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Friday, 11 January 2013
5 comments:
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subset: commoncrawl


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Cellmate says Foster confessed
Michael Haskill
"Did he tell you he was there?" asked prosecutor David Shepack in Waterbury Superior Court Shepack.
"Yes," Haskill replied.
"Did he tell you he raped that girl?"
"Yes," Haskill answered.
Foster is one of eight people charged with killing Measles, a New Milford middle school student. Six have already pleaded guilty. Foster is the first to go on trial; he faces a life sentence if convicted. His lawyer has said Foster was home at the time of the murder and his parents would testify to that fact.
Five of Foster's former friends have already testified, and they said Foster and others raped Measles in a van in a secluded spot on River Road in New Milford and whether Foster then helped to drown Measles.
There has been conflicting testimony over whether the eight friends - who were in their late teens and early 20s at the time of the crime - meant to kill Measles or just wanted to scare her into dropping statutory rape charges against two of the males.
Haskill testified that Foster said that he and A.J. Walter were planning to kill Measles. "Him and A.J. all along had something in mind," said Haskill, who is awaiting sentencing on a charge of narcotics possession with intent to sell.
"Look, you're no angel Mr. Haskill, are you?" Shepack asked.
"No," said Haskill, wearing his tan prison suit.
Haskill, who had lived in Torrington and Waterbury, spent about one week with Foster in a cell at Bridgeport Correctional Institution shortly after Foster was arrested on felony murder and other charges in 2002.
Haskill also testified about an alleged plan to influence his testimony. He said Foster's father wanted to pay him to point the finger at Ron Rajcok and to keep Foster out of his testimony. Haskill and Rajcok, who has already pleaded guilty in the Measles case, spent time together at a Cheshire prison.
Foster's father "was somebody who was going to send you money to help you testify to help his son?" defense lawyer Don O'Brien asked.
"Yup," Haskill replied.
O'Brien said the older Foster was supposed to give Haskill $40 so Haskill could testify that "someone else did it."
"I was going to say, 'Ron told me everything,' but keep Keith out," said Haskill.
The prosecution is expected to rest its case Monday. The court is closed today for Good Friday.
Measles was sexually involved with Foster and the other male suspects. Witnesses and prosecutors have said the eight friends hatched a plan to silence Measles after she went to police to pursue statutory rape charges against Foster and Walter.
Haskill said Foster told him he went out with Maryann Measles in the summer of 1997 and told her that he loved her. At one point, Foster said he gave Measles a rose, Haskill testified.
Haskill also said Foster told him that, after the killing, he deposited Maryann's clothes in a washing machine.
On Tuesday, a state police detective testified that he found a shirt believed to be worn by Measles on the day she died beneath a washing machine abandoned near the Housatonic.
Haskill said he read some of the legal documents connected to Foster's case and wrote on some of them.
"So you were analyzing police reports for Mr. Foster, trying to help him out with his case?" O'Brien asked.
"I guess," Haskill replied. He said he was taking notes for Foster because Foster couldn't read or write well.
Contact Karen Ali
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Jesse Burdick is the Head Coach at PowerWod, and has spent nearly two decades training and training with some of the best athletes on the planet. A former NCAA baseball player and Certified Manual Therapist, Jesse's quest for diverse and extensive knowledge in both athletic training and life has led him to sharing some of the most respected company in the industry.
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A college soccer player at San Jose State University who originally started powerlifting as part of her soccer program, Tiff fell in love with powerlifting and transferred to the SJSU powerlifting team, where she trained with coach Zach Trahan.
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Lawsuit Delays Largest Translocation in History
By Laura Cunningham
March 17, 2016 - The Center for Biological Diversity filed a notice of intent to sue on March 8 over military plans to expand the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center at Twentynine Palms in California, requiring that around 1,500 desert tortoises be tranlocated over a five year period. This would be the largest translocation effort ever in the history of the desert tortoise. The notice, filed under the Endangered Species Act, argues that federal agencies have failed to fully examine how the relocations might harm the tortoises in the Mojave Desert. The Center is challenging the failure of the Bureau of Land Management and Marine Corps to consult adequately with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and fully address impacts both to translocated tortoises and to the habitat and tortoises already living in the relocation sites.
See the Center's press release here: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/press_releases/2016/desert-tortoise-03-08-2016.html
The expansion area would take 88,000 acres in the Johnson Valley to be used for live ammunition training exercises. During a previous translocation effort to move desert tortoises out of an expansion area in Ft. Irwin Army National Training Center, 50% of tortoises suffered mortality due to the translocation. A 50% mortality rate over three years or more is usual for tortoises moved out of their home ranges. Predation is the most common cause of tortoise deaths. The Desert tortoise is a Federally Threatened species.
The second article is inaccurate when it says:" The relocation is expected to take a team of about 100 biologists as long as two to four weeks to complete." The translocation effort is so gigantic it will take five years to complete (members of Basin & Range Watch have previously worked as tortoise biologists for translocation projects).
More on the military expansion.
Leave the Tortoises Where They Are
October 23, 2010 - The growing science of Desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) conservation is up against a hardy foe this year: the politics of a renewable energy push which has demanded deadlines that do not allow careful planning and study of the desert-dwelling animals and plants on the vast project sites slated for development.
Spurred by December 31, 2010 deadlines for huge federal subsidies, the Fast-Track large-scale solar projects have run up against problems in mitigating impacts to the tortoise, a federally threatened species. Intense pressure from the administration to start construction of the several projects has put stress on both agencies and scientists to try to work out the ways that tortoises can be moved out of harm's way and compensation for lost habitat achieved. But is the tortoise actually the loser in this "win-win" situation?
^Adult female tortoise emerges out of her burrow in Ivanpah Valley, to bask in the morning sun.
Ivanpah Valley Trouble
The final approval happened when Interior Secretary Ken Salazar signed the Right-of-Way on Thursday, October 14, that allowed BrightSource Energy to take temporary lease of the 3,400-acre parcel of Bureau of Land Management desert for its Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (ISEGS). Reports have it that BrightSource wasted no time, bringing in heavy machinery that night and beginning construction activities early the next morning on Friday in the dark.
An army of 50 tortoise biologists came out, monitoring all machinery, putting up tortoise exclusion fencing, and walking along five per blade (BrightSource is being generous, it is usually one), three blades working to make a wide perimeter road along the top of Phase 1. They must stop October 31 according to US Fish and Wildlife Service. There were a lot of water trucks, trucks carrying huge rolls of tortoise fencing, and security guards driving around.
By October 11 the crew has already found five adult tortoises along the fenceline of the entrance road, Coliseum Road. They were radio-telemetered and released, and before November 1 will be relocated, disease tested, and placed in the overwintering pens. Positive tortoises will be sent to the Las Vegas Desert Tortoise Conservation Center and put down.
By October 16 they had captured 15 adult tortoises and were checking them for disease and holding them for relocation into the area near the project in the Ivanpah Valley.
By October 22 the tortoise count had already risen to a total of 17, 16 adults and one juvenile. This was far more than were expected. By October 29 the count jumped to 28, according to BLM.
Based on how many tortoises have been found already experts think there could be 100 to 130 on the project site.
The only problem here is that the US Fish and Wildlife's Biological Opinion for the entire three phase project only expects 32 adult tortoises to be captured. A re-initiation of consultation is to take place when 38 tortoises are found over the entire three phase project.
All tortoises moved will be "translocated" regardless of distance, and the fenceline and perimeter road are setback within the ROW.
From the October 5, 2010 Tortoise Translocation Plan for ISEGS:
"...USFWS's Biological Opinion for ISEGS (USFWS, 2010) referred to all movement of desert tortoises as translocation regardless of the distance moved." (p. 2)
"After an area is flagged, prior to any site clearance work, the perimeter of the area to be cleared will be fenced. Within 24 hours prior to the initiation of construction of the desert tortoise-exclusion fence, two complete desert tortoise clearance surveys of the proposed perimeter fence line and associated disturbance right-of-way (ROW) will be conducted using techniques providing 100 percent coverage of the construction area and an additional transect along both sides of the fence line transect to provide coverage of an area approximately 90 feet wide, centered on the fence alignment. Transects will be no greater than 30 feet apart. During these surveys, an authorized biologist will inspect all desert tortoise burrows, and burrows constructed by other species that might be used by desert tortoises, to determine occupancy. Any burrow within the fence line corridor will be collapsed after confirmation that it is not occupied by a desert tortoise, or if occupied, the desert tortoise has been removed (CH2M HILL, 2009). Two complete passes with complete coverage will be conducted as described above. If no desert tortoises are observed during the second pass, a third pass would not be conducted." (p. 5)
"To allow for external roads, the setback area will be a minimum of 20 feet wide within the ROW boundaries between the tortoise fence and the ROW boundary on the upslope boundary of the ROW, and a minimum 8 to 12 feet wide between the tortoise fence and ROW boundary on the side and downslope boundaries." (p. 5)
"All healthy desert tortoises will be translocated to the west or north of the project site (Figure 4). Those located over 500 meters of the western and northern fence line boundary will require a health assessment. Authorized biologists will preferentially place desert tortoises in safe locations that are within 1,000 meters (3,280 feet) of their collection location on the project site, with consideration for the 300-foot buffer. If this criterion cannot be met for a given desert tortoise, an authorized biologist will move the individual to the closest translocation area (N1 through N4) also west of the project site (Figure 4)." (p. 14)
US Fish and Wildlife Service Biological Opinion, Oct 1, 2010:
"...we anticipate that the proposed translocation areas can accommodate approximately 38 additional subadult and/or adult desert tortoises. Consequently, the proposed translocation areas appear to be large enough to accommodate all 32 subadult and/or adult desert tortoises that BrightSource needs to move. ...If the translocation areas prove to be too small, BrightSource would have to identify a new translocation area for the additional desert tortoises. This action would constitute a significant change in the project description and would likely require re-initiation of consultation." (p. 39-40)
"We anticipate that the translocation of approximately 32 subadult/adult desert tortoises from project facilities (Le., Ivanpah 1,2, and 3 project sites, the CLA, and natural gas distribution line) would involve take, in the form of capture and harassment, of all of these individuals." (p. 56) As many as 35 juveniles and 139 tortoise eggs are estimated to be on the project site, but only 15% of juveniles will survive it is thought.
"If 3 desert tortoises are killed or injured in any 1 year as a result of any construction, operation, maintenance, decommissioning, or restoration activities covered by this biological opinion, the Bureau must re-initiate consultation, pursuant to the implementing regulations for section 7(a)(2) of the Endangered Species Act at 50 Code of Federal Regulations 402.16, on the proposed action. This term and condition also applies to direct mortality and injury of desert tortoises during translocation and post-translocation monitoring on the resident, control, and translocated populations (i.e., due to handling, road kills caused by personnel working on the project). However, it does not apply to post-translocation mortality within these populations that is not connected directly to an action required to carry out the translocation and monitoring effort." (p. 60-61)
"By 'capture,' we mean the act, by authorized biologists (and monitors working under their supervision), of removing desert tortoises from their home ranges to be placed in a quarantine facility, translocated, or moved a short distance from harm's way. By 'harassment,' we mean the act, by authorized biologists, of collecting blood or conducting other invasive health assessments that may result in the likelihood of injury or mortality; see the regulatory definition of harassment in the Incidental Take Statement section of this biological opinion.' (Table footnotes)
Then the unthinkable happened: on October 21 a tortoise was killed. The report is sketchy, but apparently a tortoise was hit along a road and had to be taken to a veterinarian where it was euthanized. It remains to be seen how the company will handle this balancing act of not harming more tortoises while trying to get as much construction done as possible before federal funding deadlines close this year. The low initial estimates may have been due to 2007 surveys being done during a drought, when most tortoise remained hidden underground, skewing counts. Since then, rainier months in 2010 may have brought out more tortoises. Nature does not always cooperate with human schedules.
Tortoise surveys were surveys done in 2007. But this spring was during a drought. So tortoises were apparently not coming out of their burrows much. (Summer 2007 was wet, and many tortoises were seen, feeding on a garden of fall-flowering annual wildflowers.) Then in 2010 a wet year occurred, and all the tortoises come above ground. The trouble is not the surveyors, but the methodology. US Fish and Wildlife Service uses a presence-absence survey to guess the density of a tortoise population before construction begins. But this is a survey method that cannot possibly estimate numbers, only presence; then a statistical equation plus weather data are applied to try to come up with a population number. This does not seem to be working. It would take too much time and money to do the types of surveys that can actually estimate population density, like line distance sampling or mark-recapture. This is what happens when politics tries to bend science to its needs.
^An Ivanpah Valley tortoise rests in the shade of a shrub.
Calico Solar Project
At the August 18, 2010 California Energy Commission evidentiary hearing for the Calico Solar Project by Tessera Solar, which would be located in prime Desert tortoise habitat 40 miles east of Barstow, San Bernardino County, a bombshell was dropped. New guidance from the California Department of Fish and Game was worked into the tortoise translocation plan: 50% of all tortoises moved would be estimated to die, due to stress and predation. Also, 50% of resident tortoises at the recipient sites would also die, due to competition with the moved tortoises, and stress. Even 5% of tortoises at control sites would die due to the stress of handling (equal numbers of tortoises must be radio-telemetered in the translocation group, host group, and control groups to compare a population that was not subject to translocation activities). To top it off, the juvenile tortoise population would suffer an 85% mortality rate, because they are difficult to find and move out of harms' way. This would happen at every project site where tortoises had to be translocated.
At the August 25 hearing, premier tortoise biologist Dr. Kristin Berry, of United States Geological Survey-Biological Resources Division, was invited by the Energy Commission to clarify the biology of tortoise translocation. She has been studying the Desert tortoise since 1970, helped list the California population of the tortoise in 1990, and has several study plots in the Mojave Desert where she carries out research on tortoise diseases and translocation impacts.
The Calico site has surprised even the biologists by having more tortoises than expected, as determined by spring 2010 surveys. New guidance from US Fish and Wildlife Service directs calculating the population using equations based on the number of tortoise found to estimate the number of tortoise actually present, as most tortoises are usually hidden underground in their burrows.
Energy Commission biologists calculated that as many as 189 tortoises may be present on the project site and therefore have to be moved. Estimates were 93 adults and subadults, 96 juveniles, and 436 eggs. California Department of Fish and Game stated that this would be the largest "take" permit they would ever have issued for tortoises.
Tessera had prepared only a draft Tortoise Translocation Plan, yet expected to begin moving tortoises in a phased approach this fall. Fish and Wildlife Service only allows the Federally Threatened tortoise to be translocated in September-October, and April-May, if weather conditions allow.
Dr. Berry wasted no time attacking the proposed tortoise translocation for the Calico project. She said it did not appear well-planned, nor science-based, but hastily put together and not supported by quantitative data measuring annual and perennial vegetation, soils, and surficial geology (which would give the suitability of areas for burrowing). Berry continued that the plan drew on USGS tortoise habitat models, but that this was not validated locally. She said the translocation plan authors were using layers of assumptions unsupported by science, such as the phrase 'carrying capacity' without definition.
So high were the estimated tortoise numbers to be moved, that the agencies balked. Tessera was asked to reduce the acreage of their project drastically (by 45%), moving out of the main density of tortoises on the upper alluvial fan. Tessera opted to remove the flood-control detention basins along the top of the project, and keep a similar number of 26,540 Stirling dishes so they could keep their high megawatt output. This may create other problems, however, as with this alternative project layout no flood drainage plan was enacted, and this angered the railway, BNSF, whose track lay downhill in the midst of the sprawling development.
On October 28, 2010, the California Energy Commission approved the Calico Solar Project, estimating only 22 tortoises would be found in the reduced project footprint. Yet the translocation plan was only received six days prior to the licensing hearing, giving the public and parties involved no time to review it. There was still no evidence given that off-site land should be found and purchased that would mitigate for habitat lost to the project. And no studies have yet shown the enhancement measures such as fencing will actually raise the carrying capacity of an area. Under the California Endangered Species Act, impacts must be fully mitigated, and all actions must be shown to work. The tortoise is both a Federally Threatened and State Threatened species.
The unprecedented action of allowing hibernating tortoises in their burrows to be fenced off and construction begun around them, was included in the translocation plan. No other approved solar project has allowed this. The danger exists that as SunCatcher poles are vibrated into the ground around burrow openings, they will actually hit the underground part of the burrow. Tortoise burrows may go 15 feet long under the desert surface, and make unpredictable sharp turns in various directions. The pole-driving vibrations could also have disturbing impacts on the tortoises as well.'
Lessons From Fort Irwin
At the August 25 Calico Solar Project evidentiary hearing with the California Energy Commission, Defenders of Wildlife testified as to the impacts that translocating large numbers of tortoises has had during expansion of the Fort Irwin National Training Center. This translocation was very well-studied.
In one part of the translocation process, Dr. Kritin Berry was in charge of moving 158 tortoises in March 2008:
- By December 2008, 43 tortoises were dead or dying and 15 were missing.
- By December 2009, 27 more tortoises died, and 20 were missing. The death rate so far was 44.7%.
- In January 2010 only 68 tortoises were alive, 20 missing.
- 8 died in 2010 up to August, and a total of 23 missing; the mortality rate was 11.6%.
- The grand total of all years was 49% dead by August, and 23 missing (where often a predator tore off the radio transmitter).
Dr. Berry stated that this was a very high death rate, mostly due to coyote and raven predation. Drought years such as 2007 exacerbated coyote predation. Even adult tortoises were being killed by ravens flipping the reptiles over and pecking at their cloaca and hindlegs. Feral dogs also are a problem. Two tortoises were killed by vehicles on dirt roads. One tortoise was bitten by a rattlesnake, and another was killed by a Golden eagle. A few died of hyperthermia (over-heating). One died of gout.
She had another study plot in the area, at Daggett, to research epidemiology. From January to August 2010 the plot had only 2.5% mortality out of 78 tortoises. Another study site in the Soda Mountains has had no deaths.
Having studied the Desert tortoise since 1970, Berry said she has seen several populations with high density decline markedly due to disease and other threats. We no longer have high density populations in the state. So the Calico site, formerly considered of low to moderate density, now becomes more important, especially since it is remote from towns. "With the continued decline of the tortoise in California, and our inability to stabilize populations, the Calico population becomes more important. I would not have said this 15 to 20 years ago. Now I do," she stated.
Dr. Berry stressed the need for a very sound study plan for translocation, with quantitative and qualitative information. There are many types of creosote bush communities, we need to know the ages of alluvial fan surfaces -- some are 100-500 years old, others are 500,000 years old. This affects vegetation and burrows. The plans need more careful treatment of disease as well.
The Mojave population of the Desert tortoise was federally listed in 1990, and by 1994 Critical Habitat was designated and published in a Recovery Plan, based on information available at the time, and the state of the populations at the time. Dr. Berry said that 20 years later, populations have declined greatly, and the West Mojave population crashed. So now the Critical Habitat design sometimes no longer has viable habitat. Areas outside such Critical Habitat now become more important.
Ashleigh Blackford of the US Fish and Wildlife Service responded that "we understand this project is not about recovery. It is about minimization."
But the risk to the tortoise is extinction.
^A male tortoise dines on green plantain (Plantago ovata) in spring.
Translocated tortoises will try to go back to their home range, pushing against fences newly put up to exclude them. Tortoises need to drink, and will use the same drinking site year after year -- a scrape they dig in a hard desert surface that collects rainwater. They have a long-term memory, and if moved will not know where to drink.
^Scrape perhaps dug by a jackrabbit in desert pavement. These collect rainwater and serve as drinking stations for animals. Tortoise dig similar "dishes."
^Female tortoise in a large wash next to the proposed Ridgecrest Solar Power Project in the West Mojave Desert.
^Tortoise burrow at the proposed Silver State Solar Project in Ivanpah Valley, Nevada.
^Tortoise carcass. This may become all too common if translocation dominates the management of tortoises.
Cumulative Impacts
The tally of tortoise numbers on the solar projects in California and Nevada is large. The numbers seem to show some areas have had recent die-offs but could recover in the future as the habitat is good (as in the Ivanpah project, California). Other areas are dense still. Only Genesis looks like it may be too low for a tortoise population in the present climatic phase, but just down the valley at Desert Sunlight there is a surprisingly high density at a slightly higher elevation.
Calico Solar Project (Tessera Solar) - 78 tortoises in revised project footprint (Jeff Aardahl Rebuttal testimony, Intervenor Defenders of Wildlife, July 29, 2010). 189 tortoises estimated on August version of the project site, including 93 adults/subadults and 96 juveniles, as well as an estimated 436 eggs. (CEC August 25, 2010 evidentiary hearing). 4.7 tortoises/km2 in Ord-Rodman DWMA, recipient area for translocation, with signs of die-off 2-3 years ago (CEC evidentiary hearing August 5, 2010). Project footprint since reduced.
Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System (BrightSource Energy) - 25 found with sign of die-off (2007-2008 surveys, with 97 carcasses, 214 burrows, (ISEGS PMPD).
Blythe Solar Power Project (Solar Millennium and Chevron Energy Solutions) - 4 tortoises on project site as of October 25, 2010, possibly as many as 20, but there may have been a population crash - 65 burrows and 383 shell remains (FEIS and BLM personal communication).
Palen Solar Power Project (Solar Millennium and Chevron Energy Solutions) - 0 on project site, 7 in Buffer Area and Proposed Project Study Area. 4 burrows in Buffer Area, 59 carcasses /bone fragments, including 1 on project site (May 7, 2010 letter from AECOM to CEC).
Genesis Solar Energy Project (NextEra) - 0 on project site. 30 bone fragments outside project area, most mineralized, may be very old - a few thousand years (June 11, 2010 letter from Tetra Tech EC, Inc. to CEC).
Desert Sunlight Solar Project (First Solar) - 40 on Project Study Area (estimated 55-85 tortoises), 15 (20-30 estimated) on Preferred Project Site footprint (Biological Assessment 2009).
Silver State Solar Project (First Solar, formerly NextLight) - 4 on project site. 18 carcass/bone fragments on site. 95 burrows/cover sites on site. 28 scats on project site, 20 the year of survey. About 20 - 50 tortoises/mile2 (Sundance Biology, Inc. -CH2M HILL, Inc., October 2009, Presence/Absence Survey for the Desert Tortoise (Gopherus agassizii), on the Proposed Silver State Solar Project in Ivanpah Valley, Clark County, Nevada). 150 estimated tortoises on project site (BLM Scoping Meeting June 1, 2010). Our estimate is higher due to very dense burrows and sign during site visits in 2009, burrows and sign more common than at Calico.
Lucerne Valley Solar Project (Chevron Energy Solutions) - 2 on project site, 7 in Buffer Area. 5 carcass/bone fragments on or near project site. 33 burrows on project site, 30 in 500-foot Buffer Area, 44 in adjacent areas (FEIS).
Ridgecrest Solar Power Project (Solar Millennium) - 40 on project site, including 12 juveniles., 23 adults, 5 not measured. Density estimate 8.1-9.8 tortoises/km2. (West Mojave USFWS rangewide monitoring transects using line-distance sampling: 4.7/km2 in 2007, Northeast Mojave 1.7/km2 in 2007. Nearby Fremont Peak tortoise study plot dropped from 39/km2 in 1980 to zero in 2007. Fremont Valley-more than 100/km2 in 1981 to about 10/km2 in 2007 (CEC Workshop in Ridgecrest, May 3, 2010).
Amargosa Photovoltaic Solar Project (Pacific Solar Investments) -1 in Right-of-Way. The Amargosa Valley tortoise population is not dense, but genetically unique and less ridden with disease than in other parts of the desert. It should not be fragmented.
Amargosa Farm Road Solar Project (Solar Millennium) - 0 on project site according to the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, but we have found burrows here.
Lathrop Wells Solar Project (Abengoa Solar) - not surveyed yet.
If the ISEGS project is any indication, many of these counts may be underestimates.
HOME.....Ivanpah Solar Electric Generating System.....Calico Solar Project
Ridgecrest Solar Power Project.....Chuckwalla Valley Projects.....Silver State


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Instead of getting a pattern I decided to copy shorts I already own and feel comfortable in.
I used the pair to make a paper pattern (using the pages of the past months of my wall calender) copying the form and size of the pieces plus seamallowance.
Now it's time to trace the pieces on the fabric once, then flip the pattern over and trace a second, mirrored piece. If you have directional fabric as my stripes, pay attention to cut all pieces in the same direction.
The last piece needed is a 6 inch wide strip for the upper border.
First take the two leg pieces and iron the lower edge for 1/4 of an inch towards the inside.
The turn the folded edge over another time, ironing a hem of about 1/2 an inch towards the inside of the fabric so that the raw edge is hidden inside the hem.
Now fix the seam by sewing straight along the inner edge of the hem.
The next step is to close the single leg, joining the two edges forming the inner side of the leg as shown below.
Once the legs are closed, the two legs need to be joined to form the body of the shorts. Sew a straight seam where pieces are pinned together. The upper picture shows the back, the lower picture the front part of the shorts.
Now we need to prepare the upper border. Measure the circumference of the upper edge of the shorts and prepare the border strip of the same length considering seam allowance on both edges where a hem has to be sewn as shown in the picture below.
Then iron the strip in half lengthwise.
Turn the strip into a closed circle joining the two hemmed edges for about 3/4 of their length, leaving approximately 1/2 of an inch open (this is where the drawstring will go).
The next step is to attach the border to the shorts. Pin the border in place all around the upper edge of the shorts, making sure the open part of the seam as shown above is on the outside of the front of the shorts.
Sew all around the shorts attaching the border to the body of the shorts.
Turn the border over and and the shorts are almost ready. Now take the drawstring and insert it into the border through the opening at the front using a safety pin as a guide.
Draw the string all the way throught the border, get the safety pin out and you're finished.
And this is your shorts will look like:
Have you made a project following this tutorial? Let me know what you think. Did you like it? Was it easy to understand and to follow? Do you have any suggestions?
Write a comment or send me an email using the contact form at the bottom of the page.


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Easter Sunday
Does God really exists? Why does God allow evils?
The common argument by atheists is that if there is really a God, then we should not have evils in this world. The existence of evil in the world is not prove of Gods non existence, but a proof of the wickedness of men that he has allowed to choose between evil and good, according to their consciences.
Genesis 1 vs. 31 – Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So the evening and the morning were the sixth day.
- The word of God makes us to realise that all things God created are good
- God does not create evil but allows evil to happen to anyone that challenges His powers and disobeyed His laws. Even this is after a lot of rebukes, warnings, and mercies.
- If you see any evil around you or experience any evil, know surely that this is from the devil not from God
- God created Satan, the author of all evils. And God at times allow Satan to afflict Christians as a test of faith.
- In many other cases, the sin of men and women make them open to various attacks by Satan
- You need to stand against any evil, reject it, cancel it and pray against it
- Don't allow yourself to be cheated by the devil who sponsors and spreads evil.
- No everything that happens is ordained by God.
- Every good thing that happens to you may be natural, the result of your human effort or by divine providence.
- Everything evil thing that happens to you maybe as a result of your own mistakes or failures, punishment for sin, or sponsored by Satan as an affliction.
- The most important thing is that if you are a child of God and your ways are right before God, No evil shall happen to you apart from occasional afflictions which you can bear- to test your faith and make you a stronger Christian.
- I rebuke and speak against every evil works against your life in Jesus name
- Let goodness and mercy pursue you daily in Jesus name.
email@example.com +2348035897435


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This item is a collector plate numbered 8098 B titled, "Shall We Dance" from the King And I series of plates from Knowles China. The plate is 8 1/2" in diameter by 15/16" deep at the rim. The central decoration depicts Anna and the King dancing with a column and potted palm in the background. The plate is in mint condition and comes in the original issue box with the COA. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or to make an offer.
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text: BENNINGTON Former Republican State Sen. Mark Shepard of Bennington has announced plans to launch a write-in campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives against Congressman Peter Welch. Welch, a Democrat, is running for reelection unopposed. It is very disheartening to see that there is no strong candidate on the ballet as an option to Rep. Welch, he said, thats why I am running as a write-in candidate. I know that this is not because Vermont lacks more qualified people for that job. Nearly every small business person has a better grasp of basic economic principles and how wrong it is to take what one person earns and give it to another, most especially when it goes to reward failure. That is the essence of the financial bailout and why even if Rep. Welch was the only name on the ballot, Vermonters should not bail him out with a vote on Nov. 4. Shepard grew up on his familys multigenerational farm, called Sheps Berry Patch, in Hartland, Vt. The family farm is where I learned to work and work hard. Its also where I learned to appreciate the traditions, values and the people who make the Vermont way of life what it is,he said. Shepard and his wife Rebecca are raising another generation of Vermonters, four boys, in Bennington where the write-in candidate runs a successful small business. In addition to his family and business duties, Shepard has served his community as a twice-elected state senator, where he has become a respected champion for good jobs, lower taxes, and limited government. Over the past 15 years or so, Vermonters have gotten higher taxes and a bigger more controlling government and the result has been a harder and harder life for working people, he said. Now our young people and middle class families are leaving in record numbers to escape our state. This is wrong, and this is what I want to change. Shepard was born in 1960 in Windsor. He graduated from Hartland Elementary School and Hartford High School, later earned the journeyman electrician's license, and received a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering with honors at the University of Florida. He was a research specialist in semiconductor research at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and went on to receive a Master of Engineering degree in electrical engineering/automation and robotics at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. I am hoping to help give Vermonters a way of expressing their dissatisfaction with Welch voting yes on the bailout, and likely only because he was essentially unopposed, Shepard said. In voting for Bush's $700 billion bailout, Peter took Vermonters for granted and if at all posible Vermonters should fire him. My website is still set from last run at www.shepardforcongress.org. So Vermonters can get a feel for who I am.


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Rich Schefren to me
show details Jan 25 (2 days ago) Reply
Hey Val,
You know the old joke…"He's a legend in his own mind?"
Well this Sunday, my personal mentor and famed marketing
maven JAY ABRAHAM is joining me for a historic
teleconference with one mission in mind:
To begin transforming YOU into a legend in your prospects'
Put simply, Jay and I are going to make you famous.
For two solid hours, we're going to help you take the first
giant steps to transforming yourself into the dominant
thought leader... the leading authority... THE MAVEN in your
And we're also going to invite you to join us to complete the
process ... IN PERSON!
This call is absolutely essential for you if you really, truly and
sincerely want your online or offline business to explode past
all of your other competitors…
If you genuinely want to see your income multiply
And if you want to see your business, productservice – and
yourself – catapulted into stratospheric levels of respect,
response and financial prosperity.
In network theory and sociology, a maven is someone who
has a disproportionate influence, power and ethical control
over all the other members of the network.
The role of a maven in propagating true knowledge and
defining market preferences has been well established in a
wide range of fields, from politics to social trends.
In recent years, respected economists have spent a great
deal of time studying the powerful influence that mavens
have over markets and all the people who make them up.
You see, if a marketplace depends on information, then the
people with the most information must be THE most
Between us, Jay and I have helped hundreds of entrepreneurs,
business owners and marketers achieve maven status in their
They are seen by the marketing world as the most trusted
experts in their fields. Our clients are recognized by their
markets (and their jealous competitors) as being the most
influential voices in their marketing universes.
Their markets have concluded that the people we've worked
with must have the most quality information, the most
important information, and the greatest understanding.
Consequently, our clients become THE "go to" source. They
are the ultimate authorities, the guiding lights, the thought
leaders of their field.
And once we do this for you, the benefits that go along with
attaining this level of prestige, respect, esteem and influence
begin flowing almost instantly:
-- You become the first choice provider of information,
products, services.
-- You command premium pricing and thus, earn markedly
greater profit margins than your competition.
-- Your marketing is eagerly awaited, enthusiastically
embraced and totally trusted by all who receive it. Hence,
far more people buy. Their loyalty levels shoot off the
-- New success and wealth flow to you naturally...
automatically... and your income explodes by an order of
And it all begins for YOU this Sunday, January 27th!
Registration for this historic event is strictly limited – and
If you know anything at all about me, you know that my
clients pay me millions of dollars every year to help them
achieve dominance in their markets.
And if you know anything about Jay, you know that his
clients eagerly pay him $5,000 per hour for his inspired
But this Sunday, you get BOTH of us for TWO FULL HOURS...
focusing 100% of our energies, experience and genius on
lifting you head and shoulders above your competition and
getting you all the attention from prospects you deserve --
Space is strictly limited: You must register NOW!
More than 300,000 entrepreneurs and marketers are reading
this invitation right now – but to keep this historic one-time
event intimate, we've reserved only 1000 slots.
The ONLY way I can guarantee you'll have the opportunity to
attend is for you to click one of these links to register now!
Click here to register for the 12:00pm Eastern time call
Click here to register for the 5:00pm Eastern time call
Then, just watch your inbox for instructions on how to
I urge you, Val -- DO NOT miss this
one-time only event. Click one of these links to register
To higher profits,


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Description: Echo Park Connecticut Paper from the Stateside Collection is double-sided scrapbook paper. One side has been divided into 3 x 4 inch and 6 x 4 inch cards, that can be cut apart and used separately, printed with the state flag, road map and caption of "Constitution State". The reverse side has a photographic weathered wood background with a silhouette of the state and "Connecticut" with a banner "EST. 1788". Acid and lignin free. 65 lb. 12 x 12 inch.
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Huntington Beach High School's Sustainability Club is exactly what its name suggests. It's self sufficient after just three years of being in existence, not relying on the Huntington Beach Union High School District for any funding.
"The Sustainability program is definitely sustainable, it doesn't cost taxpayers or the district a dollar," said Greg Goran, Huntington Beach High Sustainability Club director and teacher of social studies and an Environmental Awareness and Responsibility class. "We actually generate money for the district."
Goran hopes the club can increase what it raises for the district. It currently generates about $500 a month through its recycling program and organic garden, the produce from which is sold to SlapFish — a sustainable seafood restaurant in Huntington Beach.
About three weeks ago, Goran had the about 35 students in his Environmental Awareness and Responsibility class, which is part of the club, begin an energy audit at Huntington Beach High.


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RECAP: Blue Hour Thursdays @ LGS Toronto - Guest Speaker Ian Willms3 Share Tweet
Photographer Ian Willms was our guest speaker at last week's Blue Hour. He gave us a great talk and a look into the heart of Detroit with his Holga. Check out the recap!
Last week, we invited photographer Ian Willms to speak about his Detroit series to an eager Blue Hour crowd. He did not disappoint, showing us a ton of awesome photos, and providing a great talk about his creative process, inspirations, and of course, Detroit. Make sure you check out his website, and don't miss the next Blue Hour! Thanks Ian!
Why Blue Hour?
The term comes from the French expression l'heure bleue, which refers to the period of twilight each morning and evening after the sun goes below the horizon and the sky goes into deep blue for a while. The quality of light during this time is a godsend for photographers, just as the quality of fun during our Blue hour is a godsend for you!
Lomography Gallery Store Toronto
536 Queen St West
Toronto, Canada
phone: (647) 352-6702
Opening Hours
Mon – Wed: 10:00 am – 7:00 pm
Thu – Sat: 10:00 am – 8:00 pm
Sun: 12:00 am – 6:00 pm
Don't forget to Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and become a fan of our LomoHome!
2011-03-29 #news #toronto #event #lomography-gallery-store #holga #blue-hour #recap #detroit #ian-willms


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So, I got booooooks this week. Finally!
- Cheat the Grave and The Neon Graveyard by Vicki Pettersson - These are the final two books in the Zodiac series - and I'm afraid I had to go out and get the horrid US covers. I would have gotten the UK ones... if they existed.
- Corsets and Clockwork: 13 Steampunk Romances (Trisha Telep) - OK, yes this editor has gotten a whole lot of heat lately. And I completely and utterly understand (and agree) with that. But this anthology features a bunch of my very favourite authors (including some that pulled out of other anthologies because of Telep), so they are the ones I am reading for. I'm talking about Ann Aguirre, Maria V. Snyder, and Caitlin Kittredge (among others, of course).
- Chain Reaction by Simone Elkeles - WHOOT!
- Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin - This is a vampire novel written by a living legend in fantasy... and it is set on a riverboat. What more can you possibly ask for?
- Chime by Franny Billingsley - When I had first heard about this book, I hadn't been at all interested. Not only little bit. And then my twitter lit up with comments about it (then amazon had it on sale for £3.50), and suddenly I found myself looking forward to getting my hands on it.


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I have a dear friend, who I adore for her generosity, kindness and inspiration. She is such a talented cookie. She found out a couple weeks ago that the baby in her tummy is a wee girl, and will be blessed with her grandmother's name. I wanted to make something special for her, because Neak has been such a rock for me the past year.
I was having a read through one of my favourite blogs, Tiny Happy and found this gorgeous knitted crossover dressed, called Blossom. So I went on the hunt for some lovely wool, and thanks to the Knitworld Sale, I found some gorgeous Cashmerino. Unfortunately, it was sold as unlabeled, so I can't tell you which scrummy brand it is, but it feel exactly like Sublime Cashmere Merino Silk.
To soften the the colour for a new baby, I crocheted a picot edge in a pale pink Bamboo-cotton blend and added simple embroidered flowers and french knots in perle 5 cotton. The crossover ties at the back with a satin ribbon, in pale pink again.
I have also knitted up Saartje's Booties in the same yarns. I LOVE this pattern. Simple and quick and just the most delicate little booties.
The pattern calls for 4ply yarn knit on 2.75mm needles, but since I had 8ply wool, I used 4.5 mm needles and modified the pattern slightly to a 27 stitch cast-on for a newborn size. I think they will fit a newborn, and not for long, but SO amazing cute. Since wee Nina will be sharing her grandmother's name, I dug out my grandmother's button collection and found the perfect pearl-like buttons.
There may be a hat to come, but still searching for perfect pattern. Any suggestions are welcome.


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One of our biggest worries in our review of the Motorola Droid RAZR was with the non-removable battery. A 1780 mAh power source that can't be replaced on a power-hungry 4G LTE device is just asking for trouble.
That fear has been addressed with the new Motorola Droid RAZR MAXX. In a nutshell, you've got a slightly thicker Droid RAZR with nearly double the battery life of the orginal RAZR thanks to a 3300 mAh battery.
Now, normally when you have that kind of capacity, you've also got an unsightly wart or huge humpback that makes you embarrassed to take the phone out of your pocket. But the Droid RAZR MAXX beefs up in style, adding just a milimeter or so of thickness. In fact, if you stare at the two phones long enough, you start to forget which is which.
Otherwise, same old (excellent) RAZR. Hope you early adopters aren't kicking yourselves too much right now.
We've got a full hands-on after the break.


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Recent Posts
Styling A Coffee Table For Fall
Decor / October 15, 2016
Styling a coffee table for Fall. Today is a very exciting day! I am teaming up with an amazing group of talented Decor Bloggers for a fun Blog Hop where we share how we have styled our coffee tables this season. I'd love to say…
Temporary Wallpaper
Style At Home / October 7, 2015
Allow me to start off by saying that this is the smallest apartment I have ever lived in and at first, it was a huge challenge in figuring out the layout of this space. Instead of adopting a Scandinavian approach to small space living, I decided…
Pillow Talk
Decor / August 17, 2015
I am unequivocally a pillow hoarder and I am not ashamed to admit it! I actually have a huge stash of pillow covers in my linen closet and I'm pretty sure I have every color in the rainbow covered at this point. LOL As an Interior…
Styling A Dresser
Decor / August 13, 2015
I recently moved into a tiny apartment and needed to maximize every square inch as possible. Knowing that this new pad was going to be temporary, I needed affordable furniture that would do double duty and so I went straight to IKEA and picked up…
A Glamorous Modern Home
Style At Home / August 6, 2015
I am so excited to welcome you into the home of my beautiful and amazingly talented friend Liana! This gorgeous renovated, two-story Toronto house has just the right mix of modern, organic elegance that truly speaks to my heart. Liana designed and decorated every square…
Freshen Up Small Spaces
Style At Home / July 28, 2015
Is it just me or do we get a bit bored of our decor after a while and yet again crave a little change? For small spaces like my entryway, I'm always looking for ways to brighten up and bring a bit of freshness into it.…
A Chic Outdoor Oasis
Decor / July 27, 2015
If you live in a city high rise like I do, then you may have a tiny sliver of outdoor space to enjoy year round ..... and it's called a balcony! I absolutely love living way up with breathtaking and panoramic views of the bay…
A Boutique Hotel Inspired Guest Bedroom
Trends / July 6, 2015
"Beachy doesn't always have to be blue and a one-of-a-kind design starts with choosing the unexpected!" I recently worked with a beautiful young couple who purchased their first home. With a small budget but high demand for style, they wanted their home to feel like a…
4th Of July Decor
Style At Home / July 1, 2015
Wait a minute..... when did it all of a sudden turn into July? The year sure is flying by and I'm just trying to keep up with all the changes it's bringing. I am however super stoked for this weekend's 4th of July celebrations with great friends,…
Step Into My Home Office
Decor / June 29, 2015
Welcome to my home office! This small space is where all the action happens on a daily basis from planning my client's home renovations to CAD renderings of room designs, to blogging about my favorite topics...... and the occasional "planning to take over the world!"{Haha…


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Spare Room Ideas
One way to make the most of your home is to give unused rooms a purpose. Refresh your extra spaces with these useful and stylish spare room ideas
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ITEM#: 21738623WILTON-Fanci-Foil Wrap. This Food-safe foil is ideal for wrapping your cake boards, and lining plates and baskets. It's Grease and moisture resistant so cakes aren't the only thing it's good for! Measurement: 25 sq.ft. (20 inches x 15 feet) roll. Various colors are available (each sold separately). Made in USA.
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One way to make the most of your home is to give unused rooms a purpose. Refresh your extra spaces with these useful and stylish spare room ideas
A dedicated craft room is every crafter's dream. Maintain a clean and orderly craft room and ensure that your supplies are easy to access with these creative ideas for craft room organization.
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Fanci-Foil Wrap 20"X15'-White - White
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Behavioral Health Billing Service
Every Mental health care organization irrespective of its size, needs a sound Medical Billing partner to manage and help your revenue cycle flow in a sustainable way. For mental health care providers it becomes really tough to manage their revenue cycle effectively as they offer
- Wide range of mental and social services
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Medphine has all required experience to deal with the complications coming in the way of a Mental / Behavioral Health practice.
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We know the art of simplifying the complexities which occur during the process of submitting insurance claims for Mental health care. We are HIPAA compliant and take utmost care of PHI. Feel free to discuss our compliance policy with your account managers.
With new reforms and regulations introduced by CMS, quality care is becoming essential. Mental health care service needs even more attention and time investment in the treatment process. We help you invest all your quality time to focus on patient care rather than engaging in paperworks, reports, and other administrative aspects for receiving proper reimbursement.


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Wednesday, September 7, 2011
First Impressions: Fantastic Four
The same way I knew The Flash and Iron Man without actually knowing who they were as a kid, I knew The Human Torch. I had no concept of who was under those flames and certainly no idea that he was part of something called the Fantastic Four, but I recognized—and dug—that a guy colored red with little black lines running up and down him and underwear you could still see underneath meant he was on fire and a super hero (even though just about every artist since the late 90's has gone over to depicting a slightly more "realistic" version of the Torch's flamed on form, in my mind the black lines and yellow eyes ala Kirby will always be what I default to).
Truth be told, I'm even less sure than usual how I came to know The Human Torch. Usually my gut goes with thinking I must have watched a cartoon and picked it up, but the Torch was infamously left out of the late 70's animated series because the powers that be thought young viewers might light themselves on fire and was replaced by H.E.R.B.I.E. I know I watched the 90's FF portion of the Marvel Action Hour, but I definitely was drawing the Torch before I was 12. Maybe I saw a toy or a t-shirt? Not sure, but regardless, I knew who The Human Torch was before I knew who or what the Fantastic Four were.
Sometime later, still before I read my first FF comic but also definitely aware I became aware of The Human Torch, The Thing came on my radar. Again, I'm not quite sure how it happened, but certainly Marvel characters were licensed all over the place dating back to when I was a kid, so it's not unlikely I saw a lunchbox or whatever and the two most visually striking characters jumped out at me while the others receded into the background; honestly, I wouldn't be surprised to find that my established childhood fascination with the colors red and yellow—it wasn't a coincidence Flash and Iron Man were my earlier examples—drew my eye first to the Torch, but surely the big dude with the dinosaur head made of rocks proved an irresistible lure to my young eyes.
I got my first Fantastic Four comic in a grab bag from the grocery store in 1988. I was six years old and it was issue #314, written by Steve Englehart, drawn by Keith Pollard, sporting a cover from Ron Frenz and edited by my recently-retired former co-worker Ralph Macchio. Belasco was the bad guy and the blurb next to him on front reading "From the pages of the X-Men" no doubt increased my excitement to read the book. I don't remember much about the story other than that the FF were fighting demons, the sky was on fire at some point and a blind lady who was married to The Human Torch was really worried about him.
Oh, and the roster of the Fantastic Four was The Thing, The Human Torch, Ms. Marvel in her "She-Thing" incarnation and, of course…Crystal.
Again, recall that The Thing and The Human Torch were the only FF characters I knew; I had some vague idea that there was supposed to be a stretchy guy and a girl on the team, but I assumed Crystal was the girl and maybe I made the stretchy guy up or he was actually on the Justice League. It seemed odd to me that there was a female Thing, but I didn't know any better so I assumed she had always been there; likewise, The Thing being extra mutated didn't faze me because I was at least familiar with the concept of new costumes.
As far as I knew, The Thing, The Human Torch, Ms. Marvel and Crystal had been the Fantastic Four for over 300 issues.
Like some sort of crazy therapy hypnosis session, I do believe writing this blog entry has helped me recall exactly when my hatred for Crystal began. Like I said, there's a scene in this issue where Alicia Masters—Johnny's blind wife whose name I did not know at the time—is freaking out with the rest of the world's population because the sky is on fire and she's worried about her husband. On the flipside, the Torch keeps saying how worried he is about his wife since they're underground fighting demons and he doesn't know what's happened to her. In the midst of this, Crystal keeps hitting on Johnny and wanting to talk about why he won't get with her despite him repeatedly telling her to knock it off.
At six years old, with no knowledge of continuity or that Crystal had a husband of her own she was mistreating or a kid she had ditched to chase after her old boyfriend, I understood enough about the basic dynamics of marriage to know that this bimbo was bad news. I was a really smart kid.
Looking back, while I would gradually track down further issues of comics my dad would randomly bring me home in grab bags like X-Men and Spider-Man, it would be years before I ever got into reading Fantastic Four, and I think I now know why. While I'm sure there were merits to this particular version of the book, to a kid, all I saw was a super hero team with nothing to set it apart other than a reduced roster. Why would I want to read about only four characters when I could instead pick up Avengers or Justice League and see many more? Besides, two strong ugly characters seemed redundant and I didn't understand Crystal's powers.
It really goes to show how intrinsic to the value of the Fantastic Four that family dynamic is. I've since gone back and read the really good FF stuff—Lee/Kirby, Byrne, Waid/Wieringo, etc.—and gained a whole new appreciation for it as an adult because it's so different. The banter, heightened emotions and genuine affection the core characters trade or feel for one another puts the FF on a level apart from all those other teams. Even now, while the Torch may be gone and the Four have become the Future Foundation with Spider-Man and a half dozen kids in tow, that feeling of family and casual closeness as opposed to the professionalism of the Justice League or office politics of the Avengers gives FF its own identity I couldn't see from my first Fantastic Four experience.
As a bit of a postscript, I finally gave Fantastic four another shot around 1994 when the new cartoon was rapping its way into my heart thanks to Brian Austin Green. The Thing was sporting a mask, The Invisible Woman wore a bathing suit, and Mr. Fantastic was dead, replaced alternately by Namor and the Scot Lang version of Ant-Man. So while I considered myself a pretty hardcore Marvel fan by the mid 90's, I still had no idea who Reed Richards was.
5 comments:
- TJ Dietsch said...
I had a similar first encounter with the Fantastic Four. A neighbor gave me a stack of comics including FF #335 which not only had a female Thing but was also an Acts Of Vengeance tie-in. I don't remember much about the story other than it's set in a court room, but I'm sure that confusion kept me away for a while. It wouldn't be til Heroes Reborn that I read FF regularly.
- September 7, 2011 at 11:36 PM
- Ben Morse said...
I remember that story from reading it in trade recently. It was a Walt Simonson joint where Reed Richards opposes a bill for super hero registration.
- September 7, 2011 at 11:40 PM
Wait? Reed opposed superhuman registration? But Mark Millar's Civil War shows him being for it. Did Simonson not go back and read that?
- September 8, 2011 at 7:50 PM
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text:
1 Elasias (Midsummer) 1385 DR
9:00 PM – After dispatching many of the prison escapees and slaying their apparent leader, the party notices several prisoners (several drow amongst them) who managed to slip through the fray. Stealing horses from the stable, they ride south through Loudwater, slaying any who get in their path on their way out of town. In the distance, the scream of a young girl can be heard. Without warning, Zeasla darts into the chaotic bustle of villagers and disappears into the night.
9:05 PM – The party heads south through town in the direction of the riders and the scream. They come upon Rufius, who (along with three of his mirror images) is engaged in a desperate battle to save the library from engulfing flames. While no one is inside, Rufius is desperate to save his books. The party offers to help, grabbing buckets of water and dousing the remaining flames. Sicurious also lends a helping paw, making fine use of his frost breath ability.
9:10 PM – Rufius thanks the party for their help, bemoaning the fact that he was unable to finish the job himself. He suggests that his errant frostbolts are indicitive of a problem with the Weave. He explains that the Weave is what binds the world together—a great magical force from which spellcasters draw magical power. When asked, he says he in unsure whether the strange vortexes of light in the distance are connected to this apparent disturbance in the Weave, as he has never seen anything quite like it before. He is also unsure as to a connection to the drow, as it seems quite implausible that mortals would possess the power to affect the Weave. He asks the party to keep an eye out for his pupil Aylwynn, who said she was heading in search of the drow and rushed off.
9:15 PM – As the party continues towards the southern exit of town, they come upon Enara Sunray, who is frantically tending to the wounded townspeople. She recognizes Shava and asks if she has seen a little blonde-haired girl named Kaylee. Enara has been unable to find Kaylee or the her large companion in the aftermath of the quake, and asks the party to escort her back to the temple if they find her.
9:20 PM – The party heads south out of town and towards Southwood. On the edge of the forest, they find a several horses abandoned. Footsteps lead into the forest, and the party tracks them deep inside.
11:00 PM – After following the tracks several miles into the dense foliage, they spot a woman ahead in the distance crouching behind a tree. She has long, red hair and is adorned in flowing red robes. Shava approaches the woman, who quickly introduces herself as Aylwynn and agrees to "let" the party join her in bringing revenge to the drow. She points out a small archway guarded by two drow built into the side of a hill a short distance ahead, and Kvothe and Timozel agree to scout up ahead. They find a group of archers hidden in the trees atop the hill, and the party makes quick work of them.
11:10 PM – The party discovers two strange carvings atop the archway. One is a symbol resembling a spider turned upon its back, legs in the air. The same symbol is tattooed on the faces of the drow guards who now lie dead. The other carving is a strange rune of origins completely unknown to all in the party.
11:15 – After Shava copies down the carvings in her spellbook, the party passes through the archway and into a long stone tunnel which bends around in circles down into the ground. They scope out a common room at the end of tunnel which contains several guards and a number of escaped prisoners. The mood within the base seems jovial, with raucous laughter and celebration reverberating throughout the cave. Taking them completely by surprise, the party dispatches of them in short order and continues further down the tunnel.
11:30 – The party comes upon a large wooden double door, through which two voices can distinctly be heard. The first speaks elvish, the second speaks giant. Kvothe quietly opens the door to peer inside and get a better listen. At the center of the room is a long wooden table. At the end closest to the door stand three orcs with large axes slung over their shoulders. At the opposite end of the table stands a tall drow man dressed in luxurious robes of red and black. He too bears the tattoo of the upturned spider. Timozel recognizes the crest of King Obould Many Arrows emblazoned on the orcs' armor.
The drow is trying to convince the orcs to reconsider some proposal he has made, offering the events of this evening as evidence of his master's great power. The orc who speaks for the group defiantly replies that his king's word is final, and that there will be no further negotiation. As the meeting appears to be coming to a conclusion, Timozel enters the room to the confusion of all inside. The drow asks the orcs if Timozel is with them, and the orcs ask his business there, to which Timozel responds that he came to join Obould's army. When further prodded about his specific reason for being there, Timozel notches an arrow and looses it straight towards the head drow. As the guards quickly come to the drow's defense, the lead orc bursts into laughter and agrees to kill many of these dishonorable drow alongside Timozel and his companions. The battle is fierce, and the lead drow is both surprisingly resilient and powerful. He possesses the ability to charm his enemies, using them to attack one another.
Though the party hews through the guards with the help of the orcs, the lead drow slowly makes his way out of the room and bursts down the tunnel and out of sight with Aylwynn and the orc leader in hot pursuit. As the party lags behind the chase, they hear a loud crash and the rumbling of stones. At the end of the tunnel, it splits in four directions. One of these passageways is full of rubble. The drow is nowhere to be seen.


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I must admit, I handled the little double pink lines better than I thought I would. I was a bit shocked, but mostly relieved. You see, I had been feeling quite sick and was thinking, I either have some weird disease, or I am pregnant. So yeah, I was relieved that I was not seriously ill! I walked around in shock for a couple days, because I had a four month old, and really had not even processed through his birth (you too would take a while to process through giving birth to a 10 1/2 lb. baby), and here I was making another baby! Most people have more time to recover from (and forget about)the labor, the pain, the recovery period, the newbornhood, etc. It was all too fresh in my mind. I'd like to point out here that we were being responsible and using birth control, but there's not much we could do when that failed us. We won't be using that brand anymore! 'Nough said.
Over the next few months, as the reality of having 3 kids under 3 set in, God just took me by the hand and led me through the feelings, one step at a time. It was a process, but I felt more prepared for what was coming, and excited to complete our family. God is so good- he really gave me a peace about it all. He also assured me that this delivery and this baby would be different, and easier than the last.
In my third trimester I decided I just couldn't do a hospital birth as I had planned. After having 2 homebirths, and seeing how different a hospital birth is with all their silly rules, I decided it wasn't going to work for me. Since a home birth was not an option in Redding (I couldn't find a midwife I was willing to trust with our lives), I decided to travel to Sonora to deliver with Ellie, the midwife who delivered my other babies. She graciously agreed to take me on as a patient, my parents agreed to me having baby in their home, and Daddy Man's boss graciously gave him the time off he would need to have the baby so far from home. Everything was set and ready.
God helped prepare my heart for the birth as well. As I experienced with my other births, if I can stay focused and calm labor is manageable, but if I am afraid of what is happening, it hurts like heck!! This time around I was determined to have an easier birth with less pain. The Bible says that perfect love drives out fear. God is love, so what better thing to focus on than Him during labor? I knew God had something special for me in this delivery, so I prepared myself to focus on Him and His love, and just have "God time" with Him during labor. So when my contractions finally kicked in and got more intense around 2pm on Saturday, July 31st, Daddy Man put on some worship music for me, and I felt God's presence so strongly. So I labored, with tears of joy in my eyes, experiencing God's perfect embrace and enjoying his presence so much. I sang along (in my head) with the songs during contractions to keep my head and heart in the right place. The songs that most helped me were "Liquid Love" and "I Love it When You Sing" by Janna Adams (check her out on jannaadams.com or iTunes) and "Healer" by Leah Valenzuela (on Bethel's "Here is Love" CD). Not only did I experience God's love in a powerful way during active labor and transition, but I experienced no pain. Yes, the contractions were super intense, but manageable. around 20 minutes before Amelia was born, I was still speaking the words of the songs in between contractions. "I believe that You're my Healer, I believe that You are all I need...." When I started pushing a few minutes later, my declarations and "God time" sounded more like "JESUS HELP!!" It's a good thing that I only pushed for 8 minutes, because oh man did that hurt! In the moment she was crowning (head almost out, in case you don't know) I felt that awful burning that feels like it will never end (all the mom's out there, feel free to cringe now....I know you remember the burn!) I said, "get her out!!" and she came out (you can breathe now). I pulled her up out of the water (forgot to mention that I did a water birth) and instantly felt relief and joy and pride as I gazed at my beautiful, crying, red-haired, itty bitty baby! God had prepared me, walked me through, and loved me through the whole process, leading me into such intense love for my new baby girl. What an amazing time. She cried for about 10 minutes before we could calm her down, and I jokingly said, "maybe she's getting all her crying done now, so she'll be done after this!" But in the back of my mind I thought, "uh-oh, is she going to be 'a crier'?"
After my other births I was light headed, dizzy, and exhausted. I had to sit on a stool in the shower. But this birth was different. I felt so much better, and almost immediately was ready to take a shower and be up talking to people. Since I didn't need stitches this time (yeah!!!!) I could even sit pretty comfortably. A few days later I was even walking around pretty normally. Wow, what a difference.
And baby girl? Well, she sleeps four to 6 hours at night (since day one) and goes 2 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours between eating in the day. She never cries, puts herself to sleep, and eats well. Wow, I have not had a baby like her before. I guess God knew that with two toddlers, I needed an easy baby. I am so thankful for her, and thankful that things are not as crazy as I had imagined. I have my sanity, I still have a little time to myself in the day (next post I will show you the diaper bag I am making!) and my kids are amazing. Don't think all is perfect, because I have plenty of freak-out moments, but the good times (usually) outweigh the hard times.
Welcome to the world, baby Amelia. You have brought joy to our hearts and a smile to our faces.