forest fires.
The millions of dead trees are basically firewood just waiting to ignite. In summer heat, they could, and have, gone up in flames.
The dying forests will wreak havoc on the ecosystems and communities that they are an integral part of. Animals that live make their habitat in the trees and foliage will have to go elsewhere. Without roots to stabilise soil, the forest's groundcover erodes. The landscape will immediately be affected, and the water supply, path, and flow will also suffer large-scale changes.
Climate scientists posit that trees are a necessary source of carbon absorption (in the form of carbon dioxide) and massive amounts of dead forest point to more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and an increased Earthen temperature. This in turn becomes a positive feedback loop and the increased temperatures cause less water absorption and the cycle keeps changing.
Thank you for following along and reading my photo series. 2500 words later and we reach the end (for now). Hopefully you learned something along the way and hopefully some questions arose.
**Thank you to all those new people who read this story and thank you to all those who have shared this story and gotten more people to read.
(Sources: Yosemite Park Engineer, Yosemite Park Rangers, and Yosemite guidebooks).


text:
Retail and Shopping Centres in BC
Barbican Property Management manages and maintains several retail properties, each with their own character and customer base. From the mom-and-pop suburban feel of Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall to the urban buzz of Surrey City Centre, Barbican has a place for your retail business to thrive. Contact our property management team at 604.424.8276 to find your place.
Open that store you dream about
You have the idea and the business acumen, we have the retail space you need. Contact our expert retail team and see what the possibilities might be. We have short- and long-term lease options, a variety of storefront opportunities in malls, ground-level commercial in residential projects, and a number of stand-alone buildings. Call us today at 604.424.8276 and make your dreams come true.


text:
Friend's Email:
Subject: I have found a DVD that I think you would enjoy
|Godzilla the Series - The Monster Wars Trilogy
Actors: Tom Kenny, Patrick Labyorteaux, Bob Joles, David Newsom, Keith Szarabajka
Genres: Action & Adventure, Kids & Family, Science Fiction & Fantasy, Television, Mystery & Suspense, Animation
UR 2004 0hr 30min
Movie DVD
Larger Image
Movie Details
Similar Movies
Similarly Requested DVDs
Movie Reviews
Monster Wars Rocks
R. Polei | San Luis Obispo, CA | 08/25/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"So this is basically the sweetest cartoon ever. I have been a fan of the series since it first aired, and never ever thought in a million years they would release any of the series on DVD. Monster Wars is well worth the wait. This episode follows the H.E.A.T. Team around as they work to stop aliens from taking over the world. This three part episode is actually a sequel to an earlier episode, in which tells the story of how the aliens got to earth and their plans to take it over. These episodes are action packed, and the voice acting is wonderful, along with the animation. One of the best three parts of the series.
As for the DVD packaging, it was actually done quite well. The slipcase is colorful and provides a description of each episode on the back. The insert is a double sided slip sleeve, the front a theatrical poster if you will for the Monster Wars Trilogy, and the other side advertisements for other Columbia Tri-Star productions. The DVD itself features Godzilla on the label.
The menu screen is very basic, letting you choose either to view all episodes, go to them seperately, or turn on or off subtitles.
This DVD is a must have for any fan, and is well worth the money. I am glad that this has been released, and can only hope that someday the whole series will be released on DVD.
Only for young kids or fans of this series
John | 08/27/2004
(2 out of 5 stars)
"Since it's now common for an entire season of a TV show to be released at once, it's pretty surprising that this release is only 3 episodes (and with a total running time of barely 60 minutes). Apparently these 3 episodes were chosen due to popularity (and similarity to the 1968 film "Destroy All Monsters") but if you aren't already a fan of this show you're going to be hopelessly lost, since these episodes come from the middle of the first season and make a lot of references to things that happened previously.
Due to the few episodes and the lack of any setup or introduction of the characters, this DVD is only going to be of interest to people who were fans of the original cartoon or to very young children who'll probably enjoy seeing the monsters fight each other (but may be very bored by all the human "drama"). Ultimately this disc seems like a quick attempt to capitalize on the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the original Godzilla."
"Monster Wars" leaves questions unanswered
Laurel C. Schwartz | Raleigh, NC | 03/16/2006
(3 out of 5 stars)
"I've seen this Godzilla cartoon like a hundred times since I purchased it (for my son), and am still plagued with puzzling questions about the storyline. It supposedly takes off where the 1999 "Godzilla" movie staring Matthew Broderick left off; the opening sequince showing bits and charachters recognizable from the movie, and the main charachter having the same name. The credits are decietful. The show opens with Nick Tatopoulos apparently having "tamed," or even acting as a sort of adoptive "parent" to the hatchling child of Godzilla shown in the last scene of the live action film. However, the cartoon takes off with an enormous gap between the film and this new situational setup, making reference to a battle with aliens apparently won by Dr. Tatopoulos and the human race, but not before the aliens implanted mind control devices in several key human scientists and resurrected the original godzilla, assumed dead in the live-action film, via cyborg interface with organic tissue. All of this plot takes place off screen and is only referenced by the cartoon charachters, who I can only gather have been waging an ongoing study of and battle with these alleged aliens, as well as various other mutated creatures in addition to Godzilla that turn up in this animated "series." As well the title "Monster war Trilogy" is an unfit title for this series of animated tidbits. It's more like the middle of a sequil to the 1999 film, where you don't get to see the beginning, and lose interest before the end. I guess the creators felt since the cartoon audience would most likely be attention-lacking youth, and you can't really make a series with no plot, it wouldn't really matter if the one they fabricated made sense or not. There are some good mutant action sequences as a redeeming feature to hold the attention of the aforementioned youth audience, including a giant bat, giant worm, and some cyborg/robot destruction of the world type footage. If you prefer for shows, cartoon or not, to make sense plotwise, this DVD is maddening. If it's less important to know what's going on and you would delight in seeing Godzilla crush the Eiffel Tower...by all means, enjoy."


text:
Dramajjang Says
Orange Marmalade is
Not bad
if you take the drama alone it is not terrible at all...there were other famous dramas, that I found my self struggling watching and this one was definitely not like them.
Series Review Link: https://dramajjang.wordpress.com/2015/07/28/33331/
Global Alexa Ranking
In contrast
AKIA Talking
Global Alexa Ranking
In contrast
AKIA Talking
Global Alexa Ranking
Other Articles you may enjoy!
|Oh My Ghost (2015) First Impressions
|High Society (2015) Review (Ep 1~7)
|Mask /가면 (2015) Korean Drama First Impressions
|Producers / 프로듀사 (2015) Korean Drama First Impressions
|Ex-Girlfriend Club (2015) First Impressions Ep 1~2
|Hwajung / Splendid Politics (2015) First Impressions
|Hwajung 화정(2015): Basic History you need to know
|Queen's Flower (2015) First 4 week Review
|The Girl Who Sees Smells (2015) First Impressions:
|Seonam Girls High School Detectives Review
|Jingbirok 징비록 (2015) First Impressions
Click below to subscribe for upto date reviews and news
Thanks for reading this article. Please comment below and you can do it as a guest.
Also, it would be appreciated if you donate what you can towards the site. Thank.
Created by AKIA Talking
Email: email@example.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AKorAmerica
FaceBook: http://www.facebook.com/aKoreanInAmerica
Blog Feed: http://feeds.feedburner.com/AKoreanInAmericaPodcast List: http://www.akiatalking.com/search/label/podcast
Korean Movie Blog: http://www.kmovietalk.com/
All of the pictures and videos here are used for criticism and references purposes. They are not mine. Only the article itself is my property!


text:
At our home, we like to make a big breakfast on those special "days". So on Mom's day, Joe makes me breakfast and on Father's day, you guessed it, I (and the kids) make it for Joe. This Father's day the kids decided on making chocolate chip pancakes…. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm.
Who doesn't love a good pancake? What's better on a Sunday morning, than a great cup of coffee and a big plate of hot off the griddle pancakes, smothered with butter and syrup?
Not much, I would argue, ESPECIALLY if you make your own batter. Look out Aunt Jemima, Tina's spreading the word.
I found the recipe below on my absolute favorite recipe site: www.allrecipes.com
The recipe is simple and you can add whatever you like to your pancakes: nuts, choc chips, berries, bananas…Good Old Fashioned Pancakes
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon white sugar
- 1 1/4 cups milk
- 1 egg
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
- Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.
The only thing I added was a touch of vanilla. I usually never sift when they tell me to sift. It's a pain, a mess and they still turn out ok (would be a bit fluffier if you sift I guess).
After we made breakfast and served it to him in bed, I ran back down and made a chocolate cake for my brothers birthday. The recipe turns out an OH SO delicious chocolate cake. Great, now Aunt Jemima, Betty Crocker and the Pillsbury Doughboy will be hot on my tail.
One Bowl Chocolate Cake III
- 2 cups white sugar
- 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup milk
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup boiling water
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour two nine inch round pans.
- In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add the eggs, milk, oil and vanilla, mix for 2 minutes on medium speed of mixer. Stir in the boiling water last. Batter will be thin. Pour evenly into the prepared pans.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes in the preheated oven, until the cake tests done with a toothpick. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.
If you use a 9x13 pan, just cook it a little longer (I cook it for 40-45 mins). Oh, one more tip… it tastes much better refrigerated. I've made this cake for the kid's birthday parties the last few times, and every time the question is the same, "you made this? Wait, you mean you didn't use a box?????????" I could add more question marks but my blog is already long enough.
For some reason, it's hard to wrap the mind around the fact that cake can be made without a box. And it even tastes better than the box! Gasp, choke. Cheaper too? Like, omagosh!
Yea, just buy a tub of cocoa and it should last you a few cakes at least. You will get LOTS of complements and you'll feel all warm and fuzzy that people are devouring your cake.
So there you have it ladies and gents, two recipes that will get you well on your way to easy home-made goodness causing the loved ones in your life to feel special. And if it doesn't well, I don't know what to tell ya.


text:
Can Plymouth pull off an FA Cup shock at Home Park on Wednesday night, or will Liverpool's youngsters make their class show?
Liverpool visit Home Park for the first time since 1962 on Wednesday, and Plymouth will be hoping to build on their defensive masterclass at Anfield 10 days ago. A sellout crowd awaits, and the atmosphere will be brutal, but Klopp looks set to pick another team of teenagers for this crucial replay. So can the Pilgrims pull off an FA Cup miracle?
Derek's Defensive Discipline
Plymouth Argyle was the first appointment south of the border for Scottish manager Derek Adams. But you can bet that he's done a fine job with the Pilgrims since taking over in 2015, steadying the ship after a few seasons of freefall.
Plymouth now sit 2nd in League Two after a commendable fifth place finish last year. And what caught the eye of most watchers at Anfield was just how well marshalled the team's defence was.
As Good as United
Yes, they were playing for a draw from the first minute but you have to admire the discipline and concentration to deny Liverpool anything clear-cut.
Before that match only Man United had kept a clean sheet at Anfield this season. Never mind that Liverpool fielded a young team; it's still an impressive feat for a side from the fourth tier.
Mountain at the Back
The cornerstone of that performance was centre-half Sonny Bradley. The muscular Hull academy graduate cuts an imposing figure, and is one of those no-nonsense lower league defenders who is happier thumping the ball clear than playing out from the back.
But that is all that will be required of him on Wednesday night as he and partner Yann Songo'O try to achieve the impossible and keep this free-scoring Liverpool side out for a second game in a row.
Rowdy Support
Plymouth are a team with a big following, despite never having made it to the top tier of English football. Some 8,600 fans travelled all the way up from Devon to Anfield ten days ago and made a racket, out-singing the subdued home fans.
So Klopp may have to reconsider putting some experience in the lineup for the Home Park game. Ticket sales were suspended on Tuesday and you can put money on the atmosphere being fierce in this replay.
Big Mac
The other hero from the match at Anfield was captain Luke McCormick in goal. He had to make five saves but never looked uncomfortable.
He will be hoping that the Pilgrims can muster a bit more going forward. Bristol City loanee Paul Garita was completely isolated. New signing Nathan Blissett could come in, having just arrived from Torquay United for £15,000.
Plymouth Predicted Teamsheet:
McCormick; Miller, Songo'O, Bradley, Purrington; Jervis, Threlkeld, Carey, Slew; Blissett
Time for the First-Teamers?
Even though they missed out on Europe last season, Liverpool have had a busy campaign this year because of their runs in the domestic cups. With a demanding cup tie coming up against Southampton Klopp has a big decision to make about team selection.
In theory he's got the squad depth to handle Plymouth, but the Pilgrims will already be buoyed after the Anfield match and will be playing the game of their lives on Wednesday. But the word is that Klopp is going to stick with a similar team to the one that drew ten days ago.
Matip Misery
One player that Klopp can't call on is the defender Joël Matip, who could be out for the next six games due to Liverpool's dispute with Fifa.
At this rate it would probably have made more sense for the player to travel to Gabon for the Africa Cup of Nations as at least that way he'd be getting some matches under his belt. As it is, Liverpool can't expect Matip to be match fit once he is finally allowed to return to the fold.
The centre-half had been a revelation and helped patch up a porous defence, but hasn't featured for five weeks now.
Woodburn Wonder
The youngest player on the pitch at Anfield was the 17-year-old Ben Woodburn. Starting on the left he was dwarfed by the Plymouth players, but was at the centre of Liverpool's brightest moments and almost opened the scoring with some deft footwork in the first half.
He's a wide playmaker, cutting in from the touchline and threading passes for the striker and overlapping midfielders. Even if Klopp does decide to inject some more experience into the team you can bet that Woodburn will keep his place.
Stuttering Season for Sturridge
Daniel Sturridge hasn't had the greatest season under Klopp, often finding himself on the bench for the big games, like United last weekend. The England striker is odds-on to start on Wednesday, and being a few years older is a better pick than Origi for the night.
With Lucas Leiva an injury doubt there won't be many players who are used to the kind of environment that awaits them at Home Park. And if Sturridge is given any room by the Argyle defenders Sturridge should be able to make his quality tell.
Liverpool Predicted Lineup:
Karius; Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, Gomez, Moreno; Can, Stewart, Ejaria; Ojo, Sturridge, Woodburn
When Will Plymouth vs Liverpool Take Place?
Kick-off is at 19:45 GMT on Wednesday 18 January.
Plymouth vs Liverpool Match Prediction
The FA Cup has always had an upset in store, but what's making this tie even less predictable is Klopp's preference for an inexperienced lineup. With a few older hands scattered here and there Liverpool have the quality to overcome Plymouth quite easily, but there's no telling how crucial that boisterous home support will be.
Liverpool haven't gone out to a side three divisions or more below them since Exeter City knocked them out in 1959. And even if it won't be a walkover, we think that this record will be preserved. We're tipping a 1-2 win for the Reds.