text:
Preaching about freedom whilst we remain complicit in another oppression

Syria, we have failed you, we have dumped you into the echelons of our memories afraid to voice our solidarity and support for you in your struggle against an oppressive regime. We have used excuses that do not justify the massacre, and remained silent as we preached about freedom.

Approximately 30 Palestinians have been tortured in Syria’s Regime jails in the month of August alone. That is an estimation of a Palestinian a day. A life drained through tactics that tormentors indulge themselves in under the name of allegiance and loyalty towards an effete system. This is the number of Palestinians in a single month. The amount of Syrians murdered has reached almost 200,000 since the Syrian people decided to rise against subjugation.

Aleppo, Syria
Aleppo, Syria

There was subtle support in the beginning and slowly our numbers began to dwindle, especially on the Palestinian front. As Palestinians we have failed not only Syria but the Palestinians caught up in the turmoil. Our Palestinian sisters and brothers, refugees from their home, were forced to stand alone. We have manufactured excuses to support a regime that hides behind its fabricated support for Palestine. Whilst simultaneously, Yarmouk bleeds as it has bled for 3 years, and we chant about liberation as we forget our very own to bleed, in the diaspora, in besieged camps.

We are complicit in this despotic system that has cost thousands of lives, displaced hundreds of thousands and leaves an entire nation coping with trauma and conflict alone. We caved in to our feeling of helplessness and our fear of voicing our objection towards this regime with our duplicity.

Assad does not support Palestine, and if we would like to entertain the thought that he does, it should not serve as justification for his oppression towards the Syrian people, including the Palestinian refugees that have been dragged into this conflict. We must not validate the mass murder and unjust incarceration of an entire people under the false pretext that this system once served the Palestinian cause. Not at the cost of the lives of others. We should not, will not, taint our cause with the blood of innocents.

It has been rationalized that the Syrian system prior to the eruption of the conflict has served the interest of Palestinian refugees in Syria. One does not get to acquit themselves of their tyrannical rule simply because they gave individuals their basic human rights. Not only does this rationalization exonerate Assad of his crimes, presenting him as a benevolent Godfather, but it is insulting to the thousands of lives that were lost.

Palestinians in Syria have become refugees once during their displacement by Israel, and once more when we have neglected them as they starved to death in a besieged camp, as they are kidnapped by regime forces only to be tortured as their families spend months with no knowledge of their whereabouts. Only to have a message sent to them, if they’re lucky, that their loved one has died.

The world has failed the Syrian people, and as Palestinians that have endured and continue to resist against oppression with the world criticizing our very tactics and routes, we have failed to show solidarity with Syria. As Homs, Damascus, Aleppo and all of Syria faced its very own form of a Nakba (catastrophe) we stood idly by. To even proliferate our failure and highlight our shame, Syrians have constantly stood by Palestine and Palestinians in their struggle. Throughout the conflict they managed to send messages of support and solidarity.

Those that preach about freedom, about solidarity and complicity. Those of us that are constantly speaking out against silence when it comes to Palestine have dumped our call in a metal box and into the abyss when it came to Syria.

Our silence is piercing and Syria will never forgive us as we should be too ashamed to even ask for its forgiveness.

To rise up, is to be unafraid. To rise up is to not be selective, it is to care. To remember the names, we don’t even remember the numbers when it comes to Syria to even begin recollecting the names. To rise up, is to stop preaching what you cannot follow.

I am sorry Syria. I am sorry. With every bullet that punctures a soul, comes a silence that exemplifies our position, and it will echo until it pierces our ears.

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text:
And now we know why….

Unemployment statistics are better than expected. Even November and December get revised upward, probably the effects of seasonal hiring. It is confirmation that economic activity is improving, fed policies are working and the Dow is up 100 + as markets continue  in breakout mode. This is probably what the market was ferreting out all along. The big question is does the news get sold or bought? Probably both!

If you haven’t chased anything and cannot do that now the obvious trade is to short gold and miners.

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warcinfo:
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description: Wide crawl of the web for December 2017
publisher: Common Crawl
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text:
Book Burning? WTF!!

Every burned book or house enlightens the world; every suppressed or expunged word reverberates through the earth from side to side. — Ralph Waldo Emerson

You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.– Ray Douglas Bradbury

Wherever they burn books, they will also, in the end, burn people. –Heinrich Heine

I would say that I can’t believe that books were ever burned or banned ‘back in the day’ – but unfortunately that still happens today…. Completely unbelievable! – just don’t get it! I don’t mean this happens only in places like China and North Korea! This is still happening in the U.S.

My cousin is a lawyer and took a school district to court, because they had banned the Harry Potter books from the library…  He won of course… and as far as i know there weren’t any books burned – but still…

I could probably go on a diatribe about how burning books or suppressing thoughts, ideas, or words is ludicrous… But I won’t – will just sum up this thought with:

Don’t join the book burners. Don’t think you’re going to conceal faults by concealing evidence that they ever existed. Don’t be afraid to go in your library and read every book… Eisenhower


text:
Wild Love Film #2: Ultra Trail Runner Krissy Moehl – “Life’s Better Shared”

Wild Love: Krissy Moehl from Andy Maser on Vimeo.

Krissy Moehl is an ultra-distance trail runner—meaning the longer the run, the better. But for a woman who runs—and wins—100-mile races through the mountains and elements, her life is about much more than racing. She’s most passionate about the people in her life—connecting and nurturing relationships even while she’s out running. A short film, Wild Love: Krissy Moehl, captures Krissy in her day-to-day life: cooking with roommates, running with friends, and giving a glimpse into why “life’s better shared.”

“[Ultrarunning] is a very individual sport, I have to take every single step to get from the start to the finish,” Krissy says in the film. “But I don’t know that I could or necessarily would want to without the energy that comes from the community that’s involved.”

Krissy is two-thirds of her way through a rigorous 2012 season. She crushed the fastest known time for the Zion Traverse with her Patagonia running teammate, Luke Nelson. She’s also attempting what could be called the “Triple Crown” of ultra-running races: Western States, Hardrock 100, and the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc.

With 4th place finishes at Western States and Hardrock under her belt, Krissy has just one rugged 20-mile race between her and Mont Blanc on August 31—a race that has taken her to some of her highest and lowest points in the last few years. But, ever inspiring and humble, Krissy said she feels more grounded and connected than ever to her community and to her sport after this year of pushing the limits.

In late June, in a super competitive field, Krissy marked her fastest 100-mile run ever—finishing in 18 hours and 29 minutes—and she points to her crew as the key to her performance.

“They pulled that out of me and pushed me forward,” she said. Justin Angle and Roch Horton, two ultra-running rockstars, paced Krissy through the challenging race. Her partner, Jon Webb, and parents, Dennis and Peggy Moehl rounded out the crew.

Many of us can’t imagine what it takes to run 100 miles. The distance and the challenge—both physically, mentally, and emotionally—would stop most of us in our tracks. But for Krissy and the rest of the ultra-running community, it’s that challenge that keeps them coming back.

“I gain the most strength by seeing myself at the weakest point. The challenge of being out there—the environment on you, the miles on you, and the physical and mental effort it takes to endure all that—that breaks you down to this weak point. That’s what takes you down to that raw real self,” Krissy said.

“But the fact that you can do it and keep going, shows you how strong you are. And then those lessons applied to life, when life takes you down and it’s hard and you feel really weak, you know that you can come back through it and find something to lift you up again—sometimes that’s another person, sometimes that’s something within.”

Wild Love Film #2: Ultra Trail Runner Krissy Moehl – “Life’s Better Shared”

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text:
Matt Kemp or Trumbo

News, Injuries, Rosters - All baseball all the time!
User avatar
Posts: 60
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 8:47 am

Matt Kemp or Trumbo

Postby tbwalsh » Tue Jul 25, 2017 8:15 am

Do I pick one up and drop Gardner or Benitendi? I just dropped Adams and it's not reflected on the signature.
Team: Tabasco Cattlemen
Yahoo, 12 man, 5x5, H2H

C- A Avila
1B- C Bellinger
2b- S Castro
SS- C Taylor
3B- Arenado
OF- M Adams
OF- Ozuna
OF- B Gardner
Util- Benintendi
Bench- Kyle Seager

SP- I Nova
SP- A Wood
SP- Jaime Garcia
RP- Herrera
RP- Kintzler
RP- Casilla
P- B McCarthy
P- D Pomeranz
Bench- A Miranda
Bench- G Marquez

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Posts: 36408
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2008 5:51 pm

Re: Matt Kemp or Trumbo

Postby Grey » Tue Jul 25, 2017 9:08 am

Benintendi for Trumbo
Grey Albright

If you want me to look at your team, post the team. Don't post a link to another site where the team is.
Have you given me all the info I need to judge your team? The number of teams in the league is a good start for the big overall questions.
Is your league H2H? Roto?
I don't know who's on your waivers. Don't just ask me who you should pick up. Give me names to choose from.
If you only have one team, post your team in your signature with the league parameters.
I don't know every single matchup for next week, so if you want me to choose a player for the following week and you think the matchups are important, tell me who they're facing.
There's more than one player with the same last name? Then spell out who you're talking about.

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The New Office

I started working in this place back in 2003 I think I don’t even remember anymore. Thing is that it was a printshop then management changed and we stayed doing only the mailing part of the magazine. I work doing the mailing process. I am the one in charge of delivering the magazine the way the post office demands and boy do they ask for stuff.

Anyways. I always went to work had many troubles cause none of the things were mine and still I had to check up that everything was there. People went in and out of the place so I gave up and didnt care at the end if things strangely disappear ’cause I addressed this problems to my bosses and they didn’t care so why should I. I have enough issues working with the mailing already so whatever.

Since last month there have been rumors that we were going to be moved to other place ’cause they needed my space to make a room for guests. I was like about damn time. I’ve been asking for a new place or for them to fix it some how along the years but never happened. There are a lot of useless machines from the printshop and other people stuff like it was a garage or something. The last thing/ huge problem we had were rats. Huge rats. So yes I wanted to move ASAP.

Thing is that this week on monday they tell me hey we are going to move you were the library used to be. I was like well that is good. I like that place it is smaller more private and I can control everything and best of all no one haves to go there except for me or my co-workers.

Tuesday I get to work and all of the sudden I have to move out ’cause they are starting construction. They are late and the room haves to be done by end of the month. Confusion cause I have a lot of stuff to move, tables, trays, desks, the magazine that is in order already. To make things worst I wasn’t going to be around to see if they moved the right things and leave them in order. I just had time to point out the things I needed and leave to the post office to deliver the issue we already had ready. So I leave and when I come back it is all moved to my “new” office.

It bothered me that I’ve been asking for them to do something there. Make it more human habitat and it never happened. Now out of the blue just ’cause they need the place for some guests it is all done. Years asking for them to do this and in one fucking day it is done. Still I am quite happy that we moved what I didnt like was the bad timing and no notice about the so soon moving part. In two days I organized and cleaned the whole thing. We now have our own little space . There are no other keys to get in besides mine which means PRIVACY finally no one running randomly thru my working space. I have a microwave, toaster, fridge, TV [working on the dvd HA!], great A/C and lots of space to work. Oh, the best part is NO freaking RATS!!!

>> the place I used to work at.

>> This is the way it looks now empty. They are making a room.

>> This is the place we moved to before the moving. [it was a “library”]

>> This is the way my NEW OFFICE looks now 😀

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text:
Been thinkin’…

…about perseverance and fortitude.

One day last week I woke up at my usual time, but Donna slept through her alarm. I guess she was especially tired, because that’s unusual for her. In any case, when she came out of the bedroom ready for her workout, she remarked about having slept late and I replied jokingly, “That’s because you’re a lazy slug.” We both laughed, because that’s about as far from the truth as one can get. But that very morning I was reading Hebrews 6 and was struck with verses 9 to 12:

“But beloved, we are confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

The author has just peeled the bark off of his readers regarding the danger of thinking they could wander away from the Lord and live however they pleased, then just “renew them[selves] again to repentance,” as if they were being saved all over again and everything was simply overlooked. Now he apologizes for his abrupt manner with them and reassures them that he has much higher expectations for them. What strikes me about this passage is the broad, non-negotiable superlatives he uses: “each one of you,” “the same diligence,” “full assurance of hope,” and “to the end.” He then urges them to keep going until they get to the trophy case in Chapter 11, where they will find many examples of “those who through faith and patience inherit the promise.”

The author’s words can be summarized perhaps with four concise exhortations:  No EXCEPTIONS (“each one of you”), NO EXCUSES (“the same diligence”), NO SHORT CUTS (“to the full assurance of hope”) and NO QUITTING (“until the end”). As a middle-aged guy with some tread wear,  this straightforward language comes like a swift kick in the blessed assurance and, like the obnoxious jangling of an alarm clock, should spur me on to serving Christ with energy and a spirit of godly adventure.   (Originally appeared in Carta del norte on 29/06/2007)

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text:
Video of the Week: Easier to Kill a Million People Than to Control a Million People

Ever wonder what the elites are really talking about when they get together, whether it be at the Bilderberg Group or at other closed door meetings the sycophants in the media never tell you details about? This clip of Zbigniew Brzezinski (the man behind the NWO puppet Obama) speaking before British elites helps fill in some of the missing pieces of the puzzle.

Even back in 2008, the elite were disturbed about the “awakening” that is going on among the population since their method of controlling the masses, i.e. the collective mass delusion of television news and programming has been turned into a laughingstock.

As always with the psychopaths who run the world, it’s all about maintaining their power and control over billions of people and nothing else. One can only imagine what shit fits they’re having in 2016, as the awakening has led to Brexit and the rise of Donald Trump. The masses they want to dominate are in a decidedly anti-establishment mood.

Here’s the full text of Brzezinski’s speech, which is clipped into the most relevant and chilling portion in our Video of the Week.

For the first time in human history almost all of humanity is politically activated, politically conscious and politically interactive… The resulting global political activism is generating a surge in the quest for personal dignity, cultural respect and economic opportunity in a world painfully scarred by memories of centuries-long alien colonial or imperial domination… The worldwide yearning for human dignity is the central challenge inherent in the phenomenon of global political awakening… That awakening is socially massive and politically radicalizing… The nearly universal access to radio, television and increasingly the Internet is creating a community of shared perceptions and envy that can be galvanized and channeled by demagogic political or religious passions. These energies transcend sovereign borders and pose a challenge both to existing states as well as to the existing global hierarchy, on top of which America still perches…

The youth of the Third World are particularly restless and resentful. The demographic revolution they embody is thus a political time-bomb, as well… Their potential revolutionary spearhead is likely to emerge from among the scores of millions of students concentrated in the often intellectually dubious “tertiary level” educational institutions of developing countries. Depending on the definition of the tertiary educational level, there are currently worldwide between 80 and 130 million “college” students. Typically originating from the socially insecure lower middle class and inflamed by a sense of social outrage, these millions of students are revolutionaries-in-waiting, already semi-mobilized in large congregations, connected by the Internet and pre-positioned for a replay on a larger scale of what transpired years earlier in Mexico City or in Tiananmen Square. Their physical energy and emotional frustration is just waiting to be triggered by a cause, or a faith, or a hatred…

[The] major world powers, new and old, also face a novel reality: while the lethality of their military might is greater than ever, their capacity to impose control over the politically awakened masses of the world is at a historic low. To put it bluntly: in earlier times, it was easier to control one million people than to physically kill one million people; today, it is infinitely easier to kill one million people than to control one million people.

It is easier to kill, than to control.

Chilling words from people who see the masses as nothing but cattle to be microchipped and controlled, or turned into figurative human batteries as The Matrix alluded to. One must think that killing millions – as U.S. foreign policy has already done in the past half century – would be nothing but collateral damage to men like Brzezinski.

If there’s one thing the Internet has done, it has revealed the horror show world politics is rather than the sugar-coated fantasies the MSM once had us believing.

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text:
, , , , ,

MC and F Paisley

Mary Catherine “Mayme” at left and sister, Florence Paisley, on right.

Name: Mary Catherine “Mayme” PAISLEY
Birth: 22 March 1876; Salineville, Ohio
Parents: Simon E. PAISLEY and Jane WYCKOFF
Spouse: Lewis David McCONNAUGHY
Death: 16 December 1957; Amsterdam, Jefferson, Ohio
Relationship to Hollie: maternal 2nd great aunt


text:
Bible Reading (Daniel 13:1-9. 15-17. 19-30. 33-62)

(Have I to die, innocent as I am?)

In Babylon, there lived a man named Joakim. He had married Susanna daughter of Hilkiah, a woman of great beauty; she was God-fearing, because her parents were worthy people and had instructed their daughter in the Law of Moses. Joakim was a very rich man, and had a garden attached to his house; the Jews would often visit him since he was held in greater respect than any other man. Two elderly men had been selected from the people that year to act as judges. Of such the Lord said, “Wickedness has come to Babylon through the elders and judges posing as guides to the people.” These men were often at Joakim’s house, and all who were engaged in litigation used to come to them. At midday, when everyone had gone, Susanna used to take a walk in her husband’s garden.

The two elders, who used to watch her every day as she came in to take her walk, gradually began to desire her. They threw reason aside, making no effort to turn their eyes to heaven, and forgetting its demands of virtue. So they waited for a favourable moment; and one day Susanna came as usual, accompanied only by two young maidservants. The day was hot and she wanted to bathe in the garden. There was no one about except the two elders, spying on her from their hiding place. She said to the servants, “Bring me some oil and balsam and shut the garden door while I bathe.”

Hardly were the servants gone than the two elders were there after her. “Look,” they said, “the garden door is shut, no one can see us. We want to have you, so give in and let us! Refuse, and we will both give evidence that a young man was with you and that was why you sent your maids away.” Susanna sighed. “I am trapped,” she said, “whatever I do. If I agree, that means my death; if I resist, I cannot get away from you. But I prefer to fall innocent into your power than to sin in the eyes of the Lord.” Then she cried out as loud as she could. The two elders began shouting too, putting the blame on her, and one of them run to open the garden door. The household, hearing the shouting in the garden, rushed out by the side entrance to see what was happening; once the elders had told their story the servants were thoroughly taken aback, since nothing of this sort had ever been said of Susanna.

Next day a meeting was held at the house of her husband Joakim. The two elders arrived, in their vindictiveness determined to have her put to death. They addressed the company: “Summon Susanna daughter of Hilkiah and wife of Joakim.” She was sent for, and came accompanied by her parents, her children and all her relations.

All her own people were weeping, and so were all the others who saw her. The two elders stood up, with all the people round them, and laid their hands on the woman’s head. Tearfully she turned her eyes to heaven, her heart confident in God. The elders then spoke. “While we were walking by ourselves in the garden, this woman arrived with two servants. A young man who had been hiding went over to her and they lay down together. From the end of the garden where we were, we saw this crime taking place and hurried towards them. Though we saw them together we were unable to catch the man: he was too strong for us; he opened the door and took to his heels. We did, however, catch this woman and ask her who the young man was. She refused to tell us. That is our evidence.”

Since they were elders of the people, and judges, the assembly took their word: Susanna was condemned to death. She cried out as loud as she could, “Eternal God, you know all secrets and everything before it happens; you know that they have given false evidence against me. And now have I to die, innocent as I am of everything their malice has invented against me?”

The Lord heard her cry and, as she was being led away to die, he roused the holy spirit residing in a young boy named Daniel who began to shout, “I am innocent of this woman’s death!” At which all the people turned to him and asked, “What do you mean by these words?” Standing in the middle of the crowd he replied, “Are you so stupid, sons of Israel, as to condemn a daughter of Israel unheard, and without troubling to find out the truth? Go back to the scene of the trial: these men have given false evidence against her.”

All the people hurried back, and the elders said to Daniel, “Come and sit with us and tell us what you mean, since God has given you the gifts that elders have.” Daniel said, “Keep the men well apart from each other for I want to question them.” When the men had been separated, Daniel had one of them brought to him. “You have grown old in wickedness,” he said, “and now the sins of your earlier days have overtaken you, you with your unjust judgments, your condemnation of the innocent, your acquittalof guilty men, when the Lord has said, ‘You must not put the innocent and the just to death.’ Now then, since you saw her so clearly, tell me what tree you saw them lying under?” He replied, “Under a mastic tree.” Daniel said, “True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the angel of God has already received your sentence from him and will slash you in half.” He then dismissed the man, ordered the other to be brought and said to him, “Spawn of Canaan, not of Judah, beauty has seduced you, lust has led your heart astray! This is how you have been behaving with the daughters of Israel and they were too frightened to resist; but here is a daughter of Judah who could not stomach your wickedness! Now then, tell me what tree you surprised them under?” He replied, “Under a holm oak.” Daniel said, “True enough! Your lie recoils on your own head: the angel of God is waiting, with a sword to drive home and split you, and destroy the pair of you.”

Then the whole assembly shouted, blessing God, the saviour of those who trust in him. And they turned on the two elders whom Daniel had convicted of false evidence out of their own mouths. As prescribed in the Law of Moses, they sentenced them to the same punishment as they had intended to inflict on their neighbour. They put them to death; the life of an innocent woman was spared that day.

The word of the Lord.
R.) Thanks be to God.

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text:
Why no P&R here?

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Over 36 people co-created a community response to the Council’s Public Consultation in June/July on Bus Rapid Transit phase 3 (North Fringe to Hengrove). Our response related to Zone 4 of that which includes the M32 bus only junction.

Here in full is our letter we collectively submitted to the ‘consultation’ stating in 9 points our reasons for wanting better solutions. It’s a surprisingly good read!!

Re: BRT North Fringe to Hengrove Consultation (Zone 4). 15 July 2012

We the undersigned are members of the local community connected to the area around the propsed new motorway junction in Zone 4 of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit route. We are either local residents or members of the Bristol community with connections to, and interests in, this area.

On 3rd July a community meeting was held to discuss the Zone 4 proposals, in particular the new bus route / roundabout / motorway junction that is proposed and how it will impact upon the land and the community. While we are in favour of low carbon, public transport solutions we are strongly opposed to the proposed BRT route as it is currently proposed.

  1. The new junction on the M32 is not needed for a bus rapid transit route from the north Bristol fringes to the city centre. It is purely there for access to a Park and Ride (see point 2). The BRT route could run from UWE along the newly-widened A4174 to Junction 1 on the M32, with additional road widening and junction improvements as required. The scheme as proposed, with a new bridge, a new motorway junction and an entirely unneccessary roundabout would be a waste of public money given that they are not necessary for the stated purposes of the BRT.
  1. The only reason for building a new bridge and junction is to serve a new M32 Park and Ride. The current consultation is deliberately deceptive, stating that the new roundabout is needed ‘to allow errant traffic to return to the M32’. It is clear that this is not the case. The new roundabout, with the stub exit clearly visible, has been planned to allow for the subsequent construction of a Park and Ride. Bristol’s Core Strategy does include plans for an M32 Park and Ride but a site is not given. We feel that this site is entirely unsuitable for a Park and Ride. The National Planning Policy Framework states that within Green Belt, the only acceptable development of this type is:

local transport infrastructure which can demonstrate a requirement for a Green Belt location”.

No evidence or argument has been presented to show that a Green Belt location would be required for an M32 Park and Ride. Given that, the current scheme would use considerable amounts of money to create the infrastructure for a development that would not meet the requirements of the NPPF.

  1. It is on rare and irreplaceable Grade 1 agricultural land which should be used for market gardening and allotments to feed Bristol and to support the health and wellbeing of the local community. This forms only 3% of UK land; much of this 3% is in Lincolnshire and other eastern counties and only a few small areas exist around Bristol. The National Planning Policy framework states:

112. Local planning authorities should take into account the economic and other benefits of the best and most versatile agricultural land. Where significant development of agricultural land is demonstrated to be necessary, local planning authorities should seek to use areas of poorer quality land in preference to that of a higher quality.”

The site of the new motorway junction, bridge and roundabout and the Park and Ride site that they are designed to serve are all on Grade 1 agricultural land. This site forms part of the ‘Blue Finger’, a strip of Grade 1 Agricultural land running northwards alongside the M32 into South Gloucestershire. This optimum quality soil only covers 3% of the UK. No justification has been given for using this precious land rather than land of poorer quality. The scheme as presented is thus not compliant with the requirements of the NPPF. The Strategic Environmental Assesment for the West of England Joint Local Transport Plan 3 statesSoil erosion is a key concern in the South West. Soils and agricultural land are also under pressure from new development. Soil is needed for food production and serves a number of other uses (such as the cycling of nutrients, and storage of carbon). The protection of soil is therefore an important consideration in sustainable development”. The proposals are clearly in contravention of this guidance.

Bristol’s Food Policy Council, supported by Bristol City Council, has also called for planning decisions to take food issues into account. This has clearly not been the case in this proposal, which sets the city on a course to lose a substantial area of Grade 1 Agricultural land in a highly accessible location, which is already the focus of community food growing activities. The recommendations of the ‘Who Feeds Bristol’ report, also supported by BCC, include the ambitions to:

Safeguard land for food”

Increase urban food production”

Protect key infrastructure for local food”

Support community food enterprise models”

Again, this proposal runs counter to these aims.

  1. Bristol’s Core Strategy Policy BCS9 states:

The integrity and connectivity of the strategic green infrastructure network will be maintained, protected and enhanced.“

A Park and Ride on this site would damage the integrity and connectivity of the vital green corridor alongside the M32 and would therefore be against the aims of this policy.

  1. The proposed site for the Park and Ride is also unsuitable in transport terms. Given that the consultation documentation shows there will be a number of Park and Ride sites serving the communities on either side of the M32, any new M32 Park and Ride will be primarily for people entering Bristol from the M4 / M32. A new M32 Park and Ride should therefore be sited as far north on the M32 as possible to reduce congestion at the M4/M32 junction and on J1 of the M32. Ideally it should be sited north of the M4/M32 junction and accessed from that junction. In any case, the proposed new bridge and junction for the BRT scheme should not be built unless and until the evidence of need for a Park and Ride at that particular location has been presented and scrutinised. It is entirely inappropriate to build the infrastructure for the new Park and Ride without a proper process of consultation for the Park and Ride itself.
  1. The scheme as proposed, even without the Park and Ride, will damage the biodiversity of the area; destroy rare and irreplaceable highest quality food growing land; damage the character of the neighbourhood; reduce the number of allotments available to local people during the construction process at a time when there is already a waiting list for allotments; place existing allotments at risk of pollution; create air, light and noise pollution; and damage additional land during the construction phase. Given that the new bridge and roundabout are only required as a precursor to a new Park and Ride, we feel that the scheme should be changed so that the BRT route uses existing road infrastructure.
  1. In recent years Bristol has developed a reputation as a ‘green’ city, with a strong reputation around local food issues. This culminated in the Green Capital 2014 bid. We feel strongly that Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council should recognise the unique value and heritage of the high-quality agricultural land that runs northwards alongside the M32 from Stapleton and ultimately beyond the M4. This is Bristol’s historic market gardening quarter, with a long and highly productive history of growing food and plants for the city, and based on a piece of land with extremely high-quality soil. Grade 1 agricultural land is nationally extremely rare and in Bristol’s immediate surroundings it is rarer still. This land is capable of sustainable food production on a large scale, developing Bristol’s food security, reducing ‘food miles’, building the local distinctiveness of food culture in the city and giving the local community access to the green spaces and fresh food that are vital for their health and wellbeing. Bristol’s Core Strategy states [4.20.1]: “The policy aims to ensure that all development maximises opportunities to re-use previously developed land and also uses land in the most efficient way possible. “

Using Grade 1 agricultural land for a Park and Ride site does not represent the most efficient possible use of that land.

Bristol City Council and South Gloucestershire Council should work together in cross-border cooperation as required by the Localism Act to assess and evidence the need for a new Park and Ride site; if an additional site is required, a new location should be found by the two councils that does not damage the long-term sustainability of the city. Ideally this site would be on previously developed land as required by Bristol’s Core Strategy Policy BCS20.

  1. Bristol’s Core Strategy policy BCS9 states:

Appropriate mitigation of the lost green infrastructure assets will be required.”

We strongly oppose the construction of a new bridge, roundabout and motorway junction. The inappropriateness of the scheme is compounded by the lack of proper mitigation being offered. The scheme as proposed involves a significant reduction in the quality of allotment plots and a significant reduction in the land being made available for community agriculture, as well as the permanent loss of irreplaceable Grade 1 land and significant damage to green infrastructure and damage to the capacity of the city for long-term sustainability. In these circumstances the proposed mitigation is entirely inadequate.

  1. The consultation process for the BRT scheme has been inadequate and misleading. No rationale has been presented for the new motorway junction. The only possible reason for the scheme as proposed is to provide infrastructure for a future Park and Ride, and yet the consultation materials not only fail to mention this, but are deliberately deceptive, labelling the access roundabout for the Park and Ride as being “to allow errant vehicles to return to the M32”. This is a clear attempt to avoid public discussion on the Park and Ride site so as to later present the Park and Ride as inevitable, bypassing proper consultation and community involvement.

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Variations on the word love

by Margaret Atwood

This is a word we use to plug holes with. It’s the right size for those warm blanks in speech, for those red heart-shaped vacancies on the page that look nothing like real hearts. Add lace and you can sell it. We insert it also in the one empty space on the printed form that comes with no instructions. There are whole magazines with not much in them but the word love, you can rub it all over your body and you can cook with it too. How do we know it isn’t what goes on at the cool debaucheries of slugs under damp pieces of cardboard? As for the weed-seedlings nosing their tough snouts up among the lettuces, they shout it. Love! Love! sing the soldiers, raising their glittering knives in salute.

Then there’s the two of us. This word is far too short for us, it has only four letters, too sparse to fill those deep bare vacuums between the stars that press on us with their deafness. It’s not love we don’t wish to fall into, but that fear. this word is not enough but it will have to do. It’s a single vowel in this metallic silence, a mouth that says O again and again in wonder and pain, a breath, a finger grip on a cliffside. You can hold on or let go.

It feels like sacrilege to remove the run-on lines of a poem, but it feels right for right now, and it seems to work? Hope this doesn’t offend any poetry purists or Atwood fans. Here is the original.

There are different forms of love in these lines for everyone, and whatever you are doing tomorrow, I hope it will envelop you and carry you through. I will be at a 6-9pm seminar, and need all the help I can get! Big hugs to all my dear friends.

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Reveal 10

A new release of Reveal (v10) is available to all users with a current license, and as a 14-day trial. This release includes:

  • A fix for the visual “fringing” around text that was occurring when capturing images on devices with wide gamut capable displays.
  • An updated license activation process that we think is clearer and friendlier.
  • The ability to reset your license activations from within Reveal when you hit your activation limit.

We’ll be adding support for new properties introduced in iOS and tvOS 11 in a future update, but please let us know if you find anything that doesn’t work as expected in the meantime.

Minimum System Requirements

  • macOS 10.11
  • iOS 8
  • tvOS 9
  • Xcode 7.3

Please report any problems you experience or give us feedback from within Reveal (see “Help → Submit Feedback”), or via our support forum.


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you're reading...
2000s, Comedy - YA, Scary Movie

Scary Movie 2

Released 2001 Rating 18
Director Keenan Wayans Writer/s Shawn Wayans, Marlon Wayans, Buddy Johnson, Phil Beauman, Jason Friedberg, Aaron Selzer, Alyson Fouse, Greg Grabianski, Dave Polsky, Michael Snowden, Craig Wayans
Starring James Woods, Anna Faris, Marlon Wayans, Christopher Masterson, Shawn Wayans, Regina Hall, Tori Spelling, Tim Curry
Source of story Scary Movie 1
Elevator Pitch A group of college students are persuaded to spend the night in a haunted house for a project, and are to be monitored by their professor and his wheelchair bound assistant.   But the ghosts are on the loose and they have to deal with the creepy butler and his deformed hand.
Content Mostly pastiches of some horror films, plus at one point Charlie’s Angels. There is a lot of simultated but non revelatory sex between the teens and them and the ghosts, and a lot of swearing.
A View This apparently brought back to life characters who had died in Scary Movie 1. They should have been left in peace. Thank goodness it was less than 90 minutes, but honestly, despite the fact that it got very low marks on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated in various ‘worst film’ categories, it was still better than Scary Movie 3.

About Victor R Gibson

Author of this site three technical books and two novels

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Volunteer in Guatemala Xela Review Rita Robles Woman and Girls Shelter

Volunteer in Guatemala Xela Review Rita Robles Woman and Girls Shelter

1) How were the local ABV coordinator and the support provided in-county?

She was perfect, she was the epitome of calm and support.  She completely stopped what she was doing to answer questions or give us direction.  Irma and Alan of the after-school program were also especially accommodating.  Everyone of them was also fun to be with.

Shelter program

2) What was the most surprising thing you experienced?

I was surprised by how much I wanted to completely uproot my life and move it to Xela.  I loved the people, the food and the language.

3) What was the most difficult to experience?

Leaving the children was definitely the most difficult experience, especially at the shelter.  The girls at the shelter had deep deep hurt.  They wore so much of it on their faces, I wanted to take them all home with me.

4) Any tips for future volunteers (clothing/travel/personal items)

Bring a full size towel for the home stay or buy one locally and leave it for your host family.  It is a nice gesture, but you will fall in love with your hosts and truly want to leave something.  An umbrella, a sweater and short sleeved shirt everyday, because everyday has extremes.  Oh, and wash the dishes for your hostess. It is the least one can do for the all that they do for you.

5) Other things volunteers should know?

Xelapan has tremendous pastries!

Did I mention a trip to Xelapan?

Xelapan cream filled anything?

Volunteer Guatemala
Volunteer Guatemala

6) ABV Testimonial

This week was an amazing experience. On my first day at the shelter, I saw two girls separate themselves and cry huge shoulder heaving tears without sound.  One told me she had only been there two days.  I sat with them, held their hands, kept their hair out of their eyes.  Their hurt was so deep.  I told them how important they were. They clung to me when I saw them two days later, they ran to me.  On the last day she barely left my side and just kept hugging me.  Before I left, she told me she would never forget me.  I know I will never forget her.

7) How would you describe your accommodations meals/security

Jovita was more perfect than perfect.  She was so sweet and helpful.  She was also an excellent cook.  I loved the stories we told around the table (sobre mesa).  It drew us even closer together.  I could have moved in forever!

8) What was your favorite memory of this trip?

There are too many to choose from.  I loved all of the children’s arms around my waist, the warmth of the Xela people, the hot springs, the weaving opportunity, our hostess, our program heads, the food (Xelapan!) the fabrics, and how close we all became as a group.

9) How was the ABV USA support prior to traveling?

They were very helpful in answering questions and making certain we had all our paperwork in.  They were quick to get back to us.

10) Are you willing to speak to potential ABV volunteers?

Absolutely!  Any time.

Volunteer Guatemala
Volunteer Guatemala

Review Date
Reviewed Item
Volunteer Abroad Guatemala
Author Rating


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#RRBC Holiday Train “Book Trailer” Block Party

Thank you so much for taking the time to stop by my blog today. I know I haven’t posted anything in awhile, but life has been complicated the last few months and totally blocked my creativity. I do apologize for my absence, but things are on a better track so hopefully I will be around more.

Today is my stop on the Rave Reviews Book Club’s Holiday Train “Book Trailer” Block Party, which is running through the month of December. Please stop by YouTube and take a look at the trailer for my book, Shadow of the Drill, LIKE it, and leave a comment. You will be entered into a drawing to win one of the prizes I’ll be giving away. Those prizes are a signed paperback copy of Shadow of the Drill (US residents only), two eCopies of Shadow, and a set of two coffee cups with pictures of the covers of Shadow and my soon-to-be-released novel, Winter of the Drill. Here is the link to my book trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=SAtzeYBVNmE and please remember to leave a comment so that you will be entered to win a prize. Thank you so much for your support, I really appreciate it.

If you would like to check out the remaining stops along the tour, or maybe go back and see some of the trailers from earlier in the month, here is the link for the entire tour.

These are fantastic trailers, and you just might find your next favorite book somewhere in the mix. 😊

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Tag Archives: Boogie Street

On Boogie Street…

As a person who keens a lot to melancholy, certain songs speak to me, capture my mood well. So, today, I’ve thought to share one of my all-time favourites. Boogie Street, recorded by Leonard Cohen in 2001 for his album Ten New Songs. Boogie Street is, of course, the mental and physical space in which we live while we are still young, still beautiful, or still happy.

– Ra.

Video HERE

A sip of wine, a cigarette,
And then it’s time to go
I tidied up the kitchenette
I tuned the old banjo
I’m wanted at the traffic jam
They’re saving me a seat
I’m what I am, and what I am,
Is back on Boogie Street

And, oh my love, I still recall
The pleasures that we knew
The rivers and the waterfall,
Wherein I bathed with you
Bewildered by your beauty there,
I kneel to dry your feet
By such instructions you prepare
A man for Boogie Street

So come, my friends, be not afraid
We are so lightly here
It is in love that we are made
In love we disappear
Though all the maps of blood and flesh
Are posted on the door,
There’s no one who has told us yet
What Boogie Street is for.lc.jpg


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Tag Archives: KNEGAM

On the Rape Culture in Nigeria

Reverse descent of Man

On the issue of the rise of rape in our societies and its current popularity on social media, I have chosen an engagement. There will be no emotive post about it from me. I have instead accepted to join the board of trustees of Karniel’s Next Generation of African Men’s Initiative (KNEGAM Initiative) based here in Abuja. Its stated objective is to “empower boys so they overcome challenges as they transition from boyhood to adulthood”.

I see no justification for rape at all except a disregard for the sanctity of a body that is not yours. Yet, everywhere I see various cop-outs that more of less justify this traversing of another’s body. Whether the victim is male or female, a child or an adult, there is only one implication. I believe that the point of 5000 years of civilization is the privileging of the human body as being above that of any other animal from which it is, in fact, indistinguishable. The implication of a rape culture is to turn us all back 5000 years and more, so we are no different from any “lower animal”. We thus become lower animals. This eventuality I will not accept.

So, I will do my little bit to work with kids so they have a balanced sense of self and know where they stand as inheritors of many centuries of advancement and civilization and thought. The initiative is targeted at male kids because they are most in danger of inheriting bad assumptions as a result of the current power relations in society.

KNEGAM Initiative is run by a friend of a friend, Uchenna Idoko, in the name of her son. I thank them for asking me on their board. I am certain it will be a platform to fight bad ideas that threaten to send us all back to the times of pre-history. I hope my contribution will be concrete.

– Ra.


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Home > humor, social media, thought leader, web/tech > Deaf, Numb and Blind

Deaf, Numb and Blind

I just lifted my head up from reading messages on my phone, while cranking music thru my headphones, and realized that mobile media is going to make us all Deaf, Numb and Blind.

First I had to refocus my eyes to see clearly into the distance, that small screen is going to make us all (blind).

Than I took my headphones off and had to shake the cobwebs out of my ears to hear again (deaf).

That is when I noticed three very attractive young woman all sitting alone at tables socializing with their phones (numb).

I am heading out to play some pinball.

twitter: @rich2001

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The Guy Friend Phenomenon

When someone gets to be placed in the “friend zone”, they seem to think it’s a bad thing. I, for one, think otherwise.

I’m proud to say that some of my true friends are guys. They teach me great lessons in life and in love. They are brutally honest, are not afraid to mince words and call me out when I’m making a fool out of myself or I’m about to do something stupid.

This is pretty much what my girl BFFs do as well. However, women friends can be cautious and tactful. The men, not so much.

I’m lucky enough to have met guys whom I was attracted to at first, but somehow, a friendship blossomed that surpassed those feelings. In my youth, I acted on some of them and lost the friendship but after a few scrapes, it seemed wiser to simply become friends and the rewards are priceless.

I have several guy friends that I can consider friends for life. They are amazing men who eventually married and started their own families. They are successful in varying degrees in their chosen careers and are pretty much the salt of the earth. What makes them a blessing is when we do meet or get together, they continue to look out for me and care for me like they would for a sibling.

Not many people can truly get our relationship. Some still raise their eyebrows or even press imaginary issues of what ifs and why nots. Surprisingly, we can take it in stride and move on with life as it is.

Here’s a video on how truly rewarding it is to nurture a friendship with the opposite sex.

Care to agree or disagree on this?

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Archive for the ‘ORSA’ category

Top 10 RISKVIEWS Posts of 2014 – ORSA Heavily Featured

December 29, 2014

RISKVIEWS believes that this may be the best top 10 list of posts in the history of this blog.  Thanks to our readers whose clicks resulted in their selection.

  • Instructions for a 17 Step ORSA Process – Own Risk and Solvency Assessment is here for Canadian insurers, coming in 2015 for US and required in Europe for 2016. At least 10 other countries have also adopted ORSA and are moving towards full implementation. This post leads you to 17 other posts that give a detailed view of the various parts to a full ORSA process and report.
  • Full Limits Stress Test – Where Solvency and ERM Meet – This post suggests a link between your ERM program and your stress tests for ORSA that is highly logical, but not generally practiced.
  • What kind of Stress Test? – Risk managers need to do a better job communicating what they are doing. Much communications about risk models and stress tests is fairly mechanical and technical. This post suggests some plain English terminology to describe the stress tests to non-technical audiences such as boards and top management.
  • How to Build and Use a Risk Register – A first RISKVIEWS post from a new regular contributor, Harry Hall. Watch for more posts along these lines from Harry in the coming months. And catch Harry on his blog, http://www.pmsouth.com
  • ORSA ==> AC – ST > RCS – You will notice a recurring theme in 2014 – ORSA. That topic has taken up much of RISKVIEWS time in 2014 and will likely take up even more in 2015 and after as more and more companies undertake their first ORSA process and report. This post is a simple explanation of the question that ORSA is trying to answer that RISKVIEWS has used when explaining ORSA to a board of directors.
  • The History of Risk Management – Someone asked RISKVIEWS to do a speech on the history of ERM. This post and the associated new permanent page are the notes from writing that speech. Much more here than could fit into a 15 minute talk.
  • Hierarchy Principle of Risk Management – There are thousands of risks faced by an insurer that do not belong in their ERM program. That is because of the Hierarchy Principle. Many insurers who have followed someone’s urging that ALL risk need to be included in ERM belatedly find out that no one in top management wants to hear from them or to let them talk to the board. A good dose of the Hierarchy Principle will fix that, though it will take time. Bad first impressions are difficult to fix.
  • Risk Culture, Neoclassical Economics, and Enterprise Risk Management – A discussion of the different beliefs about how business and risk work. A difference in the beliefs that are taught in MBA and Finance programs from the beliefs about risk that underpin ERM make it difficult to reconcile spending time and money on risk management.
  • What CEO’s Think about Risk – A discussion of three different aspects of decision-making as practiced by top management of companies and the decision making processes that are taught to quants can make quants less effective when trying to explain their work and conclusions.
  • Decision Making Under Deep Uncertainty – Explores the concepts of Deep Uncertainty and Wicked Problems. Of interest if you have any risks that you find yourself unable to clearly understand or if you have any problems where all of the apparent solutions are strongly opposed by one group of stakeholders or another.

ORSA ==> AC – ST > RCS

June 30, 2014

The Own Risk and Solvency Assessment (or Forward Looking Assessment of Own Risks based on ORSA principles) initially seems daunting.  But the simple formula in the title of this post provides a guide to what is really going on.

  1. To preform an ORSA, an insurer must first decide upon its own Risk Capital Standard.
  2. The insurer needs to develop the capacity to project the financial and risk exposure statistics forward for several years under a range of specified conditions.
  3. Included in the projection capacity is the ability to determine (a) the amount of capital required under their own risk capital standard and (b) the projected amount of capital available.
  4. The insurer needs to select a range of Stress Tests that will be used for the projections.
  5. If, under a projection based upon a Stress Test, the available capital exceeds the Risk Capital Standard, then that Stress Test is a pass.                   AC – ST >RCS
  6. If, under a projection based upon a Stress Test, the available capital is less than the Risk Capital Standard, then that Stress Test is a fail and requires an explanation of intended management actions.                            AC – ST < RCS  ==> MA

RISKVIEWS suggests that Stress Tests should be chosen so that the company can demonstrate that they can pass (AC – ST >RCS) the tests under a wide range of scenarios AND in addition, that one or several of the Stress Tests are severe enough to produce a fail (AC – ST < RCS  ==> MA) condition so that they can demonstrate that management has conceptualized the actions that would be needed in extreme loss situations.

RISKVIEWS also guesses that an insurer that picks a low Risk Capital Standard and Normal Volatility Stress Tests will get push back from the regulators reviewing the ORSA.

RISKVIEWS also guesses that an insurer that picks a high Risk Capital Standard will fail some or all of the more severe Stress Tests.

Furthermore, RISKVIEWS predicts that many insurers will fail the real Future Worst Case Stress Tests.  Only firms that hold themselves to a Robust Risk Capital Standard are likely to have sufficient capital to potentially maintain solvency.  In RISKVIEWS opinion, these Future Worst Case Stress Tests are useful mainly as the starting point for a Reverse Stress Test process.  In financial markets, we have experienced a real life worst case stress with the 2008 Financial Crisis and the following events.  Imaging insurance worst case scenarios that are as adverse as those events seems useful to promoting insurer survival.  Imagining events that are much worse than those – which is what is meant by the Future Worst Case Scenario idea – seems to be overkill.  But, in fact,  the history of adverse events in the recent past seems to indicate that each new major loss is at least twice the previous record.

A Reverse Stress Test is a process under which an insurer would determine the adverse scenario that drives the insurer to insolvency.  Under the NAIC ORSA, Reverse Stress Tests are required, but it is not specified whether those tests should be based upon a condition of failing to meet the insurer’s own Risk Capital Standard or the regulators solvency standard.  RISKVIEWS would recommend both types of tests be performed.

This discussion is the heart of the ORSA.  The full ORSA requires many other elements.  See the recent post INSTRUCTIONS FOR A 17 STEP ORSA PROCESS for the full discussion.

Instructions for a 17 Step ORSA Process

May 19, 2014

There are 17 steps to completing your ORSA.  And here are 17 essays that describe all of those steps.

1. Prepare for the ORSA

Five Intro to ERM Risk Control Cycle Topics

2.  Risk Identification

3. Risk Measurement

4. Risk Limits and Controlling

5. Risk Organization

6. Risk Management Policies and Standards

Advanced ERM Topics
7. Stress Testing

8. Risk Capital

9. Risk Appetite and Tolerance

10. Emerging Risks

11. Interdependence of Risks

12. Risk Management Governance

13. Risk Management Culture

14. Change Risk

15. Risk Disclosure

16. Model Validation
Bringing it All Together
17. Writing the ORSA Report

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On your face

Kat von D, the reality show “personality” and plastic surgery junkie, recently began selling her own line of make-up. Against my better judgment I ordered the Ludwig eyeshadow palette last spring. I was sent the Beethoven one by accident:

Right from the get-go I suspected that Beethoven would be a travesty; some of these colors don’t even look like they might complement each other nicely.

Nevertheless, I tried really hard to love it. At the time this was only my second voyage beyond drug store eyeshadow (the first with Clinique Moisture Surge being somewhat disappointing). For a month or so I wore them like a lucky sock. Over our wedding weekend in Antigua last June I took some pictures with Kat von D’s colors on my lids and boy, did I look even less photogenic than usual. Por ejemplo:

wedding fuck

You might ask yourself, “who the fuck wears nasty gray eyeshadow with a pink dress?” Good question. But in reality that was the lilac eyeshadow with medium purple as the contour color. For some reason the light colors (lilac, green, and yellow) turn extremely powdery and lose most of their pigmentation, and the effect is just enhanced by flash photography.

Today I compared Beethoven side by side with similar colors from the Dior Coquette quad (obviously a present to me, as I’m not nearly so fabulously wealthy that I contemplate blowing $58 for eyeshadow). The colors I used were lilac and medium purple, as well as dark gray (Coquette) and blue (Beethoven) because there was no other overlap. I used the same primer, mascara, brushes, and application techniques on both lids. So:

As expected the Kat von D lilac shade looked like sparkly chalk rather than a pleasant highlight. The medium purple shade gave a more impressive contrast at a distance, but up close it clearly had not blended well. The dark blue, which I used to contour my crease, actually did not show up as blue at all – as you can see it doesn’t look much different than the dark gray I used on my other eye.

I know, I know, it’s easy to say that the Beethoven palette looks tacky next to colors by Dior, which are the BMWs of eye make-up. So next I compared it to the Covergirl Forest Light palette, which is pretty much the Hyundai of eye make-up. I used the shades gold/yellow, green, and brown in a simple daytime style blending the lightest to the darkest shade from the tear duct to the outside. Again I used identical primer, brushes, and technique, and omitted the eyeliner entirely.

The green is just unspeakably hideous – very garish and chalky. The other two colors fared okay but not significantly better than the Cover Girl versions. Kat von D’s brown definitely stood out more. It was however also a total pain in the ass to blend into the skin.

Nowadays I only use the Beethoven palette if I need some dark, highly-pigmented shadows to use as wet eyeliner. The dark sparkly purple, black, and brown work really wonderfully to that purpose. I’m not sure what to do with the majority of the colors though. At least Halloween is coming up!

The source of the above quotation is a pile of crap, though I doubt anyone will recognize it, but I happen to think that phrase is one of the finest I’ve ever seen in the English language. I just can’t help myself sometimes.

Two brief things crossed my mind today as I was cleaning the apartment and coding for my professor:

First of all, the skincare company Philosophy rocks my world. I don’t generally believe too much in brand loyalty, but not only is their On A Clear Day retinol-hyaluronic acid lotion the most effective anti-acne product I’ve used in my entire life, but I’m already obsessed with their Turbo Booster C Powder. Its a stabilized, powdered form of vitamin C that one mixes in with one’s regular lotion, cream, or serum, preferably in the morning. I’ve only been using this shit for about two weeks and my skin looks a lot more radiant. I’ve been using various sunspot-reducing products for years, including one with hydroquinone; Turbo Booster C is in a higher stratosphere in terms of results. Now if only Philosophy would quit packaging most of their wares in translucent jars I might buy more of them!

Secondly, I was thinking about shiba inus. Specifically how the only thing more awesome than a shiba inu is a long-haired shiba inu.

I’ve only started paying attention to make-up a few months ago. It occured to me fairly early on that I look like a drag queen when sporting many of the new trendy styles (such as extreme smoky eyes, sparkles on the inner corner of eyes, matching lip and cheek color, etc.). Drag queens are certainly beautiful but that’s not the look I should be rocking during class. I think it’s a matter of my skin tone and facial structure actually because I applied make-up on Sascha once and he looked surprisingly classy with smoky eyes and contoured cheeks.  Anyways! I’ve moved away from color experimentation towards improving on a more “natural”-looking technique that doesn’t require constant touch-ups throughout the day. Against my better judgment, I’ll be using unflattering photos of myself taken with a flash to demonstrate what may be some useful tips for dialing down the gaudy.

1. Wash and moisturize your face. Use a gentle cleanser. If you absolutely have to use toner, at least use the alcohol-free variety, but know that any toner or harsh soap will just strip the acid mantle from your skin, convincing it to produce even more sebum, so it’s not a great long-term strategy for oil-control. My squeaky clean face avec moisturizer, sun damage, acne scars, and goofy grin:

2. Apply a silicone face primer and an eyeshadow primer. Silicone primers contain giant molecules (dimethicone, cyclopentasiloxane) that form barriers over your skin. Essentially they keep your sebum from mingling with your make-up, which keeps you fresh-faced longer without having to re-apply powder. Excessive powdering is a very easy way to ruin a no make-up look. The eyeshadow version is “tackier” to help pigments stick to your lids. They also prevent creasing later in the day. The industry standard is Too Faced Shadow Insurance. In my experience primer does not add color to your face (or lids) , even the “bronzing” varieties, although some people who post reviews online would disagree. After silicone primers set for 2-3 minutes however they do impart a subtle glow on your complexion:

3. Apply foundation. I’ve never used foundation because it tended to just slide off my face, but the aforementioned primer seems to help a lot in that regard. Illamasqua Rich Foundation is an awesome foundation because it’s as full coverage as possible while still looking virtually invisible on the skin. It’s sort of a pain in the ass to put on though. I have to mix two shades to match my skin tone of the moment, and then add two parts moisturizer (or Clarins Beauty Flash Balm) per one part foundation, the resulting mixture of which needs to be applied with a damp sponge. If you don’t have a crazy amount of discoloration you might be better off with a medium coverage foundation, but sheer varieties are usually wastes of time. A good foundation must match your complexion exactly and will even out your skin tone and all but the most glaring imperfections:

4. Apply blush. Creams and powders are really great for contouring your cheekbones, but they come in obviously manufactured shades. Most of them also have sparkles or gold flecks in them that make you look like you’re wearing blush, not blushing. Use a liquid blush like Benefit Benetint instead; you can’t really use it to contour but if you apply it on your cheeks and blend it out and up towards your hairline, it will give you the illusion of an inner glow.

5. Apply concealer sparingly and set your make-up with powder. To me a concealed giant zit doesn’t look much more attractive or hidden than an unconcealed one, so be judicious about what you think worth the effort. For powder, use a good powder brush and small, circular movements. As a rule the powder should either be translucent or match your skin tone. However, using a “highlighting powder” like the sheer pinkish Benefit Dandelion can produce a quite adorable and still natural-looking flushed effect. If you’re into it, you can apply a bronzing powder around the periphery of your face, blending carefully with a powder brush. Absolutely do not use bronzing powder on more than just the periphery though – applying it “wherever the sun hits you” as some magazines suggest looks tacky and bizarre.

6. If you wear lip color, choose something similar to your natural shade. Not only does this obviously look more “natural,” but this way the inevitable fading won’t be very noticeable. With concealer on my forehead, blush, powder(s), and lipstick:

7. Accentuate your eyes. Eye make-up is tricky because there is a fine line between only adding subtle touches and there being no visible change at all. This step probably makes the most difference in your overall finished appearance, so give it the attention it deserves. Here are some general suggestions that may or may not apply to you: (a) For the brows, use wax instead of pencil or powder. Wax fills in all the sparse areas and keeps your brow hairs in place without looking like you obviously worked on it. (b) For your eyeshadow, the only colors I would really avoid are black and white. Anything else can be applied in a non-gaudy manner. For me, layering two colors horizontally looks much better than darkening the outside corner, but it’s different for everyone. (c) For the eyeliner, use gel or wet powder because they last the longest, and nothing screams “I’m wearing make-up” like multiple smudged lines across your lids. Don’t be afraid to use black or other dark colors but be very, very afraid of lining the bottom lid all the way across. This will make your eyes look tiny and evil. (d) Use a good lengthening mascara like Imju Fiberwig or Sephora Lash Stretcher. They contain fake lashes that stick to your real lashes and look (surprisngly!) much more natural than “thickening” varieties. With eye make-up and brushed hair:

… too bad there’s no way around the goofy grin. 🙂

Typically I find skin care reviews to be wastes of time because most of them are just two sentence in which the reviewer shares that the product is the worst or best she’s ever tried. This is uninformative because (1) people don’t or can’t accurately describe the fragrance/ texture/ color that they hate; (2) describing something as “too greasy” or “irritating” doesn’t mean anything to me unless I know how naturally oily and sensitive their skin is; (3) a lot of times people give bad reviews for malfunctioning packaging, bad service, excessive expense, or something else that only applies to their specific situation rather than to the product itself.

There is no one-size-fits-all solution – the various lotions and potions are on sale today because some people’s skins benefit from them (the exception being Clinique Dramatically Different Lotion which objectively sucks). I still believe that although sunscreen, retinol, Vitamin C, Niacinamide (B3), Tocopherol (E), exfoliants, and possibly copper alleviate superficial skin conditions and have been scientifically proven to slow down the rate of skin aging, there is not much a cream can do to reverse damage done to the deeper layers of the skin where the wrinkle forms. The best plan of action is preventative care – please don’t wait until your face looks like Mick Jagger’s ball sack to start shopping for a moisturizer.

Truthfully, in my own experience and according to what I believe to be unbiased articles written by dermatologists not employed by cosmetic companies, almost every skin care product is essentially a moisturizer and layering on serums, treatments, and creams doesn’t necessarily amplify their effects. In fact, they can sometimes cancel each other out or cause unwanted reactions. Finding a great moisturizer is the most effective, most hassle-free way to better skin. As I’ve mentioned previously, my own skin has resembled an over-sensitive oil slick splattered with acne since I was a preteen and, even though still very far from perfect now, it’s improved beyond my wildest dreams since I streamlined my skincare routine.

Absolutely stay away from anything with denatured alcohol or any alcohol listed with a number in it (ex., SD-40). These are possibly the worst substance you could be applying to your face because they cause wrinkling through pervasive moisture loss and sun discoloration through photo-sensitivity. A lot of high-end organic lines and L’Oreal unfortunately use alcohol as the base for all their moisturizers. Just because it’s made from corn doesn’t mean it’s safe! Also, don’t buy anything that isn’t packaged in an opaque tube or pump bottle. Sticking your finger into a jar alters the cream’s PH balance and sunlight and oxygen start breaking down nutrients like Vitamin C in a week. All of Olay’s moisturizers, even the low-end ones, actually have awesome formulations. They even come in fragrance-free versions which are great for your skin because essential oils are irritating and also cause photo-sensitivity. However, a lot of Olay products also come in glass jars.

Among higher end moisturizers, glass jars are even more common. They also tend to be overpriced concoctions of exotic plants that may be beneficial, damaging, or inert – who knows? That company may have been the only researcher interested in them in the first place, so don’t be seduced by their scientific-sounding “proof” that cactus juice diminishes undereye circles. That being said, my mom misunderstood the exchange rate at the duty free shop of the Tokyo Narita Airport and bought me Lancôme Absolue Replenishing Lotion SPF 15 and I secretly love it. I only use it for special events like my semi-annual romantic dinner, but it feels so comfortable and I (delusionally?) believe that some of the claims about its active ingredient, Pro-Xylane, actually look promising (see video clip below). Obviously I can’t afford $135 for a moisturizer though, being a mere grad student.  “Dermatologist” lines like DDF, Murad, and Perricone MD are even more high-priced than old-school luxury department store brands. I’ve seen some that are $300 a pop. They tend to eschew plant ingredients for scary chemicals. I used a free sample of Murad Age Reform Serum for three days under my eyes and it honestly tore my skin off. It looked and felt raw.

Anyways, Philosophy On a Clear Day is what I’ve settled on for everyday use. I’m happy that it contains hyaluronic acid rather than shea butter or oil and the retinol really controls my acne. I apply an inoffensive broad-spectrum sunscreen on top. However, it’s not for everyone. I believe that everyone should find a product that suits them rather than just blindly following public opinion. It’s important to educate oneself about the available options because marketing firms are striving to get you to blow money on moisturizers that are either ineffective or damaging. In fact almost every single cosmetics company spends a much greater portion of their budget on marketing than on research.

I’ve been busy all day writing a paper about English missionaries in southern Africa, but as I was taking a short break I stumbled upon this ridiculous article entitled “Courtney Love’s Breast Implants Kill Her Dog.” Jesus. The alternate universe that Hollywood celebrities live in sometimes boggles my mind. It’s recently come to my attention that pretty much every female and some male actors have had plastic surgery. Even Rosanne Barr’s had a selection including lipo, botox, rhinoplasty, facelift, and breast implants. Lindsay Lohan, who is a few years younger than me, has had multiple facelifts already. Megan Fox has fake cheeks and breasts. Nicole Kidman has fake everything: eyes, nose, lips, jawline, brow. I guess I have nothing against plastic surgery generally (although I’ll never have it myself), but I find it sort of creepy that people make their facial features look completely different from what they’ve seen in the mirror all their lives.

There are a ton of before and after pictures on the web for anyone who cares to search.  These are samplings of Paris Hilton, Li’l Kim, and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Even if they look prettier after plastic surgery (which isn’t always the case), I can’t imagine straying so far from reality without somewhat losing touch with it.

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The bodyshop & flying tiger Haul

Not only new products on my blog but new quality photo's aswell I'm so happy to announce I upgraded my pictures from a Iphone 5S to a Canon EOS 1300D.  My previous flatlays where my Iphone but the lip swatches I did where my new camera. It was a long process but I finally did it. … Continue reading The bodyshop & flying tiger Haul

Happy New Year – Be Grateful For Everything ♥

Happy 2017 everyone! I hope you started your new year great with lots of love or food. Yes I'm very grateful for this year I want to thank everybody that made this year amazing and special! But 2016 was not always the best some how I feel better and happier than before, let's enjoy the … Continue reading Happy New Year – Be Grateful For Everything ♥

Skin for all seasons

Inspired by my friends over at Razor's a company, Dollar Shave Club,  This week I'm bringing awareness to seasonal skin care, yes there are certain things we have to do all year round. Drink lots of water, wear sunscreen, shower. But not every season has the same weather circumstances. So here are things you have to change … Continue reading Skin for all seasons

May Favorites – 2016

It's time for a favorites post, June is just begun and this means it's my birthday month and summer is coming closer. Can't wait for warmer weather and vacation. But for now let's talk about my loved products this month... The perfect bare lipstick in the colour 07 Proudly naked from Bourjois was my most … Continue reading May Favorites – 2016


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Listen Now: ‘Runaways’ by The Killers from Battle Born

If you woke up this morning, you might hear new tunes on radio. Yeah! The Killers’ new song ‘Runaways’ are premiering now across the world. The song make its airplay debut today in US on KROQ radio station (Kevin & Bean Show/ 7:00 am) and on BBC Radio 1 in UK.

Battle Born Release Date

  • UK : Sep 17. 2012
  • US : Sep 18. 2012

If you’ve missed it earlier, here’s the tunes. It’s an amazing-killer song, huh?

[7/17] Link to purchase the single is available now on iTunes.

Stay tuned with us for upcoming new releases – TwitterFacebook

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Filed under New Single, Release Date, Upcoming Album

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Managing the Muck

Tonight we were driving and all I could talk about was stupid stuff we have to do.  We have to call the car insurance guy, we have to find songs for the wedding, we have to pay bills, we have to figure out how the hell we’re going to actually combine all our money, we have to practice signing our new last name… so many things! None of which can be accomplished in the car.  And Turtle was like, “Why are we talking about this now instead of when we can do something about it?!”

And here’s the answer: because all these ideas are like funny little creatures just pinging around in my brain, leaping and flying and somersaulting around in my head, and I can never wrangle them still enough to deal with them when there’s actual time to do it.  Stupid little Animal-thoughts. Calm the f down!

So the pinging Animal-thoughts are the reason I haven’t been here; somehow it seems luxurious to write about whatever I feel like writing about when I have ten million A-ts to deal with, not to mention the actual animals in my life who are always desperately needing something like a lap or someone with whom to run in circles.  The beasts, they ask a lot of me.

clearly high-maintenance

In the meantime, here is what I have been thinking about: how marriage changes things.

Marriage, I think, throws you into the muck of things, when the muck is the other person’s family.  When you’re dating someone, their family is on the other side of them – you are connected to them on one side, there they are in the middle, and their family is on the other side.  You know their family; maybe you are even close to their family.  But you are not a part of their family.

silly family

And obviously marriage changes that.  I mean, duh, of course marriage changes that.  But suddenly you are spending time with their family on your own.  Suddenly when there’s a family fight, you are allowed to be there, and maybe it’s awkward and it’s probably uncomfortable, but you are a part of it.

Both of our families have family muck, muck that I won’t write about here; but what I’ve realized in the past few months is how in it we are, that the muck is a big part of what we’re signing up for.  Hello, Muck, I’m Bird, and I am here for the long haul.

All kinds of wedding things have been happening recently: we are getting RSVPs, we have both of our wedding rings all shiny and engraved and in our possession, I have my suit (though I have yet to try it on) and just today bought a shirt to wear with it. Turtle is still dress-less, so we’ll see what happens with that.

Funny story, though: I just don’t care enough to write about it. I’m sorry? Maybe “I don’t care enough” is the wrong way to say it; maybe I’m just trying to survive these last three weeks of planning and the writing needs to be about something I can really invest in? I’m not sure.  But this is what I am holding onto:

Three weeks from today, we will stand in front of our family and friends and declare ourselves family.  In the meantime, we will wade through the muck, we will hold each other up, we will get each other to work and help each other fill out applications and take turns cleaning up Beast poop.  And in three weeks and a day, well, we will be married, and we will be doing similar things, and hopefully we will still be riding the high that being surrounded by people who love you brings.

For now, I try to remind Turtle that I am grateful for all the muck-wading she is doing and that I am prepared for any muck-wading she needs from me; for now, I try to remember that the hair flower doesn’t matter, while balancing the idea that I really, really want a hair flower; for now, I am trying to be grateful for where I am, while I’m here.

I have no intriguing questions for the end of this post, but I do want to say that I’ve missed writing, and I miss all your responses to what I write.  So say hello, if you have a minute, and tell me the things that you’re trying to hold onto, trying to savor, or can’t wait to be done with. Or both.

Filed under Marriage/Wedding/Engagement, Relationships

6 responses to “Managing the Muck

  1. LOVE everything you’ve said here! So true! And at 3 weeks out, well, I’m having trouble writing anything at all too- there’s just so much to DO. And so many important things to think about. And so while I am dying to share our fabulous invite, well, I just can’t really be bothered yet to write about calligraphy and stamps, and why we chose such and such envelopes and blah blah blah. Can you believe we’re almost married ladies?!

    • I KNOW. I feel like an awful wedding blogger on WeddingBee… as we get closer instead of blogging more I want to hide. Sorry, readers!

      That said, I want to hear more about what you’re doing so I can maintain the idea that everyone three weeks out is as crazy as I am. Okay? Okay.

  2. cmc

    I am trying to savor moving in! Soon we will be completely moved in and decorated. And it is all joyous and transitions are hard but transitions are inspiring and fun. So the physical transition of stuff is almost over… but I’m also looking forward to the next few months (and beyond) of the bigger and harder and more important transitions and adjustments and decorations of more emotional things. (I’m going to take it easy class- and work-wise this semester to help accomplish that).

  3. lyn

    Yes. Uh-huh. Yes.

    *nods so hard head falls off*

    I’m trying to hold onto it too. Even in the midst of all these THINGS that have to be done, I know they don’t really matter., but that this TIME matters. It’s a great period of growing awareness of self and other merging (not becoming one PERSON, but becoming one purpose, so to speak). And I kind of resent that the task list is distracting me from that. But I also feel like it enhances that awareness too, because it helps drive home the point that this time is unlike any other time before, and we in a period of transition in our lives. You know? Probably not. I feel like I’ve lost the capacity to make sense. Need more sleep, need more coffee, need more time to think. Apologies for coming here and blathering all over the place.

    • Lyn, I love this! You’re so right… The tasks DO distract, and that’s the trick of it, right? I keep thinking, if we can do this, what can’t we do?

  4. So interesting the way you put that… there is definitely something I’m trying to savor AND trying desperately to be done with… that would be, of course, not having a job! I find myself not being able to enjoy fully the times when I’m outside hanging up the laundry, or walking the dog, or whatever, because I feel like I’m not pushing hard enough towards the job-having. But then I remember: Man! I am going to look back on this freedom and sleeping in and being outside and really miss it! Not sure yet how to reconcile those two…

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BY INVITATION ONLY: Turkish Civil-Military Relations and the Fight against Terrorism

22 May 2017, 17:00
RUSI Whitehall
The Centre for Turkey Studies (CEFTUS) in partnership with the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) is pleased to host prominent Turkish security expert, Dr Metin Gurcan.

Metin Gurcan’s talk aims to present a model for ‘damage control’ in the Turkish security sphere following last year’s attempted coup d’etat. He will look at Turkish civil-military relations, Turkey’s security architecture and security policies, and Turkey’s fight against the PKK, extreme Salafi/Jihadist networks and members of the Gulen movement in the post-coup and post-referendum context.

In the aftermath of last year’s coup, Turkey faces a dilemma as to whether to monopolise state control of the military or democratise it. Monopolisation would take power away from the military elites and put it in the hands of the elected executive presidency, allowing for strict civilian control of the military. Democratisation on the other hand would see power spread between the elected president, the elected government, and parliamentary and civil society actors, such as academia, think tanks, and the media so as to create a more effective military oversight and monitoring system.

Gurcan will analyse the possible implications of a hasty and large-scale civilianisation process on the nature of Turkish civil-military relations. He will then explore the extent to which the Turkish military’s institutional identity has evolved from a ‘monolithic whole’ into a ‘polylithic formation’, comprised of many separate micro-identities, reflecting the differing worldviews and attitudes towards change of various factions within the military elite. This transition from ‘monolithic’ to ‘polylithic’ is driven by the weakening power of the Chief of General Staff and seems to be the prime risk factor within the military. Gurcan will talk about the threats faced by Turkey’s military today and talk about ways of mitigating and managing these.

Speaker Biographies

Dr Metin Gurcan is a columnist for the Washington-based Al Monitor News Agency writing about security related issues and is a regular contributor to the Turkish T24 News Agency.

From 2010 to 2014, Dr Gurcan worked as an analyst officer at the Turkish General Staff. After resigning from the military in 2015, Dr Gurcan obtained his PhD from the Department of Political Science of Bilkent University in 2016 with a dissertation entitled ‘Opening the Blackbox: The Transformation of the Turkish Military’. In 2014, Dr Gurcan worked as a visiting research fellow at Oxford University’s Changing Character of War (CCW) Program, and conducted research about the changing nature of conflict and counterinsurgency (COIN) efforts in tribal and Muslim settings. Dr Gurcan has been published extensively in Turkish and foreign academic journals such as Turkish Studies, Small Wars Journal and Dynamics of Asymmetric Conflict, on issues such as perceptions on the changing nature of warfare, terrorism, Turkish civil-military relations, military history and Turkish foreign policy.

Dr Francesco F. Milan is a Teaching Fellow at the Defence Studies Department, King’s College London/Joint Services Command and Staff College. His doctoral dissertation (War Studies, King’s College London) focused on the evolution of Turkish civil-military relations. Dr Milan has written extensively on Turkey’s security issues, and has recently published “Turkey: What Hides Behind a Failed Coup Attempt” on The RUSI Journal.

Click here for more information and to express an interest in attending please email

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Posts Tagged ‘bears’

painting: Grizzly bears

I paint almost every day, with time set aside to do just that. I have to schedule my day off in advance, because otherwise they would all turn into days off. There’s always something else that needs to be done, as I’m sure you know. So even though now and then the day feels like one where I really just don’t want to paint, if I am not sick I still make myself sit down for a bit and see what happens. Usually I get interested, once I get going. This bear painting was one of those days: I didn’t want to paint, but then once I started and saw how pretty it was, I didn’t want to stop until it was done. I still got interrupted, of course, but I headed right back when I could.

These grizzlies were at the San Francisco zoo about six years ago, maybe they are still there?

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painting: grizzly with apple

This was one of those paintings that I was excited about painting, and knew it would work out just right. And it did. I find when I am real excited to try something, usually they come out just as I imagine. Not always, but most of the time. I am showing you a close-up of part of the painting, as I can’t figure out how to get wordpress to stop making my photos show up so small. I don’t want you to see the whole thing *really small.* So just this one time, better a close-up. I will be listing him in my etsy shop on Monday!

this is strictly to see if if generates hits: grizzly bear painting art

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I painted a BIG grizzly (18″x24″) and will list it on etsy later this week. The paint is not quite dry, and I don’t want to be one of those people who say, “Shipping will be in another week, after the paint dries.” Because I totally understand when you buy something and plunk your money down, you want the goods NOW.
growls and honey

This bear is a composite of a photo I took, plus the body of another bear who’s photo was on an artist site with a huge graphic database where people post their photos for copyright free sharing. If you are at all interested in any manner of art, there’s lots of good information at wetcanvas.com. Isn’t that bear foot excellent? Doesn’t it make you suddenly understand why people find sasquatch footprints all the time?

Meanwhile, the above bear will be listed in my etsy shop later this week!

Also, my newsletter for the week is available now. Click the link over on the right!

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I have a bunch of zoo photos from a trip when I had my not so nice camera where the animal images are pretty small and I have to do a lot of guesswork about what is probably happening in some of the areas. I think as time goes on and I learn to paint better and become more familiar with animal physiology I am getting better about making those guesses. I think this is a kiss not a bite, don’t you?

This bunny I painted on a day I did not feel like painting at all. I thought I would do just the eyes and then quit. But those only took a minute so I thought I’d do the ears too. And then I liked how I used lavender on one ear and yellow on the other, so I thought I’d explore a little bit where that was going. And pretty soon he was all done and I was glad I had kept at it!

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painting: a grizzly bear

I’m taking my Christmas break from selling on ebay, and won’t have any more paintings there until Dec. 29. In the meanwhile, I’m going to be listing one here and there on etsy throughout the month.

I finished up this grizzly bear painting, and I’m happy with how he turned out. This is from my San Francisco zoo photos; I’m bummed the Portland zoo does not have any bears (well, a sun bear, but that’s it). So my bear photos are pretty limited. I got much better elephant photos at the Portland zoo, so I guess it’s a trade off.
beary good

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