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We are thrilled to introduce you to Jennifer and Jessica from Linen, Lace & Love. See how they've added that special personal touch to our wedding invitations.
I loved the chalkboard detail on this invitation, and how beautifully the flowers popped on the card. I originally made a chalkboard tag, but it just got lost in the invitation. So, I cut little leaves from green paper and wrote "grow in love" using a white gel pen, hole punched them, and tied the leaves to the invitation using orange and white bakers twine. I also added an orange envelope and sealed the back using white wax and a fleur di lis seal. Lastly, just for fun, I made a fabric flower using a packet of fabric pink rose petals (found at most wedding stores), a link to my tutorial is here: DIY Fabric Flowers. The flowers would be a lovely idea for escort cards; just write the guests name on the first leaf, and the table number on the second leaf.
The warm vintage feel of this invitation lent itself to some fun additions. I added a vintage key to the invitation using brown and white striped bakers twine. And printed out a tag that read "TO MY HEART," backed it in a little piece of french linen, and attached that to the key. Then I filled a kraft mailer box with kraft paper shreds, closed the box, and wrote the guests address on the top of the box using a white gel pen. Don't forget to seal the sides of the box; I recommend circle sticker labels from any office supply store. And always weigh your package at the post office to make sure you use the correct postage.
I loved the bright orange and blue used for the bride and grooms names, so I added an orange envelope. I then took some white paper and spray painted it with an aqua blue spray paint (you can always just look for a blue color paper you like instead), let that dry for about 20 minutes, used a tape roller to add a blue triangle piece to the envelope, and wrote the guests address using a white gel pen. For the invitation, I cut a tag, wrote "TO HAVE & TO HOLD" in white gel pen, hole punched it, and tied it onto the card using orange and white bakers twine.
This invitation is so beautiful and simple, there were so many ways we could go with it. I chose the formal approach. I dressed this invitation up using a metallic silver folder envelope, navy blue satin ribbon, and a piece of silver glitter card stock.
- First I cut a piece of the silver glitter card stock a little bigger than the invitation, and used glue dots to stick the two together.
- Then I printed out the bride and groom's initials in navy type from my computer and backed those in silver card stock using double-sided tape.
- Then I cut two long slits at the top of each letter and using an X-ACTO knife, and threaded the navy satin ribbon through.
- Next, I hole punched the sides of the envelope pocket and tied the initial banner onto the pocket.
- To seal the envelope, I used a tape roller on the back side of the ribbon navy satin ribbon and taped it to the center of the envelope all the way around. Make sure to leave tape off of a long end of ribbon at the beginning and end, so you can tie that in a bow.
- Then, I cut a little "bow tie" out of silver glitter card stock, hole punched the center on either side, and tied a bow through the "bow tie."
I recommend to use a bigger envelope to put this invitation in (I recommend a navy blue one), when mailing it, or you can glue dot the envelope closed (underneath the bow tie), and place a white sticker label on the front (opposite side of the bow tie) for the guests address. And don't forget to weigh the invitation, and talk to your local post office to make sure you get the correct postage. These invitations would need to be hand stamped at the post office, because the envelope is so thick that it wouldn't be able to run through the machine they have. You can simply ask your local post office, and they can hand stamp your invitations (it looks prettier anyway, so we recommend you do this regardless).


text: Yandex Atom customizes content based on search history Published on October 07, 2013. Most Popular Moscow—Russian Internet and search engine company Yandex, continuing to build out its personalized marketing capabilities, has launched a technology that can push customized content to users based on their search history. The technology, called Atom, provides an API to marketers that accesses data derived from the Yandex search engine. Personalized offers or content then can be served to users based on topics they searched for in the past. Yandex said in a statement that the new service does not compromise user privacy, but did not disclose how users could disable the technology. Last month Yandex rolled out a targeting tool that shows banner ads to Web users based on the similarity of their online behavior to others. In this article: BtoB

subset: commoncrawl


text:
Best Reasons to Own Cooking Books
Best Reasons to Own Cooking Books from Overstock.com. Even with the internet, traditional cookbooks are still useful for casual and serious cooks alike.
Wonderful keepsake for the Downton Abbey Lover!! Recipes are unique and true to the era...
Emily Ansara Baines is the author of The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook. She has also worked as a professional baker and caterer throughout the East Coast, most recently in New York City. When Emily isn't busy writing, baking, or trying to learn French, she's watching her favorite series, Downton Abbey, in hopes of one day being as elegant as the ladies of Downton. She currently lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Bring Upstairs and Downstairs Fare to Your Table
Nibble on Sybil's Ginger Nut Biscuits during tea. Treat yourself to Ethel's Beloved Crepes Suzette. Feast on Mr. Bates' Chicken and Mushroom Pie with a room full of guests. With this collection of delicacies inspired by Emmy Award-winning seriesDownton Abbey, you'll feel as sophisticated and poised as the men and women of Downton when you prepare these upstairs and downstairs favorites. Each dish finds its roots within the kitchen of the grand estate, including:
You will love indulging in the splendors of another era with the snacks, entrees, and desserts from this masterpiece of a cookbook.
As featured in Woman's World magazine and The Daily Mail UK!
|COOKING / Courses & Dishes / General
|Publisher Date
|2012-09-18 00:00:00.0
|Adams Media Corp
|Copyright Year
|9.5 in
|7.25 in
|0.75 in
|Unit weight
|1.3 lb
|From Lady Mary's Crab Canapes to Mrs. Patmore's Christmas Pudding - More Than 150 Recipes from Upstairs and Downstairs
|Baines, Emily Ansara
|Country of Origin
|United States
Wonderful keepsake for the Downton Abbey Lover!! Recipes are unique and true to the eraRead More
Best Reasons to Own Cooking Books from Overstock.com. Even with the internet, traditional cookbooks are still useful for casual and serious cooks alike.
Learn about good books that will empower young girls, tweens and teens. Shop books for girls on Overstock.com.
Best Books to Give for Mother's Day from Overstock.com. If your mom is a bookworm, use these tips to find her a literary Mother's Day gift.
How to Create Your Own Reading List from Overstock.com. Learn how to choose books that you'll enjoy and create a useful, engaging, and fun reading list.
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The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook: From Lady Mary's Crab Canapes to Mrs. Patmore's Christmas Pudding - More T... (Hardcover)
Today $15.69


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Here is a tip for the Jacksonville Jaguars' coaching staff:
Get Rashad Jennings the football.
In 13 games last season, the second-year running back rushed for 459 yards on 84 carries (5.5 yards per carry) and had an additional 223 receiving yards.
Those numbers aren't too shabby but Jennings needs even more touches in 2011.
Jennings is a quick, one-cut back with the size (6-1, 228) to finish runs and is an excellent complement to Maurice Jones-Drew, who has more of a straight-ahead running style.
In an era where using a multitude of running backs is all the rage, giving Jennings closer to 150 carries makes more sense. It will allow him to get in a rhythm and Jones-Drew to receive less of beating.
Jennings had the second most yards of running backs that had less than 100 carries last year. Looking at stats from Football Outsiders, Jennings has a DVOA, or Defense-adjusted Value Over Average of 29.3 percent.
That basically means Jennings' value was nearly 30 percent better than a back who has an average rushing performance. No starting running back had that high of a number, although they rarely do because of the pure amount of attempts the get. Still, I'd argue that means Jennings is ready to get more carries.
His success rate of 52 percent (dictates a player's consistency) was also high when compared to starters around the league. In comparison, Jones-Drew's success rate was at 51 percent.
So the on-field production is there for Jennings to warrant more carries, but more important is that him getting touches means less for Jones-Drew, who at 26 is beginning to deal with the beat down the running backs take in the NFL.
Last year Jones-Drew had 299 carries and was hampered by a knee injury throughout the season. He even missed the last two games of the season when the Jaguars were 8-6 and battling for a playoff spot.
ESPN's John Clayton writes that when a running back turns 28 or 29, teams start looking for their replacement.
In order to keep Jones-Drew going a little longer than most backs, Jennings getting more touches is essential. And as his stats indicate, he is ready for an increased workload.
The two have the ability to feed off each other and together they can give the Jaguars one of the league's most potent one-two punches.Tags: Football, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Jaguars, Maurice-Jones Drew, NFL, Rashad Jennings, running back


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Serving the Manchester area for 20 years, Michelle's Gourmet Pastries is a small bakery with lots to offer. Conveniently located on the North end of Union Street, we are easily accessable from your inner-city commute or from several surrounding highways. There is always a friendly smile to greet you and a sweet treat to tempt you.
From our popular chocolate chip cookies & assorted pastries to our specialty tortes & wedding cakes, you're sure to find something to keep you coming back for more. For starters, there's always four coffee choices and lots of breakfast pastries. At lunch we serve deli sandwiches made to order along with seasonal soups and salads. Specialty tortes can compliment your dinner party or be customized for a special event.
Michelle started baking and decorating when she was young and went on to graduate from the Culinary Institute of America. Now she enjoys creating cakes for everyone's special occasions. Her staff is friendly, knowledgeable, creative and ready to serve you. Stop by soon, you'll be glad you did!


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Hoodoo Ski Area
Just about any place you find on TravelOregon.com can be added to your own Oregon Roadtrippers Account. Find out how.
Get on the road with Roadtrippers
We've partnered with Roadtrippers to provide a great way to plan a trip around Oregon. So start planning your next road trip to here, there or pretty much anywhere in Oregon.
Whether you prefer the deep and challenging powder of Hoodoo's backside or the finely groomed runs of the front side, the majesty of Hoodoo's location and fun of Hoodoo's night skiing will bring you back again and again. Even if you don't ski we have plenty to do for everyone including the very popular Autobahn Tube Hill.
The closest ski area to Salem and the mid-Willamette Valley, Hoodoo also draws skiers from Central Oregon who find Hoodoo cheaper, deeper and steeper. The ski slopes are on a big, rounded butte, with lots of wide open terrain.
More info:
Average annual snowfall: 350 inches
Base elevation: 4668 ft.
Vertical elevation: 1035 ft.
Longest Run: 1.0 mile
Ski Acres: 806 acres
Lifts: 7
Trail Info: 30% beginner, 30% intermediate, 40% advanced
Nordic: 7.5k groomed track, plus 8.3k Skyliner trail groomed weekends and holidays.
Ski School: Yes
Snowboarding Profile: The first question newcomers ask staff is, "Where's the terrain park?" They'll usually find it on the Blue Valley run, full of rails, tabletops and hits.
- Admission Cost
- Bus RV Parking
- Wheel Chair Accessible
What's around here? Location & Nearby Things to See & Do
These maps and directions are for planning purposes only. You may find that construction projects, traffic, or other events may cause road conditions to differ from the map results. For travel options, weather and road conditions, visit tripcheck.com, call 511 (in Oregon only), 800.977.6368 or 503.588.2941.
Is any of the information on this page incorrect?
A related Trip Idea
The First Turn of the Season
It's like anticipation of knowing what's about to come out of your mom's kitchen before Thanksgiving dinner. It is like the moment before tearing into the presents Christmas morning. It is like the excitement of waiting at the bar…


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For Mets fans seeking a silver lining to a bit of a gray week, look no further than sunny Binghamton, where Jeurys Familia will make his debut after a sizzling start at high-A St. Lucie.
I had the chance to see Familia throw in spring training, and his stuff is utterly spectacular. But the road to independent ball is paved with guys who could throw hard, and never developed the ability to pitch. Fortunately, Mets prospect guru Rob Castellano has the lowdown on exactly why and how Familia succeeded in Single-A.
It is refreshing to see the Mets treating an electric arm like something to nurture, instead of rushing him to the big leagues in lieu of learning how to pitch.


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Getting the Right Cosmetic Products For Oily Skin
There are many cosmetic products for oily skin. Because oily skin could easily causes pimples, acne and lot of sweat. So there are cosmetic products that control your oil glands in your face area such as face cleanser, toner, astringent, face wash, face scrub, facial, bleaching and there many skincare products which are based on fresh fruits and other essential ingredients which release excessive oil from your skin.


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Did you know?
Although the Kruger's bushveld camps are in very remote areas, day and night guided game drives are usually available.
Some of the best campsites in the country are to be found inside its many national parks and nature reserves, where visitors are well provided for in the form of clean ablutions, barbecue (or braai, as it's known locally) facilities and even, in many instances, power points.
The best campsites will offer level, shaded sites and often a swimming pool, natural rock pool or river to swim in. And the best part of all is that the cost is a fraction of what it would cost you to sleep indoors.
In the Kruger National Park, the larger camps also provide coin-operated washing machines (a great boon for travellers) as well as outdoor kitchens equipped with hot plates and water boilers for convenience.
Among the best of the Kruger's larger campsites are Punda Maria, Shingwedzi, Pretoriuskop and Letaba, while the smaller camping-only sites at Maroela, Balule and Tsendze offer a more rustic, wild experience without too many additional conveniences.
Airline luggage limitations may mean you have to buy some basic gear only after you arrive in South Africa. Fortunately many shops specialise in outdoor gear, such as Game, Mr Price Outdoors and Cape Union Mart, which can be found at any of the major shopping centres in the country.
If you are able to bring your own tent and sleeping bag, it's easy enough to pick up the kitchenware you might need, along with a couple of cheap fold-out chairs and inflatable mattresses.
It's also sensible to travel with a cooler box to keep your food chilled (you can top this up with ice at most bottle stores or in many convenience stores).
For those who wish to sleep under cover, there are also several companies that hire out camper vans (such as Britz or CamperHire), although this will drive the price of your holiday up a bit.
Large resorts with self-catering facilities, as well as many backpacker establishments, also offer camping facilities, as do many farms. Many municipalities have campsites but these are not all of a consistent standard.
Some campsites to consider:
- The Cederberg in the Western Cape, where you'll find mountain campsites close to rivers with natural swimming pools. Consider Driehoek Farm or Algeria next to the Rondegat River.
- Along the Garden Route there are several great places to camp. Consider staying over at Storms River on the Tsitsikamma section of the Garden Route National Park. It's as close to the sea as you could possibly imagine. Or Forever Resorts near Plettenberg Bay, which lies on the Keurbooms River, where you can paddle in a canoe.
- The Wild Coast is also renowned for its beautiful camping sites next to the sea. Spots like Double Mouth, Morgan's Bay and Coffee Bay are all popular.
- In the Magaliesberg, to the west of Gauteng, there are also good campsites, among them Mountain Sanctuary Park, which has a great swimming pool and many hiking trails.
- The spectacular Drakensberg region in KwaZulu-Natal is another hikers' paradise, with many campsites run by the Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife authority. Among these, both Mahai, in the Royal Natal National Park, and Cobham are popular.
- For bush camping, the Kruger is always a good option, as are the Addo, Mapungubwe, Marekele, Golden Gate and the Karoo national parks.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
SANParks Reservations
Tel: +27 (0)12 428 9111
Tel: +27 (0)861 227 362 or +27 (0)21 483 0190
Best time to visit
The winter months (May to August) are popular for camping in the bush, while coastal locations are more popular in summer (November to February).
Get around
What will it cost
A campsite usually costs between R100 to R200 a stand per day, accommodating around six people. Prices vary according to facilities.
Length of stay
As long as you choose.
What to pack
Tent, sleeping bag, inflatable mattress, camp chair, kitchen utensils, mosquito repellent.
Where to stay
There are campsites throughout the country, many located in exceptionally scenic areas.
What to eat
Some campsites have restaurants but prepare to self-cater.


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Download eBooks
Looking for more EPUB titles? Consider one of these free public domain titles! Choose from thousands of titles that never expire and don't count against your library checkout limit! Click here to view our public domain eBooks.Find additional help resources by clicking the Help link on your library's digital collection, or go directly to http://help.overdrive.com.


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Hand Crafted Painted Metal Skyhook Balance Toy - Acrobat
229 Save 44%
Treasured Gift
Product Details?Ask a question about this item
Balancing toys have been around for centuries, teaching children and adults about the laws of physics. In Victorian times, originally called skyhooks, but also known as balance toys, were first made to demonstrate the workings of counterweights and centrifugal force: simple counter-weighted toys which could be set on a shelf or the rim of a table, and set in motion to everyones delight and amazement. They soon evolved into fun and whimsical objects, never ceasing to amuse and surprise: people loved to watch toys that were doing things that seemed impossible. In an era where the laws of gravity and electricity seemed magical, balance toys became very popular. Even though we now understand the mystery of the laws of gravity, there is still something fascinating and amusing in watching a balanced object lean and sway.
- Classic Folk Art - Fits in classic decor, contemporary decor, eclectic!
- Totally handcrafted from recycled sheet iron metal - Hand forged in the tinsmith way - Painted and hand waxed to a warm and subtle shine
- Expertly hand painted tole and finished to look like the real antique ones.
- Of course this is an attractive accent to the kids room, but this is also a decorative and fun object that can fit anywhere! - For the good old western movies lover, or for the horse rider…
- A curiosity that was very popular during the 18th and 19th Centuries: a functioning skyhook, a classic accessory.
|22cm W x 11cm D x 61cm H
|Authentic Models
|Return Policy
|This item is NOT eligible for our 14 day change of mind return


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But have the Rangers given up on him?
According to Shanahan's agent, Rick Curran, the "future Hall of Famer is still interested in playing only for the Rangers next year":http://www.faceoff.com/hockey/nhlnews/story.html?id=f97d3af7-0ea6-456c-8dcd-f8bccc018dde
"Brendan still feels he has a job that he wants to finish with the Rangers and he knows he has some good hockey left in him. He fully intends on playing next year and at the moment, his intention is to play with the Rangers."
As I've said all along, I have a hard time seeing Shanahan coming back unless he takes a major — and I mean major — pay cut; or if the Rangers somehow decide he's worth clearing space for. I've been a Shanahan supporter since he came to New York. He's a legend of the game and did some remarkable things while he was here. But I can't see where he fits in next season.


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All Tags
· AMD Mobile Turion64 X2 Processor
· Genuine Windows is authentic Windows software that is properly licensed and legally installed. Learn more about the special benefits reserved for genuine Windows customers by visiting the Microsoft webpage
· 15.4" WSXGA /WXGA ACV (Amazing Crystal Vision) Display
· ATi HD2600 Graphic with 256MB GDDR3(Supports Hyper Memory)
· The Exquisite and Stylized Design
· Colorful WASD Buttons on the Keyboard for Gamers
· Exclusive MSI VIVID Image Enhancement Technology
· HDMI (High-Definition Multimedia Interface) Output
· Digital/Analog 5.1 Channel Headphone Output
Keeping your drivers up-to-date is an important thing and we invite you to visit FamousWhy.com periodically in order to stay updated not only on the latest drivers but also software and any other system utilities.Before installing a device driver, it is recommended to set a system restore.
Publisher: OTHER MODEM DRIVERS
Tags: MSI PX211 QCOM Modem Driver, MSI PX211 Notebook Modem Driver,
From Drivers Category:
Of All:


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In the pre-release forum of ES4 and other customer forums of Mobile Form, one of the most sought after feature was to run all the Mobile Form workflows without directly exposing the LiveCycle server to the user accessing the forms in the browser. In ES4, the LC admin is required to open submission service "/lc/content/xfaforms/submission/default" to the whole internet as the Mobile Form needs to talk to it. The service url was embedded in the runtime model of the form. One way was to do URL mapping in webserver and proxy it but the restriction was one cannot change the URL path as it was in the runtime model.
There was another issue with the submission was, it was a two step submission that is you need two trips to server at the minimum to submit form data. This is again unnecessary load on server handling the submission. The data was being send as request parameter in the POST request on contrary to the pdf where data is sent in the body payload. This means for any workflow involving both pdf and mobile form, one has to field two different ways of processing the submission payload.
In ES4 SP1, Mobile exposed a configuration wherein you can register a proxy to submission service by specify its url through request parameter submitServiceProxy. Mobile Form talks to this service over ajax so you need to make sure your submission service proxy is hosted at the same server which is delivering the form.
We can broadly categorize two different types of deployment topology as shown in the following two diagrams. Topology (1) is where LC Server/Mobile Form POSTs data to the server and another Topology (2) where data is POST'd by the proxy server on behalf of Mobile Form.
Mobile Form rendered in the browser needs to contact LC Server for running server side scripts, web services and submission. The XFA runtime of the form in the browser talks to LC Server using AJAX calls on "/lc/bin/xfaforms/submitaction" end point with various parameters. But as I mentioned earlier one can configure the REST service endpoint using submitServiceProxy. The XFA runtime calls LC Server in the following conditions:
Executing Server Side Scripts (scripts in the form that are marked runAt=server) and webservices.
Here is the detail of the parameters:
|events e.g. click, exit or change to execute.
|SOM expression of the object where events to be executed.
|template reference that was passed while rendering the form.
|template root directory that was passed while rendering the form.
|data bytes that was passed while rendering the form.
|form dom in JSON format.
|This is specified as "form".
|The debug directory passed while rendering the form.
On submission of data by clicking submit button
And here is the detail:
|template reference that was passed while rendering the form.
|template root directory that was passed while rendering the form.
|data bytes that was passed while rendering the form.
|form dom in JSON format.
|This is specified as "data".
|The debug directory passed while rendering the form.
|The submit url where data xml is to be posted.
The submit service proxy should act as just pass through if submitUrl is not present in the request parameter that is if it is request type 1. That means whatever is posted to the proxy it should send that to "/lc/bin/xfaforms/submitaction" end point and send the response to he XFA runtime. If submitUrl parameter is specified, the service proxy has one of the two options based on the deployment topology. If data is posted by the LC server as shown in topology (1) then the proxy can act as pass through even in this case whereas if data is posted by the proxy as shown in topology (2) then the proxy server can pass all the parameters except submitUrl to "/lc/bin/xfaforms/submitaction" end point and get data xml bytes in response stream. Then the proxy service can post the data xml bytes to the submitUrl where it is to be processed.
The other proxy is for getting the XFA runtime client logs. This is useful if one wants to debug the forms' client side runtime. For details refer to (reference to logger page). By using the same argument as of submission service, we need a proxy for logging service also. This should act just as a pass through to "/bin/xfaforms/logger.
You can take a look at Mobile Form Submission Proxy sample on how to create one.


text:
Did you know?
You'll be traversing 10 000ha of wilderness on your daily morning and evening game drives.
Expect all the components of a top safari lodge when you choose Exeter River Lodge. The Big Five are all here, including some of the best opportunities in South Africa for leopard sightings, plus gorgeous accommodation and exceptional service.
Exeter River Lodge has managed to escape the much-publicised reputations of some of the other Sabi Sand Game Reserve private lodges, although it offers just what they offer but in a quieter, less glitzy way.
You'll stay in one of eight spacious stone and thatch suites overlooking the Sand River. On a hot day, dive in your personal plunge pool after the morning drive and then watch the passing show of game and birds from your huge wrap-around wooden viewing deck.
Inside your suite, dark honey-coloured stone walls and polished cement floors complement the earth tones of the comfy sofa and armchairs with their plump inviting cushions.
Handmade tables in dark wood, arresting photographs of game, small artefacts and interesting lamps all add to the genuine Out of Africa feel.
The main lodge where you'll dine continues the theme with hand-carved wooden tables, wooden bottles and bowls and a chandelier made out of faux antelope horns.
Before the evening game drive, High Tea on the deck under the sausage tree is a highlight – not just for the food and the view, but also for when the sausage tree is in bloom in early summer, filled with iridescent sunbirds sipping nectar from the brilliant scarlet blossoms.
Game is abundant here. Expect to see the Big Five but ask especially for a leopard sighting. To see these spectacular cats by spotlight, prowling through the gathering darkness or guarding their kill high up on the thick branch of an ancient riverine tree, is something you will never forget.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
&Beyond Africa
Tel: +27 (0)11 809 4441
Fax: +27 (0)11 809 4400
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
Sabi Sand Game Reserve
Tel: +27 (0)13 735 5102
Email: firstname.lastname@example.com
How to get here
By charter flight or by road. The lodge will send you detailed directions and travel options when you make your booking.
Best time to visit
Winter is the best time for game viewing because visibility is far better. However, in spring and summer baby animals abound and the migrant birds are back.
Around the area
The Kruger National Park is right next door.
Get around
In an open safari vehicle or on foot – the lodge offers guided bush walks.
What will it cost
Prices depend on the season, but expect to pay from R6 800 per person per night, all inclusive.
What to eat
The food is delicious, ranging from home-baked bread, muffins and scones, to full dinners in a boma under the stars.


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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 2/11/2012 (1754 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
Journey with No Maps
A Life of P.K. Page
By Sandra Djwa
McGill-Queen's University Press, 424 pages, $40
The cult of Canadian author and artist P.K. Page grows ever larger with the appearance of this hefty biography. As the first and only Page biography, B.C. academic Sandra Djwa's is by default the best. But it is often frustrating.
By the time of her 2010 death at age 93, many Canadian critics and authors viewed Page (whose initials standard for Patricia Kathleen) as one of the country's finest poets. Although she was well-regarded as a painter and author of prose and children's books, her poetic legacy remains her primary one.
Page's achievements gather additional significance since, at the time of her early writing, "poetry and publishing were still largely a man's world." Consequently, many younger women artists saw Page as a trailblazer, who found herself "caught between the old order and the new."
Page was also trailblazer for helping bring modernism to Canadian poetry, and later in her mastery of the glosa form. In a glosa, a poet borrows an existing quatrain and produces a new poem of four stanzas, each stanza ending with one of the original, borrowed lines. Page's 1994 book Hologram established her mastery of this form.
Page's first book (a novel, The Sun and the Moon) appeared in 1944 (under the pseudonym Judith Cape) and her first book of poetry (As Ten, As Twenty) appeared in 1946. However, it was not until the 1970s, an explosive time in Canadian publishing, that her career took off.
Page's productivity and cultural presence increased dramatically, yet Djwa, observing a fairly strict chronology, consequently spends only the last 100 pages detailing her final 40 years. These years, which Page spent living and writing in Victoria, constitute the most interesting and important part of Page's artistic life.
The earlier part of Page's life still holds historical significance for a variety of reasons, including the fact that Page worked at the National Film Board in its early years.
She also married diplomat Arthur Irwin, and thus became an ambassador's wife stationed in Australia, Brazil and Mexico. However, the biography drags in these chapters (thus, through the majority of the book), since Page does little artistic work.
Also, in the early chapters, Page's scandalous romance with the married poet F.R. Scott takes centre stage. Page grew up in Red Deer, Alta., Calgary and Winnipeg, then lived in St. John, N.B., but spent the significant part of her early writing career in Montreal, where she met Scott and helped found the important literary journal Preview.
Certainly, the romance with Scott similarly took centre stage in Page's life. Djwa, now retired from Simon Fraser's English department, earlier published Scott's biography, so has clear knowledge of and interest in this affair. However, Page's relationship with Scott was notable only because of the public figures involved, and its appearance in their writings, and otherwise unremarkable.
The same can be said of Page's Sufism, which infuses the book. This certainly informs her writing and painting (as P.K. Irwin) and thus demands attention. Yet Djwa's continual emphasis of Page's love affair with Scott and her Sufi world view reduces Page to a flighty figure of few dimensions.
What frustrates about this is that Page herself made a similar complaint during life and suggested the proper solution. Djwa writes, "In late March 2000, we had exchanged a series of emails about the differences between her perspective on her life (non-linear and symbolic) and her biographer's, which she saw as linear and literal."
Specifically, Page objected to "a chronological, date and place emphasis" that is precisely Djwa's emphasis, with chapter titles like "Montreal: Art and Life, 1941-1944." Page is correct to surmise that the resulting book would lack artistry and depth and thus fall short of its subject.
Djwa, to her credit, is right to define the biographer's task as being "to establish the main events of a life." However, creative licence, not with the facts but their presentation and organization, the book's style and structure, might have produced a more engaging text and testament.
Winnipeg English professor Jonathan Ball's latest book, The Politics of Knives, just appeared with Coach House Books.


text:
The Crap We Missed – Wednesday 9.5.12
"Justin's are way bigger," thought Selena.
Welcome to Wednesday's The Crap We Missed where someone really should have told Frank Langella that Scientology would have gladly arranged this sort of thing for him behind closed doors. We've also got Thor's wife needing to drop Jessica Simpson a line, this Jude Law pic that's practically leaping into your photoshop, and a post-op Brooke Shields looking exactly like the kind of dude you'd want backing you up in a fight.
Today's Final Five couldn't bench press you, isn't elderly, and has legitimate screen credits. I no longer recognize this place,
- Photo Boy
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Photo: Bauer-Griffin, Fame/Flynet, Getty, INFdaily, Pacific Coast News, Splash News, WENN


text:
Chapter 1
- "How wasted your talent is."
- Marcus responded to my calling, "Vaun, why have you returned to Volterra?"
- "It's not a matter of why, but what am I doing here, and I am here to give Aro a message, The Eternalists shall return to avenge the deaths of our brothers. And then Marcus, you shall be free."
- "You can not possibly win, not without."
- "Not without the Cullens? Don't worry, we refuse to recruit them and it really isn't their battle. You know its a personal thing, remember Aro killed Valentine our leader."
- Marcus grabbed the rest of his books and headed out, "My allegiance is to my brothers. Please don't try to turn me against them?" I stopped him as I slammed him against the wall, ready to strike him down, I turned and headed out of the room.
- When I returned to the Eternalists they shackled me to the wall in an ambush, "How dare you step foot in Volterra. None of us gave you the authority to do so. You violate our will, and you shall be punished." One of the newest recruits grabbed hold of my neck tugging as hard as she could but no cracks. Struggling I tell her "You don't know who the hell I am. I rapidly regenerate, I am practically unkillable." She would not stop pulling, even planting her legs on the wall and pulling even harder all I could feel is pain. "This is my punishment to feel physical pain and not die."
- "Enough! These people you find us Vaun is helpful to our cause, but they will not survive the fight. Remember who was the one that turned you."
- "Saint Marcus."
- "And you warned him to switch sides, but he can not."
- "He's under mind control."
- "And you still want him to join us, remember the story you told me about how the Volturi killed you after using mind control to prevent you from regenerating. But they didn't know you wanted to die, you were sacred of finding a woman to love whom you couldn't have for your entire life. Reminds me of the Cullens."
- "I will not turn a human into one of us, nor conceive a half-breed."
- "But half-breeds are our evolution."
- "Is this why you and Valentine created the group. You want to be the dominate coven. You helped them take down the Romanian Coven and you stole many of their ideas of letting the hunted live so they can produce more blood for future feeding, this is why you asked natives about the regenerative people, this is why you had Marcus fall in love, this is why Valentine controlled who people love."
- "You still do not understand out reasons, you need to understand more if you want to trully be a god among man." Kato was always lying in bed, constantly sleeping, he needed his sleep in order to dream, that was his power to dream about everything. Aro had wanted him once in the Volturi, but after an abrupt meeting, Kato tried to kill Aro because he knew what Aro's intentions were and he refuses to tell us to this day. Kato never gets out of bed, instead the bed can be changed into a walker for him, I only speculate-
Chapter 2
- I am the only vampire that can not recall. Many days pass by in which I forget. Of all of us blood suckers, I can not figure out my past, nor why I can not remember. I suffer from memory loss, in a way I can not explain. Kato refuses to tell me, this irritates me as I serve him in carrying out personal deeds. Deeds, deeds of executions, the very deeds that violated our order.
- "Eu sou Vaun, eu sou o que você teme, um ser frio. Meu tipo de trabalho é oferecer a todos uma chance de vida, oferecendo-nos o sangue de suas virgens."
- A man, a crazy man who lived underneath a mansion in Portugal had been stirring up some trouble, preaching that he knew every vampire ever, he responded to me in a tone that kept changing, never did he speak in one exact manner, "Você pode ser o que nós tememos, mas eu posso te dizer, que você não é o que você pensa que é." Then as I was about to respond, "You are a special kind of human, now that you belong to the cold ones your free will is now your enslavement."
- "Do you know why I am here?"
- "To recover the book."
- "How many names?"
- "35687 names. You are Vaun, the only Vaun marked in the book."
- I snagged the book from his hand, scanning it, it was just in gibberish letters. The book was practically written in wordsearches, ones that I could not understand in any damn way. "This book is not my orders." I jabbed my hand into his gut, anger took over from being lied to, his blood just dripped. Sitting there with the man in my hands, I hear him mutter what I thought as "Kato." I carried him out to the beach, leaving the book in his hand and setting him a sail on a row boat.
- I spent a very long time staring at that boat, it just wouldn't go far out from the shore. This prompted me to return to Kato. He was not there, it's the only time I have never seen him resting at our home. He returned with two humans, "Vaun they have something to tell you about your purpose in the world."
- What it is I can not recall. Many days pass and yet I struggle to maintain certain memories. I remember something about trophies, a sport of collectible warriors. My father. My father was a knight who refused to ever fight unless someone was on the verge of death. He told me, "The gift you have to heal is the trophy that I put up every time I compete in swordfights." And one day he died, lost in the field and I couldn't do a damn thing to help him fight. I encountered a vampire for the first time in my life, Marcus.
- Marcus and I never said a word to each other. In his eyes I could see he was thirsty, his face gave off an expression that the most suicidal forms of depression makes a man looks like a happy camper. He offered me his hand in friendship, that he could bring me and my father together. He bit me, the agony meant nothing if I could witness my father being welcomed to the golden gates of Heaven. Instead I saw him being dragged into the ground being burned alive in the process. When I awoke, Marcus was still around the arena, the shortly after he saw me moving around perfectly fine. I then started to grasp my purpose in life once and for all. I had an extraordinary power of healing, but as time went one, I was cursed to have a slowed aging process by the time I reach my twenties.
- Back to the present, Kato had me unchained, "Found out what happened to Toshiro, I can't dream about him." On my knees, with a tear dripping down my face as I looked to the ground, "Yes, Kato."
Chapter 3
- I have reached my destination I found myself in a Seattle, Washington. All I could say was it was a dump, so much human blood disgusted me. Lucky for them I do not feed at all, my powers to regenerate cells rapidly still allow me to produce my own blood, if ever I starve I just bite my wrist extracting blood from my body and drinking it so it enters my system. At times when my coven refused to go out in fear of Volturi movements, I would have to be their source of blood.
- I was travelling through the forest in northwestern Washington, and only to be attacked by a giant black werewolf. Just sitting there was the wolf, I sat down too, staring it down as it snarled. "I came here looking for a man, Toshiro." The wolf just shook its head, "You have heard of him?" It nodded, "Can you take me to someone who can help me?" The wolf turned around, and began to run deep into the woods, so I followed him.
- When I finally caught up to the trail it lead me to a house of glass. Inside I saw a man with a moustache holding a girl who looks like she's seven years old in his hands, and another person is in there, I can only see the back of his head, but when he turned his head he was a teen, and I could smell his wolf like scent. "He's not the one I'm looking for."
- "Your right, I am the one. I'm Sam, this is Carlisle, he'll explain to you about why I lead you here."
- "You stepped on Quileute land. Vampires are not allowed on their territory without cause. Your lucky Sam decided not to kill you."
- "Actually I told Sam to backoff. Lately our mental link has been returning but only for matters that concern us."
- Carlisle responds "Thank you Jacob. Why are you in Forks?"
- "Toshiro, a friend of my mentor. I am Vaun, Toshiro was supposed to convert your coven to be apart of my coven. I am from the Eternalist Coven, when we learned about your attempt to challenge the Volturi we wanted to use you to declare war against them. But Toshiro never made it here, do you know his whereabouts?"
- "No I can't help you there. Jacob I think its best if you go inside, distract Bella." Without question the mutt ran back inside the house. "Bella is extremely protective of her daughter. Alice is clairvoyant, she may have seen you doing something to harm her daughter."
- "Then I guess I should go." He nodded, "Indeed."
- I have much respect for Carlisle, he reminds me of Valentine, trying to be as neutral as possible. Both men also look similar. And just to make matters worse they are match makers. Valentine witnessed Marcus hit it off with Aro's sister, I have no clue what her name was but that Valentine choose to make them fall in love in an attempt to turn them. So close to sucess, but Aro may have caught unto Valentine's plot, and had been involved with the deaths of both of them and non in my coven know how except Kato.
- I had refused to leave Forks so on the following day I sat in a booth seat at a restaurant, two people came in, a couple in fact, one was the man I noticed at the Cullens, a human, and his Quiluette girlfriend. I liked this couple, they seemed adorable, especially when the man asked if they could sit in the booth with me. Im not going to try and take the man's spot away from him, during the fifty's I used to have a counter at the maltshop I would always sit at once a week after school during my job tracking a former Eternalist Coven member.
- The three of us literally spent the next three hours talking and laughing. I actually became happy for once. My life had actually been less brooding and more like my old self. Charlie and Sue had made me feel like I was with my best friend centuries ago. We would always speak to one another, and when she found out about vampires she was killed by them, and they left me for dead, when Marcus was returning to Volterra with his lover he turned me, it was too late for her. I couldn't imagine living a lengthy life without her, I was Marcus before he became what he is today. Sue took a picture out of her wallet, a picture Jacob took, "This is Renesmee, Charlie's granddaughter."
Chapter 4
- I felt prompted to stick around longer in Forks. So I began to test the trees, everytime I picked up a dog scent I knew to stay out. It's hard being a loner who has to go on prolonged trips without any real information from Kato. This time I don't think I was sticking around for my job, I was sticking around so I can see if I could figure out what's so damn special about the girl. It makes no sense for her to be a vampire's daughter, and be a human's granddaughter, immortal children are allegedly 'illegal'. Unless her parents where turned by Carlisle.
- After checking the lands where the wolves hide I decided that it's best if I go back into town and spend the next few weeks in the Forks Motel, thankfully they have a pool.
- All of a sudden someone just knocked on the door leaving a hole in it, "Why are you still here? I thought Carlisle told you to leave."
- "Calm yourself, I'm off duty."
- "You are not going to harm Renesmee!" Stretching her hand into the whole and opening the door, sarcastically I said, "Thanks for not breaking the door handle." I kinda blanked out, withering in pain as I awoke, she was gone. I felt something odd in my pocket, a note crumpled into a ball to meet her at her house.
- "Some crazy woman broke the door to my room while you had been asleep. Here's some money to get the door replaced today, hopefully it's fixed by the time I get back. Here's a list of numbers that can actually sell doors and since your doors have the most generic thing I've ever seen, shouldn't be hard to get them custom made."
- When I got to her home she ambushed me with Jacob and Sam. Holding me up against the house Jaob asked, "Why haven't you left yet." Sam threw me onto the ground, stomping on my chest, "You should leave now if you know what's best." I refused to listen to those two, "I want to meet the little girl, I am confused by her. She's your daughter, and Charlie's granddaughter."
- Bella picked me up off the ground, "How do you know Charlie?'
- "I meet him in a restaurant, and his wife was there."
- "She's not his wife!" Jacob and Sam both held her back, as ready as she was to kill me, "I don't sense any danger to Forks, but he is a threat, to what we can't figure out what." Jacob stripped to his underwear and changed into the wolf to go retrieve Renesmee. After my little encounter with the half-breed, I knew Kato would want to speak to me.
- All he could say was, "She is our evolution. Watch over her in case the Volturi." I rudely walked out of the room shoving others aside, "No, I can not do this." Before I could exit two of my fellow coven siblings grabbed me and Kato responded, "I know about your friend, how she had a daughter who you decided to adopt but Marcus turned you, and then you accidentally got her killed." I dropped to my knees screaming, "JUST KILL ME!"
- "Not yet. Remember your former assignments to find information for me that I myself can not use my powers to find. That is your key to finding out everything you want about yourself. It is time you started to regain your past, and create the keys to a more prosperious future for us."
- "As you wish Kato."
Chapter 5
- Just waiting outside Charlie's house. I can see through a window Renesmee and Charlie, but no Bella. It seems everywhere I go I can not find her. For that matter none of the Cullens are in town. I just really need to talk to Bella since she still thinks I'm going to harm her daughter. I don't know why Kato actually wants to protect the girl, she can not be our evolution, I have to be it. I can't regenerate my cells making me just barely a human, yet I maintain the cold and have a thirst for blood and my tastebuds have gone numb.
- The only thought I had was to go to one of Bella's friends. I picked the worst one, Jessica Stanley. As beautiful as she may be, she is a snooty little b*. When I first came to the house without coming up to the door I could sense she was staring out the curtain trying to mask that she was watching me, I guess it was too hide how sick she was. Soon after I knocked on the door she asked me to wait outside for a few minutes. I must have spent a half hour outside having to watch her neighbors look at me leaning on the door. When she opened it it was my fault as I collapsed on her.
- I noticed immediately her eyes. She was not the first woman I had fallen for. I have a major weakspot for eyes, It's like a fetish I can't shake off. "Sorry for falling on you."
- "It's okay. I mean it was my fault for standing in your way as you leaned on my front door. Especially when you're a stranger who's as handsome as the Cullens. Are you related to them?"
- "Actually I was going to ask if you knew where Bella was. But as you asked me a question, no I am not related to them to my knowledge. But I have meet Bella and Carlisle though."
- "Well I guess it's my turn to answer a question. I haven't talked very much with Bella since she got married to the brooding loner of the Cullens."
- I picked up a whiff, I knew I had just gotten the scent of Sam. I could only assume he was making sure she was safe. I was screwed, no way out as more wolves came around. All I could do was grab Jessica up to her bedroom and begin to kiss her. It's quite odd how humanity is devolving, especially with teens are their raging hormones. God, to make things worse she wanted to cuddle in bed, I had just had sex with a complete stranger, and I've done some really really bad things to woman before. This however is just the single most dumbest thing I have ever done.
- "What's this picture of you from."
- "It's my senior photo. You never mentioned your name."
- "I'm Vaun. I've been spending the last week at the Forks Motel. I'm from Connecticut, a place much like Washington but without so much rain." She kissed me, attempting to prompt me back into action, I noticed all the bruises but they had begun to heal as fast as I do. "Is that natural." Her response was just mind blowingly dumb, "What my-?" I pointed to her bruises as they rapidly healed, "I've never seen this happen before." The only other thought I had was, I 'accidentally' healed her.
- When I got out of bed she grabbed me again, jumping onto me and kissing me, "Stay with me please." As I threw her on the bed as lightly as I could, "How is it that you're not bothered by my cold skin?" She just laughed at me, "You're not cold, your really hot, I mean you are hot and cute, but you're also just really hot." I jolted to the bathroom, I could see my face getting red.
- I haven't gotten sick like this since I was five years old. It was cold outside, my father and I had gotten attacked by this blond woman with red eyes. I remember how she began to eat my fathers insides. She wasn't a vampire I know that for fact, they do not resort to cannibalism, but it does remind me of a certain Romanian Coven member who had been known to drink the blood of generals and eat the hearts of his greatest foes.
- "Vaun, we need to get you to a hospital now." She carried me to her car out of her own will, I knew I was starting to get weakened.
Chapter 6
- In the hospital while I was dazed I could have sworn I saw Carlisle. "How you feel Vaun." Jokingly, "Like I can live another thousand years." He showed me an Zray of my brain, parts had been working others have not, "I think you may be like my granddaughter Renesmee." But of course Jessica had to but in, "I knew Bella was pregnant!" So she kinda debunked my thoughts and Dr. Cullen immediatly pointed out, "Bella can't have children, she's taken it so hard, that she attempted suicide so we are cautious of her. Edward came up with the idea of adopting a girl, and she was named after my wife and Bella's mother."
- The night I spent with Jessica was just weird, not so much for me but for her. I hide in her closest, this woman had way, and I mean way, too many clothes. I used it as a cover and good thing because her mother came into the bedroom, "Neighbors told me that some stranger was here. Imagine how your dad would feel if it was a boy that enters this home that no one in town knows."
- "But he knows Dr.Cullen. He came looking for information on where they were, he stayed for about five minutes as I gave him Bella's number." Jessica's mom sat on the bed, "She doesn't talk to you as much since her wedding. Does she?" Jessica's giggle, such a nice one, "When she got married I thought she was pregnant for sure." Her mom just made me laugh, "I thought so too." Both of them left, they had gone out for dinner together.
- I was sick of being cooked up in her room all afternoon. No wonder I never liked spending much time with my coven, especially during retreats were I was their only supply of blood. Those were the worst, being in agony of having to produce blood that could feed them as our human and animal food needed to replenish. Back on topic, I had slept for the first time since my last love interest.
- These dreams brought me back into my childhood in 1918. A raid on my home. I can remember my father was reading me a bedtime story as some "A's" set the house on fire, and I could hear my mother screaming as if she was struggling to escape from someone. The man's scent was familiar, but I can't figure it out, only now I realize it was a vampire that had killed her. My father was able to escape the rubble and he pulled me out after turning over every piece of wood from out mansion in northern part of our city, the city I still can not remember. As he was carrying me to a friend's house a few miles away, than my head was hit by a Model T Ford, and his spine would be hit just afterwards. Withering in the pain I could barely see my father hanging onto his own life, as a man snapped his neck with his bare hands and began to eat the insides of his body. I can not remember how the attacker looks like, but he did have fangs, not like a vampires.
- "Awwwwwwwwww!" Jessica awoke from my shreik and so did her parents. Opening the closest I fell from the ceiling to the floor and the thud caused her parents to rush into her room as she rushed me out of the window. I could swear her father got mad at her, I couldn't just leave her behind, but like I said teenage hormones are the worst things to deal with so I ignored the situation.
- When I got back to my room at the motel, Bella was just sitting on my bed with her feet crossed. "So you like Jessica."
- "Nope. I did what I had to just to shut her the hell up."
- "So I'm not the only one that thinks she can be annoying."
- "I guess not. I need to ask you something. Why is Renesmee even exist, I mean she showed me how she was conceived but Valentine assured me vampires can not have children, it is impossible for gametes to exist. I need to know the secret."
- "First you have to tell me why is Renesmee really important to you."
- "Kato's power is to have all information on those he has seen. He sent me here to protect Renesmee and learn as much as I can about her. He called her the evolution of our species. But I doubt that. Carlisle said I was like Renesmee, what did he mean?"
- "He meant that both of you are hybrids."
- "I am no hybrid! I was turned by Saint Marcus of the Volutri! He saved my life. My power is to regenerate I've been Kato and Saint Valentine's most important asset. I can do many things Bella, things that make me feel human, but there are certain body parts can no longer function at all."
Chapter 7
- A few days later...
- "Bella, where are you taking me?' She just began to smile, "Welcome to Quileute land, cold one." Jacob was sitting on a tree branch with Renesmee. I ran into the tree, knocking it over, the first time I've ever shown so much power. Never have I ever been an offensive being, I was always the punching bag or shield for others. The stories shared were just so much, all the information I started to learn was beginning to change my thoughts about what Kato told me to be warry of.
- "What out for the wolves. They killed your father. The Children of the Moon are a group of rapid wolves, they transform at night, being bipedal like a human, and fur only appears on the abdoman through the chest and shoulders, past the neck and around their entire head. You'll never know where they will hide."
- But as the sickness returned Jacob instantly jumped onto me holding me down as I went into a seizure, prompting Bella to call Carlisle over. He stopped off at the hospital and stole medical supplies, as one of the nurses saw him dressed casually and stealing she called the police station. A cop car pulled over Carlisle's car, and as he was handcuffed and placed in the car, Sam and Jacob snagged the supplies bringing it to Jacob's house.
- "And the shape shifters are fully human, except when they change their form, that is their only other thing they can be. If someone shapeshifts into a snake, they can only revert to human, but contain the personality of the snake except with their human mind in tact."
- Sam turns to Bella, "You need to go to the station and get your dad to release Carlisle." Jacob turned into a wolf, so he can take Bella and Renesmee to Charlie and convince him to free Carlisle.
- In her most frustrated voice, "But Charlie, remember that guy you and Sue meet? He was a friend of the Cullen's and now he needs medical assistance. He had a seizure when we were at Jacobs."
- "Is Jacob here?"
- "No. Why you ask?"
- "I don't like how he hangs around Renesmee like Edward did with you."
Chapter 8
- "I don't think there is much I can do. We need to bring him into the hospital." Carlisle put his hand on Bella's shoulder, shaking his head, "But the problem is he can't afford a room for longer than a night." He turns to Charlie, "I need to bring him to my house to run overnight tests. I need you to drive us home."
- Charlie agreed, but as Renesmee and Bella wanted to join us the car was too crowded. I had been set lying down on the back seat with all the seatbelts fastened. In the darkness of my mind, a thought of a woman I knew from my hometown was the most beautiful person I've ever seen. However I still can not remember the exact features of her face. Something about her made me feel happy, but I don't remember why.
- When I awoke, Charlie's words sounded muffled and each time I asked him to repeat what he said I begain to piece together what he was really saying. "Who's the woman you keep talking about."
- "I don't know Carlisle. I think I may love her. But I also think I may not. It's impossible for me to figure this out, why she is trapped in my mind."
- "It's best you return to where you came from and try to get in touch with your human life. Sometimes I go back to London, and it reminds me of my father's hunts against the mythical world."
- "Carlisle, how do you do it? How do you feed on animals only?"
- "The same way you resist biting humans, starving yourself. You really think I have self control, I just want to die as a vampire, but the only reason I don't is my love of Esme. I one time took care of her, when she was in critical condition after falling to kill herself I choose to turn her so she would be protected by me." Carlisle begins to look at a monitor, "That's odd, it looks like you're starting to come back to life. A heartbeat was just picked up."
- I jumped up from the bed, "What!" I rushed to the monitor, "I don't see anything." I seemed disappointed at the lie Carlisle had made, and as I returned to bed, I heard a faint beep. "You don't believe me now? You're coming back to life. You've been a vampire for about 80 years so just now your regenerative powers have actually kicked in. Your lucky, in just a few days you'll become a target by vampires."
- "It wouldn't be the first time vampires would want to kill me."
- "What do you mean Vaun."
- "The Valentine died he told me a secret, he refused to tell Marcus."
- "Volturi?"
- "Yep, Saint Valentine cursed Marcus to love Aro's sister. When he plotted to betray Aro by convincing his sister to get Marcus to leave. I was then hunted down by Aro as he saw Valentine's plans, but they had no clue what my power was. Caius got lucky though as when he touched me he was made younger, Marcus on the otherhand had been infected by regenerative power which slowed his regeneration and therefore aging. It's only now I know I must ask Kato about why he used me."
- Edward comes into the room, "I can't let you do that. We both know Kato would want Renesmee. He'd use her to get his way, to get his revenge on the Volturi for expelling him."
- Carlisle asked, "How would you know this?"
- "Because I'm reading Vaun's mind while Kato is extracting every bit of information he can. And now he just left the mind, but his is unlocked, waiting for me, kinda like a trap. Vaun, you just accidentally created a problem for us. And just from Alice's mind I could see that Renesmee will die. Vaun, You need to kill Kato before he can touch my daughter."
Chapter 9
- "You are here to kill me Vaun. You know I know you better than anyone else, especially when I saved your life multiple times."
- "What do you mean?"
- "We go through this about every ten years you begin to suffer because you begin to revert back into a human. Then I have to clear your mind with my own power. These blackouts you suffer come from me everytime venom reenters your body. I never wanted to tell you this, Vaun, you're like a son to me. I never wanted to you to know this. I wanted you to have a life where you can find as much loves as you want throughout history. I wanted you to also help me expand my knowledge and bring this back." He threw his bed cover off, lying in the bed was his torso upwards, with prostetic waist and downwards.
- "You need me to help you walk? Why not just build mechanical legs." I turned my back on him. "How dare you turn on me, I am your only living family, I am your savior, I am your mentor, and most importantly I am one of the original vampires!" I turned back around punching him in the face as hard as I could with my fist shattering from the impact. "I am much stronger than you ever were! I am a god amonst man! I am an ancestor of Eternal Humans! I am your older and you shall obey!"
- I barked at him, "NO!" When I began to run away I was being followed by my former siblings. I began to remember the stories I heard my entire life. The quests he had me embark on taught me about Dracula. Now I understood what Eternal Humans mean. I was a human born with the curse of infinite healing capabilities.
- From the legends I have read and been taught about him was he felt tortured by God. His castle was a mess with bats flying all over, the gardens surrounding his castle withered and died, his only friend was a pet boaconstricter he used to keep people in check, anybody who he killed in battle would always lose their heads having their heads displayed on his walls and devouring their body, aswell as drink the blood of his prisoners since they were all of nobility. He was a cruel man but lead the Romanian Coven to their demise against the Volturi and ultimately he choose death, he voluntarily became dead. A Brazilian tribe woman recently told me about her son's death was caused by his refusal to partake in life, how how he killed himself the weekend a vampire and human spent on an isle.
- In my fight against them all I began to trully understand I was the only Eternalist among them. Each of these vampires lacked powers since all that did had been sent away to do deeds for Kato. I could not fend off my former coven as each of them began to sink their teeth all over my bodies. The pain would not go away, "How do you think you can escape us? This time I'm going to fully remove your mind, and you will forever be my slave."
- As I blacked out I ended up in a dark place only able to remain mute, and a voice from the distance could barely be heard, it was Edward, "You no longer have a physical form. Your mind has been transferred elsewhere. I have no idea where. I know you can hear me, and I know you can not speak, but listen to me, I will find your location, I will find where you are, and I will make Kato pay."
Chapter 10
- Kato was sitting in a wheelchair wear jeans on his prosthetic legs he looks to his left side, "Aro, I know we have our differences but I ask one thing of you." Aro looking down at Kato, "What may that be brother?" With a smile on his face, "I have a gift for you, an Eternal Human." Shock overtook Aro, "Why are you giving me him as a gift? Your coven is named after the ancient legends of immortal humans, the demigods."
- While I was learning over, body limp I began to awake. I couldn't get out of the shackles, entering the chamber was Aro, "Don't be afraid Vaun, I am here to make amends for trying to kill you half a century ago. I thought of you as a man destined to kill vampires when in reality you reminded me of Dracula yourself. Do you even remember my name, or did you forget that?"
- "My that is strange it sounded as though two people were screaming at me. Maybe Kato tampered with your mind too much. Chelsea dear, I need you to do the deed."
- Next thing I know is that I awoke in Volterra as fresh humans had come into the Volturi Chamber. "We shouldn't do this." I whispered to Aro from behind. "Why not?" I bit into my wrist, with the blood semping out, "I CAN PRODUCE A FOOD SOURCE FOR YOU WITHOUT HAVING TO HARM HUMANS!" Aro grabbed my hand, "Just for the scene you made in front of our guests, you get the first bite. And next time you should have told us about your ability to produce blood."
- I couldn't stand human blood, I never did, it just disgusted me completely. So when I approached the humans I could sense him, Edward found me. I fell down, fainted really, and just a mere child, no older than seven tried to help me up. "Mister are you okay?" Heavily breathing I whispered into her ear, "Run away." Chelsea had no real power over me as I began to attack the guard. None of their powers could stop me, my own power to regenerate was starting to become under control. I could regenerate my mind and thoughts for once.
- A familiar voice came about, "Vaun, she is to be the first."
- "As you command Valentine." He put his hand on my shoulder, and then I pounced onto the girl, "I'm sorry." I took a chunk of her flesh off from her neck, it looked as though her head was held on by a thread.
- He looked at me with a disappointed expression on his face, "You killed her brutally. This can not be permitted son."
- "NO! I am not your son, you, you should be dead, I saw you die with my own eyes."
- "That was not me, it was an illusion. Follow me, I will explain everything about the blackouts you have." I do as told, the Volturi were not pleased but as long as I didn't stop them from feeding I assumed they would be happy to know I can not interfere. "The blackouts come from many years of life. You power to regenerate is much like Kato's power to know everything. Once Kato learn everything about you he can always know things about you. When you regenerate people any memories that have been lost and restored will be saved with you. You don't realize how many people you have saved, and how they haunt your mind. I co-created the coven along with Kato because we learned about Eternal Humans, we killed many of them because they were powerful, then we learned about the Romanian Coven's idea of not finishing a meal to allow people to recuperate. I did befriend Marcus before he meet Aro, then he helped us learn about Aro's idea for dominating the mythical world, we had to become apart of the Volturi if our powers were going to be safe, we showed absolute loyalty to Marcus, enough for Aro to trust us, and leave Caius skeptical. I probably will not remember my power but its my power that has driven Kato insane."
- "Exactly, I used my power on Kato to make him fall in love with a girl in a psychiatric ward. One that could see the future, she was also subjected into loving him, but she suffered massive trauma forgetting everything about her past life. It was already too late, Kato had been ripped in two by Caius when they figured out we knew about the death of a certain Volturi member."
- "Indeed. But for that girl turned vampire she is safe. Kato refuses to go back for her, instead he wants her to come for him. In secret I've been informing the Volturi of his decisions aswell as feeding him information on Aro's ideas. It's my fault, I have now given two of the largest covens information that can be disastrous. Vaun I need you to do something for me."
- "What is it?"
Chapter 11
- A few weeks later...
- In my head I heard someone screaming "Vaun!" Edward found me in Berlin. He grabbed my jackpot shoving me into the wall, leaving cracks around my body. "Alice told me how you plan on bringing her and Renesmee into the Volturi." I just stared at him with disgust on my face as a large group of men tried to pull him off, "Ich habe diesen Mann Unrecht getan, und ich verdiene jede Strafe, die er für angemessen hält." They immediately halted their attempts to pried him from me.
- "Edward it's far more complicated than that. But you wouldn't be able to read my mind." Shoving me more into the building I could see he had been thirsty, "Bite me, I dare you, you'd savor the flavor of my blood."
- Struggling to control himself "I'm actually liking that idea." I saw in the distance Alice, but as soon as my eyes shot wide open from seeing her he slammed me into the pavement below. "I know your plan is to give her to somebody more dangerous than the Volturi."
- Alice pulled Edward off, "Look at me." I don't know the conversation was, as I began to started to hallucinate again "I HOPE YOU FOUND WHAT YOU'RE LOOKING FOR BECAUSE I'M LOOKING FOR AN ARMY TO RECLAIM WHAT'S RIGHTFULLY MINE!"
- The two of them fell for the trap. The plan was for the other Eternalists to leave clues for the Cullen's by murdering people in nearby towns while avoiding the cities in order to make it look like we tried to stay off the Volturi's radar. Each crime scene had a note left on it, "Armee der Untoten" except missing some letter here and there and had a different set of coordinates starting with my Forks, then the town I was born in, Volterra, Berlin. Kato was know to see into the minds of Edward and Alice.
- "Good job Vaun, you served me well." Aro showed up, "Served us both well." As his presence arrived Edward picked up on his thoughts. He told Alice, "Run Alice. They are going to be find you, take this." He handed her a card, the card's message had slipped past Kato's knowledge as Edward did not think doing anything except spelling out a few letters. She took off, "Shall I pursue her?" Both responded to me, "Not yet. We have other plans for you and Jane."
- "I will not work with Jane, I've seen the work she has done, and I'm not fond of her power. Even Valentine himself has warned me of her power, she may be able to temporarily halt my regenerative power with her own torture methods. Plus I promised Valentine to kill a group of humans for him as he got word that they are as powerful as me when I was one of them."
- "It seems I can not find out anything about Valentine except that he has figured out a way to avoid me from learning how know everything about him." Kato began to wheel himself away.
- Aro followed shortly, "Vaun you may continue on your work with Valentine."
- Relieved I took out my cell phone, "Your plan worked, those shots allowed me to selectively choose what information to reveal to him. They also know you have some secret to hide from them. Shall I continue to the next target. But-"
- From the other end of the call, "Vaun now listen to me, I need you to listen to them both, we can use Jane to our advantage, a personal assistant of mine we can not let them learn of the vampire's power. So when you have the chance, kill her."
Chapter 12
- Carlisle said "Edward, this letter came for you. It's from the Volturi." After Edward opened it, "What is it?"
- "Alice. They are warning us that the Eternalist Coven are searching all over for her. I read Kato's mind, something about Alice had I really can't explain it, it's like he's obsessed with her as much as I was with Bella."
- Bella asked "Where's Alice?" as she and Rosalie entered the room. All Edward had to do was crumple the paper, "Aro has to know where she is hiding otherwise I don't know why he would warn us about Kato's desire to have her." Carlisle interrupts, "Whatever it is, can't be the same as Aro's reason to have her, I feel like this letter is a decoy from Kato."
- As I was traveling throughout the Egyptian desert I went in search of a man capable of controlling the elements, leading me to a man named Amun. This man must have hated me, "No I will not introduce you to Benjamin, there are plenty of vampires who would love to control him!"
- In just a short period of time I had him pinned down to the ground, "IM NOT HERE TO HARM HIM! I just request an audience from him, my employer wanted me to see him be safe from a new coven that plans to destroy the Earth and anyone willing to help."
- At that point the Benjamin used his power to cause the wind to push me off of Amun as the two of us got up rushing at each other. But Benjamin refused to let us tear each other to shreds, "Both of you need to calm down and so we discuss."
- "Jacob when will that nice vampire return?" Jacob was phased as Renesmee rode him. All he did was snarl at the idea, both of them went out to wander the forest, but he came across a rogue vampire. She got off him as he began to move in the same direction the African vampire did.
- "Caius was right, Cullens do work with the Children of the Moon." Jacob's eyes gave off confusion, "You seem baffled, maybe I was wrong, you smell like one, look like one, yet you are not one." The vampire pounded his fists together. "My boss sent me to fetch the little girl and her pet dog, I suggest you come with me since I don't want to have to kill the girl." This only upset Jacob, ready to strike Quil and Seth tackled him.
- Using their telepathy they began to talk to one another about this vampire's powers, the ability to corrode anything anything he wants within an unknown radius. "I believe they informed you about my power, but I'm going to point out one thing that they can't tell you, and this will make you trust me." He instantly got to the three of them, "You're within thirty yards, and you haven't been destroyed yet, but look at the girl her skin is starting to peel away." Jacob jumped onto the vampire, "Don't worry it only applies to inanimate objects and for whatever isn't alive, the girl is half life and half dead my power can not kill her unless she was in my hands, only then can I use my powers to end a being's life."
Chapter 13
- "No, no way am I letting you use Nessy as a decoy to kill your boss. It's too damn risky, I sense that you will actually kill her, but I can't tell if it's on purpose or by accident. Besides, I can help you find a hybrid only older and more controlled."
- "No! Kato will only be fixated on this girl, it's like he wants to know everything about her, anyone he encounters he learns everything about them instantly. If all wolves surround him, he could not take the smell after all he has an extremely sensitive nose. Another weakness of his is that he turned many of his friends into Vampires in order to never have to feel lonely. And he is missing the lower half of his body."
- Renesmee snuck off only to be caught by one of the vampires, "Hey Raja! Little girl tried to escape!" Jacob punched Raja in the face, but Raja grabbed his other hand, causing Jacob's wrist to begin to decay until Seth and Quil jumped onto Raja. "Your all going to die now! I'll make sure of this." Jacob phased and charged Raja's stomach. This prompted the other vampires to join the attack except for the one holding Renesmee, "I'll take you back to Forks. The wolves know what they are doing."
- When the two of them returned to the house Rosalie quickly grabbed Renesmee, "Who are you?"
- "I'm a newborn, I was created by Raja a former African Prince who named himself after Hindu royalty. I was created during World War 2 when he visited my hometown of Berlin. I have a power, Raja has been hiding me from Kato he's figured out how to decay his ability to know everything about Raja and so I'm hidden. You don't need to know my power, except that if I was like all the other human feeders, you'd see my power at maximum control." He removes the blue eye contacts, "Golden eyes like your's. I learned from Raja about animal thirst being much better than human blood."
- Shortly afterwards the three wolves returned hurt. Carlisle took them into the house. "Looks like these are unnatural. Rosalie take Renesmee to Charlie's. Things may get a little disturbing for her to see." Carlisle than began to bite into each wolf, ripping out the parts that looked weird. These missing chunks had started to slowly heal up. The decaying residue prevented healing, when Edward and Bella arrived they smelt all the blood sensing that a massive feast was going on until they saw the three wolves lying on their sides whimpering.
- When I made my return to Valentine's home with Benjamin he was astonished at how the entire mansion was hand painted. "Welcome to my home, I want to help you master your powers Benjamin. You are free to roam around the house but do not go into the basement, I beg you not to go down there."
Chapter 14
- Amun stormed the mansion, "Benjamin you are coming back with me to Egypt!"
- "But Amun this place is beautiful, and I am protected from the Volturi."
- "Remember the African, you will be hunted by Raja. He wanted your power to help him take over the entire continent, I had to beg for him not to take you if you are in our country. Is your gifts not important to you."
- Benjamin hopped down from a few floors above, "But it is so much better here." From behind Amun came Valentine, "You can have Benjamin back. I've seen enough of his power to know he has full control and it's one of the more powerful abilities I have seen. Had I known I put him at risk by bringing him here I wouldn't have taken him. But I bought Benjamin's freedom just two days ago, Raja and I go way back to ancient times."
- "I want to stay here. Please let me, Amun." He grabbed Benjamin's hands, "Think about our plans to return glory back to the coven."
- While all that was happening I was with Jane. "We were sent to track down a certain vampire with the power to manipulate the nervous system of any recently deceased creatures, as in Zombies."
- Instantly I remembered meeting a boy with such gifts, his mother had died when he was young and he was able to bring her back as a caretaker. She was dismembered by those who lived in the city. "I can not help you, that boy is my friend."
- Her stare drove me insane, feeling immobilized as my body went into a seizure like state, Felix had arrived ripping my arms off, "When the Volturi kill someone they make sure they are dead."
- I blacked out soon after, only to awake next in my memory of the boy finding me drunk on the street begging to be killed. He pulled me up and dragged me in. His mother was a beautiful redhead with blue eyes, and a very impressive bust, good thing it was a time before implants. They boy was very spoiled by his mother as his father died before he was born. My friendship with the boy soon turned into neglect as I began to have a romance with his mother, something I look back on now and wish I hadn't done so, especially when she died at my hands when the Volturi had been hunting me done. Once I awoke, the burn marks on my body and limbs started to disappear and reattach. This was the first time I was able to actually control my power as I wanted to find the boy again and kill the two Volturi who tried to kill me.
Chapter 15
- Alice began to envision the man from the mental hospital. But she couldn't see his face, as it was shrouded by blackness except for his red eyes glowing extremely bright and being opened to its widest, even his smile looked creepy. As she came to in her room, with the lights off, "Was I asleep?" she said to herself, getting up she headed to Carlisle, "I think I fell asleep." He instantly went with her to the room and began to discuss.
- "While I lived with the Volturi, I meet a man who would eventually come to be known as the Sandman. He liked to put Vampires to sleep, makes them feel good that they can finally rest. But as good as he made them feel it took a toll on him, so he began to spread his negativity to others to make them cranky in order to relieve his stress. If he actually put you to sleep than he is nearby. What did you even see."
- "An old friend from my hospitalized days. I need to find him and know the rest of my past. I may have told him about myself when I was in there."
- "Do you remember his face?" She shook her head, "I only saw his smile and eyes, he was after all he was the one who turned me." Jasper soon came out, "What's wrong?" She hugged him, "I'm afraid an old friend of mine wants me for something." Jasper grasping her tight as Carlisle left, "Want me to cheer you up, or do you want to spend time with Jacob." Looking up at him, "How did you know I feel comfortable near Jacob." He just smiled and laughed.
- Meanwhile when I meet back up with Valentine, "Faq Jane, I knew this shot was going to happen! I told you! I goddamned told you, but no you didn't listen! I'm about to give a piece of my mind to Aro and Kato!" Valentine just looked at me, grabbing me and bringing me into another room. "This is a friend of mine Raja, and his apprentice..." I cut him off "Leon. I turned Leon into a vampire. I should have turned his mother as well."
- Leon turned around folding his arms up, "You did your job, you protected me, but instead I had to use my power to control her corpse until the nerves in her body decayed. You could have saved her, she was your lover, and you betrayed us both."
- "Leon, I'm not sorry for your mother's death, it wasn't my fault. Not entirely that is. Someone told the Volturi I was having a relationship with a human. And your lucky Raja found you. I made you an immortal child, and I assume Raja is the man who can decay anything so he decayed your ability to not age so you could actually age."
- "Nope. Apparently your memory may be a little screwed up, your memory's are still scrambled from one of Kato's bodyguards." I replied, "Fran." Fran had the ability to screw with people's head filling it with nonsense, her power plus my ability to regenerate memories of others that I have healed, plus the fact that every time I reawaken after death I lose some of my memories as it's a natural reflex for the brain.
- "Valentine, my friend, I have weakened the Cullen's extended family, what next to do." I shoved Raja into the wall, "You hurt my friends?" Leon pulled me off, tossing me into the door, "We needed them to perceive us as a threat." Valentine put his hand out to help me up, and I smacked it away, "We were always after Alice. It's time we use her to finalize our plans to get rid of Aro's elder." Hearing the word elder made no sense but as they explained to me their plot, I knew I had to go to help Carlisle.
- "Thanks for coming, we could really use your power to help them." I placed both hands on each wolf, I could just feel a surge or energy in my hands. Just vibrating nonstop as they began to regrow flesh and fur I saw Jasper's expression for each individual wolf. The pain was going away. Upstairs however Raja tossed Jacob into a tree, "Let's finish this once and for all."
- Leon held Alice back using his power, he approached her whispering in his ear, "I could make you help out my master, but we have more important issues to take care of, so why don't you just follow me." She tried to breakfree from his control, "What's your power?" He responded, "Anything that is recently dead, and still has a nervous system I can control. Vampires retain only the brain and their nervous system. I could create an army of millions very quickly, I can bring about zombies and rule the land except my people lost both World Wars."
[Chapter 20 will be the last chapter.]
(Trolololololololololololollolollololollolololollolollolloooololoololollolololololollollllolollo I gave up on life that is y I nevar finished so I just wana let anyone who clicks this to know I became a bum das y I stopped doing this, btw this is the 1 yr anniverasry of my last update.)


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Balenciaga Resort 2013
Nicolas Ghesquière recently discovered that Cristobal Balenciaga designed some costumes for a ballet in the 1930s, a revelation that has partly inspired a resort collection that flows with the liquid grace of dancers' clothes caught in motion.
Thoughtful and inventive, Ghesquière has approached the traditional haute couture concept of flou—the soft clothes produced by the dressmaking ateliers in the great fashion houses (as opposed to the structured clothes made by their tailoring workrooms)—in a uniquely twenty-first-century way.
Classic draping fabrics like jersey and chiffon georgette are sealed to bonding material to mold to the torso like armorial second skins, but at the dropped-waist seam, or in generously cut cap sleeves, the fabrics are left unlined, to flutter around the body. Skirts are often finished with the flourish of an elaborate ruffle (a detail that Balenciaga himself delighted in) which are also bonded so that the skirts bounce and dance away from the body.
Even the pants are softly draped, and jacket collars are transformed into flounces. The palette is dominated by the sweet tones of an old-fashioned baby girls' layette—soft mimosa yellow, baby blue, and a blushing pink.
But Ghesquière anchors two of these filmy and romantic looks with a molded leather harness or a wide-cut conker brown leather shrug—transforming his goddesses into warrior amazons, a look complemented by the gladiator sandal boots formed of double-face ribbon twists.


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U.S. corn futures are expected to open higher Tuesday on demand expectations, outside market support and farmers' reluctance to sell.
Chicago Board of Trade futures are called 10 to 12 cents higher. In overnight trade, December corn was up 11 1/4 cents to $7.03 1/2 per bushel.
The market surged overnight after a late rally Monday erased early losses. Expectations that China was poised to import more corn is helping support the market, analysts say. They note that the slide in U.S. corn futures during September has occurred even as China prices have stayed at record highs, giving them incentive to import.
Any purchases by China would reaffirm ideas that while corn struggles to find buyers as the market climbs near $8, buyers see any breaks below $7 as a solid buying opportunity. U.S. corn supplies are expected to remain tight for the foreseeable future, with some analysts saying it could take years to replenish stockpiles that have dwindled to historically low levels.
The market's recent from Aug. 30 to Monday's intraday low of $6.76 1/2, December corn fell nearly a dollar. That has encouraged some buying by some end-users, who have good margins with the lower prices, said Chad Henderson, analyst with Prime Ag Consultants.
"You've got a slowdown in farmer selling on the corn side with this pull-back," Henderson added.
Corn and other agricultural commodities are expected to get additional support Tuesday from outside financial markets, which were a negative factor Monday. Equities are expected to climb on possible progress on Greece's crisis and potential stimulus efforts by the U.S. Federal Reserve, easing worries about the economy for the moment.
Adding support to grains and oilseeds is the government's crop progress report Monday, although traders said corn crop conditions are not highly important this late in the growing season. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported 51% of the crop was rated good-to-excellent, down from 53% the prior week.
Traders say the market's technical outlook could also inspire more buying, after the market recovered from sharp initial losses Monday to close unchanged.


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You exercise your body to stay physically in shape, so why shouldn't you exercise your brain to stay mentally fit? With these daily exercises you will learn how to flex your mind, improve your creativity and boost your memory. As with any exercise, repetition is necessary for you to see improvement, so pick your favorite exercises from our daily suggestions and repeat them as desired. Try to do some mentalrobics every single day!
We have already learned how the phonetic mnemonic system can be used to remember playing cards. Once you learn this, here is an interesting trick that you can perform for your friends and family.
The Missing Card
Ask someone to remove one card from the deck. You are going to look through the deck once and then tell them the missing card. As you are looking through the deck you need to modify each card keyword as you come to it. Form a mental association with this modification. For example, the keyword for the 8 of clubs is 'cave'. You could picture the roof of a cave caving in. The keyword for the 4 of hearts is 'hair'. You could picture your friend with his hair on fire. Once you have looked through the deck and modified each keyword, run through the deck in your mind. The one keyword that has not been modified represents the card that was removed.
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