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Treehouse of Horror XI
A Tale of Two Springfields
Insane Clown Poppy
Now, I'm not one to make trouble, but it seems to me that everyone who got to keep the old, or [air quotes] classic 636 area code lives on [points finger accusingly] the rich side of town!
Homer about the new area code.

"A Tale of Two Springfields" is the second episode of Season 12 and is the 250th episode of the series overall in both broadcast and production order (originally going to be in the eleventh season).

The episode was inspired by Don Payne based on Don's mom area where one side would spread rumors of the other side. Larry Doyle then pitched it to have the both sides divide, because of area code. The episode features cultural references to The Who and Freedom of Speech and has also received positive reviews from critics.

While calling Animal Control over a badger taking residence in Santa's Little Helper's doghouse, Homer discovers that Springfield has two different area codes—and ends up leading a revolt that splits the town in two.

Full Story

While feeding Santa's Little Helper, Bart finds a badger in his doghouse. Bart and Lisa try to get rid of it themselves, but are unsuccessful. After Homer suggests they blow up the doghouse with dynamite, Lisa tells him to call animal control instead. When Homer calls them, he gets a tri-tone and a recording indicating that he did not enter the correct area code. Marge informs him that the phone company ran out of numbers, so they had to split Springfield into two area codes. One half keeps the old 636 and the Simpsons' half get the new 939. Homer is outraged that they changed the code without warning (even though Lenny and Carl say that they had weeks of in-advance warnings, including two weeks at area code camp).

While at a town meeting, Lindsey Naegle shows a film (starring talking telephone Phony McRing-Ring) that attempts to convince the audience two area codes are better. The whole town agrees with it. However, Homer stands up, accuseing the phone company of making the film on purpose and points out that the original 636 code was kept by the rich side of town. When Homer fails to blow himself up with the suicide belt he was wearing, he leads a rebellion of the poor and goes off to form a new town.

Homer names the town with the new 939 code "New Springfield", which has residents including: Flanders, Comic Book Guy, Moe, Lenny, Carl, and the Simpsons. While half of the town with 636 is now called "Olde Springfield", which includes residents such as: Kent Brockman, Principal Skinner, Apu, Mrs. Krabappel, and Krusty, Homer is appointed mayor of New Springfield, but shows disrespect for the office by using his sash as a napkin. While unveiling the Olde Springfield town plaque, Mayor Quimby attempts to bond with New Springfield, but Homer throws a beer can at him. A rivalry quickly ensues between the two towns.

On Channel 6, Kent Brockman insults the inefficiency of New Springfield, and states that New Springfield is less attractive than they Olde Springfield are, and while they talk in a sophisticated manner, New Springfield citizens tend to use low-brow expressions like "Oh, yeah?" and "C'mere a minute". Homer says, "Oh, yeah? So they think they're better than us, huh? Bart, c'mere a minute." Bart replies, "You c'mere a minute." and Homer says, "Oh, yeah?"

A Tale of Two Springfields (Promo Picture) 3
That night, Homer and Bart go to the Nuclear Plant and cut off the power to Olde Springfield. Olde Springfield retaliates by hijacking a beer truck and dumping its contents in the river. Homer and New Springfield strike back by cutting off the river supply into Olde Springfield; however, with the river drained, its inhabitants find gold in the riverbed and buy the Evian bottled water factory. Homer decides to build a giant wall right through town, just like the one Berlin had. When he tells his citizens they do not have enough supplies to get past tomorrow, and that a wave of disease will kill the weak (afterwards, they'll be forced to eat certain breeds of dogs), everyone except the Simpsons leave, abandoned the Simpsons and join Olde Springfield.

Now the mayor of a ghost town, Homer boasts to himself that The Who is coming to their town. Lisa then points out the arena is in Olde Springfield, which means they are actually performing in Olde Springfield, making Homer cry,"D'oh!" Bart says that they could try to talk the band into playing in New Springfield. Before heading out, he smashes a shop window and grabs a bottle of chloroform.

Homer and Bart go to the Hotel Pillowmint where The Who is staying, and Homer tells them that Olde Springfield would make them cut their hair, turn their music down, and wear frilly shirts like Keith Partridge. The Who is shocked at this, and, after a Who-huddle, they agree to play in New Springfield. When Olde Springfield is waiting for the band, they find them in New Springfield and prepare to riot.

While waiting for Olde Springfield to show up, Homer gives the band a list of songs to play. Roger complains that most songs on the list are by Grand Funk Railroad and that they don't know 'Pac-Man Fever'. Olde Springfield shows up and launches flaming garbage at Homer with a catapult. Roger and John then discover that the feud is over the town being split into two area codes. Roger suggests they buy phones with speed dial, and both towns agree. Homer yells," 'Magic Bus'!" prompting the whole town to shout in agreement. Roger says they'll play 'Magic Bus' if Homer tears down the wall of garbage. Homer then yells," 'Pinball Wizard'!" which makes it clear that he just wants to hear them play. Pete says, "Oh, hell, I'll do it myself." and turns his amplifier up to a 'whuh-oh!' setting. The Who then play the outro to 'Won't Get Fooled Again', which knocks Homer onto the ground and destroys a section of the wall, merging the towns again. Homer then blames Marge for everything that happened. Before Marge can object, Homer dips a rag in chloroform and puts it over her face, making her fall unconscious and he dances with her until the credits roll. Meanwhile the badger leads an animal invasion of the town to "get 'em while they're dancing".

Behind the Laughter

Promo cards

The episode was written by John Swartzwelder and directed by Shaun Cashman and guest starred The Who. The episode was inspired by Don Payne based on Don's mom area where one side would spread rumors of the other side. Larry Doyle then pitched it to have the both sides divide, because of area code. There was backlash from the internet with Homer's entrails were visible in one scene. The phone from the educational cartoon was voiced by Dan Castellaneta. The decision for The "who's on whose" side was difficult, with one time it being between Ned and Homer's house. Pete Townshend did not guest in the episode as he did not know he would be providing his own voice and assumed someone else would like in Yellow Submarine. Roger Daltrey, John Entwistle and Pete's brother, Paul Townshend provided guest voices in the episode. "I knew they didn't do a lot of cartoon work. But I really wanted to meet them, so it was worth a shot," Scully said. After a number of calls were made by the show's casting director in Los Angeles to The Who's managers in London, the group agreed to appear on the show. The animated versions of the band members included Daltrey in his trademark tight t-shirt and long curls, even though Daltrey cut the curls in 1979, as they wanted to use the image The Who they are best known for. The Who recorded their lines in England, but still weighed in on script details. During the production the staff decided to animate Keith Moon in his honor since he died in 1978, instead of the current drummer, Zak Starkey. There was later a website about What badgers eat.

Several parts of this episode are cut when it airs in syndication on Sky1 only in Ireland:

  • When KBBL are talking about a mattress on the freeway, the line 'Joan Collins must be in town' is cut.
  • When Homer phones the radio station, it cuts from that scene to the town hall, missing out the scene with Homer strangling Bart, and Bart retaliating by hitting Homer on the head with the phone.
  • Kent's 'Golden Showers' line is cut.
  • All of the badger scenes (with the exception of the first) are cut.
  • In other parts of the world, there is a scene right after the guard throws Homer and Bart Simpson into The Who's room, where Homer smashes a lamp to the ground, and Bart starts to kick the drum set.
  • The entire episode was in fact heavily cut for syndication. Originally 22 minutes and 11 seconds long, two minutes and 10 seconds were cut, and the episode was expanded 46 seconds to a length of 20:47. This is still about a half-minute shorter than most syndicated versions.
  • A deleted scene on the season 12 DVD shows that when Marge says that it's a little chilly, the singer replies "Oh, shut the fuck up, Marge." before smacking her with a microphone. This scene was banned because of the profanity. Even if it was aired, it would have been censored for the FCC.

The episode got a 3.96 out of 5 ranking 102 out of 373 episodes. Mort of the TV Legion said the episode is a memorable episode. Colin Jacobson of the DVD Movie Guide gave the episode a positive review saying "Maybe it’s the low expectations that accompany 21st century Simpsons episodes, but “Tale” works for me. It takes a simple premise and turns in a good number of strong comedic bits. Hey, and a mention of “golden showers” keeps the Season 12 perverted sexual practices streak going!" although he critizised the animaton of The Who other than Daltrey saying that "That’s particularly odd in the case of Pete, as he’d gone awfully bald and gray by 2000.". Jennifer Malkowski of the DVD Verdict said the Greatest Moment was A tie between "Sacred bond" and "Who huddle." Nancy Basile of gave the episode a five writing "Finally! I loved this episode because, flashy guest stars aside, it got back to the heart and soul of the show."

External links

Season 11 Season 12 Episodes Season 13
Treehouse of Horror XIA Tale of Two SpringfieldsInsane Clown PoppyLisa the Tree HuggerHomer vs. DignityThe Computer Wore Menace ShoesThe Great Money CaperSkinner's Sense of SnowHOMЯPokey MomWorst Episode EverTennis the MenaceDay of the JackanapesNew Kids on the BlecchHungry, Hungry HomerBye Bye NerdieSimpson SafariTrilogy of ErrorI'm Goin' to PraiselandChildren of a Lesser ClodSimpsons Tall Tales
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Siteline | See more. Get more.

December, 2018 Archive

Ever heard of hygge (pronounced “hoo-gah”)?It is the Danish lifestyle word encompassing feelings of coziness and contentment. This buzz word has sky-rocketed in Pinterest, Instagram and Houzz searches. It’s synonymous with Scandinavian design and the feelings it embodies. This Scandinavian type of style has been coming on strong in the United States, with IKEA becoming […]

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How Colin Kaepernick Beat the NFL

His settlement with the league is a major victory for the leader of the league’s protest movement.

Colin Kaepernick attending the 2018 U.S. Open.
Colin Kaepernick attending the 2018 U.S. Open.
Elsa/Getty Images

On Friday, the NFL and representatives for Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid announced that they had settled a grievance suit with the two players over alleged collusion to keep them out of the league because of their protests during the anthem.

“For the past several months, counsel for Mr. Kaepernick and Mr. Reid have engaged in an ongoing dialogue with representatives of the NFL. As a result of those discussions, the parties have decided to resolve the pending grievances,” the NFL and Kaepernick and Reid’s attorneys said in a joint announcement. “The resolution of this matter is subject to a confidentiality agreement so there will be no further comment by any party.”

Although the precise details of the settlement are as of yet unknown, it’s difficult to view the resolution as anything but a victory for Kaepernick and Reid. It will certainly be a win for the players financially. Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman reported that NFL teams were speculating the settlement with Kaepernick alone could have been in the $60 million to $80 million range.

Kaepernick filed his grievance against the league in October 2017, alleging that one or more teams had colluded with each other and/or the league to keep him out of the NFL because of his decision to kneel during the national anthem in the 2016–17 season as a protest against police brutality and systemic racism.

Reid, who was the first player to join Kaepernick’s protest movement when they played together on the San Francisco 49ers, alleged in his grievance that he’d been blackballed for continuing to protest following Kaepernick’s exclusion from the NFL. Reid, who did not drop his grievance (and continued to protest) after signing a deal with the Carolina Panthers this season, recently re-signed with the team, getting a three-year contract worth more than $21 million. The 31-year-old Kaepernick, meanwhile, still does not have a job in the NFL after two seasons without a contract.

Kaepernick’s collusion case was strong enough to get past a summary judgment dismissal request by the league. In August, arbitrator Stephen Burbank announced that he had rejected that dismissal request, which meant the case would go forward before Burbank in essentially a trial format. Burbank’s decision was an indication that Kaepernick’s attorneys had gathered evidence in the proceeding’s initial discovery phase that was “sufficient to raise a genuine issue of material fact” over whether the league had blackballed Kaepernick.

The ruling based on the initial evidence—which was reported to have included many pages of electronic communications records, as well as several depositions with key NFL owners and executives—set up the potential for a major loss by the league.

Both the Kaepernick and Reid grievances cited President Donald Trump’s role in pressuring NFL owners to bar any players who protested during the national anthem. The New York Times reported that NFL owners held a closed-door meeting in October 2017 in which a number of them appeared terrified of Trump. The Wall Street Journal further reported that Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had been asked by Trump to deliver a message to the owners about the protest movement. “This is a very winning, strong issue for me,” Trump said, according to the Journal’s account of Jones’ deposition. “Tell everybody, you can’t win this one. This one lifts me.”

Now it appears that listening to Trump on the issue may have cost owners—and won Kaepernick—many millions of dollars without doing anything to stop the years-long discussion around police brutality and systemic racism that Kaepernick, Reid, and other NFL protesters helped generate.

Meanwhile, Kaepernick has been honored by multiple human rights organizations for his stand for social justice, and in September was made the face of a new Nike campaign that used his status as a modern-day civil rights icon to sell sneakers.

At the same time, the NFL has backed down in the face of other legal challenges from attempts to create rules blocking protests. It’s unclear what will happen in the future on that front, but it seems as though that question will now be answered in negotiations between the league and the NFL Players Association and not unilaterally by Roger Goodell and the NFL’s owners.

It’s also unclear whether Kaepernick will ever get another chance to play in the NFL. If this settlement proves anything, though, it’s that there was no good reason for him to be kept off NFL rosters in the first place—and there’s still no good reason for him to be kept from playing in the NFL going forward.


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How to Shop a Sale Rack

Think you know? Most have NO idea. Listen, I love the finer things in life… really.

“I’ve never really been one for the preservation of money…”- Drake (and I.)

BUT right now… no way I’m fooling myself that I can afford the life and things I want. So there’s NOTHING wrong with looking for savings whenever you can. Look at this bag full of goodies I snagged over the summer for under $100!

The strategy for shopping a sales rack is easy, and a must-know–but patience is the most important key to scoping mega deals year round. Here are my steps to getting great deals on the styles you LOVE:

1. (and this depends on your shopping habits/what’s already in your closet,) try to buy one adaptable piece every other weekend. For example, I’ll be shopping for new outfits as I’ve started a new job, and really need a new wardrobe post this weight loss.

2. Allot a certain amount of time at a couple different stores where you know sale racks are often replenished, mine more recently, is Sears. Another good thing to keep in mind is what designers have partnered with the store. At Sears for instance, French Connection has an exclusive like called UK Style. Great line, at amazing prices… and even better when they’re on S A L E.

3. Since you’ve allotted time for your Sale Shopping, you shouldn’t feel rushed at all. Take time and go through every rack, look at every piece at a glance, and take a couple minutes on pieces you think you may like.

4. Now, we know there are things you just don’t need- especially if it isn’t as on sale as you’d hoped- but if you can justify it’s cool factor, trendy nature, and versatility for your wardrobe, I say buy it.

5. Once you’ve cleared the racks of what you love, take it to the fitting room. Again, take   your   time! Try everything on and really think about when/how you can wear it. Can you wear it to work AND spruce it for an after-work-date? ALL things to keep in mind when deciding what to finally buy.

6. Get your butt to that register, and watch the savings drip from the tags right into your closet.

Check out the pieces I bought below- French Connection for Sears, all for ~$80.

Good buys huh?! I think so.

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Integrating Solar and Electric Cars

Integrating Solar and Electric Cars
April 16, 2019 Amanda Heileman
Jay Thomas with Tesla

By Jay Thomas – Sales Consultant at Native Solar

For the past 15 years it’s been my dream to completely erase my carbon footprint and live entirely on solar energy. My career at Native Solar as a solar consultant, my recent purchase of a Tesla Model 3, and the installation of a charger from Smart Charge America, has allowed me to further pursue my dreams of erasing my carbon footprint and living on solar energy.Tesla Wall Connector

There are two main ways to shrink your carbon footprint. One way is photovoltaic systems, or more commonly known as solar panels. They provide a key benefit of producing power for electricity consumption with little to no carbon footprint. When your home is powered by solar panels, you may have a reduced or entirely negated electric bill, and a vastly reduced carbon footprint.

However, that’s only half of the equation. The other way to reduce your carbon footprint is your transportation. If you are an ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) driver, you’re still adding carbon and other chemicals to the atmosphere when you burn gas as you drive.

This is where an EV can bridge the gap. When you have rooftop solar, and you are using some of that electricity to charge an electric car, you are no longer contributing greenhouse gases to the environment. Further, solar energy doesn’t have to just be about saving the planet. The combination of solar with EVs can even save you a significant amount of money.

Because solar comes with a fixed, up-front cost, you only have to pay for it once.  Whereas if you continue to pay your electric bill as normal, you are basically renting your electricity because your payment never goes away. It will even go up over time due to inflation as well as rising energy rates.

Investing in solar is a smart decision, even if you decide to take out a loan to pay for your solar. It’s still cheaper in the long run than paying your electric bill for the rest of your life. After your solar is paid for, you will, in effect, be driving for free without the need to visit a gas station, you also won’t have an electric bill to pay.

For the vast majority of middle class America, the surest path to wealth creation is home ownership. Not only can you own your home, but you can now own your power instead of renting it. Having Smart Charge America install my level two EV charger was a smart choice. It streamlined my service and gave me the assurance that it was done right. The first time.

With the help of Smart Charge America I made the plunge to a carbon-free, low cost life style, and I couldn’t be happier! With current rebates and incentives for solar and EVs nearing their end, this is one of the best times we’ve ever seen to get started.

Here’s to making your own power!

Smart Charge America van in front of home with solar panels

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Improve Your Maths Marks

This article is written by  Deb Russell,

Here are some quick steps to help you get better at doing mathematics. Regardless of age, the tips here will help you learn and understand math concepts from primary school right on through to university math. Everyone can do math, be positive and follow the steps here and you’ll be on your way to seeing success in math.

Understanding Versus Memorizing

All too often, we will try to memorize a procedure or sequence of steps instead of looking to understand why certain steps are required in a procedure. Always, always strive for understanding the why and not just the how. Take the algorithm for long division Typically, we say, “how many times does 3 go into 7” when the question is 73 divided by 3. After all, that 7 represents 70 or 7 tens. The understanding in this question really has little to do with how many times 3 goes into 7 but rather how many are in the group of three when you share the 73 into 3 groups. 3 going into 7 is merely a short cut. Putting 73 into 3 groups means understanding. The long division algorithm rarely makes sense unless the concrete method is fully understood.

Maths is Not a Spectator Sports, Get Active!

Getty ImagesUnlike some subjects, math is something that won’t let you be a passive learner. Math is the subject that will often put you out of the comfort zone, don’t worry as this is normal and part of the learning process. Try to make connections in math, many of the concepts in math are related and connected. The more connections you can make, the greater the understanding will be. Math concepts flow through levels of difficulty, start from where you are and move forward to the more difficult levels only when understanding is in place. The internet has a wealth of interactive math sites that let you engage, be sure use them.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Getty ImagesDo as many problems as is required to ensure you understand the concept. Some of us require more practice and some of us require less practice. You will want to practice a concept until it makes sense and until you are fluent at finding solutions to various problems within the concept readily. Strive for those ‘A Ha!’ moments. When you can get 7 varied questions in a row right, you’re probably to the point of understanding. Even more so if you re-visit the questions a few months later and are still capable of solving them. This too is key to understanding. Be sure to check out the worksheet section for lots of practice examples.

Additional Exercises

Getty ImagesThis is similar to practice. Think of math the way one thinks about a musical instrument. Most of us don’t just sit down and play an instrument. We take lessons, practice, practice some more and although we move on, we still take time to review. Go beyond what is asked for. Your instructor tells you to do questions 1-20, even numbers only. Well, that may work for some, but others may need to do each of the questions to reach the point of fluency with the concept. Doing the extra practice questions only helps you to grasp the concept more readily. And, as always, be sure to re-visit a few months later, do some practice questions to ensure that you still have a grasp of it.

Buddy Up!

Getty ImagesSome people like to work alone. However, when it comes to solving problems, it often helps to have a work buddy. You know the saying: two heads are better than one. Sometimes a work buddy can help clarify a concept for you by looking at it in a different way. Organize a study group or work in pairs or triads! In real life we often work through problems with others. Math is no different. A work buddy also provides you with the opportunity to discuss how you solved the math problem. And as you’ll see in this list of tips, conversing about math leads too permanent understanding and you know that understanding is key.

Explain and Question

Try to explain to somebody else how you solve math concepts. Teach a friend. Or, keep a journal. It’s often important to state either in writing or orally how you solved your math problems/exercises. Question problems, ask yourself, What would happen if…….I solved it this way because…..
Remember William Glasser’s findings:
  • 10% of what we READ
  • 20% of what we HEAR
  • 30% of what we SEE
  • 50% of what we SEE and HEAR
  • 70% of what is DISCUSSED with OTHERS
  • 95% of what we TEACH TO SOMEONE ELSE

Phone a Friend …. or Tutor!

Getty Images

Seek help when it’s appropriate. Don’t let yourself get stuck and frustrated. Seek extra clarification when needed, be your own advocate! Whether you have a friend or need to hire a tutor, recognize the point at which you need help – then get it! Most of us need help some of the time, if you let it go too long, you’ll discover that the math will only become more frustrating for you.

Learn how your child can benefit at his most at MathsExCEL!facebook icon 2

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Blogging for Beginners

Are you an opinionated person who hangs out online all the time and wants to make some money?

A good starting point would be blogging. If you are clever with words, there is nothing stopping you from getting involved in the blogging industry.

Currently, 77% of all internet users spend most of their free time reading blogs. Blogging generates 97% more leads to top companies.

A blog acts as a tool for establishing the brand as a trendsetter. The reality is consumers learn about companies through such articles. Blog posts seem more honest and unrefined than advertisements.

Creating a blog is not as daunting as people make it out to be. Once you find your niche and start writing, everything will fall into place. Make sure to do it for the love of publishing and not only for the money. If you are not properly motivated, the readers will notice.

We highly recommend the most praised blogging software, which is a free and unique way to launch your blog.

Employing Google Analytics and Google Search Console helps you keep track of visitors and searches, and overall blog statistics.

You can curate your blog based on your audience preferences and demographics.

Here are some important notes in on how to start a blog:

  1. Stay consistent in posting content. Publish daily or weekly, and set apart some time to reply to all the comments.
  2. Photography and videos are attention grabbers. Most of the readers are visual beings; they spend more time looking at the fancy photos than on actual reading.
  3. If you use the blog as an online marketplace, be good to your loyal consumers – give gift cards and promotional codes.
  4. Since the blogging industry is hyper-competitive, you have got to utilize social media strategies. Add share buttons and re-publish your blog posts on your social media accounts, so that more people can recognize and discover your blog.
  5. Target your loyal audience and create with them in mind. You don’t have to please everybody, just stay true to your mission.

When setting up your blog, you will also need to consider where to host it. Check out this article for helpful tips.

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Lindsey is an Ontraport Certified Consultant and founder of Smartify My Biz. She's a digital strategist devoted to transforming and streamlining businesses using marketing and sales automation. Her goal? More profit for your pocket plus a business that runs like a well-oiled machine.


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The  Pioneers

The Pioneers

Pulitzer Prize-winning historian David McCullough rediscovers an important and dramatic chapter in the American story—the settling of the Northwest Territory by dauntless pioneers who overcame incredible hardships to build a community based on ideals that would come to define our country.As part of the Treaty of Paris, in which Great Britain recognized the new United States of America, Britain ceded the land that comprised the immense Northwest Territory, a wilderness empire northwest of the Ohio River containing the future states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin. A Massachusetts minister named Manasseh Cutler was instrumental in opening this vast territory to veterans of the Revolutionary War and their families for settlement. Included in the Northwest Ordinance were three remarkable conditions: freedom of religion, free universal education, and most importantly, the prohibition of slavery. In 1788 the first band of pioneers set out from New England for the Northwest Territory under the leadership of Revolutionary War veteran General Rufus Putnam. They settled in what is now Marietta on the banks of the Ohio River.McCullough tells the story through five major characters: Cutler and Putnam; Cutler's son Ephraim; and two other men, one a carpenter turned architect, and the other a physician who became a prominent pioneer in American science. They and their families created a town in a primeval wilderness, while coping with such frontier realities as floods, fires, wolves and bears, no roads or bridges, no guarantees of any sort, all the while negotiating a contentious and sometimes hostile relationship with the native people. Like so many of McCullough's subjects, they let no obstacle deter or defeat them.Drawn in great part from a rare and all-but-unknown collection of diaries and letters by the key figures, The Pioneers is a uniquely American story of people whose ambition and courage led them to remarkable accomplishments. This is a revelatory and quintessentially American story, written with David McCullough's signature narrative energy.

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Les Misérables, Episode 5

While I like Les Misérables, and the novel’s one of my favorite books, there’s some je nes sais quoi aspect that is missing in this production. Perhaps I can’t help but compare a Les Misérables production to the musical, but then why am I completely satisfied with the classics with Michel Simon and Jean Gabin? I watched them after reading the book or seeing the musical and was swept up by the stories. With this version, I’m a bit detached.

This week resumes with Cosette pining for Marius, who’s rather mopey in my opinion. Marius’ friends led by Enjolras decide to seize the moment of General LaMarque’s funeral to start a revolution that will bring about the social change they seek, i.e. better treatment for the poor. Marius is teased for being so in love that he can’t focus on a revolution.

The penniless Marius decides to eat crow and visit his awful grandfather to ask permission to marry. The old man scoffs and just suggests Marius put the girl gramps believes is a pauper up in an apartment and amuse himself till it’s time to marry for status and wealth. Gramps is simply advising Marius to do what he did. To his credit, Marius is appalled and vows to never cross the threshold of his grandfather’s mansion.

After escaping from jail, Éponine finds Marius and promises to give Cosette a letter from him. Though she’s in love with Marius, she’s willing to aid his love for her rival. She confronts her evil, abusive father in her efforts and while for a time hides Cosette’s new address she eventually tells Marius all and even sacrifices her life for him. The problem with this production was that the love Éponine shows looks so thin. I wondered why she died so Marius, who’s a bit of a wet noodle, could live.

The funeral procession seemed less epic, and probably more authentic, than in the musical. All hell does break loose, but this rush to the barricades didn’t have the impact on me as a viewer as other productions did.

Javert continues to obsessively want to capture Jean Valjean more than he wants to quell a rebellion. This time I wanted a colleague or superior to knock him over the head or ship him off to an asylum.

Jean Valjean fears Thenardiér and the police and plans to leave France after a few days at a new secret apartment. In addition to retrieving the fortune he’s stashed in the woods, he has to deal with Cosette’s teenage rebellion. Like all her age, she can’t see that her love isn’t quite as important as saving her adopted father’s life. Well, it’s almost excusable as she’s not fully aware of Jean Valjean’s situation. But she does know enough. She’s the one who cleaned his wounds after his fight with Thenardiér’s thugs. He has told her he was in prison. She must remember how he saved her from abuse and neglect.

The episode takes us up to Jean Valjean arriving at the barricade. He’s finally discovered Cosette’s secret romance and selflessly goes to help Marius.

For the most part, Masterpiece has followed Hugo’s story, but as I said something’s missing. Je souhaite que je nouveau quoi.

Poor Dwight and Morwenna

Sunday’s Poldark episode began by showing the villagers poorer and starving. Yet, and this should come as no surprise, George had no mercy or compassion for them. He rounded up those he could and sentenced them to 15 years in prison.

Also, the program included the fastest, no fuss, birth I’ve ever seen on television. In one scene Demelza’s digging potatoes and a bit later she’s got her new daughter Clowance  in her hands.  I didn’t actually mind the abbreviated birth because the episode was packed with other events.

Dwight is stuck in a dank, dark, decrepit prison which rivaled the Les Misérables Paris sewers for hygiene. Yet despite the starvation and mental anguish of his imprisonment, heroic Dwight manages to perform surgery in his cell.

carpe diem morwenna

Carpe diem, Morwenna

Morwenna and Drake, both reserved by nature, tentatively get closer. Yet as Morwenna’s charge Geoffrey speaks up to George and is found to have gone to Clowance’s baptism on the sly, George and Elizabeth feel it’s time for her to marry. Poor Morwenna. The Warleggan’s don’t bother to find anyone at all suitable. They settle for the first slimy widower to come along, a much older and very greasy Rev. Osborne Whitworth. Morwenna should run for the hills! But there’s no one who can rescue her. It’s out of the question socially that she could marry Dwight who lives in a dark, old building with a dirt floor with his brother. Even Demelza thinks Morwenna could never marry down.

George doesn’t brook opposition, no matter how wise or how true. Thus he’s exiling Aunt Agatha to the dungeon of the coldest, darkest part of the house. He makes sure that she gets no letters, including Ross’ invitation to Clowance’s christening.

As so many people are starving Caroline and Demelza team up to get them grain. Ross finds a way to trick George so that he’s fooled into thinking the villages stole when in fact they were given grain through donations. Ross’ trick backfires as it prompts George to get even by closing his mine, which was once a Poldark mine just out of spite. The result is 70 breadwinners will be out of work and their families may starve, but George has no compassion and he doesn’t care. Be careful George, look what the French did to their upper class.

The episode was brisk and moved a long with lots of emotion and action. The hour whipped by and I didn’t want the show to end. We’re left hanging to see what will become of Dwight, Morwenna and all the others in this splendid cast. I find I like Geoffrey Charles more and more.

The Collection

I gave Masterpiece’s The Collection a try when it premiered on Sunday. It didn’t take long for me to grow tired of a program where the characters all seemed dark, greedy and selfish. I confess after 10 minutes or so I changed the channel.

The show is about a struggling fashion house in Paris after WWII. The man in the center of the video’s first frame is the jaded, selfish owner of a fashion house is asked by a government official to help France’s fashion industry rise again to its former zenith.  To his left is his reprobate brother who’s a talented designer who’s got substance abuse problems.

I’d much rather PBS brought back The Paradise, where the characters were flawed and faced obstacles, but the heroine was good, though not at all boring. Dark characters like those in House of Cards or The Collection aren’t necessarily fascinating.

If I got the show wrong, and should give it a chance by catching up online, let me know.

Downton Abbey, Season 6 Begins

In the U.S. after months (maybe 10 months it seems) of promotions, Downton Abbey’s sixth season began on Sunday. My tradition has been to watch Downton with my aunt, who’s now living in an assisted living facility. I brought dinner for us and arrived early. Our problem was we couldn’t get PBS on Direct TV in her room. No one was able to help us. Ugh!

We had dinner and then I left to watch the show, feeling awful that my aunt wouldn’t be able to watch a show she loves.

I enjoyed this first episode, but feel that this review will echo what I said last season. I enjoyed seeing favourite characters and elegant costumes, but not all that much happened.

A chambermaid tried to blackmail Mary about her rendezvous with a Lord Whoever last season. We knew the chambermaid wouldn’t succeed and she doesn’t she’s just an annoyance. I’d expect a chambermaid in a nice hotel would have lots of opportunities for blackmail and that she’d be better at it than she was. It was odd how she had so much time and money to travel to the Abbey so frequently. By the end of the episode, Robert came to Mary’s rescue, showing his fatherly love, which made Mary realise how good a father he is. Still, I’d hoped that wily Mary would have outsmarted the chambermaid.

Violet has learned that a larger hospital would like to take over the village hospital. She shares her scuttlebutt at a board meeting and Isobel and Lord Merton, who seems to be trying to score points with her, oppose Violet and the local doctor, who doesn’t believe bigger is necessarily better. Cora’s caught in the middle and seems to be swayed more by Isobel’s views. I hope Cora gets a better storyline this season, but I doubt it.

Edith, as is often the case, didn’t get a lot to do. Her daughter is fully now part of the family. Edith handled an irate call with the editor of the paper she’s inherited. There was a nice scene with her aunt in which Edith considers moving to London to get out of Mary’s shadow, which would be best for her. Mary dominates Downton and there Edith will always play second fiddle.

I’ve wondered how the series will end and whether the Crawley’s will be able to keep their estate. In last night’s episode a nearby house went up for sale and the Crawley’s neighbours auctioned off most of their belongings. This sale obviously makes us all wonder what will happen to the Crawley’s who’re unable to replace staff and are now considering lowering wages.  The elegiac mood of the end of a beloved era hung more heavily last night and probably will throughout the series.

At the auction, Daisy had an outburst. She’s very upset that her father-in-law will probably be kicked off his farm. When she saw the new owners, surrounded by her employers and all the people milling about shopping for antiques and what-not, Daisy let loose her feelings of the injustice of Mr. Mason. Though she had a point, she didn’t help Mason at all and just got herself in hot water. As Mr. Carson points out this was a “dismissible offence.” Yet the Crawley’s were merciful and Robert just scolded her.

Mr. Carson and Mrs. Hughes are engaged, but Mrs. Hughes was worried about the “terms of the marriage.” There was a bit of comedy as she had Mrs. Patmore run back and forth to find out how intimate Mr. Carson expected her to be. In the end, Mr. Carson convinced Mrs. Hughes that he wanted a real marriage and that his love for her was strong and real. I wonder whether Mrs. Patmore will have to continue to play the messenger/marriage counsellor between these two people who’ve known each other for decades?

With a flourish of deux ex machina, Julian Fellows tied up the storyline of  Anna being suspected of murdering her rapist. Another woman confessed to the crime. She must have been a female Jean Valjean since Anna was the prime suspect and there was no clear reason why the woman confessed, but it’s lucky for Anna that she did.

Favorite Violet lines

  • Does it get cold on the moral high ground?
  • If you were talking in Urdu, I couldn’t understand you less.

Related Articles

Mr Selfridge, Finale – Part 2

Though I’m glad Nancy Webb’s identity and motive were revealed, there was so much I couldn’t abide in the last part of the finale.

  1. Why, oh why, does Violette feel doomed to marry Jacques, the aviator? She can do better. Anyone could. She hasn’t tried to find love other than Victor.
  2. Why did Victor send Violette away? Just last week he was frolicking with her in the grass waxing eloquent about wanting a nice home.
  3. Boy, did Rosalie get little to do this season. Sergei got a bit more, but in the end wasn’t much.
  4. Why do we have sequence after sequence where in one scene someone mentions how a person must fight for their love, and the next scene shows a character doing just that. Can we get a bit of sophistication with our drama, please?
  5. The ending emotion and music was soooo flat-footed and heavy-handed it bordered on schmaltz if I understand Yiddish correctly.
  6. Miss Mardle plans to move all of a sudden. If she want’s to quit fine, but why leave a nice house? London’s big. She wouldn’t have to see Grove.
  7. Oh, then I saw it – Miss Mardle, who was a tower of strength for most of the episode is now back with Grove because he held a sit in in her foyer. Really? It wasn’t the least bit romantic, just stubborn and pathetic. She could do better. Now she’ll have to mother his brood? Or will she just be his mistress again?
  8. And, of course, after confronting Nancy, who begs for a reconciliation, which I was at least glad she didn’t get, Harry heads to Victor’s club, which we can now see was converted to a gambling den just for this purpose. Dun, dun, dun, dun–enter the Dolly Sisters with so much make up you can guess they used spatulas. Ladies and gentlemen, who’ve read Shopping, Seduction and Mr Selfridge, we all know that these women will be nothing but trouble for Harry. His downfall must come, but so soon? And with bald, in your face music and dialog? Don’t the writers know that Masterpiece viewers are a sharp bunch that can deal with subtlety. We thrive on it.

Mabel Normand Films

Earlier I posted some background information on Mabel Normand who’s in the next episode of Mr Selfridge. Here are a couple of her short silent films. These two are both from 1912 so the real Selfridge folks might have seen them.


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Local Habitat for Humanity Chapter Celebrates 30 Homes in 30 Years

By: Jeff Schwachter

On the morning of March 24th, Rosa and Carlos Gonzalez and their two daughters woke up in their new Vineland home for the first time.

“The kids couldn’t sleep that first night,” says Rosa Gonzalez, of Vineland. “They were too excited. They couldn’t believe that we were finally here. And then we woke up in the morning and prayed and we thanked God for the amazing opportunity to be a part of an amazing organization.”

That organization, Habitat for Humanity, happens to be celebrating its 30th year in Cumberland County this year. And Rosa Gonzalez and her husband, Carlos, along with their two children, moved into the 30th home Habitat has built in the county during that stretch of time.

Habitat for Humanity has been around since the early 1970s, but launched in Cumberland County in 1989, according to Bill Gonzalez (no relation), executive director of the local Habitat for Humanity (HFH) chapter.

“The first home was built in 1989 in Bridgeton—it was actually a renovation,” says Bill Gonzalez.

“Currently we are in over 60 countries, we’re in all 50 states, and we are the largest contractor in the world—Habitat for Humanity International, which we belong to.”

He says the primary function of HFH is to build homes for those in need and provide them with an affordable way to purchase the homes. HFH doesn’t give away the homes they build for free.

“Everything that we do has an actual value and a cost to it,” says Bill Gonzalez. “We also do the financial education courses; we partner up with local banks to do that. We also do mortgage educational courses where local banks or mortgage professionals come in to teach the course for first-time homebuyers.”

So, what goes into getting a family into a home?

“It’s the exact same process that you or I would go through to buy a home on the conventional mortgage market,” says Bill Gonzalez. “And there’s an extensive process from there. They have to apply; there’s an application process directly related to Habitat for Humanity. It’s very competitive. In that process they have to not only provide us with their full income documentation and prove to us that they can afford the home and maintain it, but they also have to provide us with a dissertation as to why it is that they are in need of the home as well.”

Once all the applicants are categorized based on need and affordability then the HFH’s Family Selection Committee goes and visits the families and interviews every person that is going to be living in the house.

“They go over their application process, they go over their need, and then the family has to come in and they go through a first-time mortgage program, and they go through what we call Finances 101,” says Bill Gonzalez. “We teach them the basics of owning a home, maintaining a home, maintaining savings, and also maintaining the ability to have good credit and the ability to pay for this home, and manage all those things, including their credit history. So, it’s a pretty extensive program.”

Carlos and Rosa Gonzalez with their two daughters at their new home in Vineland.

And then after that, the family still has to provide HFH with 250 hours of what they call “sweat equity”—where the family members, alongside dedicated volunteers, help build the family’s home.

“That’s 250 hours of sweat equity for each adult who lives in the household,” says Bill Gonzalez. “So, a two-adult family would be 500 hours.”

“A lot of people think, ‘Oh, Habitat for Humanity—I can get a free house.’ And it’s the furthest thing from it,” says Jeff Sanders, who runs the ReStore (on Delsea Drive in Vineland) for the local HFH chapter. “And it’s important because that family has true ownership stake in it—they’re not getting something for free. Especially with the sweat equity; that really drives that point home.”

“And during the sweat equity they’re learning the basics of home repair while they’re building the house,” adds Bill Gonzalez. “They’re learning how to use tools, they’re learning how to measure, they’re learning how to cut pipe. So, at the same time, they’re learning just enough so that they don’t have to call someone and pay someone to make small repairs that need to be done.”

Over the past 30 years, Bill Gonzalez says the 30 homes have been a combination of rehabs and new constructions. The most recent house—in Vineland—was built from scratch.

“The land was donated to us by a local bank and we built this home from the bottom up,” says Bill Gonzalez. “But, like I said, the home that we did in 1989 was a renovation. We still do renovations, but, then again, those homes are ones that are owned by Habitat. We’re going in and renovating them and then we’re selling them to our homebuyers.”

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the organization.

“The reason why Habitat is so successful is because of our volunteers,” says Bill Gonzalez. “If not for our volunteers we would not be able to compete and provide these homes at these affordable mortgage rates.

“They are an intricate part of what we do here. Not only on the construction side, but also in administrative services and in the ReStore. Having volunteers in the ReStore allows us to sell items at an even more reduced price.”

The local HFH chapter employs a total of nine people, only three of which are full time. Nearly everybody else—in construction, administrative services and the ReStore—are volunteers. They get about 500 hours a month of volunteer service time from the community just at the ReStore alone.

“And there are months when it’s much higher than that,” says Sanders.

After a family moves into their home, they remain connected to HFH in most cases.

“Even after they become homeowners we encourage them to stay involved with Habitat and to continue to assist Habitat in our New Homeowners program,” says Bill Gonzalez.

For Rosa and Carlos Gonzalez, staying involved with HFH was a no-brainer.

“When you buy a house it’s a big step in your life, a big blessing in your life,” says Rosa Gonzalez. “But when you help to build it from its foundation, it’s different. Because there’s hard work, there’s a lot of sacrifice. You build another family with the team that’s building your house. You meet people who are willing to volunteer with love and without looking for something in return. It’s not just building a house, it’s building a family, building memories together, and looking forward to the future to join and help other families.”

“For the next one, I’m going to be there and helping because in some way I want to pay them back with something and I want to help,” says Carlos Gonzalez, who was born in Puerto Rico.

“Home ownership is life changing,” he adds. “There are no words to explain how we feel right now. Because when you leave your [home country] and you come to this country you want to build your future. We’ve been here for about 10 years and we’ve been waiting for that moment to show up. We tried and tried, but it was hard. Especially with language barriers. But I feel so thankful that they helped us get one of our dreams to come true.”

Every Saturday, for just under 12 months, Carlos and Rosa Gonzalez, along with their fellow church members, co-workers, family members, and friends helped volunteers build their new home. Carlos also worked on the house during the weekdays.

Rosa says she misses the Saturday build days already.

“Yeah, you’re done when you finish your equity hours, but you’re never really done if you’re committed to something,” she says. “That’s how I feel. These people impact your life in such amazing ways that it can never end; it’s a bond.

“We are involved, and it’ll be never ending for us from now on. I’m already looking forward to the next build.”

SNJ Today is a Southern New Jersey news and information source that is dedicated to providing current stories related specifically to South Jersey.

Do you have community news or events? Email us at news@snjtoday.com


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Rome conclave: black smoke signals DEADLOCK over Pope

breaking - pope big

“Black smoke has issued from the Sistine Chapel in Rome, signalling that the second and third votes in the Papal election have been inconclusive.”

Well, it now goes down to the viewers vote.  The following SnoozeLines are now OPEN!  Vote now for who you’d like to win.  Here’s a summary of today’s performances…..

Cardinal Peter Turkson (Ghana)

Performed “O Sanctissima” – Believed to be a traditional Sicilian mariners folk song, but there was nothing fishy about Peter’s delivery today – Louis nearly lost count on his rosary beads.

CALL 00 39 06 698 901 61 61 101

Archbishop Angelo Scola (Italy)

With the last two verses of the larger hymn Pange Lingua Gloriosi, Tantum Ergo Sacramentumwas felt like it was written for the Angelo’s Angelic Voice.  Cardinal Nicole Scherzingers was so moved, she bled tears.

CALL 00 39 06 698 901 61 61 101

Cardinal Odilo Scherer (Brazil)

Salve Regina, or “Hail, Holy Queen” in English – or “Hail Cardinal Odilo” here in the studio – a banger banged-out in his familiar carnival style.  Bishop Tulisa thought the g-stringed dancers were a bit much.

CALL 00 39 06 698 901 61 61 103

Cardinal Marc Ouellet (Canada)

O Salutaris Hostia  – another written by St. Thomas Aquinas, this piece is actually the last two verses of the Corpus Christi hymn Verbum Supernum Prodien! A pub-quiz favorite and definitely a Judge’s favorite.

CALL 00 39 06 698 901 61 61 104

Cardinal Christoph Schonborn (Austria)

Final performance of the first live show, Christoph sung Ave Verum Corpus. A beautiful Eucharistic hymn dating from the 14th century.  A nervous performance as pointed out by the Cardinal Barlow.  Who’s musical career also dates from the 14th century.

CALL 00 39 06 698 901 61 61 105


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The Place Beyond the Trees

I believe there are different kinds of photos. And I don’t mean the obvious difference. Most of the photos are just the result of your eye trying to relay something to your brain and vice versa, but it gets lost in translation and we get ordinary images. But sometimes magic happiness and you get the image that time and time again can evoke a peculiar feel, a certain emotion. The birds singing, the shadows dancing, the sun touching your skin…happines, tranquility, nostalgia. This is one of those images – I remember every detail of that moment in time.

This was taken in Parco Sempione, Milan’s biggest park. It is one of the entrances to Arena Civica, a multi-purpose stadium, which hosts football and rugby union games, concerts and cultural events. The Arena Civica opened on 18 August 1807. In the early years of the twentieth century became the center of football activity. This stadium was used by Inter, initially only for the biggest matches and afterwards on a stable basis, from 1930 until December 10, 1958, when the nerazzurri were faced Lyon for the Fairs Cup. During its history it has been used for many kinds of events, including the reconstruction of naval battles; William Frederick Cody (“Buffalo Bill”) twice brought his “Wild West Show” here.

Leanne Cole, a wonderful photographer from Australia, is hosting a weekly challenge on her blog Leanne Cole PHOTOGRAPHY called Monochrome Madness Challenge, where she features some monochrome photos from other photographers.

Be sure to check other amazing photos on her blog. If you want to participate, head over there and read instructions at the bottom of the post. I would like to recommend her blog to any aspiring amateur photographer, you’ll find many helpful posts and tutorials, but above all she is very open and friendly person.

11 thoughts on “The Place Beyond the Trees

  1. The photo is brilliant! I will certainly check the link provided in the post as I have just started to love the art of photography. Thanks. 🙂

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Setubal vs Boavista: Preview & Prediction

An inconsequential duel in the middle of the table in the Primera Liga between Vitoria de Setúbal, twelfth ranked with 35 points, and Boavista, ninth place with 39 points. Two days into the end of the championship, neither team can hope to enter European competitions nor risk losing the category so it is expected that the two play relaxed. Both have had a bad fight in recent days. The Vitoria comes from fitting four consecutive defeats and in the last five days only has been able to score a goal. The Boavista has only been able to win one of its last seven commitments. As both sets have had serious problems in defense but it seems that they compete to see who is worse, a profitable option may be to bet on a high goal line without risking to choose a winner.

The two teams are saved and can no longer aspire to enter European competition.
Vitoria de Setúbal have lost their last four games.
Boavista has only won one of its last seven commitments.
The Vitoria chain four matches fitting as little two goals per game.
Boavista have conceded a minimum of two goals in three of their last five meetings.

Setubal vs Boavista: Direct Matches

Because of the defensive fragility of both, the relaxation they will have and the ambition that we hope to have to add the three points to end their respective bad spins, we trust in a game in which they see at least three goals, which they offer us At an excellent rate.

Setubal vs Boavista: Betting Tips

1X – Odds: 1.40
Over 1,5 goals – Odds: 1.50


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Hello and welcome!

Our facility is still under construction and you will see pictures / movies from the partner plant in Saxony.

Football golf, the new trend-setting sport, is a combination of golf and football. But you don't play with a golf club; you use your own foot. The ball is a regular football. This internationally recognised sport features annual world championship competitions. In 2011 Alex Kober was men's champion, and women's champion was Sigrun Walther.

Football golf - or soccer golf, as the Americans call it – can be played by anyone. You don't need a handicap as you do with golf, nor do you need to be a professional footballer. Even a grandson can play football golf with his grandma, or the football enthusiasts from a football club can make up a team and play each other. A child's birthday becomes an unforgettable experience. No matter who or what – school classes, children's birthdays, families, groups, companies or single players – everyone can show their potential, time and again. The first football golf course in Berlin/Brandenburg has eighteen holes, 74 par, on an area of 30,000 m2. The 18 fairways are played one after another with the foot and a ball. Each shot is counted. The aim is to play the fairways, crossing various obstacles, with as few shots as possible up to the hole. The player with the least number of shots wins the game. Football golf encourages team spirit, coordination, exercise, concentration, and particular the fun factor.


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My goal: To write a program where any two computers on the same LAN see each other, and can talk directly to each other without any servers or accounts. Every client must be just as strong as every other client, and maintain their own list of which clients are online. (I plan on using computer hostnames hashed with IP addresses to keep entries unique).

My design: I want to get every client a list of every other client currently on the LAN. That means regular broadcast messages to all clients on the network, and timeout periods for clients so that the list is trimmed of offline clients.

My problem: That takes a toll on the network, to broadcast to every client there. If there are 2 client programs on a network with 300 computers, that is 298 computers that have no use for the packets they are receiving. Also I don't know which port to use. In addition, network broadcasting is obsolete in IPV6, and I don't want to structure this part of the code in a to-be-obsolete way.

My research: I could use IP Multicasting to send out signals to only interested clients (those running my program). Regularly sending signals out every 60 seconds shouldn't be too wasteful if it isn't going to any non-interested programs.

Source Specific Multicast is a bad choice for me because no one source can be established ahead of time. I would need to do either Sparse or Dense multicasting.

I just want to confirm that I am on track, that using Multicasting is the best possible protocol for keeping my clients on the same page.

Here is one last caveat. Let's say all the wired clients are on a LAN which contains a wifi router, such that the wifi router runs a DHCP and packet routing service for just wifi enabled clients. What technique would be most reasonable to multicast across a network gap like this (and not all the way to the global internet)?

You're on the right track with multicast for a peer to peer system without a central broker. Very expensive systems used in financial services for low latency messaging do exactly that to implement topic resolution and optionally the messaging itself.

However, take it from me, once you get out of the single VLAN scenario and need to traverse firewalls and routers then multicast becomes very brittle. It's not that those devices don't support multicast very well - they do. Nor is it that IGMP is a poorly thought out protocol - it's not. It's that the knowledge of how to set up multicast routes and maintain them seems to be the domain of only the most experienced network engineers.

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N00122455.jpg was taken on 2008-10-26 18:30 (PDT) and received on Earth 2008-10-27 02:02 (PDT). The camera was pointing toward Rhea, and the image was taken using the P120 and GRN filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System

For more information on raw images, checkout our frequently asked questions section.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


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N00180751.jpg was taken on 2012-01-26 07:58 (PST) and received on Earth 2012-01-27 09:21 (PST). The camera was pointing toward Saturn, and the image was taken using the CL1 and MT2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System

For more information on raw images, checkout our frequently asked questions section.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


text:
W00076508.jpg was taken on 2012-11-02 22:36 (PDT) and received on Earth 2012-11-05 23:21 (PST). The camera was pointing toward Saturn-rings, and the image was taken using the CL1 and CL2 filters. This image has not been validated or calibrated. A validated/calibrated image will be archived with the NASA Planetary Data System

For more information on raw images, checkout our frequently asked questions section.

Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute


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Key Findings from the 2018 NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence Report

Key Findings from the 2018 NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence Report

Today, security analytics solution provider NETSCOUT SYSTEMS announced the findings of its 2018 NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence Report at the Black Hat 2018 Conference. The 2018 NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence Report examines the latest trends and activities from nation-state advanced persistent threat (APT) groups, crimewave operations, and DDoS (Distributed Denial of Service) attacks across the globe.

In a statement, Hardik Modi, Senior Director of Threat Intelligence at NETSCOUT, said: “This report makes clear that threat actors are increasingly leveraging internet-scale threats, such as NotPetya, for targeted, highly selective campaigns.”

Some of the key findings from the 2018 NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence Report include:

  • There were 2.8 million DDoS attacks in the first half of 2018.
  • DDoS attacks increased in size by 37% the appearance of Memcached attack campaign.
  • There were 47 DDoS attacks greater than 300Gbps globally in the first half of 2018. Over the same period last year, there were only 7 attacks of that size.
  • Overall, DDoS attacks have grown in sophistication and in impact.
  • As of 2017, there were 27 billion connected IoT devices vulnerable to botnet influence. NETSCOUT predicts that number will grow to 125 billion by 2030.
  • Nation-state sponsored digital threat activity continues to develop campaigns and frameworks. Nation-state APT groups are also using internet-scale intrusions, such as NotPetya, for targeted campaigns.
  • Major crimeware groups are adopting self-propagation methods to allow their malware to spread faster.

In addition, the report details some of the most dangerous and most prominent threat actor groups, such as Fancy Bear, and malware campaigns such as Emotet. You can download the full 2018 NETSCOUT Threat Intelligence Report here.

Other Resources:

Get Your Employees to Embrace SIEM Best Practices!

4 Tips to Make Data Breach Detection Easier For Your Enterprise

Enterprises: Don’t Become Complacent in Your Cybersecurity!

How to Make Your SIEM Solution Deployment Easier for Your Enterprise

Comparing the Top SIEM Vendors — Solutions Review

How UEBA Can Prevent Insider Threats in your Enterprise

SIEM vs Security Analytics: What’s the Difference?

Should Risk Analytics Bridge the Cybersecurity Talent Gap?

What’s Changed? The Gartner 2017 Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) Magic Quadrant

The 25 Best Security Analytics and SIEM Platforms for 2018

Ben Canner

Ben Canner is an enterprise technology writer and analyst covering Identity Management, SIEM, Endpoint Protection, and Cybersecurity writ large. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English from Clark University in Worcester, MA. He previously worked as a corporate blogger and ghost writer. You can reach him via Twitter and LinkedIn.
Ben Canner

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Bug Tracking on the iPhone with JIRA Mate

My dev team uses JIRA for bug tracking. It’s a flexible project management and defect tracking system. As with almost any bug tracking system out there (Bugzilla, Trac, etc), web based defect tracking from a mobile handset is not very user-friendly.

Enter JIRA Mate (formerly JIRA Buddy), written by Shaun Ervine, an application for iPhone and iPod Touch specifically for interfacing with your JIRA database. I was surprised by this application being available before a Bugzilla rev, let alone even being available at all. I’m not complaining. Bugzilla fans should get a move on for their own app.

JIRA Mate simply uses your saved filters allowing you to access your JIRA issues straight from your iPhone.

Since JIRA Mate is helping out your business I guess you could write it off as a tax deduction :)

The app is $8.99 and allows you to pull down issues organized in filters you’ve created in the standard web app, sorted by date (your filter sort setting is not utilized). It does not have issue creation or editing capabilities, but does pull comments and allow you to comment in kind. It’s perfect for keeping your finger on the pulse of your bug database and staying in communication via comments.

10 thoughts on “Bug Tracking on the iPhone with JIRA Mate

  1. I recently came across a new app that is being built for bugzilla on iPhone.

    This iphone app for bugzilla is called iBzilla that lets you access bugs from your phone. It seems you can configure multiple bugzilla instances, View My Bugs, Search for any bug(s) in any product, component, version using standard Bugzilla fields and create New Bugs.

    Not sure if it has background processing to automatically notify of new bugs but this is under development. We'll have to wait to see when this gets launched. I can not wait to try my hands on it. Check it at http://www.ibzilla.com

  2. You listed your email address as that of the developer. Are you the developer? If so, please let us know more about it and what you're hoping to do with the application.

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I have seen the face of evil and it looks suspiciously like a seed catalog.

Just before Christmas my Baker Creek Seed catalog sent me into an existential crisis. I want to grow heirloom wheat! I want a field of flax! A field of oats! Amaranth! Vegetables coming out my ears! A root cellar to store potatoes and winter squash and all my beautiful jars of canned veg and fruit. I could come pretty close to never having to set foot in a grocery store again. The only problem: I live in a city with a small urban lot. Bookman and I have full time jobs so we can afford our urban lot and the small house that sits on it as well as other things like books and computers. The idea that I’d have to wait until I had saved enough money to retire before I could spend my days growing and preserving and doing something that I really, really love, well, that’s twenty years from now at least. I don’t want to wait that long!

I planned it all out. Buy 10 – 15 wooded acres with a creek running through up north. The internet told me this could be done for a very reasonable $30,000. Build a Tiny House. Dig a root cellar. Sink a well. Install a gray water system and composting toilet so I wouldn’t need a septic system. Install a solar panel system. Learn how to chop wood and manage a woodlot and a wood burning stove as this is what would keep my tiny house warm all winter. Build a greenhouse. Build a chicken coop. Establish a couple of beehives. Start digging and planting. In two to three years, sell my house, quit my job and move. By the time climate change starts ruining the economy, making food more scarce and creating general chaos, I will be happily established and self-sufficient. Also, I will be prepared to survive any other kind of civilization-ending disaster. But all that would be a bonus to spending my days working in the garden and tending my chickens and bees.

I barfed this up all over Bookman when he got home from work. He wasn’t sure what to think of it. He doesn’t want to be a farmer, he said. It wouldn’t really be farming, it’d be more like having a gigantic garden. Well, that was okay. But he still wasn’t keen on the idea. He likes gardening but I think the idea of spending most of the day every day outdoors working in this gigantic garden is not his perfect day.

Can’t we just plant more in the garden we have? he wanted to know. Sure, I said, but it’s not big enough. Well what about the front yard? We can grow stuff out there too. And these chickens you want, what’s that all about? They are good for the garden. Chicken poo makes great compost. And then I really freaked him out by saying we could eat the eggs. But we’re vegan! he protested. Well, yeah, I said, but these would be our own chickens and they are going to lay eggs no matter what and we need to do something with them. But we’re vegan, he said again.

This from the man who plans on going zombie should there ever be a zombie apocalypse. You know, brains aren’t vegan. It will be fine, he assures me, I’ll only eat the brains of vegans. Right. Eating eggs from our own pet chickens however is just too horrifying. Okay, forget the chickens then, we don’t need chickens, I just thought it would be fun to have a few.

But Bookman has no special interest in moving to the country. So I am thrown into making the most of the small plot of land that we have. In a few years we will need to rebuild our slowly sagging detached garage. It will be rebuilt with a flat roof upon which we can grow things. Bookman is fine with this. That’s a few years away though. In the meantime, we have a couple hot, sunny places in the front yard where I am going to try growing okra, cow peas, strawberry spinach, possibly tomatoes and peppers (though I don’t trust passersby won’t help themselves to these) or maybe oats or flax.

At the back of the evil seed catalog is an ad for geodesic dome greenhouses. Portable, space efficient, and one person can put it together in an hour or two. I imagined plopping one of these babies down in the garden in the fall and using it to grow stuff all winter long. The smallest one is just over $3,000 but worth it for fresh food all winter, right? Imagine, fresh-picked tomatoes in January! Except not.

Because I am reading a book about growing food year-round no matter where you live and there is this thing called sunlight that turns out to be really important. I could have a lovely tropical greenhouse but without more than ten hours of sunlight it will do me no good. Turns out plants pretty much stop growing with less than ten hours of sun. Given how far north I live, how low the sun is in the sky during the winter and how short the days are, if I am generous in my calculations, I can eke out eight hours of daylight. So unless I want to run electricity to grow lights on a timer in this beautiful geodesic greenhouse, tomatoes in January are never going to happen. This means there is no point in spending $3,000 on a greenhouse. Part of me is crestfallen — no big beautiful greenhouse — part of me is happy — thank goodness I don’t have to spend all that money.

Still, the evil seed catalog has me planning on buying seeds for all sorts of things I have never grown before. And the book on year-round gardening has me analyzing plant descriptions for extra cold tolerant varieties of things I can grow under hoop houses and possibly in cold frames. I may not be able to go out and pick a tomato in my greenhouse in the middle of winter, but I should be able to pick carrots, kale, mache, lettuce, radishes, and a good many other things.

How I’m going to cram everything in my small urban yard, I have no idea. A dozen acres would be so much better. How I’m going to manage a year-round garden and a full time job, I have no idea about that either. But I will figure it out.

All this because of a seed catalog. See what I mean? Evil.


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Southwestern Dinner Leftovers Become Breakfast of Champions

The concept of repurposing, whether we’re talking about a piece of antique furniture or dinner leftovers, has always been appealing to me. Giving something new life is so much fun. Continue reading “Southwestern Dinner Leftovers Become Breakfast of Champions”

Wake Up Dinner with Chili-Lime Jalapeno Corn

When certain fresh vegetables are not in season, frozen ones are the next best thing – and March just so happens to be National Frozen Food Month. Today, I’m taking this opportunity to share my favorite side dish: Chili-Lime Jalapeno Corn. Continue reading “Wake Up Dinner with Chili-Lime Jalapeno Corn”

Wild Georgia Shrimp & Summer Corn Chowder

Wild Georgia Shrimp & Summer Corn Chowder

All summer I’ve been wanting to make Shrimp and Corn Chowder, and today, I did it. Aside from peeling the potatoes and shucking the corn, the recipe requires little to no effort other than stirring and simmering. Pour yourself a glass of Chardonnay, turn on some good music and settle into your kitchen. For me, eating a meal like this with vegetables that are in season and locally sourced, is ultimately satisfying. Some recipes suggest frozen potatoes and corn, but I find I appreciate the meal so much more when I’ve worked a little to make it happen. The crunch of summer’s sweet corn with salty bacon and starchy potatoes come together in complete harmony with wild Georgia plump shrimp. Creamy and pleasing to the eye with great texture, this dish epitomizes Some Kinda Good!

Potatoes simmer on the stove top with sweet corn, celery, Vidalia onions, green onions and herbs.

  • 3 slices of hardwood smoked bacon
  • 2 stalks celery, thinly sliced
  • 2 bunches of green onions, chopped
  • 1/2 medium Vidalia onion, chopped
  • 2 large baked potatoes, peeled and diced
  • 3 ears of fresh, summer corn, sliced off the cob
  • 3 sprigs lemon thyme
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
  • 1 quart 2% milk
  • 1 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
  • Old Bay, for seasoning shrimp

In a large skillet with a high rim, cook bacon on medium-high heat. Remove the bacon, but leave the grease. Stir in the celery, green onions and Vidalia onions, potatoes and corn. Add the thyme, bay leaves, 1/2 teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Stir in the flour until incorporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the milk, then cover and bring to a boil. Uncover, reduce the heat to medium low and gently simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 6 minutes. Discard the thyme sprigs and bay leaves.

Season the shrimp with Old Bay. Stir in the shrimp and cook until opaque, about 4 minutes. Season with salt. Divide among bowls and sprinkle with green onion and chopped bacon. Serve with Italian bread.

Pot Pie Low Country Boil Style

Here in the coastal plains of Southeast Georgia where flip-flops are perfectly acceptable in December, we don’t have many extremely cold nights during the winter season. So, over the weekend when the temperature got down to 22 degrees, dinner called for something warm and earthy. Inspired by an incredible photo in Bon Appetit magazine, I set out to make pot pie–only instead of using chicken, I served it up low country boil style with baby shrimp, roasted potatoes and canned corn, seasoned with none other than Old Bay.

Here’s what you’ll need to create my spin on the classic chicken pot pie:

  • Baby Salad Shrimp
  • Kale
  • Roasted Red Potatoes
  • Canned Corn
  • Chicken Broth
  • Splash of Red Wine
  • All-Purpose Flour
  • Green Beans
  • Chopped Onions
  • Puff Pastry or Pie Pastry
  • Old Bay Seasoning
  • Shrimp & Crab Boil
  • Salt & Pepper to taste

wpid-20130202_194626.jpgIt was like a Shepherd’s Pie remix. In the fridge, I had some red potatoes that I had roasted just a few days before and a few fresh green beans I needed to use up. This dish is fun because you can really use whatever you like. To start, pre-heat your cast iron skillet on medium heat with extra virgin olive oil. Saute the potatoes and chopped onions together, then throw in your remaining vegetables including the kale and cook, seasoning with salt and pepper as you go. Feel free to get creative.

wpid-20130202_195221.jpgOnce the vegetables have married together (for about 5 minutes or so), add in 1/3 cup of all-purpose flour, stirring constantly. Quickly add in your liquid. I deglazed my pan with a splash of red wine for flavor, then added in 2 cups of chicken broth, 1 cup at a time.

wpid-20130202_200359.jpgToss in your baby shrimp. They’re perfect because they’re already deveined and have no hulls. They make the perfect bite! Bring everything to a simmer. It will thicken up nicely. Almost done!

wpid-20130202_200416.jpgI used pie pastry. Sit the dough out on the counter for about 15 minutes before unrolling. With a rolling pin, smooth out any creases. Then, slap that puppy over that beautiful filling in your cast iron skillet, letting the dough drape over the sides. Whip one egg with about a teaspoon or so of shrimp & crab boil. Brush it all over the pastry. Just enhances the flavor! 😉

wpid-20130202_200710.jpgCut four slits in the dough, so the steam can escape. Dot it with butter. Then pop that puppy in the oven at 425 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn the heat down to 350 degrees for another 15 minutes until the top is a rich, golden brown.

100_7922What’s not to love about pie pastry and warm, comforting vegetables with all the flavors of the coast? An added bonus is easy clean up! It’s a one pot meal that feeds an army.

100_7933A glass of red wine like Cabernet Sauvignon or Shiraz will compliment the dish nicely and when consumed together, they’ll leave you longing for snow.


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Yummy, Healthy Fare in Palo Alto

Went on my 2nd Dishcrawl Sunday night! This one was all about healthy eating, and even better, it was free since One Medical sponsored it =D

I didn’t think to take very many pictures of the restaurants, but here are some of the delicious food we got to taste =3

The evening started with sparkling champagne at the One Medical office in Palo Alto

Walked by this gorgeous old house on the way to our first restaurant

We started with bbq pulled pork sliders, grilled prawns and quinoa at The Patio, a sports bar with healthy eating options.

Not so healthy, but definitely yummy, we also got a free cocktail at The Patio! My choice? A pineapple vodka.

Smiling faces at our next stop, Lyfe Kitchen.

Chicken salad, margharita bread and corn chowder, nom!

Papaya salad, egg roll, pot sticker and pork shumai at our last stop: Tai Pan.

We were having so much fun we decided to extend our evening and get gelato at Gelato Classico — amazing stuff!

What now? I really want to attend the Spur bicycle tour Dishcrawl Sunday Novembner 4th =] Who’s coming with me?!

Spur Bicycle Dishcrawl! (Click on me to be taken to the page w/more info, to purchase tickets, etc.)

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San Clemente Farmers Market Sunday June 30 2019

Fresh Produce by
Fresh Produce by

San Clemente Farmers Market is in Downtown San Clemente on Sundays in 2019.
You can ride the San Clemente Free Summer Trolley to the Farmers Market!

The San Clemente Free Summer Trolley services the Del Mar Shopping District starting at 10:00am on Sundays!

There are Farmers Markets every day of the week in South Orange County or close to South Orange County.

The Market is open from 9:00am to 1:00pm.

Great selection of produce, food and flowers!

The market starts on Avenida Del Mar and Ola Vista and
ends near the community center.

San Clemente Downtown Parking

Avenida Del Mar Street offers free timed parking.

San Clemente City Lots are free timed parking.

San Clemente City Lots are behind the Community Center and on streets near Avenida Del Mar.

Private Pay lots are near Avenida Del Mar.

Times and Dates are subject to change.
Please contact the event organizer for the most up to date information.

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Breaking News! |Kayla Youngs

gray newspaper
Photo by on

BREAKING NEWS – I have a secret.

I hate reading and watching the news.  That’s right! You didn’t misread that.  This 23-year-old journalism student hates news.

I’ll even let you in on my little secret… It’s because I believe that most so-called news is unfair and biased.

It’s not that surprising actually.  Did you know that numerous studies show that more than half of Americans feel the same way?  Jeff Hare Jr. said, “I feel like it’s hard to trust anything you see or read anymore.”

Maybe Trump is onto something after all.

So, what’s really the big deal?  Unfairness and bias in the media defies the basic principles of journalism ethics.

Today, almost everyone has the ability to share ‘news’ coverage quickly and to a large audiences.  It doesn’t take much to take a video of what seems like police brutality, share it on social media, and have it go viral.  That is why it is so important to have reliable news sources who we can trust to tell us what really happened.

That’s the whole point.  We are fortunate enough to live in a country where we can proudly voice our opinions, but when it comes to knowing the facts, we heavily rely on news and media outlets for clarity.

That’s kind of hard to do when there’s so much distrust for the news media.

Personally, I find it hard at times to even find a balanced story that shows two points of view equally.

But who do we blame?  We could blame the writers/ broadcasters.

Journalism student Kathryn Higgins said, “I find it hard sometimes not to get invested in a story.  I often find myself adding my opinion to my reporting, or structuring a story and it’s quotes to serve my bottom line.”

We could perhaps blame the editors or the companies for letting bias news be released.

But I also think some of the blame must go to the audience.  I think that most people tend to blur the lines between a reporter and a blogger or columnist, who are free to share their opinion and be selective in the information they share.

Ultimately, it comes down to the sad realization that we may need to start fact-checking every news story and demanding people be held accountable if we want to salvage the reputation of journalism.  Journalists are failing the people.  Journalists are the veins of society, keeping information pumping from the source to the people.  Without a high standard of ethics, there would be no trust at all.  We must try harder as reporters to leave our points of view at home.  We have a duty to our people to share nothing but the facts, and let the story do the talking.

While it’s not always easy to remain objective, impartial reporting builds trust and confidence.


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Why is psychological recovery important?

Psychological recovery focuses on the restoration of well-being and positive (or neutral) mood state in order to:

  • minimise the chance of overtraining, illness and injury

  • maximise training gains

Key to psychological recovery is developing a high level of self awareness. Only when you have developed a level of awareness that allows you to recognise your own emotional states will you be able to determine which activity (or strategy) can help you manage your mood and energy levels, thus facilitating the recovery process.

Recognising emotions

The most effective way athletes can assess their emotional state is via regular use of a written, video or audio diary. By reflecting on how you react to specific emotional events that happen during competition or whilst training, you can learn to become aware of whether your subsequent reactions/behaviours are positive or negative. Over time, you will learn to establish the most effective coping strategies to adopt when experiencing any similar dysfunctional thoughts/emotions and subsequent behaviours.

In team- or squad-based sports, it is important that you develop the ability to not only assess your own emotions, but also those of your team-mates. An understanding of the best way to interact with other individuals facilitates a supportive environment.

Best times for athletes to recover

Psychological recovery should be a fundamental part of your daily training programme, as it goes hand in hand with physiological recovery.

In fact, completing your warm-down and your regular physical activities tends to have a psychological effect. In addition, below are some key times when you should closely monitor your thoughts/emotions and subsequent behaviours:

  • In the days leading up to an important competitive event
    • At least 3 days before competing

  • In between performances during an important competition
    • Particularly when playing multiple matches over a short period of time

  • After all performances, particularly after extreme highs and lows

  • During times of increased life stressors e.g. when you have exams or work-related project deadlines to meet
    • The more stressful the life event/experience the more you will need to monitor your psychological recovery

  • As soon as possible after your last performance (see timeline below)

Within the first hour

  • Carry out your individual performance review/debrief, if possible

  • Relax as appropriate
    • For example, read, take in a movie or socialise

After the first hour

  • Use relaxation skills to switch off

  • Start to individually unwind, use music if appropriate
    • Particularly important if training or competing at night, as you need to cool down mentally as well as physically

  • Prior to bed sleep optimisation

  • Have a specific set time to access social support groups

  • Follow personalised sleep guidelines

Potential effects of psychological recovery

  • Increased motivation

  • Improved sense of wellbeing

  • Reduced training and life stress

  • Feeling rested

  • Increased clarity of thoughts and positive thinking

  • Lowered motivation and apathy

  • Increased level of stress/anxiety

  • Increased chance of injury/illness & burnout

  • Increased chance of symptoms of staleness/tiredness

  • Increased ruminating (repeated) negative thoughts/worries

Some key strategies to aid recovery:

  • Listen to music - Use music to elicit changes in mood states
    • For example, if over-anxious use relaxing music

  • Debrief performances - This ensures that there is closure and disengagement from performance

  • Emotional recovery - Use of simple distracters that are non-sport-related

  • Contingency planning - Developing solutions to ”what ifs” in post-performance scenarios

  • Access social support  - Know who and when to access supportive people

  • Relaxation techniques - Exercises designed to energise and regulate levels of anxiety/arousal

This is an extract from our 2013 Recovery Booklet. Read the entire document, with references and further reading, on our website: www.sisport.com/recovery


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Biblical Garden

Due to the wonderful gifting of Magdalene Hu Springwater Church is pleased to highlight that it is the beneficiary of a garden that is populated with various biblical plants that have an accompanying scripture verse which highlights their part in the Scriptural story.

The garden is free to all those that wish to use the space for contemplation, reflection or to just see what these scriptural plants look like.

As a church family we have been enriched by the way that the garden has assisted in various activities of church life, 7 stations of the cross at Easter, supporting The ARK and the various children’s parties, Church fun days, prayer and reflection times, etc…

Feel free to come and visit the garden.

If you wish to come as a group please contact the church office prior to any visit.


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Opening Soon

Thank you for stopping by! The Store will be closed for just a short time in preparation for our Grand Re-Opening!! Stay tuned and follow us on Instagram @sprinkledwithfunfetti to stay updated on the latest news and for the Grand Re-Opening date!!
Are you the store owner? Log in here


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My story of a manipulative relationship

What a manipulative relationship looked like for one SpunOut reader

Written by Anonymous and posted in opinion

This is an opinion of a young person and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of It is one person's experience and may be different for you. If you'd like to write something for please contact

"Anyone can overcome abuse, the victim is never to blame. We may be vulnerable, but someone makes the choice to use that to their advantage"

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I came upon an app to make new friends but others use it for dating. As a person fresh out of a relationship I wanted to forget my first heartbreak. So I went ahead and signed up. I soon attracted the attention of one boy. Let's call him John. John started off as kind and complimenting me. I was flattered and my broken heart remained, but the pain was numbed by this person showing me the affection that I had wanted. I just wanted someone to tell me I was amazing because I didn't believe it. After a few days of talking he decided to ask me to be his girlfriend. I quickly agreed, I was totally over my ex! Let me tell you something, being with someone else doesn't mean you're ‘over’ someone, it's a way of compensating, it's like a revenge, you feel if they find out you're with someone else they'll be incredibly jealous.

During my first day of being John's girlfriend I told him I would be gone to a youth club ball the next day because I'd already paid to go to it and wanted to have fun. He immediately became enraged by saying it's just another teen disco, I'd cheat on him immediately, some guy would start groping me and it would be my own fault. I wanted to go to this ball but what if he was right? What if this was a sign of me being so disloyal, maybe that's why I got dumped before, he thought I was a cheater? For the first time, I doubted myself. I was afraid, I didn't want to be a bad person. John said he loved me and that clearly I didn't love him back. It was our first day of being in a relationship and I panicked and said I loved him.

I ended up going to the ball but the whole time, John was texting me saying I was a horrible person and I was clearly cheating on him. He tried to ring me but it was too loud to hear him so I hung up. He continued to guilt me until I had a panic attack and ended up leaving, saying I felt sick. John was happy and then wouldn't let me sleep no matter how exhausted I was. He wouldn't let me hang up the phone and would guilt me if I tried to leave. I didn't want to be seen as a horrible person. I stayed. He rang me at 8 every morning, no matter what day, school or not. At first I would always wake up and answer. I had to always have this phone call before school every morning. It had to go on until he was ready to leave, if I said I had to go get ready he'd immediately say I'm going to text another boy and that I'm clearly a cheater. So I stayed.

As time went on I grew sick of it and would ignore the phone. But he would ring until it went to voicemail and when it did he hung up and rang again. When I never picked up I got a barrage of texts of how horrific of a person I was, that I was unkind, uncaring, I was so horrible. I felt awful. As the relationship progressed it became so mentally exhausting. I had to always be in a Skype call with him and if I exited and went to another app, it would close the camera but you could still talk. So I would be only able to talk to him. I couldn't text my friends ever because if I did he would scream I was a cheater and I'm a bad person no matter how much I tried to prove I was innocent. If ever I went out with my friends I had to send a picture of where I was and who was with me. He rang me every few minutes to check I wasn't cheating. If my phone was dead he'd text my friends to give me their phone so he can ring me. He manipulated me to delete every guy I had on snapchat and Instagram because he branded them as a risk to me saying that they'd beat me up. I was scared, I was emotionally weak. I was trying to cope with depression. I didn't have time to argue, I had to cope, so I always gave in and it broke me. I had no confidence so I always listened to others, if they said I was bad it must be true.

Soon his manipulation turned to my friends. They disagreed with his ways of trying to control me and I just brushed it off as him protecting me. He began to tell me my friends were awful people. He had my passwords to everything because he told me if I said no I was hiding something. I saw no flaws in this, so I went along with it. One day he read a group chat with me and my friends. One friend sent a picture of a guy on his skateboard and I replied saying it looked cool. John found that message and scolded me for looking at another guy. He told me my friends were trying to get me to cheat on him. So I began to cut my friends off.

After months, I had been going to therapy, becoming emotionally stronger and overcoming my depression. I didn't need other people to tell me I was amazing, I realised the truth. John was my problem, he was worsening my depression. I broke up with him and blocked him on everything, I got a new number, my family helped me to get through it and see that they were really the people I should talk to. Anyone can overcome abuse, the victim is never to blame. We may be vulnerable, but someone makes the choice to use that to their advantage.

This article was written by a volunteer. Check out our volunteering options here and get in touch if you’re interested in getting involved.

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Published January 8th2018
Tags relationships abuse real stories
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