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Synthetic Orange wrote: »PA currently has a succession game going on! http://dwarf.lendemaindeveille.com/index.php/PA_Succession:_Kadolmorul (now defunct? -Bzero)
Welcome to the mountainhome of the dwarves! Starting out with a hardy band of seven pioneers, you will be beset on all sides by the threat of starvation, exposure, rampant idiocy, inexperience, tantrums, monkey attacks, hostile goblins, kleptomaniacal kobolds, accidental drownings, those goddamn hippy elves, being set on fire, upper class nobles that will make lives hell for your peasantry, and the mortal enemies of the dwarves, elephants. ELEPHANTS! OH GOD THEY'RE IN THE FORTRESS!
So what's Dwarf Fortress? It's a rather bizarre little roguelike/ fantasy world generator / colony management sim hybrid. With lots of dead dwarves guaranteed.
So you start out with a tiny band of 7 dwarves, a few wagons, mules, horses, and enough supplies to make sure you dont starve... maybe.
With a little luck (and if those goddamn monkeys dont steal all your food off the wagons again), your fortress will make it past the first winter. Or more likely it will collapse and you'll start up a new fortress, avoiding the mistakes of the first.
...before it all ends in a tide of blood and dwarf parts
And then you start AGAIN!
Get the game here!:STRIKE THE EARTH!
The ever helpful Dwarf Fortress wiki
How not to starve during your first winter.
The previous G&T DF thread
And the SA DF thread, the Goons have plenty of DF chatter too.
And of course THE EPIC SAGA OF BOATMURDERED which is a must-read.
Valkun's exceedingly long, semi detailed, and verbose guide to helping aspiring architects and overlords in playing Dwarf Fortress Mode:
Edit: Hmm, now that I look at it. It's anything but a quick guide.
Getting Started:
When you first start the game you'll have to generate a world, which can take anywhere from fifteen minutes to quite a bit longer if its having bad luck.
Before even talking about what starting setup is optimal for your journey, let's begin with an overview of the goals you'll need to accomplish within the first year:
1. Food
2. Alcohol
3. Build a Trade Depot (road will come later)
4. Create trade goods
Obviously, without food your dwarves will go into a feral state of hunting vermin and eating other unsanitary objects before losing all sanity and turning on one another. To obtain said food, there are five methods available.
Farming: Farming is the most productive method of creating a sustainable foodsource for your fort but also hard to pull off for new players. To begin, farms must be built on top of mud which is washed onto the cavern floor either by natural or artificial floods. To create an artifical flood chamber you'll need the following: 5 mechanisms(mechanics workshop), 2 floodgates(mason's workshop), door(s)(mason's workshop).
After finding the interior river, dig out a room making sure it is completely inclosed and not touching the river (build a bridge across if you can't see EXACTLY how the river is bending). Now, you'll need to build the chamber as follows:
X - floodgate
L - Lever
D - Door
W - Wall
~ - River
Note that this is far smaller than what you'll need but it'll show you the general design idea.
1. Dig out room and spaces for the flood gates.
2. Install floodgate closest to the river.
3. Install the lever someplace outside of the room.
4. Go to the lever and "link" it to the installed floodgate.
5. Attach the door so that the water can't escape the room.
6. After the lever is linked (the mechanic will take a mechanism to the lever and the floodgate), install the second floodgate.
7. Link this second floodgate to the lever.
8. Make sure everyone is out of the room, go to the door with Q and LOCK it.
9. Go to the lever and give it a Pull job.
10. Wait for water to fill the chamber and then assign a second pull job.
11. Unlock the door.
12. Assign plots under the B menu, look for Farm Plot. Use U/M to change its height and K/H to change its width. Each plot can only be seeded by a single plant type at a time so make multiple plots.
13. Dwarves with the Farming(Fields) job activated in their list will automatically plant seeds into the plots. Different plants grow in different seasons (Plump Helmet grows in all but winter).
The mud will last until the winter and must be reflooded during the next spring.
Fishing: Fishing is the easiest method of gaining food and is as easily done as assigning dwarves the Fish job in their list. The fish they catch are in a "raw" state and must be cleaned at a Fishery built from the B menu. Only those dwarves with the Fish(Cleaning) will process the raw fish into a useable form. Most maps will have an abundance of fish but some more extreme environments (glacier/desert) will be unfishable from the outside.
Hunting: An incredibly involved method of obtaining food and other materials (leather,bones,fat). First, dwarves who you wish to go hunting must have the Hunting job activated on their job list. These dwarves will then go out with their weapon (*M*ilitary, *W*eapons) and hunt the local fauna. Make sure to take a look at what animals exist in your local environment from the *U*nits screen. Remember your starting dwarves are undertrained and likely unarmed and wouldn't stand a chance against a Sasquatch, Elephant, or many other animals but a gopher is reasonable. Once slain, the hunter will drag the corpse back to the nearest butcher shop. There, the corpse must be butchered while its still fresh to obtain meat, leather, bones, fat, and skulls.
Gathering: One of the slowest and least effective means of gathering food, designate shrubs (default ") using the *D*esignations and any dwarves with the Plant Gathering job enabled will go around to collect the shrubs. Not every shrub yields an item. One particularly useful item to look for is the Quarry Bush grown inside of caves, once found you can process these at a Farmer's Workshop and plant the resulting seed inside your fields.
Trade: Most of the visitors to your fortress will bring food along with them for trading(but don't depend on it).
Alcohol can be made from the various crops and gathered plants at a Still from the Site a *B*uilding menu, under workshops. Each plant unit that goes into the creation will yield five units of alcohol. You'll need barrels (Carpenter's Shop) to store the alcohol in. If your dwarves go for a long period without anything to drink but water they WILL get a bit unruly so keep that in mind and keep it flowing.
Trade goods can be created from any number of sources but the most commonly used ones are made from Stone, Bone, and Shell depending on whatever is on hand. Do not use light or dark stones for trade goods (despite their higher value) because they can be used for more useful purposes. Obsidian for obsidian swords that have the same damage as Steel and Limestone for Fertilizer and Steel.
Now, for something a bit more advanced, City Planning.
There are some critical concepts that must be understood if you want to have your fortress running like a well oiled machine.
Corridor Bandwidth: Like data travelling through your modem, there is a limit to how many people can move through your cooridors. If two dwarves (or everything else that moves) meets and must travel past one another, one will take a long time to lay down upon the ground while the other passes. To a lesser extent, if there is space to move, two units will sidestep one another to pass (still takes time). For these reasons, you want to have wide, regularly spaced hallways running through your fortress so that there are no bottlenecks present. Also keep this in mind for rooms, they'll need to have more than one entrance otherwise they'll face the same bottleneck trying to get in and out.
Manufacturing Throughput: Put related industries close to one another so that there is less time spent traveling from one location to the next. This includes the relevant stockpiles (Even better with custom stockpiles). For instance, it's a good idea to keep your Farmer's Workshop close to the farms to spin pigtail thread, a loom nearby to turn that thread into cloth, then finally the clothier to turn that cloth into useable items. There are a great number of interdependencies in the game and as you play through you'll figure out what needs to be near what.
Living Space: For the most part, dwarves are perfectly happy living in a 1x1 room on a decent bed and can be crammed like sardines into a big room. However, make sure that these rooms are away from digging and workshops as these will interrupt your dwarves' sleep. Nobles, on the other hand, require multiple rooms to house their study, dining room, and bedroom and there are a LOT of nobles. Make certain to keep space allocated for these snobby headaches.
If and when Toady finally releases the 3d Dwarf Fortress, a lot of the old paradigms designed by us veterans will have be shattered completely. But for now, this is MY starting build/strategy and my dwarves are never wiped out. (Usually I'll abandon if the area isn't challening enough or the river is too close to the front of the fort due to aesthetic reasons).
Starting Build:
Proficient Miner, Proficient Mason
Proficient Miner, Novice Mechanic
Proficient Carpenter, Novice Woodcutter
Novice Fisherdwarf
Novice Fisherdwarf
Proficient Grower
Proficient Grower
No animals.
-1 Axe
-Starting Meat/Helmets
16 Plump Helmet Spawn
8 Pig Tail Seed
8 Cave Wheat Seed
8 Sweet Pod Seed
8 Dimple Dye Spawn
11 of each Dwarven Booze
<10 Turtles
Rest of the points go to getting more of the above but those are a minimum
Animals are expensive and immigrants always bring a ton of the things with them anyways so I don't bother with them. Some say to take one of each meat to get extra barrels, but unless you're on a really wood scarce map, it's not that hard to get barrels.
As for choice of map, it's really up to you. Stay away from glaciers, deserts, maps with no trees, untamed wildernesses/protected wilds/sinister/terrifying maps unless you're in for a real challenge as these will prevent you from harnessing resources that are plentiful on other maps.
The First Year in Detail:
First, designate a 3 wide cooridor from the front of the fortress straight inward until the miners hit the river. This normally takes anywhere from a month to two months. I undesignate every job on the miners except for their Masonry/Mechanics so that they can focus on digging exclusively.
The carpenter is set to destroy the wagons, build a carpenter's shop, and 7 beds. The beds won't take too long so after that I have him make trade goods out of shells and Crossbows/Bolts out of fish bones.
The fisherdwarves fish.
For now, the growers are used as porters and fish cleaners, moving the food into stockpiles indoors and away from would be thieves.
After finally finding the river, I set up a 1 wide bridge to get a way across/reveal the river better. I then design something like this(I actually keep the main cooridor 5 tiles high so I offset the farm by one when designing it):
While the miners are preparing the farm as described above (I'll usually build 4 tables and chairs at this time), the rest continue to fish, process, and make trade goods/ammo. The farm is usually ready by late spring/early summer. The 2 growers become exclusive planters (remove all their other jobs).
Sometime in the summer, a blacksmith will arrive, possibly with a small entourage. The small amount of booze won't hold out through the winter so I'll usually convert the blacksmith into a brewer (Seriously, who can possibly even think of blacksmithing this early?). The accompanying peasant will become a cook/fish cleaner/whatever else needs to be done. I'll usually build a trade depot right outside the fort around this time.
In the fall, dwarves from your capital will arrive bringing food, leather, cloth, etc. Meat is cheap, cheese is very expensive. Unfortunately, until you get the manager (book keeper?) you won't be able to see the prices of the items, so just barter the best you can. They won't get angry at bad deals on your end.
Its then all up to the random number generator as to when your first immigrants arrive. In the last game (I played exactly as above), I had something like 200 Fish/Edible Plants/Meals and 75 booze at the start of winter although my first immigrants didn't arrive until Spring. Winter is usually the time I set the fisherdwarves and growers to full time porters to get everything organized. Then I'll just have them mass detail (1st level only) my fortress to give them something to do. Both of my miners were legendary by the end of winter despite taking breaks to do masonry and trap making.
Be prepared for incoming immigrants, they'll often come in groups of greater than 20 when you're least expecting it. Build beds ahead of time, keep large stockpiles of food and alcohol on hand. As you get more dwarves, make sure to specialize them by focusing them on only one or two jobs. Try to get an idea of how many dwarves it takes to perform a certain task. Ex: Making leather objects requires: Hunters, Butcher, Tanner, and a Leatherworker. And never underestimate the value of peasants. For the most part, I disable hauling on most of my dwarves except for a sizable group of porters. This allows the other dwarves to focus on their jobs rather than running around doing one job, then going all the way across it to do another, etc etc. It should also be noted that workshops and other jobs look for available dwarves, not the other way around. So if you need something done right now and there's an idle dwarf that should be doing it. Try cancelling the job and setting it again, this will usually grab that dwarf.
Beginning of Spring, Year 2:
To be honest, I don't think I've ever scratched the surface of the complexities of DF. So I'll just say to try to play the game slowly and in stages, learning from your mistakes. The stages go as follows:
1. Small fortress - Micromanagement, diversified workforce.
2. Small to medium fortress - Macromanagement, more specialized workforce.
3. Medium to large fortress - Macroeconomic, demanding nobles, sieges. (Don't mint coins until you've gotten a hang of the game, the start of the economy can and will cripple your fortress if you don't understand it.) For example, royal rooms with masterwork furniture and double detailed walls might be great before the economy, but few dwarves will be unable to afford such a room afterwards.
TL : DR God, I don't blame you. This is what happens when you really want to put off studying.
A few keys will come up a lot. Pressing these keys will bring up a yellow X cursor which you control using the arrow keys.
Q - assigns orders at workshops and structures, or used to create rooms from a placed structure, like tables, beds, archery targets, etc, or to destroy them.
T - much like Q, but works for sTructures. Use this when you want to examine/destroy a structure that is not a workshop. Also useful for peeking at the contents of a workshop to see how cluttered it is.
V - Examines an individual dwarf, where you can look at their stats, gear, thoughts and alter their job list.
K - If you'd like to see if that U is an attacking Unicorn or a friendly hUman trader, this is the key you want. Pressing enter examines the object in greater detail (if any).
Z - Brings up your fortress report and tells you how depressingly low you are on food.
D - Designates an area for tasks. Hit enter to start dragging out a rectangle, enter to stop. Or hold down the mouse button and draw it in. Everything in this area will now be designated for whatever task you had selected, from Digging out rock, cutting down trees, or picking plants, or whatever else it might have been. Use this to dig out your dwarf-hole.
I built a bridge, but it looked ugly so I demolished it. The new one never gets built because of pathing errors!
Common mistake. Never cut off the fortress. The dwarf builders are trying to get to material/worksites on the other side of the river/chasm, but cant because there's no bridge anymore. Avoid this by always having spare bridges. If this has already happened, build stone blocks at your masonry workshop and use those to build your new bridge, ensuring that you're using accessible materials.
How do I change the game resolution/settings/colours/etc?
In the data/init directory is init.txt, a well documented file which contains all sorts of DF settings.
Run this on a Mac?
User Sleep reports that Crossover works fine. I've no experience with this though.
I'd play this if only it had graphics
RARRRGH, but if you must, there's replacement tile and object graphics you can use along with install instructions on these pages:
A repacked version with a tileset ready to go
What happens if I do this?
Just try it first! It's no fun if we tell you that you would have doomed all your dwarves to a horrible agonizing death beforehand. No fun at all!
Besides, it just means you get to do it better next time.
How do I back up my save game?
A good idea, since the game is only in alpha, and does crash (rarely), but if it does, it can corrupt your entire world.
Make a copy of the data/save directory and keep it somewhere safe. To restore, delete your entire data/save directory and replace it with your copy. NOT DELETING IT FIRST WILL CAUSE ERRORS.
I can't wait for the new version. Using this newly discovered "z-axis" I will burrow beneath the grass and trees to turn it all into a hidden deathtrap, and take revenge on my ancestral nemesis. Those elephants will never know what hit them!
10/16/2007: Added hatch cover and grate items and associated jobs, added hatch/wall grate/floor grate/vertical bars/floor bars buildings, made sure workers are permitted for each building component before attempting to make a building, reset storage counter on newly designated dump items, fixed problem with projectiles vs. floors/ceilings, added spike tag for trap components, adding ability to place upright spears and spikes, added falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings, tweaked edge sinks
10/16/2007: Added hatch cover and grate items and associated jobs, added hatch/wall grate/floor grate/vertical bars/floor bars buildings, made sure workers are permitted for each building component before attempting to make a building, reset storage counter on newly designated dump items, fixed problem with projectiles vs. floors/ceilings, added spike tag for trap components, adding ability to place upright spears and spikes, added falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings, tweaked edge sinks
I came.
I'm afraid that's not how it works. He works full-time on it, 7 days a week already. More money won't make him able to work faster than that, although it will help ensure that he will be able to continue working on it full-time.Infinity Minus One wrote: »Well if people donated money to toady it would be done even faster.
10/16/2007:added spike tag for trap components, adding ability to place upright spears and spikes, added falling damage and corpse impalement for unretracted spike buildings,
No climbing in this coming version. I think it's on the list of things to do eventually.peterdevore wrote: »Does the new version have proper climbing to escape all those pits of doom people will dig? I believe so, but I wonder if ropes will show some use in combination with climbing. Ooh, I hope we get make-shift rope bridges one day, that degrade over time and can snap under weight.
wait.. a z-axis? how will that work?
Right now forts are in a flat plane. The z-axis means there will be more planes above and below the starting elevation. So you will be able to dig up and down, and have things like sloped ground on the surface and whatnot. It's like the different floors of a roguelike dungeon, only more so.wait.. a z-axis? how will that work?
but how will it be presented visually? there's already a lot to process already
MechMantis wrote: »You fucks. I thought it had been released, due to new thread and all.
You got me all excited and then I found out the awful truth. You should all be ashamed. ASHAMED!
So, basically, he built a makeshift silo, pushed a mule into its depths, then filled it with water. D:GenericFan wrote: »
Like that.Right now forts are in a flat plane. The z-axis means there will be more planes above and below the starting elevation. So you will be able to dig up and down, and have things like sloped ground on the surface and whatnot. It's like the different floors of a roguelike dungeon, only more so.wait.. a z-axis? how will that work?
but how will it be presented visually? there's already a lot to process already
This thread is just going to make everybody unhappy, the title should be changed to stop building up my hopes and dreams that somehow the new version was snuck out overnight. Such things could kill a weaker man.
Like that.Right now forts are in a flat plane. The z-axis means there will be more planes above and below the starting elevation. So you will be able to dig up and down, and have things like sloped ground on the surface and whatnot. It's like the different floors of a roguelike dungeon, only more so.wait.. a z-axis? how will that work?
but how will it be presented visually? there's already a lot to process already
Ninja Snarl P wrote: »Anyone else see the video where Toady constructs a bridge above ground level outside the mountain? I submit to such possibilities as: firing posts for dwarf archers (obvious but functional), noble disposal (what a nice balcony... with a trap door that drops you twenty stories into an unsuspecting siege army, causing a massive explosion of deadly noble bone shrapnel and viscera), insane dwarf disposal, water cannons which fire stones, magma cannons which fire magma and flame, etc etc etc. Frankly, I am very dissapointed in myself for highly anticipating such hideous actions... but I can live with that. My enemies, however, will not be able live with angry elephant bombs, noble explosions, crushing flood stones, being burned alive well away from my fortress, to name a few things.
I :shock:'d at this when you mentioned it, but I don't know physics well enough to say if a large, deep reservoir with a single small tunnel at the bottom would have the kind of explosive force needed to act as an impromptu siege engine.Ninja Snarl P wrote: »...water cannons which fire stones...


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Neenah boy pulled from river dies
NEENAH - Police say a 6-year-old boy pulled from the Fox River in Neenah Wednesday afternoon has died.
Autopsy revealed the cause of death was freshwater drowning.
Police were called to Riverside Park Tuesday afternoon at 4:34 p.m. for a report of a child missing.
Neenah police say the boy, Elijah Vanderhoof of Neenah, had been at the park with his family.
People in the park helped officers search.
During the search operations, several boats were close to the search area. A dive flag was deployed but had drifted back towards the shoreline. Rescue teams also deployed an inflatable boat with personnel to act as a warning for boaters nearby, however several boaters failed to heed the warnings.
At 5:41 p.m., Neenah-Menasha Fire Rescue's dive team found Vanderhoof in the water. He was taken to Theda Clark Medical Center. He was declared dead a few minutes later.
Following the search, Neenah police expressed their appreciation for "many helpful citizens" and several rescue agencies who assisted.
"Our hearts go out to Elijah's family and friends as they struggle with his loss," said the Neenah Police Department.

subset: commoncrawl


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Original URL: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/01/30/apple_posts_wi-fi_patch/
Apple posts $2 802.11n Wi-Fi patch
Update free with upcoming base-station box
Posted in Personal Tech, 30th January 2007 15:13 GMT
Apple has posted software that will allow Macs with 802.11n-capable Wi-Fi adaptors to support the latest incarnation of the as yet non-standard next-generation wireless networking technology. And yes, the company wants $1.99 or £1.25 for it, depending on your location.
The update is being hosted by Apple's online store. According to the website, the patch will work with any Core 2 Duo-based Mac except the 1.83GHz 17in iMac but including the Mac Pro with an Airport Extreme add-in.
It's worth mentioning too that the update comes free with Apple's new, 802.11n-compatible AirPort Extreme Base Station product, so don't dash out and purchase the patch if you plan to buy this hardware in due course. Said access point hardware doesn't ship until next month, for £119 in the UK and $179 in the US.
Apple has claimed it's forced to charge for the software update by US accounting rules.


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One-hour Strike Planned for Entire Health System Today
The entire health system - hospitals and community clinics - will shut down at noon tomorrow for one hour, the Histadrut labor federation announced yesterday.
Histadrut Chairman MK Amir Peretz said the strike is being called as a show of solidarity with the 250 pensioners of Bikur Holim Hospital in Jerusalem, who have not received their pension allowances for many months.
"It is unthinkable that after working in the hospital for 40 years, these former workers should end up in the poor house. This is a dangerous precedent that could affect all workers eligible for non-contributory pensions," Peretz said.
Warning that if tomorrow's strike does not result in payment to the Bikur Holim employees, other sectors will also go on strike, Peretz called on the government to find a solution that would ensure ongoing coverage of the pensioners' allowances.
The Bikur Holim management commented: "The retired workers' pensions are delayed due to the hospital's difficult financial situation. We have done our best to use the funds transferred by the government to pay the pensions."
The veteran hospital has been in receivership for the past year and a half, after 21 department directors asked the court to dismantle the Bikur Holim Hospital association, which operated the hospital. Management of the hospital was handed over to an official receiver, attorney Shlomo Shahar.
During the past year attempts to sell the hospital failed, as no buyers could be found.
Workers' committee chairman Roni Amiram said yesterday that in view of the prolonged delays in pension payments, she feared employees would not be paid their wages on time either.
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The Nonsense God
Posted 27 March 2012 - 04:52 PM Edited by Typhus, 27 March 2012 - 07:03 PM.
On a wide green plain sat a perfectly blue lake. Healthy reeds poked from the surface of the water and below the surface golden fish lived their happy, clueless fish-lives.
A figure sat on the bank, his scrawny legs dangling where the fish could swim around them and a worrisome crease along his forehead.
But this was not a Fisherman, this was not a man. On first sight he looked like a very plump, very self-important pigeon. But few pigeons wear clothes and this one sported a black and white striped turtleneck. On his head a dark beret was tilted ever so slightly and circular glasses hid his eyes and he hoped his thoughts.
No, this was not a normal pigeon. No one here was a normal. He didnt know why, they were just born that way. Born in this green, vibrant playground. Never needing food or rest. And, from the day they came into being, called Gods.
And a God he was. Able to look over the Earth and see things that looked like him but were somehow less. As he sat by the lake he looked at one feathered hand, both wing and hand, he could hold things, roll a cigarette, anything and everything. Yet those things down below were really quite pitiful, strutting around naked, content to hide their true intelligence from the humans. Quite happy to be seen as dumb animals, just so they could survive and get by.
Truthfully, he hated them. Hated their chattering, their arrogance, how they constantly bitched about the humans but still leeched of their discarded scraps.
And he, in turn, was hated by them. He was the God of Nonsense. Whenever a Pigeon plummeted to a messy death when they were sure they could fly, he was to blame. Whenever a Pigeon, for no reason whatsoever, was found in a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken covered in hot batter, he was to blame. He was the master of the meaningless, and they hated him, hated how their lives were nothing but a plaything to this unseen, malevolent figure.
But on this day, he had something else on his mind. Matters far more important than pigeons, matters of respect and status, matters of matrimony.
There had been a wedding. The two of them had stepped into the Pavilion, hand-in-hand, and been locked together. Like all marriages, it was arranged. Loveless, orderly, businesslike.
Theres your husband, wash his clothes, sleep with him and if you could give me a grandchild, Id really appreciate it, sweetheart.
And yet they all stood there, wide smiles on their beaks, clutching their own wives and husbands as if their feelings were genuine and not the result of being pressured to the altar.
The God saw a golden fish looking up at him with innocent black eyes. With a thought, he lifted the creature out of the lake and watched it squirm in mid-air, its mouth panting and pouting as it slowly drowned.
But will they give me a wife? He asked to the emptiness around him, folding his wings and suddenly feeling like he was a child again, being deprived of a toy by strict and uncaring parents. Oh no! Heaven forbid! Not me! Not weird, crazy, fat little me! Id spread my genes. Have lots of weird little kids running around. We couldnt have that, could we? No, no, no.
Suddenly he looked at the fish and considered what a charmed life this creature lived. No family. Just endless days of swimming. No one blaming him for simply existing, no one ignoring him because he had a unique sense of humour or peculiar fashion sense. But did he want that? Did he want to be ignored?
No, came a voice inside him, I want to thrive. I want respect, I want everything I know I deserve.
Without even noticing it, he had been twisting the fish this way and that, breaking its spine. His mind worked that way often, any little animal that crossed his path seemed to be flayed or broken. He couldnt help it, he had an overactive imagination.
Respect. Status. Sex. Yes, he wanted that. Wanted it with a hunger and a passion he had never known before now.
In the distance, he heard his uncle cry out for the cake. Looked like the party was in full swing and one day he swore it would be him being cheered and patted on the back. One day hed show them all.
One day? A silken, milky voice asked. Why not today? Why not now?
The young God looked straight ahead and saw a figure on the other side of the lake. He had been looking there for a good few minutes, why was he only seeing this stranger now? Where had he come from?
Come on over, little one. I wont bite. I think we have a shared enemy, and a common goal.
And slowly, unsurely, the Nonsense God got to his feet and paced around the lake. Forging his destiny with every footstep.
Posted 27 March 2012 - 06:16 PM
|a Pigeon, for no reason whatsoever, was found in a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken covered in hot batter
You've put me off getting bargain bastard buckets now.
It's a wonderfully confusing piece -to me anyway- but I can understand the Pigeon's desire. To once step down ad remove the mantle of omnipotence. To prove to others he too can show them he can do what they do, with much more purer form.
I could ramble on about my own interpretations but this is to help you. Your writing is brilliant, no mistakes as far as I can see, and I look forward to a 2 if you decide to follow up.
Posted 28 March 2012 - 10:17 AM
|QUOTE (Ziggy455 @ Tuesday, Mar 27 2012, 18:16)
|It's a wonderfully confusing piece -to me anyway-
To me too. I struggled to get any sensical interpretation from it if i'm honest. It's different, i'll give you that. I had a conversation yesterday with someone on how there's seemingly nothing that's not been done, and sure this is something i don't think i've ever seen before but if i am completely honest, i just don't get it. Perhaps it's the lack of sleep last night, perhaps the V forum's turned my brain to mush, i dunno...
Posted 28 March 2012 - 03:40 PM
I may be completely missing the point here but... do you see a bit of yourself in the pigeon, Typhus? Just a little? There seems to be a lot of genuine, heartfelt anger, contempt and even desire in there.
Posted 28 March 2012 - 03:53 PM
|QUOTE (SIKKS66 @ Wednesday, Mar 28 2012, 15:40)
| Ah so you finally got round to writing this. I remember you talking about writing a piece about "animals as gods" or something in the Social Club (or it might have been another thread?). I was intrigued at the time, good to see it come to fruition. I noted the little "1" at the start. Cannot help but wonder where "2" might bring us. To another divine beast or perhaps continuing the parable of the pigeon. I felt the story was nicely contained as it is but cannot help but wonder who the stranger across the lake was.
I may be completely missing the point here but... do you see a bit of yourself in the pigeon, Typhus? Just a little? There seems to be a lot of genuine, heartfelt anger, contempt and even desire in there.
most good characters reflect parts of ourselves i think. To some extent anyway.
I remember the conversation in the social club now!
Posted 28 March 2012 - 04:30 PM
Good work.
Posted 29 March 2012 - 01:39 AM
Posted 29 March 2012 - 02:42 AM
I came to realise that that broken and almost dyspeptic delivery was in fact part of the intent, part of the balance.
Really really liked it. I don't have to deconstruct it any further - I really liked it
Posted 05 April 2012 - 04:33 AM
The phrase best day of my life holds a great deal of weight to us mortals, because our days are numbered and filled with all sorts of drudgery and repetitive obligations. Feed the cat, go to work, refuel the car, so on and so forth.
But a God has no obligations. And The God of Justice routinely spent his days with a beer in one feathered hand and a big screen Television in front of him. He may not have understood humans. But he loved Raymond and even had a soft spot for his insane, nagging Mother.
And yet, despite his omnipotence, despite every pleasure being a thought away, this day was beyond all his expectations.
Sitting at a long table, under a billowing tent, he felt something of a fraud. All those congratulations, all those people wishing him well and giving speeches in honour of the groom. Did he deserve any of it? What did he do exactly?
The pigeons below loved him. He had no clue why that was. Apparently, he gave them justice from their persecutors the humans, the cats, certain angry seagulls. Supposedly, he was their avenging angel. Whenever a human exterminator breathed in his own poison, whenever a cat lost its tail, whenever a seagull was covered in oil and suffocated that was him. The God of Justice, at your service.
But he never did any of those things. He couldnt freeze time, the days above the Earth passed in the same cycle as they did on the planet below. The only difference was that he didnt age, he didnt get sick and he didnt need to eat out of a dustbin.
The only justice he ever meted out was when he threw the remote at the TV when Simon Cowell made a particularly cutting remark about some budding singer. He couldnt do much more than that though, humans had their own Gods and they were a bizarre bunch to say the least.
Hey, he thought, dont look a gift Horse in the mouth. Youre being complimented, applauded, celebrated. Does it matter why? Just sit back and get blind stinking drunk like anyone else would.
And, as always, that indulgent voice won out. For a fearless warrior of Justice, he always seemed to take the easy way out. Apart, of course, when it came to fashion. Some Gods favoured the scary, vengeful look, lots of skull motifs and thrones lined in Pigeon skin. But The God of Justice had style and he knew it. His robe was emerald and gold tartan and on his skull was a headdress filled with bright feathers of green, violet and indigo. It all seemed to say: Im The God of Justice, baby. Take off your clothes, heh, heh, heh.
Now they were all sitting down themselves, looking at him with patient expectance.
Ah, he thought, the speech. I wish someone had reminded me about this.
They had, several times, very loudly, for two months. But he just waved them away, hed had business to attend to.
Thats your cue. His wife whispered, nudging him a little. Please tell me youve got something prepared.
He chuckled mirthlessly and felt his eyes darting back and forth.
W-what are you implying? That Ive spent the last two months drinking apple cider and playing LittleBigPlanet? I mean, he laughed again, thats got to be, well, yknow, the most ridiculous thing I ever heard.
She looked at the guests, her smile merely painted on at that point. Her words escaping through her nervous grin in a quiet, furious rush.
Damn it, I warned you about that game. Why do you play it anyway? Doesnt being a God and having unlimited power kind of make computer games redundant? She shook her head, probably remembering the dozen arguments theyd had on this very subject beforehand. Just say something. Please.
He stood up and took a glass in his hand and saw that it was half full of dark red wine. He gulped it down to give him a little courage but still had no idea of how to dig himself out of this hole.
I just have one thing to say. He stated in that rumbling, ominous way Gods speak when theyve got a point to make. The truth is that, well, everybodys got a special kind of story. Everybody finds a way to shine.
They were all deathly silent. Good. That was a good sign, wasnt it?
And get this. Theyll have theirs. And youll have yours. And Ill have mine. And together well be fine.
Coughs, a few mumbled words. They were clearly overawed but still needed a big conclusion.
He raised his empty glass to them.
To me! He cried and felt someone jab him in the ribs. Us. I mean, thats what I said. To US! Happy couple! Many...happy...returns.
Though his glass was empty he drank anyway, everyone did the same.
I guess Im off the hook, he thought with a smirk.
Posted 05 April 2012 - 10:09 AM
Posted 09 April 2012 - 08:53 AM
He thought he was off the hook.
The Goddess of Pity looked at the guests and saw the same thing she felt in herself. Bafflement. Here they were, toasting the happy couple, and the groom couldnt even be arsed to say a few words.
He thought he was so clever. She was fully aware that he was just stealing lines from an old sitcom, did he think she lived under a rock? She watched TV just like everyone else and knew cheap sentimentalism when she saw it.
Of course, noticing phony emotions was her raison dêtre. Unlike her new husband, she took her duties very seriously. They called her The Goddess of Pity. Beloved of the downtrodden, always smiling on the Pigeon with the missing foot or the gouged eye. Why was she born with so much power? She had no idea, but when she was a child she eventually figured out that she could get more food by simply thinking about it. And when she saw the Pigeons down below, crying to her in the night and at their secret, hidden shrines. She couldnt help but feel bad for them.
Despite her power, despite her incredible gifts. She couldnt be in two places at once. Maybe she wasnt strong enough, maybe it would come with age. But she couldnt answer every prayer and solve every problem. And sometimes good birds died, often horribly.
She could have cried and sobbed, but why? She knew there was an afterlife. It may have been overcrowded and unfair, but there was life after death.
What she resolved to do was get the Pigeons to do the work for her. Find the smartest birds in a city or town and appear to them, tell them what kinds of things could avoid all the nasty accidents and infections. Dont fly in front of busses, dont eat coins, that kind of stuff.
She was getting nowhere, her messengers were constantly branded as lunatics. It didnt help that being approached by a God made some think that they were somehow divine. Mortals did a pretty good job of f*cking themselves over, let alone busses and coins.
Cripples may have elicited her sympathy but her husband did not. She had little pity for someone who knew people relied on him and willingly ignored their cries for help. God of Justice? What a joke. What a sick, sick joke.
The only reason she was marrying this fool was because of certain unenlightened gender roles amongst the Gods. The male deities got all the cool titles. God of War. God of Cannibalism. God of Dive-bombing Humans In the Face. The ladies had to put up with titles about food or birth or wishy-washy virtues that never amounted to much in the real world.
She saw her husband sit down beside her, looking much too smug. She noted his smile, the way his eyes passed over her and how his hand automatically slipped back to the bottle of wine on their table. And suddenly, Heaven seemed like the most depressing place in existence.
An eternity of laziness, boozing and sub-par human comedy. Great.
Posted 09 April 2012 - 05:50 PM
|God of Dive Bombing Humans in the Face
I have a new god.
I'm gonna keep this simple. I'm loving this. So bizzarre but... Cool!
Posted 24 April 2012 - 07:58 PM
Why didnt he recognise him?
The God of Nonsense knew everyone in the whole lousy afterlife. Not that any of them were worth knowing. But he could tell you, name for name, who sat in the Heavens, who looked down on him. But this one, the one who called out to him, was different.
He was a lean, well-groomed bird. He seemed to stand rigid, his chest did not pound up and down with the working of his heart but was as still and motionless as a rock. But what was that he was wearing?
You have a lot of courage. Nonsense grinned, walking closer to this interloper , unaware of the small drops of fish blood that had speckled his face. Not a lot of people can pull off a bowler hat nowadays.
The stranger gave a choked laugh. The laugh of someone unversed in mirth. One feathered hand picked a speck of dirt from his black suit and rubbed it into nothingness. He tilted his head and observed the young God with warm humour.
And fewer can pull off the Beatnik look.
Nonsense felt his smile widen considerably, but he was far from happy. Even strangers, even complete strangers, felt that they could mock him with impunity. Maybe hed break this one, like he broke that fish. Yes, that would do nicely. With all the wedding hubbub no one would know what had happened. He could just walk up to -
The stranger lifted up his thin silver cane and prodded the youngster in his considerable stomach, holding him back with a quiet force. Have a care, little one, he whispered, Im here to help.
With a petulant sweep of his hand he pushed away the cane and turned around, laughing a little self consciously.
Help, whelp, kelp, delp, pelp. Boring, boring, boring. Who sent you? My Mum? Daddy?
Yes, they must have noticed he wasnt at the wedding. They wouldnt like that one bit, it would get people talking.
Your Dad is shaking his groove thang to Phil Collins and your Mother is actually at home right now. Getting it on with...oh. The pigeon tapped his beak with the cane and looked momentarily perplexed, at last he smiled and clicked his fingers. The God of Tobacco and Herbs. Thats it. Right now shes showing him that old dining table in the kitchen, shell probably show it to him three or four more times before your father gets home.
Nonsense contemplated an outburst about his Mothers character.
Dont talk about her that way! Hed cry. Shes my Mum, I lover her!
But seeing that other pair of eyes, half-hidden behind crescent shaped spectacles, it finally clicked that he didnt need to pretend. Not with this one. He wasnt sure if that was a comforting thought or not. He didnt like the idea of anyone knowing what made him tick. If they did, they might decide it would be safer to simply kill him in the middle of the night. Too dangerous, too weird, not worth the effort.
I dont have a clue what youre talking about. He said at length, folding his arms. But yes, he did. The God of Tobacco and Herbs was his fathers best friend. A drunken, crude, smelly old scab of a God. A loose, moist cigarette always hung out of his beak and his belly was bloated from his strict diet of beer and nicotine. Mum would probably bed him just to piss off her old man. Self-centred bitch.
The stranger nodded slowly, as though he heard all of the thoughts and suspicions that had floated around inside the mind of the little God. Heard them, understood them and approved. He looked very pleased with himself all of a sudden.
As you like it. But Im going to the wedding, its winding down right now. The God of Justice is slowly falling asleep. Hes drinking too much. Theyre starting to leave. Its all very embarrassing.
He didnt doubt it. That lazy, do-nothing pretty boy had everything he ever wanted handed to him on a silver platter and didnt appreciate it at all. And for all his laziness all those lemmings down below loved him.
I pray to Justice every night. He is our strength, our rage our might. And whilst our lives are full of care. I know hes always standing there.
Hymns. They sang hymns to him. And he just got bladdered.
Im going. The stranger cooed, his face a mask of quiet peace. He looked like a dandified Zen master. And I think youll tag along too. By the time we get to the tent, theyll all have left, even the blushing bride. I have work to do. I can do it without you, but Id like your help. Will you help me?
Help you do what exactly? He asked carefully. Half suspecting that there was a bucket full of pigs blood waiting to be dumped on him. Theyd all laugh at that, thats for damn sure. This weirdo was probably just sent to play a cruel joke on him.
A cool smirk appeared on the strangers face and his hand drew something out of his cane. A long strip of rusty metal. He held it in the air for a second and it shimmered, like blue waves rolling endlessly under the sun. And then it began to wilt into the shape of a half-moon, aged metal moulded with the ease of a baker kneading dough.
With a scaly crack it hardened and he was left holding a weather-worn sickle. From the looks of it, it had been used decades earlier and simply left out in the rain when the work was done.
You and me, my friend, he tittered, are going to help The God of Justice be the best God he can be.
Posted 07 May 2012 - 07:45 PM
Posted 07 May 2012 - 08:07 PM
|QUOTE (orbitalraindrops @ Monday, May 7 2012, 19:45)
|The animal aspect reminds me of Anansis Boys and the quirky obscure Gods remind me as those found in Old Gods. Fan of Neil Gaiman perchance?. Also like I said about 4 times I think your'e projecting yourself too much into the characters. I could critiscise the writing but it's better than mine and I enjoyed reading it so there's not really any point picking up on any grammar errors which I've probably got wrong nayway. I enjoyed it anyway. 7.5/10
I have never heard of Neil Gaiman so I cannot comment on any similarities between my ideas and his.
And as for projecting myself on the characters, that's not necessarily so.
A common character archetype I find myself replicating is that of a man drunk with power. For instance, a nobody who is suddenly infused with Godlike powers and abuses them.
I admit, that is a common theme for me, because the concept of megalomania is something very close to my own psyche.
But in this story, I'm turning it on its head. This is not about people abusing power, going mad with grandiose delusions or anything similar.
It is basically a story based on my own theological ideas.
Mainly, what if God was held to account? What if God, who has let so many people down, so often, was confronted with his failiures? He couldn't hide behind the 'love' rhetoric, he couldn't pass off difficult questions by raising his voice and making the Heavens thunder, he would be held to account. He would be powerless and forced to confront all the people he had let down.
That's the concept behind this story. But it's a wider world and I have other ideas for the animals within.
Posted 08 May 2012 - 08:32 PM
|Dont talk about her that way! Hed cry. Shes my Mum, I lover her!
I feel like a c*nt pointing that out, but that really is the only real mistake I've found within this gem of a story. If it's there on purpose, ignore my sh*t.
But I'm seeing these characters perfectly, Nonsense and Justice seem very similar in ways but that's the idea of good characters, you know each one is to their own and you've definitely shown that here. I can't wait for the next piece!
Posted 08 May 2012 - 11:21 PM
|QUOTE (Ziggy455 @ Tuesday, May 8 2012, 20:32)
me and the mrs say that to each other all the time haha
Keep up the work though typhus, although it's weird, it's good
Posted 27 May 2012 - 04:43 PM
Yes, there he was. Just as the stranger had said. Underneath a tree, his fat head propped against the bark and his little hat tilted at one side. But was he asleep? Those beady little eyes were not entirely closed but he made no sign that he saw them or even cared that one of them was carrying a sickle and a whole bag full of bad intentions.
The God of Nonsense shook his head, feeling an unusual twinge of pity for bride, the bride who was spending her honeymoon alone. Forced into a loveless marriage. The Gods were truly a caring bunch, werent they?
The stranger brushed past his young companion and squatted next to the drunkard, grasping his shoulder and shaking him gently.
Wake up. We need to talk.
A grunt, a belch and a sudden odour of fried eggs filled the air.
He slapped the drunken wretch across the beak. Nothing, he was out cold.
Idiot. He muttered, digging the sickle into the grass and into the soft brown mud. Nonsense, do you know what the ordinary pigeons on Earth think of you? Youre barely considered a God at all. There is no shrine dedicated to you in Pigeonopolis, no sermons are ever given in your honour at Trafalgar Square. You exist in whispers, in the foolish tales of frightened children. Even I get more respect than that.
Nonsense shrugged, all this was old news. He knew what they thought of him and had driven himself mad with bitterness because of it. Everything the stranger said could not make him feel more worthless than he already did.
This buffoon right here was handed everything. But hes squandered all his gifts, I doubt he even remembers how to fly. Ive watched him, watched him for years and years, getting fatter, lazier and stupider. Hes not fit to be a God.
The stranger got back to his feet and tightened his grip on the sickle, his eyes hardened and he nodded with a firm resolve.
But you. You wont misuse your power because you understand what its like to be powerless. Yes, I think you know a lot more about Justice than this thing under the tree. So, heres the deal. Right now, I am going to skin him alive and take him somewhere safe. You will wear the skin and as long as you do so, they will think you are him. You get his status, his wife and the kind of respect youve always dreamed of. Sound good?
The Nonsense God narrowed his eyes behind their glasses. Of course, he wanted this to be true but how often did anyone ever get their true hearts desire? The world was simply not that fair. Before he could question the seriousness of this whole plan he heard a sickening squelch and saw that the sickle had already begun to do its work.
He carved a thick red line down the belly of the drunken God, the blade effortlessly carving its way through feathers and flesh. Along the sickle went, moving around his skull and across his wings and back, the odour of blood circled the scene but no help came, only flies eager for a feast.
When it was over, the strange grabbed a handful of feathers. With a swift pull he lifted into the air what looked like a pigeon costume, albeit one that was dripping blood everywhere.
On the grass lay the God of Justice, still sleeping, but now nothing more than muscle and sinew, a raw thing not yet cooked.
You did it. Nonsense whispered in astonishment, both horrified and amused. You actually did it.
The dripping pelt was held in front of his beak, just waiting to be put on. Nonsense slowly grasped it and for a second hesitated, the coldness of the dead flesh unnerving him.
Theres something I should tell you. Said the stranger in a grave tone. I am strong. Much stronger than you, much stronger than anyone here. This is not a gift, its a job. If you abuse this power, if you let down those who worship you or give in to your baser instincts, I will find out. And if that happens? I can destroy you in seconds, it would be no more difficult than pecking a blade of grass from the mud.
I doubt thats really true. Nonsense smirked, finally overcoming his moment of doubt and taking the suit. But Ill play along regardless.
The stranger looked pleased and tipped his hat to the younger God. Without another word he turned to the flayed thing on the grass and heaved it onto one shoulder, without a care for the thick stains it left on his suit.
He carried the old, redundant God of Justice away until he was nothing but a dark spot on the edge of Heaven.
Posted 18 August 2012 - 03:18 PM
If the God of Justice had not been so inebriated he would have taken issue with the pigeon who had stolen his skin, and he would have been more than a little vexed that Nonsense the family joke was enjoying his honeymoon with his wife.
But inebriated he was, so much so that he never woke when his abductor took him to a circular patch of dry earth and dropped him like a sack of potatoes. He never woke when the stranger tapped his cane on the earth and the God of Justice was swallowed down the muddy sinkhole. When his mauled body bounced off jagged, purple rocks and plummeted into a sickly green pond, he never even stirred.
The stranger had flown down after him, his eyes sharp and cold, his suit burning up into black waves of cinder. Noiselessly he dropped to the edge of the pond.
He stretched his wings and let out a low sigh of relief, he was himself again, in his true form, the form all the ordinary birds were so deathly afraid of.
Instead of the ordinary mesh of grey and green, his feathers were a rich shade of crimson and looked as hard and impenetrable as the skin of a dragon. Atop his head, with its long black beak, were two feathery spikes, horns.
He looked at the foul water and sniffed the air, he knew that smell, it was the sweet sizzle of cooking flesh. Usually they screamed as the water did its work and stripped them down to the bone.
Ah, he reminded himself wryly, this is a God we're dealing with.
But Gods could still be hurt, perhaps not physically, but in other ways. A God was still possessed of a soul, like all other living creatures, and any soul could be broken.
He saw, with no little amusement, that bubbles had at last began to appear on the surface and slowly there rose a frantic sloshing sound, bony arms trying to claw their way back into the light.
"Finally sobered up, have we?" He guffawed, shaking his head with quiet disdain.
With a splash, the God sprung from the water and collapsed on the cold purple earth. He panted and puffed, even though he no longer had any lungs.
Like every other resident, he had been relieved of his burdensome skin and the feathers that surrounded it. He lay on the ground as a collection of bones that still hung and moved in the shape of a living being. There were no eyes in his skull, no tongue in his beak, no entrails in his belly, he was dead. But in this world, that was no barrier to speech or sight, the normal rules did not apply and he could see everything around him as he lifted up his bleached skull.
The landscape was a vast, hilly mass. The ground was not made of soil, but jutting rocks that lay like the scales of a fish. The sky was black and starless, there was no moon, just darkness. In the distance came the sound of screaming and the crackle of fire.
He could see large buildings rising up in the dim, grey monoliths alive with anguished chatter.
"What is this place?" he whispered.
"My home." His abductor smiled, putting his wing on the God and lifting him to his feet. "It's no Paris, but I find it has its own quaint little charm."
The God of Justice looked at him, taking in the blood red feathers and the twin horns atop his head. Had he paid more attention to events of Earth, he would have known who this was, he would have known how the pigeons hated him, he would have known that he was standing before The Devil.
"You're probably wondering why you're here." The Devil stated apologetically.
"I'm wondering why I'm not back home." Justice snapped, not looking his host in the eye.
Why wasn't he back home? Usually when he wanted to be somewhere he simply ended up there in a flash. As soon as he saw the endless gloom of the sky and heard the wails and screams he had longed to be back on his chair watching the television. But it wasn't working, nothing was working.
Even bringing back his skin and feathers was not possible. It began to dawn on him that he was powerless, for the first time in his whole existence, he was powerless.
"I've temporarily confiscated your...abilities. "
"For how long?" He asked, fear bubbling away in the empty space that was his stomach.
The Devil considered him with quiet boredom, looking at a small rock on the ground as he pushed it around with his foot.
"Let's take a walk." He concluded, not answering the question.
If there was anyone he didn't want to be around, it was this Devil, this creature who had abducted him, disfigured him and stolen...everything. Everything he enjoyed, everything he felt or valued. Gone.
But what else could he do? Unless he followed after him, he'd be left all alone, alone with the darkness and the endless screaming.
With a hollow shudder, the God of Justice and the Devil walked side by side up the hills of Hell.
Posted 18 August 2012 - 03:49 PM
Posted 26 August 2012 - 10:02 AM
They walked for a while, their path illuminated only by the sharp wall of purple rocks on either side of them. The two did not converse, the Devil looking ahead with firm eyes and a twitching excitement but the God of Justice staring at the ground, certain this was all a joke.
Surely it was some kind of elaborate practical joke. What enemies did he have? The Gods were mostly a corrupt, overly serious bunch. His wife, for instance, was certainly a great beauty but absolutely obsessed with those filthy creatures who fluttered around the Earth.
"The Libido Killer" he privately called her, but he knew there was nothing malicious about his wife.
No one sprung to mind, save for perhaps the God of Tobacco and Herbs, that smelly old pisshead might have gone on a bender and arranged this whole thing.
Or maybe one of the older Gods, the fringe Gods who lived in the darker corners of the afterlife.
Cannibalism, who consisted only of severed wings and claws, shuffling through the shadows in a misshapen huddle. Or perhaps the God of Excrement? The thing that took the shape of a pigeon but upon further inspection was a rancid heap of crusted droppings?
He suspected them most, purely because he had never talked to them. They were barely worshipped at all these days, maybe they were bitter, maybe that was why they did this to him.
He was so busy imagining how someone had tricked like this that he failed to notice the Devil stop in his tracks. He bumped into his guide and fell clattering to the ground, his bare bones rattling and scraping on the hard stones beneath.
When he had pulled himself up he gasped, they were no longer wandering aimlessly in the darkness, before them both stood a gigantic wooden gate, framed by an endless green wall .
Behind them he could see the monoliths again, but now it was clear that they were home to thousands of pigeons, he saw them fly out in droves, or stick their heads out and shout at their neighbours beneath them.
More troubling was the rusted tower he could just spot behind them, its entire perimeter was a mass of twisted metal spikes and barbs, the air around it was not black but rather a sickly shade of yellow that plumed around it like a noxious gas.
He felt a light tap on his arm and saw the Devil grinning at him.
"Quite a sight, isn't it?"
"Yes," he agreed, "yes it is. What is that tower?"
At this question, his eyes narrowed.
"Rented space, you'll visit it soon enough. But first we have other sights to see."
He took a step forward and the gates opened silently for him, revealing a bustling courtyard. Justice saw that the floor was tiled with black and white squares and though crowds of skeletal pigeons sauntered here and there, the ground was as flawless and clean as if he had been built that same day.
Before them both was something more imposing, a stone foutain which pumped out a constant stream of shining water. In the centre of the fountain was a statue of the Devil himself, looking over his city, arms folded and a benevolent curve of his beak.
Whilst none of the inhabitants had need of food or drink, Justice saw them huddle around the fountain, greedily filling their beaks and then strutting away looking perfectly quenched.
"This is my city," the Devil declared proudly, "Corpsestantinople. Though some of our more pessimistic citizens refer to it as 'Hell'." He shook his head, Justice thought he looked a little sad. "Don't ask me why. Good or bad, when you die down there, you end up here. It's a generally fair place, there's no reward for the good and no punishment for the bad." He paused for a moment and chuckled darkly. "Well, not always."
The two walked through the courtyard and Justice saw the citizens gawping at their master, some bowing their heads in deference, others waving friendlily and a few exchanging hurried whispered before slinking away.
"Where are we going?" Justice asked, peeking another nervous glance at the hideous tower jutting out over the hills which ran through the city.
The Devil gave an indifferent shrug.
"I feel hungry, are you hungry?"
Strangely enough, he was, or about as hungry as a walking skeleton could reasonably expect to be.
"I know this delightful family who live just a few streets from here. Why don't we pop in for some dinner? I'm sure they'd all love to meet you."
There was a sarcasm in his voice that he didn't care for, not just sarcasm but scorn, even hatred. Just what had he done that was so wrong? Who had he offended?
He considered apologising but his last vestiges of pride stopped him. From a God to a sobbing wreck, he could never live with that.
On and on they went, weaving through intricate streets of nests and food stalls, the air rife with the stench of seeds and rotten food. The vendors cried out over the masses, advertising half-eaten sausages and cold chips.
"You feed them mouldy chips?" Justice asked, a little incredulously.
"No, I sell them mouldy chips."
He snorted at this and shook his head.
"You mean they have to pay for this sh*t?"
The Devil gave a satisfied nod and even had an extra spring in his step.
"They ate it whilst they were alive and were happy enough." He reasoned. "And yes, I charge them for it. Do you have any idea how boring eternity is? I realised quickly that I needed to create an economy and social class to stop this lot from going crazy. So I let them keep their hunger, I let them keep their lust, I let them keep all the things that drive and destroy the lives of the living. That is the key to the afterlife, you see. Constant struggle. Laziness and over-indulgence doesn't get you anything besides diabetes."
"Some of us can afford to indulge ourselves." Justice retorted casually.
The streets of the city were labyrinthine mazes, skeletal figures happily popping in and out of their low, wooden homes. How they found their way around this place Justice would never know, he supposed that they had learned all the alleyways and shortcuts off by heart, there probably wasn't much else to do with their time.
Eventually his eyes were drawn to a chick idling by a doorway, how young was she when she died? Justice didn't know, but something about the sight of this stunted little bird rankled him.
"Hey, sweetheart." The Devil said pleasantly, patting her skull with his wing. "Your parents in?"
She gave him a quick hug and nodded her head, looking up with the childish over-excitement life didn't have the chance to rob her of.
"They're right inside Mr. Alasdair, we're all going to visit my grandparents."
"Well, me and my friend here have to chat with them for a moment. Just wait out here, we won't be long."
She nodded again, but Justice saw her give him a sidelong glance, only a fleeting look, but he sensed some unease in her, some distrust. You don't belong here, her eyes said, you're not one of us.
But whether he belonged or not, he still followed the Devil into the small wooden nest.
Posted 31 August 2012 - 07:46 PM
I know you're not into undue praise, and the work obviously isn't perfect, but all in all it's a compelling story. I just hope you don't drop it like "the Man in the Grey Hood" (which was excellent though unfinished as far as I know).
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text: 1977, BA in International Relations, University of Tokyo; 1981, PhD in Political Science, MIT. 1981-83, Researcher, Research Institute for Peace and Security. 1982-86, Visiting Lecturer, Sophia University. With University of Tokyo: 1983-84, Research Associate and 1984-90, Associate Professor, Department of Social and International Relations. 1986-87, Visiting Professor, Rhur-Universitaet Bochum. Since 1987, Research Associate, Research Institute for Peace and Security. 1990-98, Associate Professor, Institute of Oriental Culture, University of Tokyo; 1994-95, Senior Associate Member, St Antony's College, Oxford. With University of Tokyo: since 1998, Professor; 2002-06, Director, Institute of Oriental Culture (renamed Institute of Advanced Studies on Asia in 2010); 2008-10, Director, Division for International Relations; 2009-11, Executive Vice-President; 2011-12, Vice-President. Since 2012, President, Japan International Cooperation Agency. Expertise: theories of international systems, contemporary international relations in East Asia, Japan-US relations, Japan-China relations.


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"Most fans go wild when they see a a goalie make what looks like a great save, but the chances are what they are seeing is a save that was made from being out of position." --Mike Richter
"Most fans go wild when they see a a goalie make what looks like a great save, but the chances are what they are seeing is a save that was made from being out of position." --Mike Richter
From Dan Denning at the Daily Reckoning:
As a sidenote, it will be interesting to see if we're still writing about S&P, Fitch, and Moody's this time next year. How long will the ratings agencies be allowed to communicate negative information about sovereign bonds to the market? When will they be accused of financial terrorism and shut down by the authorities? Hmmn.
I think the politicians would love to do shut down sovereign ratings, but they're heavily used in banking regs (eg Basle) & in practice it'd be very difficult to get rid of them. Perhaps they could lean on the regulators to eliminate the reliance on ratings for capital-weighting etc. But the Basle regs take years to negotiate, so I'd be surprised to see major changes along these lines in the near term. (& in fact, the Basle regs take SO long to negotiate, it might put them outside the political timeframe...)
Not very long at all.
That's a big puck; must grow in relation to insolvency.
Do Merkel and Sarkozy and the rest realize they are playing Russian Roulette, not hockey? (I doubt it)
CNBC all day splash on screen "Markets up on European Debt Hope"
R2K doesn't care. It's STILL up 1%. Downgrading Europe, a soft ISM, oil at $102, it doesn't care.
do you guys think we will still have ice rinks after this is all over? all the traveling these youngsters do from one area of the country to another?
ha ha, sark, what a pussy
Love the wit WB7..
The Opposing team ..bob and doug mckenzie
Good stuff WB7. I know it is poor form to make requests to an artist such as yourself, and especially to use a tired meme. But I think the pinnacle "First World Problems" demotivator would be Merkozi distraught with a caption of "You mean the IMF funds are for 3rd world countries only?"
Let me go take a look see.
Thanks. Again, appologies for my precousiousness. But ZH is the best accomodation for old age. and you in particular are good with the living and loving in pecular light.
Lagarde: http://img.irtve.es/imagenes/fotografia-archivo-christine-lagarde-minist...
A "deep" hockey quote.... I didn't think such a thing could exist.
I always liked Gretskys skate to where the puck is gonna go quote.
Looks like S&P just slapped one in.
BTW, didn't Gretzky say something like "skate to where the Euro is going, not to where it has been."?
If I were a hockey sniper I'd be going 5-hole, big time. Unless of course you move Sarkozy's face there to block it, then I'm going stick side.
Williambanzai7 is the reason why I spill the beans on Zerohedge.
And not in your soup.
It' a grand Ice capade of fools and a face that only a hockey puck could love. Great call!
This Is Israel - Barbarism, Inhumanity, War Crimes
Israel The Monster Of Fear And Death
(joo) FDR And The Pearl Harbor Attack
iPhone 3G backup session failed...shocking!
IOS 5 can't connect to WPA/WPA2 Enterprise Wireless Network...say it aint so!
Did Israel murder 241 American Marines ?
Israeli Spies: The Mother of all Scandals
Newt Gingrich demands resignation of US ambassador who said Muslim's hate Israel because Israel is bombing Muslims!
Israel's Barak Denies Covert War on Iran...lmao
Allah is and will always be a pimp.
This kind of pointless and disrespectful garbage reflects poorly on the entire community.
I would appreciate it if you would take it elsewhere.
I was thnking more like baseball. Remember when you would throw your mitt (made by romney) way into the air, on that ball way over your head?
Their efforts are more like that.
Yes, but it is hockey season.
Damn I thought it was Corzine Season! I was just about to get my permit....
There professionals to enjoy with hockey. These asshats are playing "all-in" ponzi porn.
halving spent the better part of 12 years between the pipes, I can tell you Mike is right, the best saves I made were when my fundamentals were solid, the flopping stick or blocker saves, the split post to post slides and frozen pond dives might look dramatic, but they were desperation and oft times resulted in a goal against if your defense couldn't clear or I couldn't get a quick smoother.
funny how sports can be an apt metaphor for the larger picture at times, lots of flopping and desperate pond diving going on in the EU but the fundamentals are obviously lacking...
Yeah ... sound goaltending analysis there, marcus, which applies to everyone but Tim Thomas and (when he was still playing) Dominic Hasek. Two examples of those rare individuals who can do it their own unique way and have long-term success at it. For the rest, best to stick to those fundamentals for sure.
It is zen.
Are the photos you have af Sarkozy authentic or do you photo shop them? I have never seen so many goofy looks on a political figure than those presented to us by him.
That one is a real Sark facial expression.
It reminds me of Punch and Judy:
oh? WB7 has their private albums from Bohemian Grove and other similar parties.
I think it is interesting that we are at a time in history where we have a resurgent and nationalistic Germany leading (at least economically) the EU while at the same time there is a German pope leading the Vatican. At what point (if they do) will the two powers converge and what will be the ramifications? On a side note I remember reading a number of articles in German publications several months after obama was elected where a number of Germans voiced their desire for a dynamic and inspiring orator like him to lead them. Merkel is flat and on her way out. My eyes are on Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, he came from relative global obscurity a few years ago to his last post as the German defense minister. He's a good orator (doesn't need a teleprompter) and extremely popular even though he is currently not in any office and is married to the grand daughter of Otto von Bismarck. His family has occupied Guttenberg castle for centuries and his lines go back to 1158 and was conferred the title of Baron by the Holy Roman empire in the 1700's. Seems like the perfect guy to lead Germany.
I read an article today that says her recent intransigence and foot dragging has increased her popularity. It could all be a ploy.
no actually it's true. germans don't want eurobonds, so her reluctance to do anything is actually counted in her favor as a sign of not giving in the "lazy" greek and "greedy" french...
Which means they will feel betrayed if and when she finally caves.
I really do find the political and historic dilemma facing the Germans quite interesting. Not an easy situation at all.
forget about him. cheated on his phd thesis, had to flee the country, now plays statesman in us, just tried to bounce back and return to politics in germany, released book in interview style, does not admit he cheated, criticized hiw own party (csu)...
Nowadays cheating seems to be acceptable and even expected. But perhaps you're right. Who is dynamic enough and popular to take Merkel's place?
Eyes on the puck, not the camera, angie!!
Puck it Angie, Puck it! More stick, give us your big stick.
she does not need to, big butt will do the job by itself
Soooo what is your point. The puck still didn't go in, no goal, they win!
You can slap the puck away from the goal only so many times. Sooner or later it gets in no matter how good the goalie is playing.
The point is that the slap shots will keep coming....Greece, Italy, France, Debt burden
Where are the Hanson Brothers to take them out?
I saw a recent movie wherein the premise was bringing back the Hansons. It was silly, but the thought was there.
they are not fools, for sure. looking down the road, you have to wonder, how do they get from "here" to the global centralized fascist system that they have in mind.


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Was reading the forums last night and having a bit of a panic! Well will teach me to do some research before booking! Was planning a trip involving 5 nights in New Orleans as I've always wanted to visit moved everything around to fit in Mardi Gras, perhaps shouldn't have! We are staying at the Palace d' arms on St Anne's street! Having read about Mardi Gras on the forums realised this might be a mistake. How easy is it to get around during Mardi Gras to get away from some of the festivities, we are traveling with our 9 month old and although she's young enough to know no different I'm worried about it being ok having her in restraunts etc? Any suggestions for family friendly places to eat and activities?
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Mardi Gras with a baby!
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I've looked at your post several times today, and can't help wondering if you couldn't just change dates for your trip. I can't imagine trying to navigate NO during Mardi Gras - with or without a baby!
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I so would cancel my hotel stay too crowded move over to St Charles on the street car route.www.thecolumns.com very nice for me there where the movie Pretty Baby was filmed.Plenty for kids down there like the zoo will be much less crowded. neworleansonline.com
Good luck!
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I will look Into it and see if I can without loosing too much money, might be able to change the hotel but would think the flights can't be moved. Not as excited now as I've been!
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A 9 month old is not a kid, qwovadis. She is a baby. A baby won't care about the zoo, and anywhere around Mardi Gras is going to be frightening to her and worrisome to her parents. Everywhere you go near Mardi Gras activities will be packed, and many -- most-- of the participants will be drunk and disorderly. You could find family friendly places in the Garden district or out along the highways, but what is the point? It won't have anything to do with Mardi Gras.
I hope other people tell me I am wrong, but I have spent plenty of time in NO over the years, and I think this would be a really bad idea.
If you can't change the tickets, would you consider a trip to Cajun country? The Mississippi Gulf Coast?
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We lived in New Orleans for 6 years, and both our children were born there. As 3-5 year olds, they enjoyed the morning parades along the Canal St route, and were perfectly safe. We would never have taken them into the Quarter on Mardi Gras day!
I have always said that Mardi Gras, at least the last 4 days of it, is the absolute worst time for someone who has never been to New Orleans, to experience her. It is jam-packed by day, drunken revelry by night, and dirty and smelly. Ick...nothing worse than the odor on Bourbon Street the morning after a big bash. DH worked for the Royal Orleans and the Royal Sonesta. Mardi Gras day every year all management had to be in the hotel to make sure nothing went amiss--to protect it from "the elements" so to speak. They geared up for it as if there was a hurricane coming!
I do hope you can rearrange your plans so you are there some other time!
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I don't see the point of dragging a 9 month-old to Mardi Gras. It's your fun over her comfort and safety. Sometimes being a parent is just a matter of making the best choices for the kid, not for yourself.
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I'd like to say thanks but I'm just a little depressed at the negative postings, it's going to cost too much to change plans especially having paid extra to be there for Mardi Gras as I thought it was ludicrous to go the week after and miss it! But obviously I've misunderstood what Mardi gras is about. We will be there for the Monday Tuesday Wednesday, if anyone has any tips I'd still appreciate them but don't go isn't helpful I'm afraid.
I've emailed the hotels concierge to try and get some restraunts booked, Mr B's Bistro, looking at the French quarter looks like there will be plenty of places to pick up food. Hoping to do the Natchez steamboat, a plantation/swamp tour and the WWII museum, if anyone knows if this is possible at this time of year that would be useful information.
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Well you asked for advice and you got it, from natives of New Orleans.
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Frankly I'mnot sure why you're doing this trip with a baby. There doesn;t seem to be any reason to drag an infant along to all these places. It's not like you will be in a town with playgrounds and family friendly stuff. If it were me I would leave the baby with grandparents or whoever and go for the adult Mardi Gras.
Many of those restaurants will not want infants - esp at that time of year, and eerything you are doing sounds like an adults only trip.
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Have you actually called and asked if you could cancel your reservations? I see they have other hotels, maybe you could book a room in one of their other locations that might not be in the middle of the action?
And perhaps the loss of any deposit may be worth the chance for you to book elsewhere [same dates] again, out of the direct action of Mardi Gras??
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If you can change your hotel reservations, cajun country or the gulf coast are really great alternatives. There are Mardi Gras celebrations in other areas that aren't as crazy as New Orleans, which is basically ground zero for Mardi Gras.
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Is there someone who can keep your baby for a few days? I think you and your husband would have a lot of fun - but having a baby along would be difficult, though not impossible.
However, I have to take exception to Ackislander's comment -
"You could find family friendly places in the Garden district or out along the highways, but what is the point? It won't have anything to do with Mardi Gras."
Have you ever BEEN to Mardi Gras?
If you want to party - then, yes, the FQ is where lots of people like to go. But not everyone likes to do that, and you don't really see the parades there unless you catch the ends of the parades at Canal Street. But it's too crowded there for my taste.
Personally, I like watching the parades on St. Charles Ave (usually somewhere between Napoleon and Louisiana). And you will find people of all ages, including lots of families with young children.
Here is the 2012 parade schedule. As you can see on Monday, Feb 20 and Mardi Gras day (Feb 21), there are lot of parades in the Uptown area. Then on Wednesday (Feb 22) all will be quiet - as people go back to work, back to school, Ash Wednesday masses, and generally get back to normal life.
There really is SO MUCH MORE to Mardi Gras than Bourbon Street. Movies, TV, and the media paint a very distorted picture.
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Ok, so you can't change it, so let's just make the best of it. I've been gone from there for a long long time, but hope I can help a little. I sense your degree of disappointment and hate that we've thrown cold water all over your plans, for what is going to be an expensive trip for your family.
Best possible advice--start your days early. The earlier in the day you get out, the quieter it will be. I don't know how long babies can use Baby Bjorn or the like but that would certainly help. Strollers will be impossible, even dangerous on the busiest of days. The closer to the Quarter the location, the rowdier crowds will be at parades. You might shoot for viewing somewhere along St Charles, for a better behaved group. Don't carry your purse. That goes for any time of the year. Be mindful of where you should be...and shouldn't be at night, especially. I've been away too long to give boundaries, but generally speaking, the area from Bourbon to the river is the safer side of the Quarter.
Of course there are parks. You and the baby will enjoy Jackson Square. There is almost always music there amd what baby doesn't enjoy that!? There are also street performers and artists. The waterfront along Lake Pontchartrain is green and pretty. Or it used to be. I haven't seen it since Katrina.
Cheer up! We've got you so dreading the experience now, it will probably exceed your expectations and you'll end up having fun.
I hope you will report back afterwards and let is know how it went. I mean that sincerely. Good luck. Be wise. Have fun.
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oops - forgot the link to the parade schedule -
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Thanks Grcxx3 and OO your comments have really helped and I have cheered up! I have a plan and a plan b,c, and d! Its 4 days out of a 17 day holiday it will be fine. Everything seems to be open as usual apart from Mardi gras day itself and on that day if its not possible to get out of the French quarter we can venture out in the morning, away from Bourbon street, I'm sure with all the street food and room service we can have a very nice afternoon, evening in the hotel room if need be.
Yes the activities we are thinking of are adult based but my daughters idea of entertainment at the moment is to stare at her hands, blow raspberries and smile at everyone, perhaps not suitable behavior for the WWII museum so we might have to tag team that one! But riverboats, zoos and parks will be fine. I'm only thinking of doing a few things, by the time breakfast is done and we find somewhere for dinner late afternoon to have her in bed for 7 it doesn't leave a lot of time hence some suggestions of what not to miss are very much appreciated. Lundi Gras sounds like fun. I'm sure we will have a great time and I will indeed let you know if it was worth it!
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<<<Yes the activities we are thinking of are adult based but my daughters idea of entertainment at the moment is to stare at her hands, blow raspberries and smile at everyone, perhaps not suitable behavior for the WWII museum so we might have to tag team that one!>>>
Actually, I think that won't be a problem at all! (and the museum is absolutely fantastic, if you have the slightest interest in military or WWII history)
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France, Flaine
The owners, our friends the Sibuet family, already run the hugely popular 5* Hotel Altapura in Val Thorens and the 4* Hotel Dromonts in Avoriaz and the Totem is the first member of their new 3* Hotel Terminal brand.
The hotel has been completely refurbished to a very high standard maintaining its original modern design but combining it with vintage furniture and fabrics with a distinctive North American feel. Add to this a range of dining suggestions within the included half board option and close proximity to the main lifts- you'll see why this hotel has become the place to stay in Flaine!
It's also worth noting that Inghams are currently the only major UK tour operator to feature this hotel!
Bedroom facilities
Board basis options available
This property caters for the following special dietary requirements


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Her nipples were hard the whole time he was gettin it.
This remind me of the first time I got fucked. I was 17 and he was something like 25. He had taken me to a movie and and asked if I wanted to stop by his place. I said ok. as soon as the door was closed his lips was on my lips and his tongue all inside my mouth. I was so hot immediately. He took a hold of my dick and squeezed it and I just went crazy with desire. Within minutes my clothes was coming off. Before long I was standing before him naked. He took me over to the sofa took my dick in mouth and suck the hell out of me. This was the first time I had been sucked. Before this, I had let a few guys play with my dick, but nothing more. Boy did he make me cum. I just sit down after that and he took off his clothes. His dick was hard and beautiful. I just wanted to kiss and lick it. I reached out and took a a hold of that dick and place it in my mouth. While I played with his balls and ass. I was in a dream world of enjoyment. I had never been this far before. He took his dick out of my mouth and ask me had I ever been fucked. I said no and said I was concern that it was going to hurt. He took me to the bedroom and place me on the bed and told me to turn on my stomach. He said he would take it easy and make my ass so it won't hurt much or at all. He lubed my ass up really good and when he slowly drove that dick of his in ass I experienced only joy and a little pain at times for only a few stokes. It seems fucked me for about 5 minutes slowly and sometimes just laying there with his dick resting in my ass. I was just moaning, etc Then He said it's time for you to get on your knees. I did and start fucking me like a streamshovel. I start hollering, screaming and moaning, etc. in pure delight. I couldn't keep my ass from moving and pushing it into his dick. At some point I fell flat on my stomach, I couldn't handled it anymore, it was so good. He turned my over and sit up with pillars and put that hard and hot dick of his that was just in my ass in mouth. I start sucking and before I new it, he was cumming wildly in my mouth and it warm and good. I have only been with a woman a few times after that and I am now 21. And I am the male bitch for the first guy who fucked me. It has only gotten better. Sometime, I do think now I want to be fucked by somebody different. But, I don't want to anything mess up what I got currently. But, I have seen a few other men I would like to get with.
Damn nice vid
me tooo
Perfect nipples beautiful snatch and 2 nice cocks and I'm home spanking the monkey while watching this
Doesn't matter what he is, he looks like a pro with his sunglasses on. Also I lose it every time he drives it in.
that guy isn't black...he's hispanic...
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Dk - 4th 1/2 day of School 11/16. No school 11/22 - RTB is OPEN!
Room to Bloom photo gallery
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This is a Techmeme archive page. It shows how the site appeared at 1:20 PM ET, November 4, 2012.
The most current version of the site as always is available at our home page. To view an earlier snapshot click here and then modify the date indicated.
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Estelle - Call These Boys
On the latest song release off Estelle's forthcoming project, the UK songstress implores someone to "Call These Boys," but I fully expect the boys to do most of the calling. I mean, what guy wouldn't jump at the chance to date a famous singer who's collaborated with the likes of Kanye West and Nas? While she played second fiddle to Raekwon on last month's All About You, she takes center stage on Call These Boys. Here, Estelle displays an extensive arsenal of styles, from catchy pop vocals to a borderline-rapped delivery, atop an equally diverse synth beat by Keith Harris. Love and Happiness Vol. 1: Love Jones has yet to receive a spot on the release calendar but, as always, we'll keep you supplied with the latest on the highly-anticipated project.


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POLICE evacuated a Roman Catholic church in the town of the Sandy Hook massacre overnight after an unspecified threat was made.
"The church has been evacuated," said a Connecticut state police trooper in front of the Saint Rose of Lima church, which was surrounded by law enforcement vehicles and SWAT team officers.
Armed police conducted a search at a house next to the brown stone church but provided no further details.
Saint Rose of Lima was among several churches in Newtown filled by local residents seeking solace in the aftermath of Friday's shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School in which six educators also died. The packed congregation of hundreds were evacuated halfway through the priest's homily.
A bomb detection team combed the church and declared it safe before armed officers moved into the building with guns drawn.
After ten minutes they emerged and declared there was no safety risk.
The threat came as people across the United States packed churches as they tried to make sense of the slaughter of 20 children aged just six and seven.
As a bewildered country tried to cope with yet another massacre by a crazed and heavily armed gunman, and wondered what lawmakers will do in response, flowers and teddy bears were left at a makeshift memorial at the entrance of Sandy Hook Elementary School.
A row of small Christmas trees decorated with toys lined a street leading to the place where a parent's worst nightmare came true, 20 times over and with unimaginable, multiple-shot cruelty, in Friday's bloodbath.
At the foot of the large Christmas tree in the central square of Newtown were candles, handwritten notes and more flowers.
But it was the churches that were the strongest magnets two days after the killings, both for heartbroken families and police and emergency rescue workers who had to view the bullet-ridden bodies of very small children. Some were shot as many as 11 times with a high-powered assault rifle.
"The community is gathering together and praying," Rosty Slabicky, a Red Cross volunteer told AFP. "They are destroyed. Not just the families, but the first responders are dealing with the crisis in a very personal and emotional way."
At the church of Saint Rose of Lima, Michelle Garraty, a 40-year-old mother-of-three, said she struggled to keep her mind on the religious service.
"It was very hard to concentrate in the church. All I wanted was to hold my children, honestly."
Her desire, she said, was "just to be around people and support the community."
The shooter, who apparently killed himself as police arrived, has been identified as Adam Lanza, 20. His father Peter released a statement Saturday night saying his family was grieving along with everyone else affected by the tragedy.
"No words can truly express how heartbroken we are. We are in a state of disbelief and trying to find whatever answers we can. We, too, are asking why," it read.
The Saint Rose of Lima church kept the news media out of Sunday's Mass.
"The situation is extremely tense, so we don't want journalists or cameras here," said Brian Wallace, a spokesman.
Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy described how as the magnitude of the tragedy at the school sank in, there was a job to do that nobody wanted to touch.
"It was clear to me that, that there was a reluctance to, to speak to the families. But it was also clear to me that we knew everything we needed to know at that point, and so it fell upon my shoulders to inform the family of what had transpired and that their loved one wouldn't be joining them again," Governor Malloy told ABC News.
Originally published as Newtown church evacuated after threat


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Samco Sport Silicone Upper & Lower Radiator Hoses Nissan S13 CA18DET
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some moddification was needed to make it fit but overall very good
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When we think of vacation, popular travel destinations come right up to mind – Disneyland for family vacation, the countries, France, Spain and Italy are popular for lovers and of course those lovely beaches and resorts from around the world are the most sought after by travelers from different walks of life. Among the most visited places that are known to their magnificent beaches are The Seychelles Island located in the Indian Ocean, Caribbean Islands, Maldives, Boracay in Philippines and Bahamas.
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The well-known holidays in tenerife is boasting their fabulous beaches and verdant green countryside. For places to stay Tenerife holiday offers high standard hotels ranging from 3-5 starts in quality, equipped with complete facilities to ensure utmost comfort and to make sure your stay is worthwhile.
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October Transatlantic
I am looking for a cruise companion to cruise with on October 21st Transatlantic on Norwegian Epic.
Found great rates and want to lock this in.
This is a 13 day itinerary with only two port days. Hopefully I can find that person with similar intrests as myself and enjoy sea days from a balcony point of view. I haven't made it on a vacation this year and I am hoping this will be my vacation.
If you are interested please let me know so we can get to know each other.
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