text:
Discuss and research solar cookers and other green technologies
The village of Nabitende depend mostly on trees for their livelihood, feeding and energy. The trees are used for practically everything in their day to day lives; Charcoal, firewood, shelters, food etc.
Because of this high dependency on trees, a lot of trees are cut and none planted in replacement. This is causing severe depletion of the trees and if something is not done, the people of Nabitende face deforestation and subsequent loss of their major source of income.
All cooking is done on open wood and charcoal fires. Therefore solar cookers and other green technologies are needed.
I am attaching the great research done by neighbour Angela already on solar cookers.
Hi all,
As you will see in the draft Solar Cooking Plan attached above, I have contaced several organisations who may be able to assist. I have received the following reply from :
Hello Angela,
Thanks for contacting us - we are very happy to hear of your desire to promote solar cooking in Uganda. I will now first refer you to our partner: Kawesa Mukasa here is his email: firstname.lastname@example.com he has been promoting solar cooking in Uganda for a long time now. Next, I will refer you to our website: www.solarcooking.org and you can do a search by country and you can read all about everyone who is doing something on solar cooking in Uganda and link up with them. More lately there is a group out in Jinja who import the parabolic type solr cookers here is there address: firstname.lastname@example.com
In any case you can also write to the webamster for other advice: firstname.lastname@example.com
I hope from all this you can find help and also keep in touch.
Margaret C.A. Owino
Director Solar Cookers International (EA)
Sinead, I'm not sure how document control works with Nabitende - do you want to add the text of these emails into the main document, to reduce the space they take up here? Or is there a better way to keep track of them?
I have already contacted Kawesa from the Solar Connect Association (text of my original email is in the Solar Cooking Plan document). No response so far. I am sending a follow-up message today to his other email address (text below).
Dear Kawesa,
I sent the email below to your "ymail" address but perhaps this is a better one to try. I have also been referred to you by Solar Cookers International.
As per my email below [I attached the email I had already sent], I am working with a very well organised and proactive project to establish a sustainable farm in Nabitende, Uganda. An important next step for the project is to obtain solar cookers, in order to take pressure off local resources, free up time and improve health.
We have access to the many types of solar cooker designs available from the SCI website and elsewhere. We would now like to seek your assistance with making solar cookers for Nabitende a reality. In particular, we are seeking materials, complete cookers and/or training. If you can help with these or in any other way, we would be very grateful to hear from you.
Thanks and regards,
Angela Byrne
Perhaps someone can follow this up with a phone call? Kewesa's contact details are:
Kawesa Mukasa
Solar Connect Association
Tel: 256-77-665894
Office: 256-71-718005
firstname.lastname@example.com or firstname.lastname@example.com
Also worth noting are some really important tips about promoting solar cooking: http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Promoting_solar_cooking#Hard-won_less...
In particular they recommend:
There is a fantastic trainer's manual designed for use in East Africa (attached).
One final point that may be of importance: do the people of Nabitende mostly cook fried foods? If so they may need parabolic cookers even though these are more complex. Otherwise the box or panel-type cookers are best.
The solar cooker plans are so simple, nearly anyone can make one just from the plans. I will bet that if the plans were taken to the village, a person would make one. I have great admiration for people living in the villages. They may not be educated but some are smart.
In my ag workshop in Uzbekistan, I mentioned solar box cookers. They wanted me to make one. Had two cardboard boxes, a large piece of glass and no glue. I made one as best I could. Put it in the sun. The next morning one of the female students was not in class and I asked where is she. Oh, she brought the ingredients for a cake and is going to bake it in the cooker. She will be here shortly. OK! Later, I realized I had forgotten about it. We went out. It has risen but not as much as normal. It was good.
I was teaching at a high school in Nigeria and made a reflector oven. I was laughted at. I told them that the sun will cook the top of your head and will cook food. The only thing I could find to demonstrate it was a coke bottle full of water. No lid. Later we went out to see it. I ask a girl to go and bring the bottle to me. She picked it up and immediately dropped it. "That is hot!"
Hi all,
A major hurdle to the use of solar cookers on a large scale by the village population will be due to the easy availability of wood for burning. People will have the tendency to continue cutting trees and burning wood, even if cutting trees is controlled by local laws. Under these circumstances, it may be counter-productive to provide solar cookers on a large scale at this stage. To begin with, a few solar cookers could be installed in a community facility where a large number of people from the village visit regularly. Over a period of time, word will spread among the village population about how good the solar cookers are, and gradually there could be a demand from the people about such solar cookers to be installed at their homes also. This would be about the right stage for moving on to the next level where solar cookers in larger numbers can be provided, so that all households switch so solar cooking. Simultaneously, the local laws can be made a bit more strict, to prevent the cutting of trees. This will further accelerate increased use of solar cooking.
Vijai Singh
Further to my post as above in this thread, I have recently posted on another village on nabuur about an alternate green technology product - the 'gobar gas plant'. This is an environmentally friendly product which converts faecal matter to fertilizer, and also produces methane gas as a by-product. This gas can be used for cooking etc.
A basic schematic diagram and explanation of how the gobar gas system works can be seen on the following site -
This is a cost effective solution through which cutting of trees for cooking can be reduced since methane gas can be made available for cooking, organic fertilizer can be made available for community use, and the environment can be kept clean.
Vijai Singh
While we talk and discuss this, not one family in the village has a solar cooker. My wish is that someone will take the simple plans for box and reflector cookers to the village and find a family who is interested enough to make one and try it. It will spread naturally from that family. It would be better to have more than one family try it because one may decided that they are just not interested whether it works or not.


text:
Go and discover our majestic «Lac Taureau».
Go and discover our majestic «Lac Taureau».
Take a break and enjoy a ride on the lake.
Take a break and enjoy a ride on the lake.
Approximately 12 kilometres from the Auberge, the Saint-Michel-des-Saints golf club offers an 18-hole course (par 72).
All equipment is available on-site for fishing in our ponds stocked with trout .
Over 500 kilometres of well-maintained trails are available for lovers of ATVs.
Observe animals in their natural environment.
Refresh yourself in one of our water plans.
Come walk on our beautiful trails.
Let the 'coureur des bois' inside you go wild on a 1.5-km hike with our trapper-guide.
Introduce your group in the culture of the natives of North America.
Forest survival workshops, mini-Olympics, rallies, treasure hunts, Fort Taureau (inspired by Fort Boyard), and Mission Impossible are team games offered by our dynamic recreation staff.
Get your cardio going on our tennis courts. The equipment is provided.
Come play Robin Hood with one of our five targets.
Take on our 23 kilometers of trails available for mountain biking.
We have diverse types of boat such as the canoes, kayaks, paddleboats, motomarines and sailboats.
You can practice this sport on our beautiful beach.
Admire the Saint-Michel-des-Saints region from the air.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Zack Petroc Studios
With a commitment to driving the digital entertainment industry forward, Zack Petroc continues to develop new techniques that redefine how digital tools impact the art and design of story telling. In 2005 he opened Zack Petroc Studios to focus on the development of unique new content and one of a kind training tools. The Studios' first independent project Adaboy gives viewers direct access to behind the scenes story development techniques, allowing them to follow along as it evolves from concept to completed project. Additionally, his studio has worked on the development of several feature films and video games with a recent client list that includes Disney Interactive, Scott Free Productions, SCEA, Walt Disney Imagineering, Snoot Entertainment, Hasbro, and Paramount Pictures.
Currently he enjoys spending his days as Model Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios, interacting with some of the most talented artists in the industry.
Training Tools and Streaming Lectures
Zack also has a passion for teaching and training digital artists. In addition to lecturing at universities across the US and abroad, Zack has headed several workshops and training seminars at leading industry companies.
Now, through zackpetroc.com, professionals and students alike have direct access to Zack's tools and techniques via instant download and streaming Master Class videos. Options ranging from one time downloads, to all inclusive Premium Memberships, allow for a variety of ways to access this one of a kind source of inspiration, and education.


text:
Syria's Foreign Minister visits Pakistan
Syria's deputy Prime Minister and foreign minister, Farouq al-Shara, arrived in Islamabad from New Delhi on Wednesday as special envoy of president Bashar al-Assad for talks on bilateral relations, regional and international issues, a foreign office official said.
The Foreign Minister is to meet Pakistani president General Pervez Musharraf on Thursday to deliver a message from the Syrian president. The Syrian minister is also expected to hold talks with his Pakistani counterpart Inam ul Haq, the Kuwaiti news agency reported.
General Musharraf visited Syria in January and held talks with President al-Assad and Prime Minister Miro. Syria and Pakistan had signed many agreements to strengthen cooperation in the fields of science and technology, agriculture, trade and industry, the official added. (Albawaba.com)


text: Following the launch of the "Return of Derrick Rose" launch video, adidas Basketball has released detailed images of the Rose 773, Derrick's official team signature shoe. The name comes from the Chicago point guard's hometown area code, with the shoe adorned with a top down satellite view of Derrick's Englewood neighborhood. Technical benefits include an aerodynamic SPRINTWEB toe, providing lightweight stability for improved overall support while the breathable web layout keeps the shoe light and the foot cool. SPRINTFRAME construction enables stability and speed to create a lightweight and supportive basketball chassis. The same outsole construction and triangular memory foam collar used on the adiZero Rose 2.5 provide lockdown and comfort on the court. Signature details include "ROSE" on the tongue, number 1 on the toe box and Derrick's signature on the heel. Finally, the three stripes branding on the back of the shoe represents Derrick's speed on the court. The adidas Rose 773 is available now in multiple colorways at adidas.com, Eastbay and Foot Locker.


text:
1974 Horatio Alger Award Winner
"We nearly lost everything in the Depression, but through innovative ideas and hard work, we made our business a success."
George P. Cullum, Sr., was born in 1895 into a large, poor family. He completed his education in the 10th grade. To help support himself and his family, he held a variety of odd jobs, including delivering groceries, digging ditches, driving mules, and reading meters. During his early married life, he and his wife traded cows and calves and remodeled and sold houses for a living. In 1922, he entered the construction field with his brother, W. G. Cullum. The Depression left them deeply in debt. However, Cullum was a great innovator and through his ideas and hard work, they were able to overcome their losses and save their customers money at the same time. He served his community as a member of the Rotary Club and as a trustee and member of the board of governors of Southern Methodist University. He was particularly supportive of his church, the County Home for Boys, and the Texas Society for Crippled Children and Adults.* Deceased


text:
Match day with West Ham United chairman David Gold
London and South East Late Kick Off spent match day with West Ham chairman David Gold and found out about his mixed views over the proposed Olympic Stadium move, his reflections on two years in charge and his hopes for promotion.
Watch Late Kick Off on a Monday evening on BBC One (2305 GMT).
You can also view the programme again on the BBC iplayer via the Late Kick Off website.
This video is for UK users only.


text:
Wikimedia Commons
Could lima beans kill you? Probably not. Lima beans commercially grown in the United States are restricted to two varieties with low cyanide levels.
In murder mysteries, the detective usually diagnoses cyanide poisoning by the scent of bitter almonds wafting from the corpse. The detective knows what many might find surprising — that the deadly poison cyanide is naturally present in bitter almonds and many other plants used as food, including apples, peaches, apricots, lima beans, barley, sorghum, flaxseed and bamboo shoots.
There's a reason that cyanide exists in all these plants, and it is — to paraphrase Sherlock Holmes — evolutionary, suggests Kenneth M. Olsen, PhD, an assistant professor of biology in Arts & Sciences at Washington University in St. Louis.
Olsen, who studies white clover, cassava and other plants that produce cyanide, says the plants have an ingenious poison delivery system, one that evolution has designed to discourage herbivores from feasting on them.
Due to proper food processing techniques and strict regulations, cyanide-wielding plants pose little threat to the American food supply. But, in Africa, where cassava root has become a major part of subsistence diets, many poor people suffer from a chronic form of cyanide poisoning known as konzo.
How plants make cyanide
The plant stores the cyanide in an inactive form, typically as a cyanogenic glycoside, which is a sugar molecule with an attached cyanide group (carbon triple-bonded to nitrogen).
Apple seeds contain cyanide (not arsenic as people commonly think) but even if the core is eaten, the seeds are likely to pass undigested through the human system.
The cyanogenic glycoside is stored in one compartment of the plant cell and an enzyme that activates it is stored in another compartment. When an insect or other animal chews the plant and crushes the compartments, the two chemicals mix, and the enzyme cleaves the cyanide from the sugar. It's a bit like breaking a glow stick to mix the chemicals that make the stick fluoresce.
Olsen describes it as "a cyanide booby-trap."
What cyanide does to poison a person (or the relevant herbivore) is equally ingenious. It prevents cells from using oxygen by binding in its place to the biomachinery that converts food to energy. This causes what is essentially a molecular form of asphyxiation.
And the molecular pathway it blocks is so ancient and universal, cyanide is effective against most life forms, from insects to people.
Why so many food plants contain cyanide
Twenty bitter almonds will kill an adult, so the nuts aren't sold in the United States. A closer look at this bottle, however, reveals that almond extract is made from oil of bitter almonds. But the extract includes no cyanide, only a byproduct of the enzymatic reaction that produces cyanide when the almonds are crushed.
Why do so many food plants contain cyanide? There are two answers, Olsen says. Cyanide acts as a primitive pesticide that discourages insects that feed on plants. The very earliest farmers, selecting plants to bring into cultivation, might have found these "clean" plants particularly attractive. By selecting plants that hadn't been chewed up by insects, they may have inadvertently selected ones that were cyanogenic.
But the second and perhaps more important reason is that as plant toxins go, cyanide is a manageable one. The cyanide in apples and peaches, for example, is in their seeds and pits, which usually are discarded.
In addition, Olsen says, even if an edible plant part contains the poison, it is easy to get rid of by crushing the plant then washing the mash. Crushing releases the water-soluble cyanide, which is carried off in the water.
Disabling the genes that code for cyanide production also is straightforward. It took only one genetic mutation, for example, to turn the toxic bitter almond to the benign sweet almond.
"You'll notice that the oak hasn't been domesticated," Olsen says, "and this may be because the poison in that case is not a single compound but rather a broad class of compounds (the tannins) whose production is controlled by many different genes."
"Many mutations would be required to generate a low-tannin oak. Also tannins are not sequestered in one part of the plant, such as the leaves, but instead are found throughout the plant, so it isn't possible just to remove the offending part."
"Squirrels have evolved digestive systems that can handle the oak tannins," Olsen says. "But tannins definitely discourage acorn consumption by people."
The problem with cassava
Larco Museum Collection, Peru/Wikipedia Commons
Cassava is native to South America, not Africa, as people often assume. A vase in the shape of cassava roots was made by the Moche people who flourished in northern Peru in the first millennium A.D.
One plant that can deliver problematic amounts of cyanide is cassava, also called manioc, tapioca or yuca.
Olsen, who has studied the domestication of cassava, says that it is native to South America and was imported to Africa by the Portuguese just 300 or 400 years ago. It remained a minor crop until about 100 years ago, becoming important only when soils became too degraded to grow traditional African crops.
There are sweet as well as bitter strains of cassava, but farmers often prefer the bitter, high-cyanide ones, because they discourage insects (and thieves — who avoid the roots that require laborious processing).
People have the ability to detoxify some cyanide if they ingest it slowly and over a long period of time, and if they have sufficient protein in their diet, particularly sulfur-containing amino acids.
Copyright David Monniaux/Courtesy Wikimedia Commons
The skins of unprocessed cassava roots actually contain sulfur-containing proteins that would help people who eat cassava metabolize cyanide in the root, but the skins are usually removed when the roots are prepared.
Those who suffer from konzo often are subsisting on little other than cassava and may also not be processing the root properly, since detoxification requires an abundant water supply.
Tacked to Olsen's office wall is a woven palm-fiber basket that looks like a giant Chinese finger trap.
The purpose of this intriguing South American implement, called a tipiti, is to wring the cyanide out of grated cassava. It is also a reminder of the ingeniousness of plants, which are not the patsies animals often think they are, but instead experts in chemical warfare.
For 24-hour-a-day media assistance, or to schedule an expert for interview using our free T.V. & radio studio, please contact us.
Washington University in St. Louis
One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO 63130
Copyright 2014


text:
Unless otherwise indicated, the material below has not been prepared by Van Eck Associates Corporation or HardAssetsInvestor.com.
Neither assumes any liability for any content on a third-party website or material prepared by a third party.
- Alternative Energy
***Top stories from the last 15 days
- Written by Sumit Roy |
- March 28, 2011
Contango Report: WTI Roll Costs Hit 2011 Lows
- Details
CONTANGO WATCH: The one-year WTI crude oil forward curve flattened even further this past week, but it remains in steady contango through the end of this year.
ROLL COSTS: At 4.76 percent, front-month annualized roll costs have fallen to their lowest levels since late last year.
BOTTOM LINE: Contango to Backwardation
CONTANGO WATCH: Although the Brent forward curve steepened slightly, it remains in steady backwardation.
ROLL COSTS: Investors net slightly more than last week on the front-month Brent roll.
BOTTOM LINE: Backwardation
CONTANGO WATCH: Natural gas prices continued to rally last week, but the shape of the forward curve was largely unchanged.
ROLL COSTS: Annualized roll costs fell almost 100 basis points to 24.7 percent. While these costs may seem high, as we've said before, they are actually quite modest, historically.
BOTTOM LINE: Contango
Precious Metals
CONTANGO WATCH: The gold forward curve flattened a bit on the front end, but remains in mild contango.
ROLL COSTS: Annualized front-month roll costs dipped to 1.1 percent from 1.45 percent.
BOTTOM LINE: Mild Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: The silver forward curve reversed last week's steepening, with the very front end switching to a far more modest contango.
ROLL COSTS: Annualized roll costs fell back to a more tenable 0.65 percent from last week's 3.74 percent.
BOTTOM LINE: Choppy Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: The platinum forward curve remains in steady contango for the next year.
ROLL COSTS: Investors' cost to roll front-month platinum contracts fell to 1.87 percent annualized, down from 2.54 percent.
BOTTOM LINE: Mild Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: The backwardation on the very front end of the palladium forward curve steepened a bit, but overall, the shape of the curve remains unchanged.
ROLL COSTS: Investors gain a bit more from rolling front-month palladium contracts this week—0.8 percent vs. 0.33 percent in the prior period.
BOTTOM LINE: Mild Backwardation to Mild Contango
Industrial Metals
CONTANGO WATCH: The copper forward curve returned to steady contango through the rest of this year. However, the curve starts to flatten and move into backwardation in the back end, when the market is expected to tighten.
ROLL COSTS: Front month roll costs increased to 0.5 percent from 0.28 percent last week.
BOTTOM LINE: Contango to Backwardation
CONTANGO WATCH: The aluminum forward curve remains in steady and consistent contango.
ROLL COSTS: Front-month roll costs have remained remarkably stable for the last several weeks.
BOTTOM LINE: Steady Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: Like aluminum, zinc remains in steady contango through the entire forward curve.
ROLL COSTS: Zinc roll costs more than halved to 1.25 percent from 2.61 percent last week.
BOTTOM LINE: Steady Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: The lead forward curve, which remains in backwardation, steepened notably from last week.
ROLL COSTS: Investors net over 8 percent annualized from rolling front-month zinc contracts, almost double last week's yield.
BOTTOM LINE: Backwardation
CONTANGO WATCH: The nickel forward curve remains virtually flat before shifting to steady backwardation after August.
ROLL COSTS: Investors pay a very slight 0.13 percent annualized cost to roll front-month nickel, modest by any measure.
BOTTOM LINE: Flat to Backwardation
CONTANGO WATCH: The very front end of the tin forward curve moved into slight contango, but for all intents and purposes, tin is in backwardation.
ROLL COSTS: Investors pay 0.08 percent annualized to roll the front-month tin contract.
BOTTOM LINE: Flat to Backwardation
Agricultural Commodities
CONTANGO WATCH: Corn's forward curve features contango at the very front end, backwardation in the middle and then contango once again.
ROLL COSTS: Corn's roll costs fell about 100 basis points last week after doubling the week before.
BOTTOM LINE: Contango to Backwardation
CONTANGO WATCH: The wheat forward curve remains in its steepened state.
ROLL COSTS: Wheat's annualized front-month roll costs were expensive but steady in the latest week at 76.36 percent.
BOTTOM LINE: Steep Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: Soybeans remain in contango through July, before they move into backwardation.
ROLL COSTS: The soybean roll increased to 9.44 percent from 8.22 percent.
BOTTOM LINE: Contango to Backwardation
CONTANGO WATCH: The very front of the live cattle curve has moved into backwardation.
ROLL COSTS: Investors now net a hefty 6.16 percent annualized to roll front-month live cattle contracts, much better than last week when investors had to pay 1.62 percent.
BOTTOM LINE: Humpbacked Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: Lean Hogs remains in steep seasonal contango, but as expected, the curve is starting to flatten.
ROLL COSTS: The annualized roll cost fell to 187.5 percent from 263.32 percent last week.
BOTTOM LINE: Humpbacked Contango
Soft Commodities
CONTANGO WATCH: The coffee curve is back in steady contango for the next few contract months.
ROLL COSTS: Annualized front-month roll costs for coffee rose significantly to 11.51 percent as the March contract fell off the board.
BOTTOM LINE: Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: The cocoa forward curve is virtually flat for the rest of this year.
ROLL COSTS: Investors pay 0.74 percent to roll front-month cocoa contracts, down from 1.55 percent last week.
BOTTOM LINE: Flat to Contango
CONTANGO WATCH: The sugar forward curve continues to exhibit extremely steep backwardation. The shape of the forward curve has been unchanged for several weeks now.
ROLL COSTS: Investors continue to net a very attractive 63 percent positive roll yield from holding sugar contracts, the same as last week.
BOTTOM LINE: Steep Backwardation
CONTANGO WATCH: The cotton forward curve lost some of its steepness in the past week, as prices suffered.
ROLL COSTS: The cotton annualized roll yield fell to 35.67 percent, but it remains high by any measure.
BOTTOM LINE: Steep Backwardation
- << Prev
- 1
- 2
- | Full Article |
- Next


text:
Product Categories
Front Projection
Flexible Rear Projection
Rigid Rear Projection
Silver Lite 2.5 is a fiberglass multi-purpose front projection surface for non high-definition projection that is optimized for passive linear and circular 3D applications, and is also compatible with 2D projection. The silver surface maintains 99.3% of polarized light. Silver Lite 2.5 eliminates ghosting or crosstalk common with stereoscopic 3D projection. When paired with 2D projection, the gain and high contrast create a perfect surface for high ambient light environments or a low output projector. Available in any width up to 8' in height.Silver Lite 2.5 can be cleaned with mild soap and water, is flame retardant and mildew resistant.
This surface has achieved GREENGUARD GOLD Certification.
download image


text:
Here are some of our customer's comments and reviews – thank you to all of you who've contacted us, we really appreciate your comments and feed back.
Lip balms:
You lip balm kits were so wonderfully received this Christmas, thank you. Willa (age 11) adored hers and her friends were clamouring to know where she had got it as she made each of them their own pot. - Rosie M.
Congratulations on a great website & amazing products. My daughter was given a lipbalm kit for her 5th birthday and we made it a few days ago... with brilliant results. I was so impressed with it that I googled homemade company and will order more! - Josie, London
I bought 4 of your lip balm kits as Christmas gifts for godchildren - they went down a storm - it went down so well with one that by 10:00am on Christmas day lip balm was made (with Dad!), wrapped and ready to give to a friend. Excellent packaging, easy instructions and works too...I hope someone buys me one! Fern HP
Jenny from Devon - I was given a kit for my 18th and I made them straight away! I love them and I now have 1 lipbalm in every jacket pocket!
Madie emailed to say: I loved your lip balm kit that makes 4 sweet lip balms! I made them and it was SO easy and nothing went wrong! The instructions were clear and I am going to give 3 of them to my relatives and friends! I loved gift wrapping them and the labels were brilliant! Also it was so quick so set so there wasn't any waiting around for too long. I am going to do it again.
My daughter opened her presents this morning and loved the "Homemade" lip balm...perfect for her girls sleepover this weekend. I liked the handwritten note ...thought it made all the difference and puzzled her ....took her a mo to realise it wasn't my handwriting ... I will pass on "Homemade with highly recommended. Susan
Beautifully packaged. Caroline
Bath bombs:
How clever, all your stuff is perfect for my little niece. Harriet from Devon
Jo was disappointed not to have a heart shape mould in her bath bomb kit – so we are now going to give you the option to choose your mould shape.
Gardeners Hand Balm:
I received the order this morning. I love the little hessian bags for the hand cream & I will put the gift bags on my compost heap! Jane
Delivery :
In the Christmas run-up we were inundated by orders – a wonderful situation to be in, but one that we were rather taken by surprise with, so compounded with the snow, we'd just like to say a huge thank you to you all for your patience – and I promise that next year we will be totally ready! We've already got an excellent new courier in place.
Jason from Basingstoke was incredibly understanding and emailed us to say:
'Just a quick email to let you know how happy we are with the lip balm we purchased.
As you know we ordered this as a Christmas present for our 7 year old daughter and due to the extreme weather leading up to Christmas the shipment was delayed, you very kindly sent out another one which did arrive in time. She loved it!!, so much so that she made it on Christmas day, I must say it was very easy to make and she really enjoyed being involved, also the quality of the ingredients where excellent. She then proceeded to give them to her Grandparents and Mummy, keeping one pot for herself, I apparently don't need lip balm?
I am extremely impressed with the whole process and your excellent response to such a small value order, with this kind of customer service your business will go from strength to strength. Thank you again for all your help and we will be ordering again and letting our all our friends know about your products.'
My order received with thanks. Very prompt. Great!
New Years wishes Susan.
Payment & website:
We are aware that many people do not like giving their cc details on the internet so we are happy to take cheques, Muriel emailed us to say
Thank you for your very prompt reply and I shall get a cheque sent off to you over the next few days with my order for the bath bombs.
Your website scores lots of gold stars from me - clear and easy to use, excellent speed of response to queries, good link to Paypal without glitches - and not many in the Big League can achieve that ! Rosemary S
Please do let us know what you think, we love hearing from you, email us at email@example.com or leave a comment on our blog.


text:
New Update for Blackberry! Brings Better Performance & Battery Life
Are you Kik'n on Blackberry? Great news! Our new update dramatically improves Kik's performance and battery usage, so you can keep Kik'n longer.
Sounds awesome, right?! Here is how you can get it now:
1. In Kik, go to Settings-->"Help & About Us"
2. Click "Check for Updates"
3. Download and install the update
It's that easy! Why not do it right now before you forget?


text:
Help for the Grieving Heart CD
Posted By James on March 2, 2011
I have made a relaxation CD to help those who have lost loved one to remember good memories of those loved ones. It has help those who have heard it to go to good memories and relieve the pain of grief. You can get a copy here:
I hope you will get a copy and please leave feedback on Amazon for me and the CD.
Thank You!
James Einert, ND, CH
Popularity: 1% [?]
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.


text:
Mighty Leaf Tea
Mighty Leaf Tea are one of the internet's most popular tea stores, and with good reason. Though I personally prefer my tea in loose leaf form, their silken tea pouches are great for any gourmet tea lover who needs the ease of a teabag but doesn't want to sacrifice quality. Their loose leaf range is extensive, and they have plenty of sampler packs for anyone who wants to try a plethora of different teas without spending a fortune.
Below, I have picked out a few of my personal favourites from Mighty Leaf Tea.
Mighty Leaf Tea ReviewsShow all Mighty Leaf Tea products
Organic Breakfast Black Tea
A fine breakfast tea. Robust, with the subtle aroma of berries. A great way to start the day.
Organic Hojicha Green Tea
A wonderfully aromatic hojicha from Mighty Leaf Tea with a nice mixture of leaves and stalk and a savoury character that is perfect for accompanying meals.
Organic Darjeeling Estate – 15 count pouch foil wrap
A well-rounded black tea from the 2009 first flush harvest in Darjeeling, India.


text:
Other Opportunities
PCCM is committed to offering rich, educational opportunities for all young people interested in materials science. Of utmost importance is that we provide unique research opportunities to those students who are traditionally underserved. It is our sincere hope that through our programs, young people will feel inspired to continue their studies in college and beyond.
While we make every effort to accommodate a wide range of students from all populations, regrettably we cannot serve everyone. We encourage K-12 students interested in the sciences to contact the Liberty Science Center for their great breadth of programs and passion for bringing engaging and cutting-edge science to students from all walks of life. Interested high school students will find their laboratory-based Partners in Science program particularly attractive. Our partners at Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory also offer high school internships.


text:
The Liberator crew makes a deal with a outlaw known as Bayban the Berserker to exchange for crystals need for the Liberator's weapons system. Bayban the Berserker in return requires Vila's help to find a treasure on the distant planet Keezar and Vila falls in love with Kerril, one of Bayban the Berserker's gangmembers...
close You must sign in to add tags. Don't have an account yet? Register now.
Imagine Casting now utilizes Gravatar for profile photos. Be sure to update your profile settings to enable this feature.
We've fixed an issue that prevented some of our long-time users from signin in. If you've been having problems signing in, give it another try.
action Adaptation adventure Animation Based on Animated Series based on book based on comic book based on tv series Based on video game batman biopic Book comedy comic adaptation crime DC DC Comics Disney drama family fantasy horror Idea-for-TV kids Live Action martial arts Marvel Marvel Comics Musical mystery remake romance sci-fi science fiction scifi Sequel Superhero suspense teens thriller videogame adaptation war


text:
- ...
"....But doesn't that just mean that all the tribute stuff that went to the unicorns just now goes to the Princesses?" Nyx frowned.
"Actually no, it doesn't," Twilight said. "Can you guess why?"
Nyx scrunched up her face, trying to think. "Beeeeecause the Princesses stopped all the taxes?"
Twilight laughed. "Noooo, we still pay taxes. Try again."
Princess Cadence was going to make a public announcement that day. It was going to be a formal occasion, and Nyx and Twilight were in the process of getting ready. They were dressed in their best outfits, and Twilight was brushing out Nyx's mane. While she worked, she'd been giving Nyx an impromptu lesson on some of the quirks of Equestrian-- and Crystal Empire-- government and history.
Nyx frowned. "I need more data before I form a hippopotamus," she said solemnly.
"That's 'hypothesis,' dear," Twilight said, amused.
"Hypothesis. And I do need more data," Nyx said.
"Okay, I guess that's true," Twilight said. "How about this: why could Princess Celestia give Granny Smith's family that big chunk of land?"
"Because she owned it?"
"Got it in one," Twilight said. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna both own lots of land; farmland, city land, beachfront property too. They own lots and lots of businesses and buildings and other things, too. Even if they weren't Princesses, they'd be very very rich."
"So they don't need any money because they make lots of their own, right?"
"Actually they don't get a single bit."
"Wait, what?" Nyx tried to twist around in her seat to look up at her mother in confusion.
Twilight gently but firmly turned her around so she was facing forward again. "Eyes forward, please." Twilight said. Nyx grumped, but she complied. "You see, about five hundred years ago, since Princess Celestia owned land, Princess Celestia had to pay bills and taxes and other things like anyone else. And Princess Celestia was having trouble with debts. And taxes. And bills. And bills and bills and bills and more bills....
"So Princess Celestia made the House of Lords a deal. If they would clear out her debts, forget her taxes, and give her a yearly allowance, she would let the House of Lords have all the money made off Princess Celestia's lands and buildings and businesses. ALL the profits. For the rest of her life, or as long as she was on the throne. So they took the deal. They cleared out all her taxes, paid off her other debts, and put her on a yearly allowance. Princess Cadence is trying to make a similar arrangement here with the Crystal Empire."
"Gee." Nyx said thoughtfully. It was weird thinking Princess Celestia was on an allowance like her or her friends. "How much does she get?"
"Oh, about fifty million bits," Twilight said.
"Fifty million bits?" Nyx squeaked. Holy cow. "That's a lotta cupcakes!"
Twilight chuckled. "It sure is," she said. "But you know how much the government makes off the Princess' lands? Two hundred and fifty million bits."
"Wow, that means--" Nyx concentrated for a moment. "That means they make two hundred million bits off the Princesses every year..."
"Well, a hundred and fifty million bits, since Princess Luna returned," Twilight said. "They have to give her an allowance too."
Nyx thought for a moment. "Wow. They're taking the Princesses to the cleaners."
Twilight snerked. "Well, Princess Celestia always told me it was worth it not to have to fill out tax forms," she said. "Okay, now turn around and let me look at you." Nyx stood up and turned around. She was dressed in a light summer dress of Rarity's design that brightened her appearance to a more 'summery' look. Her wings were covered-- not hidden, only lightly covered-- by a drape of light thin cloth over the shoulders. Rarity had wisely decided that Nyx should neither hide her alicorn nature, nor openly flaunt it; either approach would draw attention, she argued. One could tell that Nyx was an alicorn, but unless she flared her wings out from under the cloth, one would have to scrutinize her rather closely to see it.
The ensemble was somewhat marred by the addition of a pair of sunglasses. Nyx's sensitive eyes still hurt her in the dazzle of the Crystal Empire day, so it couldn't be helped. Thankfully Twilight had managed to find some more subtly sized sunglasses than the enormous pair Nyx had adopted on her arrival. "There, pretty as a picture," she said. "Even if you do look like a movie star with those glasses."
"Yes, I'm fabulous," Nyx said, striking a pose. She held out a hoof, nose in the air. "No, no autographs, please--"
Twilight chuckled and got to her hooves. "And how do I look?" She was wearing a dress based loosely on her gown from the first Grand Galloping Gala. It was more conservatively cut, though; the high collar had been changed to an off the shoulder cut, and the skirt was less billowy and more contoured to her torso. It went well with her Crystal Empire manestyling.
"You look very pretty, Mommy," Nyx said. "You always do."
"You better watch it, Twilight, she's buttering you up for something," Spike's voice came through the open door. He stepped into the room. He'd opted for his all purpose tuxedo... minus the hat and plus a pair of shades. Nyx blew a raspberry at him; he cheerfully blew a raspberry back.
"Looking sharp, Spike," Twilight said.
"As always," Spike agreed, smartly adjusting his tie. "Really though, you do look nice, Twilight."
"Thank you Spike," Twilight said. "And thank you too, Nyx." Twilight absently smoothed her skirt with her magic. "Come on, let's go join Cadence and Shining Armor."
"So what's this big public to-do about, anyway?" Spike asked as they trotted out of the royal quarters and into the hall.
"Cadence is going to make an official announcement about the hunt for the tomb of Chancellor Level Head," Twilight said. "She wants to let the Crystal Empire ponies know what we're up to-- and let them know who's going to be doing the hunting."
"You!" Nyx said, giving a little hop.
Twilight chuckled. "Yes, me. But not just me; there's going to be some other ponies involved, too. Some ponies from the Crystal Empire; some from Equestria. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are both very interested in this expedition; they say it will have repercussions for ponies in both countries, and all over the world!"
"Boy, no pressure," Spike grunted. He made a mental note to start stocking up on stress squeezy toys and chamomile tea; something told him Twilight was going to be going through both at an alarming rate.(1)
They met Cadence and Shining Armor in the hallway. Cadence in her royal tiara, torc and sandals; Shining Armor in his dress uniform. "Ah, are we all ready, then?" Shining Armor said. There was a muted chorus of agreements.
Cadence paused. "Wait, one thing..." She looked Nyx over, then looked to Twilight. "We've all been lucky so far. The Crystal Ponies don't associate Nyx's appearance with Nightmare Moon...."
"They don't even know about Nightmare Moon," Spike noted. "They slept through that whole mess."
"Exactly. But there's going to be ponies from the press at this, and photographers, and radio, and... well, let's just not press our luck."
A few potential headlines flashed across Twilight's mind. She shuddered. "Do you want me to get her disguise?" Twilight said, uncertain. She knew how Nyx hated having her wings covered up-- it was uncomfortable and made it easy for her to overheat.
"That won't be necessary," Cadence said. "Here." She tapped the tip of her horn to Nyx's forehead.
Nyx 'eeped' as a strange, tingly sensation spread over her from horntip to hooves. She looked down at herself; her inky black coat was now snowy white. She caught a glimpse of her reflection in a nearby wall. Weird. I look a little like Sweetiebelle this way, she thought. Well maybe not quite as curly in the mane and tail...
"There," Cadence said, satisfied. "That should last all day. It should be enough to deflect any undue attention, at least."
Twilight looked as if she was going to object, but she bit her lower lip and nodded. "I suppose it's the best thing," she said. Ever since Nyx had been returned to her, Twilight had followed a policy of casual anonymity with Nyx. While she was careful not to do anything to draw pony's attention to herself or her daughter, neither did she disguise Nyx or hide her identity. There were just too many ponies who knew Nyx already; besides, she wanted Nyx to have as normal a fillyhood as she could possibly manage-- and spending the rest of her fillyhood skulking around in disguise wasn't the way to do it.
So far it had worked. Everypony in Ponyville knew Nyx already, and pony's tendency to ignore or forget what wasn't deliberately attracting their attention had worked in their favor.(2) But Twilight knew when it was time to compromise; there was no sense in giving the press any printable opportunities for starting a national panic.
"Just for the evening, sweetie," she said to Nyx, giving her a nuzzle. "Okay?"
Nyx nodded, still looking herself over. "It's okay," she said. "It feels a little weird..."
"What, does it itch?" Twilight asked.
"No, it doesn't feel weird like that," Nyx tried to explain. She looked at her reflection again. "I just feel weird being a different color."
Twilight made a little 'oh' of understanding.
"Well, we can't keep our guests waiting," Shining Armor. He sounded a little nervous. "shall we, ladies?" They all trotted for the banquet hall, Spike bringing up the rear, the royal guard falling in behind them as they went.
Cadence, Shining and their advisors had debated how to make the announcement. They had settled on a banquet, inviting both the Crystal Empire nobility and the press. It was a diplomatic tactic as old as time; one didn't need to be a genius to realize that news tended to be accepted more amiably over a full belly and the rim of a full cup. Cadence, fortunately, had not succumbed to the same conceptual drift that plagued most cultures--- the accretion of time and tradition and formality that turned what was supposed to be a pleasant feast into a stuffy, nerve-racking ordeal. This was to be no rubber-chicken banquet, not on Cadence's watch; The food was good, filling, simple and plentiful, the beverages were served in large cups and the portions were hearty.
And yes, the Empire did have nobles, though they were even newer to their positions than their new Princess. Sombra had wiped out all the existing noble families, and erased any trace he could find of their family trees. Cadence had been in the ironically enviable position of being able to pick out new ponies upon whom to bestow the titles of knight and baron, lord and lady. Consequently there were few of noble title at all, as of yet. Cadence wanted to establish a system like in Equestria, but it appeared that whatever was formed was going to have to be drastically modified simply for lack of sufficent lords to fill a House.
This was all written on the wind, for now; the rebuilding and recovery of the Empire took precedent, and for now Cadence was an absolute ruler and her few hoof-picked Nobles were supervisors, each given a portion of the Imperial territory to oversee on Cadence's behalf. The nobles and courtiers she was now going to address were consequently a skittish bunch; Many of them had already become tenacious in their scheming and powerbrokering, unconvinced that their positions of power and prestige would last-- and taking a distressingly short-term perspective as a result. Canterlot nobles made agreements and alliances and back-room hoofshake deals for an idle chance at a bit more prestige at court. These courtiers, on the other hand, were playing for keeps, determined to make hay while the sun still shined. Cadence was constantly working to persuade them that their positions truly were for keeps.
Hopefully, some of the announcements the royal couple were to make at this banquet would ease their concerns.
They arrived in the gleaming banquet hall, the Crystal Heart's bedazzling effect blanketing them as they stepped through the door. It was still early; ponies were still milling about, chatting with one another; those from the press chatting up various nobleponies or their aids in hope of an early scoop. Cameraponies were setting up their equipment to get the best angle or walking about snapping idle shots, flashbulbs popping, while others-- presumably from the radio stations-- were setting up the microphone and sound system at the head of the banquet table where Shining Armor and Cadence would be seated.
The three adults soon were engrossed in a conversation with one of the new titled nobility, who was nervous about some trade agreement or other and how it would affect the businesses in his community. Nyx found herself unable to follow any of it, and was quickly bored. She drifted away from Twilight's side-- just a little ways!-- so she could watch the pony setting up the sound system. He was a scruffy blue and teal earth pony with a microphone cutie mark and an enormous pair of headphones wrapped around his head, and he was lying on the floor under the podium, mucking about with cables and wires and a box covered with dials. Every now and then he would stop and tap the microphone, making the speakers thump, then shake his head at whatever he heard through the headphones and go back to fiddling.
After a moment he noticed the tiny white filly watching him work. "Hey kid, do me a favor?" he said. She looked around and pointed to herself with a hoof. "Yeah, you. Would you be a sweetie, hop up on that chair, and say something into the microphone?"
Nyx blinked. "Okay," she said. She climbed up in the chair as instructed and faced the alien device. She hesitated, and looked down at the workpony. "Um, what should I say?" she asked uncertainly.
The pony pulled the headphones away from one ear. "What was that, kid?"
"Um, what should I say, sir?" Nyx said. She was trying to be polite, and his brusque manner was making her nervous. Her voice came out barely louder than Fluttershy.
The techie rolled his eyes. "Just say 'testing,' okay kiddo?" he let the headphone slap back against his ear and stuck his head back under the table. "Just say it loud and clear so I can hear it."
Nyx nodded and took a deep breath.
Now one needs to understand a few things. Nyx, at this point in her life, had absolutely no personal experience with microphones, speakers, or any of the more modern accoutrements of sound broadcasting. As a filly, she'd only seen ponies in Ponyville using megaphones. As Nightmare Moon, she'd relied on the Royal Canterlot voice. Lesson learned: the only way to be heard was to be loud. So when an adult pony with big clunky earmuffs over his ears told her to say something loud enough for him to hear it, she took him at his word.
It wasn't the Royal Canterlot voice, but Luna would probably have applauded the effort.
The walls of the banquet hall vibrated to the tune of well over a hundred decibels of sound. Ponies all over the room nearly jumped out of their skins. The speakers moaned in pain like ocean beasts and spat sparks and smoke, while the hapless techie under the table kicked his back feet into the air and yowled like a timberwolf that had fallen into a wood chipper.
Nyx ran for her life.
It took a few moments for the ponies present to figure out what had happened. When they did, a heartfelt belly laugh went up as the hapless filly ran back and buried her face in her mother's skirts. The laughter only redoubled when the techie made his appearance, wobbling slightly and glaring angrily about, wisps of smoke rising from his headphones.
"Whouf! Nyx, what in Equestria--?" Twilight exclaimed as Nyx plowed into her side. Nyx refused to explain, just trying to hide herself in the folds of Twilight's skirts as an embarrassing number of flashbulbs started going off. "He told me to," was all she managed to squeak out.
Mercifully, the chef and the waitstaff chose that moment to come out and announce that the meal was served. Everypony began cheerfully gravitating to their seats, appetites whetted by the brief wait.
The main banquet tables were arranged in an enormous horseshoe shape, with the head table and the speaker's podium at the top of the curve. Cadence and Shining Armor, of course, sat at the head table. Cadence sat at the exact center of the table with the podium to her right-hoof side and Shining Armor to her left. Twilight, Nyx and Spike, being in Shining's immediate family, sat to Shining's left, in that order, while the Duke, Duchess, and Mayor of the Imperial City sat on the right side of the podium. Two or three high-ranking officers (or ponies who soon would be, once the announcements were made) sat to either side, followed (going down the arms of the horseshoe) by businessponies, dignitaries, high-ranking government officials and their families. The press, various minor celebrities and political hangers-on sat at the many individual tables in the center of the room, encompassed by the sweeping arms of the horseshoe; the serving staff scurrying between the islands or round the outside, offering various platters to the guests.
Despite being large enough to host a hoofball tournament the hall was packed to capacity. Between the gleaming crystal walls, the enormous overhead chandeliers and being packed with-- figuratively and literally-- the glitterati of the Crystal Empire, it looked to Nyx's eyes like a gigantic jewelry box, or a crystal figurine collection come to life.
Nyx looked around the room. Most of the bustle going on was meaningless and confusing to her, and to a young filly confusion and boredom were close cousins. The waitstaff was serving soup (that was all? soup? Wasn't this supposed to be a big fancy meal?) so she ignored them and started scanning the crowd to see if she recognized anypony. Maybe the Wonderbolts were here, or something.
To her surprise, she actually saw somepony she recognized. At one of the smaller round tables, at the very front, a familiar white unicorn colt was seated. It was Bright Eyes, the colt from the movie theatre. She almost-- almost-- shouted out his name, remembering herself only at the last second. Instead she settled for waving her hoof gleefully at the unicorn colt.
...Who saw her and stared at her in absolute confusion. It took Nyx a moment to realize: she had been black the last time he saw her, and now she was a very literal sparkly white. She facehoofed.
Taking a quick look around to make sure noone was looking her way, Nyx lifted up her sunglasses and let the colt see her eyes. Bright Eyes' mouth formed an "o" of recognition when he saw her cat-slit eyes. He looked a little confused, but smiled and waved back.
Twilight brushed her hoof down. "Don't do that," she whispered. A moment later she asked. "Who were you waving at anyway?"
"The colt in the front, there," Nyx said in a stage whisper, pointing at Bright Eyes.
Twilight followed Nyx's hoof. "Oh, you've made a friend here?" she said, pleased. "Where did you meet him?"
"Um, at the movie theater," Nyx said. She recalled certain portions of that little outing that she and Uncle Shiney had neglected to mention to Twilight, and was suddenly VERY attentive of her soup. She hastily spooned some up. "Umm. What kind of soup is this?"
"Bouillabaisse, I think," Twilight said, distracted by the question. "When--"
"It's awful thin. I think it needs more booya."
"--When did you go to the theater?" Twilight pressed on patiently.
"Um, Uncle Shiney took me and Spike," Nyx said casually. Too casually.
Twilight might have only adopted, but her mom-genes were fully active. She narrowed her eyes suspiciously; Nyx was clearly hiding something. "Oh, and what did you see?"
"It was called 'There and Back Again,' I think." Nyx hastily spooned up more soup.
"You think?" Twilight asked, suspicions fully aroused now. Nyx only mumbled something around her spoon. "Nyx, did anything happen at the theatre?"
Nyx gulped and hastily scooped more 'booya base' into her mouth, then pointed to her closed mouth. Can't talk, mouth full...
Twilight pursed her lips, vexed. Fine, we'll play it that way, she thought. "Shiney?" Twilight said sweetly, turning to her brother.
Shining Armor looked up from his bowl, ears pricked. "Yes?"
"I hear you and Nyx went to the movies the other day," Twilight said. "You didn't have any problems, did you?"
Shiney was far from dumb; he could hear the edge in his baby sister's voice. He could also see his niece over her shoulder, staring at him, hooves together in prayer and silently mouthing please! He was also fully aware that he would be in no small amount of trouble if the truth about their little movie theater fiasco got out. He made a quick verbal feint. "Oh, um--- oh, enjoying your soup, Nyx?"
With uncanny speed Nyx managed to spin around and start spooning her soup before Twilight turned around. "Mmm Hmm," Nyx said between spoonfuls. "Mom says it's booya-base."
Shining Armor regarded his own bowl. "Needs more booya."
"I thought so too..."
"You two-- " Twilight said, exasperated. "Tell me what happened at the theater..."
"Can't talk, eating soup," Shining muttered, sampling his.
"Mm hmm," Nyx agreed.
Twilight groaned in exasperation and flipped her hooves heavenward. "Fine. I have other ways to find out..." she said with overtones of menace.
"No you don't, I already bought his silence with a bag of emeralds." Shining didn't even look up from his spoon as he said this.
Twilight gaped at him, then turned and looked at Spike. Who was very busy trying to look innocent, all of a sudden. "Sorry Twi. Confidentiality agreement," he said. "Good soup by the way. You should try it."
Twilight looked to Cadence, silently pleading for help. The crown princess of the Crystal Empire offered no comfort. She was too busy trying to keep a straight face and pretend not to hear anything.
Twilight shot all of her family an evil look. Fortunately they were all spared a gruesome fate by the arrival of the salad course.
The meal proceeded without incident. Nyx found the procedure confusing, and a little exasperating; living with Twilight had made her accustomed to "one meal, one dish," and had been diligently taught to clean her plate. Here they kept switching her plate or bowl out, and often before she'd finished! Twilight didn't say anything though, so Nyx supposed it was okay this time.
She was actually hungry, though, and having her plate snatched away by hovering waitstaff in mid bite was starting to get on her nerves. She'd started to whine at the waitress who took her half-eaten salad that "I wasn't done yet!" but Twilight shushed her and told her there would be plenty of other things, just eat some of what came next. Nyx had obediently stifled her complaints. But she had taken to glaring at the waitstaff if they moved in too quick. Being professionals, the waiters and waitresses ignored her scowls and continued about their task.
Dessert finally arrived. To Nyx's delight, it was ice cream, arranged in thick curling petals, like an enormous rose. For once she didn't mind the chefs making her food all fancy-schmancy. "What kind of ice cream is this?" she whispered to Twilight, picking up her spoon.
"It's gelato," Twilight whispered back.
Puzzled, Nyx took a spoonful looked at it. "What's a gelato taste like?"
Twilight rolled her eyes. "Just eat your dessert..."
Nyx complied. Apparently gelatos tasted like strawberry. She dug in with a relish. I'll bite that waiter if he tries to take this away, she thought to herself.
Fortunately nopony got bit.(3) As ponies were settling back in their seats, chattering amongst themselves and digesting their meal, Princess Cadence got to her hooves and stepped up to the podium and the microphone. Spoons lingered over half-eaten desserts, flashbulbs popped, and countless ponies held their breath.
"My fellow ponies of the Crystal Empire... no, do continue eating," she said with a smile. "The dessert is excellent and it would be a shame to see it wasted. My fellow ponies, we thank you for your attendance. There are matters we must discuss.
"For close to two years now, since the final fall of King Sombra, I have been your Princess. It has been a time of recovery and adjustment for all of us, with many changes made to adapt the Empire to the new world it finds itself in..."
The speech went on in this vein for a few minutes. Most of it went entirely over Nyx's head. Everypony applauded politely when she finished; then she introduced Uncle Shiney-- "Consort Prince Shining Armor"-- and stepped aside as he took the podium.
"Thank you. It has been my duty and my honor in this time of transition to serve as your interim Captain of the Guard. As always, we have been aware that this has caused some uncertainty and... dissatisfaction... with some of you." He paused and cleared his throat. Several ponies looked nervous, as if he had pointed them out in particular. "I do know... and do understand. But like many temporary measures it was necessary for the moment. However we have finally reached a point where the Crystal Empire's standing forces are ready. So It is my honor to present to you the new Captains of the Civil, National, and Royal Guards.(4)"
Two crystal stallions and one mare, all in dress uniform, got to their feet, to enthusiastic applause-- and some surprised murmuring. Nyx leaned over to her mother. "Why is everyone acting so weird?" she whispered.
"I'm not sure, Nyx," Twilight confessed. "It couldn't be because one of them is female,(5) could it?"
"Not exactly," a voice whispered in both their ears. Surprised, the two looked around. Though Cadence's expression was unchanging, Twilight could see her horn glimmer faintly. Ah, the Wind Whistler spell, Twilight realized.
The Princess continued 'speaking,' lifting her wine glass to her lips to cover for the spell. "Traditionally in the Empire, the head of the King or Queen's personal guard was female," she explained. "Never male. Make of that what you will. Putting a stallion in charge of protecting the crown is... unusual, as is putting a mare in charge of Civil enforcement. Differences in perspective on where the back of the herd is, one supposes."
Nyx wasn't quite sure what that all meant, but she decided not to dwell on it. Some of the things ponies made a fuss about just confused her. She watched as Uncle Shiney sat back down. He looked... sad, and tired.
Cadence took the podium again. "This was just the first of several announcements we wished to make for the ponies of the Crystal Empire," she said. "Firstly, I am pleased to announce that in accordance with the Crystal Empire's Constitution, the transitional House has approved a final date for the elections of..."
It went on like this for several minutes, as Cadence announced several new laws, the repeal of some others, new construction projects, a meeting for a trade agreement... in the back of her mind, Nyx found herself thinking that she was very, very glad that she hadn't ended up ruling Equestria after all. It looked like it would have been tons and tons of work-- and boring, too. And that's even when ponies liked you and wanted you to be the ruler!
There was a long pause in Cadence's speech as ponies applauded and flashbulbs popped. Nopony else would have noticed, but there was a slight tremor in Cadence's wings as she prepared to give the last announcement of the day. "There is one final matter that we will be addressing today," she said, her voice calm and clear. "Due to recent discoveries made, and recent revelations made to myself by trusted sources, as Princess of the Crystal Empire I will be commissioning a royal historical and archaeological project. One which shall have great historical significance for the Crystal Empire, and will be of great importance to both the Crystal Empire and Equestria.... and possibly all ponykind." A murmur rolled through the crowd at this. "To give you the full details of this project, I present to you the pony I have selected to lead this project: Twilight Sparkle, first apprentice to Princess Celestia."
Twilight took a deep breath and settled herself. Nyx leaned over and gave her a quick reassuring nuzzle as she got to her feet. Twilight smiled at her and then turned her attention to the podium. She addressed the crowd that was out there somewhere under the popping flashbulbs.
"Since arriving here I have been involved in the reorganizing and restructure of the Crystal Empire's great library," she said. "In the course of my work I was made familiar with the history and folklore of the Crystal Empire. Particularly, the story of its foundation, by Chancellor Level Head." Few ponies exclaimed at this; it was after all a familiar folk tale among them. "And discovered, to my astonishment, it's connection to Equestria's own legend of the Hearthwarming. What I have already learned here, from you, is going to result in a great deal of changes in Equestria's own history books. Not to mention a great deal of yelling and mane-pulling in the Equestrian Historical Society." Laughter greeted her dry announcement.
"But what has been uncovered goes beyond correcting and revising of old folk tales... as important as that may be," she went on. "What has been revealed is that your nation's very founding was predicated upon scientific discoveries-- a whole branch of world-changing knowledge--- that has been lost in the sands of time. Discoveries made by your own founders about the nature of magic itself." The crowd muttered amongst itself. "Those I have spoken to, even those among your own number, dismiss those claims as exaggeration or fabrication, things added after the fact by folklore and tale-tellers to color the story." (This was true; though crystal ponies knew of the legends that the Chancellor had crafted the Crystal Heart, even the crystal pony historians thought it a misunderstanding or a distortion-- that the Chancellor had only overseen the work, or may have at best merely been a rock farmer who provided the crystal from which the unicorns made the heart.)(6) "But what I myself have seen, I know this is not true.(7) The evidence for the truth of the tale is sparse, but solid." (Again, true. She'd procured it herself. With Cadence's help and under the cover of darkness she'd examined the Heart. All magic had a 'hoofprint' of its own. Discord's magic was fundamentally different than unicorn magic; alicorn magic was closer, but still unique... And although the outer layers of the Heart clearly had the tell-tale print of unicorn work, the core of its magic had a signature Twilight had never seen, not from unicorn or alicorn or draconequus or any other magical race.)"The ancient earth ponies did practice true, constructed magic."
A sussuration of astonishment rose in the room. "What is more, The archives indicate that Chancellor Level Head took efforts to preserve his work against the ravages of time, even after his death. Those secrets may have been lost to time, but they may yet be recovered. To those ends, for the sake of science, and to advance the betterment of the earth ponies, the crystal ponies, and all the pony tribes, I will be leading a joint expedition of Equestrian and Crystal Empire ponies to find, and unearth, the lost tomb of Chancellor Level Head."
The mumble of the crowd rose to a roar. The newsponies rose to their feet, trying to shout questions over one another. The popping flashbulbs turned into a torrent of light that made Nyx's eyes water even through her tinted glasses. She held up her hoof, trying to shield her eyes. The bulbs made her foreleg stand out in black and white every time they flashed--
No. It wasn't just the shadows. Her hoof really was black. Every time a flashbulb popped, her snowy-white "disguise" vanished for a moment. And now the flashes were coming so thick and so fast, it was like there was no spell on her at all.
Nyx felt her panic start to rise. She looked over at Spike, who was staring at her with wide eyes. "Uh oh," she heard him say.
They shared a look that spoke volumes:
What do we do?
"It's HER!"
Nyx squeaked in panic and nearly jumped out of her skin. Someone spotted her! Her disguise was failing and someone spotted her and recognized her! It was all over! She looked around frantically. Certainly not Bright Eyes? No, there he was at his table, hooves over his mouth. He was looking at--
Nyx followed his gaze to another table. A couple of upper-crust looking ponies were sitting there, along with a colt in an uncomfortable looking little-lord-Fauntleroy suit. Nyx recognized the colt almost immediately; it was the lead bully from the movie theater. He was scooted back, pressed into his father's side, and was pointing straight at her with wide eyes and a trembling hoof. "It's her! It's the vampony!" he shrieked in a voice as high as a filly's.
Oh, no.
The attention of the crowd turned to the colt and the ruckus he was raising. His parents were busy grappling with him and scolding him for making a scene; he was busy protesting at the top of his lungs that no, she was a vampony, it was a trick, she and her minions of the night were going to spring on them all and suck their blood...
The embarrassed family finally gave it up for a lost cause and hustled out the door, to the amusement and consternation of the crowd. while everyone was staring after the departing group that had made this baffling outburst, Nyx took the opportunity to vanish and dove under the table.
She was joined a split moment later by Spike; she could have hugged him for that. "Okay, great, what do we do?" he muttered under his breath.
"Maybe we could crawl under the tables to the door?" Nyx whimpered.
Spike shook his head. "None of 'em are close enough to get there," he said. "we'll just lay low under here till we get an opening--"
The hem of the tablecloth (thankfully not on the side facing the guests) flipped up. The two looked up; it was Shining Armor. He was leaning over sideways as far as he dared, looking at them out of the corner of his eye. "What. The buck. Is going. On??" He rasped through clenched teeth, smiling desperately.
"The flash bulbs," Spike said. "They're making Nyx's disguise spazz out."
Shining sat up straight and regarded the cameraponies in front of him. They seemed to be using fairly standard equipment, ordinary cameras with those new crystal-crafted flash strobes-- "horseapples," he muttered to himself. "The magic crystals they're using for flashbulbs must be illusion-penetrating.(8)" He sat back and thought quickly. "Okay, Nyx, you need to go to the bathroom."
"No I don't," Nyx said, puzzled. What a crazy time to---
"Yes you do." Shining motioned with his hoof for her to come out.
"What? Ohh." Nyx hastily scooted out from under the table, Spike trailing behind. Shining Armor casually escorted her from the room, smiling idly and saying things like "little trip to the filly's room" to whoever they bumped into, ever the solicitous uncle... ever so coincidentally standing so that he blocked her from the view of the cameras and their flashing strobes. Between the tumult over Twilight's announcement (who had begun taking questions from the audience) and the lingering distraction of the colt's outburst, they made it out to the lobby unscathed.
All three of them breathed a sigh of relief as the doors swung shut behind them. "Now what?" Nyx asked.
"Now we drop you off in the royal chambers," Uncle Shining said. "Thank goodness there are no cameras out--whups."
"Your majesty!"
Nyx looked over to see what it was. There was one other group out in the lobby at the moment; the movie theater bully and his family. The bully was getting one heck of an ear-bending by what looked to be half his extended family for causing a scene. The father, a balding, broad shouldered pony who looked rather like somepony who'd had far too much put on his shoulders in far too short a time, had seen the consort prince and his niece and was leading his little group their way, his son's ear in his teeth. The colt squawked, but stumbled along after.
"Oh dear stay calm," Shining Armor muttered to Spike and Nyx under his breath. "Yes, can I help you?" he said, smiling at the approaching ponies.
The group reached them. The father spat out his son's ear and made a cursory bow to the consort prince. "Your majesty, we just wanted to apologize sincerely for the scene," he said. "My boy has gotten into these dreadful "moving picture horrors" things that are all the rage today, and I'm afraid it's made him--- excitable and addled--"
"I am not!"
A wrinkled mare, presumably the family matriarch, cuffed him upside the ear. "Hush up, boy," she said.
"--Ahem. Anyway, we do apologize," the father finished awkwardly.
"Ah well, yes... foals," Shining Armor said casually.
"Indeed. ... Come on, Gregory(9), step up and apologize to the young lady," the father barked.
The boy's face was stormy, but when he clapped eyes on Nyx it immediately became fearful. "I won't! I saw what I saw. She's a vampony. She's the one I told you about from before! From the theater!"
"Enough of that nonsense, Gregory," his mother said wearily.
"It's the truth! She's just wearing a magic disguise!" He pointed at her dramatically, eyes comically wide, leaning back into his mother so hard he pushed her back a step. "She's EVIL!!!"
The contrast between the colt's wild eyed theatrics and the tiny white filly, bedecked in a frilly little dress, simply standing there looking befuddled was too much. Shining Armor had to choke back a laugh. "They all look that way at that age, don't they, kid," he said with a grin. Nyx shot him a scrunch-nosed glare. He chuckled and winked. "Don't worry, kid, you'll be a lot more interested in each other in a few years--"
"Ewww," Nyx said, looking at the colt with scorn.
Gregory looked wildly at all the chuckling adults around him. "Are you all STUPID? Why doesn't anyone believe me?? She's just wearing a magic disguise!" His eye lit on Nyx's hairband. "Here, I bet it's this hairband that does it--" He jumped forward and tried to yank the hairband out of Nyx's mane.
Nyx squealed and struggled, wrestling with the much bigger and more aggressive colt. The adults present shouted out in shock, but before anypony or dragon could move to intervene--
The colt went tumbling backward and landed on his back with a thud. He clutched his nose with his forehooves and started up an almighty howl. Everyone present gaped in astonishment. The most astonished had to be Nyx herself; she sat on her rump on the floor, gaping at her hoof. "I... I didn't mean to--"
"And I think that's enough for one evening," Uncle Shining sighed. "Come on Nyx."
Gregory's father facehooved as his wife and mother picked up the howling colt. "Take him out to the carriage, honey," he growled over his shoulder. He turned an apologetic face to Shining Armor. "Your Majesty, words cannot express--"
Shining Armor gave him a level gaze. "Then maybe actions would speak louder," he said, the tiniest bit of acid in his tone. "Your colt is obviously used to lifting his hoof to those smaller and weaker than himself. Maybe you should pay more attention to how you're raising him, if you don't want to offend. Nyx, Spike, come along." Spike helped Nyx wobble to her feet. He made a point of scowling and snorting smoke at the harried courtier as they trotted off after the consort prince.
Nyx trotted meekly after Uncle Shining, rattled by what happened. She'd never been physically attacked by a colt before. She'd never hit another foal before, either. Her insides were quivering; her ice cream dessert felt like it was sitting in her gut in a rock-hard icy ball.
Shining didn't say anything till they had rounded a couple of corners, and the noise the bloody-nosed colt was raising had finally faded out. "Nice jab," he murmured, just loud enough for Spike and Nyx to hear. "Your mother teach you that?"
Spike snorted. Nyx blushed, then dimpled briefly. "N-no," she said. "Really, it-- it just happened--!"
"Nothing he didn't have coming," Uncle Shining said. He sobered. "Life lesson, here; don't ever let a colt or stallion mistreat you like that. If they try, you pop 'em in the nose, just like that. Got it?" Subdued, Nyx nodded.
"This is gonna cause trouble, innit?" Spike muttered.
Shining Armor sighed and shrugged, then grinned. "One thing I've learned with this gig, is that there's always trouble. Usually of the small, petty and stupid kind, and you never know what it's going to be about. So no sense in worrying about it in advance."
"I can get behind that," Spike said, giving Shining Armor a thumbs-up.
"For now," Shining Armor said, "I think we've earned the right to cower in our rooms hiding from the press for the rest of the day. Let's get back to our rooms before Nyx has to punch out anyone else."
"Heyyy," Nyx whined. Shining just chuckled and mussed her mane.
They picked up the pace a little bit, the mood lifting.
It was the next day before everything came a-cropper.
It was a thankfully uneventful day. The Royal Court and most of the rest of the government was closed for the weekend, so the royal family-- niece, sister in law and dragon adoptee included-- had been puttering about in cheerfully enforced idleness.
Much of the previous evening had been spent with a certain uncle, niece, and number one assistant explaining their sudden departure at the dinner last night--- and subsequently interrogated about the events at a certain movie theater and a certain dust-up the night before. Both uncle and niece had gotten off with a light scolding for not telling the rest of the family about such things, much to their relief. Nopony had been happy about what had happened, but everypony agreed that it there was no sense in borrowing trouble, so they had greeted the following day with a lighter mood.
Uncle Shining was enjoying some light reading, and Aunt Cadence had decided to try her hoof at, of all things, baking cookies (a plan heartily approved by Spike, Peewee and Nyx.) Twilight, ever the workaholic, had taken a quick trip to the library to retrieve some more paperwork.
As for Nyx, her close shave the night before had left her feeling a bit giddy, and was currently having a fit of the sillies. She was skulking around with a blanket thrown over her like a cowl, pretending to be "Evil-Linda, Evil Mistress of Eviliality" and going about making "Evil" pronouncements at everyone. It was all Shining Armor and Cadence could do to keep from cracking up.
Nyx hunched her way into the drawing room like an enormous patchwork slug and crept up to Uncle Shining's chair. "Hurr hurr hurr," she said, making her voice raspy and croaky as the frog-creature from the movie they'd seen. "I am here, ! Evil-Linda, Evil Mistress of Eviliality. I'm, I'm so eeeeeevil..."
"You are, are you," Shining said, turning a page.
"Yesss. I'm so evil I... I freak myself out! That's how evil I am."
"Duly noted." Shining bit the inside of his cheek.
"I shall now stand here and be EVIL at you!" She waved her hooves at her uncle. "Evil evil evil evil!"
There was a 'ding' from the kitchen. "Well you might want to spread some of the evil over in the direction of the kitchen," he noted. "Sounds like the first batch of cookies are done."
"Ooo." With that bit of news, "Evil-Linda" dropped to the floor and hunched her way to the kitchen, muttering "evil evil evil" as she went. Shining Armor chuckled and went back to his book.
Cadence had just set the next tray of cookies in the oven to bake when she found herself joined in the kitchen by a mobile mound of patchwork quilt. "It is I, Evil-Linda!" the mound announced, waving two little black hooves at her. "Mistress of Eviliality!"
"Would Evil-Linda care to try some chocolate chip cookies?" Cadence tittered.
The blanket mound thought it over. "It depends. Are they eeeeeeeevil cookies?"
"Well, if you eat too many you'll get a tummyache," Cadence said.
"Works for me," 'Evil Linda' said. She hopped up into a chair at the kitchen table. Cadence poured the sinister blanket a glass of milk and set out two warm cookies on a plate. "Haha," Evil-Linda croaked. "I shall eat this one now...." she held up one cookie. "And this one later..."
"Why?" Cadence asked.
"To spoil my dinner. Because I'm eviiiiil, hahahah!" One cookie disappeared under the hood of the patchwork cowl, accompanied by loud munching noises. "Oh, wow, these are good, Aunt Cadence!" Nyx exclaimed in her normal voice.
"Why thank you--"
"Oh no!" 'Evil Linda' suddenly said.
"I'm Evil-Linda, Mistress of Eviliality! and this was a GOOD cookie!" 'Evil Linda' fell to the floor. "Oh no, oh no, what a world what a world, who would have thought my beautiful evilness could be destroyed by a good little cookie like you, I'm melting, I'm meelllllting.... blargh I'm dead." Nyx lay flat on the floor, tongue hanging out, while Aunt Cadence laughed so hard she could barely stand.
Spike came trundling in, Peewee perched on his head. "Hey, I smelled cookies baking," he said. "Could I maybe have--" he paused in the doorway and regarded the scene: Nyx sprawled on the floor, wrapped in a patchwork quilt, with all four hooves in the air and cookie crumbs on her face, Cadence over by the sink, splashing her face and trying to quiet a case of the hiccups with a glass of water. He regarded the pair with creased brows. "Should I just go back out and come back in when this makes sense?"
There was the sound of a door opening and closing. Nyx hopped to her hooves. "Mom's back!" She hastily scarfed the remains of her cookies and galloped for the drawing room. Cadence and Spike trotted along in her wake.
They caught up with her in the drawing room. Twilight was indeed back. She was looking unbelievably frazzled. "Hey, Twily, what's wrong?" Uncle Shining said, setting his book down.
Twilight sat down on the sofa and pulled off her saddlebags. One was stuffed full of the papers she'd gone after. The other was stuffed full of newspapers. "It looks like we didn't get away unscathed last night after all," she said wearily, flipping the first one open.
SPECIAL EDITION, the headline blared. Amid Crisis and Controversy, a New Royal Project. Shining and Cadence pored over the articles. Most were about the announcements from the night before, especially about the 'expedition' being planned to unearth the lost tomb. There was a lot of kerfluffle and wild speculation, coming down both pro and con. "I don't see what you're getting at, Twiley," Shining said, shrugging. "Sure, a lot of it's negative but nothing more than we expected..."
"Not the stories, Shiney," Twilight said. "The pictures. Look--" She flipped over a few pages: there was a double-page spread of photos taken at the dinner. Several of them were of Nyx.
A completely black-coated Nyx. She was in almost all of them, and more than a few focused entirely on her. Nyx nuzzling Twilight, Nyx scowling at the waitstaff and huddling over her gelato, Nyx waving at her friend... one quick-eyed photographer had managed to catch a snapshot of her yelling into the microphone with all her might. You could even see her little wings flaring as she leaned forward.
Shining Armor facehooved. "Of course. The disguise spell kept flickering whenever the flashbulbs went off, and the flashbulbs were only going off when--"
"When the cameraponies were taking a picture," Twilight finished. She nosed through the pages. "They're already speculating; Who is she? Why was she disguised? And when these papers make it back to Equestria..."
"People will start connecting the cute little black alicorn dots," Shining Armor muttered. "At lightning speed."
Nyx bit her lip and huddled into her mother's side. "I'm sorry.." she said.
"None of that," Twilight shushed her. "It's not your fault." She sighed. "Rarity was right. Honesty would have been the best policy, right from the start."(10) She looked at her brother and sister-in-law. "So what do we do now?"
"Only what we can do, I suppose," Princess Cadence said. "Take it as it comes."


text:
Well here we are at the beginning of another new year- a time for fresh starts, new hopes, and the promise of endless possibilities; a time to look ahead to a brighter, smarter future.
The only problem is that not everyone got the memo: This is the year 2013- not 1913.
There remain those who are living in the past, desperately clinging to a way of thinking that does not fit the times and standing firm behind irrational decisions that go against everything they are supposed to be about.
Beverly James might look like the poster image for librarian of the year- soft voiced, glasses, wool suit- but her unilateral and biased administrative decisions are nothing of the sort. In fact, I think they're downright dictatorial.
Last December she gave the patrons of the Greenville County Library system the gift of censorship, all wrapped up in a pretty red bow, when she decided that Neonomicon, a four-issue graphic novel written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Jacen Burrows, would be completely removed from circulation for everyone, despite its placement in the adult section.
The library's collection department buys its books based on reviews, recommendation lists, the reputation of the author, and whether the work has won any awards. "Neonomicon" passed every checkpoint (in March 2012 it became the first recipient of the newly created "Graphic Novel" category at the Bram Stoker Awards), so the library acquired two copies- both of which have been checked out several times.
In June, the mother of two teenagers returned the book and told the manager that it was offensive after discovering that her 14-year-old daughter had it when her daughter asked what an unfamiliar word in the dialogue meant.
Library cards for children and teens are restricted unless a parent gives permission for material from the adult section to be checked out.
Barbara Yonce, the library system's access services manager, said she had no way to be sure who checked out the book, citing only a record that an adult male's card was used at the circulation desk. "Our policy is if you present a valid library card it means that you have permission to use the card," Yonce said.
The mother returned a few days later to file a request for reconsideration of library material, citing the book's sexual content.
A committee of library employees was scheduled to meet after all members read the book, which took several weeks because the library had only two copies. After review of all aspects, they decided that the book should be kept, but James had the final say in the matter.
"They fully recognized that I may decide otherwise," James said. "I'm not going to change my mind."
She researched the author, the reviews of the book, and checked worldcat.org to see how many libraries in the United States had the book. The website indicated that only about 100 public and university libraries out of the more than 100,000 libraries in the country had the book. That information was enough for her to disregard the committee's decision and take the book off library shelves.
"It was disgusting," she said after reading the book, but declined to go on record to label it obscene or pornographic.
There's no longer a single copy in South Carolina libraries. The closest public libraries to carry the title are in Charlotte and Atlanta.
Alan Moore's tales are no stranger to controversy. Often laced with dark political themes, his other well-known titles include "V for Vendetta," "Watchmen" and "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen." He has also contributed to such staples as Batman and Superman and has won almost every award a comic book writer can attain.
This latest story is a sequel to Moore's The Courtyard and part of HP Lovecraft's Cthulhu Mythos.
"Neonomicon's" publisher, Avatar Press, categorizes it as horror; the story centers on FBI agents investigating a series of murders, which they soon discover involves the occult. The narrative- laced with obscenities and overt racism- includes in vivid detail a poolside orgy and the rape of a woman by a part man/part fish.
Moore told Wired magazine the book was meant as a critical statement on the genre, which he has depicted as misogynistic and racist.
The Guardian, a British newspaper, quoted him as saying, "They asked me for a horror story. They had gone out of their way to say that I could go as far as I wanted. And I thought I'll do exactly that, I'll do a horror story that is really horrible which has got sexual elements in it but perhaps not in a titillating way. It's one of the most genuinely unpleasant things that I've ever written, but I stand by it. It's a good horror story that touches on some very unpleasant things. As a horror story should do."
But James has silenced not only the voice of the author by removing the book and those in the community who have enjoyed the novel, she is silencing the mere discussion of the situation.
Correspondence emailed to her by the American Library Association's Office of Intellectual Freedom and by Acacia O'Connor, the coordinator of the Kids' Right to Read Project at the National Coalition Against Censorship in New York City, has gone unanswered except for a received copy of the library's collection policy.
"The worst thing about this is [she is] silencing a conversation about content and issues," O'Connor said.
James' decision to pull the book was the first time in her career that she had overruled her staff's recommendation and the fifth time she had removed material from the library because of a complaint.
"I call it de-selection," she said.
Call it what you will, James, censorship is still censorship- no matter what political euphemism helps you sleep at night.
This image from the cover of Neonomicon sums it up nicely-
*sigh…It's going to be another interesting year at
Banned Books Awareness and Reading for Knowledge.
For more information on the Banned Books Awareness and Reading for Knowledge project and the complete list of titles covered, please visit the official website at http://www.deepforestproductions.com/BBARK.html
Sources: Greenville online, Wired magazine, The Guardian (UK)
© 2013 R. Wolf Baldassarro/Deep Forest Productions