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Monday, September 29
Pencil line sketch # 103
I made a pencil line LO again, and this time I used it for one more summer memory, vegetable garden. I'm very happy with the little self made border on the right side. The red embroidery stitch was done with my sewing machine. Cute isn't it?
Sunday, September 28
Yippeee, I won!! - eh not the Scrapawards folks...
So, I've been baking my favorite cheese pastry and norwegian buns (boller, yam) today. Loving my new kitchen. The boys joined in to make a salad that Mats learned at school, with cucumber, apple, carrot and raisins. Their new favorite. Check out the picture, how prowd Mats was, hi,hi. Now, taking a break from all the baking, for a little blogsurfing, I got a very nice surprise when I checked out the ScrappeMania blog. Hey, I won the journaling challenge!!!! How cool is that? It sure made me very, very happy, and I can't wait to get my hands on all those cool tags from Elle's studio. Talking about ScrappeMania, big things will happen in october, so be sure to check it out (that is, if you can read norwegian...hi, hi). On october 6th, Mania Runway will start, and I am signed in and ready to go. It sounds like SO much fun. If you can read norwegian and you want to join, you still have until oct. 3rd, to sign in, so, what ARE you waiting for??? And now, take a look at this little toothles guy.....
Last thursday, when I came back from swim lesson with Jonas, I found the table beautifully laid with plates and forks and a cute bowl of Mats' selfmade salad. He was SO prowd, and it was really delicious. He had done the cutting all by himself, I was really impressed myself.
Friday, September 26
12/12 challenge september and a blog candy
Yet another month and yet another 12th has passed, so here's this months 12/12 LO. I did a simple one this time, just felt like it. And, I wanted to use my new calender stamp....
And, on the norwegian challenge blog ScrappeHuset there is a fun fun challenge going on, however this is only for norwegians (or those who can read norwegian..ha, ha). It's called "forumUtfordringen 2008" and if you are one of those who can read norwegian, you should check it out. And if you put this blogcandy on your blog, you stand the chance of winning the fantastic christmas collection from 3ndy papir.
And this is what I found in my mailbox the other day. It certainly made my day. Loads of papers from chatterbox +++++. I won it by posting on the scarlet lime blog some time ago. How cool is that???? Did I already say how much I love Scarlet Lime???
Wednesday, September 24
The art is found - cardboard challenge
I had a go at the art is found challenge to use cardboard this week. I used a 12x12 piece of cardboard as a base for my LO and tried out a painting technique that I saw on Åshild Ruuds super inspiring art journal blog. First I painted the piece with yellow paint and let it dry, then I put on a thick layer of green paint and while it was still wet, I made circles with the hard end of a pencil tempting to make them look like a wood pattern. The effect that you get is kinda like negative embossing and looks really cool. And SO fun to do! I know I'll do this again. I finished the LO with my three centerpieces (MJL = Mats, Jonas, Lotte in case you were wondering) and voila!
Tuesday, September 23
ScrappeMania challenge - journaling
This is a last minute go at the journaling challenge at ScrappeMania that expires today. I just love this picture of Till and me, and I wanted to play around with it in photoshop. First I distressed the disturbing background with a brown brush and then I filled in the whitespace with the journaling in my favorite font at the moment, typewriter. A little bit hard to read on this picture maybe, but it's ok in real life. The journaling is about how I love to dance with my dh and how we danced the day we met - and of course how much I love him. Just had to get it out... The rest of the LO is very simple, as I wanted the focus to be on the picture and journaling.
Monday, September 22
Guest designer at Hobbyhimmelen
I have my first assignment as a guest designer this month. I met Helle at Scrap-a-ganza in june and she really is the sweetest person. When she asked me if I would like to be a guest designer for Hobbyhimmelen, well, I said yes of course. She sent me a great set of products to design with, and it turned out to be quite a challenge, since it was all vintage products and I don't consider myself a vintage scrapper. I did manage to put 3 LOs and 5 cards together from the kit, and still had left overs. I used pictures of Till (my husband) when he was little on the LOs, and they fitted the projects perfectly. He was SOOO cute back then!!! Here's what I made:
Saturday, September 20
Bad girls academy, week 2
Well, with the Scapawards going on (you can actually vote until the beginning of october), the bad girls academy moves on to week 2 and a great class of mixing patterns, by Emilie Ahern. I had loads of fun putting together this LO with colors found also in the picture. I picked the red from the tulips to work as "eyecatchers" (title, strip of fabric, button, stip of paper). Loads of sewing on this LO. The journaling is about how I wanted to take a picture of the beautiful tulips my good friend Alette gave me for my birthday, but was interrupted by the attention seeker Lotte. She was 19 months in the picture, and she climbed up on the table and started posing in front of the tulips. No doubt who should be in the center of attention here, nooo....
Thursday, September 18
Here are my scrapawards LOs
you might wonder why I am suddenly aloud to put my LOs out here. Well Scrap! has not managed to put up the information and the LOs on their site yet, and they said it's ok to put them on our blogs now, so people actually can see what they are voting for. So, here they are. Please, please take the time to vote, if you like them.... The information about how to vote is in the following post (yesterdays post). And remember you can actually vote as many times as you like.... (I think it's weired, but those are the rules)
LO 1: Make a project with 10 or more pictures
LO 2: Pick and use one technique (I used distressing)
LO 4: Close up and personal, use a close up picture
LO 5: journaling; show emotions
LO 6: Who are you? Make a LO about YOU.
Wednesday, September 17
Voting site is open!!
Finally it's possible to vote for the Scrapawards title. So, if there is anybody out there who thinks I deserve it, please vote??? Unfortunately all the information is in dutch, but if you want to vote anyway, just follow these steps:
1. click on this link
1. click on this link
2. fill in first your name, then your e-mail address, then the place where you live (this is all to avoid fraud). You may fill in your phone number, but it's not necessary.
3. then you click on the name you think should win (me maybe?? ha, ha)
4. click on the "stem nu" box, and you have voted
It says you may vote as many times as you wish, and the voters can also win prizes, so you've got nothing to loose here..... I'm figuring I have a very small chance to win this thing, as I don't know that many dutch people, so I'm really depending on your help here. Still, only if you think I deserve it, of course.
There will be a gallery of all the LOs on the site too, but as for now they are still working on that.
And here are today's garden pictures. We harvested our first ever squash, loads of berries (more than on the picture, ha, ha) and Mats had a garden carrot on the go.
Saturday, September 13
Bad girls Top Designer 2008, week 1
Bad girls kits are having a new round of Top Designer 2008. It's 6 weeks of free design classes and assignments and in the end there will be one winner called Top Designer 2008. I've decided to join in. Seems like a lot of fun. In week one we are to make a LO with two different kinds of layering. I loved working with the new Roze Moka papers for this LO and really enjoyed the layering. I also layered the letters in the title, but had to sew them on to prevent them from falling off. Very happy with the design effect it gave. TFL!
Wednesday, September 10
And the nominees are.....
...this has been my little secret for almost 3 (!!) months, and finally it's official: I AM ONE OF THE 5 FINALISTS IN THE DUTCH SCRAP AWARDS!!!!! If you wonder what the Scrapawards is, it's a scrapbooking competition arranged by the magazine Scrap! and the winner gets to call herself "scrapbooker of the year", wins a huge box of scrapbooking supply and will be guest designer for the magazine. I feel like I've won already, beeing in the top 5, so anything more than that will just be a huge plus. I hope some of you out there will vote for me - but only if you think I deserve it, of course. Here's the link to where you can vote, but as far as I can see, it's not working yet. The link is http://www.scrapawards.nl/ Hope they will sort out the link problem soon...... I'm not allowed to show the submitted LOs, but a few sneakies should be fine ... When we bought the magazine at the grocery store today, I picked up the magazine from the shelf and showed my pages to Jonas. The first thing he saw was his own picture looking back at him and he looked at me and said "hoe kan dat?" which means "how can that be?". Lotte took a peak as well and enthusiasticly said "jojo!" Kinda made my day......
Tuesday, September 9
Dutch SIStv crop #4
On Sunday there was a dutch SIStv crop again - for the fourth time - and again it was organized by Silvia. This time Marcia and her shop de creatie in Veghel joined in on the hosting and it was the best crop til now in my eyes. Great location and a yummie lunch, see picture beneath. I was a vegetarian for the day (joining Silvia) and it was delicious!!! Marcia had put together goodiebags for everyone and she had prizes to win. Guess who won??? I was just saying to my Norwegian scrapbooking friend, Helle, "I never win, anyway..." and I hear my name said out load. So I did win. I won "the me book" by Autumn Leaves. Cool. And even more funny, later on the day, there was more drawings, and Helle said "I'm going out for some "fresh air", I never win anyway...", and the second she left the room, her name was said out loud. She won a "designing with fabric" book... Hmm! I had a great time at the crop, mostly chatting with my two neighbors, Silvia and Helle (it was really nice to chat in Norwegian again, Helle...), but I also got to meet Evi from my DT for the first time. Just as nice in person as in her mails... I managed to (almost) finish one LO made from Marcias "Get Inspired" kit and one photo swap LO for Linda Loe. She made me a great LO of Mats, I'll try to upload a pic of it later (have to take the pic first, ha, ha). Hope you are ok with the LO I made you Linda.... I found it really hard to design a LO with somebody elses pictures. I missed the connection to the picture and the story behind it, so if you don't like it, I'm sorry... Think I'll stick to my own pictures in the future...
Thank you Silvia and Marcia for a great event!!!
My favorite photo of the day. Silvia and me photographing our vegi design dinner...
There were 33 scrapping ladies...
If you ever wondered what a crop looks like.....
this is what I almost finished...
if you wonder what Helle looks like... Believe me, she is just as sweet in person as she looks like on this photo
Silvia arranging the photo swap....
Thursday, September 4
The art is found - music sheet challenge
I've had my first go at a the art is found challenge. This week Kerry Lynn Yeary challenged us to use a music sheet. It turned out pretty artsy and I really like the colors in this LO. The picture is of my youngest son and his best friend playing the piano. They are SO cute together.....TFL!
Dutch Dare #47 - A moment in dutch history
This weeks challenge was quite difficult for me, not being dutch and all... But, as I was looking through my photos, to see if I had something I could use, I found a picture with the year 1583 in it. With this in mind I started looking for an historic moment in that year. I found out that William I of Orange, also called Father of the fatherland, married his fourth wife this year. I also found that he was killed the year after in his house in Delft. As it happens I did have photos from our trip to Delft in 2002, and decided to use these and make a LO about the day he died and his fascinating last words; "My God, my God, have pity with my aim and the poor people!" For those of you who do not know who he was, he played a big role in the independence battle for the Netherlands in the 1600 century and the 80 years of war against Spain and king Filip II. The spanish king had put a price on Williams head and offered money and glory to the one who killed him. On july 10th 1584, a man called Balthasar Gerards, managed to meet the prince in person and shot him three times on close hold. William was only 51 years old. As you can probably understand, I was very captured by this story and really enjoyed researching about this great man. Check out what the other girls did here. For this LO I used a basic grey design paper from the Sugared collection and a book page from an old german book.
Wednesday, September 3
Pencil lines # 100 !!! Congrats! and a "unique" challenge at Scrappehuset
Pencil lines is celebrating their sketch #100! Congratulation girls! This weeks beautiful sketch is provided by Kelli Crowe! I was SO inspired by this sketch that I immediately sat down to design. At the same time there is a "unique" challenge at scrappehuset to use alternative scrapbooking supplies with "unique" as the theme. I thought I'd combine these two challenges, so I made a unique sketch LO, hi,hi. I just love to work with circles, and here's what I came up with. Used a lot of stuff from my scarlet lime kits. Fabric, hand cut felt title and elements and lots of buttons are my unconventional items. Hope you like it, TFL.
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AN: As always a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed and to all you readers who have waited so patiently for updates... I had good fun writing this chapter, I hope you have as much fun reading it (even if it is a bit of a behemoth)
Disclaimer: while I can take credit for a lot of things, the things you recognise aren't among them...
Chapter Fourteen
"Get up Hermione, it's time to go." Hermione groaned, rolled over and looked at the clock.
"It's 6am, Severus."
"I know, we're already late. Get up."
She rubbed her eyes and sat up. "Why do we need to leave at 6am? I thought you said you'd told them to expect us at about lunch time."
"Exactly. If we leave early we have the added advantage of them not expecting us. It's called the element of surprise." He told her in what she mentally called his first-year-classroom-you're-an-idiot voice.
"Why do we need the element of surprise when we're going to visit you friends?" Hermione asked, suddenly feeling very awake.
Severus just smiled in a way that made Hermione nervous. "Get up. We need to leave."
An hour later Hermione still wasn't sure what exactly was going on. They were currently both wearing disillusionment charms and a few other spells designed to reduce their noise, stop them from being noticed and repel tracking charms. All in all, it made Hermione wonder if Severus was entirely clear on the definition of 'friends'. Severus still had his wand out and was constantly looking around them, alert for the tiniest movement or noise. He was making her jumpy and nervous, which made her keep looking around and listening intently too.
They kept moving, Severus leading her close to the trees, staying in the shadows despite their many layers of enchantments. After maybe half an hour of walking Hermione finally grabbed Severus' arm and demanded to know why they needed all the secrecy. Severus sighed and rolled his eyes, "because, obviously, we don't want to be seen."
"I got that bit, thanks." She told him, biting back her annoyance at being spoken to like an idiot for the second time today, "what I'm not getting is the why. Why don't we want to be seen if these are your friends?"
"How else are we going to get into the house?" He was using his you're-an-idiot voice again
"I don't know, Severus, Maybe knocking on the door?" this time she didn't mange to keep her annoyance to herself.
"You want to knock on the door? Okay, you show me the door and we'll knock." And with that he pulled her against his body and murmured a spell, Hermione bit back a squeal of fear as she felt her feet leave the ground. They floated steadily higher until Severus set them both down on the very top most branches of the tree they had seconds ago been standing under.
"There's the house." He pointed and she looked, the house was an old fashioned manor type building made of some light grey stone. It had huge windows set at intervals all around its three floors. She couldn't see a door. She snapped a small dead twig off the branch they were standing on and transfigured it into a pair of binoculars. After a careful scrutiny of the two visible walls of the house, She still couldn't see any door.
"It's round the back?" she asked with rapidly draining hope. He just raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly.
"Ready to go now? At this rate we'll miss breakfast." Hermione sighed and nodded, allowing him to get them safely down from the tree. By the time they reached the edge of the wood the sun was fully up and mist was floating around the field before them like fine silvery gauze. Hermione decided not to ask questions when Severus created a bubble around them before they moved through it.
They managed to get to the centre of the field before Severus grabbed her wrist and pulled her to the ground. "Now what?" she whispered, caught between aggravation at being unceremoniously hauled onto her bottom and the edginess created mainly by the sneaking around. He shushed her with a waved hand, tilted his head to the side and listened carefully to something she couldn't hear and then whispered. "Stay here. I'll be back in a moment." Before she could voice the objection that sprung to her lips he was off, moving swiftly through the tall grass at a crouch, leaving Hermione to shake her head and heave an exasperated sigh.
The sound of grass swishing quickly faded, Hermione sat herself down properly, wondering vaguely what was going on and what she'd got herself into. She was brought out of her reverie by the sound of various spells being flung about a short way away. As carefully as she could, she got back onto her feet, staying low. She listened carefully, picking out Severus' voice amongst the shouts. She guessed that including Severus the fight that had broken out was between six or seven people. She thought she heard at least one woman but the rest were men. The pauses between spells were shortening. Hermione took a breathe and, reminding herself that the land they were on belonged to Severus' friends, stood up straight to look around. She couldn't see anything but the flashes of light shimmering through the air from various points.
She made a quick count of the points spells were originating from, five people, including Severus. She was all ready to go to his aid when she realised that he could be at any one of those points. She could try to find him, risking running into the others, which was something he'd obviously been trying to avoid (not that she had any idea why), or she could join in from here and risk hitting him. Second thoughts, better to stay out of it and stay here like he'd told her. She crouched down again, realising that she'd probably just given her own position away. Not a second after this thought had crossed her mind than a hand gripped her elbow from behind and pulled her back up to standing. Hermione shrieked and, without thinking, slammed the back of her fist into the face at her shoulder, followed quickly by the now released elbow hard into the stomach and then a kick to the crotch as she turned. She realised she'd probably over reacted when found herself standing over the crumpled figure of a man who's age she place at around eighty, though he was in no way feeble, she did still feel guilty that she'd clearly broken his nose. She was just about to apologise and help him up when Severus appeared. He looked a little concerned, but when he saw the man on the floor he gave a short laugh.
"Well done, Hermione. One down, three to go. Are you okay, Bert?" He helped the older man up and they embraced like brothers.
"You've certainly picked a good one there, my boy." Bert replied, extending a hand to Hermione, "A pleasure to be assaulted by you, Madame Snape."
"I didn't, I mean, I'm sorry, I just thought –" Hermione stammered, trying to apologise and defend herself at the same time, a dark blush rising up her cheeks.
"It's quite alright, my dear, I should have known that any woman married to Severus would certainly be capable of defending herself, I just imagined you might use your wand a little more." He gave her a smile and used his own to fix his nose and vanish the blood. "Come on, Severus, the others will know that you've got me by now, they won't make it an easy capture."
This said both men disappeared in opposite directions into the tall grass, leaving Hermione staring after them and, definitely not for the first time, wondering what on earth was going on. Moments later the firing of spells resumed along with various shouts. Hermione gave up trying to work out where all the spells were coming from and focused on trying to stay still and quiet and listen out for anyone who might be approaching. Silence fell like a blanket, it seemed the battle, game, what ever it was, was over and Hermione tentatively peeked over the top of the grass. At first she couldn't see anything, but she soon became aware of a group of distant figures standing under a mammoth oak tree on the far side of the meadow, one of whom appeared to be dangling from the lower branches by several ropes.
Feeling a little nervous, she began to make her way over to the group, squinting to try and identify her husband amongst the group. She finally spotted him sitting on a large rock on the edge of the gathering, casually pointing his wand at the figure in the tree. She could also pick out Bert who was standing to Severus' left, between two unknown other figures, and chatting animatedly, possible recounting for them the tale of how the fourth person ended up suspended from the oak, judging by the way he gestured towards the, she decided, young woman, who struggled fruitlessly against her bonds.
It wasn't long before she was close enough to hear what was being said. Bert was indeed giving his two companions a blow by blow account of what had happened.
"-thought she'd got him, you know, wand out of his hand and down on the ground as he was. But just as she was about to mark him, he sort of twitched his foot and sent her sprawling!" he told them gleefully, "and then of course he was doing his flying thing and next thing you know he had his wand back and the tree just sort of grabbed her. Then we found Mike,"
"I was behind the tree waiting to ambush him when he turned to look for you, Joyce," the young man who stood next to Bert interjected.
"Yeah, but you have to get up earlier than that to catch the lad out, eh, Mike?"
"Absolutely, I was exposed, wandless and marked before I even knew I'd been spotted."
"do you concede, Rose?" Severus asked the woman in the tree.
"NEVER!" she shouted, continuing to struggle. It became apparent that she was trying to reach her wand, which hung from another rope in front of her, and as she reached for it, Severus was tauntingly moving it out of her reach.
"Oh Rosalyn," Joyce, who looked to be around the same age as Bert, scolded lightly, "just say it, then we can all go in and get some breakfast. Besides, I do believe this is Severus' young lady coming towards us."
As soon as Joyce said this, Severus rose to his feet and extended a hand to Hermione. "Are you alright?" he asked softly, she nodded, and he gave her a very small smile before leading her over to the group, "Hermione, this is Michael,"
"Mike," Interrupted the younger man, pushing his blonde hair out of his face.
"and Bert, you've already met, and Joyce, Bert's Sister." Hermione shook hands with each of them in turn.
"Severus, you should have said, we would have skipped all this if we'd known." Joyce exclaimed as she held on to Hermione's outstretched hand. Hermione gave Severus a puzzled look as she had been told that Severus' friends were expecting both of them, not just him. What Joyce said next caused her even more confusion. "you shouldn't be making her go gallivanting all around the country in her condition."
Severus gave a small chuckle and then explained, for Hermione's benefit. "Joyce has a very rare talent: she can sense souls. This makes her invaluable when you're hiding out, because she can tell when someone is trying to sneak up on you as soon as they get within her zone, and it also makes her the worlds most effective pregnancy test."
Hermione smiled uncertainly to cover her surprise. Severus was already moving on. "and this stubborn young woman, "he said, with only fondness in his voice, gesturing towards the woman in the tree "is Rose."
"Pleased to meet you." Rose said cordially, still struggling against the thick robes that wound around her. Hermione turned to offer her hand to the suspended woman and fund herself momentarily stunned. The woman hanging before her had soft, pale skin, long red hair and piercing green eyes, she could have been Lily Potter's long lost sister.
"Had enough yet?" Severus asked her over Hermione's shoulder.
"Why? Is this all you got?" she returned, raising her eyebrows in challenge.
"It always ends like this." Mike told her conspiratorially, "last time he set fire to her before she admitted defeat, oh, don't worry, " he added at Hermione's horrified look, "she was never in an real danger. Severus wouldn't have let it get out of control. Apparently he got the idea from one of his students, who set fire to him at a quidditch match when she thought he was cursing her friend." Hermione felt the sight blush rising to her cheeks.
"I didn't want it to come to this, Rose, but you've asked for it." Severus told her, he shook his head slowly, took a deep breath and then, to Hermione's surprise, fired off a tickling charm at Rose's feet.
It took mere seconds before Rose was squirming for other reasons than attempting to reach her wand, laughing so much tears were gathering in her eyes, "alright," she finally gasped, "alright, you win, I yield!"
Severus cancelled the charm and the tree carefully lowered her down by the ropes. As soon as her feet touched the floor the ropes themselves vanished and Rose came over to hug Severus. Hermione was again surprised by how relaxed and at ease Severus seemed.
The walk back to the house took less time than Hermione had imagined it would, and all the way Severus, Rose, Mike, Bert and Joyce chatted about times gone by, reminiscing fondly off many adventures it seemed they had shared. Hermione listened closely, trying to figure out the connection between this group (it transpired that Rose was Bert and Joyce's niece, and Mike was her husband.) and Severus.
It wasn't until they were sat down around the kitchen table eating a cooked breakfast, which Joyce had whipped up with a few quick flicks of her wand at various kitchen cupboards and equipment., that Hermione finally asked the question, "So how did you all come to meet Severus? You all seem so close, there's obviously a lot of history."
"he hasn't told you? Severus, I am appalled!" Rose swatted playfully at Severus, who dodged gracefully. "it's a very memorable story. We met when Severus saved my life."
Hermione said "how?" in absolute wonder just as Severus chocked on his coffee and protested "I did no such thing!"
"Shut up Severus, you did to." Rose settled back in her chair and proceeded to tell the tale, "so, it was way back during the first rising of the Dark Lord and Severus was what, twenty? Twenty-one maybe, just, 'cause I was only about eighteen myself. I was meant to be running surveillance on a group of death eaters we suspected were involved in plans to take over the ministry. They'd set up their base in this little run down cottage out in the middle of the moors, so there's no cover or anything for miles. Any way, long story short, I had a clutz moment and ended up alerting them to my presence, and managed to snap my wand in the process. So I ran. There were half a dozen of them and only one of me, and I'm running and running, and they're firing all these curses everywhere. Just when I think it's all over I spot this tree, it's all on it's own but it's huge and I think, if I can just climb up there, I'll be home and free, because I've got a portkey in my pocket that's going to activate in about five minutes.
" I ran for this tree, and they ran after me. They were gaining on me pretty well and still firing off curses by the bucket load, but some how I managed to reach the tree relatively unscathed. I jump up and try to grab the lowest branch but now they've caught up and one of them shot a hex at this branch to break it off, a few of the others had a similar idea, and they start using their wands to chop at this tree as well as fire on me. I'm thinking, there's no way out now, no way can I manage to stay alive long enough for the portkey to activate with all of them surrounding me. I'd just about given up all hopes when this guy," she waved her arm at Severus, who Hermione noticed was beginning to turn a little pink just around his neck, "launches himself out of the tree above us, where he must have been waiting to ambush them anyway or something, he shoves me out of the way of a curse that was headed straight for me and then casts a shield charm over the both of us. Good timing too because just as the shield goes up a branch hits it, rebounds off and takes out four of the Death Eaters, so they're all on the ground knocked out, and the other two can't seem to figure out what's happened. Before I've even fully realised what's going on, Severus' is back on his feet, he's removed the shield charm and he's managed to use some sort of gluing charm to stick the two remaining death eaters together. In the confusion they both start trying to curse us again and manage to get each other. So that's two dead four knocked out. Severus walks over to the four under the branch and, without waking any of them, uses a bit of what I like to call his 'mental magic' to make them forget us and remember there being some sort of accident to account for the two dead guys. It was fab, but I can see he's a little panicked, maybe he thinks I'm going to attack him for saving my life or something, I don't know that I ever bothered asking. He's also covered in scratches from when he jumped out the tree, so I invited him back here to get cleaned up, Aunt Joyce is a whiz with healing stuff. And the rest as they say is history."
"Not quite history, babe," Michael said. "I seem to recall I didn't meet Severus until many years later when he knocked me out in a bar fight." that caught Hermione's interest as well, and she glanced at Severus, who was now definitely turning red around the ears and seemed to be sinking slightly lower in his chair.
"It wasn't a bar fight." he muttered.
"It was a fight, and it was in a bar, Severus, therefore, it was a bar fight." Mike told him, paying no attention to his friend's growing embarrassment. "that was back after the first fall, and I was working for the Ministry, undercover, you understand, in this dingy little bar out in the middle of nowhere, the place where all the supporters of the Dark Lord used to meet up and have a bit of a gossip, you know, who's been caught, who's been granted a reprieve, rumours about the Dark Lord coming back. I was the year above Severus at Hogwarts, and I knew who he was the second him and Malfoy sauntered in. right pair they were, all dressed in black and whispering amongst themselves, a handful of others following along behind giving anyone who took notice the evil eye. Anyway, my orders were to make friendly with this crowd and try to get them to confess that they had been Death Eaters. I was all rigged up with surveillance charms, you know, trackers and recorders and all that. So I served their drinks and tried to kind of worm my way into their conversation. It didn't work."
"A hippogriff would have been less obvious" Severus commented dryly.
"yes, alright. I was a little inexperienced, and a bit over zealous. Any way long story short, Malfoy cornered me in the stock cellar later on and threatened to do some fairly horrid things to me if I didn't tell him who I was working for, and I, well, I was young and cocky, and I told him where he could shove his questions, at which point, Severus decided to rescue me and punched me 'for my insolence', leaving me out cold in the stock cellar. I don'[t think he realised just how hard he'd hit me, though, coz when I woke up he was standing over me looking really worried. Malfoy was gone home or somewhere and Severus had snook back to give me a few lessons in subtlety. He brought me back here, again so Joyce could practice her fixing up skills. Which, coincidentally, is also how I met Rose." he kissed his wife lightly on the nose, and she giggled and blushed. " so I owe him on two counts."
The day went quickly for Hermione, and soon she found herself back at home, sitting on the bed just as she had at 6 o'clock this morning. Reviewing the day she realised that she had learned much about her husband today. She had learned that he was a truly loyal friend, and that with people he trusted he could relax and joke around just like herself, Harry and Ron so frequently did. She realised that she truly wanted him to be that comfortable with her friends, and that she wanted to spend more time with his. There was just one thing that niggled at the back of her mind. When she lay down and closed her eyes a familiar face swam before her eyes, a familiar face with long curling red hair, and bright, pretty green eyes. With it came a box of photos that had emerged from Severus most private domain not so long ago. She had to ask, a part of her had to know, though she dreaded the answer.
"Severus?" she questioned curiously.
"Hmm?" Half asleep, Severus pulled her a little closer.
"Can I ask you something? Something about Rose?"
Severus' whole body stiffened, and Hermione's dread came to the for front of her mind. Why did he tense up if not because he didn't want to talk about it, and why would he not want to talk if he had nothing to hide? "It's no true." he whispered, sounding very awake now.
That threw her a little, "what's not?"
"What she said earlier. It's not true. I didn't save her life. Well, I suppose I sort of did, but what I'm saying is, it wasn't the huge act of heroism she makes out it was."
"I think saving someone's life is pretty heroic however it happens." She responded, rolling over to face him.
"No, you don't understand. The whole thing was an accident. I was saving my own skin as usual. And she just-" He broke off, making a slightly exasperated sound in the back of his throat.
"Do you want to tell me what actually happened?" She asked after a moment of silence.
The silence grew longer, and Hermione thought perhaps he had gone back to sleep, but then he said softly. "it was just after I turned spy. I was on my way to report to Dumbledore, so I'd broken off from the main group to find somewhere inconspicuous to apparate to the meeting point. I never told Rose, there weren't just a few Death Eaters gathering there, it was all of them, if they'd caught her, they'd have brought her straight before The Dark Lord and... it doesn't bear thinking about now. Any way, I was walking along and I heard a group running behind me, firing off curses. I thought they'd seen me leave, convinced they knew where I was going. So I hid. I apparated into the only tree for miles. I thought they'd think I'd already gone, that they'd just go back. You don't raise suspicions of treachery with the Dark Lord unless you can back up those claims and hand him the traitor, not unless you want to take the punishment yourself, or you're Bella Lestrange. Then Rose ran up, she didn't see me, and neither did the group that was chasing her. It was stupid now, but I only saw her from above and I," he sighed and then admitted quietly, "I thought it was Lily. I leant forward to get an aim at the best shot of the Death Eater group, but I lost my footing. I managed to grab the branch with my arms, stop myself from falling, but by then I couldn't aim with my wand, because if I'd let go to do it, I'd land right in the middle of them." he paused, determinedly not looking at her.
"It wasn't long before one of their stray curses broke the branch I was hanging from. I put up the shield charm to stop the branch hitting me, just a reflex action. It was pure coincidence that I'd landed pretty much on top of Rose so it covered her as well. Then I shot the first spell that came into mind at the two Death Eaters the branch hadn't taken out, that didn't work either. It was supposed to bind them with ropes and gag them so I could make them forget they'd seen me. As Rose said, they both panicked, and managed to eliminate each other. But then I had to come up with a reason they were dead. I altered the memories of the ones under the branch, made them think there was a storm, got them thinking they'd been chasing a muggle or something."
"and then she took you back to Joyce, because you saved her life." Hermione added.
"yes, but I didn't mean to"
"no, but you did save her life, Severus, and whether it was intended or not, whether you thought she was someone else or not, whether you were also trying to save yourself or not, that's still pretty heroic in my book. Besides, you can't tell me that punching Mike was an accident as well."
"No. I punched Mike because he was an egotistical imbecile with a death wish."
Hermione snorted with laughter the seriousness of the situation almost forgotten. They settled down once again, and it was only then that Hermione realised she hadn't actually asked her question.
"Yes, Hermione?"
"You know you said that you thought Rose was Lily? When you were up in the tree?"
"You want to know if I loved her like I loved Lily, don't you?" he all but sighed.
"yes, but at the same time no." She confessed.
"when I first met Rose, Lily was still alive, not speaking to me, nor even wanting to look at me if we crossed in the street. By the time Lily was gone, I had learned that Rose and Lily, while they are alike in many ways are two very different people."
"So you've never... you know?"
Severus gave a short laugh. "We did, once, shortly after Lily's death. But never again after that, and now, well, it would be like sleeping with my sister."
Hermione smiled, she didn't really have anything to worry about after all. The past was the past, and she felt silly for even bringing it up. Had she not already likened Severus and Rose's relationship to her own with Harry and Ron? A comfortable silence stretched between them, until finally Hermione pushed herself up onto one elbow to kiss Severus on the lips gently. "thank you." she whispered, settling back down against him.
"For what?" he sounded bemused in a half asleep kind of way.
"For being open and honest with me."
Monday morning found Hermione pushing porridge around her bowl, staring in a preocupied way straight through Severus, who sat opposite her.
"Hermione? Hermione!"
"sorry, what did you say?" she blinked out of her reverie.
"I asked what time your appointment is?"
"oh, ten. But we'll need to leave in a moment, because the buses are only once an hour and the next one wont get us there in time.
"Just remind me, why do we need to get the bus?"
"You make it sound like I've suggested we ride all the way on giant slugs."
"I just don't see why we can't apparate. It would be quicker, safer and cleaner."
"I told you, I want to go to the muggle ultrasound appointment in the muggle way. It's not good to be completely dependent on magic for everything. Besides, I want this baby to grow up knowing the muggle way of life as well as the wizarding way."
"Fine, I'll teach him or her to ride a bike, and play football, and wash up without a wand. Can we just apparate to the appointment?"
"No. Come on, time to go."
Five minutes later they stood at the bus stop with a little old woman with her shopping bag on wheels and a young man with a nose ring and a green Mohawk, who was eyeing Severus' long black coat, black trousers and shirt and longish hair as if wondering if they'd met at some rock concert. Hermione just smiled politely at him and took Severus' hand. When the bus finally came, Severus politely allowed the elderly woman to go on ahead of them, offering to lift her trolley for her. They took their seats (after Severus had surveyed the black marker pen scrawls and muddy splotches with obvious mingled disgust and disdain), and Hermione commented that the bus was only a few minutes late so they should make it in plenty of time.
A few stops later the youth that had been at the bus stop made his way back past them to get off, tossing at Severus as he did so "don't you think you're a bit old to be a Emo, mate?"
"What did he just call me?" Severus asked when the youth was off the bus, causing Hermione to giggle quietly, telling him not to worry about it.
After what seemed an eternity to Severus, it was their turn to get off. Hermione pressed the bell (which Severus refused to touch), and they stepped out onto the pavement. The Hospital was clearly visible at the end of the road, and they had plenty of time, So Hermione suggested that perhaps they could have a cup of tea in the small café across the street.
They sat down at a table with their cups, Hermione glancing about at the pictures on the walls, Severus sat resolutely looking at him coffee. After a few moments of quiet Hermione asked, "Can you play football?"
"You do think of some random things." Severus sipped his coffee.
"you said earlier that you would teach him or her to play football. Can you play football?"
"Supposing they haven't changed the rules since I was eight or nine, I don't see why not."
Hermione sipped her tea, smiling slightly. "I never would have put you down as the footballing type."
"hmm. I imagine there are many things about me that would surprise you." He responded cryptically.
"Like what?" She asked, immediately curious.
"Come on, it's almost time for your appointment." He got up and held out her jacket for her.
"Like what?" she asked again as she shrugged her jacket on and they left the café. Severus just led her down the road towards the hospital.
Sitting in the waiting room of the ultrasound department, Severus picked up an ancient gardening magazine, determinedly ignoring Hermione's repeated questions. Eventually she fell silent. Hermione looked around at the other couples, each pair whispering in a happy, excited way with each other, all holding hands. She glanced at Severus, hidden behind the magazine, sitting so still he might have been a statue. One by one the couples were called and as they departed, new couples began to arrive. Hermione gave a small sigh. Whether it was the movement of her shoulders brushing against his or the tiniest noise, Severus lowered the publication. He too looked around at the other couples. After a second or two, he inclined his head towards hers and asked, "do you wish we were more like them?"
"what do you mean?"
"Do you wish me to be more... demonstrative?"
"I don't know." She told her hands. "Sometimes." she admitted quietly.
"it doesn't come naturally to me." he told her honestly, but he took her hand in his. "what do you imagine they are talking about?"
"Ginny and Harry used to talk incessantly about what they thought the baby would look like, which gender they thought it was going to be and what they were going to call it."
Severus was saved from answering by the ultrasound technician calling Hermione's name. Severus released her hand to allow her to stand up. Hermione took a few steps then turned back, "don't you want to come in?"
"I didn't imagine I'd be allowed.." He told her.
"Why ever not? I didn't make this baby on my own, did I?" She blushed as soon as the words were out of her mouth, aware of the technician grinning at her.
Severus smiled, though, and said, "no, you didn't."
"just lay on the table and roll your top up a little." The technician Instructed once the door was closed. Once Hermione had complied, she added apologetically, "this may be a little cold. She squeezed a little clear gel onto Hermione's belly, then spread it around with the hand held part of the ultrasound equipment. "Right, so I'm just going to have a quick look at baby, do some quick measuring so I can work out how far along you are, check everything's okay, and then I'll turn the screen round so you can have a look." Hermione nodded that this was fine by her, and Severus resumed holding her hand.
The little hand held transducer was rolled all over Hermione's stomach, and it only took a few moments before the technician turned the monitor screen around so they could see the fuzzy image in various shades of grey.
"So, here is your baby's heartbeat," the technician pointed to a small fluttering f grey and white in the rough centre of the image, "and the head here, "she circled the head, "spine" she followed the delicate white line, "and you can see two feet here, and an arm under here." she pointed each out. "baby is laying on it's side facing your back, Mrs Snape, the other arm is tucked out the way in front of baby. It's almost sucking it's thumb." she smiled, "I'd say you're about 16 weeks and 3 days, which puts you're due date at 22nd June. Do you have any questions?"
"Can you tell what gender the baby is?" Hermione asked before she could stop herself.
"Not at this stage, but we will be able to at your next scan. Mr Snape?" Severus shook his head, still looking intently at the image on the screen. "in that case, I'll just print an copy of this image off for you, and then your free to go." she tapped a button on her keyboard and then handed Hermione a few pieces of tissue to wipe the gel off with. The printer wired into life, and she collected the print out, put it into an envelope and handed it, with her pregnancy notes, to Hermione. "good luck, congratulations, and I'll see you in about four weeks." She smiled as they left the room.
Later that evening, Hermione came down the stairs from a long soak in the bath to find Severus sitting on the sofa looking at the print out image from the scan.
"It makes it all so real, doesn't it?" She said quietly.
He nodded, "It looks so tiny, just like a little tiny person."
"That's because it is a little tiny person. Our little tiny person." She sank down on the sofa beside him, and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in to his side.
"22nd of June doesn't seem like very long."
"No, it doesn't, and there's so much to do."
"What if we're not ready?"
"We will be. We'll have to be."
They sat in comfortable silence after that, both contemplating their own thoughts, both looking at the image of their child, and trying to imagine what it would be like to be a parent.
AN: Just a warning, July is a very busy month in my little bubble of the world, and it is unfortunately followed up by six weeks of no school or nursery, therefore updates are unlikely until approximately 17th September. I will do my best to get some writing done, but I can't make any promises, so I once again beg your forgiveness and your patience...Hugs and cookies, ForeverPandora.

subset: commoncrawl


text:
The 16-1 shot, ridden by Barry Geraghty, powered to a 12-length victory from Supreme Glory with trainer Ginger McCain's Amberleigh House back in third.
How did your horse fare at Aintree?
Have Your Say using the form on the right-hand side of the page.
My favourite Nationals were both last year and this year! Not for any really big reason but my cat chose the winners! In my family we all have a bet on the National, but both last year and this year again Millie (my cat) chose the winners!
Strange I know, but last year she started to lick the box in the paper that Bindaree was mentioned in! So we put a £2 bet on him and he won. This year she did the same thing, so I put a £5 bet on Monty's Pass and he won. So next year I will put a huge bet on which ever horse my cat chooses! Alice, England
Brilliant race, shame Shotgun Willy pulled up. Can't wait for next year's National.
Being at the finish line at Aintree yesterday had a thundering awesomeness to it. Glad we were there. Owen, South Africa
This was definitely my best Aintree for making money, and a memorable race as a bonus. I backed Monty's Pass and Gunner Welburn each-way to make a decent profit on my betting overall. I've backed all the recent Irish winners and come away happy.
Later on I was discussing the appeal of the race with an American in a chat room. He said 'Oh yes, that's the race where not many finish'. I was glad to report that there were lot of finishers this time. I was sad at the demise of Gouganard. One fall too many after his exploits at Cheltenham. Glenn Davies, Southport, Merseyside
Great day... what a race! Wonderful Aintree action. I didn't have a bet. Was mugged Friday so no money. Still fantastic. Archie, London
A very predictable result (and profitable one too). Pricewise in the Racing Post advised Monty's Pass at 40/1 when the weights were published in early February and pointed out that the horse had an identical preparation to the recent Irish winners and that Barry Geraghty would probably be riding him. Well done Pricewise.
It was satisfying to see that I was only one of only a handful of people getting excited on the Mound at Aintree at the finish. What a race, what great weather and roll on next year so we can do it all again. Denis, Wigan, England
Another dead horse. The Grand National kills at least one horse each year. The full National meeting kills around three. Why is this allowed to continue? It is cruel and unnecessary. Gerry Popple, Oxford
It was a big day for the bookies yesterday. Lots of the favourites fell in the National. In the third race the "dead cert" Rooster Booster got pipped at the post.
A lot of people had big money on that horse and you could see the mood around the track descend before the National started. My Dad (who actually gave me the tip!) says if it's enough to turn me off gambling then it's money well spent. Pauper, Manchester
The Grand National shows how shallow our care for animals is; nearly thirty horses have died in this spectacle in the past five years, and still their suffering is glossed over in the interests of bookmakers and punters. Shame on the BBC for showing this cruelty as "sport". Adele, Surrey
The National infuriates me every year with the number of horses running. Forty horses is too many - no wonder so few fail to finish, with that many crowding over the jumps - and the press announce that only 14 finished like it's something to be proud of.
Two horses died last year, one this year, and all in the name of sport! Too many horses. Caroline Ball, Derbyshire, UK
I had a great day! Backed both first and second to cap a wonderful three days at Aintree - the greatest sporting spectacle of the year. You need horses that stay and preferably have had experience of these unique fences.
I was so thrilled also for Ginger McCain and connections of Amberleigh House and Gunner Welburn (both balloted out as reserves for last year's renewal you may recall). Another marvellous National is over, roll on 2004! Derek Bentall, Crawley, England
In response to Frankie Horan, I could easily persuade you to become attached to the remarkable sport that is National Hunt racing but I would use up too much room on this page!
Wasn't Barry Geraghty fantastic! What a ride! I didn't back it but it I was lucky enough to be there and it was brilliant! Also, what a day Ruby Walsh had! I can't stress enough what an excellent jockey he is, he never lets you down! Does anybody know more about him? G H, UK
One of my cats is called Monty, therefore I had no choice but to back the winner. Thank goodness there wasn't a Dylan in the race as well, I wouldn't have known what to do! Gail Mitchell, Nottingham
The owner backed Monty's Pass with conviction, and told everyone else to do the same. The third Irish win in five years.
But with the amount of dough Mike Futter will collect, this really is one in a million! Tonight we're gonna party like it's 1999 - and Bobbyjo all over again!!!
Barry Kenny,
Look at the weight carried by the horses that finished in the frame. Only one horse has carried more than 11 Stone since 1980 and won the National. The top four this year all carried no more than 10st 7lbs.
The average priced winner in the modern era averages out at 19-1! Will we remember this next year? Somehow I don't think so! What a stunning run by Monty!
Jezza, Bucks
Well two of mine, Chives and Gingembre, were both pulled up. But Supreme Glory powered on in the closing stages to finish second, thus winning me £11 from a £1 each way bet.
I'd always thought of him as a Grand National contender, and wouldn't write him off in next year's Grand National.
Phil Greenwood, Ramsgate, England
Listened to the race over the net. I know Mr Mangan, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy, and also, well done Barry!! I have seen that horse run on many an occassion, and he has been unfortunate from time to time, but he really wanted that and he done it in style.
Well done Monty's!! I shall be watching that in McCarthy's Irish Bar in Lexington on replay tonight!! Well done all concerned.
Celine, Kentucky
I went through the race card and picked Monty's Pass (because he's trained in Cork), Southern Star (because that's the name of our "local" paper), Royal Predica, and Youlneverwalkalone (because I liked the names).
Monty won, ONTY Southern Star and Royal Predica came 13th and 14th, and Youlneverwalkalone was pulled up; my best "result" for years! Siobhan, Co. Cork, Ireland
I never watch horse racing because I love horses and am against animal abuse. Persuade me otherwise. Frankie Horan, New Forest
My nickname as a child was Monty, so no prizes for guessing that I backed the winner!!
Carl Hathaway, Essex
Hooray for Monty!! It suddenly popped out at me today - its form and preparation almost identical to Papillon and Bobbyjo in their winning years. I've just noticed that the bookies will pay out on my each-way fifth Montifault too. I'm in Aintree wonderland!
Bring on the Scottish and Aintree equivalents. My ante-post National tip Gunther McBride looks set for Ayr glory. Invest ASAP!
PG Tips, Oxford
My Granpa put a 50p bet on Monty's Pass to win the Grand National. I chose four horses and Monty's Pass was the only one left. Me and Granpa shouted "Come on Monty" and I shouted "YES!!!" when Monty's Pass won. Danny Napton, England
Brilliant Bindaree! I backed him last year when he won, so I stayed with him this year. He nearly fell so many times this year but he still managed to finish sixth. What a brave horse!
I won £40 on the pub sweepstake! Complete joy! So I had to buy a round...can anyone lend me a fiver?
Steve, Kent
Supreme Glory came second so I won £5.50 on a 50p each way bet, but as I also put a £1 on the same horse in an office sweepstake I could win another £10! Not bad eh!
I have won something on nearly every Grand National I have bet on. Including when the horse Seagram won at the Seagram Grand National several years ago and I won over £20. But I think that is more luck than knowing the horses!
Lorraine Eastlake, Weston-super-Mare
Hooray for Monty's Pass!!! A classic race if not a classic finish...but memorable nevertheless.
Hore C Business, London
Well done Barry!! Great win on Monty's Pass. Bad luck Tony, next year will be your National. Hope Iris Bleu is okay!!
What a great race! Well done Monty's Pass. Shame my cousin (Graham Lee on Amberleigh House) couldn't pull up a bit though!!
Mike Roberts, Chester
And those top pre-race tips...
Amberleigh House looks a bargain at 33/1 for the Grand National. Taylor, UK
Supreme Glory and Polar Champ, currently 40-1 and
80-1 respectively. Good each way bets. You heard it here first.
If the going is genuinely good or faster at Aintree I think Monty's Pass must have a great chance. He is an excellent stayer and jumper with a feather weight who looks to have been laid out for this, a la Papillon and Bobbyjo. At about 25-1, he is a great each-way bet.
BB, Cork, Ireland
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text:
George Clooney Calls Out Daily Mail For B.S. Story About His Fiancée's Mom
- George Clooney is hopping mad at the UK's Daily Mail for allegedly fabricating a story about his fiancée's mom. Yesterday, the rag reported that Baria Alamuddin, his lawyer love Amal Alamuddin's mother, was unhappy that Clooney is not part of the family's Lebanese religious sect. "She is in no way against the marriage," Clooney said in a statement to USA Today. "The irresponsibility, in this day and age, to exploit religious differences where none exist, is at the very least negligent and more appropriately dangerous." [Guardian UK]
- Zoe Saldana thinks younger actresses shouldn't "hike up your skirt too much" and stop playing dumb. [Fashion Magazine]
- Ashton Kutcher whipped out his Indian accent again. Groan. [Celebitchy]
- The White House squashed paparazzi photos taken of 16-year-old Malia Obama at a restaurant with her friends. [TMZ]
- Gone Girl author Gillian Flynn is having her first novel, Sharp Objects, made into a TV series. [NYmag.com]
- Hugh Hefner reached out to Kendra Wilkinson following the news that her husband Hank Baskett cheated, offering a wrinkly arm of support. [US Weekly]
- Tom Hanks went to Scooter Braun's wedding?! [Evil Beet Gossip]
- Pamela Anderson has filed for divorce from Rick Solomon, AKA the guy from Paris Hilton's sex tape. Weird, cuz I thought she was married to either Kid Rock or Tommy Lee still. [TMZ]
- Scott Disick swears he doesn't have a drinking problem anymore. He does, however, have a problem wearing douchey shoes. [TMZ]
- Apollo Nida from "The Real Housewives Of Atlanta" will serve eight years in prison for identity fraud and theft. [Celebitchy]
Email me at [email protected] Follow me on Twitter.


text:
Should too-big-to-fail, or "TBTF," banks be subjected to more federal regulation or greater free market forces?
That question was behind a recent speech in which Richard W. Fisher, chief executive of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, proposed an "about turn" in federal policy, shifting from the Dodd-Frank Act to restructuring megasized financial institutions.
Here are some excerpts:
The Dallas Fed's definition (of TBTF banks) is financial firms whose owners, managers and customers believe themselves to be exempt from the processes of bankruptcy and creative destruction. Such firms capture the financial upside of their actions but largely avoid payment -- bankruptcy and closure -- for actions gone wrong. ... Such firms ... thus (are) more likely to take greater risks in search of profits, protected by the presumption that bankruptcy is a highly unlikely outcome.
As of third quarter 2012, there were approximately 5,600 commercial banking organizations in the U.S. The bulk of these -- roughly 5,500 -- were community banks with assets of less than $10 billion. ... Another group numbering nearly 70 banking organizations -- with assets of between $10 billion and $250 billion -- accounted for 1.2 percent of banks, while controlling 19 percent of industry assets. The remaining group, the megabanks -- with assets of between $250 billion and $2.3 trillion -- was made up of a mere 12 institutions, (which) are candidates to be considered TBTF because of the threat they could pose to the financial system and economy should one or more of them get into trouble.
(Our approach) calls for reshaping TBTF banking institutions into smaller, less-complex institutions that are: economically viable, profitable, competitively able to attract financial capital and talent, and of a size, complexity and scope that allows both regulatory and market discipline to restrain excessive risk taking. ... It calls first for rolling back the federal safety net to apply only to basic traditional commercial banking. Second, it calls for clarifying through simple understandable disclosures that the federal safety net applies only to the commercial bank and its customers and never ever to the customers of any other affiliated subsidiary or the holding company.
My team at the Dallas Fed and I are confident this simple treatment to the complex problem and risks posed by TBTF institutions would be the most effective treatment.
What do you think? Should megabanks be restructured into separate companies?
Follow me on Twitter: @marciegeff.


text:
High Notes: Stoney LaRue
Updated 1:26 pm, Thursday, March 21, 2013
Photo: Courtesy Photo
Writing honest songs and delivering them from the heart with a rootsy fusion of country and rock with a touch of blues earned the Taft native a loyal following first on the Red Dirt music scene in Oklahoma, where he spent his teens and early 20s, and later upon his return to Texas. Those passionate live performances don't hurt, either. Last month, "Travelin' Kind," a ballad about not seeing eye-to-eye, topped the Texas Music chart and the Texas Regional Radio Report. It's from his latest album, "Velvet," whose title cut also topped the charts.
Entertainment Channel
Cowboys Dancehall, 3030 NE Loop 410 at I-35 North. Doors open at 7 p.m. $8-$20.
Cowboys Dancehall, 3030 NE Loop 410 at I-35 North. Doors open at 7 p.m. $8-$20.


text:
Federal authorities plan to ban laptops, tablets and other electronic devices from the cabins of certain international flights to the United States, multiple news outlets reported on Monday.
The Department of Homeland Security is expected to officially announce the travel rules on Tuesday. However, the scope and the motivation for them is currently unclear. Reuters reported that an unspecified terrorist threat prompted the rules, which will affect about a dozen airlines. CBS News said the rules are a response to overseas intelligence rather than a specific threat.
According to CNN, the restrictions will apply to flights coming from some North African and Middle Eastern countries.
A tweet from Royal Jordanian airlines created confusion on Monday about the previously unheard-of security measure.
The company said that starting March 21, passengers could no longer bring cameras, DVD players and electronic games with their carry-on items. Such items must be checked on flights to and from New York, Chicago, Detroit and Montreal.
Cell phones and medical devices would still be permitted, Royal Jordanian said.
The tweet was later deleted.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly informed members of Congress about the upcoming security changes, according to The Associated Press.
The Transportation Security Administration wrote about the new rule in an email on Monday, The Guardian reported.
Officials with the Department of Homeland Security and the Transportation Security Administration did not immediately respond to The Huffington Post's inquiries.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
— This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website.


text:
We were given a Dell Netbook with Windows 7 Starter but were not given the passwords to get into the PC. Does anyone know of a utility that will allow me to RESET the admin password? We don't need to know the old password used we just need to be able to reset it. And the utility must run from USB because the Netbook doesn't have an optical drive.
Jan 4, 2011 at 11:02 UTC
Petes PC Repairs is an IT service provider.
hirens boot cd or erd commander or one of the many linux live cd's with a password reset program on them
7 Replies
Jan 4, 2011 at 11:02 UTC
Petes PC Repairs is an IT service provider.
hirens boot cd or erd commander or one of the many linux live cd's with a password reset program on them
Jan 4, 2011 at 3:15 UTC
And it's free.
Jan 5, 2011 at 8:18 UTC
+1 for Hiren's Boot CD. I believe the newest version is 12.0
I have used it many times and always gets the job done!
Jan 5, 2011 at 8:38 UTC
Thanks. The Hiren's solution worked. I connected an external optical drive and ran the boot CD. It worked like a champ! I will keep this is my IT Software Toolkit.
Jan 5, 2011 at 8:40 UTC
Hirens is on to version 13 now just for info
Jan 5, 2011 at 5:21 UTC
We had a similar situation with a Windows 7 notebook. I used Windows Login Recovery and it worked quite well. The enterprise version was about $50. The app created a bootable CDROM or DVD and when I booted from the CD into DOS it reset the password to a blank value, rebooted and reset the pwd. Took about 5 minutes to download, dcreate the boot CD and restart the Windows 7 machine. Now we have a CD to use in this situation. It will work with a USB drive as well.
Dec 29, 2011 at 10:39 UTC
Offline Window Password & Recovery Editor. Bootable USB and CD images. Always worked for me.


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OHIO AND ROCKLAND – Dale King, 84, husband of Carlene Wooster King and son-in-law of Carleton Wooster of Rockland, died peacefully, Sunday, June 22, 2014 in Ohio.
A graveside service will be held 11 a.m. Monday, July 7, 2014 at Achorn Cemetery, Old County Road, Rockland. In lieu of flowers, memorial gifts may be made to The Geneva School, 2025 Florida 436, Winter Park, FL 32792 (or online at www.genevaschool.org). Online condolences may be left at www.SchneebergerFuneral.com. Local services are in the care of Burpee, Carpenter & Hutchins Funeral Home, 110 Limerock St., Rockland.


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As part of our NBA preview extravaganza our correspondents have ranked the best players in the NBA by division. Check out the rankings and let us know what you think.
We also have ranked the 10 best teams in the association. View the rankings here: 10 Best Teams in the NBA.


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You are here: Home → Forum Home → Bumblebee forums → BeeWalk → Thread
Hello all
There is a really interesting discussion going on under a thread called 'No bumblebees' under the Bumblebee discussion forum.
I have reproduced here a post I have just made to that thread, but thought it would of relevance to people surveying at this time of year.
I know it has been very disappointing for you to go to all the trouble of surveying and then finding hardly any bumblebees to report. But it is vital you continue your usual routine of monthly surveys so when we compare this year's results to previous years we can see the full impact of this year's late spring….
The late spring definitely affected when the queen bumblebees emerged from hibernation.
Activity seemed to pick towards the second half of April and the first half of May.
But like you, since then I haven't seen many bees at all!
Like some of you I hoped that this could be down to the fact that queen bumblebees were stuck indoors rearing the first brood.
I do hope this is still the case but I'm still not seeing bumblebees in any significant numbers. They are doing better in gardens generally than in the wider countryside but this isn't the case this year in central Edinburgh!
Had some interesting feedback from a very experienced beewalker (dated 29th May) and he has allowed me to reproduce some of his thoughts here
'Anyway, with regard to your question below. I attribute the low count on the transect to a lack of suitable flowering plants along the transect at present. There are plenty of thistles, brambles and bird foot trefoil along the route but none of it is in flower yet. The spring has been much later this year than for many years. However up to the early 1980s, springs this late were not unusual. I'm old enough to remember them, and a look at the statistics of first blooming of fruit trees etc confirm it.. So a late spring should not in itself be disastrous for wild bees, in fact I think that the very mild winters and early springs of many the last 25 years were more of a problem for them.
In fact there have been lots of bumblebees around for about 6 weeks in my garden (Queens and workers of B. hortorum, terrestris and pascuorum plus a few pratorum). And there seemed to be just as many nest-searching queens around this year as in any year. I also know from experience that after they find nest sites there can be a quiet period with not many bees around when presumably they are in the nest incubating the first brood.
So we must see what happens. I think that the very cold and wet 'summer' we had last year here in the south could have had more of a bad effect, by flooding underground nests.
It is invariably the case that I see far more bumblebees in my garden than in the open countryside, simply because my garden is densely and purposefully planted with flowers for bumblebees. And this planting strategy really works, although of course they could be from a small number of local colonies.
It is also noteworthy that I am rarely seeing any honeybees at all in the garden now, and that local beekeepers are all complaining how their colonies have barely survived the cold winter and late spring. I think that honeybee stocks have been greatly weakened by Varroa and this has made them more vulnerable to viruses and/or amoebic parasites, and also less able to stand up to bad weather. I am told that honeybee decline is quite acute in this area. Apparently cherry and soft fruit growers north of here up in Herefordshire are now paying lots of money to buy in Koppert bumblebee colonies to pollinate their fruit crops (in the open or in open-ended polytunnels) because there are so few honeybees, and because their crops are so valuable. They are also experimenting, apparently, with Red Mason bees in electrically heated boxes designed to persuade them to emerge earlier than normal.
Meanwhile my Red Mason Bees in the garden are just romping away. Hundreds of them in the garden and what looks like a swarm of them around their large (unheated!) bee house, but of course they do not sting.
Interestingly I saw a number of butterflies along my bumblebee transect when I did the last walk. About five species, all adults which would have overwintered in hibernation. I suspect that they the cold late spring has kept them in hibernation longer. Unfortunately hardly any nectar plants for them in bloom either at present.'
cheers, elaine


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Sunderland climbed out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 4-0 win at home to 10-man fellow strugglers Cardiff.
Connor Wickham headed north-east side Sunderland, who kicked off bottom of the table, into a 26th-minute lead at the Stadium of Light but the match turned decisively in favour of the home side on the stroke of half-time.
Wickham burst clear and was bearing down on goal when his shirt was tugged by Cardiff centre-back Juan Cala, whose poor back-pass had let him in.
Phil Dowd played an initial advantage but when Wickham, who had stayed on his feet and not gone down, was forced wide and saw his cross blocked, the referee blew for a penalty and sent off Cala.
Fabio Borini, as he'd done in Sunderland's shock win over Chelsea, scored from the spot and the Black Cats were 2-0 up at the break.
Emanuele Giaccherini put the result beyond doubt by making it 3-0 in the 76th minute before Wickham headed in his second goal four minutes from time.
Sunderland's victory saw Gus Poyet's side move above Norwich, who dropped into the relegation zone on goal difference, with a game in hand on the teams around them at the foot of the table.
Sunday's other English top-flight matches could have a huge bearing on the outcome of the title race.
At Anfield, leaders Liverpool face second-placed Chelsea knowing victory could see them go eight points clear of Jose Mourinho's men with two games to play as they seek to become English champions for the first time since 1990.
But third-placed Manchester City, who have a game in hand, will look to maintain the pressure on the top two away to south London side Crystal Palace in the third of Sunday's Premier League matches.
Saturday saw Ryan Giggs launch his reign as interim Manchester United following the sacking of David Moyes with a 4-0 thrashing of strugglers Norwich at Old Trafford, Wayne Rooney and substitute Juan Mata scoring two goals apiece.
Everton missed the chance to go above Arsenal in the race for fourth position, and a place in next season's Champions League, after two own-goals condemned them to a 2-0 loss at Southampton.
Arsenal will move four points in front of Everton with two games to play if they beat Newcastle at the Emirates Stadium on Monday. – AFP


text:
Assessment |
Biopsychology |
Comparative |
Cognitive |
Developmental |
Language |
Individual differences |
Personality |
Philosophy |
Social |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |
Biological: Behavioural genetics · Evolutionary psychology · Neuroanatomy · Neurochemistry · Neuroendocrinology · Neuroscience · Psychoneuroimmunology · Physiological Psychology · Psychopharmacology (Index, Outline)
Iain McGilchrist is a psychiatrist, doctor, writer, and former Oxford literary scholar.[1] McGilchrist came to prominence after the publication of his book The Master and His Emissary, subtitled The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World.[1]
McGilchrist read English at New College, Oxford, but having published Against Criticism in 1982,[2] he later retrained in medicine and has been a neuroimaging researcher at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore and a Consultant Psychiatrist at the Maudsley Hospital in south London.[2] McGilchrist is a Fellow of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and has three times been elected a Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford.[2]
According to his web site, McGilchrist currently works privately as a consultant psychiatrist in London, and otherwise lives on the Isle of Skye, off the coast of Scotland.[3]
Selected worksEdit
- McGilchrist, Iain (24 May 1982). Against Criticism, London, England: Faber and Faber. (Hardcover)
- McGilchrist, I., Cutting, J. (1995). Somatic delusions in schizophrenia and the affective psychoses. British Journal of Psychiatry 167 (3): 350–361.
- McGilchrist, Iain (June 2009). A Problem of Symmetries. Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology 16 (2): 161–169. E-ISSN: 1086-3303. Print ISSN: 1071-6076.
- McGilchrist, Iain (9 October 2009). The Master and His Emissary: The Divided Brain and the Making of the Western World, USA: Yale University Press. (Hardcover)
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kingerlee, Roger, Testa, Rita (2011). Review of The Master and his Emissary. Neuropsychoanalysis 12 (2): 222–226.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Staff (2009). Scientific and Medical Network Annual Gathering 2009 (pdf). The Scientific and Medical Network. URL accessed on 2009-12-22.
- ↑ McGilchrist, Iain (2009). Iain McGilchrist, author of The Master and his Emissary. iainmcgilchrist.com. URL accessed on 2010-02-07. From the author's web site home page.
External linksEdit
|This page uses Creative Commons Licensed content from Wikipedia (view authors).


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Coffee Break with Liz and Kate » Headline, free online dating ohio » http://www.gaarchery.org/
http://bailbondswacotexas.com/Last week, I mentioned that this was gonna be a fun week where all things holiday are concerned, so I hope you've been getting ready because today, Sept. 19, is Talk Like a Pirate Day.
It should go without saying that simply talking like a pirate just won't do this day justice. Here's what you'll need:
- eye patch
- parrot (preferably one that talks)
- peg leg
- treasure box (filled, of course)
- hook hand (optional)
Your greeting for the day? "Arrrgh, Matey!" Say it everywhere you go, using it in place of hello and goodbye. You could have a pirate's feast dinner, play "Pin the Patch on the Pirate," offering treasure from the treasure box to the winner, and watch movies like Hook and Pirates of the Caribbean.
If you really want to be the life of the party, get your pirate name. Yours truly is Slashing Ursula Bonny (nice…).
Needless to say, the possibilities are endless. I would suggest emailing Kate for additional ideas – something makes me think this holiday will be right up her galley, er, alley.
Ah, but the fun doesn't stop there. National Punch Day is on Sept. 20, followed by Miniature Golf Day and World Gratitude Day (on the 21st), and Checkers Day and Dog in Politics Day on the 23rd. (Don't get me started on that last one…)
While these are certainly noteworthy holidays, I call your attention to Elephant Appreciation Day, which we celebrate Sept. 23 (also my daughter's birthday – Happy Birthday!!). Apparently, elephants are big fans of pumpkins, so I guess you could visit your local zoo bearing a pumpkin or two.
I say, instead, we remember the life – and death – of Mary the Elephant.
"Murderous Mary" as she came to be known, was the star of Sparks Circus, which had travelled to Kingsport, TN in 1916 for one of its two-bit shows. I say two-bit because Sparks Circus carried a less than stellar reputation in its day. Think flea bags and slime. Mary had a reputation, too. Some say she'd killed before. Was it one murder? Was it a dozen? No one seemed to know for sure.
All the news surrounding Mary wasn't bad, though. Some said she could "play 25 tunes on the musical horns without missing a note". There were stories that she was the star on the circus' baseball game routine with a batting average of .400. Talk about your talent…
Anywho, a new handler by the name of Red Eldridge had taken said criminal to the pond for a drink after one of the performances. With all the qualifications of a janitor, one must wonder how in the world such an amateur could be put in charge of an elephant to begin with.
Nevertheless, at some point, events took a turn for the worse. Eldridge was dead. Whether Mary trampled him to death or dealt a fatal blow with the swing of her trunk is anyone's guess at this point. Some say the murderer was bored. Others say she had an abscessed tooth or two – that she struck out in pain, with Eldridge on the receiving end, whether intentional or not.
Didn't matter though. Mary was a killer in the eyes of the town. Even the circus owner knew no one would come to the performances with such a scoundrel as Mary in the mix.
She was a murderer. And justice was the only recourse.
The million-dollar question became how to kill her. They tried guns, which barely made a nick in her tough skin. They tried electrocution, using 44,000 volts from the railroad. They even discussed dismemberment. They could tie her to two railroad cars, then pull her in two, or tie her to the tracks and send two cars in either direction to squash her like a bug.
Believe it or not, they decided against dismemberment, labeling it too cruel.
Somewhere along the way, someone came up with the bright idea of hanging her. With details of the execution worked out, it was determined that Mary the Murderer would be hanged after the circus performance on the following day.
While the crowd was more than a little put out that she didn't perform before her execution, they were more than satisfied with the announcement that her hanging would be a spectacle on display for everyone (I'm surprised they didn't charge admission).
More than 2,500 people showed up that day to see Mary meet her maker, urging Mary's executioners on with chants of, "Kill the elephant!"
And they did. She was hanged. While I'll spare you the details, some say she was hanged twice, because the first set of chains broke under her massive weight of five tons.
I'm just telling you what I've heard.
So in celebration of Elephant Appreciation Day, perhaps you can make up your own version of what event transpired that fateful day, ultimately leading to Mary's demise. Do the details really matter? Almost 100 years later, I'm beginning to wonder. All I know is this: in 1916 and elephant was hanged for murder in a small Tennessee town. What else is there to say?
Until next week, get your party on!
Filed under: Headline, free online dating ohio · Tags: attitude, coffee break with liz and kate, facts, humor, Mary the hanged elephant, Strange holidays, talk like a pirate day


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LONG BEACH – Long Beach State completed its Big West Conference home schedule Wednesday at Walter Pyramid just as it planned – undefeated.
But it wasn't easy.
Keala King scored a season-high 22 points as the 49ers erased a second half double-digit deficit to defeat UC Davis, 71-65, and finish with a home conference record of 8-0.
"We played hard as a team and it opened me up for shots," said King.
Tony Freeland scored 16 of his 18 points in the second half as Long Beach State (17-9, 13-2) extended its home-conference winning streak to 26 games and clinched at least a share of the conference title as a result of UC Irvine defeating Pacific on Wednesday.
"It shows how far we've come as a team since the beginning of the season." Freeland said.
James Ennis scored 15 points and Dan Jennings had 11 rebounds for the 49ers.
After trailing 35-24 early in the second half, the 49ers picked up the pace and battled back.
King's fourth consecutive basket gave the 49ers a 52-51 lead with 7:31 to play. Ennis and Mike Caffey had crucial blocked shots with just over three minutes to play. Ennis' blocked shot led to a King basket, giving the 49ers a 61-57 lead with 2:25 to go.
Leading 64-61, Freeland stole the ball and was fouled. He made his first free throw but missed the second. However, Freeland grabbed the rebound and layed it in. The 49ers led 69-63 with 25 seconds to play before Ennis added a dunk to close it out for Long Beach State, which holds a 17-2 all-time record against UC Davis.
"This time of the year every win is a good win," said Long Beach State coach Dan Monson. "We didn't have a lot life early. In the second half we had more energy.
"These guys are winners, and you have to have find different ways to win and these guys are doing that."
The 49ers shooting went ice cold for a span of eight minutes midway through the first half.
Fortunately for Long Beach State, the Aggies (11-14, 7-7) weren't much better. Long Beach State retook the lead, 20-19, with 6:32 left in the half on back-to-back baskets by King. But the 49ers slipped into a funk for the rest of the half and were outscored 14-4 down the stretch.
Corey Hawkins led UC Davis with 21 points.


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> The application isn't "english", it's "an application". Properly done, it
> should be internationalized and thus able to be an "Arabic
> application" when serving Arabic pages and English when serving English
> pages.
I totally agree. This is actually what I am trying to achieve and what I
was trying to convey to John. Unfortunately, the nature of the application
means that certain labels from the application are exposed to the user which
may be in a different language to the data they pertain. I have been using
the example of English for the application data and Arabic for the data from
the database. In reality, the application will be translated into several
(probably about 8 languages). The data in the database is stored in Unicode
and so could be in any language supported by Unicode...and the browser of
course. The actual data is maintained by users via a web interface. It
is conceivably possible that data can be entered by multiple users in
multiple languages...some of which RTL and some LTR. We will, of course,
allow the user to tag the data with a language identifier.
However, I guess my problem boils down to this.
If a user requests a page that contains data that could, potentially, be in
multiple languages. What criteria does one use to determine directionality
of the page? The directionality of the *text* is implied by each data
element itself. But what about the page?
I don't think that examining all the data elements and saying well there's
70% RTL data so lets put the page in RTL. I didn't think that was
practical. Especially, if it causes means that one user is going to see the
same page in RTL or LTR based on selection criteria over the database.
My reasoning was that a user that has expressed a preference for a RTL
language would not mind seeing the page formatted for a RTL language.
Especially, if that there is a high probability that that data they will be
seeing is in that language. (If they have indicated a preference for that
language, then they would probably enter the data in that language.) I
know this reasoning is somewhat flawed but I am trying to the best with what
I can.
I would be interested to hear the opinion of a native Arabic or Hebrew (or
one of the other RTL language) speakers as to how they would prefer to view
a page such as that. My thought would be that such a person would have a
preference for a RTL page; their eyes would naturally scan RTL formatted
pages easier than LTR formatted pages.
Hell, if they have no preference then I can just leave the directionality of
the page to always be LTR...it's, obviously, less work! :-)
David Tooke
----- Original Message -----
From: <email@example.com>
To: "David Tooke" <email@example.com>
Cc: "Unicode List" <email@example.com>
Sent: Friday, December 08, 2000 2:54 AM
Subject: Re: OT (Kind of): Determining whether Locales are left-to-right or
> Hi David,
> I sense a subtle (and not uncommon) disconnect in your last response.
> The application isn't "english", it's "an application". Properly done, it
> should be internationalized and thus able to be an "Arabic
> application" when serving Arabic pages and English when serving English
> pages. You might have instances where an "English application" is
> *showing* some Arabic data, in which case you have some Arabic data on an
> English formatted page.
> Now: the data locale, page (user) locale, and server locale are three
> separate, independent things and each has a certain validity under certain
> circumstances. Just because you're showing the date stamp for some event
> in Riyadh (sp?) doesn't mean you should use an Arabic date format (if the
> user's locale is English). Similarly, the date stamp for an event in
> London *would* be in an Arabic format for an Arabic user, no?
> Trying to rely on the range of characters or some heuristic to determine
> what the data locale is implies a hole in your database schema. The page
> layout will vary by *user* locale, but data presented in it may be
> formatted for its own locale (for example, an Arabic piece of text, say a
> customer's name, will be presented RTL *within* a generally LTR page).
> So, in short, you need to negotiate a locale with the user in your
> application and use that to determine the overall page layout. *Within*
> that page there will be specific instances (or not) of the data locale
> being used to format content.
> An "Arabic application" run from your server will have directionality tags
> in the HTML (at least for modern browsers) which will greatly assist the
> "relayout", plus it will load explicitly RTL page elements (such as
> graphics, etc.) and use an Arabic locale for formatting non-String
> datatypes.
> Good luck,
> Addison
> ===========================================================
> Addison P. Phillips Principal Consultant
> Inter-Locale LLC http://www.inter-locale.com
> Los Gatos, CA, USA mailto:email@example.com
> +1 408.210.3569 (mobile) +1 408.904.4762 (fax)
> ===========================================================
> Globalization Engineering & Consulting Services
> On Wed, 6 Dec 2000, David Tooke wrote:
> > > I think it would be very weird to render an English-language
> > with
> > > labels on the right of their fields, just because the user also
> > understands
> > > Arabic.
> > The application is a database application where the majority of fields
> > from a Unicode database and user-entered. Their text is likely to be in
> > Arabic. Therefore, as far as I am concerned, the *content* of the page
> > in Arabic not English despite it being an English application. So the
> > should be formatted as if it an Arabic page with some English text.
> >
> > As it is a Unicode database; I do not want to try to determine what
> > language/script *exactly* is being used. That would involve scanning
> > Unicode characters and a lot more giggery pokery than I need.
> >
> >
> >
> >
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : Tue Jul 10 2001 - 17:21:17 EDT


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We were told that the QUEST box from Loot Crate would be special—but did it deliver?
Find out below along with the theme reveal for May (with 10% off code).
Behold the exclusive Labyrinth shirt from Ripple Junction. Apparently, if you didn't get it in the crate, you're SOL when it comes to buying it outside of eBay. I'll admit that it is pretty awesome. I might go so far as to say that it's rad.
This drinking horn from the History Channel's Vikings is another Loot Crate exclusive. It's plastic, but does a nice job of holding beer. Until you want to put it down that is. Fortunately, there's a handy neck strap.
Exclusive #3 is this D20 ice mold from Loot Crate Labs that should do a fine job of chilling your whiskey without watering it down. Unfortunately, your dexterity rolls will be rubbish afterwards.
Exclusive #4: I think we found the perfect socks for Dobby. April's Loot Crate pin was pretty awesome too (some looters got a golden variant).
Finally, there was this exclusive Uncharted 4 poster. Meh…but the rest of the box more than made up for it.
Impressions: Indeed, I was very pleased with the QUEST box overall. With the exception of the poster, I'll make good use out of everything here.
If you would like to try out Loot Crate for yourself, signup for a subscription here and save 10% off your order with the code "NERDAPPROVED".
You can check out our previous Loot Crate reviews to get a better idea of what a subscription is all about.
If you decide to jump in for May, the theme will be…
The description reads:
The onslaught of big summer blockbusters makes May the perfect time to celebrate some of pop culture's unstoppable, unrelenting, and unbeatable characters and objects.
This month, we've got something you can carry, something for your kitchen AND a cool figure to go with our monthly tee and pin. Featuring TWO Marvel items plus Warcraft AND Dragon Ball Z, no one crate should have all this POWER!
Signups for The POWER! crate end on May 19th at 9pm PT.
Note: Nerd Approved is a Loot Crate affiliate that receives a subscription in exchange for honest reviews.


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Not much is known about Tasmia, except that she loves being in the Legion of Super-Heroes. She's currently dating Ultra Boy and asked Karate Kid to help him when Ultra Boy had trouble with controlling his powers. She has mistakenly thought that Ultra Boy was interested in Supergirl. When she and other legionnaires visited Talok VIII, they were surprised of the favor that she demanded, including a large banquet in her honour. She explained that it was because that she didn't want to look aloof (by not accepting such gifts). She has a friendly rivalry with her brother Grev.
Powers and Abilities
- Talokite Physiology: As a non-terrestrial being, a Talokite's body chemistry is different from that of a normal human, providing them with different physical attributes, such as the ability to exist in the vacuum of space longer than a normal human.
- Darkness Manipulation: can cast darkfields preventing all light from reaching an area from outside. These can either be complete, effectively rendering useless all light sources within the area, or hollow to allow the interior to be lit. She can also solidify these fields, to use as a more direct weapon. Shadow Lass has the power to create darkness 100 times darker than a moonless night. Her black shadows are impenetrable by light.
Shadow Lass can project protective shadows around persons she cannot see and are elsewhere in a city.
- Shadow-Sight: She has shadow-sensitive eyes that give her the ability to see in darkness. She can draw strength from the slightest shadow or dark corner. She can also build up her power by wrapping her face in the folds of her cape and shielding her eyes from glare. As she expands her shadow nearer to light sources the pressure becomes greater, her mind feeling like it's on fire.
- Hand-to-Hand Combat (Basic): As a cadet, all potential members of the Legion undergo personal combat training.
Strength level
possesses the strength level of a woman her age, size and weight who engages in moderate regular exercise.
- 49 Appearances of Tasmia Mallor (Earth-Prime)
- 16 Images featuring Tasmia Mallor (Earth-Prime)
- Quotations by or about Tasmia Mallor (Earth-Prime)
- Character Gallery: Tasmia Mallor (Earth-Prime)
|Supergirl and the Legion of Super-Heroes and 5th Legion of Super-Heroes series.
Any official designation for the home universe for this character has not been given, and thus this page may have to be moved in the future.
Legion of Super-Heroes member


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- My job and stable life.
- Vacations and the chance to see the world.
- My car for feeedom.
- My home for shelter.
- The promise that the future is bright and someone special will share it with me.
honest person that will work to make a relationship successful, and you like to get out and do fun things.


text:
Baylor University and IMG College are in the fourth year of a ten-year agreement that provides the company with exclusive multi-media rights for the school's highly successful 19-sport intercollegiate athletics program. Baylor IMG Sports Marketing is on pace to set record sales revenue for Baylor University entering into their ninth year.
Baylor is guaranteed an annual rights fee and shares in additional revenues while IMG owns the rights to all sales and marketing opportunities associated with Baylor sports, including a radio network for all sports, print advertising in various athletic department publications, all signage in university athletic facilities, intellectual property, in-venue promotions, and digital assets.
The industry leader in collegiate sports marketing partnerships, IMG college currently owns the multi-media rights for more than 80 university, conference and bowl game partnerships around the nation, including Washington, BYU, Texas, Ohio State, Georgia and Florida, to name a few.
Matt Iazzetti (Baylor, 1997) is in his ninth year with Baylor IMG (his first as General Manager). He joined the Baylor IMG team from Waco's KWTX-TV, where he worked for seven years, the last five as sports director. Matt lives with his wife Emily and son, Paller in Waco, TX.
Clark McCormack (Baylor, 2013) is in his first year as Account Executive of Baylor IMG Sports Marketing. He joined the Baylor IMG Sports Marketing team from the Dallas Mavericks where he had worked for the previous three seasons as a Corporate Sponsorship Account Executive. Clark is engaged to Becca Dixon (Baylor, 2013) and they will be getting married in May, 2016. Both Clark and Becca are natives of Houston, Texas.
Diana Curti (Baylor, 2015) is in her first year as the Partner Services Coordinator for Baylor IMG. She graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration, majoring in Sports Sponsorship and Sales. She previously interned with Major League Baseball Advanced Media, and is from Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Bears fans will once again be able to follow every exciting play of Baylor Football this season on the Baylor IMG Sports Network thanks to its experienced crew of professionals who broadcast the action worldwide.
The "Voice of the Bears," John Morris (Baylor, 1980), enters his 29th year broadcasting Baylor Football in 2015. This is Morris' 21st year as the signature voice of Baylor Athletics since succeeding the legendary Frank Fallon. Entering the 2015 season, Morris has broadcast 315 consecutive Baylor Football games. He was a finalist for Texas Sportscaster of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association in 2013 and has also been behind the mic for Baylor Basketball, Women's Basketball, Baseball, Softball, Volleyball, Soccer, Track & Field, Equestrian, and Men's & Women's Tennis.
Three-time Academic All-American J.J. Joe returns for his 12th season as color analyst. The Bears' leading passer for four consecutive seasons from 1990-1993, Joe graduated as Baylor's career passing and total offense leader. He serves as a partner and the Chief Financial Officer for Beverly Sue Global Services. Joe was inducted into the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame in 2006.
Ricky Thompson returns for his 16th season providing sideline color and analysis. Thompson is a former SWC long jump champion and was the Bears' leading receiver in 1975 before embarking on a seven-year NFL career. He is also a member of the Baylor Athletic Hall of Fame, inducted in 1992.
Bob Baker is the football broadcast engineer and handles the same duties for B.U. Basketball as well. Bradford Hines returns as studio host in the Baylor Scott & White Health-IMG Network Studios.
Every play of Baylor Football 2015 is available online at www.BaylorBears.com, Sirius/XM Satellite Radio, and the TuneIn App.
For additional information on the multi-media rights held by Baylor IMG Sport Marketing or for corporate partnership/advertising opportunities, call 254.710.3271.
Baylor/IMG Sports Staff
|Matt Iazzetti, General Manager
|Clark McCormack, Account Executive
|Joslin Joseph, Account Executive
|Diana Curti, Partner Services Coordinator
|John Morris, Assistant AD/Broadcasting
1500 S. University Parks Dr.
Waco, Texas 76706


text:
TEL AVIV (Sep. 13)
Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin this week signed an order allowing Israelis having dual citizenship to travel from Israel to Jordan on their foreign passports.
The move enables Israelis to make the trip to Jordan without having to obtain formal permission from the Interior Ministry.
Travel agents have already reportedly signed up scores of such dual-passport Israelis for visits to Jordan.
When Israel and Jordan signed the July 25 Washington Declaration formally ending their 46-year state of war, Rabin and Jordan's King Hussein agreed to open border crossings to allow third-country nationals to travel between the two countries.
But Israelis holding a second passport were unable to travel to Jordan until now.
In a related development, Israeli and Jordanian negotiators meeting this week at an Israeli cultural center near the Sea of Galilee agreed to open a second border crossing between the two countries.
The crossing, scheduled to be opened in October, will link northern portions of the countries near the Sea of Galilee.