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Marvel’s Razor Toed Assassin…The Death Of The Tarantula

Death in comic books is nothing new.  In fact, many heroes have gone to the big comic rack in the sky and when they do, it’s been covered on major news outlets. Who doesn’t remember when DC killed off Superman via a beat down by Doomsday in the 90’s or when Marvel killed Captain America in 2008 via an assassination?  Most recently even Archie Andrews, the fun loving iconic character and poster boy for Archie Comics, was killed when he was shot trying to protect one of his friends.  Even Wolverine of the X-Men could not escape Death’s grip. But when most comic villains die, no one makes a big deal about it.  Sure, when Norman Osborne’s Green Goblin bit the big one and when Kraven The Hunter killed himself, it sent shockwaves through the comic world, but there were no major stories in newspapers or on TV. And then you have guys like Baron Blood, Baron Zemo and Egghead who die and it seems that no one cares.  The comic world just moves on like nothing happened…well this update is about just one of those types of death that seems to be forgotten by modern comic readers.  The death we are looking at today is that of The Tarantula! So let’s dress in black and remember the life and crimes of Anton Miguel Rodriguez aka The Tarantula in his last story arc that took place in Amazing Spider-Man.

So we should start this remembrance of Tarantula by doing some bios for the major players in this 4-issue story that leads up to his demise, but first I would like to talk a little about my past. When I was a kid, my brother and I had a lot of comics, and many of them were Spider-Man issues that our Mom and Grandma would pick up for us at garage sales.  The rest would come from some antique stores in our hometown, Waynesville, or local comic shops like Mavericks and Bookie Parlor, and man we had a blast reading them! I can even remember sometimes my brother would even read the Spider-Man comics to me out loud as I played with toys listening to the adventure. There is four major story lines that I can remember from the Spider-Man comics of my youth, and one of them is the death of Tarantula.  I can remember for some reason liking Tarantula and always considered him a major bad guy in the Spidey universe, even though he was in reality a minor character. And when I first read these issues I was shocked that they just killed one of his bad guys off in such a horrific way. But I do feel it’s time right now for us to take a look at the characters that make up this tragic death in comic history. Some of these bios I took from while others I wrote myself or found elsewhere.

Spider-Man (bio)

Amazing Spider-Man

Bitten by a radioactive spider, high school student Peter Parker gained the speed, strength and powers of a spider. Adopting the name Spider-Man, Peter hoped to start a career using his new abilities. Taught that with great power comes great responsibility, Spidey has vowed to use his powers to help people.

The Tarantula

The Tarantula

As a revolutionary terrorist in the small fictional South American republic of Delvadia, Anton Miguel Rodriguez was expelled from his small organization after murdering a guard without reason during a robbery. Anton then went over to the side of the repressive fascistic-dictatorship government, where they created the Tarantula identity for him to serve as a government operative and his country’s counterpart to Captain America. After alienating his masters, Tarantula embarked on a criminal career in the United States. He is also the second bad guy to take on the persona of The Tarantula.

Jackson Arvad was the chief scientist for electromagnetic research at the Brand Corporation until a laboratory accident shattered the “magno-chamber” in whose vicinity Arvad was working. The disaster thrust Arvad’s body into the magno-chamber’s electromagnetic field. This caused the molecules of Arvad’s body to gradually disperse, and he was left there to die by his superior, James Melvin. However, Arvad did not die and he soon discovered that he possessed a certain degree of mental control over his body’s molecules. Each time he relaxed control over his molecular structure, it became more difficult for him to resume a solid state. Fearing that his body’s molecules would drift apart and he would be unable to reintegrate them, he contacted criminal scientist Dr. Jonah Harrow. Pretending to help him, Harrow implanted a tiny receptor in Arvad’s skull so that he could disrupt the Wisp’s mental control over his molecules. Harrow then forced the Will-O’-The-Wisp to carry out certain criminal activities to advance Harrow’s plans. During this crime spree, the Wisp encountered Spider-Man, who later tried to persuade him to resist the man controlling him. Will O’ The Wisp finally decided to turn against Harrow, but upon realizing the Wisp’s intent, Harrow activated the device in the Wisp’s skull and dissipated him.

James Melvin

James Melvin

James Melvin was the president of The Brand Corporation and is a sleazy and greedy man who will do what ever it takes to make himself rich.

So there we have a look at the power players in this game of life and death for The Tarantula. I want to thank Mavericks Cards And Comics for having these issues in stock, and before we enter this look at his demise I grade these comics on a standard 1-4 star rating and am looking at how well the comic keeps to the source material, its entertainment value, and its art and story. So with that let’s pay our respects to The Tarantula.

Amazing Spider-Man 233

The Amazing Spider-Man  # 233  ***
Released in 1982   Cover Price .60   Marvel Comics   #233 of 441

J. Jonah Jameson has called a meeting in his office over a missing two bit hood named Nose Norton who has some information that could lead to one of the biggest busts the city has ever seen of a corporation called BRAND.  Jameson has already paid for the info and is mad his informant is M.I.A., and worse those he can hurt have placed a hit on his head. Jameson has offered a $1,500.00 bonus to whoever works for him and finds Norton! This news piques the interest of Peter who needs to money for school and to help Aunt May as well as Ben Ulrich, newshound and friend to superhero Daredevil. Meanwhile a South American company has hired the terrorist The Tarantula to find and kill Norton, who is hiding out at a small gin joint, and when Ben gets a tip Peter follows him and together they track down and find Norton just as The Tarantula does and with a quick change Peter becomes Spider-Man and takes on The Tarantula just as Ben and Norton exchanges words which leads to Norton being shot by two private detectives hired by BRAND, as Spider-Man makes a fool out of Tarantula by beating him quickly.  He changes back to Peter Parker, and he and Ben notice that Norton being shot and a South American terrorist being called in to make a hit all seems way too odd.

This is what a good old classic Spider-Man comic is all about.  On one side you have the action of Spider-Man, and on the other the day to day drama of Peter Parker. In this issue Spider-Man is as wise cracking and smart assed as ever before and really does his best to try and find Norton in order to get the bonus money to help pay off his student loans as Peter Parker and to help Aunt May with her retirement center idea she wants to build. Spidey gets to make fools of some low life scum and gets to put a beatdown on The Tarantula. Peter Parker in this issue has two plots going on, one is just getting the bonus money and the second is he captures the eye of a cute blonde named Amy who is thinking of flirting with him to get back at her current boyfriend Lance Bannon.  The Peter parts are good, but let’s be honest we all read for the Spider-Man parts! The Tarantula, whose real name is Anton Miguel Rodriguez, in this issue is down and out and while once a major player in his home country, is now just a petty arms trader who had to change his name, and by getting this hit he could make himself a top player again! He tries so hard to beat Spider-Man in the fight and busts out not only his poison tipped boots but also claws that drip the same deadly poison, but this has no effect as Spidey still gets the upper hand leaving him defeated on a garbage ship floating in the water. The story is really good and has a noire feel with Nose Norton being a wanted man from all sides because of information he knows, and his only hope is to trust no one! The story really makes me want to see how it all plays out and what BRAND and this South American guy want from Norton that no doubt will end in his death! Not to mention how will Ben Ulrich come into play. Reading this comic again after all these years really just makes me want to read more and more classic Spider-Man issues cause I am having a blast reliving this storyline! I should also say the art is done by John Romita Jr. and Jim Mooney and is good solid work, and the issue had a great Rotten Ink smell! So let’s move onto the next issue in this story and see where it goes.

Amazing Spider-Man 234

The Amazing Spider-Man  # 234  ***
Released in 1982   Cover Price .60   Marvel Comics   #234 of 441

Nose Norton is in a coma as Ben and Peter come up empty handed on the photo proof that the BRAND Detectives shot first. But the big news is that one of the BRAND Corporations facilities has been blown up by Will-O-The-Wisp who blames the company for giving him his ungodly powers. Meanwhile across town Tarantula is feeling beat up with broken ribs and a bruised ego after losing to Spider-Man in their last fight.  He is visited by a BRAND Company doctor who informs him that they wants Spider-Man out of the way and will help him do so by making him just like Spider-Man! Meanwhile in Peter Parker’s world, he has a run in with Amy Powell who tries her best to flirt with him, but she is blown off by Peter who still is hung up on a past breakup. Peter Parker goes to BRAND to try and get an intern job and see what secrets he can dig up when he comes across James Melvin, a slimy government weapons maker who is nothing but bad news.  With the help of a spider tracker and the building’s air vents, Spider-Man follows him to a giant lab were they dip Tarantula into a vat of chemicals hoping to make him strong and Spider-Man like and use him as a agent for the company. Spider-Man has heard enough and busts from the vent and tries to stop it all just as Will-O-The-Wisp comes busting in to destroy the lab and building.  As Spider-Man fights with Wisp, who thinks Spidey has been paid by BRAND to stop him, Melvin uses a new ray gun that hurts Wisp and as Spider-Man pulls his confused “friend” from harm’s way, The Tarantula comes out of the vat deformed and looking like a human spider!

Spider-Man is knee deep in trouble in this issue as he not only has to deal with Tarantula but now also James Melvin and BRAND as well as Will-O-The-Wisp! And while he knows Will-O-The-Wisp is a confused being, he still lands a jaw breaking punch in their fight to try and snap some sense into him. Peter Parker in this issue dwells on his love for thief Black Cat who he thinks is dead, and even gives the cold shoulder to blonde cutie Amy. He also shows that years of science work pays off as he gets to enter the BRAND Companies facility under the fake story of an intern interview. Will-O-The-Wisp is a light ball of rage as the only thing on his mind is revenge and with that means blowing up buildings! Tarantula, poor guy, is beat up pretty bad and falls for a plan that leaves him looking like a spider version of the horror character The Fly. Plus the plot thickens as Norton is in a coma, BRAND is clearly an evil business empire, Tarantula is now a walking freak of nature and Will-O-The-Wisp is a nut who wants to teach his one time tormenters a lesson, making this a fun story line. The art in this issue is done by John Romita Jr. and Dan Green, and this is twice that Romita Jr. has had a second artist with him, wonder why that is…my guess is they had him working on so many books at the time that the second artist was there to help him get them done on time. So let’s move on and see just were the story takes us in this next issue!

Amazing Spider-Man 235

The Amazing Spider-Man  # 235  ***
Released in 1982   Cover Price .60   Marvel Comics   #235 of 441

Spider-Man toss the injured Will-O-The-Wisp to the side and starts to fight against the freak version of The Tarantula.  Spidey learns that while he is strong like him, Tarantula is lacking the spider sense that allows him to know when punches are coming. Will-O-The-Wisp wakes up as Dr. Melvin is trying to take him prisoner.  While he has been weakened, Wisp turns into his light ball and enters the fight against the mutated Tarantula.  As those two go at it, Spider-Man saves people from the destruction their fight is causing.  Wisp and Tarantula fall into the near by water and are believed to be dead via drowning. Spider-Man quickly turns back into Peter Parker and leaves the BRAND facility and returns home to find all his pictures he just took are trashed due to the radiation the machines in the lab were giving off. Mean while J. Jonah Jameson gets some bad news that his big news story on the corruption of BRAND has to be canceled as the government says that if they run the story it will ruin their case against the giant company that they as well are trying to bring down. Spider-Man breaks into James Melvin’s home and watches as Will-O-The-Wisp also appears and confronts Melvin who realizes that he was once Wisp’s boss and that his own actions lead to an accident that left his one time employee into his light energy being! Will-O-The-Wisp uses mind control and is about to have Melvin kill himself when Spider-Man comes to the rescue and this causes the two to exchange blows, but a scream stops them in dead tracks when they see Melvin in the arms of the even more mutated Tarantula!

The more you find out about BRAND, the more you dislike this fake comic world company as they even have ties to the oil companies…yep they are icky. The issue has a really nice touch when they have a government agent come and speak to the Daily Bugle staff that was working on the write up about BRAND, and he shares all types of past comic book activities that were connected to them. Spider-Man once more uses his brain and follows leads and learns some things about his enemies just by hiding and listening.  He also seems to act as a voice of reason to Will-O-The-Wisp whose obsession with revenge has clouded his mind and leads him toward killing. Will-O-The-Wisp’s backstory of a scientist pushed too hard from his boss that leads to a horrible accident is straight out of a 50’s Sci-Fi B-Movie. Wisp also comes off as a good guy who is doing bad things because he thinks it’s the right thing to do to make the wrongs right. James Melvin is a fat slimy creep who is doing bad things to make himself and his employers rich, because with a slimeball like him money talks and the world’s safety comes last. Tarantula who is a mutated freak now seems to be becoming more and more spider like and losing the human side of himself as his appearance keeps changing for the worse. Artwork is this time around done by John Romita Jr. and Frank Giacoia and as always looks great. So with us coming up on the last issue, I want you to ask yourself if you don’t know how this is ending already how do you think Tarantula is going to die…pick now and see if you’re right as we head into the final issue in this story line.

Amazing Spider-Man 236

The Amazing Spider-Man  # 236  ***
Released in 1983   Cover Price .60   Marvel Comics   #236 of 441

Tarantula is holding a passed out Melvin in his arms as Will-O-The-Wisp informs Spider-Man that this mutated menace is under his control now.  Little do they know the head of the oil company is watching what’s going on via a TV chat box trying to figure out a way to cut ties with BRAND and leave them holding the bag for all the bad deeds they have done. Tarantula breaks the mind control when his brain drifts further away from being human and that more of an animal who wants to eat! Will-O-The-Wisp knocks the mutated freak out as Spider-Man saves Melvin from a doomed death and leads Wisp on a city wide chase after he hides Melvin in a safe spot. Meanwhile a news crew have spotted Tarantula and are following him, as Spider-Man tricks Wisp into flying through a machine that mixes up his body molecules he takes him to Melvin to try and talk sense into him that the best revenge he could get is by turning him in and not killing him. As the pair get to Melvin, they see that Tarantula is about to eat him for a midday snack! Spider-Man fights with the Tarantula who now has very little left of his human brain as well as his body now is more like a giant spider. Wisp comes to and takes Melvin to safety and hypnotizes him into telling the police all the bad things he has done. In the end Spider-Man watches as Tarantula looses control and leaps off the building towards the cops below who all open fire on him as he splats on the ground below. In the end Peter Parker at the Daily Bugle watches the news report with the staff on BRAND and James Melvin being under investigation by the government as well as the oil company who are in fact the puppet masters pulling all the evil strings.

So for those of you who guessed that Tarantula was going to die by leaping off a building and getting shot and splatting on the ground, consider yourself a true cheesy comic bad guy fan…and for those who got it wrong, maybe next time. This issue marks the death of Anton Miguel Rodriguez as The Tarantula, and it’s a sad end as when he as the giant spider leaps from the building he begs the cops below to kill him. Tarantula was a prideful character who could not stand losing a fight to Spider-Man, and his ego and pride are what lead him to accepting the offer of BRAND who wanted a fighting machine to protect them and do their own bad wishes. Spider-Man keeps going even when he is worn out and tries his best to not only save the a-hole Melvin from death but also talk sense into Will-O-The-Wisp not murdering the slime ball all the while fighting off the crazed Tarantula.  So needless to say I think he’s earned a rest day of eating chicken wings and watching pro wrestling. And it looks like Will-O-The-Wisp has learned that while revenge can be sweet, murder is not and he puts his faith in the law system to bring down BRAND now that Melvin has squealed like a pig on all the bad things going on at BRAND. So as you can see while things got better for Will-O-The-Wisp, they didn’t work out for Tarantula whose only release was in death. The art in this issue was done by John Romita Jr. and Frank Giacoia and once more is that classic Spider-Man look we all grew up loving. Check out below for The Tarantula’s transformation during this comic storyline.

Tarantula 1Tarantula 2Tarantula 3

Back in the day when a character died in a comic and you were young, it meant something and no matter how small the character was it had an impact on the reader. And The Tarantula’s death had that effect on me as over all the years of reading comics his death and Kraven’s has always stuck out. The fact he turned into a giant spider and leapt to his own death was shocking for me at the time and also in a strange way always made me think of the old film The Fly. So with this let’s take a moment of silence for The Tarantula.

Tarantula dead

The next update will be a little silly and a little less filled with grown men dressed as spiders as we take a look at yet another photo comic based on a Jess Franco film that has an old woman dress as a spider…thats right it’s Mari Cookie And The Killer Tarantula.  So make sure to come back for that cheesy good time. So until then read a comic or two and make sure you appreciate all your favorite villains as they might not be around forever.

Mari Cookie Logo

MarvelProbe: When Pixels And Ink Meet

Welcome back to Rotten Ink.  Today I would like to talk about video games; right now on the home console market PS4 is kicking the butt of its competitors, the Nintendo WII-U and the Xbox One and with the Steam Box and even rumored Amazon Game System in the works this generation of gaming is going to be an interesting one. Most modern Triple A titles are like playing a movie as they are heavy on plots and the graphics are top notch.  Games of this style would be like Assassins Creed, Halo, God of War and Legend Of Zelda.  When playing a game like this, you are treated to beautiful breathtaking cut scenes that help draw you deeper and deeper into the plot. Also popular nowadays are the tiny mobile games that kids and adults play on their smart phones and tablets and most of these style games have very little plot and are quick play games that can kill boredom when waiting.  Examples of these games are Planets Vs. Zombies, Minecraft and Angry Birds. But for me mobile games are just kind of bland and when I want to play a video game, I want to pop in a cart or disc and grab my controller and play. In this day and age a player does not have to use much of his or hers imagination like they did back when Atari 800 or 2600 ruled the home game market with wire thin plots and pixels that were kind of in the shape of whatever your character was suppose to be. While I am sure gamers now look at classic video games like Pac-Man, Frogger and Q*Bert as primitive, nothing could prepare them for text adventure games! Yes, in the 1980’s text based games were very popular, and while some of them had some graphics at the top of the screen, many of them did not and looked like just a bunch of words on a screen waiting for simple commands to further the “adventure” along. Think of text games like the book series called Choose Your Own Adventure where by reading and making a decision, you have your character’s fate in your hands, because let’s be honest kids want to read a bunch of text in order to play a video game….right? Text based games have been made about all types of things from Dracula to World War II but some of the most popular ones were based on Marvel Super Heroes and would you know they also made comics based on their text based adventures and that’s what our main subject will be all about! So get ready to have a text not texting good time as we jump into the world of pixels and ink.

questprobe hulk screenQuestprobe Spider screenQuestprobe Human Torch Screen

Adventure International was an early video game company run by husband and wife Scott and Alexis Adams who specialized in making games for the home computer market like the Commodore 64 and Apple II that started in 1978. Scott Adams was a big name in the world of video games throughout the early 80’s, and he was mostly known for making top of the line text based adventure games.  This helped his company lock a partnership with Marvel Comics in 1984 to make a text based game series that would focus many of their top heroes.  In fact, 12 games were planned in the line as were comics that would come out alongside the games via Marvel. The first three games to come out were adventures based on The Incredible Hulk, Spider-Man and Human Torch & The Thing from the Fantastic Four. The main plot had the heroes being studded by a unknown figure called Chief Examiner who would place them in odd places and situations to see how they would react to them. But sadly Adventure International hit a financial snag and closed up shop in 1985 leaving the 4th game,which was based around the X-Men, unfinished and the remaining titles in the line canceled. While his company may have closed shop Scott Adams still continued to make computer games throughout the years and even as of 2013 made a comeback after 10 years of not creating his own game made a text game called “The Inheritance” and remains an icon of PC Gaming.

Questprobe SpiderMan C64Adventure International logoQuestprobe Fantastic Four Atari

Growing up the only text based games I could remember playing were ones that my Uncle Thurman would bring to our house in Waynesville when he and my Aunt Teresa would come visit us as kids. Most of the ones he had were more like dungeon and dragons and were the strict text ones with no graphics and were all for Commodore 64. I can remember one time looking through his massive collection of games all on floppy disks and finding Dracula and asking him if we could play it but after several tries the game never did load.  That’s one of the downsides to Commodore 64, it had lots of issues loading and when it was loading the time to get your game to start was very long. Imagine kids of today who already complain about the install times of modern games trying to play a full game on Commodore where you had to wait for it to not only load the game but also most of the times each level! But I will move on and over the years text games seemed like an oddity to me and captured my attention as I never could wrap my head around why gamers of the past found them to be hours of fun, and I got a reason to buy some when I started to review Video Games on my old website for my production company Bloodline Video a few years back under the name of Xmortis. So after getting a complete working Commodore 64 with the datasette reader and floppy drive from Game Swap, I looked for a text based game that I could review and it came down to one called Wolfman and the other being Questprobe: Incredible Hulk and when a cassette version of Questprobe popped up cheap on Ebay it became the lucky winner. The game is text based but does have graphics that for the time are really fun and try their hardest to look like comic book art.  I have to admit playing the first few times I hated it and was so frustrated by the lame commands that I would get bored and shut the game off or even gasp! Die in the game! How could I let The Hulk, one of my favorite comic characters, die in a lame text game is what I kept thinking, but finally I hate to admit it but I used an online walk through for what commands to give him and beat the game by cheating. The review never made it up on the site, and I hope to someday get back to Bloodline’s site and return it to the review and production glory it once was. As for now how I feel about Questprobe Hulk, I hate to admit it but I do like the idea of it, mostly cause it was the first video game based on Hulk. Below is the cover box for the game as well as some screen shots for you to feast your eyes on and enjoy all the pixel goodness.

Questprobe hulk 1-1Questprobe Hulk C64Questprobe Hulk 1

Marvel Comics had a great thing going, not only did they have characters in video games now being written by Scott Adams but they could also get a 12 issue mini series from it that would help boost the sales of the game as also the game could boost the sales of the comics. This team up was truly a time when ink meet pixels, and the team up would have been perfect if not for the game company’s sudden shut down. Marvel during this time I am sure had a tough decision to make as they could continue a comic series based on games that were no longer being made or they could do the unthinkable and just cancel the mini series and leave fans hanging on what and who Chief Examiner was and what he wanted…and Marvel did what they always do they pulled the plug and walked away from the idea and as time passed did kind of wrap up the story in Marvel Fanfare # 33 where they printed the X-Men story and later in Quasar they added in the story of Questprobe. So on this update we are only going to cover the three issues released in the original mini series and will be graded on a star scale of 1 to 4 and am looking for how well the comic stays to the source material, it’s entertainment value and it’s art and story. I want to thank the vendor at Fright Night Film Fest for having issue # in stock and Lone Star Comics for the remaining two issues. So let’s pop these comics into the datasette player and type in the load keys and enjoy pixels and ink together.

Questprobe 1

Questprobe # 1  ** 1/2
Released in 1984     Cover Price .75     Marvel Comics    #1 of 3

A race of peaceful aliens are preparing for an invasion from other aliens who are war hawks and want to kill them all as well as their planet.  They all turn on Durgan, a member of there council who wants to fight back and not just roll over and die. When Durgan leaves the meeting he knows that something has to be done so he dons a giant helmet and calls himself the Chief Examiner and heads to Earth to steal the powers of some of our top super heroes to use in a fight with the invading aliens. On Earth The Incredible Hulk is facing off with the National Guard and after making short work of their tanks, he heads off to find a place to sleep and does so in a cave on the side of a cannon. When entering the cave, the Hulk sees the Natter Energy Egg and the Blood Red Bio-Gem right as the two explode.  This event makes The Hulk tired and he falls asleep turning back in Bruce Banner and finally getting some piece and quite. Banner’s rest is quickly cut short as Chief Examiner enters the cave and tells him that he needs to have him walk through a door portal so that he can drain his power! Banner fights back and runs from the cave but soon learns that the cave is high and he is fallen to his death! Before he hits the ground he turns into The Hulk as the Chief Examiner tries to force him to enter the door portal, The Hulk doesn’t like to be told what to do and goes on a rampage to smash the dome headed alien into the ground, during this fight a group of white water rafters are knocked over when Hulk goes under water and breaks off one of the sides of the canon and pins Chief Examiner down, but by doing so the huge rock is blocking the river and causes the rafters to fall into the raging water. The Hulk dives in and pulls out all the males and see’s that the female is stuck in a whirlpool! The only way to get to her is by jumping into the portal doorway and he does so losing some of his power yet saving a young woman’s life. The Chief Examiner leaves with his prize the stolen energy as The Hulk waits to make sure the woman is okay and to remain some energy and leaps off into the sky.

This is a fun Hulk adventure that is a cool tie in for a video game and explains the strange world that the Hulk is found in during the text based adventure Game. The plot is pretty simple and has an alien who’s planet is under attack who travels to Earth to steal powers off powerful humans so that he can use it against the attackers, the first one he targets is Hulk cause of his brute strength. He tries to force the Hulk to enter his black doorway that allows him to steal/mimic his power and only does so when he forces The Hulk to make a decision to save a woman’s life and jump through the door or let her die and avoid the door. The Hulk in this issue is the simple minded version who just wants to be left alone and knows that his brute power is the best way to keep everyone away, this is my favorite version of the Hulk as he is the one truly grew up reading and the one that made me a lifelong fan next to the TV Show. I love the fact that while The Hulk is a “monster” in the eyes of humans he risks his own safety in this comic to save the life of one of them and by the end the humans seem to have a new respect for the green skin goliath. The Chief Examiner while not a full bad guy still is going about getting help in his planets soon to be war all the wrong ways, not once does he even try to explain to the Hulk why he needs his power nor does he even tell the power house about his planets upcoming doom or asks if Hulk would come back and help. Plus it’s great when The Hulk pins Chief Examiner down with a giant stone and how easily in the alien’s mind he gave up and knew that the Hulk could kill him with one punch. The comic’s art is done by the amazing Mark Gruenwald and inked by John Romita Jr. making for one powerful team that turned in a great looking comic, and the cover is amazing and is also what’s used for the video game. So in this first issue Chief Examiner gets the power of the Hulk, and now who’s next on his hit list of stealing powers?

Questprobe 1-1 artQuestprobe 1-2 artQuestprobe 1-3 art

So in this first issue Chief Examiner gets the power of the Hulk, and now who’s next on his hit list of stealing powers? Let’s jump into issue two and see what he has planned for Spider-Man!

Questprobe 2

Questprobe # 2   **1/2
Released in 1985     Cover Price .75     Marvel Comics    #2 of 12

Spider-Man is feeling a little down in the dumps as the city is hot and he has a lot on his mind as his personal life is a mess. Meanwhile in prison, Quentin Beck comes up with a plan to escape so he can don his Mysterio outfit once more and challenge Spider-Man to a final fight! While on a distant planet the peaceful aliens watch as The Black Fleet conquers another planet and is heading their way, as Durgan also known as The Chief Examiner sets his sights now on steal/borrowing the power of Spider-Man to mix with that of the Hulk he already has taken. Tuskar is a student of Durgan and wants to find his old teacher and see if he can help as it’s shown the Black Fleet really just wants the Red Bio-Gem’s cause when put together they hold massive power, and the kicker are the Gems are alive and are kind of evil! Mysterio shows up to the Daily Bugle and holds everyone hostage as Spider-Man shows up to save them and the two fight it out, all the while Mysterio is using cheap and dirty FX inspired tricks on his foe. The Chief Examiner shows up and tries to get Spidey to go through his portal but web-head thinks that Examiner is just a costume change for Mysterio as they both wear domes over their faces, in the end Spider-Man figures out they are not the same person and is forced to dive into Examiner’s portal to escape an attack by Mysterio that leaves our hero weak, and just as Mysterio is to finish off Spider-Man the Red Bio-Gem uses its power to make The Chief Examiner try and steal the power of Mysterio given Spider-Man some breath time and getting his energy back to beat Mysterio and watch as The Chief Examiner disappears.

This issue is a good one and is a fun story to break up the normal story line that was going on in the main Spider-Man comic series at the time, but I will also say that it almost feels as if the writers of this issue in this mini series didn’t talk to the ones who made issue # 1. Because now I am not 100% sure if Durgan is The Chief Examiner or if the Red Bio-Gem on his planet is, as both seem to be in control of the dome headed power stealing loony. The Chief Examiner seems to be a little more polite in this issue and less forceful in making Spider-Man get into his portal than he was with The Hulk, but in this one he seems to be almost a ghost as nothing is under the robe making me scratch my head to as how then in issue # 1 Hulk was able to pin him to the ground and make him fear for his life. I kind of am so-so with the idea of the Red Power-Gems being alive and having the Energy Eggs around them as a way to keep them in line.  Yep, if the egg feels they are in danger it blows up killing the gem and it’s power. Spider-Man is as he was in the 80’s, filled with one liners and drama with girlfriends, but I wouldn’t want the web slinger any other way. Mysterio was the perfect  bad guy to use in this issue as he does look a lot like The Chief Examiner making for Spider-Man to have an almost “Who’s On First” kind of moments as he jumps from room to room. We will have to see what Tuskar is all about and if he will play out as a major player in the next issue. The art is by Al Milgrom and has that 70’s style Spider-Man appeal, the cover as well is just taken from the video games cover box. One smart move they did in this issue is they ask the question want to see what happened to Spider-Man’s power once he entered the portal, cause if you do go buy the game! Over all a good issue two that sadly leads us to the final issue in what was to be a 12 issue mini series.

Questprobe 2-1 art

So The Chief Examiner has collected the powers of The Hulk and Spider-Man but can he now get the powers of members of the Fantastic Four? Lets read issue # 3 and find out!

Questprobe 3

Questprobe # 3   **1/2
Released in 1985     Cover Price .75     Marvel Comics    #3 of 12

Johnny Storm and his blind girlfriend Alicia Masters return to the Baxter Building the base of The Fantastic Four to retrieve some books but while their they get a visit from The Chief Examiner who wants Storm’s powers! Johnny Storm flames on and turns into The Human Torch just in time to fight some robots that are being controlled by The Examiner who has taken over all of the electronics in the Baxter Building. After destroying many of the robots Human Torch is sprayed with water and tuned back into Johnny Storm and he and Alicia try and escape as The Chief Examiner still is forceful that Torch goes through is portal so he can have his power! Johnny and Alicia get onto a secret elevator to try and escape and give Johnny time to dry off to become Human Torch again, meanwhile She-Hulk has returned home from grocery shopping and rushes to Johnny’s aid as The Chief Examiner forces them out of the Elevator he uses a fantasticar to try and kill She-Hulk who knocks it away and it bounces off the wall and heads towards Alicia Masters and Human Torch rushes to save her from being crushed just as The Chief Examiner places his portal in front of them tricking him into going through and stealing the power of the Human Torch and poof he’s gone and they are all safe.  The Power-Gem during this time also overhears that Durgan wants the help of Tuskar to gain more superpowers and to stop the Black Fleet. The Chief Examiner then pops up onto the alien planet that The Thing is on after the events of the Secret Wars and uses a twisted version of The Baxter Building to trick him into going through the portal and stealing his power.

This third issue is good but not nearly as good as the first two issues in the series and almost seems like a filler issue that has a touch of rush feeling. The first target is The Human Torch who The Chief Examiner tricks into getting into the portal by placing it between him and Alicia who was in danger, his intent to kill She-Hulk shows that the character is really at odds with being controlled by The Power Gem who is starting to really be the main villain of the series. It’s clear that The Human Torch is the main focus hero of this issue as the second target The Thing’s brief moments at the end of the issue is kind of a waste and not nearly as interesting as all the others who have been tricked before him. Weird enough as well is the fact the main story of Durgan also seems to be a second thought in the issue, making this one that’s kind of bland to talk about so lets just go ahead and wrap it up shall we. I will also say its odd that The Chief Examiner didn’t want to try and steal the powers of She-Hulk instead his first thought is to try and kill her, I am sure her power on top of Hulks and The Things would make him even more powerful and a force to be reckoned with.  This issues art is done by Ron Wilson and is clearly a Fantastic Four style art. Cover is like the game same as the others and I must say while again a fun read it was also very lackluster and lost the “epic adventure” feel that the other two issues had.

Questprobe 3-1 artQuestprobe 3-2 artQuestprobe 3-3 art

It’s truly a shame that this mini series and video game series was cut so short as they had so many more Marvel heroes that could have been made into both.  Just imagine this series continuing not only with the already planned X-Men but also Captain America, Ghost Rider, Daredevil, Doctor Strange, Iron Man and Thor to name a few. I truly feel that Marvel let all the fans down of the comic mini series and the video game series by just stopping the story arch before anything was really settled. But I guess that truly was the Marvel way just stop production on series without a second thought about their fans. So next month is September, and it will be the kick off to Rotten Ink’s second Halloween update that will go up on October 31st. For those who remember last year we took a look at comics based on Hammer Horror films well this year will be a little different and something I am super happy to bring all you friends and readers. But our next update will be a secret but I will drop you a giant hint when I say he hates New York! So until then think about it, plus play a video game and read a comic or two.


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Newsletter 28th September

There have been some amazing things happening in school since the last newsletter. Just one of those exciting things is the family learning currently taking place in Y3. This is a great opportunity to come to school and work with your child.

Click here to read our latest newsletter.

Newsletter 28.9.18

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text:
An hour or three

Leeds: Visitor counting

We're reviewing our visitor counting algorithms and need some help to ensure we're as accurate as possible. We have recently installed a new counter at our main entrance which tracks movement in and out of the building. What it can't do is tell us whether the person is a museum visitor, staff member, contractor or conference guest.

This is where you can help us, by giving us at least an hour of your time to count visitors who are going into the museum galleries. The day will be divided into hour slots with each count being reset on the hour and recorded.

This project will run for 6 weeks over May and June 2019 covering as many dates as possible including school holidays, term-time, weekends and most importantly - the late May Bank Holiday horse show.

If you are under 16 you must complete this challenge with a parent or guardian

What's involved?

You will be given counters and located by the Welcome desk in the museum's main lobby

You will count all adult and child visitors entering the museum galleries

Every hour, the count will be recorded and re-set

Why get involved?

  • You don't need any experience to complete this challenge. Only the ability to either sit or stand and click the counter for at least an hour.
  • You will gain insight into the processes of how large national museums record and report visitor numbers
  • This work is invaluable and your time will be greatly appreciated. The data that you collect will be used to calculate a formula that we will use to report visitor figures for the rest of the year.
  • Once the project is completed you will be invited to a thank you event where we will present the finding and outcomes over a coffee and some cake

How to get involved?

Step 1: Sign up or log in to

Step 2: Accept the challenge

Step 3: You will be contacted by a member of the team and will be asked for your availability

Step 4: You will be given your time slot/s that you will be counting with further information on how to count

Step 5: Turn up, sign in, and start counting!

Step 6: Once the challenge is complete, don’t forget to sign back here to add your volunteering hours and mark the challenge as complete. Your hours will appear on your profile.

Ideal Skill

  • Working independently

Ideal Interests

  • Business and management
  • Visitor Service/ Front of House

Share this


text:
Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? 254

Voiced by Amazon Polly

A spider and a demon in their own little world, as it were…

254 – The oni, the spider

I teleport to the other dimension oni-kun is in. Oni-kun is still unconscious. Well, after being pummelled to that extent, he wouldn’t be about to wake up immediately.

I guess there’s no other way, so I apply some recovery on him. If he recovers too much then it’s possible that Wrath will reactivate, so all in moderation. While looking at his condition after applying the recovery, before long oni-kun starts groaning and then opened his eyes.

「Uh, Wakaba-san?」

Oni-kun murmurs in a quiet voice. Yes, YES. Here’s everyone’s idol, Wakaba Hiiro! Argh, so annoying. Why do I have to substitute for D eh.

「I’m called Shiro here.」
「I see. I’m Wrath. Would you mind addressing me with that?」

Raasu, ah, Wrath huh. I don’t know the circumstances for it, but it seems oni-kun also dislikes being addressed with his previous name. That works for me too. With neither of us prying into the other, there’s now no motivation to discuss our names any further.

「Then, Shiro-san. Where is this?」

Well, you would feel uneasy yeah. The other dimension that we’re currently in, is pretty much in it’s default settings. In other words, it’s nothing but a large space. There’s nothing – not even light. A totally black space. However, it does contain air and such that is the minimum necessary to support life. If not for that, you’d be dying for suffocation, or dying from the abnormal pressure from the vacuum state. Beyond that, the setting has been changed so that it’s not just dark and it’s possible to see. From oni-kun’s point of view, in this pure black space with nothing else, all that’s visible is my own figure in isolation. Well, he would want to know where this was.

「Another dimension that I created.」
「Another dimension. I thought so.」

Oh that’s unexpected, oni-kun murmured “I thought so”. Did he realise that this wasn’t a normal space I wonder?

「I have Space Magic as well after all. I had realised that this wasn’t a normal space.」

Though I’m sure it didn’t show up on my face, oni-kun read between the lines on my doubt and added to his explanation. Ahh, that’s right, it was when he was still like that pseudo goblin. He possessed Space Magic then. I’d forgotten that I’d also interfered and peered inside during the match. Well, it never seemed like it would develop to the level where it could threaten me, so I hadn’t paid much attention to it.

As the level in Space Magic rises, it becomes possible for it to damage even me. It’s true that I’ve specialised in Space Magic, but it’s also because when Space Magic evolves to the level of Dimension Magic, it does have the track record of even delivering an attack on that D. That’s quite an underhanded trick I’m sure, but going by that previous example, then I can’t say that nobody would ever be able to reproduce it. That’s why it’s worth keeping a lookout on Space Magic users, but with oni-kun’s current level I had judged that it wouldn’t be able to affect me.

「There’s many things that I’d like to ask, but is it possible that it’s not just us but the entire class who have been reborn into this world?」

Hm? You’re asking that? Ah, well, I guess so. When someone you know from your previous world appears before you, you would think that I guess. Particularly because in oni-kun’s case, due to him running wild with Wrath he wasn’t in any condition to be able communicate with others anyway. There wasn’t any way to inform him about the situation of the reincarnators.

「Everyone is here.」
「Everyone. That sure is unexpected.」

Though oni-kun says it’s unexpected he doesn’t really look to be that shocked. With the example of me being before him it certainly establishes that there’s some kind of pattern.

Oni-kun in his previous life as Sasajima-kun, had the image of being quite quick-thinking I recall. Something like, he could read the mood on the spot and chose his words appropriately. Though rather than it being like he was worldly wise, it felt more like that he was desperately trying to prevent the peace from being disturbed. Well, being able to speak after reading the mood, that in it’s own way indicates that he’s quick-witted. Talking about his mind here, I don’t necessarily mean in the sense that he’s good or bad at studying. There’s plenty of people who are fools even though they’s good at studying, and conversely there’s also capable people who are bad at studying. In Sasajima-kun’s case, he was reasonably good at studying, so in that sense he is fairly smart.

「Then, Yamada Shunsuke and Ooshima Kanata, do you know if those two are well?」

When oni-kun asks the question “do I know”, he seems confident that I will give him an answer. Well, at the point when I said that everyone in the class is here, it can be predicted that I have knowledge on the reincarnators. I don’t really have a reason to hide it anyway, so I might as well tell him this much. Anyhow, it’s not like oni-kun would be able to find out that I’m not limited to just “having knowledge” either.

「They’re both well.」

One of them has had a sex change though! But she’s well enough, so I’m not lying.

「I see. That’s a relief.」

With just that oni-kun’s face relaxes in what seems like his true feelings. Hrm. I understand this much. Oni-kun is extremely cautious of me. Well, I guess so huh. Suddenly pummelled by some unknown guy in black, then when he wakes up someone he knows from his previous life is there. And in another dimension too. I’m sure it’d be impossible not to be cautious instead huh. Ah, possibly oni-kun is a more simple minded type, if that’s the case, then he should have vented his questions at me whilst he was unable to think normally. My mind went all over the place for a minute there, but after thinking all sorts of things I get the feeling that maybe I hit the bull’s-eye.

Well, for me, that would be preferable I guess. I’d also be grateful if fewer words are needed. But saying that still, I can’t talk so much all in one go! When I was able to talk with the Demon King and Kuro earlier, half of that was because the Demon King was one of them, and the other half was because I had already decided on my words in advance and had practiced my lines you see! So, if you think I’ll be able to fluently reply in a question and answer session where I’ve not determined what to say already, then you’re greatly mistaken! That being the case, oni-kun. Sorry but please be prepared for this to take QUITE a long time. Don’t worry, while we’re in this space, not that much time will pass outside. So go ahead and use up as much time as you want.

Translation notes:

“Raasu” – this is how the English word “wrath” is written in Japanese phonetics. Sasajima calls himself “ラース” (Raasu) while in the 7 deadly sins sense “憤怒” translates as “Wrath”. So in the original Japanese there is an obvious distinction here but it’s not possible to keep this distinction in English.

We don’t see when Shiro evolved Space Magic to level 10 and it evolved into Dimension Magic but in chapter 129 her Dimension Magic evolves to level 2.

Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? 253
Kumo desu ga, Nani ka? 255


text:
iPhoto to Drupal via Gallery?

I use iPhoto to manage my photos with my iMac. I use Drupal as a content management system for several websites I maintain. Drupal has an “image gallery” function that I use a lot. I also use Gallery to maintain some online photo albums (like this one).

Gallery has a neat iPhotoToGallery plug-in that allows photos, with titles and comments, to be easily exported to an online gallery.

I’d like to have the same thing for Drupal, and it occurs to me that the easiest way to do this would be to create a Drupal module that implements the Gallery Remote Protocol; this would mean that all of the Gallery client-side tools could be used to maintain Drupal image galleries.

david's picture
david on April 21, 2005 - 10:12 Permalink

Did you go through with the idea of creating a drupal module? I have a friend with a site with gallery imbedded in drupal, and I would love to use the iPhotoToGallery plugin to upload photos, but it doesn’t seem possible right now =(


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London Fashion Week, Barbara Casasola

Barbara Casasola kicked off todays shows at London Fashion Week. The Brazilian designer who is based in London provided some very clean and chic looks today. Her show consisted of sunset like colours, from red to brown to orange. In a interview with the “Telegraph” Casasola described her new creations, “It’s a lot about this Brazilian […]

Read More London Fashion Week, Barbara Casasola

Bora Aksu London Fashion Week

Bora Aksu is a well known Turkish designer who has been in London for the past 15 years. He has very inspirational work as he has inspired Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabanna with his beautiful creations. Here is some of his work from his fashion show today in London.  “My signature style is based upon finding […]

Read More Bora Aksu London Fashion Week

Naeem Khan

Naeem Khan is a amazing designer, he is originally from India and started his very successful fashion label in 2003. He is known for his great attention to detail his bridal gowns are one of a kind, all his gowns are breath taking. He has over 200 high end retailers that are currently selling his […]

Read More Naeem Khan


text:
SHINE：Pudong seeks to woo foreign graduates at recruitment fair

Source: SHINE

Reprint link:

Pudong’s annual job fair to lure foreign graduates to work in the FTZ drew strong interest.

Nearly 150 foreign students attended a job fair yesterday where over 50 enterprises based in Pudong’s pilot Free Trade Zone offered a total of 478 positions in engineering, finance, marketing, education and sales.

The fair is aimed at encouraging foreign graduates from local universities to work or start their own businesses in the city, said the Administration of Overseas Talent of Pudong, which organized the event.

The applicants received a total of 181 job offers on the spot from companies that included state-owned AECC Commercial Aircraft Engine Co, which is behind China’s domestically developed aircraft engine, and local universities such as Shanghai Tech University as well as high-tech, trade, food and education firms based in the FTZ.

The Pudong administration has released a series of policies to support foreign graduates who want to work in the district.

Those with a bachelor’s degree, for instance, can now apply for a work permit in the FTZ. Previously, they had to have at least a master’s.

The students attending the fair came from 14 universities in Shanghai — such as Fudan, Jiao Tong and Tongji universities — as well as neighboring provinces.

Most of the applicants have studied at Chinese universities for over half a year and speak fluent Mandarin.

“The salaries are higher with better job opportunities in Shanghai than in many German cities,” said Steve Hilger, a graduate from Dresden who studied at East China Normal University.

Muhammad Asif, a Pakistani mechanical major graduate from Shanghai University, said the Belt and Road Initiative offered great opportunities.

“I plan to work for a global company here for a year, especially one that has business with Pakistan under the Belt and Road,” he said.

Anna Khorokhordina, a Russian post-graduate from East China Normal University, plans to work here for around three years or longer as a springboard for her future career.

“Positions at local companies like translator, secretary and investment analyst are all attractive to me,” said Khorokhordina, who acquired a master’s in international relations.

Many employers say foreign graduates have a language advantage, but must still have the right skills that are in demand.

“Most of the candidates are fluent in English, but it is still difficult to find professionals with sales skills,” said Trey Archer, sales manager with financial consultancy Z-Ben Advisors.

The government started the annual recruitment fair for foreign graduates in the FTZ in 2016 and more than 500 job hopefuls took part in the first two years — more than half of whom received job offers on the spot, the administration said.

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text:
A seafood feast at Prawn on the Lawn in Padstow

What happens when two seafood lovers who already have an insanely popular restaurant in London set up shop in Cornwall?

Well, critical acclaim, that’s what! Prawn on the Lawn take two opened in 2015 in Padstow and is so good that it’s featured in the Michelin Guide and it was named one of The Times Top 100 UK restaurants.

I visited on my last trip to Cornwall and it was, well sorry to ruin the rest of the post but, one of the best meals I’ve ever had!

Come and take a look at what I picked to eat, trust me, you’ll want to click just to look at the foodie pictures…

Prawn on the Lawn is a restaurant and a fish monger!
Take a look in the window as you go past Prawn on the Lawn in Padstow!

We bumbled into Padstow for a day or two while we were down in Cornwall and found this incredible restaurant by chance. We instantly knew it looked like our kind of place so we looked it up on Google, as you do and realised, hey, it’s kind of a big deal. It’s normally a book in advance kind of place but we lucked out, because when we called they had just had two people cancel. Winner, winner, seafood dinner!

It looks so inviting and cosy in the evening!

About Prawn on the Lawn

Rick Toogood and his wife Katie, run the cosy 24 seat restaurant in Padstow serving seasonal seafood fresh from the day boats and fish markets across Devon and Cornwall. While I’d read the website saying they ran it I didn’t expect for Rick to be cooking and for Katie to be serving us! I only realised at the end when we decided to buy the cook book and they offered to sign it for us. Yes, I felt very silly, thankfully they didn’t know!

Ok, so I may have ‘borrowed’ the official Prawn on the Lawn shot off Trip Advisor because my photos are so glossy and I couldn’t really get one of the whole restaurant as it was fully booked and very busy.

A cute corner in Padstow

The interior is long and narrow, and has a relatively understated but chic look, think lots of black and white, gorgeous iron work shelves, wooden tables and dangling bulbs giving out a warm glowing light.

As it was quite dark, I may have borrowed this official photo of off trip advisor just so you can see the layout properly!

A seafood feast

Anyway, let’s get onto the best bit, the foodie seafood bit. I’m excited to show you because it was so ruddy wonderful!

We shared two starters, scallops in a Thai marinade with Thai basil…

How good do these scallops looks – I can assure you they were melt in the mouth fantastic!

…followed by seared tuna with soy, mirin and chilli. Thankfully they removed the spring onion for me, as I’m allergic, so I could share it with Henry, my numerically minded better half. It must be love if we shared, because this isn’t the kind of food you’d want to share – it’s too good! 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 It’s the kind of food that makes you want to shout ‘Joey doesn’t share food!’- I’m hoping you get the Friends reference! If not, you need to watch that show. No, seriously, it’s a classic!

Both dishes were extremely delicious, I’ve never had fresh seared tuna like this before and scallops are one of my all time favourite foods.

The seared tuna actually took me by surprise, I thought perhaps out of everything we ordered this might be the thing I wasn’t so keen on but it is similar to sushi I’ve eaten before and it could not have been more up my street.

Ok, I better warn you, we went all out with this meal. Don’t judge me, normally I’m eating a peanut butter sandwich or creating something from our store cupboard. Lobster is not a regular occurrence for me, I mean I wish it was because I love it. But, if you’re going to have a lobster anywhere, this is and was the place to have it. So yes, I ordered myself a whole lobster, not to share either, oh no, no, no! I ate that whole lobster to myself, I mean it took me a while, it was my seafood Everest but it was SO GOOD!

For my main I ordered a whole Padstow lobster served hot with lime and coriander butter. OH DANG! Swit swoo, it was amazing. It took me a long time to eat it but I really enjoyed cracking the shell and taking my time. I also had a side of crispy potatoes and relished dipping them in the buttery sauce. Well, it’s not often you get to eat fresh lobster and ALL the butter!

I think we were a bit spoilt by Prawn on the Lawn really, all the seafood was incredibly fresh, and I’ve honestly never had a better seafood meal. Hand on heart, scouts honour, and no the folk at Prawn on the Lawn didn’t slip me £50 to say this (FYI they have no idea I’ve written this post). Now I’m forever comparing places we go to that specialise in seafood against the meal we had at Prawn on the Lawn.

Henry ordered the hake with feta and this was also incredible! Yep, I’ve nothing but praise for Prawn on the Lawn – we ate so well while we were there, the service was great, the environment was warm and welcoming and we even started chatting to the couple on the table next to us! I’ve never started talking to random strangers in a restaurant before, but we had such a lovely chat comparing trips to Cornwall and sharing recommendations. What a fantastic way to spend an evening.

The hake with feta at Prawn on the Lawn in Padstow

Katie recommended the deep friend oysters. She asked us if we were oyster fans and I had to say that I’m not. I’ll have them, but it’s not my thing. It’s nothing about the texture, it just tastes a bit nothingy to me but, we thought we’d try them at Prawn on the Lawn as we’d probably never have them as fresh anywhere else. I am so pleased she convinced us to have them, turns out deep fried oysters are tasty and they came with a garlic dipping sauce that just made the whole mouthful out of this world. I went from feeling ‘meh’ about oysters to their biggest fan in one second. Even if you don’t like oysters, you need to try these ones, just trust me on this one.

Delicious oysters – from the person who’s not an oyster fan!

Excellent seafood at Prawn on the Lawn

The quality, food, service and experience was superb from start to finish, and this was a real highlight of the trip and we still rave about it to this day. We’ve recommended it to so many people heading to Padstow on holiday and my Mum’s going there this week to celebrate her birthday. I think she’s planning on having the Fruits de Mer! I hope she does, I’ll definitely have this when Henry and I return. That or maybe another lobster!

I wish we had one nearer to Hampshire, as I’d love to go and eat food like this more often. Maybe it’s time to book the Islington branch up?!

Anyway, if you’re heading to Padstow you need to try and squeeze this absolute gem into your schedule. You won’t regret it!

The great wine selection and the tiny open kitchen!

5 thoughts on “A seafood feast at Prawn on the Lawn in Padstow

    1. Honestly, it’s worth putting it on the list – so incredible!

      I am in Hampshire! Surrey is gorgeous and I haven’t explored it enough. I’ll have to follow your blog! Do you have a favourite post for me to pick and read first?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Hi

        No not really, this is my second most popular post

        The first most popular post is one of my two cats 😉

        Surrey is a lovely place, but then again so is Hampshire, I am right on the border. But we do have the most amazing fishmonger, right near us who gets fresh fish in daily, so I am really lucky, you post reminded me of them, if they started cooking food as well, I would be laughing

        Liked by 1 person

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text:
How to Find a Technical Cofounder

During my 4 years as an undergraduate computer science student at USC, I received hundreds of recruiting emails from business students looking for a technical co-founder or somebody to build their idea. Many of them were undeniably bad. Although I applaud all of these entrepreneurs for making an effort (however small), it bothers me that so many ideas die on the vine due to awful recruiting emails.

In order to help future entrepreneurs seeking technical help, here is a rough primer on how not to sound awful.

Let’s start by examining the average recruitment email:

Must be able to create a fully functional social app from scratch

Position responsibilities: will initially include building the front end and back end of our beta site. Must have a hacker attitude. If you are a Rockstar with machine learning, natural language, and data aggregation experience, you are amazing. Alright, we will talk to you if you could do only one of the three.

Compensation: Will be negotiable but ideally we are looking to bring someone into our team with programming expertise who really believes in our idea/business model. Candidates must sign an NDA before discussing the idea.

Duration: The initial duration will basically be as long as it takes to build the beta site with further opportunities available down the line.

Skills required: We believe they will need skills in PHP, MySQL, Ruby on Rails, Backbone.js, Angular, Databases, and Cloud Computing

Although initially the email looks organized and thorough, a more careful reading shows some glaring issues that immediately qualifies it as garbage.

The mistakes:

  • Mystery Product - There are exactly zero details on what the idea or project is about, resulting in exactly zero interest being sparked.
  • The NDA - Do not ask people to sign an NDA. Ideas are a dime a dozen, it disrespects whoever you are sending the email to, and starts the conversation in a distrustful tone.
  • “Hacker attitude / Rockstar / Amazing” - These buzzwords illustrate an ‘us’ vs ‘them’ attitude towards people with technical skills. Nobody in CS calls themselves a rockstar hacker.
  • Compensation - The explicitly stated negotiation makes the relationship transactional, signifying the business student’s belief that technical skill is a mere commodity to be traded for money and equity, neither of which are incredibly satisfying on their own.
  • Skills Required - Name-dropping frameworks and languages without any context demonstrates a total unfamiliarity with anything technical. Who would want to write software with someone who knows zilch about software?

Contrast this with an email that successfully recruited me to join a startup that would later be known as Tint

###The Job We are seeking an experienced back-end web developer to join our web startup. Our main shortage in talent is back-end development, and if you are passionate about making web applications and are looking for real-world experience, we are looking for you.

###About Hypemarks Hypemarks is an incubator-backed startup temporarily based in New York, started by five USC students. We see a huge problem of the amount of sites appearing everyday. With so many sites, how do you know which ones are relevant to you or worth your time checking out? Simply put: your friends.

We are a social bookmarking platform that collects all the sites you like and organizes them so you can share with your friends easily. Our vision is to allow people to define themselves based on their online experience when they share it with their friends. See an attached mockup to get a clearer idea of our vision:

###Ideal Profile You are an experienced back-end developer not only excited to be part of a small startup co-founding team, but also motivated by personal ambition. You are flexible and learn quickly. As a co-founder, you will have tremendous ownership and responsibility on development. Communication will be key since we will be working remotely for the summer. We are a team of diverse USC students and alumni who are laid-back, yet focused on working to build something big and hope you will believe in our vision as well.

###Desirable Skills

Passion for building web apps Desire to learn a web application framework (or have knowledge in web application frameworks) CS Fundamentals Interest in start-up culture Strong database skills, preferably with MySQL Experience in building web applications

What got me to respond to this email?

  • Clear Product - Giving a clear picture of what the product vision is conveys both honesty and confidence in the idea. It also demonstrates that the business guy is capable of contributing to the project. The more links to prototypes / product decks, the better!
  • No Buzz Words - Clear, down to earth language that is conversational, but professional. Increases the trust factor.
  • Impact & Ownership - A clear overview of what is being offered, and an understanding that most technical people are interested in making an impact and taking an ownership. Being able to identify what motivates the person on the other end of the email is key to success.
  • Technical Understanding - The “Desired Skills” section shows a good understanding of the general knowledge necessary without resorting to name-dropping frameworks or languages. Clearly the writer did the necessary homework to learn a bit about web application programming, an excellent sign.

Being able to clearly convey value proposition doesn’t just help sell your product, it helps build your team. At the early stages, it’s easy to think of finding a team as an afterthought to your brilliant startup idea. However, what I’ve learned in building Tint is that team is everything. Put as much effort into finding quality people as you would in finding a potential mate. If all goes well, your email might be the first step to building a lifelong work relationship.

Additional Reading

My friend and CEO of Tint, Tim, has a good blog post from the other side of the table about how to convince developers to join your startup. Check it out.

Also, Drew Houston, Founder of Dropbox, has a few words to say on the topic of how to find a technical co-founder.

And a brief survey by Andrew Chen explaining what developers are looking for when choosing to work as a technical cofounder. Hint: It’s traction.


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January 17, 2008

Mona Lisa Identity Revealed

Kaveetaa Kaul

What can safely be described as the mystery of the century, the identity of Leonardo Da Vincis La Gioconda, popularly known as Mona Lisa has finally been revealed. The “Lady of the Louvre’ with her beguiling smile has inspired not just romantics or social causerie for 500 years but captured the imagination world wide of those greatly intrigued by her identity as much as the reason behind that smile that virtually captivated the planet.

Deep in the archive of Heidelberg University, researcher Veit Probst says he has found a book that once belonged to Agostino Vespucci, a friend of da Vinci.

In the margin of one page is a note from October 1503 which, the researcher claims, confirms the identity of the Mona Lisa as the Mona (for Madonna) Lisa del Giocondo, the third wife of a Florentine businessman Francesco del Giocondo.

It is believed that her husband a flourishing tradesman had through his brother-in-law requested Da Vinci to make a portrait of his wife, a mother of 3, in her early twenties. Wow! women as fecund entities ever since times immemorial, despite being Mona Lisa.

It has set the rumor mills at rest though. Imagine being tormented with stories which hinted that she was Da Vincis mother, his lover or even a transvestite, if not da vinci himself in female attire. I guess both LDV and Madame Lisa can rest in peace now.

The mystery behind the smile? I insist it is that of a woman in her sixth month of pregnancy. There ne’er ever is beauty more devastatingly enchanting. Coupled with the fact that she obviously possessed a doting husband smitten enough to desire her portrait to adorn his home.

Sigh….how utterly romantic…even after three kids!! I promised hubby this morning I’d make a bid for an even more enticing, enigmatic, sensual smile, were he to get MF Hussain to portrait me. There was a loud Hmph…. and then..a simple ” the guy paints horses or Madhuri Dixit…” Clever retreat aint it?

Question that arises is does Dr. Nene ( of Madhuri Dixit fame) fancy a home adorned with her paintings by MF?? Why you might ask? research if inveterate trends that bespeak of indifference to a wifes charisma apply to the husbands of divas too.. might just accord me a satisfaction enough to evince a devilish, mean, cynical grimace..diametrically opposite. light years away from the Mona Lisa above.

Come to think of it, going by raves and rants of most wives majorly pissed off with hubbies, at any given point of the day, summoning up a Mona Lisa is well nigh impossible. What we could barely manage is this:

Todays disgruntled Mona Lisa ..check this animation of Mona Lisa with its options ..its stupendously hillarious especially ‘with disdain’ click.

Enjoy..and Cheers to Francisco del Giocando.. where art thou..buddy?!

In all seriousness, I aint no Mona lisa and hubby aint no Giocondo..but if a tripod with camera and a zealously taken zillion photographs are evidence, I have quite a Da Vinci at home..touch wood.

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  1. hyuk hyuk hyuk..made my day ..after many..todays Mona lisa is soooo correct..all my married friends will agree heartlily…..n i so envy you n yr da vinci! 😦 none for me.. tell me some feng shui na

    Comment by Neha — January 17, 2008 @ 1:40 pm | Reply

  2. Mona Lisa identity revealed

    fun take on Mona Lisa..cut to todays version

    Trackback by — January 17, 2008 @ 1:44 pm | Reply

  3. I maybe in a minority here but I have never found her face attractive.i have often wondered what the big hullaballoo is about. What smile.. i dont see any. Give me MD any day. and ah yes the animation was super.. good idea of juxtaposing it here

    Comment by dilip — January 19, 2008 @ 2:15 pm | Reply

  4. Mona Lisa identity revealed

    Who is she is revealed..and the modern day version is hillarious.

    Trackback by Anonymous — January 21, 2008 @ 2:51 pm | Reply

  5. Neha..chill! Aayega aane wala South west of bedroom mein hang a picture of peonies.Or better still paint it yourself.

    Ha ha dilip…I guess you are right.MD as Mona lisa.. what about Ash.. I believe just as of today she has been painted as Mona Lisa.

    Comment by kaveetaakaul — January 23, 2008 @ 5:16 pm | Reply

  6. a lot late but nonetheless.. happie new year.. was trotting arnd for corporate karthavya.. was there in bombay (i prefer it to mumbai) for a coupla dayz n got amazed to see how the city has mutated in the past two years… since my last visit.. the Heeranandani towers @ powai.. god! there was iit n there was gaon.. now toh looks like a mall outta the west.. horrible traffic but then high spirit n the zeal of life, fun n mobility… really the maximum city.. i love it in a special way 🙂

    mona lisa… hmmm.. dunno wat to say.. un-debatable post 🙂 enigmatic

    Comment by saptarshi — January 23, 2008 @ 10:32 pm | Reply

  7. Happy new year a great start eh? Travelling is always an auspicious beginning.And yeah Mumbais changed, is changing and How? I sometimes cannot recognise my locality. The skyline is altering like never before. the buildings are awesome but the traffic problems have multiplied as expected. where there was previously a four storeyed smallish structure now is a highrise of 20 floors.. Can you imagime just how many more cars plying on that same road, narrow and tree laden? I miss my old Khar.. It was peaceful quiet and so romantic. Now its as if one is in a suburb of NY… But honestly I wouldnt live any place else. 🙂

    Comment by kaveetaakaul — January 24, 2008 @ 2:24 pm | Reply

  8. ya… it really is the maximum city.. though i love calcutta n can go on abt the ‘life’ factor thatz there… but somewhere bombay is like one special city… for just the way it is… so i second u on that big time 🙂 wud be nice to have an episode of life @ mumbai-aa!!
    for now.. whenz a post coming where we can agree to disagree 🙂 or agree all over again!!

    Comment by saptarshi — January 25, 2008 @ 11:05 am | Reply

  9. Sapt, I’ve been to Cal during Xmas new years.. and it was rocking. Park street restaurant hopping was what we indulged in. The food was fantastic, music par excellence and the atmosphere was pulsating with joie de vivre. We dont have any such street in Mumbai.

    As for episode on Mumbai.. you see the only life I know is Mumbai life. I dont have a visitors perspective and neither a comparative study.So what i know of it is to me.. life. But an outsider would perhaps give a better inside look however paradoxical it sounds…e.g. I dont react to the language as much as perhaps you would.Traffic snarls, extreme juxtapositions of poverty and affluence, wheeler dealers, hi life.. is all ordinary to me not novel. But I think you have read my post on Mumbai..

    I put my heart into this one…read it and tell me…or disagree 🙂

    Comment by kaveetaakaul — January 25, 2008 @ 12:15 pm | Reply

  10. Although the Heidelberg University’s conclusion is not unreasonable, the reference in the book does not prove that the Mona Lisa painting was of Lisa del Giocondo. Check out an analysis done since then at that makes more sense to me.

    Comment by Valiant — April 16, 2009 @ 3:12 am | Reply

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Nation's Worst Violator of Federal Animal Welfare Laws

Friday, August 6, 2004

SAN FRANCISCO -- A nonprofit group against the use of animals in medical research has found University of California San Francisco to be the nation's worst violator of federal animal welfare laws.

Stop Animal Exploitation Now released a report Thursday that shows USCF was issued 51 federal citations over three years.

The violations ranged from inadequately trained laboratory personnel to failing to administer painkillers to a monkey after cranial surgery.

The animal welfare group based its report, "Breaking the Law: Animal Care in U.S. Labs," on U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection reports between 2000 and 2003. The USDA is required to conduct biannual inspections of research facilities.

UCSF associate vice chancellor for research Ara Tahmassian said in a statement Thursday that animal research is never undertaken lightly.

He said UCSF researchers who work with animals have been credited with an array of medical breakthroughs.

One example is a UCSF researcher who after spending decades studying the lungs of various animals was able to produce an artificial form of a substance that coats the interior of lungs and allows them to expand and contract. The discovery saves the lives of tens of thousands of premature infants every year who are born without the ability to produce the substance.

UCSF is the nation's fourth-largest National Institutes of Health grant recipient, after Johns Hopkins, the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Washington.

Other institutions cited as violators of the federal Animal Welfare Act include Johns Hopkins, Emory University, the University of Pennsylvania, Harvard University, the University of Florida and the University of Pittsburgh.

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“Bettering the lives of girls and women doesn’t stop at classrooms to learn in and textbooks to study from”

In my first couple weeks with Sahar, I’ve been tasked with familiarizing myself with Sahar’s work. I’ve come to understand not only Sahar’s mission, but the importance and impact of the work being done. What has stood out to me most about the work so far, beyond educating girls in school, was the focus on educating the community and making an impact inside and outside of the classroom. The fact that the schools being built and refurbished are in partnership Afghan Ministry of Education (MOE), speaks a lot to Sahar’s approach. Providing the financial resources, taking the steps to fast track learning spaces for girls, and training female teachers to assist those girls, Sahar takes what I feel is the appropriate position when it comes to the fulfillment of these schools, allowing them to comply with their own government standards and be operated by the MOE. When it comes to Sahar, bettering the lives of girls and women doesn’t stop at classrooms to learn in and textbooks to study from. Sahar has piloted programs that encourage and support girls to understand their worth, including the Digital Literacy Program (DLP) and the Early Marriage Prevention Program (EMPP), allowing them to gain self esteem and the confidence to take on challenges; in turn, helping to prevent child marriages and supporting women for employment opportunities to support themselves (and their families) financially.

I have spent these first weeks not only getting to know Sahar as an organization, but working on building Sahar’s reach on social media, as well as working on expanding and refining aspects of Sahar’s website. Already, I feel very excited and passionate about the work Sahar is doing, and am excited to be apart of the team this summer! I hope to support the incredible impact that Sahar has made so far, and the impact it will have in the near future, through my own skills and lens as a young adult and high school student.

-Charlotte Gong, Intern

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General Convention 2012

General Convention 2012

Fr. Chip Strickland, Rector of St. Paul’s Church in Greenwich, is part of the delegation from the Diocese of Albany to the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church. He has created a blog to keep us informed about what is discussed each day: the above highlighted words are a link to his blog, “This is Eternal Life”.

Please keep this gathering of God’s people in prayer each day, and especially our Bishops, Bishop Love and Bishop Herzog. You can also follow the events of each day on the official Convention website:

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June 22, 2014, Pentecost 2 – You Can’t Be a Little Bit Pregnant

To listen to this sermon, click here: 131223_001

It is a true saying, and worthy of full acceptance, what a wise doctor once said to me: “It’s not possible to be a little bit pregnant.” There are many things we dabble at in our lives. As children we have favorite colors and foods and toys and friends one day and the next they might be entirely different. One day we wouldn’t wear anything but pink and we wanted peanut butter sandwiches three times a day, and the next day we hated pink and peanut butter was gross. And as we grow older we don’t always grow out of that kind of behavior. As adults we often play at commitments in our tastes or our politics or to clubs or hobbies. I personally must admit that I have a whole trunkful of unfinished projects that bear testimony to my lack of commitment to learning to quilt or do cross-stitch or crochet. It gets more serious, though, when people dabble at their work commitments, unable or unwilling to hold down a job when it gets boring or when they have difficulty with co-workers, and more serious still when people dabble at human relationships: when love is no more than a temporary arrangement until a better offer comes along. We see the devastating effects of that kind of lack of commitment every day, in our families and among our friends and neighbors. It is one of the most hurtful ills that sin has inflicted on us as human beings separated from God; one of the crying needs for the healing power of redemption. The human race, apart from God, is perishing for the lack of anything real and solid to hold onto.

But the kingdom of God calls for something entirely different than the world. The gospel reading today is one of what are often called Jesus’s “hard sayings” because he is calling his disciples to something new: to a radical commitment that doesn’t allow for any dabbling. Just as a person can’t be a little bit pregnant, Jesus tells his disciples that we can’t be a little bit Christian. If we are to follow him, our faith can’t just be among the top ten priorities in our life, or the top five or the top two. The call to discipleship is uncompromising, and these words that we read today, the words he spoke to the Twelve as he sent them out into the world, are sobering, if not downright scary.

“I have not come to bring you peace, I have come with a sword,” he tells us. “Believe me, your worst enemies are the members of your own household, because if you value your father or your mother or your children more than me you are not worthy to be my disciple. If you don’t accept the suffering that comes along with following me, you aren’t worthy to be my disciple. If you acknowledge me before men I will acknowledge you before the Father. But if you deny me before men, I will deny you before the Father. And if you value your own life above following me you will have lost everything.”

We’re not used to hearing that kind of black and white, uncompromising talk from the mouth of Jesus. I certainly feel much more comfortable with teachings on grace and love and mercy and forgiveness. We like “God is love” – but where’s “God is love” in all this? It just sounds terrifying. But the reason we think this is that we don’t understand the urgency of our situation, and of the situation of the world. We don’t really believe, most of the time, that without God we were dead in our sins, and that Jesus Christ came to give us something that we had no hope of attaining without him, and that is real, abundant life. We forget, or we never really understood, that the life we see in the world around us is just a shadow of the life we were created to have, and that we are now citizens of a kingdom where real life is to be had. We don’t really fully believe, most of the time, that our faith is a life and death matter, and not just a choice that makes us happier or more secure or better than other people.

But the plain truth is that no one can live in both kingdoms, because you can’t be both dead and alive. To be alive is to be not dead. And to be dead is to be not alive. To be a follower of Christ is to put him above everything else. And to put anything else before Christ is to not be following him. Life is found only in him, and any other thing we try to hang onto leads only to death. Jesus was sending the Twelve out into a world where they would face ridicule and persecution, torture and physical death, and they needed to know in terms they could hang onto that they had been called into the way of life – the only way of life – that they were being sent out to be lights in the pitch darkness of the world’s night, and that they were being sent out to offer escape to people trapped in the kingdom of death, and that that kingdom, however scary and solid it might look and feel, had no power over them that they needed to fear.

Because in the midst of all this scary-sounding, uncompromising talk, Jesus gave the command that is found more often in the Bible than any other command – and that is “Don’t be afraid.” The line between the kingdom of this world and the kingdom of God, and the line between life and death, is stark and solid and uncompromising, but within the kingdom of God all that is comfort and kindness and grace and compassion and forgiveness and love is found. And that kingdom is breaking in upon this world to sow all those seeds of life in the”Don’t be afraid,” Jesus told the disciples. “Don’t be afraid of the powers of this world because only God holds your life in his hands. God, your Father, is the only power you ever need to fear. And don’t be afraid of him, because he loves you. He knows and loves every hair on your head and every cell in your body. He cares about the tiniest, frailest creature and he cares about the least detail of your life.” We read a moment ago what Paul wrote to the disciples in Rome: “We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin…you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.” To follow Jesus is to Choose Life: to choose the only real source of life and to refuse all those scams that pretended to offer us life in this world.

And there are two things I want to say about that. First of all, we are not called into the kingdom of life so that we can be the lucky few who get a get-out-of-hell-free card. One of the most amazing things about the kingdom of God is that it transforms everything and everyone it touches. That’s why, when Jesus touched a leper, instead of Jesus contracting leprosy, the leper was cleansed. Or when he took the hand of Jairus’s dead daughter, he didn’t become unclean by contact with a dead body as the Jewish law would have said, but instead the girl sat up, well and alive again. And that is why he calls us to put him before all those people we are tempted to put first – the people we love, our family and friends. Because it is only when we are alive in him that we have life to offer them. It’s a little bit like the stewardess tells you when she’s giving safety instructions, that you have to put the oxygen mask on before you can help the passenger beside you, whether it is your own child or a complete stranger. If we are dead we aren’t any use to anyone. But in Christ we have life and to spare.

And the second, and very important, thing is this. You can’t be a little bit pregnant, but you don’t start out humongously pregnant, either. A child grows in the womb from a tiny little cell to a big, healthy, kicking, squirming baby over many months. And in the same way, we can’t be a little bit Christian. Either we belong to the kingdom of this world, or the kingdom of God. We can’t be both dead and alive; we can’t choose darkness and light both. On the other hand, we don’t start our Christian lives as St. Francis of Assisi or the Virgin Mary. Even Francis and Mary didn’t start out as big Capital S saints. When we are born into the kingdom of God, we are fully and eternally alive, once and for all, but the life grows in us and transforms us little by little; over time we become more and more a light in the darkness and we are more and more conformed to the image of Christ. The life of the kingdom, in short, grows us up into the person we were created to be from before the dawn of time. It’s a process of small things and patience and hard work, of failures and forgiveness and of suffering and sorrow, too.

With pregnancy you have swollen ankles and backaches and stretch marks and clumsiness and labor pains – little discomforts and sometimes really big ones. Growth in the kingdom was painful for our Master and Teacher, and he warns us that we can expect that it will be painful for us as well. If you’ve reached adulthood you’ve probably already learned that. But the truest thing of all is that all our suffering is not the agony of death; it is the fruitful suffering of life, pain that leads to joy and the new birth of a new creation in which there won’t be any more sorrow or suffering or pain or death. Everything that we suffer now for the sake of the kingdom will produce a harvest of joy so great that the birth of a child, which is pretty much the most wonderful thing I have ever experienced it, is only a shadow of it, because it will be the re-birth and restoration of the entire creation and the death once and for all of sin and all its schemes and perversions and cruelties.

And meanwhile the life of Christ is growing in each and every one of us, and we are here to plant seeds of the kingdom every day, everywhere we go, seeds of kindness and compassion and truth and mercy and love, because as citizens of the kingdom of God we have the only source of life for a world that is dying.

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